21 Hide and Go-
XxX
Another longer chapter, enjoy.
…
Up early, Judy fixes a quick breakfast of fruit and grits, then the threesome is on the road toward Deerbrook with the truck.
Arriving at the smallish residence, Judy cautions Nick "Not a word about the house Nick, I-"
Taking in the sight of the house and grounds, Nick sees that the house, while seemingly structurally in good shape, badly needs painting and several windows replaced. The large yard is largely overgrown, Judy's two-week absence notwithstanding and most likely a lack of time and or resources to keep it up properly are the most probable reasons.
"You did the best you could under the circumstances. I know Fluff. To be quite honest, I'm impressed with how well ya did on yer own."
With her nose twitching a mile a minute and blinking rapidly, Judy is thrown a bit off balance "R-really?"
"Yea. It can't have been easy tryin' to make ends meet even for the two of ya. Workin' at Woolworths, even as an assistant manager, you couldn't have been makin' a whole lot."
Taking his tearful bunny into a tight hug and smoothing her ears "It's ok Judy, it's ok. C'mon let's get started."
Exiting the truck and heading towards the house, Nick notices Judy's little car parked on the opposite side of the house.
"Fluff …"
"Nick, I-"
"Shhh" placing a gentle finger on her lips "it's ok. This is an old Falcon! Right?"
"Yea… but it barely runs, the clutch slips badly and the brakes are about shot."
Grinning, Nick has to ask "Do ya think it'd make it to Aurora from here?"
"Probably … maybe … why?"
"Six-cylinder most likely, straight shift and the body seems ta be fairly straight, glass seems ok. This would be a great starter car for Sarah and Rose ta learn on. If it'll make it home, I can fix it up and it'll be good as new, better prob'ly! Wadda ya think?"
"That's … a great idea actually! Sarah, what do you think?"
"…I guess. You'll fix it up? For me and Cream?"
"Good as new, or even better. And we can paint it any way you want. Ok?"
"You'd have Ramone paint it? Sure, I'd like that."
"Ok then it's settled. First things first though, let's get your stuff out of the house. Grab what you need first, then what you want last. Everything that you don't want we'll leave for Debra to deal with. You good with that?"
"Absolutely" agrees Judy "Let's get started."
…
The inside of the house is pretty much as Nick imagined: well-kept but spartan … well used but mainly comfortable furniture, a few family pictures on the walls, mainly of Sarah, well-worn carpet but overall very clean and well kept.
The kitchen had very dated and marginally operational appliances. The stove had two eyes that seemed to be inoperative, the fridge hummed too loudly, a sure sign that it was about to give up, and a microwave that looked like it had seen way too much use.
The upstairs was pretty much the same. Bare floors, peeling wallpaper and a toilet that seemed almost as old as he was. The few pictures on Judy's nightstand were of Sarah, with two laid face down, probably of her other two surviving kits.
One room was empty, clean but empty, while the other had only a bed, a dresser, a few karate pictures of Sarah, trophies and ribbons and picture of Judy and Sarah together, so Nick figured that it was Sarah's.
…
Two and a half frantic hours later, everything of both material and sentimental value is finally loaded into the truck. Surprisingly, the little car starts right away and Judy leads Nick and Sarah out of the drive and onto the main road.
Forty-five minutes later, Judy pulls the little Falcon to a stop in front of the shop and turns the car off.
"And now … what?" Judy asks.
"I'll help carry everything in the house, and I can start workin' on the car while you two put your stuff away."
"Can I come out and watch?" asks Sarah.
"Sure Punkin, as soon as ya get through helpin' your mom put stuff away. After supper we can start movin furniture around in you kits bedrooms."
"Why?" asks Sarah, beating Judy to the question.
"Well, if memory serves me correctly, the twin beds in the two bedrooms are both fox sized and can either be stacked as bunk beds or used separately. You and Rose 'll each need dressers and chests of drawers and there are two of each of those, so you can use them in your room. We can go and get some furniture for Aja tomorrow morning.'
'You and Rose can figure out how to decorate your room together when she gets here, and maybe the three of you can decide how to decorate Aja's room together. What do ya think?"
Heading for the house at a dead run, Sarah shouts "C'mon mom, whatcha waitin' for?"
Shaking her head and planting a soft kiss on Nick's cheek, Judy tell her mate "I don't know how ya do it, but I don't really care. Have fun with the car, we'll both be out in a bit. Love you."
"Love you too."
…
While only taking a brief fifteen minutes to unload their few belongings out of the truck, Judy and Sarah begin the arduous task of putting their things away. After Judy decides to wash and dry the majority of their clothes, and needing to help fold and put away their things, it takes Sarah a lot longer to get out to the shop to watch Nick than she'd planned.
Finally arriving to watch Nick work on the little Falcon, Sarah is surprised to see that Nick already has the engine and transmission pulled out of the car.
"Dad… um what are you doin' ta mom's car?"
"Well, after checkin' a few things, I decided to overhaul the engine. While I've got it out, I'll replace the clutch since that needs ta be replaced anyway."
"Oh … ok…"
"Your mom told me you like ta tinker with stuff, so you kin help me if ya want."
"SURE! What do ya want me ta do first?"
"First, move that stuff over there" nodding his head towards a small pile of tools in front of a workbench "to the side so I can set this on the floor."
After moving the engine hoist to the front of the workbench, Nick gently sets the engine on the floor.
"Ok, now roll that large toolbox over here and you can start handing me whatever tools I need, ok?"
Smiling, Sarah hurries over and pushes a medium sized tool cabinet over to where Nick has set the engine.
"It was easier to pull the motor, transmission and clutch all together. Now we can simply take them apart here on the floor instead of laying underneath the car. Understand?"
Still grinning, Sarah simply nods.
"Now, hand me that-" Nick begins but is interrupted when the air compressor starts up and startles Sarah.
As father and daughter both get a laugh out of the situation, Judy calls then in for lunch.
…
"We'll need to go into town and get some more groceries" Judy mentions as they eat. "I keep forgetting that I need to buy for three ... or four" looking at Nick "So I never seem to be buying enough to get by for more than a couple of days.'
'But first, we'll need to go and get my accumulated mail from Nadine, I'm pretty sure that there'll be more than one overdue bill in the mix."
"At least that'll be the last of those" says Nick with a quick wink at his mate. "We can do the change of address thing for you from here on the laptop, I did that for my address when we were at the shop before we left. I'da done it for you but I didn't exactly know your address."
"It's ok Nick, really."
"Mom … dad … am I gonna have to drop otta karate?"
"Of course not sweetie" answers Judy "whatever gave you that idea?"
"I've missed almost two weeks of practice and you know that sensei Brown hates for us ta miss."
"I think he'll understand once we explain everything ta him" says Nick, calming the young doe slightly. "And it just so happens, I actually managed to remember to bring my gi (uniform) and kuro obi (black belt) along with me."
"Really? Wou-would you teach me Bassi Dai like you promised?"
"Of course. After we get our runnin' around done, we can give it a quick go ok?"
"Nick …" begins a tearful Judy.
"And you're gonna join us!" says Nick, being sure to include his wife in the mix.
"But I-"
"You still need to stay in shape Fluff. And if you haven't done your taekwondo in years, it may be better to start karate instead. You look to still be in great shape, but I seriously doubt if you can do a lot of the fancy kicks like you usta could."
After a few seconds of being more than a bit miffed by Nick's seemingly harsh words, Judy realizes that he's entirely correct. Like it or not, age has indeed caught up with her and she's nowhere near as limber as she was before her kits, let alone going years without any proper workouts.
"Ok, fine. But if I gotta take karate classes, you do too!"
"Not a problem Fluff. I'm lookin' forward to it."
"Alright then" says Judy "Let's clean this up and head to Nadine's, then to the store…"
…
Stopping by Nadine's and having to almost pry yet another goggly-eyed doe off of her husband (but who could really blame her after Nick managed to pay off her house and her car notes), Judy goes through the accumulated mail as Nick drives towards Deerbrook, tossing most of it into a small trash bag that they had brought along for just that purpose.
"Let's see" she says, almost despondently as he goes through the bills "lights, past due and cut-off notice … water, past due and cut-off notice … internet, past due … Nick can we make a side trip and pay these please? I know we're not gonna be living there but-"
"Say no more, side trip it is. How about this … first stop is to take care of transferring ownership of the house. On the way you can call Debra and have her meet us at registrar's office so you can change the deed to the house and property to her, you both need to sign off on it anyways. Then, we can all go pay the bills. You two can get the accounts changed from you to her while you're in there, and I intend to pre-pay at least three months ahead so she won't have that to worry about for a while."
"Nick, I-"
"I get it Fluff, I really do. Even though it's kinda second nature to me now, it's nice to be reminded of it from time ta time."
As Nick heads towards the registrar's office, Judy calls Debra and arranges for her meet up with them at the office.
From there it's off to pay off the delinquent bills and change the mammal to be billed from Judy to Debra … who admits that she hasn't had time to get in touch with any of Gerald's friends.
"That's ok" says Sarah "I think he sits outside the dojo sometimes when I go to karate, hoping that I'd need a ride home."
"And you didn't say anything because…?" asks Judy.
"I didn't wanna worry you…?"
"Oh, sweetie, I'm SO sorry-" taking Sarah into tight hug.
"I think that this can work in our favor…" says Nick.
"Really? How?" asks a skeptical Judy.
"You have practice on Saturday, right?" he asks Sarah.
"S'posed to, yea…"
"Well, if Gerald shows up like you say he seemingly regularly does, he'll see all three of us enter at the same time, and if I just happen to be holding your paw, or giving you a ride on my shoulders…"
"He'll go batshit crazy…" adds Judy, finishing the sentence.
Looking at Debra "You'll still need to find one of his pals and mention something, just in case, ok?"
"No problem. It's the least I can do for you three. Anything you need from here on out, just call."
"Just one more stop before we get groceries if you don't mind" says Judy, a determined look on her face.
"And that would be?"
"Woolworth's. I need to turn in my notice. And come to think of it, one of Gerald's sisters works there, so-"
"If we walk in together paw in paw, with me carrying Sarah" continues Nick.
"Geraldine will be sure to see us and practically guarantee that Gerald will show up at karate practice on Saturday morning." Judy finishes.
"You really are sly bunny…"
"And you're just now figuring that out?
…
After finishing their little chores in Deerbrook, the Wildes head to Aurora where the first stop is actually a clothing store for small to medium sized mammals. Since Nick only brought some of his clothes on the first trip due to limited space, he needed to purchase a few more sets of … pretty much everything.
While getting what he needed, he turned Judy and Sarah loose to pick out some good everyday clothes, and some for dress-up as well. You never know when the mood would strike them to just go out on the town.
About ninety minutes and several hundred dollars later, they head for the local Piggy Wiggy store for some heavy shopping. Judy knew that Nick was going to require some protein and that he was going to necessarily need to teach her how to cook it. As with anyone learning to cook new dishes, Nick and Judy both knew that there was going to be a disaster or two at the stove, so plenty of extra protein of various kinds was purchased.
With the day pretty much shot by the time they arrived home and put everything away, it was about time to cook supper, so Hell's Kitchen - Nick Wilde style was underway.
Never one to actually lose his temper or cuss out the cook (if he knew what was good for him) Nick tempered Judy's initial mistakes with laughter instead, which earned him more than one hard shot to the arm from the bunny's still powerful fists.
By the time it was all said and done, a simple meal of fresh peas, mashed potatoes with brown gravy and country fried chicken for Nick (and a taste for Sarah) and stir-fried veggies for the does and lemon pepper chicken breast for Nick, supper turned out to be a rather delightful affair.
Retiring to the gazebo for a short period to help settle their meals, everyone relaxed until "Hey … Punkin …"
"Yea?"
"Get somethin' comfortable on and I'll show ya the opening moves of Bassai, ok?"
Off like a shot, much to the amusement of Judy, Sarah returned several minutes later for her first instruction of the Bassai Dai kata (form).
Clad in a loose top and sweat pants, Sarah learns the first half dozen moves of her desired kata.
"Is that all?" she asks.
"Work on those, get the technique and power down correctly and the you get more."
"I'll try…"
"Do or do not, there is no try…"
"Daaaaaad!" Really? Quoting Fur Wars?"
"What? Ok, a better analogy then…. Ummm …. Take tonight's supper. Did you stuff it all in your mouth at the same time or take it one bite, chew swallow and repeat?"
"Dad…."
"…."
"Ok, fine."
"That's my girl… now, it's gettin' late, let's all get showers and get to bed. You can help me finish settin' up the shop in the mornin' and take the motor apart, then we can go get parts. If you do well with the parts I taught you tonight, I'll teach you a few more, ok?"
…
Friday morning consisted of Nick and Sarah tearing down the engine and transmission out of Judy's little car, while Judy finished laundry and planned the day's lunch and supper menu.
After a light lunch of salad and fruit, the threesome headed into Aurora.
After dropping Nick and Sarah off at the parts store, Judy drove around the small town that had just become her hometown, familiarizing herself with the many streets and stores. Seeing so many interspecies couples, especially the many pred/prey couples, lifted a weight off of her that she didn't even realize that she'd been carrying.
Suddenly spying a familiar name on a storefront, Judy had to stop out of curiosity.
Stepping into Jumbeaux's Café, Judy sees none other than Jumbeaux himself at the counter.
Just as she turns to leave, not quite ready to face this part of her past "Well, if it ain't Judy Hopps herself, in the fur."
"I-I'm sorry, I don't wanna create a scene, I'll just leave and-"
"What, my shop ain't good enough for ya?"
"No, that's not it. After the mess I caused back in Zootopia-"
"After you and that fox finally exposed what Bellwether and her kind were up to-"
"I managed to screw everything up at that stupid press conference."
"But after the big pred scare, you and some other bunny managed to straighten it all out, right?"
"A hare actually, but yea, that's right. And then I got booted for abusing a suspect, big whoop."
"According to the news, you've been cleared. The whole thing was a conspiracy to get you kicked off of the force. What ever happened to that fox anyway?"
"Nick? Umm ... we actually kinda got married last week?"
"Really? Well no wonder you're here then. You two got any kits?"
"Not together no. I actually have three, and Nick is planning on adopting my youngest daughter, and two more from the Deerbrook orphanage if everything goes well."
"Well, congrats. And don't be a stranger, bring everyone by and get some ice cream, on the house."
"We couldn't-"
"Everyone gets their first order free, so no worries, ok?"
"That would be wonderful, thanks. When I followed Nick into your old store, that was actually the first time we met. Talk about Déjàvu!"
"I know, right? Anyway, please feel free ta stop anytime."
"We will, I promise."
…
Returning to the parts store to pick up Nick and Sarah, Judy couldn't be in a better mood.
"What's up with you mom?" asks Sarah.
"Not much. So, you two get everything?"
"Not really, I had ta have them order a few parts for the motor that they don't stock. Can you imagine, they don't keep parts in stock for a fifty-year-old vehicle?" Nick asks grinning.
"Well" says Judy, playing along "the absolute nerve of them…"
Rolling her eyes "Grown-ups are weird" says Sarah.
"C'mon you two" says Judy "let's get some ice cream before we head home, my treat."
Giving the smirking bunny a sideways glance, knowing that she's got to be up to something, Nick says nothing.
After loading the parts that Nick had purchased int the back of the Nomad, Judy directs Nick to Jumbeaux's.
Seeing the look of dread on Nick's face was priceless "Are you sure you wanna do this" he asks.
"Don't worry, I'll protect my poor fox" she answers, smirk fully in place.
"Well, I see you're back already!" says a surprised Jumbeaux. "Surprised ta see you fox" he continues.
Seeing Sarah begin to pick up an attitude, the elephant hastily clarifies things "I'm glad that you finally got yerself straightened out, even if it took a bunny cop ta do it. And got hitched to the same bunny, congratulations.'
'And just who is this darling little doe?"
"This would be my … our daughter Sarah."
"Nice ta meet ya Sarah."
"You too sir" says a calming Sarah.
"While I'm thinkin' about it, whatever happened to that little mammal ya used ta come into my shop with?"
"Not really sure" says Nick sadly "when I got out of the service, he was nowhere to be found. I heard rumors that he'd run afoul of Mister Big. If that's the case, he's probably …"
"It's ok Nick," says Judy.
"Yea, I know. So, we're good then?" addressing Jumbeaux.
"Sure are. What'll ya all have?"
…
After a pleasant snack and reunion with a longtime acquaintance, Nick indicates that there is one more stop that they need to made.
"And that would be?" asks a curious Judy as Nick makes a left paw turn into car dealership.
"With three kits, we're gonna need a bigger vehicle, so I figured … maybe an SUV?"
"Or a van or mini-van?"
"Sorry love, but no mini-van for us. I think we'll need somthin' a bit more … heavy duty."
Knowing that she'd never win this argument, Judy wisely admits defeat "Ok, fine."
Thinking that he might be able to talk Nick into trading the Nomad for a new SUV, the salesmammal tried to cut a deal by offering a greatly reduced price on the new vehicle.
Greatly disappointed that that didn't happen, but glad to get rid of a new but older model Suburban, a deal was struck and everyone was left reasonably happy.
Hoping that the adoptions wouldn't fall through, Judy realized that regardless, they really did need something different to get around in. while the Nomad was beautiful and reliable vehicle, it was just not practical for everyday use. True enough, Nick had a pickup back in Aweston that would need to be brought to Aurora, but the SUV would still be much more useful enough for longer trips, regardless.
…
While Judy drove the new Suburban, Sarah had a good time playing with all of the stuff in the new SUV, especially using the paws-free WIFI on her phone to call her aunties back in Aweston.
Pulling into the drive and stopping in front of the shop, Judy and Sarah headed for the house while Nick unloaded the car parts out of the Nomad and set them up in the shop. While waiting for the engine and transmission parts that were on order, Nick could work on the brakes and other stuff but decided that there was no big hurry because it would be at least a week until the ordered parts would arrive.
Just as he was finishing rearraigning things in the shop, he heard Judy calling from the house.
"NICK!"
"Yea?"
"The orphanage is on the phone and wants to meet with us!"
Heading out and locking the shop, Nick joins Judy and Sarah in the house.
With the phone on speaker, Nick joins the conversation "This is Nick Wilde, is there a problem with the adoptions?"
"Thank you for coming to the phone so quickly mister Wilde" comes a female voice over the phone, which is on speaker "Actually, there is no real problem. We at the orphanage would just like to meet with the prospective parents face to face before the court date if possible. We consider this is especially important since you plan to adopt not one of our kits but two."
"I understand completely. We were going to surprise the kits at the hearing, but our primary concern is the wellbeing of the kits and if that means they know about our plans, then so be it. When would you like for us to be there?"
"Would tomorrow morning around nine o'clock be convenient for you?"
Looking at Sarah "Actually no, it wouldn't. How about more like noon or one? Judy's daughter has karate practice at nine and there may be extenuating circumstances that could tie us up for a bit."
"One should be fine, we'll see you then. Goodbye mister Wilde."
"Goodbye."
…
Noticing the concerned looks he was getting from both Judy and Sarah "What?"
"Nick …"
"Listen, everythin is gonna be fine. If it wasn't, I'm sure they would've gone through our lawyers instead of calling us directly."
"You're sure dad?"
"Of course, Punkin. I wouldn't fudge about somethin' that serious."
"So right after karate we'll head to the orphanage, right?"
"Right. Happy now?"
"Thanks dad" and Nick became the recipient of hugs from his bunnies, very glad that they like to hug.
After a healthy supper and some relaxing time spent in the hot tub, Nick coached Sarah with a critical eye through the opening techniques of Bassai Dai. Satisfied that she was comfortably familiar with those, he added the next techniques up to the first Kiai. (this is a Japanese term used in martial arts for the short shout uttered when performing an attacking move.)
As Judy watches Nick and Sarah working slowly through that particular part of the kata (a system of individual training exercises for practitioners of karate and other martial arts) she understands how powerful the techniques can be when practiced by someone like Nick, and why it would be beneficial to Sarah as well as for someone of her own now advanced age. Although her flexibility isn't what it was when she took Taekwondo, the power she still possessed would more than adequate to make up the difference.
At the same time, Sarah slowly began to realize that the advanced kata, strikingly dissimilar to the Kanku Dai that she already knows, was much more difficult to learn than she had first thought.
After going over the moves and learning which points seem to be the most powerful, Sarah decides that she'll need a lot more practice to begin to learn the kata properly. Her advantage would be having Nick as an in-home instructor.
Finally calling a halt to the impromptu practice, Nick sends Sarah to the shower, and then to bed.
While starting his own shower, prior to turning in, Nick feels a draft as his wife joins him.
"Got any moves left?" she asks in a silky voice.
"I may have a few" he answers, kissing her soundly.
…
Early the next morning, Sarah is beside herself anticipating her karate practice.
After a light breakfast, not wanting Sarah to get sick by eating heavy and then exercising, Nick loads everyone up into the new SUV.
As Sarah puts her gi bag into the back of the vehicle, she notices a larger bag already in the back, with several patches on it, one in particular being military depicting a trident with the number '6' on it that she figured was his active duty Team patch. Other notable were an older Shotokan patch, another one that declared 'Black Belt Club', one for arnis training and one for the Dragon Society.
The three arrived a good hour early so Nick and Judy could talk to sensei Brown about Sarah missing almost two weeks of practice.
"He's not here … yet" says Sarah softly, referring to Gerald.
"I'd bet good money that he'll be here before practices is over" comments Judy.
"That's what we're hopin' for, right?" ask Nick.
"Yes, and I'm sure it'll go very badly for him, especially if he's stupid enough to come in and say or do anything to Sarah." Replies Judy.
…
Upon entering the dojo, all are greeted by sensei Brown, an aptly named smallish brown bear who asks to speak with Nick privately.
After going to the female locker room and changing into her gi and purple belt, Sarah begins to stretch and warm up, joined tentatively by Judy.
As more students, especially the younger ones with their parents begin to filter in, Nick and sensei Brown emerge from the office. Nick retrieves his bag from where Judy is sitting and heads for the make locker room to change.
As Nick exits the locker room, Sarah and Judy are impressed at the figure that he cuts. The heavyweight Tokaido gi, which features three quarter length sleeves and pant cuffs that end just above the ankles looks to be well worn, much like his black belt.
Joining her dad and mom in warm-ups, Sarah is amazed at how limber Nick and Judy still are for their age, especially Nick.
At precisely nine, Sensei Brown called the class to order.
After the traditional line up by rank, highest ranking to lowest in line, the most senior student or senpai calls the class to order…
The class then bows to the front or shomen of the dojo with the senpai announcing "shomen-ni-rei" and then to the sensei by announcing "sensei-ni-rei", and finally announcing senpai-ni-rei and bowing to the senpai.
Then senpai announces "mokuso" which literally means "silent thoughts" at the beginning and end of class, which may also be used as a period of mediation.
After having the class reciting the dojo precepts (Dojo Kun) sensei Brown makes the following announcements: "Everyone, please welcome Sarah back. She has been on a vacation of sorts but has returned to our fold.'
'Also, please welcome sensei Nickolas Wilde, a sandan (third degree black belt) who has agreed to become an additional instructor. Sensei Wilde will also be giving instruction in useable self-defense. Sensei Wilde has trained directly under masters Tanaka and Yaguchi. Sensei Wilde was promoted to sandan by master Yaguchi personally. Sensei Wilde has also studied under masters Tom Muncy and Rick Moneymaker, co-founders of ToriteJutsuso he is just as capable as I to instruct you all.'
'Sensei Wilde, if you would, a few words to your new students please…"
"Hajimemashite (How do you do). As sensei Brown indicated, my name is Nicholas Wilde, but you may call me Sensei Nick. As my first official action, I would like to call Sarah Hopps to the front of the class please."
When Sarah joins Nick and Sensei Brown at the front, Nick continues "To begin with, if everything goes well, I plan to adopt Sarah on Monday morning, and-"
"LIKE HELL YOU WILL FOX!" comes from the back of the dojo … Gerald had entered while everyone's attention was focused on the proceedings.
"Excuse me-" begins sensei Brown, only to be cut off by the fully enraged buck who's first mistake is to unwisely stride through the dojo to confront Nick.
Gerald's second mistake was to grab the front of the much larger mammal's uniform.
His third and final mistake was to get back up off of the floor and try to punch Nick.
First deflecting the punch and then grabbing the buck's wrist and executing a near-perfect Uchi Mata Gaeshi toss, Nick easily subdued the rabbit, without intentionally showing the self-defense skills he was just touted as having.
Holding Gerald face down in a double wrist lock was easy until the buck calmed enough to know better than attack Nick again.
Allowed to leave on his own, but followed to the parking lot by Nick, sensei Brown and Judy with the students and parents given strict instructions to stay in the dojo, his parting words were "You haven't heard the last of me fox. I'll be at the courthouse on Monday to stop you if it's the last thing I do."
"As well it may be" returns Nick "But in the meantime, why don't you go and have a nice game of hide and go fuck yourself, ok?"
…
Returning to the class, Nick picks up from where he was unfortunately interrupted.
"As I was saying … I plan on adopting Sarah Hopps as my daughter. To place this in its proper perspective, her mother Judy and I were recently married, and with both Judy and Sarah's blessing, the adoption will be finalized next Monday morning. Thereafter she wishes to drop her name as Hopps and formally become Sarah Leigh Wilde. That being said, Sarah, please step forward… again." which earns a few giggles from both students and onlookers.
As Nick formally kneels in front of his daughter, he unties her purple belt and is pawed a new brown belt from sensei Brown.
"Sensei Brown has given me the honor of presenting and tying this Kasshoku obi (brown belt) on you personally. This now elevates you to senpai status, and I know you will serve as not only a diligent student but as an accomplished instructor for lower ranking students. Congratulations, senpai Wilde."
Unable to contain herself, Sarah grabs Nick in a tight hug while whispering "Thanks dad … I love you!"
"I love you too Chocolate…"
…
AN: Ok, just a reminder that it may be a few weeks before I'm up to posting another chapter (the much anticipated adoption proceedings) but I promise that y'all won't be disappointed.