"No, no, and absolutely not." Jack paced the room in an attempt to not tap his foot in frustration. He had listened to Meredith's attempt at a request to come along with the team which really came across more as a demand by his mind. He found it impressive that Judy had remained calm through the entire explanation that Meredith had come up with on how to handle her obvious hybrid status, and then lack of training. Not that it was impossible to train someone in the basics in three weeks but not for covert operations.

Leon was as cold on the outside as anyone could be trained to look. Meaning to someone like Jack it was obvious that the male had already lost this argument with Meredith. It would almost make Jack laugh if it wasn't such a serious situation.

Nick was, as expected, flat out angry. His ears were pressed to the back of his head and his tail twitched in a show of extreme agitation. What Jack couldn't tell was if that was more at his daughter or his wife at that moment. The fox's eyes flipped from one back to the other. Strangely he didn't direct any of the anger at Leon. Jack didn't have the nose of a canid but it wouldn't take much to notice that Leon and Meredith had the other's sent on them.

"You are untrained and not a member of any military or police branch. I can't bring an untrained civilian into a hostile country." Jack said sternly but calmly.

"You're bringing Leon, he's not a member of the Zootopia PD nor military" Meredith said crossing her arms over her chest.

"That is beside the point. Leon is military trained, and he is from Beyersdorf. He has invaluable inside information. He can be a guide through the countryside and access the resistance." Jack stated pointedly. "I have no use for an untrained doctor, who would invariably get in the way."

Judy was about to step forward when her daughter stood up from her chair. "Oh, useless? First off I believe I performed quite well in the field where your sniper put a hole in Leon's sister. I am also an ER doctor so quick thinking under pressure is not something new to me. Before you mention that it's a Hospital setting I spent two years in Zafrica province where I worked out of a tent with at most two village healers. So I can do my work without all of the hospital technology. Do you have anyone with medical training? Someone who can understand a Geiger counter? Someone that can recognize radiation poisoning?"

Jack looked straight at Meredith clasping his paws behind him as he did. "It is not our intention to need anyone who knows about radiation or the tools around it. Even if we could pack enough training into the coming weeks for you, and we can't, how would you hide the fact that you are a hybrid?" He wasn't about to admit that he didn't have a medic for them yet. The one he would have liked to have taken along was on maternity leave.

Leon clears his throat while looking down. "Well, there is one plausible way."

Jack fixed his stair on Leon when he hears Leon. "No." When Leon looks up at him and matches the stair for a few moments. "No Leon. There is no way she would be able to handle that."

"What? What is it?" Meredith looks between the two mammals.

"You are not going to like it." Jack looks to Leon, "Well you get to tell her, she's your girlfriend and you seem to have decided to not fight against this awful plan." Jack flipped a paw in frustration into the air.

Leon clears his throat again, "Well there is a small law in place for anyone who can afford the permit."

Judy's ears went straight up at the mention of a permit. "What do you mean permit?"

Leon squirmed slightly in his seat. "While umm producing a hybrid is forbidden," getting more and more nervous as Judy's glare seems to become more and more angry, "there are exceptions to the rules on how that hybrid will be handled. If they are," Leon paused again as he tried to think of a better way to phrase what he was going to say, "permitted to live, they must be purchased from the state."

Meredith sat back down, her nose twitching much like her mother's was as well. "What do you mean purchased?"

"Hybrids that live are owned. For personal assistance of varying tasks from errands to …, "Looking up at the other mammals in the room. Meredith and Judy were waiting on what he was going to say next, Nick had a look of disgust on his muzzle. Jack's look was one who was enjoying the situation as it played right into what he had wanted.

"What Leon is so gently trying to say, is that they are often used to warm the bed of their owners." Jack stated. "As such while in public they are required to be covered from head to footpaw, when not in public it is expected that if not naked then they be wearing almost nothing."

"That's awful" Judy nearly growled as her own footpaw slapped the floor in her anger.

Leon sighed, "That's the point, it is demoralizing and degrading, overall the point is to demamalize the mammal. Then they are less likely to resist. Though the requirement of being naked is not quite true. At most I've seen scantily clad in private residence. Naked would not be appropriate with guests of any sort in residence."

Meredith was partially blushing, and at the same time her lip was raising in a snarl. Looking at Jack, "I'll do it."

Leon and Jack both looked at Meredith, "You'll what?"

Jack cleared his throat. "Fine, tomorrow morning you report with Leon for weapons training and meet the rest of the team. You will need to at least meet basic qualifications before we leave. Leon, you will need to provide information on how to forge a permit." Jack turned his attention fully to Meredith. "If you do qualify, and I doubt that you will, I am in charge. No arguments. If I say to do something you must do it. This isn't some good will mission in Zafrica."

Nick finally decided to speak up, "You can't be serious Jack, for any number of reasons this can't possibly be ok." He glanced at his daughter who was now glaring at him. "Look hunny this is just not something you should be getting involved in."

"Dad, its my choice. I just feel like I need to go with them." Glancing over at Leon, a brief change in her expression as it softens and the gentle smirk that creeps onto her muzzle.

Grumbling he felt like he was losing the point as he looks from Meredith to Judy. "You are as stubborn as your mother." Rolling his eyes, and then wincing when he is punched in the arm. "Judy you can't be ok with this?"

"I'm not, but she's an adult, and my deal with her was that she had to convince Jack." Judy said flatly.

"Wait you made a deal with Meredith that you wouldn't argue as long as she got Jack's approval?"

"Yes, she is as stubborn as I am. Jack was the best bet to stop this but, just like with us he just can't seem to stop any of us from doing what we want." Judy couldn't help but smile at her daughter with a little pride, though she couldn't hide the fear for her daughter behind her confidence.

Jack rolled his eyes. "The simple fact is with how much she's pushing this, she would have probably found a way to follow or hitch along, in which case we wouldn't be prepared for her to be coming along. That said, I will hold you to the training standards or I'll make sure you are put in lockup for the duration of this mission, so you don't somehow find your own way anyways. Understood?" When he gets a nod from Meredith, "Good, you two get out of here and enjoy your last free day. Oh and given her cover story, might as well keep that scent mark strong, she's going to belong to you Leon, on paper anyways." Turning around to look out the window as he rubs his temples with his paws. Grumbling to the window, "The Wildes are going to be the death of me."

As Nick and Judy made their way out of the building staying a little bit behind their daughter and Leon. "Judy we can't …"

Judy put a paw on his lower arm. "Nick, she has made up her mind, and we need to support her even if we don't like it. We need to do for her what this city didn't do for you, what my parents didn't do for us. We have both voiced our opinions." Chuckling a little to herself she leaned her head against her fox's arm. "All we can do now is try to help make sure she is properly prepared. For now though, lets give them the evening. I'll wear that playbunny outfit you like." She said as she trailed her paw finger along the fur of Nick's arm.

Nick was watching the pair walking ahead of them as Judy talked to him. It wasn't lost on him that one of Meredith's ears was partially turned backwards. "Well when you put it all like that." Waving his free arm in a showmammals over exaggeration. "Emm, and I do like that outfit. Especially that cute bowtie." Snickering as he notices his daughter stiffen a bit. "You think their first will have stripes?"

Meredith had tensed when she heard her parents talking about their bedroom activities or at least a plan for them. It was the last sentence she heard from her father that had her tail floof and she spun around. "Daad do you ever stop?"

Nick looked at Judy, "Do I stop?" Then he looked back up at his daughter. "No, no I do not." This had Judy laughing as she covers her muzzle with the paw she didn't have attached to her husbands arm. "Come my dear, the love birds need to have their evening. Its going to be a long few weeks." Nick led Judy past the couple. "You two behave now, or don't." Laughing at the fuming look he gets from Meredith and the confused look he was getting from Leon.

Judy tilted her head back as they passed. "You'll get used to the craziness Leon." Eeping and batting at Nick's arm when the fox gives her tail a quick grab. "You scoundrel." Laughing as they walk down the sidewalk.

Leon watched as the unlikely couple of bunny and fox walked down the sidewalk still obviously talking to each other in a jovial way. "Two mammals, so different yet so alike." Before he looses site of the couple he laughs when Judy makes a little hop just to punch Nick in the shoulder in a way that shouldn't have hurt the male in any way but Nick had the expected reaction of acting hurt and rubbing his arm. When his attention was brought back to Meredith who was looking at him with a smile. "What?"

"You just reduced my parents to six words?" Meredith smirked.

"No, just an observation. Plus, it was seven words." Leon smirked back. Then flinched and rubbed his arm where she punched him. "Owe. I have injuries Doctor, and now you are assaulting me in front of the police station."

Smirking as she starts to walk, "Oh I'm not all that worried about it. You barely exist here after all." Giving him a swish of her tail as she continues walking. Pausing to turn over her shoulder. "You coming? If this is my last night of freedom, you and I are having a fun night out Skunk."

Smiling and walking over to her, slipping a paw along her back to rest on her side. "Whatever you say Funny." Laughing as she pushes against him, forcing one of his foot paws to leave the sidewalk and step on the grass for a step before he pushed them both back onto the sidewalk. "Just realize that if I don't think they are training you hard enough, I plan to push you even further."

"Aww, you really do care. I do hope that's a promise." Her voice becoming more sultry before she started to laugh at the obvious embarrassment on his face. "Now where did your mind go? Should I start calling you master?" That got the reaction she was looking for as the male's muzzle dropped open and he couldn't seem to make any words come out. "Fox got your tongue?"

Leon chuckled and shook his head. "I'm going to quote a bit of what Jack said, Wilde you are going to be the death of me."

"Complaining?" That sly smile Leon had grown to both fear and love at the same time.

"No, not at all." Nuzzling the side of her head.

The pair made their way to what was quickly becoming a regular haunt of theirs, the local Tavern. After a few drinks, more than a few laughs, and some good talk Leon suggested it was time to end the evening.

"Do you want me to walk you home Meredith?" They had drank enough that he felt good, but he wasn't by any means drunk, and he also knew that Meredith wasn't drunk either.

"Yes, right back to the hotel." Smiling as she wrapped her arm around his arm. "The way I see it, since you are supposed to own me, then I should know you better."

"Well I do suppose that there is some … umm … truth to that." Walking into the hotel and leading the way up to his room he touches the key card to the reader and pushes the door open when it unlocks. Holding the door open wide he can't help but make a pleasant sound as Meredith walks by him, gliding her tail along his front as she does.

"Leon, may I ask you a personal question?" Sitting on the bed as she watches him lock the door.

"Open book Meredith." Leon said as he leaned against the wall.

"Have you ever been with a woman before?" She asks bluntly.

"No, never. I think we talked about how these things work. Its arranged for the most part. At the very least the mating pair must be approved. In my case most of my time was spent in my work. There were some operations where I was, given permission, but I never did."

"Hmm, something you should know about Foxs and Bunnys. Scent marking is very important to us, intimacy beyond that is even more so. Now there are always exceptions to the rule, but for the most part we mate for life. Obviously sleeping together and mating are two very different things." Blushing a bit as she spoke.

"So you've never…"

Meredith shook her head no. "I'm not saying anything about tonight I just wanted you to know where I stand, especially given the differences in our cultures. If its ok with you though, I'd like to stay like last night."

Leon smiled and walked over to her, leaned down and kissed her gently. "I'd like that." Both mammals looked at each other before quickly looking away. Both wore expressions like a kit who had been caught with their paw in the cookie jar. "We should umm, get to sleep though. Tomorrow is going to be tough."

Meredith cleared her throat as she stood. "Right, umm." Shyly she walked to the other side of the bed with her back to him she stripped down to her undergarments like the night prior. Glancing over her shoulder as Leon did the same. She couldn't help but smile as she noticed that Leon was being the gentle mammal and hadn't to her knowledge looked back at her.

"Why don't you go ahead and climb into bed, I'll shut the light off. Just umm let me know …"

Chuckling Meredith climbed under the covers, "All set Leon."

"Right … good …, " Leon flipped off the lights and stumbled into the night stand to the side of the bed. "Damn it …" Rubbing his leg, he heard the chuckle from Meredith from the opposite side of the bed from his. "Oh har har. You could have warned me you know." His tone was playful. In the little light that was in the room he could make out the silver-grey sheen of her eyes.

"And miss you hurting yourself again, nope never." Her own voice was playful as well as she watched the skunk climb into bed. After only a few moments of him lying on his back she scooted closer until she was laying along his side. "You ok?" She said softly.

"Yes, my pride was hurt more then me." He said as he turned on his side to face her. Having the poor vision of a skunk he could barely make her out as his vision adjusted to the darkness. Tracking her eyes mostly and her scent. To him a heavenly smell that he was becoming more and more important to him. "Comfortable?"

"Very." Leaning in she gently kissed him as her paw touched his arm. When Leon didn't resist, she deepened the kiss slightly, only releasing it after a few moments with a huff. "Good night Leon." Making a point to rub her chin over his shoulder and neck, renewing the scent mark before she grabbed his arm and pulled it around her as she turned her back to him and snuggled back into him.

The kiss had him off guard, but he followed her lead and made it only as deep as she led. When she grabbed his arm, he happily wrapped her in it and pulled her closer. Gently he rubbed his cheek against her shoulder and back of her head. "Good night Meredith." He moved his tail around and over her and smiled to himself when he felt a paw gently grab a hold of it and held it to her. With a sigh he thought, this was something he could get used to, before he drifted into a deep and restful sleep.