The Past and The Present

The Beginning Of It All

Authors note:
Hi there, first of all this is my first FanFiction story and would like you to now that reviews will be greatly appreciated. I'm not used to how to set stories up so it might not come out as I intended it too. Most characters are copyright of Disney. Dr Mulligan and Rose are MINE.  This story is set a few months after the ending of the original.

It was cold night outside and Tod was lying comfortably in his bed. Widow Tweed had adopted Tod and his mate, Vixey, back into her house as she didn't enjoy being alone. Since Vixey grew up in the forest, she would often leave for a fortnight to get away from the cold dead feeling of the four stonewalls. She had left the day before, so now, Tod had time to relax.

Starting to nod off, Tod is hit by a white flash that leaves him disorientated. He instantly stands up, stunned and uncertain of his surroundings. He began scurrying around the house in search of some form of help. After looking around for some time, Tod had become exhausted. He eventually found Widow Tweed in her room, sitting in her rocking chair, reading her book. Her reading was interrupted by a thud on the other side of her room. She lowered her book to see what was going on. There stood Tod, shaky and exhausted. "Tod?" she said, standing up from her chair.

The panting red fox stood there as if he was frozen. Suddenly, he started running towards his owner, but after three paces, his rear legs became lame and gave way, allowing him to fall hard on the wooden floor. Widow Tweed laughed at her fox until she realized he was not getting up. "Tod, get up!" she yelled without response.

She was now starting to panic as this had never happened to Tod before. She realized that her veterinary station was open 24/7. She rushed over to the almost lifeless body, picked him up and dashed to the car where she laid her fox on the passenger seat. She then started her car and left in speed, without regard to her cars flat tire.

Upon arrival, Widow Tweed turned her car off and ran inside in search of Tod's usual veterinarian, Dr Mulligan. Once she had found him, he ran outside without hesitation, grabbed the limp fox from the car, and dashed inside with Widow Tweed watching in horror from the entrance. Dr Mulligan rushed Tod inside, holding him fast in his arms.

"Move! Out the way! We have a collapsed fox here!" he shouted in an effort to disperse the crowd and make a path through to the emergency room where Widow Tweed was asked to wait outside. Widow Tweed couldn't stand the thought of losing her best friend. She knew Tod was in the best hands and so, she left them to it. She sat down on the chair in the waiting room and bawled her eyes out. It took a painstaking two hours before they were complete.

By the time the veterinarians had finished, Widow Tweed's crying had stopped and anxiety had set in. She heard the door of the emergency room open. She stood up, faced the swaying door, and began to worry when she saw Dr Mulligan step out and face her, meeting her concerned eyes. He could see that she was uneasily watching the door, expecting Tod to walk out. He closed the door behind him and walked over to Widow. "Doctor, how is he? Is he alive? What's happening?" she said, starting to sob a little. 

Dr Mulligan sighed and, after taking a deep breath, he asked, "Do you want the good news first or the bad news?" By now, she had started tearing again and it became difficult for her to form sentences. Her dry lips tried to form a word, but her voice started to crack. "Good" was her only response. "Well, Tod is alive and breathing. He has not yet woken up, but his vital signs are good," says Dr Mulligan.

"Widow Tweed felt her heart lighten up. Then, without warning, her curios side started catching up to her and caused her to ask, "And the bad news?" Dr Mulligan felt his hands get sweatier and his saliva start drying up. He knew all too well that Widow Tweed loved her fox with all her heart and she had given up a lot for him. 

He replied soon after, "Tod has suffered a major stroke due to a blood clot lodged in his brain. He will unavoidably have little to no feeling in his hind legs." Widow Tweed was shaken up and a gasp slipped out her mouth upon hearing this news. Although death was her biggest worry for the fox, this somehow seemed worse.

"Widow Tweed turned to look through the glass doors of the room Tod had been examined. She took a long look at the half- unconscious and barely alive fox lying there, on the table, in an awkward position. Dr Mulligan had to pull her attention back to him and so he said," We will have to keep him the night, just to make sure that he adapts without injuring himself." Widow Tweed looked the veterinarian straight in the eye. She was not very happy about the idea of leaving her fox out of her sight while he was in pain. She sternly said, "I will not let that happen. Unless I stay here as well." She then turned around and found a chair and sat down, saying," You had better inform me if anything changes." She soon after fell asleep

Widow Tweed slept for a few hours and had started to wonder how Tod was doing. As she stood up and walked to the emergency room, she could not see Dr Mulligan or Tod. Her heart started racing as she worried over what was happening. She ran to the reception desk to ask where the two were and was told that they were in the back room. She had now become unhappy and stormed to the back room. As she arrived, she noticed a sign that said, "Recovery in Progress." She stared blankly at the sign and opened the door regardless.

Widow Tweed slowly and quietly opened the door, looked around, and found Dr Mulligan and Tod on the far side of the room trying to get Tod back on his feet. Once on his feet, he felt the veterinarian take a hold of his sides gently and walked with him slowly to see if his legs were helping. He looked across the room and saw Widow Tweed standing half in the doorway. He then motioned her to come in. Her face lit up when with a smile and a tear when Dr Mulligan let go of the fox's sides and watched Tod walk by himself. She could tell he was concentrating hard and tried to reach him without him hearing. Her footsteps were louder then she had anticipated and turned her fox's attention to her, causing him to lose his focus and slip to the ground.

Dr Mulligan and Widow Tweed set their attention on the fox and he managed to get up onto all four of his legs without help. Tod then began to walk to Widow as she sunk her body lower to the ground as if to erg him on. Once he had reached her, she folded her arms around him quickly and gave him a gentle but comforting squeeze. Tears of happiness formed the both of their eyes as their hearts filled with joy. 

Widow then got up with Tod still in her arms and said, "He is coming home with me" and with that thanked the veterinarian and left for the door. However, before she could leave the building, a hand firmly grasped her shoulder. She turned around to find Dr Mulligan staring at her with a serious face. "There is something you need to know, even though you won't like it," he said with a sigh between sentences. 

"I am sorry but there is no other way to put this but, Tod has just under a month to live. I'm truly sorry," he said as he turned around and walked back to the emergency room. Widow Tweed looked at the uneasy fox and realized for the first time how in pain and tired Tod was. She would not let this thought ruin her moment and so she left for the car, laid Tod gently in the passenger seat, and covered him with a blanket for the long road home.