Note: this flashback picks up directly after the end of my previous story 'Movie Night'.

Cypress Grove Lane, one week ago…

The moment she was out of sight of Nick's house, Judy pulled out her phone and started searching through her contacts. She could feel gears start to turn as some of the things that Nick had said that evening fluttered through her mind:

"Okay, it was my 8th birthday."

"Wow, that happened almost twenty-five years ago. Time sure flies, huh?"

"I didn't really have parties or anything like that when I was a kit since I didn't make many friends, but my mom still always found ways to make it special…"

Finding the number she was looking for, one she had acquired a few days before Nick's academy graduation, Judy pressed the call button and lifted the phone up to her ear. A few rings went by on the other end…

"Hello…?" answered a drowsy voice.

"Hello, Mrs. Wilde? It's Judy."

"Judy?" Judy heard a clicking sound on Mrs. Wilde's end as if she were turning on a lamp; obviously she had woken the vixen up. "It's late, dear, what's going on?"

"Mrs. Wilde, When is Nick's birthday?" Judy asked, getting straight to the point.

"His birthday?" Mrs. Wilde replied, "Why, it's a week from today, on the tenth," There was a pause. "Wait, he's never told you?"

"No!"

"Hmm…" the elderly vixen mused. "Well, I suppose that makes sense."

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

Mrs. Wilde sighed, as if steeling herself for what she was about to say. "You know how Nicholas and I had a falling out ten years ago, when I found out he was a grifter?"

"Yes?" said Judy.

"This happened on his twenty-third birthday. He had come over for a dinner, and that was when I… confronted him."

"OHH…" mouthed Judy, her eyes widening with comprehension for the second time that evening.

"He told me he ignored his birthday every year since, because it reminded him of his shame in lying to me. I'm guessing he wasn't ready to tell you about that just yet."

Judy nodded her head in understanding, even though Mrs. Wilde couldn't see it.

"But enough of that; what brought this on?" Mrs. Wilde asked.

"Well, you see, we were watching this old favorite movie of his on FurFlix, Robin Hood…"

"Robin Hood…" Mrs. Wilde repeated, comprehension in her voice, "I took Nicky to that for his eighth birthday! Oh he loved it so!"

"Yeah, he told me all about that," said Judy, "I didn't even know that when I picked the movie, I only picked it because I remembered seeing a Robin Hood book in his memory box months ago."

"Good, isn't it?" said Mrs. Wilde, "I saw it myself for the first time back in 1973, with Nicky's future father! It was our first date!"

"Really?" Judy had had no idea of that. "Well that explains a lot."

"You have no idea what a phenomenon that movie was for him and me and all the other foxes in our school – all the tods would start shooting pretend arrows at vixens they liked, and every vixen I knew had a picture of Brian Bedfurd as Robin Hood in their locker."

"Did you?" Judy asked innocently.

"Oh no, I was happily in love with my future husband at the time." Mrs. Wilde replied rather quickly.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, back to the subject of Nick's birthday," said Judy, who then sat down on the curb because she was getting tired of standing on the sidewalk, "What were your plans for it, anyway?"

"Nicky suggested we celebrate by going out to dinner and then back to my place for some homemade cake. Do you have another idea in mind?"

"Oh yes…" said Judy, "He said a few times he never had parties as a kit, so let's give him one!"

"A party?" asked Mrs. Wilde.

"A surprise party!" Judy declared, her excitement growing with every second, "A surprise party where he walks in and the lights go on and everyone jumps up and yells surprise and Nick is so shocked he drops everything and faints!"

"Yes, yes, YES!" cried Mrs. Wilde, sounding almost giddy herself now. "We'll have it at my apartment! The setup is perfect! I'll take him to dinner like he wanted, and while we're out you get everything ready! Balloons, streamers, the works! Do you know any of Nicky's friends who could come?"

"At least a dozen: his old partner Finnick, his pal Flash the sloth, and a bunch of our fellow officers!"

"Good, let's set a dozen as the maximum, I doubt my apartment can hold more than that," said Mrs. Wilde. "That sounds great, Judy, but I don't think it's enough. This is my first birthday with Nicky in ten years, and your first ever. It needs something more. Something more special than cake and presents…"

Both vixen and bunny on each end thought silently for a few seconds, before Judy's eyes lit up with inspiration. "Maybe we can get Brian Bedfurd to come to the party!"

"Brian Bedfurd…?" Mrs. Wilde asked trepidaciously.

"Yeah, Nick seemed to really admire him! I bet he'd love to meet him, he could tell him all kinds of stories about the making of the movie!"

There was a slight pause on Mrs. Wilde's end. "That would be wonderful, Judy, but how do we find him? Last I heard he's still alive, but I don't know if he lives in Zootopia - he vanished from the public eye some years ago. Any chance you could look him up in the police system?"

"Not unless he has a criminal record," Judy replied, her ears drooping a little, "And I can't try looking for his tax info unless it's part of a case."

Then Judy's ears perked up as she suddenly remembered another earlier conversation with Nick. "But I think I know someone who might be able to help us," she stated.

"Oh? Do tell." said Mrs. Wilde.

"You remember that minstrel from the movie? Alan-a-Tail, I think he was called?"

"The brown raccoon? Roger Thrash? Certainly!"

"Well, there's this busker Nick and I know who we see sometimes while patrolling Savannah Central," said Judy, "His name is Max and he plays drums, and he's a Torch Key raccoon like Roger, and he looks exactly like him, I remember noting the resemblance," Judy grinned, "I'm willing to bet they're related. And we looked Roger Thrash up, and he's still alive and living in Zootopia. If I can find Max I'll ask him, and if I'm right maybe I can get him to ask Roger to come to the party and meet Nick! And if Roger can help us track down Brian Bedfurd too, all the better!"

"Do you think he'll do it?" Mrs. Wilde asked excitedly.

"I think so, Max is a nice kid," Judy replied, "No harm in asking, right?"

"Certainly not." Said Mrs. Wilde, a smile audible in her voice. Judy smiled too, a familiar feeling spreading through her, the same sense of purpose she felt every time she put on her police uniform, any chance she found to help someone, to make their world a little better.

"An alliance…?" Mrs. Wilde asked.

"An alliance." confirmed Judy. "Let's give Nick Wilde the best birthday he's ever had!"