"And when exactly were ya plannin' on telling me ya know the Princess?"
Mickey resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Judging by th' way you're reactin', probably never," he said. Oswald stood with his arms crossed, giving Mickey an irritated glare.
"Ya know we gotta be careful who we tell about th' Resistance," he said in a stern voice. "Especially someone who could turn us in soon as th' mood takes 'em."
Mickey sighed but couldn't help a sardonic smile; it wasn't the first time he'd heard this lecture.
"I know, an' I told ya, Minnie's fine. Long as we don't hurt her dad, she's fine."
Oswald let out a soft huff.
"More n' he deserves, if ya ask me," he muttered.
Mickey walked over to him and gave his shoulder a pat.
"Probably, but we gotta be better than him. We promised that from th' start, 'member?"
The rabbit sighed again, nodding.
"Yeah… I know."
A soft knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
"Hey, Mick?" came a voice. "Os?"
Both turned as the door opened.
"Hey, Goofy," Mickey said with a smile. "How's things going?"
The lanky dog smiled in return, but there was tension behind it.
"A couple of our contacts in Anaheim got pulled in for questionin'."
Both Mickey and Oswald stiffened, looking alarmed. Goofy went on quickly.
"They got through it okay, but if someone gets suspicious 'gain…"
Mickey relaxed a little, but his look remained worried.
"Yeah," he said. "They've done plenty… let 'em know it's okay to back off."
Oswald's frown deepened.
"Which contacts were they?"
"Sheckles and Basset," Goofy replied, a slight frown on his face too. Oswald let out a quiet sigh before he began pacing.
"They were our best contacts in the castle," he muttered. "We can't be flyin' blind there of all places."
Mickey reached out and patted the rabbit's arm as he passed, causing him to pause.
"There's still Donald and Daisy," the mouse said. "And Donald's uncle."
"Yeah, but none of 'em is on th' Council," Oswald pointed out. "Basset could give us a lot a' dope about what th' King is up to."
Mickey let out a sigh of his own, his look more troubled.
"We'll just hafta make do with what we got," he said. "We got along okay before Basset joined."
Before Oswald could reply, several high, ecstatic voices interrupted.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
Oswald's frown immediately turned into a grin as seven little bunnies raced through the doorway, mobbing him in a group hug.
"Mama said you an' Unca Mickey were back!" squeaked one of the smaller ones. Oswald chuckled as he tousled her ears.
"Yep, we are. I sure missed you kids."
"And what about me?"
Oswald's grin grew even wider as a black cat strode into the room, a look of mock indignation on her face.
"No way'd I forget ya, Ortensia," Oswald said, quirking a brow.
The cat's look changed into a flirtatious smile.
"I make sure of that," she said. Crossing the room, she placed a hand on Oswald's cheek and gave him a tender kiss on the lips. Each of the bunnies either giggled or exclaimed in disgust.
"Hey, stranger," Ortensia purred as she drew back. "We were wondering if you'd be back soon."
Oswald's grin turned into a sheepish smile.
"Heh, yeah… sorry."
"Oh, don't apologize to me," Ortensia teased. "The children have missed their daddy and Uncle Mickey."
At that the bunnies disentangled from Oswald and dashed over to Mickey.
"Unca Mickey!" they squealed, mobbing him in much the same way. Mickey laughed as he returned their hugs as best as he could.
"Hey, kids! Hope you've all been behaving yourselves."
Each of the bunnies immediately nodded, but their mischievous grins gave them away.
"Much as they can, I suppose," Oswald said, arm around Ortensia. She giggled and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Which isn't much."
The bunnies all giggled again, clearly making no apologies for it.
"Did you n' Daddy fight any bad guys?" one bunny asked. All the others' eyes grew wide and eager.
"Did ya? Did ya?" they chorused.
Mickey chuckled before answering.
"We did, actually. And ya know what?"
Each of the bunnies leaned closer as he lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper.
"We even saw th' Princess."
The bunnies' eyes got even wider.
"Ooh!"
"Is she pretty?" one asked eagerly. Mickey patted her head with a smile.
"Yep, real pretty."
His attention on the bunny children, he didn't see Oswald's grin falter a little, suspicion in his eyes. Ortensia looked up at him, then took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He blinked and looked at her, then his smile returned, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Mickey went on, not noticing their little exchange.
"An' guess what? Your dad took down a guy three times his size."
The bunnies' heads whipped around, looking back at Oswald.
"Did ya?!" they all exclaimed. Oswald puffed out his chest, grinning.
"Yep," he said proudly. "Got yer uncle outta a pretty big jam. I can tell ya th' whole story now, if ya…"
The bunnies raced back to him, hopping around with excited squeaks.
"Ooh, tell us, tell us!"
Mickey exchanged a grin with Goofy, who had been watching with an amused grin of his own. He had a rather unusual family, Mickey knew… but he wouldn't have it any other way.