Chapter 25: A Rather Domestic Evening

"No way, Trigger, check it out! Real beds!"

James was barely able to get himself into the motel room when he saw Count leap onto the mattress like an over-excited child. Ignoring the antics, he dropped the bag of things he brought from the car off on the carpeted floor before his mind caught up with him. "Count, off!" he ordered, arm already reaching out to stop the second pilot from doing the same thing.

Not that he needed to. Trigger was standing in place and staring at the beds like they were made of gold.

"What's the matter, Strikes? Afraid of a soft mattress?" Nick teased as he also came into the room, peering around the other officer. "But don't worry, other priorities first! Top of the list? Hit the shower! Then you can hop on the bed all you want." Picking up the bag, he dropped it off on the edge of the spare bed, claiming it for himself and... Well, they will all figure out who will sleep where later, but he definitely didn't want to sleep in the other bed now that Count, still smelling, had rolled on top of it.

Finally, Bandog shuffled inside after them, stopping by the door and frowning at what he saw. His own, much larger bag slung over his shoulder stooped down a little. "You all enjoy, I'm going next door and get set up in there." He held up the card to his own room as his mouth formed a smirk. "Perks of arriving with a passport, I guess. And Trigger? Do as the fox says and grab a shower. Use up all of the shampoo if you have to, but you certainly were earning us stares on the train. You really stink. Speaking of which..." Letting his equipment bag drop to the floor, he opened it up and rummaged through it, picking out two smaller bags from within, taking a look at a tag on each one before tossing one to Count, and the other to Trigger. "CO doesn't want you two representing the OADF while dressed up in a ZPD getup. Plus, while even I didn't expect you two to roll around in wolf urine, we did figure that the Animalians would appreciate it if you won't reek of sweat. And so, I took the liberty of getting your flight uniforms sent over from the ZPD basement, after I also got the pleasure of ferrying over your PT gear." He gave the two pilots a glance over. "I think it'll still fit. But if it doesn't? Not my problem. You'll figure it out. Knock on the door when supper's ready! Don't know about you two, but I haven't had a proper meal in weeks!" With a final wave, he turned and exited the room, pivoting in place to get over to his room.

"We weren't… that underweight, were we? When we crashed into the city?" Trigger asked Nick quietly, staring at the door at where Bandog had just been. "I mean, I thought he was joking about Count and I relaxing about in Zootopia and growing fat, but jeez, his bones are practically showing!"

"You two? No, not too much," Nick quickly reassured him. "So don't go buzzing yourself worrying over that, dummy!" He playfully punched the pilot in the shoulder, close to where the collar poked above the shirt collar, glowing a warning yellow. "Actually, about that. Hey, Wolfy, think they need to keep wearing them?" While he hated to admit just how much he got used to the two pilots always being in the collars, it never took him much to agree to take them off even for the flimsiest of excuses.

James glanced between Count and Trigger. While the shorter pilot didn't bother trying to hide his hopeful expression, the way Count was failing to suppress the same expression was almost comical. "To be honest, I don't know," he admitted, "I suppose, for the shower at least, we can take them off. But it's rather of a moot point, because I didn't bring the remotes with us. I uh… didn't really see any one of them since I brought them back to Bogo after that trip to the coast, really. So even if I wanted to take them off, I don't know how." He grinned sheepishly at the two mammals in question, feeling awful at the admission. "Sorry, guys. But this one's out of my paws."

Trigger tried not to look disappointed and bitter as he grabbed his bag and started to shuffle over to the bathroom, only stopping when Count started to chuckle.

"Hey, Dumbass, before you go hiding off in that bathroom, check your bag first!" Clothing scattered around him, Count held out a very familiar remote, inspecting it with glee. "Wonder why Bandog had these placed with the rest of our stuff, but I'm not complaining. In fact, now that I can actually take a look at it myself, I think I'll take the damned thing off my neck for good." Flipping the remote a few times over, he found the power button, turned the device on, and after a few more moment's wait, made up his mind and pressed one of the few buttons on the device…

And promptly fell back on the bed, groaning in surprise and pain, as the collar around his neck crackled in electrical shock.

"Count? You okay?" Dropping his bag, Trigger bolted over to the other pilot, stopping next to the bed with an anxious expression. "What did you do that for? Are you trying to-" his voice fell away as he picked up the fallen device off the mattress, taking his own look over it, before giving up and shoving it in Jame's direction. "Here, you know how to take these things off."

James took the remote, automatically starting to press the combination to unlock the collar. "It's not a single button press that you need to do," he explained as his effort was rewarded by the expected click as Count's collar let go and fell off. At least the pilot was sitting upright again as he groaned and rubbed at his neck. "And give me your remote while we're at it so that I can take yours off too."

"I- yeah, just a second…" Trigger hurried back to his dropped back, and quickly shifted through it to grab his own remote. Handing the device over to James, he walked back over to the bed. "Count, are you sure you're all right?"

As if in answer, Count was laughing. "'Course I am!" he managed to reply between chuckles. "Unlike you, it takes more than a simple jolt to take me down! Ugh, although, really," he rubbed at his neck, staring at Trigger curiously. "I'll admit, I don't know how you are able to send your collar off so much more than I do and still keep going." He stopped, sniffing at the air. "Seriously, Trigger. Stop worrying about my stupid accident and go take that shower. Bandog's right. You stink." To prove his point, he reached out and shoved the smaller pilot away. "But do save the hot water for me!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" With an annoyed huff, the coyote went back to his bag for yet a second time, this time grabbing the change of clothing that Bandog had mentioned, and with a final glance back at the others, disappeared behind the bathroom door.

Count let out another chuckle, drawing attention back to himself back from the officers. "I'll admit that it was rather funny how I shocked myself. Swore I understood how that remote worked. Eh, guess not." He glanced over at Nick and James, sliding off the mattress as he did so. "Since Bandog mentioned it, what's the plan for supper?" He shrugged. "I'd offer to go and get it since I need to wait on Trigger anyways, but as I am in lack of access to funds, I'm afraid I won't be able to do that."

James fished out his wallet, grabbing a card from within it and giving it to Nick. "I also need to send some emails to Bogo. Can you in the meantime go and see what there is? I think it'll be best if you ask the front desk for advice on whatever's here."

Nick grabbed the card, smirking at his fellow officer. "As long as you're prepared to be disappointed, I'm game."

Shaking his head as he went about fetching the laptop out of his bag, James didn't bother glancing to see if the fox was actually leaving or not. "Just grab us something, Wilde, would you? I can watch over these two while I send the emails."

"You got it boss!" With a sarcastic grin and a fake salute to both James and Count, Nick exited the room, closing the door behind him. Truth be told, he actually preferred this arrangement, for when they had ridden on the train, he had really hoped to be able to take the time to call Judy and catch up with her. And let her complain to him about her interrogation of Bellweather. But most of all, to complain to get about his own day in the heat and all of that exercise he had to do, especially with Major Friedkin watching and breathing down his neck the entire time. Plus, he just had to complain about the pain he shared with James about not being able to grab a beer after all of said pain.

Not that it stopped him, when they were leaving that base, from catching up to her and posing for the camera so that he can send the picture Judy's way. At least the Polar Bear was sport enough to even smile long enough for Trigger to take their picture, knowing that Judy will appreciate the gesture. But after all of that effort, and with Nick sending the picture over as quickly as possible, his partner simply messaged back that she was still busy and actually won't be able to talk then.

It wasn't that big of a deal, really. The train ride was unfortunately several long, boring hours. Well, mostly boring. While Nick knew that some mammals loved such rides – James and Trigger especially were rather keen on the experience, with Count being quite indifferent, and a finally grumpy Bandog sharing his disdain at being trapped in the tube unable to move much for so long. But it didn't take a genius to look at the destination on their tickets, track the course on one of the provided train route maps, and realize that one of the many stations the train was going to stop by was none other than Bunnyburrow.

If the first picture he had sent today had a tired but smiling Nick posing with the academy instructor, the second one Trigger had taken for him had Nick and James pressed up against the train window, making the most ridiculous faces possible, but also making sure that the colorful pastels of the station sign, as well as its name, were clearly visible from behind them. They had the pilot take several pictures, just to be sure, even if the act had earned them some very nervous stares from several new bunny passengers who had boarded on that platform.

The final result was more than worth it, even if Judy did not message back even after this second picture.

And now, making his way over to the front desk of the motel, Nick checked his phone again, just to see if her status had changed. He saw one unread text, sent over only a few minutes prior. Spirits hopeful, he pressed on the icon.

Finally grabbed Finnick. We'reat the bar like you suggested. Thanks for the tip!Hope you're doing well out there!

Excitedly, he put the phone away back into his pocket, walking faster towards the entrance of the motel. The sooner he can learn where to grab some food, the sooner he can make the call.

The mammal at the front desk, a bored looking hare doe, looked up when he came over. "May I help you? Rooms are okay?" she asked, cheerful voice perfectly masking the bored demeanor from just moments prior.

Nick shrugged. Putting on a polite smile of his own, he asked, "Yes, the rooms are fine. Actually, do you know any good place to grab a meal that's close? Preferably something warm and something that I can bring back to our rooms?"

The rabbit tilted her head, ears flopping to the side. "What kind of food?"

He grinned back helplessly. "I don't know. What is there over here? You saw us. Three omnivores, two herbivores. What'cha got?"

Lifting her head back upright, the doe looked at him curiously. "Well, since this motel is inside the airforce base, I am going to make the prediction that you aren't here as a tourist. In which case, depending on how strict you are with what you eat, I can make the following suggestions…" She pointed to her left. "Ten minute's walk that direction will get you outside the base perimeter and to the nearest grocery store. That will give you the best verity."

"Anything closer?" Nick asked with a wince. Not only was a ten minute walk sounding like a terrible idea, he also didn't want to have to mention that he didn't have a pass to go through the gates. Non of them in the group had one, which meant that he wasn't sure how easy it was going to be to get outside and back in again.

She pointed to her right. "Agua Complexa is a two minute walk that way." She groaned in disgust. "It's one of those overpriced healthy food places that I can't believe is still in business. I'm a rabbit, hon, and even I can't stand the stuff they sell there. It's the closest place to us, but I really don't recommend it. Just don't tell them that that's what I'm saying. They pay us to advertise for them."

Nick tapped his muzzle thoughtfully. "You know, if my coworker was here, I think she would love that place," he offered. "She's a bunny, see? But also goes crazy for these healthy places. Sounds like the best place for her. But uh, I'm not her. So, anything closer?"

"Hmm, I'm sure." Her tone told him that she wasn't believing him. Whether about his partner being a rabbit, or about Judy loving that kind of food, Nick wasn't sure which part she wasn't buying. Not that he cared enough to press on. Despite his previous history of hustling, for once, he wasn't selling. She pointed to the right again. "Another minute's walk past it is a Bug-Burga. Unless you can grab a ride and drive to the other side of the base where most of the places are, that's going to be it in terms of food in the local area."

Thanking his silent stars, Nick nodded and immediately stated to walk in that direction. "Thanks for the help!" he called out behind him. "I got it from here!"

Outside in the cool night air, he already had his phone out and was already calling Judy. Luckily, she answered quick.

"Nick? How's it going?" From somewhere close to her phone, he also heard the deep voice of a familiar fox also call out. "Is that you Nick my boy? Thought there was something going on when Bunny Cop hunted me down just to drag me over to a bar!"

"Carrots!" Nick winced, glad that he was the only person around, for he had surprised even himself at how loudly he answered. Lowering his voice to a more normal level, he continued. "Talk about a long day! We've finally arrived at uh, not actually sure I'm allowed to say where. Not that there's much to see here. Hardly any lights and it's night time already. Say, did you get the pictures?"

"Sure did, Nick! The first one was great! I might have made a quick call to Friedkin while you were still on the train. Had a couple of minutes while Jack stopped to refuel the car. Didn't get back to the city until recently ourselves, actually. It was lucky that I was able to find Finnick as quick as I was able to. What was that one about, anyways? I never knew you to press me for a drink like that."

Nick frowned playfully, wishing that she could see his expression. Checking his phone, he saw that while his own feed was only a dark square due to the lack of lighting, the video from Judy's phone was on, with her sitting behind a round table on a red vinyl couch, flanked by Finnick and… Clawhauser? He waved at the camera, figuring that on the off chance that there was something to see. "How's it going spots? So Finn, how did you allow yourself to go get drunk with not one, but two cops?"

In answer, the small fox made a rude gesture into Judy's phone. "Nicky you bastard! I should have known something was up when bunny cop came banging on my van! Where the hell are you even at? I swear she's out trying to hustle me into believing that you, Nick Wilde, is outside the city? Yer a city fox, Nick!" In the video feed, Finnick held up a tall glass. "Got a cold one with your name on it!"

Even though the small, pixelated screen that Nick had to view the goings on through, he knew right away what Finnick was drinking. Suppressing down a whine, he stared at the representation of their favorite drink, a glass that packed a surprising amount of flavor for its near-nonexistent price. "You know I'd love to, Finn, but Carrots wasn't pulling your leg. I'm in the middle of nowhere, and it's utterly terrible out here! Actually, about that, hey, check this out!" Reaching his destination, he walked through the automatic doors of the Bug-Burga. Blinking at the bright indoor lighting, at least his own camera now had something to look at. "Ta-da! Civilization!"

While Finnick and Clawhauser both laughed at his sudden appearance, Judy crossed her arms and frowned at her phone, displeased at the location he walked into. "Really Nick? You ought to know better!"

Since there was no one else in the building, Nick walked right up to the counter, grabbing the attention of the bored rabbit behind the counter. A part of him started to wonder if most of the mammals in this part of the world were rabbits. "Well, Carrots, instead of complaining, how about helping me pick? I've got five hungry mammals waiting on me to get back as soon as possible." Luckily, even limited to talking through the phone and trying to decipher the menu through a shaky camera, the four of them were able to get to a rather quick resolution to the issue, much to the amusement to the rabbit behind the counter.

"I have to admit, this was the first time I've seen a conference call for an order by committee," he commented when Nick finalized the order. "You sure you got everything you need?"

Nick read through the list of everything he was going to get, only to realize that something was missing. "I'll need a bottle of water for each," he quickly added, recalling one random conversation he had while on one of those patrols with Count in the back of the car. "Four mediums, one large mammal." The pilot had been telling him how flying required being in peak physical health, along with other variables than can significantly affect performance: sleep or a lack of it, any possible medications, and even hydration, with a lack of water being a major obstacle to being able to pull G's well. And now, Nick wasn't quite sure what was planned for the pilots, but they were at an airbase. Hence the water, just in case.

And as if to remind him just exactly where he was, the loud roar of jet engines overtook the entire building, shaking windows and causing various loose furniture to wobble. Gritting his teeth through the noise, Nick forced himself to endure it and wait it out.

The rabbit behind the counter grinned at him, enjoying his misery. "We get a lot of that from people not used to the local," he commented when the roar finally went away.

From the phone, Finnick also took the opportunity to take the piss on him. "What are you doing at an airport, Nick ya crazy fool! Not gonna fly out of the country on me, are ya?"

"No, I'm not," Nick answered bluntly. "Tell you what? How about you three get your noggins working and help me choose the takeout here. It's going to be for five of us, with the addition being a large herbivore. Got it? Good." And so it was to the great amusement to the rabbit behind the counter that Nick went about, with the help of his phone and the mammals on the other side of the call, making an order by committee. But to his credit, or perhaps because he had nothing better to do and no one else to wait on, he went ahead with the convoluted mess and allowed the four mammals make the long order.

With the supper finally ordered and on its way, Nick gave a final wave to the camera. "Sorry guys, but I will need both paws to carry it all back, so let me call it a night. Carrots, Spots, watch how much Finn is ordering for himself, and keep him in check. You'll all thank me later for that advice. As for me, I miss the city already, but don't worry about me. Wish me luck! Bye!" The grin on his muzzle remained even as Judy ended the call from her end, his screen going blank and the room now suddenly quiet, despite the sound of the kitchen echoing through the place.

"So where are you from, anyways, fox- Nick?"

"Huh?" Nick glanced back at the rabbit behind the counter. It was at this moment that he also realized that with his phone away, it also probably gave the poor guy the first real chance at a conversation with a customer in a while. "Oh, uh, Zootopia. Long story."

"Big city then? Sounds exciting. What brought you over here then? You don't exactly look military, if I may be frank with you. And I doubt you came over just to visit our fair Podunk.

"I thought Podunk was in Deerbrooke County," Nick mumbled lamely, almost on autopilot. His reply did earn him a chuckle of surprise and amusement from the rabbit.

"A mammal of culture and intellect, I see! Very few customers I came across ever heard of that one," he answered instead. "Don't worry, Podunk is in Deerbrooke. Or rather, if I may, one of them is in Deerbrooke. Then you have ours, Podunk of Cropsand County, and if my memory serves me correctly, there's an additional seven or so others scattered throughout the country." The rabbit eyed Nick with an amused expression. "Didn't expect a fox of all mammals to know about that one. No offense, but us bunnies like to stay clear of your kind, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Nick replied with a long sigh, remembering the sight of Judy's Fox Away spray the first time he had met her. He then waved his phone for show. "But my p- coworker is a bunny, believe it or not. That was her who was helping us with that order. That's how I know about a tiny little town that I've never been to in a county I've never been to."

The rabbit rested his elbow on the counter, resting his head against a fist. "A fox and a bunny working together? Now that's a first," he commented, "even for the big city."

"We're not the only coworker pair," Nick added defensively, mind right away thinking of Jack Savage and Skye Winters.

"Not saying that's a bad thing," the rabbit clarified. "But still. A fox and a bunny? Now there's a cute thought!"

"She hates being called cute," Nick muttered sternly, not actually sure if this rabbit would get clearance from Judy's wrath at such a comment or not, due to his species. "Might even beat you up if she heard that."

"Nah. We bunnies get a pass on that! Besides, between you and me, but most bunnies actually don't care a snapped twig about being called cute, even by non-rabbit mammals. Sounds like your coworker had something to prove to the world and wanted to leave some luggage behind." He gave Nick a curious look again. "So since I know where you're from, what is it that you do?"

"Consulting," Nick replied smoothly, falling right down to the lame cover that he was told to use out here. No need to scare the local populace with rumors as to why big city cops were in town. "Just helping out with some complicated paperwork that needed a more personal touch."

"At an airforce base?"

"Like I said: It's complicated."

Luckily for Nick, with the speed and efficiency only offered by Bug-Burga, his food was ready and was brought over, distracting both himself as well as the rabbit. The large bag was nearly as large as he was, much to Nick's disdain. Using his expense card to pay for the transaction, he was glad to discover that for its size, it was quite light and was not going to be a too large of an issue to carry back.

With Finnick staring dumbfound at what he was talking about, both Judy and Clawhauser waved at him, Judy closing the phone call. With a heavy heart, he stuffed the device back into his pocket, lamenting how much he would rather be there with them all, rather than here on his own as he was. Lamely waving at the rabbit at the counter, he left the building, blinking again as his eyes struggled to readjust to the darkness outside.

Remembering the direction he had come from, it didn't take too long at all to get back to the motel. Perhaps not being distracted by a phone call helped, but Nick swore that getting the the Bug-Burga took significantly longer than walking back. Not that he minded, carrying food for five mammals and all. Walking past the identical doors only differentiated by the numbers on them, he stopped at the one where they were staying at. Fishing around for his key card, he produced it and inserted it, grateful for the click of the door unlocking for him.

But before he could enter the room, his ears picked up a voice coming in from the other side. A feminine one, speaking a language that he couldn't recognize. Feeling paranoid, he checked the room number again, the lock timing out on him and locking up again. No, the room was correct. And if the door unlocked and locked back up on him, then it meant even more that he was at the right room.

Despite feeling silly about it, he pressed his ear against the door, listening in. Like he thought, it wasn't a language he recognized. Feeling unease, he combed his mind as to what the cause might be when it hit him. Specifically, he remembered a conversation he had with Bogo to ask the pilots about their internet search history, and specifically why they would want to listen to the speeches from the Princess of Urusia. Some silly unit tradition, was what they explained to him, and that had been that into that investigation.

Shacking his head at how silly and paranoid he was being, Nick swiped his card again, letting the door unlock yet a second time before walking in. "Guys! I'm ba-"

"Shh!"

James was there. And so were Count and Trigger, both freshly washed, if crudely dried and barely combed up. Trigger for his part was already under the covers of the bed, lazily flipping through his aircraft pawbook, while Coutn was content to sit on top and watch the television. Bandog was there too, taking up the only couch in the room, with James left occupying the left over armchair, laptop perched on his legs. The TV on the wall, sure enough, was showing Princess Rosa Cowssette D'Elise of Urusa. For a young adult deer, she was exceptionally pretty as far as Nick could tell, so he can at least understand Count's rapt attention to the live feed, but it hardly explained why the rest were so keen on listening in. Or reading the subtitles, as it were. Well, it was hard to tell if Trigger was paying attention or not, but Bandog was certainly into it.

"I uh, brought supper?" Nick tried again, this time less loudly as he sat the bag down on the table, sliding over the three collars already occupying it. "What's with the TV?"

Peeling their eyes off the television, Count and Trigger slid off their bed and came over to the smell of warm, greasy food. "When the Princess makes a speech, we listen," Count explained quickly, only for him to briefly take his gaze off the TV to take a look at what Nick had brought in. "Hey, Buga-Burger! Just like the first thing you guys gave us when we were finally caught. Trying to start a new tradition on us, Wilde?"

"It was the closest," Nick explained lamely, watching the pilot tear into the bag to grab supper for himself.

"Hey, will you pipe down over there?" Bandog complained loudly. "Actually... Forget it. She's not saying anything new or important. What did you bring back over there, Wilde?" He raised an eyebrow at the wrapped food that Nick had brought over. "What's this?"

"It's Bug-Burga, Bandog, what's it look like?" Count answered. "The finest meal you can get after Four-Four-Four."

"Hmm, I bet." Despite his outward nonchalant attitude as he grabbed his own food, there was no denying the raw pleasure on his muzzle when he finally took his first bite. "God that's good," he mumbled as soon as he was finally able to. Taking a look at Count and Trigger, he shook his head at them. "You two really willing to give this all up just to return to our trash dump of an airbase? Morons the both of you." He went back to eating his food, not bothering to hide just how much he was enjoying the flavor.

Trigger nudged Nick lightly. "We… weren't that bad? Were we?"

Nick smirked. Poor dumbass walked right into this one. "You? No. You were worse. A lot worse." He chuckled at the pilot's visible displeasure. Feeling a pang of sympathy, he quickly added, "but it didn't last, and you got better, don't worry about it."

With the TV largely forgotten, they all quickly finished their food, tossing the greasy wrapping into the trash can when they were done.

Again looking at the laptop, James scanned through the email he received from Bogo. "We've got a long day tomorrow," he announced, "so my recommendation? Let's take a tour around the block to walk the burgers off, then we might as well call it a day." Picking up the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand between the beds, he showed the others the time he set the alarm to. "It's going to be early, so I don't want to hear any complaining. You all have been warned."

Nick grinned again, hiding his unease at the even earlier than normal wake up time. "Eh, I'll be saving my breath to complain tomorrow morning when that thing goes off," he answered honestly, earning himself a playful glare from James.

Despite some grumbling from Count about walking despite the entire day of exercising, the walk around the building did not have any issues, with Bandog using the opportunity to leave into his own neighboring room, leaving Nick and James with just the two pilots when they got back. In an unintentional showing off of their military efficiency, Count and Trigger quickly and quietly got ready to bed, slipping under the covers so quickly that Nick barely had time to even check his phone for any last minute messages from Judy. While visibly making sure to only occupy their own half of the mattress, the pilots at least didn't get into a fight over it. Only a small glow from their collars broke through the darkness in their side of the room. While the cops had reassured them that they didn't need to sleep while wearing the devices, Trigger insisted on not getting the officers in trouble over it, with Count adding his support to the idea by also putting on his own collar before slipping into bed.

James, for his part, was the last one to bed, killing the lights in the room as he did so, leaving himself only illuminated by the laptop screen. Next to him, Nick's muzzle was also lit up by his phone screen. Taking a peak, James grinned when he saw that his fellow officer was busy exchanging messages with Judy, as there was no denying the icon picture of the person on the other end of the conversation. Whatever was going on between them two, but James was strongly suspecting that they were more than just partners on the job. Even police partners didn't message each other all the time like this.

"Better bring that to a close soon, Nick," James said as he shut down the laptop. "I know for a fact that you especially hate early mornings."

"I remember," Nick mumbled back, tapping away at his screen. "I'll be done soon."

Wondering what tomorrow was going to bring, James felt it odd that he was feeling nervous about it all. It wasn't exactly like he was about to be tested tomorrow, unlike the two pilots. And yet, if Trigger's rather noisy snoring was anything to go by, at least one of them wasn't going to lose any sleep over what was going to happen in the future. Letting out a long sigh, her closed his eyes and let himself start to relax.

It sure would have been easier if Trigger didn't snore so much.