Hey, all! Who's excited to see how Nick and Judy settle into married life? My remarks are sparse this time around, but be warned, there is a really heavy paragraph of backstory for the to-be-introduced Lucas. I could have gone into more detail with it, but I decided not to because it seems like it would be too soon. Thank you for reading. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Moving In

Nick managed to find a nice apartment for himself and his new wife. It was bigger than Judy's old apartment by a rather substantial quantity of rooms. The lighting was better, the walls weren't at all greasy and, once they would have everything unpacked and Clawhauser would help them arrange, the décor would be the talk of downtown Savannah Central. The best part, in Nick's mind, was that Bucky and Pronk did not live next door. As Judy carried a stack of boxes in, she asked Nick, "This place is lovely! Can we really afford this?"

"You bet!" Nick assured, his sly smirk dominating his face.

"…Nick, what kind of strings did you pull?" Judy asked. How could she not? Compared to what she was used to and taking Nick's cleverness and "business experience" into account, the apartment seemed rather expensive when coupled with what their fixed expenses would be versus their combined salary.

"No strings pulled…technically. Remember this, Carrots: it pays to know people," Nick responded to her question. Setting the couple of boxes he was holding down on the island in the kitchen, Nick placed his right thumb over his chest and proudly boasted, "And I know everyone."

"But you only love one mammal in this city, right…?" Judy asked slyly as she set her boxes down and wrapped her arms around him. She fluttered her sparkling purple eyes, gazing up into his rather enchanted green eyes.

"Well, two, counting good ol' Mom," Nick replied equally slyly as he rubbed his nose against hers.

"Now, then…" Judy began to say as she let go of Nick, opened a box and pulled out a manila envelope. She gave it to Nick and said, "Study up."

"Is this a case?" Nick asked quizzically as he started to open the envelope.

"Sort of," Judy replied as she put her welcome mat out in front of their door.

Nick's eyes widened as he went through the contents of the folder. What he read was deep, dark and heartbreaking. This case was nothing short of a tall order for the two of them. Then one thing made Nick call out, "Hey, Carrots?"

"Yeah?" Judy responded as she started to load their glasses and mugs into the cupboard.

"Where is 'Little Kits Orphanage'?" Nick asked. The contents of the envelope were pieces of information regarding an orphaned fox named Lucas who currently resided in, evidently, the Little Kits Orphanage.

"In the country," Judy answered nonchalantly.

"The sticks? Like…in Bunnyburrow?" Nick asked, knowing that he was in for a long trip.

"Just a little further out, actually," Judy replied, now onto loading their silverware into the silverware drawer. "Nick, don't be a baby. We'll be making a difference in this kid's life."

"But are we ready? What if he doesn't open up to us?" Nick asked, concerned by how gung-ho Judy seemed about wanting to take this Lucas kit in.

Lucas was 14 years old. Six years ago, when he was only eight, his house mysteriously caught fire and his parents had burned to death inside. Soon after, Lucas was placed in a foster home where the foster-parents were rather negligent. The malnourished foster children were relocated to another home within a year of Lucas's initial arrival there. There, behind closed doors, Lucas endured unspeakable abuse. Unsure how to cope with it, he began to hurt himself until he couldn't tell his external pain from his internal pain. By the third foster home, one year later, his self-esteem was ruined and he was deemed a selective mute and a standalone. Tried as they did, those foster parents kept the fox for a year before they believed that Lucas needed to stay in an orphanage and be adopted by someone more capable.

"The stuff on his file may seem like an elaborate horror story full of angst and pain, but that has been this kid's life for six years!" Judy pointed out to Nick, tears in her eyes. "After reading his file, I can't just sit by and let him be devoid of a life of love and compassion."

"Do you even know what you're getting into? Do you think we can save him?" Nick asked, making his uncertainty obvious to his bride. Deep down, he felt bad for Lucas. With a past like that, Nick's own childhood seemed like a path of jubilee by comparison. After all, he still had his mom. Lucas didn't have anyone. He had been alone for six years. No wonder he had been considered a standalone. At first, no one had taken the time to deal with him. When someone finally did, it wasn't enough.

"I think we can help him. I think we can love him. I think we can raise him. I think he needs those things, not saving," Judy corrected Nick, her amethyst eyes filled with shining determination and a steeled resolve. "You do, too, don't you?"

Nick couldn't help but grin. He said to her, "Carrots, you have a knack for seeing right through me. Have I ever told you that?"

"You said I'm the only one who can," Judy replied as she walked up to Nick, dropped a phone book on the floor, stepped onto it and kissed him.

"When do we go?" Nick asked.

"I talked to Bogo about it. He said go as soon as possible and look into the fire while we're out there. He suspects it was arson and I don't blame him for thinking so," Judy informed her vulpine husband.

"Sounds to me like Chief Buffalo Butt wants to take us for a test drive on a cold case. Are the full-time detectives really that busy? I mean, we're technically metropolitan patrol officers that double as detectives really, really, really well," Nick voiced his opinion.

"Regardless of Chief Bogo's intentions, I want to look into that fire and bring Lucas some closure. I just hope we don't have to probe him about it…" Judy sighed, her empathy for the young fox fueling her curiosity. "We might just end up worsening his psyche…"

"Can we safely assume that parenting is like playing with fire?" Nick asked.

"Ask your mother," Judy retorted as she opened another box. "I really do want to adopt him…I want to take him under my wing and love him and comfort him and guide him and—"

Judy instantly stopped speaking when Nick gently placed his paws on her shoulders. In a low voice, he sent his offer into her ear: "Why don't we make it our honeymoon and go this weekend?"

"Okay," Judy obliged and looked at the photo that she had obtained with Lucas's file. The fox had big, blue eyes sparkling behind square-rimmed glasses and partially covered by thick bangs of long, orange fur. Those eyes called to her. They were longing and yearning.