PROLOGUE- Seven Years Ago
Downtown, Zootopia

I sat there waiting, streams of tears were running down my cheeks. I was hoping that he would come back, that he would hug me, and that he would tell me that he loved me. But instead, I was left alone.

As the room slowly darkened, Coldness crept alongside its friend darkness and spread itself across the room. The pain of loneliness and heartbreak was agonising.

An argument about Nick's hustling ways had quickly led to shouting, and an abrupt end to our relationship. The moment Nick walked out that door, I felt my heart being ripped from my chest, leaving an empty shell behind, devoid of happiness and hope.

How long has it been, since he left? An hour? A minute? I couldn't tell, all I knew, was that I was still sitting there, waiting. The shock of him leaving, had brought thoughts into my mind, ugly horrible thoughts, filling the emptiness he left. 'He won't come back for you. He doesn't even care'

'You're nothing to him, just a vixen he would play around with until you stopped being interesting'

'Face it, he's just going find another vixen, and leave you alone'

"No, not alone," I whispered to myself, as I wiped away the tears. I looked at the still growing little bump on my belly and rubbed my paw against it. It had been a week since I found out about it, and today was going to be the day, the day I would tell Nick the news.

'I should have told him sooner, then maybe, maybe he would have stayed. But would he? No, even if he did, it wouldn't have been for me.' I shook my head, trying to clear my head from these thoughts.

"At least I still have you. You won't leave me, will you?"

I felt a small kick as if agreeing with me. "We don't need him. We have each other, right?" I felt another kick in agreement.

Tears began to stream down my face again. I looked through the apartment window at the dark blue night sky. "Why?" I asked the sky, hoping that someone would answer. "Why?"

Present Day- Zootopia- One year after the Night Howler Case

I carefully walked out of the kitchen, holding a vanilla cake in both paws. Seven years had passed since Nathan entered my life, and each day with my son filled that hole in my heart, the hole that Nick tore. But still, I couldn't deny the fact that somewhere inside I still missed that red oaf. Nick had brought so much into my life that without him everything felt incomplete. It was like something wasn't right, like I had missed a step on the road to happiness.

Every day, Nathan reminded me of Nick. His bright red fur in contrast to my white coat, his occasional slyness when trying to get out of trouble. The only outward difference was his eyes. They were a deep sapphire blue, which he had inherited from me. His friendliness toward others… well, that was a little harder to nail down, but it did make him lovable.

Seeing him sitting with his group of friends lightened my heart. Most mammals still looked down their nose at foxes, but the world accepted us more than it used to. I sensed my mind drifting back on the familiar road to memories of the harsh society my brother Paul and I had grown up in. 'No' I thought, shaking the depressing thought aside. 'That's the past. Leave it.'

"Who wants cake?" I called out.

"I do! I do!" squealed Nathan and his friends in their adorable, excited little voices.

I placed the cake on the table, lighting the seven candles for my son's seventh birthday. "Happy Birthday Nathan! Make a wish," I said.

He took a moment to think of what he wanted. When he made it, it came out in a low whisper – but I heard it, and it sent a strange, sick feeling through me.

"I wish that Dad was here" he whispered, he then blew out all the candles.

While Nathan and his friends were busy talking, playing and eating cake, I signalled my brother into the cramped kitchen,

"I'm going to assume that you heard it too?" he asked when we were alone.

I nodded slowly, the look of panic stapled on my face. Worried thoughts began to occupy my head. 'What am I going to do?' I felt my body starting to curl up and tense. My tail wrapped itself around my legs. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and pretend that I never heard a thing.

I suddenly felt two paws grabbing my shoulders in a firm grip, which brought me out of my thoughts and back to reality.

"Look, Sis, take a deep breath and calm down, okay?" instructed Paul.

I took a breath and concentrated; I felt my chest rise and fall, and the air flowing through my lungs. My unsteady nerves came back under control.

"Better?" he asked.

I calmly nodded my head again as I felt him lift his paws from my shoulders. "Look, Sis, I, uh…" he mumbled, as he stared at the floor, fidgeting with his paws.

I took a serious look at him, studying his body language. His ears were lowered back, along with his tail; a sign of submission and fear.

He took a deep breath before continuing, looking up from the floor, staring at me with a look of uncertainty. "Look, I won't lie to you. But, I've been thinking that maybe… maybe it's for the best to tell Nick about Nathan."

I looked at him, shocked at what he'd just said. I felt my blood starting to boil, my muscles tighten, and my eyes burn. "How could my own brother think of something so unthinkable?!" I shrieked, feeling more betrayed than I had been, since the day Nick walked out. "You can't tell him!"

Paul seemed taken aback by my sudden change in behaviour.

"Nathan and I are living our own separate lives," I continued. "The same with Nick. He moved on from seven years ago! We..."

"This isn't about seven years ago! This is about Nathan." My anger must have rubbed off on Paul, because his voice came out harshly through bared teeth. He stopped and took a moment to draw breath, trying to calm himself from that rash outburst.

"Okay, I understand that it's a lot to ask, but his curiosity for Nick will only grow. I'm not asking you to instantly break the news to Nick, just…" he paused, before removing his glasses to rub his forehead. "The choice is yours, Sis. Follow your heart." With that he walked back towards to living room.

After the party, everyone had said their goodbyes and left, with the exception of Paul, Nathan and myself. The day was nearing an end, with the sun fading and city life beginning to die down. Neighbouring apartments began to flick on their lights, adding to the sea of blue and yellow in the darkness of the night.

We lived in the hub of the city, Downtown. It had benefits like being closer to shops, the park, the school, the hospital, and even the police department. But now, being close to the police meant being close to Nick.

'What am I going to do?' I thought to myself. 'I can't tell Nick and I can't ignore Nathan. What am I going to do?'

After some thinking, I noticed Nathan looking at me anxiously. He didn't say anything, but his big eyes asked, 'Mom?'

I sighed. He couldn't live his entire life without at least knowing where he came from. I headed for my room, beckoning him after me. "Nathan, sweetie, come here. I have something to show you."

As Nathan took a seat on the end of the bed, I rummaged through my bedside table, shifting scraps of paper everywhere. I was trying to find my scrapbook, obviously one of memories not so cherished as they used to be.

"Mom, what are you looking for?" he asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Hush dear. Now, where is it?" I muttered.

A small worn-out blue book caught my eye. "There," I whispered. I called it a scrapbook, though it was really more of a purse-sized one, with each page just big enough for one photograph. Flipping through the familiar worn pages, I searched past memories of my childhood and teenage years for a particular picture that I had tucked away years ago. Part of me wondered if I might have thrown it away, and my stomach tightened at the idea until I had turned that crucial page. "Here it is!" I exclaimed out loud in relief.

Putting the book aside, I grabbed the picture and sat next to Nathan.

Looking at the picture of… of our visit to Wild Times, I recognised the neatly written words 'Nick and Me'. It was there Nick told me he loved me more than anything in the world. For a moment I smiled as I thought back to that day, along with the 'magical' night which followed. It was that night which caused seven weeks of doctor visits, frequent vomiting… and finally the wonderful, crazy kit next to me on the bed.

Then my stomach twisted. Nick had disappeared before I even told him; before the doctor or anything else. His promise of love, and everything that came with it… it was all a lie.

I held the picture away from Nathan for a moment, despite his craning to see it. Was it the right choice? to expose him to the mammal who never knew of his existence? The fox who hustled his own friends for a living? I closed my eyes and thought hard on the decision, hearing Paul's words repeat in my head. 'The choice is yours' and he was right, the choice was mine to make.

I showed Nathan the picture. "Here's a picture, of… of me and your father," I revealed, fearful at the future repercussions that my decision would cause. Nathan's eyes gleamed and his ears perked up as he scanned the picture with almost cheerful interest.

"Nick and Me," he stated, as he read the words out loud. Then he stared at me with a face filled with curiosity and awe. "Dad's name is Nick?"

I smiled at Nathan. "Well, his actual name is Nicholas, but he prefers Nick for short. Now, I know how you've always wondered what your Father looked like, and so I thought I'd show you." I handed him the picture on an impulse, suddenly afraid to hold onto it. "You...you can keep it." Nathan had the look of excitement on his face. This was the first time that he'd gotten anything relating to his father. Everything that had anything to do with Nick I kept carefully hidden; hidden and away from him until today.

Nathan was in full concentration, inspecting and analysing every detail in the photo. "He's Red, like me," he declared, stating the obvious.

I laughed at his little observation and began to pat his little head. A moment of silence passed. "Why doesn't Dad ever come home?" he looked at me with his eyes, those gleaming blue eyes full of trust and innocence. I couldn't possibly tell him the truth, it would break his little heart.

"Well Nathan, your father…" I struggled to find the words. "Your father…" I gave myself a moment to think on what to say before continuing.

"Your father is a very busy mammal, his job keeps him very busy so he doesn't have any time off." Nathan just sat there thinking, it was as if he was contemplating whether my words held any truth.

I was actually a bit dumbfounded at what I just said. In my heart I felt that I had betrayed the trust between a mother and her kit. I had actually lied to him, and now I felt uncomfortable and broken; torn apart between guilt for the lie and responsibility as a mother to protect him, to protect him from the truth.

Nathan's eyes suddenly lit up, with his ears perked upwards with eagerness and his bushy red tail wagging in excitement. I had seen that look before. It was the look of trouble.

"Where does Dad work?" he chirped.

"Work? Where does Nick work? I thought to myself, I thought back to a year prior.

Flashback- One year ago. Six Months after the Night Howler case.

"Nathan sweetie, stay close to mommy," I told Nathan as he gripped my paw. We walked towards the station exit as crowds of various mammals made their journey to and from Zootopia. I held onto him, anxious about getting separated in the mass.

We stopped and stood outside the station, basking in the warm sunlight that shined upon the city while the familiar hum of city life greeted us.

"It's great to be back, isn't it Paul?" I asked my brother. We had left the city earlier due to the increasing prejudice and savage animals around. For weeks it hadn't been safe to be around prey or predators.

"Paul?" I asked, unsure as to why he didn't answer. I turned around, only to see him dragging our luggage towards us. He stopped next to us, scratching his neck. "Remind me again, why I have to carry all the luggage?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Because I have to look after Nathan," I teased him as I lifted Nathan up, hugging him tightly.

"Mom," protested Nathan, but he was giggling.

"Right... that," stated Paul, mumbling to himself while looking around Savannah Central.

I focused my attention on Nathan. "Alright sweetie, we're back home. Where should we go to celebrate?" I asked.

He answered without hesitation. "The ice cream shop!" he yelped in an excited tone, with his tail wagging in eagerness.

I laughed at my son's excitement. "Alright, ice cream it is," I chuckled, hugging him tighter.

"Uh, Sis," I heard Paul beckon as he tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hmm? What?" I replied in confusion as I turned to stare at what Paul was looking at. He pointed towards a bunny and a fox, of all mammals, in police uniforms.

Upon staring at the fox, my heart stopped for a second. It was Nick. After six years of separation, there he was, smiling his usual sly foxy smile.

"From hustler to a cop; what a way to go," Paul whispered into my ear.

Instead of replying, I was struggling to breathe. It was as if I had forgotten how to do it. Panic began to set in as I remembered that Nathan was with me. 'If Nick finds out about Nathan… ohh. What if he wants to take him away? What if Nathan sees him?' He'll start asking questions, and then I'll be in trouble'

"Mom?" asked Nathan in a concerned tone.

Instead of answering, I held him tightly in my arms, moving quickly away from Nick. 'He can't find out, he can't know'

Flashback End

I was a bit hesitant to answer. From what Paul told me, Nick had become the first fox cop in Zootopia. Still, the guilt of one lie was so fresh that I couldn't do it again.
"Well, Nick's a Police officer, so I guess he works at the Zootopia Police Department." I turn my head, looking over at my bedside alarm clock. With a start, I realised it was already past his bedtime. 'Perfect.'

"Oh, it's getting late. Time for bed now!" I said quickly.

"But Mom!" he pleaded.

"No buts," I insisted, hoping to fend off more questions. "Bed, now."

AUTHOR'S NOTE-4/10/2018

Please leave a Review
A many great thanks to Omnitrix 12 For helping me refine this Prologue, thanks to him/her, I've gained new insights towards writing.
So you should check out his/her works, I personally recommend 'No Stone Unturned 01: Something Stinks' A great read for those wanting a good Mystery and Adventure for the old noggin.
Refinement for other chapters is coming along 'soon' be on the lookout for a whole new experience in Chapter 1- Something Unexpected