Chapter Five
Tommy

	Nick sat up in his bed, his head heavy as he fought to keep his eyes open. Between blinks he saw Honey moving around the room. Her naked form catching just right in the light coming from the bathroom. She was like a dream, so beautiful it made Nick's heart ache for her. Honey pulled her sports bra on giving Nick one last look at her breasts before covering them away. A smiles traced her lips as she pulled on a fresh pair of white panties.
	“Good morning, my lovely fox.”
	Her raspy voice was like a beautiful song to his sleep sensitive ears. Nick threw back the covers slipping down to the floor. His feet and legs ached sending a painful spike up to his hips and back. Hefting all those kids in and out of the boat the day before took a nasty toll on his body. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close.
	“Good morning, sweetie.”
	“Did you sleep well?”
	“I did, thanks to that good loving last night.”
	Honey kissed his chin before bending down to grab the jeans she wore the day before. She stepped down into them, sucking in her stomach to button them before exhaling. Nick's eyes followed her as she stepped around him. When she stopped, he moved in to give her a kiss between her shoulder. Honey responded with a wisp of a sigh.
	“Baby.” She said teasingly, picking up a pink tank top from the clean pile in the laundry bin.
	“Wanna go for round two.” Nick pressed himself against her back breathing into the fur at the back of her neck.
	“I wish I could, Nick. God, do I wish I could. But I promised Benny I'd help him fix that car on the teacup ride. Besides, dad wanted to talk to you about something.”
	“About what?” Nick tried to hide his disappointment.
	Nick grabbed his pack of cigarettes from the table near the door. Popping one in his mouth before lighting it. Even before his first inhale, Honey stole it from him, taking a drag before handing it back. Nick didn't mind the soft pink lipstick she left behind. It tastes sweet, it tasted like her.
	“He didn't really tell me what he wanted, but it's something to do with Tommy. He said there's no rush so make sure you take a shower and get some coffee on your way to see him.”
	“Alright.” Nick sat at the edge of his bed rubbing the back of his legs. “You know you're going to make a fantastic mother, right?”
	“How so?”
	“Because you're so good at bossing me around.” Nick chuckled.
	“You ain't seen bossy yet, Mr. Wilde. Wait until I'm pregnant. I might send you out for Chinese food every night.”
	“Oh no, not ever night.” Nick teased, again she stole the cigarette from his lips, this time replacing it with her warm tongue.
	The kiss was as astounding as it was surprising. The passion behind it was enough to stop Nick's beating heart for a second. He couldn't move, couldn't even pull her into a hug. His lips hung open letting her explore his mouth in detail. The soft taste of fresh mint tooth paste, mixed with smoke caused a moan to escape his lips. When she pulled away, she tucked the cigarette in her mouth. Her lime green eyes scanning down to his already swollen sheath.
	“Don't do anything with that, until I get back. I need them boys to be ravenous for my eggs.”
	Nick chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I love it when you talk dirty.”
	“Just wait until later, daddy.”
	Nick's tail bristled. It wasn't a secret to her that he loved it when she called him daddy, though that name will take on a whole new meaning if...when they have a child. When they'd first met as a way of teasing she would address him as such. Nick would always fire back by calling her kid. The longer the game wore on the more it stopped being a game and became flirting. After one such instance where Honey caught Nick unawares, he made it clear that he was an adult and she was underage. As long as the hurdle stood in the way then nothing would ever happen, even with her father's permission. That forceful response cemented it in the pigheaded badger's mind. Nick was the one for her and when she turned eighteen, Nick asked her to make a wish. When she did, she blew out the candles and pulled him into a kiss.
	The thought brought a smile to Nick's lips, there was no point in asking what she wished for. After that, they took their time getting to know each other before letting it blow up into a full-blown relationship. To the fox's surprise the badger was very respectful of his boundaries, she would tease them but never overstep them. Then one day it happened, she asked him on a date. Nick was a little shy about being asked but figured that he'd been keeping her at bay long enough. Honey insisted on paying for the whole thing and in the end, she walked him to the door, ending the date with a kiss goodnight. The sly fox had other plans and invited her in. They'd been living together ever since.
	“Thanks for the cig, love. Have lunch with me later?”
	“Love too. See you later, sweetie.”
	Honey stood in the doorway looking at him for a long moment with a smile on her face. The type of smile she kept only for him. Nick smiled back, his heart pounding in his chest. Love may be illusive for some but Nick was lucky enough to have it trust into his lap, like a kid on a mall Santa. Honey mouthed a sweet 'I love you' and blew a kiss riding on a ring of smoke. Nick reached out watching the ring disperse as it touched his hand. He closed his hands round the invisible kiss. When he looked back she was gone, the door closing behind her.
	“I love you, Honey.” He whispered around the lump in his throat.

	Nick made his way through the main entrance to the enclave. A large hyena female stepped out of the security booth to greet him with a wave. Sheepishly he fluttered his fingers in response, while he sipped his coffee. It was an embarrassing move but it was the best he could come up with. He was running a little behind his own schedule. Wanting to be out of his house by ten, it was now fifteen after and if he was going to meet with Honey for lunch, he had to make this meeting fast.
	The common room was filled by a few kids throwing balls back and forth to each other. Bartrand stood there watching them with a wide grin on his face. His steel gaze following the ball as it was passed back and forth in a zig-zag pattern.
	“Tommy, you're doing great.” Doug said taking the ball from a rather tall brown bear.
	“Thanks.” The bear whispered, taking the ball back before he handed it to a rather quick-moving fox girl standing next to him.
	“Did he just speak?” Nick looked at the bear.
	Skinnier and taller than most bears his age. Tommy had a quiet demeanor, his eyes never fully made contact with any other mammals. There were large patches of fur missing from his arms and legs from where he'd torn out his own fur during his uncontrollable fits. The most glaring patch of fur missing was that around his neck. The flesh underneath was scarred and burn from the collar he once wore. The collar reacted negatively to fits of rage and aggression but were never optimized properly. The design flaw made it activate whenever a strong emotion was felt. In the case of an autistic mammal, it was sparked by their uncontrollable fits which could last several minutes. Leaving the poor mammal severely injured.
	“He sure did. Tommy's taken quite the shine to our little Doug here.” Bartrand chuckled. “You are doing splendid, Tommy, keep it up.”
	“Thanks”
	“He speaks to you too?” Nick pursed his lips.
	“Yes, he and I spend quite a bit of time together, Nick, he seems comfortable around me.”
	“I know but-”
	“Wait.” Bartrand glared at Nick. “Ursula, I have to step away for a moment. You're in charge.”
	“Tha...tha...thanks. UHN...Doc.” The fox girl said almost dropping the ball before she fumbled it to the kid next to her.
	Bartrand took Nick by the arm leading him to stand a few feet away. “Be careful what you say around them.”
	Nick's mouth hung slacked. “I'm sorry.”
	Bartrand took a deep breath and gripped the fox's shoulder. “It's alright, I didn't mean to get frustrated with you. Tommy's not had a good day so far.”
	“What's going on?”
	“He has a fever and it's making him...easily agitated. Last night he clawed up his neck pretty badly, when I tried to put bandages on him, he stabbed me with a pencil. God love Doug, that pig went over to him and calmed him right down. I was able to do the tests I needed too, thanks to that piglet. They've been thick as thieves ever since.”
	“So cute, I've never seen Tommy take to anyone so quickly.”
	“Me neither, my friend. After they play for bit, I'm going to ask Doug to keep him distracted while I put some bandages on that neck.”
	“Aren't you worried?”
	“Not one bit, there's something about Doug.”
	“So what did you need, Doc.”
	“Oh, right, I need help with something. As you know, I've used up my entire stock of prescription notes. I've placed an order for some more but it might take some time since I have to use the old methods.”
	“So what do you want me to do?”
	“Tommy needs some strong antibiotics for his infection. The faster we get his neck healed the happier he'll be.”
	“What did you have in mind?” Nick pursed his lips, asking the badger anything was like a game of twenty questions.
	“We have a mutual friend at the hospital that's willing to write the prescriptions I need. All I need you to do is go and get them, take them to the usual pharmacy and bring back the meds.”
	“Sure, I'll go right now.”
	“He won't be ready for a few days. Right now he's still in the middle of orientation.”
	“Wow, a baby doctor, how rare.” His Down Under accent failed to inspire a smile from the old badger.
	“Very funny, I don't know what my daughter sees in you.”
	“I don't know either, to be perfectly honest.”
	Bartrand gave him solid slap on the back. “You're a good boy, Nick. I couldn't ask for a better father for my grandchildren.”
	Nick froze solid. As flattering as Bartrand's words were, they made him feel a bit guilty. In truth, Nick was so excited about the prospect of having a child with Honey but the chances of a cross species child being conceived were so low and the chances of carrying the child to full term were even less.
	“Speaking of which, do me a favor, pops. Don't let her get her hopes too high about having a baby with me. I don't want her to be disappointed.”
	“It can happen!”
	“I know it can but there are so many-”
	Bartrand dug a few pamphlets out of his pocket and thrust them rather forcefully into Nick's chest. The hit was hard enough to send the fox back a step. The badger didn't say anything, instead, he pointed to one of the pamphlets. 'Pred/Prey, the best of Both Worlds' scrawled across the front. A beautiful painting of a lamb and a lion holding hands on the front. Again, without a word, Bartrand turned the pamphlet over. On the back  was a long list of successful combinations from most compatible to least. Fox and Badger was marked over with a green highlighter. It came in at number eight on the list with a 68% success rate.
	“68%, that's really good, Nick.” Bartrand gave him a hopeful smile.
	“What about the other 32%, Bartrand?”
	The badger bumped his forehead against the side of the fox's. “For a guy as lucky as you, though?”
	“I'd be a crap father.”
	“I think you should take the time to ask the rest of these kids how they feel about that statement.”
	Nick swallowed hard, letting a bashful smile finally slip. “You may be right, old man.” He shoved the pamphlets into his back pocket, before heading off to the teacup ride to share the new information with Honey.