Ch. 31: Blessings

The first mammal they told was Amelia. She had returned to her own house while Nick and Judy had recovered in the hospital and was enjoying a cup of tea in the kitchen when her son and the bunny came in. Their paws were interlocked and they wore smiles so big it looked like their faces would split in half.

Amelia stood up from the table when they walked in, she took in their expressions and paws and before Nick could open his mouth she spoke: "He said yes!"

And then she was pulling them into her arms and squeezing the life out of them while her eyes were already feeling with joyful tears.

Nick looked to Judy over his mother's shoulder but Judy's eyes were shut tight as she returned Amelia's fierce hug.

"You already knew?" Nick asked as his mother finally released them, her smile not waning.

Amelia's eyes turned to Judy, "Of course, Judy asked me for my blessing back at the hospital."

Nick's head whirled around to look at his brand new fiancée, Judy shrugged with a giggle, "I'm old fashioned."

The fox frowned slightly, in all the excitement he hadn't thought about how he had always assumed, if and when the time came, he would be the one to propose to Judy.

His mother appeared to have read his mind, she laughed softly, "Here, Nick."

Amelia lifted her paw, where her wedding ring flashed. It was a simple silver band with a small diamond resting in its center, simple but elegant. With a final loving look to it Amelia slid the ring off and offered it to Nick who stared at it with shock and melancholy.

"Mom…" Nick began.

"We can't take that," Judy added softly.

But Amelia shook her head, "I want you two to have it, and I know your father would to. It's our gift to you, to show Judy she is officially a part of the Wilde family."

With a shaking breath Nick accepted the ring, offering his mother a bittersweet smile before he turned to Judy who looked up at him with shining eyed anticipation.

He kneeled down on one knee as his rabbit did just an hour ago and offered it to her, "Marry me, Officer Fluff?"

She giggled and held out her paw, "I thought you'd never ask me, Slick Nick."

Since the ring was fox-sized he slid it onto her thumb and Judy brought it closer to her smile to inspect it. Her eyes watered slightly as she let out a loving sigh, "It's perfect."

Amelia pulled them back into a hug, sobbing happily now and Nick tried to calm her down, telling her she was embarrassing them. Judy reminded him that Clawhauser's reaction would be tenfold when they told him.

But when Amelia finally calmed down and started making the two celebratory tea Judy slipped away into a hallway, looking for a certain picture while Nick gave his mother the details on the proposal.

The bunny found what she was looking for a few moments later, a picture on the wall of a handsome fox, he looked like a more mature, tired version of Nick.

Judy smiled up at the frame, "Hello, Mr. Wilde. I uh, I popped the question to your son today. He said yes, so I guess that means I'm your daughter now." She held her ring paw up to the picture, "I hope you don't mind that he gave me your wife's ring, Mrs. Wilde said you wouldn't." Despite her happiness Judy's ears dropped, "I really wish I could see you at the wedding, but I know you'll be watching, and I promise Mr. Wilde I'll take care of Nick… I love him more than anything."

.

The next they told were the ZPD. Nick had walked in, ready to just tell Bogo and Clawhauser and let them spread the news. But Judy had other plans, as soon as they entered the precinct she ran ahead of them and straight to Clawhauser's desk.

The cheetah didn't even get a word in edgewise before Judy spoke, very loudly and for the entire building to hear: "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"

All conversations ceased as all eyes turned back to her, Nick scurried over to Judy's side while she showed off her ring to Clawhauser who looked to have gone brain dead.

"Clawhauser?" Judy looked up at the tubby cheetah with concern.

"You okay, buddy?" Nick asked.

"Sorry I think I momentarily blacked out," the cheetah shook his head. "I could've just sworn Judy said you two were engaged."

They both chuckled and Judy showed off the ring once again, "I did."

The gasp Clawhauser released made the two jump and then he was literally crawling over the desk and pulling them into a hug. Judy had been right; it was much more bone-crushing than Amelia's.

"YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!" Clawhauser's squeal could shatter glass.

Meanwhile the rest of the precinct were either calling out congratulations or cheering/jeering about the WildeHopps Marriage betting pool ("I told you to wait a year!" cried out Willy the wolf).

Judy laughed good-naturedly over the whole thing while still being held by Clawhauser. Nick slipped out of the cheetah's grip and snuck away from the growing crowd. Judy liked the attention she could have it all as far as he was concerned, he was too busy trying to not feel so flustered.

He spotted Bogo walking out of the bullpen and motioning for him to come here. Feeling a sudden sense of dread Nick walked over to stand before his chief, he saluted him, hoping to get on his good side before the buffalo even spoke.

"You're getting married?" Bogo asked his tone unreadable.

"Yes, sir," Nick replied.

"I've had officers marry before," Bogo informed him, his eyes on Judy and her audience. "It interfered with their work, they would be unable to do their jobs because of fights they had nothing to do with the force." Bogo's eyes looked down at Nick, "I've seen marriages end because the animals were both officers."

"Well, no offense, chief," Nick said. "But they weren't me and Carrots."

Bogo's brows rose, "And?"

"Come on, chief. You know us, we wouldn't let anything get in the way of our job," Nick offered a reassuring grin. "And now that I have Carrots…trust me, I'm not going to let her get away so easily."

Bogo fixed Nick with one of those intense glares he used when officers would get unruly or be insubordinate. Nick usually tried to ignore the look as much as possible, but not this time, this time he met the glare with a level, calm gaze. They stared at each other for a number of long seconds until finally Bogo blinked, and his lips turned up into a rare smile.

He stretched his hoof out to the fox who looked surprised before taking it and receiving a firm shake from the buffalo.

"Be good to her," was all Bogo said, but it was all that was needed.

.

To protect themselves from any further painful embraces Judy and Nick decided to tell Sven, Charlie, and Winter the good news over the phone. By the jubilated screaming coming from the other line they decided they had made the right choice.

They called Fru Fru, Finnick, and the other Unusuals to have lunch with them. When Nick and Judy had arrived at the quaint restaurant Fru Fru was already there waiting for them.

"When's the wedding date?" she said as soon as they sat down.

Nick sent a look to Judy who quickly shook her head, "I didn't say anything!"

"I was once a bride too, you know," Fru Fru reminded them, flashing her own ring that had a diamond that was almost too big for her finger. "I know what an animal sounds like when they're going to marry their one true love. And I call maid of honor."

Judy and Fru Fru had been talking about wedding dates and where it would be held when Finnick and the Unusuals appeared. Saying Finnick was shocked to hear about the engagement was an understatement. Perry and Fidget simply gave them congratulations and ordered something to eat.

But Finnick reached out and took Judy's arm, dragging her away from the group. Nick stood up to follow after them but was stopped by Fru Fru. "I know that look too," the shrew said. "Let them be."

Finnick led Judy outside before dropping her arm and turning around to stare at her in shock, "You're marrying him!?"

Judy frowned, not taking the disbelief in his voice to be a good sign. She wanted Nick's best friend to be at their wedding, especially after everything they had all been through.

"Yes," she replied quietly.

"Nick's never been married before," Finnick told her like it was a very important fact.

"I kinda assumed that," Judy told him. "…Do you not want us to get married?"

"It's not that…I just…" Finnick trailed off as if he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. "Don't let his calm façade fool you. He has no idea what he's doing."

"Neither do I," Judy laughed, "Yeah, I have a lot of relatives who are married but that doesn't mean I know much about it."

The words didn't look like they had appeased the fennec fox. Judy smiled assuredly, "You kinda became Nick's big brother when you two met, didn't you?"

He seemed thrown off by the change of topic but gave a small nod, "We met when he was just a teenager… For a while there we were all I have, but now he's a cop and getting married, and I just…" he let out a sigh. "He's getting married…"

"I know you're worried about him, Finnick," Judy said. "But you know I'll take care of him."

"Yeah, I know," Finnick replied then gave her a rueful smile, "But it feels like just yesterday we were hustling pawpsicles."

Judy giggled and put her arms around the fox, Finnick tensed but didn't move out of her embrace. "I'll let you guys make some pawpsicles when we get back from the honeymoon."

She felt Finnick's shoulders shake with laughter and Judy continued talking: "You're technically my brother in law now."

"Oh, the horror," Finnick said, his voice warm with affection.

.

The weekend came and Nick and Judy were on the Zootopia Express, about to make their announcement to the group of mammals who really, really needed to know: the Hopps family.

Specifically they were going to get Stu and Bonnie's blessing. It was a mission Nick was not excited about.

"My parents already like you," Judy kept repeating to him, holding his paw as she did so. Nick looked ready to hyperventilate, "Yeah, enough to let me date you. But enough to let me marry you?"

Judy's brow knit, "My parents didn't let me do anything. I'm an adult, Nick, if I want to marry you I'll marry you whether they like it or not."

Nick pulled his lips up in a tight smile as he looked down at her, "I want my fiancée's family to be at our wedding."

"They will," Judy insisted before she leaned her head against his shoulder. She chuckled softly, "This reminds me of when you first met my parents. You were so scared, and all for nothing too."

Nick slipped his paw around hers and stared at their interlocked fingers, "I don't know if I would trust me with you if I was them…"

"Nick," Judy's fingers tightened around his paw. "If there's one mammal I trust with my life it's you. Besides, I know for a fact my parents are going to give us their blessing."

Nick smirked at her, "What makes you so confident?"

Judy smiled up at him, "Because my parents tended to spoil me. When they see how madly in love I am with you they won't be able to say no."

Nick's nose nuzzled against her ear, "Save all the flattery for our vows, Carrots."

An hour and a half later the two were being welcomed into the Hopps house but a cheerful Mr. and Mrs. Hopps and their ecstatic children who immediately wanted to drag Nick out to the back yard to play ball. But Judy defended him from her siblings and told them Nick could play later, making the children run off with less of a skip in their step.

"You should've called," Bonnie told them as she ushered them inside the kitchen for some milk and carrot cake (and a few leftover blueberry muffins just for Nick).

"We wanted to surprise you," Judy said, keeping her paws in her pockets. She sat down across from her parents while Nick leaned against the turned off stove all the while munching nervously on a cold blueberry muffin, his tail bushed out betraying his frazzled nerves.

"We wanted to surprise you," Judy told them, keeping her paws hidden from her parents until the opportune time. "We actually have some pretty big news."
"What, are you expecting?" Stu joked with a laugh and Nick nearly choked on his muffin.

"No, dad," Judy rolled her eyes but even her heart was pounding as the inevitable moment was drawing near. "But it is something pretty big."
Stu and Bonnie shared a look before turning back to their daughter. "What is it, sweetie?"

Judy let out a deep breath and placed her paws on the table, the ring catching the light from the sun beam that slanted from the windows. "We're getting married," she breathed.

Her parents' eyes bulged and their jaws went slack. They looked to the ring, to Judy, then to Nick who was visibly shaking at this point.

"I asked Nick to marry me and he said yes," Judy replied, then look to said fox.

It took him a moment to realize she wanted him to talk, "We-we came to ask for your blessing." His words were a little too loud and spoken a little too fast and he wondered if the two had managed to make out his words.

"Oh you're…you two are getting married," Bonnie said, by her voice she had absolutely not idea how to take the news. Stu looked shell-shocked.

"Yes," Judy stood up and walked over to Nick, when she took his paw she nearly yelped when his fingers tightened painfully around her paw. "We are."

Nick swallowed painfully as her parents slowly wrapped their minds around the news. They both looked at each other again, their expression unreadable and Nick felt sick, he could imagine Stu and Bonnie screaming at them, telling them such a marriage was unnatural, they'd demand Nick to tell him what made him think he deserved their daughter (a question he didn't think he'd have the answer too), they'd leave this house with ringing ears and no blessings.

And then the two looked back to Nick and Judy…and smiled.

"Congratulations," Stu said warmly.

Bonnie stood up and came forward to give them each a hug. Judy accepted it gleefully; her eyes welling up alongside with her mother, when she hugged Nick the fox almost forgot to return it. "I wished you had told us earlier," Bonnie smiled at them, and then looked at Judy's paw. "Where'd you get that ring?"

Judy held it up with a soft smile on her face, "Mrs. Wilde gave us hers."

"You two asked for her blessing didn't you?" Stu asked, walking over and wrapping his arm around his wife.

"Yes, sir," Nick replied. "Your daughter asked for it before she proposed to me."

Stu let out a loud belly laugh, "I can only imagine how Jude the Dude 'romantically proposed'. Did she twist your arm and not let go until you said yes."

"Dad," Judy's ears flushed while Bonnie rolled her eyes. Nick let out a chuckle, more from his intense relief than anything else.

"So we do have your blessing?" he clarified.
"Of course you do, Nick," Bonnie assured him. "We know you'd die before you let anything happen to our baby girl."

"Plus if Judes doesn't marry you then she wouldn't marry anyone," Stu added.

Before Nick could say anything Bonnie looked back at he and Judy's interlocked paws and her eyes lit up. "You don't have a ring, Nick?"

He shook his head, "My dad was buried with his, Judy and I can just save up and buy me one later."

But Bonnie was already shaking her head, a smile on her face, "Oh no, you aren't. If our Judy is wearing a Wilde ring, you're wearing a Hopps ring."

Bonnie took Nick's free paw and dragged him out of the kitchen, Judy following after since she still had a grip on him and Stu followed at a slower pace.

Bonnie led them to the attic where she disappeared inside for a moment before coming back down with a large jewelry box. She placed it on the floor and everyone knelt down before it as she opened it, inside were a number of polished rings of different sizes and designs, along with bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.

"These rings have been passed down from the Hopps family for generations," Bonnie told the fox. "You take one."

Nick stared at her, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Positive." Nick glanced at Stu but the rabbit was nodding as well.

Nick felt his throat tighten, touched by the gesture. "Okay then…um…" He looked down at the many choices, "Which one would you suggest?"

Judy studied the array then picked up a thick golden band, slightly larger than the others. "This is from Grandpa Roger, isn't it, Mom?"

Bonnie nodded, "The very first Hopps."

Judy offered it to Nick, "He started a family tree, let's start a new one."

Nick smiled tenderly and took the offering, sliding the ring onto his finger. Roger Hopps had been big for a rabbit and while the golden band was a tight fit, it was a fit nonetheless.

"What do you think?" she asked him, her eyes smiling as she gazed at the ring. Bonnie and Stu both wearing proud smiles, as Nick looked up at his bunny.

He kept his eyes on her as he breathed, "Perfect."