Nick cracked open an eye and groaned. His head was pounding and his throat was parched, problems made worse thanks to the cool, dry air. As he sat up groggily, he smelt someone brewing tea.

"You've been out cold for a few hours. Take it easy." He heard a voice somewhere to his left, likely the same person who handed him a cup of strong tea. Muttering a word of thanks, Nick sipped the tea slowly as his head cleared.

He tried to recollect what had happened earlier. They'd just met Ratson and he brought them to a room where his father-

Wait.

Nick was suddenly acutely aware that he wasn't in the forge. He was lying in bed in a shipping container repurposed to look like a bedroom, though the mix-and-match nature of the furniture looked like the room was laid out by someone who had absolutely no concept of aesthetics.

Ratson was sitting next to the mahogany bed in a plastic chair much too small for his size, slowly pouring a piping hot cup of tea into a porcelain cup on the bedside table. He turned and saw Judy asleep next to him.

"Carrots! Judy! Wake up!" He shook her vigorously but she didn't stir, instead choosing to turn onto her other side and pull the thick covers over herself.

Nick turned and frowned at Ratson who shrugged.

"Sleeping gas? Really?"

"Well, we couldn't take any risks. It was for the best, believe me."

"That's it, I'm calling for ZPD backup." He looked through every single pocket and realised he'd been frisked clean of any communication devices.

"Looking for this?" Ratson reached behind him and picked up a black bag with the word "Nick" scribbled onto it in bright red ink. Nick made a grab for it, but Ratson lifted it out of his reach. A demented dance soon followed as Nick tried to grab the bag and Ratson expertly kept it out of Nik's reach. Finally, in a last ditch effort to get his phone back to call for backup, he lunged at Ratson.

The wolf shifted his seat a little and Nick went sailing past the wolf, crashing onto the floor and sliding a good distance before he was stopped by a foot at the doorway.

He looked up and saw his father dressed in a hot pink parka with beige cargo pants.

"You might want to lay off on the doughnuts a little, sport." Robin quipped as he offered a hand to Nick, "You're getting sloppy."

Ignoring his father's gesture, he propped himself up on his elbows and got up, swaying a little as he crossed his arms.

"I was top of my class."

"Well, when all you have to eat are doughnuts, I wouldn't be terribly surprised."

Nick frowned.

"Since when did you turn into a jerk?"

"Since prison. Follow me; I'm sure you have many questions that need to be answered.

Nick turned to look at Judy who was still fast asleep. Ratson was gently simmering the tea, waiting for her to wake up as well.

"I'm watching you…" Nick gestured, jerking two fingers at the wolf. Ratson just chuckled and shrugged.

Following Robin, Nick exited the shipping container and entered a makeshift courtyard. Surrounded by several containers in a circle, the courtyard was made of concrete and weeds with a large firepit in the middle, blackened with use. Robin was already seated on a deck chair with an umbrella. Seeing Nick, he gave a crude lever by his feet a kick and struck a match, tossing it into the firepit. A massive plume of flame erupted from the hole which settled into a healthy-sized bonfire that provided some welcome warmth to the frigid Tundratown weather.

Electrical wires hung from container to container, no doubt powering the hideout from the old power station on the compound. In spite of the ragged look, the hideout was impressively well-furnished. Nick was very impressed.

"Nice place you've got here. How'd you get that firepit going?" He pointed to the roaring flames. Robin chuckled.

"Natural gas, courtesy of the city."

"You mean you dug a hole and hit a gas line?"

Robin frowned.

"My version sounds better."

"Yeah, a thief probably likes it when they take stuff that doesn't belong to them."

"Well, if that's what you want to believe, I won't stop you."

The two sat quietly again with the whoosh of the fire providing some background noise to the biting silence.

As the afternoon sun climbed higher and higher in the sky, Nick decided it was time for him to leave and get back to ZPD and report his findings. Robin didn't stop him, but he had a nice warm mug of coffee for his son when he came back after several hours of aimless wandering. By then, Judy had woken up and was seated around the firepit with Ratson lazing on the snow nearby, looking exhausted.

"Welcome back. We're having a grand old time right now." Robin smirked as he offered the mug to Nick. At first, Nick ignored the steaming hot beverage. A few moments later, he grudgingly accepted it and sipped from the mug slowly.

"Now, I'm sure you want to get back and tell them all about us and our little hideout," Robin got up and walked around the fire, "But as we've just witnessed, that's not going to happen. Instead, I'll offer you a deal."

He pointed at Nick as he finished his lap around the flames. Before Judy could speak, he shushed her.

"Not you, bunny. I need you as…" He thought deeply for a moment, "Collateral."

Judy didn't like the sound of that.

"What do you mean by that?" She shouted indignantly, leaping to her feet, almost falling into the firepit as she tripped over her own feet. Nick's heart almost jumped out of his chest when that happened.

"That's why." Robin looked at Nick who was on his feet, ready to spring forwards to catch her.

"Terribly sorry, miss bunny, but you'll have to sit this one out." Ratson stated matter-of-factly as he helped her up, dusting the snow off her fur.

"You alright, Judes?" Nick asked, his heart still thumping away. Judy nodded and gave him a thumbs-up as she sat back down.

"As I was saying, I have a deal for you. Care to listen?"

Nick sat back down and glowered at Robin, nodding.

"Excellent! This'll be a nice father-son bonding activity, don't you think?"