Hello there, readers! This is a little Mother's Day special one-off that takes a peek at how the different families in my stories The Door, and the sequel The Keyhole, are celebrating the holiday.

Zootopian Mother's Day Special

by

Elite Shade

Judy was lying in bed, the early morning rays of sunlight streaming through the curtains of her bedroom, their soft warm glow mimicking how the bunny was feeling in her equally soft and warm blanket cocoon on her bed. She reached a questing paw behind herself, feeling around for her mate and, finding his larger form missing, she rolled over to find that he wasn't in bed with her. Figuring that he had gotten up a little early, Judy sat up a little, her navy blue ZPD cadet T-shirt's rumpled majesty on clear display as she stretched and yawned. Her ears perked up and shifted to the sounds of very soft, very deliberate footsteps approaching her door. Thinking that it was Nick, preparing to creep up on her to scare her for another one of his early morning pranks, a sly smile appeared on her lips, just before she stealthily slipped out of bed.

She hid a pillow under her blankets to make a fake stand-in for herself, before sliding down underneath the bed. She covered her mouth, not wanting to giggle and spoil her surprise on her would-be surpriser, and listened as she heard her door open. She heard the soft footsteps approach very slowly, and waited until they came to rest just next to where she would have been laying on the bed. In one swift motion, she lunged and grabbed for the leg, making a RAWR! noise. She was shocked to find a startled Eli towering over her, holding a tray that the sudden jolt from his jump caused to flip over, dumping an entire glass of carrot juice and half of a tofu omelette onto her face, just as the scene was briefly illuminated by a flash.

Judy turned to see a dumbfounded Nick, still in his pj's, a grey tank top and light blue pj bottoms, standing there with his phone out. "I can already tell that that is a much better picture than what we were planning on taking," he joked, the corner of his muzzle starting to rise in a smirk.

Judy ignored him and looked up at the worried and guilt-ridden face of her adopted human kit.

"I-I'm s-so sorry, Mom!" he said, beginning to go into full panic mode.

"Eli, sweetie, it's okay," Judy said, climbing all the way out from under the bed to give his shins a comforting hug as she tried to soothe him, "I'm not mad. Just confused. Why were you trying to sneak up on me like your father normally does?"

While Eli struggled with a stuttered answer, the bunny noticed something out of the corner of her eye on the floor. Looking down, she saw that it was a card. She reached down and plucked it off the floor and turned it over. On the front was a picture of a butterfly, with sparkling amethyst wings, mid-flutter over a caterpillar on a leaf. Above, in beautiful gold calligraphy, were the words Happy Mother's Day! And it was at that moment that it clicked for her, and she remembered what day it was.

"You brought me breakfast in bed for Mother's Day?" Judy asked, her carrot and tofu covered face breaking out into a wide grin, as she felt her heart swell with pure joy. Eli blushed and nodded, prompting another hug from his adopted mother.

"Nick, don't you dare send that picture to Clawhauser," Judy said, still smiling while looking up at her kit, who was now also starting to smile as well.

"Sorry, Carrots, it's a little late for that," Nick said, before casually strolling up and joining the hug.

Meanwhile...

Mrs. Otterton smiled as she finished watering the last of the roses. She looked around their closed shop, taking in all of the different beautiful colors and fragrances. Emmitt's passion shone through from all of the hard work, love, and dedication he gave to all of his plants. Of course, that paled in comparison to the love and dedication he always took the time to show his family. Presently, he was with the pups, helping them to put together a Mother's Day surprise just for her. The thought alone was enough to make the motherly otter's stomach flutter. It was just as she was preparing to begin work on the nearby lilies that she noticed their newest youngest addition to the family. Sarah saw that she had been spotted and squealed, ducking down to hide behind a display of sunflowers.

"Sarah, honey, whatever could you be doing up so early, out here in the shop," she asked with a playful tone to her voice. "You know that you aren't supposed to come in here by yourself."

"But I'm not by myself, Mommy," Sarah innocently said, poking her head up over the bright yellow flowers, "you're in here too."

"Hmmm," she said, seeming to think this over, making a show of scratching her chin, "I suppose that you've got a point there. But that still doesn't answer the question of just what it is that you're doing in here, honey pie."

Sarah giggled and shuffled out. She was wearing her pink overalls and a bright red shirt. She was also very smudged with dirt. And she had both her hands behind her back. "I got you somethin' for Mother's Day, Mommy!"

With no hesitation, the little dark human girl brought her surprise out from behind her back, revealing a bouquet of bright pink daisies, most still with clumps of dirt still attached at the bottom.

"Oh my goodness! They're all so pretty! Did you pick them yourself?" she said, happily accepting the sweet present from her youngest pup, looking up into her excited eyes. Sarah nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh! I sure did, Mommy! Daddy watched, so I wasn't by myself!" Sarah said proudly.

"I'm sure he did," she chuckled at the thought of Emmitt sitting back and filming while Sarah got covered in dirt picking the flowers, "because you're a big girl."

"I sure am, Mommy!" Sarah said, leaning down to hug her mother, which was immediately reciprocated, no matter the amount of dirt on her clothes.

Elsewhere...

"Russell?" Mrs. Spitz called as she ascended the stairs up towards his room. "Is Ethan in your room again?"

"Oh, uh... no," Russell said, blushing as he looked down and away. The husky looked at the teenage human that was her foster child, getting the distinct impression that he was hiding something from her.

"Is something wrong, sweetheart?" she asked, concerned.

"Uhm," Russell looked away for a bit, still blushing. "I... uh... I got you this," he said, holding out a small, clearly hastily-wrapped box that fit in the palm of his hand. Her tail was already wagging, and her muzzle was already sporting a grin.

"Oh, Russell, thank you!" she said, gratefully taking it and opening the package. Her breath caught as she looked down at the small pendant. It was a rose quartz carved in the shape of its namesake, on a simple black cord. "It's beautiful, sweetheart, I love it!" She wasted no time in picking up up and slipping it on around her neck. She looked down and smiled before looking back up to happily regard her oldest foster child. She stepped forward to embrace him, happy how he seemed so much more open to physical signs of affection than when he had first arrived.

"I... uh... I'm glad that you like it," Russell said awkwardly. She opened her muzzle to respond, but suddenly felt a tugging sensation on the left leg of her jeans. She looked down to see little Ethan. The little grey fox kit was standing there, completely caked in dirt and possibly mud, and was holding up a dandelion to her. Not even remotely upset by the trail of little paw prints that he had left on the carpet, she leaned down and picked up the kit in her arms, hugging him close and accepting her second Mother's Day gift.

"And thank you too, Ethan, I love it as well," she said, giving him a nuzzle, as she resumed hugging the shy, yet happy Russell, while still holding his younger foster brother, who yipped happily.

At that moment...

Ralph and Nadine were taking Rosalie on a morning walk through a nearby park. Ralph was pushing the stroller, which little Rosalie was securely strapped into, cooing at all of the sights and sounds she saw, while Nadine walked alongside him, one arm draped over his shoulders. The tigress would periodically peek into the stroller to check on her baby, and so far, every time, Rosalie would smile and reach up with her little arms. She was dressed in a footed tiger-themed onesie, complete with a hood with ears and a tail.

"How does it feel?" Ralph asked, his tail already starting to swish, showing his enjoyment. Nadine was caught off guard, and confused as to what her mate was referring to.

"How does what feel?" she asked.

"To finally be a mommy celebrating Mother's Day?" Ralph asked innocently, his tail starting to wag even more rapidly at the rumbling purr he was felling, in addition to hearing, emanating from her.

"It's one of the greatest feelings in the entire world," she replied, her voice filled with emotion. They shared a kiss, pointedly ignoring the curious stares they were receiving, before they stopped before a fountain. Rosalie gurgled and reached out towards a hummingbird that swooped in to flit about her. She giggled at the tiny hyperactive bird while trying to catch it. Then it flew off, and the human baby started to fuss. She started to cry, only to find herself unbuckled from her stroller, and cradled in Nadine's arms. She started humming as she rocked the baby back and forth, Ralph busying himself with finding a bottle of juice. It was then that Nadine's ears heard it, just as Rosalie, who had now settled down, reached out a tiny chubby hand to touch the tigress' nose.

"Mama!" the baby said.

Nadine's tail started to swish as her eyes began to prickle with the sensation of happy tears.

"Finally I get the first shout out instead of Daddy!" she said, nuzzling her baby, making her squeal and giggle.

"I told you that she knew exactly what day it is," Ralph said, his tail a happy blur.

And I genuinely hope that you enjoyed this little side-story for Mother's Day! Shoutout to JOE1992 for the suggestion. This little one-off was proofread by the wonderful Trismegistus Shandy! Please feel free to leave a review!