(A/N: First off, I think an apology is in order. I'm very sorry that it took a while to get this chapter out. I came down with a serious case of writer's block and I actually lost interest in the story for a few days. But now I'm back with some fresh ideas and hopefully everything is good now. And now, I give you Chapter 11! Enjoy!)

"Faster!" Judy shouted. The tiger in the driver's seat was gripping the steering wheel hard, desperately trying not to get them both killed on the way to the hospital.

"Listen, rabbit. You pipe down unless you want to end up in the hospital too! You're just lucky I was on my way to get groceries instead of something more important, otherwise I wouldn't have given you a ride." he shouted. Judy sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. She harrumphed and looked out the window of the speeding car.

"Jeez, there's no need to be a jerk about it…" Judy said quietly, but Tai still heard what she said.

"I'm sorry… that was in poor taste, wasn't it? I've just got a lot of adrenaline going through me right now. I just want to get you there as fast as possible, and in one piece." There was a ZPD patrol car ahead of them, red and blue lights flashing and leading them to the hospital. They had been stopped for speeding, but luckily the officer that stopped them happened to be Officer Higgins, who was a good friend of Nick's, and so he gave them an escort to the hospital. They were going probably 50mph in a 25 zone, which was terrifying to both Judy and Tai. The tiger kept his eyes glued on the road ahead, ready to make any evasive maneuvers if necessary. 'This would be much worse if Clawhauser was driving…' Judy thought. The idea made her laugh a little, but if it were real, she would probably be puking rather than laughing.

They arrived at the hospital in record time from Judy's apartment, getting there in less than 10 minutes. Judy was anxious and eager to finally get to see Nick awake for the first time in days.

"Thank you so much, Tai. I really don't know how I can repay you." Judy said right before getting out of the tiger's car.

"Judy, you don't need to do anything for me. I'm always glad to help a mammal in need. Now you go see Nick, and tell him hi for me." he replied. Judy really didn't know how she'd gotten so lucky with having good neighbors like Tai, especially after dealing with Bucky and Pronk. Judy smiled back at him with a big grin.

"I'll be sure to do so." she said, and Judy ran as fast as she could to the front doors of the hospital, all while waving back at Tai. His car slowly moved from the space in the parking lot and drove away. The automatic glass doors slid open for Judy, allowing her to keep her speed until she slid to a halt in front of the front desk, where the jackal from earlier had been replaced by a friendly looking otter. Panting from her jaunt inside, Judy got the otter's attention.

"Excuse… me sir!" Judy said between breaths. "I'm here to see Nick Wilde. I'm his wife… I was told that he was awake." Judy panted. The otter looked up with a somber expression.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Wilde, but he's not open for visitors right now. I've been told to keep anyone out of the room unless they are medical personnel." the otter replied. Judy was about to protest, when she heard a very familiar and strong Zoo-York accent from behind her.

"I'm going to make an exception for her, Gerald." Dr. Venetti said, walking up from behind the rabbit, who was almost in tears. Judy looked intently at the tall, slender deer. She was dumbfounded by the timeliness of his arrival. He looked down at Judy and his kind gaze met hers.

"Follow me, Judy. I'll take you up to his room." he said. Judy did not reply, as she was still in a little bit of shock. So much was going on and she was still a bit out of breath from her dead sprint from the parking lot. She was also a bit fuzzy from the sheer weight of the situation she was in. The two walked over to the elevator in silence and Dr. Venetti pressed the button to go up. They waited for the door to open, neither of them looking anywhere but forward. The elevator made a 'ding' sound and the door slid open. The two mammals walked in and Dr. Venetti pressed the button for the third floor. The door slid shut quietly and a whirr came from all around them.

"So, how you been doing since I last saw you's?"

"I've been fine. It has only been what… 35 or 40 minutes, but I'm fine, doctor." Judy chuckled.

"Oh, please. Call me James from now on. I think we know each other enough now."

"Whatever you say… James." she replied. The elevator stopped and the door slid open. The two mammals walked out and then strolled quietly down the corridors until they reached the door to Nick's room. James put a hoof on Judy's shoulder before she entered the room and twisted her to face him.

"Now, Judy..." he began. "Nick is quite weak right now, mostly in his legs, so he can't walk very well. He also is having a slight issue speaking, but that should get better in a couple of days. I just wanted to let you know so that way you weren't getting distressed in front of him, ok?"

"I understand." Judy replied strongly. She was prepared to face whatever was on the other side of that door, no matter how upsetting it may be. Judy put a paw on the door and gave it some force, slightly opening the door. The room was dimly lit as the curtain had been closed. She pushed a bit harder on the door, causing it to open so that she could see Nick sitting up in the bed, and he was looking at something in his paw. Judy heard a quiet sob come from the bed and her heart sank as the sound reached her ears. She opened the door the rest of the way and walked inside the room. Nick looked up from his paws and quickly wiped away any tears from his face and sniffed. His big, green eyes locked with Judy's eyes, which lit up with emotion seeing her best friend and husband finally conscious in front of her.

She quickly walked over to the bed and jumped onto the bed, careful not to land on any of Nick's aching body underneath the sheets. She wrapped her arms around the fox's neck and gave him a tender kiss right on the lips. He returned the kiss, which re-ignited the fire in his heart that had been put out by the news he received earlier that day. They broke the kiss and lovingly gazed into each other's souls. The deer watched the reunion of two lovers from the doorway and smiled. 'They really do love each other…' he thought. It was something that he never would have fathomed, a fox and a rabbit being married. It seemed strange, but love didn't discriminate, and this certainly was no exception to that saying. He quietly walked out of the room to give them a little bit of privacy. 'I've got to tell Markus about this…' he thought as he walked out of the room.

Judy unwrapped her arms from Nick and she snuggled up to his chest, the subtle beating of his heart drumming in her ears. Judy rested a paw on his chest and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, putting on his trademark grin that he wore so well.

"It's good to see you too, Carrots." he said hoarsely. Despite how he sounded terrible, it still comforted Judy to hear his voice again. Nick stroked Judy's ears, which made the rabbit shiver a little before she let out quiet purrs of satisfaction. He would never get sick of that trick. He moved his paw lower until he was rubbing her back, which made her relax upon his torso even more. Judy lifted her head from Nick's chest and gazed into his eyes. Judy looked over Nick's rising and falling chest, seeing a small flat object in his other paw.

"What's that?" she said, pointing at his paw. Nick looked into his paw, realising what she had seen.

"Oh, this?" he said, holding up a wallet photo. "It's a picture… from the best day ever. I've had this in my wallet for probably almost three years." As he held it up, Judy could get a good look at the picture. She recognised it from the day Nick graduated from the academy. He had his aviators on top of his head and was posing with Judy after the ceremony, both of them saluting. Judy could see the stage in the background, and could tell that the photo had been a selfie from Nick's phone. It had turned out to be his and her favorite of the many photos that were taken that day. Judy took the picture from Nick's paw and examined it closer, reminiscing on that wonderful day. Her speech, pinning Nick's badge on his uniform, the look of pride on his face when he saluted back to her on the stage. She remembered everything like it had happened yesterday.

"I want everything to be like it was that day…" Nick said, his speech becoming a little more coherent. Judy looked back at Nick with concern.

"Nick, now's not the time to be wishing for the past. It's ok to remember the past, but don't dwell on it like I can tell you have been." She was good, Nick had to give her that. He had been thinking about that moment in his life pretty much since he had woken up. "You've done so good up until now. Why is everything turning full circle?" Judy remembered a time, just a about a month ago, when Nick was the one saying that everything was going to be alright and she had been the one not accepting of the facts. Now the roles seem to have flipped.

"I guess everything is catching up with me now, knowing that I really don't have much time left…" he sighed.

"Nick, you were the one to tell me that you would never give up, even if times got to be difficult. I want you to promise me that you won't give up, no matter what happens in the future. You are going to give it your all, fight until you have given everything you have to give, and then give a little more. Can you do that for me… for your mother… and most importantly... for yourself?" the last one hit Nick hard. For himself? What did that even mean? He had no idea, but he knew that there was only one answer to such a question.

"I'm going to do whatever it takes, Judy." Nick replied with a genuine smile, rather than his sly grin. Judy smiled back at the fox. Nick leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on Judy's forehead. She relaxed back into his chest, now closing her eyes, and Nick started to stroke Judy's ears again.

"Why do you have to be so good to me?" she said quietly. Nick smiled at the rabbit laying next to him.

"Because I love you." he stated. "I figured you hadn't heard that in a couple of days, so I think you're due for a dose of love from your favorite fox." Judy couldn't handle herself. She let out a spurt of laughter that only meant pure joy. It was a sight that nearly melted Nick's heart.

"Nick, I love you too. I think you should hear that too, considering you've been asleep for two whole days." Nick's ears went up as he recalled something.

"Speaking of that… what's been going on with you the past two days? Did you do anything noteworthy, other than worrying about my handsome mug?" he asked gesturing to his face.

"I've been working," Judy shrugged. "That's about it, really." she replied, not lifting her head from his chest. Nick noticed that she sounded exhausted.

"Carrots, you don't sound too good right now. Have you slept at all in the last two days?"

"Not much, but I'm fine right now." she replied.

"I'm worried that you're going to fall asleep right on top of me, not that I'm protesting," he said holding up both his paws in the air. "But Dr. Venetti might not see it my way."

"Well, this whole week has been physically draining, all thanks to a certain dumb fox. And it's only Wednesday!" she exclaimed.

"Right in the feels, Carrots. Right. In. The. Feels" he replied shaking his head side to side. Nick continued to stroke Judy's ears. Her reaction to the intimate gesture was something that would never get old. The way she purred with each downward stroke was so…

'Cute.' Nich thought. The word popped into Nick's head and Judy opened her eyes for a second, as if she knew that he had thought about the forbidden word. Nick quickly got the word out of his head and relaxed. 'That was a close one…' Nick thought. Nick looked at Judy's eyes as they slowly closed, turning narrow slits of purple into nothing but gray fur covering her eyes. Nick yawned, stretching his arms as little as possible to avoid waking Judy. His eyelids felt like bricks and they slowly fell until he only saw black.

Nick's eyes opened slowly, revealing his empty hospital room, which was only illuminated by a few lights overhead. From the small space between the window and the curtain covering it, he could see the spires of downtown Zootopia being engulfed by twilight. A few stars began to poke their way through the black silk of the night sky and the moon was just over the horizon. Nick looked to the small tray next to his bed and grabbed his phone, thumbing the power button to illuminate the screen. When it flashed on, it showed the time was a quarter after seven.

He looked down at his chest, where Judy's head still rested, gently rising and falling with his breathing. She looked so content, like she hadn't a care in the world. Her face was in a state of complete serenity, and he felt bad that he had to wake her up. He scratched the space in between her ears and a delicate smile manifested itself on her face. In the middle of sleep, she swatted the air around her head, trying to find whatever had touched her. Nick moved his fingers down to her cheek and rubbed softly with one of his fingers. Her eyes slowly opened, blinking a few times to adjust them to the dimly lit room. Nick caressed her face with one paw and stared into her eyes, which now met with his.

"What time is it?" Judy said groggily while rubbing her eyes.

"A quarter after seven." Nick replied with a sly grin. At his words, Judy was woken up and she instantly regained her usual energy. Judy adjusted her position in the bed, and now was nose to nose with Nick, intently staring into his eyes.

"I guess that's my cue…" she whispered. Judy quickly moved forward and placed a kiss on his muzzle, leaving Nick dumbfounded with his muzzle half open. She hopped down from the bed and walked towards the door, flicking her tail at Nick in a teasing manner right before she turned around.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Nick questioned. Judy stared at him, but Nick noticed something different about the way she was looking at him. It was subtle, but he could see a sly grin appear on her muzzle. Before Nick got a verbal answer, she quickly ran out of the room, leaving Nick all alone. He leaned back in the bed and put his paws over his face, letting out a sigh that eventually turned into suppressed laughter. "Sly bunny…" he quietly said to himself.

Judy quietly hummed to herself as she strolled down the corridor. She wore a big smile on her muzzle and she went along with a certain spring in her step. As she jovially walked along, she passed by Dr. Venetti who was conversing with a nurse. As she passed by, Judy turned around, still continuing in the same direction and gave him a little wave. The deer looked around the nurse and gave her a wave back with a slightly bemused look. The rabbit turned the corner and continued down the final corridor all the way to the elevator. She stopped in front of the gray metal doors and pressed the down button. She waited patiently until the doors slid open. She boarded the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.

The door slowly closed and the small room wiggled slightly as it moved downward. The numbers on the small screen decreased until it reached the ground floor where the elevator came to a halt, making a ding sound as the door opened. Judy started towards the main entrance of the hospital. The large glass doors opened up for Judy and she strolled out into the cold December air. Judy stopped right as she got out of the hospital, enjoying the fresh air. She exhaled, her breath visible in the cold. Judy shivered a little bit, but continued her excursion to the apartment.

Her lungs were burning and her legs ached as she sped down the sidewalk. White puffs came from her breaths as she exhaled, desperately trying to get oxygen as she sprinted. She could see her apartment ahead of her just down the road. The cold was unbearable without some sort of covering like a jacket and for the last five blocks, she had been running as fast as she could. With her building in sight, Judy managed a burst of speed, propelling her forward much faster than previously.

Approaching the concrete steps, she quickly slowed down, sharply turning and bounded up each step. She pulled open the door and stopped in front of the stairs, putting her paws on her knees and panting heavily. The tips of her fingers and ears were numb from the cold and her throat was rough from the dry winter air. After catching her breath, she began the treacherous climb up the stairs. 'One at a time…' she thought to herself as she slowly ascended the first flight of stairs.

"One down… four to go…" Judy said irritably. She struggled to the fourth floor, requiring the assistance of the small-mammal railing to get her up the last two. She slowly wobbled down the corridor to her own apartment. She twisted the key in the deadbolt and turned the knob, pushing the door open. She walked inside and shut the door behind her. The apartment was pitch black and she couldn't see anything. She reached up the wall with her right paw as high as she could go and flicked a lever which bathed the entryway in a dull yellow glow.

Judy walked forward a few steps before turning left and went down the short hallway. She turned right at the end of the hallway and walked into her bedroom. She flipped on the lights which revealed her's and Nick's room. Judy hopped onto the bed and pulled out her phone. Unlocking the device, she typed in her parents' number and tapped the MuzzleTime icon. After a few rings, Bonnie's face appeared on the phone.

"Hey, sweetheart! How've you been, baby?"

"I've been good, but this week has been incredibly exhausting…" Judy sighed. "But, on the bright side, Nick woke up today." Judy tried to exclaim, but she was too tired to show much emotion. Bonnie showed a look of shock and relief at the same time.

"Oh, Judy. That's wonderful! How is he doing?"

"He's much better than I thought. He was pretty talkative in the short visit I gave him today. Though he can't walk very well and his speech is slightly impeded, but it wasn't too bad. Other than that he seemed to be doing great."

"That's wonderful, Judy. I've been worrying that things were going to get much worse for a moment." Judy cringed internally at her words. Her mother didn't know exactly what Nick's condition was like at the moment. All throughout the visit, Judy could tell that Nick was hiding a lot of pain, but he did it quite well. Judy pondered her mother's reaction to the bad news that Nick was given two weeks to live and figured it was best if she didn't tell her right now.

"Yeah, well I think everyone was. Most everyone at work has been more on edge than usual. I know that Nick was well liked at the precinct, but I really didn't expect something like that to happen."

"It's good to hear that you have plenty of support there in the big city. You know how your father is about you living so far from home."

"Of course. He still hasn't adjusted too well has he?" Judy asked. Bonnie didn't speak, but she slowly nodded with wide eyes.

"He's asked me twice this week if I knew when the next time you'd be home was. I don't think he remembers that it's only been a few days since you were home." Judy chuckled. 'That certainly is dad…' she thought.

"Well, you haven't been to the city since my graduation from the academy. Why don't you take a trip down here?" Judy thought it would be a good thing for her parents to get away from everything on the farm and just relax in Zootopia.

"I don't know if we could anytime soon, but I'd have to check. Otherwise I think that would be a great idea!"

"Ok, I'm looking forward to it! I'm also exhausted from this week, so I'm going to get to bed. I'll see you soon!" Judy replied.

"Ok, sweetheart, you get some rest. I love you!"

"I love you too, Mom. Bye bye!" Judy said. She tapped the button to hang up the call. Judy sat on the side of her bed and set her phone on the nightstand. She got up from her bed and walked over by the door and turned the lights off. She found her way back to the bed and got in, not bothering to take her clothes off. She pulled the sheets over her body and layed her head back on the pillow behind her. Judy stared straight up at the ceiling and sighed, thinking about the future. Soon enough, her eyes slowly shut until there was nothing but warmth and much needed slumber.

"Ok, Nick, let's just take this nice and easy for now." the deer said. Nick was sitting on the edge of his bed with his arms pressed into the mattress. Nick looked at Judy, who was standing at the other end of the room with her arms crossed. She had a smile on her face and was waiting to see how well he could walk.

"Here we go…" Nick whispered. He was not looking forward to trying to walk, because he knew that it would probably end in disaster. The bed was nice and safe and warm. 'Yeah, let me stay in the bed. I like the bed.' he thought. Reluctantly, he pushed up from the mattress with his paws to get him standing. Having left the safety and warmth of the bed, Nick maintained his balance well and looked at Judy, who still had her unreadable smile plastered on her muzzle. Nick took a step with his right foot, sending a dull and quiet smack from the linoleum. He took a few more steps with relative ease. He smiled after walking a few more steps, but he was mostly smiling because he hadn't fallen flat on his face yet. Now with his confidence soaring through the roof, Nick quickened his pace and strolled around the room with no problem.

"How about that? I am a fox of many wonders." Nick said while turning around and facing Dr. Venetti and Judy.

"Very impressive, Mr. Wilde. You seem to have recovered much better than anticipated. Go ahead and take a stroll down the hall and back, then we can get you cleared." Dr. Venetti said. Nick slowly walked over to the door and pulled it open. Judy walked out after him and Dr. Venetti walked out after Judy. Nick started walking down the hall and Judy followed closely by his side.

"So… feeling good?" Judy asked, looking into Nick's gleaming eyes.

"Right now, I'm feeling wonderful, Carrots. It's nice to finally move my legs."

"That's great, Nick. I'm glad that you're going to get to come home finally." Judy got closer to Nick and whispered in his ear.

"Things have been getting lonely at home…"

Nick's eyes grew big as he looked at the grin appear on her face. Nick looked down upon Judy's figure, eyeing every part of her. The way she walked with a spring in each step, the way her ears bobbed back and forth as she walked, the way her grey fur glistened in the light. He was memorising each and every feature of her face, because he knew that this bliss and contentment wasn't going to last. Nick's casual grin dissipated and he buried the dark thoughts quickly. 'I can't be thinking like that. I made a promise, and it's one that I'm not going to break.' Nick thought to himself. His grin hastily reappeared on his muzzle as they came to the end of the hallway. Nick spun around and Judy stayed by his side as they continued down the hallway.

As slickly as possible, Nick found Judy's paw and he grasped it. Judy looked up at Nick when she felt his paw take hers. Judy moved closer to Nick, so close that she was almost leaning on him as they walked. They came back to the end of the hallway where Dr. Venetti was patiently waiting.

"Excellent, Nick. I truly am impressed. I didn't think you'd be able to walk after you woke up, but you sure proved me wrong." Dr. Venetti said. "Now, I'm going to clear you for release and then you two can be on your way." Nick smiled at the deer and Judy looked up at Nick with her eyes beaming with excitement, still holding his paw. Dr. Venetti scribbled his signature on the paper and handed the clipboard over to Nick. The fox looked at the paper and signed where he was supposed to with no hesitation. Nick handed the clipboard back to the deer.

"I'm gonna miss this place… totally gonna miss it." Nick said sarcastically. Judy gave Nick a funny look.

"I sure hope not." she said with a chuckle.

"Well, you two can head downstairs and then you'll be free to go." Dr. Venetti said. "But I'm sure you'll want to change out of that first…" he said gesturing to Nick's hospital gown. Nick looked down at himself, and realised that it probably wouldn't be the best idea if he walked out of the hospital wearing that.

"I brought you a change of clothes, Nick." Judy said.

"Great, what horrible drab are you going to force me into this time, Carrots?" Nick said, expecting her to have brought the clothes that she wanted him to wear, rather than the clothed he was comfortable in.

"Oh, just your khakis, your green Hawaiian shirt, and your blue and purple striped tie. Nothing that you care to wear very much. It's in the room in." she said. Nick's eyes lit up and he gave her a wink before pushing open the door.

"I'm glad you finally can see it my way."

Nick walked into his room and shut the door behind him. Stripping off the gown, Nick slid on his favorite outfit and he instantly felt more like himself. Nick opened the door and walked out of the room for the last time.

"Judy…" he said, offering his paw to her. The rabbit looked at his paw for a second and then placed her paw in his. They gazed into each other's eyes for a while before starting off down the corridor. They walked down the corridor, paw in paw like they had just fallen for each other all over again.

The drive back to the apartment was quite uneventful. Officer Fangmeyer, who had been such a big help to Judy recently, gave them a ride back to their apartment in his patrol car. Judy rode in the back while she allowed Nick to have the front seat. They quietly rode along in the large vehicle, only engaging the tiger in casual small-talk. They pulled up in front of the apartment and Judy quickly got out of the car to help Nick out. She opened his door and held out her paw for him to take. Nick slowly lowered himself from the car and planted his feet firmly on the tarmac of the street.

"Thank's so much for driving us back. You've helped out so much for us recently. I don't know how I can thank you." Judy said to her tiger superior.

"Oh, you don't have to do anything for me. I'm just happy to see Nick back on his feet." he said. "Now are you sure you don't need any help going up the stairs?"

"No, I think we can handle them. Thank's for the offer though. Have a good rest of your day!"

"Will do." Fangmeyer said with a salute. The tiger looked up at Nick. "Stay strong, Nick. Everyone at the precinct is rooting for you." Nick nodded at the tiger and gave a lazy salute. Judy shut the door to the patrol car and he drove off down the street, turning the corner and driving out of sight of the fox and the rabbit. Judy took Nick's paw and she led him to the front of the apartment building where she helped him up the concrete steps to the front door with no issue. Confident that he could walk up the rest of the stairs on his own, Nick walked inside the building and began his first flight of stairs, relying heavily on the railing to his right. Judy watched from the bottom of the steps as he successfully climbed the flight. Nick turned around and faced Judy, holding his arms up in triumph.

"I am the best. No stairs shall bring me down!" he proclaimed. Judy giggled at his sunny disposition.

"You're not done yet. You've got four more left." Judy said. At the mention of more stairs, Nick's smirk quickly turned into a look of determination, like climbing the stairs was his ultimate goal in life. Nick turned to the next set of stairs and he quickly conquered the last flights. Judy followed him closely behind and watched him celebrate like a little kit. Nick began singing a song of triumph.

"But I would climb 500 stairs and then I would climb 500 more. Just to be the fox who'd climb 5000 stairs then fall down at your door!" As he finished singing he plopped down in front of their apartment and looked up at Judy with a goofy grin on his face.

"I think the meds they gave you in the hospital made you all loopy." Judy giggled.

"No, I'm just happy to be home. Believe it or not, the hospital is not a fun place to be cooped up in for days at a time." Nick stated.

"Well now you can be cooped up at home for days at a time." Judy said while kneeling down by the fox who was sitting on the floor.

"Yeah, but maybe I want it that way, Carrots. Ever think of that?"

"No, I never did. Now let's get inside before someone sees us." Judy joked. She was really enjoying this new, refreshed Nick. He seemed happier and more care-free than ever, and his attitude was very contagious. She couldn't help but smile every time she looked at him. She didn't know what may have caused this change, but she was thankful for whatever it was. Judy held out her paw and Nick took it and stood up. Judy unlocked the door and revealed the apartment which had been eagerly awaiting for Nick's return. Nick walked in the doorway and inhaled deeply through his nose, remembering the smell of his own place. He instantly relaxed and found himself more content than ever before. Nick wandered into the living room and spun around with his arms out. He fell down onto the couch and layed back with his paws behind his head and closed his eyes.

"I could get used to this again, Fluff." Nick said. Judy shook her head at the fox and she walked into their room. Her phone began buzzing and she quickly got it out of her pocket. She slid her finger across the device and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, sweetheart, quick question. Does your apartment have a sign that says 'Manolin Park Suites' above the door?" said Judy's mother over the phone. She had no idea why her mother would be asking that question.

"Yeah, why?" Judy asked.

"Ok, thanks! Bye bye!" Bonnie said, then she quickly hung up the phone.

"Wait, Mom…" Judy pulled the phone away from her ear and she looked at it with a confused look on her face from the short and bizarre conversation she had just had with her mother.

"That was weird…" Judy said to herself. She walked back out into the living room where Nick was still laying on the couch,eyes closed and seemingly asleep. Judy walked over to the couch and knelt down by him.

"Nick, you awake?" Judy asked.

"..."

"Nick!" Judy said louder. A faint smirk appeared on his muzzle.

"..."

Judy looked at the "sleeping" fox and she snuggled up to him on the couch. Judy slid her paw down underneath his shirt and she scratched his chest. Coos of satisfaction came from deep within Nick's throat and the fox's eyes opened into tiny slits, revealing a little bit of emerald among the short russet fur that covered his eyelids. Judy removed her paw from underneath his shirt and she climbed on top of Nick, straddling his chest with her legs. She placed both of her paws on Nick's pecs, squeezing gently and getting very close to his muzzle. Nick's eyes quickly opened up to their normal, half-lidded state, but she could almost detect a look of fear in them.

"I think it's time for you to wake up, Slick." Judy flirted. Nick let out a quiet chuckle.

"And why do I need to be awake? Are we going to do something?" Nick queried.

"Why don't you find out?" Judy said as she closed the short distance between their lips and met him with a kiss. Judy's paws moved up to clasp each side of Nick's muzzle. They broke the kiss but quickly moved back together for another. Judy's ears were bright red by now and her blush was almost visible on her cheeks.

A knock at the door interrupted their kiss, and the two moved apart while Judy sighed in anger. Did they have to be interrupted right now? Judy hopped off of Nick and down from the couch.

"You." Judy said while pointing at Nick. "Stay there. I'll be right back." Nick gave a two-finger salute and watched the rabbit turn the corner and out of his sight. Judy came up to the door and she looked up at the peep-hole near the middle of the door. She wanted to look through it to see who was at the door, but she wasn't tall enough, so she grabbed the handle and pulled the door open a bit. Judy popped her head outside the door to see two rabbits standing in the doorway. Judy's ears dropped behind her head and her heart sank.

"Jude the Dude! How's it going in the big city?" Stu said loudly. Judy opened the door all the way and looked at her parents, who apparently were visiting the city. Judy had a bemused look on her face as she stared at the two older rabbits in front of her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were visiting?" Judy asked sternly. While she was happy to see her parents, a little bit of a warning would have been much appreciated. 'How is Nick going to take this?' she thought to herself.

"Well, I figured it would have been in your mind since we talked about it last night." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, I just said you should visit sometime, not the very next day! I'm not prepared to have any guests, plus I kind of have a lot to deal with right now!" Judy said, looking back at the living room where Nick was probably listening to every word of the conversation.

"Oh, don't worry, Judy. We got a hotel down the road a few blocks. And we're here to help you out with cleaning and things so that you can relax. I can see that you're awfully tense." Bonnie said. 'Ok, maybe this isn't as bad as I thought. They want to help? I didn't expect this, but I'm not going to complain.' Judy thought to herself. Judy turned around and yelled to Nick.

"Hey, Nick. Come here! Someone wants to see you!" The three rabbits waited a moment before Nick's figure came from around the corner. His eyes looked at the three rabbits, but mostly at the two who he knew were Judy's parents. His eyes grew wide when he saw them and he was left nearly speechless.

"I… uh… when did you… uh... get here?" Nick asked shakily.

"Oh, we got here late last night, like, really late. Probably more like early this morning." Stu said. Nick let out a nervous chuckle.

"So… you're staying at a hotel, not here right?" Nick said. Judy gave Nick a stern look after he spoke. Both of Judy's parents gigged.

"Yes, we have a hotel. We are going to help out around here so that you and Judy can relax." Bonnie said. Nick let go of the tension that had built up in his body and his shoulders sank back down to their natural position. Nick let out a sigh and he clapped his paws together.

"Well, come on in! Sit down, make yourselves at home. We definitely aren't doing anything right now." Nick chuckled as he looked at Judy who shot him a glare. Bonnie and Stu looked around the apartment as they walked through, grimacing at the deplorable state the place was in. Due to the situation Judy was in, she hadn't had the time to really give the place a good deep clean, which meant that there was a good layer of dust covering pretty much everything and the carpet looked like it could use a good cleaning. Cobwebs hung in the corners of the rooms and dishes sat in the sink unwashed.

"Now, you two go out and do something while we clean this place up. We'll take care of everything." Bonnie said.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Judy asked.

"Enjoy the outdoors, go have a picnic, get some ice cream. Just get out of this place and away from us so we can do our jobs." Nick thought a picnic was a good idea. It would be relaxing and a good way to waste some time. Plus he was pretty hungry.

"I like that picnic idea. What do you say, Judy? It's nice outside." the reynard asked.

"I don't see why not. If this is what you guys want to do, we'll get out of your way." Judy said. Both the fox and the rabbit walked out of the living room and into their bedroom. They shut the door behind them and Nick looked at Judy.

"What the heck are they doing here? Did they actually not tell you they were coming?" Nick whispered angrily.

"Mom and I talked a little bit about them visiting the city last night, but I never said they should come today!" Judy replied.

"Well, we might as well do as they say… We can grab some sandwiches and go sit out in the park for a while… kill some time." While Judy hated to admit it, she really liked that idea. Judy sighed.

"I'll grab a blanket."

(A/N: So it seems that Judy's parents are really nice but complete a-holes at the same time! But now Nick and Judy are going to have plenty of time to themselves, and who knows what's going to happen next chapter... Oh, yeah... I do.

Anyways, thanks for taking the time out of your day to read, and if you liked it, let me know why with a review. Also, if you have any suggestions or comments, please leave a review. If you want to tell me that I'm the worst writer in the world and I should quit right now, go ahead and tell me so I can end your suffering! LOL! JK. Please, please, please, please follow and favorite, too. We hit 60 followers a while back and that's awesome! I need the reviews and follows to keep going, so keep them coming in strong!

I really can't thank you guys enough for this. I've loved every minute of writing this story and I really can't wait to continue! I've really been baffled by the support I've gotten, especially since I'm very new to this whole scene. I absolutely love the community that is present on this website. I've become a much better writer and even a much better person in the last few months and it's all because of you! Again, thanks for the support and words of encouragement! Auf Wiedersehen! -Ande883