Nick, you really need to stop monopolizing that microphone.
"If they want it, they can take it. Either way, I'm starting. Fireflame159 has read the footnotes and liked the chapter ! Is he reading the head notes to ? We won't know until next time !"
Thank you either way !
"Next we have Wildehopper ! Of course the song was awesome-"
"I think you and your ego have been hogging the mic long enough, Nick." States Clawhauser, plucking device from his paws. "I'm so glad Judy is beginning to accept her feeling for Nick. *squeal* Plus Nadine and Ralph talking it out ! That's gonna defuse all the sexual tension between them, and trust me, it's going to do Precinct One A LOT of good."
"This one's mine ! This one's mine !" Shouts Honey, grabbing the mic. "I know a thing or two about fics !"
"That you would." Grins Nick, getting an elbow to the ribs from Judy.
"So, J Shute Norway talks about the the structure of his fic. Imagination works in a really weird way. I think the writer had the idea for the fic for a while, but everything really started to trickle down from there. A bit like mine from Twi- Erh... Like a couple of mines... As for Nick's trouble with numbers, he's actually more good at talking. Convincing. Could sell a skunk butt rug to a mob boss if you could believe that ! The numbers... Well, he always had someone doing them for him. In this universe at least. As for things picking up soon... You'll see..."
"I'm gonna take this for the next guest's review." States Nick. "Yep, I disguised myself into a whole lot of things. I was raccoon once. The dye was a pain in the ass to get rid off. And don't let me started about the way I had to cut my tail's fur."
And thank you to the second guest. Glad you like my fic.
Chapter 25 : Daylight Goodbye
Judy barely slept last night and neither did Nick. She knows because his breath gets slower and deeper when he's slumbering, not that she listened to him sleep. That would be creepy.
She kept her stare locked on the ceiling, hoping that sleep would take her. Instead, her brain made it its mission to remain stuck on Nick and his supposed love declaration.
"Hey Carrots." Greets the tod in a tired voice. "How did you sleep ?"
"Fine." She lies. "You ?"
"Like a log."
When the silence turns to awkward, Judy gets up to pick up some clothes and puts them on. As he has done since she started crashing at his place, the fox turns around to preserve her modesty.
"Soooo..." Begins the fox, trying to find the courage to tackle the elephant in the room.
Then, Judy's phone rings. She picks up while Nick sighs in relief.
"Good morning, officer Hopps." Comes the chief's voice. She immediately puts him on speaker. "We have news on the Nighthowler case."
"Really !? What did you find ?"
"We know where the Kudu on the surveillance video work. One of Ramses Lab's compound in Savannah Central. We have a few idea on how to proceed with this intel, but-"
"Who's we ?" Cuts Nick.
"Chief Blackfur."
The fox bits his lips. "That makes sense."
"It does ? She's a prey mammal !" Reacts Judy.
"Maybe, but she's also Reggie's boss. And I know for a fact that she hates prey supremacist. Anyway, what's the plan ?"
"There isn't one yet. We need to decide what to do. What's for certain is that we need to get inside the lab to find evidence. I need you to meet me, I'll send you the address, be there in 30 minutes."
"Can I bring a plus one ?" Nick asks.
"I could do without your humour, fox."
"I wasn't joking, buffalo." The tod shoots back. "I think I might have a way to make our lab infiltration easier."
"Do you trust them ?"
"As much as they trust me." Nick answers truthfully.
- 1 -
Thirty-four minutes later, Nick and Judy are discreetly entering a building in the rainforest district. They get to the second floor and knock on the door. Chief Bogo opens it.
"You're late."
"Well, officer Carrots had to make her make up just right. You know how the ladies are."
A fist collides with his shoulder and he winces while the large prey lets them in with a grunt. He then leads them to what could be the living room. Some pieces of furniture are still covered with sheet, but a sofa and a coffee table, on which sits a laptop, have been freed from them.
There are only four mammals there, three of them in uniform, a weasel, a tiger and a panda. The last one is a wolf in civilian clothes.
"Reggie, Ralph, Fangmeyer, chief Blackfur." Nick greets.
"Wilde." The panda answers with a neutral expression.
"You know her ?" The bunny whispers.
"Kind of." He answers while the large ursine approaches them.
"My name is Wight Blackfur, I'm the chief of precinct 3. Nice to meet you officer Hopps." She says, offering her large paw.
For a few second, Judy fears she'll have a flashback, but it seems the panda's appearance is too far from a polar bear to trigger them. "Likewise."
"If you ever feel like your talents are wasted in Precinct One, I'd be happy to have you under my command." She smiles, aiming a twinkling glance at the buffalo.
To that, Chief Bogo responds to his colleague with cold glare.
Judy knows she shouldn't tease her boss, but the occasion is too good. "I'll think about it." She smiles, pulling a snort from both Ralph and Nadine at their boss' barely veiled shocked expression.
"Now that we're all here." The chief intervenes in an icy tone. "I suppose we can be-"
"Not quite." Nick cuts him while taking out his phone. "May I remind you that I brought a plus one ?"
He quickly taps the an icon on his screen and starts a call with a mammal nicknames "Mad Genius".
A masked face appears on screen. "You're late." Comes a heavily distorted voice. Nick snorts. Honey always had a thing for the theatrics.
"Fashionably." He answers. "Guys this is..."
"Bunker."
"Right. Bunker, computer genius, meet-"
"Chiefs Bogo and Blackfur, Officers Fangmeyer, Weaselton, Hopps and Wolford. Maybe we should get down to business. We have a cudspiracy to take down."
Nick smirks. He wouldn't have thought about making the presentation for Judy and Ralph too. It would have been a hint that they already knew each other. And the ratel hates revealing any detail about herself to mammals she doesn't know, bless her paranoid little heart. He adds a mental note to ask Finnick if she took her pills.
"Who are you ?" Asks chief Bogo.
"Not crazy enough tell my real name to the chiefs of two different precincts. I'm one of Nick's informant."
"You have informants." The buffalo states, aiming his gaze at the fox.
Nick shrugs. Thinking about it, he used to have a rather large network of informant, though he never really thought about it that way.
"Nick knows everyone." Helpfully adds the masked mammal. "Anyway, weren't we supposed to talk about the lab you think the Nighthowler is made in ?"
"We are. Here's what we know." The bovine begins, moving toward the laptop. He goes on to talk about Clawhauser's finding about the kudu scientist and the place he works in. "His schedule is unusual, gets to his job at about 6PM, leaves between 1 and 4AM. The later hours are correlated with occasional visits from Dawn and Isaac Bellwether, Arthur Ramowitz and Doug Ramses. He usually doesn't work on the week-end though it does happen. And they visit whatever day they want, there's no pattern. We've identified at least two other mammals working the same shift hours as Hornby, but not necessarily on the same day. It seem that there's always at least one of them in."
"Do you have a plan ?" Judy asks.
"I wouldn't call it a plan. We need to get someone inside to gather evidence. Someone discrete. But without the layout-"
"Nick, connect your phone to the laptop." The masked mustelid interrupts.
"Erh… I don't have an USB cable."
There's a second of silence, before Honey scoffs. "Seriously !? Do any of you-"
"I got it." Intervenes Chief Blackfur, pulling one out of a messenger back laying on the floor in a corner of the room. "Here."
Nick plugs his phone in. The laptop's screen flickers. Then a blueprint appears on it. "This was transferred to me by a… Coworker. I have a several of them, but I'm positive this one corresponds to this building. Comparing its shape to Zoogle earth photographs makes it obvious."
"What else can you tell us ?" Chief Bogo asks.
"Well, if you do a quick zoogle search, you can discover that it's the about the second oldest Ramses Lab's lab. The first one was the one that burnt to the ground a few weeks ago..."
"That would explain why they suddenly needed Nighthowler, if their stock burnt with it." Ralph reacts.
"I agree. I can tell you this lab is pretty secure, but it has a few weak points. Like all buildings, it's fairly easy to get in for smaller mammal through the vents, though you can bet your ass there will be metal gratings and alarms to block our path. As far as security inside goes, you can expect a CCTV system, unhackable through the outside, and if they don't half-ass it, and BellSec never half-ass, it will not bedirectly accessible through wifi. And near impossible through anything but their security office dedicated to the underground levels. And even then, I suggest you get a computer genius."
"Why specifically the underground levels ?" Asks Ralph.
"Because evil lairs are always underground, duh."
The buffalo scratches his neck. "Would you accept to be that computer genius ?"
Honey lets escape a snort. "I'd pay to be that computer genius."
Chief Bogo nods. All they need now is to work up a plan by using the blueprint and the resources they have on hoof to get in and get the evidence. Thinking about it like that makes it seem easy, but the chief has been on enough undercover stints and covert operations to know that they need a really solid plan covering all the bases to even remotely hope they could pull it off. They're going to need cover stories, diversions, multiple getaway path in case things go haywire. And they need to pull it off as soon as they can, because the evidence might not remain where it is at the moment.
"Are you okay, Nick ?"
The fox is wearing the most focused expression Judy has ever seen on him. He's staring at his phone screen, reviewing the plan Honey, chief Blackfur, chief Bogo and himself have come up with. Judy thinks it's solid, but the vulpine hasn't stopped going over it, putting mild adjustment, changing their paths in the building and creating contingency ones. Not that he really could, the underground levels have very limited number of access. One, the elevator.
"Sure, I'm fine."
"You're nervous."
"We're planning to get into the belly of the beast. I'm scared shitless." He states conversationally.
The truth is, having this to focus on something is a boon. It keeps his mind from going back to his little stage stunt. And to the fact that she hasn't brought it up yet.
"Hey." Judy says, putting a paw to his shoulder. "You can talk to me."
"I know that Carrots. I just… This thing is absolutely not thought out. We haven't scoped the place, we don't have anyone on the inside. I hate going in this blind."
"You've done that type of things before ?"
The fox snorts. "Haven't you read my file ? I have planned things like that before. And they never go as planned. All you can do is hope your contingencies hold it all together."
"You can't plan for every outcome."
"You will find that I can." He answers with a smug grin.
Judy closes her mouth and stares at the fox. This discussion isn't going in the direction she wants it to. "I called my parents."
Nick blinks, lifts his eyes from his phone and one of his eyebrows. "Any reason why ?"
"Well, this is going to be dangerous, and I might not… Get out of it… Unscathed."
The tod isn't stupid. He can perfectly see where she's going with it. His eyes get right back to his phone screen. "I'm not going to my family for a potential last good bye."
The bunny sighs. "It's not about-."
"Yeah right. I don't have time anyway, working on contingencies, remember ?" He grins, waving his phone at her face.
"Nick, go see your kids."
"What for ? I'm a shit father. If I disappear-"
"They're going to be devastated. It'll take years for them to get over it. I have half a mind to tell Bogo we need to leave you on the sidelines."
The fox instantly gets up and pushes a finger to her chest. "You are not going to bench me ! I worked too hard on this to be left behind. And you need me for your cover story in case we get caught."
Judy shakes her head. Nick doesn't lose his cool like that. "Nick, trust me, you need to see them. It's been more almost a month."
"Carrots-"
"If the roles were reversed, if one of your parents was about to walk into a situation that could go wrong, wouldn't you want to see them before they did ? Even if to spend a few hours with them ?"
"You make it sound like we're about to die."
Her gaze flutters away, the memories of the evening at Wilde Time filling her mind. And he realises that yes, she thinks they might. "Okay, wow. Judy, we're going to be okay."
"Do you really think that ?" She mutters.
"Well, it'll be BellSec, so in my case they might shoot first and ask question later, but you should be fine !"
"I'm not worried about me…"
"You're not- You're trying to make back off, aren't you ?"
She keeps her gaze away. It's exactly what she's trying to do. She's a cop, she made an oath. He's a citizen. The bunny shouldn't let him take that sort of risk, even if he's volunteering. And that's not like if she could actually cuff… Actually she could try cuffing him to the heater. But then, he wouldn't forgive her. "Nick-"
"You think that if I go see my kids I might change my mind and decide to let you go on your own." He states, his voice rising.
"Nick, please-"
"I can't believe you're trying to leave me behind."
"You're a civilian ! I just want to keep you safe !"
"I don't need your protection ! Maybe it's you that should stay on the sidelines. You're the one that lost it when we got caught by Koslov's bears !"
Nick regrets saying them the moment the words leaves his mouth. She stares at him with a shocked expression as he tries to find his breath.
"I'm sorry." He mutters. "That was… I shouldn't have said that."
Judy scratches her eyes and exhales a ragged breath.
"No, I… I shouldn't have tried to use your family against you. It was pretty low. And I did lose it front of Koslov's henchbears."
"Yeah, but you're trying to do something about it."
"And I'm trying to push you away even though we need all the help we can get."
They're both staring at the floor, feeling like complete idiots.
"Judy, I-"
"Nick, Listen-"
The two mammals chuckle.
"You first." Says the tod.
The bunny hesitates, as she's about to insist for him to talk first but changes her mind. "I have so many thoughts in my mind. I don't know how long you've spent living like you could… Like at any moment…"
"Like you next job could be your last ?"
"Yeah. I can't help but think about it. How everything could go wrong, it's like I have a million thoughts in my head and I can't really focus on any of them. It's like the things I fear will happen and the thing I fear won't ever happen are having a fight in my head. Do you see what I mean ?"
"Yes. I see exactly what you mean." He smiles. "It's hard to get used to in the beginning. The what ifs, and what if not. Then it kind of becomes your life and you stop paying attention to it." He doesn't add he got used to it because he stopped caring if he died. He doesn't say that Scarlet made him care about that again later on, before he lost it again. "I should have seen that… I shouldn't have snapped-"
"It's okay. I mean, it was for your own good, but I was still trying to manipulate you… What I'm trying to say is, I feel lost, and afraid, and excited, and sad and a million other things. I have a hard time processing everything because… Because..."
"Because it's a lot to go through. Everything feels upside down."
The bunny nods. "Exactly. But there's one thing, though. One thought in front of all the others, the only one that feels clear enough. It's kind of driving me mad actually."
The tod smiles at her, encouraging her to speak.
"It's about your first song, at the wormtail..."
The fox clenches his teeth. Nope, this discussion isn't about to happen.
"I… I don't know what… Were you trying to say something to me ? Was it a veiled… Oh, gosh, if I'm wrong, you're going to think I'm so dumb…"
His throat feels really dry. It seems she got the message, but she hasn't really given him a clear answer. And if it's a no, he's not sure he's ready to hear it. But they do need to talk about it.
"Was it… Did you mean something by it ?"
And she had to put the ball in his court. It would have gotten there eventually, of course, but he's still a coward.
"We shouldn't talk about it right now." He blurts.
"So you did-"
"That thought, this one, put it on hold. After this is over, after we get all the evidence we need, after we're both our of Ramses Lab, I'll answer- No, I'll tell you. Everything. But if I talk about it right now, I feel like I'm going to fall apart." He fears he'll ask her to run away with him and never look back. Take his family, take Finnick's van, get away from the city by whatever mean he can find. Let this rotten hell burn to the ground.
Judy's face heats up, because he pretty much answered her question.
"It's a promise ?" She asks shyly.
The tod moves toward her and gently grab her paws. "Cross my heart, blow my brains out." She looks up at him, and he wants nothing more than to lean down and kiss her. Then he takes a step back and sighs. "You're right though. I should go see my family."
"At what times do your kids get out of school ?"
"No idea." He takes a quick look at his phone screen, it's nearly 5PM. "Soon, I think. I'll text my parents, not to spring it on them like last time."
Then, he moves to change his indoor t-shirt for one of his green pawaïans.
"Let's go, before I change my mind."
The bunny thinks he took that decision fast after having argued against it. The truth is that he wants to put as much distance between them and their previous conversation as possible.
"I'll treat you to take out on our way back." Judy smiles as she puts on her vest.
"Yeaahhh… I'm pretty sure my parents are going to keep us for dinner."
- 1 -
"Hey Ma'." Nick smiles as the older opens the door. "Long time no see."
She ushers him inside and shoots a surprised look to Judy.
"How are you doing ?" His mother asks him after a quick hug. "You didn't tell me you were bringing a guest."
"Sorry, I forgot." He answers. "Are the kids there yet ?"
"Daddy !" The two kids rush from the living room and spring on their father while he opens his arms to catch them.
"Oof ! You two are getting pretty heavy !"
"We're growing up !" They grin while he carries them away.
"Hello Judy." The vixen greets the bunny. "I didn't think I'd see you again this soon."
"I'm not easy to get rid of." She smiles.
"You've spent too long around my son. How are things going ?"
"Erh… A lot happened. Some stuff that I can't tell you in detail."
"Cops stuff ?"
"Yes." Judy nods.
"Is my son involved ?"
The bunny nods awkwardly as the vixen sighs. "Well, I should've known. That kit always had a gift to head right into trouble."
Vivienne leads her toward the living room. Nick, Robin and Lucy are already sitting on the sofa and the kids are telling their father about their month.
"… And then she shoved him away !" Judy hears the young male state.
"Who shoved whom ?" The bunny asks. She hasn't engaged much with Nick's kids the last time they were here, but maybe she should. After all, they are part of Nick's life. Also, they are adorable.
"Joan, she shoved Will-"
"Who's will again ?" Cuts her father.
"Will Ziraffa. He's a giraffe. And He's mean." Answers Lucy. "Always says that all preds are savage. He tries to keep us apart from preys."
"Is that why Joan shoved him ?" The doe asks, having missed that part of the conversation.
"Kinda. Lucy, me and Joan were playing in the sandbox." Explains Robin. "And he started shouting at us that we should leave Joan alone. Joan told him we were friend. He said no, we weren't because we were dirty foxes, and he tried to pull her away."
"Then she shoved him and told him he had a stick up his butt. And I asked him if it was the reason he had such a long neck." The small tod snickers.
The bunny can't help but snort. He's taking after his father.
"Son, I told you not to be mean to other mammals." Says Nick with a scolding tone wrecked by his own smile.
"He was mean first." Robin retorts. "Then Will tried to shove Joan back but she caught his arm with her trunk and told him to go or her mother would arrest him."
"Oh, yeah. Joan is your elephant friend." Says Nick, snapping his fingers.
"Yeah, she's super cool."
"And Robin wants to marry her." Coos Lucy, batting her eyes.
"Does not !" The small tod react, his blush showing in his ears.
"Does too !"
They seem like they're about to get in argument but instead Nick's son slouches his shoulders. "Fox and elephants can't get married anyway." He mutters.
"Wait wait wait. Does my son has a little girlfriend ?" Nick asks with a wide grin. It's not mocking at all, if anything, it looks like someone just told him christmas has come early.
"No I don't." He reacts, flushing and looking away.
"Yes he does." Comments Nick's father as he enters the room. "Hey Judy, hey son. Sorry, I was taking a nap. Don't worry you didn't wake me up."
"Hey Mr W- John." Judy greets. The elder tod goes to give a quick sideway hug to his son.
"Grandpa ! It was a secret !"
"And you're keeping secrets from me ?" Nick asks in a fake hurt tone.
"No. But well..." The small tod glances at Judy. "Prey and preds can't be together. It's ille- Illi- Forbidden."
"Not really." Judy corrects. "It's impossible to marry out of species. But anyone can date anyone. Though it's better to be discrete about it."
"Mrs Cooney said it was. That there was a law and everything." States Lucy.
"Well, Mrs Cooney is wrong." The bunny says, sure of herself. She knows because she checked after Nick's almost song declaration, though she'd never admit it. "So, Robin, you have an elephant girlfriend ?"
"Yeah..." He answers in embarrassment, his blushing intensifying. "She touches my snout with her trunk. She says it's like kissing. They do it like that because of their tusks."
The bunny has a really hard time keeping inside the daaaaaw that wants to escape her lips.
"I thought that as a cop, you'd be a bit less comfortable with the idea." States Vivienne, putting a tray with tea and cookies on the coffee table.
"Ma', that sounds an awful lot like you're stereotyping." Nick grins.
"Well, look who's defending the mammals in blue." She shoots back, pouring a cup and giving it to her husband.
"Why wouldn't I be ?" He shrugs with a mischievous smirk.
"Judy, what did you do to my son ?"
The bunny takes the cup the vixen his handing as well as a cookie. "A lot happened." She shoots a glance at the kids and the older vixen nods. Not a children safe conversation, got it.
"Are you two dating ?" Asks John as his wife stares at him dumbfoundedly.
Judy almost chokes on her cookie and turns to Nick, who looks as composed as usual. "Well, we are living together." He answers, casually dipping his own cookie in his tea.
"You're… Oh my gosh-"
"We aren't dating though." Just for the look on Judy and his parents' face, it's worth the punch in the shoulder he'll get later. "She had a sort of living arrangement emergency. Always a good idea to have a copper owe me one. Anyway, we were talking about my son's girlfriend. You told me about her before… Do you know her parents ?" He asks his mother and father.
"Not really. I suppose if they ever want to set up a playdate, we will." John answers.
The tod picks up that he means it's probably never going to happen quite easily. Very few mammals would be okay with inviting fox into their home, or let their kids to their home for the night.
"Joan told me her parents are okay with us being friends." Says Lucy. "She said we could come to her birthday next time."
"I've never been to a prey birthday." Says Robin. "How do you celebrate your birthday ?"
The question is aimed at Judy, who smiles. "Well, I'm pretty sure it's the same as predators. When I was a kid, we played games, ate cake and sweets and finished with a movie." She doesn't tell them that her parents weren't massive fans of predators and that there only ever was preys at her birthday parties.
"You said "when you were a kid". You don't celebrate your birthday anymore ?" Asks Lucy with a scandalized expression.
"Erh." Judy isn't about to tell her that she spent her last birthday in bed with her now ex-boyfriend. "I do. But it's not as big of a deal as before. When you get so many birthdays, they start to get really mundane. Nick, how do you celebrate your own birthday ?"
"At a bar with friends, mostly." The fox shrugs. "Not big on birthdays."
"You used to be, though." Smiles his father, getting a photo album out of a shelf, totally oblivious to the worried gaze his son aims his way.
He opens the photo album and Judy peers at the pictures. "Oh my gosh ! You used to be so cute !" She coos. "What happened ?"
"Har, har. Very funny."
"Heh, your kids look exactly like you. Are you disguised as a princess ?" She asks, pointing at picture of him, wearing a pink dress and a tiara, and holding a plastic sword, brandishing it toward a tod who she supposes is Nick's father, disguised as a dragon. "No prince to save you ?"
The fox snorts. "I was supposed to be the prince and Honey the princess, but dad screwed up the measurement-"
"I get my numbers mixed up sometimes." He offers.
"See where I get it from – And Honey couldn't wear the dress."
"Wait, it's honey behind you ?"
There's in fact, a ratel hiding behind Nick, her paws on her eyes. "Yeah. We thought she was playing scared, but she was actually really frightened. Turns out she doesn't do well with mammals in full body disguises. Who would've thunk."
So him and the mustelid go way back. That would explain his kind of big-brotherly attitude toward her.
"Dresses are a recurring theme with you." The bunny grins.
"Don't be mad that I wear'em better than you do." He shoots back.
Judy turns a few pages, and realises that Nick's last documented birthday is his seventh, the last one before the taming. She supposes it makes sense that they decided not to document that one, given what she saw of Maurice's. Her gaze saddens, as it lingers on his collar. These horrors need to go, somehow. Whether Nighthowler is only a trigger to the savage state or not (and she's getting more and more certain it's not), she'll find a way to have them put away.
The tod claps the photo album shut suddenly, almost making her jump. "That's enough reminiscing for today. Kids, wanna go play in your room ?"
"Erm, actually…" Cuts his father. "They kind of have homework to do before that."
"But grandpa !" Reacts both kits simultaneously.
"Do not "but" your grandpa, kids." Nick says. "He's right, school is important. You wouldn't want to end up like your deadbeat d-"
The flick on his ear delivered by his mother looks so casual, Judy feels like it's a habit. "Nick, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute ?"
"Sure, ma'."
Both foxes leave the room and John starts tidying the living room table, "Let me help you." Judy proposes."
"Oh, you don't have to-"
"I'll just take those to the kitchen." She states, taking a couple of dirty glasses from the table. As she approaches it, she can hear bits of hushed conversation between Nick and his mother.
"… Told you not make self-deprecating comment in front of your kids !"
"Ma', you know I'm right."
"I don't care. I don't want them to think it's okay to devalue themselves. The world is doing a good enough job at that as it is. Even if you were some kind of murderer-"
"I am a some kind of murderer." The tod retorts, just before his mother jabs a finger at his chest.
"Don't you say that under my roof. Especially not where your kids and father can hear you !" She hisses. "Especially when there's a cop-"
"The cop already knows, Mrs Wilde." Judy intervenes. "Do you have a dishwasher ?"
The vixen has frozen, and Nick points toward the piece of equipment. "Door's a little jammed, you gotta pull sideway- Ah, you got it."
"She knows- A cop- Nick, what- Do I even want to know ?" She asks accusingly.
"I think you do, but it's not safe yet." The tod grins.
The elder vixen frowns. "Are you caught in that whole mob business again ? You promised-"
"I know what I promised. Can we please not talk about it right now ? I just want to spend a nice evening with my family, please. I'll tell you everything later."
Vivienne glares at her son for a few seconds. Then her gaze softens. "Alright." She sighs, leaving the kitchen.
"Carrots." The tod says once his mother is out of earshot. "Just so you know, my mom is up to date on pretty much everything I ever did before I went to prison. My dad isn't, and I'd rather keep it that way."
"Okay, but why ?"
"He did blab you my address. You might have noticed he's really nice, like, way too much."
"I did notice."
The tod nods. "Well, that's dad. He's kind of an optimistic happy-go-lucky guy, bordering on oblivious. Opposites attract, as they say. Grandma used to say he was the heart of the relationship while Ma' was the brain and it has never been proven false. I don't think he ever realised how on the edge my life was, and I don't really want him to. I don't think he'd be able to handle it."
The bunny nods. She understand. If her parents knew half the things she was getting herself into, they'd probably lose it. "Not telling anything to your dad. Got it."
"Cool, thanks. Let's get back out there."
As they get back in the living room, both kits are sitting on chairs, facing books and notebooks with focused expression very similar to their father's. Both his parents are sitting at each side giving advices where they can.
"Need some help ?" Nick asks with a smile.
Their face shoot up. "I have a spelling exercise." Says Lucy. "But I don't know all the words."
"I have a lesson on fractions." Robin pouts. "And it's really hard."
The tod's expression wavers. He doesn't really want his son to think he doesn't want to help, but he can't really be useful with that one.
"I could give you a few pointers. We bunnies are good at multiplying."
John hides his laughter in a fit of cough while Vivienne snorts. "Well, Robin, do you want me to leave my seat to Judy ?"
The small tod hesitates, it feels kind of weird having a stranger help him with his homework.
"Don't worry, I don't bite."
"Erh, okay then."
The vixen gets up and Judy takes her seat while Nick takes his father's. A feeling of nostalgia rises up in her. She used to help her brothers and sisters a lot with their homework, as her parents didn't necessarily have time to do so with the large family they had to take care of.
"I never get the thing with the fraction." He pouts. "And numbers with commas… It doesn't make sense."
"I get it. I took me a bit to understand how it worked." She lies. It was pretty easy for her to get but she doesn't need to rub it in. "Do you know what the number after the comma stand for ?"
"No."
"Well, they symbolise part of the numbers before it. Let's take a pie for example, if you cut it in ten slices..."
It doesn't take long for them to get through the kit's homework. It feels so easy after getting through the ZPA. The academic part wasn't that tough, but she was aiming for veladictorian.
"Wow, that sure took me back." Nick huffs. "You okay on your end, Carrots ?"
"Robin did a great job." She answers, ruffling the tod's head fur.
"Dad, will you come help us again with our homework ?" Lucy asks.
"Sure. When I can." He answers evasively.
"You could come live with us. It would make it simpler." Robin States.
"I can't yet."
"Why ?"
The tod shrugs. "Because of my job. It's pretty far, and I don't have a lot of free time. Now, how about we go playing in your room before dinner ?" That topic switch is so bad Judy almost winces, but the kits are too happy that their dad is here to push the questioning further.
"Hey Carrot's. You coming ?"
She's surprised that he doesn't want to be alone with them, as he hasn't seen them in a while, but she follows them anyway.
"Have you seen how he looks at her ?" Asks John when the door has closed behind her.
"I have." Answers Vivienne. "I'm not sure I like it."
"You- Is it because she's a cop ? She won't cause him any problem."
"It's not because she's a cop." The vixen sighs, sitting on the sofa next to her husband. "It's because she's a prey."
"A… Joan is a prey."
"Her and Robin are kids, John. It's not the same. Nick and Judy are grown mammal, they should know better than doing that kind of mistake."
The tod seem to reflect on it. "What if they don't care and start dating anyway ?"
"I don't want to think about it."
"Well I do. He hasn't been with anyone since Scarlet. I would be glad if he-"
"I said I don't want to think about it." The vixen hisses.
John's ears fall. "What's the matter with you ?"
"What's the matter is that it's wrong." She mutters. "He had enough trouble with his… Lifestyle. He doesn't need more."
"Judy's not trouble. She's a good mammal."
"I'm not talking about what she could do. I'm talking about everyone else. And you've seen her like three times. How do you know she's a good mammal anyway ?"
"You think she isn't ?"
"I didn't say that. I'm pretty sure she's kind, and if she can get along with him, patient. But a prey and a predator… " The vixen shudders. "It's wrong."
"But if it makes him happy ?"
The vixen frowns. She can't tell that she doesn't care about that, because it's important. It's the most important question actually. "What about long term, though ? What kind of future could they build together ?"
"That would be for them to figure out, wouldn't it ?" John smiles. "But you're right, we don't have to think about it right now. After, they aren't dating, are they ?" He finishes, before grabbing the remote control and turning on the television.
- 2 -
Judy smiles as she looks at Nick's kit's room. It feels very much like a bunny bedroom, though there are only two beds, and a rolled futon in a corner Nick has to have used to sleep there last time. There are animated movie posters on the wall and an impressive contraption made of many different types construction toys.
There are cars, and things that are probably spaceships, small figures looking like armies. Most of it is worn, but more because it has been used a lot than because it was mishandled.
"Hey, are you really a cop ?"
Lucy is pulling on Judy's sleeve and the bunny crouches to get at eye level. "Yes, I am."
"So you're really Judy Hopps !? I wasn't sure last time and mom told us and dad not to talk about you. She said it wasn't safe for daddy."
Judy's eyes shoot toward Nick who makes a strange expression.
"Yes, I'm Judy Hopps."
"Are you friend with daddy ?" Robin asks.
The bunny aims an interrogative look at the fox who intervenes. "Yes, we are. But we're secret friends."
"Secret friends ? What does that mean ?"
"Well… It's like… No one can know that we are friends."
"Why ?"
The tod wants to sigh. That "why" phase can be a real pain sometimes. "Because most mammals think it's strange for a bunny and fox to be friends. And since Judy's a cop, if her colleagues knew she was friend with a fox, they might give her a hard time."
Robin frowns. "That's stupid."
Nick wants to say that most mammals are stupid, but he's not sure he wants his kids to end up as jaded as he is. Instead he shrugs. "It is. But I need you to promise me you won't talk about Judy to anyone."
"Not even to Joan ?"
"Sorry, pup, not even her. It's a fox secret."
"Like the caps ? Grandma made grandpa put his away before-" The small vixen's eyes widen as she realises what she talked about in front of a prey. "Please don't take grandpa away." She says meekly her eyes filling with tears.
"Hey, snugglebug, it's okay." Nick whispers putting a knee to the floor and ruffling her hair.
"But- but- The cops took Elliot's dad away when they caught him with a cap in his collar ! And Judy's a cop, and I-"
"I won't take away your grandpa." Judy states.
"Really ?"
"Really really." She's surprised when the little vixen hangs herself at her neck, but she still returns the hug. What she isn't surprised about, is when her brother gets in on the hug. She turns her gaze to Nick again, who's watching them with a wide smile. She waves a paw at him and the fox joins them.
Their faces are really close together, if he moved only half an inch forward, they could probably kiss. Judy tips her head sideways and leans forward, resting her cheek against the side of his snout. The tod closes his eyes, taking in that stolen moment. That thing that shouldn't exist. His heart is filling in a way it hasn't in years, and he clutches the bunny and his kids a bit tighter. Just for a couple of minutes, the world ceases to exist. There's no collar, no debts, no conspiracy, no Nighthowler. Just him, Robin, Lucy and Judy.
His collar blares yellow and he wants to scream in pain and frustration. With a whine so low only Judy can hear it, he pulls away from the three mammals.
For the quarter of a second, there's enough sadness in his eyes to break the bunny's heart, but it disappears so fast she wonders if she hasn't imagined it.
"So what did you two build this week ?" The tod asks, nodding toward the big construction. With wide smiles, the two kits start talking.
- 3 -
"It was a really nice evening, but we really need to go."
Nick is holding Judy's coats as she's sliding her arms into it sleeves. Both the tod's parents look a bit disappointed, and his kids downright dismayed.
"Are you sure you don't want to spend the night ?" His mother wants to add that it would make his children happy but it would be low.
"I do want that. But we have things to do tomorrow." He says in a dejected tone, before giving both his parents a curt hug. "Love you Ma', love you Pa'."
"Love you son." They answer as Nick pick ups hi kits.
"Guys, I want you to be nice to your grand parents. Be good at school and keep working hard."
"Yes dad !"
His smile falls a bit and he hugs them tighter. "I love you both so much." He whispers. This time, he doesn't lose himself, but he couldn't have anyway. This feels more on the bittersweet side than last time. Finally, he puts them down and moves toward the door. "See you soon."
Then they're out. The night is dark, but the street lamps provide enough light. Judy recognize the path they are taking as she walks silently next to Nick.
- 4 -
"Thank you for this." She hears him saying after he has closed the window behind her. "For pushing me to see them. I needed it. They needed it too."
"You don't need to thank me."
"You might have noticed that I rarely thank people, so you should just take it." He grins.
The bunny chuckles. "You're welcome, then."
With a deep sigh, the tod takes out his phone again.
"You're going get right back to this ?"
"We weren't really done, you know ?"
"We ?" Reacts the bunny.
"Yeah. I have a few ideas I actually want to run by you and a few scripts we need to talk about too, in case shits hits the fan."
"What kind of scripts ?"
The tod shoots her a wry grin. "The same kind that you pulled on our favourite assistant mayor. The kind that will put your actor skills to the test."