Lucinda woke up around five in the morning to empty her bladder (she drank way too much tea last night) and was just on her way back to her room when she realized Vivian's door stood open. Walking over to the room, the older wolf glanced in and saw the bed empty, along with the rocking chair in the corner next to the window. Glancing back at the bed and the quilted bedspread that had been pulled back but was otherwise unwrinkled, Lucinda knew Viv hadn't slept in the bed. And since her red fox friend obviously wasn't in the bathroom, she made her way downstairs. After looking in the darkened kitchen with its spotless black-stone countertops, she then walked into the darkened living room, where she found Vivian sitting on the chair in the corner and staring sightlessly into space.
"Vivian?" the arctic wolf asked cautiously. Either Nick hadn't answered and had sent Viv back into despair, or whatever Nick had to say was more troubling than his message let on. Either case, it was obvious her red friend wasn't fit to be left alone.
At hearing her name, Vivian blinked, then glanced around in confusion. Upon seeing the larger predator, she asked, "Lucinda?" Rubbing at her tired eyes, she asked, "What are you doing up? Shouldn't you be asleep?" This question was followed by a long yawn from the listless red fox sitting in the shadowed corner of the room.
Lucinda chuckled lightly while hiding her worries. "I should be asking you the same thing." As she walked across the large living room with its floral print area rug and antique coffee table, she stopped in front of her friend while taking notice of Vivian's listless, dull, amber eyes that now had bags under them. "It's 5 in the morning. Did you even sleep a wink last night?"
Vivian shook her head. "I couldn't sleep . . . not after . . . not after talking to Nick. He . . ." Vivian took a deep breath, then rubbed at her dry eyes that were burning from exhaustion. Choking on her words, she still couldn't understand her son's decision and found it difficult to voice it out loud, as if speaking it would make it a reality.
With a motherly sigh, Lucinda bent down and scooped the smaller fox up in her arms and carried her over to the couch. After sitting, she set Viv down beside her and pulled her friend close in a side hug, then pawed her several Kleenexes from the box on the end table she sat next to, while saying, "Now tell Old Luce what that dumb son of yours has done to upset you so much."
Vivian wiped at her eyes with the Kleenexes (which were now watering) and said, "He's . . . he's dating a bunny, Luce! A rabbit! You know how much grief we foxes receive at their paws! How could he do this to us!? To me!?" With a sniffle, she continued, "Her family is going to rip him apart once they find out they're together. And after beating him black and blue, they'll come up with some trumped-up charges of rape and assault." Wiping tears off her face, Vivian muttered under her breath, "I just know they will." As the awful images flashed across her mind, Viv curled in on herself as she sobbed, "And then my boys will be no more. I already lost John and Demetri, I can't lose Nick, too."
With a shake of her head and another sob, Vivian continued babbling out her worries to her dear friend. "But now he's got himself tied up with a doe who's already hurt him once." Glancing up with tear streaked eyes, she continued, "What if she hurts him again? What if she leaves him? That right there, alone, will kill him." Dabbing at her eyes with a Kleenex Lucinda had given her, she explained, "He wouldn't have started dating her if he wasn't already seeing her as his mate. And I know what it feels like to lose a mate. If not for my kits, I would have curled up and died years ago from the misery and loneliness of losing John."
Lucinda sat and listened to her friend cry her eyes out while all her worries and fears about her son's well-being poured out of her. She had lost her own husband three years ago to a heart attack and it just about killed her, too. But her family lived close by and her grandkits helped ease Calvin's passing. Whenever they came over, she would tell them what their grandpa would say or do in regard to whatever they were doing. This way she was able to keep his memory alive and her grandkits had the chance to get to know their grandfather better, even though he was no longer with them.
Patting and rubbing Vivian's arm while occasionally making soothing noises she thought about her good friend's losses. Luce wasn't sure what she would have done if she'd lost one of her boys (she had two boys and three girls). Losing Calvin was hard enough, but at least they'd had a long, fulfilling life together, and with the heart attack—it was his third one so they were able to somewhat prepare for his passing (after the first two, they knew a third one would kill him). But for Vivian to have her husband and son ripped from her when their life was just starting. Lucinda didn't think she could have handled it, but she could certainly sympathize with her grief-stricken friend at the thought of losing her other son.
Taking a deep breath, Lucinda tried to calm her friend down by helping her work through her fears. "Now, now Vivian, I'm sure Nick wouldn't fall for a doe if there was any possibility of her running out on him."
"That may be, but we can't predict the future. She might be committed today, but what about tomorrow? Or a month from now. Rabbits tend to change out their boy or girl friend like other mammals change out their dirty socks."
Lucinda could only shake her head and tut as she knew rabbits liked to multiply, but they weren't that bad when it came to dating. "Come on, Viv, your son is not stupid." Rubbing Vivian's arm again, Lucinda flicked her pale gray tail, and said, "He's sometimes dumb and acts a bit crazy," she waved her free paw in the air while thinking of Nick, "but he's not stupid. If he fell for a doe, she must be something special."
Vivian sniffled, "I'm sure she is. She's probably a very sweet doe, but that doesn't change anything. Even if she is committed, there's still her family to worry about. Nick said she'd recently told him how big her family was and it terrified him." Dabbing at her eyes again, she added, "And there's still the rest of society to worry about, too. A pred-prey couple isn't going to be looked on with a kindly eye no matter the species, but when they find out it's a relationship between a fox and a rabbit . . ." Vivian shook her head. "He was nearly beat to death once, for no other reason than he was a fox—and now, with the savage predator scare—I can only imagine they'll finish the job this time."
Lucinda sat quietly for several minutes as Vivian had a valid point. Society wasn't very forgiving of those that step outside the norm, especially when that somebody happened to be fox. She could only hope that with the fall of Dawn Bellwether, society could see that prey could be just as vicious as most prey claimed predators were, and that working together was the only way to heal from the terrors that Bellwether had brought to the city.
With a sigh, Lucinda spoke softly, saying, "Viv, there's no point worrying about it right now. I'm sure Nick has thought of all this and is taking measures to protect himself and their relationship." Squeezing her friend in another side-hug, Luce tried to move her friend past the horrors society might want to heap on her son and his bunny girlfriend by asking, "Well, what's her name?"
Vivian shrugged as she blew her nose again (Lucinda had pawed her the box of Kleenex by this time), then said, "I don't know." With a sniffle, she continued, "I didn't give him a chance to tell me. Once I heard he was dating a rabbit, I told him I needed to think about it and hung up." Vivian felt a bit guilty about hanging up on Nicholas after waiting so long to hear from him, but she couldn't help it. How was she supposed to take the news that he was dating a rabbit!? Was she supposed to be happy about it and congratulate him by saying something like, "That's great, son, I'm proud of you! How long do you think you'll live before society martyrs you for loving your ancient food source?" Shaking the dismal thought away, she blew her nose.
Lucinda rubbed her arm again in understanding. She knew this was how Vivian dealt with troubling situations—and this situation with her son was certainly troubling. Whenever the red vixen was blindsided with information that was hard to swallow, she would clam up for a while as she internalized it. Once she had proper time to think about it, then she could sit down and discuss the troubling situation. And what situation could be more troubling than Nick dating a rabbit doe? That was like a high-class girl crossing the train tracks to date a badboy from the slums (not that Lucinda thought of Nick as a badboy from the slums, but to rabbit society, that's about how they would react to a doe dating a todd).
As Lucinda continued rubbing her shoulder, Vivian rubbed her nose with her tissue and said, "Besides, I was afraid that if I kept talking, I'd say something I would regret." Looking up with another sniffle, she met Lucinda's understanding eyes and said, "What if I said something to push him further away? It's been almost two years since I last saw Nick, and he hasn't bothered calling or answering the phone the last three months because of this rabbit. What if he decides to choose her over us?"
"Oh, come on, Viv, Nick isn't going to choose a mate over you or Anya." Pulling her dear friend closer into another side hug, Lucinda said, "He did call to tell you about her, didn't he?" With a flick of her white tail with its pale-gray tint, Lucinda asked, "Did he sound like he was choosing her over you?"
"Well, no," Vivian muttered. With her ears drooping, she stared listlessly at her tail with its bright, white tip laying limply beside her. She was grateful to know Nick was alive, but now she had a whole new set of worries to weigh her down. And she didn't know whether she should be happy that her son finally found joy in his life, that he finally had a reason to live, or to be terrified that his newfound 'joy' might be his doom. No one lived forever, and with all the pain and suffering society had already heaped on her poor boy, she couldn't stand the thought of how much more suffering he'd have to go through once society found out about his pred-prey relationship with a rabbit. That thought alone weighed her heart down and left her feeling exhausted (a deeper exhaustion than simply staying up all night did).
"Come on, Viv, cheer up. Nick will never let a girl come between him and his family." Vivian shrugged and made a noise in the back of her throat that might have been 'yeah,' but Lucinda wasn't sure. With another light squeeze, she said, "Did Nick at least say where she was from?"
"Bunnyburrow," Vivian mumbled just before blowing her nose and then dabbing at her eyes again.
"Well, that should relieve some of your fears. Her family can't hurt him for dating this doe since they live far outside of Zootopia. Unless this girl spills the beans to her parents, how are they going to find out? It'll probably be months before they figure out she's dating a fox. And even after knowing about their relationship, it's not like they can all come down to Zootopia to cause problems. A few might come down to start trouble, but Nick can handle a few. So, unless he personally goes to Bunnyburrow, there's no need to worry."
Vivian made another noise in her throat that Lucinda couldn't determine if it was a noise of agreement or denial. With a shake of her head, she said, "Come on, Viv, you've been up worrying too long. I'm going to make you a plate of scrambled eggs, then you're going back to bed and sleeping till noon. And once you've had a decent rest, you can call that dumb son of yours and talk to him in a rational manner."
Vivian looked up at her friend blankly for a minute, then nodded. Luce was right, she'd been worrying herself sick for 3 months and she couldn't think straight. Now that she knew Nick was safe, she could finally get some decent sleep. Things won't look so bad with a good day's rest behind her (or so she hoped). Trying to push her worries back down as her friend went about making her breakfast, she ate quickly and then let her friend lead her back up to bed. She was sound asleep seconds after her head hit the pillow.
….…..
Judy woke slowly. She was very comfortable and was having such pleasant dreams that she didn't want to wake up. Of course, once she remembered her and Nick's three-course date yesterday evening (dinner and a movie, stargazing over dessert, and then the late-night dance) had her eyes popping open. Rolling over, she looked at the clock and then rolled back over before resting her arm across her eyes. 8:12 AM. She was a little surprised she had slept in so late, but then again, she and Nick did have a very full, exciting day yesterday. Nor had they gone to bed early, what with their dance ending well after dark and then their little (long) kissing-session afterwards.
Raising her other paw, Judy lightly ran her fingers across her lips while vividly remembering their time out on the porch swing after the date had ended. She still couldn't believe how good it felt to kiss a fox—to kiss Nick. Of course, thinking about kissing Nick automatically brought up memories of what happened here in her room yesterday afternoon. As she felt her body start to react, Judy took a deep breath and then studiously tried to push the heated memories back down—she didn't think she had enough self-control for dissecting those memories just yet.
With a groan she rolled over on her side and wiped a paw down her face, then gripped her ears and tugged on them. "I still can't believe I pushed Nick like that," she mumbled. "I was so shameless." Even if Nick said he didn't regret her needy, enthusiastic demands, Judy knew he wanted to wait—otherwise their kissing session would have quickly devolved into a repeat of the afternoon (minus all the interruptions) and she would currently be curled up with him in his bed and not sleeping alone in hers.
With another groan, she muttered, "I really need to get my hormones under control." As much as she wanted to finish what they started yesterday afternoon, when next they found themselves in that situation, she wanted Nick to instigate it. She had already put herself out there once, so the next time was his turn.
Sitting up while trying to think of a way to gain some kind of control, she immediately thought of Nick's weight room. It had been weeks since she last had a decent (or any) workout session. Was that why she was constantly jumping Nick? Because she had a load of excess bunny energy she hadn't burned off in far too long?
She was sure that was the cause, but regardless, a hard workout session would do her good, and give her a chance to reflect on the past several days. Other than when she was sleeping, she really hadn't had any time to herself. She was either with Nick or someone else, so a quiet time working out is exactly what she needed.
With a plan in place, she quickly dressed (as quickly as she could while favoring her injured leg) and grabbed her crutches before making her way to the bathroom before stepping into Nick's room for a quick peek at his sleeping face. He was sleeping in the middle of the bed with his blankets a mess around him as he lay curled up around one of his two pillows (she wished it were her). His maw was open slightly with his tongue hanging out to the side and a wet spot on the pillow where drool was dripping off his tongue.
Giggling, Judy couldn't help but think how cute he was. Taking her phone out, she saw a couple of media texts from Nick, but ignored them for the moment to quickly snap a candid picture of her drooling fox, then put her phone away again. She would have to check out the texts when she had a chance to sit down and relax. Glancing at Nick again, the temptation to go over and run her fingers over his ears was strong, but she knew he would just end up dragging her into bed with him again. As much as she wanted to, she needed that workout session more. So, with a monumental amount of self-control, she turned and made her way downstairs.
Entering the weight room, her gaze was immediately drawn to his guitar sitting on its stand. It was a beautiful instrument made of either some type of red wood or stained a reddish color. The top and edges were darker, too, with the dark color bordering on black. The wood also had a dark wood grain that reminded her of tiger stripes. Stepping up to it, she lightly ran her fingers over the glossy finish and was once again struck by how beautiful it was. Nick really did have great taste.
Glancing around, she immediately saw a box sitting on the floor next to the guitar. She saw two more instrument cases sitting in it, but the shapes were unfamiliar to her, so she couldn't even guess what they held. Looking at them, she felt her fingers twitch with the desire to open them up and discover what was inside, but feared she might accidentally damage them in some way (the instruments weren't small and she was still on crutches). She also knew Nick wanted to surprise her with them, so with another monumental amount of self-control (after the last few days, she was shocked to find she still had some) she turned around and walked over to the weights. With a deep breath she set her crutches aside and sat down to begin her weight training.
She really pushed herself with the fox-sized dumbbells before moving on to the punching bag. It was a bit of a struggle to get it in place and set it tight enough (her injured leg wasn't helping), but she eventually managed. With a deep breath, she then started her cardio workout. It felt good to be moving again, and as she did, she went over the last few days and considered what everything meant. From her mad drive to the city, to finding and apologizing to Nick, and then their chase all over the city to find those responsible for the nighthowlers and all the savage predator attacks. Then she considered how close they came to dying. First, they barely escaped from Woolter and Jesse, and then they had that near collision with the oncoming train shortly before blowing up their own train. And finally, the run from Bellwether and her attempt to turn Nick savage so he would eat her, along with their Oscar winning performance to trick the psycho ewe into confessing her terrorist plot.
It was a lot to think about. No wonder she was so emotional these past few days! And then, of course, her whirlwind relationship with Nick. Where she was somewhat prepared for what happened with the nighthowler case and her run-in with Bellwether (she was a trained officer, after all), she was completely blindsided by how quickly she fell for Nick. She knew she had strong feelings for the sly todd, otherwise she wouldn't have missed him so much nor been such a mess after their fight, but she only thought it was because she saw him as her best friend, someone who finally understood her—nothing more. Not until he started petting her ears and carrying her around did she realize there was more to her feelings than she first thought—way more.
An excited shiver ran down her spine while thinking of being held in Nick's strong arms again. Being carried by someone had never felt so good or made her feel so safe, and then the way he caressed and petted her ears (he was the first mammal to truly make her feel cared for and cherished)—it was like jump-starting her heart. And then everything else he did for her, from the stories he told to the songs he sang, and everything in between—they all left her emotionally reeling from the incredible joy and pleasure of it all. And as he worked his magic (he was her handsome demon prince, after all) all she could do was sit back with a silly smile on her face as he deftly stole her heart.
With a deep breath, Judy finished her aerobic workout and sat back. After several weeks of slacking off on her exercises, her arms and chest muscles were a bit sore, but it was a good kind of sore. Taking another deep breath, she took the punching bag down, then made her way into the bathroom to wash her face and paws off. The cool water felt good, and after drying off, she walked into the kitchen for some much-needed breakfast—or rather, brunch seeing how late it was (it was already 10).
After finishing her pancakes (she left Nick a few), she then moved to the living room and sat down on the couch. Pulling out her phone, she opened it up to once again see several texts from Nick, each with a couple of pictures attached to it. Opening them up, she saw they were all pictures of their dance last night. The first text had a message from Nick that said: To my stunningly-beautiful, Fairy Princess, Here's pictures of us to add to your collection. Always and forever, your devilishly-handsome, Demon Prince. Judy's expression softened. She really did look like a fairy princess in that shimmering amethyst dress. With a silly smile on her face, she still couldn't believe she now owned such a dress. And Nick said Fru-Fru had sent over five more dresses just as exquisite!
Taking a deep breath, she moved her gaze over to Nick as he held her tightly while they danced. As her hungry gaze roved over his stunning body, she had to agree—he was definitely a devilishly-handsome demon prince. And yes, she was already starting to drool just looking at him. Flipping through the pictures and saving them to her photos, she then picked out two and sent them to Fru-Fru (she remembered Nick saying it was part of the deal for gifting her the dresses—not to mention, after drooling over Nick, she needed a distraction). After sending the photos, Judy called the tiny shrew and waited for her to answer.
Fru-Fru answered on the third ring and was happy to see Judy. She was even happier to see the pictures and hear how the date went but she couldn't talk long as she was on the way to the doctor for a pregnancy checkup. She was quite round now and with how active little Judy was, it wouldn't be long before she was born.
The two chatted for a few minutes, then Judy wished her luck and the two said goodbye. Relaxing for a minute, Judy then sent Janette a text telling her to find Janelle and call her. If she was going to talk about her date, she wanted to talk to both of her sisters at the same time.
It wasn't long before the phone started ringing. As she answered it, she saw Janette and Janelle watching her expectantly while demanding to know what happened with Nick last night. With a wide grin spreading across her muzzle, she leaned back in the couch and proceeded to tell them all about her first date with Nick. Janelle was squealing in delight while Janette sat back in shock. She'd had quite a few boyfriends in her day and was now engaged to be married, and although she loved Jim dearly and he'd thought of some pretty special dates for them, none of her first dates could even compare to what her sister's red fox had prepared for her. If there was a competition for first dates, then Nick won paws down—especially since, according to her sister, he only had one day to plan it!
With a shake of her head, she turned her attention back to the questions Janelle was asking, then asked a few of her own. Judy happily answered all their questions about the date and about their relationship in general, and then they were interrupted by a gaggle of little bunnies pounding on the door and claiming it was storytime. The three does all glanced at each other, then laughed.
"I guess you better get going," Judy said with a smile. "I'll send you both a couple of pictures of the date. Just don't spread them around. Nick and I want to wait a bit before broadcasting our relationship."
Janelle and Janette readily agreed and couldn't wait to see the pictures Judy planned to send them. After hanging up the phone, Janette and Janelle gave each other a huge grin, then opened the door to the gaggle of young bunnies who grabbed their paws and began dragging them towards the reading room. Many of the kits were laughing while others were arguing over which story they should read first—The Hare in the Hat, Are You My Mother, or Horton Hatches an Egg.
Judy grinned at the phone as her sisters hung up, then she pulled up her pictures and texted them each a couple of different photos. Still grinning while thinking of the date she'd shared with Nick last night, she flipped through the pictures again. After going through all the date pictures she had been sent, Judy then flipped to the photos they'd taken while in her room yesterday afternoon. Pulling up the first picture of Nick, her eyes roved over his foxy figure with appreciation. She really did land herself quite the foxy catch.
Flipping to the next photo, she immediately started drooling while her eyes hungrily ate up every inch of his exposed fur. She still couldn't believe Nick had posed for her in such a daring way. If her dad were to ever see it, he'd faint thinking Nick was actually naked in the picture. And once he recovered, he would probably chase Nick down with a pitchfork in one paw and a taser in the other.
Shaking her head while licking her lips, she hoped they could win her dad over before he realized the full depth of their relationship. Flipping through the next two pictures, Judy giggled to see her and Nick snuggled up together, but as she moved on to the photos Nick had taken of them, her ears started turning a darker and darker shade of pink until her ears were beet red while seeing them making out in the pictures. "Ni-ick!" she exclaimed. "You didn't . . . You actually took pictures of us like this!" A small part of her brain (a very small part) was mortified to see herself and Nick kissing so passionately (she was always disgusted to see her buck-crazy sisters in such a position), but a much larger part of her brain (the naughty side she was sure), couldn't help drinking in the sight of them as the photos brought up all the memories and emotions of the previous day.
Flipping through the pictures, she could once again feel his paws on her body, his claws through her fur, his tongue in her mouth, and then his teeth on her neck. Judy still couldn't believe how good being with Nick felt. She was sure her ancestors were rolling over in their grave this very instant—prey, a rabbit, fawning all over a predator, a fox—but she wouldn't change a thing.
Of course, staring at photos of them making out like two hormone-crazed teenagers wasn't helping with her self-control. Taking a deep breath, Judy looked at the photos one last time, then closed her photo app and turned the phone off, even as she realized her parents could never—ever—see these pictures of her and Nick.
Although her mother would hardly bat an eyebrow if she were to see them (Nick had already told her mom about their intense make-out session), this wasn't a situation she ever wanted her mom to see in her (it was her mom for crying out loud!). Her dad, on the other hand, would certainly shoot Nick for defiling his daughter, after which, he would check her into an asylum for the mentally deranged, because in his mind, if she wasn't deranged how could an upstanding, mentally competent doe ever allow a fox to put his paws, claws, tongue, and teeth all over her tender body—and enjoy it, to boot!
Okay, she might be exaggerating her dad's reaction just a bit, but the thoughts would certainly cross his mind, even if he didn't act on them. With her nose twitching, Judy pushed thoughts of her parents aside and set her phone down. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten, she reminded herself that she was in control—she wasn't a teenager anymore—and that she and Nick had only been dating a scant day and a half. Taking another deep breath and holding it while counting to ten again, she then let her breath out slowly.
Feeling in control once more, she relaxed back into the couch cushions and decided she needed to call her mom. After Nick spilled the beans yesterday about their relationship and their date, her mom needed to hear directly from her how she felt about Nick so there was no confusion or misunderstanding. But telling her mom (even if she was supportive) that she was dating a fox and letting him put his teeth and claws all over her was a bit . . . intimidating. It was her mom after all and admitting to her feelings was hard.
She was in a relationship with a fox, a predator, and it wasn't so long ago that her parents were going on about the evils of foxes and how they couldn't be trusted. Turnip heads, her parents nearly had a conniption fit when one of her oldest sisters, Alexia, started dating Dan—a brown hare. That was a huge thing ten years ago. Her parents eventually came around and accepted Dan, which was good, since Alexia eventually married him. And for a hare, Dan had become one of her favorite brothers-in-law. He was much more understanding of her dream to be a cop than most rabbits she met. It might have had something to do with him and Alexia getting quite a bit of flak for dating. But they persevered and eventually the town came around to accepting inter-species relationships—at least between rabbits and hares.
Over time, a few other mammals came forward with an inter-species relationship—a pica and a prairie dog, a bobcat and a lynx, a ferret and a weasel—all closely related species. But she, Judith Laverne Hopps, was not only dating someone from another species vastly different from her own, but someone from the opposite side of the food chain! There would probably be a huge uproar in town once Bunnyburrow found out about them. She was starting to get a headache just thinking about it. "Nick's right," she muttered under breath, "dating someone shouldn't be this hard."
Before, they were only worried about how her family would react to their relationship, but she came from a very large family. A very large family who liked to talk. If the majority of her siblings figured out they were more than friends, then it wouldn't be long before the town knew. And once the town knew, it could be either really good or really bad . . . probably bad. Judy chewed on her thumb nail while worrying about the possible future. Perhaps they should reconsider their trip to Bunnyburrow—at least until Nick received his badge, then the townsfolk will have to think twice before trying anything with them.
While worrying about the ramifications of their relationship, Judy's thoughts were interrupted by her parents' ringtone (speak of the devil) sounding from her phone. Picking up the device and looking at her parents' picture, she took a deep breath and pasted on a smile. It looked like her mom got tired of waiting to hear from her. "I can do this," she muttered. "Mom already knows about us and Nick said she wasn't mad." Taking another deep breath, she answered the call.
"Hey, Jude the Dude."
Judy forced her ears to stay upright and her fake smile to remain in place. "Hey, it's my dad."
WingedKatt here. Nick is still worrying his mother, and Judy had much to think and talk about. Next chapter, Judy will have an interesting conversation with her dad that will give her an epiphany about the Nighthowler case which will lead to some slightly heated words with one of her fellow officers.
Chapter 61: Coincidences and Conundrums, will post in 2 weeks. I hope you have a great weekend and stay safe. If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know.
