Nick's ears perked up as his insistent alarm sounded, telling him that it was time to wake up. He opened one eye to get a look at the clock, checking to make sure it really was time to wake up. It didn't seem to matter how many times he did this; the clock was always right. At the same time though it did precious little to make getting up out of the bed easier. Hearing Judy shift next to him as she began to hear the alarm too though, he decided to get going.

He rolled out of bed, adjusting the covers as he got up to make sure that Judy stayed tucked in. Moving as quietly as he could he went to the bathroom and began his morning routine. It was routine to him at this point, boring, but comfortable. He liked to make a game out of it, to see how quickly, how quietly and with how much flare he could carry out his morning chores. After getting dressed he went to the kitchen and began to cook breakfast, pausing for a moment to decide what he would be making for the kits and Judy today. Looking in the fridge he noticed there were only four eggs, not enough for all five of them. Nick quietly commented on the dilemma to himself, his decision having apparently been made for.

"Looks like pancakes today, though I will have to buy more eggs later..." He said clicking his tongue

Moving deftly, he got out the flour, the milk, the eggs, the frying pan, and of course, the blueberries. He popped a few blueberries into his mouth as he started mixing together the ingredients, breaking all four eggs at once with two in each paw, then passed the shell halves in his left paw to his right, and added the milk with well-practiced skill, not looking as he bent down to throw out the shells in the trash he had opened with his foot. In a mere half hour, Nick had gone from lying in bed to being fully dressed and making pancakes for the other four members of his household. He checked the clock and whistled low when he figured out his time.

"Not bad… Shaved an extra minute off with that egg trick."

With the pancakes on the stove, Nick watched carefully, flipping each of them with just a bit of flare. Another five minutes and the pancakes were ready to go. He set them on a plate in the middle of the table as he prepared a pitcher of orange juice, the other plates and the syrup. Now all that was left was to wake up the others and make the kits their lunches.

First he stopped by the sisters, gently knocking on their door before letting himself in.

"Morning girls… Guess what daddy made for breakfast?" The two groaned in unison, the rabbit letting her foot twitch and the fox her tail. Sensing they were going to be a little more difficult than usual this morning Nick decided to pick on Nicole first. She was laying in bottom bunk with her red ears and long bushy tail peeking out from under the covers.

"Nicole, what do you think daddy made for breakfast?" She flopped over in her bed, attempting to shield her eyes from the light Nick was letting in.

"I don't know, oatmeal?" Nick chuckled a little and looked up towards Jessica whose long ears were hanging off the side of the bunk bed.

"How about you Jessica?" She too flopped away from him, trying to avoid the light.

"Uh… Eggs?" Nick stood there smugly.

"You're both wrong, but I'll give you a hint. It involves blueberries."

At this they both shot up and started sniffing the air before saying in unison.

"Pancakes!" They started towards the door but Nick held out a stern paw.

"Hold on girls! Remember, you need to get dressed first." They both looked towards each other and gave a singular determined nod.

Content that he now had two up, he went on to the third. Opening the door to his room, Nick walked over to the curtain and slowly began to open it, letting the morning light in as well as the sight of the city just waking up below. In the bed a small shape stirred. Marcus squinted his eyes tightly closed and pulled the blanket over his head, leaving only his jet black ears exposed. Nick rolled his eyes a little at this before musing on everyone else's morning routines to himself.

"Wow, how are you all such heavy sleepers? Ah well, looks like the only way I am waking up this silly bunny is with tickles." The ears immediately perked up at the word 'tickles.' Marcus let out a small protest but was drowned out by the fit of laughter that overcame him as his Nick tickled him mercilessly.

Content that he was now definitely awake Nick told him about the blueberry pancakes, his emerald eyes lighting up and told him the same thing he had told the girls. Setting out his clothes for the day, Nick moved on to the last resident of their apartment he had to wake up. He walked through the open door to their bedroom and knocked on it before addressing her in a satirical official voice.

"Assistant Superintendent Judy Wilde! Your presence is requested at the dining table!" Judy flopped towards Nick, letting her eyes open up lazily.

"Is that so chief Wilde?" Nick walked towards the bed, sitting near the head when he reached it.

"That's right. Besides, you might not get any breakfast if you don't hurry up." Nick leaned in and gave Judy a kiss on the head.

"Oh, how come?" She laughed a little at how absurdly cute Nick was being, turning her head to try and keep her eyes on him.

"I made pancakes, with blueberries."

By the time Nick had blinked, Judy had already shot out of the bed and was out the door. Nick attempted to voice his protest at her not being properly dressed, but she simply responded by stopping in the door frame and playfully mocking him.

"Catch me if you can officer Wilde!"

Nick stood up from the bed stretching his arms a little, and headed back towards the kitchen only to find that the stack of pancakes was now empty. Before he could protest though, Judy gave a bemused chuckle and took two of her pancakes from her stack and set them on Nick's plate. Satisfied, Nick went and picked up his tablet and sat down with the rest of the family, eating pancakes with one paw and reading the morning news with the other. The sound of chewing filled the air as they enjoyed Nick's cooking, while Judy peeked over his shoulder to read the morning headlines. Marcus though, having grown bored with his food now decided it was worth attacking with his teeth directly rather than knife and fork.

"Rawr!" He said slamming face first into his plate. His sisters squealed across from him, trying to avoid the droplets of syrup and pancake that were threatening to land on them. Nick lowered his tablet and gave a stern look towards Marcus. Before he could chastise him though Judy spoke up.

"Marcus Julian Wilde, that is not how we eat at the dining table." Looking rather crestfallen, the young rabbit looked towards his dad for support.

"She's right you know. Besides, a real predator wouldn't be nearly so messy with their food. Makes it very difficult to clean up after." Having lost both avenues of support, Marcus resigned himself to his defeat.

"Aww shucks."

Checking the time, Nick noticed that if he didn't hurry that the girls would miss the bus to school. Packing in the last of his pancakes he wiped off his paws on his napkin and got the girls lunches.

"Okay girls, the bus is arriving in fifteen minutes so we better hurry up." Once again they spoke in unison.

"Okay dad!"

Rushing from the dining table they returned with their backpacks and shoes on not a minute later. Nick bent down and put Jessica's lunch in her backpack and handed Judy Nicole's lunch to put in hers. Holding their hands, he led the girls downstairs and stood with them at the bus stop. Right on time, the bus rolled up to the apartment building and picked them up along with the other kids from the building. Job done, he headed back upstairs in time to see Judy tickling Marcus in her assistant superintendent uniform before giving him a kiss goodbye. Reaching Nick, she drew him tightly for a hug before giving him a kiss.

"Have a good day at the office carrots." Leaving the embrace Judy headed towards the stairs.

"You too sweetie. Oh, by the way, please fill in my calendar for when the girls have their school play and when Marcus has his recital."

"Of course, see you later tonight." Judy gave him one last parting glance as she headed down the stairs and towards her car parked down below.

Turing around and closing the door Nick saw Marcus with his best 'wild' face on. His teeth were bared and his paws were splayed. Nick decided to play along, today wasn't going to be a great day for him anyway.

"Oh no. A Savage predator, whatever shall I do?" Marcus rushed his father who scooped him up and swung him around in the air. Having noticed something while Marcus has been growling though Nick decided it was time to get him ready to get out the door.

"Hey. Do you know what the biggest threat is to a big scary predator?" Marcus giggled.

"Aw come on dad…"

"Say it…" Marcus folded his arms in protest, but relented.

"Tooth decay." Nick smiled and nodded at the little bunny.

"That's right slugger. Now go and brush those teeth before we go out to the doctor's office. Be quick about it too, we have an early appointment today."

Nick went to the bathroom with him and helped him brush his teeth, making sure he didn't try to cheat as he usually did. Picking him up, he took him downstairs and to the parking garage where his car sat. A sky blue minivan, specially chosen by Judy for its crash worthiness. Nick took out the key fob and put Marcus in his booster seat and then set off from the parking garage. Nick noticed Marcus was strangely silent as they drove through the crowded morning streets. He had a hunch about what was bothering him but he figured it would do more to help Marcus if he talked about it.

"Awfully quiet back their slugger. Something on your mind?" Marcus didn't say anything, instead he just nodded in the affirmative.

"Is it about going to the doctor?" Once again the little rabbit in the back seat nodded in the affirmative. Nick could tell he was nervous as he checked the back seat with the rearview mirror. He had wanted to make it a surprise, but perhaps it was better that he knew now.

"Well, I was going to wait for you to seem him yourself but this doctor? He happens to be a puma!" Marcus' eyes widened upon hearing those words.

"Really!?" It was now Nick's turn to nod and say few words.

"Yup!"

"Is he huge?"

"Mhm."

"Is he intimidating?"

"Uh huh."

"Does he crush watermelons in his mouth?"

"Been watching videos on the internet again huh kid?" Marcus giggled a little and stared out the window at the cars passing by.

Nick allowed himself a smirk, he had found his mark once again. A few minutes later he had parked the car and was now walking into the office with Marcus on his shoulders. Once again though, as soon as they entered the office he went dead silent. Nick could tell he was nervous. He didn't blame him, he never liked getting shots as a kid either. Checking in at the front desk he looked over all the forms and signed at the bottom. He picked up Marcus from his shoulders and set him down gently next to him at the receptionist's desk. Holding his hand, he took him back to one of the chairs and put him on his lap as he pulled out a story book to read with him on his tablet. Noting he still looked rather nervous, Nick tried to offer some words of comfort to his nervous son.

"Hey, buck up buddy! They're just vaccine shots, you know they won't make you that sick." Marcus shook his head and looked down.

"It's not the vaccines dad, it's the needles. They hurt." Nick bounced the child on his leg playfully.

"Well yes, that is true. Some things which are good for you do hurt. But that is to keep something else from hurting you more. Besides, it will be over before you know it." Marcus nodded slowly, though he seemed unconvinced. Nick let out a quiet sigh, he felt bad making his son do this, but was for his own good. The receptionist then called his name and Nick stood up, holding Marcus' hand as he walked him through the door and into the doctor's checkup room.

Marcus was shaking as he sat in Nick's lap, clearly more than a little scared of the prospect of being poked with the needles today. He was so nervous in fact, he almost jumped when the doctor entered the room. In a flash though, Marcus' nervousness was replaced with awe as he stared at the massive puma.

"Wow! You weren't kidding dad! He really is a puma!"

The puma smiled at the little bunny, bemused he hadn't said anything and yet already had a fan. Nick looked the doctor over and attempted to explain his son's behavior as he set Marcus down and stood up.

"He loves predators, thinks they're just the greatest. The bigger, the scarier, the better. Nick Wilde, pleasure to meet you doctor…?" Reaching out his paw for a handshake, his gesture was quickly reciprocated.

"Miguel Sanchez, and the pleasure is all mine. It is very rare I meet someone so excited to see their doctor." He reached down and gave Marcus a playful boop on the nose. Doctor Sanchez reached down and picked Marcus up, setting him down on the examination table to begin his physical.

His fascination with the puma began to wane towards the end of the physical, anticipating that he was soon to receive his inoculations. Picking up on his nervousness doctor Sanchez struck up some conversation as he prepared the inoculation site on his arm.

"So, Marcus, tell me, would you like to see me growl?" His eyes lit up at this offer.

"Yeah!" Doctor Sanchez's voice lowered, and he spoke to him in a hushed tone.

"Are you sure? Most animals would be terrified of it."

"Yes! I promise, you won't scare me!" Nick's face went from bemused to nervous in a second. The good doctor couldn't be serious; it would scare his son half to death.

Before Nick could raise his objections though the doctor gave Marcus a predatory look and then… Stuck his tongue out at him. Marcus nearly fell over laughing, clutching his stomach as he laughed so hard his sides hurt. Bringing him back to the upright position the physician gave him another serious look.

"Want to see another?" Marcus could only giggle in response.

This time the doctor crossed his eyes and hung his head sideways, drawing another fit of laughter from the small bunny. Once again, he had to be pulled back up to the sitting position as he fell over in a fit of laughter. Before he could even say anything the doctor started to blink one eye at a time resulting in one final peel of laughter. Nick stood there perplexed, it seemed like an awful lot of work to go through to make the kid calm down before giving him his shots. Before he could ask about it though the doctor picked up Marcus and set him on the ground.

"Well, it seems we're all done here. Now, what flavor lollipop would you like?" Marcus beamed from ear to ear.

"Cherry! Hey… Wait a minute… What about my shots?" The puma gave a mischievous smile.

"I already gave them to you. See the band aid on your left arm?" Marcus looked down surprised to see the band aid which he hadn't noticed up until that point.

"Wow! Doctor Sanchez you're the best!" Nick whistled low at this.

"I'll say, you really are the best when it comes to childcare aren't you?" Doctor Sanchez chuckled a little at this.

"Well, I won't say I'm the best, but I like to think I have some pretty unique skills. Oh, hey, you said your name was Wilde right?" Nick nodded, not entirely sure what was so odd about that.

"Yup."

"You didn't happen to grow up in the Canidae neighborhood did you?" Nick raised an eyebrow, then his eyes went wide as he realized what the puma was going on about.

"You're that Sanchez!? Oh my goodness, I haven't seen you in years! I didn't know you went to medical school!" The puma laughed a little at this, giving Nick a serious look though as he responded.

"Yes, it wasn't easy to get there though. I barely made it into a decent college thanks to our school. In any case though, I wanted to bring something to your attention regarding that. Tell me, have you read about this?" The doctor took out his own tablet and pulled up an article for Nick to look at. It said, 'Real Estate Developer to Tear Down Canidae Neighborhood.' Nick shook his head as he read through the article.

"Really? That's a little sad. I mean, sure, it wasn't the best neighborhood, but I think this is a little extreme." The puma nodded and gave Nick a serious look.

"Yes, extreme, and wrong. He is going to evict thousands so he can re-build that stretch of blocks Mr. Wilde. I have a petition here to demand that the city launch an official investigation into how this Mr. Ramirez got the rights to the land so quickly. I would be honored if you signed it." Nick looked pensively at the article, his eyes stopping over the photo of a puma dressed in a white suit, the caption reading 'Santiago Ramirez Addressing Supporters at City Hall.'

"A puma huh, what are the odds? Sure, I'll sign your petition." Nick got out the carrot pen that Judy had given him years ago and signed the petition. Picking up Marcus, Nick shook the doctors paw and got ready to leave.

"Well, it's been a pleasure doctor Sanchez, but I got get this little rascal to pre-school. Hope to see you around." The puma raised his paw as Nick left, one last thing on his mind.

"If you want to get more involved, I hear that there's a protest going on today. Anyway, see you two later!" Nick walked back out to the minivan, the words of the doctor still ringing in his ears. Someone was seriously going to tear down the neighborhood he grew up in? However, right now he didn't have time for that. He needed to take Marcus to pre-school. Then he could worry about political demonstrations!

Author's Note:

I was extremely reticent to share this story because I originally wanted it to be something that only a few of the authors of Zootopia knew about. Basically, I sent it to four writers as a bit of fan mail explaining that I think that a sequel has potential beyond Nick X Judy. However, seeing as they never acknolwedged it I figured that you guys would probably get more enjoyment out of it. So, even though the story is all set and ready to go (I finished it over the summer) I will be releasing chapters weekly. With nothing left to say buckle up and get ready for some quality FanFiction!