As Shaylee drove up to the burrow, Nick glanced nervously around at the large yard that surrounded a massive farmhouse built into the side of an equally massive hill. There were lots of windows in the farmhouse-part of the burrow and the roof was lined with solar panels. Looking past the farmhouse to the hill-part of the burrow, Nick spotted more windows jutting out from the grassy mound, along with dozens of air vents. It also looked like the center of the mound had a huge domed skylight with a dozen or more octagonal windowpanes, interspersed with smaller hexagonal and square windowpanes that filled in the gaps between the larger panes.

Looking at it, Nick knew it was an incredible feat of engineering and wondered when the dome was built. It was something he planned to ask Stu about and hopefully would be a good bonding moment for them. Since he had already claimed Judy as his mate and wife, Nick knew he needed to score some serious points with Judy's family tonight.

Looking over the wide yard, Nick noticed there were several wind turbines used to produce electricity above and beyond what the solar panels produced. Knowing how many bunnies were in Judy's family, Nick figured they burned through a ton of electricity every month. Glancing around the fields that bordered the burrow, he noticed several tall, skinny windmills that were used to pump water up from the ground.

Pulling into a parking spot among the many other vehicles parked in the large, graveled driveway, Shaylee turned to see Nick glancing over the place curiously. "Well, we're here."

With a flick of his ear as his tail-tip twitched nervously, Nick turned to meet Shaylee's light brown eyes. "Yeah, we're here," he murmured as he began feeling anxious again. He hadn't forgotten that several of the rabbits here already wanted to drive him out of town.

With his seatbelt off, Marty leaned forward and said, "Don't sweat it, Nick, we'll protect you from the big bad bunnies."

Chuckling, Nick met the buck's confident gaze and said, "I'm counting on it, cousin."

Marty absolutely beamed to hear Nick calling him cousin. With a wide, buck-tooth grin, he said, "Come on, let's go in. We still need to have your back looked at before we can eat."

As the rabbits piled out of the jeep, Melanie led the way as Marty walked beside his new cousin while Shaylee hooked her arm through Nick's arm and guided him towards the wide porch that wrapped around both sides of the house. Looking to either side, Nick noticed the porch was dotted with wooden chairs, benches, and small tables that were painted either pastel orange, yellow, green, or pink. The large, ground-level windows also had yellow and orange frames with cutesy rabbit ears above each window making Nick think of a circus again.

Stepping up to the front door, Nick paused as he had a sudden attack of nerves. He was just about to walk into a rabbit's burrow. A rabbit's burrow that was chock-full of bunnies, some of whom wanted to hurt him. Furthermore, Judy wasn't here to protect him or to calm his nerves with her sweet scent. With his tail swishing nervously behind him, Nick took a deep breath. And then another one.

Melanie opened the door, then turned around to see Nick hesitating again. The nervousness in his eyes was plain to see and Melanie felt her heart break at realizing how wrong her parents had been in teaching them to fear foxes. Nick was walking into a burrow full of bunnies and he was the one who was most afraid. Melanie knew that there were several of her siblings and extended family members who would be afraid of Nick for being a fox and a predator, and yet, with their numbers they could easily overwhelm the tall fox and do untold damage to him. Damage he was very much afraid of receiving.

With a warm smile, Melanie held her paw out to Nick and said, "You don't have to be afraid, Nick. My dad is the one who invited you, so the others won't dare hurt you."

Nick took Melanie's smaller paw lightly in his own but didn't immediately let her pull him into the farmhouse. "They might not try anything while your dad is around, but I know how bullies operate. They wait until their victim is alone, with no witnesses or those too scared to talk, and then they do their dirty deeds, usually an old-fashioned beat down. And when accused of their crimes, they lie through their specist teeth about how it wasn't them or they were acting in self-defense or some other such nonsense."

Melanie's ears drooped, then she said, "Well then, we won't leave you alone." Glancing at Shaylee and Marty, whose ears were also drooping, she added, "Isn't that right?"

Shaylee and Marty immediately agreed, knowing they better protect him, for Nick's sake as well as their own. If Judy showed up and Nick had been hurt while in their care, she would go ballistic, not only on the perpetrators, but on them for allowing it to happen. No one wanted to see Nick hurt—he had been hurt enough as it was—but being at the wrong side of Judy's wrath would be even worse. And justifiably so.

Hearing that the bunnies wouldn't leave him alone gave Nick the courage to step through the door that, surprisingly enough, actually cleared his head so he didn't need to duck. Glancing up at it, he asked about its height in relation to the rabbits and Melanie, being the oldest, explained how the doorway used to be shorter but in recent years they started entertaining taller guests and so her dad and a few of her uncles had replaced a lot of the doorways with taller ones so their guests wouldn't keep smacking their foreheads whenever they walked through the door.

Stepping into the house, Nick looked around and saw that he was in the longest mudroom he'd ever seen. The room was nearly as long as the house was wide and the walls were lined with shelves and alcoves that held mud boots and galoshes (rubber rain boots), along with hooks for what must be a hundred coats and jackets hanging on the wall. Higher hooks for the older kits and lower hooks for the younger kits.

Following the bunnies through the mudroom door, Nick looked around at a large living room with several hallways leading off to the left and right of the room. Each side of the room also had couches set around in a loose square for sitting and talking, making for a more intimate conversation. The couches on the left side of the room were empty, but there were a pawful of bunnies sitting at a card table and playing what looked like a game of Nerts or a similar game that required each player to have their own deck of cards.

Going by the layout, though, Nick was fairly certain they were playing Nerts. It's a game he wouldn't mind playing with his news friends if the chance came up…perhaps after he and Judy returned from the cabin. Provided he was still welcomed in the burrow after it became common knowledge that he and Judy stayed at the cabin—alone—a few days longer than the others.

The bunnies at the table froze as the tall, red fox was led through the living room, Shaylee hanging off one arm, while Melanie held his other paw and led him forward, even as Marty walked on his right. Waving to the stunned bunnies as they walked past, Marty turned to Nick as they neared the doorway leading into the rest of the house and explained that the farmhouse was made up of suites, much like a fancy hotel, and were for the newly married couples just starting out and not sure where they wanted to go, or guests over for a visit, or extended family staying for a wedding or town function, like the rodeo.

Nick was highly impressed, but then they walked through the doorway and he looked through an archway on either side of the hall to see two separate dining rooms with long tables. Beyond each dining room where rabbits sat at both the long tables, there was a large kitchen—which meant there were two large kitchens in the farmhouse.

Looking back and forth between the rabbits guiding him through the house (and ignoring the stunned rabbits at the tables), Nick's ears flicked back as he said, "You need two huge kitchens and dining rooms?" Though to be honest, they didn't seem adequate enough for the huge number of bunnies he heard lived here. Nor did he see Stu and Bonnie, the two main bunnies who were expecting them.

The rabbits looked at him and then Shaylee giggled while Marty started snickering. With an amused smile, Melanie met Nick's confused gaze and replied, "These are just the guest kitchens and dining rooms. Only a few bunnies from the main burrow slip out here to eat, usually when they want to get away from the crowds."

"Crowds?" Nick repeated with a gulp, his ears disappearing against his head.

Melanie nodded as she continued leading him by the paw, even as Shaylee spoke up, saying, "And these aren't huge, Nick, these rooms are actually kinda average."

"Average?" Nick gulped again. His tail was now twitching nervously behind him again.

Slugging Nick lightly on the arm, Marty repeated, "Average. Very average." With a laugh, he added, "If you think these rooms are huge then the main dining hall will be massive to you and the great room is cavernous."

With a deep frown, Nick's jaw went slack. As they neared the wide, double doors that led deeper into the burrow, Nick came to a stop, then took a step back, saying, "You know what? I think I'll eat out here with these guys. It sounds a whole lot safer and quieter and—"

Shaylee cut him off with a tug on the arm she still held. "Uh-uh. Not a chance are you eating out here. Dad invited you so we're going to eat in the main dining hall with everyone else."

With a tug on his other arm, Melanie smiled encouragingly at her new fox brother as she said, "Come on, we'll keep you safe."

Stepping behind Nick, Marty pushed him from behind (and was careful of the spot Judy had pointed out as the site of his injury) as he said, "Besides, Nick, we still need to have your back looked at and we can't do that while you're sitting out here eating."

With the girls pulling from the front and side while Marty pushed from behind, they got the fox through the door and into the main part of the burrow that was dug out of the hill behind the farmhouse.

As the door shut behind them, the rabbits sitting at the two long tables stared at the door for several heartbeats, then glanced at each other with shock and confusion. Finally, a young, pale-gray doe fresh out of high school exclaimed, "Was that a fox who just walked through here!?"

An older dark, greyish-brown buck sitting next to her rolled his eyes, saying, "Lucy, are you seriously asking that?" He and his family, along with a few more relatives, had come in from Prairieville for the rodeo. Prairieville was a small town north of Bunnyburrow which had been founded by prairie dogs instead rabbits like Bunnyburrow, hence the names.

Waving a paw, Lucy answered, "I know he's a fox, but why is he here? Why do we have a filthy fox in the burrow?"

The other bunnies were looking at each other and some seemed to be wondering the same thing. The older buck, whose name was Charles and was in his early forties, scratched his chin for a moment, then replied, "I seriously doubt he was filthy. He didn't even have that strong foxy smell most red foxes have."

Lucy rolled her eyes, but then a black buck in his teens sitting at the opposite table said, "But did you see the way Shaylee and Melanie were touching him! And Marty! That fox could have turned around and snapped his head right off!"

Charles rested one arm on the table, and then set his other elbow on the table while resting his chin on his palm. Scratching his jaw, the buck said, "I'm pretty sure Nick," he stressed the fox's name he heard Shaylee and Marty calling him, "is more afraid of you than you are of him."

"What are you talking about, Uncle Charles?" the young buck questioned. "That fox could eat us!" He pounded the table with his paw and there was a murmur of agreement that swept through both rooms.

Uncle Charles scratched his jaw again, then asked, "Jim-Bob, when was the last time you personally seen or heard of a fox eating anyone?"

The young teen's mouth worked as he searched for an answer, but after several moments. he snapped his mouth shut and sat in silence. He had no answer for his uncle.

With a nod, Uncle Charles then said, "I've never heard of any fox eating anyone, so I think it's safe to say Nick isn't here to eat you. And since Melanie promised to keep him safe, I think it's obvious he's worried about you," he pointed to Jim-Bob, "or you," he pointed to Lucy and then glanced down both tables while pointing to the other bunnies, "or anyone else who thinks it's fun or okay to pick on a fox."

Looking back at Jim-Bob, Charles added, "Because if you think about it, there's 500 of us and only one fox. In a contest of strength, we would win paws down—and Nick knows this. So, Nick isn't here to start trouble, but he is worried that you might, in which case he'll lose."

The rabbits all glanced back and forth at each other in thought, so Uncle Charles decided to point out one more obvious point. "Don't forget, Uncle Stu personally invited the fox, so you know Nick can't be bad."

Charles was one of Stu's youngest brothers who had moved to Prairieville after marrying his wife, Stacy, as her family was from there. Several of his brothers and sisters had also married some of Stacy's sisters and brothers, along with a couple of her friends, and so they had all moved to Prairieville to escape the overcrowded family burrow. They also kept their families between the 20-30 bunny mark as they hadn't been fond of the huge 300+ bunny family their older brother Stu and his wife Bonnie had. Charles and the others who had moved to Prairieville with him, and especially their wives, had thought Bonnie had been crazy to have so many kits.

Jim-Bob sat in silence for another moment as he thought over Uncle Charles's words, then finally said, "Well, I guess." The buck's gaze dropped to his near-empty plate of scalloped potatoes and fried carrots. Scratching his black-furred head, he asked, "But why is he here?"

"Yeah, that's what I want to know," Lucy said with her nose twitching. "Why is there a filthy fox in the burrow?"

Uncle Charles snorted. Pointing to Lucy again, he said, "That fox isn't filthy and I don't want to hear you refer to Nick like that again. Now, if you want to know why he's here, you'll just have to go down to the main dining hall to find out, won't you?"

Lucy sat back in her chair and grumbled about the fox. She didn't trust foxes, not after hearing how her cousin Judy had been mauled by one when she was just a kit. So why would Uncle Stu invite one into the burrow? It didn't make any sense.

While Lucy sat sulking, Jim-Bob jumped up, saying, "You're right, Uncle Charles. I'm going down to the main hall and find out about the fox." Looking around the table, the young, black buck then asked, "Anyone else coming?"

There was a murmur of agreement and then most of the bunnies sitting at the tables jumped up and followed Jim-Bob out the door, even as four curious bunnies poked their heads through the open doorway of the living room and asked if they could join them. Having listened to the conversation from the living room, the bunnies were also curious about the fox whom their cousins were leading through the house.

As most of the rabbits left, Uncle Charles turned back to his dinner of scalloped potatoes, fried carrots, and a dinner roll. Knowing the fox wouldn't immediately go to the dining hall if he was having his back looked at, the older buck decided to finish his meal before making his way downstairs to learn more about the interesting todd who had gained the trust and friendship of his two nieces, one of which was rather shy and never really had much to do with predators. Of course, seeing Marty with the fox was no surprise.

-/-/-

As Melanie and Shaylee pulled the fox through the door with Marty pushing from behind, Nick immediately smelled the difference in the air and knew they had left the farmhouse. Instead of wood, dust, and bunnies, Nick now smelled earth, bunnies and a lighter scent of wood that lined the floors, with thick wooden beams that were evenly spaced to support the ceiling. The walls themselves had been smoothed down and plastered, then trim was hung two and a half feet from the ground to divide the bottom half of the wall from the top and ran between each ceiling support beam.

Every inch of the bottom half of the wall was then covered in little kits drawings. Some of the drawings were little more than scribbles, but there were some really impressive murals some of the older kits had drawn and colored with crayons or craft paint showcasing their talents. Nick was not only impressed with the murals, but the foresight of the adults in giving their kits a chance to let their imagination run wild as they decorated the burrow's bland walls.

The upper part of the walls was an alternating color of dandelion yellow, butternut squash orange, rose pink, sky blue, and a light green the color of new grass shoots. The upper walls between the beams were painted one of these colors, and then alternated on the next space between the beams. It really brightened the place up and made you forget you were underground, especially with the soft white light of the light fixtures that were inset into the ceiling which meant Nick didn't have to duck to avoid hitting them. He was grateful for that.

Along with the colorful walls and scent of earth, Nick also heard the muffled murmur of many voices drifting down the hallway. With his ears flicking back again, Nick pointed out, "You know, that's a lot of voices I can hear. Are you sure it's okay? Seriously, I'm fine eating up here in the farmhouse."

With a laugh, Shaylee looked up and said, "The voices are coming from two different locations. There's only about one-third of the bunnies in the dining hall. The other voices you're hearing are coming from the great room."

Nick's tail flicked nervously as he said, "The cavernous great room?" Shaylee smiled brightly up at her foxy brother and nodded, and Nick then asked, "But there's only about a third of you guys in the dining hall right now?"

With a flick of her cottony gray tail, Shaylee explained, "We feed the kits 15 years old and younger at 5:30, then we start feeding the older teens and adults at 6:00 in two shifts. The second shift starts at 6:30, and we'll probably finish with your back about that time, and then any stragglers who come home late can eat leftovers after 7:00."

Nick nodded, as the setup made sense, but the idea of walking into the massive dining hall with so many bunnies in it was quite daunting, even if it was only a third of the total bunnies who were in the burrow.

As the bunnies continued to lead Nick through the brightly lit and colorful hallway, Nick saw many hallways branching off, leading to who knew where. At his curious look down a few of the hallways, Marty, who was now walking beside him instead of pushing him, explained that a lot of the corridors on this level led to shared bedrooms of the younger kits, along with the bedrooms of older generations of bunnies—their grandparents, their parents, and the other aunts and uncles who remained in the burrow instead of moving out and establishing their own warrens.

Nick was impressed and wondered what floor level his new sisters and cousin had their rooms, and more importantly—which level Judy's room was on. He was dying to see her room but knew he would have to wait until his angel returned to show him.

As they drew closer to the noise, they came to the end of the corridor with a hallway leading to the left and right. Melanie steered him down the left one, then dropped his paw, saying she would go tell mom and dad they were here, and that Nick had a back injury that needed tended to, then she would grab their older sister Claire to do the examination.

Watching Melanie head down the opposite hallway, he then followed Shaylee and Marty down to the family 'clinic'. On the drive over, the bunnies explained how the burrow had its own clinic to take care of any sick kits or those injured here at the farm. If anyone needed surgery or had a life-threatening condition, the injured would obviously be sent to the hospital, but for everyday sickness or minor accidents (cuts, bruises, gashes, and concussions, etc.) could all be dealt with here at the burrow by one of the resident doctors and/or nurses.

Nick was highly impressed with the efficiency of the Hopps' burrow and was curious to see the setup of the clinic. Walking away from the noise and din coming from the hallway Melanie had disappeared down, Shaylee and Marty led Nick down one twisting corridor and then another before climbing down two flights of stairs. Feeling confused and completely lost, Nick followed his sister and cousin down another winding corridor before they finally arrived at the clinic.

Feeling his head spin at all the twisting corridors of the burrow, Nick stepped in behind the bunnies and was impressed to see several hospital beds (all rabbit sized and low to the ground) with curtains hanging from the ceiling that could be pulled around to give privacy to the beds. Scanning around the room, Nick spotted a wider, longer bed that would more comfortably fit him (though still low to the ground) and he wondered what mammal it was brought in for.

Nick's study of the beds was interrupted by a gasp, then a stammered, "A…a fox! You brought a…a fox into the clinic!?"

Looking over, Nick saw a mousy-brown rabbit doe with a white muzzle sitting at a computer and had either been inputting information or, more than likely, had been playing games on the computer. The doe, who was dressed in a nurse's uniform, sat wide-eyed and staring at Nick like Big Foot or the Abominable Snowman had just walked in...or the devil himself.

Letting go of Nick's arm, Shaylee walked over to her sister-in-law, saying, "Yes, we brought a fox into the clinic. Peggy-Sue, this is our friend Nick, Nick Wilde, and he helped us finish putting up all the bleachers for the rodeo, so my dad invited Nick over for dinner as a way to say thank you."

Peggy-Sue nodded, but then asked, "But why is he in here?"

Marty spoke up, saying, "Nick strained a muscle in his back, so we're having Claire look at it to make sure it's nothing serious."

"That's right," Shaylee said as she reached for her sister-in-law's arm to help her up from the chair. "Melanie is getting Claire and they'll be here any minute now, so why don't you take your dinner break now and by the time you're done eating, we'll be done in here and you can come back and finish your work."

"Are you sure it's okay?" Peggy-Sue asked. "I'm supposed to make sure none of the kits come in and play with the instruments or jump on the beds."

"Don't you worry about a thing," Marty spoke up as Shaylee led the nurse to the door. "We know you're not that comfortable around predators, so we'll watch over the place and make sure none of the kits come in. And when you return, Claire will be here to greet you."

"Well, if you really think it's okay," Peggy-Sue said again as she eyed the large predator warily.

"Yes, we're sure," Shaylee replied as she practically shoved Peggy-Sue out the door, though she did it as gently as possible so as not to be completely obvious about what she was doing. "We'll watch the place and won't let a single kit in unless they have a boo-boo."

With a nod, Peggy-Sue glanced back at the fox, who gave her a little wave. With eyes widening at seeing his semi-retracted claws, she 'eeped' then fled down the hallway.

Nick's eyes widened as Shaylee shut the door. "Did she seriously just 'eep' at me?" he asked while pointing to himself. Shaylee nodded and Nick then asked, "Just because I waved at her!?"

With a laugh, Marty replied, "Peggy-Sue is really skittish around predators. She embodies the 'timid bunny' stereotype, but if you're not a predator, then she's one of the best nurses you'll ever have—just don't tell her anything personal."

"Huh?" Nick asked confused.

Smiling, Shaylee stepped up to Nick and guided him over to the only large bed in the clinic, saying, "Like Marty said, if you're prey, Peggy-Sue is meticulous and patient if you're sick or injured. She has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen, but she also has an equally big mouth."

Nodding, Marty hopped up on the bed beside Nick and said, "Anything you tell her will be spread through the whole burrow within 10 minutes of her leaving the room. So, we always warn her patients not to confide anything personal to her."

"Which is why you didn't tell her about the real reason I'm in here, right?" Nick asked with a flick of his dark, triangular ear.

Marty's ears drooped slightly as he answered, "Yeah. I didn't think you wanted the whole burrow to know what happened to you, but if we simply told her that you had an injury which Claire needed to look at, her wild imagination would have come up with a hundred different reasons why, how, and where you were injured and then she would have spread each of her ideas as fact."

Nick's ears canted to the side as his jaw dropped. Snapping his mouth shut, he then said, "Okay, that's good to know. Thanks for the warning."

Sitting on Nick's other side, Shaylee added, "So as long as you keep your mouth shut on sensitive information then Peggy-Sue will be your best friend while you're recovering."

With a flick of his tail, Marty added, "She's especially good with the kits and will bring books in and read to them, or hand puppets and give the kits a puppet show."

Nick nodded figuring he wouldn't mind getting to know Peggy-Sue a little better if she could ever overcome her fear of him…and he made sure not to tell her anything private—such as the fact he was now mated to Judy. With a flick of his ear, he put the nurse out of his mind as he focused once more on the doctor that would be checking out his back. "But you said on the way over that Claire could be trusted with…me and Judy being close friends?" Nick hadn't forgotten the warning about ears and eyes all over the burrow.

With a bright smile, Shaylee said, "Oh, yes, Claire doesn't have a prejudice bone in her body. It doesn't matter to her if you're predator or prey, a wild animal or one of the farm animals. If you're hurt, she'll pour her heart out trying to make you well again."

With a nod, Marty added, "Claire used to bring home injured animals all the time when she was little and would nurse them back to health. But when she got older, she decided to specialize in mammal care, so she became a doctor."

Flicking her tail happily, Shaylee said, "You should see all the pictures my mom took of Claire nursing all the injured animals she brought home. There's a little duck she brought home with a gimpy leg so it got left behind by its family. Claire fed that little duck and worked at strengthening its leg muscles until it was strong enough to walk, then it followed her all over the farm. She kept it as a pet until it grew old and died. She bawled her eyes out when it finally passed away."

Marty nodded at the sad memory, but then nudged Nick's shoulder saying, "Claire even brought home a snake once, a rough green snake. They're one of the smaller breeds that exclusively eats bugs. It had somehow gotten its tail bit off or cut off, so Claire brought it home and bandaged its stump of a tail, then went out and caught crickets and worms to feed it while it healed. Once it was better, she released it back into the fields to continue eating the bugs that destroy our crops."

Nick was highly impressed with this bunny called Claire. For her to help even a snake which most mammals absolutely hate and despise (much like they did foxes), he was looking forward to meeting her. If they hit it off, maybe he'll ask her to be his primary care physician. Heaven knows, he needs one. A good one who was actually concerned about his wellbeing.

-/-/-

Walking down the winding hallway, Claire's black nose twitched curiously as she followed Melanie down the stairs. Claire was a dark, silvery-gray bunny the color of mercury with a black muzzle, ears, paws, and a black stripe extending from her black nose all the way to her black tail. When she asked what was going on, her sister merely said they had a patient for her and when she pointed out that Bradford was the doctor on call tonight, Melanie insisted Claire was the only who would do. Wondering who the mystery patient might be, Claire had stuffed the last couple of bites of her pasta and veggie salad in her mouth and left the dining hall with her sister.

Claire tried asking again in the hallway about her mysterious patient, but Melanie's only reply was that she would find out when they got there. This heightened Claire's curiosity, but she did have an idea on who her mystery patient might be. Considering their dad had invited a fox to the burrow, a good friend of Judy's who had helped her on her case, and with the fact the fox had yet to show up, gave her a very strong clue. The real mystery, though, was figuring out why the fox would need to see a doctor.

As Claire and Melanie walked past one corridor and then another, two pairs of small ears, an ivory pair and an ebony pair, were perked in their direction as they followed several meters behind the older bunnies on soft paws so as not to get caught.

The two young sisters had been playing hide-and-seek with their older sister Tasha (though she didn't know that's what they were playing) when their aunts had walked by their hiding spot. Hearing Aunt Claire questioning Aunt Melanie on who needed to see her and then hearing Melanie's unclear answer, the two little bunnies were suddenly interested in finding out who the unknown patient was, too. So, they slipped out of their hiding spot in one of the storage closets full of blankets and sheets to follow their aunts towards the clinic.

Arriving at the clinic door, Melanie walked up and pushed it open, with Claire following behind her. Seeing Nick sitting on the only large bed in the clinic, Melanie greeted him with a smile, then introduced him to her sister Claire.

Putting his paw out, Nick shook Claire's paw as they smiled to one another and said, "Hi."

While making introductions and greeting each other, no one noticed the clinic door crack open and two little buns hop in on four paws while trying to go unnoticed, nor were they caught sneaking behind one of the beds to hide as their little black and white ears twitched to catch the conversation going on between the adults. The antiseptic smell in the room also helped cover their scent from the only mammal in the room who could smell them (not that they understood this important point when hiding from a mammal with a good sniffer).

Seeing their aunts and their cousin Marty talking to a large red fox had their eyes—bright lavender and soft lilac—widening in surprise and a touch of fear. But as they spied on the conversation, their fears slowly disappeared as they noticed this fox was very friendly.

As Nick took his paw back while his tail swished beside him, he asked, "So you're the bunny I've heard so much about."

Claire's ear twitched as she folded her arms, saying, "I guess. What have they been saying about me?" Turning her storm-gray gaze, first to her younger sister Shaylee and then to her cousin Marty, she raised an eyebrow in question, wondering what they had said about her.

Lightly gripping the edge of the bed with both paws as he leaned forward slightly, Nick answered with a warm smile, "Only that you're the best doctor in the whole burrow and that you don't have specist bone in your body—which is good because I am in desperate need of a good doctor who won't slight me because I'm a fox."

Claire's ears drooped at the implication of what he was saying. "Why? What happened?" she asked as her eyes roved over the todd's body looking for any injury.

Speaking up before Nick could, Shaylee replied, "Nick was stabbed in the back 3 weeks ago and almost bled to death. With the savage attacks going on in Zootopia, no doctor would look at him and the injury became infected."

Adding in his 2 cents' worth, Marty added, "The infection seems to have cleared up, but the wound reopened today when Nick was helping us set up the bleachers for the rodeo."

Claire had heard from her dad and some of her siblings and cousins about the fox who helped with setting up the bleachers, but hearing how the heavy lifting and climbing had reopened an old injury had her snapping into her professional 'doctor' mode. "Let me see," she ordered as she reached forward to unbutton Nick's shirt so she could examine his wound.

Leaning back in surprise, Nick fended off Claire's paws with his own, even as he said, "Hey! Hold on! What is it with you Hopps does wanting to take my shirt off!?"

Claire's eyes widened as her black nose and ears took on a red tint as she blushed bright red. Immediately taking a step back, she waved her paws back and forth in front of her. "No! That's not…! I didn't…!" With a huff, Claire glared at Nick and pointed a blunt claw at his face as she said, "That is not what I meant and you know it."

With a soft chuckle, Nick grinned smugly as he began unbuttoning his own shirt, saying, "I know I'm a hot specimen, but two Hopps girls trying to take my shirt off in the same day is a bit much, don't you think?"

Realizing Nick was teasing her, Claire's ears dropped to her back as she folded her arms and stared at the locking wall cabinet where a lot of their smaller supplies were stored. With a huff, her foot started thumping at the fox todd's outrageous teasing. A couple of heartbeats later, she realized what Nick had just confessed to and whipped her face around to look at him again. With her nose and tail twitching furiously with curiosity, she asked, "What did you say? Who else tried taking your shirt off today?"

Marty hopped off the hospital bed to lock the clinic door to prevent anyone walking in on their conversation, even as Nick grinned smugly at the dark-silvery doe while saying, "I didn't stop the last Hopps doe who wanted to take my shirt off. That would have been the stupidest decision of my life and I would have missed out on the most glorious hour of my life."

Claire's jaw dropped. Which one of her sisters would be bold enough to remove the fox's shirt? And Nick couldn't possibly mean what he was implying about the most glorious hour of his life…could he? Shifting her gaze to Shaylee, Claire wondered if she was the culprit.

Raising her paws, Shaylee laughed, saying, "Don't look at me. I already have my eyes on another todd."

This surprised Claire, but she decided to question Shaylee about it later as she wanted to know who had already made a move on Nick. From what her father said, Judy hadn't met Nick yet, so who could it be? (Not that Judy ever had any interest in any guys!) Moving her gaze over to Melanie, she raised a brow and Melanie shook her head, saying, "I like Nick, but not that much."

Taking pity on his poor cousin, Marty stepped up next to her and said, "Claire, let me introduce you to our newest family member: your newest brother-in-law and my new cousin, Nicholas Wilde." As Claire's mouth hung open and her eyes widened in utter shock, Marty explained, "Nick met with Judy just after 5 and Judy scent marked him, so he claimed her in the fox marriage ceremony. In fox culture, Judy is now Nick's wife."

"And I am now Judy's husband," Nick added with a happy, confident grin as he continued unbuttoning his shirt so Claire could examine his back, even as his tail wagged beside him for several heartbeats.

Claire was completely baffled. This was Judy they were talking about! Judy had to be dragged on dates kicking and screaming (at least she was mentally) and was never impressed with any of the guys she met and constantly said how they were just a waste of her time! So how can she now be Nick's wife!? And Judy instigated it!?

Shaking her head and making her long, black ears flop back and forth, Claire finally asked, "Did Judy know what she was doing when she scent marked you? Because among rabbits, that simply means you're engaged."

Nick's ears flicked back as he finished unbuttoning his shirt and exposed the bandage around his middle. With a heavy sigh, Nick admitted, "Yeah, I learned that after the fact." Scratching behind his ear, he then explained, "But Judy scent marking me came way out of left field and completely blindsided me! I thought she would want a bit more time, you know, a few days at least so we could get reacquainted again, but no, Judy told me she wanted me for Life and then she pulled my face down and smothered me in her scent!"

With a slight shake of his head while a blissful, dopey grin spread across his face, Nick pointed to himself and said, "In a situation like that, as a fox todd, there's only one direction to go," he held up one finger, "so I claimed Judy as my mate and wife." Seeing Claire's complete disbelief, Nick added, "And yes, I did explain it to Judy afterwards and when I realized scent marking for rabbits meant something different, I even gave her the option of being my wife."

"And what did she say?" Claire asked as wild curiosity and disbelief danced in her storm-gray eyes that had a tint of violet in them.

A look of awe and wonder entered Nick's gaze as his tail started wagging again while remembering Judy's answer. With a warm smile curling his muzzle, he answered, "Judy pulled me down by my bolo tie, told me I had to take responsibility for my actions, called me husband, and then she kissed me." Remembering the heated kiss, Nick zoned out for a moment then shook the memory from his mind as he focused on Claire once more. "I swear, that kiss shot me past the moon and I crashed into the InSight un-mammaled spacecraft on its way to Mars."

Claire simply could not believe what she was hearing. This was Judy they were talking about! Her little sister Judy who hated—absolutely hated—the idea of being romantically tied down to a male. With her mind swirling with the images Nick was portraying, she finally said, "But Judy hates the idea of marriage."

Nick shook his head. "Judy hates the idea of being tied down to a buck who expects her to remain at home and pregnant all the time." With a shake of his head, Nick tapped his chest and said, "That's not the case with me."

Motioning to the side with both paws like he was putting something down, Nick continued, "Setting aside the question of whether Judy can even get pregnant with me, I want her to have a life outside of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kits. Judy is a spunky, goal-oriented, enthusiastic over-achiever who will never be happy being stuck at home all the time. She needs to be out helping mammals and doing her best to make the world a better place. She also needs a career she can be proud of, and I'm hoping she'll choose one where I can work alongside her."

Claire stared at Nick in awe as he was spot on about the bucks her mom and sisters were trying to hook Judy up with, along with his understanding of Judy's nature.

Seeing Claire was still in disbelief about Judy's feelings for her foxy new husband, Marty whipped out his phone and pulled up the pictures he took when they were saying goodbye. Showing the phone to his cousin, Marty said, "Check these out."

Taking the phone, Claire's eyes widened at seeing Nick clinging to her sister from the back of an ATV. It was obvious Nick didn't want to let go and going by Judy's wide smile, she didn't mind the clingy fox. Flipping to the next picture to see Nick's paw now on Judy's tail as she turned to tell him something funny (there was humor and excitement lighting her sister's expression), Claire couldn't believe this was the same little sister who swore she would never get married.

Glancing over the phone, Nick's tail began wagging even as Shaylee and Melanie looked over to see the pictures, too. Pointing to the picture, Nick grinned as he asked Marty, "You took pictures of us?"

Marty gave a nod saying, "I figured you would want a memento of your first time with my cousin."

"Definitely," Nick responded with a flick of his ear. "I never imagined a day when I would take a mate, so having pictures of it is great." Pointing his clawed finger at Marty, he added, "So you better send these to me."

With a laugh, Marty agreed even as Claire switched to the next picture. With a bright smile, Nick tapped the phone screen and said, "Ooh, I'm making that one my phone background." It was a picture of their goodbye kiss, where Judy had pulled Nick down and locked muzzles with him. With Nick's one paw on the seat behind her and his other paw holding the back of her head with his claws digging through her fur, even as she had one paw on his bolo tie and the other one wrapped around his neck and burying her fingers in his longer fur.

Ignoring the todd, Claire's eyes grew big as saucers and her jaw dropped. This could not be Judy she was looking at! This couldn't be her little cop sister who always avoided romantic involvement who now had her tongue in a fox's mouth with no intention of letting him go! This was inconceivable!

Glancing up to meet Nick's happy, excited gaze, Claire couldn't see any regret, awkwardness, or uncertainty in his bright green eyes about taking a bunny—prey—as his mate. He was confident, sure, and full of so much joy at having claimed Judy that he was practically glowing with it.

Looking back down at the picture on the phone, Claire had to ask herself if there actually was this huge chasm between prey and predator, one that was impossible to cross? Was this huge gulf between them simply all in her head? In everyone's head? Because looking at how close Judy and Nick were, it was obvious that there was nothing dividing them, nothing saying they couldn't make it work. And it was plain to see that Judy wasn't any worse for wear having been claimed by a fox, that mating with one hadn't hurt her.

Taking a deep breath at the possibilities, Claire flipped to the next picture. It was another picture of them kissing, but Judy had pressed her body up against Nick's chest and had turned her head a bit more to deepen the kiss. Nothing stood between them. Taking in another deep breath, Claire suddenly saw herself sitting on the ATV and another canid with a similar build to the fox standing there kissing her.

It wasn't the first time she wondered what kissing Aiden would feel like. How his claws would feel sliding through her short fur or what his sharp teeth would do to her if he nibbled on her ears or neck. These thoughts and images kept her up some nights. Well, not so much lately. But back in medical school when they attended classes and study groups together, Aiden had definitely haunted her dreams most nights. And still did on occasion.

Having seen the wild hope in Claire's eyes when their gazes met, Nick could guess that the dark silvery doe was carrying a torch around for a predator, as well. Seeing her run her fingers lightly over the screen, Nick knew she was no longer seeing him and Judy kissing over the ATV but was picturing herself with a special predator of her own.

Before Nick could question her about it, though, a white ball of fluff suddenly hopped up on the bed beside him and demanded, "I wanna see! I wanna see pictures, too!" Reaching forward, the little cream-colored bunny snatched the phone from her aunt's shocked fingers and practically stuck her nose on the hard screen as she scrutinized the picture of the fox kissing her Aunt Judy.

Pointing to the picture, Nick said, "See, Judy is already addicted to my kiss…es…" With eyes widening at realizing he was talking to a small bunny he had never met before, Nick's train of thought got derailed and his mouth dropped open.

The older rabbits all stared dumbfounded at the small bunny staring intently at Marty's phone. "Cotton!" the four rabbits yelled at the same time. "What are you doing here!?" the three does all asked at the same time.

Looking up and worrying she might be in trouble, Cotton's ears drooped, then she murmured in a soft whine, "I just wanted to see who needed Aunt Claire's help."

Nick looked the cute little bun over, then reached over and rubbed her head with his paw-pad. "Well, now that you met me, what do you think?"

Cotton's little pink nose twitched as she stared up into the large predator's bright green eyes. His smile was warm and his eyes twinkled with happiness. There wasn't anything she saw to be afraid of nor did her aunts and cousin show any fear or uneasiness around him. Plus, her Aunt Judy had even kissed him! They were now mates—husband and wife! "You not scary," Cotton stated in her small, matter-of-fact voice, even as Nick's warm smile grew a little bigger. With a flick of her pink ear that was covered in downy, cream-colored fur, Cotton then asked, "You really my uncle now?"

With a soft chuckle, Nick replied, "Yes, yes, I am. But some of your aunts and uncles aren't going to like me being part of the family so we need to keep it a secret for now." Raising a finger, he put it over his lips and winked at her.

Cotton's nose started twitching even as Shaylee reached over to rub her fur between her ears. "Nick is right," she told her young niece, "Nick already got hurt once because someone didn't like foxes, and we don't want to see him hurt again because someone in the family doesn't think he should be kissing Judy."

Cotton's ears drooped as she looked back down at the picture of her Aunt Judy kissing the fox. Her Aunt Judy seemed to like it a lot and Uncle Nick wasn't hurting her. Even with his claws in her fur, there was no blood to show he had scratched her with his claws. Claws she had been told her whole life were bloody and scary. "But Uncle Nick isn't scary. He didn't hurt Aunt Judy."

Reaching over, Marty petted Cotton's arm, saying, "That's right, Nick didn't hurt Judy but that won't stop some bunnies from hurting Nick or wanting to drive him out of town, so we need to let them get to know Nick first. Let them see for themselves that Nick isn't scary, then we can tell everyone about him and Judy being mates, okay?"

Cotton thought about it for a moment, then nodded her head. Having heard a large number of her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents talking bad about foxes and other predators, Cotton knew that they wouldn't like Nick, so she agreed that they should get to know Uncle Nick better first.

As Shaylee dropped her paw, Nick booped Cotton's nose, saying, "You know Cotton, everyone tells you how scary a predator's claws are, but they never once tell you how good a predator's claws can feel." Showing her his palm and wiggling his clawed fingers at the little white bunny who watched him fearlessly, Nick added, "Can I show you?"

Cotton sat staring at Nick's paw for a moment as her nose twitched incessantly. It was the first time she had a predator's claws in her face, but Nick wasn't threatening her and she found herself curious. Aunt Judy seemed to like his claws. With that thought, she reached up and grabbed Nick's huge, ruddy paw with her tiny white ones and brought it closer to her face as she studied his palm.

Running one tiny paw across his paw-pad, she then moved her fingers up his pointer finger and then paused on his finger-pad before lightly gripping his large, black claw. It was hard and a bit sharp, but it reminded her more of her pencil lead after she sharpened it and then wore the tip down a bit from drawing (she loved to draw!). Uncle Nick's claws weren't sharp like a knife, though. She wasn't allowed to touch any of the kitchen knives because she might cut herself and after watching one of her older cousins cut himself with a pocketknife, Cotton made sure to never touch the knives in the kitchen—or any of her cousins' knives (quite a few of her older cousins and uncles had pocketknives).

Looking back up into Uncle Nick's forest-green eyes, Cotton finally nodded, saying, "Okay."

With a brighter smile (and feeling a little in awe of the daring little bunny), Nick reached up and lightly scratched Cotton between the ears, then behind her head and around the back of her ears. Cotton's pale lilac eyes widened as her mouth formed a perfect 'O' then she closed her eyes as a wide smile spread across her face. A moment later her hind paw began thumping the bed. Never in her whole short life had Cotton ever imagined that a fox's claws could feel so nice! It felt amazing!

Nick couldn't believe the effect his claws had on the little bun, and going by the expressions on his friends' faces, neither could they. Shaylee suddenly wondered how Jarod's claws would feel running through her fur and across her skin, even as Claire thought of Aiden. She was sure he would be really good with the kits, even as her wish to feel Aiden's claws in her fur grew stronger. She always assumed it would feel good, but seeing the effect Nick's claws had on Cotton, Claire was now positive that Aiden's claws would feel absolutely wonderful!

Marty was also thinking of a predator's sharp claws running through his fur and prayed a little harder that Elliana would agree to date him. Melanie, on the other paw, wasn't sure how to feel. Although she liked Nick and was glad he and Judy had mended their broken friendship and that Nick was now her brother, Melanie still felt a little uncomfortable about having a predator's sharp claws in her fur. But seeing how much little Cotton was enjoying it, she might have to revise her thoughts about a predator's claws.

Enjoying the scratching so much, Cotton forgot to breathe and then fell over backwards. Nick sat stunned with his paw still in the air where Cotton's head had been a moment ago. With a blink, he muttered, "I think I just broke our niece."

No one expected Cotton to fall over backwards, but before anyone else could talk, Cotton took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Taking another deep breath, she then rolled over and sat up. Looking up at Nick with wide lilac eyes, she then hopped up and patted her head while saying, "Again! Again! Do it again!"

Nick's mouth hung open. He was sure he'd just broken Cotton, but here she was wanting to be scratched again. Before he could comply with Cotton's wishes, though, a black comet flew onto the bed, knocked Cotton over, then turned around to peer up at the fox with bright lavender eyes. Putting her black paws on her head, she started hopping up and down while crying, "My turn! My turn! Scratch me, too!"

Nick's eyes grew wider as the new rabbit was a carbon copy of Cotton but with black fur and dark lavender eyes instead of Cotton's white fur and light lilac eyes. They even wore opposite outfits. Cotton was wearing a black pants and a black shirt with white polka dots, while the black bunny was wearing a white outfit with black polka dots. Pointing at the new bunny, he said, "Ebony," he then pointed to Cotton, "and Ivory."

The new little bun immediately perked her ears forward and said, "I not Ebony. I Sable." Pointing to her twin sister who was now sitting up and glaring at her, Sable added, "And she's Cotton, not Ivory."

Nick shook his head. "Ebony is a really pretty black and Ivory is a pretty white. You know, ebony and ivory—the black and white keys on a piano." Nick thrummed his fingers through the air like he was playing a piano. "They play together in perfect harmony—just like you two."

"Oh," Sable said while thinking of the antique piano in the great room. She liked the comparison, but then she remembered the reason for her being up here. Patting her head again, the little black bunny with the bright lavender eyes said, "Scratch me, too!"

With a grin, Nick reached over to lightly scratch her black head and behind her ears. Sable had the same reaction as Cotton. Her eyes went wide before she closed them with a blissful smile, then started thumping her foot before falling over backwards. After a quick recovery, she hopped up and wanted another turn, which started a small scuffle between the two little buns. Nick quickly broke it up and pointed out that he had two paws so he could scratch them both at the same time.

Watching the two little buns in utter bliss as Nick scratched their heads had the other bunnies grinning even as Marty and Shaylee both decided to snap a picture of them. Claire had to remind them why they were there and that she needed to look at Nick's injury. As Nick pulled his shirt off and laid down on his stomach, Cotton and Sable were both saddened to think about their Uncle Nick being hurt.

To distract them (and himself), Nick had the two sit up on the pillow next to his head and help him come up with a few songs for the party later tonight. He even offered to make the two little does his backup singers while he sang, to which Sable and Cotton were ecstatic to be up on the stage with him.

As Nick distracted the kits, Claire cut the gauze off and went to work examining Nick's back. Shaylee, Melanie, and Marty stood off to the side with frowns on their faces while seeing the wound on Nick's back. Claire had to cut the fur around it back so she could get a better look at it. The cut was a little wider than any of the rabbits expected, which meant the knife was probably jerked down slightly when it was pulled out. And with it being a knife wound, they all figured the cut was pretty deep.

Claire was not happy to see the injury had reopened and while poking and prodding it, and seeing how red the tissue still was, she knew the injury was still infected. It wasn't a severe infection, but it was still infected. After giving Nick her diagnosis, she gave him a local anesthetic and then had to properly clean out the wound before stitching it up. Claire then prescribed Nick some antibiotics.

Sitting up as Claire pawed him a small bottle of the pills (as young rabbits had a high death toll due to bacterial infections, the clinic kept a small stock of various antibiotics on hand). Looking the bottle over, Nick then asked if Claire would be willing to take him on as a patient and be his primary care physician.

Claire readily agreed, and as Nick put his shirt back on, he followed Claire over to the computer so she could input his information. After giving her his name, birthdate, and phone number, Nick was at a loss for the address. He was staying at Gideon's for the moment, but he wasn't sure what the address was, nor was he certain how long he would be staying there. With him taking Judy as his mate and wife, Nick wanted to get a place of their own.

Claire understood and suggested he at least get a post office box, but in the meantime, she offered to let him put her own address down so that the blank was filled, and then they could go back and change it once he got a permanent PO Box or an address of his own.

With his ears pricked forward, Nick questioned the wisdom of having anything of his, a fox, coming to the burrow where so many other bunnies would see it. With a chuckle, Claire explained how she was living on the property, but was not living in the burrow, which meant she had a separate mailbox.

At Nick's questioning gaze, Claire then explained how she had moved into a house her Grand-aunt Margaret and Grand-uncle Sebastian had built in their older years to escape the chaos of the burrow. Neither had great health and so needed peace and quiet. Claire then explained that her family's property, although mainly agricultural, had several acres spread around between the crop fields where the trees were left growing wild so they would have a steady supply of wood should they need it for any project they were building. Her cabin was situated in one of the stands of trees over in the east pasture.

Nick was interested in seeing the place but was curious about why Claire had moved out of the burrow. Claire actually had two reasons for moving out. The main reason that she never told anyone was that she wanted a place of her own should Aiden ever come to visit.

The final straw that sent her packing, though, and the reason she gave her family for moving out, was that her niece, who was also named Claire, was constantly picking up her mail and going through it, even packages she had ordered online, including a dress and two professional outfits she had ordered but needed to try on before deciding to keep them.

Being a doctor, she had ordered the outfits to attend seminars and conferences that she needed to attend to learn about new procedures or prescription drugs that were being developed or had entered the market (the dress she had bought to wear for Aiden the next time she saw him). Her niece had opened the package while Claire was at work (there was a nursing home she visited once a week to check on several of the patients that were under her care), and when she arrived home, she found her niece parading around in the dress.

Not only was she wearing it (she had even worn it to town!), her niece had also cut off all the tags to it and both professional outfits so Claire couldn't send them back after realizing the outfits were a size too small while the dress was two sizes too small, which is why it fit her niece so well.

Shaylee, Melanie, and Marty all remembered Claire going on the warpath after finding out what their niece had done. She had made little Claire, who was in her late teens, work her tail off to pay for all three outfits, threatened to put her in a full-body cast should she ever open one of Claire's packages again, then went to Stu and Bonnie to ask if she could have the house Grand-Aunt and Grand-Uncle had lived in (and was now vacant as both had passed away the previous year) along with the land it sat on. Her parents readily agreed and so Claire now lived there alone, though a few of her favorite sisters or nieces would come for a visit when they wanted to escape the chaos of the burrow, too.

This all happened two years ago with Claire enjoying the peace and quiet found in her new home, though she still hadn't gotten Aiden over for a visit. It seemed like whenever she was available, he was busy, and when he was available, she was busy. She did visit him one weekend last year, when he moved from Podunk to Zootopia after getting a job at one of the city's predator clinics. With all the madness going on in Zootopia right now, Claire figured now would be a good time to call and ask him over for a few days (hopefully longer). Her house had three bedrooms, so she had plenty of room should he accept her invitation.

Having input her address in Nick's patient profile, Claire then turned her attention back to her new patient and pawed him over one of her business cards so Nick could get a hold of her whenever he needed to. She also expressed how happy she was to be his doctor, but hoped they wouldn't meet professionally that often. Checkups were fine, but Claire preferred her patients remained in good health.

Nick laughed at that, but then his stomach growled, reminding him that he needed to get something to eat if he hoped to get through the rest of the evening (and be able to keep up with and satisfy Judy tonight).

Cotton and Sable laughed at hearing Nick's loud stomach. They had been listening to their Aunts and Uncles talk (although Marty was their cousin, he was old enough that the two little buns frequently called him uncle) and vaguely remembered their Aunt Claire going on the warpath on their cousin, little Claire. As it happened two years ago, they didn't remember the incident too well, though they could still recall Claire threatening to put little Claire in a full-body cast after their sister Tasha had shown them pictures of what a full-body cast was. They didn't think it would be very fun if they were stuck in a cast like that.

With Nick's injury tended to and Cotton and Sable sitting on each of his shoulders, the group finally headed to dinner. Claire saw them off, said she looked forward to the Ugly Bug Ball later that evening, then shut the door after them. Slipping into her office at the side of the clinic, Claire sat on the soft padded rolling chair, then put her feet up on her desk. Pulling out her phone, she looked up Aiden's number and called him on MuzzleTime, even as she licked her lips while once more wondering what his kisses would feel and taste like.

FYI: There have been a lot of unmanned missions to Mars starting in the 1970's. In 2018, NASSA launched InSight unmanned lander to Mars. The shuttle was launched on May 5, 2018 and InSight landed on November 26, 2018. InSight was designed to study the deep interior of Mars and is still operational today. Now, I know the movie Zootopia came out in 2016, but I have a hard time remembering that far back. Some of the technology I use in my story is more recent, such as the Insight spacecraft.

In 2016, there was an unmanned spacecraft sent to Mars which was a joint effort between the European Union and Russia. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter was launched on March 14, 2016 and entered orbit 19 October 2016 and is still operational today. The European Union also launched the Schiaparelli EDM Lander with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. It was designed to test the technology of future soft landings on Mars, but it crashed during the final stages of landing.

Interesting enough, in 2020 when the world seemed to be coming to an end due to the Covid Virus spreading worldwide, 3 unmanned missions to Mars were launched and all three were successful. On the 19 July 2020, the United Arab Emirates launched the Hope Orbiter and it arrived on 9 February 2021 and is operational today. Then on 23 July 2020, China launched the Tianwen-1 Orbiter to Mars, which also carried the Tianwen-1 Lander and the Zhurong Rover. Tianwen-1 orbiter reached Mars on the 10 February 2021, with the lander being deployed and landing on May 14, with the Zhurong rover being deployed by the Tianwen-1 rover on 22 May—so just few days ago. All are operational. NASSA launched the Perseverance Rover and the Ingenuity Helicopter to Mars on 30 July 2020 and they landed on Mars on 18 February 2021. Ingenuity was deployed on 3 April 2021 and achieved its first flight on 19 April, making it the first powered controlled flight on another planet.

If you look up Unmanned Missions to Mars in Wikipedia (or just google it), they list all the missions to Mars, states which ones were successful, failures, and which space crafts are still operational today. They also have a map showing where all the landing sites are and you can scroll over the map to get the names of many of the landmarks of Mars.

WingedKatt here. I hope you enjoyed meeting Cotton again. Nick met her last weekend in Z:AtB, and now he met her again this week in Z:ADB. I totally didn't plan it, but it was fun writing Nick's meeting with her in back to back episodes. And yes, Cotton has a totally different backstory in this story. Her twin's name is Sable and she has an older sister named Tasha. We'll meet Tasha in the next chapter, along with a bit more of their background, though I will slowly expand on their story over several chapters. We'll also meet Aiden in the next chapter and see what kind of canid he is. And no, he is not another fox.

Ch. 35: Turning Point, will post in 2 weeks.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Take care. If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know.