Chapter 22: Family

Finnick unexpectedly finds himself in a situation he never imagined. Despite not knowing he was a father for most of his life, he now has the special gift of being part of at least one of his children's lives. Meanwhile, Stone visits his brother, Storm, in jail and assists someone with a problem.

Not everyone's actual family has to be blood related as this chapters song, "Family", by The Chainsmokers and Nygo points out.

A note to readers: The italic portions are either the character's internal monologue or a flashback.

One of those Dads

Even this late in the evening, there was still heavy traffic on the coastal highway leading from Outback Island. A sudden gust of wind from the sea shook the classic Lobos Z1 van slightly, causing the small fennec fox behind the wheel to frown and utter a soft curse. The driver, Fennick, was not used to having surfboards strapped on top of his van. Glancing toward the sleeping meerkat in the passenger seat, he shook his head as he pondered who would believe that I would one day become one of those dads who drive their kit and his friends to sporting events? One of those poor suckers that Nick and I would always crack jokes about.

Reggie, the meerkat, claimed he had to sit up front because he got car sick. Briefly the fox looked in the rear view mirror and saw his son, Stone, and his son's best friend, Cooper, sprawled out in their seats. They all looked exhausted after spending the day competing in a surfing competition.

"I still say that they underscored you on that last run, mate," the wallaby softly said.

The fennec fox turned his attention from looking out the van window toward his best friend before he replied, "No, both Bonaparte and Reggie just out surfed me."

"It was Bonaparte, Reggie, and then you in that order, less than a few points between you three."

"You came in forth out of twenty and that is very good!"

"Forth place won't buy you very many coldies," the wallaby scoffed.

"It was almost worth losing to Bonaparte to see his face when the announcer called him Boney," Stone laughed.

"He bloody well hates that nickname," Cooper softly chuckled.

There was silence for several minutes.

"Still it was good seeing your mom, sister, and brothers again. It was nice that they came to cheer you on," Stone said.

"Yeah," Cooper sadly agreed before he turned and stared back out the window.

Things were silent once again in the van.

Finnick sighed for he knew that Cooper came from Outback Island. The young rock-wallaby had left the island after his father kicked him out of the house for being gay. It's a damn shame that families can get so complicated. He glanced in the rear view mirror and watched his son give a toothy yawn before closing his eyes. Shifting his gaze, he saw that Cooper had also closed his eyes. His father should have joined the rest of his family on the beach cheering him on.

Cooper was unaware that his father was actually watching from a bluff above. Finnick recognized Cooper's father from a photo in a magazine article about famous real-estate developers in Zootopia. Instead of the expected stylish suit, Cooper's father was dressed in an old white t-shirt, canvas overalls, and an orange construction worker's vest as he leaned against a nondescript white pickup truck belonging to Outback Construction.

Deciding to keep his recognition to himself, he approached Cooper's father and struck up a conversation. "I sure don't know much about surfing," he casually commented.

The wallaby glanced over at him and slightly smiled before he replied, "I'm not surprised, most of you blokes are more of the desert loving kind."

"Yeah but not my son, he's Stone Kole. The fox down there competing."

"I've heard of him, he is bloody good."

"Thanks. Do you surf?"

"Not anymore, I don't seem to have the time to hit the waves like I used to. All my children do and have since they were little joeys."

"Are they any good?"

"Fair, except my youngest son and he is bloomin' great," the wallaby said with pride as he smiled.

"My son's best friend is that wallaby down there, he is good too. All his family came to cheer him on…well, everyone but his father and that's too bad."

The wallaby turned to looked at him with interest.

"The funny thing is that I only found out that Stone is my son just recently."

"Crikey! That must have been a bloody surprise, mate."

"Yeah, but it was a good one! The sad part is that I would give my arms and legs to make up for all those lost years that I missed. I never heard his first words…saw him take his first steps…so many precious memories lost. Yeah, but you know what they say, the gods only give you so many hours to live and so I am going to spend as much time as I can with my son now."

The wallaby didn't reply but once again stared at the surfers below.

"Stone mentioned to me that Cooper's dad is a big shot in the construction industry, so I'm sure he is just busy. Heck, you might even work for his father."

No reply, only silence.

"Well, I have no place giving a rich guy like that any advice since I barely have a few coins in my pocket."

Still silence…

"Hey, it was good talking with you. I'm going down there to cheer my son on because it looks like his turn is coming up!"

With that he left the wallaby just standing there looking troubled.

Unfortunately, Cooper's father never came down from the bluff and instead watched his son surfing from a distance.

Inside the van, everyone except the driver was sound asleep, making it quiet. Finnick glanced at his sleeping son in the mirror and realized that being one of "those dads" wasn't so bad after all. His smile only lasted for a few moments before he gave a long, troubled sigh when he thought about his other son, Storm.

Yeah, it's a damn shame that families can get so complicated.

It's Who You Know

The stout wire gate gave a loud buzzing noise while it slid closed behind him and the fennec fox in the blue tee shirt and tan cargo shorts slowly walked out of the prison toward the bus stop. His ears were flat and his tail was dragging while he plodded toward a bench. Stone Kole had just visited his brother Storm.

He sat on the cheap plastic chair and looked through the heavy plate window at the other fennec fox, who was dressed in an orange jumpsuit. "So where's your girlfriend, the pretty kitty cat? Are you afraid that once she sees me she will realize that she has taken up with the wrong brother?" Storm sarcastically chuckled while he gave his littermate a smirk. The incarcerated fox never could muster the sly smirk; his was more of an 'eat shit and die' grin. It was apparent he was once again playfully picking at Stone and trying to get under his younger brother's fur. "Hey, next time, instead of bring me some paperback novels to read, could you get her to do some nude modeling for me? A few photos would sure help a fox get through those lonely nights," he added with a wink before he made an obscene gesture.

"I love Karen, so don't make fun of her!" Stone growled.

"Dummy, she doesn't have any money, so don't marry her. How many times do I have to tell you to marry for money and not love? You can always find love later and cheat!"

"With words of wisdom like that, there's no wonder you're behind bars."

"I'm older and wiser!"

"Only by a few minutes. As for being wiser, you're only a wise-ass."

"You should know! Since I was first, you were staring at my butt while we were being born." Storm obnoxiously laughed.

Stone decided to change the subject and so he exclaimed, "You won't believe who is now living in a luxury condo on The Strand?"

"Freakin' Santa Paws?" Storm sarcastically replied.

"No, dude! It's Mvubu the Mangler!"

"No Way! The professional wrestler?"

The two brothers spent most of their time enthusiastically reminiscing about watching wrestling on the television at their uncle's house when they were children.

"Are you still making any money with that lame surfing stunt of yours?" Storm finally asked.

"I've got a few more sponsors and some cash left from my previous wins, so I'm doing okay," Stone answered.

"Sponsors? Yeah, getting someone to pay you to do something is what we call prostitution around here."

"Not even close, fox!"

After a few moments more, Stone sighed before he asked the question he didn't really want to ask, "Why didn't you let Mom see you last week? You broke her heart."

"She came here with HIM!" Storm growled. Stone looked his brother over, his eyes and physique, along with the deep voice. He was definitely Finnick's child, while Stone took more after his mother. "That fox is just a two-bit hustler playing you and mom and you're just sitting back and…and letting him have his way with her!"

One of the guards glanced over at Storm. "Keep it civil you two!" he snorted.

"Mom has never been so happy! The only thing that is bothering her is you! Why can't you get yourself together and clean up your act? You know it hurts her that you're spending your life in here," Stone said.

"Get this through your thick skull, FINNICK MIGHT HAVE KNOCKED MOM UP BUT HE AIN'T OUR FATHER!" Storm loudly growled.

The guard stood and looked at the two foxes. 'That's it! Time's up!" the uniformed warthog commanded.

Storm ignored the guard and continued, "We're done with this shit! You tell Finnick that I'll never forgive him and to stay away! Tell him that when I get out..." he glanced over at the approaching guard and stopped for he knew that if he made a threat it could be used against him. Instead he just hung and shook his head before he continued. "Why can't you just leave me alone? You're better off without me."

"I'm your brother and I love you, so no, I'm never leaving you alone," Stone said as he stood with tears in his eyes while he placed his right paw on the cold glass. "Be safe, Stormy."

His brother pressed his paw on the opposite side of the glass. "You too, Stoney!" he replied before the guard came and led him away.

With a long sigh, the dejected fox sat down next to an elderly raccoon in a green and blue striped dress.

After a few moments, the raccoon softly said, "Sometimes I think that prison is a greater punishment for those who love someone imprisoned."

Stone looked over at the raccoon and she gave him a thin, almost motherly, smile.

"Did you visit your father?" she continued.

"No, my brother," he answered.

"I came to see my husband. He's been incarcerated for three years now."

"Oh?"

"He was accused of stealing from the company where he worked. It turned out he was made the scapegoat to cover up the fact that his boss was the actual thief. His boss had been manipulating the accounts, creating fake orders and receipts for non-existent items, and pocketing the money. When the auditor inquired about the discrepancy, the boss falsely accused my Ralphie. Eventually, the boss was caught and charged for the crimes."

"Then why is your husband still in jail?"

"The public defender assigned to his case claims that the judge hasn't had time to hear his appeal and sign off on his paperwork."

"Sorry!"

"The numbers are always against us preds," she sighed.

"How so?" Stone asked.

"One out to three male preds will end up being in jail. We are only ten-percent of the city's population but account for over forty-percent of the jail population."

"I never realized that."

"So, what did they accuse your brother of doing?

"Oh, he did it alright. The dude was caught with the possession of stolen goods. He was found guilty of a class two felony and the judge gave him five years in the state penitentiary even though he was a first time offender…well, the first time as an adult."

"Oh dear!"

"I'm pretty sure they did that to put a squeeze on him so he would give up who he was working for."

"I take it he hasn't."

"I guess not because when he became eligible for parole, they turned down his petition."

Both the raccoon and fox watched while a police patrol cruiser passed them. Suddenly the car turned and looped back around, approaching them slowly.

"What did we do?" the raccoon asked. It was very apparent that she was concerned.

"Don't worry," Stone answered with a grin.

"Look, be respectful and don't talk back," she nervously warned. "If you get on the bad side of a cop, he will find something to arrest you for…wait! Is that cop a red fox?"

The police car came to a halt in front of the bus stop and the passenger window lowered. "Hey, furball, you need a ride to the subway station?" the fox called out.

"Hi, Officer Wilde!"

"How many times do I need to tell you to call me Nick? Come on and hop in. I can't leave you stranded, your dad would kick my tail!"

Stone stood up but paused and glanced over at the raccoon who still looked astonished at what was going on.

"I can also give you a lift to the subway," Nick offered.

"I…I…" she began to stutter.

"It'll be okay, Officer Wilde is my dad's best friend," the fennec fox said as he offered his paw to help her stand up.

Slowly the raccoon walked toward the police car but hesitated before she got to the door. "You can sit up front, ma'am," Nick called out and Stone opened the passenger side door for her.

As he climbed into the backseat of the cruiser, Stone asked. "Hey, Officer Wilde…"

"Come on, Stoney, the name is Nick!" the uniformed fox interrupted.

"Yeah, ah…Nick, do you know anyone who works at the District Attorney's Office?"

"Sure, plenty. Why, are you in trouble?"

"No, but her husband is still in jail even though they caught the actual criminal."

"Ma'am, is that true?" Nick asked the raccoon.

"Yes, but our attorney says that the judge hasn't reviewed the appeal."

"Who's your attorney?"

"Dwayne Hooflingler."

"Old Dwayne is just counting down the days before he can retire. He used to be good, but like all of the public defenders there are not enough of them and they are overwhelmed with cases."

"Oh, dear."

"Look, give me your husband's name and the case number, if you know it. There are a couple Investigators in the D.A.'s office who own me a few favors and I can try to get one of them to look it over. If what you say is correct, they can get the ball rolling."

"You'd do that?"

"Sure, I've been accused of doing plenty of things that I never did. You know how it is – when something goes wrong, just blame the fox. When something goes missing, blame the raccoon. Polite and not-so-polite members of society love to stereotype us instead of getting to know us."

A few weeks later, the raccoon's husband walked free.