The last day of the Carrot Festival came to a close and Judy dragged Nick to a hill overlooking the festival grounds.
"What is going on with you, Carrots?" he laughed.
"Hush, Nick! It's a surprise!" she replied similarly.
Under the tree at the top of the hill a picnic blanket was stretched out and a basket sat.
"Where'd this come from?" he asked.
"I pulled a few favors some of my siblings owe me," she explained as she sat down.
She looked up at him expectantly and beckoned him to sit with her. In the dimming evening light he couldn't deny she was beautiful. He sat next to her and she immediately clung to him, resting her head against his arm. He pulled his arm out of her grip, then wrapped it around her.
"I'm a really lucky fox, to have such a beautiful girl on my arm. One I don't deserve but who loves me anyway," he admitted.
"Do you really think that, Nick?" she asked.
"You and I both know that. I'm not fit to be your boyfriend. That you stick by me is something that I'm grateful every day for," he replied.
"Shut up, Nick!" she reprimanded, kissing his nose lightly, "Just shut up and let me decide who I want to be with and to hell with all this deserve crap!"
"Fair enough, you're the one who dragged me out of the gutter," he replied.
"We have some time before the fireworks start and I know there's something else on your mind," she replied.
"Two things actually but one I don't feel comfortable talking about," he explained.
"And the other?" she asked.
"Cute bunny," he replied.
"Nick, I told you before calling a bunny cute is demeaning," she lectured.
"Exactly what we need to talk about, I don't understand what's wrong about it," he explained.
"We're relatively small creatures, best characterized by fluffy cheeks, short puffy tails, big eyes, and long ears. All of which other creatures find cute, because we're so small and cute other animals often underestimate us and we have to work harder to gain their respect," she explained with a sigh.
"Ah I see. Well teasing aside, when I call you cute it's meant to be a compliment. A personal thing between us. But if it really makes you that uncomfortable I can call you beautiful instead. And what have you got left to prove to me?" he replied, "Part of being in love is trusting and respecting each other. You don't need to earn my respect because you already have it, sweetheart."
Once again he felt her lean against him, he could tell by her breathing that she was tired and was slowly drifting off to sleep. Before she could though, the fireworks started and they sat in comfortable silence watching. The rest of the week passed uneventfully and they were due to head back to Zootopia. The day they were to leave though Julie clung tightly to Judy's leg.
"Com'n Julie, y'know Judy has to go back to the city now," Jane tried to comfort.
"But it's not fair! I still wanna' play with Judy and Nick!" she whined.
"Com'n now, let go, Julie. You know your sister does an important job back home," Bonnie lectured.
Reluctantly Julie let go. Judy gave her parents a last hug before heading to the car. Nick offered his paw and to his surprise Bonnie pulled him into a hug. He started to try to shake Carl's hand but the old bunny gave him a death-glare.
"Don'cha' worry none 'bout him, Nick. I'll give that ol' coot a talkin' to," Dave laughed as he patted Nick on the arm.
Gideon and the Foxglove sisters showed up in time to see them off as well.
"Here, I made ya'll some pies f'r the road," Gideon stated with a bright smile.
"Thanks Gid,"Nick and Judy stated in unison.
The Foxglove sisters gave them hugs one after another.
"Take care of him for us, will you Judy?" Nilla asked.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of each other. Isn't that right, slick?" she replied.
With their goodbyes said and done they got into the car and rode off. They held off on leaving as long as they could but they'd be back to work at the precinct the next day.
"So Carrots, I spend a lot of nights with you, how about tonight you spend it with me?" he offered.
"Dirty fox, fine but I need to get a change of clothes from my place first," she laughed.
Upon returning to town he drove to her apartment and she hurriedly gathered herself a change of clothes and one of her clean police uniforms. Then rushed back downstairs and jumped back into her boyfriend's car. When they arrived back at the park, they found that John had set aside an exclusive parking lot for his family. Signs posted up indicated who the parking spots were meant for. As Nick pulled into the spot labelled "Nicholas Wilde" they noticed the one directly adjacent to it, "Judith Wilde".
"D-dad! We-... I haven't even…!" Nick stammered.
"And I don't even have a car," she mumbled.
"I-I think it's more of a "when" kinda' thing," Nick replied.
Looking around there were labelled parking spots for Jack and Lucielle as well. The only person that didn't have a reserved parking spot was Daniel.
"I get the feeling your dad's not very fond of Daniel," Judy pointed out.
"Daniel's views are extreme even for when dad was a bigot. This caused him and dad to argue nonstop when I was a pup. Eventually it got so bad that dad sent him off to boarding school and Daniel joined the Army afterwards," Nick explained, "I dunno' why Daniel's come home after all these years. Part of me hopes that he's come home to reconcile like I did and that's he's changed but after the phonecall I had with Debbie about him, I know better."
They slipped into the park without any guests noticing them, then up to the apartment.
"Damn Nick! This place is fit for royalty!" Judy exclaimed.
"That's nothing, Carrots. C'mere," he replied pulling back the curtains to the windows.
From this vantage point high up in the clock tower they could see the busy amusement park down below. The main street and heart of the park was plainly visible and people were coming and going. He hefted her up off the ground, she sat on his shoulder and he held her there with one arm wrapped around her waist while the other was wrapped around her just below her knees. At the same time, she held on by wrapping her arms around his neck and a carefree smile crossed her face as she rested her chin on the bridge of his snout.
"You're using this as an opportunity to scent me, aren't you?" he asked.
"Maybe," she replied.
"Sly bunny," he quipped.
"Dumb fox," she quipped back.
From there they just sat in silence, looking out and watching the park from the clock tower's window. The hustle and bustle of families enjoying themselves was a beautiful sight to behold. Eventually they laid down on the couch and started cuddling. A couple hours passed and the happy couple hardly noticed. That is until a knock came from the door.
"Who is it?" Nick asked almost instinctively.
"Your dad, junior," the voice on the other side replied.
"Come in," Nick instructed.
As soon as John saw them he immediately turned away.
"S-sorry, I'm not interrupting something, am I?" he stammered.
"No dad, we were just cuddling," Nick assured.
"Your sister wants us to get together for dinner tonight at her restaurant, I told her I didn't know if you were back in town but Willie told me that you and Judy checked in at the employee's' entrance two hours ago," John explained.
"Dinner with Deb? That sounds awesome! What do you think, Carrots?" he replied.
"Sure, why not? We don't have dinner plans and ever since I heard about her as the Singing Savant I've been wanting to try her cooking for myself," Judy remarked.
The Singing Chateau was no less of a spectacle than when it first opened. Sure the outside looked a bit common as far as strip centers go but the inside was a completely different story. Tonight though, it would only be opened to family. Inside was a black female wolf who greeted them with a friendly smile.
"John! Good to see you again! And this must be Nick and Judy, we've heard so much about both of you from Debbie and Jack! Com'n I got your table all ready!" the black wolf stated, her tail at full wag.
Lillian, Alex, and Lucielle were already at the table.
"John, we were getting nervous you wouldn't show," Lillian stated.
"Are you kidding? Our first dinner together since we reconciled and with the kids? I wouldn't miss this for all the world," John replied.
The elderly couple hugged as if all the tension between them from years of being apart was nothing.
"Hello Judy," Lilian greeted.
"Hello Ma Wilde," Judy returned politely.
Finally, Debbie and Jack came to the table with a new face. A scarred fox, with an eyepatch over his left eye, dark crimson fur, and his face wasn't clean cut trimmed like the other todds at the table.
"Judy, this is Daniel my oldest brother. Daniel this is my girlfriend, Judy," Nick introduced begrudgingly.
Judy knew this wasn't something Nick wanted to do. Tentatively, Judy extended a paw towards Daniel but he just huffed at her and sat down. Judy sat down too, next to Nick, wondering if she did something to upset him.
"Oh, a new face! I'm Leaf, most of the waitstaff has tonight off so I'll be taking your orders and helping to make them," the black wolf stated eagerly, "Shall we start with drinks?"
Daniel considered her for a moment, his impression inscrutable. "Beer. Preferably dark, if you have any," he replied curtly, not looking at anyone in particular.
"I'll see what I can do, but the restaurant has a policy of five mugs per, unless Debbie says otherwise. Will that be ok?" she replied sweetly.
"Heh. Last I checked, this was a family dinner. But if that's your policy… Bring me a mug to begin with, we'll see how it goes. Maybe you have mugs big enough that I'd only need one," he tossed back with a dry chuckle, "And something meaty to go with it? I'd kill for some steak right about now."
"What kind of steak? We have crocodile, alligator, and barracuda. Also, medium or well-done?" she replied, while writing on a tablet of paper.
"Surprise me," he offered in a tone that left no doubt he was done with his order.
"Anyone else ready?" she asked.
One by one, everyone else ordered their food and drinks. The only other person at the table who ordered liquor to drink was Lucielle who ordered a light wine. Daniel didn`t participate in the ensuing conversation much, preferring to take his time sipping beer instead. A few casual questions directed his way were deflected with short and oblique answers - yes, the steak was fine. Yes, the beer was fine. Yes, he did catch some sleep after flying in. No, he didn`t have any plans so far, but he was looking into job offers around the Zootopia. No, his eye didn`t bother him anymore.
"So, I heard a rumor floating around the law offices I work in that you two are going to be promoted to detectives soon?" Alex stated with a light chuckle.
"If we are it's mostly 'cause Carrots pulls both our weight. Seriously, sometimes I think she'd do my job too if she could," Nick laughed.
"A recipe for a disaster, if you ask me," grumbled Daniel quietly, as he scowled at his brother and the rabbit next to him.
"I think they'll make fine detectives!" Lillian stated, before casting her oldest a sweet smile.
"Separately? Yes. Together? Not bloody likely," he scoffed, "Don't get me wrong, mom. I'm glad Nick finally got himself a respectable job. But this whole partnership? There`s a reason why they don't allow fraternization in police, you know."
"Well apparently our chief disagrees with ya' about that. He calls us his best team and tolerates our fraternization as long as we don't "bring it to work" as he puts it," Nick laughed.
"You seriously think your chief is going to do anything to the team that got showcased in newspapers just recently?" his brother snorted, "Get real. It`s a political goldmine. He'll milk it for what's it worth, mark my words. And you're going to catch the short end of it. He`s going to promote you on and on and on and dangle you on a string for whole of Zootopia to see as a shining example of "be what you can be". Meanwhile, your bunny friend is gonna go off the deep end from all the extra scrutiny, just like Bellwether did."
"Bellwether? Bellwether was just plain nuts. You think that'll happen to Judy? You don't know her very well, she's got her head together more than most of the veterans on the force. Aside from that, we don't get a whole lot public attention surprisingly," Nick countered.
Dan laughed derisively. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Nick. Check this out. An exclusive interview, straight from the cutest police officer in ZPD," he offered, tossing a ragged newspaper on the table. It wasn't local, apparently, and wasn't… particularly reputable. In fact, it looked like your stereotypical yellow press. "Picked this up at airport just before my flight connected. You wouldn't believe the commentary this thing got. A whole two-page spread, and most of it is all about how you fit it in, bro. Preeetty scandalous. THAT is what's in store for you. Still think it's worth it?"
"Is that tabloid?" Judy laughed.
"Yup, it's tabloid. Don't tell me you actually believe the crap they print in these?" Nick stated.
"I'll give 'em credit, about half this is true but it's from my rookie year. Y'know the Nighthowler Case," she replied.
"Whether I believe or not is irrelevant for you two. What is a problem is that there`s a ton of people that do," Daniel replied calmly, "Alex, back me up on this. You see enough shit in the court, would you say that people don't believe tabloids, hmm? Or your experiences are closer to "they treat it as a holy gospel and screw that they printed opposite to last week`s article today", amirite?"
"Actually, most people I deal with aren't concerned with press as it can't be used as evidence," Alex sighed, "And please leave me out of this. I don't want to get involved in an argument between you and Nick."
"Heh, fair enough. You`ve got your own problems to deal with," agreed Daniel, shooting a quick but meaningful look at Lucille, leaving no doubt just what, or rather who, he meant as "problem", "Anyways… This is not the only tabloid that printed stuff about you. You two are popular right now, believe it or not. People want more on you. Every. Dirty. Little. Detail. Even if they have to invent it. I'm pretty sure that if I grab a computer and search for your names, I`ll hit on a police-themed porn within first ten." Dan paused to take a long pull from his mug and continued, "Fah, if your chief knew what's good for you, he`s have had you moved well out of public eye until this whole thing settles down and people move back to Gazelle to ooh and ahh over. But no, he`s trotting you front and centre. S`gonna be rough on you two even if you weren't doing something questionable. And since you do? Fuck, they're gonna eat you alive."
"This was our decision," Nick stated.
"We wanted to be the face of the ZPD. Didn't you see the quote? "Be the change you want to see"? That's a quote I made when Nick graduated from the academy." Judy replied.
"Chief cares about us, in his own way," Nick stated, "It's politics he hates."
"And the rest of us? Did you think how it`s gonna be on everyone else here, if nothing else? Shit, you two already earned me an extra psych eval. I`m glad I`ve already decided on demobilizing, or it would've been it for my glorious military career," Daniel retorted, "Look. I get it that you all are libertines up the vazoo. And like it or not, you're all still family, so I have to at least put up with this. But shit, could you, I dunno, at least moderate the collateral damage? I get enough flak for two siblings going for other species, now with you as well I may go and slap "goat fucker" on my back and see no difference."
"I made my decision, Daniel. I don't expect you to understand it or agree with it. But you telling me you don't like it won't change my mind. No matter how much say so you have about it," Nick stated calmly, though growling under his breath.
"Another thing I gotta put up with, eh? S`fine. S`fine. S`ok. Daniel's the oldest, he can always put up, innit? Well, I'm fucking tired of this all…" Daniel suddenly stood up, chair scraping against the floor unpleasantly as he pushed away from the table, "I'm leaving. I`ve got to find me a place to live and a place to work.. Neither of which is going to be particularly easy thanks to you all, not that you jackasses care all that much. Adios."
"Oh, we're the ones who don't care," Debbie quipped before he was too far away, "Who was it who pitched a fit at the airport when I showed up with my husband to greet you? And who offered her home to you 'til you could get on your feet?"
Daniel suddenly turned around, his heckles raised as he snarled, "And why do I have to get on my feet, Debs? I could have had a pretty good job right here. They needed a quartermeister at the boot camp. But, surprise surprise - they prefer someone who is "less likely to engage in interspecies fraternization", and yes it's a fucking quote from the rejection letter. So, tell me, did I have the reason to be sore with you, or not so much, huh? Get this, society does NOT like when people date outside of their gene pool, and goes out of it`s way to make life hard. Though, in your case, you're doing pretty well. A restaurant of your own, well, that's jolly good for you. But all I have for MY service to the country is clothes on my back and empty eye socket. All thanks to siblings who get their jollies with other species. So FUCK YOU." And with that, he disappeared behind the door, slamming it as he went.
"Mom, Daddy, I'm sorry," Debbie sighed.
"Don't be, honey. It's not your fault," Lillian replied.
"I wanted tonight to be special and instead it ended up like this," she lamented.
"I'll have a talk with him, again. But I think he needs therapy," John sighed.
"I'm sorry to you and Judy too, Nick." Debbie apologized.
"Don't be, the food is delicious, you can't fault yourself for what happened to Daniel. Not that it's his fault, I suppose, but he could be less of a jerk about it..." Judy stated comfortingly.
"Judy's right, none of us knew going into our current relationships that the military would use us as an excuse to screw him over," Alex sighed, "On top of that Daniel's had trouble with his temper for a long time."
"He might not accept going to talk to a stranger but maybe an old friend," Nick suggested to John.
"You have someone in mind?" John asked.
"Vanilla Foxglove. She's a masseuse sure, but she earned her Masters in psychotherapy and she's already helped Gideon," Nick replied.
Later that night, John sat in his office. It was just past eleven. He yawned, stretching his back as he leaned back in his chair, groaning as he felt his spine popping. "God damn paperwork," the old fox groused softly, as he rubbed his forehead and peered intently at the next paper in his in box. Normally, he'd set things aside for tomorrow, but right now, he was waiting on Daniel, and why not do some work while waiting anyways? He was about to get back to work when the door opened.
"It's called knocking, son." he grumbled.
"You wanted to talk?" Daniel sighed.
"Tonight was pretty embarrassing, I won't lie. Y'know the military's bullshit isn't your siblings' faults, right?" the older todd replied, "That's not why I called you here though."
"Why did you call me then, if not to guilt-trip me?" Daniel growled.
"Do you remember Vanilla Foxglove?" John asked.
"I remember her dad didn't like me much," the younger todd stated, "Why, are you trying to set me up with her?"
"In a manner of speaking, maybe. She lives in Bunnyburrows these days, I'd like for you to go talk to her. Your cousin runs a bakery there too, maybe he'd be willing to hire some help," John suggested with a smile, but the gruffness never left his voice.
"Fine, I guess it wouldn't hurt to see how Gideon's doing," he sighed.
"That's my boy," John replied in a much friendlier tone. "Who knows, maybe you'll meet a nice rabbit of your own," he added with a laugh.
Daniel returned that comment with a hard look.
"Relax, I'm teasing," John sighed. Then he reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a key, then handed it to Daniel.
"What's this?" Daniel asked.
"It's called a key, son. It's to the firehouse apartment, if you decide not to get a job working with Gideon, you can stay there. Just don't bother Nick and Judy," John replied.
=This is the first chapter in the more serious revisions. Previous chapters had a reformat and some additional details, but from here on you'll see an actual change in events and a character overhaul. Enjoy.=
