"I wonder how much the town has changed, like how many trees, bushes, and flowers have grown."
"Uh-huh."
"Or how many new shops and stands there are."
"Yeah."
"Or if there are any new homes or new families there now."
"Yep."
"I really wonder how many siblings I have now. You know how us bunnies multiply!"
"Mmm-hmm."
"You aren't even listening."
"Yep... I mean, huh? Yeah, what? No, I'm listening!"
Judy giggled as she watched Nick flounder back into the conversation. The two were comfortably seated in their SUV – Nick in the driver's seat, Judy in the passenger's seat – and the two were on their way to Bunnyburrow to visit Judy's family before the famous arrival of four new family members took place. It had been almost two months since Judy had seen her parents, and almost a year and a half since she had seen Bunnyburrow, as well as the rest of her family. It was early in the morning, but Judy had insisted that they leave at a time when the day was cool, that way it felt as if the car was breezy and open with the windows down, and not stuffy and awkward. However, Nick always had a habit of sleeping in on Saturdays, no matter how much caffeine he ingested, so he wasn't exactly "wide awake" just yet. Nick was wearing his usual pair of khakis and his green Hawaiian shirt, while Judy was dolled up in a lavender dress that complimented the color of her fur.
"You so weren't, Nick."
"I definitely was. Go on. You were saying something about Clawhauser?"
"I wasn't saying anything about Clawhauser!" Judy laughed.
Nick shook his head slightly before chuckling.
"Did I say Clawhauser? I meant the Chief. What were you saying about the Chief?"
"I wasn't talking about work at all!"
"Ah, then I was most definitely not listening."
Judy giggled again as she rolled her eyes and pretended to be annoyed.
"I was just saying that I was wondering how much has changed since I left."
"This might be a wild guess, but I would say that there are probably a lot more bunnies now then there was a year ago."
"Imagine all of the siblings we haven't even met yet!" Judy exclaimed.
"Ah, no thank you to that."
"Hey, no wiggling out of this. You are meeting my family. All of my family."
Nick groaned, but then smiled and glanced over at Judy.
"Quit acting like my mother. In fact, quit acting like a mother in general, it's creeping me out."
"I wonder how Gideon Grey is..." Judy muttered just loud enough for Nick's ear to perk up immediately.
The car skidded slightly as Nick's foot slipped off the gas pedal and fell on the brake momentarily. Judy yelped out in surprise, placing both of her paws on the dashboard as she did so. Nick quickly regained control of the car, accelerating it back to the speed limit before turning to look at Judy.
"Who?" he asked as if nothing had happened.
"What?" Judy sounded out of breath and slightly traumatized.
"You wonder how who is?" Nick pressed.
At the tone in his voice, Judy turned to him, a grin spreading across her face like a wildfire in a dying forest.
"Did you really almost kill us just now because you were jealous?"
"I'm not jealous, and I didn't almost kill us; I'm a wonderful driver."
"Nick, I know you're jealous because I can hear it! You don't even know who Gideon is."
"I'm not jealous, Carrots. I almost killed us because – I mean, I didn't almost kill us, I just hit the brakes! Anyway, I reacted because you're wondering about the fox that attacked you as a kid."
Judy went silent, deep in thought for a moment.
"Yeah, I know who he is," Nick continued. "You told me a long time ago, and trust me, I didn't forget it."
"He's different, though. I saw him that one time after and–"
"You saw him? When? Why?"
"After you and I had that fight after that press conference, and I went back to Bunnyburrow for a few months."
"How many times did you see him exactly?"
"I only saw him once and–"
"Where were you when you saw him?"
"I was at my family's stand, why does that matter?"
"What did he say?"
"He just apologized for–"
"For what?"
"Jesus, that's what I'm trying to tell you! Why do you keep interrupting?"
"Well, at first I was very curious, now I'm just doing it for fun," Nick chuckled, which received him a punch in the arm from Judy. "But seriously, do you think we're going to see him again?"
"Well, yeah, I called him the other day."
SCREECH!
The SUV came to a very unsteady and quick stop by the actions of Nick. Judy yelled again, but Nick ignored her. He had stopped the car in the middle of the road that ran between Zootopia and Bunnyburrow. Several wooded areas and a few carrot fields surrounded them, but no other traffic.
"Nick! Are you insane?"
"You called him? When?"
"Last week just when we were getting ready to move. I called my parents too. I was just letting friends and family know that we were moving and that we were visiting soon."
"What exactly did you say to Gideon?"
"'Hi, Gideon! Just wanted to let you know that I'm visiting next weekend. I was hoping we could catch up.'"
"Anything else?"
"Well, yeah. I told him I'm pregnant."
"Why?"
"Are you saying this in a jealous tone or a worried tone?"
"Both!"
"And you thought that stopping the car would help, why?"
"You didn't need to call him!"
"He's an old family friend!" Judy reasoned.
"So is Finnick, but you don't see me calling him every time I'm near him!"
"Oh, you're being ridiculous."
"And you weren't with Valerie?"
Oh, that did it.
The gaze that Judy fixed Nick with could have killed, making him draw back slightly. He shrugged, as if to say, "I mean, it's true, though." Judy huffed a sigh.
"Get out of the car," she demanded.
"Whoa, I didn't mean–"
"Oh, I'm not making you walk! I'm driving."
"But I like driving."
"Yeah, but if you keep driving, you are going to induce labor!"
"You're only four months along."
"Exactly! Get. Out."
Pouting as he did so, Nick got out of the car and walked around to the other side, while Judy slid across the seats. The next few minutes were filled with silence only interrupted every moment or so by Judy sighing angrily. Nick, however, had expected Judy to have a "moment" sometime during the car ride, due to the fact that it was a somewhat lengthy trip and she was pregnant. It felt like every ten minutes she was either crying, yelling, sleeping, laughing, or complaining, but Nick didn't mind. This was his life mate, his girlfriend, his wife-to-be; he had signed up for this. He never became angry. Sure, he argued, but he never became angry or upset. After almost four months of experience, Nick had learned that being quiet was honestly the best thing he could do. Unfortunately, Nick could never be quiet.
"So, Gideon does what exactly?"
Judy rolled her eyes, already wanting to strangle Nick.
"He makes pies," she huffed.
"Like running a bakery?"
"Yes."
"Hmm," Nick murmured in thought.
Judy glanced over at him, somewhat annoyed that that was all he wanted to know.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You asked a question, didn't you?"
Nick heard the anger rising in Judy's tone, and smirked.
"I just find it interesting that he works at a bakery."
"Why?"
Nick remained silent, but Judy's intuition answered her question for her.
"Are you really comparing the fact that you are an officer to him being a baker?"
Nick shrugged, trying not to have a facial expression. Judy, however, was on fire.
"You were a con artist at one point!" she yelled. "Not even a good one, either! You hustled pawpsicles!"
"Hey, that was a reasonable business!"
The rest of the trip to Bunnyburrow was filled with Judy's angry sighs and Nick's instigating smirks. When they finally arrived, Judy seemed to have gained the majority of her cheery mood back. Within seconds of parking the SUV, she was out of the car, already dragging her things from the backseat. Nick was quick, grabbing her bags before she hurt herself.
It was mid-morning when they arrived, the sun warm and comforting with a gentle breeze in the air. Now weighed down by their luggage, Nick followed Judy up to the front door of her family's burrow. She didn't even get the chance to ring the doorbell, knock on the door, or even reach for either one before the door flew open. It was Judy's parents who answered, but Nick barely had the chance to even look them in the eye due to the fact that he was immediately blinded by the army of baby bunnies that flew toward his face after the door had opened. He yelled out, but was tackled before he could do much else. The mountain of bunnies that trampled him were screaming a million joyful sentences in high-pitched voices, a noise that instantly deafened Nick on top of being blinded. Judy just giggled and hugged both of her parents in greeting.
"Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad!"
"Judy, Honey, look at you!" Bonnie smiled as she gestured toward Judy's abdomen.
"Just about four and half months now," Judy laughed. "Almost halfway through!"
"Are you all set up? Have everything you need?"
"Yes, Dad, of course. We just finished painting the house the other day."
"Oh, Judy, you'll have to send pictures when you get back!"
"I will, Mom."
Nick let out a groan as he attempted to lift himself off of the ground and away from the hoard of bunnies. Most of the babies seemed to be attracted to his tail, which was now nearly invisible among the bunnies. He attempted to brush off the children without harming them, but did not prevail. He then gave Judy and her parents a pleading look. Judy rolled her eyes, but walked over and picked up one of the youngest children who was attached to Nick's shirt. The little baby bunny wore a tiny blue sundress and sported a bright blue bow placed at the base of one of her ears. She smiled happily at Judy's attention.
"Okay, let's give Nick a break, you guys. Why don't you all go find one toy to show him after lunch?" Judy suggested.
At this, the bunnies grinned and shrieked before running in different directions to find a toy to present later on. Nick sighed and attempted to smooth his ruffled fur.
"Thanks, Carrots. I still can't figure out how you're so good at that."
"Good at what?" Judy asked as she gently rocked the baby bunny in her arms, glancing down with loving expressions.
"That."
Nick gestured at the giggling baby before smoothing his tail.
"Here," Judy smiled as she passed the baby into Nick's arms.
The fox went stiff, uncomfortable with the little squiggling life in his hands. Judy laughed and stepped forward to help.
"Bend your arms and make a little cradle."
"Like this?"
"Yes, but don't be so stiff. You're holding a baby, not a doll."
"Okay."
"Now move your arms closer to your body so that she's nestled against you. There. You got it."
Nick held his breath as the bunny nuzzled up to him, tugging on his shirt gently as she made herself comfortable. Judy smiled at the two before giving Nick a swift kiss on the cheek.
"I'm going to go help my parents make lunch. I'll be right back."
Judy turned and strolled into her family burrow after her parents. Nick immediately went stiff again.
"Carrots! Wait! Take the baby! Carrots!"
Judy ignored him, the skirt of her dress bouncing slightly as she shut the front door behind her. Nick stood alone in front of the burrow, a partially asleep baby in his arms.
"Okay... okay, I can do this," Nick muttered hesitantly to himself as he peered down at the snoozing bunny.
He readjusted slightly, trying to take the baby out of the blindingly bright sunlight, but stopped when he saw her stir. Leaving the luggage in the yard for the time being, Nick then shuffled toward the front door, where he eased the door open with his back. Once inside, he quietly nudged the door shut. Letting out a sigh of relief and believing to have succeeded, Nick took a step forward further into the house. Unfortunately, his foot hit a toy, which came to life with incredibly loud music. The baby instantly started crying, completely wailing at the top of her lungs. Nick sighed heavily.
"This is going to be a great weekend."