Tamiri's Notes: Chapter six! Hope you all enjoyed. Sorry for not uploading.
Shout out to the peeps who have reviewed: Guest, Nina Arevalo, Wildefan23, and Hellion117
Brutus Deagon: Responsible for editing this chapter. Thanks!
Concern Fox: Graciously allowed to use his character, assisted with writing the fight scene and bounce ideas back and forth.
Check out their stories those two guys are the best!
Story Notes: Nick sees an unbelievable sight and gets into an altercation with John.
Legend: "blah blah" –regular talking
"blah blah"- thinking
"blah blah" – phone calls/announcements/radio/television, etc.
"The book of blah"- Titles from books, newspapers, articles, websites, etc.
Rating: PG-13 Strong language, violence, and suggestive themes
Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia. All rights and merchandising for Zootopia belong to the Disney Company.
Chapter Six: The Kits
Nick smiled at his son who chatted away about how his day in school will go. He was glad that one of them was excited. He, unfortunately, had to go to landlord/tenant court. He was taught the value of kindness and helping others from his parents however sometimes, he thought, mammals took advantage of kindness. Like these tenants that he wanted to evict from one of his properties. A year, a whole year of this nonsense! His property managers had tried but these mammals were slippery, evoked every law, found loopholes and now they were just squatting.
"Daddy?" Jon said.
"Yes?" Nick grinned.
"Can I have a sleepover with Junior?" Jon asked. Nick half followed what his son was talking about.
"Sleep over?"
"Yes, some kids from the next class had one so I want to invite Junior," Jon explained.
"I don't know. Junior is still very little. His mother may not permit it," Nick said, they had taken to calling little Nicholas, junior, since their day at the beach. It tickled his mother pink when she heard that. And his father encouraged the name as one step closer to getting close to Judy.
"Then can I stay over at their house?" Jon optimistically asked.
His first instinct was to say no. It was not because he didn't trust Judy with his son that was quite the opposite. Judy would care for Jon just as she did her own. It was Foulfellow. The fox was a leech of the worst kind. Led a young girl to an unwilling affair, impregnated her and left and now begs for money from her. He didn't want Jon to see the arguments between Judy and John. How the stress of it causes the kits to cry. He still remembered holding Nichole as she trembled with fear at her father. A child shouldn't fear a parent. And he didn't want Jon to go through that; in fact, he didn't want Junior and Nichole to experience that either. "We will see," Nick answered instead. They pulled over at the school.
"Bye daddy!" Jon waved after adjusting his glasses.
"See you later kiddo," Nick waved and drove to the local municipal court. Nick despised landlord/tenant court. He didn't like the begging, pleading, accusing and bureaucracy of it all. It just sucked so many resources and money. The laws governing rental properties were a complicated web that only those with vast knowledge could maneuver. Nick parked the car and entered the main hallway of the court. His property managers waved at him. Dale waved eagerly and Chip shook his head in exasperation of his twin's antics. Nick came up to the chipmunks and offered a paw to carry them in the courtroom.
"Great to see you again Nick!" Dale greeted.
"It's been a while," Chip said.
"By a while you mean years?" Nick joked.
"We're glad your back!" Dale began, "Things go much smoother when you're around."
"Dale!" Chip scolded, "We have things handled here."
"You do?" Nick raised an eyebrow as they sat in one of the wooden benches.
"No we don't, your mother and father are too kind for their own good," Chip gave a defeated sigh.
"I say! They gave these mammals way too many chances!" Dale put in.
"Yes, they can be," Nick agreed.
"They're here," Chip said pointing at a red fox couple.
So they were Buffy and Muffy Vanderschmere. They certainly didn't look like mammals that were so down on their luck. The male Buffy wore a cap, a red tie and green vest under his suit and the female Muffy wore a blue fitting dress with a white belt and hat. Muffy also donned a blonde wig and pearls. Just by looking at them Nick didn't like the vibe those two gave. What sort of sob story did these two weave to get away living in an apartment of his price bracket for so long? Muffy turned to face their direction and raised an eyebrow at Nick. She put her snout up in the air and went to sit with her husband.
"Excuse me, your royal highness," Nick thought.
"Don't let their appearances fool you Nick those two don't have a penny to their name," Chip commented.
"They only managed to pay three months before the excuses started," Dale chimed in.
"Your parents felt bad and gave them ninety days to get it together. They thought Mr. Vanderschemere lost his job," Chip explained.
"We worked out a payment plan and everything," Dale described.
"So these two were then evicted but managed to get back in and claim squatter's rights," Nick finished.
The twins nodded and Nick sighed. They waited for their turn after a couple of cases were heard. It was already early afternoon when they were heard. He could see the capybara judge was already exasperated with the whole process. The last case saw a possum mother leave the courtroom crying with a social worker.
"Next on the docket Wilde versus Vanderschemere," the rodent said.
It didn't take long for Chip to explain their side of events and cite their evidence. Muffy would sniffle at particular parts of their horrid behavior towards the chipmunks.
"Your honor half-truths," Buffy began, "We never behave untoward to our property managers."
"We are just down on our luck…my husband hasn't been able to find employment," Muffy threw in the theatrics.
Nick wanted to roll his eyes. They reminded him of John. It was mammals like them that gave his species a bad name.
"Mr. and Mrs. Vanderschemere I see here that you have made no move to pay Mr. Wilde back the money he is owed. And broke in once you were evicted…could you care to explain?" the judge asked.
"No, no we did pay," Buffy defended.
"And we never broke in! The thought! We will never break and enter in a property." Muffy shook her head.
"You must believe I am stupid Mr. and Mrs. Vanderschemere…because apparently you don't recall who I am," the judge tapped his fingers on his podium.
"Your honor we would never-" Buffy started.
"This is your third time in my courtroom over the same squatting issue! Remember Zoo Properties or that kindly old lady?" the judge glared down at the fox couple.
"They had other cases?" Nick whispered to Chip and Dale. How had their background checks not caught this?
The chipmunks looked through their papers on their miniature desk and shook their heads. "There's nothing here," Chip said.
"You two are real professionals at this," the judge laughed more to himself. "Made squatting into an art form."
"We are not squatters! We would never stoop so low," Muffy's scandalized voice said.
"I order you two to vacate the property and are banned from the site," the judge ordered, "Mr. Wilde if you wish to reclaim your rent you may do so in small claims court."
"Thank you, your honor," Nick said, a little taken aback by the turn of events. With that everything was over and the Vanderschemeres still had the gall to glare and turn their noses at him. Not like Nick cared he got the problem tenants out and can actually rent for a profit.
"That was easy," Dale pointed out.
"Nick we need to look at the apartment," Chip said gathering his folders.
"Let's see the damage," Nick gave the smaller mammals a boost on his shoulders. It wasn't long until they arrived at the apartment. The door mammal greeted them and opened the door for them. The security guard informed Nick that the Vanderschemeres were officially vacated from the property as per court order and gave Nick a copy of the keys to the apartment. "They left without a fuss," Nick said as he took the elevator up.
"I should hope so! They were a pain in our tails for too long," Chip grumbled.
"What matters now is that they are gone and hopefully the damage won't be too bad," Dale's enthusiastic voice said.
The trio went to the 29th floor of the 30-floor luxury building. Nick unlocked the apartment and all three males were disappointed at the sight. "For such stuck up foxes they sure love to live in filth," Nick sighed.
He really didn't want to take over his father's properties just for the headaches they caused. He knew his younger sister didn't want to either preferring to follow their mother's footsteps and become a doctor. So lo and behold he had the properties…not that he wasn't grateful for them. It's just dealing with troublesome tenants was more of a headache than he rather deal with. He thanked Chip and Dale for their services but because of their size and species, many of the larger tenants paid little attention to them. They were excellent at their jobs though, Chip being the property lawyer many mammals hoped to have and Dale the engineer that keeps his building running.
"This is not good Nick," Dale's small voice said on his shoulder.
"How much do you think this will cost?" Nick asked as he tried not to step over the piles of garbage in the large apartment.
"First we need a cleanup crew at $80 an hour with this mess will take maybe four or five days hmm…about $2,500-$3,000," Chip provided.
Nick let out a breath, "Okay that's quite a bit."
"Then we have to see the damage to the apartment itself," Dale pointed out.
Not wanting to be in the apartment longer Nick turned with the brothers and left the hoarder's nest. Nick was ticked off that he stood to lose thousands of dollars for cleaning this mess. "Get started on a cleanup crew and then access the damages," Nick told the brothers.
Helping them from his shoulders the brothers stood on the carpeted floor, "Yes we'll get working on it right away," Chip nodded.
Looking down at his cellphone he saw he almost had to pick up his son, "I have to go. Thanks guys."
Walking briskly out of the building and into his car he drove to his son's school. He was glad to be on time to see his son waiting outside with some teachers chaperoning the comings and goings of the children. Opening the door Jon waved goodbye to his friends before turning to his father, "Hi daddy!"
"Hey sport, how was school?" Nick chuckled.
"It was okay," Jon shrugged.
"Just okay?" Nick smiled as the pulled away.
"Yeah we read a book but it was boring since I already read it with grandpa," Jon explained.
"You're ahead of the game Jon but you should still pay a little bit of attention," Nick advised.
"I guess…daddy did you think about going to Junior's house?" Jon asked, Nick had hoped he forgot about their conversation that morning.
"I haven't talked to his mother yet. You know daddy was busy in court today but let's get something to eat. I will shoot Judy a text okay," Nick offered.
"Alright!" Jon grinned.
Father and son enjoyed a quick meal and were finishing up their burgers. Nick liked to hear his son's days in school and what he enjoyed doing with his friends. It made him regret leaving for all those years and missing out on his life. He'll make up for it now and then he saw Jon's expression sour.
"Daddy, why are the babies with their daddy?" Jon frowned. Nick's mother had explained to him in child-friendly language why Judy wasn't with John and why the kits weren't allowed to be with their father. He had seen his son try to grasp why a father didn't want his children when his own family loved him so much. It was a little shocking for a five-year-old to learn rejection that way. And his son's first concern was if the babies were going to be okay. That was a difficult question to answer because honestly, they didn't know. However, they did promise to help whenever they could.
Nick turned around and his heart instantly dropped. Impossible! Judy would never let John take the kits.
The children weren't dressed properly with Junior wearing an oversized t-shirt and pants dragging on the floor and was Nichole wearing a pillowcase? He watched as John spoke to a marble fox female. He saw the older female gestures of shock and sadness at whatever story he was weaving. John sure knew how to pick them. This fox was as rich as they came judging by her clothes and bag. He saw the fox's paw reach into her designer bag and hand him cash much to John's over the top acting. With their conversation concluded they parted ways after John kissed the female's paw.
Nick immediately called Judy. "Pick up Judy! Come on!"
"Hello? Nick?" Nick heard her curious voice over the phone.
"Judy, why does John have the kits?" Nick asked, his tone coming more accusatory than he meant to.
"Kits? My kits? They are in daycare," her tone suddenly turned to panic "He isn't supposed to have the children!"
"Well, he definitely has them," Nick quickly snapped a photo of the trio and sent it to Judy. He motioned Jon to get up and come with him.
"Get my children away from him!" Judy shouted, Nick taken aback by her anger.
"I'll get them, meet me at your precinct," Nick informed and he heard an affirmative from Judy at the other end.
Nick and Jon continue to follow John until he met an orange cat with droopy eyes. He handed the cat a bill and stop to chat with his companion who strangely enough didn't say a word.
Before Nick could reach them he saw Junior say something as his younger sister sniffled with tears. John dismissed the toddler. Nick managed to catch what Junior said, " Her hungry daddy! Jon daddy give him food."
"You little brat don't mention that bastard again!" John screamed swiping his paw to his son.
He saw red! Junior was on the floor in tears and his sister shouting for their mother.
"You fucker!" Nick shouted.
"You again," John glared.
"Come here you two," Nick ordered and the children quickly ran to his side. Nick checked on Junior's stinging cheek. "It's alright we're going back to mommy."
"Those are my kits! Who do you think you are?" John frowned, staring as the children were comforted by the fox. He was their father and he had rights over them. To hell with that good for nothing soldier who thought he could stand to be his equal.
"The bastard who is going to bring these children back to their mother," Nick answered.
"Fred! Frederica come here!" John shouted.
The children sniffled and hid behind Nick's legs Junior corrected his father, "Junior… name is Nicholas Junior."
"I'm Nichole," the smaller voice of the vixen said.
"Since when were you a junior?" John stared in disbelief as he clicked two and two together. That fox was named Nicholas and Judy had let his son become this male's junior. This uncultured jackass was claiming his kits. "Your name is Nicholas!" he pointed at Nick.
"Great those two brain cells of yours work," Nick said.
"Do you know who I am? You dare go against me?"
Nick rolled his eyes, "Jon get the babies to the car."
Jon nodded and took the paws of the two toddlers running ahead. John hackles raised and the cat beside him hissed. "Daniel! Daniela! Come back here now!" John shouted.
"You better hope Judy doesn't charge you with kidnapping," Nick turned around. Instinct honed through countless hours of training and being trained by his father flared as he felt a force behind him moving to attack. Nick ducked on instinct, feeling the wind of a weapon missing him go by. Nick quickly pivoted after the miss and planted a punch in the cat's abdomen, causing the cat to stumble back with a groan and dropped the metal pipe he had used to swing on Nick.
"Get him Giddy!" John cheered. Giddy spurred by John quickly recovered and hissed at Nick. Were these guys serious? They were in the middle of Zootopia in broad daylight. Nick heard other mammals scream and gasp in shock. Great, he had an audience.
Giddy went for another hit, swinging wildly but Nick deflected the blow easily and then pulled Giddy close planting two hard right hooks into Giddy's face as he did. Nick let Giddy go and he fell onto his ass, looking up at Nick dazedly. Nick finished him off with one more hard right hook to the face, dropping Giddy the rest of the way to the pavement. John grew frustrated as he watched Nick so easily drop Giddy that he picked up the dropped metal pipe charging Nick and swinging. Nick simply dodged sideways and backwards out of the path of the pipe before wrenching the pipe from John's grip sending it skittering away. Nick then dodged John's wild and honestly pathetic left jab and caught John's arm. Nick then brought him in kneeing him in the gut hard causing John to double over. The temptation was too strong so Nick planted his next knee directly into John's nose, causing him to snap up and stumble back, his paws shooting to his now bleeding nose.
"Ahh! My face!" John screamed as he held his bleeding nose.
"Get over yourself John," Nick smirked, it was almost too satisfying.
As Nick was busy looking at the bleeding John, Giddy had gotten up again and tried to grab Nick. Nick actually rolled his eyes before pulling Giddy's arms off him and giving him a spinning back fist that connected solidly to his jaw. Now facing Giddy once more Giddy went in for another shot at Nick with his fist but Nick caught it twisting his arm the wrong direction and kicking him towards the wall. The cat hit the wall hard, it's head smacking into it hard and then fell backward, this time knocking him fully unconscious. This fight was so easy it was pathetic.
"Giddy! Get up and get him!" John screamed still holding his nose.
"You're a good for nothing coward, you know that?" Nick walked towards John.
"You-you- get away from me," John stuttered. The impulse was there give him another good punch for all he had done to Judy and have the tooth fairy collect her dues. He wouldn't, it wasn't worth his time.
"Police paws in the air!" Nick heard a commanding voice.
"Damn it!" Nick thought, so much for leaving the scene without much of a fuss. Obeying the voice Nick lifted his arms and turned around. Three ZPD cars had arrived their lights flashing and a crowd of curious mammals had grown. Most had their phones out filming and others stare wide-eyed with interest.
"Thank goodness officers! This mad fox suddenly attacked and took my children," John started.
"Paws up!" the sheep officer ordered again his weapon trained on John and Nick.
"But-but officer!" John stammered and seeing as his pleas were left unheard he obeyed the order. Giddy getting up follow suit and the sheep officers roughly slammed them against the wall of a nearby building.
"You're under arrest for disorderly conduct," a black sheep officer said and started to read their Miranda Rights. Being patted down Nick's wallet, cell-phone, M&P Shield pistol, and baton were all confiscated. He suddenly felt lighter without the familiar weight of his pistol. He heard the black sheep mumble that he better have a permit for the weapon.
"Officer I have three children waiting for me in my car. Please have one of your colleagues get them," Nick mentioned. He was being pushed by the sheep towards a ZPD vehicle and saw how John and Giddy were already being locked up in the car.
"Shut up! Your kind is always causing problems," the black sheep snapped.
A female cheetah intervened, "Woolter let him talk."
"You can't believe what their kind says Kii," a grey sheep advised.
"Jesse we need to check," a female elephant said.
"Francine ...I am your superior right now," Jesse said in a harsh whisper.
"Detective Pinkman and detective White could we have the authorization to have the detainee tell us the whereabouts of the children?" Kii boomed loudly enough for the crowd to hear.
The grey sheep grumbled, "Yes speak to him."
"Hello, I am Officer Catano and my partner Officer Trunkaby could you tell us where your car is located?" Kii gently asked.
"Yes, straight up the block. My son Jon Wilde should be there with a pair of twins Nicholas and Nichole Hopps," Nick explained and watched as the females' eyes open in surprise.
"Hopps?" Francine bent down and whispered.
"As in a baby rabbit and fox?" Kii looked around to ensure the crowd didn't hear.
"Yes, their mother is Lieutenant Judy Hopps," Nick answered before being shoved into the awaiting car.
"That's enough," Woolter said.
"Oh no no no! Let's go!" Kii ran off to the direction Nick pointed, Francine took some sheets from their car and followed her partner. The partners reached an SUV and peeked inside. Three children were huddled in the back seat. The eldest of the three children holding the youngest and was trying to comfort the younger two.
Francine with her trunk tapped the window. Jon looked up and smiled with relief to see the ZPD badge. He was told that when in trouble the police would help. He opened the door and the officers ushered them out. Wrapping the little ones in blankets Kii carried them both while Francine carried Jon. She instructed him to keep his head down and not lookup. The last thing both Francine and Kii wanted was Judy's kits' faces plastered all over the internet. By the time they arrived at their car the crowd had dwindled down but stragglers still recorded. They soon reached precinct one and immediately headed to Chief Bogo's office. There they saw Judy was already there waiting.
"Babies! Oh my goodness! What happened?" Judy ran towards the children.
"Mommy! Mommy!" the children shouted and embraced their mother.
"Jon? Come here. Are you okay?" Judy asked the kit who was trying to hold back tears from his jade eyes. Judy held all three children. She had given the daycare the verbal lashing of a lifetime. They apologized and tried to appease her with reduced rates for a couple of months. They even went as far as to fire the employee who approved John to pick up the children. Judy was having none of it. She never had a negative experience with a daycare. They always knew who was approved for pick up but she guessed that daycare was more loose with its rules.
"Where's daddy?" Jon asked.
"Chief you have to let Nick go! He was only defending my children. I was the one who got him involved. Please, he is a good mammal," Judy quickly said.
"Relax Hopps…we'll get him out," Adonis raised his hoof. Adonis gazed at the kit that looked around, scared and confused. So that was Jack's grandson and now his son was involved with one of his officers. This had the workings of another headache.
"Jon thank you for taking care of my babies. You are a strong boy. I will go get your father now," Judy bent down to hug the kit.
"Mommy! No mommy!" Nichole cried as Judy got up to follow the chief to where the holding cells were.
"Come now let's go get us something yummy to eat," Francine suggested and Judy thanked her as she followed the chief to the holding cells.
When they arrived at the green-colored cells they could already hear John's voice complaining about the injustice of his imprisonment.
"Shut up! *hic* We're all *hic* here unfairly! Look at me! Just one drink *hic* and here I am," Judy heard a male voice slur an answer.
"Judith my love. Tell them this is a misunderstanding," John turned to see Judy and Adonis. John knew that she was an officer but had never seen her wear full uniform blues. Nick looked up from the bench at Judy's form. Even in uniform she looked mesmerizing. Her back was facing him as she faced John and Giddy opposite him. However, now he was angry at her. Her continued leniency with John had separated him from his son and landed him in this fine mess.
"Kidnapping children who are not in your legal custody is a crime Mr. Foulfellow and so is attacking the individual the legal custodian said could take the children," Judy commented and fear washed over John. Never had he seen Judy with such an aura of confidence and leadership.
"Judith I only wanted to spend time with Madison and Mason," he pleaded.
Judy narrowed her eyes, "My children's stroller and clothes? Where are they Mr. Foulfellow?"
"You know I am short on cash and-"
"You pawned it I assume. We can add robbery to your list of charges," Judy finished.
"Mr. Wilde you are free to go after we get your statement," Adonis informed.
Nick nodded and even though Judy looked at him with an apologetic look he couldn't help the resentment he currently held against her. Once out of the cell Nick went to collect his property and ignored Judy.
"Nick I'm sorry for-" Judy was cut off.
"Stop. Just stop. You're always apologizing for that jackass and never doing anything about it," Nick growled.
"I didn't mean for this to happen,"
"My son was involved in this mess, Judy. He had nothing to do with the crap between you and John,"
"I am so sorry Nick," Judy's paws went to her mouth. Guilt was written all over her face.
"Who's going to take my statement I want to get out of here," Nick disregarded her apology. Judy nodded in a general direction and watched him leave.
"Hopps you can go. Take the kits to be checked by a doctor," Adonis advised.
"Yes thank you, sir," Judy nodded.
"Daddy are the babies going to be okay?" Jon questioned looking up at his father when they reached the family home. Jon had been quiet on their ride back sensing that something was amiss with his father. They were driven to their car by one of Judy's coworkers and immediately headed home.
"I am sure they'll be fine," Nick assured.
"Are you mad daddy?" Jon again popped another question.
"No I'm not mad," Nick smiled weakly. He wasn't just angry, he was seething. This whole situation left him frustrated. They went inside where Jon ran to his grandmother and hugged her.
"Grandma! The bad daddy took the babies!" Jon exclaimed.
"Nick, what happened?" Vivian asked taking the kit into her arms and hugging him.
"John took the twins and I got into a fight him," Nick kept the story short.
"Not going to tell us how the ZPD got involved?" Nick heard his father say coming from his home office. He showed a text message from chief Bogo to his wife and son.
"Someone must have called the cops," Nick said annoyed by all the questions.
"Daddy is mad. He says he's not but he's mad grandma," Jon pointed out.
"Go upstairs and wash up dear," Vivian urged and sent the boy on his way.
"So?" Vivian placed her paws on her hips.
"What?" Nick frowned.
"Judy and the babies! How are they doing?" Vivian pushed.
"I don't know. I told Judy off before making my statement. She must have left with the twins then," Nick explained.
"Nicholas!" Vivian shot a hard look at her son.
"Come on mom! If she weren't always covering for John my son wouldn't have gotten tangled in this! He doesn't deserve to hide in a car while he worries about me!"
"I swear Nicholas! I am going to see if Judy and the children are alright," Vivian went to grab her purse. She kissed her husband goodbye and walked out the door.
"You are right, Judy has been too tolerant of John's behavior but…" Jack smacked the back of Nick's head.
"Ow! Dad what the hell was that for!?"
"You know what for! For yelling at Judy! What the hell are you thinking son!?"
"Jon! He is my priority,"
"As it should be but what of Junior? Nichole? Did you stop and think of Judy's thoughts?"
"She should put her kits' safety first!"
"For the love of…the twins recognized John as their father and no one can take that away from them,"
"You tell me a fox that sells the clothes off his kits back can see his kids freely?"
"No, I am telling you the kits have a right to know who their father is. And now that Judy recognizes he is a danger he will lose the privilege of even talking to them,"
Nick gave his father an incredulous look.
"Judy knew what kind of fox John was as soon as he left her alone pregnant. She took precautions to make sure he would never have free access to the children however Judy can't control everything. And you are holding her accountable for John's actions,"
"God dammit!"
"You're letting your anger cloud your judgment son," Jack advised.
"Why him? All the guys in the world she had to have kids with him,"
"Judy like your mother was fooled and when they saw through the façade, it was too late," Jack sat across from Nick and continued, "You want a relationship with her don't you?"
Nick sat down and put his paws around his head. His father was right Judy couldn't control John. Even if she had a restraining order against him or move halfway across the globe nothing could stop him from seeking her out. Judy was trying by herself to raise her children while pursuing her dream. He should be there and be a support not berate her for choosing the wrong guy. "I do, from the moment I saw her I knew I wanted to be with her,"
"And this is your idea of wooing her?"
"Funny…" Nick sighed and heard the familiar ding of his cell phone. He took it out of his pocket and glanced at it. Not in the mood to answer any texts about his properties and intended to answer at a later time. It was from Judy! "It's Judy!"
Jack urged his son to read the text and saw his expression change from hope to sadness.
"Fuck! She isn't coming back to see us!"
"What did she say?"
"She said…Hello Nick. I again want to apologize for what occurred today. You are right Jon shouldn't be involved in my personal relationships. I have taken your advice and have enacted a TRO against John. I am happy your family has extended their friendship to my own however I cannot further involve you in my personal matters. I have decided to discontinue our children's play dates. I wish you all the best…I got to say something,"
"You can start by apologizing,"
Nick typed up an apology and a message telling her that he wanted to meet her in person. All he had to do now is wait, "Don't look at me like that I know I messed up." Nick told his father.
"Let's see what your mother can do," Jack said.
Judy was surprised to see Vivian waiting for her outside her apartment. She had come back from the pediatrician. The children were fine aside for Junior having bruising under his fur. The doctor had recommended a play therapist, afraid that the incident could set them back developmentally.
"Vivian?" Judy questioned.
"Judy dear, how are you? And the babies?" Vivian asked, the kits were still dressed in the dingy clothes.
"They are okay and Jon?" Judy asked. She felt horrible about putting the boy through this situation. Nick was right she had dragged them into their personal problems from day one. She felt so much guilt and shame she didn't know what to do with herself.
"Jon is fine…may I come in," Vivian said smiled sadly.
"Yes please," Judy invited her in. Her apartment pale to the wide comfort her waterside home provided. Judy saw that Vivian didn't seem to mind and had a look of sentimentality.
"Do you need any help?" Vivian offered.
"No I'll just give the babies a bath please make yourself at home," Judy offered. The kits were obedient but more clingy to her than usual. Even Junior who was the most outgoing of the two didn't want to part from her. When she came back from speaking to Nick they were crying for her. This was not how her babies acted and it was all her fault. She should have been firm with John to keep away them away from him. But they knew him as daddy and he made sure to tell them that when he first contacted them. She still remembered Nichole answering the muzzletime application and his smug face telling her daughter he was her father. She was revolted by his conversation with Nichole. He played up the 'daddy loves you' card well. Judy knew it was all lies. He had denied his paternity in court plenty of times. She should have nipped that call in the bud but they looked happy to speak to him. She couldn't deprive them of at least knowing their father.
She had finished dressing the children and dressing down to more comfortable clothes herself. They came into the living room and saw Vivian texting on her phone. She looked up at the family and smiled.
"Would you like anything Vivian?" Judy offered.
"Don't worry about me. I want to know are you okay?"
"Yes I am fine," Judy lied she wasn't well at all, "I am sorry for embroiling your grandson in all of this."
"Judy you don't have anything to apologize for," Vivian said, Junior and Nichole cuddled closer to their mother.
"I should've really put John in his place from the beginning,"
"Judy you are trying your best don't be hard on yourself,"
"Because of me, my children had to suffer,"
Vivian gave her a sad smile, "Judy you wanted your children to have a relationship with their father and that doesn't make you a bad mother."
"I know that they have a right to know who he is," Judy softly rubbed Junior's back.
"And you did what you felt was right. You left open a way for him to make up for his shortcomings and be a father but he squandered that opportunity," Vivian assured.
"I can't believe I fell for him," Judy moaned.
"Judy you didn't know who he truly was, it was a mistake and that's what makes us animals. When Nick was born I did try to contact his father," Vivian admitted.
"You did?" Judy remembered she was too busy to even think of John until her friends pointed out the possibility of him coming back into her life. They were right.
"Yes…I thought that if he couldn't have a relationship with me he could at least have one with his son," Vivian recalled.
"And what did he do?"
"He chose to ignore us, got married and had another family. Never once cared to look back at us,"
"I am sorry,"
"Dear that was so long ago. I was in your shoes once and you did nothing wrong,"
"He is never going to see them again. I am not putting my children anywhere near, nor am I going to tolerate, that male again," Judy said with conviction, "Anyways thank you for checking up on us."
"You're welcome. And what do you plan to do now?" Vivian asked.
"I am thinking of taking off tomorrow and finding a new daycare, and therapist," Judy said.
"Isn't that going to set you back?"
"Yes I still don't have the time to take off at the ZPD but I can't have the kits return to that daycare,"
"I'll take care of them tomorrow. After all, I am off for the next two days from the hospital. I can see if Jon's old daycare has openings,"
"No, I can't have you do that! It's your time off!"
"I want to care for the babies Judy. And I want to help,"
"I just don't want to burden you with my problems,"
"It's not a burden," Vivian assured.
"But-but,"
"Judy it's okay…I will help. I know you need this support…"
"Thank you Vivian," Judy smiled.
"Tell me anything I need to know about the babies and tomorrow bright and early you can drop them off," Vivian finished.
Story Notes:
Gideon, Pinnochio 1940: I called him Giddy as John calls him that in the movie. I did this only to distinguish him from Gideon Gray. Giddy is a cat and long time 'friend' to John. Giddy used to work with a backstage crew and admired John for his acting. John kept him around as Giddy worshiped the ground he walked on. Giddy can't speak and can only do basic sounds. He is currently unemployed and lives by committing cons with John. He hates Judy because she is a cop and frustrates John.
Buffy and Muffy Vanderschmere, TaleSpin 1990: A stuck up couple who pretend to be rich they are a pain of all landlords in Zootopia. Husband and wife cannot hold a job simply because they don't want to work. They lived in Nick's property for almost a year with unpaid rent. How they get away with squatting in so many places is a mystery.
Chip and Dale, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers 1989: The twins are Nick's property managers. Chip is the lawyer who handles tenants, leases, etc. and Dale is the engineer who fixes/maintains the properties. Both do excellent jobs and Nick fully trusts them. However, due to their size and species, they are not taken seriously by many of the more stubborn tenants.
NatNat's Notes:
No notes see you next chapter!