Chapter 17 Summary
Judy Meets Fennick the Fennec again, for the very first time! After an awkward introduction, Judy tries to explain things to Fennick. Then he invites her to attend group, and Judy over-shares with everybody. Afterwards Fennick tries to explain Hugo to Judy, he finally makes a connection, and then they go out to dinner.
P.S. Could somebody from Germany please explain in a review to me why this particular chapter is so popular in Germany, please? Readers from Germany read this chapter more than any other chapter, and I am somewhat baffled by this. Pleased, for sure, but confused.
Current Day: Wednesday afternoon in Savanah Center
"He's a fennec fox, which leads to problems with stairs and elevators, so they put his office on the first floor," Hugo explained as he led the way down the halls.
"Yeah, I've heard that." Judy smiled as she followed. I'd bet he'd love hopping up five flights of stairs to his office!
Hugo paused at a hall corner, a question forming on his muzzle, "Judy, how do you want me to introduce you? I mean, to Fennick? He's been my colleague for thirteen years; I've talked to him extensively about you, especially in the early years, when we were building up his outreach program. I'm fairly sure he still remembers your name and description. I don't know if I ever showed him a photo of you, but I wouldn't know if he had ever looked you up either. He could have, being that he has access to all the Zootopia databases that I do."
"You talked to him about me?" Judy squeaked, as her mind switched into overdrive as the panic set in. SHIT! What did you say? What does he know? ***Run! Hide!*** No! Shut Up! SHUT UP! She managed to keep most of that internal dialog of her face, instead just looking slightly sick. She swallowed. ***Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all? She should just wait in the SUV.*** She pulled of her ears around to the front, and started to tug on it.
That's an interesting tic, thought Hugo, or is it a stim? Does it calm the anxiety that storms through her mind? It looked like it hurt, so maybe a bit of self harm? That's not good. Almost without a conscious thought, Hugo reached out and caught her shoulder in his paw, squeezing gently. "Hey, talk to me, please?" He asked as he slid down to one knee before her. "What's wrong? You were so gung-ho to meet him just minutes ago. What's changed?" He slid his paw up her neck to cup her check and bent his head to look into her eyes.
***Trust***
She swallowed before answering, "Judy Hopps is a murderer. A violent psychotic mammal that no one trusts. She's dangerous." She took a deep breath before continuing, "I've spent most of my adult life trying to hide what I've done; trying to hide Judy Hopps from the world. Trying to get mammals to know who I am before they judge me for what I was. So I don't use that name anymore. It died at Cliffside." She grimaced as she let go of her ear, and raised her eyes to met his, "You're the first mammal to call me Judy in three years."
"I'm sorry, I really am. Judy is what I knew you as, and what you will always be to me. Do you want me to call you something else?" He asked her, his voice quiet, stillness radiating from his form as he used his grandmother's arts to help calm a distraught mammal.
"It's okay, you can call me Judy. You don't hate me when you say it." She gave him a slow, sad smile. She slide her paw up to hold on to his wrist.
"No, never." He paused, curious, "Who last called you Judy, if I may ask?"
"A really bad girlfriend. The less that's said about her, the better." Judy shivered. She looked both disturbed and relieved at that prospect, so he imagined that their breakup had been rather painful.
"Just tell him my name is Jessica, or Jessica Lapin if you want to use my whole street-name." She replied to his request. He made a face, and looked away. She dropped her paw from his wrist, and her muzzle fell open. "What?" She demanded to know.
He pulled his paw back, and made a fist which he set on his hip. He turned his gaze back to meet hers, and tried to figure out how to say the next few sentences diplomatically. "Well, I don't think Fennick will have ever heard that name, but the street-kits that he counsels might have, being that most of them are teenagers and have access to the ZooNet. I am concerned that their reactions to that name may not be appropriate for the, um, venue that we currently find ourselves in." He vaguely waved his other paw about the building.
Oh Sweet Cheese and Crackers ! Judy smirked at him, planted both paws on her waist, and cocked her hips. He's adorable when he's embarrassed. "Doc, did you Zoogle 'Jessica Lapin'?"
"Um… Yes…"
"When?" This was too much fun. Particularly considering how he had commented on her nudity while she had been trying to get dressed in the SUV. Did he like what he saw?
"After we came back from the clinic. I didn't recognize the name, so I Zoogled it, but didn't get very far. I finally found a picture of you sitting on a rhino's shoulder, but nothing else."
Oh, he found Lance. Poor Lance. She missed him so much. Judy's smirk fell just a bit.
"So, based on that photo, I turned off the safe search parameters, and as a result I got a lot more pictures of Jessica Lapin. A whole lot more!"
He looks like a kit just caught stealing a cookie, she thought. "And what did you think of what you saw." She mischievously prodded him.
"Owwww." He honestly replied.
"Owwww?" Her smirk disappeared, as she became concerned. Did he think less of her now? She started to straighten back up, "Ow how?"
***That sounded stupid.***
"Yes, Ow. I don't understand how you could shove all those things up inside yourself without splitting in half. I mean, you're a rabbit. You're really not that big. How did you make them fit, without hurting yourself?" He was making size gestures with his paws, but the confusion on his face was plainly evident. He wasn't joking. He honestly didn't understand.
Judy just lost it, and doubled over in laughter. He's such a dofous! Giggling, she stood back up. She reached out with both her paws, and grabbed one of his waving paws. Her smirk back on her face, she blithely stated, "Where there is a will, there is a way, Doc." She gazed into his face, No condemnation, no judgment…
***Can she trust him?***
"Extreme insertions not your thing, Doc?" She gently asked him.
"No, not really." His gaze dropped, but instead of confused, he now looked thoughtful.
Judy put off digging for what his 'thing' might be for later, for a time when she really wanted to embarrass him and really enjoy it. Right now it was important to her that he understand this was a part about her identity, and not to hate her for it. She didn't think he did, but she still wanted to know what he really thought about it. "What else? What else did you see? What did you think of what you saw?"
"What did I think? I think it may have been the healthiest I have ever seen you." He replied in complete honesty.
She cocked her head at that statement, her smirk falling from her muzzle.
"Your muscular tone looked strong, and your bearing was erect. I didn't see any evidence of drug use, either in your eyes or in your voice. I didn't see any scars or matting of your fur that would indicate self-harm. You appeared to me to be well rested, well fed, and happy." He paused for a moment before continuing, "The shaving and dying of your fur was a bit disturbing, though. It was rather, um, rather loud, in my opinion."
It was such a Hugo explanation, so direct. She smiled, relieved that he hadn't gone moralistic on her. She had liked that time of her life, and liked who that bunny was. She had been everything Judy could wish to be: Strong, vibrant, and unafraid. Now, she was just broken, like a clock that could no longer tell time.
She lifted her head back up and nodded to him, "It was supposed to; it was something Judy Hopps would never be seen doing. It was part of my camouflage at the time, as Jessica Lapin the Porn Star. Hiding in plain sight. And it worked. No one ever guessed that wild dyed Jessica Lapin, porn queen, was meek little Judy Hopps, ex-mental patient."
"Yeah, I was happy and healthy. I was independent. I paid my bills, owned my car, and paid my groceries. I had friends and mammals who loved me. I was adored, even lusted after, and had my pick of lovers. I'm proud of what I had made of myself then. Even now, Jessica is the kind of rabbit I want to be: Strong, vibrant, and without fear." With that last statement, her face fell just a little bit.
"Okay. I shall call you Jessica, then." Hugo promised her.
Fennick sat at his low desk, sorting though his case files, and getting prepped for his next group session, which was supposed to start in half an hour. Nothing too exciting, assuming the skunk twins show up, of course. If they don't show, well, he might have to go looking for them, and that might take up most of his evening.
A murmur reached his ears, and they twitched. Somebody was talking in the hall. A couple of somebodies. Hugo? What's the cat doing here today? It's not gym day!
He appreciated that Hugo would come down on gym days and work out with his kits, he really did. He could hold up the cat as an example of a mammal who had grown up in the barrio, and instead of becoming a gang banger and dying on the street, the cat had made something of himself. It also helped that Hugo would talk gutter Amazonia as he pumped iron with the kits. They really respected that he wouldn't talk down to them.
A squeal of feminine laughter pealed down the hall. Okay, what's going on? He popped out of his chair, and slowly walked to his doorway. He stood in the open doorway and put on his ears, listening carefully.
Hugo was talking to some female, and Fennick couldn't tell what just from the voice. The damn HVAC was blowing the wrong way, so he didn't smell anything either.
Their talking about her health? Shaved? Why would any mammal shave themselves? That's just wrong! Wear your fur with pride, mammal ! Who's Jessica Lapin? WAIT A MINUTE! JUDY HOPPS! The cat finally found his bunny after all this time? And she was a porn star? Oh, Miki is going to throw a wild eyed fit if she ever finds out her husband named their daughter after a porn star! Fennick snickered quietly.
That snicker died as his ears picked up a depressing tone in the rabbit's voice and he heard "Even now, Jessica is the kind of rabbit I want to be: Strong, vibrant, and without fear." Shit! That was the voice of a mammal in need, not a joke for your amusement, asshole. Put your game face on, Fox, and behave like the professional you are!
Needing an excuse to pop out of his office, he grabbed his coffee cup and walked across the hall. He walked over to the water fountain, and after pulling out the stool to climb up, he poured out his stale coffee into the drain and rinsed out the cup. Stepping back down, he looked up and saw the two of them standing down the hall. Pretending that he hadn't just overheard everything they were talking about, he waltzed down the hall in true Fennick fashion, and addressed them. "Hugo, my Cat! What you doing in my neck of the woods?"
Fennick looked at the two of them standing there, and struggled not to laugh. Hugo was decked out in his usual dress blacks, looking for all the world like a preppy funeral director. His companion, a grey and white adult female rabbit, was dressed in true teen angst fashion, which, if Hugo had been a rabbit, Fennick would have believed. As it was, in comparison to him she kinda looked like a panhandler he just picked up from the bus station. That being said, he thought Judy was pretty, as rabbits go, if a bit skinny. Not his taste; he liked his females a lot bigger than him, mountain climbing being a favorite sport of his.
"Um, I've got to beg a favor of you, Fennick. I've got to go see a patient that Emmanuel is working on. But since they are in ICU, I can't take my friend, um, Jessica here with me. She's staying with me while she recovers from pneumonia, but I don't have time to run back home to drop her off. I was wondering if she could stay with you while I run to the hospital?" He looked mildly dyspeptic as he finished, and the rabbit looked like she had just told a really good joke but nobody else had gotten the punchline yet.
Um, Jessica? Cat, you need to learn to lie better. "But of course! Any friend of Hugo's is a friend of mine!" He held out his paw to her, "Jessica, is it?"
She took his paw and replied, "Yes, Jessica. Jessica Lapin." She said the name smoothly, wearing it like an evening gown.
"Delighted. I'm Fennick Zerda. Please, just call me Fennick." Instead of shaking her paw and releasing it, Fennick brought it to his muzzle to lay a quick kiss to the back. As he did, he inhaled and drew in all the scents that were there.
So many scents, one laid over another. Mostly female rabbit, some prescription mange body wash, and a whole lot of Hugo. Fennick has been a friend and a coworker with the cat for over thirteen years. He knows exactly what that feline smelled like, and that musk is all over her. He stole a quick glance at Hugo's black outfit. Yup, small grey and white hairs scattered about on his coat, on the shirt under that coat, and on the crotch of the black slacks. He quickly looked back at the rabbit – she's wearing black BDUs. She wasn't obviously wasn't wearing them when that fur got on his pants!
Yo cat, use a lint brush next time! 'Friend, um, Jessica', my tight little furry ass! If you're gonna bang the rabbit, at least own up to it, Doctor 'I'm A Master Of Reading Mammal Body Language' Wiedii! Don't insult my intelligence, Hugo. I might have only given you a tiny bit of shit for batting with a former patient! But now, now you are going to owe me, cat, and I am going to collect! You don't pull that kinda shit, it's unethical! Fennick was a little mad about being lied to, but he's always a little mad, so nothing showed on his face. "How long you gonna be, Cat?" as he let go of her paw.
Hugo looked at the messages on his phone and guessed, "A couple of hours, maybe? I'll call you if it's gonna be more. Is that all right with you?"
Fennick just grinned, "Sure, Cat. I'm sure Jessica and I can find ways to pass the time." He kept his eyes on Hugo, to see if Hugo reacted to the dig in any way. Maybe show some possessiveness, at least a twitch of the tail or a bit of teeth. Nothing. He just turned to talk to the rabbit.
W hat? There should have been some kind of reaction!
"Are you sure you are okay with this?" He earnestly asked her.
"Yes! Go! I'll be fine." She made little shooing motions with her paws, a quirky smile on her muzzle. "Shoo, shoo!"
"Thank you, Fennick!" Hugo backed a few feet, and turned to jog back down the hall towards the door. Fennick observed Jessica as she watched Hugo disappear out the door. Her eyes narrowed, and the smile on her muzzle went flat, and just a slight change in her scent wafted over to him. The scent of fear. Okay, I must be missing something here, Fennick thought to himself. Putting on his best counselor's face, he directed her to his office, "I've got some papers to organize before my next group session. Shall we step into my office?"
"Sure," She followed him back to his office, and as she walked through the door she glanced down and saw the kick-stop was down. The door had been open the entire time! Shit! He probably heard the whole thing! She had forgotten about Fennick's ears; his hearing was as good if not better than hers. Not that it was completely her fault; Hugo started the conversation just down the hall from this office. Had he wanted Fennick to overhear them? Why would he do that to her?
***Why would he expose her?***
Fennick hopped up into his chair, and leaned on his desk. He pointed at the low chair across from him, "Take a seat, rabbit." Looking up at her, and seeing the anxiety now clouding her features, he tried to reassure her, "I ain't gonna bite ya, kit." She looked up at him and just snorted, finally climbing into her chair. At least it made her laugh. "Why would you think I was gonna do that? What has Hugo been telling you about me?" He asked her with a grin on his muzzle.
"Not much, just that you and he go way back. I didn't think you were the biting type. I mean, I've heard that your bark is worse than your bite, that was what made me laugh." She sank into her chair.
"HA HA HA HA HA!" Fennick laughed at that. "Yeah, I'll bite if I have to, but never a client, and certainly never a colleague's lady friend. And you're both! Hugo'd rip my tongue out if I did that!" He snickered as he pointed at her.
"Lady friend? I'm not his lady friend anything!" Judy was confused at the turn the conversation had taken. Where had he gotten that idea?
"He scent is all over you, and your fur is all over his black suit." Fennick pointed out.
"What?" Why would he care? Wait, is he concerned that Hugo's just using me for sex? She looked back at him, looking at his body language. He's mad, not at me though, and he's a bit embarrassed to be talking about this. But he has to know? Why? It's important to him, that's for sure. Wait, oh shit. Shit, shit, shit. I miscalculated. I dressed up like a street-mammal so that he would take me seriously, and he did! He takes me for one, and now he's being all protective of me, thinking that Hugo might be abusing me. He probably wouldn't have thought that if I was still wearing that silly kit's dress!
Aw, Fennick. That's sweet. Unnecessary, but sweet.
"No, it's not like that." She waved her paws, "I had just hugged him really hard earlier today in his SUV, to thank him for taking me shopping to get me new clothes." Well, I almost humped him, but I didn't, so does that still count against me? "I was wearing his neighbor's hand-me down jumper at the time I did. That's where the scent and fur came from. I mean, the dress was cute and all, but I haven't worn something like that since I was six. This is more my style." She gestured to what she was currently wearing.
He didn't quite look like he was buying it, so she nervously babbled on, "I don't know. Would I bang him? Maybe? If he wasn't a cat. I mean, look at him. He's ripped, like a miniature tiger dancer from a Gazelle concert, and really strong. He's really handsome, even as old as he is, and he's really nice. And regardless of what Roberto says, his cooking is really good too. He's successful but not full of himself. And his friends are nice, too." Oops… Maybe that was a little too much sharing.
He cocked his head, "A cat? What's wrong with being a cat?" After that explanation Fennick was even more confused.
"A cat! Um," and now she was really embarrassed. Damn it, she's a former professional sex worker. She can talk about this without getting all fluster paitted. "Yeah, a cat, right? They have those spines on the head of their penis?" She shook her head in time with her paws, "Nope! No way in hell! I had sex with a bobcat once, and he tore me up so bad I couldn't sit for a week afterwards, it hurt so bad! And the gonorrhea he gave me didn't help either! After that, I swore that I'd never do another feline again." She rushed that explanation out.
***Yup, she's embarrassed, alright - she's babbling like an idiot.*** That came out totally wrong! Shut Up Judy, for the love of Pete Shut Up! She managed to stop her mouth by virtue of slapping her paw over her muzzle, but the damage was done. She tried to smooth things over by smiling, but it came out as a grimace. She just wanted to disappear into her chair. So much for being professional!
Fennick sat back like he had just been pole-axed between the eyes. That had been quite the spiel. What a minute, he thought as his eyes snapped back to hers. Spines, she said. Margay males don't have any penial spines. She doesn't know that. If she was banging him, she would definitely know that. Ergo, they aren't banging. Hugo, my cat, it seems I don't have to bite your head off. He breathed a sigh of relief. Now he felt like a total putz for putting her on like that. Maybe he can smooth things over.
"Yeah, the cat's built. He likes to come over here on the weekends to work out with my street kits. He'll strip down down to just those white pants that he wears, nothing else on top, and he'll just start hitting the free weights. He'll load up so much that you can almost see the bar bend, and then he'll go pound out a set of reps without even breathing hard. I hate him."
"What? Why?" She sat back up, grateful for the change in topic.
Yeah, maybe if he admitted to a bit of Hugo luvin' himself, she wouldn't feel so embarrassed, he thought. "Look at me! I'm this little pipsqueak of fox! I ain't got no guns!" He pointed to his little arms, "I can't pick up a some little female like he can and be all protective of her. Hell, the only thing I got going for me is that the vixens and the she-wolves think I'm cute, and that makes them want to cuddle."
Judy closed her eyes and giggled at the mental image that he brought up. She sighed and leaned back in her chair, a wistful look on her face. Fennick knew she wasn't looking at a picture of him in her mind just then. Yeah, they may not be banging, but she is crushing hard, Fennick saw. I hope this doesn't end badly, for either of them. Especially considering who she really is. Damn it, Nick. Why did you have to tell me about her? I never expected to ever see her, and now here she is, right in front of me, brought to me by the damn Cat! The one and only mammal you told me never to tell about her and what she was doing here in Zootopia three years ago! Now what do I do? I'm supposed to be the big fucking dawg here, and I've got no clue.
His phone started beeping at him, reminding him of the time. Well, there's always procrastination. "Hey, I've got group now." He extended her an offer, "You want to come and meet my kits?"
She perked up in her seat, "Sure!" She slid down to the floor.
He grabbed his notepad and pen, and hopped down from his chair, "Come on! The kits will love to meet ya."
He led her down the halls, talking as he went, "So, how long you staying with the Cat?"
"Why do you keep calling him the Cat?" Judy asked. It sounded kind of impersonal to her.
"He's a cat."
"Oh," Judy said, her face screwing up in confusion.
"Look, rabbit, I call things like I see them. I ain't got time for no rhino shit, or ring around the rosie, or what the Hell not. He's the best cat I know, and that's saying something, so he's the Cat. It's that simple. So, how long?" He pushed.
"I don't know? I mean, I just ran into him on Monday, so at least until the pneumonia is cured? He wants me to stay longer, I think." Judy temporized.
"Yeah, he likes his strays." Fennick admitted. He pointed at a door, "Here we are."
Strays? What does that mean? He's known Hugo for years, so is this something he knows that Hugo does? Bring random homeless mammals into his life?
Judy was starting to admit that she really didn't know all that much about her rescuer.
They walked into a small room with cheaply painted white walls, cheap carpet, and a ring of ten low stacking chairs. There were about half a dozen teenage mammals in the room already, all small mammals by the look of things. A female weasel, a badger, a ground hog, a couple of small deer with tusks, and an opossum. They were standing around a cooler that they were dispensing drinks from. The opossum came up to Fennick and handed him a small cup, "Here you go, boss."
"Thanks, Pogo. Jessica, meet Pogo." He pointed to the opossum, "Pogo, Jessica. She's gonna be hanging with us today." He pointed to Judy.
Pogo asked her, "Would you like some tea?"
"Um, sure" She looked over at Fennick, as Pogo shuffled off.
"He's a sweet kit," Fennick explained, as he tapped his head.
Oh, he's a little slow upstairs, Judy figured out.
There was a bit of a commotion behind them, and a pair of male skunks barged in. Talking trash to each other, they shoved their way through the other mammals to grab some sodas. "Out of my way, slow poke," one growled at Pogo, and shoved him aside, causing him to spill the tea he had just poured for Judy.
"Hey! That's not nice! You apologize to him!" Judy, furious at the way they just treated poor Pogo, stomped over to stand in front of the offending mephit.
"Or what, rabbit? You gonna thump me?" He held up his paw to admire his claws. "I don't think that's gonna happen, sweet heart. So tell you what. How bout you, me, and my brother here go out back and we show you just how nice we can be?" He licked his muzzle while his brother slid around behind her. The one behind slide his muzzle along side her neck. Judy didn't flinch. They were teenage bullies just trying to intimidate her, and she wasn't going to show them any fear, certainly not to any worm eaters like them. The nose by her neck slowly breathed out, slowly breathed back in, and stopped. Two quick sniffs, and suddenly the nose was gone. She had no idea what that was supposed to mean in skunk body language.
What Judy couldn't see was the skunk behind her had stepped back quickly, and was trying to gesture to his brother with a frantic wave off sign. The skunk in front of her stood up, and looked over at his brother, "Dude, what's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with your brother Dan is simple, you jackass. He just realized who you two morons are picking on. That ain't some street hussy you're trying to hit on, Stan. That there is Hugo's lady friend. You know what that means, don't you, Stan?" Fennick put his pad down on a chair, and turned to give Stan his whole attention, "Hugo's an Amazonia barrio cat. He don't take kindly to any mammal who disrespects his lady. Or are you just feeling suicidal today, Stan?" Fennick quirked an ear at her, "Apologize to the lady, Stan."
Stan wilted, "Um… Sorry. It won't happen again." He contritely tried to escape her stare. She glared at him, and pointed to Pogo. "Sorry, Pogo." Stan shuffled around to the seat farthest from her and sat down, joined quickly by his brother who grabbed his ear and started urgently whispering in it.
Pogo came shuffling up to her, and handed her a new cup of tea. He smiled a happy smile at her. "Thank you, Pogo." She took the cup from his paw, and laid her other paw over his, squeezing gently, "Thank you."
Pogo just keep nodding his head and smiling at her. A voice piped up beside her, "Now you've done it. You just made a friend, lady. He's gonna follow you around like a chick following a hen." The weasel had moved over to stand next to her. "Hey, Pogo, can you find me a cola, please?" She asked him. Pogo bobbed his head, and shuffled of to the cooler.
"That was pretty cool, by the way, the way you stood up to those jerks. The name's Emma, Emma Weaselton." she said as she held her paw out to Judy.
Judy took it and replied, "Thanks. I'm Jessica Lapin." She took a sip of her tea, and cocked her head, "Any relation to Duke Weaselton?" she asked the weasel.
"Ugh! He's a cousin and an asshole." She rolled her eyes.
Judy nodded in agreement, and took another sip of her tea. It was a fruity green tea, hot but not scalding, which didn't surprise her. Judy couldn't imagine that Fennick would leave these kits with anything that they could injure themselves with.
"So, how long have you and the Doc been dating?" Emma asked her as she swallowed her tea.
Judy, surprised by the question, choked on her tea, resulting in a coughing fit that made her poor lungs ache. "What?" She sputtered.
"You and the Doc? How long have you been seeing him? I'm not judging you, cause I like to think of myself as a progressive weasel. Interspecies relationships are starting to make a comeback, after that whole night howler thing, and I think that's totally cool." Emma assured her.
Judy struggled to figure out what to say. Fennick had set this up, hadn't he, the little rodent? Um, what am I supposed to say, after all that? Do I deny it, and make Fennick look like a liar? Or would the kits even believe me? Shit, I need time to think! Deflect, Judy, deflect!
She pointed to the skunks and changed the subject, "Why are they afraid of Hugo? You know he's a doctor, right? He's not gonna hurt anybody, he really can't." Well, there was that one time he tackled you at Cliffside, remember? He was pretty aggressive then!, she mused.
Emma leaned over and in a low voice she explained the situation to Judy, "Stan and Dan, the moron twins? They like to talk tough, but they're just cowards. Anyway, a few months back, they were clowning around at a gym session, talking trash like they always do. They did or said something, I don't remember what it was, and it pissed the Doc right off. He quit doing his workout and walked over to the table where we keep the workout snacks. He picked out a blood orange, and walked right back over to Stan."
"He just stared at Stan with those great green cat eyes of his until Stan shut up, and then he spoke in this horribly dead voice. He said, 'Are you trying to make me angry, Stan? Why would you do that, Stan? That's not very smart, Stan.' He ended ever sentence he spoke with Stan's name, all the while holding that orange in his paw, slowly squeezing it in his paw. I swear, he didn't even blink once while he stared the idiot down. All of a sudden, the orange exploded in his paw, sending sticky red juice everywhere! It was totally a gory looking mess, blown up all over Stan, his brother and the Doc. Especially the Doc, since he likes to wear those white workout pants. They were ruined." Emma giggled.
"It was a horror show, and it completely freaked Stan out, especially since the Doc finished it by pointing at Stan and saying 'You don't want to do that, Stan.' as he was covered what looked like blood! Stan tried to cringe, thinking the Doc was going to hit him or something, but he just shook off his paw, and went back to working out." Emma mimed out him shaking his arm.
"Then Counselor Fennick made him clean up the mess. The idiot tried to say it was the Doc's fault, but Counselor Fennick wouldn't buy it. He told Stan that since he picked the fight, he got to clean up the mess. Or did he really want to argue with Hugo again? That shut the stupid skunk up, and he and his brother ran off to get a mop and bucket. It was the funniest thing."
"Stan hasn't try to trash talk the Doc again." Emma just shrugged, "I know that it was all a dominance display between males, and that the Doc wouldn't actually turn Stan into pulp, but it looked real. And now, when ever Fennick needs to put Stan or Dan in their place, he just talks like Hugo did. It totally freaks them out." She smiled shyly at Judy, and changed the subject 180 degrees. "Is he rough when he picks you up with those paws of his?"
What? Where is that coming from? "No, he's really gentle." Judy answered honestly. Actually, Hugo spent a lot of time picking her up and putting her down, and if it wasn't for her libido firing off ever time those paws touched her she would be very annoyed with him. She was an independent bunny, thank you very much, and she was quiet capable of doing things herself, she grumped to herself. She certainly didn't need a male to do it for her.
"Oh," Emma acknowledged, turning away as she bit on her lower lip.
Is she crushing on him, Judy wondered. She furrowed her brows as she considered Emma, She's what, 14 years old? She's just a kit.
***Just like she was at Cliffside.***
Fennick interrupted that train of thought before it became too introspective by tapping his paw on the chair in front of Judy. He pointed at her, and then at the chair. He turned to Pogo and Emma, "Grab a chair, kits. It's time to get started."
Everybody sat down quietly, and even the skunk twins were subdued. Thank heavens for small miracles, thought Fennick, he might even make it through a session without having to yell at them.
He started with, "For those of you who missed the obvious, the rabbit's name is Jessica, and she's visiting us for a while. Be nice to her, and Hugo will be nice you."
With that comment Judy's mind was off to the races, ***She'd like it if Hugo was 'nice' to her!*** What, No! I am not CRUSHING ON THE CAT! He's a Cat, Remember? Bad things always happen with cats! And he probably doesn't even see her that way! She's a former patient of his, and even Fennick thinks so! The little fox was upset even thinking about the two of them having sex. ***It's been sooooo long…*** Don't tell me that! I know that! It's been years! But I'm not going to go jump the bones of the first male that's nice to me in years because I'm horny and I'm lonely and Nick isn't available! ***Nick...*** Damn it, Judy, you just had to bring the fox into the equation, didn't you. Now we're all going to be depressed for the rest of the afternoon because we're thinking about NICK and how much we miss him and can't see him or touch him or have him to ourselves! Thank you so very much!
While Judy's mind looped between screaming at her libido and her depression, her ears picked up on the on the conversation going on around her, and cut into her maudlin depressive spiral. One of the skunks , ***The Idiot Jerk!***, was boasting about something. What's his name? Dan?
"… Why the hell shouldn't we live out there on the streets? I mean, we're free! Nobody telling us what to do, nobody yelling at us about our stupid grades or some stupid shit? It's freedom, I tell you!" He sat back in his chair, looking triumphant at this proclamation.
It was a measure of how annoyed Judy was with the two skunks that she didn't think about what she was about to do before she cut in, "Freedom? Really? Well, let's see! I guess you have the freedom to pick which cockroaches you are going to snuggle with at night. There is that. Just keep in mind that if you roll over on them, they aren't gonna get squished. They're roaches – they're pretty indestructible. They're just gonna wiggle around in your fur, trying to get out." She mad a little wiggling motion with her paw,
"Now, if that doesn't wake you in the night screaming, I suppose you will be able to put up with the rain that pours down on your face because the cardboard you have over your head has finally soaked through and fallen apart. But don't worry, cause if that totally cramps your style, I suppose you can always find a free highway overpass for the night where you can be dry. Just watch out, cause if your night vision sucks like mine does, your feet are going to find every piece of broken glass, spent hypodermic needle, and puddle of piss that some other homeless mammal has left behind for you as a house warming gift!" Judy wound down her rant.
"It isn't freedom, kit. It's just another prison you can't escape, where the bars are hopelessness, the walls are despair, and you're the warden, stuck guarding yourself. If you got another legitimate option, use it! Cause it's got to be better than the streets..." She finished up with that, and looked back up. The room was dead quiet, and every pair of eyes was on her. Oh, shit! She's stepped in it now!
One of the tusked deer spoke up, "Did you do time, Jessica?" He asked the question with a measure of respect in his voice.
She thought about her answer, considered a lie, trying to hide who and what she is, but she glanced over at Fennick. He locked his gaze with hers, a little smirk playing over his muzzle, and he flicked his ears twice. SHIT! He knows. He's known all this time! Hell, Hugo had tried to warn me, but no, I wanted to pretend like I could get away with it, so I insisted on the whole Jessica charade. And the damn fox overheard it all anyway. Now what am I going to do?
***run… run away… hide...***
No, I'm not. I'm done with running. I told Hugo I was gonna stay, and I meant it, cause with it came deciding to live. I had my chance to die, but he stepped in and asked me to stay, and I said yes. I'm here now, and I've made this choice. Live with it, Judy. She took a deep breath. Okay, Fennick, let's play it your way, and see what happens.
"Yeah, nine years." She replied with resignation.
The two deer looked at each other, "What for?" the other male deer asked.
"Involuntary Mammal Slaughter. My lawyers managed to get it pleaded way down from Murder One due to my age." She shrugged, defeated. There, you happy, Fennick? You happy you just destroyed a rabbit in front of these kits? She closed her eyes, but no tears came. She was done with the tears.
The ground hog was the first to speak up, "Wow! That's hardcore! Who'd you kill?" He eagerly asked.
Judy just stared at him. Admiration was the last thing she had ever expected to hear.
Fennick barked out, "Chuck! You haven't earned that information! She's been honest and shared with the group, and if you want more, you're gonna have to share yourself!"
She looked back at Fennick, and he nodded back, pleased. It wasn't the whole truth, but it was enough to satisfy him, apparently. She looked around at the rest of the kits. The deer were nodding, Chuck the ground hog had the to grace to look embarrassed, the badger was watching her as she slowly rocked in her chair, and the two skunks looked absolutely terrified.
Emma spoke up, "Can I ask her a question?"
Judy held up her paw to forestall any objections from Fennick. She nodded to Emma, "Go on."
"How long have you been on the street? Weeks? Months?" She leaned out on her chair, kicking her feet together.
"Years. Three long years." Judy answered, tiredly.
The badger spoke up for the first time, nodding, "That's bad..."
"Oh… So you know the Doc from the homeless shelters, then?" Emma tried to understand who this rabbit was.
"No, it was from my time in Juvie..." Judy chewed on her lower lip. How much can she say, and not loose Emma's respect?
Luckily, Fennick cut in, "That's a story for another time! Chuck! You opened your big mouth, so it's now your turn to share!" Chuck look he was caught in automobile headlights. "What, not so quick to speak up now? Who would have thunk it! Well, it don't matter, cause Jessica shared, so now it's your turn!"
They went around the room for an hour, and Judy learned quite a lot about these kits. They weren't just street kits living hard, but they had all been in the trouble with the law at some point. Fennick's group sessions were part of their juvie sentences.
It turned out Emma was a local tagger, so she swapped some tips with her on the use of negative space in her work. Fennick did not look amused by that particular discussion thread.
Afterwards, Emma came up to thank her for being there, and Pogo stopped for a hug. The two skunks tried to slip out without her noticing, so Judy stomped her foot and glared at them. They took of running down the hall. She waved goodbye to the rest, and soon it was just Fennick and her in the room.
"I think you made a friend," Fennick observed.
"Who? Emma, or Pogo?" Judy wanted to know.
"Emma. Pogo likes everybody." Fennick pointed out.
"Speaking of which, why is Pogo here? Shouldn't he be at some mental health facility?"
"Like you were? Not really. Pogo's problem isn't mental health, it's arson. He likes the pretty flames. But his fires have a tendency to burn out of control, so eventually they just sent him to juvie. He did not like that at all, especially being picked on by the older inmates, so it had some mitigating effect on his desire to burn things." Fennick explained.
"Oh. You know about my time, then?" Judy looked down at the chair she was leaning on.
"Cliffside? Well, yeah." He pointed to his ears, "Even if I hadn't overheard you two yabbering in the hall, I would have known. Hugo wouldn't shut up about it for the first six months or so that we worked together. There aren't any other grey and white female rabbits in his life that I know about, especially any he would let stay with him at his place up in the Snowy Hills. So as soon as I saw you, I knew who you were."
He picked up his note pad and gestured to her, "Hey, I understand the need for anonymity. If you two wanted to keep Judy Hopps out of the air waves, all you had needed to do was ask. There was no need to insult my intelligence or my hearing."
"Anonymity? What anonymity? You tricked me into blurting out my sentence for them all to hear! Now what are they gonna think of me? They're gonna figure it out!" She indignantly pointed out.
"I didn't trick nobody, rabbit. This here is Group. You share what you want to in Group. And you shared plenty, and that's your decision. As for what they think of you, best I can tell is that the kits think you're a former gang-banger sent away for offing a rival gang member. That gives you street cred with them. There ain't anything else for them to figure out, now is there?"
"Street Cred? What? I don't want street cred! I'm not proud of being a mammal murderer! It was the worst decision of my life, personally." Even if it had to be done…
"Exactly! That's what we want to teach them. And you were great at that! Listen, rabbit. These kits don't have what you would consider great role models in their lives. Most of their role models are negative ones. So when they see somebody they can respect, and that mammal tells them that murder is a stupid idea that they shouldn't be proud of, or that sleeping on the street isn't freedom at all, they believe them! They believed you! You connected with them in a way that they understood. And that, rabbit, is how a youth counselor is made! Connection. Meaningful connection." Fennick held up his two paws and pressed them together.
"Oh..." Was this what Chief Bogo had been talking about in his letter, about her finding purpose and honor?
Fennick led her back down the hall.
"Fennick? Did you really mean that stuff you were saying about Hugo?"
"About him being a barrio cat? Yeah, it's all true. It don't look it, when you look at him, right?" Fennick asked her.
She just shook her head.
"Yeah, he grew up in the slums along the Orinoco river valley. You'll have to get him to tell you the whole story, but basically his family were gleaners. You know what a gleaner is?" He inquired.
"No. Wait, that's an agricultural term, isn't it?"
"Yeah. He and his family would go to fields and orchards and pick the insects off the plants and eat them. It was hard work. They didn't starve, but they didn't make much. But eventually his dad was able to get a job as a postal worker in a small town, and they could settle down. They still lived a poor neighborhood for a few years, so he used to run with some of the local gangs as a kit. They eventually moved away from the barrio when his dad got promoted to postmaster, and the family moved into a middle class neighborhood. When he was twelve, his parents saved up and sent him to a university prep school. He did well enough there to earn scholarships to go to college and eventually from there to medical school."
They walked into Fennick's office. She took a seat in a chair, and he sat in his.
"Hugo been there and done that, Judy. And the kits know it. It allows him to make those same meaningful connections. Like when Emma thinks about what kinda of Dad he would make. Or maybe make the skunk twins rethink their stance on being bullies just to show how strong they think they are. Hugo isn't strong because he looks like it. He's strong because he knows it!" Fennick pointed out.
"So, Emma wasn't crushing on him?" Judy mused.
"What? Feeling some relief, rabbit, that the little weasel isn't muscling in on your Cat? Your jealousy finally calm down a bit, now that your Amazonia lover is safe from competition?" Fennick snickered as he mocked her.
"Har, Har!" Judy stuck her tongue out at him in return. If his was going to behave like a kit, she was going to treat him like one.
He waved his paw at her, "Nah, Emma isn't really crushing on him like that. She's just reconsidering what a 'strong' male actually is. Hopefully, that way, when she eventually does settle on a male to father her pups, she won't go for one like her idiot cousin."
"Duke." Judy just snorted.
"Yeah, Duke is a good example of what not to go for. Hugo is just a glimpse for her into her own future, and that some males will be worth her time."
BUZZ! BUZZ! His phone vibrated across the desk. "Speak of the devil," Fennick said as he picket up the phone, "It's Hugo. Ah, he says 'Fennick'? Why does he always put my name on a text to my phone? It ain't going to anybody else but me!" He squinted theatrically across the table at Judy, and she stifled a giggle behind her paw. "Anyway, he says, 'Fennick – there has been a complication at the hospital. The patient went berserk and attacked the ZPD officer who came to talk to him, sending him into the wall..."
Judy interrupted him as she blurted out, "Is Nick okay?" ***What? Why did she say that?*** She started to chew on a claw while she worried about his response.
"Nick? Who said anything about Nick, rabbit?" Fennick questioned her, and then continued the message by paraphrasing Hugo's ebullience, "Naw, it's Clawhauser that got creamed. They've got him down in ICU too now, and the ZPD brass is there now, all upset. So it looks like Hugo and his medical partner have to talk to them, and it's going to be a while. He doesn't know when he will be able to get out. Oh, and get this! He wants me to take you to dinner or something." Fennick finished reading the rather long text.
"Why would Benjamin be at the hospital? Isn't he the ZPD dispatch sergeant?" Judy was confused by this. He's not really the kind of officer to send off to hospitals, being portly and all.
"Nah. He used to be, but he had a health scare back during the Night-howler stuff, and he's since slimmed down and gotten sleek. He's more of a detective these days, being that he's really good with talking to mammals face to face. He is so annoyingly cheerful!" Fennick grumped.
Something went click in Fennick's head. Wait a minute, why did she immediately ask if Nick was okay, and not Hugo? And how does she know that Clawhauser was the dispatch officer? Simple, you dumb fox. She knows them both. But how? Nick swears to me that he's never met her, but she sure as hell cares about him. And she called Clawhauser by his first name, not as Officer Clawhauser or Detective Clawhauser, but as Benjamin. How does she know them?
Like falling dominoes, Fennick's thoughts began to cascade. Hang on! Hugo lives and works in Tundra Town. He was working there Monday, all day. She said she's been with Hugo since Monday, and that she has pneumonia. She has to have met Hugo in Tundra Town on Monday. And what is there a lot of in Tundra Town? Snow! Why the hell didn't he see it?
He looked up from his phone, and chewed on his cheek as he considered those question. He turned to Judy and innocently asked, "Where in Tundra Town did you say you meet up with Hugo on Monday?"
Judy was grooming her ears with her claws, and didn't really consider the nature of the questions before answering, "A couple of blocks from the Central Square. It was dark, so I don't know exactly where." ***Wait, when had she told him about Tundra Town?*** She frowned at him.
Fennick's face froze. Cheryl's dream, the one that has been bugging her repeatedly for over a month? The one where she had called to tell him all about it, because she couldn't talk to her wife or Nick about it for some reason? What was it?
CLICK!
Snow.
A rabbit in snow.
A dead rabbit in snow.
A dead grey and white rabbit in snow.
A dead grey and white rabbit in snow, frozen solid, discovered by Clawhauser in the Tundra Town Central Square!
And Cheryl knew, knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that rabbit was none other than Judy Hopps!
And now he has that same grey and white rabbit in his office, alive and well, with nothing to show for it but a bout of pneumonia!
She didn't die in the Tundra Town snow on Monday night!
She didn't die because she was intercepted by Hugo, and he's been taking care of her ever since!
Why the hell didn't he see any of this before?
She was supposed to die on Monday, but something caused Hugo to step in at the last minute and save her instead! And now he, Fennick Zerda, was stuck in the middle of all of it!
Fate, You FICKLE BITCH ! , Fennick raged internally.
He needed some tea. Actually, he wanted a beer, but he didn't have any here, so tea would have to do for now. He turned to her, and politely asked, "Would you like some tea? I could use some tea, since it appears we are going to be here a while. Might as well stay hydrated." He hopped down, and wandered over to his coffee pot.
"I'd love some tea." Judy was confused by his body language. He had read the message, asked her the question, and then froze. Now he's making tea. WTF?
"It's just a friend's green tea blend. She makes it for me, says it will keep me calm." Cheryl's been mixing the teas for him for years, but he's never really felt any different after drinking them. He does tend to think better after a cup, though. It certainly wouldn't hurt today.
BUZZ! BUZZ! Fennick's phone vibrated again. Damn it Cat! Now What? He looked at the message. Oh, hello, it's Marilyn!
Long-Legs:
Hey, big dawg. I'm all done for the day. You up for dinner and a ride?
"Is it Hugo again?" Judy asked.
"No, it's Marilyn. Hugo's probably buried up to his ears in ZPD brass right now, so I don't expect any further communications from him for a while."
"Who's Marilyn?" This was somebody new that Judy hadn't heard of.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I forgot that the Cat didn't tell you anything about me. Marilyn's my lady friend. She just texted me. Seems she's done with her appointments for the day, and wants to meet up for an early dinner, and maybe as sunset ride afterwards. You up for dinner and a sunset motorcycle ride? There's plenty of room for you in our side car."
"Is that where you ride?"
"Yeah, that way I can't get bounced off the back when we hit a pot hole or a bump, cause landing your ass on pavement sucks, even with armor on."
Oh, wow. She hadn't ridden on a motorcycle in a long time. Just one question, "Do you have a helmet that would fit me?
"No, but her motorcycle mechanic might. I'll text her and ask." Fennick sent her that question.
Big-Ears:
I'm babysitting a rabbit for a friend, and she wants to come with. Does Skye have a small adult rabbit helmet handy at her shop?
Long-Legs:
Skye says that she has a spare rabbit helmet. And if we are going riding with a rabbit, she wants to come with. Is that okay?
Big-Ears:
Sure, as long as she doesn't molest the rabbit or try to kidnap her. I'm only babysitting - I have to give her back tonight. Meet you at Crazy Steve's in 20?
Long-Legs:
Will do, Daddy-O!
He looked up at Judy, "Okay, her mechanic has a helmet, and will probably be joining us as well. You okay hanging with bikers tonight?
"Sure, I suppose." Judy answered. It's not like she had anywhere else to go.
Fennick hopped down out out of his chair, "Come on, let's take a walk down to Crazy Steve's. It's this little omnivore place about five blocks away, and they've got this vegetarian lentil soup I think you'll like."
"Oh! I haven't had lentils in a long time. That sounds good to me." Judy hopped down herself and walked out to the hall. Fennick closed his door and guided Judy out of the building.
As they were walking towards the restaurant Fennick was thinking, Hey, if Skye's there, then she can entertain the rabbit while he talks to Marilyn about the cluster fuck he has just found himself in. Hummm… Should he warn Judy about Skye's little rabbit fetish? Nah! He'll let her find out herself! This should be fun to watch!