Chapter 31

Over the next month or two, James and Fox had gotten all their belongings put together and moved to Papetoon. James had found an apartment close by Dann-Narn, and even more impressive, within walking distance from Finn's place. The citizens of Papetoon had taken a liking of them in a short time and they had fairly frequent visits from Carol and Aki. James and dad had determined that since James was moving to Papetoon, that he should keep the SC Berserk and dad would get a new ship he could travel in. Today is yet another Thanksgiving and grandma and grandpa McCloud insisted on hosting the meal. Mom, grandma McCloud, and grandma Ballard were hard at work in the kitchen preparing the various food we'd be eating, while dad, grandpa McCloud, and I were in the living room watching football. The front door opened and Uncle James walked in carrying Fox, who was sleeping. "Hey James, how was the flight in?" dad asked, hugging the fox.

"Not too bad" James replied, "Fox slept like a champ the whole way here."

"That's great!" dad smiled, "Are Carol and Aki coming today?"

"I'm not sure, I told them they were more than welcome" James said, "I even invited Dann-Narn, since she doesn't have any family."

"She didn't come with you?" dad asked, as they walked to James' room so Fox could keep sleeping.

"No, she hadn't made a decision" James replied, "I told her to reach out to Carol if she changed her mind."

"How about your father-in-law, is he coming?" dad asked.

"I hope so. It's our first Thanksgiving without Vixy, I don't want him to be alone" James replied.

"Yeah, I get that" dad said, nodding his head.

"Uncle James!" I gasped, rushing up to the fox.

"Hey, buddy, how have you been?" James asked.

"I'm good, come watch football with us" I exclaimed, tugging on his arm.

James sat on the couch next to me, with dad on the other side. Mom came out of the kitchen saying, "Hi James. Where's my nephew?"

"Hi Lana, Fox is in my old room sleeping" James replied.

Throughout the afternoon, Reuben and Carol arrived. Carol had brought both Aki and Dann-Narn. "I see you chose to come after all" James said, hugging Dann-Narn.

"Don't get mushy on me, fox" she smirked, "it just seemed like a better alternative to being home alone."

Grandma McCloud walked out of the kitchen saying, "Nice to see you again, Carol. Is this my beautiful granddaughter I've heard so much about?"

"Yes she is, Marian" Carol replied, "thank you for opening up your home for us today."

"Oh, it's our pleasure" grandma smiled, turning to grandpa "Robin, can you and the boys get the table ready? We're almost ready for dinner."

"Yes ma'am" he said, standing up "James, Maverick she means both of you, too."

Once the table was set, Grandma McCloud explained that the dishes would be in a buffet style, so we could fill our plates and find a place at the table. James went to wak Fox up from his nap and got strapped into his high chair. "Hi my sweet Foxie boy!" Grandma McCloud exclaimed, "You did a good job sleeping for a long time."

Everyone had sat down and started eating when they heard a knock on the front door. "James, did you invite someone else?" grandpa asked.

"No, I have no idea who that might be" James replied, heading to the door.

He looked through the peephole and saw a single wolf. Confused, he opened the door and asked, "Hi, can I help you?"

"Yes, is this the McCloud residence?" the wolf asked, in a feminine voice.

"It is" he replied, "who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry" she stated, "my name is Luna O'Donnell, Maverick's mother."

"What?" James exclaimed, "That's impossible, I thought his birth parents had died.

"James, who was at the…" dad asked, walking into the entrance.

"Apparently it's your birth mom" James said.

"Hi Sweetie, look at you, you've grown up so nicely" she stated, during the silence.

"Um, would you like to come in?" dad asked.

"That would be lovely, thank you" she replied, walking in.

"What are you doing?" James whispered, closing the door.

"I figure Talia would know if this woman is telling the truth" dad answered, "she's the only one here who knows who my real birth mother is."

"Good plan" James agreed.

"Please tell me you didn't try finding my real parents" dad stated.

"Of course I didn't" James replied, "you made it abundantly clear that you didn't want to meet them and I respected your request."

"Well, let's get this over with" dad said, "the rest of the family is this way."

They walked into the dining room and Talia stood up saying, "Luna? What are you doing here?"

"Hi Talia, I came to reconnect with my son" she replied.

"Mom, you know who this woman is?" mom questioned.

"Yes, she's Maverick's birth mother" Grandma Ballard stated, "she brought him to the orphanage when she was just graduating high school."

"Why did you bring me to the orphanage?" dad asked, turning to Luna.

"Oh, Sweetie, I was young and a single mother just out of high school" she explained, "your father had abandoned me as soon as he heard I was pregnant."

"Why are you choosing now to reconnect with him?" James asked, "You've had his whole life to come back."

"I know I should have" she stated, "I saw the two of you on the news when you were joining the army and knew I shouldn't interfere."

"Now you're a little too late" dad said, "I have my own family as well as a mother and father who love me."

"I know it was silly of me to get my hopes up of us being a family, but I knew I should still try" she stated.

There was a long pause and Grandma McCloud stated, "Actually, Maverick, Robin and I have some unfortunate news."

Everyone turned their attention toward grandma and grandpa. Grandpa stood up and sighed, "The other day we got a call about the adoption papers Maverick signed."

"Apparently, something happened to cause the adoption of Maverick to fall through" grandma added, "so legally you were never adopted and still an orphan."

"Why didn't they tell us this years ago?" dad asked.

"Apparently it takes a long time for adoption papers to go through the process" grandma explained.

"So, does that mean that Mav is legally Luna's son?" mom asked.

"No, that just means he was never adopted" Grandma Ballard stated, "so, legally, Maverick has no parents."

"Are you guys going to retry the adoption?" James asked.

"Only if Maverick wants to" Grandma McCloud stated.

They looked at dad, who was thinking. He smiled and said, "You know what, I'm okay not having legal proof that I'm adopted. I may not legally be a McCloud, but in my heart, that's who I am."

Uncle James hugged dad and said, "You will always be like a brother to me. Who cares if the government says otherwise?"

Luna was still standing there, watching as this occurred. "I don't want to take you from the animals you love" she said, "I just wanted to see how you've grown."

She turned to leave, but dad stopped her saying, "Wait, Luna, if you'd like to join us for Thanksgiving, you're more than welcome."

"Really?" she questioned, "I didn't think you'd want me to stay."

"It's still Thanksgiving" he smiled, "no one should have to be alone."

So we finished up dinner and Luna ended up leaving shortly after. Both Fox and Aki took naps and the rest of the adults just sat talking for hours. Uncle James turned to dad and asked, "You know how we were kicked off the Army?"

"Uh, yeah, that's kinda hard to forget" he replied.

"What would you say if I were to suggest us forming our own team?" James asked.

"Are you suggesting we become mercenaries?" dad questioned.

"Why not?" James responded, "We've got both the training and the experience and we'd be able to pick out our own missions and clients."

"Sounds like a great idea!" dad exclaimed, "We can get some of the details figured out before Christmas and start up in the new year."

"Awesome! Maybe we can finish building the Arwing prototypes to use for some dogfights" James suggested.

After a few more hours went by, Carol was ready to leave. So, she gathered up the leftovers Marian had made up for her and headed back to Papetoon, with Aki and Dann-Narn. Even Grandma Ballard had left, leaving Robin, Marian, James, Fox, mom, dad and myself at the house. "So, James, when are you heading back to Papetoon?" Robin asked.

"I might head back either Saturday or Sunday" he replied.

"Hey, dad, are we staying here tonight?' I asked.

"Yes, Wolf, that was the plan" dad said.

Fox was still up from his nap, that he took after dinner, and it seemed like everyone else were starting to get tired. Mom went to bed and asked, "Hey, James, is it okay if Wolf rooms with you tonight?"

"It's fine with me, as long as he doesn't mind waking up from a crying baby" James stated.

"You know, if we're making sleeping arrangements, why don't I bunk with James and Wolf can sleep with you, Lana" dad suggested, "after all, I've had plenty of practice sleeping in the same room as a crying baby."

"Really, Maverick? You'd rather stay in his room than with me?" mom questioned.

"It just seems like a better arrangement" dad said, "you forget I've shared a room with James for years now."

"Okay, just don't stay up too late partying" she warned.

As mom disappeared, heading to the bedrooms, James asked, "Can I talk to you about something, Mav?"

"Of course, you can" dad replied, "when have we ever not been able to talk to each other about anything?"

"Good point" James chuckled, "um, what would you say if I were to admit I've developed feelings for someone?"

"You're crushing on someone?" dad questioned, and paused "Wait, do you still have a crush on me?"

"I mean, yeah I do I've never stopped" James blushed, "but you're not who I'm talking about."

Dad smiled from the fox's response, and asked, "Was this particular crush here for Thanksgiving, today?"

James nodded his head.

"James, do you like Carol?" dad asked.

James blushed and turned away, "Yes, I like Carol again."

"Could it be possible that you never stopped loving her and these feelings have just resurfaced?" dad asked.

"It's possible" James said, "what should I do, Mav?"

"There's no reason why you shouldn't ask her out" dad said, "you've already done that once, heck you've even got a kid together."

"Yeah, you're right" James smiled.

"Just be careful, though" dad suggested, "I remember how crushed you were when you were forced to break up with her last time."

"Thanks, Mav, you're the best" James said.

"Most importantly, if there's one thing I've learned since I met you, it's that you never give up and you always trust your instincts" dad added.

"What are you talking about?" James questioned.

"You trust your instincts a lot and you tend to be right" dad explained.

"Name one time that has happened" James said.

"Okay, how about when you befriended Corvus while we were held captive?" dad pointed out, "You knew there was some good in him and now he warns you of any danger."

"That is… that's fair" James admitted, "any other examples?"

"Easy, me" dad stated, "you've been by my side through just about everything for eight years."

"That wasn't tough to do, you're an awesome guy" James said.

"Yeah, but what if we hated each other the first time we met?" dad asked.

"I didn't see any reason why we wouldn't get along" James said, "I could just tell you were a good guy."

"Exactly my point!" dad exclaimed, "You trusted your instincts when we met and because of that, we've been best friends, even brothers from different mothers."

The two canines sat in silence for a few minutes, then James leaned over and gave a quick kiss on dad's muzzle. Dad stared, in shock, saying "How long have you been waiting to do that?"

"Kinda since learning that you weren't adopted by us anymore" James blushed.

"So, when are you going to ask Carol on a date?" dad asked, changing the topic.

"Probably the next time she and Aki come to visit" he replied.

"Well, let me know how that goes" dad smiled.