The second day of the Wild Times vacation, Nick saw something that surprised him. Daniel was helping the hotel staff make sure that the small army of bunny children didn't try to overstuff the elevators.
"Honey-bunny, come out here!" he called.
When Judy walked out into the hallway a toothbrush in her mouth, rubbing one eye, and wearing Nick's Leopard Zeppelin t-shirt she saw the same sight and it nearly caused the toothbrush to hit the deck if not for her fiancee's quick reflexes.
"Hon, ya' dropped this," he told her, holding her toothbrush.
"Thanks," she mumbled groggily, still not quite awake yet.
For the second time, the hotel dining hall was packed. Daniel seemingly picked himself a place well out of everyone's way, but with the attendance dense as it was, he still ended up sharing table with some of Debbie's employees. While he didn't protest that, it was obvious he was not up for smalltalk at the moment.
"Mm, these breakfast burritos aren't as good as the ones from Fishkins," Leaf whined.
"You get burritos from Fishkins every day, Leaf. I'd figure you'd be tired of their food by now," Rogue replied.
"I just can't start my day without a breakfast burrito and a cup o' coffee. And Fishkins makes the best burritos in the city," she argued.
"You sure about that?" Daniel asked, "It's been quite a long time since I ate there but the last time I did the ground salmon was undercooked."
"Um excuse me, not to interrupt but is it ok if I sit here?" a new voice asked.
The three turned their attention to the newcomer. Daniel had to turn his head an extra bit to see the newcomer and immediately turned back to face his food. Jane sat down next to him and offered him a friendly smile.
"Hey you must be one of Judy's sisters," Leaf asked.
"One of many, yes. I'm Jane Hopps. Unlike my sister who became a detective, I work a quiet, humble job as a seamstress," she explained.
"Do you like what you do for a living?" Rogue asked.
"Very much so, I often have quite a bit of time to myself to think," she answered.
Daniel shook his head. That annoying scent was back. He couldn't point out what exactly caused it, though - every time he thought he figured it out, something cropped up and he was back to square one, with no clue what could possibly give it off. And it made him nervous. Excited. Wired. He sighed. Sleep would be hard to get later that night. All because of something elusive he couldn't even figure out to begin with. So irritating.
"Something wrong? Uh Daniel, right?" Rogue asked.
"...Nah. Just a bit of dust up the nose," he replied carelessly, making an exaggerated show of rubbing his nose.
"Yeah, that happens to Rogue all the time. Unfortunately for him, it's not dust it's usually curry powder," Leaf remarked.
"I could swear you're trying to kill me sometimes," he quipped.
"Am not, you're just being dramatic," she teased, sticking her tongue out.
"Real mature, Leaf," he sighed.
Daniel's ears twitched at the sound of someone approaching from behind. He let out an audible sigh, one of his younger siblings. Which one though, that infuriating mystery scent made it impossible to tell.
"Hey, I guess it's my turn. Debbie still needs some time to cool off," the newcomer, who turned out to be Alex, stated.
"She still thinks she has the right to be mad at me?" Daniel sighed.
"Y'know how bad a temper she has. She's always been hard-headed and short tempered," Alex replied, "This whole affair could've been handled much more tactfully. You should know that."
"Are you implying I'm the only one who mishandled it?" he offered back acerbically, "I said what had to be said. What no one else wanted to say. It came out rude, sure. But someone had to say it, and you have to admit - I had my reasons for feeling raw at the moment."
"If this was a court case, I would say there is no plaintiff or defendant. You're both wrong and too stubborn to admit it," Alex sighed in return.
Daniel's expression closed off, a mask of polite impartiality slipping on in response to an unstated request. At that he excused himself from the table silently and followed Alex and Lucielle. Lucielle held Alex's paw and leaned against him as they walked. Daniel pointedly looked away from it, hinting both his desire to keep it civil and his discomfort at seeing public displays of affection to blatant.
"Her parents weren't fond of me. To an extent they still aren't. But they wanted her to be happy, so the only thing they asked is that we go to couple's counselling for at least half a year before getting married," Alex began.
"Ve zhought zhey vere just being silly, but ve vent along vith it anyvhay to make them happy." Lucielle continued.
"I won't lie, a lot of things came up. Issues that we didn't even realize we had, but we worked through them in counselling. At that point we were determined to be together come what may. I know you don't agree with it and I've come to terms with that, all I ask is that you let us be," Alex stated.
"Fair enough. It does address a good deal of my concerns. If you're working on possible problems, well… I can hardly ask more on that front. The real question, though, is what lies ahead. Are you confident you are ready for the lash-out? So far, you all were small potatoes, nothing particularly noteworthy on a political scale. Now, dad's rocking the boat with his park, Nick's got himself poster boy position at the ZPD and yours truly just might end up being a star of new hot stinky scandal between military, public and outmoded ways of thinking that brass still can't shrug off because none of them are younger than fifty. That means press. Paparazzi. Slander. Can you honestly say you're ready to deal with all of this? That what you have is worth dealing with all of this? That when all is said and done, you won't look on each other with nothing but weary loathing?" Daniel asked.
"No one can be ready for everything. Something unexpected will always come up," Alex answered, "I'd like to think we can handle the rough patches as long as we're not afraid to talk to each other. Which is probably why our family fell all to pieces to begin with."
Daniel shrugged. "Fair enough," he offered after a moment of thought, "So far, it looks like you and dad are keeping a level head about this. So you have my apologies for my doubts and any possible rudeness with which I expressed my doubts with. I've been feeling… less than social after the conversations I've had to conduct to get my walking papers. I'll reserve my judgement about the rest of it until I hear everyone out, though. Just because you're ready for it doesn't mean Deb or Nick are. Neither of them is quite the crafty beast like you. Well, Nick sorta is, but his guile is less about appearing respectable and more about running scams, I suppose."
"Don't underestimate Nick. I've heard his cunning is one of the reasons he has such a high arrest record. A lot of the cops I deal with from the First Precinct speak highly of Nick's guile," Alex explained. Then let out a chuckle. "His chief thought I was him once…" he laughed.
"You do realize that more cynical explanation is that Nick is simply running his old buddies in, one by one?" offered Daniel sarcastically, "I'm not saying this is it, mind. I'm saying that this is the explanation a cynic would offer. And pretty much everyone who's opinion matters to more than just their immediate surroundings tends to be pretty cynical… just sayin'. While on that note, Nick's a goof, but he knows how to handle the slippery situations. Talkin' fast is his shtick. It's Deb I'm worried about the most. She ain't exactly the type to think before she says, y`know. And her temper does her no favors, either. Not when you're dealing with people who think "Gotcha!" is the cornerstone of journalism."
"Well, I can't argue with you about Deb. She tends to act or speak first and think later, if at all. I still remember that whole brush she had with Gordon Rams. What a mess," Alex sighed, "Still when she does use her head she can be quite formidable. You know that. Believe it or not, Jack is a good influence on her. She's still got quite the temper but with him around it's a lot less severe. I imagine at this point she's angry because at dinner you made it out like it was her fault that the Army screwed you over. That may or may not be the case, with the Army they often send those letters as an excuse to kick someone out. Deborah made a choice that she would marry someone she loved dearly, I can't imagine she would've if she'd have known the Army would use us against you."
"Actually, that's kinda' bullshit. You all knew it would be held against you. The thing is, it would also be held against your siblings and parents and friends. Which is not so obvious and not so often, but as we saw, still happens. Also, well… Army had already been sued over using those willy-nilly before, and had to pay out compensations, remember? Precedents set and all that. Just think back to LeClerk's case. A presidential order to restore his rank. That's kind of big thing. No, the thing with me is more insidious. See, they actually mentioned each of you people by the name, and pointed out that out of all Wilde siblings, I'm the only one single… AND the only one not in interspecies relationship. So they felt pretty certain to point out I'm "high risk for interspecies fraternization", despite my rather vocal and insistent disapprovals of such… hasty conclusions. And you gotta admit, they do make it sound fairly convincing. One sibling? Coincidence. Two? Not yet systematical. Three? Yeah, at this point even statistician pauses to say that maybe there IS something off with Wildes, yanno." - offered Daniel pensively.
"Either way, it's not a valid reason to kick you out. And your personal affairs are none of the Army's business unless it affects you ability to perform in the field. I am well aware that JAG courts and Military Law operates differently but my Law Instructor in college was a former JAG lawyer who studied civilian law after retiring from the military. He taught my class Military Law in the off chance we would be forced to a Military trial. I may be able to help you fight this because who you fraternize with while on leave is none of the Army's business," Alex replied, "And for the record, no we didn't know that it would affect you. We knew it would reflect on ourselves but we had no idea it would on you."
The ex-army fox rubbed his nose irritably. "Alex, you just don't get it, do you? The whole point they were making is that in their opinion, I am liable to pull rank on female subordinates to get them in my bed. Which accusation, for obvious reasons, is something I would punch anyone in the face for, if they said it to my face. But that does not change the fact that's what they assume. I can only surmise that brass is mostly hidebound cromagnons who would actually DO that to a woman, so they have no problem assuming anyone would," he replied, "You should also know something. There was an… altercation with one… colleague from air force, let`s say. Second Lieutenant Hoops, if I recall right. Due to a cock-up with orders and amusing disparity in ranks where same title means E-5 and E-6 in air force and infantry respectively, she ended up thinking she outranks me, while I misconstrued her attempts to take command as really aggressive flirting and responded… rather explosively. It made it's way up the chain all the way to base commander, before things got resolved. The hinge is that she's a rabbit, so… yeah, you get the drift, right?"
"Daniel, how is any of that our faults? And if that Lieutenant is a rabbit, I doubt her name is Hoops," Alex sighed, "Police and soldiers are required to get a psychological evaluation. Have you had one since you came home? If you have, there's a chance we could still fight it."
"Nice to know you remember me, Sergeant Wilde. Too bad you still can't remember it right," a new voice replied with a dry laugh.
They turned to see a rabbit who resembled Judy and Jane but dressed in camo pants and a leather aviator's jacket with a white shirt underneath.
"Second Lieutenant Jacqueline Hopps, and you are?" she introduced, extending a paw to Alex and Lucielle.
"Alexander Wilde, the Sergeant here as well as Detective Nicholas Wilde are my brothers," he replied, accepting her paw, "And this is my lovely wife, Lucielle."
"So that's how it is? The Nicholas Wilde marrying my sister is your brother? Small world huh, Sarge?" she laughed.
"Master Sergeant, if you please. We already had one problem with you underestimating my rank, let's not have another," Daniel replied coldly, "I should have known even this thing ties back to the whole yarnball of problems. Hell, why not? Everything ever does," He inhaled. Exhaled. Sighed, "My apologies. I'm bitter about everything right now. And yes, working on it. With professional overseer and everything. I'd be a damn hypocrite, if I didn't practice what I preach." He paused, and shook his head, "I still can not rightly say I'm pleased to see you again, Second Lieutenant Hopps. Hopefully, you'll settle for indifference, this is the best I can manage at the moment."
"Fine with me, but you can't stop me from trying to be friendly with the rest of your family. After all, one of my younger sisters is going to marry your little brother. And I'll keep in mind to refer to you as Master Sergeant as long as you remember my name properly," she stated flatly.
"Actually? I rather prefer Mr. Wilde. Or Daniel, if we ever work to that level of familiarity," he retorted, "As you can imagine, I'm quite empathically done with the Army, if all that it could offer me in the end was a sideways snub. As for you and the rest of my family? Look around. What's one more rabbit in this multitude? All I ask is that you don't repeat your mistake of underestimating them. In their own way, each of them is more vicious then I am, remember that well."
"I met Debbie and Jack already. And your parents, they seemed nice. I guess sometimes the apple DOES fall far from the tree. I haven't seen Judy around yet, I guess she's with her fiancee maybe up in their hotel room having a different kind of fun. I did see Gideon though, he looked nervous," Jackie stated with a sardonic grin. Then she reached into a pocket on her coat and pulled out an eyepatch. "Here, Julie asked me to give this back and tell you that she said she's sorry she forgot," Jackie replied handing him back his spare.
Daniel took it back but offered no further comment. Instead, he shrugged, and turned around slowly, taking a good look at the surroundings. "Suppose I should go mingle, look up the rest of the usual suspects," he offered to no one in particular, as he strolled away with no particular target in mind.
"He's changed so very little since the last time I saw him," she sighed.
"What was he like from your perspective?" Alex asked.
"Well, aside from that confusing affair with the ranks, very proud, maybe even arrogant. But also very humorless. Our squad made a bet to see if anyone could cause Sergeant Wilde to laugh. We tried everything. Toilet humor, sex jokes, gay people jokes, blonde squirrel jokes, nothing worked," she recounted.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good way to get Daniel pissed off at you forever," Alex commented with a brief shudder, "He's big on… formalities. If you haven't offered mutual apologies and observed the silence period, he's… not going to treat you well, let's say. As he says, manners make the fox, but lack of manners makes crap."
"That's the thing. When I realized the confusion was largely on my end, I did try to apologize. I offered to treat him to dinner but I guess he took that as flirting. I can see why he would looking back, maybe it wasn't the brightest idea. But it wasn't just me trying to get him to laugh, Junior did too as well as a lot of other guys in our training unit for that operation," she explained.
A voice from behind the bushes offered, "I tend to sulk for long periods of time, actually." The bushes or the area behind them, however, turned out to be rather devoid of Daniel or anyone else for that matter, leaving the people in presence to wonder who exactly said that and why.
"What was that?" Jackie asked.
"Nick most likely, he's the jovial trickster of the family," Alex laughed.
In the meantime, Daniel sat on the roof of the main park building, contemplating the current state of things. His brothers were well adjusted with their relationships, even though Nick was with a rabbit and Alex married a mink. The clicking of clawed feet against a metal roof signalled someone's approach. He turned to face them but saw his mother smile back at him gently. She said nothing and sat down next to him, figuring that he'll open up when he's ready.
"I guess it's your turn to try to talk sense into me, huh?" he stated sarcastically.
"Small-minds, son. You can't let what small-minds say affect your happiness. People are gonna' have their say, it's how you react to it that counts. Your brothers and sister are happy. Do you really want to take that away from them?" she replied.
"I do want them to be happy mom, I just wanna' be sure they won't regret it down the road," he replied.
"No one knows what the future holds, all we can do is hope for the best and try to be ready for the worst," she stated calmly, "I'd be lying if I said their decisions don't scare me. But I'd rather Nick have Judy for a wife than be running pawpcicle scams with Finnick for the rest of his life. I'd rather Alex commit himself to his marriage with Lucielle and try to make a living as a lawyer than work some dead-end job with his Masters going to waste. I'd rather Debbie be married to Jack and run her restaurant than be reduced to flipping bugburgers."
"But are they preparing for the worst?" he asked.
"I honestly don't know. They tell me not to worry all the time but I still do. I'm more concerned about you. If you're really concerned about your siblings' happiness and well-being then let them figure things out on their own and offer to help when they need it. It's all we can do," Lillian replied.
He still wasn't convinced of that and she could tell he wasn't going to budge.
"Don't sit up here and sulk all day, come down and enjoy yourself at some point," she sighed before leaving.
"We'll see." he tossed back.
