Chapter 46: Relaxation

Bonnie led Judy up to the first floor where there was a bathroom with a hot tub ready for her to bathe in. Before Judy could get in, Bonnie brought some body towels and a dressing gown for her to wear after the bath.

"Please take all this and come downstairs to us. Probably as you might have already guessed everyone wants to know what happened." Said Bonnie looking at the cluster of children sitting in the living room. Both the older ones and the younger ones were sitting next to each other talking most likely about Judy wondering why she had returned so unannounced. Bonnie herself didn't have the heart to say that Judy was in hospital because of the incident, so she hoped that Judy herself would be able to tell what had happened.

"I'm not surprised, if they want to know, I'll tell them," replied Judy confidently.

"We'll be waiting...relax, take your time, it's important that you are relaxed...remember what the doctor said..."

"Yes I know mum. I'm supposed to get lots of rest and not strain myself" finished Judy's mother's sentence. She took a layer of towels and a white bunny dressing gown and walked into the bathroom closing the door behind her.

"Ugh...finally some privacy" Judy said quietly when she was finally alone. A moment of solitude would do her good, especially under relaxing circumstances. The flurry of voices in the hospital made her miss some of the peace and quiet she was now experiencing. And the places she was in were indeed relaxing. A room filled with warm brown walls and a black floor filled with a slightly yellowish light made the sight of a bathtub dripping with lavender scented white foam make Judy even more eager to bathe in it. She hung the towels her mother had given her and a white dressing gown on the rack above the tub and then proceeded to remove her incriminating clothes.

She took off her uniform, which she had been in for several days. She started with the belt of her trousers which she removed revealing her strong silver legs. She threw the uniform item into the washing machine then removed the top part of her garment by undoing the zipper. She put the removed clothes into the washing machine which she also did with her underwear. After undressing, she touched the warm foam with her toes. Contact with it caused a shiver of pleasure to run through her body, this effect was compounded by her first contact with the sheet of warm water that lay beneath the foam. After wetting her left foot, Judy stepped into the tub in a state of relaxation and incredible serenity. This state increased with each moment she soaked her body with the warm water and the soft to the touch foam that covered her body as she lay down more in the tub. It was an incredibly pleasant feeling that gave her compensation for the last few days that had not been very pleasant for her. Thoughts of Caroline and Nick had been killing her without giving her a moment's respite, now lying in the tub she wasn't thinking about those things. The only thing that mattered was the relaxation that was provided for her.

Being in such surroundings, it was difficult to have bad thoughts that could throw her off her emotional balance. She felt so good that she did not move for a while, closed her eyes and wandered in her thoughts moving away from everything familiar. You could say that she was out of touch for a few moments, she felt like she was in a completely different place. But she was brought out of her trance by Bonnie, who knocked on the bathroom door with a little concern, asking if everything was alright. Judy immediately came back down to earth and calmly answered her reassuringly. Judy had always considered her parents to be too timid, they were afraid of far too many things and as a result they missed out on a lot of great adventures. With going to be a police officer, Judy also had to negotiate a bit with them to make her dreams come true, but as you can see in hindsight, it was worth it.

After half an hour of blissful relaxation, Judy had to finish her refreshing bath. She felt much better after it - she did not feel tired or overtired, she was back to her original strength and energy. She got up slowly from the bath with a slight sadness, thinking that her time of relaxation was over. After getting out of it, she took towels with which she wiped her silver and white fur soaked with water, then she put the last dry towel over her ears wrapping them with a towel and finally she put a white elegant dressing gown over her wiped and dry body. It was a little too big for Judy's size but after tying the drawstring and squeezing it slightly it was perfect. Judy drained the bath and then opened the bathroom door to join in with dinner, the scent from the dining room managing to assault her nostrils.

Opening the door from the bathroom Judy's ears turned towards the dining room, where everyone was most likely already eating dinner. From the window the doe could see that the lights in the backyard were already illuminating the yard, so it must have been quite late. Rabbit headed towards the stairs, which she descended while leaning on the railing. She still didn't feel well enough to walk completely unassisted, but it was much better than yesterday. Plus, the bath had helped her relax enough to not think so much about her weakness.

Bonnie, seeing her daughter, got up from her seat so she could help Judy get to her seat, which was next to her. Even though Judy didn't want her help she didn't have the courage to refuse her, all she did was get her attention.

"You don't have to help me mum, I feel fine" Judy said as Bonnie approached her and guided her to the table.

"Remember what the doctor said..."

"Ah, well...well, if that's what you prefer," sighed Judy helplessly. She didn't want to spoil her mother's mood, which was good seeing by her face. If Bonnie had good intentions, Judy didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Apart from her it seemed that everyone was happy to have Judy back in their home, even though there were so many siblings around everyone missed having an officer by their side. I don't think anyone was surprised - she was the oldest and yet she could play and act like a child which made everyone empathise with her. In addition to contentment, everyone watched the doe with curiosity as she moved with a little help from her mother, Judy had promised to tell them what had happened, so everyone was waiting for that moment.

"What brings you to us? You usually announced your return to us" asked Roxanne, one of Judy's sisters.

"Well..."

"She'll tell you when you have dinner. Judy, I made your favourite carrot salad" interrupted Bonnie for Judy. She slid the bowl of salad over to Judy, who put a portion on her plate with a childish smile. The childhood salad that had become Judy's favourite practically was made by Bonnie quite rarely since the doe had grown up, but when it was prepared it disappeared from the table first. It wasn't a special novelty, the recipe came from Judy's grandmother (Bonnie's mother) which has survived to this day, unchanged.

The dish itself consisted mainly of carrots and other carrots such as corn, peppers, cucumber and lettuce. Most of the ingredients came from the farm, but the peppers were bought from the shop because the land was not suitable for growing this type of vegetable. The salad's slightly spicy flavour stimulated the taste buds, while the corn provided a balancing sweet flavour that neutralised the acidity and spiciness of the peppers. The cucumber tied the other elements of the composition together.

After dinner, when everyone had eaten enough, the youngest went to the bathroom to brush their teeth and then to bed. The youngest went to bed first, obeying their parents. With the older ones there was more of a problem (mainly due to adolescence). The rebellious would hide their phones under the pillow and then take them out when they were alone in their rooms. Occasionally someone would get caught using the phone late at night, but over time the youngsters set up an instant messaging group to let each other know if Bonnie and Stu were looking in the rooms to see if everyone was asleep. This arrangement meant that virtually everyone was safe and informed.

A quarter of an hour later, only the elders remained at the table waiting for Judy to talk about the reasons for going home. Everyone was curious about it, the kids too, but they had to wait until morning when Judy could tell them, only in a slightly softer version so they wouldn't have to relive the events told by the doe so much.

"Back to the subject of returning..." Roxanne began, sending a glance in Judy's direction. After receiving eye contact she understood what she meant.

"Ah yes. I came back here because of my job...let's just say I had a mild incident"

"Poisoning is not a light incident" Stu interrupted. Judy immediately sent him a stern look of request so she could continue speaking. Her father's words started a slight noise at the table that slightly confused Judy.

"Poisoning?" Max, one of Bonnie and Stu's younger children, asked.

"Ekh...The last few days we police officers have been solving a mystery about missing foxes, in the Foxy Quarter..."

"In the Fox Quarter?! After all, this is the worst part of Zootopia!" Luisa's voice emerged from the other side, it was one of Judy's older sisters, three years younger than her.

"Well...practically it's not as bad there as you might think. Yes, some parts of the place are a bit very...poor, but overall it's not as bad as people say," Judy replied to the question, then returned to the story.

"Back to. A few days ago we got word that the Suspect was hanging around a restaurant known as Under the Fox Grove. We went there to inspect and catch a potential criminal. While we were there me and my partner searched the area when we saw two grenades..." Judy sighed. With the telling, she recalled the moment when she could last see Nick before she lost consciousness and woke up to the noise of sirens and roosters. This caused an ache in her heart that made her feel lost and her mood and enthusiasm for the story immediately subsided. Her ears drooped and her gaze fell to the ground. Everyone at the table, seeing her change of mood, was in silence among themselves catching up on what had happened.

"Judy... are you all right?" Bonnie asked thoughtfully. She put her paw on Judy's hand, who lifted her head and, forcing a smile, nodded with a movement of her head. Even so, her mother couldn't be fooled by this, she could see she was lying.

"I see you don't...what's wrong?" Bonnie asked.

"Ugh... my partner, the one who was searching the restaurant area with me...he disappeared after I lost consciousness...no one knows where he is or if he is still alive" replied Judy quietly. With these words there was a deafening silence around the table that became awkward. Everyone surreptitiously stared at Judy, who stuck her gaze into her empty plate and looked as if she had drifted off in thought.

"This must be someone important to you?" Roxanne asked after a moment's silence.

"Practically a friend of mine," replied Judy.

"The police haven't found anything so far?" Asked Max.

"No...you see Max, only me and my friend were assigned to this task. The rest have only just received documents related to this case...something feels like if I don't get back to work nothing will be solved" replied Judy. The words caused the others to be swept up in the same mood as Judy. They all felt how painful it must be for the doe who looked pierced by the issue.

"Yes...are you able to tell what happened next?" Roxanne asked. Judy nodded gently with a movement of her head trying not to fall into reverie.

"After waking up, I was transported to the hospital for observation of my condition. After two days I was discharged and my parents brought me home to rest."

"How long are you staying?"

"A week" replied Judy.

"Well, all right. I think that's all for today, don't you Judy?" Asked Bonnie, to interrupt the onslaught of younger children who wanted to barrage the doe with questions. It wouldn't be the best thing for Judy and Bonnie knew it.

"Yeah, that's it...let's go to bed maybe eh? I feel tired" replied Judy sleepily. She got up first from the table leaning against the chair she was sitting on.

"Judy is right. Let's go to bed, it's late anyway" Stu confirmed. After his father's words and a short discussion everyone went to their rooms.