A/N: Here it is, my collection of stories created for Cimar of Turalis-WildeHopps' epic "What If…?" Collaboration story! For those who have not read it before (recommended but not essential here), here is the premise: one day during a routine police patrol, Nick and Judy become acquainted with a panther named Mr. Fitwick, who runs a high-tech arcade that includes a virtual reality machine called the Prototype Inhibitor of Experimental Alternate Reality, or the P.I.X.A.R machine for short. Through this machine Nick and Judy get to explore a multitude of alternate realities, from the dawn of predator/prey harmony to being Hitmammals. Most stories (written by many different and talented authors) take place during these VR experiences, while others, including this story and the next, take place in Nick and Judy's personal life. I hope you enjoy!

Note: in this story, Nick and Judy are married and have been trying to start a family. Rated T for saucy scenes.

"Now remember, Nick: bank, dry cleaners, library, groceries. You got all that?"

"Yes, yes, I know Carrots, I did not forget your list." Nick pulled said list out of his pocket and waved it in front of Judy's face.

The fox and rabbit pair were standing outside their car in the parking lot of the newly opened Savannah Central branch of Mousey's Department Store. Unlike the Little Rodentia branch, this outlet catered to both rodent-sized and small to medium-sized mammals like Judy, so she and Fru-Fru had decided to enjoy a day of clothes shopping together. Nick had been given a choice between joining them and doing the weekly errands that afternoon, and like all sensible males he had chosen the latter. The two were feeling oddly sentimental at the moment, because between their shared careers and home life it was rare they spent as much as an afternoon apart.

"Good, okay then. Bye Nick!" Judy kissed her fox's cheek.

"Bye Carrots."

"And bye, Nick!" Judy bent down and waved at somewhere behind Nick.

Nick glanced behind himself, confused. "Uh, you just said that."

Judy gave him a faux-annoyed look and pointed downwards, "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to him."

"Him? Him wh-" Nick cut off when he realized who, or what, she was referring to. He groaned. "Carrots, let's not do that again."

Judy put on her best innocent face. "Do what, Sweetheart?"

"You know…" Nick muttered.

"Oh pleeease?" Judy gave him the Bambi eyes, which he could never resist.

"Fine," Nick groaned. He turned his back to Judy, and raised his tail as best he could up to her eye level. "Say bye-bye to Carrots."

The tip of the tail waved bye-bye in front of Judy's face, making the rabbit squeal with delight. "Tail hug!" she suddenly cried out. And before Nick could stop her she grabbed the fluffy appendage in both paws and nuzzled her face in it, delighting in its softness. Nick didn't mind when Judy handled his tail, in fact he loved it since that was a privilege reserved for mates, but he still didn't like it when she pretended his tail was alive; he had somewhat painful memories of the first time she did that, even if it had all been a hustle to get him to cuddle with her.

Judy gave his tail one more nuzzle and finally released it. "Okay Nick, Fru-Fru's waiting, I'll see you at dinnertime!"

"Seeya Fluff!" Nick waved bye as Judy scooted off across the parking lot and into the mall. He sighed, got into the car, and drove off. A couple of hours later, with all of his errands done, the lonely fox decided to just head home and watch Game of Packs or whatever was on TV until Judy came back. Turning a corner towards the route back to their building, Nick suddenly realized he was driving through the very neighborhood he had grown up in. Puttering along down the street, on the left he saw a bakery he and his mother had used to go to, and coming up on the right was a furniture warehouse that used to be a cinema she had worked in. Feeling a rush of nostalgia Nick considered stopping at his mom's house for an impromptu visit before remembering she would be at work now.

And then he noticed something else on his right, a store he had spent many happy hours of his childhood in: Zoonko's Joke Shop. Surprised to find the old place was still open, Nick pulled over in front of it. He had several fond memories associated with that place, like the magic set he had bought there when he was ten and used to put on a show for his mother, or the industrial-strength superglue he had bought and put on that bully Billy Ramsey's seat in the cafeteria. He smirked at that memory.

The sales display in the window then caught his eye: it was a row of life-sized animal tails, the specimens ranging from the wormlike tail of a rat to the fluffy cottontail of a rabbit to the long tufted tail of a lion, and right in the middle was a fox tail that looked uncannily like Nick's own. Each had a little piece of Velcro attached at one end, and the sign above them read DETACHABLE TAILS – SHOCK YOUR FRIENDS!

Detachable tails, eh? Nick then got an idea. A wonderful, awful idea. One that might make Judy think twice the next time she decided to play like his tail was alive. With a sinister grin spreading across his face, Nick parked, turned off the car and went into the shop.

"Nick, I'm home!" Judy called out.

"Be right there, Honey!" Nick called back from the bathroom. He had spent over an hour browsing through Zoonko's before buying the fake fox tail, and while it had attached with velcro to the rear of his pants just fine, there was a problem the storeowner had failed to mention: how to conceal his real tail. The best he could do was wrap the appendage around his midsection and hide it under his shirt, but no matter how much he sucked in his gut his tail still left a noticeable bulge under his shirt that went all around, making him look positively pear-shaped. And Judy saw him every day, so he could hardly say he had spontaneously gained a potbelly from eating too many doughnuts. Then he got an idea – he grabbed his emerald green bathrobe off the hook on the door, wrapped it around himself, and stuck the fake tail through the hole on the back. Perfect. The bulky robe concealed the bulge completely and nobody could tell the difference. He strolled out of the bathroom to the kitchen, where Judy was putting her shopping bags down on the counter.

"So Nick, what do you want to do toni-" Judy suddenly paused as she turned around and noticed Nick's attire. "Why are you wearing your robe now?" she asked.

"Oh, this? Uh… I thought a quiet night in tonight would be nice," Nick replied. Deliberately swaying his hips to make the fake tail move like it was real he strolled over to his armchair and plopped down in it. "For a change of pace, you know? Instead of going to the arcade I thought we could just… hang out in our jammies and watch a movie or play a game or something. Just the two of us."

That sounded somewhat lame coming out of his mouth, but Nick figured suggesting a cozy atmosphere would be the best way to get Judy in a tail-hugging mood. Fortunately, the bunny seemed to love the idea, for a large smile was spreading across her face.

"Hmm…" Judy tapped her lips thoughtfully. "You know, I'm really glad you're up for that, because I feel the exact same way!" Suddenly she grabbed one of her parcels and started towards the bedroom, "And I know just what to wear, for I just bought it today."

"Ooh, uh, I mean, okay," Nick stammered, sudden intrigue replacing thoughts of the tail prank in his mind as Judy disappeared through the bedroom door. He stared longingly at said door for a few minutes before Judy called out from behind it: "Nick?"

"That's m'name."

"Would you please close your eyes?"

Further excited by this request Nick obediently shut his eyes, but listened with all his might as their bedroom door creaked open and Judy's light and soft footsteps approached him. "Okay," she called out, "Open your eyes!"

Nick eagerly opened his eyes, only to be greeted with the sight of Judy wearing her usual cream-colored robe patterned with carrots. This was not unwelcome for she looked positively adorable in that robe, but it was still a letdown after all that buildup.

"Uh, it's nice, Carrots. Could've sworn you already owned a robe just like that, but-"

And then the fox's words died in his mouth as his wife opened up her robe and revealed exactly what she was wearing underneath. Nick's eyes bulged, his throat went completely dry, and any further thoughts of the detachable tail instantly evaporated from his mind. He tried to say something, anything, but all he could sputter out was "Oh…" Judy smiled in delight, and quickly closed her robe again. Nick couldn't even protest he was so stunned.

After a few more seconds of flatly staring, Nick started to find his voice again. "Is that…"

"The one in the 'catalogue' I caught you looking at the other day? Yes," Judy said with an impish grin.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "I'd hardly call it a 'catalogue', since I found it in one of those males-only barber shops."

"If it had prices listed, it was a catalogue," Judy replied.

Nick nodded, finding no will or reason to argue, "Err, speaking of prices, wasn't that one really-"

"-Expensive? Don't worry, Fru-Fru got me a discount."

"Oh, how nice of her," said Nick, fanning himself with his paw as he suddenly felt very warm. "Still… with such a, uh, price, you'd think they could afford to give it a little more, uh…" he was still having difficulty forming words, "…fabric."

Judy chuckled. "Haven't you heard, sweetheart? The 'minimalist' style is very in right now."

Nick nodded again, this time very much in approval. "I gotta say Fluff, the fuzzy pawcuffs are a nice touch."

"Thanks, I had it personalized a little for you."

"Oh? Well in that case, I also love the little fake police badge on your right-"

"Thank you."

"And those two cute little bows on your-"

"You sure got an eyeful in that one second, didn't you?"

"What can I say? I've got a photographic memory for your beautiful bunny bod."

Judy giggled and blushed, immensely flattered.

Nick started pinching himself, "Is this a dream? Waitaminit, that's it! I'm back in the arcade hooked up to the P.I.X.A.R machine, and it must be in sexy mode and the dial is set to ten because only in my greatest dreams have I ever seen you wear anything like that!"

"Don't you remember, Nick? If you think you're in the P.I.X.A.R machine, then you're not in the P.I.X.A.R machine." Judy then grinned and flashed open her robe at Nick for another second before closing it again. "But isn't reality so much better at times like these?"

"Yeahhh…" Nick sputtered, almost drooling. He still wasn't entirely convinced this wasn't some elaborate P.I.X.A.R experience. "Err, what brought this on, Carrots? Not that I'm complaining or anything, goodness no, I just… never saw you wear anything like that before."

And then, to Nick's surprise, Judy sighed, and her ears drooped a little. "Well, the truth is, Nick…"

She walked over to Nick and climbed onto his lap, looking into his eyes. "You remember that… call to the Honeywell Institute I told you about?"

Nick nodded solemnly, well-remembering his and Judy's desire for children, and her morose reaction to the news that conceiving kits of their own was practically zero.

"Well, while Fru-Fru and I were out shopping today, she showed me this article that mentioned the Institute, and one of their interspecies patients, a wolf and fox couple, just announced they're pregnant. A wolf and a fox, Nick. And I know that they are still somewhat related but...that just…filled me with hope." Judy smiled, and started fondly scratching the underside of Nick's chin, her usual cheery self returning. "So what do you say, Hot Shot? Feel like giving Mother Nature a shot tonight?" She moved her paw to a special spot under his ear and scratched harder. "Or two, or three…?"

Nick let out a deep purr, and started stroking her little tail in a way that immediately affirmed a yes. "You didn't have to buy a new outfit for that, Cottontail. If you had just asked politely, I'm sure I would have come around."

"True, but the look on your face was so worth it." Judy got off Nick's lap and started backing away in the direction of the bedroom. "I was going to wait until after dinner to show you this, but suddenly I'm not very hungry," She raised an eyebrow seductively, "At least, not for food."

"Oh, well I am very hungry right now, Carrots," said Nick, slowly and provocatively sliding off the chair and onto all fours on the floor, bearing his teeth at her in a special way. "And do you know what I'm hungry for?"

"What?" Judy asked, stiffening with anticipation and not caring how corny they both sounded right now. Nick licked his chops with relish.

"Rabbit."

Nick let out a playful growl and pounced at his mate. With a squeal Judy dodged, and hopped onto the couch. This was one of their favorite games, playing predator-and-prey, and tonight Nick was determined to catch his prey as soon as possible. Nick leapt after Judy and she dodged again, flipping over the back of the couch and making a beeline for the bedroom. Nick scurried on all fours after her, delighting in his wife's decision to cut to the chase. Judy made it to their huge bed and scrambled up onto it, but before she could make it all the way up Nick grabbed her by the back of her robe, "GOTCHA, FLUFF!" With a squeal Judy quickly undid the string on her robe and wiggled out, finally exposing her new outfit for Nick to see in its entirety. But he only got a second to stare at it from the back and take in the way it accentuated her fluffy tail and rear before she vaulted over the side of the bed. Hungry for another look he scrambled over the bed and looked down, watching one of Judy's grey feet disappear under the bed as the giggling bunny crawled underneath on her stomach to get away from him. Without another thought Nick quickly crawled over to the other side to intercept her the moment she emerged, but then he heard movement behind him that signalled all too late that his wife had doubled back and was about to pounce on him from behind. He stiffened for impact…

"Tail Hug!" cried Judy.

"Tail hu-" Nick started before the memory of the fake tail currently stuck to his rear came crashing back, "Carrots, WAIT!"

Shrrrip!

"WAHHH!"

But he was too late. Nick whipped around to see a look of pure horror on his wife's face as she stared down at the lifeless tail in her paws, clearly not seeing it was a fake. Nick reached out his paw to try and calm her:

"Judy, it's okay…"

"AHHHHH!"

Judy screamed again and dropped the tail like a live snake and stumbled back trying to get as far away from the thing as possible. "W-WOAH! Oof!" And in her haste she tripped over the sheets and fell off the bed with a thud.

"Carrots? Carrots, you didn't really break my tail! Look!" Nick unwound his real tail and pulled it out of the hole in his robe to show her, "It's still good, see? Carrots-"

"Oww…" moaned the bunny down below. Nick's blood turned to ice.

An hour later, the pair were in their car driving back home. After Judy had fallen down, Nick had gone into panic mode and picked her up and taken her to the hospital, the bunny too stunned to even protest until they were already in the car. Nick's panicked reaction had quickly turned to relief when he learned that she had suffered nothing more than a sprained ankle and a bump to the head, but that relief quickly turned to a bruise to his dignity once he was explaining to the doctor just how the injury had occurred. Judy was now hunched over in her seat, holding an ice pack to her swollen ankle and seething at him.

"You didn't have to take me to the hospital, you know." She grumbled.

"Sorry Carrots, but I panicked. You were lying on the floor, clearly in pain and clutching your leg, I was scared you had broken something."

"If you had remembered your cop training, you would have remembered that if I can still move my foot, the ankle is not broken."

"You could have told me you could move it."

"I did! But you were so busy driving like a maniac nothing could get through to you! It was a miracle we even got to the hospital in one piece!"

"Well, I'm sorry! I'm sorry about the fake tail. I really did forget I had it, and I'm sorry that I panicked for my mate's well-being and wanted to be sure you were okay. Sorry."

There was a stony silence between them for a moment, and then Judy muttered:

"You could have at least let me change out of this negligée first."

A/N: In the beginning, Nick's little dislike for Judy playing with his tail like that is inspired directly by Cimar's story "A Tail of Love". Super-funny story if you haven't read it. Also, the Honeywell Institute belongs to eng050599.