January 4th, Saturday – Meadowlands Conference Center
"I really don't think I can do this," Nick muttered to himself, turning on his heel to run for the door, only to find himself facing the knees of Kevin, who had been stationed by Mister Big at the doorway. "I need to go get a drink."
"Nope," the enormous polar bear replied gruffly. "Boss's orders. You ain't goin' nowhere until it's time. They'll bring you a drink. Scotch?"
"Always," Nick replied, then went back to pacing the room. He smoothed his tuxedo jacket nervously, trying to get the tie to lay right. "What if I have to pee?"
"Use the potted plant in the corner," Kevin replied, and Nick could feel the bear's grin.
"Am I actually a captive here?" Nick asked, turning to look up at Kevin.
The burly bear sighed and let his arms drop to his sides. "Nah, I'm just playin', Wilde. What you freaking out about? I thought you wanted this?"
"Speeches scare me. I really need to work out my vows, and I'm still not ready. I don't have a single word on paper yet. The ceremony itself I'm thrilled about."
"Speech? That's your problem?" Kevin asked, huffing as he moved a little closer. "You talk all the time, hustler. You can't talk no good words on your wedding day?"
Nick shrugged and adjusted his tie again. "This is different. More important."
"Nah, you're just bein' crazy," Kevin insisted, coming up to loom over Nick. After a moment, he took a knee and swatted both of Nick's paws away with one finger. Then, using the tips of his claws—something that left Nick frozen and terrified briefly—Kevin set to adjusting Nick's tie. "Worryin' because we're gonna break your knees, that's a good reason to worry. Worryin' because your girlfriend ain't gonna like your vows, now that's just dumb. I didn't write anythin' for my wedding, and it turned out fine, but that's cuz I'm a smooth talker, like you. Wing it, fox. It's what you're good at. She'll love it."
"I can see how we're alike," Nick mumbled, unsure if he really should be joking about anything that might get his head popped off by Kevin. "Since we're buddies now—"
"I ain't your buddy," warned Kevin, tapping Nick hard on the chest with a fingertip.
"—ouch, right, since no one's going to kill anyone here, can I ask a serious question?"
"Nope," replied the bear as he stood up. "Then again, not like it's gonna stop you."
Smiling and backing quickly away from Kevin, Nick talked as he started pacing the room again. "The way I see it, Mister Big's a big softy, and he's just trying to intimidate me. I think he's really sweet on Judy and I, and I was never in any real danger. That true?"
Kevin snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "He's tells me to kill you, I kill you. Simple as that. As for him liking you both, that definitely ain't true. He likes the bunny. You, not so much. You, he tolerates. You mess up with the bunny, we break your knees. You make the bunny cry, we break your knees. You piss off Mister Big, we break your knees. Want I should continue?"
"Your pep talks need work," Nick told Kevin, getting another snort in reply. "I won't hurt Judy. You don't have to be worried about that."
"I ain't worried. Do I look worried?"
Nick turned back to the mirror and gave himself another once-over. Everything was as good as it would get, without replacing himself along the way. "How am I doing on time?"
"You're gonna be at the aisle in ten minutes, even if I hafta carry you. Means we're leavin' here in five."
"You can save yourself the effort," Nick told Kevin, as he headed for the door. This time, the bear let him pass, and stayed back some distance as Nick made his way through the halls of the conference center. He soon reached the "inner" doors of the building, which led into a vast open plaza, filled with green grass and high bushes on the edges to hide the walls, giving the illusion of being outdoors. In the middle of the Zootopian winter, the massive domed courtyard was a popular destination for those who needed some time in nature, or were planning a wedding at an odd time. The warmth within the garden plaza kept the windows overhead clear of snow, so he had a relatively unobstructed view of the bright blue sky overhead as he padded out onto the grass walkway that went straight down the middle of the courtyard.
To either side of the path he walked, rows of seats had been set up. He and Judy had worked out a list of who was going to attend, narrowing it to a "small" list of two hundred close relatives of Judy's, plus Nick's mother, Finnick, Skye and Harry, and a few dozen officers they wanted present. That initial plan of under two hundred fifty mammals had fallen apart when word got out that a fox and a bunny—specifically, a famous fox and bunny—were getting married.
Now, the courtyard was packed with almost a thousand animals of all shapes and sizes. Despite a general dislike for foxes in the city and a very low regard for a fox and bunny being involved, everyone wanted to see it for themselves. Most were not guests, and included dozens of employees of the conference center, largely milling about the edges of the courtyard.
Centered at the end of the path was Chief Bogo in his dress uniform, ready to perform the ceremony. Only a little right of Bogo was a ZNN crew, strategically positioned near the front of the path. On the far side of Bogo, someone had apparently allowed Foxes' News to take up a very visible location—something that rather surprised Nick, given how few animals trusted anything they saw on a network by foxes, for foxes, and about foxes. Several smaller stations had cameras around the edges of the courtyard, trying to stay out of the way.
All-in-all, the area felt as though the city was more startled by the wedding than they had been about Night Howlers. That, in turn, made Nick far more self-conscious than he wanted to be. As he slunk up the aisle, he kept his eyes straight forward and had to work to keep his paws out of his pockets. The only time he allowed himself to look around was as he neared the front rows, where his mother and Judy's parents beamed at him happily, with the five kits he had tried adopting in their laps, waving excitedly. He almost got past them before he realized who was sitting by his mother: John. His father looked as happy as those around him, and even Nick could not find any rage left within himself to aim at John. Whatever the case, Marian and he had come to an understanding that allowed him to sit near her for the length of the wedding without being beaten.
Standing off to the left of Bogo—on Nick's side of the area, as he understood it—were Finnick, Skye, Felix Spetz, and Benjamin Clawhauser, as his escorts. He still was not clear on their purpose, other than to show support for Nick if he panicked, and as proof that he did have friends. The other side would be where Judy's escorts stood, though he was unsure who she was bringing. The whole ceremony had been planned behind his back between Judy and Mister Big, leaving him precious little information.
Taking his place at the head of the aisle, Nick waited near Bogo for whatever was to come next. The details had been a bit fuzzy, and he had definitely pounded more scotch in the previous few days than had been wise, as he had worked on his vows. With so many differences of culture between Judy's family and his own—and even more between the various Zootopian species involved in the wedding—all he knew was that they had muddled together some form of formal wedding ceremony, where the two of them would declare their intentions publicly. Everything else, he had left in Bogo's capable hooves to sort out.
"You ready for this, Wilde?" Bogo asked softly, though he could probably have talked at normal volume, given the sheer number of animals making noise. Nick almost failed to notice the music playing somewhere, though picking out the tune in the noise was almost impossible.
"Pretty much born ready," Nick replied, hoping to assure himself, as well as Bogo. "No one's going to tase me, right?"
"Likely not," Bogo answered, chuckling. "There was talk about a bachelor's party, but we decided Hopps would have come down hard on all of us for anything that happened there, and a taser would likely have been involved. Safer for us all without any surprises."
"I'd have been pretty boring, anyway, chief. Aside from drinking, there's not much to tempt me with, and as far as I'm concerned, we already got married."
"You're a better animal than most, no matter what I tell everyone in public," Bogo said, as he leaned a little closer to Nick. "I also will never admit I said that."
"You do a fox proud, sir," Nick teased right back, grinning as he turned to face the audience. Instantly, his heart began pounding as he looked out at the sea of animals staring back at him, many with cameras. Narrowing his focus to the front few rows helped him calm himself and resist the urge to run away, by filtering out the hundreds upon hundreds of mammals he did not know. "Sir, you know if she's going to carry through on her threat?"
"To make you wear a dress, so she didn't feel obligated?" asked Bogo in reply. From the corner of Nick's eye, he saw Bogo glance toward Clawhauser, before he lowered his voice further. "Doubt it, since you made it this far in a suit. She might be in a tux, too. Hell, she might be in jeans and a t-shirt for all I know. Clawhauser had to explain 'why' on almost every part of this ceremony to her."
"He volunteered for that duty, didn't he?"
"He absolutely did. Already had a scrapbook with ideas ready, even before he knew this was going to happen. Nimr is having a small nervous meltdown about how ready Benji is for his own wedding, from what I hear. They've probably got some time yet, given Nimr and Gazelle's touring schedule."
The next few minutes seemed to slow to a crawl, and Nick found himself watching the crowd to keep his mind occupied. Most of the animals in the courtyard were talking amongst themselves, though ZNN and Foxes' News had reporters who were both chattering endlessly to their audiences, and what little he could hear of the two versions, there were absolutely no similarities. He then turned his attention to the front row, first to Judy's parents, and found that Stu was crying uncontrollably, despite a big smile on his face, while Bonnie rolled her eyes and kept handing him fresh tissues. The five kits bounded between the two adult bunnies, trying to get a better view. Turning to his right slightly, he saw that his mother and John were whispering quietly, and neither looked the least bit angry at the other—and that his mother wore a single crimson rose, pinned to the edge of her dress's collar.
I guess anyone can be forgiven, eventually, he thought, smiling. That smile dropped sharply as the music became a little louder. Initially, Nick had believed the music to be a recording, but as it picked up in volume, he realized that there was a live band and singer behind it. The voice behind the melody was not hard to recognize, once the crowd quieted and looked toward the courtyard entrance.
"Gazelle?" Nick blurted out, getting a few stray glances from those in the audience. "We seriously got an international pop star to show up at our wedding? I agreed to ask her, thinking she'd refuse. Why didn't anyone tell me she accepted?"
On cue, the doors from the conference center's halls opened, and Nimr and another of Gazelle's tiger dancers strode into the courtyard, wearing tuxedo pants and ties—but nothing else, other than some glitter. They led the way, giving stern, yet beckoning, stares at the crowd as they moved elegantly down the aisle. Behind them, Gazelle was singing softly into a wireless microphone, turning as he walked to acknowledge nearly every single animal in the crowd, as well as the cameras. Following her, the other two tiger dancers made their appearance, following in perfect stride with the first two tigers.
The group made their way slowly through the courtyard, somehow always maintaining perfect symmetry between the four dancers, despite Gazelle's efforts to give everyone a moment's attention. At last, they reached the front of the aisle, and Gazelle let the song trail off, while her dancers parted between the two sides—Nimr and one other dancer to Nick's side, giving Benjamin a wink as he went by. They stood behind his escorts and where Judy's would be, and then Gazelle took the last few steps up to face Nick and Bogo.
Turning delicately in her absurd "shoes"—which Nick was reasonably certain someone in her company had designed simply to convince mammals to buy yet another product from her—Gazelle stepped up in front of Nick. She lowered her microphone to her side, then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Before she pulled away, she whispered, "Thank you to both of you. The five of us wouldn't be here, if not for you and your lovely bunny. This is the least we could do for you."
Nick smiled as he felt a strong blush spread under his fur. It was not every day he got a kiss from a superstar. He could not even find words to reply to her, before Gazelle went to Chief Bogo and took his hoof, kissing that as well. The blush was actually visible all up Bogo's muzzle as Gazelle made her way past Bogo to her dancers on Judy's side.
"Best…wedding…ever," Bogo told Nick softly. "Heard she's staying for the reception, too."
"Don't make an ass of yourself at the open bar," Nick warned over his shoulder. "If you flirt with Gazelle, I will get pictures to use against you for years to come."
"I… That's not… Shut your damn mouth, Wilde," Bogo sputtered, straightening up. "Pay attention to your wedding, not what I might do after a few drinks. I don't need your advice when it comes to Gaz…females."
"Clawhauser will get a kiss on the cheek before you do," Nick teased. "I'll put money on it."
"I'm not above slapping you upside your head at your own wedding, Wilde."
"On camera, sir? That seems like bad publicity. Go ahead, if you think that's best for the ZPD. Bet you the fox news crew will have it on camera and all over the next broadcast."
Bogo's grumble let Nick know he had won the battle, and the chief would be on good behavior with Gazelle, at least until he had a few drinks in him. Then, Nick had every intention of laughing at his boss's expense. He prepared to say something else witty, but entirely lost his train of thought as Gazelle started singing again and the courtyard doors opened once more. This time, the way was led by Judy's niece, Cotton, who scattered flower petals on the path through the courtyard—and tossed pawfuls to several bunnies in the seats nearby. The violet coloring of the flowers was definitely not random. Nick recognized them as the same type he had purchased Judy as a gift months before, for their first date.
Cotton skipped her way to the front of the path, while Nick could see that others were waiting in the darker hallway she had come from. When the kit finally bounded past the front row, she headed to Nick's left, to take a seat beside Bonnie Hopps. There, she shared the last few flower petals with Mike, Amy, Mary, Kara, and Seth.
After another few seconds of Gazelle's lilting voice, five figures emerged from the hallway and into the brightly-lit courtyard. Leading the group were Fru Fru—Mister Big's daughter—and Emily Hopps, who Judy had picked as an escort specifically to prove a point about how Judy was not going to end up unmarried and alone. Both wore simple dresses of a pale pink, which Nick noted looked quite nice on Fru Fru, but decidedly awful on Emily.
Behind the lead escorts, Judy strode slowly down the path—drawing a squeal of excitement from Clawhauser—her paws coming down gently on the flower petals and grass. Without realizing it, Nick caught his breath at how beautiful she looked. To Nick's surprise, she wore an elegant gown of violet, which matched the flowers she walked on—he had actually expected her to wear a tuxedo, given her general dislike of frilly things. A partial veil covered the top of her head, and back down over her ears. As she walked, she kept her eyes on the ground, giving off a sense of shyness Nick knew was an act, but which made him want her to look his way all the more.
This is all a game to her, he thought, clicking his tongue in annoyance. As usual, she's winning. Not that it's hard to win after agreeing to sleep separately for the last month, but still. Stupid traditions. I liked the bunny ones far better. Who, in this age, banishes their partner to the spare bedroom right before getting married, let alone married the second time? My mom had to have made that tradition up.
Once Judy reached the halfway mark down the aisle and the news crews had stopped gushing about how she looked, Nick managed to get a look past her. One of the other two escorts was mostly hidden behind Judy's dress, and together they were carrying the long train of fabric from it. On Nick's left—Judy's right—Harry kept pace with her, grinning happily as he held the fabric off the ground. Unlike the other escorts, he was dressed in a suit, though his shirt was a color match for the dresses.
To Judy's left walked Cyndi, who Judy had spent a great deal of time with in the last few weeks. From what Nick had been able to gather, Cyndi had become Judy's sounding board for the ongoing fight she was having with the traumas she had endured in Rolen's captivity. The fossa and Judy had bonded, and now regularly disappeared for "girls' nights," which Nick took to mean they went out drinking and talking. Given that since the wedding was announced, Cyndi got to spend more time with Judy than Nick did outside work, he was starting to understand Felix's dislike for Cyndi, even if he had no actual issue with her. Jealousy was not usually his way, but he was learning quickly.
Judy's entourage soon reached the end of the aisle between seats, and Fru Fru led Emily toward the far side of Chief Bogo. Stepping up to Bogo's left, across from Nick, Judy kept her eyes down as Harry and Cyndi filed in alongside Emily behind her. When Nick let out a soft "pst" to get her attention, Judy's muzzle curled into a slight smile, proving she was definitely teasing him by not looking up. Whoever had taught her that trick was now Nick's favorite mammal to hate on.
"Dearly beloved of these two mammals…" Bogo began, raising his voice to be heard over the crowds. When the noise from the courtyard did not diminish, he increased his volume yet again. "…AND THE MEDIA…" At last, the whispered conversations died out when the news crews seemed to realize they were being called out. "…we are gathered here today to witness the formal union of this fox and this bunny, before their friends and families. Through some clear mistake of judgement and questionable bookkeeping, I have been asked to perform this ceremony."
Because no one else would, Nick thought, keeping his smile in place as he watched Judy. No church in this town would marry prey and predator, let alone most of the civil servants. Two went on extended leaves of absence when they heard we were looking. Thank goodness Bogo's ornery enough to bully his way into the right paperwork to do it. If they knew why he applied for that license, I'm betting there'd have been a fight.
Bogo looked between Nick and Judy, then out across the seated guests, pointedly ignoring the news agencies—especially the foxes, who had begun loudly talking to their viewers about the implications of a bunny "tying down" a noble and respected fox. "Today, we come here to bind these two together in the eyes of their loved ones and the city of Zootopia. Should anyone have pressing reason that they believe these two should not be married, speak now, or—"
A commotion broke out, finally snapping Nick's attention away from Judy's face, and drawing her gaze up, as well. At the door into the conference center, a few dozen mammals were struggling to enter the courtyard, being held back by ten uniformed ZPD officers. One particular deer tried to shout something as Bogo paused, but got a firm paw in the face from Stan, as he shoved her back out into the hall. In the few seconds the door was open, Nick saw protest signs and even a few pictures of Bellwether. These animals were not here to celebrate or gawk; they had come to disrupt the wedding.
"Right, so as I was saying," Bogo continued, clearing his throat as the officers forced the doors closed. "Should anyone in the courtyard have pressing reason that they believe these two should not be married, speak now, or keep it to yourselves forever."
Bogo slowly glared across the crowd, as though daring anyone to challenge the wedding, but those within the courtyard remained quiet. He gave it several seconds, while Judy and Nick both watched him nervously. Nick could still hear the noise of arguments in the hallway, and twitching of Judy's ears under the veil that covered the top and back of her head hinted she could hear it, too.
"Let us proceed, then." Bogo straightened and adjusted to face Nick. "Judy got to go first in the burrow. Would you like to go first for this ceremony?"
"That would be lovely," Nick told Bogo, smiling.
"And, I assume, you have some kind of ridiculous vows prepared?" Nick grinned more broadly, despite the fear clutching his stomach. "Fine. Please state your vows, Nicholas Wilde."
Turning to face Judy, Nick slowly took a knee. He picked up one of her forepaws in his, then looked up into her eyes. He had not initially noticed, but Judy wore very faint makeup in her fur, accenting the color of her eyes, and drawing that color out toward the violet of her gown. The effect was a little hypnotic, and he nearly lost his place. Blinking, Nick forced himself to start talking—and made it up as he went.
"Judith Hopps," he began, then licked his muzzle as it felt painfully dry under pressure, "you are the only mammal I've ever truly loved. Never before in my life have I ever wanted to be where I am today, but with you, I can't imagine a life without you at my side. If you'll have me, I promise to be as good as I can manage, to be faithful to you no matter what might come, and to keep revering you the way I have since the day I met you. I want to be your partner, your friend, and your lover for the rest of my life, or for as long as you're willing to put up with me. My whole life I've sought acceptance and recognition from the city as something more than just 'that fox', but that doesn't even matter to me anymore. Now, I believe I have your acceptance and love, and that is so much more than anything else I could have ever looked for. I pledge to you that I will never want to be anywhere but at your side. Will you, Judith Hopps, take me to be your husband, no matter how dumb I might be, no matter how clever I think I am when I'm not, and no matter how far short I fall from what I want to be for you?"
Laughing and covering her muzzle with her free paw, Judy nodded and squeezed his paw. "I do, you dumb fox."
Nick rose at Bogo's slight gesture.
Turning next to Judy, Bogo asked her, "Do you, also, have vows prepared? Hopefully airtight ones, given who you're marrying."
Judy giggled and nodded. She then lifted the edge of her dress so she could take a knee in front of Nick, still holding his paw.
"Nicholas Piberious Wilde," Judy started, the humor in her voice fading instantly as she stared up at him with clear nervousness in her eyes, "today I am doing something I never thought I would need. This is something I pushed out of my life, wanting only to become the best officer I could be. Since I met you, my entire life has been upended. You've been the largest pain in the tail I've ever met. Despite all the frustrations, I wouldn't give up a single second of it all, if it meant not being with you. No one has ever been a truer friend and partner. You have made me wonder and worry more than I care to admit, but you have always been there for me. I promise to do the same for you, from this day, until my last. Never will you need to doubt my love for you, or my dedication to this being what's right for me. I have only wanted two things in my entire life so strongly that I can feel them when I close my eyes, and this is one. So long as you'll have me, I pledge myself to you. Will you, Nick, take me to be your wife, through the good times and the bad, no matter what might come?"
Nick smiled down at Judy and held perfectly still. He kept his mouth shut as the seconds ticked past, until he saw Judy begin to tense and blink more rapidly in concern. Faintly, he heard several bunnies in the crowd whisper to each other, asking if he was having second thoughts. Just as he was about to let Judy stop worrying, he heard his mother softly say, "Sweet chickens on Sunday, Nicky. Don't be an asshole."
"I do," he finally told her, grinning so broadly it hurt his cheeks. It felt like the smile was beyond his control to stop. "I absolutely do, without question. Was there any doubt?"
Judy's concerned stare snapped to an annoyed glare. "Har har. Keep it up, and you're sleeping on the couch."
Sighing, Bogo motioned for Judy to stand. Once Nick and Judy faced each other, clasping both paws, Bogo addressed the audience again. "Within this great city, we have many traditions. Among some, gifts are exchanged at this point. Among others, a symbol of being bound to one another is given, such as matching rings, or other jewelry. There are a great many ways to express that the spouses are truly together, but these two have chosen to bear no symbols, no customs, and no traditions from any one species, as it would not fully represent them, and who they are as a couple. We, the witnesses today, are the recognition of this union, and their traditions will be their own, as this marriage is something new to our city. The customs they choose as their own will represent a new beginning for the city, and for the first time, Zootopia can truly call itself a merging of all animal cultures. Now, by the power invested in me by the city and surrounding lands of Zootopia, I hereby declare Nicholas Piberious Wilde and Judith Laverne Hopps to be lawfully married in the eyes of the citizens of this fine land. It is with great pleasure that—"
"Pardon me!" called out a female voice from the audience, and Nick froze, wondering if one of the protesters had managed to sneak inside. When he looked over, he was even more surprised to find Katrina and Markus walking up the central aisle. Raising one paw, Katrina repeated, "Pardon me. I cannot allow this. As ambassador from the freed Ursian territories, I insist on speaking."
Bogo grumbled loudly and placed his hoof over Nick and Judy's paws to keep them from letting go. "The time for objections has long since passed."
"Oh, I have no intention of objecting," Katrina assured them, keeping her voice loud enough for all to hear. "You have limited this union, and I would like to remove that limitation."
"I…what?" asked Bogo, looking down at Nick, then Judy. "I'm not certain I understand."
Katrina finished walking to them, and moved around beside Bogo, so the crowd could see her. "You are able to make this official in all Zootopian lands. I am able to make this official in all formerly Ursian lands, expanding the significance of this wedding. Do you, Judy, and you, Nick, consent to being recognized as the first predator and prey married under the laws of my lands? Per our laws, this vow is absolute, making you both master of the other, and equals for the rest of your days together. Another might climb higher in society, but to each other, you are forever equal. It may not seem like much here, but in Ursian lands, I'm certain you can see how significant that is."
Nick glanced back at Judy, and found she was smiling up at Katrina. Almost in unison, they answered, "I do."
Placing one paw over theirs, Katrina then announced, "By the powers vested in me as the duly-elected ruler of the northern Ursian provinces, I hereby recognize the marriage of these two. Burly bison, you may continue."
Bogo's glower did not escape Nick. "Now that this…interruption…is complete, perhaps we can get back to the original plan. I, and the representative of the semi-hostile foreign nation, do hereby declare you two to be lawfully married. You may kiss your spouse."
Nick smiled down at Judy, but before he could bend to kiss her, she leapt up and caught him around the back of the neck with both arms, putting her hind paws on his thighs to stay up. Her kiss was forceful, but he clung to her as long as she let him to the thunderous applause of their audience. At long last, she ended the kiss and dropped back to the ground. Nick was so stunned and giddy that he barely noticed Cyndi and Harry struggling to keep Judy from tangling or landing on her dress's train.
"You may all make your way to the reception hall," Bogo announced, once the hoots and cheers had ended. The guests started to get up, but when Nick looked toward the main exit from the courtyard, ZPD officers were still holding the doors shut against protesters. "On second thought, we're taking the back way out. Officers will lead you all to the hall."
Two officers remained at the doors, as the others began spreading out through the courtyard, taking one row of guests at a time toward the back of the plaza, and into the building proper through another set of doors. As the courtyard slowly emptied, Nick and Judy remained where they were, with Bogo and Katrina standing over them, and Markus nearby, watching Katrina like a dutiful bodyguard.
"You two, take the side exit," Bogo said more softly, as the crowds thinned. There were still a hundred animals yet to leave, but it would be some time before they all left the courtyard. "I don't want those idiot protesters knowing where to expect you both. You know your way to the reception hall?"
"I do," Judy assured him, taking Nick's paw again. She quickly unfastened the train of her dress, and tossed it to Harry and Cyndi, allowing her to move more freely in the knee-length remainder of the outfit. "Clawhauser and Skye, you mind giving us an escort, so we're not in trouble if the protesters catch us alone?"
"Yes, absolutely!" Benji exclaimed, clapping, before straightening and putting on his "tough cop" look.
Unlike Clawhauser, Skye made an effort to look less professional, adopting a slight slouch and relaxed expression. Had Nick not known her all too well, he would not have recognized her as the pretentious vixen who had been all over the news a month earlier—which was probably the intent. "Follow me. Benjamin, bring up the rear. If anyone tries to stop them, please don't question my methods."
"I… What?" Clawhauser asked, his joy fading sharply. "What're you saying?"
"I'll use any and all necessary force—"
"No killing anyone," Nick intervened, and Skye looked more than a little crestfallen. "You don't even get to rough them up, unless they begin a physical altercation. I'm not bailing you out of jail tonight, sis."
Skye's disappointment quickly turned into amusement. "I thought you had an open bar? If you think you're not bailing out one of your siblings, you aren't doing this right. My plan is to drink our brother under the table, and Harry's agreed to drive home."
"Just…go," Judy insisted, pointing at the side doors with one paw. "I get a single bloodstain on this dress, and you're answering to me."
Skye gave a joking salute to Judy, then headed quickly toward the door that Nick was fairly certain led through the maintenance halls. Sure enough, as soon as Skye went through and they followed, they found themselves in a cool and poorly-lit passage through the conference center.
"This should be pretty direct," Skye told them over her shoulder, her paws making a soft slapping noise as she hurried down the tile-floored hallway. "We'll cut through the kitchen, then around to the reception hall. Anyone who's trying to get to you two will have to come through the officers, the reception hall, and me. All we need to do…"
Skye's words trailed off sharply as they passed the kitchen area, and Nick heard shouting ahead. He hurried his pace, falling in right behind Skye with Judy at his side, and was able to see down the hall to a windowed door. Beyond it, he could see dozens of tables and many of their guests…and just as many protesters, who were already in the hall, and being cleared out by the ZPD.
"Or…we could wait in the kitchen," offered Clawhauser, helpfully. He motioned toward a long rack of appetizers. "A few drinks, a snack, and by then the room should be ready."
"I can help speed this along," Skye said over her shoulder, as she cracked her knuckles.
"Skye, stop!" Nick warned, and to his surprise, she froze. "You do not have a badge, and the ZPD will put you on the ground in a heartbeat. Stay right where you are. You walk into that room and pick a fight, and I'll tase you myself, then hand Harry my camera, six shots of whiskey, some lipstick, a thousand small drink umbrellas from that shelf over there, and let him have fun with you on Muzzlebook. Are we clear?"
Skye's eyes widened as she cocked her head and tilted both ears in clear confusion, but nodded in acknowledgement.
The four of them stood around, watching the door for several minutes, as guests were moved to one end of the hall, while protesters and police squared off in lengthy shouting matches. After a while, Judy looked up at Nick and gave him a sly smirk.
"This could take a while, right?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows as she clasped her paws behind her back and wagged her tail.
"If you're implying something, I didn't get the memo," Nick admitted, shrugging. "Yes, I'd guess we have some time. Why?"
Judy pointedly leaned to look past him, toward one of the hallways out of the kitchen area. When he followed her gaze, he saw a sign that said, "Executive Washroom" with an arrow. By the time he turned back to her, Judy was bouncing on her toes and biting her bottom lip, the way she did when trying to subdue excitement.
"I'm guessing you don't need to use the bathroom," he guessed out loud, and her widening grin let him know all he needed. "Skye, Benji…we'll be back in a few minutes. Mind holding down the fort and keeping everyone from harassing us?"
"What are you—?" began Skye, but Clawhauser's squeal of joy cut her short. Sighing, she shrugged. "Go do whatever it is you're thinking. I really don't want to know, but I'm not covering for you if you get stuck there when they come looking to do toasts."
Nick started toward the hall, but Judy raced ahead, pulling him by the arm faster than he had intended to move. He wound up being yanked along, barely keeping his balance, all the way down the hallway, until Judy reached the executive washroom near a section of the conference center filled with offices. She came to a sliding halt on the smooth cement, and carefully peeked inside, looking both ways, before popping her head back out.
"All clear," she told him, bouncing on her toes again. "Foxes first?"
Nick laughed as Judy held the door for him—she could be old-fashioned at the strangest times—and slid into the bathroom, doing one quick check under each stall door for any paws. Thankfully, they did appear to be alone. By the time he turned back, Judy was sitting on the edge of the counter for the sinks, trying to reach the zipper at the back of her dress.
"A little help?" she asked, squirming to try and get a paw to where the zipper sat between her shoulder blades.
"Sure thing!" Nick blurted out, racing over to stand between her hind paws. Ignoring her efforts with the zipper, he slid up her dress, as he felt for her underwear edges. "There's an easier way…"
Glaring up at him, Judy reached down and grabbed his paws, pulling them away. "Priorities here, Nick. I really want the dress off, more than I want to have sex. I've got something to show you."
Nick took a slight step back between her knees and cocked his head in confusion. "You take off the dress and show me things, and I think we're heading the same direction, just slower. Should I be taking my clothes off, too?"
"Sweet cheese and crackers," Judy muttered, turning sideways on the counter. Pointing at her back with one finger, she added, "Just unzip it."
Sighing, Nick did as he was told, sliding the zipper down to her tail hole, so the whole dress opened up in back. Once he had the zipper undone, Judy held her dress to her front and turned back to face him.
"Okay," she said, looking up at him nervously, which was not something he expected. At first, he thought it might have been because they were fooling around in a publicly-accessible bathroom, but something in her tone hinted she was truly worried. "I wanted you to know why we haven't been sleeping together the last month. I had a wedding-day surprise for you, but I'm not going to make you wait."
"What do you want me to do?" he asked, unsure what to do with his paws.
"Just…look," she explained, lowering the dress to expose her whole front.
At first, Nick was not sure what he was looking for. His eyes drifted over the curves of her body, across the shorter fur where scratches she had gotten in the south were still filling in, past the transitions between her two fur colors, past her hips and all the way down to her hind paws hanging off the counter. Confused, he started back up, then realized something was missing. His eyes went to her stomach and side, which she showed more readily when he focused on it.
"The scar is gone," he said aloud, reaching out to touch the short fuzz that had begun to fill over the long line Milo had been forced to make across her belly before their mission. Even the bullet wound below her ribs on the other side was faded under fresh fur. "I thought they couldn't fix that once it was done?"
As his fingerpads brushed the fur, Judy giggled and squirmed. "Okay, that tickles! It's not easy to fix, that's for sure. Cyndi pushed me to see a doctor about it as part of my therapy. So long as the big scar was there, she thought I might not let go of what happened, and would keep having flashbacks. The last month, they did a few rounds of grafts, and it's starting to heal. It'll always be a bit thinner fur, but it won't stand out so much. Do you…do you like it?"
Nick found himself all too amused by gently running his fingers over the short fur, barely able to make out the scar beneath. Whoever Judy had gone to for help, they had done fine work. Another month or two, and no one would be able to find the scar without digging into her fur. He was so entranced by the change and what it had done for Judy's confidence that he had to remind himself he was standing in front of his mostly-naked wife in a bathroom, while the ZPD cleared out protesters for their wedding reception.
"I really do," he admitted, smiling at her as he straightened. "You're beautiful with or without the scar, but I know how much getting rid of that meant to you. You didn't need to do it for me. I'm in love with you, scar or not. I don't care about that, your fur color, your eye color, your height, weight…I love you, not how you look. Pretty sure we got past that once I admitted I loved a cute little bunny."
Judy stared back at him, unblinking for several seconds, then pulled off the rest of her dress and tossed it aside. "I told myself I was waiting until after the reception. That speech just ruined those plans. Do I need to talk you into it…"
Nick kicked off his pants faster than even he thought he could, as she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pulling her to the edge of the counter, he slid his boxers down past his tail, then adjusted himself so they were not quite as awkwardly perched, pressing himself up between her thighs. "For real? No teasing? We're actually doing this?"
"If you want," she whispered near his ear. In case he was still in doubt, Judy reached down and pulled his hips forward, easing the tip of him ever so slightly into her. "Shallow and quick, though. We've got a lot of mammals waiting on us."
"Quick won't be a problem," Nick admitted, then caught his breath as slid part-way into her. "A month wait and a wedding has probably not set me up for anything but quick."
"Okay," she gasped, tightening her grip on his shoulders, as they moved together slowly. "I just don't want to wind up—"
Nick had only managed a few gentle movements of his hips, when he realized he was very overstimulated and reflexively thrusted. He froze as a wave a pleasure blanked out the rational part of his mind for a second, with his hips tight against hers. As the moment passed, he gave a slight tug of his lower body, trying to move away, but she moved with him and then glowered up at him. "Uh…you were going to say 'stuck here', weren't you?"
Groaning, Judy slammed her forehead against his chest. "Dammit, Nick. Get a little carried away there? And now we're stuck here for half an hour. I'm never going to hear the end of this, unless we get lucky—"
"We kind of did just get lucky. This is pretty much the definition of it."
Judy tilted her head so she could scowl at him with one eye. "Unless we get lucky and the protesters delay things another half hour."
From outside the bathroom, Nick heard pawsteps approaching rapidly, and he felt his heart sink.
"Guys?" asked Skye, as she knocked on the door. "They're still dealing with a few protesters, but most are gone and Nick's mother wanted to do a toast soon. You've got maybe ten minutes. Are you both decent?"
Judy gestured hopelessly toward the door, as she thumped her head against his chest again.
"Um, give us a few minutes?" Nick called out, suddenly feeling really awkward. He tried again to extricate himself, but he nearly pulled Judy right off the counter. The whimper and growl from her let him know what she thought of the situation. "We're, uh, having a private conversation."
Even with the bathroom door closed, Nick could clearly hear Skye's sigh.
"Can I say that I told you so?" Skye asked after a few seconds. "How long should I tell your parents you need?"
"Ten minutes," Nick called out.
"Half an hour, maybe more," Judy said, banging her forehead against him.
"I only believe one of you," replied Skye. "Judy, do you want this resolved quickly, or do you want to wait it out?"
"Excuse me?" Nick asked, trying to ignore the way Judy's ears perked up. "There isn't a fix for this. I think I know how these things work. Don't you dare come in here."
Judy reached down and picked up her dress, which she draped over their groins. "If you know a way to speed things along, come on in."
"No, no, no," Nick told both females. "Do not…"
Skye opened the door to the bathroom and walked over to them, shaking her head as she looked down at the dress between them. "I do, actually. The ZBI taught us all kinds of stupid things for use in the field. I can't say I've ever had reason to address this particular problem before, though."
"There's no problem!" Nick snapped, trying to keep himself covered. "I am not okay with this. Skye, get out. Judy, we'll be fine. Give it a few minutes."
"You really think you have a way to deal with this?" Judy asked Skye, ignoring Nick completely.
"Yes, it's all about pressure points," Skye explained, as she walked around behind Nick.
Twisting to keep Skye in sight, Nick tucked his tail so he was not completely naked and exposed from the waist down. "We're not touching my pressure points, thank you. That's kind of what got us into this situation."
"Shush, Nick," Judy told him, as she tried to separate again with no luck. "Skye, go ahead and do what you have to do."
"No, do not!" Nick blurted out, but could not get a look at Skye, as she was directly behind him. "I'd love to hurry this along, but that's not—"
"I'll take that as consent," Skye replied, as she hooked one arm around Nick's neck. Given how much shorter she was than him, the motion immediately began choking him. "Hold still. I have to cut off your blood flow for a moment."
Gagging, Nick scrambled to free himself, but with his lower half trapped and his upper half being held in a chokehold by Skye, he flailed ineffectually for a second, before he felt Skye's fingertips jab into his neck. Everything went black for a few seconds, and Nick vaguely felt something cool on his cheek. Blinking, he found that he lay sprawled on the counter, with his cheek on the edge of a sink. A long stream of drool hung from one corner of his mouth, and Judy was no longer on the counter near him. Nearly everything from his stomach to his knees felt partially numb.
Nick stood up sharply, looking around as his mind caught up to what had happened. Behind where he had been lying, Skye was helping Judy zip back up her dress and brush her fur.
"How long was I out?" he asked, attempting to take a step toward the two females. He nearly tripped when he realized his pants were still around his ankles. Pulling them up in a hurry, he tried to cover up before Skye looked back at him.
"Less than a minute," Skye assured him, before returning to helping Judy. "I told you I know what I'm doing. And wipe the drool off your face. You look ridiculous."
Sputtering angrily, Nick turned back to the mirror and grabbed a paper towel. It took him a moment to smooth his fur and get rid of the last of the spittle, but he soon had himself looking more or less normal. As he finished straightening his whiskers, he glanced at Judy in the mirror, finding that she had somehow managed to not only look perfectly arranged and beautiful, but had the look of having done nothing at all wrong. On one paw, he rather admired her for being able to hide what they had been up to so easily, but on the other, the shy and demure act she had adopted for their wedding day had him wishing they had more time to be alone, so he could do a bit better with the bathroom counter routine. Another time, perhaps.
"Okay, unless anyone's planning on choking me to turn off my genitals again, maybe we should get moving?" he asked, as he turned back to face Judy. Offering one arm, he smiled as she slid her arm in to hook his elbow.
"I mean, I'm happy to choke you," Skye offered, less than helpfully, with a wry smile. "Pretty sure if you like that, it's her job now. I'll show her how some other time. I know some fun rope tricks, too."
Judy covered her muzzle as she laughed, but thankfully, she did not encourage Skye. Instead, she cleared her throat and motioned toward the door. "We should get going. They expect the newlyweds to actually make an appearance."
"And not choke to death," added Nick.
"No promises," Judy teased, as they headed out the door and back into the hallway, where Clawhauser waited for them, grinning like an idiot. "I'm sure my father brought his taser."
"He didn't," Nick whispered back. "I don't believe you."
"Believe whatever you want, Slick. Something about getting mom a new fox-pelt coat, if anyone hurts his little bun."
"His little bun is more likely to hurt me."
"Try convincing him of that."
Together, arm-in-arm, they headed down the hall with Clawhauser leading the way, and Skye following close behind. More than once along the way, Skye picked at Judy's dress or veil, adjusting the way it sat. When they finally approached the doors into the reception hall, Skye made one more attempt to smooth Judy's shoulder fur, then stepped ahead of them to lead the way beside Benjamin.
"Okay, here's hoping it's under control," Skye said, taking a deep breath.
Reaching over, Clawhauser took her arm to walk with her, though their size difference made it a little awkward. "It's fine! Deep breaths. Everything's perfect. Now…big smile. Show your own bunny you had everything under control."
Skye smiled and nodded, then pushed open the door to the hall. She and Clawhauser headed in first, and Nick and Judy followed.
To Nick's great relief, there was no fight with protesters going on, and no sign there had been one. ZPD officers were manning the doors, but everyone inside was milling about, talking and laughing, as though it were a perfectly ordinary wedding. Many were lugging drinks back from the open bar toward their tables, though most activity stopped as Nick and Judy were spotted coming in.
"Zootopians," announced the wildebeest DJ, as everyone looked up, "I would like to present to you the newlyweds: Judy and Nick Wilde-Hopps! Prepare your toasts, and we'll open the dance floor to the couple's first dance shortly!"
"You got top billing again," Nick whispered to Judy, as they crossed the room to thunderous applause.
"Get over it, Nick," she said, without her grin wavering. "You got your last name first."
"I'll get over it the day—" he began, only to lose the sarcastic quip as five bunny kits slammed into his legs, nearly taking him to the ground.
Letting go of Judy, Nick bent down and scooped up the five, though carrying all of them at once was a bit more than he could manage. Instead, he sat down with them scrambling all over him, talking at the same time over each other.
"What've you five been up to?" he asked, grinning as Amy got up on his head, so she could look into his eyes upside-down, with her ears flopped to either side of his muzzle. "Hopefully causing plenty of trouble for the Hoppses."
"No, we've been kinda good," Mike insisted, as he went through Nick's pockets. "Great-Auntie Bonnie says we're like little angels compared to most of the kits in the burrow."
"That's not what she said," corrected Kara. "She said Aunt Judy is like an angel today. You're makin' the rest up."
Mike giggled and shrugged, before bounding around in front of Nick, with Kara, Mary, and Seth alongside him. They stared up at Nick expectantly.
"Okay, what did I promise that I'm forgetting?" Nick asked, looking from one face to the next.
"You said we could be like a family when Judy came back," Amy insisted, pointing one paw toward Judy. "I heard her name. That's Judy. We like the burrow, but we wanna see you two, too."
Nick's heart sank at the realization that the five had not yet given up that dream. To be fair, he had not, either, but had forced himself to accept the sad reality that the city would not let them adopt. The fact that the Hoppses were able to foster them was as close as he could hope for. It at least kept them in his life, albeit distantly.
"We'll have to see about that," Judy cut in, sitting down on the floor. Immediately, two of the four kits not atop Nick climbed into her lap. "Stu and Bonnie would be so sad if you two weren't there. Maybe we can arrange to have visits…"
Before Judy could finish the thought, Orville—one of the directors of the Cub Protective Services—shoved his way past several guests, rushing straight for Judy. He snorted as he grabbed Seth off Judy's lap, then shook his head as he stared at Amy on Nick's head. Amy let out a low growl that Nick felt through his scalp. "Children, this isn't okay. We agreed to place you with the Hopps family, but only if you stayed away from…um…"
"Oh, I want to hear this," Nick told Orville, as all five kits turned glares on the pig. Around Orville, several of the off-duty ZPD officers closed ranks, crossing theirs arms over their chests. "Away from what, exactly? Two highly-decorated officers? A married couple? What're we keeping them from?"
Orville sputtered and set Seth back on his paws, eyeing the officers. "You know what, Wilde."
"Wilde-Hopps," Judy corrected, with a big grin.
"Whatever," Orville replied, glowering at Judy. Lowering his voice, he continued. "The CPS doesn't want you two deviants corrupting these children."
"I don't remember inviting you," Judy told him, reaching out and taking Seth back from Orville. She motioned toward the ZPD officers, and Carl came over quickly. "Private wedding. You can leave now, or we'll have you escorted out."
Before Nick could say anything, a throat clearing nearby drew everyone's attention to John Wilde, standing beside a well-dressed caribou, slightly behind the officers. Nick took a moment to recognize the caribou as the city's mayor, who generally avoided public affairs, and certainly went out of her way to avoid predators, after the recent events with Bellwether. She had, however, been invited to the wedding as a matter of courtesy.
"You see, Eveline," John said loudly, motioning toward Orville. "You want to slap a medal on my chest, while you endorse this kind of behavior from your public officials? This is why I won't accept, no matter how many times you ask. Do something about this, or we're never going to see the city heal from the Night Howler drama. I mean, I could resolve it, but you won't like the public fallout."
"Orville, what exactly are you doing?" Mayor Eveline asked, stomping one hoof with a clack on the hard floor. "Are you seriously harassing newlyweds at their own reception? If the kits want to play, let them play! Why are you even here?"
"I… Mayor… I'm just doing my job," Orville insisted, then huffed angrily as Kara kicked him in the shin. "You see what spending time around degenerates is doing to them? A bunny acting like that—"
"At her age, it's exactly what I would expect, and it's rather well-behaved considering what these five went through growing up," Eveline snapped. "I don't even need to address whether I agree or not. You are creating a public relations disaster! Get out of here, and don't come back. You interfere with either the Wilde or Hopps families without good cause again, and I'll have you fired and possibly arrested. We'll talk Monday about whether you are in the right position within the CPS. Do not interfere with these two again, unless they are legitimately harming these kits. Understand?"
Orville nodded frantically, then hurried off through the crowds toward the doors out of the hall. As he slipped out, Nick caught a glimpse of the protesters outside. One particular sign stood out from the others: "Predators screwing prey, not in my city!"
"That was simple enough," John said happily, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now, can we talk about rescinding that order against them adopting?"
"Do not push your luck, agent," the mayor countered, eyes narrowing. "I may tolerate this, but it doesn't mean I'll endorse it. Now, as for you, you've been talking my ears off for almost half an hour, yet I didn't catch your name. The briefing kept calling you Agent Crimson, but you answered to John a bit ago. Why do you care so much whether these two can foster those kits?"
"Me?" John asked, shrugging. He gave Nick a quick wink. "Professional interest. They're a good couple. Deserve the chance to raise some kits of their own. Seen how well they work together on a mission. Just call me John. I gave up my name when I joined the agency."
Eveline scowled at John, clearly understanding that he was not telling her the whole story. "Well, John, I will not overrule the CPS, as that looks bad in the papers. What I will do is remove the restriction on their visitation. So long as one of their foster parents—Stu and Bonnie, I believe—are present, the CPS will not interfere. Will that do?"
John gave the mayor a smirk that Nick felt looked all too much like the one he used when he intended to renegotiate a deal at a later time, when he had more leverage. "It'll do. For now."
Rolling her eyes, the mayor excused herself and hurried off, making her way toward the reporters for the various news agencies. Once she was out of earshot, Nick picked up Amy and Mike, and turned to face his father.
"That was incredibly nice of you," Nick admitted, ignoring how Amy was tugging at the fur near his ears to get his attention. "We can handle this on our own, though."
John smiled broadly, keeping his attention on Judy, playing with the other kits. "Of course you can. I have no doubts. I missed my kit's childhood, so I'm trying to give some others a better chance at happiness. As for the pig…you know, if you want, he can disappear."
Nick caught his breath and felt Judy staring up at him. Frantically, he shook his head. "No! We are not killing social workers, even if they try to interfere with adoptions!"
"I'm kidding!" John assured him, though something in his grin left doubts in Nick's mind. "Seriously, though, I do intend to get him and his cohorts out of their positions. The mayor only has so much say in the matter, once the media gets word of all the things they've done wrong."
"You mean interfering with our adoptions?"
"Or whatever," John added. "I'll find something. No one messes with either of my kits, even if they're old enough to have kits of their own. I'll have dirt on that pig before sundown, if Skye hasn't beaten me to it."
Still seated near John's hind paws, Judy spoke up at last. "John, are you finally claiming Finnick? You did say 'either of my kits'."
John scowled at Judy. "Absolutely not. Caught him going through my wallet earlier. Pretty good at it, I'll give him that much. May have a job for him, if he can stop groping your cousins long enough to hear me out later. What I was saying is that you're family now, Judy. Whether or not you two claim me, I certainly am proud of you both. Always wanted a daughter. Got a better one than I could have hoped for. By the way, you really should get to your first dance. Your families are waiting."
Nick looked past his father and realized several hundred sets of eyes were watching him and Judy. Many of the guests had drinks in-paw and others were eagerly waiting at the edge of the dance floor for them to start things in motion.
"Kits, we're in high demand right now," Nick told Amy, though he had to cross his eyes a little to look her in the face with her still hanging over the top of his head. "Can we come back to this?"
"Fiiine," Amy grumbled, as her brothers and sister scrambled toward the crowd. She was the last to go, leaping down from Nick's shoulders and racing after the others toward Stu and Bonnie, who were waiting patiently near the edge of the dance floor.
Turning to Judy, Nick offered her a paw up, which she accepted. "Shall we, my love?"
"Am I leading, or are you?" she asked, as they walked paw-in-paw out onto the floor.
"Who can tell? I certainly don't know what I'm doing out here."
"We all know that," Judy teased, grinning up at him as she put one arm around the lower part of his back—the only part she could reach without it getting awkward. "I'll lead. Someday, you really need to learn how to dance."
"Good luck with that, Fluff."
"Don't step on my paws."
"I absolutely won't promise that."
"Won't or can't?"
"Just start the dance, Judy."
Together, they began their first dance as the music began, and within seconds a few dozen other mammals filled the dance floor around them. Nick was barely able to take in who was nearby, with his attention entirely held by Judy's face and warm smile—and trying not to step on her hind paws as they moved. It took most of the song and part of the next before he had a good sense of who was closest.
Spinning nearby, with hardly a care that the song playing was far slower than their pace were Bonnie and Stu, with the five kits alternately skipping around them and dancing amongst themselves or with other young Hopps kits.
At one edge of the dance floor was Mister Big, held off the ground by Koslov, watching over it all with an imperious look of victory. Nick did his best to ignore the shrew, lest he decide to impose some new threat or bargain. Near Koslov's hind paws, Fru Fru and her husband danced.
Taking over an entire section of the dance floor were the ZPD officers who were not guarding the doors. To Nick's amusement, Chief Bogo was grinning ear-to-ear as he bent over to dance with Gazelle, under the watchful eyes of three of her tiger dancers. Before Nick looked away, he saw Gazelle give Bogo a delicate kiss on the cheek, and Nick dearly wished he had been able to snap a picture of the way Bogo's eyes had almost popped out of his head.
Near Bogo, Clawhauser and Nimr were dancing, the tiger resting his cheek on Benjamin's shoulder. A little closer to Nick and Judy, Carl Cannus and Cyndi were dancing slowly, while Felix watched them from the edge of the dance floor, a scowl aimed squarely at Cyndi as he sipped a drink.
Behind and to Nick's left were Flash and Priscilla, though they had barely moved their positions before the next time Nick and Judy turned. They would probably finish this particular song's dance after one or two more songs had completed.
Off to one edge of the room, far from the other dancers, Skye and Harry were dancing, all but isolated in their own world. Nick wondered how they were doing with their attempts to make their untraditional relationship work, right up until he saw Skye tenderly kiss Harry. Whatever they had, it worked for them, and that was good enough for Nick. They were in love, in their own way.
The last couple to draw Nick's attention as he tried to take in more than Judy's eyes was a bit more of a surprise than any of the others. For the whole first song, John stood near one of the tables, whispering to Marian, who was seated, and appeared to be entirely ignoring him. By the second song, she seemed to give him a slight chance, and they wandered onto the dance floor, despite her skeptical glower and lack of cane. Shortly into the third song, Nick turned in time to see John try to nuzzle her cheek, only to have her pop him on the tip of the nose with a finger. Despite her apparent disinterest, Nick did catch Marian reaching behind her back to move John's paw lower, near the base of her tail.
"She's forgiven him?" Judy asked, following the focus of his attention.
"Doubtful," Nick admitted, grinning as Judy led them through a quick spin. "She's going to milk this for all she can, and keep him guessing."
"So what you're saying," Judy began, waggling her eyebrows, "is being a tease runs in your family?"
"Learned from the best," he said, chuckling. When they came around again, his mother was nuzzling John's cheek. "Or, maybe I'm wrong. Guess we'll see. I'm really not feeling confident betting either way on those two."
"Nick, Nick, Nick!" Judy blurted out, patting his back rapidly. "I'm going to turn. Try not to stare!"
Confused, Nick let Judy lead him through another turn, and came to an abrupt halt as his jaw fell when he saw what she had been reacting to. Near the ZPD group of dancers, Cyndi had broken away from Carl and was leading Felix onto the dance floor. At first, Nick thought she meant to smooth things over with Felix by dancing with him, but instead, she put Carl and Felix together. The two officers laughed awkwardly, then danced at her insistence. Soon, Nick could practically feel the tension melt among the three.
"You're staring," Judy chided, forcing Nick to move again as the song trailed off. "Cyndi told me there was something between those two, but I'm not willing to ask too many questions. Are you?"
"Absolutely not," Nick told her, shaking his head. "Felix looks as confused as I am right now."
"Probably helps that I saw Carl down three shots from the bar before the dances started. I swear, Cyndi looks like she's got things all figured…oh, sweet cheese and crackers…"
Twisting to glance over his shoulder, Nick saw that Carl and Felix were kissing. He had no idea who had started it, but to his surprise, Cyndi seemed neither startled, nor upset in the slightest. Shaking his head, Nick turned his attention back to Judy. "And you thought a fox and bunny was a surprising relationship. Our friends seem determined to outdo us."
"You're going to have to up your game, Slick," she told him, before going up on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "I expect you to be the most exciting mammal in my life. Can't let them one-up us."
"Challenge accepted," he told her, lifting her off her paws and kissing her fully on the mouth for most of the remaining time on the song. When he finished, many of the guests were watching and cheering, with drinks raised. "Remember, you asked for it."
"I did," she admitted, with a big cheesy grin. "I asked for all of this, and I still think I made the right choice."
"A toast!" shouted someone off to Nick's right, and he turned with Judy that direction, but whoever had yelled was already distracted by the time he looked up.
All of the ZPD officers in the room who were in uniform had their radios to their ears, listening to some broadcast. Together, they turned their attentions to Nick and Judy, before Delgato ran over to Bogo and whispered something to him. Each second, the reception hall grew quieter, as everyone seemed to wonder what was going on.
Bogo took in the information, then excused himself from Gazelle and came over to Nick and Judy.
"He's gone," Bogo said softly, waving away several of Judy's relatives who came toward them. "The call just came in from the prison."
Judy blinked hard. "He…? Rolen?!"
"Yes," replied Bogo, sounding sad to deliver that news. "We got the guards Nick warned us about out of there, and had every imaginable defense to him trying to get out. What we didn't count on was someone getting in."
His mind racing, Nick put the pieces together. "Bellwether escaped, too, didn't she?"
"She did. Doug improvised some kind of explosive and freed all three of them."
"Son of a… He planned this whole thing," Nick said, mostly to himself. "He wanted to be in solitary confinement. It wasn't to be alone, it was to be closer to someone he was conspiring with. Bellwether couldn't have set up all those businesses on her own. Someone had to provide the funding and other resources…"
"Rolen set this up, using her as a front," Judy finished for him. "He's had this ready as a way out, if we caught him. It's why he didn't fight too hard once he was in custody here, other than trying to get into isolation, over near Bellwether."
Holding one hoof up in front of them, Bogo told them, "I know you two. You're staying here, and you're getting your wedding. We'll handle this."
"But chief!" Judy blurted out, but Bogo huffed at her and she quieted down.
"I said no! You two are staying here. I've already got a team dispatched. You can pick up after them when you come back from your vacation in a week. You will have fun, drink, and be nice to your relatives. Those are all orders."
Nick and Judy exchanged glances. Shrugging, Nick surveyed the guests, and found that most were watching them carefully. Stu, Bonnie, John, and Marian in particular appeared deeply worried.
Holding his paw, Judy was practically trembling at the need to go after an escaped criminal—especially Rolen. As much as he wanted to see Rolen locked up forever, one look down at Judy's wide eyes and clenched jaw told him all he needed to know: she was terrified and would never be able to handle herself well in the field on this case. Turning to Bogo, he replied, "We'll stay, sir. Let us know how the hunt goes."
"You'll be the first to be updated, after the officers who bring him in," Bogo assured them, then turned and left.
Nick felt the tension in the room gradually ease, as Bogo and several other officers left, without explaining what had happened. The tension in Judy's grip on his paw did not change. Resigning himself to dealing with her fears and anxiety, Nick bent down and swept her off her paws and carried her toward the tables, where his mother had already set out drinks for them.
"He'll be back in jail in no time," Nick whispered, as they sat down.
Judy would not look at him. Her attention was locked to the door where Bogo had left from. "What if he's not, Nick? Are our friends going to their deaths? What if he…? What if…?"
"He's on the run. They can handle themselves for one week without us. Am I going to need to remind you we're at our wedding?"
Judy sighed and shook her head, finally relaxing slightly. "Keep the drinks coming, and maybe I can stop thinking about him."
"Tell you what," Nick tried again, after grinning toward a reporter with his drink in-paw. "If they don't have Rolen in jail a week from now, we'll go after him again. I won't even argue. Just take one week off from saving the world. Deal?"
Smiling nervously, Judy nodded and raised her own glass. "One week. That's all I'll give you."
"One week…for this case, right?"
Judy's smile became slightly more believable. "I didn't say that. I'm only taking one week off from saving the world. You're really bad at hustling me, Nick."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," he answered, clinking their glasses together.
