Darwin's nose twitched; he leaned closer to the pile of Judy's clothing, taking deep breaths to draw in more of the fading scent that had kicked off his instincts. It was still fairly new to him, but it was one she was apparently quite familiar with.

Nick, that fox she works with.

He wasn't sure what it was about the mammal that set off alarm bells, there was just something he didn't like about him. Several of his cousins were adopted foxes and other smaller predators, his favorite aunt as a kit had been married to the same one for forty years now. There was some jealousy there, since Nick knew his own wife better than he did, but that wouldn't be true for much longer, especially once they actually decided to start having kits. Nick did have a criminal background, though it looked like one of the worst things he'd done was pick locks for friends who'd lost or forgotten the keys to their apartments or cars. Or more recently for the occasional coworker who'd managed to lock them in their cruisers.

Guess they really are just like us, Darwin chuckled, tossing the last of their light-colored clothes in the washing machine. That Saturday being one of the few days off where he was too wired to sleep, he'd spent the morning cleaning the apartment from top to bottom, and had started on the laundry while he waited for the kitchen floor to dry. Anything to keep his mind off all those kids that had gone missing, and where his wife still was.

It shouldn't be too much longer before they release her, he tossed in a detergent pod and shut the lid, blinking to clear his eyes before setting the cycle. And I plan on making this place look as good as possible.

He stopped when he saw the black frame hung across the hall, the picture inside one of hundreds that had been snapped at their wedding. His family had finally managed to drag Judy away from hers long enough to get a good shot of them both, and even though she'd been smiling like crazy, at least partially from the appletinis she'd downed through the night, she'd kept space between them. Not enough for anyone to notice unless they were looking, but enough for him to know she hadn't been entirely comfortable with the situation. But then, he hadn't been, either.

All he'd been able to get out of his parents was that he was being married into the Hopps family, but for some reason they'd been pretty tight-lipped about who it would be. He'd already known about them, of course, pretty much every bunny in or around Zootopia did, they were one of the biggest providers of veggies and fruits for prey-centered restaurants, not to mention one of the biggest and oldest families in the area. So, it had been a little daunting, to be sure, and once he'd actually seen who his bride was, he could sort of understand why they'd kept it so quiet.

Judy was a weird bunny, there were no two ways about it. She was unusually tall and slim, pretty much the only one in her family to have her brownish-gray coloring and black-tipped ears. There was also the not-so-little detail of her wanting to be a police officer, something, as far as he knew, no rabbit had ever even attempted before. But she'd succeeded in proving every one of her naysayers wrong, and had even had more than a paw in bringing about the first fox officer. Her choice of job, and best friend, was odd enough. The fact that, from a young age, she'd seemed to have no interest in starting a family, or even having a relationship, had set her completely apart from most of the Tri-Burrows, and really any rabbit she happened to come across.

But then, he'd been strange in many of those respects, too. Not many bunnies were spotted like he and his brother were, and both of them almost towered over the general bunny populace. A graphic designer wasn't nearly as out there as a cop, but any job that had them inside and staring at a screen most of the time was one bunnies tended to shy from. It was why so many rabbit schools were mostly outside, and still relied on whiteboards and books where most for other species had switched to tablets and laptops. He also enjoyed the occasional cricket shake, something most prey in general found repulsive, and he'd be lying just a little if he said he didn't enjoy how nauseous some of them looked if they happened to catch him with one.

Then there was the carrot thing. The idea that they were pretty much all rabbits ate, that all the other foods they grew were just to help keep their huge farms from going under. When the truth was the things were like candy and cake to other mammals: great for an occasional treat, but illness-inducing in large quantities, and much more so than just a bad stomachache. He'd learned early on that Judy wasn't particularly fond of them, not that he minded, since a few bites was all it took to send him into anaphylactic shock.

And that is not something I want to go through again…

He went to get the vacuum from the front closet, really more of a dip in the wall than anything else, but it served its purpose, stopping when his phone went off in his pocket. Judy had changed his ringtone to Nancy Sownatra's "These Hooves are Made for Walking" after he'd shared that Daniel had played it constantly when it had come out just to piss him off. It still did, but he knew if he did change it, she'd just pick an even more annoying song to replace it next time. He pulled it out and accepted the call, frowning when the voice on the line wasn't the one he'd expected.

"She's not really yours, you know," it was deep, unfamiliar. "She never will be."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Darwin's foot started thumping against the dark tan carpet. "Who is this?"

"It doesn't matter," the voice went on. "I'm just suggesting you enjoy her while you can."

"What do you mean?" Darwin stomped his foot to stop the tapping. "This had better just be another one of your sick jokes, Daniel."

The voice laughed.

"Go ahead and keep thinking that, if it helps you," it was clear the mammal was smiling. "But it's not going to change anything."

A pause, so long he thought the line had gone dead.

"Oh, and if you tell anyone about this little call, when I finally do catch up with her, I'll send her back to you in pieces."

The call clicked off, Darwin staring blankly down at his phone when he pulled it from his ear. That couldn't have just been what he thought it was, that hasn't just been a call threatening his wife.

I've got to tell Bogo about this, he told himself, then swallowed hard. But if I do, they'll…

He couldn't even finish the thought. No, he'd have to do this himself, he had to protect her, like he'd failed to do before.

I promise, Judy, he swallowed again, forcing his ears down against his back to keep them from shaking. I'll do everything I have to keep you safe this time, I'm not going to lose you!

Stephanie curled up against Ben on the couch, trying not to cringe as the extra fat on his cheek drooped across her ear. He'd been pudgy when they'd met on her first day, but nothing like he was now, but for some reason she'd never been able to bring up the fact that she, and pretty much everyone he knew, was starting to worry about him.

"Uh, hey, Steph?" he shifted, grabbing the remote from the back of the couch and shutting off the television, in the middle of Gazelle's latest music video. She pulled away and stared at him, her mouth gaping a bit.

"You never turn off Gazelle…"

He shifted again, his nervous body language a contrast to the steely look in his warm brown eyes.

"I know, but this is more important, and I never thought I'd say that, either," he went on, smiling just slightly at her expression. But it soon dropped back into a frown. "I've seen how you look at other guys, especially Allan and Nick, and I'm starting to think you-"

"No," she cut him off, taking his paw in hers. "That's nowhere close to why, I…i-it's just…"

"They're in way better shape than me," he finished for her, with no trace of bitterness. "It's fine, you can say it, I know I'm not the fittest guy around."

She didn't say anything, not sure where he was going with it. She looked down at their paws, her confusion rising when he turned his and wove their fingers together. It was a long time before he spoke again, his voice low and scared.

"I went to the doctor this morning, you know that," he glanced up at her, and she nodded. "And, well, he told me if I don't start losing weight now, I'll be in trouble. He's been saying that for years, and I've just let it get completely out of paw…"

He looked at her again, his eyes still serious.

"But I haven't done anything like this since the academy, I don't have much clue where to start now," he tightened his grip on her paw. "Will you help me, Stephanie, please?"

She gaped at him, hardly able to believe what she'd just heard.

"O-Of course I will, Ben," she hugged him. "But I don't think I'll be able to help too much for now, with this case and everything…"

"Don't worry about that," he assured her. "I should be able to at least get started by myself, but I'll need you to keep me at it, cuff me and drag me outside if you have to."

She chuckled, her ears heating up a bit. She was already trying to imagine what he'd look like after he slimmed down, or bulked up, whichever direction he decided to go.

"I'll do whatever I can, Ben," she smiled. "Maybe you could even start coming to the gym with me and the others, then we could all be there for you!"

Ben's ears went almost flat against his head.

"I think it'll be a while before I get to that," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Right now, it'll just be walks in the park, less junk food, stuff like that. I thought it'd be a good place to start."

She nodded, then cuddled back against him as he turned on the TV again. Ben was one of the sweetest, most caring and thoughtful guys she knew, and had stayed by her side through much harder things. She'd do whatever she could to help him reach his goal, for however long it took him to.

I'll do anything to make him happy, she looked down at their paws, still clasped in his lap. Just like he does for everyone else. It's the least I can do for him…