A/N:

And thus we begin again. Thank you for your patience, everyone.

It took me some time, but I think I've explained Nick's motivations a little bit better than I originally did in this chapter (without changing anything in 10 either). That said, I'm still a little nervous its not enough and I'm sure some folks won't be entirely happy. But I'm ready to move on and finish this story. I can say with certainty that it's all uphill from here in terms of both the characters' struggles and the content. So, let's get this story out there for the folks waiting.

I'm going back to the Monday and Friday schedule posting, with estimates of the story being finished on July 14th. It's been a wild ride. Heh, Wilde ride.

Special thanks to Anteroinen for hearing my ideas and providing edits.

Chapter Thirteen "The Coin Toss"

Jeanette knew just how to keep my attention. Letting me help bake blueberry pies.

Being the mess of emotions I was, the distraction was sorely needed. The trip to the burrow had been one roller coaster ride after another. That wasn't even counting the assembled kiddy-ride out the front of the Hopps Harvest.

I had the personal mission to forget about everything bad around me and replace them with Jeanette.

Having thoughts about Judy? Think about Jeanette and how she finds you attractive enough to date! Worrying about how you were going to handle the Rocky situation? Think about Jeanette and how you'll have her to go back to after you confront the raccoon! Running on zero energy and sleep? Think about Jeanette and how she let you nap in the back of the stall for a bit before setting off to work!

I wouldn't say I was in love with Jean.

I was old enough to know the difference between infatuation and whatever it was our thing meant. We were undefined and still getting to know each other. She hadn't even held my paw yet, but I sensed that her gaze would drift to my backside whenever she thought I wasn't looking. Not so innocent of a vixen, after all.

Being with Jean was soothing to me. It was territory I was familiar with. A safe place. And being in a burrow full of bunnies, that had high appeal to calm my nerves.

Even though I was standing next to her protective older brother helping to make pies, I found myself remarkably calm.

Gideon, on the other paw, was looking stressed with the demand for pies coming down to the wire. He still managed to make conversation with me.

"So," he said, sharing an occasional glance at his sister. "You and Jean, huh?"

I had waken up considerably since breakfast. A little food and a nap went a long way in giving me the energy to function again. It also gave me the time to think some about my relationship with his sister.

"I figured it was time to stop fooling around and get some stability in my life," I answered half-truthfully. "I ain't getting any younger."

"I suppose it would be only a-pro-pre-eight if I acted like the protective older brother and said if you did anything to hurt her, rabbits aren't the only ones to get clawed."

I choked down a snicker at Gideon's mispronunciation of 'appropriate' and gave him my best look of comfort. An honest smile and wide open eyes.

"Chief, I would never, ever do anything to hurt her. I swear on my bushy, red tail."

And that was the truth.

Above everything, the last thing I wanted to do was ever hurt Jeanette, who had no idea of my thing with Judy or Rocky's impending theft. Best just to keep her in the dark about all that. I would handle it all myself.

"Glad to hear it," Gideon let out a satisfied huff. I knew full well that he could still take me on in a fight despite his extra chub. "Just a little surprising is all, you know? I mean, if you knew Jean growing up…"

Filling blueberry pies was a balancing act. You needed to put in just the right amount of fruit to cook to perfection. Too much and the pie would explode in the oven. Too little and you would be left with a very unsatisfying dessert.

"Much improved," I said to my latest creation, intentionally answering Gideon as well. "She's making brave decisions, Chief. So, I understand the worry."

"Now she's got the idea to move out to the city..."

"To be fair, she had that one before I got here."

"Oh, I know. Not many folks can see who the real Jean is underneath all the fluster. Bonnie gets pretty close. But Jeanette's always had her own crazy dreams that she'd love to follow, starting with that baking shop. If things work with you...That's just another reason for her to move out on her own."

"I don't mean to cause you any trouble, Chief."

"Of that I have no doubt, Mr. Wilde. Just...Keep an eye on her when she goes through with it. Okay?"

I smirked. "When she goes through with it, huh?"

"The sticks have always been too small for Jean. It's really only a matter of time before she's brave enough to venture out into the world. And there ain't nothing I can do to stop her once she sets her mind to something."

In the corner of the stall—away from the conversation Gideon and I were sharing—Jeanette was fighting with the makeshift oven assembled for our use.

I had been surprised when I heard her mutter a few curse words. But I had gotten used to the salty sailor act as she tried desperately to cook up the two hundred pies we were still missing for tomorrow's contest. When she wasn't working the oven or reading texts from her phone, she would look up at me and smile. I'd do my best to smile back.

"Alright," I said, returning from spacing out. "Delivery time."

I trotted over to Jean and presented my dessert to her, bowing low in jest.

"One blueberry pie, homemade crust battered in eggs. Ready to go in the oven, madam."

"Thanks, Mr. Wi—Nick! I meant, Nick…"

I chuckled.

I had already given her trouble for calling me Mr. Wilde when we were considered dating at this point. Or were we even dating? Hard to say when you didn't define it with the words.

"Were you listening to that?" I asked as I set the pie down and gestured to Gideon. "I know it's your hobby, all things considered."

She blushed. I could tell she was fighting the urge to apologize again.

"Gideon means well…"

"He just worries about you, as any good sibling should. But you are considering moving to the city sooner rather than later?"

I, of all mammals, knew how difficult it could be to open up to someone. Especially when it came to silly little dreams. I was determined to take my Wilde Times idea to my grave. But Jeanette was a rare vixen to be so open about her ideals. Much like another bunny I knew…

"I've been looking into it," she spoke softly so Gideon wouldn't hear us. "But there's a lot to consider when moving."

"Yup. Rent. Food. Paying movers. Finding a place. That's not including the work involved in starting a business."

"You...Know all about starting a business?"

"Sure do. Remember my talk with Bonnie? I had my own business in selling carpets. Sure, it was an under-the-rug gig, pun intended. But it taught me a lot about what it takes to be your own boss."

I ran through the old memory of my carpeting days. It occurred to me that I had been around Jeanette's age too back then. In hindsight, I had barely known what I was doing.

"Let's see," I said, counting out the steps on my paws. "First, you need to get your permits in order. Especially when it comes to food. Zootopia is very strict when dietary needs are involved. Then, you need to find a suitable place to open up shop and start your business. It's a lot easier if it's a food cart, but if you're looking for an actual building then that needs to pass its own inspection. You need to pick a name for your establishment that hasn't already been taken, work on your brand and such. You need to write a business plan with an accountant, preferably. Expect a lot of time in the city hall for the first few weeks."

I looked over to see if all this talk was scaring Jean. To my surprise, she maintained a face of determination.

"The biggest thing you'll have to worry about is a loan," I spoke truthfully. "All this stuff doesn't come cheap. Especially if you want a building."

"I-I have some money saved up…"

"We're talking around three to five thousand a month, depending on the location and how big you want to go. Then there's equipment you're sure to need, like an oven for baking and display cases. I'd expect a pretty penny, at first."

Tell me about it. There was a reason I never even considered owning a building in Zootopia. It was ridiculously expensive and you needed to really push just to break even at the end of the month. When I sold rugs, I usually just borrowed an open lot in the streets.

I could see that putting an actual number to Jeanette's fears had shaken her a bit by the way she shivered like a leaf.

"You just need a good loan," I said, trying to dismiss the imaginary concerns. "I'll ask around. I know everyone in the city."

"Thank you, Nick," she said, looking up at me with her big blue eyes. "I mean it. I'm lucky to have met you."

"Don't mention it."

My own eyes trailed to the faire outside as I considered Jeanette's loan issue.

My mom used to tell me that the quickest way to get involved with someone was to start caring about their problems. It worked with Judy when we were handling the Nighthowler case, I figured I'd try my luck with Jean's bakery.

It'd be a good first step. A common ground we could work on together and connect with. A good way to distance myself from Judy. But I didn't have the heart to tell Jeanette that she was looking at a loan of a hundred thousand dollars, at least. Not exactly easy money to come up if you were young and had no prospects…

But I wanted to give Jean that chance and made it my business to care.

Maybe I could scour the city and dig up some old contacts. Call in some old debts. Maybe I could approach Mr. Big about it in return for a favor. I had options, though none of them sounded very appealing and would involve some sort of dangerous debt.

As I continued to glance outside, I saw a large semi truck rounding about the faire center. It plowed through the mud on the ground and stopped just before the center display. A familiar greasy-looking raccoon stepped out of the driver seat, a grim smirk on his face.

A feeling of dread came over me. Things were about to become loud in the quiet festival grounds.

Alright...Let's just get this over with and find out what Rocky's plan was to report him.

I conjured a quick excuse. "Uh, can you guys handle the stall for a quick minute? I need to grab a drink real fast."

My request was granted and I stepped out into the brisk fall day.

The festival was really coming together compared to how it looked yesterday.

Most of the stalls were set up and the rides were all assembled, though someone had gone a little crazy with the water on one of the games. There looked to be an explosion and a small pond of mud blocking my way to Rocky.

I was suddenly thankful I wasn't wearing my slacks as I trudged across the inch deep muck. Or shoes, for that matter.

Shoes were one of those things very few mammals wore and for good reason. Our feet had evolved such that an extra layer of protection was just redundant. But the richer mammals would insist on wearing ridiculous footwear, even though keeping them clean would be a major pain. I pondered the notion of donning protective wads of cloth over my toes as I waddled through the mud, which sucked in my feet.

I was grateful I didn't wear shoes. If I did, they would have gotten stuck in the muck when I stopped in place for a moment.

Standing across the mudpit, staring right at me, was Judy.

Her ears were dropped low, like something was wrong but I couldn't begin to imagine what. She had her cellphone in her paws, texting someone. I also noticed she had changed her clothes, probably from taking a shower. Her new jeans and T-shirt had only gotten ruined by the layer of mud caked up to her shins. Most noticeable were her eyes, wide and full of hurt. They contrasted with my scowl from across the mudpit.

She must have just arrived on her own, I certainly didn't hear anything. Between my nap and my time spent with Jeanette, my argument with Judy felt like a week ago. I couldn't even remember exactly what the words we said were. But I did know one thing.

I was angry with her.

If I was in a better mental state, I could forgive her for our fight. I would even start that apology, knowing I had been as much a jerk as she had. But I still wasn't all there yet. And there was something deeper at play. Something left unsaid, stinging in my mouth like a root canal.

How dare she throw my feelings for her back in my face?

That kind of thinking was immature and stupid, I know. Judy had no real way of knowing about my crush for her. But time away from her made me realize why I was upset. Judy's rejection hurt me. And I hadn't been wounded like that since the Nighthowler case.

This time, I wasn't going to let her put me out of commission again for a month.

No. This time I was going to prove to Judy that I didn't need her. Nick Wilde didn't need a rabbit dogging his sleep or giving him constant heartbreak. I was my own mammal. I could have my own interests. I could have Jeanette who, in my tired eyes, was better in every conceivable way. She was simpler and didn't make me feel like a mess all the time. And I could give her everything she needed to be happy. I could forget about Judy.

I realized I had been glaring at Judy for a solid ten seconds. I huffed and continued on my way.

Judy lingered for a moment before shuffling in the direction I had come from.

Just seeing Judy had gotten me so worked up that I had forgotten why I was on this lonely stretch of road to begin with. I remembered when I looked up and saw the semi truck parked before the golden carrot.

I approached the ramp leading to the back of the truck and knocked at the door.

"Anybody home?"

"Nick!" Rocky let out a puff of smoke as he turned to greet me. "Come in, come in!"

I coughed at the smog from his cigarette as I ducked my head to enter the trailer.

The back of the semi was filled with crates of rotten fruits and vegetables. Most of them, I guessed, were spoils of the raccoon had borrowed from unwitting farmers. The few boxes that weren't food crates were brimming with goods for the faire. I recognized a few prize toys, including stuffed rabbits and toy cap guns from the Hopps food stand.

"Give me a paw with this, would you?" he asked me while he attempted to pull at one of the larger boxes. "Need to look busy."

I smirked. "Of course."

My default smarm mode was starting to take over. I tried to keep the focus on discovering what the raccoon's plan was with the carrot and maybe lead to his arrest. But my mind was still wrapped up with things concerning Judy and Jeanette. One word in particular rang in my head like a bell.

Loan.

While I did most of the work holding up my end of the box, Rocky scuttled down the ramp. The box in my paws clicked, like there was glass hidden beneath the toys.

On the occasion, Rocky would glance at the golden carrot, which was a few feet away. Then he would look to me, prompting me to share the interest in the icon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It looks fake to me."

"I've been told that when faced with an extraordinary amount of cash, most mammals balk at accepting it to be real. It'd be like watching money rain from the sky. You wouldn't know what to do with it all, or couldn't process that it was really happening. But take my word for it. That's real solid gold there. About twenty five pounds of it."

I wobbled a bit trying to hold up my end of the box. "Let me guess...You're saving your back strength so you can grab that thing and run away with it?"

"Sure. And then I'll put on a top hat and tie Jenny to some train tracks while laughing maniacally. Come on, Nick. You should know that's not how smooth criminals operate anymore. You'd never get away with it."

"I might actually pay to see that."

"Well, I ain't getting arrested for your amusement. I've already served a month for stealing hubcaps off of parked cars during the Carrot Day festival. I don't want to see what the sentence would be for swiping a million dollar carrot."

I raised an eyebrow. "You have a good fence then?"

"Yep. Some zebra in the city willing to pay double for what the base value is. It's a gold mine, pun intended. And it's literally just sitting there, waiting for someone to take it."

We dropped the wooden crate in the mud. My back complained to me as I stretched in place.

"So," I groaned. "If you don't plan on just walking up and taking it, how are you going about it?"

"Smartly and cleverly. Raccoons are nocturnal, so we'll work in the dark, for starters. I'll wait until the end of the faire, when things are winding down and everyone gets tired. That's when I'll pull the truck around and pick up these boxes."

"These aren't just toys for the kits, are they?"

"Not unless you want to get in trouble giving away beer to underage rabbits," Rocky dug past one of the stuffed animals and held up a cheap looking bottle of ale. "Step two, everyone a little tipsy."

"That's going to be hard to pull off. Isn't this supposed to be a dry carnival?"

"You let me worry about that. I've been to enough bunny fairs in my day to know that where there's a public event, there's heavy drinking. Even if it's all under the table. I can remember getting plastered with Gideon back in the day when we were in junior high. Trust me, I can peddle this stuff privately without the Hopps catching wind."

I found myself getting more curious about the raccoon's scheme. It was just like the old days with me and Finnick. That mingled with my thoughts of Jeanette. My mouth continued to move on its own as the words rang in my ears.

Loan. Loan.

"Sounds like you got it figured out then. Why do you need me?"

"I can handle the actual stealing part," said Rocky. "Don't need too many cooks in the kitchen there. And you don't have to get your paws dirty in the slightest. I got transportation too. And I can get it from point A to B with no problems. But my fence is a popular mammal and has a busy schedule."

"You need a place to keep the carrot then?"

"You know the city. You must have someplace I can keep it safe. There are plenty of dangers on the streets that I'd like to avoid."

"True. Mob bosses. Pickpockets. Security cameras, To name a few."

Loan. Loan. Loan.

"So, you understand why I'm approaching you," Rocky asked, keeping his voice low as folks passed near us. "This is big, Nick. Folks trust you. And you've managed to get the Hopps on your side. I need to keep it under wraps as best I can or I might find myself floating down river."

"Or encased in a block of ice…"

Loan. Loan. Loan. Enough.

"What's in it for me?" I blurted out.

Rocky looked taken aback by my question. He fiddled with the cigarette in his lips.

"A fair percentage, of course. Five percent of the cut."

That wasn't nearly enough to risk everything for.

I kept telling myself that I didn't need Judy. I could do this. I was a hustler for twenty years and Rocky was a desparate enough looking mammal. Push harder, Nick. Push for...For...

"Twenty percent."

Rocky winced and spat on the ground. "You're crazy. Seven, at most."

It needed to be at least ten percent. Loan. Jeanette had her loan to worry about. And I could get her that money. I could prove that Judy didn't get to me.

But Rocky had told me everything I needed to make an arrest. I had my duty to think of, though that suddenly didn't feel as important. To be a police officer was to be with Judy. The thought of spending every day with her soured my mouth. I would be so unhappy, knowing she'd never be with me. And I'd be in pain all the time.

One way or another, Jeanette's loan was going to be hard to acquire. The last thing I wanted her to do was approach someone shady, like Mr. Big, for money. I had given Gideon my word that I'd look out for her in the city.

The choice boiled down to Judy or Jeanette, in my mind. But I didn't have the strength to decide at that moment.

A coin toss then. Ten percent or bust.

"Ten or I walk."

Though I kept composed, my insides were on fire and I was resisting the urge to pant. Rocky took a long drag of his cigarette as he decided my fate. He finished it and flicked it on the ground. The embers were stomped out.

"Alright. Ten it is."

They say when faced with a difficult between two options, a coin toss will tell you want you really want before the coin even lands. But, with the outcome decided, I still couldn't say how I felt about the result.

So, I tried to convince myself.

It's not like you ever wanted to be a cop. Right, Nick? And Rocky said you weren't getting your paws dirty. I could quietly retire as an officer. Judy...Judy could think what she wanted to. Maybe I would join with Jeanette and help with her bakery. Work there and get a business started. That was the only comforting thought as I accepted the raccoon's paw.

"Deal."

"You're one crazy fox. You know that, Wilde?"

I chuckled. "You have no idea."

I glanced up to the golden statue as we continued our work unloading the truck.

This was for Jeanette, and for my own peace of mind. It's not like I was the one stealing the statue, right? Just keep smiling Nick.

Keep trying to pretend nothing is wrong.