Chapter 4: Forming Bonds
The group exited the courtroom as the trial came to a close. The light of the late afternoon sun was beginning to shift into a light amber-gold. Ending at just after 4:00 p.m. the trial had lasted for almost seven hours. The spectators that had bothered to stay for the sentencing after Leopold's outburst began to trickle out with Nick, Judy, Scott and Gail. Abbie had left before the sentencing, though she was present at the meeting with Pembroke and Leopold to finalize the terms of the plea bargain. Scott met the group at the door to the courtroom and took in a deep, tired breath. It had been quite a long day for all of them.
"Well," Nick said, "that was quite a dramatic finish there."
Scott smiled and said, "That, it was." He rolled his shoulders back and let out a silent grunt as he did. Gail placed a paw on his shoulder.
"You look tired, honey," she said tenderly.
"Well, this has been one of my bigger cases," Scott replied. "Feels good to finally wrap it up."
"I'll bet," Judy replied. "I gotta say you handled yourself like a pro in there." She gave him a light punch on the arm. "Looks like those seven years in school were worth it, huh?"
"I tend to let the results simply speak for themselves," Scott retorted with a smile, eliciting a chuckle from Judy. "Well, shall we head out?" Scott said as he led the group down the hall.
"So, Judy," Gail said as they walked, "I never got a chance to bring this up during lunch, but Scott and I were talking just the other night and we were hoping that maybe, if you and Nick are free, we might be able to have you two over at our place this weekend. It'd be really great to catch up with you."
Judy's ears perked at the suggestion. Hers and Nick's schedules did give them the weekends off and she would have certainly loved to be able to spend some time to relax with Scott and Gail. She turned to Nick, hoping he'd have the same opinion.
With a grin, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Yeah, that sounds like something we'd like to do."
"Absolutely," Judy replied enthusiastically. "When were you guys thinking we could come?"
"Anytime this weekend really," Scott said. "Our schedules are pretty much free from tomorrow to Sunday, so honestly, if you wanted we could have you guys over tomorrow afternoon."
"Really?" Judy said.
"Yeah. Nothing too formal, just visit around for a while, have a barbecue, maybe watch a movie."
"What do you think, Nick?" Judy asked. "How's your schedule tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I think we can do that," Nick said. "Chief's letting me off early tomorrow anyway. As long as I submit my report for the trial."
"Huh?" Judy asked. "Report for the trial?"
"Yeah, the thing is I didn't actually have today off, so I had to market our little outing today as 'official business,' which means Chief's gonna be expecting a full report from me tomorrow morning before I leave."
"Are you serious, Nick?" Judy laughed.
"Hey, if it's a visit to a trial for a case that was handled by Precinct 1, it counts."
"What do mean, 'handled by Precinct 1'?"
"Shoulda read the case file, Carrots," Nick playfully chided. "Bogo assigned the case to Wolfram and Clawson. They couldn't make it to the courthouse today so I 'volunteered' to show up and write up the report for them."
"Let me guess," Judy teased, "'It's called a hustle, sweetheart'?"
"Not if I actually write the report tomorrow," Nick replied. "Sure, 'official business' wasn't the main reason for showing up, but if I do the write-up for Bogo, then I haven't done anything wrong. It's called a loophole, sweetheart." Nick flashed his signature grin while Judy rolled her eyes swatted him with the back of her paw.
"Where do you keep getting these ideas of yours?" Judy said.
"It's a gift," Nick replied.
Scott and Gail looked at each other in amusement. "Ever think about going to law school?" Scott joked as they stepped into the elevator.
The group reached the ground floor and made their way to the entrance. As they approached the door, Scott stopped as he laid eyes upon what he was dreading the entire day: the reporters. Scott knew that less than half of them worked for actual news companies. The rest belonged to the tabloids and were only there to try to make someone look bad in some way. The worse they looked, the higher the paycheck. Gail didn't look any more excited than Scott did. Unless these tabloid journalists hadn't done their homework, which was never the case, they would know she drafted up the psychological profile for Leopold and his daughter Alexis. They both took in a deep breath and opened the doors. As they both had expected, their path was instantly blocked by the reporters.
"Mr. Collier! Mr. Collier!" the reporters shouted, trying to get Scott's attention. Finally, one of them broke through with a microphone and thrust it up to Scott.
"Mr. Collier!" the reporter shouted, "How can you justify giving custody of the defendant's children to an unfit mother?!"
Scott instantly recognized the inflammatory question and that this was obviously a tabloid journalist looking for something juicy. Scott thankfully knew how to deal with these reporters, not that he enjoyed it. Calmly and coldly, Scott replied.
"Mr. Leopold was in clear violation of a custody order that had granted full charge of his children to his ex-wife. The evidence is clear that he is guilty of kidnapping with intent to terrorize his children and he willingly ceded all claims to custody as a condition of his plea bargain."
"What sort of precedent will this set for predator families in Zootopia?" another reporter asked.
"None," Scott replied. "The kidnapping statute has always remained the same and it will continue to be applied equitably to all the citizens of Zootopia, predator and prey alike."
"So you're saying that you showed no bias against Mr. Leopold because of his class as a predator?!" another reporter questioned.
"That's correct. I would have presented my case the same way had Mr. Leopold been prey."
The reporters turned their attention to Gail.
"Dr. Collier!" a reporter cried. "You drafted the psychological profile for both Mr. Leopold and his daughter. Is there anything in that report that might suggest that their behavior was inherent to predators?"
"No," Gail replied. "Mr. Leopold's profile shows no difference from a vast number of kidnappers' profiles currently on record and his daughter's profile is a textbook case of a victim of traumatic bonding. You won't find any common variations in any given demographic."
Returning to Scott, another reporter asked, "Mr. Collier, this city is still recovering from the aftermath of the Night Howler Incident. Aren't you concerned about the citizens' reaction to a predator being found guilty of first degree kidnapping?"
"My concern," Scott replied sternly, "is upholding the law and protecting the welfare of the victims of criminal activity. In this case, Mr. Leopold kidnapped and psychologically terrorized his daughters and the outcome of this trial will send a message to the people of Zootopia that this sort of crime will not be tolerated in any court of law. No further comments."
As the group tried to make their way through the sea of reporters, Nick and Judy were promptly stopped and bombarded with a many different questions.
"Officer Hopps, what is your take on the court's ruling?"
"Do you feel that predators have anything to fear from the Zootopia legal system?"
"Does the ZPD favor the rights of prey over predators?"
"Officer Wilde, do you believe the prosecution was biased against predators?"
"Do you feel that predators at the ZPD will need to worry about their jobs in the wake of this ruling?"
"Are you worried about how the court system might handle any cases assigned to predator police officers?"
The two of them were pressed with question after question, each designed to try to provoke them. Something that would make a juicy headline to display in the checkout line. Nick looked over the crowd of reporters to see several microphones in front of his girlfriend, who had a flustered look as she was pressed with more and more inflammatory questions.
Judy felt overwhelmed by the onrush of reporters asking all sorts of provocative questions about the rights of prey and predators. She glanced over to see Nick surrounded as well and overheard many of the questions being sent his way. Judy's gaze toward her boyfriend was broken when another microphone was shoved in her face.
Finally, Nick managed to wade through the crowd and found his way to Judy. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, addressing the reporters.
"Alright!" Nick shouted. "Listen, we came here to watch the trial as ZPD officers. We're not here to try to cause a big brouhaha about the rights of predators and prey. Whatever our opinions are, they're none of your business. Now if we're done here, aren't you guys late for a witch burning or something?" With that, Nick guided Judy back to the police cruiser in front of the courthouse. Scott's car was parked just behind. As they approached the curb, Scott smiled impressively at Nick.
"Nicely handled," Scott said. "I tell you, I wish I had the luxury to just tell 'em to piss off."
"Well, beating around the bush gets boring pretty quick," Nick replied.
"Don't I know it?" Scott walked around to the driver's side of his car. "Anyway, I need to head back to the DA's office to give Adam a full rundown. I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Wouldn't miss it," Judy said.
Scott gave that friendly smile Judy knew him for. "Look forward to it then. It was great to see you again, Judy."
"You too, Scott," she replied. "Nice job in the courtroom. See you tomorrow."
"Sounds good. Glad you were able to make it too, Nick."
"Same here," Nick replied. "Thanks for keeping us entertained."
Scott laughed and said, "My pleasure." With that, he got into his car and made his way back to Savannah Central. Following in suit, Nick and Judy got back into the police cruiser and headed for Judy's apartment building.
"Well, that was a fun day, huh Carrots?" Nick said as he pulled onto the freeway.
"Mmhmm," Judy replied. "Scott sure knows his way around a courtroom, that's for sure. And from what I heard during our free time, it sounds like you two are getting along pretty well," Judy said playfully.
"Yeah," Nick said, "the guy's not too bad…you know, for an attorney." Judy giggled at his quip.
"I'm glad you guys are getting along, Nick," she said happily. Nick returned with a warm friendly grin. He had to admit that he really wouldn't mind being friends with Scott.
The rest of Nick and Judy's day wound down to a nice peaceful state as late afternoon faded into evening. Judy had invited Nick back to her apartment for a quiet dinner and some alone time in the living room, which he was happy to accept. They stepped inside the apartment and Judy began to make her way to her bedroom to change out of her uniform.
"You sure you don't wanna run home and grab something more casual?" Judy asked Nick, stopping just in front of her bedroom door.
"Nah," Nick replied, "I'm pretty good, Carrots. Just need to loosen my tie a bit."
Judy put on a playful smile. "Well, why don't I help you with that right now?" she said as she grabbed his tie and pulled him into a kiss. Their lips came together quickly, but gently and they held it as Judy slowly loosened his tie. As they came apart, she slowly traced a zigzag across Nick's chest with her finger before stopping at his tie and pulling it out the rest of the way. "Did that help?" Judy asked playfully.
"It did," Nick replied with a playful grin of his own. "Very much so."
Judy giggled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she draped his tie around his neck. "I'm gonna go run in and change real quick," she said. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I'll be out in a few minutes. You can turn on the TV if you want."
"Okay," Nick said as Judy ducked into her room. Once she shut the door, Nick removed the tie from around his neck and set it on the back of the couch before continuing to loosen up his uniform, discarding his heavy dark blue dress jacket and leaving his light blue long-sleeve button-up shirt. He undid the top two buttons to relieve some of the pressure around his neck and rolled the sleeves up to just above his elbows. Feeling less constricted and allowing some air to flow through his clothing, he took up Judy's offer to turn on the TV. Though, what came up on the screen when he hit the power button was less than amusing.
Judy heard the TV flicker on from behind her door just as she began to put her uniform away. She was now dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. She took a moment to revel in the cool air that graced her fur as she hung up her uniform and closed the closet door before going out to rejoin Nick. She opened the door and stepped into the living room to see Nick staring at the TV, one paw in his pocket and the other paw holding the remote. As she looked at him, Judy found herself captivated by, of all things, Nick's outfit. She didn't know why, but his appearance – his tucked-in blue shirt, the unbuttoned collar, the blue pants and black belt – just seemed to capture her attention. She had a hard time putting her finger on what exactly was so attractive about it. It wasn't anything special, but it just made him look more…mature maybe? No, that wasn't exactly it, but it was close. The only thing she could confidently say was that Nick was extremely handsome in what he had on. Even if she didn't know why that was, a little voice in Judy's mind told her in that moment, 'Don't question it. Just love it.'
She took a few steps further toward Nick and as she came around the side of the couch, she could see him scowling at the screen and slowly shaking his head. A bit puzzled and a little concerned, she turned her attention to the screen. The TV was turned to ZBC News1 where two antelopes were sitting at a glass-top desk. In the corner of the screen was a picture of Scott with several microphones being held up to him and the Zootopia Supreme Court Building in the background.
"Geez, those leeches don't waste any time getting their story published," Judy thought. She knew there was only one reason for Scott to be on the news.
"Yeah, I mean we're hearing him say that this won't set any precedents for predators," one of the antelopes said, "but, I mean come on. This is a dad taking his kids from a bad mother and the DA's office just jumps right down his throat!"
"And I completely agree!" said the other antelope reporter. "I mean, just look at the penal law for Zootopia. It basically states that the defense for first degree kidnapping is that the kidnapper was a relative and that he only wanted to get control of them. So, let's say for a second that this William Leopold wanted to get control of his kids and that's it; that he didn't take them to protect them. Well then, the penal law would still protect him in that case, but here, Collier just took the penal law and threw it out the window!"
"And just the lack of concern for the attitudes of the people in the city is appalling! This city is still recovering from one of the biggest cases of institutionalized hate that this city has ever faced, but instead of recognizing this, he just goes all out to make sure a predator is put behind bars for something that honestly isn't that big a deal!"
Nick shook his head again and quickly changed the channel. The next channel down, FOX News2, wasn't any less irritating. Two hares and a bunny sat together behind a large semicircular desk.
"So, what Collier said here is that there wouldn't be any precedent for prosecution against predators, but honestly maybe there ought to be," said one of the hares.
"And as far as his wife's psychological profile of the leopard," the second hare said, both Nick and Judy feeling their tempers flare at the way Leopold was simply referred to as 'the leopard', "I mean, yeah she says that there wasn't nothing inherent to predators in his behavior, but let's look at the stats for a second. The majority of mammals arrested in this country are predators and about seventy five percent of arrests in Zootopia alone are made against predators. And the reason for that, as far as I can see, is that predators have a larger history of criminal activity than prey. So, I really don't see how Dr. Gail Collier could have neglected to include that in her report."
"You know, I would also question," the bunny said, "how Scott Collier might have presented his case had he not had a predator police officer sitting right behind him in the courtroom."
With that last comment, Nick snarled under his breath and turned the TV off. He soon became aware of someone else's presence next to him as the image on the screen quickly vanished and he turned to see Judy looking just as stunned as he was at what they had just witnessed. They locked eyes and Nick softened his angered look and gave a scoff.
"Well," he said softly, "who needs juries when you've got journalists, huh?" He put on as playful a smile as he could for Judy, though it wasn't his best performance.
Still, Judy tried to help him make light of the situation. Rolling her eyes, she teased, "Maybe next time you should try a cartoon channel."
Nick smirked and replied, "Those were cartoon channels."
Judy giggled at the quip before pulling Nick into a hug. They stood there in silence, enjoying each other's warmth and presence, Judy resting her head against Nick's chest. He loved her tender touch, the feel of her soft fur, her little heartbeat that lightly thumped against him as they held each other. That hug, that one simple gesture, soothed his anger from what he'd just seen on the news and all his attention was on his little bunny. He brought his paw up and began to softly stroke her ears, causing her to coo and press herself further into his embrace.
"Having a nice time there, Carrots?" Nick asked amusingly.
"Mmhmm," Judy replied, tightening the hug. "Yes I am."
Nick smiled and placed a kiss on her head. As they continued to embrace, Nick felt Judy's stomach rumble against him. Judy's eyes widened in embarrassment and her ears shot up. Nick leaned back from the hug and saw Judy's face begin to redden.
"Someone getting hungry?" Nick teased. Just then, the two of them heard his own stomach rumble louder and lower than Judy's. His sly smile quickly dropped and his eyes went as wide as Judy's had. The expression didn't stay long as the two of them looked into each other's eyes and broke into laughter.
"Sounds like I'm not the only one," Judy replied. "I guess we'd better get dinner going."
"Lead the way, Carrots," Nick said as he followed Judy into the kitchen.
Scott pulled his car into the driveway of his house, a two story Cape Cod style home in a coastal suburb several miles from the city center. He turned the engine off, shut his eyes, and allowed himself a few minutes to sit in silence. He knew his job could get rough, but now it was really beginning to wear on him. The political correctness issues that followed the Night Howler Incident only served to make his job harder and harder with every conviction. Nearly every case that made it to the courtroom was bombarded by political extremists from both sides. Even if he didn't win, there was always some nutcase waiting for him on the steps of the courthouse ready to berate him for daring to even bring the case before the grand jury. So far, he was able to shrug and reassure himself that the backlash was just from a small group of "narrow-minded, dogmatic bastards." But today was a different story. Whoever those reporters were, they seemed bent on inflaming the mammals of Zootopia in whatever way they could and to whatever degree was possible.
Almost every radio station on the way home was occupied by someone giving their input on the outcome of the trial. By the time Scott found a station giving an unbiased opinion of his actions in the courtroom, he was too fed up with the extremists to bother listening in and just shut the radio off.
The sound of the radio was replaced by the low rumble of the engine as Scott silently muttered, "Fuck it all." Thankfully, one silent curse was typically all it took to relieve most of his frustrations.
Now Scott sat in blissful silence, letting the rest of his stress melt away as best he could. Feeling far more relaxed, he took a long, deep breath before collecting his briefcase and stepping out of his car. He peeked inside the windows as he approached the door to see movement inside the house. He smiled as he picked up the shadows of his wife, who had beaten him home, and his two children.
Scott opened the door and called out, "Hello?"
Immediately, he received a response as his little four-year-old daughter cried out, "Daddy!" and ran toward the front door. She was followed closely behind by his six-year-old son.
Scott dropped his briefcase as his two pups rounded the corner and he knelt down and opened his arms as they ran into his embrace. As he caught them, he allowed them to knock him over, pulling them down with him, all of them laughing as they fell.
"Oh, geez!" Scott laughed as he fell back. "You two are getting big!" He ruffled their fur as he held them in his arms. Having heard all the commotion in the entryway, Gail appeared from around the corner, arms folded and smiling at the dog pile at the door. Scott looked up and smiled at his wife before standing and scooping up his daughter, Emily, in his arms. He walked up and gave Gail a quick peck on the lips while his son, Matthew, clung to him by his pants leg.
"Hope these two have been on their best behavior so far," Scott said to Gail.
"As always," she replied.
Scott smiled and refocused on his children. "Did you two have a fun time at daycare today?"
"Uh-huh," Matthew replied. "Teacher showed us how to paint!"
"Oh, did she?" Scott said smiling.
"They had the dirty hands to prove it," Gail said, causing Scott to chuckle.
"Can we show you what we painted, daddy?" Emily asked.
"Absolutely," Scott said. "I wanna see how much of a masterpiece my little girl made." He gave her a peck on the nose, causing her to giggle, before letting her down next to her brother. Immediately, the two ran to the back of the house to retrieve their artwork, both of them bent on being the one to show their painting to dad first.
Scott and Gail smiled at their kids before returning their attention to each other and sharing a longer kiss. The two border collies broke apart and listened to their kids on the other end of the house arguing about who could show daddy their painting first.
Scott smiled and held Gail close to him. "Hope they haven't given you too hard a time," he said.
"Oh, you know," Gail replied, "you get used to it after a while."
Soon, the two pups came bounding down the hallway, each with two poster-sized sheets of paper in hand.
"Daddy, look what I drew!" Emily shouted.
"No, look at mine first!" Matthew replied.
Scott smiled and shook his head and said, "How about you both show me together?"
Quickly, the two held up their paintings in front of their father. Emily jumped up and down, shouting, "Look, daddy! See what we did?"
They were simple little kid paintings that any preschooler or kindergartener would draw. Emily's was a small pony with a rainbow in the background and small paw prints adorning the border, while Matthew's was a big cartoonish submarine with blue waves above it and a few bubbles surrounding the vessel. Scott stared at the paintings in mock wonder.
"You two drew these?" he asked, his eyes wide in amazement.
"Uh-huh," Emily said.
"Nooo," Scott replied, narrowing his eyes. "These are too good to have been drawn by two little pups."
Matthew and Emily giggled and said, "We drew them, daddy! We really drew them!"
Scott smiled and took the paintings in his paws. "Well, my goodness," he said, turning to his wife who was now busy in the kitchen. "Honey, I think we have a couple little artists in the family."
Gail walked over next to her husband and looked at her children's projects. "Well, I think we do," she said. "And I think something this good deserves a little reward."
"Maybe something like somebody's favorite dessert?" Scott said, smiling at his children.
Emily and Matthew squealed in excitement as they ran into Scott's arms. He pulled them in close and kissed their heads before releasing them to give their mother a hug.
"Why don't you kids go hang up your pictures in your room?" Scott said.
"Okay, dad," Matthew said. "When's dinner, mom?"
"It'll be a little while, Matty," Gail said. "You and your sister can go play out in the backyard until it's ready, okay. But make sure you do what daddy says and put your paintings away first."
"Okay!" The two pups ran back to their rooms while Scott smiled at them. Gail placed a paw on his back prompting him to pull her in close.
"You wanna go get changed, honey?" she asked.
"Sure thing. Need any help with dinner when I get back?" Scott replied.
"I wouldn't mind."
Scott gave her a peck on the cheek before retreating to the bedroom to change out of his suit and tie and into something less restrictive. A few minutes later, he returned to the kitchen dressed in a grey t-shirt and tan shorts. He looked out the window into the backyard to see Emily playing on the swing set while Matthew swung a plastic sword at a horde of imaginary goblins emerging from the waterfront. With a beam, he turned to his wife who was pulling pieces of chicken breast out of a pot of boiling water and placing them in a bowl.
"Could you go ahead and shred these up for me, hon?" she asked.
"Sure thing," Scott replied, taking the bowl from her and fishing for a pair of forks from the cutlery drawer. "What's for dinner by the way?"
"Everyone's favorite: my shredded chicken lasagna."
"And that earns you another kiss." Scott wrapped his arm around Gail's waist from behind, leaned over her shoulder and rewarded her as such. She laughed through her closed lips as her husband lingered for several seconds. They came apart and he placed another kiss on her forehead.
The lasagna was a recipe that had been handed down from Gail's grandmother and it had been one of Scott's favorites since they had started dating. It wasn't too long before it became the kids' favorite as well. Gail had a feeling that Scott had heard just as much, if not more of the "news coverage" of his trial than she had and it couldn't have been a pleasant experience for him. The least she could do was give him a pleasant meal that evening.
"So to what do we owe this pleasant surprise?" Scott asked.
"To your daughter," Gail said. "She wouldn't stop asking for it most of the way home."
"A budding artist and a chef-in-the-making, huh?" Scott joked. Gail smiled softly back at him.
"That and…well, it just kinda looks like you had a rough end to your day," she said.
Scott looked back to see Gail's soft expression. He gave her a half-smile, aware of what she meant. "Yeah, you and me both," he replied quietly, a hint of fatigue in his voice, before returning to his job of shredding the chicken.
"You feeling okay, Scott?" Gail asked softly.
"I'm fine, sweetheart," Scott said warmly. "Really"
"You sure?"
"I'm sure. It's not like I haven't dealt with these kinds of whack-jobs before."
Gail remained unconvinced. There was something in her husband's voice that seemed a little off. He was right that he'd had run-ins with the tabloids before, but when he came home afterwards he was usually prepared with a few jokes, some sort of fun to poke at them behind their backs. Tonight though, just the slightest reference to the ordeal at the courthouse seemed to drain him. Gail wanted to know more, but felt that it would be best to let the matter rest for a while.
"Ok, honey," she said softly as she placed a kiss on Scott's cheek, causing him to beam brightly at her. The two returned to their tasks, a few moments of silence setting in before Scott spoke back up.
"Oh, hey, are the kids all packed for going to my parents' house tomorrow?"
"Are you kidding?" Gail replied. "Once they heard they were going to stay with their grandparents for the weekend, they couldn't get their suitcases out fast enough."
Scott laughed at the comment, agreeing that that did sound like his kids' normal reaction. "Glad to know they're excited," he said. "You're folks are still open for having them over next month, right?"
"Mmhmm," Gail replied. "They're actually gonna be out of town the first weekend, but they'll be home the weekend after."
"Okay, sounds good. By the way, do you need me to pick up anything on my way home for Nick and Judy's visit tomorrow? I think I oughta be back in town by the time they come over."
"Umm," Gail thought for a minute. "You know, the only thing I can think of right now is charcoal, but I can do a quick run-through of the fridge to see if we need anything. I can text you a list if you want."
"That's fine."
"Oh!" Gail said, "Make sure you pick up a few veggie burgers tomorrow for Judy."
"That's right!" Scott said, snapping his fingers. "Almost forgot she's vegetarian. Thanks for reminding me."
"Why don't you go ahead and put it in your notes on your phone?"
Scott immediately pulled out his phone and quickly typed in the words 'charcoal' and 'veggie burgers' into his notes.
"What time should we expect them again?" Gail asked.
"Umm, probably early afternoon, maybe 11:00, 11:30," Scott replied. "Like Nick said, it really depends on when he gets off work, but those police reports don't take too much time to write up." Scott set the bowl of shredded chicken down next to Gail as she started working on the sauce. She handed Scott a couple tomatoes and a knife. He took them and started working on dicing the produce.
"What time do you think you'll be back from dropping the kids off?"
Scott quickly did the math in his head. "Umm, well we're gonna be leaving pretty early tomorrow, and taking into account chatting with my folks and swinging by the store on the way home…I think I oughta be home about 12:00ish. So, Nick and Judy actually might beat me by an hour or so, but I'll be home pretty close behind them."
"Okay," Gail replied. "That doesn't sound too bad. We'll try not to have too much fun while you're out."
Scott smirked at his wife and said, "Let me guess: no promises?"
"You know me to well," Gail teased. Her husband laughed and shook his head. "So," Gail continued, "our Judy has a boyfriend now, huh?"
"Yeah, she does," Scott said, smiling back at her.
"Well, isn't that exciting?! How long have they been together?"
"From what I understand this is really just day two for them."
"Really," Gail said. "Well, how about before that? Did they go on any dates before yesterday?"
"Not sure," Scott replied.
"Well, how long has Judy been interested in him? Or how long has Nick been interested in her?"
"That I don't know either, honey." A silence suddenly fell on the kitchen and Scott had the strong feeling that someone was staring at him. He turned to his wife to see her staring at him with a disbelieving grin on her face.
"What?" Scott said, and Gail just shook her head. "What?" Scott asked again, chuckling as he did.
"You had the whole day with Judy and Nick and you didn't ask how long they've been interested in each other?" Gail said.
Scott laughed at his wife and said, "Well, honey, I guess it didn't come up. And I think I should remind you that most of my day was occupied by the trial."
"Well, how long did you guys have before the trial?"
"About an hour and a half."
"Seriously, Scott?" Gail said.
Scott looked at her in confusion. "What?!" he said.
"An hour and a half and you couldn't get around to asking how long they've actually been going out together? How long they've been interested?"
"Well, I guess not," Scott laughed.
"You couldn't have brought it up during lunch?" Gail said.
"Hey, you were with us. Why didn't you bring it up?" Gail smirked and smacked Scott with one of the hand towels.
"Scott, how can you be chatting with someone for an hour and a half like that and not get around to finding out how long she and her new boyfriend have been interested in each other?"
"Because, Gail, it wasn't the first thing on the list," Scott replied. "When I saw Judy, I wanted to know what her time on the force has been like, how many cases she's been involved in, how long she and Nick have been partners in the ZPD. Going in chronological order. Sadly, I didn't get to their relationship. Besides, you and I have been married for eight years and you're still telling me new stories from when we were in college. So if I haven't learned everything about you by now, how much can I realistically learn about Judy in a day?"
Gail was about to say something, but stopped, thinking Scott might have had a valid point. Still, she wasn't going to admit it. Instead she rolled her eyes and scoffed, and turned back to fixing dinner. Scott laughed as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled himself toward her and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"You're so funny, you know that?" Scott said as he held her close. Gail twisted herself around to look him in the eye.
"And you're real lucky you're cute," she said. The two smiled and shared a peck on the lips. "If you're done with the tomatoes, why don't you go see if the weather's on," Gail lightly scolded.
"Yes, ma'am," Scott replied with a bright smile. He released Gail and made his way to the living room where he flipped the TV to the evening news. The timing couldn't have been more perfect as he tuned in just in time for the weather report to begin.
"So, I hope everyone has plans to be outside this weekend," the meteorologist said, "because we're looking at some pretty clear skies around Zootopia for the next few days. Further west around New York City we're looking at partly cloudy, but nothing heavy. Also the temperature for this weekend is looking very nice. Friday's looking at a high of 73, low of 64. Saturday is a high of 72, low of 61. Sunday we'll see a bit of a rise in temperature, going to a high of 76 and a low of 68. But in general, this weekend is looking like it's gonna be really nice."
Scott and Gail were happy to hear that the weekend was providing ideal weather for their get-together.
"Back to you, Jim," the meteorologist said.
"A huge story that's been circulating through the city tonight, a storm of controversy has been brewing over a kidnapping trial that took place this afternoon. A leopard by the name of William Leopold has been sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison for kidnappi–"
"Ah, no you don't!" Scott said as he quickly picked up the remote and changed the channel. The screen went blank before bringing up a black and white background of what appeared to be stars. The background was soon accompanied by repetitive surreal music as a narrator began speaking.
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination," the voice said. "Beyond it is another dimension –"
"This'll work," Scott said as he sat down on the couch.
"a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into…"
Nick stood in front of the kitchen sink in Judy's apartment, helping to clean up from their dinner together, while Judy looked through her stack of DVD's for the movie she had chosen for the night. The couple had a nice light meal that Judy was surprised that Nick was familiar with. Judy had planned one of her favorites from home, spaghetti noodles tossed with fresh tomatoes, chopped basil, feta cheese and olive oil. She was hoping Nick would approve of a light vegetarian dish and was happy to find out that his mother had made him the same thing when he was a kit and that it was one of his favorites. The only real difference was that his mother usually added a splash of white balsamic vinegar to the tomato mix. Judy had to admit that it added a nice pungent flavor.
The couple sat at the table, just talking about whatever came to mind. Judy talked about how things were with her friends at work, a call she'd gotten from her sister a couple of nights before, the idea of going to the next big Gazelle concert. Nick talked about his own social circle at work, how things with his old friend, Finnick, were going, catching Bogo using the Gazelle dance app.
There was something different about the atmosphere that Judy had noticed this time. A casual evening together wasn't really anything new between her and Nick. They would go grab dinner together after work and they would sit and chat like they were doing now. But there was something that felt more right, that made Judy happier. She knew it had to do with the fact that she and Nick were now in a relationship, but it was more specific than that. There was no special occasion. They weren't gazing into each other's eyes or coming up with little pet names for each other. They were just talking. And yet Judy felt her heart fluttering through the whole conversation. The fact that she couldn't understand why only reminded her of just how new she was to being in a relationship.
While Nick washed the dishes in the kitchen, Judy pulled out the movie they had picked, or rather the movie she had picked. The couple had a previously established tradition of movie night that had begun after Nick had joined the force, but Judy was especially excited for tonight. She had finally gotten Nick to watch one of her favorites with her, Wrangled.3 Judy had tried to get Nick to watch it with her in the past with no success, but even though she was new to being in a relationship she was well aware of the power of persuasion that came with being a girlfriend.
As she opened the DVD case and turned on the TV, she asked Nick, "How's it going in there?"
"Pretty much done," Nick replied. "Uh, so where do I put these away?" he asked gesturing to the small stack of clean dishes.
"Eh, don't worry about it," Judy replied. "You can just leave them there for now, sweetheart. I'll put 'em away tomorrow."
A sly grin spread across Nick's muzzle and he let out a curious "Hmm" while he dried his paws.
"What?" Judy said as she returned his smile.
Nick leaned over the counter toward Judy and said, "Oh, nothing, just the fact that it's only day two and you're already using pet names."
"What do you mean?" Judy asked.
"You mean you didn't notice the word 'sweetheart' just a second ago?" Nick teased.
Judy's smile widened and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Nick. Like we're not used to using that one on a regular basis."
"I didn't say we weren't used to it," Nick replied. "It's just the way you said it."
"What's that supposed to – " Judy caught herself and felt herself begin to blush. She had used that word with Nick before, but not like that. Not as a term of endearment.
Nick snickered at the way his bunny looked, like a deer in the headlights. He walked around the counter and gently wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the head.
"You know, Carrots, sometimes you're just too easy a target," he said and kissed her nose. Judy giggled and gave him a light shove.
"Dumb fox," she said as they smiled at each other.
"As advertised."
As Judy leaned into his embrace, a little thought in the back of her mind began to speak up. She looked up into Nick's eyes and he could see a tone of concern in hers.
"You okay, Carrots?" he asked.
"Actually…I was gonna ask you the same thing."
"What for?"
"Just…what happened at the courthouse earlier, what we saw on the news…I just want to know if you're feeling okay after all of that."
Nick's eyes widened at Judy's inquiry. He was especially taken by how softly she spoke, how concerned she looked. This wasn't a casual 'You okay?' moment at the office. Nick's face softened and he pulled Judy closer.
"Yeah," he said softly. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Judy asked.
"Mmhmm. It's not the first time I've run into those kinds of mammals. Besides, no one really takes them seriously. Bet you by next week, they'll be clawing for another half-baked story."
"Hmm, I guess so," Judy purred, her head buried in Nick's chest. Nick leaned back and looked into Judy's eyes.
"Don't worry about me, sweetheart," Nick said. "I'll be fine."
Judy smile and caressed Nick's cheek. Suddenly she took on a soft, playful grin.
"So, slick Nick's using pet names now, huh?" she kidded. "And it's only day two. I didn't know foxes had such a soft side."
Nick retorted with his own cunning look and said, "Well, it's not like we aren't used to it, are we?"
Judy cocked her eyebrow and shook her head. "Touché, slick."
They returned to their embrace and held it for several minutes, beginning to slowly rock back and forth. After a while, Judy broke the silence.
"You sure you're okay, Nick?" she muttered from their embrace.
"Mmhmm," he said. "I am, sweetheart."
Judy smiled leaned up to give Nick a peck on the cheek. "So, ready for movie night?" she teased.
"And suddenly I'm less okay," Nick said dryly.
"Oh, it's not that bad," she said as she went to put the movie in.
"I know. I just like giving you a hard time."
After ducking to avoid a spare pillow lying by the TV, Nick took a spot on the couch and placed his arm up on the back to invite Judy into the spot next to him. Once the movie was in and playing, she bounded onto the couch and tucked herself into Nick's side.
He had to admit that the opening made it seem like the movie wouldn't be too bad, just a typical Disney chick flick. It was certainly nothing he couldn't handle.
The movie brought them into the early hours of the evening, the last remnants of sunlight having been replaced by the artificial light of the streets below. The only light in the apartment that was left was from the TV and the lamp that stood on the small table next to the couch. Nick had to admit that he had enjoyed this movie night more than he had expected. While he wasn't planning to see it again, there were a few moments where he had laughed and a few of the songs were pretty entertaining.
As the end credits rolled, Nick looked down at Judy who was now leaning her head against him, eyes shut.
"How you doing there, Carrots," Nick said quietly.
"Mmm…still awake," Judy mumbled. "Tired though."
Nick smiled and brought his paw up to stroke her ears. Again, Judy let out a soft, pleasant coo and nuzzled herself closer against her fox.
"I think I might have found your weak spot, fluff," Nick said smiling.
"Mmhmm," was all Judy could reply, too tired to respond and simply content on enjoying Nick's gentle touch.
"Hey," Nick whispered, "I think we should call it a night."
"Mmhmm," Judy replied, but remained where she was, keeping Nick from moving. When he tried to nudge her to get her to move, she just slumped back into his side. Though, she was doing a poor job of hiding her mischievous grin.
"Sly bunny," Nick whispered, "but sadly not sly enough." In a smooth motion, he stood up from the couch and scooped up Judy in his arms. She instinctually wrapped her own arms around his neck as he carried her to her bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed, admiring how beautiful she looked. When she was asleep, even half asleep, she looked so peaceful, so tender…so cute. "I wonder how long it'll take for her to let me call her that," he said to himself. Judy began fumbling for the edge of the covers, and Nick helped pull them back for her and helped her get comfortable.
"I better get going. Don't want the chief chewing me out for getting in late tomorrow," he said.
"Okay," Judy purred, her eyes still closed and her head resting against the pillows.
"I'll be around to pick you up at around 11:00." He then placed a peck on her cheek. "Goodnight, Carrots."
He stood to leave the bedroom, but stopped when he felt Judy's paw take hold of his. He turned around to see her staring up, her eyes half lidded. Those eyes told Nick what she wanted. He returned to her bedside and gave her a long, soft kiss. Their paws remained in each other's as they allowed their fingers to interlace. Their lips came apart and Judy cupped Nick's cheek.
"Goodnight, sweetheart," she whispered. "I'll see you tomorrow."
The sun began to rise over Zootopia, shining through the spaces between the skyscrapers, through the shutters of Judy's bedroom window and onto her eyes. She stirred at the sudden and irritating change in light and reluctantly rose from her sleep. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she stretched out her limbs, welcoming the sweet sensation that accompanied it. As she began to come to her senses, a slight moment of panic overtook her when she noticed that there was sunlight outside and she quickly checked the clock on her nightstand. Reading the time 7:46 AM, she felt a sense of relief fill her. She hated sleeping in until anything past 8:30. It felt like she was being robbed of her day then forced to rush to save whatever was left.
Letting out a long yawn, she got her day going, taking things nice and easy. At least the slow and relaxed start to the day was something she enjoyed on her days off. She lazily sauntered into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee before taking a nice long shower. Above everything else, that was what Judy loved about her days off, just being able to relish the feeling of soothing hot water running through her fur.
Stepping out of the shower, her still damp fur wrapped in a bathrobe, she poured herself a cup of coffee and popped a few slices of bread in the toaster while beginning to fry up two eggs. As per her usual routine on her mornings off, she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She returned to keeping an eye on her breakfast and listened idly to the news. While she listened, her ears flattened against her head and she scowled as she heard that the top story for that morning was still about Scott and the trial they had attended.
"Just forget about it, Judy," she told herself, returning her attention to fixing her food. In the background, the news continued regurgitating information about the controversy of the case, and how people had been voicing their negative opinions all over social media. Judy caught only about half of what was said, not that she cared. She idly buttered her toast and set an egg on each slice while she thought about the plans she and Nick had for the day. And if there was one thing that she hoped for, it was a good chance for Scott and Nick to bond. She was happy to see how well they were getting along thus far, and she very much hoped that some time outside the office might help to jumpstart a friendship between the two.
She sat down at the table, ready to eat, but her ears perked when she heard something on the news that she wasn't expecting.
"New information has been submitted this morning that suggests that the accusations against Prescott Collier as being biased against predators may be unfounded."
Judy went still for a moment, a fork full of fried egg up to her mouth, as she lifted her head to listen to what was being reported.
"Documents have recently surfaced showing a pattern in the cases that were assigned to Prescott Collier during the Night Howler Incident which took place only months ago. During the Incident, thirteen criminal cases were assigned to Collier. Of those thirteen, eight were based on accusations against predators, while the remaining five were crimes committed by prey. The recent records indicate that of the eight predator cases, only one of made it to trial. The rest were dropped without prosecution by Collier due to a lack of evidence. The remaining five prey cases were reported to have all gone to court with each case receiving a verdict of guilty."
Judy sat back in her chair with a satisfied smirk. "Biased against predators, my tail," she said, crossing her arms. "Wonder how those lunatics are gonna respond to that one." She scoffed at the question while returning to her breakfast and saying to herself "Probably with some half-baked conspiracy theory."
She shrugged and blew it off. At least the truth was out now and there was no need to dwell on it anymore. She finished her meal and returned to her bedroom to throw on a few casual clothes, opting for her pink button-up shirt and a pair of white shorts.
As soon as she had changed, she returned to the living room and bean flipping through channels trying to find something to pass the time before Nick came to pick her up. She glanced at the clock hanging on her wall to see that it read 9:06 am. Something in Judy's mind groaned rather loudly. It wasn't like her to lounge around in the morning. On any other day off, she'd be dressed in more athletic clothes and out the door to do a morning run through the park. For a moment, she considered going back to her room and throwing something on for a quick jog.
"It doesn't have to be a long one," she thought. "I should be back in time."
"Yeah, when has that ever happened?" she said to herself. She had lost count of how many times she had been late meeting up with Nick for his lunch break because she had lost track of time while out on a run. She didn't know why, but being out on a run was almost hypnotic, like her own unique meditation.
With only two hours to spare before she expected to be heading over to Scott's house, Judy figured it was too much of a risk and returned her attention to the screen. She stopped scrolling when she came across a string of re-runs of The Trotting Dead4, one of her favorite TV shows. At least that would be less painful than the plethora of cheap soap operas was usually being offered at this time of day.
She sat down on the couch as the opening credits rolled, she giggled inwardly at the memory of Nick's reaction of when he had found out about her interest in the show. He had laughed at first, assuming it was a joke.
"Wait…you're serious?" he said.
"Yeah," Judy replied. "…Is there any reason I'd be lying?"
"No, no, I just never woulda thought that…"
"A cute little bunny would be into Trotting Dead?" Judy finished, putting her paws on her hips and smirking.
"First of all, last time I called you cute was about five months ago," Nick said. "Second, I apologized for it. Third, you're never gonna let me live that one down are you?"
"Not for a while, slick," Judy teased.
Judy smiled at the memory and turned her attention to the screen which was showing the first episode of the first season.
The end credits began rolling and Judy looked at the clock: 10:01 am. "I guess I've got time for another episode," she said. But just as the opening scene for episode two began to play, she received a knock at the door. Her ears perked and she double checked the clock and checked the time on her phone to make sure she wasn't behind by an hour. "Nick said 11:00, right?" she thought. Her phone also read just past 10:00 am. She stood up from the couch and went to open the door. She was greeted by a red fox standing at the door with an unbuttoned light blue shirt, a grey t-shirt underneath and tan pants. She looked up and met is half-lidded, emerald gaze.
"Glad to see you're already dressed for the occasion, Carrots," he said.
Judy arched her eyebrow and said, "Okay, now I know for a fact you're not really Nick Wilde."
"Oh, really?" Nick teased.
"Yes, really," Judy said, narrowing her eyes and leaning in toward her fox.
"And what exactly would exactly would your evidence be this time, fluff?"
"The fact that there's no way the real Nick Wilde would ever be done with any sort of police report an hour early." Judy began slowly walking her fingers up Nick's arm, her eyes half-lidded. "And I don't care how many little surprises you've been pulling lately…" Her paw reached the back of Nick's neck, but as he expected her to pull him in for a kiss, she quickly swiped her finger across his chest and said, "something like this never happens."
"Not even when I'm highly motivated?" Nick replied.
"By what exactly?" Judy asked, teasingly cocking her eyebrow.
"Tell me if this sounds right," Nick replied, leaning against the doorframe. "Devilishly handsome fox starts dating an extremely attractive bunny and has very much enjoyed his time with her over the last few days, and also enjoyed his time with her before the dating game officially started. So far, the best part of any day for him has been spending time with her, especially because not only is she his girlfriend, but also his best friend. So, when he gets into work today, he's very much motivated to get his single assignment done so that he can spend some time with her. Of course, he's also got a little voice in the back of his mind making sure he does a thorough job on his police report so that he's not chewed out by the buffalo at the top of the food chain, which he highly doubts anyone at the Precinct could ever get used to. So really, he would have been done and standing in the doorway about an hour earlier of he wasn't worried about pissing off the mammal about fifteen times his size. But still, he's able to get it done early and without getting trampled to death and still has the energy to put up with his girlfriend's little snarky comments. That sound about right?"
Judy scoffed and punched Nick in the shoulder. "You practice those little speeches, don't you?" she scoffed.
"Oh, yeah," Nick said sarcastically, "I was rehearsing in the car on the way here. Just wanted to make sure it was perfect for my gorgeous bunny."
Judy shook her head before launching herself at her fox, wrapping her arms around him as she made contact and tackling him to the floor. Pinning him to the ground, she pulled back to see Nick's emerald eyes wide open and a surprised, sheepish smile on his face.
"What?" Judy said. "You've been surprising me that last few weeks, so I think it's my turn."
Nick's sheepish smile morphed into a loving one as he chuckled and stroked Judy's cheek with the back of his paw. "Sly bunny," he murmured.
Judy giggled and leaned down to meet his lips. However, they were soon interrupted by a thumping from underneath the hallway floor.
"Hey, take it to apartment you guys!" an all too familiar voice shouted.
Judy buried her face in Nick's chest in exasperation. "You've gotta be kidding me," she muttered.
"Would you leave the bunny cop alone?!" another voice shouted from underneath the floor. "She and the fox are having a romantic moment!"
"Ah, shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"YOU SHUT UP!"
"YOU SHUT UP!"
Nick was surprised at how loud Bucky and Pronk could actually get, feeling the floor vibrate as they shouted. Looking down at Judy, whose face was still buried in his chest, placed a finger under her chin and brought her eyes up to meet his.
"What do you say we take their advice," Nick said, throwing his eyes toward the apartment. "We've still got about an hour before Scott's expecting us."
Judy smiled and gave Nick a quick peck on the lips before replying, "Let's."
"So which side is it supposed to be on?" Nick asked as he drove through the coastal neighborhood. Judy glanced down at the Zoogle Maps route on her iCarrot phone.
"It should be on the right side, by the waterline," Judy replied. "Gail told me it's a Cape Cod style house."
"Well, sounds like you're gonna be the one to find it, Carrots," Nick said. "I have no idea what Cape Cod style is."
"Eh, don't worry," Judy said nonchalantly. "I figured as much."
Nick raised an eyebrow to his girlfriend and cast a sarcastic smile at her. "You can be evil at times, you know that fluff?"
"So that was what you call evil?" Judy shot back. "I didn't know foxes were so sensitive."
"Well, aren't you in a snarky mood today?"
"I blame you for it."
Nick took a moment to laugh before saying, "You know I think you might be right there, Carrots."
"Of course, I'm not saying it's bad or anything. I'm just blaming you," Judy retorted.
"And I gladly take pride in my influence on you." Nick reached over and placed a paw on Judy's shoulder. She smiled back at him before turning her eyes back out the window and scanned for Scott's house. Nick slowed the car down a bit to give Judy some extra time to read the addresses. As they cruised down the street, he took a chance to admire the neighborhood. He felt a little envious of the fact that Scott lived in such a nice waterfront community, but at least it wasn't a rich-boy, one-percent type area. The homes were smaller and more modest, their beauty stemming more from their architectural than their size. There was just something about coastal homes that was always attractive.
They continued to crawl along the road when Judy spotted the home that Gail had described in her text message.
"I think this might be it, Nick," Judy said excitedly. She looked at the mailbox that stood on the curb and read the numbers drilled into the wooden post. "732, that's it!"
At that moment, a voice emanated from Judy's iCarrot. "Turn right to your destination – 732 Colony Street."
"Thanks for the update, Zoogle Obvious," Nick replied as he pulled up in front of the house.
"Oh, shush," Judy said, pocketing her phone and bounding out of the car. She went to the back seat and grabbed their little contribution to the barbecue, a couple bags of chips and some fresh produce from Judy's parents' farm. She and Nick were both surprised at how much Hopps' Family Farm was picking up. It was certainly a pleasant shock the first time saw her family's brand name in the produce aisle at the local supermarket.
"That everything, fluff?" Nick said.
"Mmhmm," Judy said. "Gail told me Scott was gonna stop by the store for everything else."
Judy led them to the door and rang the bell.
"Pretty nice place," Nick said, admiring the house as they stood at the door. Soon they were greeted by Gail.
"Hey guys!" she said gleefully. "So glad you could make it!" She and Judy quickly wrapped each other in a hug, like two sisters reuniting after college. Gail stepped back to look at Judy's outfit. "Oh my God, that's such a cute shirt," she said.
"Aww, thanks, Gail!" Judy replied. "I love your outfit too!" Gail donned a blue denim shirt with a white t-shirt underneath and a pair of tan shorts.
"Why, thank you," Gail cheerfully said. "Glad to see you too, Nick!"
"Great to be here," Nick said, holding out his hand.
Gail smiled and said, "Oh, come on, Nick. Handshakes are for strangers." Judy smiled as Gail pulled Nick in for a brief hug. "Well, why don't you guys come in? Scott just called a couple minutes ago and said he's on his way home."
"Oh awesome!" Judy said as she and Nick stepped through the doorway. "I was afraid were gonna have to wait a while."
They entered the living room and found themselves quite impressed with the interior. They were greeted by warm champagne walls that gave the room a bright and welcoming feel. Judy especially loved the way the color of the walls complimented the hardwood floors, which were made of finished mahogany that alternated between golden honey and nutmeg finish with each plank. Immediately after stepping into the living room, the guests were treated to a stunning view of the harbor as the sunlight reflected off the teal waves and through the bay windows that lined the back of the house. On a day like this, the windows were open wide to let the warm, sweet sea breeze flow through the house.
"Wow, you guys have an amazing place!" Judy said. "I love the view!"
"I'm glad you like it," Gail said happily. "Well, come on in," she said, motioning them to come in further. "You can set your stuff on the counter here."
"Sure thing," Judy replied. She and Nick entered further into the house, as they took in the surroundings. As Nick surveyed the home, he noticed three frames hanging above the fireplace, each one containing what appeared to be an old sheet of parchment. He smirked as he read the titles.
"Guess Scott really live his profession, doesn't he?" Nick said.
"Hmm?" Gail replied. She looked over toward Nick to see him staring at the three frames lined up above the fireplace. The first was the Declaration of Independence, the second was the United States Constitution, and the third was the first draft of the Bill of Rights. "Oh, yeah," Gail laughed. "If you think that's any indication of his work ethic, you guys should have come over before I made him build an extra bookshelf in his office."
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding!" Judy laughed. "He had his book collection in the living room?"
"Well, not all of it, but enough for it to be a bit of an eyesore."
"He sure hasn't changed a whole lot, has he?" Judy jested.
"Not one bit," Gail replied, causing both ladies to giggle.
"Looks like he also has an…interesting taste in motivational posters," Nick said.
"Why's that?" Judy asked.
"Because of that." Nick pointed to a frame hanging on the wall near them that held a sheet of white paper. Typed in large blue letters, the sheet read,
If you cheat,
you suck,
I will catch you,
and you will pay.
Dr. Litton
"That's, um…huh," Judy said as she read the framed quote. "Never heard that one before."
"Yeah, I think I'll let Scott explain that one," Gail said.
"Explain what?" the group heard from the entryway, the voice accompanied by the door front door shutting and random jingling sound of car keys being placed in the hook by the front door. They saw Scott round the corner of the entryway with a bag of charcoal in his paw. The trio greeted him as he entered the living room, Judy and Gail with wide smiles and Nick with his signature smooth grin. Scott took on a wide smile of his own, though Nick could read his face and knew that there was a hint of mischief in it.
"I was kidding! I didn't actually want you guys over!" Scott joked, causing Gail to roll her eyes and Judy and Nick laugh along.
Still smiling brightly, he walked toward the group, taking a brief hug from Judy and shaking paws with Nick. "Glad you guys were able to make it," he said.
"Made sure to finish that report early just for the occasion," Nick quipped as he winked at Judy. She blushed and jabbed Nick with her elbow as he and Scott exchanged smirks.
"Oh, God, now there's two of them," Gail jibed while she shook her head at the two males.
"Well, what's that old phrase again? Umm…'buyer beware'?" Scott replied.
Gail stepped forward and gave him a shove on his shoulder. "My husband, the joker," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Scott merely shrugged and planted a peck on her cheek before setting down the bag of charcoal on the counter.
"You need any help with groceries?" Judy asked.
"Eh, wouldn't mind," Scott replied and they headed out to the car to unload the trunk. "So what time did you finish that report?" Scott asked Nick.
"About 9:30," Nick said. "And Wolfram and Clawson each owe me twenty bucks."
"Why's that?"
"I might have placed a bet on how fast I could get it done without the chief trampling me to death," Nick said proudly.
"Your schemes are never gonna come to an end, are they?" Judy prodded.
"Hey, I didn't hustle anyone, sweetheart," Nick replied, "but to answer your question, I doubt anytime soon." He gave a sudden yelp as Judy's foot came down on his tail.
"Oops," Judy said, a smirk on her face and eyes half lidded, "sorry." As they continued toward the car, Nick pushed her forward with his tail, causing her to stumble.
"We just started dating. Can you tell?" Nick jested.
Scott and Gail laughed as Nick grabbed Judy around the waist and kissed her head, a gesture she quickly rewarded with a kiss on his cheek. They all started unloading the trunk as Gail kept the conversation rolling.
"So I guess your dad didn't have any debates ready for you today, huh honey?" she asked Scott.
"Surprisingly not," Scott said. "Only explanation I can think of is that the Zootopia Times forgot to print the political section for the month."
"He's really that bad?" Nick asked.
"Oh, you have two eyewitnesses who can attest to that," Scott said, pointing to Judy and Gail.
"Yeah, he was pretty bad," Judy said.
"Yeah, but you weren't the one whose boyfriend forgot to tell her before she went to the house to meet the parents," Gail said to Judy.
"You're really not saying he put you ladies in the hot seat," Nick asked incredulously.
"No, of course not," Judy laughed, "but the dinner table was more like watching a political debate."
"And the first dinner at the house, I had my boyfriend stolen for about an hour after dinner ended," Gail added.
"Yeah, maybe I should apologize for that," Scott said.
"Yeah, ya think?" Gail playfully chided.
"...for only the twenty fifth time," Scott said, "I think. I don't know, I lost count after about twenty-three."
Gail and Judy shared a glance at each other. "Welcome to my world, honey," Gail said.
"You know," Scott said as they started heading back to the house, "while my dad never had the best timing, I really did enjoy those debates. I just thought they'd stop after I passed the Bar Exam."
"Maybe he just decided to be merciful today," Nick said.
"Believe it or not, that explanation's actually too far-fetched," Scott laughed. Nick began chuckling along with him. Judy looked back at the two of them, happy to see them laughing together and enjoying each other. They walked back inside and set the groceries on the kitchen counter. As they were unloading them, Scott pulled out a case of six twenty-two ounce bottles.
"You drink beer, right Nick?" he asked.
"Yeah, I drink it sometimes," Nick answered.
"Well, I think you might like this stuff here. This brewery is actually owned by an old friend of mine from high school and he makes a really great Scottish ale. Nice and smooth, not too bitter."
"Sounds pretty good," Nick said. Scott went to retrieve a couple of weizen beer glasses from the cupboard while Nick took out one of the bottle and inspected the label.
"Hops and Robbers Brewing Company?" Nick said, raising an eyebrow. Scott laughed as he set the glasses on the counter.
"Yeah, Casey was sort of the bad-pun mammal of our little group," Scott said. "Uh, you want a chilled glass or on the rocks?"
"Chilled glass for me," Nick said.
Scott smiled approvingly before rinsing the glasses, filling them with crushed ice and swirling it around in each glass, and placing them in the freezer. While Scott worked his bartender routine, Judy brought up the subject they were on when he walked through the door.
"So, Scott," she said, "Nick and I were wondering what this quote is from."
"What quote?" Scott asked as he closed the freezer door. He looked to see that she was looking at the frame on the wall. "Ah, that one," he said. "That is a quote from one of my professors from pre-law, Dr. Chad Litton. That was his class cheating policy."
"Sounds like he was a hard grader," Nick quipped.
"Only if you took his class as a blow-off. For the rest of us, he was one of the best. At the beginning of every semester he recited that policy, but it was always in a way that it built on itself. So his speech always went, 'If you cheat, you suck. If you cheat, you suck, and I will catch you. If you cheat, you suck, I will catch you, and you will pay.'"
"Sounds a little intimidating for a professor," Judy said.
"Yeah, I will admit that it was a little unnerving to hear a professor say, 'you suck,'" Scott replied.
"So, just curious, why's it in a frame on your wall?" Nick asked.
Scott smiled and said, "Honestly, I don't know why, but that policy always stuck with me. That and at the end of law school it kind of came full circle."
"What do you mean by that?" Nick asked.
"Well, when we started the Bar Exam, each person was given a private testing room. And when they take you inside, they give you a rundown of how the test is given, how you're supposed to answer the questions, et cetera. So, first off, when I was took the Bar Exam, my testing instructor was actually Dr. Litton. So, we had a quick little reunion before he took me into the testing room. He gave me the rundown and then the last thing he did was show me that the room had four cameras in the corners, and these were really good cameras. They could actually zoom in on the computer screen to see if you were bringing up any other websites for information, which would be cheating."
"Wait, you guys had computers during the test?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, the test was taken online. There was a law passed back in 2008 that changed the way the Bar Exam was given, and one of the things was that the questions went from multiple choice to short answer questions. So along with that, they kind of realized that short answer questions would take too much time to write out by hand, so the test was typed."
"Huh. I hope that little detail isn't common knowledge, or I feel really stupid."
Scott chuckled and said, "Nah, don't worry about it. I didn't know either until the day before. So anyway, uh, where was I? Oh yeah, so Dr. Litton pointed out the cameras and told me how they can zoom in on the screen and that they weren't there for show. Right after that, he told me to recite his cheating policy. 'If I cheat, I suck, you will catch me, and I will pay.'"
Nick and Scott laughed together at the little memory. "Geez, no pressure there, huh?" Nick said.
"No kidding," Scott said, "but the thing is it was kind of a nice little moment in weird way. I started pre-law with Dr. Litton giving us that policy and there I was reciting it back to him before taking the Bar Exam. So, yeah, it's like it came full circle."
"And now it's immortalized on your wall, huh?"
"Well, actually that frame's just a placeholder until the plaque gets here." The two of them started chuckling again and Judy cracked a smile at their banter.
"I really hope you're joking about that," Gail said, though she couldn't hide the smile on her own face.
"I guess you'll find out in three to five business days," Scott retorted, earning him a whip from his wife, using a spare rag conveniently laying on the counter for her.
She laughed, kissed him on the cheek and said, "You know, I think you should have come with a waiver."
"I did," Scott said. "It's called a wedding ring."
Gail turned to her husband, trying to glare at him, but failing at her attempt due to her admitted amusement at his little witticisms. Judy couldn't keep herself from giggling either, nor from a nice warm tingle in her stomach as she saw Nick laughing along with them. Those two were a lot alike from what Judy could see. If nothing else, they had an almost identical sense of humor.
"Why don't you and Nick go get the charcoal going?" Gail said. "Judy and I can help get things ready in here."
"Yes, ma'am," Scott chuckled as he grabbed the two beer glasses from the freezer and a bottle of beer from the fridge. Filling each one so that the foam head just reached the rim, he handed a glass to Nick. Grabbing the bag of charcoal, Scott nodded his head and the two of them headed out to the back.
"So, is Nick like that a lot?" Gail asked Judy.
"You said it yourself," Judy replied. "'There's two of them.'"
"Honestly, what were we thinking when we started dating them?"
"I doubt we were thinking at all." They looked outside at their boys to see them standing by the grill, laughing together and having fun. "I'm not saying that's a bad thing though," Judy said.
"Yeah, they may be idiots," Gail said, "but they're our idiots."
1) Spoof of MSNBC News
2) Spoof of FOX News
3) Zootopia version of Tangled. It's one of the bootlegged DVDs being sold by Duke Weaselton in the movie
4) Zootopia version of The Walking Dead