.~*Chapter Nine*~.
"That's Lei… That's my sister," Al growled, absolutely furious. He turned and faced the FBI team. "You people told me she was dead!" he shouted slamming his fist on the table in anger.
"Al, calm down. Now is not the time for this," Henry said, trying to dissipate the tension in the air.
It had the opposite effect with Al. "Don't you dare tell me what ta do, Henry Taylor!" he snarled. "They told me that she was dead! For fifty freakin' years, I thought my twin was gone! I thought I was the only one left of my o'ginal family!"
The pepper furred bear blinked, then growled. "Alan, I said to calm down. You don't need to make this situation any worse than it already is. Yes, I know what they did was wrong, but that is neither here nor now. Besides, it wasn't this group that told you that. Don't take it out on them."
The gray bear scowled at him, but did his best to calm down.
However, now there was another furious being in the room, and she would not calm down.
"This is all your fault!" Allison screeched, pointing accusingly at Henry, Al, Trixie, and Tennessee. She was standing, her eyes full of fury. "If Beary had never met any of you two years ago, none of this would have happened! You caused this! You put his life in danger!"
"This isn't our fault!" Tennessee argued. "Why would we have our own daughter kidnapped?! Why would we put her or Beary in that kind of danger?!"
"Because you don't care! You didn't even know that Jewel was your daughter until a year ago! Where were you the rest of the time? All those years when you should have been there, and you weren't!"
The brown bear's claws dug into the table and his upper lip curled as he began to snarl. Next to him, Trixie was beginning to do the same.
The human female then pointed solely at Henry. "As for you… What the hell gives you the right to come for him after all those years?! You had eight years to come and take him home, but you didn't! And now you're claiming that he's your son?! Some father you are! You had a responsibility to him, and you just abandoned him! You don't deserve a child!"
The silence that followed her statement was deafening. No one could believe she had really just said what she did.
Henry blinked several times, absolutely stunned. A million thoughts raced through his mind, and he briefly wondered if he shouldn't have, in fact, told the others that Beary was his son. Did he really have any right to go and try to take his son back after so many years? Should he have just left everything alone?
Had he really just abandoned his three-year-old son all those years ago…? All this time, he thought he had been protecting him… Was it really the opposite?
"Ally, that was out of line," Norbert said, gripping his wife's arm.
Henry looked at the table and sighed. "No… She's right. I did abandon him," he said softly. "I never should have come back for him, or put you two on the spot like that. You two raised him and I didn't. I'm not his father… Norbert is. I… I won't bother you again." With that, he sighed again and walked out of the room.
Trixie and Tennessee watched him leave with wide eyes. They couldn't believe he would give up just like that. Al, too, was surprised that his brother-in-law would give in so easily. Kaspian and Kenya both knew that their uncle was hurting something awful, but they, too, were shocked that he gave up on his son. However, the siblings didn't have time to dwell on the matter as they got back to work.
Norbert looked away from his wife, not wanting to show the disappointment he felt in her. He couldn't believe that his normally sweet and gentle wife would say anything like that.
That was nothing compared to how the redhead felt as she watched Henry walked out the door. She had regretted the words as soon as they had come out of her mouth. She wanted to take them back, but it was too late. Henry was gone.
Now all she wanted to do was curl up in her husband's arms and cry her heart out.
.~*The Country Bears*~.
Dexter Barrington sighed, holding his head in his hands. He was sitting up, the head of the bed tilted upwards at a seventy degree angle. He couldn't believe that he had lost his temper and thrown that glass pitcher at his girlfriend and Roadie. It had been many hours since then, but he just couldn't get it out of his mind. How could he have been so stupid?! It wasn't Roxi's fault!
Beary and Jewel were gone… It was his fault… No one else's. He had practically handed them off. He should've protected them, but he failed!
A sudden knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Dex? Can I come in?"
Dex looked up, surprised to see his father standing in the doorway. "Dad? What are you doing here?" he asked softly, looking back at his lap. "Where's Mom?"
"She is talking to Henry. She said a couple things she shouldn't have, and so she's apologizing… At least, I think that's where she went… She'll be in to visit you in a bit." Norbert sighed as he walking into the room, sitting on one of the chairs. He looked at his son. "I know what happened, Dex. Roxi told us everything… And we saw the security footage… At least what survived the fire."
"Then there's nothing to talk about," the teen answered bitterly. "It was my fault that they were taken."
"Don't you even dare think about that, Dexter. It was not your fault. You didn't even get a chance to do anything. You were shot before you could."
The eighteen-year-old refused to look at him, or acknowledge what he said.
"Dex, I mean it. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. No one knew this was going to happen. If we had, we would've prevented it," the older man stated. "There was no warning."
Dex still refused to answer.
Norbert rolled his eyes, reached over, and smacked his son upside the head. "In fact, if it wasn't for you and Roxi, we may have never known what happened until it was too late. We may have never found out that they were kidnapped. Roxi saw the kidnapper's faces. It's going to make it that much easier to find them."
The teen finally looked up. "She saw them?! But, then, that would put her life in-"
"Danger? Yes. That's why she hasn't come to visit for a while. She's been put under witness protection. As have you. You saw what happened, and you will be joining Roxanne as soon as you are fit to leave the hospital."
"But, I…"
Norbert stood and wrapped his arms around his son, being mindful of his immobilized arm. "You are not at fault, Dex… Don't blame yourself anymore," he whispered as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Dex couldn't hold back his tears any longer as his father held him. "I'm sorry!" he cried. "I'm so, so so-sorry!" He tightly clenched his father's shirt with his one hand and cried his heart out.
"Shh… It's okay… It's going to be okay… We're going to find them and bring them home," Norbert whispered. He refused to tell his son about the video they had seen, but he couldn't erase it from his mind.
There was no reason for Dex to have the same nightmares that would haunt him forever.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Dex's tears lessened and he fell silent.
Norbert continued to hold him before a sudden memory filled his mind. "Dex… What's this about you and Roxi in a hot tub…?" he asked slyly.
The teenager couldn't help it as he began laughing.
.~*The Country Bears*~.
"Henry?" Allison asked softly as she slowly walked over to him.
She had been searching for the pepper furred bear for almost two hours, wanting to apologize for what she had said to him earlier. She had looked high and low for him, and finally found him sitting alone on a park bench. She didn't know the name of the park, nor did she care at the moment. All she cared about at the moment was apologizing to Henry.
The brown bear, whose fur was sprinkled with gray, didn't acknowledge her as he stared at the playground, watching the little human children and bear cubs run around, laughing and playing together. "I used to go to the parks often," he said softly, "to watch the new generations play together. It's a beautiful thing to watch, and you can learn a lot from a child. They forgive easily, trust each other, and get along easily. They know nothing of the burdens of adults. They're carefree… free spirits, completely innocent in all they do. Sure, they get into fights every now and then, but there is peace at the end of the day."
Allison stood a few feet away, just listening.
"But sometimes, there is an adult who has to dampen the child's spirit and punish him for misbehavior. It isn't the child's fault if they misbehave. It's how they were raised, and who brought them up. Then again, some children just want to be acknowledged, and they only know one way to do so." He sighed. "There are some parents that don't watch their child, even when he or she calls to them. They sit around, talking to others, or using their cell phones, completely ignoring their flesh and blood until someone gets hurt. They miss the golden age of life, when everything is an adventure. A tree is an enemy's crow's nest; a rock could be a lost gem… The clouds could be enemy fighters, or they could be doors leading to secret worlds… Life is just one big adventure, one big fairy tale, to a child.
Some adults just refuse to see it, though. They refuse to look beyond what their eyes tell them… They don't see the innocence in life… They don't see the child. They end up leaving him or her behind and going on with their own lives… They don't hear the child calling their name… T-they just leave them… in the dust…" A choked sob escaped his lips. "They… They think they're protecting the child, when really… They were abandoning him…"
It was at that point that the female realized that Henry was talking about himself. She then decided that she had to talk to him. "Henry… W-What I said earlier…"
"Was correct, Allison. I had no business trying to take Beary away from you," the aged bear answered. "I abandoned him years ago after my wife died. I left him alone…" He shook his head. "I let another family take him in and care for him. I let him actually have something I could not give him: A family."
Allison sat down next to him on the stone bench. "Don't do this to yourself, Henry. You were grieving over the loss of Helen."
"I never should have left them! I should have been there for them, Allison! It's my fault! Adam killed Helen because of me!"
The redhead reached out and smacked him. "Henry, do us both a favor and shut up. You know damn well that Helen's death wasn't your fault. You didn't kill her."
"But, I aban-"
"You protected him. You kept him safe by letting someone else take care of him. You kept him safe by staying away and not searching for him. You suffered the loss of both a wife and a child."
"I've lived in regret ever since that day…"
"You don't have too, any more. What I said earlier, I didn't mean it. I was mad. I felt as if it was my fault for not staying at the hotel with you guys that night they were taken. Norbert set me straight." She reached out and gripped his paw. "Henry, Beary's a lucky cub. Even though he lost his birth mother, he found a new one, along with a father. But what makes him truly lucky is that his birth father still loves him. So, in a way, Beary has two fathers and two mothers, though one is gone from this world. He gets twice the amount of love a "normal" child would receive."
He looked at her, blinking a few times.
"Yes, I love him dearly and I don't want anything to happen to him, but I know that he has a totally different family than the one I raised him in. I want you to be his father, Henry, like you once were. He deserves to know both of his families. He deserves to know you as his father. I won't take that right away from him, and neither should you."
"Allison…"
"Henry, if there is one thing I would like you to let me keep; it is the chance to be his mother. That means you got to let me know what is going on with him, how he is feeling, and, if he gets sick, to tell me right away. It's only fair. You, Norbert, and I are his parents, and we have to talk to each other."
Henry nodded slowly, grinning slightly. Suddenly, he frowned and sighed. "If we ever find him… or Jewel…"
"Don't you dare give up, Hen. We're going to find them. I know we will," she replied softly, gently squeezing his paw. "We found Beary last time, and we can do it again."
"Yes, but… will it be alive…?"
The human had no answer for him.
.~*The Country Bears*~.
The next few days passed uneventfully. There was no word from the kidnappers, and the FBI had no leads. Everyone was sick with worry. Dex and Roxi had been taken to a secure location, and no one knew where exactly. Roadie was terrified for his daughter. Zeb, Fred, and Ted were going stir crazy; they had finally decided to walk around and explore the town together. Trixie and Tennessee spent most of their time up in their hotel room, doing who knows what. Henry and Al… well, they usually just wandered around. Norbert and Allison would usually join them, needing something to do.
Meanwhile, the story of the two cubs' kidnapping had spread across the nation. No one knew who had leaked the story to the press, but now all sorts of stories were popping up. Across the nation, reports of parents were freaking out and refusing to let their children wander around were popping up, as well as news of hotels tightening the rules—some saying that children were not allowed to wander around alone, or the parent/guardian would be fined—and just about everyone was on the lookout for the kidnappers.
The entire nation was gripped with fear. No one could believe that slavery was still around.
Kenya, being both a negotiator and liaison between her team and the press, had a huge mess to clean up because of the leak. She was at wit's end, her brain practically fried.
"Aw, take it easy, sis. It's going to get better," Kaspian encouraged, patting her back. He, his sister, and their uncles had decided to have dinner at a family restaurant, The Family Brood. "Don't worry."
"Don't worry? Don't worry?! Damn it, Kaspian! With this story running around, the people who took the cubs are going to be panicking! Who knows what they'll do!"
"Kenya, be quiet. Right now, we are off duty. It's our dinner break. The team will call us if they find anything out. " He looked across the table at his uncles. "So…"
Al and Henry were both just staring at the siblings, lost for words.
"Nice job, Kassie. You scared them," Kenya snickered.
"Oh, shut up," the darker furred bear growled playfully.
"You two act so much like your father," Al muttered, grinning. "Scary."
"Hahaha. Very funny, Uncle Al," the she-bear smiled.
Henry looked at his menu and frowned. "What kind of restaurant is this? They don't have onion rings…"
The other three in his group all raised an eyebrow.
"It would be under 'appetizers', Uncle," Kaspian replied after looking through his own menu.
"Oh. Thanks," Henry said as he flipped through the menu, finally reaching the appetizers. "Mmm… Looks so good…"
Al rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless. You know those are bad for you."
The slightly younger bear stuck his tongue out at him.
The siblings both grinned and started snickering. "You two are ridiculous," Kaspian laughed.
"I could go for some onion rings, actually," Kenya moaned, looking at the image of the golden rings. "They look so good."
Her older brother groaned. "Great. Onion breath. Bleh."
"Well, it's better than your garlic breath, Kassie. That is nasty."
"Onion head."
"Garlic beard."
"Ring eye."
"Vampire hater."
"Only Edward Cullen."
"Eh. True."
Al and Henry just watched them, laughing quietly.
The next hour was spent in joy and laughter as the family ate together. They told stories, caught up with each other's lives, and shot straw wrappers at each other. Kenya and Kaspian, however, argued over whose breath stank the most.
That enjoyment ended all too soon, however, when Kenya's phone rang. She got up and left the table in order to get a better reception.
The males, however, continued their fun for the few minutes until the she-bear returned.
As soon as Kenya returned, she sighed. "We're gonna need the check. It's time to go, boys. The kidnappers have made contact," she whispered so as to not alert the other people in the restaurant.
.~*The Country Bears*~.
"This is a bunch of bull!" Tennessee exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. "They can't force them to breed! They're just cubs!"
"They can and they will, Mr. O'Neal," Manning answered. "It doesn't matter to them."
"And I daresay that the boy will be put through a worse hell than your daughter will," Stanley went on. "Since he is male, he will probably be forced onto many others, and they will most likely use your daughter to make sure he behaves. But, then again, that's only if they choose to breed."
"Which is the most likely thing. After all, I doubt they would rather be sold as slaves."
Allison stood in the back of the room with her husband, refusing to let herself cry. Norbert held her against his chest, trying to not cry himself. Together, they just watched and listened as Jewel's parents argued with the two human FBI agents.
"What is the situation?" Kaspian demanded as he, his sister, and their uncles walked into the room at the police station.
"We just received a rather disturbing IM. We've been trying to trace the IP, but no luck so far. I don't know how this person did it, but the IP is changing every five seconds," Manning informed the leader of the team.
"And the message?"
"It said that the cubs were given a choice, and they had thirty minutes to decide. They were given a choice between breeding and being sold as slaves… Or, if we so choose to pay a sum of three million dollars each, they will be returned to us… on one condition."
"What is it?" Kaspian asked.
"They don't mate first, and from what the IM said… it looks like that isn't far off."
Kenya growled, clenching her fists tightly. "That's sick!" she snarled.
Henry and Al were equally furious and horrified. "They wouldn't dare!" Al snarled.
Kenya sat at the computer chair, looking at the screen. "Let me see if I can trace the address."
"Ken, we've tried to trace it. It's impossible," Stanley argued.
"Nothing is impossible." She began typing quickly on the computer, but didn't get very far before another IM popped up. She quickly began reading it, her eyes widening with every passing moment.
"Anyway, we want to try and back trace the IP, before we make our decision to go through with the rans-"
"WHAT?! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU SAY THAT?! YOU HAVE TO PAY THE RANSOM!" Tennessee shouted.
"We are trying to find a simpler way to-"
"Don't you dare give me that line of bull!"
"We all know what you would do to Beary if he even thought of touching Jewel like that, anyway!" Henry argued, looking directly at Tennessee. "We have time because they won't do anything like that!"
"Are you implyin' that I would kill him?!" the brown bear growled.
"You did one hell of a job when we found them by the playground during your wedding reception! You didn't kill him, but you hurt him!"
"What did you do?!" Allison finally interrupted, her tone furious.
"Threw him against the swing set."
"Uh, guys…" Kenya tried to interrupt but was ignored.
"It looked like he was frickin' rapin' her!" Tennessee snarled, clenching his fists.
Allison reached out and slapped him before Norbert could stop her. "Don't you ever say anything like that again!" she hissed, absolutely furious. "Beary would never do anything like that!"
Tennessee was barely keeping himself together. Every cell in his body told him to reach out and strike her back.
"Guys…" Kenya tried again but was once again shot down.
"You didn't see them! He was all over her!"
"Tennessee! That's enough! It was a misunderstanding! You know that!" Trixie argued, placing herself between Allison and the angry grizzly.
"Why are you takin' sides against me?! I was there and you weren't!"
"Don't you dare start yelling at me, Tennessee O'Neal!"
"None of this has to do with the situation at hand!" Kaspian argued, trying to break up the argument. Of course, this only made the situation worse when everyone in the argument told him to shut up.
Kenya rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed. She looked at the IM again before finally losing her temper. "WILL YOU ALL SHUT THE HELL UP?!" the she-bear finally screeched. "THIS IS NOT HELPING BEARY OR JEWEL!"
Everyone in the room stopped arguing and looked at her before looking at each other ashamed.
Tennessee sighed. "I… I'm sorry. I-I just can't believe this is happening… I was out of line."
Henry nodded. "I was out of line as well. I shouldn't have said what I did."
"Neither should have I," Allison whispered.
Kenya sighed. "Now that we have that all sorted out, may I finally tell you what I need to tell you?"
"By all means, sis," Kaspian said as he went to stand behind her. His eyes suddenly widened. "Holy… shit…"
"Yeah. That's what I thought," she muttered.
"What? What's going on?" Norbert demanded.
"Well, Beary and Jewel have already made their decision," Kaspian said softly.
No one said anything, but they all looked at the siblings expectantly.
The dark furred bear took a deep breath and looked directly at them all. "They already took each other as bonded mates."
"And the sick bastards have recorded a video of it as proof. Judging from the quality, it looks like security video footage," Kenya finished. "We've lost the chance to buy their freedom…" She turned the monitor, revealing the explicit video of Beary and Jewel making love.
The speakers were on, but there were only soft moans and whimpers of pain, and Beary apologizing repeatedly each time they paused. Everyone knew that both cubs were in a lot of pain from what they were doing. They knew the cubs were just trying to get it over with. Finally the moment came, and they climaxed together.
"I'm sorry…" Beary was heard whispering, his voice catching.
"I'm not," was Jewel's reply, voice laced with pain.
Right after that, the video turned to static.
Tennessee couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was no mistaking his daughter's voice. "He… They…" He let out a furious snarl, knowing that Beary had not only betrayed his trust, but had blown his and Jewel's chances of being freed. "I'm goin' to kill him myself!"
Trixie was stunned, her eyes wide. Never before in her life would she have expected to see her daughter like this at so young of an age, and enjoying it. It… It was wrong. It made her feel all filthy inside watching the video. She forced herself to look away, having completely tuned out the pain in Jewel's voice and movements.
Henry didn't know what to think. He truly did not know what to think. His mind was blank. Seeing his son in this situation… It… It was too much to take in. He stared at the monitor with unseeing eyes.
Norbert found himself falling heavily into a chair, knowing that he had just lost his adopted son. 'Why, Beary? Why did you do this…? Why didn't you want to be free?' he wondered. He just couldn't understand why Beary and Jewel would choose… sex over freedom.
Allison stood still as single tear ran down her face. For the first time ever, she was ashamed of her adopted son.
.~*The Country Bears*~.
Zeb Zoober sat on his bed in his hotel room, once again mentally reliving what happened between him and Trixie in the hotel bar. He had seen the surveillance tape of what had happened.
He still couldn't believe what he had done, and what he had nearly done to her…
FLASHBACK
"Geev me 'nuzzer, purty lady," Zeb grinned, holding the glass up with his right arm. His left arm and his head was resting on the bar countertop. He was drunker than a drunken fish—not that he knew what that meant.
Part of him felt incredibly guilty for going back on his promise to not drink, but the other half of him didn't give a damn.
He began laughing loudly, for no apparent reason, and got up, dancing around crazily.
The golden brown bear could hear someone laughing in the background as he paraded around the bar, singing at the top of his lungs. "RULE, BRITANNIA! BRITANNIA RULES THE WAV—AH!" he shouted as he tripped over a nearby chair and fell flat on his face, banging his nose in the process.
"Zeb! Are you okay?!" a familiar feminine voice questioned as a pair of golden paws reached down and helped the drunken fiddler up.
Zeb grinned as he looked into Trixie's gorgeous forest green eyes and grinned. "Hey, purdy lady," he slurred, reaching out and touching her face.
Trixie grinned and swatted his paw away. "Don't even think about it, Zeb Ricky Zoober. You know I'll kick your ass." She was used to his drunkenness, so this was nothing new.
"Aww, shucks." He sighed and began walking again before tripping over his feet. "Ow! For the love of Pete!"
The golden she-bear laughed as she helped him up. "You're hopeless, Zeb." She helped him over to a nearby table and sat across from him. "What are you doing in here? You know you're not supposed to be drinking."
The grizzly sighed and rested his head on his paws. "Ugh… Don't care…"
Trixie rolled her eyes. "I'm disappointed in you, Zeb. But, since you're drunk, I might as well have a drink with you. Besides, I need to unwind… So much… drama…" she said softly before getting up and ordering two of the golden drinks. She came back to the table and gave one to Zeb. She knew that one more drink and he would probably pass out, making it easy for her to take him back up to his room without a fight. "Here."
Zeb took the bottle and grinned. "A toast…"
"Hm… Yes. A toast to finding the missing cubs," Trixie announced as they bumped bottles together.
He chugged the contents down, and slammed the bottle on the table. "Mmm… So good…"
She grinned, drinking her honey a bit more slowly. "Yes, yes it is," she replied, watching as he got up and held a paw out to her.
"Dance wit me?" he asked.
She blinked a couple times before nodding. "Sure." She took his paw and fell into his arms as he began to dance with her. The pace wasn't fast, nor was it slow. It was… just right.
Zeb was humming as he twirled around with her in his arms. His paws reached down past her waist a couple of times, earning a smack from the she-bear each time.
"Don't even think about it, Mr. Zoober. You know I'm off-limits."
"Aww, but Trixie…"
"I mean it, Zeb," she said softly, looking into his eyes that matched hers so well. Something about the gentle and loving look in them made her feel… weird.
Zeb could see her demeanor changing. He reached up with one of his paws and touched her cheek. "You know I always liked you, Trix," he whispered. "So purdy."
As much as the she-bear wanted to deny it, she did feel light on her feet as she danced with him. It was so weird. She was losing herself in his loving gaze. As much as she hated to admit it, there had always been a… connection between her and Zeb, but she knew she loved Tennessee.
However, she still couldn't deny the connection.
That's why she didn't fight back when Zeb leaned in and gave her a small kiss on the lips. She sank into it, returning the gentle gesture as she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, moving closer to his body. She caught his lips repeatedly, not realizing that his paws had reached behind her robe, his claws gently digging into her skin. She stayed that way, deepening the kiss until the point that their tongues touched, for almost a minute and a half before blinking and backing away. She knew what he wanted. "No, Zeb. W-We can't. I'm married…"
"But, Trix," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing her again, this time a bit more hungrily.
Trixie removed her arms from around his neck and pushed against his chest. "I said no, Zeb," she growled.
"Oh, come on, Trix. Nobody's gonna know," Zeb complained, ignoring her struggles as he kissed her again, holding her against him.
She squirmed out of his arms, backing away. "Stop! I said no!"
The fiddler continued to advance, tightly gripping her arms and pushing her onto the bench that they had been sitting at. He pushed the table out of the way and forced her onto the bench, leaning on top of her, still kissing her hotly.
Trixie whimpered and whined, keeping her lips pressed tightly together, along with her legs. She struggled fiercely, trying to push him off of her.
"TRIXIE!"
The she-bear began to cry when Zeb was pulled off of her. She curled up on her side, crying heavily. She could hear the sound of someone fighting, but didn't pay any attention to it.
Zeb, meanwhile, was getting the crap kicked out of him. In his drunken state, he did throw a couple punches, but it didn't do much…
END FLASHBACK
After that, all that happened was Zeb getting the crap kicked out of him, and Tennessee threatening to kill him if he touched Trixie again.
He had blacked out shortly after that, and even with what he had seen on the video… He just couldn't remember the rest.
Not that he wanted to.
He had almost been arrested, but Trixie refused to press charges. She claimed that it was all a misunderstanding; Zeb was still horrified and knew he deserved the worst possible punishment.
With a soft sigh, he turned his head and looked at the nightstand before opening the drawer. Reaching in, he pulled out the Swiss Army knife he had hidden there. Opening the switchblade, he looked at it with sad eyes. Only a few years ago, after the band broke up, this blade had been his friend. The scars on his wrists had healed long ago and were currently covered with his fur, but the memory was still there.
With slightly trembling paws, he brought the blade to his wrist, and just as he was about to cut his tender skin, there was a knock at the door.
Reacting quickly, he closed the blade and tossed it back into the drawer, quickly shutting it. After that, he got up and went to his door. Opening it, he found Fred standing in front of him.
"What?" he asked annoyed.
"There… We… The kidnappers' contacted us…" the great bear replied softly. "They… They forced…" he broke off, not sure how to go on.
"Spit it out, Fred. I have… stuff… to do," Zeb growled.
"Beary and Jewel have taken each other as mates."
Everything that Zeb had been planning on doing ended that moment when he heard those words. "You're kiddin'… They wouldn't… They're just cubs!"
He nodded sadly. "It… It's what they chose to do…"
"Ursute…" He sighed. "How is Tr-" he broke off and looked away.
"None of them are takin' this well… Allison and Norbert… Well, Allison had a… a panic attack… She's currently restin' in their room."
Zeb sighed. "Well… Okay. I'll, uh… see you later, Fred…" he said, shutting the door in his friend's face.
There were several knocks at the door, as well as Fred asking what Zeb was doing, but the fiddler ignored him as he walked back to his bed and took out the knife again. He studied the blade carefully, sighing softly. He once again placed the blade against his wrist and braced himself for the pain.
Part of him wondered what the others would say if they knew that he cut himself. Well… used to cut himself. He had eventually stopped in 1996, after ending up in the hospital. To this day, he wasn't sure what caused him to stop. It just… happened.
He shook his head, refusing to remember. That's why he had taken to Honey so easily; it was a way for him to get rid of his memories. He focused on the blade that was lightly pressed against his pink skin, but for some reason, he could just not bring himself to pierce the skin.
"I'm a coward," he whispered before getting up and dropping the knife in his duffle bag. "I can't do it…" He sighed softly before stripping. Once done, he moved into the bathroom.
He needed a cold shower.
.~*The Country Bears*~.
"So… We're supposed to act like a newlywed couple on their honeymoon?" Roxi asked as she looked into mirror at her brown hair, which was now in a pixie cut. "Man… I hate this color… It's so… boring. And my eyes… Why must they be brown?! I love my blue eyes…" She was wearing just boxers and a long t-shirt, both of which she had borrowed from her boyfriend. She couldn't wait to fall asleep next to him.
"That's the point, Rox… We're supposed to blend in," Dex said, looking over her shoulder at his black hair, which was no longer spiky, but flat and combed back. His eyes were no longer chocolate brown, but a cobalt blue. He, too, was wearing night clothes, but they just consisted of his boxers. "I look ridiculous…" His right arm was in a sling—since the bullet had gone through his shoulder; he currently couldn't move his right arm—and was hurting badly. He gently fingered his bandages, still looking at his shirtless self in the mirror still after Roxi moved away. "I'm fat."
"No, you look hot. And no, you aren't fat. You just lost your abs… for now," she giggled, turning around and giving him a quick kiss. "And acting like a couple on their honeymoon? We can do that."
Dex knew immediately what she was thinking and frowned. "Not happening, babe. You're still seventeen."
"It was my birthday yesterday, handsome, remember? I'm eighteen now and ready."
He shook his head. "No, Rox. Not with all that is going on. It would just be a bad idea… Someday, though."
Roxi sighed and sat down on their bed.
Dex looked at her. "Roxi… About what happened in the hospital room… I… I'm sorry for what I did… I-I was mad and I didn't mean it," he whispered. "I'm just a big angry ape."
She smiled softly and pulled him down on the bed next to her. "Dexter… It's okay. Honest. I know why you were so mad. That was a lot to take in."
"It still feels like my fault that they're gone."
The brown haired girl rolled her eyes. "It's my fault, too. I could've stopped them, but I didn't. Let me share the blame."
He glanced at her. "Roxanne…" He sighed. "Okay, let's just… forget about it for now. The past is the past. Anyway, I didn't get you a present…" He looked at her sadly. "Sorry."
"Shush," she whispered, placing a finger on his lips. "There's only one thing I want… And only you can give it to me…" She smiled sultrily and leaned forward, gently pressing her lips against his.
Dex immediately embraced the kiss, using his non-bandaged arm to hold her head against his as he deepened the kiss. He slowly lay back, still holding her against him, and caught her lips again and again.
Roxi, meanwhile, came to rest on top of him, her legs on either side of his left leg. She returned the kisses with as much passion as she received. After a few minutes, she pulled away and looked into his now-blue eyes. "Dex, just hear me out, okay?"
He slowly nodded, lifting his head up and kissed her again.
She giggled. "Dex, baby, we're in witness protection. We probably have some people who want us dead. We… We may never live to see tomorrow…" A tear rolled down her cheek and she looked down. "I… I almost lost you… I-I-I thought I had lost you…"
Dex cupped her cheek with his hand and brushed away the tear with his thumb. "Hey, it's not that easy to get rid of me. I'm still here…"
"That doesn't change things, Dex! You could have died!"
He gripped her hand tightly. "Roxi, calm down. I'm still here. I promise, I'm not leaving." He looked directly into her eyes as he said this. "Roxi, I love you. I'm not going to leave you."
She studied his eyes for a few moments, making sure that he was telling the truth before she smiled. "I believe you, my smexy Dexy." She started laughing as his face turned a deep crimson. Playfully, she leaned forward and licked his cheek before moving her body into the correct position for straddling him. She knelt with her legs on either side of his hips and used her arms to pin his one good arm to the headboard. Once more, she licked his face.
Dex laughed and grinned. "Playful tonight, are we, Frenchy?" he asked, licking his lips, taking in the taste of cherry lipstick.
"I love you, Dexter Barrington. I want you and only you. I know we're young, but I don't care…"
He smiled and looked directly into her eyes. He didn't make any objection to what she said, because he secretly wanted it as well.
Roxanne licked her own lips, and leaned down to kiss him. She tilted her head a little to the side, and closed her eyes. She gently pressed her lips against his, and he returned the gesture. It wasn't long before he slowly parted his lips and his tongue brushed up against her lips, causing her to let out a soft sigh and return the movement, loving the feeling as she explored his mouth with her tongue as he did the same to her.
They slowly continued to kiss, both breathing through their noses as their tongues dueled, moving deeper and deeper into each other's mouths.
She removed her hands from his arm, letting him wrap his arm around her neck, while she moved her hands down to his hips and lightly tugged on his boxers.
Dex didn't deny her as his own hand went to the base of her shirt and slowly pulled it over her head—he was annoyed when he had to part his mouth from hers, but as soon as possible, he returned their mouths together. Their tongues continued their intricate dance as their naked chests pressed against each other.
Roxanne opened her eyes briefly as she realized what they were about to do. However, she no longer cared about what everyone would say. Who was going to find out? She closed her eyes and helped him pull off the last bit of covering she had: the boxers she had "stolen" from her boyfriend.
After that, steam filled the air and fogged up the mirrors as the two young lovers lost themselves in blissful love-making.