Judy Hopps quickly jumped into a police cruiser and jammed the keys into the ignition to turn the vehicle on as her fox partner, Nick Wilde, climbed onto the passenger side seat. After swiftly buckling their seat belts and slamming their doors shut, Judy stomped on the gas pedal, propelling the car forward out of its parking space with the flaring roar of the engine and a screech from the tires.
Both mammals had looks of determination on their faces as Judy steered out of the parking lot and Nick switched on the sirens and flashing lights. They sped down the streets of central Zootopia towards their destination, which was only a few blocks away.
"Who's the suspect, again?" Nick asked casually, leaning back in his seat as he put his usual shades over his eyes. He had been questioning a potential suspect for pickpocketing when the call to action had come, and Judy had been the one to respond to dispatch.
"A white tiger named Jack Clawson, wearing black pants and a dark gray hoodie," Judy answered, sharply turning onto another street. "Unarmed as far as we know, but still dangerous."
Nick practically held on for dear life as they skidded around the corner. "Okay. What's the plan, Carrots?"
"Get in, stop the robbery, and arrest him," Judy responded immediately.
Nick could easily tell that she was in 'duty mode,' and that meant no messing around with her. Being her partner, he had quickly learned that she was fearless and her determination was unshakable, as was her enthusiasm for making the world a better place. He wouldn't admit it to her, but he rather admired her.
"We're almost there," Judy reported, breaking into his thoughts.
Being the closest to the scene of the crime at the time it happened, both he and Judy had been called to put an end to a robbery that was currently taking place in a small store. With any luck, they would catch the guy before he could make his escape with the stolen money.
They screeched to a stop in front of the store, jumped out of the cruiser, and ran cautiously towards the door. Pulling out their dart guns, they burst through the door, effectively startling the white tiger that was standing mere feet away in front of a cash register, a large bag of money in his paws. The poor, young ram that was at the register was obviously terrified.
Judy lifted her dart gun and aimed it at the tiger. "Stop!" she shouted. "Jack Clawson, you're under arrest! Put your paws where we can see them!"
Jack recovered from his previous surprise and growled at the officers. Judy immediately recognized the look in his eyes that she had seen in criminals before; he knew he was caught but wasn't going to go down without a fight. Suddenly, he rushed towards Judy with a snarl, his fangs and claws bared. She swiftly dodged out of the way of his claws as Nick simultaneously fired his gun, nailing the big cat on the torso with the dart. Jack stumbled forward and promptly collapsed to the floor.
Judy and Nick were on him in a second and Judy handcuffed him. "Mr. Jack Clawson, you're under arrest," she stated calmly. She pulled out her radio and reported in to Clawhauser, letting him know that they had successfully caught the thief.
While she spoke with the cheetah, she noticed Nick unhappily staring off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. She got his attention with a wave of her hand, causing him to shake his head briefly and snap back to the present. She gave him a concerned look, but he ignored her and instead looked down at the unconscious criminal.
She finished her conversation with Ben just as another team of police arrived at the scene to take the white tiger into custody. Judy and Nick quickly finished their business at the small market and were out the door a few minutes later.
As they started their drive back to their post, Judy caught Nick looking distracted again and started to worry about him. He was often carefree and laid back, but she had noticed him looking distant and sometimes troubled lately, and it bothered her.
She looked at him again before refocusing her eyes on the road ahead and shifted her visor to shade her eyes from the offending rays of the afternoon sun. "You okay there, Nick?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, of course I am, Carrots," he replied, glancing at her as he came out of his reverie.
"You don't seem to be," Judy prodded gently. She knew that Nick wasn't fond of sharing his feelings with anyone, but she was determined to find out what was wrong.
"Why do you say that?" he responded nonchalantly, looking back out the window.
"You just seem distracted and... troubled, I guess." She watched him for his reaction.
She thought she glimpsed a look of vulnerability, but it was so brief that she wasn't sure if she had just imagined it or not.
"I'm fine, Carrots. Just got some things on my mind is all," he dismissed, waving his paw a little for emphasis.
"Like what?" Judy pressed.
He looked at her and sighed. "You're not going to give up on this until I tell you, are you?" It was more of a statement that a question.
"Nope!" Judy pulled off to the side of the road and carefully drove the car to a certain spot between buildings that was purposely difficult to see if you were just driving by. The spot was perfect for catching speeders and such due to that fact, plus they could see quite far down the road still from their stealthy position. She turned off the car but left the key in the ignition and turned to fully face Nick, who wore an uncharacteristically somber look on his face. Judy waited for him to talk, her ears perked in his direction.
He sighed again. "I haven't seen my parents since I ran away when I was twelve," he started, looking uncomfortable and not making eye contact with Judy.
"Both of your parents?" she asked tentatively, noting the plural word. Nick had only ever mentioned his mother before.
"My father was in prison for most of my childhood," he explained. "He finally had a change of heart and came back home when he finished doing his time, but that was long after I left."
"Oh," Judy responded. "Sorry, go on."
A tinge of sadness appeared in Nick's eyes that Judy had seldom seen before. "My mom didn't say much about it, but I could tell that she was disappointed in me because I had some friends that led me to start tricking people to get money and other things. I convinced myself that it was okay because my family was struggling financially at the time and I thought I could help." He looked at the floor, his expression full of guilt. "She wouldn't accept the money I stole, and from that time forward a rift grew between me and my mom. I ran away and haven't seen her or my father since. I didn't think that I could face them again."
"Oh, Nick." Judy put her paw on his arm in an effort to comfort him. "I'm so sorry."
"Now that I'm a police officer, I just... I wonder if they could finally be proud of me," he finished.
"Nick, I'm sure that they'd be very proud of you! I mean, look at all the good you're doing!" she said hopefully.
"I don't know, Carrots. I've done an awful lot of bad, too."
"Well, you won't know until you talk to them. Do you have a phone number or an address for them?"
Nick looked at her, considering. "I threw away all of the mail they sent me, except for one. It has an address on it, but I don't think I'm ready to face them. Not yet."
"What better time than now?" Judy encouraged. "We can visit them this weekend or sooner, if you want."
He frowned. "You're serious."
"Of course I am! I'll be with you every step of the way, unless you don't want me to come. Either way is fine by me." Judy watched him as he hesitated, debating within himself.
"Fine, you win," he finally gave in, though he still didn't smile. "But I'm still not sure about this."
"That's okay." Judy reassured him with her smile. "You don't have to be."
The rest of their shift was uneventful, and after they checked out with Chief Bogo, Judy followed Nick down the streets of Zootopia. They ended up at the little bridge where Nick often lounged at and the fox made his way under the brick bridge. Reaching the wall, he wiggled one of the bricks by his waist loose and removed it completely, revealing a tiny storage space that appeared to be just a few inches deep and no taller than the brick that Nick removed.
Judy watched with curiosity as Nick wordlessly and carefully took a single, white envelope out of the small space and put the brick back in its place. He turned to face Judy fully, the weathered envelope held gently in his paws.
"I kept their address just in case, but I'd never thought that I would actually use it," Nick confessed.
He handed the envelope to Judy, who carefully took out the enclosed piece of paper and read the address. "Wow, they live in Happytown*?"
Somewhat ironic to its name, Happytown was one of the dirtiest and shadiest parts of Zootopia, located somewhat near the Rain Forest District at the edge of central Zootopia. It was the kind of place where even the police didn't go unless it was mandatory.
"Eh, it's not so bad," Nick replied with his signature smirk. "They live on the edge of town, where it's not as bad as in the thick of the place."
"Have they always lived there?" Judy asked, reading the address more carefully to calculate their location and how long it would take to get there.
"Yeah," he answered. "They've lived there since before I was born. It's a nice, cozy house and I guess they just got too attached to it to leave."
"Well, it looks like it'll take us about an hour of driving time to get there," Judy reported, placing the note back in the envelope and handing it back to Nick. He put it in his pocket.
"So, when do you want to go?" Judy inquired. "We're both off of work tomorrow. Will that work for you?"
He looked at her in surprise. "It's Wednesday. I thought that we didn't have work off until Saturday."
Judy grinned at him. "I pulled some strings so we can go tomorrow instead of having to wait till then."
He stared at her for a moment and shook his head in amazement, smiling. "Sometimes you surprise me, Carrots."
She tried to mimic one of his sly grins before going back to being serious. "So, does 2:30pm work for you? I'll come and pick you up."
He raised an eyebrow. "You have a car?"
"No, we're going to borrow one of the lower-class police cruisers," Judy answered like it was obvious, again taking Nick by surprise. "Silly fox."
Nick looked at her for a moment, astonished, and grinned. "Looks like my sly talk is starting to rub off on you, Carrots. Too bad my striking good looks can't do the same."
"Har, har," Judy replied, playfully wrinkling her nose at him. "I've got some of my own tricks up my sleeve, thank you very much."
He chuckled. "Yeah, sure, bunny, whatever you say."
Judy tried to look mad, but failed and she and Nick laughed instead. "So, 2:30 then?"
"2:30," Nick agreed with a nod, his stomach doing a little flip as he said the words.
"Alright, great. See you then, Nick!" Judy called over her shoulder as she bounded up the hill and started on her way home.
As she disappeared over the ridge, Nick's smile fell and he took the envelope back out of his pocket. He briefly pondered disposing it and telling Judy that it had lost it by accident. He just didn't feel ready to meet his parents after so much heartache and disappointment. But, he supposed, if it wasn't for Judy's encouragement and prodding to get him to visit his parents, he didn't know how many years it would've been until he visited them.
Rubbing the edge of the envelope with his thumb nervously, he hoped and prayed that he would somehow be able to face his parents as he watched the beautiful and colorful rays of the sunset stretch across the sky.
The drive to Happytown was relatively quiet except for the noise of the small police cruiser's engine. Judy wanted to talk to Nick, but every time she attempted to strike up a conversation with the normally talkative fox, he would answer shortly and return to silently looking out the window at the houses and terrain that they passed. She finally decided to drop trying to talk to him and leave him to his thoughts.
She stopped the car at a red light and glanced at him again. Although he hid it well, she knew he was worried. She couldn't imagine how he felt, having not seen or even talked to his parents in so long. She attempted to imagine herself in his place to better sympathize with him, but couldn't quite manage it.
She found herself considering how blessed she was to have such great parents and such a wonderful family that had supported her in her dreams, even if they didn't always agree with her on them.
She was cut out of her thoughts when the traffic light turned green and the car in front of her started moving. She gave Nick one last glance before propelling the car forward with the gas pedal.
"In one mile, turn right. Your destination will be on the left," the automated voice announced from Judy's phone.
Judy forced herself to focus on the road and on the green street signs that would tell her which street was what. Finding the right street, Judy put her blinker on and turned down the old road.
"Alright, which house is it?" she asked Nick.
He looked at the houses as they drove slowly by and pointed at one that was two houses from the end of the block. "That's it."
Judy offered him a smile of encouragement and pulled off to the side of the road to park next to the house. Turning the car off, she surveyed the humble abode that stood before them.
It was rather quaint and cute, taking after the country style of homes. It was obviously an older home with a crack here and there in the tan siding and a few shingles missing from the dark-colored roof, but it looked well taken care of otherwise. The yard was weed-free and full of cheery flowers, especially around the sidewalk that came to bottom of the cement stairs that led to the entrance. The door was brown but looked somewhat new, or at least newly painted.
Judy looked over at Nick, who was staring at the house as though it was about to bite him. She reached over to put a comforting hand on his arm, but he snapped out of his thoughts and pulled away, quickly opening the car door and stepping out into the crisp, Autumn air.
Judy followed suit and locked the car before closing her door. They slowly walked up to the welcoming door of the house and Judy managed to grab hold his hand for a moment to gave it an encouraging squeeze. Nick glanced at her in response and gave her a small, unconvincing yet grateful smile.
They finally arrived at the door and Nick hesitantly knocked. They waited for a few moments in silence, but nothing happened.
"Well, I guess they're not here," Nick tried, taking a step away from the door.
Judy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as he started down the steps, stopping him. "Nick, you can't back out now!" she exclaimed in a whisper and pulled him back up to the doorstep.
He gave her a withered look that immediately turned to a whole tornado of emotions when they heard the door unlock.
The knob turned and the door opened a few inches. An aging female fox, about an inch shorter than Nick, peeked out, first at Judy and then at Nick, who tensed when her eyes landed on him. She froze instantly, her eyes wide, before opening the door completely and taking a slow step out of the doorway towards Nick, her mouth slightly agape in shock and her expression one of total disbelief and amazement.
"Nicholas?" Her voice was barely audible.
"I—" Nick started, but before he could continue, his mother rushed forward and embraced him in a tight hug.
"I worried that I would never see you again," she whispered, her voice shaking with emotion and tears streaming down her face as Nick hugged her back.
Nick completely dropped what was left of his facade and started crying too as he buried his face in her familiar fur. "I am so sorry," he whimpered. "So sorry."
Another fox, a few inches taller than Nick, appeared in the doorway and stopped short upon seeing the sight before him. Nick's father, tears brimming in his eyes, joined the emotional reunion, his strong arms wrapping around both his son and his wife as they hugged. They stood there together, embracing each other for a few minutes in tearful silence.
Judy teared up as well as she witnessed the touching scene in front of her. She gave a little sniff and accidentally attracted the attention of all three foxes.
Nick's mother, eyes still watery, addressed her first. "Are you the one who brought our son back to us?"
Judy, unsure of what to say, simply nodded. Nick's mother reached out and held Judy's hand in hers, everything about her expressing her gratitude to the bunny.
"Thank you," she said with a watery smile. "Thank you so much."
Judy nodded again. "I'm glad that I could help."
Nick's mother turned back to her son and gave him another hug. She noticed the guilt that had returned to his eyes and pulled back a little, giving him a questioning look that only a mother could pull off.
Nick looked at the ground, his voice barely a whisper. "How could you forgive me after all I've done?"
"Oh, Nick." His mother put her hand under his chin and lifted his snout so he would make eye contact with her. "We're your parents. Yes, we were disappointed that you went down the wrong path, but there is absolutely nothing that could ever make us stop loving you."
At her heartfelt words, Nick's eyes filled with tears again and he leaned into his mother's offered hug, his father putting his paw on Nick's shoulder in support.
"We're really proud of you, Nick," his father spoke, gaining Nick's attention once more as he looked at him. "You may have messed up, but everyone does at one point or another. And look at where you are now! You've turned your life around and now you're making the world better. We couldn't be more proud of you, son."
They embraced once more and Nick was noticeably relieved. "Thank you, Mom and Dad. Thanks for everything."
"We're just glad that you've finally come home," his father replied. "You and your rabbit friend here are welcome at our home anytime."
"Come inside!" Nick's mother insisted, gesturing at the open door. "We'll get some hot chocolate brewing, and there's so much to talk about!"
Nick and Judy glanced at each other, both grinning, and followed Mr. and Mrs. Wilde into their humble home.
"Of course, both of you are more than welcome here anytime," Mrs. Wilde said, smiling.
"I'll be sure to visit when I can," Nick assured his parents, genuinely smiling back.
"You'd better," Mr. Wilde replied gruffly, humor lighting his eyes. "Or we'll have to come and grab you at work!"
Nick chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure the police would be pleased to see you again."
His father laughed and Mrs. Wilde hugged her son again. Mr. Wilde joined in on the hug and Judy grinned from ear-to-ear at the sweet sight. The Wilde's released their embrace with each other and Mrs. Wilde gave Judy a hug too.
"Thank you again for bringing our boy back to us," she spoke, her voice full of gratitude and her expression one of pure joy. "We've missed him for so long."
They pulled away out of the hug and Judy nodded again, still unsure how to respond.
"You're welcome at our home anytime too," she continued.
"Thank you," Judy replied sincerely.
"Well, we should probably get going," Nick spoke up, his signature smirk in place. "Better not keep Carrots up past her bedtime or she'll be cranky in the morning."
"Har, har." Judy gave him a playful irritated look. "Look who's talking."
Nick's parents chuckled as they escorted Nick and Judy to the door. With waves and friendly goodbyes, the officers left the humble home and returned to the small police vehicle. They both waved to Nick's parents as they drove away, the car's headlights lighting up the night as they went.
"Wow, your parents are some of the most kind and generous folks I've ever met!" Judy commented.
Nick chuckled before falling silent, staring out the window back at his childhood home until it was out of sight. He blinked and settled back in his seat, pondering.
Judy noticed the look on his face. "Are you okay, Nick?" she asked, slightly worried and wondering what he was feeling.
"Of course I am, Carrots," he answered easily. "I just... I never expected that my reunion with my parents would be so exhausting."
Judy almost chuckled. "Emotional experiences can be rather tiring, huh?"
Nick smiled. "I guess you bunnies would know a thing or two about that." He chuckled before a serious expression returned to his face as they stopped at a red light. "Hey, Judy?"
The use of her real name caught her attention immediately and the rabbit looked at him curiously, showing that he had her full attention.
"I, uh, well... thanks for convincing me to come and visit my parents, and thanks for coming with me. I don't know if I ever would've mustered up the courage to finally face my parents without you," Nick told her, making eye contact with her briefly, though it was enough for her to see the deep sincerity in his eyes.
Judy stared at him for a moment, surprised by his confession, before a wide grin spread across her face. "I'm glad that I could help. What else are friends for?"
*The name for Nick's hometown (Happytown) came from an incredible story, Stars, by TMBrown. Definitely check it out, because it's an absolutely amazing story!
Thank you all so much for reading. Please leave a review to let me know what you think! You're awesome! =D