Judy and Skye quickly agreed to meet up for lunch to go over some more details. Jack was busy setting things up at his new consultant office, and Nick was covering for Judy at the precinct. They agreed nothing would be decided without everyone present, but they could at least discuss things and then deliberate again with their husbands later.

A taco shop in the Rainforest District was their ideal spot. It was right next to the waterfall off of Tujunga, so the ambient roaring of the falls would keep their voices from traveling far. Plus, the food options were always predator and prey friendly.

Judy actually found herself nervous around Skye, a bit like she was talking with a middle-school crush. Thankfully Skye was nice enough to start by filling her in on the honeymoon and asking all about Judy's new house. These were the conversations she'd missed the previous night because Skye was so nervous about her proposition. As Judy dug into a black-bean taco, Skye finished congratulating her on the new house.

"Honestly, I cannot wait to see it! You guys were smart, going with Tundra Town. I hear property values are rising in that part of town."

"We just liked it for the house. Though it is nice that Nick doesn't feel like he's melting like he did back in Sahara Square, and whenever I get a little cold I just snuggle up to that tail of his and I feel much better."

"That has got to be the cutest thing I've ever heard," Skye said. "If you pardon my use of the word 'cute'."

"No worries, you meant both of us, not bunnies. Though I always give everyone a pass on that word when it comes to baby bunnies, because goddammit those little noses are so cute!"

Skye smiled and sipped her coffee, allowing the air to clear a little before they inevitably got to the reason they were there. Judy cleared her throat, unsure of where to begin. Perhaps it was best to let Skye take the lead, since she was the one who insisted on this lunch in the first place.

"So your message," Skye began. "Can I have you repeat it for me? I think we need you to spell it out clearly for us, just like we did last night. Just so there's no confusion, right?"

"Okay," Judy said, looking over her shoulder to make sure no other mammals were in earshot. "Me and Nick would like to know if you and Jack would help us conceive children as well."

"Alright, thanks," Skye said and placed her coffee down. "I spoke things over with Jack this morning, and we both agreed that it would be silly for us not to help you out, if you'd be willing to help us."

"Sure, but we don't want you to help because not doing so would be 'silly'. This is a major commitment we're asking of each other here."

"You can say that again," Skye said softly. She looked to the side and observed the water falling into the river beside them. "My parents were divorced when I was pretty young. After that, I always considered marriage to be all talk. Like, you make promises of commitment to each other, but talk is cheap, right?" Judy nodded along with her story, even if she disagreed a bit with her reasoning. Judy was always one to take promises very seriously. "Now, having kids together? That cements you to someone for life in a very real way that no promises to god could ever compare to. My parents divorced, but they were not done with each other at all. The things that kept them in each others lives, whether they liked it or not, were me and my brothers."

"You're saying that we'd still need to be in each other's lives, even if we have a falling out?" Judy suggested.

"It's not pleasant to think about, but if we start to hate each other for whatever reason, our kids need to come first," Skye said firmly.

"I agree. And, in the event either of us gets divorced . . ." Judy hated herself for even speaking the words. She was not so naive to think that it was impossible, even if it felt that way. As unlikely as it seemed, it was a possibility that they had to be prepared for. It was as painful as imagining Nick dying, which would leave her a single mother. In times like that, she would want to lean on her friends for support.

"If we get divorced, there aren't any legal responsibilities between you two and the two of us. No paper trail here," Skye explained. "However, in the event either of our marriages end, be it divorce or worse, I'd would not hesitate at all to offer whatever help and support you and your kids in need."

"Aw Skye," Judy said with a smile, "I feel the same way. It's good to get all of this taken care of too, before we get our paws dirty."

"Speaking of 'dirty'," Skye said with a smirk, "We should talk about how the intimate parts are going to work. Honestly, right now I'm wondering how you're feeling about all of it. Jack and I have already grown to the idea, and Nick doesn't strike me as a prude. But you come from a conservative family, so I'd like to hear how you're feeling about all this."

"Well," Judy said, fighting back a blush and nervously playing with the tips of her ears. "I was always a bit of a black sheep in my family. I left the small town to become a cop, I married a fox, and I have no desire to hide either of those things from anyone. So while I love my family dearly, I did not pick up their ideals of purity and the 'natural order'. So . . . the sex part of all this does not bother me because I know we're all adults, we all trust each other, and we'll stop if someone feels uncomfortable. Nick and I both agreed last night that this is not a fetish, it's about the kids."

"We agree," Skye said with a nod. "Neither of us would even dream about any of this if it weren't for the kids. We're not doing this to get off, we're doing it to help each other."

"Exactly," Judy said. "That said . . . how did Nick put it? . . . It doesn't mean we can't have fun." Judy ventured. It was the bunny's turn to feel nervous about how her friend would take this new twist in the proposition. There was a chance they wanted to keep things as passionless and business-like as possible, to maintain their commitment to each other. However, if there was a chance they would be interested, Judy believed it would help the whole processes if they were allowed to enjoy being with each other.

"I suppose?" Skye answered, her brow furrowing a bit.

Come on, Judy! If Skye can puck up the courage to ask for babies, you can ask for this!

"So Nick and I . . . well we were thinking, if this is something we all agree we'd like to do, would it be okay if we did it together?"

"Together?" Skye said, letting the dangerously vague word linger in the air.

"I mean, I understand if you want to keep this like a transaction, but I just felt it would be better for everyone if we-"

"You want an orgy?" Skye asked flatly. Judy's dark blush from the previous night returned with a vengeance as she furiously hushed her friend. Skye's eyes were wide, seemingly more surprised than anything else.

"Shhhh! Can we not use that word? It makes it sound like we're filming a porno."

"Well, we can call it whatever you want, we're still all fucking each other. Are you pulling my leg with this, Judy?" Skye asked, leaning a little closer to her with a skeptical look.

"Skye, look, I'm sorry for even suggesting it. We can keep this as quiet and quick as you'd like."

"Oh, no! Don't get me wrong, Judy, I LOVE this idea!" Skye said excitedly.

"You do?"

"Yeah! It's important that we're all comfortable with what's going on, so doing it all at once is a pretty surefire way to make sure everyone is feeling good about it. Plus, and I hope you don't mind me saying this, we would all be idiots if we didn't acknowledge everyone's attractiveness here."

"Funny, Nick and I were saying something similar last night. It just feels a little odd to admit to my close friend that I think her husband is . . . he's uhm," Judy trailed off, fighting back another blush. Skye's smile was so devilish it could have its own circle of hell dedicated to it.

"A stud?" Skye said slyly. "A hunk? a rogue? a Hotty McFucktoy?"

Judy bursted out laughing at that last phrase so hard she nearly toppled over out of her seat. Perhaps that might have gotten one too many sets of eyes on them since the lunch rush was picking up, but she couldn't help it.

"Did Nick tell you to say that?" she asked, between gasping for air.

"What? No, what are talking about?" Skye said with a confused look.

"It's just that, back when Nick and I were discussing whether we take each other's names or keep them the same, he told me," Judy explained and did her best Nick impression, sly smirk and all. "You should change your first and last name to something more appropriate. Like, 'Mrs. Sexy McSit-on-my-face.'"

Skye had to cover her mouth to stifle her own loud laughter. She gasped for air and let out a little yelping noise that she heard Nick make only a few times before, which made Judy laugh even harder. By the end of their fit, Judy wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye and calmed herself down.

"But you agree though, right?" Skye asked. "He's one handsome devil?"

"Well . . . yes, of course. He's everything you said he is, you're a lucky vixen," Judy admitted openly.

"Good. It actually helps so much to hear you say that, I was nervous we'd have to dance around the actual sex part of sex. Like, we should enjoy our time with each other. It doesn't mean we're going to leave our spouses, we're just gonna get the babies made and be done. It would be silly to force ourselves to be cold and heartless for the sake of propriety."

"I'm pretty sure we left propriety long behind us at this point when we married cross-species," Judy said.

"True. It also helps to hear you say that because I have to admit, Nick is pretty darn handsome too," Skye said bashfully. Judy never considered herself the jealous type, but she always imagined hearing another female lust for Nick would trigger some kind of emotionally aggressive response naturally, a bit like the feeling she got whenever she heard someone call her cute. When that feeling did not occur, Judy told herself that it was because it was Skye who said it. She could trust Skye, so Judy decided to let her indulge a bit.

"That's putting it lightly," Judy said. "He's gotten in such good shape. You never knew him before he was a cop, but I swear after he came back from the policy academy, I was about ready to lock my legs around his waist and have him pound an imprint of my backside into the nearest wall," Judy's illustrative metaphor surprised even her, and Skye was elated by her enthusiasm.

"It's those shoulders!" Skye said eagerly.

"The shoulders! I know! Crackers, I love seeing him shower in the morning. Thank god for pullups!" Judy said in a softer tone. They were both giggling like gossipy highschoolers at this point. "Those shoulders feel amazing to hang on to when he really gets going."

"Ha! I guess I'll keep that in mind?" Skye said. Judy was reminded that they were not there to make any decisions, they were only there to discuss and deliberate with their husbands again later. But in all the excitement, Judy started to feel like they had already agreed. It was strange and new, but she swore she was actually excited to see Skye enjoy a good romp with Nick.

"We'll see, I guess," Judy said carefully. "We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves, but what I take away from this is that the whole process will be much better for everyone if we're allowed to enjoy ourselves."

"Agreed. But this does leave one more concern," Skye said softly, taking another sip from her coffee cup. "I agree that I'd feel better that we're all present and consenting for the first night, but if we're trying to get pregnant, it might take more than one night."

"Nick and I said the same thing. We should definitely all be present for the first night. In fact, I'd say we should try to all be present for as many nights as possible. But it takes at least two weeks before pregnancy starts showing up on tests, and if we only did once every two weeks, we could be trying for ages."

"So I guess it comes down to how committed we want to be about getting it done every night," Skye suggested. "If we all agree that it'll be every single night until we show a positive pregnancy test, then inevitably we'll have to do it separately. Either that, or we could skip the nights were we can't all be present." That last comment made Judy shake her head.

"If we only do the nights were all of us can be together, it might take much longer to get a positive test so eventually someone is going to catch on that we're all spending late nights at each other's houses. While Nick and I wouldn't necessarily be devastated if the truth got out, this is private. We're hoping the rest of the world will just think we did sperm donations, if they think anything at all."

"So then, you'd be okay with committing to every single night until it happens?"

"I would, yes," Judy said with a nod. "Then, once it happens, that pair will stop completely."

"So, let's say you get pregnant first. You and Jack would stop but me and Nick would continue until I'm pregnant?" Skye asked.

"Well, yes, but I'd also say that if they took part in the act as a group, then we could do whatever we're comfortable with. If Nick and I are in the same room, I'm happy to let anything happen. It's the stuff that goes on without me there that might make me uncomfortable, if it's not in the name of having children anymore."

"I think I know how you feel. So, even if you're pregnant before me, we'll still try to get the whole group together. That way, we can celebrate when we're done and put it all behind us. I'd suggest talking about sex after the pregnancies, if we'd want to do it again for fun, but I think becoming mothers means this'll be the last time we'll be this deviant," Skye explained.

"Yeah, I can't imagine trying to juggle a litter of kids and trying to schedule this whole thing together. But that does remind me, you and Jack are only looking for one litter?" Judy asked.

"Mmhmm," Skye nodded. "Both he and I were city kids, and most mammals here only have one litter since there is so little space."

"I sure wasn't," Judy exclaimed. "My parents had hundreds, and the Hopps Name is in every corner of this country, along with a few others as well. That said, we're with you guys on this. One and done."

"Okay then . . . sooo what now?" Skye said nervously. They were beginning to run out of issues to discuss, and it began to feel like a decision was going to be made soon.

"I uh . . . I guess we go talk to our husbands about this. You let me know if Jack is feeling at all uncomfortable about any of this, okay?"

"Likewise with Nick," Skye said pointedly. "But what if they both agree?"

Judy's heart started racing, as now the concept of actually doing this was beginning to look more and more real. It was all talk at this point, albeit unorthodox talk. But, as Skye mentioned earlier, talk is cheap. If Jack and Nick were both onboard, Judy would still want at least a few more nights to mull things over. Judy's nerves grew tense as she considered what the action plan should be, or perhaps if this was all too much after all and she should call the whole thing off.

Just then, Judy heard a soft squeal from the side over the roar of the waterfall. A young wolf-couple were sitting down a few tables down from them, and they had a small pack of cubs with them. They looked just old enough to be in school, so Judy guessed they were on some kind of vacation. The little cubs whined and chased each other in circles. The stroller that the wife was pushing contained two more cubs, both of which were sound asleep.

"Mommy! Mommy! Derek and I want to go look at the deserts," one little face said. The mother shook her head at first, and those little devils gave her the saddest eyes Judy had ever seen. Her heart melted in her chest, as did the cub's mother, who reluctantly nodded and sent her boys to the counter where the cakes and ice cream were on display.

Judy turned back to Skye, who was observing the family with rapt attention. Her eyes were sad, and she saw her paw ball up a little before relaxing again. Judy smiled at her, knowing full well what she was feeling.

"Skye," Judy caught her attention again. "If Jack and Nick both agree, then . . . let's do dinner at our place? We could do a little housewarming with just the four of us?"

"Oh," Skye caught on and nodded along with Judy's suggestion. "We could bring a bottle of wine . . . or two."

"And then we'll just . . . see where things go," Judy said simply. She tried not to get her hopes up, because there was still the very real chance that one of the four of them decided against it after all. This needed to be unanimous at all times.

"Okay," Skye agreed. "Please let Nick know that we're both very grateful for your help. If this works, we're really gonna be parents."

"I know, and we are just as excited as you are, believe me. I'll send you another message with his answer, even if it's just 'let's keep talking'," Judy explained.

"And I'll do the same with Jack. Thank you Judy. Even if we decide against it, it still feels good to have such an understanding friend like you."

"You too, Skye," they said and hugged each other goodbye.

It was late that night when Skye's phone lit up.

She and Jack had discussed things at length over dinner, but when it came down to the facts, he was just as eager as Skye was and he agreed with everything. He needed no convincing of anything, only being surprised when he learned Judy wanted an orgy. Despite everything that he had to mull over, he was already decided by the time she finished explaining everything.

She thanked her lucky stars to have a husband so trusting, and just for good measure, she fucked his brains out that night to drive that point home. They were still reveling in afterglow when she saw her phone light up. She quickly reached over and unlocked her phone, reading the new message from Judy.

We're in.

Skye could barely contain a happy sob as her eyes began to moisten, stifling a laugh by covering her mouth with her paw. The message became blurry as her tears began to gently flow freely from her eyes. She was both laughing and crying, trying to be as quiet as she could. Jack stirred, looking over to her with a concerned look on his face. He noticed her tears immediately and began wiping them away with the backside of his paw.

"Hey, hey," he breathed. "Everything alright?"

Skye laughed again, her smile as wide as the Alpaca Mountains. Jack had seen her that happy once before, and it was when he was down on one knee, offering her a ring, his name, and his life.

"Everything's fine, Jack," she said with a nod and showed the message to him. "We're going to be parents."