Nick was not enjoying this new feeling he was having. Ever since he had that conversation last night with McCabe, he was feeling guilty. His stomach was twisting in knots, and he felt a great pressure on his chest; almost like an elephant was crushing him. He wasn't confused why he was feeling this way, though. He had a pretty good idea of where his guilt was coming from. That rabbit, Judy, he had hustled his first day out here was the source of his dread.

Now why he started feeling bad about it was a whole different question. He hadn't felt the slightest bit of remorse before, and eventually just forgot about it. Now, it was the only thing on his mind. It had just started up out of nowhere when he woke up that morning. One of his first thoughts when he woke up was of Judy, and after that his day just hasn't been all that great. His mind constantly ran with the thought of her, and he couldn't just push it aside like most of his unwanted thoughts. This one was stuck with him.

He could assume that the reason for suddenly feeling this way was all that he had gone through the day before. The talk with Tim, his mental breakdown after hearing about his dad, then his long conversation with McCabe; he felt that his empathy for others grew, and that has made him feel like a real piece of shit.

The fox knew what he had to do to make this feeling go away, but it required something of him that he'd never done before, at least never sincerely. He's never actually felt the need to apologize for what he's done in the past, but now his whole world's just getting turned upside down.

"What's up with you?"

Nick was sat at the dinning table eating lunch and turned to see McCabe walking in the backdoor, having his usual cloths he wears when he works on that car. Nick still wondered why he's be working on the car to try and restore it, especially now since he learned what his parents did to him. He obviously had a reason, but Nick definitely does not understand what the reasoning behind it would be.

"How's that project going," Nick asked, avoiding McCabe's question. He may not understand his motives, but he's still interested with it. McCabe noticed that he was dodging his question, but decided to just go along with it.

"It's going great! I finally got it to actually make noise when I turn the key, so that's good," he expressed happily.

"What do you even plan to do with it when you get done?" Nick inquired. McCabe gave him a knowing grin.

"That's for me to know, and everyone else to find out when I'm finished." Nick wasn't very satisfied with McCabe's lacking answer, but he could tell that prying wouldn't work.

"You didn't answer my question, you know," McCabe pointed out. The anxious fox sighed; he was going to need his help anyway to do what he wanted.

"I need a favor," Nick said bluntly.

McCabe chuckled, "When don't you need my help." Sometimes Nick wishes he could just push the smug wolf right in his muzzle, and wipe that smile right off his face. He restrained himself for the moment, but it was still a thought in the back of his mind.

"Funny, but in all seriousness I need to do something and was hoping you could help me out?" Nick asked. McCabe realized that his friend was being serious, and decided it would be best to tone down his sarcasm.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"You, uh…" Nick was very hesitant about this. He didn't know how to actually confront Judy sincerely. The last time he saw her he was mostly just a sarcastic jerk. This was such an unusual feeling for him; for him to be so nervous was not pleasant for him. Fortunately, McCabe was patient with him. Eventually, Nick took a deep breath and composed himself. "You know where Judy lives, right?"

McCabe reared back a little in shock; He wasn't expecting that. He figured Nick wanted to talk some more, or maybe have a ride into town, but definitely not this.

"Uhh, yah, of course," he replied. "Why exactly do you need to know that?"

Nick explained to McCabe the feelings he was having. He told him how crazy it was driving him, and how guilty he was feeling. By the end of it, Nick was glaring at McCabe who was looking at him with a smug smile.

"I knew this was going to happen!" McCabe declared, matter-of-factly. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Sure you did. Now could you just take me over to the damn rabbits house so I can stop feeling like shit," Nick said through clenched teeth. He liked McCabe, but he could be an asshole at times. The amused wolf laughed and nodded his head. McCabe told Nick to go get in his truck and that'd he'd be there in a second. Nick left as McCabe looked approvingly.

"What are you all smiley about?" Debra asked, strolling into the kitchen.

"Oh you know, it's just awesome seeing the progress Nick is having," McCabe stated. Debra just nodded happily.

"It's a wonderful thing to see, isn't it? That's how Tim and I felt with you, you know."

McCabe was well aware of how his adoptive parents felt about him, and the roller coaster ride it was to have him in their home. He tends to look back now at how he acted and always cringed. He's glad those days are over, and even more glad at how he turned out. It could have been a whole lot worse if his parents hadn't died. That may sound kind of dark and terrible, but that doesn't mean it's not true. They were terrible mammals, and he was happy that he was able to have Deb and Tim as parental figures.

"So, where you off to?" She asked, seeing McCabe pick up his truck keys.

"Like you said, just going to see Nick's progress. He's finally decided to give Judy a legitimate apology."

Debra's usual small smile, grew immensely upon hearing that. "That's wonderful! I knew he'd come through eventually," She expressed happily. McCabe only grinned and nodded.

Nick waited impatiently in McCabe's truck. He kept growing more and more nervous with each passing moment. 'What the hell is keeping him so long,' he seethed in frustration. At this point he just wanted to get it over with and get back here. He was just hoping to make the feeling in his chest go away.

'Finally,' Nick thought as he saw McCabe walking out towards him. He was on his phone and smiling down at his screen. He jumped into the truck and looked over at Nick.

"I let Judy know I'm coming over. She seems happy about it, but what she doesn't know is that you're tagging along with me," McCabe explained the situation to Nick. The fox wondered if that was the best way to go about this, but decided to just go along with it.

The Hopps family farm wasn't to far from where they lived. Technically they are neighbors, but when your out this far in the country your neighbors can live about a mile away. McCabe told Nick he asked Judy to meet them at a spot on her farm. It was a place that they and their friends would hang out on a regular basis, and talk when they all went to school with each other. McCabe figured this would be a good place for talking, as well as a great place if things were to get out of paw.

Somehow, the two predators were able to make it to the spot before Judy. McCabe figured she was probably busy with something before he texted her. It wasn't to much of a problem anyway.

They got out and walked over to a large tree. On one side of it was a field of tall grass, and on the other was a small pond that was perfect for swimming in. Nick could understand why McCabe and his friends would hang out in a place like this; it was nice and secluded with good shade and a pond to take a dip in.

"Not bad," Nick stated, taking a seat under the tree.

"I know, right? I have a lot of good memories here," he smiled. For a split second he frowned, but he quickly wiped that away. Nick noticed this, and wondered if something happened here that wasn't such a happy moment. He decided to drop it considering McCabe had told him plenty about himself the night before; he didn't want to push his luck. "It's feels really good to be back here," he sighed. Nick didn't feel that he was actually talking to him, he was pretty sure it was more to himself than anything.

After last night, and now putting everything together, Nick was starting to realize just how messed up McCabe must be emotionally and mentally. He's definitely got to have some sort of lasting effects left behind from his parents and other things that was unknown to him. McCabe, Nick noticed, was really good at hiding these issues, but would tend to slip up every now and then. Nick decided It was probably good that he let McCabe talk to him. Who knows how long he was holding that in.

Nick noticed McCabe's ears perk up and figured he was hearing someone coming, most likely Judy. McCabe's smile confirmed Nick's assumption.

"Judy, how's it going?" McCabe asked. Nick was still sitting down at the tree, and was at an angle that he couldn't see her. He hasn't been thinking of her as he talked with McCabe, but now since she's back on his mind, that feeling of guilt came back.

"I'm wonderful, thanks McCabe. How's your day been?" She questioned, hugging McCabe in the process. He just smiled and said that everything's been great. When they let each other go, Judy was looking up at him with a questioning glare. She didn't even have to say anything and McCabe threw his arms up.

"Alright, you caught me," he stated. Nick chuckled at the sight of the rabbit intimidating this wolf, who was over double her size.

Judy heard the chuckle and looked over at the tree to see that red fox she had been conned by sitting under it. Her smile vanished and was replaced by a emotionless glare. She looked from Nick to McCabe, then back to Nick and finally landing back to McCabe. McCabe didn't have to be told anything to know she wanted an explanation.

"All I get to say is that he wanted to talk with you," he stated. Surprised, Judy looked over at Nick, but this time noticed he didn't have that confident, carefree look to him. Instead, it was more nervous and jittery. She looked to her wolf friend for answers, but he backed off and said that she'd have to ask him, herself. "As for me, I think I'll take a little swim." McCabe threw off his shirt and dove into the pond.

Judy honestly wasn't sure what was going on. She came here anticipating to have a nice conversation with McCabe, then ends up in a staring contest with, technically, his cousin. She saw him take a deep breath, then start to get up. He walked over slowly towards her; Judy had to admit she was still very skeptical of him.

Eventually the two were stood right next to each other. Nick tried to look her in the eyes, but failed. He couldn't bring himself to look her directly into her gaze. He wished he wasn't having these feelings so he didn't have to be here, but his emotions were forcing him to do this so he didn't feel terrible.

Judy stared up at him wondering what exactly it was that he wanted. It was obvious he was nervous about something, but she had no idea what for. Something was up, and she was curious to find out what it was.

After forever of just standing around awkwardly, Nick finally decided to just sucks it up, swallow his pride, and get it over with. "So, Judy…" he started, gaining back her attention. She had been distracted by McCabe splashing around in the water. "Your probably wondering why in the world you're here." He assumed. Judy nodded. "Well, I've been through some things recently, and it's opened my eyes up to what I've done. I've been having this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn't get my mind off of you and what I did. I guess in short, I just want to say how sorry I am for what I did."

To say Judy was surprised would be an understatement. The last time she had seen this fox he'd made it quite clear to her that he had no remorse for what he did to her. Told her that it was all necessary. Now he was coming here telling her that he was sorry. No, she wasn't buying it. Someone was making him do this.

"Did you put him up to this?" She hollered over at McCabe. She didn't see it, but Nick looked a little hurt by her doubt of his apology, but he couldn't really blame her for the skepticism after how he treated her.

"Nope," McCabe responded, "This is all him," He pointed at Nick. She still wasn't very convinced by it, but with her usual kind nature she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" She questioned.

"Like I said, I've had a few things happen to me in the past couple of days that have…" he paused for a second trying to find the words to best describe what was happening inside of him. He just didn't know how to explain it without getting to deep into his life, but he decided it would be best to give her some insight.

"My dad got out of prison yesterday, and it shook me up a bit; he wasn't the kindest of mammals." As Nick said this, Judy found herself looking at McCabe who was having a fun time swimming. Nick saw this and guessed she knew about McCabe's parents. "McCabe talked to me, and it put some things into perspective. It was after that I realized I had to come and apologize for what I did."

The more Nick spoke, the less skeptical she became. She knew that she had a flaw of trusting others too easily, but this time it was different. She could hear the difference in his voice, and see a change in his actions from when he was hustling her. There was still a smidge of doubt in her, but she brushed that aside. Now it was replaced with joy for the troubled fox. She always gets happy when others overcome their problems. She was the same way with McCabe when he was troubled.

Nick wasn't exactly expecting that type of reaction. He was preparing himself to be yelled at by the small rabbit. From the way McCabe portrays her as, and the way she seems to intimidate others, he'd figured he was coming here to get verbally assaulted. Obviously, that was not the case; it seems that McCabe didn't give a good enough explanation of his friend.

"Thanks, Nick. I accept your apology," She smiled. "though I don't think I'll be able to fully trust you just yet," She told him.

"I wouldn't expect you to. It would be kind of dumb of you if you did," Nick chuckled. At this point in time McCabe was done swimming, and walking up to the two others.

"So, you two patch things up?" He asked them. The fox and rabbit looked at each other for a second, then back at McCabe with matching grins.

"Yah, we're good," Nick said. That feeling that Nick was having, much to his satisfaction, finally left him. A little bit of weight was lifted from him, and he felt good about himself for doing this, but he was still feeling large amounts of guilt. He figured that after he did this he'd feel fine, but that wasn't the case at all. He inwardly sighed and realized that all those years of scamming animals was coming back to haunt him. He was hating having this new found morality.

Judy could tell something was still the matter with Nick. She didn't actually know what was wrong with him; she could only assume that he still felt terrible for what he did. Maybe he didn't think she fully forgave him? She couldn't be sure, but maybe she could do something to make him actually believe she forgave him.

"Hey Nick, some friends and me are going to hang out later. Maybe you'd like to come along with us?" She asked him. Nick was a little surprised, but didn't have to think twice about his answer.

"Sure," he said, a little to enthusiastically. "I mean, yah, sounds good. Beats doing nothing all day."

"Wow, thanks for the invite," McCabe said with mock hurt. Judy rolled her eyes.

"Come on McCabe, you know your always invited," She chuckled. McCabe laughed along with her and told her he was only kidding.

"But yah, I'm basically his chauffeur so I'll be there. It'll be nice hanging out again, just like the good old times," McCabe said.

"It's settled then. We'll meet at the usual spot around 7." She told them. "I need to get going now, I told my dad I'd be back like five minutes ago, so see yah later," She said, bounding off. The two watched her disappear into the field as she made her way to her house. McCabe looked down at Nick with a smile. He lightly elbowed him, gaining his attention.

"What?" The fox asked, confused by the smug smile.

"Nothing, can't an animal smile?" He asked. Nick wasn't stupid, and knew there was more to it, but he knew McCabe well enough by now that he wasn't going to get that information out of him, unless he wanted to.

McCabe was just really proud of Nick. It was really mature for him to do what he did; to put aside his pride and apologize for his wrong doings. It took McCabe a lot longer to stand up to his demons, and even still today he has trouble thinking about certain things he's done in the past. Nick is special and brave in the sense that when he says he's going to do something, he does it; weather or not it's good or bad is completely up to Nick.

"We should get heading back. I'm sure Deb is going to want to hear all about this," McCabe chuckled, walking over and jumping into his truck; Nick was soon to follow.

Nick was actually really excited for tonight. The last time he'd hung out with anyone was at the begging of summer with his friends on the day before he was sent here. He had to chuckle; his mom was definitely going to make a big fuss about this. The last time he saw her, Nick had made it clear to her that he wasn't going to change at all. Now, not even halfway through the summer, he had already apologized to someone he'd hustled, as well as feeling guilty for every other mammals he'd scammed in the past. He's deeply surprises at how quickly his attitude changed in this place. In a way, it felt weird for him to be like this. Bunnyburrow has definitely made him soft.

Chapter 10, done. I know how a lot of you have been wanting more Judy and Nick time, so here you have it. Plus, you'll be seeing a lot more of it from here on out. Thanks everyone for reading and as always I'd appreciate a review, follow, and favorite.

Keep On Keeping On

Peace Out