Epilogue

A beautiful sunny June afternoon will certainly stay with Judy and Nick in their minds for the rest of their lives, this day will stay in their minds forever. Then again, it's not just them, it's the whole Hopps family, the Wilde family, and their buddies from the Zootopia Police Squad who have accepted the wedding invitation and will share in their happiness, which has had to be kept hidden for the past several months. However, they both said enough of that. They didn't want to hide it any longer, they didn't want to hide it any longer and they knew that they both wanted to expose themselves to the whole world, to show how strong the relationship was between them. Nothing could destroy them. They were ready, prepared for the possible negative opinions about their relationship that would irrevocably follow (no one could stop them from doing so anymore), but I don't think they expected their relationship to be so well received by everyone. Colleagues at the police station had guessed beforehand that there was something between them, it could be seen almost at every turn that there was a kind of 'chemistry' between the two, but no one was brave enough to put such an original thesis into the light. Such a statement on their part was a kind of mere confirmation that everyone's hunches were correct, so this news was not a great stir among the other police officers. Nick, on the other hand, when informing his parents of this information, did not hide his surprise at his decision. As with Mr and Mrs Hopps, it was a big surprise in terms of his choice of partner. They were completely different species! However, they didn't try to dissuade him from it, they trusted Nick to know what he was doing.

15 June - this was the day Nick and Judy would be married. They were both massively cranky there, it was probably even more stressful than during the mission when they were kidnapped to the experiment site. They both wanted everything to be perfect, buttoned up to the last detail. There was no room for any stumbles or shortcomings, everything had to work together.

The day started very early for both of them, and they spent the last two days at their families' homes, only to meet at the altar (according to tradition). Judy and her family stayed in a hotel for those two days (it was too far to drive from the farm to town) and Nick stayed at his family home, where his mum lived. It was a bit empty at their place without Mark, but Mark had to be in prison and unfortunately was not given permission to go to his son's wedding. He regretted this, but there was no way to allow him to stay with his son at such an important time.

First thing in the morning the preparations for the wedding were underway. Judy's hairdresser had already arrived first thing in the morning and was waiting until she could start her work on the doe's hair so that she could look stunning on the day. Not quite later the make-up artist arrived to take care of the bride's make-up. They all gathered quite early, but that didn't bother anyone, after all, everyone was anxious about today's event and no one could be a moment late.

At around 12.00 p.m. work began on the bride as well as the groom. Nick was joined by Finnick - his best friend who would be walking him down the aisle. The three of them chatted for a while, along with his mum, just like the good old days when no one cared about anything. It was the first time Nick had seen his mum in such a good mood for a very long time. She was still laughing, there was a slight red colour (blush) on her red cheeks and for a very long time she had not had the inner block that told her to keep quiet and not speak. She was truly herself! This made Nick himself prefer not to say anything and just listen to the conversation between Finnick and his mother, gazing at the vixen he could see that she was really happy. For a very, very long time.

"And you Nick, what are you not saying? Are you digressing that much?" Finnick asked poking him with his elbow. Nick shook his head and smiled slightly.

"Yeah, I'm a bit nervous...it's all so...weird. I remember taking my first steps as a police officer, where virtually no one liked me and the only person who respected me was actually Judy. Now all these people are going to be at my wedding and my wife is going to be her! And all by accident..."

"Nothing happens by accident Nick," his mother interrupted him. Nick fell silent. Perplexed, he stared at her, who reached for a picture standing on the bookcase in the living room. The picture showed her, Mark and Nick, only each 20 years younger.

"There's a reason you found your dad and saved him even though you hated him. Nothing happens by chance."

"There might be something in that Nick. Judy helped you out too, she offered you a contract with the police, why didn't you turn down the offer if you were doing well?" Finnick asked. The pertinent question caused some confusion for Nick, who was struggling to answer the question. He knew he was missing something in his life, but he found it hard to pinpoint the value he was missing.

"I accepted the offer because I knew it would help me find that new and better path. And as you can see, I found it," replied Nick proudly. And he wasn't the only one proud of his answer, as both his mother and best friend were proud of his words.

"Nothing happens by accident. Well, but seriously now, why don't you start embracing what? Time passes inexorably," Finnick pointed out. In fact, it had already been over half an hour! Nick briskly sprang from his chair and made his way to the bathroom to take a bath. It was time to start preparing.

Meanwhile, Judy was already sitting politely in her chair and surrendered to the hands of the hair and make-up specialists, she relied on them. First, of course, she put on her wedding dress, white as winter snow, with a tiny neckline and a long sheath at the back. The dress neat, slim and slender made Judy look stunning in it and this was only the beginning of her makeover! The first to sit down for work was the make-up artist, who didn't use heavy make-up, claiming it would "kill the natural slim features of the face". Instead, she emphasised these neater features, and the eyes. She used different cosmetics, thickened her eyelashes, contoured her eyebrows to be a little more aggressive and added a delicate blush to her cheeks, painted her lips a delicate lilac colour... After an hour or so, the makeover was complete. The next half hour was devoted to the hairdresser, who was responsible for the doe's hairstyle. The whole family watched closely the moves that were being made by the two stylists. Everyone was curious to see how the doe would ultimately look in the light of the final results. Judy was even more stressed by them, but she didn't want to ask them out, so she didn't say anything about it. Yes, she made no secret of the fact that the stress was eating away at her, but she said it was because of the wedding, she didn't mention that she also felt a little uncomfortable because of their observations.

Nick's preparations, on the other hand, were much simpler than the bride's. After a bath, the fox applied his finest perfume using almost half a flacon (he sprayed himself so much it was possible that it was too much), after which he put on his dark navy blue suit outfit and the fur on his head was combed so that it lay in one direction. So little was enough to make him look stunning in the eyes of Finnick and his mother!

"You look beautiful Nick. It's a shame Mark won't be able to be at the ceremony..." The vixen sighed heavily. Nick didn't like this on average either, ultimately he was the one who wanted his father to be at the ceremony, despite the initial tension in their relationship.

"I wish he was...he's really changed over this time. I wish he had been like that from the beginning," sighed the fox.

"You can't change the past Nick, but the future can. You need to focus on what's to come" added Finnick.

It began.

At 3.00 p.m., the ceremony began. Nick was the first of the bride and groom to enter, dressed in a smart dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie he impressed all the guests. Nick did not hide his pride in his outfit, he liked himself so he was not surprised how many eyes followed his step. Apart from that he was stressing more and more with every step, he knew there was no turning back now. He would have to stand there and wait for the bride to arrive. He was looking forward to that moment, but at the same time he didn't want it to come too soon. He wanted to relax a little, get into the atmosphere, because he didn't quite understand yet that it was really happening! Walking in with Finnick at his side (unfortunately Mark couldn't make it) it seemed like they would never make it to the altar, but it happened. Nick stood, turned sideways to the pews filled with guests, gazed at the slightly ajar exit door from the church, watching the flashes of passing cars, behind him stood Finnick who was looking around the room observing the decorations set up in the church. He wasn't stressed, it was quite the opposite - he was filled with positive energy! He was enjoying Nick and Judy's happiness. He was happy that Nick had finally found a worthy life partner. Nick at this time also looked discreetly at the guests who had come to the wedding. He saw his work colleagues (even Commander Bogo turned up at the wedding!), Judy's family and, before anything else, his mother, who was secretly shedding tears from her eyes, but Nick saw this and smiled at her shrewdly giving her a sign that he had seen it.

Finally the moment came.

A black car stopped in front of the church and Nick spotted a long white dress. He knew it was her. The mighty steel doors opened wide and a being, beaming white, entered the church with his father. It was Judy. Everyone's attention was momentarily drawn to her and the church organ began to play. Nick was stunned by the beauty of the doe. With her dress emphasising her slender waist, and her delicate make-up highlighting the best features of her face, she looked insane! Fox smiled at her, the feeling of stress momentarily disappeared when he noticed her, with her he felt calm, safe, confident that everything would be alright. Soon Judy came face to face with the fox and Stu stood behind her.

The priest began to speak, everyone began to listen with great attention to what he was saying, Judy and Nick staring into each other's eyes for most of this time. They were smiling nervously, which was hardly surprising to anyone. Everyone was looking forward to the moment when they could kiss each other already as a husband and wife couple. Finnick, having nothing to do, often glanced at Stu, who was standing all emotional, his eyes glassy, almost dripping with tears as if he were slicing a bitter onion betrayed him, Finnick could see that a little more and he would start crying for the whole church!

After about half an hour of speech, the most important moment of the ceremony finally began. Finnick, on a cushion, brought two gold rings with which to endorse their union to Nick and Judy. He cast a quick glance at them both, they were happy, very happy. He couldn't help but smile seeing them both happy, but mostly he was pleased by Nick's joy, who was truly himself.

"Judy Hopps, do you take Nick Wilde as your husband?" The priest asked. Judy took the ring in her fluffy paws, then placed it on one of the fox's fingers. At this she looked into his eyes, he was so happy...she herself couldn't remember when he had been so happy, really! He had never smiled like that before, with such essence and such confidence and pride.

"Yes, I take it," replied Judy. It was Nick's turn. He took the ring from Finnick, casting him a look full of pride, then placed some of the jewellery on Judy's finger.

"Nick Wilde, do you take Judy Hopps to be your wife?" The priest asked.

"Yes," replied the fox briefly. He slipped the ring as far as he could onto Judy's finger.

"You may kiss the bride" Communicated the priest. They both smiled and just as they were about to kiss, they heard a shot close to the church. A loud, loud shot that startled everyone. Everyone rose from their pews, police sirens began to sound nearby as they approached towards the church. Soon there were more shots, coming from around the church, as if someone was approaching the church! There was anxiety in the church hearing police and gunshots coming from the area.

"What's going on?" Asked Judy frightened. Nick was also perplexed to watch from the altar through the slightly open doorway what was happening, he noticed two police cars stopping by the church steps with their roosters on.

"It's the police!" Communicated the fox. It looked strange, as most of the officers from the central police station were just at their ceremony!

A moment later, the church doors opened wide giving a field of vision to the whole situation. A fox in orange clothes entered the sanctuary and, after getting inside, knelt down in the middle and headed for the front towards the pews. Everyone looked on in confusion, but most surprised was the bride and groom, who quickly noticed it was Mark!

"Dad?" Asked a surprised Nick. He asked Judy to stay put and himself walked down from under the aisle to reach his father, who was walking towards him.

Everyone was perplexed by the turn of events, even the officers who were pursuing him stood in the middle of the church not knowing what to do! The pursuer turned out to be the father of the groom! Bogo, seeing their perplexity, ordered them to holster their weapons and disperse on patrol.

"Go to the prison and report that the fugitive has been captured, he won't do anything anymore. We will take him to prison after the wedding," Bogo communicated. The officers, after a moment's thought, nodded at the suggestions. Probably every officer knew Chief Bogo and knew his privileges. He was the chief of the entire police force in Zootopia! They had to obey him. They apologised for their intrusion and withdrew from the church closing the door. The situation had calmed down a bit, but there was still a bit of confusion after this unexpected turn of events. Nick wasn't bothered by this, however, because even though Mark had escaped from prison he was happy to see him!

"Nick! I see it's not too late," Mark said with exultation.

"Dad, how did you get here? In general...why did you do this? Nick asked.

"Do you think that when I have the chance to repair the relationship with my son I will let go of his wedding? That's not an option! I didn't get permission for parole so I escaped from prison, and immediately headed towards the church where we are. I thought they would be able to get me, but luckily they did!" Mark explained. Nick was overjoyed by this. Although it disrupted the peaceful ceremony a little he could see that Mark had really changed for the better! He couldn't remember someone sacrificing so much for him with the knowledge of what the consequences might be! They both hugged each other, with a positive response. No one seemed to mind Mark's intrusion into the church.

"Now go on, we haven't got all day!" Mark said. Nick nodded with a shake of his head and escorted Mark to his mum's and headed up the aisle himself to finish the ceremony.

"So to continue. Nick Wilde, you may kiss the bride!" Repeated by the priest, Nick embraced Judy and the much anticipated kiss ensued by all. They were now officially husband and wife.

THE END

Yes, this is the final chapter of Zootopia: Undercover Pursuit! Thank you all for reading this story, I had a lot of fun writing it for you, but unfortunately all good things come to an end one day...thank you and see you again!