Hugging the little Nick plushy in her arms, Cotton wandered down the hall, dodging her aunts and uncles as they carried boxes from Judy's room up to the front door. Peeking around the doorway into the front entry, she saw the boxes that had been sitting in Judy's room last night were now piled up near the front door. Since they were taking the train down and there were eight bunnies going, they would carry one box each. Everything else would be left for the next time when Judy came to visit.

Seeing the boxes sitting by the door, Cotton really wished she could go. It was fun playing with the little Nick plushy, but she really wanted to meet the real Mr. Nick. If he was best friends with Judy, then he must be even more fun to play with than the plushy. Last night, she had asked her grandma Bonnie if she could go with them, but Grandma said not this time. She could meet Mr. Nick when he came down to Bunnyburrow with Aunt Judy.

Cotton was dejected to be left behind so when it was time for bed, she had stuffed the plushy under her shirt and smuggled it into bed with her…which is why she had the plushy in her arms now. She had been taking it back to Judy's room when she'd been distracted by the morning chaos. While Cotton stood there hugging the little plushy a bit tighter, Bonnie passed behind her as she carried another box into the entryway.

Checking over the stack of boxes, Judy's litter-mate, Justin, turned around to see his mom enter the room. "How many more boxes are there?" he asked her.

"Just Judy's box of plushies and her winter clothes," Bonnie answered as she set the box down atop two others. With a sigh, she turned around and spotted Cotton poking her head around the doorway.

"Got it," Justin replied as he turned and grabbed his brother, Chester. "Come on, let's get the last two boxes." Chester was a white rabbit with a black muzzle, black ears, black paws, and a black stripe down his back with a few black spots on his side. He and Justin were both on their respective basketball teams in high school and still shot a lot of hoops together whenever they both had free time. They even had several of their older kits joining them and they had fun teaching the next generation the joys of basketball.

As the two boys walked out of the room, Bonnie sighed. Even though she was happy that her little bun-bun had finally found a male to entrust her heart to, it was all happening so fast. She had already said goodbye and sent Judy off to Zootopia once, and that hadn't ended well. So, to be sending her off a second time was even more frightening than the first time.

Bonnie's only consolation this time was that her little trier wasn't going to be alone this time. Judy would have Nick beside her to watch her back and keep her safe. And seeing as he wasn't just her daughter's friend, but would soon be her mate and husband, Bonnie knew Nick would do anything to keep Judy safe and happy. At least that was the impression the smug todd gave off from their phone conversations…which made this trip so important.

If she was going to entrust her little girl into the paws of this fox—this male—then Bonnie wanted to meet him face-to-face in order to see his true intentions and to make sure Nick wasn't trying to pull a fast one on her. The fact Judy thought so highly of him and trusted him explicitly spoke in his favor, but as a parent, Bonnie wanted to meet him in person and make sure her daughter wasn't looking at the todd with rose-tinted glasses, that her love hadn't blinded her to her fiancé's faults and possible ill-intentions (Bonnie had to deal with this problem with many of her other daughters in their younger years).

While thinking of Nick and Judy and hoping the todd's intentions were as they appeared, Bonnie turned around and spied the little fox plushy Cotton was holding. Seeing the plushy reminded Bonnie of all Nick had already done for Judy, both three months ago, as well as everything he'd done for her this week. This reawakened her excitement for the two lovebirds as Nick wouldn't have done everything he'd done if he didn't truly care for Judy. Her little bun-bun was finally committing herself to the idea of marriage and a family of her own!

Of course, seeing Cotton out here and potentially getting in the way (it would be easy to trip over the small kit when carrying a large box), had Bonnie's maternal instincts worried for her. "Cotton, honey, I thought I told you not to play with little Nick outside of Judy's room."

"I know, Gramma, but…" Cotton started, even as her Grandma cut her off.

"No buts. Now you take that plushy down to Judy's room, you hear?" Bonnie told her in no uncertain terms. Besides wanting to keep Cotton from being under foot, she still had a list of things to do before they headed to the train station and Bonnie didn't want to forget anything or run late and miss the train. Her little bun-bun was finally getting married and there was no way she was going to miss this chance of meeting her daughter's foxy fiancé in person before they tied the knot.

Turning Cotton around and giving her fluffy, little tail a push to get her moving, Bonnie was still trying to get her mind wrapped around the idea that Judy was finally getting married! As so quickly! And to a fox no less! As unbelievable as it was, Bonnie was truly happy for her daughter. For Judy to finally find someone so compatible and committed to entrust her heart to—most of Bonnie's worries for her driven, head-strong daughter were now laid to rest.

Bonnie was also trying to get her mind wrapped around the idea that Judy's bunny instincts were urging her to breed with the handsome fox who had stolen her heart. Although the likelihood of Judy being able to have Nick's kits were probably nil, Bonnie had to wonder how cute they would be if Judy could have Nick's babies. And the simple fact Judy's instincts wanted to breed with Nick told Bonnie that he was treating her like a queen, that he saw her true worth and loved her all the more for it.

As Bonnie was thinking of her daughter's bizarre but wonderful relationship with her foxy fiancé, Cotton's ears drooped as she started walking down the hall, even as Chester paused to look back towards the little cream-colored kit. "Come on Cotton," he said while holding out his black paw. "You can come down with me and Justin, how's that?"

With her ears perking up, Cotton hurried to catch up as she happily replied, "Okay, uncle Chess." As she caught up and reached her paw out to take his, a loud crash sounded from the great room down the hall followed by the scream and crying of several young kits.

Everyone froze, then Bonnie took off down the hall like the place was on fire, quickly followed by Chester and Justin, leaving little Cotton by herself. With cocked ears, she trotted after the adults to find out what the commotion was about.

Standing at the top of the landing and looking through the railing down into the great room where a large number of kits had been playing, Cotton saw that one of the vases full of flowers had been knocked to the floor, soaking it with water even as the flying glass had cut several of the young kits.

With her ears pricked forward, Cotton watched and listened to her grandma Bonnie trying to calm her cousins down while at the same time Bonnie tried to figure out what had happened. The vase had been on a higher shelf so the younger kits couldn't reach it. After getting several of the adults to take the injured kits down to the infirmary to check them out and see whether any needed to be taken to the hospital or not, Bonnie was finally able to figure out what had happened.

Some of the older boys had decided to play with their basketball in the house and it had bounced up and hit the vase causing the catastrophe. After wringing their ears and chewing them out, Bonnie pawed the boys over to their fathers, Chester and Justin, to do some more ear wringing as the two older bucks led their wayward offspring down to their rooms to reflect on their actions.

As her sons disappeared downstairs with their older kits in toe, Bonnie then organized a cleanup of the mess all the while worrying that the setback might make them miss the train. Her little bun-bun was getting married this week and she hated the idea that she might miss this chance to meet her soon-to-be new son-in-law before he became her son-in-law.

Cotton watched it all from the top of the stairs, then looked down at the fox plushy in her paws. "Come on, little Nick," she murmured, "let's go play in Aunty Judy's room before we get in trouble, too." Turning around, she skipped down the hall while looking forward to playing with little Nick uninterrupted, all the while wishing she could go to Zootopia, too.

-/-/-

Nick woke up with Judy's scent in nose and the soft beat of her heart thrumming in his ears. Tightening his arms around his honeybun, he realized Judy was curled up on his chest as he lay on his back. With a wide grin spreading across his face, Nick ran his claws lightly through Judy's tail as her night shirt had worked its way up over the fluffy appendage.

When Judy did little more than flick her tail at his soft touch, Nick then leaned down and nuzzled her head. With a hum, Judy smiled then snuggled deeper into Nick's embrace as she rubbed her cheek against his chest. Watching his honeybun's blissful slumber killed him. Death by cuteness! Shot through the heart and she's to blame! How could any creature be so cute and adorable!? If Judy wasn't currently passed out on his chest, he would have been clutching his heart as her cuteness made his heart skip several beats.

He had told his sister last night that if he died from the 'danger' he'd gotten himself into, it would be from pure happiness and unadulterated pleasure, but he'd forgotten to mention the very real possibility of dying from cuteness overload! Judy's cuteness was a lethal weapon! He just wanted to roll her over and smother her in licks and kisses before she gave him a heart attack.

Resisting the urge, Nick settled with licking her head as he groomed her. He was sure the attention would wake her up, but other than humming at the gentle licks, Judy continued her peaceful slumber on his fluffy chest. Once he was done grooming her, he pulled back and cocked his head while studying her adorable face. Judy had gotten up really early Friday morning and had boasted about her early morning runs, but both yesterday morning and this morning, she slept like a rock way past her normal wake-up time.

Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was just before 7 O'clock. With his ears drooping as he began to worry, a thought crossed Nick's mind and he slapped a paw over his face. Of course, Judy hadn't been sleeping or eating great the last three months, and then with the near-death experiences they went through on Tuesday and then all the craziness of this week, Judy's body was severely sleep-deprived. But with his comforting warmth and the sound of his steady heartbeat, Judy must have finally felt safe enough to hit that deep sleep her body so desperately needed.

Taking a deep breath, Nick glanced back down at his honeybun. She was so cute and adorable when she slept and he didn't have the heart to wake her any earlier than he absolutely needed to. Watching her breathe, a smile curled up his muzzle, even as he reached down and began petting her ears. After a moment, he slipped his fingers under the insides of her long ears and rubbed his finger pads down their length in a soothing manner.

Losing himself in the feel of her smooth, velvety ears and the soft, blissful smile she wore on her cute, sleeping face, Nick glanced at the clock and saw that it was now 7:15. He'd been petting Judy's ears for almost twenty minutes now. Since he was wide awake, he knew he needed to get up and moving. They had a lot of things to do today and as he sang in his song last night, he needed to 'Get up, get up. It's a new day. Get up, get up. There's no time to waste. Get up, get up. We'll find ourselves lost in the sun. It's time to get up.'

Humming the song, Nick hugged Judy and rolled over onto their sides. Once he was sure Judy wasn't going to wake up, he released her and slipped out from under the covers, then pushed his pillow over so Judy could snuggle with it. She took the bait and immediately wrapped her arms around it and pulled the pillow close, even as she buried her nose in it and breathed deeply of Nick's scent that saturated the pillow.

Clutching his heart, Nick felt himself dying from the cuteness all over again. She wasn't even trying and yet she'd shot him straight through the heart again. He had to get a picture of it. Grabbing his phone off the nightstand, he walked around the bed to the window. Pulling the curtain back a crack to let some sunlight in, he was surprised when soft gray light came through instead of the bright morning light. Opening the curtain wider, he looked out to see the sky an overcast grey.

With his tail wagging, he figured this would be a good time for an early morning run (it was still quite early to him) just like Judy wanted. He could jog and Judy could ride piggyback. As his tail continued to wag, Nick turned around and snapped the picture of his honeybun, then walked over to his dresser. Pulling out a pair of gym shorts with a matching sleeveless shirt (they were both black with a red stripe running down each side), he got dressed and made his way to the bathroom.

-/-/-

Amy woke up slowly. She was extremely comfortable and didn't want to move. But then she remembered what happened yesterday (she had finally met Finnick and Nicholas!) and Amy was then wide awake. Rolling over, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 7:30. She couldn't believe she'd slept in so late (she was usually up about 6:30), but considering how hard she'd been working on her car the whole last week and then all the excitement yesterday of finally meeting two of her kit-hood heroes, it wasn't too surprising that she'd slept in. Dreaming of a certain sandy-colored fox also helped in keeping her in dreamland.

While thinking of Finnick, Amy's pink nose and ears turned a much deeper shade of pink. Finnick was everything she didn't know she wanted in a guy and they were going catfishing this afternoon! Although she was looking forward to seeing her family and how they interacted with Nick (it was still a shock that he'd soon be her brother-in-law), the highlight of her day would be fishing with Finnick and then cooking the catfish up for dinner. She couldn't wait!

Throwing the covers back, Amy hopped out of bed and quickly dressed. She was wearing dark blue jean shorts today with an undershirt the color of golden wheat and a medium pink button up shirt on top with cream and yellowish tan pinstripes that crisscrossed the whole shirt. The thin stripes were the same shade of cream and tan as her fur. There was also an occasional sky-blue stripe which brought out the darker flecks of blue in her baby-blue eyes.

Looking herself over in the full-length mirror behind the door, Amy hoped Finnick liked the outfit. Grabbing her phone from the nightstand, Amy slipped it in her back pocket then opened the door and hopped out into the hall and nearly bumped into Nick coming out of the bathroom.

"Good morning, Amy," Nick said as he met Judy's sister in the hall. "I see you're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning."

Amy's surprise turned to a bright, buck-toothed smile as she replied, "Yep! I slept great last night and I'm super excited about all we have planned today."

With a nod, Nick agreed. "We definitely have a lot planned, don't we?"

"Are you nervous about meeting my family?" Amy asked. Nick was a fox who was not only engaged to a rabbit but had invited a bunch of her family members over for the first time—namely the parents. If she were in his shoes, Amy knew she would definitely be nervous.

Nick flicked his ear. "Not so much about meeting your mom or siblings—your dad on the other paw—yeah, I am extremely nervous." With a wave of his paw and swish of his long tail, Nick added, "It's imperative that I impress him so he doesn't try and kill me the moment he finds out I'm not only sleeping with his daughter, but that I will be taking her as my wife and mate in a few short days."

"Yeah, that is a good reason to be nervous, but I think you'll do fine. Just keep your paws off my sister while my dad is here and there shouldn't be any problems." Nick nodded and then Amy added, "I'm assuming you're not going to be wearing that to impress my dad, though." She waved her paw to indicate his gym clothes.

With a chuckle, Nick answered, "No, not these clothes." At Amy's raised eyebrow, he explained, "It's cloudy this morning so I figured I'd take Judy out for a morning jog, then we'll have breakfast, take a shower and then I'll put on my 'impress Stu' clothes."

Laughing softly, Amy agreed, "That does sound like a plan." With a bright smile she offered, "How about I make breakfast while you two are out on your jog?"

"That would be awesome," Nick answered. Waving towards the stairs, he added, "How about I show you around the kitchen." At Amy's nod, Nick led her downstairs and showed her where everything was and said he was looking forward to tasting her masterpiece.

With a giggle, Amy shooed Nick back upstairs and then turned around and glanced over the kitchen in thought. Coming up with a breakfast idea she went to the freezer and pulled out a package of breakfast sausage and put it in the sink, then filled it up with cool water so the sausage would thaw quicker. Then she went to the pantry and started pulling out flour, baking powder, and Crisco.

As Amy started making breakfast, Nick returned to his room. Leaving the door open, he walked back around the bed and climbed on top of the covers. Laying beside Judy, he ran his claws over her cheeks and said softly, "Sweetheart, it's time to wake up."

Judy leaned into his caress with a soft murmur, and then she slowly opened her eyes. Meeting Nick's bright emeralds a smile immediately stretched across her lips. "Morning, handsome," she murmured.

"Good morning, beautiful," Nick replied as he began scratching between her ears. "You up for a morning run?" he asked.

Judy's ears immediately perked up at this question. "A morning run? Really?" she asked excitedly.

Nodding towards the window, he answered, "It's cloudy this morning so I figured why not?"

Sitting up, Judy clapped her paws together. "Yes! I can't wait to feel the wind in my face." Pausing she then asked, "I'm not going to be too much of a burden, am I?"

Nick rolled his eyes, saying, "Fluff, you weigh practically nothing, and even less if I'm piggybacking you."

With a blinding buck-toothed grin, Judy said, "Then what are we waiting for!?"

A mischievous twinkle entered Nick's gaze as he said, "Just this," and then he pulled Judy over for a deep morning kiss. After finally breaking off the kiss, he stated, "Now we can go."

Judy giggled, then Nick helped her get ready and then he carried her out to the deck where he stretched out his muscles and warmed up before squatting down in front of Judy so she could climb on his back. Once she was secure, Nick carried her down to the yard and started jogging to the back gate that opened up to the walking, running, and biking trails of the Meadowlands.

-/-/-

Back in the kitchen, Amy was just pulling out a batch of biscuits when Vivian walked through the back door. "Good morning," Amy said brightly.

"Good morning, Amy," Vivian answered back as she took in several deep breaths. "Hmm, that smells heavenly."

"Nick took Judy for a morning jog so I offered to make breakfast." Presenting her with the biscuits, Amy added, "Biscuits and gravy—what do you think?"

With a smile, Vivian sat down at the breakfast bar and said, "If that tastes half as good as it smells then I know it's going to be fantastic."

Amy beamed, even as Vivian grabbed plates from the cupboard and set them down on the breakfast bar. Amy set the biscuits and gravy out and then pulled some cups down from the cupboard while Vivian retrieved the silverware. After placing almond milk out, Amy sat down next to Vivian and they both filled their plates. Chatting while they ate, Vivian said she'd kept up with a couple of friends who lived in the area and whom she hoped to visit. Since Nick and Judy were gallivanting through the countryside Vivian thought now would be a good time to make her visits.

Once they finished eating, Amy saw Vivian off then returned to the kitchen. Bringing the dirty dishes to the sink, she then set out clean dishes for Nick and Judy before she got started on washing the dishes. Humming 'Rewrite the Stars' to herself as she scrubbed the dishes, Amy glanced at the back door when Nick and Judy returned from their run. Nick was slightly out of breath while Judy was grinning like crazy.

"How was your run?" Amy asked brightly from where she stood at the sink.

"It was amazing!" Judy exclaimed as Nick set her down at the breakfast bar. "The meadows were wide open and the forest was beautiful and green. This area actually reminds me a lot of Bunnyburrow." Getting comfortable on her stool, Judy added, "It's been way too long since I went running but going with Nick was the best!"

Sitting on the stool beside his honeybun, Nick said, "You're only saying that because I did all the work."

With a giggle, Judy replied, "Yes, well, you did an excellent job." Running her fingers through his tail that Nick had just dropped in her lap, she added, "We'll have to do it again soon."

Chuckling, Nick nodded, then turned his attention to the food in front of them and said, "Amy, this smells amazing." As he started dishing up his plate (he drowned his biscuits in the sausage gravy), Amy pointed to a bowl in front of Judy and explained, "I made you some white peppered gravy, Judes."

"Thanks, Amy," Judy replied. She was happy Amy had thought to make her some gravy without sausage in it, but after watching her sister eating sausage last night, she was now interested in trying some herself. She'll have to try it later, though, as she didn't want to waste her sister's cooking.

As Nick and Judy started eating, Amy turned back to the dishes while saying, "Your mom ate breakfast then left to visit a few of the neighbors, but said she'd be back in an hour or so."

Nick nodded while chewing a mouth full of food, then swallowed it down to say, "That's good. We had a lot of friends in the neighborhood when Honey was still alive. I need to stop by and visit them myself one of these days."

Amy nodded as they chatted. After finishing the dishes, she leaned against the counter and watched the two eat as she asked Nick about the rallies and what she could expect. Nick told her a little about his own experiences, but wasn't sure how much had changed in the last five years, so this year would be a bit new for him, too. Then he suggested tomorrow, while he and Judy were at their appointments, that she and Finnick could run over to the Jeep Rally office and pick up the registration forms so they could register for the August, September, and October rallies.

At Amy's agreement, Nick finished his plate and licked his lips. "That was great, Amy, thanks."

With a wide smile and a happy flick of her tail, Amy replied, "You're welcome."

Turning towards Judy who was finishing up her own plate, Nick asked, "You about ready for a shower?"

"Mm," Judy mumbled as she stuffed the last two bites into her mouth. (Nick was always surprised by how much food she could cram in that tiny little mouth of hers.) Pushing the plate back, she finished chewing, then swallowed. "Okay, I'm ready." Beaming at Amy, she said, "This was delicious, Sis, thanks."

"I made extra, so there's plenty for tomorrow, too," Amy said as she took their dishes.

With her tail flicking happily behind her, Judy responded, "That's great because I definitely want more of these."

As Nick stood to pick Judy up, he glanced at her sister and asked, "So what are going to be up to while we get cleaned up and presentable?"

"Once I'm done with the dishes," Amy answered, "I was thinking of checking out your huge yard and getting myself more familiar with the place."

With a nod as Judy settled into his arms, Nick then made a suggestion. "After you get back from your fishing trip today, you should have Finnick take you into the garage and get familiar with all our mechanic's tools. You can even have him pop the hood of the jeep and let you check out the engine while he tells you about all the modifications that were made to it."

Amy perked up at that idea, but then she asked, "But aren't you taking the jeep with you tonight?"

Nick shook his head as he walked around the counter towards the living room. Pausing to answer, he said, "Daphyd lives in the rich part of town so taking the jeep will make us stand out." Glancing down at Judy snuggled in his arms, he added, "I was thinking of taking the Aston Martin tonight, instead."

Judy grinned as this idea, but then Amy reached over to grip Nick's arms as she leaned in closer to them, exclaiming, "You have an Aston Martin!? What year and model is it?"

Judy stared slack jawed at her sister's reaction—it was just a fast car wasn't it?

Nick, on the other paw, had his ears flicked back in surprise at Amy's reaction, but then he started chuckling. This was the reaction he was expecting when he showed Judy the car, so it was nice that at least one of her sisters could properly appreciate the Aston Martin. With a wide grin, Nick answered proudly, "It's a 2008 Vantage Roadster."

Amy started drooling while thinking of the expensive sports car. "You have to show it to me later," she demanded. Releasing Nick's arms, she stepped back and wrung her paws together as she asked, "Is there any way I could get a ride in it?"

With a warm laugh, Nick replied, "I don't see why not."

Squealing in excitement, Amy did a little hop even as she thanked Nick, saying how she couldn't wait to experience such an amazing car.

Nick was grinning as he escaped the kitchen even as Judy was still trying to figure out why her sister was going gaga over a car. Looking up at Nick, she asked, "Is an Aston Martin really that impressive?"

Meeting her questioning gaze, Nick rolled his eyes. "Only you could ask such a dumb question so cutely." At Judy's scowl, Nick nuzzled her between the ears, then answered, "Aston Martins are an elite brand of British cars and they cost a fortune to buy. They're top of the line, high performance cars that are incredibly fast."

"Oh," Judy murmured as Nick carried her upstairs. She had never been one to care about the make or model of the car she drove or rode in, all that mattered was that it could get her where she needed to go—but obviously there was a lot more to certain cars than she originally thought. While trying to imagine how great this 'Aston Martin' was, Judy said, "Well, I guess I'll get to see how amazing it is when we go to Daphyd's tonight."

Nick laughed again, then carried her into his room. Setting her down on the chair, they picked out the clothes they wanted to wear, then Nick wrapped Judy's leg up. With Judy holding their clothes, Nick carried her into the bathroom. Since they had already shared one shower together, it wasn't even a question on whether they'd share this one.

-/-/-

With the dishes done, Amy skipped to the back door and hopped outside. She was super excited right now. She was at Nicholas Wilde's house which is the house Honey Badgersen's husband had built for her. The yard was huge to fit the large house and she was ready to explore. Sitting down on the porch swing, she gave it a quick test swing (this was a nice, sturdy swing), then hopped up.

Twirling across the wide porch while remembering the songs Nick had played the night before, Amy hummed happily. Reaching the opposite side of the porch, she hopped down the steps on that side, then skipped over to several large (they were taller than she was) pink azalea bushes and sniffed at the pretty pink and white blossoms. Stepping back to admire the flowers, a green and blue hummingbird flew down and hovered around the tops of the flowers on the neighboring bush (this one had pastel purple blossoms) as it drank the nectar.

Having been cooped up in a smelly garage for the last two weeks, Amy found the fresh air and the beautiful scenery of the yard quite refreshing. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Opening her eyes again, she watched the hummingbird take off towards one of the large flowering Rose of Sharon bushes that grew alongside the garage. Rose of Sharon wasn't actually a rose but was in the Hibiscus family of plants.

Most of the flowers here were the traditional light pink with the red centers, but there were also some Rose of Sharon bushes mixed in having the lavender or light blue blossoms. Moving around the large garage, Amy spotted a gazebo painted the palest blue, almost white. Surrounding it were large bushes of the Hardy Hibiscus towering above her at about five feet tall—the white, pink, and blue blossoms were as large as dinner plates! Quite a few mammals grew the smaller, tropical Hibiscus back in Bunnyburrow, and she'd heard about the larger Hardy Hibiscus, but this was the first time she'd actually seen them for herself. The beautiful blooms were bigger than her face!

After admiring the gorgeous Hibiscus flowers, Amy skipped around the rest of the yard. There was the large swath of grass that Finnick drove the gyrocopter down that led to the gate that exited into the undeveloped regions of the Meadowlands which had a myriad of trails used for hiking, walking, running, and biking. But that was beyond the fence. Within the yard, along the fence there were also more trees, as well as tulips, daffodils, and a variety of lilies—orange and black Tiger lilies, pink and white Stargazer lilies, bright yellow Belladonna lilies, the Pink Perfection trumpet lily, the dark reddish-pink Black Out lilies, and the white with orange centers Lady Alice lilies. It was obvious that Honey had really liked lilies.

As Amy hopped around smelling the flowers and burning off some pent-up bunny energy, the thick cloud cover began to break up and streaks of bright sunlight found its way down to the ground. Enjoying the sun on her face as she danced among the sunbeams, Amy breathed deeply of the floral scent in the air while listening to the songbirds singing as they flitted from tree to tree, even as several more hummingbirds hovered in the yard as they drank from the many colorful blooms in the yard.

Amy wasn't sure how long she'd been outside for, but after skipping around the yard in her exploration, she decided to go inside and get a drink of water. Looking out the window at the tops of the tall azalea bushes as she sipped at the cool water, Amy remembered the large bookcases lining the walls upstairs in the piano room. Setting the empty glass next to the sink, she turned around and headed for the stairs. Hopping up them excitedly, she froze near the top.

The shower was running—no surprise there—but what did surprise her was that Judy and Nick were apparently showering together. Besides seeing the empty bedroom (Nick's bedroom door was open), Amy suddenly heard what sounded like a gasp from Judy (the shower water was muffling the sound) followed by her mumbled words. Something about how Nick's criminal tongue should be registered as a lethal weapon and made illegal.

With her ears and nose turning a flaming red, Amy turned around and made her way back down to the living room. TV sounded really good about now. Flipping through the channels, she eventually found a rerun of Wheel of Fortune. This was a show she and a bunch of her siblings had enjoyed watching together when they were younger, Judy being one of them. They always tried to out-guess each other and the participants on the show, and if the participants failed to call a certain letter choice or guessed an obvious answer wrong, some of her brothers would boo at them while throwing popcorn at the TV. Those were some fun times.

Looking at the screen, Amy immediately recognized the Category as Crossword Puzzle by the way the words were arranged. There was already an S, four L's, two O's, two T's, an R, two A's, and an E. Two of the words she knew were LEFT and FOOTBALL, while the top word she was pretty sure was SALLY. The last word was the only one she wasn't sure of. It started with an R and ended with a T and had three missing letters in between. When the I was called and lit up after the R, Amy knew what the word was: RIGHT. And, of course, she was right.

When the round ended and the commercial came on, Amy went in search of something to munch on. Finding a bag of grapes, she rinsed a bunch off and set them in a bowl, then carried them back to the couch. Getting comfortable as the commercial ended, Amy waited for the next phrase to come up. The category this time was Same Name.

As letters were called and placed on the board (two R's, two D's, a B, two E's, an S & H, an I, and an A), Amy's ears turned a darker shade of pink. What were the odds that the answer would be this? Thinking of her sister and foxy fiancé up in the shower, she yelled out what she knew the answer to be: BRIDAL & COLD SHOWER. Judy would soon be a bride and they probably should have had a cold shower instead of a hot, steamy one.

With a shake of her head, Amy focused back on the TV. The contestant who won, a large black and white tapir whose coat-coloring reminded her of a panda, had just won a trip to Pawaii. As they were going over the perks and highlights of the trip, Amy heard the bathroom door open. By the time Nick came down the stairs carrying Judy another commercial had started up.

As Nick and Judy plopped on the couch next to her, Amy noticed they were both sporting bright smiles and were quite relaxed. Giving them a nod, she munched on a grape and asked, "You two have a nice, hot shower?"

Judy's ears turned a dark shade of pink as she leaned back against Nick's chest. "Yeah," she murmured, "It was nice and hot."

Flicking her ear with his clawed finger, Nick added, "And steamy." Watching his honeybun's ears and nose turn bright red, Nick couldn't keep the smug grin off his face. She was so cute when she was embarrassed!

"Ni-ick!" Judy whined while tugging on her ears, her nose twitching furiously.

"What?" he murmured against her ear, even as he glanced at Amy. She had about choked on her grape when he mentioned how steamy the shower was. Her ears were a light shade of red, too, so Nick knew Amy had guessed something had happened between them in the shower. With a wink at Amy, Nick murmured into Judy's ear again. "You started it, I merely finished it."

Hiding behind her ears, Judy whined, "Can we talk about something else?" Of course, Nick was right. If she'd been a smart bunny (and not a naughty one), she would have remained sitting with her back to Nick after he set her on the stool. But she'd already seen all of Nick so she didn't think it would matter much if she saw him again. Wrong. She wasn't mentally or physically exhausted, nor did they have a huge time constraint making them hurry so when she turned around and he was right there in front of her

While trying not to think about what happened afterwards (and failing miserably), Nick leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I can smell your thoughts, Carrots." Judy was mortified and was forever grateful Vivian wasn't here right now (or any other predator with a good sniffer). Releasing her ears, she frowned while reaching up to flick Nick's big, dumb nose as he teased her ear with his hot breath. "You're not helping, Slick."

Nick chuckled as he squeezed her tight. "I'm not doing anything."

"You exist, that's enough," Judy groused as Nick's tight hug around her middle did little to get her mind off him and his criminal paws and sinfully delightful tongue.

"Oooh, ouch, that hurts, Carrots," Nick teased her back, all the while a big, old grin was plastered across his face.

Ignoring Nick, Judy wiggled out of his embrace and off his lap onto the couch next to him, then she scooted over closer to her sister. While pretending Nick didn't exist (trying to, anyways), she asked Amy, "So what are we watching?"

Amy glanced between the two, then laughed. Finnick was right, these two were spending way too much time alone together. Furthermore, there weren't many males who could get one over on Judy, but Nick seemed to be doing a good job of it. With a bright smile, Amy answered, "We're watching Wheel of Fortune."

"Oh, I love this show." Turning back to Nick, Judy said, "Me, Amy, and a bunch of our siblings used to watch this show all the time." Putting a paw on his arm while thinking of the memories, she added, "We would usually eat popcorn while watching it and some of our brothers would throw it at the TV when the contestants missed an obvious answer. We always thought it was funny until Mom made us clean up afterwards."

With a nod, Amy added, "Those were some fun times and even when we had to clean up afterwards, we usually made a game of it somehow."

Nick nodded in thought, then said, "When my dad was still alive, we did a lot of things together, too—trips to the park, large jigsaw puzzles, board games. After his death, it seems like we hardly had any fun together anymore." Scratching his chin, he then said, "But once Honey took me in, life got a lot better. We would watch Wheel of Fortune, too, but Honey's favorite was always Jeopardy." With a swipe of his paw, he added, "I swear, that badger was a walking, talking, trivia encyclopedia!"

Amy and Judy both laughed, even as Judy leaned over towards Nick and murmured, "Like someone else I know."

Folding his arms over his chest, Nick raised his chin and muttered, "Honey was way worse."

Judy and Amy laughed again, with Amy finding it funny how quickly Judy got back at Nick. Before anything else could be said, though, the show came back on. As the new category was called (Song Lyrics) and the puzzle came up, Amy mumbled, "The last puzzle was pretty interesting. I found it ironic that it came up when it did."

Nick and Judy both glanced over curiously, and Amy continued, "It was the Same Name category and the answer was Bridal and Cold Shower."

Judy's jaw went slack and her nose and ears turned bright red, even as Nick leaned over the arm of the couch while laughing, his tail wagging with his merriment. Sliding down on the couch while pulling her ears back over her face, Judy groaned. "You heard?" she mumbled.

With her ears pricked forward, Amy shrugged as she answered, "I didn't hear much, just something about how Nick's criminal tongue should be illegal."

Judy groaned louder as she sunk deeper into the couch, even as Nick's laughter cut short as he snapped his jaws shut. Seeing Judy's embarrassed expression was cute but being embarrassed himself wasn't so funny. Glancing at Amy who raised her brow in question, Nick coughed into his paw, then turned to the TV. "Should we get back to the show? This is a Toss-Up round so it won't last long."

Amy chuckled lightly, even as Judy's ears perked back up and she sat up straighter on the couch. As the two girls focused back on the game and tried to figure out the song lyrics that fit the letters on the board (there were five words), Nick suddenly called out, "Country Roads Take Me Home."

Both girls looked at him in surprise. There were still a lot of empty spots and the letters that were up were totally random. Turning back to the TV, they realized all the words fit and it wasn't long before one of the contestants, a rhino, called it. "How did you guess that so easily?" Judy asked in surprise.

Nick rolled his eyes, then pointed to himself. "Hello, it's a song lyric and I'm a musician. Of course, I'm going to know the song. Besides, that song's a classic," he added while pointing to the TV. Looking back over the contestants, the rhino, a donkey, and a Malayan tapir, Nick didn't bother telling the girls that with this being a rerun, he'd actually seen it already with Honey. It had originally played back when Honey was homeschooling him through high school, but seeing these three contestants, he knew exactly how the game was going to play out.

The rhino was going to practically solve the next puzzle, but then hit a bankrupt and the donkey was going to play the wheel to rack up a bunch of money as he called each of the remaining letters to solve the puzzle. This would put him in the lead, with the tapir coming in second. The rhino would go home with a mere 3,000 dollars. The donkey will actually guess the bonus round in the last two seconds and go home with a new car.

At Nick's boastful response, Judy rolled her eyes back at him and then turned to Amy. "I forgot we're sitting with a walking, talking trivia Encyclopedia." At Amy's giggle, Judy added, "Remind me not to watch Wheel of Fortune with him again…or Jeopardy."

Amy laughed again, saying, "Okay, I'll remind you."

Grinning at Judy's teasing, Nick reached over and flicked her long ear. "Go ahead and watch your show, I'll keep my mouth shut."

True to his words, Nick didn't say another word as the show continued, instead, he found far more enjoyment out of watching Judy getting into the game. The way she lit up with excitement and competitively yelled out the letters or words and tried to outguess her sister. When she got something right, she practically bounced in her seat…And that flickering cotton ball tail of hers. It was a colossal effort on his part to not reach over and grab it every time she leaned forward on the couch and exposed it.

When the bonus round finally started and the category was shown (Characters), Judy glanced over to see Nick watching her with avid curiosity, like she was the most interesting thing around. With her ears turning a slightly darker shade of pink while feeling extremely happy, Judy asked, "Well, since you're an encyclopedia, can you guess what the answer is?"

They had just placed the normal R, S, T, L, N, E letters up with all but the S making it on the board. The donkey contestant then called his four letters with the H being the only one to make it on the board. As the timer started counting down and the donkey began calling out random names that started with 'THE', Nick glanced at the TV and answered, "The Lone Ranger."

Judy looked back at the screen and saw that Nick's answer fit perfectly, though she never would have guessed it in a million years. The Lone Ranger wasn't a show she had watched as a kid since it was before her time, but she knew of the show as she'd seen some of her grandparents and aunts and uncles watching some of the reruns on the Nick at Night channel. Hearing Nick's reply though, it became glaringly obvious of the answer with the letters on the board, even as the donkey called out The Lone Ranger with 2 seconds left on the timer.

He won and walked away with a brand new sporty little red car. Judy and Amy both looked back at Nick while wondering how he had guessed it so easily. "How did you do that?" Judy asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Amy added. "Are you like a huge Lone Ranger fan or something?"

Nick shook his head and gave an answer that was plausible (maybe) without revealing the real reason he knew the answer so quickly. "I never got to watch it growing up, but I absolutely love the theme song!" Running his fingers through the air like he was playing the piano, Nick added, "The William Tell Overture they used is awesome! The beat just sweeps you away and keeps you going." Bobbing his head back and forth to the tune playing in his head, Nick added, "I'll play it for you later."

Judy and Amy both had their jaws dropped. That Nick could guess the bonus puzzle so easily because he was obsessed with the answer's theme song was outrageous. Just how much of a genius was he?

Nick simply grinned at their comical expressions. He might tell Judy the truth if she questioned him about it again later, but that's if she brought it back up. Standing up, Nick stretched, then pointed out that they only had an hour left before the train came in and suggested they move outside to setup the tables and chairs and finish getting ready for their guests' arrival.

Shaking themselves out of their stupor, Judy and Amy readily agreed. Stepping outside, they could see the clouds had blown over and the sun was now shining brightly with only a few fluffy white clouds drifting here and there to break up the deep blue of the sky. There was also a light breeze blowing that carried with it the heavy scent of the many flowers growing in the yard.

After carrying Judy over to the porch swing and setting her down, Nick and Amy then set about pulling out the folding tables and chairs to set up for lunch. Vivian returned not long afterward and set to work pulling out tablecloths and setting out stacks of paper plates and disposable cups, then the plastic spoons and forks all while telling Nick about his neighbors that he was once close friends with.

There was Tomas and Kristi Diggersan who lived in a large tan house with black trim situated three houses down and across the street. They were a family of Animalian Badgers who had three sons and two daughters whom Nick became friends with while in high school as two of the boys, Winston and Ralph, along with their older sister, Bianca, were on the track team with him. The kits had since moved out of the neighborhood and started families of their own, but Nick had remained good friends with their parents, Tomas and Kristi.

Vivian had also visited their friend Maggie Stripeton, a side-striped jackal whose husband had passed away three years ago. Maggie's daughter and son-in-law had moved in with her in order to help her out while also gaining a live-in babysitter for their four kits, two boys and two girls, with the boys being in the middle. Like red foxes, side-striped jackals were omnivores who mated for life which meant the passing of her husband had hit Maggie hard, so she was grateful to have her daughter and her family living with her now.

Nick listened to his mom and vowed to go and visit his close neighbors once things settled down so he could get reacquainted with them. Although he couldn't vouch for some of the newer families that had moved into the neighborhood, back 10 years ago, this neighborhood was pretty tight and everyone knew everyone else. All the backyard parties and barbeques Honey liked to throw certainly helped and was something Nick was now considering doing again. He'd have to meet with his neighbors again before deciding for sure.

With everything set up and set out, it was about time to drive to the train station to meet the family. Since Judy was an invalid (she hated that term), Amy opted to drive to the station with Nick and introduce him to her parents while Vivian and Judy would wait for them in the living room. Before walking out the door, Nick asked Judy if her parents knew to get off at the Meadowlands' stop. Judy assured him they did, then he and Amy walked outside and hopped in the jeep.

Amy was on cloud nine to be driving in the gold-trophy jeep and was looking forward to checking out all the modifications later today. She was quite psyched about the barbeque with her family followed by fishing with Finnick, but she was most looking forward to crawling around under the hood and undercarriage of this amazing jeep. Checking out the Aston Martin before Nick and Judy drove off with it would also be a highlight of her day.

With so much going on today, Amy looked out the front window and chatted with Nick as they drove towards the train station. How would her family take to Nick and how long could or would Nick and Judy hide their relationship from her dad? Amy knew her dad was going to take quite a bit of convincing for him to accept Nick as Judy's 'boyfriend', let alone a 'husband', so she really hoped Nick could make a really good impression on Stu today.

Amy wasn't the only one worrying about Stu's reaction. As the train station came into view, Nick tensed up a bit. After what happened between him and Judy this week and especially considering what happened in the shower today, Nick had to be extra careful to keep his mask in place and avoid getting pawsy with Judy. He'll need to spend their time together focused on getting to know her family better. If he could win more of her siblings over, then they should be able to help their dad accept him, or at least keep the old buck from doing something stupid when he found out about his daughter's marriage to a fox.

Arriving several minutes early, Nick parked the jeep, then he and Amy hopped out and walked into the train station to await the family's arrival.


FYI: The Malayan Tapir (also known as the Asian Tapir, the Oriental Tapir, and the Piebald Tapir) is the largest of four recognized species of tapir and is the only one native to the Old World as they inhabit Southeast Asia while the other three species are all native to South and Central America. Tapirs look like they might be crossed with a hippo and an elephant as they have the rounded, stocky body and short legs of a hippo, but a longer, prehensile nose similar to an elephant, but much shorter. The tapir is actually distantly related to the rhino, horse, donkey, and zebra and has a short fur coat similar to a horse or donkey.

The South and Central American tapirs all have brown to brownish-black coats, while the Malayan tapir is the only black and white species. They have a black head, shoulders and front legs, their stomach and back are white (much like a panda), with its tail and back legs being black also. Tapirs have extremely poor eyesight but are compensated with a keen sense of smell and hearing. They browse slowly on young shoots and leaves around dusk and dawn but can run quickly when threatened despite their bulk. Young tapirs are brown with white markings similar to a watermelon.

The Side-Striped Jackal is a medium-sized canid native to south and central Africa. They have a buff-grey coat, with their backs being a darker grey than their undersides. Many have black tipped fur on their backs and sides, with tan legs. They all have a white stripe along their sides from elbow to hip, with the boldness of the markings differing between individuals, with the markings being more distinct in adults than juveniles. They all have a black tail with a white tip.

The Side-Striped Jackal inhabits woodland and scrub areas. They are omnivorous and tend to be less carnivorous than other jackal species. Their diet will also change according to the season and food availability of the different regions, but they will eat more invertebrates in the wet season and small mammals in the dry season. They will eat fruits whenever they are available and will scavenge kills of larger predators.

Similar to Red Foxes, Side-Striped Jackals tend to be monogamous, with many pairs mating for life. Both parents will help raise the young, with offspring sometimes remaining with their parents to help raise the next litter before leaving the den to start their own lives.


WingedKatt here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. We got through the whole morning prior to the Hopps' arrival in one chapter. Yay! So the million dollar question of the day is: With the fiasco of the morning back at the Hopps' burrow, will they be on the train or did they miss it? Find out in 2 weeks.

A big thanks to BearlyThereUpstairs for proofing this chapter.

For those of you who are wondering what exactly happened in the shower, I will be posting Ch. 81.5: A Nice, Hot Shower on Wednesday as a side-story in this series. So you can look for it there. I'll probably label the side story as 'Z:AtB The Spicy Files' or something like that where I'll put the M-rated cutscenes. I might eventually add ideas that got chopped from the story, too. We'll see. :3

Ch. 82: A Family Affair (?) will post in 2 weeks. I haven't written the chapter yet, so the title might change once its finished. Time will tell. At any rate, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Stay safe.