A/N: If you would like to follow for more constant updates and / or to keep in touch, you can find me at TheUnknownOne_3 on Twitter.
December 22nd, 2020
It was the honest to Karma's truth that Nick was starving by the time they made it to the dining area and also that he was not expecting to have ended up there to begin with. The desire to feed himself was sated when two plates were set down in front of the two males. The todd never even saw which one of the does had brought it over. It was clear that the Old Timer did not come around all that often.
Nick had no clue what was coming next, so he hurriedly gave the plate a good onceover. It was a great chicken and cricket sandwich: he just wished that he had had a little more time to savor it. Alex seemed to be a little less peckish than the todd was. But, eventually, his plate was also cleared and stacked closer to the center of the table. Nick was becoming extremely annoyed by the continued staring contest that the elder was more than happy to dish out.
"I've heard a lot of stories about you." Alex said quietly.
"Which must be leading to some confusion." Nick offered in reply, hoping to win a little favor. "You have preconceived notions, but you know nothing about me."
"What you've done for my granddaughter and for the police is certainly interesting." The buck admitted.
"I'm just another mammal in this world, Sir. I simply happen to be the one species that you were raised to hate the most. I don't blame you for that." Nick whispered, breaking the stare to look around the room a little.
He could still see the nearly nonexistent nod that Alex gave from the corner of his eye.
"Who are we waiting for, Sir?" The todd finally asked.
Nick's head turned back to look at the buck, but he was distracted by the rearward turn in his ears and two figures that were standing in the doorway. A doe was speaking to Robby, who was fooling around with Nick's crutches just inside the corner of the kitchen, at such a soft level that there was no way for even the todd to hear her. The todd's eyes eventually fell down to the blue-eyed, brown buck that was standing near to her. It was the same kit that Nick had picked up in the field. The buck could not have even been in his early teens yet: still full of nervousness and unsure about the reasoning behind what it was clear was about to take place.
After the unknown mother and Robby were done speaking, she took the buck's paw and slowly led the small brown buck over to them. Nick was immediately on his hindpaws, eventually followed by Alex, to meet them politely. The kit did not look any worse for the wear. He did not even look tired from the whole ordeal or as if he had been crying at any point recently. He was just concerned about the fox.
"How are you feeling, Pop-pop?" The doe began kindly, giving her grandfather a one-armed hug.
"I'm doing well, Suzie. How are you?" Alex said with a smile.
"I don't feel as if I'm about to have a heart attack anymore." She replied happily.
"That's good," The elder said with a nod. "Ahem. This is Mister Wilde. I imagine that you've seen him around; if you haven't had the opportunity to meet him already. Nicholas, this is Suzie Hopps and her son, Abbott."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both. You both can call me Nick, I don't mind." He introduced himself stiffly, opening a paw towards the table. "Please, join us."
Alex was sly enough to have picked one of the shortest benched tables in the whole kitchen and so that he could reorganize his own seating when the two arrived. He chose to take a seat next to his granddaughter while forcing Abbott onto the bench next to Nick. It made the fox feel like the asshole-in-the-spotlight considering that all three of them were staring at the todd.
"Mister Wilde, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my son. I'm told that you didn't hesitate to put your life at risk for one of us." Suzie broke the ice that was quickly forming at the table.
"I don't remember that part, Miss." Nick replied. And, that was the truth. He could remember bits and pieces of his time with Marcy and then the memories were of him breaking through the edge of the forest. The todd's voice fell a little lower. "I apologize if I scared your boy. He's not hurt, is he?"
What Nick really meant was: I didn't hurt him, did I?
"You didn't hurt me, Sir." Abbott spoke up with a cracking voice, causing Nick to look down at him. "I thought it was the hawk that got me. I'm sorry I screamed… I'm sorry that you got hurt because of me and my friends."
The small buck reached out a paw to shake, while looking like the epitome of embarrassment, and Nick could not stop the feeling of tears beginning to pool in the corners of his eyes. His larger crimson paw engulfed the buck's little brown one before gently pulling the kit into a hug.
"Don't worry about me, Buddy. I'm glad that you all are alright." Nick said, trying to steel his voice.
"Thank you, Sir." The kit mumbled through the todd's shirt, returning the hug as firmly as it had been given.
"Absolutely. Don't let it happen again, though. I imagine you're in a bit of trouble for this round." Nick chuckled before pulling back.
"Oh, he's grounded indefinitely." Suzie replied firmly.
"What's the plans for the day, my love?" Alex asked evenly: even though he had been scrutinizing the entire interaction.
"We were on the way to the grocery store, Pops. Did you need anything?" The mother explained happily.
"You know my favorite brand of whiskey and cigars, sweetie." Alex grinned with a wink.
"And, you know you're not allowed to have any of that anymore." Suzie said, rolling her eyes before standing to leave. Abbott quickly followed suite.
"Can't blame an ol' buck for tryin'." Alex drawled, causing Nick to grin a bit. "Drive safe. It's still a little icy out there."
"You know I will," She replied. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mister Wilde, and thank you again."
"You're welcome, Miss. Please, do drive safe." Nick said politely.
The table remained quiet while the two males watched as their guests walked away and out through the main door. It gave the elder time to chew a little on whatever was still in his mouth while Nick gently placed his aching leg on top of the bench so that he could rub the pain away. He spent a moment thinking about what had just transpired as he did so.
"You're different than I thought you'd be." Alex spoke up.
The voice did not bring Nick's eyes up off of his leg for a couple more minutes. Once the pain had faded a bit, he dropped his leg back down and faced the old buck again. "Most of us are, if I'm being honest." The todd said.
"You're a part of this family now, I think." Alex continued shortly.
"I get that distinct feeling, as well." Elbows came up onto the table as his paws folded underneath his chin. "And, if so, I really don't mind that. I like that idea, to be honest with you, Mister Hopps… This fam– Your family is amazing and it all started, for me, when your granddaughter pulled me out of the gutter."
"Are you going to tell me about that history?" Alex wondered.
"Maybe when I get to the point when I know I'm not going to find you standing over me one morning with a knife in your paw."
That gave the two males a good laugh, though Alex was shaking his head at the thought. That was a bit of a comfort for Nick.
"How about over a cigar then?"
"I'd like to go to town and look around anyway. What's your poison?" The fox was curious.
"Ashton Sweetpaw cigars and some of the vintage Tri-County's Waldron Whiskey. The older, the better." Alex admitted.
"I'll see what I can do. Maybe Bonnie will give me a pass for aiding-and-abetting." Nick said sheepishly.
It was probably the first time that Nick had been able to take in all of the buck's features. The elder was painted in a remarkably similar fashion as his daughter: lighter grey with white accenting on his muzzle, neck, and paws. The white was missing around his eye-sockets, though. His eyes were gray, instead of purple. Bonnie likely got that attribute from her mother. Alex Hopps's gaze was brutally piercing at the forefront of his attributes.
"You demanded to know what I thought about what you did earlier." Alex offered, pushing his plate away.
"That's right." Nick replied stiffly.
"You're a good mammal. That's my answer." The buck said easily. "You've earned the trust of many in the warren."
"And, now it's your turn.." Nick shifted his head a little to give a curt nod of understanding. "So, what was with all the speciest bullshit?"
"Just because I admitted that you're a good mammal doesn't immediately mean that I like your kind, boy. I have been your age, but never had I been a fox. You have never been my age, on the other paw, and you have never been a rabbit. I've been on this planet a lot longer than you under a whole range of different circumstances. We're both going to have to work hard to get to know each other better." The buck explained.
"That's as close to an apology as I think you'll be giving me." Nick admitted.
Alex frowned at the suggestion. "There will be no apology. I meant every statement and every slur. But, I'm not so far gone as to admit that I cannot work towards a friendship with someone who is good." He said honestly. "I said all of that to see if you would come at me in some other way than what you did."
"Then… We'll have to sit down and puff on some cigars. That way you can get to know me better." The todd offered.
"We can do that. Are you plannin' on leaving soon for town?"
He shook his head. "Hell no… I imagine that I need to speak to your daughter and son-in-law first. I can't be giving either of them a heart attack by leaving so soon after yesterday." Nick replied.
"That's probably a good idea, boy."
"You know, I don't have a problem with you calling me Nick…" The fox todd stated.
"That's cute, but you're barely older than the troublemaker that just left out of here." Alex said with a low-toned laugh.
"I'm not going to argue the semantics of that with a living fossil, Mister Hopps." Nick fired back tiredly.
Alex laughed a bit until he began coughing, using the distraction to stand up from the table and give the todd one final look.
"If those special order items turn up in your paws, you know where to find me. We'll sit and talk more then." The buck told him firmly. "In the meantime, I've got a window to see to fixin'. I'll be seein' ya, boy."
"I'll do that, Mister Hopps. Take care."
Nicholas Wilde watched as the elder meandered his way out of the kitchen area, past Robby, who decided that it would be alright to approach Nick now so that the crutches could be passed along. The todd was already working his way out of his seat rather stiffly. He was feeling a lot better about where he stood with Pop-Pop Hopps, though. That was the important thing.
"That looked like it went better than expected." Robby said softly while waiting for Nick to orient the crutches. "How're you feeling?"
"My leg is sore and I'm getting tired." Nick admitted readily, feeling the twinge in his back as well. "But, yes. It did go rather well. I'm happy with the outcome thus far."
"What's the plan then? You look like you're halfway between haulin' for something to do and falling over." The young buck asked.
"I'm going to go lay down on the couch and probably pass out." Nick chuckled before scenting the air. There was no recent sign that either of the Hopps parents or Judy had been around the area for a decent minute. He did, on the other paw, smell Marcy and several other kits in the common area. "I certainly can't afford to get in any more trouble, after all."
"Well, I hope you don't mind. I think I'm gonna keep an eye on ya, Nick." Robby explained. "We don't want you getting any more injuries."
"A lazy day certainly sounds like an agreeable plan to me." The todd smiled at his friend.
When they rounded the corner, the fires were still going hot and heavy in their hearths around the dining hall. There were still trace scents of foreign mammals in the warren, including two of his workmates, but it was clear that they had highly likely left at some point. The kits were hopping and skipping around the area while the two older mammals made their way over to the corner that Nick usually liked to frequent for relaxation. Instead of taking one of the straight-back chairs, he slowly laid himself down onto a nearby couch before folding an arm over his eyes. The crutches were abandoned on the floor close-by.
"What's the damage?" Nick asked.
"Your incident is probably the biggest thing on the internet right now and you're probably on every news channel from here to Canada. The Americans were saying that they'd been hunting this one for a long time." Robby's voice was a little off to Nick's front right, diminished by the fact that he could not turn his ear down enough to clearly catch the conversation. "You're probably the most famous mammal north of the Panama Canal."
"What Americans?" Nick turned his head enough to open one eye at the buck. The news of Americans being in the "Greater Zootopian Territory" was quite surprising.
"Mammals from D.C., I reckon. There's an agency, from up there, that handles the lesser-brained monsters in the world. The FPMA or some such. I heard they want to talk to you." Robby said with a shrug.
"Probably to wrap up their file. It's too bad I can't ignore that." Nick sighed.
"Among others…" Robby said, looking towards the fire as he raised his brow in awkwardness.
Nick growled a little in pain as he switched the side that his tail was on. "What do you mean?"
"They're at the top of the list. They're camped out in the big barn, no less. And, then, there's the Council of the Tri-Burrows, the Mayor of Bunnyburrow wants a one-on-one, the three local news agencies are all parked out on the county road outside, on top of the fact that there's probably a shitload of mammals that want to speak with you in Zootopia." Robby explained. "And, the Sheriff wants a word…"
"Lion Christ…" Nick muttered. "What does he want?"
"Zootopia Highway Patrol doesn't have the local jurisdiction on this one. A bunch of the warren's militia is under investigation right now."
"For what?!" Nick asked loudly, rolling his head over to fully look at the buck.
"They're contemplating reckless endangerment charges for those of us who discharged our firearms in your direction." The buck admitted sheepishly.
"I'm not going to press charges for that!" Nick growled, trying to keep his frustration under control and voice low.
"None of us figured you would even contemplate doing that, but the District Attorney can pursue them without you." Robby said, trying to defuse the tension. "I'm right there in that same boat. I fired my shotgun, as well."
"So, I'm going to have to speak to the Mayor and Sheriff to sort that bullshit out…" Nick mumbled.
"There's nothing to worry about, Nick. We did what we did and we knew what we were doing. You needed that bird on the ground once we realized that it wasn't going to just fuck off. The charges will be simple misdemeanors if they go to court and we're found guilty." The buck's resolve steeled a bit at the words.
"I'm not above jamming a paw up someone's ass to gain the favors that I'm 'owed' on this incident. I'll sort it out." Nick stated definitively. "I'm not talking to the press, though."
"Well, you're not exactly going to be able to go anywhere for a while. They want that story." Robby chuckled.
"I won't be speaking to them." Nick commented.
"It's gonna be a helluva time getting you out of the warren and moving you around town." The buck continued to grin.
"Maybe someone else can pick up what I need then. Someone trusted and who won't balk at the goods." The todd offered an alternative. "I still want to see the town, though…"
"I understand that." Robby's words were clipped as he looked around, giving off a whistle after a moment. "Ronnie! Get over here!"
The buck was immediately approached by another and Nick figured that they must have been brothers. Robby smacked a small notepad down on the todd's chest without any hesitation. It did not need to be explained that he was supposed to write down what he needed; so, Nick quietly unclipped the pen from the pad and began jotting down his list. Once it was complete, the todd passed it over to Ronnie.
"I'm going to watch over Nick for a few days, but we're going to need help with that in the meantime. Can you give us a paw?" Robby asked.
"Absolutely. This won't be a problem." His brother replied.
"Get to it, then. He can't go anywhere." Robby added.
"Well, that's what happens when you get famous for being the first parachute-less skydiver." Ronnie cracked off with a grin. "I'll take care of this. Later, guys."
Nick closed his eyes before brushing a paw across his face. "You can't tell that he's your brother at all…" He mumbled.
Robby, on the other paw, released a chuckle. "I take it that you don't want to deal with any of your immediate issues today?" He inquired.
"Absolutely not… And, I'm hoping that Marcy doesn't find me," The todd responded quietly. "She's going to be as mad as a little yellowjacket after yesterday."
"The matters of family should be settled immediately, my large orange friend." Robby said firmly, cocking up a brow towards the fox's direction.
Nick chose not to reply directly to the statement: ignoring it as he felt his spine relax against the softness of the couch cushions. There was a series of softly pops throughout his frame as the muscles released the residual tension. The fact of the matter was that he simply did not want to move around a ton. His wounds were already giving him a large amount of unhappy feedback just from having dealt with the Old Timer. His eyes drew closed while the throbbing in his thigh steadily hammered against the gauze wrapping.
"You're right about that." Nick said with a sage tone. "The rest of them can wait, in the meantime."
Without missing a beat, Nick pushed off of the couch to spin his hind legs underneath the edge of the couch beneath him. Robby was quicker than the todd could have been when it came to readying the crutches that had been on the floor.
"I didn't mean right this second…" The buck said sharply.
"You're the one who said 'immediately'." The todd retorted, popping the rabbit with a firm, balled paw.
"Yeah! But, I meant that it's also alright to relax a bit before that!" Robby said.
"Then, it's a good thing that I'm not even winded yet."
Robby made sure to return the favor by popping him in the shoulder with the support of one of the crutches. This, before passing them off so that Nick could steady himself while standing up fully. Both of them knew very well that the fox todd's leg was being overexerted and that it would be problematic later, but there was nothing that Robby could do to stay Nick's metaphorical forepaw when it came to the things that needed attending to.
"Where do you think your parents are?" Nick requested.
"It's been a long time since any of us have seen them away from the day-to-day activities of the whole warren like this…" Robby's explanation was not exactly clear to Nick at first. The buck had pulled out a phone and sent a text message out while they were walking along. "You have to understand, they're probably taking a bit of a break. The whole event, even for me, was emotionally turbulent."
"Well, you don't need to go so far as to relay my every move." Nick laughed before poking the buck in the arm again.
"That's for Vera's benefit…" Robby said with a chuckle.
As it turned out, the text had not mattered at all… and, funnily enough, Nick had just about been ready to comment when the two of them rounded the corner. The tapping of the crutches on the hardwood floor ceased as the todd and his rabbity friend noticed Marcy standing in the hallway. The little doe was looking right at Nick and it was slightly disconcerting to the todd that she seemed to know exactly where they were.
"Welp." Nick and Robby mumbled in unison.
The silence that fell over the hallway was palpable, to say the least. Marcy was wearing a navy blue dress and hugging on an even tinier bunny plush. It suddenly occurred, and in a rather untimely moment, to him that her ears may have finally grown to be longer than any one of his own digits and those same ears were held high in surprise. Granted, so were his. For the most minute of a moment, it was clear that she had not known that the todd would step around the corner right in front of her. That consideration was washed away as Nick's eyes tracked Marcy's. The kit was giving his newfangled appearance a good once-over.
There was nothing that a reassuring smile could do – even though one was quickly adorned by the fox – as the poor doe's lip began to quiver harshly against the stillness of the rest of her body. Nick's body was moving before he could even mentally register that his back had straightened fully and his paws had released the grips of the crutches. He stepped through the pain as the supports clattered loudly to the floor before hitting his knees in front of the little lady so that he could lean down and wrap Marcy up against his chest. By the time the todd had her, the kit was crying so loudly and she was desperately clutching at his shirt. The heartbreak was immensely felt within Nick's soul. It was clear that the doe thought she had lost her best friend.
"Shhh! Shhh, shhh, shhh! It's alright, Marcy!" Nick said reassuringly, trying not to allow his voice to waiver as his eyes began to leak. "I'm just a little dinged up, sweetheart! There's nothing to worry about!"
Nick did his best to run his paw over Marcy's ears and head while she cried her little eyes out. The todd couldn't hold the posture he was in anymore, though. He pushed his weight backwards so that he could fall on his backside while his tail curled around his body to add more of him to the hug. Marcy was making no effort to yell or admonish Nick in the slightest. It was pure distress.
As carefully as he could, the todd pulled her away from his shirt and saw the kit curl inwards, around his paws, as she continued to bawl. Nick brought her up to his face, giving his most award-winning smile, before laying a sweet kiss on top of Marcy's head. As soon as he did that, those little grabby paws shot up to pull on his whiskers and drag him closer so that she could give his snout another hug.
"See, little one. I'm alright." Nick whispered.
While Nick had been seeing to the upset kit, he had completely ignored the fact that he had made quite a ruckus. The dropping of his crutches had spooked some of the nearby Hopps' that had been in the area and they were just beginning to wander off from seeing what had made the injured todd drop them in the first place. Robby was knelt down next to the two of them while he waited for the cries to die down to whimpers and mewling. The buck knew that the little doe could understand the adults well enough to get the gist of what had happened the afternoon prior. It really would not have mattered whether they had run into each other then or after a few days. Little Marcy would be torn up, no matter what.
Better now, I guess, Robby thought quietly.
It was not entirely unexpected to see Bonnie fervently rush around the next corner, down the hallway, with a worried, but stern look on her muzzle. Nick was too busy trying to urge Marcy to calm down and crawl under the collar of his shirt so that she could rest on his shoulder as she liked to do so often.
"Nicholas!" The matriarch said loudly. "Why aren't you resting?!"
It was only then that Marcy decided to make a hasty retreat into Nick's collar so that she could hide while Nick trying to stand up to meet Bonnie properly. Robby rushed in to grab the todd by the arm and lift him upright while offering to pass the crutches as needed. Once Nick was sure that his shirt would not smush Marcy due to the tension from using them, he took a solid rest on his hind legs. He could hear the little bunny softly hiccupping from how upset she had gotten, sniffling and huffing as she began to burrow as best as she could into his winter coat. If it had been under better circumstances, Nick probably would have been chuckling from how much Marcy's tiny claws tickled. The reality was that Bonnie was glaring very sternly at him and the little wiggly lump on his shoulder.
"I was just bringing him to see—" The glare that was shot at Robby silenced him immediately. It was clear that his turn would come in the due course of time.
"I was coming to see you and Stu when we ran into the little one, Bonnie." Nick spoke up to confirm the facts. "I apologize for all the noise."
The matriarch was having none of it. "You, come with me! Robby, I'll come find you later!" Bonnie's tone was harsh again.
"Ooooh. She's pissed at you." Robby mumbled out of the corner of his mouth.
"Get out of here before I put you over my knee and belt your ass!"
...
Judy decided that it might be best not to leave the safety of her parent's bedroom considering the fact that her own father was studiously ignoring the conversation that was taking place just down the hall from the open door. He was carefully reviewing a stack of papers that multiple parties had left for both the Hopps Family and for Nick. The doe had no clue what it was all about and was doing her best not to inquire about why her father was looking through what was essentially mail for her best friend. It must have been important for such a breach of trust and privacy to be warranted.
A short moment later, both of their ears perked at the sound of stomping paws and the gentle tapping of silencers on the wooden floor outside. Her mother appeared first, closely followed by the injured fox. Despite his rough appearance, Nick gave her a warm smile when he knew that Bonnie was not looking at him. The todd instantly understood the quick glance that Judy gave her mother before reengaging his sightline: she would have been seen giving him a smile and it was not the time to be testing Bonnie's patience.
The matriarch turned on her heel and waited for Nick to approach: once he had, she took his crutches and indicated that he needed to sit down in the chair that was set next to him. Judy, meanwhile, spotted the spot where Marcy was contently hiding. It had been an equally long night for Vera's family from what Judy had heard. Marcy screamed and screamed after hearing enough of a conversation about Nick and it had taken hours for her to finally drain the energy and crash. Now that she had her friend back, there would be no separating the two for quite some time.
Bonnie's hind-paw was what brought Judy back to the present, though. Nick was clearly doing his best not to look down to admire how quickly she was thumping it on the floor. Faster and faster it went and Judy's anxiety started to climb at a pace to match.
Nick had her attention with one word. "Ma'am…" He said softly while staring up at the older doe. The thumping stopped in a second. "I'm not going to apologize for what I yesterday."
Her father quietly shuffled the paperwork and laid it down on the desk to watch how the next bit of conversation would transpire. His eyebrows looked like they were going to fly off his head from how far up they were.
Judy felt her eyes widen fearfully and her ears disappeared as she watched her mother.
"Those kits were in danger, Bonnie," Nick's speech was slow and firm.
"STOP!" Bonnie shouted, pointing a digit at Nick. "Don't you dare dismiss this! You could have been killed!"
"You all have treated me as if I was your family. I will never hesitate – for even a moment – to give my life for family. I knew I could have been killed. But, I also knew that I was the best chance to save them in the whole warren." The todd spoke softly, explaining himself a bit further. "And, I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Judy's gaze jumped over to her father and saw how the gravity of Nick's words affected him immediately. The patriarch was quietly trying to blink away the overwhelming amount of tears that were pouring from his eyes unsuccessfully while listening to the resolve of the most admirable mammal that Judy had ever known. The thought of Nick knowing that he could have died, and his emphasis that it would have been alright with him, was breaking her own heart. But, there was nothing that could be said to dissuade the resolve of the mindset.
When her purple eyes turned back to her mother: it was clear that Bonnie was about to lose her patience. The older doe was turned enough so that Judy could not see her facial expressions, but the red tint on her pinned back ears made that clear enough. Nick, all the while, was calmly holding Bonnie's gaze without so much more as blinking. The tip of his tail was flickering periodically, but there was nothing else. Certainly, nothing to indicate that he was going to back down.
When she did not say anything, Nick pushed himself out of the seat and dropped to his good knee, in front of the matriarch, before wrapping her up in a tight hug. The action broke Missus Bonnie Hopps in an instant. Her forepaws wrapped upwards, underneath his arms, and encompassed him as she began to quietly cry into his free shoulder. The new sounds caused Marcy to pop her head out from under Nick's shirt collar to see what was going on with her grandmother.
"I am sorry that you had to see all of that personally, Ma'am. I imagine that it was very frightful." Nick whispered, closing his eyes as he allowed the doe to take in the affection that was being shown by another mammal – as rabbits tended to enjoy. "But, I will happily bear this much and more to make sure that your family and their friends are safe and sound in your own backyard. And, the same goes for you, Stu."
The buck was choking up badly now and Judy's mother was breaking down harder with the words. "Don't you ever let anybody tell you that you're not a good mammal… A good fox…" Stu replied, trying to be stern.
"No, Sir."
A couple of minutes passed by in relative silence before Bonnie collected herself enough to withdraw from Nick's arms. She, then, gingerly assisted Nick back into his seat before wiping her muzzle of the tears quietly.
"Judy, will you take Nick and help him find Vera so that she knows where Marcy is? Your father and I need to go through some more of these documents before we can sit down with Nick to talk about them and then begin making arrangements to have some of the more important parties come meet with him here at the warren." Bonnie explained, gaining some of her old self back.
"Yeah, mom. I can do that." Judy responded quietly. She reached over to give Nick his crutches once he was on his feet and even noticed that Marcy was watching the proceedings with a teeny-tiny smile now that everybody seemed to be feeling better. Of course, the poor kit was slightly slathered in snot on the tip of her pink nose. And, wet at the eyes still. Even though it was highly likely that she wiped her face all over Nick's fur or shirt.
"C'mon, little Miss Marcy. Let's go on an adventure." The todd said, turning enough so that he could brush his whiskers against the kit's face. The resulting laughter was a welcome sound after all of the shouting and crying in such a short span of time. "Aunty Fluffbutt is coming, too."
The duo slowly left the parent's bedroom while Marcy giggled and decided to hide in the todd's luscious fur again.
"Hey! Don't be teaching her all your nicknames for me, Slick." She rebuked the todd playfully.
Of course, being a head taller than the doe, Nick sometimes acted like he was on an entirely different floor of a building just to irk her.
"Pay close attention. There's Fluff and Carrots and Ju-Ju and my friend Finnick calls her Cottontail…" Nick explained to the kit before trailing off, shooting Judy a teasing side-glance.
"I see how it's going to be…" Judy muttered playfully.
Honestly, Nick did not need Judy to find Vera. He was more than well equipment for scenting out a familiar scent, such as the mother of the kit that love perching on his shoulder at any given opportunity. Sure enough, and despite his slower gait, Nick took the three of them to the common area: carefully moving his way around tables and chairs and sofas until they found themselves standing in front of a sofa. Laid out, intertwined with each other, was Derek and Vera Hopps. Fast asleep and ardently trying to catch up on the lost rest of the night before. At least, they looked to be wrapped up rather intimately even though there was a blanket laid over the top of the two. Judy immediately began to blush as a wishful smile graced her lips.
The doe pulled out her cellphone and took a quick photo of the two lovebirds. When she turned back to look at Nick, she found him busily retrieving a notepad and pen out of his pants so that he could write a quick note. Derek and Vera must have fallen asleep while watching their kit play nearby. It was no big deal, of course. They were surrounded by family and Marcy would be watched over. When Nick was done, he set the note down on the table in front of the two while placing a coaster over the corner. Judy could see how neat he had signed the note, but she could not read what it exactly said. Once that was done, Nick turned himself around and started to head off. The doe followed suite with a quick hop and waited until they were far enough away before speaking.
"Where are we going, Slick?" She asked urgently.
Nick sighed a little, sagging his weight a little as he slowed down. "I need to lie down for a bit, Carrots. Probably catch some more Z's. I'm pretty sore." He explained.
"Nick, we can let someone take Marcy while you do that." Judy offered.
"I doubt that this little one would have any of that without quite the fuss." The todd explained.
Marcy was paying close attention from his shoulder because a very pronounced "growl" came out from under the shirt: causing Nick to start laughing.
"See what I mean?" He looked over and winked at the doe.
"Well, then…" Judy said, glaring a little at the lump. "Let's take the equipment elevator down to J-Hall."
"There's an elevator?" Nick asked suddenly.
"Of course. There's actually two per each hill for the shuttling of building materials when the family needs to expand the living areas." She explained with a smile, slowly guiding the todd over to the central corridor.
Needless to say that Nick seemed rather impressed when he stepped into the lift. The buttons for each of the levels were alphabetical instead of numerical and there was enough room for the carrying of ten to twenty mammals depending on their compliment of tools or construction materials. Judy popped the large J-roundel and the doors closed before the lift was on its way. The other thing that the lifts were good for was the transport of older family members when they arrived.
It was going to start getting pretty hectic with there being only two-days left before the Christmas Eve festivities, no less. The gray doe imagined that the word of the Bird-of-Prey being killed on the Hopps Farm was going to result in many more arrivals that had been originally anticipated. News like that was like gold to rural rabbits. Especially if showing up meant that there was a possibility of meeting the crazy mammal who had managed to slay it: which they would certainly want to do.
The elevator was taken down in silence and Judy had to gently guide Nick in the opposite direction to get to her room when he disembarked. The todd was only slightly turned around by where they had come out at.
"What did you tell Vera?" Judy asked, finally breaking the silence as they entered her room.
"That I would watch over Marcy while I laid down. I told her where I would be and that you were with us." Nick told her.
Judy turned in time to see Marcy pop her head out from under his collar and give a little wiggle. The todd was paying no heed to it and suddenly, the little bunny leapt out when she had the best aim for landing on Judy's bed nearby. Nick gave off a yelp of surprise just before the kit landed on the bed in a fit of giggles. She did a little hop to turn herself around and began patting the bed with a forepaw to get their attention. Nick took the opportunity to sit down, setting the crutches aside, while giving the little one a stern look.
"You're quite the little daredevil, huh." He admonished the kit.
Judy took a moment to remove her shirt before ruffling the kit's long ears a little. Nick was distracted with carefully trying to catch the little "bunny fish" that was joyfully hopping around the bed to escape his clutches. Of course, Judy was wearing a tank top underneath, so there would not be a startling surprise. Though, it was not as if the two of them had not accidentally stumbled in on each other in various stages or dress or undress during their time as partners. The times that she had seen him fueled her desires and fantasies, of course.
Her hindpaws carried her over to the bed so that she could lie down with her back against the wall. Marcy immediately shot over to her so that she could continue her escape: jumping into her aunt's arms while laughing. She began to bat at Nick once she was properly defended.
"Oh, that's cheating. And, you act like I won't attack Ju-Ju just to wrangle you…" Nick laughed.
Judy stuck her tongue out at the fox. "And, you'll get pummeled for your efforts, dumb fox." She giggled.
"Impossible!" Nick said with a sly grin. "I'm too adorable to be beaten."
"And, yet, not enough…" Judy cracked.
Nick grinned a little. It looked sheepish in a way. "I'll take the percentage that is then." He replied with a groan.
The gray doe was quietly surprised to watch as Nick carefully began to peel his shirt off of his torso: mindful not to pull any of the bandages off of his back. Lest he rip out fur, after all. He clearly was not bothered by the fact that Marcy was in the room with him. Probably because he was in a bit of pain. Meanwhile, the little doe was creeping over to one of Judy's pillows so that she could try to drag it over. Probably to give it to Nick and that made her smile a little bit.
Suddenly, Nick reached past Judy so he could lift up the pillow with Marcy still attached to it. All of them started laughing as he carefully brought her over to plop down next to Judy again. After the kit scuttled over to him, Nick laid down on his side and propped himself up with an elbow while tossing the pillow nearer to Judy. His face began to morph into something closer to being solemn than playful.
"You should take a couple of pillows, Nick." She offered quietly.
"I'll get a couple from the bed in a bit." He explained.
"I'll get them for you. You shouldn't be moving around so much." Judy said resolutely.
He seemed to lose himself to his thoughts even as Marcy began to climb up onto his shoulder to explore his fluffy winter coat some more. He never seemed to mind the fact that the kit was absolutely uncaring about his personal space. He would always play with the other kits, of course, but the rest of them were always extremely respectful of his space. Especially his tail: even though most of them wanted to touch it. Like kits were prone to want to do. His distraction caused her own mind to wander until she realized that he was watching her.
"You're not going to give me the riot act?" He wondered aloud finally.
"I…" Judy began tentatively. "I can't be a hypocrite and chastise your decision to do what you did. If I had been faster, I would've done the same thing. It's what we do, after all."
"You must be upset, though." He pushed.
"Do you want me to yell at you?" The doe's eyes looked over at Marcy. She was comfortably laid down near one of Nick's bandages and brushing his fur while watching the exchange.
"No. I just expected it, if I'm being honest." The todd admitted.
"I'm not mad about it. I was scared for you. That was the most dangerous thing you've done since the pit… I could have lost my partner and my friend..." Judy explained. "Again."
"I think you would be alright with Fangmeyer if something happened to me." Nick said with a grin.
"Now, that pisses me off, Nick." Judy said.
She was not mad. But, not was not the time to be joking around either. It caused his upturned lips to fall away as a conceding nod was given.
"You look tired, Judy." Nick said after a moment.
"I couldn't sleep." The reply sounded a little sharper than she meant for it to and the only indication that Nick recognized it was the softest of rearward turning to his ears.
Judy sat up and scooted off of the bed so that she could gather Nick's pillows from his room. When she reached the room, it was as it had been during their last trip. If the doe was being honest, it really needed to be spruced up with some of his more personal touches. It was his room now. Even if it was like a far off sports-cave or recreational den of sorts. She quickly grabbed both of his pillows and exited the room with a swiftness so that she could get back to possibly being able to spend more time with Nick before taking a much needed nap.
"We're going to fall asleep and ruin our sleep schedules." He commented.
"Whether it's today or on Christmas Eve, it was bound to happen." Judy chuckled. "It's normally a madhouse here the couple of days prior anyway."
"And, I didn't help with the numbers regarding the holiday fanfare." Nick admonished himself with a sigh.
She could not stop the chuff that ended up slipping past her lips. "Yeah. Thanks for that."
"I couldn't find anything to get your parents. I'm a little disappointed about that." The todd said, trying to change the subject.
"I think what you did for everybody, in the whole area, is enough of a gift for them, Nick." She said firmly, placing the pillows on the bed nearer to him before laying down again. Her head rested on the pillow as she twisted to face him on her side.
"I still should have picked something up." He mumbled.
"Stop worrying about it, dumb fox." Judy replied firmly. "Curl up and get some rest. Vera knows where to find Marcy and I'll stay up long enough to make sure that she falls asleep."
With no further arguments, Nick stretched out a little so that he could shut his eyes and take a nap. Judy would have usually been worried about Marcy's hijinks: but, the kit decided that it was time to lay down as well. She slid off of his back, down his side and made her way under his left arm – not without purposefully bumping it so that Nick would raise it a bit – until she was snuggled into the fur along his collarbone. It was clear that the kit was not tired, though. The kit was watching her aunt intently with a kind smile. Nick always said that Judy had a lot of energy, but the doe certainly did not have the energy reserves of the kits at Marcy's age.
Judy made sure to pay close attention to Nick's breathing. On occasion, when she was close enough and the emotions were running high, she would be able to hear his heartbeat if it was quiet enough in the surrounding environment. But, because he was calm at present, she could not. It would have been a good way to tell exactly when he was asleep. So, she watched his ears instead.
After thirty-minutes of watching and waiting for the two of them to fall asleep, Judy quietly removed her phone. She switched off the sound before opening the camera and taking a picture of the two of them. Marcy was slowly becoming tired of staying awake, but she had no problem with waving at Judy while her picture was being taken. Judy was quite positive that Nick was asleep now.
He's going to regret being such a bad influence on me, the doe thought with a grin.
Judy pressed a digit to her lips to make sure that Marcy paid attention, but also stayed quiet, before crawling closer to the two of them. Once she was in range, a paw carefully crept out past the kit and began to gently scratch at the underside of his neck. It took several more minute to get it just so, but eventually, Nick began to rumble like he had so many weeks back. Judy grinned when Marcy's eyes popped wide open from the revelation.
After giving her niece a go-ahead nod, Marcy turned towards the todd's neck and carefully began to use both of her forepaws to continue to make Nick purr in his sleep. The kit eventually gave off cooing sounds from how happy it made her to hear the noise. It awed her because rabbits could churr, but they could not do much else. The foreign sound obviously made her ecstatic.
Judy never saw the black-socked paw that ended up hooking up under her side and dragging her over to the fox's chest. Two sounds came out: the first was her squeak of surprise and the second was Marcy's giggling as she watched her friend capture her aunt.
"You two are never going to let me sleep if you keep that up." Nick grumbled softly as his body curled around them as much as he could stand.
"Sorry." Judy whispered, tentatively beginning to curl up. She was trying not to make it too obvious that she was adoring the spot against all of Nick's warm fur. "I knew Marcy would love to hear you do that."
"You bunnies… So weird." Nick said like he usually did before curling his head and forepaws around them loosely… and, protectively.
Judy could hear his heartbeat slowly down as she curled around towards his chest, pulling Marcy against her as she laid her head down on his shoulder carefully. Fortunately, the little one did not make any noise of discontentment as she was spooned. Minutes carefully marched by as the two fell asleep: leaving Judy to her thoughts and the patch of fur that she was laying against.
So, how soon is 'soon', Hope inquired curiously.
The Council was still and quiet in her mind as she attempted to sort it out.
Would Christmas be too soon? She countered with a question internally.
There has to be some sort of initiation if you want to move forward slowly, Joy whispered pointedly.
You've already kissed him once. Just say it, Exasperation was becoming impatient.
And, mom and dad seemed rather sure that he is in love with you, too… the Rebel popped in deviously. This hunk of a fox is all ours!
They can't know that for sure… Judy admonished internally.
Out of frustration, the doe shoved any more potential for commentary aside as she tried to focus on sleeping. She was exhausted and finding herself to be her own worst enemy was not helping power down her system. Nor was listening to the Council's hopes for the situation. Once final huff of annoyance was all it took to finally tire herself out.
It was not until much, much later that a soft voice was heard in the recesses of her mind. Judy's power-up sequence was initiated to respond to whomever was attempting to rouse the sleeping mammals in her bed. Once the bleariness was gone from her sight, Judy found Vera holding a sleeping Marcy in her arms as she attempted to wake her sister up quietly.
"What time is it?" Judy whispered, lowly enough to know that her sister would hear.
"Just before midnight." The reply was equally low. "Food?"
Judy nodded and carefully withdrew from the little nest that Nick had created for the two does. His tail was lifted and carefully set back where it had lain. There was no need to put a shirt on with the hour being as late as it was, but a gentle scent wafted on the air prior to her hopping off of the bed. A quick glance back at Nick was taken before she began following Vera out of the room. He was out like a light and it would take a lot to get him to wake, more likely than not.
She knew exactly what it was. "Nick's going to be in for a surprise, huh?" Judy inquired after the door was shut.
Vera giggled a little. "Marcy woke up just enough to lay a heavy chinning on his shoulder before I scooped her up." The mother admitted. "She's very fond of him and isn't afraid of letting everybody know."
Signs of affection to that degree were not unusual for kits, so it was not surprising at all to hear that it had happened. Judy just wondered how long it would take for Nick to notice when he woke up. He would likely head straight for the infirmary once he did, no less.
"He'll appreciate the show of affection, I think." Judy said quietly, smiling at the fondness shown from the kit. Marcy was still fast asleep and totally oblivious.
"We talked about possible asking him to be her Godfather awhile back. I spoke to Derek and he did not mind." Vera mentioned the topic again as they climbed the staircase to the top floor.
"He would probably love to. I don't know if he knows anything of how that works, though." Judy replied tentatively.
"It's just an idea. Marcy loves him to bits." The mother certainly was not being discrete about the topic. Nick would have chuckled and called her sly if he had heard the tone.
The walk through the hall towards the kitchens was a silent affair as Vera began to attempt to rouse the kit. This late at night, there was a crew of Hopps who were set to the task of warming bottles of milk for the kits that were less prone to sleeping throughout the night and there were several other mothers in the room taking care of their babies. There was no helping the immediate pang of desire to be a mother for Judy in times like this. She had found her prospective mate – perfect mate – and her body was telling her to do the natural things that does did when they were ready to start a family.
Vera found a spot for the two of them to converse alone at and set the still-waking kit down on the table in front of her. Two bottles were brought over in cooling towels by one of the shift workers so that the doe could begin feeding Marcy. But, not before they were set down so that Vera could pull out her phone and open it. It was passed to Judy so that she could catch Marcy before the kit could wrangle one of the warm bottles and potentially be burned.
"Scroll through the photos. I got some great ones that you can send to yourself and Nick if you want." Vera explained, hefting her daughter into her arms, rolled on her back, so that the bottle could be administered to the famished kit.
It was clear that Vera had been ecstatic to find the two of them sleeping in the nest that was Nicholas Wilde. A swiping thumb began to gain speed as each of the photos began to show things from different angles. There was no stopping the rise of embarrassment and excitement both in his ears and on the air around them. Swiping back through, Judy picked out a couple of them and sent them to her phone. Of course, Vera's phone was not muted, so the sound of mail being whooshed away alerted the mother and elicited a hearty giggle.
"You're impossible…" Judy muttered.
"And, you seem to think there are still Hopps' in the warren that don't know you have the hots for that fox." Vera shot back effortlessly.
"Shut up." Judy groaned, laying her tired head down behind crossed forearms so that she could try to hide.
"You're going to ask him to dance on Christmas Eve, right?" Vera asked in a singy-songy tone.
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I am!" Judy said grouchily.
"Good." The mother said pointedly. "I do not want to see that todd sitting around on Christmas Eve: even if he is a little banged up right now. Especially not when I hear that he threw down on a rather gorgeous dress for you and, maybe, even some jewelry?"
"How'd you hear that?" Judy asked incredulously. She had not told anybody about that, at least that she could recall.
"Nick told Robby and Robby told me after he gave it to you." Vera replied simply, swapping bottles.
"Gods, you just don't quit, do you?" Judy moaned.
"Nope!" The 'p' was popped. "So, what was the jewelry?"
"It was a necklace with an Old World fox charm on it. The symbol for a goddess of growth and prosperity." Judy explained, her cheeks now properly emblazoned from the embarrassment.
Vera released a low whistle. "What a guy." She said, sounding thoroughly impressed. "If either of you break the other's heart, I'm going to kick the guilty party's ass."
"As long as he'll have me, I don't think that'll be possible." Judy said with a hopeful smile, brushing her ear with an errant paw to cool it off.
"Well, you're a big dummy to think that he won't." The mother said firmly, setting the second bottle down so that she could release her kit and let her wander on the table a little. "What are you going to do for the rest of the night?"
"I'm going to be smart and curl up for some more sleep." Judy said. "You?"
"I'm going to put Marcy to bed and see if Derek wants to wrestle some more." Vera said without any shame.
Judy immediately stood up, blushing again, and headed off. "Oh, Gods…"