(A/N) Alright, it's been a bit longer than I expected, so I'll go ahead and apologize for that. Most of this chapter has been written for a while now, but I didn't finish it (and have Zephyr Fyrian proofread it) until today. Last weekend was pretty busy, so I didn't get the chance to finish it then. I mean, overall it was a pretty good weekend, so I'm not complaining or anything, but it's still nice when everything calms down and I can work more on my writing.

My medicine-induced depression seems to have finally subsided, and on top of that, I am no longer sick. (yay!) I want to thank all of my reviewers who supported me through that; it means a lot to me that you took the time to not only review my story, but also to encourage me through all of that as well. Of course, anyone at all who takes the time to leave a review is appreciated, and also very encouraging to me too, so thank you to all of my readers and reviewers! :)

I also recently realized that I am almost certainly on the autistic spectrum, which is something I've suspected for a while but became clear about a week ago when I noticed how many things seem to overwhelm me more than they would most people. It feels very freeing to me to learn about and understand myself more, so that's put me in a much better mood lately.

Whew. That took me way too long to type. I guess I should also mention that one of the reasons this chapter took a little longer is because I had to start planning out in more detail where I want to go with the story from here, and I often don't have a very good sense of when to do a time skip and when to keep writing day-to-day stuff. I don't want to end up writing fifteen chapters about something that happened in a single day, but I also don't want to skip past what might be important developmental parts. That's something I could definitely improve on, though I'm feeling pretty optimistic that I'll be able to figure it out the more I write.

Ok. I promise I'll shut up now and let you read it. Enjoy!


It was another clear, sunny day in Bunnyburrow, and Judy was outside taking a peaceful walk around the farm. There was a lot on her mind, and she needed to get out of the crowded burrow and away from all her loud, screaming siblings, and just relax for a while.

It was one of the many things that a lot of her siblings found strange about her. Sure, all of them wanted time alone every now and then, but none quite as often as Judy. Maybe it was because she was so different from the other rabbits, that she felt misunderstood and out of place sometimes, and that was when she needed to just get away from all the noise and go somewhere to think.

Luckily, there were a lot of places to think on the Hopps' family farm. Today, Judy found herself wandering aimlessly, just letting her mind take her where it wanted to.

And today, her mind seemed determined to focus on one specific mammal: Nick Wilde.

"I hope he's not still upset about what happened last week," Judy thought, noting how the scratch on her paw was more or less healed now. "I know he was upset because I got hurt, but why was he crying so much? The cut wasn't even that bad anyway…"

There were a lot of things about Nick that didn't quite make sense to her. She still didn't understand why he was so uncomfortable about the fact that he was a predator, for instance. In Judy's mind, it seemed that being a predator would make so much of life easier. They were so much stronger and fiercer; it was hard to imagine they could ever feel as powerless as prey.

Yet, Judy had seen Nick being bullied by a group of prey at the Scouts' meeting, simply for being a predator. She tried to recall what she had felt like when she'd first witnessed the incident. It had been…strange. It sounded a little silly, but whenever she thought of predators, she saw them as being in control, in power. To see Nick helpless against that army of bunnies was weirdly disconcerting.

"I know they outnumbered him, but he didn't even try to fight back at all," Judy thought. "I know he's brave; he stood up to Gideon who's about twice his size, so why…when they were trying to put that muzzle on him…why would he just lie there on the floor and take it? Maybe I wasn't paying attention; I don't know."

The more she thought about it, though, the more she came back to what happened at the visit last week, and how Nick had reacted. Was he really that bothered by the thought of hurting prey, even a little bit? He had also said something about not liking when other mammals were afraid of him, but Judy hadn't realized it went so deep. After all, she hadn't felt bad in the slightest about kicking Gideon in the face, even though in retrospect it may have gotten her into more trouble than it was worth.

Eventually, Judy's introspective stroll led her right back to the blueberry bushes, where a certain cream colored bunny was quietly filling up a basket with the berries. Immediately upon Judy's arrival, the older doe spun around to face her younger sister.

"Hi, Chloe," Judy said calmly. "Don't worry; I'm not going to tell anyone you're out here sneaking blueberries again."

Chloe frowned.

"What are you doing out here?" she inquired suspiciously. "Coming to get your own secret supply of berries?"

"Um—" Judy started.

"Here, I have another basket," Chloe said, smiling as she tossed it to Judy. "I don't know how you're going to hide them from James, but I wish you luck!"

"Ok, but that's not actually why I'm here…" Judy replied slowly.

"Huh? It's not?" Chloe asked, still piling blueberries into her own basket. "Well, if you're not here to pick your own, could you fill up that basket for me? Thanks!"

"Ok, sure…I guess?" Judy answered, shrugging.

She didn't really have anything better to do, so she started picking blueberries and filling up Chloe's other basket. It was pretty mindless work, and it gave her mind the chance to wander. Or, rather, it would have, if Chloe had been quiet the whole time.

"I really don't get why James got so upset when the foxes came over and wouldn't even come out of his room," Chloe said. "I mean, even Dad was getting along with them! Besides, doesn't anyone else find it a little boring how there's barely any predators around here? Except for Gideon, but he's kind of annoying, you know? Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure you didn't get that cut on your paw from thorns."

"What?!" Judy exclaimed, so startled that she dropped the basket on the ground, spilling blueberries by Chloe's feet. "Oops. Sorry about that."

"Cheese and crackers, Judy, no need to freak out!" Chloe laughed.

"W-where do you think I got this cut from, then?" Judy asked nervously.

"Looks like a claw mark to me, so I'd say Nick gave it to you when the two of you were outside," Chloe stated simply.

Judy froze. She didn't want anyone to find out about that incident. It was an accident, and after seeing how much it upset Nick, she didn't want anyone else giving him a hard time for it.

"Judy, what's the matter?" Chloe asked, looking a little worried. "You're just, like, staring at me. Hey, I'm sure Nick didn't hurt you on purpose. I wasn't trying to accuse him or anything; I know you guys are friends! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone either."

"Oh," Judy sighed with relief. "Thank you. It's just…well, I don't want anyone to blame Nick for what happened. It was an accident, and it was really my fault anyway."

"Oh, really?" Chloe said, interested. "What exactly were you doing, then? Trying to reenact that scene from the play?"

"What?!" Judy replied, suddenly feeling deeply embarrassed for some reason. "N-no, that's not what happened! I was holding his paw, a-and we were running over to the blueberries and Nick tripped—hey, what's so funny?!"

She looked accusingly at Chloe, who was laughing so hard she was about to fall over. It wasn't like this was uncommon for Chloe, but Judy didn't understand what she'd found so amusing about the situation.

"Why are you acting so defensive?" Chloe asked, still laughing. "Calm down; it was just a joke, ok? I didn't think you were that embarrassed about the play. Honestly, it looked like the kind of thing James would come up with, though…"

Judy stopped, taking a breath to calm herself down. Why had she been so embarrassed?

"Come to think of it, why on Earth did I do that in the play anyway?" she wondered. "That was a bit much…"

"Judy, are you alright?" Chloe asked again. "I'm sorry if I upset you. I wasn't trying to."

"No, I'm fine," Judy replied. "I was just worried about Nick. He was really upset when I got hurt so I didn't want anyone else to know about it."

"I won't tell anyone, don't worry," Chloe assured her. "As long as you don't tell anyone about my blueberries!"

Both sisters laughed, as Judy picked up the other basket and started placing new blueberries inside it.

"Seriously, though, don't tell anyone," Chloe repeated more seriously.

"I'm not telling anyone about your secret blueberry stash, ok?" Judy said. "Calm down. But after I fill up this basket, I'm going back to walk some more."

"Ok, but you probably shouldn't stay out too long," Chloe replied. "If Mom notices you're gone all the time, she might figure out that something happened last week."

Judy nodded, but didn't say anything. She was pretty sure that Bonnie had believed her story about the thorns, but she didn't want to take any chances. Judy was already hoping for the Wildes to come over again soon, and she wasn't about to do anything that might delay the next visit any longer.


"Judy!"

Judy sighed as she opened her eyes, trying to see what the commotion was all about. Usually, she was awake before James, but clearly that wasn't the case today. Her annoying brother was currently rolling his eyes at her, likely tired of waiting for her to wake up.

"Well, he can just go complain to someone else; after all, he almost never gets up on time anyway," Judy thought as she climbed out of bed.

"What is it?" she asked uninterestedly, rubbing her eyes. "Isn't it kind of early to—"

"The foxes are here again!" James interrupted. "Mom said you'd want to know—"

"What?!" Judy exclaimed. "Nick is here?! Are you messing with me, James? Because if you are, I'll—"

"No, no, they just got here!" James explained, holding his paws up in defense. "No one told me they were coming over today! I was just sitting out there, eating cereal, when—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Judy said, hurrying out the door.

Without looking back, she continued running down the hall until she reached the living room. Sure enough, John and May Wilde were sitting in the kitchen with Judy's parents, while Nick was waiting for her in the living room.

"Judy?" he said, turning to face her.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed, running up to her friend and hugging him. "I didn't know you were coming over today! It's so good to see you!"

"I didn't know either," Nick admitted. "Mom said our parents made it a surprise because, the last time, we were so excited that we stayed up all night and didn't get enough sleep."

Judy laughed. She remembered the night before the first visit, and she had definitely been awake for a long time. All of her siblings who shared the room had been fast asleep well before she was.

"Hi, Judy!" said a familiar voice: Nick's brother, Brendan. "Is Mallory here?"

"I'm sure she is; she might still be sleeping, though," Judy answered.

"Just found her!" Chloe called from the hallway.

Sure enough, the younger bunny was following along behind her, looking just as happy to see Brendan as he was to see her. Judy couldn't help but smile as the two younger kits hurried off to play with each other, blissfully unaware of the difference between their species.

"I wish we could all be like that," Judy thought wistfully. "Why is it that species seems to matter so much to some mammals? Why is it so hard for predators and prey to get along?"

Then again, she knew she should be grateful for how far their two families had already come. Stu, who would have previously never considered inviting a fox into his house, was now happily chatting away with John Wilde in the other room. Even Bonnie, who had always seemed a little more reasonable, had never been friends with a fox before meeting May. And none of it would have happened had it not been for Nick, unable to stand by and watch Judy get bullied.

"So…what do you want to do today, Nick?" Judy asked.

"Hmm…whatever you want to do, I guess," Nick replied. "You know this place better than I do."

"Ok, then, follow me!" Judy said, heading towards the door. "Last time, we didn't get to look around very far, but there's so much more I want to show you!"


For Judy and Nick, summer was over too soon. It hadn't taken long for their parents to become good friends, and soon enough, the visits became a regular occurrence. It was the beginning of an amazing friendship, and Judy and Nick spent every moment they could together. She showed him everything there was to see on the farm, and he followed wherever she led him. Their parents had never seen two kits as eager to see each other as those two, and they knew there was something special about this friendship.

It was the best summer of their lives. But, as all things do, it had to come to an end. Before long, the weather started to become colder, as the leaves changed color and began to fall. All throughout Bunnyburrow, bunny kits like Judy were preparing to go back to school.

In Judy's case, the morning of the first day of school found her just as excited as the first day of summer. Despite summer having ended, she was not sad. In fact, she was looking forward to going back to school, now that she knew Nick would be there. For the first time, she would be able to introduce him to all of her other friends, many of whom she hadn't seen since spring.

"I wonder if Sharla will remember him from the festival," Judy wondered. "I never told her or any of the others who it was that gave me that bandage. Wow, was I still scared of him then? That's so weird to think about; we know each other so well now!"

That reminded Judy that this would be Nick's first day of school in Bunnyburrow, something he had been noticeably worried about during the last few visits. As she climbed out of bed and started to get dressed, she recalled the events of the last visit.

"Nick, what's wrong?" she had asked, noticing he had been much quieter than usual. "Are you worried about something?"

"I…I've never been to school here before," he explained.

"That's what you're worried about?" Judy asked. "But I'm sure it can't be too different from school in the city, right?"

"I guess, but…" he started, pausing as if he was unsure whether or not he should finish. "Please don't hate me for saying it, but I'm…I'm scared of going to school with so many bunnies…"

"Why, though?" Judy inquired, curious. "I mean, I'm not trying to be mean, but aren't bunnies supposed to be scared of foxes, not the other way around?"

"But that's exactly what I'm so scared about!" Nick cried. "I don't want anyone to be scared of me, or avoid me… I just want to…"

He closed his eyes, a few tears starting to fall. Judy threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, her usual response to seeing Nick upset. Luckily for her, the fox seemed to like hugs just as much as a bunny. After a few seconds, they pulled apart and Nick wiped his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok, Nick, it's not your fault," Judy replied gently. "I'm sorry I didn't realize why you were worried. I should have known you would be scared about that… But I'm sure there are probably a few other foxes at school too, so you won't be all alone. And besides, I'll be there too!"

"But…you wouldn't want anyone to know you're friends with a fox, would you?" Nick asked.

"What?!" Judy exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I want anyone to know? You're my best friend ever!"

"But no one will like you if they know your best friend is a fox…" Nick said sadly.

"Pfft, everyone already thinks I'm crazy for wanting to be a police officer," Judy replied. "I don't want to try and fit in if it means making stuff up."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked. "I don't want you to have no friends because of me."

"Because of you, I have the best friend I could ever ask for," Judy stated flatly. "So even if no one else likes me, it doesn't matter."

"Wow," Nick remarked, a little stunned by her confidence. "I…I don't know what to say. I've never had someone say something that nice to me. But I promise I…I'll be there for you too! I want to be your friend and look out for you just like you do for me!"

"Nick," Judy said, smiling, "that means so much to me. But I already knew you would be there for me, because you stood up for me first. If…if I'm a good friend to you, it's only because you were first."

Nick looked stunned. Judy wondered briefly if the incident from the first visit was still bothering him; he seemed astonished that anyone would compliment him so much.

"Do I really mean that much to you?" he finally asked.

"Yes," Judy answered honestly.

The two kits hugged again, and before long they were both back to their usual happy selves. Now, as Judy looked back on the exchange, all she hoped was that Nick would be alright at school. She wasn't even worried about herself; she knew she could handle a bunch of jerk bunnies any day, but she was scared for her friend.

"If anything happens today, Nick, I will protect you," she promised. "No matter what, you will not be alone."

"Judy!" James shouted impatiently from the door. "What are you doing? Aren't you coming? Why are you staring at the wall like some weirdo?"

"Shut up, James," Judy replied, turning around and walking past him without pausing.

"Hey, wait up!" James called, running down the hall after her.

"I'm not even going that fast, you lunatic," Judy said, rolling her eyes.

She continued ignoring her brother as she entered the kitchen, where at least a hundred of her siblings were eating breakfast. Though she was used to the loud noise, having grown up here, Judy still preferred to lower her ears behind her so as to lessen the assault on her hearing. It made it difficult to think, too, which was something she frequently heard Bonnie complaining about.

"Everyone, be quiet so I can see the road!" was a favorite saying of Judy's mother while driving the kits around. It sounded a little contradictory at first, but on days like this Judy could understand the sentiment.

In the living room, Judy sat down on the couch next to her older siblings Peter and Chloe. They seemed to be some of the most open-minded of her siblings when it came to foxes, so she preferred to hang around them instead of her other brothers and sisters.

"If only they went to the same school as me," Judy thought sadly. "Nick would probably be less nervous if there were more bunnies like them…"

"Good morning, Judy," Peter said politely. "How come you're so quiet today?"

"Yeah, you're usually really excited about the first day of school," Chloe agreed. "Not that I'm criticizing, because I never understood how you could get that excited about school anyway."

"It's just because…well, I'm worried about Nick," Judy admitted, almost whispering so that no one else in the burrow could hear.

Chloe nodded in understanding. She knew very well why Judy would be concerned about Nick going to a school full of bunnies. It was nice to have sympathy from her sister, even if she knew it didn't change the situation. It was relaxing to know that at least someone understood.

"You'll look out for him, won't you?" Peter asked.

"Of course!" Judy answered quickly. "He's my friend! He was so nice to me…how could I not help him?"

Peter smiled.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he said. "You're a really good friend."

"It's true," Chloe agreed. "I've been watching the two of you all summer, and your friendship is something special. Seriously, I wish I had friends like that."

Judy nodded silently, and was about to speak when the noise from the kitchen intensified.

"James, Mallory, stop fighting over that bagel and get ready for school!" Bonnie shouted. "The bus is almost here—Jeff, stop playing that guitar and get over here!"

Judy, Peter, and Chloe glanced at each other, all in agreement. They got up from the couch and made their way to the door, following the line of other bunnies who were heading outside to wait for the bus. There was a big day ahead of them, and none knew quite what to expect. Still, there was no use in delaying any longer.

As Judy looked around at her other brothers and sisters, she realized that most likely none of them were feeling the same as her right now. Though a good number of them weren't happy about going back to school, they probably didn't feel the weight of responsibility that she did.

Others might have told Judy that what happened to Nick at school wasn't up to her, but she wouldn't have listened. The way she saw it, since Nick had gone out of his way to help her, and she was one of the only other kits in Bunnyburrow he felt safe with, she couldn't not do all she could to protect him.

Perhaps that was why she dreamed of being a police officer. She couldn't stand by and watch when she knew someone needed her. Where other mammals saw options, she saw only one clear path. She would never back down; she would never accept these injustices as they were, because she would never stop believing that things could be better than they were.

She was going to make the world a better place, whether the world cooperated or not.


(A/N) Well, how was it? Let me know what you think!

At the very least, I can say I'm satisfied with that last line. Probably sounds narcissistic, but sometimes I really amuse myself. XD