Chapter 4:

-Nick—

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-beep- -beep- -beep-…

The light was shafting in through the shutters as Nick rolled himself off the couch and onto the floor. He had chosen to stay the night with his family while Judy went off to try and patch things up with hers. A yawn and a stretch came from the bed beneath the window as John grabbed the shutters and opened them, allowing the early morning light to pour into the living room. Struggling to see, Nick found his glasses and put them on, dulling the light hitting his eyes to a more comfortable level.

"You get breakfast son, I'll come out when I'm changed."

Nick entered the kitchen at the front of the building and opened the fridge to get out milk, flour, butter and eggs. A great pot of ratatouille and half a blueberry crumble lay covered in cling film near the back, a testament to the awkward dinner that occurred. Grabbing a bowl and a recipe book, he mixed up a pancake batter and began pouring it into a hot frying pan. Using a wet spatula, he spread out the mixture into a thin film which quickly began to solidify. Bubbles were forming and the sides began wobbling as hot air escaped while the pitter-patter of paw prints could be heard upstairs.

"I thought you lived off fast food, big bro," Kirin said with a hit of anger and contempt in her voice.

"Mum and Judy have taught me some basics, besides I've known how to make pancakes for ages," Nick hit back as he rocked the pancake, getting ready to flip it.

"Good to see you still put her first, unlike that dumb bunny and her stupid family."

"Hey! I love Judy and I'm sorry that one of her in-laws doesn't like that. Now apologise to me or none of these pancakes are going in your mouth!" Nick shot out in a sudden fit of anger, before he took a deep breath and prepared to toss the pancake.

"I'm sorry Nick…"

On hearing his sister apologise, his head twitch around and body tensed up in shock. The silence was only broken by the soft 'slop' sound made as the pancake, launched at an unintended angle, fell onto Nicks face and Kirin burst into laughter.

"Good, I see the temporarily absent Wilde gene has been re-engaged," he said as he peeled off the pancake into the pan. He smirked as he saw his sisters eye and mouth twitch and wobble with annoyance at disgust at what he'd just done.

"Hey, I've lived on my own since I was 16. When I was 12 I was pulling in money to help pay off the loans and overdrafts we had. Without me we wouldn't have this house, Dad would still be unable to work and you and your sister would be a pipe dream."

"Sorry Nick."

"And again, stop depressing that clutch and keep in gear. Besides, I said pipe dream on purpose."

"What?"

"Just like you it's made of shiny metal and is hollow in the middle."

"You…"

The two were interrupted by the sound of Nicks phone ringing.

"hang on sis… Hello?... I see…. Good luck."

Putting down the phone, Nick grabbed the frying pan and slid his pancake onto a plate. Grabbing some sugar, he shook it over and rolled the snack up.

"I've got to go. You take over breakfast."

"What me?"

"No. The skunk whose hair that your sis used to make that 'quality' rug which almost got me killed."

Nick grabbed his tie and an umbrella from a rack and slipped the former around the collar of his trusty green shirt. Entering the living room, he looked to his dad, who had just lowered himself into the wheelchair and was dressed in his standard finery.

"Sorry I made such a noise going to the… going so soon?"

"Judy's parents are leaving for bunny burrow this morning. She says she got them to agree for coffee in the morning and that I can come unannounced to try and patch things up. However, I've got to run."

"You can't do that dressed like that."

"Not now Dad…" Nick replied like an embarrassed teenager.

"At least let me do your tie."

Nick glanced over his shoulder and, after seeing the ghost was clear, knelt down below his father. The two hands undid the scraggy knot and began working in silence as they weaved and braided the strip of fabric into a fine Eldredge knot. Looking up, Nick made eye contact who this father who smirked, "Show off."

Nick launched himself around his father, hugging him tightly and rubbing his head over John's shoulder, before sitting up and bolting out of the door.

"Tell Mum and Kitsune I love them!" he shouted as his words were muffled by the sound of feet pounding down stairs.

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-Judy-

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The early morning rain of the rainforest district was falling in sheets as an old truck pulled up outside of the café and two rabbits legged it to the shelter of the parasol canopy.

"I get why animals like the temperature. I understand that many like it humid. But why do they have to put on the rain in the middle of the morning rush hour!" complained Stu, as he grabbed a chair and settled down.

"It won Mayor Tapo the office 8 years ago," interjected Judy. "Most residents use it as a nice morning shower and have a change of clothes at work."

"But we've got a long journey. Why did you drag us to this soggy, wet outpost far away from the main city?"

"Have you tried the coffee?" Judy said, as she grabbed one of the three mugs on the table and took a gulp. "It's incredible…" she said, foot thumping the table leg in excitement.

"You see they grow their own coffee beans at a plantation at the top of the Canopy, they use three varieties which have been crossbred with many other varieties to produce the best beans in the city…"

"Judy…" Stu said as he tried to get her attention.

"And all the other coffee stops in the city want these beans but these guys refuse to give in and deliver them. The beans are gathered and left to almost ferment for a year in dry storage before…"

"Judy…" Bonnie tried to say.

"They roast the beans in a special smoke house they own in Sahara square using a mix of mahogany wood from here and apple wood from the orchards in forest squares along…"

"Judy…" they both said in unision.

"Along with spices such as pepper, cloves, nutmeg and plants such as Thyme and Medicampum…"

"JUDY!" they both shouted.

"What, what's the matter. What have I done to annoy you? Is it about me or Nick as you're just going to have to…"

"JUDY, STOP THUMPING THE TABLE!" Stu shouted.

Judy looked down and saw that her leg was thumping away on the table leg. She moved it over so it thumped the air instead and smiled at her parents, although this evaporated when she saw that the table and cups were covered in spilt coffee, sugar and milk.

"I'm sorry, It's just that this coffee is soooo goooood." Judy said as she took another sip.

Her parents tried it to and agreed that it was the best coffee they had ever tasted. A weasel waiter walked over and placed down a tray containing three large filo pastries, knotted into a braid shape, and containing white cheese. Judy picked up one and took a bite.

"It's nice. Never tried one before. I think they're called Banitsa… I think. I'm not sure. Anyway, the people here say it's not a rainforest district recipe but one that the founder picked up when talking to his great uncle, who lives in a burrow on the common near the famous tennis courts out in the forest squares…"

"Is this sheep cheese in here…" Stu began to fast talk, "Well I mean I've never been a big fan of dairy but it's nice. It's not that much so I probably won't need the special enzyme pills in order to help my lactose intolerant body digest them. Talking of sheep, I heard that the sheep in bunny burrow plan to strike so that they can get better prices for their milk. Now I understand that they want a fair price but people need this stuff and I think being able to support yourself beyond a basic level by sitting down and letting your body do stuff is asking a bit much, but seeing as Bonnie here wants us to go straight home I won't have the chance to get my facts straight at the conference…."

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"Stu, I love you but I need time to think" Bonnie snapped. "It's all so much with what's going on with her and that fox. I mean you say it's nothing but imagine if she was with Gideon. That would be a shock wouldn't it. I mean it's all fair that he's our business partner but we want the best for our daughter. I mean, what happens when she wants Kids and they can't have any!"

"Mum! You're getting ahead of yourself... I love Nick, we finish each other's sentences. We joke at each other. We click and connect in a way that, if it's not true love, I don't know what else is."

"Oh, so it's now true love is it?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes!"

"And what, if he proposes to you right here right now you'll say yes?"

"NO!"

"So it isn't true love then."

"We haven't even moved in together. We're only planning on going to the first stage."

"But you've already called him your true love!"

"Bonnie," Stu said, after having enough with his wife, "I had a girlfriend for 2 years before she broke up with me and I met you. I called her true love many times and genuinely meant it. But as we lived together we realised that it wouldn't work and that it was best to break up and just stay as friends."

"So my daughter will waste up to 2 years of her life with this fox before dumping him. Two precious years!"

"Or it turns out he's the one."

"How's that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Because your daughter's HAPPY! We were both scared when she joined the ZPD but look at her now. Anyway, lets finish this breakfast and get going. You want to get home, then I want to get home early. Waiter!" he cried, "Bill please, quickly."

"Thanks Dad," Judy said as they finished off the remaining food.

"Mum, I know that I'm always your little angel. One of your eleven joint oldest children. But I'm a grown woman and I can handle myself. Whatever happens, I plan to move in with Nick and you can either accept and embrace it like his family did or you can ignore it."

"Or I can be moody and stroppy and… and worried sick that my Judy is planning to marry someone almost 50% older than her who has a history of crime and who could… shred… shred her apart if he feels like it!" Bonnie began crying into her hands as Stu moved over to comfort her.

"Mum, Nick has saved my life a number of times and I've saved his. We trust each other completely, as for a life of crime? He sold legal stuff to people everyone knows is dodgy, he melted down elephant size popsicles into lemming size popsicles and he signed taxes owed rather than earnings declared forms. Those are his three biggest crimes."

"Oh sure…" Bonnie blubbed, "but what about his family? They turned out so nice yet they made that."

"MUM!" cried Judy as Stu began looking around and tried to calm the two most important women in his life.

"I might have been able to accept… if he worked like that father… but…."

"Nick was seven when his father was paralysed! They barely survived! He gave up a good chunk of his childhood to keep his family's head above the water! Isn't that the dedication you want for me? It's just that Nick lost out on learning his father's trade and he didn't really know how to stop doing what he did to earn a living till I came around!"

"Thanks Judy, I'll try and talk some sense into Mum on the way home. Here are some blueberries for the Wilde's, to say sorry." Stu said, pushing over a bag of the fruit as the waiter slowly placed the bill down on the table.

"Come on mate, you're slower than Flash!" Judy said, just as the bill was placed down. She grabbed it and placed $20 on the table. "Keep the change."

"…..T…..H…A…N…..K…. ….Y….O….U….." the waiter began to say, in an unusually deep voice for a Weasel, so deep that it rivalled Finnick or Bogo. Looking down at her watch, she checked the time. She told Nick that she would be here at 8:00 and the minute hand was at 8:04. It was then she noticed that the watch was broke, the second hand wasn't moving. Then it did, and again after about 5 seconds… Looking around at the rain slowly pouring down around her she looked back at the coffee. "Damn good stuff…"

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-Nick-

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"Just right here. See the parasols up there. That's the place." Nick instructed his driver as they wound up the rainforest district.

-Beep—Beep—Beep—

"Hello? Wait what? Slow down. More. More. Trust me, you most definitely aren't at flash speed and neither am I…. I see. Well, If you're lucky, I can get Bogo to assign you to a cold case in bunny burrow he's been putting off for some time…. Well, I'll say you're having a family event, brother in hospital… I know not in that order Dumb Bunny…. Bye Carrots."

"In laws?" the driver asked.

"You don't know the half of it. There's a gondola station behind the café so just drop me off here."

Nick jumped out of the car just as the rain stopped. Wandering over to a very messy table, he grabbed a bag of blueberries and a coffee cup, from which he trickled a little stream into his mouth. Savouring the taste, he wandering through an alley to the station and hopped on a pod. As they rose through the clouds, he looked ahead and saw a hand waving out at him a few pods along. Waving back at Judy, who would be searching for fast train tickets back to bunny burrow, he called Clawhauser to see what he could arrange.