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I couldn't help but gawk as Reynard stared downward back at me. Not that he seemed any less shocked about his general predicament. The balcony on which I stood only came to the middle of his white-furred chest. His jaw hung slack, bewilderment in his icy blue eyes. The giant's bushy, silver-furred tail was wrapped tightly around his hips, doing its best to protect his modesty.

I couldn't quite process what I was seeing: every familiar detail of Reynard's body, now magnified to immense, unimaginable proportions. It was just so... odd. Working at MACRO, I knew that this sort of situation was a slight if definite possibility for anyone in Saaduuts. Episodes of gigantism were a fact of life here. I suppose for whatever reason I just didn't expect it to ever happen to someone I knew personally.

"You came right here? I have you trained so well," I cooed, finally managing to find my voice. "Just think of the bad example it would set if I had_my_ hubby-to-be go rampaging around town like some irresponsible idiot,"

"Hey! That's pretty insulting," Reynard griped. "It isn't everyone's first impulse to just go running around smashing things, you know,"

His voice sounded like it came from a megaphone, that familiar silvery tone now sounding from a much larger chest cavity and set of vocal chords. In a way, that was almost more shocking than anything else.

"But assuming Morgan did get the message to you, she was right: I really did have something I wanted to talk with you about," Reynard persisted, brushing a lock of his grey bangs out of his eyes.

"Say, would you mind it if we talked about it later on tonight? I've kinda got a lot of stuff on my plate at the moment. Deadlines piling up and whatnot," I pouted, checking my watch. "Got a meeting I need to head to right about now, actually. How about you go hang out in Cascadia Park until all this blows over and I'll swing by after work with some clothes and pick you up?"

"No, how about I just pick you up right now?" Reynard scowled, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice.

"Hon, I'm really busy at the mo--"

"We're talking or I'm going to break something," the giant arctic fox snapped, cutting me off as he rested his fingertips on the balcony guardrail. I gulped as the metal bent a little. "Isn't it your job to deal with me? I'm a giant. It's in your job description.

"Do you have any idea how sad it is that this is the only way I can get my fiancé to _talk_with me?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't manage to find the words, unable to avoid his chilly gaze. Any hopes I'd had of this being a quick fill-in-the-blanks case were quickly vanishing.

"I really can't miss this meeting. No need to be so cold, Rey,"

"I'm an arctic fox. Cold is my thing,"

Reynard must have caught my eye-roll, because he pursed his lips and frowned.

"You're small, but you aren't _that_small. I saw that, Rodge," Reynard snapped. "Don't back out on me. I'd really hate it if you forced me to do something we'd both regret,"

"O--okay. Just... lemme go tell Karl I won't be there for his meeting," I said, holding up a finger. "Er... hang tight for a second,"

Reynard grumbled, but nodded slowly, folding his arms across his chest. All right, negotiations successful with Mondo-Fiancé. Fuck, this was weird. I turned to head back into the office.

"Don't do that. The guys over there really hate it when folks do that. You'll break something," I amended as the arctic fox made to lean against the building opposite MACRO Headquarters.

Hurrying back through the office, I managed to catch Morgan on her way back to her cubicle.

"Heyyy there! Morgan, Morgan, Morgan," I flashed my foxiest grin at the pine marten, tapping her on the shoulder. "I'd _reeeally_appreciate it if you could tell Karl I won't be at the meeting,"

Morgan seemed unimpressed. "I am not going to be the whipping boy for you again, Roger," she replied, trying to push past me.

I leaned against the wall, blocking her way with my arm and cranking up the wattage on my smile.

"See, I've really gotta see to this whole Reynard situation," I gestured back towards the balcony. "And seeing as casework takes precedent over administrative stuff like meetings, well..."

"It'll take you like eight seconds to tell Karl you won't be there. Do it yourself. Now, I have work to do, too, and I'd appreciate it if you'd let me do it," Morgan dismissed me.

I grumbled inwardly. Truth be told, I would much rather deal with my giant, irritated fiancé than go talk with my short, perpetually enraged boss. Hell, I'd take on fifty giant, rampaging Reynards before walking through Karl's door and telling him I'd be skipping out on a meeting.

"I'll buy you coffee," I pleaded, desperation entering my voice.

"I'm not so easily bought," the pine marten sniffed. She hesitated. "Coffee for a week,"

"Done,"

"Big ones, too. Cappuccino, extra foam,"

"I am forever in your debt. Or for a week, at least," I spun around, dashing back towards the balcony and my waiting fiancé.

"All righty, what was it you needed to talk about?" I asked, resting my elbows on the railing.

"Well, I was hoping we could--" Reynard started hesitantly, before I suddenly remembered something.

"But first, why don't you turn around?" I said, drawing a circle in the air with my finger.

Reynard shot me a confused glance and grumbled softly, but obliged slowly as I hung over the edge of the balcony, practically drooling.

"I'd forgotten how much I liked those cute dimples over your ass," I commented as Reynard faced me again.

"Can we not talk about any part of my anatomy right now?" he replied, blushing violently and wrapping his tail even more tightly around himself.

"I'm just giving you a compliment," I said breezily. "Don't worry,"

"Don't say that. Not when I'm all... on display for everyone," the arctic fox mumbled.

"It's so cute when you're embarrassed," I giggled.

Reynard's cheeks and ear-tips colored all over again.

"Can we go somewhere more private?" he pressed.

"I don't see why not..." a grin crept across my lips.

Reynard's hand lifted up from his side, hovering splay-fingered a few feet away from the balcony.

"You can pick me up, you know," I said. "Just be careful!"

"O-okay," Reynard swallowed.

Reynard's hand wrapped carefully but firmly around my mid-section, lifting me off the balcony. His thick fingers pressed against my sides, the up-thrust thumb serving as a headrest of sorts. Reynard turned and started towards Uptown.

The towering arctic fox picked his way gingerly down the street, clutching me at chest level like an action figure. With a little bit of effort, I managed to work my arms free so that I could drape them over his knuckle, propping my chin up on my hands.

"This whole thing is so surreal," Reynard commented, his gaze never leaving the street.

"You're telling me," I snorted.

"I mean, how big am I, even?" he asked, curious.

"Oh, I dunno. Based on how you stacked up against our dear old balcony, a little over fifty feet or so? Maybe sixty if you didn't slouch like that," I guessed. "You're kinda shrimpy for a giant, you know,"

Reynard snorted wryly. "Does that mean I'm supposed to be scaling the Empire State Building or something? The Saaduuts Needle, perhaps?"

"I think someone tried that once, few years ago. Apparently, it's pretty slippery. Wouldn't recommend it. Ended up with a sprained ankle and some unfortunate dents in the pavement. Not fun for anyone,"

"Duly noted. My foot's already smarting a bit after I accidentally stepped on a traffic light, so I don't want to push my luck any further,"

"Is Suit Yourself still, uh, in one piece?" I asked, suddenly remembering Reynard's tailoring shop.

Our enlargement insurance company was notoriously slow in its payments and we really couldn't afford to do without the money from Reynard's business if he'd accidentally damaged the building in some way. For all the time and work I put in at MACRO, I wasn't exactly raking in fat stacks of cash.

"Oh, no. It's fine. I was taking a walk around the block on break when... this happened," Reynard assured me. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Things should be just fine without me for the afternoon. Edmond's got everything there running like a well-oiled machine even when I'm gone. He's training the new guy this afternoon, I think,"

"New guy? Who is--ooh, watch that building there,"

"Shit, sorry!" Reynard cringed, tucking in his hip, which had been dangerously close to grazing against the façade of a fancy new-build apartment tower. Eh, probably could've been worse. Those things were popping up like godsdamn weeds all around the city. How anyone afforded them was anyone's guess, though. Not exactly budget accommodations, that was for sure.

"No worries," I patted Reynard's knuckle. "Just keeping an eye out for ya,"

"But anyway, yeah, we hired another fitter, what with the rush of customers we've been having of late," Reynard continued, sidestepping a big rig that didn't seem too happy to find a giant arctic fox in its path.

"Seriously, what is wrong with drivers here?" Reynard complained, flipping off the rig over his shoulder. "Shouldn't they all be fleeing from me, not getting in my fucking _way_all the time?"

"You forget we're in Saaduuts, full of jaded Saaduutsites," I replied. "Since you aren't stomping around breathing fire or something along those lines, you're more of an inconvenience than a concern. You're just way too cute to seem like a real threat,"

Seeing Reynard's disappointment, I hastily added, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure you'll be the subject of a few passive-aggressive blog posts later this evening,"

"Aw, that's sweet of you to point that out like that," Reynard grumbled.

"Anything for you, Rey," I nodded. "But anyway, who is this new fitter?"

"Right. Jackal by the name of Andy. He says he's new to the whole tailoring thing, but he seems pretty smart. Not too worried about that not working out,"

"That's good,"

Reynard smiled and we fell silent for awhile. I leaned back, craning my neck to try and study my fiancé's expression, but his face was a mask of neutrality. Try as I might, I couldn't shake the general sense of misgiving from the back of my mind. What could Reynard want to talk about so adamantly?

*****

Warren dropped the cardboard file-box onto the table with a dull thunk. Pushing his sleeves back past his elbows, he studied the box intently.

"Well, that's the last of them," he said with an air of finality despite the work that our work had only just begun.

"Thanks for letting me help you with this," I said.

I raised an arm to flip open the lid, but Warren's hand slammed down on top of the cardboard box. Sucking in my breath, I quickly withdrew back to my chair.

"Let's just make one thing absolutely clear, Ciaran," the fox said, tone stern and face stony. "You are not helping me. In fact, you have no idea these boxes were ever here, or that they even _exist_for that matter. I took some work home to lay things out and you happened to visit at around the same time on the same evening. That's it. Coincidence. Nothing more than circumstance,"

I'd already understood the situation the first fifty times Warren explained it to me, but I nodded grimly. The fox had helped me out gobs of times before, but I also suspected that he was one of those guys who made people disappear forever or something. Or if he didn't do that himself, he probably knew someone who could. Didn't want to push my luck too far.

"Now. We have quite a bit to comb through, so you get started on that one and I'll work on this," Warren instructed, indicating one of the handful of boxes laid around his dining room table. "Let me know if you find anything of use. Even if you have the slightest creeping suspicion it might have a single helpful fact, let me know. We need to build a complete picture of what really_happened that day. Not just whatever was tossed around at that joke of a trial they orchestrated for Tabitha. _Everything,"

I nodded fervently. I'd been more than a little nervous about approaching Todd with my concern, but he was the only person I could turn to after being summarily rejected by most of my other options. Whether it was because he had more faith in Tabitha than Roger or simply a byproduct of the rampant paranoia that seemed to be part of his job, Warren had proved receptive to my inquiries. He managed to talk his superiors into letting him take a look at the whole incident.

"This really means a lot to me, all your help," I said as I skimmed another phone tap transcript for anything helpful.

"Well, I just hate seeing people get screwed over," Warren replied, studying a sheet of yellow paper intently. "It is pretty relevant to something else I've been working on for awhile, anyway. So I figure it's justifiable,"

"What's that?" I prodded gently.

Silence. I should have expected as much. I tossed aside the sheet; nothing but a protracted argument between some MACRO employee and his wife about which color of drapes to buy. Roger would probably be so pissed if he found out that was what his coworkers spent their time doing. Then again, he wasn't exactly a saint in the phone call department. He seemed rather fond of calling the same unlisted number every week and obsessing over the finer points of whatever had happened in the previous week's episode of Game of Thrones.

"I could see how you could get into this sort of job," I commented aloud to myself, chuckling.

"This needs to be taken very seriously. We can't just go invading people' privacy for no reason," Warren's eyes flashed. "But give me all of my brother's phone taps. The TV conversations are fucking hilarious," he added bashfully.

I snorted as I pulled up another sheet, what looked to be a purchase record from

"Hey, do you know what 'ethyl ioflazepate' is?" I asked.

"Gesundheit," Warren arched a brow at me, but held out his hand for the paper.

I passed it to him and he examined it for a few minutes, mouthing the words silently to himself.

"Well, it's definitely a drug of some sort," he said at length. "Not available commercially here in Pacifica, much less the rest of the Associated States. But they sell it south of the border, down in Aztlán--see the domain of the site?"

"But what is it?"

"Well, if I remember anything from the toxicology seminars I went to last year, it's probably a benzo of some sort. Psychoactive drug," he added quickly.

I narrowed my eyes, the gears turning in my head. "Could those kinds of drugs lead to hostile behavior? Anything like that?"

Warren shrugged. "I'm no doctor. But I vaguely remember reading about a few cases where people reacted adversely to a high dosage of a benzodiazepine and exhibited aggressive behavior and paranoia. Though I think normally side-effects are quite the opposite,"

"But it could happen?"

Another shrug. "Sure. I'd have to consult with someone who has a stronger medical background than me, obviously, but I don't see why not,"

"And the receipt is dated the eighth of July. That was about a week before... well, before Tabitha went berserk,"

Warren's brow furrowed; he was beginning to follow my line of thinking. Pushing back from his chair, he flipped through a stack of papers he'd already been through, looking for something in particular.

"Ah, yes. Here. This seemed a little random the first time I read it, but things seem to be falling into place," he murmured thoughtfully, eyes flicking quickly over the sheet he found.

I peered over his shoulder. It looked like a portion of the transcript from Tabitha's arraignment.

"This part here," the fox said, indicating a few lines of text. "This whole bit about Stevia or whatever,"

"What is Stevia?" I asked, studying the transcript.

Warren's muzzle wrinkled in distaste. "It's vile. This nasty sweetener--do yourself a favor and never try it. If you feel the need to put something in your tea or whatnot, cream is the only thing that should be used; maybe some sugar if you need it sweeter. But don't let me catch you ever using that disgusting leaf by-product,"

A little taken aback by Warren's lengthy and unprovoked rant, I nodded numbly. "Okay,"

Warren seemed appeased. "Good. But the point is, if I were Becca and I were on a some sort of psychotic mission to destroy Tabitha's life, that 'Stevia' would seem like the perfect thing. Spike her drink with Crazy Powder in disguise and just sorta... set her loose.

"She probably thought something as innocuous as a sweetener would get overlooked during legal proceedings--maybe nobody would even mention it. The perfect crime, in her mind,"

"Except not at all, as it turns out,"

Warren snorted. "Well, the perfect crime as far as someone who's more than a little off her rocker is concerned,"

We were both grinning. It was as if a weight lifted off my chest. Tabitha had done terrible things, but they weren't entirely her fault. Becca was at the heart of the problem. And she wasn't going to get away with it anymore.

"This is good, though. Well, not good, really. But you know..." I trailed off. "I need to tell Tabitha. She needs to know the truth,"

Warren shook his head quickly. "Best you didn't. Not yet. We need to see a couple of other things are put into motion first,"

"But we can tell her sometime, right?" I asked. "I need to tell her. Let me be the one to do that,"

The fox nodded his silent agreement.

"So what do we do next, then?" I asked. "You probably have a bit more experience in this sort of thing than me,"

"Well, MACRO is probably going to want to hold an internal investigation in the light of these facts," Warren replied. "I'll try to be available to help if they need any, but I've already got a lot on my plate. And Karl is terrifying when it comes to jurisdiction, so I don't want to even get _near_that can of worms. From there, well--"

Warren's cell phone interrupted his train of thought. He hurried into the adjoining room as he answered. I couldn't make out that much of the conversation, but when Warren returned, I could tell something was off.

"Something's come up," Warren said. He gestured vaguely at the boxes. "I'll put in a tip to Roger about all that... funny business. But there's something I need to see to. Right now,"

*****

I always held a special fondness for Cascadia Park. Deep ravines carved by glacial movements thousands of years ago posed a challenge to early settlers, who conceded the area to Nature, allowing it to continue untouched as Saaduuts grew around it. A network of rickety wooden footbridges now spanned the ravines, providing the only evidence of the surrounding civilization.

The old-growth forest within the park was truly one of the crown jewels of Saaduuts. Rocky creeks gurgled and gushed their way through groves of ancient evergreen trees swathed in moss. A lush forested retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life, I escaped to it as often as I could manage. So still and yet so bursting with life, the park felt like a refuge. Well, until some bitch on her daily jog came running past and shattered the illusion by gabbing loudly with her stupid friend.

Reynard managed to find a secluded corner of the park at the bottom of one of the deeper ravines. A clearing in the forest afforded him space to sit. Setting me on his knee, my fiancé looked around the area. His head rocked back and he closed his eyes, drinking in the crisp early autumn air, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Hey, wasn't that where we had our first kiss?" I commented, pointing towards a lichen-covered boulder resting beside the creek a short distance away.

"I think so," Reynard replied. "Maybe. The forest all starts looking the same after dark,"

He leaned over, reaching out and plucking up the boulder, now fist-sized to him. Hefting it thoughtfully in his palm, he studied the rugged granite stone with lips pursed.

"We need to talk about something important," he said at length, setting the boulder back down where he'd found it.

"What is it you wanted to discuss?" I asked.

Reynard shifted under me. "It's just, we've got so much coming up so soon. Marriage and all. Things are changing so quickly. It's all great and exciting and wonderful, but it's also scary. I know that, and I'm pretty sure you do too. But you've been so distant about everything,"

"I'm not being distant. We talk about all sorts of stuff all the time," I replied shortly. "I don't think this is the best time to talk about that--you're probably stressed about this whole giant thing, best not to--"

"That's_exactly_ what I'm talking about," Reynard interrupted. "Postponing everything serious because--because, I don't know why. This is a big step for both of us, Rodge. But it'll be better if we work through it together,"

I fell silent, staring at Reynard's knee so as to avoid making eye contact. I could see the deep silver of his winter coat coming in under the warm-weather fur that he'd dyed silver-grey "for consistency," as he put it. I always teased him mercilessly about that during early spring as he stood in the shower with a large bottle of dye. Thank the gods I never had to deal with that sort of thing. Auburn 365 days a year, baby!

"Silence isn't any better," Reynard prodded gently, nudging me with his fingertip. "Maybe talking about all of this will help,"

I looked up into his big blue eyes.

"Not everyone feels the need to vomit his feelings all over everyone else," I retorted.

"You aren't getting out of this," Reynard scowled. "If we're going to be doing this marriage thing, we need to be able to talk. Good, bad, and ugly.

"We could always postpone the wedding, if you aren't comfortable with it. I love you, and you love me. We both know that and that isn't the issue. The issue is openness,"

"No! Don't let's put it off! I--_we_want this. I know that,"

"Then why have you been avoiding talking about this stuff?"

I hesitated, sighing. "I don't know. I guess I'm just scared of change. You know that," I confessed. "I _hate_change. Change for the better, change for the worse. It's so hard to have consistency. And that uncertainty scares me, I suppose,"

Reynard smiled a little, leaning down to brush his lips awkwardly across most of my face. It just about sent me toppling over, but I steadied myself against his lower lip.

"That's good," he said. "But it isn't so drastic if you think about it--we already share an apartment. We're both listed on the lease. We pay bills, shop for groceries, all of that, together. The wedding's more of a formality than anything else, really,"

"I know all that," I replied. "I've told myself that a billion times, and it's all true. But I dunno, I guess it's just the waiting or something. I just want to get it over with, I suppose--once I'm doing something, I'm fine with it,"

Reynard's smile broadened. Scooping me up in his palm, he stretched out on his stomach, kicking his legs up behind himself as he rested his chin on the mossy ground.

"Let's just do it today then. Now," he suggested almost mischievously.

I balked. "What?"

"You heard me. Let's just tie the knot right here and now,"

"We can't, can we? How?"

"Oh, it's easy. We just need a couple of witnesses and an official person of some sort from the Municipal Court, right? All we really need is the official piece of paper that says we're married. All the other crap is just trappings,"

"You're crazy,"

"Like a fox,"

"I..."

"Think of all the dough we'll save. We can put that towards a crazy awesome honeymoon or something,"

I was smiling almost as manically as Reynard by that point.

"I think I've finally lost the last of my marbles, but fuck it, let's do it," I breathed, pulling out my phone. "Lemme put in a call,"

Fortunately, Morgan answered on the second ring. "Hey, Morgan. It's Roger. Listen, I have a favor to ask of you. Yeah, another one. Just hear me out.

"Can you swing by the courthouse and get a copy of the marriage certificate paperwork for Reynard and I? And why don't you get an officiant guy while you're at it? Come to Cascadia Park--the path by the north entrance. It'll lead you down the ravine into a little clearing. That's where we are.

"Oh, and bring Cameron or someone else; I think we need two witnesses. Yeah. We are. We're fucking doing it right now. I know. I know. It's great, right? All right, thanks,"

"Here goes nothing," I grinned as I hung up. Reynard beamed.

The wedding ceremony wasn't anything spectacular, not that I had expected it to be, nor did I particularly care all that much.

I filled out some paperwork, the officiant said some words, Reynard nearly swallowed me in his attempt to kiss me, and it was all over. Yet there was something oddly perfect about it--sitting in the palm of my giant fiancé's hand in the middle of some random park. It just fit in with the rest of my bizarre, crazy life, I supposed. Better that way.

But there it all was. Reynard and I were wed. Done.

"Well, I guess we can check that off the to-do list," I commented wryly.

"Mm hmm," Reynard rumbled in agreement.

I squinted suspiciously as Reynard shifted slightly in his seated position, grinning even more dementedly. "What is it?"

Reynard turned to look at Morgan, Cameron, and the officiant. "Hey, guys. Thanks a lot for all of this, but would you mind giving us some space?"

As the other people took their leave, I felt myself slipping slowly through Reynard's fingers as he gently set me on the ground. He shifted, getting slowly to his feet.

The giant arctic fox towered overhead, feet shoulder-width apart on either side of me. He folded his arms across his chest. A grin played across his lips as his tail slipped slowly from his hips, falling slack behind him. Soft light filtered through the trees, falling across Reynard's nude form.

"Hello husband," he rumbled.

"Hello husband yourself," I replied, relishing how the word 'husband' felt on my tongue.

"Well, it's a little bit early for a wedding night, but..." Reynard stooped down slowly.

"You don't seriously expect us to be able to _do_that?" I gawked. "Rain check or something?"

"Oh, I've got a few ideas," Reynard replied, smacking his lips as he reached toward me. "What else do you think I was thinking about when that wedding guy was blathering on?"

We tried one or two of them.

"Umm..." Reynard said, lying flat on his back after Attempt Number Three, slightly winded.

"Yeah, that kinda sucked," I agreed, panting.

"Well, we can just make up for it later," the giant arctic fox replied, scooping me up off his stomach as he sat up. He reclined against one of the stouter pine trees, its boughs pressing into his back. "Hey, we gave it a shot at least, right?"

"More like I gave it a shot," I groused. "You just sorta... laid there,"

"And I appreciated your efforts," Reynard cooed, smothering me in another one of those assaults I assume he thought passed for a kiss. "I'm just trying to figure out how Ciaran and Tabitha do it. You know they've done it. Got to have,"

I cringed. "One, I try not to think too much about that sort of thing. Two, she has more of a... spelunking situation, whereas you have more of a... mountain-climbing thing going on," I said, templing my fingers to aid in my description. "Easier to deal with an innie than an outie, I guess,"

"Hey, I have an 'innie' too," Reynard grinned crookedly.

I blinked, eyes widening. "What? Uh... oh no. No no no. Not like this," I shook my head emphatically.

"I was referring to my belly button, ya dummie," Reynard winked.

"Of course you were," I retorted, rolling my eyes.

"Of course I was," Reynard snorted, petting me idly with his fingertips. Presently his eyes narrowed. "Hey, do you hear that?"

I focused as Reynard fell silent. I could make out a subtle buzzing coming from a few yards away.

"Oh. That's my work mobile. I should probably answer that," I said reluctantly.

Reynard pouted his lip out, but let me slip through his fingers and onto the ground.

"If it's a call about another giant, tell them you've already got one that you're taming," Reynard poked me in the back, just about sending me tumbling.

I crossed the short distance to my discarded trousers, fishing out my ringing phone.

"Hello?"

It was Warren.

The conversation was brief and harried. Reynard's face grew worried as I walked back towards him stiffly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I shook my head, still not able to believe the news myself. I swallowed. Could Warren's intel really be good? Todd had disappeared from his prison. He wasn't anywhere to be found.