A/N: On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me the fourth chapter of this story. Here it is the moment you've all been waiting for the reunion of Hugo and Rita at last! Hugo and Rita are going to be reunited in this chapter and they'll be happy to know that the other is not dead. It looks like they're going to have a Merry Christmas after all! If a certain wolf and his friends don't ruin it for the two friends that is. The wolf and his friends will put Hugo and Rita's friendship to the test to make sure Nero gets his revenge on Rita one way or another hopefully that doesn't happen especially around Christmas time! Anyways, in this chapter: Hugo goes to the den to see his best friend again only to find it empty but he found some tracks in the snow and decides to follow them when he comes upon a large, abandoned church near the graveyard he's scared but determined to find his best friend Rita again and eventually he and Rita are reunited once more and he meets the family once again. How will they react to Hugo being there? Read on and find out!

A Very Furry Christmas Night

Chapter 4: A Very Merry Reunion

Written by: KingSnow5092

The next evening, Hugo and his friends played outside in the snow they made snowmen, snow angels, and even had a snowball fight until they all felt cold and went back inside for some dinner and hot chocolate after the good meal they went their separate ways to do their own thing Charlie and Sally sat in the living room to watch TV, Cheddar was sleeping in his match box bed in his mousehole, and Hugo was inside his bedroom watching cartoons while he covered himself in the blanket, lied sideways, and he rested his head on his paw while he rested his elbow on the pillow. Soon, Hugo closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.

An hour later, Hugo awoke to the sound of the Christmas song playing on the TV he looked at the screen to see that it was a Christmas special about the boy who saw his grandma got run over by the reindeer he tried to tell his parents what had happened but nobody believed him except for his grandpa who saw the whole thing. Hugo yawned as he rubbed his eyes how long had he been out? The screen then cut to the car commercial where the fox mascot is talking about how the company has lower prices for everyone when Hugo saw that he slapped his forehead in forgetfulness. He had almost forgotten about Rita and how much she was in trouble with Animal Control! He needed to get to her before it's too late!

Hugo uncovered himself, he jumped down from the bed, he ran over to the duffel bag, he opened it, and he pulled out a small orange spray can with "Extra Fur Coat" written in black letters on it. The spray that Hugo was holding was the special spray for animals who only had a summer coat and with one spray they had a winter coat too to survive cold weather Dr. Loongoffer had invented the spray to help Hugo survive the cold weather whenever he and his friends would travel to somewhere that's very cold. It was eco-friendly with safe chemicals without any harmful side effects! Hugo was very grateful for him now he can go to cold places without being very cold just like his friend Rita.

He sprayed himself all over his body, he placed the can back into the duffel bag, he closed it, he jumped back up on the bed, he opened the window slightly, and he felt a cool breeze go right through him as he sighed happily. It worked! Now, he has a winter coat just like Rita does. Hugo then opened the door all away up, he stepped out on the windowsill, he closed the window behind him, he then climbed down the pipe, he landed on the ground, he ran over to the fence, he climbed up, he jumped over it, he landed on the other side, and he ran down the street toward Rita's den. Hugo eventually reached Rita's den as he climbed up the snowy hill until he stood in front of Rita's den.

"Rita! I'm here!" Hugo called out.

There was no response.

"Rita! It's me, Hugo!" He called out again.

But there was still no response.

He scratched his head in confusion then he walked into the den to find that there was nobody there! Hugo stood there in shock as he looked around the den wondering where she and her family had gone to then he smelt something nearby he ran toward the spot, took a good whiff, and he gagged as he held his nose at the smell. He could tell that it was Rita's scent because some animals usually mark their territory by urinating or musk the spot where they used to be. There was no doubt about it Rita was definitely here! But where was she now? And for that matter where was her family?

Hugo walked out of the den, he took a deep breath, and exhaled as he sighed in relief the winter air felt a lot better than the stinky smell inside of the den. He turned around about to leave when he slipped on the snow, he slid down the hill, and he landed face first into the ground. He sat up from the ground as he wiped the snow off of his nose then he noticed some tracks in the snow that lead away from the den he examined it closer to realized that they were fox prints! Hugo smiled. These tracks must lead to where Rita and her family were! If he followed the tracks then he'd be able to find Rita and her family again! He stood up and followed the tracks to wherever it may lead him.

A Few Hours Later…

Hugo eventually arrived at the large metal gate where the tracks continued through he stopped in front of the gate and looked up to see a large white abandoned church with a large black rooftop, several small circle windows, a large black double door with door handles, a large white porch with a stairway, a large metal fence with a gate in the middle surrounding the church, and the front yard with several tombstones in front of the church with a pathway in the middle of the graveyard. The lights coming out from the church looked beautiful as the glowed on the snow with a yellowish glow. Hugo stared in awe at the church before him; it looked even more beautiful at night.

Hugo shook his head he then climbed over the fence, he jumped down to the other side, and he followed the tracks until he stopped in front of the large door. Hugo looked at the door for some time wondering how he was going to open it. He turned around to see a large open crack in a window nearby. He grinned in delight maybe he could go through the window. He then walked over to the window, he jumped on some crates near the window, he climbed through the window carefully, and he landed in the front area of the church.

It was a large room with white walls, a brown wooden floor, a row of pews on both sides, a walkway in the middle of the church, a large stage with a stairway leading up to the stage, a large brown podium in the middle of the stage, several stained-glass windows above the room on both sides, and a large cross hanging behind the stage.

Hugo looked around the room searching for the fox family but they were nowhere in sight then he noticed the door to the right of the stage he wondered if the fox family had gone through there but how could they when they don't have thumbs like he does. He walked toward the door and he opened it to see that it goes inwards instead of outwards. He smiled as he nodded his head. The fox family must've used their faces to open the door. He then opened the door all away through, he climbed upstairs, he stopped in front of another door, he opened the door which also opened inwards, he stepped through the door, he closed it behind him, and he turned around to find himself in the large, long hallway.

He saw many doors down the hallway and one door at the end of the hallway that was separated from the rest so he tried out all the doors but the fox family wasn't in anyone of them until he reached the final door. He opened the door very slowly, he peeked his head through, and he saw the fox family were inside the room as they were sleeping peacefully inside of it!

It was a very large room with white walls, a blue carpeted floor, pictures of rainbows, cute animals, and clouds painted on the wall, a large brown toybox with "Toys" written in rainbow-colored letters on it was at the end of the room, a large white bathroom door near the toybox, a large brown round table with chairs in the middle of the room, and a large pile of several different colored pillows in the corner of the room. Frida and her cubs were sleeping on the pile of pillows while Rita was resting in front of the toybox with her own pillow from earlier and the life jacket nearby her. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts her mother was alright with that as long as she doesn't push them away forever.

Hugo smiled hugely he had finally found them especially Rita! So, he opened the door very slowly, he stepped inside, he closed the door behind him gently, he then sneaked into the room on his toes, he then stopped in front of Rita, he sat down on both of his knees in front of her, and he stared at her while smiling. He then noticed the life jacket near her, he picked it up, and examined it. He realized that this was his life jacket it was dry and it had some of his fur on it. Hugo frowned. She must've thought that he had drowned in the sea just like how he had thought that she had drowned in the sea. Poor Rita. She must've been going through emotions as she thought about his so-called demise.

Hugo hated to wake up Rita while she was sleeping but he needed her to know that he was alright so he placed down the life jacket back to its original spot, he placed his paw gently on her shoulder, and he shook her gently.

"Rita, it's me Hugo, please wake up." Hugo whispered to her.

Rita opened her eyes slowly as she heard that voice. She then sat up, she yawned and stretched, she scratched her ear, she blinked a few times, and she was fully awake. She turned around to see Hugo sitting in front of her with a smile on his face. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock she couldn't believe what she was seeing! It was her best friend Hugo sitting right in front of her alive and well! But it couldn't it! Could it? She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating when she looked again sure enough Hugo was sitting right in front of her alive and well!

"Hugo? Is that you?" She asked.

"Yes, Rita, it's me Hugo!" He answered.

Rita sat there for some time until a huge smile spread across her face and she gasped in delight.

"Hugo! It is you!" She shouted cheerfully.

Rita wrapped her arms around him as she pulled him close to her as Hugo wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him too. Hugo and Rita hugged each other for a very long time as he rubbed her back up and down gently and Rita rubbed her head into his shoulder as she purred in delight.

"I've missed you, Rita." Hugo said softly.

"I've missed you too, Hugo." Rita said softly.

"I can't believe that you're alive I thought you were dead by drowning in the sea I saw your life jacket near the docks." Hugo said.

"I thought that you had drowned too because I've found your life jacket on my pillow it was all wet so I assumed the worst!" Rita said.

"Well, we're both alive and that's all that matters." Hugo said.

"Yes, Hugo, that's all that matters!" Rita agreed.

Hugo and Rita raised their heads as they stared at each other with warm smiling faces but still held on to each other. They were happy to be together again especially around the holiday season. It looked like they were going to have a Merry Christmas after all! Hugo and Rita released each other as they sat down on the pillow together. Hugo then stared at his fox friend with a concerned look on his face. "What happened Rita? Why is Animal Control after you?" He asked. She explained the whole story to him after she was finished Hugo stared at her in shock and disbelief. Hugo then growled in anger as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists together at the thought that someone would frame his best friend.

"That's terrible! Who would frame a sweet fox like you?" Hugo asked angrily.

"I don't know but whoever it was must have had a grudge against me." Rita said as she shook her head.

Hugo then placed his paw on her shoulder as he smiled at her and said. "Well, don't worry Rita I promise that I will protect you from Animal Control just like how you protect me from the people who are trying to capture me because I'm a rare jungle animal."

Rita rubbed her head on his chest and said. "I know you will."

Hugo smiled as he rubbed his head on hers.

"What about you Hugo? What happened after the tidal wave hit?" Rita asked as she raised her head up.

He explained the whole story to her when he was finished Rita smiled at him she was amazed that Charlie's mother had a large house in the city where she was a cook just like her son but she cooks vegan food instead of meaty foods like Charlie does and she was happy to hear that the mouse who had entered their den in the forest had a home to live in she was also glad that there was another human who was just as kind as Charlie was. She would love to meet Charlie's mother and the mouse that he had mentioned earlier if her mother would allow her to leave that is. She knew that Animal Control was after her and her mother was overprotective but with some convincing she was sure her mother would change her mind.

"That's sounds amazing I could come with you to visit if my mother lets me." Rita said.

"Oh, it is! And I'm sure we can convince your mother to let you come with me after all we're able to take care of ourselves." Hugo assured her as he waved her off.

Rita giggled and said. "You got that right!"

They chuckled until they heard a voice from behind them.

"Rita? What are you doing up?"

Hugo and Rita turned around to see Frida walking up toward them with a tired look on her face. She then stopped in front of them and she lied down on her stomach as she crossed her arms together staring at the two of them. But then Frida's eyes widened in surprise to see Hugo sitting next to her daughter!

"Hugo? Is that you?" She asked.

Hugo nodded as he grinned sheepishly and waved at her.

"Hi, Mrs. Fox." Hugo greeted.

Frida smiled warmly at the koala as she patted him on the head and said. "I'm glad that you're alright, dear."

Hugo and Rita turned to each other then they looked back at their mother with confused faces they hadn't suspected that kind of greeting from her especially Hugo he had suspected Frida to have either yelled at him or snarl at him for taking her daughter away from her but instead she was happy to see him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Fox. But aren't you mad at me for taking your daughter away?" He asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I'm a little mad that you took my daughter away." She answered as she frowned angrily at him.

But then she smiled and said. "But you only did it to protect her and I thank you for that."

"Really?" He asked.

Frida nodded at him and said. "Really."

She then placed her paw on his head.

"She explained to me what had happened after you two left the den you went on so many adventures you even saved Rita many times from criminals who wanted to catch her and make her their pet, evil jungle animals trying to eat her, and nearly drowning in the river during the flood. She also told me how many times she had saved you from everyone trying to capture you because you are a rare jungle animal. You are very good friends and she's very lucky to have a friend like you. You are a very good friend to my daughter. Thank you for all you had done for her." Frida explained as she patted him on the head.

Hugo blushed as he scratched the back of his head and said. "Well, I do anything for Rita after we have to look out for each other."

"And I do anything for Hugo." Rita added.

Frida smiled warmly at them as she moved her paw away from the yellow koala then they heard three voices from behind them.

"It's Hugo!"

The three of them turned around to see Jerry, Terry, and Sherry running up toward the koala then they pounced on them as they licked his face quickly with Hugo giggling while trying to get them off in the progress.

"You're alive, Hugo!" Jerry shouted.

"We thought that we've lost you!" Terry shouted.

"Rita told us all about you." Sherry said.

"Yes, Yes, I'm alive now get off of me please you're tickling me." Hugo said between giggles.

"OK! OK! Young cubs that's enough!" Frida shouted playfully.

The three cubs quickly got off the koala, they sat down in front of him, Hugo stood up, he wiped his face off, and they all stared at each other with smiling faces.

"We're sorry, Hugo." They said in unison.

"Oh, that's okay you were just excited to see me." Hugo assured them as he waved his paw at them.

'Thank God that I don't have siblings.' Hugo thought to himself.

"Rita told us all about you Hugo and the adventures that you had with her." Jerry said.

"She did?" Hugo asked as he looked at the vixen.

Rita nodded to him.

"What happened to you Hugo and we thought you were dead?" Terry asked.

Hugo explained the whole story to them about what had happened after he, Rita, and Charlie got swept away by the tidal wave, his time at Sally's house, his new friend Cheddar, and how he found out on the news about the incident with the alley cats when he was finished they all stared at him in amazement it must've been one crazy adventure for him to have.

"But must have been one adventure that you had!" Sherry said.

"It sure was!" Hugo said, nodding.

"What matters is that Hugo is alive and we're together again." Rita said.

"That's right, we're all together again and just in time for Christmas!" Hugo agreed.

Hugo and Rita hugged each other as the cubs watched on giggling at the sight before them but then they heard their mother cleared her throat they turned to see her glaring at them with an angry face then they stopped giggling and they put on straight faces. The cubs wondered what Christmas was all about they never had Christmas before since their mother never lets them out of the den other than to play outside of the den with her supervision that is.

"Hugo?" Jerry called out.

Hugo and Rita released each other from the hug and they turned to the cubs.

"What is it?" Hugo asked.

"What is Christmas?" Jerry asked.

"Yeah what is Christmas all about?" Terry asked.

"Why is everyone excited about Christmas?" Sherry asked.

Hugo and Rita giggled then they stared at the cubs with warm smiling faces.

"I'm glad you asked! You see Christmas is the holiday that some humans celebrate on December 25th because some of them believed that it was the birthday of Jesus Christ at least that's what Charlie told us when we first found out about it and how there's peace on Earth where everyone gets along and become friends during the holidays. It's also the day where friends and family gathered together to be around each other to share happy memories and spend time together to feel warm and comfortable around each other. There's also the Christmas tree with decorations, light, and presents underneath it left by Santa himself. Sometimes they throw parties, hang up mistletoe, stockings, yule logs, and many more things It's the most wonderful time of the year!" Hugo explained as he smiled at them with his arms in the air.

"WOW!" They all shouted in amazement.

"Food? What kind of food?" Terry asked as he leaned forward.

"A lot actually like a huge turkey with stuffing, chestnut dressing, ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, sweet potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce, fruits, pumpkin pie, and my favorite of all bananas!" Hugo explained cheerfully as he raised his head and arms in the air.

"Mm! Sounds yummy!" Terry said as he rubbed his tummy.

"Oh, it is yummy!" Hugo agreed as he nodded his head.

"Right! As long as you save some for us?" Rita asked sarcastically.

Hugo grinned as he shrugged sheepishly.

"Who's Santa Claus?" Jerry asked.

"Santa Claus is the kind-hearted human who is magical with help from his elves he makes all kinds of presents for all the kids around the world he uses his magical reindeer and sleigh to fly all around the world to deliver their presents to them and he comes back to rest after his job is done he also gives his workers presents too for a job well done." Hugo explained.

"Oh wow! He's sounds so cool!" Jerry shouted cheerfully as he jumped up and down.

"He is cool but we've hadn't seen him yet but we did hear of him and we did meet one of his helpers." Rita said.

"We sure did!" Hugo agreed.

"What are presents? Do we get presents too?" Sherry asked.

Hugo and Rita nodded to her.

"Of course! Everyone gets presents from Santa. He's the kindest human in the universe but as long as your good that is! You see Santa watches you every year to see if you're good or bad so if you've been good this year then you'll get whatever present you've wanted!" Hugo answered as he clasped his paws together.

"Hooray!" The cubs cheered.

"But however!" Hugo interjected.

The cubs looked at the koala with confused faces.

"If you've been very bad this year then you don't get presents at all, instead you'll get a big lump of coal! Coal is one present that you don't want to get this year because it will let you know that you've been very bad this year and coal is Santa's way of saying you've been a very naughty child so if you continue to misbehave then no more presents for you instead you'll get nothing but coal for all these years so try to behave next year please." Hugo warned them as he glared and wagged his finger at them.

The cubs gasped as stared at him in shock.

"Oh! That's terrible!" Sherry said.

"But don't worry if you do something nice and apologize for what you did then you'll get as much presents as you like." Hugo assured them with a smile on his face as he waved at them.

The cubs smiled as they sighed in relief then they turned to their mother to ask her a question.

"Hey, mom! Can we have Christmas please?" Jerry asked.

"Yeah can we?" Terry asked.

"Please! Please! Please!" Sherry asked repeatedly.

Frida laughed and said. "Yes cubs we can celebrate Christmas!"

The cubs cheered as they hugged their mother and she hugged them back.

"Great! Come on, let's go to Sally's house to celebrate Christmas!" Hugo told them.

"Hold it!" Frida shouted, holding up her paw to him.

Hugo, Rita, and the cubs looked at the adult fox in confusion.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Fox?" Hugo asked.

"We can't go out." Frida answered.

"Why not?" The cubs moaned.

"Because Animal Control is still out there searching for Rita and if she gets captured by them then she'll be in danger." She answered.

Hugo slapped his forehead and said. "Oh yeah! That's right! I forgot about that!"

Rita nodded sadly and said. "Yeah, if Animal Control captures me then it will be all over."

"Aw!" The cubs moaned sadly as they bowed their heads.

Hugo then had an idea.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Hugo shouted from out of the blue.

The foxes looked at the koala and they asked. "What?"

Hugo turned to the foxes with a smug smile on his face, crossed his arms, and said. "Well, if we can't go to Sally's house then why not we celebrate Christmas here?"

Frida smiled warmly and said. "That's actually a great idea, Hugo!"

"Yeah!" The cubs agreed.

"Great idea, Hugo! That way I don't have to miss celebrating Christmas with you!" Rita agreed.

"Then it settled!" Hugo shouted as he pounded his fist into his paw.

Everyone cheered until they heard the voice from behind them.

"What's going on here?!" A voice bellowed from behind.

The five of them turned around to see Nero standing in the doorway with an angry face with two vultures behind him and their names were Under and Taker. Under was a male black vulture with blue eyes, a round pink head, a long pink neck, a yellow beak, a large black body, two large black wings, a long black tail feather, and two yellow feet and Taker was a male brown vulture with green eyes, a round pink head, a long pink neck, a yellow beak, a large brown body, two large brown wings, a long brown tail feather, and two yellow feet. They were Nero's friends who helped him out with his work and also clean up the leftover mess when he does his dirty work. They lived together in this church to keep away from humans.

"Oh, we're sorry to wake you Nero we were just happy that our friend Hugo is alive and well." Frida responded.

"Hugo?" Nero asked.

Nero and his friends walked up to the koala and the fox family to see Hugo standing there as he smiled and waved at him.

"Hello, I'm Hugo the rare jungle animal." Hugo greeted as he pointed to himself with his thumb.

Nero examined him all over and said. "You look more like a koala to me."

"Well, I could be a koala and primate hybrid of some kind but I like to think of myself as more of a koala than the jungle animal." Hugo said, shrugging.

"Indeed! My name is Nero an old childhood friend of Rita's." Nero said, pointing to himself.

"I'm Under." The black vulture introduced himself.

"And I'm Taker." The brown vulture introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Hugo said as they all shook their paws and wings.

Hugo then turned to Rita and said. "Rita, you never told me that you had a childhood friend back in this city."

"Well, it was a very long time ago and I was so caught up with our adventures it must've slipped my mind." Rita said as he covered her mouth.

"That's okay, we all forget things sometimes." Hugo assured her as he waved at her.

"Anyways, I live in this abandoned church to get away from the humans who want to hurt animals like me because I'm a wolf and all wolves are considered to be dangerous to everyone because of the media making us look like villains which is somewhat true because there are bad wolves out there but not every wolf is bad but they don't care about that. Luckily, there are kind-hearted humans who protect wolves and believed that not all of us are bad but I still like living here just to play it safe." Nero explained.

"That's horrible! I'm so sorry to hear about that." Hugo said in a sympathetic tone.

"Thank you but it's not all bad I have two friends here to help me out they are Under and Taker who eat the remaining scraps of kill that I bring home to throw off the humans' suspicions of where any animal like me might be." Nero said as he pointed to the vultures behind him with his thumb.

"That's us alright!" Under said.

"We take care of any leftover dead animal since we're scavengers and all." Taker added.

"That's good!" Hugo said, nodding.

Nero nodded in agreement.

"I also live here because of how big this church is with plenty of room to run around in." Nero said.

"I'll say this place is big enough to fit two thousand animals!" Hugo agreed.

"It sure does!" Nero said, chuckling a bit.

"It's also a perfect place to hide Rita and her family since Animal Control is after her now after the incident with the alley cats." Nero said.

"Indeed, those alley cats are as dead as a doornail." Under said.

"It's the shame that we didn't go out because we would've had a lot of cat food if we went there." Taker said.

"Why didn't you two go out then?" Hugo asked, shrugging his shoulders.

The vultures looked at him with surprised faces.

"And freeze ourselves to death in the cold snowy weather?!" The vultures shouted in unison.

"Oh, right, sorry about that." Hugo said as he grinned sheepishly.

"That's alright, but still we wished we had some cat food yesterday." Under said, waving his wing at him.

"Yeah! That would've tasted great!" Taker agreed.

"Anyways, I was wondering would it be alright if we setup some Christmas decorations and celebrated in this church?" Hugo asked.

"Help yourself but make sure you keep the noise down while me and my friends are sleeping." Nero said, nodding.

"Thank you!" Hugo shouted cheerfully.

"You're quite welcome." Nero said.

He then yawned and said. "Now, if you don't mind I like to get some sleep please."

"Of course, we're sorry we disturbed you." Hugo said.

"That's okay but try to keep the noise down please." Nero said.

"We will." They all said in unison.

"Thank you and good night." Nero said.

"Good night!" The vultures said in unison.

"Good night!" They all said in unison.

The three of them walked out of the room and closed the door behind them leaving Hugo and the fox family inside the room as they all stared at each other with smiling faces. Hugo then turned to Rita to ask her about Nero.

"So, Rita, how long have you've known Nero?" Hugo asked.

She turned to him and said. "Ever since childhood."

"Childhood?" Hugo asked in a surprise tone.

Rita nodded.

"You see a long time ago we've been best friends before I met you but then one night all of that changed after my father's death." Rita said.

"What happened?" Hugo asked.

Rita frowned as she looked down and said. "It all began that very night…"

-Flashback-

On the summer moonlit night there were two foxes walking down the alleyway searching for something to eat the first one was a young female red fox with blue eyes, black tipped curved ears, a black nose, sharp teeth, white muzzle/inner-fur, black paws, and a long fluffy tail with a white tip on it named Rita and the second one was an adult male red fox with green eyes, short ears, a black nose, sharp teeth, white muzzle/inner-fur, black paws, muscular-figured, and a long fluffy tail with a white tip on it named Harry. Harry was Rita's father and Frida's husband back when he was alive.

"Daddy? Where are we going?" Rita asked as she looked up at her father.

"We're going behind the restaurant to get something to eat." Harry responded as he looked down at her.

"Alright! I love going behind the restaurants to get something to eat!" Rita shouted cheerfully.

"I know you do." Harry said, chuckling.

"I just wished that mommy would relax a bit about me going behind restaurants I know she's worried about my safety but she can be overprotective sometimes." Rita said angrily.

"I know dear but you have to understand she's right to worry about you after all humans hate foxes because they believe that we are evil animals who attack them for no reason at all and sometimes they even hunt us down for fur coats and other things." Harry told her sternly.

"Yes daddy I know and I appreciate her concern but still she can be a little overprotective sometimes." Rita said, nodding.

Harry chuckled and said. 'Yeah, that's your mother for you but I still love her anyway."

"Me too, daddy, me too." Rita agreed.

Harry then stopped in front of the fence and Rita stopped too as she looked up at him confused.

"Why did we stop daddy?" She asked him.

Harry smiled at her and said. "We're here!"

"Alright!" Rita cheered.

"Shh." Harry shushed her with his finger to his lips.

Rita blushed as she grinned sheepishly and said. "Sorry."

Her father then motioned her to follow him which she did they climbed up on some trash cans, they jumped over the fence, they landed on the dumpster, and they landed behind the fence where the back of the restaurant was. Rita sniffed the air and her mouth watered as she licked her lips. Her father looked around the area and behind the alleyway to make sure that nobody was watching them and being on the lookout for alley cats who wanted to steal the food first when the coast was clear her father walked toward the dumpster, he lifted the lid up with his paws, the lid opened all away up, he picked up his daughter with his teeth carefully, he placed her inside the dumpster, and the two of them dug around the dumpster for their dinner.

After they had their dinner Rita found the cream pie sitting in the dumpster near the fence, she picked it up with her teeth, she carried it toward her father, she placed it down in front of him, and the two of them had their dessert too.

"Hey! What are you foxes doing there?" A gruff male voice cried out.

The foxes stopped eating and turned around to see the chef (the same one from chapter 2) standing there with a red angry face with gritted teeth and his fists clenched together like he was about to fight the two foxes in front of him. But then the chef saw that Harry had whipped cream all over his mouth he gasped in horror and screamed as he pointed to the male fox in fear.

"Rabies! That fox has rabies!" The chef shouted.

The chef then pulled out his cellphone, dialed the number, he held it up to his ear, and he spoke into his phone.

"Hello! Hello! Get me Animal Control there's two foxes behind the restaurant and one of them has rabies please get here quickly!" The chef shouted.

"Rabies?" Rita asked. "But daddy you don't have rabies!"

"No, but with this whipped cream all over my face it looks like I have rabies!" He told her.

Rita gasped her father was right it did look like that he had rabies with whipped cream all over his face!

"Come on, we got to get out of here!" Harry told her.

She nodded then she jumped out of the dumpster and the two of them ran away from the restaurant but unfortunately for them the chef took their picture on they're not looking and was ready to show Animal Control to them. After a while, they stopped in front of another alleyway as they catch their breaths thinking that they were safe now but little did they know that they were wrong because after they had caught their breaths they saw headlights behind them. They gasped in fear, ran into the alleyway, and hid behind the row of garbage cans. They stood still trying to be as quiet as possible so nobody could hear them.

A large red truck with "Animal Control" written in large black letters on the large white square on the truck stopped right in front of the alleyway then three workers came out from the truck as they began to search for the two foxes.

The first worker was a female Caucasian-American human with blue eyes, waist-length red hair, red lipstick, tall, slender, and curvy figured, long red fingernails, wearing a green hat, a green worker uniform, and black boots named Roxie, the second worker was a male African-American human with brown eyes, short white hair, white moustache, slim figured, wearing the same hat and uniform as the woman, and black boots named Jack, and the final worker was a male heavy-set Caucasian-American human with green eyes, short brown hair, a thick brown beard, wearing the same hat and uniform as his other workers, and black boots named Mack.

The three of them were workers for Animal Control but they also had a dark secret as well sometimes they turn animals especially foxes into fur coats for their own entertainment or to sell them on the black market nobody knows about their dark secret and they had been getting away with it for a very long time! Animal Control usually helps out animals in need and keep them safe from harm but Roxie's Animal Control is different because instead of helping out animals they kill animals and sell their fur coats for black markets and money! But the whole city isn't aware of that and this is one Animal Control you don't want to call!

"Let's go find those foxes boys." Roxie commanded.

"Yes madame!" The two of them saluted to her.

They searched the whole area but they couldn't find them anywhere much to the foxes' relief they stood behind the garbage cans until the humans went away but as they were sitting there a shadow figure of some sort of canine walked up behind them quietly and it sat down behind them. It saw the humans looking for the foxes then the figure grinned evilly in the shadows it lifted his head up and howled loudly getting the humans' attentions. The humans turned around to the source of the sound then they saw the two foxes hiding behind the garbage cans with scared faces as they tried to duck back behind the cans but it was already too late because the humans had seen them.

"There they are!" Jack shouted as he pointed down the alleyway.

"Get them!" Roxie commanded.

The three humans ran into the alleyway as the shadow figure quickly ducked behind the trash can luckily for the figure it was too dark for them to see the figure but unluckily for the foxes the humans were heading their way! Harry looked at the humans coming toward them, he then looked at his daughter to see her shaking in fear as she covered her face, he frowned then he turned back to the humans as the idea came to him it was dangerous and he might get caught but he loved his daughter very much and he must protect her even if it meant his own life so he sighed heavily as he placed his paw on her shoulder. Rita looked up to see her father staring down at her sadly.

"Daddy?" She asked.

"Rita, I'm going to go out and distract the humans while you run back home." Harry told her.

Rita gasped as she stared at her father with a shocked look on her face as her eyes widened and her mouth agape.

"Daddy! No! They'll capture you!" She protested.

Harry nodded and said. "I know honey but I just don't want you to get hurt so you must leave me."

Rita shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks then she clung to his leg tightly and said. "NO! I don't want to leave you."

He patted her on the head and said. "I don't like this plan as much as you do sweetheart but I'm your father and you must do what I say."

Rita looked up at her father with a tear-strained face as she sighed sadly she knew that her father was right she was young and had her whole life ahead of her and her mother will worry about her if she wasn't back home also she knew that her father was the strong fighter and is able to protect himself maybe he could fight off the humans and come back home safely.

Rita then nodded her head and said. "OK, daddy."

"Good girl." He said as he patted her on the head.

"Can I hug you please?" She asked him.

"Yes, dear." He answered.

Harry lied down on his stomach in front of her, she wrapped her arms around him into a hug, and Harry wrapped his arms around her into a hug too. They hugged for a while as Rita sobbed into his shoulder and Harry rubbed her back up and down as he hushed her trying to comfort her.

"There, there, Rita, it's going to be okay I'll be fine I promise and remember I'll always be with you in your heart." Harry said softly.

"Yes, daddy. I love you." Rita said between sobs.

"I love you too, dear." Harry said as he felt tears in his eyes but he wiped them away.

After a while, they pulled away from the hug then Harry stood up from the ground and ran out of the alleyway as he growled at the humans to get their attention. They turned around to see Harry standing there growling at them while baring his teeth. The humans backed away slowly from the fox as Rita slowly walked out of the alleyway since they were occupied with Harry they didn't even notice the fox cub sneaking past them. Harry crouched back and was about to pounce on the humans when Roxie pulled out a tranquilizer gun from her uniform and shot Harry in the shoulder as he yelled in pain and landed on the snow.

Rita stopped and turned around after she heard a gun shot she saw her father lying in the snow knocked out by the tranquilizer dart in his arm she gasped in horror she thought her father was shot with a real gun and he died from the wound since she was far away from them.

"DADDY!" She screamed.

The two men then lifted the fox up in their arms as they carried him toward the truck like movers carried furniture to the moving truck the woman opened the back of the truck, they tossed the fox into the back, the woman slammed the door, they walked back to the truck, and they drove down the road to their workplace. Rita sniffled as she wiped away the tears from her eyes then she turned around and walked back home sadly to tell her family the bad news.

-End of Flashback-

"After that night, my mother became overprotective of me and my siblings because of what had happened to my father so we all stayed in the den until one day Nero came into the den and asked me to come play with him I wanted to but I was afraid that I might lose him just like how I lost my father so I refused and I told him that I didn't want to be friends with him anymore after I told him my reason. He got angry and we got into the fight until we broke up our friendship, he stormed out of the den, and I've never saw him again. Until now, that is we made amends and became friends again. But still, I'll never forget that night when I lost my father to those evil humans from Animal Control." Rita finished explaining.

She sniffled as she rubbed her eyes to wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks Hugo stared at her sadly he felt sad for his friend after all that had happened to her it must have been traumatizing to see her father getting shot by the humans and taking him away from her never to be seen again. Hugo wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her into a hug and Rita wrapped her arms around Hugo and pulled herself into his hug accepting his embrace. Hugo and Rita embraced as he rubbed her back up and down gently as Rita rested her head on his shoulder as she sobbed lightly. Her mother and siblings watched on with sad looks on their faces feeling sad for their daughter and sister with the trauma she went through.

"I'm sorry about your father, Rita." Hugo said softly.

"Thank you, Hugo, I miss him so much!" Rita said between sobs.

"I know." Hugo said softly.

They stood there in silence until Hugo decided to say something to cheer up his fox friend.

"Hey Rita, look at me." Hugo said.

Rita lifted her head up from his shoulder as Hugo wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"Remember what your father told you before he died?" Hugo asked her.

"Yes, I do." Rita answered.

"He said that he'll always be in your heart." Hugo said.

Rita smiled softly and nodded she had remembered her father had told her that before he died.

"Yes, your right Hugo! He's still with me in spirit and my heart!" Rita said cheerfully.

"That's right, he'll always be with you!" Hugo agreed.

The two of them hugged again as the fox family smiled warmly at the scene before them then the two of them pulled away from the hug as they smiled at each other.

"Thank you Hugo, I feel much better now." She said.

"You're welcome Rita, that's what friends are for." He said.

Rita kissed him on the cheek as Hugo smiled as he rubbed his cheek and sighed.

"Eww! They're kissing!" Jerry shouted as he pointed at them.

The cubs laughed as they rolled around the floor.

"KIDS! That's enough!" Frida shouted as she stomped the floor.

The cubs stopped and they sat up straight as they stared at their mother with sheepish grins.

Hugo and Rita looked at each other as they smiled and shook their heads.

Frida then turned to the koala and the fox.

"Now, I hate to break up this tender moment but it's time to go back to sleep." Frida said.

"Yes, mom." Rita said, nodding her head at her mother.

"Yeah, I better head back home Charlie and Sally might be worried about me." Hugo agreed as he pointed to the door with his thumb.

"Will you come back tomorrow?" Rita asked.

"Duh! Of course, I will and I'll bring some decorations as much as possible." Hugo told her.

"Alright, good night Hugo!" Rita said as she waved and giggled at him.

"Good night, Rita!" Hugo said, waving back at her.

He then turned to the fox family and said. "Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Hugo!" The cubs said waving to him.

"Good night, Mrs. Fox." Hugo said, waving to the mother fox.

"Good night, Hugo, and please call me Frida." She told him.

"Alright, good night!" Hugo said, waving to them.

Hugo then walked out of the door, down the stairs, through the room, he climbed out the window, he walked down the path, he climbed over the fence, he jumped over it, he landed on the other side, and he ran back to his home for some sleep. The fox family was fast asleep in the playroom with Rita joining them this time because she felt much better now knowing that her best friend Hugo was alive but as they were snoozing they were unaware of three certain animals who were eavesdropping on their conversation it was Nero and his friends. They were on their way back to their room when they heard Rita explaining about what had happened to her father so they stopped, snuck behind the door, and listened into their conversation.

Nero chuckled evilly as he turned to his vulture friends.

"Everything's going according to my plan." Nero said.

"I don't get it Nero why are you letting Rita and her family sleeping here when Animal Control is after her?" Under asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't you be luring her out into her getting captured?" Taker asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

Nero growled as he slapped the two birds across their faces.

"You idiots! I wanted to gain their trust first!" Nero shouted angrily.

The vultures turned as they looked at each other with confused faces then they turned back to their leader wondering what he meant.

Nero sighed as he face-palmed in frustration at the vultures' stupidity he removed his paw and looked at them angrily.

"OK! Let me go over it one more time! First, I become friends with Rita again by gaining her trust that I'm still a good kind-hearted wolf I was to her a long time ago and her family's trust too. Then after I had gained their trust I get to spend more time with Rita alone without her family or Hugo for that matter. Then when it's nearly time for Christmas I tried to sabotage Hugo and Rita's relationship by making Rita lose her trust in Hugo they get into the fight and they lose their friendship with each other. Finally, when the time is right I lure Rita outside wherever Animal Control might be then I lure her into the trap, she gets captured, I follow them, and I've finally got Rita where I want her!" Nero explained.

Under and Taker smiled as they nodded their heads to him.

"Oh! Now we get it!" Under and Taker said in unison.

"Good!" Nero said, nodding to them.

"But one more question though." Taker asked, raising his wing.

"What?!" Nero asked angrily.

"Why did you get Rita's father killed?" Taker asked.

Nero grinned evilly and said. "I'm glad that you asked."

"Well, sometimes when I spend time with Rita her father always follows us secretly because he thinks that I'm being a bad influence on her with some of the trouble we had caused like raiding dumpsters, teasing cats, scaring humans, and other stuff too. Her father had warned her about me and how dangerous it could be to hang out with me so I had enough when I heard that Animal Control Roxie and her workers works in has a dark secret of turning animals into fur coats so I've hatched the plan to get her father out of the way by him being captured by that kind of Animal Control and it worked." Nero explained.

"But how?" Under asked, scratching his head.

"Simple, when she and her father were out getting something to eat I've followed him around secretly without them even knowing about it then when I heard someone call Animal Control on them that's when I made my move after I followed them in the alleyway I snuck out from behind the garbage cans, howled loudly, the humans heard me, I hid behind the cans, her father got captured, and was taken away forever! Only problem is it worked too well because Rita told me that she didn't want to be my friend anymore so we got into the fight and ended our relationship together. So, I've plotted all these years until I had overheard at her den that she was back in town and I put another plan in action and the rest is history." He explained.

"Wow! That's a very good plan!" Under shouted quietly.

"Yeah! You're a genius!" Taker agreed.

Nero nodded as he grinned and said. "Naturally."

"Now, come along you two let's rest up before we start our plan tomorrow!" Nero told them.

"Yes sir!" They said as they saluted to him.

The three of them walked back to their room to get some rest.

A/N: End of Chapter 4. Hooray! Hugo and Rita are reunited again! But uh oh, Nero and his goons are up to no good they are toying with Rita's emotions so they could gain her trust in order to lure her into the trap for Animal Control! Roxie and her goons are not a kind-hearted Animal Control workers they are evil Animal Control workers who are selling fur coats into the black market for money just like they did to her father! We can only hope that Rita doesn't fall for Nero's trap before it's too late! But only time will tell. In the next chapter: Hugo decorates the whole playroom for Christmas and has some fun not without a few problems of course! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Thank you!

Fun Fact #1: Roxie and her goons business are based on and inspired by Cruella De Ville along with Jasper and Horace from Disney's 101 Dalmatians. I thought it would be more exciting to have some dark secret with the Animal Control that Roxie and her goons are working in by having a dark secret to kill animals and turning them into fur coat for money and for the black market! Animal Control actually helps out animals in need, take care of them, and find them homes. But Roxie's Animal Control is a scam to sell animals for their fur coats! This is one Animal Control you don't want to call!

Fun Fact #2: "Grandma Got Run Over By The Reindeer (2000)" is the Easter Egg in this chapter based on both the song and the Christmas special too. I don't own that franchise it belongs to its' company but I do own the reference to it.

Fun Fact #3: The vultures Under and Taker is the play on for the word "Undertaker" since they are vultures who feast on the dead which is actually true because vultures are animals who are scavengers that eat dead animals so their corpses don't rot and smell around the world. I was originally going to make them wolves but I changed them to vultures because I thought it would be more interesting that way and they are also based on the vultures from "Disney's Snow White and the Severn Dwarves" from the end of the movie where the evil queen falls to her doom and the vultures eat her.

Read and Review please! BUT NO FLAMES ALLOWED! Criticism is welcomed.