All According to Plan

"It's not like I planned it. I never woke up from some rosy dream and said, "Okay, world, today I'm gonna spaz."

― Shannon Celebi, After Spring Comes

While Judy was often known as the bunny with a unique pep in her step, her current state was well beyond what most would consider was hyper.

Her paws moved at lightning speeds across various forms, while her eyes darted to and fro as fast as any machine could. Her feet tapped without rhythm and she bobbed her head to a tune that only she could hear. And, above all else, she couldn't keep herself from bearing a bright, bucktoothed smile.

"This is gonna be great!" she said in a not so hushed tone, the sound of her pen and the hum of the overhead A/C unit were the only things to even out her voice.

Not that it mattered, though, she was currently the only one in the filing room. A small price to pay for opting to fill out paperwork that had been backlogged throughout the week.

Being Saturday, Judy had a very set schedule: part-time work until the afternoon, the Bunnyscout meeting until late in the evening, finish homework and then dinner. Nothing was too strenuous, but since working with the Sherrif's department would help her in her dream of becoming a cop, and the scouts taught her valuable lessons, there was no way that she could pass up either.

But besides those appointed times, there was one little thing that had her giddy.

Taking a glance up from her form on a domestic call about a carrot theft, she brightly smiled at the gift that she brought with her.

A twine basket rested on the corner of the table in front of her. One of the many that her family had woven, it was the perfect sized carrier for her to stock about half a bushel of blueberries in one go. She even went so far as to keep the whole thing together in a bundled cloth.

So, even as she categorized a few more loose forms in the cherrywood cabinets, she was eager to get her plan rolling. And in her mind, it was simple.

On the way back home, she'd ask to drop off the basket of blueberries she had brought with her off to Nick. Since it would only be her driven home - Juniper was out training with Jack at his godmother's range with the Sherif - it would be easy to ask Deputy Eliot for a quick stop.

She'd talk to Nick for a few minutes, catch up with him, try to figure out a way to subtly say that he was to be invited to dinner the week after next - and sit with her and Jack at the table with her parents - and go home to plan everything.

It would take all of about ten minutes or so, but she had planned it all yesterday after they went to the ice cream shop - she could still see the nervousness on his face. So, therefore, it was completely flawless. In her mind, nothing could go wrong.

"Aaaannndddd done!" she said in a chipper tone before stepping back and admiring her work.

The files were neatly placed in manila folders, the cabinets were dusted and polished, pens replaced, floor swept, her radio was on, and the work desk, save for her basket, was cleared.

Satisfied with the sparkle of the workspace, Judy sought to leave. She reached up on her tiptoes to gather the basket before heading off. It shifted a little and she had to compensate for its weight as she carried it overhead.

Thankfully, as she was a prepared bunny, she left the door to the room ajar as to let her out easy. She didn't want to lose sight of the goodie basket as it was meant for one mammal.

And as she pushed the door closed behind her, she kept smiling to herself. Nothing can go wrong with this.

The moment that she said that, she nearly regretted it as she faced the massive foot of one of the larger mammals on the force. The sauntering hippo didn't even see Judy as she had to press her back against the door.

As the ungulates heavy footfalls passed by, she heard Gloria, one of the finest decorated and most prized veterans around, laughing back at someone on her phone conversation.

"Melvin, I told that sister-out-law of mine to stop carrying that stuff with her. Even if it's just a reminder and fake, my niece doesn't do that junk."

Sighing in relief that she wasn't squished, Judy padded forward just behind the decorated hippo. Despite it being a relatively safe work environment, she still had to be careful. Not every mammal in the building was of short stature.

The conversation ahead continued, but Judy paid it no heed. She wasn't one for gossip, the Mankiewitz's routinely had their chat before Gloria left for home. As such, Judy knew her timing couldn't have been better; having to make a hippo wait wasn't something she really wanted to do.

Together, they meandered through the department with relative ease. It was fairly quiet for that time of day, and the many halls had few mammals traversing them. Mostly due to them being out on patrol or investigating, the few that still remained were about less than half of the full three hundred mammals of the building.

The linoleum floors had been polished and waxed and the cedar walls had maintained their scent all these years. Judy could see the flicker of lights overhead and knew that some of them needed to be replaced. She opted to help, but some of the taller mammals would have to replace the bulbs.

When they passed by the Sherrif's office, the pep in her step was a bit more excitable. He had been an amazing mammal and she was thankful for the program that he allowed her and several others into.

A few turns later and they rounded the halls to the main office. Judy got a few passing waves and greetings from a few of the servicemammals and she held her basket a little lower as she tried to greet each of them back. When it came to food offered, they never said no, so she didn't want to give any such impression.

As they entered the main work area, Judy could hear the conversations of many of the officers there along with... construction of some kind? She didn't know, it sounded like someone was trying to break down a wall.

The commons, as they called it, was not much more than a sea of desks, fake plants, computers, tables, and papers that needed to be filed. With them having to share some of the space between the day shift and night shifts, it made keeping your own personal space a bit challenging.

It was to make everything more 'accessible' to any member of the force. In truth, Judy thought it was because of the large number of mammals there, and the not so large budget. Being nearly three hundred strong in their county of the Triburrows meant that every member counted, and every little bit of space mattered.

Few veterans like Gloria Mankiewitz, Eliot Fanghanel, and Maximus Corona had their own desk.

The bunny, knowing where she was, glanced up to where the wolf's desk was. His name tag was there, plated and facing two empty seats, and she could see the various frames and pictures of his dear 'pumpkin' Chloe all about. The only thing that was missing was Eliot himself.

Judy knew he was somewhere around, though. Having been banned from taking one of the cars - she was told that it was some accident of some kind - he was stuck doing desk work for a little while. She'd have to radio him when she was about to leave.

Just ahead of her, she could see Gloria's desk. On it was fewer trinkets than Eliot's, namely her sole picture of her and her husband Melvin, a rather tall giraffe, and her oversized coffee mug that read "I dance with Hippo grace, see". She was a bit animated as she took her seat, resting in the cushion of the heavy-duty chair.

It was only then as she looked a bit more relaxed that she noticed a small basket with a bunny under it. Judy placed the basket on one of the nearby tables as she could easily see it from where she'd have to stand on Gloria's desk. It would be right in eyesight as fresh produce tended to disappear in a moments notice.

With a short, skilled leap, she stood upon the desk of her senior; a salute ready with practiced ease and a smile on her muzzle, Judy waited for Gloria to respond.

The hippo nodded. "Sorry, I gotta go. One of our star deputies needs somethin'," Gloria added with a wink, Judy returning the praise with a smile. "See you at home hun."

After hanging up, the hippo returned the salute and addressed her protégé. "Good to see ya, Hoppity. Done for the day?"

Judy nodded. "All files are organized and the room is clean."

"Good, good." The hippo sighed and leaned back. Little squeaks could be heard from her chair as she tapped the armest in contemplation. "I can't think of anything else, and you're not on rotation for range training 'til next week. So you and your sister are free to head home when y'all like."

Having been placed out in the range last week, Judy couldn't complain. Sunny, Jack's godmother, was a bit unorthodox in her methods of teaching, but that never really bothered her. One thing did catch her attention, though.

"Wait, June's back?"

Her superior nodded pointing towards a row of desks halfway across the room. Judy could see her sister in her Jr. Deputy outfit bounding as she went by, only noticing her sibling when she reached a near enough table. Juniper waved at her, idly speaking to Bartholomew as they carried various papers.

So much for nobody knowing. Judy mused.

If Juniper was back, then she'd have to go with Judy to Nick's house. It wasn't that she was averse to it, but she didn't know how June would react when she found out that they were making a pitstop. Being at school was one thing, but what would happen out in the open?

Would she say anything to mom? Judy wondered. No... she wouldn't... would she?

Before she could get a word out, the return of that loud banging sound startled her. It even caught the attention of Gloria. Whatever it was, it was close and Judy kept her eyes peeled. It didn't take her long, though and she gave a frustrated sigh as her ears drooped.

Over near one of the walls leading to the front desk were a few vending machines. It was a go-to place to get a quick snack for the many that worked there. And while most brought their own food, there were times that a cheap treat was good.

One of the many that thought this way was Maria Swinton. However, unlike the many that thought to actually pay for the machine's vended goods, Maria had more barbaric methods of getting what she wanted. She would constantly be found (and caught) shaking, kicking and shoving the machine in hopes that it gave her something.

And if she had some kind of weapon - like the crowbar she had one time - it could get messy.

Through Maria's continued effort to pilfer goods, Gloria tutted, "Does she ever put money in that machine?"

The answer was no, Judy knew she didn't.

Shaking her head, the ungulate turned away. She had one last thing to tell Judy. "Anyway, when you get to your scout meetin', be sure to keep my Molly in line. You hear?"

Judy knew that Gloria was semi-serious about that. She was very protective of the tigress.

The doe saluted. "I'm all ears, ma'am," she said with a laugh before a voice came yelling near the snack machine. Both she and her superior turned in just enough time to see Sherrif Chamby scolding Maria.

It was then that Judy wished that she didn't see what she heard. Her mind wandered.

If the sheriff was back, then Jack was as well. If Jack was there, then they'd all leave together. Leaving together meant that they couldn't go to Nick's house because Jack - and maybe Juniper now, she couldn't tell - would cause a ruckus. If they caused a ruckus, then Judy's parents would hear it. And if Judy's parents heard it, then the dinner plans (no plan, currently) would be canceled.

She cringed as the deer became animated in his reprimand.

"How many times I gotta tell you: 'leave the vendin' machine alone'? You ain't deaf!" Chamby said gruffly, his arms crossed and patience thin.

Maria, however, a Swinton true and true, didn't back down. "It owes me chips."

Without hesitating, the sheriff pointed towards the 'chip owing' device in question. "Did ya pay it?"

There was an air of silence. Both veteran law-keeper and delinquent stared at each other, poised, stalwart, and unblinking.

Maria narrowed her eyes. "It owes me chips..."

With a deep enough breath to feel nearly lightheaded - aside from the small bump on his head - and enough frustration from all that had already happened, the sheriff leaned closer.

"I'm puttin' you in a cell, again, to wait for your ma', again, if you touch it, again! Ya understand me?!"

With the swine huffing and walking away, Chamby shook his head and made his way through the office. He waved at the deputies as he went by, only stopping when he reached Gloria and Judy.

"She's gonna run a mob one day." He muttered, tipping his hat to them in greeting. "Afternoon ladies. How're things runnin'?"

"Good," Gloria answered, nodding towards the Jr. Deputy. "Hopps finished cleaning the file room, and the arrests I made for the week have been processed."

The buck gave them both a smile and whistle of approval. He was always delighted when the work was completed. It meant that everyone was doing their share.

Though Judy was happy to be a part of it as well, she couldn't help but wonder, "How was Jack's driving lesson?"

As much as she liked having Jack around as family, she didn't really want him to mess things up with her plan. But that still didn't tell her where he was and why he wasn't with Chamby to begin with.

To answer her question, the sheriff sighed. He took a moment to massage his temples as he spoke.
"Almost ran into an ammo rack this time. S'why he's with his godmother now. Decided to stay with her 'til tomorrow."

"Oh?" Judy replied, surprised that this turn of events happened.

It wasn't exactly unusual for Jack to stay with Sunny for a weekend, even with little or no notice of any kind.

Judy came to find that he'd stay with her if he wanted to practice his targeting on the range, or if Sunny had something planned and invited him to tag along. Over the years they had bonded often, Sunny even staying at the Hopps' warren every now and again.

She always loved having her godson around, and he loved his godmother, predator or not.

This turn of events made Judy smile. Jack wouldn't be there to make a complaint to Bonnie and Stu, so the plan was going to go without fail.

YES! This is gonna work! she told herself, slowly turning to where she left her prized blueberry basket. I'm gonna go see Nick, give him the blueberries, and then-

She stopped when she saw an empty table.

Immediately, her ears shot up and her eyes widened in panic. "W-where's the basket?"

As she frantically searched for her prized gift, she gasped in shock as the culprit was quickly found. There was a set of jet black ears bouncing from desk to desk and hoisting up the basket for every thankful officer; her sister, Juniper, was responsible.

"OH NO!"

Judy hastily hopped down from the desk and began to pursue the other bounding bunny. She rounded desks where necessary, hoping to catch up and stop her before it was too late, but didn't call her as to not draw suspicion.

When she got to where her sister was, all she saw was a satisfied lemur deputy, giving her a courteous wave and thanks. Barely returning the gesture, Judy scanned the area once more.

She caught sight of the culprit as she trotted her way to the breakroom. Judy cringed, already running full speed towards her sister to stop her.

The thing was, the break room was notorious for missing snacks. If something was to say... be left out on the counter unattended, then it was free food for the first one that nabbed it - your name on it was a suggestion. She left soup on the table once and when she returned, there was an empty container.

With this in mind, Judy dashed past the remaining desks and managed to slip into the breakroom, narrowly avoiding the door closing on her ears.

Indignation ready, she took one step forward, paw outstretched and pointing only to suddenly deflate when she saw a dozen deputies stepping by, paws and hooves filled with rounded blue snacks. Her eye twitched at the line marching out of the breakroom, each participant giving a gracious "Thanks" as they slipped out.

When it was only Judy and Juniper left, the black-furred bunny finally saw her sister eye to eye.

"Heya Judes," Juniper greeted, setting the basket on a small table next to her and giving her sister a thumbs up. "I spread out the snack for everyone."

"E-everyone?" Caught from her stupor, Judy dashed over. She felt her heart race as she grit her teeth and lifted the basket only to find it much lighter than she remembered.

"Yeah," her sister began, shrugging even as Judy's shoulders slumped. "Isn't that why you brought a basket here? Like we do sometimes after harvest?"

Mouth agape, Judy could only stare.

It was empty, of course. The blueberries that she had paw picked this morning were gone. Her plan was in shambles. It took her an hour to pick the ripest blueberries that she could find, and only a few seconds for all that work to disappear.

While her sister looked as if she had run through a hairspray factory, June raised a brow. She knew something was up. "You okay?"

Even if Judy's only response was a slow sigh and placing the carrier back, Juniper had already had an idea that things were wrong. She and Judy were close - best sisters as some would say. Sure they had hundreds of other siblings, but they bonded together. Even if not for their matching amethyst eyes, they were always challenging one another. It's what lead them to be Jr. Deputies.

The black-furred doe casually closed the door. If she needed to ask her sister something personal, then it was going to be personal.

"Alright, Jude the dude. What's this all about?"

And that caused Judy to snap to attention.

When they started calling each other by the nicknames their father gave them, either bunny knew that they knew something was going on.

"What's what about, Junebug?"

Trying to keep her tone even, Judy really wanted her sister not to catch on.

As both were planning to be officers one day, they were slowly becoming adept at getting information out of mammals. What made this a bit easier was when you knew the one you were interrogating - even more so if they were your sibling.

The black-furred doe crossed her arms, eyeing her sister accusingly.

"You been actin all kinda weird today," she started, one ear flopping over and hoping Judy would come clean about what this all was. "First, you went out at the crack of dawn to get blueberries."

Judy mimicked the pose in an attempt to defend herself. "I wanted to pick a few."

June wasn't having any of it. "You picked half a bush."

"I got a few more just to fill up the basket."

"You don't ever eat that many blueberries, Judith."

"Maybe I wanted to snack on them, Juniper."

"Oh? Then didn't ya snack on 'em on the ride over? Ya just kept eyein' 'em and smiling like you had some big plan goin' on!"

It was then that Judy's pupils shrank and her other ear fell. She could easily tell from her sisters slowly growing smile and even slower trot that she was gonna hear it.

Juniper beamed widely, wrapping her arm around Judy so that she couldn't wave off her guilt. "So, sis. Who were you pickin' 'em for?"

Her sing-song voice made Judy nervously chuckle. And before she could respond, her sister leapt in a gleeful cheer.

"I knew it!" she shouted, much to Judy's dismay. "It ain't Jack," Of course it wasn't! "and you ain't mention anyone's birthday or nothin'."

With the bunny's hoops and hollers, Judy conceded. "Okay, okay," She waved her paws, sighing and thinking deeply.

Juniper had been around Nick for days, so the shock would be minimalized... or so she hoped.

"I was gonna..." Turning to the empty container of her failed plan, Judy took in a deep breath and laced her paws together as if in prayer. Now or never. "Give... Nick... a few?"

What Judy heard next truly scared her: nothing. Juniper stood there, wide-eyed and her head tilted slightly. Her expression was exactly what Judy had hoped against.

Great! Now June'll tell mom and dad and-

Her thoughts didn't last long, June's cheerful smile returned. "Well, why didn't you say so?!"

"Huh?" was all that Judy managed to get out of her muzzle before June grabbed her paw.

The bunny didn't stop there. She opened the door to the offices, dragging her bewildered sister behind her before calling out, "Hey, Deputy Eliot-"

Judy panicked. She saw where this was going, heads already started to turn. "Oh no you don't!"

She began struggling against her sister, starting at the wrist and wrestling her to the ground. This was meant to be a surprise. The fewer mammals that knew about it, the better. She could do damage control later.

In half a second, Judy had Juniper pinned. Not unusual, but also not exactly over. They sparred from time to time and they were somewhat sibling rivals. That only meant that June would try to break free.

It was with this last thought that Judy found herself on the ground a quarter second later, her feet being swept from under her. As much as she hated to admit it, June was just as fast as her. However, her sister wasn't taking chances, she put her in a headlock.

As they struggled to gain control of who would say what, the growing crowd circled them, ready to put an end to their squabble.

"My sis-augh!" Juniper hasted her words when Judy grabbed her collar, bringing them both down. It was only when she rolled to the side, barely avoiding Judy's tackle that she continued. "She wants to see Nick and get him a few blueberries," Juniper said, Judy chocked... and a familiar wolf among them gasped. "Mind givin' us a ride there before we head home?"

The crowd of mammals gave odd looks and scratched their heads collectively. Their murmurings didn't stop one eager member from exuberantly wagging his tail.

"WOOOOOOO! YES!" the wolf howled. He dashed over to them, arms extended to pick up each bunny into a hug. "I knew it!" he shouted, balancing either bunny on his shoulder, but paying more attention to Judy as he made his way to the door. "I'd be happy to give you a ride to see the love of your li-"

"No you ain't!" a gruff voice echoed, stopping the wolf dead in his tracks.

Eliot turned to see the sheriff practically stomping his way past the other officers, fury clear in his eyes. He knew he was in trouble. "But sir I-"

"Nu-uh," Chamby continued, hiking his hoof in the direction of his personal office. "You done broke my car already, and you ain't causin' more trouble."

"But-"

"Deputy Fanghanel," came the sheriff's voice, more stern than it had been in a while. Nobody else moved, let alone talked.

"You're gonna finish that report," the sheriff started, pointing at his desk beside Gloria's, "clock out," He then pointed to the kiosk near the entryway of the offices before gesturing down to the raccoon standing beside him, "take this Jr. Deputy back home. And once you're done with that, yer' lead that scout meetin' so that we got less delinquents runnin' around here."

Once he finished scolding the wolf, Chamby craned his head towards where he thought the 'delinquent' would be. Sure enough, Maria was crouched in front of the machine again. She had a batton in her hooves and was using it to try to reach anything she could.

He was done. "Maria! If you don't get away from that thing, I'm arresting you!"

The pig stopped, caught red hooved and hungry. In her fit of anger, she stood back up, chucking the batton down the hall before storming off.

When Chamby turned back, the two bunnies were standing in front of the distraught wolf. Eliot had sauntered back to his desk to finish the work as instructed, but Chamby was still wary of him trying to escape from his punishment.

He had been known for his antics both around the office and in the field. Even from the day that he arrived, he been a bit of a troublemaker - this current ban from using a vehicle was nothing. On the day he arrived, Chamby almost wanted to call an asylum, but he did help in making an arrest.

The other day could be forgiven as Bunnyburrow's shotgun wedding law was always around, but Chamby felt as though the sudden boom of the half-orthodox practice was because Eliot came onto the scene.

Then there was that little... occurrence that happened where he -and somehow his wife, Chloe - was never to set footpad on (specifically) any pumpkin patches again, ever. In any county of the triburrows. And that was by order of the High Hopper.

Shaking his head, Chamby voiced his opinion as the police force went back to their tasks. "I swear, he's a good deputy, but he's just a big pup."

Side-eyeing the wolf, the deer went over what he had to do now. The Hopps needed to go home, sure. But he had to reaffirm what he heard first.

"So yall two need a ride home, right?"

Both bunnies nodded, but Juniper added another destination. "And a stop by a friends house. Y'know, that new fox in town? Nick."

As the buck tapped his hoof in consideration, Judy facepawed.

Neither moved as their superior officer tipped his hat and made his way to his office. "S'good thing I gotta drop somethin' off at your folks'." He waved at them to stay there as he went off. "Be back in a sec."

Before he turned the corner and out of sight he drew his eyes to two mammals. One was Eliot. He muttered under his breath, "You better not be messin' this one up."

Seeing the wolf type away at the computer meant only a little. He knew that he was actively behind the ever-increasing population density number somehow.

The only other mammal he cast his glance at before disappearing around the bend was Judy. He could only see the tip of her ears before they vanished.

Deeply inhaling as he had a job to do, he trotted down the hall. The Hopps would get home on his watch, but there was that little problem that he'd been trying to solve all day. One he thought he'd just leave alone at least until next week.

But now, it seemed as though he'd see him face to face. Arright, Nick. Time to see what about you's been worryin' Jack all day.

Sometimes, dreams can be a bit... hectic. That's why you have siblings, to make them EXPLODE!

[A/N]

Huge thanks to Koraru-san for continued use of her OC's Eliot and Chloe.

Okay, I really need to get back to this story. This was going to be double the length, but as I saw it being about... 12k words, that wasn't gonna happen. So, instead, enjoy Judy and her closest sibling: Juniper S. Hopps.

If anyone can guess what the "S" is, there may be a prize involved. XD

[FF Review Responses]

Metal Amadeus: The more has arrived! And Molly? Molly-tav!

imjustlikehumphery: It's gonna be a Wilde ride to get Nick to dinner. XD

WolfofAvalon: The Pawpsicke scen was an idea that I got from AStoryTellerBook on AO3. If you have any ideas, I'd love to try them in the story. ^^

Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps: Well, she could just have her sister(s) mess things up and drag him there a few weeks early... but that'd be CRAZY! Also, Eliot's not allowed near pumpkins in Bunnyburrow. Aside from his pumpkin. XD

[Other Sites]

fanfiction:
~dancinglunarwolves

deviantart: [snippet exclusive]
dancinglunarwolves

archiveofourown:
users/DancingLunarWolves/works

If you liked this story and have time please post a review, and if you would like to keep up with the story please fav or follow. Questions, comments, concerns, feel free to message me about anything. If you'd like updates, please check the profile page and or message me.

Till Next Time
-DLW