Answers
Just as the lawyer seemed to be turning into a real furson, something in him shifted. Barton could almost hear the wheels and gears churning. "There may be some problems. My claim on the kits should supersede the wolves', based upon nunc pro tunc establishing correction; but so much time has passed..." He finally planted himself on a chair and, as carefully as he could, he shifted the papers quickly and opened his case, searching feverishly for no earthly being could know what.
Barton felt a tugging at his sleeve and, seeing the lawyer so thoroughly distracted, risked looking down toward the fireplace to where the young buck huddled near his chair. Firecat clearly caught the motion, knowing already where the twins were hiding, but he leaned away from that direction and redoubled his effort to study the attorney instead. Lyal mimed using a pen to write across his forepaw; Barton nodded, bending forward slowly to collect the pen and pad of paper near his chair, then slipped it behind him and into the kit's waiting paw. He looked up just in time to see Lance emerge from his brief case.
"There it is, knew I'd seen it." He seemed to adjust glasses that he wasn't wearing, to focus on some sort of fine print. "They anticipated the idea of having a separate guardianship, so that even if I found the kits, neither I nor anyone else could assume guardianship until the question of the legitimacy of the adoption is settled. They've managed to make the adoption supersede other claims, even though the adoption itself is in question. Nice set of loopholes..."
"I hope they strangle in 'em," Barton mumbled.
Another tug at Barton's sleeve had him lowering his paw and, without looking, accepting the slip of paper the buck had pressed into it. He managed to open it and glance at the message: We don't like him. He made it sound like it was Lyris' fault. The lion's okay.
As if taking his own cue, Firecat asked, "How long should we anticipate this madness to last, Mr. Claraget?"
"There's no telling. If they dip into their war chest, they could..." The lawyer paused as the lion delicately cleared his throat and reached across for the papers. "Can you read...?"
"Astonishingly, Mr. Claraget, yes, I can read."
The older rabbit looked deeply embarrassed. "I was going to ask if you can read legalese? Their lawyers majored in obfuscation."
"I shall call upon you, should I require disambiguation." Firecat gave the lawyer a glance of eloquent sarcasm and started searching through the papers. The lawyer began nibbling at his left thumbclaw, obviously a nervous habit that would be damning were it to happen during a courtroom proceeding. After a few moments, the flame-maned cat hummed and frowned. "There's loophole here that could work in our favor. They argue that the adoption was legal prima facie, challenging your nunc pro tunc on the notion that they had no part in any tort action that resulted in financial or other benefit to the Redclaws. They're trying to assert that they have first, best cause to be adoptive parents, because of their initial record. However, in the same way that they say you can't use the past against them in the present, we can use the present against them. They're under indictment, are they not?"
"Yes, but--"
The lion extended a long forefinger. "No 'buts.' They're under a cloud, which means that you have the right to charge that they are not currently fit to be adoptive parents. It's a tiny loophole, but one big enough to fit a few kits through." He looked directly at Barton, yet the badger had the impression that he was actually addressing the rabbits in residence behind him. "Others have already made their statements, which is why the indictment was handed down in the first place. If the kits came forward to testify, their evidence could slam the bars on the Redclaws within months instead of years."
Sighing, the badger dropped one forepaw down beside his chair, as the other rubbed his ear. As he hoped, he felt a paw - probably Lyal's - take his own. "Mr. Claraget, we seem t' be stuck wi' each other f'r a while. That bein' th' case... I'd suggest that ye apologize t' th' kits and smooth over any hard feelin's ye might have caused."
The white-masked rabbit looked at the badger, his ears halfway up in something like surprise or even astonishment. "Just how am I supposed to patch up a relationship with clients who aren't even here?"
"They're closer than ye think, counselor." Barton squeezed the paw in his own, hoping that the message of trust me came through. He could only think that it did. Demonstrating an amazing amount of courage, Lyal stood and came out from behind Barton's chair, Lyris following holding on to his other paw. Barton kept hold even as the elder rabbit's long black ears began flying in what could only have been a plethora of questions and curses. The old badger frowned hard. "Here now, nae more o' that!"
"It's okay, Barton." The buck sat on the arm of Barton's chair and put an arm around his shoulders, as Barton put his arm about the young rabbit's waist. The badger felt Lyris come round to his other side and put her arm around his shoulders as well. Lyal gave Barton an affectionate squeeze that none in the room could have missed, then turned to look at the attorney. "He's right. No more secrets. Lyss and I owe Barton our lives. And just so you know, Barton, what he was asking was if we were really okay and if we trusted you. I think the term he was using was old lapine - something about this cursed lendri?"
The attorney shrank even further into himself, which Barton hadn't thought possible. From the sofa, Firecat chuckled low and softly. "It would seem, counselor, that covert action is no longer an option."
The mane-dresser looked questioningly at Lyal, who smiled softly. "Generally, it just means 'badger,' but with the sense of _elil,_an enemy, untrustworthy, dangerous." To the lawyer, he repeated, "We owe Barton our lives. We trust him, and we want to stay with him - even after our 18thbirthdays, if he'll let us stay."
He hugged the rabbit warmly. "They'll have t' haul me away first, fightin' every step."
"Let's not let it get that far," the great lion rumbled gently. "Mr. Claraget, you are an attorney of the bar and therefore an officer of the court, even if you've never been inside a courtroom. You're able to take a deposition - swear these two as witnesses, take their statements, and present those to the prosecuting attorney in the criminal procedure. Do you have a secretary who can transcribe from an audiocassette?"
"Do they still make those?" Lyris wondered softly, then looked embarrassed.
"Sure do," Firecat laughed. "We have a recorder that makes two tapes at the same time, like they used to use in British cop-shops. You get to keep one tape, Mr. Claraget gets the other, and I can witness them both before they're separated." He looked at the attorney and smiled. "I'm a Notary Public for this state."
The elder rabbit looked a little nonplussed, then regained himself. "You're quite full of surprises, sir."
"As I said, I've been down this road a few times before. And yes... on my Harley and off." His grin showed some particularly impressive fangs, but no one felt that he had them aimed at anyone. "Each of us in BACA is part of the group for his own reasons, and each of us brings something special to the table. Some simply bring their experience, and their desire that no one have to go through such things ever again. Others, like myself, find ways to learn, to study, to pass tests or certifications if need be, to fight for that same end."
Lyal looked at the lion with his head canted slightly to one side. "Were you...?" The buck stopped, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't..."
Firecat smiled softly. "I'm not shy, youngun. The short form is, yes, I was. I'll tell you whatever you want to know, but perhaps not right now. I think we've had enough stress for one evening. I suggest that our first move be to get some sleep tonight. You're welcome to stay at a motel, Mr. Claraget - I can suggest a few - or you can take one of our rooms at the clubhouse." The lion laughed at the lawyer's terrified expression, as did Barton.
"It's nae the auld filthy warehouse ye've seen in the fillums. They've got their garage separate. The house itsel' is almost grand; think of a great big old farmhouse style, and ye'll come close. Clean, comfortable, safe, and if Lady Jayna is cookin', yer in fer a treat."
"My lady wife is indeed cooking - and if you want veggies instead of meats, we've got quite a bit still stocked from our garden's harvest." Firecat gently smiled-off the lawyer's continued nervousness. "In any case, we can come back here in the morning. The recorder's quite portable, and we can take the kits' statements then. I'd say let them just tell it, instead of questioning it at every step. None of this is their fault, and they don't need to be thinking that it is."
"Fault?" The elder rabbit's ears danced again, but not in some sort of secret language. The message was clear: He was shocked and outraged. "Of course it's not their fault! How could you think that I..." For a moment, he paused, his face showing that he was reviewing what he'd done this evening. "Oh..." he whispered more to himself than anyone else. A few more moments passed, and then, "Oh," and then yet another "Oh..." As he raised his eyes to look at the kits, the pain in them was clear. "I see now. I see what I... oh, Lyris... Lyal, I must have sounded..."
"Ye sounded like a lawyer," Barton said, but not unkindly or with anger. "Ye did yer job jus' fine, Mr. Claraget; ye jus' did it before ye thought o' what the kits went through."
"You're right." His voice was small, yet a bit of strength showed through. "I'm a good attorney, Mr. O'Mally. I'm better at protecting my clients than I am at working with them. It's my job. Maybe I do it too well. Maybe I do it to my clients' detriment, in the long run."
"We'll need you to do your job well, Mr. Claraget." The great lion nodded, his huge fiery mane dancing about his broad shoulders. "We'll be counting on you."
"Then as you say... let's do it right." He looked at the kits carefully. "If I'm not to lie, then I have to do one more thing." His ears moved quickly. Lyal and Lyris looked at each other, started to say something, and the ears moved once more, a short sharp motion. The two disentangled themselves from Barton and moved back behind his chair.
Before either the lion or the badger could speak, the attorney stood and spoke slowly and clearly. "I'm at a bit of a loss, Mr. O'Mally. I don't see either of the twins here ... I did see them earlier, but now I don't see them at all. You say that you think they'll be back here in the morning?"
Firecat narrowed his eyes with amusement, a smile playing on his muzzle. Barton paused, briefly confused, then understanding dawned, and he nodded. "I feel certain that I could produce 'em in th' morning. It's depositions ye'll be wantin'?"
"Yes. Perhaps you'll tell them that, if they can put up with my brusque manners, I'll do all I can to protect them. I can take their depositions back to the court, and I'll make a recommendation to the judge. For their safety, you might encourage them not to give away their location. As for matters of guardianship... well, if they're still on the run, I might not be able to find them easily, nor would the Redclaws' clan." He looked significantly at the lion. "I don't suppose they'd be foolish enough to try anything violent or underhanded. I'm sure that someone would come to the kits' defense, and I would hate to think anything ugly might happen."
The lion unfolded himself from the sofa and stood slowly, a small smile on his muzzle. "Purely in self-defense, of course."
"Of course." The lawyer managed something like a smile as Barton also stood. "Well then, um... Firecat. I'm not one of those high-priced lawyers you see on TV shows, so your offer of accommodation would be most welcome."
"Certainly. Oh, and just to warn you in advance - you'll probably have to run the gauntlet."
The elder rabbit began to shake again. "P-p-pardon...?"
Firecat grinned. "Not whips and chains, Mr. Claraget. Hugs. We're very big on hugs in our group. It helps us to show abused children that it's possible to give permission to be touched, hugged, properly and without any conditions or threats. It helps them to find love and trust again. Perhaps it will help you with your people-skills."
"I'll settle fer yer paw, fer now." Barton stepped up to the rabbit and took his paw to shake. "We'll hope t' see 'em in the mornin', shall we?"
"Yes. Yes, we will." The lawyer turned to go, and the badger took Firecat's hug before the lion turned to escort the rabbit to the terrors of running a gauntlet of affectionate bikers.
* * * * * * * * * *
The attorney was barely outside the door when the kits found their way back out of their hidey hole and Lyris (to no one's surprise) was the first to make her opinion known.
"I don't like him!" she spat harshly. "I don't trust him! He thinks everything is my fault; he said I could be charged with solicitation just for being in heat! He didn't ask what happened before he..."
She started shaking, and Barton took careful hold of her and brought her into his lap, holding her close and stroking back her long ashen ears tenderly. "S'all right, lass," he whispered. "He's gone. I've got ye." He knew better than to try to talk about it just yet; it would take a little while for the doe to gather back her nerve.
Lyal sat on the arm of Barton's chair again, reaching across to touch the doe's back tenderly. "Lyss, you heard him; you know he didn't mean it that way, he just... well, he didn't know."
"But he's so..."
"I know, lass, I know." The badger impulsively kissed her cheek, realizing that he tasted a tear, and felt himself on the verge of shedding a few himself. He kept stroking her ears in the way that he had discovered comforted her, wondering just a bit if she'd rather have Lyal do it, but warmed by the way that she stayed close to him. "Lyris... I dinna ken that lullaby ye sing, an' perhaps it's best if I dinna try. That's from yer ma, and Saints bless her, I'm nae she. But if ye'll let me... I've a little gift o' me own t' give ye."
As the doe looked up at him, Barton began singing softly and sweetly, a song that Wallace had loved to hear him sing as well. "Wherein the deep night sky the stars lie in its embrace, the courtyard still in its sleep, and peace comes o'er your face..."
Both Lyal and Lyris seemed awestruck by the tune, and Barton continued with the Blakian verse. "Come to me, it sings; hear the pulse of the land... the ocean's rhythms pull to hold your heart in its hand..."
As the badger sang his way through to the end, the twins leaned against him, listening, closing their eyes and relaxing completely in his embrace. He let them have comfort of each other and himself, the trio warm and cuddled by the fire, letting the quiet of the house settle back around them again.
It wasn't until the old grandfather clock in the hall chimed ten that Barton realized he'd been dozing. Lyal was still awake, his fingers lightly stroking the older male's forearm where it was loosely wrapped about his chest, but it felt as if Lyris were sleeping, her breathing deep and even, her body relaxed as he'd only seen it in sleep. "Lad?" He whispered trying not to wake the girl. "Will ye help me get her to bed?" Lyal was off his lap in moments, turning to see what he could do to help.
"Gonna stand," Barton mouthed the words with little breath behind them. "Keep me steady." Calling upon back muscles he wasn't sure he still had, the badger managed to get himself onto his hindpaws, the doe seeming still to be dozing in his arms. "Lights?" he mouthed, and the buck took care of everything as the old mane-dresser carried Lyris past the bedroom that the lawyer had used to speak to the kits and back into the master bedroom.
Lyal was quick to turn out the lights in the main part of the house, appearing at Barton's side just in time to save him from fighting with the door. Once they were in his room, the badger settled Lyris with her head on one of the pillows. Both he and Lyal worked tenderly at removing her clothing, stripping off her jeans and the t-shirt she was wearing, then they worked one of the badger's oversized t-shirts onto her as a night gown before tucking her under the covers.
With a shy look at the buck, Barton turned his back as he got undressed, keeping his undershorts and a light t-shirt himself, before he pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed and moved into the center. It was amazing how easily they all fit together, he mused; after the week or so that they'd spent together, it now felt like one of the most natural things in the world to have a soft, warm, loving bunny on either side of him.
Lyal had stripped himself down and also put on one of the badger's oversized shirts. It never failed to make Barton smile, especially after the buck had explained that it helped him sleep better to be wrapped up in the badger's scent. The young lad then crawled into the big bed, pulled the covers over himself, and snuggled tightly against the badger's broad chest. "Good night, Barton," he whispered into the elder male's ear, leaving a brief kiss on his cheek as a sign of his affection.
As always, Barton thought of Wallace before he let himself doze off for the night. This particular night, the honey badger could almost see, almost hear him. There was so much pride there, of Barton, of the kits, of the way that they'd bonded together. For the first time in all these years, things felt good, felt right, felt whole. The warmth of the kits at his sides, the feeling that they really were moving forward, and together, as if a family...
...or something more?
The thought slipped away with the sensation of sleep overtaking him, and a vision as true as dreaming that the meerkat had knelt by the bed and tenderly kissed Layl on his cheek.