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Hello there, dear readers! I am super excited to bring to you this new chapter!

"Oh, Bonnie, little Jeremy just sounds adorable! Please tell me that you took some pictures," Marian gushed into her phone just before she set it down on the kitchen counter and started going about making herself some tea.

"Naturally," Bonnie told the vixen. After Nick and Judy had officially started dating, informing their parents of that fact, Bonnie and Marian had become fast friends... after some initial awkwardness mostly on their husbands' part.

"I've never seen a human baby before," Marian explained as she set the kettle on the stove. "Robert and I did enjoy a stroll through the park though, and we saw this adorable little human girl. She was playing with two little otters that she kept calling her big brothers, it was just so precious."

Bonnie let out a coo at the thought. "Well, I will say this for little Jeremy at least, he is very rambunctious. The second he gets set down, he starts crawling every which way. Although there was a slight issue with him pulling some of our older kits into hugs and crying his little eyes out whenever they tried to leave his grip. I made sure to get plenty of pictures of that as well."

"Naturally," Marian said with a giggle, "one of the joys of being a parent is getting to embarrass our kits, after all."

"Agreed. Why, not too long after Judy told us that she was dating Nicholas, she made me swear to never show him any embarrassing pictures of her as a kit." Marian could hear the smile in Bonnie's voice.

"Nicky made me promise not to show his mate his, what he calls embarrassing but what I call adorable, pictures of him as a kit too!" Marian smiled at just how similar Nick and Judy could be at times. "But I don't recall ever saying anything about sharing them with my friend who just so happens to be the mother of said mate."

"And I do not believe that I made any such promise with my little Bun-Bun either," Bonnie said.

Meanwhile...

"C'mon sweetie, say 'Mama'," Nadine cooed to Rosalie as she kneeled next to her daughter's playpen, her phone on and recording. Rosalie, for her part, was playing with a set of multi-colored stacking rings.

"Say 'Mama'," Nadine tried again, having been at this for the past half an hour. Rosalie giggled happily, falling over with a big red ring in her little hands.

"How come Daddy gets a shout out but not Mommy?" Nadine asked with a sigh, smiling down at her baby. Rosalie looked up at the tigress that was her mother, and smiled back. Nadine looked down at her phone, which was buzzing to let her know that the battery was almost dead. With another sigh, Nadine stopped recording and got up to go look for the phone charger. As she looked, she listened to the baby babble away.

"Ma... ma-ma!" Rosalie said, reaching for the tigress, who froze in her tracks and whirled to face the baby.

"Did you just say 'Mama'?" she asked, walking over to the playpen and looking down.

"Ma-ma," Rosalie said before she started gurgling.

"You said 'Mama'," Nadine said, wiping a tear of joy away before her phone buzzed again, making her look down at the device. "And just when I stopped recording too," she said with a laugh before giving a shrug and taking a seat next to the playpen. She reached in and started to tickle the baby, who squealed in delight.

"That's right, I'm your mama," Nadine said, a deep and contented rumble radiating from her. The joyous feeling she was experiencing reminded her of the time after Ralph had proposed to her, and how she couldn't make herself stop purring for almost a full hour.

At that moment...

"Ooooh, that sounds like a wonderful project, sweetie," Judy said, looking up and proudly beaming at Eli, who smiled and blushed at the praise. Judy and Nick had been in the living room when Eli arrived home from school. He had been both excited and a little nervous to tell his parents about his scout troop's upcoming bake sale.

"New Dawn, eh?" Nick said, chuckling. "I don't suppose that a rhino cop visited your school today to talk about that place?" Nick asked.

"Uhm... no," Eli answered, looking a little confused.

"It's a wonderful program, Nick," Judy said, patting the cushion next to her, inviting Eli to sit down.

"I'm sure it is; all I'm saying is that Arnie is constantly pushing that place every day, so naturally I would assume he had some hand in a scout troop participating in a charity event for it," Nick explained, holding up both paws in mock surrender. Judy rolled her eyes at his smirk before turning to address her kit.

"I'm very proud of you, Eli," she said, hugging her human kit's side, which Eli returned, much less nervously than when she had first started hugging him.

"Thanks, Mom," Eli said, a warm feeling blossoming in his chest as he said it, "it was actually my friend Lyla's idea." The fox went a little stiff at the mention of the zebra girl's name, but he said nothing.

"Just wait until I tell your grandma, she'll organize an entire baking platoon!" Judy said, only half joking.

"Hey now," Nick chimed in, "don't forget your nana, because I know that she'll be wanting to get in on this. She may not have a legion of bunny minions, or bunions, at her disposal, but it's quality over quantity."

Judy rolled her eyes again. "Slick, this isn't another baking competition. And I'll thank you for not trying to reignite that temporary rivalry between our moms again."

"You mean like the one that sparked at the last Carrot Days Festival? I had nothing to do with that," Nick defended, holding back a laugh at just how all-out his and Judy's moms had gone trying to outdo each other.

"It's not funny and yes, you absolutely did," Judy shot back, turning her attention to Eli once more.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Judy exclaimed, the tips of her ears tickling Eli's chin and making him laugh. She saw this and became very thoughtful for a moment. "Sweetie, would you mind leaning down just a bit?"

Eli complied while Judy stood up on the couch as Nick looked on, a little confused. Judy's paws guided Eli's head down until the top of it was facing her. She then smiled and started to rub her chin on her kit's head. She finished and told Eli he could sit back up straight.

"Eli, honey, do you know what chinning is?" Judy asked.

"Uhm... no?" said Eli, resisting an urge to rub the spot on his head.

"Well, it's something bunny parents do with their kits, usually right after they're born. Basically, there's a gland under my chin that makes a distinct scent, which we use to mark our young. I can't believe it took me this long to remember that I needed to mark my kit! It's important in rabbit culture!" Judy said, suddenly feeling guilty. She looked up and saw the wide grin Eli had and felt instantly better.

"Thanks, Mom," Eli said. Nick watched his mate and his kit and smiled, his tail thumping against the couch lightly.

"I really should take the time to teach you more about rabbit culture and traditions, since they're now your culture and traditions too," she said, taking Eli's hand in both of her paws. They both turned to look at Nick as he cleared his throat.

"Let's not go forgetting about vulpine culture now," he said, giving Eli a wink, "it's your much more fun and interesting culture after all now too."

Elsewhere...

"You're sure about this?" Edwin asked as he looked over a piece of paper on the desk before him while Honey rummaged around in an old trunk she had dragged in earlier.

"Positive," she said, tossing out old articles of clothing, "it's joined the Ranger Scouts. The motivation for this move is unknown. Let's make a note of finding out why when we manage to examine it."

"Hmm," Edwin scratched his chin, "perhaps for observational purposes."

"Either way, it works to our advantage." The honey badger looked up at the armadillo and smiled.

"Agreed. Now, we only need to learn of the scout troop's scheduled activities, and we can capture it, alive of course." Edwin's left eye began to twitch as he leaned back in his seat. He frowned, but nodded to the frantic Honey.

In Tundra Town...

"Where are we going, Renato?" Lily asked, tightening the grey wool winter coat around her shoulders as the two exited the train. She was wearing a white blouse and jeans, planning on surprising Renato herself when he had arrived. The jaguar had surprised her earlier in the day first by arriving, out of the blue, at her door with a bouquet of lilies, as well as an unexpected invitation to a day out somewhere special. The location was a secret, but he had asked her to bring something warm.

"It's somewhere special to me," Renato said; he was wearing a navy blue blazer with a light blue undershirt. He offered her his arm, which she took with a smile. They garnered a few stares from some of the mammals at the station, including a few humans, not that they cared. Lily looked out at the district as they exited the station, taking in the sights. The pair strolled down the street through several blocks before they made their way out to a ski tram facility.

"This place is usually packed," Renato explained, Lily loving listening to how his accent shaped his words, "but my employer, once he found out about my, eh, plans, rented it out as a gift to me, just for the two of us."

Lily blushed at that, her heart fluttering in her chest.

"He sounds like a wonderful boss," Lily said as they entered the tram, being waved through by a friendly reindeer attendant.

"He is, but I would never wish to be one to cross him," the jaguar chuckled, a slight purr mixed in. They took their seats, Lily resting her head on Renato's shoulder, as the tram began to make its way up a steep slope. They sat in comfortable silence, watching as the district became smaller and smaller, until they finally reached the top. They stepped out into a ski resort. Lily looked around, seeing a set of rails of an overlook. Renato gently took her hand and started to lead her towards the railing. When they got to the edge, Lily's breath caught in her throat. Spread out before them was the entire district of Tundra Town. All of the houses and shops, the towers and buildings, all of it, looking like a bright and shining miniature version of a winter wonderland.

"I can see why this is your favorite place," Lily said, finding her voice.

"It really is..." Renato's voice trailed off. "Lily..." Renato turned to face her as she looked up into his eyes, tracing a finger along his scar.

"What is it, Renato?" Lily asked.

"I was hoping to ask you something, Lily," he said, looking down.

"I'm listening," was her reply.

"I was hoping to ask you out to dinner," Renato said, steeling himself.

"We have dinner all the time," Lily pointed out.

"Si... but... that's just as friends," Renato said, "this... I would like to take you to dinner... as more than... just friends..."

Lily stood there a moment and smiled. "Well of course," she said, standing up to gently kiss Renato. He jumped a little in surprise when her lips met his, but he recovered, and the two lost themselves in the moment.

ZPD Precinct 1...

"Oh... my... goodness! She is just so CUTE!!!" Benjamin Clawhauser squealed as he looked at the pictures being shown to him by Ralph, now in his street clothes, his shift having ended earlier.

"She's my little princess," Ralph said, his tail wagging.

"And she called you 'Dada'?" Ben let out a near ear-splitting squeal at Ralph's happy nod. "I can't even begin to imagine how wonderful it must be!"

"I don't know how to describe it, Benji," the timber wolf said, looking down at the picture of Nadine crading a sleeping Rosalie with a dreamy expression on his muzzle.

"WOLFORD!" Both Ralph and Ben jumped a bit as Bogo started to make his way towards them in the atrium. "I would like a word with you about your squad car."

"Th-the squad car, chief?" Ralph said, nervously playing dumb.

"Yes, I would like to know just why is it that it's missing both its front and rear bumpers?" Bogo said, folding his arms and glaring down at Ralph, who gulped.

"Francine and I were pursuing a perp in the Nocturnal district, sir, and, uhm..." Ralph said, not sure how to explain the minor fender-bender with the fleeing suspect's car, as well as the accidental reverse fender-bender with the car that said suspect had stolen in an attempt to escape. He relayed what had happened to the large and imposing cape buffalo, who opened his mouth to speak. Acting on pure instinct, Ralph held up his phone, which was still on the slideshow setting. Bogo watched the pictures of the happy family for a moment before sighing.

"I suppose that accidents happen," Bogo said with a snort before heading to his office.

"Quick thinking," Ben said, once he was certain that the chief was out of earshot.

"Thanks, Benji," Ralph said, putting his phone away, "I think I'll head out now before I push my luck."

"Smart call, and just as a heads up, that only works on the chief once. Rammathorn found that out the hard way," Ben cautioned.

"Thanks for the tip," Ralph said, heading towards the parking garage.

At the ZPD Police Academy...

Jack jogged alongside Walter as they made their way through the course.

"Okay, I know when to be the bigger mammal," the hare said to the human, "and so I have decided to step down as valedictorian. You've earned it, buddy."

"I already am valedictorian, and we've known that for a while now," Walter said, looking down at Jack briefly, not wanting to get tripped up by the roots as they passed under the trees.

"True, but I was just about to edge you out. But I decided instead that it's more important to be a better friend, than the best in our class here at the academy," Jack said, effortlessly hopping over several roots.

"I'm pretty sure that you're fifteen or sixteen down the list, but thanks, Jack, you are a good friend," Walter said, both excited and nervous for their upcoming graduation.

"It was fourteen, thank you very much, but the details are irrelevant," Jack dismissed with a wave of his paw.

"I'm also pretty sure that, as police officers, the details are crucial," Walter said with a smirk to match Jack's own.

"Hey now, we're still just cadets," Jack said.

"I was a sergeant before I came here," Walter replied.

"Emphasis on was, as in, not anymore," Jack shot back. The two shared a chuckle as they continued with their training. Unbeknownst to the two of them, a certain arctic vixen had been jogging behind them, now taking a quick breather as she let out a laugh.

"His head may be a little inflated, but he's just too adorkable not to like," Skye said to no one, using the term she herself had first coined to describe the hare, combining adorable and dork. All of the other cadets, not including Walter and Jack who had yet to hear of it, agreed that it was a fitting term for cadet Savage.

And there you have it, readers! I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!