A Dream Come True or A Dream Realized?

Written by TheAssassin_2

Edited by Cimar/WildeHopps &

OnceNeverTwiceAlways

Artwork by TheAssassin_2

"So Carrots, why do you want to learn to work with metal?" Nick asked as they left the shop.

The name caught Judy's attention, but she just brushed it off as him trying to be friendly. "I've always loved to work with my paws, and I figured this would be the best way to do that."

"Oh, I guess that's kind of cool."

Judy didn't know what to think about his comment. "So Nick, why do you what to be a machinist?"

The fox was quiet and Judy thought he might not have heard her. "You know, now that I think about it—and heard you—it's pretty much the same reason. I love to make things. I've just had this desire to create stuff for as long as I can remember."

Judy smiled up at him. She was going to enjoy her time here.

Six months. It had been six months. Judy was enjoying herself, but not in the way she had always imagined. She'd always thought apprentices would spend more time in the shop at the machines, yet had found that was not the case at all. They did work in the shop, but they spent more time on the computer learning various other skills. It still baffled Judy why she needed to know so much about everything other than machining when she was going to be a machinist.

What infuriated her more so was how much Nick was excelling at everything! He was already done with his online classes and wouldn't have more until later. She still had over thirty left! Judy also felt like she wasn't always present during the lessons. Nick was ALWAYS the one to answer questions while she was left mulling in her own thoughts. Or, something that irked her more often than she cared to admit, he would correct her when she made some mistake.

Judy did like him, make no mistake at that—maybe a little too much. He wasn't a bad guy, even if his lame puns and cocky smile drove her up the wall from time to time.. Even as infuriating as he always was, every time he smiled, truly smiled, her stomach would flip and she couldn't help smiling back. She really didn't know what to think about the feelings she sometimes had for him. She certainly didn't think they were normal.

It was nearing the end of the year with only a few days left until December. That meant Judy only had a few days to finish her classes and her stress was starting to show. First, Jack had asked about it but she had just brushed it off and said she was almost done. Yet it was becoming harder and harder to keep her chin and ears up as the deadline for her still incomplete assignments drew closer.

That had been three days ago. Last night during dinner, Jack had said he was leaving for a few weeks to go to a family reunion for the holidays.

"Yeah, we usually all meet here at my home for these kinds of things. But this time my grandmother's house has been chosen because it's closer to everyone and the traveling cost will be less," he had told them over their meal together. Judy had to blink back her surprise as he continued. "I'll be gone until after Christmas. You both are welcome to go home for the holidays if you want. Just think of it like your Christmas vacation."

Judy honestly didn't want to go home for Christmas. The last time she'd spoken to her father, he'd said he was happy she was leaving. That she wouldn't be around to embarrass him any more for being the weird one in the burrow. Leaving home was already hard enough, but to have your own dad say stuff like that made it much easier to say goodbye. Judy hadn't spoken to him since then even though she had still kept in contact with her mom and a few of her litter mates.

So now, three days later, here sat Judy in front of a computer, trying her best to power through her final classes. She had discovered some classes had duplicates, one class equaling to two or three tests done which significantly boosted her speed. There had been some confusion about getting her the classes in the first place, so she didn't have the whole year to do them. After all had been sorted out, she only had about four months.

Judy held her breath as she hit the 'check scores' button. She sighed in relief as she saw the she'd passed. "Just five to go now, Jude. You can do it," she told herself, the verbal pep talk barely affecting her mood as she clicked open the next online class.

"You know, you're always welcome to ask for help if you need it, Carrots."

Judy jumped as she hadn't heard Nick walk up behind her. He had also decided to stay to work on some projects.

What Nick wouldn't tell Judy was that his projects were secondary to his true desires, that he enjoyed being around her—maybe a little too much.

He was starting to get a little worried about her. She had started to focus on nothing but her studies in the last few weeks and had retreated into herself. Her smiles which he adored were replaced by frowns, happiness by pure concentration. When they'd first met, Judy had always had some sort of invention she wanted to build and the bunny would go on and on about it until she finished it.

She reminded him so much of himself when he was young— always wanting to make something better than it already was. But life for a fox was hard, and he had never gotten the chance to prove himself to the world. That was why he was in this apprenticeship. If he had papers saying he was legit, then maybe Nick could finally live his dream.

But, recently, he had seen Judy slowly stop working on her little projects more and more. She'd started acting different too. She didn't smile as much and she always looked tired. He'd asked her about it but she'd just brushed it off, saying she hadn't slept well the night before. The worst part was how she kept mostly to herself, reading or typing away at a computer far into the lonely nights.

"Thanks Nick, but I got this."

Another excuse.

This worried Nick even more. He sighed in frustration."Alright, Carrots, if you need anything, I'll be out in the shop." He headed for the door as he caught her muted reply.

"Thank you, Nick."

A week later

Judy put the phone down with a trembling paw as she tried to comprehend what she'd just been told. She took a deep, shaky breath. According to the person in charge of the apprenticeship, she didn't meet the academic requirements for the position. Judy had been told she was going to have to stop working for Jack and go to the college in Zootopia to do some general education courses. It would take her a whole year to get them done before she could resume her apprenticeship.

Judy was devastated. She had to quit what she had worked tirelessly for, for over three years! She had scored in the top five percentile on her GED! Wasn't that good enough? How could they think she wasn't smart enough to continue?

Even though she tried to stop it, the tears slowly started to fall. She could hear the TV in the other room, so she cried quietly. The last thing Judy wanted was to let Nick know she was upset. She had worked so hard, for so long. Countless hours of study, hundreds of days of work. And she still wasn't good enough.

Two days later

Nick stood outside of Judy's door. He hadn't seen her in two days and the only reason he knew she was still there was because he could smell her. Her scent hadn't faded as it would if she was gone. Slowly, he reached up and knocked quietly three times. At first, Nick didn't hear anything, but, a second later, he heard the soft paw falls of the bunny. After a moment, he heard a pained sigh come through the door.

"Yes, Nick. What is it you need?" Her voice was completely devoid of emotion and it shocked Nick to the core. Judy had always been a happy bunny. He actually couldn't think of a time where she hadn't been.

"Judy, are you alright? I haven't seen you in a couple of days and just wanted make sure you were okay."

Judy stood on the other side of the door with her head resting against it. She sighed again. Nick was the only other one who had ever wanted to help her. He was always asking if she needed assistance or if she understood. No one else in her life did that for her, other than her mom, and sometimes she wasn't enough. What could it hurt? I'm not going to know him much longer anyway.

Nick watched as the door to the room slowly opened. Behind it stood a very broken hearted Judy. She was wearing an oversized tee shirt that hung down to her knees. The fur around her face uncombed and messy. Nick could even still see dried tear tracks running down her cheeks. And her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Slowly, Nick knelt down to be more at her level. "Judy, are you okay?" he asked gently. Her only response was a shake of the head 'no' before she plowed into his chest, crying.

Nick was surprised to suddenly have an armful of crying bunny, but he didn't dare push her away. So he held her close, rubbing her back just like his mom use to do for him when he was little.

They stayed like that for a long time until Judy calmed down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nick asked.

Judy sniffed before she spoke in a sad voice. "They're pulling me from the apprenticeship because I don't meet the academic requirements for it. They want me to start general education classes at the college in Zootopia." She let out a shuddering breath. "Nick...I-I don't have the money to do that. I only had enough to do the apprenticeship. I can't become a machinist." She started crying again in defeat.

Nick was shocked. Judy was a very smart bunny. Why in the world would someone think she didn't meet the academic requirements?

Judy sniffed again. "I guess since I'm being so honest with you, I better tell you this too, since I'm going to have to leave soon anyways..." She paused, before meeting his gaze. "Nick, I kind of have a crush on you."

Again he was shocked. Judy had a crush on him? She was a bunny and he was a fox. Maybe she didn't mind that?

"Alright Carrots, I guess it's my turn to fess up. I might… have a crush on you too." Judy looked up at him in surprise. "Now I know how to cheer you up. You know Jack's blacksmith shop? I got it running again. I was actually a blacksmith before I came here. Do you want to learn a new trade with me?"

Judy wiped her eyes and nodded her head. "Sure, that sounds nice."

It was unspoken, but they agreed that they would see what would come of their feelings for each other. For now, they would enjoy working together as friends. Never mind the troubles on the horizon.

For now? It was almost Christmas...they could worry later.