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Julie Ann opened her eyes with an exasperated sigh and stared into the darkness, too awake to try sleeping more, but too afraid to look for the clock and see how early she had woken. Her curiosity finally got the best of her and she got up and woke up her computer: 1:17 AM. This was becoming a nasty habit. There were messages waiting for her and she sat down to read them.

Anthea [So, what happened with the bear?]

BunnyJAN [Nothing. She wasn't there.]

A [Ah, there you are. So, what did you do?]

B [Made a mess of things.]

A [What do you mean?]

B [I found out that Brian had sex with her.]

A [The bear? Whoa. How old is he?]

B [12]

A [Starting early]

B [Ya think?]

A [Well, I was 13 my first time.]

B [You're kidding!}

A [Nope. An otter wanted to play around and I was curious. I knew he couldn't get me pregnant, but it wasn't really worth it.]

B [You're full of shit]

A [Wasn't even full of him. His dinky dink couldn't float my boat.]

B [I'm gonna stop talking to you.]

A [Fine, fine.]

A [So, he's human, she's a bear, is she pregnant?]

B [I hadn't thought of that. Is that possible?]

A [Its how its worked since the beginning.]

B [Humans can get morphs pregnant?]

A [And visa versa. The first morph, M0, screwed a lab tech and she got pregnant.]

A [And humans have been screwing morphs for over a century.]

B [You think I could get pregnant from Don?]

A [Absolutely. I think you two could make lots of little bunnies.]

B [I'm serious.]

A [So am I. Once you two finally give in, I doubt there will be any stopping you.]

B [We talked about that this morning.]

A [Who?]

B [Me and Don. He asked me if I wanted bunnies.]

A [Whoa. He IS getting serious. What did you say?]

A [Jan?]

B [I told him to fill me with his bunnies.]

A [You didn't!]

B [It just came out.]

A [Right to his face like that?]

B [Well, online, but then I had to go to his place for work.]

A [Then what happened?]

B [Nothing. Neither of us brought it up.]

A [Well, you hit at the truth, but you're scared to face it.]

B [But I don't want his bunnies.]

A [You don't?]

B [Not yet.]

A [That's my point. You want him whole package, but you're afraid to get started.]

B [I don't want him to have to take care of me. I want to get my degree, so I can help him.]

A [Honey, if you marry a rabbit, you're going to be too pregnant to do anything ever again.]

B [What are you talking about?]

A [Rabbits have big families. There's some kind of rule about it. They start young and pump em out.]

B [Don's not like that. He's 24 and lives alone, far away from his family.]

A [Ask him how many brothers and sisters he has. Then ask him how much his mom bugs him about kids.]

B [I know he has at least one brother and his mom sends him a lot of messages.]

A [His mom could have a thousand grand-kids and she would still pester him for more.]

B [I don't know. I think he came up here to get away from all that.]

A [Well, we'll see, won't we.]

A [Once you let him get started, he won't be able to help himself.]

B [He's got great self control.]

A [Oh yeah, we've seen that when he almost raped you the first time you kissed him.]

B [It wasn't like that. I was all over him, too.]

B [And he stopped when I asked.]

A [And he's still trying to get in your pants.]

B [No. I tried again and he stopped me.]

A [When did you try again?]

B [Before we went running.]

A [And you didn't tell me?]

B [Sorry, I thought passing out was more important.]

A [Fine. Spill.]

B [There's nothing to tell.]

A [Tell it anyway.]

B [Well, he was showing me the business side of his work and I was standing behind him and started playing with his ears.]

A [Now you're starting trouble.]

B [That's what he said.]

B [He warned me, but I kept teasing them and he grabbed me, like he was going to do something, but stopped himself.]

A [Maybe he can control himself.]

B [I'm not so sure about me, though.]

A [Why's that?]

B [Because I started kissing him and he gave in and kissed me back.]

A [Don't tell me you did him and didn't tell me.]

B [No. I could feel he was aroused and wanted more, but when I started to take off my shirt, he stopped me.]

A [You really have no self control, do you?]

B [That's what I'm worried about.]

A [So, you felt his hard rabbit penis poking you and just had to have it?]

B [It sounds bad when you say it like that, but I guess yeah.]

A [I don't blame you. I'd probably do the same. I've never seen him and I want him.]

B [Hey!]

A [Well, hurry up or next time he comes down here, I'll snatch him up for myself.]

B [Next time he goes down. I'll be with him and you're coming to the wedding.]

A [Wonder if I can get invited to the bachelor party.]

B [Don't even think it.]

A [Right, paws off the rabbit. Can I have his brother?]

B [I think he's married.]

A [Doesn't matter.]

B [You're terrible.]

A [And you'll never get here if you don't step up.]

B [That reminds me. I haven't done my classwork for this week.]

A [Better get busy, that's your ticket to bunny bliss.]

B [Oh hush. I'll see if Don will help me finish it quick. It'll give us a good distraction.]

A [Ooo study buddies. Gonna get into some anatomy?]

A [or maybe chemistry?]

B [I don't think laws and regulations will be very romantic.]

A [I don't know. Business management seemed to get you in the mood.]

B [That was an accident. I didn't know rubbing his ears would do that to him.]

A [You do now. Gonna try again?]

B [No. Most he'll get is a kiss. We seem to be handling those okay now.]

A [Not from what I've heard. It starts with a kiss, then you're off to the races.]

B [I kissed him plenty yesterday and didn't go further.]

A [Do tell.]

B [I kissed him in the woods and back at his house before I left with Brian.]

A [Brian saw you?]

B [Yeah, but he promised not to tell.]

A [And brothers always keep their promises when they have blackmail material on their sisters.]

B [Brian's a good kid.]

A [A good kid that's already having sex and want's your help.]

B [He knows that if he says anything about my morph, his dad will find out about his.]

A [Big deal, he's a kid. He'll just get grounded and never see her again.]

B [No, his dad is extremely anti-morph. He's military and was down there for the last thing or something.]

A [Oh shit. Those guys went crazy. I'm glad I was on this side of the country.]

B [What happened exactly? I heard there were riots because of some plague, but that was around the time our president and most of congress got assassinated, so we stopped hearing about it.]

A [They weren't riots and it wasn't a plague. Your government designed a virus to kill all morphs and released it, then sent in troops to take over, but it backfired. Humans started dying from it and the soldiers went crazy. They started killing morphs in revenge for their buddies dying from the virus. Even though it was their own government that did it.]

B [That's a bunch of conspiracy stuff. Things aren't easy up here for morphs, but the government protects them.]

A [How old were you when it happened?]

B [I was about Brian's age.]

A [And you're sure you got the whole story?]

B [Well, how old were you?]

A [I was 17 and had friends over there. One of them was killed and skinned by those soldiers.]

B [I'm sorry. I didn't know.]

A [you should learn]

A [and tell everybody]

A [as long as people are allowed to hate morphs, all that could happen again.]

A [I gotta go.]

B [Are you okay?]

A [No.]

A [I miss him.]

A [I'll talk to you later]

B [I'm here for you and I'm sorry.]

Julie Ann stared at the screen and scrolled up to reread what Anthea said. She thought about what she had learned in school. Her current events class had covered the assassinations, but didn't say anything about a virus. She did a search about the assassinations and quickly found a video of the president speaking two years before he was killed. He talked about a bunch of morphs dying after a rights rally in Australia, then said he had given the order to release a morph-killer virus. He promised that all morphs would be eliminated by the next year and the world would return to human dominance.

She couldn't believe her ears and felt sick to her stomach. She looked for the rest of what Anthea had told her and found pictures and videos of Marines slaughtering, skinning, dismembering and burning morphs and worse and claiming it was for their friends that had died from the virus, calling the morphs diseased animals. She closed her computer and gasped for air, then hurried to the bathroom to throw up in the toilet.

When she was done, she closed the lid and sat on it, trying to get a grip on the reality of it. It was all insane, but she had seen it, far too much of it. Why didn't they teach that side of the history in school? She knew Anthea was right; she had to make sure everyone knew about it.

But first, it was getting late and she was feeling dirty, disgusting even, after what she had just seen. She pulled off her shirt and threw it in the hamper, then her panties followed. She wanted to go back to sleep and start the day over, but it was too late for that. She stretched and leaned over to turn on the water for a shower.

The towel bar was empty, so she turned to get one from the shelf by the sink, but stepped on something. She held a scream and hopped to the sink. She pulled her foot up and found a plastic clip of some sort stuck in her foot. Thankfully, it didn't go deep enough to draw blood, but it still hurt. She tossed it on the counter and stretched, then grabbed a towel and hung it on the bar by the shower.

She started to pull the curtain back, but it was stuck. Brian was in the habit of yanking the curtain closed and sometimes it would get caught. At least he closed the curtain so it wouldn't get mildewed. She sighed and reached up to unhook the ring from the bracket, then stepped in and closed the curtain behind her.

She closed her eyes and let the water wash over her for a moment, just rinsing away all the bad. As she started to wash, she tried to think of all the good things she knew about morphs. First, of course, was Dr Don, the amazing vet that not only saves lives, but cares about her and her brother. Next she listed Anthea, her confidant and friend; always a friendly ear and trusted adviser. Then there was Belle, a nice cat, hard worker, friendly and generous; a typical rebellious and curious teen maybe, but certainly a better one. Then there was Gizelle, even though she had never met the bear, she had gotten her brother excited about something good, which was no small feat. She added Brian to the list, since it was a morph that pulled him out of his shell and he was turning out to be a good person for it.

She smiled and finished rinsing herself off, satisfied with her collection of morph friends, then turned the water off and grabbed her towel to dry off. Knowing she had such good friends gave her a warm feeling inside and she dropped the towel on the toilet lid as she walked over to smile at the mirror, "You really are lucky to have such amazing friends, Julie Ann. Despite all the morph haters in the world, you have a good mother, a morph loving brother, a gorgeous rabbit that loves you and friends that support it. You could have a pretty good life for yourself with him. You just have to get him to give in and let himself love you. Well, you know he loves you, but a little physical would be nice. Very nice."

She began to picture Don's paws roaming over her body and his fur pressed against her skin. He was so gentle that just his touch made her body quiver with anticipation. She leaned on the counter as his paws found places that sent shivers of pleasure through her body. Without thinking, her fingers found her clit and began to tease as she imagined Don's feral penis standing before her. She thought about it slipping into her and pushed a finger inside. She imagined him grabbing her and humping her as she leaned against the counter and she bent over as her finger pressed the spot inside.

She fingered herself urgently as she rested her cheek against the counter. Don was thrusting eagerly into her, but now Anthea, Belle and even Gizelle were watching and cheering them on. Her mind hijacked her imagination and suddenly Brian was thrusting into her. She groaned and tried to fight back; tried to force Don back where he belonged, while continuing to finger herself. Nothing was working and she grumbled, "Oh Brian, cut it out."

She pushed herself up and away from her brother's thrusts, rubbing furiously as she imagined Don in front of her, pulling her close as his penis slipped into her once more. She leaned her hips against the counter and thrust against it as she rubbed herself to a peak and rode her orgasm down with a shudder.

She stepped back, panting with euphoria, and realized that she had actually squirted on the counter. She grabbed a clean washcloth and wiped herself clean, then cleaned the counter and tossed it in the hamper. She was going to have a good day today, because she was spending it with morphs. She wrapped her towel around herself and headed back to her room.

In the hall, she bumped into Brian and suddenly remembered that she wanted to show him the videos and tell him the real side of history. She grabbed his arm as he started to head for the bathroom, "Hold on Brian. There's something I want to show you." She couldn't show him now, they both had to leave and it would surely put him in a foul mood for the rest of the day, "Come to my room when we're both home tonight. Its important."

She let him go and continued to her room to get ready. It was later than she thought. A quick change and she headed out the door, shouting towards the bathroom, "Brian. Don't be late for school."

She drove carefully to Don's despite her desire to get there quickly. She had a lot to talk to him about. She pulled up as he was coming out to his truck and hurried to get out of her car, "Sorry I'm late."

Don tossed her a bottle of water and she caught it, "I knew you'd make it. Hop in."

She climbed in his truck and her phone tinkled. She checked the message as he pulled out of the driveway. It was a link from her brother. He never sent her anything unless he had to, so it was either spam or very important. She decided to risk it and let it load. It was a personal page for a bear morph called Heather Band. It said she was a professor that taught morph culture and history and traveled a lot giving speeches on morph/human relations. The last entry was three years ago. She wondered what it was all about, "Hey Don, have you ever heard of Heather Band?"

"The name sounds familiar. Why?"

"My brother just sent me a link to her profile. It says she's a professor that gives speeches on improving relations between morphs and humans."

"Oh. I remember hearing about her. She did good work, but she died, didn't she?"

"I don't know. It doesn't say anything on this page. It just stops with the last entry about three years ago. I'll look it up," she poked at her phone, grumbled about the keyboard being too small and finally got the search results. "Here's an article that says she was killed in a car crash."

"Oh. Yeah. Only it wasn't an accident. Some humans were hunting morphs that they saw driving cars and would run them off the road, then kill them."

"That's horrible."

"It was a big fuss when she died because some morph supporters thought they targeted her specifically because of her work and assassinated her, but the police couldn't find any evidence to show that they knew who was driving the car before they ran it off the road."

Julie Ann searched for more about it.

"The fuss didn't last long, though. Apparently the men that killed her were not very bright."

"Here's a video of them being released on bond before their trial started."

[A clamor of questions and commotion, then one from close to the camera, "Did you know it was Professor Heather Band in the car before you ran it off the road?"

One of the men pulled away from his lawyer, "We didn't have a clue and didn't give a shit. We saw an animal drivin' a car and did a public service gettin' it off the road." His lawyer tried to pull him away, but he shouted at the camera, "Saved lives! Human lives!"]

The video stopped and they sat in stunned silence for a moment as they rode down the road before Don spoke up, "Its a shame that that perspective still prevails."

Julie Ann looked at him, disgusted that he could be so casual, "How could people be so stupid?"

Don sighed, "Its what they know. With so few morphs around here, people are still growing up having never met one."

"But then they do and its like they close their eyes and ears and sing to avoid learning something new."

"The world is a complex place. Most people struggle to get some small grasp on how to live it. When something comes along that doesn't fit what they've figured out, its like trying to trade a card out of the bottom of a house of cards. They'll try to stop you because they don't want to start over trying to figure their world out."

"Why don't you do anything to teach people that morphs aren't wild animals?"

"I do, every day, by being as normal as I can. I am an example. It would defeat the purpose to shout and scream and draw attention to myself. Professor Band set her example by giving speeches for anyone that would listen. You don't think people like those men went to hear her talk, do you?"

"Well, no, but, they need to learn."

Don gave a chuckle, "There's that old horse saying about leading it to water. People learn when it matters to them and not a moment sooner. They may hear it and remember it, might even consider it, but its still just somebody else's idea until reality smacks them in the face."

"Humans are dumb."

"Well, that problem with learning is universal. I'm sure there are things I'll have trouble accepting when their time comes."

"No, you're too smart for that," she didn't want to imagine him being anything like those men.

"I can only hope you're right," he turned onto a long driveway.

She flipped back in her history to the article and finished reading, "I wonder why Brian wanted me to see this." She found the reason in the last line, "It says she had a daughter that was in the car with her."

"She was a bear, right?" he stopped the truck and turned it off, his mind still churning.

"Yeah, I saw her picture on her page," she went back to the profile and loaded the pictures.

"Do you think he thinks its Gizelle?"

"It was Gizelle. It says her daughter's name is Gizelle and she traveled with her mom. Look," she held her phone up with a picture zoomed in to a young bear hiding behind her mother's leg.

"That does look like the picture your brother showed me. We really need to find her. She is not going to be happy being held captive if Professor Band was her mom. Come on, we've got work to do, we can look into that some more when we're done here," he got out of the truck and pulled his bag from behind the seat and Julie Ann got out and followed him.

It was a simple visit for a basic checkup on a few horses and the owner was pleasant and grateful for their clean bill of health. They finished by noon, but Julie Ann's mind was still focused on all the morph hate she had just learned about.

When they got back in the truck, she sat quietly for a bit, not hearing what Don was saying. Finally she put words together, "Do you know anything about the morph virus and the riots?"

He was silent for a moment, then frowned, "I was there."

"You were there?! What happened?"

The big rabbit sighed, "I was fifteen and just starting my veterinary training."

"Already? Isn't that young?"

"It was actually a year later than I had planned because I got a little rebellious when I was twelve and didn't work as hard as I should have, but anyway." He took a breath and continued, "The rally was up near the entrance to the old complex, like every year, where they built that memorial for the first wars, but I didn't go. I didn't think it was important anymore. I saw it on the news later and it looked more like a street fair than a rally, with entertainment and vendors. The next morning, we started hearing about the virus. So many people were dying and they were telling us to stay in our homes until they could contain it. It was mostly morphs, but already some humans had caught it and were dying, too. When the American president made his announcement that he had condemned all morphs to death, most morphs were too busy hoping to stay alive to be angry. There were some that rallied and protested, but there wasn't much to do to fight a virus. Fortunately, it didn't seem to affect many rabbits. Lots of foxes and felines and canines and rodents and kangaroos were affected. I lost a lot of friends."

She could see tears running over the fur of his cheek, "I'm sorry. You can stop if you don't want to talk about it."

"No, I'm okay. I think I could use something to drink, though. Could you grab my water for me?" he cleared his throat.

"Sure," She got it and cracked the cap for him, then gave it to him. He took a slow sip as he drove and she dared another question, "I found videos of American soldiers killing morphs. Was it really that bad?"

"It was worse. When they arrived, they only spoke to humans and completely ignored any living morphs. They said they were there to help clean up, but pretty much took over northern Harstlein, near the complex. My parents decided to take the family to Perth and a lot of other morphs and humans fled, as well. I didn't want to give up my training, but I also didn't want to die, so I went with them. We only saw a little on the news before they blacked it out, but it was horrifying. I guess the soldiers decided we weren't dying fast enough and they started slaughtering any morphs that had stayed or went back. They moved through Harstlein, hunting morphs. They would skin them and mount their heads and parade them around. Some people said they even cooked and ate some morphs. The Australian government made demands for them to stop, but were just warned that if they retaliated, it would mean war. We had a pretty good fighting force fifty years before, but it wasn't maintained, because everybody thought we had peace."

A horn honked behind them and he realized he had been sitting at a stop sign for a while, so he turned and kept going.

Julie Ann didn't want to leave the story there, "How did it stop?"

"Karma, pretty much." he got a smirk on his face that faded just as quickly.

She waited, but the anticipation grew too fast, "What do you mean?"

"The rumor was that somebody took the virus to America and infected your congress."

"And that's what killed the president and all of them?" It wasn't what she had heard, but she hadn't heard much.

"That's what we heard. It seemed a small victory, though, because the soldiers didn't stop. They ruled Harstlein for a month before more Marines came and rounded them up. A few escaped and had to be caught later, but things settled down. Our government sent folks to help clean up and there were lots of volunteers that came from Sydney and Melbourne and even other countries. The new American government offered and sent apologies, but it was better that they stayed away for a while.3 Going home was horrible," he pulled up and stopped at his house.

"I am so sorry," Julie Ann was crying as she stared at her rabbit and listened to his story.

He looked at her and smiled softly, "Its not your fault. You were only a kid." He put his paw on her cheek and she held it there, "Its not all humans. Its not even all Americans. Its just the wrong ones were in control."

"I know. I just hate that all that happened to you."

"I was lucky we left when we did. Some of my friends didn't."

"I'm glad you did, or I never would have met you."

"I'm glad I got to meet you, too."

She tried to crawl up and kiss him, but the seat-belt stopped her.

He smiled and leaned over to kiss her lips. They held each other in a loving kiss, then he pulled back and smiled, "Looks like I was on autopilot, but we still need to go by the Hess place. Let's grab some lunch and head back out."

Don got out of the truck and walked towards the house, then stopped short with his ears alert, "Molly shouldn't be outside." He took off running around to the back of the house. Julie Ann followed quickly as she heard angry barks and snarls.

Two men were kicking Molly as she lay whimpering on the ground. Don went in hot, his blood fuming, "GET AWAY FROM HER! You don't belong here! What are you doing here?"

"We're here to get back what you stole from us and this beast attacked us out of nowhere," he punctuated beast with a kick to Molly's head.

"HEY! STOP THAT!"

"I want my camera, you filthy animal."

The smell coming off the man suggested the reverse was true, but that wasn't the point he wanted to argue, "That gives you no reason to attack my dog."

"Your BITCH attacked us!"

"I know better than that."

"We knocked, nobody answered..."

Don noticed the window, "Knocked a little hard, did you?"

"You know what, fuck you. Why am I even arguing with a dumb animal?" He suddenly punched Don across the face, knocking him off balance. When the rabbit turned back, another blow dazed him. The other man joined in and they hit him relentlessly as he tried to fend off their assault from all sides.

Julie Ann couldn't believe what was right in front of her, "STOP IT! Stop hitting him! You're killing him!" She saw Molly start to get up and quickly knelt down to stop her. "No girl, you're hurt. Oh, they really got you bad." She looked over the bloody, whimpering dog and ran her fingers through her fur. Molly winced as she found injuries and it made her mad.

She was ready to charge in and do some damage herself, but she turned to the fight just as the big rabbit landed on his back. His legs shot up and caught both men on the jaw, sending them stumbling back. It gave him time to get back to his feet and be ready when they came at him again. He kicked at them, keeping them off balance; and jumped at them, hitting them hard from above and strong down below. He didn't need to prove he was stronger, he just needed to end it quickly

A kick to the chest sent the smaller one stumbling back to the water trough and he focused on taking down the loudmouth. A kick to the groin, jab to the chest, uppercut to the neck, jab to the side, elbow to the back of the neck and a jumping stomp on the base of his spine finally sent him to the ground before his friend could get back. He glared sharply at the other man, "Get on the ground now, before I put you there!"

The stunned invader considered his situation for a moment, then took off running. Don knelt down to make sure the man he knocked down was out, but still breathing, then went to check on Molly, "How is she?"

"She looks pretty bad and has lots of tender spots, but I can't tell if anything is broken. She is amazingly calm."

"She's always been a smart girl, which is why I don't believe she attacked first," he kept an eye on the man.

"Neither do I, but who are they?"

"Probably the hunters that were illegally camping in the woods at the back of the property. I found their mess Sunday and reported it."

"Oh, was that the camera that Ranger picked up?"

"Speaking of reporting, I need to call the police," he pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

"Is that a good idea? The cop could be on his side."

Don held up a finger, "I need to report a home invasion and assault. ... Doc Tanner Veterina... Yes.? ... Oh, hi Annie. How's... Yes, right. Two men were breaking into the back of the house and Molly stopped them. They beat her pretty badly, but I came home in time to prevent them from killing her. They attacked me and I subdued one, but the other ran away. ... Yes, he's still unconscious. ... I don't think so, but Molly does. ... I don't think that's professional to say on this line. ... ... Thank you, Annie. I'll let you know when this is all over."

He hung up and put his phone away, then examined Molly, "Well, the blood seems superficial. I don't notice anything broken, either, but we'll need to check to be sure. What I can't tell is if there is any internal bleeding or even brain damage. They were kicking her pretty hard when I came around."

"You should have beaten him worse than you did."

He gave a short chuckle, "That's what Annie said."

"How do you know her?"

"She had a horse when she was younger that Doc took care of and now her daughter has one and I take care of it. She was a little uncertain when she first met me, but now she's very protective, like a second mother."

Julie Ann noticed the blood on his cheek and started to say something, but the man moved and Don got up. He picked up a board that was lying by the water trough and stood over him, out of arm's reach, "Careful there, stay calm. We don't want to start this over again."

"Fuck you. You're just an animal."

"So are you, but this animal is armed. Why don't you go sit by the door until the police get here."

"You didn't call the police. They'd arrest you before they took me. I'm human."

"We'll see about that."

"Get the fuck out of my way. I'm through with this."

"Don't make me put you down again."

"You ain't gonna do shit. MOVE IT, bunny!" he started to get up, but was still a little wobbly.

Don raised the board and took a step towards him and the man sat back down in the grass.

"Fine, we'll wait for the cops. Then we'll see who gets put in a cage." He crawled to the door and sat down, leaning against it.

Don rested the board on his shoulder and pulled out his phone, "I'll leave Doc Tanner a message to let him know what's happening." He poked it a couple times, then waited, keeping his eyes fixed on the man by the door. His ears went stiff in surprise, then relaxed, "Oh, hi Doc. Its Don. ... Well, I didn't expect you to actually answer this time. ... Oh? Well, I think this may be kind of related. ... Two men tried to break into the house. ... Yeah, but they beat her pretty badly. ... I came home and caught them kicking her, but when I told them to leave, they attacked me. ... Yeah, that's about right. ... Of course, I've got him sitting on the doorstep while we wait for the police. ... Yeah, there were, but one ran off. ... About as tall as I am, but bigger, brown hair... Yeah, the other one was smaller. ... Charlie Cocker?"

"Fuck you."

"Sounds like you're right. ... ... Alright. We'll be here and the police should be here soon, too. ... Well, they broke a window, but everything else is good. ... Still slow, but I'm working on that. ... Yeah, she was here. ... No, she'll have her certificate soon, but for now she's just observing. ... You'd have to ask her that. ... Yes, another time. ... I will and I'm sorry for all this. ... I know, but... Alright, I'll talk to you later."

He put the phone back in his pocket, then perked his ears as he heard sirens coming closer, "Here come the police."

Julie Ann couldn't hear anything, but Molly's ears were perked and she stroked the dog soothingly.

Charlie heard the sirens when she did, "You really did call the police. Fuck that." he lunged at the rabbit and had a knife in his hand. Don swiftly dodged and swung the board, hitting him hard in the back of the head. He landed on his face in the grass with the knife still in his hand and didn't get up.

The sound of cars in the driveway under the loud sirens got their attention and Julie Ann jumped up to lead them to the back of the house.

Four officers came running around the corner. One stopped with Julie Ann, but the other three had guns drawn on Don while one shouted for him to drop the board. He complied and kept his paws up and open. The officer came closer and checked Don for other weapons, then the other two moved to check on Charlie.

"What happened here?"

Julie Ann explained to her officer everything that she knew while Don told his version of the story to the other officer. Soon, an ambulance pulled in and around the house. The EMTs went straight for the man on the ground. He played up his injuries and pretended he couldn't get up, so they got a stretcher and carried him to the ambulance.

Julie Ann noticed Molly was looking agitated and knelt to comfort her while one of the EMTs came back to check on Don.

"Are you injured?"

"Nothing serious."

"At least let me clean up this blood to be sure," she tended to his wounds.

"I've been the target of a few attacks like this before and learned how to take care of myself."

"Looks like you took care of him, too."

"I tried not to do too much damage."

"He'll be fine and so will you," she packed up her kit and smiled.

"I just wish he could realize that I'm more than a rabbit, I'm a person."

"Trust me, its not because you're a rabbit. He's an ass to everyone. I know you're a good person. You take good care of my dad's dogs."

"Oh?"

She showed her name badge: VAN TEEL

"Ah, the Wiemaraners. He's very proud of them."

"Yeah, wish he'd be as proud of me."

"He should be. You do good work and you're a good person, too."

"Thanks. I should get going before the ass starts complaining," she smiled and headed back to her rig.

As the ambulance pulled out, a man in a suit came around the house. He showed an ID to an officer and looked around, then walked up to Don and offered a hand, "You must be Dr Windon Lem."

"I am," Don shook the man's hand tentatively.

"Well, Dr Lem, I'm Calvin Messer from the Game Commission. Dr Tanner just called me and said you had been attacked by one of the men that was poaching on the preserve. I see the police. Have they taken the offender, yet?"

"He left in the ambulance. I can show you their campsite, though."

"Not right now. I will send some people out to take pictures and help clean up later. How do you know it was the same man?"

"He was asking for his camera."

"Ah yes, We have the pictures from that and there are some shots with people. If he is one of them, it should make identification much easier."

"Dr Tanner thinks his name is Charlie Cocker."

"We'll verify that at the hospital. Did you injure him much?"

"Not as much as some think I should have," he glanced at Julie Ann petting Molly.

The man smiled, "Well, personally, I'm with them, but officially, its better that you didn't. I'll talk with the officers here, then I'll go to the hospital and have him put under arrest. I'm glad to finally meet you. Doc Tanner has only good things to say about you," he shook the rabbit's paw with a smile, then walked over to offer a hand to Julie Ann, "Hello, and you are?"

She shook it just as uncertainly as Don, "I'm Julie Ann."

"And you were here when this happened?"

"Most of it. I didn't get around the house until they started hitting him, but..."

"So you didn't hear why they were here?"

"Not exactly, but Don told me..."

"Thank you," He walked away towards the officers, leaving her confused.

Don walked over to stand with Julie Ann and Molly, keeping an eye on Mr Messer and the officers.

Finally, one officer came over while everyone else walked around the house, "Okay, so your story seems to check out and Mr Messer explained that this was probably retaliatory for reporting them to the Game Commission. We'll contact you when we need more, but for now, have a better afternoon," he nodded and walked around the house, leaving them wondering what happened.

Don took a breath, "Let's get Molly checked out." He bent down and carefully picked her up, while Julie Ann supported her head. He walked to the barn and in a door beside one of the stalls. He set her gently on a table, then rolled it to the middle of the small room. He pulled a portable x-ray machine from the corner and set it up over her, flipping switches as he did.

He pulled Julie Ann behind a thin wall and pushed a button that made the machine beep, then stepped out and stared a screen as it loaded an image, "I don't see any dark patches, so no major bleeding, and I don't notice any breaks, so it looks like she was lucky. I'll run the analyzer to be sure."

He touched an icon and a line moved across the screen, leaving a few places highlighted. He looked close and zoomed in on those spots, but dismissed them. She'll be sore for a few days, but it looks like she's alright. I should get a better look at her head, but I don't want to do it with this big thing. Too bad we can't afford some of the better imaging equipment."

"You have a digital x-ray machine in your barn. Why didn't you show me this before?"

He blushed under his fur, "I, uh, was a little distracted."

She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, I'll try to be a little less distracting."

He pulled her into a hug, "Don't you change, I like you just the way you are."

They held each other for a moment, but just as they started to think of doing other things, a thumping caught their attention, Molly was wagging her tail against the table.

Don walked over to her and gently hugged her, "Yes, Molly, I love you, too." He took her muzzle in his paws and looked into her eyes and closely at her ears, nose and head. Satisfied that there was nothing indicating serious damage, he kissed her lips.

Julie Ann smiled, glad Molly was okay.

"Why don't you roll Molly over to the house while I shut this down and I'll help you carry her in."

She rubbed the lab's neck and pushed the cart out of the room. She was careful not to jostle her too much as she pushed the cart over the rugged ground to the house. She got to the door just as Don caught up to her.

"Just pick up your end and we'll take her inside," he opened the door and lifted his end of the cart over the doorstep, then pulled her through the kitchen and down the hall to his bedroom.

Julie Ann closed the door and followed, stopping outside the door.

Don waved her in to help lift Molly to the bed. Once she was settled, Don knelt down and stroked her neck, "You'll be alright with some rest. Just lie here and be good."

Julie Ann knelt beside him and stroked her leg, "She's a tough young girl."

He looked at her and smiled, "Like you."

She stared into his eyes and her mind wandered, wanting to kiss him and hold him and never let go, "Remember when you didn't want me to come back here? I think you were afraid we might not be able to control ourselves."

"Still not sure I'd be able to if there wasn't a patient occupying the bed," his mind was taunting him, as well.

"Should we go back to the kitchen?" she was breathing heavy as she thought about his soft fur and strong body just inches away.

"Didn't work so well for us then, did it?" his breathing matched hers as he thought of her smooth skin and tender lips within reach.

"I learned not to touch your ears when we're trying to work," she considered reaching up and stroking them now, just to get things going. She wanted his paws on her.

"I think this is the only room you've been in that we haven't lost control," he knew it wouldn't stay that way and was ready to give in. he leaned closer to start with a kiss.

Molly's tail started wagging and they both looked, then laughed shakily as the tension was broken.

"I should call Mr Hess and find out how his cow is doing," he stood up and took a breath to calm himself, then walked out of the room as he pulled out his phone.

Julie Ann lay her head on the bed and sighed as she looked at Molly, "Are you jealous or excited for us and just can't hide it?" She crawled up to rub her ears and the lab licked her arm. "You're just a loving dog, aren't you? And he loves you. You wouldn't mind at all if I moved in here and made passionate love to that wonderful rabbit as long as he kept you fed and rubbed your ears sometimes."

She stuck her little human nose up to the dog's big black one and Molly licked her lips. Julie gasped and leaned back in surprise, then smiled, "You dog."

She took the lab's muzzle in her hands and kissed her lips in retaliation just as Don walked back in, "Looks like you two are getting acquainted. Should I be jealous?"

Molly looked up at him and wagged her tail.

Julie Ann stumbled to stand up quick, "What? No. I just. I don't know. She's a dog. And a she. I couldn't do anything like that. How's the cow?"

Don laughed and saved her from her embarrassment, "Relax, its okay. The cow still hasn't had her calf yet. He's a little worried, but I told him nature's math is usually better than mine, so we'll give it a couple more days." He reached down and pulled a blanket up to cover Molly, "Just stay here now, okay? Just stay."

She gave a sigh and lay her head on the pillow. He smiled and gestured to Julie Ann as he quietly left the room and went to the kitchen.

"She'll stay there for a few hours. It should give her some time to recover from her injuries. I'll put her back when she gets up and she should stay until I go to bed."

"What about your injuries?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

"You weren't fine. There was blood and the EMT was checking you out."

"She's just a friend."

Julie Ann smirked, "I didn't mean like that. You sit down and rest and I'll make us something to eat."

"Yes, ma'am," he obediently sat at the kitchen table and watched her move around the kitchen. He admired her agile body reaching and twisting and bending as she searched the cabinets. He couldn't help but imagine her without her green plaid shirt and blue jeans, her beautiful skin dancing in the kitchen. She bent over to look in the bottom of the freezer with her rear towards him and the resulting thoughts shook him back to reality, he adjusted his pants and shifted to sit up in the chair, "They're calling for rain tomorrow."

"Good day for staying inside and resting," she didn't hesitate and kept herself busy preparing whatever she could find.

When he heard staying inside, resting wasn't what came to mind and he decided that even the weather wasn't a safe subject, "How are your studies going?"

This stopped her and she turned around, "Oh yeah, I was going to have you help me with that. Its a perfect activity to keep you resting." She finished cleaning up and brought over two plates with artistically arranged sandwich halves, "After lunch." She sat down across from him and waited patiently.

He took a bite of the sandwich and smiled, "I guess you really like my carrot spread."

"Its definitely worth repeating," she smiled and took a bite of her own.

They finished lunch and Julie Ann cleaned up, not letting him out of his seat, but he didn't mind just watching her. She hurried back to his bedroom and quietly grabbed his tablet, then returned to the kitchen and sat down with the table between them to look up her classwork.

Don wondered if he really did have some head trauma with as much trouble as he was having focusing on anything other than Julie Ann.

When she got it loaded, she stood up and leaned over the table to show him, sending a puff of her scent into his face from the collar of her shirt. He inhaled impulsively, then reached down to discretely adjust his throbbing erection in his pants. She was focused on explaining what the assignment was, but all he could think about was her overwhelming scent and her body stretched across the table.

He idly stroked his erection as she asked questions and answered them herself and in his mind he kissed her lips and turned her over on the table, pulling off her clothes and his as he crawled up with her. He pushed his throbbing shaft inside her and humped her as she ran her fingers through his fur, their lips locked passionately, until he exploded inside her with all that he had been saving. He groaned as he realized that he had just made a mess in his pants.

"What's wrong?" Julie Ann looked worried.

Don sighed and tried to think of some explanation, "I'm sorry."

"Does your head hurt?"

There it is, "Just a little."

"Maybe we should have x-rayed your head while we were out there."

"Wouldn't find much," he was certain his problem had nothing to do with bleeding in his brain or a crack in his skull.

"Oh, you've got great brains in there," she leaned forward to rub playfully between his ears without thinking about it.

He jumped up quickly to get out of her reach, knocking his chair over, then realized she could probably see the mess he made of his pants, "I gotta go to the bathroom." he hurried back to his bedroom, leaving her laying on the table, very confused.

Julie Ann slowly realized what she was about to do and where she was and slid back off the table into her chair. She buckled down and finished her assignment as quickly as she could.

Don stood in the bathroom, leaning on the sink and stared at himself in the mirror. Why couldn't he control himself around her. Maybe they should just get it over with, so they could relax. He saw Molly watching him from the bed and thought about how well they got along. He thought about all the people that had been supportive of him through today's troubles. Maybe things were getting better enough that they could be together and other people wouldn't mind. Maybe he could step out into the world a little more. He stood up and smiled at himself, then looked at Molly in the mirror, "Its time to stop playing their game. Its time to be happy."

He realized he still needed to change and unbuckled his overalls, letting them drop to the floor. He used the toilet, then walked over to molly wearing just his shirt, "I'm going to ask that girl to marry me, then we'll be one big happy family and prove that there is nothing that needs to be in the way of morphs and humans living together," he rubbed her ears and she lifted her nose to lick his returning erection. He gladly let her continue and soon it was throbbing again.

Julie Ann turned off the tablet and decided it would be a good idea for them to just be apart for a while, since they couldn't manage their hormones when they were together. They were spending too much free time alone and it was just too tempting. If they were going to make it to their goal and not get caught, they needed to maintain professionalism.

She walked to the hall and took a breath, "Hey Don, I'm just gonna go. I'll see you tomorrow, when we have more work to keep us busy. Take care of Molly and yourself." She hurried out before he could try to change her mind.

Don heard her, but the words sank in slowly through his arousal. When he realized she was leaving, he hurried to grab another pair of coveralls, "Hold on!" He fell over trying to get his legs in quickly. He slid them up to his tail and held the top as he opened the bedroom door and hurried down the hall to the front door. He opened it to see her stopping at the end of the driveway.

She looked back one last time before pulling out and saw her rabbit in the doorway. His pants fell to the floor and she gasped, then fought the urge to go back and pulled away quickly, making sure she was out of sight before she found a place to park and cry.

Don kicked his pants in the door and closed it, then sat on the couch. He looked up and Molly was limping out of the hall. He hurried to her and held her gently, "Oh girl, you shouldn't be up. I'm sorry I disturbed you. Come on, let's get you back to bed." He carried her back to the bedroom and laid her down again. She whimpered and gave him a confused look.

She didn't want to go home and she didn't want to go back. She wanted to drive through a tunnel that would turn back time and let her start the day again. Why did she have to touch him? Why did she kiss his dog? Why did those men have to attack them? Why did she run away from him again?

He sighed and rubbed Molly's neck, "I really screwed up this time. I like her. I think she's a great person. I think we could be happy together, but I also want to have wild animal sex with her and that seems to keep getting in the way."

Molly nuzzled his leg.

"Yes, I know I can have animal sex with you and you're a great person, too. We're happy together, but ... I need something ... I need Julie Ann. I need to go get her."

The lab crawled closer and put her head on his leg.

"But I can't just chase her down the road. We need to work this out," he sat down at his desk, but his tablet wasn't there, so grabbed his phone and sent her a message.

Julie Ann jumped as her phone tinkled. She pulled it out and it was from Don [I'm really sorry about today. Whenever you're ready, we should talk about it.] She was very sure she wasn't ready, but she didn't know how to respond to the message. There were still unread messages from the morning and she read those.

Dit Da Dit [Hey, do you know what's up with Belle? She's not responding to me.]

Well, the next one was from her.

Nocta Cat [Randy took her things and left. I don't think she's coming back. I could really use someone to talk to right now.]

BunnyJAN [I'm so sorry I didn't see your message this morning. Do you still need to talk? I do, too.]

N [Very much. Can you come over? I still haven't heard from Randy and I think she took some of my stuff, too.]

B [I'll come over if you'll let Robbie know you're okay.]

N [Okay. I just didn't want to tell him things weren't going well with Randy and have him say I told you so.]

B [He won't do that.]

N [No, he'll make me say it.]

B [That sounds more like Robbie. I'll be over in a bit.]

N [See you soon.]

She took a breath, glad to have somewhere to go and started her car again.

Don collected his tablet from the kitchen and brought it back to his desk. Waiting for Julie Ann to respond was eating him up. He sat it in its cradle and the chestnut mare appeared with icons taunting him. One collection was all video messages from his mother, "Well, if I'm going to be punished, might as well take it all at once."

He played them all in order and they went from casually probing about his life to harassing for a response to threatening to call the American authorities and have them send a search party looking for him. At least there was nothing specific she was looking for. He knew she would answer no matter what time of day he called, so he took a calming breath and hit reply. It connected and he waited for her to accept.

"WINDON!"

He could barely see her in the darkness, "Mum?"

"Sorry, let me turn on a light for you. There you are." the screen brightened and adjusted and a dark gray and white patched rabbit appeared. A white rabbit looked at the screen from the background then ducked back down. He knew his father would be trying to get some more sleep. "I was so worried. I thought you were dead, I hadn't heard from you in so long."

"Ma, its only been a couple weeks since I last called."

"I know and anything could've happened since then. Americans are dangerous."

"Not all of them, Ma."

Another rabbit came in behind his mother, "Mum? Is everything alright?"

"Its your brother. He's alive," she pointed at the screen."

"Well, I knew that. Hey Donnie, How's America treatin' ya?"

"Winda? You're pink."

"I know. You like it?" she turned around slowly to show that the color covered all of her fur.

"Its pink."

"You sound like mother. You old people just don't understand."

Their mother interjected, "That's what I told her. I said she'll never be taken seriously with her fur that color."

"Winda, message me, cable," their code word for private conversation without parents listening.

The pink rabbit left the room with a sigh.

"You see she just has no understanding for how to act as an adult. Now you, you were different. You were always trying to do more, but then you were forced to grow up too fast. She was still young and didn't know what was happening, but you understood it and you faced it head on. I'm proud of you for making something of yourself in spite of all that, even if it is just helping animals. They still need help and you do good."

"Ma."

She continued.

"Mum."

She continued.

"Mother."

She continued.

"Mayvan!"

"Don't you call me that. I am your mother."

"You didn't respond to it."

"I was talking. You shouldn't interrupt. Didn't I teach you better?"

"Ma, I can't be on long. I have work to do," a little lie, but she could talk nonstop into the next century if he let her.

"Well, at least tell me about this bunny you're interested in. Edwin said you sounded serious. I'm so happy for you. I was starting to worry, what with you getting so old now. I was afraid you might not be interested in girls."

Bunny? He'd have to have a chat with his brother about that, "Well, she's a redhead and she wants to be a veterinarian, so I'm going to take her on as an assistant. We'll see how things go from there."

DaBeauty [Do you really think its that bad?]

"You be careful with those office romances, they can be so much trouble, you know."

"Yes, mum. Well, I need to go now."

"Well don't be so long next time. I worry."

"I'm sorry mum. Bye now."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, ma."

He disconnected the call and sighed, then replied to his sister.

WindonLem [Its not bad. Its nicely done. I think she just worries about your future. What are you planning?]

D [I'm going into cosmetology and design.]

W [Well, then that's not too damaging. Be sure to take lots of pictures before you change it.]

D [Did ma say you have a girlfriend?]

W [Yes.]

D [How did you find a rabbit up there when I can't find a good one down here?]

W [Its actually not a rabbit.]

D [What? Ma'll flip!]

W [Don't tell her yet.]

D [She'll find out eventually]

W [I want to make sure it works out before I get my ears chewed off for it.]

D [Fair enough.]

D [So, she's human?]

W [Yes, a redhead.]

D [And she likes rabbits?]

W [Me, at least.]

D [Good luck.]

D [Send me a pic when you get a chance.]

W [Thanks. I will.]

D [Okay, I'm going to bed now. I have class later. Be strange, but not a stranger.]

W [You too, my pink sister. Send me some pics of your new do.]

D [Will do.]

He sat back and smiled, then looked over at Molly, "Well, that wasn't too painful."

She looked at him pitifully with her chin on the bed.

"Yes, I know I lied to my mother, but its not the first time and won't be the last. She doesn't need to fuss about Julie Ann if I screw things up between us."

Molly licked her lips and huffed.

"Do you think I should do more than a text message? She hasn't responded. Should I call? Or maybe show her I'm serious and be bold and go to her house?"

The lab rolled her head back and looked away.

"You're right. I'm not a stalker and we're not together if I'm dead. I'll wait until tomorrow, then I can call to ask why she didn't come to work. That's a professional reason, not a stalker reason."

Molly lay on the bed, not looking at him.

"Come on, it's a good idea. She'll come around and we'll work it out," he slid out of the chair and knelt beside the bed to stroke her chest. She looked at him and he gave her a kiss on the nose. He smiled at her, then leaned in and kissed her lips, letting her tongue find his. Her tail started wagging and he pulled back to smile at her again. He rubbed his face against her neck, then stood up, "I should get some more work done while I have a chance and no wild animal sex for you until you're feeling better, so rest."

Molly rolled on her back with her legs in the air, then whined and lay back down.

"That's not resting," he pulled the blanket over her again and stroked her ears, "Stay in bed. Just stay."

She huffed and he kissed her head.