Once again, the old tod found himself doing paperwork in his office. Like his offspring, he hated paperwork. He'd heard his youngest and second oldest grumble about doing paperwork when he'd visit them at work. And his oldest gave him a hard time when he left the ex-soldier to do his paperwork. As for his daughter, it wasn't as often as her brothers' but she still didn't like it. His lovely wife was watching their grandchildren today, she loved watching their grandchildren. He switched on the radio and when it started playing "Only Fools Rush In" by Elvis Purrsley. If he and Lillian had a song to call their own that was it. It played during their first date when they were young, it played during their dance at their wedding, and it played when she had given birth to their children. His eyes got misty hearing the old song.

During the song, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in…" he stated.

Daniel entered, the former soldier had a bright smile on his face, in spite of his darker than normal fur color. John looked at his oldest son, out of habit, Daniel wore his military cargo pants and undershirt.
"You seem to be in a good mood this morning, son…" John pointed out.
"Dad, I-... I asked Jane to marry me…!" he declared.

John looked at the younger fox in surprise. But he saw only certainty in the younger fox's eyes. That and Daniel was happy, for the first time since John could remember, Daniel was happy. Of all the things John thought of doing, he did the one thing he felt was right by his oldest.
"I'm happy for you, son…" John stated, patting Daniel on the shoulder.
"How… How do you think Stu and Bonnie are gonna' take it?" his son asked nervously.
"They accepted Nick, I'm sure they'll accept you too… Just make sure you show them your very best…" he replied.
"I haven't told mom yet, you're the first…" he replied.
"Calm down… You're fine… Do we need to get you a drink?" John asked.
"No… No, I'll be alright…" Daniel reassured, "I was gonna' head over to let her know in person…"
"Your Aunt Sarah is gonna' pitch herself another fit…" John laughed.
"Ah let her!" Daniel laughed back.
"Still… Are you absolutely sure about this? You and Jane have only been together for about a year…" John asked, concerned.
"Yes dad, I'm absolutely sure…" he replied.
"Alright, I just don't want you jumping into something you're not ready for but if you feel like you are I'll trust your judgement…" John relented.
"I'm gonna' go tell mom…" Daniel stated as he left.

John sat back down. Tears of joy rolled down the old fox's face. Earlier that year, he had seen his youngest get married and now his oldest was engaged. As he sat there about to get back to work an idea took shape in his mind. Though he and Lillian had reconciled they hadn't renewed their vows yet. He wondered if his wife would even go for that but she had always been the emotional kind. As he finished the last of his paperwork, he dialed her cellphone. Three rings then she picked up.
"John, sorry… I just put the pups down for a nap," she stated softly on the other end.
"I'm sorry to have called at a bad time…" he replied.
"No, it's fine… What do you need?" she asked.
"Lillian, I would like to renew our vows… Our anniversary is coming up, how about then…?" he suggested.
"John… This is something we should be discussing in person, not over a phone…!" she exclaimed.
"It's too important, I couldn't wait…" he replied.

Over the next few days the old fox couple discussed their upcoming renewal, obviously they wanted their children to be there and their in-laws. There was some argument about John's sister. She would no doubt raise a stink about her niece and nephews marrying something that wasn't a fox and John wanted to avoid that drama. Of course, the question also came up about the Foxglove sisters. Although their kids thought of the girls like siblings, to John and Lillian, the girls were more like nieces. Their nephew, Gideon, was an obvious invite given his close association with two of their daughters-in-law. And it was tossed around a bit about whether or not they should invite their in-laws' families. Would Arnaud Vison and his family come all the way from France to attend? Could Marian Howlings behave herself for the evening? And what of Bonnie and Stu Hopps, they had been guests and hosts to the Wilde family before, but would they be able to share space with the Vison and Howlings families?

Finally, it was settled, they would try to host the event at the Singing Chateaux and at least invite their in-laws' families. Stu and Bonnie were invited but none, save for Judy and Jane, of their children this time around. The Vison family was invited but it was not expected they would be able to attend. And Garth and Marian were invited but they expected things to not go so well on that front. It was odd how well things were sliding into place, Debbie enthusiastically agreed to host the event at her restaurant. To their surprise, all the parties invited had resolved to come. There was still preparation to do though, the couple wanted this to be not just a celebration of their reconciliation but also a celebration of their growing family.

The celebration was held on a cold night in mid November, but the restaurant was kept warm. John had to admit, his daughter had a flair for the dramatic, rich but non-alcoholic champagne, the lights were turned off in favor of candle-lighting, and a professional DJ was hired with his portable sound system wired into the restaurant's speakers. Some of the tables were cleared and put away for the event and to make room for a temporary dance floor. For Deborah Howlings, doing all of this was out of love for her family, John and Lillian knew that and that if they had asked for more she would've gladly obliged with a bright smile on her face. She did not ask her employees to volunteer that night but a few including Rogue and Leaf did.

John and Lillian sat with the other elders from the other families. Though he calculated right, Stu and Bonnie were very nervous. Not for being the only traditionally prey animals at the table but for not knowing how to properly converse with Arnaud and Camille Vison.
"Stu, Bonnie, so glad you could make it…!" Lillian stated with joy.
"Sure thing… Bonnie and I didn't have any other plans for tonight… Figured might as well…" Stu replied. His usual cheery but nervous tone showing.
"We're very happy you decided to invite us, Lillian…" Bonnie replied.
"Thank John, he wanted you two here…" she laughed.
"John, you keep treatin' us like royalty and you'll spoil us!" Stu laughed.
"This time, you have Deborah to thank for the treatment…" John replied.
"Arnaud, Camille, I hope the flight wasn't too hard on you…" he stated, turning his attention to them.
"Non, nous allons bien," Arnaud replied, "It has been a long time John, not since zhe wedding…"
"Oui, you are still running your park? It is finding success, I hope?" Camille asked.
"Oui, thank you… Have you met Stu and Bonnie yet? They're farmers out in Bunnyburrows…" he introduced.
Stu struggled to say 'hello' in French a bit before giving up and just settling for a friendly hello. "I'm sorry, French is not my strong-suit…" he apologizes sheepishly.

Though Arnaud grumbled a bit, an elbow from his wife got him to accept the apology and the handshake. With the ice broken, Bonnie and Camille found chatting like old friends relatively easy. Not before the Vison parents met Garth and Marian though. Soon enough, the normally straight-laced Arnaud found himself laughing at Garth's jokes.
"Going surprisingly well, isn't it?" Lillian commented to her husband.
"Yes it is… The evening has only begun and-..." he started.

He was interrupted by the sound of crying which blared over the music. One infant's voice started, then two more joined. Lily and Mary were normally heavy sleepers but Luke had woken them up crying and now all three were balling their heads off. Lillian was about to get up from her seat to deal with them when she noticed that they were already calming down. Leafarna, as silly as she acted from time to time, actually had a way with children. After getting the pups calmed and back to sleep, she conversed with Debbie a bit, who gave her an overjoyed hug. The DJ began playing music again and Lillian pulled her husband onto the dance floor for the first dance of the night. "It's Now or Never" by their favorite artist.

During the dancing part of the night, all of the couples danced together and took the center to dance to their own song. It had taken some sleuthing on John's part to find out the songs but he had found each couple's songs and made sure that the DJ would play them one after another when the dancing started. With "It's Now or Never" signaling the beginning and "Only Fools Rush In" signaling the end of the dancing and the nearly the end of the evening. He briefly wondered about a song called "Under Your Scars" by some recent group he didn't bother learning the name of until Debbie approached him and told him that Rogue and Leaf had requested it.

To wrap up the night, a professional photographer took several family photos. Photos which John would hang copies of in his office, a reminder of a wonderful night with family and friends, but most importantly to remind him of a wonderful night with the love of his life. Arnaud Vison had Alex join his family for their photo and Stu followed suit with both Nick and Danny. To John's surprise, it was Marian who would not take the photo without Deborah. John was only too happy to have Jane, Lucielle, Jack, and Judy with his family in his own family picture. The Foxglove sisters had come as well and had a picture of their late foster-father.

Author's Note: Apologies that these chapters are taking so long and that this one is fairly short and without much dialogue