23 Settling In
XxX
Finally, another chapter, right? No, I'm not dead, just have a difficult time writing with my 'condition'.
OK y'all, I figured that no one would find my music quote and title so here it is: "I've been a lot of things, but never yours". The name of the song is Never Yours recorded by Tracy Chapman. The other Disney quote is "do we have an accord?" between Captain Barbossa and Elisabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl.
XxX
As the small convoy consisting of Nick, Judy and the kits, Nickie and Skye, and those of Judy's family that attended the hearing entered Aurora, Nick, Judy and Sarah instantly knew where they were headed.
Slightly puzzled about the lack of parking space, they parked across the street in a free city parking lot.
"I've never seen it this busy" commented Judy.
Unloading the kits, with Nick carrying Aja, the five mammals made it across the street, and just as they were about to enter Jumbeaux's, Judy notices the small sign in the window 'CLOSED - PRIVATE PARTY'.
"Darn it-"
"What Judes?" asks Debra, which gets an eyeroll from Judy.
"The sign says that it's closed-"
Just then, the door opens and Judy comes face to face (sort of) with Midnight.
"What the actual hell?"
"Surprise…?" says Midnight, unsure if Judy was going to be mad or not.
Tearing up slightly, Judy gathers the panther into a tight hug.
"Dang it Midnight…"
Suddenly "SURPRISE!" startles Judy and familyas dozens of Judy's siblings that hadn't attended the hearing poured out of the shop.
"What in the world…?"
"When we heard that Sarah had told Rose about the ice cream shop, we all kinda figured that it'd make a great 'Welcome To The Family' surprise for my, our new niece and nephew'." says Skye
"But how…?" asks a befuddled Judy, who then turns to Sarah "It was you, wasn't it?"
"Umm … yea?"
"Well done, Punkin." says Nick, giving his daughter a hug.
Seeing the sparkle in Rose's eyes, but the concern on her face, Judy takes the initiative to begin introducing her first to the vixens and then both young does to her siblings, most of whom she hasn't seen or heard from in almost twenty years.
With Aja keeping affirm grip on Nick, Nick follows Judy around through the crowd of bunnies while introductions are made, making a point to introduce the vixens first, figuring that the young todd would be a bit more comfortable with them.
"Aja" he begins "this is my sister Nickie, and her sig- umm her friend Skye." hesitating for just a second, Nick wasn't exactly sure how else to explain their relationship to a four-year-old kit.
As Nickie and Skye each hold out their paws, hoping that the young kit would at least consider coming to one of them, Aja first looks at Nick, then back and forth between the vixens, and finally back to Nick. After Nick smiles and nods his head, Aja slowly extends his paws towards the waiting females.
Carefully taking the kit, Nickie slowly brings him into loose hug, soon joined by Skye.
After pulling back from the hug, Aja's eyes are wide open and face full of wonder.
"You're pretty!" he exclaims, indicating the vixens. "Are you my aunties?"
Tearfully, the pair nod and tell him "Yes Aja, we are. Is that ok?"
"Yea … I guess. So … now I've got a mom and a dad again, and some aunties… now I have a real family again!" and hugs Nickie and Skye as tight as they've ever been hugged.
"Aja" as Judy interrupts the hug by gently tugging on his shirt "I have some brothers and sisters that I'd like you to meet, ok?"
"More aunties … and some uncles?" he asks, with his full attention now on the doe.
"Yup, and they're really anxious to meet you. Ok?"
"O-ok."
Taking the kit by the paw (even at four, Aja's still almost as tall as Judy) Judy leads the kit around the shop, first getting him some ice cream - blueberry of course – and introduces him to her siblings, explaining that he doesn't need to remember their names.
Having been forewarned that foxes aren't especially physical mammals unlike bunnies, Judy's siblings are careful not to overdo the hugging.
"I wonder how he's gonna handle the fluffle?" wonders Debra out loud, indicating Aja.
"Let's wait a while before we try to find out, ok?" returns Judy.
"Well, Thanksgivin' and Christmas are comin' up, maybe you can get him used to a bunch of us by then?"
"We'll see. Maybe Larry and Estella can bring their kits over a few times an let him get used to them, then maybe a larger group, like say we throw a picnic or something?"
"That could work. You can talk to Nick and his sister and get it figured out I'm sure. Anyway, I'm gonna head out, I've still got a bunch of stuff to move so you all take care, ok?"
As Judy gives Debra a hug "Ok, see you soon … keep in touch."
"I will, I promise. And if you ever need a kit sitter…."
"I promise to call."
"So, home?" asks Nick.
"Yea, it's been a really big day already, I think that home 'll be just the thing for our two new kits."
…
After gracefully exiting the ice cream shop, Nick, Judy and their kits head home.
Listening to the excited banter between Sarah and Rose, with Aja sitting quietly simply listening to the does and looking out of the SUV's window, Nick and Judy simply smile, happy that the day has turned out so well.
Arriving at their new home, the entire Wilde family is shocked(?) … amazed(?) to find the yard full of bunnies of all ages, from newborn to several of Judy's aunts and uncles, with a large banner proclaiming 'WELCOME HOME' hung across the front of the shop as well as several BBQ grills in operation.
"What the actual fluff?" asks a totally perplexed Judy, trying to keep the actual cussing at a minimum.
Parking and then exiting the vehicle, Nick and Judy see a smirking Nickie and Skye, accompanied by a similarilarly smirking (bunny edition) Larry, standing on the front porch.
"Sis" begins a flustered Nick, "just what the hell…?"
"How did you…?" asks a confused Judy.
"It's called a hustle sweetheart!" is all Nickie would say, smirk still firmly in place.
"But … who … what …" stutters Nick.
"We had Midnight and Debra keep you occupied so we could beat you here" explains Skye.
"This shindig was actually my idea" admits Larry "So if yer gonna be mad, I'm you buck!"
"We're not mad actually, we were just kinda plannin' on some downtime to help the kids decompress. It's been a heck of a day for all of them, especially for Rose and Aja." explains Nick.
"We're concerned that this might be a bit of an overload for Aja, he's not used to a bunch of folks, especially a sudden bunny fluffle, no matter how small." adds Judy.
"I think he'll be ok" says Nickie, motioning towards the young kit who actually seems to be enjoying the positive attention being given to him by about a dozen or so bunny kits.
"Well I'll be …" admits Nick, scratching his head.
"Don't worry about the 'tail touching' thing" says Larry "we went over the fact that touching a fox's tail is a big no-no, just like a bunny's tail."
"And before we manage to lose one of our new kits" begins Judy "c'mere you two…"
With that, Judy marks Rose and Aja.
Taking the hint, Nick leans over and manages to mark not only the two new kits, but manages to snag Sarah and mark her as well, much to her chagrin.
"DAD! Really?"
"Yup, really."
"Now" says Judy, you all run off and enjoy yourselves."
…
"From the look of it" interjects Skye "I think Aja's got a girlfriend already."
As Nick and Judy take a long look at Aja, thy see a small light tan bunny doe sitting alongside of and holding paws with Aja.
"That's Cotton" quietly remarks Jenny, another of Judy's long unseen sisters "she's one of Georgette's kits. They really look cute together, don't they?"
Just then, they observe Cotton punch Aja on the shoulder and take off like a shot. (everyone please remember, boxing another mammal is a sign of affection from a bunny - translation – Cotton likes Aja)
Before any of the adults could make a move, Rose and Sarah suddenly gather around their brother and whisper in each of the young tod's ears.
As Nick and Judy watch, Aja's face undergoes several changes … from shock and confusion, then to sudden enlightenment and finally to grim determination. The adults have to smile as Aja suddenly stands up and takes off full tilt after Cotton.
"And so the chase begins!" laughs Judy. "Look familiar Slick?"
"Like what it would've been like if things would've played out differently between us so many years ago?" asks Nick.
"Yup…"
"I guess we'll need to keep a close eye on those two for the next decade or two then."
"I guess…"
…
As things wind down and everyone departs (the Aweston crew has secured a room in the Aurora Ho-Jo), Nick, Judy and Sarah give the new kits take a quick tour of their new home.
While Sarah helps Rose get situated, Nick and Judy help Aja put his few things a way and get settled in his new room.
Noticing that Aja seems distracted by something, Nick has to ask "You ok there Aja? You seem a bit upset about something!"
"Umm … I'm sorry if I might've cheated a bit at the orphanage, but I really wanted me an' Rose to be rescued…"
"Sweetheart, Nick and I already had made up our minds to adopt you both long before we saw you at the orphanage."
"But why did you use the term 'rescued'?" asks Nick.
"Well, the other kits made fun of me an' Rose alla the time. We told the lady …miss Deerbrook, but she told us that unless she caught them, she couldn't do anything about it."
"Well, as much as I hate to agree" says Nick "she was right. Unless she catches the other kits teasing you, she really can't punish them."
"But you don't have to worry about that anymore" adds Judy, "'cause you're here now and as far as we're concerned, you're never goin' back."
"And let's get something clear" says Nick "we don't want to replace your real parents, we'd just like to finish the fine job they started, if that's ok with you."
"And you don't have to call us Mama and Papa if you aren't comfortable with it." adds Judy.
"… Can I call you mom and dad, like Sarah does then?"
"We'd like that very much" answers Judy.
I've got one quick question" begins Nick "then you need to get some sleep. You've had a long day and we've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Ok … dad … what's the question?"
A smiling Nick asks a question that surprises Judy "After you chased and caught Cotton earlier this evening … did she happen to run her chin over your head? Did she mark you?"
"…Yeeees? Is that not ok?"
(At this point, Judy is sitting on the edge of Aja's bed open mouthed, stunned)
"Before I answer that, did you do the same thing to her?"
"Yea … did I mess up?"
Gathering the young todd into a soft hug, Nick explains "No son I don't think you did, it's just highly unusual at your age. We'll talk about this-"
"I know, when I'm old enough to understand" huffs a slightly dejected Aja.
"Actually, I was thinking of a lot sooner. Like maybe sometime this week. Maybe we can meet with Cotton and her parents at Jumbeaux's for some ice cream to talk things over. Wadda ya think?"
"I'd like that!" remarks a jubilant Aja, happy to be able see Cotton again so soon.
With a happy Aja finally ready for bed, Nick and Judy each kiss the young todd on the cheek and head out to check on the does.
"We'll leave the door open a bit and night lights on in the hall and bathrooms, in case you need to get up in the middle of the night." says Judy.
"Mom, I don't need a light on." says Aja.
"I know sweetie, but the girls don't have your night vision."
"Sorry, I forgot."
"It's ok sport" says Nick "see you in the morning."
"G'night mom … G'night dad!"
"Good night Aja."
…
Entering Sarah and Rose's room, Nick and Judy notice the young does sitting quietly on their respective beds.
"Ok you two, what's up?" asks Judy.
"Mom" begins Sarah "Did Cotton and Aja really mark each other?"
"According to Aja and my nose, yes they did" says Nick.
"Do they know what that means?" asks Rose.
"I'm pretty sure that Cotton knew" says Judy "but I doubt that Aja did."
Just then, Judy's phone rings.
Looking at the caller ID, she rolls her eyes before answering.
"Hello, yes this is Judy Wilde…" (mouthing 'it's Georgette')
After listening a few minutes, Judy continues the conversation "Yes, I know it's unusual, but according to Aja, Cotton initiated the entire 'marking' thing, and he returned the mark out of respect and the fact that he wasn't sure of what else to do. . . .'
'Yes, Nick and I think that a meeting with you, Donald and Cotton would be a good thing. How does Wednesday at Jumbeaux's ice cream shop around one in the afternoon sound? . . . ok, great, see you then, bye."
"Of course they would be able to smell a fox's mark" says Judy, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Even though at that age the scent won't be as strong as it will be when he gets older, I'm sure it caused a bit of panic at the burrow" says a grinning Nick.
"How do you find this even remotely funny?" asks Judy.
"Bunny hormones-" begins Nick.
"Not. Another. Word. Nick!" hisses Judy, eyes darting to the two young does in the room.
Making a motion like he's zipping his lips, Nick simply smirks.
"Now then" says Judy, sighing and turning her attention to Sarah and Rose "since that's all out in the open, I'm sure you've been talking it over since you were on opposite sides of the room and quiet. What do you think of the situation?"
Looking at each other, Sarah starts first "I, that is we, don't see anything wrong, except for the fact that they're both like … four. It's kinda cute actually."
"Yea" continues Rose "while it may not last more than a few days, who can tell. At least it'll keep other does away from Aja and might ease the entire fluffle thing."
"Do you two think you can behave long enough to not cause a problem if we take you along on Wednesday?" asks Judy.
"Do we have a choice?" asks Sarah.
"Of course, … you can always stay with my aunt Nadine …"
"We'll behave, I promise" came the hurried reply.
"That's what I thought. Now, you two turn in, we've got a big day tomorrow. Your dad and I are gonna show Rose and Aja around the property and the shop, then take a quick ride to the berry patches before we head into town to get school supplies for you two, (ignoring the looks of dismay on the girls) phones for Rose and Aja, new clothes for everybody and a lot more stuff."
"I know you heard your mom tell Aja about the nightlights, so good night, sleep tight and we'll see you all in the morning." says Nick, giving each of the does a quick hug.
Heading down the hall to their own room, Nick and Judy begin to get ready for bed.
"With the kits tuckered out from a long day, maybe this would be a good time for you to reorganize the safe room and isolate the gun room." suggests Judy.
Seeing the disappointed look coming from her todd "And when you get finished, be sure to take a really good shower. I've got a little something special planned for our first night with all of the kits home…"
…
At day break the next morning: tap, tap, tap, tap,tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP!
"Mom … dad … please get up!" comes Sarah's voice from just outside of the locked bedroom door of Nicholas and Judith Wilde.
"Mmmfff!" was what Judy heard from her totally worn out hubby.
"Give us a few minutes sweetie!" comes Judy's reply.
After finally coaxing Nick out of bed and into a good shower (and no funny business) Judy heads downstairs to cook a quick breakfast.
After a breakfast of grits, toast and preserves for the bunnies and some turkey sausage for Nick and Aja (Sarah of course freaked Rose out a bit by sneaking a bite of Nick's sausage), the grand tour of the house and property gets underway.
After showing the kits the hidden entrance to the safe room, and programming in their pawprints, a quick rehearsal was held successfully, then everyone moved outdoors for a look around of the outside boundaries of the acreage.
This was followed by a tour of the shop, which all three kits found interesting for differing reasons.
Sarah of course had already seen the shop when empty, but now with all of the bikes (Nickie, Skye and Midnight had brought all of the bikes - including the trike - and Nick's pickup with them) inside, she noticed a small computer station (minus the her laptop) set up for her to work on her projects for the Aweston shop in the overhead loft.
Rose noticed a small portion set aside with her name on it in the loft as well. When she asked why, Nick told her that since she had an interest in plant husbandry, there was a station for her to do her research and such, which of course earned him a tearful hug.
While Aja seemed mildly fascinated with the mechanical goings on, he still wandered around not sure of what was going to be his little space.
Calling Rose over, Nick asked what Aja's interests were.
"He really likes to tell stories" she informed Nick "but since he hasn't really learned to read or write yet, I've had to put them down on a thumb drive and read them back to him when he wants. He's really quite good!"
'Talk about a diversely talented bunch of kits…' Nick thinks quietly to himself. 'Now I know what special things to get him when we go to town so he doesn't feel left out.'
"Ok kits, everybody load up into the car, let's go see the berry fields…"
…
During the short ride to the fields, Rose and Aja marvel at the passing scenery, having seen little of the outside world prior to yesterday's adoption hearing.
Arriving at the fields, Rose is almost brought to tears:
"Dad, how can this be so neglected …? What are we gonna do?"
Taken slightly off-guard when Rose referred to him as 'dad', Nick comes back with what he hopes to be the perfect answer.
"Well, I've actually given it a bit of thought … maybe you, that is to say we, could work out a deal with the Hopps's."
"You've certainly got my interest!" remarks Judy.
"Ok, hear me out. I've done some additional research, and Hopps Family Farms seems to be having problems with their crops the last few years. If Rose is up to it, maybe she can check out the problems that your family is having and parlay diagnosing their problems with help on the harvesting of our berries! And since we're already meeting with Georgette tomorrow anyway, why not present the idea to her to carry back to the rest of the fluffle?"
"That's … actually a good idea!" says Judy. "Rose … what do you think?"
"… Umm … I …"
"Rose" interrupts Nick, taking her small paws in his much larger ones "if you're not sure or are uncomfortable with this, just say so. We by no means want to put pressure on you, so if you really don't want to, just say so."
"I-it's ok dad, I think I can do it … I just need some stuff. Test kits, computer, that kind of stuff…"
"And we'll get you anything you need when we get into town. In fact, we're headed there from here. Make a list and we'll pick it all up at the local farm supply store. Everything except the laptop, ok?"
"Really?" as she jumped up and gave Nick a tight hug, which caused Judy to have a tearful smile.
OK," says Nick "hop down and make your rounds. Figure out what you need so we can get your stuff…"
With that, Rose begins to run up and down the isles of various berry bushes like a mad mammal, noting conditions of the various plants.
After about forty-five minutes, one tired and slightly disheveled young bunny doe finally stops at the SUV.
"I think I've got a good idea what I need now, let's go to town!" pants a slightly out of breath Rose.
"Your wish is my command young miss." laughs Nick.
…
Knowing that Rose would be anticipating stopping at the farm supply store first, Nick tries to mollify the young doe, since they really needed to stop and do other shopping first.
"Rose" he begins "I know you'd really like to get to the farm store and get supplies so you can start testing the soil, but if you don't mind, there are a few things that really need to be gotten first. I promise the wait 'll be worth it … ok?"
Looking a bit crestfallen, Rose quietly agrees "Ok dad. You've yet to disappoint, so let's get the rest of the shopping done …"
…
With the first stop being a clothing store, all of the kits are treated to many sets of new clothes, especially Rose and Sarah, who will be starting school in just under a week.
Then, off to the local Beds, Bath and Stuff for more sheet sets, comforters and other things for the kit's rooms.
After that, a trip to the local Horizon store, where new phones and computers were the order of the day.
"We get phones?" asks a thoroughly astonished Rose.
"Yup" responds Judy. "Nick and I talked it over, and you each get a new phone … yes Sarah, you get a new one too. However, there are stipulations that go with the phones… if you abuse them, like downloading a bunch of apps, talking to mammals that you shouldn't, and yes that includes boys, you lose your phone privileges. A week the first time, a month the second time and for good after that. Are we clear on that?"
"What about Aja?" asks Rose.
"Aja gets one too" says Nick "but his will have preprogrammed numbers in it, with avatars so he knows who he's calling or talking to since he can't read yet. The numbers will be limited to the four of us and the sheriff's office."
"And maybe Cotton and her mom if everything works out tomorrow" adds Judy.
"And now for the really good part" continues Nick "new laptops for each of you. Since Sarah already has one, that one can be used at her workstation in the shop and the new one is to be used for school. While Rose, you actually get two. One's to be used for school and the other stays in the shop and used for your plant husbandry stuff.'
'And yes, Aja actually gets one as well. There's a notebook that has a word recognition program, which will be perfect for his budding writing career. One of you two or one of us can help edit his work, and maybe he can even publish some of his work on one of the writing websites once we're done editing it."
"… Dad, that's … so awesome" says Rose, gathering the todd into a gigantic tearful hug.
"You might wanna give Judy a hug, it was basically her idea after all." suggests Nick.
Letting go of Nick, Rose approaches Judy "Thanks mom, I really don't know what to say…"
"It's ok sweetie, thanks is enough for now. go pick out your new phones and computers, we'll take care of Aja, ok?"
*SNIFF* "Ok…"
…
Forty-five minutes and quite a few dollars later, the Wildes exit the Horizon store and have only one stop remaining, but first…
"How about a bite to eat before our last stop?" asks Judy.
"Works for me." says Nick "Anyone else hungry?"
"MEmemememe! I am!" pipes up Aja for the first time in a while.
"And where would 'me' like to eat?" asks Judy.
"Pizza!" he says, pointing to the 'Grandma's Pizza' sign across the street.
"Girls?" asks Nick.
"Sure, why not?" answers Sarah, with an accompanying nod from Rose.
…
After a quick lunch of pizza, with Rose trying to keep a close eye on Sarah to see if she was going to try to sneak a bite of Nick and Aja's mushroom, banana pepper and turkey sausage pizza (which of course she did, much to Rose's chagrin) our little group headed for Farm Depot to pick up Rose's soil testing kits.
Upon arrival, under Judy's supervision, Rose heads for the section of the store that has soil testing kits to try to find what she needs while Nick and Aja head off on another mission.
After pretty much cleaning out the store's various soil testing kits (she's going to be randomly testing 640 acres of several different varieties of berries remember) Rose, Sarah and Judy meet a grinning Nick and Aja at the checkout counter.
"Did you get everything you needed?" asks Nick.
"I think so … are you sure it's ok to get all of this?" asks Rose.
"I told you to get what you needed, and I meant it."
Giving Nick another big hug "Thanks dad… now, how are we gonna get all of this home?"
"No problem, let's get out to the parking lot, and you'll see."
Exiting the building and pushing several overloaded carts into the parking lot, the three does see the family's SUV with a trailer attached to it.
On the trailer is a brand-new ATV with a medium sized utility wagon and a chemical sprayer behind it.
"Dad?" asks Rose "What…?"
"You guys aren't planning on walking to the berry fields, are you?"
"But…."
"Either your mom or I will be with you whenever you go to the fields to start with. It doesn't make sense to keep taking the SUV or the truck every time. We'll teach you how to drive the ATV so you can go by yourselves when we know that you have enough experience.'
'Umm, Rose, are-are you ok?" asks Nick, suddenly concerned at Rose's sudden tearing up.
Suddenly grabbing Nick and holding on for dear life, her muffled voice finds its way through his fur "I-I'm sorry, b-but no one's ever treated me and Aja like-like we're actually someone. No one's ever been this kind to us…"
While softly stroking the young doe's ears, Nick gently hugs the crying bunny.
"There, there sweetheart, Judy and I-"
"Mom" comes the still muffled reply "she's mom … if that's alright with her?"
Joining the hug, Judy whispers softly "It's fine Rose, we just didn't want to force you to accept us as your mom and dad, ok?"
A slight nod of her head was the only answer that was needed.
As Aja and Sarah join the family hug, it might have presented an odd sight in any town but Aurora, but all they got was a few passersby ask if they were ok.
Assuring everyone that this was just a family moment, everyone untangled and loaded into the SUV for the return trip home.