Hey guys! I just wanted to thank you very much for all the reviews last chapter got, I'm really glad so many people are enjoying this! I hope I don't let you down with this chapter. It's slightly shorter, but equally important.

I hope you enjoy!

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed, jumping out of the chair she was sitting on and running to the kitchen as soon as she heard the sound of the plate breaking. "What happened, are you alright?"

Judy stopped when she got to the kitchen door. Nick was standing in the middle of the kitchen, his body so still that he barely seemed to be breathing. If it weren't for the fact that his hands were shaking, he could easily be mistaken for a very realistic statue. Although Judy was in front of him, he wasn't looking at her. He didn't seem to be looking at anywhere specific, as if his eyes were frozen. The pieces of the broken plate were still scattered on the floor around his feet.

Judy stood still for a few seconds, astonished with the scene. It seemed to be an eternity before she finally got the courage to walk toward Nick, but the fox remained undisturbed even when she was right in front of him.

"Nick?" Judy said in a whisper, as if Nick was going to run away from her if she spoke to him in a normal volume. "Are you ok?"

Nick blinked and shook his head; his arms that were stretched out fell to the side of his body and his ears folded back. He seemed stunned, as if someone had just told him the worst possible news of his life and he refused to believe them.

"Nick?" Judy called again, beginning to get worried. She was looking up at him, but even if he was looking down, he did not look at her.

"Please tell me my ears were playing tricks on me," He began to say with no readable emotion in his voice, "and that you didn't just tell me you met a fox called R… R-Richard Wilde."

Nick closed his eyes and sputtered when he said the name Richard, as if saying it brought a sour taste to his mouth. He then took a deep breath and looked down at Judy, and she gave a step back when his eyes fell upon her. The look on his face made her feel like if she didn't give him the answer he wanted, he was going to jump on her throat. She shook her head and took a deep breath, knowing he would never do that; but still confused as to why he was reacting that way.

"A-Actually, no, I mean, yes… I mean…" Judy clenched her eyes closed and took a deep breath. "Your ears did not play tricks on you; I did say that today I met a fox whose name was Richard Wilde." She said with a gulp.

Nick's eyes widened and he looked to the side, pondering. He then sighed and pinched the bridge of his muzzle. He stayed like that long enough for it to become an awkward silence. Judy's eyes wandered around as she tried to understand what was going on.

"Let me guess." Nick said at last, Judy's head and ears shooting up when he did so. Nick folded his arms and looked down at Judy. "He's a tall fox, probably taller than me; with a fur more orange than red, an orange tone you didn't even know a fox's fur could have. His eyes are green like mine, only a little darker; and he had a tuft of fur on the top of his head."

When Judy's jaw dropped, Nick knew he had described exactly the fox she had seen.

"Oh, that's just great." Nick muttered in anger. "Of course you'd meet him. Out of all the animals you could have met!"

Judy blinked and frowned in confusion. "Wait, so you actually know him?"

"Well, of course I do." Nick rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest as if that was obvious information. He then looked to the side again, avoiding the bunny's gaze. Both Nick and Judy knew that there was something else he needed to tell, but he wasn't willing to. He preferred to look to the side and pretend none of that was happening.

Judy waited, hoping Nick would eventually spill it out on his own, but he never did.

"Nick." Judy said with a soft voice, giving a step forward. "Who is he?"

Nick's lips slightly retracted into his mouth and his eyes quivered, and Judy could tell he was trying not to cry. After a few seconds, Nick took a deep breath and closed his eyes, a small tear escaping them against Nick's will. His eyes opened slowly and a look of defeat sprouted on his face.

"He's Richard Piberius Wilde, or Rick, for short." He answered, still looking to the side; but then slowly turning his head to look at a scared Judy in front of him before he could finish his sentence with a sigh. "And he's my older brother."

Rick smiled and laid Robin back as he pulled the covers over his son. The little fox had his big yellow eyes open and looked up at his father, following each movement he made as if his life depended on it.

"There," Rick smiled, "You're all comfortable and tucked in."

Robin looked uneasy, as if there was something wrong with him. With one hand he clutched his stuffed fox, a very old toy he had ever since he had been born; and with the other he clutched the covers.

Rick looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, what's wrong?" He said, straightening himself up and looking down at his son.

Robin didn't do anything but blink and sniff, for the first time looking down and taking his eyes off his father.

"Robin? Come on buddy, you're scaring me. Just tell me, what's wrong?" Rick said as he sat on the bed. Although Robin could talk already, he seldom did so. "Does anything hurt? Your stomach? Your head?"

Robin shook his head and Rick frowned. Rick leaned forward and touched Robin's forehead, his eyes widening when he noticed how unusually warm it was.

"Oh, god." Rick sighed, moving his hand to Robin's cheek and softly caressing him. "I think you're getting feverish again. Are you sure nothing hurts? Not even a little?"

Robin shook his head. "Nothing." He whispered.

Rick blinked in surprise when he heard his son's voice, but brushed it off as his fever was more important at the moment.

"Ok, I guess that's a good sigh. Now wait here while I'll go fetch some cold water and-"

Rick attempted to stand up only to have Robin's hand close tightly around his wrist, keeping him in place. Rick sat back down on the bed and looked at Robin with a raised eyebrow as Robin looked at him with a look that almost broke Rick's heart.

"What? Robin, what- oh." Rick said when realization hit him. "It's… It's because of Judy, isn't it? The cop that came here earlier?"

Robin's lip quivered as he shakily nodded, never letting his father's wrist go.

"Oh, my silly little Robin Hood." Rick smiled as he leaned forward and put both his hands on either side of Robin's face, "Judy is a nice cop, I told you; she won't take me away. Nobody will take me away from you ever again, I promise. In fact, Judy said she's going to help us, isn't that nice of her?"

Robin pouted, showing that he doubted his father's words. Rick let out a small laugh and kissed Robin on the forehead before pressing their foreheads together, rubbing his head on Robin's. Robin let out a laugh as well when his father's muzzle tickled his neck.

"I'll take care of you, alright? I'll never let anyone take you away from me, and I'll never let anyone take me away from you. You don't have to worry about Judy, or about any other cop. I promise you'll be alright, and so will I. Everything will be alright." Rick sighed. "Everything."

He pulled away from the hug and smiled when he saw that he had gotten Robin to smile as well. The little fox yawned, and now he seemed calm and comfortable enough to sleep, but he still didn't close his eyes. Rick smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Do you want me to lay down here with you a little?" Rick asked.

Robin smiled and moved aside to make room for his father. Rick crawled into the bed and lay down beside Robin, scooting closer to his son. Robin rolled to his side and buried his face in his father's chest and Rick wrapped one arm around Robin, bringing him close. It didn't take long for the tired young fox to fall asleep.

"We will be alright." Rick said to nobody in special as he caressed Robin's head. "I know things may seem complicated right now, but we will be ok, Nick."

His eyes widened as he shook his head a little.

"Robin." He muttered to himself. "I meant Robin."

Rick sighed and looked down at the little fox curled up against him. He always found it amusing, not to mention a little confusing, how Robin looked more like Nick than like Rick when they were his age; except from his bright yellow eyes that were almost like a photocopy of his mother's.

"I love you, Robin. And I promise I'll always be here for you." He sighed as he wrapped his tail around Robin under the covers. "And this time, I won't break my promise."

It was hard for Rick to sleep with so many thoughts and memories flooding his memory, but eventually he got too tired and it was almost impossible to keep his eyes open. With one last look at his son, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to get some rest; not aware of how many nightmares were going to haunt him that night.

An unsettling silence surrounded Nick and Judy as they picked up the pieces of the broken plate from the floor, the tension so obvious that it could almost be seen, like if it was a heavy fog floating around.

"Nick..." Judy broke the silence as she picked up another piece.

"I don't want to talk about it." He rushed out. "And I'm not going to the hospital with you tomorrow. If you want to take that... That shallow, power hungry, cheating, son of a-" Nick said, his voice raising and getting angrier with every insult.

"Wow, wow, wow!" Judy said, interrupting Nick before he could get too hostile.

Nick sighed and turned to look at Judy, holding some pieces with his hands.

"If you want to take my brother to the hospital," He said those words through his clenched teeth, "Feel free. I won't tell you what you can or cannot do, even if I'm against it. But don't expect me to go with you. I haven't seen that guy in sixteen years and I do not plan to change it now."

Nick walked past Judy and threw the pieces he was holding into the trashcan, an angry frown on his face. As he now had his back on her, he did not notice her surprised expression.

"Sixteen years?" She gasped.

Nick mentally slapped himself for letting out more information than he meant to. As it was impossible for him to take back his words, he sighed and turned around to look at Judy. He knew her well enough to know that she would not rest until she had all the answers she wanted, but he knew himself well enough to know that there were some answers he was not going to give.

"I haven't seen my brother in sixteen years, ok? And by that I mean I had absolutely zero contact with him. He never called me, or sent me a letter, not even a single message or anything. To be quite honest, I didn't even know if he was alive or not and I hadn't thought of him in a long, long time." He folded his arms. "And I don't want to see him again, like, ever."

Judy frowned. She had a lot of brothers and sisters and she loved all of them deeply. It was beyond her comprehension how someone could have a sibling and not care for them, especially if it was a long lost sibling.

"But what happened between you two? Why don't you want-"

"I have my reasons, Carrots." Nick interrupted. "My brother is a part of my past that I'm not willing to remember. I can't believe you had to find him, out of all the animals in Zootopia, it had to be him." He shook his head and looked up, as if questioning why me?

Judy scoffed in disbelief. "Come on Nick, aren't you just a bit curious as to how he's doing?"

"Nope." Nick said with a sly smile as he picked up the last piece from the floor. "I don't even care if he is sick, why would I care for how he's going?"

Judy folded her arms. "It's not him who is sick, smarty pants. I told you, it's his son."

Nick dropped the piece again.

"He... He has a son?" Nick asked in surprise, looking at Judy as he tried to wrap his brain around that new information. He did remember that Judy had said she was going to take the son of the fox she had met to the hospital, but that information had ran away from him when she told him that that fox was Richard Wilde.

"Yeah, he does." Judy smiled coyly. "Cutest little thing I've ever seen." Her smile then became a serious frown. "He's sick, Nick. He needs help and Rick can't give it to him."

"How old is he?" Nick asked, looking to the floor as he picked the piece up again.

"What?"

"His son, Judy, how old is he?!" Nick asked with such impetus that Judy gave a step back.

She shook her head and tried to regain her composure. "Oh, hum, four. He'll be five in little time."

Nick tapped his fingers on the table as he thought about that. It felt weird to realize that he had been an uncle for the past four years and wasn't even aware of that. It was something about himself that he didn't know, and that scared him.

"Humph." He said shaking his head to come back to reality. "To be honest, I would be willing to bet my own money that he kidnapped that kid to extort the real parents; or even that he raped the mother and forced her to bear his child."

"Nick!" Judy looked appalled. "That's not what happened! He didn't do any of that!"

"How can you know?" He said, putting his hands on his waist and looking at her defiantly.

"Because what I saw there was a loving, caring father that truly cares for his son and would do anything for him." Judy closed her fists. "He even tried to refuse the help I offered at first, and only accepted it because he knows his son needs it, and he's willing to swallow his pride for him! For your information, Nick, he's been a single parent ever since his son was born!"

Nick rolled his eyes and scowled. "This is all just an act, Carrots! First he'll accept your help to take the poor boy to the hospital, and then he'll keep asking you for more and more favors; all for his little cutie son, so you won't even realize he's fooling you. I thought you were smarter than that!"

"I am smart! And that's the reason why I know that it wasn't an act." Judy sighed and pleaded. "Nick, I don't know what happened between your brother and you, but whatever it was, you have to believe me when I say that he was a nice guy, especially where his son was concerned. He was super polite and attentive. If he was any different in the past, I think he's changed now."

Nick slapped himself and shook his head as if he had never heard anything so absurd. "No, no, no! You don't understand it, Judy; you don't know a thing about him! That's his game, that's what he does! He comes and makes you believe he's a nice guy and that he'll never do anything to hurt you; he pretends he cares and you believe him because he got you to trust him. And then one beautiful day he enters a car, leaves you behind and goes away forever, taking all of those beautiful promises with him; and abandons his little brother without ever coming back to see if he was alright!"

Nick's explosion was so intense that when he was done talking his eyes were watery and he was breathing heavily through his mouth. Judy looked at him in shock, and the look on his face reminded her of the petrified look he had when he pretended to have gone savage. When Nick realized what he had done he relaxed his tense body and looked down, closing his eyes and letting out a tear.

Judy gulped and approached him. "Nick, I-"

"I cared way too much back then, and it hurt. I now know better than to trust anyone, because that's what hurts about betrayal, it never comes from your enemies." He lifted his head and looked at Judy. "Like I said, feel free to take his son and him to the hospital or whatever. But don't expect me to go with you. And most importantly, don't come complain to me when he deceives you too."

Nick then turned around. "Also, please don't tell him you know me. He's probably forgotten about me by now and I want things to remain that way. And you can eat here if you want. Just please close the door when you leave. I'll call it a night." He muttered as he trudged toward his room.

"But Nick, I brought dinner for you too!" Judy said with a smile, hoping to light up the mood a little, but knowing it wouldn't work.

"I think I lost my appetite. Night, Carrots." Nick then entered his room and slammed the door closed.

Judy sighed and closed her eyes. She knew Nick wasn't lying about what he had said, but she also knew what she saw, and she saw that Rick truly cared for Robin. It was hard to believe he really had abandoned Nick. But that only got Judy wondering even more about what she had just learned. What were the details behind that entire story?

The bunny shook her head and went to the living room so that she could exit the apartment and go home. She certainly needed some rest, and suddenly, Judy also felt like she had lost her appetite. The dinner she had brought them remained on the table, untouched, as she closed the door and went home.

Judy hadn't felt defeated in a long time.

It was way worse than she remembered.

Sorry for those of you who expected to see Nick's and Rick's meeting in this chapter, but that would have been way too rushed. It doesn't help that Nick isn't all too willing to do it XD But I promise it will happen soon!

Also, I changed the rating to T because of the few bad words and implications I used in this chapter, but don't worry, I don't plan on making this story any explicit or violent.

I hope you liked it, see yah next chapter!