Vivian froze a moment at catching Nick on the first ring. She was still half expecting her son to ignore her call and that last night was just a dream—she wished it was just a dream (more like a nightmare).

"Um, Mom, you there?" Nick asked, then pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it to make sure they were still connected.

Shaking the stupor from her mind, Vivian said, "Oh, sorry, Nick, I wasn't expecting you to answer so quickly."

Nick's ears flattened against his head at the reminder of the pain and worry he had put his mom through. "Sorry, Mom," he whispered, "for worrying you so bad . . . and ignoring your calls."

Vivian sighed. "It's fine, Nick—just don't do it again."

"I won't, Mom. If I don't feel like talking, I'll at least text and let you know what's up."

Vivian nodded (not that Nick could see as she thought it might be easier to talk to him if she skipped the video chat this time).

At his mom's silence, Nick asked, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me."

"Oh, right." Taking a deep breath while gathering her thoughts a moment, Vivian then asked, "Why a rabbit, Nick? Of all mammals, why a bunny? They're so skittish and timid around predators."

Nick chuckled as he made his way to the jeep. "Most are, yes, but not my honeybun. She's courageous, driven, determined, smart, fearless, impulsive, a bit naïve—in a cutesy sort of way most of the time—doesn't take no for an answer, and doesn't pussyfoot around what she wants. In many ways, she actually reminds me of a predator." With a grin, Nick looked up at the bright, blue sky in thought, then said, "Come to think of it, two of her favorite movies as a kit was Lady and the Tramp and Beauty and the Beast—both predator movies with very few prey in the cast."

Nick froze for a minute, then doubled over laughing (and ignoring the other pedestrians who were looking sideways at him like he should be admitted to an insane asylum). "Oh, that's good," he muttered while trying to get his laughing under control. "Carrots was fantasizing about predators even way back when she was a kit! I am sooo going to tease her about that!" Although he knew Judy had a lot of feline friends, these two particular movies were predator romance flicks, not prey romance flicks. Lady and the Tramp was a movie with a mostly canine cast, with just a few other predators and some prey actors and actresses. Although there weren't really any real scary parts in it, that couldn't be said about Beauty and the Beast. Not only was Beauty and the Beast full of large predators, mostly felines, with the main characters and townsmammals made up of cougars and lions (Gaston was a dark-maned lion while Belle was a female cougar), there were several really scary scenes in there—at least, scary for weak, timid prey like rabbits.

There were several attacks by a pack of bandit wolves on both Belle and her father. And then when Beast (who was a monstrous predator out of myths and legends) protected Belle from the wolf bandits, with him showing off his huge teeth and dagger-like claws, any little bunny in their right mind would be terrified . . . right? And there were several instances in the castle when Beast growled and snapped at Belle, plus the huge fight scene at the end between Beast and Gaston. Nick could imagine most young bunnies would have nightmares if they watched something like that. And yet Judy would sneak out the house to go watch it.

Thinking back over last night during the dance, Nick couldn't forget about Peter Panther. It, too, was another predator movie made up of mostly felines and canines (Peter Panther and the lost boys were various species of felines, while Hook and his pirate crew were different canine species), with a smattering of other predators (the Indians in the movie were badgers and wolverines, while the mermaids were otters—otters with really long teeth). But for all the action and adventure in the movie, it too ended in a kiss.

Still chuckling over Judy's feline and canine fetish since her kithood, Nick wondered how the other rabbits thought of her. Coming from a place like Bunnyburrow where so much of the population was weary of large predators, Judy was certainly an oddball. And he was going to have so much fun teasing her about it!

While her son was snickering about teasing his bunny girlfriend for having pred fascination since she was young, Vivian sat still in the large wolf-sized chair in the corner of Lucinda's living room. She was having a hard time understanding her son and his sudden fascination with teasing his prey girlfriend. After a moment, she interrupted her son's snickering to ask, "Aren't you worried about what she might do to you in retaliation? Rabbits aren't known for being very nice to foxes."

Nick finally reached the jeep and unlocked it before climbing in, saying, "I'm not worried about Judy. She'll find a way to tease me back I'm sure, but it will all be in good fun." With another light laugh, he explained, "The first time I met her, I was trying to hustle a jumbo pop from an elephant and when he tried to kick me out for being a fox, Judy stood up for me, threatened the elephant with a class 3 health code violation, then paid for the jumbo pop herself. She was pretty amazing, actually." While remembering their first meeting in a much better light, Nick reached forward to put the key in the ignition and turned the jeep on. Next, he cranked up the air conditioner all the way.

Vivian's stomach turned over at hearing Nick say his girlfriend's name was Judy. Taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm, she asked slowly, "And why was . . . Judy . . . able to threaten an elephant with a class 3 health violation? Please explain that one to me."

Nick didn't immediately answer as he looked off down the street at a strange looking saiga antelope with its funny snout who was laughing with a rare tarpan, as not many of their equine members ever leave Eurasia. Their species was nearly wiped out due to territorial wars happening in their homelands several centuries ago, and only those fleeing to neighboring countries survived. Now, many of them were trickling back to their ancestral grazing lands.

Turning his attention back to his mom, Nick answered, "Mammals tend to change their tune when you start flashing your badge around."

Vivian's heart sank. Reaching up, she rubbed her creased forehead while taking a shallow breath. Taking a deeper breath and nearly strangling the phone, she exclaimed, "Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you're dating Officer Judy Hopps!? She hates predators!" If her son was here now, Vivian would probably strangle him, too. How could he be dating such a retched rabbit!? How could he forgive a rabbit who caused so much harm and suffering to so many predators!? And how could he even think of teasing her? Wasn't he afraid she'd throw his fluffy butt in jail the first time he crossed her?

"No, Mother, she does not." Taking a deep breath, Nick tried to calm down as yelling at his mother is the last thing he wanted to do. Taking another deep breath and slowly letting it out, he said in slightly calmer voice, though still thick with emotion, "Her little specist speech at the press conference was a combination of her hick upbringing and what she overheard the predator doctor telling Lionheart as his excuse for why he couldn't find a medical reason for the sudden change in behavior and lack of mental functions in the savage predators." Scratching behind his ear while remembering those painful events, Nick then jabbed the air with his clawed finger. "I'm sure that was part of Bellwether's plot—she needed someone with an innocent face to claim predators were going savage because of their DNA. And Judy naïvely walked right into it."

At his mom's silence, he added in a grumble, "I blame Bogo for that, though. He should never have let Bellwether put Judy up there. It was her fourth day on the job, Bogo never assigned her a senior officer to show her the ropes nor did he sit her down and give her any coaching on how to talk to the media. Coaching an officer before letting them talk to the media is ZPD policy and yet Bogo dropped the ball—again." Jabbing the air once more, he added, "And you know I'm not going to let Bogo forget it. He messed up big-time with Judy those first four days she was on the job and I'm going to make sure he pays his dues."

Vivian wiped a paw down her face as she wasn't sure how her son knew all this about the rabbit. Is it what she had claimed or did her son merely dig it up? He was always good at digging up information on mammals. Taking a deep breath and dropping her paw, she said, "You are talking about the Chief of Police, aren't you?"

A wide grin spread across Nick's face. "Of course, I'm talking about Chief Buffalo-butt."

Vivian wiped a paw down her face again (she was doing that a lot lately). "And what happens when he hears you call him that?"

Nick's grin was still wide as he answered, "Nothing." Flicking an ear, he added, "Come spring he might give me parking duty, but that's about it." With his voice dropping to a quiet murmur, he muttered, "Of course, if he puts me on parking duty, he'll probably put Judy on parking duty, too, and she won't like that." Rotating his head and rubbing the back of his neck, he added, "I'll probably have to follow her advice and not call him Buffalo-butt at the ZPD." Perking up, he said, "But when I'm not at the ZPD, I can call him anything I want."

Vivian wasn't sure how to respond to her son's brazen comment, but then something he said made her sit up and ask, "Why would Chief Bogo put a civilian on parking duty? That's against the law, isn't it?"

Nick's grin couldn't get any bigger as he replied, "Yes, it is, but . . . I won't be a civilian come spring." Puffing his chest out a bit, he said proudly, "I'll be the first fox officer of the ZPD and I'll have my own badge and everything."

Vivian sat stunned for a moment, then a crease formed between her eyes as she said in irritation, "Nicholas, that is not funny, joking about something like that."

Nick's smile vanished as he stated, "I'm not joking, Mom. Judy asked me to be her partner on the force, Bogo approved my application yesterday morning and then Daphyd signed it that afternoon. I enter the ZPA November 1st and I'll graduate next April."

Vivian sat stunned. Of all the things she thought her son would do with his life (or she hoped he would do with his life), being a police officer was not one of them. Foxes just didn't do that. There had never been a fox officer before—for the simple fact that no one trusted foxes enough to give them a badge. How could they even let him into the ZPA, let alone the ZPD? There's not an officer on the police force who would trust a fox as their partner or any evidence he might collect!

As Vivian sat in silence, Nick spoke up. "Times are changing, Mom. We have the first rabbit officer of the ZPD, and soon, I'll be the first fox officer of the ZPD, and we'll be teamed up together. We'll show the world how well prey and predator can work together, and we'll prove that us smaller mammals aren't to be overlooked or ignored. And we'll finally get to prove that foxes aren't all sly, conniving, back-stabbing thieves."

Vivian sat and stared at the wall opposite her where Lucinda had a bunch of family photos hanging up. A picture of her posing with her parents and siblings, her wedding picture, several wedding photos of her kits, and then the lower half of the wall was covered with pictures of all of Lucinda's grandkits. Taking a deep breath and rubbing a paw over her heart, Vivian turned her focus back to her son and his bizarre announcement. "And you're getting in on the recommendation of a rabbit?" Vivian still had a hard time believing her son had actually chosen to be a cop. Considering the mammals he once worked with and all the hustles he'd done, being a cop seemed so farfetched as to be impossible.

"Well, her recommendation certainly helped, but there was more to it than that."

"Oh, like what?" Vivian was very interested to hear what convinced the very specist Chief of Police to allow a fox on the force.

"For starters, I was the one helping her when she found all those missing mammals three months ago." Running his paw over his head, he said, "I told you Bogo messed up bigtime with Judy. Bellwether forced him to give Judy the case, but then he made sure she had no resources, no partner, and gave her two days to solve the case that the whole ZPD and all their resources couldn't solve it two weeks. And when she failed, which Bogo was sure she would, she had to voluntarily resign from the ZPD. If I hadn't been her only lead, she would have never found any of those missing mammals."

Vivian sat stunned to learn her son was the reason the rabbit was able to find the missing mammals and close the case. It didn't surprise her that Nick's involvement was the tipping point that led to the bunny's success . . . No, what shocked her was that the rabbit was willing to use the help of a fox, her natural enemy. Back when she and John were newlyweds and had just settled into Zootopia, she had witnessed a rabbit whose young son was injured in an accident. And rather than accept the help from a fox, she chose instead to let her son nearly bleed to death while waiting for another mammal to arrive and help. It was insane and to this day, she didn't understand the does reasoning. Of course, that was nearly forty years ago, back when prejudice against predators, and especially foxes, was much worse than it was today.

But still, a rabbit cop, took the help of a fox. A cop and a rabbit accepted help from a fox. That just didn't happen for the simple fact that cops and rabbits didn't trust foxes. They were the scourge of society in many mammal's eyes.

Nick ran his paws through his head fur while remembering their wild otter chase. "Helping Judy find her missing otter was a huge eye-opener for me, Mom." Tipping his head back against the headrest, Nick closed his eyes while saying, "I was a real jerk that first day, and did everything I could to waste her time while appearing to cooperate." With a bitter laugh, he continued, "I thought she was trying so hard so she could get out of being a meter maid, it never even crossed my mind that her whole career was on the line."

With a heavy sigh, Nick continued, "When I finally realized it was, you can imagine how mad I was—at myself, as well as at her boss." With some of his anger returning, Nick explained, "We were nearly killed by a savage jaguar, and yet Buffalo-butt and his posse laughed it off, saying Judy, being a rabbit, saw all large predators as savages!" Giving a bitter laugh, he added, "It was like the junior ranger's scouts all over again!" Pulling on his ear, he pushed the hated memories back down and said, "Trust me, when I say my honeybun has absolutely no fear of large predators."

Slapping a paw over his face, he said, "She wasn't even intimidated by Big and all his polar bears! When she thought he had something to do with Otterton's disappearance, she threatened to haul his tiny tail to jail!" Wiping his paw down his face and off his muzzle, he added, "Talk about a naïve hick from the sticks!" With a shake of his head, he then said, "If Judy hadn't saved Fru-Fru's life earlier that morning, we'd be a fox and bunny popsicle right now." As an afterthought, he added, "She also saved me from Manchas when he went savage on us. You have that bunny to thank your son is still breathing, because I came within inches—inches, Mom—of being killed by a savage jaguar."

Vivian sat stunned once again, but this time with cold fear curling around inside her. She feared her son had died 3 months ago, and although she was eternally grateful he hadn't, to learn he'd come so close to death on several occasions left her in a cold sweat—a cold sweat and chills. And to think—he was still alive all because of that rabbit!

Oblivious to his mom's cold feet, a touch of a smile curved the edges of Nick's mouth as he added, "Contrary to the thoughts of her boss and all her dumb colleagues, Judy doesn't freeze-up or get intimidated by life-threatening situations. She stays calm, collected, and fast on her feet and her thinking." His ears folded back as he added, "Of course, some of her ideas are more dangerous than the situation we find ourselves in—which is one of the main reasons I agreed to join her on the force. Someone has to be there to tell her when one of her hare-brain ideas is just that—a hare-brained idea that's going to get us killed." With a smirk, he added, "Of course, being able to stare at her fluffy tail all day is a nice perk."

"Nicholas!" Vivian exclaimed at her son's cheeky response. Although she was still worried about her son and him being a cop—that was such a dangerous job for any mammal, but especially a fox—this was not how she raised him. She raised him to respect females, not stare at their tails—especially a rabbit's! That was a sexual harassment charge waiting to happen if ever she saw one! With an irritated flick of her long, bushy tail, Vivian waited for his response.

"What!?" Nick exclaimed back. "Judy has the cutest, silkiest fluffball of a tail I've ever seen. Running my fingers and claws through it has become a favorite pastime of mine."

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde! That is not how I raised you! You do not go around touching a girl's tail that you just started dating! What if she files harassment charges against you!?"

Nick started laughing. While remembering how demanding Judy was with her insistence that they touch each other's tails, he laughed harder.

"Nicholas!" Vivian cried. As much as she loved her son and couldn't be happier knowing he was alive—but right now, she was highly tempted to murder him herself! For a fox, dating a rabbit—any rabbit, and certainly a cop—was highly dangerous. Mammals would not look kindly on their relationship, and the other police officers would especially be hard on her son—a fox dating a bunny! And then for him to laugh it off like everything was sunshine and rainbows! She just wanted to throttle him!

"Sorry, Mom, really, it's just . . ." Gripping his muzzle while trying to rein in his laughter, he finally said, "Mom, if you only knew Judy." Taking a deep breath, he said, "She made a deal with me—I could touch her tail if she could touch mine." With a happy chuckle, he added, "She's quite smitten with my tail. I was even starting to feel a bit jealous of it the other night."

Vivian's ears splayed sideways as a crease formed between her eyes. "Nicholas, how long have you been dating this bunny?"

Nick's ears disappeared behind his head and his tail twitched nervously beside him. After a moment of silence, he said slowly, "I asked her to be my girlfriend Wednesday night . . . while we were feeling each other's tails up." And other things, Nick thought to himself.

Vivian's ears flattened as she rubbed her creased forehead. "Nicholas, you haven't even dated this rabbit for three full days and you're already feeling each other's tails!?" Her son was sounding crazier and crazier the longer they talked! What was wrong with him!?

Nick tugged on his ear again and stared down at his dashboard while his tail tip twitched with anxiety at his mom's tone. "Well, I asked her to be my girlfriend because we were already feeling each other's tails and I didn't want to be friends with benefits."

"And what other benefits were you two already enjoying?" Vivian couldn't believe her son, who never made time for females, was already snuggling up to his bunny girlfriend. Of course, the fact he was dating a bunny was probably a huge factor in that. Rabbits weren't exactly known for taking things slow.

Nick scratched his neck, then tugged on his ear again. He couldn't lie to his mother, but he really couldn't see anyway of sugar-coating his and Judy's relationship. And his mother preferred it when mammals talked straight to her. Tip-toing around important matters always irritated her more than the matter at hand. After a moment, Nick took a deep breath, then sat up a bit straighter, saying, "Let's just say that I find Judy's kisses addictive, her scent intoxicating, and her touch divine."

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde!" Vivian cried. "Are you listening to yourself!?" Throwing a red paw up in the air, she added, "You're a red todd, Nick, not some bed-hopping rabbit buck!" Huffing in exasperation, she folded her arm across her chest and slouched down in the wolf-sized chair she sat in.

Vivian simply couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even if he was dating a rabbit, Nick was still a red todd. They didn't move that fast! What was her son thinking!? And what kind of ideas was this bunny putting in his head!? Vivian lamented the day her son stumbled into the energetic bunny he was now attached to since she was turning his life upside down and making him go against his instincts.

Ignoring his mom's outraged cry, Nick spoke calmly in an attempt to keep her from having a heart attack. "Before you ask, no, Mother, I have not slept with her." Taking a deep breath, Nick figured this instance was much like ripping a Band-Aid off—the quicker you pulled it off the quicker the pain stopped and the quicker you could get on with your day. Keeping his voice calm, he explained, "I'm not sleeping with Judy yet, but just as soon as I can get an engagement ring, I'm going to properly propose to her, then I'm going to pack her up to my bedroom, mark her, mate with her, then knot her as my wife. And yes, I have already discussed this all with Judy and she is waiting with bated breath for me to get that ring."

Relaxing slightly at getting his intentions out in the air, a cheeky grin spread across Nick's face as he added, "She's quite looking forward to our wedding retreat at my cabin." Waving his paw, he continued, "Just us, the cabin, rocks, trees, and sky and no other mammals around for hundreds of miles in any direction."

Vivian sat still for several minutes as she tried to take in everything her son had just told her. Considering how close they already were, hearing how they had already discussed marriage somewhat mollified her. But it was happening all so fast! They should be friends for several months before even considering dating, let alone getting married!

Relaxing slightly into the chair, Vivian thought of Nick's best friend who didn't take nonsense from anyone. Sitting up a little straighter, she asked, "And have you talked to Finnick about all this? Does he know about your little bunny girlfriend?" She assumed Nick hadn't told him anything considering how fast their relationship was going.

A wide grin spread across Nick's face. "He thinks I'm crazy and Judy is nuts, but he's not trying to stop us." Relaxing further into the jeep's seat, Nick ran his paw across his pants even as his tail wagged beside him. "In fact, Finnick joined us for dinner the other night—that was before we started dating, and then Finn sat with her at the train station talking when her brother showed up to drop off a box of her stuff." Leaning his head back, Nick closed his eyes and said, "It really impressed Finn that Judy preferred his company to her specist's brother's."

Vivian's jaw went slack at hearing Finnick apparently approved of their crazy relationship. She was sure Finnick would put up a huge fuss if he found out about it. But no, he was actually supporting them! Which meant that if Finnick wasn't putting up any argument, then Nick had already made up his mind and there was no changing it. As crazy as it all sounded, this was Nick and although he might seem carefree most of the time, once he made a decision, he became very decisive and never backed down. Taking a deep breath, she finally said, "So, you've already chosen this rabbit as your mate." Vivian assumed he had from his words last night, but hearing it directly from him drove the point home.

"Yes," Nick stated without hesitation.

"And there's no possibility of you changing your mind?" Vivian was rubbing her forehead again. She already knew the answer, but still wished it was otherwise.

"None. Judy is it for me." Letting his words sink in for a moment, he then added, "I was willing to stay and die with her if it came to it when Bellwether had us cornered three days ago—and that was before I realized how I felt about her, or she for me."

Vivian nodded, then rubbed her forehead a moment before dropping her head back to rest against the chair she sat in. Suddenly, she sat up straight and said, "Wait. What do you mean Bellwether? What does she have to do with this?"

Nick tilted his head. "She has everything to do with this. It was Judy who found the real reason behind the savage predators, and she came back and asked for my help in fixing her mistake. She didn't trust her fellow officers," Nick sneered the word 'officers,' ". . . and . . . she wanted to fix our relationship first and foremost. If she fixed nothing else, she wanted to at least fix this."

Vivian sat in silent horror at the thought of that psychotic ewe getting her paws on her son. With a paw over her mouth, she thought, How was he still alive!? As a cold shiver ran down her spine at what nearly happened to her son, she asked herself, How is he still sane!? Taking a deep, ragged breath, she then had to question herself on just how sane her son was at this moment. He hadn't known this rabbit long, and yet he was already feeling her up and talking about marriage! She could understand a strong friendship developing during a life and death situation, but was it enough to stake your career on? Marriage? Your whole life!?

At his mom's silence, Nick continued, "We nearly died a couple of times tracking down the evidence, but once we had it, lo and behold, who should appear wanting to commandeer it? Our dear, sweet mayor Bellwether." Nick pulled on his ear as he said, "She's good, Mom. She had me completely fooled. I thought I was an expert at reading mammals, but she had the perfect mask. Judy was actually the first one to realize something was up with the mayor, and then Judy injured her leg while we were running from the murdering ewe."

Closing his eyes while rubbing his face, Nick couldn't forget that terrifying period fleeing from the psychopath. "Judy wanted me to take the evidence and run while she distracted Bellwether and her thugs, but I couldn't do that, Mom. I couldn't leave her." Running his paw over his face and down the back of his neck, he explained, "I knew that if I left her, I'd never see her again. Bellwether would kill her and make sure the body was never found. I couldn't live with myself if that happened." Waving his paw through the air again, he said, "So, I determined to stay and do whatever I could to keep her alive—or die trying."

Vivian sat stunned to hear that all her worries of the last three months were well founded. Realizing how very, very close she came to losing her son, to losing Nick, had silent tears trickling down her red furred cheeks and dropping onto the forest green blouse she was wearing, which darkened the silky material to nearly black. With another shaky breath, she opened her mouth to ask how her son was sitting there talking to her, but his next words froze the question in her throat.

With a heavy sigh, Nick said, "Come to find out, Bellwether had no intention of making Judy's body disappear. No, she had something far more sinister in mind." Pulling on his ear, he whispered, "Bellwether intended to have a savage predator tear her apart while she was still alive." He paused a moment, his heart constricting painfully as he thought about what almost happened, then continued, "And since I decided to stick around, Bellwether thought I would be the perfect candidate to do the bloody deed."

Vivian gasped in horror while thinking of the implications of her son's words. How could anyone be so evil? So heartless!? That sociopath tried to make her son eat his friend, the female who would become his mate! Words escaped her and fresh tears flowed down her cheeks while her mind played over what almost happened to her son and the bunny he had fallen for.

Gripping her heart, Vivian sat silent for several moments and almost forgot to breath. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she then asked, "What happened? How can you still talk and why isn't Judy dead?"

Nick scratched behind his ear as his tail-tip twitched. "Because I have an addiction to blueberries." With a small smile, he explained, "I swiped some from Judy's family truck after she found me. The Nighthowler pellets Bellwether was shooting predators with were about the same size, shape, and color as the blueberries, so I just switched them." Tugging on his ear, he continued, "But that wasn't enough to get Bellwether's confession."

"What do you mean?" Vivian's heart was pounding while thinking of the danger her son had been in. She felt like she was in some horrible horror flick that never ended.

"Mom, getting hit with a blueberry wasn't enough to trick Bellwether into laying out her plans. To get her talking, I had to act savage. I had to . . ." Nick ran his paws through his head fur and dropped his head against the headrest. "Mom, I had to hunt Judy through that life-sized diorama we were trapped in. I had to hunt her while acting like I had every intention of eating her. Bellwether bought it and yakked her head off. With me being savage, and knowing Judy would soon be dead, she didn't hide anything from us, as she was sure her plans would die with Judy's death—and mine. There's no way they'd let me live if I killed and ate Judy. And quite frankly, I wouldn't want to live if I had."

Vivian sat stunned as all her fears of the last 3 months washed over her once again. Pulling her legs up, she wrapped her arm around them and whimpered as she hugged them tight. Realizing how very close she came to losing Nick, the only son she had left, caused another whimper to escape. Of the other near death-experiences he'd already mentioned, this was the worst, for it was the result of pure evil. It was the evil plot of a deranged sheep who didn't want to just kill her son and his friend, but to destroy her son and every fox out there. Foxes already had a bad rap, but if Bellwether had been able to carry out her plan to turn Nick into a savage animal that killed a rabbit—the first officer of the ZPD—then there would be no hope for any fox alive in the city of Zootopia. The prey species would all hunt them down into extinction—every last one. And that's not to say what would happen to predators as a whole, who would also be ostracized and hunted for their ancestor's sins of eating other mammals.

"Mom?" Nick asked worriedly. He'd heard his mom's whimpers, but now it was just silent. Flicking his ear, he knew his mom wasn't taking this news very well as he hadn't heard her breath for several moments.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Vivian sobbed, "Nick." Taking another shuddering breath, she wiped at her eyes with her arms as she continued, "I came so close to losing you in so many ways! That psycho ewe almost destroyed you and everything you stood for!" With another sob, she added, "The last time I saw you, Nick, was almost two years ago. It's been over six months since you last called. What if you had died? What if I never saw you again? Or, heaven help us, the next time I saw you was as a savage fox on the news right before they shot you for killing that rabbit officer?"

Nick's ears disappeared behind his head and his tail went limp. Yep, I'm the worst son on the planet, he lamented silently.

"And for what, Nick?" Vivian cried while hugging her legs tighter and wrapping her fluffy tail around them. With a sniffle, she added, "So you can play hero with your little bunny friend!?"

A growl entered Nick's voice as he answered, "No, Mom. I chose to help Judy because it was the right thing to do, because I cared about her, and because I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her." Taking a deep breath and trying to get his sudden, territorial anger under control, he continued, "And because I helped her, and because we trusted each other, we caught Bellwether, Mom. And now, that sociopath can no longer hurt anyone ever again."

When his mom didn't say anything, Nick muttered, "At this point, though, I'm not even sure I could have hurt her, even if I had gone savage."

"What do you mean?" Vivian asked while rubbing at her eyes again and trying to get her emotions under control. Having witnessed the other savage mammals on the news, she couldn't see what would stop her son from hurting the rabbit if he were savage. The savage mammals were stock-raving mad and on the hunt for fresh blood! Furthermore, foxes once hunted rabbits! Nick's savage instincts would have no problem identifying Judy as breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Nick crossed his arm over his chest while slouching down in the front seat of his jeep, even as he flicked his ear. "I think I started imprinting on her 3 months ago, when she saved me from Manchas. And then again when she asked me to be her partner on the force. That's why what she said at the conference hurt so much. And when I confronted her afterwards, and then intentionally scared her to prove she really didn't trust me—oh, it hurt. Seeing her fearful reaction to me and smelling her fear—it felt like she'd gouged my heart out—with a spoon! That's how bad it hurt and why I ignored yours and Anya's phone calls."

Vivian sat quietly while considering her son's words. Him jumping into this relationship with the rabbit made much more sense now. If he started imprinting on her three months ago, then the only option he had was to date and marry her as quickly as possible. Usually an imprinting took months to form—if did at all—as was the case with Anya. She'd been dating Brad for 3 years, but still hadn't married him because she'd failed to imprint on him, and from what she'd seen, Brad hadn't fully imprinted on Anya, either. Why they continued dating was a mystery to her and everyone who knew them.

Remembering his and Judy's time in the diorama, Nick said, "Judy had already wormed her way back into my heart when she came back and apologized to me, but do you know what she did to really steal my heart?"

Vivian shook her head as she hadn't a clue as to what the bunny could possibly do to steal her son's heart so thoroughly as to give him no choice but to marry her. "No. What?"

"While I was hunting her after Bellwether shot me, Judy didn't have any fear towards me. She certainly acted afraid of me, but that just proved what a great actress she was because her scent told a completely different story. It's a good thing Bellwether had a weak sense of smell, or she might have clued into the fact something was wrong when she smelled Judy's excitement." Rubbing his paw over his face, Nick continued, "But the thing that really sealed the deal for me is when I clamped my teeth around her neck to complete the act."

Shaking his head, he explained, "If you were going by sight and sound alone, you would have sworn I was killing her, but smelling her scent . . ." Nick closed his eyes as a huge smile spread across his face at the memory. "If anything, she smelled slightly aroused."

"She what!?" Vivian exclaimed. This rabbit doe had a fox's teeth clamped around her neck and she was aroused by it!? Foxes used to eat rabbits! How could one get excited to feel her ancient enemy's teeth pressed against her jugular!?

Keeping his eyes closed and his smile in place, Nick chuckled. "You heard me." With a slight head shake, he added, "I didn't realize what I was smelling at the time, but now that I know what her arousal smells like, she definitely had a touch of it when I pressed my teeth against her throat there in the pit."

Vivian sat stunned once again by her son's words. "You wrapped your teeth around her neck—while acting savage!—and it aroused her?" Vivian was now convinced she'd died in her sleep and had been somehow transported to a bizarre alternate reality. Or maybe she was trapped in some twisted dream—a dream that made absolutely no sense whatsoever!

"Mm, my teeth and claws really turn her on. Oh, and my growl drives her absolutely crazy." Remembering what drove him crazy about her, he continued, "Do you know what she does that drives me crazy? You know, besides her scent, and taste, and the feel of her beneath my paws?" Sitting up straighter, he said, "I love it when she wraps that cute little tongue of hers around my canines."

Vivian's jaw dropped, not only at her son's vivid description of their relationship, but by the bunny's brazen actions. "She wraps her . . . tongue . . . around your . . . teeth?"

"Mm, every chance she gets." Running his tongue over his teeth while remembering how it felt to have Judy exploring them with her tiny lapin tongue, Nick's grin got wider as he said, "I actually find it rather erotic, to tell you the truth."

Vivian slapped a paw over her eyes at the image her son just gave her. "Okay, okay, I get it! You and this rabbit—"

"Judy."

"Yes, Judy—are an item. I don't need to know anything else." Nick chuckled and Vivian continued, saying, "I won't lie and say I understand it, Nick, because I don't, but if this is what you need . . . If . . . Judy . . . makes you happy," Vivian took a deep breath, "then I won't argue with you."

"Thanks, Mom, and she does. Words cannot describe how happy she makes me."

Vivian nodded and said, "Just . . . just give me some time to get used to the idea, okay."

"Sure, Mom, anything you need." Vivian nodded, then after a moment of silence, Nick asked, "Would it help if you met her?"

Vivian didn't immediately answer as she thought for a moment. This rabbit had said such horrible things about predators, had caused so much suffering with her thoughtless words, and yet this is the same rabbit who saved her son. The same rabbit that showed him the way home and reminded him that life was meant to be lived, not just survived. With a deep breath, she finally said, "Yes, I think it would."

Nick stared out his jeep window at the lilac bushes he'd parked in front of, even as he sat drumming his claws on his knee as he thought for a moment. Finally, he asked, "Are you free Sunday?"

"Sunday?" Vivian repeated curiously. "Yes, I'm free. Why?"

Taking a deep breath, Nick explained, "Judy invited her parents and a few of her siblings to come for a short visit late Sunday morning if you want to join us. You can meet Judy and her parents and get a feel for who they are." Tilting his head slightly, he said, "Actually, if you want to come down tomorrow evening and stay the night, you can. That will give you more time to get to know Judy before meeting her parents."

Vivian's ears perked forward and her tail flicked as she asked, "Are you sure? I won't be an inconvenience for you, will I?"

Nick chuckled. "Mom, you're never an inconvenience. And it might actually make it easier for us."

Vivian frowned and the crease between her forehead returned. "What do you mean by 'us'?"

Nick reached up and scratched his neck. "Well, Judy injured her leg while we were running from Bellwether. Due to her injury, she needs someone to take care of her while it heals . . . So, being the gentlefox that I am, I . . . brought her home with me. She's sleeping in Honey's old room."

Vivian covered her eyes again and then squeezed the bridge of her nose as she counted to 10. Taking a deep breath, she then said, "Okay, your actions regarding your bunny are making a whole lot more sense now."

"Yeah," Nick murmured. "I told you I find her scent intoxicating . . . and her touch divine . . ."

"And her kisses addictive," his mom finished for him. It had been a long while now since she'd last thought of her late husband, John, but listening to Nick talk about his bunny made Vivian remember John and how hard it was for them to keep their paws to themselves. And getting drunk on his kisses was a very real thing. Oh, how she missed him!

"Yeah," Nick repeated. "Neither of us are used to having these high levels of hormones thrumming through our systems, so we're finding it hard to keep our paws to ourselves."

An evil grin crossed Vivian's face as she said, "If that's the case, why don't I come down tonight?"

Nick's ears flattened against his head once more and he freaked as he waved his paw in front of him while exclaiming, "No, no, that's okay! I think we got it under control! Judy spent about two hours in the weight room this morning and I'll be spending some time there this afternoon. So, there's no need to come early. Tomorrow evening will be just fine."

Vivian's evil smile remained in place as she asked, "Are you sure? Because I'm free the rest of the week."

"No, no, we're good. Really. In fact, we're going to be busy tonight and . . . and tomorrow . . ."

Vivian laughed to hear the panic in her son's voice. "Is that so? Doing what?"

Nick ran a paw down his face as he thought fast. "Since we're having a really short courtship, I promised Judy a ton of dates. We had our first date last night, here at the house, so I was thinking of taking her out tonight."

"But you just said her leg was injured. What could you do that won't strain it?"

Nick tugged on his ear again while trying to think of a feasible date idea. "Flying," he blurted out.

"Oh," Vivian murmured, intrigued.

Nick nodded. "Judy said she wanted a tour by air of the city. If she's sitting in the gyrocopter, then she won't be straining her leg."

"Ooh, that is a good date idea. I like it." Hearing Nick's sigh of relief brought another smile to her lips, and Vivian then asked, "So if Judy is sleeping in Honey's room, where will I be sleeping when I come down tomorrow night?"

Nick's cheeky grin returned. "There's no way I'm allowing either of you to sleep on the couch, so there's no way around it. Judy will just have to share my bed while you're here. That way, you can have Honey's bed."

Vivian frowned again at her son's brazen words. "Nicholas."

Nick ran a paw through his head fur. "Mom, do you honestly think we could get up to any funny business with you sleeping in the room across the hall from us? Seriously?"

Vivian sighed. "Fine. You're both adults anyways. It's not like I can stop you if you chose to do something." She knew that if Nick had already imprinted on Judy, then his instincts would demand he keep his bunny close to him. With another deep breath, she asked, "So you've already talked to her about marriage and what a fox wedding involves?"

"Yes. I picked up the registration papers earlier today and had lunch with Daphyd. He'll marry us after we perform the fox wedding to ensure some political idiot can't argue the point that our marriage is invalid because Judy's not a fox."

Vivian immediately perked up. "Well, that relieves a lot of my worries. Daphyd has a lot of political sway so that's good."

"Yes, he does. And he's really looking forward to meeting Judy."

With a smile as many of her worries were, if not gone, at least lessened, Vivian then said, "Okay. Well, I guess I'll get going. I have a trip to plan and you have a date to get ready."

"Yes, I do." Taking a deep breath, Nick said, "Thanks, Mom, for everything you've done for me. I love you."

"I love you, too, Nick. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Just before his mom hung up, he hurriedly said, "Wait. Don't tell Anya about Judy. I want to surprise her."

Vivian's brow creased again. "Are you sure that's wise? You know she's told her friends all about her talented younger brother and several of them are quite eager to meet you."

Nick's ears splayed to the side and his tail-tip twitched irritably. "Oh, bloody blueberries, she didn't."

With a chuckle, Vivian answered, "Oh, yes. You're quite the eligible bachelor here in Rándýrabær."

Nick ran a paw down his face. "I told her over and over again that I'm not interested in any vixen."

"Yes, well, I don't think she heard you." With a smirk, Vivian added, "Like you, she has selective hearing, allowing her to hear only what she wants to."

Nick groaned. "Mom, this isn't funny." Rubbing his face again while listening to his mom's light laughter, he took a deep breath and said, "Look, I'm planning a trip down there later this summer and I'll deal with Anya then. For now, just keep Judy a secret. I want to tell Anya in person."

"Okay, if that's what you want."

"Yes, it is." After taking another deep breath and pushing thoughts of his worrisome sister aside, Nick said, "Okay, this really is goodbye now."

Vivian chuckled. "Goodbye, son. I'll see you tomorrow evening."

"See you tomorrow, Mom."


FYI: The Saiga Antelope is a critically endangered antelope species with only 2 surviving sub-species, as the others have been hunted to extinction. There is the Russian Saiga (found primarily in one region of Russia) and the Mongolian Saiga (found only in north-western Mongolia) They are an extremely strange looking antelope due to their elongated, floppy/bloated nose making it look like they might be related to the elephant or the tapir. They are not, but they share a resemblance with their noses. Their strange noses are used to filter out dust while migrating, as well as heat up the cold winter air before taking the air into their lungs. Saiga antelopes are not a very large antelope, standing only 24-32 inches at the shoulder and weighing between 57-152 pounds. The males are the only ones with horns, which are slightly curved and have 12-20 pronounced rings.

Saigas form very large herds and migrate long distances as they graze in semi-deserts, steppes, and grasslands. They are excellent swimmers but avoid steep or rugged terrain. They eat a variety of plants, some of which are poisonous to other animals.

The Tarpan (also known as the Eurasian Wildhorse) is a wild horse that ranged from eastern Europe to western Russia but is now extinct in today's world. It survived for hundreds of thousands of years, but the last one died in captivity in a Russian Zoo in 1909. The name 'tarpan' is a Turkish word meaning 'wild horse' and it truly was a wild breed. It is also thought that the domesticated horse descended from the tarpan.

Tarpans were a smaller breed of horse standing about 5 feet tall at the shoulder, with a thick head, a short thick falling mane, a shorter tail, a grullo or bay dun coat color, dark legs, a dorsal stripe, and shoulder stripes. Scientists have tried to recreate the tarpan breed by 'back-breeding' several horse breeds that are known to have tarpan ancestry. They created the Konik breed that has the looks and is the size of the tarpan, but is genetically distinct.

Obviously, in my story, the tarpan survived as man was not around to kill them off. But they were a skittish breed that fled at the first hint of danger (they would stand and fight if cornered), so them fleeing their native lands during times of war makes sense and would show how they survived in my story.


WingedKatt here. So how'd you like the conversation between Nick and Vivian. It was a rollercoaster ride, wasn't it? I do have a question for everyone: In both of my stories, I have Nick referring to Judy gouging his 'heart out with a spoon'. Does anyone know the movie I'm referencing and why he used a spoon for the analogy instead of a fork or knife?

Okay, for the next chapter. We'll get a glimpse of Vivian and her thoughts about this conversation with Nick, and then we'll start to see some of the dominoes falling as Nick arrives home. Judy will have an unpleasant phone conversation, Finnick will give Nick a hard time, we'll be introduced to a new character, and everyone's favorite cheetah will finally make an appearance. There's so much to look forward to that I can't wait to post it.

A big thanks to BearlyThereUpstairs for proofing this chapter. Life prevented him from proofing the last couple of chapters, but I'm truly glad to have him back. His insights always help improve the chapters.

Chapter 64: Shifting Plans, will post in 2 weeks. Those waiting to read the next chapter of Z:ADB, it will post next weekend.

PS. For anyone interested in my fantasy novel I was having published, it's now available for sell. It's called Fiery Winds of Chaos by Juli Hamlin. It's sold at Barnes and Nobles, Amazon, iTunes, and Google play. It's a paperback, but the size of a hardback. It's also sold as an eBook.

As always, if you have any thoughts or questions, I'd love to hear them. Have a great weekend and stay safe.