The vixen smiled at the young fox as he snuggled into bed. She sat next to him and stroked his ears while she recited a rhyme:
Vintery mintery cutery corn
Apple seed and apple thorn,
Wire, brier, limber lock,
Three geese in a flock;
Along came Tod,
With his long rod,
And scared them all to Migly-wod.
One flew east, one flew west,
One flew over the cuckoo's nest.
And like every night since the day he was born, his mom changed the last line and finished, "Make your way home, Nick." She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, her beaming smile barely masking the exhausted look in her eyes.
She started to get up and Nick said, "Mama?"
The vixen paused. "What is it dear?"
"Next time, could you say it different? Until he comes back, can you say, 'Make your way home, Pa' instead?"
The vixen burst into tears.
Nick jerked awake. He blinked back tears as the memory of his mom's stricken face faded, leaving only a dull ache in his stomach. Judy lay sprawled across his chest, and he was thankful he hadn't woken her up. Nick gently slid out from under the sleeping rabbit and carefully climbed out of bed and padded into the living room.
He turned on his laptop, hoping to do something mindless to distract him from the dream. Instead, he found himself staring at the camera footage of his father's abduction at the hospital, just like he had during so many other sleepless nights over the past six years.
"Can't sleep?" Nick flicked the video closed, though he was sure Judy had seen it since she was already leaning against his back and draping her arms around his neck. "Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on my shifty fox."
Nick chuckled. "I should put a bell on you, Carrots." It wasn't like she'd ask him about the video, but it never hurt to change the subject. "I am a little worried about seeing your family tomorrow."
"Really? It's just my sister Hazel and her husband and kits tomorrow. You met her the last time you came home with me."
Nick liked Hazel. It was almost scary how much she and Judy looked alike, though Hazel was a year older. "Yeah, but I haven't seen any of your family since we… became an item." He slowly spun in the desk chair and swept her into his lap. "And we've never had them over to our-" he coughed, trying to hide what he almost said. "I mean, I haven't spent time with them here in the city."
Judy giggled. "You have pretty much already moved in here, haven't you?"
Nick cringed inside before he continued. "I don't wanna scare your siblings, Fluff. Are… are you sure you want me here when your family comes over? I mean, I could-"
Judy interrupted him. "You don't even need to ask. Of course I want you here!"
Nick sighed with relief. They still hadn't talked about officially moving in together, and he didn't want to intrude.
Nick gently raised the baby rabbit over his head and slowly lowered her towards his gaping maw. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Judy's ears shooting up. Nick froze, the baby rabbit dangling inches from his teeth, the kit smiling down at him.
The baby's mother, Hazel, was facing away from Nick while she talked to Judy. She stopped speaking when she noticed Judy's expression and turned around. Just as Hazel's gaze fell on them, Nick puckered up and kissed the baby's neck, causing the little bunny to giggle.
Hazel smiled. "Aww Nick, you'll make a great father someday." Nick tried not to laugh when Judy scowled at him over Hazel's shoulder. "Though you might want to be careful, she just ate and-" Hazel was interrupted as the baby rabbit laughed once more before she spit up on Nick's shirt.
The fox looked annoyed at first, then he shrugged and gave the kit to Hazel. He looked down at his chest and reached for the paper towels on the nearby kitchen counter. "Oh well, just another pattern for my shirt."
Judy stopped laughing and made a face. "Eww. You should just toss out that ratty old shirt anyway."
Nick pulled the shirt away from his fur and started wiping it as he headed towards the bedroom. "No way, Fluff. This thing is a classic."
Judy followed Nick back to the bedroom where he carefully took off his shirt. She crossed her arms and said, "Serves you right."
"What? I'm hungry, which I tried to subtly hint at earlier, but you just weren't getting the message." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I would have said something, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise now that Hazel is here."
Judy rolled her eyes. "Oh brother. Get cleaned up and I'll order out."
Minutes later Nick had changed into a blue hawaiian shirt and headed back to the front room, where Hazel was talking to Judy, the baby bunny asleep in Hazel's arms. "It's a new project a bunch of our siblings have been working on, right here in Zootopia. I haven't seen it yet, but Zeke is excited to show me what they've been doing."
Nick smirked. "You bunnies, slowly taking over the world, one new warren at a time."
Hazel continued. "Dad says it's all a plot to lure more of our siblings to the big city. It's going to be amazing. Not only will there be living space, but we'll also be able to grow produce right here in the city." Hazel looked over at Nick. "You know… you could do me a big favor, Nick. Tomorrow it's going to be tough getting all the kits out to visit the new place after we see the museum. Could you watch some of them here while I take Judy to show her the warren? Don't worry, not Miss Barfy here, but some of the older ones."
Nick nodded. "Only if you make them all wear name tags."
Hazel laughed.
Judy glanced at her sister inquisitively and said, "Are you sure, Nick?"
The fox leaned against the kitchen counter. "What, worried I'll eat them or something?"
Judy folded her arms. "It's not them I'm worried about."
Nick started to reply when Hazel interrupted him. "Don't worry Judy, it's only for a few hours. Just uhh… don't tell Zeke. He's a little weird around predators, but don't worry. Nick is so great, I'm sure Zeke will come around."
The doorbell rang and Nick practically ran to answer it. He looked through the peephole and saw the antelope from their favorite restaurant holding several white plastic bags. Nick licked his lips and pulled his wallet out of his pocket before he opened the door.
An hour later, Zeke arrived with a few kits. Nick was surprised to smell Judy's obvious scent of sadness while Hazel introduced her husband and the other small bunnies. He had never known Judy to feel sad when he'd met other members of her family before.
Judy's mood confused Nick, but Zeke's mood was much clearer.
Nick held out his paw to the short stocky rabbit. "Nick Wilde." He tried not to flinch at the buck's scent, as waves of anger mixed with fear rolled across him.
After hesitating just long enough for it to be awkward, the rabbit briefly shook the proffered paw. "Ezekiel Brooks." After an odd glance from his wife, he added. "But everyone calls me Zeke."
The kits played busily but quietly. They drew, read, or played with toys they'd brought while Hazel continued speaking about the new warren. The three adult rabbits sat on the couch and Nick sat mostly silent in the office chair, watching the kits. He was amazed at how quiet the younger bunnies were, so different from the way young foxes always behaved. Sure, they could be rambunctious, but unlike foxes, they were able to behave some of the time too. Every now and then a young kit brought pictures to show the adults, even Nick, who always made a big production about how wonderful the drawings were, even when he had no idea what they actually depicted.
The entire time Zeke barely looked at the fox, until one of the the kits came over and asked to sit in Nick's lap. The buck started to intervene and said, "Peggy, I don't think-" but Hazel interrupted him with a loud harrumph and he fell silent.
With a smug look on his face, Nick picked up the kit. "What can I say, I'm one cuddly guy and bunnies can't resist me." He held the kit for awhile until she fell asleep, and smiled when Hazel nudged Judy to look at him. It took all the self control Nick had to ignore the angry glare on Zeke's face.
Later that night after Hazel, Zeke, and the kits left, Nick and Judy collapsed on the couch and held each other.
"Whew, I love my sister, but she can be exhausting." Judy smiled up at Nick. "And you were a real trooper. I saw Zeke giving you the stink eye all night. I'm so sorry, Nick."
Nick shrugged. "Not everyone can appreciate how cool I am."
Judy laughed. "The kits sure did. And I swear, Hazel bruised my ribs with her constant elbowing to look at you. If she starts pestering me about having kits of my own…" She trailed off into a wide yawn.
Nick sorely wanted to talk to Judy about several things, like why she'd been sad earlier. Though he was also worried, because he remembered how Judy seemed to be more and more interested in hearing about the living space at the new warren. They hadn't officially talked about moving in together, but Nick had hoped they could talk about it soon. However, given Zeke's reaction, he wondered just how welcome he'd be even visiting the warren, and as for him living there… well, that didn't seem likely. But Judy yawned again before she snuggled against him, and he decided they would have to talk about this later. "Come on, Fluff. Time for bed."