Hey ya'll! It's krp101! For those of you that don't know who I am, I primarily write for the 'Bolt' stories page, but the original reason behind joining FanFiction was to write for 'Over The Hedge'. Now that I have the chance, it's time to unleash my first OTH story (and hopefully, it won't be my last.)

A/N: I do not own Over The Hedge or any of its characters. All characters are the property of DreamWorks and its subsidiaries.

Lost Feelings

RJ, the raccoon, was waking up as the sun began to rise and shine between the trees. He rubbed his eyes as he looked around to find himself at the opening of the log, and got up to greet the day.

"Hey, look who's up!" Verne, the turtle, said.

"Yeah." RJ said still half asleep. Verne silently chuckled at the sight before walking to stash for breakfast, with RJ following him, feeling hungry himself. Within another 10 minutes, everyone else was up and walking. It had been about 4 months since the family had defeated the Verminator and had Vincent sent to the Rockies, and the family quickly took an even better liking to RJ than before; now that they could fully trust him. Even Verne enjoyed having RJ around, and at times, more than everyone else. Since their final ordeal between the bear, exterminator, and each other, the family took a liking to raiding from humans after finding a sense of enjoyment out of fooling creatures that were supposed to be smarter than they were.

"Do you have the raid plans for the house down the street done yet?" Verne asked RJ as they munched their breakfast.

"Almost. I just need to find another way in, because the back door has a deadbolt and no doggy door." RJ explained

"And the front door?" Verne asked again.

"Same design." RJ said blatantly.

"Ugh… humans are getting smarter." Verne said getting a little irritated.

"Yeah, no kidding." RJ said

"Hey, what about the garage?" Ozzie, the male opossum, asked.

"What about it?" RJ asked wondering what he meant.

"Well, the back door doesn't have a doggy door, but the door INSIDE the garage does. If we can sneak into the garage after the family leaves, we can raid the house and unlock the back door from the inside to get back to the hedge." Ozzie explained in more detail. RJ looked at Verne, dumbfounded. Why he hadn't come up with that will forever remain a mystery, but he didn't have to worry about it, because Ozzie already did.

"Ozzie… You are a genius!" RJ said with his mouth full of food. The family couldn't help but laugh at the raccoon's facial expressions as he heard the plans, especially Ozzie and Heather, who is Ozzie's daughter. RJ and Heather had become practically inseparable since 'the ordeal'; having been the fastest runners out of all of the animals, except for their little squirrel friend, Hammy, which made them excellent decoys. They also made it a habit to watch a movie every night together before bed, just to spend time together. Inside, it was pretty easy for Heather to develop feelings for RJ. At first, she saw him as a big brother figure, but as time went on, she realized just how much she cared for him. He was cute, funny, brave, and extremely sweet. But above all, he put everyone else before himself. The same couldn't be said four months prior, but he quickly became protective of everyone in the family.

"So, I guess that settles that." RJ said as he crossed off the last check mark on the sheet of paper he had next to him.

"Great. Well, since we don't have much else going on today, who's up for a walk?" Lou the father porcupine suggested.

"Me." The entire family, except for RJ, shouted in unison.

"I'm gonna pass. I got hardly any sleep last night, and I'm gonna try to get it back." RJ said to the group, lying about why he really didn't want to go.

"Alright, well suit yourself, RJ." Verne said getting up. It wasn't long before the family was ready to head out.

"You sure you don't wanna come along, RJ?" Stella the skunk asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You guys have fun!" RJ said seeing his family off. As soon as the family was out of sight, his mood instantly changed from happiness to depression. As much as he loved his family, he felt distant from them. It wasn't that he missed his old life as a drifter; it was that he felt something he hadn't felt in years: a longing for parents. Having no memory of his REAL parents only made him more depressed, and he didn't want his feelings getting out, because of the role model he had become to the family. He admitted that he was afraid to ask for help, and maybe that's what made conning people so much easier for him than being honest with them.

"Why is this bugging me so much?" RJ asked himself silently. He felt as though he was getting soft, and as if this wasn't a normal reaction. He was 22 years old, and had no real memories of his past that he could be proud of, and it bothered him. Verne, Lou, and Tiger felt like father figures to him at times, but didn't fit as much as he wanted them to. The person that seemed to be the biggest influence in his life was Ozzie. The opossum was already protective of Heather, even if she didn't enjoy it, and there were even a few times during raids when the family would be cornered of hiding from a human, and Ozzie would slowly scoot in front of RJ to keep him safe. The raccoon slouched even lower than before as he thought about why he felt this way. I don't get it. Do I see Ozzie as my father? I can't imagine what he would think if I told him this. He'd probably think I was crazy for feeling like this. RJ thought as he sat against the inside of the log. This wasn't a new issue for him either; he'd been feeling it for weeks, and was hoping that it would go away eventually.

"I'm losing my mind." RJ said as he buried his face in his hands in frustration.

"I wouldn't say that." said a voice from the entrance of the log. RJ jumped up and looked at the figure standing at the end of the stump. He let out a sigh of relief, thankful to see Stella instead of Ozzie.

"I thought you were on the walk with the family." RJ said trying to avoid the subject at hand.

"I told Tiger that my feet were killing me, so I was gonna go back and rest." Stella explained to RJ, who knew the real reason she came back to the log.

"That's not really why you're here, is it?" RJ asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Not exactly."

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough… Come on, tough guy! You're not crazy."

"If only I could agree with you." RJ said feeling defeated. Stella walked in and sat down in front of RJ to talk with him face to face.

"Do you really see Ozzie as a dad?"

"Well… yeah. He cares about Heather more than she realizes, and he's practically implied that he'd take a bullet for me."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, but… I feel like he should take a bullet for ANYONE else in this family before me. I'm nothing special."

"I wouldn't tell him that. He wouldn't do all those things for you if he didn't…"

"If he didn't what?"

"…if he didn't already see you as family." Stella finished. RJ looked at Stella for another few seconds before sighing as he looked back down at the ground. Stella moved closer to the broken-hearted raccoon and pulled him into a hug, which he eventually returned. RJ enjoyed having someone to talk to, even if the subject was something as sensitive for him as Ozzie being a father figure to him.

"There's something else that's been kinda on my mind lately." RJ said

"Let me guess… Heather?" Stella said filling in the gap. RJ's eyes widened a little in surprise, having not expecting her to know what he was thinking.

"How did you…" RJ began to ask before she cut him off.

"Dude, you act just like Tiger did the first night we met. You're fallin' pretty hard for her."

"Am I really that careless about keeping my emotions in check?"

"No. I just notice it more than the average animal."

"Please don't tell her about this. I don't want Ozzie getting upset because of this." RJ said pleasing with Stella to keep it between the two of them.

"I won't. I'm not that cruel. However, I don't think Ozzie would be that worried. He's taken into account just how much time the two of you have been spending together lately."

"Great. Now I can't tell EITHER of them how I feel." RJ said feeling even more frustrated than before.

"Oh God. Don't make me stink you!" Stella said getting just as agitated, to which RJ just laughed at. She could understand that RJ was worried about their reactions, but she felt like he was losing his 'tough guy' personality, and the family needed his leadership.

"Don't go too soft on us, ringtail! We need that confident side of you for that raid in two days." Stella informed him.

"You won't lose that side of me, Stella. I need it too badly." RJ said jokingly, and Stella just snickered as she got up and headed for the exit of the log.

"Hey!" RJ called out to her before he went out of his view.

"Yeah." Stella said turning around.

"Thanks." RJ said smiling. The skunk nodded and smiled back before turning back around and walking to the lake. RJ stayed in the log for a little while longer before getting up to go watch TV at their crib area. He knew he couldn't avoid the topic of Ozzie OR Heather forever, but he didn't need to tell them now, which made him feel a little better as he flipped through the channels looking for something good.

**End of Chapter**

Well, what do you guys think? I'm not sure how well this is gonna turn out, but I'll give it my best. Be sure and send in those reviews. Tell me what you like, what you don't like, what needs improvement, and anything else you can think of. I welcome them ALL!

Peace out, playa!