A/N: Judy decides to give Nick a surprise of her own. But surprises don't always go as planned…

Thanks to BeecroftA, Chaos-Wolfy, Bukoya, Selaxes, Clusger Kres, Guest, Nike Scarlet, side-fish, Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, Foxlover91, 22animals, Mystic Fairy Tame, and Kochich for reviewing!

Chapter 5: Old New Friends

The burger joint was further than Judy expected. But the food was bought, and the two were on their way back to her place on foot. However, at Judy's speed, it was taking slightly longer than expected. Nick took the occasional glance at her as they walked.

"You sure you don't want me to call a cab?"

"I'm fine, Nick. The pain isn't that bad. I can manage walking." Judy shot back.

"You could barely manage standing back in Bogo's office. There's no shame in admitting you're wrong, you know."

Yes, there is. Even though Nick was right, she'd never let him get the satisfaction of knowing it, no matter how much her leg hurt.

"Just keep walking, Nick."

"Alright then. But the offer is still open."

Ten minutes later, she was seriously starting to doubt her words. She tried to maintain a relaxed expression, but it was getting tougher to do so while keeping up the illusion that she wasn't in terrible pain. The painkillers had almost worn off completely by now, which made it even worse.

How long more do I have to walk?!

"Twenty minutes at this pace," Nick answered, as if hearing her thoughts.

She glanced over at the red fox in the corner of her eye. He was whistling nonchalantly, hands behind his back. He was waiting! The sly hustler was just waiting for her to admit defeat. But she wouldn't give in. Oh no. She wasn't going to let him win.

"What was that?" Nick asked.

"…you win," she mumbled softly.

"I don't think I heard that. Could you say it a little louder?" Nick asked as he got out of the cab.

"You win, Nick. I was…wrong." It almost physically hurt to admit it to him.

"Who's a stubborn little dumb bunny?" he teased.

Judy clenched her fists, mouth curling up in a scowl. "Mmph…me."

"Now that's more like it. It took you long enough. I was worried my fries would get soggy."

Stupid injured leg, Judy grumbled inwardly. They were climbing the stairs up to her apartment now. As they reached her floor, her phone beeped. There was one new message.

"I'll be there soon"

She looked at the time on the screen. It was just about to hit six in the evening. It seemed that he'd made it in time. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out the keys to her room.

"Nick, here. Could you head in first? I'm going to the toilet." She tossed the key ring over to Nick.

"I—"

"Before you ask, I do not need help getting there. It's just down the hall."

"But what if you fall into the toilet bowl and can't get out?"

"Then it wouldn't be the first time. Just don't eat my food before I get there."

"I can't promise that, Carrots. Better hurry up in there if you still want some left for yourself." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes, walking towards the toilets. But the moment her apartment door closed behind him, she turned around and went down the stairs, going out the apartment's front door. She looked around, moving towards a familiar van, and an even more familiar face. He was taking a photo of the city behind him. Judy took a deep breath and approached the window, which was winded down.

"Hi, Gideon."

Gideon Grey's ears perked up at the sound of his name. Setting the camera down, he turned to face her. He was still as neat as Judy remembered him from the day before: his hair was neatly combed, and an apron draped over his clothes.

"Heya, Judy! I heard what happened. How's your leg?"

"Could be better, Gideon. Could be—wait, how do you know what happened?" the only people who were supposed to know the specifics about her injury were her parents, Bogo, and Nick.

"I was at your farm this mornin'. They said your folks were here to visit you. They told me you got hurt. And it does look pretty bad…"

"It's fine, Gideon." Other than me aggravating it for the whole evening… "Thanks for coming down on such short notice."

"Well, it's the least I could do for ya, after all." Gideon said, climbing out of his truck. "I still owe you some pies, if I remember correctly. Bein' in the big city don't change that none."

Judy smiled. It was still hard to believe the fox standing in front of her was Gideon Grey. It was even harder to believe he was able to come on such short notice. Her mind drifted back to the night before…

Nick and my parents are going to be here at the same time tomorrow.

A chill ran down her spine.

Nick is going to meet my parents.

Judy shot up in bed, heart racing. This wasn't part of the plan! Nothing good could ever come if her parents and Nick met. She quickly checked the time on her clock. 10.59 p.m. It wasn't too late to call either party, but she wasn't looking forward to trying to change her parents' plans. Knowing them, they'd probably booked their tickets for the train to Zootopia already.

That left Nick. She immediately grabbed her phone, but after staring at it for a good five seconds, she realised something very important.

I don't have his number.

She let out a defeated groan, flopping back onto her bed. How could she have not gotten his number all this time? She remembered seeing it in his file back at the ZPD, but she'd never thought to put it in her phone. She only remembered a few numbers vaguely. A six? She remembered a five in there for sure…

In any case, there was nothing she could do except let it all happen. Like waiting for a time-bomb to go off.

Her phone beeped. A number flashed across her screen, with a short message attached: "Here you go, sweetie."

It was a fox's number, but not the one she needed right then. She drummed her fingers on her bedframe, staring at the message for a long while. There was no way for her to stop the meeting tomorrow, but she still needed to get a thank-you gift for Nick, before asking whether he would join her as her partner in the ZPD. Which meant that she needed to make this call.

She tapped in Gideon's number, noticing that her medicine bottles were resting on the edge of her bed. She hoped she'd taken the correct dosage, and that her fur didn't turn blue. Or pink. She decided not to tell her parents about those little side effects, or they'd probably never get any sleep.

The phone was ringing, but no one was picking up. Maybe Gideon was already asleep? As she waited, she looked for a spare pillow to prop her leg up with. Unfortunately, there was none. She sighed and just let her leg rest. Her thoughts fell to Nick immediately. She wondered what he was doing now. Would he be able to complete the training? What if he couldn't make it through?

She shook her head. I need to stop thinking about him for a moment.

"Hello?"

"Nick?" she immediately said.

"Nick? I'm sorry, but y'all must have gotten the wrong number…"

She quickly slapped herself on her face.

"No, no! Gideon? Is that you?"

"This voice…Judy?"

"So you do recognise me." Judy quipped. It was unexpected, but she was feeling a tad nervous. "Hi."

"Uh, hi. So, to what do I owe the pleasure? We just met this afternoon."

"Yes, we did. But we didn't really get to talk, seeing as I rushed off and all that…"

"Y-you want to talk? Like, right now?" he sounded uncertain. She would be uncertain too if Gideon called her up all of a sudden this late at night.

"Well, I know it's a little weird, coming from me, but I actually wanted to talk business with you. You sell pies now, right?"

"W-well yes. Best pastries in the tri-burrows!" he said, sounding a bit more confident. "Would ya like to buy some? Wait, you're in Zootopia now, aren't ya? I've been seeing your face all over the news. Hot darn you're big news, Judy."

"Yeah, well I'm trying not to be big news right now. It's tiring." Judy replied, fiddling with one of her medicine bottles. "But yes, I would like to buy a blueberry pie from you. You do make them, right?"

"Pshaw, 'course I do! Not as popular as my lemon meringues, but then again not many things can match up to that little puppy."

Judy smiled to herself; hearing him speak so passionately about something that didn't involve bullying people was quite refreshing. She was glad he'd found some good in his life.

"Well I'd be happy to try a lemon meringue too. Now, this is where I have to ask a favour." She took a deep breath. "Could you deliver to Zootopia? It's in Savannah Central, behind Orchard Plaza. I'd really appreciate it. I'm willing to pay more."

The line was silent for a while. Judy crossed her fingers.

"Sure, I can do that. Not till evening, though. Is that okay for ya? I can be there, say around...six. Sorry, I've got a bunch of deliveries I have to make…"

"No, no! That's fine. I'm really glad you can come, Gideon. This is really important to me. It's a gift for a friend."

"Ah, your special someone, I reckon? That's sweet, Judy."

"He's not my special someone!" Judy protested over the phone. "I never said he was!"

"Oh, so it is a guy. You're getting pretty worked up there, ya know. Heh, never took ya for the romantic kind."

Okay, some things don't change. Judy glared at the wall, as if Gideon was supposed to see it over the line. He still knew how to push her buttons. At least the teasing was more good-natured now, rather than spiteful.

"Just drop it, Gideon Grey. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Heh, right. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night, ya hear?" he said, before the line disconnected. For some reason, Judy pictured him with a big smirk on the other end. She rolled her eyes. At least he agreed to come. Now she could finally get some rest. She slumped back into her bed, beginning to drift off…

"And here we go." Gideon pulled open the back of his truck, revealing a mostly empty back. There were a whole bunch of boxes and containers, with only two pies left on the shelf. A wonderful potpourri of smells wafted out of the truck and into Judy's nose, almost making her salivate on the spot.

"Wow…they smell great."

"And they'll taste great, too. They're not perfectly fresh, but I did my best to keep 'em warm."

"I appreciate it, Gideon." She reached into her pocket for her wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

"No, you don't owe me anythin'. This is free for ya."

"Gideon, I can't let you do that! You drove out all the way here. I need to give you something."

"You don't need to, Judy. Your folks have already given me enough."

"My parents?"

"Yeah. They gave me a chance to work with them, even after what I did to you. They listened, took me in, and helped my business grow. I owe them lots. Just like I owe you."

True enough, on the side of Gideon's van were the words: "Made with fresh produce from Hopps Family Farm".

"…Gideon, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"What happened all this time? I haven't seen you since we left school. How'd you get into baking?"

Gideon adjusted his apron, as if preparing to recite a speech.

"Well, after I left school, I really didn't know what to do. Up to that point I was just an emotionally unbalanced individual. Had no real friends, grades weren't good enough to go anywhere. One day I just decided I couldn't do it no more. I went to get help."

"You mean…counselling?"

"Yeah. And it really made me feel better about myself. Like I said yesterday, I had a lot of self-doubt. Doc helped me get through that, told me that it wasn't too late to turn my life around. Wasn't too late to be happy. And he was right," Gideon said, smiling sincerely for the first time Judy had ever known him. "I told myself to buckle down, find somethin' that makes me happy, and then do it. And, well, here I am."

Judy listened with rapt attention. The childhood bully, the one that tormented the younger kids for years, was now standing here, a changed fox. He'd turned his life around, and made it better. And she was genuinely happy for him.

"Ya know…I heard of you bein' the first bunny cop back then. I'm real glad for you, Judy. I'm glad you made it, even after everything I said to ya when we were kids. It still makes me feel real awful, the way I treated you back then."

"Well, I never did know how to quit. Don't worry about it, Gideon. We're friends now." She extended a hand to him, smiling.

Gideon still looked a little guilty, but he extended his own hand to shake Judy's, returning the smile.

"Thank you kindly, Judy. I think I can sleep a little better now. I hope one day I'll be able to apologise to the other kids I bullied, too."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate it. Oh, right! I need to thank you for yesterday too. You were a real lifesaver."

"Me?" he asked, puzzled. "What did I do?"

"Helped me solve the Night howler case. Without you I wouldn't have figured out what was going on with the toxic flowers."

"Uhh…okay. I don't remember doin' all that much though. Anyhow, I would stay a little longer, but I have to get back. Business ain't gonna run itself, ya know. I hope I was able to make up for what I've done, at least a little."

"I understand. And you have, Gideon. Thank you for this favour."

"I'm glad to say it was my pleasure, Judy." He handed her the pies. She gingerly took it from him, being careful to maintain her balance with her injured leg.

"Uh, do ya need help getting back to your room?"

"No, I'll be fine. See you, Gideon!"

Gideon nodded, getting back into his van. He gave a little wave as he drove off, leaving a small cloud of dust beside her. She felt a sense of satisfaction as she watched him go. Gideon changed his life for the better. She hoped she could help a certain other fox do the same. And she couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she presented the pie to him.

Nick was bored. Rather, he was tired of waiting. Judy was taking a ridiculously long time in the bathroom, which meant his food was getting cold. At first, he assumed the worst: Judy had fallen down in the bathroom and couldn't get back up. Although he felt bad for thinking so, he kind of wanted it to happen, just so he could prove that he was right, and that she was wrong. Again.

No such luck though, because after a quick text to her, she replied that she was fine. Which led him to text back: "Then what's taking so long?"

No reply. He sighed, sitting down on Judy's bed. He looked at the suitcase in front of him. It was the same one that Mr Hopps had opened earlier in the morning. If he was right, then Judy's stuffed bunnies were inside.

Taking a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, he popped the case open and took a look inside. True enough, a total of six stuffed rabbits were sitting inside, along with a bunch of other miscellaneous items: Judy's earbuds, charging cables, adaptors…

Nick tapped his chin as he looked over the well-worn rabbits. They looked like they were pretty old. If he remembered correctly, one of them was Floof, the other Floofier…

A pink sack nearly hidden underneath the assortment of items caught his eye. Curious, he reached out to it and opened it. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the contents. They were all small, bunny sized items. He thought a long moment, before finally realising just what they meant.

A strong smell gave him pause. It was approaching the room, getting stronger by the second. He took a long, hard sniff.

"Huh, that smells really good—"

The door swung open, revealing a smiling Judy, who was holding a tray with a couple of pies on it. When they made eye contact, they both stared for a long while at each other, for different reasons. Judy's smile disappeared.

"Where did you get that?" They both asked simultaneously.

Both of them blinked. Judy shook her head.

"Nick, why are you looking through my stuff? Why are you holding my stuffed rabbits?" she glared at him accusingly.

"Well, I was minding my own business when I heard a cry for help coming from inside here. Poor Floof was locked inside for so long. Isn't that right, Floof?" he said, making the stuffed bunny nod her head.

"That's not Floof."

"Oh. Well, it was worth a shot." He placed the stuffed bunny back onto the bed. "And I asked first. Where did you get those pies from? Please don't say the toilet."

She stepped into the room, placing the tray down on the table.

"Well, I was planning to give you this as a surprise today along with the application form. I was going to ask whether you would join me in the ZPD. But then you stole the form from me and brought me straight to Chief Bogo, so…"

"It wasn't stealing, it was borrowing." Nick corrected. He was still pretty pleased with himself for nicking the application form from Judy back at the diner. 'Nicking', hah. Punny. "So, this was supposed to butter me up?"

"More or less. Things didn't quite go according to plan, but I thought you would still enjoy this. It's my way of saying thanks…for agreeing to be my partner. And for helping me to get this back." She pulled out her police badge from her pocket. It glinted softly in the dim light of the apartment.

"I'm sure the city will be glad to have their overemotional impulsive bunny cop back." He grinned. He looked at the pies, sniffing at them. "Is that…blueberry pie?"

"Yup. Your favourite."

He immediately began rummaging through the paper bag beside him for a fork. Digging a small piece out of the pie through its lattice crust, he saw that it indeed was blueberry pie. The inside was still oozing purple juice slightly. He gently placed the piece into his mouth, taking a few careful chews. Instantly his eyes widened.

This is delicious. It was one of the best pies he'd ever tasted. It was enough to make him shudder visibly.

"Okay, I'm stumped. Where did you get this from? I know most of the bakeries in Zootopia, and this isn't from any of them."

Judy looked pretty pleased at having stumped him.

"I called in a favour. From an old…friend. He's a baker from Bunnyburrow."

"Well, tell your bunny friend that he makes great pies." Nick said, passing Judy a fork and knife.

"Actually, he's a fox. His name's Gideon Grey."

"A fox?" that caught Nick's attention. "Is he as devilishly handsome as me?"

"You wish."

"Aww, Carrots, you're hurting my self-esteem here."

"I didn't think that was possible." Judy remarked, taking her veggie burger out of the paper bag and passing his bug burger and fries to him in exchange.

"Touché." Nick dug his fork into the pie, cutting out a slice and placing it on the napkin. "So how do you know this fox? Did he hustle you out of a jumbo pop too?"

"No, he didn't. He was the neighbourhood bully when I was a kid. He liked to pick on me because I wanted to be a cop." She munched on her burger. "That kinda sounds like you, actually."

A fox bully? This was the first time Nick had ever heard of this. Not even her parents had mentioned this little fact to him. And now that he had, something was finally starting to make sense to him.

"So let me guess: he called you a dumb bunny, pushed you around, and said you'd never be a cop, which only ended up motivating you even more to become the fuzz bunny we all know and love. Does that sound about right?"

Judy's chewing ceased. She looked back at Nick in disbelief.

"Don't tell me my parents told you that too."

"No, just a lucky guess. So how badly were you bullied?"

"It was mostly words, other than the time he scratched me at the local rabbit fair. I was nine at the time." Her hand unconsciously travelled to her cheek, which didn't go unnoticed by him. "But it was a long time ago. He turned out good though, so everything's fine. He even works with my parents now."

Something clicked in Nick's head; the pieces were starting to come together now. He looked at her.

"So you were bullied by a fox when you were a kid. Was that why you carried around fox repellent when we first met?" Nick asked.

The sudden question appeared to have struck a nerve. Judy went silent for a moment, shuffling uncomfortably. She didn't need to say anything. Nick knew what her answer was from her expression.

"Yes. Also, my parents were super paranoid about this sort of thing. They were stuck in this mentality that all predators are out to get prey. Especially foxes and bunnies. They're the ones who gave me the repellent when I first came to Zootopia. A good lot of help that did me…" she mumbled.

"So your parents are scared of foxes too? They seemed quite fine with me."

"They're getting better about it now ever since they started working with Gideon, but...you know. That's kind of the reason why I didn't want you to meet them today. I was worried."

"That they'd spray me with fox repellent?" he smirked.

"Um, yeah. Let's go with that." Judy said, laughing a little nervously.

"Well, that explains this then. I was wondering about it," Nick said, pulling out a small pink sack from the open suitcase next to him. Judy was confused, until he started taking the items out one by one. He could almost see the colour drain from Judy's face.

"Your parents are pretty well prepared, Carrots. Fox repellent, fox deterrent…is this a fox taser?"

Never had Nick seen Judy lunge so quickly at him. The bunny practically flew over, grabbing the sack and knocking the taser out of Nick's hands. She looked like she was having a full blown panic attack. The taser smacked against the windowsill, knocking the bottles of medicine onto the floor. Pills of different colours and sizes spilt out haphazardly across the floor.

"Carrots! What are—"

"Nick, it's not what you think! I didn't know they were going to bring it and I was going to throw them all away once I got home I swear!" She waved her arms wildly, looking at him with desperate eyes.

It took a second for Nick to process what was happening. The bunny's ears were pressed against the back of her head.

"I'm sorry. I was never going to let you see this…"

Ah, so that's what it is. Her face said it all. She was scared. Scared of losing him like she did three months ago. She cares this much about our friendship…

"Carrots, relax." He grabbed her gently by her waist and pulled her off him, setting her down on her bed. "I'm not angry."

"I know you're angry, and you have every right to be—wait, you're…not?"

"No. Your parents are just overprotective, and you were bullied by a fox when you were a kid. I didn't know that until now." He paused. "I can't blame you for acting the way you did at the press conference. I was triggering a bad memory for you."

"No, you had every reason to be mad at me. I said things that I shouldn't have. I said horrible things."

"You were just repeating what the doctors were saying because you got nervous," he said, picking the taser off the ground. That was something Nick had only realised after a few days, after he'd taken the time to properly cool off. "And besides, I already forgave you under that bridge, so we don't need to do that again. Unless you want to call yourself a dumb bunny. We can do that again." He grinned.

"Nick…"

"Also, being stressed like that is bad for your little bunny heart." He petted her head, which made her huff. But at least that seemed to have calmed her somewhat.

"I still don't believe my parents brought along this stuff. Even after they saw you with me on TV." Judy muttered, sitting back down on her bed beside him.

"If I was an overprotective bunny, and I saw my daughter who ran away from home appearing on live TV with a fox after not telling me anything, I'd be pretty worried too. Don't worry, Carrots. I'm not angry at your parents either. They trust me enough to let me take care of you. I'm sure they weren't going to use this on me."

"I suppose…" she said, ears still drooped. Nick thought to himself for a moment.

"You know, I wonder why they make tasers specially for foxes. Do you think there's a huge one for elephants? How would you carry it around?" He asked, giving the weapon a look-over, before clicking a button. The taser sparked to life with a loud crackle.

"Nick, put it down! It's dangerous."

"Relax, it's a fox taser. Fox. Taser. A taser to be used by foxes."

That made her roll her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure it means to be used on foxes. And I'm also pretty sure that you're going to end up tasing yourself. Actually, you know what? Keep on playing with it. I bet it'll be hilarious." She couldn't resist a small smile.

There, that seemed to have cheered her up, Nick thought to himself, nodding.

"And let you have the satisfaction of seeing me completely helpless? Not happening, Fluff. But nice try."

The two of them exchanged playful grins, before Nick stood up, turning off the taser.

"Now, if there aren't any more emotional bunny breakdowns, I'd like to enjoy my pie and have a nice, quiet dinner—"

"SHUT UP!"

Both of them froze.

"NO YOU SHUT UP!" the voices were approaching, getting louder.

"…Carrots, what was that?" Nick asked.

Judy groaned, rubbing her temples.

"That, is the end of our nice quiet dinner."