A Dangerous Enterprise
Sly 2: Band of Thieves

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Summary: Jenna Sheppard is going into her second year college and has an extensive interest in traveling, however, when she decides to visit her cousin in Cairo, Egypt she finds herself woven into a surprisingly dark web. Stockholm Syndrome has nothing to do with how Jenna feels about her captors, being the infamous Copper Gang, rather quite the opposite. But when she finds out a dark secret about her family and herself will she be willing to put aside what she believes to help aid the Gang in their conquest for the greater good?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sly Cooper series…all rights are reserved to Sucker Punch Productions™. I'm a poor college student, I wouldn't be a poor college student (or a student at all quite frankly) if I had made this wonderful game-play. I do, however, own Jenna Sheppard and Lawrence Sheppard :)

Story Type: OC Insert

Pairing: Sly Copper/OFC

Other Pairings: TBA

Rating: T

Warnings: Thieveous Raccoons, Turtles, Hippos and crazy Cops with shock pistols o.O;

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Author's Note: Ah, a new update :) So excited haha! I'm sorry for the longer wait for this chapter – I ran into a few roadblocks with this one especially since you actually learn about Jenna in this chapter and you get to meet the only animal that she's legitimately scared of…I'll leave it at that and let you throw virtual inanimate objects at me towards the end. I'm not going to go into too much detail in the author's note, rather I'll let you enjoy the story :)

Just a side note:

- If any of you are looking for an AMAZING Pirates of the Caribbean series, Why Fireflies Flash has an amazing Jack/OC pairing that completely blew my mind! If you're interested go check her out! It's a story that'll leave you wanting more for sure!

- If anyone is interested in a wicked Young Justice story, GraNNIeShufflez03 has one that's just simply amazing – no pairings, but defiantly lives up to the original show ;)

- If you want a really interesting Sly Cooper story, I've actually just stumbled upon one while looking through the archive and Deags has an awesome beginnings of a post-Sly 3 story that so far seems to trickle into the anticipated Sly 4: Thieves in Time plotline. It has an amazing plot so far (and only in 2 chapters) and I highly recommend it :) go and check it out!

- If you really want another really interesting Sly Cooper story, BananaB0mb has a well written Carmelita x Sly pairing that covers the very end of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves and into post-Sly 3. Very interesting! She also has a one-shot that covers Carmelita and Sly's father's relationship….REALLY brilliant…I suggest reading her stories – they're really good!

As I come through good stories I'll post them in my chapters so that you can go and check them out…for serious lol. Any of these stories can be accessed through my homepage via the Favorite Authors or Favorite Stories hyperlinks :) if you want the titles of the stories PM me and I'll let'cha know :D

A special thanks to all of my reviewers for chapter 6: BananaB0mb, GraNNIeShufflez03, boona, Why Fireflies Flash and Carmen Veiga:

Carmen Veiga: Haha as I was writing the pool scene I was laughing to myself. Jenna and Sly are very much in the same that they don't exactly stay mad – they just get even (of course this is reserved to their friends only, but you get what I mean lol). Anyway thanks for your review and I hope you enjoy this next chapter! :D

boona: Wow, thank you so much! I really wanted to capture the forming of their friendship here and I'm glad it turned out to be your favorite chapter yet :)! And of course! I'm always here to please my readers and I'm even happier that that scene made you smile ;D Lol, yes, thank you so much for that! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well and thank you for your review!

GraNNIeShufflez03: O.M.G. I won't even lie to you when I say I had to go back and read it again and you're right…of course, I added in the whole "Simba and Mufasa" voices and it only left me near hysterics…in fact, my mother had to poke her head into my room to see if I was okay (shakes head). And awww I'm glad I made you smile…I'd wager you felt all warm and tingly inside as well…hee hee! And thank you! I love Native American quotes and to know you, a Native American Enthusiast (I lived with you don't lie to me lol), found them fitting ;) Haha anyways thanks for the review, as always, and I hope you enjoy the chapter ;D

BananaB0mb: Haha! Yeah, during the summer I have a little more free time on my hands (grins). And thank you, I was sad to see my baby go – but thankfully I still have two more stories with those characters…I can cry at the end of the third one lol xD. And I'm really happy you enjoyed it! And it's funny you mention Jenna being jealous of Carmelita ;) You'll just have to wait and see how that plays out, but I can tell you that she does begin to get a little jealous lol. And thanks! I got really excited at how long it was haha :D Anyway thank you, as always, for your review and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Why Fireflies Flash: Haha yeah, this was a really fun chapter to write :D I'm glad you enjoyed their interactions and I'll admit, my favorite scene was the van as well :) Believe it or not, I found out about that through the comics (I hadn't been aware that there even were comics!) and it was absolutely adorable. My computer wouldn't let me see the whole thing so I had to fill in the parts about them getting detention, but I digress lol :) And yeah, she taught him how to swim, but he'll never use it hahahaha! And the rose…yes, that was put there on purpose and I'm actually kinda glad it made you nervous haha (rubs head sheepishly). But you'll learn later it's significance ;) OMG thank you! You definitely picked up on a huge part. Yes she did and that's why it's moving slowly – especially since both have their skeletons in their closets ;) Thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well and, as always, thank you for your review :D (P.S. Pirates is up ;D)

And another thank you to all who have subscribed or favorited this story :D You're all amazing!

Without further delay…on with the fiction!

Much Love,
timexgone23


A Dangerous Enterprise
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
07

The day before they were supposed to leave Monaco, Bentley had knocked on Jenna's door. Sly had managed to convince him to give her a chance and to get to know her a little better and so the reptile found himself standing awkwardly in front of her door.

"Just a second!" She came her muffled call from behind the door and Bentley pulled at the collar of his shirt, fidgeting nervously. A few seconds later, Jenna opened the door and offered the turtle a small smile. "Oh, Bentley, come on in." The turtle stepped into the room, watching as Jenna closed the door before moving back into the room. "So what do I owe the pleasure?" She smiled.

She's in a good mood, Bentley noticed and sighed, pushing his glasses up on his nose for a lack of anything to say before clearing his throat. "I…uhh, just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing." He gulped as Jenna quirked a brow at him before shrugging and tying her hair up into a fast messy bun at the back of her head and pulling an olive green zip up hoodie over her tank top.

"Well, I was going to just go check out the strip with Sly and Murray, but they were supposed to be here over an hour ago." She frowned with a sigh as she looked at her watch. Bentley frowned.

"They told me the same thing."

"Hmm…odd." She frowned as she ran a hand through her bangs before smiling slightly at him. "Well, would you like to join me in my search for the two miscreants we call teammates?"

"Sly falls under that category easily, but Murray is normally influenced…he wouldn't just easily leave us behind."

"Too true," Jenna nodded. "So shall we commence operation Wild Goose Chase?"

"That just solidifies that we are never letting you name a heist." Bentley smirked and earning a laugh from the wolf.

"Please, like you could've come up with better!" She smiled. "If it's anything like the one you named back in France, we're going to have some serious issues."

"Thunder Beak was a clever name."

"For bringing down a sign?" She inquired with a laugh. "Bentley, even I'm not that bad."

The turtle gaped openly at her. Sly's never going to hear the end of this that's for sure!

The two walked in silence for a long while before Bentley decided he should take Sly's advice in trying to get to know her, however, his definition of trying to "get to know her" was slightly different than the raccoon's. Where Sly was trusting, Bentley was not. The turtle sighed to himself, he knew that if they got any more attached then this could end badly if they realized exactly who they were dealing with: an Auteri. A deep frown came to Bentley's mouth as he thought about what he had read just on the internet, not even through his legitimate sources, and he was worried. The Auteri family was an incredibly powerful clan of assassins that roamed the Middle East for centuries before they began to show up in places like Italy and Spain. His concern was mostly placed upon the articles about their work – they were rumored to be able to complete an assassination without ever setting foot into the building itself, thus never getting caught as there was no evidence to convict. However, this only solidified his original fear of having her on the team…what if she became dangerous? Shaking the thought he looked up at the she-wolf to see that she was talking to a rather pretty crane at the front desk.

"No?" She sighed softly, pinching the bridge of her snout. "Okay…thank you anyway ma'am." The crane nodded before going back to her job, answering the phone of the front desk as it rang. Jenna stood before Bentley with a frown touching her lips. "She said she hasn't seen either one of them…"

This made the turtle nervous. What had she said! "What kind of description did you give that crane!"

The wolf's brow arched at his exclamation, her hands coming to rest on her hips as she shot him a bemused look. "I told her you were all international criminals," She rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping heavily from her statement. "I just asked her if she had seen a raccoon or a hippo walking about down here…I didn't really give too much detail."

"What did you say exactly?"

"Bentley, chill." The wolf huffed, "I don't plan on ratting you guys out any time soon. I just asked her if she had seen a raccoon and a hippo, male, walking around at any point this morning." She rolled her eyes. "The receptionist had just come in for work so it didn't really help me…and for the record, there are a lot of other hippos and raccoons in the world other than Murray and Sly…just throwing that out there."

"Whatever, let's just find them."

"Easy Bentley, no need to get your trousers in a twist." Jenna eyed the turtle carefully before the two of them made their way out of the hotel. Folding her arms over her chest the wolf snorted softly to herself. If this is the way that her day with Bentley was going to go she was going to tell Sly just where exactly he could shove his cane. A fair punishment for standing her and the turtle up; not only leaving the two of them to their own devices, but forcing them to spend more than five minutes alone…together. She frowned suddenly as the thought of spending more time with the obnoxious turtle crossed her mind. Didn't Sly and Murray realize that the two of them obviously did not get along? It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them to simply avoid the subject for fear of hurting Sly and Murray, but it was obvious the two had noticed the tension between the two of them and were trying to fix it in the only way they knew how. Returning to the task of finding the two missing members of the Cooper gang (if only to relieve herself time spent with the turtle – moment's she knew she'd never get back) she sighed. "Where do you think they could be?"

The turtle looked up at her out of the corner of his eye and sighed, "If the two of them are doing this on purpose, which I'm almost certain they are, they're gonna be hard to find."

"Why's that?"

Bentley pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Jenna, they're master thieves. If they don't want to be found they're not going to be found."

"All well and good," The wolf remarked in her own exasperation with his attitude. "But that doesn't help narrowing down the search for the two of them." She rolled her eyes at the simplicity of it. "Seriously Bentley you're the brains of the outfit and you've known them the longest, they're your friends, where do you think they are?"

"Well Murray is drawn to food…so maybe the local shops will yield results." Jenna rolled her eyes.

"Okay so…let's go."

~ 2 hours later ~

"I swear to whatever deity exists in this world; that raccoon is getting smacked when I find him."

Bentley looked up at the agitated she-wolf and sighed, "Why don't we head back to the hotel?"

"Sure," She frowned with a nod. "It seems to be our only option."

The two walked back to the hotel in silence. Jenna and Bentley had spent almost two hours arguing with one another about where they could find the other two members of the Cooper gang, the entire time the wolf stating that she felt as if someone was watching them. Every time it was brought up the turtle told her she was losing her mind and that if she spent as much time worrying about prying eyes she could've found Sly or Murray…or both. To say the wolf was annoyed was for a lack of better terms as she crossed her arms over her chest and walked next to the reptile.

As they got into the elevator Bentley felt his binocucom vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out, the red button on the top blinking and expressing that one of his teammates was trying to get in touch with him. The reptile placed the device to his eyes and pressed the flashing red button, Jenna watching in a new found curiosity. "What Sly?"

"That's Sly?"

Bentley waved her off and the wolf fell silent, her ears flattening as she eyed him dangerously. "Where are you?" It was silent for a few moments before the turtle sighed deeply. "Okay I'll bring her back to our room." He put the device away and shook his head. Jenna said nothing as the doors opened, too frustrated with the turtle to form words except foul ones. Bentley pushed his key card into the door and walked in, holding the door despite himself for Jenna. The wolf nodded her thanks and closed the door behind her and she quirked a brow.

Only these guys can make a hotel room look like a science lab. She shook her head slightly. I can only imagine what room service said…She was pulled from her musings as Murray smiled at her warmly. Jenna returned it, not one to remain mad for too long, as she laid herself on the bed so she was on her stomach next to him and his coloring books before grabbing one and some of the crayons. The hippo only smiled at the younger female. The two ignored Sly and Bentley who were arguing – well, it was more Bentley was speaking forcefully and Sly was smirking at him – simply content to spend their time with one another as the "Sly and Bentley" arguments rolled. It was very rare to see Sly be serious when it came to the arguments, actually, Jenna recalled that the only time that she had seen him serious was when he was arguing with Bentley about having her talk to Crimson Fletcher since none of the members spoke Italian…or Spanish, German, Tagalog or Vietnamese. Scratching her cheek with the back of her crayon she was suddenly thankful her father had forced her to study languages as it was something he told her she would need.

"So Jenna," The wolf looked up at Murray who had shifted so he was sitting Indian style on the bed, the coloring book in his lap. "How'd your day with Bentley go?" Eying him carefully Jenna could see the genuine curiosity and sighed.

"Um…all we did really was argue, but it wasn't all bad I guess." She shrugged. "How about you guys?"

"It was radical! We hung out here all day!"

"What?"

"Yeah, we hung out around the hotel and checked some things out." He shrugged, "We were mostly in the gym on the top floor."

"Oh really?" She inquired, eyeing the raccoon from across the room to see that he and Bentley were now on the computer and pulling up information on what appeared to be a tiger. "What do have there boys?"

"Another Clockwerk part surfaced in India," Sly answered with a frown as he observed the computer screen. Jenna frowned, standing from her position on the bed and placing her coloring book and crayons to the side, Murray following her, as she leaned on Sly's shoulder to look at the screen as well.

"So who's your next target?"

"A mysterious Spice Lord named Rajan, a self-made man who grew up poor on the streets of Calcutta. He started his life of crime selling illegal spices in the black market. Eventually growing his small outfit into a sizeable operation and earning himself a seat in the prestigious Klaww gang." The raccoon explained, "He's since crowned himself the "Lord of the Hills" and while he goes to convince others of his royalty...it's mostly to convince himself."

"Sounds charming," The wolf muttered shaking her head. Sly only chuckled.

"Yeah, true to form, he's holding a lavish ball in his newly purchased "Ancestral Palace" - the reason? To show off his latest acquisition: The Clockwerk Wings…" As he trailed off Jenna frowned. She didn't need to be told about his feelings on the wings. She had managed over the week to sneak into their room and read small passages from the Thievius Raccoonus and according to the descriptions in the passages they were the symbol of Sly's enemy. It had said that if you saw the wings silhouetted against the night sky it was already too late for you, especially if your name was Cooper. "Anyway, Rajan believes that displaying the wings will bring him prestige and maybe they will, but they're also bringing us."

"Right…so I guess we're loading up the van right?"

"It would appear so…let's try and make this as fast as possible and get to India…it's gonna take about a five day ride."

"Oh lord help us." Jenna sighed as she began roping wires around her shoulder and elbow, her eyes watching the members of the Cooper gang closely, "Five days in the van?"

"Just be happy it isn't a drive to China," Bentley remarked from the other side of the room as he began packing his computers into their respective cases. "That trip takes us at least a week and a half of driving."

Sly almost laughed at the expression on her face as she stared at the turtle, his smile widening as she grunted loudly, "Haven't you guys ever heard of airplanes, yeah, they're a hell of a lot faster than driving."

"We can't take a plane because of the parts," Bentley sighed in exasperation, nearly glaring at the wolf from the other side of the room. Sly was no fool, he could see the tension between the two – it was apparent that his plan to get them to get along hadn't worked out so well. He sighed heavily as Jenna snorted loudly, but otherwise said nothing.

It only took them an hour to pack the van and check out of the hotel. Jenna had taken the liberty, while the raccoon was checking out of their rooms, to change into her sweatpants again. If they were going to be traveling that long without any means of changing, she was sure she was going to be comfortable. Once more, the wolf was assigned to the back of the van next to Sly as Bentley had taken up navigations to India. Jenna didn't mind this arrangement as she was allowed to stretch herself out and not worry about the turtle complaining that her feet were in his general vicinity. Naturally, when he had complained during their trip from Paris to Monaco, she had only shifted so she was more than just in his esteemed bubble; needless to say, Murray had to pull over in order to help Sly stop that argument resulting in the two having to switch places.

The wolf frowned as she unrolled the parchment once more, her eyes falling once again upon the signature that was scripted beneath the quote. She knew, for a fact, that the quote was said by one of her mother's favorite tribes, but didn't understand the connection between the initials and the quote itself. The Sioux was a tribe that Jenna had spent hours upon hours studying her mother's tomes, finding them just as interesting as her mother had. Sighing she pinched her brow before her scowl deepened, "Hey Bentley?"

"Yes, Jenna?" She ignored the exasperation in his tone as she reread the small quote, her brows furrowing deeply.

"Do you still have my pocket watch?" She missed the look of confusion that Bentley and Sly shared before the turtle cleared his throat and nodded slowly.

"Yes…why?"

"Can I see it please?" When there was no movement the wolf looked up to see Bentley shooting her a strange look. "Today Bentley…" She rolled her eyes as she urged him to give her the watch. The turtle sighed before handing it over, watching carefully as Jenna opened the watch and took out the picture before flipping it over. Sly frowned, moving forward to see what she was looking at. "Well…this is certainly strange."

"What is?"

Jenna glanced at the raccoon out of the corner of her eye and frowned, her eyes tracing the image on the back of the photo. "This image…I've swear I've seen it before…but I can't be sure. It's too faded and too vaguely drawn." The wolf frowned as she shook her head. The image that was drawn on the back of her family photo was a circle and four lines hanging off of it with four matching shapes hanging from that, she could faintly make out the lines in the center of the circle as well as a paw print, however, the rest was lost to her eyes – appearing much older than what she was estimating. "It was in a few of my mom's books that I read when I was a kid." She frowned softly, before flipping the pocket watch over in her hands to the crest that was engraved. "Why would my dad leave something like this to me when he hated the fact my mother was Native American?"

"If it helps any, that crest is the Coat of Arms for the Genovese family."

Jenna looked up at Bentley with a furrowed brow, glancing back at both pieces before sighing. "It doesn't add up…especially if my dad's last name wasn't Genovese, it was Auteri."

"Well whichever it is, I'm sure the clues will pop out eventually."

"Somehow I doubt that." The wolf sighed before placing the photo back into the watch and closing it, looping the chain around her neck and pulling up her hood. The van had fallen silent once more and the wolf sighed, fingering the chain around her neck thoughtfully. None of the things she had managed to figure out about herself were adding up and she was beginning to lean more and more towards what Murray had suggested when she had first gotten the rose. Frowning suddenly she looked up at the raccoon who was sitting across from her. "Sly, what did you ever do with my phone?"

"Um…" By the sheepish look on his face she knew immediately that something had happened to it and she sighed.

"Never mind."

"Sorry Jen."

"It's no problem Sly, I figured I'd ask." She shrugged. Mentally she cursed to herself before sighing. Not having a computer was beginning to become very frustrating to her research into her family lines. Wanting to know all of the answers was beginning to bubble to the surface along with her impatience and her desperation to know who she really was.

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She spent most of the trip trying to piece together everything together between the rose, the parchment and the pocket watch. On day four, she was absolutely exhausted and, like Sly, spent most of her time napping when possible. Blinking up at the ceiling of the van she sighed heavily before murmuring the question of the hour, "Are we there yet?"

"For the seventh time in the last hour, Jenna, no."

"Hey Bentley,"

"What?"

POP!

"Will you stop with the annoying questions and sounds!"

Sly had originally been amused by her antics, but even he too was beginning to grow tired of the constant arguing and he pinched the bridge of his snout as Jenna popped her gum once more. He shot a look to Murray who was looking at him almost pleadingly as the turtle cringed in the passenger seat, obviously at the end of his last nerve. "Alright everyone just calm down. Jenna please stop trying to annoy Bentley; Bentley the more you ignore her, the better off you are."

Jenna rolled her eyes, returning her attention back onto the pocket watch around her neck. Sly sighed heavily in relief as the two seemed to do as he asked and turned his eyes to the front window so that he could see how close they actually were to Rajan's Ancestral Palace. A smile came to his face as he was able to see the palace in the distance, he was now wide awake after his day long nap.

"Alright guys we're here."

"Finally!" Jenna sighed in relief as Murray parked. She wasted no time in exiting the van and stretching. They hadn't stopped for the entire length of the trip except to refuel and stock up on snacks and drinks and Jenna was stiff. She popped her back and sighed in relief before turning and helping the guys move the equipment into the old watch tower that they would be using as their safe house. After moving the last of the boxes she began to unload the wires for Bentley's computers and taped them down so that none of them would trip on them before making her way to setting up the hammock. She sighed looking around their makeshift safe house, noticing that Bentley had already sent Sly out on his reconnaissance mission, the turtle himself on his computer and Murray sitting off to the side napping, she slipped out of the safe house and made her way to the van.

Maybe I can…Jenna's thought stopped when she noticed the Thievius Raccoonus sitting on the front seat. Curiosity got the better of her and instead of looking further into her history, she picked the thick, leather bound book off of the seat. As she flipped through the pages, she realized that Sly had already taught her some of the moves explained, however, her interest peeked when her eyes came across Clockwerk's name. With a furrowed brow she scanned the pages, it seemed as if each Cooper Clan member wrote detailed notes, not only on their personal thieving moves, but on their enemy as well. How then, with the warning of several ancestors, did Clockwerk manage to wipe out each member? And how was it that Sly had no idea who exactly he was dealing with until recently? Shaking her head she turned her eyes to the passage by Sly's late ancestor, Rioichi Cooper – creator of the ninja spire jump. After reading the passages from Sly's ancestor from Egypt, she had managed to read up until the more recent passages, unbeknownst to Sly himself.

She was half way through the passage when the door of the van opened resulting in her to jump, slam the book shut and turn to the source of the sound to see Sly grinning at her smugly.

Jerk.

"So this is what you've been up to…" He chuckled as her when her surprised look turned slightly sheepish. "You know if you would've asked I wouldn't have minded letting you read it."

"Oops?"

"C'mon," Sly laughed with a shake of his head, "We need you back in the safe house."

"Me? Why me?" Sly didn't answer her as he took the book from her hands and motioned for her to the safe house with a smile. She sighed following after the raccoon and taking a seat at the small table, Bentley having set up the power point for the sequence of their next missions. The turtle nodded to the two of them before pressing the start button, the first image sliding into place.

"Stealing the Clockwerk wings in the middle of a crowded ballroom is going to take some serious misdirection and the squad of undercover cops only makes things more complicated. Although, we might be able to use them to our advantage," As Bentley turned the slides she was able to recognize Neyla and Carmelita among other officers, but when he flashed the last image of the officers at the party her heart stopped. Sly, taking notice of her now stiff posture frowned, sharing a look with Bentley before nudging her.

"You okay?"

Jenna snapped out of her trance and looked at the raccoon before nodding. "Y-yeah…why wouldn't I be?"

"Just making sure…"

The next look of suspicion that Sly and Bentley shared went completely unnoticed to the wolf as she contemplated the officer's image. What's he doing here! Bentley cleared his throat before continuing, "But no matter what we do in the ballroom sooner or later we'll need to deal with Rajan's security chopper. Murray can take it out with some of the local armaments, but he won't be able to get inside until Sly lowers the drawbridge for him…Jenna, you'll be accompanying Sly in the ballroom."

Jenna nodded her head mutely, not at all registering what the turtle had said as her mind was still preoccupied. As the slideshow finished, Sly left the safe house to complete his next job and Jenna took the time to quench her angry stomach, all the while remaining completely silent. She barely heard Sly speaking to Bentley from his computer as she frowned. If that man was here at this party, she was sure that things were going to be getting extremely sticky for whatever the Cooper Gang was going to do to lift the wings from the ballroom. Running a hand through her hair she sighed, resting her head on her arm. She had just managed to doze off when she was being shaken awake once more and she grumbled, opening her eyes to see Bentley staring at her.

"Jenna you gotta get ready."

"Ready?" She frowned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Ready for what?"

"The ballroom…remember? You're in that mission."

"Wait…when was that decided!" She frowned as she rubbed her head. "Bentley, I have nothing to wear."

"Oh yes you do." Jenna turned her head to see Sly standing there with a long box in his hand, a smirk twitching at his lips. "I think I got your size right." When she shot Bentley a questioning look the turtle sighed heavily in exasperation.

"Sly is going to need your help in the ballroom Jenna, he can't just show up by himself it would look too suspicious. He'd look much more respectable while accompanying a lady." He waited for this to register in the wolf's mind before sighing once more as she shook her head.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, Bentley you've got to be kidding me!"

"You complained in Paris about not having a job, this is your opportunity to prove that you can be an asset to this Gang." Bentley's breath hitched at the deadly glare she shot him before taking the box from Sly and grumbling something under her breath, retreating to the side room of the safe house. "Well…that went better than I expected." Sly only laughed before suiting up in the tuxedo he had managed to steal.

Jenna cursed as she pulled the dress out of the box and placed it to the side. She was suddenly thankful for the zip up she was wearing as she began the process of taming her hair. Inside the box, she had noticed that Sly had managed to steal her a few necessary items in order to make her job easier: Bobby pins and a small make up bag. He had probably not realized what it had been when he had taken it, but Jenna was glad he had. Twirling her hair into a French twist, she pinned her hair, allowing the excess to tumble over her shoulder, having pinned her bangs back away from her face, two stray stands managing to avoid the pins and fall to frame her face. She then added light make up to her eyes and the red stain she had found to her lips. If she was going to make this look realistic then she was going to go all the way. When she got to pulling on the dress she realized that the zipper was in the back and was going to give her problems. Sighing in exasperation she managed to zip the zipper, after struggling as her arm would not reach back that far before appraising herself in the mirror. For a quick change she didn't look half bad, or so she thought.

Sly sighed, he knew that it would take her longer to get ready, but he hadn't realized that she would take this long. Looking at his watch he looked to Bentley who was beginning to become impatient as well and just as he was about to open his mouth the door she had disappeared behind opened and the three friends found themselves looking at each other in surprise before looking back to the wolf. Being used to seeing the only female of their group in sweatshirts, pants and jeans on a normal daily basis had managed to leave them speechless when she managed to dress up. The dress Sly managed to steal was sleeveless and tinted a deep blue with a lighter blue running through the fabric that made it shimmer, but having been the one to steal it he knew it wasn't glitter. The dress framed the wolf's figure affectionately, the fabric loosening around her hips and fanning out across her feet loosely. She wore white gloves that reached her upper arms, and her dark hair was pulled over her shoulder from the bun that it had been placed in at the back of her head. Needless to say he was impressed.

(A/N: To get the idea about her hair, think Belle from Beauty and the Beast when she was in her yellow ballroom dress – her hair is styled similarly.)

"Well?" She questioned, obviously embarrassed with the attention as she wrung her hands together. "Does the dress have shoes?" Sly shook himself of his thoughts before nodding, picking the shoes off of the chair and handing them to her. Jenna thanked him quietly before sitting down and pulling on her shoes, before tucking her necklace into the front of her dress she turned and offered Sly a small smile. "Well…are we ready to go?"

"Uh…yeah." He cleared his throat, Jenna quirked a brow before chuckling. "What?"

"You tied your bow-tie wrong doofus." She smirked before fixing it and placing her hands on her hips. "There, now let's go get this done." As the two exited the safe house Sly stopped her as they came to the stream. "How're we both supposed to get across?"

"Well, that's easy princess." Sly chuckled before picking her up and using the spire jump to cross the conical rocks just before the water fall. As he made it across he placed her on her feet and smirked before offering her his arm. Jenna rolled her eyes with a small smile before looping her arm through his. When she first saw one of the rhino guards her heart dropped, only for her to release the sigh she hadn't realized she was holding and earning a small chuckle from the raccoon. "Didn't think they'd scare you."

"Well considering we spend most of our time avoiding them, walking right into one of them nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Relax, you're with me remember?"

"There's no need to remind me." The wolf chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Now…what exactly are we supposed to do?"

"For now, we're supposed to scope out the ballroom and then if Bentley has any more information for us, we'll move." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she nodded. "Jenna," He paused, stopping her just before the palace and smiling at her. She eyed him as he took a ring out of his pocket and placing it on her left ring finger. "Let's make this as believable as possible…"

"Sure…" She grumbled, a deep blanket of red falling across her cheeks. "Honey."

He chuckled before turning towards the door. "You ready?" She nodded again and Sly knocked on the front door.

"You got your tuxedo now sir?" Jenna quirked a brow at the raccoon as he nodded smoothly.

"Of course I do, I'm here to dance."

"Then come on in."

"You tried to get in here before without a tux?"

"Um…yeah, Bentley overlooked the necessity of formal wear."

"Naturally," She rolled her eyes as she allowed the raccoon to lead her into the ballroom. She grunted as the earpiece in her ear beeped, signifying that Bentley was trying to get in touch with her. "What's up Bentley?"

"Now guys, your disguises are working perfectly! No one will recognize you two in those outfits. Now, during the heist, Sly, you'll need to dance with Carmelita to keep both her and the crowd distracted. The only problem is she's picky about dance partners so you'll need to impress her first." Sly looked at Jenna out of the corner of his eye and nodded towards Neyla.

"Alright, I've got just the girl for the job." He smirked before leaning into Jenna's ear. "We could use Neyla to our advantage here…"

"You're thinking what I'm thinking?" Jenna questioned quietly. "Let's go over and talk to her." Sly nodded and the two made their way over to the Constable. Sly smiled at her widely.

"Constable Neyla you look lovely this evening."

"I'm sorry," She seemed surprised that someone knew who she was, the tigress having looked miserable before the two had made their way over to her. "Do I know you?"

"My lovely wife used to chase after you back in Paris."

"Paris…? Sly Cooper!" She questioned, her eyes widening before looking to Jenna, "And Jenna! You two aren't here by any chance to turn yourselves in? Old Ironsides would fall out of her dress." Neyla chuckled glancing at the fox out of the corner of her eye. Jenna chuckled along with her and Sly smiled.

"As good as that sounds, we need your help actually…"

"I'm listening."

"You obviously know why we're here, but in order for my…husband to dance with Old Ironsides, we need to impress her…Do you think you'd be able to dance with Sly after me in order to get her attention?"

"You don't think she'll pay any attention with just you?" Neyla questioned and Jenna shook her head slowly. "You're probably right, she doesn't exactly know you so it wouldn't be as eye catching as if she was to dance with someone familiar that she knew."

"Right," She nodded with a smile. "So just to give you an idea we're Connor," She gestured to Sly, "And Alexis –"

"Harris." Sly smirked as Jenna had run blank on a last name and she shot him a glare in response.

"Harris and we're old friends from high school." Jenna finished with a grin. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all Jenna, anything to see the expression on her face if she finds out it's Cooper," Jenna nodded as the tigress smiled widely.

"Okay, thanks for your help Neyla."

"Anytime."

Sly nodded to her in thanks as well before holding out his hand to the wolf, "Now that we know what we're doing, would you care for a dance?" Jenna, playing along nodded, accepting his hand and grinning.

"But of course." She winked at Neyla who shook her head as the two took their positions on the dance floor as the orchestra struck up on a flamenco number. "Flamenco?" Sly shrugged as he took the position he needed and smirked at her.

"Too much for ya princess?" Jenna only smirked.

"Ha! You would like that wouldn't you?" During the course of the dance, Jenna and Sly kept the easy jokes going in order to make it look like they were enjoying themselves to the spectators – as they were, but would never admit it – especially since the nature of the dance was fiery and upbeat. The wolf felt extremely content, happy that she was able to dance with someone who was relatively gifted. "I didn't know you could dance." She commented as he spun her before shuffling once more, leading her through each step naturally and giving her an opportunity to actually enjoy herself without worrying that he was going to step on her feet.

"Of course I can." He chuckled, "I managed to pick up a few things over the years."

"Don't tell me that you learned how to do this by watching videos."

"If I said yes would that change your opinion any?" He questioned as his brow arched in amusement, a smile flickering upon his lips and earning a laugh from the wolf.

"I would've said yes, but I'm too impressed that you actually know what you're doing to comment." She smirked, the raccoon grinning as he led her into another shuffle and spin before dipping her as the end of the song came about. "You actually never cease to amaze me."

"So glad that I've won your approval," The raccoon smirked as he pulled her up, the wolf leaning into his chest and chuckling. "Shall we beautiful?"

"As much as I would love another dance at the moment, you need to dance with Neyla and win Carmelita's approval, remember?" For a moment she could see the surprise in his face as he seemed to just remember why they were there in the first place and she felt flattered for a moment before taking his hand, making sure to keep up the appearances of them being a couple before making their way back to Neyla.

"You two are amazing dancers!" Neyla smiled. "You both looked spectacular out there."

"Thank you Neyla." Jenna blushed earning a playful nudge from Sly before he smiled at the tigress. "Constable Neyla, may I have this dance?"

"Enchanté." She smiled, taking his hand and allowing herself to be led to the dance floor. Jenna smiled as she watched the two dance, the orchestra playing a tango. She was nursing a glass of punch in her hand and watching the raccoon and tigress dance, chatting casually as he led her through each step. She was observing each guest, her eyes catching Carmelita who stood near Rajan's ancestral statue with her eyes transfixed on the dance. Looks like the fish is taking the bait

"Excuse me, miss." Jenna turned and almost choked on her drink as the large tiger stood next to her, a demure smile twitching at his lips, his posture stating that he was the host of this particular party, a posture of pride and Jenna suddenly felt very small. She immediately got her act in check and curtsied, bowing her head in respect.

"Lord Rajan, it is an honor."

"Please, you do not need to be so formal." He smiled widely and Jenna straightened, glancing at Sly out of the corner of her eye to see that he was now watching them closely, his face tight with sudden anxiety. She dropped her hand to her side and gave him a sign to relax and he nodded slightly before she returned the tiger's smile. "You are quite an accomplished dancer."

"Thank you," She bowed her head again and smiled. "My husband and I are absolutely enjoying your party and are honored to be here." She noticed a sudden tightness to the tiger's face and she held her breath. Her intention had not been to anger him and so she decided to change the subject. "And the wings on your family's statue are absolutely exquisite." She heaved a mental sigh of relief when he smiled.

"Yes they do add a mystery do they not?"

"They most certainly do." She agreed with a smile while internally cringing, "Very beautiful."

"And I must inquire, while the wings are beautiful, yes, what a beauty such as yourself is called?"

Cue self-induced vomiting here.

Jenna cringed to herself as she smiled shyly, her act getting harder and harder to maintain at his obvious advances. Jenna was not the type that was normally sweet and innocent, her natural demeanor quirky and sarcastic, but nothing near…cute. "Mrs. Alexis Harris, my lord."

"Well Mrs. Harris, perhaps we may later share a dance?" He questioned, suddenly seeming very shy and it took the wolf for a loop and she suddenly felt sorry for the tiger. Not seeing the harm and smiled and curtsied once more.

"I would be honored." The smile that appeared on his face made Jenna a little nervous as he bowed, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.

"Until later madam," Jenna bowed her head before standing straight as Sly and Neyla finished their dance and made their way back towards Jenna, who quickly met them half way before taking Sly's arm shooting him a thankful look.

"Thank you, that was delightful."

"Thank you Constable Neyla, after all, it takes two to tango." He smiled as the tigress nodded, a smile twitching upon her lips before turning into a frown as Carmelita began to make her way over towards the three of them.

"Yes, and three is always a crowd."

"Neyla, your friend is quite an accomplished dancer." Neyla smiled despite her obvious dislike of the fox, crossing her arms casually.

Jenna watched the two carefully, making it more pronounced that she was with Sly as the fox was obviously captivated. "I tried to make him look good." The tigress joked earning a scowl from the Latina.

"Please Neyla," She sneered. "His skills far surpass yours."

Jenna decided it was time to make her presence known as she eyed the fox. "Well he still has a lot to learn." She smiled tightly, patting his arm for emphasis and she nearly narrowed her eyes as Carmelita looked at her. She appraised her and the ring on her finger before eyeing Sly, a flirtatious smile appearing on her lips that made Jenna's blood boil.

"Well regardless he's quite talented."

Sensing an argument, especially when Jenna slipped her arm from his, he decided to make his move. "Then perhaps you and I might share a dance Miss…?"

"Miss Fox," She answered quickly as she tucked a hair away from her face. "Carmelita Fox and I accept."

Jenna frowned deeply before turning as she was tapped on the shoulder and she nearly died at who was standing behind her. "Would you have a moment to talk miss?" The wolf eyed the older male carefully and nodded slowly before turning towards Neyla and hugging her. While no one had been looking she had slipped her ear piece out and as she hugged the tigress she slipped the piece onto the strap of her dress underneath her hair so that they'd have an ear on the inside. She then turned and followed the wolf who had caught her attention, suddenly wishing that Sly had noticed her at that moment, however, his attention was on the fox. "I have to inquire why exactly you're here…Jenny."

The she-wolf gulped as the older wolf took her by the crook of her arm and led her away from the party. There was really only one person she was terrified of in her entire life and that was her older brother. Samuel Alexander Sheppard was bad news and most of her misery as a child was thanks to him. The fact that he had managed to recognize her as easily as he had now had the eighteen year old completely terrified as he dragged her along, a deep frown twitching at his lips. Growing tired of him dragging her around she tried pulling her arm from him only to yelp as he jerked her roughly, swinging her into a wall and pinning her there.

"Sam…"

"What are you doing here Jenny?" She cringed at the pet name, but said nothing as her breath caught in her throat. "Well? I'm waiting."

Sam was an imposing figure when he wanted to be, which is what made him so good in interrogation. He loved watching people squirm as they tried to work their way out of a situation and Jenna was convinced that he got off on doing it to her. Sam was a black wolf, like her father, with deep blue eyes that made him absolutely terrifying and was built very well with a board chest and shoulders and strong legs. "No answer, I figured as much." He growled before grabbing the scruff of her neck and pushing her forward. Had he not been holding the loose fur at the back of her head she would have stumbled. Grunting she tried as hard as she could to release his hold to no avail. The only thing she could do as she was pulled away from the palace was hope that Sly would realize she was missing and try to find her.

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"C'mon Jen where are you?" Sly frowned as he was perched on a stray tower with his binocucom to his eyes in search of the wolf. As soon as he had won Carmelita over he had turned to see that she was gone, Neyla had seen his distress and had mentioned that an Inspector Sheppard had led her away. He had been looking for her the last ten minutes when his ear piece beeped loudly in his ear. "What do you got for me Bentley?"

"I ran my RC Chopper to scan over the area and she's being dragged to the guest houses by a wolf…the same one from the pictures!" Sly cursed to himself. "But that's not all…turns out that's Jenna's older brother…rather, the guy who she grew up with as her older brother. Anyway, his name is Samuel Alexander Sheppard. He's a well known interrogator for Interpol – he has a perfect track record in admissions to crimes! This guy is a beast!"

"Well if this guy is anything like Jenna's hinted at, he's not something to play around with." Sly frowned before nodding. "I'm moving in, thanks pal."

"No problem, just be careful, this guy is no joke Sly!"

"Why?"

"Samuel Sheppard stands nearly at six foot and weighs one hundred and seventy-five pounds…that's significantly larger than your 5'8" at one hundred and twenty eight pounds…when wet."

"Thanks for the confidence boost there Bentley." Sly sighed. He had to admit the difference was significant and he could only imagine what he could do to Jenna who stood at barely five foot and two inches and one hundred and ten pounds – he doubted she was even that much sopping wet, but he digressed. Bentley's nasally tone came through his ear piece once more with a heavy sigh.

"Look Sly, as you know, I'm not a raving fan of Jenna by any means, but I don't want to see her get hurt no matter how suspicious I am. No one deserves to get batted around like a tennis ball…okay maybe the bad guys who deserve it, yes, but she's not THAT bad."

"Good to know we're on the same page…you're a good man Bentley."

"I try, now get going before something actually does happen…if my assumptions are correct (which they normally are), I assume that Jenna has been subject to abuse and if this guy is somewhat responsible, well, let's not go that far into it."

"Thanks pal."

"No problem partner."

Sly jumped from his perch and made his way to the main bridge that led to the guest houses before frowning as he caught the heated argument between the two wolves. He watched from the tunnel, not one to jump into a situation without thinking first, as Jenna glared at the older wolf though her stance said that she was nervous, despite the look on her face.

"I want to know what you're doin' here!"

"It's none of your business what I'm doing Sam." Jenna snapped. "You dipped out on taking care of me years ago, why, all of a sudden, do you want to know where I am and what I'm doing!"

Sly's fur bristled when the wolf grabbed the younger canine by the back of her head and Jenna's hands were immediately grabbing at his to release her. "You don't talk to me like you're suddenly entitled!"

"Sam let go!"

"I think you heard the lady."

Jenna's eyes turned to Sly and she winced as her brother's hold tightened on the back of her head. She would have been more apt to fight had she not been wearing a dress, but given that she was rather limited – especially now – she really had no other choice but to become submissive. Her brother then glared at her so hatefully that it made the fur on the back of her neck stand on end.

"I'd mind your own business pal." Sly didn't need to say anything as his molten optics narrowed dangerously, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. If he had to fight, he was more than ready, but first he needed to figure out how to get around Jenna. The she-wolf grunted as her brother jerked the back of her head once more as he returned his attention to her and though his tone deepened in intensity and had been lowered considerably, Sly was able to hear every word he was saying. "So, this is why you're out here! For a guy! You're a stupid bitch, out of all the things I've known you to be a slut wasn't one of 'em." He then released the scruff of her neck with a hard jerk that left the she-wolf's head reeling slightly. She quickly caught her bearings to see that her brother was now advancing on the raccoon. "So…you're the son-of-a-bitch that's dating my sister huh? She tell you about me?"

Just as Sly was about to open his mouth and move into his accustomed fighting stance, Jenna was in front of him with her arms behind her to push him back. "Sam back off!"

"Or what Jenny?" The raccoon noticed the twitch in her back as she lowered her stance slightly. "You're gonna pick a fight with me here?"

"Don't you have a cover to protect?" The she-wolf challenged. "Now instead of picking a fight with me I think you have an operation to head back in the ballroom do you not?"

Sam looked absolutely infuriated before stepping up to her so that he towered over her and she stepped up to meet him with surprising bravery, her eyes narrowed. "It'd be in your best interest to stay out of my way Jenny…you're lucky I'm in law enforcement."

"No luckier than you." Sly watched as her brother's hand twitched in movement to hit her before he lowered it and stalked around them and back over the bridge. When he was out of sight Jenna released a heavy sigh, the tension in her body easing simultaneously as she leaned back into the railing as the raccoon moved away from her. "I'm sorry you had to see that." She took his silence as a bad thing and she frowned, rubbing the back of her head before standing up and beginning to walk away. She jumped as a hand stopped her and she looked up to see the most serious expression she had ever seen on the raccoon's face since she'd met him. "Sly?" She watched as the raccoon turned her to him before touching the back of her head gently.

"Are you okay?"

To say that she was surprised was an understatement. "!"

"Are you okay?" He frowned as she seemed shocked he would ask, but despite her seeming surprise she nodded slowly and he sighed. "This isn't the first time that this has happened has it?"

"Canine's weakness…" She muttered as she pinched her brow before looking away. "You control our head, you control our movement. It's something our mothers do when we're pups in order to keep us in check…as we get older we maintain a small amount of scruff at the back of our necks…that and the dominant versus submissive complexes that we carry. Out of the two of us, Sam's the alpha." She explained softly. There was a lapse of silence between her and the raccoon and he watched her carefully before extending his hand towards her.

"Walk with me?" Jenna stared at him incredulously, taking his hand and allowing him to tuck it through his arm. For a few moments it was silent before Sly sighed, clearing his throat. "Jenna, I don't want to sound straightforward with this, but I've noticed that every time you talk about your family you either twitch or touch a certain part of your body…what did they do to you?" He watched her carefully as she absorbed the question before sighing deeply and closing her eyes as she untucked her hand from his arm and instead crossing her arms over her chest almost as if she was hugging herself.

"Discipline was my father's middle name…" She began softly. "He believed that a few smacks off the top of the head would knock sense into anyone, but it was mostly my brother. I don't remember a time he was ever exactly the upstanding family member that took care of me. If we weren't fighting physically I was ignored or was shot some snide comment. I began to rebel and our fights got worse." She suddenly frowned and Sly noticed a hardened look overcome her features. "Fighting has always been in my blood and after my brother brought me up on charges, my father decided it was best to channel my aggression through Martial Arts, but being the instructor's daughter wasn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world." She ignored Sly as she continued, though she could feel the tension beginning to form. "It only got worse after my mother disappeared…the constant verbal battery was only the beginning…we fought about the stupidest things; how I was dressing, who my friends were and how I looked in general." She shivered lightly as the cool air hit her bare shoulders and she jumped as she felt something wrap around them, her eyes turning to Sly to see that he was now without the jacket to his tux, Jenna having moved further away from him in her discomfort of the subject.

He offered her a weak smile of comfort before sighing softly, motioning to the side. It was obvious he wanted to discuss the matter further and without the opinions of Bentley and Murray and she was grateful for it as she was already uncomfortable speaking about it in the first place. "What do you mean…how you looked?"

"I've always been…small for my breed," She frowned, brushing a stray hair away from her face and sighing deeply. "In both height and weight and my brother enjoyed pointing it out whenever he got the chance. His main focus came about mostly when I started dating and he thought I was…open for lack of better terms." Sly had taken notice that she was angry about it and it struck a cord within him as well and he had to stuff his hands into his pockets to keep his anger in check, it wasn't often that he got angry about something, but this was just plain cruel. "He started accusing me and at one point he and my father ganged up on me about it and decided the best way to deal with it was locking me in my room for days on end after stripping it of everything but my bed and dresser, needless to say, I got really good about picking a lock with nothing but a safety pin." She chuckled mirthlessly, running her fingers over the shell of her left ear where a large gap could be seen and she sighed.

"Did he do that to your ear?" When Jenna nodded he had to hold down a growl.

"For my sixteenth birthday I got it pierced and during one of our fights he ripped it out because he didn't like it…it was the same night he brought me up on domestic charges."

"And your father didn't do anything about this?"

Jenna shook her head, "He never knew." Receiving a look of confusion from the raccoon she clarified, "One thing we did an awfully good job about was keeping our scuffles to ourselves as it's natural for wolves to fight with one another for dominance, however, when he brought me up on charges he had them brushed under the table…I think he was in denial about any of it actually happening and with his favorite child no less. My father blamed it on my mother leaving us, but my brother just did it out of maliciousness…he always had been more aggressive than necessary." She rolled her eyes as she said this and sighed.

The two lapsed into another silence before Sly gathered his thoughts enough to ask his next question. The raccoon didn't like to be so forward with a situation that was as delicate as this one, but his curiosity was now peeked and he needed to satisfy those inquiries so he could gauge how he needed to act with her. It was clear to him that Jenna was not as strong as she appeared, though she managed to keep herself in check. He vaguely remembered one of the children from the orphanage that had been brought in battered and bruised after being taken away from an abusive family and Sly couldn't fathom how someone could do something so cruel to their own children. Finally he settled on a question.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

The she-wolf frowned deeply in confusion, "Tell you about what?"

"That you knew him and how dangerous he was." Sly answered with a deepening scowl, "We could've helped you know." Jenna was silent for a few moments before bowing her head slightly.

"I didn't think that was an option…it's bad enough you guys are still skeptical of me," She looked up so she made eye contact with the raccoon to express her seriousness. "If I told you I was related to him it would have only made things worse."

After a few moments of silence Sly frowned. He knew the wolf was right – it certainly wouldn't have helped her situation any more than they already knew about her and he could understand her reasoning, but he couldn't understand why she wouldn't trust them with the knowledge of how dangerous he was. Finally the raccoon looked firmly at her with a steeled will. "Jenna," She raised her eyes to meet the molten optics that belonged to Sly, "There's nothing wrong with you…don't believe what they say for a single second because it's not true. You don't ever have to worry about them again if you don't want to. You're a different person, you're not related to them and you're not any of those things…they don't deserve you."

Jenna was absolutely speechless as his words hit her like an anvil. The seriousness of his tone only strengthened the sincerity behind his words and she felt an overwhelming relief wash over her. The only person she had ever told about this was her best friend, Stevie, who had been her next door neighbor since she moved to Bridgewater. Without a word she stood and embraced the raccoon tightly, resting her head against his chest and taking in his scent, a deep pine with a hint of soft musk that was natural to him and comforting to her. Jenna had never been openly affectionate to anyone, especially a guy, but at that moment she felt compelled to show something other than her normal cool exterior.

Sly held her for a few moments, never one to turn down affection, but for a moment he had seen something in Jenna that he hadn't noticed before and that was fear. She was scared to admit what had happened to her and even more fearful to explain it, he was able to tell just by the way she avoided his eyes while speaking. He had noticed that she had pretended like he wasn't there and it concerned him; despite only knowing her for a few weeks he felt connected to her – how he wasn't sure, but he was most certainly connected to her. He found her to be refreshing as she had become a quick friend to him, offering advice and not judging him and he felt she deserved the same. However, the issue of her brother now on their tail was concerning and he knew that it wouldn't be the last time that they would run into him. He was brought back to reality when Jenna unraveled her arms from around his waist and he offered the younger female a smile.

"Thanks Sly."

"It appears as if I'm actually going to need that recorder…" He smiled as Jenna laughed, wiping her eyes and nodding. She was thankful for the change in subject as she was never one to talk openly about herself or the rocky relationship she had with her older brother. Shaking this thought she managed a watery smile.

"It appears so." Sly offered his arm once more and Jenna took it, allowing the raccoon to lead her back towards the safe house. "By the way, was that jealousy I was sensing from you back in the ballroom?" He chuckled as the wolf's face contorted into one of disdain at the mention, her brow twitching ever so slightly. Cute.

"Freaking Harlot," The wolf grumbled, "She obviously saw that you had a wedding band on your left hand…I swear Sly that just spells "bad news" out in bold, italicized and underlined letters…in caps!" Sly laughed at her obvious vexation and smirked at her widely.

"So you were jealous."

"Jealous! Of her!" Jenna cried as she looked up at him incredulously, "That's probably the furthest thing from the truth! I mean, think about it, she got all fired up because she watched you dance…that shit's just creepy…and weird…and just…creepy!" She quirked a brow when he began laughing harder. "What it's true! She's gotta be like, what, five years older than you! That's just weird…"

"And how old do you think I am?" Sly quirked a brow with a…sly…grin, a mischievous glimmer entering his eye that made the wolf consider the statement carefully.

"I don't know, nor is it important." She remarked quickly as she returned her eyes back to the path before them. "I swear, her breed is all messed up. She shoulda been a cougar."

Sly shook his head with a smirk twitching his lips. "You never cease to amaze me."

"Good, it keeps things interesting."

He quirked a brow at her before nudging her lightly, "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"Sly…shut up."

The raccoon only laughed loudly in response, the wolf shaking her head at his sudden playfulness and sighing. It was going to be a long night.


(Dodges aforementioned, virtual inanimate objects) I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Lol. Sam's certainly a charmer isn't he (please take note of my sarcasm here). There's a very large back story here about Sam that you'll eventually find out as the story goes on...I'll leave it at that lol.

Anyway, as always, reviews are lovely and appreciated, but not mandatory for an update. I'll try and have chapter 8 out soon :)

Much Love,
timexgone23