The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

33. Episode 33: Household (part 2)

Episode 33: Household (part 2)

After being done with their meal and finished hearing the stimulating story told by Nick and Judy, the Hopps family took in their own ways out of the dining room some of them went outside to check on the fields lead by Stu, others took to the inner burrow to return to their rooms, Judy was one of them. Judy returned to her room for a moment of piece and calm, taking her time to get some deep breaths while laying down on the softness of her own bed for a short while, she had no intent to fall asleep for a quick nap, she just wanted to think things over for a time. Judy tucked herself under the covers of her bed while still fully clothed and her motions knocked down some of the stuffed toys left by her bed side, she thought about what to do next for the day, maybe call out Nick and show him more of the farm, invite him over for a quick round of a board game, then again she also knew that her family would most likely get in the way of something like that, their limited interactions with the fox were enough to pique the interest of all of her siblings, she could not help it but smile when she took in some air through her nose and then frown as she let the air out through her mouth.

Judy waited in her room for a little while and then decided to get on and see what Nick was up to, she hopped out of her bed, picked the little stuffed mementos that she accidentally set to the floor, turned the lights off and walked through her door. Judy walked just a few steps to the left before knocking on Nick's door, she called out to his name but no immediate answer came, upon further consideration she did not heard her partner coming to the room after supper so he must have been located somewhere else in the burrow, she took off looking for him. Judy bumped against some of her siblings around the halls of the burrow but she had no difficulty navigating it, little of the underground structure had changed since her previous departure, she climbed the stairs up to the floor above and managed to find her partner after a short time of further searching.

Nick was found in the game room, having a small deck of five colorful cards in his paws, seated down on a chair way too small for his ample vulpine posterior and engaged in some sort of skillful duel of wits against a small bunny seated on the other side of the square plastic table, wearing a blue shirt and a red cap over his head that had special foam openings for his ears to pop over the top and he was also staring fiercely to the cards he held in his own grasp. Judy decided to approach slowly, she recognized the little bunny playing with Nick as her nephew Samson, son of her older brother Andrew who was charged with monitoring the farmlands of the Hopps family located much further down the road, little Samson wore thin glasses over his muzzle that twitched up and down when he moved his bunny nose, he was a geeky young always on the lookout for fascinating new trends involving superheroes in movies and games and he proud himself on the ample collection of trinkets that he gathered up with money that he earned while performing varied chores back at his father's home.

There were other bunnies playing around in the game room, busy with loud electronic gadgets and leaving the fox to square off in peace against his small but clever opponent. Judy tried looking ahead, leaning her body slightly forward to get a glance at Nick's paw and maybe surmise the strategy he might be using, then again, she was uninformed about the rules of the game so it may take her more than a glance. As Judy placed herself right next to Nick's right shoulder, the fox turned his head in her direction and greeted her without even having to see her:

- What's up, fluff?

Judy took a short step back, she asked:

- How did you know I was here? I didn't even say anything.

Nick turned to the left to face Judy, holding his stack of cards in his right paw and taking care to not let his adversary get a glance at them and giving him an unfair advantage, looking at his bunny partner and giving a little tap on the tip of his muzzle with the pointing finger of his left paw. Nick lowered his left hand and said:

- I knew it was you the second you entered the room. If you plan on sneaking up on a fox you do it downwind.

Judy turned her body to the left while crossing her arms, speaking up to her partner as she said:

- Well, you don't have to sound so smug about it.

Nick nudged his head to the right only for a short second before turning his body to face forward once more over his little seat and tell her:

- In all fairness, I sound smug about lots of stuff.

- That's true.

Some of the little bunnies came to notice Judy's presence in the room as well, she said hello to Samson at first and then some of the others followed, coming close enough to speak to her and quickly show some of the coolest toys that they acquired. Judy turned her attention to Nick and Samson soon after, seeing the fox place down some of the cards he had in hand over the table, only then noticing that the little plastic table was equipped with a cardboard map unfolded over it that had reserved spaces on each of its sides for a variety of different cards, this was not just a game of chance it was a game of strategy. Samson followed Nick's play soon enough, placing only one of his cards down and saving a more aggressive counter-play for another turn, Judy decided to ask of her partner what exactly the game was all about and Nick was prompt and ready to answer her:

- After we all finished eating and I wandered through the burrow for a bit, your little nephew here invited me to play with this game that he brought along. It's full of grand heroes and dastardly villains fighting for super powered supremacy in an ever changing battleground. At least.. that's how he explained it to me.

Nick pointed to Samson and the little bunny took it as his cue to correct the fox in case he spoke something incorrect or out of context for the game but Nick got it all right in one go and the little bunny answered to that with a nod of his head, his ears flopping back and forth as he did so. Nick and Samson returned themselves to a player mindset, they each had their own strategy and they were about ready to implement them but Judy interrupted the fox again by asking him:

- Are you… winning so far?

Nick turned to her once more and admitted on being way over his head while having a smile on his face, showing that he was taking his apparent defeat on the game with palpable dignity and learning a little more with each loss:

- Are you kidding me? This one has been kicking my tail for four consecutive rounds.

Nick then made a signal with his left pointing claw, a repetitive motion that asked Judy to come a little closer while he covertly disclosed an important detail to her. Judy got Nick's signal and leaned closer to him, the fox adjusted his lips and covered their movements as he whispered to Judy with the palm of his left paw before he said:

- But I got a secret all-out play to win this round in a single go. Just watch me.

Judy stuck around, determined to see the fox either succeed with an all-out assault or fall flat with a desperate game plan thrown together in the last minute. Nick began his plan and it started out by throwing off the two best cards he had in paw first, he had some difficulty moving around and playing the cards with his right arm on a sling but he got used to it after some short playing sessions, he passed his line of cards from one paw to the other and began playing them in the clever sequence he saw in his mind over and over again, speaking up as he went on:

- I deploy my aero-assault winged mongrel, since I played him near rough terrain he gets a boost in power and efficacy and his special once per game ability gives me the chance to activate other card's ability without the need for specific conditions to be met. Next, I activate the Nocturnal mage to resurrect the last card I lost on the last round, I bring back my knight of darkness and place him right next my eagle-eyed archer. Lastly, I put down my two zombie scouts on the frontlines and, since they aren't actually alive, they can attack your front-line defenses freely without wasting my battle turn.

Judy was completely lost in the game plan, she just assumed that Nick knew exactly what he was doing as he sounded so sure of every card and skill so she did not even dare step into the unnerving assault set up by the fox, however, that would do nothing much to halt Samson as the little bunny put his own plan in action. Samson was already confident on the strategy Nick would employ, the fox had no idea but he was backed into a corner, since Nick did not possess any more cards of any kind to be played that round, Samson made his move:

- I cast soul of the brave sniper, it gives all of my long ranged warriors in the field piercing damage, they can now shoot past any armored foe or reinforced barrier. I then sent down my troop enforcer, Commander Set, he gets an attack bonus if he is played along with any sort of tech enhancement or spell so I play my Zap trap, it completely nullifies the effects of cards played on water or rough terrain. I invaded your base and that wins me the game.

Now Judy was really lost but the explosive strategy went right to his main forces on the board and really undermined his own strategy to win the game through sheer brute strength. Nick pointed to the game board in front of him, his attack plain laid in ruins, and the only thing he could say was:

- Oh, What?! How did you even manage to get past all of that? I thought I had the whole round on lock.

Samson reached forth to collect all of the cards he had played before admitting:

- You left most of your flank areas open, I have been pelting your defenses with amphibian troops since this round began.

Nick leaned over the table and scratched his head, the young buck was right, the cards in his selected deck with the ability to cross water were not that strong but they could deal considerable damage if amounted together over the course of a long round. Nick showed a soft smile before reaching ahead with his left paw and congratulating his young opponent for a great and stimulating game:

- Good round.

Samson reached ahead with both of his paws, setting the cards down before shaking Nick's wrist and thanking him for playing along. After gathering all of his collectible decks and folding the cardboard playing field, Samson exited the game room, wishing farewell to his aunt and the fox and telling him that this was the most amazing game he had ever played, Nick nodded his head and promised the little buck that they were going to play the game again and Nick would have even more mind-blowing strategies for the next time. Judy walked forth and placed herself right next to Nick, having her paws placed at her back and her shoulders faintly raised before she looked at her partner and said:

- You're a big hit with my family.

Nick looked at her with a soft smile on his lips as he said:

- Well, they are all really cool. I'm an unavoidable hit with cool mammals.

After saying that, Nick tried to get up from the little chair but he had some issues, after putting his feet firmly on the ground and trying to get up, he could not get a good enough balance to stand all the way up once more, he tried stretching his left arm ahead and leaning his body forward to get some better momentum to ascend and support under his feet but it proved ineffective since all that he managed to do was rattle the legs of the chair back and forth causing him to almost fall down on his back, his left arm shaking around as he tried regaining some even brace under him. Judy reached forth out of reflex while letting out a little gasp that soon devolved into a short fit of laughter after she certified that Nick was alright, he only managed to give himself a little scare with that momentary loss in balance. Nick released a puff of air out of his mouth before speaking up:

- I might need some help getting out of this chair.

Judy sounded a giggle and then reached ahead with both of her paws to offer some help and grab Nick's arm, she pushed softly at first but it was a little difficult getting enough purchase out of his arm since her fingers could barely get a hold of him, without enough of a hold her paws would just slide off over his fur. Judy pressed her fingers over Nick a little more and got a good enough handle and pulled him up until he was standing over his two feet once more, he looked down to Judy and said:

- Thanks.

- Don't mention it, slick.

Nick took a look around, there were still a few bunnies entertaining themselves with games and toys, the clock on the wall showed him that almost a full hour had gone past after the meal and he had spent all of that subsequent time playing cards with Samson, made him wonder what else he was going to do with his day. Nick was silent after thanking Judy for the assistance, his mind taking rounds around the game room until it refocused itself on Judy as she asked him:

- So, Nick, I was actually coming over to ask you how are you feeling. Is your shoulder still hurting?

The fox looked over to her before adjusting his right arm in the tuck of the sash around his neck and saying:

- The sling bothers me a bit sometimes but I am learning how to deal with it. I took the medicine right after I was done eating earlier but I am still going to need to apply the gel that doctor Pura gave me and change the bandage later.

Judy took a single side step to the left, placing herself just a little closer to Nick and spoke up to that before anything had the chance to cut her off or she changed her mind:

- I can help you with that. If you need to that is.

Nick tried to politely dismiss Judy's offer, showing her the palm of his left paw as he said:

- You don't have to do that for me, fluff. I can figure things out on my own.

Judy raised her right arm and poked Nick's side, hoping to get him to change his mind on the matter, telling him with a sweet tone of voice:

- We are both here to take it easy. If you need help with anything or if you have something to say, you can just come up and say it.

Nick gave Judy a soft nudge before telling her:

- I appreciate it. I might have something stirring up in my mind, now that you so graciously offered to lend me a paw and an ear.

- Go ahead.

Judy gave Nick the cue to speak and the fox took it:

- I want to get over to the kitchen and ask your mom if I might borrow a few ingredients, she told me I could have a go at some of that passion fruit she brought over and I want to make some mousse with it.

Judy's left ear twitched, she called to Nick's attention and then asked him:

- You can make 'mousse' out of that stuff?

Nick spoke up as he answered to that:

- Sure you can. Sweet, soft, once you spit out the seeds, it is actually really good. I might need some online help to figure out the finer details but I am confident I can make some grade-A desert that will frizzle you out.

- Uh, I can hardly wait.

Judy showed a smile and a nod of her head, glad that Nick was looking forward to more promising times during their time of vacation and maybe a little jealous that he seemed to have it all so nicely figured out while she was still thinking about what to do herself. Judy looked around and saw the kids seated by the couch toss the video game controllers over the cushions, already fed up with the simple loop of the game they had selected to spend their time, Judy got the idea to have at least some fun with Nick before he decided to take off for the kitchen:

- Hey, slick.

Nick turned over and saw Judy pointing at the three consoles by the screen as she asked:

- What do you say we play a round to pass the time before you prep the sweet you have in mind? Just an innocent fun game.

Nick raised a brow and showed a slim smile before telling his partner:

- When you play like us, fluff, an 'innocent' game doesn't hold any fun. What you say we make things interesting?

Judy's ears lowered and then raised, her sharp stare directed at Nick as she asked:

- What do you have in mind there, slick?

Nick took a step ahead and placed the open challenge, pointing one finger upward close to Judy's head as he said:

- We take a chance, one round, one game of *my* choosing. The loser has to buy all of the snacks when we go to the movies, the winner also gets all the bragging rights.

Judy leaned her head, recalling that Nick used to act in the same cocky manner when they hung out together, making silly bets and being spontaneous just because he wanted a mild thrill whenever they were to hang out together, he was behaving like a snooty fox who wished to prove something, she would occasionally get a kick out of it, especially if it meant taking him down a peg. Judy pointed to Nick, tapping his chest twice with her left paw before saying:

- You're cashing one mighty big check over there, mister fox. Are you sure you can back it up?

Nick leaned closer, trying to put on the same sharp look of defiance in his eyes as Judy had to show him, the fox answered her without losing his smile and sounding off a softer tone of voice to coheres Judy into accepting his challenge quicker and not beat too much around the bush:

- Oh, I can back it up alright. The real question is: Are you in or not, Hopps?

A long and extended sound of 'whoo' was heard in the game room, some of the little bunnies heard it all and caught wind of what might be a fun competition between her aunt and the visiting fox, Judy and Nick turned their eyes to the side and saw a small line-up of bunnies in cute outfits looking in their direction with great expectation, Judy was definitely not expecting a group of onlookers if she decided to take Nick on. Judy turned back to Nick, she pressed her lips, cleared her throat, raised her ears and spoke up, almost taking the role of a brave warrior as she waved her arm in the air and said to her partner:

- Pick a box and put your game face on, mister Wilde. I'm about to smoke you.

- Now, that is what I'm talking about!

The audience of impressionable little bunnies cheered on for the representative of their burrow and Nick immediately understood what Judy's performance when she took on the challenge was all about as the cheers and smiling faces reached his senses. Nick waited for a moment, watching as Judy walked off to take a seat over the couch, she crossed her arms and sat down to wait for her partner to pick any game at all so that they could settle their bet, showing off a cold and confident stare forward, mostly for the benefit of her younger kin. Soon enough, the little bunnies flocked around to watch in preferential seats around the couch and over the mat to watch the competition unfold, almost sixteen little bunnies in total made the audience and they were more than ready to cheer along for either of the contestants and have some fun.

Nick stepped around carefully, reaching for the shelves filled with colorful plastic boxes and searching around for the one with the cover art that looked most appealing to him. In the end, Nick decided for a racing game, the cover art depicting cute mascots in a bombastic racetrack, the fox popped the disk into the appropriate console, turned the television to a displayed setting and the competition began in full swing.

Back over to the above ground floors of the burrow, the sun was nearly setting over the horizon, a beautiful sight to be sure as the color of the sky changed subtly and warned Bonnie that it was almost dinner time for the burrow. Bonnie and Stu did not fret over the time for dinner in the burrow, different from their big family lunch, everyone as free to procure dinner as they saw fit, be it with a more organized meal that called up for a small gathering or a simple snack that could be enjoyed individually and in peace, she only had to worry about prepping the meals for the youngest bunnies in the burrow, the rest would figure out meal plans for themselves and leave the rest of the day as a far calmer period for the leading bunnies on the farm. Bonnie was done setting the seats on the second table, she was just about to go and call for the children present in every floor to come over and gather around but she was halted momentarily by a small gathering in the living room that called to her attention.

Samantha was leading a small band of her sisters that banded together to talk about the main topic present in that home, the fox that Judy had brought over for a visit, some that have already met the fox in the flesh and others who were still mildly curious about his presence in the burrow, each one of the sisters was occupying a different seat in the living room, some joined together on the couch, others preferring to stand, all of them talking and not letting the seat differentiation undermine any of the others, almost like a fashionably calculated war-council.

Theodora giggled from time to time as she recalled how gallant and polite the fox was when they first met, Jill aired some notes about details she observed on the fox, how he acted and spoke around others and around Judy, Sarah gushed over on how the fox had a great way with children while bouncing little Eliza in her arms and Samantha bragged for being the one that had known the fox for far longer than anyone in the gathering as well as pinning down right away how he and Judy just clicked as coworkers and partners. Bonnie stopped her walk towards the hallway leading up to the stairs, she counted every one of her daughters, present there, just talking and laughing together, reminded the older bunny about her own sisters and how they all used to gather to talk about cute bucks and all the different things that mounted up to it. Bonnie was somewhat captivated, even a little nostalgic, by the gossip going on in the living room, she stayed mostly out of sight and let it develop but her line of thought was interrupted through the sound of many sets of little feet closing in on her position.

The sisters stopped her talk and turned in the direction of the noise as soon as they were all aware of it as well, Bonnie looked over to the corridor and witnessed as a wave of little bunnies appeared with Nick and Judy placed in the middle of them all, walking with a slow pace to accompany the rhythm of their small team of knee-high chaperones. The little bunnies were gathered around the two officers as they head up the stairs and towards the living room, the children rejoiced and celebrated, talking amongst themselves while the adults already present there felt silent for a moment, Sarah approached the gathering and asked the reason behind all of that celebration on their part:

- What's all of this? Why are all of you so happy?

She looked over to Nick and Judy, the two mammals in the middle of the bunny crowd smiling but on different degrees, the bunny gleaming with triumph while the fox still trying to put up a face that at least faked modesty. Neither Nick or Judy spoke up in response to the Question Sarah posted, instead, one of the bunnies in the crowd, a young female named Angela, raised her left paw, pointed up to Judy and spoke up:

- Mister Wilde just challenged aunt Judy to a contest in a game, they played it and aunt Judy wiped the floor with him.

There was a little laughter, some 'whoos' and the stomping of tiny feet coming from all over the little crowd gathered around them all cheering for Judy and Nick took the reeds as he pointed to himself and said:

- Alright, first off, she did not 'wipe the floor with me'. She beat me on a best two out of three rounds game.

Judy poked Nick's right side as she said:

- Nick, listen, if you want to, we can just call the bet off.

Nick raised his left arm and said:

- No. I called for a bet and you beat me fair and square, following the rules of the game. It is a point of honor. Although, I am still a little mad at you.

Judy walked back a single short step to give her partner a little space, she raised her paws a little closer to her chest and asked:

- Mad with me? Why?

Nick turned to her and answered to that as he said:

- I was about to perform an epic jump out of a ramp and you hit me in the back with a seeker missile. Who does that?

Judy shrugged that off, now with a more sour look in her face as she forced a little smile and said:

- It was just part of the game. I'm sorry.

Nick released a little sigh and then said:

- Be that as it may be, I still lost, so the bet stands.

Jill raised from her seat, she was placed on the left most cushion of the living room couch as she stood up and quelled the doubts in the minds of her other sisters as she asked:

- What bet? What did you guys bet?

Judy was just about to answer to that, dismissing the question with a floppy excuse but Nick jumped right into the conversation, answering to Jill with honesty while trying to keep his pride intact for losing to Judy, even if it was in such a minor contest:

- We played some racetracks in a game of 'Grand Crush Tag Racers' to see who would be left with the snack bill when we go to the movies. She won, I lost. I'm footing the bill.

All of Judy's sisters started to giggle after hearing that, excited that the talk about Nick calling Judy for a fun outing while they were visiting was all but confirmed, Judy was bracing herself for relentless teasing from her family but Nick thought that the small fit of giggling was directed at him so he protected his ego by showing his left palm to everyone and saying:

- Alright, you all don't have to rub it in. I made my bed now I'm going to sleep on it.

Nick turned himself around and moved towards the kitchen, he found Bonnie just standing still next to the living room table just as soon as he made his way out from the middle of the bunny crowd around him, the little lagomorphs gradually opening way so the fox could go through. Nick approached Bonnie, he pointed to the entrance of the kitchen in the distance and asked her:

- Is it all ready for us to start?

Bonnie nodded her head excitingly and answered:

- I was just waiting on you. It is all separated and prepped, all that is left is for us to get started.

Nick turned around and pointed to Judy as he said:

- Hope you're ready, fluff. I have not tried passion fruit for a long time but I still know that it tastes divine. If my recipe doesn't turn out all that well just… keep an open mind.

Judy smiled and nodded before saying:

- I'll do my best, slick.

Nick took off for the kitchen followed closely by Bonnie, she wished to know what type of knowledge the fox could impart about the preparation of exotic foods while she was busy preparing the dinner for the other bunnies of the house, the one thing in Nick's mind at that moment was to prepare a dessert that would impress Judy most of all and he was going to need both of his arms to fulfill that tall order. Nick reached back with his left arm and grabbed the strap of his medical sling, he raised his right shoulder slightly and removed his arm from the safety cove and placing the restringing apparatus away over the repost of a chair, his injury did not hurt as much and he felt up for something daring, something he enjoyed and only recently rediscovered, how to combine ingredients and assemble something greater. In the fox's mind, cooking with tools ad ingredients in a fully equipped kitchen was no more different than performing maintenance in the engine of a vehicle, it only involved substance rather than form, he reached for one of the fruits that had been set aside for his culinary endeavor over the kitchen counter and got to work.

Judy stayed behind in the living room, her sisters keeping her company and shooting her some suggestive stares as they watched her exchanging sympathies with the fox that just left the living room. Judy turned her head and looked for a comfy spot to sit down and wait for Nick to return with some anticipation for what he might be cooking up, she had never heard of passion fruit until that afternoon ad it was a little uncommon for her since she considered herself an expert on all kinds of flora and its byproducts in some way, she had to grow up on a farm after all. Judy spotted an empty armchair across the living room, it was a nice enough spot to sit so she walked towards it, sliding the soles of her feet over the carpet beneath her to give herself some small shred of relaxation before taking the seat, she turned around and tossed her posterior over the single cushion while laying her arms softly over the parallel resting supports on each side, Judy showed a side glance and only then realized that all of her sisters were following her movements and the look in all of their eyes worried her a little bit. Judy leaned forward over the seat, separating the contact between the chair repost and her back before asking:

- What? What is it?

Samantha rose from her seat and walked a single step ahead before answering to that with an innocent tone of voice but having something far more daring on the back tone:

- Nothing much. I just think it is absolutely precious how you call each other nicknames like it's no big deal at all.

Theodora interjected as she placed her paws over her knees, smiling and leaning her head from left to right as she spoke up:

- Calling each other 'Slick' and 'Fluff'. What is up with that? Is that some type of code we are yet to understand?

There was a small fit of laughter that came from all of the other sisters in the room except for Judy, who raised her paws gesturing to all the others and said:

- Those are just nicknames. It's nothing more than the way Nick and I talk to each other. That's it.

Samantha spoke once more as she pointed to Judy and rotated the pointing finger of her right paw in the air as she did so, saying:

- Oh, I'm willing to bet there are a few more we haven't heard. They are just keeping it to themselves.

Judy clutched her paws and lowered her ears as she pressed her lips together and held her breath to make sure that she would not just burst out and yell something rude to all of her sisters, a tough undertaking as they all caught sight of her face and began to laugh out loud after one of them pointed out:

- Oh, my gosh, I missed that face she makes when she is hopping mad at us.

The laughing continued but Judy could just sense that it was no mockery, she squinted her eyes as it became tougher to fight the urge to engage and yell at all of her sisters to be quiet and leave her be. Theodora, who had her laughing fit die down the fastest, rose from her seat and walked closer to Judy, she positioned herself next to the left armrest of the chair and placed both of her palms over Judy's left paw and said:

- So, beating your male on a competition. That is quite the bold move, shows you have spunk.

Judy raised her ears and twitched her nose, trying to speak up but stopping herself short:

- He's not my…

- If you really want to get some nice favor coming from him, then know this: Males have very fragile senses of pride, I get that you are competitive, but you might want to consider letting him win every once in a while. Stroke the ego every once in a while, it helps out a lot in the long run.

Judy immediately took to protesting as she took her paw from under the soft hold of Theodora's paw, pointed at her face and said:

- Would you stop that? I am not going to even dignify that with a response.

Judy lowered her paw, crossed her arms and her head before answering to Theodor's word anyway:

- Nick wouldn't allow me to throw any bet or competition. He already knows when I am not giving my all in a contest of any kind.

All of the sisters exchanged a look that said it all, Judy knew her partner to the point where a mere change in behavior out of any of them would signify right away that something was amiss and they had, apparently, been engaging in competitive interactions for an extensive amount of time. Judy tucked her legs over her seat, bending her knees and raising her ankles until they were placed over the edge of the cushion, her heels pointing to the right with her left leg underneath her right one as she scooched back on the seat and said:

- I just know how much pride Nick has in him, but I also know that even when he acts modest he shows how much his appreciation shines further than his ego would ever allow it. When we work or when we compete on any little thing, Nick knows that I am not one to give up and he follows the example in his own way. Is annoying as much as it is endearing.

All of the bunnies in that room listening in joined together to swoon over the fact that the relationship between Judy and Nick was developed in such a way that one knew how the other might react. Samantha leaned forward and spoke to that:

- You might have a solid point there, but I still would say that we know quite a lot about males, little sister. They are loud and weird and it doesn't matter who they claim to be or what species they are, it is well known that they only think of one thing.

Samantha only had to finish that sentence before all of the others, Judy excluded, joined together to nod their heads twice and release a conjoint humming that disclosed their thoughts perfectly. Every single one of Judy's sisters present in that gathering have had at least one boyfriend in their lives, passing or lasting flames in a sense that marked their historical of relationships in an impactful way, and that was enough for them to claim to know all of the facets of the male mind, their main interest was obvious: Sex. Of any kind, of any kink, that was the common denominator present in the mind of a male when they interacted with the opposite sex. That was enough for a nearly melodious hum to come from them and echo around the living room:

- 'Uhm-Hum'

Judy raised from her seat and made a dismissive gesture with her paws, showing as her arms swung to diverging angles to her sides and then she spoke up:

- You all need to stop with this.

Judy now had the attention of all of her sisters, she lowered the volume of her voice and then said:

- Nick and I are just friends and partners, that is it.

Judy's gesturing and her words called to the attention of all the others, surely, but her tone of voice certainly communicated something different. Sarah nudged her head in the direction of her sister as she asked with a similar tone and volume to her voice:

- Why are you whispering? Is so that he doesn't listen in and accidentally misconstrued it?

Judy shook her head and said:

- There is nothing to misconstrued!

Sarah answered to that with a wink of her left eye and said:

- Sure there isn't.

The laughs returned, it was almost like all of the Hopps sisters were in on a monumental joke but there was a solid purpose behind it and no malicious intent to belittle or reprimand their sister. It was evident for everyone to see that Nick and Judy shared a special connection and they all knew how reserved and shielded Judy could be so a caring nudge in the right direction was probably in order, that is what they were all doing.

Back in the kitchen, as all of the children reveled in their dinner, Nick and Bonnie were preparing the dessert that the fox had in mind with the outmost care and skill present in every facet of the formulation. Nick reviewed dosage and helpful additions to the recipe while Bonnie was mostly in charge of presentation, fetching small serving chalices made of thin translucent plastic that were left over from a backyard celebration of not too long ago to place the mixture once it was ready. Nick sliced the passion fruits that he had selected to reveal their contents and Bonnie was very surprised to see what the fragrant fruits were hiding, the yellow covers of the wrinkly peel hid away a gooey interior filled with loose pulp and many dark seeds, Nick passed a spoon over the first fruit he had sliced in half with a sharp knife to check on the consistence of the pulp, his nostrils could only detect the sweet aroma of the fruit, it was all in order to continue.

Nick proceeded to slice the fruits one after the other, nearly twenty in rapid succession, cut neatly in half to reveal their contents before dumping them in a plastic batter bowl and dividing proportions that could be used for preparing the dessert. Nick had to outsource some of the preparation methods, searching the information on his phone from time to time, but the limited text scrolling across the screen and the pleasing picture of the prepped dish would not help him in the long run, he tried some of the mixture after a few minutes of careful stirring and noticed that something was missing, something besides the gumminess of the gelatin and the spike of the sugar, he needed something else. Bonnie walked a little close, tempted by the scent of the dessert which was now filling the kitchen, she sa the fox patting the top of the pulp mix with the backside of a spoon, leaned closer and asked:

- Is it ready?

Nick lowered the spoon he had in his right paw over the counter and looked attentively over the mixture, he shook his head slowly from side to side, made a clicking noised that came out of his lips and squinted his eyes as he kicked his thoughts around in search of a key ingredient that would make the dessert really pop. Nick turned around while tapping the tip of his left pointing finger over his head with his ears lowered before getting the flash of an idea and saying:

- Cream. We need cream.

Bonnie raised a brow as she asked:

- Cream?

Nick continued with his idea as he said:

- We need just the right amount. We need it to be in the same amount thick and soft to combine it perfectly with the texture.

Bonnie knew just where to get it and she walked off in the direction of the lower hanging cabinets to procure the requested ingredient. Nick turned to the blender, there was still a portion of the pulp inside of the plastic batter bowl that could be mashed up and used for a concentrated juice, that would go great with the recipe and it would provide a great balance between the tangy and the sweet. The servings were measured, the flavor was locked, the dish was done and a tad of presentation went a long way with leaves of either mint or eucalyptus placed over the servings, by the end of it, Nick and Bonnie had placed the first portion of the finished mix in an experimental helping inside one of the plastic chalices she had procured, all that it was left was to serve and wait for a verdict.

Nick appeared from the kitchen, he saw Judy having an annoyed face directed at her sisters, he walked closer to the scene and spoke out to call her attention and let everyone know that he was done with the cooking, Judy turned around to look at Nick, she became silent right away and tried to disguise any trace of the previous expression she had before, she extended her arms and graciously receive the chalice with the dessert, she could not wait to try it. Nick gave Judy the chalice along with a teaspoon so that she could dig tiny portions of the mousse and delight herself with it little by little, but Judy did not dig in right away, something called to her attention beyond the delicious smell and appearance of the dessert in front of her, something about Nick. Judy looked considerately at her partner and noticed that he was no longer sporting the medical sling around his right arm, she made a point to ask him straight away:

- Where is your sling?

Seeing Judy pointing at him, Nick answered shortly after:

- Oh, I took it off. I was not going to need it for cooking.

Judy shook her head and launched a soft glance in Nick's direction, one that just screamed disapproval for his actions. Nick took note of that straight away and said in his own defense:

- Hey, c'mon. I'm gonna put it back later, plus, it was just holding back my arm, I couldn't cook with that thing on my shoulder.

Judy released a sigh, her disapproving stare was still well shown in her eyes but it had been slightly tempered by a smile on her lips. Judy went right ahead to tasting the dessert served by Nick, she caved the teaspoon as deep into the upper crust as she could so that she could be sure to collect every layer and sample every palate at her disposal. Judy took a scoop of the mousse and took it to her lips, she was very surprised with what came next, Judy felt a sudden spark of flavor take hold of her, the creamy wave flushing her cheeks and melt in her mouth, a pleasant tingle on the tip of her tongue that was soon sliding down her throat, her ears lowered, her eyes opened wide, her nose remained perfectly static and the toes of both her feet curled up as she felt the taste of the fruit mixed in such unexpected ways to become imprinted in her mind. Nick watched Judy's reaction, noticing how she swallowed the nibble she just took real slowly, his first instinct was to ask her:

- What do you think?

Judy released a warm puff of air out of her mouth and confessed on being utterly infatuated with the taste of the dessert, praising Nick and her mother for the amazing collection of tastes she was experiencing. With Judy's words clearly aired and the fox's prowess in the kitchen thoroughly proven for everyone to hear, all of Judy's sisters came forth and demanded to taste the dessert as well but Nick immediately calmed them down and revealed that there was still a surplus back in the kitchen for everyone to serve themselves as they pleased.

After a few more minutes, Bonnie had picked up more serving chalices and given each one of her daughters equal separate helpings of the dessert, airing soon after that Nick was the one responsible for the prepping of the mousse and the balanced clashing of flavors present in it. Nick took notice that there were a few siblings present in that little gathering that he had not yet met, he recalled seeing them at the table during lunch but not meeting them face to face, Judy went down the line to introducing them as she pointed to them from left to right and spoke their names going down the list by age as most of them were younger than her by only a couple of years: Jenifer, Martha, Erica, Prim… so many other sisters seated there and he was glad to meet them all. The fox picked a serving for himself and stood right next to the armchair where Judy was seated to enjoy it to the maximum, he heard after a few spoonful takes and delighted hums as Samantha just had to praise the fox as well by saying:

- Wow, Nick! You are a true wizard in the kitchen. This is delicious. And these little leaves on the side make it seem so fancy.

The others agreed wholeheartedly with Samantha telling the fox that the simple looking dessert was actually a heavenly taste to be enjoyed and Nick was flattered, the fox nodded to that but another voice came to him soon after, Theodora called out and asked him:

- Yeah. Where did you learn to cook like this?

Nick placed the spoon he was using down on the dessert he had in his left paw, dug into the soft crust and leaned against the inner edge of the plastic chalice, before he answered:

- Back in Zootopia there are so many cooks preparing dishes from different cultures, you learn to appreciate all kinds of tastes. My mom taught me most of what I know about measures and cooking with free expression so I would grow better accustomed with how food is regularly prepared but, honestly, Judy here was the one who inspired me to get cooking again.

The fox finished that explanation as he gestured towards Judy, seated next to him, with his right paw, the bunny stopped any of her motions right away, freezing up with the spoon she had in paw stuck in her mouth between her teeth as she heard that, the pleasant taste of the dessert not helping in diminishing the impact his words had on her. Theodora launched a sharp look with a brow raised in Judy's direction before saying:

- Really? How so?

Judy took the spoon away from her lips and turned her head to face Nick, dreading hat he may come to say next, she could not stop him but she still felt like she should brace herself, or maybe even drop everything she was doing and tackle the conversation away from her partner if the strict need were to arise. Nick began to explain, not even bothering with his own share of the dessert as he talked:

- Right after I left for the ZPD academy, Judy came over to the train station to see me off, she gifted me a pack of these tasty little strawberry cakes that were made from rice doe and they were just amazing, best treat I have ever tasted. Every chance I had, after training or study, I ate one, as a personal reward.

The look Nick had on his face, the smile on his muzzle and the look in his eyes, earned a little giggle from his audience but the main point of the tale as yet to come, Judy relaxed a bit and took another spoonful of the dessert into her mouth, silently sorrowed with the fact that she was nearly done with it. Nick continued to speak after a short pause for breath:

- After I returned to Zootopia, fully-fledged officer and everything, I decided to get back to cooking myself. The first trials I had in my kitchen were… not so great. I tried making muffins one time and I made… rocks. Not even tasty rocks.

Another laugh came up but the story Nick as telling took a more soft and centered tone once he said:

- I improved ever since then, taking my time to check on the recipe and hone my instincts in front of the counter, either that or just keeping the recipe simple. One time, Judy and I made pancakes together.

A curious gasp came from the crowd of listeners, hums of curiosity soon followed as Jill leaned her head to the left and spoke up:

- You don't say.

Nick nodded once and made so that the story took a full spin as he spoke with a far more excited tone to his voice:

- Oh, yeah. It's a whole thing leading up to that. It involves a long case back at the precinct, a stake out, camping on a rooftop beneath the stars and an angry gazelle kicking me in the gut.

- Oh, my God!

Samantha had been accompanying the exploits of Judy and Nick over the news, always letting the rest of her family know when Judy was leaving her mark back in Zootopia, but there was only so much she could learn from a on screen report, many of the details were obscured and having Nick there spilling all of the fine points was just a treat that left her, along with a few others, both stunned and overjoyed. Judy leaned to the left over her seat and placed her right paw over Nick's left arm, she gently pressed her fingers over him as she took hold of the conversation away from him after hearing the exclamatory voice of Samantha, she looked around and, in a bit of a fit, spoke out:

- Hey! Whoa! No, none of that. Change the subject, somebody change the subject, please.

Nick smiled, leaving Judy to place her pa over him and gently nestle the conversation out of him, he almost allowed himself to forget how her modest nature and her preference to keep the most dangerous aspects of her carrier away from her family notice were made to be her go to way of communicating with all of them. Jill took charge, agreeing with Judy and changing the course of the talk to something a little more mellow, maybe something that could give out a few more details about the fox, she was very interested in knowing more:

- I got this. So, Nick, you said earlier today during lunch that you ad my sister are really close to each other. You even went as far as telling your fear for everyone to hear.

Nick shrugged that off with a slow raise of his right shoulder before saying:

- I tend to go a little off the mark when talking with her, or about her, gets going like that. Just goes to show how much I trust her.

Judy tucked herself over her seat, feeling the shyness take hold of her, Nick's words were not helping the case she made with her sisters only a few minutes ago about them being just friends and partners. Nick kept going as he listed a few things he had learned about Judy:

- I already know she is passionate about her work, I know she is clever, brave, strong, determined, I know she does not like bananas…

Samantha gestured towards Nick with her left pa in the air, making a gentle and slow going wave motion, showing the palm of her paw while the spoon still being used by her was nestled nicely and safely between her palm and her thumb, she smiled and spoke up:

- Oh yeah. That's a whole thing with her and bananas.

Just the mention of the fruit made Judy shutter a bit, Nick added to that by simply saying:

- I thought it was a little weird but I don't judge. I don't like pineapples.

Judy had her ears standing up as the mild surprising fact hit her, she turned her head to face Nick and spoke up as she asked:

- You don't like pineapples? But they are so sweet and tasty.

Nick protested avidly as he said:

- They are weird, that is what they are. They are hard and prickly and… can you believe some mammals dare to put them on pizza?! That is abominable!

Nick's point of view knocked a few more of a humorous reaction from the others, Sarah stepped her food hard on the ground to hold off on her laughter, she decided to excuse herself from the living room, it was getting a little late and she had to go put little Eliza to sleep. Jill did not laugh out loud after hearing Nick's words, she was the only one among the others that remained unaffected by Nick, she took to asking the main point as she cleared her throat and said:

- The point is: Has Judy ever told you what *her* greatest fear is?

Nick pressed his teeth together as he thought it over, he moved his jaw up and down as his upper and lower teeth tapped the tips of one another and his lips moved to show a more analytic expression coming out of him, the fox could not recall any point during his conversations with Judy when she had ever told him about something that truly scared her off. Nick turned his head to look at Judy, looking slightly down and to his left as he said:

- Now that you mentioned it, I guess she never did tell me.

Judy had no way to retreat out of that, her sisters and her mother on one side and Nick standing right next to her on the other side, she would have to fess up but she did not gather herself to do it right away. Nick leaned a little closer as he tried to guess, by is accounts, Judy was fearless, so hearing what she was truly scared of could be interesting:

- What could even come close to putting fear in you, fluff? Spiders? Heights? Needles? Some insane combination of all of them?

- Well… I'm…

Judy did not even have the chance to answer sincerely as another voice came from the crowd, with a faint trace of disinterest but still sounding fully intended to step up, speaking:

- She's afraid of ghosts.

- MARTHA!

Judy's sister was reprimanded by an authoritarian shout of her mother, even if the question was posted and the answer was honest there was no excuse for the younger bunny to tell it out loud like that. Nick's ears twitched and he turned his eyes back to Judy to ask of her:

- You are afraid… of ghosts?

Judy pressed her lips together, not wanting to answer to that but also confirming that those words had the truth in them. Nick did not laugh, he just stopped to think for a moment to think, he did not believe in ghosts, he had been among some of the most haunting spots around Zootopia at night and he had never seen an attacking spirit before so he was skeptical at best. After a few seconds he spoke out:

- That's a little silly.

Those were definitely not the words or the reaction that Judy was expecting from Nick, Judy turned to him fully prepared to speak up and the fox even retreated slightly after detecting the intimidating aura emanating from her nearly immediately but she was stopped when Simon made his presence known in the room. Judy's older brother entered the living room with his cellphone in paw, scrolling across the screen while entering through the far threshold, he came by intending to share some funny vignette that he found online but the curious sound of sugar and fruit called to his attention much more than some average video on the web. Simon looked around and saw his mother and a group of his sisters having such appealing looking and exotic smelling dessert, he felt compelled to ask:

- Yo, what's all of this?

Samantha bragged right away with a showy wave of her paw, holding on to the plastic chalice in her right reach in a provocative manner, as she said:

- Nick made us this delicious dish. It's literally the best treat I have ever tasted.

To which the buck responded with:

- Damn! You serious?

After hearing that, Bonnie waved the finger of her right paw in the air as they retracted twice in an evocative way while still holding on to the small spoon in her paw, trying to repeat the action she did during lunch earlier that day but with much more authority in her motion as she said:

- Jar!

Simon grumbled as he, once more, reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill to hand off to his mother. Not wanting to sound too intrusive but still willing to learn about all of that, Nick raised his left paw with a gentle motion of his wrist while his arm remained tucked close to his torso and asked:

- Alright. What's the deal with the 'jar'?

Bonnie was quick to explain it to Nick right after putting the bill in the lapel pocket of her floral shirt, she turned to the fox and showed her pointing finger before telling him with clear words:

- That is a house rule, there is no cursing or swearing in this house. Whomever swears, at any moment, has to pay the toll ad add it to the swear jar.

After a short break, Bonnie continued her explanation with the most important aspect of the 'swear jar' in terms of a taught lesson:

- After the jar gets full we get ice cream for everyone, except for thos who put money in the jar.

Nick placed his left paw over his chest, almost as if he had just witnessed a brutal fight r felt a pinch hit him from iside his own chest, he showed a sour face to everyone before sayin:

- Oh, that is just brutal punishment right there.

To which Bonnie retorted:

- Those are the house rules. They apply to everyone.

And Martha complemented that thought as such:

- Just for the record, Simon never gets ice cream. You really think he would have learned by now.

Nick smiled and turned his head to the left before saying with low volume to his voice though it was still heard by the bunnies in the room:

- I guess that explains a lot.

Martha leaned forward over her seat on the couch to ask him:

- What do you mean?

To which he countered with a quick answer:

- Well, it's just Judy here never swears back in the office or out on patrol and I always wondered about that. Every time something goes wrong or she is beyond frustrated she yells something like… 'Oh, horse radish' or maybe… 'Sour grapes'!

Nick aired those colorful expressions that came from Judy occasionally while trying to make his own voice sound a little more feminine and everyone loved the sound of it. Simon leaned forward and placed both of his paws over his belly, worried that he might topple down onto the ground with so much laughter, Bonnie let go of the dessert chalice and placed both paws in front of her mouth, all of Judy's sisters reveled in the impression that Nick performed and it was closed off by Samantha saying amidst all of the laughs:

- That is so her. That's our Judy alright.

Judy protested, raising her voice and shouting in order for her voice to be heard among the laughs:

- I sound nothing like that!

Minutes later, after the laughs died down for a bit, Judy went to the kitchen to toss the empty dessert cup out in the trash, she offered to do the same with Nick's plastic chalice since she was already finished with his share of the dish, she was just about to make her way back to the living room when she saw Nick's medicinal sling tossed over one of the chairs, she grabbed it and turned to the kitchen threshold but she was, once more, stopped short when she heard one of her sister speaking to Nick. Judy slowed her walk until it came to a halt just as she heard the unmistakable voice of her sister Samantha, prying for more information as she asked of Nick:

- So, Nick, I just got to ask. Do you, by any chance, have a girlfriend?

Judy pressed her paw over her lips, placed her back against the side wall leading up to the kitchen entrance and adjusted her ears so that she could hear the conversation from a safe distance, certain that no one else would be able to see her expression or pick up on her curious snooping. Judy was alone in the kitchen, the sugary smell from Nick's appreciated culinary venture had dissipated but she could still smell it in the air, she turned her eyes to the left as the tip of her ears popped just beyond her cover and that is when she heard Nick's voice asking in return:

- Why do you ask?

Samantha only had a few seconds to post some lame excuse about the true reason why she was asking that, Nick had no idea that Judy was within earshot but Sam already had a pretty good idea, she was relentless when it came to both teasing and helping out in the name of any of her sister, but specially Judy. Samantha already had an excuse on lock, she tapped the shoulders of her sisters, Theodora and Erica seated on the couch at her left and right respectively, hoping that they would pick up on what she was getting at right away and play along as she said:

- Oh, we here at the Hopps house love to get a hold on some good gossip, particularly if it has to do with romance. Nothing too exciting happens around the farm so we get to have some fun wherever we get to hear about it.

Everyone got in on it, agreeing to what Samantha just said, interested in hearing whatever Nick had to say, curious to know if he was the kind of guy who would shy away from a question like that or just take the reeds and go out of his way to brag. Nick lowered his head and raised his ears, Judy tucked herself further into her hiding spot but still tried her best to listen up, there was silence for a little while but Nick's voice came up soon enough with an answer, the fox smiled and admitted honestly:

- No. I do not have a girlfriend.

Judy had her eyes opened wide, she was bracing herself and her mind was put in a near blanked state, no loud thoughts or disruptive images until she could hear the answer that would have come from Nick, unsure if she should hope to hear his say yes or no. Judy had her breath stuck in her chest, her nose twitching nervously, she tried listening further as a new question came from another of her sisters as Jill asked more intrusively:

- Why's that? Are there no flerty vixens out in the big city that really catch your eye?

Nick shook his head and his smile died down for a bit before he answered:

- I am thinking about giving up on 'flerty vixens' all together if you can believe it.

A collective gasp was heard, Samantha almost had to toss up the last shred of sweet she had in her mouth as she asked the reason why, Nick swallowed some saliva, and looked ahead, unsure if he should even dare to share his feelings to a group of mammals he had just met, but he was trusting that the family of his partner was not going to be too much of a stretch to share his feelings as well as he did with Judy herself. Nick gestured with both of his arms as he pointed to himself and tried to explain:

- Vixens, in general, they… have this really annoying habit of biting and clawing another fox they get with, it is an intrusive habit seen as a way to mark their conquest, sort of speak.

That was a fact that no one of Judy's sisters, not even her mother, had known about, hearing that from the fox was quite impactful and created a weight of tension, thankfully it was somewhat broken by May, the sassy sister seating by the arm of the couch speaking up with her right paw waving once in the air:

- Well, I kinda get that.

Everyone turned to look at her with a variety of different looks before the bunny spoke in self-defense:

- What? I'm just saying.

There was a little bit of laughter before Nick called to everyone's attention by finishing his explanation on a bit of an emotional note:

- My point with that is this: When you love someone, when you appreciate them and wish for them to be around, share and admire, why hurt them at all, in any way? I'm on the lookout for someone who really gets that.

Judy was hearing every word and she could feel something strange, a different feeling washing over her as she heard what Nick said, she was a little overwhelmed as she tried to get a hold of her emotional bar and thought about what that feeling actually was, it was not relief though she did feel like she could ease up and breathe much better after it, it was not joy since it did not encapsulate precisely what she was experiencing, but it was definitely something closer, greater than those two feelings combined. Judy placed both of her paws together, closing them slowly into fists that held the air in front of her chest in a soft way as she lowered her head and placed her backside against the wooden banister of the kitchen entrance, she stayed there, breathing deeply and steadily for a short while, she could hear some other pieces of conversation being exchanged but the only thing in her mind were Nick's words and the steady beating of her heart as she recalled them. Judy only revealed herself a couple of minutes later as she appeared out of the kitchen called Nick over for him to place his sling around his arm once more.

It was getting late, Nick decided to turn down for the night and go to sleep, he excused himself from the room and the conversation and everyone wished him a good night, Judy accompanied him downstairs and he had no problem at all finding a path of reference that would guide him to his room, he wished Judy a good night sleep and entered the room, closing the door behind him shortly after. Judy retired to her room as well, she took off her clothes and retrieved a set of more comfortable wears from her travel case, turning off the lights and tossing herself on the mattress soon after, with her head on the pillow and her resting upper body almost surrounded by tiny plush facsimiles, Judy closed her eyes and drifted to sleep but she did not do so too quickly for there were a few things to think about and consider.

"Why hurt them at all in any way?"

Those words resonated strongly with Judy but she was yet to understand them thoroughly. Hurt of any kind, be it simply physical or deeper than that, was an important part of life, a lesson one must learn to deal with and grow as a part of. When you live alongside someone else, growing pains and disappointments may sound inevitable but when you care for someone else you truly learn how to share in such pains. Judy thought about how Nick must have struggled with sharing his feelings with others, her mind returned to that day, in the middle of her first large scale investigation as Nick and her traveled over the rainforest inside a small cable car, she had never met a mammal that kept his heart so tightly guarded and she was very glad to have met him, all of the experiences they shared together, not just the fights and investigations, not simply the patrols and adventures, but everything that went beyond that.

Judy turned her body to the left over the mattress, she adjusted the pillow where her head was resting so nicely with her left paw and then she took her right paw closer to her chest, feeling the steady breaths she was taking as she ruminated on her partner's words seemed to lift a small weight from her chest. The next morning was fast approaching and she had the encroaching feeling that the next day would be remarkable.

---

Nick woke up suddenly, the fox took his head away from his pillow and looked around, it was practically complete darkness all around him except for a fluorescent line near the ground that pointed to the door leading outside the room, one of the many safety features that were still proudly used in the Hopps household in the odd case of a blackout. Nick placed himself seating straight over the bedframe, the sudden interruption of his sleep left him rather dazed but he did recall that he was no longer in Zootopia, he had spent the night inside a room of a burrow somewhere deep underground, his reacquired sense of displacement filled him with excitement, the day was new and there was so much to do.

With a short hop to put his feet back to the ground and a deep breath followed by a short stretching routine when he placed himself at the tip of his feet and gently curved his spine forward, Nick got out of bed and looked around, his vulpine eyes slowly getting used to the lack of light in the room and gradually allowing him to see more clearly, he reached for his cellphone which had been left to charge overnight by the head dresser and was surprised when he took a look at the time. Nick squinted his eyes as the light of the screen glared against his face and noticed that the clock still marked seven nineteen in the morning, he was enjoying a work-free period and his first instinct was to wake up early in the morning. Nick silently cursed the medicine he had been taking for completely messing with his natural clock, he could have been enjoying a prolonged sleep schedule but he was now in no mood to return to bed and that made him slightly irritable.

Nick looked around for a second, setting the cellphone down over the bed and reaching under the bedframe to retrieve his travel case, most of the articles of clothing were hastily smooshed inside but he was soon able to find what he was looking for: His favorite green shirt, a set of comfy underwear, pants, a towel, a small bottle of liquid soap and a dark tie to complete the outfit. As Nick got up once more with all of his supplies to bathe, change and start the day in paw, he took another look around the room and noticed that there was a full body mirror next to the dresser, his vain side shone a little bit as he stepped in front of it and placed one of the articles of clothing he had retrieved in front of his shirtless figure, he moved it around as he thought:

"Tie… No tie… Tie… No tie…"

His left arm moved in a sort of mechanical way, the presentable tip of the tie being pinched by his thumb and pointing finger as a precise lever like motion of his elbow and forearm moved the tie back and forth and he imagined how he would look throughout the rest of the day with or without the accessory. Nick looked at himself in the mirror one last time, he was trying to relax and let loose for a time, he did not have to go to work or constraint himself with stuffy articles of clothing, the fox tossed the tie over the bed and arrived at one critical decision as he thought conclusively:

"No tie."

Nick grabbed the rest of his items and took off in the direction of the bathroom he just had to remake the map in his mind as he walked forward to recall exactly where it was. Nick remembered Samantha's words from the day before, there was a simple and manageable one-mammal bathroom up on the first floor above ground but he had in mind to try the collective bathroom at least once, it was the one closer and more accessible to him after all. One turn to the left, another left, one last to the right and he was there, there was no need for Nick to turn on the light in the corridors since his natural night vision allowed him to find his way without an issue, he entered the bathroom and looked around to check if there was anyone else using any of the sinks, shower boxes or stalls, Nick's steps released a small echo and no other sound was heard, as far as he knew, he was the only mammal in there, in a massive bathroom that he had all to himself for the morning use, no big deal.

Nick chose the shower stall farthest to his right, he undid the latch, opened the door and stepped inside, tossing his fresh clothes to be worn later to the left and his towel over the door frame, next, he turned the tap on and let the water flow, the pressure was great and the temperature was optimal, just like advertised on the day before. The shower box was made for bunnies so it was less spacious than Nick was used to but it still had just enough room for him to move around and wash himself, the fox let the warm water fall on top of his head and slide down his entire figure before reaching for the bottle of soap he had left nearby, one spurts of the bottle's contents was enough to cover his fur with soap and the refreshing sensation to get a hold of his body, Nick was very satisfied and he let that show as he began to sing.

All alone in the bathroom, Nick noticed how the acoustic carried nicely across the large chamber, his voice, as he sounded faint gasps of satisfaction, echoed nicely and he did not even have to shout to carry a tune that would sound past the sound of the water coming down on the smooth tiles below. Nick rang out a sound he heard long ago, the song from an independent rock band that often laid out songs about the undaunted frontier of adventure, be it out in space or at the bottom of an ocean, Nick's voice carried amazingly through the bathroom as he bathed and he even felt up for laying down improvised guitar and drum sounds with his mouth during the intervals between the lyrics, it did not sound even close to the actual instruments but it did place a good enough foundation for the song to go on.

Unbeknownst to Nick, a bunny walked close to the bathroom entrance and heard the sound of the fox singing and bathing, it was Martha and she got curious about the sound of singing coming from the bathroom, the masculine voice performing stellar vocals while backed by rushing water was not familiar to her, it was definitely not her father or one of her brothers, it could only be the fox. Martha opened the door to the bathroom just enough so that she could catch a better tone of the song, her snooping was topped when she peeked her head into the bathroom, lowering her ears behind her head as best as she could to not be caught on the act and she saw the silhouette of the fox shaking his tail around as the soft steam of the water carried over, Nick was washing his whole body and shaking lightly through the rhythm of the song. Martha covered her mouth with both her paws and stepped away from the bathroom door, trying her best to contain a laugh that would have alerted the fox of her presence right away, she was not intending to laugh at Nick but, instead, to laugh at herself for having such naughty thoughts as the gorwing interest for the sight of the fox as she peeped into the bathroom.

Martha took off with rushed steps in the direction of the stairs, her mind still having the vivid image of the fox inside the shower box, shaking and singing like there was no cares in the world that could faze him, for a moment her excitable mind carried over and she imagined if her sister Judy ever felt like that, entranced and enticed by the physical form of a foreboding predator. Nick's left ear twitched as he heard a suspicious sound coming from right behind him, his singing stopped and his eyes moved in the direction of the sound, his head turning slightly to follow that motion and give him possible enhanced visual of any upcoming presence but he could detect no sounds or movements after becoming silent so he let it slide, returning his mind to the song he had before with a calmer humming that time.

After finishing with his bath, Nick grabbed the towel and dried off some of the water on his fur, he then exited the shower box with the towel wrapped up around his waist and looked around for a moment, just to make sure that he was the only one in there. With no hair dryer to finish up, Nick opted for a more rudimentary option, he put himself on all fours, extended his arms slightly forward and shook around rapidly until he was certain that there was no more remnants of liquid dripping down over his body. Nick's fur fluffed up once he was done and he let out a ridiculous sound out of his mouth as he was doing it, just before getting his back straight as he got up on both feet once more and spoke up:

- Oh, that felt good.

Nick proceeded to dress himself up, slinging the towel over his left shoulder as he re-entered the shower box and grabbing his clothes with the outmost care as to make sure they would not fall over the still wet floor. Nick was done being dressed, he returned to his room to store his towel and his used clothes and he thought about knocking on Judy's door as he was making his way out of the room once more. Nick leaned just close enough to reach for Judy's door but he ultimately decided to let her be, imagining that the bunny might enjoy a longer period of sleep for that day.

Nick took off, reaching the end of the main hall for that floor and slowly walking up the stairs until he reached for above ground level, he looked around and, to his surprise, there was someone in the living room already talking about him. Bonnie and Martha were there, the daughter telling her mother about what she saw and heard while heading for the bathroom earlier that morning:

- I'm serious, mom. I heard him singing and it was not half bad, he was driving on a song about stars and far off planets which I did not get a lot of, but he sounded really good.

Bonnie noticed Nick's presence in the living room, she did not greet them right away as she felt the need to reprimand her daughter for intruding on a guest in such a way and decided to teach her a lesson, the bathroom was spacious and meant for a lot of roamers to use it at once if need be but it was still no excuse for the bunny to snoop and, as Bonnie was perceiving it at first, make fun of their estimated guest:

- Martha, that is not nice. Nick came here to rest up and heal, he deserves some space to relax and to express himself, something he is not going to get with you intruding on him like that.

Martha made a dismissive gesture with both of her paws in the air and explained further:

- Mom, I did not mean to intrude, honest. I was just walking by and I heard him singing in the shower, I'm just saying that he sounded really good. That fox has a nice set of pipes.

Nick smiled and walked slowly behind Martha before sincerely thanking her for the compliment:

- Thank you.

- OH, MY GOSH!

Marta turned around with a snap and stepped back as soon as she heard Nick's voice, more surprising for her was the fact that she did not even heard the fox approaching, she should have heard something when he stepped near. Nick lowered his ears but did not unmake his smile as he leaned a little closer to Martha's stunned expression and said:

- Just to set the record, I wasn't even trying to put on a show, but I am glad to be backed by a positive review.

Martha had her mouth opened wide and her ears lowered with shock, Bonnie could not resist but release a little laugh after seeing the expression on her face and hearing the relaxed answer of acknowledgement coming from Nick. Martha did not know what to say after that, which was a first for her, she would always had some kind of witty retort, something she picked up from Jill, but the fox staring down on her had left her really stunned and the fact he had heard her only made her embarrassed beyond reasoning, so she simply blurted out a few words as she walked in the direction of the living room exit behind her:

- I'm… mean… that… got to go. Buy new… flash drive. Bye!

Nick and Bonnie were left alone in the living room after Martha took off in a hurry with a violent blush building up on her face and the older bunny spoke to him as soon as her daughter left:

- You are a really big hit around here.

- Apparently.

Nick answered to that with a well-humored tone of voice, not wishing to sound like he was bragging or anything of the sort. Bonnie took a good look at Nick and silently admired the patters of the green buttoned up shirt he was wearing with one important detail that she was quick to point out:

- You're not wearing your sling.

Nick raised his right arm and looked at himself to only then realize that he left the sling back in his room, making a clicking noise with his mouth before saying:

- Yeah, it was the last thing in my mind when I woke up today.

Bonnie crossed her arms and said:

- Judy is not going to be too happy with you.

- I'll add it to the list.

Bonnie turned around and grabbed a small purse she had left over the right side arm of the living room couch, she turned to Nick to talk to him one last time before leaving and told him:

- I'm heading out for town to purchase a few things. The boys just left to work on the farm outback and Stu is still asleep, if there are any problems at all while I'm out you just call for Arthur, Stu or Judy, they'll know how to handle it.

Nick nodded his head once and Bonnie walked off on her way as soon as she got that simple confirmation. Nick walked to the kitchen, he retrieved a single loaf of bread to satisfy himself at least until he got the urge to eat something a little more substantial, he stepped outside through the back door of the burrow and looked around as he finished the last remaining bites of the small loaf, one look around and a few deep breaths were all that he need to decide:

- I think I'm going to take a short walk. Get the juices flowing.

Nick was just about to walk out, revisit the spot near the tree near the carrot patch that Judy showed him on the previous day, the morning sun was just coming up and the blue sky just colored a day full of possibilities, Nick could hardly wait to meet up with Judy and get things started. As Nick took his first step towards the exit gate by the backyard fence, he heard what sounded like a small giggle coming from somewhere, it was very brief but he could have sworn that it came from somewhere behind him, he looked around and searched for a moment but he could not find the origins of the sound so he just dismissed it. Nick waited for a few seconds to see if the sound would be heard once more but nothing came up, his sense of smell did not detect anything in close proximity to him either so he just kept going in the direction he was set to go, two steps further and he heard the giggling again and now he was convinced that someone was laughing at him so he took a more discerning look around.

Nick walked closer to the gazeebo by the right side of the backyard, he climbed three steps until he was placed closer to the backside rail of the structure and that was when his nose actually detected a smell, familiar but he could not place it right away, there was something else mixed with it. Nick took another step ahead and leaned over the guardrail, there was a grated wood panel at the back of the gazeebo so he could not see much further ahead but there was definitely something, or someone, just beyond his line of sight. Nick took a new route to investigate where the mysterious giggling sound had come from, he walked slowly out the backyard gate, moved alongside the inner edge of the field until he arrived at the side of the hill, Nick did not have to search for too long before finding the origin of the sound, it was Samantha and she was not alone.

Next to Samantha, gently pushing her against the grassy wall behind her, there was a male buck, tall, strong, dark gray colored fur, rough patches over his head, long and strong looking ears, they were embracing and kissing like long time lovers, they were hidden from the rest of the burrow and enjoying some time together in a spot ere nary a soul would come by, except for one curious fox. Nick stayed at a distance watching for just one moment as he made sure that it as alright, probably the cop in him telling him to do that, or so he thought, he could just make out some words as the buck spoke in a whisper:

- Sam, are you sure that this is alright? I wouldn't want to get in trouble with your family. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble either.

The buck had an accent that was easy for Nick to pin down, definitely no country slab behind it by the way he emphasized the sound of the letters at the start of the word 'Either', tone of voice and body built told him worker, mechanic maybe, the thick belt around his waist with round strap slots to fit different tools confirmed it, no Nick as certain that the police officer inside of him as trying to break out, even hen he as supposed to be on vacation and even if that scene had nothing to do with him. his tone of voice had some concern but Samantha was in control of that moment and she was loving every second of it, evident by her smile and her sensual voice as she told the buck:

- It's alright, mom just left, everyone else is busy and I really wanted to see you.

She pulled the buck closer for another short kiss and he seemed to melt for a moment as he placed his arms around her to gladly receive the kiss, he retreated after a few seconds, estimating the abrupt conclusion of the smooch, and said:

- You know, when you called me earlier and told me that it was an emergency, this is not what I had in mind.

Samantha giggled, the exact same giggle Nick had heard before. With that mystery solved, the fox stepped ahead and released a loud clearing his throat sound to call the attention of the two secret lovebirds and that gave them quite the good scare:

- EEP!

Samantha yelled out as she performed a short hop, meant to be much higher to emphasize her scare if not for the wall right behind her, her right leg shot up as her love interest was standing so close to her and he spoke in complaint without sounding that crossed about it:

- Ouch! You just kneed me!

- Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry!

Nick smiled and walked a little closer, just to greet Samantha and maybe get to know the new bunny that she looked so interested in cuddling with at such an early hour in the morning. Samantha saw Nick heading their way and tried her best to remedy the situation, starting out by introducing her boyfriend and the fox to one another:

- Hi, Nick. This here is my boyfriend, Dan. Dan, This is Nick.

A brief introduction but just enough for the buck to recognize the name of the fox and know that there was only one possibility. Dan walked a single step closer to Nick and raised his left paw to greet him and say:

- Oh, hey, I heard about you. You are the partner of Samantha's sister. I heard about you on the television.

- Really?

Nick greeted the buck in turn, extending his left paw in response to shake his, Samantha intervened shortly after as she jumped close to Dan and said:

- Nick, listen, me and Dan have been going out for a while now but my parents don't know about him. Is there any chance you can keep he being here on the down low for a bit?

Nick showed the palms of both his paws and said:

- Hey, relax. I'm a cop, remember? If there is one thing that I can manage to do, is keep it low and inconspicuous. If anyone asks, I'll just bounce it off.

Samantha placed both her paws in front of her chest, now assured that the fox would keep quiet for the time being, but Nick had one last thing to say and added to what he told before as he pointed his right paw towards the house and said:

- Unless Judy asks me. If she does that, I have no way out.

Samantha released a little laugh, knowing that the fox was much more intimidated by her sister than anything else at that point and there was probably a good reason for that. Nick waved goodbye for Dan and Samantha, he took off for the path he had decided that morning, just a calm stroll through the field. Nick was as calm as one could be, he had no rush to be anywhere, he was only looking up for anything else to do or maybe anyone else to talk to that day, he approached the tree and the bench near the carrot patch and thought about taking a pause, right in that spot so far away from everything and everyone, problems seemed to melt away, but there was one problem that still made itself well-known as soon as Nick took a seat.

As the fox leaned his back against the smoot wooden repost of the bench, he felt a needling pain on his back that made him retreat right away, he leaned forward and took a sharp breath through his teeth as he remembered about his injury and lamented not being able to relax completely. Nick closed his eyes and felt the thumping irritation of the wound behind his right shoulder, covered by a thick bandage comfortably protected for the most part, he could not see it but that pulse that repeated from second to second as the reminder, his body telling his easy-going mind that the pain was still there and it had no intent of letting go any time soon. Nick stood up, leaving the bench behind and taking deep breaths, it was warm, he felt warm, his left pa was placed on the front of his shoulder, his heart was beating faster and the pain intensified for a fraction of a second, he thought about yelling for help because that is what his brain was urging him to do and he did not know why but it hit him only a second later.

Nick got a better handle on his emotions, the pain was more than a reminder of his physical condition and he caught up to that, he thought about yelling for help because the pain almost took him back to that day in the alley, when he and Judy were left defenseless and waiting for assistance, he was not on the floor of that alleyway anymore. Nick stood straight, his tail ceasing movement steadily, he breathed deep through his mouth and his chest puffed up, he thought about that moment but his mind trailed off to everything that came soon after, he said to himself:

- I am here. I am in control.

Reminding himself of his position and condition helped him be more at ease, he swallowed some saliva and returned to a steady and calmer rate of breathing before saying:

- Well… that sucked.

Nick continued to walk, seating down did not feel right anymore, his mind turned to Judy as he thought about asking her for help in reapplying the anesthetic gel recommended by doctor Pura, something he let slip before going to bed the night before. Nick kept walking, the pain diminished and he kept reminding himself of his location and his condition, he made it through and kept moving but he was halted after feeling a gust of wind blowing past him. Nick looked around, bushes on one side filled with berries and reeds in the other loaded with grains, everything in its place, he took a route through the field that he had not taken before but he still had the tree and the bench right behind him as a solid point of reference to guide him to the way back to the burrow, it was very had to miss. Nick continued to walk ahead with a slow pace when he heard something else, the rumbling of an engine, it was the rumbling of an old engine, powerful but experiencing some difficulties, it repeated a few times before he took a new direction and deviated once more from his original strolling path, admitting to himself after a few steps:

- I'm just a nosey fox today.

Nick kept walking until he saw a large red structure in front of him, a bar as pointed out by Judy on the day before only now he was seeing it from way up close, Nick could hear the mumbling of voices coming from inside, the smell of exhaust hanging heavy in the air along with palpable tension as he heard someone shouting:

- Start! You miserable hunk of junk.

Nick was curious about what was happening inside, he reached ahead with his left paw and opened one of the barn doors, singing it as slowly as possible to the side and revealing quite the sight. Nick saw as at least five male bunnies, all of them in farm work clothes, and they were attempting to start up a tractor, Simon seated in the driver's seat, Arthur with his arms crossed supervising right up front, Dilan looking into the engine with the side hood open and two other bunnies, nearly identical in appearance, that he did not know yet racking their brains together as they searched for a quick solution. Nick made his presence known, the light coming from the front door of the barn expanded and the shadow of the fox was seen by all the others, except maybe Simon who was up on the tractor, slamming his paws furiously against the steering wheel as if that was magically going to get the engine to start on its own. Nick saw that, four punches in the fox asked out loud:

- Hey, what did that steering wheel ever do to you?

The joke to break the tension helped a bit, the five bunnies turned their heads to Nick and Simon greeted the fox with a puff of air to show how tired he was and a renewed smile:

- Nick. What's up?

Arthur was the only one in the bunch who was not too happy to see the fox, the barn was a restricted work zone and he let that be clear as he walked a single step closer and launched a sharp stare up while asking:

- What do you think you're doing here?

Nick looked around, not even bothering to look Arthur in the eye after the initial stare, and said:

- I was just passing by when I heard the unmistakable sound of an engine in trouble. You guys need some help with that?

Dilan, who was almost jumping into the engine with a wrench in paw, turned to Nick and said:

- I would honestly take all the help we can get right now.

Arthur looked at his brother and then back at Nick before asking:

- Do you have any experience at all with an engine? What do you think you're going to do?

Nick shrugged that off before answering:

- Granted, I have never worked on the engine of a tractor before but if it has pistons, gears and axels I can find myself no problem.

Arthur raised his right paw and pointed at Nick, almost poking his chest as he said:

- This is not about you 'finding yourself'. This is the only working tractor we have in here and it's barely that. I can't take the chance that you might wreck it any more than it already is.

Nick did not flinch, he could understand better than anyone when someone might act protective towards a vehicle of any kind, specially I it is a work related machine of motion, but he truly wanted to help out. Simon defended the fox as he leaned over the wheel with his right elbow offering him some support and gestured towards the fox with his left arm before saying:

- Dude, he is offering to help. I say we give it a shot.

Arthur turned to Simon but soon another voice came up and said:

- We don't have much to lose here.

The oldest bunny of the group tried keeping all of his brothers on task as he said:

- You guys, we can figure this out on our own. We just need a little more time.

- We have been at this for nearly half an hour since waking up, Arthur. We might as well let Nick take a shot at it.

Simon winced after he said those words, looking at the fox with his eyes squinted and his teeth pressed together inside his mouth before promptly apologizing:

- Sorry! Wrong choice of words.

Nick honestly did not mind that, the fox smiled and said:

- I actually appreciate that.

Arthur placed the pal of his right paw over his face and assessed his options, they were very limited. The oldest buck turned to face Nick and allowed him to fully enter the barn and have a look on the tractor engine, check to see if he could jostle anything up back to working order, his brother spoke up and put their faith on the fox, not even knowing that engines were one of his areas of expertise. However, there was one last thing, Arthur stopped Nick short as he grabbed the fox's left arm before permitting him another step into the barn and said:

- You watch yourself. You break something else you deal with it.

Nick nodded his head once and said:

- I got it.

Nick walked closer to the tractor, Dilan got down from his post and told Nick to climb up a small stepladder that they had set in place to check on the engine, the two bunnies standing nearby introduced themselves as Hermes and Shaun, they were nearly identical twins if not for the fact that the darkened plot of fur that they had around their eyes were located on opposite sides, Hermes had the right eyes and Shaun the left. Nick greeted his new acquaintances and focused on the task ahead, he looked at the tractor from a bunch of different angles as he made an effort to understand the form and function of the machine before even daring to take a gander at its engine. Lower exhaust pipe with reliable filtration panel, large fuel tank with admirable pressure regulator, interesting paint job, made to be bright yellow with a few red lines on the side, almost like it was made to be a racing car, that made him smile for a bit. Nick had a good look at it, he only had to work his best to fix it.

Nick did not have to climb too high on the provided ladder to get a good look but he did have to request some assistance as he asked:

- I don't suppose you have a big box of tools that I could borrow.

To that point, Arthur signaled to the back wall of the barn, available was a selection of different tools for farming duties stacked in rows but, more to it, there was a big drawer with wheels that contained within a vast collection of utensils and power tools for maintenance of all kinds. Nick could see the interior of the barn in its entirety, his eyes were priory focused on the living occupants of the structure and the heavy duty vehicle but there was just so much more to it that he let pass at first impression. The barn only had two floors, six windows in total, two of them located up on the second floor and going up the precarious looking stairs to the left showed that the floor above only had half the length and space of the one below, there were packets of seeds separated in rows by category inside wooden boxes without lids by the far left corner and a few mounds of hay near the back typical barn like the ones seen on TV series but this one smelled nice, Nick took notice of that after a few deep breaths as he got properly situated in that new environment.

Nick rolled up his sleeves and got to work, proceeding to pick the most sturdy flat-head screwdriver he could find and getting to work. Nick looked attentively into the engine block, everything lead somewhere but he could not see the problem from there, he could perceive different problems but none of them was the main one. Nick turned to Simon and asked of him:

- Try turning it on.

Simon looked ahead and said:

- You didn't even do anything.

To which Nick replied:

- I need to get a good listen to the engine so that I can identify what the problem is. Try turning it on.

To that end, Simon turned the key in the ignition slot as he did many times before and the engine gurgled before unceremoniously turning off, Nick now had a scope of the overall problem just from listening to it. Nick dove ahead, having the screwdriver in one paw, he roamed around every facet of the engine block, turning cranks, undoing connections and tapping the tip of the tool against various surfaces as a way to make sure that it was all still firmly in place. After a few minutes of all the other bunnies simply standing by and watching, Shaun and Hermes walked closer, each one of them positioning themselves next to one of Nick's shoulders, curious about what the fox was actually doing to the engine, Nick turned to them and asked for a pair of needle nose pliers, they gladly complied by searching the tool drawer and retrieving the requested tool on the spot. Nick was hard at work and with a short sigh, it would appear that he was done.

- So, did you get rid of the problem?

Nick turned to Arthur as soon as he heard the bunny asking that question, he had a bit of a condescending tone in his voice but Nick did not mind it. The fox turned his head in the direction of the older bunny in the room and answered him:

- Oh, I haven't actually fixed the main problem just yet.

Arthur lowered his ears and showed a face of utter impatience before asking:

- Then… what was all of that just now?!

Nick looked around before placing the pliers he had in his left paw down near the edge of the open engine hood and grabbing a thin rag that he used to clean his paws of any oil he had caught while he was elbow deep in the engine chamber, he cleaned his palms and answered:

- That was just a preliminary check. I found a bunch of little problems, now is time to go after the big one.

Dilan raised his right paw and asked:

- 'Little problems'? How many?

Nick turned around and got down a single step of the ladder before answering the question, putting down the rag right next to him, shaking his tail in the air and saying:

- The rail leading to the gear shaft was a little iffy, I mended that; The torque line leading to the engine was out of place, I realigned it; Also there is all of this gunk around the main axel that we have to clean up, all the oil must have mixed up with a bunch of dirt, that's no good.

Nick reached to the side of the engine once more and presented one last small problem that he managed to find while digging deep around the engine block:

- Also… I found this at the bottom.

The fox had in his left paw a dirty plastic wrapper that once belonged to a candy bar, long discarded and left somewhere under the cover of the engine so it hopefully would have been forgotten. Simon leaned forward and reached for the wrapper, he snatched it away from Nick's paw and said:

- Hey, I love this candy.

Simon was immediately lectured by Arthur as the older bunny grabbed the empty wrapper and said:

- You should not eat sugar while you work and you really should not leave trash on the tractor. We have been over this!

Arthur proceeded to crumple the wrapper even more than it already was and toss it out, the nearest window before turning toward Nick once more and asking him:

- What is it going to take for you to fix the big problem in question?

Nick reached for the back of his head with his right paw and gave a little scratch, he released a warm puff of air out of his mouth and said:

- That's just the thing. From what I got before, the problem lies deep in the engine box, which means I'm going to have to dig deep to fix it.

Simon leaned closer once more, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both his paws before asking of Nick:

- How 'deep' are we talking about here.

With great emphasis on the marked word and a solemn tone of voice, Nick answered him:

- Deep.

Arthur shook his head slowly from side to side, Nick was proposing a full disassemble of the top of the engine in order to get to the problem, it was risky but it may be the only way. Arthur pointed to the engine and said:

- Get to it.

Making it sound more like a direct order than an actual request or a slip for permission. Nick nodded his head once and began to implement his strategy, tackling the problem head-on as he began to search for its precise location inside of the engine block. Nick started requesting different tools, powerful utensils that would aid him in disassembling the top part of the engine where the main axel and all of the pistons resided in safety, not for long, he started by removing four symmetrical bolts from each side with a motorized bolt driver, holding on tightly to the handle and the trigger as he removed each piece. With the four bolts in paw, Nick called to one of the twins to come closer, the fox gave Shaun the bolts he had just removed, four thick and sturdy pieces of metal before telling him:

- Do *not* lose these.

Shaun held on to the bolts for only a few seconds with a dash of panic in his eyes, he had never been trusted with vital components such as those before, promptly deciding to put them in his left side pocket for safe keeping, he was not even sure if he should be trusted with such small items that looked so important and easy to lose, the four bolts started weighing drastically on the side of his jean overall as soon as they were placed there, a strong indication that would alert him if he lost any of them. Nick grabbed both sides of the engine cap, removing it with stern strength, grunting and clicking both his shoulders before removing it and leaving nearby on a spot where it would be well in view but not interfere with the rest of the process. The fox and the bunnies could now see the main working of the engine, the spot where six pistons in divided lines would pump down in sequence and constant repetition, pumping their chambers full of the correct mixture that would make the machine come to life, it was a beautiful sight and Nick would make sure that it would be in working order soon enough.

Nick reached for the screw driver he had before, clasped the handle and directed it to the back of one of the pistons, there was no screw or bolt to be tightened so Arthur started to wonder what the fox was actually doing, only more questions arose as Nick simply gave a few taps on the back of the piston and moved on to do the same on the next one. The tapping continued and similar sounds were heard through every piston in the line-up, Nick became confident that the problem he thought he had heard before was, in fact, nowhere to be found, about halfway through the checkup, Arthur decided to ask:

- Where did you learn to work with engines? Were you a mechanic before becoming a cop as well?

Nick stopped his tapping check and decided to answer, at that moment he was convinced that Arthur was fishing for any reason at all to kick him out of the barn, maybe out of the burrow all together, but he still answered him honestly:

- My father taught me about cars and engines. After I saw him assemble a whole engine on his own, I decided to learn all that I could about how to do the same thing all by myself. Everything after that came naturally.

Arthur raised a brow and asked subsequently:

- Didn't your father teach you how to do all of that? Didn't you ask him?

Nick smiled and tapped the next piston for a check, it was in order, he answered right after:

- Many times and he tried teaching me all he could, but my dad passed away when I was a kid. By the time I was old enough to hold a wrench properly, he wasn't around anymore. I had to pick up on the rest on my own.

Arthur had his right ear lowered at a small angle over his head, he looked at Nick with wide opened eyes and spoke up:

- I'm sorry. I… didn't know.

Nick shook his head slowly without taking his eyes away from the engine as he said:

- It's alright. I picked up on the rest he didn't taught me on my own.

Nick was just about done when he finally found what he was looking for, the last piston in the line-up was all that was left to check on but the sound came up when Nick tapped the tip of the tool over it, a metallic clang that sounded at a tone much more different than the others, Nick hoped deep inside that he would not hear that exact sound but he heard it and that was not a good sign. Nick tapped the back of the piston again and again and his only reaction to that was saying loud and clear:

- Oh, no.

Simon leaned ahead, Shaun and Hermes walked a single step closer each, Dilan got up from his seat next to the stepladder and Arthur was quick to speak up:

- What do you mean 'Oh, no'? I do not like that 'Oh, no'. Explain that 'Oh, no' immediately.

Nick turned to the engine and explained the reason behind his disappointed expression and dread when he tapped the piston, he repeated his action from before and said:

- You hear that? It means that the piston is cracked.

Simon asked right away:

- Cracked?

Nick had his right ear twitching in the direction of the bunny's voice but he did not turn his face as he continued to explain:

- Yeah, big crack by the sound of it, probably a factory error. It's really common on older models. As you may know, the side pumps transport fuel into the piston chamber and the spark plug beneath lights it up as the piston presses down on the chamber, it causes a controlled explosion that pushes the piston up and makes the rod spin, but in rare situations, one of the pistons is cracked which throws the whole balance of the engine out. When one of the pistons crack it sends the entire engine out of whack, you may turn it on but this will wreck the entire flow of fuel and motion of the engine in no time at all.

Nick finished saying that as he turned to Arthur and finished his explanation with the worst part of the damage report:

- I'm sorry, but this engine only has a few more miles in it before the internal workings get fiddled beyond repair.

Arthur lowered his head, placing his left paw right above his eyes before asking:

- Are you serious?

Nick's tone said it all, he was sad with the sorry state of the engine, such a small problem growing to be an impediment that would cost the welfare of the whole machine, he had a few solutions in mind but only a few of them sounded accessible or even viable so he did not sugar coat any of it as his prognosis was spoken. Nick looked at Arthur and nodded his head once, he had a grim expression on his face as he did so, showing just how much he felt for it, it is never easy for the owner of a vehicle to learn about the catastrophic damage that could have been avoided. Nick answered to the bunny shortly:

- It's the truth, I am really sorry.

Arthur threw his head back and his ears flopped to follow that motion, all of his other brothers present there exchanged a look as they understood all too well that a vital broken piece of equipment like the tractor might postpone their work in the farm for quite some time and with the next harvest so close it may result in a unavoidable crisis. Arthur was being hit by the news harder than all the others, he made a clicking sound with his mouth as he walked slowly in the direction of the barn door and then he mumbled in a way that would let all of his brothers know about the gravity of the situation:

- Damn, this is going to break dad's heart. He really loves this old bucket of gears.

Nick stepped closer to Arthur and tried to remedy the situation, taking the task might be risky and it may not even work at all but Nick was still focused in doing his best to fix the engine, the fox tapped Arthur's left shoulder with his left paw and waited for the buck to turn around and face him completely before speaking up:

- Listen, the damage to the piston is considerable but there might be some way to actually solve it. I'm just not…

Nick was stopped short as Simon got out from the driver's seat, hopped onto the ground and asked:

- Speak up, dude. What can we do to help?

Nick had the attention of everyone else in the barn, the fox took a long breath before saying:

- There are a few chances that the engine can be saved but thinking about them and actually implementing them are two different things. The first is the easiest, you can search for a substitute part to replace the cracked piston, an online auction is your best bet but you might not finding anything at all or end up paying too much for just one part. The web is filled with crazed collectors.

Dilan interjected as he asked:

- There are mammals that collect vintage tractor parts on the internet?

Nick nudged his head to the left and answered:

- Mammals collect anything they can find if you give them the money and the time of day.

Nick presented the other option soon enough:

- The second boils down to the most expensive: you can ask for a custom part that will replace the piston without much issue, but commending someone to forge a whole new piston that will fit in the chamber may cost an arm and a leg. Commendations for exact parts and placements do not come cheap nowadays unless you are well connected and that would be pretty much the same as building a whole new engine from scratch.

Arthur scratched the lower part of his chin but he figured that the fox had a third option in mind that would ease the pressure on him, the older buck asked:

- Do I dare ask of a third option?

Nick pressed his teeth together as he thought about it, he was excited, fervent, to try the so called 'third option' that he had in mind but he did not want to appear to hopeful or exuberant if he it turned out that it would not work or he would not even have the permission to do so. Nick pointed to the tractor opened hood and said:

- I can craft a patch for the crack in the piston, fill it up, mend it down, get it into working order. It would only be a temporary fix but it would cover the problem area until you can find a better engine block or, maybe buy a new tractor.

Arthur lowered his head but he raised his sight towards Nick soon after as he asked:

- Are you saying you can fix it with some good old fashioned elbow grease?

Nick raised his shoulders as he said:

- I might need a couple more things too.

Arthur nodded his head and walked past Nick so that he could place himself right next to the tractor before saying:

- Tell us what you need before I change my mind.

Nick smiled and walked with a rushed step to the spot in front of the tractor before saying:

- Here is what I'll need: Some scrap metal to match the piston, a blowtorch, a soldering iron, a spritzer filled with cold water and a vice. I can use a melted sheet of metal to cover the crack and mend the piston but it will all come down to getting it out, holding it in place and mending it on the spot.

Shaun and Hermes looked at one another and spoke up as they came up with a quick idea and completed each other's sentence:

- Old Auggie down the road has a pile of metal he doesn't use anymore.

- We can grab a bunch of it and haul it over here.

Nick quickly corrected them as he said:

- I don't need a lot, just enough of a strong metal that will meld into the damage. No aluminum, make sure of that.

The twins nodded and walked out of the barn with a pep in their step as they moved to the garage under the burrow to grab a car that would take them to and from their destination. Nick turned his sight to Simon as he said:

- I'll grab the water and the blowtorch. We have an old one in the storage room.

Simon took off right after the twins and Nick was quick to give the bunny one final instruction on his way out:

- Make sure to grab protective goggles.

Nick was not sure if Simon even heard his words but his attention turned to Dilan before asking:

- I don't suppose you also have a vise laying around somewhere.

To which Dilan asked with a cold look in his eyes indicating calm under clear direction:

- We have one in the front yard shed. Give me five minutes.

With only Nick and Arthur left in the barn, the older bunny turned to the fox and asked:

- Got a task for me while we're at it?

Nick turned to Arthur and said:

- Yes. You're going to help me take the rest of the top part of the engine off, it's really heavy. Grit your teeth and come help me.

Arthur nodded his head and gladly came to help out alongside Nick, both the buck and the fox took to the task like fishes to water, reaching down, prying and turning as they removed each of the components to be separated and the last one that would need the fixing. As time passed all of the pieces started to come together, Nick had only gone out of the house with a light stroll in mind but now he put himself on a mission and it all felt so enticing to him. As Simon, Dilan, Shaun and Hermes returned to the barn with all that Nick needed, they began to assemble it all for the implementing of the fox's expertize, the time for him to test his mettle in the repair of a heavy duty engine had come. Nick asked Simon to give him protective goggles to handle the blowtorch, luckily, the bunny brought just the thing and Nick wasted little time strapping the tainted dark lenses around his sight, he had his ears raised and his shoulders locked up as he spoke up:

- Wow! These things are tight. It's like the strap is trying to spin the back of my skull to both sides at the same time.

To which Simon responded with a funny comment while pointing to Nick:

- Now that's a cool idea for a wrestling move.

Nick directed the bunnies towards a crafting table near the back of the barn where they could place the other objects for the repair job, Dilan set the vice to the side edge of the table, Shaun gave Nick the sheet of the strongest metal they could find in the neighbor's scrap pile, possibly belonging to a microwave oven initially, Hermes stood by with the water spritzer and Arthur brought along the recently removed damaged piston to be mended, he proceeded to tighten the vise firmly with the exposed crack in the metal pointed up, in clear view of the others. Upon closer sight of the damage, Nick could only say:

- Damn. This is way bigger than I expected.

Arthur turned to the fox and asked:

- Are you saying this won't be enough?

To which he responded with a cocky smile and a wag of his tail:

- I'm saying this is going to be fun. Now, everyone, stand back.

Nick got busy, holding on to the sheet of metal using long teethed pliers on his left paw and slowly exposing it to the heat of a focused flame provided by the blowtorch, held and guided expertly by his right paw. Nick made so that the melted metal would drip slowly over the crack on the piston and so it did, he moved the pliers holding the sheet of metal in different angles so that the smelted droplets would fall perfectly in the most crucial of spaces, all of the others were astonished from seeing that, watching as the fox wielded both tools and resources as easily as paint brushes on a wide and blank canvas, even Arthur had to admire that. Nick would stop the process every once in a while, directing the tip of the flame on to the piston to mold the metal to a form that would resemble the missing shards of the damaged surface as nicely as possible as well as making sure that there would be no hidden air bubbles in the metal, then turned to asking for assistance with maintaining the shape of the mold by speaking up to Hermes and saying:

- Water.

To which the bunny would respond by spurting at least four quick jets of cold water on to the searing surface of the metal. With group effort and remarkable adaptability, Nick and the others managed to plug the crack on the piston but the fox only saw that as part of the work done, the fox turned the blowtorch off and showed the palm of his left paw before asking for another tool that would aid him in securing the repair in place:

- Soldering iron, please.

Arthur grabbed the requested tool, plugged in an outlet next to the table and certified that there would be no slips as they were about to use it, that space was filled with flammable materials after all. Nick received the prepped tool and proceeded to slid it pen like tip over the recently formed patch of smelted metal, sealing the remaining sides of the crack with meticulous motions and finishing the repairs with great expectations that the work had been concluded nicely, he turned to the others, removed his goggles and said:

- There you have it. Let's hope it is enough.

Nick and the bunnies left the parts and tools they had used for the repairs, all that came next boiled down to Nick and Arthur reassembling the piece of the engine that they had to take apart and Nick proceeding to question Shaun with an inquisitive sharp stare in his eyes to check if the bunny still had the coupling bolts that were entrusted to him before he left the barn, Shaun almost lost it for a second as he shambled around before retrieving all of the bolts from his pocket and giving them back to Nick. With the damage patched and the engine reassembled, Nick only had to give a quick signal of his right paw waving in the air to let Simon know it was time to turn the engine on and see if it worked.

Simon answered to Nick's gesture right away, opening a path around his brothers to get up in the driver seat of the tractor and, once more, turn the key in the ignition with the renewed hope that the engine would turn on without an issue after all of the tasks that they had to do to get it patched up. Simon sat down, placed his right paw over the key and gave one last solemn look to everyone else before turning it, the spin breathed some life into the engine but it did not turn on right away, Nick raised his ears and moved around to check if another sound would alert him to the fact that there were more repairs to be done, he moved to the back and noticed how the rambling of the engine was transferring over to the exhaust pipe in the back, the fox was placed right behind the tractor as he spoke up and let Simon know what to do:

- Step on the gas a little more.

Simon complied and, with that, a loud burst was heard as a big cloud of soot and smoke was blasted out from the exhaust pipe, Nick was so surprised that he stumbled back and fell down on a pile of hay, Arthur and the others were worried about him but the loud sound that came soon after the small scare alerted all of them that their efforts bore fruit in the end. The roar of the engine was loud and clear through the barn and Simon could only yell out in a triumphant shout:

- Hell yeah, baby! That's what I want to hear!

Shaun and Hermes turned to each other to share a victorious embrace while Dilan whipped the last bit of stress sweat rolling down his forehead, Arthur walked towards the hay pile that Nick had fallen into to check on him, the engine being fixed was a victory to be considered but if anything happened to that fox he dreaded to imagine how Judy would react. Arthur reached for Nick's left arm, lightly exposed underneath an uneven blanket of hay before tugging on it and asking:

- Wilde! Are you alright? Answer me.

Nick got up from under the hay, his shirt and his fur were completely filthy, blackened in a few areas after the sudden burst of exhaust but he did not seem to mind it in the least as he simply got up, whipping some of the smoot away with both of his paws and asking:

- Is the engine working alright?

To which Arthur answered:

- I… yeah, it's working.

And Nick reputed:

- Then I am feeling just great.

The fox had a little laugh on which all the others followed sooth, except for Arthur, he started to get the sense of why Judy cred so much about that fox in front of him and that there was definitely something to him that called forth so much admiration.

---

Judy woke up gradually, she struggled to get out of bed since she was feeling so cozy underneath her covers, she hopped out of bed and searched around for her cellphone, the room was so dark that it took her quite a while to find the device and turn the screen on to check on the time. Judy released a little gasp as she checked the time, almost a quarter past nine, she had overslept quite a lot and she felt like she had to rush over and get ready to start the day, she rarely overslept but then again she did not have the urgency to get to the precinct as she was nowhere near Zootopia on that day and there were no pressing matters to take care of but she still wanted to spend as much time as she could with her family and with her partner while they were there. With a short hop off the mattress and on to the ground, Judy opened her bag and grabbed some new clothes, she exited her room, went through a quick shower, got changed and returned to check if Nick had already woken up.

Judy had a fresh new set of clothes on, jean pants, fresh underwear and a bright green shirt with the stamp of a little bird mid-flight sown on to the left lapel, the bunny moved back to the corridor of the burrow where her room was housed and knocked on the door right next to hers to check on her partner, no answer came up after three knocks so she concluded that Nick must have already woken up and she had in her mind the immediate thought to go and find him. Judy entered her room briefly to leave her pajamas stored neatly inside her bag for future use, she closed the door after exiting the room once more and took off for the stairs so she could climb up to ground level and look for her partner, that would have been the plan if she was not interrupted by her sisters who were sitting in wait over at the kitchen.

Most of Judy's sisters were seated by the second table with Martha occupying the front seat with a newspaper in her paw and a slick smile on her lips, the rest of Judy's sisters were occupying different seats and enjoying nice light meals for the morning but a few of them were doing their own thing and conversing amongst themselves, Jill had little interest in talking, she had brought her laptop over to the table and was typing away as she worked in her story while letting out consecutive dissatisfied groans as she erased some of the freshly digitized lines to insert new ones. Martha lowered the newspaper she had in her paws and looked over to the left, seeing Jill struggling with her self-imposed assignment and looking over to the screen placed in front of her with annoyance directed mostly at herself, she decided to intervened as she asked:

- Jill, do you really have to work right here on the table? We're all eating and talking while you are still having your nose buried on that screen.

In response to that, Jill gave the keyboard in front of her a light tap with her fingers, turned to Martha and said:

- I really need to finish picking the pieces on this part of the story, they are all over the place and I got to put it all together before I forget how this narrative is supposed to go.

As soon as Jill finished saying that, Judy entered the kitchen, she had heard a few bits of the conversation before entering and being greeted with the smell of toast, jam and fresh cut fruit as well as a group greeting of all of the bunnies present in the kitchen:

- Good morning, Judy.

The voices of her sisters came at her all at once and Judy answered to their greeting shortly after registering the presence of each one of them:

- Hey you guys. Good morning.

Judy looked around the kitchen and saw a bowl of fruits resting over the counter right across from the second table, she decided to pick an apple to eat before going looking for Nick, she began to walk around the table, sidling right behind the seats being used by the rest of her sisters when she heard a voice calling out to her and asking:

- So, Judy, where's your fox today? I have been meaning to ask if he could share the recipe of the scrumptious dessert he prepared for us last night.

Judy stopped in her tracks after hearing that and she was just about to reach into the bowl and grabbing the apple resting on top of the selection placed right there on the counter, she closed her eyes and took a long dash of air through her nose before hearing the giggles of her sisters directed at her, it was going to be one of those mornings. Judy opened her eyes and looked at everyone before gesturing with both of her paws and saying:

- I do not know where Nick is right now and he is not *my* fox.

Sarah got up from her chair, Judy noticed that her sister was not holding on to her little bunny like all the other times she had seen her since her arrival, Sarah walked closer to Judy and placed both of her paws over Judy's shoulders before saying:

- It's nothing for you to be embarrassed about. We all learned from Sam how you think the world of your partner. After what we all have seen yesterday, we get why.

The talk ran wild around the table, almost like a tornado of gossip starting to form, as Jill spoke up without letting her sight deviate from her computer screen:

- He is really polite.

Martha complemented that by saying:

- And he is really clever too.

Then it was Sarah's turn as she said:

- He has quite the way with children.

Alison seated far off on the table had to raise her voice moderately to say:

- We know he cooks like a pro.

Then came the voice of Helen:

- His eyes are so beautiful.

Soon it was May who said after:

- And have you all seen how muscular he is. I would sure have a taste of that to go with my coffee every morning.

She said that right after taking a long and calm sip of her cup of coffee, just the cue for wild giggling to wash over the entire table. Judy felt a blush building up on her face, she could not be sure if that was all a serious conversation or just some other ploy to tease her relentlessly first thing in the morning, she would not put that past any of her sisters since they were all in the same conversation circle. Judy interrupted the giggling as she said:

- Stop it! All of you have to stop it!

With all of the eyes turned to her, Judy spoke up once more:

- You all have to stop saying things like that. Nick and I are just partners and friends, I have told you this before.

There was a brief exchange of looks around the table, none of Judy's sisters wished for her to get irritated with their taunting and Martha was the first to speak up to that:

- Judy, listen, all we want is what we think is best for you. It's easy to see that you care a lot about Nick and it is way easy to see that Nick cares a lot about you. We also kind of get why it's difficult to talk about these sorts of things.

Sarah agreed to that as she raised her left paw and said:

- You were never a bunny to talk too openly about how you felt but we still know how open your heart is when it comes to others. It is one of the most admirable qualities about you.

Judy saw as Sarah walked around her, slowly pacing by Judy's back side until she was placed by her left and Judy turned her head towards her sister's voice as she continued to speak:

- What we want for you, what we always wanted, is to see you happy, fulfilled. Your passion for being an officer inspired all of us to be so much more than daughters of farmers.

Jill turned away from the screen as she looked in Judy's direction and said:

- Samantha told us to tease you a lot but we all just want you to be honest and take a chance, we all feel like it will make the best of differences for you.

Judy was now far calmer, she placed her left paw in front of her lips while her right forearm was placed horizontally across her lower torso making so that her right paw would be tucked nicely over her left elbow, she breathed slowly as she was not too sure if she should grunt with the fact that all of her sisters already had her emotions pegged down or if she should break in laughs and tears with how understanding they all were being towards her. Sarah raised her right arm and placed her paw over Judy's left shoulder, she waited for a second before telling her:

- Maybe you should talk to mom about this.

Judy unmade her stance, her left foot stepping slightly to the side while her right foot remained in place, she looked at Sarah and asked:

- Why would you say that? What would mom even tell me if I talked to her about this?

Helen turned her legs in the direction of Judy's voice, her posterior and her upper body followed that motion, turning to the left over her seat almost at a ninety degree angle to fully face her sister and tell her:

- Judy, mom knows more about love than anyone else in this house. You know that she only wants to help out but you got to let her know first.

Unsure if that was her best option, still being held back by the same limiting thoughts she started to have all the way back in Zootopia, Judy lowered her ears and showed a face that lacked enthusiasm, even if conversing honestly with her mother was the best option, Judy still did not feel up to it. Judy placed the palms of her paws over her cheeks as her head slowly moved to the right, her thoughts were all over the place but the sensation she had of being safely next to her family caused her to ease up a little bit, Judy did not dash away, that was a conversation that she needed to have, that was a trail of thought she could not escape from and the words of her sisters were precisely the nudge she needed in order to deal with it. After a few moments of silence, Judy turned her head back and spoke up for everyone to hear:

- Maybe you guys are right.

Sarah leaned in closer to give Judy a hug, her arms slowly placed over her shoulders and embracing her warmly, before telling her:

- You're welcome.

As Sarah released Judy from the embrace and noticed how her ears were slowly raising over her head once more, showing much better disposition out of her, she placed both of her paws over Judy's shoulders and said:

- Just remember this, Jude, it doesn't matter how much you struggle with something, we'll all still be here for you as much as you have been there for us all. You are our sister and no matter how much weirdness, setbacks or stress comes our way, we just want to see you smile and say… Oh, my gosh!

Judy was not really sure what Sarah meant by that, Judy raised her eyes to look at Sarah and saw the stunned look in her face, she looked around and noticed that all of her other sisters had the very same look, wide eyes and mouths open, they were all looking at something else, something that was just outside Judy's immediate field of vision, she turned her head further to the right and the rest of the body followed that slow turn and she could see what they were all looking at. From the back door of the kitchen emerged Nick, releasing a soft cough out of his mouth, having most of the fur on his face darkened with soot, his paws having the scent of hot metal and motor oil and being completely shirtless. Nick was holding his dirty shirt on his left paw hanging low on his side and curling the shirt up in his hold while he was still using his right paw to wipe his face up, in face of that scene, all that Judy could muster up to say was a loud:

- OH, MY GOSH!

Judy rushed over to Nick, placed herself right in front of him and asked right away:

- Nick, What happened to you?

The fox spoke up without a hint of urgency in his voice:

- Oh, hello there, fluff. Good morning.

Right before turning to the rest of the bunnies present in the kitchen, most of whom still had her jaws dropped with the sight of the fox, waving his right paw at them and saying:

- Good morning, everyone.

May smiled, raised her cup of coffee in the air as if she was proposing a cheer and only had one thing to say to that:

- *Now* it is.

Judy turned and looked right behind her, she released a sharp look at May before turning back to Nick and asking him again:

- What on earth happened to you?

Nick was actually looking for Judy, he wanted to tell her about his short adventure that morning, excluding the accidental snooping on Sam and her boyfriend. Nick took in some air and started to list all of the things that happened to him:

- So, long story short, I got up early this morning, wanted to take a little stroll, I heard a sound coming from the barn and decided to check on it, Arthur was there with some of your brothers and they were struggling to turn the tractor on.

Sarah shook herself out of her daze and waved her left paw gently in the air as she said:

- Oh, yeah. The tractor has not been working right, I told them to call a mechanic but they are stubborn like that, all of them.

Nick looked at Sarah by leaning slightly to the right and looking over Judy's shoulder, he signaled to the bunny standing next to the kitchen counter and said:

- Well, they should have listened to you. There was one vital piece in the engine block that needed patching.

Nick looked over to Judy and continued to speak as he delivered to her the bad news:

- I took a gander and managed to patch it but it's a temporary fix at best. The tractor works but it's only a matter of time before the problem flares up again.

Judy had her left ear lowered at a slight angle as she looked at Nick and asked him:

- Are you serious?

The fox had the same sad look in his face he had before when he spoke to Arthur, he truly wished he could do more to help but a patch job in such short time was all that he could come up with and he was very glad that the others went along with his idea, even if it sounded a little crazy. Nick nodded his head and spoke to Judy:

- Yeah, I'm really sorry.

Judy looked down and said:

- Oh, that is going to break dad's heart. He is really fond of that old thing.

Nick recalled what Arthur said to him earlier and answered to that with a side smile and a simple:

- So I've heard.

Nick called to Judy's attention once more only this time he showed her the reason why he was walking around shirtless that time, the fox unfurled the shirt he had put on that morning and revealed it to be filthy with the fabric previously of beautiful green soiled mostly around the chest area and the neckpiece by a dark layer of soot and grime originated from the tractor exhaust pipe, Judy released a gasp after seeing that, only then getting a notion on how tiresome and vital the repair must have been. As he saw the look on her face, Nick took a short breath through his mouth and said:

- Yeah, the engine might be fixed but the valves on the back are still a little… temperamental. This was my favorite shirt.

Judy reached ahead with both of her arms and grabbed the shirt, she had the article of clothing that looked so familiar to her fully in sight and in her hold and she decided to help Nick in that instant, showing a little smile and speaking up as if she wished to reward the fox for his efforts:

- Tell you what: I can bring this over to the laundry room and wash it no problem.

Nick had his ears raised and his tail moved slowly from side to side behind him as he heard that, he asked his partner:

- Really, fluff? You'd do that for me?

Judy reached for Nick's left arm, letting go of the shirt on one end, she tugged on his wrist gently and guided him towards the threshold of the kitchen leading to the living room, all of her sisters followed the scene while Judy said:

- You just dedicated the entire morning on fixing my dad's tractor. It feel like the least I can do to pay you back.

On that note, Nick stopped his walk abruptly and gently pulled Judy back, she was still holding on to his left wrist but the fox sudden stop on their walk caused to slip right out of her paw and she turned towards him as he said:

- That's just it, I fixed the engine of a tractor and it felt great, you don't need to do anything to pay me back. I feel amazing, just amazing. I want to fix something else.

Nick had tasted the rush of a patch job, something he would experience mildly when he scanned and adjusted the engines of the cruiser back at the ZPD, but that felt different, it felt greater. Nick turned to the other bunnies seated in the kitchen with a wide smile on his face and asked of them:

- Are there any other cars in here that need a once over? I can take a look at it free of charge.

At that moment, May raised her right paw while still seated and looking directly at Nick, she spoke up excitingly:

- My car has this really annoying rattle when I make a U-turn. It's been bugging me for weeks.

Nick placed his paws together, clasping one over the other and rubbing them slowly as if he was a mad engineer on the verge of realizing a magnanimous invention for the benefit of all. Nick showed a toothy grin and sounded off with a definitive tone of voice as he said:

- Let me at it.

Judy placed herself right in front of her partner, pointing a finger of her right paw to her sister and the fox separately before saying to both of them:

- No. No. Nick is not some housecall mechanic. We came here to get away from Zootopia for a few days and relax.

To which Nick spoke in response, really interested in keeping his fixing rush going:

- Working on an engine *is* relaxing.

Judy raised both of her paws in the air, the dirty shirt she had grabbed from Nick flopping about as she did that, before she pointed on to the direction of the living room with her left arm stretched clearly in that direction before telling Nick:

- Just go on downstairs, take a shower and I will put your shirt in the wash.

Nick did not undo his smile, he looked at Judy, raised both of his forearms in a simple gesture of agreeable surrender to her words and turned around before saying:

- Alright, fine. I'm going.

Nick crossed the threshold leading to the living room and Judy could hear his steps growing distant so she just let him be. Judy closed her eyes and raised her head to direct it up at the ceiling, releasing a puff of air out of her mouth as her lips came close to the shape of an 'O' as she did so, she relaxed for a bit and lowered her head, she turned around and took another look at the grime splashed over the shirt in her hold just in time to hear a set of step approaching the kitchen and the voice of her partner, coming back to give her a quick reminder of sorts. Nick popped his head past the left side of the entryway to the kitchen and let Judy know:

- You're the best.

He said only that before disappearing once more and walking towards the hallway so he could take the long staircase down back to the room where he was staying and grabbing himself a new set of clothes to wear after the shower. Judy acknowledged Nick's remark and compliment with a little nudge of her head, her ears both twitched in the direction of his voice as he came back just to tell her those three words, Judy raised her eyes and looked at her sisters, all of them enthralled greatly by her interactions with the fox, the looks in their eyes told her about a dozen different things that all pointed to the same conclusion and she only had one thing to say to all of them:

- All of you be quiet.

With that said, Judy walked out of the kitchen and on her way to the laundry room, she would have to work fast to make sure that the dark stain on Nick's shirt would not grow to be permanent. There were a few giggles coming from the kitchen as soon as Judy exited, Martha and Sarah smile satisfied in knowing that Judy had taken what they all said to heart, however, the one sister among the collective who was strangely and inspirationally hit by Nick's presence most of all was Jill, who had her paws frozen over the keyboard of her personal computer as a new scene for her work of fiction popped into her mind almost like the sudden eruption of a volcano. Martha noticed that, Jill's blank stare with her ears raised and her nose twitching rapidly as she took in shallow breaths, Martha leaned over the table and asked:

- Jill? Are you alright?

After hearing that, Jill closed the computer with a rushed motion as she reached for the two upper ledges of the screen and closed them up in a snap, raised from her seat, grabbed the closed computer from over the table and then spoke up so all of her sisters could hear:

- I'm going back to my room to write.

Jill felt very much out of sorts but in a good way, it was almost as if Nick's presence in the kitchen, his sudden appearance out from the back door of the burrow with his shirtless visage, awoken something new in her. She was unfamiliar with that feeling but she knew just how to put it to use so she took off on her own to do just that, but, just before leaving, Jill turned around and pointed to the bunnies left right behind her with a finger of her left paw while her right arm held on to the compact computer right beneath her careful hold only to issue a very important warning that should be passed down to others:

- No one disturbs me.

With that, Jill left in a huff, rushing off to her room with a vital piece of her story freshly assembled in her mind, romance and action blending together in such a smooth way, she just had to get that scene into the document, into the flow of the story that would outfit it the best, so she excused herself and went to her room to write in peace. All of the other bunnies in the kitchen were left mildly stunned with everything they just saw, everything that they witnessed that morning, to close it off for the time being, Simon entered the kitchen and greeted everyone still in there as he said:

- Good morning, everyone. What's up?

To which Martha simply answered with:

- Jill is in a bit of a mood.

And Simon countered with:

- Oof. Enough said.

A few minutes passed by, Judy made good on her proposal and stashed Nick's shirt inside the laundry machine on the first basement, some soap powder, two mini-cups of stain remover and softener placed with the most efficient washing cycle available was the best she could surmise to get most of the soot stain out. Judy read the label on the shirt, a little worn out but still having clear instructions for the handling and cleaning of the fabric, useful guidelines for her to go on, she turned the washing machine on after it had been carefully programed and walked off towards the stairs to check on her partner.

Judy went down two floors in the burrow, approaching the bathroom but finding no sound of Nick anywhere, she looked around but she did not have to look for long as the sight of the fox came in clear view for her, popping from just the next corner of the hallway and telling her:

- Ah, I was just looking for you.

Judy stayed silent, even if she was compelled to ask the reason why Nick was looking for her specifically, she would get the answer soon enough. Nick made a signal with his right paw as he asked her:

- Could you come over and help me out a little bit, fluff?

Judy nodded her head and answered him:

- Sure.

Judy simply followed along until they arrived at the door to Nick's room, the fox was wearing a brand new shirt and pants which told her that he had already taken a shower, that and there was not much of a lingering smell of engine oil on him. Nick opened the door and told Judy to come inside, proceeding then to close the door once Judy came in, over the bed she could see a small vial of gel and an assortment of medical supplies, mostly small scissors, gauze and white tape, it became obvious to her the reason why Nick had called her there. Nick unbuttoned his shirt, he looked at Judy with his ears lowered and a little tinge of discomfort in his face as he removed his shirt slowly and asked her:

- Look, I gotta change my patches and it's kind of hard to reach over my shoulder. Any chance you could help out with applying the gel that doctor Pura gave me?

Nick waited for an answer out of Judy, she had just finished putting the pieces together and it was not hard at all, she would gladly help her partner and she asked him to sit down by the edge of the bed as she provided him with the assistance he needed. Nick sat down, lowering his head, placing his tail down to the left with the tip hanging by the edge and relaxed his shoulders, Judy climbed the bed with a short hop and got on her knees over the mattress, she did not have to raise herself up as he knees supported her up, Nick was at a nice enough position for her to reach over without effort, starting by removing the used up bandage and preparing to apply the new one. Judy reached over and dug around for a little bit until her nails got enough of a basing to remove the old patch, she pulled some of Nick's fur along with it and the fox reacted by wincing upwards as he felt the adhesive being snagged away:

- Ow!

He did not yell that loud but Judy still took it as a direct sign that she might have overdone it a bit, she leaned next to him and whispered:

- I'm sorry.

- Nah, it's alright. No problem.

He said that while trying to put up a brave face but making it look like that he was about to shed a tear out of pain for a second, Judy took a look at the adhesive portion of the old patch and found that only a miniscule portion of Nick's orange fur had been pulled along, chalking the face the fox made as an unnecessary dash of drama on his part. Judy used the provided scissors to cut enough gauze, fold it and craft a replacement patch for Nick's shoulder, she set it aside and turned her attention into applying the gel, she scooped some of the gel with her left paw and reached forth to smear it over Nick's injury, she hesitated for a second once she saw it. Judy lowered her arm and took a good look at the injury, a flat patch of coagulated blood under the fur and she could also see traces of cut flesh performed during the surgery to remove the projectile, she felt faint for a second or so. Realizing that Judy was taking her time, probably for a good reason, Nick turned his head to the right and asked:

- Does it look bad?

Judy raised her ears, they twitched in the direction of his voice, she took a short breath and answered him, trying to give off some encouragement:

- Not that bad.

Judy placed her gel covered paw over the wound, gently petting up and down as she applied the gel, Nick winced once more and nearly caused Judy to retreat but she soon came to heard that he was not feeling pain, he was feeling ease and delight. Nick sounded off as he inhaled a sharp dose of air through his teeth, it only lasted a single second, he then lowered his head and raised his ears as he spoke up, letting out as much air as he could in one puff while he said:

- Oh, God. That really hits the spot.

Judy smiled and kept on with her motion, moving her paw up, down and then at a small circle, making sure to only encapsulate the area of the wound, her soft paws and their tender touch sent a shiver through Nick, the fox smiled and said:

- You got some great paws on you there, fluff. If you need a side hustle, nurse may be right up your alley.

Judy did not even register the compliment, then again it may have just been a jest on Nick's part, she continued on her task until the medicinal gel had been nearly wiped out of her paw and placed over Nick's shoulder, he found it very strange that Judy did not answer him after he spoke. Nick raised his back just for a moment, he nudged his left shoulder up to call her attention and said:

- Yo, Judy, everything alright with you back there?

Judy took her paw away from Nick, she had been distracted, thinking about what her sisters had said while trying to place the forefront of her mind on the task to aid Nick, she responded to his words at last as she swallowed some air and spoke up:

- I'm… yes. I'm alright. I was just… thinking about something my sisters told me earlier.

Judy did not divulge any details about the true nature of the talk with her sisters, she acknowledged her feelings towards Nick but just coming out and saying it at that moment might not have been the best way to approach that situation, even if that may have been the most favorable time for her to post a confession of her true feelings. Judy lowered her hand, she reached down for the lid of the container of gel and sealed it shut, she wiped the tips of her fingers with some of the leftover gauze and then went on to apply the new patch carefully over the area she just treated. Judy spoke to Nick as she carefully raised the new patch which was so nicely crafted by her, trying to contain her emotion as she said:

- My sisters are all nagging and getting on my case, even the ones who did not get along that well before my departure banded together to tease me. They are getting all loud and obnoxious and the worst part is that they are all making sense and getting their point across. I don't like it.

Nick released a little laugh that grew in intensity quite a bit, his shoulders bounced up and down for a moment as he broke out in laughter which delayed Judy's progress in applying the patch. As Judy tried angling the patch to a nice enough position that would not snag or bother too much as Nick moved around or readjusted his arm to get dressed or bather, she decided to speak further on that:

- Although, I am a little disappointed that Sam wasn't up there leading the 'war council'.

Nick stopped his laughter for a bit, hearing Samantha's name mentioned and the curious mention of a 'council' on Judy's part, his ears raised and his back straightened a little more as he asked:

- War council? What's that all about?

To which Judy responded:

- Oh, it's just this little gathering comprised of all of my sisters which has the sole objective of interfering in the tinniest points of my life.

Nick released another laugh after hearing Judy's voice, speaking up as if she was almost outraged with her sisters for prying into her affairs in such a way. After a few seconds of laughter, Nick turned his head around in the same direction he did before to try and get a look at Judy before saying:

- Well, there is nothing wrong with that. Family gets to drive you crazy some way or another but they are still the best support you can get for any situation. Even when you get annoyed or when you feel like you don't need it.

Judy readjusted the hold she had on the upper edges of the patch before telling him:

- You can say that again. Sometimes they can leave me… flustered.

Nick showed a side smile before saying:

- You don't have a reason to be flustered, fluff. Your family is the tops, all of them. Though, I don't think some of them have figured how to act around me quite yet.

Judy released a sigh before saying:

- It's to be expected. We have never have a guest like you in the burrow before.

Nick was quick to guess what she meant by that as he asked:

- A fox?

She quickly retorted with a correction:

- Spirited.

Nick lowered his head and released a single humorous puff of air out of his mouth, he felt as Judy placed the patch on the back of his right shoulder and patted down gently over the area to make sure that it was nice and firmly stuck in place, she gave him a signal with a double pat of her right paw over his biceps before saying:

- Done and done. You're good as new.

Nick's smile melted away fast after hearing that, Judy took to organizing the extra supplies and storing the medicine away in case Nick needed it again, her ears twitched and she was surprised to hear as Nick said:

- I don't think I'm quite there just yet.

She stopped what she was doing and turned her head in his direction, she was just about to jump out from over the bed as she stopped to hear him say:

- I didn't feel like sleeping late this morning so I took off for a walk, I walked to the bench but I felt a lot of pain when I sat down for a second. I got up from the bench and I felt this… fear that manifested from all around me.

Judy adjusted herself over the bed, she leaned closer to Nick and then moved over the comfy surface on all four of her limbs, that only lasted for a short time since she was not that far from him so she halted her movements once she was nearly back to the spot where she was kneeled before. Nick continued to speak, barely noticing that Judy had moved closer to him at all since his mind was still too focused on recalling his short episode from earlier:

- It hurt so much. I felt like screaming and I nearly fell to the ground to yell for help. It almost felt like… like was back in that alley.

Judy gasped after hearing that, her ears flopped to the back of her head as the worrisome scene popped into her mind once more, Nick did not give her a chance to respond properly as he continued to speak:

- I remembered how it hurt when I got shot, the medicine has been helping with the pain so it felt like I wasn't even hurt for a while. The thing is, not feeling it as bad doesn't mean it's not still there, I really forgot that.

Judy had her ears lowered about halfway, she was not sure how to respond to Nick, her mind would often flash back to that moment in the alleyway, her partner was hurt and she could do little to help him except praying and waiting for help, she suddenly felt her heart being compressed inside her chest. Nick turned his body completely over the bed until he was facing Judy, she leaned her body back at a small angle but Nick was now so close to her, looking her straight in the eye with her looking right back and she could feel his warm breath so close as he spoke:

- I was really freaked out but I think this helped me a lot. I guess having you nearby calms myself up.

Judy squinted her eyes, but she did not cry. Judy crawled closer to Nick, she tossed herself over his side and leaned over the right side of his torso in an embrace that showed exactly how she was feeling, her ears were raised and her arms were wrapped comfortably around him, she nearly lost balance and fell off the bed. Nick could feel the soft bump and the warmth of her hug, spreading around his body and alerting him that she heard and more than sympathized with his words, his tail waggled a bit and tapped over the mattress, he could not help herself, he grew accustomed with Judy's hugs and they felt really good. Nick looked down, raising his right arm and seeing Judy's face sinking in the fur that covered his torso, there was not that much of it so he could still see her, if she was trying to hide she was not doing a good job. Judy took a deep breath, her nose caught Nick's scent, the shampoo he commonly used and his preferred brand of deodorant maxed with his natural musk, only she could hardly enjoy that, she only focused in getting enough of a breath to speak up:

- You got really hurt. I think about that time a lot too. I was… so scared.

Nick lowered his right arm and placed the palm of his paw over Judy's head, her ears moved around as she felt the patting of his rough paws and it felt like she would melt away in an instant as she heard him say:

- I was really scared too. I guess I'm still scared.

Nick spoke to her with a voice that was so soft, a tone that gripped her almost as strongly as that hug, her tail wagged a bit as she felt his paw over her head begin to move around in a pleasant way, she almost forgot what that feeling was like. Judy let go of Nick and placed herself standing on her knees as she looked at him, the bunny showed him a soft smile, she meant what she said before, recalling those events filled her with fear, with uncertainty when considering what they might be getting involved and the last thing she desired was seeing her closest ally getting hurt again. Judy took in a breath of air, as she looked at Nick, she wanted to tell him so bad how she felt but she kept getting in her own way, pressing her lips together to trap the words inside her own mouth, Nick saw that and actually thought she was on the cusp of bawling up, he leaned closer and said:

- Don't worry, Judy, this whole deal has left everyone freaked out. I know that things are really tough, but we're here right now to rest and make sure that both of us will be fine. We'll bounce back, stronger than before.

Judy nodded her head and took in a long dose of air through her nose which made it sound almost like a sniffle on her part, she got out of from over the bed soon after that and pointed out that she would return to the surface in due time once she had completed a few more things that she had to do in her room, Nick got up from over the bed and put his shirt on, thanking Judy for her help and telling her that he would go up the stairs and back to the living room to wait for her. As Judy exited Nick's room and only had to walk a few steps to enter her room and be alone for a moment, Judy tossed herself face first over the bed, scattering the little bunny plushies she often liked to sleep with when she took residence there, the 'one thing' she had to take care of after leaving Nick's side was play that moment back to herself in her head and imagine what could have happened should she had done things differently.

Judy had her paws over Nick's figure, she was left alone with him and could have talked about how she felt, she could have made an advance towards him that went beyond a hug or a simple pat on the back but she could not manage to gather up the courage and do that, for some reason it did not feel like the best of times for that. She recalled ow she petted him gently and how she almost instinctively sniffed his alluring scent during the hug and that realization rang loud in her head, Judy released a puff of air as her face was smooshing the soft covers of the pillow, she felt her warm and slightly moist breath leave a temporary impression over the pillow, she only needed a short time to gather herself up once more and follow up to get up the stairs after Nick, she hoped to also find her mother and talk to her as it was advised to her by the 'war council' in the kitchen.

As Judy was approaching the first floor of the burrow, she took notice of how the rumbling sounds of the washing machine had ceased, she had left Nick's shirt in there for a full washing cycle complete with drying motions and it had ended much sooner than she predicted. Judy walked the hallway of the first basement floor and reached the washing machine corner, of all the many devices prepped for washing garments sitting in inactive states, the one in the corner was the one she was interested in, she opened the compartment and retrieved the green article of clothing to see the results of her endeavor to help Nick out further. Judy flopped the shirt in the air as soon as she had it in her reach once more, the stain was nearly completely gone but there was one solitary smudge that caught her eye near the lapel pocket that had been missed, it was an easy task to scrub it off using a wet sponge, luckily the soot did not have enough time to simmer in the cloth so a quick once over with a cautious mix was all that was needed to clean it off.

Judy folded the now clean shirt and carried it up the stairs, she was set to deliver it back to Nick but the sound of a familiar voice starting a conversation as soon as she was about to enter the living room halted her walk:

- So, Nick, word around the house is that you are quite the handy mammal. Simon here just told me you fixed dad's tractor.

It was the voice of Samantha, Judy placed her back against the edge of the hallway threshold to hide away and she saw the scene taking place in the living room. Simon was standing up with his paws placed over his waist line and he was placed close to Dilan by his left side, Nick was seated on the couch next to the left side arm while having a smile on his face and his eyes focused on an activity to pass the time, shuffling his lucky deck of cards, Samantha was seated right next to Nick and watching him closely as his paws moved about. Judy waited for a moment before entering the living room, everyone noticed her presence, including Nick, it was the only time he took his eyes away from the cards but his paws continued to move around and performing complex turning and spinning maneuvers with some of the cards he fished out of the deck, it was really impressive.

Judy had Nick's shirt cleaned up and placed under her right arm as she came close, Dilan and Simon gave her a greeting and she answered shortly with a greeting of her own, but Samantha did not greet Judy, she simply called her sister right over as she asked:

- Jude, have you ever seen something like this? The way he moves the cards around is insane.

Nick had an immutable smile on his face as he looked at Judy, his shuffling motion was more simplified as he looked over and heard her asking:

- I had heard you saying that you could make card tricks like that before. That is actually kind of impressive.

Nick's motions with his paws became far more elaborate, his fingers and claws picked cards from somewhere at random in the middle of the deck and placed them in different spots as he spoke to her in response:

- Oh, this isn't the trick, fluff. It's just a quick fling to pass the time. Keeps my reflexes sharp and my sight sharper.

Nick clapped his paws and finished his motion with the deck neatly stacked in his hold, Samantha looked at him with a stupefied look as she said:

- You can even hold on to a conversation while you're doing this.

And Simon asked in turn:

- Is there anything you can't do, Nick?

Admitting to it honestly while making it sound redundantly like a joke, Nick answered him:

- Yeah, I can't speak French. Something about how my accent sounds too nasally when I speak it.

No one in the living room was sure what to make of that, of the long list of things that the fox could have spoken off, difficulty at speaking a foreign language was absolutely not on the list. Judy walked closer, only a single step and Nick tried a different approach to his shuffling, this time trying to involve someone else in his demonstration:

- Here, Samantha, you try it. Pick a card, any card.

The bunny seated right next to him decided to participate in the demonstration, figuring it would be an interesting way to grow even more fond of the fox her sister admired so much, she grabbed one card from the top of the deck and focused on its markings, not showing it to Nick, she then placed it back in its precise spot on top of the deck and Nick took to shuffling it around once more. The movements performed by the fox were almost artistic, Judy, Dilan and Simon leaned a little closer to try and understand how he was doing all of that, how the cards he tossed up and down into the mix returned to his hold only to fit perfectly into the flowing stack. After Nick was done and he had a flawlessly mixed deck in his paws, he turned to Samantha and showed her the pointing finger of his right paw as his left paw held on tightly to the stacked deck, he told her to wait a moment before reaching into his own mouth with a pinching gesture of his claws and retrieving a single card from between his gums. Nick held the card in the air and asked:

- Is this your card?

Samantha was shown a six of spades, the precise card in her mind. The trick Nick performed was really impressive, she was only expecting the fox to raise the card that she had thought off out from the deck in a quick motion, she really was not expecting him to fish it right out of his mouth, especially since he was not wearing a shirt with sleeves long enough to hid the card away so she immediately tried to put her brain to work imagining how could he have possibly done all of that without actual magic. Samantha gasped and she spoke out stupefied and confused as she answered to Nick's question and commented briefly on the nature of the trick:

- Yes! Also, ew.

Dilan clapped out of instinct while Simon could only say:

- HOLY SHIT!

And the reply to that came from the kitchen right after:

- Jar!

Simon growled before turning around, walking to the kitchen and giving his mother another bill from his own pocket, returning to the living room right after. Nick watched that scene unfold and he just had to say it:

- One would really thought you'd had learned by now.

Simon crossed his arms and tried staying quiet as he heard the laughs directed at him. Judy called to Nick's attention right after that as she asked him:

- Really, slick? You're taking to performing silly card tricks to my family now?

Nick raised from the couch, putting the card back on the deck and walking closer to Judy, placing himself right in front of her before saying:

- You call these tricks silly, fluff, but these are the kinds of motion that keep me wired in a fight or in the office. I keep my mind turning and flipping about, one thought on top of another for easy access just like a well-stacked deck. I would think you had a more agile mind on you, especially with that ace up your sleeve.

Judy smiled with the colorful allegory before raising her left arm and telling him:

- I don't have an ace up my…

Judy stopped short, she could feel something under the sleeve of her shirt, she could even see it peeking out from under it and placed right above her arm. Judy places Nick's shirt over the armrest of the couch and reaches for the item placed in her sleeve with her right paw, to everyone's surprise but the fox who orchestrated the trick, the item in her sleeve was an ace of spades and the trick earned a round of applause from all the other bunnies. Judy looked at Nick, the same slick smile on his lips before asking him:

- How did you even do this? You were nowhere near me.

Nick reached ahead, taking the card away from Judy's hold before telling her:

- This is nothing, fluff. I'm just warming up over here. Have you ever seen a dark heart turn red?

After that question, Nick performed a subtle motion, passing the palm of his left paw over his right almost as if he was cleaning them up in a gentle swipe, as he seemingly transmogrified the ace of spades into an ace of hearts, impressing everyone even more. Soon came another trick as he walked a few steps to the side and showed in clear view of his small audience in the living room:

- How about turning two fives into a ten?

With a five of different suits in his two paws, Nick joined them and rubbed them over one another as if that motion would magically add their values, that is, before a ten of a completely different naipe altogether popped from between his fingers. The last trick was even more daring as he said:

- How about turning two jacks into a queen?

With that question, Nick grabbed the two first solicited cards in each paw and clapped them together, the clapping sound was loud and stunned Judy for a fraction of a second, she blinked rapidly during that moment and it was time more than enough for the trick to be concluded and before revealing that the two cards had turned into a glistening and solitary queen of hearts. Judy just had to ask:

- Do I even dare ask the secret behind such masterful illusions, mister fox?

Nick placed his deck, now completed, inside his right side pocket, the fox turned to her and showed the palm of his left paw before answering:

- Sorry, fluff, but I am not one of those masked charlatans from television that reveals the trick behind their magic. I can't simply tell you the answer, otherwise the trick wouldn't be fun anymore.

Judy had delegated that as the fox's final answer to her query, she walked to the side to grab his clean shirt and give it back to him but another answer came to her as Nick posted:

- However, if you would consider being my… assistant, I would gladly tell you the secret behind the trick.

Judy had the folded shirt in her paws, she turned around with her ears raised and a doubting look in her eyes pointed at the fox before asking him:

- Assistant?

Nick came close and leaned next to Judy as he tried, mostly as a silly jest, to sell her the possibility of them becoming a magical duo that would perform for an unknown audience in the possible future, making it sound foolish and glamorous all at once. Nick made a wide gesture with his right arm as he said:

- Sure. We can take first place on any talent show if we work it out. We start things off with me pulling you out of a hat and you show yourself to the crowd while dressed in a sequined outfit, just to take their eyes away from the main points of the trick, we make some gestures, toss a few japes back and forth and by the end of it all I saw you in half.

Samantha busted out in laughter, that scene playing flawlessly inside her mind, Judy imagined how the teasing would be unbearable from then on as Simon completed that idea by saying:

- Ha, I would totally pay to see that.

Judy took a long breath before pointing to Nick, poking her finger over his chest and telling him exactly with clear words about every single thing that she did not agree with during his pitch:

- Okay. First of all: The whole 'pulling bunnies out of hats' thing is really demeaning; Second: You could not *pay me* to get me inside a sequined dress; And third: There is no way on earth I am trusting you in a stage with a saw.

Nick showed the palms of his paws in a short dismissive gesture before saying:

- Hey, relax. It's all in good fun.

To which she answered:

- Well, I'm not laughing.

Judy crossed her arms as she looked straight at Nick and the fox had a counter to that as he pointed over Judy's head and told her:

- You might just change your tune once you pick the nine on your tail.

Judy immediately turned around after hearing that, she placed both paws over her posterior and looked around in search of the card mentioned by Nick, not finding anything after a careful search, she looked at him with a confused look in her eyes before hearing him say:

- Made you look.

And breaking out in laughter. In response to that, Judy tossed the shirt she had brought over on Nick's face, his laughter stopped as the smooth and nice smelling cloth slid down over his face, only to reveal Judy as she stood in front of him, slowly turning her body towards the exit and directing her stare at him long enough to say:

- Your shirt is clean now.

Judy took off, not even wanting to hear another word from Nick at that time, not even the thanks he had already prepared for her and he watched his partner walk away towards the kitchen with her nose raised in the air and bluntly refusing to look at him any further. Nick turned to look at the other bunnies in the room, they had smiles on their faces, each one of them in different degrees, before saying:

- I think I may have stepped on a landmine.