Hey there! Hasn't been too long since I last updated this book, has it? I haven't really expected to have so many 'wholesome' stories to share! Next time, I'll do something angsty to make up for it, how about that?

Anyways, this story may be quite wholesome all things considered, but I do want to address some triggering topics.

Warnings:
Strong Language
Implications of Childhood Abuse

Words: 4404

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"Daddy! Mommy! Wake up!!" A little girl squealed out in delight, her voice high and full of excitement. Two voices groaned underneath the excited fluff ball, with the male, her father, opening up his sapphire blue eye. "Daddy!!! Come on!! Wake up!" The girl begged, pulling on her father's arm hurriedly.

Her father, a red fox, just chuckled tiredly and placed a hand on her fluffy magenta hair. "Mmmmm, what time is it?" He murmured.

"Too early," a nearby white vixen groaned, a tad grumpy due to the sudden wake up. Their young daughter only giggled as the bed moved. The vixen grabbed her daughter by the waist and brought her over into her lap. "You, my dear, are way too similar to your father." She teased lightly, pinching the young kit's cheek.

"Oh, no she's not!" The red fox started to sit up and stretch, "You're the one who used to wake up at ungodly hours of the morning to make breakfast!" He teased, pinching his wife's fluffy white face. She squealed with delight as her daughter giggled.

"10 in the morning is NOT ungodly, dad," the white vixen responded back. Their young daughter started to laugh harder. "And besides, it's only..." She turned to look at the time, "It's only 9. That's not that early, isn't that right, Amber dearest?"

The young kit, Amber, nodded her head. "Yeah! Especially when today is my birthday!!" She threw her hands in the air excitedly. "I'm going to be five mommy!" Amber had been looking forward to this day all week long. Her father chuckled and started to move himself out of bed, motioning for the two ladies to follow behind. Amber did with feverish excitement, hurrying out the door before her father even had a chance to grab a shirt.

The white vixen laughed behind him, causing him to turn around in shock. "I told you she's just like you, Todd." She teased lightly. The fox took a deep sigh and smiled at his wife with doting, loving eyes. She had such a contagious laugh, even when she was in an exhausted state.

"Well, maybe you're right, Mavis," Todd purred, helping his wife out of the bed. A reminder of her pregnancy shown plainly through her large belly. A worried feeling set in Todd's mind for her, but it subsided as she placed a tender kiss on his cheek. "I'll go ahead and start breakfast. I would assume you'd like a hot shower, hm?"

Mavis chuckled lightly and patted his shoulder as she made her way over to their shared dresser. "I would d-definitely enjoy having one. Be sure to go ahead and send out reminder texts to the rest of the family, I'm sure Amber's just d-dying to have her favorite cousins come for her birthday." That familiar stutter reappeared in her voice. Something she now had much better control over, but still occasionally slipped out. Especially when excited or nervous. Todd smiled and walked up behind her, holding her stomach with gentle hands and kissing the very top of her head. A silent reassurance for her, before he reached over her to pull out a shirt to wear while he made breakfast.

As he walked out of the bedroom, he passed by his daughter's room. The door was wide open, revealing the little mess she had made that morning. Clothes had been scattered on the floor and her bed was unmade. They could worry about cleaning up later though, it was a special day after all. Todd closed the door quietly and hurried on to the kitchen.

His daughter was waiting eagerly by the fridge, one of the recipe books they kept on a bookshelf in her hands. Amber held the book up to her father to see. "Ah, Princess Amber wants blueberry waffles, hm?" He purred, getting an excited 'uh-huh' as a response. "Coming right up, darling! Why don't you go ahead and grab me some of the ingredients!" Todd purred, pointing to the ingredients list. He and Mavis had been teaching Amber how to read through both direct and indirect means. She learned quick, which made Todd beyond happy. He struggled to read when he was her age.

"Okay daddy!" Amber grinned, turning the book to herself. "Uh... I need to get some eggs, fl-oo-er, van-e-lla, and uh... blueberries!" She repeated the list over and over, using the stool that rested by the sink to locate ingredients. Todd prepared the waffle iron and a bowl for mixing. She continued to read off the ingredients list, soon pulling out the milk, salt, and other necessities for the waffles. Once they were all out, her father started the tedious process of measuring ingredients and putting them into the bowl. He did his best to show her how it was done, wanting her to take an interest in learning to cook as well. Giving her a headstart with math as well. However, she just seemed more interested in trying to eat the blueberries, which still provided great amusement to her father.

Once the first batch of waffles were inside of the iron, he sent his daughter to grab his and her mother's phones from the bedroom. He completely forgot about them in his eager haste to set up breakfast. As he waited, Todd stared out the window, elbows holding him up on the counter as his thoughts wondered. His sister and her girlfriend were still in town, last he heard anyways. They should be coming by. His mother was for sure coming. Lilian loved spoiling her granddaughter. Camilla Fox would probably show up, unless Shadow came first. Maxwell and Aura... most definitely. They loved spoiling her too. Todd tried to count how many guests he knew would be coming, but it was hard to really figure out. Mavis was much better at guessing what others would do.

Amber then appeared in the corner of his eyes and he turned to smile at her. She held up both cell phones, grinning excitedly. "Are you gonna see if Auntie Summer and Uncle Sapphie are coming? I wanna see Eclipsy!" Her hands clasped together pleadingly as her father turned on his phone, laughing softly.

"Of course dear. You know they wouldn't miss your big day!" He told her softly. That's when he noticed an unfamiliar number on his phone's lock screen. Underneath that were several missed calls from his mother and a text from his younger sister. Todd slowly pulled down the notification bar to see the message better.

Dad is trying to see you.

The fox froze, nearly dropping his phone. His father? Trying to see him?

After completely disappearing from his life once he was caught for being a horrible father and husband? Why? What for? Didn't Stanley Scott not want anything to do with his waste of space son? An angry, fear-filled feeling started to whirl in his body as fuzzy memories from a time he thought he could finally forget resurfaced, only to be stopped by a sudden beep from the waffle iron to go off.

"Daddy..?" Amber spoke up as her father suddenly snapped back to reality.

Todd placed his phone on the counter and took a deep, shaky breath. Then gave his daughter a weak smile. "I-i'm alright, love bug. Let me go ahead and get these waffles for you, hm?" He opened up the iron, using a nearby spatula to free the wonderfully made blueberry waffles. Todd could feel his young daughter's baby blue eyes stare up at him. She didn't quite believe him. Something her and her mother seemed to share.

Speaking of her mother...

The vixen entered the kitchen, hand on her stomach and back. She was a bit uncomfortable looking, but smiled upon seeing her daughter and husband. "Well good morning, you two." Mavis hummed, cheerily putting on a brave, comfortable face for her family. However, a tinge of worry hit her face as Todd's phone buzzed to life. The same unknown number. Todd's tail twitched and he quickly swiped the caller ID to decline the call. "Who was that?" She asked, cautious.

Todd placed the plate on the counter with some syrup, telling Amber to go ahead and eat. Then he directed Mavis outside of the kitchen with both their phones, promising the young girl they'd be back.

...

Once outside the kitchen, Todd opened up his sister's message. "My father has been trying to get in touch with me." He spoke in a loud whisper. Mavis' face fell into one of deep concern.

"What does he want?"

"I don't know!" He spoke again in that same tone. Fear crept in. "What am I supposed to do? I thought he wanted nothing to do with me? With my family?"

His wife bit her lower lip, processing this information as best she could. She was just as confused and frustrated by this sudden piece of news. "Maybe we should just ignore him? If you b-block his number, he won't be able to get in touch with you, right?"

"He'll just go after everyone else," Todd's voice weakened, "I can't just..."

Mavis grabbed his hand and held them tightly. "Todd." She told him in a stern, yet soft voice, "He can't hurt you or anyone else. Please, block him? If he tries anything, we can get a restraining order, h-how about that?" Despite the shakiness in her voice, there was a strong sense of confidence in her voice. Reassurance. Todd took a deep sigh and nodded his head, agreeing with her. It took only a minute to block his father's number, and soon, they resumed the birthday breakfast with their daughter.

...

The guests arrived at around 5 in the evening. The first person to arrive was Mavis' older sister, Summer, with her boyfriend and daughter. Amber was exceptionally excited to see her older cousin, who quickly ran in and scooped up the much younger fox. The two girls squealed with delight. Not long after, Mavis' father and his wife came in, followed by Shadow and Lilian. Todd's mother quickly spoke to her son, trying to see if his father got a hold of him. Todd lied and said that his father hadn't contacted him at all, not wishing to stress out his mother. She seemed relieved.

Todd's sister, Cream, and her girlfriend stopped by just long enough to drop off a gift for Amber and to wish her a happy birthday. Amber was saddened by this, but was quickly cheered up when her other grandmother, Camilla, arrived with a few gifts. Todd felt a little surprised to see her arrive, even more so to see her exchange some form of pleasant exchange between Shadow and Maxwell before going to tickle Amber. Mavis seemed just as surprised, if not a little uncomfortable as well. Todd squeezed her shoulder tightly and gave her a smile. She definitely wasn't alone with parental trauma.

Mavis relaxed after his tight squeeze. She clapped her hands together and announced it was time for dinner. Her and Todd had spent all morning after breakfast making the perfect dinner for their daughter. Something she had been begging to have for quite a while; tamales! Todd used his mother's old recipe, knowing it'd be extra delicious. As everyone started to migrate to the kitchen, there was a knock at the door.

"Oh, I'll get it," Todd told Mavis, who turned to open the door. "Go on ahead and help everyone set up plates, okay? I'm sure it's probably just a last minute guest. Alison might've changed her mind about being unable to come!" He chuckled a little as he went ahead to open up the door. Mavis smiled and agreed with him.

Oh how close he was.

The person waiting outside the door was indeed a last minute guest. If one could refer to him as such. A slightly shorter clone of Todd, with shortened, graying hair, and dull yellow eyes. His whole body was dull, actually. There was an attempt at grooming that had been made, with his hair neatly brushed and his fur recently trimmed. His clothes were rather decent too, a far cry of the old wife beaters and shorts the man used to wear. Todd couldn't help but stare at the practical stranger standing before him.

The older fox cleared his throat awkwardly, "Erm, hello?" His voice was... off. Familiar, but at the same time... unfamiliar. Todd's never heard his voice sound so unsure. He hated it. The young fox quickly slammed the door in his father's face and locked it, pressing his back up to it in panic. Why was he here? What did he think he was doing? Why? Why? Why?

"Todd? Who was it?" Mavis called from the kitchen. Todd barely heard her voice as the knocking came back. It felt so loud. Why was Stanley knocking so loudly? Todd had to cover his ears and step away from the door, nearly running into his father in law, Maxwell.

"Todd?" He asked, placing a hand on the shaken young man's shoulder. This seemed to bring Todd back to reality.

Todd took a deep, unsteady breath and glanced at his front door. The knocking wasn't even as loud as it sounded initially. His nerves were getting to him. I thought going to therapy would have fixed this ages ago. The fox thought, ears perking up as he took a deep breath. "I'm alright. I-i'm alright. Can uh... can you give me a moment." Todd moved around Maxwell, who stood there both confused and worried. The red fox entered the kitchen and gently tapped his wife's shoulder. She made a 'hm' sound, prompting Todd to whispered to her who was at the door.

All it took was for her to freeze up. Her blue eyes filled with some form of anger and fear as they slowly glanced over to the kitchen entrance, towards the front door. Silently, she placed down a plate of tamales infront of Eclipse' seat and walked out of the kitchen. Todd followed behind, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the rest of the family. Together, they walked to the door. Mavis hesitated with opening up the door, glancing over to Todd. Wanting to guage his response before she opened the door. "Mavis..." He started up slowly. She nodded her head, getting the message.

"I'm right here with you, okay? We'll tell him to screw off t-together," she assured him. He nodded his head, panting softly. Mavis opened the front door, revealing the same man on the porch. Both Mavis and Todd stared at the runt of a man, who now pulled on the collar of his shirt.

"Ah, look, I-" He started, glancing from Todd to the pregnant belly of Mavis. There was some hidden emotion within those haunting yellow eyes. The eyes that have stayed in Todd's worst nightmares.

Mavis spoke up before Stanley could attempt to pick up where he trailed off, "What do you w-want?" She asked, glaring at him. Todd squeezed her hand tightly, "You weren't invited."

"I know I wasn't!" He scoffed, that classic Scott attitude coming in hot. He quickly pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know it's absolutely ridiculous for me to show up here, especially uninvited, knowing that I wasn't wanted. I've been trying to contact you all morning long to warn you!"

Mavis scoffed in return, rolling her eyes, "Yeah, some 'warning'. You have some nerve showing up after the shit you put T-todd through! Do you think any of us want you here, especially him?"

"No! Of course not. I wouldn't show up here even if I was invited," He growled. Todd's heart began to race as his father's temper rose. However, Stanley didn't lash out. He just took a deep breath. "I might be a monster, but I wanted to at least see my granddaughter... That was it. I brought her a gift too," He dug in his pants pocket and pulled out a little envelope. It had her name on it, written poorly.

Mavis took the envelope from the older fox, glaring at him hotly as he flinched.

"I get that I'm asking for a lot but..." He hesitated, now bringing his eyes up to Todd. Todd quickly averted his gaze, so he sighed and turned away. "I just want to see her. That's it. I won't show up ever again if I'm just given a chance to see my granddaughter."

"Why do you want to see her over your own son?" Mavis glared, "The least you c-"

"Can you can it?" Stanley growled, "You've got such a mouth on you. Todd doesn't want to see me, and I can't necessarily say I blame him. Would you honestly have wanted me to come here to see him exclusively?" He growled, angry. Mavis' tail fluffed up and Todd glanced down to his father. "I can't pretend I really even love my son either. Who's to say I've ever loved anyone though," Stanley finally sighed. "But I want to at least show support for your daughter. If I had known you two were... pregnant again, I'd probably have waited longer. But I don't think I really have the time to wait either."

Todd glanced at Mavis, who stared at Stanley with analyzing eyes. He wasn't sure what her thoughts were. He personally didn't know what to think. He didn't want his father to see his daughter. He'd rather she never, ever have the misfortune to meet him. But was that really... fair? Amber was going to be an adult one day and wonder why she never met her grandfather. Todd was allowed to see his grandfather, who was probably far worse on his father then Stanley had been on him.

"I'm sorry for showing up like this, I really and truly am," Stanley started back up again. "I just want to be given one chance to meet her. That's it. I'll be out of your fur right afterwards." He placed a hand over his heart. "Promise."

"Todd...? What do you think? He is your father," Mavis asked him, gently squeezing his hand. Todd froze up the tiniest bit and turned to glance at Stanley. His father, upon closer inspection, was a hollow version of himself. Sure, he was groomed right now, but there was a clear emptiness deep within his yellow eyes. Something that must've formed the years away from his 'family'. Biting his lower lip, he caved in.

"Amber! Come here, please!" Todd called out to his daughter, who shortly after came running. He moved aside to let the young kit squeeze out.

"Whoa!" Amber gasped, looking up at the older fox. "Who are you? Are you my daddy from the future? Wait no! You have two wellow eyes! He's got one!" She started to blather on about comparing her father and grandfather, not fully realizing who he was. Mavis cleared her throat to catch her attention. "Yes mommy?"

Mavis looked up at Todd, who gave a shaky sigh, "Amber, this is your grandfather... Stanley. He's my dad."

"REALLY?" She suddenly squealed with delight and turned to look at the old man like he was a hero. "You're my DAD'S dad? That's why you guys looks so similar! You're so cool looking, grampy!" Amber danced around Stanley. For a moment, the older man looked uncomfortable. Children weren't exactly his cup of tea. But when she stood before him to spread her arms out, asking him how old he thought she was, he seemed to relax.

"Er, you must be six now. Right?"

Amber giggled and shook her head, "Nope! Five!! I'm not that big of a girl yet!"

"You could've fooled me," His voice lightened up, an awkward smile hitting his face. Todd squeezed Mavis' hand tightly as Stanley crouched down to Amber's height. "I'm gonna need you to listen to me, and listen to me good." He started, his voice just barely audible to Todd and Mavis. "You better be a good girl to your mom and dad, you hear me? You'll be having a little sibling soon, so you're gonna be quite responsible with helping them. You better do your best in school too, and be sure to take up a good hobby. Your grampy here was a real famous baseball player back in school, and your father," He pointed to Todd, "He was the best damn track team leader in school. You've got athletic genes in you, you better use them well." Stanley spoke sternly. Todd's heart welled up at the subtle compliment his father provided him. His father used to shame him for doing track instead of baseball. The negative feelings still remained though, drowning the momentary positivity he felt. Mavis' tail wrapped around his leg as Stanley started to stand back up, groaning a tad bit as he did so. His old age was catching up to him faster then it probably should've. "Now, I already gave your parents one part of your gift, but the other part is in my car. I'll be giving it to them to give to you when you turn 16."

"When I turn 16? Why? Why can't I get it now?" Amber pouted, clearly confused. Stanley was giving her advice she didn't fully understand, and now she was hearing about a gift she couldn't get yet. What kind of birthday gift was that?

Stanley gave a half hearted chuckle. "You're just like your daddy when he was a boy." He mumbled. "You won't be big enough to use it until then. Besides, maybe by the time you get it, you might not like it. I don't want to force you to take a path you won't even want for yourself in the end," He glanced up at Todd, then cleared his throat. "I'm going to need you two to come with me."

Todd glanced at Mavis, who took a step forward and nudged her daughter inside. "Finish eating your dinner, alright?" She cooed, getting a soft whine from her daughter. Todd gave her a stern look, which made her finally cave in. Once Amber went inside, he closed the door behind him and followed Mavis to the run down car of his father. Stanley opened the backdoor and rummaged around for a bit, pulling out a large box after a moment.

"Here, I had someone else wrap it for me," He presented the box as he spoke. "I know I kind of hinted that I only had one gift, but I knew if I... mentioned what this was, you'd slam the door in my face. Again."

"What's in it?" Mavis asked, taking the box from Stanley. Todd glanced from the box to Stanley, shocked and angry.

"You did not-"

Stanley placed his hands up, defensive. "Okay, it's not the same bat. I... I threw that thing out a long time ago. I got a replica for her, even had Jackson sign it for me. And you know your uncle Jackson is such a pain in the ass about that kind of shit..." He grumbled, ears pulled back. "I wouldn't gift your daughter that bat. I just want to give her something that's a part of our family. We've got a long line of athletes, and... and I want to see her do something with those genes someday. I don't care if she ends up being a cheerleader or something, I just want a piece of the Scott family to remain in the family." The fox spoke as clearly and to the point as he could. "I don't have any other 'family heirlooms', so this was the best I could do. Please, I want her to have it someday."

Todd placed his fingers on the box. Anger and hurt welling up inside of him. He could light this box on fire right before his father. Hurt him to make up for all the ways he's hurt him in the past. The temptation was right there. His fingers even started to feel hot.

But he pulled them away.

"Fine," He sighed, "We'll give it to her when she's 16. In the event she doesn't want it though, I'm throwing it out." Todd spoke sternly, although he only had so much confidence thanks to Mavis' soft tail wrapping around his leg. "You better not ever come back into my life. I don't want you near her, or anyone else in this family. You ruined any chances you had to make up to me for the years of abuse I went through and the years of affairs you've had on mom," Todd growled. Stanley kept his head up, not moving or speaking as his son spoke. "If I find out you so much as look at my daughter or wife, I'll get a restraining order on you. Understand me? Do not contact me ever again. Do not contact my wife. Do not contact my children. I would prefer you never contact mom or Cream, but they're independent enough to take action against you if need be. Understand me?"

Stanley nodded his head, "Of course. Wouldn't expect anything less." His head remained tall, and he seemed much more... complete now. "Thank yo-"

"Just get out of here," Todd growled. Stanley got the message. He slammed his backseat door shut and walked around his car. Todd and Mavis watched as his father started up the car, buckling up his seat, and started to drive away. Neither of them made an effort to stop him. Neither of them waved to him. They both just watched him leave.

Once he was gone, Todd finally relaxed and melted onto Mavis. "Let's go inside," She cooed softly, placing the box underneath her arm as she helped walk him to the door. The mood inside was quiet and awkward, as Amber told everyone about Grampy. Lilian ran up to hug her son, and he finally released his pent up tears. The two of them stood there while Mavis placed the large box on the coffee table then waved everyone else out of the living room. Todd was going to need a moment to gather himself, and Mavis knew he'd appreciate the privacy. Besides, she wanted Amber to still have an amazing birthday, and worrying about her daddy just wasn't the way to go about that. Todd would have to thank his wife later when he was calmer and more collected.