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Approaching the doors to the school, the cubs all gave Kody reassuring pats, staying close to him until they had to break off to go to their classrooms.

"Think he'll be okay?" Rio asked softly, using the din of the cubs around them to mask his question.

"Probably," Mike replied just as softly, "I mean, he should be fine in class and your dad'll be here after school. So it's just recess we need to worry about."

The little tiger nodded, still not quite convinced but before he could reply they reached Mr. Odhran's door and the relative silence of the stoat's classroom prevented any further discussion on the topic.

As soon as everycub had taken their seats, the stoat clapped and got up from his desk, heading to the front of the room. "Alright, my ever attentive pupils," he called, "before you left for lunch you were working on chapter fourteen in yer english textbooks. By raise of paws, who wants te keep working and try te finish?"

A smattering of paws around the room went up and the stoat nodded, "Alright, so then I'm guessin' the rest of ye want ta move on ta the next subject?"

The remaining cubs, the vast majority of the class, raised their paws and their teacher nodded. "Democracy at its best. Very well, English texts back in yer desks, time for science."

The shuffle of chairs and desks filled the room as the cubs did as told, some just reaching into their desks, others moving to grab books from their backpacks, but soon their teacher's voice was the only sound as the stoat led them through the next chapter in their texts.

About an hour and a half later, the door opened to admit an ocelot that Rio vaguely recognized as being one of the office aids.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, moving across the room to hand the stoat a folded piece of paper, "just here to deliver a note."

"Got yourself a secret admirer, eh teach?" Mike quipped, getting a laugh from the class as the ocelot blushed slightly.

"Don't mind him," the irishfur chuckled, patting the aid's arm, "he's just jealous that he did nae get one."

Another round of laughter met the stoat's retort and Mike gave his teacher a few seconds of applause for the verbal parry. The ocelot took her leave, still blushing slightly as the stoat popped the letter open. The contents made the teacher's amused expression slip into one of vague concern, and he nodded before folding it up and moving to set it on the desk.

"Everything okay, Mr. Odhran?" Asked a collie from the back of the class.

"Nothing ye need te worry about Ms. Huber, I assure ye," he replied with an easy smile as he turned back to the class, "let's get back te science, where were we?"

Despite attempts from a few more cubs, the stoat refused to divulge the contents of the letter, and soon the class was once again making progress through their science books. Once they reached the end of the section, their teacher left them to work through the end of chapter test and retreated to his desk.

Though they were still slightly distracting, Rio had managed to mostly put the sensations of being swaddled and having his tailhole plugged mostly into the back of his mind and had gotten to the fourth problem when his teacher stepped up and rested his paw on his desk.

"Ye doin' alright lad?" He asked, "Everything making sense?"

"Yeah," the cub nodded, "I think so.... Oh, is basalt igneous or metamorphic?"

"Page one forty two, lad, there ye shall find your answer," the stoat nodded sagely before moving on to the next student.

"Yeah, thanks oh wise one," Rio chuckled, about to turn to the mentioned page before he noticed that his teacher had left a small piece of paper behind. Picking it up, his stomach dropped as he read the few short lines written within.

'I have something that I need to discuss with you. You aren't in trouble, but I need you to stay in during recess.'

Looking up from the note, he glanced over at his boyfriend and saw their teacher standing next to his desk. Sure enough, a moment or two later the stoat moved on and Mike cocked his head at the note on his desk, looking immediately over and locking eyes with Rio. They shared a look of concern for a moment before shrugging in unison and turning back to their books.

The class dragged on, and though they had moved from science to social studies by the time the bell announcing third recess rang, Rio was still looking blankly at page one forty two of his science book as the other cubs got to their footpaws and rushed the door.

Closing the door behind the last cub, Mr. Odhran locked it and pulled the shade over the half window before moving to lean against his desk. "I'm sure yer both wondering why I kept ye in," he started, only to be interrupted by Rio.

"Yeah, and for the record, you can save yourself the trouble of writing out 'don't worry'," the tiger said, "leaving a mysterious note on somecub's desk is guaranteed to make them worry."

"Can't argue that point, Mr. Kendrick, and I apologize for the tension ye must both be feeling, but I figured the less attention drawn to ya the better," the stoat replied, "the note I got earlier directly involved the two of ye but like said, ye are nae in trouble. The policefurs ye talked to this morning apparently had a rather interesting conversation with a few other cubs and are worried for your safety. Quite frankly, lads, so am I. They didn't give me a heap of details, but I'm to understand that something is going to happen after school and you two are going to be in the middle of it."

"Oh no," Mike stated flatly, shaking his head, "I have absolutely no intention of being anywhere near it, actually. Rio's dad is going to be coming to give us a ride home."

"Good lad, but that doesn't solve the issue, I'm afraid."

"What do you mean?" Rio asked suspiciously, the sinking feeling from earlier resurfacing.

Before the stoat could reply, a gentle tap sounded on the door, causing both cubs to jump. Their teacher got to his footpaws and moved to the door, peeking behind the blind before opening it to admit Detective Declan, quickly shutting and re-locking it behind her.

"Umm... Hey Detective," Mike said nervously, "where's your partner?"

"He's keeping an eye on a few other things, but I'll be sure to tell him you asked about him," the vixen smiled, "I had a few spare moments, so I wanted to come down and check on you two. The conversation me and Lagrange just had was an interesting one, and it made me even more worried about your friend then I was this morning."

"You haven't talked to him, have you?" Rio asked, worry clear in his voice.

"No, after you told us how scared he is about police involvement, we've been holding off on that option for as long as possible," the vixen reassured him, "he's going to have to talk to us eventually, but that's not why I asked your teacher to hold you cubs in. I've learned a bit more about the plot you warned us about earlier Rio, and I think that the best thing we can do from here is to let them spring their trap."

"What?!" Both cubs yelped in unison, further protests being forestalled by raised paws from the vixen.

"Don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe," she said, "as a matter of fact, if things go well you won't come anywhere near them."

"Yeah, but what if things don't go well?" Rio asked, nerves causing his claws to slide free of his balled paws, "Didn't you tell me that it wasn't a good idea to hang around after school today?"

"I can understand your concerns, but trust me." The detective said soothingly, "We have their entire plan laid out front to back, and their conspirators are in our paws. From what we've been told, there is going to just be two other furs waiting in the parking lot for you to come out of the building, and they are going to be expecting to have other cubs helping them subdue you. We've got the other cubs in paw and Legrange and I will be right inside the doors to back you up. Now, I've already spoken with your father Rio, and he told me, well a few choice things to be honest, but in the end he said that it was up to you. If you are uncomfortable with this plan then we won't do it."

"Can ye guarantee that te cubs will be in absolutely no danger?" Mr. Odhran asked, his accent noticeably thicker.

"Nothing is ever guaranteed I'm afraid," the vixen said honestly, "but they would need to bring a tank for them to have any chance of getting to these cubs today."

"Or more furs then yer prepared te handle," the stoat shook his head, "I don't like placing te cubs in te line of fire like this."

"I understand, Mr. Odhran," she nodded, "your concern for your students makes you an honor to your profession and I actually agree with you. But this is probably the safest bet we have given the circumstances."

Rio looked over at Mike and the little ursine just smiled, though his nerves were clear in his face. "You heard the detective, Rio. Your call. I'll back you up either way. They won't get between us again."

Nodding, Rio looked back to Declan. "This will catch all the bad guys right?"

"No, but it will catch at least one of them red pawed," the vixen replied, "pair that with all the statements and witnesses we have from Sunday, and whoever we catch today will either start giving up names or face a very long time behind bars. In my experience, nofur takes option two."

The little tiger nodded and when he spoke again, his voice was soft but sure. "Let's do it."

The remainder of recess was spent going over the plan with the cubs, Mike calling Kaylie and explaining everything to the terrier so she'd make sure the rest of the group got home safe instead of waiting for them. Just before the rest of the class was due to come back the vixen took her leave so as not to worry anycub and the remainder of the day passed without further event, though for a few students scattered throughout the school time seemed to slow to a crawl.

After what seemed like an eternity, the last bell finally rang. Waiting just long enough for the stoat to give a few last tips for their homework, most of the class bolted for their lockers. Rio and Mike stayed put, fiddling nervously with their backpacks. It didn't take long for the door to open again, Kody coming in still hidden within his oversized hoodie, accompanied by Toby. The bunny immediately moved over and stood as close to Rio as he could.

"You didn't tell the cops about me did you?" He asked quietly, "You promised that you wouldn't, but Kaylie said that the cops are going to be coming."

"You were with me when I called the policefur," Rio responded just as quietly, "All I told her was that there might be some furs looking to try and beat us up after school, and she told me that she would stick around and make sure that we got home safe."

The bunny looked dead into the tiger's eyes for a long moment, trying to gauge if he was telling the truth. Rio never flinched, as far as he was concerned, everything he said had been true. Kody eventually nodded and turned away, hugging himself and waiting for his friends to get their stuff ready so they could leave.

As Mike and Rio stalled for time to let the halls clear out, shuffling through their desks and going over their homework in far more detail than was even remotely necessary with their teacher, the little bunny grew more and more antsy, but eventually it was time to head out.

"All right, guys," Mike stated, slinging his pack across his shoulders, "let's hit it."

The small group of cubs moved as one to the door of the classroom, Mike, Rio, and Toby moving on some unspoken signal to surround Kody as they moved down the hall. Reaching the doors to the schoolyard, they pushed through and managed to get about ten steps outside before the unmistakable sound of an angry bully rang out.

"About damn time you punks showed up." Ryker called from behind them, causing everycub to jump out of their fur and spin around.

The stag was leaning against the side of the building, and he wasn't alone. On one side were the twin huskies, and on the other was an older stag in his late teens as well as an all too familiar hedgehog. Lukas blew a kiss at Rio and cupped his junk as the younger stag glared at Toby, hatred for the hatchling burning in his eyes. "I've been waiting to get back at you for getting me in trouble, and today you're gonna really wish you had kept your beak to yourself."

"Ya don't wanna do dis, Ryker," Toby replied, shifting into a defensive stance between the older furs and his friends, "I kicked your tail last time we met, I don' have any problem doin' it again."

"You managed to save your friend last time, baby birdy," the older stag shook his head as he leered at the younger cubs, "but not this time. This time, we're going to hold you down and make you watch as each and every single one of your friends lifts tail and squeals for me and the guys here."

Kody backed up at that, starting to shake slightly. The little bunny's nerves were frayed to the point of near breaking, and the only thing that kept him from turning tail and running was Mike and Rio stepping up to Toby's side and raising their fists. If they could stand up to the bigger furs, then the least he could do is not run away...

"You're going to be the ones squealing when we kick your tails all over the playground," Mike said, Rio nodding firmly on his other side.

"Okay, you're the one getting it first," Ryker said, stepping forward, "let's do this guys."

He paused when neither of the huskies came off the wall with him and the older furs. "Guys?"

"Sorry Ryker..." Aiden said softly, guilt flickering in his eyes as he looked at his friend and shook his head, "please don't run, okay?"

The older two furs had gotten almost to the group of younger cubs when the double doors behind them exploded open, Declan and Legrange stepping forth with Tasers drawn.

"Paws where I can see them," the otter demanded, "don't give me any more reason then I already have to pull this trigger."

Lukas and Ryker's older brother spotted the policefurs and didn't even hesitate, bolting off in different directions.

At the same time, the younger stag realized he'd been betrayed and jumped at the two huskies, sucker punching one of them before starting to swing at his twin.

Declan's Taser darts shot straight and true, and the elder stag hit the dirt in a twitching heap as electricity coursed through his frame. Legrange was distracted by Ryker's attack on the huskies and his shot went wide, causing him to curse under his breath as he turned to help the cub under assault.

Rio, Mike, and Toby were on the ground, crouched protectively around Kody, the little bunny having curled into a ball with his paws over his head. For half a second, Rio thought that Lukas was going to get away, but before Legrange's Taser had even hit the concrete, a vengeful black and white fur barreled through the still open doors and streaked across the concrete.

Ivor had been waiting in one of the empty rooms near the doors, keeping an eye on his cub. He had promised to stay put and let the policefurs do their jobs, but when he saw the hedgehog getting away, he couldn't stay put. His much longer legs ate the distance and he caught up to the younger fur before he had gotten twenty feet.

Lukas, hearing somefur gaining, flared his quills and turned to square up with the otter, his eyes widening in alarm as he saw a very large and very angry tiger instead. Before he could decide how to handle the new threat, Ivor reached out and snagged the front of his shirt.

Lifting him clear off his footpaws, the big cat brought the hedgehog up to eye level, his claws slowly extending, punching through the fabric in his paws and inching ever closer to the underside of the quavering bully's jaw.

"Så ... du er den som skadet sønnen min..." He snarled, "Nå ser jeg tårer i øynene dine. Hvis det er noen rettferdighet i denne verden, vil du aldri slutte å gråte igjen."

The hedgehog didn't understand the words, but the malice was clear enough in both the tiger's snarling tone and the rage smoldering in his eyes. All of the bravado drained from the high schooler, and as he felt the sharp points of Ivor's claws start dimpling his chin, he whimpered, fear causing his bladder to let go and soak his jeans.

He was saved from the tiger's wrath as Declan's aggressively calm voice called out. "Mr. Kendrick? I'm going to need you to put him down."

The vixen, having pawcuffed Ryker's older brother, was crouching with one knee between the stag's shoulder blades to keep him in place as she steadily loaded another cartridge in her Taser. "Come on now, I understand that you're upset right now, but don't do anything you're going to regret. He's not worth it."

The policefur's words caused the irate viking to pause momentarily, but the memory of his son curled up in fright and crying in his lap was vivid in his mind and he let out another soft snarl, bringing the now freely crying teen just a bit closer to him.

"Mr. Kendrick," Declan's tone was still perfectly calm and level as she raised her Taser, "I don't want to hurt you because I know exactly what you're thinking, but I need you to put him down."

Legrange, having managed to pry Ryker off of one of the huskies, had the thrashing and spitting stag's paws cuffed behind his back and was pinning him down as he checked on the twins. His partner's tone caught his attention though and he looked up, cussing softly again.

"Hey, Rio? I think your dad needs your help." He said. When the little tiger didn't look up, he grabbed a small pebble from the ground next to him and bounced it between his ears. "Rio!"

The little tiger had his ears pinned flat and was huddled around Kody with the rest of the cubs. Their part in the plan had been to protect Kody until they bad furs said something incriminating, and then to drop and stay huddled around the lapine to keep him as calm as possible so he didn't try and run away. He looked up as something hit him though, ready to defend himself.

Seeing it was just one of the policefurs, he blinked, then followed the otter's gesture. Seeing the other policefur pointing her weapon at his dad made him cry out, completely abandoning the plan to run to the big cat's aid.

"No don't shoot him!" He bellowed, sprinting over and standing in the line of fire.

"If you can get him to let go, I won't," Declan nodded, adjusting her aim to avoid the cub. It wasn't hard, Ivor was so much bigger than his son that even on his tiptoes with his arms stretched wide, he didn't provide much cover.

Turning to his dad, he laid his paw on his arm. "Dad? I'm okay... I'm right here, please put him down."

"Hvorfor? Han skadet deg, Rio. Og han skulle skade deg igjen."

It took the cub a second, but he nodded, working out the jist of the reply. "Yeah, I know, but you stopped him, Dad. And the policefurs are here to make sure he doesn't hurt anycub else. I really wanna hurt him too, trust me, but if you do, then you're gonna get in a lot of trouble and I don't want to watch you get shot. Dad, please put him down..."

The quavering tone of his son's plea more then the risk of Declan's Taser got through to the big cat. Looking down into the shimmering eyes of his cub, he nodded before turning back to glare daggers at the hedgehog. "Ikke... rør... deg."

With that last final snarl, he let go of the hedgehog. Lukas dropped like a bag of bricks, his knees unbuckling to deposit him in a huddled heap in his own puddle.

With all of the threats dealt with, Declan nodded and lowered her taser. "Everything okay back there Legrange?"

"Yeah," the otter called back still holding the struggling Ryker in place, "This stag packs a wallop and he got a few good hits in, but I think they're okay."

Nodding, the vixen grabbed her radio as Ivor planted a footpaw on the back of the bully in front of him and leaned down to hug his cub.

"Detective Alexis Declan to dispatch, I need an ambulance and a patrol car at Lake Hill Elementary, three suspects in custody, two non critically injured cubs..."

Twenty minutes later, Aiden and Ethan were getting checked out by the EMT and the would be cubnappers had been hauled off by the uniformed policefur. Toby's mom was standing with him and Mike's dad was behind the ursine, both having gotten calls from their cubs.

"So," Ivor said, tension still thrumming through his muscles as he stood with his arms wrapped around Rio and Kody, "what happens now?"

"Well," Declan said, giving the cubs a smile, "this is the part where I congratulate you all. You cubs did a fantastic job. The only other thing we're going to need from you all in the near future is to take your statements."

"Okay," Mike's dad nodded, still in his work clothes, having come straight from work as his son had called him, "do you need that done now or..."

"The sooner the better usually," Legrange nodded, "the longer we wait, the more likely your cubs are to forget details."

"Very well. Den we shall do it now," Toby's mom nodded firmly, "do we have ta go to da police station?"

"That is an option," Declan replied, "and one that most parents are most comfortable with."

"Den me and Tobias shall meet ya at da station," the female parrot nodded, before looking over at Ivor and placing a paw on his shoulder, "yer a good fur, Ivor. Toby was tellin' me ya chased down one of da hoodlums. I have said it before and I shall say it again. Da Goddess did a good job wit ya."

Toby grinned as the big cat blushed under the praise and waved as his mom led him off, "See ya tomorrow guys."

"She's right you know, Ivor," Mike's dad put in with a smirk, getting a headshake from the tiger.

"Now don't you start in on me too," he said, before looking back at Declan, his smile fading as he got back to business. "I'm sorry detective, but is there anyway that we can just let Rio and Dakota give you their statements here? I don't think my boss is going to be very happy with me if I stay out of work too terribly much longer."

As he spoke, he surreptitiously glanced down at the trembling bunny huddling against him and actively hiding from the policefurs.

Following his glance, the vixen sighed softly, remembering their earlier discussion and feeling a wave of sadness for the lapine's obvious fear of the police. "Yes, Mr. Kendrick, that would be fine. I have a mini tape recorder that we can use if you need to do this now. We will need to get separate statements from the cubs though."

"Don't worry, Ivor," Mr. Hayes said, "I can keep an eye on the guys while you cycle through them."

As Kody stiffened again, the big cat nodded. "Why don't you and Mike go first, Ryan? Get the easy one out of the way first."

The ursine nodded and Declan moved off with the two of them to a fair distance, then spoke low so as to not contaminate the other interview. For that same reason, Legrange stayed nearby to make sure Kody and Rio didn't discuss anything or share stories.

Ivor kneeled and looked into the shuddering little lapines eyes. "Kody? I know this is scary, and you may have heard a lot of really bad things about the policefurs, but I need you to do this for me. I'm going to be right next to you the entire time, and all you have to do is tell them what just happened. You don't need to talk about anything else and they won't ask you any questions about anything else. Just what happened today."

"Yeah, don't worry Kody," Rio nodded, "Dad will be right behind you. And when it's my turn, Mike will make sure that nofur gets you."

The little bunny nodded, but moved closer to the big cat. He had seen how he had easily handled Lukas without even breaking a sweat and felt very safe next to him.

A few moments later, Declan came back with Mike and nodded. "Okay, now, Mr. Kendrick, since you were present I would like to get a solo statement from you before we speak to the cubs."

"Certainly," the big cat nodded, looking down and gently pulling Kody's paw from around his leg and letting Rio take over the hug before heading off.

Rio rubbed the bunny's back and kept his gaze on his dad, vaguely worried that he was going to get in trouble for furhandling Ding Dong. After a few moments, the vixen led him back over and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay." Declan nodded, which of you two cubs wants to go first?"

Kody instinctively backed away from the vixen, so Rio raised a paw. "My turn."

Ivor nodded, turning to Mike. "Kody's still a bit shook up, could you stay with him Mike?"

"Way ahead of you, Mr. Kendrick," the ursine nodded, wrapping his arms around the bunny and giving him a place to hide.

Shaking his head, the big cat led his son behind Declan as they walked off.

Reaching the same distance, she turned and smiled at Rio before starting the recording.

"Detective Alexis Declan, conducting a recorded statement from a minor cub in the presence of his father on Monday, April fourth. If you would please state your names, gentlefurs?

"Ivor Kendrick."

"Rio K- Ivorion Kendrick." At the cub's reflexive use of his nickname, Ivor had gently swatted the back of his head, leading him to provide his full name.

"Thank you," Declan stated, trying to keep her voice level as she smiled at the silent byplay, "Now, Ivorion, why don't you tell me what happened today?"

"Sure, um, me and the guys were hanging out at lunch and Aiden Gage came up and started talking to us." He started.

"Why choose to start the story there, is that an unusual occurrence?"

"Well, yeah. Up until today the only times we've talked was when we were fighting," Rio nodded.

"I see, so what was different about today's occurrence?"

"Today he came to warn us. His friend Ryker Sorenson's older brother had told them to make sure that we got in trouble at school so we get detention and be held after."

"And did he tell you why his friend's older brother wanted you to to stay after?"

"No, he couldn't actually get himself to say it, but he did say that it would be a really bad idea to be stuck here after school."

"Okay, and what did you do with that information?"

"I called you, don't you remember?"

"Yes, that's right, we discussed it. So, let's move on to when you left the school building this afternoon. What happened then?"

"Man, it was nuts," the little tiger shook his head, "Ryker called out and said that he was gonna kick our butts, right? And he was all cocky because he had Aiden and Ethan with him, and his big brother and Ding Dong were with him too. But then Toby, one of my other friends that was with us, stepped up and told him to back off. But Ryker's older brother got all smug and said that Toby protected us last time, but this time, he was going to get held down and forced to... Well..."

"Take your time, Ivorion," the vixen said gently, "I know it can be hard, just take your time."

His dad's firm paw on his shoulder gave a squeeze and the cub nodded taking a deep breath. "He said that he was going to make Toby watch us all lift tail and... and squeal for him and the other furs."

"Okay. And then what happened?"

"Well, then Me, Mike and Toby raised our fists to protect ourselves and Dakota." The little tiger continued, happy to put the concept of him and his friends being potentially raped behind him. "Ding Dong, Ryker and his older brother stepped off the wall and started coming after us, but the twins, Aiden and Ethan, didn't. Ryker got mad that they weren't listening to him, and he started hitting them. That's when you and Legrange came out and told everyfur to keep their paws up. After that happened, me and the guys kinda dropped and huddled around each other, so I didn't really see very much until Legrange bounced a pebble off my head to get me to help my dad."

"Why would you need to help your dad, Ivorion?"

"Cause he was really mad that Legrange had missed, I guess. Ding Dong was running away and he had hurt me and Mike yesterday, so my dad didn't wanna let him escape. When I looked up you were about to electrozap him cause he was all snarly and looking like he was going to tear the bully in half. I got him to calm down though, and then you called backup and started taking statements."

"And that leads us up very nicely to where we are now." The vixen nodded, "Is that the honest truth and you swear that you have told me absolutely everything as you remember it?"

"Yup."

"Well okay then," she chuckled, "this concludes this interview."

Clicking off the recording, she smiled again at the cub and led him back to the group.

Seeing Kody huddled against Mike, the big cat sighed and bent down to offer him a paw.

"Come on, Sotnos," he said softly, "we need to go talk to the detective. Remember you just need to tell her what happened after school. Nothing else."

Letting go of Mike, Kody turned and hid in Ivor's chest again. "Okay, little one," the big cat said softly, "We can do it like this, but we need to move over just a little bit. I'm going to pick you up, okay?"

As the little bunny gave the faintest of nods, Ivor gently lifted him up, arms wrapped around his torso, and moved off after Declan.

"That is a very skittish little bunny," Mike's dad stated flatly, "i don't think I've ever met him before, is he a friend of yours? He seems really close to you two and your dad, Rio."

"It's a very long story," Rio nodded, "He's a friend but we haven't known him for very long."

"I see. I'm guessing that long story will probably shed quite a bit of light on just what led up to all of this excitement," the older ursine mused, "I certainly hope it does, because I'm beginning to think that the fight you two cubs got into on Sunday wasn't the random event like somecub has led me to believe."

"Well..." Mike hedged, keeping his gaze on the bunny still curled protectively around himself in Ivor's arms, "Some of that story is classified, Dad. When you have enough clearance I'll let you know."

Mike's deadpan delivery got a snort out of his dad and the rest of Kody's interview was watched in silence, Mike shifting to take Rio's paw where his dad couldn't see and squeezing it gently.

The little bunny's interview was a bit longer as he took a bit of coaxing to get talking and had to repeat a few things because he was speaking very softly, but eventually they got through it, and rejoined the group, Mike letting Rio's paw drop before it was noticed.

"Okay, I do appreciate your cooperation today," Declan nodded, shaking paws with the two adults, "and we will be in touch with developments on the case and if we need anything else."

"Thank you very much detective," Ivor nodded, giving the vixen a smile as she and Legrange moved off towards their car.

"Well that was fun..." Mike's dad shook his head, looking back at Ivor, "Hey, can I ask you to take Mike back to your place? I'd feel a bit better if he wasn't at home alone after all this."

"Not a problem, Ryan." Ivor replied, "He can just crash at our place if that's okay? Me and Myranda will make sure he gets to school on time with Rio in the morning."

"That's actually a great idea." The older ursine nodded," give me a chance to calm his mother down when she gets home, and then she won't be freaking out about him walking in the morning."

Clapping his friend on the back, Mike's dad kneeled down and gazed nose to nose with his cub.

"I'd tell you not to get in trouble, but I know that's a waste, so at least try to get your homework done." He said, his serious expression breaking into a smile as his cub hugged him.

"You got it dad," Mike grinned, "Now go back to work before you get in trouble."

Laughing, the older bear returned the hug and hefted his cub into his arms, carrying him to Ivor's truck and plopping him on the hood. "See you tomorrow Mike."

"Bye Dad!" The ursine waved, hopping down to his footpaws and letting Rio sit next to Kody before climbing into the truck.

"You know," Ivor said idly as they pulled out and drove towards home, "Your mother is going to kill me for leaving you three at home alone after this."

"Probably," Rio nodded, "but only if she finds out that you did it."

"Going to lie to your mom, Rio?" Mike asked with a grin.

"Nope," the little tiger replied, "just not going to bring it up. If she doesn't ask, I don't have to lie."

That got a chuckle from the big cat, but he remained silent the rest of the ride home, one arm protectively around the bunny curled close to him. Pulling in to the drive, he gave Kody one last hug and nodded towards the house. "Alright cubs, you know the drill. I'll see you when I get back."

Everycub called farewells to the elder tiger and he stayed in the drive until he was sure the cubs were well inside before pulling off.

Soon as the door had closed behind him, Rio locked it and tugged against it a few times before moving to immediately close the curtains on all the windows and make sure that the back door was locked.

"You okay Rio?" Mike asked as he watched his boyfriend run around the house.

"No," Rio replied, stopping in front of the ursine as the last curtain was closed and undoing his belt. No longer cinched in place, his jeans fell to his ankles and he let out a soft sigh as the teddies on the front of his now exposed diaper started to fade away. Before his bladder finished emptying he lurched forward and pulled his boyfriend into a hug, holding him tight and letting his pent up nerves and fears drain from him as his urine drained into his diaper, burying his face into the bear's shoulder. "Now I'm okay...." He whispered.

Caught temporarily off guard, Mike quickly shifted mental gears and nodded, hugging his tiger tight as he finished wetting himself. "It's okay, baby Rio... Daddy's got you..."

Looking up, he caught Kody's eye. The bunny was just as upset and worked up as the other two cubs, but the sight of seeing Rio wet a diaper was still odd enough to shock him into silence. "Kody?" Mike asked softly, continuing only when the bunny looked up, "I think a good cuddle is just what the doctor ordered, but I need to change my little baby first, so if you need to go to the bathroom, then now would be a good time. Me and the little tinkle kitten here will be in his room. Okay?"

Nodding slowly, Kody gave another odd look to Rio's diaper before breaking and trotting up the stairs to the bathroom.

Mike helped Rio step out of his jeans and then made a brief detour into the kitchen to empty an ice cube tray into the mini cooler in his backpack before leading his softly sniffling baby tiger up the stairs.