Ch. 9: Frozen

Judy found Nick in the kitchen with the girls.

Fru Fru sat atop a table, sipping from a tiny tea cup. Nick sat on the floor, sipping from a cup the exact same size. His tail was splayed out before him, Suzy and little Judy chasing each other around and over it, the shrew laughing delightfully.

When this case was solved Judy had to talk to Eleanor about Suzy becoming her goddaughter's play mate.

Nick's ears pricked when he spotted her, "Any news?"

"Billy Beardby is here," she explained, walking over to his side, stepping over the two playing children. Nick offered his cup but she politely declined. "All he could really say was that his brother was hanging around some shady canines for a while."

Nick's eyes narrowed, "Doesn't exactly narrow it down."

Judy sighed softly, "I know. But that's all we have and it's getting late. Let's find more clues tomorrow."

They wished Fru Fru a goodnight (little Judy sad to see the sugar glider go) and headed to their car. The lamp light of Tundra Town cast a beautiful glow on the snow as they drove through the quiet street. After everything that had happened Judy was ready for sleep. She couldn't believe that just a few short hours ago she and Nick were singing karaoke.

While the two adults were feeling exhaustion weighting on their bones Suzy was still a ball of energy, running from Nick's lap to Judy's, looking out at their surroundings and refusing to be buckled in.

Suddenly the sugar glider let out an excited squeak and jumped to the window on Judy's side, managing to squeeze through the crack the rabbit had left open. Before the two cops could fully progress what had happened Suzy was landing in the snow and dashing away to a nearby outdoor ice skating rink.

"SUZY!" Judy slammed on the breaks and the two mammals rushed out, giving chase. Suzy made it to the lake of ice, jumping into the rink she immediately lost her balance and slid across the ice, farther into the rink. Said rink was mostly empty except for a few late night skaters, the closest two being a pair of otters who watched the sugar glider with concern.

"I'll get her, you stay here," Judy ordered Nick as she jumped over the railing and onto the ice. As soon as her feet touched the slippery surface Judy started to slide and fall, she waved her arms frantically to keep balance as she took clumsy steps forward, farther into the rink.

"I-I'm coming, Suzy," Judy called, only to fall down face first.
"Need some help there, Carrots?" Nick called from the railing, his tone highly amused. Suzy had slid to a halt and was wisely keeping stone still.

Judy rose to her paws and knees only for her paws to slip and once again her nose met ice. "Help?" she scoffed, managing to make it back to her feet but still swaying precariously. "Are you kidding? I could do this with my eyes-" her foot slipped and she ended up falling onto her rump. "Closed."

Nick was smiling as he watched Judy try to rise again, "You sure?"

"Of course," Judy replied, her voice ending in a yelp as she fell down onto her stomach. She could've sworn Suzy was laughing at her too, and the two otters were watching from a distance, their eyes alit with amusement.

"Well, as much as I enjoy seeing your little cotton tail in the air it's past our bed times and we need to get home." Nick jumped over the railing and walked over to her with ease.

Judy stared at him with open mouth astonishment, "…How?"

"I worked for Mr. Big for years, really think I would stay in Tundra Town that long and not learn how to skate?" All this was said as he skated around her, never once losing his balance.

"See that, Elsa?" the smaller otter suddenly pointed at Nick. "That right there is the visual definition of showing off, and it's the exact same thing you've been doing all night!"

Looking Judy now noticed that the smaller otter had a paw on the other's shoulder, her knees wobbling.

The older otter laughed, "Come off it, Anna. Just because we're not falling on our tails doesn't mean we're showing off."

Nick helped Judy up, allowing the rabbit to wrap her arms around his waist as her feet slid around under her. He then reached his paw out to Suzy who managed to jump into his palm and climb up onto his shoulder. "Let's go home."

.

The trio finally made it home, Judy walking into the kitchen to put on the coffee maker while Nick and Suzy immediately headed to bed. The rabbit knew they'd need coffee in the morning; they had a very serious crime to solve with little to no evidence. She worried what they would do with Suzy in the morning; they could hardly take her to find leads. And she worried if Bogo would try to make them take her back to the Department.

Over my dead body, Judy thought, shuddering at the memory of the attempted kidnapping.

She walked into her and Nick's bedroom to see the fox already sprawled out on it, not even having bothered to change clothes. She smiled softly as she saw Suzy curled up under his chin.

Judy slipped into a night gown before crawling under the covers with the two. Before she fell asleep she watched Nick and Suzy for a moment, her last thought before sleep took her was that she believed Nick would make a wonderful father.

I like to call this a filler chapter, there may be more of these-their specific purpose to deepen relationships and gift you with fluff and Disney references. Enjoy.