Chapter 7: Dear Baxter

Uh… God, my head feels like someone stuck it in a vice… Thomas woke up feeling very sore all over his body. He could see that he was inside, given how his blurry vision was looking up at a white ceiling instead of the rooftop where he'd fought whatever that black-clad freak was, which meant he'd managed to teleport home. He could feel that he was stiff; his healing powers could only do so much with the amount of abuse he'd been subjected to. I'm pretty sure there were a few broken bones, so at least those seem to be fixed. Thomas turned on his side and felt something warm and furry. He smiled a moment as he felt the comforting touch of the bristly fur against his outstretched palm. His vision was gradually becoming less blurry as his head stopped throbbing and he blinked a few times to clear away the last of the haze to see who had decided to tend to him. Once his vision became clear Thomas noticed Bandit was lying next to him. "D-dad?" Thomas rasped, trying to sit up.

Bandit woke up, rolling over to see Thomas' attempt to prop himself up on his shoulder and quickly stopped him from getting up from bed. "Woah. Hey, no need to get up. Its okay Thomas, you're okay. I've got you." Bandit said, gently getting up to try and not stir him too much. He paused a moment before he spoke again. "Thomas, you really scared us mate." He said looking down at his son.

"There's *agh* someone else here in the city…" Thomas said, still feebly trying to get up despite being sore all over.

"Mate, please lie down." Bandit gently rotated Thomas to his back instead of his side. "You need to rest."

"No. This is important…" Thomas shuffled to attempt to prop himself up again. "This was someone else from my world. Jinx didn't do this."

"What are you talking about? I thought you said there were only you and Jinx in that crash." Bandit asked while lightly holding down his son.

"Yeah we were the only two in the wreck… but now… there's someone else in this world trying to kill me." Thomas said, laying back down.

"And you're sure it's from your world?"

"Pretty sure. The suit they were in didn't have any spot for a tail. Plus they were taller than you guys; with the suit they were even taller than me."

"So, it was a human? You're positive? It wasn't some sort of killer robot or something?"

"When I threw an air conditioner at it I'm pretty sure I heard it grunt, so it's alive."

Bandit frowned, "And it's after you?"

"Yeah." Thomas winced, feeling his insides clench slightly as the healing process moved onto a bit of soft tissue it hadn't addressed during his unconsciousness.

"Just you or do you think Jinx too?"

"Just me for the moment." Thomas answered. "At least, as far as I can tell."

Bandit bit his lip slightly as he thought. "We'll worry about that later but for now we have to deal with getting you healed."

"I'm fine. You don't have to mother-hen me." Thomas replied. "I'm an adult; I can handle a few little injuries."

"Thomas, you weren't breathing when you got here." Bandit said, avoiding eye contact as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "You landed on the coffee table and passed out…" He paused, trying not to think of the sight from the previous evening. "I had to do chest compressions to get you back. You died in our living room. We were halfway dragging you to the car, consequences be damned, and taking you to the hospital when you finally started breathing again." Bandit looked up, tears welling in his eyes as he saw his human son. "YOU SCARED US!" Bandit shouted, his paws trembling slightly.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I was attacked. I can't help that!" Thomas said, looking at Bandit.

Bandit shook his head, "I knew this was a bad idea! You are not going out anymore, it's too risky! Your mum was in tears for hours! We didn't even know if you'd make it through the night!"

"I… Wait, how long was I out?"

"14 hours." Bandit said, shaking.

"14… hours?" Thomas replied, dumbstruck at the amount of time it had taken him to heal.

"Yes." Bandit said as he clenched his paws. He looked down and whispered. "Don't you ever do that again. Christ, I can't go through that again…"

"Look, I'm alright now, okay? I need to go out and see what's going on." Thomas said, getting up out of bed despite his body shouting at him not to.

"No!" Bandit commanded. "You… you're grounded!" He shouted, his ears folded flat back against the top of his head.

"Grounded? What?! Do you realize there's way more at stake now? There's another human here in Brisbane who's literally got killer written on his chest plate!" Thomas shouted back.

"It's my job as your dad to keep you safe, mate!" Bandit shouted louder. "And this hero business clearly isn't safe!"

"You're willing to protect me from them, fine, but at what cost? People will die if I'm not out there!" Thomas said, looking Bandit in the eye.

"If that's what it takes then so be it!" Bandit said with a growl.

"You're not listening to me!" Thomas shouted again.

"I am not losing you again Baxter!" Bandit shouted with tears running down his muzzle. The room went silent. Thomas was stunned. Bandit's eyes widened as he realized the mistake. "I-I mean Thomas." Bandit stuttered.

"I'm not Baxter." Thomas said, still shocked by Bandit's choice of words.

"You're right… you're not him." Bandit said looking down. He deflated; the turn from anger to sadness apparent at the truth that Thomas truly wasn't Baxter. "Look, I'll go get your breakfast mate. Please go back to bed. We can talk more later." Bandit said with no emotion as he hurriedly left the room.

Thomas sighed as he lay back on the bed, his feet over the edge as he looked up at the ceiling. He could tell there was more that needed to be done before he was back to normal, so he concentrated a moment as the lilac light started glowing around him and started to heal himself more to fully recover from his battle with Agent Fenrir. Who was that guy? And why did he just attack me? And he didn't say anything or even break a sweat during our fight… Thomas thought to himself while healing.

Meanwhile Bandit was making Thomas breakfast while trying to process his emotions. It was just him at home today, as Chilli had taken Bluey to school and Bingo to his parent's apartment. Normally Bingo would be at kindy, but since her school had somehow caught fire in the middle of the night they weren't in session. And God willing that isn't related to all the other fucking nonsense going on. He shook his head, no point in speculating about the worst of it. He had enough to deal with at the moment. He'd told them Thomas was just extra tired and needed some more time to sleep, thankfully they'd believed him.

Chilli's heart had been broken seeing her son that way-badly beaten, almost to the point of death. It was only after they were sure he was at least breathing consistently on his own that Bandit had offered to tend to Thomas that night while she tried to get some sleep. In the end it wasn't much rest, and she still had to work the next day, but at least by morning he was still alive and appeared in better physical condition when she'd left for work. He'd just texted her that Thomas was awake and okay, but she hadn't seen it yet-with everything going on the airport had cracked down on security and she had been forced to be more focused than usual.

Bandit's phone rang which brought him out of his thoughts. It was Stripe.

"Hey mate…" Bandit said on the phone.

"Bandit! I saw on the news that Thomas got into a fight with some guy in a black suit! They had footage from somebody's phone and it looked like he was thrown through a building! Please tell me he's alright." Stripe asked, panicking.

"He's fine." Bandit said, still making his son's breakfast.

"Okay, well I'm on my way over. I need to make sure he's okay." Sounds of honking were heard in the background as Stripe set the phone in the console. "Move you creep! I have a family emergency to get to! Fuck!"

"Stripe… Stripe… STRIPE! We have it handled mate! You don't need to come over! I'll talk to you later, alright? Bye." Bandit said before hanging up the phone. He looked down at the plate of food and sighed. "I can't… I can't lose him, not again…"

In the twenty minutes that Bandit had been gone Thomas had focused on healing himself. He felt fatigued from the effort, but otherwise it appeared that he was now fully healed. He stretched and then rolled off the bed, briefly testing out his limbs and seeing that everything appeared to be in good order. He stretched a final time before he walked over to the door and pulled it open. He took a step back, surprised to see Bandit standing in the doorway with a plate of food.

"Mate, I told you to stay in bed." Bandit said, now coming into the room.

"Dad I'm fully healed now, you don't have to worry." Thomas said as Bandit placed the food down on the desk.

"I have every right to worry about you mate." Bandit said with a straight face.

"Fine, I guess that's fair." Thomas admitted, "But why don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you! But I'm not going to lose you! You mean so much to me and Chilli and the girls! You are a part of this family. And as your father I need to keep you safe." Bandit said as he crossed his arms. "Thomas, it's my job to protect you. You're my son just like-"

"Like Baxter was?" Thomas said, looking at Bandit. Bandit sighed and then nodded. "Look, I know that, but there's too much at stake right now. I need to protect you all. And in order for me to do that I need to go out there and fight those bastards before they do more damage!" Thomas said, a frown appearing on his face. Bandit was about to say something in reply when they heard Stripe run into the house.

"Thomas?! Are you here mate?!" Stripe shouted, worried that his nephew wasn't in as good a condition as his brother had stated.

"We're up here!" Thomas said from upstairs. Stripe scaled the stairs two at a time and arrived at the bedroom.

"Oh thank God mate!" Stripe said, hugging Thomas tightly.

"Stripe, what are you doing here?" Bandit asked, looking at his little brother.

"I was worried, mate! You just hung up on me! I couldn't stay away from my nephew if he was almost killed!" Stripe said, looking at his older brother then nephew.

Bandit gritted his teeth. "This doesn't concern you mate! He's my son and I can protect him this time!" Bandit said angrily.

"I made his costume. I encouraged this. It does concern me! I want to make sure I didn't just send him to his death!" Stripe gestured to Thomas.

"It's fine Stripe! He's my son and I'm not going to fail again!" Bandit shouted, edging closer to his brother.

"Bandit he's not Baxter! You know that was a long time ago!" Stripe shot back at Bandit.

"I KNOW! I KNOW HE'S NOT HIM!" Bandit shouted with tears running down his muzzle.

Stripe looked down, he didn't want to hurt his brother but it was the truth. Thomas may have copied the fur pattern, but there was still a piece that indicated that he truly was a version of Baxter from another universe.

"I need to get some work done." Bandit said trying to rush out of the room with tears in his eyes.

"Dad, wait-" Thomas said as he grabbed onto Bandit's arm. A flood of memories and emotions flashed into Thomas's head as he did so. Before he could process them Bandit pushed his arm off.

"No!" Bandit shouted as Thomas let go. "What? How? Why would you do that?!" Bandit shouted angrily, looking at Thomas' withdrawn hand knowing he'd somehow tapped into his memories.

"I-I, I didn't mean to!" Thomas said, not knowing what to say or do.

"Don't you ever! Ever! Do that again! My thoughts are fucking private! Do you understand me Thomas?! Private!" Bandit shouted again before leaving the room. Thomas was left standing there, not knowing what he'd done or seen.

"What did you do mate?" Stripe asked, looking at his nephew.

"I-I saw all of his emotions and memories… of Baxter and then… someone else. She was a black and white husky. It seemed like she was important to him?" Thomas said, looking at his uncle.

"Oh… that's something no one should accidentally access." Stripe said, now worried about exactly what Thomas had experienced.

"Why? Who was she?" Thomas asked, confused.

"That mate, is something he will have to tell you when he's ready to. Between her and Baxter, Bandit has had a lot of trauma and tragedy he's tucked away." Stripe said looking down and rubbing his arm.

"Okay… should I talk to him?" Thomas asked, looking at Stripe.

"That wouldn't be wise; when my brother's pissed like that it's best to let him cool off first. Give him a little time, he'll be ready soon." Stripe explained.

"Oh, okay." Thomas said,

"But he'll bounce back like he always does." Stripe said, patting his nephew on the shoulder. Thomas looked at Stripe and smiled. "Look, I don't think I should stick around right now. I'm gonna head back to my place. I'm glad to see you're okay. When this all blows over, call me and let me know how it goes, okay?"

"I will. Thanks for checking on me Uncle Stripe."

"You're welcome Thomas."

It was almost half an hour later when Thomas nudged open the door to Bandit's study. His computer was on, but he wasn't looking at it. He was staring out the window instead, fiddling with something in his right paw. Thomas cleared his throat, causing Bandit to turn to him.

"Hey dad. Are you okay to talk?"

Bandit nodded, rolling over on the yoga ball to offer Thomas a spot next to him. Thomas smiled as he sat on the desk chair.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to do that. I didn't even know that I could. I only wanted to try and understand what you were feeling; somehow I guess I tapped into your thoughts. I promise I didn't want to invade your privacy. I know that your thoughts are yours; I didn't mean to hurt you or betray your trust. It just happened." Thomas waved his hands as he spoke. He sighed, "My other dad, my human dad, and I never really had a chance to talk about a lot of things after we moved to DC. He was always busy with the project, and when we did talk it was always about science or engineering, never about me or him." He looked at Bandit, "I know I made a mistake, and I know we have stuff to hash out, but I want to talk to you-about everything I saw, that way it's honest. Please, talk to me."

Bandit sighed as he looked down, "What all did you see?"

"I saw a baby, who looked a lot like me when I'm a heeler. I think it was Baxter. I also saw a female husky, she seemed important. The two of you were sitting out at night looking up at the sky." Thomas paused, "I think you loved her."

Bandit winced. "That sounds about right."

"Was it Baxter?" Thomas asked, thinking back to their earlier conversation, "I thought you said Chilli miscarried?"

"No, I said he didn't have a heartbeat." Bandit paused, "There's a difference." Bandit steadied himself as he looked up at Thomas. "Baxter kept growing. The doctors confirmed that there wasn't a heartbeat, and we were given two options. We could terminate the pregnancy or wait for Chilli to deliver. Chilli decided to carry him to term, we were hoping that maybe they were wrong, maybe somehow our boy was okay…" Bandit choked back a sob. "He was the prettiest little boy I could've imagined. They had him cleaned up and swaddled, and I hoped, I imagined that he was alive. But he wasn't."

"I'm sorry… I can't imagine what that was like." Thomas said, placing a hand on Bandit's shoulder.

Bandit smiled sadly at the gesture. "Be glad you can't. Bluey wasn't yet two at the time, so she can't remember any of it. We had a funeral. It was the tiniest coffin, but it felt like it weighed a ton. Chilli and I were a mess, even though he'd never taken a breath Baxter was still a piece of both of us…"

It was silent a moment before Thomas spoke. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Bandit wiped his tears, "Thanks."

"I never told you much about my parents, my human parents, did I?"

Bandit shook his head. "No, you just said that they weren't alive anymore. That they died when you were 15."

"Fair is fair, you shared, now I will. I want this to be honest between us."

"Okay."

Thomas inhaled, "My parents were great people. They were geniuses, and they were good parents-even if they were busy a lot. My mom worked on most of the mechanical parts of the pod that got me here, and my dad worked on the programming and circuitry. Together they'd almost perfected their design." He winced as he continued speaking. "It was December, right before Christmas. They were working late, trying to iron out some problem with the pod's design when somehow a fire started. The lab they were at was underground, and they weren't able to escape before the fire destroyed the supports holding up the building above them… they were crushed."

Thomas inhaled, then slowly breathed out. "It took almost two days for the dogs to find them-in my world some dogs are trained to help find human remains in collapsed buildings. They were in each other's arms, so at least they had each other when they died. That was almost four years ago. I inherited all their work, and I vowed that I'd finish their project, it would be the way I'd honor their memory. I almost drove myself insane working on it. If it wasn't for Jonas I probably would've gone mad… When we started the pods I thought I'd finally done something right, and I did-I got here and met my new family." He paused. "Here, let me give you something." Thomas hugged Bandit, and after a moment released.

Bandit blinked. "Did you just give me your memories?"

"A few of my human parents. I want to be fair; I took some of yours, so you can have some of mine." He smiled. "I'm sorry I didn't ask, but I don't think you'd've said yes. They're all happy memories, I promise."

Bandit closed his eyes and replayed the thoughts he'd gotten. There was one of Thomas as a child learning to ride a bike, a man with black shaggy hair encouraging him to pedal across a basketball court. Another was of him a bit older, with his parents and friends sitting around a table. It looked like it was his birthday. As they sung an older woman, probably his grandmother, brought out a cake… shaped like a duck? The last memory was more recent. Thomas was eating breakfast with his family.

"What are we gonna do for Christmas?" Thomas asked, rooting through the fridge.

"I don't know, what day is it again?" His father asked, glancing up from the paper.

"I'll check the calendar." Thomas glanced around the side of the fridge. A calendar proclaimed the year as 2031. "It's a Thursday."

"Well, we should be able to go down and see your Aunt Sylvia, then." His mother noted.

"Augh! Aunt Sylvia's the worst!" Thomas fake protested.

His father chuckled while his mother rolled her eyes. "You better watch your manners or I'll make sure you get an extra piece of her jello salad."

"I'll be good!" Thomas smiled.

Bandit gasped as he looked at Thomas, now out of his new memories.

"Were they okay? I don't know how it all worked; I just tried to think happy thoughts."

Bandit looked at Thomas, appraising the human again. "Thomas, what year were you born?"

"Um, 2016." He replied unsure of how that related to the memories he'd given, "Remember, when I told Max he said to make it 2004. Apparently you guys are a few years behind us in this world. I figured it wasn't a big deal. Your tech is close enough it doesn't bother me, even if some of your pop-culture stuff is a little dated, it's kinda cool."

Bandit's mind reeled as he saw the last pieces click into place. "Thomas… I think I am your father…"

"Well, yeah, you adopted me." He replied hesitantly.

"No, well, yes…" Bandit shook his head. "Thomas, those memories you had-those were things that happened here, with my girls."

Thomas tilted his head, "What?"

"I taught Bluey to ride her bike at a basketball court identical to the one in your memory. And that duck cake, that stupid terrible duck cake…" Bandit chuckled, "I made one of those for Bingo's birthday this year!"

"Okay, well, those are some pretty good coincidences." Thomas noted.

"And the time difference-you're 18, but you'd only be 6 here."

"Well, if I was born in the same year." Thomas shrugged.

"It all makes sense, everything, your pattern, the memories… You are Baxter! Well, not my Baxter, but a Baxter." Bandit declared.

Thomas processed everything. "So, that means you're like my dad, and Chilli's like my mum? Like alternate reality dog versions?"

Bandit picked Thomas up in a hug, lifting him off the ground.

"Woah big fella!"

"Sorry. Sorry, just excited." Bandit said, his tail wagging furiously.

"It's alright." Thomas smiled. "I love you dad."

"I love you too, son."

Thomas looked at Bandit, "But you know this means I definitely can't stop. You're my family, and I'm going to do everything I can to stop both the assholes who're out there and make sure that you guys are all safe."

Bandit exhaled, "I was afraid you were going to say that." He bit his lip. "I just don't want to see you get hurt like that again."

"I know. But I can't promise it won't happen again." Thomas admitted. "I mean, I'll definitely be happier if it doesn't, but I can't control that."

"I know you're gonna do this whether I support it or not, but I want to be there for you. I know I can't protect you kids from the world, and you're an adult. And I guess you need to make some of these choices for yourself. So if you want to, you can fight."

"I promise I'll be careful."

"I know you will." Bandit looked at his son, "I suppose you want to know about that husky as well, right?"

"If you want to share, but I don't want to force you too." Thomas replied.

"Emily was my first love, before I met Chilli. I won't go into the details, just that I'd once had a relationship with her. She and I aren't together anymore, but that's alright." He smiled at Thomas. "Hey, how about we go over to Stripe's? I need to apologize to him and I bet he still wants to check to make sure you're alright."

Thomas nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

Meanwhile at Chris and Bob's Apartment

Chilli had just finished work, picked up Bluey, and dealt with the awful Brisbane afternoon traffic when she pulled into her in-law's apartment.

"Okay, remember, we're in and out, got it?" Chilli reminded Bluey as they walked through the lobby.

"Yes mum." Bluey replied as they started up the stairs.

"I love your nana and granddad, but we have to get home. I want to check on your brother. Your father said he's okay, but I just want to make sure." Chilli had gotten a few texts from Bandit throughout the day about their son's status, and it appeared all was well, but that they had to have a conversation as just the three of them after the girls were put down that evening.

"Yeah, Thomas really slept in after he was out last night." Bluey responded.

Chilli nodded, "Yup. He had a busy night…" She rang the bell to the apartment and a moment later Chris appeared.

"Chilli! Bingo's just inside, come on in!" She looked down to Bluey. "How was your day today, did you have fun at school Bluey?"

"Yes Nana! I played with Chloe and Mackenzie all morning. Then we learned about butterflies and practiced reading in the afternoon." She wagged her tail as she spoke.

"Sounds like a busy day! Come in, come in." She motioned for Chilli and Bluey to enter. "Here, sit down I'll fix you a cup of tea."

"Oh Chris, I'd love to-" Chilli began.

"Bluey! Come and see what Granddad and I did!" Bingo shouted from the balcony.

"Okay! Coming!" She darted off, leaving Chilli with Chris.

"-and I guess we'll be here for a while. Make it a double." Chilli stated.

Chris chuckled, pouring out hot water into a large mug. "What'll you take?"

"Peppermint, if you've got it."

"I just got some on Friday. They have a lovely new little corner shop not far from here and Bob and I went to check it out finally." She dropped the bag into the mug. "So, Bi

Chilli's eyes widened slightly. Shit! "What did she say?"

"She said she had a new older brother." Chris said, adjusting her glasses.

Chilli cleared her throat, "That's right."

"Really?" Chris said, surprised. "You never mentioned that you and Bandit were looking to adopt! Dear, I have plenty of friends who could've helped. You should've told me!"

Chilli scratched her arm, "If I'm honest he just sort of fell into our laps. We weren't expecting it, but here we are."

"Well, tell me about him!" Chris said, "I've never had a grandson before!"

Chilli smiled, "Thomas is an amazing boy. He's kind, and smart, and Bluey and Bingo love being around him. Very creative too, and talented, oh, and he can cook wonderfully!"

"He sounds like a lovely son." Chris smiled. "What grade is he in? Is he in primary or secondary school?"

"Um, actually he's 18. He graduated school already." Chilli admitted.

"Oh, that's a bit of an age gap…" Chris paused, "But I'm sure it's fine. After all, Rad's a good bit older than Stripe and they get along just fine." She thought a moment, "So when are you going to introduce him to the rest of the family?"

"Well, Stripe and Trixie and their girls have already met him…"

"They have? And no one said anything?"

"At the time it wasn't official, so we didn't want anyone to mention the adoption."

"I suppose that's fair." Chris nodded. "But in any case, I want to meet my grandson. You said his name was Thomas?"

"Well, yes, but normally he goes by Jason, with all the nonsense over that alien named Thomas in the news." Chilli explained.

"That seems wise." Chris stated. "Well, Bob and I can make this weekend. Would you prefer Saturday or Sunday to have us over to meet Jason?"

"Wait, what?" Chilli blinked.

"Well, I assume a cookout would work best for you two, and seeing as you and Bandit both work I figured this weekend would be best. So, Saturday or Sunday? I want to know which so Bob and I can get the sides ready to bring over for the right day."

"Um…" Chilli thought about her weekend, then about Thomas. Who seems to have managed the whole 'disguise' thing… "I suppose Saturday?"

"Excellent! We'll be over around noon." Chris smiled.

"Mum!" Bluey shouted, sliding the door back open from the balcony. "Granddad and Bingo made a garden on the balcony! Can we do that at our house?"

Chilli looked over as Bingo walked in, covered in potting soil. "Can we please? I love digging holes!"

Chilli chuckled. "Maybe, we'll have to ask Dad first, then maybe he and Jason can go to Hammerbarn and get some things to help make one."

At Jinx's Lair

Jinx growled to himself as he again paced in the apartment. Okay, so maybe torching the school where that brat's sister went wasn't the best idea. I should've gotten her file first, then I could've gotten the address where Thomas is. He clenched his fists as a few red sparks shot out. "But no matter, I can figure something out." He sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, trying to find another clue in the memories he had.

He had the contact memories from the pictures at the school, but those were minimally useful, the ones that were more important were those from Bluey. He'd managed to get a few of her thoughts as she'd struggled in his grasp. It was pathetic, but useful that these creatures thought of their loved ones before they died. It almost made him think that they had a meaningful existence. Almost.

He replayed through the thoughts, but most of them were just prattle with other annoying little beasts. The few that were in a house weren't enough to identify it. Nothing outside, no street numbers, and the interior was plain enough that it wasn't something likely to be seen from the outside. He cursed again his rash actions, but upon replaying the memories for a third time he did see one snippet that caused him to grin.

"Hey Chloe! Come on!" Bluey cheered as she ran across a field.

"Chloe… " Jinx muttered, thinking back to what he got from Bingo's photo. One of the little boys in the class had a sister with that name, and they were both Dalmatians. He sneered. And he just so happened to have a memory of that boy's house, a large modern one with a 101 on the front. It wouldn't be hard to miss. He growled a moment, If only I could change forms like Thomas. I can't go out like this… He slammed his hand onto the table beside him. I need to figure out some way to get that address from them, but how?

Kodiwolf321 A/N: Hey guys! Here we are with another chapter! I did the beginning of this chapter and then The-Suburban-Guy finished and what we're going to do from now on is go back and forth on who starts the chapter and finishes it and so next chapter The-Suburban-Guy will start the chapter and I will finish it but anyways guys we will see you next chapter!

The-Suburban-Guy A/N: So Thomas is Baxter, it seems. We'll see in the next chapter how that goes over with Chilli, as well as how Thomas does with the rest of the Heeler family. Let us know what you think by reviewing! We really appreciate it when you do so! Thanks again for reading!