The Unplanned Detour - Chapter 19

Dylan drove to his future in-laws house with Zoe in the passenger seat this time. He'd picked her up from her shift at the hospital and found out that she had met Stacy. Dylan hadn't talked to Stacy in months with everything else that had been going on and he felt bad about it. His fiance rather gently chewed him out and told him he needed to talk to Stacy as soon as possible.

Zoe didn't bother with the doorbell or knocking, instead, she walked right on in, tugging Dylan with her. Still not that familiar with the Lopers, Dylan was content in following Zoe's lead. "Mom! Dad! We're here!" Zoe yelled.

A blur rushed from one side of the house and Dylan reflexively put himself between the blur and his mate. The blur clasped him around the waist in a tight hug as Dylan realized that it was Zoe's little sister, Tara. "Tara! What?" and that was a far as he got before Tara started.

"Oh My Gods!" She exclaimed "I saw it! It was so romantic! They ran it on ZNN! That song was perfect! And the dancing? Gods, it was so amazing! Can I see it? Where did you get it? Oh sweet Aphrodite it's huge! So when's the wedding? Can I come? Can I stand with you Zoe? Dylan? Can I be a part of your band? I can sing, listen..."

Fortunately, the mates were saved when Robert walked in and said "Tara, how are they to answer your questions if you don't give them a chance to speak?"

Tara's flashing jaws stopped in mid motion before slowly closing. Dylan had been able to follow along while Tara spoke, so he answered the questions she'd asked that pertained to him. "Tara, I'm glad you liked the show and I'd be happy to give you an audition, but it will have to be in front of the entire band, I can't just hire you on my own."

"Squeekers! Just let me know when!" She said just before dashing off again. Dylan turned to Zoe and asked "Too much sugar?" Zoe just shrugged.

Robert saw the ring on Zoe's finger and said "Well, I guess congratulations are in order, so 'Congratulations!' you two!" He then held his paw out to Dylan and, when Dylan took it, said "Welcome to the family... Son!"

Dylan smiled "Thank you... Dad!"

Robert shook his head and, with a little smile, stated "Never thought I'd see the day Zoe got married, she seemed to be taking forever to get on with it. I guess she just needed to find the right mammal."

"Dad, we're mated." Zoe said, waiting to see her dad's reaction to the news.

Robert raised his eyebrows, not really surprised. He just thought that being mated would have happened after the wedding, not before. Not that it really mattered, it was just that Zoe always took her time making up her mind on things, weighing the pro's and con's of each action. For her to move on this so quickly showed how deeply she was in love with Dylan.

"Well, congratulations again! And that gives me the information I need to tell Randall to stop calling."

Zoe was shocked "Randall? Calling here? Why? I told him I was through with him."

"He called saying that you'd blocked his number and he didn't know where you lived. He'd gone to your school only for them to tell him that you were no longer enrolled. He tried going to the hospital, but they told him you didn't work there? He said he didn't know where you lived and our number was the only one he could find in the Blue Pages. He said he'd changed and that he wanted you back."

"I told him to lose my number but he didn't listen, he kept calling and texting so I blocked him. The hospital gives that answer as a standard response for all employee's as a precaution against Domestic Violence. And I never gave him my address, I really didn't know why until that last night."

"Well, being mated ends that issue doesn't it?"

Zoe gave a huge grin as she squeezed Dylan's hand and said "Yes it does!"

Following the conversation between father and daughter, Dylan understood that Zoe's ex was wanting to get back with her, but now that they were mated it somehow put an end to it. Which brought up another question. "What, exactly, is the difference between being mated and being married?"

Robert spoke up "Zoe dear? Your mother is in the solarium, she wants to discuss the wedding with you. I'll take Dylan here and we'll find something to talk about."

Zoe was practically bouncing with excitement, eager to show her mother her engagement ring. She gave Dylan a quick, but heartfelt, peck on the lips as she let go of his hand and jogged into the house. Dylan was smiling indulgently at his mate as she ran further into the house. Robert had to smile and shake his head "Young love!" He thought.

"Come on son." Robert said as he threw his arm over Dylan's shoulder "You like music so I thought I'd show you the music room and answer your question."

This peaked Dylan's interest so he allowed himself to be led my his future father-in-law almost as eagerly as Zoe had left to find her mother. It took only a little more than a minute before Robert released Dylan to open two, large and beautifully carved doors. Dylan walked inside and stopped, amazed. There was an actual floor harp, a cello, a violin, and the thing that captured his attention, a grand piano.

"Whoa." Dylan breathed when he saw the piano. He forgot about Robert being there as he slowly walked over to it. He marveled at the glossy black finish as he ran his hand over it. Walking around he brushed his fingertips along the fall board before looking up at Robert and asked "May I?"

Robert had followed Dylan as he made a beeline for the grand piano, Cynthia's pride and joy. When Dylan reached the fall board and asked if he could open it, he nodded affirmatively. He watched Dylan gently lift it until it locked back.

"Do you play?" Robert asked.

Still studying the keys, Dylan nodded. "Yeah, but I'm probably a little rusty, it's been almost a year since I've played on a full sized keyboard."

"Pick something. Cynthia plays, but not often."

Dylan smiled his thanks as he sat down on the bench in front of the piano. His fingers danced on the keys trying to get the feel of them, seeing how the hammers fell on the strings. He tapped his feet on the pedals, feeling how they responded. Once he sensed he had the feel of the keys and pedals, he launched into one of his favorite piano pieces, the Moonlight Sonata. He was surprised at how easily it all came back to him, making no mistakes. He closed his eyes and lost himself to the music.

He stopped after the first movement and was startled to hear someone softly clapping behind him. Dylan turned to see the entire family, minus Arthur of course, standing there. Robert stood there smiling, his arm around his wife, who stood there smiling as well. Tara was looking at him with her jaw hanging open as if she couldn't believe that he knew how to play the piano. But the one person Dylan cared for the most was Zoe. She stood there, her beautiful blue eyes wide, bright with unshed tears, and an awed expression on her face.

"I didn't know you knew how to play piano." Zoe whispered. Once again her mate was showing hidden talents. She was looking forward to finding out more about this wonderful mammal that she had fallen in love with. She couldn't wait to be married to him.

"You play beautifully Dylan. You're classically trained?" Cynthia asked.

"Yeah," Dylan replied "My mom had me take lessons starting when I was about five. I think she wanted me to be a concert pianist but that didn't happen."

"Why?" asked Tara.

He grinned, "I fell in love with country music and realized that I liked singing better than just playing an instrument."

"Play something else, Please?" Zoe asked.

Dylan grinned at his mate, he couldn't refuse her anything, so he turned to the piano and started playing Fur Elise. Dylan lost himself to the joy of making music again while still being aware of his new family gathered around him. Smiling, Dylan started playing a lively piece just as soon as he finished Fur Elise. When he was done, he gently lowered the fall board, covering the keys once more.

He rose from the bench and turned just in time pull Zoe into his arms. She took his face in her paws and simply gazed at him in amazement for several long moments prior to leaning in and earnestly kissing her mate. Dylan, of course, made no protest. When they pulled apart, Zoe whispered "Just when I thought you couldn't surprise me any more, you go and do something like this. I want to buy a piano now just so that you can play for me!"

Dylan grinned, cupping her muzzle, and said "When we get our own place, I will happily play for you my Love!" and then kissed her again.

"I don't recognize that last piece you played." Cynthia declared.

"It's a piece called Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills, I've always liked it."

"It was a wonderful piece!"

Tara was standing there, watching them, with a sick look on her face. She loved her sister and here she was, crushing on Zoe's future husband! She took a deep, shuddering breath and released it. Her heart hurt, but she'd get over it, she hoped. She'd just need to pray to Aphrodite that she could find someone like Dylan in the future. Then her mother said something that felt like someone had driven a knife into her heart. "So Dylan, Zoe tells me that you two are now mated."

Dylan nodded and confirmed the statement, another knife thrust.

"Congratulations then to you both!" Cynthia said as she walked forward. When she reached the couple, Zoe moved out of the way and Cynthia gave Dylan a gentle hug and added "Welcome to the family Dylan."

oooOOOooo

After the ladies had left, Zoe and her mother heading back to the solarium and Tara going off somewhere to be alone for a while, Robert guided Dylan to a set of armchairs with a small, round table between them. After they had gotten comfortable, Robert addressed his future son-in-law. "Now, to the explanation you asked for before you showcased your talent for us. And, just so you know, you impressed Cynthia a great deal with your playing. To the point, mating is the traditional method of forging a relationship and, as you can tell, is very much common even in this day and age. To all intents and purposes you are together in every way that matters to others. Marriage, on the other hand, is similar to being mated, but it's use is mainly by the government of Zootopia to keep records, allows you to make decisions for the other incase one of you is incapacitated, and, more importantly in regards to the government, generates revenue in the form of fees."

Dylan thought he got it, but he just wanted to be sure "So, being mated is recognized by everyone as two mammals committed to each other, the government requires marriage for it to be official."

"That's it in a nutshell."

Dylan shrugged "That's okay with me, it just means that Zoe and I are tied together even more."

Robert chuckled. "Tara told me how you proposed. She saw the video someone took of your show and had us view it. Not the most intimate setting, but it was romantic."

Dylan grinned "I was hedging my bets. Even though I was 99.9% sure Zoe would say 'yes', there was the remote possibility of her saying 'no'. I thought she'd have a harder time saying 'no' in front of a crowd."

oooOOOooo

Zoe had joined her mother in the Solarium and had shown her mom the engagement ring that Dylan had given to her daughter. She didn't know a lot about gems, but Cynthia did know taste and this ring showed that Dylan had that. Cynthia listened as her daughter explained how Dylan had proposed and thought that it was very creative. When her daughter told her that she and Dylan had mated the night of the family dinner, she was a little surprised. She knew her daughter was in love with Dylan, but she hadn't realized exactly how much if she had mated with him already. It was then that they heard the first notes of piano music echo through the house. In unspoken agreement, both mother and daughter headed for the music room.

They got there just as Dylan launched into the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata. Zoe couldn't believe it. She knew that Dylan was talented with the fiddle, banjo, and guitar, but she had no idea he knew classical music as well. She could remember her mother sitting at the keyboard, playing for hours.

Cynthia was amazed as she listened to Dylan play, he was flawless. She watched as he immersed himself in the music, his eyes closed and his body swaying slightly as he played. Any doubts she may have had disappeared as she looked at her future son-in-law. A business mammal, a popular band leader, and a classical pianist.

After the mini-concert was over, Zoe and her mom returned to the solarium where they began discussing the wedding. Zoe could see that the small, intimate, wedding that she had initially planned on was rapidly falling by the wayside, her mother wanting to invite anyone who was someone to the event.

"Mom, I don't want a large wedding, I just want family and some friends."

"But darling, we're Lopers, everyone is going to want to come."

"Then let them get married."

"Zoe, you accepted a proposal in front of a crowd of mammals, how is this any different?"

"I didn't plan on being proposed to on stage. But when Dylan proposed, there was no way I was going to turn him down, whether we were alone or in front of the cameras at ZNN during the 10 o'clock news."

Cynthia sighed and nodded, conceding the point. She wasn't too disappointed, she was even proud how Zoe stood her ground, she had always been strong in her convictions. Zoe looked thoughtful for a second, then took a deep breath before saying "Mom, I've given it a lot of thought, and I want to invoke the ancient rites and take the Old Oath."

Cynthia's eyes widened slightly, but all she asked was "Are you sure child? Once you've taken the oath there's no going back. There is no divorce, no dissolving of the mate bond."

Zoe nodded, "Mom, I trust him completely, he's the most considerate and caring mammal I've ever met other than you and dad. The night we mated I could smell how lustful he was. He is... gifted for a male and yet, even though he could have just taken me, he resisted his urges and made sure that it was as pleasurable for me as possible. Even when he was in me, he took care to cause me only a minimal amount of pain."

"I understand Zoe, I felt much the same as you with your father. We just waited to mate after we were married and I gave your father the Old Oath."

Zoe gasped and said in a soft, stunned voice "You never told me that you'd given dad the Old Oath."

"It wasn't something we thought you kids needed to know. So, we'll need to let the Officiate know that you intend to take the Old Oath. What about Dylan? Are you going to explain to him what you're going to do and what it means?"

Zoe smirked. "I was, until he sprung that surprise proposal on me. Now I think I'll let him know after the fact."

Cynthia grinned "Males."

Zoe giggled "Males."

oooOOOooo

Zoe and Dylan were walking through the gardens again, hand in paw. "Dylan? Remember the last time we were here? We started making out and I stopped you? I didn't hurt you or disappoint you did I?"

"No love, I wouldn't have wanted your first time being on the rough ground."

"I wouldn't have cared my Mate, I just didn't want Tara or, gods forbid, my parents to have walked up on us in the middle of mating."

Dylan shuddered "Yeah, I can definitely understand not wanting that to happen."

They strolled along the path toward a more remote section of the garden and Dylan was beginning to wonder if he might interest Zoe in trying to have sex outdoors when they both heard a loud, deep growl coming from the very bushes Dylan was considering a few seconds earlier. In his mind's eye Dylan was envisioning a gang of Happy Slayers attacking as he pushed Zoe behind him while yelling "Zoe, run!"

Dylan reached around to the small of his back and pulled his two extendable batons out of the sheaths he had there. Snapping them out to their full length, he adopted a defensive stance as a large wolf with solid dark fur step out onto the path. One of the wolfs eyes had a scar running over it, leaving the eye a milky white color. The Wolf splayed his claws and gnashed his teeth as he crouched, getting ready to spring at Dylan. Dylan readied himself for the assault when Zoe screamed "DWAYNE, NO! HE'S MY MATE!"

Dylan was surprised when the wolf's eyes widened and the wolf relaxed his posture as he straightened up. Dylan didn't know what was going on, who this wolf was and how his mate knew who he was, but he wasn't taking any chances. He stayed in a defensive stance and queried "Zoe?"

At the same time the strange wolf said "You mated with him?!"

A little calmer now her voice still shook as she said "Dylan, this is my older brother Dwayne. Dwayne, this is my mate and future husband, Dylan."

Dwayne and Dylan locked eyes. Dylan could see anger and hate in the wolf's good eye, but also hesitation. Dwayne could see wariness and conviction as well as determination in Dylan's eyes. He could tell this mammal wouldn't back down. His sister had mated with this... thing, but she was family and he would never hurt family or allow them to come to harm.

Dylan watched as Dwayne stepped back, opening the distance between them, but he still stood at the ready. Dwayne looked at Zoe and said "I can't believe you'd sully yourself with a mammal that wasn't a wolf Zoe. But you're family, and family is all. So I'll let you know that there's a contract out on your mate" he spat the word 'mate' out like it was something that tasted bad. "The Boss want's him, alive for some reason."

"Who's 'The Boss'?" Dylan asked.

Dwayne looked at Dylan as if he was a bug that he'd just stepped on, but he answered "I don't know. No one's seen him except for a trusted few. Just tread carefully mammal, Belisarius could be one of the ones looking to cash in, if he can restrain his natural tendencies that is."

Dwayne turned suddenly and sped through the bushes and, with his fur color and the twilight nature of the area, quickly disappeared.

Dylan turned to Zoe and asked "Baby?"

Zoe ran into his arms, still shaking. "He's my brother. Mom and dad disowned him when they found out he was killing other mammals for money. He was in prison for life, I didn't expect to see him here."

"He must have escaped during the prison break. Let's get into the house and let your parents know what's going on. We need to make sure Tara's okay too." He said as he collapsed his batons and replaced them in their holsters.

"He'd never hurt us, remember what he said? 'Family is all'?"

"Still, let's inform your parents just in case. This Belisarius could be in the area also." Zoe nodded in agreement.

oooOOOooo

As Dylan and Zoe were heading in to the house, Shadow Hunter, the name he preferred over 'Dwayne', headed back toward the stone wall at the edge of the property. Leaping up and over the six foot high fence, his paws had no sooner touched the grass on the other side when he heard two soft 'chuff's' and felt a double jab as two darts hit him, one in the stomach and one in the side. Dizziness swept over him as he felt his body go numb. Just before he passed out, he heard "Sargent Hopps-Wilde to Central, 10 - 91 at 1708 Dusk lane, escapee Dwayne Oscar Loper. Requesting transport." at the same time as he felt his rapidly numbing arms being pulled behind his back and both felt and heard as cuffs were used to bind him. The disgust he felt for himself at getting caught was lost as blackness enveloped his senses.

oooOOOooo

Dylan and Zoe were in the middle of describing their encounter with Dwayne and his warning about the price on Dylan's head when the doorbell chimed. They were surprised to see Sargent Hopps-Wilde at the door. She explained how an informant had seen Dwayne in the area and how her and Nick had assumed, correctly, that he would show up at the house. They spied him going into the woods near the edge of the property, called it in, and then waited to see if he came out the same way he went in, which he did. After having him picked up, Judy came to inform them about what had happened.

Dylan let Judy know what Dwayne had said about their being a bounty on his head by someone named 'The Boss'. As they drove home, Dylan noticed Zoe being unusually quiet. Usually they'd be talking and holding paws, or he'd be singing to her. He knew why, and he couldn't blame her.

"You okay Baby?" Dylan asked her worriedly.

"I'm scared Love." She replied quietly.

"I won't let anything happen to you Beautiful, you are the most important thing in my life."

"It's not me I'm worried about Dylan, it's you. I just got you, I don't want to lose you."

Trying to lighten the moment, Dylan said "I don't want to lose me either." From Zoe's expression, she didn't appreciate the attempt, so he tried a different tactic. "Look Baby, you've seen me practicing my martial arts. You know that it won't be easy for them to get me. I'm going to take every precaution, including starting to carry more weapons on me."

"Promise me you won't get hurt!"

"Zoe, Love, I won't lie to you, ever. That's why I can't promise you I won't get hurt, all I can promise is to be as careful as I can."

Zoe huffed, not liking his answer, then turned toward the window as if looking at the scenery passing by. She knew he was right, but it didn't mean she had to like it. The thought of losing her mate made her heart break.

When they got home, Dylan had to pick Zoe up out of the passenger seat, her not wanting to move. Zoe sullenly let Dylan guide her to the apartment and into the bedroom. There Dylan had to undress his mate and then tuck her in bed before removing his own clothes and following her. As soon as he lay next to her, she whipped around wrapped her arms tightly around him. She dug her head into his neck and started crying. Dylan just held her against him and weathered the storm. Eventually her tears stopped and she was quiet for a while.

"I can't lose you." She whispered to him.

"I hope you never do my Mate. We'll get through this thing together. We'll get married, you'll finish your residency and become an amazing doctor. I'll write code and play my music and I'll make tons of money. We'll buy the house next to your parents and drive them insane by visiting every day."

Zoe giggled lightly "I look forward to seeing how you deal with Tara and her crush on you."

"Oh gods!" Dylan groaned "I'd forgotten about that!"

"She hasn't."

"But we're mated! Getting married! And she's your sister!"

"True, but sometimes the heart wants what it wants. Don't worry, things will work out in the end."

Zoe seemed to have become calmer, so he asked "Are you feeling better now?"

"No, I'm still terrified, but I'm more in control of myself, thank you."

"Anytime Baby. Let's try and get some sleep, it's been a very trying day. You have work tomorrow and I have a business to buy out." Both lay there in silence, but sleep eluded them for a long time. Each one occupied with numerous thoughts but, eventually, Morpheus had his way and the mates slipped into slumber.

A/N: Okay, a little excitement there. Dylan being able to play the piano was intended before I even started writing his fic. When fleshing out his character on paper, I put down all this skills including instruments he knew how to play. Writing how it came about for Dylan to show his skill at it just happened as I wrote this chapter.

I hadn't intended to make the home scene so long, it just happened that way. So, some of the things I wanted to put into this chapter will be in the next. A big thank you to all my followers, I appreciate each and every one of you! Please leave reviews, they're food for my muse.

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