"Nick, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise, Carrots. Keep your eyes covered."
"We've been walking forever and–"
"Oh, look out!" Nick exclaimed as he quickly steered the blind bunny out of the way of a lamppost. Judy gave a noise of annoyance.
"Can I take off the blindfold so I can at least walk properly?" she asked.
"Hey, I'm doing a great job of guiding you."
"You let me hit a mailbox a few blocks back!"
"Yeah, but you have to admit," Nick chuckled. "It was pretty funny."
"Nick!"
"We're almost there, I promise."
It was a warm Sunday morning, and the streets of Downtown Zootopia were fairly quiet as most animals took the last day of the week to sleep in or handle their weekly chores before heading back to their respective jobs on Monday morning. It had been a week since the couple had returned from their honeymoon trip in the Canal District. Following their return, Nick and Judy had primarily focused their schedules on spending time with their children after being gone for a week. They had had a busy first week back, as they had returned to work on Tuesday, where they were met with a flood of activity as Valerie was still missing. The media had also been quite an issue, as reporters swarmed the ZPD and the Wilde Family residence as often as possible, tossing questions out at a rapid pace. Headlines all over the city read "Renowned Officer Miscarries After Deadly Encounter with Escaped Convict."
Judy's miscarriage and her ties to Valerie were the hottest stories, and they were grossly exaggerated and exploited for viewership. Chief Bogo had held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, reassuring the public that the ZPD was doing everything to apprehend the suspect, while also asking the media to be considerate of the Wilde Family in such a delicate time. This press conference seemed to somewhat deter the media, but the family was still hounded on a regular basis. After Nick and Judy's return, several officers had also been dispatched as security for the Wilde Family, following them when they left the house and patrolling the neighborhood when they didn't. These officers served not only as a barrier between the family and the media, but also as a thick layer of protection against Valerie.
At home, the Wilde Family tried to return to their definition of normalcy. With the kids' shared fourth birthday in just a few weeks, Judy and Nick tried to focus on planning a party that suited all four of the kids' wildly different interests.
Internally reminding herself to just keep moving forward, Judy attempted to busy herself constantly – from jogging around the neighborhood to cleaning the house to reading, Judy seemed to always be doing something nowadays. At times, her thoughts would turn back to Valerie, and each time, she would inhale deeply and say "stop" aloud to herself. Nick had noticed the newly developed habit, but said nothing, as he knew it was Judy's way of processing. He was worried about her, but he followed her lead and attempted to keep moving forward, not prying at how she was feeling even when he wanted to.
That morning, Nick cashed in on his favor toward his mother and drove the children to Mrs. Wilde's home before Judy had awoken. After the several minutes of convincing it took to get Judy to put on a blindfold, the couple began their journey out onto the streets of Downtown Zootopia, their security following behind at a reasonable distance.
"And you said this is an 'all day thing?'"
"Yep."
"But what about the kids?"
"They'll stay with my mom until we pick them up later this evening."
"We leave them with your mother so much," Judy sighed. "One of these days, they're either going to start assuming we've abandoned them, or your mother will lose her mind."
"It's just one day, Carrots," Nick laughed. "You worry too much."
Judy gave another small noise of annoyance as Nick continued to steer her forward along the sidewalk, some passerby giving them intrigued looks. After a few more moments, Nick stopped and turned Judy to her left.
"And here we are," he announced as he removed her blindfold.
Judy blinked against the light, then looked up at the sign over her head that read "Jumbeaux's Ice Cream Shop." Recognition dawning in her eyes, the bunny immediately grinned. Seeing her smile, Nick felt pride swell in his chest; Judy hadn't smiled like that since before the explosion.
"Oh, Nick," she said affectionately. "Is this–?"
"Where we first met?" Nick finished her question with a smirk. "Yes, yes, it is."
"…Officer...?"
"Hopps! Mr…?"
"Wilde, Nick Wilde."
Judy smiled wider as she remembered the first time she had laid eyes upon the hustler, Nick Wilde.
"We haven't been here in years," she breathed.
"We aren't quite done yet, Carrots. Today, we're taking a trip down memory lane," Nick dramatically announced. "We're going to go to all of the places that hold memories for us."
"Are you being serious?" Judy laughed.
"Deadly," Nick chuckled. "Come on."
Holding paws, the two left the ice cream shop and set out on their journey.
Their second destination was a bridge on the outskirts of the city. Here, Judy had found Nick after their first fight over the biological nature of predators as described by Judy in a press conference following the wrongful arrest of Mayor Lionheart in the Night Howler case. It was under this bridge that Judy and Nick had settled their differences and made up, Judy crying her apology.
"You know," Nick laughed. "You looked good in your farm clothes."
Their third destination was a diner just a few blocks from the ZPD where the two had frequently picked up take-out from in their earlier years as officers. The fourth destination was just a few meters away down from the diner, as it was the coffee shop where the two had gotten coffee almost every day over the years, and where they had taken part in an epic game night that sparked a bet between them. The fifth destination was Nick's old apartment that the two had eventually shared.
"This is so illegal," Judy hissed as she watched Nick pick the lock to the apartment.
"Relax," Nick smirked. "The apartment's vacant, and besides, you can't tell me you don't want to see it after all of these years."
"You've got me there," Judy agreed with hesitation.
"Got it," Nick said pridefully as the door swung open, revealing the small apartment, now unfurnished and completely empty.
Both breathed a content sigh at the sight of their first home. Here, they had spent late nights discussing the cases they were working on, had confessed their love for one another, had fought and made up, had started their lives together.
Their sixth destination was the Zootopia Maximum Security Prison, where Nick had officially asked Judy to be his girlfriend, something she finally agreed to a little while after.
"Romantic," Judy chuckled as she looked up at the large grey building.
"Hey," Nick shot back. "This is where everyone asks their mate to go steady with them."
Their seventh destination was the parking lot of the Zootopia Police Department, where Judy had first told Nick she was pregnant on his birthday in their SUV. The eighth destination was their current home, which was their first house they bought together in order to welcome their children with more space. In their current home, Nick had proposed not just once, but twice, officially moving them into the next phase of their lives. The ninth destination was the Hospital of Zootopia, where Nick and Judy had spent quite some time, in all honesty. However, the place held good memories as Nick and Judy had unofficially married each other here right before Judy had given birth to their four healthy children.
Their final destination brought them to the Zootopia Natural History Museum, where they had not only finished their first case many years ago, but had also married each other only a few months ago. Judy looked around the empty event room and sighed happily.
"Right to you," she smiled as she looked at Nick and repeated the phrase the two had coined to help with their anxieties that came with their wedding day.
"Right to me," Nick said as he returned the smile and pulled Judy in for a kiss.
When the two broke apart, they remained in each other's grasp, still staring at the large room.
"Thank you for doing this, Nick," Judy said quietly. "I needed this."
"I know you did."
"I can't believe we've been together for eight years."
"Yeah, we're going to have to get divorced just to add some spice to our life."
Judy broke out laughing. "Yeah, because our life doesn't already have enough spice."
"I love you, Carrots."
"I love you more."
"Frankly, that's debatable."