Chapter 3: A Trip Through Memory Lane

The day felt like a week. Time could not have been moving any slower for Judy as she sat on the couch with the baby monitor. Nick was called in for work today, so Judy was alone with the babies until he got back. Luckily, it was only a 9-2, so it wouldn't be that long. She was beginning to bite her tongue, though. The TV was not yet setup, so she did not have that to distract her. The babies were just fed, changed and put down for their naps, so Judy had at least twenty minutes to just relax. Yet she couldn't. Being a mother with three infants, mean downtime doesn't really mean downtime anymore. She was still always ready at a second's notice in case one of the babies were to have a rude awakening.

The bunny then turned her attention to the boxes of all their stuff. She scooted to the edge of the couch and reached for the nearest one. She grunted as her fingers just barely caught a grip of one of the corners. She pulled the heavy box to her and set it between her legs. She tipped and turned the container, looking for a label. Finally, she found it. 'Photo Albums' was crudely scribbled on the face of the side in all caps with black marker.

She tore the tape off and unfolded the flaps. Sure enough, underneath the bubble wrap were their maroon colored photo albums, along with a couple of books and other miscellaneous items.

Judy pulled one out of the box and laid it in her lap. She opened it to the first page. There were pictures of her and her family, her niece, Cotton, and a picture of her and Nick at the Gazelle concert. Their first date. She turned page after page, falling into every memory. Their vacation to the Mountain District, date nights, and their wedding. Judy smiled as she saw the two of them locking in the kiss that would forever seal their love.

She turned the page again. It was a picture of the two of them standing next to Clementine. It was the first time she met Nick's mom. She smiled as she began to think about yesterday, and then back to that wonderful day. The day they met.

...

The warm and welcoming rays of the morning sun basked through the blinds of the large window, and onto the bright orange furs of Nick Wilde, sleeping soundly in his bed. Ears twitch, eyes flutter, and the fox awakens. He sits himself up, the covers slide off his figure and compiles in his lap as he stretches and yawns off the sleep. With a scratch of his chest, he looks down to a beautiful sight. Judy Hopps. The fox lets out a compassionate smile watching the bunny in the comforts of her slumber; breathe in, breathe out. Something about watching her sleep so soundly made Nick feel at peace. Nothing in the world would make him feel as content as he felt now; if he were to die, he would surely die happy.

Into the kitchen he slumps to make himself a well needed cup of coffee, as well as some tea for her; if he was up, it surely would not be long until she followed suit. Just as he places the bag in the mug, Nick feels paws around his torso, and a familiar pair of ears resting on his bare back. A smile grew across his cheeks; speak of the devil.

"Morning, Carrots." He cooed.

She nuzzled into his fur. Her delicate touch comforted him, and her breath tickled his furs. Her nose twitched, also tickling his coat as he poured the hot water into her cup.

"Morning Nicky-Nick." Judy cooed back.

With one paw, he hugged around his chest meet with hers. As he finds what he is looking for, he also finds, or rather feels, something else. Bumpy and slick, cold, slightly pointed, and almost sharp to the touch. His smile grew wider, as ran his finger across the wedding ring that sat on her center finger.

Fiancee, a simple stage in the process of becoming something bigger; his wife. After three long years, he finally proposed to Judy, and of course she said yes, just like he knew she would. They were both madly in love with each other, but always had to hide their relationship not only for work, but so they would not be discriminated by the public. Interspecies relationships were frowned upon, seen as a crime against nature. That was until the Marriage Equality Law was passed by Mayor Arthur Staggery, who took office when Bellwether was busted for the savage attacks. They no longer had to hide, they could be who they were, they could be what they were; and what they were was in love. Harmoniously in love.

"So are you ready for today?" asked Judy. Nick's eyes slightly widened as he took a drink of his coffee, shuttering from the slight bitterness; his coffee needed a little more sugar.

She didn't even mean to take a drink. In fact, and bigger of a sip then she took and her heart rate would bust through the roof. Bunnies couldn't have highly caffeinated drinks like coffee or energy drinks. She reached out and switched mugs, breathing in the soothing aroma of her tea before taking a drink.

"Ready for what?" he asked, smacking his lips. He watched as she took a delicate sip of her English Breakfast tea, reaching into the cupboard for some honey.

"To see your mom. I sure can't wait to meet her." she said squeezing the honey into her hot drink.

Nick's eyes lowered, and his lids grew heavy. He felt a great wave of sadness and regret hit him. While he undoubtedly was ready to see his mom again, he had no idea how she would react. To him, now being a 28 year old fox, a police officer, and having a fiancee, who was a bunny. Would she be jovial to see him, hear about his new job as a cop, and to meet his mate? Would she be depressed to see her son in which she hadn't seen in years? Or would she be angry and un-accepting of his soon to be wife simply because she was not a vixen? Was she a bigot? All these thoughts began running circles around Nick's head.

"Y-yeah..." He frowned. Judy turned her head, placing the mug on the counter.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a tone of care ringing in the words.

Nick sighed. "I don't know. I'm just nervous. I haven't seen my mom in years. I don't have a clue what to say." Judy gripped Nick's limp paw. He looked down at her, and she smiled up at him.

"Don't worry, when the time comes, you'll know."

Nick replaced his grim look with a smirk, followed by a small chuckle as he peppered her cheek. "What a tired cliche my little bunny. I hope that it really is true." Nick pressed his lips against hers, embracing the warmth as he stole a tender kiss. The two got dressed, and they left, heading for suburban Savannah Central. Vagabonds filled the alleys, and the streets were empty. Judy cringed at the sight. She almost felt thankful to have mace and a taser strapped to her waist. Nick was undisturbed by this image, for more than a few times in his life has he lived the same way. He could practically name some of them. The car came to a halt. They were here; 1919 Papyrus Blvd.

The two officers walked up the steps of the apartment complex. Nick began to breathe heavily, and Judy noticed it. She grabbed his paw. "Calm down, honey. It's okay." He looked down at her, and took a deep breath, trying to relax. Room 209. Nick shakily lifted his paw in a fist, hovering between the air and the door. He hesitated, before finally slowly knocking on the door. He shrugged his shoulders, and put his hands in his pockets with a nervous huff. Judy looked up at him. He looked down at her and gave her a fake smile. His ears were completely pinned to his head. They then perked at the sound of the door unlocking on the other side. The door slowly creaked open, and Nick froze at the sight of the aged vixen coming into view.

Her name was Clementine Wilde. Her gaze first focused to the bunny. She wore a lovely smile, and as her vision guided to who the bunny was with; she also froze. The two foxes gazed into each other's auras, and time itself seemed to stop. With a trembling lip, the vixen finally broke the silence. "N-Nicky?"

Nick began to grin, he was on the verge of tears, both from his unbelievable nervousness, and his understandable amount of joy. At last, he spoke to his mother again, for the first time in years. "Hello mom."

Clementine motioned her paws to cover her mouth, then extended them outward to welcome his son in an embrace. Nick gladly took the hug, holding his mother again in such a long time. A single tear streamed from her eye as she hugged her baby tighter.

"It's been so long..."

"I know, mom...I know."

The two released each other and gaze into each other's eyes; bright green into pale blue. Nick soon snapped from his gaze, remembering that he did come here with someone.

"Oh, mom I'd like you to meet someone." Nick said as he pulled the bunny close to his waist. "This is Judy Hopps, my mate."

Judy smiled as she extended out a paw. "It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Wi-" She was cut off by the sensation of Clementine bending down to pull her into a hug. Her eyes widened, before they closed and began to hug back. How would his mom react, Nick Wilde thought. She would be happy. Unbelievably happy; to see him, to meet his fiancee, all of it. She was more than happy to see that Nick was doing more than well with his life. Everything was going well for the fox at this moment in his life, and now that he had finally reunited with his mother...he was never going to let her go again.

...

Like most of her memories with Nick, it felt like it was just yesterday. She turned the page again and saw a selfie of her next to Nick. He had a black eye and looked very dizzy. She chuckled as the memories of that day came flooding back. Performance Review Week.

...

With one final swing, the tiger fell to the arena floor. Nick stood above the downed officer, gloves raised to the floodlights of the gym in victory. His tail swayed with his cemented swagger. Nick surveyed the crowd behind the ropes with his usual smirk as the tiger stumbled out of the ring. It was the annual ZPD performance review, and the current event was sparring. This was Nick and Judy's first performance review, and the fox loved the sparring events back at the academy. An animal would step in, and would fight until defeat. 9 consecutive wins in a row, Nick felt like a champion. Only question that rang in the fox's mind; who would be the one to help him get that number to 10? Winner, Nick Wilde. Next opponent...

"Next opponent: Officer Judy Hopps." the polar bear announced.

Nick's eyes widened at the name, and the crowd began gossiping. Judy Hopps was the best sparrer in the academy; holding the current record of 25 consecutive wins. He turned half circle, and watched the bunny hop over the ropes, landing with a small thud. Judy swayed to the center of the ring. Nick felt his jaw drop at her attire. Her workout shirts, muscle shirts and leggings were all either dirty or reeked of sweat, so today she was clad in a sports bra and rather low cut shorts. Nick swore he felt his gym shorts shrink just the slightest bit at his fiance in such attire. The bunny clashed her gloves together twice, and her hips swayed to and fro as she walked up to Nick with a smile.

"Are you ready for this Nick?" She said placing a gloved paw on her pivoted hip.

The fox simply smirked. "I was born ready. Don't think that just because you're a bunny I'll go easy on you." He said with a wink. He figured that mentioning her species would lead to a better outcome than being sexist and saying 'girl.' He knew she was capable of things that even the esteemed Chief Bogo was not, and nearly everyone idolized him.

"I don't think you should worry about that. Don't think I'll go easy on you because you're my mate." She winked back, putting her mouth guard in place. Nick smirked and followed suit.

"Prepare!" the instructor shouted. Everyone sat back, two champions going to battle; this would be good, who will come out on top? Nick and Judy raised their gloves to their faces, reaching out their right paw to bump, showing the traditional sign of respect in the ring. 'Ring' was an understatement for the fox and bunny. To them, it was their battlefield, where anyone that stepped in their way would be brought to their knees, and they showed no mercy. The bell rang, ears twitched, and the two hopped lightly on their feet.

Nick and Judy circled around the ring, not for even an instant breaking eye contact. Nothing distracted them. The fact that they were mates went out the window for both of them. At this moment, they were opponents. Nick threw the first swing, a left jab, which Judy easily avoids shifting to the side. Nick returns to his defensive position. He strikes again, right jab-left jab. Judy shifts left to avoid the first punch, the next one she shifts right and leans forward.

Bam.

Judy gives Nick a hardened right jab to the cheek. The fox stumbles back. The crowd begins protruding masculine sounding 'oohs.' Similar to how a father and his friends may sound while watching a football game or other kind of suspenseful sport. Judy quickly jump changes, switching her feet back and forth to distract the fox. Judy moves in, high right jab, mid left jab, high right hook. Nick retaliates, dodge, dodge, and blocks the hook with his wrist.

Bam.

Instantly, he steps forward and pops Judy in the nose. This time, she stumbled back. The 'oohs' became louder, sounding more like primal males then officers by now. She pulls her glove away from her nose, and she blinks. Nick was charging right at her. The bunny had no time to react for what she already knew was a grapple; all she could do was brace herself.

Nick lifts the bunny from her stable position from under her knees and pins her to the arena floor. Her arms and legs were pinned underneath the fox's strong paws. She jerked, trying to free herself, but to no avail. Judy never really had to deal with being in a grapple hold. Her opponents were much larger, and could barely even grab the bunny due to her speed. Nick was the exception, her struggles became weaker and weaker. The sly fox began to smirk more, showing his glossy white teeth from behind his mouth guard; Nick was her kryptonite. His muzzle almost touched her nose. Judy could feel his breath breeze through the cold sweat on her cheek furs, and then an idea sparked in Nick's head. He gave a sly grin, eyelids half closed, intoxicating, and almost arousing.

Judy was thrown off, giving a nervous look, and a small chuckle. "Heh. Wha-"

That was all he could say before Nick leaned down and firmly placed his lips against hers. Judy's eyes shot wide open, and the crowd began cheering the fox on, encouraging his efforts. Judy's eyes became heavy, as she stopped struggling to enjoy the kiss from her mate. The instructor scolded the two and their foreplay-esque actions. "Hey! Now is not the time for that you two!" She shouted, her voice sounding slightly of embarrassment. Nick and Judy disregarded it. She could feel his grip loosen on her wrist, and she opened her eyes; Nick fell for her plan. She pivoted her legs, increasing the force, and slammed her feet into the fox's chest, pushing him off of her body with a grunt of pain. Nick grabbed at his stomach watching Judy rise to her feet. Nick chuckled under his breath.

"Sly bunny. Ready for round two?" He said with a wink. Judy caught onto his crude, yet perfectly timed joke as she grabbed his paw, helping him to his feet.

"I sure am," she turned to walk back to her position, "but first..." Just as the words left her mouth, Judy placed a firm kiss against her right glove, and spun around to give the fox a hardy hook to the cheek. Nick spat out his mouth guard, and fell to the floor; knockout. The very next second, the bell was rung, signalling a break. Judy swayed over to her mate, and could swear he had a goofy smile across his face. "Sweet dreams, Nick." She said, giving him a meaningful kiss-and-blow. Winner, Judy Hopps. Next opponent...

...

She let out a small chuckle thinking about how badly she got him. The bunny skipped a couple of pages of them in random places, most of them being in their old apartment. Then, Judy stopped to look at some very important photos, perhaps even the most important photos in the album. They were Judy's ultrasound photos.

She smiled again as she pulled one of them out. She looked at her babies before they were even born. It felt like magic then, and it still felt like magic now. To get a glimpse of her beautiful litter she had with Nick. To remind them of all they had gone through to have them. All the hate and discrimination, Jake Bengali, James Todd. All the animals that made their relationship even stronger then it was.

She smiled wider as she recognized her babies in the photos. Alex was on the left, Peter was in the center, and Johanna was on the right, hanging upside down. It brought one last memory, one that was not captured in a photo, but one she could still re-imagine every last detail of.

Imagining their children...

...

Nick watched the two elephants walking with their beautiful little girl from across the street, the mother's trunk coiled in her daughter's. A certain sensation struck his heart as he held his iced tea a little bit tighter. Not a pain, but it still felt like it hurt just a bit. Like something was taken, something was missing. His grip also tightened on his fiancée's paw, but Judy didn't seem to mind, nor did she even seem to notice as she put the straw against her soft pink lips. The sun began to set further behind the city, painting the sky to a nice warming shade of orange and pink as the evening air blew colder through his fur.

He looked more to the right and saw a zebra walking out of a building with his son who was dressed in an all too familiar attire; a Jr. Ranger Scout uniform. That feeling hit him harder. How he wished he had a dad to experience that with oh so many years ago, perhaps things would have been better for him. Then again, if things did not happen the way they did, he may have never met the wonderful bunny that clung to his side as he thought everything out. Forget and move on. There was one possible solution that traveled into his mind. Don't mourn over what you didn't have, become it, and become a better one.

"Hey Carrots?" Nick asked.

Judy looked up from her iced tea with a smile. "Yeah Nick?" She asked. There was a brief pause.

"I know you didn't want us talking about this until after we were married, but what do you think about us having kids?"

Her smile faded, not because she was sad, but because she lost herself in her thought for a moment. Her lip stuttered before she spoke up.

"Well, it's like we were talking about it before, we could always adopt a couple of bunnies or a fox pup."

"Yeah." He said softly. They both stopped in their place. "Sorry, I just, I'm not sure why I started thinking about it so much. I just, really..." He drifted off. The two of them sat down at a nearby bench. Judy placed her paw on Nick's lap.

"Nick," she began, "I know you want to be a father as much as I want to be a mother-"

"It's not just that, Carrots. I want them to be ours. Yours and mine, together. I just wished there was a way."

There was another brief pause. "Well, you do know that no matter what they will be ours, biological or not. Right?" He looked down at her caring expression, and a lovely smile spread to the ends of his cheeks. He nodded. "Or maybe we could have both. I could have an injection and you could find a vixen surrogate. That way they will have our genes." Nick nodded again.

They stood from the bench, and continued there walk home as the setting sun guided their way back to the apartment. Nick placed a gentle kiss between her ears and smiled once more.

"Until that day comes... We can always imagine..."

...

She began to think of Nick. Everything they'd been through, and everything she loved about him. Those gorgeous emerald green eyes for which no amount of money could pay off their beauty. His unbelievably fluffy tail. His slim, yet toned orange and cream chest. As Judy kept imagining, the air began to feel warm around her. She tugged on her neck hole and fanned her face with her paw. She checked on the babies in the monitor. They were still fast asleep. She checked the thermostat on the wall, but it read that it was only 68 degrees. She wondered why she was feeling so hot. Her ears drooped. She was in heat. Really? She thought. How could she already be in heat again? She figured it must be since she's a bunny. It's their way of life. With this being her first babies, she never knew this would happen, and obviously her older sisters and aunts probably would not mention their state of arousal to each other.

Perhaps she could take some medicine to calm down, but she would have to go to the store and buy more since she had no use for it when she was pregnant. Maybe she could take care of it as quick as she could before her litter wakes up. Or perhaps... she could hold off until Nick came back. It has been a while since the two of them have shared the bed for more than just sleep, and she knew Nick would not be opposed to a little fun after coming home from work.

She checked the time, and luckily enough time had passed by now that he should be off.