Chapter 12: A Long Weekend

Friday

Although the three hour trip was relatively uneventful, with the kits sleeping most of the way, the group got more than a few disapproving stares from several of the other passengers.

When Victoria had had enough, she gave the aforementioned passengers a venomous stare and asked "Is there a problem here? If there is I'm sure I can straighten it out rather quickly."

The rude passengers, all being rabbits, quickly exited the car, while an interspecies couple comprised of a male Artic wolf and a female Artic fox smiled and asked to join the group.

"Allow me to introducing myself" began the wolf in a thick Tundratown accent "I am called Balto and this is my wife Elsa. We could not help but to notice how you dealt with the…ummm…Aes…what is word….rude mammals. Do you …encounter often?"

"Not as often anymore, but it does seem to increase when the kits are with us" answers Nick.

"Kits are very…pretty…no ummm…beautiful…?" struggles Balto.

"Thank you" giggles Judy, "we understand what you mean."

"You are going on long trip?" asks Elsa.

"No" answers Victoria "just to the next stop, which is Bunnyburrow. Are you going far?"

"We are going to town on other side of the Bunnyburrow…Podunk I believe" answers Elsa "I have sister who works in factory there. Ummm…food factory that makes chickens into food for predators."

"Interesting" remarks Judy "I'm from Bunnyburrow and didn't realize there was even a production plant in Podunk. It's strange that my parents didn't mention it."

"Is new, only built in last nine months or so" said Elsa. "Anna works for Zootopia Health Department, makes sure food is…good to eat, no disease."

"That sounds fascinating" says Judy "I'll have to ask my folks about it."

"Well, this is our stop coming up, please have a safe trip, and give your sister our regards" says Nick.

As the train pulls into Bunnyburrow station, Victoria remarks "I still can't get over that silly population counter it is just so….so…..stereotypical I guess. And…oh my word, just LOOK at all of those bunnies….. and Nick, look who is at the very front of the fluffle."

As the doors open, Nick sees Darlene's kits heading for him at a dead run and hands Angela to his mother "Here mom, you better take Red so she doesn't get squished" as he readies himself for the furry onslaught.

"Uncle Nick, Uncle Nick" scream Darlene's kits and four flying fluffs attach themselves to whatever part of Nick they can grab. "Can the kits come and play with us now?" asked Ayana with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Nick laughed "I'm sorry sweetheart not just yet. The kits are only three weeks old. Maybe you can play with them for a little bit after they've eaten something and if it's ok with Judy, but you have to be really careful ok, they can't even crawl yet."

Looking somewhat miffed Ayana agreed, but still wouldn't leave Nicks side.

"Darlene, where's Gideon?" asked Nick "Still slaving away at the bakery?"

"Actually, he's getting everything ready for the wedding…didn't Judy tell you? We're getting married tomorrow. Gideon wants you to be his best man, and Judy will be my maid of honor."

Nick looked questionably at Judy "Ooops….ummmm…I guess I kinda forgot with all that's been goin' on lately" Said Judy.

With a slight frown on his muzzle, Nick leaned down to face Judy, muzzle to muzzle, gazing deeply into her amethyst eyes "So, you 'kinda forgot' huh?"

Judy only nodded her head slightly and swallowed "Well…hehehe, yea….sorry?"

Nick kissed her lightly on the nose and smiled "That's ok Fluff, Gideon called me a week ago to give me the news and get my sizes for the tux, it's called a hustle sweetheart. Consider it payback for when your mom, dad and Darlene showed up to help with the nursery. Owwww…come on already….."

"Sly fox…."

"Forgetful bunny."

SATURDAY…

Bright and early Saturday morning everyone was up and moving, getting ready for the wedding.

IN THE BRIDE'S ROOM ~ Of course, Darlene was the most nervous of all of the ladies, worrying about everything. Was the dress the right shade of pale green, was it too short, were the flowers going to be delivered on time, did Gideon have the rings, and on and on.

"Judy, if you've got a minute, I need to talk to you…privately if you don't mind."

Noticing the concerned look on her sisters face "Sure, no problem sis, what's up?"

After everyone else left the room, Darlene told Judy "Would it be possible to get the name of your doctor in Zootopia…I'm…pregnant… and before you ask, of course its Gideon's."

"What? Really? Why that's wonderful! Of course I'll give you her name. This is getting to be a bit of a thing now, I mean …really! When were you planning on telling everyone else?"

"In a few weeks, after I.…after we find out how far along I am for sure."

"Well, this great, I'm so thrilled for you guys."

"I have so many questions I don't know where to start…"

As Stu lightly taps on the door "Everything's ready and all we're waiting for is you, are you ready to go?"

Darlene rolls her eyes "Yes dad, are you really that anxious to get rid of me?"

"Well, I never thought I would have to go through this again, at least with you anyways…" said Stu, giving Judy a quick smile and a wink.

"After your honeymoon, stop by our place and we'll help you out as much as we can, ok?"

IN THE GROOM'S ROOM ~ Nick's black tux contrasted sharply with Gideon's white one, which was the plan all along.

As Gideon is set to go, Nick notices that Gideon seems more nervous than a mammal would expect.

"Look Gid, I know you're nervous and it's understandable, but you act like there's something else on your mind…what's up?"

"Well….ummm…since Darlene is goin' to tell Judy anyways… we just found out that Darlene's.…pregnant! Nick, don' get me wrong, ah luv her kits and all, but ah don't know nuthin' about…you know…umm kits."

Nick started laughing "Don't sweat it Gid, at least you have an advantage that Judy and I never had."

"Really, and whut would thet be?"

"Darlene has already had kits, so this is nothing new to her…well at least the having kits part isn't. Plus, you have the advantage of knowing about when the kits will be due, and if anything else comes up that you aren't sure of, you have Judy and I to lean on for information and support."

"I guess I hadn't thought about that all that, thanks…"

As the entrance music began Nick said "Ok, let's do this…"

Ronald and Angela were being looked after by Victoria and one of Judy's older siblings Debra. Darlene's kits, Ayana and Lillabeth, were being watched by Bonnie. Abby, who was the oldest of the four, was Darlene's flower kit, while Avery was the couples ring bearer.

Although there weren't many relatives on the grooms side of the church, Victoria was happy to support Gideon, and several bunny families showed their support by happily sitting there as well.

Stu got to give Darlene away…again, but he really didn't much mind since Gideon had proven himself to be very trustful and totally devoted to Darlene, which is all anyone could ask for. It was a bonus that her kits actually seemed to love him almost as much as they did Nick by this time.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. Vows and rings were exchanged, the bouquet was tossed and caught by one of Gideon's cousins Loraine, who happened to be dating one of Darlene and Judy's older brothers.

'Good lord' thought Bonnie 'here we go again…'

After the wedding reception, nobody seemed to care that Darlene and Gideon had quietly slipped away to get started on their brief honeymoon. Stu and Bonnie were watching Darlene's kits while Gideon and Darlene were away. As the adults were sitting in one of the larger living rooms of the burrow just winding down, half a dozen small kits, naturally led by Ayana came storming at them.

"Uncle Nick, Aunt Judy, Uncle Nick, Aunt Judy" they yelled "look at Ron and Angie….."

To everyone's amazement and surprise, Ronald and Angela were both crawling, very clumsily, toward their parents. Ronald headed towards Judy and Angela towards Nick.

Everyone could hear Ron as he moved towards Judy "Mom-mom-mom", while Angela got to within ten feet or so of Nick and tried several times unsuccessfully to sit up, naturally falling to one side or the other. Of course this drew laughs from everyone in the room. After she finally managed to sit up on her own, she just looked at Nick with a determined look on her face, held out her tiny paws and said "DA".When Nick just stared in amazement, and didn't move, she repeated "DA" he absolutely roared with laughter. As Nick and Judy picked up their kits, Victoria's words from earlier came to mind…..

Judy cast a slightly worried look at Nick "Well they're crawling, do you really think they'll be up and walking in a month or two?"

Nick just shrugged "I guess we'll find out soon enough. We'll just have to deal with it…..together, as always."

SUNDAY…

Sunday on the early train home from Bunnyburrow, as the group talked about how this entire adventure began Judy happened to think about the vets that intervened at the gas station during that fateful motorcycle trip. "Nick, do you remember the vets that helped us during that bike trip to mom and dads?"

"Yes, and to answer your next question, they happen to be meeting this afternoon. Would you maybe like to stop by with the kits and pay our respects? You wouldn't mind a short detour would you mom?"

"Not at all, I would love to meet the group that saved you two that time…"

"Great, I've already looked up the address of that chapter of Roaring Thunder and it's almost right on our way home."

As the group engaged in more small talk, Nick noticed a rather smallish brown bear watching them, especially the kits with a soft smile on his muzzle.

Nick excused himself and moved over to where the bear was sitting. "I couldn't help noticing you watching us, is there something I can help you with?" he asked.

With a thoughtful expression the bear answered "Actually there is. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Donald Berenstain, but everyone just calls me 'Smokey'. My wife, daughter and I are heading to Zootopia to visit her mother and I couldn't help noticing how happy you all are, being inters and all. I was curious as to how you handle those who disapprove of your relationship, especially with your kits."

"My name is Nick, Nick Wilde" said Nick introducing himself. As Nick was about to answer Smokey's question, Smokey's wife and daughter enter the observation car that they all occupied. The point to his nearly asked question was immediately apparent. Smokey's wife was a stunningly beautiful female black panther, and their female cub, who was every bit as unique as Nick and Judy's kits were. Nick gave Smokey a small smile and said "why don't you join us and get everyone's views rather than just mine?"

As the Berenstain family joined the Wilde's an immediate sort of kinship was felt.

First, introductions" started Smokey "This is my wife Raksha, and our cub Kiara."

"Allow me to introduce my wife Judy, our kits Ronald and Angela, and my mother Victoria. Fluff, mom…Smokey here was wondering how we as a family have learned to cope with the interspecies prejudice we've encountered….especially with the kits, if my guess is correct."

Although Kiara seemed shy at first, the kits crawled over to her and evidently wanted to play, so that really broke the ice for all.

"As to your question" began Victoria "even as a young kit, Nick was taught and encouraged by myself and his father to be open minded when dealing with other mammals, so for the most part he started off well intentioned. There were a few issues that he had, many hard times to be fought through being a fox and all, but the prejudice was always there."

Nick continued "as life went on, many of the hard times and prejudice that I encountered was brought on partly by my own conformity to the stereotyping. However as Karma would have it, I happened to….try to con a certain hard headed, enthusiastic bunny…which really didn't work out too well." indicating Judy with a slight inclination of his head.

"I resemble that remark" interjected a smiling Judy.

"After Judy and I began working together, we had a bit of a difficult time. First being unsure of our own feelings, all the while wondering how each other felt at the same time. As time went on we got comfortable enough to ….kind of …accidentally let each other know how we each felt, and it sort of took off from there. I guess you can kinda see how things have turned out."

"Being in a pred/prey relationship was really tough to start with, especially with my dad" continued Judy "but through it all, public opinion, as I'm sure you know only too well, was even worse. We were looked down upon, called names and even assaulted a few times. But one of Nick's corny mantras 'Never let them see that they get to you' actually helped us get through the toughest of times. We actually made a sort of game out of it. If someone stared at us too long, one of us would walk up and start talking to that mammal like we had known them forever. That can be VERY disconcerting. We know the kits will probably catch some grief as they get older, but we'll be preparing them for it and how to deal with it. Hopefully by then there'll be enough interspecies kits around that the speciesism will have died down a bit. I guess the best advice I personally can give is to power through it and don't let anyone tell you what you think is right or wrong. As long as you believe in your hearts that you are doing the right thing, that should be enough."

Later, after leaving the train station headed towards home, the group pulls into the parking lot of the local veterans meeting place they noticed that there were lots of motorcycles and quite a few cars and trucks, with several small groups of vets smoking and generally conversing. Every single vehicle carries a Zootopian flag and a POW/MIA flag as well.

As they park, Judy recognizes a couple of the vets that intervened that fateful day at the gas station. "Well, well, Mr. Silver, it's so good to see you again" and gives the fox a grateful hug.

"Look who we have here, it's the Wilde bunch. And who is this lovely lady you have with you today? Nick, it MUST be your sister…."

Nick grins "Jason Silver, this is my mother Victoria Wilde. Mom, this is the mammal who gave Judy her brothers ID tag, Jason Silver." As Nick turns to speak with one of the other vets, he notices Jason and Victoria giving each other a quick once over.

"You can call me Vicky" she tells Silver in a soft voice. Nick grins and thinks 'What the hell, mom's grown and has been alone for quite some time. Besides, I guess she could do worse.'

Finally Mr. Silver says "Folks, let me introduce you to our chapter president Kevin Dewclaw and his wife Kell, and the chapter's secretary Grace Slick. I'm sure you remember Kevin and Kell from that day at the gas station. We're about to get our meeting underway, if you would like, you can join us as our guests, please."

As the group got settled in the hall, the Sergeant-at-arms called the meeting to order, then the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all, as well as the affirmation to leave no one behind and to always remember the fallen.

"Before we begin our regular meeting, as you may have all noticed we have several guests with us today. If you don't mind, would our guests please stand and introduce yourselves."

As they stood, Nick spoke for the group "Good afternoon all, my name is Nick Wilde. With me today are my wife Judy, our kits Ronald and Angela, and my mother Victoria." turning to Kevin, Nick asked "I would like to address this assembly for a few moments if I may."

Getting a slight nod from Kevin, Nick continued "Around nine months or so ago, several members of this chapter intervened in what may well have been a life threatening situation between a bunch of gang members and my wife and I. The previous day we learned that Judy was pregnant with the kits you see today, so they possibly saved four lives, not just two. We would like to thank you all in person for that and the sacrifices that you have given so we may enjoy the lives we have today. That being said, I understand that the chapters are more or less self-funded and therefore get no assistance from the central government. So on behalf of myself, Judy and the kits, I….we….would like to donate ten thousand dollars to this chapter and it is our honor to do so. Thank you for your service and may God bless and protect you all. Thank you."

With that, Nick, Judy, Victoria and the kits headed off the main floor, only to be greeted and hugged by every single veteran in the building, there wasn't dry eye in the place.

On the drive home, as they got close to Victoria's home, Victoria spoke up "Nick, I've been thinking, since the kits can actually eat real mammal food now, and they seem to be able to tolerate being away from you and Judy for a bit, why don't you leave them with me for a day or two, so you and Judy can have some…quiet time alone. I doubt if there will be much time in the near future for you enjoy each other so…."

Judy and Nick looked at each other and gave each other a soft smile "Mom that would be wonderful, thanks."

As our happy, but tired couple pulled into the driveway Nick saw the bike and remarked "Do you remember the day this incredible journey started? You were about to burst into tears, totally stressed out, and walked right past the bike. Who would have guessed how a simple road trip would impact our lives?"

"How could I forget? In a few short months, I've gone from one of the lowest lows I have ever felt in my life to the highest high. Can things ever get any better?

"Fluff, I have no idea, but I do know how to give it a good start…" as he squeezed his favorite bunnies fluffy tail and got a startled squeak and good-natured punch in return…

"Yes Slick, I do believe you do…now if I can only remember where I put that whipped cream…."

As Nick turns on the radio for a little 'mood music' "My Love" by Nancy Sinatra plays in the background.

Judy looks deeply into Nick's emerald green eyes and mischievously wonders when her next heat cycle is due…

A/N: And so the tale of the Wilde's has come to an end. I plan to do another story called 'Hopps Express' as a break from this little tale. It will be a bit more intense to further test my skills at creative writing.
After I finish with 'Express' I'm going to try my hand at continuing with the adventures of Nick, Judy and the kits with another, as yet to be determined, story. Thanks for the support, please follow 'Hopps Express' I hope it will be as popular as 'Road Trip' has been.

Bonus points to whoever recognizes the NAMES of the characters they meet on the train both times, as well as who the Roaring Thunder president and his wife are, and who the secretary is. Actual species don't matter, it is fiction after all….