Author's Notes:

Hello everyone, here is chapter 2 of Wilde Noir and I hope you all enjoy. This chapter kept getting longer and longer, but there was no place I wanted to split it so enjoy the longer read today!

I do not (currently) own Zootopia.

It didn't take them long to convince the ticket mammal to let them on the train, but it did cost Nick 5 bucks. It was more than an actual ticket was worth, but they needed to get on the train now, and that was going price for no questions asked. As they wondered the isles Nick spoke up, "My nose is good Judy, but I don't really know what I'm sniffing for. Any ideas?"

She pondered a moment before she replied, "Well, my parents didn't really say why he was coming to town, so I have no idea what he would have on him. Though… do you remember when we first met Nick?"

Nick didn't pause while poking around under the seats, "Vividly, why?"

"Well, we both came from the same house in the same town. He should smell a lot like I did when I first arrived."

Nick was annoyed at himself, "Of course, excellent as always Miss Hopps." Judy was a little disappointed to hear him call her 'Miss Hopps' again, but kept it to herself. Nick took a moment to himself, to recall her scent from all those years ago, of bunny, carrots, and freshly tilled soil and set off down the cars faster than before. It may have been unnecessary as the scent of blood caught his nose before Bunnyburrow's natural smell, but he did catch that as well though. He prayed silently that the scents would pull in two different directions, but sadly that was not the case. Nick was fairly certain that Robert was in this car, and following the trail led towards the bathroom where the smell of blood was the strongest.

"Did Robert have bad nose bleeds Judy?"

"No, not really. Why?" she asked, afraid she already knew the answer.

Nick opened the bathroom door, a thousand scents assaulting his nose, none of them pleasant, but the smell of blood unmistakable underneath it all. "Fairly sure Robert was on this car, and I can smell blood in the bathroom here. Not enough to be afraid for his life mind you, but someone was bleeding here, and recently too. The trail heads to the back of the train, but let's take a look around the car first, see if there's anything else to find."

Judy nodded and the two set about looking around. Nick was fairly certain he knew which seat was his, but it was never a good idea to rely on your assumptions too much so he glanced around the rest of the car first. After a minute looking around the rest of the car proved fruitless so they started looking over what he believed was Robert's seat. This too was an exercise in pointlessness, there was only one thing that was gleaned from this, "He wasn't bleeding in his seat. If he was attacked it happened in the bathroom. " He caught the look of distress that flashed across Judy's face, "That's if Judy. We still don't know what happened."

Judy nodded once and said, "You said that he moved towards the rear on the train?" Nick nodded once, "Then let's go, there's nothing else here." and with that she set off, Nick following just behind her.

Worryingly the scent of blood got stronger the further back on the train they went, until they got to the luggage car. There was a badger porter sitting on one of the luggage racks taking a smoke break, the tendrils of burnt tabaco interfering with Nick's nose. He walked over to the badger and said, "Hey pal, if you take the rest of your brake in the caboose I'll let you hold my flask."

The badger quirked an eyebrow, "I could be convinced, what's in the flask?"

"Whiskey, nothing top shelf, but it ain't swill. It's a time sensitive deal so I'll need an answer now, understand?"

"You ain't gotta tell me twice fox." He took the flask, shook it once the see if it was full, and made his way out of the luggage car. Nick opened the two large car doors to allow the smoke to filter out at least a little.

While they waited Judy glanced at her partner a few times when she thought he wasn't looking. Eventually he sighed and asked, "I can feel your disapproving stare burning a hole through my head Carrots, what have I done wrong this time?"

Judy tried to ignore the question, but she was compelled to answer, "You promised you'd cut back on your drinking Nick. Last night you were drinking vodka, and you woke up with a bottle of whiskey in your paws this morning, and you're walking around with a flask in your pocket!"

Nick wanted to be annoyed with her, but she was right for the most part, "I know Fluff, I know. Last night wasn't any easier for me than it was for you. Not really fair I suppose, I was the one at fault. But if it makes you feel better, the flask wasn't for me. A wise mammal once told me, a good bribe isn't always worth a lot of money, it's something they can't get themselves. A luggage porter like him likely makes decent tips so a cash bribe would have been expensive, but he doesn't have whiskey on him, so the whiskey in my flask is more valuable than cash at the moment. It's the same reason I carry cigarettes, cigars and pipe tabaco on me, it's helpful if I can supply what mammals want."

Judy admired the fox in front of her, "Clever fox."

"It's why I charge the big bucks Carrots. Now come on, the smoke has mostly filtered out, let's see if we can't find something worth seeing in here." They poured over every inch of the car, and while he could smell Robert and blood there were too many other scents mingled in for it to be useful.

They did catch a break when he saw a tuft of wool clinging to one of the shelfs, wool dyed red with fresh blood. "Well, looks like it was a sheep, or a ram more likely, who took your brother. I wish we had more to go on, but it's a start." As he tried to formulate their next move the door to the car burst open. Nick spun around fast as lightning, his paw already reaching into his jacket and gripping onto his pistol. When he saw it was the same badger from before he slowly brought his paw out, now holding a pack of cigarettes, "Thanks again pal, we'll get out of your fur." He offered up a fresh cigarette and took the now empty flask from the porter before striking a match with his claw and lighting the badger's new cigarette.

"Eh, it was my pleasure."

Judy and Nick stepped out onto the platform where Nick shook out the match before tossing it to the ground the whisps of smoke filled his nose, burning them with their chemical aroma. Nick stopped in his tracks causing Judy to bump into his tail, but he hardly noticed. Instead he brought the fur up to his nose and took a deep breath. The noise of the surrounding platform faded as he focused on nothing but the tuft of wool in his paw. He smelled what he expected, ram, a touch of blood, (likely Robert's), but there was something under the rest: phosphorus. Sulphur wouldn't have surprised him, any match burning releases that particular aroma, but there were not a lot of places in town that had enough phosphorus to get it to stay in the wool.

Nick finally heard his secretary calling to him, "NICK! What is it?"

It took him another moment to gather his thoughts, "You should go home Judy." She opened her mouth to argue but he raised his paw, "For no other reason than your folks might have already replied, there could be a telegram waiting for you right now."

She pondered that for a moment and nodded, "Okay, where will you be?"

Nick considered his answer for a moment, "I'll be out by the factories, there's a chemical smell that I want to track down." He left it vague, he was afraid if he mentioned that he had a good idea exactly where to start looking that she'd demand to come along.

Judy looked at him like she knew he was holding something back, but didn't comment on it, "Okay, I'll head home, if I don't hear from them by 4 I'll swing by the office and we'll go over next steps, how's that sound?"

Nick nodded, "Sounds like a plan Judy."

The trolleys don't come out this far so Nick was trekking on paw. The roads were once cobblestone but now they were not much better than wide mud paths. He walked as carefully as he could, but unsurprisingly his feet were disgusting as he drew closer to the matchstick factory. The scent of phosphorus was almost overwhelming to his sensitive nose but he tried his best to ignore it.

He'd been considering his approach the whole way over, but so far he had no real plan, but he might have caught a lucky break as by the outpouring of workers it seemed like they were on a break of their own.

Nick spotted a small group of older woman just stepping out of the door and he decided to strike, "Good afternoon ladies, I was hoping you might be able to come to my aid today?"

A few of them gave him a skeptical look, but a few gave into their grandmotherly instincts, "How can we help a handsome devil like yourself?" said the boldest of their number.

Nick flashed a wicked grin, "And here I thought I'd have to flatter you gorgeous creatures, not the other way around." They shared a giggle at that and he continued, "I was supposed to meet a buddy of mine today, but his old lady said he was working today. Obviously she didn't know the ram was playing hooky today."

One of them spoke up, "Are you talking about Jesse or Woolter? They both didn't show up today."

Nick wasn't sure how to reply but he was saved, "Deloris, he's obviously talking about Woolter, you know Jesse's still single." He ignored the side conversation and considered his options. He had two first names and a species, that's more than he had this morning, but it wasn't a lot. What he really needed was an address for both of them, but how he'd get that from the gossipy ladies was unknown.

He took his best shot, "Any idea where Woolter might be? Like I said, we were supposed to meet up today but he never showed."

One of them narrowed their eyes at him, "That's a little surprising, I never got the impression that Woolter much cared for predators."

Nick flashed a winning smile, "Well, maybe not most predators, but everyone likes me miss." She lit up at being called miss almost to make his point. "Well, if he's not here I guess I'll be off, see if I can't track him down."

As he turned to leave one of the group said, "You could try the racetrack. Whenever he's not working he's there."

Nick nodded and said, "You read my mind." as if that was always the plan. One lead was better than zero and he could always come back to dig up more info on Jesse if this turned into a dead end so with that he set off.

Organized gambling came with a distinct odor, a disgusting mix of stale tobacco, old sweat, beer, and more than a little desperation. The crowds were pretty thin, but that was to be expected for just after noon on a weekday, the only ones here were the regulars who had nowhere else to go. He stepped out to the stand and took a quick look around, they were almost completely empty, looks like there was a slight break in the races so most mammals were inside placing their next bets. He took another look around and clocked only a few rams in the stands. He debated clearing them before checking inside, but decided against it. Honestly if Woolter was his mammal he'd be amazed if he was actually here. Instead he was here hoping to track down an address for the ram.

He turned around and stepped back inside the clubhouse and made his way over to the tellers hoping to get the lowdown. The lines for the tellers were almost nonexistent, the next races must be still a few minutes out so they were in the lull between rounds. Nick pulled out a few bills from his pocket and walked up to the nearest teller, "Good afternoon sweetheart, give me a $2 Exacta on #3 and #7." He'd only glanced at the odds written above the tellers for a moment, but they looked like a fair wager.

After she wrote up his stub and handed it to him she asked, "Anything else sir?"

Nick passed her a $5 bill, "Actually yes, I'm looking for a ram who goes by Woolter. Loses a lot of money here. A lot of my money. You seen him around?"

The teller looked at Nick for a long moment, he may not look the part of a back alley bookie, he did look shifty. She shrugged and placed the bill in her pocket, "Sure, he's around all the time, but I haven't seen him today."

"With the amount of credit he's pulled from this place you must have his address on record." Nick was reaching, but anyone with a bad enough gambling problem usually had a tab. And when the tab got big enough the owners wanted to make sure they weren't forgotten.

They both stood silently, trying to gauge the other's reactions for a long minute before the teller finally said, "Sure, we got his address. And it's yours for 10 bucks."

"10 bucks?!"

She shrugged again, "It's a seller's market."

Nick grumbled and pulled out another 5, "5 and 5 is 10 right?"

The teller sighed, "Okay, fine." and she flipped through a rolodex before rattling off an address. "Another 5 and I'll write it down for you."

Nick smiled, "Thanks, but I got it." and he tapped his head dramatically. As he stepped away from the counter Nick considered waiting to see if he chose a winning pair, but remembering Judy's worried face he folded the ticket and tucked it into his jacket.

The building he was standing outside of was actually a bit nicer than Nick was expecting. Factory work paid okay, but for Woolter to be known that easily at the racetrack told Nick that he lost every spare penny he had. As he drew up alongside the entrance he spotted the doormammal in his bright red suit guarding the front entrance. Why is it never easy?

The possum wearing red spoke first, "Can I help you sir?"

Nick said the first thing that came to mind, "Nick to see Woolter, I'm from the factory." Nick knew he didn't look like factory management, he looked like a private dick and he knew it.

The doormammal studied him for a long moment before he turned and stepped into the entryway and walked up to a telephone entry system that were starting to crop up all over. The door closed behind the possum so Nick wasn't able to hear anything, but he did see the apartment number that was pressed, lucky number 7. Fitting. When he returned the doormammal said, "Woolter is not in and Mrs. White isn't seeing visitors. I'll have to ask you to move along please."

Nick nodded and said, "Thanks just the same. Tell Woolter that we were just wondering why he wasn't able to come in today. It's becoming a pattern we are not happy with." With that he tipped his hat and set off.

It was just after 2 so he still had time before he was supposed to meet up with Judy. He decided to do what he did best, order a cup of strong coffee and wait somewhere with a good view.

Two hours later and Nick ground another cigarette butt against the bricks to snuff the burning embers before dropping it to join the others by his feet. Two hours and nothing to show for it, but no reason to throw good time after bad so he cut his losses and left his vantage point. He hustled as quickly as he could without drawing undue attention and made his way back to his office, with a missing brother and no real leads he didn't want to leave Judy on her own longer than was necessary.

He didn't feel like paying the trolly for a second time today so he sat on the bumper out of view of the conductor and he took the time to consider the facts of the case. Missing mammal, likely ram suspect, suspect works at a matchstick factory. He hoped the Hopps family had already called Judy, what he needed more than anything was motivation. Why was Robert coming to the city? That might tell him a lot about who would have taken the rabbit which may help tell him where he would be taken.

It didn't take him long to make his way back to the office, when he got there the glass that read Wilde Investigations on his door was dark, Judy must be running late. It wasn't like her to be late so maybe that meant she'd gotten a hold of her folks. He knew her number by heart, though he dialed it infrequently, so if she wasn't here soon he'd give her a ring. Nick put his key in the door and gives it a twist, though he didn't feel the deadbolt disengage: the door was already unlocked. When he pushed the door open he heard a sound that never sounded good no matter where you heard it, but especially not coming from your own dim office: a hammer on a revolver being cocked back. Nick stepped back around the corner and drew his own pistol. He should just walk away, the hallway was lit and the office was not, to get a shot off he'd have to step out into the open and he'd likely be killed before he'd even figure out where they were. But he was in a foul mood today, and he'd be damned if he let some mammal set up shop in his office. Besides if Judy slipped past him somehow she'd be walking right into a trap.

He took a moment before stepping in front of the door again and took a deep breath in though his nose trying to get any info about the mammal waiting for him that he could. There were no scents that were out of place so he was dealing with a professional which just added more questions. Who would hire a professional killer, but armature mammalnappers? It's possible the two things were unrelated, but it wasn't likely.

Nick gathered his courage and called out, "I hope you're ready to meet your maker, cause I'm coming in to make the introductions!"

He dashed through the doorway and into the darkness of the room, trying to stay in the light as little as possible. He stopped when he got to the corner and strained his eyes trying to see in the gloom of the room. Before his eyes got a chance to adjust he heard a voice, "Nick? Is that you?"

Relief flooded through his mind, "Sweet Fox Jesus Carrots, you just scared a few years off my life." He put his gun back in its holster, "Yes it's me. Who were you expecting?" He hit the light switch flooding the room in a sickly yellow glow.

Judy was crouched down behind her desk, her paws shaking slightly, still holding the small revolver. She set the gun down on the desk and sat down while Nick made his way over to her. "I don't know… when I got to my place someone had broken in and tossed all my belongings all over, it looked like I'd been robbed. I bolted from there and came straight here and hid. God Nick I could have killed you."

Nick knelt down next to her and took her hands in his, "Not with you shaking like this you couldn't have. Come here Judy, you're freezing." and he pulled her into a hug, stroking her back tenderly. "Well, whatever happened to your brother we can rule out simple mugging or mammalnapping."

Judy laughed and started sobbing softly, "You never stop thinking about your cases do you?"

If her scent wasn't filling his nose he may haven't answered as honestly as he did, "Not when the case involves you; I can't think of anything else. They made you to cry, and for that they will be found and punished."

"My knight in shining armor, riding off to save his damsel?"

"Never met many damsels with a revolver." they shared a chuckle at that. "Okay, next steps. We need to send another telegraph giving your folks, they need the numbers for the office here and my place. If they know your address than it's not safe for you to stay there so you'll be staying with me till we figure this out."

Judy nodded in his arms, her emotions starting to calm, "Okay, yes let's do that. Before that; did you have any luck with your lead?"

"Not sure, I got a name and an address, but can't be sure it's our guy. We need to swing by your place too, see if they left any clues behind. If they tossed the place like you said they may be panicking, might have gotten sloppy."

She sounded a little miserable, "Okay, but can we make it fast? I don't want to stay too long."

"In and out in a flash Judy, I promise."

She wasn't kidding, the place was a mess. Some of the furniture was tipped over, clothes and papers were strewn about the floor. Nick was amazed that no one called the cops already, while Judy's apartment wasn't in the greatest neighborhood, it wasn't this bad. Judy picked one of her kitchen chairs back up and sat down miserably. Nick felt bad about dragging her here, but time was of the essence and even more than his desire to not upset her he wanted to keep her safe, and by his side was the safest he could make her for the time being.

There was nothing of note in the kitchen so he made his way deeper inside. The living room was even worse, but her bedroom was torn to shreds. Her dresser had been knocked over and her clothes were everywhere across the floor. He noticed some of her unmentionables here and there but made sure to keep his eyes from lingering. He didn't spend long wondering the place before he came back to the kitchen, "Okay Judy, grab whatever you need, we're all set."

She hadn't noticed him reenter the room she was so lost in thought that she nearly jumped when he spoke. When she gathered her thoughts she asked, "Did you find anything?"

"Yes and no. I didn't find any physical evidence, but whoever tossed this place was also on your brother's train. I smelled the same chemicals here and on the train. Definitely not a coincidence."

"Do you think you could follow his scent?"

Nick shook his head, "Doubtful. Their scent is here, but it's because they were touching stuff in here. I smelt nothing outside the apartment. Still, once we're done here we could report this to the cops if you wanted to."

"Would they be better at finding the mammal?"

Nick considered the question and looked around the apartment, "No, I doubt it. There's nothing here for them to track, and I don't even think they took anything. Your radio is still here, as well as some jewelry in your bedroom. Anything worth anything is still laying around. I'm guessing whoever tossed your place was trying to make it look like a robbery and was actually attempting to kitnap you as well." He paused his analysis for a moment and saw how upset he was making her. He knelt down next to her, "It may not be all bad. If they're doing this it means they're scared and that's good for us. They'd only be scared if we were on the right track."

Judy nodded, feeling somewhat reassured by the gruff PI, "And scared mammals make mistakes, right?"

Nick nodded, "So you do listen to me. That's good."

"I only listen when you have something smart to say."

Nick did an excellent job of pretending to be offended, "How could you? I always have something smart to say."

"What was that? I wasn't listening."

They looked at each other for a long moment before they broke out into laughter. Once they collected themselves Judy said, "Thanks Nick, I needed that. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to pack a bag." Nick made to follow her into her bedroom but she put up a paw, "Excuse me Mr. Wilde, but I have a few things to pack that I'd rather you didn't see." Nick wisely kept it to himself that he'd already seen them strewn across the floor. No reason to flaunt her embarrassment on top of everything else.

Back at his place Nick was standing by his liquor cabinet, "Fetch you a drink Judy? I have whiskey… or scotch."

Judy set her bags down and said with a smile, "Such a gentilmammal, thank you but no. I think what I want more than anything is a shower." Knowing that someone was in her apartment left her feeling dirty in a way that was hard to describe. She was hoping that a shower would help in some small way.

Nick nodded and said, "Just down the hall." and pointed towards his bathroom. Judy grabbed a few things out of her bag and set off in the indicated direction. As she made her way out of the room Nick darted off to his bedroom. The place wasn't too messy, but there were some clothes he wanted to pick up, and the sheets on his bed could be changed.

It didn't take him long to finish cleaning up so once he finished he made his way to his kitchen and began to consider dinner. Most of what he had was high in protein pred food, but he did have some fresh veggies in his fridge so he set about making a salad. He couldn't remember what dressing she usually liked, but it different matter as all he had on paw was Italian so he grabbed it out of the fridge and set it on the table.

Just about the time he was finishing up he heard the bathroom door open back up and Judy came walking down the hall. She was wearing a loose fitting but modest nightgown with her ears wrapped up in a towel. She looked immaculate. When she noticed the food her stomach started to rumble loud enough for Nick to hear it clearly from across the room. He decided not to comment on it, instead saying, "Pull up a seat Judy and eat if you're hungry. The veggies aren't the freshest, but I think they'll be okay."

Judy sat down and said, "Thanks Nick, looks pretty good." and she set about eating. While nothing could compare to the produce her family grew on their farm, the salad was perfectly fine, good even. After she polished off her bowl in record time Nick gave her a second serving without missing a beat. She tried to protest weakly, "Oh, I'm all set Nick."

"Judy, I'm guessing with everything going on you haven't eaten anything since breakfast and you're going to need your strength to see this through to the end." She hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded in agreement and Nick resumed filling her bowl. After they both ate their fill Nick decided it was time to bring up the sleeping arrangements for the night, "Okay Judy, we it gets time for us to be getting to sleep; you'll be taking the bedroom and I'll stretch out on the arm chair in the living room." He could see her protesting coming a mile away so he cut her off, "Please Judy, you don't need to protest. I want you to have the bed."

Judy sighed in defeat before grinning wickedly, "Why Mr. Wilde, I can't believe you are trying to get me into your bed after just one dinner. Just what kind of a girl do you take me for?"

Nick could see her smirk from a mile away so he didn't quite take the bait, "That is a question I do not believe anyone is qualified to answer Miss Hopps. The kind of girl you are is one without equal or measure." Before she could respond he took her bowl and dropped it off in the sink before making his way into the bathroom to freshen up before turning in himself.

Judy was left alone in the kitchen with her heart racing. She'd heard Nick be sarcastic or flippant with more mammals the could count, but this didn't feel like that. To her it sounded like he was being sincere though she could scarcely believe it. That little comment was easily the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her and though she'd never admit it to him, she was glad he left the room as she was feeling rather flustered.

Nick was standing in the bathroom staring at himself in the mirror, feeling more than a little disgusted with what he saw. He'd grow to care for the bunny who he'd left in the kitchen over the years, but he'd sworn to himself that he'd never act upon those feelings in order to spare her the stigma of dating outside the species, not to mention her being with a fox. Despite the oath he'd made here he was flirting with her over dinner in his apartment before she was about to spend the night. If others caught wind of what was happening here there could be serious repercussions for Judy.

He shook his head and stepped back before stripping himself down to take a shower of his own. As he undid the last button on his shirt he groaned in frustration, in his haste to leave the kitchen he'd forgotten to get a change of clothes so he did a few buttons on his shirt back up and walked down the hall to his bedroom. He was happy to see that the room was currently empty, if he knew Judy she was likely cleaning up after dinner out of a sense of duty or perhaps a compulsion to clean. Either way worked for him as he grabbed the clothes he'd be sleeping in and made his way back to the bathroom and into his shower.

Once he was all washed up, dried off as best as he could with his towels, and dressed Nick stepped back into the hall. He turned to make his way towards the living room, Judy was sitting on his couch listening to the radio looking out the window seemingly unaware of his presence. He went to sit in his armchair but the seat was already full with a blanket and pillow so he sat on the couch instead jerking her from her own little world.

As she looked over at her freshly groomed boss on the far side of the couch the song on the radio changed to a slow jazz number that would cause dance partners to pull each other in tighter and dance just a little slower. She felt so lost, in just a single day her whole life had been tossed upside down so she reached out and made a horrible request, "Nick, hold me and tell me it's going to be okay?"

Nick swallowed weakly, "Miss Hopps, I don't know if that's a good idea…"

She simply said, "Please." while tears threatened to spill from her amethyst eyes, and he could not stand mammals who made this beautiful doe cry, so he slid over to her side and hugged her tightly while repeating, "It's going to be okay." over and over.

A few hours later Judy was sleeping in his arms and Nick decided it was about time for them to be off to their own beds. He stood up carrying the bunny off to the bed and set her down as softly as he could. Judy stirred slightly as he pulled the blankets over her so he kissed her forehead gently without thinking. He stepped away from her before he did anything else stupid and made his way out into the hallway. As he neared the living room he heard shuffling coming his own room so he stopped and turned back seeing Judy standing in the doorway. The two of them stood there for a moment, silently staring at each other before Nick cut the tension by saying, "Goodnight and sleep well Judy."

He was prepared to turn once again, but she remained silent for a long moment forcing him to pause. When she did finally speak up she sounded rather timid, which was unusual for the bunny Nick knew. "I don't… I don't want to be alone. You're already doing so much for me and I don't have the right to ask, but would you stay in the room while I fall asleep?"

Nick considered her for a moment before he took a step away from her towards his living room. Judy's ears shot up in surprise before they fell down in dismay. As she made to step back into the bedroom alone she heard a grunt coming from the living room. A moment later Nick came back into view carrying a larger chair. Judy lit up at seeing him coming back and in a flash moved to help him carry his load. They set the chain in the corner of the room and stood back admiring their work.

Immediately after the awkwardness of the situation struck the two of them and neither knew what to say. Eventually Judy said, "Well… goodnight Mr. Wilde."

"Ah, yes. Goodnight Miss Hopps." the two of them falling back on their more formal address as a way to ease the tension. Judy made her way into the bed and climbed under the covers while Nick turned off the lights before he sat down in his chair and pulled a blanket over himself. Judy looked over and was soothed at seeing the shape of her fox watching over her. A few deep breaths taking in his scent caused her to relax, but that was all it took for the stress from the day to overwhelm her. She tried to keep it under wraps, but she started to shake as she cried silently.

She didn't even hear Nick coming over so when he took her paw in his it surprised her enough that she stopped crying out of pure shock. She could barely make out his from in the darkness of the room as his other claw started stroking her brow softly. Judy grabbed the paw that was brushing her head and pulled it down to her lips, kissing his rough paw pads softly. Nick was stunned at the actions of the bunny in his bed, but wasn't displeased either. She continued to cling to the paw as Nick started to hum softly, slowly lulling her off to dreamland.

Hours before sunrise Judy woke up desperate for a glass of water. She rolled out of the bed and stopped in her tracks when she saw the brightest part of the room were the two eyes watching her from a chair in the corner. Her heart quickened, which had nothing to do with being watched by a predator and everything to do with being seen by Nick in her nightie. He didn't say anything, but his eyes followed her as she made her way across the room. It was actually rather reassuring that he was watching over her as intently as he was. When she raised the glass of water to her lips she remembered kissing Nick's paw just a few short hours ago. Her ears flushed deeply in embarrassment, but after she finished her drink she squared her shoulders and marched back into the bedroom. Once she stepped inside she saw Nick's eyes gleaming again as they followed her across the room. She glanced over once she was back under the covers and after a moment she saw the gleam from his eyes disappear which she assumed meant he finally closed them once again.

Autor's Notes:

Thank you for all the follows/faves and reviews! I appreciate all of them so much.