WingedKatt here. Near the end of the chapter, Nick will be playing the song, Always Something There To Remind Me by Naked Eyes if you want to look it up and listen to it.

Upon arriving home, Patty-Mae found her brother out in the lizard barn, having just fed their monitor lizards their dinner of bug pellets. They didn't have many—a pair each of black dragons, black-throated monitors, rock monitors, and white-throated monitors—but it was enough to practice with. Ryan and a few of her other brothers were signed up for the Lizard Wrangling competition at the rodeo (they'll be competing against Joey and a few of his brothers), along with the barrel racing. But the lizard wrangling competition wouldn't start until Monday afternoon.

Stepping up to Ryan as he turned to give her a smile, Patty-Mae met his light-brown gaze and grinned back, saying, "How's my favorite lizard-wrangling brother doing?"

Ryan laughed with a shrug but didn't reply as he turned back to watch the monitor lizards. The two rock monitors looked like they were wearing military fatigues due to their mottled, grayish-brown markings. His favorite ones, though, were the black dragons (also known as black water monitors) and the black-throated monitors. These four were the largest out of their lizards, with their black scales giving them a unique look as the sunlight glinted off them.

As Patty-Mae leaned over the fence to watch the black-scaled dragon lizards eat (their tails were still laying in the water of their lizard pond), she asked, "You ready for the competition?"

Still grinning, Ryan glanced over, his light-brown eyes twinkling, and said, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Nodding, Patty-Mae jerked her head and said, "Walk with me."

With a twitch of his ear, Ryan pushed off from the fence and followed his sister across the yard to the old treehouse a bunch of their older brothers and their pa had built ages ago. Following her up, he glanced at the sign over the open doorway that said, 'No girls allowed!' With a chuckle while remembering all the fun times he had with his brothers and friends in here, planning bird rides to new and exciting areas or some fun and mischief to get up to.

Looking around, Ryan noticed the dust on the place, which was familiar as the treehouse was drafty with open windows. Stepping further into the treehouse, he immediately saw the old treasure map hanging on the back wall, a soccer ball and a kickball on the floor next to a cardboard box filled with baseball gear: two wooden bats, several baseballs, and a dozen or so mitts, along with an umpire's protective mask. At the other side of the room was a long table with sketch pads, pencils, a dusty cowboy hat, and a couple of lassos hanging over the back of the chair sitting at the table. There was also an old dusty couch and a couple of stools sitting at the opposite side of the room.

Following Patty-Mae through the treehouse to the little porch balcony, and ducking through the short doorway to step onto it, Ryan mimicked his sister and leaned over the railing and looked out over the yard. The large tree that the treehouse was built in stood in the far corner of the backyard and looked out over the place and the large ranch house. Turning to look at Patty-Mae, he asked, "So, are you going to tell me why we're way up here and not enjoying the porch swing on the back porch?"

Patty-Mae chuckled, as she glanced over at her brother. "Walls have ears over at the big house."

With a chuckle, Ryan nodded, saying, "So they do." Looking back over the yard and the various paths that led to the treehouse, the barns, several outbuildings, along with the corral where they practiced their lizard wrangling and other rodeo stunts, Ryan then glanced at his sister and asked, "So what is it you want to talk about that you don't want the walls hearing . . . and gossiping about?"

Patty-Mae didn't answer right away as she went over the conversation she had with Judy and what she needed to ask, while also wondering how her brother would respond. Finally, she settled on a simple question. "How do you feel about Judy?"

Ryan's tan ears twitched, as did his dark nose, as this was the last question he was expecting Patty-Mae to ask him. With a scoff, he said, "Now don't tell me you're jumping on the bandwagon with Jarod and Jeremy about me asking Judy out are you?"

Laughing, Patty-Mae shook her paws out in front of her, saying, "Not at all. I was just wondering what she meant to you. She did tell me she was looking forward to eating lunch together and catching up on old times."

Ryan didn't immediately answer as he stood studying his sister for a minute. When it was apparent she wasn't going to start ragging on him about 'bucking' up and asking the Hopps' doe out, he turned to look back over the yard. "I admire Judy, I always have, but I know I'm not her type." With a chuckle, he glanced back over and said, "Why do you think I never asked her out in high school or looked her up after we graduated?"

Patty-Mae didn't know how to answer at first. Ryan had always been quiet, but he wasn't stupid. Even though he wasn't a big talker, and was extremely shy during his school years, Ryan was very observant. He liked to watch people and try to figure them out. So, whenever gossip was spread, Ryan could usually tell the fact from the fiction depending on the personality and character of the mammal being gossiped about.

After high school, he spent several summers with a few of their uncles who were in the construction business, which is where he learned to not only build, but to fix electrical wiring and plumbing. He used the money he earned working to help pay for college. There parents paid for his tuition, but he had to earn the rest. But since earning his degrees in Animal Husbandry and Animal Science, along with a minor degree in Veterinary Medicine, he returned home and pretty much stayed on the ranch.

He wasn't a full-fledged vet, and so couldn't preform any major surgery, but he knew enough to preform minor surgery (set and splint broken legs or stitch up a nasty cut), and could properly diagnose most illnesses and knew how to cure them. This made Ryan the Lazy 'L' Ranch's on-call vet. He was also the on-call vet for several of their closest neighbors. With farms and ranches being so spread out and miles apart, having a vet close by when an accident happened was a lifesaver to their birds or other animals they raised, such as the various breeds of monitor lizards.

As Ryan spent most of his time here on the ranch, tending the birds and lizards, and only going into town when he needed to buy something, he didn't spend a lot of time with mammals outside their family (which is one of the main reasons he was still single). That's not to say he was a complete hermit. He did go out with their siblings periodically, and occasionally he went out with friends. But mostly Ryan was content to remain on the farm tending the animals or helping her breed and train her King emus.

With a shrug and flick of her cottony tail, Patty-Mae finally replied, "Because you were shy? You were afraid of rejection?"

Ryan shook his head. "If I had asked, I knew Judy would have at least gone on one date with me."

"But she turned her nose up at every other buck who asked her out," Patty-Mae pointed out.

Ryan snorted. "I would have been disappointed in her if she had accepted all those other offers." Meeting his sister's curious amber gaze, he explained, "All those bucks she stuck her nose up at were players. They just wanted bragging rights of dating her and hopefully stealing her first kiss. There were quite a few bets placed on her first date and her first kiss."

Patty-Mae's mouth dropped open for a moment, then she snapped her mouth shut as her nose started twitching. "Then why . . . ?" Shaking her head, she didn't finish her question. She knew Ryan would never date someone over a stupid bet. "So, if you knew she would accept a date with you, why didn't you ask her out?" Her brother had the chance to date his crush in high school and yet never took the opportunity. This didn't make sense to her as her brother wasn't one to let obvious opportunities slip past him. He was shy and clumsy in high school, but he worked his tail off during the summer to overcome his klutzy disposition and gain some confidence. So why didn't he ask Judy out?

Ryan looked back over the yard and studied their sprawling 4-story ranch house with its wrap-around porch. Some of the older kits were playing in the yard closer to the house, and he knew several of his siblings and their kits were still out with some of the birds—brushing them down or cleaning out stalls before putting them up for the night. Finally, he said, "I'm a down-home country boy." Catching Patty-Mae's questioning gaze from the corner of his eye, Ryan continued, "Give me the land, my birds, and something to do with my paws and I'm happy." Turning to meet her amber gaze again, he added, "I'm content."

Patty-Mae nodded, as her brother wasn't lying. He was completely at home and content working here on their family's bird ranch. A lot of their siblings had moved out to find their own fortune, to do something with their life besides ranching. Others got married and moved in with their spouse's family. But not her and Ryan. They were both content to stay on their family's ranch and work the land and their birds. With a deep sigh as she finally saw what Ryan was getting on about, she said, "But not Judy. She was never meant for this life."

"Nope," Ryan agreed. "Judy was always going somewhere and wanting to do something. She was going to be a big city cop and meet some amazing mammals and lock up notorious criminals." With a grin, he added, "And she needs someone who can take her places and introduce her to mammals. Someone who can support her in her dreams 100%."

They both looked out over the yard for a moment in quiet contemplation, then Ryan turned around and leaned back against the railing. Flicking his tail as he looked at his sister, he continued with a wave of his paw. "If you ask me," Ryan tapped his chest, "her flame in Zootopia is so complicated," he jabbed his finger at his sister, "because he's a predator and her little speech caused a fight between them."

Patty-Mae's jaw went slack as her ears flicked forward. "You . . . you think Judy fell for a predator!?" How could her brother have already figured it out!?

Laughing at his sister's stunned expression, Ryan said, "Having grown up with her, I can't really see her falling for anyone else." With a shrug as he closed his eyes and leaned back while a light breeze fluffed his fur, Ryan explained, "She got along well enough with bunnies, but she always seemed, I don't know, like she wasn't fully relaxed around us. She always seemed to hold back a bit, like she couldn't really be herself around other bunnies." With an ear flick and a shrug, he amended, "Well, not around me. She always seemed to relax around me, but that might have been because I always asked her what she thought it would be like when she became a cop. I never expected her to be anyone but a cop, unlike her parents and just about every other rabbit in Bunnyburrow who thought she should be a carrot farming bunny with hundreds of kits running around her feet."

With an eye roll, Patty-Mae said, "There are other jobs she could take as a rabbit besides carrot farming. A lot of does are nurses, doctors, teachers, social workers, librarians, coaches, ranchers." She said this last with a wave of her paw to indicate their own ranch.

Ryan gave her this 'dumb bunny' look and said, "Do you seriously see Judy taking any of those jobs?" Patty-Mae's ears drooped as she shook her head 'no' and Ryan then said, "You're right, she could do something besides being a carrot farmer, but that's what her parents are and a majority of her family, so that's what they expected Judy to be since she didn't show any interest in these other professions you just mentioned."

Closing his eyes again and focusing on the wind in his fur and making his ears sway as they hung down, he said, "But you should have seen Judy whenever she was with her predator friends. She really let her fur down and didn't have to pretend to be something she wasn't."

"What do you mean?" Patty-Mae asked curiously. She knew Judy hadn't dated in high school, and in college her mom and sisters started setting her up on blind dates (probably in the hopes she would get married, have a bunch of kits, and forget all about being a cop), but Patty-Mae hadn't ever really been around to see Judy with her predator friends, especially growing up as Patty-Mae was quite a bit younger than both Judy and Ryan.

Ryan shrugged, but didn't open his eyes. "Predators never tried to stuff her into some dumb rabbit mold of what she could do and what she should be." With a chuckle as he cracked an eye at his sister, he explained, "That's not to say they didn't think she was crazy for wanting to be a big city cop, but they were more open to her chasing her dream. Even if she failed, they still encouraged her because at least then she tried. Predators are all about trying. It's in their DNA, you might say." With a chuckle, Ryan remembered the play Judy put on when she announced her desire to be a cop.

With a flick of her tan and black ears, Patty-Mae tilted her head and asked, "In their DNA?"

Nodding, Ryan turned to her and said, "Yeah. Most predators are hunters, especially the felines Judy mostly hung out with. As hunters, us prey didn't always make it easy for them to catch us, so they had to get creative and try different things in order to catch their dinner."

Patty-Mae stared at her brother a moment longer, then laughed. "Only you and Judy could talk about being eaten by a predator so nonchalantly."

This information piqued Ryan's interest and he asked, "Judy was talking to you about getting eaten by a predator?"

"Well," Patty-Mae started, "not in so many words, no, but I know she's going to start dreaming about it now." With a laugh, she thought about how Judy wanted to have Nick 'taste' her, as well as complaining about how her dreams were going to go from now on.

With creased eyebrows as he tried to figure out what his sister was talking about, Ryan asked, "Patty, what are you talking about? Why would Judy start dreaming about being eaten by a predator?" With a slight head shake, he questioned, "She's not planning to visit the predator refugee camp, is she?" Although he knew Judy was feeling depressed about the state of Zootopia after her press conference, but visiting one of the refugee camps wouldn't solve anything.

With a swipe of his paw, Ryan stated, "Because she will be eaten if she goes there as there are a lot of really angry predators there, some of who are breathing out threats about wanting to put her on the chopping block." Although he knew they wouldn't literally eat Judy, Ryan had heard from a friend who delivered food and supplies to the camp that there were more than one predator who blamed Judy for their misery and misfortune, and so promised to tear Judy apart should they ever find her.

Some of Patty-Mae's mirth deserted her while thinking of the refugee camp and wondering if Nick was rotting away in one of the camps. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Nope." With a small chuckle returning while thinking of her love-struck friend, Patty-Mae explained, "Let's just say I hope no one else in town is as observant as you are when it comes to Judy or she's going to be in a whole lot of trouble a lot sooner than she needs to be."

Tilting his head as his nose twitched in confusion, Ryan asked, "What are you talking about?"

In the way of an answer, Patty-Mae pulled out her phone and sent him a text of Judy's number saying, "Judy wanted me to give you her number with the understanding that you know that she has officially friend-zoned you." As Ryan pulled out his phone to look at the text, Patty-Mae then pulled up the photo of Nick and spun her phone around to show her brother, saying, "Ryan, I'd like you to meet Nick Wilde, Judy's complicated flame in Zootopia and the mammal she hopes to take as her mate."

Ryan had just opened the text from Patty-Mae when she flashed him her phone, so he'd hardly glanced at the photo she showed him. But then his eyes widened and his gaze jumped back to her phone. Grabbing it from her paw, he exclaimed, "Wait! Judy fell for a fox!? A red fox!? After Gideon clawed her!?"

Patty-Mae could only laugh at her brother's response. "Well, if Nick did half the stuff for me that he did for Judy, then I'd probably fall for him, too." At Ryan's dumbfounded gaze, she gave him a rundown on everything Nick had done for Judy in saving her life and her career. While he stood there gaping at her in astonishment, Patty-Mae added, "It's like you said, Judy needs someone who can take her places, introduce her to different mammals, and support her a 100%."

With a head shake and a laugh of his own, Ryan exclaimed, "One hundred percent!? Nick must have put in two hundred percent to support her!"

"Well," Patty-Mae said with a chuckle, "He did agree to be her police partner and filled out the ZPA application."

"Wait! He was going to be a cop, too!"

"Hmm, that's right. Nick was going to join Judy in her dream."

"Really?" With a head shake, Ryan murmured, "Wow. I can see why she wants him."

"Exactly," Patty-Mae said as her tail started twitching slowly with excitement. "Which is the other reason I brought you up here." As Ryan met her gaze, Patty-Mae quickly explained how Judy was not ready to give up on Nick, even after their fight. Patty-Mae then explained how she and Judy had planned a trip to the mountains in order to fix up Judy's cabin which she inherited from her grandmother, who, coincidently, had also fallen for a predator.

It only took a moment of thought for Ryan to agree to join them. As long they were home in time for the barrel racing competition Saturday afternoon, then Ryan was more than happy to help. How could he pass up the chance to spend some quality time with his sister and friends in the mountains while being able to put his paws to work? It was a win-win situation all the way around.

Excited about getting her brother's help, Patty-Mae gave Ryan a quick hug then sent Judy a text, letting her know that both Joey and Ryan were on board for the cabin-fixing trip and that she looked forward to seeing Judy the next afternoon to finalize their plans. After excitedly giving her brother another quick hug and a thank you, which he returned with a laugh, Patty-Mae quickly climbed from the treehouse and headed inside to her room to start packing for their upcoming trip. In her opinion, it was never too early to start packing for a trip because you were bound to forget something important if you packed the night before or the day of.

Ryan watched his sister leave but didn't immediately follow her. Turning around to look back over the yard again, his thoughts were miles away. He was happy for Judy, that she finally found someone to rely on, someone who had her back and could live her dream with her. And he truly hoped Judy was able to find Nick and make it up to him. After hearing everything Nick had done for Judy, Ryan couldn't imagine Judy finding another mammal as devoted to her as Nick had been for those few short days they worked together on her case.

Now it was just a matter of seeing if Nick was male enough to set his anger (and his pride) aside and chase her down. Nick knew where Judy lived, so if the todd wanted things to be made right, he had to be the one to make the first move. With a heavy sigh, Ryan thought, I hate these kinds of waiting games. Hoping Nick would prove to be the bigger male and hunt Judy down (considering he was a predator and Judy was his ancient prey, it should be easy to do), Ryan then turned and made his way back down to the woodworking barn. If they were going to be fixing up Judy's cabin, then he needed to see what materials they already had so he would know what they still needed to pick up tomorrow.

...

The sun was setting and shining its gold and red rays through the window as Nick sat on the bed strumming his guitar while thinking of a good song to play for Judy. While he was scoping out Bunnyburrow earlier, Shaylee had texted him saying she had some music videos that she made from a bunch of Judy's photos and suggested he might want to do the same. She also informed him that she had a video of Judy she recorded that evening which was a must for him to watch when they met tonight. Nick had told her he was looking forward to the videos, that he would take her advice and make some videos himself, and that he would see her at 10.

Now he sat thinking while strumming a mindless little tune on the guitar. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much he needed to apologize for, that he was struggling with where to start. He finally decided to start with a song to let her know how much he missed her, and how much he regretted walking out on her.

Setting his guitar down on the bed long enough for him to set up his phone and press record, Nick sat back on the bed and picked up his guitar as he faced the camera and started talking. "Hey, Carrots, I'm sure this is the last thing you expected from me, but a wise bunny told me earlier today that I should make some videos to share with you, to let you know what I'm thinking and to make it easier to say what I need to say." Taking a deep breath, Nick then added, "So here goes."

Strumming on the guitar, Nick focused on his fingers as he said, "I arrived here in Bunnyburrow yesterday." Glancing up at the camera, he explained, "That was Monday." Returning his gaze to the strings of his guitar, Nick continued his introduction. "I met with your sister Shaylee at your family's vegetable stand late this morning and gave her a note to give you," with his ears folding back in annoyance, he continued, "but your specist sister Mandy intercepted it and now wishes to run me out of town." Glancing back at the camera, Nick added, "Seeing as I'm a todd and not a buck, she seems to think I'm going to hurt you worse than I already have when I walked out on you back at the press conference." With a smirk and flick of his ear, Nick murmured, "I'm still waiting to hear why she thought I was a hare."

Chuckling as he shook his head, Nick turned back to his guitar and strummed the strings again while saying, "Anyways, Mandy told Shaylee that you thought I hated you and I'm here to tell you that is 100 percent not true." Glancing at the phone again as his fingers continued strumming the strings, Nick said, "Was I hurt? Absolutely. Was I disappointed? Immensely. Was I angry? Unimaginably so, yes. But did I hate you? Never."

His strumming slowly took on a tune as he glanced down a moment and said, "I'm still angry, but I'm no longer angry at you." With a head shake, Nick said, "I'm mad at myself." Glancing back up, he explained, "I shouldn't have disappeared like I did. I should have come back after a few days so we could discuss what happened."

Stopping his strumming for a moment, he pointed towards the camera and said, "But for the record, I did try seeing you in the hospital but no one would let me get past the front doors nor tell me which room you were in." Turning back to his guitar, Nick continued, saying, "Your parents showed up while I was there, but by the way your mom was complaining about the state of the city and how bad the predators were becoming, I figured if I approached them I'd probably wind up spending the night in jail." With his ears splayed to the side, Nick muttered, "I should have tried harder to see you, though." Shaking his head, Nick said, "I shouldn't have given up."

Flicking his ears forward as he pushed down the melancholy mood, Nick started playing the opening strains of Always Something There to Remind Me by Naked Eyes. "Back to me making this video. This song lets you know how I felt about you since last we met."

Taking a deep breath, Nick began singing, "I walk along the city streets you used to walk along with me. And every step I take reminds me of just how we used to be. Oh, how can I . . . forget you girl . . . when there is always something there to remind me? Always something there to remind me."

Nick's rich baritone filled the air, along with the strains of his guitar, as he finished the song and then sat strumming his guitar for several moments. Finally shaking himself out a memory-induced stupor, Nick lightly pressed his fingers over the strings to stop the music and turned back to the camera. "I don't know what the future holds for us, Judy, but I haven't been able to forget in you even once in the last 4 months. I think of you throughout the day and image haunts my dreams at night. I wasn't sure how I felt about you when I arrived yesterday, but after hearing more about you I see that I totally misjudged you, and I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me and that we can see each other soon." Setting his guitar next to him, Nick stood up and walked over and picked up his phone, but before he stopped the recording he looked at the camera and said, "I really miss you, Judy." Then he cut off the recording and carried his phone back to his bed.

Staring at the phone, Nick pulled up Judy's phone number and sat staring at it for several moments. Seemingly without his control, his thumb moved over to the call button and hovered there. Just before Nick pressed the button, there was a knock on his bedroom door which startled him, causing him to drop the phone on the bed.

"Hey, Nick, that's some real good playing you're doing in there," Gideon's voice carried through the door. "Would you . . . would you play a few songs for me?" Shuffling back and forth on his feet as his tail swished behind him, Gideon added, "If . . . if it's not too much of a bother."

Nick hurriedly turned his phone off and stuffed it back in his pocket. "No problem, Gideon, just give me a sec and I'll be out." Grabbing his guitar from where it still lay on the bed, Nick met Gideon in the living room where they spent the next couple of hours playing, singing, laughing, and talking. It was a very enjoyable evening—the first one he'd had in far too many years to recall.

...

Judy sat on her bed in her room fiddling nervously with her phone. It had been a long, eventful day but it had left her with more hope of seeing Nick sooner (rather than later) than she had when she awoke this morning. Meeting Ryan after all these years and realizing he once had a crush on her was a surprise to say the least, but she hoped they could still be friends. The fact he accepted their invitation to help fix up her grandma's cabin was a huge plus and gave her hope that they would be good friends in no time.

And then there was Patty-Mae. Finding such a good friend in her was a huge surprise, but one Judy wouldn't complain about. Judy felt like she had been looking for a friend like Patty-Mae for a very long time. The only other real close prey girl friend she'd had was Sharla Woolerton. They used to do everything together and was one of the few mammals that Judy could talk about anything with as Sharla never judged her. And other than her predator friends, Sharla was one of the few mammals who actually supported and encouraged her to chase her dream of being a big city cop.

But then Sharla's family moved away halfway through high school. At first, they kept close contact through writing and calling, then emailing each other when that became a big thing. But over the years, they lost contact. They did see each other briefly a couple of years ago when Sharla returned for a visit as she still had a lot of extended family living here in the area, but that was it.

But now, meeting Patty-Mae, she found the same supportive kind of friend in her that she had in Sharla. Maybe more so, as she could talk to Patty about her predatory interests in a fox whereas she wasn't sure she would be able to talk about Nick in the same way with Sharla. Although Sharla didn't mind most predators, Gideon had left such a bad taste in Sharla's mouth that couldn't stand foxes. Luckily, she wasn't as bad as her dad with thinking she needed to carry a fox taser around with her, but she definitely thought they were a slight on society they could do without.

Which was why Judy was especially glad she had met Patty-Mae who could even tease her about taking Nick as her mate. Remembering how her new friend teased her, and about what, had Judy's ears and nose turning a dark shade of pink. She still couldn't believe the questions Patty-Mae had asked her and the points she had made about being with Nick.

Dropping her phone to the bed, Judy pulled her ears over her face. "Oh, Patty-Mae, why did you have to ask those particular questions?" she moaned. Even if Nick did come looking for her and they were able to fix their broken friendship, would he ever see her as something more? Could he see her as something more? She was just a dumb bunny who treated him horribly.

Releasing her ears to rub her face, Judy then looked back down at her phone. Shaylee had suggested she make some videos or something to show Nick when she finally met him. Her sister said it might be easier for Judy to get her thoughts out if she did. Taking another deep breath and trying to get her emotions under control, Judy picked up her phone and turned it on. With another breath and twitch of her nose, she turned the camera on and switched it to self-portrait, then set it on the top of her pillow and leaning against the headboard.

Turning the recorder on, she moved her paw to smooth down her shirt in an attempt to hide her nervousness. She shouldn't be nervous, she was alone, but Nick might see this one day and that idea set butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Taking another deep breath, she looked back at the camera and said, "Um, hi, Nick." Glancing around her room briefly, her gaze returned to the camera as she continued, saying, "I'm not sure you'll ever see this, but if you do, I just . . . I just wanted to . . ." Another deep breath as she fiddled with her paws. "I just wanted to let you know how very, very sorry I am for . . . for how I treated you. I was a horrible friend. And I . . . I was small minded and thoughtless. You did so much for me and I . . ."

With a sniffle, tears began flowing down her cheeks as she thought of how much she hurt Nick. "Nick, you were the best friend a bunny cop could ever have and I, I stabbed you in the back." With a sob, Judy wiped a paw across her eyes to try and stem some of the tears. "I never meant to hurt you, Nick. You were there for me when no one else was. You not only stood up for me, you joined me in my dream and helped me prove I was a real cop. You were the only one, Nick. The only one to do that for me and I . . . I hate myself for the way I treated you."

Glancing away from the camera as she swiped her arm across her eyes, Judy tried to get her thoughts, and her emotions, back under control. With a deep breath as she sniffled again, Judy looked back at the camera and said, "I'm not afraid of you, Nick. I was never afraid of you. I just . . ." Looking down at her paws for a moment, Judy then looked up. With a deep breath while her nose twitched, another tear slipped down her cheek. "It wasn't you I was afraid of."

Wiping her tears again, Judy continued, saying, "It wasn't you, it was . . . it was everything else." Another deep breath as she considered her words. "I had to try 100 times harder than everyone else to get where I was, and still no one took me seriously. Being the first rabbit officer, I couldn't show any weakness, no fear. So, whenever I felt weak or afraid, I buried those feelings deep down and ignored them. The fear of failing when Bogo gave me two days to solve the case. The fear of an icy death when Big's goons had us hanging over an icy grave."

Taking a deep breath and smoothing out her shirt again, her ears drooped a bit as she said, "The run from Manchas, sneaking past the wolves, having Otterton nearly bite my face off and then that tiger tried to take a bite out of you." Shaking her head and running a paw down one of her ears, Judy then waved her paw through the air. "Having my parents call and nearly getting caught was absolutely terrifying in its own right. Falling down that waterfall was pretty scary, too."

Sighing as her gaze dropped down to her paws, she said, "Everything was so scary, but I couldn't let myself feel it. I couldn't panic. I had a job to do and a case to close." Looking back and staring directly into the camera, Judy said, "I had to protect you, a civilian, a civilian I had absolutely no right to drag around with me. But I was so desperate to prove myself and you had the resources I so desperately needed." With her voice dropping as guilt suddenly swamped her, she whispered, "I'm sorry for using you, Nick. I should have given you my pen after giving me the limo clue. I should never have dragged you into my case." As another tear slipped down her cheek, she added softly, "I was wrong to do that, Nick. I'm sorry."

Sniffling as she wiped at her treacherous eyes, Judy returned to her earlier thought. "Anyway, it wasn't you I was afraid of." Looking back at the camera, she said, "When you bared your teeth and claws at me, something in me snapped and all that fear I had buried and ignored for the last two days just erupted from me and . . . and . . . I'm sorry, Nick. I'm am soo sorry." With another sob, Judy reached over and stopped the recording, but left the phone sitting on the pillow and leaning up against the headboard.

Grabbing her pillow, Judy didn't notice her phone slip off onto the mattress as she buried her face in it. Sobbing as the fear, loneliness, and guilt engulfed her once more, she soaked her pillow with her tears.

Being physically exhausted from the long day and emotionally drained from finally facing the emotions she'd kept bottled up since the press conference, Judy cried herself to sleep. But unlike all the previous times she had cried, this cry had a more cleansing affect. Even if Nick hadn't seen the video yet, she had been able to get her apology out. She had also faced her fears and the guilt she felt over her actions and had finally started dealing with them instead of running from them. So Judy slept very soundly that night with no disturbing dreams to afflict her until the wee hours of the morning. Though to say the dreams that finally came were an 'affliction' could be debated as they revolved around Nick.

FYI: The Black Dragon or the Black Water Monitor, is a melanistic (dark/black) population of the Southeast Asian Water Monitor lizard found in Thailand (once thought to be a subspecies). The Southeast Asian Water Monitor is a subspecies of the Asian Water Monitor, which is one of the most common lizards in Asia and is the second heaviest lizard in the world, next to the Komodo Dragon. Asian Water Monitors are semiaquatic and typically live in brackish wetlands and mangrove swamps. They typically don't exceed 6.6 feet long, but one lizard in Sri Lanka grew to be 10.5 feet long. Their weight ranges from 17 pounds up to 45 pounds, with a few of the largest males weighing over hundred pounds. They are dark brown or black in coloring with a lighter colored belly. They also have yellow spots that can form a striped pattern which can slowly fade with age.

The Asian Water Monitor eats a wide range of different animals, such as frogs, fish, rodents, crabs, birds, snakes, and even baby crocodiles are not safe from them. They are excellent swimmers and climbers. When being hunted by say, a cobra, they'll climb trees to escape, and if that doesn't save them, they'll leap down into pools and streams of water and swim to safety. An interesting fact about the Water Monitors found in Thailand: the Thailand word for 'monitor' is hia and is used as an insulting word to refer to bad or evil things, including bad people. The word is also thought to bring bad luck, so some people refer to the lizards as 'silver-and-gold' to avoid the jinx.

The Rock Monitor lizard lives in Central, East, and Southern Africa and is the second longest lizard, and the heaviest, found on the African continent (the Nile Monitor is the longest lizard found in Africa). Males typically weigh an average of 18 pounds, but large mature males can weigh an upwards of 33-37 pounds. They can grow to be 6.7 feet long (about 2 meters) but are generally only about 3-5 feet long. Their bodies and tails are the same size, as are their heads and necks. They have a bulbous nose, with their forked tongue being pink or bluish. They are a mottled grayish-brown with white or yellow markings. There are several photos I found online that looked like the lizards were decked out in military camo due to their mottled coloring.

The Black-Throated Monitors are a subspecies of the Rock Monitor and is native to Tanzania. They can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh more than 60 pounds. They are the largest of the Rock Monitor subspecies. They are generally a dark gray-brown with white or yellow markings. Although the Rock Monitors eat a large amount of tortoises and insects (millipedes, beetles, mollusks, and orthopterans—grasshoppers and crickets), the Black-Throated Monitors will eat anything they can catch.

The White-Throated Monitors are another subspecies of Rock Monitor and live in the southern part of Africa. They also grow to be about 2 meters (6.6 feet) long and are usually a gray-brown coloring with white or yellow markings. Their diet is the same as the Rock Monitor, with tortoises being a large part of their diet (they swallow them whole due to their hard shells), with millipedes being the second largest part of their diet, as both Rock and White-Throated Monitors are immune to their poison.

WingedKatt again. We're nearly done with Tuesday in story. Just one more chapter and we'll start on Wednesday and all the fun stuff planned. Both Nick and Judy will be having a full day. Next chapter, Shaylee will be meeting Nick so they can hide his car, and she'll also be showing Nick the video she made of Judy. How will Nick respond? We'll also get a glimpse into the 'Anti-Nick' meeting Mandy will be holding to plan how to drive him out of town.

Chapter 15: Tuesday Night, will post in 2 weeks. Stay safe and if you have any thoughts or comments, let me know. Have a great weekend.