1Disclaimer: The Fox and the Hound is the property of Daniel P. Mannix and Walt Disney Studios, not mine.

Sorry for not responding to the reviews, but all of them were read thoroughly and very much appreciated! And sorry it took so long to get this chappie up! Yeah, supernatural events begin in the next chapter, so that should be interesting, so I hope you guys are still reading! I'll try to update again this week sometime!

The Fox and the Hound 3: The Next Generation

Part Two: The Older Years

Chapter Twenty-Five: Tod's Homecoming

The rooster crowed promptly on the farm at 6:00 that morning, as it always did. Widow Tweed awoke slowly, not too eager to crawl out of bed. Her feet hit the cold wood floor of her little farmhouse, as she had done for years. It seemed ever since Tod had being on his own in the forest, the floor seemed even colder.

She put on her housecoat and entered into the kitchen to make herself a fresh cup of coffee when she started hearing a scratching sound at her front door accompanied by some high-pitched whining. Curious as to what it could be, she headed in that direction and swung the door open. When she looked down, what she saw was one of Amos Slade's dogs and . . . no, it couldn't be.

"What on earth?" she cried softly. "But, it couldn't be . . . Tod?"

Copper whined some more when he figured the old widow had finally understood what the situation was. Widow Tweed bundled the wounded fox in her arms and off of Copper's back and wrapped him in a towel she had hanging nearby.

"Land's sake, what happened to you?" she asked him frantically. She looked down at the dog, mistakenly assuming that he had been the one to cause this. "You filthy old thing, get out of here! Go on, get out!"

Hurt and confused, Copper turned tail and galloped off towards the fence a little ways, pausing to watch the old woman take the fox inside the house. When he saw that Tod would be in good hands, he headed back for his own home, hoping that his old friend would be all right.

As he passed through the field separating the two territories, he came across the two graves of Chief and Ace. He prayed that there wouldn't be anymore added there in his lifetime.

"If only I could've saved them, the way I possibly just saved Tod . . ."

Widow Tweed quickly cleared off the table in the dining room and laid the fox on it, grabbing every towel and blanket in sight to help absorb the blood and keep him from going into shock. She had no idea how this could have happened, but whatever it was she was going to have to act fast. Taking a look at Tod's neck, she knew that she would have to sew him back together.

She grabbed her sewing kit from the living room and pulled some black thread out along with a needle. She was shaking badly, but somehow she managed to get the thread through the eye of the needle. As she began to fix Tod back together, she talked softly to him to try and calm him down in his state of fright.

"It's all right, now, Tod. I'm here, just like I always was. You little toddler . . ."

Tod didn't remember much of what had happened in the past few hours. He remembered vaguely that Copper had arrived at where he was practically bleeding to death, and then it seemed that the hound had somehow managed to carry him on his back, and before the fox knew what was going on, he was in someone's house. After that, his mind went blank.

He cracked his eyes open, allowing them to adjust to his new surroundings, and felt a sense of familiarity about it. The warmth, the feeling of love, memories . . . could it be? His eyes darted about the room he was in, recognizing the various pieces of furniture placed about. He noticed then that he was in a basket surrounded with blankets and soft pillows. Could it be? Could it be that he was back at his childhood home?

He heard some footsteps from the next room entering, and he tensed a little, not having been in contact with a human in so long. But when he saw who it was, he couldn't help but grin and weakly wag his tail.

"Well, hello, Tod. I see you decided to wake up," the widow smiled, giving him a short pat on the head, not sure how he would take it after being in the wild for so long. "You were out for a few hours, and you're pretty lucky to still be breathing. That was one nasty cut you had."

But Tod wasn't paying any attention. He couldn't understand her anyway, but the sound of her voice brought him such a feeling of comfort, that he fell into a deep sleep . . . and in the distance, the rains came.

awww, widow tweed and tod have been reunited, and tod is going to be okay! Keep reading to see how everyone else is doing in the story! and please review!