Chapter 16:

(Okay, this is the possibly penultimate chapter! It's the chapter I'm writing before the epilogue. But if you guys wanted me to continue writing after the movie, that's fine, too! Remember to let me know! :D)

Today was Zeke's birthday! He was turning 10 years old, so he was gonna celebrate with his mom and his friends. But before any of that, Diane and Zeke went to visit Wolf and the others. Zeke was excited to see his family again. "Happy to see Dad, too, Shermy?" Zeke said, petting his proclaimed cat-brother. The two wore sunglasses to look cool. "So, you're excited to see your dad?" Diane asked, "Absolutely! I gotta tell him about school and my friends!" Zeke said, the kitty meowed at his friend. "Shermy wants to see Dad, too. He likes where he pets him." He explained, Shermy looked at him happily.

The visitation was limited, of course. Zeke and Diane couldn't bring anything in with them. But when got in, Wolf was so happy to see his son. "Zekey!" Wolf hugged his son, tightly. "Hi, Dad! I missed you." Zeke said, happy to see his dad after a long time, he was tearing up a little. He admitted that he still misses his dad. "Hey, don't cry, buddy. I'm here." Wolf said, drying Zeke's tears. "You're okay in here, right? No one's trying to fight with you guys or anything?" He asked Wolf, "Nah, buddy. We're okay!" Shark said, sitting at the table. "Sobrino!" Piranha said, crying anime tears. "Hi, Tío Pepe! Uncle Lou!" He hugged his uncles as they sat down.

"Hey, bud." Tarantula said, reading a book. "Hi, Aunt Webs." Zeke high-fived her. Snake rolled his eyes in mild annoyance. "Hey, kiddo." Snake said, "Hey, Uncle Hubert." Zeke said, he handed the cat to his dad. "Who's a good kitty? I hope you've been." Wolf said, petting the cat's favorite spot. Shermy meowed and purred in comfort of Wolf's petting.

"I figured Zeke wouldn't want his family to miss his 10th birthday." Diane explained, "Madame Governor." Wolf said, charismatically. "Don't try to Clooney me again, Wolf." Diane put her hand up and kept the sly smirk on her face. Wolf chuckled at that, "So, how've you been?" He asked, kindly. "I've been doing good. Zeke's been great company. He's incredibly hyper, I gotta say." She said, Zeke put his hand to his chin and did a pose.

"Now that the formerly known Bad Guys are here, I must formally introduce myself." He said, dramatically, he spins dramatically and did a piece sign.

"Ezekiel Wolf-Foxington, it's a pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself, telling the others his last name. Wolf smiled, "So, you're taking your last name from me and Diane?" He asked, "It's only natural I take after my parent's last names, don't you think?" Zeke returned with a question. Piranha and Webs smirked at Wolf, "What's with that look?" He asked, "You like each other and Zeke's your kid!" Piranha said, childishly, pointing at him and Diane. Wolf and Diane blushed nervously.

"C-Come on, guys, that's not funny." Wolf said with a nervous smile, and folded his arms. Diane just chuckled nervously, "Yeah, it's just co-parenting, that's all." Zeke giggled, "Whatever, lovebirds." They both looked to the side, "Zeke, that's not helping." They both said, simultaneously.

"So, how's school going?" Wolf asked his son, in the hopes that it would change the subject. "It's going good so far, I swear, it can get so annoying, though…" Zeke admits he doesn't really like homework, he's not particularly good at science.

"Just gotta keep at it, kiddo." Shark said, reassuringly.

"So, whatcha doing for your birthday?" Snake asked. "Mom wants to plan a party with me and my friends." Zeke said, squinting his eyes at Diane "She still hasn't told me what my cake is." Diane looked at her son, sly. "Surprises aren't supposed to be revealed so quickly, Zekey." She said.

"Yeah, I know." He said, Wolf patted his son's head for comfort. "Sorry we can't be there for your birthday, buddy." He apologized, "Hey, it's okay. I know you guys are gonna be fine. Besides, I've got tons of other birthdays after this year, so it's nothing to worry about." He tried to play it off like it wasn't a big deal. The former Bad Guys looked at their boy, upset. Diane reassured them, "Hey, it'll be okay. I'll record the whole moment for you guys. I don't want you to be left out." She said, Wolf still looked upset, knowing it wasn't necessarily the same as being there for his son.

"Hey, how 'bout this?" Zeke suggested, "We go out on a milkshake run when you guys get out?" Wolf smiled and patted his son's forehead.

"Yeah, sounds fun. Right guys?" He asked his friends if they agreed to the idea. They nodded, even Snake.

Diane looked at the clock. "Our visit's almost up, honey." She told Zeke. The young rabbit nodded, "Okay." He hugged his dad, "Bye, Dad. See you when you get out." He said, holding back a few tears. He was trying to stay strong, but he missed his dad and family. Wolf gave Zeke a big hug and kissed his forehead. "Bye, kiddo. I love you, okay?" He told him, "I love you, too." Zeke said, the others group hugged their nephew.

"So, thank you for the visit, Madame Governor." Wolf said to Diane, charmingly. "Well, it's my pleasure. I am checking to see how that redemption arc of yours is coming along." She said, teasingly. Wolf chuckled, "Like I said before, that makes two of us." He said to her.

"So, they've got a thing going." Webs said, bluntly.

"I think it's cute." Shark said, cheerfully. "Who do you think will ask out first?" Snake asked with a dry smile.

"Bigger question! Will they get married?" Piranha asked quietly. Zeke giggled, "That'd be cool, but I'm not sure." He said. He knew they had chemistry for each other, but was unsure of it going into marriage. Although, he could see his mom and dad getting married at some point. Shermy meowed, getting pat by the Bad Guys before leaving, jumping back onto Zeke's shoulder. Zeke pulled out the pairs of sunglasses and put them on dramatically.

"Okay, fam. We hit the road, now!"' Zeke said, putting his sunglasses on himself and his cat-brother. They all laughed at the boy's hyperactivity. "Happy Birthday, Zekey." Wolf said, proudly.

(Here we go! So, this was Zeke's birthday. I didn't want to include the aforementioned party, because I felt it would diverge back to the first two chapters without the Bad Guys there. I hope you like the chapter. Remember to stay strong and awesome! And know that love doesn't delight in evil, but it rejoices in the Truth)