Author's note. Written by me and Mrs Bumblebee.

Enjoy and please review.

Terribul stared in shock at the young calf as his breathing became deep and even. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard, did the little calf really mean it? Did he really think of Terribul as his father? He slowly walked away from the bed and out of the room. He had some serious thinking to do.

Terribull stepped back into the bathroom and started a fresh back for himself, his mind still wondering back to that simple little word that the calf had called him.

He had to admit, he'd become fond of the little guy but did Cody really like him that much? Well, it wasn't foolish enough to think Cody didn't like him a little, at least more than SaddleSore and BootHill. Hell, he could maybe see himself as being close to the level that Marshal was on in that calf's heart. But...dad?

"Aww kid...why did you have to call me that?" Terribull mumbled to himself as he looked down at himself in the bath water.

"Am I even cut out to be a dad?" He asked himself.

He'd already made one massive mistake concerning the calf when he'd spanked him too harshly. He lost his temper easily and he was an outlaw. Those weren't exactly brownie points.

He paused and then suddenly thought of all the good times he'd had so far with the calf. When they'd made dinner together, when they'd snuggled up in bed. He'd comforted the little calf when that thunderstorm had come around and Cody seemed happy to see him when he returned from trips.

A smile worked its way up to Terribull's lips as he thought back to all those wonderful times. He really did enjoy his times he spent with the calf, heck even more then he did at being a bad guy. Suddenly Terribull inhaled sharply.

"Did I just think that?" He grunted and tried to shake the idea but he just couldn't.

He'd made a commitment to that life, the one where he was both outlaw and lawbull. Was he really thinking of giving it up over a little calf? One that had wormed it's way into his heart and continued to do so.

Terribull's mind was whirling like a tornado, not sure what to think or where to go. All this over because of a little calf.

"Damn," Terribul muttered to himself, he had no idea what to do. Should he talk to Cody, find out if he really meant it? But what if he did mean it and actually wanted Terribul...to become his dad.

Terribull sighed in frustration and slapped the water.

"God Damn it, you just have to making everything to difficult," Terribull yelled.

He clenched his fists, he was confused and he hated being confused. Why did Cody have to lose his ball and come snooping over. Why did he have to see him without his mask, meaning he had to take him? And why did he have to be so damn lovable and in need of a parental figure?

Terribull snarled and held his head in frustration.

"Why did you have to grow on me?" Terribull snarled.

Cody was supposed to be learning not to tell anyone who the Masked Bull was, not finding himself a new dad. What was he going to do now, how could he let Cody go? Should he just tell the calf straight that there was no way this was happening...

He growled as an image of a devastated Cody invaded his thoughts.

The image made Terribull's heart break and he knew that he just couldn't live with himself because of that. But soon Terribull relaxed and sighed heavily.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt...to try and be a dad," He suggested.

After all, wasn't that what he'd been doing for the last few days? He'd been looking after Cody but more than that, he'd been doing stuff with the little calf and getting to know him. Maybe being a dad wouldn't be so hard as long as Cody didn't do anything bad. He hated punishing the little calf, even when he had to.

Terribull smiled at the image of him and Cody doing father and son things together that he had never got the chance to do...until now.

Cody needed a father and he...wanted Cody. Why couldn't it work? Sure, there might be a few problems but he could worry about them as they came along. He'd need to make sure BootHill and SaddleSore didn't mess with his new son for starters.

But he'll worry about that later. Terribull finished up his bath and grabbed himself a towel before he headed back to the bedroom to go get ready for bed.

Cody was still sound asleep and he smiled as he dried himself off. Once he was done, he carefully hung the towel up before taking out his nightshirt and pulling it on. As he got into bed beside Cody and gently pulled the calf close, he thought over how much he wanted Cody to be his.

Terribull smiled as Cody moaned and snuggled up closer to Terribull and sighed in content as he fell into a more relaxed and deeper sleep.

"I think you really meant it, kid," Terribul murmured softly as he settled down and slowly drifted off to sleep.

During the night, Cody and Terribull never moved away from each other only snuggling up closer to each other in their sleep before settling back down again.

When Terribul awake, he found Cody clinging tightly to him, face buried against his chest. His little hands had bunches of the older bull's nightshirt as though he never wanted to let go. It made Terribul chuckle as he gently stroked Cody's head as the little calf mumbled in his sleep.

"Little tyke," Terribul said affectionately.

Terribull leaned his head down and very gently kissed the top of Cody's hair before he reached up and stroked the calf's cheek with his thumb.

Cody shifted slightly, but only to snuggle closer, smiling in contentment. It made the older bull smile, pleased that he could make the calf happy. He decided to let him sleep a little longer and make a start on breakfast so he carefully detached the calf and snuggled him in the covers.

Terribull headed of the bedroom and headed to the kitchen to go get started on the food, think making pancakes would be a nice change.

All kids loved pancakes and he was sure Cody would be no different. Sure enough, once they were cooking, he heard sounds of life from the bedroom and a few minutes later, Cody came charging into the kitchen.

"Ooh, pancakes," he exclaimed happily, still wearing his nightshirt.

Terribull smiled and chuckled as he looked down at the young calf.

"Yep, now what would you like in your pancakes?" he asked.

"Do you have any syrup, dad?" Cody asked eagerly before clapping his hand on his mouth and looking nervously at Terribul, unsure of his reaction.

But Terribul just smiled and ruffled his hair.

"I think I just might...son."

Cody gasped as he stared up at Terribull in shock before he smiled up at his "new" dad.

"Yey," He cheered.

"Come on, let's take a look in the cupboards," Terribul said as he lifted Cody up onto a stool.

Cody grinned at him before opening one to see if he could find a good topping for his pancakes. He couldn't believe Terribul had called him son and hadn't gotten mad at being called dad.

Codys eyes widened in excitement as he saw different jars full of toppings. Cherrys, blueberries, strawberry, and even nuts but what Cody was asking for was syrup so he looked around some more before he spotted the bottle of maple syrup.

"Can I have the maple syrup...please?" Cody asked eagerly and Terribul nodded.

"Sure, we'll put it on the table in case BootHill and SaddleSore wants some."

"If they don't it all before we do," Cody chuckled.

Terribul chuckled but said.

"Hmm, I think you'd better see if their up. If they're not, wake them up but nicely this time. Okay?"

Cody playfully saluted to Terribull.

"Yes Sir," He replied before he ran out of the cabin and went to the varmints own sleeping quarters to find them.

Cody couldn't help but giggle as he remembered all the times he'd tried to wake them up before. He didn't want to go near them in case they got mad and tried to whack him but he knew that waking them wasn't easy. However, he had a great idea when he spotted an old rusty pan lying just inside the doorway.

Grabbing it and a random stick, he gave it a hard bang, saying.

"Wake up, it's breakfast time!"

Both SaddleSore and BootHill screamed and jumped from their beds in surprise.

"Who, what, where?" They both gasped as they looked around for the source of their rude awakening.

"We're having pancakes," Cody told them happily before quickly rushing out of the room before either of them could chuck something at him.

"You wake em?" Terribul asked as Cody run back into the kitchen.

"Yep and I didn't use any water," Cody told him proudly.

Terribull smirked and raised a brow at this.

"Oh, and then how did you wake them?" Terribull asked.

"I banged a pan with a stick, that woke them up," Cody chirped as sounds of the two minions grumpily getting themselves up.

Terribul hid a smile and gave his hair a ruffle.

"Alright then, why don't you set the table for everyone?"

Cody smiled and nodded.

"Okay," He chirped before he ran to the draws and cabinets and started pulling everything out and settling up the table just right.

Just as he was finishing up, BootHill and SaddleSore stamped in, looking grumpy.

"He woke us up?" SaddleSore exclaimed, pointing angrily at Cody.

"I know, I asked him to," Terribul replied. "You two would sleep the day away if you could."

"But you said he wasn;'t allowed to wake us up no more," SaddleSore protested.

"I said he wasn't allowed to throw water on you," Terribul corrected. "Would you rather I woke you up?"

"But what he did was still not a good way to wake up," SaddleSore complained.

"Then how would you prefer to be woken up?" Terribul asked impatiently as he poured batter into a spitting hot frying pan which had been liberally coated with a mixture of butter and oil.

"Peacefully," SaddleSore replied.

BootHill nodded with his wings crossed over his chest.

"I tried that before," Cody protested. "You guys never wake up if I do it normally, you sleep too heavily."

"We do not," the old buzzard protested right back.

Cody and Terribull looking at each other before looking back at the two.

"Yes you do," They both replied together.

Both BootHill and SaddleSore pouted back at them, looking very grumpy. Terrible broke the tension by saying.

"Never mind all that, breakfast is almost ready. Do you lazy bones want anything on yours?"

"I'll have some berries on mine," BootHill spoke up as he walked over to the table.

"Yeah mine too," SaddleSore added as he followed BootHill.

"Alright," Terribul said as he scooped a pancake onto a waiting warm plate before adding another dollop of batter to the pan.

Reaching for the shelf, he grabbed a jar of strawberries and blueberries and set them on the counter. Cody helpfully rushed up and grabbed them before setting them on the table. He made sure to sit away from the still grumpy looking buzzard and scorpion, loving the smell of cooking banter.

Terribull looked over his shoulder at Cody and smirked at him before he looked back at the stove so his two idiot helpers didn't see and say something.

He very quickly cooked enough pancakes for everyone, with them all piled on a warming plate. By now, everyone was very hungry and eager for food so he wasted no time in placing the plate in the middle of the table. As BootHill and SaddleSore grabbed pancakes for themselves, Terrible set the bottle of syrup that Cody had wanted and set it beside the calf.

"Thanks," Cody said gratefully as he was finally able to help himself to a pancake.

Terribull smiled as Cody very politely picked himself few pancakes, smother them in syrup before he dug in, moaning and licking his lips at the wonderful taste.

"You're a great cook," Cody said thickly as Terribul poured some strawberries over his own pancakes.

"I know," Terribul said smugly but reached over to give Cody's hair a ruffle.

Cody giggled and swatted Terribull's hand away before he went back to enjoying his breakfast.

Terribul just smiled and continued eating his breakfast. He figured he should probably talk with Cody about their new... relationship; see what the calf thought of it. He'd make sure those two goons exercised their horses; they hadn't been getting out like his had been.

Soon everyone was finished with their breakfast and Terribull and Cody were working in the kitchen in getting everything clean while Terribull sent SaddleSore and BootHill outside to tend to their horses.

"Are you going away today?" Cody asked as he put away some cutlery which had just been cleaned.

"No, I don't need to," Terribul replied as he put away some of the jars back into the high cupboard shelf.

Cody squirmed for a few minutes, he seemed to be gathering his courage for something. Finally, he said.

"Can...can we do something together...if you're not busy?"

Terribull stopped cleaning for a bit and looked down and smiled at Cody.

"I don't see why not," He replied.

This made the calf beam up at him and exclaim.

"Cool, that's great. What could we do together?"

Terribull smirked and walked over and ruffled Cody's hair.

"How about I take you to an old favourite fishing spot of mine and see if you can beat my catch," He suggested.

"Wicked," Cody said excitedly as Terribul chuckled.

"Yeah but first you need to get on some clothes."

Cody stared and then glanced down at his night shirt, grinning sheepishly.

"Oh yeah," he giggled before he ran to the bedroom to change.

Terribull laughed at this and finished up the kitchen before he headed outside to the shed to gather then things they were going to need.

Obviously, they'd need a couple of fishing rods but they'd also need a bag to collect any fish they caught. A net would also be good along with a jar in which to collect bait. They would dig up some worms and grubs from the riverbank and use those for their fishing.

Terribul smiled, he hadn't gone fishing in such a long time and to think he was going to do it with his...son. The bull smiled wider at the idea of fishing with his son when he heard Cody running up behind him.

"I'm ready," He announced with great excitement.

"Good, let's get going," Terribul said, noting with amusement that Cody was wearing his favourite hat.

"How far are we going?" Cody asked as he took the empty bag Terribul gave him.

"It's not too far but we'll probably be out most of the day," Terrible told him before adding. "That means we need to take lunch with us."

"Okay," Cody chirped and followed Terribull back into the cabin and helped him gather lunch meats, sandwich fixings, and bread so they could make sandwiches later.

"Um, what about SaddleSore and BootHill?" Cody asked Terribull as they packed.

"They'll be fine," Terribul said unconcernedly. "They're going to exercise their horses and then they can do what they like."

Cody smiled; he was pleased he didn't have to share his new dad's attention. They'd have a lot more fun, just the two of them.

"Okay," Cody replied in excitment and followed Terribull back outside and helped him saddle up his horse and then load their things onto the large horse.

"Up you go," Terribul said, lifting the calf up onto the horse before climbing up behind.

The calf was practically bouncing up and down with excitement; he couldn't wait to get going.

"Calm down, we're going," Terribul laughed, before directing his horse in the direction SaddleSore and BootHill were, to tell them what was happening.

"I'm heading out and I'm taking the kid with me. I'm going to be gone all day so I better not come back to this place in a mess," Terribull told them.

"Hey, we won't make a mess," SaddleSore protested as Terribul stated.

"Ya better not. Make sure those horses get their exercise."

"Bye," Cody said cheerfully as Terribul wheeled his horse around and they set off.

Cody watched from over his shoulder as the cabin disappeared from view before he looked ahead to see where they were going, smiling happily up at Terribull now and then.

Terribul smiled back down at him before saying.

"This is something of a secret fishing spot I discovered some years ago. It's on the map but no one ever goes there because it's so remote but it makes a perfect fishing spot. You can also swimming during the wet season when the water's deep enough."

"Sounds great," Cody chirped eagerly.

"You'll love it there." Terribull added before he sat back and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

Cody giggled with joy, he was so happy to be getting out on the mesa once again. He couldn't wait to go fishing again; it had been so long since he'd done it. Soon, they were heading into a very narrow canyon which looked like barely anyone ever went through it. After about half an hour travelling through it, they came to the banks of a slow flowing river with muddy banks.

And along the banks were tall cat tail grasses and lily pads in the shallow waters. Cody smile grew.

"WOW," He gasped in awe.

"This place is brilliant," he exclaimed.

"I know," Terribul said smugly. "Come on, we're get the horse settled and then we can dig up some bait."

"Okay," Cody yipped and waited for Terribull to steer the horse to a nice shaded spot near the canyon wall before they both hopped down and got to work.

Cody found a nice muddy spot and started to dig there. He cried out in triumph as he found some nice fat juicy worms which were just perfect for fishing. Terribul just smiled at him as he started looking for the perfect spot to sit down and fish.

While Cody gathered the worms and grubs Terribull walked over and found some good forked sticks to hold their poles for them and then went in search of a spot that didn't have too much plant life in the way.

"Look how much I've got," Cody cried out, hurrying back over to Terribul with a full can of the wriggling worms and grubs.

"Good job kid, now let's get set up," Terribul said with a smile as he finally found the best spot.

Cody nodded and helped Terribull grab the poles and set up hooks and floats on them before they each placed a worm on their hooks and casted out.

"What's the biggest you've ever caught?" Cody asked eagerly and Terribul smirked.

"About this big," he said, holding his two hands apart, making Cody's eyes go round.

"Wow, it wasn't really 'that' big, was it?"

"It was," Terribul chuckled. "That's why this place is so good, you get the biggest fish."

"Awesome. I'm going to catch one bigger than yours," Cody challenged playfully.

"We'll see kid," the older bull chuckled before adding. "If we're lucky, we'll catch enough for dinner tonight. I bet it's been a while since you had fish?"

"Oh yeah," Cody agreed, "I can't remember the last time I had fish."

"And homemade French fries?" Terribull added.

"Oh I love homemade fries," Cody cried excitedly, this sounded so awesome.

"Great, that's what we'll have," Terribul announced before saying ruefully. "If we catch enough that is."

"We will, we just gotta wait for them," Cody said with confidence.

Terribull chuckled and nodded as he ruffled Cody's hair.

"That's right kid, we've got to wait," Terribull chuckled.

They settled back to relax as sunlight shone down but they were shaded enough to not get too hot. Terribul smirked as Cody's hat fell over his eyes and the calf started to nap in the peaceful setting. Their lines floated lazily in the water, occasionally; there would be a twitch but nothing more than that. Terribul knew they needed to wait for a much harder pull before they tried to bring anything in.

A half hour passed with still no strong enough bites to interest Terribull. He looked down at Cody and smirked at the sleeping calf before he relax and got ready to take a short nap of his own.

This place was so peaceful and soon, both of them were sleeping. They continued sleeping for about an hour before one of the lines suddenly gave a hard tug. At first, neither noticed but as there were more hard tugs, Cody started to wake up.

"Mmm...hmmm?" Cody mumbled sleepily, as he lifted up his hat and blearily stared at the jerking line.

When his vision sharpened and saw the line being pulled hard, Cody gasped and jumped to his feet and grabbed the pole and jerked it hard to set the hook.

"Dad...Dad wake up," Cody yelled as he started to fight the fish.

"Uh...what happening?" Terribul said sleepily, blinking his eyes with confusion.

"Dad, the fish...the fish!" Cody yelled in excitement as struggled to haul it in.

Terribull gasped when he too realized what was happening and jumped up and stood behind Cody to started telling him what to do so he didn't lose it.

"Alright son you need to pull and then reel in the slack and repeat. If he fights you let him, it's tire him out and then pull and reel until he's close," Terribull instructed.

"Okay dad," Cody replied, pulling as hard as he could before allowing the fish to draw away slightly.

"Boy, this fish must be huge," Cody panted, after a few minutes of fighting.

Terribull chuckled and watched proudly as Cody fought with the fish, keeping a close watch on the calf and the line as the fish fought back.

"Oh no," Cody told the struggling fish, panting heavily. "You're not getting away from me, you're going to be dinner."

"Watch it," Terribul warned. "Sometime they will let the line go slack and then they'll jerk it out of your hands. Keep a good, tight hold on that rod."

"I will," Cody gasped, gripping it harder than ever.

And just after Terribull warned Cody of that trick and line suddenly went slack. Cody gasped and started reeling up the slack line before again suddenly the fish jerked back and the fought was on again, but Cody refused to give up.

"I'm gonna get him," growled the young calf, reeling when the line went slack and then holding on tight when the fish attempted to escape. "He ain't getting away."

"You're almost there," Terribul encouraged, he could actually see the large sliver fish thrashing about in the froth.

"Uhh, he's not getting away from me." Cody announced as he pulled back hard the line to pull the fish in closer.

"Just a bit more," Terrible said as Cody pulled and pulled, trying to finally wear the fish down.

For a moment, it looked like the rod would snap clean off but then the line went slack as the fish finally exhausted its self out. Cody gasped before reeling in the line hurriedly, hauling the fish out of the water where it jerked and gleamed in the sun.

"Oh Wow," Cody breathed in awe at how large the fish was as Terribull came over and grabbed the fish and removed the hook from its mouth for him.

"Impressive," Terribul admitted, holding the fish up for them both to admire.

Smiling down at the tired but delighted calf, he said softly.

"You did good, son."

Cody smiled at the praise and puffed out his chest proudly before their victory was short lived when Terribull's pole started jerking and bending.

"You got something," Cody yelled, pointing at the pole.

"Yeah," Terribul replied, quickly bashing Cody's fish on the head before handing it to the calf.

"Here, pop it in the bag while I take care of this one," he added, grabbing his pole.

"Okay," Cody chirped, puffing as he held his massive fish and staggering over to the bag Terribul had brought.

Cody slipped the fish into the bag and closed it before he ran to stand next to his dad to watch.

His dad used the same technique that he had, letting the fish wear it's self out before reeling it in when it let the line go slack. Of course, being a lot bigger and stronger, Terribul wasn't having to much trouble and he'd already made a lot of progress. Cody sighed, he couldn't wait to be big and strong, just think of all the things he could do.

He was a little out of breath so he sat down next to his dad and cheered him on. They were definitely going to eat well tonight. Terribull grunted as the fish fought him for a little while longer before he was able to pull it from the water with a victorious smile.

He looked at Cody and showed him the fish.

"I think we're tied right now," He stated with a chuckle.

"But I'm smaller so I get extra points?" Cody suggested with a giggle making Terribul laugh.

"Sneaky little thing," he joked, giving Cody's hair a ruffle. "You'd give Mayor Bullony a run for his money, probably literally."

"He really likes money, doesn't he?" Cody asked as Terribul stowed the fish in the bag.

Terribull chuckled.

"You have no idea kid," He replied.

"Mmm," Cody said with a nod, he had a feeling Terribul was right. "How many fish do you think we can catch today?"

"Well, we've already gotten two," Terribul mused as he examined their rods which needed re-baiting. "If we catch at least two more, that'll be enough for everyone. But if we manage to catch some more, I can salt and smoke them."

"Cool," Cody said brightly.

Terribull smiled at Cody's excitement before he helped his re-baited the poles and then casted them back out.

"Can we have fried fish tonight?" Cody asked as he settled down beside his rod. "It's been so long since I've had some, last time I had fish, it was soup."

"Sure, I can easily do that," Terribul replied.

"Yes," Cody cried in joy and hugged Terribull around the waist in thanks.

"I can't wait, this is going to be great," Cody said excitedly.

"Don't forget, we've got more fish to catch," Terribul pointed out but only teasingly.

Cody nodded and went and got himself comfortable in the shade again as they waited for more fish to bite.

It actually took quite a while before another fish bit, as though the others had been scared off. Terribul and Cody didn't mind, it was such a nice day with dragonflies buzzing about. Cody had a little fun dipping his hooves in the cool water, watching little creatures swim around them.

He started to giggle as the tiny fish that swam in the shallows came up and started nibbling on his hoofs, lightly tickling him as they did this.

"Hee, look at them," he said eagerly to his dad who'd been relaxing in the shade.

"Huh?" Terribul mumbled, opening an eye to see what Cody was on about. "Watch they don't eat your feet away."

Cody giggled and rolled his eyes at his dad and continued to enjoy himself.

"Are there any pike in here?" Cody asked after a few minutes of playing. "Some of Aunt Lily's customers say you need to watch out when you're in the swamp because the pike will try to eat you."

Terribul grunted.

"There's no pike here, if there were, there wouldn't be any fish left."

"How come?" Cody asked innocently, not knowing how dangerous and vicious pike's were.

"Because their utterly vicious killers," Terribul said darkly. "That's why I don't want you ever swimming in the swamp."

He indicated the water in front of them.

"You can swim here, it's a sheltered place where pike can't reach and it's full of fish. But if there were pike here, they would tear them to shreds and attack anything that waded into their territory. You hear me?"

Cody gulped at the thought of being attacked while in the water. That was a very scary thought and he nodded.

"Yes sir, I understand," He replied.

"Good boy," Terribul said with a nod. "You don't want to go there anyway, the place stinks and it's full of poisonous critters. Even if nothing attacks you, you can get sick from the water."

Cody pulled a face, he hated getting sick. He resolved to go nowhere near the icky swamp, not if he could get ill or bitten from it."

Just thinking about it gave Cody chills and a shiver run up and down his spine.

"Uhh, no worries dad. I'll stay clear away from it. No matter what," Cody replied.

"Good boy, that's all I ask," Terribul said with a smile. "If you want, you can have a swim here when we're done fishing, it's perfectly safe."

"Because there are lots of fish about?" Cody said and Terribul nodded.

"Right. Their all swimming about happy and that means there's nothing to worry about. You can often tell if there's trouble by observing how the animals are acting."

"Really?" Cody asked and looked out across the water, seeing the way how active the water is and the way how many bugs were flying around without a care in the world.

"Yep," Terribul said with a nod. "If you every see critters running for cover, even if it seems all calm, it means something's coming. But don't panic, just keep your head and take a good look at your surroundings. But you don't have to worry about that at the moment, we're safe here."

Cody smiled.

"Ok got it, keep your head and don't panic," Cody stated.

"That's it," Terribul agreed just as his line started to tug and jerk. "I can teach you more about it another time, just always remember to keep your eyes open."

"Got it," Cody chirped as he watched his dad start to reel in another fish.

Terribull pulled in another large fish and placed into the bag when suddenly a huge fish jumped out of the water in the middle of the stream. Cody was awe stuck as he watched it splash back down into the water and then noticed his line was being pulled really hard and the pole was about to be pulled clear from its stand.

"I think I've got it," he squealed with delight, grabbing the line and holding it in place. But this fish was a strong one and he felt like he was about to be dragged into the water. Luckily, Terribul saw what was happening and quickly grabbed Cody and pulled him into his lap, so that the calf was safe.

"Uhh, come on come on." Cody grunted as he struggled to hold onto the pole and pull it back against the fish.

Suddenly the line went slack before it gave a hard jerk, nearly pulling the poloe clean out of Cody's hands.

"Ahhh!" Cody yelped, somehow managing to hold on but the pole had scraped his hands and they would sting later. "This is one big fish."

"I think you need some help, son," Terribul said, taking the pole in his hands while still allowing Cody to hold it.

Terribull waited for the right moments to pull back on the pole and let Cody reel in the extra slack before the fish jerked against them.

"This'll probably feed everyone," Cody said in absolute awe and Terribul had to agree, this fish was a monster among fish. He was very glad Cody wasn't trying to reel this in on his own, he'd be in the water if he did.

"Be careful," Terribul warned. "Watch the water carefully, any ripple and it means he's about to move again."

Cody nodded and did as told and watched as the fish made ripples in the water every time he made a move, slowly tiring himself out.

"This is so awesome," Cody whispered, snuggling against Terribul. "I caught my first big fish and now we're going to catch the biggest one in the whole of the Mesa."

"It is good," Terribul agreed, smiling down at his son before focusing on the pole again. He was curious about this big fish, was it a catfish? Or just a normal fish that had managed to grow a bit bigger than normal.

But right now all Terribull was more worried about was reeling in this huge fish before it can get away.

"Come on kid, let's show this fish who's boss," Terribull stated as he pulled on the pole some more and let Cody reel.

"Alright," Cody squealed happily as he reeled as madly as possible to shorten the distance between them and the fish. While the fish had lots of line, it had an advantage but they gained the upper hand as it was slowly brought towards them.

"We've almost got it kid, keep going," Terribull encouraged as he and the calf worked together to get this fish in.

"Can...can we get it measured?" Cody gasped out. "I want to know how big it is."

"Sure and we can get a board cast of it to," Terribul promised as they both hauled on the line as the fish stalled for a quick break. Terribul knew that the fish would fight the moment it knew things were hopeless and that would be the real challenge.

Terribull and Cody rested for a few seconds, Terribull studying the line to see how close the fish was and how much longer the line will last before he broke under all the tension.

"I think we might need to use the net," Terribul said quietly as though the fish might hear them. "Can you grab it for me?"

Cody nodded, and letting go of the pole, leaned over and grabbed the net which suddenly looked like it wouldn't be big enough for this fish. But they would certainly need something to help scoop out the fish and the net should hopefully tire it out even more.

"Alright, I'll reel in the fish the rest of the way while you sneak into the water and wait for it to get close enough and then you grab it up in the net as best as you can," Terribull instructed.

Cody nodded and pulled his pants up to his knees and then wadded into the water as quietly as he could and got into position to wait.

"I'm ready," he chirped and Terribul smiled before gripping the pole tightly and leaning back. This fish wasn't going to get away from them.

He started to reel the fish in, gently so that it didn't panic. Soon, the fish was just under the surface of the water, right in front of the bank and in a perfect place to be caught. Terribul looked over at Cody and nodded, causing the calf to carefully walk forward and carefully start to slip the net under the water.

Cody watched the dark mass under the water that was the fish as he slowly and carefully slid the net into position. Once ready he looked back at Terribull and gave him a nod to pull the fish in for capture.

Cody took a firm grip on the net and they pulled with all his might. Immediately, the fish began to thrash as its body came into contact with the cool air and Cody yelped as he was splashed. Terribul heaved on the pole, beginning the real fight to haul the massive fish in.

"Bring it in son, head to the bank." Terribull yelled to Cody as he fought the fish with the line.

"Okay," Cody yelled back as he started to push forward, still trying to tug the fish upwards and out of the wasn't easy, he kept slipping and almost let go of the net but somehow, hung on. The fish was thrashing so badly now that a couple of time, Cody got hit by its massive tail and was lucky not to be bowled over.

"Ahh, this fish is trying to kill me." Cody yelled as he was hit again.

Terribul chuckled.

"Considering we're trying to kill him, I don't blame him," he chuckled before becoming serious. "We're almost there son, just a little bit more."

Cody grunted as he nodded and pulled on the net harder.

"Come on, you're not getting away from us," Cody growled.

The fish was practically out of the water as it continued to thrash its body in an effort to get free. The sunlight danced off its brilliantly shiny silver scales and both bovines knew that this would be a true prize to be proud of. But then Cody suddenly realised that the net was starting to break apart so in desperation, ducked under the struggling fish and bodily hauled it upwards.

Terribull gasped when he saw what Cody was doing and laid the pole down and walked out into the water with him to help him, spotting the reason why Cody was holding the fish he was.

Terribull grabbed the net while Cody held the fish and they both worked togetehr to carry the monster fish to the bank.

"We...we did it," Cody panted triumphantly, barely able to get the words out.

"We sure did son," Terribul said proudly as they hauled the fish up the bank, safely away from the river.

Cody looked down at the fish and smiled big in joy.

"Wow, I can't believe we caught this. It almost looks like it's bigger then me." Cody breathed.

"You are rather a small calf," Terribul said teasingly as Cody shoved at him in retaliation.

"I'm not that small," he said hotly as Terribul laughed.

"Okay, okay you're not. But this is a rather big fish, we can all eat it tonight."

"And we need to mark it," Cody reminded him. "So we can remember just how big it was."

"Alright. Lay down next to it," Terribull said.

Cody did without argue while Terribull measured with a rope they had brought. Once he was done he lifted the rope and helped Cody stand back up and judged the rope length with Cody's height and sure enough the fish was about three inches longer then Cody.

"Wow!" Cody gasped, he couldn't believe it. "We've caught the biggest fish on the mesa."

Terribul grinned in response and ruffled his son's hair. This was more than enough fish for all four of them, heck, they could probably feed a whole gang of people. But he didn't want to head back home just yet, especially after all the work they'd put into this.

"Why don't we have a rest for a bit?" Terribul suggested as he started to wrap the fish up to protect it from the sun. "Maybe we could have a swim later?"

"Okay," Cody replied in excitement.

Terribull chuckled and nodded back as he worked on the fish, putting the rope threw it's gill and then threw its mouth before the tied it's onto a loop so the fish couldn't get off. He then picked up the fish and placed it back down into the shallow waters and tied the other end of the rope to a small three trunk.

"Why'd you do that for?" Cody asked as he watched.

Terribull looked back.

"Helps keeping the fish alive longer and it'll taste better once cooked. But don't worry the fish can't get away, not with that rope tied to it," Terribull explained.

"Oh, okay," Cody chirped before flopping down in the shade. "Boy, I'm beat."

The older bull smiled, the calf would definitely sleep well tonight. After making sure the fish was secure, he also lay down in the shade to relax. As they both lay, their clothes soon dried and insects started to buzz around.

Author's note. How does the fishing trip go? Can Terribul tell Cody how he feels about him now, as a son? Find out next time, until then.