Nick was terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. "Come on Nick… you know you can do this." Judy said reassuringly to her partner.
"But… do I HAVE to? I mean there's no real need to-"
"Don't you DARE chicken out on me Wilde, you said you could do this. And we're not leaving until that door opens!" Judy said as she pointed to the door in question.
"But… it's been so long since I've even SEEN them!" Nick said.
"Just. Ring. The doorbell, Nicolas. That's an order." Judy said commandingly.
"I… Hopps, we BOTH got that promotion! You can't pull rank-"
"Listen, I sacrificed an afternoon of gaming with Davies for this. Now will you just press the doorbell, knock, something!" Judy said in aggravation. Nick took a deep sharp breath, and with trepidation he pressed the doorbell. Eventually, an older fox vixen answered.
"Uh… hi." Nick said.
"Hold on, my eyes are terrible." The vixen said as she put on a pair of eye glasses. "Now who are… Nick… is that you?"
"Yeah… it's me mom. It's your Nicky boy." Nick said awkwardly to his mother.
"And what kept you from coming here sooner? Was it that business you had with Mr. Big? Cause I wouldn't have told that shrew a thing!" Mrs. Wilde said.
"No… it's just… dad's still doing okay right, business still holding up?" Nick asked.
"Oh yes, the tailor shop is still open. Rent's been going up, but we're still getting by. Especially with all of the money you've sent us since you went into the ice cream business with Fennec." Mrs. Wilde said.
"Is that what you called your conman work?" Judy pipped in.
"And whose you're… oh you're that bunny that became a cop…! And made my son an honest man! Oh Jonathan will love to meet you! Jonathan! You won't believe whose here!" Mrs. Wilde said.
"Is it that punk of a landlord again? Because she better be here to fix the toilet, we're running out of mason jars and the Haresons have been complaining about using there bathroom!" Jonathan said.
XXXX
"… so that's what you've been doing over the past year Nicky boy." Jonathan said as he, his wife, Judy and Nick sat down in the apartment living room.
"Yeah, most of it isn't what I signed up for. Trust me, it happens that a week or two goes by with fairly normal cases. But the monotony is usually broken up by a very weird case. Like one day we investigate a corporate owned island… and found that the owner had filled the whole thing with hybrid dinosaurs. Not regular dinosaurs, but dinosaurs crossbred with other dinosaurs." Nick said.
"And that was on a Monday." Judy said.
"So they made the dinosaurs have… look I know we're all adults here but did they-"
"No, it was gene splicing. Like in Jurassic Park, then there was this thing with robots and an insane mule. There was a pig in spandex with spider powers. Taking on an entire City Hall filled with wolf terrorists, a… a fiasco of a case where we got covered in honey. A run in with one of the Murphy bunnies-"
"And your both alive?! How… are you seriously hurt anywhere?" Mrs. Wilde asked in concern as she looked over Nick.
"No, we were split up, and she spent most of the day with Milo anyway." Nick said.
"I wrestled an alligator… it wasn't actually threatening us. I just lost my mind to stress of Murphy's Law, and rode it into the Precinct." Judy said.
"Not all that surprising, every coat, tux or dress I ever made and sold to that family usually gets torn up a week or two latter." Jonathan said.
"So, what brings you to finally come home? We haven't seen you since you moved out." Mrs. Wilde said.
"Well… it's actually a BIT complicated, but… well my family is kinda-sort-of-most-definitely having a family reunion in Bunnyburrow in a few months. And I thought that it'd be nice to invite you two and Nick along." Judy said, Nick parent's looked perplexed.
"Okay… I'm not one for turning down an invitation but. Well there's no really polite way to ask this. But are your parents okay with foxes… or your family overall?" Mrs. Wilde asked in concern.
"Well my parents actually have a fox for a business partner. A childhood bully even… can't really speak for the rest of my family. Less you know about Pop-Pop the better… long story short a fox won ONE single game of pool and he never shuts up about it." Judy said in annoyance.
"It has been awhile since we got out of the city dear." Mrs. Wilde.
"I… I'm not sure. I mean it's not that I don't LIKE the idea of going out to the country. It's just… well most bunnies in my experience tend to mistrust foxes. It makes things REALLY awkward." Jonathan said.
Judy looked downcast. "You… you saw my press conference after Nick and I found the Missing Mammals. Didn't you?" Judy said.
"Who didn't is the better question." Jonathan said.
"Young lady… we don't blame you for attributing Predators going crazy to old instincts-"
"It's just… it was the only explanation I could give to the press. I didn't know why, and that was the explanation I heard from the badger Lionheart employed. But that doesn't excuse what I said… or what I carelessly started." Judy said glumly.
"If we agree to come, will you PLEASE stop talking?" Mrs. Wilde said.
"Sorry about that… she REALLY beats herself over that fiasco. Heck, I was in the room when she said those things… and chewed her out for it, and to a lesser extent for keeping fox repellent through the entire Missing Mammals case." Nick said.
"It was my parent's idea for a care package! I stopped them short of an air horn and a fox-taser. I don't even know why products like that even exist I swear…! I'm just digging myself deeper aren't I?" Judy said.
"I'm sure you didn't INTEND to hurt anyone." Mrs. Wilde said.
"Well… you're a nice enough bunny. We'll go. Just give us a date and directions." Jonathan said.
XXXX
A few months later, Judy, Nick, and Nick's parents were meeting with Judy's parents. "Hun-bun, why did you want us to meet you and the Wildes alone? Surely it's something we could talk about in full view of the family." Bonnie asked.
"Well… it's kind of awkward to ask, but it's something that needs to be asked in person." Judy said, then without warning Davies burst into the room. Looking ragged, and breathing heavily.
"Sorry… sorry to burst in like this, but there are THOUSANDS of bunnies out there, and my usual private places are crowded!" Davies said as he slid down the door to the floor, hyperventilating.
"It's… well…" Nick said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
"Can I ask your permission to date your daughter?"
"Can I ask your permission to date your son?"
Nick and Judy said in unison, to their opposites parents. "Well… about time you two popped the question. Or you know a question at the very least." Davies commented.
"… well, I must say. This is one of the weirder requests for dating I've heard. If only because… well they usually aren't preds." Stu said nonchalantly.
"Please tell me you didn't just invite us over. For something we could have talked about over the phone…? Like months ago when you first came to our place in the first instance?" Jonathan asked in confusion.
"I think I can explain this." Davies said, standing up and approaching the table. "Have either of them explained that whole 'Dr. Mulerson case' in any real detail. The one with the insane mule, the failed hybrid clones, and the robot okapis that now has one of them working for the ZPD?" Davies asked, the elder Hopps's and Wilde's just muttered and looked confused. "So not much I take it, at any rate, Mulerson made some hybridized mammals, but none of them really survived… save one. A clone of our fine boy and girl in blue, an adorable little suspended in animation bunny/fox… thing. It's been at least a year since that happened, and had her containment tube put into one of my hotel closets, and we still haven't agreed on WHAT to call her." Davies said at length.
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Bonnie asked in surprise.
"Well… what were we supposed to do? She would have been taken in as evidence, and there's no telling what that would entail!" Judy said.
"Something that cute deserves to live I tells ya! IT DESERVES TO LIVE!" Nick said.
"Ah huh, so anyway, they want to actually date and get to know each other a little better before getting into a marital commitment… which makes absolutely no sense to me at least. I mean you two have been working together. So I don't really see WHAT the big deal is… or why you-"
"Davies, I offered Nick to introduce him to mom and dad. But he'd only agree if I met his parents first. And… uh… your absolutely right Davies. We could have settled this whole thing months ago." Judy said.
"So it started as a marriage-" Davies stopped talking as Judy and Nick glared at him. "…forget I was saying anything."
"Judy, you're a big girl. You don't need our permission to date anyone… not even a pred." Bonnie said.
"Same goes for you Nicky boy. Heck, didn't you have a crush on a little bunny girl in kindergarten?" Mrs. Wilde said.
"What?! Oh forget about personal relations! I want to hear about this!" Judy said.
"As funny as it would be. I wouldn't… really Cotton is the only one of our MANY nieces or nephews I really remember and I couldn't find her anywhere out there." Davies said.
"You… you didn't tell her where you were did you? You do remember that she is terrible at keeping secrets?" Judy asked, there was then furious knocking at the door.
"No Judy… I did not remember that Cotton is terrible at keeping secrets… and how much the youngin's are drawn to hug things. Nick you might want to get you and your parents on the table. On that subject, they also like big fluffy things… such as your tails for example." Davies said as the door swung open, and a tidal wave of bunnies quickly flooded the room.
XXXX
"Mr. and Mrs. Wilde, I am SO sorry that happened." Judy said to Nick's parents.
"To be fair, Nick was the only one who was really hurt." Mrs. Wilde said, noting the bald spots on Nick's tail.
"Why… why did they pull? Why did they pull?" Nick muttered, stroking his tail.
"Regardless, I hope that the rest of the weekend goes much better for you. See you in the morning… oh and before I forget! Breakfast is first come first serve. So if anyone wants a good serving tomorrow you'll want to get up early. Goodnight!" Judy said as she left the bedroom where Nick and his parents were staying. Then she bumped into an unfamiliar mammal.
"Wait, this isn't the right place. What year is… it… mom?" The unfamiliar mammal asked.
"Uh… I think you have me confused for someone else. I'm Judy, and why are you in my family's home?" Judy asked, trying to be friendly to this strange mammal.
"No… no you're definitely my mother. Look I shouldn't even be here. I thought that I was going to end up in London in 1963." The mysterious mammal said as she began to fuss over some manner of wrist device.
"Wait… you do look familiar." Judy said, noting that the women did look like a larger and obviously older version of the as yet unnamed hybrid. Only her fur was a mix of red and grey blotches as opposed to just red like Nick. Not only that, but one eye was purple and the other green. "No can't be, she's red and your… not." Judy said.
"What? Oh that, well mom said that I was born with red fur like dads. But as puberty hit, blotches of grey happened… mostly grey anyway. But I didn't come back in time to split hairs… fact of the matter is, is if this thing worked you shouldn't even be born yet, and I should be recording ancient footage of Doctor Howl on commission for the BBC and-"
"Keep your voice down… mammals are trying to sleep." Judy said.
"Oh! Sorry, point is this thing is on the fritz, and I have no idea how I'm in Bunnyburrow during the Digital Dark Age when I submitted 19… huh… apparently I have no idea how to use my own invention." The mystery mammal said.
"Look, who are you really?" Judy asked.
"I'm your daughter. I'm from the future, and I'm basically an adventure-inventor-archeologist. My name is Pandora… and I'm sorry for being in such a hurry. I only recently invented this thing, and I have to get back home to figure out what's wrong with this thing. No I'm not in the nineteen-sixteens!" Pandora said.
"Pandora… that's a very nice name." Judy said.
"Well it better be; you and Nick spent MONTHS arguing about the name. True story, I wasn't even legally named until I was… almost a year… old… I just fudged up didn't I? I muddled with my maternal families personal history?" Pandora said in resignation.
"You apparently saved me and Nick from months of stupid arguing. Is it really THAT big a deal?" Judy asked.
"Hmm… not really, but still, time travel is an inherently risky, dangerous and confusing venture. Even a small, seemingly insignificant change to the timeline can cause unimaginable chaos down the line. But now I must go… I have a time machine to fix, and lost episodes of Doctor Howl to retrieve." Pandora said as she disappeared in a blue flash.
"Huh… name the kit Pandora…? Couldn't hurt I think." Judy said to herself as she went to bed… and noticed a sleepy looking Davies in PJ's. "…how much did you-"
"Nothing… I did not see your future daughter ramble about fifty year old sci-fi and time travel. Now come, to bed. It's late, and as much as I like staying up. There are pancakes that demand my attention in the morning." Davies said in resignation.
"You're not going to OD on it are you?" Judy asked.
"You know me better than that… last time I ate that many pancakes I needed a laxative just to get out of bed… and then pain medication for the better part of a month after THAT memorable bathroom break." Davies said as he and Judy went to bed.
XXXX
Pandora had just returned to the future, into her bedroom/laboratory to begin work on fixing her time machine.
"I swear, I better get double for this Doctor Howl job. If only to buy something for myself to compensate for accidentally interfering in my parents past... maybe one of those robot cuddle-penguins that Uncle Davies likes so much." Pandora said to herself as she removed her time traveling wrist device, and used some manner of futuristic soldering iron.
"Ms. Pandora, you have a call waiting for you." A posh sounding voice said.
"Tell them I'm not home, in fact I'm out. Not even working on something REALLY important that requires undivided concentration to work on." Pandora said.
"I see. Well I suppose that Commander Judy will have to be told that her eldest is too busy-"
"WHAT?!" Pandora said in surprise, dropping her active soldering iron onto her foot.
"I'll take that as a 'put her on'. Would that be a correct assessment?" The voice said.
"SHUT YOUR AUDIO CIRCUTS CLANCY!" Pandora shouted as she grasped her burned foot in pain. Then a flat screen hologram was displayed on Pandora's computer.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Judy asked the left side of her face covered by shadows.
"What?! No, I just… had a little accident." Pandora said sheepishly.
"So your already back… and you don't look a day older from when you left." Judy said.
"Well… I wasn't really gone that long. There was a glitch and-"
"And you changed my personal history, completely by accident. That sound about right missy?" Judy said as she showed her finger tips. On them were small driblets of blood.
"…didn't you get that cure for-"
"No, THIS… is what happened when you prevented that yearlong argument with Nick about your name… and it's getting worse." Judy said as her nose began to bleed.
"Look I'm sorry mom! That's the glitch I'm trying to fix. I somehow wound up in about… 2017 instead of 1963, and I accidentally told you about the argument about my name! I didn't mean to but-"
"I'm not mad, Pandora… I'm just annoyed that you were so careless. Your right… it's a small thing. But still, changing the past is unpredictable and dangerous, and should only be interfered with if it's a genuine danger to… pretty much any present really. Or if the rewards are worth it for doing so." Judy said.
"Mom… I just need to work out some bugs in this thing. And besides, shouldn't you be making the world a better place by being a superspy?" Pandora asked.
"Yes… and that time machine of yours is important to that goal believe it or not." Judy said.
"And do what exactly? Give your younger selves advice? Solve the Night Howlers Scare before it even happens? Save your eye?" Pandora said as Judy stood up from her desk. Showing that Judy's left eye was indeed missing. There was an eyepatch covering the empty eye socket, along with bangs over that eye with a purple streak the bangs.
"You know me better than that Pandora… as tempting as those things are to do. I won't interfere with the past for MY personal sake. Just, on the off chance that you bump into past me without my express permission or direct supervision. DO NOT, make eye contact with her… if only so that my personal timeline stops bleeding over… and of course my temporally induced nose bleeds." Judy said.
"How are you even getting those? You shouldn't even notice timeline changes like this unless YOU deliberately made them. What did you do with that prototype I worked on anyway?" Pandora asked.
"Never mind what I MIGHT have done on that trip… just know that mommy loves you. And that you, and your siblings mean the world to me. See you later." Judy said as she hung up.
Pandora rubbed her chin. "She's been acting weird ever since she tested the initial prototype. The nose bleeds, somehow knowing I changed a SMALL detail with her personal history despite not even telling her upfront that I did it… she did something on her first trip. And I don't like it." Pandora said to herself.
"Wouldn't that be a bit hypocritical-?"
"Probably, but all I did was nip a stupid argument in bud. Barely even worth noting… and had me nameless for an entire year. So… right after I fix this mess with my time machine and get those lost Doctor Howl episodes. I'm going to dig up the truth mom is keeping from me, if only to clarify what's going on." Pandora said.
"Very well… I believe that this is a terrible waste of time. But for someone with a time machine… what is that thing even called?" Clancy asked.
"It's the Time and Space Displacement Device." Pandora said.
"At any rate, I'd talk you out of doing this… but I'd just be burning memory space and processing power on a Sisyphline Task. Just do what you believe you have to do Ms. Pandora." Clancy said.
"Exactly, now please shut up while I work on this... did mom do something to damage the time and space displacement? It works for the return trip, but it shouldn't have screwed up something as going BACK in time!" Pandora said to herself.