DISCLAIMER: I had given my bid to own Zootopia to Timothy Q. Mouse so that he could have Dumbo take it to Disney HQ. Unfortunately, someone at the circus decided to use the bid as kindling for Casey Jr, and so I had to watch my bid go up in smoke. I still don't own Zootopia.
Special thanks to TheoreticallyEva for editing this one, and for some suggestions regarding the end scene!
"Affirmative, dispatch. Just need the backup here."
With Rhinowitz patting down the suspect, Fangmeyer let the microphone go and turned her attention to the firearm. It was a standard M1911 clone, nothing particularly remarkable about it, except that the serial number had been ground off with some sort of filing or rotary tool. Hopefully, the lab could get an idea on the history of this weapon.
Ejecting the magazine and pulling the slide to eject the chambered round, which she then picked up, the tigress made her way back towards the police cruiser. Her partner, having finished searching their attempted shooter for other weapons and contraband, was already there, mammalhandling the reindeer into the rear seat. Seeing that the rhino had that well in paw, she moved around back and popped the trunk, grabbing a set of evidence bags and dropping the pistol, the unfired round, and the magazine each in separate bags, then sealing them.
Slamming the door on the would-be shooter reindeer, her rhino partner rejoined her behind the vehicle. "What do ya think? Toss the vehicle, see what we can find?"
The tigress nodded. "You know Judy's going to be asking about it as soon as she gets back to the shop. If she's not driving Wilde up the wall already." She frowned. "We'll have to wait for our backup, though." Standard ZPD policy was to never leave a suspect unattended in a police vehicle, lest they attempt escape, be assisted in doing the same, or attempt to injure themselves in order to claim police brutality.
In the meantime, with Rhinowitz watching over the reindeer, the tigress moved to contain the gathering crowd of onlookers, all the while biting her tongue. Lookie-loos were an unfortunate part of their job, and containing them was often a struggle in and of itself.
Fortunately for them, backup didn't take very long to arrive, with Sergeant Higgins showing up about five minutes later, followed immediately by Delgato and his Siberian tiger partner.
Fangmeyer shuddered. James Siberius had been a thorn in her side for too long, having hit on her multiple times despite her clear messages that she wasn't interested. The male was a decent cop, but often had an overinflated sense of importance and an ego to match.
It didn't take long to secure the area, with Delgato and Siberius coralling the public while Higgins kept an eye on the suspect. That left Rhinowitz and Fangmeyer to look over the reindeer's SUV, which they attacked with a gusto.
The tigress' nose, while not as sensitive as a canid's, told her that there wasn't anything in the way of drugs in the vehicle, but it did smell of tobacco, gun oil, and smokeless powder. Whatever this mammal was into, it involved guns.
They found the car's registration and insurance in the glove box and set it aside to run later, as well as a large gun carrying case in the rear storage area and another firearm in the center console. The shell casing from the fired round had fallen to the carpet and rolled under the driver's seat.
"Geez, how many guns does this guy need? The whole vehicle reeks of them." Liz wrinkled her nose at the medicinal, chemical smell of the gunpowder, and the muted but still evident smell of the oil.
"I dunno, but I'm guessin' that we're gonna be findin' out soon enough," Rhinowitz remarked as he pulled up the carpeting in the cargo area, revealing the spare tire, tools, and a silencer, the latter of which he picked up after donning gloves. "Kinda an odd place for one of these, don't you think?"
"What, a silencer in the spare tire stowage?" The tigress came around to look.
Eduard Rhinowitz nodded as he bagged the item. "If you're going to use a silencer, you keep it up front in the glove box or the center console or something. Not in the tire stowage in the rear of the vehicle."
"I didn't find anything in the passenger area other than that extra firearm and the shell casing. No keys to that gun case or anything, either. Maybe he has that stashed somewhere else." The only keys on the ring they'd found in the ignition were the car keys and what was clearly an apartment or house key. He hadn't had any other keys on him. Fangmeyer's shoulders slumped a little. "If we had been an hour later, would this guy have done what he came to do?"
The rhino officer nodded. "If we had left, or not shown up, or shown up too late, chances are, we'd be investigatin' a body tomorrow."
The two made their way back to the cruiser, with Sergeant Higgins standing next to it writing something on his scratch pad. "So, what of our attempted shooter? Maybe he's wanted for escaping death row, so we can just take him back to MaxSec and call it good?"
The large hippo laughed. "'fraid not, Fangmeyer. No record at all. We'll need lab services to run his DNA to see if there's any other links, but as far as we are concerned now, this guy's a nobody."
Rhinowitz snorted. "He ain't gonna be a nobody for long. Cruiser camera and body cameras were all on. We got him clear as day takin' a shot at Liz here."
"Always nice to get a would-be cop-killer off the streets. I suppose it's gonna be too much to ask that this guy be Eric's killer, too," Fangmeyer groused, her words casting a dark cloud on the trio.
Higgins was the one that broke the ensuing silence. "If that turns out to be the case, Hopps, Rivers, Wilde, and Longtooth will make the connection. And Hopps with probably be bouncing off the walls."
Fangmeyer grinned despite the mood. "Don't you mean WildeHopps, Rivers, and Longtooth? Seriously, you can't get one without the other now. They are joined at the hip. I heard a rumour that they actually live together now."
The hippo sergeant huffed. "As much as I would like to continue to speculate on the personal lives of our fellow officers, we have a suspect to take downtown, a vehicle to tow, and mammals to interview. Looks like Delgato and Siberius are on the last part. So how about you guys take Olive the Other Reindeer here back to the shop and book him?"
The tigress snorted in laughter at that.
Nick and Judy had just gotten into the main prison block and were being escorted to Blackford's cell when the radio call came in.
"240, this is 221, got a possible suspect for you. We even do delivery, as long as the delivery is to the cooler at Precinct One."
Nick barked out a laugh, then grabbed his microphone. "Aw, come on, Liz, we're still at Meadowlands Correctional! By the time we get back to home base, your delivery will be frozen!"
"Tough jerky, foxy. That's where we're taking him. See you back at base. 221 out."
"Must you antagonize all of our colleagues, Nick?" Judy's scolding tone was completely undermined by her slight giggle, and the grin on her face that matched his told him she was just ribbing him.
"It's a talent, Carrots. Gotta keep it sharp! You know if you don't practice, you lose your touch."
Judy shook her head, still grinning, as the guard rounded a corner and Blackford's cell came into view. Standing outside chatting were Officers Arnie Pawson and Meagan Moon, apparently a white she-wolf.
Stopping Judy with a paw on her shoulder, Nick pointed at the other two officers. "Hold on a sec, fluff, this was unheard of in the academy… Arnie talking to a female, and she's seemingly enjoying the conversation!"
The fox stood there watching for a moment until Judy tugged on his arm. "Come on, Slick, let's go see what they are up to."
They'd barely made it another pawstep when the white shewolf took notice of them. "Well, well. I'll be. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, I take it?"
Arnie Pawson turned to greet them. "Hey, Red, there you are! Long time, no see! Way I hear it, you been keeping busy!" The wink he shot Nick's way left no room for speculation that the double entendre was fully intended on the part of the cheetah.
The fox shook his head, as well as the cheetah's paw. "Not the way you are thinking, Don Pawan. But yes, we've been keeping busy. The Energizer Bunny over there doesn't let things slow down. Always has to take on the big cases and run at full throttle everywhere she goes. 'Course, I'm the only one that can keep up with her."
"Hah! I outran you in our training runs. I could catch her easily."
"You beat everyone, Arnie," Nick remarked as he rubbed his temple.
"Yep, cheetahs do that. Fastest mammal in the world, you know. Nothing outruns us."
The fox in the group shook his head. "So you said every time you beat the class in the sprints. You wouldn't let us forget. And then you complained about the endurance runs. 'Cheetahs aren't built for this,' you would say."
The cheetah let out a harrumph.
The two newly arrived officers turned to the fourth mammal in the group. Judy extended her paw. "You must be Meagan Moon?"
The white she-wolf nodded.
Of course, Nick had to put his two cents in as well. "How'd you get saddled with Mini-Spots there? I was the only one that could put up with him in the academy, and he was my dormie!"
The white she-wolf shrugged. "Didn't really have a choice. Precinct captain decided I needed a partner, and Arnie was the only other one that didn't have one. He was a bit… annoying at first, but we… we figured out a way to get along."
The fox shuddered. "I'm almost afraid to ask."
Moon laughed. "You needn't worry. Once I made it clear that his pickup lines wouldn't work on me, we've actually been able to hold a civil conversation. Couple days after he visited you guys in the hospital, though, he stopped the pickup lines entirely. I was sure Mandy Sharpe was going to throw a party when she made it through the first day without a comment from him."
"Hey! Stop with the character assassination!"
The larger canid rolled her eyes. "I'm not assassinating your character. I'm just filling our two colleagues here in on your antics, since you seem to have neglected to do so."
The now grumpy cheetah just harrumphed again.
Judy, on the other hand, wanted to get things back on track. "So, what did you guys turn up when you first visited? Anything useful?"
"The lab mammals checked the cell, but unless you guys have gotten a call, they didn't find anything. Why? You think you got some other ideas?" The white she-wolf gave the two smaller officers a quizzical look.
Judy looked at her notes. "Well, after dinner, he visited the outdoor exercise area and the showers. Did the lab mammals visit those areas?"
The white-furred canid shook her head. "Not that I know of," she said, and glanced at her partner, who also shook his head.
Judy closed her notebook and put her carrot pen away. "Then I think that's where we should start. Meagan, you and I can't go in the shower rooms, so why don't we visit the exercise area, and the boys take the showers?"
This wasn't technically true, Nick thought, and when he turned to point that out to Judy, he saw the look in her eyes. She was trying to buy him some time to chat with his friend. He smiled at her, giving her a wink before turning to Arnie. "She's right. We'll cover more ground that way anyways. Let's go, Arnie." He led the cheetah out and down the hall towards the showers.
The walk to the outdoor exercise area was a quiet one for the two females, and the doe wondered if they would find anything. In an outdoor environment with multiple users, evidence disappeared very quickly, and you had to be quick to arrive to get ahold of it. Since four days had passed, the chance of them finding anything was slim to none, but they had to check.
The silence between the two was broken by the white she-wolf. "So…"
"So?" The doe's response was somewhat laid back, as she surveyed the area. The outdoor area held a basketball court, baseball diamond, combination gridiron/soccer field surrounded by a running track, and several outdoor weight stations and sitting areas with some steel benches.
The white she-wolf, however, was more interested in talking to the bunny officer. "So… A rabbit and a fox… How does that work?"
"What do you mean?" Judy was only half paying attention as she made her way to the sitting areas with the benches, where she'd seen Blackford spending his outside time.
"Like, you two? How does it work? I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a predator-prey couple before. Don't you have different customs and cultures and all that?"
Judy nodded as she reached the bench that Blackford had been using. "There have been differences. But communication is important. We talk. About everything. Even the uncomfortable stuff. How else would we know if we were doing something wrong?"
"What sort of differences have you run into? Cultural, I mean."
Judy dropped to the ground and began picking through the grass, looking for any dropped items or clues, while the white she-wolf began using her nose to try and find anything with Blackford's scent. Moon had gotten a good enough profile of the wood bison from his pillow before they left the cell, and she was able to determine where he'd sat at the bench, but not much else.
As she searched, Judy kept talking. "A few. The vixen takes the lead in fox relationships, so that was a bit new for me. With bunnies, it's almost always the bucks."
The white she-wolf nodded. "I'd heard that. Wolves are a bit different. Who we are allowed to date depends on our rank in society… Or wolf society, that is. We still have loose 'packs', with a hierarchy, usually a couple in each district, but it's a lot more of a traditional familial thing than it used to be. Most of us don't even go to the pack meetings."
Judy nodded in understanding and continued to search through the grass. "Most of the bunnies I know still live in burrows. It's different here in the city than where I grew up. Large families were normal there. Here, I don't think I've seen a bunny family with more than five kits."
Moon started following a scent trail she picked up. "How many in your family?"
The doe got up and dusted herself off, turning to follow the she-wolf. "Over three hundred. That's not including extended family like my aunts, uncles, in-laws, nieces, and nephews."
The she-wolf nearly fell over at that. "Three hundred?! How… What… Why…"
The doe rolled her eyes. "Let's just say that my family is one of the big ones in the Tri-burrow area."
"But three hundred?!"
"Considering that in ancient times, a doe could have over a thousand kits in her lifetime, yeah… Not many rabbit families are that big anymore, though. I only know of two others besides my own that are that big. One hit four hundred, the other was around three-hundred-and-fifty, last I heard."
Moon just stared, then shook her head and turned back to what she was doing, following the scent trail she'd picked up. Judy followed up behind her, keeping an eye out for anything the she-wolf might miss.
After about fifty more feet, Moon got down on all fours and started sniffing lower to the ground, moving her head this way and that, before she stopped, got out a pair of gloves from her utility belt, and picked something up off the ground.
"What you got there?" the doe enquired.
"I'm not sure. Pill capsule of some kind. Faint smell of your suspect, and that awful vegetable gel smell that these time-dissolving capsules have."
Judy produced a zipper-seal bag from her own utility belt, opened it, and held it out for the wolf, who dropped the capsule in.
Moon shook her head. "Thank heaven it hasn't rained here this week and the prison's been on lockdown. Who knows what would have happened to that, otherwise."
Judy nodded as she secured the piece of evidence in her belt. "We wouldn't have a pill, that's for sure. Anything else out here?"
The she-wolf shook her head. "I haven't picked up anything else."
Judy nodded. "I haven't found anything at all. Besides this pill, him being out here may not even be relevant. We'll see. Think we should go check on our crazy partners?"
Moon scoffed. "I doubt Nick's crazier than Arnie."
The doe couldn't help the sudden laughter. "Trust me, Moon, if you spend five minutes with Nick, you'll definitely be questioning your sanity."
"And yet you spend, from what I hear, virtually every waking moment with him. Is the sex that good?"
Judy nearly tripped over her own feet at that. She spluttered and stuttered a moment before turning to the white she-wolf, aghast. "What?!"
"Oh, come on, Hopps, there has to be a reason why you stick around him, and if his personality is as annoying as I've heard, then the sex must be amazing!"
The doe growled, and her ears set straight backward. "OK, first off, that's personal. It's not something you share with anyone, much less someone you just met, and second, it's crude and offensive. You think that I only keep him around for that reason? Are you that shallow?"
The white-furred canid held up her paws to placate the clearly angry rabbit. "Hey, relax, Hopps, I was just joking."
Judy glared at the larger female. "I didn't find it funny at all. Honestly, it sounds like something Arnie would say to Nick." The fox had told Judy of his conversations with the cheetah about her, and while Judy had felt mildly upset at Arnie, she had pushed past it for Nick's sake, knowing he didn't have many real friends. Males will be males, she'd thought.
Now, though, she felt a lot more irritated, even with the white wolf's explanation. The doe marched back towards the entrance to the outdoor area with her ears set. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to continue.
"Hey, Hopps, listen, I'm sorry. Sometimes my mouth gets the better of me, you know? If it makes you feel any better, Arnie didn't know what to make of me when we were first partnered up. He thought I was nuts."
Judy relaxed a bit, somewhat placated by the she-wolf's words. "And yet, I bet he was just as crude and blunt as you."
Moon nodded. "Yeah, he was. He'd go on and on about things that I'm sure would have gotten him in trouble with anyone else. I didn't report him because I was just as bad, I guess."
The doe scoffed. "You got that right. Now I know we should get back to the males before Arnie pushes my fox too far!" Too late, Judy realized what she'd said.
The white she-wolf raised her eyebrow. "Your fox? That's a bit possessive, Hopps."
The doe shook her head and took a breath. "Yeah, he's my fox. And I'm his doe. He supports me, and I support him. We're a team."
The two pulled open the door to the prison and started down the long hall to the showers. "I can understand that, Hopps. As… odd as it is for a feline and a canid to be paired, we work well together."
"Foxes and bunnies aren't really well known for getting along, either."
Moon nodded as she followed the smaller officer, turning the corner to the shower stalls. "That's right. Natural enemies. Different for canids and felines, but I get your drift."
They were almost back to the showers when Judy overheard the radio call. "Dispatch, Zulu 240…"
"So, Arnie, I couldn't help but notice you seemed a bit… friendly with Officer Moon over there. Don't you already have a girlfriend?"
The cheetah shook his head. "Nah. Broke it off after I graduated. Just after I saw you in the hospital, actually. We weren't working out well beforehand, either. That was just the nail in the coffin."
"Damn. Sorry to hear that. What went wrong?"
With a shrug, the cheetah started searching the shower stalls. "It was really more about the sex than anything else. Friends with benefits. But she wanted more, and I didn't. Just wasn't my type for a permanent partner, and I… Well, you know I was always hitting on the chicks at the academy. Was hoping to start up something real, you know?"
The fox nodded as he began sniffing through another one. A bad idea in retrospect, as he covered his nose. "God! It smells like this place hasn't been cleaned in weeks!"
The cheetah shrugged. "It probably hasn't. Had a cousin who was in for a few months, said the showers didn't get cleaned very often."
Nick shuddered at the thought. "That's disgusting!"
Arnie Pawson couldn't help but shudder as well. "Agreed, Red. But a prison ain't no five-star hotel. They are lucky to get six bucks worth of food in their belly a day. And everything else is dirt cheap as well. Inmates provide most of the labour, and that which isn't is outsourced to the cheapest qualified contractor."
Nick shook his head. In his time on the streets, he'd never really bothered to research the living and working conditions of inmates, just the laws necessary for him to avoid becoming one, and he thought he'd done pretty well, until a certain rabbit showed up with the one law to which he hadn't bothered to pay attention.
He'd been lucky that the Zootopia Tax and Revenue Agency hadn't asked too many questions and only levied him late fines for the last 7 years when he'd called to admit his "mistake", and his actual income had been overall pretty low, despite what he'd told Judy the day she'd recorded him. It had taken everything he had, plus a payment plan for the remainder that would take him another two years to pay off.
When Judy had got him back in contact with his mother, however, he'd learned of an inheritance from his father that was supposed to have been given to him when he went to college, but having been on the streets before that, he never got it, and his mother had held it in trust. She'd decided that he deserved it when he graduated from the academy, and had given it to him as a graduation gift. He'd used it to pay off the rest of the amount owing and put the security deposit on his, and now Judy's as well, apartment.
At least he didn't have that spectre hovering over him anymore, mostly thanks to the rabbit to whom he'd found his life inextricably tied. Not that he would have it any other way. He hadn't told Judy yet, but every morning before work, ever since they'd admitted their feelings to each other, he'd repeated three things in his head: the oath he'd taken years ago for the ranger scouts, to be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy, and the one he'd taken at his graduation, to serve and protect the mammals of Zootopia, as well as his personal promise to Judy to try to make the world a better place.
"… that bunny yet, Red?" Arnie's voice finally penetrated the smaller predator's thoughts, and Nick shook his head, refocusing on the current situation, and using his nose, despite the stench, to see if he could locate any sign of Blackford.
"Sorry, I wasn't listening, Arnie. What was that?"
The feline was at the other end of the row of shower stalls and turned back to repeat the question to the fox. "I asked if you'd banged that bunny yet! You must be going deaf in your old age!"
Nick scoffed. "I'm hardly older than you, Mini-Spots, and as for whether or not I've 'banged that bunny'… Sure I have. I banged into her last night when I was leaving the kitchen and she was coming in to get the ketchup. We both landed on our asses on the kitchen floor."
Arnie Pawson stared for a moment, then let out a short laugh. "Not what I meant, and you know it, Red!"
The fox snickered "Oh, I know EXACTLY what you meant, Mini-Spots. And you know I wouldn't tell you even if I had or had not. What Judy and I do off the clock is our business and no one else's. Except when the damn newspapers make it their business." The fox finally picked up the scent of the wood bison he'd been looking for.
"Hey, relax, Red, no offense intended."
Nick rolled his eyes. "None taken, but be careful. Those ears on Judy's head aren't just for show. She hears you talking about that stuff, and you're in for a world of hurt." Following his nose, and blocking out the other unwanted smells, he found himself staring at a pill container. Donning a pair of gloves, he bent down and picked it up. "Well, would you look at this?"
The cheetah officer looked over at the smaller predator. "What's up?"
Nick held out his new prize. "It's a pill container. Looks like the ones you get from a pharmacy, except no label at all." He popped open the lid and looked inside. "Residue inside, too. Willing to bet that had something to do with Blackford's death."
Nick bagged the pill container and sealed it, looking at it again through the clear plastic. So, Redfohn sneaks this past security, gives it to Pelter, who gives it to Blackford. Then… what? When did Blackford take the pills? Obviously before bedtime, but when? And how did he not suspect? Or was he forced to do this to himself?
Arnie's voice shook the fox out of his thoughts. "So, Red, what do you think? Me and Moon?"
"You and Moon?" Nick continued to stare at the pill container as though it would give him the answers he sought.
"Yeah! Me and Moon! What do you think? She be a good match for me?" Arnie came over and looked over the fox's shoulder at the item he was holding.
"Well, considering I have only met her for five minutes, if that, and have exchanged barely twenty words with her, I MUST be qualified to make a judgement call, thanks to my superior powers of mind reading? That right?" Nick's voice was full of snark as he turned to face the cheetah.
"I just thought since you bagged yourself that hot bunny, you might be able to give me some tips." Arnie crossed his arms and smirked.
Nick continued to stare at the pill container in his paw. "No amount of tips from me will help you there, Mini-Spots. I only know what works for Judy. You just have to be yourself, and if she doesn't like that, then it probably won't work." The fox's thoughts continued to drift, puzzling out the pill container, when a thought occurred to him. He keyed his radio. "Dispatch, Zulu 240, need a welfare check on the residence of Taylor Blackford. Address should be in the system."
There was a pause before Clawhauser's voice came back.
"10-4, Nick, something the matter? This is your second welfare check today!"
"Possible family issue, Spots. May be related to the earlier one."
"10-4, Z-240, will have units on the way."
His doe's voice was the next thing he heard as she walked into the shower room, ears erect. "What's the trouble, Nick?"
The fox showed her the pill container. "Just a hunch, Carrots. But if these guys sent someone after Pelter's family, there's a good chance someone got sent after Blackford's family as well."
Judy nodded, deep in thought. "Good call, Nick." She took the pill container from the fox, rather large in her paws, and looked it over. "Anything inside?"
Nick shook his head. "Just some residue. Didn't look too closely beyond that. I don't have any particular desire to be another mammal on Dr. Mamusson's tables."
Judy snorted, and pulled out a small evidence packet and handed it to the fox. "We found this outside. Could be related."
With the outdoor area and shower room search done, at least for the moment, the four left the prison and headed off in their squad cars to their individual precincts. Nick and Judy were halfway back to their own when Clawhauser's voice called them over the radio.
"Zulu 240, dispatch, Blackford's address checks out clean, no suspicious activity."
Nick keyed the radio. "10-4, Spots. Thanks for the check. WildeHopps out."
Judy shook her head and sighed as she drove. "I wonder how deep this goes. Every time we find something, it just keeps getting bigger."
Nick glanced over at the bunny and smirked. "Too much for you, Carrots? You know, there's no shame in giving up."
The doe rolled her eyes. "Not on your life, Slick."
The fox grinned. "That's the spirit!"
Judy slugged Nick on the arm as they continued to head into the police station.
Alone in his room in his family's Savannah Central townhome, a young rabbit buck took a deep breath and let it out. His parents needed to know, he'd decided. That much was true. But how do you tell your ultra-conservative, religious parents that the female you're falling in love with is a bat?
The young male had long known that his own species didn't attract him in the slightest. For years, he'd been raised to believe that to be attracted to another biological family was unhealthy, unnatural, disgusting, depraved. There were many other words he'd heard as well, most of them about as polite as the insults thrown at mammals attracted to the same sex or mammals who didn't identify as their own sex.
In an effort to please his parents, he'd repressed this side of him, hidden it, tried to ignore it. He'd gone on dates with other bunnies, and even a few hares. Nothing had clicked, even though a few of them were great females. Since then, he'd been seeing a bat in his class, but had kept his parents in the dark. Cindy was bouncy, fun, smart, and a true joy to be around. She liked video games, art, and music, and wasn't one to judge you if you disagreed with her tastes.
But he knew his parents would never approve of her.
Then, a news article a week or so ago got his parents talking, and not in a good way. For the last year, he'd listened to his parents and their praise of the rabbit cop, Judy Hopps, and what she'd accomplished for lagomorphs everywhere, showing what rabbits could do. Suddenly, that praise turned into disgust, disbelief that she would sully herself with a different species, and a fox of all things.
It was a kick in the gut. He'd read the article later on and been surprised to learn that the fox she'd been connected with was her own partner at the police department. The press conference given by the chief and the mayor a couple of days ago had solidified that rumour.
The buck had talked to Cindy, and both had agreed that the time had come to tell their parents the truth, even if it meant the worst.
With a deep breath, Chuck Bunson got up from his bed and padded down the hall. Pausing outside the kitchen, he took another breath and let it out. With what courage he had, he walked into the kitchen, one he had shared with his parents and littermates for 19 years, until all four of his brothers and sisters had moved out.
"Mom? Dad? I… We need to talk."
His dad turned to regard him. "What is it, son?"
The next fifteen minutes started out pleasantly enough, but they quickly devolved into shouting and tears.
While his mother cried, his father glared at him with an expression that was a mix of disgust and contempt. "If you know what's good for you, Charles, you'll go see Father Leaps right now and have him pray for you. We won't tolerate this kind of debauchery in our house!"
Tears in his eyes, the bunny buck straightened and looked his father in the eye. "No, Dad. I won't. This is who I am, Dad."
The look in his father's eyes turned from disgust to rage. "You are a RABBIT, Charles. This… whore… is not. And if I ever hear you spouting this… crazy talk again, you will no longer be welcome in this home."
Chuck Bunson exploded. "She's not a whore, Dad! Don't you dare call her that! She's the most wonderful female I've ever met! And if you can't accept that… then I guess I don't belong here!"
"THEN GET OUT! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR MUZZLE AGAIN," his father roared, cradling his now-hysterical mother and glaring daggers at the younger buck.
"YEAH, I'LL GO! I'LL PACK MY THINGS AND GO! AND I WON'T EVEN LOOK BACK!"
"GET OUT!"
The young rabbit stomped away, pulling out his cell phone and calling a friend. An hour later he had all the stuff he wanted to keep in his suitcase, a few changes in clothes, and whatever money wasn't in his bank account, and was standing out by the curb, his back to his parent's house. He refused to turn and look at the front window, knowing his father and mother would be standing there.
A moment later, his friend pulled up in his car and helped him load his items. Two minutes later, the two were driving away.
Chuck Bunson hoped that he was making the right decision with his life.
A/N
So, it seems Nick and Judy aren't the only ones who have fallen in love with someone of a different order. Time will tell how many of these mammals come out of the woodwork.
It's unfortunate though that not everyone will be as accepting of inter-order as Nick and Judy's parents.
No one found the reference to the Calgary Flames in this last chapter. Theoren McDonald is named after two Flames players from 1989: Theoren Fleury and Lanny McDonald. How ironic too that I post this new chapter on the night the Flames are yet again eliminated from playoff contention.
Can you find any references in this chapter?
We're starting to close in on the final showdown here, and I suspect that it will be a big one!
Coming up on May 3: Interrogations!
Questions? Critiques? Did a naked rabbit carrying eggs run through your house throwing the things everywhere? Leave a comment!