Chapter 5: What to do now

Nick's eyes widened upon reading the few words written on the folder but he simply sat there, unable to respond. Judy looked between him and the file before decided to simply hold onto him tight until he was ready to speak.

"Did you find her?" He said softly, almost not wanting to ask.

"No, unfortunately, this was all we found pertaining to her." Bogo said with unusual kindness. "I've decided that you two will be assigned to this case. I've also decided you both deserve some time off. The next three days, you two are off. The file is yours, good luck."

Nick just sat there, taking in this new information. He grabbed the file and walked off without another word. Bogo looked to Judy and she nodded before following Nick.

She met him at their desk and decided to wait for him to say something.

"I never thought I would get a chance to see her again, let alone save her." he finally said.

"We'll find her, Nick, I promise." Judy said to reassure him. He looked into her eyes and walked over to her and embraced her. They stayed like that for a while, and Judy could feel her shoulder getting wet and realized Nick was crying. She hugged him tightly, knowing he needed her now more than ever.

Thank you." he whispered to her as they broke apart.

"I'm here for you Nick. I love you." she said caringly. She could see the tears forming in his eyes.

"I love you too." he said before turning to the file on the desk. He opened it and read...

Jane Wilde

Street name: Scarlet

Employment: Escort

Current location: Zootopia

Condition: Captive

"She's here, in Zootopia!" Nick said excitedly "We can save her." he continued, looking deep into Judy's eyes with hope.

Judy didn't know what to feel. She was happy Nick would get his sister back, but worried about the condition she would be in after years with these mammals. Wait, escort... she thought "Oh, my god..." she said as she clasped a paw over her mouth. Nick looked to her in confusion.

"What is it Carrots?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Nick..." she started, with concern in her voice "She's an escort."

Nick was still confused, then it suddenly donned on him...his eyes widened as his ears fell flat against his head. "She's...she's...a..." he stammered, until Judy wrapped her arms around him.

"We have tomorrow off, lets spend it together and get our minds off of this." Judy said and Nick simply nodded his head in response.

They spent the rest of the day going over the information in the file. Occasionally Nick would break down only for Judy to comfort him again. Word of the file and nick's sister spread throughout the precinct and many officers gave Nick worried looks or would pat his shoulder as they walked by him.

Nick and Judy left the precinct paw in paw. Ready for a day to forget their worries. Unfortunately, as soon as they exited the building, they were hit by the flashes of photography and the questions of dozens of reporters. Nick instinctively pulled Judy behind himself and wrapped his tail around her as a growl escaped his throat.

"Officers, can you confirm your relationship?"

"Are you aware of the number of mammals that disagree with your kind of relationship?"

"What do you have to say to naysayers?"

"Why are you two in such a disgusting relationship?"

That was the last question Nick was willing to put up with as he picked up Judy to charge through the crowd, only for McHorn to come charging up to them, using his huge body to force a path through the crowd to Nick's car. Once their, he flashed them a smile and nodded as they entered the car.

"Thanks." they said in unison. McHorn turned back to the crowd and cleared a path for the vehicle to pass. Once the two of them were through, McHorn returned to the station. Good luck you two, you'll need it. He thought as he walked through the doors.

They arrived at Nick's apartment, thankful they were able t run inside before the press caught up to them.

"Why can't they just stay out of our lives?" Judy said as she slumped to the floor. Nick hurried over to her and wrapped himself around her.

"Because we scare them." he said, giving Judy a reassuring smile. Judy gave him a confused look and he continued "Remember what I said, change scares mammals. Well, we are one big change. A pred and prey together, they can't fathom it. We were already so popular, we drew a lot of attention."

Judy processed this and decided not to continue. She decided to hug her fox tighter. He picked her up and brought her to the couch and nuzzled at her neck.

"So what should we do tomorrow my sly fox?" Judy asked.

"Hmm, going out would be nice, but we'll have to be careful where with the paparazzi. How about the park, we can have a picnic." Nick said, hoping it was a good idea.

They turned on the TV, only to see themselves on the screen. "Ugh. It's even on TV." Judy groaned. Nick quickly changed channels and decided to put on a movie he had.

"How's 'Robbin Hood' sound, Carrots?" Nick asked, pulling out the movie. Judy agreed to it and nick started it.

Eventually, they gave into exhaustion and fell asleep in each others arms. The movie ended and Nick woke up. He looked at Judy, sound asleep, and carried her to the bedroom after turning off the TV. She's so cute when she sleeping Nick thought to himself as he put the sleeping rabbit down. He lay down next to her and quickly fell asleep himself, hoping tomorrow would go well.

Judy was the first to wake, as usual, and decided to take a shower. She made her way to the bathroom, careful not to wake Nick, and ran the water.

After her shower, she toweled down and made her way to the bedroom, completely bare. She stepped in to see nick awake, though he hadn't noticed her yet. A mischievous plan formed in her head as she stalked up to her fox. She saw he was stripping down and decided to take advantage. She stepped up to him as his boxers hit the floor.

"Hey there." she said seductively as she wrapped her arms around Nick, grabbing his member as she did so.

"Ahh. Hey Carrots, ahhhh" Nick responded as she began to stroke him.

"You like that?" she said as she stopped "Then look forward to tonight."

"That wasn't fair Carrots." Nick said flatly as she walked away and dressed.

She turned to him and said "No, but it was funny."

"Haha" Nick said sarcastically.

They finished dressing and decided to go out for lunch.

"There's a nice diner near by if you want to try it." Nick said as they walked to the door of the building.

"Hmm...sounds good Nicky." she said after considering the idea.

As soon as they exited the building, they were swarmed by reporters. The two of them grabbed each others paw and pushed through the crowd, ignoring their questions. They quickly made their way to the diner and sat down as quickly as they could, hoping the reporters wouldn't follow them in. to their relief, they stayed outside.

"My name is Annie Clawhauser, I'll be serving you two." A waitress said as she approached the couple.

They looked to each other and simultaneously said "He has a sister." shocked they didn't know.

The waitress looked between them and suddenly realized who they were. "Oh my goodness, I didn't realize who you were. Benji talks about you two so much. Can I just say, I am so happy for you two."

Judy giggled and said "Thanks, so what's Benji like at home?"

The cheetah considered and said "Exactly how you would think." and all three mammals gave each other knowing looks.

Eventually, they ordered and Annie left to get them drinks. She returned with a glass of carrot juice for Judy and a cup of coffee for Nick. "Why do you drink so much coffee, you always have some?"

"Same reason I always have sunglasses, Foxes are naturally nocturnal. The coffee helps me stay up and the glasses help with, as the doctors put it, 'photo-sensitivity' so my eyes don't hurt." he responded as he took a sip from his mug.

Judy considered this for a moment and decided to say, "You know, we could get switched to night shifts if that would be easier for you."

"Then you would be tired all the time and never see. I'm used to it Carrots, I'll be fine." he immediately responded.

After a few minutes of small talk, Annie returned with their food, "Okay, so blueberry pancakes for Nick here, and carrot waffles for the cuuuuu-nice bunny." Annie said, barely catching herself.

Judy giggled and said "So I see Benji told you about the 'C' word" Annie nodded and walked off to refill their drinks, a little embarrassed.

"You know, maybe you should lighten up about the whole 'cute' thing. It's not like anyone means to be rude, bunnies are the only ones with a problem.

Judy sighed and said "I know...It's habit, I promise not to scold anyone who calls me cute, but I will glare at them until they realized they messed up."

Nick rolled his eyes and said "I guess that's as good as I'll get" as he leaned over to kiss her.

Annie giggled and said "You two are so adorable together, don't let anyone get in your way." she motioned to the window where the reporters could be seen reviewing a photo. Judy guessed it was of the kiss and rolled her eyes.

The pair ate happily, talking about their plan for that evening.

"So I was thinking we could pack some food and go along a path in the park until we find somewhere nice." Judy said.

"Sounds like a plan Cottontail." Nick said as he stuffed the last of his pancakes into his mouth. Annie returned so Nick could pay, despite Judy's argument that she could pay.

"Good luck you two, and tell Benji I said hi and he needs to come over sometime." She said as they got up to leave the diner.

They pushed through the crowd of reporters, larger than it had been before and made their way home with the reporters shooting off questions left and right. They made it to Nick's apartment building and hurried inside.

"That was nice Nicky, and I like Clawhauser's sister, she's nice." Judy said as they sat on the couch.

"Yeah, are they all like that, so perky all the time? And I'm convinced they all knew we were a couple before we did." Nick said in response, getting a giggle from Judy and a sigh of agreement.

The two of them passed the rest of the day by snuggling on the couch and watching TV, purposefully avoiding news channels. Eventually, Nick got up, muck to Judy's disappointment, and prepared for the evening he had planned while they were on the couch.

"So what's the plan slick?" Judy asked as Nick packed away the food he prepared, along with a blanket.

"Nu uh, it's a surprise Cottontail." he responded smugly. Judy rolled her eyes, though she was excited to see what her fox had planned.

They made their way to the park and managed to loose the paparazzi before entering the park. They found a trail and followed it for a while until they came to a clearing at the top of a hill with a nice view of the park.

"This is beautiful Nicky." Judy said as Nick set down the blanket for them to sit on.

"Not as beautiful as my favorite bunny." Nick responded, earning a giggle from Judy as she came to sit next to him. She seated herself and and nick got out the food he packed, sandwiches and some fruit. Hardly romantic...he thought, but perfect for us.

They ate away and talked. "Hey Nick, I think we need to try to talk to my parents again. I really want them to accept you."

Nick sighed, having expected this "I know. Maybe we could ask if we could go out to them, I mean, we do have two more days off."

Judy considered this then jumped into Nick's lap and kissed him. "Nick, I love you. Thank you for this."

Nick closed his eyes and nodded his head "Well... I might as well make good with your family since you can't meet mine."

Judy's eyes filled with concern as she said "Well at least I'll get to know your sister." This seemed to perk Nick back up.

"Have I ever told you what happened to my parents." he said.

Judy nodded her head and said "Nick, you don't have to tell me." even though she was happy he was opening up to her.

"No, I do." he said and began his story

It was late in the day and the sun was beginning to set as a twelve year old Nick tugged on his mother to get home.

"Moooom, I'm tired, can we go a bit faster, I want to sleep." the young fox complained.

The older fox smiled and shook her head and said "Nick, we'll be home soon enough. You didn't seem so tired when I was dragging you away from Finnic."

"Well I wasn't bored then." he replied and they both laughed.

"Just a couple mo-"

"Give me the purse lady." a gruff looking wolf demanded as he pulled a knife on the pair of them.

"Please, it's all we have." Nick's mom said.

"Aww, boo hoo. Purse. Now" he said mockingly.

She began to hand it over but went for pepper spray she had. Unfortunately, the wolf was faster, and stronger, than her and grabbed her paw...stabbing the knife into her. He looked to Nick as he whimpered but before he could go for him, his mother sank her teeth into the wolf's neck, tearing as he stabbed her again.

They dropped to the ground in a pool of blood, leaving Nick crying over his mother's body.

"Finnic took me in and we began hustling to make our way in life. Years passed and it became normal to me." Nick said as Judy cried into his shirt.

"I'm s-so sorry Nick." she managed between sniffles as Nick stroked her ears.

"It's okay sweetheart, it's okay" he said soothingly.

She looked into his eyes and said "I love you."

Nick smiled and responded "I love you to my perfect bunny."

Authors notes: Hello, hope you're all enjoying. I want you to know I'll be continuing this story for a long time, don't worry about that. Also, I considered leaving it on Nick's line "Yes, I do." But decided not to do that to you guys. Keep up the support and see you next time.

P.S. Do I ramble to much, I think I ramble to much.