Judy slammed on the brakes and felt her seatbelt catch as the old truck she was driving came to a shuddering halt. In front of her, she could see the gentle curve of the cobblestone bridge that she'd been told about. She felt her pulse quicken as she began to dread the moment she'd come face to face with the mammal that she both desperately needed help from, and the one she'd hurt so profoundly with her careless words and ignorance.
She'd found Nick's fennec partner only a short time before as she tore through the streets of Savannah Central. The jolt of hope she felt when she'd seen the distinctive paint job of the fennec's van had turned right back into anxiety when she knocked on the back door of the van. The fennec fox wanted nothing to do with her at first, which Judy had fully expected. So she begged for his help in finding Nick – she had to make things right with him and apologize.
Something about her desperation or earnest plea seemed to get past the grumpy exterior of the small fox because after asking a few pointed questions about what Judy was really after, he seemed genuinely surprised at Judy's sincerity. It was as though the idea that someone could be so truly, absolutely remorseful was something new and novel.
Judy would have felt sad for the fennec if she'd had time to reflect on the implications of that, but the gruff fox had given Judy a location where Nick "had been moping" as of late: a stone brick bridge by an old warehouse on the waterfront. She'd rushed back into her truck and sped away, leaving a confused fennec behind.
Now, having arrived at the bridge, Judy slid out of the driver's seat of her family truck and dashed forward onto the bridge. Her ears high and alert, she hopped over to the side of the bridge as she heard something and looked down.
There below here, reclined in a lawn chair and with his feet propped up on an overturned bucket, sat Nick. He wore a pair of sunglasses and was idly sucking a straw poked into a drink that had long since been emptied judging from the sound. Judy never forgot how defeated he looked.
"Oh Nick!" Judy cried out in sudden relief. She dashed to the end of the bridge, hopped over the edge, and slid down the small embankment to approach Nick. "Night Howlers aren't wolves, they're toxic flowers!"
Judy had been imagining what she'd say to Nick and how she'd approach him over and over on the drive to the bridge, but as soon as she saw the fox, all she could think to do was jump straight to her discovery.
"I think someone is targeting predators on purpose and making them go savage," she said and stared as the fox sat impassively for a second.
With a sigh, Nick finally moved to stand up.
"Wow," he said, his words smothered in pained sarcasm. "Isn't that interesting."
The fox tossed his sunglasses to the side and began to stride away under the bridge.
Judy felt her ears flop limply against her back as she saw her moment to make amends slipping away with every step Nick took. She dashed forward in desperation.
"Wait!" she called out in panic. "Wait, please don't, I … I know you'll never forgive me, and I don't blame you. I wouldn't forgive me either."
Nick stopped moving forward, but didn't turn to face her.
All those months apart, Judy had ample time to reflect on her mistakes at the press conference, how she'd played right into a narrative of fear and mistrust that she had been so sure she was above. After all, she wasn't like her parents, was she?
How wrong she'd been, how painful it had been to watch Nick crumple the Junior Detective sticker and throw it aside as he walked out of her life. She'd lost one of the few mammals she could call a friend, certainly the first that she had felt such a strong connection to – one born of hardship, adversity, mutual trust, admiration, and respect. Judy cared deeply for Nick, and in one thoughtless moment, she failed him completely.
"I was ignorant and … irresponsible, and small-minded," she said.
And yet, as much guilt and pain as she felt about Nick, Judy couldn't ignore the hostile climate that had developed as the Night Howler crisis had continued. The increasingly radical calls for "action" to curb "dangerous predators" that she'd seen, the division and discord that she'd contributed to.
"But predators shouldn't suffer for my mistakes," Judy said, wringing her hands. "I have to fix this. But I can't do it without you."
Nick stood still, clearly listening but giving no outward indication of how he was receiving the bunny's words. Judy hoped beyond hope that somehow he would forgive her – but how could he?
"And after we're done, you can hate me … and that will be fine," she said shakily. "Because I was a horrible friend …"
Her vision blurred as she felt tears well up and fall.
"And I hurt you … and you-" she sobbed. "And you can walk away knowing that you were right, all along."
Judy sniffed and dropped her arms to her sides limply.
"I really am just a dumb bunny."
An uncomfortable silence passed. The wait was agonizing for Judy, and she stood stock-still with apprehension, worried about how Nick would react.
The sound of her carrot pen recorder rewinding caught Judy completely by surprise.
"I really am just a dumb bunny," a tinny, recorded version of her voice echoed.
She felt her heart leap into her chest. Did that mean?
But as Nick turned to face Judy, his face held only cruel mockery.
"Of course you're a dumb bunny." He was practically spitting the words. "Thinking you could ever be anything more than a dime-a-dozen carrot-farming hick? How dumb can you be?"
Wait, this wasn't – he hadn't –
"And what," Nick growled, advancing towards Judy as the shadows under the bridge seemed to pull up around her and start to darken the sky. "You think you can just come crawling back and expect me to forgive you? After what you did!?"
Judy shrank back as Nick seemed to stretch taller and loom ever more menacingly over her.
"You played right into Bellwether's hands. Hell, you practically handed her the city!"
The dark, indistinct silhouette of another figure, horned and massive, appeared behind Nick to loom even taller over her.
"I should have fired you on the spot – insubordinate, arrogant, and ignorant!" Bogo spat. "You're a disgrace to that uniform and everything it stands for."
"N-no, I, this didn't," Judy protested as she felt the shadows close in all around her. She turned to run from the horrific visions, only to stumble right into another figure. She felt the soft springiness of wool, and looked up in horror.
"Oh, no need to be afraid, sweetie." Dawn Bellwether's voice was cloying in its mocking sincerity. "After all, I couldn't have done it without your help. You made it all possible!"
The ewe laughed, a titter of mirth that twisted into a cacophony as the horde of shadows that had swarmed around Judy took up the chorus of laughter.
"Just think how much better things are going to be," Bellwether continued to mock as Judy covered her ears and curled inward. "Just look!"
Judy looked to the shadow of Nick and watched in shock as he recoiled in pain from something wrapping itself around his neck. He began to choke and whine, clawing at his neck – a baleful red light seeped through the cracks in his fingers, promising exquisite pain and suffering.
"You did this!" Nick growled, leaping forward to tackle Judy to the ground.
And then Nick was gone – in his place, Gideon Grey. She felt the warm and burning pain of claw scratches on her cheek, felt the spittle as her childhood bully shouted at her.
"I want you to remember this the next time you think you will ever be anything more than just a stupid carrot-farming dumb bunny!"
The shadows swirled around her, choking out the stars in the sky in an endless maelstrom of blistering anger and mockery. A halo of purple and blue, neon and garish, began to grow – amorphous at first, but coming to dominate the entirety of Judy's vision.
Everything in her vision faded as the titanic form of a cat filled the astral expanse in front of her. Its eyes burned in a nightmarish firestorm of orange. It reached out for her, and she tried to cry out, but she couldn't move, she couldn't-
Judy's eyes shot open with such sudden ferocity that for a brief moment she completely forgot where she was. The mattress she was on was firmer than she was used to, not to mention much larger. The dim room she was in was just barely lit by the faint glow of the dawn light creeping in through the window. Any familiar scents that she would associate with her apartment were nowhere to be found, save for her favorite: the pleasant, almost woody smell of Nicholas Wilde.
Though the fogginess of her mind was quickly fading, the bunny's fight-or-flight instincts were still on high alert. She quickly remembered where she was; in the loft of a B&B in Possum Springs, stranded with a busted engine that wouldn't be fixed for at least a few days. Judy also realized just how tightly her arms were wrapped around Nick's midsection, and noted the relieved huff that escaped his muzzle as she eased up the pressure. Judy was still breathing heavily, the surge of emotions beginning to slowly boil off as she recalled her dream.
That was all it had been - a nightmare. A rather horrible one, but still just a dream.
Judy sighed a soft sigh of relief. Nightmares were quite the rarity for her - she couldn't remember the last time she'd had one before this. Fortunately she had something very close by that never failed to sooth her nerves.
The rabbit pulled herself closer to Nick, keeping herself firmly pressed against his side as she tenderly nuzzled a cheek into his chest. Looking up at the fox, she did her best to suppress a giggle. As good looking as Nick was when he wanted to be - which was almost always - he was not a graceful sleeper. He still remained just as handsome in her eyes, but there was a dopiness to his sleeping state that never failed to cause a smile to grow on her lips. Nick's muzzle was agape, and his tongue lolled about halfway out the side. With every rise and fall of his chest, Nick let out the faintest of snores. It had been somewhat irritating the first few times she'd spent the night with him, but soon after she'd come to find it extremely comforting. She greatly preferred his snoring to the sound of her neighbors arguing at three in the morning.
Though Judy was now far removed from the dream-logic of her nightmare, it was still fresh enough in her mind for the majority of the details to remain in place. When she'd driven her parent's pickup back to Zootopia in search of Nick, she'd mentally prepared herself for a verbal beatdown. What she'd said at the press conference had been inexcusable - she hardly would've blamed Nick if he told her off. But as nasty as his words in the dream had been, they were soon drowned out by the pleasant memory of what actually transpired; a warm embrace of forgiveness sprinkled with some of his trademark teasing, and topped off with his humorous response to her accidentally stepping on his tail.
At the thought, Judy squeezed just a little harder against her fox, reveling in the thick scruffiness of his still-growing winter coat. Nick mumbled something incomprehensible in response, and Judy couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself. She recalled how he too had suffered from a bad dream just before the car had broken down. A realization then hit Judy - she'd never gotten around to having Nick tell her about his own nightmare. Considering how panicked he'd seemed after bolting awake, it must've been quite the fright for him. However, that conversation had been knocked down her priority list the second that the car had seized up on the freeway - but after experiencing the strange dread of her own mind's conjuring, it was back up to the top.
As she pondered this, Judy suddenly felt her stomach rumble.
Well, it was now near the top, at least.
That conversation could wait a bit. Judy was eager to experience the breakfast portion of their B&B stay, and Nick was far too adorable in his slumber for her to consider waking him before he was ready. She nuzzled into him a bit more and planted a quick kiss on the side of his opened muzzle. Soon after, she eased up on the embrace and rolled over to reach for her phone to check the time - 6:42 am. Had they made it back to the city, Judy would've already been in the middle of her morning jog.
The rabbit slowly sat up in the bed, softly groaning as she stretched her arms over her head. Turning over to face her partner, she saw that he was still very much in a deep sleep. The age old adage of "opposites attract" stuck out in her mind - Judy was an early riser, and Nick did everything in his power not to be. She could let him sleep a while longer. Judy didn't need to tread lightly as she freed herself from the covers, as Nick was quite the heavy sleeper. She swore that the building could come down around him and he would still sleep through the whole thing.
Once her feet touched the thick carpet around the bed, Judy moved over to her suitcase in the corner of the room and began running through her selection of clothes. She swapped out her pajamas for a pink flannel shirt - a favorite of Nick's - and a simple pair of blue jeans.
Opening the door to their room, Judy initially kept light on her feet so as to not disturb their hosts. Moments later however, that proved to be unnecessary. She could hear the older couple's muffled banter downstairs. Making no further efforts to mask her movements, Judy descended down the stairs and gave a polite knock on the side of the arched-wall that led into their kitchen
"Morning," Judy said, half stepping into the room. The two beavers turned their attention towards her. Charlie was in the middle of reading the morning newspaper, and Deborah had just opened the fridge. She could smell the pleasant aroma of something cooking over the stovetop.
"Oh, well you're up! Guess the early bunny gets the carrot, eh?" Charlie said with an over exuberant laugh. "Where's your fox? Still snoozing away?"
Momentarily taken aback by the beaver, Judy gathered her wits and smiled amiably. "Something like that. Foxes are normally crepuscular, and Nick especially so. But don't worry - with enough coffee that todd would rise from the dead."
"Speaking of coffee, dear," Deborah began, "We've got a fresh pot ready on the counter. Feel free to grab yourself a cup! I was just in the middle of fixing breakfast."
Giving a quick 'thank you', Judy walked over and poured herself a cup before taking a seat at the round table across from Charlie. She brought the mug of hot, revitalizing liquid to her lips and took a quick sip. As Deborah continued to dig through the fridge, Charlie gave his newspaper a quick flourish to re-stiffen it.
"So, Ms… Hopps, was it?" Charlie asked after a brief pause. Judy simply nodded and set her coffee down on the table. "My wife and I would like to apologize for our… un-neighborly reaction to you and your partner yesterday."
"Oh, there's no need, Mr. Woodstock." Judy said, keeping a polite composure in place. "As I already told Mrs. Woodstock, it's not the first thing most people think of when they see Nick and I together.
"But that doesn't excuse our behavior, dear!" Deborah said, her upper half still deep within their fridge."
"Indeed it doesn't. You see, we're both… oh, how to put this…" Charlie began.
"We're old," Deborah said, peeking her head out from behind the fridge door before immediately going back in.
"Yes!" Charlie chuckled. "We're a couple of old coots, and there's a lot of crazy stuff going on nowadays that we… Well, we never really gave much thought to back in the day. But, we're trying our best to adapt to the times! Did my wife tell you about our grandson, Jonathan? He's dating a capybara over in Bright Harbor."
"Such a sweet young girl, she really opened our eyes." Deborah said, carrying a container of mushrooms along with a couple of onions and bell peppers and setting them down on the counter before shutting the door with her long flat tail.
"She certainly did," Charlie continued. "What I'm trying to get at here, is that we're sorry for the way we acted. We wholeheartedly support your and Mr. Wilde's lifestyle."
Oh my god, they did not just refer to us dating as a "lifestyle"...
In that moment, it took the entirety of Judy's willpower to keep her eyes from rolling and her expression locked into the friendliest smile she could muster - though even that was barely held together.
"Gee… thanks for saying so…" Judy said, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible. The Woodstocks did seem genuine in overall sentiment, but as Deborah had so accurately put it: they were old, and that meant that they had a certain way of looking at things.
"Anyway," the doe began. "What are you making over there, Deborah? Looks like you've got your paws full already!"
"Oh, nothing too fancy, dear," the beaver replied, cutting up the bell peppers. "Just putting together some scrambled eggs, and I have some delicious fruit salad sitting in the fridge. I could also whip up some pancakes, if you'd like."
"Sure, that all sounds great." Judy replied, prompting the elderly beaver to open a cupboard and pull out a box of pancake mix.
A hearty breakfast was just what the rabbit needed to start off her day right. She was still fairly peeved from yesterday, even after all of Nick's effort to make it better. A good set of scrambled eggs sounded heavenly. They were a good source of extra protein for prey animals, and were far less controversial to consume compared to something that had actually been alive at one point - She'd been rather surprised to learn recently that eating them wasn't really much of a pain point for most birds. A nice stack of pancakes would also hit the spot, something Nick would surely agree with.
Remembering her still sleeping partner, Judy realized something she could do to make his morning even better. The fox was far from a picky eater - he'd practically shove anything down his gullet if it had a little flavor to it - but he did have a distinctive favorite that Judy knew of. He'd eaten more than enough of them back on her family's farm.
"Hey Deborah, do you have any blueberries in there?" Judy asked, pointing to the fridge.
The beaver turned to look at her while mixing the mushrooms, onions, and chopped peppers into the eggs.
"I believe we do. Would you like me to add some into your pancakes?"
"Not for me, but I know Nick would certainly appreciate it. He's got quite the appetite for them."
"Of course I can do that for- Oh! That reminds me!"
Deborah turned down the heat on the stovetop, letting the eggs slowly simmer in the pan. She then moved back over to the fridge and opened the door, pulling out what appeared to be an airtight package of turkey sausage.
"Charlie picked this up for Mr. Wilde over at the Ham Panther. I can't say I've had much experience cooking meat before. I was hoping that as his girlfriend, you might have picked up a couple of pointers."
"I mean, I know a little," Judy said. "But that's so thoughtful of you! He'd be perfectly happy eating those eggs like the rest of us, though."
"Sure," Charlie began. "But again - after how we reacted last night, we figured that we ought to try and make it up to you two. I tried looking up what foxes usually eat on the computer, but it was acting all strange again. Gonna have to give that nice bear that works at the video outpost a call again."
Deborah paused for a moment as though debating something to herself.
"You know, he's also dating a fox," she said at last. "Such a lovely couple, those two."
Great, I'll be sure to say hello at the next "Fox Lovers" union meeting…
Just as Judy was about to attempt a pleasant response, she heard the nearby stairs begin to creek followed by a drawn out and very familiar yawn.
"Something smells good down here," Nick remarked, coming into view a few seconds later and rubbing sleep from his eyes. The collar of his signature Pawaiian shirt was poking out of the top of a light sweater.
"Good morning to ya, Nicholas! Do you mind if I call you that?" Charlie asked.
"Sadly, no can do - there's only two mammals that call me Nicholas, and they usually only do it when I'm in trouble. Nick works just fine - thank you, Charlie," the fox replied, giving the beaver a friendly nod and disarming smile. "Morning, Deborah. Same to you, Fluff,"
Nick playfully ruffled the top of Judy's head as he passed her on his way towards the still steaming pot of coffee. The doe nudged herself free from his touch and returned his mischief with a light punch to his side and a pleased laugh.
"Excellent timing, Slick. Our hosts were just wondering if they could get any tips on the intricate task of cooking meat."
Nick raised a brow at her as he brought his now filled mug to his muzzle, taking a long sip and smacking his lips in satisfaction before answering.
"You two got some meat just for little ol' me?" he asked, planting a theatrical paw on his chest. "I'm touched. I imagine you got some strange looks over at the grocery store."
"Oh, it was nothing," Charlie said, clearly pleased at Nick's reaction. "It was the least we could do for you. I wasn't quite sure what to get you, but Stan over at the Ham Panther said that turkey sausage makes for a good breakfast meal."
"Smart guy," Nick replied after taking another sip. "Cooking something like sausage isn't nearly as complicated as you might think. Same general rules as something like grilled veggies. Get it cooked all the way through and don't let it sit too long on one side - not easy to mess up. If you had gotten some tuna or halibut on the other hand, that might be a bit tricky."
"Alright then," Deborah said with a nod before peeling open the sausage container. "Go ahead and take a seat, dear. I should have all this ready in a few minutes."
Nick took the seat directly left of Judy, then reached out for her paw under the table. She was quick to oblige him, tenderly rubbing her thumb through his paw-pads. After several more minutes of idle chatter between them and their hosts, Deborah placed a delectable meal in front of each of them.
Judy eagerly dug into her meal, savoring the rich flavor. The tacos last night had been quite good, but one thing living in the city had taught the rabbit was that take-out would never compare to the effort of a home cooked meal. Nick had seemed rather surprised to find the baked in specs of blue on his own pancakes, but judging by the speed at which he'd scarfed all three of them down, they must've been heavenly. Similarly, he'd downed each turkey sausage quite enthusiastically, though he definitely took more time to savor the taste than he had with the rest of his food.
Soon all four mammals had finished their meals, with Nick being the first one to get up and rinse off his plate in the kitchen sink.
"You all can go ahead and leave your plates right here," Nick said, softly patting the open counter next to him. "I can handle the dishes."
"Oh no you won't, young man!" Deborah said in a stern voice that only a mother could produce. "I will not have such pleasant guests focusing their time and energy on cleaning up in my place!"
"Deborah, please now!" Nick chuckled. "It's the least I could do as thanks for the sausages. They were perfect, really."
"You can thank me by stepping aside, mister," Deborah playfully replied, lightly tapping his side with her flattened tail.
"Alright, alright, Nick relented, raising his paws in defeat. "I should've learned my lesson from this one's Pop-Pop." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards Judy.
"And what lesson would that be, exactly?" Judy asked.
"Never argue with a grandparent. They've been on this earth way too long to put up with any back-talk."
"Don't you forget it!" Deborah said with a laugh, scrubbing away the grime that remained on her plate.
Judy chuckled to herself. Her grandfather back in Bunnyburrow had been very critical of Nick for practically their entire trip, almost to the point of rudeness. Cool as ever, Nick had taken it in stride and not once lost his temper at the elderly rabbit. By the time Nick and Judy were each loading their bags into their car to leave, Pop-Pop sauntered up to the fox and gave him a firm handshake, telling him he'd "passed the test", whatever that meant.
It had impressed Judy. Nick was as a general rule highly distrustful and unimpressed by anyone who made grand shows of authority. The fox had a rapier wit, and didn't always think about how a snarky quip or retort - no matter how clever - might blow up in his face. Nick had come to rely on Judy to help him moderate this habit, but his rebel spirit still remained - God only knew the amount of times Chief Bogo had chewed him out since he'd joined the force.
A realization suddenly struck Judy: They hadn't yet called back to Precinct One to inform the department that they were stranded. Yesterday had been so taxing on both of them that they'd opted to put it off until they'd rested up. Thankfully it was still quite early in the day, but it was something that they really needed to get to sooner rather than later.
"Um… excuse me - Deborah, Charlie? Would you two mind if Nick and I used your phone for a minute. We need to call our precinct and let them know about our situation."
"Oh right," Nick said before either beaver could reply. "We meant to handle that yesterday, but the cell reception you folks have out here seems to be… spotty at best."
"Is it now?" Charlie asked, tilting his head. "That's news to me. Neither of us have had much need for a cell phone. But you two are more than welcome to use our landline!"
The beaver pointed a thumb over his shoulder to a simple wall-mounted phone behind him. It had a long spiral cord attached to the receiver - the kind that looked like it would allow you to bring the thing across the entire house if you really wanted to.
"We appreciate it," Nick said, prompting Judy to get up from her seat. "This should only take us a minute."
The two mammals moved over to the phone, briefly struggling to remember the phone number for the precinct before Nick pulled out his phone and went digging through his contacts. After scrolling through the mass of Judy's relatives that had recently been added, he finally found what he was looking for. As soon as the low dial tone was heard coming from the earpiece, the fox and rabbit moved over to the nearby living room and crowded around the handset of the antiquated landline. After a few rings, a gruff voice with a slightly posh accent answered. "Go for Chief Bogo."
"Bogo!" Judy shouted, just a bit too loud. "Er, I mean Chief. It's Hopps and Wilde."
"Hmmm," the chief grunted. "It's about time you called."
Nick and Judy glanced at each other.
"Well sir," Nick said. "We seem to be in a bit of a predicament … we're currently-"
"In Possum Springs, yes I know," Bogo said. "The Deputy Sheriff of Possum Springs called me yesterday and let me know that you two seem to be stuck in town for a while."
"Did they now?" Nick asked with a sidelong glance towards Judy.
"Indeed," the chief said. "He then went on to try to ingratiate himself to me by fawning over your case history. He seemed quite impressed with your conduct with the Night Howler case."
"Uh, is this related to the 10-57s the town has been having?" Judy asked.
"Hmmph… Why am I not surprised you two have already found out about that?" Bogo asked with the barest hint of genuine amusement in his voice. "Yes, it seems Possum Springs has had a sudden outbreak of missing persons - including the Sheriff of Deep Hollow County herself. I was asked if I could put you two on detached service to the local police department to help investigate, seeing as how you two are stuck there anyway."
"We could get the car towed sir," Nick noted. "If you needed us back in Zootopia sooner than later."
"Well, to be frank," Bogo said. "This is a good opportunity for both you and the department. I can't offer you two anything more than your usual patrol if you come back to the city - I have a lot of senior officers who are already chasing after the more … juicy assignments."
The chief paused and cleared his throat.
"That said - I know you two have been looking to find a case to take so you can stand out as a good candidate for the detective bureau whenever new positions open up. I know Captains Katsuragi and Du Bois are expecting some openings in the next few months, and solving yet another missing persons case would certainly be a feather in your caps."
Nick and Judy shared a look.
"So - just to be clear - are you ordering us to take detached service?" Nick asked.
"No, that's entirely up to you. I don't care, frankly," Bogo said. "While it would certainly look good for us to help a rural department in need, I know you will be missed in the city. Ultimately, I trust my officers to determine what the best use of their time is."
"Understood, Chief," Judy said. "When would we have to decide?"
"I think the Deputy Sheriff is hoping to see you sometime today," Bogo said. "So I believe you should meet with him before making a decision. In any event, I expect you to either take detached service in Possum Springs, or be back in the city in the next day or two. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Nick and Judy said in unison.
"Good, now don't call my personal phone again or I'll assign you to parking duty for the next six months," Bogo said and hung up.
Judy turned her head towards Nick with a raised brow.
"You dialed his personal line?"
The fox stared back at her with a perplexed look.
"Was I not supposed to?"
"How on earth did you get his personal number?" Judy asked, staring incredulously at Nick.
"I'm a fox of many talents, Fluff."
The two mammals walked back to the kitchen and hung the phone back onto its mount. As they turned towards their hosts, they saw that Deborah was in the process of drying off her paws. A neatly organized stack of dishes and utensils sat on the countertop next to her.
"Alright, we're in the clear," Nick said, gaining the beavers' attention. "We are officially off the hook for a couple days. If this morning was any indication, I'd say we're in for one heck of a pleasant stay, wouldn't you agree, Carrots?"
"Oh, five stars for sure." Judy nodded.
"You're both too kind," Charlie said, looking quite bashful. "Deborah and I are just glad to be able to help."
"Believe me, you folks have done more than enough of that for us already," the fox remarked, resting his paw on Judy's shoulder. "So, what's the plan for you two today? Cribbage? Maybe some bingo down at the senior center?"
Judy tilted her head and sent Nick a glare, but it quickly faded when the Woodstocks responded.
"No, bingo is on Wednesday nights - And cribbage is such an old man's game. We prefer Pinochle, ourselves."
Nick gave a soft squeeze to Judy's shoulder as he tried to keep his chuckle contained. She nudged him firmly with her elbow to keep him from seeming impolite.
"Well, we wouldn't want to impose. We should probably get our day started." the rabbit said.
"Right. Gotta meet up with Officer Molly soon. She's offered to take us back to the shop to check up on our car."
"Oh, how thoughtful of her," Deborah said as she sat back down at the kitchen table. "That Molly has always had a good head on her shoulders, even when she was only a kit - her sister as well."
"Yep, couple of good souls, them," Charlie mused. "Anyway, I'm sure we'll see you both sometime tonight?"
"Count on it," Nick said, coolly snapping a finger pistol with his signature smirk. Both him and Judy began moving towards the front.
"Thanks again for the breakfast!" Judy cheerily said as she reached for the doorknob and pulled it open.
The two couples gave each other a polite wave as Nick and Judy passed through the doorframe and out into the cool morning air of Possum Springs. They still had a few minutes until Molly was slated to come pick them up, so they both opted to take a seat on the steps of the porch and simply wait it out.
The sights around them were practically picturesque. The morning dew that stuck to the grass faintly sparkled in the rising sunlight. It appeared to have frozen over earlier, but the warmth of the sun's rays had quickly melted them back into liquid form. Across the street, the shadows of various townsfolk could be seen through the blinds of their apartment building, most of them letting out a long stretch as they too were just beginning their own daily rituals. It was about as lovely a morning as Judy could imagine - it made it even harder to believe that such a nice hamlet such as this could've had a sudden outbreak of disappearances.
Judy leaned her head into Nick's side, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. Nick glanced down at her for a second before turning his attention back to the scenery.
"Got a signal yet?" he asked.
"Nope…" Judy huffed, her ears falling limp behind her. "Should I even bother trying at this point?"
"Eh, not much need at this point. The Chief already knows we're stuck here."
"Sure, but what about my parents? I told them I'd call as soon as we got back to the city. They're probably worried sick!"
"So we'll use the phone inside to give 'em a call later. Don't worry your fluffy little tail about it, Carrots."
Nick placed his paw on Judy's waist and pulled her in for a short embrace. He felt a small tinge of satisfaction and pride as he felt her relax under his touch.
Suddenly, his attention was grabbed by the approaching sound of a car's engine
"Ah, there's Molly," Nick said as he spotted a familiar police cruiser pull up in front of the Empty Nest.
Judy looked up from her still out-of-service phone and followed Nick's gaze.
"Right on time," she said, placing her phone back into her pocket
When Judy looked back to Nick he asked, "So how do we want to play this?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well, it seems to me like we've found her ulterior motive for being so nice to us," Nick said. "I mean, don't get me wrong - I'm sure she's probably a nice person usually …"
"But she recognized us, and once she saw we were stuck in town she went off to try and rope us into this missing persons investigation," Judy finished.
Nick nodded.
"Well, think about it from her perspective," he said, humming thoughtfully. "Two big-city cops, one famous for solving a big missing persons case-"
"If it weren't for you, I'd never have-."
"Yeah yeah yeah, we did it together , I'm amazing, yadda yadda - love ya Fluff," Nick said waving a paw through the air as though attempting to dismiss Judy's praise. "Anyway - not only did you solve the missing mammals case, but we also cracked the Night Howler conspiracy. If you were Molly, wouldn't you want our help? Or at the very least, a consultation?"
"Probably yeah," Judy said. "And well … we are stuck here."
"Exaclty," Nick agreed. "But she could have just asked us. I'm used to folks being circumspect while trying to get favors out of me, but it's definitely manipulative. Especially from a peer."
Judy frowned and glanced back to the cruiser; Molly was just stepping out of the driver's seat and was donning her police cap.
"Well, let's see if she had a good reason," the rabbit said.
As Molly approached the pair, she tipped her hat politely at them and offered a warm smile. Both Nick and Judy then brought themselves to their feet
"Morning," Molly said conversationally, but then faltered. "You two ok?"
Nick and Judy shared a glance.
"Well, we got an interesting request from our chief," Nick said. "It seems like the Deputy Sheriff of Deep Hollow County heard we were marooned in town and was hoping to maybe get our help on a case. I wonder how he heard about little old us?"
To her credit, Molly had the good grace to look guilty.
"Look, we're not really mad," Judy started.
"Not that mad," Nick said, but then groaned as he was elbowed in the stomach.
"As I said," the rabbit continued. "We're not mad, just confused. Why didn't you just ask us for help?"
Molly opened her mouth to speak, before shutting it and thinking for a second before answering.
"Because if you don't help us solve it, it'll never get solved," Molly said. "And all of those families? All of those people? They'll never get the closure they deserve on this. I couldn't take the chance that you'd say no."
Molly reached up and took her cap off, wringing it in her paws.
"Look," she said. "I'm sorry for not being upfront with you two. Frankly - I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing when I found you on the freeway. I mean … what are the odds that we get a sudden mass disappearance the week before Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde show up?"
The cat frowned before looking back up at Nick and Judy,
"It seemed like fate to me … or maybe just dumb luck," she said with a sigh. "I'm under no illusions that I'm qualified to get to the bottom of this many disappearances all at once. The worst thing I'm equipped to deal with is a bunch of drunk and disorderlies following a Smelter's game."
Molly put her cap back on, straightening it with a twist.
"But I signed up to help people," she said, almost defiantly. "Not to mark time by the parking tickets I issue while waiting to retire on a shitty pension. This town might not be much - it might be run down and dying … but this place? These people? I'll raise as much hell as I need to in order to keep them safe. "
The cat seemed to suddenly loom taller.
"So yeah - I told the Deputy Sheriff about you and pushed him to ask for your help. I'd hoped to have a chance to make a personal appeal before he made an official request, but here we are," Molly said, deflating slightly. "We need your help, whatever you can give. Please."
Taken aback by the heartfelt appeal, Judy and Nick shared a meaningful glance.
"Well, damn - ok," Nick said. "Should have led with that."
"We can't promise anything Molly," Judy said. "But we can at the very least meet with the Deputy Sheriff and get some more info."
Molly smiled and nodded. "Well that's all I can ask for. Hop in - I'll take you to the station."
"What about the car?" Nick asked.
"Oh right," the cat said. "Well, I swung by this morning to check on the car for you two. All I got out of the old bird was the cryptic pronouncement that 'things have only just begun' … whatever that means."
"Great," the fox sighed, rubbing at his temple with a paw. "We're never leaving this place are we?"