Ch. 3: Reflections

They had untied Nick when Judy remembered that they had a problem.

"How do we get out of here? I know Finnick can get through the vents but you and I can't fit through it. Maybe if we-"

Nick loudly cleared his throat; while Judy had been talking he had walked over to the door and unlocked it. Judy grinned and grabbed Finnick's paw, pulling him out with her.

"Let's leave the door unlocked," Judy told the foxes as she closed it behind her.

"Gotta be back before your mother," Finnick reminded her and Judy nodded.

"Are you talking about that sheep," Nick asked.

Judy replied, "Yes, she's my adoptive mother."

"I'd never have guessed," he said with thick sarcasm, "But tell me, why couldn't she take you to this oh so important concert?"

Judy didn't want to tell the fox about her good fortune, but luckily (naturally) Finnick saved her, "Because her confession isn't on a pen."

Nick bared his fangs at Finnick but didn't reply as they stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor.

Judy let out an excited noise as she felt the elevator descend and placed her paws on the wall, "So this is an elevator? Wow!"

Nick glanced at Finnick for an answer on the rabbit's behavior but the tiny fox didn't give any. When the elevator stopped Judy moved to step into the lobby only for Nick to grab her arm, stopping her. He scanned the lobby before nodding to himself and releasing her as they walked out of the elevator.

"Oh, wow, oh wow, oh wow," she repeated over and over, staring at all the different mammals in the lobby. "Everything's so big," she breathed looking at an elephant and giraffe that were in the middle of a discussion. "And small," her eyes going to a couple of rodents that walked past them, giving Judy rude looks because of her staring.

Nick grabbed her arm and started to roughly drag her to the doors, "Didn't your mother tell you staring is rude."

"No," Judy replied and Nick just looked at her.

They were almost to the glass doors, a street and grassy park on the other side, Judy dragged her feet, bringing Nick to a halt who glared at her.

"Wait," she breathed, "Just give me a minute…"

"For what," the fox demanded, looking around the lobby with a nervous expression.

"This is…this is big, you know," she looked at Finnick. He nodded, his eyes gleaming proudly. And then Nick pushed her through the door. "Whoops," he muttered.

Judy stood on the sidewalk, feeling the sun-warmed concrete beneath her feet…for the very first time.

The two foxes walked out after her, Nick's paws in his pockets and ignoring the daggers Finnick's eyes sent him.

Judy turned a 360, looking at the buildings that had been small all her life but were now towering over her. She grinned, and raced over to the park, falling into the grass and rolling in the fresh smelling, crisp, vegetation. She lay on her back and looked up at the sky, large and blue and beautiful. She was finally out. She was finally free.

"What are you doing," Nick leered over him, blocking out the sun, his face confused and mortified. "Get up!"

"I can't believe I did this," she breathed, staring at him. Then jumped up with a big grin and grabbed his paws, "I can't believe I did this!"

Nick just stared at her as she gasped and released his paws, cupping her face, "Mother would be so upset!"

She turned to Finnick who was now at her side, "But that's okay, what she doesn't know won't kill her right?"

She continued to go back and forth, from 'this is the best day of my life' to 'I am a horrible daughter'. And Nick was noticing they were starting to get a crowd and he was pretty sure, sooner or later, a member of that crowd would be a cop.

He grabbed Judy's shoulders, stopping her mid-rant, so she would look him in the eye. "Listen here, Carrots, either we go on this stupid little adventure or you give me the pen and skedaddle back to your apartment. Now make a decision."

Judy frowned and seemed to be considering these options before nodding to herself, "I'm going to that concert," she let out a deep breath and for a second he was positive she was going to faint, "You just might have to carry me there."

"That's not going to happen," Nick replied. Then gave her a once over, "But we are going to get you clothes from the twenty first century."

She pulled back to examine her dress, "What's wrong with this?"

"Nothing if you just walked out of a little house on the prairie," he replied. "Now, to draw as little attention as possible I'm going to use some of my money to buy you new clothes."

The words seemed to surprise both her and Finnick, Judy smiled with surprised delight, "You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do that for me," he corrected and led them out of the park and walking down the street. He tried to ignore the stares of the other passerby but it wasn't easy when Judy kept stopping to say hello to strangers, though he couldn't help but notice she completely avoided any large predators like wolves or jaguars. Finally Finnick told her that they shouldn't draw too much attention in case Bellwether (who he assumed was that sheep) was around.

Nick led them into a open door clothing store where a pretty antelope greeted them, he asked her to find something for Judy who gladly led the bunny further into the store, Finnick decided to wait outside while Nick followed the two females, he didn't want them to choose something above his budget.

Judy started to look through the dresses but Nick and the antelope led her to the more casual clothing where she looked through tops of all colors, along with pants and shorts. Finally she pulled out a pink, checkered long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans that the antelope said would go great with her fur. Judy walked into a dressing room while Nick stayed just outside.

Hanging her dress over the closed door Judy pulled the jeans on first, liking how they were easier to walk in than her dress, as she was pulling her shirt she saw her dress move slightly and called out, "Stop trying to steal the pen it's in here with me."

"I wasn't," Nick said from the other side of the door, but by his tone Judy knew he was lying.

Fully dressed Judy walked out of the dressing room where Nick appraised her.

"How do I look," she asked him.

"See for yourself," he nodded behind her and Judy turned around to see a full body mirror.

Her breath became stuck in her throat when she saw the face looking back at her. She stepped closer and placed a paw on the glass, studying the big, amethyst eyes, the soft gray fur, the round face and long ears, the tips black. It was her.

"What's wrong," Nick asked, stepping forward to stand behind her, Judy studied his reflection that was looking at her.

"I've…I've never seen my reflection before," she breathed staring at her face, "We never had a mirror in our house."

Nick's reflection made a face but he didn't say anything which Judy was glad for, she didn't want to explain why her mother feared broken mirrors.

"Am I pretty," she asked, still studying herself, trying to commit it to memory.

Nick blinked in surprise, "What?"

"Am I pretty," she repeated, smoothing her ears, "I've never seen another bunny before so I can't tell if I'm an ugly rabbit or not."

"Well…" Nick frowned and looked to be scrambling for an answer, "I'm not expert in rabbit appearances, but I'm assuming you don't look…bad."

She smiled, "Are you handsome for a fox?"

"Of course," he replied, lifting his chin proudly. "I'm the hottest fox you'll ever take hostage, Carrots."

Judy giggled, not noticing Nick glance away, rubbing his neck as if he was suddenly embarrassed. With her eyes back on her reflection Judy touched her collar, studying it.

"You know," he said, "That collar really doesn't match your outfit. Why don't you take it off?"

His paw came forward as if to take her collar off and Judy jumped away, bumping into the mirror while her paws clutched the collar protectively, "No… No, thank you. I like it where it is."

Nick gave her a strange look but just shook his head, "Let's just burn that dress and go already."

.

Nick was happy to see that Judy didn't offer much complaint when he threw away her dress. Maybe she didn't like it that much either. They walked out of the store, Judy still admiring her new clothes to meet up with Finnick.

"Do you like it," she asked him. The fennec fox nodded once and Judy smiled brightly. Nick couldn't help but wonder what the deal was with the strange duo. They were complete opposites. His eyes narrowed in on Finnick who was listening attentively to Judy as they walked down the street, the bunny telling him about all the clothes she'd seen.

Does he like her, Nick wondered to himself. Well he has to like her or he wouldn't be here. But does he like like her?

His mind returned to that mirror, of the rabbit looking at her reflection for the first time in her entire life. Asking him is she was pretty, waiting for and trusting his opinion. His skin crawled uncomfortably under his fur. He needed to get rid of these two as fast as possible.

.

Bellwether grumbled under her breath as the elevator carried her to the top floor. She couldn't believe Lionheart demanded next week's schedule, thinking he could complete it this week so he would be free all of next week, getting annoyed with her for not reading his mind.

She took in a deep breath to calm himself. He had been dropping hints about that raise and she just needed to keep calm and do her work until then.

The elevator dinged and she stepped out, walking to her door, then her heart dropped. The door was unlocked.

Bellwether rushed in, calling out for Judy but getting no answer, she searched and searched but knew the rabbit was gone. Nearly hyperventilating her mind raced, trying to figure out where she would have gone. Bellwether slowly turned around to stare out the window, Zootopia spreading out before her.

The sheep scowled.