Big thanks to TOGDoesStuff for editing and proofreading for me!
A/N:
Nick sat at his temporary desk in city hall, fingers massaging his temples to try and ease the migraine that had grown since arriving that morning. He hated this part of the job. Meetings upon meetings with Lionheart and committee members. Voting to approve motions and bills for the city, most of which either didn't accomplish anything or were attempts to channel funds from necessary expenditures to programs that, in the end, were nothing more than legal ways of buying votes.
Nick groaned when he heard the alarm on his phone going off. With a final sigh he lifted himself from his seat and walked towards the front doors.
'Time to pay the piper' he mused.
He shuffled his way to the doors barely making the effort to dodge the heavy steps of the larger mammals around him. Stepping out into the cool air of late fall, he took a moment to allow the breeze to penetrate his exposed fur. Overheating could be an issue with his winter coat was setting in.
Feeling somewhat revitalized, Nick made his way to where he had parked his car. A black Impala SS. Its family friendly features being the only deciding factor in its purchase of course. Nick could see his car in the distance when he heard the dreaded beep of the parking meter go off.
'Just in time.' He thought. Pulling his paw out of his pocket, he counted out the required amount of change to the feed the meter. Stepping beside it, he reached up and had the coin half fed when he noticed motion in front of him, causing him to freeze and glance upward.
There, propped up on his hood, was a familiar grey rabbit in a meter maid outfit. Her paw held out with a parking ticket, about to slip it behind his windshield wiper. The sight caused his paw to go on autopilot and drop the coin into the meter. The resounding clatter of the coin falling into the slot seemed to resound around him. The noise of cars passing by, mammals walking the sidewalks, absorbed in their own conversations, fading out of existence.
The noise clearly caught her attention as well. He noticed how her closest ear perking slightly in his direction while the rest of her body froze in place. Her head slowly turned to face him until making eye contact. His paw seemed to still be on autopilot as he slowly fed another coin. Her paw also seemed on autopilot as it slowly moved to plant the ticket in its place.
They maintained eye contact the entire time.
After placing the ticket, Judy slowly slid from the hood of the car. Having reset the meter, Nick slowly walked around the front till he was on the same side as her, and continued to approach. Judy stood her ground, watching him approach until he was mere inches in front of her. Nick watched as her eyes grew wide and nose began to twitch rapidly when he bent at the hip, bringing his muzzle barely an inch from hers, she did not yield.
He then smirked and leaned back upright as he brought the ticket into her view. The blush he saw through her fur making her look even more adorable. Nick knew this was his chance to say something witty so he took it.
"Hi." Was all that came out.
Judy recomposed herself to offer a more intellectual response.
"Hi." Or maybe not.
After a moment of awkward silence, it was finally Nick that spoke up.
"Um, Adam really enjoys the little stuffed bunny you gave him."
"Oh! That's good."
"So, uh, are you still on parking duty?" 'Probably not the best subject' he mentally chastised himself.
Judy visibly deflated, and for the first time looked away from him. Nick watched as the once proud bunny took on a look of defeat. It had been nearly three weeks since he saw her at Howlloween.
"Yes, and I know what you're going to say. I should have taken your offer and transferred. It's just... I worked my tail off to earn valedictorian of my class so I could be assigned to Precinct one. It's the most prestigious precinct in the city. I can get assignments to assist in all the different districts. It's the place I can do the most good." Judy finished her little speech without ever looking up, her voice became a tone of despair. "At least, it would be, if they would ever give me the chance."
Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing. The transformation that happened before his eyes from the determined, optimistic go getter from that first meeting to the pitiful, dejected excuse he saw before him was heartbreaking. Knowing that it was probably his fault she was still on parking duty, he had to find a way to make it right. As his mind tossed around possible ideas on how to fix this problem, a sudden gust of frigid wind made its way round them. To Nick it was a cool relief from the warmth of his winter coat and business suit, but as he continued to look at Judy, the shiver that shook her for longer than it should have made him instinctively drop his mask of indifference.
"Please tell me you at least have a coat, carrots?" The concern in his voice didn't seem to faze the rabbit as she stood there still shaking.
"Yeah, it's in the cart." Judy pointed over her shoulder at the open-air vehicle that Nick could only think of as a three-wheeled joke mobile. A rabbit size jacket laid across the seat.
"You should probably put it on before you catch your death out here."
"Heh, if only." She muttered darkly. Nick reached over and placed a paw on her shoulders. Gently guiding her to the heatless cart. Standing there as she pulled the jacket on without saying a word. It wasn't till she put the little thing in gear that he realized she was going to leave without another word. Quickly grabbing the roof, he leaned into the passenger side of the vehicle and spoke in as merry a tone as he could.
"Hey fluff, do you have plans for Thanksgiving this Thursday?" The sight of her ears popping up from her back and nearly pushing the small hat off her head and over her eyes was almost enough to make him coo at how adorable she looked just then.
Pushing the hat back on top of her head, Judy studied him for a moment as she thought the question over.
"I... Have to work." Nick just rolled his eyes at the obvious reply.
"Yeah, I figured that. I mean afterwards." Judy took on a stunned expression and kept quiet for a moment. In truth, her parents had planned a big dinner that would be broadcast over muzzletime to all their children that were away from home. Judy's other siblings- that had taken careers other than farming, said it was nice to have a reminder of home during the holidays. To her, however, it only served as a reminder of what waited if she-... She couldn't finish the thought.
"No... No plans. Why?" Judy's slow answers had given Nick plenty of time to prepare a response to her most likely answers.
"Well, Adam has been asking if he can see you again. He's been quite smitten with you since you gave him that stuffed bunny. He even named it after you." Nick noted that Judy's ears turned a darker shade of pink just then. "So, if you don't have any other plans. How would you like to join us for dinner?"
Judy's mind raced between the two options. Sit in her lonely, cold apartment and listen to her parents tell everyone how wonderful it was back on the farm, displaying all the homecooked holiday foods, or have thanksgiving dinner with a fox and his son. To her, the two options weren't much different. They weren't her family and there was no guarantee she'd be able to eat much in a pred's home. Although, the prospect of getting to spend time with the energetic little fox tod became very appealing when she remembered the hugs and excitement he'd shown on Howlloween. Though, telling her parents she wouldn't be able to 'join' them would cause an onslaught of questions she would need to think of answers for. So, for the time being she settled on a neutral answer.
"I'll think about it."
Nick then pulled out a business card and scribbled his address and cell number on the back.
"Well, if you do decide to come over, here's my address and number. Dinner should be ready around six." He said. Adding with a wink. "Dress casual."
Judy took the card and looked it over before tucking it away in her pocket. "I'll let you know."
As he watched her ride off in the useless little cart, he couldn't help the smirk that appeared as he finally found a way to make up for the trouble he had caused. Although, he wasn't sure his idea wouldn't cause more trouble, at least it would help to return some dignity to the rabbit his son so dearly admired. For now, he had a lot of research to do and phone calls to make.
Two days later, Judy sat in her little apartment staring at the paw-written address on the back of a business card. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving. She needed to decide tonight while she still had time to call her parents. The two nights prior, she'd managed to skirt the conversation, but now her time was up. The conversations with her parents over the last few months had been gradually heating. It was getting harder and harder to hide her depression and keep up the facade that she was enjoying her job.
As her anxiety level began to rise she started pacing the small floor space allotted to her. After several minutes of wearing a path in the boards beneath her feet, she stopped and rubbed her face with both paws before running them over the top of her head and brushing her ears down. When she opened her eyes, she was facing her bed. The small pile of bunnies that were ever present in her life staring back. All but one.
As the memory of where the missing bunny had found a new home asserted itself in her mind, she found herself calling her parents for the first time in several weeks with a genuine smile waiting to greet them.
"Judy!" Her mom exclaimed over the muzzletime camera. "Stu! Judy's calling! How're you doing sweetheart?"
"I'm actually doing really well." She replied and the smile on her face grew. It was such a relief to tell her parents how she genuinely felt instead of having to hide the truth.
"You certainly look like you feel better. Did something change?"
"Well, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh! Did you meet someone!?" Bonnie excitedly interjected.
"Well, yeah, but-" She didn't get to chance to say more before her father interjected by jumping into the screen, rubbing cheeks with Bonnie.
"So, who's the handsome buck?" Judy looked the excited expressions on both her parents' faces.
"Dad! He's not a buck and we're not dating! He's just a friend who invited me over for Thanksgiving dinner. That's it!" Judy watched as both her parents stared back with wide eyes. She could see the fear that was dancing in their eyes.
"So, he's just a friend?" Stu finally asked. Judy let out a sigh of irritation.
"Yes dad, just a friend."
"Oh. Well, why haven't you mentioned him before?" Bonnie asked.
"We don't really see each other very often. He works for the city and we bump into each other on occasion."
"So, you've only met him a couple of times?" Judy nodded yes to her mother's question. "And he's invited you to have dinner." Another nod. "At his place?" Another nod.
"Is he single?" Stu asked, butting into the conversation.
"Well, yes, I think so, but I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"Are you sure it's not a date?" Bonnie asked.
"Wha-? No! Mom it's not a date! Listen he's just a friend. Okay? He's just being nice. Stop reading into it so much."
Bonnie and Stu both looked at each other for a moment. Almost like they were silently communicating with each other before turning back towards the phone.
"Okay hun, we believe you." They both smiled, somewhat mischievously.
"Yeah Jude, we just worry about you is all." Stu offered. Judy had a sneaking suspicion that this conversation wasn't truly over, but her parents were willing the drop the subject for now, and she was more than happy for that.
"Thanks, you guys. You'll tell everyone I said hey tomorrow, won't you?"
"Of course, dear. We'll talk to you later."
"Love you guys!"
"We love you too." And the call was ended.
Judy slumped back in her chair with a long sigh of relief. Now that was over, she could finally get some rest before tomorrow.
Only it never came. She spent most of the night tossing and turning, her parents' questions rolling around in her head. Eventually asking herself if it was a date, then asking if she wanted it to be a date. By the time morning rolled around she'd already given up on sleep altogether and sat upright on the bed. She realized that today was going to be a very long day.
Stepping out into the cold morning air had her folding her ears down against her back as she made the trek towards the precinct. She was not looking forward to another day of riding around in the cart, freezing her ears off. Before long she walked through the front doors of the precinct and made her way to the bullpen. Only waving at Clawhauser as he scarfed down a bowl of lucky chomps. She made it to her usual seat only a couple of minutes before Chief Bogo stormed in. Judy barely noticing how he somehow seemed angrier than normal.
She only half listened as he called out assignments. Most of them were for the different missing mammal cases. She'd tried getting assigned to one of the different teams investigating the disappearances to no avail. After the room had emptied of other officers, the Chief finally addressed her.
"Hopps." His strangely calm tone was betrayed by the fire in his eyes and the creak of the wooden stand beneath his hooves. Judy suddenly sat ramrod straight in her chair, barely able to see over the top.
'What did I do now?' She wondered.
"I don't know who you talked to at city hall to pull this stunt but I won't tolerate insubordination of this kind. It is only because of the attention you've brought on yourself that I'm not firing you now." Judy could only sit there dumbstruck as the Chief concluded his little tirade. "Because this would be a massive misuse of department resources to keep you on parking duty, I'm assigning you to patrol duty in city central where I can keep an eye on you. Go report to Clawhauser for further details." And with that the chief angrily stomped his way out of the bullpen.
It took Judy a couple of minutes to come to her senses and leave the room herself, making the short trip down to the reception desk. There she found the cheetah was his usual bubbly self and when he presented her with a set of keys to a patrol car she leapt in the air for joy. Giving the Cheetah a tight hug before dashing for the parking lot. She scanned the various parked cars for the number that would match the one on the back of the key fob. 'Z-240'
When she finally found it her jaw dropped. In front of her was a wolf sized coup SUV with a suspension lift and oversized off road tires. The front bumper was defended by impact bars meant to minimize damage in the event the police needed to use aggressive force to stop an out of control driver. Decorated in classic black and white with a stylized Z across the doors. Judy clicked a button and started bouncing with excitement when the lights blinked on, indicating the door was now unlocked.
She ran over and jumped up on the door to pull it open. When she got her first look inside she was surprised to see it had already been modified to fit her size with a smaller diameter steering wheel and pedal extenders, including an adjustable seat that would allow her to see over the hood. Judy leapt into the cruiser and pulled the door shut. After making all the necessary adjustments for her to drive comfortably. She took a moment to admire the workmammalship that went into the vehicle. She couldn't help but notice it had a new car smell and all the panels were dust free and didn't even have a smudge from a paw anywhere on the surfaces.
Judy realized they had gotten this vehicle specifically for her. Now the Chief's anger made a little more sense. However, Judy found it hard to dwell on that fact as she placed the key in the ignition and brought the powerful motor to life, feeling like a kit on Christmas morning. The rumble the big beast created sent a shiver of excitement up her spine. Reaching over she turned the radio on and tuned it to the proper frequency. With the microphone in her paw, she had to take several deep breaths to calm herself before addressing dispatch.
"Dispatch, this is Zulu 240, reporting 10-8." She hoped no one else picked up on her excitement over the radio.
"Zulu 240, Dispatch has you as 10-8. Take care Hopps!" Ben's excitement seemed to match her own.
"10-4!" Judy quickly replaced the mic before she could say anything embarrassing over the radio. She put the cruiser in gear and, before releasing the brakes, she looked out the front windshield with wide eyes and a grin that reached her ears. Finally, everything she had worked for, all the weeks of suffering through parking duty had paid off. Before she pressed the gas and launched herself into the destiny she knew she was meant for, a single phrase came to mind and she proudly announced it to the world that awaited.
"Time to make the world a better place!"
At the end of the day, making the world a better place consisted of cruising around the relatively small area of Savannah Central. While she did write two tickets for traffic violations, it was mostly quiet. Still, the excitement of her first day of actual police work followed her all the way to the lobby of precinct one. Where she turned in the key to her cruiser and gladly filled Ben in on the events of her day and he informed her that she would get tomorrow off for the holiday work. Giving her a three day weekend.
While actually being disappointed at having a day off, since she just starting doing actual police work, she took the news with a grain of salt and planned to take advantage of the opportunity and catch up on the sleep she missed out on the night before. After trekking back to her apartment, she entered the small room and changed out of her police uniform into some comfy carrot print pajamas. She then sat at her desk and opened the muzzletime app on her phone.
She gasped in surprise when she saw the open invite to join her family's thanksgiving dinner video chat. With all the excitement she completely forgot what day it was. Glancing at the time, she saw she had fifteen minutes to make it to the address Nick had given her. She closed out muzzletime and ordered a Zoober to pick her up.
She put on her best jeans and her favorite pink flannel shirt. Grabbed her jacket and went to wait downstairs. It was only a couple minutes later when the Zoober arrived. Judy was surprised at the amount of traffic for a holiday. The ferret driver informed her that it was mostly shoppers looking for early black friday deals.
It was ten after six before they finally made it to the given address. After thanking her driver, Judy quickly made her way into the building, up to the apartment number Nick had given her. The building was brick and the exterior mirrored her own apartment in many ways. The only real difference is the paint on the door looked like it had been done fairly recently. Inside was a very different story. The walls were clean and brightly painted. The floors had nice carpeting throughout. The trim around the doors looked almost new. Even the doors looked like they had a fresh coat of paint.
Standing on the fifth floor in front of room 508, Judy panting slightly from running up the stairs. Thinking she could reach it faster that way rather than take the elevator. She took a final calming breath as she raised her paw to knock- when a thought in her mother's voice stopped her cold.
'Are you sure it's not a date?' Was she sure? The sudden doubt put her on edge. Her ears were on alert as she stared at the door in front of her.
It was this reason she could faintly hear voices on the other side. Curious, she leaned against it, pressing an ear to the painted wood.
"I'm sure she'll be here any minute."
"You said that an hour ago!"
"It's been five minutes."
"Well it feels like an hour." Soft laughter followed the comment.
"Dad?" His voice sounded sad.
"Yes, Adam?" A short pause
"I don't think she's coming." Judy felt her break at the disappointment in the little fox's voice. But she wanted to hear what Nick would say to him.
"I'm sure she just got held up at work. You know that can happen a lot when you're a cop. They have very important jobs. Lots of mammals depend on them to keep the city safe. That's something you'll have to accept if you decide you want to be a cop. Do you think you can do that?" Judy assumes he nods an affirmative when Nick starts speaking again. "That's my big tod. Now why don't we go ahead and start eating. I'm sure Officer Hopps will be along any minute now."
Did he really believe she would be there or was it all just to ease Adam's disappointment she wondered. Judy decided that was her queue and rapped her knuckles on the door three times, then took a step back.
Nick turned his head at the sound of someone knocking on the door. He looked back at Adam to find him staring at the door with his ears turned towards it, tail starting to wag faster behind him. "I wonder who that could be?" Adam never took his eyes off the door. Only rotating one ear to his father's voice before turning it back to the door.
Nick laughed inwardly at the display. He walked over to the door and checked in the peep hole before opening it. When all he could see were two black tipped ears, he knew it was safe to open the door. Sure enough, once the door was open he was greeted with the rabbit those ears belonged to.
"Well, Officer Toot toot!" Judy's happy smile nearly faltered at the new nickname. Only to be renewed when she saw the fox nearly fall when Adam pushed him to the side.
"You came!" He shouted.
"Of course! I wouldn't miss a chance at dinner with a handsome tod like you!" She told him, mirroring his excitement.
"Come on! I'm starving!" Adam stepped forward and grabbed Judy's paw, pulling her into the apartment.
"Adam! Slow down." Nick tried to admonish his son but Judy wasn't having any of it.
"He's fine. He's just excited." Judy let herself be pulled through the doorway and past the adult fox.
Walking into the apartment there was a coat closet to her left where she removed hers and handed it to Nick to be hung up.
"I hope it's not too cold in here. I bumped the heat up a little. Hence the casual attire." Running a paw up and down along his torso to demonstrate his point. He and Adam were both wearing short sleeve shirts. Nick a green polo and khaki cargo shorts and Adam a simple blue t-shirt and black gym shorts. Both poofing their shirts out with their thicker fur. Judy couldn't help but notice how soft it looked.
"You didn't have to go to that much trouble."
"Nonsense carrots, you're our guest."
"Come on, Officer Hopps! I wanna show you my room!" Adam reached up to tug her arm once more before Nick stepped in.
"Wait a minute, don't you think we should let Officer Hopps eat first?"
"Oh yeah! Dad made all kinds of food this year!"
Judy could only giggle as she was pulled around by the excited little kit, giving her the nickel tour as he guided her to the table. The wall to her right continued on while the wall to her left turned and there was a large flat screen TV hung above a couple of gaming consoles. Past that was another door to a storage area. In front of the TV was a fox sized couch and recliner with a coffee table sitting in front of the two. Further along the opposite wall were three doors set into a small alcove with two of the doors facing each other. Each leading to a bedroom while the third door in the back led to the bathroom. The dining area had a rectangular table with six chairs around it. The kitchen had a granite topped bar and counters, broken into sections by stainless steel appliances that looked either new, or well maintained.
And true to the little kit's word, along the bar were several dishes and bowls filled with all sorts of holiday food. Everything from cornbread stuffing to a banana pudding was present. Judy took a moment and enjoyed the aromas with an audible sniff. It didn't take long for her blissful smile to turn into one of embarrassment as her stomach made its eagerness loudly known, making both foxes chuckle.
"Sorry... Had a light lunch." She meekly offered.
"Well grab a plate and help yourself." Nick said, grabbing one himself and fixing it for Adam as he was still too short to reach to top of the bar. Judy climbed up into a chair to give her a better vantage point. That's when she noticed something was missing.
"Hey Nick?"
"Yeah?" He was standing on the other side of the bar after handing Adam his plate, now fetching his own.
"I thought predators usually ate turkey for thanksgiving?" The way she looked at him for an answer told him it was more out of curiosity than anything.
"We do, I even bought one, I just didn't cook it since you're joining us."
"Why?" She couldn't understand why they would deny themselves a delicacy just because she was present.
Nick looked at her somewhat perplexed before composing himself. "Well, most prey find it a bit... Unnerving to watch."
Judy thought that over for a moment. She could understand why prey mammals found the consumption of flesh disturbing. But she grew up with predators, close friends with a cougar and jaguar, who would often eat meat in front of her. She knew it was a necessary part of their diet as did her other prey friends. No one in Bunnyburrow ever made much of a fuss over it. Well, for the most part.
"It really doesn't bother me. I had a few pred friends back home, they ate meat all the time." She stated in a matter of fact tone.
"WHAT!?" Nick and Judy looked to the table where Adam was sitting, his mouth hanging open. "You mean we could have had turkey?! AAAWWW!" He dramatically threw his hands up in the air and slumped down into his seat with a deep scowl. The two adults just laughed as they filled their plates before sitting down. Judy next to Adam, Nick across from Judy.
Nick watched as the conversation over dinner was mostly Adam telling Judy everything about himself or asking her questions about herself. The only thing giving him pause was when Adam asked her what it was like to be a police officer. Knowing that she had only worked as a meter maid up to this point.
Nick wasn't sure how she would handle the question.
"Well it's not all excitement and chasing bad guys like you see in the movies. Most of the time it's pretty quiet and boring, which is a good thing."
'Like a champ.' Nick thought with an approving smile.
The longer they talked, the more Nick noticed subtle things about Judy. Her eyes were starting to get red, eyelids were having trouble staying open, ears hanging loosely behind her. Her smile, though tired, was genuine and ever present.
Watching the two interact, Nick leaned back in his chair and just listened. When he tossed a glance to the clock hanging on the wall, he had to do a double take at the time. It was already fifteen minutes past nine. Adam's bedtime. Nick cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Sorry to interrupt, but it's bedtime for a certain young fox."
"Awww, do I have to?"
"Fraid so buddy. Come on, say good night."
Judy was surprised again when he all but jumped in her lap. Hugging her tightly, She returned the hug with as much energy as she could muster, before he hopped down to get ready for bed.
"I'll be back in a minute, make yourself at home." Nick told her while gesturing towards the furniture in the living room. The two then disappeared into what had to be Adam's room. Doing as he suggested, Judy got down from the chair and walked towards the couch.
After claiming a seat, she felt herself sink into the soft cushions. The way they felt against her weary muscles was doing nothing to assist her in the small battle to stay awake her mind was waging. She tried to focus her hearing on anything to keep her awake. Through the wall behind her, she heard the shuffling of dresser drawers and clothes being thrown on the floor. Then, two doors opening one after the other, followed by running water and the brushing of teeth.
It wasn't long after hearing the doors shut again that her next memories were of the world darkening and a warm blanket that smelled of cedar and wildflowers wrapping around her, feeling at home for the first time in what felt like ages, her eyelids gave way.
A/N:
I hope everyone is enjoying this story as much as I am. I know that this story has kind of shifted in these latest two chapters. My goal for the outcome remains the same so just hang in there and enjoy the ride.