WingedKatt here. Nick will be singing 'Start of Something Good' by Daughtry later in the chapter if you want to look it up.
It was a little after nine at night and Shaylee was headed down the hall towards Judy's room. Although Shaylee had threatened Nick if he didn't call Judy tomorrow, the whole thing was just too messed up. So, after thinking about it for a bit while recalling how heartbroken Judy was over the todd, Shaylee decided to take Judy along with her tonight. If Judy met Nick, then he wouldn't need to hide his car (they could even go for a night drive!), and her specist siblings wouldn't dare harass Nick seeing as Judy would be with him. To this end, Shaylee was going to drag Judy to town with her under the pretense that she had a huge surprise for her.
As she came up to Judy's bedroom door, Shaylee tapped lightly on the thick would, saying, "Hey, Judy? Can I come in for a minute?" Silence met her, so she knocked on the door a bit louder, calling, "Judy? Are you in there?" Still silence.
Pushing the door open just enough to pop her head in and take a look, Shaylee's ears perked forward and her eyes widened. The bedroom light was still on, but Judy was lying curled up around her pillow, fast asleep. Stepping further into the room, Shaylee shut the door behind her and walked softly over to the bed. Brushing Judy's ear back, she whispered, "Don't worry, Judy, you'll get to see Nick soon enough. I promise."
"Hmmm?" Judy murmured in her sleep. Rubbing her cheek into the pillow, she whispered, "Nick..."
Shaylee's ears twitched, as did her nose. She had heard rumors that Judy was a sleep talker, and if you caught her in the middle of a dream, she would even answer any question you asked her. Being much younger than Judy, Shaylee had never had the chance to find out for herself, but it was an interesting idea.
Leaning down, Shaylee lightly ran her paw down Judy's ears in a soothing manner. Whispering softly in her sister's ear, Shaylee asked, "Do you want to see Nick again?"
Judy's nose began twitching as she answered softly, "Yes." A moment later, her face scrunched up and she added, "But I hurt him. He won't see me now."
Petting her ears again in the same soothing manner, Shaylee said, "Nick forgave you. He misses you, too."
Judy's ear twitched and she rubbed her cheek into her pillow again. "He does?" she whispered sleepily.
Still petting her ear, Shaylee replied, "Yes, he does. He even came all the way from Zootopia to see you. He's here in Bunnyburrow right now."
With a small smile tugging up the corner of her mouth, Judy murmured, "He is?"
"Yep, he sure is." On impulse, Shaylee then asked, "What do you want to do when you meet him?"
A broad smile spread across Judy's mouth and her whole countenance brightened, even in her sleep. "I want to kiss him," she stated boldly.
Shaylee blinked, then slapped a paw over her mouth to keep a giggle from waking Judy up. Getting a hold of herself, she asked, "You do?" Judy nodded against her pillow and Shaylee said, "I bet if you kissed him, Nick would kiss you back."
Judy scrunched her nose up and asked softly, "Think so?"
"Hm-hm," Shaylee murmured, "I'm sure of it."
A bright smile spread across Judy's face again as she asked in a soft murmur, "What do you think his teeth will feel like when we kiss?"
Shaylee blinked, then she grinned widely. "I don't know, Judy, but I bet kissing Nick will be exciting."
Rubbing her cheek against the pillow, Judy hugged it tighter to her and whispered under breath, "Yeah, being with Nick is always exciting." Licking her lips, Judy then murmured, "Do you think Nick's long vulpine tongue is as good as grandma promised?"
Shaylee blinked in confusion. What did their grandma have to do with Nick? And which grandma was Judy even talking about? "Grandma said Nick's tongue would be good?" she asked curiously.
A wide smile split Judy's face. "She promised it would be the best." Shifting on the bed, Judy stretched her legs out and rolled onto her stomach as she pulled the pillow closer and snuggled into it, then she sighed and her breathing deepened.
"Judy?" Shaylee said while still petting her sister's ears. There was no more reply from Judy and Shaylee knew this was all the information she would get tonight. With a sigh, she wished Nick could have seen and heard this. No better way to get Nick thinking about kissing her sister than to hear it directly from Judy's own lips. But what did she mean about Nick's tongue? And how would their grandma even know Nick?
With a sigh, Shaylee shook her head. Next time she caught Judy sleeping, she'll be sure to have the camera rolling. She also had several questions for her sister, such as which grandma was she talking about, how would she have met Nick, and what in the world did she mean about his tongue!?
Glancing around the room, Shaylee walked over and pulled a patchwork quilt from the closet and covered her sister with it. Petting Judy's ears one last time, Shaylee then turned back to the door. Flipping the light off as she slipped into the hallway, she glanced back at her sister. As the pale, blue light of the nightlight shown softly upon the sleeping bunny, Shaylee whispered, "Goodnight, Judy. Sleep tight."
Walking back upstairs, Shaylee waved or spoke a few words to her siblings as she passed them. As late as it was, many were retiring to their room to do a little light reading or playing on their phones before turning in for the night. There was still a crowd in the tv room watching various shows or playing video games as there were several tv's set up in a number of different little alcoves to give the watchers a bit of privacy and to prevent the tv's from drowning each other out.
Ignoring them all, she continued climbing the stairs until she reached the main level, then made her way to the front door. Once outside, it didn't take her long to climb into her pale, clover-green jeep and head into town. Although she would be early for their 10 O'clock meet-up, Shaylee needed to talk to Nick and show him the home video she made of Judy, and if that didn't convince him to call Judy, then she was going to beat some sense into him, even if she had to borrow Gideon's rolling pin to do it.
As she had left the covering for her jeep off, Shaylee enjoyed the feel of the cool, night wind as it flowed over her ears and ruffled her fur. Thinking of the conversation she would soon have with Nick and wondering how his reaction would be to Judy's confession, Shaylee arrived at Gideon's bakery before she knew it. Pulling in behind the shop, she parked next to Gideon's truck and hopped out.
The kitchen door was locked, so Shaylee tried the side door that led directly up to the apartment. Hearing a guitar playing and some singing, her ear twitched. She was pretty sure Gideon didn't play the guitar, which meant Nick was playing. And he played good—really good. As she neared the top of the stairs, she could make out the voices. Gideon was singing a bit off key, but Nick—he had a smooth voice that drew you in as he put emotion into his singing. She had said it before, but Judy really did luck out in finding Nick.
Knocking lightly on the wooden door, the music stopped and then the door was opened by Gideon. "Well, hello, Shaylee," he drawled as a smile spread across his face. "You're a bit early, ain't cha?"
Shaylee returned his smile while saying, "Well, I didn't have anything better to do at the burrow, so I figured I'd just come hangout with you two." As Gideon stepped aside to let her in (and secretly pleased Shaylee wanted to hang out with them), Shaylee added, "And besides, I need to talk to Nick before we hide his car."
Looking at her from where he sat on the couch, guitar still in paw, Nick's ears perked up and his tail tip flicked with curiosity. "Oh? And what do we need to discuss?"
Gideon sat down in his recliner while watching his two curious guests. When Travis had told him Shaylee was coming over at ten because they needed to hide Nick's car at his place, Gideon thought his friend was crazy. But after thinking it over, he knew they couldn't let a select few of Judy's siblings find out about the car. There were several of Judy's older brothers who were strongly (that's putting it mildly) against foxes and used to bully him relentlessly. So, hearing how Shaylee was wanting to help Nick surprised him, but he was grateful to learn not all of Judy's siblings were against them being friends.
Shaylee rolled her eyes at Nick's question, but grinned good-naturedly, saying, "Who do you think we need to discuss?" Plopping down on the rocking chair across from Nick, she gave him her undivided attention.
With an ear flick, Nick's brow creased, and then his eyes widened. "The video about Judy! You brought it, right!?" He had almost forgotten that Shaylee had made a video of Judy. He was really excited to see it and know how Judy was doing.
Shaylee laughed and pulled out her phone. "Of course, I did." Shaylee sent the music videos to Nick's phone first while telling him to check them out later. Then she sent him the video she had made of Judy when she returned home. Seeing his eager expression, she told him to watch it with his earplugs in, explaining the video was for his ears and eyes only.
Listening to her advice, Nick moved to his room to watch the video. Digging his earplugs out of his bag, Nick sat on his bed and plugged them into his phone and then stuck them in his ears. Pulling up the video of Judy, Nick was highly curious to see how Judy was after 4 months.
As the video started, Nick chuckled at Shaylee's opening remarks. Seeing Judy come into the barn with three emus, two of which she had bought—one of which was for him—had him flabbergasted, though it was heartwarming to hear Judy's laugh. Hearing what she had named them had him chuckling again. Seeing as she named the female Toot-toot, a name he had called her, he assumed JD stood for Junior Detective, seeing as that was one of the nicer things she had called him.
But then when Shaylee mentioned Mandy and how she thought Judy liked him, Nick held his breath as he waited for Judy's answer. When she admitted to liking him—really, really liking him—Nick didn't know what to think. Running his claws through his head fur, he then tugged on his ear. He was a fox, Judy was a rabbit, furthermore, she was afraid of him! How could she be interested in him if she was afraid of him!? It made no sense! That rabbit made no sense! He was a packaged deal—sharp teeth and claws included—so how could she want to be close to him!? To . . . to date him!?
As Shaylee asked Judy about her fears, Nick took a deep breath and tried to calm down as these were the questions he needed answered. As Judy stated that it wasn't him she was afraid of, that she found him smart and funny, squeezed his heart in an unfamiliar way. And then when she started talking about everything that had scared her, how she hid it away from even herself—Nick's ears disappeared against his head while his tail and shoulders slumped.
Being a fox in Zootopia, he'd gotten used to scary situations, even life-threatening situations, so he was able to handle it better. But Judy, she was a bunny who grew up in such a (relatively) peaceful place where crime was low and where farm accidents was the second leading cause of death next to natural causes and old age.
Slapping a paw over his face as Judy continued talking about all the things that had scared her during the missing mammals' case, guilt hit Nick like a hundred-foot tsunami. He had called Judy a dumb bunny repeatedly those first two days knowing her, and yet all this time, he had been such a dumb fox without even realizing it.
Rubbing his temples, Nick took a deep breath. He'd spent a lifetime carefully constructing a mask to hide his insecurities and to keep others from knowing when they got to him, so why wouldn't Judy be wearing a similar mask? She was a rabbit stepping outside the stereotype of her species—she was going to be a big city cop. And she was going to stop at nothing (even blackmailing a fox) to prove it. Of course, she would need a mask to hide how hard it was and to prevent anyone from pointing out her weaknesses and giving them fuel to beat her down with, saying a weak rabbit couldn't do it, that it was impossible for a bunny to be a real cop.
With a growl, Nick pulled on his fur. He was so stupid for believing Judy's peppy, over-enthusiastic personality was all there was to her. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," Nick growled at himself.
Hearing Judy's heart-wrenching sob as she feared he hated her and could never forgive her for hurting him as everyone else had, Nick dropped his paw and looked at the phone again. Seeing Shaylee assure Judy that he didn't hate her, and he would come for her helped assuage his guilt—slightly.
As the video then showed a stream of young bunnies hopping into the barn hollering about dinner, Nick took another deep breath as his tail flicked in irritation at himself. He was angry now—but not at Judy—at himself. He could no longer be mad at Judy, not now that he knew that she wasn't afraid of him, his teeth and claws didn't scare him, and that she liked him.
This knowledge still flabbergasted him. He'd spent his whole life being told in one form or another that he was worthless, that no one wanted. His own mother had essentially abandoned him, so how could anyone else love him? And yet here was a rabbit he hardly knew claiming to like him. That she was interested in him—not the sly persona he let the world see, but the real him that he kept hidden behind his mask.
Judy was one of the few mammals who knew the fox behind the mask and yet she still liked him. She wanted him. This was a new idea for Nick. Although there had been a lot of females who had shown interest in him, none of them knew the real him, nor did they really care to get to know the real him. They were merely interested in his money, his connections, or the fun they thought they could have with him. Not that there weren't good vixens out there who were looking to settle down and start a family, but being a borderline criminal, it's not a lifestyle he wanted to drag a family into.
He had tried giving his heart away once, when he was much younger and not as wise, but saying the relationship didn't end well was the understatement of the year. She was a gray fox vixen who played him like a second fiddle. When he finally realized she was merely using him and confronted her about it, she laughed saying he was a fool to think she could actually love him. He stopped trusting after that and closed his heart off to love.
But now, here was Judy, a rabbit, who said she loved him (how else was he to take her words?). Not for what she could get from him but for who he was. Rubbing his forehead, Nick wasn't sure what to think or how to feel. The idea of love was so foreign to him that he honestly didn't know what to think or how to feel. But there was no denying that Judy drew his interest. And he did care about her. But was that enough to base a romantic relationship on? He didn't know, not without seeing Judy and spending more time with her.
Shaking his head, Nick focused back on the phone just as Shaylee was threatening to wring his fluffy red and white neck if he didn't call Judy. As the video ended, Nick brought up his contacts list and dialed Judy's number. He no longer cared what anyone thought of him or his relationship with the bunny who turned his life upside down and made him believe again—to believe not only in her, but also in himself.
The phone rang several times before the voice mail picked up. With his ears drooping at not getting Judy on the phone, Nick waited for the beep then said, "Hey Carrots, it's Nick. Shaylee gave me your number and if you're wondering how I know your sister, it's because I'm here in Bunnyburrow. I'm staying with Gideon over at his bakery." Nick paused a moment, knowing he didn't have a lot of time to truly say everything that needed to be said. Taking a breath, he finished with, "We have a lot to talk about, but I just want to say that I don't hate you, Judy, and I'm no longer mad at you. Call me when you get this message. I miss you."
Staring at the phone as he ended the call, Nick then sent Judy a text, letting her know he was here in town and needed to talk to her. Repeating that he didn't hate her, but missed her instead, he then told her he forgave her and hoped she could forgive him for being such a jerk. Tossing his phone on his pillow, Nick raked his claws across his head and down the back of his neck. With a low growl that was part frustration and part regret, he covered his eyes with his arm.
He had originally agreed to play Mandy's stupid game because he didn't want to subject Judy to the same level of hate and bullying that he had always received for being a fox. As much as she was bullied growing up for wanting to be a cop, it was nothing compared to what he received, sometimes on a daily basis, for being a sly, backstabbing pelt. It's not something he ever wanted to see Judy subjected to. But then again, if their relationship did deepen into something more, something romantic, then it was something Judy would need to get used to.
That's not to say he was planning to make it easy for Judy's siblings to harass and bully him. If they couldn't find him, or get him alone, then they couldn't hurt him could they? Even then, he was planning to go over to the rodeo ground and meet her parents. If he could get on Judy's parents' good side in offering to help set up the rodeo grounds, then they should be able to prevent the worst of the harassment. Plus, if Judy's parents approved of their friendship, then her siblings would think twice about doing anything to him.
But now—he still planned on meeting her parents to help with the rodeo set up (he needed to impress her parents if he hoped to gain their acceptance of his and Judy's friendship, especially if it developed into something more). But her specist siblings could jump off a bridge for all he cared. Judy needed him now and her needs were all that mattered to him.
Thinking about Judy and what the future might hold for them, a wide smile spread across his muzzle. Judy was planning to join the Search and Rescue Mounted Patrol and had even bought two emus—one for her and one for him—which meant he could join her. Although he had never ridden a bird before, Nick was suddenly looking forward to having Judy teach him. And if they met up tomorrow, then they could go to the rodeo together this weekend. His grin grew a bit bigger with this idea.
He still didn't know what the future held for them, but whatever it was and however their relationship was to develop, he knew that this was the start of something good. Sitting up, Nick grabbed his phone and headed back into the living room where Shaylee and Gideon were talking.
Seeing Nick come back in the room, Shaylee raised an eyebrow and asked, "Well? Are you going to call her?"
Nick grinned, saying, "I already have." With a flick of his ear, he added, "But she didn't answer, so I left her a voicemail and a text message."
Shaylee nodded as her nose twitched. "Judy was already asleep when I left the house, otherwise I would have brought her with me."
Nick's ears perked forward. After seeing Judy in the video, he had a strong desire to see her in person, so he felt a bit bummed that she was already asleep. He really wished he could see her tonight. Sitting down, he picked up his guitar and strummed his fingers across the strings. Glancing at Shaylee, Nick replied, "Well, hopefully she'll call in the morning and we can fix what we both broke." Strumming his guitar again, Nick wondered how early Judy might get up in the morning. He wasn't normally an early riser, but he knew rabbits were, and if Judy was already in bed, then he could expect an early phone call. Hopefully.
Shaylee nodded, but it was Gideon who spoke up, saying, "If you're going to see Judy tomorrow morning, do we still need to hide your car?" Gideon hated the idea of having to hide such a beautiful car under a pile of moldy straw.
Shaylee's ears perked forward as she looked at Nick who had a thoughtful look on his face as he continued strumming his guitar.
Turning to glance at Shaylee, Nick asked, "How early do your specist brothers usually get up?"
Shaylee's nose twitched as she thought. "Well, Jerry usually sleeps in, but Roger and Daryl are early risers."
Nick's ear flicked and then he asked, "Earlier than Judy?"
Shaylee raised a finger and opened her mouth, then shut it and curled her finger in. "Uh, well, she used to get up really early, but of late . . . Judy's been getting up pretty late." After folding her arms, she tilted her head in thought, then said, "She has her birds now, so I imagine she'll be getting up earlier than usual, but I can't say how early." With a shrug, she added, "Roger and Daryl will probably be up before she is."
Nick nodded, then flicked his tail as he glanced back over to Gideon. "It'll probably be better if I still hide my car over at Travis's then. If Daryl or Roger decides to scope out the place first thing in the morning and stumble across it, I might not have a car by the time I wake up."
Gideon ears, shoulders, and tail slumped even as Shaylee's ears drooped. Taking a deep breath, Shaylee's nose twitched as she said, "Nick's right. Roger probably won't think to scope out the place, but Daryl certainly will, and he'll drag Roger along with him. Daryl also knows how to hotwire a car, so leaving it here for him to find is a bad idea."
Gideon gave a dejected nod of his head. The fact they had to hide Nick's classic car because a few of Judy's siblings didn't think she should be hanging out with the city fox was simply wrong on so many levels. To Gideon, it was starting to feel like he was in grade school all over again, with bullies breaking his and his friends' things just because they were foxes. Hadn't they grown up and moved past all this rubbish? With a heavy sigh, Gideon said, "So I, I, I guess we're going to Travis's after all?"
"That we are, my good fox," Nick said with a British accent (his classic car was British, after all). With a flick of his ear, Nick pulled out his phone and looked at the time. It wasn't quite ten o'clock yet, so they had a little bit of time before heading over to Travis's. Opening his camera app and switching it to record, he said, "But before that, there's another song I want to record for Judy." Handing the phone to Gideon, Nick said, "Here, you want to record it for me?"
Gideon took the phone and glanced at it before returning his gaze to Nick, who had just picked up his guitar.
Hearing Nick's comment, Shaylee's ears pricked forward. "Another song?" With a nose twitch, she added, "As in, you've already recorded a song for her?"
Nick strummed his guitar as he met Shaylee's curious (and hopeful) gaze with a wide grin. "Yes, I already recorded one song for Judy." As Shaylee beamed at him, Nick turned his attention back to Gideon, saying, "You ready to start recording?"
With a bob of his head, Gideon held the phone up, saying, "Yep, I, I'm ready." With a nod towards Nick, Gideon hit the record button.
Looking at the phone as he strummed the guitar, Nick said, "Hey, Carrots, it's me again. You should have gotten a text and voicemail message from me already, so I hope you've listened to them." With a swish of tail, Nick continued, "Anyways, your sister Shaylee," he nodded his head towards Judy's sister and Gideon panned the phone around to catch her waving.
"Hi, Judy," Shaylee said. "Surprise! Nick came to town just like I said he would and yes, he has an awesome, black convertible."
As Gideon panned the phone back to Nick, Nick said, "So as I was saying—Shaylee showed me an interesting video tonight of you with a couple of birds." Tilting his head slightly, Nick added, "And yes, I would love to go birdback riding with you, but you'll have to teach me how to ride." Looking down at the guitar as his strumming started to take on a particular tune, Nick glanced briefly at the phone again, saying, "As I said in my earlier video—I don't know what the future holds for us, we won't know until we can see each other again, but I have faith that this is the start of something good."
Returning his attention to the guitar, Nick began playing The Start of Something Good by Daughtry. Once the intro-music finished, Nick started singing, "You never know when you're gonna meet someone… And your whole wide world in a moment comes undone. You're just walking around and suddenly everything that you thought that you knew about love is gone. You find out it's all been wrong… And all my scars don't seem to matter anymore… Cause they led me here to you."
Taking a breath as he strummed the guitar, Nick then picked up on the next strain, "I know that it's gonna take some time. I've got to admit that the thought has crossed my mind—this might end up like it should. And I'm gonna say what I need to say, and hope to God that it don't scare you away… Don't wanna be misunderstood… But I'm starting to believe that this could be the start of something good…" Closing his eyes as he strummed the guitar, he then started singing again. "Everyone knows life has its ups and downs. One day you're on top of the world, and one day you're the clown. Well I've been both enough to know that you don't wanna get in the way when it's working out, the way that it is right now…"
After Nick finished singing the song, he looked back at the camera and said, "Carrots, my life has completely come undone since I met you, and I was a fool for cutting you out of my life so easily. I'm sorry for walking out on you, but if you give me another chance, I'll be there for you, however our lives turn out." With a teasing grin, he added, "Remember, you're the boss."
Reaching forward to end the recording, Nick took back his phone, then glanced at Shaylee to see her wide grin. Returning her grin, he pointed to her and said, "Whatever you're thinking," he swiped his paws out in from of him, "stop thinking it."
Shaylee chuckled, then said, "Oh, come on, Nick! Judy's not afraid of you and she admitted herself that she likes you." Pointing to the todd across from her with the stunning green eyes, she added, "So, I'm just curious about how you're going to respond to her confession."
Nick remained silent as he considered his answer. He wasn't the only one sitting quietly, though, as Gideon sat stunned, staring at his fellow todd with a slack jaw. Nick had acted territorial towards Judy last night when he found out that Gideon had clawed her as a kit, and the song he just sang made him wonder if the city todd wasn't developing feelings for the energetic bunny. Gideon had immediately dismissed the idea while listening to the song, as Nick was a fox and Judy was a rabbit. They sat at opposite ends of the food chain and their ancestors had been deadly enemies. A large number of rabbits were still enemies to foxes.
But now, to learn that Judy liked Nick first! This was unheard of! Pointing to Shaylee in stunned silence, Gideon then pointed to Nick, then back at Shaylee as his brain tried to process the implications. "You . . . you're saying that . . . that your sister, Judy, likes . . ." He pointed back at Nick, "You say Judy likes Nick!?"
Shaylee nodded as her tail flicked behind her. Meeting Nick's gaze, she folded her arms and leaned back in the chair, then said, "Judy left her heart in Zootopia with Nick. So, I'm just wondering if he's going to keep and cherish it, or if he's planning to give it back."
Gideon looked between the two, flabbergasted that a rabbit would fall for a predator. That Shaylee was apparently supporting her sister in chasing the city fox was just as shocking. Shouldn't Shaylee be trying to chase Nick out of town, too, not encouraging him to chase after her sister?
Nick met Shaylee's curious and demanding gaze for a moment, then said, "I already told you I don't know how I feel about Judy. I won't know until I see her." At Shaylee's furrowed brow (this wasn't the answer she was hoping to hear), Nick held a finger up and said, "But I'm very much looking forward to finding out the answer to that question." With a wide grin, he added, "After watching the video, I'd say the future is looking much brighter than it did when I woke up this morning."
Shaylee's brows relaxed and a bright smile spread across her face. "Well," she started with a twitch of her nose, "as long as you're willing to at least give my sister a chance, then I have nothing to complain about."
Nick grinned happily as he held his paws up in a 'What can I say?' gesture, saying, "I'm a fox. We're naturally curious creatures and are willing to try just about anything at least once if it looks like it'll be worth our time." Glancing at Gideon, Nick asked, "Am I right?"
Gideon rubbed his paws together in a slightly nervous gesture. "I, I, I don't know about that, Nick. I, I, I kinda like to keep things safe." With a shrug, he added, "I, I was a real mess growing up and I, I like the simple life I have now."
Nick's jaw went slack for a moment, then he shook his head and said, "Well, us city foxes are willing to try new things." Relaxing back on the couch, he met Shaylee's brown gaze again and said, "And right now, I'd say Judy is about the only worthwhile thing in my life."
A bright smile spread across Shaylee's face as she clapped her paws together. "Well, so long as you're willing to keep your options open when it comes to my sister, then I can expect a positive outcome."
Nick chuckled as his tail wagged happily beside him. "My options are wide open when it comes to your sister." With his ears perked forward, he added, "Like I said in the song, 'This is the start of something good,' I can feel it."
Shaylee nodded, then looked at the time. Seeing as it was just a few minutes away from ten, she said, "Well, shall we hide your car? It should be dark enough now."
Nick and Gideon agreed, and after setting his guitar back in his room, Nick met Gideon and Shaylee at the door. After making their way down to the car, Shaylee decided to do another video for Judy, showing Nick's dedication in wanting to see her while minimizing the damage their siblings could do to him in the meantime. After explaining to Judy what they were doing, and after Shaylee pointed out that she wasn't kidding about Nick driving into Bunnyburrow in a black convertible, Shaylee climbed into her jeep as Nick and Gideon climbed into his convertible.
They kept their headlights off until they were out of town, and it was a good thing Nick had good night vision because the night was dark with clouds hiding the moon's bright light. Shaylee had to keep right on Nick's tail in order to see his vehicle, but they made it out of town without incident.
Gideon was on cloud nine as they sped down the highway in the black convertible. The night was warm, so once it was safe to turn their headlights on, Nick put the top down and let the night air flow through their fur. Following Gideon's directions down one country lane and then another, past cultivated fields and bird pastures, and then through a wooded area, they made it to Travis's place in good time. Upon arriving, Travis met them in the yard and then showed them where the tractor shed was that they could park the classic car in.
After the trio exited the two vehicles, Travis introduced his wife to them (she was impressed with Nick's classic car, too, and couldn't wait to take a spin in it). Travis then told them more about the place. The land had belonged to his great-grandparents on his mother's side. The house he and Tiffany lived in was the same house his grandparents had built and was where his mother had been born. His mother had inherited the place upon the death of his grandparents, but she never told his dad about it or he would have immediately sold the place to pay for his drinking habit.
But then Travis's dad died of liver failure caused by his excessive drinking and his mother moved back to her childhood home to finish out her years. The severe abuse she had suffered at his dad's paws during their marriage had taken a toll on her and Travis's mom died a couple of years ago, leaving the house to him.
This information left everyone a bit dejectedly, especially Nick. Although he didn't have an alcoholic father (his dad had been extremely devoted to his mom when he was still home), living on the streets, Nick had seen plenty of drunken, abusive homes in the poorer side of town where he was forced to live much of his younger years. It's one of the main reasons he normally avoided alcohol, with a few months ago being an exception as he tried to drown out Judy's memory in a bottle. Needless to say, he was never doing that again. He had learned his lesson the hard way.
Nick was lifted from his melancholy mood, though, after Travis mentioned that his great-great-grandparents' original homestead was still on the property. Being the antique buff that he was, Nick was interested in seeing the place. Travis didn't have a problem, and after grabbing a flashlight and the keys to the place, he led the group through the woods to the homestead his great-great-grandfather had built. It was a quaint little cabin partially built into the side of a hill and surrounded by lilac and rose bushes, as these two flowers were Travis's great-great-grandmother's favorite.
After unlocking the door, Travis let Nick enter first. Stepping inside, Nick felt like he was stepping back in time. The place had an ancient, earthy scent to it that spoke of the long span of time it had stood standing. The scent wasn't unpleasant and Nick took a deeper breath. Thinking of the cabin's age, he wondered what stories the walls had to tell?
Looking around, he took notice of the spacious open floor plan, with the living room taking up the first half of the building and opening up into the kitchen and dining area situated at the back of the house. To the right was the master bedroom, the bathroom, and a large storage closet. To the left of the living room were two more bedrooms. And considering the place was built by ferrets, the rooms could be considered spacious. The place looked like it was built more for red foxes than the smaller-sized ferrets.
But as interesting as the size and layout of the home was, what really caught Nick's attention was the antique furniture, quilts, rugs, and wall-hangings. Going through the house, Nick started rattling off the names and dates of the various items, which left both ferrets and the rabbit doe slack jawed. The only reason Gideon wasn't just as dumbfounded was that he had already seen Nick in action back with his own antique furniture.
Nick was surprised to see how well everything had been kept up with, though, and after asking Travis about it, the ferret explained that his grandparents kept up the place, seeing as his mom always took refuge here whenever she needed to get away from his dad for a few days. Upon inheriting the place, Travis took it upon himself to fix the place up and keep it nice as this is where his best memories of his mom were. She was safe from his dad here and always seemed to be smiling whenever she stayed.
Nick nodded, then after another tour of the place, he decided he better get home and to bed if he wanted to be up early. Who knew how early Judy might wake up, not to mention her specist siblings? And depending on how early or late Judy called, Nick wanted to help Gideon in the bakery while waiting for her call. Everyone agreed that it was time to head home as they all planned to be up early. After saying goodbye, with Nick thanking Travis once again for letting him hide his car there, the two foxes climbed into the jeep with Shaylee. The drive back to town was a quiet affair as each was lost in their own thoughts.
After dropping her foxy friends off, Shaylee headed home with a wide smile on her face. After Judy woke up and got Nick's messages, Mandy's stupid little game will come to an end and Judy will be able to mend her broken friendship with Nick and everything will be great. And before long, she'll have a foxy outlaw for an in-law (Nick had admitted to being a hustler when Judy found him). After imagining Judy's and Nick's wedding, Shaylee's smile slipped as she wondered how it would all work. Would they even be allowed to marry? With them being a pred-prey couple, Shaylee doubted the city council would agree to their marriage. After several minutes of trying to come up with a way for them to get married, Shaylee set the unsettling question aside. Nick and Judy could worry about it once they hooked up. Between the two, she was sure they could come up with a solution.
With her smile back in place, Shaylee arrived home and made her way down to her room. Upon crawling into bed, she fell asleep while planning out Judy and Nick's wedding. By the time sleep claimed her, Shaylee already had Judy's dress picked out, the cake made, and the flowers arranged.
...
With the lights turned low, Mandy sat in the far corner of the machine shop where they fixed all the broken farm equipment. She was sitting among her siblings whom she felt would most likely help her in driving Judy's fox from town. The fact Judy found the shifty fox physically attractive made her sick to her stomach. No rabbit, or any prey, should be physically attractive to a fox, a predator. To get that close to a mammal whose ancestors once ate their own was sickening and had Mandy's head spinning. How could Judy be attracted to a fox! To the point that she was crying over him, dreaming about him, and constantly thinking about him!?
After explaining to her siblings why she called them to this 'Save Judy from Herself' meeting and how they couldn't let Judy know her crush was in town, many of her siblings felt the same way. Several of her sisters and a pawful of her brothers were utterly disgusted with the idea that Judy wanted to chase a fox, while several others were trying to figure out what dirty tricks the fox had played on their sister to make her fall for him.
There were a few voices who pointed out that Judy was a big girl and could take care of herself, but after Mandy explained how this city todd had already walked out on Judy once, leaving her an emotional mess to the point he disturbed her sleep and left her bawling her eyes out, they changed their tune. If the fox had hurt their sister so deeply once already, they weren't going to give him a second chance to do even worse damage.
Once Mandy explained they had a week to drive the fox from town while keeping Judy home and in the dark of the fox's presence, her siblings began throwing out ideas on how to get rid of the unwanted fox. A few of her brothers wanted to get physical with the fox, but after Mandy explained the deal she made with Shaylee and how she would tell not only Judy about the fox and what they were up to, but Mom and Dad, too, her brothers scrapped that idea. Ever since their Dad started working with Gideon Gray, they hadn't been able to get away with some of the stuff they used to in the past (their Dad no longer condoned them bullying the predators in town).
With physical violence out the window, they had to come up with some non-violent means to drive the fox from town. One of their sisters, Corrina, suggested they talk to the shop owners in town to ban the fox from entering them. This was agreed upon, but expanded to include not just Nick, but Gideon and Travis, as well. Seeing as the city fox was staying with Gideon, if Nick couldn't enter the stores himself, then he could just send Gideon or Travis in to get what he wanted. Although not every store or restaurant would agree to their request, quite a few would, they were sure.
While most were discussing this idea to ban the foxes and the ferret from the business establishments, a small group of the brothers, namely Daryl, Jerry, Roger, Stanley, Billy, and Larry, were discussing some of the pranks they pulled off in middle school and high school. They wouldn't actually hurt the fox, but they would leave the filthy pelt miserable as several of the pranks involved laxatives and other unpleasant substances. It simply came down to a matter of when and where to use them. First off, they would have to stake out Gideon's place and figure out the fox's habits before they could determine the best time and place to catch the city fox unaware.
With several ideas discussed for how to drive the city fox from town, the meeting broke up, with Daryl, Roger, and Billy deciding to head over to Gideon's bakery at first light to see what they could find out about the filthy fox whom their sister was unnaturally fond of.
WingedKatt here again. We're finally finished with Tuesday! Yay! We'll start in on Wednesday in the next chapter. We'll also see Judy starting her day, Bonnie is going to derail Shaylee's plans for the day, and Nick will finally get around to watching all those music videos Shaylee made of Judy. So we'll see what happens.
Chapter 16: Early Wednesday Morning, will post in 2 weeks, on Sept. 18th. Take care and have a great weekend. Stay safe. If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know.