WingedKatt here. There are a few songs that are played in the second half of the chapter if you're interested in looking them up. The first three are: 'Shut Up and Fish' by Maddie and Tae (I highly recommend watching the official music video on YouTube-it's hilarious), 'Good Time' by Alan Jackson, and 'Be A Light' by Thomas Rhett ft. w/Keith Urban, Chris Tomlin, Hillary Scott, and Reba McEntire. The other three songs are: 'If I Could Turn Back Time' by Cher, 'Stand By You' by Rachel Platten, and 'My Life Would Suck Without You' by Kelly Clarkson.
Standing back to survey their handiwork, Nick and gang (more rabbits had joined them after lunch) were pleased with their work. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon and they had finally finished putting the bleachers together. It had been long, hard, dusty work but they were finally done. Furthermore, there had been no accidents, either.
Glancing over at a shed where Nick was sure Daryl, Jerry, Billy, and Roger were hiding, he thought of all the death glares he'd received from them today. Nick had Ben and Aaron introduce him to the spiteful bucks the first time they showed up where here. He wanted to show the jerks that he was no pushover. He also needed to get their scent. Seeing as they had already come by the Bakery to scope him out, Nick needed to know their scent so he could recognize it in the future.
This simple action had already saved him a world of hurt today. He had caught their scents on one of the high boards he was planning to walk across and discovered several small tacks superglued pointy-side up on it. Another time, he'd smelled their scent on a rope he was going to use to haul several heavy boards up on and discovered it had been cut nearly clear through with a knife.
Nick had caught their scent a few other places, too, but as they couldn't find anything wrong, he assumed they'd been interrupted before putting their nefarious plans into action. And now Shaylee's specist brothers were out of time. With their work done, Shaylee was going to drive Nick back to the bakery so he could get cleaned up before dinner. Marty and Melanie were going to accompany them.
Ben and Aaron wanted to return home to look over the Mustang Boss before Nick showed up, so Shaylee would drop them off close to home and then they would walk the rest of the way. Brandi was going stay at the rodeo grounds. She wanted to help some of their other sisters with a few easier projects that still needed finished and then she'd ride back with them.
After saying goodbye to Brandi and a few other rabbits he'd gotten to know, Nick climbed into Shaylee's jeep along with the others. Seeing as this was the first time he had ridden in her jeep, Nick was glad Shaylee had the top off since the bunny-sized vehicle was a little short for a fox.
They had just left the dusty parking lot when Gideon called Nick to tell him about the stores barring them from entering and to ask if Shaylee wouldn't possibly mind going shopping for them? Nick knew that Shaylee would be busy the rest of the afternoon and this evening seeing as she was going to be helping with the ball, so he asked her if she could go shopping for Gideon in the morning. Shaylee readily agreed, and Marty chimed in saying he would go, too. After a moment, Melanie said she'd join them. After meeting and spending time with Nick, she was interested in learning more about foxes.
Nick let Gideon know that Shaylee would be happy to do the shopping tomorrow and let him know they were headed back to the bakery so he could clean up before dinner. Gideon was surprised to hear Nick had been invited to the Hopps burrow for dinner, but he was equally glad. With Stu inviting Nick over personally, it meant he wouldn't have to worry about being hauled in on trespassing charges in the future.
After hanging up with Gideon, they dropped Aaron and Ben off a couple miles from the burrow, and then they drove back to town. Parking behind the bakery, the three bunnies followed the fox up to the apartment. Walking through the door, Nick motioned for his friends to take a seat on the sofa while he headed back to his room, where he plopped down on the bed and fell back with his arms spread out wide.
Today had been long and hard, but he couldn't complain. With the exception of the time he'd spent with Judy, this had probably been the most meaningful work he'd done in years. And his muscles were going to be sore tomorrow to prove it.
Nick didn't lay for long, though. With his instincts still a bit agitated over the idea of Judy dating and marrying Ryan, or worse, this Jazzy character (even though—logically—Nick knew that wasn't the case), he picked up his phone and replayed the video of Judy's confession to Shaylee. It definitely helped mollify his instincts' ruffled tail feathers and made him long for Judy all that much more.
Back in the living room, Shaylee's and Marty's noses were twitching from the strong fox musk in the apartment, but it was nothing to poor Melanie's reaction as her nose was twitching like crazy. Shaylee had been here last night while Marty spent quite a bit of time with foxes, so they had built up somewhat of an immunity to the strong scent. But Melanie had no such immunity. Although she had gotten used to Nick's strong fox musk over the course of the day (they had been outside so the scent was diluted), it was nothing to the almost over-powering scent of fox that permeated Gideon's apartment.
Melanie had to repeatedly tell herself that she was safe and that there wasn't any danger here. After several minutes she got used to the strong scent and her nose slowed down in its twitching, though it didn't fully stop.
In an attempt to prove to her ancient bunny instincts that there was no threat here, Melanie didn't sit on the sofa with Shaylee and Marty but decided to walk around. Having never been in a fox's den before, she was highly curious. But surprisingly enough, it wasn't much different than a rabbit's burrow (just smaller—much, much smaller). There were pictures of Gideon and his family—his mother, his father when Gideon was young, his sister, and what looked to be his grandparents. There was an afghan folded neatly across the back of the sofa and ready to use on a cold evening (not that you would need it in the summer, but it was a nice touch to the room).
For a couple of bachelors, it was surprisingly clean and tidy. This surprised her. Melanie had seen several of her brothers' rooms, and they were anything but tidy. But then again, she could also say the same thing about quite a few of her sisters.
Before she could do much more than look around the living room, the apartment door opened and Gideon walked in. His surprise couldn't be plainer (his jaw was slack and his ears splayed) when he saw three bunnies in the room and not just one. Although he had smelled three bunnies on the stairs, he was still shocked to see that more than Shaylee was willing to enter a fox's den. He of course recognized Marty and knew the buck was friends with several smaller foxes in town, but he didn't recognize the other bunny.
Jumping off the couch, Shaylee walked over to Gideon and said, "Hi, Gideon! I'd like you to meet my sister Melanie and my cousin Marty." She motioned to both and Gideon gave them a nod.
Turning back to Shaylee, Gideon expressed his gratitude for agreeing to go shopping for them. Shaylee said she was happy to, even as Marty chimed in to say that he and Melanie would be going, too. This floored the rotund fox, that more of Judy's family was willing to help a couple of foxes like this. Just what kind of impression had Nick left on Judy's family? And in so short a time! If Nick could win over the Hopps clan to look more favorably on foxes, it would go a long way towards changing a lot of fox lives for the better.
The Hopps clan had such a huge influence in the community that if Nick could change their opinion about foxes, then the rest of the town would follow. There would still be a few old timers and the most specist families that wouldn't change, of course, but the majority of the town would follow the Hopps' example. Knowing this, Gideon beginning praying in his heart that Nick would be successful tonight in winning the rest of Judy's family over.
And once Judy arrived home, Mandy and all her scheming will go up in smoke. Of course, thinking of Judy made Gideon think about what Travis had seen late this morning. Judy wasn't really dating Ryan, was she?
With this thought in mind, Gideon twiddled his thumb for a moment, then asked, "Um, Shaylee, are . . . are ya sure Judy is . . ." He glanced at Marty and Melanie (Shaylee's sister was now sitting on the couch next to Marty). "Um, she's . . . serious . . . about her friendship with Nick, right?"
Seeing Gideon's non-too-subtle glance at Melanie and Marty, Shaylee grinned, though she wasn't sure what the point of Gideon's question was. "Yes, Judy's serious." Tilting her head as her nose twitched in curiosity, she asked, "Why do you ask?"
Gideon glanced back at Melanie and Marty. Rubbing his paws together, he returned his gaze to Shaylee. "Well, um, I, I, I," he looked back at the bunnies on the couch again. How was he supposed to talk to Shaylee about Judy's romantic interest in a fox when her sister and cousin sitting here listening? With his tail flicking in frustration, Gideon fell silent as he didn't know how to continue.
It didn't take long for Shaylee to figure out what had Gideon tongue tied. With his frequent looks at Melanie and Marty, along with his agitation, Shaylee knew the fox was worried about saying anything about Judy's interest in Nick in front of her sister and cousin. With a brighter smile, she motioned toward the two bunnies on the couch and said, "Don't worry, they already know Judy is interested in Nick—and vice versa."
Gideon's jaw dropped and his tail slumped to the floor in shock, even as his ears perked forward before canting sideways. With his gaze jumping to the other two rabbits in the room, he was again lost for words, especially since neither rabbit looked disgusted, uneasy, or angry at the idea of Judy hooking up with a fox.
With a bob of his head, Marty said, "I like Nick. He's an awesome fox and I'm happy to call him cousin."
"Yeah," Melanie agreed as she sat beside him. "Nick is the first fox I've ever considered as a brother, but he's fun and easy to talk to." With her nose twitching in anticipation, she added, "And I can't wait until he and Judy can meet up."
Gideon was once again blown away by how quickly and fully Nick had won these rabbits over. When dealing with a species that had major trust issues with predators as a whole—but especially with foxes—it floored him to see just how easily Nick had wormed his way into these bunnies' hearts and lives. Just what had Nick said and done with them!?
Smiling widely at her sister's and cousin's responses, Shaylee turned back to Gideon and said, "You don't have to worry about talking in front of them, so what has you worried about Judy?"
Gideon was silent a moment longer, then explained how Travis had seen Judy having lunch with Ryan and worried that Judy had been on a date. Shaylee explained how Bonny had already gossiped about the whole affair and then explained how Judy was with Ryan to avoid their mother setting her up with a buck in Search and Rescue. Gideon was quiet a moment longer, then asked if she was positive about it because Travis had seen Ryan showing Judy what could only be an engagement ring.
The bunnies in the room were all shocked by this announcement and fell silent. But the room didn't remain silent for long. From down the hall, a hearty laugh could be heard and then Nick poked his head out from his open bedroom door.
He had been half-listening to the conversation while watching the video, but at Gideon's mention of a ring, Nick sat up a little straighter. It took him a moment of thought to figure out what happened and then he was laughing. Turning his phone off and putting it in his pocket as he stood up, Nick made his way into the living room. Meeting Gideon's worried gaze, he said, "I cannot wait to see Bonnie's expression when she learns that Ryan already has a girl and that it's serious enough for him to buy an engagement ring!"
Gideon wrung his paws as he asked, "Are . . . are ya sure that's what . . . what happened?"
Nick rolled his eyes. "Think about it. Mandy figured out on her own that Judy likes me, Judy herself confessed to Shaylee just how deeply she likes me and how afraid she is that I might not want to see her anymore. Knowing this, do you really think that with Judy's personality that she would immediately jump into a relationship with a buck she hasn't seen in years? Or that Ryan went out and bought an engagement ring for her only a day after seeing Judy again?"
Gideon's eyes widened and his ears flicked back. "Uh, no, no I, I, I, can't."
Nick gave a curt nod, saying, "Ryan was probably telling Judy about his girlfriend when he decided to show her the ring he got her. He might even have been asking for some ideas on how to propose to her, so I wouldn't worry about it. Ryan isn't a threat to me."
Gideon nodded even as the bunnies in the room relaxed as they couldn't fault Nick's logic.
Seeing as he had calmed everyone down (he had already learned the hard way how terrible and painful it was to make assumptions about Judy), Nick then said, "Now that that's taken care of, I need to jump in the shower and wash all this dirt and grime off me so I'm presentable for dinner tonight." With a slight wave, He turned around and sauntered back into his room to grab his clothes, then made his way into the bathroom.
As the door closed on Nick, Gideon said he needed to get back to the kitchen and finish making another tray of pastries. This left the three rabbits sitting around talking while waiting for Nick to come out so they could head back to their burrow.
-/-/-
Standing in front of Bobby's house, Judy waved to Patty-Mae as she backed out of the driveway and started the 15-minute drive back towards town. The trip itself from Patty-Mae's house was almost thirty minutes as she lived about 10 minutes outside of town in a different direction (the speed limit throughout Bunnyburrow and the surrounding county area never reached above 45 mph). Which is why she insisted on being dropped off. Though it didn't seem that far when driving, when riding birdback, that same 20 to 30 minutes would've been an hour or more.
With a bright smile, Judy watched her friend disappear behind a dip in the road, then turned around to look over Bobby's modest house. It was a medium sized two-story house with a front porch. The large front yard had a white picket fence, which was surprising as most of Bobby's neighbors just had chain link fencing or wire fencing. There were a couple of houses that didn't even have fencing in the front yard.
Looking over the property, Judy couldn't miss the detached two-car garage next to the house. Nor could she miss the music coming from the garage. With curiosity guiding her footsteps, she walked over and poked her head into the garage. What she saw made her grin.
Bobby's two boys, Jacob and Daniel, along with three of their friends, a male tiger whom Judy recognized as one of Tony Tigre's boys whose name was Nathaniel, and then two pretty, little mink females—one midnight black and the other a dark chocolate—who looked to be sisters. Judy didn't recognize the two minks, but they were good singers as they were currently singing a song she had recently heard on the radio. It was called Shut Up and Fish, but Judy never caught who sang it.
Besides singing, the black sister was playing a fiddle while her dark chocolate sister was on the keyboard. At the same time, Daniel had a guitar while Jacob was playing a banjo. Nathaniel, on the other paw, was the band's drummer.
Bobbing her head in time to the music, Judy slipped into the garage and dropped down onto an old, beat-up couch that was in there. The song was pretty funny and she started swaying to the music. Once the song finished, Judy started clapping. This startled the young teens as they had been so engrossed in their music that they hadn't noticed Judy slipping in. The boys immediately recognized her as she was close friends with their parents, even if they hadn't seen her in a couple of years.
Furthermore, Daniel and Jacob knew Judy was coming over today so they weren't surprised to see her. When they first heard Judy was coming, they were a bit uneasy as they couldn't forget her specist words from the press conference 4 months ago, but after their dad reassured them that Aunt Judy was still Aunt Judy, they relaxed and were looking forward to seeing her again. Nathaniel was glad to see Judy was enjoying their music and asked exactly what she thought of it.
Judy praised them for their music and told them how much she enjoyed listening to them, then Daniel introduced the girls to her. And yes, they were sisters. They were twins, Stella and Sabrina. After asking about the song they had just sung, Judy found out it was originally sung by Maddie and Tae. They then asked if Judy wanted to hear it again as they were practicing for the Battle of the Bands that was put on every year to kick off the Rodeo. Seeing as the rodeo opened on Friday, they only had two more days to practice.
Judy readily agreed and she once again bobbed her head, tapped her foot, and swayed to the music as she listened to the mink sisters sing while the boys played. The girls were playing their instruments, too, but they never missed a note or a beat. Once the song ended, Daniel and Jacob started singing the next song with the girls and Nathaniel singing in the background.
Judy immediately recognized this song (Good Time by Alan Jackson) and both feet immediately started tapping to the honky-tonk beat. These kits did an excellent job of picking this song for the Battle of the Bands. Not only did this song have a toe-tapping beat, but the lyrics really captured what the weekend, and most importantly, the rodeo was meant to be—a real good time.
The last song they sang was Be a Light, which, in light of what was going on in Zootopia right now, was a song that was very much needed right now. Knowing she was part of the reason for the flames of hate and misery sweeping through Zootopia had tears smarting in Judy's eyes. Taking several deep breaths, she held the tears in, but it did nothing for the pain in her heart. Thinking of Nick being trapped in Zootopia didn't help. Was he okay? Was he hurt? Did he escape? Did he find someplace warm to stay or was he forced into one of the predator refugee camps? Not knowing was killing her.
When the song ended, Judy clapped again, then asked if she could record the songs. Since she was going to be up in the mountains on Friday, she wouldn't be able to see the concert, so Judy wanted a recording to watch on that night so she could be there in spirit, rooting for them. The teenagers readily agreed and played their heart out while Judy recorded their songs.
As the young band finished Be a Light again, an idea struck Judy, and she asked, "Do you guys just play Country music or do you play other genres, too?"
The teenagers glanced at each other, then Daniel met Judy's curious gaze and said, "Oh, no, these are just the songs we picked for the rodeo, but we like to play all kinds of music."
Judy gave a nod, then played with her phone a moment before asking, "Would you guys be able to play a couple of songs for me then?"
Daniel glanced at his band members with Jacob and Nathaniel giving a shrug while the mink sisters smiled brightly in excitement. They loved to play and sing and were highly curious at what the rabbit had in mind. After reaching an agreement, the group turned their own curious gazes on Judy. "Sure," Daniel replied, "what songs did you have in mind?"
Taking a deep breath, Judy figured she better explain the meaning behind the songs first, and so she said, "Okay, so I met this guy in Zootopia and he really helped me out a lot. He was there for me when no one else was and even risked his life a couple of times in helping me. It's not an exaggeration to say that I wouldn't be here right now if not for him." Taking another deep breath, she added, "It was only with his help that I was able to find all those missing mammals."
Dropping her gaze in guilt even as her voice dropped in pain, Judy further explained, "But the horrible things I said at the Press Conference really hurt him as they did every other predator in Zootopia."
"Wait," Stella interrupted, "your friend is a predator?" This was juicy gossip she never would have expected from the bunny cop from the city who ruined the lives of so many predators in the short time she was in Zootopia.
With a nod, Judy showed the teens the picture of Nick on her phone, saying, "His name is Nick and he's a red fox." As they passed her phone around, Judy further explained, "Nick was there at the conference with me and he tried to coach me on how to talk to the press." With a heavy sigh, Judy's ears drooped as she said, "If I had listened to his advice, I wouldn't have made such a mess of everything." Shaking her head, she added, "Anyways, Nick called me up on it afterwards and I reacted really badly." Twiddling her thumbs, she whispered, "I haven't seen or heard from him since."
Sabrina handed the bunny's phone back to her and asked, "And the songs you want us to play, they have the words you wish you could say to him?"
Judy nodded as she ran her fingers over the picture of Nick. "The first song is from Cher." Looking up, she told them the song's name, "If I Could Turn Back Time and the second song is Stand by You by Rachel Platten."
Sabrina brightened. "I love those songs and they are definitely good ones to sing to your guy after a bad fight."
Judy felt relieved that they knew both songs, then she asked if she could sing with them. She knew she wasn't the best singer, but Judy hoped that if she sang with the group, her voice would blend in with theirs and wouldn't be so bad.
After setting her phone up to record, Judy joined the teens and was handed a microphone. Gazing at the camera, Judy said, "Nick, I hope I get a chance to share these songs with you because they express my feelings better than I do." With a deep breath, she glanced at Daniel and Stella and gave a nod.
As the others started playing the music, her voice then joined Sabrina's and Stella's as the lyrics started: "If I could turn back time… If I could find a way. I'd take back all those words that'll hurt you and you'd stay… I don't know why I did the things I did. I don't know why I said the things I said…"
As Judy sang with Stella and Sabrina, tears stung her eyes and then trickled slowly down her cheeks as she thought about how much she hurt Nick. She desperately hoped that Shaylee, and Ryan, and Patty-Mae were right and that Nick would come back to her, that he would forgive her.
Continuing the song, she sang, "My world was shattered, I was torn apart. Like someone took a knife and drove it deep in my heart. You walked out that door I swore I didn't care, but I lost everything, darling, then and there…" Ignoring the tears softly falling, she continued singing, "I know I was blind. And darling, if I could turn back time, if I could find a way, I'd take back all those words that'll hurt you and you'd stay. If I could reach the stars, I'd give them all to you…"
As the song finished, Sabrina handed a box of tissues to Judy and once she dried her tears and got her emotions under control, they started on the second song. After taking a deep breath, Judy and the mink sisters started singing, "Hands, put your empty hands in mine. And scars, show me all the scars you hide. And hey, if your wings are broken, please take mine so yours can open, too. 'Cause I'm gonna stand by you."
Looking directly into the camera, Judy hoped Nick could feel just how much she meant the words she sang. "Even if you're breaking down, we can find a way to break through. Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through hell with you. Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you…" As she continued singing, more tears trickled down her cheeks, but this time it wasn't from guilt but hope. This song was able to say everything in her heart for what she hoped to be for Nick—his support, his strength, his confidant, a shoulder to cry on, and just being there to help shoulder his pain and chase away the loneliness.
As the song came to an end, Sabrina was there with the box of Kleenex again and Judy gave a weak chuckle. "Thanks," she murmured. "I've been a real mess since Nick walked out on me."
"Anytime," Sabrina said with a bright smile. At Judy's nod of gratitude, Sabrina then said, "There's another song I think fits you and Nick pretty well." As Judy glanced sharply at her in curiosity, Sabrina amended, "At least it will if Nick comes back for you."
Wiping her nose, Judy asked, "And what song is that?"
With a bright grin, Sabrina said, "My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson."
Judy's ears perked up at hearing the song's name. "I'm not familiar with it, but it sounds about right because, yeah, my life completely sucks without Nick."
With an even wider grin than her sister, Stella asked, "Do you want us to sing it for you and Nick?" Talk about a Romeo and Juliet love story! A rabbit fell in love with a fox! Who would have ever imagined it!?
Judy readily agreed and sat back on the couch as Sabrina moved back to her keyboard. Glancing back at the camera, Sabrina said, "This is for you and Judy, Nick, so you better come back and make up with her, you hear me?" She was pointing to the camera while giving a no-nonsense stare.
Judy chuckled, as did the others, and then they started playing, with Stella and Sabrina singing the lyrics together. "I guess this means you're sorry, you're standing at my door. Guess this means you take back all you said before. Like how much you wanted anyone but me. Said you'd never come back, but here you are again… 'Cause we belong together now. Yeah!"
Judy was surprised at how well the song depicted her and Nick (more so if he actually did show up at her door). With her head bobbing and her toes tapping, Judy listened intently to the words the mink sisters sang with such feeling and passion.
"I know that I got issues, but you're pretty messed up, too. Either way I found out, I'm nothing without you... 'Cause we belong together now. Yeah! Forever reunited here somehow. Yeah! You got a piece of me and I gotta say, my life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you! …Being with you is so dysfunctional. I really shouldn't miss you, but I just can't let you go…"
As the girls finished singing, and while the last strains of the song hung in the air, Judy really hoped Nick showed up at her door and she could share this song with him because it described them to a 'T'. With the song over, Judy stopped the video and planned to re-watch it later tonight. The teens spent the rest of the afternoon singing different songs with Judy and they had a blast, but as 4:30 rolled around, they decided they needed to get back to practicing the three songs they had chosen for the Battle of the Bands.
Judy agreed, but didn't feel like going into the house just yet. Carol (Daniel and Jacob's mom) had come out earlier to check on the kits and had greeted Judy. Although she was looking forward to talking with Carol, Judy wasn't quite ready to leave the happy vibes she felt here listening to the teens playing. So, while they practiced for the competition this Friday, Judy pulled out her phone and decided to clean out her voicemails. She was still irritated that so many of her siblings who she hardly ever talked to had blasted her phone with useless messages. What if someone important had tried calling her!?
WingedKatt here. I hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas. In the story, Ryan is about to arrive at Nick's place and Judy is finally going through her voicemails, so we'll see who calls who first.
Ch. 24: Unexpected, will post in 2 weeks.
I hope you all stay safe. If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know.