Simon had finally made his decision and he was going to Folicia. It wasn't just because he had been starting to consider retirement but because he had started to feel needed. The owners of the pets needed him but this was different. The Folician's actually needed his help. Granted what they really needed was his DNA in the form of pregnancies but they really needed his help. How could he pass that up? On top of that they had given him a chance to see new worlds and meet new people.

Part of his decision had also been made when he had woken that morning he had talked to Calm. Seeing all the females he had spent time with either curled up in bed or on the couches and pillows had hit home. They had done that for him. Not just because he had made them pregnant but because he needed the support. It had been then he had really started considering going to Folicia. He would miss his family but they were all doing fine and if needed Simon could go back occasionally.

After Simon had talked to the Captain he had also talked to Speedy and officially accepted her as his Liraque. Before she had simply been a contract Liraque but now she was officially his Liraque. They had a long conversation about what had happened that night. It had helped cement his decision.

What was even better was he didn't even need to go down to earth to finalize any paperwork. That had been taken care of via the enclave on earth. It hadn't taken that long to both sell the clinic and to retire. He had sent a number of messages out as well letting various people he was going on a sabbatical and would contact them eventually.

Since the ship didn't need to go to earth to return him, the transport had just met them in transit. The replacement crew had come aboard. He and all the pregnant females had left. It had been a long flight but eventually they had reached Folicia. Much like they had done with Ray they circled the planet to allow Simon to see the world. That had been as fascinating to Simon as it had been to Ray and his family.

~~~

Ray had to sigh since he had received the message about Simon arriving soon. It wasn't a good time but that wasn't Simon's fault. Sometimes things just happened in their own time. In this case, it had been decided not to announce the arrival of Simon and his females. The world was under enough stress and even though this was a happy issue it would just cause even more emotional reactions. The World Mother had contacted him and given him that information. It was felt that if they gave this information out at this time the world might start thinking the humans were coming to take over.

That information had both made him amused and sad. He didn't have any urge to have any more responsibility than he already had. The idea of taking over the world was so ridiculous he had to laugh. On the other hand, he could vaguely see what she meant. They had arrived, caused more problems than you could shake a stick at and exposed so many problems. The average Folician was going to be in a bad spot for the most part.

Ray collected Gentle and Zantha and quietly headed to the space port. This was going to be difficult, similar to when Gloria arrived, since he had to tell Simon Flitter was dead. Ray knew that Simon had come to care for her a great deal. It was going to be hard but not nearly as hard as when Gloria had arrived. Ray looked at Gentle as they were traveling to the space port, "I know Simon is going to be very upset. I am going to need both of your help to stay calm and comfort him. I might need some comfort as well."

Gentle gave him a good hug before replying, "We expected as much. We will support you Ray and we are here for you." The next few weeks they were going to need to give him all the support he needed. Their heats were starting to be starting soon, added to that was the trials starting up. Ray was going to need all the support possible.

Zantha was settled on the other side of Ray and she briefly nuzzled his hair, "As Gentle said we are here for you Ray and we will support you." Just for good measure she shifted to one ear and nuzzled it, "Relax Pack Father and you will be fine."

He couldn't help but relax as the two talked to him and comforted him. When Zantha nuzzled one ear, he had to lower both ears and leaned into it. He had been in his new form for long enough he was starting to get used to their actions, "Thanks both of you. It means a great deal to me." Thankfully they arrived at the space port.

The transport arrived shortly after they had landed. Ray and the other two climbed out of the air car and waited for the transport to land. Once it did and the exit ramp lowered Ray started to smile. Simon and his fourteen females came down the ramp. Ray moved over towards them, "Greetings Simon and ignore the changes I am still Ray. It is a long story and I will tell it to you later. We have accommodations for all of you at the pack property." The air vehicle was large enough for all the new females as well as Simon.

Simon did have to stare at the male Folician who had come to greet him and his ladies. Gentle he recognized as well as Vyra. After the male started speaking Simon had to admit it did sound like Ray. After looking at the males features he had to admit it looked like Ray also, "Okay the anal probe joke was one thing but I had better not wake up a Folician one of these days. I am happy the way I am." Just for good measure he was looking over his shoulder to see if the transport was still there.

Ray snorted at Simon and grinned, "Well unless you travel in time, meet dragons, and assorted other things like that for the gods probably not." As of yet Ray didn't know about Hands, "Come Simon let's get your ladies settled down on the pack property and then we will talk." Ray looked away for a moment and his jaw clenched, "Before anything else you need to know Flitter is no longer with us. She passed away after she delivered our pups." It still hurt to say that and always would but it was better.

Simon was giving him an odd look as he was speaking until the end. When Ray informed him about Flitter's death he was greatly saddened since he had liked her. She had been so good for Ray as well and watching Ray bloom under Flitters love had been greatly enjoyable, "I am sorry to hear that Ray, so sorry since she was a lovely woman." Since he wasn't sure what to do he settled for grasping one of Ray's shoulders and giving it a squeeze.

Ray gave him an appreciative smile, "Flitter knew she was probably going to be called back to the fold. She was training Gentle to become the next Pack Mother to take over. Also, knowing how much Gentle and I loved each other she was nudging us together so I would have her strength. Gentle is my new mate. A lot of stuff happened before that but I wanted to let all of you know." He looked up at Gentle and gave her a loving smile.

Simon gave Gentle a pleased smile, "I remember how much both Ray and Flitter spoke about you Gentle and I could tell how they cared for you. We can talk later. I would like to settle my ladies into wherever we are going to be living." He turned to Calm Speaker, "Can you please get the ladies on the transport? I need to talk to Ray for a few more moments." When Calm gave him a hug he returned it before letting go, "I would like to introduce you to my Liraque Fast Mover. She goes by Speedy and the lady I asked to get my ladies on the transport is Calm Speaker and she goes by Calm."

Ray introduced Zantha after greeting Speedy, "I have a house set off to one side for you and your Liraque. Even though you are going to become part of my pack I felt you would prefer to have one of your own. It will become the center of your pack of ladies. There are a number of houses set aside as well." As he was speaking he kept an eye on the females and once all were on the transport he turned and waved Simon to follow. He let his ladies to get on before he and Simon followed.

Simon followed Ray on but went partway back and settled next to Calm and Speedy. He leaned against Speedy since he needed some comfort due to what he had learned. Simon had been really looking forward to seeing Flitter again and the shock had him upset.

The transport was fairly quiet since Simon's ladies could smell his sadness. They would comfort him later once they had started to settle in. Calm wrapped an arm around him as well and nuzzled his ear to give him comfort.

It didn't take long for the transport to make it to the pack property and the transport settled down. It settled down in front of a different entrance and Ray stood and left the transport. Once off he wrapped an arm around Gentle and leaned against her warmth. Even with his winter robes it was still chilly out. Once Simon climbed out and his ladies gathered around him Ray turned and waved over several of his pack, "Simon this is Dusty, Birdy, and Breezy. They are going to help all of you get settled in. We have ordered some food for you as well. Once you have settled in if you want to come to the main house we can talk."

Simon gave the three females a polite nod, "Thanks for your help. As far as coming over maybe this evening, I want to get a chance to settle in and relax. The ship was nice but I rather missed having room to spread out."

Dusty wrinkled her muzzle at him, "We can show you to the hot springs. Once we knew how many were coming back we expanded the hot springs. I am sure you will enjoy it." She turned and waved for them to follow her, "Shall we?" The luggage had been delivered with a different transport. As the three took charge Ray quietly left and headed back to his house.

~~~

When Hands walked into the central room he had to wince since he knew the urges everyone was going to have. With a mental sigh, he crossed his arms and frowned, "Don't even think about kidnapping me for cuddling. I have teeth and will bite." His threat wouldn't stop his pack from taking him down when they saw him though.

Thankfully all the pups five and older were in school or he would have probably been hugged to death. When lunch hit, which was soon, then he would start worrying. For now, he went and settled down with Savory and next to a young woman who smelled stressed. As needed he was going to swap younger females until Toes was done.

They hadn't been sitting there very long when Toes contacted the three of them and asked them to come back to the office. When Toes called for them Kyth sent for Salty to come meet them at the office. Hands stood and after handing out one more hug headed towards the office. When he walked in he found Salty there and gave her a curious look but settled for having a seat next to her.

Salty had to stare when Hands walked in though she did resist the urge to tackle him. She could do that later when they didn't have such a serious subject to talk about. When he sat down next to her Salty did reach over and stroke one ear before she turned back to Toes.

Hands wrapped an arm around Salty and smiled when she petted one of his ears, "What can we do for you Toes and why is Salty here?" He hadn't been caught up yet since Kyth hadn't mentioned it.

Toes looked at Salty, "You came to us wanting to talk about Gentle Rain why don't you go ahead and tell us what you need to." He was sipping on a mug of coffee as was Hands. Singer was relaxing against Toes and looking reasonably content.

Salty gulped and started to speak. It took several starts before she was able to really speak, "First I know that Rain is a Pack Father or a potential one." She had to look down at her lap. It was very hard for her to talk about this since it made her very upset. Before Salty spoke again Hands moved her over to his lap and wrapped his arms around her. When he did she leaned her head against his shoulder so his scent was stronger but she could still talk.

"After dealing with him and talking to him", she had to keep stopping so she didn't cry, "he is so withdrawn I don't know what to do for him. Even with having all of you here there are so many old habits this pack is operating under I don't think he will be able to act as one. At best maybe a secondary one for a pack." She looked at Toes with scared eyes. She liked Rain but knew without a great deal of very careful treatment he wouldn't be able to handle the stress. Even with the treatment she wasn't sure.

Toes had to sigh since after listening to the Instructor as well as talking to Golden about what he was sensing he had to agree. He had also asked Spike to come over and talk to the boy and give him a base assessment. Without taking him to a psychotherapist all she could do was give him a general assessment, "I know Salty and we, Golden, Dancer, and I, have been talking about it. We hadn't really come up with a good idea how to deal with it. Did you have a suggestion?" He kept his voice low and quiet as he spoke.

Salty looked up at Hands, "I just thought about this after you left and hadn't had a chance to talk to you." *Please don't be upset.* She turned back to Toes, "It was a couple of weeks ago when Hands told us he was thinking about possibly bringing in another male pup. It was after he came back from Savory's Dame's house. He had been sent a number of offers to have a pup accepted into the pack." She had to blush since that just sounded wrong.

Hands reached up and stroked her cheek, *I understand Salty. It is okay.* He could see where she was going with this but she needed to say her piece, "So what are you suggesting sweetie?"

Salty curled a bit closer to Hands, "I think it would be a good idea if he came back to the temple with us. Even if nothing else it would remove him from this pack and give him some where totally new. It might help him to start to open up and grow." Even if she was only ten, almost eleven, it was part of her Liraque training to assess people.

Toes leaned back in his seat and started stroking his whiskers as he was thinking. It actually wasn't a bad idea for a short term. Before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door. When he looked over there was several of the most senior females at the door, "How may I help all of you?"

Spring gave them a general nod, "I hope we aren't interrupting Pack Fathers but we needed to talk to you about something urgent." She led the other two into the office and made sure the door was closed, "Pack Father we need to know what is going to happen with the pack. We don't have a Pack Father and with everything which has happened the Pack is starting to unravel." Even with having an adult Pack Father there giving assistance it was going to happen. Once he left there wasn't anyone to keep the pack together.

Toes stood up after gently urging Singer away from him. He walked over to Spring and wrapped his arms around her. Toes closed his eyes and slowed his breathing down. This wasn't something he had ever done before but it felt correct to him. A few moments later he leaned over and lightly nuzzled her ear, "With your permission I will take on the responsibility of being your Pack Father."

Spring leaned into the hug and started crying when he said he would take over the Pack. She hadn't liked some of what she had known about but it was still her pack. The idea of the pack being dissolved and the harem and females forced to find new packs scared her. Even if they found a new pack they would be considered the lowest of the low due to what happened.

Singer and High Tower both stood up and went over and hugged the other two females as they started crying as well. It took some time for the women to calm down but eventually they did and everyone settled down on the couches, *Dancer, Golden, I wish to let you know I have chosen to take over the role as Pack Father for this pack. I was asked what was going to happen to the pack and I thought about it and it feels right.*

Golden couldn't help but smile since he had been feeling that was going to happen. The Pack Lord was usually somewhat subtler when he was working than the Goddess. He wasn't sure why but he had seen it before over his lifetime, *Thank you for letting me know and I have already discussed this with Dancer and you have our approval. Once you come up with a new pack name tell me and I will register the pack and you as the Pack Father. What about Gentle Rain?* There had been a large number of discussions about the boy and how to handle him.

Toes drew several others into the link, *I don't think the pack knows about Gentle Rain being a Pack Father. Being honest I almost think it would be better if we didn't tell anyone except the top few. The pack has been hit with enough crap. Maybe in a few months we can talk to them but for now I have a feeling it would be a bad idea. Salty approached me earlier because she wanted to talk about Rain. She suggested having him accompany Pack Liraque back to the temple. I think that would actually be a very good idea. With Salty renaming him there is a connection between the two. He will also have the support of Hands pack as well.*

Dancer and Golden had to think about that for a while, *We will need to get back with you about both suggestions. Both have advantages and disadvantages and we will need to talk to Dark Skies and Sees Clearly. As you know tomorrow the judgment for the three are going to be handed down. With the plea agreement Hands will also be cleared of all charges at the same time.* This was going to be interesting since technically only a Pack Father or elder for the Pack could approve Rain changing packs. Since all the matriarchs and elders were in custody that couldn't happen. Technically the most senior female could approve it but the pack was so damaged that wouldn't happen either.

Toes had hoped for a quick answer but he did understand they were going to need time, *Thank you for listening and we will be waiting. For now I am only going to tell Spring since she is one of the most senior females.* That and she had given Singer some important attention. He couldn't ignore that no matter what. It showed that overall, she was a good female.

Once they had broken the link he contacted Spring, *This is under the standing Goddess Order dealing with this issue. Gentle Rain is a Pack Father but due to how he has been raised there are doubts about if he could work as a senior Pack Father.* Damn it he was starting to get tense and angry again. By the Pack Lord he really wanted to thrash someone within an inch of their life.

Singer didn't even think when she leaned towards him and tucked her muzzle in his neck. She pressed several gentle kisses against his neck, *Break up the meeting and I can give you a good massage.* Even though she felt rather embarrassed she added just a hint of desire to the sending. Except for when she was in heat she had never suggested anything like this.

Spring gasped and started shaking again. High Tower could tell that Toes needed a few minutes to calm down. He stood and walked over to Spring, "I can see that you could use a good massage. Why don't you come to my room and I can help you relax." Thunder looked at the other two and smiled at them, "It has been a stressful morning for everyone. I can offer you a massage as well."

Hands could use one as well but he figured the third woman could stand a good massage as well, *Light Skies, Zahria come to the office please. There is a lady who could use a good