A/N: Welcome back my faithful readers, and welcome to the new readers that have joined us over the course of the last several months. 13,476 views, and several new readers to my humble little story. Thank you all for sticking around through my long absences. I first and foremost wish to apologize for the long laps in chapter. Work, my business got out of hand, Spent the better part of the last 2 years driving truck, and it was all I could do. When I had the time to write, I had no energy and when I had the energy I had no time. It became a vicious cycle of eat, sleep and drive. This chapter as with all the chapters in this story I dedicate to my friend and editor, Blkdragon7, because let's face it he wrote half this chapter for me lol. But seriously, without him and his quick thinking, this chapter wouldn't exist. But at long last I … err we rather … have a new chapter for you to hopefully enjoy, and perhaps answer a few questions that you have. So without further ado, The Reunion.
As a side note, I do not own any rights to the primary characters, they belong to Disney. I lay claim to only those that are mine. Thanks again.
Chapter 19
The Reunion
"Hello, Miss Hopps, welcome to Wilde Treats. Long time no see." Nick said with a warm and surprisingly genuine smile.
Ears falling to her shoulders. "Hello Nick … uh … do you have time to talk?" Judy asked in almost a whisper.
Nick's ears twitched imperceptibly. "Of course Judy, I always have time for you."
Leading Judy and the young mammal with her to a secluded corner, Nick sat down and took in the scene before him. Judy, a few years older, but still mostly as fit as the last time he saw her. Her once bright amethyst eyes, while still a vivid shade of purple, seemed dimmed, like some of the fire he remembered had gone out. There were a few extra care lines, and a few extra pounds, although he supposed being a mother can have that effect. Her ears laid flat against her back in a manner he knew indicated distress. He was pretty sure why, but he wanted to give her time to say why, if even she would. In his eyes she was still as beautiful as ever.
Taking a surreptitious breath in through his nose, Nick took in the scent of the two mammals across from him. Judy's scent he knew intimately and felt it, just by smelling her again, a small piece of the pain that had lived and festered in his heart, unwind slightly. The scent of the kit is what was throwing him. She had hints of her mother, clear notes of her unique self, which was definitely clover. And then as with any kit, hints of the father. What bothered him was how familiar that part of her scent was, but he just couldn't quite place it.
His attention turned to the box? Funny? sitting next to her. Part fox, part rabbit. With eyes that truly command attention. One eye was a stunning vivid purple like her mother's with flecks of emerald green here and there. The other was a deep emerald green like his own with purple flecks of its own. Her fur was the same ruddy orange he had, with the same cream color as his on her neck. All with a subtle silver shimmer. Her muzzle was longer then a rabbits, but far shorter than a fox's. Her ears were a bit shorter then a rabbits, and instead of being rounded at the tops they were pointed much like a fox. All in all a truly gorgeous young lady. Nick thought to himself
The young fox/bunny sat before him and was similarly studying him. Her eyes darted up and down, never lingering in one spot for too long. She was polite, but very observant. The intelligence was clear in her eyes as she clearly evaluated him.
Turning his attention back to Judy, who just sat there quietly, with her eyes lowered, and paws in her lap.
Nick was dying to know what happened to her over the last 8 years. He knew exactly where she was almost from the start, but wanted to hear from her what happened.
"So who is this gorgeous young kit. She is obviously a hybrid, A Box or perhaps." Nick said with a bit of a smirk. "A Funny?" Nick began.
Looking up Judy, took a deep breath, ignoring his clear attempt at disarming humor. "Nick, I would like you to meet Nichole. We call her Chloe for short. I decided to name her species Fobbit. It sounded better to me than the others."
Nick reached part way across the table to shake Chloe's paw. She slowly took it, ever cautious. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Chloe, is it?" Chloe shook his paw with a nod, showing obvious reverence that a young fox would show an elder.
Nick sat back, "Chloe the Fobbit, I love it. She is an absolutely beautiful young lady. You did well raising her so far. I see many very fox forward traits in her demeanor. Her fathers influence, no doubt." Nick smiled warmly again, hoping to reassure Judy who was clearly nervous.
Judy looked at Nick a moment, with a slight shimmer in her eyes, and nodded. Nick didn't miss the hint of humor that flashed in Judy's eyes at the thought that Chloe was similar to her father. "Yeah. No question about that."
At that moment the waitress stepped up. "Can I get anything for you folks, Boss?"
Nick smirked at her. "I'll have a blueberry shake, and Judy, strawberry?" Judy nodded. Nick turned then to Chole, "and for you Chloe? No, let me guess, Strawberry?"
Chloe gave Nick a sly, fox worthy smirk, smug on full display. "No sir," Looking up at the waitress. "Raspberry please."
"Well you heard her Snow, Raspberry." Nick chuckled.
"Boss, stop callin' me Snow." The arctic vixen huffed playfully at him.
"Just as soon as you stop callin' me Boss."
Smiling at Nick. "Sure Boss, anything you say." She chuckled, and turning, went to fill their orders.
Once the server was out of ear-shot, Nick smiled gently. "So who was the lucky fox? No wait, don't tell me, let me guess. It was Gideon wasn't it."
Shaking her head, "No Nick, there was never anyone after you."
Surprise registered in Nick's ears and eyes for a split second, before his mask dropped back into place. The realization that he was in fact Chloe's father, despite his initial suspicions based on her eyes and fur, hit him harder than he expected and it took all his time as a hustler and business mammal to keep the shock suppressed. The part of her scent that was bugging him clicked into place as well, his own unique scent of violet and sandalwood.
"After I left, I simply shut down. Hours became days, which slid into months. I merely existed for the first 6 or so months. I finally sought help after Chloe was born. And that help led me to come here." Judy said.
The waitress returned with their order and set them down. Giving Chloe a wink, she smiled at the others and left again.
"So I'm part of your treatment?" Nick asked, as he took a sip of his shake, genuinely curious as to how that works, and maybe a bit defensive as well. If he were being totally honest, he missed her, but was still also deeply hurt.
"No Nick! Not at all. My treatment ended a couple years ago. Had a really good psychotherapist. She suggested towards the end of my last session, that I confront some of the major things in my past. And one of the biggest is you. Well not you specifically, but the reason I left, and the pain I can only assume that I caused. For which I am truly, genuinely sorry." As she said that a tear slipped from her eye, and she wiped it away with a bit more anger than one would have thought was necessary.
Was she angry at herself, her tears, or the past? Nick wondered, and was even more curious as to how this would play out. Tapping back into his decades of skills as a hustler and now business owner, he suppressed any and all emotional responses, knowing he needed to hear her out fully first. Being angry, hurt, or emotional at all would distract from and color what she had to say, and he knew he owed it to both of them to hear her out properly. He knew from his own introspection of the past few years that his own biases and not properly listening to her had, at least in his own mind, contributed to her leaving him.
Taking a deep breath, Judy said, "And I guess that is as good of a place to start as any."
Judy used finally sampling her milkshake as a distraction and excuse to give herself a moment to collect her thoughts. After savoring the sip, she smiled weakly. "This is really good, Nick. But I guess it's story time." Glancing to the side and Chloe. "Don't worry, she knows most if not all of it. I never hid you from her. … I was…" She sighed, the memory clearly painful. "I was really looking forward to returning to active duty back then. That is until I received that letter from the MLD, you remember that I'm sure." Nick nodded in the affirmative. "Well that was the breaking point. My breaking point. My mind. My spirit. My very soul broke that day. I snapped emotionally. I knew from that point that I was truly a broken bunny, and would be nothing but a burden." Seeing Nick about to offer a rebuttal to her statement, she held up a paw. "Let me finish, Nick, I've been holding this in for far too long. I… I really just need to get this out."
Nick nodded and sat back, taking another sip of his own milkshake as Judy did the same with hers to get her mind back to the story. "I just knew that I would be nothing but a burden. To you. To my friends. To the world. The night we argued I decided to leave. To relieve you of the burden that I was positive I'd become. I just knew, even if I know better now, that I was just going to drag you down. How could you possibly be happy with a broken mammal like me? I know. I know." Waving a dismissive paw in the air. "Rhetorical question. I convinced myself that if I was a burden to you, I'd be a burden to everyone at some point. For a time, in a massive self-pity-party, I guess I even was. But I'm getting a little ahead of the story.
That night after we argued, I packed a few things, snuck out, and took a taxi to the train station. From there I went to the one place I knew I could go to just … hide. Hide from the world. From life. And maybe most of all, from you. Though I think… No… I know now, I was hiding mostly from myself.
Somehow mom knew what had happened before I arrived. Moms always know." Glancing at Chloe with a fox worthy smirk that got an equally fox worthy eye roll in response. "Of course my dad tried to make it sound like you had kicked me out or got arrested for something shady or some such, despite knowing better. I defended you. At that moment, it was about the only thing I could give any energy to. I will always defend you, Nick, because I knew it was all on me. You never did, and I don't think you even could, do something to hurt me.
The following month or two are a bit of a blur. I was thankfully left mostly to myself, when not defending you to dad, and was not being required to really do anything, or interact with anyone besides mom. I helped where I could, of course, because that's what you do when on the farm. But I basically just existed. Then about a month after I left, I woke up feeling awful, ran to the bathroom, and well I'm sure you can imagine what happened next. After a few more mornings like that, I decided to go to the burrow clinic and get tested. I was pretty sure that I was pregnant but wanted to confirm it."
"So this gorgeous young lady is my daughter? Nick asked as if to confirm his thoughts and unable to keep the awe from his voice.
"Yes Nick, Nichole Pursephone Wilde. Your daughter." Nick looked at Chloe a bit more intensely after that. Something that did not go unnoticed by Chloe.
Continuing with her story. "After about 9ish or so months, Chloe was born. It was a relatively easy birth given her size and the fact it was my first, and only birth. It was bittersweet, because I was happy that she was yours, but depressed that I knew I wouldn't be able to share her birth and growth with you." Judy sighed heavily and wiped her eyes again. "Even then, I felt like I would be a burden, and then burden you with a kit. She has never been such. Smart, startlingly so, just like her father. Quick witted. Patient. And shrewd beyond her years. I honestly couldn't ask for a better child. She brings me joy and delight everyday."
Judy paused for a moment to take a sip from her still surprisingly unmelted shake and recollect her thoughts before she continued. She was surprised at just how fresh the berries tasted. Clearing her throat, she continued.
"Anyway. After Chloe was born, I was talking to my brother Charlie, you didn't get to meet him when you were there for the family get-together. He was in college, taking exams for his doctorate in psychology of all things when you were there. Has his own practice now. We were talking about why I came back and he suggested that I see someone. So with his help, I found an incredibly good therapist. Dr Alanya Sloan. She was apparently one of his mentors and specializes in working with mammals from the military, police, and other first responders. I spent 6 years, twice a week with her, going over everything about me, my childhood, my old try everything mentally. My time at Zootopia Police Academy, the Night Howler scandal.
Lionhearts and Bellwethers part in it. All of it. But, mostly what caused me to feel like a broken bunny. And I came to realize one thing about myself. I wasn't the one that was broken, not mentally anyway. Bogo put it best when he said, the world has always been broken, Hopps. I just ended up caught up in the fallout.
Yes I was still broken on the inside, physically, but emotionally and mentally I was still just as strong and determined as ever. And it took me a while to make personal amends. I had to forgive myself. And even longer to build up the courage to confront those that I most grievously wronged. You.
I, of course, started working the roadside stands in the summer as all of us did. I didn't need the money, it was simply a distraction. It was a way to stay busy until Chloe came. Then it was all about her for a time. You were partially right, when you asked about Gid. He helped with some things. Not directly, but certainly with advice. Which is why she has the demeanor she does. Gid has been a good friend these last few years. And I owe him a lot. He helped me understand Chloe and the fox part of her so I could respond and help her grow.
Him, my family and close friends, all helped to bring me back, after a few years I was almost back to feeling normal, like I did prior to the accident. I felt lighter in spirit, stronger in my determination. I knew I couldn't return to the ZPD, but Sherrif Long was willing to put me on duty part time with the Burrows Sheriff's Department. He knew about my record, had a few concerns of course and I had to prove myself. But unlike the MLD, he was willing to listen about the NIB, it's capabilities, etc… and in the end he hired me. Within two years I made detective. I think the promotion was at least partially to keep me out of the direct line of fire after the Bernellie Brother's incident this past May."
Nick looked at her with mild confusion and more than a bit of surprise. "Don't tell me you tangled with Frank and Hugo Bernellie‽"
Judy chuckled darkly. "The same. They tried to set up operations out in the Tri-Burrows area, thinking a bunch of hicks and farmers would be the perfect cover to farm their special brand of Nip. What tipped us off was the purchase of seldom used chemicals from the farm stores. Not just the type, but the sheer quantity. Thousands of gallons of the stuff. That's where they goofed. They didn't even bother trying to spread the purchase out across multiple stores, just placed a massive order from the Bunnyburrow Feed & Seed.
That of course led us to their 300 acres of Nip in various stages. No growing license, or permits. They are currently doing hard time at Up State for growing and distribution of a controlled substance without a license, failure to provide proof of license to grow, and other charges. Money laundering from the operation because they didn't bother to try and even pretend it was legal. You get the idea. Wasn't even their land. Just set up shop on the land of one of the old collapsed borrows that went under because the terrain wasn't good for growing much, with the actual exception of Nip."
Nick chuckled as Judy continued. "Really, the idiots could have made a legitimate business out of it, now that it's legal, if one gets the right permits, like you did all those years ago for the Pawpcicle hustle. I guess they were just too used to doing it the way they did. After busting them, and uncorking the entire Bernellie Nip operation,I was promoted to Detective, I'm quite sure as I said, to keep me out of the cross hairs from the rest of the Bernellie gang, who it is believed remain here in Zootopia, hiding of course. The kicker of it is, I'm stuck in the office more often than not and by Saren do I miss the field. But rank, they say, hath its privileges. RHIP, and all that."
Taking another sip of her shake. "This is really good, the berries taste so fresh."
"All made in house." Nick said with a proud puff of his chest. "The berries are supplied by a local farm, the almond and cashew milk for the ice cream also supplied by local growers. The ice cream itself is made in house by some very talented mammals. Hence why this building, which as you remember was designed for mega fauna, made the perfect 3 story building for both in house production and sales. I had the building remodeled to its current size, so this diner could be added and a parking lot put in. And yes, I did investigate using actual milk, but the regulations and cost for that is just abusively absurd. I mean… I get it, but it would have meant a cost of like ten grand per gallon of ice cream. Got to show control for the named cheese, as it were. You remember that case, right? So yeah, no. I mean, I could, and I suppose if someone offered me enough up front, I would, but for sure would have to keep it above board and fully documented."
Judy gave a genuine laugh. "Oh dear gods, don't remind me of that nightmare. Hopps Havarti." Giving a hard shiver. "I will never understand how mammals think they can get away with things like that. I do need to ask though. How did you afford all of this?"Judy asked, "After what you did for me you couldn't have had that much left, and I know you didn't dip into mine, even though I wouldn't have really cared at the time."
"That my dear bunny is a story for the ages. And one I'm happy to tell, but please finish your tale." Nick said with a bit of smug showing.
Giving a nod, Judy continued while Chloe sat there in silence, simply observing her mom and the fox that was her father. The interaction was a bit strained, appropriate given the time apart, and the circumstances which caused it. Her father seemed to be a savvy business mammal, who knew a thing or two about business. Chloe had a feeling she knew where the berries came from. But held her tongue. Time would tell if he was the mammal her mom made him out to be. To her, Nick, her father, seemed a bit over smug, over confident. A hold over from the days of being a hustler perhaps. Her mom had told her the stories so often she was familiar with them all.
They talked for a while longer, reminiscing on old cases and talking about what Chloe was like when she was a baby, through to now, when Judy excused herself to use the little bunny's room. Nick used this time as an excuse to interact a bit with Chloe.
"How is the shake?" Nick asked.
Startled, but quickly regained her composure. "It's good, the berries taste like the ones back home. Do you own this restaurant? Are you really my dad?" She said in the rapid fire cadence of a typical 8 year old.
Holding up both paws, "Whoa slow down kiddo. Yes I do own this restaurant, and yes apparently I am indeed your dad, if what your mom says is true. I have no reason to doubt her. As far as the berries go, well that's part of a longer story I'm sure will be told soon enough."
Both took a sip from their shakes as Judy returned. Looking between the two, she sat for a moment in silence. Then looking back at Nick, "Well now that you know my story of woe, how about you. What did you do after I so "gracefully left." Judy said using air quotes.
"Well, that is quite the story actually. It's long and sometimes boring." Nick said with a smirk.
Judy sat for a moment, took a sip of her shake and then gestured for him to continue.
Nick's brow furrowed and darkened slightly as he thought back to that night. A night when his world quickly and drastically changed around him once again