A/N: It has been confirmed that the duration between Bellwether's arrest and Nick's graduation was 9 months. A lot can happen in that time, and after seeing the movie, I wished to bring them to light through this story. This story will be a bridge that links the end of the movie together, beginning with Judy's injury.

I sincerely hope you will enjoy "Evergreen".

Chapter 1: Hold On

Something was gnawing at Judy.

Not literally, of course. That would have been silly.

"Nick? Why are you gnawing on my ear?" Judy asked.

Okay, maybe literally.

Judy looked up, to see Nick's playful smile and faux look of aggression. He pulled back for a moment, making a show of licking his lips.

"Ah, I thought you were into acting, Carrots. Aren't you supposed to scream in horrible agony about blood and death everywhere?"

"We already went through that. Five minutes ago. Bellwether's already being arrested, and I'm pretty sure we have all the confession we need in here," Judy said, holding up her carrot recorder pen. "So I think you can cut the Oxcar performance."

"A shame. I was quite proud of it myself. Vicious fox trapped with meek bunny in a deep enclosed pit? I totally nailed it. Bellwether didn't suspect a thing."

"Yeah, she didn't…" Judy looked around. There was still no one coming. "Ugh, this is ridiculous. Why would the museum even design a deep enclosed pit exhibit that people can easily fall into without an easy way to climb back out?"

"Or they could have at least put safety railings," Nick offered. "Still, you make a point. Where's the officers that were supposed to get us out of here?"

"I'm not sure…I think they're still looking for a ladder." Judy sat and leaned against the wall of the pit enclosure, holding her left leg. The blood had slowed, but it was already seeping through the handkerchief that Nick had used to wrap around the wound.

"ZPD. Exemplary model of efficiency." Nick made a show of it with his paws. "Good thing you quit."

"Like you would know, fox." A loud, imposing voice echoed from above. Both Judy and Nick looked up to see a familiar buffalo standing at the top of the pit.

"Chief Bogo!" Judy exclaimed.

"Maintenance room is locked, Hopps. The staff won't be here for another thirty minutes to unlock it."

"What?! But she's bleeding out!" Nick exclaimed, pointing at her bandaged leg.

Bogo immediately looked down, staring intently at Judy's leg. From so far below, along with her inability to walk, Bogo looked really threatening. Nick's words seemed to trigger something in him, though.

"There's no ladder, but it seems we don't have time to wait for one. Hopps, get on his back. I saw a rope in the next room. I'll pull you up," Bogo said, stepping away from the pit.

On his…back? For some reason, the thought of being completely helpless and being carried on Nick's back made her feel a little warm under her fur, although she didn't think much of it at the time.

"Well that's one way to get out of here," Nick said, turning to Judy. "Well, ready for a ride, Carrots?"

"I don't have much choice, do I?" Judy responded. Nick extended a paw to help her to her feet, before turning around and stooping down so she could wrap her arms around his neck.

"You could stay here. You'd make a good bunny exhibit for the museum once they open. Hurk!" Nick gagged as Judy's paws tightened around his neck.

"Yeah, and you'd make a good choked fox exhibit."

"Lame bunny," Nick mused, hoisting her up and wrapping her good leg around his waist.

"Blue fox," Judy shot back.

A long, thick rope tumbled down from the top of the pit. Bogo was back, kneeling on the ground and positioning himself. The rope straightened out, but it was barely out of Nick's reach. Nick stretched his paws upwards as far as he could, but he still fell short. There was still a good few inches before he could reach the end of the rope.

It's not…long enough.

"Come on…just a little more…" Nick willed. He pushed himself onto his toes, but it still wasn't enough.

"Jump, fox!" Bogo called out.

Nick took a deep breath, crouching slightly. The bunny on his back was a lot heavier than he expected. He jumped, arms outstretched. Judy's heart skipped a beat when Nick's first paw missed the rope. But before he could go tumbling back down to the ground, he managed to snag the rope with his other paw, swinging wildly for a moment before slowly stabilising. Bogo grunted, the force of the swaying testing his limits. With a loud huff, the buffalo began pulling both of them out. Towards the top, Nick's grip faltered a little, and he slid a few inches down the rope. Judy could almost see his fur stand on end.

"Ow ow ow rope burn rope burn!" he yelped in pain, barely managing to secure his hold on the rope again while his body continued to sway about perilously over the pit.

"Nick!" Judy didn't dare to look down, instinctively tightening her grip around his neck.

"Can't...breathe...Carrots!" he gasped, hugging the rope as tightly as he could.

Despite the visible pain that Nick was in, he was thankfully able to hang on. After what seemed like forever, Bogo finally pulled them both over the edge of the pit with a loud grunt, allowing the fox to land back onto the ground with the bunny still on his back. Nick knelt down to let Judy off his back, rubbing his paws gently together and blowing on them.

"Are you okay, Nick?" Judy asked, letting go of Nick's shoulders and hobbling over in front of him. Nick clenched his paws.

"Ugh, I think my paws have gone red."

"They're already red, Nick."

"Exactly." Nick smirked. Judy rolled her eyes, before turning to face Bogo.

"Thanks, Chief. You guys got here just in time to catch Bellwether. We owe you one."

"No, Hopps. We should be thanking you. You've single-handedly unveiled the biggest corruption scandal to ever befall Zootopia, and solved it. Twice." Bogo deadpanned the last part.

"Well, I didn't do it myself. Nick is the one you should be thanking."

"Well now, I don't remember myself doing all that much. I was just eating blueberries," Nick said, getting up and dusting himself off. He gave a quick wave to Bogo, who was eyeing him wordlessly.

Probably thinking about what Nick said to him at the sky tram…Judy thought to herself. She hoped that wasn't going to complicate matters as they stood. With Bogo's temperament, things possibly wouldn't end well…

Her thoughts were interrupted by growing murmurs by the entrance of the natural history museum. They were quickly turning into loud gasps and loud stamping. The sound of camera shutters were starting to go off.

"Looks like the public has caught on. Or the press. We'd better leave before they end up blocking the road and finding you. Bellwether's arrest is going to cause a lot of trouble…" Bogo said, sighing.

Bellwether…Something clicked in her head.

"Oh, right! Chief! Here, you'll need this." Judy pulled out her carrot pen. "A full confession by the mayor. She won't be able to get away from this one." She stood proudly in front of her former boss.

Bogo eyed it, nodding.

"I'll pass this to the investigations department for extraction. The confession should put her behind bars and put an end to the Night howler incidents. But you don't need to worry about that. You have more important things to attend to," he said, taking the pen from her and slipping it into his pocket.

"What things?"

"Carrots, you're bleeding out," Nick said matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Right." She looked down, seeing her leg starting to drip a few drops of blood onto the ground. "Forgot about that."

"How do you forget that you're bleeding out?" Nick asked, incredulous. Judy ignored him.

"Don't worry, Chief. I'll just head over to the hospital. Shouldn't be too difficult."

"No, Hopps, that won't be necessary," Bogo replied firmly. "I'll bring you to the hospital myself." He motioned for them to follow him.

Judy blinked for a moment, stunned, before she found her voice. "You don't need to do that, Chief. You should be getting back to help with Bellwether's case."

"I insist. Now come along, Hopps."

Nick and Judy both exchanged glances, but it looked like the buffalo had his mind set. They followed him to a side entrance of the museum. Judy held on to Nick for support, limping with her good leg. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she could feel the pain returning to her leg.

And boy did it hurt.

Still, with Nick supporting her, she felt safe, like everything was going to be okay. It was over. They had won.

As they exited through the side entrance of the museum, Judy turned her head just in time to see a livid Bellwether being hauled into the back of a police cruiser. The crowd began swarming like a bunch of angry flies to a sugar cube. Thankfully, the officers on site were large enough to swat them away and hold them back. That was one thing she couldn't do well as a bunny, she thought. There was a reason why most officers in the field were large-sized mammals.

"Carrots."

Judy was snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Nick. He actually looked mildly worried.

"You need to get into the car."

It took a moment before she realised she had been standing next to the open car door for quite a while. "O-oh, right. Of course." She smiled sheepishly.

"I think you're going into shock. Don't you go bleeding out on me." He helped her into the car, shutting the door behind her. He went over to the other side and got in, pushing a large blue bag to the ground to make room. Chief Bogo glanced back in the mirror.

"All in? Right, we're going." With a roar of the engine, the police cruiser sped off from the rapidly accumulating crowd.

Judy kept her head down until they were out of sight. Once they were, she let out a sigh of relief as Nick helped to buckle her in. His eyes were trained on the seatbelt, but she could see him inconspicuously trying to take worried glances at her injured leg. It was honestly sweet to see him caring this much about her. Cold and detached. That was how he acted to the world, but now she was starting to see his true colours. Deep down, even though he tried to hide it, she knew he had a kind and caring heart. She had her suspicions on the sky tram, when he had played it off coolly by mentioning the traffic cameras to avoid talking about his emotions. And more so when they had escaped down the toilet at the lab and flushed down a waterfall. She was underwater, but she heard him clearly. He called her Judy. The fear and concern on his face was real, even though he had denied it right after. Nicholas P. Wilde was a kind and gentle soul, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

And a part of her was smirking triumphantly at knowing that she had seen through his little façade.

I have to call him out on it one of these days...She would definitely savour that moment. She could already imagine him stuttering with a red face—redder than it normally was, anyway—as he would inevitably try to deny it or attempt to change the subject. But she wasn't going to let that one go. No way.

"Carrots, you're…smiling. Why are you smiling? Look, if you see a bright white light, do not start walking towards it, you hear me? I repeat, do not walk towards it. Stay with me here."

Judy rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Nick. I haven't lost that much blood. I'm more worried about dripping it on Chief Bogo's carpet. Don't you have another handkerchief to wrap the wound?"

"That was my only one. My favourite one too…" He added at the end, almost soft enough that Judy couldn't hear.

Almost.

"I was kinda using it to carry the blueberries," Nick continued, rifling through his pockets. "I don't really have another."

"There's a towel in my gym bag. Use that to bandage the wound." Bogo's gruff voice boomed from the front.

Nick looked down, at a blue bag that was essentially as big as Judy. He reached in and pulled out a small face towel. Which was still pretty large by bunny standards.

"That works."

He began expertly wrapping Judy's leg right over the blood-soaked handkerchief. Judy took a deep breath. Even though she had told Nick it was okay, the amount of blood she was currently seeing was indeed more than a little troubling.

"Hopps." Bogo's voice startled both of them. Judy looked up.

"Chief?"

"We're reaching soon. I'll drop you off at the side entrance, so that you don't draw any attention. There should be some wheelchairs around that you can use. I'll head back to the precinct to hand the evidence over to extraction."

"O-okay. Thanks, Chief."

The police cruiser slowed as the large white building came into view, with the red and white hospital insignia emblazoned on the side of the building. People were making way for the police cruiser, some passing curious looks. Eventually the vehicle came to a complete stop, and Bogo pulled up the handbrake. Nick didn't hesitate, getting out of the vehicle and grabbing a wheelchair from a station nearby. Judy opened the door on her side of the vehicle.

"Hopps."

Judy turned towards the front of the car, her body halfway out the door as Nick approached her side of the car. Her former boss was looking over his shoulder, straight at her.

"You did good. I would be proud to have an officer like you at Precinct One. If you ever want your badge back, you know where to find me."

Judy was stunned, unable to find the words to say. She could only nod weakly as Nick helped her onto the wheelchair and closed the door. Bogo's statement wasn't something she had expected to hear from him. She knew he had a softer side—she'd seen it for herself on the day she'd resigned—but it was still unnerving to see in person. She was far more used to his gruff and aloof personality. Still, as the police car circled around the carpark and exited, she couldn't help but feel a welling of pride in her chest.

"Seems like even stubborn ol' Buffalo-butt has a heart, huh?" Nick remarked.

"Yeah, he does." Judy smiled. Just like you, Nick.

The hospital was bustling with activity. The side entrance seemed to be split into three sections: small, medium, and large-sized mammals. Through the nearby glass windows, Judy could see a whole bunch of mammals moving about the busy hallways towards various other departments. The waiting room of the nearest department was packed with mammals; they were either on their phones or staring blankly at the queue numbers listed on the television screens.

She felt herself being moved as Nick pushed the wheelchair through the automatic sliding doors for medium sized mammals. The moment she passed through the doorway, she was instantly assaulted by the smell of medicine and antiseptic. She wrinkled her nose, being reminded about how much she disliked hospitals. It just was so…sterile. She would have taken the smell of car exhaust over this.

Her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like 'vroom-vroom' noises. She looked up to see Nick pushing her as if her wheelchair was a motor vehicle, with sound effects to boot.

"It's like I'm driving a cop car," Nick mused, petting her head. "Which ear makes the sirens and the toot-toot?"

"The left ear. But if you pull it, the right ear will slap your face."

That gave Nick pause. Judy was pretty sure he was still thinking about doing it. At the very least, he didn't look sure about whether rabbit anatomy actually allowed her to do that. Judy sure wished it did.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she asked.

"Of course I am," he replied. "How often do I get to push around a bunny cop in a wheelchair? I need to milk this one as hard as I can."

"You can continue playing street racer after we find out where to go. Any ideas?" she began looking around the crowd of people. A large sign hung overhead, with arrows pointing in many different directions. Judy started scanning through the list.

Orthopaedics, X-ray, Pharmacy…

"Oh, I think I found it!" Nick's voice caused her ears to perk up. Her head soon followed. He was pointing to the far left of the room. She looked at the large glowing sign above the doors.

DELIVERY WARDS

She looked back at him. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Bunny multiplying jokes. Of course. Judy sighed.

"Okay, Miss Hopps. The wound was a little deep, but not life threatening. Only five stitches," A badger holding a clipboard and pen said, scribbling something illegibly on Judy's file. "You've lost quite a bit of blood though. I'm prescribing you some iron tablets to help get you back on track. No intensive activities for a while, got it? No running, jumping…"

Judy looked down at her leg. The wounded area was completely bandaged over, so she couldn't see any of the stitches. They had also cut away the bloodied portion of her jeans during the surgery, which meant that one of her pant legs was now shorter than the other. It did look odd for sure. Thankfully her leg wasn't hurting like heck anymore thanks to the anaesthetic. The room she was currently in was a modest one; she had been wheeled here after the surgery was done.

She looked back up at the badger, who was wearing a clean white coat. On the front of the coat, she saw a smaller version of his face, with the words 'Dr Matthew Morlez' written beside it.

"Yeah, don't worry, doc. I don't think I need to worry about intensive activities for a while." Judy chuckled.

"Of course you don't. You got fired." Nick's voice casually rang out from behind the doctor. He was standing by a shelf with a bunch of medical equipment and medicine.

"I didn't get fired, I quit." Judy shot back.

"That's what they all say," Nick chuckled, picking up a clear plastic bag with dubious looking green gelatinous liquid inside. "Ooh." He began poking it inquisitively.

"Sir, please do not touch the medicine." The badger frowned, turning to Nick and giving him a disapproving look.

"Anyway, she'll be fine, right?" Nick asked, placing the bag down. Judy knew it was only a matter of time before his itchy paws would reach out and touch something else.

"Yes, she will be fine. As long as she doesn't do anything to aggravate the wound. She can come back to remove the stitches in about two weeks. It'll take a little longer to get back to full fitness, but she'll get there."

Doctor Morlez turned back to her, clearing his throat. Nick immediately went to the drawer in front of him and pulled out a scalpel.

And there it is.

"Your leg will be a little numb for a while. You won't feel the pain until tomorrow morning, probably. Make sure to take the painkillers to stop that. I'm prescribing a course of antibiotics to avoid further infection too. If your fur changes colour, stop the medication and come back to the hospital, got it?"

"Uh, okay." Judy blinked, wondering what colour her fur could possibly change into.

"If you need assistance walking, you can purchase some crutches at the pharmacy, if you don't already have them yourself. Oh, and don't get the bandages wet. I'll order some spare bandages to go along with the rest of the medicine…" the doctor continued writing on the piece of paper attached to the clipboard. As Judy heard the growing list of items being read out, she felt an uneasy feeling building at the bottom of her gut.

"Doc, how much is the bill?"

The badger looked up from his clipboard.

"Oh, no need to worry, Miss Hopps. Everything has been taken care of by one Mister…Bogo." He flipped the page to confirm the name.

"Chief Bogo?" He covered all the charges? The buffalo was surprising her more and more. His attitude towards her had changed ever since she'd found the missing mammals, but that had been slight at most. This was something else altogether. But she wasn't complaining in the slightest. She'd seen the prices before for being treated in a Central Zootopia hospital, and if she had to pay the bill herself without any workplace insurance, she could forget about even living in her seedy, run-down apartment.

"That's right. You don't need to worry about the charges. If there's nothing else, you're officially discharged, Miss Hopps. Just sign your discharge papers and you're good to go." He handed her the clipboard. In the corner of her eye, she saw Nick poking the plastic bag with the scalpel. She tried not to roll her eyes as she quickly signed the paper and handed it back to the doctor. He tucked the clipboard under his arm, nodding.

"Take your time. When you're ready, just head over to the pharmacy and pass this to them to pick up your medicine." The badger handed the piece of paper he'd been scribbling on to her, before turning around to leave. But not before shooting Nick a side glare. Nick's paws were behind his back while he whistled innocently, the bag nowhere in sight. Still looking unsatisfied, the doctor left the room, never taking his eyes off the fox until he was completely out of the room.

Judy waited until she was quite sure the badger was gone, before giving Nick a disapproving look.

"Nick, you really shouldn't play with hospital stuff…"

"But they'd never let me touch it otherwise." Nick replied, pulling the hapless bag of goop from behind his back and squeezing it. "What do you think they use this for?"

As exasperating as he was, Judy couldn't help but admit that the childlike wonder in his eyes was somewhat adorable. It was one of the things that made him endearing, she guessed.

"I don't know, but you should put it down. It might be dangerous."

"It's not like I'm eating the stuff." He pulled out an oxygen mask from the corner of the room and put it over his face. "Say, I think you'd look nice with pink fur. How about it? Promise me you'll keep your fur if it turns pink."

"Nope. I might just feed you a couple of pills though. Pink fox sounds like something I'd pay money to see."

Taking her phone from the bedside table, she tucked it into the right pocket of her jeans. As she began to pull out, her paw brushed against something soft. Realising what was still inside, she quickly pulled her phone out and stuffed it into her other pocket. Thankfully, Nick didn't notice her sudden moment of panic. Either that, or he didn't think much of it.

That was close. I can't let him see this.

"So Carrots…" Nick continued. "I hear a bunny's biggest strength is in her legs, right? Well, besides multiplying, anyway."

"Well, yes...hey!"

"So, since your leg is out of order, you're gonna need someone to be your pair of legs for the next few days. I thought that maybe you'd like some help."

Judy waited for the pun, the punchline, but it never came. Although it was difficult to see through the oxygen mask, she could see his smile, and it was sincere.

"You're serious, Nick?"

"When am I not?"

Don't take the bait, Judy. "Well, if you are, then I'd…I'd like that." She smiled warmly in return.

"Fantastic. So, let me check my list. We almost got battered by rams, blown up in a fiery train explosion, and I almost mauled you to death. The next item on the list involves escaping the hospital without something blowing up." Nick began tossing the bag of goop into the air like a baseball. "Ready to go?"

Judy got to her feet gingerly. The painkillers were still in effect from the surgery, and because of that, her right leg was completely numb. She took a couple of steps forward. The first step was fine, but when her right foot contacted the ground, she didn't feel it at all; it was like her leg wasn't there. She stumbled forward with a yelp. Thankfully, Nick was beside her in a flash, and she fell against his shoulder instead of on the hard hospital floor.

"Heh, looks like baby bunny needs to learn how to walk again."

"Ha ha, very funny. It's just the painkillers, Nick. I can't even feel my legs—uh oh."

"What? What is it?"

"Nick, you…" she groaned, pointing behind him. The squishy bag of goop he had been holding was now on the floor, completely ruptured and oozing out its green contents. Nick's eyes widened.

"Okay, time to go." He placed a paw on her back and slid his other paw under her thigh, lifting her straight up and lowering her onto a nearby wheelchair. He then began pushing her out of the room, whistling nonchalantly as he wheeled her past several nurses, who seemed too busy to care.

"Nick, you should have at least cleaned up the spill…" she whispered.

"Ah, don't worry about it. They have cleaning staff for a reason. It's just some green goop. What's the worst that could happen?"

They turned the corner of the corridor, weaving past patients and staff towards the pharmacy. A minute after the pair left, Doctor Matthew Morlez walked back into the room, reading a patient's file while holding a scalding hot cup of coffee.

"EEEYYAAAAAHHHH!" The sounds of slipping, falling, and coffee spilling over places it shouldn't punctured the otherwise quiet air of the hospital.

"WHERE IS THAT DAMN FOX!?"

"I think I heard something." Judy said, her ears perking up and scanning around like radar dishes.

"You always hear something. You're a bunny."

"Do you ever get tired of making bunny jokes?" Judy frowned, looking up at him as the antelope over the counter began reading out instructions for her medication.

"Do you ever get tired of being a bunny?" Nick retorted, smirking.

"Yes," she replied as the antelope reached over the counter to pass her an overfilled plastic bag of medication.

"Well then me…" he paused. "…not bad, Carrots. You got me there."

"Let's just get out of here. I'm starving. You up for some supper?" She eyed the exit. It was already dark outside; even a tiny dehydrated carrot sounded heavenly at that point.

"Always. But I don't think the hospital will let you take the wheelchair home, Carrots."

"I'll be fine, Nick. I'm good enough to walk without a wheelchair," she replied, standing back up a little more steadily now.

"But not good enough to walk without fox support, huh?" Nick quipped, folding up the wheelchair and pushing it to a corner of the room before returning to her side.

"I'll admit that much," Judy replied, wrapping her arm around his waist as they headed towards the exit.

"Well that's a first." Nick smiled, waving his paw in front of him to open the automated sliding doors.

Judy never got a chance to make a witty comeback. The moment the doors opened, they were both blinded by intense flashes of light. The relative silence of the hospital hallway instantly turned to loud clamouring as a whole group of mammals—armed to the teeth with cameras and microphones—began closing in.

"There she is!"

"Miss Hopps, can you tell us more about the incident with Mayor Bellwether?!"

"Is it true that she is the criminal mastermind behind the Nighthowler incidents?!"

"Was your injury caused by the fox beside you going savage?!"

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers I don't need this right now," Judy whispered to herself, squinting her eyes in the face of the glaring flashes. Nick's smile was gone. There didn't seem to be anywhere to run, and the crowd was closing in.

She felt Nick's paw around hers tighten firmly. He gave her a wordless look. This time, she understood, and nodded.

He's going to…

"Fellas fellas! Calm down. I'll take your questions. Miss Hopps is still a little dazed from the anaesthetic. You there." Nick pointed at a portly pig.

"Is it true that Mayor Bellwether plotted to use you as a weapon to kill Miss Hopps?" Microphones were thrusted towards his face. Judy had to resist the urge to flinch, but Nick didn't even budge.

"Is it true that Mayor Bellwether had a weapon? Yes, yes it is."

Furious scribbling.

"Then, what can you tell us about the attack?"

Man he's a natural. I'm watching a con artist at work, Judy thought to herself. And yet, at that very point she felt as safe as she ever could have. Nick's paw began travelling to her side, gripping slowly around her waist.

"Hold on." She could almost hear his voice in her head through his touch. She lifted her injured leg slightly, shifting her body weight upwards in preparation while her free paw gripped his shirt firmly.

"The attack? Well, we don't know much about the attack. If you want to know, you'll have to ask him over there." Nick pointed to the side. Collective heads turned all at once.

But there was no one there.

"Excuse me, Mister…" the pig began, but he was cut short.

Because when they turned back, Nick and Judy were already gone.

"Oh my god, Nick. You are incredible!" Judy giggled, not sure whether it was the medicine or the situation that was making her feel tipsy. She was being carried in Nick's arms as if he had swept her off her feet.

In fact, he had. Nick's split-second reflexes had allowed them a quick escape; he had scooped her up like a baby and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction from where they were looking, leaving the crowd behind.

"Huff…huff…I normally don't have to carry a passenger when I run this fast. You should lay back on the carrots, Carrots."

Judy looked over his shoulder.

"I think you can stop running now, Nick. I don't hear any people chasing us." She placed her paws on his chest, as if to slow him down. It worked; she could feel him slowing from a run to a jog, until he finally stopped.

They both looked at each other, Nick panting heavily. Almost simultaneously, they both broke out into a smile, and then heartfelt laughter.

"So that's how you did it, huh?" Judy finally said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Years of practice, Fluff. You learn how to get away from people who realised you hustled them."

"Did you ever get caught?"

"When I first started the business, yes." Nick began walking again, still cradling Judy in his arms.

"What happened?"

"Let's just say the fur on my tail isn't my first coat. So, where are we going?"

Judy had to stifle a giggle. She did wonder in the back of her head what Nick's fluffy tail would have looked like without fur. It was probably hilarious.

"The Grand Pangolin Apartments. It's a few streets away, behind Orchard Plaza."

"Orchard Plaza? I know a good salad bar around there. What would you say to some takeaway at your place?"

"It sounds great. But Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you can put me down now."

"Of course not. What would I do if you fell over again?" he said without missing a beat.

"I won't, Nick. But thanks for the concern." She playfully punched his chest. Taking a quick glance at her pocket, she heaved a sigh of relief inwardly; the contents were still there.

Now I just need to hide it from Nick until after dinner.

"Well, if you insist," Nick said, slowly lowering the bunny to the ground.

If Judy didn't know any better, she would have said Nick looked disappointed to let her down.