Chapter 8

The next two months at the Academy were pretty uneventful. James had decided to give Vixy a text one of the first few days back at the Academy, however. He told her that while he would eventually like to go on a date, he would like to text with her so they could get to know each other, first. The family visitation day at the Academy was a few days away and Maverick discovered it was going to be on the same day as Lana's birthday. He and James decided to plan a little surprise party for her.

"Do you have an idea of who you're inviting to the party?" James asked, while they were doing one of their usual evening workouts.

"Let me see, I've got the obvious animals; you, Theo, Bandit and his family, your parents" Maverick stated, "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking about inviting Vixy, since it's our one day to invite loved ones to come see us" James explained.

"I see" Maverick smirked, "of course she can come. Who am I to forbid you from inviting her?"

"Thanks, Mav" he smiled.

"How are things going with you two, anyway?" Maverick asked.

"I think things are going as well as one can expect, with our relationship being all on the phone so far" James explained, "her being here will be the first time that I'll get to talk to her in person since she saved me from Andross at the restaurant."

"Yeah, I get it" he nodded, "I never had to go through that because Lana and I lived in the same building, but I know how nerve-wracked you must be feeling."

"Especially since she'll be meeting my parents for the first time" James added.

"Don't worry, James everything will work out the way it's supposed to" Maverick stated, positively.

"I know this might be a bit of a dumb question, but have you thought about inviting Lana's mom?" James asked.

"I've thought about it, but I don't know if that'll be a good thing to do for her birthday" Maverick said, "especially since she hasn't seen her mom since Christmas morning."

"I'm sure she'd like seeing her mom, since she didn't get to say goodbye to her" James pointed out.

"You're probably right" Maverick admitted, "I'll call Lana's mom and ask if she can come for the party."

The day of the Academy family visitation finally arrived, and Maverick and James were hard at work getting all the decorations set up in the mess hall. Theo and Bandit were also helping get things set up.

"These decorations are so cool, Maverick" Theo complemented.

"I can't believe you were able to get all of this put together and still stick to your schedule" Bandit pointed out, impressed.

"Thanks guys" Maverick stated, hanging some balloons on the doorway "I couldn't have done it without James. I hope Lana is surprised."

"Do you know when she said she'll be here?" James asked.

"She said that she and Wolf will be coming with your parents" Maverick explained.

"Then we better get finished soon" James pointed out.

Just then, a feminine voice came from behind the mammals, "Looks like you guys could use some help." They turned around and saw Vixy standing there.

"Vixy?" James questioned, "I can't believe you're here so early."

"Of course, I am" she smiled, "I wanted to help you out with getting things set up."

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting" Theo interrupted, "my name is Theo Pepper."

"Pleased to meet you, Theo" Vixy replied, "I'm Vixy Reinard, James'…"

"…James' girlfriend" Maverick finished, "It's nice to see you again."

"I wouldn't say she's my girlfriend just yet" James stated, "we haven't exactly been on a date yet."

"Oh, come on, James!" Maverick rolled his eyes, "What else would you consider this beautiful lady, who you've been texting every day since you met?"

"Wait, this is the Vixy girl the two of you have been telling us about for the past two months?" Bandit asked, "James, if you don't take her on a date, someone else will."

"It's not like I don't want to take her out on a date" James stated, defensively.

"Well, what's stopping you?" Theo asked.

"Gee, I don't know, Theo" James stated, sarcastically "why don't you ask the building we're standing in?"

"You do realize you have both Saturday and Sunday free to yourselves, right?" Theo asked.

"Yeah, I didn't think that meant we could leave the campus" James stated.

"Well, now you do, so you can ask her out on a date" Bandit pointed out.

Vixy was standing there awkwardly, "James, you really don't have to if you're not ready."

Maverick's phone started ringing, "Oh, it's Lana's mom" he stated, looking at the phone "Hello Mrs. Ballard, are you on your way to the Academy?"

"How dare you invite my wife to a birthday party for my daughter and not me?" a deep voice spoke on the other end.

Maverick's eyes opened wide "Oh, shit! How did you find out?"

"I saw my wife getting ready to leave" he explained, "so instead of just her joining you, you'll be graced by both of our presence."

Maverick could tell there was a menacing grin on the older wolf's face on the other end of the phone. "If you come, you better be civil" Maverick begged, "I want Lana's party to be a drama free event."

"Fine" he agreed, "I'm only doing that for my daughter. We'll be there in a few minutes."

They hung up the phone and James could tell Maverick looked stressed, "What's wrong, Mav? Is Lana's mom not able to come?"

"Worse, her dad is coming" Maverick stated.

"Shit!" James stated, "Well, this will be an eventful day."

"At least there'll be somewhat of a crowd here, he's usually not a problem in public" Maverick stated.

"I'm confused" Vixy chimed in, "why is it a bad thing that Lana's dad is coming?"

"From what I understand, he's not the nicest animal in the world" Theo explained.

While they were talking James and Bandit's families walked in "Look it's my parents" James said, seeing the two foxes.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. McCloud" Maverick said, walking up to them "Thank you for coming. Where's Lana?"

"She's in the car changing Wolf's diaper really quick" Marian smiled, "She'll be in soon."

"Maverick!" came a deep, threatening voice.

"Crap! I guess he's here" Maverick sighed.

"Who's here?" Robin asked.

"Lana's dad" James mumbled.

"You invited him?" Robin asked.

"No, we only invited her mom" James said, defending himself and Maverick "her dad invited himself."

James watched from across the room as a bulky, tall wolf walked into the mess hall followed behind by a smaller female wolf. "He looks terrifying" Theo whispered to James.

"No kidding" James replied, eyeing the large wolf "this is my first time seeing him."

"Want to go meet him?" Theo asked.

"Not really, but I'd rather meet him in a group setting than solo" James admitted.

James and Theo walked up behind Maverick, who looked like he was already stressed out. Maverick noticed James and Theo standing behind him, "James, Theo come meet Lana's parents, George and Talia" he stated, desperately trying to get the heat off him "George, Talia, these are my friends Theo Pepper, the son of the General, and James McCloud, my best friend and roommate."

"James" George repeated, glaring at James "Lana mentioned that name Christmas night. Is he the punk you two ran to that night?"

James' eyes widened, before he could say anything, Lana's voice echoed throughout the mess hall. "Mom? Dad?!" she questioned, "What are you doing here?"

"Maverick invited us" George stated, gesturing toward the stressed-out wolf.

She glanced at the large wolf, "Do you think I'm an idiot? He hates you, so I know for a fact there's no way he'd ever willingly invite you to anything."

Before anything else happened, Maverick walked up to Lana. "Happy birthday, my love" he said, before giving her a long, drawn-out kiss in front of everyone.

Everybody, but Lana's dad was smiling. "Thanks, Maverick" she giggled. She looked around the room, noticing the decorations. "Did you do all this?"

"I didn't do it by myself" he smiled, gesturing to James, Theo, and Bandit, who silently joined the group.

"Happy Birthday, Lana!" James smiled, giving Lana a hug.

"Where's our son?" Maverick asked.

"He's right here" Marian said, holding me.

Vixy walked up, "It's nice to see you again, Lana" she said, "happy birthday."

"Thanks, Vixy" she smiled, seeing the vixen standing next to James "so, how are things going with the two of you?"

"Hold up" Robin interrupted, "this is the Vixy you told us about?"

"Oh, right" James stated, "I forgot I hadn't introduced you to each other yet."

While James was introducing Vixy to his parents, he noticed someone walking into the mess hall. "Andross?" he exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"I was hungry and wanted to get some food, McCloud" he stated, "what's going on here, some sort of party?"

"If you must know, we're throwing Lana a birthday party" Maverick jumped in.

"Who's this?" George asked, joining the group.

"I'm Andross Bowman" he introduced himself, "you must be Maverick's father."

"You'd be wrong, I'm Lana's father" George replied, as he laughed "Maverick doesn't have parents."

"You mean this loser is a little orphan-boy?" Andross asked.

George smiled, "I like this guy, Maverick. Why aren't you friends with him?"

"Because he's an asshole like you, George" Maverick exclaimed.

Wanting to prevent this moment from escalating, Lana spoke up, "Listen, dad, as happy as I am to see you and mom here, I think it would be best if the two of you left."

"You're making me leave?" he asked, shocked "Why not make Maverick or that James kid leave?"

"Because Maverick is my boyfriend and the father to my child and James is his best friend" Lana stated, "Even though you're my father, you completely shut me out for the past three years. So, I'm done with you."

Before he could say anything, Talia stepped in. "Do you see what you've done, George?" she asked, "Thanks to you, I'll never get to see my daughter or my grandson ever again."

"I'm sorry, mom" Lana apologized, "I love you, I really do, but when dad's around he always causes problems for me, Maverick and most importantly, Wolf."

"You don't need to apologize, sweetie" she smiled, giving her daughter one final hug. "Maverick, please take care of my daughter and grandson."

"I'll protect them with my life, Talia" Maverick stated, giving the she-wolf a hug.

"Okay, now George take us home" she demanded.

"Yes, dear" he said, feeling defeated.

James turned to Andross, "Please just get what you came here for and leave, we just want to have a stress-free party."

"You know what? Because it's the annual Academy family visitation day, I will leave" he stated.

After Andross had left, the group sat around having some conversations. While they were all talking, James noticed Maverick had slipped away. "Hey, where did Maverick go?" James asked.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom?" Bandit suggested.

A minute later, Maverick walked out of the kitchen carrying a cake with three candles lit. Lana's face turned a bright shade of red from embarrassment, as she saw him walking slowly towards her.

"I'm sorry there's only three candles, Love, but I made the cake from scratch" he stated, "I'm sure it won't taste nearly as good as one you might've made, but I hope you like it."

Lana stood up and kissed him again. "You have nothing to apologize for" she said, "you've done so much. Also, if you think about it, those three candles can turn this into a party for both me and Wolf."

"Oh, that's right!" Maverick exclaimed, looking at me "I completely forgot I won't be around for his birthday this year."

James and the others sang 'Happy Birthday' to Lana and then she asked to sing it for me. She blew out the candles and Maverick cut the cake, giving the first piece to Lana. After he had distributed the cake to the others, he cut up a smaller piece and gave it to me. "This cake is so good, Maverick!" Vixy exclaimed.

"Thanks, Vixy" he smiled.

I took the opportunity of being given a cake, to eat it with my paws. "Looks like Wolf is really enjoying that cake" James pointed out, taking a picture with his phone.

Maverick and Lana looked at me with a cake and frosting infested face. "That's the best way to know the cake you made is delicious" Lana chuckled.

After the group finished the cake and a few presents were opened, Robin and Marian were ready to leave, "Lana, are you ready to go home?" Marian asked.

"I think so" Lana stated, holding Maverick's paw with me sitting on his back as we were heading towards the exit.

"Thanks for inviting me to this, James" Vixy stated, walking next to the young vulpine.

"I'm glad you could come" James smiled, "so, about us going on our first date."

"I'm free to do anything every weekend" she stated.

"Okay, how about we go out for dinner next Saturday?" James suggested.

Vixy smiled, looking James in his eyes "That would be perfect."

James and Vixy hugged each other, as Maverick and Lana were kissing each other goodbye. Soon, the four young mammals were left alone. "Guys, thanks so much for all your help today: Maverick stated.

"Glad I could help, Maverick" Theo replied.

"Anything to get you to marry her sooner" Bandit snickered.

"You know I'll always be there for you, Mav" James added, hugging the lupine.

"So, I heard you have a date with Vixy coming up" Maverick said, after the two finished hugging.

"You heard right" James winked, "hopefully it goes well."

"Everything will work out the way it's supposed to" Theo spoke up.

"Just be yourself" Bandit said, "it's so obvious she likes you."

"The only way you can mess this up is by being too cautious" Theo pointed out.

"Don't worry about what they're saying, James" Maverick said, in a gentle tone "You are taking the right approach to this relationship. You've been getting to know her and taking the slow but effective route."

"Thanks, Mav" James smiled, "You always make things more simple."