A/N: Nick and Judy are both nine years old.

Chapter One: Falling into a Burrow

Nick knew there could be treasure underground but he had yet to discover any. It was only a matter of time. Regardless of where he dug, there could be valuables just beyond. His family sometimes relocated to new places due to work from time to time. He still had to play his part. They were counting on him.

They were going to live underneath a tree on the outskirts of Bunnyburrow. Expenses were tight so he didn't have many material possessions. One day, his parents had to sell off nearly everything and they started moving from place to place. It was the day everything changed. His parents owed Mr. Big money.

A clumsy bear started hanging around to help out. There would be thieves if he one day found treasure. And Raymond was very clumsy. More than once Raymond accidentally broke his limbs by stepping on them. That was why they needed him – the bear was strong.

He didn't find anything, but one day, he dug to the surface. Since he lingered there for so long, his parents forced him to write lines saying that he wouldn't do so again. At least, that was the first time in years that he got to use a pencil and a piece of paper. Worse, Raymond spilled coffee on the paper so he had to redo them. That was better than when Raymond spilled coffee on him. His parents needed him to find something valuable while they were working.

With a new site, came a new environment. Nick kept digging forward. Every so often he'd aggravate the recent burns on his chest. Something unexpected happened. He fell – and there was a scream.

He screamed too from the impact, landing on his chest was a painful experience.

"Get off me!" she yelled. She strained with effort trying to dislodge him. "Move! You stink."

A rough push caused Nick to cry. His chest hadn't fully healed. Raymond accidentally spilled coffee on him again recently.

"I'm sorry, okay?" She apologized for the kick in the chest.

With the fox crying uncontrollably and clutching his chest in agony, she tried to comfort him, petting his head.

"Can I see?"

Nick nodded.

She took off his well-worn shirt. She screamed at the ghastly sight. "I – I didn't do this. Did I?"

His chest had coffee burn marks. He shook his head.

"Judy?" one of her siblings rushed to the scene. "What's wrong? Fox!" she screamed.

And her sibling was off to spread panic before Judy could do anything.

"You need to leave," Judy said. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was digging." Nick put his shirt back on.

"In the middle of the night? You should be asleep. I should be asleep."

"Night?" Nick said. It was one of those days when his parents worked late. "Does it matter? They aren't home anyway."

His mother called from the other end of the tunnel. "Nicholas, it's time to sleep."

"I'll be there in a minute," Nick yelled.

However, getting back up to the tunnel proved to be a rather challenging task. When he realized he couldn't jump that high, he started digging from the nearby wall.

"Stop," Judy said.

"Do you have a better idea?" Nick said.

"Follow me."

That turned out to be a mistake. Bunnies surrounded them. They quickly separated him from Judy. He could hear how they disapproved of him. There were more rabbits than he could count. His scent was far from appealing since it was forever ago that he last had a bath. That didn't seem to deter the inquisitive bunnies preventing him from going anywhere.

"What are you doing here?" a rabbit asked.

"I dug my way in," Nick said.

"Liar!" another called.

It was pure chaos when he tried to talk with so many rabbits chatting all at once.

"What?" He spent his time yelling even though the rabbits were right next to him.

The chatter gave way when an older rabbit arrived on the scene. "Alright give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn you into a pelt."

"Stu! Are you out of your mind? He's only a kit!" the female rabbit said.

"And so was Gideon Grey. Not like they will notice."

"Nicholas? Are you here?" Vivian called.

"Mom! Help!" Nick said. "He wants to kill me."

Bonnie called for everyone to clear out of the way. The commotion spread far and wide across the burrow.

"Don't tell them," a bunny yelled. He sounded panicked.

"Oh, thank goodness." Vivian hugged Nick. "Are you okay?"

"How are we going to get out of here?" Nick said.

"Sorry, allow me to clear things up. I'm Bonnie Hopps," the female rabbit said. "My husband is a bit overprotective."

"That's putting it lightly," Judy said. "He threatened to kill him. Have you forgotten that my dream is to become a cop?"

"And we could get away with it," Stu said. "And you'll never be a bunny cop. Bunnies don't do that."

"That is messed up," Vivian said. "You should be encouraging your kit."

"You're one to talk. Just look at his clothes, and should I mention his smell? I'm the better parent."

"And there he goes," Bonnie said. "Kits, go back to sleep."

"What about my room?" Judy asked.

"Let me see."

They went to Judy's room while Nick stayed by his mother's side. His mother was still arguing with Stu over how to raise a kit and he was too scared to go anywhere else. He started grooming himself to pass the time, he sat on the floor and started licking his tail.

"Your son is washing himself," Stu said. "And you're letting it happen?"

"It's complicated," Vivian said.

"He's not even clean when he's licking his fur."

"I know that. It's a way to deal with stress."

"You two are still at it?" Bonnie said. "The room will take at least two hundred to fix."

"We don't have any money," Vivian said.

With Nick still licking his tail, Bonnie forcibly stopped it. "This is going to take some time. You're going to take a bath."

"You're going to let a fox use our bathtubs?" Stu said.

"Unless you want to kick them both out and we'll never see them again."

"A bath…" Nick said. "Really?" The only baths he had were from rain since his parents had to pay back Mr. Big if it could even be called that. More than once, he thought about rolling around a puddle. Fox saliva did part of the job but he didn't feel clean, not to mention the taste.

Bonnie led him to a bathroom.

It was like he was in heaven. Knowing that clothes were precious, he took extra care when he undressed. Although unable to contain his enthusiasm, he gleefully jumped in the tub as soon as he filled it up. The pain made him wail in agony since he forgot about his burn injuries.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie rushed in. "Oh, my goodness. Are you okay? Let me dry you off. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Nick said.

"I'll get your mother." Bonnie left to get Vivian.

Nick decided to put on his well-worn clothes.

Vivian arrived shortly after. "Can I see?"

"Does it matter? Just forgive him, like you always say."

"Accidents happen sweetie."

He showed her the burns on his chest.

"When did this happen?"

"Three days ago."

"It's going to be okay. Within a week or two, no one will be able to tell the difference."