Judith's day had not been an easy one. She woke early after a night of many interruptions. The siblings who had accompanied her and her parents to the city had suffered nightmares since their ordeal and she was the one they turned to for comfort. It was a duty she was happy to perform, but it came at a price measured in hours of sleep lost.

Her morning was not terrible, aside from the arrival of her latest potential suitor for a marriage interview. Marcus von Lop was a pompous, obnoxious blowhard who inspected her much as her father would inspect a piece of farm equipment or a breeding turkey. He might well have thought of her in those very terms, as he felt no compunction about trying to test the feel of her. His departure to the Triburrows Hospital for treatment shortly thereafter did little to lessen the cloud her day seemed to carry, as her parents were both put out with her.

"It was a smart match, Judith!" Lord Stuart Hopps fumed, as he wore a rut in the carpet of the parlor with his pacing.

"Smart for whom? Your business, or my dignity?" Judith replied, tartly.

"His family is wealthy, landed and prosperous. You would have been comfortable for the rest of your life! What possessed you to harm him?"

"Aside from attempting to run his paws all over me?"

Lady Hopps gasped, "He didn't!"

"He's known to be a nervous shedder," Judith replied, gesturing to her garments. "I know my fur is grey, so why do I have muddy brown hairs all over my skirts? You might find some in my petticoats, if you care to search."

Stuart thundered, "I can't believe it. That scoundrel!", before storming off.

Bonnie sighed as she watched him leave. "And there he goes. At least he'll put that influence of his to good use. Now, Judith, sit down and try to forget that... let's have some tea."

So saying, she rang the bell. A few minutes later, the butler arrived. The fox was the same as he always was: smug, aloof and boringly efficient at his job. However, Judy's awareness of him was not as it had been. In the days since returning home, her awareness of his presence was acute. He was no longer a piece of furniture in her reality. He was a mystery and one thing Judith Hopps could not abide was a mystery.

Her interest did not go unremarked by her mother. As soon as the insouciant vulpine departed the room with his instructions, Bonnie turned to her daughter and asked, "Are you still so frightened of him, Judith?"

"Frightened of whom?"

"Of Nicolas. You've been distracted every time he's been in the room since we arrived back from Zootopia."

"I'm aware of a predator. That's hardly a surprise."

"It is when you've spent so many years ignoring him. Is the fact that he had claws such news to you?"

"Steel claws, yes," she admitted. "Why is he armed?"

"We'd be fools not to and for exactly the reasons that the incident with that gang brought to light."

"We could have protected ourselves."

"No, we couldn't, Judy, and you know it. Without Nicolas' intervention we would have been robbed at best. Gods only know what else those brigands had planned for us."

"Be that as it may," Judith groused, deflating.

"You're dancing around whatever problem you have, Judith. You've known he was a predator since you were six and been as vocal as your father about what that has to mean. Speak plainly. What has you so upset?"

Judith was momentarily surprised at the level of her mother's scorn when mentioning her husband's position regarding non-prey species. Stuart Hopps was not known for possessing a kindly attitude in that regard. What further discomfited Judith was her mother's comparison to of her own attitude to his. She was not so cold or unkind to predators, certainly not Mr. Wilde. Was she? She set aside her self-doubts for later reflection and steeled herself. Confronting one's parent was never a pleasant experience, especially surrounding something so… intimate.

The younger doe took a breath and met her mother's eye as she asked, "How long have you been having an affair with him?"

Nicolas paused in the doorway at hearing those words. The moment was golden. Judith's righteous indignity melted into red eared mortification as he announced his presence with a gentle cough.

"Ah! Nicolas! The very mammal. Come here," Bonnie piped, fighting her amused smile.

"I had no idea you had changed the requirements of my employment, Madam." Nick was gratified as Judith's ears continued to redden visibly.

"Nicolas, restrain yourself." Then, seeing the glint of mischief in his eyes, Bonnie added, "Not a word." The fox's jaw snapped shut and he settled back into his usual grinning demeanor. Bonnie suppressed a giggle.

"Now, Nicolas, I'm going to ask you a question and you are going to answer with absolute honesty. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do. Was that the question?"

"Stop being difficult for a moment. I know it's a challenge for you, but try to treat this seriously." Bonnie had to choke back another fit of giggles as the fox's eyes met hers for a moment. The situation was just too ridiculous. Bonnie forcibly composed herself. She had to get the question out and not laugh in the middle of it, otherwise her daughter would get huffy and be unmanageable for days. "Now, Mr. Wilde. Are we now, or have we ever been lovers?"

Nick was likewise visibly struggling with his own self-control. "A question before I answer, if I may, Madam," he bit out as he forced the humorous tension in his body down enough to speak. Bonnie nodded sharply. "May I have my laughing fit in a different room, when I'm done?"

Bonnie barely choked her laughter down at the fox's compounding wit, before she answered, "You may."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hopps. No, we are not now, nor have we ever been lo-", Bonnie's titter set him off and the laughter could no longer be restrained.

Some minutes later, eyes were being dabbed dry with handkerchiefs and the storm of mirth had reduced to intermittent gales of laughter. As Bonnie and Nicolas regained some control of their breathing, the butler of the house managed to clear his throat and breathlessly utter, "No, Mrs. Hopps, we have never been lovers."

"Do you need to have that laughing fit in the next room, or are you containable for the moment?" Bonnie inquired, wryly.

"I believe I will manage. Madam," Nicolas replied with a chortle.

Bonnie then turned to her daughter who was pouting openly and blushing so deeply it weas clear through the fur of her cheeks. "Does that satisfy your curiosity, Judith?"

Judith's caustically indignant reply did nothing to stop the fox's chucking aftershocks. "Yes. The laughter at my expense made it quite clear."

"Oh, come now. That was possibly the silliest question I've ever been asked and it came from you, of all mammals. What on earth put that idea in your head?"

"I saw the concern in your eyes when you sent him to the guesting house and you squeezed his paw before he departed!"

"As any good employer should be concerned for a servant who put themselves in danger as he had that night. He has been a part of the household for nearly two decades, after all, and he may be a predator, but any mammal would need support after so harrowing an experience."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hopps. Your consideration knows no bounds."

"Shush, you. Nicolas, you may go. Thank you for bringing the tea."

"A pleasure, as always, Madam." At that Nicolas bowed and departed the room, his grin deeper than usual.

Bonnie poured two cups and collected her own, leaving her daughter's to be collected when the young doe stopped pouting. "Does that allay your fears, daughter?"

"I think it was a reasonable assessment."

"Good grief, Judy, with as many siblings as you have, one would think you'd know how sated your father keeps me."

"Mother!"

"You started this conversation, my dear. If you were unprepared to endure a conversation centering on the sexual aspects of your parent's married life, you should have been more circumspect in your investigations." Bonnie grinned over her cup at her daughter, whose mortification was back in full. "Judith, Nick is my personal confidant, acts on the family's behalf in a number of capacities, and is trained as a bodyguard. You know all this."

"I do now…"

"You knew, but never realized it. Was seeing him fight such a shock to your sensibilities?" Judith's shocked and guilty expression was all the answer she needed. Her daughter had no artifice to her. It was part of her charm, but also a liability, at times.

"It wasn't that."

"Then, what was it?"

"It was like seeing him for the first time."

"Because he's a predator?"

"I thought so at first, but no. Yes, he's a predator and a fox. The fact that he can fight…" The younger rabbit struggled to articulate her thoughts. Her mother was intrigued, as her most vivacious and expressive daughter was never so discommoded. "He's been a part of the family for almost my entire life. He's always been Mr. Wilde, the butler. Seeing him in such a violently different light shocked me. It made me wonder what else I don't know about him. It felt like I didn't know him at all."

"That's hardly a surprise, dear." Judith's indignant gasp only drew a raised eyebrow from the Hopps matron. "Tell me. Prior to that evening, what did you know of him? Other than his species, his name and his station, did you know anything?" As her daughter floundered, Bonnie pressed her advantage. "Do you know what he does on his days off? His favorite foods? Who his friends are? Does he read? Does he enjoy the theater?"

Judith sat, shamefaced, staring into her tea cup. "I don't know any of those."

"If you know so little, how could you hope to understand why I confide in him, or why I trust him when he is armed around my children? Did you truly think we sent you off so many times all these years with him as your escort because he was a servant? We would never let you travel without an armed escort. You know that. I'm frankly shocked you never out it together before now."

Some time later, Judith let herself into her small room and plopped onto her bed. She felt an absolute fool. The conversation she had with her mother still rang in her ears. She knew so little and assumed so much based on an attitude she knew was shamefully backward. Her embarrassment only seemed to grow as she delved deeper into her failings with regards to the resident fox.

She needed to sleep. Rest would clarify her mind and help her digest this new set of revelations.

She changed into her nightgown and crawled under the blankets, trying to settle herself. Unfortunately, sleep still evaded her. She was unable to calm her mind and it was some time before she admitted why.

She kept going back over Mr. Wilde and her mother laughing at her in the parlor. It had been embarrassing and in retrospect she deserved it. The idea of her mother bedding the butler was idiotic; a cliché fit for the penny dreadful romance novels she secretly hoarded. However, the discomfort of being the focus of such derision came with an unexpected compensation. For the first time, she witnessed a genuine smile on his face and heard true laughter.

In that brief moment, he looked years younger. His eyes sparkled and the look of joy on his face was jarring. It fit so perfectly, yet looked so alien. She wondered how it was possible that a face so made for joy so often wore a smile that never reached his eyes. The more she thought on it, the more she felt that all she did was give him reason for his mask.

It was a long, uncomfortable night.