Chapter Eight "Miss Lead"

Nick looked like he had been stunned by an elephant taser.

He had on the same face he did when I busted him for tax evasion back at the start of the Nighthowler case. It would have been funny if I wasn't already nervous about bringing up such a bizarre topic out of left field.

"Nick?" I asked.

"I heard you, Carrots," he said. The look of shock and horror vanished as quickly as it appeared. "I...Wasn't aware you were in the habit of playing matchmaker."

"I'm not," I crossed my arms. "Look...It's complicated. But it boils down to this. I feel bad for Jeanette and I wanted to do something for her after my mother dragged her into our little confrontation with Jenny. She mentioned she was interested in you and I was wondering if you felt the same way."

Even though I had known him for months, I still had a hard time reading exactly what Nick was thinking. He always wore a veil of expressions ranging from playful smirks to disquiet neutrality.

Tonight, he was true neutral with the slightest taint of discomfort in his green eyes. Or was it sadness? I didn't tell him, but he had been looking miserable the whole week. That was another reason why I had agreed to play the matchmaker for Jeanette.

I was worried for him.

Nick hadn't been sleeping and it showed in his performance at work. I could cover for him well enough, but it wasn't getting any better as the week went on.

When he agreed to come down to the burrow with me, I had planned for him to have a good, relaxing time. Maybe we'd do some work around the faire and then check out the town before finishing with the carnival at the end as a cherry on top. But things were never simple with mom and dad.

After the conflict over Jenny's choice of fiancé, it felt as if my parents were projecting their frustrations onto Nick. That was all the more reason why I wasn't pleased with Jen. What Nick needed was a recovery vacation and instead I ended up dragging him into my family drama.

You should have known better, Judy Hopps. If drama was a country, mom would be queen.

Rabbits had a saying that the bigger the family, the bigger the drama. I should have checked ahead of time. I should have spoken to Jenny to get an inkling what was happening down at the farm. Now, I was afraid my best friend was having the roughest weekend of his life entirely because of me and my big mouth. I told myself that if I couldn't give him a good weekend, then maybe there was someone else who would.

And maybe that would lead to something more for him. Who could say? Fox meets fox, right?

Nick grunted and rubbed the back of his head.

"Look...I dunno. She seems nice enough, I guess. But I have a feeling there would be...Complications."

"Like what?"

I detected a rather annoyed glare from Nick's eyes, like he was angry at me for having to explain himself.

"Like...Age, for one thing. She's even younger than you are, Carrots."

"So? You look young for your age, Nick. You could pass for twenty, easy."

"Thanks, I guess…"

"What else?"

I knew I was pushing into something uncomfortable for Nick to talk about. But it was in my inquisitive nature to know everything.

"...I dunno. She's Gideon's sister? I mean, I barely know the fox and just shared drinks with him. Isn't it awkward if I suddenly just started dating his little sister out of the blue?"

"I don't see why that should matter so much. Gideon would understand. There's only a handful of foxes in the burrow, so it's not like suitors are lining up."

"And do you think she fully understands who she's getting involved with?"

"Nick, what are you talking about? You're a good fox."

"Sure I am. For the last few months as a cop. But what about before that?"

I hadn't thought of Nick as a con artist in such a long time that I had almost forgotten he used to hustle mammals for a living. I just assumed that he had given up that life and moved past it. I would have never considered that it still bothered him.

"It doesn't matter who you were, Nick," I said, thinking of that time in the skylift with him. "What matters is who you are now."

"Is that what you really think?"

"Yes, I do."

Though his face was neutral, his eyes didn't believe me. Nick sighed and forced his paws into his pockets.

"Look...Is this really what you want me to do, Carrots?"

I felt like he was asking me a question that had great weight. But, for the life of me, I couldn't begin to imagine what he meant.

"I just want you to be happy, Nick."

He looked hesitant. And then resigned.

I frowned as he hung his head low and sighed again. Something was definitely eating at him, but to press him about it would only make him hide it from me more. And I could tell that he was quickly losing his patience with this line of questioning. I'd mill it out of him eventually.

"Alright," he said after a minute of silence. "I'm willing to give this a shot, Carrots. But it can't be through you. If she musters up the courage to ask me, face to face, I'll take her out. I guess."

I smiled but couldn't shake a bad feeling I was having.

"Thanks, Nick. At the very least, I think it will do Jeanette some good, right?"

Wincing at my own words, I realized that I may have been asking Nick to go along with something he really had no interest in. Again.

But I told myself that if he really was against it, he wouldn't resign himself like that. It couldn't be so important that he didn't want to talk to me about it.

Nick tried his best to smile, showing both his fangs and his dread. It was the same expression I had seen him use when the main course in the ZPD cafeteria was dung beetle. That day, I learned the hard way that Nick was a vegetarian. Rare for preds, but not unheard of.

We slumped back into the pub to find little had changed, though everyone seemed a tad sloshed.

Nick rejoined Gideon and dad to order some much needed food.

I ignored the suggestive calls from a few of my siblings and sat down with Jeanette at the booth I left her in. The vixen had been quietly keeping to her drink, but looked up at me with hopeful eyes upon my return.

"That could have gone better," I said, slipping into my seat.

"N-No good?"

"I think he's just in a bad mood. He has been all week. But he said he was willing to give the date a shot. You'd just have to be the one to ask him."

"Ah," Jeanette looked quite nervous at the prospect. "What if he says no?"

"I don't think he will. He's not the kind of fox to lie." Not anymore, anyway.

"Well...uh...What kind of fox is he?"

The question gave me pause.

How did I begin to describe Nick without telling Jeanette about the sensitive parts of his past? Was it wise to let Jeanette know that Nick was a reformed con artist? At the same time, it wasn't fair to not give the vixen some warning to what she was getting herself into.

Nick wasn't a bad fox. But he had a certain personality that some would find grating. Bogo would certainly think so sometimes. There were days when Nick went too far with his jokes, but there was no one else I'd rather have as a partner. Or trust with my life.

"He's...Complicated," I said, suddenly desiring another drink. "He's got a tough exterior because he's from the city. But deep down, he's pretty sensitive. He'll say he doesn't care about specific issues, but in private he'll be fully invested. And he jokes around because he likes to make you laugh. But also because laughing hides some stuff he's afraid to talk about."

"He...Sounds a lot like me."

I hid a laugh.

Jeanette seemed like a nice fox, but she wore her emotions on her sleeve. In my mind, she and Nick couldn't be more opposite. But sometimes the best couples contrasted.

"I guess I can see that. You just need to be more confident around him. You'll do fine. He likes it when mammals are honest with him."

"Well, uh, what else does he like?"

"Blueberries," I said almost instantly. "Funny enough, I discovered that completely by accident."

"Blueberries," Jeanette repeated the word, pondering her drink. "I think...I think I can remember that. Anything else?"

I searched my head to find an answer for Jeanette. My ears drooped when I couldn't think of anything else.

Why was this hard?

I knew Nick for months. But as I replayed my memories of all the times we chatted on patrol, I quickly realized that there were very few instances the conversations ever shifted to him. Mostly, we only ever talked about work. Or what we were doing after hours. It was small talk and whenever we shifted topics to something personal, usually the focus was on me and my own problems.

Was I a bad friend?

I couldn't tell Jeanette what Nick's favorite color was. What was his favorite drink? What was his favorite movie or book? Ice cream flavor? When was his birthday? I didn't even know what his preferences in females were, if such a thing even existed. He could have been gay and I'd have never known. He was such a private fox.

I grabbed at my ears and slumped over the table.

"I...Can't think of anything. Why can't I think of anything?"

"I-It's alright...You only started working with him recently, right?"

"Like six months ago. That should be more than enough time to know the basics of someone I call my best friend. I feel useless. I'm so sorry, Jean."

"It's okay, Judy...I was expecting to do this alone, anyway. I just thought I might ask you for some help."

My memories shifted to our conversation just a few minutes ago at the booth...

The talk with Jenny had not gone well.

Mom intended to use her relationship with Jeanette as an excuse to show she wasn't being specist in her disapproval of Rocky. Jenny wasn't hearing any of it and said some pretty hurtful things to mom. And then to me.

After getting over the initial shock of the marriage announcement, I continued to sway between what to think about Rocky.

On one paw, I knew he was a jerk who would steal from other mammals constantly when we were kits. As far as I knew, that behavior continued into high school. He was in the same league as Gideon in my eyes back then, and sometimes worse in his own twisted way. I could distinctly remember going hungry several times in grade school because someone swiped my lunch money when I wasn't looking.

But Gideon had changed in the time I had been gone from the burrows. Was it fair for me to be biased against Rocky if I hadn't seen him for myself yet? Jenny promised me that he was reformed and getting better as a truck driver for goods between the burrow and the city, as well as some side gigs. But I had see to him to believe it and remained indifferent.

It was my neutrality that Jen called me out on.

While she suffered the brunt of mom's assault, I sat quietly by and added very little to either side. When Jenny called for my help, I ended up siding with mom.

In the fallout, Jenny stormed out with mom close behind her to get in the final word.

Jeanette had just sat there awkwardly in the midst of the family drama. Again, I had dragged someone else into our craziness.

In an effort to comfort Jeanette, we small talked.

That's when I learned about her thing with Nick.

While Nick was busy chatting with dad, Jeanette continued to shoot him awkward stares when she thought I wouldn't notice. But I caught on pretty quick.

Jean wasn't accustomed to hiding her emotions and when I brought up the glances at Nick, she blushed and made excuses. It was only when I pressed the subject that she confessed to having a crush on him after seeing him at the faire.

Jeanette had gotten real nervous about the prospect.

She explained that she had never been in a relationship before and had no idea how to even approach starting one. I tried to tell to her that I was the worst possible mammal to go for relationship advice, having never dated before myself.

But I also was the closest mammal to Nick in the burrow. Maybe even the closest in Zootopia too.

The thought that I could call myself his best friend and know almost nothing about him riddled me with guilt. But I figured I owed Jeanette a favor after she had been dragged into another one of my mom's episodes. And maybe Nick could get some relaxation from a date, though hindsight told me that was a stupid idea.

"Can I ask you something, Jean?"

The vixen nodded as she finished her drink.

"Why are you interested in Nick? I mean, I think he's a great fox. But you've only just met him. And you seem so…"

"Cowardly?"

"Shy," I softened her word.

"Yeah, I heard that a lot growing up," Jeanette put on a deeper tone of voice I hadn't heard her use before. "I was always hiding in my brother's shadow as a kit. I was a cry baby and hated the other mammals."

It was no wonder I never really knew Jeanette until this weekend.

"What changed?"

"I…"

She paused and frowned before continuing.

"I guess I just got tired of it. I started making changes. Small ones. I got my ears pierced. I tried talking to mammals more. I think I left an impression on Gid. He started seeing a shrink about his feelings and got better. We opened our shop together and started pulling our family name out of the dirt."

I nodded along, understanding. "So, trying to date Nick is you attempting to come out of your shell more?"

The question sent Jean back to her stuttering self.

"I-It's a slow process. But that's only part of it...I think he may like me."

"Really? What gave you that impression?"

"His smell," she said, with a blush at her ears. "When I met him at the faire, he was emitting strong aggressive pheromones. The kind only a fox can detect. So, I just assumed…"

I would have no experience dealing with fox biology, but if it was anything like rabbit hormones then they would be pretty hard to ignore. Working in the city, I had gotten used to so many scents and smells that it was hard to focus on one in particular. Especially of another species.

"Huh," I muttered aloud. "Maybe then...He's always so hard to read..."

"But I need to ask him out…" Jeanette stared at her empty glass, probably craving another drink. "Alright. I'll do it."

I gave her a smile. "Good luck. You'll do fine."

Even though I said that, Jeanette was still bow legged as she stood up and stumbled to the bar. I would have thought she had been drinking too much if I didn't know it was just nerves. I gave her one last wave before she approached Nick, who was chatting with Gideon.

I didn't have the opportunity to see how she did.

Mom had re-entered the bar when I wasn't looking and slipped into Jeanette's vacant seat. A quick glance at her told me that her continued conversation with Jenny had not gone well. Though her ears were perched high, her brow was furrowed and her nose was scrunched like she had just witnessed an offensive odor.

"Well," she said with a sigh. "Your sister has stormed off."

I gave her a sympathetic frown. "She'll come back, mom. You just need to give her space."

"I'm not worried about her not coming back, Judy. I'm worried about her throwing her life away with a mammal who doesn't really care about her."

"She knows that. And she knows to be careful. She'll be fine."

"And what do you think about all this?"

"You know I never really liked Rocky. But you didn't raise any dumb bunnies. If Jenny wants us to give him a chance, why don't we meet him first? At least?"

"Just...Do me a favor, Judy. Keep an eye on her, okay? This whole thing has me worried about her. I've been fine with the other predators she's brought home, but something gives me a bad feeling about this raccoon. This proposal feels too sudden and I've heard horrible things about this Rocky fellow. Even Gideon doesn't associate with him anymore."

I resisted rolling my eyes. "I'll try my best, mom."

"Thanks, Judy," she looked like she could breath a little easier.

I rarely saw mom so worked up over something like this. Had she and Jenny been fighting constantly while I was in the city? It was hard to say when I only ever spoke to my family over the phone until now. Family gossip was not the kind of conversation you could just casually bring up on the line. And, besides Jacky, Jen had always been the most outspoken Hopp against mom's helicopter parenting.

Before I could change the subject, Jeanette stumbled back to the booth.

"I did it," she said, slipping into the seat next to mom. There was a smile on her face, though she looked as if she had just run a marathon.

Mom raised an eye. "Did what, dear?"

"She just asked Nick out, mom."

Mom's eyes widened slightly. "Really? That's...That's great. And he said yes?"

"W-Well, he said he'd be willing to hang out and see how it went. Provided we weren't working tomorrow."

"I'm sure your brother can manage the pie stall," I said, giving a sly wink to my mother. "And mom would be happy to give Nick a break to check out the sights around the burrow. Right, mom?"

Mom was playing catch up. She looked to Jeanette and then to Nick at the bar. There was something calculating about her glances.

"...Certainly. You can take the morning off and come back to finish up in the afternoon. Enjoy your date together, Jeanette. And tell me all about it when you're done."

"I-I'm not sure if you could really call it a date," Jean rubbed the back of her head. "He made it more sound like a way to get to know each other first before committing to anything. And I've never gone out with someone before. I'm nervous…"

Jeanette shot me a worried glance.

"Judy...I'd hate to ask, but...But can you be there with me, at least for tomorrow?"

"Go with you on the date? Won't that make things awkward?"

"I'm already going to make it awkward," she said, looking down at her feet. "If you could be on paw to help me in case I really mess things up, I'd be so grateful to you…"

"Sometimes mammals just need a push in the right direction," said mom.

"I wouldn't…"

I stopped to look at mom.

She was giving me her demanding glare with stern eyes, like I was in trouble for something.

Did she still not trust Nick enough that she didn't want to leave him alone with Jeanette, who she treated like one of her own daughters?

I turned to Jeanette next to her. She stared up at me with pleading eyes, contrasting my mom. I was probably the worst mammal to consult for dating advice. But who else would even know Nick well enough to help her?

"I...I mean...I guess I can…"

"You can keep an eye out for your sister too," mom added to her case for me to go. "I'm certain we won't see her tonight and I'd like to make sure she's alright."

"Sure, mom…"

"Then it's settled," Jeanette said. "Can I pick you both up at nine tomorrow?"

My gaze trailed to at the bar, where Nick was engaged in listening to another one of my dad's stories. Though he smiled and nodded along, I could tell there was something was off about his eyes. They looked strained and almost depressed.

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about this half-date.

"Sounds good…"