Notes:

...yeah, this is becoming a habit, but this chapter took far longer than it should have. In addition to lab stuff, I also went through a major case of writer's block on this one. It took me almost three weeks to make it through the first scene alone, and it really did a number on both my confidence, and my schedule.

It was infuriating to have the entire chapter plotted out, but be utterly incapable of taking those bullet points and turning them into a real narrative. Fortunately, I did manage to break through the block, and the end result is a (thankfully) shorter chapter, but one that I hope will provide you some more insight into the mammals at the Honeywell Centre.

The misery's front-loaded this time around, and only the first scene echoes with the mood of the previous chapter. Although I pretty well had to end the last chapter where I did, I felt that some additional resolution for Isara and William was needed. In the end I think it adds quite a bit to their arc, but unfortunately, it was never going to be a happy one.

In addition to the writer's block, I also spread myself a little thin helping out other authors. I was asked to guest author a chapter of WildeNick's Three Months a Fox, and Chapter 21: The Little Dutch Boy was the result. I've mentioned before how the story represents an interesting look at the three months following the press conference in the film, with a focus on how events impacted Nick during that time...but the chapter I wrote didn't deal with any of that.

WildeNick wanted to show how the medical establishment would be handling the savage crisis, and he reached out for some help in that regard. The end result was a snapshot of life inside one of Zootopia's hospitals during, what I think, is the height of the savage mammal crisis. Readers will note that the influence of Lost Causes in the style of the chapter, and there's even a exceedingly minor cameo by some of the staff at the Centre (don't blink or you might miss it).

That wasn't the only bit of cross pollination going on. In addition to the guest chapter, Dave got to make a cameo appearance in Chapter 8 of Kittah4's A Day in their Fur Series. It's a wonderful series that, as the title would indicate, delves into the lives of the various OCs that the author has created. I do recommend that you read his other works as well, as this chapter very much ties in with his other stories.

In addition to that, I was pleased to be able to help out twocentnuicance with some scientific details for Chapter 5 of his Zootopia: One Shots, One-offs, and Stories. If you haven't had a chance to read his other stories, Ars Moriendi, and Entr'acte, I highly recommend them. Hopefully I'll be able to bounce some ideas off of him in the future, as our discussion regarding some social aspects of Zootopia was fascinating.

There are also a few other consults that have occurred in the past month, but until those authors release their works, my lips (or fingers) are sealed.

Special Request! I do have one request for my readers. The cover art for this story represents the limits of my artistic talent (sad I know), and I've been thinking about having some proper artwork done to replace it, and even for a few of the individual chapters. Unfortunately, I don't really know any artists in the fandom, so I'm looking for recommendations. If you know of anyone who might be interested in this, please let me know.

Now onto the usual thank you's to all the readers who took the time to comment on the most recent chapter.

From

Chorpion: Believe me, I needed something stronger than ice cream after finishing chapter 10. It was certainly a rollercoaster, but I'm proud at how it ended up. Interestingly, Pedialyte has been marketed as a hangover treatment for a few years now. It would appear that they learned a few things from the marines!

tomcatace99: I think a lot of these comments are going to be me apologizing for making the chapter so sad. I'm glad that the quality was in keeping with my desires for the story as a whole.

jamdea: I know that my nit picking in relation to the minor medical details will go unnoticed by almost everyone, but I want this story to be realistic. It is unfortunate that in all likelihood the only place that this story will ever reside is in its current format, but at least you and the other readers get to enjoy it. It's funny, but ever since your comment, I've had a few people reach out wondering if I'll be releasing a physical copy of Lost Causes when it's finished.

Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps: As always I cherish your input for Lost Causes, and the last chapter wouldn't have been the same without your help. I hope that this chapter provides a bit of respite compared to the previous one, and I'm very much looking forward to the conclusion of Always my Sly Bunny Always my Dumb Fox.

Berzerker88: This chapter is a bit more toned down compared to the last one, but it will provide a bit more color to some of the characters in the story.

Nicolaiwulf: I probably should have put a disclaimer on the chapter saying "Don't read this one in public!' You weren't the only one who had a tough time holding back tears.

From AO3:

CAPTAINPRICE79: I hope that Coco's settling in, and is still being well behaved.

wheresthecoffee: This time, it's only one really sad scene to deal with, and the rest of the chapter has a mostly positive spin. There's a bit of sappiness in this chapter as well, so hopefully that will counterbalance the first scene.

WolfGuardMiestwin: Hopefully the answers I provided were a reasonable explanation. For some species, I tend to picture them as being a bit larger than their terrestrial counterparts. This includes foxes, rabbits, and mustelids.

As always my thanks go out to WildeNick for helping to edit this chapter. I went easy on him this time, and it's only about half the size of chapter 10...but considering that my plans called for only 7,000 words, I still have a problem. Regardless, show him some love and take a look at his stories Good Cops Like You and Three Months a Fox.

Chapter 11: Duty and Responsibility

Dave had no idea how long he had been standing there, holding onto the Clawsons and adding his tears to their own. Time had ceased to have any meaning for them, and Isara's words had been the last ones spoken as all three mammals were lost to a shared grief. He knew that for Isara and William, this was the closest they had ever come to having a child, and the loss was ever more pronounced for it. Isara clutched onto the still form of her son with an almost manic desperation as she rocked back and forth on the table, while William simply held onto her, his own paw, once again reaching out to touch the face of his son.

Dave had done what he could to hide the deformities that had doomed this kit, but it was a cold comfort for everyone present. There was nothing that he could do to ease their pain except to be there for them, to share in their grief. It was rare that he allowed himself to shed tears for the lost, and even rarer that he would do so openly. Today however was different; the Clawsons were different, and seeing the two have their hopes and dreams shattered against the cold reality of genetics once again had simply been too much for even him to take.

So he stood there, holding onto the pair of foxes, throughout it all his mind raced in a seemingly endless loop of self-recrimination.

"I failed them."

"I failed him."

"I failed myself."

"I failed them…"

He knew that he was guilty of the same self-flagellation he had accused Isara of prior to the procedure. In a way, it was selfish of him; he was punishing himself for something that he had no hope of being able to accomplish. "But Spirits, how I want to." he seethed internally as a new wave of tears cascaded down his cheeks, his frustration adding to the anguish he felt for the Clawsons.

In many ways, the worst part was the knowledge that no more than fifty feet away existed the possibility of a true miracle; at least he dared to hope. It was cruel just how real the chance seemed, as it was all the more likely that it was just another ember of hope waiting to be snuffed out. Knowing that, no matter how hard he and the others tried, all too soon he would be comforting Janet and Tommy through their own loss. He had been unable to help the ember of hope from rooting deep inside him, and it been growing all the brighter as he came to know the Reys, but this tableaux had been a crushing reminder of the price he'd pay for failure.

He cut off the thought with a low growl that was lost in his whimpering as he subconsciously held onto the Clawsons all the more tightly. Whether or not they noticed he couldn't immediately tell, but as he drew in a shuddering breath, William reached up a paw to grasp onto his own.

The gray fox lifted his gaze away from Isara and the bundle in her arms. The pain that Dave could see in the other mammals gaze almost made him look away, but he instead returned both the gaze, as well as squeezed WIlliams paw slightly, once again providing what little support he could.

"Thank you….thank you for this." William said drawing a deep breath before returning his gaze to his wife and son.

Dave shook his head sadly at the thought that this was something to be thankful for, but in his heart he knew what they meant. Isara had been right earlier; this would probably be the closest that they would come to ever having a child of their own blood...but this had been a grim reminder that likely never would. With every fiber of his being, he believed that these two would make wonderful parents, making the tragedy all the more poignant.

Without realizing it, his paw reached out to touch the cheek of the kit. When his mind caught up to the intrusion into the parent's private grief, he jerked it back, only for it to be caught by Isara's, and the fennec fox's gentle pull returned it to the kit.

Isara took a hitching breath before speaking. "I'm s...sorry to put you through this," she shook her head sadly, placing her own paw over top of his, "but thank you."

Once again the little fox's words stabbed at his heart and his reply was with an increasingly unsteady voice. "You never need to apologize for this Isara. This...well it's been a part of me for a long time now." His voice hitched as another wave of sadness cascaded over him; his thoughts giving form to his deepest wish. "I...I'd give anything to be able to fix this...to do anything."

"We know..." Was all Isara said, her voice trailing off as her gaze remained fixed on her son.

His admission was the reality for every mammal in the Centre. This was what they were trying to prevent, but time and time again, they had failed. Dave's ears twitched as he heard the door to the procedure room open, and he looked over his shoulder to see Ellen quietly make her way over to the trio. Taking in the scene, she gave Dave a brief embrace before focusing her attention on the Clawsons.

"Isara, I'm so sorry." She said, reaching out to take the fennec's paw in her hoof. Isara only nodded her head in reply, the few words spoken earlier having seemingly drained her.

Ellen looked up at Dave, and made a motion with her head towards the door. He shook his head in reply. "Not this time Ellen. This...this is where I need to be."

The gazelle nodded her head in reply before reaching out to embrace Isara and William, and to start putting the broken pieces of the two mammals back together.

Time once again lost it's hold for Dave, as wave after wave of grief filled the room as Ellen guided the couple through both their mourning as well as the details that needed to be worked out with regards to their son.

"Have you thought of a name?" She asked gently after a time, and both parents had sobbed as they blessed their child with a name of his own.

Dave walked out of the room a short while later, his furry cheeks damp, and his paws clutching onto an opaque container containing the remains of Steven Anthony Clawson. The name was engraved in his mind, along with the promise that he had made to the Clawsons when Isara had finally returned the body to Dave.

"I'll bring him home to you tomorrow, Isara."

It wasn't the usual practice for a physician to be the one to return the remains to the family...in the all too rare occurrence where they claimed them at all, but it was a task he had volunteered for on previous occasions. For couples like the Clawsons, they truly were a part of the family at the Centre, and because they were family, Dave would see this through to the end personally.

His thoughts were still a jumbled mess as he leaned against the hallway wall for a moment to collect himself. Slowly his mental barriers were being reforged as he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. His nose and ears twitched as the presence of another mammal entered into his consciousness, and he cracked open one eye to see that Melissa was heading towards him.

"Are you alright Dr. Hawthorne?" She asked hesitantly, and Dave nodded his head in reply.

"This place demands a price Dr. Wilson." He said, his voice surprisingly steady to his ears. "Sometimes that price is very high."

"Is...is it always like this?" She asked with an undertone of worry etched into her voice.

Dave smiled slightly as he shook his head. "No...no. This has been a bad day. Most days do involve having to deliver bad news, pain, and loss, but today was a particularly awful example." Looking over to the doe, he could see that there was some doubt on her face, but the determination he had seen in her eyes was still there in the background. "If it means anything, you did really well this morning." He added after a moment then shook his head. "There aren't many ways that could have gone worse...well non-medical ways at least."

The doe gave a small laugh and looked down the hallway towards the delivery room. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting them to react that way. Spirits that was awful to see." Giving herself a shake she returned her gaze to Dave. "But thank you for showing me that." A small smirk appeared on her muzzle as she continued. "You didn't manage to scare me away Doct...Dave. I need to head over to start my rounds over at General, but in six weeks, I'll be here." She said with confidence.

"Then welcome aboard Melissa." He said, stooping slightly as he offered the rabbit his paw, which she vigorously shook.

Releasing his paw, a slightly uncomfortable look flashed across her face. "Can I ask you something personal?" She hesitantly asked. Dave cocked his head in curiosity and nodded in reply.

Looking back towards the delivery room Melissa gaze was distant. "How do you deal with it? How do you manage to keep from falling apart?"

Dave gave a sharp bark of laughter at the questions. The doe looked up at him with a surprised expression on her muzzle. "How do I deal with it? Poorly." He said, pointing out the damp patches under his eyes. "The truth is that you're going to fall apart, and it will happen over and over. What matters is that you keep picking up the pieces."

He shrugged before continuing. "How you do that varies from mammal to mammal. For me, it's my mate, Carol. Without her, I would have given up long ago. She's put me back together more times than I can count." He looked down at the doe and a smile formed on his muzzle. "I know for your dad, it's you and the rest of your siblings. You're the reason why he's so dedicated to this place; to our work."

Dave saw the insides of the doe's ear redden slightly at the revelation, but she nodded her head in understanding. "I think I've known that for a long time." She said finally. "You know, he still calls me every day, just to see how I'm doing, and I know he does the same for my brothers and sisters." She gave a small laugh and smiled. "When my sister, Heather, had her first litter last year, she almost had to pry the kits out of his paws. I hadn't seen him that happy in a long time."

Dave chuckled at the mental image. "I don't have any direct experience with something like that, but I'd imagine that any grandkits would hold a special place in his heart." He sighed and looked around, taking in the Centre's walls. "Working here does have one positive trait." He looked back towards Melissa. "It makes you cherish what you have, and never take any of it for granted. With all that we have to deal with, those kits must be a real lifeline for him…" Then lightening his tone a bit, he added, "and I'm sure Doug spoils them unabashedly as a result."

"Oh, you have no idea." Melissa replied amused. "Heather's threatened to ban him from their warren if he keeps bringing more toys over." She gave another laugh, "Last I heard, he had stopped bringing toys, and instead started bringing treats. Have you ever had to deal with six rabbit kits on a sugar high? It's not pretty."

"Ouch, using weaponized children against his own daughter." Dave gave a real laugh at the concept, but then shook his head, and motioned to the container in his paw. "Unfortunately, I do need to get moving." He once again offered the doe his paw before continuing. "It was good to finally meet you, and to have a chance to talk. I look forward to working with you Melissa."

"Thanks...and take care of yourself Dave." She said, looking sadly towards the container in his other paw.

Dave gave a small chuckle at the sentiment. "I'm afraid it's duty first, then I pick up the pieces and move on." He tipped his head and released her paw, before making his way to the elevator.

The conversation had given him enough time to fully find his center, and he had almost dissociated the remains in his paws from the name that still echoed in his mind. This was another responsibility of his. He had failed to help this kit, but now maybe he could turn this tragedy into something that might prevent others from suffering the same tragedy. He hadn't been lying when he told Isara that he would give anything to undo the wrong that nature had committed, and the small part of his mind that still sobbed behind his mental walls was testament to this.

When he entered into the airlock, his nose and ears told him that he wasn't alone in the change room. Laura was just coming out of the fur dryer, and hadn't had a chance to put on her scrubs just yet. The two of them had seen each other naked so many times that it didn't elicit any surprise or embarrassment from the ferret, and she initially smiled at him before noticing the container in his paws. Seeing it, her smile faded, and she sighed as she retrieved a fresh set of scrubs from the well stocked shelves and started suiting up.

"Did you want me to handle the sampling this time, Dave?" She asked, motioning with her paw towards the wet spots still visible around his eyes.

Dave shook his head before placing the container into the decontamination tray and starting to undress. "I'm okay Laura. It was a bad one, but I can handle the rest."

"Is Ms. Clawson alright?" She asked, somewhat worried by his description of the procedure as a 'bad one'.

Realizing his mistake, Dave clarified the situation for her. "Physically, everything went as planned. Mentally though, this one really hurt both of them. I think seeing him will help them in the long term, but Ellen is going to be doing a lot of follow-up." Taking a shaking breath he continued, leaning against one of the lockers for support, "Damn it Laura, it hurt so much to see it."

Laura sighed and rubbed her forehead with one paw. "We really need a mulligan on this whole fucking day."

Dave gave a laugh at the thought. "If it were possible, I think it would be a race to see which of us would reach that button first. I wouldn't mind a do over on this one. As it stands, I just need to get these samples prepped, and then finally go and check in with the Reys. Tess is going to have my pelt if I don't give her a status update soon."

The ferret laughed at the comment as she finished donning the protective gear required for lab work. "If I can help it, I'm not leaving this lab until you and Cat clock out. It's my first chance in weeks to do some research, and I'm not going to pass up the chance to dig into some of the preliminary data from our impossible fox." She added with real excitement in her voice as she finished donning the head to heel coverings that were needed in the lab.

She headed towards the inner airlock door, but looked back over her shoulder. "We're going to figure this one out Dave. I've got a feeling, that we're going to make a difference this time."

Dave was surprised by the candor of the statement. Laura was usually one of the most pragmatic physicians at the Centre, and with the odds seemingly so stacked against the Rey's, her statement was all the more odd. Regardless of its origin, he couldn't help but smile at the glimmer of hope in the ferrets voice. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who had been afflicted with that tiny ember of hope since meeting with the Reys.

"There's something special about them Laura; I have to admit it. We know that everyone here is pulling for that kit...I just hope it's enough." He said, as he placed his clothes into his locker and headed into the shower. "If you find anything interesting, let me know." He said over his shoulder as he turned on the water. This time, there was more than simple protocol behind his vigorously scrubbing of the shampoo through his fur. Even though he was nose-blind to it, he knew that the scent of his earlier grief would still be radiating off of him, and would distract the other mammals in the lab. They cared for each other, and knowing that he was in pain would distract their attention from the critical work that was being done.

"We need to be focused, and I'm not going to let them down!" He made the mental promise to his patients, as he rinsed the lather from his body, and moved into the fur dryer to finish the decontamination process. As the warm air wicked the last dregs of moisture from his fur, he silently hoped that Laura's prediction would ring true. Three lives stood in the balance, and once again he felt the weight of responsibility settled onto his shoulders, as he grabbed a fresh set up scrubs and began suiting up.

Upon entering the lab proper, he couldn't help but laugh. Resting prominently on his bench were two empty bottles of Pedialyte with a note taped to the front. The message was quite succinct:

"Happy Now?!"

Looking over to where Beth, Genevieve and Abby were once again seated in front of a large screen, trying to pair up Tommy's chromosomes with their lupine counterparts. Hearing his laugh, the trio turned towards him, and once again it was a miracle that he wasn't vaporized on the spot from the combined glare of the three females.

Nodding to the group he retrieved the container from the decontamination bath. "Yes I am, and I'm fairly sure you're feeling better as a result." He said as he made his way to his bench, and after placing the container by the dissecting scope, he dramatically picked up the two bottles, and tossed them into the trash.

He returned his gaze to the trio. "So who drank the extra?" He asked with some curiosity. He had only 'prescribed' a just over one and a quarter bottle, but both containers had been fully drained.

In reply, Abby pulled down her muzzle mask and stuck out a still slightly purple stained tongue. Replacing the mask she shrugged. "That stuff's actually pretty good, and I didn't want it to go to waste...but I think I'm going to regret it in a little while." She added, and there were chuckles from around the lab.

There was no such thing as a quick bathroom break in a BSL3 lab. Every trip required that you go through the full decontamination procedure, shower included. Having consumed almost two litres of liquid was going to have consequences for the young wolf, but Dave was glad that all three of them had taken his advice.

Returning his attention to his bench, he took a steadying breath and prepped the various tubes and vials that would be needed for this task. Something else was needed before he could start as well, and he took another second to brace himself, and sequester what emotion had made it through the airlock. In here, emotion was as much a contaminant as any microbe or fur follicle, and it was his responsibility to ensure that nothing of that nature got in the way of doing what needed to be done. With his mind clear, he was left with only a sense of duty to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future. He retrieved the small form and placed it under the dissecting microscope. The scalpel was steady in his paws, and he set to work on reaping another grim harvest.

After sealing the final tube and depositing it into the liquid nitrogen to snap freeze, he placed the samples into the freezer for later processing. He figured it would be a few days before they would be sequenced, as everyone's priority was going to be the Reys for the foreseeable future. Every sequencer was running around the clock to generate the data that they needed to figure out what they would need to do to make this miracle happen...if they could make it happen.

Passing by Arnold's bench, he saw that the hippo was in the process of making another library for sequencing. He cocked his head to the side as he tried to think of why yet another sequencing run would be needed. Once the BGSeqs were done with their current runs, there would be an abundance of sequence data for both of the Reys, and the fetus' tissue cultures wouldn't be ready to sample until tomorrow at the earliest.

"What samples are those Arnold?" He asked, his curiosity plainly evident in his tone.

"I'm just getting ahead of things." He said motioning to the tubes with one hoof. "The libraries that I prepped for the BGSeqs won't work when the new Sequel system gets here, so I'm prepping both the Reys samples for the long read sequencer." He motioned towards the tissue culture room. "If I can get the fetal DNA extracted in time, it will take priority, but Donnie wants more data from Mr. Rey specifically." The hippo motioned towards Donnie, who was still hunched over his keyboard. "He's been working non-stop to close the gaps in the rapid run, but there's only so much he can do with the limited sequence we have."

Dave nodded in understanding, and admiration for the forethought displayed by the tech. In the end, it would only save them a couple of hours, but those minutes could be precious gifts.

Looking over to the row of sequencers, Dave frowned slightly. "How much time until the single cell sequence runs from the fetus are ready?" He asked, knowing that getting the fetus' genome sequenced needed to be their priority if they had any hope of correcting the almost inevitable genetic nightmare that she represented.

Every cell division that took place was more tissue that would need to be edited. He knew that ]the major tissues and organs had developed already, and they'd need to use their entire arsenal of viral vectors to make the necessary changes...if they could make the changes at all. The run would be filled with errors, he knew that, but it was a starting point...and it would be two days before the tissue culture cells would be sequenced, provided Jason was accurate, and they could harvest them tomorrow.

Arnold looked up from his samples, and glanced over to the unit in question. He squinted to make out the details on the screen at a distance. "Probably another ten hours or so. It's a 36 hour run, and they went in around noon yesterday."

Dave sighed at the delay, and Arnold gave him an apologetic look. "I can't make them go any faster Dave. Believe me I wish I could."

Laura chose that moment to chime in, looking over at Dave from her lab bench. "One nice thing about the new Sequel system is that we can get the results in real time." Dave could tell the ferret was smiling under her muzzle mask. "Nice job in swiping that unit from ZU by the way."

Donnie gave a laugh at the comment. "Somehow I don't think that paying twice what the sequencer is worth quite qualifies as 'swiping' Laura."

"We get it, they don't. That's what matters, I guess." Laura shrugged, and then a thoughtful expression appeared in her eyes. "It might be time to upgrade our mass spec as well. I'd like to get a new toy myself you know."

Dave had to laugh at the comment. Laura's research focus dealt with comparative proteomics...and she had already received a new toy just last year in the form of a top of the line Edman sequencer. Somehow he didn't think that she'd manage to convince Doug that it was a necessary expense this time around.

It was Arnold who spoke up first. "The mass spec is only a couple of years old Laura. We're not due for an upgrade on it for another year at least." It was his job to run much of the sequencing and related equipment, and he always made sure that they were in top shape.

Laura glared at the hippo, but eventually let out a sigh. "A girl can dream, can't I?" She asked somewhat dejectedly before turning back to her workstation.

Dave gave his head a shake, and looked at the wall mounted clock. It was just past four, and he needed to check in on Ms. Rey before it got any later. Waving a paw at the assembled lab crew, he made his way over to the airlock. Just as he was closing the door, he heard Abby call out, "Hold the door!" she said with some panic on her voice.

He held the door, as the she-wolf dashed into the change room, wasting no time in divesting herself of her protective clothing and heading for one of the showers. "This might be a photo finish." She added good naturedly as she rushed to make it through the decontamination process.

Dave had to laugh as he made his way to another stall and went about scrubbing himself down for the fifth time today.

While making his way up to the second floor, Dave was surprised to see a fire truck parked outside the Centre through the window. He hadn't heard any alarms or sirens, which left visitors as the most likely reason for it's presence.

When he reached Ms. Rey's room, the sound of jovial voices from within confirmed his guess. Knocking on the door before letting himself in, he was somewhat surprised by the sheer number of mammals in the room.

"It looks like the entire station showed up." He mused internally as the dozen or so mammals all turned their gaze to the new arrival. All were partially dressed in their uniforms, only forgoing the eponymous jackets and headgear.

Janet had a broad smile on her muzzle, and seemed genuinely touched at the various gifts that her co-workers had brought. A bouquet of flowers, along with a myriad of balloons, all displaying phrases like 'Congratulations!', 'Baby on Board!', or 'A New Pup in the Pack!'. He couldn't help but smile at the impromptu celebration he was witnessing. It was a rare event for any happiness to occur within these walls, but he couldn't help but feel some sense of dread that any celebration at all was perhaps to tempting for fate to ignore.

Dave was somewhat surprised that Janet would have told her comrades the details of her condition so soon This was still very early in the pregnancy, and with the odds stacked as they were, he silently hoped that she wasn't setting herself and Tommy up for tragedy. He drew on Laura's earlier prediction for strength, and reaffirmed his promise to everything he could to make sure that in two and a half months, these same mammals would become the beaming parents of a happy, healthy pup.

"It's a comforting fantasy to have. Now we need to make it happen." He thought to himself. He knew that hope was a dangerous thing to grasp onto in this place, but once again, seeing the support that Janet had, it made the necessity of his job all the more clear.

Janet noticed Dave standing near the doorway, and motioned him over with a beckoning paw. "Good afternoon, Dr. Hawthorne. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be seeing you today." She said jovially. "I don't know how the word got out, but this mangy group is the crew of ZFD station number 34. BIG HOUSE REPRESENT!" Janet cried out, and the assembled mammals let loose with a cavalcade of cheers.

Dave desperately fought the urge to join in as Janet and one other wolf let loose with an undulating howl, but eventually instinct won out, and he raised his muzzle to the sky and added his voice to those of his fellow wolves. The caterwauling quickly faded as the as the fire crew devolved into a vigorous series of embraces and high fours. Dave felt the beginnings of a blush under his fur, slightly embarrassed at what he viewed as an invasion into Janet's sphere.

His discomfort didn't go unnoticed, and he was quickly brought into the group, exchanging pawshakes with the assorted mammals assembled in the room. When he reached the other wolf, the fellow canine had a slight look of reproach on his face, but the expression was more amused than anything else. "The howl is part of who we are, Doc. No reason to be embarrassed by it. I'm Tyler by the way." He said, and there were chuckles from the surrounding mammals.

Dave shrugged but had a smile on his muzzle when he replied. "It's a professional image thing. We deal with a lot of prey species here, and a wolf howl isn't exactly comforting to them. The image of your physician baying at the moon perhaps isn't the best way to invoke confidence in your abilities, but you're right, it's part of our culture for certain."

Tyler nodded in understanding. "I can see that, and we actually have to deal with similar stuff on the job." He looked around to his coworkers, who nodded sagely. "For some mammals, seeing a pred coming towards them out of the flames and smoke can cause them to panic. It's part of the reason why our gear's designed to hide our species unless you get really close."

Looking over to Janet, the smile returned to his muzzle. "As for how we figured out you had a bun in the oven, well this place only deals with one kind of patient. We're not all lug-heads like Jack here." He added, boking his thumb towards a large male cape buffalo who gave a disapproving glare at the comment.

"Insulting your boss in public isn't going to win you many friends, Tyler." He said in mock seriousness before offering his hoof to Dave. "Captain Jack Bogo, station chief for ZFD thirty four."

Dave took the extended paw in his own. "David Hawthorne sir. It's a pleasure to meet you...all of you." He added after a moment.

The Captain's expression grew serious. "While you're here, Doctor, when can I expect Janet to be back in action? She's an important part of the team, and we're all worried about her and Tommy."

Dave leaned over so that he could see Janet past the much larger mammal, his eyebrows raised in an unspoken question.

Fortunately, Janet seemed to understand his position, and gave a small laugh and dismissed his concern with a wave of her paw. "Go ahead and answer Dr. Hawthorne. These guys are as close to family as you can get. I'll cut things off if it gets too personal, but the Captain's question is one I'm curious about myself."

Dave nodded both in thanks and understanding. "We're still too early to give any hard numbers for something like this. I'd say at least another week before we will have a full handle on a treatment plan, but the odds are quite high that I won't be able to clear Ms. Rey for full duty until the pup's born. Depending on how things work out, she may be able to go back for some light work, but this isn't something that we want to take any risks on." Looking between Janet and her boss, he kept a serious tone to his voice. "I hope you can understand that?"

Captain Bogo looked disappointed at the response but nodded his head. "I'll be honest, that's what I thought you were gonna say." Looking back at Janet, he continued. "I was hoping to have you back sooner than that, but you've got more important things to worry about right now Rey."

Janet smiled at the compliment. "Thanks Jack...all of you." She said warmly looking around to her assembled colleagues. "It all been so much to take in, and in such a short time. It means a lot to have you guys in my corner."

The firefighters all voiced their support for their comrade, with some of them taking the chance to embrace the wolf. The cacophony of support only ended when a female moose, after embracing Janet shook her head at the wolf. "I have to admit, I never thought I'd get to see this. You always told us it was impossible, Janet." The moose looked somewhat sheepishly at the comment. "I might have said a few prayers for you and Tommy about it during service."

Although he personally didn't place any weight behind the statement, he conceded internally that there were a lot of seemingly impossible events resulting in this confluence. Regardless, he'd focus on finding a medical basis for it and leave the theology to the professionals.

"Francine, as far as I knew, it was impossible." Janet shrugged, not looking flustered by the situation, although Dave's nose once again picked up on her unease. "Tommy and I never thought it would be an option for us."

Dave chose that moment to chime in. "If it makes you feel any better, if you had asked me two days ago, I would have said the same thing." Looking over at Francine, he continued. "We're doing everything we can to try and help Janet, Tommy, and their pup. Medicine is filled with instances where what was impossible yesterday is the norm today. Maybe this is another of those moments?"

He knew that he was being deliberately vague about some of the details, and the actual probabilities involved. Part of it was professional ethics, as they really weren't his secrets to share in the first place. Deep down however, he also knew it was because hope is more of a motivator than despair, and Janet would need all the support these mammals could provide in the coming weeks.

The assembled mammals nodded their heads in understanding, with more than a few of them reaching out to give Janet's shoulder a brief shake. The touches silently voicing their support for her. Captain Bogo let loose with a brief whistle, and the group came to something close to attention.

"OK crew! Let's get out of Rey's fur and let the mammals here do their work." He said in a voice that was used to issuing orders. He turned back to Janet, and opened his arms as invitation to the wolf, who readily returned his embrace. "You take care of yourself Janet, and Tommy too."

"I will Jack, and thanks for coming here." She released the cape buffalo, and looked to the rest of her crew. "This really means a lot to me, and I know Tommy will appreciate it as well." Her words were husky, as she spoke, and Dave was sure that every mammal in the room noticed how her paw came to rest on her abdomen.

Jack smiled and looked over to Dave. "You take care of her Doc. If you guys need anything, you just need to ask."

Dave nodded as he replied somberly. "You have my word that we will do everything possible."

The Captain inclined his head, and motioned for the fire crew to depart. The assorted mammals alternated between bidding Janet farewell and offering Dave a paw or hoof to shake, or merely a wave in farewell. Within moments, he and Janet were once again alone in the room. Janet waited until the last of her coworkers had gone before taking a shuddering breath, and leaning against the wall for support.

Concern was immediately written all over Dave's face as he moved to her side, already reaching out to check her vitals. "Janet, what's happening? Are you OK?"

She shook her head and waved a paw to ward him off. "No, nothing like that." She looked up at him and had a weak smile on her muzzle. "I don't think I was quite ready to share the news, and having them show up just threw me for a loop." She gave a small laugh and her smile shifted to a wry one before continuing. "I guess saying where I was kinda gave the secret away. I didn't think they'd look into it so quickly."

Dave nodded, and offered her his arm in support. Once he was certain that she was steady, he helped her reach her bed, and waited until she was settled before speaking. "Is it OK for me to just give you a quick once over?" He asked, most of his concern abating given the surprise Janet had probably felt seeing so many of her colleagues on such short notice.

Janet nodded her head, and while Dave started going through a brief physical exam, he noticed that she had a worried expression on her face. Pausing in his ministrations, his own expression grew thoughtful. "Penny for your thoughts?" He asked, opening the door for his patient to say what was bothering her.

Janet shook her head in reply, but then paused and sighed. "I need you to be straight with me Dr. Hawthorne. Tommy's not here, and I need to know, what are the real chances that this is going to work out?" She asked, worry and sadness at the forefront of her voice. "He spent most of last night planning out our pups whole life it seemed like, and I just…" She broke off, and Dave could smell the fear and dread coming off of her in waves. Instinctively, he reached out and took her paw in his own. She immediately gripped it strongly; any sign of support apparently a welcome one.

She took several breaths to calm down before continuing. "He wants this so much, and I've tried to tell him what the chances are, but I just can't bare to see him hurt." She closed her eyes against the tears that Dave could see brimming. "If I lose our pup...Spirits I think it might break him."

Dave reached out his free paw, and placed it on the other wolf's shoulder. "Janet, I wish I could tell you how this is going to end. The truth is that the odds are stacked against you, but do you want to know something?" he asked, with some real hope in his voice.

Janet opened her eyes, and Dave could see her desire to know the answer to the question. He had a real smile on his muzzle when he replied. "Always remember that Tommy is already a medical miracle. According to all the data and science out there, he's an impossibility, but there he is. Your friend, your mate, and the father of your pup. That is something that I can confirm now by the way. We had the results come in earlier today showing that this really is yours and Tommy's pup."

Janet gave a small cry at the words, her free paw reaching up to the front of her muzzle as the beginnings of a smile began to form. She shook her head before speaking, "I've know that from the get-go, but hearing you say it is still a big relief." There were still tears in her eyes, but some of the sadness had been banished. Not wanting to lose the progress that he had made, Dave continued.

"We've already have one statistical impossibility walk through these doors. I don't see why doing everything we can to make that two is an insurmountable goal. Everyone here will do just that to make sure that it becomes a reality." He gave a small bark of laughter as a thought occurred to him. "You might feel a bit better to know that I spent almost three million dollars this morning purchasing a certain piece of equipment to help us with that very task. It will be here tomorrow."

Janet became very still, and looked up at him with her eyes wide in surprise. "Three million? For us? What...why?"

The shock of the revelation was clear in her voice, and Dave's smile grew wider as the implications of his statement became clear. "Janet, what Dr. Wilson said yesterday was the absolute truth, You, Tommy, and your pup are the entire reason why we are all here. We will do everything we can to make sure that all three of you leave here healthy and whole. Anything else; money, time, sweat, tears; it's all meaningless compared to achieving that goal." He said, allowing the conviction that he felt behind the words to be heard.

What he did not add was that almost the entire staff here would sacrifice far more than that if it came down to it. Their work had cost the mammals working at the Centre friends and family in the past. Marriages had crumbled under the pressures of this place, and more than one medical professional had hung up their lab coat for good when their mental health finally gave in.

Janet shook her head in disbelief. " I...I don't know what to say." She just stared at Dave, the impossibility of the situation leaving her without words.

Dave released her shoulder and moved to continue his exam. "You don't need to say anything, Janet. Just please believe me when I say that we...I will not stop trying to help you and your family."

Janet seemed to relax at the promise, but she looked at Dave with a serious expression on her face. "Thank you Dr. Hawthorne, but...please don't tell Tommy about the odds. Let him keep on dreaming...he's doing it for both of us."

Dave paused and considered the request. "I won't lie to him Janet," he said finally, "but I won't bring it up unprompted." He shook his head slightly in contemplation. "You know him better than anyone else, so I'll let you decide how to handle this, but please remember it's his pup too."

Janet nodded her head and smiled. "Can I make one other request?" She asked quietly.

Dave nodded, and motioned with his paw for her to continue.

"He should be back any time now. Could you let me tell him the news?" She asked, and Dave's smile grew even wider at the request.

"Of course you can tell him." He said warmly, and had a brief chuckle at the request. "I'd imagine he already knows it as well, but it's always a relief to have proof. Would you like to be alone when you do it?" He asked as he motioned for her to sit up so he could listen to her chest.

Janet shook her head, "No, it's fine, and he might have some questions for you. He's been trying so hard to understand the technical details, but we're both way outside of our comfort zones on this one."

Dave nodded, and listened to the other wolf's heart and lungs. Finding nothing amiss in his examination, he indicated that she could lay back down, but instead she elected to remain seated on the bed.

"Are you still feeling a bit fatigued?" He asked when he was sure she was settled, already reaching over to press the button to summon one of the nurses.

Janet nodded, but still had a smile on her muzzle. "A bit, I guess. Seeing the gang was a nice surprise, but it took a bit out of me."

"I can imagine." Dave replied, "This whole affair is quite a shock to your system. The pregnancy, having to come here, telling your friends, it all takes a toll. I'm going to up your food intake a bit to see if that helps. We'll also do another set of blood draws now and in the morning to see if it makes a difference."

Janet made a face at the prospect of even more testing, and Dave held up his paws in supplication while laughing quietly. "I know, I know; you've been poked and prodded almost non-stop, but that should be slowing down in the near future. Unfortunately, it will pick up again once we have a treatment plan in place, but these will probably be the last tests until Monday I'd think."

There was a knock on the door, and both Dave and Janet looked over as Sara Mills entered into the room. "Did you need something Dr. Hawthorne?" She asked, realizing that it had probably been him who buzzed her.

"Yes Nurse Mills, would you mind grabbing a couple sample tubes for a blood draw. I'd like a full nutrition panel done up for Ms. Rey." He said warmly. "I'm just going to grab her a couple of sandwiches from the lounge. It's too late to change her dinner order with the caterer, but I'd like an extra 300 calories per day added on starting tomorrow."

Sara made a note on Janet's chart before looking back at Dave. "I'm on it Dr. Hawthorne. As a suggestion, the turkey melt was really good today." The bobcat added.

In either a subconscious our intentional gesture, the bobcat licked her chops at the mention of the sandwich, and Dave's ears twitched as a low growl could be heard throughout the room. It wasn't a growl of aggression...at least not in the normal sense. Looking back to his patient, he saw Janet holding a paw to her abdomen, her ears slightly pinned back in embarrassment.

Looking between Dave and Sara she smiled guiltily. "Sorry about that." She said. "I guess I'm hungrier than I thought, and that does sound good right about now."

Dave and Sara gave barks of laughter at the admission. "Given your stomach's vote on the matter, I'll get right on that."

As he started to leave the room, he saw Sara shake her head at Ms. Rey. "Janet, we're not trying to starve you here. If you're feeling hungry just let me know. We need to keep track of what you're eating, but you need to keep…"

The sounds of the conversation, "Or more correctly now, lecture." Dave thought to himself, faded as he made his way out of the private room. Sara was right of course, and he made a mental note to keep tabs on Janet's food intake and energy levels. Although the phrase 'eating for two' was a common one among the Zootopian population, it wasn't entirely accurate. He'd need to keep his eye on Janet's condition in the next few days, to make sure she was getting enough food for both herself and her pup.

Making his way to the second floor lounge, he retrieved two of the recommended turkey melts from the fridge, and tossed them into the microwave to revitalize the melt aspect of the dish. The action also gave him some time to think.

"This is probably just a simple caloric deficit." He mused, going over the various possibilities, ranging from the benign to a greater concern. "She has an activity level well above the average for a wolf in the city, but Jim already took that into consideration when he made up the diet plan, and the fetus is a minor issue at this stage." He paused his train of thought as he remembered the fox part of the equation.

"Could that be the issue?" He mumbled quietly.

Although it was true that wolves and foxes had similar nutritional requirements, there were some very real differences. Foxes tended to need a higher protein level in their diets. In the case of processed, or even cooked food items, additional supplementation was required to bring up the levels of certain amino acids. Janet, as a wolf, should be producing those amino acids in sufficient quantities to deal with the needs of the fetus, but to be on the safe side, a few alterations would need to be made.

A beep from the microwave, jolted him from his thoughts. Shaking his head, he retrieved the snack and made his way to the supply room, where he picked up a commercial protein shake catered to mustelids and foxes, before returning to Janet's room, his nose twitching the entire way back.

"That does smell good," He thought, and gave a small laugh realizing the error he had made at lunch. "And I settled for egg and tuna sandwiches today."

When he entered the room, he saw that Janet had taken a seat at the small table by the window. Sara had retrieved the sampling equipment, and it was laid out on a tray beside his patient. Dave smiled, and placed the food off to the side, and proceeded to wash his paws before donning a pair of gloves, and taking a seat across from Janet.

"Here we go again." Janet said dejectedly as she offered her left arm to Dave, who proceeded to quickly wrap a length of rubber tubing around her upper arm, before dousing the area around the now more visible vein in alcohol. Retrieving the needle from the tray, he removed the safety cap, but paused briefly before moving further.

"So Janet, just so you know, I'd like to make a few changes to your diet." He started smoothly, taking advantage of the distraction to insert the needle. Reaching over to retrieve one of the sample vials, he continued. "I don't think there are any real issues, but I'm going to increase your protein intake a bit, as well as have you take some supplements that are usually used for foxes and the like."

Janet nodded her head, and Dave could tell that his distractions hadn't been entirely successful, but her attention was firmly on his face, and not on her arm, which was the overall intent.

"Does it make any sense that I haven't been feeling hungry in general, but when Nurse Mills mentioned that sandwich...which you're torturing me with by the way, Doc, I was suddenly famished?" She asked as Dave swapped out the first vial for the second.

He shook his head in reply. "At this stage, I don't want to read too much into it. The pregnancy isn't at a stage where it will be a major factor just yet. This is more me being cautious." Looking up to meet her gaze he smiled warmly at her to show that he truly wasn't that concerned. "You're probably more aware than most about the dietary differences between wolves and foxes."

Janet laughed, and he removed the second sample vial before withdrawing the needle, and pressing down on the wound with a cotton ball. "Oh yes. I'm well aware. We've basically been eating a fox diet since we got together." She shrugged before continuing. "It's not that different really, just…" She broke off when she saw Dave's expression change to one of surprise.

"Doctor Hawthorne, is everything alright?" She asked, a note of worry entering into her voice.

Dave shook his head to clear his thoughts, and gave a small chuckle. "Everything's fine Janet. That was just me realizing that Jim, I mean Dr. Cerval and I, are idiots." He gave a much stronger laugh at the omission, but moved to clarify when he saw Janet cock her head to the side in confusion. "We should have realized that you'd probably be consuming a diet that was balanced for the both of you. We started you off on a slightly modified lupus maternal diet, but your body is already pretty used to a standard fox diet."

Dave shrugged but smiled at his patient. "I don't think this is anything more than us changing up your diet to one that your body's just not used to. We'll get you back to something closer to home starting tomorrow." He said, as he directed Janet to maintain pressure on the cotton ball.

Janet laughed herself at the pronouncement and then shook her head. "I guess I should have been a bit more descriptive when Nurse Uddington asked us about the kinds of food we ate. I think Tommy and I were still in shock, and just gave some pretty generic answers."

Janet pantomimed a blank vacant gaze and spoke in a bland monotone. "Uhh, chicken's good I guess...I like strawberries." Dave laughed, and Janet looked towards him with a serious expression. "I'm not joking. I said that to her."

Both wolves laughed at the situation, with Dave taking a moment to retrieve the sandwiches and drink for his patient, and passing off the sample tubes to Nurse Mills. Once they were on their way to the lab, and Janet was settled in, rapidly consuming the snack, he grabbed her chart from the foot of her bed and began to get a more detailed picture of the Rey's home diet so as to avoid these issues in the future.

A short while later, Janet and Dave had worked up a more reasonable meal plan for her stay at the Centre. Janet was in the process of jotting down the recipe for a berry and herb stuffed chicken breast that was apparently a favourite of the pair. Dave having indicated that the caterer would have no issues with custom menu items...not to mention the fact that he relished the thought of treating Carol to something new at home in the near future.

He was silently thankful that the Rey's had not been among those to take up the recent fad of adopting a vegetarian diet. For carnivores, real meat protein in some form or another was difficult to replace fully. In most cases, supplements could be used to make up the difference, but even so, there were real health concerns involved. He and Carol had long ago decided that it wouldn't be healthy for them to make the switch, regardless of the social pressure that they sometimes felt, and Dave was certain that Janet and Tommy must have come to a similar conclusion.

"We want you two to be comfortable here, and let's face it, food equals comfort in many ways." Dave said, as he took the recipe from Janet's paws. He made a few final notes on Janet's chart before a voice from the door drew their attention.

"Janet! I'm back!" Tommy's excited voice echoed through the halls as the fox practically bounded into the room. He was wearing civilian clothes and was carrying a backpack casually in one paw. From his scent, or rather the diminished strength of his personal musk, he must have taken the time to shower before heading over.

Seeing Dave in the room, Tommy paused in his excited greeting of his mate, but only for a moment, and Janet quickly rose to her feet, and rushed over the embrace her mate. Dave stood to the side, not wanting to intrude on the reunion.

"Welcome back, Tommy! How did it go today? Was Mr. Davis upset that you missed work yesterday?" She asked, with some worry in her voice.

Tommy shook his head, and smiled up at her. "No. I told him where you were, and gave him the note from Dr. Hawthorne. He said that if I needed more time off, I just need to ask."

Janet gave a sigh of relief, the situation of Tommy's work obviously having been a concern of her's. "That's wonderful Tommy, but remember that you need to keep up with your training. Mr. Davis is a wonderful old deer for letting you take time off, but he still relies on you."

Tommy gave a small laugh at Janet's words. "I knew that's what you'd say Janet. I told him I'd be there every day I can." Tommy looked at his mate with a serious expression. "He asked me to say that he'll be praying for us." He looked a bit ashamed when he next spoke."I slipped up and said we were having a pup. I know you said we should wait, but I got excited." Tommy hung his head at the admission. "I'm sorry."

Janet laughed, motioning to the various balloons decorating the room, and embraced her mate all the more fiercely. "Don't worry about it, Tommy. The catfish is out of the net on our little secret. Someone at the station figured it out already, since there's only really one possible reason for me to stay here." She released Tommy and placed her paws on either side of his face. "I had the whole gang come by earlier."

Dave could see Tommy's eyes widen in surprise. "So that's why I smell Jack and the rest." The fox's nose began twitching again, and his smile widened. "Wow they all really were here. That's great Janet...and something smells really good too." Looking past his mate he spotted the empty plate, and he looked back at his mate, with a slightly pleading look in his eyes.

Dave took pity on the fox, and with a small chuckle finally spoke up. "Don't worry, Tommy. I'll go grab you one as well. Janey was feeling a bit hungry a while ago, and it turns out that the caterer did a very good job today." Retrieving the used dish, he looked back at the couple. "It will also give you two some time to get settled without having an audience."

The couple laughed at his comment before returning their attentions to each other. Dave took his leave of the two and made his way back to the lounge. Fortunately, there was still one of the turkey melts in the fridge, and after warming the sandwich, he poured two mugs of coffee before returning to the Rey's room.

Entering the room, he saw that Janet and Tommy were standing by the window, looking out over the city, their arms wrapped around each other. As was usually the case, he noted, Tommy was leaning slightly into Janet's side, trying to have as much of his body in contact with his mate as was possible at all times.

He smiled at the pair, knowing that Carol and he often did the same thing at home. It was a rare day that they would wake up with their being no contact between the two of them, and more often than not, one of them awoke fully in the embrace of the other. It was just the way things were for most canids, but it was always something special for each pair.

Whether it was the sounds of his feet, or the smell of the sandwich and coffee, it didn't matter, as the Rey's became aware of his presence and turned to face him. Tommy eyes were firmly focused on the plate in Dave's hand, and with a laugh, Dave offered the food and one of the mugs to the smaller fox.

"Thank you Dr. Hawthorne." He said simply, before taking a seat at the table, Janet joining him after claiming the second mug from Dave's paws.

Janet took a seat beside her mate, and managed to draw his attention away from the snack, at least momentarily. "Tommy," Janet began, "Dr. Hawthorne had some good news while you were gone."

Instantly, Tommy's attention was focused on his mate, and excitement was clearly visible in his impossibly multi-hued eyes. He waited for a moment before motioning enthusiastically with his paws. "And? What's the news?"

Janet smiled at her mate's expression. "They were able to prove that it's really our pup, Tommy. We really did it!" Janet said, and Dave could see the affection she had in her eyes. She might have know the truth before he had told her, but this confirmation did mean something to her.

Tommy's face was still for a moment before he simply shook his head and smiled. "Janet, I always knew that." He laughed before reaching over to embrace his mate. "You silly wolf. I always knew."

Janet also laughed, and wrapped her arms around Tommy. The two held each other for a brief moment before releasing their hold. Tommy moved in to give a place a small kiss on his mate's cheek.

Dave gave the two a moment to settle before he decided to chime in. "I thought you'd feel that way Tommy, but this does change some things." Tommy looked at him with some concern, but Dave held up a paw to forestall any of his worries. "Nothing medical Tommy, don't worry about that." Seeing the fox relax slightly, Dave couldn't help but have a grin on his muzzle as he continued. "What this means is that we can now offer you the same income replacement, and support that Janet has. If you think Janet needs you here, we don't want you worrying about money, and if either of you need it, our legal team will help you secure a leave of absence from the ZTA or the ZFD...and I don't mind saying, we have some very good lawyers."

The two laughed at the implications of his comment. "The real reason why we do this is that we don't want you to have any worries outside of each other and your pup, and we will do everything we can to make sure that anything else that comes up is taken care of as well."

Tommy's expression was of surprise at the statement, but he nodded in understanding of the rationale. "I understand...and thank you." He looked over at Janet. "I'd still like to keep training. Do you think that's OK? I'm getting really close, and Mr. Davis says I might be able to get certified by summer." The fox paused briefly and seemed to shrink slightly. "I'm sorry Janet. That was selfish. If you need me here, you know I'll be here."

Janet laughed and once again reached out to her fox. "Tommy, we both know you've worked so hard to make it this far, and as I said earlier, I want you to keep up with your training. I'm fine here, and I'm not going to make you sit around here just for me." Cupping his cheek with one paw she looked into his eyes. "You keep studying, and make me proud. OK?"

"Thanks Janet. I love you." He said and he placed his paw over her's in reply. Suddenly his eyes widened as he remembered something. "Oh Dr. Hawthorne!" he said releasing his hold on his mate and looking towards the other wolf in the room. "I remembered something while I was at work...it's why I was a bit late tonight, Janet. I had to stop off at the apartment." He once again smiled guiltily, as he moved to open the backpack he had brought with him.

"I thought about Dr. Cerval asking about mom and dad, and I remembered this." He said as he removed a plastic bag from the pack. To Dave's eyes it appeared to contain an old silver brush...and old silver grooming brush. Dave's eyes widened both in surprise and understanding.

Tommy handed over the brush, but Dave could see the hesitation in the other mammal's expression. "This was my mom's. It's all I have left of her." He looked uncomfortable at the notion, and he seemed slightly embarrassed. "I kept it to remember her smell." he said quietly.

Dave nodded in understanding. "That's nothing to be ashamed of Tommy. I've got a couple of things from my mom and dad at home as well for the very same reason."

He wasn't immune to grief any more than another mammal, and for canines, smell was one of the strongest memory triggers there was. The scent of an old shirt, or family quilt brought back decades of memories. "It makes it seem like they're really in the room with us doesn't it?" Dave asked, the tone of his voice telling the Rey's that he knew exactly why Tommy kept the heirloom.

Tommy smiled at his words, but then his expression became clouded once again. "I know dad had one too, but I could never find it after mom died." He paused, and both Dave and Janet could smell the wave of sadness come off of him. "I always thought she took it with her when she went to...to join him."

Janet immediately reached over and embraced her mate, and Dave had a good idea what had happened. It was uncommon, but not unheard of for mammals with a strong pair bond to simply give up when their mate died. The fact that Tommy had been an adult when it happened probably had meant that the normal parental bond might not have been enough to drag his mother back from the abyss. The official cause of death was listed as accidental, and Dave hadn't looked into it further as a result. Now however, he had a much better idea as to what had happened, and the significance of the brush made all the more important as a result.

Reaching out a comforting paw, he grasped Tommy's shoulder. "Thank you, Tommy. This is more than enough for us to work with." He heard the fox sniffle quietly, but as Tommy looked up at him with a pained expression, he could see that his words had provided some support. "All I need are a few tufts of fur, and then I can give this right back to you."

He went over to the one of the cabinets at the side of the room and retrieved a sample bag and a pair of forceps. As he made his way back to the par, he saw that Janet was gently stroking behind Tommy's ears with her free paw, as the fox rested against her other arm.

He didn't want to disturb the pair, but he did need some more information. "Tommy," he said quietly, and the fox's eyes opened and focused on him. Sighing slightly, he moved to sit back up and regard the physician more closely. "I just need to be sure that your mom was the only one to use this? No one else?"

Tommy nodded in reply. "Mom and dad were very strict about not sharing brushes." Once again Tommy looked a bit embarrassed. "When I was a pup...I got fleas once."

Janet laughed at the memory. "You got those from me, Tommy...and I blame Cindy Desden for giving them to me in the first place." She added, not looking ashamed in the slightest.

Dave raised up his paw, a slightly guilty expression on his face. "I blame my sister for bringing them home once when I was a pup." He said, as the memory prompted a psychosomatic itch all across his skin. Shaking himself to try and banish the momentary discomfort, he looked back at the pair. "It's just something that happens, Tommy. Nothing to worry about. I just need to be sure that this fur belongs to your mother. In a way, thanks to your condition, we know that anything in your DNA that doesn't match up with this," he picked up the bag containing the brush with a flourish, and using the forceps began to pick out strands and tufts of fur, placing them into the sample bag, "must have come from your father."

He looked at Tommy with a real smile on his muzzle. "This will really help us understand how to better help your pup, Tommy. I can't tell you how glad I am that you remembered this."

"I'm happy it will help, Dr. Hawthorne." He looked up at Janet's face and he took a deep breath, taking in her scent. "I want to help, but I just don't know how."

"You helped today, Tommy." Dave said while sealing up the bag. "You really did."

Dave stood, and offered his paw to each of the Rey's. "I'll leave you two for now, but I'll stop in again before I leave just to make sure you don't have any questions."

After shaking each of their paws in turn, Dave remembered one final note that Jim had left in their charts. "Oh, just one minor thing; Jim realized that you prefer to sleep together in the same bed...which can't be too easy given the size of the standard beds here." He motioned over to the two beds in the room, one of which had gone unused for two nights. "Dr. Cerval will be bringing one of the large mammal beds in tonight. It will be a bit more effort to get into, but it's closer to what a King size bed is for mammals of our size."

Both Rey's laughed at the comment, and Janet looked somewhat relieved. "Thank you Doctor. I'm not letting Tommy out of my paws if I can help it...buuut things were getting a bit cramped there."

"It's no problem, and this isn't the first time we've dealt with couples who would prefer to remain close." Dave checked his watch and saw that it was just past five in the afternoon. "Your real dinners should be arriving in about an hour, so you might want to eat that soon Tommy." He said, motioning to the untouched sandwich.

Tommy smiled and took up one half of the sandwich, offering the other half to Janet. "Did you want some?" He asked, and Janet shook her head.

"I already had two whole ones, but don't feel like you need to eat it all." She looked at the sandwich with only a small amount of hunger in her eyes. "I'm sure I'll be able to polish it off later tonight."

Dave chuckled at the two, and made to exit the room. Calling back over his shoulder, he repeated Sara's earlier admonishment, "Just remember, if you get hungry, buzz the nurse's station. We have plenty of snacks on paw, and the last thing we want is a hungry wolf prowling the floors."

With the sounds of laughter behind him, Dave waited until he had left the room, and the passive range of the Rey's sharp hearing, before he started sprinting towards the stairs, his free paw fumbling for his keycard as he went. Looking at the bag in his paws, his thoughts were focused on one task, and one task only.

"I need to get these to the lab, NOW!"

After racing to the basement, and entering into the airlock, he grabbed an empty container from the stack by the decontamination tray and placed the sample bag inside before sealing and submerging it in the fluid, and quickly pushing it through into the lab proper. He pressed the intercom button, and looked through the observation window, trying to get someone's attention.

"Laura! Arnold! Abby! Anyone!" He called out, not even trying to keep the urgency out of his voice.

He noticed movement to the right, and he let out a relieved breath as Laura appeared from behind the lab benches. The ferrett, obviously recognizing that something important was happening, dashed over to the window, and hopped up on the nearby step so that she was able to reach the intercom.

"What's happened Dave!" She said, a note of worry echoing in her voice.

Dave motioned to the sample now accessible from Laura's side of the airlock. "Tommy just came back, and he brought his mother's grooming brush with him."

Laura's eyes immediately widened in understanding, and her head whipped to the left. "ARNOLD! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW!" She screamed. Looking back to Dave, he could see that there was real excitement in her eyes. "You get scrubbed in. We'll get this started."

Not waiting for a reply, Laura grabbed the container from the decontamination bath, and quickly made her way back to Arnold's bench. Dave Just had enough time to see the hippo enter into his field of view, when Laura made a very recognizable motion for 'Come Here Now!' with her free paw.

Smiling at Laura's enthusiasm...and somewhat concerned for Arnold's wellbeing Dave rushed to get out of his scrubs, and prepared to enter the lab. Throughout it all, that tiny ember of hope he held inside him grew slightly brighter.

"Maybe we will figure this out in time." A hesitant voice said inside him, and he smiled as he stepped into the shower. Hope was a dangerous thing to have at the Honeywell Centre, but for once, Dave allowed the emotion free rein as another thought filtered through his consciousness.

"The real work is just getting started!"

End Notes:

Due to the time issue, this is going to be a fairly short set of endnotes, and my comments regarding the probable adaptations that would have occurred in Zootopia will have to happen in the next chapter. Once again, I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter done, and I'll try to cut down on the time between them in the future.

For now however, I'll move things into Science Time!

Sequencing Libraries: Although I've gone over some aspects of DNA sequencing, I thought I should clear up what exactly I mean by libraries as they relate to molecular biology. Put simply, a library is a collection of the total genomic DNA from a single organism. These libraries can take many forms, ranging from free DNA in an Eppendorf tube (I have one sitting on ice by by my bench as I type), to a collection of individual DNA fragments that have been attached (ligated) to a piece of bacterial DNA, which can then be grown in E. coli or other bacterial species (BAC: Bacterial Artificial Chromosome library).

For sequencing purposes, these libraries need to be prepared in specific ways depending on the sequencing platform that's being used. The key element of the library prep is the degree to which the DNA is fragmented, either by digestion with an enzyme that cuts DNA at specific sequences (restriction endonucleases), or through mechanical methods (abuse the DNA by knocking it around to break it apart).

Inside the cell, the DNA in most eukaryotes (plants, fungi, animals), each chromosome is very large, on the order of millions of base pairs to hundreds of millions of base pairs (common wheat has an AVERAGE chromosome length of 806Mbp). As most sequencing platforms only sequence comparatively small regions of the genome (as little as 36bp to as much as 100,000bp), and start from the ends of the DNA molecule, if you didn't break the strand into chunks, you'd only get data from the ends of each chromosome...and those are pretty well useless from a gene content point of view.

This is where the different kinds of libraries come into play. I mentioned these back in chapter 3 I think, but I'll rehash some of the details. The easiest type of library to make is what's called a shotgun library. This is where you just take the DNA and break it into pieces using any method. You don't care what the sizes are, you just want to DNA to be broken up enough that, when you sequence it, you can get all the genome covered.

The advantage to this is that it's quick and easy to do, with fewer quality requirements. The disadvantage is that you don't know the size of any particular fragment, so when you sequence from both ends, you don't know how much space separates these fragments. When you want to put the pieces together, knowing this can be a huge advantage. I mentioned in a previous chapter how assembling a genome is like putting together a puzzle using billions of pieces. Knowing how far apart two fragments are is like knowing that two pieces fit together.

To do this kind of work, what's needed are size selected libraries. As the name implies, these are composed of fragments of DNA that have been broken up just like in the shotgun libraries, but you only use a small fraction of it. Prior to sequencing, you separate out all the chunks of DNA using a process called electrophoresis (basically using electricity to force the DNA through a kind of gel), then you cut out the fragments that fall within a very narrow range.

In this chapter, I had Arnold preparing a new library for when the sequencer arrives at the Centre. There are two reasons for this. The first is that after the library is prepped, you usually have to attach additional fragments of DNA to the ends of the pieces. These are called adapters or barcodes. Adapters are small chunks of DNA that are needed by the sequencer for the machine to do its work. Barcodes are also small chunks of DNA, but their purpose is to allow the user to separate out multiple samples from a single reaction.

Since something like a HiSeq (BGSeq in this story) can generate a trillion base pairs of sequence in a single run, it's completely overkill to use this on a single sample. By barcoding your samples lets you combine together a bunch of them into a single run. For instance, Tommy's DNA library would have each fragment barcoded with the sequence GTCAGTGTGCTGACATG, while Janet's barcoded with TTCATGGTTGCTATCAG. Once the sequenceing is done, you can separate out each mammals fragments using those barcodes.

The second reason for the new library is the size of the molecules used. Since the technology behind short read sequencers is based on sequencing billions of short chunks of DNA, the libraries are usually made up of fragments 15,000 base pairs in length, with larger fragments not providing any real benefit. For long read sequencers, you NEED for the fragments to be big. We call these libraries high molecular weight DNA, and what you want are fragments that range from 50,000 to over a megabase (1 million bp).

It should be noted that working with DNA fragments this large is a challenge, as the DNA strand tends to break if subjected to too much force. Even the simple act of pipetting will usually cause the DNA to shear at around 30,000bp, so care and special techniques must be used.

Protein Sequencing: Protein sequencing is a bit more complicated than DNA sequencing. The main reason is that protein sequencing is invariably destructive in nature. As opposed to DNA sequencing, which can be done as the DNA strand is elongating, protein sequencing generally takes the form of first taking the protein apart, by unfolding the peptides, breaking the disulfide bonds, and rendering it down into individual peptide chains. As many proteins are composed of multiple peptide chains or subunits, each of these has to be isolated and sequenced independently.

From there, most methods either enzymatically or physically remove one or more amino acids from the peptide chains and then use either chromatography or mass spectrometry to identify the amino acid in question. This process then repeats until you've sequenced the entire strand. This process is far more error prone than DNA sequencing, and de novo protein sequencing is nowhere near as common as it is for DNA.

Things get even more complicated by the fact that the amino acid sequence doesn't actually tell us a whole lot about the function. Since how proteins work is very much determined by the ways in which they're folded, and what they interact with in the cell, the primary sequence (the amino acids) can only give us hints as to how it all fits together.

Diets in Zootopia: Anyone who's owned an exotic pet can attest to the fact that they can have very particular requirements with regards to the kinds and variety of foods that they should eat. Comparing the diets of wolves and red foxes, foxes tend to require higher levels of protein in their diet, and also need to acquire amino acids like taurine through their diet, as their bodies are incapable of producing it on their own.

Tailoring diets to the individual needs of the various species in Zootopia would be a major concern for its citizens. The visible use of prepared and prepackaged food in the film implies a level of standardization in terms of preparation, but this would then need to be supplemented by additional foodstuffs or through purchased products (protein powder, vitamins and the like). The best alternative is for each species to prepare their own food, tailored to the requirements of their physiology, but in a modern society, this can be a challenge.

Additionally, the presence of species specific food items would also be very much based on the population size, as well as social demographics. Quite simply, if there aren't many members of a species in a given region, or that species is considered to be part of an lower, undesirable demographic, the presence of food tailored to their needs would be much reduced. For something like foxes, they might be forced to make use of foods more tailored to felines or other Canids than something just for them.

As was touched upon in this chapter, and confirmed through some tweets from the creators of Zootopia, some carnivorous species do choose to adopt a vegetarian diet in Zootopia, Nick being one example of this. This isn't something that would be entirely easy to manage, as the digestive tracts of most predators are simply not optimized to break down rough plant matter. In obligate herbivores, there are a range of evolutionary adaptations that are specifically there to allow them to break down long carbohydrates in the form of cellulose and hemicellulose, which make up a sizable proportion of the carbohydrates in plants. Carnivores universally lack the enzymes to accomplish this, and as such, would need to rely on either larger volumes of plant matter, or heavily processed foodstuffs. In addition to this, supplementation would be an absolute necessity for some species, particularly felines, foxes, and mustelids. For them, a vegetarian diet would be extremely detrimental to their health unless they included algae into their meals.

I think I'll cut things off there, and wrap up this chapter. It was way too long in coming, but at least it arrived eventually.

My thanks to everyone who has made it this far, and as always, please keep sending me your questions, comments and reviews. As evidenced by my delay in getting this chapter out, I do take the time to respond to as many requests for help as I can. You can blame WildeNick for giving Bogo a brother, as originally, I had named him Captain Jack Wallace. We'll see if I regret caving in down the road.

As a final note, if there is a particular topic you'd like to see me cover during Science Time or in my various rambling musings, please let me know. I reserve the right to veto any topic, but I can at least try to cover topics that interest you.

All the best,

eng050599