Author's Note:

How long did it take her? A whole season? But it's not been such a very long time, all things considered. But who wants to wait forever? I am glad to have our friends back in a little more familiar setting and they can focus on themselves a bit better now. It's been an exhausting journey and they deserve to rest. It would be unfortunate if anything else were to happen.

If you are just joining Guardian Blue for the first timeyou will want to check out Season 1 first, and I would highly recommend Thanks for the Fox before that as well so everything makes sense. ^^

Zootopia and its characters are property of Disney, as always, and I use them, not with permission, but with love. Thank you for reading.

Also! A HUGE shout-out to J. N. Squire for assisting with editing for Season 2! When you only saw one set of footprints in the sand, he had nothing to do with that. He was still fixing my tendency to use the word 'and' six times in a single run-on sentence.

Guardian Blue: Season Two

Episode 21: Overtime

Judy pulled Vivienne a little tighter to her, the fox shaking a bit as she genuinely sobbed. The bunny stroked vulpine ears back slowly and blushed. She had suspected Vivienne would have an emotional response to this, but she didn't expect it to be so pronounced. She didn't want Nick to come outside looking for her only to find his mom falling apart in front of the lake.

"I hope it's okay…" she whispered, a flicker of worry shooting through her that maybe Vivienne was actually upset and didn't want Judy to do that.

"Oh sweetie, no, it's wonderful! I… I didn't expect… I had hoped, but…" She made Judy wince again as the fox squeezed the tender bunny. Judy squirmed some as the older vixen kept her held close against her green hoody, warm and safe. The bunny was about to make herself a part of a lot of fox cuddling, so she accepted that she should get used to this at least.

After a bit more of this, the doe whispered gently, "I don't want Nick to wake up and see this and ruin the surprise. I just… I wanted to ask you personally." Viv looked up into her eyes, ears up and alert, nodding. Judy said, still nearly whispering, "I need to know how to say it. Where and when. I want to do this absolutely right." Judy was released and she leaned back a bit, the fox still sitting on the swinging bench in front of her.

"It's not so complicated as all that." Vivienne stated, wiping her cheeks with her bare arm. "I mean… It can be something between just the two of you, at any time. You two are the only ones really involved in this promise."

Judy smiled up at her fox-mom and perked her ears up. "It's important to me that I do this in front of others who care for Nick. I am sure you understand that. And I need to make sure my intentions are clear. It's not just the promise… the vow I mean. I don't know how a fox wedding actually works." There was an adorable squeak from Vivienne at that.

"Oh sweetie…" She leaned forward again. The doe's ears got stroked by the Viv as she looked at Judy with wet eyes. "The words are… a little different for that, yes. I will send you the right ones. When you are ready to use them, I would love to be there, Judy. I will come at a moment's notice, understand?" she asked.

"Yes, Mom." Judy answered. Another squeak from Vivienne.

"Your mom and dad will be there too, yes?" she asked.

Judy nodded. "I want my family there, of course. You, them, Jack and Skye."

"Jack and Skye are family now?" Viv asked.

"Good as. They…" Judy widened her eyes a fraction of a second. Of course, Vivienne didn't know. Judy inhaled a quick breath and let Viv have it. "… Jack vowed up to Skye with Nick and I as witnesses."

Vivienne looked stunned. "Wow. Oh wow. Really? Jack did that?" she asked.

"Yep," Judy chimed brightly.

Vivienne sighed a little sadly. "And just like that, foxes were wiped out. Bunnies learned the secrets of fox-loving and the end was unavoidable." The vixen grinned broadly as if worried that Judy might not have understood she was kidding about that. Judy tried to remain stoic for effect, to mourn the passing of the age of foxes, but ended up giggling anyway.

She glanced back up to Vivienne and asked calmly, "Is there anything I should know about before this? Things I should understand about Nick that will help me be a good… mate?" She felt good saying it, but just a little bit nervous.

"First of all, it's alright to call him your mate." Judy perked her ears at that, flitting her little teardrop tail. Her trepidation had been visible, perhaps. Vivienne smiled at her and explained. "After he vows up to you, Judy, he's exactly anything you want him to be the moment you want it. That's how that actually works. Besides, I think you are handling that stuff well enough, honestly. Particularly now that you two aren't afraid of the physical side of that," she chuckled. Judy went more scarlet in her ears than the vixen who said that.

"He… he told you about that?" Judy asked with a weak chuckle. Oh dear heavens. Nick really was an open book. Surely he didn't say much, did he? Why would he?

"He said he nearly caused you to lose your poor mind. Something about … him not understanding that a bunny without hormone modification can't just be kissed, nibbled, and teased endlessly without there being serious repercussions?" she asked. Judy groaned, covering her face with her little paws. He did tell her.

"So embarrassing." Judy whimpered.

"I'm not trying to embarrass you, sweetie." Vivienne laughed. "It is what it is. And he didn't tell me much. Just that you two had that little… snag."

"It was awful." Judy commented dryly. "I was snapping at him like… every twenty minutes. Then I yelled at him about some joke he got me with and stormed out." Vivienne paid close attention, perhaps not actually knowing all of this. Judy kept talking. "Well, I went to talk to Skye. She told me to just talk to Nick and tell him what was getting to me, as you already mentioned."

"Reasonable of Skye, yes," the vixen nodded.

"So, I went back, and I found him packing boxes," Judy said bluntly. "That was a melt-down triggered, let me tell you." The bunny groaned.

"Nick never mentioned leaving," Vivienne stated with some surprise. "He actually… can't do that." She was obviously stunned at that detail. Judy smiled.

"Oh don't worry, he wasn't. And I understood that, Mom, I really did… I was just… in a bit of a stressed state then. All I saw was him putting clothes in boxes. I completely forgot about the charity clothing drive at work." Vivienne cupped her muzzle as she tried to hide her smile. It wasn't funny. Not really. But it was silly.

"Oh no… you poor bunny." Vivienne said.

Judy didn't take it personally. It was pretty silly looking back on it now. "When I ended up in a tightly curled ball on the floor at the sight of boxes, Nick was just… done being patient about whatever was causing my weird behavior. He made me tell him." Judy explained.

"A little awkward, I take it?" Vivienne asked.

"Oh yeah. He didn't realize that while he thought he was keeping me happy and making me feel content and loved, I was basically boiling in my fur every minute I was with him." Judy shook her head, taking a moment to consider what a mess she had been. "We uh… We got over that dumb fear just a little later, and took things slow… so, yeah…"

"Didn't need to be afraid after all, huh?" Vivienne asked with a chuckle, only making the bunny blush harder.

The bunny pulled her ears down over her face. "Well, more personal territory there, but yeah… Everything was fine. Wonderful. I mean… We were careful anyway. We were recovering… I can't believe I'm talking about all of this." Judy laughed, ears still covering her eyes.

"Hey, you aren't gonna embarrass me, sweetie. I'm a pro, remember?" Vivienne asked. Judy's eyes shot open painfully wide.

"Oh my God! Viv!" the bunny cried. The fox laughed warmly. Judy's attention was called to a car door shutting. She looked back to her vulpine mother.

"I'm gonna bet that's our relief ZBI agents," Judy chuckled. "I imagine Nick will be up shortly if he's not already. Do you wanna come in for a little bit to eat and say hi to everyone? Jack and Skye are here and one of the mammals we rescued wanted to meet you."

Vivienne's eyes went wide. Judy winced a little. She wasn't really supposed to say that part. The fox murmured, "I honestly don't know how long I am willing to wait to hear all about this Judy. Yes, I would love to meet your new friends." She added emphasis on 'new friends' to indicate that is what she was really supposed to be told about that.

Judy helped the older fox out of the bench and walked with her happily up to the door. In a while, she would be sitting down to memorize the words that would give permanence to the happiest days of her life. She had a lot to look forward to. She decided to take the back door instead of walking all the way to the front of the house. She found the door to be unlocked. That made sense. The badger had apparently been doing yard work earlier. As she got into the house, however, she found it suspiciously quiet. No one was there. She went into the kitchen. There was food on the table. Salads, shrimp-wraps, black-bean sausages, and bread and cheese were all there, but no one was eating.

The bunny felt a chill.

"Something's wrong." Vivienne stated the obvious.

Judy's phone buzzed. She looked at it. It was from Nick.

ZBI Compromised. All in safe room. Stay away. Bogo informed.

The bunny jammed the phone back in her pocket. Her mind raced. The sound of thumping hooves on the porch clarified where things stood. If they left the house they would be seen. It was too late to just stay away.

"We gotta go," she said in a whisper. "Upstairs, now."

"What?" the fox said plaintively.

"The ZBI was compromised. We're in danger," she said, her heart sinking. Nick didn't want his mother in danger, and here she was. It was Judy's fault. He didn't even know.

"What? Oh my God, are you serious?" the vixen asked, following Judy upstairs. The bunny had no idea what room the safe room was, but she used her ears, trying to sense the tiniest sound as she crept through the halls through first the second floor, then the upstairs. She would knock in a way that Nick knew it was her. Vivienne squeaked suddenly, and Judy spun around to see her vulpine mother pulled into a dark part of the wall. The bunny jumped into it right behind her, and found Honey standing inside. It went dark as the panel shut softly. There had been a secret panel in the wall. There was a hard crack, and a cry from Honey.

"She's with us!" Judy hissed.

"Oh, sorry!" whispered Viv.

"Ow, ffff… Did anyone see you?" the badger said.

"No, I don't think so. We came in through the back door. What's happening?" she asked. Judy expected that Vivienne could see fine, but as she bumped around, maybe it was too dark even for her. Secret corridors and camera rooms painted a real clear picture of this badger's state of mind, but it was actually a truth that Judy was immensely thankful for.

Honey spoke in a very hushed tone as they slid through the dark, narrow passage. "They had a changing of the guard, and I knew something was off. It didn't look right. They brought someone else, obviously not an agent, but she looked so damned scared. The other ZBI guys didn't stay, so we were left on our own. I moved everyone to the secret room. Then the new guys came in and when they saw no one was here, they went back out and took a weapon out of their car." The badger opened a room that had a lot more light due to about 20 monitors in it. Everyone else was there too.

"Oh Judy, thank heavens." Nick was on her in a second. Judy leaned into him sadly. "Mom?" That was why.

"Hey sweetie," Vivienne replied, leaning in and marking her son. Judy was embraced by Skye next, then Motti's huge arms ensnared her. The other hyenas were jammed in a corner, perfectly quiet. They'd probably been dressed down about their noisiness already. The white vixen went back to holding a nervous-looking striped buck. The lions were sitting on the floor with their backs to the wall because the ceiling of this room was a bit low for them. Stooping under it was probably frustrating.

"What are you doing here?" Nick asked his mother plaintively.

"I dropped by to see you," she answered, leaving Judy bus-free for the moment.

"What's happening?" Judy asked, looking back to her partner.

"Sheep." Nick said. Judy tilted her head. Did the badger have everyone doing this?

"What?" she asked.

"I'm serious." Nick said. "Look."

Judy looked at the monitor that nick was indicating. There was a shot of the forest marked 'East Quadrant' where she could see a pig on her knees in the forest with two sheep standing behind her. One was talking on a phone, it seemed, and the other was holding some kind of pole. No, it was a spear. The head of it was really large, seeming as if it were made of silver with how it gleamed. It looked like some kind of implement of sacrifice.

"Is that…" Judy squinted a bit.

"Aggie Porcintia, yep." Jack said. He was holding Skye's paw.

"How many are there?" Judy asked.

"Based on video, just them." Nick said.

"They were going to what… deal with all of us with just two sheep?" Judy asked.

Nick spoke in a dark tone. "Based on how they came in originally without the weapon, I think they intended to pick us off through the day or something. Maybe poison us or something, I don't know. But I'm gonna bet she's still their main target because she probably hasn't talked. I'd bet she's trying to get a good deal for the info. It's gonna cost that pig her life."

"We need her information. We can't let that happen." Judy said. Well, that and it would be wrong for Aggie to be speared, even if her failure to cooperate might have put her there.

"You can't fight, Judy. I will pawcuff you myself to keep you in this room." Nick said.

"I do not intend to fight, but I can create a diversion," the bunny stated.

"That's a great big nope, Carrots." Nick said.

"Stop calling her that!" Vivienne hissed, perhaps more protective because of what they had just discussed. "I agree with Nick, though, I don't want you to go. Send Honey." Judy widened her eyes. What a terrible thing to say!

"Hell yeah!" the badger growled. The bunny glanced back at the stoked mustelid. Or not.

"The sheep have to go to trial, Honey!" Nick growled.

"Nooooo," whined Honey.

"You didn't send the hippo to trial." Motti suggested. "You send him stright to hell."

"What?" Viv asked.

"That wasn't me! The other prisoner got him, you know that," came Nick's somewhat panicked reply. He did not want his mom thinking he killed someone.

"Bunny is more dangerous to send, though. Shetani beat down half my village. You understanding why I say she can go," responded the hyena.

"Uh…" Viv stated softly. Judy groaned. This was getting nowhere.

Honey cut in. "They are seriously gonna kill that piggy. If you want to do something, time's on the rare side," commented the badger. Judy snarled a bit.

"Nick. We have to do something. You coordinate a response. I need you to keep these mammals safe."

Whatever she was going to say immediately after that Judy was unable to say. Nick seized her shoulders and mashed her tight against the wall.

"Nick!" Viv cried instantly.

"Nope, anyone but her," he said.

"Me then." Viv said softly.

"No. What? No!" Nick barked.

"Then let her go!" growled the fox's mother. He relaxed his hold on Judy.

The bunny said softly, "Nick, I'm sorry, but this is by the book. You know that we have to do this no different than if we were officers who were not more than that at the end of the day."

"We're witnesses, Judy. We're off the clock, please don't go." Nick whispered.

"I'll go with her." The badger spoke from behind Nick.

"I'm staying right here." Jack said. "Skye's staying too." Jack was, it seemed, done with endangering himself and his vixen with this whole mess. Skye didn't argue.

The doe spoke softly, "I don't see a gun. They have the spear. All I have to do is buy us some time. They don't really know we are onto them."

"I can't let you do this, Judy," Nick said in a sad tone. "I can't let you go out there alone. I'm going with you. You're my partner. That is by the book." Judy sighed and then relented. She didn't have time to argue. Nick looked back to the badger. "Honey. Do not let anyone else leave this room, no matter what you see. Mom…" Nick looked at the cameras a moment to see if any other motion was visible. "Quietly go out the front door and run. Meet the sheriff on the road. I'm sure they are on their way, but I need you to direct them to the side of property we are going to be on to make sure they get there quick. Don't stop for anyone else. They aren't looking for you, you're just out for a jog, got it?"

"Got it." Vivienne said. That surprised Judy a little. She figured the last thing she'd want to do was abandon her son before he went out to face armed mammals. Then again, perhaps she realized he'd be able to think more clearly if he wasn't worried about her. Judy felt that was the real reason he was sending Viv away, after all.

Jack spoke up hastily. "Hurry you guys, the one that was on the phone is coming back toward the house. He probably called to verify that we were all supposed to be here."

"Wait!" Honey hissed. She handed Nick a pair of pawcuffs.

"You just carry these around?" Nick asked.

"For fun?" Cassie suggested.

"For fun." Honey verified. The lioness put her face in her paws.

"How? How have we lived this long?" she whimpered.

"Luck of Shetani." Motti proclaimed. The other three hyenas murmured in agreement.

"What's a Shetani?" Viv asked. Nick shook his head.

"No time, c'mon!" he whispered, leading her into the corridor. Nick and Judy carefully pushed their way through the narrow hall and out into the proper one. They moved through the house with an abundance of caution. Vivienne went a different direction to go to the front door, so they parted ways upstairs. Judy knew that Viv would come back with help. That's why she was so eager to go. She would get the help there where they needed it.

The bunny and her mate exited the back door. The ZBI agent, a slightly older sheep in a dark blue suit, approached the porch.

"Where is everybody?" he asked.

"They all went to visit my mom at the Diner." Nick stalled. "Best food in town. You just have us." Judy smiled at that. He was keeping calm, and that helped to keep her calm. These mammals were most likely here to kill all of them, under the cover of being agents. Were they actually even agents?

"What? Oh you gotta be kidding! They… All of you were told to stay here!" he bleated.

"Well, here or the diner. We gotta eat, right?" Nick said with his smug grin.

"Geeze! Hold on…" He took his phone out, hoof ticking on it hard enough that Judy was surprised the screen didn't crack. He was sending a text message. Judy could barely hear the click of a latch. Vivienne had closed the front door, so she was successfully on her way. Judy focused her attention back on the agent. He lowered his phone a moment, and waited.

"You wanna go swimming?" Nick asked.

"Nick, it's fall." Judy answered. It wasn't quite cool enough to see her breath, but it was close.

"Sheep don't actually get wet," Nick stated matter-o-factly.

"Yes they do!" Judy responded with pretend indignation at her partner's insensitive remark. Nick rolled his eyes. He walked down toward the faux-agent who was checking his phone.

"Sorry, I don't mean to seem rude, Agent," the fox stated. Can you please help me a moment so I can finally win at least one argument with my partner?"

"It's just fur, Nick! It's as waterproof as yours is! Drop it!" Judy cried from the porch.

"Drop it?" Nick asked.

"Drop it!" she called back. Nick looked back at the dumbfounded sheep who was pushing his phone back into his suit jacket. The fox shrugged with a look of defeat.

"Sorry pal. Gotta listen to the missus." Nick then simply delivered the hardest, fastest uppercut to the underside of the sheep agent's jaw that the fox was likely capable of. As requested, Nick dropped it. The sheep toppled backward like a lone, pillowy white domino, a little puff of dust and scattered autumn leaves billowing out around him. Judy's sensitive ears actually picked up a muffled badger cheer from deep inside the house.

"Woah!" Judy shouted, and joined her partner in a hurry. She found Nick clutching his paw. Yeah, that probably hurt a lot.

"Is it broken?" the bunny asked, taking the cuffs from the back of Nick's belt.

"I don't think so." Nick huffed, blowing on his paw and shaking it. The fox helped his partner get him turned over and cuffed. There was a buzz.

"His phone." Judy said. She took it out of the unconscious mammal's inside pocket. As he'd just been looking at it, it was still unlocked when Judy turned it on. The bunny folded her ears back and turned the screen so Nick could see the text message.

Break their necks. I'll do the pig

"Crap… We might be too late, come on!" Nick said, breaking into a run to the side of the property where the sheep had been seen with the pig. Judy winced and groaned a bit as she tried to keep up. She definitely couldn't run very well stitched up like she was. Nick noticed right away and slowed down a bit.

"No! Don't slow up!" Judy knew a life was at stake. Nick nodded and doubled his speed. Judy tried to run a bit faster herself. She ended up catching up to Nick as he slowed to just try looking for the pig and sheep. The forest was quiet. The part they were in was pretty dense, but there was a clearing they had seen in the video feed. They took it slow, not out of caution for themselves, but to try to hear their quarry.

Nick was obviously using his nose. He guided the bunny as her sense for that was less developed. Ultimately, they came up over a small hill and found what they were looking for. And neither of them enjoyed what they saw.

Aggie was lying on the ground, arms and legs spread out, tied up and bound to stakes driven into the soil. She was softly, weakly crying. She was bleeding from the nose, likely having been beaten a bit in the process of putting her into this position. This really was like a ceremonial sacrifice in how it was set up. The sheep was, unfortunately, facing the direction Judy and Nick were approaching from. He held up the spear, pointing it at the two smaller mammals, his huge horns tipped in the same etched silver at the spear was.

"I give one simple order, was that too much?!" the woolly mammal bellowed.

Judy stood up defiantly. "ZPD, let her go. Backup is on the way," she commanded.

"Help me!" screamed Aggie, suddenly aware of the other mammals that had arrived.

"You're what… here to arrest me?" the sheep said tauntingly. "When I'm done with this porker, I'll cut the fox open and stuff you inside his belly where you belong, rabbit!" Judy recoiled a little at the level of violence considered by this caprid. She had little time to appreciate the terrible nature of it, however, as the sheep turned his immediate murderous attention to his intended porcine victim.

"No!" Nick shouted as the spear came up. The sheep prepared to lance the administrative pig to the forest floor. The pig screamed, and then a wet 'thak!' sound punctuated the sheep suddenly lurching backward hard. He dropped the spear and landed on his back on the ground. Judy perked up, a bit stunned by that sudden shift in the situation. She hadn't heard a shot. She then looked in the direction opposite of the one the sheep had lurched, to the source of whatever hit him.

On a wide, white stone about twenty meters away was Vivienne. She was on one knee, still in her green hoodie, with a long-bow in her steady paw. She already had a second arrow nocked and her bow tightly drawn and ready. She stared down the shaft of that arrow with keen green eyes, her ears laid back coldly. The sheep slowly sat up as Judy looked back to him, too shocked at what she was looking at to move. Nick, wide-eyed, stood absolutely still with his paws down limply at his sides.

"Mom?" he said, as if only beginning to digest that part. Their fallen suspect clutched at an arrow that was jutting at an awkward angle from his shoulder. A bit dazed, he looked down at his fallen spear.

The lady fox pulled her string a little tighter and snarled loudly, teeth vividly bared, "The next arrow's a letter addressed to your face, Poufy. So go on… just give me a reason to lick this stamp."

Absolutely nobody moved.