{ "submission_id": "3386375", "keywords": [ { "keyword_id": "173479", "keyword_name": "american moose", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "71" }, { "keyword_id": "174002", "keyword_name": "american red squirrel", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "8" }, { "keyword_id": "987", "keyword_name": "birthday", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "8796" }, { "keyword_id": "104678", "keyword_name": "birthday sex", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "229" }, { "keyword_id": "119091", "keyword_name": "birthday surprise", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "9" }, { "keyword_id": "345637", "keyword_name": "brotherly teasing", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "2" }, { "keyword_id": "80676", "keyword_name": "common raccoon", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "15" }, { "keyword_id": "13934", "keyword_name": "f", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "25176" }, { "keyword_id": "1444", "keyword_name": "family", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "6910" }, { "keyword_id": "247724", "keyword_name": "family dinner", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "7" }, { "keyword_id": "123", "keyword_name": "female", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1103114" }, { "keyword_id": "6561", "keyword_name": "hamster", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "3764" }, { "keyword_id": "2427", "keyword_name": "m", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "29454" }, { "keyword_id": "165", "keyword_name": "male", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1213278" }, { "keyword_id": "11507", "keyword_name": "male/female", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "98429" }, { "keyword_id": "1003", "keyword_name": "m/f", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "42216" }, { "keyword_id": "4121", "keyword_name": "moose", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1721" }, { "keyword_id": "345638", "keyword_name": "motherly teasing", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1" }, { "keyword_id": "1531", "keyword_name": "party", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "4464" }, { "keyword_id": "658", "keyword_name": "present", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "2506" }, { "keyword_id": "345635", "keyword_name": "raccoon sugar glider hybrid", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1" }, { "keyword_id": "2457", "keyword_name": "racoon", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "3801" }, { "keyword_id": "8751", "keyword_name": "red squirrel", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "827" }, { "keyword_id": "12299", "keyword_name": "saluki", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1042" }, { "keyword_id": "20784", "keyword_name": "samoyed", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "832" }, { "keyword_id": "345634", "keyword_name": "samoyed/timberwolf hybrid", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1" }, { "keyword_id": "200085", "keyword_name": "siberian hamster", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "2" }, { "keyword_id": "5571", "keyword_name": "sugar glider", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "609" }, { "keyword_id": "202", "keyword_name": "surprise", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "4811" }, { "keyword_id": "345636", "keyword_name": "surprise birthday sex", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1" }, { "keyword_id": "1740", "keyword_name": "teasing", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "18813" }, { "keyword_id": "5239", "keyword_name": "timberwolf", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "546" } ], "hidden": "f", "scraps": "f", "favorite": "f", "favorites_count": "3", "create_datetime": "2024-08-01 17:41:26.857062+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "01 Aug 2024 19:41 CEST", "last_file_update_datetime": "2024-08-01 17:40:25.142144+00", "last_file_update_datetime_usertime": "01 Aug 2024 19:40 CEST", "username": "Neosate", "user_id": "180326", "user_icon_file_name": "382981_Neosate_verb_winter_2_500px.png", "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/382/382981_Neosate_verb_winter_2_500px.png", "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/382/382981_Neosate_verb_winter_2_500px.png", "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/382/382981_Neosate_verb_winter_2_500px.png", "file_name": "5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.doc", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.doc", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.doc", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.doc", "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.jpg", "thumb_huge_x": "200", "thumb_huge_y": "200", "thumb_large_x": "200", "thumb_large_y": "200", "thumb_medium_x": "120", "thumb_medium_y": "120", "files": [ { "file_id": "5145318", "file_name": "5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.doc", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.doc", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.doc", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.doc", "mimetype": "application/msword", "submission_id": "3386375", "user_id": "180326", "submission_file_order": "0", "full_size_x": null, "full_size_y": null, "screen_size_x": null, "screen_size_y": null, "preview_size_x": null, "preview_size_y": null, "initial_file_md5": "8f757dd3cdc58ec7e2e89dc83154a88b", "full_file_md5": "8f757dd3cdc58ec7e2e89dc83154a88b", "large_file_md5": "", "small_file_md5": "", "thumbnail_md5": "e1162a5b3bd61c574ab3435de6e293f6", "deleted": "f", "create_datetime": "2024-08-01 17:40:25.142144+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "01 Aug 2024 19:40 CEST", "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5145/5145318_Neosate_1787799_verbmynoun_samukis_1.jpg", "thumb_huge_x": "200", "thumb_huge_y": "200", "thumb_large_x": "200", "thumb_large_y": "200", "thumb_medium_x": "120", "thumb_medium_y": "120" } ], "pools": [ { "pool_id": "21135", "name": "Collective Chronology", "description": "The complete collection of everything Written for the Dark Riders, MarbleCliff, Jonestown, and Winter Creek", "count": "185", "submission_left_submission_id": "903292", "submission_left_file_name": "2827600_Neosate_inri04.doc", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/2827/2827600_Neosate_inri04.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/2827/2827600_Neosate_inri04.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2827/2827600_Neosate_inri04.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_huge_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_huge_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_y": "120", "submission_right_submission_id": "1995448", "submission_right_file_name": "2880206_Neosate_01_welcome_home.doc", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/2880/2880206_Neosate_01_welcome_home.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/2880/2880206_Neosate_01_welcome_home.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2880/2880206_Neosate_01_welcome_home.jpg", "submission_right_thumb_huge_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_huge_y": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_y": "200", "submission_right_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_right_thumb_medium_y": "120" }, { "pool_id": "21142", "name": "Marblecliff", "description": "Setting Created by @verbmynoun\nOwned by @neosate\nA city on the New Hampshire cost\nHome to several Stories", "count": "92", "submission_left_submission_id": "1154354", "submission_left_file_name": "1603785_Neosate_10.comingtotermscomplete.doc", "submission_right_submission_id": "1335334", "submission_right_file_name": "1875697_Neosate_12.fatedfairwell.doc" }, { "pool_id": "95215", "name": "Marble Peaks", "description": "", "count": "1" }, { "pool_id": "95243", "name": "VerbMyNoun", "description": "Repostings of @Verbmynoun's older works", "count": "37", "submission_left_submission_id": "3386368", "submission_left_file_name": "5145301_Neosate_1237183_verbmynoun_mss.doc", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/5145/5145301_Neosate_1237183_verbmynoun_mss.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5145/5145301_Neosate_1237183_verbmynoun_mss.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5145/5145301_Neosate_1237183_verbmynoun_mss.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_huge_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_huge_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_y": "120", "submission_right_submission_id": "3386379", "submission_right_file_name": "5145332_Neosate_1464756_verbmynoun_ethan7.doc", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/5145/5145332_Neosate_1464756_verbmynoun_ethan7.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5145/5145332_Neosate_1464756_verbmynoun_ethan7.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5145/5145332_Neosate_1464756_verbmynoun_ethan7.jpg", "submission_right_thumb_huge_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_huge_y": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_y": "200", "submission_right_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_right_thumb_medium_y": "120" }, { "pool_id": "21139", "name": "Winter Creek", "description": "Setting owned by @cormenthor\nHome to the story \"Forest Through the Trees\" and \"Willow Grove\"", "count": "24", "submission_left_submission_id": "1990222", "submission_left_file_name": "2872285_Neosate_15_ruis_-_part_2.doc", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/2872/2872285_Neosate_15_ruis_-_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/2872/2872285_Neosate_15_ruis_-_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2872/2872285_Neosate_15_ruis_-_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_huge_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_huge_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_y": "120" } ], "description": "...What??? A story by me not listed in my official queue?\n\nThat's right! Surprise!\n\nBelieve it or not, this story was written a few years ago. Corm and I knew where we wanted these characters to go; we just had to wait for the story lines to get there.\n\nAnd here we are. The upcoming Winter Formal story will contain spoilers for this story and Part 2, so it was rather important that we get this posted beforehand.\n\nWe hope you enjoy.\n\nCormenthor will be posting Part 2 on his profile, so watch for it. I will add a link here once he does.\n\n \nCharacters:\nSamantha Thompson © @Cormenthor\nDaisy Daniels © @Cormenthor\nJudy Thompson © @Cormenthor\nBrandon Holmes © @Cormenthor\nDerek Blackfoot © @VerbMyNoun\nAJ Blackfoot © @VerbMyNoun & @talon2point0\nOksana Blackfoot © @VerbMyNoun & @talon2point0\nLucas Blackfoot © @talon2point0\nDaphne Jenkins © @VerbMyNoun\nTina Jenkins © @VerbMyNoun\nEthan Black © @VerbMyNoun\nClaire Summers © @VerbMyNoun\nShyara Logan © @VerbMyNoun\nSienna Logan © @VerbMyNoun\nArelia Fletcher © @Neosate ", "description_bbcode_parsed": "...What??? A story by me not listed in my official queue?

That's right! Surprise!

Believe it or not, this story was written a few years ago. Corm and I knew where we wanted these characters to go; we just had to wait for the story lines to get there.

And here we are. The upcoming Winter Formal story will contain spoilers for this story and Part 2, so it was rather important that we get this posted beforehand.

We hope you enjoy.

Cormenthor will be posting Part 2 on his profile, so watch for it. I will add a link here once he does.

 
Characters:
Samantha Thompson © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Daisy Daniels © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Judy Thompson © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Brandon Holmes © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCormenthor\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Derek Blackfoot © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

AJ Blackfoot © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
& \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttalon2point0\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttalon2point0\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Oksana Blackfoot © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
& \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttalon2point0\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttalon2point0\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Lucas Blackfoot © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttalon2point0\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttalon2point0\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Daphne Jenkins © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Tina Jenkins © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Ethan Black © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Claire Summers © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Shyara Logan © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Sienna Logan © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVerbMyNoun\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Arelia Fletcher © \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeosate\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeosate\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
", "writing": "[center][b]Marble Peaks\n\n(A Marblecliff/Seven Peaks Crossover between VerbMyNoun and Cormenthor)[/b]\n\n[i]aka “Samukis”[/i]\n\n[b]Part 1 of 2[/b][/center]\n\n[u]November 8, 2013[/u]\n\n[b]Blackfoot Family Residence, Greenland, NH (About 4.5 mi Southwest of Marblecliff city limits)[/b]\n\nDerek proudly parked his Caterham Seven in the driveway, so excited to finally be able to drive the kit car he had lovingly spent the past several months assembling by hand. His father, AJ, climbed out of the passenger side and clapped a paw on his eldest son’s shoulder.\n\n“She runs like a dream,” the proud Timberwolf said. “You did a great job building her.”\n\n“Good call on replacing that 2.0 Duratec with the 3.7 V6,” the young crossbreed said. “It was a pain reconfiguring the front end and re-shaping the hood, but those extra horses were worth every minute.”\n\n“Why don’t you go ahead inside and tell your mama you got your learner’s,” AJ said. “She’ll be so proud.”\n\nThe eighteen-year old canine did as his father suggested, jogging the remaining couple of yards to the front door and swinging it open just as his mother was coming to greet them.\n\n“I take it you have good news,” the middle-aged Samoyed woman said. “I don’t zhink I have ever seen somevone so excited over failing an exam.”\n\n“You’re right,” he said, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and holding up his permit proudly. “I passed! And the picture is even halfway decent!”\n\n“I tried to tell him to frown,” his father said as they entered the house. “In his lifetime, he only gets one good photo at the DMV, and he wasted it on his learner’s.”\n\n“You said license photo,” his son corrected him. “This wasn’t a license, so I didn’t think it counted.”\n\n“It’s a fine picture,” Oksana said as she hugged her boy tightly. “You alvays take such good photos. I’m sure the next vone vill be even better.” She let him go and said, “A package vas delivered for you today. It’s up in your room. You have a few hours before dinner, so vhy don’t you go and see vhat it is?”\n\n“Okay,” he said, trying to contain his excitement. He quickly hugged his dad once more and kissed his mother on the cheek before bounding up the stairs two at a time, his heavy steel-toe boots clunking loudly the entire way to his room.\n\nHe swung open the door to his bedroom and was greeted by the sight of a large box wrapped in brightly colored paper with ‘Happy Birthday’ printed on it in numerous colors. The whole package was wrapped up neatly with a shiny red silk ribbon tied into a neat bow. There was a large light green tag attached to the top of the box under the bow that read, ‘To the sexiest Samoyed on the East Coast, from the girl of his dreams.’\n\nHis heart raced as his mind ran through the millions of possibilities of things his beautiful, wildly spontaneous girlfriend could have gotten him. He eagerly gripped the silk ribbon by the ends and pulled, being careful not to damage it in case Samantha was up for a little light bondage during her next visit. Once the ribbon was removed, he rolled it up and set it on top of his dresser then tore into the paper, exposing a removable lid. His paws practically shook with anticipation as he gripped the edges and lifted…\n\nSamantha had a difficult time keeping silent inside the box as she heard her boyfriend carefully removing the ribbon. Once he began ripping into the paper she shivered with anticipation at what would come soon, nearly snickering when there was silence again. She prepared herself as she heard the fitted lid being slid off, her paws supporting the false tray above her head that would keep her hidden from his view for at least a few moments more, knowing that the small assortment of tools she had asked his father about and purchased for him would divert his attention for a few moments before he delved deeper into the box. Her plan was simple, when he began to pull the tray from the box she would simply follow it and stand up revealing herself, and the special outfit she had brought along and worn for her lover on his special day. Everything went just as she had planned, his attention held by the tools for a few moments before he started to remove the cardboard tray to have a look at what else his girlfriend had sent to him. Just as the thin barrier cleared the top of the box she stood up, coming nose to nose with her lover in an instant as she said, “Happy Birthday, sexy pup! I hope you like your present.”\n\nThere was a loud clatter as the set of brand new tools fell to the floor as he was welcomed by the unexpected sight of his girlfriend. “Samantha!” he shouted in a mixture of surprise and joy, wrapping the smaller canine girl up in his strong arms and lifting her up out of the box, twirling her around as he kissed her fiercely. After several rotations, he gently set her down, being careful not to make her step on the dropped instruments. “You sneaky temptress! I thought you had a trip to Sacramento with your Physics class this weekend!”\n\n“Well…” the Saluki began trailing off as she blushed brightly. “The class did go to California this weekend… but Debbie and another girl from our class could handle our part of the presentation. So I was able to talk my way out of the trip so I could come spend your birthday with you.” Looking deeply into his golden eyes she added, “It was only a tiny little white lie so I could surprise you.”\n\n“It definitely worked! It’s a good thing I was wearing my steel-toes,” he said before giving her another soft kiss. Just then, he noticed what she was wearing: what appeared to be a single piece of red satin ribbon that wrapped over her left shoulder to encircle her bust. It was seemingly tied into a large bow: one strip of the satiny ribbon continuing down her torso and disappearing between her legs, barely keeping her modestly covered from his view. “Though if you keep wearing that, you can tell me all the little white lies you want.”\n\n“Well then, I don’t think I can tell you any more lies, because I’m the best part of your gift this year, Derek, and I definitely want you to finish unwrapping your present,” the Saluki practically murred into his ear as she hugged him warmly. Glancing over to his dresser, seeing the carefully coiled ribbon he had removed from the box, she grinned mischievously as she asked, “Have plans for that ribbon? Or just keeping it for sentimental reasons?”\n\n“Maybe a little bit of both,” he chuckled. “But those plans will have to wait for now. I know how badly we both want to get our paws on each other. The bondage play can wait until later.” He gently pulled on the ends of her ‘outfit’ and pulled, effectively leaving her standing naked for him in an instant. “Best. Gift. Ever,” he said in a mixture of love and awe. “It just keeps on giving.”\n\nGiggling softly as her paws slowly slid down his sides, one sneaking it’s way around to gently caress his groin, Samantha said, “Maybe, but this weekend I want you to do the giving. I’ll gladly keep receiving every inch, every thrust, and every load you have for me, hot stuff.” Leaning in, she kissed him softly on the lips, lingering there and waiting for him to make the next move.\n\n“That must be what they mean by ‘having your cake and eating it, too,’” he joked as he scooped her up in his arms and laid her down on his bed. Suddenly, a spark of realization flashed in his eyes. “Wait just a minute… If the box was wrapped and tied, then how did you…?” he started to ask.\n\n“Silly boy, I had an accomplice. I actually got here early with the empty box folded down and all the trimmings. Your mother helped me with the last bits and finished the wrapping on the top and tied the ribbon in place. I’m good at pulling things off, but a magician I’m not, and even they have assistants to help them pull off the impossible. Naturally, I had to hear about the two of us and babies the whole time, but a small price to pay for the adorable look on your face.” Looking up at her handsome Samoyed boyfriend, Samantha smiled broadly, giving him a small wink as she added, “And maybe one of these days, if things keep going like they are, we can make her dreams, and ours, come true.”\n\n“Mine are already coming true, Sexy,” he said as he slowly pulled his coveralls down, exposing his muscular torso to her hungry eyes. “Remind me to send a ‘Thank You’ card to Mark and Ariel for picking that week to get married, and to buy stock in Royal Caribbean.” His shop clothes dropped to the floor in a pool around his footpaws, and he kicked his boots off before stepping out of the discarded garments. His boxers tented out proudly as he stood over her, and he leaned down to kiss her once more.\n\nAs he kissed her, one of Samantha’s paws went to the back of his neck. Holding him in place she forced her tongue into his muzzle initiating a deep, sensuous French kiss. Tilting her head to the side as she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss as she began to pant softly through her nose. After several long moments she released him, letting him lean back as she smiled up at him seductively. “I know you’re not working up to it sexy, we’ve gotten way past that point. So what are you hanging around up there for? The view that good?”\n\n“Just couldn’t wait another second to taste those sweet lips,” he responded. “But I wanted to finish taking off these clothes before I join you. Once I get started, I don’t want to have to stop just to take off a pair of boxers. If I wasn’t canine, I could be tempted to just keep them on and just use the opening in the front, but my knot wouldn’t fit. And I know how much you love that.”\n\nHer paws went quickly to his waist gripping the waistband of his boxers. Slipping them down slowly, she grinned as his rock hard erection sprang into view. Leaning in she traced her tongue along his length from the root to his pointed tip before looking up at him and saying, “God I’ve been thinking of doing that for the last four days. You’re just as delicious as I remember from our last time together. I can just never get enough of you and that tasty puppy treat, Derek.”\n\n“Then I’ll just have to give you enough to hold you over for the next two weeks,” he said as he climbed into his bed, aligning himself over top of her sensual body. “I hope you’re able to sleep on the plane, because I don’t plan on letting you do much of that until you get home.” He wrapped one arm underneath her lower back and took one of her paws into his free one, giving it an affectionate squeeze. He stared deep and longingly into her eyes as he shifted his hips slightly, aligning the tip of his tapered cock with the entrance to her silken tunnel, and gently pushed forward. She was so hot and wet that he slid in without resistance, his knot pressed up against her mound as his balls slapped gently against the soft curve of her rear.\n\n“Mmmmm, I swear this is the best part of seeing you again, Derek. Well, the first best part anyway,” the Saluki murred to her lover as she felt him entering her channel. “Then again, it always gets so much better from here… I love you so much, you stud.” Reaching up and wrapping her free arm around him, she closed her eyes, letting her head roll back into the pillows. “Make love to me, Derek, like you did in Hawaii: long, slow, and passionately.” After only a few moments she pulled him tightly to her chest, “on second thought, turn us over, Studly, it’s your birthday and I want you under me while I ride you like a prized breeding stud.”\n\n“I don’t know if I have a favorite part,” he murred as he felt her heat and slickness envelop his shaft. “Every minute I spend with you is memorable, even watching you walk away.” He lowered his muzzle to her neck and kissed her softly before listening to her request. She wrapped her arms around his torso and squeezed her thighs against his hips as he rolled them over, coming to rest on his back, his rod still lodged deep within Samantha’s velvet walls. “But this… this is definitely at the top of the list.”\n\n“Mmmmmhmmmmhmmmm,” she moaned with a slight giggle in her voice as she began to slowly rise and fall on his length. “Very tip-top of the list in my book, Studly,” she said softly as she leaned back away from him a little. Samantha murred as she slowly rode him, taking him fully into the warm, wet embrace of her silky channel with each teasingly slow thrust of her hips. “I wonder who can hold out the longest with us like this….” she began before a small gasp escaped her lips as his paws went to her waist. “Oh God, I’d call you on cheating if I didn’t love the feel of those paws on me so much. So big and strong, and still so soft and gentle… God, I love you, Derek.”\n\n“You’ll never have to worry about that,” he panted as she rode him, using his paws to help regulate her tempo and angle of descent. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’d never do something to jeopardize what we have. I’d hold out for you for years, if I needed to. Though I hope it never comes to that. I love you, Samantha, more than anything.”\n\nSlowing her pace, she rolled her head forward and giggled madly for a moment, “Not that kind of cheating, Silly; cheating in trying to make me cum quicker than you do. You know when you touch me like that – heck, when you touch me at all - it nearly makes me go off. But I got you this time, Stud. I don’t have to rely just on my limited experience… No, I have the library of Debbie to go to for reference material. And she gave me a good one to spring on you this time, Derek. Now raise those knees a little,” she said as she leaned farther back, supporting herself with her arms as he did as she asked. As she settled against his thighs, she grinned at him mischievously, “Okay, now a little lower…” she said as she pressed down against his legs. “Right there, now if I just do this,” she added as she rolled her hips back, changing the angle at which her thrusting drove his shaft into her slick passage. “Now add this,” she added as she began to rock back and forth slightly, resulting in pressing his length against her most sensitive spots as she rose up and sliding his steely hardness against the front wall of her pussy on the down strokes. “OH GOD,” she moaned out loudly as she felt her peak roaring towards her in a flash.\n\n“Oh, now that’s… nnhhh… not fair,” he groaned, involuntarily bucking his hips up in response to the jolts of pleasure she was sending through his body. “If I didn’t know better… ahh… I’d say you’re getting impatient.”\n\n“Nnnnhnnnn,” she mumbled nearly incoherently as she picked up her pace again. “Mmmmmm... more…” she moaned out as she increased the speed of their mating still more, riding him hard enough to begin to make the bed beneath them squeak. “C...cl-close,” she stammered out as her head rolled forward, her eyes opening slightly to gaze at him with the most irresistible bedroom eyes he had ever seen.\n\nHe locked eyes with the beautiful girl writhing atop him, sliding his paws over her hips to grab her by the sensual curve of her behind. He used his arms to drive her body down against his upward thrusts, burying himself as deep inside as he could. He could feel the familiar sensation of his orgasm approaching, and the slight *pop* of his swelling knot as it began to press into her smoldering tunnel. “Trying… hnhh… to get me… hahhh… to cum with you?” he grunted as she bucked against him.\n\nSamantha simply nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact with her lover as her tunnel began to rhythmically ripple along his length, trying to pull him even deeper into her molten core. As she felt his knot tugging at her lips with each stroke, she struggled to lean forward, bringing her paws to his chest as she continued to roll her hips into his thrusts. “D...do it, tie with me and f-fill m-me u-up,” she moaned out, nearly collapsing onto his chest from the intense pleasure he was sending through her body like bolts of lightning.\n\nDerek pulled her forward and pressed his muzzle to hers, passionately sliding his long tongue into her mouth. Talking took a back seat as they focused on the task at paw, the sounds of labored breathing and the wet sounds of sex-slicked bodies slamming together filling the room, punctuated by the random gasp, moan, and grunt. His cock was a blur as he pistoned in and out of her soaked cunny until finally his knot had swollen up enough to tie them together. With a fierce thrust of his hips, he pressed himself all the way inside, feeling her lips stretch tightly around his flesh before popping inside with a wet squelch, sealing his manhood deep inside with his tip lodged against her cervix. With a few more needy jerks, he managed to get the last bit of stimulation they were both looking for as the bulbous base of his cock rubbed against her G-spot, making them both cry out.\n\n“Yes...Yes… oh GOD YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!” Samantha moaned out loudly as she finally collapsed onto his chest laying her head on his shoulder and murring happily into his neck.\n\n“Oh, God… Saman… Samantha! Ohhh, yesssss,” Derek moaned as he could feel his lover’s walls gently caressing him as they crested together, spilling rope after rope of his seed into her body. He bucked and trembled slightly beneath her as the last shocks of his release coursed through his body, and wrapped his strong arms around her body, holding her tightly.\n\nAfter several long minutes of nothing more than panting and heavy breathing, Samantha began to stir slightly. “Thank you, I really needed to get that out of my system before we go out with your parents for dinner. Otherwise, I’m not so sure I could keep my paws off you for that long. Not to mention I’d really rather not give your friend the wrong impression of myself, or embarrass your brother any more than we already have.” Her paw idly roaming his broad chest, trailing her dull nails through his thick fur as she added, “As soon as I can trust myself to walk without falling over, I think we need to get a shower. Maybe separately so we can make it out of this room on time to join your family?”\n\n“I understand, God, that was every bit as intense as the beach,” he panted. “I think if it wasn’t for that kiss, I would have howled out again.” He ran his fingers through her hair, marveling at her beauty as he waited for his knot to subside. “But I still kind of miss the foreplay and the slow lovemaking.” As she stared into his golden eyes, he added, “But, after a few hours to recover and a nice dinner, I should be ready to go again by the time we get home tonight. And when we do, that sexy ass is all mine.”\n\nGiggling softly Samantha replied, “The sexy is for sure, and since it’s your birthday… maybe, just maybe, if you play your cards right the ass can be, too.”\n\n“Wait, what?” he asked, caught off guard by what he thought she was suggesting. “I was just talking about us giving each other some oral and manual teasing, followed by a slower, tenderer round of making love. I didn’t mean -”\n\n“Frosty?” the Saluki said softly, bringing a finger to his lips. “Shhhhh, I didn’t say yes, and I didn’t say no, but I will think about it, and you know there’s really nothing wrong with a little fooling around there to get me in the mood or maybe work on getting me where we can do it that way.”\n\n“I know,” he said, hugging her close, “I just didn’t want you to think I was pressuring you into something you weren’t ready for or comfortable with. I just thought you misunderstood what I was getting at.”\n\n“I didn’t misunderstand what you meant, and I know you weren’t - that’s part of why I love you so much and why I’ll consider it. But right now we need to get ready for your night out and we’ll see where the night leads from there,” Samantha said softly as she cuddled against him. “Shower shortly, cuddle now.”\n[center]\n~~~~~[/center]\n\n“There she is!” Derek exclaimed excitedly as Oksana pulled up in front of a small split-level home. A young hamster girl waited patiently for them with her mother at the end of the driveway. As the vehicle slowed to a stop, the young hybrid jumped out and gave the older rodent woman a hug.\n\n“Happy birthday, Derek,” Tina Jenkins said warmly.\n\n“Thank you, Mrs. J,” he said as he let the woman go. “And thank you for letting Daphne come out with us tonight. I’ve been looking forward to introducing her to Samantha for a while now. I think they’ll really hit it off.” He looked down at the pre-teen girl and asked, “All set?”\n\n“Yeah,” his best friend replied, “I’m eager to meet this mystery girl that has you all aflutter.” He opened the passenger side rear door and carefully lifted the small hamster girl out of her wheelchair, and gently set her down in the back seat he had just vacated. “Hi,” the preteen said as she found herself sitting next to the pretty Saluki girl. “I’m Daphne, Derek’s friend.”\n\n“Hello, Daphne,” the Saluki said, extending a paw to the younger girl, “I’m Samantha Thompson, Derek’s girlfriend. It’s nice to finally get to meet the young lady he speaks so highly of all the time. I’m glad you could join us tonight so I could finally put an accurate picture with his description of you. He was right,” she added with a broad grin on her muzzle, “you are as pretty as he says you are.”\n\n“Thank you,” the young girl blushed through her fur at the compliment, “but I think your boyfriend needs some vocabulary lessons. He told me you were pretty, too, but I think you’re closer to ‘stunning.’”\n\n“Hey,” he protested as he helped the young hamster with her seatbelt, “my vocabulary is just fine. I just have to remember sometimes that I’m talking to a twelve year old, and tone down my enthusiasm a bit.” He exited the car again for a moment, taking his best friend’s wheelchair from her mother and folding it up. He opened the rear hatch of the SUV and set the chair inside.\n\n“Hello, Tina,” Oksana said as she rolled down the passenger window to speak to the older hamster. “Vhat time should I have her home by?”\n\n“Normally, I’d say ten, but since it’s Derek’s birthday, I’ll go ahead and say midnight,” Daphne’s mother said. Looking at the Samoyed woman’s swollen belly, she asked, “So, how’s the pregnancy coming along?”\n\n“Not bad,” the canine woman answered. “ve’re supposed to find out zhe sex in two veeks.” She ran her left paw comfortingly over her stomach.\n\n“Congratulations,” Tina said. “Any preference?”\n\n“Not really,” Oksana said. “I alvays vanted a daughter, but after living in a house full of boys for so long, I don’t know if I vould know how to raise a girl. And knowing Azhay, she’d probably grow up to be a little tomboy.”\n\n“Speaking of, where is that rogue of a husband of yours, and Lucas?”\n\n“Zhey’re going to meet us at zhe restaurant,” she explained. “Zhey had some business down at zhe shop to take care of, and zhen zhey are going to pick up Lucas’s girlfriend.” With Daphne’s chair properly secured in the back of the SUV, Derek opened up the front passenger door and climbed inside.\n\n“Well, it was very nice to see you,” the older hamster said. “But I should let you get the birthday boy to his dinner. Have fun, guys!”\n\n“Bye, mom,” Daphne called back.\n\n“Bye, Mrs. J,” Derek added. “Thanks again.”\n\nAs they pulled away from the Jenkins’ residence, Daphne said, “Oh, yeah! I have something for you!” She pulled a small satchel up into her lap and dug through it for a moment, then pulled out a small plastic bag. “Derek asked me to make these for you.” She unzipped the bag and produced a bracelet, necklace, and a pair of earrings, all made from seashells.\n\n“They’re from the same beach where we… well, you know,” the Samoyed/Timberwolf mix explained. “And before you say that she didn’t have to, trust me, she would have anyway. It’s her hobby. She would have made you something either way, but I thought this would be a little more personal.”\n\nWith a soft giggle at her boyfriend’s sudden modesty in front of his younger friend, Samantha said, “More personal, huh?” Reaching forward and playfully swatting him on the back of the head, she continued, “First off, Daphne, these are beautiful! The way you mixed and matched the shells makes them sparkle and the earrings are nearly identical. That must have taken you more than a few hours to sort them out like that.” Turning back to the Samoyed in front of her she added, “And I don’t need any other reminders of that beach, Derek. But these make it all the more memorable of the first place I got you to go swimming with me… without your trunks,” she finished with a snicker as she watched his snow white fur begin to turn a lovely shade of pink.\n\n“Really?” he asked, giving her a playful swat on the knee. “In front of my mom? I hope you’re ready to hear more talk about giving her grandcubs.”\n\n“Derek!” his mother said in mock insult. “I vould never! Not vizh Daphne in zhe back seat!”\n\n“Well… thanks, mom,” he said, caught a little by surprise. He had endured an almost constant stream of talks regarding children over the past four months.\n\n“I vant her vhere she can see how cute you blush vhen you get embarrassed,” the older Samoyed said, eliciting giggles from the girls in the back seat.\n\nLeaning closer to the hamster girl, Samantha said quietly, though more than loud enough to be heard in the front seat, “He really should have seen that one coming shouldn’t he? Especially with how much his mother has dropped hints about it.” Righting herself in her seat again, Samantha leaned forward as far as the seatbelt would allow and draped her arms over Derek’s shoulders, “If you even think after all she’s said so far that your mother would not say something today of all days… I know you’re not that crazy, are you?”\n\n“I’m honestly beginning to wonder,” he said, shaking his head. “If it wasn’t for the dominant gene that gives Samoyeds their white coats, I swear, I’d be turning gray already.”\n\n~~~~~\n\nThey met up with AJ and Lucas, along with Lucas’s new girlfriend, Arelia, at Tanuki, a local Japanese Steakhouse and Derek’s favorite restaurant. The young mink girl was very pretty and well-mannered, though pretty shy. The seven of them were gathered around the hibachi while their Teppanyaki chef, a Hokkaido named Keiji, prepared their meals. Derek couldn’t help but notice as his girlfriend looked on, wide-eyed, as their chef performed such tricks as making a volcano out of an onion and flipping pieces of shrimp from off the grill and across the table into the waiting mouths of the party.\n\n“First time at a place like this?” he asked, leaning over and speaking into her ear.\n\n“Yes, I always wanted to go to a place like this, but the ones back home are so popular you have to make a reservation about a month in advance. God forbid if you’re even a minute late for it, too. They’ll pass you right over and seat the next group even after only three minutes. Even Debbie couldn’t… woo her way into one without a reservation in advance,” the Saluki replied as she watched the effortless movements of their chef. “The closest I ever came was about three weeks ago with her and Brett, but my plans got changed at the last minute by my mom. Which reminds me, there’s something I haven’t really had a chance to tell you about yet… but I’m not sure if this is the time or place for it. Especially since it is your birthday and all.”\n\n“What is it?” he asked, suddenly worried about what she had to say. He placed his paw on her shoulder and said, “It doesn’t matter if it’s my birthday. I’ve had seventeen others, and I’ll have several more down the road. If something’s troubling you, I want to be there for you.”\n\n“It’s not so much troubling, really,” the Saluki began to explain, a soft smile coming to her lips in an instant. “It’s a lot to lay on you all at once, more than anything. I’m not entirely sure where to even start, really. Mom works at a local manufacturing plant back in Denver, her shifts got changed just before we left for vacation. It seems that while I was on the cruise, my mother met a guy at work… and they got kind of serious really quick, faster than we did, in fact. But I can come back to that later, there’s something else that’s a tiny little bit more important I think you need to know about. It seems the company she works for is nearing completion of a new facility… close to here, in fact. She works in the quality control lab of the plant and they want to send her to the new plant to help them get it started up and running smoothly. They estimate it would be right after the first of the year and the transfer would last until late May, or early to mid-June at the latest.”\n\nAs he processed this latest bit of information, his pulse quickened and his mind began to race, but Derek fought to not get too excited just yet. “So, that would mean that you…?” he started to ask, hoping that she would complete the sentence with ‘would be coming out here with her.’\n\n“Would have to make a decision on what to do, either stay in Colorado, most likely with Debbie, and finish out the school year or…” she said pausing to gather herself a bit more before continuing. “Or, thanks to quick thinking by a mutual friend of ours, I can continue with my classes by remote learning on the computer and still finish out the year. I would just have to go back to be physically present for the final exams. If I go that route… then I would be free to come out with her and Brandon, and be closer to my hot boyfriend. If you don’t think it would be too big of a distraction for me to be that much closer, that is,” she trailed off as she blushed a pale pink.\n\n“So, let me get this straight,” he said. “You’re asking me if I’d rather keep seeing you twice a month, spending thousands on airfare that I could splurge on you in other ways, or have you close by, where I can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste whenever I want? Remind me later that this is just one more thing I owe Mark for.”\n\nLaying one paw on the side of his face as she stared into his golden eyes Samantha said, “Only some of it has to do with him, the rest is more thanks to mom and her, ummm… fiancé, Brandon Holmes… or as it looks like I’ll be calling him next month, my step-dad, they’ve decided to get married.” Leaning in closer, doubting she could drop the last hand grenade into the conversation without being overheard by the Samoyed woman across from them she finished with, “and I won’t be the only one calling him ‘daddy’ soon.”\n\nHe cocked his eyebrow at that last bit of news. It took a moment to register what she was getting at, then he asked, “Wait, you mean you’re going to have a little brother or sister?”\n\nNodding slowly, keeping her eyes locked onto his Samantha said, “Yes, and believe me I was floored when she told me. All this time and it comes out that my father was a ‘one hit wonder’. Weird thing is, if they have her due date right, she got pregnant the night he proposed… go figure.” Turning to her boyfriend with an odd look on her face Samantha asked, “is it just me, or does it seem weird that one day, when we decide the time is right and all, I may have to try to explain to a toddler what being an aunt or uncle means?”\n\n“Honestly? It seems a little more normal now,” the Samoyed boy said with a nod over to his mother. “Both of our moms, pregnant at the same time. Who would have ever guessed?”\n\n“Vait, vhat?” Oksana said, catching what her oldest son had just said. “Samanzha, your mozher is pregnant, too?”\n\n“Yes, ma’am, she told me the Tuesday after Derek’s last visit, the same day she told me she was getting married to her current boyfriend. These last two weeks have been a little weird all the way around at our house. Between planning a wedding for next month, getting things ready for a baby and working on getting everything packed up and ready to move… it’s been really hectic on top of school and mom’s work.”\n\n“I can only imagine!” the Ukrainian woman exclaimed. “Still, congratulations to you bozh! So… zhis move zhat you speak of… Are you all looking for a bigger place for zhe baby? I mean, you are almost out of high school, anyvay.”\n\n“Actually,” Samantha began to explain as she blushed a pale pink, “mom and her husband-to-be have a slightly different idea. They’re looking into either a bigger place or maybe something else. Mom had said something before I left that I’m still trying to wrap my head around. She and Brandon were talking about a place with a mother-in-law house on the property, or maybe a duplex, though I’m not really sure what she has in mind with something like that, and she wouldn’t go into any details when I asked her what she was up to,” the Saluki girl said fiddling with her paws a little.\n\n“Zhat makes sense, I suppose,” the older woman said as she nodded. “Your mozher and her fiancé bozh have zheir careers, and you vill have college to vorry about. It vould be a good idea for his mozher to come and stay for a bit to lend a paw until zhey get settled in to zhe new routine.”\n\nJust as he thought his mother was finished speaking and was about to open his muzzle to say something, she spoke up again. “So… Vhen are you two going to have a dytyna of your own, hmm? Vouldn’t it be nice if we vere all raising our little vones togezher?” Despite the playful grin on her face, he knew she was being quite serious.\n\n“Mom,” he laughed, slightly embarrassed. “We won’t rush it. When the time is right, it’ll happen. Let us finish school at least!” Looking over at his girlfriend, he added, “Though I can only imagine how well pregnancy will compliment your beauty, Sexy.”\n\n“There’s nothing more beautiful than the creation of new life!” AJ said, a little too loudly, catching the attention from some of the other diners.\n\n“So, Arelia,” the teen said to his younger brother’s girlfriend, trying to change the topic. “Lucas tells me that your father rescues and rehabilitates feral horses. I bet that’s a lot of fun and rewarding work.”\n\n“Um,” the mink girl started shyly, “We started the rescue this summer when he got back from…” She trailed off for a moment looking at her paws before she started over. “It’s a lot of work; we get up really early every day, and sometimes don’t get to bed until late at night. But, they are so majestic and beautiful, it’s hard to see how badly they are treated sometimes.”\n\n“I can only imagine,” AJ said, his expression showing genuine sympathy for the animals. “It’s a noble thing your dad is doing. You should be proud of him.”\n\n“I am, for a lot of things. The horse stuff is something he can still do after his injury in Iraq.” The girl’s mood seemed to shift as she spoke about her father. “He can’t do a lot of things any more, but he can still do that. So we do what we can to help also.”\n\n“I didn’t know he was a vet,” the older Timberwolf exclaimed. “We’ll have to have your family over for dinner sometime, especially once the weather warms up. We love to cook out, and we’d be honored if you all joined us.”\n\nArelia blushed and looked at her paws as she said, “I guess, but he might not want to come. He doesn’t do well around others sometimes. But, Mom is trying to get him to go out more.”\n\n“I can respect that,” AJ replied. “They say that war changes people. At the very least, the rest of the family could come over, and we’d send you all back with a great dinner to give to him.”\n\n“Jordan’s family would probably be over, too,” Lucas interjected. “When we all get together, it’s like a house full of Pets.”\n\n“Oh, come on now, we’re better than a bunch of ferals,” his father scoffed.\n\nBlushing brighter the mink said, “I think he’s talking about my sister Petra… We call her Pet. And… um… I have a hard enough time handling one of her. I’m not sure if I could deal with a house full. She’s a paw full most of the time.”  She looked around as she realized how mean that might have sounded and started to explain herself. “Pet has ADHD, and she is like a watch spring that is wound too tight all the time. We have to keep her busy and focused on things or she might go supernova.”\n\nThe conversation dropped off for a bit, no one really knowing what to say next, until Samantha spoke up. “I can kind of understand that,” the Saluki girl said looking over at the mink. “My friend, Debbie, is kind of like that most of the time. She could be a lot of fun at times, but she can be quite a pawful herself most of the time.”\n\n“She’s the girl zhat is dating Derek’s friend, Brett, no?” Oksana asked, turning her attention back towards her oldest son and his girlfriend. “How is Brett doing, by zhe vay?”\n\n“Some distraction you turned out to be,” Derek joked, addressing his younger brother. “Remind me to not help you out when it’s your birthday.”\n\n“I think you and Lucas make an adorable couple, Arelia,” Daphne said sweetly.\n\n“Nice try, Daph,” Derek said, rolling his eyes. “But I think those two are a long way from hearing about cubs from Mom. Next thing you know, she’ll be ‘reminding’ Samantha and me to use protection by sticking push pins through condoms on the memo board.”\n\nThis got a giggle from all the ladies at the table, but AJ said, “She’d do it, too.”\n\n“God, so would my mother,” the Saluki girl said between giggles. “I’ve already caught her rummaging around in the dresser drawer I usually keep my birth control in at home. She swears she’s not up to anything, but now that I know she’s pregnant… I’m not sure I trust her that much. I honestly wouldn’t put anything past her.” Making another attempt to change the subject, if even for only a few minutes to give Derek a bit of a break, Samantha turned to his younger brother. “So… tell me how you two met, Lucas, I have a feeling it may be an interesting story.”\n\n“You might say that,” the younger boy said and a slight grin formed across his muzzle. For her part, Arelia blushed bright pink through her fur and slumped down in her seat. “Peanut butter crackers may have been involved.”\n\n“Now this I have to hear,” Derek spoke up, leaning forward in his chair. “I didn’t hear that part of the story yet.”\n\nBefore the focus could shift to her, Arelia quickly scooped her mouth full of salad and slid further down in the chair, her eyes only barely visible above the table.\n\n“So, she was introduced to our group of friends by Illyana,” Lucas began. “Did you know that Arelia makes all of her own clothes, even the school uniform?” A few heads around the table nodded, while Samantha looked impressed by the cute dress the young mink was currently wearing. “Well, I guess her first attempt at the uniform caught the attention of multiple people, including Illyana and the headmaster.”\n\n“Vhat vas so different about it?” Oksana prodded, seeming to know the answer already, but wanting to make her youngest son and his date squirm.\n\nLucas shifted his blue eyes towards his mother and said, “Mom…”\n\n“Don’t be rude, Lucas. Samanzha hasn’t heard zhe full story yet,” the Samoyed woman said.\n\n“Neither have I, apparently,” Derek grinned.\n\nSighing, Lucas continued, “The fabric was a little shinier than the normal material.”\n\n“And?” Oksana interjected.\n\n“She… uh… Well, she made it a little tight around the, uhm…” Lucas swallowed and lifted his paws up to his chest, sliding them from the center around to the sides.  “You know.”\n\nThere was a dull *thud* as the mink girl slipped off the edge of her chair and landed on the floor beneath the table.\n\n“Anyway, you know that Svetlana, Illya’s older sister, is into fashion design, and that their mother used to be a model, so she and Arelia became friends,” Lucas explained, now that the awkward part was, at least for now, behind him. “So when lunch period came around, Illya introduced her to the rest of the group.”\n\n“Sounds to me like she got your attention with that jacket, Lucas,” Samantha said with a wink at the younger Samoyed. “But I have to say that the two of you really do make an adorable couple”\n\n“OHMYGOD!” Daphne squealed. “I heard rumors that he likes her clothes so much he even tried on one of her dresses!”\n\n“That was a game of truth or dare,” Lucas said, defending himself, “and I kept my sweatpants on.”\n\n“I still don’t see where the peanut butter crackers came into play,” Derek interjected. “I mean, I’m sure you didn’t play truth or dare at school. Stop skipping ahead.”\n\n“Yes, I want to hear about those crackers, also. It sounds like someone got a bit nervous,” Samantha said extending her paw down to the mink girl trying to hide under the table. “Need a paw up from the floor, Arelia?”\n\nThere was just a muffled reply, but no paw reached out to accept the assistance, so the table of canines all grinned and shrugged, with the exception of poor Lucas, continuing their conversation.\n\n“So, she was eating these Ritz-and-peanut butter sandwiches for lunch,” Lucas explained, “then I sat down across from her at the lunch table. When I tried to introduce myself, she answered with a mouthful, and I got… uhm, sprayed.” A soft whine rose up from under the table as the young mink tried to hide her embarrassment.\n\n“Aw, that ain’t so bad,” AJ said, leaning over and looking under the table at his youngest son’s girlfriend. “When I was trying to get Oksana’s attention, I did a lot worse than that, on more than one occasion. Sometimes, I think the only thing that didn’t drive her off was she needed a green card.”\n\n“Zhere vas zhat,” Oksana chuckled. “Zhe ozher zhing zhat kept us togezher vas zhat ve vere tied togezher most of zhe first couple of years. By zhe time I could finally get avay, I vas already pregnant vizh -”\n\n“Oh, god, Mom,” Derek said, covering his ears with his paws and shaking his head, “not at my birthday dinner, and not in front of Samantha.”\n\nLooking at her boyfriend with a little bit of a scowl on her face the Saluki said, “Really? Like we’re any different when we’re together, Frosty?”\n\n“No, but there are certain people you just don’t ever want to see, or even imagine, having sex,” the older boy said. “The sound effects down the hall are bad enough sometimes, but to get the description on top of that…”\n\n“Now you know how I feel,” Lucas shot back, looking at Derek and Samantha. “What the heck, do you two use a megaphone and jackhammer in bed, or what?” This earned a round of laughter from their parents and Daphne, while Derek just grinned sheepishly and Samantha turned pink.\n\nNow that the attention was diverted from her, Arelia peeked out from under the table and, sensing that the coast was clear, climbed back up into her chair.\n\n“What can I say? We like to make sure the other is satisfied,” Derek said softly. “If you two ever get serious, you’ll know what I mean.”\n\n“Your brozher is right, Lucas,” Oksana teased. “I vouldn’t be surprised if your fazher and I have to hear zhe two of you going at it like a couple of, vell… minks.”\n\n“I hate you,” the younger canine boy said, glaring at his brother while Arelia dropped her head into her paws on the table.\n\n“You’ll thank me later, man,” Derek said, leaning back in his chair and mussing with his brother’s hair. “When the two of you are pushing two double-strollers down the sidewalk, you’ll have your own bobsled team in training. When they’re ready for the Olympics, just have them call Uncle Derek, and I’ll hook them up with the best sled on the ice.”\n\nEven the younger boy couldn’t hide his smile from the birthday boy’s jokes. Once the laughter died down a little, Oksana cleared her throat and said, “I’d like to toast my big, strong, handsome son, Derek. I’m so proud of you. You have grown into such a vonderful young man.”\n\n“Thanks, Mom,” he said, blushing a little at the attention. Mild embarrassment soon turned into abject horror as his mother began to sing out loud, drawing the attention of their entire side of the restaurant. AJ soon stood up onto his footpaws, encouraging the other patrons to sing along to ‘Mnohaya lita’. Even Samantha, Daphne, and Arelia managed to sing along when they weren’t giggling at the older boy who was busy trying to bury his head in the tabletop.\n\nWhen the song ended, there was a round of applause and Oksana stood up, taking a bow for her audience. Sensing that the ‘danger’ had passed, her oldest son sat back up only to have his head squeezed against his mother’s bosom. “I love you, Derek. You vill alvays be my dytyna, no matter how many grandbabies you give me.”\n\n“Tell me your mothers don’t do this to you?” he asked, looking from Samantha, to Arelia, and over to Daphne.\n\n“Mine doesn’t,” the little hamster said, “but if she did, she’d probably shatter glass.”\n\n“To me no… but to you in two weeks when she sees you again before she leaves, that may be an entirely different story. Maybe you’ll get lucky and she’ll be so distracted with all of the wedding plans and all you just might get a pass from her,” the Saluki said with a broad grin. “Just be ready when she remembers it later; she’ll feel like she has to pay interest on a missed opportunity.” Leaning over to whisper to Arelia, Samantha said, “Just a word of warning, if you and Lucas do start to get serious... this is what you’ll have to deal with on a regular basis.”\n\n“I’m just glad my mom doesn’t think about that yet,” the mink replied softly. “At least she doesn’t talk about it. But she is good about not talking about certain things.”\n\n“So,” Derek said as he looked back over to his girlfriend, “what do you think Daisy will say when she hears the news?” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Lucas and Arelia both visibly relaxed as the focus was shifted off of them.\n\n“About Lucas having a girlfriend?” the Saluki asked, sounding thoroughly confused. “Why would Daisy care? She’d probably say, ‘Do I look like I give a fuck?’”\n\n“No, I mean about you moving out here for the rest of the school year,” her boyfriend clarified.\n\n“Oh! I’m not really sure, but she’ll probably freak out when she finds out. I haven’t really had a chance to tell her yet because we’ve been really busy trying to get things ready for the move,” the Saluki said shaking her head slowly. “I didn’t realize my mom had so much crap in that house until we started going through it all.”\n\n“Well, if she needs an extra set of paws, I’d be happy to help,” he volunteered, dropping his voice to a whisper so that he wouldn’t give his mother more ammunition. “Though my reasons are a little selfish, if it gets you out here faster.”\n\n“I’ll remember that on the first visit after my birthday. Mom has already said that one is off limits as far as you doing anything but taking care of me… sound familiar?” Samantha asked with a huge grin on her face.\n\nHe looked over at his mother and said, “As if she’d let me forget. Don’t worry, though. Your birthday weekend, everything will be all about you. But part of me wants to get out there now and get you all packed up and moved now.”\n\n“That’s exactly what I want, too, Frosty, and the wait is going to be a little hard to take. But if mom has her dates right, we’ll have nearly four and a half months before I have to fly back to take the final exams.” Samantha started to giggle softly as she added, “We just have to make sure to work in some study time before then so I can be sure to pass them.”\n\n“Well, I’ll still be working at the shop, and I’ll be in school… Wait, your school is a private school, too, right? Would they consider letting you take proctored exams?” he asked. “Chimera Prep is one of the more prestigious private schools on the East Coast.”\n\n“Mark thought of that, too, but the only way they will let me do the distance learning classes is if I agree to be there physically to take the finals. Mrs. Maplethorpe said it had something to do with the state’s education laws. I really didn’t understand it so I didn’t pay a lot of attention to that part of the discussion,” Samantha replied with a slight frown. “It won’t be all that bad, it’s only two days and Debbie has already agreed to let me crash with her and Brett, unless something changes between now and then. Just in case, I do have another friend that I can stay with for those two days.” Turning to look her boyfriend in the eyes, the Saluki said, “If it gets me closer to you for four months… I’ll do whatever I have to, and be very glad that it’s not something even harder to work out.”\n\n“Look at you two,” Oksana said, leaning her way over as much as she could in her gravid condition, “you are so romantic and cute togezher! You vill make such loving parents someday! Vhat do you zhink, hmm? Should ve pay zhe bill and get you two lovebirds back home so you can put a bun in zhat oven?”\n\n“Give me strength,” Derek muttered, shaking his head. “School first, mom, babies after.”\n\n“Just call zhem ‘extra motivation,’” his mother teased. “Somezhing else to push you to be successful.”\n\nSnickering as she nuzzled into her lover’s neck, Samantha whispered into his ear, “Sounds so much like my mother.” Letting her paw slip into his lap and squeezing his thigh she added, “But I would so enjoy the trying.”\n\n“Ahem,” the Samoyed-wolf blushed as he cleared his throat. “Check please?”\n\n[center]~~~~~[/center]\n\nThe two teens drove slowly through the streets of Marblecliff as Derek took Samantha on a tour of the city, pointing out the sights and landmarks so that she wouldn’t be as lost once she and her mother arrived. Until now - with the exception of dinner the previous night - she had only seen the airport and the Blackfoot house.\n\n“And that,” he said with a gesture of his paw, “is Chimera Prep, my school.”\n\nSamantha looked where he was waving, and saw a massive building sitting atop a hill. It was slightly odd and perhaps even a bit scary looking. The main structure was made of old blocks of black stone, but throughout the years, additional wings had been added on: some gray brick, some tan, none of them adhering to any particular design scheme. The campus was dotted with several other smaller buildings, and decorated with crepe myrtle trees that had all shed their leaves for the winter.\n\n“Well, it’s certainly an interesting looking school. Maybe once mom and I get moved out here you can give me a tour sometime,” Samantha said with a smile. “Maybe even introduce me to some of your classmates or something.”\n\n“Or, I could invite a beautiful lady to a dance,” he said with a smile. “You know, the whole time I’ve attended here, I haven’t gone to a single function… That probably helped to fuel those ‘gay’ rumors.”\n\n“Well if you think it would help to be seen with your pretty girlfriend, I’d be happy to help squash those rumors, Frosty. One thing I can guarantee you are not is gay… in any way,” the Saluki said leaning closer to her boyfriend. “And I would so love to spend the night dancing with the sexiest guy at your school.”\n\n“Honestly, I don’t even care about the rumors. It’s just… I was missing out on life,” he said, turning his head and clasping her paw. “It took finding you to help me realize this.”\n\nHe turned the Caterham down a side street and added, “Here, we aren’t far from where Daisy lives. I’ll show you how to get there.” A few minutes later, they turned into a wealthy looking subdivision with a large sign that said ‘Valley View.’ They slowly drove past a large mansion, and he pointed. “Right there.”\n\n“Holy hell…” the Saluki said, wide-eyed at the sight of the overly large residence. “I don’t know if her family knows where she lives... well, not as far as what the house looks like. Then again, I’m not sure that could even be called a house.”\n\n“From what I understand, they’re all probably in the middle of their morning workout ritual,” he explained, “Miss Fargo can be a real ball-buster from the sounds of things. But if you want to check in with her later, maybe we can all meet up or something.”\n\n“That sounds like a good idea, if we can and have the time. It would be nice to see that crazy moose again. I’ve kind of missed her since she moved out here,” Samantha said with a hint of sadness in her voice.\n\n“I can understand that,” he said, “I kind of miss Brett and Debbie, and I’ve only known them for a short while. It must be so much harder when you and Daisy were friends for so long.”\n\n“Yes it is, and it’s even a little bit harder since she knew me before I came out as Samantha. She was on my butt about it even before I met Mark, which was mostly Debbie’s doing. It still seems weird that because of a pushy, nosey, kind of slutty bunny I ended up with such a hot and sexy man in my life. At the time I thought they were both crazy, but I’m really glad they didn’t give up on me, even when I was about to myself,” the Saluki confessed beginning to fiddle with her paws a little.\n\n“Well, I’m glad they didn’t let you,” he said, stroking her hair back out of her face. “And now that you’re stuck with me, I won’t either.” Just then, a broad smile formed on his muzzle and he asked, “Hey, how does breakfast sound? Are you hungry?”\n\n“Actually… yes, I am a little hungry after this morning. You really are extra frisky first thing when you wake up, aren’t you?” the Saluki asked, perking up a little.\n\n“Are you kidding me?” he teased, “You’re the one that slept with her paw down the front of my boxers all night.” He steered his car into the parking lot of a small family restaurant and killed the ignition. “And is that a complaint? I mean, there is the sofa bed in the study…”\n\n“Oh, were you planning to sleep on it? Because I’m really happy with the sleeping arrangements as they are right now. But, if waking up to being groped is a problem…” Samantha said with a little smirk on her lips.\n\n“First of all, I think referring to any situation where you and I share a bed can hardly be called a ‘sleeping’ arrangement - thank you, mother - and I have no issue with being groped, but you light a serious fire in me,” he retorted. “So yeah, I am extra frisky, when I wake up next to you.” He opened the door and escorted her inside.\n\n“Good morning, welcome to the Willows Family Restaurant,” an older goat woman said, “Is it just the two of you this morning?”\n\n“Yes, please,” he said.\n\n“Right this way, then,” the hostess said, leading them to their table.\n\nAs they were walking through the dining area, he spotted a few familiar faces. “Actually, ma’am, I just spotted some friends from school. Would it be too much trouble to get seated next to them?” He indicated towards a table of four, where a raccoon, red squirrel, and sugar glider sat, talking amongst themselves, while a little girl happily drank from her bottle in her carrier. Samantha couldn’t help but think she had seen that sugar glider before.\n\n“Here you go,” the woman said, setting down a pair of menus and two rolls of silverware. “Your server will be Gretchen. She should be with you in a moment.”\n\n“Look who stopped working himself to death and decided to join the living,” the raccoon said as he stood up to greet them. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside of school before, Derek,” the boy said, then looked over at Samantha. “This must be your doing.”\n\n“Probably, but if it’s a good thing I’ll gladly take the blame for it,” the Saluki said with a broad grin. “Samantha Thompson,” she added extending a paw to the raccoon. “Though to hear him tell it I might be the reason no one sees much of him at all.”\n\n“Ethan Black,” the boy said, returning the gesture and shaking her paw. “It’s nice to meet you. This is my girlfriend, Claire, and our friend, Shyara. And this…” He reached down into the carrier and playfully tickled the infant. “...is Sienna.”\n\n“Nice to meet you Ethan, Claire… but your name,” she said looking to the sugar glider, “that sounds a little familiar to me. I just can’t really place…” Samantha said trailing off in thought for a moment. “You wouldn’t by chance happen to know a bunny girl named Debbie would you?”\n\n“Hold on now jus’ a tick… Yer that gal that was Debbie’s roommate on tha cruise, ain’t ya?” the sugar glider said. “Looks like ya went an’ got ya’self a souveniah.”\n\nEthan and Claire looked at each other, then back at Derek and Samantha. “You two met on the cruise?”\n\n“Yes, we did. My roommate and I were helping a couple friends of ours set up for their wedding and Derek made himself useful. It didn’t take long to kind of fall for this big lug. Once I got to know him a little… well things got going kind of fast and I ended up falling for him,” Samantha said blushing slightly. “It didn’t hurt any that he looks good in swim trunks… and in a tux, oh my God, he’s hot.”\n\nThe girls at the table giggled as the Samoyed boy stood there, blushing bright red through his fur. “You’re pretty sexy yourself, but I hardly think a family restaurant is the right place to share all the juicy details of how we met,” he said, then looked over at the baby. “So, this is Sienna, huh? Would you mind if I held her? I have a little sister on the way, so this might be good practice.”\n\nEthan looked at Shyara for the okay, and the girl gave a smile and nod. “Sure,” the raccoon answered, undoing the little cub’s straps. “She’s pretty social. Between Shy’s host family, Claire’s parents, and my aunt and cousins, she’s always being held by someone other than one of us.” He carefully leaned forward and lifted his daughter up and passed her over to Derek.\n\nThe tall canine gently took the baby and cradled her in his arms, awkwardly at first, but he got the hang of it soon enough. “My mom would freak out if she saw me now,” he said with a grin.\n\n“It’s nice to meet you, too, Samantha,” Claire said as she stood up and held out her paw. “How long are you in town for?”\n\n“Ah bet ya’d make a great fatha someday,” Shyara said, looking at Derek. “Practicin’ fer holdin’ yer little sista?”\n\n“In for the weekend, as usual once a month, for now,” the Saluki said silently slipping her phone from her back pocket. As she fiddled with the device, turning the phones speaker to silent before opening the camera app on the device, she added, “though that might change soon if everything keeps going the way it is now.” She quickly snapped a picture of her boyfriend holding the tiny raccoon sugar glider hybrid infant in his arms. Quickly composing a short text message to accompany the photo before sending it off to Derek’s mother, Samantha continued, “As it stands right now my mother and I may be moving out here for several months for her job. That will make me very happy, even if I do have to hear Mrs. Blackfoot pestering Derek and me about puppies even more than I do now.”\n\n“You two are an adorable couple,” the red squirrel said as she looked between the two of them. “I bet you’d have adorable children.”\n\n“Well, I think it’ll be good for him to have you here,” the raccoon added. “I’ve been trying to get this guy to loosen up and relax for a while, but all he does is work.”\n\n“Ah’d advise waitin’ on cubs, if ya can,” Shyara said. “Don’ get me wrong, she’s tha bes’ thin’ ta eveah happen ta me, an’ Ah wouldn’ change anythin’. But before ya know it, yer whole life is their lives. Me? It was kinda a selfish move on mah end ta get citizenship, othahwise Ah woulda waited, but there’s nothin’ in this world Ah love more.”\n\n“She’s right,” Ethan said. “Just wait til you have that little girl in your arms. You won’t experience anything like holding your sister for the first time, until you have your own child.”\n\n“Are you guys trying to talk us in to or out of having kids?” Derek laughed. “I swear, I think my mom hired you to talk to us.”\n\n“I wouldn’t put anything past her at this point,” Samantha said as she walked up beside Derek taking the baby’s small paw in her own tenderly. Glancing up at the other teens she added, “We’re planning on waiting at the least until we’re out of school, and we are being careful. But I think my own mother may be a good example of if it’s meant to be it will be.”\n\n“Do your parents have any names picked out yet?” Claire asked.\n\n“Natalie Jane, if it’s a girl,” Derek answered. “Kellan Ross, if it’s a boy.”\n\n“And your mother is pregnant, too, Samantha?” the squirrel continued. “How far along?”\n\n“The doctor says between five and six weeks,” Samantha replied looking up at Claire with a huge grin on her muzzle. “She dropped that little bomb on me last week while I was making the arrangements for this trip. Right before she told me she and the father are getting married right after Derek’s visit to see me in two weeks in Colorado. Then she threw the shoe rack at me when she told me about both of them being transferred out here for four to five months to open a new plant for the company they work for back home.” Shaking her head slowly she continued, “Trust me that was one of the most interesting dinners we’ve had in years.”\n\n“Wow, both o’ yer moms knocked up at tha same time,” the sugar glider exclaimed. “Yanno, if yer mom,” she pointed at Samantha, “has a boy, then tha two could be ring beara and flowa gal atcher weddin.’”\n\n“That’s… actually not a bad idea, honestly,” Derek said as he pondered the idea. “If we ever get married, it might be something to think about. Let’s just hope my crazy family doesn’t scare her off before they can get their hooks in her.”\n\n“They’ll have to go quite away to scare her off,” Samantha said. “She did raise me, after all, and that wasn’t always a picnic. There was a lot of baggage in our family before my dad passed away and I was the reason for a lot of it.” Turning to look at the small group of teens she added, “Things with me… and about me were quite different a year ago. But now I’m happy with myself, my life, and this stud of a Samoyed, and I don’t let the things from back then bother me anymore.”\n\n“Good to hear,” Ethan said with a smile. “Trust me, I can relate.”\n\n“Hey, what time is it?” Claire asked. “We’re supposed to be meeting up with your aunt at eleven.”\n\n“You’re right,” the raccoon said as he pulled out his phone and checked the time. “It’s ten forty.” He looked back to Derek and Samantha and said, “It was nice to meet you, Samantha, and hopefully we’ll see you again soon. And you,” he said, clapping the Samoyed on the shoulder, “Happy belated birthday.”\n\n“Oh yeah,” Claire and Shyara said together, “Happy birthday.”\n\n“Thanks,” Derek said. “I appreciate it.”\n\n“It was nice meeting all of you as well,” Samantha said cheerfully, “and that would be nice to get together again sometime soon.” As the trio walked away towards the entrance of the restaurant the Saluki girl turned to her boyfriend and asked, “So what’s the plan now, Frosty?”\n\n“Food,” he said with a slight pat to his empty stomach, “and then we’ll go…” he began before being cut off by the sound of Samantha’s phone ringing.\n\n“Ummm, that’s mom’s ring tone. Head us towards a table while I talk to her, Derek, and I’ll see what’s going on,” she said as she pulled the phone from her pocket. “Hi, Mom, what’s up?” she asked cocking an eyebrow at her mother’s tone of voice as the older Saluki began to speak.\n\nDerek waved towards an elk woman, and she approached the table. “Hello, I’m Gretchen, and I’ll be taking care of you this morning. Can I start you off with something to drink?”\n\n“Orange juice for me, please,” he said, then looking at Samantha he ordered what he had come to know as her preferred morning drink. “And milk for my girlfriend, two percent if you have it.”\n\n“Will do,” she said, “I’ll give you two another moment to look over the menu, and I’ll be right back with your drinks.”\n\nAs the waitress walked away from the table, Samantha silently mouthed the word ‘menu’ to Derek as she listened to her mother continue speaking. She took it from his paw as she smiled at him warmly before opening it and quickly scanning over the breakfast choices. “Hold on a second, Mom, I need to order something to eat… then I want you to repeat that last part before you go any further. I’m not quite sure what it is you’re hinting at this time.” Looking up to Derek, she said, “Two eggs, over medium, three pancakes, toast and hash browns please, honey. And ham if they have it and it’s not too fatty. God, I’m hungrier than I thought,” she added with a little hint of a blush in her cheeks. “Does that order make me sound like a pig?”\n\n“Not at all, Sexy,” he said as he leaned over and gave his girlfriend an affectionate peck on her forehead. “Hello, Ms. Thompson,” he called to Samantha’s mother through the phone.\n\nWhen Gretchen returned with their drinks, he repeated Samantha’s request and then ordered the three-meat skillet with scrambled eggs, home fries, and country gravy for himself. He patiently waited for Samantha to finish talking, grinning mischievously as he allowed his paw to creep under the table and up his girlfriend’s thigh.\n\nSamantha tried hard not to giggle or moan into her mother’s ear as her boyfriend teased her leg with his paw, though she didn’t fare nearly as well at not wiggling around and nearly dropped her phone. Just as she was about to scold Derek, she suddenly froze stock still as her eyes shot wide as dinner plates. “Are you serious?” the Saluki nearly screamed into the phone in her paw. “Mother, if this is some kind of a joke… it’s not funny. You know how I feel about…” she said before being cut off by whatever her mother said next. “MOTHER!” Samantha shouted, her voice raised a bit more than she seemed for it to be as she blushed furiously at her mother’s comment. “NO! I can’t ask him something like that here, we’re sitting in a family restaurant about to eat breakfast. I don’t think it’s something I should ask him here for the…” she said before her mother apparently cut her off again. “Okay, okay give me a second to put the phone on speaker and you can ask him, if you want to. I think you’re crazy though, Mom, and I don’t see how you think we can decide something like that before I head home.” Looking across the table at the Samoyed boy, her eyes still wide, she fiddled with the phone for a few moments before she lay it on the table between them. “Okay he can hear you. The floor is all yours, crazy woman.”\n\nDerek couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as he overheard the exchange between mother and daughter. Once the phone was set for speaker, he leaned in and said, “Hey, Ms. T. What’s up?”\n\n“Good morning, Derek,” the older Saluki greeted him warmly. “I’ll assume Samantha has already given you her birthday present by now,” she said with a slight snicker in her voice. “And happy birthday, though a tad late from myself and Brandon. I hadn’t said anything about a few things to Samantha before she left for her visit because, to be honest, there were still so many things undecided on our end yet. Is it safe to assume also that she has already told you that we’re going to be moving out near Marblecliff shortly after the first of the year?”\n\n“Are you kidding? I’m shocked that Daisy hasn’t heard yet,” he laughed. “That moose will flip out as soon as she finds out.”\n\n“I see. I knew she couldn’t keep her muzzle shut about it once she was out there in your arms again. I would imagine she has already told you the rest of the good news that she knows of. But she doesn’t know all of the plans that I and Brandon have been looking into once we make the move east. I’ve just told her a good sized piece of it and I’m sure you heard her: she doesn’t think that over breakfast is the right time to tell you, or for the two of you to discuss it. I disagree; I think it’s the perfect time so that she can have a tentative answer by time she heads back here. To put it rather bluntly, Derek, by the time we make the move out that way I’ll be still recently married again, and with a baby on the way, no less. I don’t particularly need a grown woman under my paws getting in my fur. So Brandon and I have been looking for a place and we found something that will keep her close and still let her be out of my hair. It wouldn’t make too bad of a belated birthday present for both of you, either, to be honest. Okay, short of it is this: you have any problems with moving in with my daughter in one half of a duplex?”\n\n“Yes and no,” he said, giving Samantha a reassuring smile when she shot him an injured glance. “Ever since the day we met, I’ve desired to be closer to your daughter, and I’ve been looking forward to the day when we could have our own place together. Hell, my mom would be over the moon about the idea of us being in the same bed every night - she’s got cubs on the brain, I think. But, if I won’t be buying round-trip airfare twice a month, then I insist on paying rent and utilities. I refuse to sponge off of you and your husband while you raise an infant.”\n\n“Oh, neither of you were going to, Derek. I only asked if you had a problem with it. You and I hadn’t discussed the details of what I expect from the pair of you in exchange. You and Samantha can talk it over between you and decide on that part of it. But Brandon and I do expect the two for you to be responsible for yourselves. That means utilities, food, upkeep and insurance on your car and the likes of that. Rent on the other paw is a different matter entirely; neither of us will be paying that. The company that Brandon and I work for will, it was part of the relocation package they offered to get us both to take the transfer out East. All I had to do was find a suitable residence for the time we will be out there, and considering everything going on for the bunch of us in this little endeavor, I thought getting you two some alone time without any interruptions from either set of parents would be a nice thing to do. Also, since Samantha will be doing most of her school work from home while you’re in class, I’m going to kind of count on her to give Brandon and me a paw in keeping our home from turning into a disaster area with the weird schedule we’ll both be working. If you can live with an arrangement like that, then let Samantha know before she leaves, and she can fill me in on what you two decide when she gets back home. I don’t need an answer right this moment, and I honestly think the two of you should discuss it first before you let me know,” the older Saluki said in a pleased tone of voice. “Besides, one sure way to know if you can stand each other long-term is to spend as much time together as you can. Living together kind of insures that now, doesn’t it?”\n\n“Excuse me for a minute, Beautiful,” he said, swiping the phone up into his paw and taking it off of speaker, “I’ll be right back.” He walked toward the back of the restaurant, near the kitchen, and told the older Saluki, “I have something to show you. Hold on a sec.” He pulled his own phone out and opened his photo album, selecting several photos and sending them to the woman on the other line. “You should be getting some pictures in your inbox in a minute or so. I found an old Chevy El Camino, pretty much rusted out and being used as a flower bed when I found it, but I got the shell for free. I just had to remove it from the property. I’ve been restoring it for the past few months during the weekends that I don’t see Samantha. I should have it ready for her in time for Christmas, and Mark has already helped me out with getting it plated in Colorado. I’d like to pay for Samantha’s car insurance, too, in exchange for the gesture. I just thought it might be important to let you know now, so that you don’t start looking for a car for her.”\n\n“Oh, I see,” Samantha’s mother said softly, apparently looking through the pictures Derek had sent her. “Oh, goodness, that was a hunk of… oh my. Derek, it’s coming along beautifully. I’m so glad you told me, though. Samantha has started pestering me about getting her a car before we make the move out East. Now I know to keep her from winning that little war until Christmas. I’m certain Brandon and I can keep her occupied with other things until then, with everything else going on now. Oh, have you decided on the color for it yet?”\n\n“Incoming color swatch,” he said, selecting another pic, a blend of purple, black, and silver. “I know how much she loves the Colorado Rockies, so I kind of went with that, except heavier on the purple. I think it would suit her well.”\n\n“She’ll love it, even more so that it came from you, Derek. I’ll take care of things on this end as far as the car thing goes. But seriously, you two really need to talk about this offer. If it’s what you both want, then Brandon and I are all for it. I realize my little girl is grown up on me, and I can’t think of nearly anyone else I would be willing to do this for, Derek. You and Samantha are a wonderful couple, and I’m not fool enough to not want my daughter to be happy.”\n\n“Speaking of happy, she’s probably worried about this conversation we’re having behind her back. I should probably get back to the table and let her say good-bye,” he chuckled. “But thanks for everything, Ms. T. I really appreciate it.”\n\n“You’re welcome, Derek, dear, and I appreciate a young man that loves my daughter for who she is, and gives me a reason to trust him with the most precious thing on this earth to me,” the older Saluki said honestly. “Now, let me say good-bye to her so you two can talk. You have a rather big decision to make, though it sounded an awful lot like your mind is already set.”\n\n“I’d be an idiot to say ‘no,’” he replied as he walked back to the table. “I love your daughter more than anything. Besides, if I declined, my mother would kill me. Okay, Ms. T, it was nice to talking with you. Here’s Samantha back.” He held the phone out for his girlfriend.\n\nAs she took the phone from his paw, Samantha cocked her head slightly, a grin spreading across her muzzle as she said, “You’re up to something, Frosty, it’s written all over your face.”\n\n“Tell your sweet mother ‘good-bye’ so we can eat our breakfast while you drive yourself crazy wondering what it is,” he teased, leaning down and gently biting her ear.\n\nWith a slight shiver running down her spine from his tender teasing, Samantha brought the phone to her other ear as she said, “My sweet mother… now I know you’re up to something. The both of you are.” Ignoring her boyfriend for just a moment, she said, “Good-bye, Mom. I’ll be home on time and I’ll let you know what Puff-tail and I decide then. I love you.” After a moment’s pause, she ended the call and stuffed the phone back into her pocket. “So, I wonder how long until the food arrives. I’m starving over here.”\n\n“It should be any minute, I think. The three-meat skillet takes a bit of time to cook,” he shrugged.\n\nAs if on cue, Gretchen appeared at their table with their breakfasts. “Here you kids go,” she said cheerfully, “One three-meat skillet, and two eggs, over medium... three pancakes... toast... hash browns... and two slices of ham with the fat trimmed off. Can I get you anything else?”\n\n“No, thank you, Gretchen,” he said.\n\n“I think this should do it. I can’t believe I’m so hungry this morning,” Samantha said as she began to cut up her eggs and breakfast meats. “Okay, all funny stuff aside, Frosty. What do you think about mom’s offer?”\n\n“Honestly? I’m interested,” he said with a nervous grin, “but at the same time, I would also understand if you thought that everything was moving too quickly. Personally, I’m comfortable with the rate at which our relationship has progressed. It all just feels right, you know? No pressure from me; if you aren’t ready, I understand.”\n\nHolding up one finger as she finished chewing and swallowing the healthy bite of her breakfast in her muzzle before wiping her lips with a napkin, the Saluki grinned sheepishly at him for a brief moment. “Well… little bit of a confession here, Sweet lips,” she began as she reached over and lay her paws palms up on the table close to him. “I’ve kind of been thinking a lot about us ever since Mom told me she was getting remarried and about the baby on the way. Yes, things have been moving forward kind of fast ever since we met on the cruise. At first I kind of thought, ‘okay, maybe a little bit of summer fling or puppy love going on here,’ and I was okay with that. But, in no time I knew better and, yes, it did kind of scare me a little. But, I knew then just as I know now, I didn’t want it to stop. I didn’t want it to end. I still don’t; not now, not ever. Yeah, it still scares me a little, but I learned a long time ago to not let things that scare me keep me from doing what I want or having what I want. I tried to do that for a long time, but until I met Mark… I just didn’t know how to even start to be the me I always knew I was. He showed me that, and a few other things along the way. But you… you are an entirely different story. Maybe I’m being reckless or a fool, if I am I don’t care. Because the one thing I am sure of is that I want to be with you, now and for a very long time, at the very least.”\n\n“Wow,” he said, unable to hide his smile. “I can’t believe this is happening. My mom is going to freak out… but in a good way.”\n\nSamantha’s eyes suddenly shot wide as a huge smile spread across her face. “You know what this means? We won’t have to hear nearly as much from either of our mothers about babies if we’re in a place of our own.”\n\n“You know who the real winner is in the whole arrangement? Lucas!” Derek said, bursting out in laughter. “Oh, God, I’m almost sorry for the looks he would give us the mornings after one of our long nights of love-making.”\n\n“I know, and I’ve felt a little guilty about how much we must be disturbing him… but his older brother is just such a hot, handsome stud I can’t keep my paws to myself if we’re not in plain sight of other people,” Samantha said with a slightly wicked grin on her face. “Good thing we’re in a busy restaurant I guess, huh, Frosty?”\n\n“I think ‘good’ is a relative term, in this case,” the Samoyed said. “But, I’m not opposed to finishing our meal and getting out of here.”\n\n“I’m not opposed to it eitherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,” Samantha nearly squealed as she began to wriggle around in her chair. Quickly retrieving her phone, she blushed brightly. “I have got to stop forgetting to take this thing off vibrate. Well, unless I know you’ll be calling me,” she said as she looked intently at the screen of the device for a few moments. “Ummm, Derek?” Samantha said with an odd tone in her voice. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Chatham Lane is, would you?” she asked laying the phone on the table and passing it to him.\n\n“I don’t recognize the street name, but let me see,” he said, curious to see what his girlfriend was referring to. There was a picture of a duplex house, and beneath that a map. Clicking on the link, he was able to see the layout of the surrounding area. “Yeah, I know where this is… Groveport, upper-middle class neighborhood on the outskirts of town. The assigned schools are pretty good, and I never see the area on the news for anything bad. Is this the place your mom was referring to?”\n\n“Message is from her, so I would assume it is. It actually looks kind of cozy if you ask me…” she said trailing off for a few moments before a sparkle shone in her eyes and she began to giggle softly. Looking over at her lover, seeing the slightly concerned look in his eyes she explained, “Sorry, Derek, I just got to thinking about how many of the girls I know back home that would practically kill to be in the position I’m going to be in a matter of a few weeks.”\n\n“You say that, but I’m the lucky one,” he said, clasping her paws.\n\n“Well…” she began as she blushed again before looking down to the table between them. When she looked up into his eyes again she said, “thing is we know about my mom. Are you really sure your parents will go for this hare-brained idea of my mother’s?”\n\n“You. Me. In a place of our own where we can sleep in the same bed every night, or not sleep at all? As soon as I’m out, they’ll probably convert my room into the baby’s nursery,” he laughed at the thought. “The only downside I can see, from my mom’s perspective, is not being able to see me every day to make sure I’m eating well. My dad? He’ll probably give me a pat on the back.”\n\n“Okay, then, what next? Go see if we can get a peek in the windows of what will be our own place, or go and break the news to your parents? Or maybe you have something even more interesting in mind, Puff-tail?” Samantha said as she dug back into her breakfast with a renewed gusto.\n\n“I think we should swing by the place,” he said, taking another bite of his meal. “We can take a few pics, and get a sense for the drive times from the house to my school, the shop, and my parents’ place. Maybe even swing by Daisy’s work and let her know what’s going on, too. Then we can give them the news. How’s that sound?”\n\nNearly choking as she tried to gulp down the bite of food she had been chewing the Saluki giggled a little as she said, “Oh, God yes, that moose will go ape shit when she hears I’ll be out here for a while after the first of the year. Then again, she may just accuse me of copying her and following around after my lover like a love struck puppy.” Leaning back in her seat she laughed, “Who cares, it’ll be worth whatever stuff she gives me to see the look on that big muzzle of hers when I tell her.”\n\n“I think we should just mess with her,” the Samoyed smirked. “Don’t even preface the news with your mother and Brandon getting transferred out here or anything like that. Just that you decided to move to Marblecliff and that we’re getting a place together. That would probably get you an interesting reaction, I’m sure.”\n\n“I imagine it would, and I just may do that. From the way things sounded the last time I talked to her, the rest of the group seem to be giving her less grief lately. Though, she swears it’s likely just the calm before the storm. I think she’s being a little paranoid about it all myself, even if they did dye her pink,” Samantha said chuckling at the renewed memory of seeing the pictures of the moose herm in baby pink fur. “Okay. Enough gab, let’s finish eating and get going, we have a few things to do now, thanks to my crazy mother.”\n\n[center]~~~~~[/center]\n\nThe teens pulled up in front of The Flour Shop a short while later. Derek politely opened the door for Samantha, letting her enter ahead of him. Samantha watched as her moose friend busily moved around the kitchen area of the bakery, oblivious that she was in the building. After a few short moments the moose herm came to the front of the store area, sliding a large tray of freshly baked and frosted cupcakes into the display case. As she stood up she caught sight of the Saluki girl she had known for several years. Snickering, Daisy blurted out, “What, never seen a moose in an apron or something?”\n\n“Actually, not when it comes to you Daisy, but to be honest, I was suddenly seeing you rather a different color,” Samantha said, trying hard not to break out laughing.\n\n“Damn it, which one of those asshats back home is spreading around video of that Skype call?” Daisy asked with a scowl on her face.\n\n“Like I’m going to tell you, not that there’s much you can do about it from here,” the Saluki said, finally settling down just a bit. “And honestly, Daisy, who do you think would do something like that?”\n\n“Frank; I knew that horse’s rump would do that… stuff,” the moose said, suddenly catching herself as a shorter Jerboa walked from the kitchen area and up beside her.  Turning to look at the flying squirrel at the other end of the counter, she asked, “Ms. Graham, would it be alright if I take a short break?” \n\n“I would think so, but if it gets busy I’ll need you again,” her employer said with a quizzical expression on her face. \n\n“Thank you,” Daisy said as she pulled the neck strap of her apron over her head as she walked around the counter, letting the upper part fall away from her chest. “So other than Snowflake, what brings you to New Hampshire, Samantha?”\n\n“Well, at the moment, just Derek, but that will be changing in a few weeks,” the Saluki said as the trio walked over to an empty table near the front windows. “But I can tell you about that in a minute; I want to hear about how things are going for you, Daisy. Is that crazy bunch you hooked up with still, ummm, how do I put this?”\n\n“Hazing me? Tormenting me? Torturing me like a prisoner of war? Okay, so maybe not really all that bad, but yeah, they’ve gotten me good more than once,” Daisy said with a bit of a chuckle. “But I put up with it. Because, to be honest with you, Samantha, I’ve come to realize that Sisy and I love each other more than you can imagine, and we need each other more than we could have thought possible. It’s been a little rough at times, but knowing that she needs me, and wants me to be with her… some days it’s what gets me through some stuff.” Leaning back in her chair, Daisy looked across the table at the Saluki girl that had been her friend for several years and said, “Anyway, you didn't really answer me about what brings you down here to pester me. What’s going on, Flufftail?”\n\n“So, Moose-face, I was just wondering what you would think about me moving to Marblecliff after the first of the year?” Samantha asked with a sly grin on her muzzle.\n\n“Hold up, what the Hell do you mean by you moving out here? Your mom is going to let you just up and take off to be with Snowflake? I’m not buying that one for a minute. What else have you got for me, because I know your mother isn’t that flakey,” the moose herm said in a sarcastic tone. Daisy’s eyes suddenly shot open wide as she slapped the top of the table between them. “Not unless he knocked your ass up, and she’s making him do the right thing about it.”\n\n“Not yet,” he chuckled, “but I’m starting to think that’s the goal.”\n\nSamantha giggled softly as she began to explain things to her friend. “No, nothing like that, Daisy. Actually, it’s mom that’s pregnant…” she began, before the moose stopped her in her tracks.\n\n“What? Your mom is pregnant? How the Hell did that happen? She hasn’t been dating anyone since your dad passed away as far as I know. Unless I’m way the Hell behind on the village gossip,” Daisy said, sitting back in her seat.\n\n“Then you are behind, though, to be fair it has been hard to talk to you with your work schedule and school, and with planning the move and a wedding on my end…” Samantha continued before the moose stopped her again.\n\n“Wedding? Who’s wedding? You and Snowball?” Daisy asked wide-eyed.\n\n“Dear God,” the Saluki said as she started laughing. “My mother, and his, for that matter, seem bent on me getting pregnant and you’re trying to get us married off. I love you, Daisy, but what is with all of you people?” Taking her friend’s paw in one of her own, the Saluki said, “No, Daisy, Mom is getting married to a guy from work she’s been seeing. The same guy that got her pregnant. Although that was after he proposed… I think.”\n\n“Holy Hell, I leave town for a few months and things go to shit in a bread basket,” Daisy said as her free paw rubbed at her forehead. “Okay, so mom is getting hitched, and what? The three of you are gonna be a happy little family and move two thousand miles halfway through your senior year of high school for shits and giggles? And why the fuck to Marblecliff, anyway?”\n\n“Yes, kind of in a way, yes, and because it’s where she and Brandon are being transferred to,” Samantha said, answering her friend’s questions in order. “Here it is, short and sweet: Mom and her hubby-to-be work at the same plant. The company is opening a new plant not far from here and they are both being transferred out here to help get it up and running. Prairie Flats Prep has already agreed to let me finish the work for the year by telecommuting, as long as I show up in person to take the finals. I’ll officially graduate from there as planned. Mom and my soon-to-be step-dad have found a place to live here in Marblecliff: a duplex that Derek and I will be taking one half of for ourselves…”\n\n“Fuck me sideways! She’s gonna put you two in a place together and…. Oh what the Hell am I saying? For fuck’s sake, I tagged along with Sisy like a lost puppy dog to get the Hell away from my Dad and to be with her. Like this is really any different… Okay, well, it kind of is different, I guess,” Daisy said, shaking her head slowly. “Okay, let me try this again. Upside is my friend and her new family are moving to town after the first of the year. Downside… Hell, I don’t see one yet - again, unless Stud muffin there gets you knocked up, then who knows how much shit will hit the fan.” Cocking her head to the side as she looked at Derek more intently, she added, “Though from what you said, it sounds like that’s exactly what both sets of parents are shooting for here. Maybe you should just chuck the condoms and birth control pills and have at it.”\n\n“As much as I think we both like that idea,” the Samoyed/wolf crossbreed said, “we’re both still young. We’ll both be graduating this year and starting college soon. We have a lot of time ahead for cubs, but raising a family would make school that much more difficult. I don’t want to raise a family making just enough money to scrape by; I’d like to be able to give our pups all the things in life they could ever want or need.”\n\n“I can understand that,” the moose herm said as a sly grin crept over her face. “But from what I’ve seen of your mother,” she said pointing at Derek before looking to her friend, “And what I know about yours, there is no way either of them would let you two having a baby or two change your plans about college. I know I don’t know your folks very well, Derek, but they seem like good people to me, and anyone around your mother and you for five minutes can tell that woman adores her sons.”\n\n“Either way, Daisy, Derek and I have decided that we’re going to wait before starting a family,” Samantha asserted calmly. “When we think we’re ready, then we’ll discuss it and decide when we want a baby.”\n\n“Famous last words, girl, it’s not always in your paws when it happens. Just look at my fool of a brother and you have proof of that,” Daisy said with a snicker. “Just promise me one thing, no matter when it happens you have to tell me before you speak a word about it to Debbie. I don’t get chances to one-up her ass like I used to and this would be a huge one in the books.”\n\n“I can live with that,” Samantha said with a broad smile. “Honestly, I don’t want to be in the same city with her when the day comes and she finds out I’m pregnant. Crazy bunny might squeeze my head off hugging me to death.”\n\n“Damn, it’s good seeing you again, Samantha, and it’s gonna take a little bit to get used to the idea of you being out here close enough to pester the Hell out of on a regular basis. Tell your mom I said hi and congrats on the wedding and the baby. Looking forward to having you and her around again; woman helped me deal with a few things when you and I first met and I love her like another mother. I gotta get back to work, though. Just saw a bunch of the regulars come in,” she said, nodding towards what appeared to be a road construction crew entering the building. “They usually clean out at least one of the display cases so I need to get busy or I’ll be late getting out of here, and nearly midnight is bad enough as it is.” Turning to Derek, she added, “Seriously though, Derek, I’m happy for the two of you, also. Regardless of all the stuff I know you’re both getting from the moms about babies, it’s smarter to wait until you’re in a better position for them.” As she started to walk away, Daisy called back over her shoulder, “Call me when you get home, Samantha; maybe we’ll have a little more time and you can give me more of the details of what all is going on.”\n\n“Bye, Daisy,” the canine boy called out, opening the door for his girlfriend. “I’ll see you on Monday.”\n\n“Yes, you will, and take good care of my girl and get her to the airport on time… please,” Daisy called back to him as they headed out the door.\n\nAs they walked back to the car, Samantha cuddled against her boyfriend’s side and said, “She and I will spend three days on the phone now until I give her all the details about what’s going on. It’ll be the most time I’ve spent talking to her since she moved out here with her girlfriend after the cruise.”\n\n“I’ll probably spend at least that talking to my mom,” he said with a sympathetic grin, then an expression of dread formed on his face. “She’s going to want to go shopping… For plates, glasses, silverware, furniture… I need to convince her to wait until you’re able to start moving in. Housewares just aren’t my cup of tea.”\n\n“Good luck with that, Frosty,” Samantha said as she tugged her boyfriend to a stop and wrapped her arms around his neck. “With as bad as she is about us and puppies, I almost expect her to have us set up and ready to move in before I even got out of Colorado. I’ll be totally surprised if she even makes it until Christmas before she gets started.”\n\n“If it comes down to it, I’ll suck it up and make myself go along,” he said. “I can take some pictures for you to choose from. I’m sure you have a better sense for home decor than I do.”\n\n“That should work, if all else fails,” the Saluki said with a sly grin. “Just promise me you’ll steer her away from any kind of silk or satin sheets.”\n\n“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully, “yes, I can see it now: I’d go to pounce on you on the bed, and we’d both go sliding over onto the floor. That would be fun to explain in the E.R.”\n\n“Yes… yes it would, and I think we can both do without that. Our mothers are already more than enough embarrassment at times,” Samantha said, pulling him into a tender kiss.\n\n“Speaking of…” Derek said with a sigh. “Maybe we should head back to my place and give my parents the news.”\n\n~~~~~\n\n“That’s a big step, son,” AJ said as he reclined the La-Z-Boy in the game room. He twisted off the cap from his bottle of Harpoon and took a long draw. “Ahhhhh,” he sighed, a refreshed smile spreading across his muzzle, before looking back to his oldest son. “Are you sure you and your girl are ready for that?”\n\n“I’m sure,” Derek replied, his paw wrapped around a cold bottle of A&W Cream Soda. “Everything about her and I just clicks. Samantha’s mom also thinks that it would be good to spend some time living together before things go as far as marriage, which quite honestly, has crossed my mind more than once. Besides, with the baby on the way, I’m sure you could use the extra space.”\n\n“Fair enough,” the older Timberwolf said. “You know I’ll support whatever decision you make. You’re a smart, responsible man, and she is a lovely girl that brings out the best in you. I just want to make sure you’re doing it for all the right reasons. Don’t worry about the space; your mother would probably like to see me convert my home office into a nursery, just so I can leave my work back at the office.”\n\n“Trust me,” Derek said warmly, “there’s nothing I want more. You’re right, she makes me a better man. She completes me.”\n\n“Then you have my blessings,” AJ said, lifting his bottle in a toast to his son, and taking another long pull. “Just be careful, okay? She’s a pretty young lady, and while I’m sure your mother would love to be a grandmother, I want you to make sure you’re ready first.”\n\n“Is there any such thing as ready?” the Samoyed/wolf mix chuckled.\n\n“No,” AJ laughed softly, scratching the back of his head, “No, I suppose not.”\n\nMeanwhile, upstairs in the kitchen...\n\n“So, Samanzha,” the older woman said, sitting down across from the Saluki girl and sliding a mug of hot chocolate across the kitchen island, “Vhat are your intentions for my son, hmm? Vhere do you see zhings going between zhe two of you?”\n\n“Well, to be honest,” Samantha said, blushing slightly under the older woman’s gaze, “with how much I love your son … I’m hoping that he’ll want to marry me when the time is right. I hope that doesn’t sound weird, but I honestly want to spend the rest of my life with Derek. It’s a little hard to explain, but when we’re together everything just seems to be so right. It’s almost like we were meant to be together from the start.”\n\n“You met Daphne last night at dinner,” her boyfriend’s mother said with a soft, somewhat melancholy smile. “Zhat little girl, only twelve years old, is his best friend. Zhat vould seem odd to most, don’t you zhink? Did Derek ever tell you zhe story about how zhey became such close friends?”\n\n“Yes, he actually told me about it shortly after we met on the cruise. I can understand how he must have felt, though I can’t even begin to imagine what he put himself through. After seeing them together, I could never come between them and the friendship they share. She’s such a pretty girl too, and so sweet and cheerful even with everything she must have been through,” the Saluki said girl said solemnly.\n\n“I vould hardly vorry about you coming between zhe two of zhem,” Oksana said, smiling over her mug. “Friends grow up and move apart all zhe time, and still remain friends despite zhe distance. Vhat I am getting at is, most young boys who do vhat he did vould just accept zhe punishment and not have zhe balls to face zhe victim or her family. It takes a special man to vork as hard as vhat he did to make zhings as close to ‘right’ as possible. I am so proud of zhe man he has become, and vhen he is vizh you, I see zhe man he can become, and it fills me vizh so much hope for zhe future. I know I give zhe two of you a lot of pressure to take zhings to zhe next step, but I zhink zhat is because I am excited to see zhat man I know he vill become. He is smart, and responsible, and I believe zhat he vill do vhat is best for you and him. I just like to tease him because he blushes so cutely through his vhite fur. Just, voman to voman, don’t tell him I said zhat. It vould ruin all zhe fun.”\n\n“I know he’s a very special man, Mrs. Blackfoot. If I wasn’t sure he was the man for me I would never have let things go as far as they have. After I met him and we spent just a few hours together I was sure there was something special between us. I want him to be as sure of what we have and where it’s going as I am. I know he loves me as much as I love him. But a commitment like marriage is a huge step for both of us and not something that either of us would ever take lightly. A baby is an even bigger commitment and something we need to be completely sure about,” Samantha said, looking the older woman in the eyes. As a slight grin spread across her muzzle she added, “And I would never give up your secret about teasing him like you do. We both know it’s not in a woman’s nature to ever let them think they’ve outgrown their mother, at least that’s what my mom is always telling me.”\n\n“Your mozher is very vise, zhen,” Oksana said with a smirk. “And you are right. Moving in togezher is a huge step. Marriage and children are even bigger vones. Tell me, Samanzha… Vhat is it about my son that attracts you to him?”\n\n“I’m more than certain he will be, and I’m also certain that one day I will understand much better about a mother’s protective instincts,” Samantha said as a troubled expression came across her face. “Mrs. Blackfoot, I don’t know how much Derek has told you about me or my past…” the Saluki girl began before pausing for several long moments. “Samantha Thompson wasn’t always the pretty girl you see before you now.” Turning to look the older Samoyed in the eyes she continued at last. “I was born intersexed… a hermaphrodite to put it exactly. My father was dead set on having a son so I was forced to dress, act, and BE a boy for most of my life. Until I met someone that was willing to accept me, not as Sam the geeky boy, but as Samantha. I was a girl that was lost in how to even be a girl, let alone a young woman. With his help, I learned how to be who I always felt and knew I was, not what my father had wanted me to be. Then I met your son on the cruise and I told him about me up front. I didn’t want there to be any ugly surprises to come along and mess things up if we started to get even a little bit serious. It didn’t matter to him and it was like my whole life had led up to that very moment in time. As if meeting Mark and everything he did to help me become the woman I always felt I was, and him picking that exact cruise to get married on was meant to be. I love Derek, with all my heart and I would never, ever do anything to hurt him in any way. If he will have me, I would be the happiest girl on the planet to spend the rest of my life with him, because I know in my heart that he loves me for who I am. That’s something that I’ve wanted my whole life and was positive I would never have.”\n\n“I never doubted you for a minute,” the middle-aged woman said as he pulled Samantha in for a gentle hug. “But still, it’s a mozher’s duty to worry about her children, and I hope zhat vone day, vhen you and my son are ready, you vill understand vhat I mean. But rest assured, Samanzha Thompson, zhat you have my blessing to move in vizh my son.”\n\n“Thank you, Mrs. Blackfoot, it means a great deal to me to know that. It will also make my mother happy that you and Mr. Blackfoot are okay with this idea of hers. And I promise to bug him to no end to come by and see his mother regularly so you know he’s eating and being treated properly,” the Saluki girl said as a sheepish grin spread across her muzzle. “Although I expect him to give me guff about the time he spends at the shop being enough for you to know that.”\n\n“If he protests, I’m sure he has a perfectly good reason at home,” Oksana grinned. “Speaking of… he did look razher handsome holding zhat baby in zhe picture you sent me earlier. Zhank you for zhat. He vill be a vonderful fazher someday. And you vill be an excellent mozher… Vhen zhe time is right.”\n\n[center]~~~~~[/center]\n\n “Early as usual, Frosty,” Samantha said as she wrapped her arms around Derek’s neck. “I swear I think you do this on purpose just so everyone in the terminal can watch us before I get on the plane.”\n\n“No,” he grinned, planting another kiss on his girlfriend’s lips. “It’s more like I need to get you to the airport as soon as possible, otherwise we wouldn’t get out of bed and you’d miss your flight. Although…”\n\nShe giggled softly as she interrupted him by pulling him onto a long, slow passionate kiss. After several long moments she leaned her head back breaking the lip lock she held him in. Samantha looked deeply into his eyes as she said, “Just think, Frosty, in a few weeks there won’t be any need to come to the airport at all…”\n\n“Not quite,” he said, “I’m sure Mark or Debbie would like to come out here and visit sometime. After all, you and Daisy will both be out this way.”\n\n“Well that’s true, though Mark is a smart guy and can read a map, then again I guess we can’t stay in bed all the time can we?” the Saluki said with a huge grin on her face. “But we can skip the long good-byes and just have long good-nights instead.” Pausing for a moment she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “and oh, the good mornings that lie ahead for you my sexy pile of fluff.”\n\n“Oh, god, I can hardly wait. This is going to be the longest six weeks ever,” he sighed. “But I found a few things to occupy my downtime until you get moved out here. That is, when I’m not with you. I saw a few things at the house. The driveway needs re-sealed, and the door to the shed in the back needs re-hung.”\n\n“I’m sure your mom can find other things for you to do also if you get too bored, just remember if she drags you off shopping, no silk or satin sheets, please.” Samantha said nuzzling against his neck.\n\n“As long as we don’t rule out underwear,” he grinned, giving her ear a playful nip.\n\n“Underwear is fine as long as it’s not bed linens, neither of us need to explain that to a doctor or a nurse.” Kissing along his neck and under his chin she whispered, “And you in silk boxers… God, just make me melt why don’t you, Sexy?”\n\n“Just remember,” He breathed softly, tickling the fur along the side of her neck, “alone in the bathroom doesn’t count as getting into the Mile High Club. Although… you live in Denver, so I guess you’re already in. And I guess, by that same token, so am I. I’m rambling, aren’t I?”\n\n“Just a little,” Samantha said with a soft sighed moan, “but you’re so cute when you get flustered and want to do more than tease me -”\n\n“Final boarding call for flight 1247 to Denver at gate 23,” the irritating voice of the flight announcer came across the overhead speakers, interrupting Samantha from what she was trying to say.\n\n“Damn,” the Saluki girl grumbled softly, “I am not going to miss this part of saying good-bye to you at all.”\n\n“Me neither,” he mumbled into her hair. “But once the New Year gets here, I’m never letting go of you again.”\n\n“I’m looking forward to it so much,” Samantha said with a slight sigh. “Okay, as much as I don’t want to, I’d better get my butt on the plane. But, I’m already looking forward to seeing you in two weeks for my birthday. Maybe mom won’t drag us all over the metro area with wedding preparations or hunting for boxes to pack with. I love you, Derek, and can’t wait for this year to be over so we can be together all the time.”\n\n“I love you, Silky,” he said, using his affectionate nickname for her for the first time all weekend. “Have a nice flight.”\n\n“I will, and you, don’t work too hard or let your mother drive you crazy too badly. She’s a wonderful woman and she worries about you as much as I do. I’ll call when I get to Denver as always to let you know I made it safe and sound.”\n\nDerek stood in the terminal watching as the lovely young Saluki walked towards the air bridge. She would slow down every dozen or so steps and look over her shoulder, giving him a bittersweet smile, until she was out of sight. He walked over to the window and leaned against the glass, patiently waiting while the passengers all got settled into their seats. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket, and smiled when he saw the message:\n\n{Silky: I love you so much, and I can’t wait to have you all to myself without having to go back home. Rest up these next few weeks as much as you can, because your sexy butt is mine, Frosty.}\n\n{Me: No promises. Keeping my hands busy keeps my mind busy, too. It will help make the time go by faster. Just get your sexy butt back to me safely. Text me when you land, and call me tonight.}\n\nAfter another ten or so minutes, the plane pulled away from the terminal and taxied out onto the runway. Moments later, the plane turned the corner, out of sight, headed west towards Colorado.\n\n\n\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
Marble Peaks

(A Marblecliff/Seven Peaks Crossover between VerbMyNoun and Cormenthor)

aka “Samukis”

Part 1 of 2


November 8, 2013

Blackfoot Family Residence, Greenland, NH (About 4.5 mi Southwest of Marblecliff city limits)

Derek proudly parked his Caterham Seven in the driveway, so excited to finally be able to drive the kit car he had lovingly spent the past several months assembling by hand. His father, AJ, climbed out of the passenger side and clapped a paw on his eldest son’s shoulder.

“She runs like a dream,” the proud Timberwolf said. “You did a great job building her.”

“Good call on replacing that 2.0 Duratec with the 3.7 V6,” the young crossbreed said. “It was a pain reconfiguring the front end and re-shaping the hood, but those extra horses were worth every minute.”

“Why don’t you go ahead inside and tell your mama you got your learner’s,” AJ said. “She’ll be so proud.”

The eighteen-year old canine did as his father suggested, jogging the remaining couple of yards to the front door and swinging it open just as his mother was coming to greet them.

“I take it you have good news,” the middle-aged Samoyed woman said. “I don’t zhink I have ever seen somevone so excited over failing an exam.”

“You’re right,” he said, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and holding up his permit proudly. “I passed! And the picture is even halfway decent!”

“I tried to tell him to frown,” his father said as they entered the house. “In his lifetime, he only gets one good photo at the DMV, and he wasted it on his learner’s.”

“You said license photo,” his son corrected him. “This wasn’t a license, so I didn’t think it counted.”

“It’s a fine picture,” Oksana said as she hugged her boy tightly. “You alvays take such good photos. I’m sure the next vone vill be even better.” She let him go and said, “A package vas delivered for you today. It’s up in your room. You have a few hours before dinner, so vhy don’t you go and see vhat it is?”

“Okay,” he said, trying to contain his excitement. He quickly hugged his dad once more and kissed his mother on the cheek before bounding up the stairs two at a time, his heavy steel-toe boots clunking loudly the entire way to his room.

He swung open the door to his bedroom and was greeted by the sight of a large box wrapped in brightly colored paper with ‘Happy Birthday’ printed on it in numerous colors. The whole package was wrapped up neatly with a shiny red silk ribbon tied into a neat bow. There was a large light green tag attached to the top of the box under the bow that read, ‘To the sexiest Samoyed on the East Coast, from the girl of his dreams.’

His heart raced as his mind ran through the millions of possibilities of things his beautiful, wildly spontaneous girlfriend could have gotten him. He eagerly gripped the silk ribbon by the ends and pulled, being careful not to damage it in case Samantha was up for a little light bondage during her next visit. Once the ribbon was removed, he rolled it up and set it on top of his dresser then tore into the paper, exposing a removable lid. His paws practically shook with anticipation as he gripped the edges and lifted…

Samantha had a difficult time keeping silent inside the box as she heard her boyfriend carefully removing the ribbon. Once he began ripping into the paper she shivered with anticipation at what would come soon, nearly snickering when there was silence again. She prepared herself as she heard the fitted lid being slid off, her paws supporting the false tray above her head that would keep her hidden from his view for at least a few moments more, knowing that the small assortment of tools she had asked his father about and purchased for him would divert his attention for a few moments before he delved deeper into the box. Her plan was simple, when he began to pull the tray from the box she would simply follow it and stand up revealing herself, and the special outfit she had brought along and worn for her lover on his special day. Everything went just as she had planned, his attention held by the tools for a few moments before he started to remove the cardboard tray to have a look at what else his girlfriend had sent to him. Just as the thin barrier cleared the top of the box she stood up, coming nose to nose with her lover in an instant as she said, “Happy Birthday, sexy pup! I hope you like your present.”

There was a loud clatter as the set of brand new tools fell to the floor as he was welcomed by the unexpected sight of his girlfriend. “Samantha!” he shouted in a mixture of surprise and joy, wrapping the smaller canine girl up in his strong arms and lifting her up out of the box, twirling her around as he kissed her fiercely. After several rotations, he gently set her down, being careful not to make her step on the dropped instruments. “You sneaky temptress! I thought you had a trip to Sacramento with your Physics class this weekend!”

“Well…” the Saluki began trailing off as she blushed brightly. “The class did go to California this weekend… but Debbie and another girl from our class could handle our part of the presentation. So I was able to talk my way out of the trip so I could come spend your birthday with you.” Looking deeply into his golden eyes she added, “It was only a tiny little white lie so I could surprise you.”

“It definitely worked! It’s a good thing I was wearing my steel-toes,” he said before giving her another soft kiss. Just then, he noticed what she was wearing: what appeared to be a single piece of red satin ribbon that wrapped over her left shoulder to encircle her bust. It was seemingly tied into a large bow: one strip of the satiny ribbon continuing down her torso and disappearing between her legs, barely keeping her modestly covered from his view. “Though if you keep wearing that, you can tell me all the little white lies you want.”

“Well then, I don’t think I can tell you any more lies, because I’m the best part of your gift this year, Derek, and I definitely want you to finish unwrapping your present,” the Saluki practically murred into his ear as she hugged him warmly. Glancing over to his dresser, seeing the carefully coiled ribbon he had removed from the box, she grinned mischievously as she asked, “Have plans for that ribbon? Or just keeping it for sentimental reasons?”

“Maybe a little bit of both,” he chuckled. “But those plans will have to wait for now. I know how badly we both want to get our paws on each other. The bondage play can wait until later.” He gently pulled on the ends of her ‘outfit’ and pulled, effectively leaving her standing naked for him in an instant. “Best. Gift. Ever,” he said in a mixture of love and awe. “It just keeps on giving.”

Giggling softly as her paws slowly slid down his sides, one sneaking it’s way around to gently caress his groin, Samantha said, “Maybe, but this weekend I want you to do the giving. I’ll gladly keep receiving every inch, every thrust, and every load you have for me, hot stuff.” Leaning in, she kissed him softly on the lips, lingering there and waiting for him to make the next move.

“That must be what they mean by ‘having your cake and eating it, too,’” he joked as he scooped her up in his arms and laid her down on his bed. Suddenly, a spark of realization flashed in his eyes. “Wait just a minute… If the box was wrapped and tied, then how did you…?” he started to ask.

“Silly boy, I had an accomplice. I actually got here early with the empty box folded down and all the trimmings. Your mother helped me with the last bits and finished the wrapping on the top and tied the ribbon in place. I’m good at pulling things off, but a magician I’m not, and even they have assistants to help them pull off the impossible. Naturally, I had to hear about the two of us and babies the whole time, but a small price to pay for the adorable look on your face.” Looking up at her handsome Samoyed boyfriend, Samantha smiled broadly, giving him a small wink as she added, “And maybe one of these days, if things keep going like they are, we can make her dreams, and ours, come true.”

“Mine are already coming true, Sexy,” he said as he slowly pulled his coveralls down, exposing his muscular torso to her hungry eyes. “Remind me to send a ‘Thank You’ card to Mark and Ariel for picking that week to get married, and to buy stock in Royal Caribbean.” His shop clothes dropped to the floor in a pool around his footpaws, and he kicked his boots off before stepping out of the discarded garments. His boxers tented out proudly as he stood over her, and he leaned down to kiss her once more.

As he kissed her, one of Samantha’s paws went to the back of his neck. Holding him in place she forced her tongue into his muzzle initiating a deep, sensuous French kiss. Tilting her head to the side as she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss as she began to pant softly through her nose. After several long moments she released him, letting him lean back as she smiled up at him seductively. “I know you’re not working up to it sexy, we’ve gotten way past that point. So what are you hanging around up there for? The view that good?”

“Just couldn’t wait another second to taste those sweet lips,” he responded. “But I wanted to finish taking off these clothes before I join you. Once I get started, I don’t want to have to stop just to take off a pair of boxers. If I wasn’t canine, I could be tempted to just keep them on and just use the opening in the front, but my knot wouldn’t fit. And I know how much you love that.”

Her paws went quickly to his waist gripping the waistband of his boxers. Slipping them down slowly, she grinned as his rock hard erection sprang into view. Leaning in she traced her tongue along his length from the root to his pointed tip before looking up at him and saying, “God I’ve been thinking of doing that for the last four days. You’re just as delicious as I remember from our last time together. I can just never get enough of you and that tasty puppy treat, Derek.”

“Then I’ll just have to give you enough to hold you over for the next two weeks,” he said as he climbed into his bed, aligning himself over top of her sensual body. “I hope you’re able to sleep on the plane, because I don’t plan on letting you do much of that until you get home.” He wrapped one arm underneath her lower back and took one of her paws into his free one, giving it an affectionate squeeze. He stared deep and longingly into her eyes as he shifted his hips slightly, aligning the tip of his tapered cock with the entrance to her silken tunnel, and gently pushed forward. She was so hot and wet that he slid in without resistance, his knot pressed up against her mound as his balls slapped gently against the soft curve of her rear.

“Mmmmm, I swear this is the best part of seeing you again, Derek. Well, the first best part anyway,” the Saluki murred to her lover as she felt him entering her channel. “Then again, it always gets so much better from here… I love you so much, you stud.” Reaching up and wrapping her free arm around him, she closed her eyes, letting her head roll back into the pillows. “Make love to me, Derek, like you did in Hawaii: long, slow, and passionately.” After only a few moments she pulled him tightly to her chest, “on second thought, turn us over, Studly, it’s your birthday and I want you under me while I ride you like a prized breeding stud.”

“I don’t know if I have a favorite part,” he murred as he felt her heat and slickness envelop his shaft. “Every minute I spend with you is memorable, even watching you walk away.” He lowered his muzzle to her neck and kissed her softly before listening to her request. She wrapped her arms around his torso and squeezed her thighs against his hips as he rolled them over, coming to rest on his back, his rod still lodged deep within Samantha’s velvet walls. “But this… this is definitely at the top of the list.”

“Mmmmmhmmmmhmmmm,” she moaned with a slight giggle in her voice as she began to slowly rise and fall on his length. “Very tip-top of the list in my book, Studly,” she said softly as she leaned back away from him a little. Samantha murred as she slowly rode him, taking him fully into the warm, wet embrace of her silky channel with each teasingly slow thrust of her hips. “I wonder who can hold out the longest with us like this….” she began before a small gasp escaped her lips as his paws went to her waist. “Oh God, I’d call you on cheating if I didn’t love the feel of those paws on me so much. So big and strong, and still so soft and gentle… God, I love you, Derek.”

“You’ll never have to worry about that,” he panted as she rode him, using his paws to help regulate her tempo and angle of descent. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’d never do something to jeopardize what we have. I’d hold out for you for years, if I needed to. Though I hope it never comes to that. I love you, Samantha, more than anything.”

Slowing her pace, she rolled her head forward and giggled madly for a moment, “Not that kind of cheating, Silly; cheating in trying to make me cum quicker than you do. You know when you touch me like that – heck, when you touch me at all - it nearly makes me go off. But I got you this time, Stud. I don’t have to rely just on my limited experience… No, I have the library of Debbie to go to for reference material. And she gave me a good one to spring on you this time, Derek. Now raise those knees a little,” she said as she leaned farther back, supporting herself with her arms as he did as she asked. As she settled against his thighs, she grinned at him mischievously, “Okay, now a little lower…” she said as she pressed down against his legs. “Right there, now if I just do this,” she added as she rolled her hips back, changing the angle at which her thrusting drove his shaft into her slick passage. “Now add this,” she added as she began to rock back and forth slightly, resulting in pressing his length against her most sensitive spots as she rose up and sliding his steely hardness against the front wall of her pussy on the down strokes. “OH GOD,” she moaned out loudly as she felt her peak roaring towards her in a flash.

“Oh, now that’s… nnhhh… not fair,” he groaned, involuntarily bucking his hips up in response to the jolts of pleasure she was sending through his body. “If I didn’t know better… ahh… I’d say you’re getting impatient.”

“Nnnnhnnnn,” she mumbled nearly incoherently as she picked up her pace again. “Mmmmmm... more…” she moaned out as she increased the speed of their mating still more, riding him hard enough to begin to make the bed beneath them squeak. “C...cl-close,” she stammered out as her head rolled forward, her eyes opening slightly to gaze at him with the most irresistible bedroom eyes he had ever seen.

He locked eyes with the beautiful girl writhing atop him, sliding his paws over her hips to grab her by the sensual curve of her behind. He used his arms to drive her body down against his upward thrusts, burying himself as deep inside as he could. He could feel the familiar sensation of his orgasm approaching, and the slight *pop* of his swelling knot as it began to press into her smoldering tunnel. “Trying… hnhh… to get me… hahhh… to cum with you?” he grunted as she bucked against him.

Samantha simply nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact with her lover as her tunnel began to rhythmically ripple along his length, trying to pull him even deeper into her molten core. As she felt his knot tugging at her lips with each stroke, she struggled to lean forward, bringing her paws to his chest as she continued to roll her hips into his thrusts. “D...do it, tie with me and f-fill m-me u-up,” she moaned out, nearly collapsing onto his chest from the intense pleasure he was sending through her body like bolts of lightning.

Derek pulled her forward and pressed his muzzle to hers, passionately sliding his long tongue into her mouth. Talking took a back seat as they focused on the task at paw, the sounds of labored breathing and the wet sounds of sex-slicked bodies slamming together filling the room, punctuated by the random gasp, moan, and grunt. His cock was a blur as he pistoned in and out of her soaked cunny until finally his knot had swollen up enough to tie them together. With a fierce thrust of his hips, he pressed himself all the way inside, feeling her lips stretch tightly around his flesh before popping inside with a wet squelch, sealing his manhood deep inside with his tip lodged against her cervix. With a few more needy jerks, he managed to get the last bit of stimulation they were both looking for as the bulbous base of his cock rubbed against her G-spot, making them both cry out.

“Yes...Yes… oh GOD YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!” Samantha moaned out loudly as she finally collapsed onto his chest laying her head on his shoulder and murring happily into his neck.

“Oh, God… Saman… Samantha! Ohhh, yesssss,” Derek moaned as he could feel his lover’s walls gently caressing him as they crested together, spilling rope after rope of his seed into her body. He bucked and trembled slightly beneath her as the last shocks of his release coursed through his body, and wrapped his strong arms around her body, holding her tightly.

After several long minutes of nothing more than panting and heavy breathing, Samantha began to stir slightly. “Thank you, I really needed to get that out of my system before we go out with your parents for dinner. Otherwise, I’m not so sure I could keep my paws off you for that long. Not to mention I’d really rather not give your friend the wrong impression of myself, or embarrass your brother any more than we already have.” Her paw idly roaming his broad chest, trailing her dull nails through his thick fur as she added, “As soon as I can trust myself to walk without falling over, I think we need to get a shower. Maybe separately so we can make it out of this room on time to join your family?”

“I understand, God, that was every bit as intense as the beach,” he panted. “I think if it wasn’t for that kiss, I would have howled out again.” He ran his fingers through her hair, marveling at her beauty as he waited for his knot to subside. “But I still kind of miss the foreplay and the slow lovemaking.” As she stared into his golden eyes, he added, “But, after a few hours to recover and a nice dinner, I should be ready to go again by the time we get home tonight. And when we do, that sexy ass is all mine.”

Giggling softly Samantha replied, “The sexy is for sure, and since it’s your birthday… maybe, just maybe, if you play your cards right the ass can be, too.”

“Wait, what?” he asked, caught off guard by what he thought she was suggesting. “I was just talking about us giving each other some oral and manual teasing, followed by a slower, tenderer round of making love. I didn’t mean -”

“Frosty?” the Saluki said softly, bringing a finger to his lips. “Shhhhh, I didn’t say yes, and I didn’t say no, but I will think about it, and you know there’s really nothing wrong with a little fooling around there to get me in the mood or maybe work on getting me where we can do it that way.”

“I know,” he said, hugging her close, “I just didn’t want you to think I was pressuring you into something you weren’t ready for or comfortable with. I just thought you misunderstood what I was getting at.”

“I didn’t misunderstand what you meant, and I know you weren’t - that’s part of why I love you so much and why I’ll consider it. But right now we need to get ready for your night out and we’ll see where the night leads from there,” Samantha said softly as she cuddled against him. “Shower shortly, cuddle now.”

~~~~~


“There she is!” Derek exclaimed excitedly as Oksana pulled up in front of a small split-level home. A young hamster girl waited patiently for them with her mother at the end of the driveway. As the vehicle slowed to a stop, the young hybrid jumped out and gave the older rodent woman a hug.

“Happy birthday, Derek,” Tina Jenkins said warmly.

“Thank you, Mrs. J,” he said as he let the woman go. “And thank you for letting Daphne come out with us tonight. I’ve been looking forward to introducing her to Samantha for a while now. I think they’ll really hit it off.” He looked down at the pre-teen girl and asked, “All set?”

“Yeah,” his best friend replied, “I’m eager to meet this mystery girl that has you all aflutter.” He opened the passenger side rear door and carefully lifted the small hamster girl out of her wheelchair, and gently set her down in the back seat he had just vacated. “Hi,” the preteen said as she found herself sitting next to the pretty Saluki girl. “I’m Daphne, Derek’s friend.”

“Hello, Daphne,” the Saluki said, extending a paw to the younger girl, “I’m Samantha Thompson, Derek’s girlfriend. It’s nice to finally get to meet the young lady he speaks so highly of all the time. I’m glad you could join us tonight so I could finally put an accurate picture with his description of you. He was right,” she added with a broad grin on her muzzle, “you are as pretty as he says you are.”

“Thank you,” the young girl blushed through her fur at the compliment, “but I think your boyfriend needs some vocabulary lessons. He told me you were pretty, too, but I think you’re closer to ‘stunning.’”

“Hey,” he protested as he helped the young hamster with her seatbelt, “my vocabulary is just fine. I just have to remember sometimes that I’m talking to a twelve year old, and tone down my enthusiasm a bit.” He exited the car again for a moment, taking his best friend’s wheelchair from her mother and folding it up. He opened the rear hatch of the SUV and set the chair inside.

“Hello, Tina,” Oksana said as she rolled down the passenger window to speak to the older hamster. “Vhat time should I have her home by?”

“Normally, I’d say ten, but since it’s Derek’s birthday, I’ll go ahead and say midnight,” Daphne’s mother said. Looking at the Samoyed woman’s swollen belly, she asked, “So, how’s the pregnancy coming along?”

“Not bad,” the canine woman answered. “ve’re supposed to find out zhe sex in two veeks.” She ran her left paw comfortingly over her stomach.

“Congratulations,” Tina said. “Any preference?”

“Not really,” Oksana said. “I alvays vanted a daughter, but after living in a house full of boys for so long, I don’t know if I vould know how to raise a girl. And knowing Azhay, she’d probably grow up to be a little tomboy.”

“Speaking of, where is that rogue of a husband of yours, and Lucas?”

“Zhey’re going to meet us at zhe restaurant,” she explained. “Zhey had some business down at zhe shop to take care of, and zhen zhey are going to pick up Lucas’s girlfriend.” With Daphne’s chair properly secured in the back of the SUV, Derek opened up the front passenger door and climbed inside.

“Well, it was very nice to see you,” the older hamster said. “But I should let you get the birthday boy to his dinner. Have fun, guys!”

“Bye, mom,” Daphne called back.

“Bye, Mrs. J,” Derek added. “Thanks again.”

As they pulled away from the Jenkins’ residence, Daphne said, “Oh, yeah! I have something for you!” She pulled a small satchel up into her lap and dug through it for a moment, then pulled out a small plastic bag. “Derek asked me to make these for you.” She unzipped the bag and produced a bracelet, necklace, and a pair of earrings, all made from seashells.

“They’re from the same beach where we… well, you know,” the Samoyed/Timberwolf mix explained. “And before you say that she didn’t have to, trust me, she would have anyway. It’s her hobby. She would have made you something either way, but I thought this would be a little more personal.”

With a soft giggle at her boyfriend’s sudden modesty in front of his younger friend, Samantha said, “More personal, huh?” Reaching forward and playfully swatting him on the back of the head, she continued, “First off, Daphne, these are beautiful! The way you mixed and matched the shells makes them sparkle and the earrings are nearly identical. That must have taken you more than a few hours to sort them out like that.” Turning back to the Samoyed in front of her she added, “And I don’t need any other reminders of that beach, Derek. But these make it all the more memorable of the first place I got you to go swimming with me… without your trunks,” she finished with a snicker as she watched his snow white fur begin to turn a lovely shade of pink.

“Really?” he asked, giving her a playful swat on the knee. “In front of my mom? I hope you’re ready to hear more talk about giving her grandcubs.”

“Derek!” his mother said in mock insult. “I vould never! Not vizh Daphne in zhe back seat!”

“Well… thanks, mom,” he said, caught a little by surprise. He had endured an almost constant stream of talks regarding children over the past four months.

“I vant her vhere she can see how cute you blush vhen you get embarrassed,” the older Samoyed said, eliciting giggles from the girls in the back seat.

Leaning closer to the hamster girl, Samantha said quietly, though more than loud enough to be heard in the front seat, “He really should have seen that one coming shouldn’t he? Especially with how much his mother has dropped hints about it.” Righting herself in her seat again, Samantha leaned forward as far as the seatbelt would allow and draped her arms over Derek’s shoulders, “If you even think after all she’s said so far that your mother would not say something today of all days… I know you’re not that crazy, are you?”

“I’m honestly beginning to wonder,” he said, shaking his head. “If it wasn’t for the dominant gene that gives Samoyeds their white coats, I swear, I’d be turning gray already.”

~~~~~

They met up with AJ and Lucas, along with Lucas’s new girlfriend, Arelia, at Tanuki, a local Japanese Steakhouse and Derek’s favorite restaurant. The young mink girl was very pretty and well-mannered, though pretty shy. The seven of them were gathered around the hibachi while their Teppanyaki chef, a Hokkaido named Keiji, prepared their meals. Derek couldn’t help but notice as his girlfriend looked on, wide-eyed, as their chef performed such tricks as making a volcano out of an onion and flipping pieces of shrimp from off the grill and across the table into the waiting mouths of the party.

“First time at a place like this?” he asked, leaning over and speaking into her ear.

“Yes, I always wanted to go to a place like this, but the ones back home are so popular you have to make a reservation about a month in advance. God forbid if you’re even a minute late for it, too. They’ll pass you right over and seat the next group even after only three minutes. Even Debbie couldn’t… woo her way into one without a reservation in advance,” the Saluki replied as she watched the effortless movements of their chef. “The closest I ever came was about three weeks ago with her and Brett, but my plans got changed at the last minute by my mom. Which reminds me, there’s something I haven’t really had a chance to tell you about yet… but I’m not sure if this is the time or place for it. Especially since it is your birthday and all.”

“What is it?” he asked, suddenly worried about what she had to say. He placed his paw on her shoulder and said, “It doesn’t matter if it’s my birthday. I’ve had seventeen others, and I’ll have several more down the road. If something’s troubling you, I want to be there for you.”

“It’s not so much troubling, really,” the Saluki began to explain, a soft smile coming to her lips in an instant. “It’s a lot to lay on you all at once, more than anything. I’m not entirely sure where to even start, really. Mom works at a local manufacturing plant back in Denver, her shifts got changed just before we left for vacation. It seems that while I was on the cruise, my mother met a guy at work… and they got kind of serious really quick, faster than we did, in fact. But I can come back to that later, there’s something else that’s a tiny little bit more important I think you need to know about. It seems the company she works for is nearing completion of a new facility… close to here, in fact. She works in the quality control lab of the plant and they want to send her to the new plant to help them get it started up and running smoothly. They estimate it would be right after the first of the year and the transfer would last until late May, or early to mid-June at the latest.”

As he processed this latest bit of information, his pulse quickened and his mind began to race, but Derek fought to not get too excited just yet. “So, that would mean that you…?” he started to ask, hoping that she would complete the sentence with ‘would be coming out here with her.’

“Would have to make a decision on what to do, either stay in Colorado, most likely with Debbie, and finish out the school year or…” she said pausing to gather herself a bit more before continuing. “Or, thanks to quick thinking by a mutual friend of ours, I can continue with my classes by remote learning on the computer and still finish out the year. I would just have to go back to be physically present for the final exams. If I go that route… then I would be free to come out with her and Brandon, and be closer to my hot boyfriend. If you don’t think it would be too big of a distraction for me to be that much closer, that is,” she trailed off as she blushed a pale pink.

“So, let me get this straight,” he said. “You’re asking me if I’d rather keep seeing you twice a month, spending thousands on airfare that I could splurge on you in other ways, or have you close by, where I can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste whenever I want? Remind me later that this is just one more thing I owe Mark for.”

Laying one paw on the side of his face as she stared into his golden eyes Samantha said, “Only some of it has to do with him, the rest is more thanks to mom and her, ummm… fiancé, Brandon Holmes… or as it looks like I’ll be calling him next month, my step-dad, they’ve decided to get married.” Leaning in closer, doubting she could drop the last hand grenade into the conversation without being overheard by the Samoyed woman across from them she finished with, “and I won’t be the only one calling him ‘daddy’ soon.”

He cocked his eyebrow at that last bit of news. It took a moment to register what she was getting at, then he asked, “Wait, you mean you’re going to have a little brother or sister?”

Nodding slowly, keeping her eyes locked onto his Samantha said, “Yes, and believe me I was floored when she told me. All this time and it comes out that my father was a ‘one hit wonder’. Weird thing is, if they have her due date right, she got pregnant the night he proposed… go figure.” Turning to her boyfriend with an odd look on her face Samantha asked, “is it just me, or does it seem weird that one day, when we decide the time is right and all, I may have to try to explain to a toddler what being an aunt or uncle means?”

“Honestly? It seems a little more normal now,” the Samoyed boy said with a nod over to his mother. “Both of our moms, pregnant at the same time. Who would have ever guessed?”

“Vait, vhat?” Oksana said, catching what her oldest son had just said. “Samanzha, your mozher is pregnant, too?”

“Yes, ma’am, she told me the Tuesday after Derek’s last visit, the same day she told me she was getting married to her current boyfriend. These last two weeks have been a little weird all the way around at our house. Between planning a wedding for next month, getting things ready for a baby and working on getting everything packed up and ready to move… it’s been really hectic on top of school and mom’s work.”

“I can only imagine!” the Ukrainian woman exclaimed. “Still, congratulations to you bozh! So… zhis move zhat you speak of… Are you all looking for a bigger place for zhe baby? I mean, you are almost out of high school, anyvay.”

“Actually,” Samantha began to explain as she blushed a pale pink, “mom and her husband-to-be have a slightly different idea. They’re looking into either a bigger place or maybe something else. Mom had said something before I left that I’m still trying to wrap my head around. She and Brandon were talking about a place with a mother-in-law house on the property, or maybe a duplex, though I’m not really sure what she has in mind with something like that, and she wouldn’t go into any details when I asked her what she was up to,” the Saluki girl said fiddling with her paws a little.

“Zhat makes sense, I suppose,” the older woman said as she nodded. “Your mozher and her fiancé bozh have zheir careers, and you vill have college to vorry about. It vould be a good idea for his mozher to come and stay for a bit to lend a paw until zhey get settled in to zhe new routine.”

Just as he thought his mother was finished speaking and was about to open his muzzle to say something, she spoke up again. “So… Vhen are you two going to have a dytyna of your own, hmm? Vouldn’t it be nice if we vere all raising our little vones togezher?” Despite the playful grin on her face, he knew she was being quite serious.

“Mom,” he laughed, slightly embarrassed. “We won’t rush it. When the time is right, it’ll happen. Let us finish school at least!” Looking over at his girlfriend, he added, “Though I can only imagine how well pregnancy will compliment your beauty, Sexy.”

“There’s nothing more beautiful than the creation of new life!” AJ said, a little too loudly, catching the attention from some of the other diners.

“So, Arelia,” the teen said to his younger brother’s girlfriend, trying to change the topic. “Lucas tells me that your father rescues and rehabilitates feral horses. I bet that’s a lot of fun and rewarding work.”

“Um,” the mink girl started shyly, “We started the rescue this summer when he got back from…” She trailed off for a moment looking at her paws before she started over. “It’s a lot of work; we get up really early every day, and sometimes don’t get to bed until late at night. But, they are so majestic and beautiful, it’s hard to see how badly they are treated sometimes.”

“I can only imagine,” AJ said, his expression showing genuine sympathy for the animals. “It’s a noble thing your dad is doing. You should be proud of him.”

“I am, for a lot of things. The horse stuff is something he can still do after his injury in Iraq.” The girl’s mood seemed to shift as she spoke about her father. “He can’t do a lot of things any more, but he can still do that. So we do what we can to help also.”

“I didn’t know he was a vet,” the older Timberwolf exclaimed. “We’ll have to have your family over for dinner sometime, especially once the weather warms up. We love to cook out, and we’d be honored if you all joined us.”

Arelia blushed and looked at her paws as she said, “I guess, but he might not want to come. He doesn’t do well around others sometimes. But, Mom is trying to get him to go out more.”

“I can respect that,” AJ replied. “They say that war changes people. At the very least, the rest of the family could come over, and we’d send you all back with a great dinner to give to him.”

“Jordan’s family would probably be over, too,” Lucas interjected. “When we all get together, it’s like a house full of Pets.”

“Oh, come on now, we’re better than a bunch of ferals,” his father scoffed.

Blushing brighter the mink said, “I think he’s talking about my sister Petra… We call her Pet. And… um… I have a hard enough time handling one of her. I’m not sure if I could deal with a house full. She’s a paw full most of the time.”  She looked around as she realized how mean that might have sounded and started to explain herself. “Pet has ADHD, and she is like a watch spring that is wound too tight all the time. We have to keep her busy and focused on things or she might go supernova.”

The conversation dropped off for a bit, no one really knowing what to say next, until Samantha spoke up. “I can kind of understand that,” the Saluki girl said looking over at the mink. “My friend, Debbie, is kind of like that most of the time. She could be a lot of fun at times, but she can be quite a pawful herself most of the time.”

“She’s the girl zhat is dating Derek’s friend, Brett, no?” Oksana asked, turning her attention back towards her oldest son and his girlfriend. “How is Brett doing, by zhe vay?”

“Some distraction you turned out to be,” Derek joked, addressing his younger brother. “Remind me to not help you out when it’s your birthday.”

“I think you and Lucas make an adorable couple, Arelia,” Daphne said sweetly.

“Nice try, Daph,” Derek said, rolling his eyes. “But I think those two are a long way from hearing about cubs from Mom. Next thing you know, she’ll be ‘reminding’ Samantha and me to use protection by sticking push pins through condoms on the memo board.”

This got a giggle from all the ladies at the table, but AJ said, “She’d do it, too.”

“God, so would my mother,” the Saluki girl said between giggles. “I’ve already caught her rummaging around in the dresser drawer I usually keep my birth control in at home. She swears she’s not up to anything, but now that I know she’s pregnant… I’m not sure I trust her that much. I honestly wouldn’t put anything past her.” Making another attempt to change the subject, if even for only a few minutes to give Derek a bit of a break, Samantha turned to his younger brother. “So… tell me how you two met, Lucas, I have a feeling it may be an interesting story.”

“You might say that,” the younger boy said and a slight grin formed across his muzzle. For her part, Arelia blushed bright pink through her fur and slumped down in her seat. “Peanut butter crackers may have been involved.”

“Now this I have to hear,” Derek spoke up, leaning forward in his chair. “I didn’t hear that part of the story yet.”

Before the focus could shift to her, Arelia quickly scooped her mouth full of salad and slid further down in the chair, her eyes only barely visible above the table.

“So, she was introduced to our group of friends by Illyana,” Lucas began. “Did you know that Arelia makes all of her own clothes, even the school uniform?” A few heads around the table nodded, while Samantha looked impressed by the cute dress the young mink was currently wearing. “Well, I guess her first attempt at the uniform caught the attention of multiple people, including Illyana and the headmaster.”

“Vhat vas so different about it?” Oksana prodded, seeming to know the answer already, but wanting to make her youngest son and his date squirm.

Lucas shifted his blue eyes towards his mother and said, “Mom…”

“Don’t be rude, Lucas. Samanzha hasn’t heard zhe full story yet,” the Samoyed woman said.

“Neither have I, apparently,” Derek grinned.

Sighing, Lucas continued, “The fabric was a little shinier than the normal material.”

“And?” Oksana interjected.

“She… uh… Well, she made it a little tight around the, uhm…” Lucas swallowed and lifted his paws up to his chest, sliding them from the center around to the sides.  “You know.”

There was a dull *thud* as the mink girl slipped off the edge of her chair and landed on the floor beneath the table.

“Anyway, you know that Svetlana, Illya’s older sister, is into fashion design, and that their mother used to be a model, so she and Arelia became friends,” Lucas explained, now that the awkward part was, at least for now, behind him. “So when lunch period came around, Illya introduced her to the rest of the group.”

“Sounds to me like she got your attention with that jacket, Lucas,” Samantha said with a wink at the younger Samoyed. “But I have to say that the two of you really do make an adorable couple”

“OHMYGOD!” Daphne squealed. “I heard rumors that he likes her clothes so much he even tried on one of her dresses!”

“That was a game of truth or dare,” Lucas said, defending himself, “and I kept my sweatpants on.”

“I still don’t see where the peanut butter crackers came into play,” Derek interjected. “I mean, I’m sure you didn’t play truth or dare at school. Stop skipping ahead.”

“Yes, I want to hear about those crackers, also. It sounds like someone got a bit nervous,” Samantha said extending her paw down to the mink girl trying to hide under the table. “Need a paw up from the floor, Arelia?”

There was just a muffled reply, but no paw reached out to accept the assistance, so the table of canines all grinned and shrugged, with the exception of poor Lucas, continuing their conversation.

“So, she was eating these Ritz-and-peanut butter sandwiches for lunch,” Lucas explained, “then I sat down across from her at the lunch table. When I tried to introduce myself, she answered with a mouthful, and I got… uhm, sprayed.” A soft whine rose up from under the table as the young mink tried to hide her embarrassment.

“Aw, that ain’t so bad,” AJ said, leaning over and looking under the table at his youngest son’s girlfriend. “When I was trying to get Oksana’s attention, I did a lot worse than that, on more than one occasion. Sometimes, I think the only thing that didn’t drive her off was she needed a green card.”

“Zhere vas zhat,” Oksana chuckled. “Zhe ozher zhing zhat kept us togezher vas zhat ve vere tied togezher most of zhe first couple of years. By zhe time I could finally get avay, I vas already pregnant vizh -”

“Oh, god, Mom,” Derek said, covering his ears with his paws and shaking his head, “not at my birthday dinner, and not in front of Samantha.”

Looking at her boyfriend with a little bit of a scowl on her face the Saluki said, “Really? Like we’re any different when we’re together, Frosty?”

“No, but there are certain people you just don’t ever want to see, or even imagine, having sex,” the older boy said. “The sound effects down the hall are bad enough sometimes, but to get the description on top of that…”

“Now you know how I feel,” Lucas shot back, looking at Derek and Samantha. “What the heck, do you two use a megaphone and jackhammer in bed, or what?” This earned a round of laughter from their parents and Daphne, while Derek just grinned sheepishly and Samantha turned pink.

Now that the attention was diverted from her, Arelia peeked out from under the table and, sensing that the coast was clear, climbed back up into her chair.

“What can I say? We like to make sure the other is satisfied,” Derek said softly. “If you two ever get serious, you’ll know what I mean.”

“Your brozher is right, Lucas,” Oksana teased. “I vouldn’t be surprised if your fazher and I have to hear zhe two of you going at it like a couple of, vell… minks.”

“I hate you,” the younger canine boy said, glaring at his brother while Arelia dropped her head into her paws on the table.

“You’ll thank me later, man,” Derek said, leaning back in his chair and mussing with his brother’s hair. “When the two of you are pushing two double-strollers down the sidewalk, you’ll have your own bobsled team in training. When they’re ready for the Olympics, just have them call Uncle Derek, and I’ll hook them up with the best sled on the ice.”

Even the younger boy couldn’t hide his smile from the birthday boy’s jokes. Once the laughter died down a little, Oksana cleared her throat and said, “I’d like to toast my big, strong, handsome son, Derek. I’m so proud of you. You have grown into such a vonderful young man.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, blushing a little at the attention. Mild embarrassment soon turned into abject horror as his mother began to sing out loud, drawing the attention of their entire side of the restaurant. AJ soon stood up onto his footpaws, encouraging the other patrons to sing along to ‘Mnohaya lita’. Even Samantha, Daphne, and Arelia managed to sing along when they weren’t giggling at the older boy who was busy trying to bury his head in the tabletop.

When the song ended, there was a round of applause and Oksana stood up, taking a bow for her audience. Sensing that the ‘danger’ had passed, her oldest son sat back up only to have his head squeezed against his mother’s bosom. “I love you, Derek. You vill alvays be my dytyna, no matter how many grandbabies you give me.”

“Tell me your mothers don’t do this to you?” he asked, looking from Samantha, to Arelia, and over to Daphne.

“Mine doesn’t,” the little hamster said, “but if she did, she’d probably shatter glass.”

“To me no… but to you in two weeks when she sees you again before she leaves, that may be an entirely different story. Maybe you’ll get lucky and she’ll be so distracted with all of the wedding plans and all you just might get a pass from her,” the Saluki said with a broad grin. “Just be ready when she remembers it later; she’ll feel like she has to pay interest on a missed opportunity.” Leaning over to whisper to Arelia, Samantha said, “Just a word of warning, if you and Lucas do start to get serious... this is what you’ll have to deal with on a regular basis.”

“I’m just glad my mom doesn’t think about that yet,” the mink replied softly. “At least she doesn’t talk about it. But she is good about not talking about certain things.”

“So,” Derek said as he looked back over to his girlfriend, “what do you think Daisy will say when she hears the news?” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Lucas and Arelia both visibly relaxed as the focus was shifted off of them.

“About Lucas having a girlfriend?” the Saluki asked, sounding thoroughly confused. “Why would Daisy care? She’d probably say, ‘Do I look like I give a fuck?’”

“No, I mean about you moving out here for the rest of the school year,” her boyfriend clarified.

“Oh! I’m not really sure, but she’ll probably freak out when she finds out. I haven’t really had a chance to tell her yet because we’ve been really busy trying to get things ready for the move,” the Saluki said shaking her head slowly. “I didn’t realize my mom had so much crap in that house until we started going through it all.”

“Well, if she needs an extra set of paws, I’d be happy to help,” he volunteered, dropping his voice to a whisper so that he wouldn’t give his mother more ammunition. “Though my reasons are a little selfish, if it gets you out here faster.”

“I’ll remember that on the first visit after my birthday. Mom has already said that one is off limits as far as you doing anything but taking care of me… sound familiar?” Samantha asked with a huge grin on her face.

He looked over at his mother and said, “As if she’d let me forget. Don’t worry, though. Your birthday weekend, everything will be all about you. But part of me wants to get out there now and get you all packed up and moved now.”

“That’s exactly what I want, too, Frosty, and the wait is going to be a little hard to take. But if mom has her dates right, we’ll have nearly four and a half months before I have to fly back to take the final exams.” Samantha started to giggle softly as she added, “We just have to make sure to work in some study time before then so I can be sure to pass them.”

“Well, I’ll still be working at the shop, and I’ll be in school… Wait, your school is a private school, too, right? Would they consider letting you take proctored exams?” he asked. “Chimera Prep is one of the more prestigious private schools on the East Coast.”

“Mark thought of that, too, but the only way they will let me do the distance learning classes is if I agree to be there physically to take the finals. Mrs. Maplethorpe said it had something to do with the state’s education laws. I really didn’t understand it so I didn’t pay a lot of attention to that part of the discussion,” Samantha replied with a slight frown. “It won’t be all that bad, it’s only two days and Debbie has already agreed to let me crash with her and Brett, unless something changes between now and then. Just in case, I do have another friend that I can stay with for those two days.” Turning to look her boyfriend in the eyes, the Saluki said, “If it gets me closer to you for four months… I’ll do whatever I have to, and be very glad that it’s not something even harder to work out.”

“Look at you two,” Oksana said, leaning her way over as much as she could in her gravid condition, “you are so romantic and cute togezher! You vill make such loving parents someday! Vhat do you zhink, hmm? Should ve pay zhe bill and get you two lovebirds back home so you can put a bun in zhat oven?”

“Give me strength,” Derek muttered, shaking his head. “School first, mom, babies after.”

“Just call zhem ‘extra motivation,’” his mother teased. “Somezhing else to push you to be successful.”

Snickering as she nuzzled into her lover’s neck, Samantha whispered into his ear, “Sounds so much like my mother.” Letting her paw slip into his lap and squeezing his thigh she added, “But I would so enjoy the trying.”

“Ahem,” the Samoyed-wolf blushed as he cleared his throat. “Check please?”

~~~~~


The two teens drove slowly through the streets of Marblecliff as Derek took Samantha on a tour of the city, pointing out the sights and landmarks so that she wouldn’t be as lost once she and her mother arrived. Until now - with the exception of dinner the previous night - she had only seen the airport and the Blackfoot house.

“And that,” he said with a gesture of his paw, “is Chimera Prep, my school.”

Samantha looked where he was waving, and saw a massive building sitting atop a hill. It was slightly odd and perhaps even a bit scary looking. The main structure was made of old blocks of black stone, but throughout the years, additional wings had been added on: some gray brick, some tan, none of them adhering to any particular design scheme. The campus was dotted with several other smaller buildings, and decorated with crepe myrtle trees that had all shed their leaves for the winter.

“Well, it’s certainly an interesting looking school. Maybe once mom and I get moved out here you can give me a tour sometime,” Samantha said with a smile. “Maybe even introduce me to some of your classmates or something.”

“Or, I could invite a beautiful lady to a dance,” he said with a smile. “You know, the whole time I’ve attended here, I haven’t gone to a single function… That probably helped to fuel those ‘gay’ rumors.”

“Well if you think it would help to be seen with your pretty girlfriend, I’d be happy to help squash those rumors, Frosty. One thing I can guarantee you are not is gay… in any way,” the Saluki said leaning closer to her boyfriend. “And I would so love to spend the night dancing with the sexiest guy at your school.”

“Honestly, I don’t even care about the rumors. It’s just… I was missing out on life,” he said, turning his head and clasping her paw. “It took finding you to help me realize this.”

He turned the Caterham down a side street and added, “Here, we aren’t far from where Daisy lives. I’ll show you how to get there.” A few minutes later, they turned into a wealthy looking subdivision with a large sign that said ‘Valley View.’ They slowly drove past a large mansion, and he pointed. “Right there.”

“Holy hell…” the Saluki said, wide-eyed at the sight of the overly large residence. “I don’t know if her family knows where she lives... well, not as far as what the house looks like. Then again, I’m not sure that could even be called a house.”

“From what I understand, they’re all probably in the middle of their morning workout ritual,” he explained, “Miss Fargo can be a real ball-buster from the sounds of things. But if you want to check in with her later, maybe we can all meet up or something.”

“That sounds like a good idea, if we can and have the time. It would be nice to see that crazy moose again. I’ve kind of missed her since she moved out here,” Samantha said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“I can understand that,” he said, “I kind of miss Brett and Debbie, and I’ve only known them for a short while. It must be so much harder when you and Daisy were friends for so long.”

“Yes it is, and it’s even a little bit harder since she knew me before I came out as Samantha. She was on my butt about it even before I met Mark, which was mostly Debbie’s doing. It still seems weird that because of a pushy, nosey, kind of slutty bunny I ended up with such a hot and sexy man in my life. At the time I thought they were both crazy, but I’m really glad they didn’t give up on me, even when I was about to myself,” the Saluki confessed beginning to fiddle with her paws a little.

“Well, I’m glad they didn’t let you,” he said, stroking her hair back out of her face. “And now that you’re stuck with me, I won’t either.” Just then, a broad smile formed on his muzzle and he asked, “Hey, how does breakfast sound? Are you hungry?”

“Actually… yes, I am a little hungry after this morning. You really are extra frisky first thing when you wake up, aren’t you?” the Saluki asked, perking up a little.

“Are you kidding me?” he teased, “You’re the one that slept with her paw down the front of my boxers all night.” He steered his car into the parking lot of a small family restaurant and killed the ignition. “And is that a complaint? I mean, there is the sofa bed in the study…”

“Oh, were you planning to sleep on it? Because I’m really happy with the sleeping arrangements as they are right now. But, if waking up to being groped is a problem…” Samantha said with a little smirk on her lips.

“First of all, I think referring to any situation where you and I share a bed can hardly be called a ‘sleeping’ arrangement - thank you, mother - and I have no issue with being groped, but you light a serious fire in me,” he retorted. “So yeah, I am extra frisky, when I wake up next to you.” He opened the door and escorted her inside.

“Good morning, welcome to the Willows Family Restaurant,” an older goat woman said, “Is it just the two of you this morning?”

“Yes, please,” he said.

“Right this way, then,” the hostess said, leading them to their table.

As they were walking through the dining area, he spotted a few familiar faces. “Actually, ma’am, I just spotted some friends from school. Would it be too much trouble to get seated next to them?” He indicated towards a table of four, where a raccoon, red squirrel, and sugar glider sat, talking amongst themselves, while a little girl happily drank from her bottle in her carrier. Samantha couldn’t help but think she had seen that sugar glider before.

“Here you go,” the woman said, setting down a pair of menus and two rolls of silverware. “Your server will be Gretchen. She should be with you in a moment.”

“Look who stopped working himself to death and decided to join the living,” the raccoon said as he stood up to greet them. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside of school before, Derek,” the boy said, then looked over at Samantha. “This must be your doing.”

“Probably, but if it’s a good thing I’ll gladly take the blame for it,” the Saluki said with a broad grin. “Samantha Thompson,” she added extending a paw to the raccoon. “Though to hear him tell it I might be the reason no one sees much of him at all.”

“Ethan Black,” the boy said, returning the gesture and shaking her paw. “It’s nice to meet you. This is my girlfriend, Claire, and our friend, Shyara. And this…” He reached down into the carrier and playfully tickled the infant. “...is Sienna.”

“Nice to meet you Ethan, Claire… but your name,” she said looking to the sugar glider, “that sounds a little familiar to me. I just can’t really place…” Samantha said trailing off in thought for a moment. “You wouldn’t by chance happen to know a bunny girl named Debbie would you?”

“Hold on now jus’ a tick… Yer that gal that was Debbie’s roommate on tha cruise, ain’t ya?” the sugar glider said. “Looks like ya went an’ got ya’self a souveniah.”

Ethan and Claire looked at each other, then back at Derek and Samantha. “You two met on the cruise?”

“Yes, we did. My roommate and I were helping a couple friends of ours set up for their wedding and Derek made himself useful. It didn’t take long to kind of fall for this big lug. Once I got to know him a little… well things got going kind of fast and I ended up falling for him,” Samantha said blushing slightly. “It didn’t hurt any that he looks good in swim trunks… and in a tux, oh my God, he’s hot.”

The girls at the table giggled as the Samoyed boy stood there, blushing bright red through his fur. “You’re pretty sexy yourself, but I hardly think a family restaurant is the right place to share all the juicy details of how we met,” he said, then looked over at the baby. “So, this is Sienna, huh? Would you mind if I held her? I have a little sister on the way, so this might be good practice.”

Ethan looked at Shyara for the okay, and the girl gave a smile and nod. “Sure,” the raccoon answered, undoing the little cub’s straps. “She’s pretty social. Between Shy’s host family, Claire’s parents, and my aunt and cousins, she’s always being held by someone other than one of us.” He carefully leaned forward and lifted his daughter up and passed her over to Derek.

The tall canine gently took the baby and cradled her in his arms, awkwardly at first, but he got the hang of it soon enough. “My mom would freak out if she saw me now,” he said with a grin.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Samantha,” Claire said as she stood up and held out her paw. “How long are you in town for?”

“Ah bet ya’d make a great fatha someday,” Shyara said, looking at Derek. “Practicin’ fer holdin’ yer little sista?”

“In for the weekend, as usual once a month, for now,” the Saluki said silently slipping her phone from her back pocket. As she fiddled with the device, turning the phones speaker to silent before opening the camera app on the device, she added, “though that might change soon if everything keeps going the way it is now.” She quickly snapped a picture of her boyfriend holding the tiny raccoon sugar glider hybrid infant in his arms. Quickly composing a short text message to accompany the photo before sending it off to Derek’s mother, Samantha continued, “As it stands right now my mother and I may be moving out here for several months for her job. That will make me very happy, even if I do have to hear Mrs. Blackfoot pestering Derek and me about puppies even more than I do now.”

“You two are an adorable couple,” the red squirrel said as she looked between the two of them. “I bet you’d have adorable children.”

“Well, I think it’ll be good for him to have you here,” the raccoon added. “I’ve been trying to get this guy to loosen up and relax for a while, but all he does is work.”

“Ah’d advise waitin’ on cubs, if ya can,” Shyara said. “Don’ get me wrong, she’s tha bes’ thin’ ta eveah happen ta me, an’ Ah wouldn’ change anythin’. But before ya know it, yer whole life is their lives. Me? It was kinda a selfish move on mah end ta get citizenship, othahwise Ah woulda waited, but there’s nothin’ in this world Ah love more.”

“She’s right,” Ethan said. “Just wait til you have that little girl in your arms. You won’t experience anything like holding your sister for the first time, until you have your own child.”

“Are you guys trying to talk us in to or out of having kids?” Derek laughed. “I swear, I think my mom hired you to talk to us.”

“I wouldn’t put anything past her at this point,” Samantha said as she walked up beside Derek taking the baby’s small paw in her own tenderly. Glancing up at the other teens she added, “We’re planning on waiting at the least until we’re out of school, and we are being careful. But I think my own mother may be a good example of if it’s meant to be it will be.”

“Do your parents have any names picked out yet?” Claire asked.

“Natalie Jane, if it’s a girl,” Derek answered. “Kellan Ross, if it’s a boy.”

“And your mother is pregnant, too, Samantha?” the squirrel continued. “How far along?”

“The doctor says between five and six weeks,” Samantha replied looking up at Claire with a huge grin on her muzzle. “She dropped that little bomb on me last week while I was making the arrangements for this trip. Right before she told me she and the father are getting married right after Derek’s visit to see me in two weeks in Colorado. Then she threw the shoe rack at me when she told me about both of them being transferred out here for four to five months to open a new plant for the company they work for back home.” Shaking her head slowly she continued, “Trust me that was one of the most interesting dinners we’ve had in years.”

“Wow, both o’ yer moms knocked up at tha same time,” the sugar glider exclaimed. “Yanno, if yer mom,” she pointed at Samantha, “has a boy, then tha two could be ring beara and flowa gal atcher weddin.’”

“That’s… actually not a bad idea, honestly,” Derek said as he pondered the idea. “If we ever get married, it might be something to think about. Let’s just hope my crazy family doesn’t scare her off before they can get their hooks in her.”

“They’ll have to go quite away to scare her off,” Samantha said. “She did raise me, after all, and that wasn’t always a picnic. There was a lot of baggage in our family before my dad passed away and I was the reason for a lot of it.” Turning to look at the small group of teens she added, “Things with me… and about me were quite different a year ago. But now I’m happy with myself, my life, and this stud of a Samoyed, and I don’t let the things from back then bother me anymore.”

“Good to hear,” Ethan said with a smile. “Trust me, I can relate.”

“Hey, what time is it?” Claire asked. “We’re supposed to be meeting up with your aunt at eleven.”

“You’re right,” the raccoon said as he pulled out his phone and checked the time. “It’s ten forty.” He looked back to Derek and Samantha and said, “It was nice to meet you, Samantha, and hopefully we’ll see you again soon. And you,” he said, clapping the Samoyed on the shoulder, “Happy belated birthday.”

“Oh yeah,” Claire and Shyara said together, “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks,” Derek said. “I appreciate it.”

“It was nice meeting all of you as well,” Samantha said cheerfully, “and that would be nice to get together again sometime soon.” As the trio walked away towards the entrance of the restaurant the Saluki girl turned to her boyfriend and asked, “So what’s the plan now, Frosty?”

“Food,” he said with a slight pat to his empty stomach, “and then we’ll go…” he began before being cut off by the sound of Samantha’s phone ringing.

“Ummm, that’s mom’s ring tone. Head us towards a table while I talk to her, Derek, and I’ll see what’s going on,” she said as she pulled the phone from her pocket. “Hi, Mom, what’s up?” she asked cocking an eyebrow at her mother’s tone of voice as the older Saluki began to speak.

Derek waved towards an elk woman, and she approached the table. “Hello, I’m Gretchen, and I’ll be taking care of you this morning. Can I start you off with something to drink?”

“Orange juice for me, please,” he said, then looking at Samantha he ordered what he had come to know as her preferred morning drink. “And milk for my girlfriend, two percent if you have it.”

“Will do,” she said, “I’ll give you two another moment to look over the menu, and I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

As the waitress walked away from the table, Samantha silently mouthed the word ‘menu’ to Derek as she listened to her mother continue speaking. She took it from his paw as she smiled at him warmly before opening it and quickly scanning over the breakfast choices. “Hold on a second, Mom, I need to order something to eat… then I want you to repeat that last part before you go any further. I’m not quite sure what it is you’re hinting at this time.” Looking up to Derek, she said, “Two eggs, over medium, three pancakes, toast and hash browns please, honey. And ham if they have it and it’s not too fatty. God, I’m hungrier than I thought,” she added with a little hint of a blush in her cheeks. “Does that order make me sound like a pig?”

“Not at all, Sexy,” he said as he leaned over and gave his girlfriend an affectionate peck on her forehead. “Hello, Ms. Thompson,” he called to Samantha’s mother through the phone.

When Gretchen returned with their drinks, he repeated Samantha’s request and then ordered the three-meat skillet with scrambled eggs, home fries, and country gravy for himself. He patiently waited for Samantha to finish talking, grinning mischievously as he allowed his paw to creep under the table and up his girlfriend’s thigh.

Samantha tried hard not to giggle or moan into her mother’s ear as her boyfriend teased her leg with his paw, though she didn’t fare nearly as well at not wiggling around and nearly dropped her phone. Just as she was about to scold Derek, she suddenly froze stock still as her eyes shot wide as dinner plates. “Are you serious?” the Saluki nearly screamed into the phone in her paw. “Mother, if this is some kind of a joke… it’s not funny. You know how I feel about…” she said before being cut off by whatever her mother said next. “MOTHER!” Samantha shouted, her voice raised a bit more than she seemed for it to be as she blushed furiously at her mother’s comment. “NO! I can’t ask him something like that here, we’re sitting in a family restaurant about to eat breakfast. I don’t think it’s something I should ask him here for the…” she said before her mother apparently cut her off again. “Okay, okay give me a second to put the phone on speaker and you can ask him, if you want to. I think you’re crazy though, Mom, and I don’t see how you think we can decide something like that before I head home.” Looking across the table at the Samoyed boy, her eyes still wide, she fiddled with the phone for a few moments before she lay it on the table between them. “Okay he can hear you. The floor is all yours, crazy woman.”

Derek couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as he overheard the exchange between mother and daughter. Once the phone was set for speaker, he leaned in and said, “Hey, Ms. T. What’s up?”

“Good morning, Derek,” the older Saluki greeted him warmly. “I’ll assume Samantha has already given you her birthday present by now,” she said with a slight snicker in her voice. “And happy birthday, though a tad late from myself and Brandon. I hadn’t said anything about a few things to Samantha before she left for her visit because, to be honest, there were still so many things undecided on our end yet. Is it safe to assume also that she has already told you that we’re going to be moving out near Marblecliff shortly after the first of the year?”

“Are you kidding? I’m shocked that Daisy hasn’t heard yet,” he laughed. “That moose will flip out as soon as she finds out.”

“I see. I knew she couldn’t keep her muzzle shut about it once she was out there in your arms again. I would imagine she has already told you the rest of the good news that she knows of. But she doesn’t know all of the plans that I and Brandon have been looking into once we make the move east. I’ve just told her a good sized piece of it and I’m sure you heard her: she doesn’t think that over breakfast is the right time to tell you, or for the two of you to discuss it. I disagree; I think it’s the perfect time so that she can have a tentative answer by time she heads back here. To put it rather bluntly, Derek, by the time we make the move out that way I’ll be still recently married again, and with a baby on the way, no less. I don’t particularly need a grown woman under my paws getting in my fur. So Brandon and I have been looking for a place and we found something that will keep her close and still let her be out of my hair. It wouldn’t make too bad of a belated birthday present for both of you, either, to be honest. Okay, short of it is this: you have any problems with moving in with my daughter in one half of a duplex?”

“Yes and no,” he said, giving Samantha a reassuring smile when she shot him an injured glance. “Ever since the day we met, I’ve desired to be closer to your daughter, and I’ve been looking forward to the day when we could have our own place together. Hell, my mom would be over the moon about the idea of us being in the same bed every night - she’s got cubs on the brain, I think. But, if I won’t be buying round-trip airfare twice a month, then I insist on paying rent and utilities. I refuse to sponge off of you and your husband while you raise an infant.”

“Oh, neither of you were going to, Derek. I only asked if you had a problem with it. You and I hadn’t discussed the details of what I expect from the pair of you in exchange. You and Samantha can talk it over between you and decide on that part of it. But Brandon and I do expect the two for you to be responsible for yourselves. That means utilities, food, upkeep and insurance on your car and the likes of that. Rent on the other paw is a different matter entirely; neither of us will be paying that. The company that Brandon and I work for will, it was part of the relocation package they offered to get us both to take the transfer out East. All I had to do was find a suitable residence for the time we will be out there, and considering everything going on for the bunch of us in this little endeavor, I thought getting you two some alone time without any interruptions from either set of parents would be a nice thing to do. Also, since Samantha will be doing most of her school work from home while you’re in class, I’m going to kind of count on her to give Brandon and me a paw in keeping our home from turning into a disaster area with the weird schedule we’ll both be working. If you can live with an arrangement like that, then let Samantha know before she leaves, and she can fill me in on what you two decide when she gets back home. I don’t need an answer right this moment, and I honestly think the two of you should discuss it first before you let me know,” the older Saluki said in a pleased tone of voice. “Besides, one sure way to know if you can stand each other long-term is to spend as much time together as you can. Living together kind of insures that now, doesn’t it?”

“Excuse me for a minute, Beautiful,” he said, swiping the phone up into his paw and taking it off of speaker, “I’ll be right back.” He walked toward the back of the restaurant, near the kitchen, and told the older Saluki, “I have something to show you. Hold on a sec.” He pulled his own phone out and opened his photo album, selecting several photos and sending them to the woman on the other line. “You should be getting some pictures in your inbox in a minute or so. I found an old Chevy El Camino, pretty much rusted out and being used as a flower bed when I found it, but I got the shell for free. I just had to remove it from the property. I’ve been restoring it for the past few months during the weekends that I don’t see Samantha. I should have it ready for her in time for Christmas, and Mark has already helped me out with getting it plated in Colorado. I’d like to pay for Samantha’s car insurance, too, in exchange for the gesture. I just thought it might be important to let you know now, so that you don’t start looking for a car for her.”

“Oh, I see,” Samantha’s mother said softly, apparently looking through the pictures Derek had sent her. “Oh, goodness, that was a hunk of… oh my. Derek, it’s coming along beautifully. I’m so glad you told me, though. Samantha has started pestering me about getting her a car before we make the move out East. Now I know to keep her from winning that little war until Christmas. I’m certain Brandon and I can keep her occupied with other things until then, with everything else going on now. Oh, have you decided on the color for it yet?”

“Incoming color swatch,” he said, selecting another pic, a blend of purple, black, and silver. “I know how much she loves the Colorado Rockies, so I kind of went with that, except heavier on the purple. I think it would suit her well.”

“She’ll love it, even more so that it came from you, Derek. I’ll take care of things on this end as far as the car thing goes. But seriously, you two really need to talk about this offer. If it’s what you both want, then Brandon and I are all for it. I realize my little girl is grown up on me, and I can’t think of nearly anyone else I would be willing to do this for, Derek. You and Samantha are a wonderful couple, and I’m not fool enough to not want my daughter to be happy.”

“Speaking of happy, she’s probably worried about this conversation we’re having behind her back. I should probably get back to the table and let her say good-bye,” he chuckled. “But thanks for everything, Ms. T. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Derek, dear, and I appreciate a young man that loves my daughter for who she is, and gives me a reason to trust him with the most precious thing on this earth to me,” the older Saluki said honestly. “Now, let me say good-bye to her so you two can talk. You have a rather big decision to make, though it sounded an awful lot like your mind is already set.”

“I’d be an idiot to say ‘no,’” he replied as he walked back to the table. “I love your daughter more than anything. Besides, if I declined, my mother would kill me. Okay, Ms. T, it was nice to talking with you. Here’s Samantha back.” He held the phone out for his girlfriend.

As she took the phone from his paw, Samantha cocked her head slightly, a grin spreading across her muzzle as she said, “You’re up to something, Frosty, it’s written all over your face.”

“Tell your sweet mother ‘good-bye’ so we can eat our breakfast while you drive yourself crazy wondering what it is,” he teased, leaning down and gently biting her ear.

With a slight shiver running down her spine from his tender teasing, Samantha brought the phone to her other ear as she said, “My sweet mother… now I know you’re up to something. The both of you are.” Ignoring her boyfriend for just a moment, she said, “Good-bye, Mom. I’ll be home on time and I’ll let you know what Puff-tail and I decide then. I love you.” After a moment’s pause, she ended the call and stuffed the phone back into her pocket. “So, I wonder how long until the food arrives. I’m starving over here.”

“It should be any minute, I think. The three-meat skillet takes a bit of time to cook,” he shrugged.

As if on cue, Gretchen appeared at their table with their breakfasts. “Here you kids go,” she said cheerfully, “One three-meat skillet, and two eggs, over medium... three pancakes... toast... hash browns... and two slices of ham with the fat trimmed off. Can I get you anything else?”

“No, thank you, Gretchen,” he said.

“I think this should do it. I can’t believe I’m so hungry this morning,” Samantha said as she began to cut up her eggs and breakfast meats. “Okay, all funny stuff aside, Frosty. What do you think about mom’s offer?”

“Honestly? I’m interested,” he said with a nervous grin, “but at the same time, I would also understand if you thought that everything was moving too quickly. Personally, I’m comfortable with the rate at which our relationship has progressed. It all just feels right, you know? No pressure from me; if you aren’t ready, I understand.”

Holding up one finger as she finished chewing and swallowing the healthy bite of her breakfast in her muzzle before wiping her lips with a napkin, the Saluki grinned sheepishly at him for a brief moment. “Well… little bit of a confession here, Sweet lips,” she began as she reached over and lay her paws palms up on the table close to him. “I’ve kind of been thinking a lot about us ever since Mom told me she was getting remarried and about the baby on the way. Yes, things have been moving forward kind of fast ever since we met on the cruise. At first I kind of thought, ‘okay, maybe a little bit of summer fling or puppy love going on here,’ and I was okay with that. But, in no time I knew better and, yes, it did kind of scare me a little. But, I knew then just as I know now, I didn’t want it to stop. I didn’t want it to end. I still don’t; not now, not ever. Yeah, it still scares me a little, but I learned a long time ago to not let things that scare me keep me from doing what I want or having what I want. I tried to do that for a long time, but until I met Mark… I just didn’t know how to even start to be the me I always knew I was. He showed me that, and a few other things along the way. But you… you are an entirely different story. Maybe I’m being reckless or a fool, if I am I don’t care. Because the one thing I am sure of is that I want to be with you, now and for a very long time, at the very least.”

“Wow,” he said, unable to hide his smile. “I can’t believe this is happening. My mom is going to freak out… but in a good way.”

Samantha’s eyes suddenly shot wide as a huge smile spread across her face. “You know what this means? We won’t have to hear nearly as much from either of our mothers about babies if we’re in a place of our own.”

“You know who the real winner is in the whole arrangement? Lucas!” Derek said, bursting out in laughter. “Oh, God, I’m almost sorry for the looks he would give us the mornings after one of our long nights of love-making.”

“I know, and I’ve felt a little guilty about how much we must be disturbing him… but his older brother is just such a hot, handsome stud I can’t keep my paws to myself if we’re not in plain sight of other people,” Samantha said with a slightly wicked grin on her face. “Good thing we’re in a busy restaurant I guess, huh, Frosty?”

“I think ‘good’ is a relative term, in this case,” the Samoyed said. “But, I’m not opposed to finishing our meal and getting out of here.”

“I’m not opposed to it eitherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,” Samantha nearly squealed as she began to wriggle around in her chair. Quickly retrieving her phone, she blushed brightly. “I have got to stop forgetting to take this thing off vibrate. Well, unless I know you’ll be calling me,” she said as she looked intently at the screen of the device for a few moments. “Ummm, Derek?” Samantha said with an odd tone in her voice. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Chatham Lane is, would you?” she asked laying the phone on the table and passing it to him.

“I don’t recognize the street name, but let me see,” he said, curious to see what his girlfriend was referring to. There was a picture of a duplex house, and beneath that a map. Clicking on the link, he was able to see the layout of the surrounding area. “Yeah, I know where this is… Groveport, upper-middle class neighborhood on the outskirts of town. The assigned schools are pretty good, and I never see the area on the news for anything bad. Is this the place your mom was referring to?”

“Message is from her, so I would assume it is. It actually looks kind of cozy if you ask me…” she said trailing off for a few moments before a sparkle shone in her eyes and she began to giggle softly. Looking over at her lover, seeing the slightly concerned look in his eyes she explained, “Sorry, Derek, I just got to thinking about how many of the girls I know back home that would practically kill to be in the position I’m going to be in a matter of a few weeks.”

“You say that, but I’m the lucky one,” he said, clasping her paws.

“Well…” she began as she blushed again before looking down to the table between them. When she looked up into his eyes again she said, “thing is we know about my mom. Are you really sure your parents will go for this hare-brained idea of my mother’s?”

“You. Me. In a place of our own where we can sleep in the same bed every night, or not sleep at all? As soon as I’m out, they’ll probably convert my room into the baby’s nursery,” he laughed at the thought. “The only downside I can see, from my mom’s perspective, is not being able to see me every day to make sure I’m eating well. My dad? He’ll probably give me a pat on the back.”

“Okay, then, what next? Go see if we can get a peek in the windows of what will be our own place, or go and break the news to your parents? Or maybe you have something even more interesting in mind, Puff-tail?” Samantha said as she dug back into her breakfast with a renewed gusto.

“I think we should swing by the place,” he said, taking another bite of his meal. “We can take a few pics, and get a sense for the drive times from the house to my school, the shop, and my parents’ place. Maybe even swing by Daisy’s work and let her know what’s going on, too. Then we can give them the news. How’s that sound?”

Nearly choking as she tried to gulp down the bite of food she had been chewing the Saluki giggled a little as she said, “Oh, God yes, that moose will go ape shit when she hears I’ll be out here for a while after the first of the year. Then again, she may just accuse me of copying her and following around after my lover like a love struck puppy.” Leaning back in her seat she laughed, “Who cares, it’ll be worth whatever stuff she gives me to see the look on that big muzzle of hers when I tell her.”

“I think we should just mess with her,” the Samoyed smirked. “Don’t even preface the news with your mother and Brandon getting transferred out here or anything like that. Just that you decided to move to Marblecliff and that we’re getting a place together. That would probably get you an interesting reaction, I’m sure.”

“I imagine it would, and I just may do that. From the way things sounded the last time I talked to her, the rest of the group seem to be giving her less grief lately. Though, she swears it’s likely just the calm before the storm. I think she’s being a little paranoid about it all myself, even if they did dye her pink,” Samantha said chuckling at the renewed memory of seeing the pictures of the moose herm in baby pink fur. “Okay. Enough gab, let’s finish eating and get going, we have a few things to do now, thanks to my crazy mother.”

~~~~~


The teens pulled up in front of The Flour Shop a short while later. Derek politely opened the door for Samantha, letting her enter ahead of him. Samantha watched as her moose friend busily moved around the kitchen area of the bakery, oblivious that she was in the building. After a few short moments the moose herm came to the front of the store area, sliding a large tray of freshly baked and frosted cupcakes into the display case. As she stood up she caught sight of the Saluki girl she had known for several years. Snickering, Daisy blurted out, “What, never seen a moose in an apron or something?”

“Actually, not when it comes to you Daisy, but to be honest, I was suddenly seeing you rather a different color,” Samantha said, trying hard not to break out laughing.

“Damn it, which one of those asshats back home is spreading around video of that Skype call?” Daisy asked with a scowl on her face.

“Like I’m going to tell you, not that there’s much you can do about it from here,” the Saluki said, finally settling down just a bit. “And honestly, Daisy, who do you think would do something like that?”

“Frank; I knew that horse’s rump would do that… stuff,” the moose said, suddenly catching herself as a shorter Jerboa walked from the kitchen area and up beside her.  Turning to look at the flying squirrel at the other end of the counter, she asked, “Ms. Graham, would it be alright if I take a short break?”

“I would think so, but if it gets busy I’ll need you again,” her employer said with a quizzical expression on her face.

“Thank you,” Daisy said as she pulled the neck strap of her apron over her head as she walked around the counter, letting the upper part fall away from her chest. “So other than Snowflake, what brings you to New Hampshire, Samantha?”

“Well, at the moment, just Derek, but that will be changing in a few weeks,” the Saluki said as the trio walked over to an empty table near the front windows. “But I can tell you about that in a minute; I want to hear about how things are going for you, Daisy. Is that crazy bunch you hooked up with still, ummm, how do I put this?”

“Hazing me? Tormenting me? Torturing me like a prisoner of war? Okay, so maybe not really all that bad, but yeah, they’ve gotten me good more than once,” Daisy said with a bit of a chuckle. “But I put up with it. Because, to be honest with you, Samantha, I’ve come to realize that Sisy and I love each other more than you can imagine, and we need each other more than we could have thought possible. It’s been a little rough at times, but knowing that she needs me, and wants me to be with her… some days it’s what gets me through some stuff.” Leaning back in her chair, Daisy looked across the table at the Saluki girl that had been her friend for several years and said, “Anyway, you didn't really answer me about what brings you down here to pester me. What’s going on, Flufftail?”

“So, Moose-face, I was just wondering what you would think about me moving to Marblecliff after the first of the year?” Samantha asked with a sly grin on her muzzle.

“Hold up, what the Hell do you mean by you moving out here? Your mom is going to let you just up and take off to be with Snowflake? I’m not buying that one for a minute. What else have you got for me, because I know your mother isn’t that flakey,” the moose herm said in a sarcastic tone. Daisy’s eyes suddenly shot open wide as she slapped the top of the table between them. “Not unless he knocked your ass up, and she’s making him do the right thing about it.”

“Not yet,” he chuckled, “but I’m starting to think that’s the goal.”

Samantha giggled softly as she began to explain things to her friend. “No, nothing like that, Daisy. Actually, it’s mom that’s pregnant…” she began, before the moose stopped her in her tracks.

“What? Your mom is pregnant? How the Hell did that happen? She hasn’t been dating anyone since your dad passed away as far as I know. Unless I’m way the Hell behind on the village gossip,” Daisy said, sitting back in her seat.

“Then you are behind, though, to be fair it has been hard to talk to you with your work schedule and school, and with planning the move and a wedding on my end…” Samantha continued before the moose stopped her again.

“Wedding? Who’s wedding? You and Snowball?” Daisy asked wide-eyed.

“Dear God,” the Saluki said as she started laughing. “My mother, and his, for that matter, seem bent on me getting pregnant and you’re trying to get us married off. I love you, Daisy, but what is with all of you people?” Taking her friend’s paw in one of her own, the Saluki said, “No, Daisy, Mom is getting married to a guy from work she’s been seeing. The same guy that got her pregnant. Although that was after he proposed… I think.”

“Holy Hell, I leave town for a few months and things go to shit in a bread basket,” Daisy said as her free paw rubbed at her forehead. “Okay, so mom is getting hitched, and what? The three of you are gonna be a happy little family and move two thousand miles halfway through your senior year of high school for shits and giggles? And why the fuck to Marblecliff, anyway?”

“Yes, kind of in a way, yes, and because it’s where she and Brandon are being transferred to,” Samantha said, answering her friend’s questions in order. “Here it is, short and sweet: Mom and her hubby-to-be work at the same plant. The company is opening a new plant not far from here and they are both being transferred out here to help get it up and running. Prairie Flats Prep has already agreed to let me finish the work for the year by telecommuting, as long as I show up in person to take the finals. I’ll officially graduate from there as planned. Mom and my soon-to-be step-dad have found a place to live here in Marblecliff: a duplex that Derek and I will be taking one half of for ourselves…”

“Fuck me sideways! She’s gonna put you two in a place together and…. Oh what the Hell am I saying? For fuck’s sake, I tagged along with Sisy like a lost puppy dog to get the Hell away from my Dad and to be with her. Like this is really any different… Okay, well, it kind of is different, I guess,” Daisy said, shaking her head slowly. “Okay, let me try this again. Upside is my friend and her new family are moving to town after the first of the year. Downside… Hell, I don’t see one yet - again, unless Stud muffin there gets you knocked up, then who knows how much shit will hit the fan.” Cocking her head to the side as she looked at Derek more intently, she added, “Though from what you said, it sounds like that’s exactly what both sets of parents are shooting for here. Maybe you should just chuck the condoms and birth control pills and have at it.”

“As much as I think we both like that idea,” the Samoyed/wolf crossbreed said, “we’re both still young. We’ll both be graduating this year and starting college soon. We have a lot of time ahead for cubs, but raising a family would make school that much more difficult. I don’t want to raise a family making just enough money to scrape by; I’d like to be able to give our pups all the things in life they could ever want or need.”

“I can understand that,” the moose herm said as a sly grin crept over her face. “But from what I’ve seen of your mother,” she said pointing at Derek before looking to her friend, “And what I know about yours, there is no way either of them would let you two having a baby or two change your plans about college. I know I don’t know your folks very well, Derek, but they seem like good people to me, and anyone around your mother and you for five minutes can tell that woman adores her sons.”

“Either way, Daisy, Derek and I have decided that we’re going to wait before starting a family,” Samantha asserted calmly. “When we think we’re ready, then we’ll discuss it and decide when we want a baby.”

“Famous last words, girl, it’s not always in your paws when it happens. Just look at my fool of a brother and you have proof of that,” Daisy said with a snicker. “Just promise me one thing, no matter when it happens you have to tell me before you speak a word about it to Debbie. I don’t get chances to one-up her ass like I used to and this would be a huge one in the books.”

“I can live with that,” Samantha said with a broad smile. “Honestly, I don’t want to be in the same city with her when the day comes and she finds out I’m pregnant. Crazy bunny might squeeze my head off hugging me to death.”

“Damn, it’s good seeing you again, Samantha, and it’s gonna take a little bit to get used to the idea of you being out here close enough to pester the Hell out of on a regular basis. Tell your mom I said hi and congrats on the wedding and the baby. Looking forward to having you and her around again; woman helped me deal with a few things when you and I first met and I love her like another mother. I gotta get back to work, though. Just saw a bunch of the regulars come in,” she said, nodding towards what appeared to be a road construction crew entering the building. “They usually clean out at least one of the display cases so I need to get busy or I’ll be late getting out of here, and nearly midnight is bad enough as it is.” Turning to Derek, she added, “Seriously though, Derek, I’m happy for the two of you, also. Regardless of all the stuff I know you’re both getting from the moms about babies, it’s smarter to wait until you’re in a better position for them.” As she started to walk away, Daisy called back over her shoulder, “Call me when you get home, Samantha; maybe we’ll have a little more time and you can give me more of the details of what all is going on.”

“Bye, Daisy,” the canine boy called out, opening the door for his girlfriend. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yes, you will, and take good care of my girl and get her to the airport on time… please,” Daisy called back to him as they headed out the door.

As they walked back to the car, Samantha cuddled against her boyfriend’s side and said, “She and I will spend three days on the phone now until I give her all the details about what’s going on. It’ll be the most time I’ve spent talking to her since she moved out here with her girlfriend after the cruise.”

“I’ll probably spend at least that talking to my mom,” he said with a sympathetic grin, then an expression of dread formed on his face. “She’s going to want to go shopping… For plates, glasses, silverware, furniture… I need to convince her to wait until you’re able to start moving in. Housewares just aren’t my cup of tea.”

“Good luck with that, Frosty,” Samantha said as she tugged her boyfriend to a stop and wrapped her arms around his neck. “With as bad as she is about us and puppies, I almost expect her to have us set up and ready to move in before I even got out of Colorado. I’ll be totally surprised if she even makes it until Christmas before she gets started.”

“If it comes down to it, I’ll suck it up and make myself go along,” he said. “I can take some pictures for you to choose from. I’m sure you have a better sense for home decor than I do.”

“That should work, if all else fails,” the Saluki said with a sly grin. “Just promise me you’ll steer her away from any kind of silk or satin sheets.”

“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully, “yes, I can see it now: I’d go to pounce on you on the bed, and we’d both go sliding over onto the floor. That would be fun to explain in the E.R.”

“Yes… yes it would, and I think we can both do without that. Our mothers are already more than enough embarrassment at times,” Samantha said, pulling him into a tender kiss.

“Speaking of…” Derek said with a sigh. “Maybe we should head back to my place and give my parents the news.”

~~~~~

“That’s a big step, son,” AJ said as he reclined the La-Z-Boy in the game room. He twisted off the cap from his bottle of Harpoon and took a long draw. “Ahhhhh,” he sighed, a refreshed smile spreading across his muzzle, before looking back to his oldest son. “Are you sure you and your girl are ready for that?”

“I’m sure,” Derek replied, his paw wrapped around a cold bottle of A&W Cream Soda. “Everything about her and I just clicks. Samantha’s mom also thinks that it would be good to spend some time living together before things go as far as marriage, which quite honestly, has crossed my mind more than once. Besides, with the baby on the way, I’m sure you could use the extra space.”

“Fair enough,” the older Timberwolf said. “You know I’ll support whatever decision you make. You’re a smart, responsible man, and she is a lovely girl that brings out the best in you. I just want to make sure you’re doing it for all the right reasons. Don’t worry about the space; your mother would probably like to see me convert my home office into a nursery, just so I can leave my work back at the office.”

“Trust me,” Derek said warmly, “there’s nothing I want more. You’re right, she makes me a better man. She completes me.”

“Then you have my blessings,” AJ said, lifting his bottle in a toast to his son, and taking another long pull. “Just be careful, okay? She’s a pretty young lady, and while I’m sure your mother would love to be a grandmother, I want you to make sure you’re ready first.”

“Is there any such thing as ready?” the Samoyed/wolf mix chuckled.

“No,” AJ laughed softly, scratching the back of his head, “No, I suppose not.”

Meanwhile, upstairs in the kitchen...

“So, Samanzha,” the older woman said, sitting down across from the Saluki girl and sliding a mug of hot chocolate across the kitchen island, “Vhat are your intentions for my son, hmm? Vhere do you see zhings going between zhe two of you?”

“Well, to be honest,” Samantha said, blushing slightly under the older woman’s gaze, “with how much I love your son … I’m hoping that he’ll want to marry me when the time is right. I hope that doesn’t sound weird, but I honestly want to spend the rest of my life with Derek. It’s a little hard to explain, but when we’re together everything just seems to be so right. It’s almost like we were meant to be together from the start.”

“You met Daphne last night at dinner,” her boyfriend’s mother said with a soft, somewhat melancholy smile. “Zhat little girl, only twelve years old, is his best friend. Zhat vould seem odd to most, don’t you zhink? Did Derek ever tell you zhe story about how zhey became such close friends?”

“Yes, he actually told me about it shortly after we met on the cruise. I can understand how he must have felt, though I can’t even begin to imagine what he put himself through. After seeing them together, I could never come between them and the friendship they share. She’s such a pretty girl too, and so sweet and cheerful even with everything she must have been through,” the Saluki said girl said solemnly.

“I vould hardly vorry about you coming between zhe two of zhem,” Oksana said, smiling over her mug. “Friends grow up and move apart all zhe time, and still remain friends despite zhe distance. Vhat I am getting at is, most young boys who do vhat he did vould just accept zhe punishment and not have zhe balls to face zhe victim or her family. It takes a special man to vork as hard as vhat he did to make zhings as close to ‘right’ as possible. I am so proud of zhe man he has become, and vhen he is vizh you, I see zhe man he can become, and it fills me vizh so much hope for zhe future. I know I give zhe two of you a lot of pressure to take zhings to zhe next step, but I zhink zhat is because I am excited to see zhat man I know he vill become. He is smart, and responsible, and I believe zhat he vill do vhat is best for you and him. I just like to tease him because he blushes so cutely through his vhite fur. Just, voman to voman, don’t tell him I said zhat. It vould ruin all zhe fun.”

“I know he’s a very special man, Mrs. Blackfoot. If I wasn’t sure he was the man for me I would never have let things go as far as they have. After I met him and we spent just a few hours together I was sure there was something special between us. I want him to be as sure of what we have and where it’s going as I am. I know he loves me as much as I love him. But a commitment like marriage is a huge step for both of us and not something that either of us would ever take lightly. A baby is an even bigger commitment and something we need to be completely sure about,” Samantha said, looking the older woman in the eyes. As a slight grin spread across her muzzle she added, “And I would never give up your secret about teasing him like you do. We both know it’s not in a woman’s nature to ever let them think they’ve outgrown their mother, at least that’s what my mom is always telling me.”

“Your mozher is very vise, zhen,” Oksana said with a smirk. “And you are right. Moving in togezher is a huge step. Marriage and children are even bigger vones. Tell me, Samanzha… Vhat is it about my son that attracts you to him?”

“I’m more than certain he will be, and I’m also certain that one day I will understand much better about a mother’s protective instincts,” Samantha said as a troubled expression came across her face. “Mrs. Blackfoot, I don’t know how much Derek has told you about me or my past…” the Saluki girl began before pausing for several long moments. “Samantha Thompson wasn’t always the pretty girl you see before you now.” Turning to look the older Samoyed in the eyes she continued at last. “I was born intersexed… a hermaphrodite to put it exactly. My father was dead set on having a son so I was forced to dress, act, and BE a boy for most of my life. Until I met someone that was willing to accept me, not as Sam the geeky boy, but as Samantha. I was a girl that was lost in how to even be a girl, let alone a young woman. With his help, I learned how to be who I always felt and knew I was, not what my father had wanted me to be. Then I met your son on the cruise and I told him about me up front. I didn’t want there to be any ugly surprises to come along and mess things up if we started to get even a little bit serious. It didn’t matter to him and it was like my whole life had led up to that very moment in time. As if meeting Mark and everything he did to help me become the woman I always felt I was, and him picking that exact cruise to get married on was meant to be. I love Derek, with all my heart and I would never, ever do anything to hurt him in any way. If he will have me, I would be the happiest girl on the planet to spend the rest of my life with him, because I know in my heart that he loves me for who I am. That’s something that I’ve wanted my whole life and was positive I would never have.”

“I never doubted you for a minute,” the middle-aged woman said as he pulled Samantha in for a gentle hug. “But still, it’s a mozher’s duty to worry about her children, and I hope zhat vone day, vhen you and my son are ready, you vill understand vhat I mean. But rest assured, Samanzha Thompson, zhat you have my blessing to move in vizh my son.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Blackfoot, it means a great deal to me to know that. It will also make my mother happy that you and Mr. Blackfoot are okay with this idea of hers. And I promise to bug him to no end to come by and see his mother regularly so you know he’s eating and being treated properly,” the Saluki girl said as a sheepish grin spread across her muzzle. “Although I expect him to give me guff about the time he spends at the shop being enough for you to know that.”

“If he protests, I’m sure he has a perfectly good reason at home,” Oksana grinned. “Speaking of… he did look razher handsome holding zhat baby in zhe picture you sent me earlier. Zhank you for zhat. He vill be a vonderful fazher someday. And you vill be an excellent mozher… Vhen zhe time is right.”

~~~~~


 “Early as usual, Frosty,” Samantha said as she wrapped her arms around Derek’s neck. “I swear I think you do this on purpose just so everyone in the terminal can watch us before I get on the plane.”

“No,” he grinned, planting another kiss on his girlfriend’s lips. “It’s more like I need to get you to the airport as soon as possible, otherwise we wouldn’t get out of bed and you’d miss your flight. Although…”

She giggled softly as she interrupted him by pulling him onto a long, slow passionate kiss. After several long moments she leaned her head back breaking the lip lock she held him in. Samantha looked deeply into his eyes as she said, “Just think, Frosty, in a few weeks there won’t be any need to come to the airport at all…”

“Not quite,” he said, “I’m sure Mark or Debbie would like to come out here and visit sometime. After all, you and Daisy will both be out this way.”

“Well that’s true, though Mark is a smart guy and can read a map, then again I guess we can’t stay in bed all the time can we?” the Saluki said with a huge grin on her face. “But we can skip the long good-byes and just have long good-nights instead.” Pausing for a moment she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “and oh, the good mornings that lie ahead for you my sexy pile of fluff.”

“Oh, god, I can hardly wait. This is going to be the longest six weeks ever,” he sighed. “But I found a few things to occupy my downtime until you get moved out here. That is, when I’m not with you. I saw a few things at the house. The driveway needs re-sealed, and the door to the shed in the back needs re-hung.”

“I’m sure your mom can find other things for you to do also if you get too bored, just remember if she drags you off shopping, no silk or satin sheets, please.” Samantha said nuzzling against his neck.

“As long as we don’t rule out underwear,” he grinned, giving her ear a playful nip.

“Underwear is fine as long as it’s not bed linens, neither of us need to explain that to a doctor or a nurse.” Kissing along his neck and under his chin she whispered, “And you in silk boxers… God, just make me melt why don’t you, Sexy?”

“Just remember,” He breathed softly, tickling the fur along the side of her neck, “alone in the bathroom doesn’t count as getting into the Mile High Club. Although… you live in Denver, so I guess you’re already in. And I guess, by that same token, so am I. I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“Just a little,” Samantha said with a soft sighed moan, “but you’re so cute when you get flustered and want to do more than tease me -”

“Final boarding call for flight 1247 to Denver at gate 23,” the irritating voice of the flight announcer came across the overhead speakers, interrupting Samantha from what she was trying to say.

“Damn,” the Saluki girl grumbled softly, “I am not going to miss this part of saying good-bye to you at all.”

“Me neither,” he mumbled into her hair. “But once the New Year gets here, I’m never letting go of you again.”

“I’m looking forward to it so much,” Samantha said with a slight sigh. “Okay, as much as I don’t want to, I’d better get my butt on the plane. But, I’m already looking forward to seeing you in two weeks for my birthday. Maybe mom won’t drag us all over the metro area with wedding preparations or hunting for boxes to pack with. I love you, Derek, and can’t wait for this year to be over so we can be together all the time.”

“I love you, Silky,” he said, using his affectionate nickname for her for the first time all weekend. “Have a nice flight.”

“I will, and you, don’t work too hard or let your mother drive you crazy too badly. She’s a wonderful woman and she worries about you as much as I do. I’ll call when I get to Denver as always to let you know I made it safe and sound.”

Derek stood in the terminal watching as the lovely young Saluki walked towards the air bridge. She would slow down every dozen or so steps and look over her shoulder, giving him a bittersweet smile, until she was out of sight. He walked over to the window and leaned against the glass, patiently waiting while the passengers all got settled into their seats. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket, and smiled when he saw the message:

{Silky: I love you so much, and I can’t wait to have you all to myself without having to go back home. Rest up these next few weeks as much as you can, because your sexy butt is mine, Frosty.}

{Me: No promises. Keeping my hands busy keeps my mind busy, too. It will help make the time go by faster. Just get your sexy butt back to me safely. Text me when you land, and call me tonight.}

After another ten or so minutes, the plane pulled away from the terminal and taxied out onto the runway. Moments later, the plane turned the corner, out of sight, headed west towards Colorado.




", "pools_count": 5, "title": "Marble Peaks Part 1 of 2", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "application/msword", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "149" }