The next day, the whistle gave a loud blow as the ship carried the group out at sea.
In the hallway, Nick handed Judy something. "Here. I bought you a dress."
The rabbit looked at him suspiciously.
Nick shrugged. "What? Of course I bought it!" He claimed.
Rolling her eyes, Judy took the dress and examined it. It was pink; and not to mention several sizes too large.
Judy giggled. "You bought me a... tent."
Fru Fru snickered. "I'd say it is a tent!" she said, jokingly.
Judy poked her head inside the dress.
Nick did the same at the top. "What are you looking for, Carrots?"
"The Thrushian Circus! I think it's still in here!" said Judy.
Nick smiled, yet unamused. "Come on. Just put it on." With that, he walked away, up the stairs to the deck of the ship. "Agh," he muttered to himself in a huff.
Judy watched the fox go up until he was out of sight. "Hmm," she held the dress up, feeling pretty pleased.
"That Nick may be a sly fox, but he did get you a lovely dress and all," said Fru Fru.
"Yes," Judy agreed with a smile. "He did."
"When we get to Zootopia, I'm gonna buy myself a whole new wardrobe."
"Sounds like a great plan. Well, at least I can finally get out of these rags, but, I guest I'm stuck with this big dress for now," she said with a slight chuckle.
Fru Fru studied the dress for a moment. Then, she got an idea. "Not... necessarily..."
Judy looked down at the shrew, curiously.
Later that dusk, Nick and Finnick were up on deck playing chess.
"Checkmate," Finnick said, smugly.
"Ahem!" They heard Judy clear her throat in order to get their attention.
The foxes looked up to see Judy wearing her new dress, which was all fixed up. The sleeves were shortened a bit, the skirt was now a bit shorter, and Judy was wearing a belt around her waist.
Next to her came Fru Fru, who was now wearing what looked like a brand new dress of her own.
Finnick's jaw dropped open. "Wonderful!" He complimented, as he got up and went over to Judy. "Marvelous!"
"You see, gentlemen," Fru Fru explained. "Judy and I have made a few improvements on this gown." She grinned, and gave a little twirl.
Nick grinned sheepishly. "Sorry if it was a little big."
"Oh, don't worry about it. It's still such a gorgeous dress!" Judy said to him, as she curtsied. "Fru Fru and I are planning to get a whole new wardrobe when we get to Zootopia."
"And now, you are dressed for a ball," announced Finnick. "And you will learn to dance for one, as well. Nick?"
Nick stood up, but he just stared at the rabbit's incredible transformation. "But, I'm not very good at it..." he said.
Ignoring his companion, Finnick went to Nick, and brought him over to Judy.
The fox awkwardly positioned himself to dance with the bunny, who put her arms out to him. The two began to waltz, with Finnish stepping back to watch.
"And... one-two-three, one-two-three..." Finnick started to count them off. But then, he briefly stopped them. "No, no, Judy. You don't lead. Let him."
Following directions, Nick and Judy tried again. This time, more slowly and steadily.
Nick seemed nervous. "That uh..." he forced himself to say something to her as they danced, "dress is really beautiful."
"Do you think so?" asked Judy.
"Yes. I mean it was nice on the hanger, but it looks even better on you. You sh-You should wear it."
"I am wearing it."
"Oh, right! Of course," Nick smiled, embarrassed. "Of course... you are. I'm-I'm just trying to give you a... um..."
"Compliment?" Judy finished.
"Of course, yes," Nick said.
Judy smiled.
The fox and rabbit swirled into their dance, little-by-little gaining in grace.
Finnick and Fru Fru stood aside, watching them.
"Learn to Do It (Waltz Reprise)"
(Finnick)
"It's one-two-three and suddenly,
I see it at a glance,
She's radiant,
And confident,
And born to take this chance,
I taught her well,
I planned it all,
I just forgot...
Romance!
Fin, how could you do this?
How will we get through this?
I never should have let them dance,"
Nick and Judy kept dancing all around the deck, locking eyes with one another.
"I'm feeling a little... dizzy," Judy softly said.
"Kind of light-headed?" asked Nick.
"Yeah."
"Me too," Nick agreed, as they came to a stop. "Probably from spinning. Maybe we should stop."
"We have stopped," Judy said, quietly.
"Ca- I mean, Judy, I..." Nick started to say.
"Yes?" whispered Judy.
She didn't wait for him to finish, because they slowly began to lean in. Their lips about to meet. Then... Nick suddenly stopped and pulled back. He gently placed his paw on Judy's chest to stop her, as well.
"You're doing fine," he simply told her.
He patted Judy's paw, and left, without another word.
Judy, Finnick, and Fru Fru all watched Nick leave the deck, confused by his sudden pull-back.
"What just happened?" asked Fru Fru.
"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out," said Judy.
Fru Fru followed Judy below deck to look for Nick.
Inside, Nick was in their room, trying to clear his mind off of what just happened. Then, he began to feel a little pain on his left arm. He looked up to make sure no one would walk in on him. Then, he slowly pushed his left sleeve up to his shoulder, and began to massage his scar.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Judy came hopping in. "Hey, Nick. I was just-"
Nick hastily pulled his sleeve back down to hide his scar.
Judy noticed, and asked, "What'cha doing?"
"Are you okay, man?" asked Fru Fru.
"I'm fine!" said Nick. "I-I just have a little pain leftover from... oh, never mind."
"What happened?" Judy asked, now curious to what had happened to Nick. "Is something wrong with your shoulder?"
"I don't think you should know," mumbled Nick.
"Oh, come on!" Judy crossed her arms, and smirked a little. "If we can survive a train crash, surely you can tell us what's going on."
Nick sighed. "Okay. But promise you won't get squeamish. Or breathe a word about this to anyone. Promise?"
"We promise," said Fru-Fru.
She and Judy crossed their hearts.
Nick took a deep breath, and began to explain. "A long time ago, when the Revolution broke out, I was hunted down by some officers. I-I..." he stammered a bit, not wanting to admit the entire truth to Judy, "I can't remember why..."
"Oof. That must've been really bad," Judy said, with a look of worry.
"So, then what happened?" asked Fru Fru.
"I must've blacked out, or maybe I was stuffed inside a large sack," he continued. "Anyway, the first thing I remember was that I was in some kind of interrogation room, being asked questions about the Hopps family."
"What kinds of questions?" asked Fru Fru.
"Hmmmm," Nick hesitated on answering. "I... I don't know. Something about what happened to..."
"What happened to who or what?" Judy asked.
"Um..." stammered Nick. "S-Something about... valuables! Yeah! I think so. I told the guards that I knew nothing of what they were looking for or talking about. And... then they tortured me into confessing."
Nick knew he would regret doing this. But, he lifted his sleeve back up, and showed his scar to the rabbit and shrewd.
Judy and Fru Fru gasped at the sight of his scar.
"Yep," agreed Nick. "They cut real deep into my bicep with a knife."
"That's awful!" said Judy. "All this over something that the royals lost!"
"Yeah," said Nick, "It was the most traumatizing night of my life."
"Is this why you said you wouldn't miss Thrushia?" asked Judy.
Nick nodded, before pulling his sleeve back down. Then, he turned away with a sad look. "I learned two things that night. One: I was never gonna let anyone see that they got to me."
"And two?" asked Judy.
"If the world's only gonna see a fox as shifty and untrustworthy, there's no point in trying to be anything else."
Judy approached, and sat down next to him. "Nick, you are so much more than that," she gently told him. She placed her paw on his arm to comfort him.
Nick merely looked down at her.