Sorry for the long delay, but chronic depression and sweltering weather made concentration on new content difficult
Bonny Hopps had an unfortunate familiarity with Zootopia Central Hospital, given that her Daughter and now Husband had been all too frequent customers in the several years of their time together. This was not the worst circumstance, and she was finally going to meet the triplets, but she was tired, deeply fatigued by the unrelenting crisis of the past months, and this seemed not so much a respite as an exchange of one issue for another.
She noticed a ZPD officer on the elevator with her and wondered if she was going to see Nicholas. When she got off on the same floor and headed down the hall in the same direction, Bonny had to ask.
"Going to see Nicholas Wilde?"
The officer, an elephant, stopped and regarded her. "Oh! I'll bet you're Judy's Mom? Hi! I'm Francine Pennington. Work with both Nick and Judy."
Bonny had heard of the bubbly pachyderm from both of them and was delighted to finally meet her. "They told me about you! Yes, I'm Bonny Hopps! A pleasure to meet you!"
"Thank you! It's been an adventure with those two in the precinct, I'll tell you." The elephant beamed.
"Too much an adventure at times." And Bonny gestured to the Hospital they were in.
"Awh, not all that worse than any of us." Francine could see the Mother's worry. "Just about everyone get a free ride here now and again. But truth be told, it usually anything but criminal activity."
Bonny was clearly piqued by that and the Elephant Cow was happy to explain, suspecting her worry. "Auto accidents, car-pedestrian accidents, likely the biggest risk for a cop is just stepping out of a cruiser in traffic." And immediately regretted the admission with the look on the Bunny's face. "Sorry! What I'm trying to say, without a lotta luck, is simply being in the city has its day-to-day hazards. And while we have to take care of trouble makers, we don't actually get hurt all that often by them."
"Besides, your Judy has gotten a reputation for being a rabbit to recon with. She may be awfully small, but she makes up for it in agility and fighting smarts."
"Not exactly the thing to reassure a mother." But Bonny's smirk let Francine know she was just joking.
And there they were at the door. A cautious knock got a muffled "yeah", and the two entered to a cozy scene. Nick lay with the triplets nestled into his curve, surrounded by his brush, while his head rested in Judy's lap. Francine let go a little trumpet of glee and Bonny sighed in delight and relief.
'Hi Mom." Judy had been idly fussing with her Fox's ears and gave them a quick pull out to make them presentable for company.
Nick just wiggled his paw at the guests, enjoying the setting too much to break it.
But the main attention was on the three little cuties. This day they were in matching red tops and grey bottoms.
All three had their ears up and noses all a twitch in curious alert. Seeing the Elephant in the room, they all let out a little squeak of joy. They delighted in the great mountain of maternal enthusiasm that Francine seemed to exude. But they still noticed the elder Rabbit and turned to Judy for explanation.
"Hey Guys, this is my Mom. Say Hi."
As much as the three had their very cozy fox brush returned to them, cruelly deprived for more than a day now, meeting a new bunny was a sure way to get them up. They came up to the edge of the bed, heads cocked in a somewhat canid fashion, that fox's influence no doubt, and synchronized a cautious "'Ello."
"And hello to you three lovelies." Bonny could hardly contain herself. Any little kit was special, and though not Judy's issue, she felt a kinship to the three. "They are adorable!" She bubbled, "And their colors, the 'phone videos don't do them justice."
Judy flicked a quick glance at Nick; she hadn't sent any images to the family, in part because she knew he had. But how many and how often had he been doing so?
"Yeah, they're really something." And Judy cringed at how hollow that sounded. She had warmed up to the little darlings, mostly, but she was still wary of the family becoming prematurely attached to them while their status remained uncertain.
Bonny caught the little edge to Judy and gave her a sympathetic look. "I know about your reservations, Bun Bun." Glancing to Nick, who cringed theatrically. "But while they are with us, for however long, they deserve all the love we can give them."
Judy let go a guilty sigh, "You're right, of course." She looked to the three, who were looking back and forth at the talking adults. She shifted Nick out of the way and crawled over to the edge of the bed and the triplets. Mary raised her arms, expecting a cuddle and little Bonny and John gave Bonny a hopeful look for similar attention. There was much hugging and snuffling as the bunnies shared the mini-fluffle.
Nick looked to Francine, who mouthed an 'I'll see you later', not wanting to get in the way of the family time. He in turn mouthed a 'thanks, love ya' and gave her a little salute. As much as he wanted to join in the fluffle, he knew Judy needed that oh so much. Seeing how she had held herself back for so long had been heart-breaking for her sake. He had a fair inkling of how much maternal instinct was still in her, even after all this time striving for her life's dream.
Early on she'd confessed her fears about having to make hard choices between family and career in very all or nothing terms. But these last months have dealt with the terror triplets so much better than she had feared. For that matter, it had not gone nearly as bad as he was prepared to have to cope with as well. His resolve had been triggered by a level of full-on Todd-Father instinct that he hadn't appreciated and had since marveled how easy, how natural his role had become.
Which had, for a while, brought on a secret level of anxiety over his relationship with Judy. Even though she'd said yes to getting formal and later had somewhat expediently married to qualify as foster parents for the three, had there been moments when her reluctance had stirred the unthinkable. If he had been forced to choose between them, he wasn't sure she would be the one he'd keep.
But that was all in the past, and even more so now. The wounds of the crisis were healing, and with her Mother's support, Judy could become a working mother in a fashion she had never considered.
00000
Having to only deal with three relatively well-behaved kits while her Daughter and her Fox were off protecting and serving the big city had become practically a vacation for Bonny after all. And the three certainly enjoyed all the focused attention.
She hadn't intended on staying so long and knew her Dear Stuart missed her terribly, as did she him. But she could tell her Judy needed her support and calming influence more than she'd ever admit.
Such a headstrong kit, yet so emotionally vulnerable, too much like her father at times. That had been her great conflict with the triplets, dreading the hurt that might come from allowing herself to love them with all the intensity she had in her, only to risk having it crushed by a change in their status.
But Bonny knew that great love always came with great pain. There were too many names already in the family plot that were her beloved issue, but it had never deterred her from loving each new life just as intensely. A lesson Judy had not really learned, and one Bonny prayed she'd never have to face.
But she was coming around to take the chance with the three. And now with her Fox fully mended and cleared for duty, Bonny's job here was nearly done.
There was a buzz from the apartment entrance intercom and it took a moment for Bonny to find the unit to respond.
"Hello? Wilde and Hopps residence?"
"Eh? Yer Hopps' Mother?" The voice was an unfamiliar deep base growl.
"Uhm, yes. Can I help you?"
"Er, kinda, I guess. The Big Dummy - ah, Nicholas, wanted me tah poke around, 'bout the Bunnies."
"He'll be home in a couple hours."
"Oh, no. We've had - personal issues. Don' wanna see him anytime soon. But I got some stuff I wanna drop off. If I can."
Though it was the big bad city, Bonny wasn't one to be intimidated by the unknown, especially with the promise of information regarding the triplets.
"Come on up."
In a moment she opened the door to find a Fennec, a tiny fox fellow, in a polo shirt and chinos.
"Mrs. Hopps." The little Desert Fox's deep base voice was a startling contrast.
"Oh. You must be Finnick?" Bonny had heard about Nick's former running buddy. "Come on in."
"Are the tail grabbers away?" He cautiously glanced around.
"I have then down for a nap. It's safe to come on in."
"Gotta be careful. The Big Dummy lets 'em get ina Fox's' brush." And he gave a theatric cringe at the thought.
"They do like all that fluff."
"It ain't decent." He huffed.
Bonny let it go and pressed on. "Would you like something?" As she gestured him to the living room.
"Thanks but nah. I just wanted ta drop this off." holding out an envelope. "There's some paper an' a stick wit' what I found out. Which ain't much." And at that grimaced in what might be regret.
"Anything you can tell me?" Bonny wasn't going to peek unbidden, but was intensely curious.
"Sure. Found some folk who knew her, co-workers mostly. She did cleanin' and dishwasher stuff mostly, all off book. Not hard to do inna down an' out joint. Always just 'er first name an' never stayed long at any one place." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "The vibe was that she was a bit paranoid, didn't like goin' out in public, didn't like talkin' about herself. Changed jobs between bein' preggers and havin' 'em. Never mentioned havin' kits at all, jus' did short shifts to be able to get back to 'em, I guess."
Finnick paused to rub his eyes again and scrub the back of his neck in a self-conscious fashion.
"Figured the timin' was about this month two years ago. Judy an' the Big Dummy did a search an' never found any official birth record."
"Poor Girl." Bonny could hardly imagine how a Doe could function in such isolation.
"Yeah." And she could tell he had the same thought.
"Is there anything else?"
"Nah, she simply didn't seem ta do anything, an' can't find anyone who knew her from more than about four years ago. Maybe she came from outta the boonies. There use ta be a counter-culture warren out on Black River, and maybe she came outta there. But they never co-operated with the Power back then and all dispersed since. So who knows? What was clear she wasn't local, but not'in distinct like, no obvious accent."
The Fennec glanced around, clearly conflicted, then, "Tell the Big Dummy, Nick, that things are more or less cool. He'll understand."
And that was that. Bonny stood there for a while, holding the package and thinking about the poor, dreadful existence the Doe must have faced. While tempted to call Judy and tell her about this news, she knew that her daughter needed to concentrate on the day's duties and that it would be a terrible distraction.
She went back to see how they were doing. Still sleeping, a darling lump of grey on grey. She had a bittersweet smile for them. Such a tragic beginning and fortuitous rescue. And now such a life-changing opportunity for so many.
Bonny went to the kitchen to prepare a bit of tea. And call her Stuart.
"Bonnymylove, how's things?"
"Looking ever better. Barring a bolt from the blue, the three will likely become adoptable. The poor Doe seems to have had no one anywhere who really knew her, nor does it look like anyone might be looking for, or even knew about the three."
Stuart drew a sad sigh. "That's terrible." He considered a moment and collected himself; the full implication of her plight hit him hard. "How is Judy taking all of that?"
"Well, as you know, all that was known, or at least suspected. Nicholas' friend, that Fennec Fox, was just over and appears to have confirmation. She doesn't know yet, but Judy has already let herself really love them, so everything is good."
"I'm glad, and relieved. That Daughter of yours has been such a worry."
"Oh, she's all my fault now?"
"Too smart for her own good to be mine."
"You haven't seen her get all gushy, you silly old Buck. She's got your tear ducts."
A small laugh. "So, when you coming home? I've missed my cuddleBonny."
"Let's see how things go tonight, but I'm figuring my work is done here."
Not the end, though likely a jumping off point for various episodes later in their life, mostly as stand alone shorts.