"Tag! Got you!"

"No, you didn't! I was at base!"

"We're not doing bases this time, Peter! Stop cheating!"

Vivian couldn't hold back her amused smile as she heard Bonnie call out to the kits, "Peter, you need to follow the rules of the game, honey!"

"But, Mom-"

"No 'buts.' Now, follow the rules or do something else!" The Hopps matriarch then added mischievously, "There are plenty of things that I could have you do instead…"

There wasn't a response from the younger bunny, but judging by how quickly the next game had started, the older vixen could tell one wasn't needed. Vivian looked up from her book at Bonnie, who sat down next to her on the back porch. "Is everything good out there?" she asked.

Bonnie smiled as she nodded. "Yeah, sometimes things get a little competitive, especially with the little ones."

Vivian chuckled. "Nick and Skye were like that too, and still are in some ways. Guess you never outgrow that."

"Tell me about it." Bonnie then looked at the food trays that had been brought out and noticed that they were almost empty. She grabbed two of them and stood, saying, "I'll be right back; just need to refill these." At Vivian's nod, the doe left and entered the house.

The vixen smiled as she looked over the backyard to see a large group of kits playing together in the summer sun. It was the third week of August, and that meant that summer break was about to end for the kits. So, after a few weeks of planning, the Wildes came up to the Hopps home to have a little weekend get together.

An exclamation from one of her kits grabbed her attention, and Vivian turned to see Nick and Skye playing with some of the younger Hopps children. Admittedly, it was a little odd to see two fox kits playing alongside numerous bunny kits (seeing as how they towered over the smaller mammals), but it also didn't feel out of place. Vivian couldn't help but laugh as Nick held his arms out and started acting like a zombie, only for the kits to jump and start hanging off them. If he minded, Nick didn't let it show, and he and his sister just rolled along with it. Suddenly, someone called out for Skye, and the vixen turned to see that it was Jack, holding his guitar and gesturing to come with him, Judy sitting at the base of the tree behind him. With that, she left Nick to the fate of the small bunny swarm.

"Skye, don't leave me!" the todd playfully called out.

"Every fox for themselves!" his sister tossed over her shoulder, laughing as she followed the striped bunny. Before Nick could say anything in response, more of the Hopps kits piled up on him, eventually bringing him down.

"Ah! Mayday! Mayday! Fox going down!"

Vivian shook her head in amusement as she saw her kit disappear under the swarm of bunnies. She could faintly hear Stu call out to the kits to let Nick breathe, and slowly they got off him. She then called out to him, "You OK, Slick?"

"Yeah," Nick said as he got up and dusted himself off. He then smirked as he added, "And they say us foxes are dangerous."

Vivian rolled her eyes as her son came up next to her. "You having fun, sweetie?"

Nick nodded as he sat down next to her to catch his breath. "Yeah. We always have fun coming out here." He then flexed his arm. "They're starting to get heavier."

"Try not to hurt yourself," his mother said. Nick snorted as he stretched for a few seconds. "You ready for school next Monday?"

"I guess," Nick answered, shrugging a bit. "I'd rather do something else, though."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

The younger fox paused as he tried to think of an answer, only for nothing to come. Eventually, he said, "OK, well, now that you've put me on the spot, I can't think of anything, so…"

Vivian giggled. "School's not that bad, Slick; you'll be done before you know it."

"Here's hoping," Nick agreed, causing the older fox to roll her eyes again. A call from one of the kits drew his attention, and he took a breath before standing again. "Well, duty calls," the todd said with a smile before heading in the direction of the voice.

Vivian watched as he and some of the other kits started playing tag and she let out a content sigh. Honestly, she and the kits needed this. With Nick and Skye starting their second year of high school in a few days, and with how tiring work was becoming, it was nice to get away and visit their friends. Vivian looked out over the countryside, taking in the view of the farmland and the fresh air. She smiled to herself before it fell slightly.

'I wish you were here with us, Jon.'

Despite two and a half years having gone by since her late husband's passing, the familiar sting in her heart never went away whenever she thought of him. Vivian could remember all those discussions they had about moving to the countryside once the kits had moved out and they themselves had retired, as her mate loved the open space. Though the vixen was far from retired, and she was just visiting, it felt like a sick joke that she could experience this and that he could not.

Vivian sighed and set her book aside, now convinced that she'll never finish it. She then stood, making her way to the back door. Once she entered the house, she walked through the living room and to the kitchen, dodging kits along the way. A moment later, she reached it, and saw Bonnie at work chopping up fruits and vegetables to bring outside.

"Mind if I help?"

Bonnie turned and smiled when she saw the vixen. "Sure. Grab a knife and help me with these veggies." Vivian nodded, and after grabbing one, joined her friend in slicing and dicing. After a few minutes, the doe looked at her and said, "Penny for your thoughts."

Vivian gave a small smile. "What makes you think I'm thinking of something?"

"How long have we known each other, Viv?"

The red fox looked at Bonnie, confused by the question. "I'd say about two and a half years now. Why?"

"I'd like to think that during that time, I can tell when something's bothering you," Bonnie said.

"Oh? And you know this for a fact?"

The bunny shrugged. "Call it a mother's instinct."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Vivian, you've seen the number of kits I have." When the vixen didn't respond to that, Bonnie asked, "So what's bothering you?"

Vivian sighed. "I wouldn't say it's bothering me per say, but…" She looked out the window above the sink into the backyard as she finished, "…I can't help but think about how much Jon would've loved this place."

Bonnie's ears fell back against her head. "I see…"

"We had plans, you know," the fox continued. "Once Nick and Skye were done with school and were living their lives, we would settle down in a place like this. Maybe not as farmers, but…just somewhere far away from the city."

"Living in the city isn't that bad, is it?" the bunny asked.

Vivian snorted. "Only if you don't mind the price of living out there."

"Has it gotten worse?"

"Yeah. I've had to take on more hours just to get by; I'm more exhausted than ever."

Bonnie glanced over and took in the vixen's appearance, noticing the bags under her eyes and how weary and tired she looked. The doe knew how much of a workaholic her friend was, but even Vivian knew her limits; here, it looked like she was pushing past them. Bonnie's brow scrunched up in thought as she set down her knife and started filling the trays. "Maybe Nick and Skye could help-"

"No, I-" Vivian interjected, pausing in her slicing and looking at the doe. "I can't ask them to do that. They're still in school, and I want them to focus more on that. If they choose to still live at home after they've graduated, then yeah, they'll help pay rent, but…" She shook her head as she went back to the cutting board.

Bonnie didn't look convinced, but she just shrugged and said, "OK, if you insist."

After a brief moment, Vivian looked back over and asked, "So, Jack and Judy are starting high school next week, right?"

Bonnie smiled and answered, "Yep. Jack's a little nervous, but I know some of my older kits are talking to him about it."

"And Judy?"

"She seems enthusiastic about it. The way she sees it, anything that gets her closer to becoming a police officer is fine," the bunny said, shaking her head with a smile.

Vivian giggled. "Your daughter sure is something else." She started scooping veggies onto another tray when she added slyly, "You know, she and Nick sure do seem to be getting closer these days…"

Bonnie started giggling as well. "So, you see it, too?"

"Oh, yeah," the vixen said, picking up the knife again to cut more fruit. "Anyone with a working set of eyes can see it."

"Might be a good idea to keep a close eye on them, now that they're getting older."

Vivian nodded her head in agreement, but before they could say anything else, the door to the kitchen suddenly slammed open, causing both of them to jump. Vivian instantly felt a sharp pain in her left paw, causing her to drop the knife.

"OW! Dammit!"

Bonnie quickly looked over at the vixen's exclamation, only to see her holding her paw, which was now bleeding. "Viv, are you OK?"

"Yeah, just nicked my finger," the vixen reassured, already grabbing a paper towel to wrap the bleeding appendage in.

Bonnie then turned back to the entrance, only to see one of her younger kits, Lucy, standing there, eyes wide in shock. "Lucy, what have I told you about barging in the kitchen like that?"

"To not to," the six-year-old bunny said timidly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," the Hopps matriarch said, gesturing towards Vivian.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Wilde," Lucy apologized, tearing up.

The vixen looked up and saw the kit's expression, and she kneeled down to give her a small hug. "It's OK, sweetie, I'm not upset. Just make sure you don't do it again, OK?" At Lucy's nod, Vivian drew a breath. "So, how can we help you?"

"…Can we have a campfire tonight?"

Vivian smiled. "I think it would be really cool to have one tonight." She then turned to Bonnie. "What do you think?"

"Well, we'll have to run it by your father, but," the elder doe gave a small smile, "I don't have a problem with it."

Lucy perked up. "OK! I'll ask Daddy! Love you!" With that, she quickly raced out of the kitchen.

"Lucy! Don't run in the kitchen!" Bonnie called out, but the kit was already gone. The bunny shook her head as she turned to Vivian. "Are you sure you're OK?"

"Yeah," the vixen confirmed. "Though I could use a bandage; do you have any in here?"

"Yeah, we have some in the medicine cabinet; I'll grab one while you clean that out," Bonnie said as she started looking for the bandages.

Vivian went to the sink and started washing her paws, the water turning pink as she cleaned the cut, trying to get the blood out of her fur. She then looked outside, and she saw Nick still playing with the younger Hopps kits, with Skye sitting with Jack and Judy at the base of a tree, chatting together. Bonnie's words from earlier ran through her head:

'Might be a good idea to keep a close eye on them, now that they're getting older.'

'Now that they're getting older.'

The vixen held back a sigh. She knew that Nick and Skye were getting older, but that didn't mean that she liked it. Whenever the vixen thought of them, she always pictured them from when they came up to her knees; now, they're almost as tall as her. Vivian knew that eventually, once they finished school, they would leave home, and she used to be fine with that, because she would at least have her husband with her.

Then Jon died, leaving her to raise the kits by herself. And once they were old enough, Nick and Skye would leave too, and she would be all alone.

Was she selfish for not wanting her kits to grow up?

"Viv?"

The fox jumped slightly, and she turned to see Bonnie holding out a fresh bandage. She quickly grabbed it. "Thanks."

"…Penny for your thoughts."

Vivian was silent until she quietly said, "Just can't believe how fast they grow up," before gesturing outside.

Bonnie followed her gaze out the window, and once she saw the kits, she nodded her head in understanding. "I know. One day, it's their first day of school, and the next, they're getting their diplomas."

Vivian sighed as she put the bandage on her finger, which was still bleeding. "Does it get any easier?"

The doe looked over, a little confused. "Does what get any easier?"

"Watching your babies get older, knowing that at some point, they won't need you anymore."

Bonnie went over to her friend and took her paws, giving her a knowing smile. "I won't lie, Vivian: some days it does hurt, and some days you want nothing more than for your kits to be children again. But…" She followed the fox's gaze out the window and said, "When you see them live their lives, have successful careers, start their own families," the bunny looked back to Vivian, "there's nothing in the world that can replace how proud you'll feel."

Vivian gave a small smile. "I guess you're right."

"And there's one thing you need to remember as well."

"What's that?"

"That no matter how old they get," Bonnie said, grabbing the trays of fruit and vegetables, "your kits will always need their mother."

Vivian smiled as she went over to grab a tray. "And you know this for a fact?"

Bonnie nodded as the two of them made their way back outside and set the trays down. "Let's just say I know exactly how you feel," the doe said, looking at out her kits.

"…Yeah," Vivian agreed, sitting down and grabbing her book, opening it to the page she left off at.

"I guess you do."

"Hey, Mom brought out more snacks!"

It took Nick all he had to not breathe a sigh of relief at Peter's exclamation and the subsequent weight removal as everyone got off him. He was lying on his back, and he turned his head to see the younger kits run off to the back porch. One of them, Peyton, stopped briefly and turned back to the fox. "Is it OK if we took a break really quick?" she asked.

"Sure," Nick said, nodding his head as he sat up. "Take five, ten, an hour, as long as you want." The doe nodded and went after her siblings. Nick sighed as he stretched his arms. While he genuinely did enjoy playing with Judy's younger siblings, he wasn't kidding about how much they had grown. It didn't help that Skye, who had agreed to help him look after them, just up and ditched him at the first opportunity.

'Where is she, anyway?'

That was the one thought that ran through the todd's head as he stood up and started looking for his sister. Once he saw her with Jack and Judy by the tree, he started making his way over to them. As he got closer, Nick smiled once he saw the striped bunny's guitar with them. Ever since their first concert performance the previous summer, Jack, Judy, and Skye spent every chance they had together to practice and perform whenever they visited. They didn't have enough time to play a show on this visit, but that didn't stop them from jamming as much as they could.

'If you could consider this jamming,' Nick thought to himself as he saw the guitar and practice pad present. Once he got closer, he could start make out what they were saying:

"So, what do you think about this part?" Jack asked, playing some chords on his guitar only for Judy and Skye to shrug. "Really?"

"I mean," the vixen started, "it's not bad, but I don't know if it would fit in this part of the song. Maybe save it for a later section?"

"Well, what other section would we need?" Judy interjected, looking down at a notepad. "We already have a verse, we have a chorus, we have a bridge; do we need another part?"

Nick couldn't help but smile at their attempt at songwriting. The three of them had been trying to write a song together for some time now, but it proved to be much harder than they had originally thought. Jack looked at his cousin to say something when he saw Nick approaching them.

"Hey, dude. What's up?"

Nick shrugged as he sat down next to Skye. "Not much. Oh, uh," he reached his paw out and flicked his sister on the ear.

"Ow! What the hell, dude?"

The todd shot her a slightly annoyed look. "What happened to helping me 'watch the little ones'?"

To her credit, Skye had the decency to look a little embarrassed. "Sorry, but I needed a break from them. I love them, but…they can be a little much."

Nick just shook his head as Jack spoke up, "Hey, uh, we could use your thoughts on something."

"OK, shoot."

"So, I want to put this one part in here," the buck then quickly strummed some chords, "but we can't agree on which section to put it with. What do you think we should do?"

Nick looked at Judy and Skye, only to see them looking at him expectedly. "OK, um, well, can I hear what you have for the verse?" The striped bunny nodded and played a part of it. "The chorus?" Some more chords. "And the bridge?" Once Jack finished, Nick sat back against the tree, thinking. Eventually, he said, "Maybe put it in between the verse and the chorus? I think that would be a good way to connect both of those sections together."

Jack looked at the girls before playing the three parts back-to-back. As he was playing it, everyone there soon started smiling at how the whole thing sounded. Once he was finished, Jack looked over to the todd, grinning. "Dude, that works perfectly!"

Judy nodded her head in agreement, still smiling. "Yeah!"

"…OK, I'll admit, that sounded really good," Skye quietly conceded.

Nick smirked as he placed his paws behind his head. "First one's on the house." That got him a light shove from his sister. "You guys have a name for it yet?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope. Don't even have any lyrics, either. Honestly, I don't even know what they should be about."

Before Nick could say anything, Judy smirked and said, "How about when you and Corey were caught making out in your room yesterday?"

Nick and Skye both burst into laughter as Jack's cheeks grew redder and redder. "W-We weren't 'making out'. I just wanted to talk to him alone for a bit because I hadn't seen him in a few months; that's it!"

"Yeah, 'talk'," Judy said as she put air quotes around 'talk.' "You just happened to have your mouths really, really close together-"

"Shut up, please," Jack begged, which brought a laugh from the doe.

"We'll be seeing him tomorrow, right?" Skye asked.

"Yeah. Jo, too," the buck answered. "With school starting up again in a week, it'd be nice to see everyone again."

"Ugh, don't even talk about school right now, dude," Nick groaned out, rolling his eyes. "I still haven't finished my summer reading essay for English."

"Nick, you haven't even started it yet," Skye pointed out.

Judy looked concerned. "You haven't started the paper?"

"He hasn't started the book."

"Dude!" Both Jack and Judy stared at the todd, shocked.

Nick held up his paws, trying to defend himself. "Hey, look, I work better under pressure-"

"At this rate, I think you only work under pressure," Skye grumbled under her breath, which caused her brother to turn and glare at her. "Nick, this is not the first time you've put off doing schoolwork."

"But I always get it done," he tried to reason.

"Yeah, just sometimes months after the fact."

"OK, guys," Judy interjected, placing her paws between the two siblings. "Let's talk about something else, OK?"

"Like what?" Skye asked, still glaring at her brother.

"Like what we're going to do with Corey and Josie tomorrow," Jack said, setting his guitar aside. "Wanna go to the arcade?"

"Sure," Nick agreed, nodding his head. "Won't it be packed, though?"

"Nah, it'll be fine," the buck answered. He then looked at the girls. "That sound like a good idea?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Should be a good time."

"Sweet!" Jack said, rubbing his paws together. He stood and stretched behind his back. "Well, I'm hungry; gonna go grab something. I'll be right back." At everyone's nod, the striped bunny started walking away from the other three towards the back porch.

Skye looked over at Judy, who reached over and grabbed her cousin's guitar and started noodling around on it. "So, you ready for your first day of high school?"

Judy paused and looked up at the vixen, giving a small shrug. "Yeah." Something was off with the way she said it, though. Before Nick could pry, the doe then asked, "What about you guys?"

Nick scoffed. "I'm ready to be done with it already."

Skye turned to her brother. "What do you have against school?"

"Because, for some dumb reason, instead of actual useful stuff, they'd rather teach us stuff that any idiot can look up in a book or look up online." Nick shook his head. "I mean, you don't need the Pythongorean theorem to know how to tip someone, or need to know what Pawlden was about in order to apply for a job. So, why do I need to know this stuff?"

Skye shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

Nick opened his mouth to retort when he saw Jack practically get dragged off by Judy's younger siblings to play and couldn't help but smile. "Looks like someone got caught up in the swarm."

Judy and Skye followed his gaze and smirked a little. "Looks like it. I'd better go help him out," the doe said, starting to get up only for Skye to beat her.

"Nah, I got it. Besides," the vixen glanced at her brother, "it's my turn to watch the little ones." With that, she left the other two behind and headed towards Jack. Both Nick and Judy sat there quietly, with the only sounds coming from Jack's guitar. Truth be told, Nick had been waiting for a few minutes alone with Judy, but now that they were, he couldn't think of what to talk about. After a few seconds, the red fox could hear the gray bunny take a small breath.

"Hey, Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk real quick?"

"Not like an auctioneer, but I can talk faster than normal if I try really hard," Nick said, smirking a little, expecting to get a laugh from the doe. When he got no response, however, he looked over at his friend, who looked nervous. The smirk fell from his face as he asked, "So, what's up?"

"…Was ninth grade hard for you?"

The todd tilted his head in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

Judy sighed as she set aside the guitar. "I guess it just now hit me, you know? I'm starting high school soon, and I have no idea what to expect from it." She then shook her head. "I don't know why I'm so nervous, it's not like I'm going to a new school or anything."

"The fact that your school is kindergarten through twelfth grade will never not sound weird to me," Nick admitted, shaking his head in disbelief.

"The point is," Judy continued as she turned to look at Nick, "is there anything that I should know before school starts? Do you have any advice?"

"Uh, sure," the todd began, "though, I think your brothers and sisters would give better advice."

"Probably," Judy agreed, nodding her head, "but…I'd rather talk about it with you instead."

The openness in which she admitted that made Nick's cheeks heat up. He tried to ignore it as he leaned back against the tree, looking up in thought. "Well, it's probably not going to be as bad as you think it will be. Like you said, you're staying at the same school, so you'll know everyone there already, and you'll have the same teachers, right?"

"Kind of? I'll still see my old ones there, but now I have new ones," Judy answered.

Nick scooted over next to her and nudged her with his shoulder. "You're going to be fine, Carrots. Actually, you're going to kick all of the ass there. Besides, if anyone DOES give you trouble, do you know what my dad would say?"

"'Fuck 'em'?'

Nick snorted. "OK, yeah, but what ELSE would he say?"

Judy was quiet for a moment before she said, "'Never let them see that they got to you'." At Nick's nod, she smiled. "Thanks, Slick."

The fox smiled back. "No problem."

The two of them looked at each other, their eyes lingering. Nick found himself getting lost in her purple ('Amethyst? Is that the right color?') eyes. He wasn't sure what it was about them, but they always seemed to have an effect on him, like they could see right into him.

Then she blinked.

Judy shook her head and quickly looked away. Nick couldn't tell if it was the light, but he swore it looked like she was blushing. Before he could say anything, Judy chuckled and pointed out towards her siblings. He looked out and saw that they were now grabbing chairs and heading to the fire pit, which was quite a distance away from the house.

"Well," Nick turned back to the gray bunny, who was getting up, "I guess we're having a campfire tonight." She held Jack's guitar in one paw and extended the other to the todd. "You comin'?"

Nick smiled and took her paw, grabbing Skye's drum pad and sticks as well. "Yeah, let's go." The two of them started walking towards the fire pit, which was attracting a larger and larger crowd. As they made their way over, Nick looked over at Judy, who seemed to be thinking about something.

"Penny for your thoughts."

The gray bunny just smiled and said, "I'm just happy you guys are here."

Nick gave a smile of his own.

"Me, too."

Vivian let out a content sigh as she brought dishes back into the house. It was a few hours later, and the campfire had ended a few minutes ago. Despite it being rather late, it was clear that everyone had a good time. She followed Bonnie and Stu into the kitchen and set the dishes down in the sink.

"Alright, is that all of them?" Bonnie asked.

Vivian nodded. "I believe so."

"That's good," Stu said, before letting out a yawn. "Well, I'd better call it a night; got to start early tomorrow."

"OK. Good night, Stu."

"See you soon, honey."

"See you soon, Bon, and I'll see you in the morning, Viv." At that, Stu left the kitchen, leaving the two mothers alone.

Bonnie made her way towards the sink and turned on the faucet. "You can go ahead and get some sleep, Vivian; I'll be in here."

"Are you sure?" the vixen asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now go, you look dead on your feet," the doe reassured, giving her friend a shooing motion. Vivian smiled and left, grateful for Bonnie's consideration. Truth be told, her friend was right: she was exhausted, especially after the week she had. 'Guess I am working a little too hard lately,' she thought to herself. After grabbing her bag, Vivian made her way to the bathroom to change into her nightwear.

Along the way, she saw Nick and Skye walking with Jack and Judy to their own rooms and smiled. "Hey, guys; did you have a good day today?"

"Yeah, today was fun!" Skye answered enthusiastically. "We're heading to Jack's room to hang out for a bit."

"OK, just make sure you guys don't stay up too late." At each of their nods, Vivian gave a hug and kiss to her kits, adding, "Well, I'll see you lot in the morning. Love you."

"Love you, too."

"Love you more."

The elder fox smiled as she continued down the hallway to the bathroom, reaching it a few minutes later. She closed the door and started to change. As she was taking her long sleeve shirt off, though, her paw got snagged on the sleeve, causing it to get stuck.

'Ah, right, the bandage,' Vivian realized. Slowly but surely, she managed to get her paw out of the sleeve and carefully took the bandage off, inspecting her finger. Her eyes widened in surprise to see that her cut from hours earlier was still bleeding.

'What the hell?'

Vivian quickly turned on the faucet and stuck her finger under it, trying to rinse away the blood. It wasn't bleeding quite as freely as before, but it hadn't stopped either. She started opening the drawer by the sink looking for and finding the bandages. Grabbing one, she quickly applied a new one to her finger, this time making it a little tighter. Vivian let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Why hadn't the bleeding stopped?

'Must've been a deeper cut than I realized,' she thought to herself. She then shook her head. 'It's late; I'll check it again in the morning and see if it's better.' After she finished changing and cleaned herself up a bit, Vivian opened the bathroom door to leave, only to see Lucy standing there, paw raised to knock.

"Oh, hi, Lucy," the vixen greeted. "Can I help you?"

"…Can you read us a bedtime story?" the kit asked shyly.

Despite being exhausted and wanting nothing more than to just sleep, Vivian smiled and took the bunny's paw. "Of course I can, sweetie." With that, the two of them walked down the hall to the kits' shared bedroom, pushing the thought of her finger to the back of her mind.