Chapter 7: Home is Where You Are

It was quickly approaching noon and Judy had already dished out well over two hundred tickets, having a nice lead on her old record from her first day on the force. Of course, she had already been yelled at by several mammals who weren't too happy about their parking violations. The day was much warmer than usual and she was glad she brought some extra water to stay hydrated. Taking a small break in the shade, she downed a whole bottle before continuing. Her right arm was still feeling very sore from the bullet graze. She was thankful that is all it was.

Having covered most of the Downtown area, she was planning to drive over to Sahara Square for a few hours before coming back to recheck the next wave of freshly metered vehicles. The bunny just finished checking another block of parked cars when she realized she was standing across from Jumbeaux's Cafe.

A wave of emotions and memories swept through Judy as she stared at the entrance of the Egyptian-styled frieze elephant ice cream parlor. She could picture Nick standing there looking to enter the shop as if it was only yesterday. It made her pause and reflect. What if she hadn't seen him? What if she had decided to ignore her bias and continued ticketing. Once inside, what if she had walked away instead of defending his right to purchase a jumbo pop as a fox customer?

The memory of her profiling him and suspiciously following him inside assuming he was up to no good hurt her heart. But that strange moment of a wrongful attitude lead to her meeting a fox who would become her best friend, who defended her career from being terminated, who helped her solve the biggest case the city had seen in years, and become her partner at the ZPD. Judy smiled as she wiped her happy teary eyes on her sleeve.

Like deja vu, a car horn pulled the bunny from her thoughts, she looked up to see a cruiser pulling up slowly in front of her. Z-143 came to a stop and she saw the smiling faces of Fangmeyer and Grizzoli waving at her. The white timber wolf rolled down his passenger side window and leaned out on his elbow.

"Judy! We were hoping we'd bump into you around here since we got assigned Downtown patrol today. Bogo said you'd be doing parking duty the rest of the week."

"Hey guys! Yeah, Nick and I sorta got in a lot of trouble for being too reckless yesterday. I don't think the Chief could just let us off the hook so here I am…" she replied. Her voice became quieter as she spoke.

Fangmeyer leaned over in the car seat to be closer to the open window, "We heard about Nick. We're sorry Judy. That poor fox has had a rough week."

Judy lowered her gaze to the sidewalk while clutching her ticketer in both paws near her chest. "I know. He didn't want anyone else to get punished so he took all the blame..."

Grizzoli and Fangmeyer shared a glance and frowned but turned back to Judy with returned smiles.

"Hey, since it's almost lunch time, Steph and I were thinking, if we found you, we would take you with us to grab a bite to eat. What do you say, Hopps?"

The bunny's down expression instantly changed and she perked up at the suggestion. "Really? Oh that would be so nice! Thank you both!"

Grizzoli grinned and opened his door while scooting over, "Jump in, there should still be plenty of room upfront. We'll come back for your maid mobile after we eat."

With a single leap, Judy hopped into the police cruiser and the trio drove off down the street. Grizzoli looked down at Judy's ticketer counter display and whistled.

"Wow, Hopps. Two hundred and sixty-two tickets already? Steph, is that some kind of department record?" the white timber wolf laughed.

"Knowing Judy, I wouldn't be surprised," the tigress chuckled.

"Well, I have a bet with Nick. That sly fox somehow managed four hundred tickets on Tuesday and told me he would make dinner for me tonight for his new apartment housewarming if I got four hundred and one tickets. I told him I would get four hundred and two," the bunny explained.

The wolf and tigress exchanged glances again with raised eyebrows and amused grins at hearing the 'dinner at his place' bit but said nothing.

Fangmeyer turned down the street and looked over to Grizzoli, "Hey Alex, text the guys, and let's see if we can get a little something for Wilde for his new home. We still owe him for Monday night."

"Oh, that's a great idea. On it!" Grizzoli exclaimed as he took his phone out.

"Aw, you guys are so sweet!" Judy said smiling between her two co-workers.

"Alright, here we are, Judy," Fangmeyer said as they pulled into the lot of a small family owned cafe called 'In the Water Hole'. "This is one of our favorite hole in the wall places. Bad pun, I know." She chuckled. "I think you'll really like the food here. It has a menu for predators and prey."

"Yup. If it's hard to find and has a terrible name, it means it has the best grub!" Grizzoli supplied.

Judy smiled excitedly as they exited the cruiser and headed inside the cafe.


The end of the afternoon drew near and Judy, dressed in her teal t-shirt and black leggings, was walking down the sidewalk along Walnut St. with three large boxes in her paws. The weight made her injured arm ache but she persevered through the pain as she comically tried to keep the gifts steady and soon arrived at the entrance to the Walnut Midtown West complex. She took a moment to look at the building. It looked so much newer, cleaner, and more modern than her old complex. A moose was exiting the building as she came up the steps and offered to hold the door for her. She thanked him for his kindness and proceeded to climb the six flights of stairs before arriving in front of 610, Nick's new home. The bunny had to knock with her foot.

Nick was standing in front of the stove, wooden spoon in paw, trying to follow a recipe he found online on his phone when his ears perked up at the sound of light thumping against his door. Looking at the time, he smiled, it had to be Judy.

The fox sauntered over to the door and opened it wide with a big smirk as he looked down in surprise, "Whoa, Carrots! What's all this? Let me help you," he said as he reached down to relieve her of all the packages she was carrying.

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Nick. My arm was getting a little bit sore there."

"I'm surprised you didn't call me down to help," he said as he put the items down onto the wooden floor and made a grand sweeping gesture with his arm. "Well, here it is… Casa de Wilde!"

Judy brought her paws together and gasped while looking around. The apartment was so huge compared to her's. The walls were pearly white and clean, the ceiling was so high, and she saw all the brand new furniture with a fairly nice entertainment center in the spacious living room.

"Oh my goodness, Nick! I didn't think it would be so nice! You can afford this on your salary?"

Nick was standing there amused with one arm crossed and the other resting on his chin, watching Judy's reaction, "Well, funny story that… the building owner, who is also the landlord downstairs, gave me a really good deal. His cousin was one of the fourteen missing mammals. The brown bear who was missing from Savanna Central. He recognized me from the TV news reports when I came to ask about the place."

"Really?" Judy hopped and gave him a light tap on the arm.

"Yup. And remember when I told you that one night how I sent all my leftover hustling money to my Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Turns out she knew it was me sending her that money all those years so she just shoved it all into some safe she bought that she kept in my old room. When I visited her the week after graduation, she demanded I take it all back and to stop living like a literal troll. I'm still not sure if she meant it metaphorically or not," he chuckled.

Judy closed the gap to give him a big hug, "Mmm. I'm so glad you have a real home now."

"It is a change of pace, that's for sure," he said as he gently squeezed her back.

She looked up at him with a beaming smile only to have her eyes widen when she just now noticed his clothes, "Nick, you fixed your old green shirt and your Dad's tie!?"

"Yup!" He gestured down his chest with a smirk, "Just as good as new. Wait, how did you know it was my Dad's tie?"

"I saw your Dad wearing it in that old family photo that was in your Mom's living room. And… I recognized the wallpaper design too…" she bit her lip with her paws clasped in front of her. She didn't know if she should also mention the neckerchief but left it at that. Judy found herself a little sad that he wasn't wearing that violet tie tonight but quickly pushed that thought away.

Nick simply blinked at her and smiled, "Clever bunny." He then looked back over to the three boxes on the floor. "So, what's in those packages there, Carrots?"

The bunny hopped excitedly over to them, "These are presents for you!"

"All from you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"One is! This one here…" Judy picked up the large unwrapped brown parcel, "is our monthly care package from my parents! I peeked inside and it's full of extra blueberries."

The fox practically swooned, "Oh my god, yes! It feels like it's been way too long since I had some. I really need to call and thank your Mom," he pointed out with his paw.

Judy put it back down and then picked up the next box that was gift wrapped, "And this… is from the guys at the station. They wanted to get you a little something since the poker incident and after hearing about you getting suspended for a week." She held up the gift for him.

His mouth pursed a bit, as he slowly tore through the wrapping, revealing a nice reddish rosewood case with a golden trim latch. He opened it to reveal an exquisitely made poker set with two decks of thick stock playing cards with gorgeous artwork and high quality poker chips sitting in a nice black velvet interior. There was a card inside. Nick took it out and opened it.

"To Wilde: A gift for your new place. We want a rematch with our favorite fox. We miss your antics and even the Chief seemed very sad this morning without your snark! Signed, Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, Wolfard, McHorn, Clawhauser, Delgato, and Snarlov."

Nick didn't know what to say as he put the card back in and gently closed the case. Judy watched him look away at something on the wall with a barely audible sniffle that only her rabbit ears could catch as he rubbed the back of his neck.

She placed a paw on his arm and whispered, "See Slick, they miss you too."

"Yeah…" he replied quietly. "And that last one. Yours?"

The bunny smiled and walked over to the last box. It was large and gift wrapped in colorful carrot wrapping paper with a pink bow. Judy picked it up and brought the gift over to Nick as he set the poker case down on his coffee table. Just as before, he carefully unwrapped it to reveal a nice green box. He opened the flaps to reveal another box containing a very nice and expensive looking coffee maker, several packs of his favorite blend from Snarlbucks, and a giant navy mug. Picking up the mug, he turned it over to reveal several words next to measuring lines from top to bottom: "- SHHH, - NOT YET, - NOW YOU MAY SPEAK". Turning it over once more showed a custom stenciled golden ZPD badge on the back.

His partner had slowly moved closer, keeping her violet eyes on him so she could watch his face. It took a lot of willpower for Nick to keep himself from getting too emotional in this moment. Leave it to Judy to get him something that was thoughtful, practical, and humorous. He kneeled down to set aside the gifts and gave her that same smile like when she had given him his badge at the graduation and opened his arms. She jumped forward into the invitation.

"You like it, Nick?" she quietly asked.

"Love it, Carrots," he whispered.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two separated. Nick got up, doing his best to keep a calm demeanor, and placed the gift next to the poker case, "Boy, I better check on dinner…" he feigned while heading back into the kitchen. "So how many tickets did the super meter maid write today?"

Hearing the humor return in his voice, Judy reached for her phone, "Oh, I have my meal ticket right here mister." She went to her photo gallery, bringing up the pic she took of her ticketer display with date and time, and held it up for him to see.

Nick turned around and leaned over, "Well, five hundred and twenty-six. I knew you'd be an overachiever. We better be careful now though, or they'll have our pictures in the paper for being the best worst meter maids ever." He pointed over to the bar stools next to the breakfast bar. "Have a seat there. One dinner coming up soon."

Chuckling, she walked up the far right bar stool. Judy noticed it had a motorized adjustable height function. She flipped the switch to bring it down, hopped on, then raised it to the perfect height for her to sit at the counter. "Wow, Nick, this is really cool to have."

"I figured it would be nice. Between you, Finn, and my Mom, it made sense to get something that everyone could use. So many shorties in my life," he winked.

Judy flicked her tongue out at him before putting her elbows on the counter and settling her chin on top of her laced fingers, watching him navigate between several pieces of cookware on the stove. One was boiling water, another had a sauce pan filled with crickets and shrimp, and a third giant bowl looked like it was filled with all kinds of fruits and greens. She saw him squinting at some text on his phone.

"You got this handled, Slick?" the bunny egged him on.

He waved his paw at her in a shoo'ing manner, only to have his phone ring and a photo of his Mom appear on the screen. "Well, speak of the vixen devil..." He answered, "Hi Mom."

Nick stopped what he was doing so he could focus on the conversation as Judy listened in, "What? What did you see in the paper? No, I'm okay, really. Just some bruises. Yes… yes, she's okay too. Infact she's sitting right behind me. What? I'm making dinner for her at my place. No… no, I'm not trying to poison her… no, Mom, you don't need to come over here and cook the food… Mom, I swear to… I'm sure I can handle making spaghetti and a nice bunny salad!"

Judy had to put her paw over her mouth to keep from laughing so loudly. "Hi, Mrs. Wilde!" she yelled at Nick's back hoping Mrs. Wilde could hear her.

He turned around to roll his eyes and mouth that she heard Judy and said hello. "Okay… okay, yes. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight. Love you too."

"Aw, that's so sweet she was checking on us and wanted to come over and cook us dinner." Judy teased him before she added, "My parents called today too. They probably saw the same article in the Zootopia Times and flipped out about that high speed chase we stopped. It took me half an hour to calm them down."

"Yeah, I always have to downplay the job to her," came the serious reply. "Okay, I got this," he declared and then took his phone over to the TV center and put it down onto a special dock. It lit up his music system and some music began to play at a nice medium volume throughout the room while he returned to finish cooking.

Her ears turned towards the music. The song 'Born to be Wild - Timberwolf' began to play. "How fitting Officer Wilde. Let me guess. This is one of your favorite songs?" She laughed.

"A classic."

The fox was now prepping her salad by adding the finishing touches and tossing it in the bowl while the spaghetti was finishing boiling. Judy noticed Nick was able to use both hands equally well. She wondered if he might actually be ambidextrous. Another song came on, one Judy hadn't heard before. She peered at the phone screen and it said 'Blindfold - Morcheetah'. Listening to the lyrics, she really liked it and was impressed Nick had such a song on his playlist. The next one queued up which gave her another surprise, 'She's a Lady - Tiger Jones'.

Now Judy looked at Nick with raised eyebrows. His head was lightly bobbing as he continued his cooking. She couldn't help thinking if Slick Nick was really Smooth Nick when entertaining lady guests. But of course the next song broke that train of thought completely. Now 'The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) - Yunnan Hare' came through the speakers.

"Oh my god, Nick, of course you'd have THIS song!" she giggled.

"What? You don't like what the fox says, Carrots?" he looked over his shoulder.

"I get plenty of what the fox says hanging around you everyday," she pointed out.

"Touché."

The cherry on top was the last song before dinner was finished, 'Danger Zone - Kenny Leopard'. Judy took a deep breath and rolled her eyes.

Her partner looked over to his phone dock with a smirk, "Hah. That's fitting. You'll be going into the danger zone with this cooking. Dinner is ready!"

"God Nick, that was cheesy."

"Only on this spaghetti."

"Please stop," she laughed.


Dinner was relatively quiet as both mammals were very hungry and happily ate their meals. For Judy, Nick tried to prepare one of her favorite salads, a very large leafy romaine salad filled with fresh watercress, celery, small bits of carrot tops, raspberries, kiwi, a touch of mint, and apple vinegar. For himself, he prepared a simple cricket and shrimp spaghetti platter with some parmesan on top. Dessert was a choice of strawberry, blueberry, or vanilla ice creams. Naturally he took blueberry and added some of the Hopps Family Farm blueberries on top while Judy took vanilla with some blueberries too.

Judy was sitting on the incredibly comfortable and large navy couch while Nick brought some drinks over and handed her a mint tea while he cracked open a beer and joined her on the sofa. He stretched his arm over the top of the back cushion and crossed a leg.

"Nick, I'm impressed. That was pretty good. Do you cook often?" she smiled looking up to him.

"Not really. Not since I lived in that old basement in the Nocturnal District." He took a sip. "Figured I'd keep it pretty simple tonight," he laughed modestly.

"Well, I think you did great," she complimented while leaning back with her paws resting on her full belly.

They sat for a few minutes in comfortable silence. Her ear tips brushed the underpart of his forearm causing his eyes to widen and shift into a different sitting position from the soft tickle.

"Agh. Carrot sticks!" she muttered.

"What is it?" he looked down, amused at her choice of swear words.

The bunny sighed, "I knew I felt a snag on my shirt on the way over. Looks like I ripped a part of the bottom. Great. I really like this one too."

The fox leaned over to inspect the small rip. "I can fix it."

"What?" her eyes shot up to his with a puzzled look on her muzzle.

"I can fix it," he casually repeated. "Wait here."

Nick jumped off the couch, setting his beer down, and disappeared into his room. Emerging a moment later with his casual blue ZPD gym t-shirt, he walked over and held it out for Judy. "Put this on. It's clean. And give me your shirt. You can change in my room or the bathroom back there." He pointed behind him with his thumb to the second door on the left.

Judy took the shirt and went to change. When she came back out, Nick thought she looked really cute in the oversized ZPD shirt. It fell all the way down to her ankles and was slipping off one of her shoulders. Naturally he kept this thought to himself. She held up her teal shirt for him.

The fox took the shirt and headed to the other room while the bunny followed him. He turned the lights on in his office to reveal all of the tailor and sewing tools neatly organized on his work desk. Walking up to the desk, he spread the shirt and began to gather the necessary tools to repair the article of clothing.

"Nick, what is all of this? You know how to sew?" she finally asked looking at him with paws spread and a shocked expression.

"And hem. This was all of my Dad's stuff. He was a tailor."

She blinked, thinking back to the photo of John Wilde, remembering how well dressed he appeared with his family.

Judy turned to Nick who had already found a near perfect matching thread color and was already knotting the thread. He tested the needle with one of the pads under his paw and then began to repair it with a blind stitch method, expertly weaving the thread in and out creating very tiny stitches perpendicular to the rip till it was closed and unnoticeable.

"Here we are. All done," he smirked looking over his handiwork.

Standing behind Nick, Judy stared in amazement. "Nick, weren't you only seven when he...?"

"That's right. I was always with him after school and most weekends," Nick spoke quietly while he leaned forward on both paws against the desk. "I would sit and watch him work all the time at home. He wanted to open his very own suit shop that catered to mammals of all sizes, so they could look their very best whether it was for a job interview, a wedding, a special occasion, a date, anything… he wanted to called it Wilde & Son's Suit-topia!"

Nick made a grand arching gesture with his arms overhead when he said the shop name before his eyes downcast to Judy's shirt in front of him and he lowered his paws back onto the table as he continued, "I went with him to every bank where he tried to pitch for a loan. One after another, they kept rejecting his business idea. I lost count of how many times we were refused. But he never gave up. Never let it get to him… always kept a smile on his face and stayed courteous and professional no matter how hostile some of those mammals would be to us."

The fox paused to take a breath, "Finally one day, we found a bank that approved his idea and he got the loan. He was so happy that day, Carrots. We went out to celebrate. Soon, he was able to open the shop in Happytown. It was quite successful and he earned a hell of a reputation for himself. But… once Happytown turned into a ghetto and fell into ruin, business practically stopped. He had to resort to cold calling old clients to come in, making house calls, and doing odd jobs on the side again to keep the shop open and keep a roof over our heads. Mom was working as a librarian and took on some extra work to help but in the end, it wasn't enough."

At this point, Judy moved closer to Nick, tears welling in her eyes and she kept a paw on his arm for support.

"After he passed away, we had to close the shop down. I made it a goal to sneak in there and take everything of his I could before it either got looted or the bank came to repossess everything that was left behind and sell it off. Everything you see here came from his shop," he gestured while finishing the story, his voice becoming low and he fought real hard to keep it from cracking while he closed his eyes.

Judy closed her eyes, ears drooping, and moved closer to silently wrap her paws around his waist and hug her best friend while she leaned her cheek against his back. Nick placed one of his larger paws over both of her paws and the two mammals stood quietly together for a long time.

The small bunny finally broke the silence, "Back at your home, while you were washing dishes, your Mom told me what happened to him." She sniffled, "Nick, I am so sorry…"

Nick squeezed her paws, remembering how he wondered what the two women were crying about that night, "Nothing anyone could do, Fluff. But thank you."

Taking a big breath, he slowly pulled away from Judy and handed her the fixed shirt with a smile, "Here. I'll head back to the living room so you can change."

"Okay, Nick." She took the shirt, looking at him with a warm smile, and waited for him to leave before she began to change.


They found themselves outside on the patio, enjoying the evening air, listening to the buzz of the street below and admiring the nightly Zootopian city skyline. Nick was leaning against the small railing staring out at the northern Downtown buildings.

Checking her shirt one more time on her person, Judy couldn't spy the rip anymore at all. She looked back up to her partner and found her eyes settling on his Dad's tie again when a thought occurred to her.

"Nick?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you… also fix the tie and make your shirt?" she curiously asked.

"Sure did," he turned his head back to make eye contact with a smirk. "Who do you think made that elephant suit for Finn? My best work yet!"

"Seems I've been learning something new about you a lot lately," she chuckled and gazed up to his green eyes with her violet eyes shining in the evening moonlight.

The look in her eyes made Nick pause and he inhaled a breath while averting his eyes back to the skyline. He found his own gaze settling on the very top terrace of the barely visible ZPD headquarters. Judy came closer and got on her tiptoes so she could cross her arms and rest her chin on the top of the railing and share the view with him.

"Wow, you can see the station from here," she whispered.

"Our home away from home," he quipped.

Sighing, Judy looked at the lit terrace. "Speaking of work, I guess I better head back. I still have parking duty tomorrow."

"I'll walk you home," he offered.

"You don't have to Nick, but thank you." she smiled.

"Oh, before I forget…" he stopped to reach into his pocket and held out a small key in his larger paw. "This is for you."

Judy glanced at the key and then back to him, "What's this?"

"The spare key. You know you're welcome to come over anytime you want, Carrots."

Nick barely had enough time to brace himself before the collision of small gray fluff squeezed him so hard in appreciation. After a few moments, Judy released him and then took the key and put it in her pocket. The fox walked the bunny to the door and they said their goodbyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.

"You bet," he answered while leaning an elbow against the door frame.

The bunny smiled and waved enthusiastically before heading down the hallway and taking the flight of stairs. The fox quietly closed the door. He found himself back on the railing watching the street. Looking down he was able to spot Judy one last time as she headed north with a slight skip in her steps. Almost as if she could feel his presence, she happened to turn around and looked back in the direction of the building and saw Nick. She gave him one last big wave goodbye and he returned the goodbye with a smaller wave of his own. Judy looked back one last time before disappearing around the block.

A thought entered Nick's head as he watched her silhouette vanish. This fancy new place, the police station, they weren't home. Home was wherever Judy was. Judy who now knew more about him than any mammal he'd ever met. Nick closed his eyes and inwardly sighed.

"That's right, Wilde, keep digging that hole, you dumb fox," he mumbled to himself before heading back inside and closing the sliding door.


After sleeping in a bit, and making breakfast, Nick was out running some morning errands looking through various thread and fabric stores searching for some very specific materials. He wondered if he might bump into Judy on the street but no such luck so far. There was still a piece of a puzzle he needed to solve. Taking out his phone he dialed the direct ZPD dispatch number.

The usual cheery voice of Clawhauser answered the line, "Good morning, you've reached the ZPD Dispatch, how can I help you?"

"Hey Claws, it's Nick."

He had to move the phone slightly away from his ear from the loud gasp on the other end, "Oh. Em. Goodness, Nick! Is everything okay?"

"I'm good. I know I shouldn't be using this line for non emergencies but I needed a quick favor, Claws."

"What can I do for my favorite fox?" came the jovial reply. It sounded like he was eating another donut.

"I have no idea when Ca—Judy's birthday is. I know it wasn't during my nine month training so I'm assuming it's around now and I need your help. Could you look it up and text it to me, pretty please?"

"Oh, that is so sweet!" he squealed. "Are you going to surprise her with something special?"

"You could say that. Please don't tell her or anyone else," he begged.

"Oh. Oh. My lips are sealed!"

"Thanks Claws. I won't hold you up any longer…" Nick paused before finishing, "Hey Clawhauser… thanks for the gift. Please tell the others thank you and that I love it."

"You're very welcome, Nick. See you back soon!" he said before hanging up the line.

Smiling at the phone, Nick brought up his Zoogle app. He wasn't finding what he needed in Downtown so he did another online search. It looked like his next stop would be a sheep fabric emporium in the Meadowlands. Sauntering down the sidewalk he headed to the nearest subway to catch the next available train.


Back at his apartment, Nick placed all of his purchases in the office room and began to organize the materials for his special project and began by taking out the extremely soft rich jersey knit fabric he found onto the cutting board. He took out some thread, scissors, pins, and a stitching needle. Taking out the two yards of fabric, he inspected it to determine the proper length, folded it, and cut it down the fold lengthwise. After removing the excess, he pinned the raw edges, and was sitting at the desk using the sewing machine to sew down the length of the fabric.

The fox was making good progress when he heard a knock at the door. His Mom had called earlier and wanted to stop by today. Closing the office door, he strolled over to the front door, opening it to reveal the elder vixen who was carrying a small box.

"Nicholas!" she happily stepped in and hugged him.

"Hey, Mom," he said returning the hug and then closing the door. "Come on in. What's that?"

Mrs. Wilde hadn't seen the furnished apartment yet. She glanced all around the living space, nodding her approval. "Well, you did a great job decorating, Nicholas, but I knew you'd need some small extra touches… which is why I brought this!" She held up the box and walked over to the coffee table to set it down.

The vixen leaned down to open the box and began to pull out various small items. Some nice scent candles, a few books for his shelf, a small welcome sign for the door, and finally some very nice wooden picture frames. Some contained photos from her home, the rest were empty.

Nick peeked over her shoulder, "Mom, you didn't have to get all this stuff…"

"Oh, hush. I knew you'd be too lazy to really make this feel like a proper home," she said while getting up to place the frames around the living room.

There was the photo of Nick saluting proudly in his Junior Ranger Scout uniform, another one of the Wilde family, a third with Nick, Flash, and his Mom from high school, and finally a very nice photo that was taken from his Police Academy graduation.

"These ones..." she waved the empty frames before placing them on his shelf and smiling. "I expect you to fill with some new pictures. A few photos of you and Judy would be nice."

The younger fox began to rub the back of his neck at the suggestion. He tried really hard to not let her see that the statement was getting to him, "I'm sure I will think of something…"

Mrs. Wilde noticed the very nice rosewood case sitting on the table and picked it up, "What's this, Nicholas?"

"Oh, that! It's, uh… a small gift from the guys at the station… for… um… a job well done on the last couple of cases and a housewarming gift."

She raised her eyebrow at him and opened it, "A poker set, huh? This is very nice craftsmanship. Speaking of work, I'm surprised you aren't working today."

"Well… the Chief gave me some extra days off since the last couple of days were… so hectic," he lied while gesturing with his paws out.

He couldn't tell if she was buying it and watched his Mom make her way into the kitchen where she saw the mug Judy got him sitting on the countertop. Mrs. Wilde picked it up to inspect it in her paw and smiled, "This is cute. Who got you this?"

"Judy did. Including that coffee maker behind you. I used it this morning for the first time. Makes a hell of a cup o'joe!"

The vixen turned around to look at the machine, "That bunny girl is so sweet. You better be treating her well, Nicholas," she jabbed a teasing finger his way.

All Nick could do was raise his paws in an 'oh c'mon' gesture while she laughed at him.

Now Mrs. Wilde moved to the pantry and fridge and began poking around at what was stocked.

"Seriously, Mom, are you just gonna go and inspect every little thing?"

"Yes," came the nonchalant reply.

He rolled his eyes and then heard his phone beep. Looking at the notification, it was a text from Clawhauser. Nick's face lit up and he opened the message, "I knew it," he whispered to himself.

"You look so happy all of a sudden," his Mom interrogated.

Nick smirked back and leaned onto the counter while waving the phone in his paw, "Just got a little piece of information I was looking for." He pondered a thought before speaking up, "Say, Mom, you want to get some lunch? My treat? I need to pick up a few groceries too."

"I'd love to have lunch with you sweetheart," she said closing the pantry. "But I am coming to help you with those groceries."

Both foxes stood there exchanging determined stares. Nick knew it was pointless to argue with her so he nodded and grabbed his keys and gestured to the door.


Judy skipped down the hallway and soon found herself in front of Nick's door again and knocked. She could hear a door closing and some light footsteps heading into the living room.

"Come in, Carrots!"

Smiling, she opened the door and entered. She paused while closing the door, Nick was wearing a shirt she'd never seen before. A solid dark navy collared shirt with the violet tie. It reminded her a little bit of his officer's uniform. She really liked it.

She entered the living room where he was waiting, "Hey Nick! How was your day?"

"Not bad, till a few minutes ago," he laughed.

"What? Why?" her ears came up and she raised both eyebrows in concern.

The fox walked over to the kitchen and began moving some cookware around, "Well, let's just say I ruined some dish I was trying to cook before you arrived. I don't think my Mom is going to be happy if she finds out about this. She stopped by earlier today and helped me buy the food."

"Oh? Well, that's okay. We could always go somewhere for dinner," she suggested.

Her ears turned back to the door, hearing footsteps in the hallway before a different knock came to the door.

"No need… and just in time!" Nick said as he walked past her to get the door.

His pizza order had arrived. He tipped the delivery mammal and took the large box in his paw and brought it back to the kitchen counter. Opening the box, he took a nice whiff of the delicious aroma.

"One large, half bugs for me, half veggie for you," he declared as he got some plates out.

"Mmm, that does smell good," she took her usual seat at the breakfast bar.

"Bon Appetit," the fox said as he handed her two slices and some water.

After dinner, they found themselves on the couch again. Nick noticed Judy was rotating her shoulders constantly and occasionally rubbing her right arm.

"Still sore?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I didn't think it would still hurt this much. Carrying those boxes yesterday probably didn't help."

Nick glanced to the side in thought for a moment before daring a question, "May I?"

"May you what?" she asked. Her eyes curiously searching his.

"Turn around," he stated while making a whirl motion with his left paw.

Judy shifted her position on the couch to face away from him. Her eyes widened, nose twitched, and she arched her back when she felt his much larger warm paws gently land on her shoulders and Nick began to rub her shoulders and arms in slow, methodical circular motions, using his paw pads to dig into her small tightened muscles and help loosen them.

The bunny didn't realize she was holding her breath but soon exhaled as she slowly began to completely relax and gradually leaned back into his paws. Whatever Nick was doing felt incredibly good and it melted her sudden trepidation away. Her eyelids and ears suddenly lowered in unison and her breathing slowed.

Picking up on her initial reaction, Nick had to ask, "Does this make you uncomfortable, Carrots? If so, I can stop."

"No! No… don't stop," she ordered in a low voice.

"How many tickets did you write today?" he asked making small talk.

"A little over two hundred," came the murmured reply. "I didn't feel like overdoing it again."

"Hah. That's an understatement. That's still double what Chief Buffalo-Butt usually expects," he smirked while he moved his paws so he could use his thumb pads to dig in between her shoulder blades. Her short gray velvety fur felt so soft and fluffy to him.

Feeling so limber with all of her tension gone, Judy almost felt like completely closing her eyes to fall asleep in Nick's paws as he moved his thumb pads up to her small lithe neck, causing her to crane it forward in response.

"Nick… where… did you learn how to do this?" her low voice sounded almost like a purr.

There was some silence while Nick hesitated to answer. He wanted to ignore or deflect her question, but found himself having a hard time doing so with Judy each new passing day. So he settled on a half-truth reply, "Well… let's just say, I um… picked up a few tips from a… friend… who… runs their own hot springs spa in Tundratown."

She smiled with closed eyes while leaning her head back further and brought up a paw, "Please tell me if I ever meet this friend so I can thank them!"

"Sure, Carrots…" he whispered while looking away with a pained expression.

He continued to ease her pain for several minutes before finishing. Judy suddenly felt so relaxed she wanted to just melt away into the cushions. Nick was leaning against the arm of the couch looking over in amusement.

"Did you want to do anything tonight, Nick?" she asked with eyes closed.

"Actually… I got us a movie to watch," he hopped down and walked over to the TV stand.

"Oh?" she opened her eyes to look at him.

Her partner turned around holding a DVD case like it was a trophy, "Look what I found today! Savage Seas! Looks like it's a sequel to that movie we saw. Seems like it came out this week and I got the last copy from the RedFur kiosk down the block while I was shopping."

The bunny suddenly bounced in her seat, "Oh, Nick! That's great! Do you have popcorn?"

"Yup. There's some in the pantry."

"I'll make it," she insisted and hopped into the kitchen.

Judy found the popcorn bowl in one of the lower kitchen cabinets and opened the pantry. She found the popcorn in one of the lower shelves. Before closing it, she looked around and noticed how everything she might like or could eat was all in the lower half within her reach. That was so thoughtful. Glancing over at Nick, he had the film ready to go and jumped back on the sofa. Smiling, she placed the popcorn in the microwave and soon returned to sit next to him with the bowl in her lap.

They sat mostly in silence with Nick occasionally making fun of certain action scenes or commenting on how stupid the villain seemed. The sequel definitely had more explosions and action scenes than the previous film. Judy had unknowingly scooted closer to Nick and was leaning fully against his side. Becoming aware of where she ended up, she really hoped it didn't bother him. It felt so warm and comfortable. She fought a natural desire to want to put her paw on his leg. Nick pretended to be oblivious but secretly had a small smile on the corners of his snout.

They were nearing the end of the movie when a steamy and vivid romance scene began between Jack and Skye, who were the rabbit and vixen protagonists, in their submarine spy mobile. There was not much left to the imagination. The real fox and bunny suddenly became wide eyed and straightened in their seats as the new kind of action unfolded in front of them. Judy was so surprised that her ears shot up and one of them slapped Nick right on the nose, causing him to start and rub it gently. As the love scene continued they both craned their necks in unison to the side at what was happening onscreen, eyes wide, mouths agape.

Nick couldn't stay quiet. "So, that's how rabbits…"

"Nick… not a word please…" Judy interrupted by slapping a paw onto his chest to shut him up as she blushed under her fur and her ears reddened. She didn't realize her paw stayed there with an iron grip, scrunching up his shirt, her nose twitching, and her heart was racing.

After several more minutes, the scene ended, and the heroes were on their way to their final confrontation with the villain.

Neither of them said anything, each wondering what the other must be thinking, so Nick decided to break the ice, "So… that happened," he tried to play it off casually but felt hot under his collar as he tugged on it.

Judy nervously chuckled while glancing at her partner, only to find herself holding that glance for several moments, before looking back at the TV. They finished watching in relative silence and once the ending credits were scrolling, Nick jumped off the couch. He needed a drink. Badly.

"Water?" he asked holding up a bottle.

"Please."

Handing her a bottle, he also needed some air so he opened the sliding door to the patio and motioned for Judy to join him which she gladly did. Once outside, they leaned on the railing, letting the cool evening breeze brush against their fur.

The fox picked a new topic, "Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Bogo told me Delgato wasn't feeling well after my shift, so he asked if I could come in and partner with Wolfard for the day. I also found out a few of my siblings may come up for the weekend on Saturday afternoon and they want me to show them the city."

"Ah," was his only reply. Nick's thoughts drifted to his office. It would give him a chance to continue to work on his special project. "That should be fun." He finished with a smile.

The bunny finished her bottle of water and held it up, "I better get going."

"Sure thing."

They stood at the open door, silent for a moment, when Judy spoke up, "I had a wonderful time again, Nick. I'll let you know if any plans change, okay?"

"Sounds good, Carrots."

His partner hopped up to grab his neck and pulled him down in a big hug. Nick was happy that the movie scene didn't make her feel too weird around him tonight and released a mental sigh of relief.

"If I don't see you this weekend, I'll come by Monday after work, okay?" she whispered into his ear.

"You bet," he replied with a smile.

"Okay. Goodnight, Slick," she waved and made her way down the hall before looking back one more time.

Nick waved and watched her go. Once back inside he went straight to his office and stood in front of his desk. He rubbed his paws together and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let's get back to work."