(A/N) Yikes! I have been up for HOURS. I didn't sleep at all last night; I spent most of the morning writing this chapter which somehow ended up longer than any of my previous three chapters. I'm also starting to get excited about the possibilities of this story, which could mean more frequent updates from now on. (it could also mean absolutely nothing, so don't get your hopes up).
I wrote this between 1:00 and 6:00 AM so it might not be the best. I proofread it a few times and it seemed ok, so I decided to go ahead and upload it now.
Alright, enjoy the chapter!
"They've been in there for an awfully long time," Chloe remarked, stepping out onto the porch. "Tried to listen at the door, but I couldn't hear anything. I don't know if quiet is a good sign or not."
"Well, at least it means Dad isn't screaming," Peter pointed out.
"True," Chloe agreed. "That has to be a good sign, right?"
Judy didn't say anything; she was still too nervous. After she returned to the burrow with Stu, Bonnie had immediately dragged him to the bedroom to discuss 'something important' as she put it. Of course, Judy knew they were talking about her, and the fact that she had not only made friends with a fox but had kept it a secret.
There was no way to know how the talk would go. Judy knew that her father didn't particularly like foxes, especially after what happened with Gideon, and her mother was already upset that she had been keeping secrets. It was hard to imagine the talk would bring about positive results for Judy, but she kept hoping.
Meanwhile, her siblings Peter and Chloe had decided to join her on the front porch, where she had retreated to be alone with her thoughts. She wasn't mad at them for following her, though. It actually made her feel a little bit better to know that even just two of her two hundred and seventy five siblings supported her.
"Personally, I don't see what Dad's problem is with foxes," Chloe said. "I've always thought they were cool. Except for Gideon, of course. Hey, you should have brought me with you to the Scouts' meeting; I would have had some things to say to those bunnies…"
"You probably would have gotten in trouble too," Peter replied. "Besides, they weren't going to listen anyway. It's honestly…kind of sad. It felt like most of those kits really didn't think they'd done anything wrong. A few of them looked embarrassed when I yelled at them, so they were probably just going along with it, but still…it's not right."
"Good for you, standing up for him!" Chloe said enthusiastically, patting her sister on the shoulder.
Judy couldn't tell if Chloe was trying to cheer her up, or if she was just being Chloe. She was a bit of an eccentric rabbit sometimes.
Just then, the front door opened and Bonnie stepped outside, causing Judy's heart rate to triple. Peter and Chloe became quiet all of a sudden, both waiting to see what would happen next.
"Alright, Judy," Bonnie sighed. "Your father and I need to talk to you for a minute."
Then, noticing the other two, she added, "Peter? Chloe? What are you two doing out here?"
"Oh, just enjoying the sunshine," Chloe answered, taking a deep breath as if to breathe in the fresh air. "It's a nice day."
Bonnie's expression made it clear she wasn't buying it, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she turned back and started inside the house.
"Coming, Judy?" she asked.
"Yes, Mom," Judy replied, feeling more anxious with every second as she stood up to follow her mother back inside the burrow.
"Good luck," Chloe whispered in Judy's ear as she passed by.
"I'll need it; that's for sure," Judy thought.
No one said a word as Bonnie led Judy down the hall to the master bedroom. Or, rather, neither of them said a word. Several of the other bunnies were running through the burrow and acting crazy, but Bonnie ignored them. As a rabbit mother, she was used to chaos.
Finally, they reached the master bedroom. Bonnie opened the door, entered the room with Judy behind her, then closed it. Stu had been pacing, but suddenly stopped when the others arrived.
"Alright, sit down on the bed," Bonnie said.
Without replying, Judy did as she was told and took her seat on the edge of her parents' bed. Stu walked around and stood next to his wife, looking as flustered as ever. These kinds of confrontations were pretty far outside his comfort zone, and it was clear he was waiting for Bonnie to speak first.
"So, I've talked with your father," she began, "and we've decided not to punish you this time."
"But," Stu interjected, "there can't be any more secrets from now on, or there will be consequences."
"I want you to know, Judy, we aren't mad at you," Bonnie added. "But we are surprised. Keeping secrets like that? I wouldn't be surprised if we found out Chloe was keeping something from us; as a matter of fact, I'd be more surprised if Chloe wasn't hiding anything, but…you?"
"You never hide anything from us, Jude," Stu continued. "I can't remember you ever lying to us before."
"I didn't really lie…" Judy said quietly.
"Don't you start that with me, young doe," Bonnie warned. "Even if you didn't lie, you still withheld information from us on purpose."
A moment of silence passed over the room. Judy felt ashamed, even though she'd had what seemed like a good reason to keep her encounters with Nick secret. Though, there was still one question on the young bunny's mind, one that she was scared to ask.
Working up her courage, she nervously asked, "Can I still be friends with Nick, though? He's really nice and I know he would never hurt me! And he's really lonely because none of the other bunnies will go near him—"
"Slow down, Judy," Bonnie interrupted. "Your father and I talked it over and we've decided…"
She paused, glancing nervously at Stu. Judy guessed there must have been some disagreement between the two regarding their decision.
"We're going to contact Nick's parents and hopefully meet them in person," Bonnie explained. "I know you've said Nick is a nice kit, and it's not that we don't believe you, but…we're your parents, and we have to make sure there's nothing to be concerned about."
"That's right," Stu agreed. "I'm not really too thrilled about meeting with foxes, but," he added quickly, as Bonnie was giving him a look, "since this Nick helped my daughter when she was hurt, I figure we should give him a chance."
Judy sighed with relief. She hadn't expected the talk would go over this well, and was glad to hear that her father didn't necessarily disapprove of her friendship with Nick. She only hoped Stu would give Nick enough of a chance to prove he was a good mammal, because there was no doubt in Judy's mind.
"He was so much nicer to me than I deserved," she recalled. "I had no reason to be scared of him, but he didn't blame me for it. And he put my safety ahead of his own when he stood up to Gideon. I hope Dad will be able to see all that, and not just overlook it because Nick is a fox. That would be so unfair…"
"So…when do I get to see Nick again?" Judy pressed.
Bonnie and Stu shared another nervous glance.
"I was thinking of…inviting his family over," Bonnie replied; judging from Stu's expression, the idea clearly freaked him out, but he wasn't going to argue with his wife about it. "Your father and I have always tried our best to get to know all your friends' parents, though with so many kits it gets a little difficult sometimes. I figured it shouldn't be any different just because…well, you know. If you're going to be friends with Nick, then we need to meet him and his family too."
"But it is the first time we've ever invited foxes into the burrow," Stu pointed out.
Bonnie sighed.
"And please don't use that as a conversation starter when they come over," she said. "This is going to be awkward enough without bringing up our families' prejudice against foxes. On no account do I want them to meet my father… Anyway, that's all we wanted to talk to you about, Judy. Just promise us you won't keep secrets like this anymore."
"I promise," Judy replied.
"Alright," Bonnie said. "You can go now. I'm going to have to talk to the rest of your siblings soon; I don't want them making us look bad when Nick's family comes over."
Feeling a little energetic and very relieved, Judy got up from the bed and hurried back out of her parents' room, running straight into her brother James and sending them both tumbling to the floor.
"Judy!" James complained, pushing his sister off of him and getting to his feet.
"Sorry, James!" Judy apologized, standing up as well. "Why were you in such a hurry, anyway?"
"I overheard Peter and Chloe talking about you," James explained. "They said you made friends with a fox?"
"That's right," Judy confirmed. "His name's Nick and I met him at the Carrot Days festival."
"But…why would you want to be friends with a fox?" James inquired, looking thoroughly disturbed. "They're dangerous!"
"Nick is not dangerous!" Judy replied angrily. "He's my friend and I don't care what you think about him!"
With that, she stormed off down the hall towards the kitchen and living room. James was the same age as Judy: nine years old, but in Judy's opinion he was far more immature.
"Do I even have a right to be mad at him?" she wondered. "I was afraid of Nick, too. James hasn't had a chance to meet him yet, to change his mind. If I hadn't met Nick, I might still think all foxes were dangerous too."
Judy was glad she had met Nick. She was glad they had become friends. In just a short time, he had changed so much about how she looked at the world around her, and she was grateful for that. No one had ever been as kind and understanding to her as he was. Even though he hadn't known her, he had still gone out of his way to help her.
"Hey, Judy!" Chloe exclaimed, interrupting Judy's thoughts as she arrived in the kitchen. "What happened in there?"
"James is annoying me!" Judy answered. "Oh, yeah, everything went fine with Mom and Dad though. Mom says they're going to invite Nick's family over sometime soon."
"Really?" Chloe inquired. "Dad agreed to that? I bet it was Mom's idea… Great, though! I can't wait to meet Nick; he sounds really cool."
"What?!" James exclaimed, entering the room behind Judy. "Did you say the fox is coming here?!"
"Yes, she said that, you little brat," Chloe replied. "Chill out."
"But—" James protested.
"James!" Bonnie called from the hallway; she and Stu were both hurrying towards them. "Chloe!"
She stopped when she reached the kitchen, giving both James and Chloe displeased looks. Judy slowly backed away, not wanting to be part of any more conflicts.
"Mom!" James whined. "Judy says that—"
"Yes, I know," Bonnie replied. "Your sister has a new friend and your father and I would like to meet him and his parents. If you don't like that, feel free to stay in your room when they come over. But this is about Judy, and it's not your place to argue about it."
"As for you," she continued, turning to Chloe, "you're two years older, so no more behaving like a toddler. You're old enough now to handle your younger siblings without sinking to their level. Now, if you'll excuse me, your father and I have to go inform the rest of the burrow about Nick's family coming over. And if I hear any more screaming from any of you…"
Bonnie didn't finish, but the message was received. Judy, James, and Chloe were all completely silent until Bonnie and Stu left the room. Then, James ran off towards his room without another word.
"Well," Peter said, entering the kitchen to join his sisters, "it sounds like everything worked out, right?"
Judy nodded, but didn't say anything. She was still thinking about the coming day when Nick and his family would come over.
"What will Mom and Dad think of Nick and his parents?" she wondered. "What will Nick's family think of me? Do they feel the same way about bunnies that my parents do about foxes? What will the rest of my siblings think? They had better not be mean to him! I hope Nick won't be nervous about coming over…"
But all of that would have to wait. There was nothing more to be done today.
"Nicholas?"
Nick looked up at his mother, who had just gotten off the phone. He hadn't been paying attention to what she was talking about; he was busy telling his little brother all about Judy.
"Why is it I can't stop thinking about her?" Nick wondered. "Ever since last night…no one has ever stood up for me like that. Certainly no other bunny has been that nice to me."
Last night should have been a terrible memory, considering he had been knocked down and muzzled, and no longer wanted anything to do with the Scouts anymore. But yet, it was a happy memory, and it was all because of Judy.
"What?" Nick replied, though he wasn't really that interested in whatever his mom wanted to talk to him about; he was busy thinking about Judy.
"I just got off the phone with Judy's mom," Mrs. Wilde said. "She's invited us all over."
"WHAT?!" Nick exclaimed.
(A/N) What did you think? I hope I didn't get too distracted writing about Judy's siblings, because those parts were so fun to write! :)
Let me know what you think. In the mean time, I need to get some sleep before my brain explodes. See you all next chapter!
