"Why is my mother's number saved in your phone?"

The question ground the gears in Jack's mind connecting the professor and the unlabeled bank statement to a halt. His mistake froze him with fear.

"I ah…" His mind whirred trying to figure out what to say. The truth did not seem like an option. Their situation was complicated enough with Slavic mobsters that were somehow tied to her teacher. Adding in family drama would only make things harder. So he decided on a slight twisting of the truth.

A part of him pined for the times of being strapped to some elaborate death mechanism. At least if he failed to get out of those, he'd be dead. A fate more bearable than having her despising him.

"All field operatives have access to local leading law enforcement personnel contacts."

A few overly long heartbeats later and the doe nodded with a hum of acknowledgment and made the call.

Jack let out a silent sigh of relief.

On the second ring, Judy picked up. There was indistinct chatter of a police radio in the background and with the distant sound of Judy's voice on speakerphone, Lily knew the Chief was in her car.

"Now's really not the time, J-" Her voice was panicked, Lily could hear the tears in her voice.

"Mom, it's me." There was a deep inhale of relief on the other side of the line. "I'm fine. I was rescued by Jack Savage."

The police radio dimmed and Judy's voice came back sounding subdued.

"What happened?"

She recounted the events of the night so far as best she could, there was a lot that still felt like a blur to her. She wondered if it was better that way. Her mother never said anything or asked for elaborations, only letting out small sounds of worry and shock throughout. At the end of Lily's tale, she sighed with some relief.

"Stay with Jack. He'll keep you safe."

"Okay." She felt like a little kit again, following the adults' orders with no questions asked. Although with the night she'd had, she was very much fine with letting the Chief of Police and a ZIA agent coordinate her safety. It allowed her mind to be free from cowering from every shadow and sudden movement.

"Can I talk to him?"

"Sure." She pulled the phone away from her ear and held it out to Jack. "My mom wants to talk to you."

She cringed at her very childish phrasing. Saying the Chief or Judy would have been more adult sounding than mom. This little feeling of being a kit again wasn't something she was fine with.

Taking the phone, Jack took several steps away. Far enough that anything Judy said would not be easily picked up by their progeny.

"Thank goodness you were there, Jack. The report in made it sound like a bloodbath."

"That's an overstatement. Additionally, there will be some trashed bikes and more bodies down the alley past South Ursus."

"Sweet cheese and crackers, Jack. Are there any other bodies I need to be aware of?"

"No." He quickly added. "Not yet."

"So…" Her voice shifted, losing its professional manner. "Have you talked with her?"

He sighed, talking about this subject with Nick was venting a frustration. Jack was the one driving those conversations, Nick would resign himself to comforting verbal nods of understanding and occasionally commenting with either a salient point or sarcasm. Judy was a pesterer. She never liked the pact of secrecy but respected him enough to never break it. Taking a few more cautionary steps, Jack walked into the kitchen for a bit more privacy. "There have been some matters that have taken precedent."

"Oh for crying out loud, Jack! She's right there. Just turn to her and tell her."

"That would not be prudent at the moment."

"Put me on speakerphone then."

"Ju-" Pinching the bridge of his muzzle, he caught himself from sounding too familiar with Lily's mother. "Chief Wilde, I will tend to that issue personally. Your services are not needed on that matter."

"Fine, fine." She acquiesced to him and shifted back to her professional tone. "Until we figure out what's going on, I want her safe and secure. You'll protect our daughter, right?"

"With my life."

"Thank you, Jack. I'm almost at the scene, I have to go. Give her my love."

"Will do, Chief."

The line went silent and he put the phone back in his pocket as he returned to the living area. Lily was at the interactive wall of data, reading the files on her Professor. She knew him as Professor Peter Saiga but he had a list of alias including his actual name Pyotr Saiga. His career started as a low-level money launder and accountant for The Kamchatka clan, a mob run by some of the most ruthless bears in the northern hemisphere. He rose in ranks and eventually found himself in the upper echelons of the mob hierarchy. Twenty years ago the clan attempted to squeeze into Zootopia. Instead of trying to play nice with the mobs already in power, they ignited a bloody underground war. Five years into their move to Zootopia the majority of the clan were behind bars except for Saiga. Official ZPD reports listed his status as at large. Unofficially, many figured he was just another casualty in the mob war.

"But why me?" Lily mumbled to herself as she tried to fit these new pieces into the puzzle.

"Best not to dwell on it."

Lily's red tipped ears shot upwards in attention. "What now?"

"You sit here and stay safe. I'll go over what I can here and send the rest to the intel team. From there, a field operative will deal with the Professor."

"Deal with?" Her ears drooped in suspicion, "You mean they're going to kill him."

"Yes."

"No." The defiance in her voice sent a shock of electricity through Jack.

The older rabbit cleared the screen with a swipe, turning it back into a window.

"No? You would rather have him live?"

"He needs to face justice and be tried for his crimes, not murdered."

Crossing his arms, Jack frowned at his idealistic daughter. An annoying but admirable trait she inherited from her mother.

"There's no case against him. All the evidence here, aside from what you brought me, can not be used in a court of law. And a terrible lawyer could get those thrown out of court. Even if an investigation against him is started tonight, there's enough red tape to give him time to clean his trail and vanish like he did before. You may not like it, but if you want to see your next birthday, having the ZIA take care of him is the safest course of action."

"Then I'll make most of my last year."

Jack's heart slammed into his stomach. She grabbed the files, shoving them back into her bag and hefted it over her shoulder.

"Stop."

"No." There was a raging fury in her blue eyes. "He may have sent those thugs to kill me but if he is to face any punishment it will be from the justice system, not from government sanctioned black op assassins. Now where the hell are my keys?"

She held out her paw towards the older rabbit, the fact that her keys were at an active crime scene was lost on her in that moment. Their eyes locked. Her lips pursed in a furious frown. His brow furrowed in a glacial pace. He was one of the ZIA's best agents. He is her father. Every bone in his body roared to force her acceptance that Saiga's death would be for the best. But there was a whisper that silenced that thought, he might be a loose end. Something he missed. The antelope might know his secret. He might have told others.

A vision of a snow white vixen flashed across his mind. The pale blue of her eyes deepened as blood stained her white fur. The red seeped into her fur and darkened into tans and browns until she was no longer a vixen but a young rabbit with flame tipped ears.

"Sit." He commanded.

Before she could gnash her teeth and spit out a furious response he turned back to the window and began calling up more data. Her rage flared seeing he wasn't bringing up more information on Saiga. The flare sputtered into nothing as she realized whose information he was bringing up.

It was hers.

Photos, school records, medical records, and a whole lot more.

"What are you doing?" her voice was next to him, barely a whisper.

"Looking at other angles."

"Does the ZIA have records like this on everyone?"

"More or less." Anyone who has worked with the ZIA are thoroughly vetted and have extensive files. Immediate family members are even looked into, causing their files to be bigger than average. Although he made sure that her paternal information was absent.

Her paw reached out and dragged a photo of her as a small bundle of blankets with ears towards her. This was the same photo her dad, her fox father, had on his desk. It was her first picnic, or rather her parents' first picnic with her since she was too young to remember it. Judy had a small swaddled form in her arms, Lily's scrunched baby face barely visible. Next to Judy, with one arm around her and the other helping cradle their bundle of joy, was Nick. The smile on his face was genuine to the point of almost looking idiotic.

"What about my father?"

"Oh yes. Nicholas Wilde has-"

"No, my real father."

His heart stopped.

"Whenever I asked my parents about him all the answers they gave me were cagey. All I really know about him is that he's a rabbit and they trusted him."

His paw moved and brought up the main file on Lily. He knew what was, or rather wasn't, in it. Under the category of father, there would be the word "unknown" in bold, red letters. But he had not looked at her file as much as he used to, replacing that activity with the bench in front of McCoy Hall. Making it a possibility that someone found out and altered the file. That the big, red word might have been replaced. That when the file opens it would read "The rabbit standing right next to you, who has also been watching you leave your class for several semesters, who saved your life tonight but doesn't have the stones to tell you the truth. That idiot is your father."

The file opened and under the category of father was the word "unknown". While she let out the breath she was holding in anticipation, Jack took in his first breath since she said "real father".

"Sorry, doesn't look like we have that information. I guess they were careful with that detail."

"Could you find out for me?"

Her ears hung low as her cobalt eyes pleaded at him.

"I… I don't..." He saw her ears droop as she hung her head. A small part of him, a very cynical part, thought this might be a hustle. Playing the meek, wounded, prey to garner some pity and sympathy. Ultimately, to get what she wanted. Ultimately, he wanted the same thing. Unlike her, he was not ready.

"It'd take some time, but I'm sure I could find out for you." She brightened with a genuine sparkle up at his words. This wasn't a hustle but he would not have minded if it was.

"After Saiga is taken care of." He added.

"No killing." She was back to being stern but the fury was dialed down.

"I am not taking that off the table, but it will not be the main directive."

She hummed in thought but nodded, "I'll accept that."

"We need proof of what he's done, of who he really is."

Among the various files, Jack spied a bit of inspiration which sent his mind whirling. His ears shot up and he began pulling up blueprints and city maps. What was forming wasn't perfect it but was damn good.

His ears to sagged back down at the realization of the one major flaw to his plan.

"What's wrong? It looked like you had something."

"I do but I'd have to break my word to your mother."

Lily arched a questioning eyebrow at him.

"It would put you in danger."

A familiar foxy grin grew across the rabbit's face. "I'm a Wilde, we don't run from danger. Danger runs from us."

He remembered the first time he heard Nick say that line and smirked, "You certainly are, Miss Lily."

"The ZPD has the whole campus on lockdown tonight after reports of a shooting." The young news elk reported. "They have yet to release any official word of any injury or death but there have been unconfirmed reports from mammals on the campus of bodies in the parking lot of McCoy Hall. We at ZNN will keep you updated as the story progress. Now to weather with-"

The screen went silent, as Pyotr "Peter" Saiga set down the thin remote on his desk.

The gaunt antelope let out a disappointed snort. He already knew that both teams failed their mission. If they had succeeded he would have been called by now. Hell, even if they didn't they should have called in. Based on his experience that meant they were the bodies found at the scene. If they were arrested, they would have been allowed to call their lawyer. The news report was just a confirmation of their failure.

He picked up his glass of tea and carried it to his bulbous snout, bits of loose tea swirled in the cup. Regardless of the lack of communication, he held out some hope. Perhaps with their final breath, one of the bikers was able to end the little rabbit's life.

But hope was not the same thing as expectation.

There was a loud buzz from the intercom on the end table. A quick press and the noise stopped.

"Yes?"

"Professor, there's a rabbit down here asking for you. Said she needs your help."

A thin smile crept on the old antelope's face.

"Send her up, quickly."

"Yes, Professor."

Saiga got up from his chair and put away the book he was reading before the news interrupted him. His office doubled as a library, something most apartments lack, but with his profession, both legitimately and not, it was something he needed. Every bit of wall space in the room was shelving, all of which held books. Most were law books, a few biographies, and fewer fiction. The silent TV sat above a faux fireplace facing his desk which rested in the middle of the room. Several books lay on its surface, an intercom station was built into it taking up one of the drawers.

This was his sanctum away from the world. High above Zootopia, he coveted his windowless library, whereas other mammals would bemoan the lack of a view. But he'd argue that he has a better view with his books than any window. He could see so many lives in the numbers in his ledgers and so many fates in the laws and loopholes of the thick tomes.

A click of a door preceded a meek little voice, "Professor?"

"In here, child."

She was shivering, her bookbag clutched to her chest.

"Oh dear heavens, what happened?" Every word dripped with sincerity.

"I was leaving McCoy and…" she hiccupped a sob, "and some mammals jumped me. I heard gun fire and engines, then there was blood… so much."

"Oh Lily." he sighed with award winning tenderness.

"B-b-but I think they were after something of yours."

The larger mammal straightened as he took a step forward. "Something of mine?"

"An odd file. Just some numbers. It was in my pile and I didn't know what it was so I just set it aside. But if they came after me, they could be coming after you, Professor."

The antelope's shoulders lowered with a sigh, "I expected better of you, Miss Wilde. To just lie so blatantly to my face? Shame."

Lily's head snapped to attention, eyes as wide as saucers.

"I know you've been carrying that file with you for a few days now. I wouldn't be surprised if you have it in that bag you're holding so close."

His voice changed to a demeanor she recognized. It was his courtroom voice, it held no weakness but was not domineering. There was a lulling quality about it that usually hid a secret trap waiting to be sprung.

"But I must thank you, for surviving such a harrowing night. If you hadn't I would not have the exquisite joy of killing you myself."

He pulled out a gun from his side with the same casualness of his voice.

"Any last words?"

While he expected her to hold her shoulders tall and defiant, he relished the idea of her breaking down into a cowering husk. So it was a bit of surprise when her shoulders fell and she cocked her head, giving him a judgmental glare.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?"

"To the contrary Miss Wilde. I know exactly who you are. I eluded the police once, I can do it again. Your parents won't be able to touch me" He raised the pistol at her.

"I'm sure you could. But I'm not referring to them. I'm referring to my Godmother, Francesca 'Fru Fru' Big."

His gun wavered.

"You're lying."

"Shoot me and find out." She put her paws on her hips. "You'll see that no matter where you go, she will find you. And the last thing you'll see is the icy waters of Tundra Town rushing up to greet you."

He cocked back the hammer, "I'll take my chances."

His finger slipped between the trigger guard. She still had that damn cocksure face on, it was like he wasn't even pointing a gun at her. He wanted to see her in fear for her life. Even a modicum. An ear twitch, a nervous glance but she gave nothing to him but that damned smug grin.

A snarl slithered its way over his mouth as he straightened his arm, readying for the recoil. His finger began squeezing the trigger.

The quiet of the room was shattered. A loud but muffled ringing echoed through the room. The antelope's confusion doubled as he realized where it was coming from. With the gun still pointed at the rabbit, he moved his free hand to his desk. The volume intensified as he opened the hidden panel on the surface of the desk. A light grunt came out as he pulled the phone out of the compartment. Lily recognized the rotary style phone, the kind used in for inter-burrow communications at Grandma and Grandpa Hopps'.

The ringing died as he picked up the receiver. He stayed silent, waiting for the other end to speak first. The wait was short.

"Put the gun down and let the rabbit talk or I'll shoot you." The voice stated as soon as the receiver reached his ear.

Snorting he narrowed his eyes at the bunny before him. "This phone line is only supposed to call out."

"I have a friend in the telecom industry." The voice said offhandedly rushed, "Now lower your gun."

His arm slackened and moved to his side, but was still pointed dangerously at the rabbit. He let out a light chuckle.

"This is cute." He swiveled the receiver away from his mouth talking to Lily, "I have no idea how you pulled this off, but I have to commend your efforts, as futile as they are. But as you failed to notice, there are no windows here. Your little sniper ruse is up."

"I don't need windows with thermal imaging. I can see you perfectly. It's a shame you're letting your tea cool."

The antelope opened his mouth for another rebuttal but was interrupted.

"And the rounds I'm using were made to pierce tank armor, to say nothing of your thirty-year-old bullet proof walls. Now put the damn gun down."

He set the gun down on the desk, next to the phone.

"No, no. On the ground and kick it over to Miss Wilde."

His lips twitched as the snarl was finally unleashed, showing off his dull flat teeth as menacingly as possible. The gun clattered across the floor from his hoof kick. With a quickness he was not expecting, the rabbit snatched the gun off the floor.

"Now be a good chap and answer any question she has for you."

Her cocksure smirk faded as her mind moved on to what was next, preparing for whatever dark answer he would give.

"Why me?"

"I have guards on every floor. You'll never make it out of this building alive."

"That means you have no reason not to answer my question. Why did you target me?"

"Fine," he growled, "you'll die with your curiosity sated. It's because of your father."

In the empty office in the building across from them, Jack's finger tightened around the trigger.

"I was in the employ of the Kamchatka clan, a bunch of half witted ursas. We were making headway into Zootopia's criminal scene. It was all going according to plan but then your father popped into one of our fronts and started asking a few too many and too specific questions. Instead of making your dear old dad dear old dead, those nitwits closed shop and moved the operation. Wasting time and, more importantly, money we didn't have on a very conspicuous move. Soon enough we had cops knocking on our doors. Seeing that as a sign of weakness the other gangs attacked. As our burgeoning empire collapsed, I grabbed what cash I could and went into hiding. Years of work and planning ruined because your goddamn father came snooping around. And instead of rolling in the lap of luxury, I had to fake a new life. I lost everything. Everything!"

He growled out the words between gritted teeth.

"I was going to ruin his life one death at a time before I permanently wiped that damn smirk off that fox's face. "

Jack's shoulders relaxed. Saiga was not one of his loose ends. Regardless, he kept his finger on the trigger and his aim on the antelope's chest.

"Satisfied, rabbit?"

"Very."

"And you, mystery caller, are you her ticket to safety? Threatening my life if she's harmed on her way out?"

"Something like that." The line went dead.

Saiga hung up the phone and turned back to the still smirking rabbit.

"You still have nothing on me."

She let out a sharp laugh.

"For someone with a vendetta against my family, you really are clueless. Do you even know how they broke their first big case?"

He scoffed at her insult. Anyone who has lived in Zootopia for more than a year has heard the tale of Bellwether's corruption and the drug induced savage mammals.

"They got the ewe to confess, so what?"

"They didn't just get her confession. They recorded it."

His vision went red as she pulled her cellphone from her pocket.

"It's not as stylish as a carrot pen, but it makes up for it with more features."

"You recorded me?" He growled.

"Technically no, but the police on the other end of the call did. As I said, the ZPD will be safely escorting me out of here."

Shaking with anger, he leapt at the smaller mammal. His vision ran red with thoughts of beating the life out of the rabbit with his bare hooves. Deafened by rage he didn't hear his door burst open. Nor did he see the heavily armored TUSK members flood into the room. All he saw was the damn rabbit smirking as a black clad freight train slammed him into the ground.

Both of them were escorted down the building, Lily lacked the free metal restraints Saiga was given. After handing in the procured handgun, she was taken to an awaiting EMT at the back of an ambulance. Jack watched from the darkness as the thin tiger tech gave Lily a quick once over.

"Saiga will have full spread surveillance on him, even in prison." Stated the voice on the other end of Jack's cellphone.

"If he mentions anything about the Wilde family, or even foxes and rabbits, I want the previous four months of his records sent to me immediately."

"What about security? It won't take long for his ex-associates to demand recompense for his theft."

That was true. Once word of Saiga's trial gets around, quite a few shivs will be sharpened just for him.

"None. I made a promise but that just protected him from me. His fate is of his own making."

"I've got to ask, does this mean you're back in the game Jack?"

He looked at the tan rabbit with red tipped ears huddled under the crumpled chrome of an emergency blanket. She was all grown up. Anytime he saw one of her many milestones it was always from afar. A snippet of video sent by Nick. A picture from Judy. Or just scrolling through Furbook. He didn't want to watch her grow like that, and she still had many milestones to go.

"No, I am not."

"But you know what they say, an operative never retires."

That was a saying everyone in the ZIA knew well. No one retires for the ZIA, they die before they can.

"We'll see." he ended the call and limped into the dim light around the ambulance. With all he had done tonight, it was inevitable that his leg would be irritated. He packed enough extra ammunition to deal with Saiga and his goons several times over, but he forgot to bring a cane.

Lily smiled at him and his heart fluttered.

"Is everything good on your end?" She asked.

The tiger gave Jack an annoyed glance.

"Please step back sir, this is police business."

Jack pulled out a small black wallet from his inside pocket and opened it towards the tiger. A ZIA badge and ID sat inside it. The tiger's mouth hung open as his eyes darted between the badge and the rabbit.

"I- I'll just be over…" Not even finishing his sentence, the feline pointed away from them and quickly followed his finger.

"You use that often?" Lily chuckled.

"That was the first time since I retired. And yes, everything is good on my side. Tonight was Saiga's last night as a free mammal."

She seemed satisfied. If she were a bit more seasoned she might have attempted more demands on the behalf of Saiga, or rather justice. Jack was glad she wasn't.

Before the silence expanded further his mouth opened and uttered, "About your father…"

Her ears snapped up as her glowing blue eyes locked onto him.

"I…"

They were alone. She was right in front of him. There would be no better time to talk to her than at this exact moment.

He took a breath to steel his frayed nerves and readied himself for the most daunting task in ages.

"I have been in contact with him."

His stomach fell at his cowardice.

Lily squirmed on the back bumper of the ambulance, "Can I talk with him? Can you tell me who he is?"

He held up a paw to politely silence her.

"This," Jack gestured to the mass of police cruisers and heavily decked out officers, "is not how he wanted to meet you. If you want I can probably answer most of your questions."

A vice wrenched around his heart at the disappointment in her eyes. This was not what he wanted either but it was for the best, as much as he hated it. She would be safer. She would live.

Her initial disappointment had taken a backseat to the flood of questions she had about her father. Her mouth twitched, as all the questions tried to jump out of her at once.

"Was I… Did my mother…" She fumbled through several false starts before gathering up her will with a sigh and plunged into the deep end of her inquiry.

"Am I the product of an affair?"

Jack's head snapped back in shock as the question hit him like a taser.

"No." He tried not to sound hurt. "Why would you think that?"

"There's no logical reason, but…" Her face scrunched, tears beginning to well up. "Sometimes it seems like that could be the only reason neither of my parents will tell me anything about him, or why I've never seen him."

"Your parents wanted a kit and your biological father was someone they both trusted and cared about. There was no infidelity or affair. Your conception was quite clinical."

"If he's so trusted and cared about, how come he's never come around?"

Jack knew this question was coming but did not look forward to answering it. The tinge of anger in her voice did not help.

"His absence was to keep you safe."

"From what?" Her paws shook the crumpled foil looking blanket off her shoulder.

"From mammals who would wish to hurt him in the worst possible way. As long as no one knew he had a child, the safer that child would be."

He pushed out the images of a bloody wedding dress and shattered glass that tried to smash into the forefront of his thoughts. She didn't have a quick follow up to his answer, instead she glared as she processed that answer.

"I guess, idiocy and cowardice must skip a generation then."

Jack floundered at her accusation, barely able to start a cohesive rebuttal before she began to stalk forward with a vengeful fire in her eyes.

"I am going to be an attorney for Zootopia, a job that makes enemies. Powerful enemies. I've heard many war stories from current and former DAs. I know the risks. They may not be running into gunfire every day, but they put their lives on the line for the good of the people of this city. So either my father is an idiot and can't see that I will still be in danger without him around. Or he's a coward, hiding behind a worthless veil of gallantry."

It wasn't until her finger was jabbing into his chest that he realized how close she had gotten to him. The anxious fear of him losing her was seeming more concrete with each of her steps, and he could not tear his vision off the intense flames behind her cobalt eyes.

"So you go and tell that braindead buck there is no damn reason he shouldn't be in my life. Can you do that for me, Jack?"

With a deliberate paw, as if he was handling a priceless antique, he moved her paw from jabbing him. Her fur was soft, especially compared to his. He brought her paw down, expecting her to free herself from his gentle grip but found himself pleased when she didn't let go.

"I can do that, but are you sure? The enemies he has made are not of the same caliber as what the District Attorney's face."

The fire still blazed behind her eyes as a tear broke free and streaked down her cheek. She nodded.

"Okay." His soft voice sealed their pact. He was going to tell her. He had to at this point. There was no going back.

Her paw freed itself from his and wrapped around him as her head came to rest against the crook of his neck.

"Thank you." She tightened her hug as a sob shuddered through her body.

Her red tipped ears caressed the sides of his face. A warmth from his chest began to spread throughout. It was a wonderfully pleasant and calming feeling. He tried to will it down, as it would dissipate after their embrace was over and its absence would be just another wound.

She adjusted her head, moving under his neck and deliberately rubbed the top of her head under his chin as she pulled away. Scent marking was a primitive holdover many species still observed. It was something that most mammals would not enact lightly.

Lily looked into the shocked buck's face and smiled.

"Thanks, Dad."

His jaw dropped, a partially formed syllable fell out but she heard enough to have an idea of what it was going to be.

"Something didn't add up at your apartment. You've been here two years, but the contact for Chief Wilde was Judy H. As in Hopps, her maiden name. Other little bits started to fit together after that, like why an older rabbit was hanging around ZNU at such a late hour."

A part of him felt like he should be mad that his facade was torn down so easily. But he couldn't help the swelling of pride that she had figured it out. It wasn't his intent but by the smile on her face, and the fact she still clung to him like a little kit, she didn't seem upset by his attempted misdirection.

"Jack, are you okay?"

He was okay. In fact he was beyond okay. He smiled at her feeling the tears streaming down his face.

"Oh my." He freed a paw from around his daughter and wiped at his face futilely as the tears ran down his fur.

"Come here." She grabbed his paw and lead him back to the ambulance.

He sat down on the bumper like she had only moments ago, while she hopped into the back of the vehicle. She emerged with several sheets of tissue paper meant for larger mammals and tore off a corner of one for him.

"Good thing Nicholas isn't here, I'd never hear the end of it from him."

"Yeah," she laughed, "he still teases me about crying at the end of Wrangled when I was a kit."

Resting her head against him, her ears flopped on his shoulder. Their silence was comfortable but more questioned buzzed around her head that she needed to get out.

"Jack, what's with all the paintings of two moons?"

A morose shade fell over the buck's face, "You saw those?"

The barriers holding back those memories began to crack. The faint sound of sniper fire and breaking glass echoed in his mind.

"You kind of left the door open, I couldn't help it."

"They weren't moons. They were Skye."

Skye; a name he thought of often, sometimes involuntarily, but hadn't said aloud in years. The first, and for the longest time the only, mammal he ever loved. While some would figuratively say they would kill for their love, Jack literally did. He would have died for her and, ashamedly, wished he could have quite often. He would do the same for Lily.

"The moon is in the sky, but why two of them?"

He couldn't stop the small chuckle from coming out.

"Her name was Skye."

Holding her soft paw in his, the walls in his mind crumbled. But it wasn't the torrent of blood and death he was expecting. He remembered the warmth of her paw in his. How she would pepper him with kisses after debriefings. The ethereal cloud like fluffiness of her tail as it wrapped around his legs. The electric thrill that ran down his spine when her claws grazed his ears just so.

His loss and sorrow had drowned those memories. Squeezing Lily's paw, the resurfaced memories brightened in his mind.

"I'll tell you everything about her," he pulled her into a tight hug, "but not tonight."

They could have stayed holding each other for ages, making up for twenty-some years of missed hugs, but life is never that kind. They heard a deep intake of breath, and Lily froze like her ancestors would have at the sound of a predator's growl.

"LILLIAN BONNIBEL WILDE!"

The young doe cowered in response to the familiar tone of her mother's voice. A few near by officers did as well, suddenly finding their jobs needed to be done farther away from their Chief. She stormed over to her daughter but her anger faded seeing the earthen toned bunny quiver before her.

"Oh honey, are you alright?"

Wrapping her arms around her daughter before patting her down searching for injuries.

"Mom, I'm fine."

"Oh good." The white hot rage flared back into her eyes, "What were you thinking? I told you to stay with Jack and to be safe!"

"I was with Jack."

"No, you were in a highrise apartment with the mammal who sent two hit squads after you!"

"But-" Lily's explanation was halted by her mother's finger pressing against her lips.

"Nope. You are grounded for a year missy!"

"I'm twenty-three."

"I'm your mother, I can ground you at any age."

"I don't live at home."

"Doesn't matter, you're still grounded."

Flinging her hand in the air, Lily gave up the argument as Judy turned her attention to the other rabbit.

"And you…" She growled out. Lily sensed another bout of loud motherly shouting coming but was surprised when the older doe's body shifted into a more relaxed stance.

"Does she know?"

Jack nodded, "She figured it out."

"About time," she muttered before taking in another lung full of air before restarting her tirade, "And you! You promised to keep our daughter out of danger. Yet I'm being informed that the ZIA has commandeered several squads of officers, including a TUSK team, and some recording equipment barely an hour after talking to you!"

Her eyes quivered with a white-hot fury but in a wet blink, the fury drowned in a deluge of tears as she brought both rabbits into a tight hug. Lily wrapped her arm around her mom's sobbing shoulder. Rubbing her mother's back, she felt another paw come from the other side come up and hold hers.

Huddled with the two other rabbits, Jack felt the tears begin streaming down his face again. He didn't care. The only thing that mattered was in his arms and he wasn't going to let go of her.

A flickering flash and click of a shutter took the attention of the rabbit trio.

With a wider than standard sly smirk, Nick Wilde lowered his cellphone, "My three favorite rabbits finally together."

The fox sauntered over and rubbed his daughter's head. A quizzical look came over him as he sniffed the air.

"You chinned her already, Stripes?"

"Actually," Lily began as her face flushed in embarrassment, "It would be more accurate to say that I headed his chin."

Nick shook his head with a chuckle as he stepped over to the buck.

"Must have rained before I got here, huh? You look drenched, Stripes." He gave the buck a knowing smile before patting his back.

"Yeah," he agreed with a smirk. "A real downpour."

Judy took in a shuddering breath and smoothly exhaled before disentangling herself from her daughter and friend.

"I should get back to work. You two made a real mess for me to deal with."

"Sorry, mom."

"If there's anything I can do-"

"You've done enough, Agent Savage." The fury was back in Judy's eyes and the next thing out of her mouth confounded his brain. It sounded like something that would strike the fear of God into the strongest mammal. But the words were the farthest from it.

"I'm making my mother's lasagna Thursday night."

It wasn't an invitation. It wasn't a request. It was a threat. If he didn't show, there wouldn't be a force on Earth that could stop Judy from dragging Jack to the dinner table.

After finding out that Nick left the boy's with the coach, Judy headed towards the small crowd of officers still on the scene.

"Somebody's in trouble." Lily's said in a quiet singsong tone.

"Welcome to the family, Stripes."