Chapter 19. Oh my god. I can't believe I'm 19 chapters in on this story now. It's because of all the readers and fans I've been getting. Anyway, this is a special chapter. I call it "A tale of two dads". Yes, this is gonna be a chapter about Stu and John. It's also gonna be in Bunnyburrow again. I'm doing a chapter like this because I really wanted to do something with the two dads. They find out that both of them are different in their own way, yet do their best to be good father figures. So this should be good. One more thing. This story now has over 250 faves, 300 followers, and 75,000 views. Wow. Just... wow. Thank you all so much for all the love. You guys are the reason I keep this story going. Sorry if the delay was a bit much for some of you to bare. I'll try to make the next chapter come sooner. Now, starting chapter now.
It was another great weekend at Bunnyburrow and another great visit for the Hopps from the Wildes. Whether it was Bunnyburrow or Zootopia, both family were enjoying their times together and really becoming good friends. Today, in the kitchen, John was teaching Nick, Judy, and 30 or so of the Hopps kids how to make pizza. Since there was always a lack of pizza in the household, most of them were super excited about this. John was currently showing how to kneed the dough.
"Now be sure to kneed the dough very properly, kids." John said as he kneed the dough.
"Like this, pop?" Nick asked his dad as he was trying to kneed the dough like he did.
"Excellent, Nicky." John said happily. "Now everyone, flatten the dough."
John then show the kids to kneed the dough into a flat dish shape. The kids all did the same. They were all doing a great job so far.
"Now it's time for the fun part." John said as he picks his dough up. "You lift the dough up." John then toss the dough in the air in a spinning rotation. "... toss the dough up high." As the dough went down and he caught it. "... and catch it. Then you keep tossing it up to make the dough soft and light. Keep doing this for a while, but be careful not to drop the dough."
The kids all nodded and toss the dough up like John did. They tossed theirs a bit lesser and more careful than John was. Except for Judy. She tried to do her best to do it similar to John tossing the dough up high.
"How's this, Mr. Wilde?" Judy asked as the throws the dough up high.
"Nicely done, Judy." John said happily to Judy. John then stopped tossing the dough and laid in down on a pizza pan. "Alright, I think that's enough. Now... we it's time to add the sauce."
John brought out a big pot full of red tomato sauce and a ladle.
"This sauce is my special recipe... with some of the tomatoes from your farm." John said as he gets the ladle of sauce out of the pot.
Nick looked into the pot of sauce and it looked really tasty to him.
"Pop, can I have a quick taste?" Nick asked his dad.
"One taste. But get a spoon." John said not wanting him to stick his paw in the pot.
"Okay." Nick said happily as he goes to the kitchen counter and picks up a spoon. He then goes back to the pot and gets a spoonful of the tomato sauce. He gets a taste of the sauce that his dad made.
"How's the sauce, champ?" John asked Nick.
"Mmmmmm. It's good." Nick said loving the taste. "This might be your best yet, pop."
"That's what I was going for." John said proudly. "Now for the pizza. Start by placing the ladle in the center and start pouring the sauce. Then spoon the sauce around the entire pizza. But not the edges." John said to the kids as he pours the sauce on the pizza. "Unless you want to do it that way. Some mammals do it that way, but this way gives you a crust." John finish pouring the sauce on the pizza he made. "Now it's your turn, kids."
Nick then took the ladle and started adding the sauce to the pizza he was making. While John and the kids were making pizza, Bonnie and Frankie happen to be watching them from the sides of the kitchen door.
"Well this is a first. The kids making food for themselves and me not having to do any of the work." Bonnie said to Frankie.
"You sound a little upset." Frankie stated.
"Oh no. I actually enjoy not having to cook for once." Bonnie said happily. "I tend to do a lot around this house."
"Even in your current state?" Frankie asked referring to Bonnie's pregnancy.
"I'm not gonna let a couple of bundles of joys stop me from doing my job as a mother." Bonnie said pridefully.
"Heehee. Bonnie, you are really something." Frankie said laughing a bit.
Seems that Frankie and Bonnie have been getting along quite well over the past months. It's mainly because they had a lot in common with each other. Even with them being a fox and a bunny. John and Stu however, the two of them are as different as different can be. They got along just fine, but they had different views on life. As Frankie and Bonnie went off, Stu was the next person to come near the kitchen. He sees that his kids are fixing pizzas with John's instructions. They were all currently spreading the shredded cheese on the pizzas.
"So now that we added the cheese, it's now time for the best part. The toppings." John said in an excited matter. "Choose whatever toppings we have on hand for your pizzas."
A few of the kids brought to a table a variety of toppings that they could use for the pizzas. These included carrots slices, mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, spinach, some sliced tomatoes, and some other stuff.
"What do you like on your pizza, Nick?" Judy asked looking curious.
"Pop and I like to have mushrooms on our pizza." Nick said to Judy.
"Guess you can say we are fun guys for fungi." John said making a joke.
"Hahaha!" Nick laughed.
"Uggghhh..." All the other kids went. They didn't find the joke too good.
"Oh come on. That was funny." Nick said.
"Now now Nicky. Not everyone can have a good taste in humor like the two of us." John said as he and the others spread their toppings on their pizzas.
Stu then walked into the kitchen.
"Hey everyone." Stu said announcing himself into the room.
"Hey dad." Judy said.
"Hey there, Stu." John said greeting him.
"What's going on here?" Stu asked curiously.
"Mr. Wilde is showing us how to make our own pizza." Greg said happily. "He's a really good teacher."
"Nah. I'm just teaching you kids what I know." John said not trying to boast. "Alright. I think we are ready to put these pizza in the ovens." John noticed that they made at least 30 or so pizzas, which is a big number. "A lot of pizzas here." John then look at the 8 ovens that the Hopps had in their kitchen. "It's a good thing you have more than one oven."
Most houses only have one oven. But when you have a big family like the Hopps, you need more than one oven to cook enough food for everyone in a short time.
"Can I help out?" Stu asked. "I could make a few more."
"I think we have enough pizza, Stu." John stated.
"Now Johnny, I think I know my own kids. So I know that most of them have a pretty big appetite." Stu said with a smirk. He then walked over to the table and picked up one of the leftover pizza dough. "Besides, this doesn't seem too hard. Just flatten the dough and tossing it up, right?"
"Uhh... yeah, but..." John said.
"I can handle that." Stu said confidently as he started kneeding the pizza dough flat. "Now I just toss it up in the air... like this?" Stu then throw the door high in the air. A little too high. John noticed.
"Uhh... Stu? That's a little too..." John said trying to warn Stu not to throw it so it. But he was a bit late. The dough fell right on top of Stu's head. "... high."
Nick, Judy, and the others children bursted in laughter at the sight of Stu's head being covered with pizza dough. Stu felt a bit embarrassed.
"Ah... ha ha. Might not have been ready for that." Stu said lifting the dough from his eyes.
" Like I said, I... think we have enough pizza." John stated to Stu.
"Agreed." Stu admitted.
After a couple of minutes of being in the ovens, the pizzas were done and everyone was enjoying them for lunch. The cheese on the pizzas melted out perfectly and also gave a cheesy pull as you take a bite into it. A good sign to a good sign. As well as the nice and crispy crust. Nick has had a few of his dad's pizzas and he's helped him make it before. So he knows how good his dad's pizzas are. But this was the first time everyone else, included Judy, has had it.
"Mmmmm." Judy said happily as he chewed on her slice of pizza. "The sauce that your dad made is so incredible."
"Yep! That's pop for ya. He has great pizza skills." Nick said before taking a big bite from his pizza. "Course, he's just as good at teaching them."
"Yeah. I never thought making pizza would be so easy." Judy said to Nick.
The kids were not the only ones enjoying the pizza. The parents were also loving the pizza.
"So Stewie, how's your slice?" John asked Stu.
"It's okay." Stu said not sounding too impressed. But in his head, he was thinking something else. "Sweet cheese and crackers! This has to be the best pizza I ever had. It's like John is good at everything. How do I even compete with someone like him?" Stu thought.
As Stu thought that, two of the kids were fighting over an extra slice of pizza they had. They were each pulling the plate holding the pizza.
"Back off. It's mine!" A brown boy bunny said angrily.
"No way! Jessie didn't want her slice and I asked for it first." A lighter brown boy bunny said angrily.
"Oh dear. Not again." Bonnie said as she shook her head.
"Again? So this happens a lot?" Frankie asked.
"Sometimes it's food, sometimes it's a toy. Either way it's very common in this house." Bonnie stated.
"Should we do something?" John asked them.
"I'll handle it." Stu said finishing his pizza.
Stu then walked over to the two kids as they were still fighting over that pizza.
"Kids, remember our rule in this house. When we have a problem... we compromise." Stu said to the two little bunnies. Stu goes to the kitchen and gets a small knife. He then cuts the pizza down the middle, making it two different halves. "There. Now you each have your own."
"Thanks dad." The two boy bunnies said happily as they each get their half of a slice.
Stu was able to handle the problem pretty quickly. It really surprised John a bit.
"Wow. Stu was able to handle that so quickly. I remember how my brother and I use to went at it and our dad couldn't stop us for a whole hour." John thought. "The fact that someone like Stu was able to end things so soon, it's impressing."
John usually thought Stu was the kind of dad that let his kids just fight it out til they came with a solution, instead of fixing the problem himself. John though he knew Stu pretty well, but it seem like he still needed to know more about him.
A while later, Nick changed into his scout uniform and Judy changed into her police officer uniform. They were getting ready to have their Zoo-Burrows Scouts meeting with their Bunnyburrow friends. Nick finished tying his handkerchief and then put his cap on. Judy put her police cap on too.
"Ready Carrots?" Nick asked Judy.
"You know I am." Judy said happily.
Nick and Judy then walked to the living room where the parents were. They were a bit curious why they were wearing their uniforms.
"Nicky, Judy, how come you are in those outfits?" John asked.
"Didn't we told you? We have some of the kids here in Bunnyburrow to join our pack. So we are having a meeting with them today." Nick said to his dad.
"This will be our first ZB meeting with them and we are all getting together at the old barn in town." Judy said.
"Oh. I was gonna ask if you two wanted to play a few innings of baseball. A few of Judy's brothers and sisters wanted to play." John said throwing a baseball up in the air a bit.
"As fun as that sounds, let's save it for next time." Nick said.
"Okay then." John said.
"Cole and Conner should already be there. So we should catch up." Judy said.
"Right." Nick said nodded. He then looked at his parents. "See ya, mom and pop. Mr. and Mrs. Hopps."
"Yeah. See ya." Judy said.
After saying goodbye to their parents, Nick and Judy left the house to meet up with their friends. Both pairs of parents were happy that their kids were getting along and making more friends with others.
"Ever since Nick started his own little pack, he's been making so many new friends. I'm so happy for him." Frankie said happily.
"Yeah. I'm a little down that he has been speading less time with his old man, but I'm still glad for our boy." John said.
"Johnny, if it bothers you that much, then maybe it's time that we start to consider..." Frankie said.
Before Frankie could finish what she wanted to say, John halted her and said something else.
"Say Stewie, how bout calling some of those kids of yours so we can play some ball?" John said frantically as he began making his way out the room.
"Uhh... sure." Stu said walking with John.
"He's avoiding the subject... again." Frankie thought a bit mad at John.
Bonnie looked at Frankie and how she looked a bit down in the dumps.
"Frankie, is something the matter?" Bonnie asked.
"No. Everything's fine." Frankie told her.
"You sure? Cause it sounded like you wanted to ask Johnathan something." Bonnie said.
"Let's just say when a certain subject comes up, Johnny tries to avoid the subject." Frankie said. She then started to smirk. "But it's fine. He can't avoid it forever."
Whatever the "subject" was, Frankie really seem determine to talk to John about it. But that was for another day. Later outside, a few of the Hopps kids made a baseball field to play their game of baseball on. John, Stu, Bonnie and Frankie watched as the kids played. The kid who's was pitching was Mikey. While a little 7 year old dark grey boy bunny was at bat. He wore a black shirt with blue jeans. Paulie was being the umpire.
"So... ready for the heat, Rudy?" Mikey asked confident.
"Uhh... not really." Rudy said nervously. It seem that he didn't really want to play or was a bit scared.
"Well you better get ready." Mikey said while he was getting into a pitcher's position.
"Eek!" Rudy said nervously holding the bat and shaking quite a lot.
"The poor kid's looks really scared." John said watching him at bat.
Mikey then starts the windup and then pitched a fastball. Rudy swung the bat too soon and it miss the ball.
"Stiiiiiirike one!" Paulie shouted out.
Rudy was upset he missed. He got into batting position again, but still looked scared. Mikey started winding up another pitch. This time a slow ball. Once again, Rudy swung the bat too soon again and missed.
"Stiiiiiirike two!" Paulie shouted out.
One more strike and Rudy would be out. He was really upset that he hasn't be able to hit it like before. Stu try his to cheer up his son.
"Son, it doesn't matter if you don't hit it." Stu shouted out. "Even if you miss, it's still okay."
While what Stu said was true, John didn't think that. He really wanted to help the little guy out.
"Time-out! Time-out!" John shouted out while making the time-out gesture with his paws and walking onto the field.
All the kids stopped when John called time-out. John went over to the batting plate and to Rudy. He then lean down a bit to talk directly to Rudy.
"Hey there, little guy." John said happily greeting Rudy. "Do you need some pointers?"
"Uhh... yes Mr. Wilde." Rudy said.
"First off, are you leftpawed or rightpawed?" John asked.
"Leftpawed sir." Rudy answered.
"Ha. Well no wonder. You're on the wrong side." John stated.
Rudy was standing on the left side of the plate. If you use your right paw, then you would stand on the left side. But if you use your left paw, then you would stand on the right side. John then moved Rudy to the other side the plate and helped him with his batter stance.
"Knees bend, keep your position, hold the bat upword." John said to Rudy.
"Like this?" Rudy asked doing what John told him.
"Perfect." John said giving Rudy a thumbs up. "Now ask for your swinging... you don't swing the bat cause you see the ball coming. You swing the bat when you think the ball is gonna be near you. Also, be sure to put a lot of power into the hit. Got it?"
"Got it." Rudy said nodding.
"Like your dad said, it's okay if you miss. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it your all." John patting Rudy on his shoulder.
"Okay, Mr. Wilde." Rudy said sounding more confident.
John then stepped a few feet back, but still stayed near the batting plate.
"Alright. Time-in." John shouted out.
The kids then continue their game of baseball.
"So... you ready for this one, little bro?" Mikey said throwing the ball up a bit.
"Yeah. I'm ready." Rudy said confidently and firmly held his bat.
Mikey started the windup again and pitch another fastball. Rudy remembered John's advice and swung the bat when the ball was near him. With some lucky, Rudy was able to hit the ball and sent it flying really high. Which surprised everyone quite a bit. Except for John.
"Sweet... cheese and crackers. That's a hit." Stu said still a bit surprised.
"Rudy, run!" John shouted out.
"Run! Run, sweetie!" Bonnie shouted to Rudy.
Rudy quickly dropped the bat and started running the bases. The other Hopps kids on the field were not expecting the hit, so there were kinda scrambling when they tried to get the ball. By the time one of them got it, Rudy has pass second base and was going for third base. As Rudy made it to third base and dashed to homeplate, one of the Hopps boys grabbed the baseball and tossed it to the bunny holding up third base. He then pitched the ball quickly to the sibling guarding homeplate. Rudy had to dash quickly and slide for the plate, causing a huge dirt cloud. No one could tell if Rudy was safe or now. As the dirt cloud started to clear, they see that Rudy's foot is on the plate.
"SAAAAFE!" Paulie shouted out.
Little Rudy was able to make a homerun. Everyone was cheering.
"Woooo!"
"Alright, Rudy!"
"Way to go, Rudy."
"I... I did it." Rudy said happily as he gets up.
"See? I knew you could do it." John said as he walked over to Rudy.
Rudy then hugged John's for encouraging him. But since he was much smaller than the fox, he was only able to hug his leg.
"Thank you, Mr. Wilde. You're the best." Rudy said happily.
John was surprised to for two reasons. One, someone beside Nick calling him the best. And two, expecting a hug. But John lean down and hugged the little bunny back.
"Awwww! It's no problem." John said happily.
While this was happening, Stu was noticing this and couldn't help but feel a bit depressed But how would you feel if one of your kids started thinking that someone else was better than you?
"*sigh* Chalk up another point to John." Stu thought.
After their game of baseball was over, it was time to get to doing some farm work. John was walking around the fields a bit and noticed someone near a green tractor. It was one of the older Hopps kids, Gerald. It lookd like he was trying to start up the tractor, but all he was getting was a steam.
"Come on! Work you are ol' piece of junk." Gerald shouted out at the tractor looking frustrated.
"What's wrong?" John asked Gereld.
"Oh! Hey Mr. Wilde." Gerald said greeting John. "It's our tractor. She's acting up... again."
"Your... parents are okay with you using it?" John asked.
"Of course. I'm not a little kid like most of my other little brothers." Gerald stated. "Anyway, you're good at things. Think you can see what's up with the ol' girl?"
"Me? Uhhh..." John said not sounding sure he wants to. Now John was good at fixing suits, but fixing tractors wasn't in his resume. Yet, he didn't want to leave Gerald hanging. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."
John decided to check inside the hood of the tractor. The engine was blowing out a lot of steam.
"Jeez! It's like a sauna." John said as fan away some of the steam with his paws. Once it was clear, he could be able to see the engine and other parts. "Now... let's see what's up?" John looked at the parts of the engine and responded by saying "Uh huh." and "Mmm hmm." a few times. While it seem like he knew what was up, in reality... "Yeah... I have NO idea what I'm looking for. What am I even suppose to do?" John thought looking worried.
"You boys need a paw?" Someone from behind them went.
John and Gerald looked to see who it was. It was Stu with a toolbelt around his waist.
"I saw happen to be walking by and saw the smoke. The ol' girl acting up again?" Stu asked.
"Yeah, dad." Gerald said. "It's like the third time this week. I think it's time for a new one."
"Now now. I'm sure I can get her to work again." Stu said confidently. "Johnny, mind if I take a look?"
"Not at all." John said stepping back a bit.
Stu took out a wretch from his toolbelt as he walked to the tractor. He looked at the engine and he saw the problem.
"I see the problem. A few of the bolts are loose." Stu stated. "Let's fix that."
Stu used the wretch and turned each of the screws that were loose tighter.
"There. Oh... I should also check the hydraulics as well." Stu said.
Stu checked around the other parts around the tractor to make sure everything was good. To Stu, everything looked fine.
"Okay. Try now." Stu said to Gerald to try starting the tractor again.
Gerald turn the tractor on and this time, it was actually working.
"Nice. She's sounding better now." Gerald said happily. "Thanks, dad. You too, Mr. Wilde."
"Uhh... sure." John said. "Even if I haven't even done anything." John muttered.
Gerald then drove off to the fields and back back to farmwork. So now it was just Stu and John. John didn't say it, but he was still amazed at Stu being able to fix the tractor. But not only that, but was able to handle things with his kids pretty well.
"Seems like you knew exactly what to do." John stated to Stu.
"Well... this wasn't the first time I had to fix that tractor. Or the second time. Or the three time." Stu said with a smile. "It's really no big deal."
"You did better than I could. Suits, I can fix. Tractors, not so much." John said.
"Haha! Anyway, I should get back to work. Still got a lot to do today." Stu said.
"Right. Guess I'll go see if any of the other kids need my help around here." John said scratching the back of his head. "You know, in case they need it."
"Right. Right." Stu said as he scratch the back of his head.
The two then sat awkwardly stand and stared at each other for a few seconds before walking away and saying "See ya!" to each other. While the two didn't, they didn't want to say how they felt about each other as a father figure. So instead, after all the farmwork was done, they went to their wives to talk about it. Stu was with Bonnie in their bedroom. Bonnie was doing some kniting on their bed while Stu and pacing left and right.
"He knows the right things to say to the kids, always confident, AND he knows how to make pizza. How do I compete with someone like that?" Stu said in a frazzled matter.
"It's not a competition, Stu." Bonnie said while she was kniting.
"Look, up until now, I thought I was doing a great job as a dad. But compare to John, who's a fox by the way, I... don't think I'm doing enough." Stu amitted to Bonnie.
"Stu, you're overthinking things. You do a great job with the kids." Bonnie said as she stops kniting and looked at Stu.
"Do I really?" Stu asked looking worried. "Cause compare to John..."
"Stop comparing yourself to Johnny." Bonnie said. "You're you and John's John."
"*sigh* I know." Stu said looking down on the ground.
"Honey, if you feel this way, then you should go talk to Johnathan about this." Bonnie suggested.
"I... don't know." Stu said sounding unsure.
"Come on. John's an understanding man. What do you have to lose?" Bonnie asked.
"The respect of all my kids and my family that told me to stay away from foxes in the first place." Stu answered.
"Steward Hopps, talk to Johnathan about this or you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight." Bonnie said sounding serious.
"Okay. Okay. I'm going." Stu said not wanting to make his wife any madder.
So Stu quickly left the room to find and talk to John. Meanwhile, in the guest bedroom where John and Frankie slept, John was having similar talk to Frankie about this. Frankie was just reading a book on the bed while John was pacing left to right, like Stu was.
"Not only is he able to handle keeping this house together with 276 kids, but he knows how to fix a tractor." John said to Frankie.
"Do you even want to know how to fix a tractor?" Frankie asked raising an eyebrow.
"I might. You don't know what I would like to learn." John stated firmly.
Frankie then closed her book and walked up to John.
"Johnny, do you think you're a bad dad?" Frankie asked John.
"What?! No! Absolutely not!" John said a bit frazzled. "I love our son and I would anything for him. It's just... it's just that... sometimes I think... having 'their' easy life would be 'easier' for us to have."
"That's funny coming from Mr. Work-Hard-At-Everything-You-Do." Frankie said.
"Frankie, you know me. I always believed in hardwork being it's own reward. But you know just as well as I do that it's doesn't always pay the bills." John said.
"Maybe... you should talk to Stu about this." Frankie suggested.
"Talk to Stu? About my feelings?" John said looking like he didn't like to hear that. "Hate to break it to you hun, but us men don't really like to 'talk' about our feelings with each other."
Frankie didn't look amused by John's response.
"Okay. Fine. You can just talk to me more about it. As well as a certain other subject that the two us us still need to discuss." Frankie said with a sly look on her face.
Not wanting to talk about what this "certain subject" was, John decided that he should listen to his wife.
"You know what? I think I will go to Stu and talk about my feelings." John said smiling awkwardly. "Thanks for the advice, sweetie."
John then quickly kissed Frankie on the cheek and ran off to find Stu. Frankie just smile slyly.
"I knew that would get him moving." Frankie said to herself. "Still, as hard as he tries, he can't avoid it forever."
So, it didn't take that long for Stu and John to run into each other. They happen to run into each other at the hallway on the first floor of the house.
"Stu!" John shouted trying to get Stu's attention.
"John!" Stu shouted to do the same like John.
"John, do you mind if we talk for.../Say Stu, you got a few minutes to..." Stu and John said as their words overlapped. They realized that and stopped.
"Well... seems that we both have some things to discuss." John said.
"Seems like we do." Stu said nodding.
"Den room?" John asked suggesting that they do their discussing there while pointing at the direction of the room.
"Den room." Stu said agreeeing with John.
So the two walked to the den room to have their conversation there. As they head into the room, John sat on one of the chairs near a table. Stu went to a cooler that was in the room to get them a drink.
"Is a beer okay with you?" Stu asked. "I mean, if you don't drink..."
"I'm known to have a beer or two every once in a while. Just not too often. Have anything that isn't carrot flavored?" John said.
"I think I have one that you might like." Stu said as he grabbed two bottles. He closes the cooler and hands one of the bottles to John. "Here."
John looks at the bottle and sees that label says it's blueberry flavored.
"Blueberry flavored beer? That sounds like something I would enjoy." John said happily as he twist the top of the bottle. Stu did the same.
"Cheers!" John and Stu said as they join their bottles together before taking sips of them.
John and Stu took light chugs of their beers. John seemed like he loved the taste of the beer.
"Not bad. Not bad." John said with a smile.
"Glad you like it. Believe it or not, not everyone in my family are farmers." Stu said. "Some of my brothers decided to be brewers."
"They make their own beer?" John asked with his eye widen.
"Some whiskey and moonshine too." Stu said.
"Bunnies after my own heart." John said slyly.
"Welllll... they thought if we were gonna be bunnies in the country, might as well have good drinks to go with it." Stu said.
"Hmm. By the way, since you mention your family, did you happen to tell other members of your family that you are friends with foxes yet?" John asked before sipping his beer.
Stu responded by spitting out his drink.
"Judging by that, I'm assuming no." John said putting his bottle down.
"I'm... sorry." Stu said as he puts his bottle down. "It's not something that comes up very often. I can't just go and tell my brothers, sisters, cousins, and parents that we just started being friends with foxes. I mean, my father told me "All foxes are red cause they are made by the devil." and I use to believe it too."
"Okay. Three things: One, most foxes aren't even red. Many have black, grey and white fur. Two, for the ones that do have red furs, it's actually more of an orange or amber color. Three, it really sounds like your old man didn't know much about foxes." John said.
"Yeah... I realized that some of things he said about your kind is a bit... negative." Stu admitted.
"Believe it or not, my own dad feels the same about rabbits." John said to Stu.
"What? Really?" Stu said surprised to here that.
"It's true. My dad told me that all bunnies are overtimid, take the easy way out, and insecure." John said.
"Johnny, I'm all of those things." Stu admitted since that's the actual case with Stu.
"Not anymore." John said.
"Nope. Still all of those things." Stu said firmly.
"Yeeaaahh... but at least you are more easygoing." John said shrugging. "Look at you now. You're in a room with a fox and you're not shrieking in terror. That's something."
"That's true. The old me would have reached for the fox taser by now." Stu said.
John responded by growling in anger a bit. He still wasn't too keen about Stu having a taser in the first place.
"Sorry. Sorry. Don't be angry with me, please?" Stu begged.
"It's fine. It's fine." John said already over it. He then picked up his beer. "Anyway, I think we are getting off topic of what we really wanted to talk about."
"Right. Might if I speak first?" Stu asked.
"Sure." John said before taking another sip of his beer.
"I... don't know how I should say this..." Stu said as he takes of his cap. "... so I'll just be forward with it. John... you are a great dad. No. Scratch that. You're a better dad than I am."
"Stu..." John said feeling that Stu didn't need to say that.
"Let me finish." Stu said wanting to continue. "I didn't think a mammal like you, let alone a fox, was even out there in the world. You're smart, you're honest, you know the right things to say to the kids, and you're fearless. But me... I..." Stu gripped onto his beer bottle tightly. "... I ducked out on everything before even giving it a good try, been scare of the smallest things for the dumbest reasons, and worst of all, I tried to pass it down to all 276 of my kids. Even if I know I'm not you, I still kinda wish I was."
"Wow. Wow. That's... surprising for me to hear you say that." John admitted. "Now... can I say I need to say?"
"Sure. What is it that you wanted to tell me?" Stu asked.
"Stu, I think you're a great dad too." John said.
Like John, Stu was a bit surprise to hear John say that.
"You may have played the safe game, but it still helped you support your family. You work hard and do everything you can for your kids. With 276 kids, that's saying a lot. I don't think I can do what you do." John said. He then continued. "As for being fearless, well... no ones really fearless. I have fears just like everybody else."
"What? Johnny, you're not scared of anything." Stu said not believing him.
"Nope. I'm scared of a lot of things. I'm scared of my future, I'm scared that of not doing enough for my son, and... well... there's one more thing I'm scared of. Something I know you're nowhere near scared of." John said.
"What's that?" Stu asked looking curious.
What was it that John was so afraid of that Stu wasn't? John took a quick chug of the rest of his beer before he answered that question.
"Recently... Frankie... has been considering more and more for us... to have another baby." John told him.
Stu's eye widen. He was no doubt stunned by this news. But also smiling a bit.
"That's... great news, John." Stu said happily.
"Issssss it?" John asked looking unsure about the whole thing. "Cause I'm don't think I'm ready for that yet. Frankie however, I pretty sure she's ready cause the shop is doing better AND the little ones you guys currently have."
"So... are you really sure that Francine wants you two to have another kid?" Stu asked.
John stared down at Stu with a serious look on his face. Stu was starting to get a little scared.
"Stu, for the past week, Frankie has been... intimate. You know that special 'mommy-daddy time' us parents have? We had that 5 days straight. Thursday, we had to send Nicky to a friend's house to sleepover." John said firmly. "I haven't slept well in the last couples of days.
"... So what I'm hearing is that you got to spend quality time with your wife for several days in a row." Stu said with a straight face. "Those sweet... sweet quality time. Must be nice. So... WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?!"
"Uhhh... are things okay with you and the miss's?" John asked since it seem that something was up.
"Johnathan, at this point with Bonnie's pregnancy, we're not really allow to have our special 'mommy-daddy' time." Stu stated. "Same for all her other pregnanices. Every... single... one."
"Oh. So... it's been a couple of months for you?" John asked.
"*sigh* Yes." Stu said with his head down.
"Aaaahh... I see. So what you are saying is when it's your time at bat, you give your all." John stated using a metaphor. "No wonder why he has so many kids?" John thought.
"Okay. Enough about my lovelife. How about you? Any possible chance that Frankie might be..." Stu said wondering if Francine was pregnant.
John responded by shaking his head no. "Convince her that we still needed time to think about things." John said.
"How come?" Stu asked.
"Unlike you bunnnies, other mammals put some more thought to it before having kids all willy-nilly." John said while frailing his arms a bit when he said willy-nilly. "Sure, there are a lot of plus sides. But something I should always take into factor what gender the kid may be. If I had another boy, that would be great. Nick would have a little brother to look after and I have a second kid to do father-son stuff with. Then if I had girl, that would be great too. Frankie would have the girl that she always wanted and she would by daddy's little girl for me. However, if I did had a girl, she gonna grow up to be beautiful like her mother. If that happen then... boys would be all over her. Which means..." John then started growling and his claws came out. "... I would have to hunt every boy that would try to make a move on her."
Stu lean back on his chair very frighten of John right now. John realized this and admittely retracked his claws then turned back to normal.
"I don't even have a daughter and I'm already turning becoming 'that' kind of dad." John said with his paw on his faces. "I turned into my father-in-law."
"You're father-in-law hates you?" Stu asked.
"Doesn't your father-in-law hate you after taking his daugther away from him?" John asked raising an eyebrow.
"*sigh* Yes. Yes he did." Stu admitted. "If it's wasn't for Bon's mother, my relationship with him would be really worst."
"God bless, mother-in-laws." John said chuckling a bit. "So... are you the same with any of your daughters?"
"Welllll... it's not like any of my daughter are even dating." Stu told John.
"*chuckling* Yeah, okay. Believe what you want." John said smirking. "What about Judy? How would you feel if Judy and Nick actually did started dating one day?"
"Uhhhh... well... I know Nick's a good boy. So I don't think I need to be that overprotective father like our in-laws were." Stu said.
"Really?" John said while raising his eyebrow. "So you wouldn't, let's say... call a few of your older boys to spy on the two of them?"
Oh Jeez! John knew about that? Stu ears drooped just as John mentions that.
"How... did you know about that?" Stu asked looking shaken.
"I didn't... until you just confirmed it." John said slyly. John didn't really know. He just made a high educated guess.
"Sorry... about that." Stu said sounding apologetic.
"It's fine." John said.
"We were still scared of foxes and everything." Stu said sounding more apologetic.
"It's fine." John said with his paw up. "Now, you get what I'm saying now, right? Having kids is the easy part, but raising them is the hard part."
"What do you mean? You did a great job with Nick, right?" Stu asked.
"Yeah... but if you remember, I said he hated me the first 3 months of his life. What if it's gonna be like for the next kid? And even if that's not the case, what can I do to make sure they have a good future?" John asked looking worried. "We're foxes. So even if I don't want it to happen, they will have to deal with some hardtimes because of what are. Will I be there enough for them? Help them when they need it? Doesn't that stuff scare you?
"That kind of stuff doesn't scare me..." Stu said before having a worried look on his face. "...at least... not until you mentioned it." Stu then took a huge chug of his beer.
"Oh jeez. Did I just open another door into Stu's world?" John thought.
As Stu finished chugging his beer, he realized that the bottle was empty.
"Oh look at that. Empty. I'll get us some more." Stu said frantically as he gets out of his chair.
"No no." John said as he halts Stu. "I think we had enough. Don't want to make any bad choices."
"Uggghhh... now I starting to wonder if I was there enough for any of my kids." Stu said with his paws on the sides of his head. "Most of the time, Bon's the one taking care of the kids while I do the farmwork. Oh cheese and crackers. I didn't even gave some of the boys 'the talk' yet."
"You what?!" John shouted. "Stewie, some of your boys are 15. How did you know have 'the talk' with them?"
Before he could answer that, Edgar, still wearing black and holding a book, was nearby the hallway and just happen to hear the conversation.
"We're good." Edgar simple said as he was reading his book.
"What?" John and Stu said surprised.
"You know, 'The Talk'. Most of us had it already." Edgar said as he close his book and looked at Stu and John.
"What? How? When?" Stu asked.
"School." Edgar answered.
"School? They teach that stuff in school these days?" Stu asked not sounding too happy about that.
"Only after the parents sign the permission slips." Edgar said.
"Permission slip?" Stu said trying to recall signing a few slips.
"Remember? It was the week after mom gave birth to a few of the younger ones and you were really tired from all the farmwork. So you pretty much just randomly signed each of them without looking at what they were about." Edgar stated.
"I did?" Stu asked looking confused and frazzled.
"Yeah." Edgar said nodding.
"Ohhhhhhh... I think I'm remembering now." Stu said finally recalling it.
"While we are at subject, I feel like I should say something for all of us kids." Edgar said. "Whether you think it's normal for bunnies to have to this many kids, it's not. Not at all. If there's one thing you need to not try, it's having more of us."
Edgar had a point. Who actually have 276 kids and STILL thinks that it's okay to have more of them.
"The kid's not wrong." John said agreeing with Edgar.
"Maybe this house is a bit... overcrowded." Stu admitted while scratching the back of his ears.
"I'm only asking that you at least ease up a bit. You know, get to know the kids you already have a bit more." Edgar said.
"I guess you're right." Stu said agreeing with Edgar. He then took a good look at Edgar. It only took him not to realize that his all-black attire wasn't really what you call 'Happy-go-Lucky' like most bunnies where. "Uhh... Edgar, when did you started wearing... the clothes you're currently wearing?"
"If you're asking this now after 3 years, then you are only proving my point more." Edgar said firmly.
Stu and John awkwardly looked at each other after that response.
"Alright. I'm going now. This was actually nice." Edgar said. "Hopefully, the next talk won't take 3 more years."
With that said, Edgar was went back on his way, reading his book. So it was just Stu and John again. The two went back to their chair and sat back on them.
"Wow. Edgar's... quite the character for your family." John said smiling awkwardly.
"Now I'm really starting to question myself." Stu said looking down. "Now I don't know if I'm there enough for my kids."
"Stu, you still do a good job. Judy and the others turned out okay." John said. "Maybe you mess up one or two things, but you still did your best. Like I said before, 276 kids is a lot. I couldn't do it."
"Yeah... but it seems like out of nowhere, they are all starting to grow up and change so much. Feels like I've been pretty stupid not to notice." Stu said. "I do know one thing."
"What's that?" John asked.
"After this next litter, I think Bonnie and I should slow down on having more kids for now." Stu said.
"With as much kids that you had, I'm surprised you wait til now to think that." John said. "But one of those kids happen to be Judy. The best friend Nick's ever made."
"I could say the same about Judy with Nick." Stu said with a smile.
"Hmm... it's actually weird. You're thinking about lowering down on having more kids, while I'm... I'm at more ease with having more kids now." John admitted.
"What's weird is our friendship." Stu said. "Come on. A farming bunny from the country and tailoring fox from the city. You got to admit,it's weird."
"Ha ha! You're right." John said joyfully. "It's not like I plan to move to the country."
"And it's not like I plan to move to the city. Yet for some reason, we're friends. How did that even happen?" Stu asked.
"That's easy to answer. Cause of our kids. We love our kids." John answered. "The friendship between those was so strong that we just to keep it going."
"You're absolutely right." Stu said nodding. "If there's anything the two of us can agree on, it's make our kids happy for as long as we can."
"Couldn't said it better myself." John said happily.
While John and Stu are almost completely different, the two can agree that they want their children to be happy. In doing so, Nick and Judy's strong friendship has given them a strong friendship as well. John and Stu got off of their chairs and shook each others paws.
"Thanks for the talk, Johnny. It helped got a lot out of my chest." Stu said happily.
"No problem. You did the same for me." John said as before letting go of Stu's paw. "By the way, there was just one more thing I wanted to ask you."
"Is it about our blueberries?" Stu asked thinkings John wanted to know more about them.
"No. No. Well... Nicky and I DO want to know how you made them so good, but that's not it." John said. "I was curious, are you planning for your kids to go to college? For us, Nick wasn't sure about going to college, but Frankie and I always pinch some pennies just in case."
"Well, for Bonnie and I, we not really sure any of our kids will go to college." Stu said.
"Was that before... or after most of them wanted to switch careers?" John asked.
Stu went silent. For all he knew, his kids opinions on college might change too.
"How much? How much would it be to send all my kids to go to college?" Stu asked looking worried.
"Aren't you the one who's good at multiplying?" John asked.
"Johnny." Stu said
"Hang on." John said getting out a mini-calculator from his pocket. "Okay. Tuition for most colleges are $8,000."
"Per year?" Stu asked.
"Per semester." John said.
"*groan* Okay. Go on." Stu said clinching his gut.
"Now, room and board is about $9,000 for four years. Then there's books and other expenses. Lastly, the fact you currently have 276 kids." John said as he types the numbers on his calculator. "That would make a grand total of..."
John completely froze when he saw the number on his calculator. It was not a pretty sight.
"What's the number, Johnny?" Stu asked.
"Mmm mmm." John said shaking his head and not wanting to say the number.
"What's the number?" Stu asked again.
"Ugggggghhh... you're not gonna like it." John said giving him a warning.
"I can take it, John." Stu said bracing himself.
"...$20,148,000." John said.
Stu wanted to pass out and fall to the ground after just hearing the number. $20,14800? Who besides super rich people would be able to pay that much? John was holding on the Stu and keeping him up.
"Tw... Tw... Twenty mi... mill... mill..." Stu stumbled not wanting to say the number.
"Stu! Stu! Calm down." John said. "Maybe you're right. Maybe your kids don't all want to go to college. This was only the number if they all wanted to go. It's too early to worried about that."
"You're... you're right. Too early to get freaked out." Stu said.
As he said that, one of the kids, Ellinor, went into the room. Seem like Ellinor had something to say.
"Dad, after high school, I'm thinking of continuing my education by going to college." Ellinor said.
Oh boy. That's one peg down.
"If I'm gonna be a professor one day, I'm gonna need to actually go to college." Ellinor said. "Just thought I would let you know."
Ellinor then left the room.
"Ellinor's smart. Maybe she'll get a scholarship." John stated.
"Right. Right." Stu said thinking that John had a point.
Then, Gwen was next to come in.
"Dad, Ellinor was talking about going to college and I was thinking about doing the same." Gwen said.
Another peg down.
"Having some extra education could be nice before I try starting that daycare." Gwen said. "Okay, see ya."
Just like that, Gwen left the room.
"She started babysitting, right? In this town, she's be paving her way to college in no time." John stated shrugging.
"Yeah." Stu said.
Then you wouldn't think anyone else would come in, Xand, Mikey, and Paulie came in now.
"Yo dad? Were you just talking about college stuff?" Xand asked.
"Uhhh... kinda." Stu said sounding a bit worried.
"We didn't know college was an opinion in this family." Mikey said.
"Big campus parties, awesome peoples..." Paulie said smiling.
"... Hot girls..." Xand, Mikey, and Paulie said all smirking.
"We're so going." Xand said pumping his fist. "Let's get everyone else to do the same."
"Yeah!" Mikey and Paulie shouted out agreeing.
"Now wait a moment, you three." Stu shouted out not want them to get ahead of themselves.
It was too late for that. They were already shouting out "College! College! College!" as they left the room. Three more pegs have been taken down. Stu still stand, but now his head was down and he was getting all mopey. John did his best comfort him back patting him on the back.
"Oh Stewie... do I even need to say it?" John said.
"I had too many kids?" Stu said.
"You had too many kids." John said to him. "Better get a jar and start saving up now."
"Right..." Stu said still all mopey.
As Stu continue to sulk, Nick and Judy came back from their meeting with their friends and notices Stu and John in the den. Nick and Judy were a bit curious why Stu was like the way he is at the moment.
"Uhhhh... is your dad okay?" Nick asked Judy. "He's acting the same way pop does when he gets a huge bill."
"Ehhhh. I'm sure he's fine." Judy said not worrying about it.
"Want to see if there's any more pizza left?" Nick asked Judy with a smile.
"I thought you would never ask." Judy said happily.
So the two kids made their way to the kitchen for pizza. While John tried to help Stu with his... little problem. Hopefully, not all of them will go to college. But that doesn't say anything about possible debts for the ones that do.
That's the end of this chapter. But the best is still more yet to come. Sorry for this chapter having 90% less Nick and Judy. Next chapter won't be that way. Promise.