Again, my thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and so on. In answer to one of the guest reviews, I must confess I'm not particularly clear on the distinction between PG13 and PG15. So to make it simpler, if it's not drug promotion or straight-up you-know-what, send me a description or a sketch of what you have in mind and we'll talk. Chances are the worst you'll get is a request to tone something down. I'm cautious after having had some of my characters hijacked before, but I'm hardly what you'd call a control freak about these things. As it is, I do have a few more, uh, mature ideas for them in later stories.

(And if you seriously don't know what I mean by you-know-what, I'll try to explain it via PM. Nothing to it)

The only other note of interest is that I have a special production specific to the month of September slated for release on the 27th.

Having covered that, on with the story. Proofreading by Hawktooth, with some special assistance from my girlfriend Byrony Ironwing on one of the Easter Eggs.

"But why wilt thou seek for ease (from thy burden) this way, (since) so many dangers attend it? Especially since, hadst thou but patience to hear me, I could direct thee to (what thou seekest) without the dangers that thou in this way would run thyself into? Yea, and the remedy is at hand."

Worldly Wise Man, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

As she headed out the next morning, Catano paused by Ben's door. She knew it was probably against her better judgment, but in the back of her mind she had the urge to check on him.

He's not a cub, she reminded herself. It would be rude to baby him, right? Well, enabling anyway. Then again, he is a fellow officer. Her ears dropped a little at that; whether in annoyance or disparagement, she wasn't sure. Well, technically an officer.

No one who knew Officer Catano would accuse her of having too high a regard for her fellow mammal, but in the end she wasn't one to ditch them either – if for no other reason than her own sense of duty. She argued back and forth in her mind, and decided to just give a quick knock and see if he was any better. He should be heading out to the ZPD soon anyway, and she had a crick in her neck from falling asleep at an odd angle. Might as well see if it was worth the trouble, she thought.

Raising a paw, she rapped several times. It took a moment for any answer to emerge, but after some attempt at speech lost in a yawn, Ben emerged rubbing his eyes. There was a vague impression of improvement in him; a touch less of slumping in his posture, perhaps – but that was all even Callie could observe before he registered her presence. In a surprising change of demeanor, he jolted into full alertness with a speed that actually seemed cheetah-like… somewhat.

"Cal- I mean Catano?"

She sighed just a little, though she wasn't sure why his fumble annoyed her. "Call me Callie as long as it's just us. It's quicker."

"Oh. Uh, okay. Is something wrong?"

"That's what I came to ask." This exchange was not her usual manner, but then their previous conversation hadn't been either. "Are you feeling better after last night?"

Her concern seemed to surprise Ben, for his eyes widened and his ears drooped just a little. "Um, yeah. And… you know, thanks.

"Just doing my job," she replied out of habit. "Are you about ready to get to work? I was heading out myself, so I thought I'd check in."

"Oh, yeah." He yawned. "I'll catch the subway in a bit. Just gotta have breakfast."

Catano suddenly found herself thinking about tagging along with him. She preferred to walk to work, though it often took a good stretch of time. Still...

Amidst this reverie, she suddenly realized that Ben was asking her something and jolted back to attention. "Sorry, what was that?" she asked.

He faltered a little. "I asked why you stopped over last night."

She debated how to put it, and decided she was cranky enough to grant herself some bluntness. "Because you were keeping me awake." When he withered at this, she realized that had been the wrong thing to say. What would Hopps do? she wondered. "But you're also an officer." Sort of. "We've gotta have each other's backs, right?"

The look he gave her was hard to decipher, or at least hard for her. Usually when she did see it, it was aimed in some other direction – and usually it was with much more intensity, like when friends or relatives reunited after a crisis.

He was actually glad to have her around.

As it was, her first thought was, Please tell me this isn't a crush.

Ben turned his head to look back into his apartment, noting the time. "Uh, you want something to eat?" he ventured by way of making conversation. "I've got Lucky Chomps..." his mind seemed to drift for a moment, straying towards the gravitational pull of visions of sugary ecstasy.

"You're drooling," Catano noted, trying not to make a face at the thought of all those empty calories. "What else do you have?"

His dreamy look vanished as he hastily wiped his mouth on a sleeve. "Uh, oatmeal?"

Catano wanted to drop her forehead into her paw, but resisted. "Tell you what. I've got some bug patties I can throw in the microwave. Do you prefer ants or beetles?"

Ben looked hopeful. "Honeypot ants?" he asked.

"Sorry. I've got, uh, fire ants." Callie wasn't very big on sweets. "I might have some cricket hash tucked in the pantry."

After some hesitation, Ben opted for the cricket hash.

Over a fairly quiet breakfast, the chubby cheetah raised another question. "Hey, Callie? Why'd you decide to become a cop?"

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Well, I know Judy always wanted to make the world a better place, and Nick wants to be a cop... well, to prove he can, I guess. I was just wondering what your reason was."

Callie hesitated. "It's… something I wanted to do way back," she explained. She tried to think how best to answer; her family history wasn't something she liked to talk about. Withdrawing into a suit of emotional armor decades in the making, she summoned her best neutral tone and finished simply, "I guess you could say I did it on account of my parents."

"Oh." By Ben's reaction, her effort at turning his mind from considering the matter was a success; maybe too much so, for he shrugged and said kindly, "Well, I'm sure they're very proud of you."

For one agonizing moment, the armored suit that was Officer Catano threatened to crack and expose the real Callie Catano with all her criss-crossed scars under Ben's unwitting verbal lance. For a moment, her insides churned and her brain seemed ready to burst as she fought back the waves of memories.

Then the moment was gone, and she was tough-as-nails Officer Catano again. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," he said innocently. Then he noticed the clock. "O M Goodness," he jabbered. "We're going to be late for the train!"

Callie looked and frowned. There was plenty of time... Oh, right. With the shape he was in, and his body recoiling from a change of diet, Ben wouldn't be setting any speed records any time soon. She quickly downed the remainder of her hash and grabbed a patty she had stuck in a biscuit. "Let's go," she ordered, getting up and making for the door.

It was just as well Catano didn't know how drawn-out Ben could be thanking someone. By the time they got through the revolving doors, she thought she might never do him another favor – ever.

"Listen, Callie, I want to just say again I really appreciate last night, and this morning. If you ever need-"

"Stop," she sighed, raising a paw as her patience for the litany of gratitude finally ran out. "You spent the whole train ride over thanking me, Clawhauser. So for the hundredth time, you're welcome. In fact, don't mention it…"

"Ahem," came a small voice from down by her feet.

She looked down and a little back to find that she and Ben had just walked right past Nick and Judy.

"Morning," Nick waved up cheerfully.

Naturally, as a cop Catano often had to juggle multiple things at a time. Because of that, and since her ancestors were the chasing champions of the animal kingdom, she had more than a little of a knack for thinking several things at once, such as,

I was beaten to work by a fox. Major Friedkin would have a fit.

Please tell me I'm not late.

I don't like the look on Hopps' face – at all.

"Well," she said, recovering quickly. She drew her footpaws together, stood perfectly straight, and clasped her paws together as she inclined her head down only just enough to have the pain in view. It was a perfectly military pose of dignity and command – at least until Ben walked into her.

"Sorry," he whimpered.

She waved off his effort to help her up. "Don't mention it – please," she replied, rising on her own. She stepped out of his path, indicating with one wave of her paw that he should head to the front desk.

Nick winked and pointed an index claw at the departing cheetah. "Nice catch, pal," he called.

Catano frowned. That had better not mean what I think it meant, she thought. She said nothing, however. If Nick knew he had gotten on her nerves, he would probably keep at it. That would be trouble, especially if she lost patience and drop-kicked him.

Watch yourself, Catano, she thought. You arrest mammals for that kind of stunt.

Judy snickered, but any further annoyance was hindered by Chief Bogo's approach. "Ah, good. You're all in one convenient place. Report to roll call in five minutes; I have your new assignment."

"Um, actually, sir," Judy replied, "we have a break in the case. Just walked in the door about two minutes ago, and he should be waiting for us by the briefing rooms."

This was news to Bogo, who turned in surprise to Officer Catano.

"They said nothing to me, sir," she answered without hesitation to his unvoiced question.

"It only just came up," Nick replied brightly. "Judge says he knows what's been happening to our warrant requests."

Bogo frowned in confusion, then waved a hoof. "Terrorists are dancing around us like grasshoppers, and you three are playing hopscotch with cases?"

Catano was irked too, but she was also piqued to find out what had happened with the warrants. "Ten minutes, sir," she interceded. "We'll meet with you in ten minutes."

The cape buffalo sighed. "Ten minutes," he echoed. "In my office."

All three saluted, though Nick's earned a scowl for pretentiousness as Bogo headed off for the bullpen.

"I'm telling you," quipped the fox once their superior was out of earshot, "that guy must have at least three black belts in Frown Fu."

"Enough banter," Catano cut him off. "Let's find out what this is about the judge."

"You should come too, Nick," advised Judy, drawing a sharp look from Catano.

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"Hey, the whole point of him being in on this is to prove he can make himself useful," the doe argued, folding her arms in pointed fashion. "So I say we give him a shot. I already introduced him to the judge anyway, and he was part of our last interrogation."

"From behind the scenes," countered Catano. She considered. "Alright. It's irregular, but I suppose we can give him a chance. Wilde, come with us – but don't speak unless someone asks you something."

Nick smiled. "Hey, no problem. You can do all the talking you want to, ma'am."

Catano was plainly irked by this remark, and even Judy looked a bit tweaked. After a moment, though, the former waved. "Come on."


As Nick had predicted, the judge was waiting for them just outside one of the private chambers. "Ah, Hopps, Mr. Wilde," he greeted before looking up at Catano. "And Officer…"

"Catano," the cheetah replied. "We talked on the phone about the warrant requests."

At this the marsupial's ears dropped and he looked somewhat chagrined. "Oh. I am sorry about that, Miss, but I think I can take care of that right now. I have some information which should clear the whole matter up." He patted a laptop case which hung at his side.

Catano nodded, and had she not been as unaccustomed to it as she was she might have smiled. "Good. We could use some headway on this." She opened the door and waved his honor in. "Sir."

Once they were all seated, the judge took out his computer and powered it up. As he did, he glanced quizzically at Nick. "May I ask why…?" he asked, not sure how to finish.

Catano glanced at Judy, indicating that this was the rabbit's question to answer. "Mr. Wilde is working undercover for us," she explained. "Don't worry. He's one of us."

Nick threw an ironically satisfied look her way, while Catano raised an eyebrow. The judge looked on skeptically for a moment before nodding. "If you say so."

There was a moment's silence as he made his way through the computer files, struggling once or twice with the computer's uncooperative touch-pad buttons. "Really need to replace this thing," he muttered to himself.

Catano glanced at the computer, which bore marks of considerable use and a sticker for a conservative group next to the touch pad. "A personal laptop?" she asked.

He nodded. "In light of the situation, I thought it would be… well, excusable to make a copy of the security footage from the courthouse cameras for your official use," he explained. As he spoke, he opened the video player to show a view of his office.

"What exactly are we looking at?" asked Catano, leaning to get a good view over his head.

The judge let out an annoyed cry as he clicked at the wrong point on the time bar. "Gah. If only these things came as easily as matters of law," he grumbled. "This is some footage from my office a week before Monday. All the footage is backed up to computers, accessible by only a select few staff of course."

"Of course," Judy agreed, following his logic but not his story. "But why were you looking it up?"

He coughed. "Well, that's rather an embarrassment, really. If you must know, I hid a birthday present for my daughter in my office because she knows all the hiding places at home. Last night I realized that her birthday is tomorrow, and I couldn't remember where I put the gift."

Judy tried not to laugh. Misplaced presents were all too common in her family, and often provided an added incentive for house cleaning. Catano, not so enamored with domestic snafus, merely rolled her eyes.

"So what exactly did you find?" asked the cheetah.

"Almost… ah, that should do it," said the thylacine, pausing the video. "You see here I was out of my office – hearing cases, you know. Now, watch what Stangahoof - that's my secretary, Joseph Stangahoof - does."

They watched for a few moments as the secretary went through paperwork, then got up to check the fax machine. He picked up the forms it spat out, and suddenly began to flick his tail in a state of evident agitation. Suddenly he yanked out his phone and made a hurried call, glancing several times toward the door as he did.

"That's pretty weird," said Judy quietly.

"Wait, wait," hissed the judge.

Still on the phone, the nyala swiftly made for the paper shredder and popped the forms in, then hurried to hang up and get back to his place.

"Interesting," Catano agreed thoughtfully, "but why did you bring this to us?"

The judge simply pointed to a clock in the footage. Both officers stared at it, and Judy jumped up.

"That's right when I sent you the first application!" she cried. "The one for a search warrant on Poisson's farms!"

"Precisely," agreed His Honor. "I considered confronting him on the matter point-blank, but I realized then that he might get away before he could be arrested."

Officer Catano rubbed her chin. "We'd need a warrant," she noted ironically.

"I have it here," he answered, drawing out two sheets of folded paper. "One for his arrest, and one for the search of Poisson's farms."

Catano picked them up. "Good," she agreed. "We should arrest Stangahoof first. He has to be connected with this somehow."

Nick raised a paw, holding his other in a thumbs-down position for good measure.

"Nick?" asked Judy, puzzled.

"Yeah. If Joe is connected to Obearon, we'd better not arrest him. Obearon will launch another Night Howler attack."

Everyone listening dropped their ears at this. "So what do you suggest?" asked Catano.

"Yes, I can't just rest easy with a traitor right in my office," agreed the judge.

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, your honor," Nick advised.

Catano regarded Nick thoughtfully. "Wilde has a point about not setting off another attack," she conceded. "I think we should keep this quiet and see what we can find out without tipping anyone off."

The judge thought about that, tapping a claw against his muzzle. "Mr. Wilde," he ventured, pressing his paws together, "you seem to be rather… in the know. Perhaps you can find something out."

Judy wasn't sure what to make of this remark. It seemed straightforward enough, but the way the judge said 'in the know' felt like a suggestion that Nick might have a criminal history. Catano was also giving Nick a wary look… and it didn't at all help that she was right.

Regardless, Nick played it cool and just nodded. "I'll see what I can do," he promised. "In the meantime, if that's all the info you've got then you should probably go back to work before our mammal realizes you're up to something."

"I told him I had an appointment I'd forgotten about that couldn't wait." The thylacine's ears were back, and his paws were together with the fingers drumming against one another. "Alright. I'll see what I can do – and my thanks to all three of you."

"You should give us a copy of the footage before you leave," Catano interjected, fishing out a USB drive. "And as Wilde said, don't tip off the suspect."

"Of course not." He set about copying the video file, musing aloud to himself. "I suppose I should pretend I'm still grouchy over the misplaced present. I did find that, so there's little worry of his finding it and ending the charade."

Catano nodded. "How nice for you," said she with little sincerity. "Good day, sir."


As the old proverb holds it, 'it never rains, but it pours.' Even as the trio were finishing up with the judge and making arrangements for Nick's plan, Nick was accosted by another familiar face – one hardly as welcome.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite tod."

He stifled his reaction at her sudden appearance. "Vanya," he greeted. "Well, this is the last place I'd expect to see you."

She chuckled, pivoting at her waist and folding her arms. "Well, I told you the first time we parted ways that you'd be seeing a lot of me."

Yeah, that's one way to put it, he thought. "Well, I assume you came by for some reason other than flirting."

"Do I really need another reason?" she asked, smirking.

Nick knew that she was doing this to bother him, and that no amount of acting on his part would deceive her about it working. So he decided to use one of his best weapons; bother her right back. "Well, it just so happens I'm doing something else," he advised. And seeing someone else, he thought, though he knew it would be ill-advised to tell Vanya that. "So if that's your only business here, I know a cape buffalo I can introduce you to."

A brief flicker if irritation told him he'd scored a blow, but Vanya recovered quickly as always. "Ah, yes, Chief Bogo. I may look him up; it would be a fascinating conversation."

Determined not to reveal his unease at that prospect, Nick maintained a neutral expression. "Alright, Vanya, what are you really here about? Did your boss send you over?"

Vanya resisted the urge to scowl, knowing that Nick was intentionally reminding her that she was subordinate to someone else. "Actually, no. He just sent some information which I volunteered to bring over in hopes of seeing you."

Nick tried to be glad about this. Progress was progress, and they needed every break they could get for this case. "Well, Hopps and Catano will be glad to hear that," he allowed, lifting his paw and curling his claws around toward his palm for inspection. "Though as it happens, we've got a pretty good lead already."

At this, Vanya raised an eyebrow. "Oh, do you? That's interesting. What kind of lead?"

"Ah, sorry. I'm not allowed to tell you that." Nick smiled triumphantly, satisfied to finally have something Vanya couldn't top. She seemed ready to try anyway, but Providence intervened in Nick's favor.

"Wilde, we have the go- who's this?" asked Catano, regarding Vanya dubiously.

"An informant," Vanya answered for herself, not hesitating in the least as she turned and put a paw to her chest. "Officer Hopps, good to see you again."

Judy did her best to hide a frown. "Same here," she answered. It was only half a lie. She had always been the sort who, if there was a wasp in the room, liked to have it in sight.

"And Officer Catano," the cheetah added. "You have something to tell us specifically?"

Nick's mind scrambled. If Catano realized that his connections were bringing them information, that would probably boost his chances of getting into the ZPD. If she got it into her head that he was leaking out info of who was investigating what, not so much. Thinking fast, he seized on an old standby cover story.

"Miss Zarra works for a tabloid. Her boss is a friend of mine, and his reporters see pretty much everything around the city. So I asked him to put the word out to look for signs of, uh…" he made a show of looking around as if to check for eavesdroppers. "You know what? Let's talk about this in private."

Usually Catano's mood was pretty well-hidden, but none of the smaller mammals who trailed her to the interview room where they had just spoken with the judge could miss her skeptical air. Judy and Nick found it unsettling to say the least. Vanya, on the other paw, found it most intriguing.

So, the cheetah trusts him about as much as he trusts me, she mused. If she'd been alone she would have rubbed her paws together with glee. Talk about ripe for the picking.

Nick tried to act calm as they sat down for their meeting, but it was hard with the look on Vanya's face; a look he knew all too well. To an untrained eye, she looked a little nervous as one would expect from the crime witness role she was playing. To him, it bore all the subtle hints she had about her when she was planning to corner a guy – or coroner a guy, as the case might be.

"So," Catano opened, folding her paws, "You say you work for a tabloid editor?"

"Well, a tabloid owner," Vanya explained. "We prefer not to discuss things too explicitly; makes it easier to get scoops and air them without… well, repercussions. You can call my boss Mr. B."

The cheetah nodded. "And Mr. B. wanted us to know about…?"

Vanya drew out a pawful of photographs and set them on the table with a thwap, then fanned them out like a winning Pawker hand. All three sleuths picked up the shots as she voiced what the pictures themselves testified.

"A Night Howler lab, under the Rainforest District. It's underground like the one Nick turned up before-"

Judy cleared her throat. "We turned up," she corrected.

Vanya hid her chuckle beneath a cough. "Oh, excuse me. I got the impression Nick was the hero of the hour."

That Judy had been involved in finding the lab was no secret, nor that it had been in the subway. The news networks had talked of little else for days after the incident. Nick's role in that, however, like his part in everything else, was a guarded secret. Catano glanced doubtfully at the smaller duo, clearly not pleased that this information had leaked out. It took some effort for Judy to keep herself in check.

She's just trying to make me mad in front of Catano, she told herself. She's just trying to make me mad in front of Catano… and it's working.

"Anyhow," Vanya went on, "it's nestled in among the pipes feeding the Erikson Trotta Memorial Rain Tree, tapping off the moisture down below. Slightly larger than the one before from what I've read, but harder to get to. I'm guessing they set it up as a backup location and couldn't get to it without risking exposure after the incident with Bellwether."

Judy hated to admit it, but this was big news. "We'll have to get on this right away. If you give us your contact information, we'll contact you with any more questions we may have."

"Of course." Vanya quickly took one of the photographs and scrawled her name, phone number, and a PO box number on the back.

It would be a PO box, Judy mused. No home address. The matter was academic since they knew Mr. Big would know how to get his paws on her. Still, it was definitely irksome. She shrugged it off. "Thank you for your help, Miss Zarra," she greeted, lowering her eyebrows a little as she uttered the name. Her meaning was clear: 'We're on business terms only, lady.' "We'll be in touch with you if we need any more information."

"And of course you'll be getting some reward money if this lead turns up legit," Nick added through half-lidded eyes. He suspected Catano would be annoyed at his bringing it up, but the closest thing to a sure way of securing Vanya's trustworthiness was to make it in her self-interest.

Judy cringed. She had a good guess of Nick's reason, but after Vanya dropped the leak about his role in the matter, they were definitely treading on thin ice with the cheetah. Worse, that would put them on thinner ice with Chief Bogo.

Be careful, Nick, she thought.

Sure enough, once Vanya was gone Catano wasted little time in voicing her all-too-expected view of the matter.

"For someone shrewd enough to realize a risk of setting off Obearon," she objected point-blank, "you seem to be rather careless about sensitive information."

"Hey, with all due respect," Nick protested, "I didn't tell her anything about my role in this. She and I are barely on speaking terms."

"Then how did she know you were part of finding that lab?" pressed the cheetah.

Nick shook his head. "May I remind you that she's a reporter?"

Catano pressed back her ears. "No, I think I'll remind you she's a reporter – and a tabloid reporter, which I'm guessing means she's not very scrupulous about who her stories hurt. Mr. Wilde, there's a lot more than your chances at working with us down the road on the line if word of your exploits gets to the wrong ears."

Judy felt the need to step in. "Excuse me," she argued, "but if Nick says he didn't tell her anything, then I believe him. She obviously found out some other way."

In all the time Nick had been around Zootopia, he had never seen what amounted to a staring contest between a bunny and a cheetah. Judy folded her arms, looking not so much defiant as resolute. Catano gazed down at her, betraying no emotion except skepticism – which, from her, was the default. As last she exhaled through her nostrils in a manner not unlike Chief Bogo's. "Alright. So she found out some other way. That still means it's just a matter of time before something else goes wrong, so we need to decide on our next move and make it."

"We should check out the Night Howler lab," Judy answered without hesitation. "It may have something we can use to track down the rest of the conspiracy, and at least we can do something to disrupt their supply of ammunition."

"Without setting off Obearon?" asked Nick.

Catano's eyes flicked back and forth, as if she were examining the pieces on a chess board invisible to the others. "It's a risk we may have to take," she admitted. "Hopps, you come from a family that grows the flowers. Can you make whatever happens to them look like an accident?"

With a deep sense of irony over the cheetah's wording, Judy thought for a moment. "Probably," she admitted. "I'll have to do some shopping, but I think I can manage that."

"Good. Now as for Wilde…"

Nick did not like the look in the cheetah's eyes as she turned them on him.

"You had something in mind when you told the judge you would see what you could do."

Nick resisted the urge to panic. Never let them see that they get to you.

"Wilde, I know when someone is scheming something – and right now, we need all the connivance we can manage. What's on your mind?"

It came down to a question of choices. Nick could explain his plan, but doing so carried a distinct risk of raising suspicions about his criminal history. On the other paw, he could call her bluff and play dumb, which would be safer but also less useful.

Inwardly, he sighed. Life was a lot less complicated when he could just nip and dodge his way around answering for his actions.

Uh-oh. Bit of a tight spot Nick's backed into now. Think fast, fox; you're up against the speediest mammal on the planet.

Some readers might be interested to know that for the breakfast scene, I tapped the fact that beetles and ants are both among the more widely eaten insects of the world. Honeypot ants, to which Ben referred, are a kind of ant able to store massive amounts of nectar inside their own bodies as a way of saving it for lean times, when it feeds them and their colony members. Some of you might know they are a popular dessert in their native lands and can be eaten like candy right out of the nest. There are several species, of which the best known live in Australia and the Southwestern United States – meaning Zootopia could easily have local farms of them. Fire ants are obviously a little more hazardous to harvest, but they are edible in moderation, and are even used as seasoning (not a joke; they really are spicy). They have to be cooked thoroughly if they're going to be eaten in any quantity, since the acid in their bodies can be toxic in larger doses. As an obvious disclaimer, I DO NOT recommend eating any kind of insect unless you know what you are doing, especially if people in your area use a lot of pesticides. Special thanks to Hawktooth for supplying the insect info.

Speaking of insects, Easter Eggs:

Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (yes, there is a connection there)

Sherlock Holmes

There is also a kind of Easter Egg – more like a riddle, really – to do with the quote at the beginning. Those who have read Pilgrim's Progress may figure it out, and if you haven't it's only a chapter or two in (I forget if it's one or two). It's well worth reading; of all the books I've read (and there are many), it is the one I am third most likely to recommend, with the caveat that even adult readers may wish to start with an abridged version as the dialogue is quite long-winded.

One reference I forgot to mention is the Erikson Trotta Memorial Rain Tree, a reference to semi-famous author and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada, the most cheerful and encouraging woman you'll find in a wheelchair. She is, last I checked, still alive and even still at her career despite having been paralyzed from the neck down since she was a teenager. Despite being very much alive, she seemed appropriate to reference in the context of a memorial moisture tree, her material having refreshed so many people. However, I saw fit to adjust her name to read more easily since so many have struggled with Taelia's name already (pronounced Talia).

Easter Egg Answers:

Chapter Fourteen:

The Back to the Future reference comes up when Nick remarks that Jesse could have been processed in two hours if they just abolished all lawyers, a nod to when such a feat was achieved in Back to the Future 2 for that same reason.

The nod to Lilo and Stitch is when Nick snaps a photo of the stunned hippos just before the younger one's lollipop falls in imitation of the fat man's ill-fated ice cream cones (no offense to fat people out there).

Chapter Fifteen:

This one was kind of low-hanging fruit: Nick's thought that someone had "bugged the wrong bunny" is of course a play on Bugs Bunny. Don't worry. There's a better one a-coming.

Guest Reviews:

Thanash: Glad it was worth your wait. :) As for the rating thing, it's like I said up top. I can negotiate most things, so if you have an idea let me know. I prefer private messaging, though (it's not hard to set up an account if you don't have one, though) as it simplifies discussion and makes the end result more of a surprise for readers.

Guest (1): Yeah, I think seeing how the characters bounce off one another is a lot of the fun of a story, whether in a romantic fashion or a platonic one.

Guest (2): (the one who was iffy about Nick and Taelia back in chapter 26, for those following) Thank you, and thanks again for the feedback earlier. I realize that in some ways I've been treating this as more of a movie than a fanfic, but failed to account for the fact that a movie would have a lot of advantages this format simply doesn't provide as fluidly. So thanks for the reality check, and I'm glad you stuck around. On a side note, I've got a story specifically pertaining to Nick and Taelia in development for the Fox Dens and Rabbit Trails collection (mostly a fluff piece, really) along with the long-in-coming Prank War. They're a separate story line from this, as you know, but they'll have development in the relationship such as you noted in Santa Clawed, so they might be of interest to you.

ITWP6 (aka Mary): Thank you for responding, and for your support in my disputes with Critics United (assuming that's who you meant by CU). However, I'm not looking to take part in anything motivated by hate, even against someone who came after me out of the blue on such dubious grounds. I'm especially not looking to harass anyone into submission, as you put it. So between that and the fact that your review had nothing to do with my story, either positive or negative, I had to screen it out. So sorry.