Welcome everyone!

We have a little bit of action in this chapter.

All the best wishes for you in the new year!

Chapter 4

"Dad! How was it, huh?!" Nicholas Wilde was attacked by a Mike-shaped projectile the moment he stepped into his mother's flat. The impact almost threw both of them to the ground, but Nick steadied himself with the use of the wall.

"Whoa, easy there. You will damage your father."

The boy looked up from the hug he was giving the adult fox and showed him a smirk.

"Nah, you're not that soft." He laughed. "So? Tell me, tell me!"

"Tell what, exactly?" Asked a female voice. A vixen in her fifties entered the hallway, wiping her paws with a kitchen cloth. Her facial features carried a strong resemblance to those of Nick's.

"Hello, mother." The fox greeted the vixen. "Thank you for taking care of Michael."

She gave him a chuckle. "No problem, Nick. You're both always welcomed here, you know that."

"Oh, I know. And I also happen to know that he can be a handful."

This comment earned him a headbutt from his son. "Hey, I'm right here!"

Nicholas ruffled the boy's head fur with a laugh.

"Anyway, just tell me already!"

"Michael." The adult fox warned his son by changing the tone of voice. He cautioned him earlier not to tell Martha about the dinner, but it seemed that the boy's patience has run out.

The vixen folded her arms and leaned against the door frame. A smug grin appeared on her face. "Oh? Keeping secrets from me, are we?"

Nicholas let out a tired sigh. "No, mother. Just a business meeting and I promised Michael a surprise if it would go well."

"Really now?" Martha asked with suspicion in her voice. After all, no one knew him better than she did.

"Yes, I'll tell you later about it, as now we have to hurry home. It's very late." He unclasped his son's arms. "Get dressed, Michael."

After saying their goodbyes, both foxes got to a cab and headed home.

"Ok, dad. Grandma is not here, so talk!" The little fox demanded from his parent.

But Nick just raised a finger at him. "Watch your tone young mammal." The adult reprimanded him.

Mike's ears fell down slightly. "Uh, sorry… But I really wanna' know!" He pleaded.

Nicholas raised a brow, unmoved by these words. "Manners first." He stated to his son.

The little fox withheld a groan and a dozen other questions and took a deep breath.

"Dad, would you kindly tell me how the da- dinner went? Please."

Now his father smiled. "It was ok, I guess?"

Mike frowned at these words. "Ok? That's it? What about Judy? Do you like her?"

Nicholas cast a glance at his excited son and then stared outside the cab's window. "Well… I can say that I don't 'dislike' her…" It was actually half true. The bunny left quite the impression. She was pretty, smart and energetic, fun to be around. "Pretty indeed…" He muttered to the car's window.

"Sorry?" Mike asked, not hearing what his father said.

"Hm? Oh, just thinking out loud."

.

.

Judy checked her phone.

It was 18:45. 15 minutes before the agreed time.

Nicholas called her to discuss a day she'd like to go on their second… date. Judy stopped pretending that it was anything else. Besides, she quite liked the fox now. He was smart, charming and a gentlemammal. It also surprised her a bit that, as a bunny, she started considering him, a fox, quite handsome.

This place was partly Nick's idea. He suggested that, since he chose the first location for an evening together, she should choose the next one.

So now Judy went inside the pub she visited from time to time with other officers, whether for a drink or a quick lunch. The doe sat down at a free table and took off her winter jacket. They served good food here and the atmosphere was very nice. Also, it was cheap. If La Griffe was the Mount Everest of gastronomy when it came to prices, then Joey's was the Challenger Deep. But she liked it here and felt a lot more comfortable than in a fancy restaurant. Today she was dressed in simple jeans and a checkered pink shirt, her usual outfit to go out with her friends.

A funny thought entered her mind and she wondered how would a high-class fox dress to a regular pub like this. Her question was answered when the front door opened and Nicholas walked in. He scanned the interior with his eyes and eventually noticed Judy. The fox approached the table while taking off his own jacket. He was wearing dark pants, along with a graphite shirt without a tie.

He saw her analytic stare and showed a smirk. "Should I be concerned when I'm subjected to such a calculating gaze?"

The doe replied with a chuckle. "No, not if you're innocent, otherwise I'd have to arrest you."

His smirk widened and he spread his arms. "Would you like to perform a standard pat down, officer Hopps?"

A slight blush from his bold proposition told him that he scored a point. But the doe recomposed herself instantly. "That eager? Do you have a thing for females in uniforms, Mr. Wilde?" She fired back in an amused tone. The fox's change of attitude to a more casual one was a bit surprising, but far from unwelcomed.

He chuckled at her response. "I'm considering it." And, what came as a bit of surprise to him, he really did. "So," Nicholas steered the conversation on a different topic. "Why this place in particular? Some kind of cop history behind it?" The fox sat down.

"Not really, just affordable for us, regular mortals."

"Oh, am I to take it that you didn't like the restaurant?" He raised a brow.

"No, I liked it. But this," She gestured around herself, her ears happily perked up. "Is more to my tastes. Besides we got to celebrate our first victory over a certain attorney."

"Oh, really?" He settled his muzzle on folded paws, with elbows on the table. "Do tell some more."

"We're talking about the Janine's case from June this year." She clarified.

Again, a smirk appeared on his face. "Oh, the one where my client lied to me and hid critical evidence for the case? Hardly would count that as victory."

"Hmm? Then what about the drug smuggling case from two months ago?"

"Ah, I got a call from school that Michael is very sick and I had to immediately leave the court."

Judy tilted her head to the side and rested her cheek on a paw. "You have an excuse for everything, don't you?"

He sent her an innocent smile. "Well, I'm a fox after all. And foxes are-" He never got to finish that sentence as a large paw slammed on the table, startling them both. A grizzly bear towered over them, his face contorted in anger.

"Officer Hopps?" He snarled.

"Yes. How can I help you, sir?" She replied, impressing Nick with her calmness.

"You… you put my boy in jail!" The bear growled, leaning down to the bunny, baring his teeth. "Ronald Batter. You cuffed him and put in jail!" Nick could smell alcohol in his breath. And in the next moment the huge predator raised his fist to throw a punch.

Several things happened very quickly. Nicholas registered that the massive arm came down on Judy and the bunny turned into a grey blur and jumped at the attacker. Two seconds later the bear was lying on the floor on his stomach, with Judy holding his arm up in a wrist lock.

"Sir, I should arrest you for assault. However, if you will leave on your own immediately I will not press any charges. And just to clarify: I was only carrying out my duty and made the arrest, what happens after is out of my control, please understand that."

There was a growl behind her, as there was another bear and he took a swing at Judy's back.

But then Nick placed himself between the two. "Whoa, there! I would stop if I were you!" He raised his voice to get to the angry mammal. And the bear did stop, confusion and annoyance painted on his face.

"As your friend or relative has stated, you're fully aware that this lady is a police officer, right?" He asked rhetorically. "And let me tell you that she's here for official reasons, so what you're trying to do is assaulting a police officer while in the execution of her duty."

"Buzz off, fox!" The bear snarled and raised his arm again, but Nick didn't move. Instead, he continued talking.

"Depending on the injuries caused to the officer, the offender faces imprisonment from 5 to 14 years." Hearing that, the large predator hesitated and the fox took a small step forward. "And believe me, as an attorney, I can get you the full 14. So, here's a question: you like jail food?"

"Ghh…" The bear grit his teeth but lowered his arm and stepped back. "Let's go brother."

At that point, Judy released the other predator and the mammal grunted while getting to his hindpaws. They both left without saying anything more.

Nicholas closed his eyes and breathed with relief.

"Nice speech." Said an impressed voice behind him.

"Not really." He turned around to the bunny. "I was merely bluffing. Nothing compared to what you pulled off."

She simply shrugged with a small smile. "Just some basic ZPD training, not much."

"Is that so? I know that I couldn't do it even if I tried."

"Oh, I'm sure that after some training you'd be able to properly defend yourself." She chuckled, her mood brightening up.

Nick picked up the chair that fell down due to the ruckus. "Well, I am proud to have mastered an ancient martial art called 'run away', always worked for me in dire situations." This time Judy openly laughed.

"Yes, maybe sometimes it is the best option." Then she sighed. "Anyway, I'm afraid that we have to leave. Sometimes guys like that tend to return, not learning their lesson and I don't want to create trouble for Joey." She picked up her jacket and headed for the door, Nick following her swiftly.

"Sorry that it turned out like this." The bunny apologized once they were outside.

Nicholas chuckled putting on his jacket. "Don't worry. If anything, it's some diversity compared to a peaceful courtroom."

They stood in silence for a moment, before Nick spoke again.

"Say, do you have any other plans for the rest of the evening?"

She rubbed the back of her head. "Ahah, not really. I didn't expect such trouble here, sorry."

He smiled and offered her his arm. "I still have some Christmas shopping to do, shall we go together?"

Judy's ears perked up at Nick's proposition and she gave him a wide smile. "Well, I'd be happy to join you.

.

.

Several hours later there was a loud crack in Mike and Nick's home and the little fox jumped on the couch, the book he was reading flying out of his paws. The source of this sound was Nicholas, kicking open the front door.

"Dad?" Said the surprised boy and hurried to the hallway. But what he saw surprised him even more. His father was without his jacket, as he used it to wrap it around the bunny in his arms. Her fur was wet and stuck to her skin.

"Judy? Dad, what happened?!" Mike closed the door behind them.

Nick kicked off his shoes and hurried to the living room. "I'll explain later, now boil some water, she needs to drink something warm!" He placed the shivering Judy on the couch and crouched in front of her. "Miss Hopps, you're suffering from hypothermia so I need to remove your clothes to help you. This is purely for treatment, alright?"

She nodded. "S-s-s-s-ss-ur-r-r-e" The bunny muttered through chattering teeth. Nick darted to the kitchen and snatched a pair of scissors.

"Uh, dad, are you seriously gonna- Oops!" Mike turned around as his father unwrapped the rabbit officer and proceeded to cutting open her clothes, revealing her fur covered only by underwear. The wet shirt and pants landed on the floor.

"Take it to the bathroom or something."

"Couldn't you just take them off?" The boy asked, with his back to them, when Nicholas threw the wet clothes towards him.

"No. We have to keep her movements to minimum." Replied the adult fox, wrapping Judy in a blanket, gently drying her damp fur.

"Um, what about a bath?" Mike called from the bathroom where he carried the remains of the bunny's clothes. "I can fill the tub with hot water." The boy quickly returned to the living room.

His father shook his head. "Not a good idea. She needs to warmed up gradually, like with-" He paused and cast a glance at the shivering bunny. "Damn it!" With a groan, the fox started unbuttoning his shirt. "Michael, bring me that green wool blanket from your room!"

"O-okay?" The little fox quirked an eyebrow, not sure why his father started undressing, but did what he was told and returned with a huge, thick blanket that they sometimes used together to watch movies.

"Thanks." Nicholas snatched it from his paws. He unwrapped Judy from the other blanket and sat on the couch beside her, without his shirt. Then he pulled the cold bunny to his chest and wrapped them both with the thick cover. Judy was still shivering, her teeth chattering, but she slowly calmed down. Her body relaxed and breath became more regular and deep. Soon enough, she fell asleep.

Nick sighed with relief.

At that moment, he caught movement with the corner of his eye. Mike was pulling out his phone, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"Don't." The fox warned his son.

The boy's face radiated innocence. "I just-"

"Michael Wilde, if you take any picture, record any video or write anything about this, then you can forget about your allowance for the next five years!"

The little predator sighed and put the phone back to his pocket. "Fine, fine…" But internally he was very happy to see his father hugging Judy under the blanket, the bunny now showing a small smile in her slumber.