Zootopia Love Stories

by Jknight97

Short stories describing how their relationship progressed from a simple friendship to one of a deep burning love for one another. I will attempt to connect each one to one another but don't hold me to that.

6. The Foundation - Part One

Disclaimer: All characters are owned by ©Disney. Any resemblance to actual persons or mammals, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The following OCs belong to their respective creators: Karma, Serendipity and Violet belong to kittah4; Dr. Dave Hawethorne belongs to eng050599; Bailey and Lori belong to selaxes. Part of my story was directly influenced by this short comic: sirenetzukidark dot deviantart dot com / art / Really-Nick-598571754

I want to thank the following authors for their fiction: midnight-opheliac , "Safe Paws"; Kulkum , "The Savage Dark"; kittah4, "Zootopia: Partners" and the terminologies, Wolfeyer and 'WildeHopps Effect', are attributable to Zanrok-Wiggins . Some of their ideas have found their way into my story and I'd like to apologize in advance. I'm not a pirate, just an admiring fan hacking away at a keyboard.

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Author's notes: First of all, my apologies to those who have been following my stories. The combination of writer's block, changes in my work schedule plus starting an online course all contributed to the delay of posting any updates to this series. This was meant to be released in March, the month The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada celebrates how it has impacted the lives of young children by granting nearly 25,000 wishes over thirty years. I started writing a chapter in February and it quickly blew up into five more chapters. I wanted to release all five at once as they are all related to the same topic but it looks like RL had other plans. So, we will start off with this and hopefully the rest will not take as long to get updated.

Many thanks to my many editors who helped me churn this story out: DancingLunarWolves , Stubat007, eng050599, and NightWolf0179

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The helicopter, ZPD One, billowed up a thick cloud of dust as it landed near the Hopps residence. Normally reserved for Chief Bogo's exclusive use for when he went out in the field, today it was carrying two special passengers who were being ferried from the Zootopia General Hospital on the orders of the Chief himself. Inside the cockpit, Sergeant Higgins and Officer Fangmeyer started shutting down the transport so they could help Nick and Judy disembark.

Although the fox and the bunny had survived the assault from the hostage situation, they had suffered debilitating injuries. Their attending physician had delayed discharging them so they would be healthy enough to travel. They were released from the hospital five days after their operation but he requested they be transferred in a medevac unit to their final destination where they would then start their three-week paid medical leave in Bunnyburrow on the personal invitation of Judy's parents, Stu and Bonny Hopps.

As the tigress opened the passenger door, she immediately held her paw over her nose, suffering from the mixed scents wafting from inside. "Jeez, guys," she complained to the couple, "couldn't you have waited till we arrived at Bunnyburrow? The Chief is going to have a fit! He's going to have to fumigate the interior just to get rid of the smell," Fangmeyer said as she pulled out the ramp allowing their motorized wheelchair to exit from the helicopter. The chair was large enough to allow both the fox and bunny to sit side by side comfortably. However, the bunny in question was presently sitting on her mate's lap where she was chinning the fox's neck.

Nick chuckled. "Sorry, Fangs. I'm still trying to figure where the 'off' switch is on her," the fox murmured as he marked his mate in response to her actions, running the side of his muzzle along her ears.

Judy smacked him on the chest softly with her paw, careful not to hit his still-healing wound. "Oh, stop it, Slick! You're just as bad as I am. With winter coming, you haven't stopped marking me ever since we took off. You'd think the Promise Rings we're wearing would be enough warning," she said as she lovingly gazed at the silver ring topped with a carrot-shaped topaz stone on her finger.

Nick looked at the almost identical ring Judy had gotten for him except that it had a tanzanite stone shaped and coloured like a blueberry. "They're effective when it comes to most mammals, Carrots, but canids go by smell first before they rely on sight," he explained. "Besides," he chuckled as he swiped his muzzle against her cheek, "better safe than sorry, I always say."

The tigress put a paw up to her head, feeling a headache coming on brought about by what was commonly known in the precinct as the 'WildeHopps effect'. "Look," she sighed, "I don't need the details nor do I care, but Bogo's going to have my head because of this. Next time, can you please get a room?"

"Sorry, Nadine," apologized Judy, lowering her ears behind her. "We'll make it up to you and Higgins when we get back. It's just I'm so excited to be back home with Nick, especially now that we're a couple."

Judy chose not to disclose her insecurity as Nick was her very first real boyfriend. She knew there was a small risk of bringing him home to her two hundred seventy-five brothers and sisters because there were some - both female and male - who would not hesitate to bed any handsome mammal wearing pants...and Nick was more than handsome. He was dazzling, charming, witty and caring. The perfect conquest for any of her more unrestrained siblings unless she clearly marked him, and defended her mate vigorously. She trusted Nick to her very core, but she knew from firsthand knowledge how underhanded her more promiscuous kinfolk could be. She inwardly sighed, as she knew she would have to literally beat some of them off with a stick.

"As for Nick," she continued, giggling as she did, "it's mating season for foxes, Nadine. They're more aggressive during winter, especially when they have a mate," Judy purred, smirking at the fox who was furtively trying to avoid looking directly at the tigress. "He doesn't want to admit he's being a stereotypical male tod possessively marking his mate to warn off others, particularly since we're visiting Bunnyburrow," Judy said with a twinkle in her amethyst eyes as she leaned into Nick's chest while running her paws through the fox's tail which had wrapped itself around her waist. "He's just making sure no bucks make a move on me."

Nick growled at her teasing. "Fine! I just can't stand the thought of some dumb male putting his paws on you, okay? I trust you completely. It's everyone else I don't," Nick snapped.

Judy put her paws on his muzzle as she gently pulled it down so she could look into his emerald orbs with half-lidded eyes. "Nick, I'm a big girl now. You do know I can take care of myself, right?" Judy grinned at his guilty face. "Besides, do you hear me complaining, Officer Wilde?" she cooed. "Your scent on me makes me feel special; completely, utterly loved and wanted. So, if you ever hesitate to mark me, we're going to have a few choice words, understand?" Judy coyly warned.

Nick gulped and smiled warmly. "Yes, dear."

"Finally learning, Slick," she nodded as she patted his cheek and planted a small kiss on the side of his muzzle. "You'd also better not be grumbling about my chinning you…unless there's a reason you don't want me to?" Judy shot back at Nick, raising an eyebrow with a mock threatening glare in her eye.

Not wanting to give Judy the idea her alluring scent on him was something he didn't desire or look forward to every day, Nick hastily and firmly responded, "No, dear!"

The sound of a whip cracking in the air was suddenly heard. Both Nick and Judy turned to face the tigress who was holding her phone as it played the whiplash ringtone, snickering at Nick as she did. Fangmeyer humorously rolled her eyes at the embarrassed couple. "You guys bicker like a married couple already. Both of you are so sickeningly sweet," she drolly huffed, "I need to get you out of my system before I throw up my breakfast. So, end of the line for you two," she said as they approached the edge of the field where a rather large group of bunnies had gathered and were waiting. "Don't forget to check in once a week with Bogo. He said something about the Mayor requesting you doing some MII work while you're on paid medical leave," she chuckled.

Nick groaned at the news. "Work? Seriously?" he grumbled. "I thought we could just lie in bed for three weeks and be waited on paw and foot by her siblings."

"C'mon, Slick," Judy admonished, "You know we can't do that. Besides, my siblings have other things to do around the farm and I don't want to be a burden to them. Once our stitches are removed and we have medical clearance from the doctor at the Bunnyburrow General Hospital, I plan to start rehabilitation right away, and you're going to be joining me on my daily 5-mile morning runs while we're here," she beamed. "We need to build up your stamina, sweetheart," as she coquettishly pressed herself into his uninjured side and rubbed the top of her head against his jaw, "for our other extracurricular activities."

Nick groaned. "Just my luck. I would have to fall in love with the Energizer Bunny! Have a heart, Carrots!" Nick laughed, a warm fuzzy feeling enveloping him as he wrapped his arms around Judy, pulling her closer to nuzzle her. "The doctor said not to engage in any strenuous activities for the next week until our stitches were out. Given my side still hurts like crap even with the painkillers, I'll be happy just cuddling," he said, warmly smiling down at his mate.

"I know. But you can't fault a female for trying, can you?" Judy giggled as she playfully waggled her eyebrows at him. "Besides, with my family around, I doubt if we'd get any privacy to do anything except hold hands."

Fangmeyer snorted at the two. "TMI, guys, please have mercy!" She then glanced up and her eyes widened in terror. "Uh, Hopps? What the hell is coming our way?"

Judy looked up and chuckled. "That? It's just the Hopps kerfluffle. Don't panic, Nadine. Just stand your ground," she giggled, "Be calm. They can smell your fear."

Nick also glanced up. What he saw filled him with dread. When he had driven Judy back to the farm after the incident at the Natural History Museum, he had been on the receiving end of her younger relatives' enthusiastic greeting. The memory still sent a shiver down his spine.

"Fang," he fearfully whispered from the side of his muzzle, "if you value your fur, you will back away and quickly make your way back to the chopper. They've never seen a large predator before and they don't know the meaning of fear."

Fangmeyer gulped and asked, "What about you guys? Will you be okay?"

Judy tittered as she waved her paw at the tigress, "We'll be fine. My dad and mom warned them about our injuries so they know not to hurt us. There's really no need to run, Nadine. It's just the young ones."

Nick quickly turned his head around and looking at the tigress, terror evident in his eyes as he screamed, "Run, Fangmeyer, run! Or else it'll be too late!"

The startled tigress froze in her tracks. However, once she finally comprehended the severity of the situation, she regained her senses and quickly spun around to dash back to the helicopter. But her hesitation cost her. The kerfluffle descended on her, like a plague of locusts, the mass engulfing the tigress before she could take more than two steps and covered her completely in a sea of inquisitive furriness.

"Wow, she's the biggest feline I've ever seen. Look at her teeth!"

"She has whiskers like us! She also has soft fur underneath her coat!"

"Look at how long her tail is! Does it hurt if we pull on it?"

"Look at how big her claws are! Neat!"

"Her partner is a wolf," said another as Fangmeyer's wallet was passed around. "Hey, there's a picture of them kissing!"

Nick chuckled. "Told you I could make her bolt, Carrots. I win." Nick declared.

"Fine, but I still think you milked it with the screaming," Judy giggled as she reached into her pocket and passed a twenty over to him. Judy tried to be mad at Nick but she couldn't help herself and laughed at the sight of the female tiger stretching out a paw, beseeching for some sort of merciful respite from the onslaught of fluffiness as the kerfluffle held her down, poking and prodding at the helpless feline.

Suddenly, there came a shout from behind them. "Kits! What did we say about greeting our guests?" Bonnie said as she appeared on the scene.

"Be gentle with them, Meemaw!" sang the mass in one voice.

"Well, then," as she clapped her paws, "let the good Officer up so she can breathe, okay? And, kits? You hand back all her stuff. You hear me?" chided Bonnie as she made her way to Fangmeyer.

"I'm sorry there, Officer," Bonnie said as she offered a paw to the tigress to help her stand up. The feline was impressed with the display of physical strength by the older female Hopps. "I'll never belittle the job of a farmer and a mother again!" Fangmeyer thought, realizing farm work and having to care for so many kits was quite laborious. Considering what Judy had told her, they did not have any employees on the farm except for her siblings. Now she knew where Judy got her muscle. "They are all just so full of energy, they can be a pawful at the best of times. I hope you weren't hurt," inquired the elder doe as she glared at the kits who were busy depositing Fangmeyer's wallet, police radio, keys and tranquilizer gun at the tigress' feet.

"No harm done, ma'am," Fangmeyer replied with a forced smile, intimidated by Bonnie's commanding presence. "I'm sure I made life difficult for my parents when I was a young kitten myself. Kits will be kits," she said, chuckling nervously. She then turned to Nick as she bent down to gather her things and softly hissed, "I'll get you for this, Wilde!"

Nick only waggled his eyebrows and remarked with a snicker, "Give my love to Wolford, Fangs! Although, he's told me he'd prefer your lips on his any day," he teased as he waved goodbye with his paw. "Great photo, by the way."

Fangmeyer ferociously blushed then glared at Nick, snarling as her tail angrily snapped about her, "We were caught under the mistletoe during last year's Christmas party. That doesn't prove anything!"

"Suuure. Then, why did you keep it?" he chortled.

Fangmeyer couldn't answer as she turned beet red and merely snarled. She gathered what little dignity she had left to make her way back to the helicopter. Once she had climbed in, the rotors began to spin and the chopper soon lifted off to make its way back to Zootopia.

"Fangmeyer and Wolford? Really, Nick? How did you find out?" asked Judy incredulously.

The fox smiled. "Wolves aren't the only one with a keen sense of smell," he snickered as he tapped his nose, "and no matter how much scent-blocker those two put on themselves, I could still smell their scents on each other, more than usual," the tod chortled as he waggled his eyebrows. "Also, I may have also gotten Wolford drunk - not intentionally, mind you - and he may have slipped a little. Plus, Fangmeyer confirmed it as well just now when she blushed. I'll need to call Benjie to confirm my winnings in the Wolfeyer betting pool," Nick said as he grinned.

"Wolfeyer? Really?" said the doe as she rolled her eyes but playfully smacked his good arm with her paw.

"Ow! What was that for?" Nick good-humoredly grumbled as he rubbed his sore arm to ease the stinging.

"For betting without telling me," she replied teasingly. "You know…your mate could use a new wardrobe, right?" she said seductively. "And since I'm short on cash…"

"Hold on," Nick whined, "I had plans for those funds."

"Oh, well, if you don't want to see me in Zootopia Secret's latest line of bedroom lingerie," the bunny pointed out as she showed him their catalog on her phone, "I guess I'll just have to go to Targoat and buy my bedroom shorts there. It's not as sexy, but it'll do."

Nick stared at the bunny model wearing what looked to be a one-piece backless sweater dress where the hemline ended about six inches below the hips and the back part entrapped the model's tail so the fluffy appendage stood firmly at attention. The website called it the VK Sweater. He conceded it definitely left nothing to the imagination. He imagined Judy wearing it and his tail involuntarily started wagging on its own. Nick managed to swallow and croaked, "I…I guess I could use it for that. After all," he weakly agreed, "who am I to deny my mate her heart's desire."

---

"Thanks for keeping the kerfluffle at bay, mom," Judy mentioned as she and Nick rode their motorized transport to the front of the house where a ramp had been added to the porch to accommodate their present disability. "Nick's still hurting from the gunshot wound and they still have to take our stitches out. We've been advised to takes things easy and to use the wheelchair for the first week or so. We're supposed to meet a doctor from Zootopia who's doing consulting work at the Bunnyburrow General Hospital later on this week. He'll be reporting on our recovery to Chief Bogo directly. Once we have clearance from the doctor, we can start walking around like normal mammals again."

"Yes, and thank you again, Mrs. Hopps," agreed Nick. "I love the fluffy mob, but I don't think I could have taken being tackled like a sack of potatoes and having my tail being manhandled in my present condition."

"You're both welcome!" Bonnie acknowledged as she held open the front door to let the motorized conveyance through. "I'm just happy you're finally here. And Nicholas, please, we've been over this several times. You can call me Bonnie," she said, smiling at Nick as she gently placed a paw on his arm. "We'd like to make up for our poor hospitality the last time you were here with Judy. Are you both hungry?" she suddenly asked. "There's still some pancakes from breakfast available in the dining hall."

"Are they blueberry pancakes?" Nick requested with a hopeful and excited flick of his bushy tail. "I still remember you make a mean batch of blueberry pancakes topped with blueberry syrup." He licked his chops in anticipation, utterly failing to hide the fact that he was salivating at the upcoming treat.

"I can make some for you, no problem. I'll just warm them up on the stove and add some of the blueberries. And I know you love our blueberries," Bonnie said with a twinkle in her eye. "Judy always asks us to send an extra basket for you in the monthly care package we send her."

Nick looked at his mate with feigned surprise. "Carrots, you never told me they send two baskets! You've been holding out on me all this time," he chuckled. He turned back to Bonnie. "Yes, I admit blueberries are my weakness. But not as much as my love for 'Carrots'," he smirked, using his paws to indicate air quotes as he used his nickname for Judy.

Bonnie slyly grinned. "Well then, I see the 'root' of all your problems."

Judy cringed then snickered. "Mom!" she said with a laugh. "You're just as bad as Nick! Please 'leaf' well enough alone." Judy shot back with a gleam in her eye, her ears upright as she eagerly took up the unspoken challenge.

"Well, I'm sure he finds you a-'peeling' and he loves you 'berry' much," Bonnie jousted back, giggling as she did.

Judy groaned playfully. "Mom! 'Lettuce' decide how we'll navigate our relationship, okay? I'm really 'grape'-ful for what I have with Nick and I know he loves me from my head 'tomatoes'." Judy parried back, grinning wildly.

Nick's head was swirling with the back and forth banter between the two rabbits. Judy looked up from her seat beside him and laughed at his dazed look.

"I should have warned you, Slick. Don't start a punning war amongst bunny farmers. Aside from multiplying," Judy said with a small hip bump as she gave him a seductive side-glance, "gardening puns are the other thing we are very good at."

Nick smiled at his mate, enamored by her laughter, which never failed to lift his spirits. "Clever bunny!" he merrily barked.

"Dumb fox," Judy said lovingly, lowering her ears behind her head so they wouldn't smack Nick in the face as she reached up to place a light kiss on the side of his muzzle.

"But I'm your dumb fox," he teased back as he ran his paw over her ears. "So soft. I can never get tired of how wonderful she makes me feel," he thought.

"Huh, I wonder if I can get a refund for you," she retorted with a twinkle in her eye, as she booped his nose with her paw.

"Sorry, Fluff. It clearly states in the fine print: No return, no exchange, and no escape. You're stuck with me," he smirked.

"And where is this fine print, Officer Wilde?" she hummed, raising an eyebrow challengingly.

"Right here," cooed the tod, as he gently hooked his paw around her neck, bringing their muzzles together in a prolonged smooch.

"Mmm…," she preened afterwards, "I may need to go over those terms time and again with you, Officer...several times," as she fluttered her eyelids seductively at him. "My mind tends to go blank with such legal jargon."

Bonnie smiled as she coughed to get their attention since it seemed the pair had forgotten she was in the room. Nick and Judy immediately sat upright, putting a little space between them in the wheelchair, embarrassed at putting on a public display of their affection in front of Judy's mother. Noting the matching rings on their paws, Bonnie took a good long whiff of the scents coming off the both of them, grinning as she remarked, "Well, I think we need to get to know our potential son-in-law more first before we give our consent to marriage."

Judy's ears shot up in surprise, feeling like they were on fire, smacking Nick in the face. The tod, meanwhile, had raised a glass of water to his lips, but Bonnie's statement and Judy's ear smack caught him off guard. The combination of all three had him convulsed in a sudden choking fit as he swallowed the water the wrong way. Judy gently pounded his back to help him cope as she stammered while blushing crimson red, "Uhm, wh-who said anything about marriage?"

Bonnie just snickered as she waived her paw at the two. "Judy, I'm your mother. I know these things. Besides, after having been married over thirty years to your father," she said with a pleased look in her eyes, "I've seen the same thing with your other siblings. I'm not saying it'll happen tomorrow," she continued, as she strode towards the kitchen, "But I do expect Nick to ask your father for your hand in marriage as a proper gentlemammal should," she chuckled.

As Nick and Judy stared at each other wide-eyed, Bonnie's head popped out of kitchen door, startling them. "Oh, and even though you're mates, if you don't want your father bringing the shotgun out, it would be best if you abstain from any 'extracurricular activities' while you're here in the house," Bonnie warningly teased. "However, outside the house is fair game. Just make sure the younger ones don't catch you making out like rabbits!" Bonnie cackled.

Bonnie couldn't tell who blushed more; her daughter or the tod, given his fur hid it well. She smiled inwardly. "Well, as a parent, I've done my job here." Embarrassing her children and their suitors was a basic requirement of good parenting. She knew Judy was quite new in the area of love and she just needed to be given a nudge in the right direction. She returned back to the kitchen. "I may need to speak to Stu to make room for some tofu burgers for Nick in one of the many freezers we have," she reflected. She liked Nick and was already beginning to think of him as family seeing how happy he made Judy.

---

"Well…that was surreal," Nick said, still reeling from Bonnie's comments. He knew rabbits were very open about sex. He just never thought he would be openly discussing it with Bonnie even before he and Judy had a chance to. He looked to Judy who sat pensively beside him. "Carrots? Are you okay? Penny for your thoughts?"

Judy blushed as she didn't know if now was the time to discuss it. But with her mother bringing up the topic, they would need to have the discussion, sooner or later. Ears drooping, she bit her lower lip nervously; she didn't know how to approach the subject matter they had both obviously been tiptoeing around.

"Judy?" she heard Nick worriedly ask, as his paw reached around to grasp her waist, pulling her closer to him.

She sighed, leaning her head against his chest, and breathed in his musky, lavender scent. "I've never backed away from anything before, and I do know Nick is the one I want to be with for the rest of my life, no matter what the odds are against us. I just don't know how he feels about-"…her musings were interrupted when she heard Nick say something but she had been too engrossed with her own thoughts to hear what he had said.

"I'm sorry, Nick!" she quickly apologized. "I was caught up in my own thoughts. What was your question?" she said as she smiled at her mate, gently squeezing the paw around her waist.

"It was more of a statement than a question, really." Nick morosely said. Judy noticed his ears were flat against his head and his usual jovial demeanor was gone. His tail had fallen off her lap and hung listlessly behind him. "I said, 'You're worried about us not being able to have kits of our own.'"

She saw Nick had slipped his mask on again, the one he put on when he knew his feelings would be hurt. She gently pulled his muzzle towards her and kissed him tenderly. He returned the kiss with an ardor bordering on desire, begging with his probing tongue to enter her mouth. She accepted the persistent invitation with a hunger she hadn't been aware of, seeking out his tongue with her own in order to engage it in a sensual dance as she firmly latched onto the back of his neck with her free paw to press him closer. She marveled at the fact that, despite the physical differences of their muzzles, they had managed to find a comfortable arrangement in order to share their intimacy. Their mouths fit so perfectly they passed their breath to one another, as if engaged in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, surviving off each other's exhalations. When they finally separated, a thin trail of saliva still linked them, as if neither one wanted to the connection to be broken.

"Don't do that, Nick," she gently chided as she wiped the moisture from both their muzzles. "You know I'd be the very last person to ever hurt you. Please don't shut me out. You're my mate and I'll never leave you," Judy pleaded, seeking to comfort him as she pressed her head to his chest while hugging him. She could clearly hear the nervous tempo of his heartbeat as he tried to rein in his emotions.

"I'm afraid that one day you'll leave me because we can't have kits of our own. I mean you come from a large family," he queried forlornly, as he cradled her head. "And isn't it in the nature of bunnies to want to start a family of their own?"

"Nick," she said rather exasperated as she looked up at him, "if you haven't noticed by now, I'm a pretty far cry from your typical bunny. I was preparing for law enforcement while my other siblings were partying, carousing and...inadvertently starting families of their own. Nobody wanted to go out with me because the thought of being anything but a farmer was considered crazy," she recalled with sadness. "'Loony Judy', they'd call me. The one date I went out on was for Prom Night and the rabbit who asked me out only did it on a dare. As soon as we arrived at the school auditorium, he abandoned me to collect on his bet and started asking the other does to dance with him. I ended up walking home alone. Afterwards, I only focused on getting into the ZPD and proving to everyone a bunny could make it as a cop."

Nick realized Judy's experience was similar to his own, and yet, in testament to her character, she had chosen to pursue her dream while he had abandoned his. He blinked back his tears realizing how, through a series of coincidences that read like a badly written Zoollywood movie script, he had been able to find the one mammal who had managed to shake him by his tail and inspire him to reanimate his once forgotten youthful life vision. He gently nuzzled her neck as he whispered, "I'm biased, sweetie. I'm sorry you had a shitty love life when you were younger. But, then again, I'm not sorry because it meant you and I were able to meet. You've become the center of my universe. You inspire me daily to follow my own dream of being able to help others. Judy," he solemnly declared as he took her left paw in his right, carefully intertwining their digits so as not to hurt her with his claws, "you are the most beautiful thing to come into this ex-hustler's life and I will gladly follow you to the gates of Hades and back," as he tightened his grip on her waist with his left paw, curled his tail around her and kissed her forehead.

Judy smiled bashfully, unused to such high praise from a male, but this one was her mate. Her mate! Those two words resounded loudly in her head and brought immeasurable joy to her heart. He knew her as well as she did him. Granted, he still kept things from her but she could not fault him, as he had twenty years of emotional baggage to deal with. The fact he opened himself to her at all was proof there was a caring mammal underneath all the wisecracks, bluster and smarminess, a mammal she had gotten to know during the Missing Mammals case. Wiping a tear from her eye, she kissed him again on the side of his muzzle and wrapped her arms around his neck as she buried her muzzle in his fur, inhaling his musky scent. "Oh, you foxes," she chirred softly, as she gently hugged him back, mindful of his injuries, "so emotional."

She untangled herself from his neck after a few minutes, comforted by the fact that he was going to be there for her no matter what decision they came to regarding a family.

"Nick, even though we may not be able to have kits of our own," she went on, "it's not a deal-breaker for me. I've done some research so I know what we're up against. Let's talk about it later on tonight. In the meantime, we still need to check in with the visiting doctor from Zootopia. Let me call his mobile number to set up an appointment. Then, I'm sure the rest of the family will want to meet my mate," she declared as she snuggled up to Nick, appreciating the feeling of warmth and security just by being in physical contact with him.

As they both settled comfortably into the wheelchair, she dialed the number on her cellphone and after two rings, it was picked up. "Dr. David Hawthorne, here. How may I help you?" came the voice on the other end.

"Good day, Dr. Hawthorne, this is Judy Hopps calling."

"Ah, yes, Officer Hopps. Dr. Joe Dromedary told me to expect your call. I understand the severity of your wounds restricts your ability to move around, so I don't mind dropping by where you're staying so I can check on your recovery. Is Officer Wilde with you?"

"Yes, Doctor. We're both at my parents' place in Bunnyburrow. I hope it won't be an inconvenience for you especially since it is quite a distance from the General Hospital."

"Not at all," chuckled the voice on the phone, "I'll finish up my duties today and then I can pop over there tomorrow, first thing in the morning to check on you both. I'm sure I can get one of the local officers to drive me over there. It'll also give me a chance to see the countryside as I've been cooped up here all week in the hospital."

Judy continued her conversation with Dr. Hawthorne, giving him instructions on how to get to her parents' farm while Nick leaned back into the wheelchair and reflected on their conversation.

Truthfully, he was scared; the fear of Judy leaving him for any number of reasons frightened him sometimes to the point where he would almost have an anxiety attack. He had been alone the last twenty years, surviving day-to-day, wandering aimlessly from one hustle to the next. It had been frightening in the beginning and he had suffered through several episodes alone. As he had gotten older, the attacks lessened but still reoccurred from time to time, especially in highly stressful situations. It was a miracle that he had been able to survive at all. She had changed all of that in a blink of an eye when she had hustled him into helping her. He didn't want to admit it at first, but when he saw the bright light of her eyes fade when Bogo had demanded her badge from her at the Rainforest District, he had fallen in love with her. And despite the cruel words she had naively spoken at the Press Conference, he had continued to love her and only had his pride to blame for walking out on her. He could not conceive being without her in his life.

He wistfully returned from his reverie, surveying Judy's old home. The first time he had been here was when Judy was released from the hospital after suffering the injury to her leg during the chase in the Natural History Museum. He had driven her back in her father's truck, the one she had used to find him under the bridge where they had forgiven one another. She had needed three weeks to recuperate and, since she had given up her apartment at the time she had resigned from the ZPD, it was only logical she stay with family.

From the outside, it didn't look like it would be able to house all of Judy's siblings. However, Nick soon found out, looks could be deceiving - even when it came to houses. The front portion was built into a hill and while the entrance and hallway had a normal ceiling with a height that could easily accommodate a moose, the rest of the house took up the entire hill.

As he stared up in awe at the ascending circular stairway built along the inner circumference of the hill, he heard a small snort of laughter by his side and turned to face a buff and dun colored rabbit with topaz eyes staring at him. He was slightly shorter than Judy, Nick judged, but the family resemblance was not lost on him. He wasn't built like the other bunnies, however. The buck before him had a wide chest, muscular thighs, calves, biceps and triceps. A typical gymnast's body, he figured.

"Don't be too amazed," the young buck said to him with a smile, "this isn't as large as the other two houses dad built to house the rest of the family."

Nick's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "You mean, there are more than two hundred seventy-six of you?" he fearfully spluttered. His mind reeled as it went back to the day he had driven Judy to Bunnyburrow and he fleetingly remembered seeing a sign he hadn't paid much attention to at the time. He recalled a ridiculous number, which only registered in his brain now. "Wait, the Welcome sign at the border of Bunnyburrow said there were over eighty-one million of you over a year ago! How many rabbits are there now in Bunnyburrow?" Nick gasped, as he imagined being smothered in wall-to-wall fuzziness.

Both Judy and the buck snorted in laughter. "Oh dear, Dad's little joke gets the new visitors every time," Judy snickered.

"You mean there isn't going to be a Bunny Apocalypse?" Nick thankfully confirmed.

"No, silly! Dad convinced the town council to put up the population board as a practical joke. What it really does is count the number of seconds. Once it reaches a certain number, it rolls over and starts anew. But seriously, think of the resources we'd need in order to support that huge a population. We're farmers, not miracle workers," she countered.

"So why did your dad build two more houses?" Nick probed, frowning as he did. "This house could clearly fit at least three hundred bunnies comfortably," he marveled, craning his neck to see four more levels of living quarters connected by the gargantuan winding staircase built around the central kitchen designed to feed an army of bunnies. The center of the room had a revolving floor where seven tables, each one capable of seating ten bunnies, stood. "Although, I don't know how all of you eat at the same time since there's only room for seventy unless there's another dining hall underground?"

"Considering the cost of having to build another large dining hall like this underground, and ensuring against the possibility of it collapsing on itself, it made more sense if we ate and helped out in shifts," Bailey clarified. "This gives the rabbits manning the kitchen time to replenish the buffet area as well as for the helpers to clear up the dining area for the next batch. The logistics of trying to feed everyone at the same time would have been mind-boggling, to say the least."

Nick grasped the concept of Judy's family eating in shifts. One entered from the left, got food from the buffet area and sat at the nearest unoccupied spot. As soon as the revolving floor reached the same spot where you started from, you vacated it for the next bunny. It reminded him of the mess hall at the ZPA where, during his first month as a plebe, as a sort of initiation for all newcomers, they were only given five minutes to scarf down their breakfast else it got chucked into the garbage by overzealous elder cadets. "No wonder Judy eats so quickly," Nick realized.

"Nick, what do I keep telling you about bunnies?" Judy smiled as she snuggled in closer to her fox who sat there, absorbing the scenery.

"That you're good at…oh."

"Yep!" she said popping the 'p'. "Mom and Dad had all of us in their first fifteen years of marriage. You see, bunnies have an average litter size of six kits and mom was a regular baby-making machine, having an average of three litters a year. By the time I was nine-years old, the 'factory' had shut down and I'm not sure if mom was relieved or sad. Or a little of both," she wistfully mentioned. "Anyway, she had her paws full raising all of us but as my other siblings grew older and had families of their own, there wasn't enough room here to fit the second generation. The other two houses are of similar construction and are connected to the main house using underground tunnels. Now, mom has her paws full dealing with my younger nephews and nieces as they made this house the Central Dining Area." She then indicated the revolving floor built in the center. "Dad had to speed up the timing from when I was a young kit. It used to take thirty minutes for a full revolution but with a bigger population to feed, you have to finish your meal in twenty minutes or else you get booted from your seat by the next shift coming in to eat."

The young buck extended his paw to Nick. "By the way, I'm Bailey, Judy's younger brother from the fortieth litter," the young buck revealed as he smiled at him. Then, after a moment of uneasy hesitation, he turned his gaze to the ground, rubbing his neck in shame. "To tell you the truth, I'm surprised Judy even hooked up with a fox. I have nothing against your relationship, but I was two years old at the time Judy fought with Gideon and got scratched in the face for her efforts. But, seeing how happy she is with you," Bailey said as he looked up with a relieved smile, "makes me rather envious. One of these days, I hope to meet someone who'll love me even half as much as you do her, Nick."

"Gideon scratched you in the face? You never told me this," a shocked Nick asked of his mate, who suddenly seemed to find the opposite wall more interesting. "Judy?"

"You mean she never mentioned he slashed her cheek when she was nine years old?" frowned Bailey.

Suddenly, it dawned on Nick why Judy had reacted the way she had at the Press Conference when he had threatened her with his claws. He now felt ashamed for having resurrected what would have been a very traumatic childhood experience. At the same time, he wanted to find Gideon and punch the living daylights out of the other vulpine for daring to hurt his mate.

An angry growl rose from deep within his chest, which suddenly died as he saw angry amethyst eyes whirl upon him. "This is precisely why I didn't tell you, Nick! I knew you'd react that way. Males!" she huffed in anger, as she turned her head away.

Nick sighed in exasperation as he gently guided her chin so that he was looking directly into her disapproval-filled eyes. "Carrots, like it or not, I'm a fox and your mate. It's in my nature to want to protect those that I love. So," smirking as he kissed her nose making it twitch adorably, "unless you have a very good reason for me not to be an overly protective tod, especially with winter approaching, the feeling isn't going away soon."

Judy sighed as she relented. Pressing her head to his chest, she carefully wrapped her arms as much as she could around him. His stint at the Zootopia Police Academy had filled him out. Now, she could barely touch her paws together when she snuggled up to him. She could never stay mad at Nick for long. "I should have told you before, but I didn't want you to feel guilty about what you did at the Press Conference. That really was on me. I only realized then I had never let go of my prejudice and preconceptions. I had come to Zootopia to try to make a difference and I almost destroyed it because of my naiveté and narrow-mindedness. And I almost lost you," her voice quavered with emotion as tears formed in the corner of her eyes, "Because I was a dumb bunny from a hick town with preconceived notions."

Nick gently lifted her mouth to his, tenderly kissing her on the lips as he brushed away the tears. "Yet, you came back. To apologize. To look for me. No one ever did that for me. I'd say that wasn't being dumb. You, of all mammals, should not be blamed for what happened. Zootopia was a ticking time bomb; predator and prey were already at each other's throats, ready to explode at any moment. It was a perfect opportunity, and Bellwether exploited it. You should accept the mantle of hero because if you didn't stop her, a lot of predators, including myself, would probably be wearing a collar right now.

"And, to be honest," Nick continued as he cupped her cheek in his paw, feeling the scars that Gideon had left behind, "I shouldn't have acted like a jerk and walked out on you like that. I should have given you a chance to explain. I acted on impulse and raw emotion. I didn't care to even try to see the real you. Instead, I operated on my own preset opinions of who you were, of who most - if not all - prey were. Those were the most painful three months of my life.

"Judy," calling her name as he lifted her onto his lap, wrapping his tail around her and pressing his forehead to hers, "You are the bravest, strongest, most cunning mammal - with the exception of myself," laughing as he blocked her playful swat, "whom I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and falling in love with. I thank Karma and Serendipity that you came back to me."

"If we should be thanking anyone," Judy explained as she tried to squirm further into his chest, "it really should be Gideon. If it wasn't for him mentioning that Midnicampum Holicithias is commonly known as Nighthowler, I never would have put two and two together. Plus, he's changed, Nick. He's no longer the bully he used to be. He's now a baker and even went into business with my Dad, using our blueberries to make the best blueberry pie you've ever tasted. He even apologized for slashing me back when we were kits. That's why I don't want you to be mad at him. I've buried the hatchet. He's now a friend," Judy mentioned, tilting her head, pleading with Nick using her big, soft, azure eyes. "I hope you'll be friends with him, too."

Nick groaned. "No fair, Carrots! Don't look at me like that!"

Judy continued to look at him with large, teary eyes; her ears lowered behind her head as she bit her lower lip. Nick surrendered in the end. "She'll kill me with her adorable cuteness, one of these days," he thought.

"Fine!" he huffed. "No promises, Carrots," Nick said as he rested his head between her ears, "But if he really makes blueberry pies as good as you describe, I'll try to make room in my heart for him."

"That's all I ask then," Judy said, contentedly smiling as she relished their close physical contact.

"Hey guys! Uncle Nick and Aunt Judy are in here! And they're in their motorized doohickey. C'mon! I wanna be the first to ride on it!"

A low rumble sounded inside the dining area as Nick felt a slight shaking of the ground. He hurriedly scanned his surroundings and froze at the sight of hundreds of cute fuzzballs heading directly for them as they came down the circular stairway. He whined in fear, wrapping his tail and arms around Judy, trying to protect her as he closed his eyes and braced for the impending onslaught of fluffiness.

---

"Hold it right there!"

Nick opened his eyes when he heard the young voice squeak out the stern command. He was amazed to find the kerfluffle halted five feet from where he and Judy sat in their wheelchair. What was more amazing was seeing a runt of a chocolate colored bunny, who had one ear up at attention while the other seemed to unnaturally bend midway, had convincingly barked the command. He stood with one paw on his hip while the other was up in the air as if directing traffic.

"You heard what Meemaw said!" the young kit declared with authority. "No one jumps on Uncle Nick and Aunt Judy! They're still healing and if you jump on them, their wounds might get worse," he angrily reprimanded them as he stared down the fluffy mass before him.

"Aww, c'mon Zach!" spoke the leader of the group. "We've never seen anything like that wheelchair and we just wanna ride it," he pouted.

The little bunny fixed his eyes on the one who had just spoken. "Shut up, Gaston! Just because your dad's in the town council doesn't mean you call the shots around here," he huffed. "Meemaw's the law in these here parts, 'pardner'. Move along if you don't want to get hurt." He stood in a gunslinger's stance, right paw hovering over an imaginary gun. "However, if you're looking for trouble, young fella, I'll be happy to accommodate you."

"Did he just quote John Mayne, Carrots?" Nick asked in disbelief.

"Shhh!" Judy shushed him with a small smile playing around her lips as she watched the drama unfold before them.

"Yeah?" challenged Gaston. "You and what army?" he sneered.

"Me," spoke Bailey as he stood next to Zach, "and the army of surveillance cameras." He pointed up to the ceiling where several were prominently installed. "Your Meemaw had them installed by your Aunt Violet precisely for situations like these," Bailey chuckled. "Don't make Meemaw angry. You wouldn't like her when she's angry." he gravely warned the group.

"Aw, c'mon! Now that's just plain stealing from the movie, The Hul-" Nick began before Judy clamped her paw over his muzzle causing him to almost bite his tongue in the process.

"I swear, Nick," Judy angrily whispered, "if you don't shut up, I'm going to gag you with a spoon. We're missing the best part."

As Nick turned his eyes to the front, he swore he could hear the theme music from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Coyote as the tension rose between the two sides. That is until Bailey turned to one of the cameras saying, "Vi, turn the damn soundtrack off! We can hardly hear ourselves over here."

The music cut off just as soon as it started.

Bailey turned back to focus on the horde of kits. "By now, your Aunt Violet has already alerted your Meemaw about this gathering and I estimate she should be here in about a minute or so. If she catches you guys here, she's surely going to send you all to bed without dessert. And I'm sure you guys don't want to miss out on Meemaw's carrot cake for dessert, now would we?"

Hearing that Bonnie was on her way, the bravado of Gaston and the others suddenly deflated and they disappeared as quickly as a popped soap bubble.

Nick had wondered what the cameras were for as soon as he had spotted them. It made sense now seeing as how Bonnie and Stu needed electronic eyes to monitor the comings and goings of the large number of rabbits in the warren. Very much like the way the hotel casino management monitored the behavior of their guests and employees. He pondered on how he could bribe Violet for some embarrassing video of Judy as a child.

"She won't give up any footage, Nick."

Nick whirled on his mate as she spoke up by his side. "How? I wasn't...I mean...that is-"

"Save it, Slick," she snickered, "Vi has a moral code much sterner than mine. As the warren's Chief Intelligence Officer, she takes her role very seriously and will not allow any breaches of privacy or shenanigans to occur without swiftly bringing it to my parents' attention.

"You're lucky that my mom is still going to show you my baby pictures," she grumbled as she internally cringed with embarrassment.

She then bent down to scoop up the tiny chocolate bunny in her arms as she gave him a hug. "Zach! You're my hero!" she declared as she nuzzled the kit in her arms.

"Aaw, shucks, ma'am. Tweren't nuthin'." yipped the little one as he held Judy's neck in a loving embrace. "Besides, I wasn't going to let those yella', lily-livered, no-good-varmints -"

"Zach!" Judy admonished him as she pulled him off her neck to stare at him sternly. "What did I say about swearing?"

Zach hung his head in shame. "That it's not nice, Aunt Judy."

She grinned at him. "Well…," she drawled, "I think I can forgive you this time. After all, you saved me and Nick from a fate worse than death," she chuckled. "And besides, I can't stay mad at my most favourite bunny of all," continuing to hug him tightly.

"Aunt Judy...can't...breathe…" Zach managed to gasp before Judy squeaked an apology.

---

"So, Carrots. Who's our young saviour?" Nick asked as he guided the motorized wheelchair over to the buffet area where he could smell the delicious aroma of pancakes wafting through the air.

Judy had Zach on her lap as she insisted he ride along with them as his reward for standing up to the kerfluffle. Bailey had left for his gymnastics practice but mentioned catching up with them afterwards. "Besides," the buck had mentioned, as he fondly eyed the chocolate bunny in Judy's lap just before he departed, "you're in good paws with Zach. I'd trust him with my life," he said chuckling.

"Nick, this is Zach. Zach, this is my mate, Nick. Zach is from one of my elder sister's first litter. He was born about ten years ago and was the runt of the litter. He's always been my favourite nephew because even though he had it rough fighting for his share of everything, he has this never-say-die attitude that kinda reminds me of me when I was younger."

"Pleased to meet you, Zach. That was a very brave thing you did back there. Weren't you scared at all?"

"Yes, I was scared, Uncle Nick. But Aunt Judy taught me that being brave isn't because you're not scared. Being brave means that you overcome that fear because someone you care for is going to be hurt. That's why she's my hero!" he affirmed, looking at Judy with stars in his eyes.

Nick's ear flicked involuntarily as Zach unknowingly lisped some of his words. He glanced over to Judy to see if she had caught it as well. She merely shrugged her shoulders as if to say, he's young, he'll grow out of it.

"Say Zach, would you be a dear and get us a couple of plates?" she asked the little bunny. "I'm afraid we can't reach over the buffet line with us still in the wheelchair."

"I'd be happy to Aunt Judy!" Zach said as he hopped off her lap. However, he appeared to miscalculate and landed awkwardly, falling over as he did. However, just like any young mammal, he recovered quickly, bouncing back up on his two hind paws and seemed to be unhurt. "I'm okay!" he chirped.

A plain brown doe hurried over to them. "Zach! What did I say about being careful?" she worriedly scolded the little bunny.

"Aww, Aunt Lori, I didn't get hurt," he responded. "Besides, no bruises this time, see?" He turned to show off the side where he had fallen.

Lori only shook her head, smiling ruefully at the little bunny's enthusiasm. "Fine. But please be more careful the next time, okay?" she pleaded with her eyes.

"Sure, Aunt Lori! I'm going to go get plates for Aunt Judy and Uncle Nick. Be right back!" he said as he hopped away to the breakfast nook.

She sighed, as she turned to face Nick and Judy. "I swear, there will be more grey hairs on me than brown just worrying about him."

Her face brightened upon seeing the duo in their wheelchair and bounded over to them to give Judy a big hug. "So good to see you, sis! And is this the handsome devil you've been raving about in your texts?" she said smugly, eyeing Nick.

"Nick, this is Lori, Bailey's littermate. It's great to see you, too, Lori! You mean this scruffy thing I dragged along with me? Nah, don't want to inflate his ego. It's big enough already as it is," she giggled.

"Sure, Fluff, keep telling yourself that. Coz, that wasn't what you were saying last night in bed."

"Nicholas Wilde!" Judy squawked as she playfully hit him in the chest with the back of her paw. "Don't give my sister the wrong idea. There's no need to corrupt her."

"Anyway, Lori," turning back to her sister, "nothing happened in bed last night...yet. He'll soon find out why rabbits are good at multiplying. He won't know what hit him," she smirked as she slyly winked at her sister.

Nick's face fell at her words. "I'm dead. You're an evil bunny. Just put on my tombstone, 'Here lies Nicholas Piberius Wilde. Death by snu-snu.'" He dramatically collapsed back into the chair, eyes glazed and tongue hanging out.

Judy laughed as she tried to catch his tongue but Nick quickly whipped it out of her reach and grabbed her as he began licking her face.

She squealed with laughter as she tried to push him away while covering her face with her paw.

"Niiiiiick! Stop! I surrender!" she squeaked mirthfully.

He stopped bathing her with his tongue but continued to hold her while he nuzzled her playfully. "So, is my cute little bunny ready for breakfast? I know I am. And if I don't get something soon, I may end up eating her," he grinned as he teasingly snapped his teeth close to her ear.

Judy blushed hotly at the innuendo while smiling like a Cheshire cat back at him. "You better be able to back that up, Mister!" grabbing his shirt front to pull his face closer so that their noses touched. "I hope you're not all talk," she suggestively said with half-lidded eyes as she rubbed her nose on his.

"Guys!" Lori pleaded as she fanned herself with her paw. "Can you please tone it down? There are kits present. And besides, if you don't stop, I might have a heat stroke."

Their laughter was cut short by the sound of plates crashing.

"Oh, dear. I better go over and see what's happened to Zach. I swear he's getting clumsier by the day," Lori mentioned as she quickly hopped over to the breakfast nook.

---

After breakfast was over, Nick and Judy made their way down the halls and rode up to Judy's room where she and Nick would be sleeping for the duration of their stay in Bunnyburrow. Judy's old bed had been replaced with a bigger one that would accommodate the two of them.

Nick appreciated the fact that Judy's parents had gone all out to make him feel welcome and at ease. Bonnie had made it very clear that she was quite happy to have him as part of their family and although he had been thrown for a loop when she had mentioned marriage, he admitted to himself that he had been thinking more and more about the topic and of starting a family of their own.

"Maybe we can ask the doctor about any medical updates regarding interspecies couples being able to have kits of their own." Nick thought.

Nick felt more at ease after his conversation with Bonnie. However, he still had his concerns with Stu, who had not been around when they had arrived. He was aware that Stu would always consider Judy as his little girl and would always give any suitor or potential mate a hard time. What complicated things was the fact that he was a fox, the natural enemy of bunnies back in prehistoric times. He vowed to be on his best behavior while in Bunnyburrow in order to get on the good side of the older buck.

The rabbit in question happened to walk in the front door just as Nick and Judy were unpacking their things in their room. Stu had seen the helicopter arrive and had wanted to be there to greet his daughter and the fox but he had had to attend to the hydroponics system which had broken down earlier in the day. As he walked in, he wiped his hind paws thoroughly on the welcome mat to remove any mud. Bonnie would tan his hide if he tracked any debris onto her pristine floors.

"Hey, Bonnie! Where are Nick and Judy?" He asked as he scanned the dining area while coming up behind his wife to plant a kiss on her cheek. He held her around the waist as he nuzzled her neck. "Mmm...sure smells good. And I don't mean the cooking," he laughed.

"Hush, Stu! Not in front of the kerfluffle," she giggled as she caressed his cheek while his mouth worked wonders on her neck. Even after thirty years, he still knew how to please her. "They went down to Judy's room to unpack. Why don't you go say hello to your daughter and her mate?"

"Mate? Since when-" he spluttered in surprise.

"Not sure," Bonnie said matter-of-factly as she returned her attention to her cooking, "I noticed they were wearing Promise Rings and could smell their scents on each other. I've never seen Judy happier and I can tell Nick is head over heels in love with her."

Stu frowned at the idea of Judy and Nick becoming mates and sleeping together. He had wanted separate beds for the two of them but Bonnie had firmly put her hind paw down with the added threat of his sleeping on the couch for a whole month.

"Stu," she had patiently explained to him, "you saw the way she was clinging to Nick at the hospital. Do you think she'll stay in her own bed once they're alone? Given that they're still recovering, they'd be more comfortable in a larger bed."

Even though he had apologized to the fox at the hospital and had extended an invitation for him to stay in Bunnyburrow while they recuperated, Judy was still his little girl. And like any father, he was still very protective of his children.

"Did you read the riot act to them, like I asked?" he said.

Bonnie sighed. "I did, however, when my father told you to keep your paws off me until the wedding night, did you listen?" she chimed back. "Stu, she's a bunny for Serendipity's sake!"

"Still," grumbled the older buck, "doesn't mean they shouldn't be told again. In fact, I think I'll go down there just in case they're messing around," stomping away with a huff.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at her husband as she sighed. She instructed one of her children to take over the cooking while she followed him just so he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

As Stu made his way to Judy's room, he passed by the locked gun closet and took out his shotgun. "Just in case I need to make a point," he thought. As he neared her room, he could hear them with a rabbit's natural enhanced sense of hearing.

Nick: "Judy, I think I'm stuck." (Sound of grunting.) "Yeah, it's definitely stuck."

Judy: "Well, it's definitely bigger now than it was before you put it in."

Nick: "I guess I have no choice but to wait for the swelling to go down before I can take it out."

Judy: "I might have some lotion that will help it to slip out but I'm in a happy place right now. Can you reach for it in my bag?"

Nick: "Let me see if I can." (More grunts.) "Yup, got it!"

Judy: "Next time, put some on before you put it in, that way-"

Wide-eyed and in shock, Stu couldn't stand to hear any more. He immediately barged into their room without knocking, Bonnie closely following on his hind paws.

"You two are having sex!" he yelled, face livid with anger as he leveled the shotgun at the fox whom he thought was defiling his daughter. He was prepared to run him out of Bunnyburrow with an angry mob, complete with pitchforks and torches. However, what he saw drew him up short with embarrassment.

Nick was sitting on the edge of the bed, his face frozen in fear as he was trying to remove his shirt and it was apparent his right arm was stuck in the shirt sleeve. Judy was seated, hind paws crossed, on the opposite side of the bed with a book in her paw, still fully clothed. She looked at her father at first with surprise then with a look that could curdle cream.

"Gosh, Nick. If you had told me we were having sex then I would have put my book down," she said sarcastically, a steel edge to her voice.

Stu, face blushing hotly, tried to back away from his daughter's evil eye glare as he muttered something about checking on the laundry and immediately scampered away down the hall.

Bonnie apologized as she left the room. "Sorry about that Judy. You know how overprotective and thick-headed your father can be at times. I'll lock the door so you can have your privacy. Nice pecs and abs, Nick!" she called back as she closed the door.

Nick tried to breathe again once Stu left the room however his heart was still pounding away furiously as he struggled to compose himself, whining as the edges of a panic attack crept up on him.

Judy heard his whine and noticed his ragged breathing. She picked up his accelerated heartbeat with her ears and rushed over to his side. The doctor had warned her there might be a few episodes of PTSD since this was the second time Nick had been shot. He had given her directions on how to care for him if it did occur. She quickly came around to his side of the bed and stood between his legs as she put both of her paws on his muzzle, forcing him to look directly into her eyes.

"Breathe with me Nick!" she commanded softly. "Focus on my voice. You're safe with me. There's no gun in the room. But do you want to go outside instead?"

Somehow Nick managed to hear her through the fog of his attack and shook his head slightly.

"Okay, Nick. I'm going to count backwards from twenty and I want you to follow my breathing. Twenty…"

Nick inhaled and exhaled just as Judy did, following her lead. As he did, he also inhaled her scent which helped to calm him down, his heart no longer threatening to burst through his chest. By the time she had counted down to one, he was feeling much better but was very much disheartened by Stu's reaction.

Judy wrapped her arms around his neck, comforting him as he hung his head, ears flat against it. She helped him get his arm out of his shirt and made him lie down on the bed. She then reached into her night bag and took out the special grooming brush she had bought as a surprise. She ran the brush through his chest fur, taking care to avoid the wounded area on his chest. She then started on his neck fur, and as she did, she could hear him purring his approval. She made him turn over as she continued grooming him, paying special attention to his tail.

"Fluff, you are so good to me! I really don't deserve you," he groaned in happiness.

"Nicholas Wilde!" Judy scolded, "I will not have that kind of self-deprecating talk from you. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

She crawled up the bed so Nick could lay his head on her lap while she scratched behind his ears. She was rewarded by the vigorous wagging of his tail. "You are a good mammal, Nick," she gently continued, knowing he tended to put himself down, a by-product of his years living on the streets. "You believed in me when no one else did. You stood up to Bogo for me. And even though I hurt you, you forgave me and showered me with more love that I ever thought possible from any mammal. You're kind, sweet, funny, and courageous."

"Don't forget 'handsome'," he chuckled, defusing the situation as always with humor.

"I didn't forget, sweetie," laughing while stroking his head. "And no one gets to treat you like dirt. Not while I have something to say about it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked while continuing to stroke his head.

Nick shrugged. "Nothing to talk about. There was a gun. I froze. I'm better now."

"Nick," she pleaded, "if we're going to become a couple, you need to open up to me more. I won't judge you. But, you have to be able to talk to me and tell me what's wrong. I can't keep guessing. You were there for me when I needed you. Now, let me help you. Please."

He sighed. He knew that it was important not to hide things between them. The fact that she had to beg to get him to open up made him hate himself all the more. He rolled over so that he was looking at her and the pain he saw in her eyes made up his mind for him. He never wanted to see that look again, knowing that he was the source of her hurt. He reached up to caress her cheek.

"Judy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't make you have to beg for me to open up to you. It's just that twenty years of keeping things to myself is a hard habit to break. But, I promise I'll make an effort to be more open, at least with you."

"Silly fox," she said, beaming, "I don't expect you to pour out your life story in one night. But when you're hurting inside, I'd like you to share it with me so that we can work through it together. As a couple. As a team."

He nodded, realizing how lucky he was to have her in his life. He thanked the deities of Karma and Serendipity for bringing them together that one fateful day in Jumbeaux' Ice Cream Shoppe.

"I guess I should start with my panic attacks. Remember when I said I had been hustling since I was twelve? Can you imagine what it's like for a twelve-year-old to be all alone on the streets? I barely survived my first night and almost returned home except the memory of my poor mother crying her eyes out over the bills she had to pay made me determined to become the breadwinner of the family. My father had been dead for five years by then and she was always struggling to keep a roof over our head. Foxes weren't trusted back then and the prejudice is still alive to this day. She couldn't get a good paying job and ended up as a waitress in a diner. Even there, she had a difficult time as some customers refused to be served by a fox and would ask the owner for another mammal to serve them." Nick recounted emptily. "The night I left, she had just been let go by the owner because mammals weren't coming in to eat because of her. It broke my heart that she was being treated unfairly. I decided to leave so that she would have one less mouth to feed while I tried to earn enough to send money her way.

"It wasn't all sunshine and roses. In the beginning, it wasn't too bad as there were quite a few who took pity on me because I was a kit. But as I grew older, it became harder and harder to even make fifty dollars a day. When I bragged to you that I made two hundred dollars a day for the last twenty years, that was an exaggeration. In fact, the pawpsicle scam was one of the few times we made that much profit and only because you made it happen when you stepped in to intercede with Jumbeaux. It was worse during winter as mammals were always in a rush to be somewhere and had no change to spare especially during the holidays. Since I couldn't afford to pay rent, I slept over the city gratings that expelled the excess heat into the air. There were times I had to fight for the space and if I lost out, then I would end up riding the monorail till morning trying to avoid the cops patrolling the line."

"Why didn't you stay in the city shelters?" Judy asked, heartbroken that he had to endure a lot of suffering as a kit when he should have been enjoying his teenage years bonding with friends. "I'm sure they would have taken you in."

Nick snorted in derision. "Hello, fox here? The shelters housed mostly prey animals who were uncomfortable with a hungry predator in their midst. Not only that, but most of those shelters were dangerous places. There were mammals there that should have been in a mental institution or prison. You could get robbed of your belongings. Most of them were filled with drugs and drug dealers. And don't get me started on the bed bugs and fleas."

Judy noticed he had mentioned going hungry and recalled the first time she had met Nick. He had appeared much thinner than the average fox for his age and his fur had been pretty scruffy. She remembered his stealing some blueberries from the fruit vendor's stall when she had confronted him about the pawpsicle scam. And when she had found him under the bridge, he had been sipping only on a Snarlbucks drink. Plus, when she had hung onto him for support at the museum, she had felt his ribs sticking out underneath his fur.

The Community Collaboration classes during her training in the ZPA had touched on many of the problems faced by the homeless: mortality and unintentional injuries, musculoskeletal disorders and chronic pain, hunger and nutrition, infectious diseases, dental problems, respiratory illnesses, chronic diseases and disorders, and lastly mental health issues. Nick's health and hunger issues struck deep emotional chords as she could not imagine herself going hungry or without a roof over her head to call her own. She was glad she had looked into his eating habits to ensure he had been eating well the last eighteen months whenever they were together. His new cooking skills were a clear testament that he had overcome his issues with food. Her worry was what future health issues would crop up because he had not been eating properly the last twenty years. She was determined to read up on what could be done to prevent them from occurring to her fox.

"The city shelters were mostly large warehouses converted into sleeping quarters with poor ventilation and plumbing," Nick continued. "The mammals in charge of maintenance either knew very little about mass housing or else were pocketing the funds. Given the state of the shelters, I knew a lot of homeless mammals who felt safer sleeping out in the streets, myself included.

"The panic attacks happened quite a lot in the beginning and I had to deal with them on my own. As time passed, I learnt to avoid the stressors causing the panic attacks. However, that was the first attack in quite a while."

"Then, I'm glad I was here to help you, dumb fox." Judy lovingly professed as she scritched him under the chin.

"As long as I'm the one and only dumb fox in your life," he purred, enjoying her blunt claws on his chin, "I can live with that."

"So, what did you do with the money you made?"

"I would leave it in my mom's purse the few times I would visit her. She never got mad at me for running away but I could see in her eyes that she wanted me to come back and stay. I'd sleep over a few days but I'd sneak out and continue hustling as she still needed my help to make ends meet. She had recently landed a well-paying job so the last time I visited, she chewed me out when she caught me leaving money for her. She wanted me to start spending the money for myself or saving it for when I finally settled down.

"Our apartment is one of the few luxuries I've allowed myself after twenty years once I started working for the ZPD. Also, to tell you the truth, I was secretly hoping you'd become my roommate once we started working together so I wanted to make sure that I had a presentable place for you," he confessed.

"If I remember correctly, I was the one who asked you if we could be roommates," she laughed. "You acted so cool and nonchalant about it."

Nick shrugged again, but this time he tried to hide the embarrassment from his face. "I was actually waiting for you to make the first move. With foxes, it's the vixen who decides who will be their mate. So, when you came to me while I was napping and fell asleep in my arms back in the Nap Room, despite the fact Bogo could have fired both of us on the spot, I knew you had chosen me."

Judy blushed at the memory, but looking back, it had seemed only natural to have curled up in his arms. She had sorely missed him during the traumatic week Bogo had separated them as partners. She had not been able to sleep when Bogo had announced he was going to look for different partners for them. The thought of not having Nick by her side had made her realize that she had fallen in love with him. So, when she had found him alone in the Nap Room fast asleep, she had cuddled up into his chest without a second thought.

"You better not make me regret it, Slick," she teased. "Or else I'm going to be wearing a new fox fur coat for your funeral."

"Ouch. You wound me to the core, madam," feigning outrage as he placed his paw on his chest. "Besides, that's rather speciesist of you, assuming I'd be nothing more than a sly fox, trying to get my way with a cute little bunny."

"It's speciesist only if I say so, foxy. And don't call me cute," she said, teasingly booping his nose.

Crinkling his nose in pleasure as her scent filled his nasal cavity, he grinned. "What about adorable, alluring, appealing, beautiful, bewitching, captivating, classy, enthralling, enticing, gorgeous, lovely-"

His brain stopped working the moment her lips touched his. "That'll do, fox," she breathlessly chuckled after, "that'll do."

She made Nick take his pain medication and lay down with him till he fell asleep. As soon as he did, she left the room to look for her parents.

---

Judy found Stu and Bonnie in the main dining room where most of her siblings who had met Nick earlier in the day, including Bailey and Lori, were gathered. She wasn't surprised as news travelled fast inside the warren. Judy marched up to her father who was wringing his paws as he sat next to Bonnie. She could see he was a bit distraught but the fact that he had pointed a gun at her mate steeled her resolve to finally have it out once and for all with her father.

She stood in front of her father, her fists on her hips, angrily thumping her right hind paw. "Dad, do you know how many laws you just broke tonight? Invasion of privacy. Assaulting a Police Officer. Making criminal threats," as she ticked them off while continuing to glare at him. "And carrying a loaded gun in front of your grandkits? Seriously? What if it went off by accident and you hit one of them? Could you have lived with that?"

"In my defense," Stu objected meekly, "the gun wasn't loaded. I just brought it along with me to scare him."

"And why would you do that!" she screamed at him. "Nick is the kindest, sweetest mammal around and I'm in love with him! What did he ever do to you to warrant such harassment? Don't think I've forgotten your verbal threat to shoot him before."

"Well...you're my daughter and he's a fox-"

"That's the point, isn't it? It's because he's a fox! If he was some other species, we wouldn't be having this conversation." she seethed.

"Now hold on, young lady!" Stu objected hotly. "This is still my house and you can't talk to me that way. I thought you two were having at it like rabbits even though your mother warned you not to."

"Respect is a two-way street, Dad. If you wanted it, you could have shown me and Nick some courtesy by talking it out instead of barging in on us. Sweet cheese and crackers, what if I had my service pistol on me! I'm trained to take down perps for a living and I could have shot you out of reflex."

"Stu! Judy! Enough!" Bonnie waded into the full-blown yelling match before it got out of hand. "The grandkits are still around and I don't want them hearing you fighting. Now," as she beckoned Judy to sit next to her, "let's talk this out once and for all like adults. And Stu?" eyeing the older buck, "you're going to get rid of the shotgun immediately as well as any anti-fox equipment that you have."

"But Bonnie," Stu protested weakly, "I got a sweet deal on that fox taser and-"

"Would you rather spend the night in jail? I'll call the sheriff myself this instant and Judy can press charges," as she raised an eyebrow threateningly.

"Look here, Dad. I've seen Nick and Judy together," Bailey stepped in. "It's very clear they're in love with each other. And from what I've heard, he's saved her life more than once. Why are you against their being mates?"

"It's just not natural!" Stu exclaimed, slamming his paw on the table. "Bunnies are supposed to be with bunnies so that they can make more bunnies! It's the way it's always been!"

"Times are changing, Dad," the young buck explained. "What if I were to tell you that I don't find female rabbits attractive?"

Stu grew wide-eyed at his son's disclosure. "Are you saying you're gay?"

Bailey groaned as he face-pawed himself. "No, dad. I like females. I just don't have the natural rabbit urge to copulate with the opposite lapine sex."

Stu waved his paw in dismissal. "You just haven't found the right doe yet."

"Well, since everyone's coming out of the closet..." smirked Lori, "Dad, I'm bi."

"You're by what?" the confused older buck asked.

Lori rolled her eyes. "I'm bisexual meaning to say I'm attracted to both males and females. You know? AC/DC, ambisextrous, flexible, open-minded, a switch-hitter, equal opportunity lover, cross-platform compatible, playing for both teams, my door swings both ways, I like my brownies with or without nuts. And I'm not the only LGBTQ rabbit in the household."

Stu's ears shot up in shock and surprise. "What's an LGBTQ?"

"LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer, Dad," Lori said, pleased at being able to jolt her father out of his complacency.

Stu turned to Bonnie in dismay. "Hun, did you know about this?"

"Stu, if you took your head out of your tail once in a while, you'd have noticed not all of our children have the same sexual orientation. Although, to be fair, it was natural for most of them to come to me since you were quite busy with running the farm. Why, I even helped some of our male cross-dressers buy their slinky lingerie online," Bonnie remarked. "Besides, with two hundred seventy-six children, we were bound to get the whole sexual spectrum."

"There's another thing, Dad," Bailey interjected. "Interspecies romance may soon become the new black. Some of our siblings who work with Gideon have seen him and Sharla, Judy's sheep friend from school, secretly holding paws when she's been over to his bakeshop."

"Huh," Judy commented, "I wonder when that started."

"From what they told me, it started just after you left to go back to Zootopia to solve the Nighthowler case. You may have made more of an impression on him than you thought."

"That still doesn't make your relationship with that fox right! And there are mammals out there who think the same way I do. I won't have my daughter attacked just because she's in love with a predator," Stu butted in.

"You do know that's considered a hate-crime in Zootopia, Dad?" Judy wearily argued. "After the whole Nighthowler fiasco, laws were passed banning anti-species comments. Any violent act motivated by species, sexual, or other prejudice was classified as such.

"You don't know Nick at all, Dad. What he's been through. It's unfair to lump him under an outdated stereotype perpetuated by our ancestors without getting to know him better. Did you know he stood up to Bogo just as I was about to hand in my badge? He was the only one in Zootopia that believed that I could make a difference when we were trying to solve the Missing Mammal case. He may have been a pain in the tuckus when I first met him but since then he's never scoffed at my dreams or thought that I was crazy for wanting to be a police officer. He's supported me every step of the way... unlike some mammals I know who thought I couldn't make it as a cop from the very beginning.

"I'm beginning to regret coming home," Judy grumbled as she rubbed her temples as Bonnie rubbed her back consolingly, "especially if my mate isn't welcome here. We'll stay the night so he can rest but tomorrow, Nick and I will take the train back to Zootopia. And we're not coming back until you change your mind about him," glaring at her father.

"You can't do that, Judy," Nick said as he emerged from the doorway in the wheelchair, eyes still groggy from sleep, "they're your family. Don't cut them off because of me."

"Nick," she bounded immediately over to his side, "you should be resting. And, why shouldn't I?" she complained. "He doesn't approve of you because you're a fox."

"I couldn't sleep without you next to me. Besides, I heard the arguing. He's only concerned for your safety, Carrots."

"I'm perfectly capable of handling myself. Besides, with you there, I know you have my back just as I have yours. And it doesn't make it right anyway. He or any other mammal shouldn't judge you because of your species."

"Like you said, Fluff, he doesn't know me. You haven't told him much about me and if I were in his paws, I'd feel the same way."

"It wasn't my place to tell them about your past, Nick. You deserve your privacy. He should at least trust my judgement and how I feel about you."

"Mr. Hopps," the tod said turning to the patriarch of the clan, "as your daughter's mate, I apologize for not asking if I could date your daughter. Let me amend that starting now.

"My name is Nicholas Piberius Wilde, son of John and Marian Wilde. My late father was a tailor and the name of his shop was Wilde Style. When I was seven years old, my father was killed during a robbery attempt just as he was closing up the shop." He heard Bonnie gasp in surprise and she clucked in sympathy at his ill-fortune. He focused on his story, trying to hold back the tears over the loss of his father; something he had yet to fully process after all these years.

"My mother tried to eke out a living as a waitress in a diner but was treated unfairly only because she was a vixen. When I was twelve years old, I ran away from home so I would not be a burden to my mom who had just been fired from her job. I lived on the streets for close to twenty years, hustling other mammals out of their money so that I could take care of her. Society has always had it out for foxes so I could never get a decent job. I was alone, homeless and scared for my mother.

"Then, an idealistic bunny showed up one day and disrupted the tediousness and emptiness of my life. She made me believe again that I could make something of myself, if I only tried. With her by my side, I could do anything. Even fall in love with her," as he softly grasped Judy's paw in his, intertwining their digits. "She made me feel again. I used to not let things get to me after I was bullied by prey animals when I was young. She broke through my walls and found the young idealistic fox that had been hiding there the last twenty years. That amazing beautiful bunny showed this tod that that event need not define him for the rest of his life. That there were many new things which could bring happiness again into his life, especially if there was someone to share the joy with.

"I used to wake up in the mornings dreading the day. Trying to come up with a quick score and then finding a place to safely sleep just so I could get up again the next day to repeat the same routine. There were times I wanted to quit but I persevered because of my mom.

"Now, I look forward to each new day because it means that I'll be spending my time with Carrots, laughing with her, making her laugh at my corny jokes, observing each and every little movement: from the way her nose twitches when she's deep in thought, to the way her ears would go up when she's surprised or how adorable she looks when she's asleep. Before we started living together, I would find any excuse to be with her longer. I'd ask her to have dinner with me so we could continue talking about a case. Maybe have a drink afterwards to unwind. Or I'd invite her to watch a movie together. I even offered to help her with her paperwork because that meant I got to be with her even though we didn't talk. When I went to bed, she was always the last thought in my mind before I fell asleep and the first when I awoke. Now that we're mates, I can't imagine her not being there beside me. She is the very air I breathe, my sun, moon and stars. She is my whole universe.

"Mr. Hopps," lifting his head to look at Stu as he extended his paw to the older buck, "I apologize for not asking you sooner but would you allow this reynard the honour of dating your daughter even though he has nothing to offer her but his undying love and devotion?"

Nick suddenly found a grey bunny trying to burrow into his chest, chirring happily as tears fell from her eyes as she nudged her muzzle underneath his chin, nibbling and licking his neck fur. He grasped her tightly to himself while wrapping his tail around her, allowing himself the luxury of basking in her love.

As he looked around the room, it appeared that she wasn't the only one teary-eyed. Even the gruff old buck seemed to be busy dabbing his eyes with his bandana. "Bunnies, so emotional," he fondly thought as he cradled his mate.

Stu cleared his throat, unprepared for the openness and honesty of the tod. He had always been of the mind that foxes were always up to no good, with the exception of Gideon, who seemed to be a bit slow in the noggin. And although he was a great business partner, he had never thought of him as anything more than that.

Now, his very upbringing and beliefs were being challenged by a fox whose only fault was to love his daughter and make her the happiest he had ever seen. He felt bad for the raw deal that had been handed to the fox and yet he respected Nick now all the more considering that, with all he had been through, he had been able to turn his life around for the better. All thanks to his daughter… who was shamelessly trying to embed herself into her fox.

Suddenly, he felt a tugging on his pants and he looked down to see Zach, looking up at him trying his best not to cry. "Pawpaw, a-a-are you going to send Uncle Nick a-a-away? If you do, tha-tha-that'll make Aunt Judy sa-sa-sad. A-a-and I don't want to see her c-c-crying. N-n-not like the last time. She was so sad, Pawpaw. A-a-are you mad at Uncle Nick?"

Stu felt his heart sink at the memory. Judy had come home unexpectedly over a year-and-a-half ago, ears drooping, suitcase in her paws and with tears in her eyes. It had been a month since her disastrous appearance at the news conference where she had inadvertently blamed the cause of the missing predators going savage on their genetic disposition. She had locked herself up in her room and had refused to come out to join the family for over a week. When she did make an appearance, she was no longer the bright, cheerful, optimistic go-getter she once was. It was as if the spark was gone and she was merely going through the motions, like one of those Hopping Dead zombies. Both he and Bonnie had attempted to get her to open up to them. They were afraid for her. Her mental state troubled him and he had approached a rabbit psychologist for advice. Having fragile constitutions, rabbits were known to keel over for any number of reasons ranging from sudden loud noises to complications from pregnancy. During that time, he and Bonnie were afraid they would wake up one morning to find her lifeless body.

Seeing her now with Nick was like night and day. The brightness in her eyes, the sounds of happiness and contentment coming from her, the way she stood up for him. And not to mention, the special scent emanating from her that he knew all too well that a doe gave off when in the presence of her mate.

Stu sighed as he caught the glare from Bonnie who directed him with a nod of her head to approach the pair who were in their own little world. He had realized he had been a speciesist moron from the beginning. Squaring his shoulders, he stood up from the table and approached the couple in the wheelchair.

"Welcome to the family...son."