Some time later, Nick and Judy were sitting on the train, the unexpected disturbance from earlier mostly forgotten. The pair of them were looking out the window as the countryside rolled by. They could see the blurred images of barns, silos, and fields of crops flowing by. For Nick, who had never seen such sights before, it was a bit of an experience to see the vastness of the fields, seeming to stretch on forever. For Judy, who had grown up in such a setting, it filled her with nostalgia and only made her more eager to visit her childhood home. Nick suddenly blanched as he caught sight of the "Welcome to Bunnyburrow" sign, with the area's ridiculously large population on display in plastic numbers below the gigantic words. His mouth hung open in shock, and he started having serious second thoughts. Judy, seeing this, decided that he needed a pep talk. "Come on Nick, we've faced savage jaguars, exploding trains, and hit rams. You can survive a town full of bunnies. They won't hurt you."

"Are you absolutely sure they won't burn me at the stake for dating you? And what about your dad, you said he had a fox taser?" Judy rolled her eyes.

"Nick, you are here as my guest. I will personally defend you from any big, bad bunny who tries to make you leave. I made sure as soon as you became my partner that my dad threw that taser out. You have nothing to worry about." She punctuated this by taking his paw in hers to reassure him. Nick smiled, gazing down at her with a look filled with love and affection. Before he could do anything, however, the train came to a stop and the PA system said: "Now arriving at Bunnyburrow station."

As they got out of their seats, Nick caught a brief glimpse of the mob of bunnies waiting for them. He felt a brief flash of fear course through him before he looked down into the violet eyes of the doe beside him, and knew that nothing in the world would stop him from following her anywhere. As the doors dinged open, they barely got out onto the platform before there was a resounding cry of "Judy!" from the assembled army of bunnies. The pair quickly found themselves swarmed by an array of tiny bunny kits, all wanting to see their older sister after she had been gone for so long, and just as many were interested in the fox she had brought with her. Judy disappeared under a pile of rabbits, all wanting cuddles. Nick was more fortunate, for the moment, as the kits' curiosity and wonder kept them from immediately clambering over him. "What's your name?" one little brown doe asked.

"Uh, Nick Wilde."

"Are you big sis Judy's boyfriend?" asked a black buck.

"Yes."

"Are your teeth really sharp?"

"I guess so." As Nick frantically tried to answer all of the questions, he didn't notice some of the more adventurous kits sneaking up behind him. He only became aware of their presence when they leaped on him, wanting to feel his fluffy fur and tail. Within seconds, Nick was covered in the kits as they poked at him.

"His tail is so fluffy!"

"Look at his big paws!"

"His ears are so pointy!"

Nick was about to panic when a stronger, more authoritative voice rang out.

"Kids, get off of them. You're overwhelming the poor fox." As his vision was cleared of rabbits, Nick saw Bonnie Hopps making her way over to them. He had only met her and her husband before on muzzletime, so he had hoped their first face to face meeting would go well. Having her rescue him from death by fluff was not what he had expected. Behind her was Stu, tugging at the straps of his overalls and looking at Nick with open suspicion. Bonnie, however, offered Nick a paw, which he accepted. Now upright again, he listened as she apologized for the kits behavior. "I'm sorry about that. We tried to tell them that foxes aren't as used to cuddles as rabbits, but they don't seem to have taken the warnings too seriously."

"It's okay. I've had much worse than being buried underneath an army of kits. I'm really just glad for your offer to come."

"Oh, no problem at all. Judy talks about you all the time, and we really needed to meet you properly." As she said this, she gestured for Stu to come forward. He did so, although still looking at Nick with wary. However, when Nick offered his paw, Stu gave it a firm shake. Judy saw these interactions, and felt relieved that things were going well so far. Stu had always been very protective, and whenever they called or muzzletimed, would always try to grill Nick with questions, ostensibly to see if he was a good match for his daughter. Bonnie had fortunately been far more accepting, and quickly warmed up to Nick. Now that he wasn't covered in bunnies, Nick could see that those who had come to greet them must actually be only a small portion of the family, as he could only see a few dozen rabbits in their group. Said group started moving again as Bonnie explained "Fortunately, the burrow isn't far away, so some of the little ones wanted to come and greet you. Otherwise we would have had to send someone to get you with one of the trucks." Nick nodded his understanding, already feeling more at ease in the midst of the rabbits. As they walked down the dirt road back to the burrow, Stu caught up with Nick and tapped his shoulder.

"When we get back to the burrow, I want to have a talk in private okay?"

Nick nodded, a bit wary, but knowing that he needed to prove to Stu that he was a good match for Judy. As the small group plodded along, the Hopps warren soon came into sight. Like most rabbit burrows, it housed most of its population underground, the only place with enough space for the rabbit population. Even the parts that were built up above ground were actually built into the side of a hill, meaning that most of the visible structure was covered in grass.

"The part sticking out is where we have all the communal areas, like kitchen, dining room, and living rooms," Bonnie explained as they went along, "All the bedrooms are below the surface." The only portion of the massive structure not covered in earth was the front, which they came to now. A white fence porch ringed the front, with a large double-doored entrance and yellow walls. Large windows poured in sunlight to at least a part of the burrow. As they came through the double doors, Nick found himself in the largest kitchen he had ever been in. He supposed that he should have known, given the number of mouths to feed, that they would need an enormous kitchen to keep up. Numerous older Hopps family members were already bustling about preparing dinner, cutting up vegetables, mixing salads, and doing various other activities. As Nick looked around in awe, Bonnie briefly took him to the side. "Now Nick, we do have a couple of rules here. One, no swearing around the little ones, I don't need them picking up foul language too early."

"No problem Mrs. H., I can just take a leaf out of Carrot's book and say 'cheese and crackers'."

"Please, call me Bonnie, and yes that's where that comes from. Another thing, I don't care what you do in your own room, but don't anything somewhere the kits will find you. I know that you've probably heard we're good at multiplying, but that doesn't mean I want to have to explain to any of my kits what they caught you doing."

Nick was astounded by her frankness, and felt his jaw hanging open.

"It's okay Nick, with hundreds of kits, we have to be open. It's always easier to just try and mediate such activities, not try and avoid them completely. Don't forget, I was young once too. I know what it's like to be in love for the first time, how hard it can be to hold back."

In spite of his embarrassment, Nick found himself actually appreciating her directness. It always helped with communication.

"Thank you Bonnie, I will keep that in mind," he said, smiling. Meanwhile, Judy was catching up with some of her closest siblings. She was currently talking to Jamie, an albino doe, and William, a buck with light brown fur and the same shade of violet eyes as his sister. They were trading stories of the going-ons in the city and the burrow.

"Hmm, imagine that. Straight shooter number one cop Judy Hopps being corrupted by a sly fox," William said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey, he is not 'corrupting' me, he's a cop now too you know."

"Easy, I'm just kidding, I'm cool with it."

"Yeah, but I'd watch out for Michael and Brenda," Jamie butt in, dropping to a hushed tone, "as soon as we found out about you guys, they swore that they would change your mind the next time you came home." This news caused Judy to bristle. No one told her what she could or couldn't do, or who she could or couldn't be with.

Seeing her become more tense, William tried to calm her down, "Hey easy, we don't want a brawl on our hands. Just be aware, okay, try and avoid hurting them please." Judy sighed and nodded, knowing that she would have to come to blows with some of her family eventually. It was a statistical impossibility that everyone would accept Nick and her being with him. At that moment however, Nick and Bonnie walked over, having finished their conversation.

"Well, I was just saying to Nick that you should put away your things before dinner. Could you please show Nick to your old room bun-bun?" Judy reddened at the sound of the old nickname, but did as she was told, leading Nick down one of the winding tunnels that lead to the bedrooms.

"I got to say Carrots, I really like your mom. Although, I don't think your dad is taking to me too much."

"Don't worry about it, he's always been overprotective, all you've got to do is explain things to him and talk him down. How do you think I put up with him trying to stop me from being a police officer?"

Nick smiled at the thought of Judy, not letting anyone stand in the way of her dream, relentlessly determined.

"I don't think he could have stopped you for a second, you're the most driven mammal I know."

Judy blushed at the compliment but didn't protest, more than happy for praise instead of the usual teasing.

"Thanks sweetie." They walked on in silence after that, making their way through the many passageways that made up the subterranean burrow. As they went, they saw numerous kits playing around, drawing on the walls, chasing each other in games of tag, and just in general being kits. Many of them would pause in their activities to stare in awe at Nick, the fox a novelty to them. Eventually, they came to a stop outside a door with the ZPD logo on it, and a small sign reading "Judy". Judy opened the door and led Nick inside. One look inside and anyone could tell what her passion in life had been. Where others might have had posters of favorite bands or movies, Judy had decorated her room with ZPD recruitment posters. On the small desk and bookshelf, there were old police textbooks and various other ZPD related items. Nick even spied a picture of 9 year old Judy in a police costume, and the same tiny hat she had worn then was perched on one of the bedposts. Nick couldn't help but smile, looking around the room reminded him of how being a cop had been her dream for years, and she had actually achieved it. Not nearly enough mammals actually achieved their dream in life, and he was glad his Judy had. If she hadn't, he probably would have spent the rest of his days hustling pawpsicles on the streets. At the moment, he decided to show some of the love he was feeling by wrapping his arms around Judy and sweeping her into a big hug. She let of a quick laugh and remarked,

"What brought this on? You seem to be feeling very cuddly all of a sudden."

Nick closed his eyes and drank in her scent before he answered. "Just glad that I have you. I can't help but think of how much you following your dream helped me to achieve mine. I owe you everything." Although it was unexpected, his sudden sweetness and honesty greatly affected Judy, who decided to embrace the moment and return his affection in kind. Twisting around in his arms, she brought her muzzle up to his, and brought their lips together in a soft, sweet kiss. What was meant to be quick and chaste quickly deepened, Nick grasping the back of her head, running his fingers through her fur. Their mouths parted and tongues met, rolling over each other in a kind of dance. Nick's larger tongue overpowered Judy's much smaller one, forcing its way into her mouth, causing him to groan. As things got more heated, Judy knew they had to stop before they went to far. Reluctantly breaking off the kiss, she looked up at Nick, who had a slightly disappointed expression on his face.

"Don't look at me like that Nick. We have to go to dinner, and if we had kept going, we probably would have been in here all night." As she said this, she took his paw and started leading him back the way they cane. Nick, although still a bit irked at the sudden stop to their passionate interaction, quickly followed behind her, not wanting to get dragged along. They once again traveled through the winding, earthy tunnels, although they were now devoid of kits, everyone being at dinner. This time, however, they took a slightly different path to arrive at the dining room instead of the kitchen. Exiting the tunnel, they came into the largest room Nick had seen in the burrow yet. The dining room was a gigantic chamber, filled to the brim with bunnies talking, filling the massive area with an incredibly loud din. " I wonder how they can stand all this noise with such good hearing," Nick wondered aimlessly, taking in his surroundings. There were a series of long tables and benches set out, with each seating roughly 25 rabbits, so 50 or so per table. Nick also noticed that the bunnies there were largely on the young side, with not many older than 12 or 13. As he turned to question Judy about this, she had seemingly read his mind, for before he could even get a word out, she explained,

"We go in several sittings by age group, youngest first, so that way the whole burrow isn't in here at once. Most of the older ones have to do cooking and washing anyway."

"So am I being considered a kit since I'm with the youngest group?" Nick mused.

"No, you're the guest, which means you get to eat first. Sit yourself down, I'll go get your food, my mom cooked something special for you. We Hoppses know how to show hospitality." As they had been talking, they had made their way across the hall to a significantly smaller table, which Nick assumed was for guests and more important family members. He did as he was bidden, sitting in the slightly larger seat that Judy had pulled out for him. She then disappeared into the kitchen to get the food. In just a few minutes, a large number of adult bunnies came out with the prepared dishes, serving the little ones so that there were no huge lines of hungry kits waiting their turn to be served. Nick noticed Judy making her way over to their table, a couple of plates balanced in her paws. He could smell the delicious aroma of cooked salmon, one of his favorite dishes. Judy reached the table and set the steaming dish down in front of Nick, letting him see that there was also a side of his favorite blueberries. Grinning, he licked his chops before starting to dig in. Judy, once she had finished distributing the other dishes she had been carrying, sat down next to him and started her own meal. Looking over, she noticed that he had already plowed through half the dish, eating like he hadn't seen food in months. She chuckled to herself before returning to her salad. For a while, the sounds of talking were replaced by the sounds of chewing, the clink of glasses being set down, and the chink of cutlery being put to use. Once the meal started to slack off, however, conversations were restarted, once again filling the room with indistinguishable noise. As he lounged back in his seat, stomach full and perfectly content, Nick noticed Stu glancing over at him, and then looking away. This caused Nick to remember that the buck had asked to talk to him, and he resolved to do so after dinner. Meanwhile, Judy was chatting away with her family. She loved the city, but it was good to return to her roots once in a while. Plenty had happened while she was gone, and her siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins all regaled her with tales of the misadventures and going ons of the area. Currently, William was finishing up a story about how several of their younger siblings had made a paper mache volcano for a science project, which had promptly blown up and covered the living room in baking soda and red food dye. Laughing at the mental image that gave her, she told them about some of her and Nick's own adventures in the city.

Once all the food was gone, and the conversations began to die down, the younger bunnies began to head to bed, making room for the older sittings. The process repeated itself, with food being distributed and subsequently gobbled up by a seemingly never ending chain of hungry mouths. Having eaten in the first sitting, Nick had slipped away to one of the side halls, where he had found a seat and waited until all of the sittings were over so that he could talk to Stu. After about another half an hour had passed, the dining hall finally began to clear, leaving behind the bunnies on clean up duty, washing the dishes in the kitchen and sweeping the floors. Stu was among the cleanup crew, but had noticed Nick waiting for him, and finished up his duties quickly. Dusting off his paws, he walked over to where Nick was sitting. The todd sat up, seeing him approaching. When Stu came to a stop in front of Nick, the latter made a gesture inviting him to talk first. Stu looked Nick up and down for a second before beginning.

"I'm sure you're a good guy, you seem kind and patient, but there's more to a mammal than that. I need to know you'll stick by my daughter, you'll support her and help her." Nick gave a reassuring smile, he had expected something like this, and knew exactly how to answer.

"No need to worry, nothing on Earth could make me leave her. I'll be there for her no matter what."

Stu sighed, "There's more to it than that. There's more to the world than just you two. What about when you go out, and people insult you, try and make you feel like trash?"

"You don't think we didn't consider this before now?" Nick asked, a bit surprised. "That was one of the reasons we took so long to get together, and why we hid it for a while. Judy may be the hardest mammal on Earth to scare, and she's been rubbing off on me, but it wasn't exactly like we wanted people to taunt and deride us at every turn. But when we actually sat down and talked about it, we knew we would be willing to go through anything to make it work. Our love for each other is worth all the pain the world can give us."

Stu suddenly got a sad look in his eyes. "I'm not so sure about that. There are mammals who will do a lot more than just attack you verbally." He took a deep breath before continuing, "Did you know that you two actually aren't the first rabbit fox couple?" Nick was surprised, he hadn't known something for once.

"Yeah, about twenty years ago, there was actually an interspecies family here. They were a tod and doe, just like you guys, and they were just as in love as anybody else. Heck, they even had a kit together." Stu's expression told Nick that he was remembering something that he would rather forget.

"But you can guess about how well that went. They were hated, driven from their families in anger. Then, one night, an extremist group burned down their house, and murdered all three of them. Their love cost them their lives." Stu finished, his voice trembling. "I don't want to see the same thing happen to my daughter." Nick was a bit stunned. He knew that there were hate crimes, and that in the past there had been more than a few killings motivated by species, but he hadn't expected anything so recent. However, as he thought about it, his resolve strengthened, and his shocked expression morphed into a determined one.

"I can guarantee that won't happen," he told the emotional buck, who's eyes had gotten glassy. "If someone tries to hurt us, we'll stop them. We're cops, it's kind of our job. Even if I wasn't in a relationship with Judy, I would probably hunt those killers to the end of the Earth. I probably wouldn't be able to live with myself, or stand to be near Judy if I couldn't do that. No matter what, we'll be okay." Stu seemed a bit reassured by the todd's confidence and determination. Nick decided to end on a bit of humor to bring up his mood. "And besides, you're worried about me protecting her, when she'll probably be the one doing the protecting," he finished with a laugh, leaving behind a more emotionally stable buck as he made his way down the halls and back to Judy.

Author's Note: So, there's Chapter 2. Please review, and also wondering if anyone can give me a suggestion for someone who could do cover art.