"Ohhhhhhh…." came the muffled groan. Nick squinted into the bright light. The sun was high in the sky and some birds flew out of the nearby tree at the noise. He felt stiff, sore. He tried to push himself up and nearly twisted his arm as his paw disappeared into the wooden pallet he was laying on. 'What in the…'

He managed to get a brace and sat up. His favorite outfit was beyond wrinkled, and he knew that after sleeping in it that it had to be quite strong on the nose. Luckily, he'd gotten accustomed to it thanks to his sleeping. He shook his head, trying to cover his eyes. He looked around, hoping to see his sunglasses. They weren't prescribed, but they were nearly medically necessary. He was a nocturnal creature, this sunlight wasn't his forte. It'd taken years to find a way to cope with it.

His ears perked forward as he tried to see into the distance. It looked blurry as he covered his eyes with his paw. Someone was out that way; probably Fluff's old man. He was busy with his stand this time of year from what Carrot had told him.

'Wait. Carrots.' He immediately looked to his left, a small part of himself hoping she'd still be there. She wasn't. He sighed in response. Of course she wouldn't; she was an early riser and had grown up on this farm. There was no way she'd sleep in. He scooted forward and let himself stand on the ground. For a moment he was unsteady as his equilibrium returned and he stretched in relief.

"He's awake!" came a squeak. Nick spun around, trying to see where the sound came from. He saw a few pair of long, gray ears on the other side of the shed. He just made a big deal of yawning to see what they'd do. One or two peeked around the edge and he was able to make out two pair of dark eyes through his own lidded green ones.

"You two!" he called out, pointing. Their ears froze and he almost had the urge to laugh. "Why are you watching me sleep?"

The ears disappeared around the edge of the building. It was quiet, and then one of them said quietly, "Big sis Judy wanted us to see if you were awake yet."

Nick clucked his tongue, crouching down as he moved towards them. It was grassy, but there were few sound hazards in the way. He knew how to sneak up on others; despite being a cop now, his past gave him a free tricks.

He dived past the corner of the shed and rolled up and around, finding himself face to face with not two rabbits but eight. He hid his surprise and just let himself fall back down next to them. In reality, he'd immediately regretted his decision because a one-on-eight situation was almost always a bad one. His instincts weren't used to dealing with rabbits or families.

Three of the kids took the advantage and jumped on him. He lost his breath as one of the three landed in his gut. He tried to curl up, gasping for air as they pulled on his clothes and fur, finding his ears and tails to be great handholds. He was going to talk to the Hopps' family; this gut attack they'd all perfected was starting to become a too common occurrence.

After a minute, he stood up. Two more jumped on him, and he found himself feeling like a tree with a lot of animals living in it. Nick looked down at the remaining three who were staring at him wide eyed.

He leaned forward as much as his furry attachments would allow him and asked, "So you were sent to be watchmen, huh?"

Two nodded. The third, who was smaller than the rest, hid behind their older sibling. He stuck out a paw slowly. "I'm not here to hurt any of you. I just slept in a bit. Would you like to have the best seat in the house?"

The small bunny stuck her head out next to her sibling's waist. Her nose twitched like wildfire and Nick wanted to laugh. He'd seen Carrot's nose do that a time or two before, and he always thought it looked cute. He wasn't about to admit that, though.

He found himself looking at the other two. The one that the little one was behind looked like a male; if Nick was right, this was the bunny who'd told him what they were there for. "Which one are you?" he asked.

The male rabbit turned his ears. "Marcus." When Nick looked at the other two, the young bunny continued. "That's Susan. And the little one is Caroline."

Nick was starting to get some names. With Carrots, there were 276 total bunnies. He now knew Joshua, Marcus, Susan and Caroline. Inside he wanted to groan; there was a huge list to go.

"Thanks, Marcus. Where's Fluff at?" The rabbit gave him a confused look. 'Oh right, they don't call her that,' he realized. "Judy. I meant Judy."

Susan hopped up. "She's helping run the food stand today! I can show you if you want!" He smiled at her. She turned to Marcus and waved her paws, causing the two of them to start moving. Without her protection, little Caroline looked scared. Nick took the chance to swoop her up and stick her right behind his head. He felt her freeze up but just laughed.

"I won't hurt you, you know," he reminded her. He couldn't see her so he didn't know if she heard him, but a second later he noticed she was holding onto his ears and didn't seem so scared. 'Score one for the fox,' came his sarcastic mind.

As he worked his way around the edge of the shed, he saw Susan waiting near the house. After making his way over to her, he noticed Marcus bounce out of the door behind her, holding something he really wanted.

"Jude said you might want these," he offered as he held out the sunglasses. Nick nodded gratefully, making sure not to move too much to throw off the tiny rabbit using him as a guide post. He put on his sunglasses, finally recognizing the sounds coming off of him. He'd been so focused on moving without knocking them off and keeping balanced that he hadn't realized how loud the rabbit siblings were.

"All right, all right!" he said in a playful tone. "I'll play with you guys in a while, but first I need to go see your sister. If you want to hang on go ahead, but I'll need you to stay off my legs please."

One of them jumped down and stood next to Susan. The other managed to somehow push the other ones over and ended up on his back. At this point he had a rabbit on each shoulder, one on his back, one braced at his neck and another hanging from his front. His poor shirt.

He just smiled. He had more, and if he had to ruin one this seemed as good of a way to do so as any. He turned his head towards the stall in the distance, letting the kids lead him into the fields of growing vegetables, pitted rows, and purple flowers.

"Carrots, don't you do it." After maybe a thirty minute walk he was now at the stand. Granted, he was winded, but in all fairness his police gear weighed less than his current set up. His partner was looking at him with a look that was both comical and surprised. He'd seen that look. It usually led to laughter. "Carrots, this isn't funny."

"Yes it is!" she said as she started to giggle. Nick looked past her to see Stu laughing as well. He felt foolish. It was fine earlier, but now he was starting to feel really stupid. He managed to pull one of the small rabbits off and set her down before trying to get the rest. They just wiggled around and dodged his paws, thinking it was a new game.

The laughter continued.

He just stopped and sighed, giving up. He looked at the road nearby. "Do you guys even get much business here?"

"A lot, actually," came Stu's voice. He had worked his way over to them at this point. "It's just midday so most of the people are working or cleaning right now."

Nick felt a paw go under his shirt and jumped at the feeling. One of the girls on his shoulder laughed; he hadn't expected it to tickle. "And why aren't these rugrats in school?"

He felt a soft paw on his arm and looked over. Fluff was looking at him with a soft expression. "Nick, it's a Saturday. Remember?"

He hadn't been paying attention. He'd woken up, been mauled by rabbits and was now a walking tree. "Fluff, I haven't been paying attention to the time or day much today. Kinda got other stuff to deal with." He raised his arms and waved them. One of the rabbits had ended up hanging on one, and the boy laughed and enjoyed the ride.

She laughed at him again. He expected Stu to as well, but instead he just looked at Nick as if it was his first time meeting him. He then moved forward and held out his arms. Nick felt a pressure on his shoulder and then Caroline was looking at him from her father's side. Then there was a bigger weight at the same spot as another rabbit took her place.

He just looked at his partner, feeling the new kid wiggling on his head. "How did you deal with this? I thought vacation was a time to relax!"

She just wore that huge smile that made Nick feel better. "Nick, there's nearly 300 of us here. You thought you'd escape that, being taller and a new form of entertainment?"

"I know I'm funny, Fluff. But entertainment feels a bit like a stretch."

"You can handle it, Nick."

"Yeah, well, I hope you're right. Speaking of stretch, I think my tail is longer now thanks to the monkeys you have for siblings." He caught her paw in his shoulder. It wasn't a heavy push, but enough to let him know things were still fine between them. He was starting to remember the night before. He hadn't told his partner that he'd brought some strong drinks along in case he needed to relax. He hadn't needed them, but he'd still enjoyed a few the day before.

"They aren't monkeys!"

He did a half shuffle, half spin to show off his new wardrobe. "Fluff, I not a tree but I'm pretty sure there's a few monkeys dangling off me."

She opened her mouth to say something as an orange van pulled up next to the stands. Nick turned his head to the vehicle, noticing the weight on him disappear quickly. The door opened and shut; a second later and Nick was looking at a taller, bulkier animal than he'd expected. But it was unmistakably a fox.

"Hey, Gideon!" came the soft voice next to him. He'd heard her talk about this Gideon guy, but this wasn't what he expected. The mammal seemed quiet and down to earth, but friendly. He was pulling out a few boxes from his truck and handing them to Stu.

"Hiya, Judy. Heard you'd been in an accident. Glad to see you back on your feet."

"It wasn't that bad, Gideon. Would have been worse had my partner not been there. Speaking of which…" Nick felt Judy push on his shoulder, forcing him to take a step forward. "Gideon, meet Nick Wilde. My partner. Nick, this is Gideon."

Nick found himself shaking hands with the country animal. "Nice to meet you, Gideon."

"Same to you. We were all shocked when Judy became a cop, but it's good to see that us foxes managed to make the cut too." He turned to Stu. "How much am I taking today? I've got quite a few orders to fill in the next week or two. Your blueberries have really taken hold."

"Oh, they're nothing special. But I've set aside seven dozen crates-" Nick stopped listening to the two conversing. It wasn't that he was angry or being rude, it's that he found his mind elsewhere. Back to that building. Back to the day he'd been unable to stop the situation before everything went to hell in a handbasket. Why had she said things would have been worse had he not been there? Everything went wrong even with him trying to stop it.

Nick found himself looking at the sun. Even with his glasses, it was burning into his eyes. But he was so deep in thought he didn't really notice and it wasn't bothering him yet. He'd thought about that day over and over. If he'd noticed something or just said something, maybe things would be different.

He was so lost in thought that he nearly found himself on the ground. He turned to look at his partner. "What was that for, Carrots?"

She had this quizzical look on her face, like she was trying to figure out what he'd been thinking about. "I've been calling out to you for the past 5 minutes. Gideon just invited us all to a dance he's hosting. You're invited."

He looked at the other fox. "Oh? What's the occasion?"

Gideon just pulled his cap off for a moment to wipe his forehead. "Well, I was stupid when I was younger. But I turned it into a baking business and everything turned out well. It's a party to celebrate having my business be open for a year. That, and the partnership between Mr. Hopps and myself reaching a new milestone." He looked down at the two. "I guess to also give Judy a 'back on her feet' evening. No major reason, just a chance for everyone to enjoy themselves."

Nick looked over at Judy. Instinctively, he felt his eyes lower and cross her body. It wasn't sexual in any way, but it was like he was sizing her up. Instead, he was taking note. He'd found himself doing that a time or two after… He wanted to remember her in case anything happened. This might be a good thing to relax and enjoy.

"Sure," he heard himself say. "A relaxing evening? Count me in."

Nick Wilde looked around the busy pie shop, watching mammals come in and join into the fray. Sheep, rabbits, a couple raccoon families, foxes- if it was a smaller mammal, they apparently were all present in Bunnyburrow. It seemed like everyone had gotten an invite to this party. It seemed less of a party and more of a town buffet, with everyone getting some pie and something to drink and just being loud and merry. It was loud, smelled amazing, and bright. For some odd reason, Nick wanted to leave. Relaxing wasn't the right word for this.

Of course, it didn't help that everyone seemed to want to meet him and thank him. He was "the amazing Hopps' daughter's partner" who'd helped her prove that small mammals could make a difference and he'd helped "protect her" in the building collapse. He kept his smile on, but by now it was starting to hurt. He hadn't protected her; far from it. He'd instead missed by inches and nearly lost everything. No one seemed to know that, and it wasn't information he intended to share.

After another few pawshakes, he excused himself to the outside patio. It was quieter outside, although not by much. It was definitely darker, and he appreciated that. He sat down with his pilfered blueberry pie and enjoyed the slight breeze. He almost blended into the night thanks to his darker pants and shirt; Carrots had tried to steal his Hawaiian setup until he promised to change. She hadn't trusted him so he'd begun to swap clothes then and there. He'd never seen her turn away so fast; just remembering it made him laugh.

There was another perk to being outside. The cacophony inside had prevented almost anyone from hearing the basic music playing in the shop. It was mostly a country feel thanks to being out in the triburrows, but from time to time there were other songs. He was currently enjoying the beginning of "Collide," one of the major hits from Howly Night, who was as famous as Gazelle in his own circles. At least, he had been until a few years prior.

"Didn't know you liked this kind of music, Nick." He froze, hearing that soft voice giggling behind him. He turned to look at Carrots, his fork stuck in his muzzle, trying not to choke on the wonderful, sweet pastry. She was next to the door, holding a small slice of apple pie in her paws. Nick gulped down his mouthful, not sure how to respond.

"It's not bad, Fluff. Not Gazelle, but we all have things we enjoy. Why do you think I like this song, anyway?"

She pointed at him with her own silver utensil. "Your tail was swaying, Nick. To the song, not randomly."

He just shrugged and waved his paw. "You always notice the weirdest things. Gonna sit down or enjoying this being one of the few times you're the same height as me?"

Silence. He nudged the chair next to him out with his foot, seeing how she'd react. She still didn't move. For some odd reason, that hurt just a tiny bit. He turned back to his pie before he heard her move.

He noticed the plate sliding down next to him before he felt his partner nearly lay down behind him. He froze, thinking of all the things to do to escape the situation. He was finding it nicer than he could have imagined, but this was another one of those misunderstandings in action. As nice as it might be, most still had a problem with the idea. He didn't want to mess things up or make things awkward between them. As he finally decided to pull her off and raised his paws, he heard her quiet voice in his ear.

"I'm sorry, Nick."

His paws paused in midair. Now he was confused and dazed. That was a bad combo, or at least it had been. Somehow, this time it wasn't so bad. But he still felt confused. "What do you mean, Carrots?"

"I overstepped my bounds, Nick. I didn't know about everything between you and your mother." He gulped. He had hoped they'd never talk about this, but that was a far cry from the truth. He knew his partner was too curious to not discuss it.

"Fluff, it's not a prob-"

"Nick, I thought I'd pushed you out." He shut his mouth; this was one of those times that he needed to let the emotional rabbit just let everything out. "You've been my one steady friend since the beginning. At first you annoyed the fuzz off of me, but now I can't think of a life without you there in some way. The way you spoke, the way you acted… I thought I'd ruined everything between us. Our partnership. Our friendship. Everything."

He didn't try to look at her, not he want to. He could feel a wetness at his neck. "Judy, you did me a favor," he began. This needed to turn down a notch; he could feel himself heating up inside. He had been reasoning this all away for weeks now, but if she kept this up he'd be eating himself alive. "I needed to meet her again sooner or la-"

"I brought you here." Nick shut his mouth again. He looked down, realizing he still had a pie. How could he have forgotten his favorite pie? "You could have gone to see your mother. You could have slept in day after day instead of being a play toy for my siblings."

'Focus on the pie,' he told himself. 'Focus on the pie.'

"You've had to deal with my parents and they traumatized you coming here again, I know that. You have a major case that you're trying to solve and I wasn't there when you were finding everything out, when you were fighting amongst yourselves. I wasn't there when you were trying to protect me despite being hurt yourself."

'FOCUS ON THE PIE.' He was having issues seeing it. He wanted to face his partner. This was something he wasn't good with; when animals got emotional, he found a way out. This wasn't something he intended to escape. He just wasn't sure how to proceed.

"Judy, it's fine, okay?" He turned in his seat to be able to see his partner. "You didn't scr-" He found himself silenced again. Only this time it wasn't from her talking. He should have focused harder on the pie.

Now he wasn't focusing on anything but the bunny kissing him. For that moment, he stopped caring about what others might think. He stopped caring about why he had said no. He couldn't help but think about how soft and small she was, and how much she tasted like apples at that moment. He moved his paws up the edge of the chair, hoping to just touch her arm, her shoulder…

"GET IN HERE!" came the loud voice on Judy's phone. She jumped back from his, the noise shocking her as much as him. With trembling paws she dug her mPhone out, looking at the face of Chief Bogo on the screen. Nick reached out, taking the device from her and feeling her paw brush his. He wanted it to last longer. He swiped the screen and held the phone to his ear.

"Nick Wilde here. How can I help you, Chief Bogo?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: There you go! After taking two days to do assignments and crap tons of shifts for work, I release this to you. I have not had writer's block, just haven't had the time to finish this chapter and release it.

Yes, I finally gave you another "Fluff" scene but this is the last one for a while. It's about to get darker. I do not apologize for any upcoming events.

A small Q'n'A (because no one had any questions):

To PantheraTigr: I plan to make this thing long. Long as hell. I'm nowhere near done. Enjoy the length.

To Rioludoodle: Of course Bogo is a major player. He brings a touch of cynicism and realism to the setting that keeps everything on the page and down to Earth. He's the voice of reason.

To Matteoarts: I don't know if I'll regret my decision later. I think having Nick (or Judy) ship with some invented character to show a coping mechanism of denial would have been a great way to evoke tension and build up the flame. But I just couldn't do that to them.

To AZalmega: I used mPhone ('My'Phone or actually 'Mammal'Phone) because iPaw seems closer to iPod. This is a phone, not a song device. Thought the difference was slight enough to get away with it.

SOME UPDATES: As a college student, I have finals in three weeks. However, that is three weeks from now. So I intend to publish at least one or two chapters a day from here on. I am also finishing details for another piece that was requested. It's based off a dancing music video, and looks like it will involve Nick and Judy overcoming a sickness through medication that causes hallucinations as it works. It'll be different. Finally, my last update before the next chapter begins to make you all hate me- I intend to start back into the other major plotline introduced thus far (There are more than three, I assure you. As I said, long story). It's about to get dark and twisted. I'll try to hold back from the gore, but I think it'll be necessary starting next chapter. You've been warned.