ALTERNATE STAVE SIX - AFTERSHOCKS

The next thing she knew was that the hand that she was holding had turned into her bed curtain, and that she was kneeling in front of one of the bedposts. Glancing around, she saw that her stereo was still there, the bed was intact, the balcony doors were shut, and the fireplace was smouldering slightly. "YES!" she squealed. "It was all real! Everything's still here! I still have time to change things!" Still kneeling, she repeated to the ceiling, "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year long! I won't ignore the lessons that they taught me! AND I WON'T DIE! YAY!" Then, like the proper toon she was, she began bouncing all over the room a-la Daffy Duck, with the required, "WOO-HOO! WOO-HOO! WOO-HOO! WOO-HOO!" that normally accompanied such celebration. She twirled around a bedpost, squealing, "Whoo! I'm light as a feather! I have no idea what to do now!" She crawled under the covers just for the fun of it, "I have no idea what I'm doing! I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl—!" Suddenly she popped out of the covers, "What am I saying? I AM a schoolgirl!"

She jumped out of the bed and continued bouncing in the morning light. As she did, she took a closer look at the various parts of her room. The floor from where Howard Hughes entered, the fireplace, the recliner, the balcony doors, the clock on top of the door—

She did a double take, and stared at the date. That couldn't be right! Well, she didn't actually care if it was correct or not, because today was the first day of the rest of her life, and she intended to use it to start making up for all the wrongs she had committed. But she HAD to know. With a swift kick, the balcony doors burst open and she stepped out into the sunlight—the sunlight! Not the cold night or bitter darkness of a desert! THE DAYTIME! But still, she couldn't bring herself to trust her clock. Then, something in the distance caught her eye. There was someone walking in front of the mansion, perhaps a morning jogger—

With a very toony zoom, she dashed out of her room, down the hall, down the stairs, out the main doors, through the front yard, burst through the main gate, and stopped only to grab the toon from the front of his Hound's-tooth trench coat while planting her feet on his torso. "YOU!"

The adult male albino rat was scared out of his depression by this young pyjama-clad humanmaid suddenly grabbing him. "Wha—?"

"What day is it!" demanded the crazy teenager.

The rat just looked at her, grinding his teeth in confusion. "Wot? What'ya mean what day is it?" And to top it all off, he had a British accent!

"Yes! I need to know what day is today!"

"Whoi, it's Christmas Day, lass. And Oi'd like to add, that's hardly a way to treat an adult, don't you know?"

Suddenly she realised just how she was holding him. "Oh, right." With a sheepish grin, she released him and dropped to the snow. Her bare feet, in contrast to the rat's Wellingtons, stiffened under the chill of the snow, sending shivers all over her, but they were good shivers, because they told the teenager that the snow was real. She shifted around rather sheepishly. "Sorry, but you wouldn't believe the night I had!" She hugged herself, partly because of her joy, and partly because the low temperature was starting to get to her.

The male adjusted his blue scarf, "Say, lass, shouldn't you have a sweater on, at least?" He was getting concerned more for this child's mental status, though.

"NO!" she blurted, smiling, frolicking about, "The cold—the cold is REAL! I can feel it, at last! The snow is real! It's not a dream or a vision or a shadow! I've never felt like this before! I finally feel the world!" Her own modesty prevented her from frolicking naked in a world she seemed to step into for the first time in her life. Suddenly she stopped frolicking and turned to the rodent, "Wait, did you say it's Christmas Day?"

"Aye."

"It's Christmas Day—for real!"

"Aye, it is. Whoi do you ask?"

She shivered, and her voice trembled a trifle, "Bad night, like I said…" Then, she realised something, "Wow…they did it in one night…"

"Huh? Who did what?"

Suddenly the brunette grabbed his paw and proceeded to dance around the sidewalk, with the bewildered albino rat in tow. "They did it in one night! They did it in one night! THEY DID IT IN ONE NIGHT! I HAVEN'T MISSED IT!" Bouncing again, she repeated, "I'm lighter than air! I have no idea what I'm doing! I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl—!" Suddenly she stopped and did a face palm, "Ugh, I said it again! I AM a schoolgirl! BUT WHO CARES! WOO HOO!"

"Yes, and I'm married with a very jealous wife, so please unhand me!" demanded the adult.

"Sorry!" she yelped as she released him. "I'll buy you a car for your trouble! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO THE WORLD!"

Now the rodent was pondering seriously that there was something wrong with the child. But first thing was first, "Uh, that's all well and good, lass, but you're going to get frostbit if you keep goin' like you are presently."

The humanmaid stopped and saw that she was still clad in her silk pyjamas. "Oh, silly me, I forgot to get dressed just now—" It was here where she noticed that something else was amiss. "Hold it—we're in California. Why are you talking with a British accent?"

"Because Oi'm from Britain, wot. Oi moved here with my family a whoile back."

Here, something clicked. "You're—British—British—British—" She shuffled in the snow, shivering and trying to remember. "British—I remember Daddy talking about a British family that moved here a while back—they were—they were—" She looked up at him, "Say, your last name wouldn't happen to be C-C-C-C-Carrotte?" Her jaw was now twitching involuntarily.

Now seriously concerned, he picked her up and held her close, brushing the snow off her feet. "Yes, it is, whoi do you ask?"

"C-C-C-C-Carrotte—say, isn't there someone in your family who's having p-p-p-problems with a baby or something?"

He rubbed warmth into her shoulders, "Yes, my soon-to-be niece is having problems. There's been a charity drive, but it hasn't helped much. Oi don't know how much money we've thrown at this thing, but it looks like all the bloody money in the bloody world won't help with so bloody little information there is to work with." He sighed as the brunette suddenly felt the bite of the cold, though she appeared to be deep in thought. "It was a real blow to all of the family that so many problems started out so soon, blast it that it had to happen at Christmas time! We all love Leo and Miranda; we stayed with them in the hospital for so long that none of us had the time to prepare a proper Christmas dinner, wot—and we're chefs, of all people! Blast it, Oi would gladly give up dinner for the rest of my life if it would help Miranda and her baby. The hospital got a bit gloomy so Oi had to get out and walk even for a mmmmMMMPHH—!"

"I c-c-c-can help her!" she stuttered, clamping his jaw shut.

"Hhhwhh?"

"I c-c-c-can help her!" she repeated. "I c-c-c-can help them—and YOU! Gosh, no wonder you had a face as long as a horse just now! Come! I n-n-n-need you to come inside!" She squirmed out of his grasp, jumped down, and grabbed his paw again, dragging him back into the mansion as quickly as she could.

"But—lass! My family's waitin' for me!"

"Call them and tell them you'll be there in a bit! I need to give you something!"

Here, the rat noticed something, "Hey, wait! Isn't this Montana's mansion? Oi don't think Oi'm allowed in here!"

"YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION! NOW COME ON!"

Once back inside, the cold slowly lost its grip on the humanmaid. Dakota dragged the adult up to her office, and she ran to her desk. There, he looked in wonder as she pulled out several file chips (they replaced the DVD-ROM a while back) as well as some stacks of folders, notebooks, and note pads. Not knowing how to present them to him, she grabbed the first thing she found: an expensive suitcase, stuffed the information in it, and handed it to the murid.

"That will help your niece—wait, I forgot something." She was giggling, for some reason. Taking another briefcase, she ran to her closet, opened a safe, and began stuffing it with money, not bothering to count it. "All of this—hee hee!—is for all the doctors to use the info as best as they can—hee hee!" She shoved the suitcase at him as well. Both suitcases were huge and bulky, and the male was barely able to hold them steady. "Oh, but wait, you can't carry all this by yourself all the way back to the hospital!"

"Well, no Oi can't, but—"

She jumped to her desk and turned on the intercom. "Get my helicopter ready to leave for Acme General NOW! This is an emergency—hee hee!—AND I'M SERIOUS!" The rat stiffened when he realised that the youngster's giggling sounded eerily similar to Elmyra's. "Oh, by the way—hee hee!—I'm handing the deed of ownership to the hospital as well—hee hee!—they can put the helicopter to better use than I can—hee hee hee hee!—if you want to work for them, it's fine with me! I'll give you the best severance package you've ever laid your eyes on! HA HA HA HA HA HA!" She turned to the adult, pushing him away, "The heliport is on the roof—just take the elevator down the hall—HA HA HA!—wait, did you say you didn't prepare dinner? Don't worry—HA HA HA HA HA!—I'll take care of that, too! NOW GO! YOUR NIECE NEEDS YOU! AND YOU CAN KEEP THE SUITCASES!" She practically shoved him out the door, slammed it shut, and bounced back to her desk to order the best and biggest dinner from the most exclusive—

No.

But then, she proceeded anyway, and dialled a number. "Hello? Club Swank? I call now because I was about to place an order for the BIGGEST Christmas dinner you could come up with, with money being no object, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO ORDER IT ANYMORE! HA! And do you know why? BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED THE MONEY! No, I'm going to give someone else the chance to do something much BIGGER than you could ever come up with! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" She slammed her phone down, and grabbed the phone book. There, she looked up the name of the grocery store that she saw with Christmas Present, looked up all the delis and diners in that area, and made a few phone calls. Acme General was going to have a feast it would never forget! She had quite a problem getting people to take her seriously because she was giggling so much, and then the giggling turned to an uncontrollable guffaw, so uncontrollable that after she made the last phone call she dropped to the floor, rolling, sweating, and laughing like never before in her life.

She didn't know for how long she laughed, but at last, she got up, needing to do more. She dashed out of her room, but stopped when she came up to the portraits. For some reason, they looked brighter, more handsome even, especially one in particular. "Thank you, Mister Hughes, for the warning. I'll never forget you—and I hope a bit of your punishment has been removed, as it happened with Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley." She blew the portrait a kiss, and went on her way.

Elmyra was wearing her blue nightgown and was sitting in front of the vanity mirror in the master bedroom, brushing her hair—

"OOF!"

—and then she was on the floor with her daughter hugging her like never before.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, MOM!"

"Wh-what? Dee? What's going on?" She wondered why her daughter was practically matted with sweat.

"I'M HAPPY, THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON!" Dakota looked around, and suddenly asked worriedly, "Where's Dad?"

The adult sighed, "I'm afraid your father decided to go to Aspen after all. He said it was business, but now I'm starting to doubt that."

Dakota helped her mother get up. "Um, Mom?"

"Yes, Dee?"

"Are you still going to Uncle Duncan's party tonight?"

"Why, of course I am, Dee! Your Uncle Duncan always prepares the best parties ever!"

Sheepishly, and even slightly ashamed, the youngster asked, "Um—can I come too?"

For a moment, Elmyra wondered if this was her real daughter. "You—you want to come?"

"Y-yes. I—I know I've been very rude to all your—our—relatives—I think it's time I changed that—too bad Daddy won't be there."

Elmyra caressed her daughter's real sweat-drenched hair. "I'm glad you changed your mind, Dee. It will be a big surprise for your Uncle Duncan!"

Dakota smiled, her face shining—and now, tears glistened. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Th—thanks for having me—and not giving up on me—" Her voice choked up as she hugged her mother like never before, weeping with joy and repentance, making Elmyra happily confused.

Later, Dakota Dee was now properly dressed for winter, almost. She had a long light blue coat, but donned blue jeans and white sneakers. She ran from her mansion, needing to find several people immediately. As she looked for them, she couldn't help but take in the beauty of the snow in the city. Even the dirty sloshes on the street seemed beautiful to her; it was as if she was looking at everything for the first time—

She suddenly jumped from the sidewalk onto the driver side door of a blue 1958 Nash Metropolitan. "GRANNY!"

The ancient toon yelped and slammed the brakes, making the car skid to a stop on the crunched snow below it. Gasping and holding her chest, she scolded, "CHILD! What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack and finish off what you started last night?"

Sheepishly again, the repentant toon replied, "Oh, yeah, about that, Granny—please consider yesterday's outburst—as a horrible thing for me to say about this day—and please forgive the actions of a spoiled girl."

Granny didn't know what to make of that, but the child seemed sincere to her. "This is—very sudden, Dee, considering what you said—and did—last night. Why the sudden change of heart?"

The child shook her head. "It's—a long story—a VERY long story—and I had a VERY long night—are you still taking donations for the fund of the Carrotte's baby?"

"Yes, I am," she replied suspiciously, adjusting her glasses.

"Oh, good! I'm glad you didn't give up. The baby's uncle will soon contact you about a donation that was made this morning—I hope it's enough—and if it isn't—" She didn't know what else to do except pull out bags and bags of money and throw them in the back seat.

"Dee? What—?"

She was giggling again. "I—hee hee!—hope this helps out—hee hee!—and I'm throwing in for what I—and my dad—didn't give before—hee hee!—you know the charities better than I do, Granny—hee hee!—I know you'll know how to handle all this!"

"Dee, are you serious? Do your parents know about this?" The elder looked worriedly as bag after bag kept piling in.

"Yes! And it's MY money! I can do whatever I want with it! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" She threw the last bag in, and reached inside to hug Granny as best as she could. "Merry Christmas, Granny! And happy new year!"

She kissed the elder's cheek, and with that, the teenager jumped to the street and ran, slipping a bit on the packed snow, powered by her new joy. "Uh—Merry Christmas, Dee!" was all that Granny could say now.

Tex, with his thick black coat, emerged from the tree stump, and looked up. It was a sunny morning, with the forest glowing with light reflected from the snow. He slowly trudged away from the stump, head and ears down, and teeth grinding loudly. His puffy and bloodshot eyes indicated that he had a long night of weeping. Tonight there would be a bazillion rabbits here for the Christmas party, and he needed some time alone to recover before his relatives arrived. He shuddered suddenly, partly because of the cold, and partly because of unspeakable grief. It was as if Dakota had died—

"TEX BUNNY!"

The shout made him jump ten metres into the air. When he came back down, he saw Dakota Dee standing in front of him, with the most fearsome scowl he had ever seen on her. "D-Dee?"

"Tex, WHAT is the meaning of you NOT showing up for work today!" she growled, fists at her sides.

With his ears diagonally down in fright, he chattered, "Wh-what? Dee—you know perfectly well why, two reasons, actually! One: it's Christmas, an official holiday, and two: I—I quit, remember?"

"Oh? And did you think I was just going to STAND there and watch your tail leave my office?"

"Uh—didn't you?"

"I'm not going to stand for this anymore, Tex. With or without you, I'm going to make changes around here! And I'm talking RADICAL CHANGES!"

She was leaning into his face, making him lean back. Slowly, he reached behind him, preparing to brandish a mallet. "D-Dee, what are you talking about? I can't help you anymore!"

"'HELP'?" she blurted, as if she had been asked for a weasel. "Oh, my dear Tex, help me YOU WILL! And do you know WHY!"

He firmly held the mallet handle. "W-why?"

"Because you're RE-HIRED!"

Both stood there, completely still, despite the uncomfortable position they were in. Something didn't seem to register with Tex. "I'm what?"

"You heard me! You're hired again! Complete with vacation, bonuses, back pay, and a raise! And what's more, I'm making you my PARTNER! I may have lost The J, but I'm NOT going to lose YOU!" She poked his chest, "Is—that—CLEAR!" The buck was about to ask her something, but she couldn't keep her scowl any longer and she just clung to him, laughing like never before. He didn't know what else to do but embrace her too, though soon he had to hold her tight to keep her upright because she was laughing incredibly hard—

—a genuine laugh, caused by happiness, not evil.

After a while, she calmed down, and the lagomorph was finally able to ask, "Dee—are you all right?" She only nodded, smiling at him. "Are—are you serious? What's going on? Why are you acting like this?"

"S-sorry, Tex! But now I know why Scrooge did that to Bob Cratchit! The look on your face was priceless!"

He winced, but raised his ears. "What? Scrooge? Bob Cratchit? Dee, what are you talking about?"

The brunette held him closer, "Tex—something—incredible happened to me last night—I don't know how to explain this—or maybe—this will sound familiar." She stood back, sighed, and sang softly,

"And it's not a cry you can hear at night,

It's not somebody who's seen the Light!

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah!" Tex's jaw thudded on the snow.

"Hallelujah,

Hallelujah,

Hallelujah,

Hallelujah,

Hallelujah,

Hallelujah,

Hallelujah,

Halleluuuuuuuujaaah."

Dakota chuckled at the dumbfounded look on Tex's face. "It's quite the long story, Texie—"

Texie?

"—If you've ever read Dickens you'd have an inkling of what happened to me, in the space of one night." She sighed, exhausted, and repeated, "I promise, dear Tex, to honour Christmas, and East—erm—Passover—and why not, Hanukkah—in my heart. Not just during the season but throughout the year. I won't forget the lessons given to me by the past, present, and future I've been shown."

Dickens? Past? Present? Future? "W—wha—you mean—all that—happened to you—?"

She nodded. "Yes, Texie, I was Scrooged. And—I chose the path you're walking. I chose to follow, not to lead. I—I chose the Light, Texie." The green lapine in front of him didn't know what to think.

"That—that—explains last night—"

"I know. It was the longest night I've ever—"

"No," he held her arm. "Last night, we said our prayers before bed, but for some reason, I kept at it. My brothers went to bed right then, but I couldn't stop. I didn't know what was going on, but I prayed like never before—I thought it was because of the Carrotte's baby—but everything kept coming back to you. I didn't know what was the deal with you, but everything just flowed out of me— I was fighting a battle I didn't know—I never felt such urgency or despair—I nearly ground my teeth to nothing! When everything finally stopped at 6 a.m.—I felt—as if you had died."

"It was you…" she whispered. She caressed some of his matted facial fur, "It was you who kept it up! Texie, thank you!" She hugged him very tightly now, nearly squeezing the wind out of him. She had inherited her mother's arms, he deduced. "Just so you know—yes, I felt like I died—but then—I felt alive again, Texie. I've never felt like this before, though. Everything just looks so—so new! Even you! I feel like I'm a newborn baby! And—and because everything is sorta new for me—I need help. My straight and narrow path seems to have quite a few bumps and potholes—due to my neglect. I—I need you to help me." She let go of him and held her hands behind her, blushing furiously now, and fidgeting on the snow. "Well—actually—I just, sorta, need you, period. I—I've realized how you feel—about me—and—and—I—I think I feel the same."

Suddenly, it all came down to the male. "Huh? You mean—you—you———?"

The female took a deep breath, gently held his paws, and looked earnestly at him, "I—I love you, Tex."

For a long moment, the leporid looked into her eyes, searching for any hint of deception, because during his time as her sidekick he had trained himself to spot them.

After a while, he realised he was finding none.

And finally, it hit him that she was telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Therefore, he reacted accordingly:

The buck smiled like never before, and suddenly began jumping randomly all around his beloved, screaming, "YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY! WOO-HOO! WOO-HOO! WOO-HOO! WOO-HOO!"

The humanmaid laughed again, "Texie, you look like a superball!"

"AND I FEEL LIKE ONE TOO! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!"

She giggled, "Merry Christmas to Texie!"

Suddenly, he stopped in front of her, and put his arms around her. "And—merry Christmas to you, my love."

She smiled and returned the embrace. She had hugged others before, but this time, it was quite different. "I could get used to this," she commented about this new feeling.

Happy tears flowed from him. "Dee—you—you don't know—how long—I've—I've—————asked————————for—————————" Softly, human and rabbit connected at the lips.

Oh, I could DEFINITELY get used to this, thought the female, now getting quite thoroughly lost in the kiss as it deepened. After a while, the brunette pulled back, and took a few steps back. She just stood there, gazing at him for the longest.

"Dee?" he asked, wincing a bit.

She seemed to have problems speaking, though she looked like she had something very important to say. "There—there was a future—" she began. The humanmaid took a deep breath, "There was a shadow of the future—that—that I saw."

The male then caught her sense of dread. "What—what did you see?"

The female looked at the distance. "I saw the Carrottes in mourning, because their baby was lost—also—my father in mourning, but auctioning off all my stuff—I don't know how it happened—but—but it was—" She whispered so only he could hear, "Dip."

The buck paled when he heard that word. "Oh—my—but—but—you stopped it, didn't you? You changed the future now, right? Since you changed your ways, you—you changed everything else that will happen, right?"

"I—I hope so—you see—I—I saw you, too."

His right ear fell. "Oh—I—I wasn't dead—was I?"

The Caucasian wrapped her arms around herself, gazing off into the distance, as she remembered, "No, Tex. You were in mourning, too."

"I certainly would be—if I lost you," he smiled weakly.

She turned to him, "That was something I kept asking myself, Texie. Why did you mourn me, when the world did not? What had I done to deserve your tears? Even after you had chosen to move on, and found—somebody else—I was still in your head."

The blue buck pondered on that, then he held her hands and gave his answer, "Because—maybe I was the only one who saw a bit of good in you, or at least a potential of good—even when everyone else gave up hope—maybe what I did last night was keep that dying ember of good from extinguishing forever—and maybe—because I love you for no reason at all."

The female freed a hand to rub her eyes. Her voice was starting to choke, "You must have some super powered eyes, Texie, I guess it comes from all those carrots you eat, because I had that bit hidden pretty deep, you know."

Leaning his ears toward her, he wiped her eyes, "And you opened up and let it rise to a flame. Now everyone will see it too."

The girl whispered, "I didn't want to be alone—I guess nobody does—but—I finally saw you for what you are. Your kindness, consideration, and goodness—" she gently caressed Tex's cheek fur. "I was such a fool..."

"But now you've changed. You won't be a fool anymore. You won't be alone anymore. We'll be together, now and forever." He rubbed his chin on her hand, and then he embraced her.

As they moved closer, she whispered, "Forever…" and kissed again.

Both were so lost that they didn't notice another toon approach the stump and ring the doorbell. An orange doe with a black jacket and black pants emerged to greet her boyfriend, a rat-cat hybrid, who wore a red jacket with matching pants. Bekki kissed Nolan, "Good morning, love. How's your aunt?"

He helped her out of the stump. The kiss had made him smile briefly, but his face, whiskers, ears, and tail lowered as he replied, "No changes, but at least she's not getting worse than she was last night. Oi'll be going to the hospital later today."

Her ears lowered too. "(CENSORED), I can't imagine how things must be for your family right now. But do you (CENSORED) think that maybe later on you and A.J. will join the rest of us? We're (CENSORED) going sledding, all my brothers and sisters, and J's cousins, too."

The carnivore-rodent smiled slightly, showing his canines and incisors. "Oi think Oi can make it—huh?" Something in the distance caught his eye, making him grind his teeth in confusion. He looked behind her and asked, "Say, ain't that Dakota and Tex?"

The lagomorph turned, and looked at the couple in question, wincing. "Well, either it's them—or someone just (CENSORED) broke the record of the most (CENSORED) lawn ornament—" She took a closer look, ears stiffening behind her. "—OR THAT (CENSORED) IS EATING MY BROTHER ALIVE!"

Now Nolan took a closer look, and couldn't help but ask, "What the (CENSORED)?" Then, with a chuckle, he added, "Heh, looks rather mutual to me, luv." Bekki just tensed and was about to warp—

—when the felid-murid grabbed her arm, stopping her. Before she could launch a barrage of curses at him, he asked, "Wait a mo. Why isn't Tex struggling to get away, if she was eating him? Actually the whole scene looks strangely—mutual."

The irate leporid spat, "MUTUAL? Please, it's (CENSORED) not as if the both of them are—" looks closer, wincing, "—hugging—and—Tex is (CENSORED) leaning her over? What the (CENSORED) is going on?"

"Oi don't know, but it looks like Tex got his wish from last night—but how?"

"That's what I would (CENSORED) like to know!"

Thinking a bit more, her boyfriend suggested, "Well, it looks like she 'ad a change o' heart, maybe."

"That, or a (CENSORED) lobotomy, complete with a (CENSORED) tonsil exam!"

"Do you think we should investigate?"

She spat, ears stiff behind her. "Don't see why the (CENSORED) not, after all, he is my brother, and she just happens to be a (CENSORED) who wants to kill us all." She stomped toward the kissing couple.

Her boyfriend padded beside her, curious about the whole thing, but then feeling bemused, "Is it just me, or is the snow below them melting?"

Tex was completely lost in the sensation of the kiss, now that it was being returned. Dakota, meanwhile, had never felt like this in her life. For a moment, she forgot all about the snow, the cold, the visitation, and could only feel his fur pressed against her face, and his furry body against her own, and the warm glow of pure joy that was coming from her heart. Bekki, however, was determined to put a stop to all that, knowing what her boyfriend had gone through because of the humanmaid. Nolan, on the other paw, was in a fix. He was unsure if he should stop his girlfriend.

Tex and Dakota were suddenly yanked out of their romantic trance when a furious orange doe yanked them apart. "WHAT THE (CENSORED) IS GOING ON? TEX, HAVE YOU GONE (CENSORED)?"

Dakota stumbled backward, falling into the snow. She looked up to find a very irate Rebecca Bunny staring down at her. "Oh shrimp…"

The green buck suddenly blocked the brunette's view of his sister, also with stiff ears. "It's called True Love, sis! And believe it or not, it found its way to Dee! She repented! She's no longer a villain!"

The hybrid beside the doe ground his teeth, "No longer a villain? True love? Dakota experiencing true love? Tex, that sounds rather the oxymoron to me."

The buck glared at his sister and her boyfriend, but his sister spat first, "And you actually (CENSORED) believe her? Please, Tex, what the (CENSORED) did she do to your brain? Did you forget every (CENSORED) thing she's done to J, to us, and to YOU!"

"Hey, you don't know what happened to her last night, Bekki!" he spat back

"Nor do you, Texie," said the humanmaid, sadly. "I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't believe me. Many didn't believe me just now, before I got here."

"'Texie'?" Nolan asked, curling his tail and grinding his teeth again.

Dakota stood, with Tex's help. "What?" she laughed. "You don't use a pet name with Bekki?"

"Not if Oi wish to live a long and healthy life," replied the hybrid. "Bekki can call me 'Lan', though, but she's about as bad as Auntie Miranda."

She flashed a grin at Bekki. "I prefer to be called 'Dee'."

"Very well. So what the (CENSORED) did happen to you?"

The Caucasian lowered her head, "It's a long story, guys—ever read 'A Christmas Carol'? The same story your family plays out, and where your sister might be playing Tiny Tim this year?"

Nolan stood back at that. Before he could ask how she got that information, his girlfriend eyed the humanmaid incredulously and asked, "So, you're (CENSORED) saying that you got the Scrooge treatment last night?"

She sighed, and nodded. "Yes, I did. It's not something I'd recommend to anybody, by the way. What I went through last night—was the scariest—most horrible—flashbacks—and flash-forwards—I've ever got———Bekki—I know this is hard for you to believe, but I saw the Light—and I received it."

Here, the rat-cat became sceptical, especially after what she said about Talleen. "Oh? What are you going to do to prove it, ay wot? Donate to Uncle Leo and Aunt Miranda's health fund?"

"Well, sure, but could you pick something I haven't done already?" Now it was Nolan's turn to have his jaw thud on the snow.

Tex winced, "What? Did you give the hospital all the info of the research you did?"

"Yes, every last bit of it. And my personal helicopter, too. The hospital needs it more than I do." The two rabbits' jaws thudded on the snow now. "Heh, I guess that would be surprising for all of you, considering what I've done before."

Suddenly, Bekki's jaw reset itself. She stomped in front of Dakota and leaned into her face, poking her chest, "Okay, so maybe you've done a few (CENSORED) publicity stunts—"

"PUBLICITY STUNTS!" Dee uttered in pure disbelief. "Bekki Bunny, if this was a publicity stunt, would I be here, instead of at a press conference? Where are the brass bands, the paid-to-be adoring crowds, the news media, and ticker tape?" Now she spoke with a slight English accent, brought about by her formative years spent in England. "Why am I not on television and demonstrating my 'benevolence' to the multitudes?" The four toons stood silent for a while. "Do you want to know why, Bekki?" she asked, still with that slight British accent. "It is because I intend to eschew fame, not seek it. It is one thing to be a philanthropist, it's quite another to use philanthropy to bolster one's ego, and image."

"Oh really?" Bekki shot back, unwilling to let this little (CENSORED) get the best of her. "What would you (CENSORED) say if I got ANNI and THE J here to do a (CENSORED) cross-examination on you? What if I (CENSORED) get the rest of my brothers and sisters, A.J. and The M here as well, (CENSORED) it?"

With her anger spent, she lowered her head, "I—I'd submit to whatever Anni and J would want to do to me—I—I know I probably deserve it ten times over—J—J would be justified if he mauled me from now till Kingdom come." She sighed, and shoved her hands into her coat pockets. It was then that Bekki realized that Dakota was not in her usual attire. There was no fur, or even faux fur, on the coat. It was a higher end coat, but not exactly a status symbol. It also looked like the human was wearing jeans and plain old sneakers as well, as she had apparently dressed hastily this morning. And knowing her, the evil toon would not be caught dead without fashion clothes that even made Shotsy jealous. She was about to throw another inquisition, but there was something about Dakota that Bekki could not deny. Despite her rather run-down appearance, Dakota's face—

Appeared brighter.

Gone was her father's inherited scowl. Gone was the sneer that usually graced her lips when talking to them. Her face showed concern, and that expression did not look the slightest bit foreign. And perhaps it was Bekki's imagination, but there was the slightest hint of loving dopiness that obviously came from Elmyra.

Finally, it hit her. "Whoa—you mean—this is (CENSORED) real?"

"I came by to tell Texie about my conversion—and to ask him where I could get another copy of a certain Book," she replied with a slight bit of self-depreciation.

"Another?"

"Y—yes—the one you gave me—um—I kinda—got rid of it."

"Oh, okay! No problem, Dee, here, I have another cop—" He was about to pull out another Book, but she stopped him.

"No, Texie. This time—I—I need to buy it. I won't take something that doesn't cost me anything now, especially not when I destroyed the Book."

He took out another Book anyway. "All the bookstores are closed today, luv, so you can have this one until tomorrow."

"Thanks, Texie," replied the humanmaid with a smile, taking the Book and clutching it like plush doll.

At this, the British-American asked his girlfriend, "Well, luv, does Dakota's conversion seem real enough for you now?"

The toon in question flashed a grin at them, "Please, I'd—I'd like to be called 'Dee' now."

"That's going to be a (CENSORED) problem for most of us, Dak—erm—Dee. We're a bit (CENSORED) used to calling you by your first name."

The brunette shrugged. "I'm sure it'll catch on eventually. It sounds better than 'Dakota', to be honest. Say, Bekki? Would you and your sibs like to help me clean out my room? I'm going to be donating a lot of stuff to charity, and I really don't want to interfere with the domestics' Christmas vacation. I might be able to get my cousins, too—"

(TRIPLE THUD)

"WHAT?" she asked perplexed.

Her new boyfriend reset his jaw, "Um—let's just say that you're pulling off one miracle after another, luv, but I doubt your dad will let us in the mansion."

She lowered her head again, "Daddy's off in Aspen, and by the time he gets back he's going to know all that I'm doing—and I know his reactions are going to be—less than pleasant. I might have to hang out at my own place for a while."

Bekki finally straightened her ears, convinced that the humanmaid was telling the truth. "Um—well—you certainly (CENSORED) surprised us, and proved to us that this is real, and it's (CENSORED) possible the rest of the teams will believe you as well—but considering all that's (CENSORED) happened, you're going to have a (CENSORED) of a time getting J and his family to (CENSORED) believe you."

The "new" humanmaid sighed again, and looked at the sky. "I know. I don't think Anni will believe me, or want to believe me, either. But extend the invite anyway, okay, Bekki? Daddy will be away until after New Years, so we don't have to get rid of everything in one night—hee hee—I may even end up donating to Shotsy's wardrobe!"

The green buck held her shoulders, and soothed, "We'll tie Anni down if we need to, Dee. And if you need more help, perhaps we can get A.J., too."

She held his paws, "That's great, Texie." They stood like this for a moment, and then she straightened up and gave a deep sigh. "Okay, I patched things up here, almost. Now to work up the courage to apologise to J and his family." She was about to walk away, toward the M Lair, but her boyfriend stopped her.

"Um, I don't think it's a good idea to do that today, luv. His whole family is visiting from Mexico, and I don't think you want to surround yourself with jaguars who know that you've tried to kill one of their own."

For the first time since last night, the Caucasian paled and gulped. "Uh, yeah. Very good point, Texie. I guess I still need to work on my timing."

"That's why I'm here to help you, luv," he replied, gently grinding his teeth and leaning his ears toward her.

His sister thought for a moment, and decided, "We'll sort of try to (CENSORED) break the news to them first, and then give you the (CENSORED) green light when they're ready to receive you."

"I just hope they believe you," shuddered the humanmaid.

"They're more likely to believe us than you, luv. If we can get Anni to accept you, J will be a lot easier."

"It'll be a start." She sighed again, looking contentedly at the three furries. "It will be nice to have actual friends…"

Tex held her shoulders, "And a boyfriend." She grinned at him, remembering that kiss.

That look in their eyes signalled the other couple to make a strategic retreat. "Well, I (CENSORED) guess we'll leave you two alone. Come on, Lan, let's go tell the (CENSORED) news to Anni and the teams."

However, Dakota explained, "I'd better leave, actually. I've got some other things to take care of, before I can go home and start packing. I really shouldn't take Texie away from his family."

Nolan chuckled, "Oh boy. This is going to be a lot of fun, to be honest!"

The green buck smiled, "You do what you need to do, luv," he kissed her cheek, "and we'll be waiting for you later. Merry Christmas." Dakota hugged Tex, and then waved to Nolan and Bekki, before she skipped off to do whatever other good deeds she had planned for the day.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

"Dee, come on! You said you wanted to come!" scolded Elmyra.

The teenager in question was dragged back to the door for the nth time. "Oh, Mom, I'm so nervous! I—I don't know if I should be here! I mean—I want to be here—but do they want me here?"

"Young lady, if they say they don't want you here, we'll fly to Aspen and celebrate with your father, okay?"

"O—okay."

"Now, I didn't tell your uncle you were coming, but he did invite you, so I'm sure he'll have a HUGE surprise!" She rang the doorbell, but to Dakota it sounded like a funeral dirge.

Duncan opened the door. "Ah, glad you could make it, sis! Please, com—" His jaw would have dropped to the ground if he had received more toony training. "Dee?" he asked incredulously.

At the sound of her name, all chatting and music and every single noise within his house suddenly ceased. Slowly, all of her relatives walked to the door to see if the Prodigal Daughter/Granddaughter/Niece/Cousin had actually returned.

"Hi, Uncle Duncan," she said sheepishly, almost trying to hide behind her mother. "I—I changed my mind—and decided to accept your offer this year—I—I hope you have room in there for me—and I hope—that you can forgive this spoiled girl for insulting you and Christmas like I did last night—I—I'm sorry for what I said, Uncle Duncan—please forgive me—and the rest of you, please forgive me—for neglecting—WHOA!"

She didn't get to finish her request, because suddenly her uncle picked her up and carried her on his shoulders, parading her all over the living room. All her relatives cheered and clapped, all wanting to hug her, mess her hair, and even give her a noogy. When at last he put her down, one of Duncan's daughters asked, "So, Cousin, what brings you to this neck of the woods to spend time with the peasants?"

The brunette replied, "Oh, I don't know, maybe I decided I've been—a brat—long enough—maybe because I finally saw the light—maybe because I need to appreciate family more—and maybe because if you want to draw a sketch of me you MIGHT want to see me so you can know what you're doing!" Naturally, the "Artist" didn't know what Dakota was talking about, and didn't care, either, because both were caught up in an embrace a moment later.

It was a Christmas celebration that family would not forget, because their Prodigal finally came home, naturally, but this Prodigal didn't return empty-handed. That night, a WE-haul truck stopped by the Duff house to drop quite a few Christmas gifts.

There was a twinge of regret, though, right when Duncan finally gave Dakota the gifts that had backed up over the years. There were many she didn't need anymore, like a tricycle, but she assured him that it would be put to good use.

And yes, they did play Pictionary®™ that night.

Also that night, they received a visit from a few furry friends, and it was a good thing, too. Dakota needed to tell them a story, and it was a bit long so she didn't want to repeat it unnecessarily, so she told it to all of them, now when they were all in one place.

That story began with a vault…