DISCLAIMER: I swear I was going to write up a new bid to own Zootopia. But today, the Mass Effect remaster came out and I totally forgot about the bid. So I still don't own Zootopia. And I need more Mass Effect!

Thanks to TheoreticallyEva and GusTheBear for keeping me in line!

Nolwazi Longtooth sat in the diner, her coffee on the table in front of her, untouched. She'd arrived here by subway fifteen minutes ago, ahead of her dad. She felt a little guilty about taking an impromptu day off, but that guilt was smothered by her anger at her elk partner.

The door bells rang, and the lioness looked up to see her father walk in. The alpha lion, as some would have called him, had an air that screamed not to mess with him, and being behind a desk as precinct captain hadn't taken his edge off. Like Bogo, he preferred to lead by example, and often led his officers into major operations in the field. He was widely considered a viable candidate for the position of chief of police once Bogo retired.

"An officer leads by example, Nolly, not by force, and never from a chair," he would always tell her in her early days, from her time in University of Zootopia, studying criminal justice, all the way through her academy training and her time as a beat cop. He'd been first a sergeant, then a lieutenant back then. It had been a huge point of pride in their family when he'd been made captain of the Mojave Strip Precinct, though.

As a young cub, she'd wanted to work for her daddy as one of his officers before she'd learned that it wasn't technically allowed at the ZPD. She knew why; the parent/offspring dynamic could cause some seriously questionable decisions on behalf of the parent, varying from nepotism to overprotectiveness, both of which could harm either party. So, she'd taken the posting at Sandy Ridge instead.

'Funny, parents are not allowed to be their child's direct superiors in the ZPD, but same-or-similar-rank romantic relationships with partners are permitted.' It didn't bother her, though. She still got to see her dad regularly. And when she'd made first corporal, then side-stepped to detective, he'd been the first to congratulate her.

Now, though, as his eyes landed on her and he made his way to her table, she felt a little nervous at the concern he showed in his eyes. Almost like he knew something she didn't want to tell him. She stood as he approached and gave him a hug, then sat down.

He settled himself in the booth across the table from her and ordered himself a tea.

"I'm glad you were able to get away from work long enough to have lunch, Nolly. Seems like forever since you and I were able to sit down and talk."

It was true. They used to have lunch once a week, when she worked at Sandy Ridge. They'd even alternated buying.

Since her transfer to the city center, though, that had dropped to once a month. And that, in turn, had disappeared completely when the Night Savage terrorist cult had so blatantly attacked the city. The few phone conversations they'd had between their hectic work schedules had been their only contact. It had been tough on both of them.

"So, what's the occasion, Dad? It's been months. Now granted, I was transferred, and a quarter of the city was attacked and condemned, but it's not like you to just up and call out of the blue for lunch. What's up?" The lioness sipped her coffee as she stared at her dad, currently engrossed in the menu.

"What's good here? I've never been to this diner." The lion completely ignored Nolwazi's question.

Nolwazi almost smiled. Rivers had actually introduced the diner to her a few weeks after they were first paired. The two had had a particularly frustrating day trying to put together evidence concerning Eric Wolford's murder and had gotten absolutely nowhere. They'd gotten dinner to talk about the case and review their notes under a different light. It hadn't helped, but it had put fuel in the tank, and it had felt good to discuss it outside of their little office.

Come to think of it, she had no idea why she picked this place. It seemed convenient at the time, and they had good food. But why this one? She couldn't put a paw on it.

"Nice deflection, Dad. But you might want to try the house chickenburger. That's to die for." She almost let the ghost of a smirk cross her face, as those had been the words Rivers had used to convince her when she had asked the same question, even though he didn't eat meat. Apparently, one of his precinct buddies had gushed about it when he'd been there last, so he recommended it to her. He'd been right.

She frowned. That was the second time the elk had invaded her thoughts. She shoved that to the side. Her father was here now. Not her partner.

"Well, with an endorsement like that, how can I refuse?" The older lion chuckled. When the zebra waitress came for their order, that was exactly what he got. Without pickles. Nolwazi smiled. Her father hated pickles with a passion. She got that from him, too. Neither of them could stand pickles.

As the waitress left, Amanzi Longtooth turned to his daughter. "So, tell me what happened today, Nolly. You never curse when you answer your phone, and you called me 'Rivers'. What happened"

The lioness steeled herself. She'd expected this line of questioning, but hadn't expected him to be so direct and to-the-point about it. True, as a police captain, he was a veteran at getting information out of mammals, and Nol felt a bit like she was the target of one of his interrogations.

"I showed up late today. Forgot to set my alarm last night and overslept. So, after briefing, he takes me back to his office and starts grillin' me about it." She tried to pass it off like that was her final answer to the question, but of course, that didn't work on her father.

"Grillin' you, how?"

Nolwazi sighed. "He goes on about my lookin' beaten down. Says he knows I'm goin' through a tough time, and pretty much kicked me out of work." Just the thought of their argument this morning had her steaming, and she gripped her coffee mug tighter. "He doesn't know anythin'. And my personal life is none of his business."

The two fell quiet for a while until the younger lioness asked how things were going in his part of town. "Well, your mom's been stressin' about how much time we've both spent at work," her father answered. "She even made me promise to be home no later than a half hour after my shift, traffic allowin', or I get to do the dishes that evenin'."

He gave a smile at his daughter's confused face. "Dad, you always do the evenin' dishes anyways. As long as I can remember."

Amanzi Longtooth shook his head. "And that's why it's such a silly punishment. She knew it, too, and we both had a good laugh over it. The point that she was tryin' to make, though, is that I wasn't around enough and was lettin' my work get the priority in my life, instead of what really mattered. It's great to have a job and a career you love, but that doesn't mean anythin' if you don't have somethin' to go home to."

Nolwazi snorted. "You should have seen Bogo. He didn't even go home for weeks after the attack on the districts. Even then, it was just for a couple of hours."

Amanzi frowned. "Bogo's in a difficult position, as chief. Its equal parts being a cop and a politician. Everyone in the city, including the mayor, looks to him for answers when something like the district attacks happens, and he has to be there, all the time, twenty-four hours a day, answerin' questions that he may not have all the answers to." The lion's frown deepened. "After all this, there's a good chance the chief may be forced to resign, or may be demoted back to captain."

Nolwazi shuddered. "I hope to high heaven that doesn't happen. I can't imagine a political appointee as the chief, with no actual policin' experience. Pawnenberg is good as commissioner, but even he had experience as a beat cop before he was hit by that crazy driver and forced to retire."

"And a political appointee it might end up being. I agree, though. Bogo's been good in that position, much as he would rather be leading his mammals. The ZPD hadn't ever looked better, until the attacks."

"What about you? You're still in line to be the chief, aren't you?"

Amanzi Longtooth laughed. "Spirits, I hope not. I'd go insane inside a week if I had to deal with all that political manueverin'."

"Oh, come on, Dad, you'd make a great chief."

"Everyone can say that, but it doesn't necessarily make it true. Look at Furston. Before the attacks, their stock was higher than ever, seemed like great leadership, they were considered the cuttin' edge, great company, yadda yadda yadda. Ever since, though, their leadership's completely bolloxed up the company, the stock is frozen, investors panickin', and I'm pretty certain I heard somethin' about one of your witnesses bein' an employee of Furston."

Nolwazi nodded, staring at the drink in her paws. Marian Wilde had been smeared on the news, and even an attempt by Bogo to set the record straight hadn't helped her. Nolwazi was just glad she hadn't had any problems with any of her neighbors.

"Yeah, Marian Wilde was right in the middle, literally, and she blew the whistle."

"Sorry to hear that for her. She'll probably not be employable from now on. I wish her the best." Amanzi frowned. "It's probably going to put a glass ceiling on her son's career, too."

Nolwazi jerked her head up. She hadn't thought about that. She'd been so concerned with her own work that it hadn't even occurred to her. Indeed, she could see Nick's career getting stunted by his mother's actions, though she doubted anyone would blame Marian for that. It was an incredibly brave thing she'd done.

"Honestly, Nick is probably not goin' to mind as much as we think," she said. "He seems to be happy just workin' with his partner."

She knew that was the wrong thing to say to avoid more interrogation from her father the moment she'd said it, yet somehow, he'd still managed to guide the conversation where he'd wanted it.

"And yet, you just had a fallin' out with your partner." He paused to thank the waitress as their food arrived. "Nolly, I know there's been somethin' else that's been botherin' you. Probably more than botherin' you."

The lioness glared at her father. "I'm fine, Dad."

For a long moment, neither of them spoke, picking at their food instead. Then her father spoke again. "Nolly, I know that's not true, OK? I could hear it in your voice when you spoke to me on the phone."

The lioness was silent for a while before answering. Briefly, she considered lying or brushing him off again, but she knew that would only make him upset. "How did you know?"

The older lion let the ghost of a smile cross his lips. "Nolly, I've been on this world twenty years longer than you, and I've been an officer for almost as long as you've been alive. I'm also your father. I know when you aren't tellin' me things, but normally, I just let them go." He hesitated. "I can't this time, Nolly, and I'm worried that whatever it is, is hurtin' you."

"I can't talk about it, Dad."

The silence extended, but Nolwazi was no longer interested in her food.

"Nolly, if you don't talk about whatever is botherin' you with someone, it'll eat away at you until there's nothin' left but a husk." The older lion regarded his daughter. "I can bet this isn't somethin' your mother should be involved in, So I'm going to guess it has at least somethin' to do with work."

Nolwazi sighed. Her father was going to get it out of her eventually, whether she wanted to or not, so she might as well say something.

"OK, OK, OK. The truth is, Dad… I don't know."

Amanzi Longtooth frowned. "You don't? Well, who would know?"

The lioness shrugged as she picked at her fried turkey sandwich. "I just… It feels like the whole city is threatenin' to come apart at the seams, and we're all that's holdin' it together. I can't even go back to my apartment without bein' reminded how bad things are.

"I know we're doin' good work, Dad, and we're doin' our job makin' sure these monsters never see daylight again. But it doesn't feel like enough, and at the same time, it feels like no one notices." She put her face in her paws.

Her father regarded her without so much as a hint of judgement. "What do you do after work, Nolly?"

Another shrug from the lioness. "Just go home. Maybe watch some Pawflix or play a game. Go to bed. Maybe go to the bar." She neglected to mention that the 'going to the bar' part was more frequent than the other ones.

Amanzi pressed the inquiry. "And do you ever do these things WITH anyone?"

"Dad, I don't need another boyfriend, if that's what you are gettin' at." The younger feline's reply was a bit more snappish than usual.

Her father shook his head. "Far from it, Nolly. You need to take your time with that, and when you're ready, you can find someone better for you."

"Then what did you mean?" Nolwazi felt a similar wave of irritation and frustration as she had that morning, during her conversation—argument—with Shawn.

Amanzi Longtooth pushed his plate aside, so he could look his daughter square in the face with as little between them as possible. "I mean, did you ever do any of this with friends? I know you haven't been by the house at all." He paused. "Have you seen ANYONE outside of work?"

"Just you." Honest though that answer was, Nolwazi immediately regretted saying that. She knew her father would latch on to that.

There was a big sigh from across the table. "Nolly, you know that's not good for you. And the bars? Since when have you ever cared about that scene?"

The lioness bit back the desire to lash out at her dad. "It gets me around people."

"But not in a way that's healthy." There was a long moment of silence. "Nolly, I almost lost your mother because I got so wrapped up in work that I neglected everythin' else." The younger of the two opened her mouth to ask a question, but Amanzi held up a paw. "Just listen, OK? There was a time when I thought that by workin' harder, I could fix all the problems I could see poppin' up all over the place. The street gangs, the violence, the racers on the Mojave, all of it. I let work consume me, and your mother was the one that paid the price.

"It wasn't until she was almost out the door that I realized I'd made a huge mistake, and that all my extra hard work didn't amount to nothin' more than a heartbroken wife and daughter that I'd abandoned."

Nolwazi stared at her father. She didn't know any of this. It must have happened when she was very young.

"Your mother gave me a reality check, though. An ultimatum. I had to tone down the work. If I didn't, she'd leave and take you with her." He paused. "It was an ice bucket in the face. I was so focussed on the problems in the city that I never noticed what they caused at home. I spent a long time soul searchin' after that. Long story, short though, I realized that I was startin' to become the mammal I didn't want to be—the one who was all work and no play, as they say."

There was a long silence as Nolwazi processed this new information. "Why are you tellin' me this now, Dad?"

"Because I'm worried about where you're goin', Nolly. You work long hours, never come by the house, you don't spend time with friends, I could go on."

"My friends are at work, and I love my job."

The older lion sighed. "Nolly, it's fine to love your job, but it's just that—a job. It can't love you back no matter how much you want it to. You need to spend time with others, outside the confines of work. Even if it's just to meet up for a friend's night out at a restaurant or a movie or somethin'. Somethin' to socialize about, and someone to socialize with."

"I don't know, Dad. There's a lot to do now that we have everyone locked up." She was making excuses, and she knew it.

"And now that we have everyone locked up, there's time to do it." He looked straight in his daughter's eye. "Don't make me pull rank and have Bogo suspend you." A hint of a smile played at his lips.

Nolwazi gave a light chuckle. "Don't make me cite conflict of interest regulations at you." It was a little game they played. Her father would suggest pulling rank, and she'd point out the conflict of interest. Both knew that the other wouldn't go through with it. "So, you think I should just call someone up and ask them to hang out?"

"It can't hurt. But what I think you need to do first is apologise to your partner. It sounds like you really put him through it this mornin', and he's certainly worried about you, if what you've told me about him—and what I've heard about him—is accurate."

Nolwazi sighed. Her father was right, though it was hard for her to admit it.

"OK, dad. I've been given the rest of the day off, but I'll do it tomorrow."

Amanzi Longtooth nodded. "Now, maybe we should eat before our food grows legs and wanders off, don't you think, Nolly?"

The lioness couldn't agree more.

Liz Fangmeyer wasn't sure why she was so nervous as she stood at the orphanage's front desk. She'd been to see the little jaguar cub at least once a week since she'd found the baby's family having slaughtered each other in their own home in the throes of the Night Savage cult's formula.

It was perhaps fitting that the little female's name was Faith. The cub was a trooper, and even though she still cried for her mother and father and siblings once in a while, she was starting to take a liking to the mammals caring for her and visiting her now.

"Lizah! Lizah!" Fangmeyer smiled. Faith couldn't pronounce Elizabeth and didn't seem to want to stick with Liz, so the tigress had become Lizah to the little tyke.

"Here she is, Officer Fangmeyer. She'll be going down for her nap soon, so don't get her too worked up." The childcare worker oryx winked at the tigress and handed the squirming infant feline to her.

"Thanks. Any word from her family?"

The oryx shook his head. "They completely shut us down, ma'am. Both her parents were only children. Her grandparents on her mother's side have both passed away, and those on her father's side flatly refused to take the poor girl in. Apparently, the father had had a falling out with his parents, and they'd completely disowned him. They wanted nothing to do with their son or, as they referred to the child, 'his whelp'." The oryx made a face like he'd swallowed something disgusting when he said that. "We're looking into some other, more distant relatives, but, I'm sorry to say, we aren't hopeful."

The oryx followed as Liz made her way into the common area, filled with toys for the little ones and seats for the adults. It was an area where potential families could spend time with the infants without the latter feeling too stressed. Faith immediately gravitated to the interlocking plastic building blocks, the way she always seemed to do. The orphanage staff had tried to introduce her to dolls, but Faith had shown absolutely no interest whatsoever in them. She wanted her building blocks.

"Have you had any prospective families visit that were interested in her?"

The oryx shook his head. "Not a one. That's not all that surprising, though. The attacks orphaned thousands, and there just aren't nearly enough interested families." He paused. "Predators are the worst off. They were the largest group of orphans as a result of the attack, and less than twenty percent of the prey families that are interested in adopting will accept a predator child."

Liz watched as the tiny jaguar started building yet another tower of her building blocks. "That's awful."

"There is some hope, though. We're getting a lot of requests from mixed order couples. Predator/prey couples, I mean. And same sex couples looking to adopt, too. Both groups are just as likely to adopt a predator as they are a prey kit."

"Interesting. I mean, I'd expect that from the former group, but, well, the latter group is a bit surprising. Not that there's anything wrong with same sex couples," the tigress stated hurriedly, as she realized how the comment could be taken.

The oryx kit worker shrugged. "We've not been able to understand it, either, but some of us suspect it may be due to how they are marginalized already… It tends to make you more accepting of others. There hasn't been any official research, though."

Liz Fangmeyer frowned. "That's really a shame. Mammals need to know that kind of thing."

A sigh came from the ungulate. "I know what you mean. We're worried that a lot of the predators we have now will never find homes and will just stay in the system until they reach eighteen."

Fangmeyer shuddered. "You know kits that end up in that situation often don't turn out well."

The kit worker nodded. "We know it. We don't like it, but we know it. Truth is, at eighteen, when they age out of orphanages and the foster system, kits don't often have the life skills that we grow naturally in a stable home environment."

The tigress nodded as she watched the little jaguar girl stick a green block on top of the already rainbow coloured tower she was building. "Higher rates of addictions, higher crime rates, trouble getting and holding a job, trouble deciding on, setting, and achieving realistic goals, and, unfortunately, higher chances of spousal and kit abuse." She remembered that much from her academy days and had seen it in her dealings with the public since then. It was an unfortunate fact, and one of the most undervalued things a stable home life offered.

Seeing the little girl struggling to put a block on top of her growing tower, the tigress got off her seat, knelt on the floor and picked the little jaguar up, lifting her high enough to put her block on. The smaller feline was ecstatic and giggled as she put the plastic building toy in place, then gestured to be let down again so she could grab the next one.

"Correct, Ms. Fangmeyer. And a higher rate of adult suicide," the kit worker commented as he watched the tableau in front of him.

Fangmeyer alternately picked the little girl up and put her down again as the jaguar pleased and the tower grew ever taller. A few times, the tigress cop discreetly corrected it if it leaned too much one way or the other. She knew the tower would fall eventually, being built one brick on top of the other.

Inwardly, her thoughts turned to Eric and Debbie Wolford's cubs. The scene in which she was actively participating was one that had played out many times with her late friend and his wife. Joseph loved his building blocks as a little infant. Of course, he'd outgrown those in favour of the larger kit's versions, with smaller pieces and more intricate designs.

Fangmeyer's heart sank as she thought of the possible future for the poor kit. Lost her parents, her siblings, and her only grandparents wanted nothing to do with her. And if no one took her in and gave her a home, well, that's one hell of a way for the world to say, "No one wants you."

"I'm just happy she lived through her surgery," the kit worker commented as he watched the two.

Fangmeyer paused. "You have no idea what it was like. What I saw in that house. It… It looked like something out of a horror movie." In her momentary distraction, the tower of blocks came tumbling down, scattering pieces all over the immediate area. The tigress officer looked on in alarm before she realized that the little jaguar's giggling meant she purposefully knocked it over so she could start again. Liz laughed at the little girl's antics, which seemed to further invigorate the smaller feline, who proceeded to start all over again.

"You seem really good with her," the oryx observed.

Fangmeyer nodded. "She reminds me of an… old friend's cubs." The tigress watched as the little girl rebuilt the tower she'd been working on with an even more eclectic mix of colours. This continued for a while before she grew tired and sat down, yawning.

"Time for her nap, I'm sorry to say, officer." Fangmeyer nodded at that. "You should come by more, though. She really perks up when she sees you." The oryx gathered the little jaguar up in his arms and headed back into the orphanage's living area. "Have a good day, officer!"

Fangmeyer bid the kit worker and the jaguar good bye, heading out the door, deep in thought. Admittedly, she'd grown quite attached to the little cub. It was heartbreaking for her to see that no one seemed to want her, even after months of waiting. Perhaps even more heartbreaking was the idea that when she did get adopted, Fangmeyer would likely never see her again.

A small idea began forming in the tigress' head, one that continued to gain appeal as she climbed into her cruiser, started it up, and called in her 10-8—back in service. Just in time, too, as her watch beeped to signal the end of her lunch break. McHorn was out for the day, so it was just her in the cruiser. Rather unusual, given the chief's propensity lately to assign prey partners with predators, but Fangmeyer didn't mind. While she respected him, the surly rhino could get on her nerves with his overly stoic demeanour.

Shaking her head, she started her cruiser, intent on finishing another day protecting the streets of Zootopia, though thoughts of the little jaguar girl never left her mind for long.

Nolwazi Longtooth spent the rest of the day cleaning her apartment, thinking hard about what her father had said to her. She didn't really want to believe it was true, not at all, but the harsh reality was that she knew he was right. She sure as hell didn't like the way her life was right now, but maybe there was truth to what he'd essentially told her: All work and no play make Nolly a sad kitty. She felt a little guilty leaving her partner to work while she essentially goofed off. But maybe he was right, too, and she needed this.

Still, it would have been nice to at least have someone with whom to talk the rest of the day. She didn't want to just call Shawn, since she did owe him an apology, and she felt that would be better delivered in person. She'd gotten a text from Bogo later in the afternoon acknowledging that she'd taken a day off for personal reasons and that she was expected back in the station bright and early. It had been a bit of a surprise for her on a few different levels. Clearly, her partner had told Bogo and probably made up some excuse on her behalf, since she wasn't under orders to report directly to his office or to mammal resources.

Then again, that could just be delaying the inevitable. She had, after all, walked out of her job unannounced.

That was the primary worry on her mind as she fell asleep that night, a sleep that was better than most nights lately, but still not entirely restful. It was interrupted by the occasional nightmare of either going savage and hurting her colleagues or the gruesome findings to which they'd been exposed. As a detective, she was well acquainted with dead bodies, carnage, and gore, but mass graves, fields of the dead in open air markets, and mammals eaten by mammals who at one point were able to walk and talk—that was on a whole different level.

Dragging herself out of bed the next morning did seem harder than usual, but that may have been because of the abrupt interruption of her routine the day before.

Neither breakfast nor coffee was skipped this morning, either, and even with the rough start, she felt a little better than she had in a while. As usual, she forewent her car in favour of the subway, the latter being an easier way to get to the city center. Arriving at Precinct One was just like any other day. There weren't any whispers or pointed fingers—just the usual polite greetings. Perhaps the rumour mill had skipped her over.

"Hey, Detective Longtooth! Glad to see you're back! Hope everything is going OK!"

Well, maybe not entirely. Clawhauser seemed intent on blurting it out in front of everyone. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, I saw you rush out of here yesterday, and you didn't come back, so I figure something happened, right? And since you're here today, I assume whatever it was got better?"

Nolwazi shook her head. Well, maybe Shawn didn't tell everyone, but mammals noticed those things in a police station, so she knew she couldn't have gone completely under the radar. She smiled at the other feline. "Everythin's fine, Ben, thanks for askin'."

"Oh, good. I'm glad to hear that! OH! Hold on, gotta get this!" He reached for the dispatcher's radio just as it started flashing.

"That's fine, Ben, I have to get to my office."

The happy cheetah nodded. "Of course! Unit calling, this is dispatch, go ahead…"

Nolwazi took a deep breath and headed deeper into the station, making her way to her shared office space. As she opened the door, Shawn Dancing River's voice spilled out. "I understand that, Mr. Morrispaw. But you have to understand the situation we're in. We are still down a quarter of our staff, and we're still processing a lot of the evidence that's come in. You'll get what you need soon enough. Goodbye." The elk put the phone down and rubbed his temples. "It's too early for this…"

"Trouble with that assistant district attorney?"

The elk nodded, still rubbing. "He wants a complete breakdown of all the events involving Night Howler antidote research in the last twenty-four months, along with all the revisions made to the Night Savage cult's formula, down to the letter." He looked up at the lioness, who just stood there. "Glad to see you, Nolwazi. How are you feeling today?"

She looked down. "Better, thanks. But listen. I…I owe you an apology. For yesterday. You were just concerned, and I ripped your head off for it."

"I don't remember it being quite that graphic and bloody," Shawn quipped.

"Heh. You know what I mean. Anyway, you were just concerned and didn't deserve that. I'm sorry." A small smile appeared on the lioness' face.

The elk smiled, too, full and genuine. "Apology accepted. But listen. Whatever's going on, whatever you're going through, talk to us, OK? We're friends here. When one suffers, we all suffer."

The lioness nodded. "I'm still trying to sort it all out myself. But I'll tell you when I'm ready. Not now, but soon, OK?"

The elk nodded. "Whenever you're ready. I'll wait. But don't keep whatever it is bottled up, OK? It'll eat at you, and I'm guessing you don't want chief Bogo finding out."

"How did you get him to sign off on the day off?"

"I told him you had a personal emergency you had to take care of. It couldn't wait, you said, so you took the day. A bit vague, but honestly, I think he appreciated the break. He's been stressing a lot about all the overtime the department's racking up." Shawn Dancing Rivers shuffled through his papers.

"I bet. That and paid medical leave," Nolwazi said. "City council's probably shittin' bricks, even with the deal they've struck with the emergency departments."

"That they are, Nol. That they are."

A/N

Well they couldn't stay mad at each other forever. And what's this that's happening with Elizabeth?

Well, my week was made a whole lot better by the release of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, so, even though I'm still cooped up and it's hot as hell in my apartment, I now have a new…well, OK, remastered… game to play!

No one caught the references hidden in the last chapter! And here I thought they were obvious.

Coming up on May 28: Talk It Out!

Questions? Critiques? Did Merlin turn into a turtle in front of you? Leave a comment!