Disclaimer: Zootopia and all related characters are owned by Disney. All other characters, product names, trademarks, and copyrights, belong to their respective owners.

…..

Alex was hopping in a circle around his big sister Jessie as they walked to the pond. Alex was so excited, he'd never been to the pond before. He'd heard all about the rope swing and being able to see fish. He'd never seen a live fish before, this was going to be totally excellent.

Jessie looked up from her phone at the bouncing buck and smiled. "Alex, calm down. We'll be there in a little bit."

With a giggle, Alex asked, "Who ya texting?"

"None of your business."

"I bet it's Loooogan. Logan and Jessie sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love then…."

The young doe stopped and gave her brother a look. "You had better shut up about Logan, or I'll never take you anywhere again for as long as you live. And that means no telling Mom or Dad we went to the pond either."

Alex laughed and continued teasing his sister as she watched her phone for a text from Logan letting her know when he'd be getting to the pond. She would only have a couple of hours or so before her parents came back from shopping. If she and Alex weren't home when they got there, they'd freak and if they found out she was meeting up with Logan, she'd probably get grounded.

Still no message, and then Jessie groaned as she lost the remaining bar of reception on her phone. She looked up as the pond came in sight and rolled her eyes as Alex took off toward the rope swing whooping and hollering and leaving a trail of clothes in the dirt path.

…..

With his first day of foot patrol with Buckstein behind him, Nick was enjoying a relaxing drive back to the Hopps' farm. After he and Buckstein had finished lunch at the Leapwell's place, Buckstein had spent the rest of the afternoon showing Nick important deputy things like, 'how to mosey,' where to 'take a load off' and the best, 'enjoying the afternoon sun.'

Nick smiled as he felt the cool evening air blowing in through the open windows of his convertible, well, a convertible that couldn't convert. Nick thought a moment about his dad and then decided that maybe, if he had a little downtime while he was here, he'd take a look at getting the roof working again.

Flipping his aviators onto the top of his head, he could see the sun headed to the horizon, it was a beautiful backdrop to the acres of green fields that stretched out in front of him. It had only been a couple of days since he'd arrived, but the town was already starting to grow on him.

The sound of Nick's phone ringing broke into his thoughts. "Hello, Wilde here."

Nick heard Sheriff Hoofson drawling voice in reply.

He and the sheriff had talked about ordering a radio for his car, but then they'd decided that even though the cell service around Bunnyburrow wasn't the greatest, it was good enough that ordering and installing a radio wouldn't be worth the effort. Of course, as part of the discussion, Nick had lobbied hard for a set of lights and a super loud siren to mount behind his car's grill, so far Hoofson had been just as obstinate as Bogo when it came to Nick having any cool cop toys. He hadn't broached getting one of those big smoky the bear hats yet either. Maybe in a couple of days, once he knew Hoofson better, he'd find a way to talk him into it.

"Wilde, this is Sheriff Hoofson, I know your shift just ended, but would you be able to head over to the Thrasher warren? We just got a call from Daniel Thrasher and they can't find a couple of their kits. They've looked around, but with it getting dark and all, they're getting a little frantic." Hoofson paused for a moment and Nick could tell by his tone that something else was going on.

"Wilde, the Thrashers are city buns, they moved out here maybe a year ago with a few litters of kits and they both worry a lot which means they call the office a lot. The last time we got a call like this from another of the warrens out that way, it turned out the doe was with her boyfriend, so do me a favor and see if you can settle the Thrashers down. Right now, everyone else is out on a call or too far away to help out, call me if you need backup and I'll send someone out there for you, otherwise you can let me know how it went in the morning. Okay?"

"Sure Sheriff, talk a little city talk and wait for the kits to show. Text me the address and I'll head over."

"I'll send it when we hang up, do you still have the paper maps I gave you yesterday, the cell service is a might bit spotty out that way?"

Nick quickly checked his glove compartment, "Got 'em. Thanks, Sheriff."

Nick set the phone down on the seat and a few moments later it buzzed with an incoming text. Nick pulled over, marked the address on the map and pulled back onto the road. Forty minutes later he was pulling into the Thrasher's driveway.

…..

Jessie was laying out on the edge of the pond enjoying the late afternoon sun as it started to creep down. It was starting to cool off a little and they were going to have to head back soon and still no Logan. He was so cute and she definitely meant it in the way a bunny calls another bunny cute. Tall for a rabbit and round in all the right places, she loved his strong paws and his eyes were to die for. His fur was a mottled blend of gray and black and the way his ears turned toward her every time she was near him made her heart skip.

Her mom wasn't being fair, she was the oldest doe from the very first litter and she should be able to go out on a date if she wanted to.

It was about time to get going. Jessie started to roll over and grab her wrap. What a waste, she was wearing her cutest one-piece swimsuit just for Logan. Ready for him to come walking over, pull her into his arms and….

"Jessie, look at me."

Leaving her wrap, Jessie sat up and turned toward Alex. How could any mammal have that much energy? He hadn't stopped for a second since they'd arrived. Suddenly her eyes widened, "Alex, get down from there, you'll hurt yourself."

Alex had climbed up onto the top of the old beaver dam that was holding back enough water to form the pond. Everyone knew to stay off that dam, the old beaver that built it was half-blind and couldn't drive a nail into a board straight even if he'd had an extra set of paws and a nail gun.

Alex's smile was huge as he yelled back, "Here I come, I'm Batbun" and proceeded to try a backflip that would land him in the pond. Instead, his leap dislodged a log in the dam causing him to fall the other way and land in the river along with a bunch of loose branches.

Jessie screamed and ran to the edge of the dam. Seeing Alex in the middle of the river, already too far away for her to reach, she ran down to the riverbank and tried to keep up with her brother.

…..

Nick walked up to the Thrasher's warren noticing that it was much smaller than the Hopps'. Similar to the Hopps' main house, theirs backed into a hillside also, so Nick assumed that most of the living space was under the hill. A couple of outbuildings were off to the left surrounded by a decent sized parking area, but there were only a few non-farm vehicles in sight. Probably about right for a new warren being homesteaded by a family from the city. As Nick reached out to knock on the door, it suddenly opened and he was quickly ushered inside by a frantic doe.

Showing the upset doe his badge and ID, Nick shook her paw. "Hi Mrs. Thrasher, I'm Officer Wilde."

As he started to try and calm the doe down, a buck walked out of a nearby room and with his paw extended, introduced himself, "Officer Wilde, I'm Daniel Thrasher. Thank you so much for coming out on such short notice. My mate is worried sick, two of our kits should have been home almost two hours ago and we don't know where they are."

Over the next few minutes, the Thrashers explained that their oldest daughter Jessie had taken her little brother Alex out for the afternoon. She was a responsible doe and knew better than to be gone this long. Mrs. Thrasher was sure something was wrong now because it was getting chilly out and with no moon tonight it would soon be pitch black out. Jessie knew that Alex hated the dark and wouldn't keep him out on a night like this.

"Mrs. Thrasher, did you try calling her on her cell?"

"Of course we tried, it's just that the cell service out here is terrible. We had to put in a landline just to get reliable phone and internet. Every time I call it rolls over to her voicemail. I've tried texting but no response. We checked with all her siblings and friends and no one knows where she might be."

Daniel spoke up as his mate finished, "I was just getting ready to take a couple of my kits out to look for her when you pulled up. We have a couple of flashlights, but none of us are any good in the dark."

Nick stood with his paws on his hips, chewing his lip for a moment before replying. Hoofson had warned him that the Thrashers were quick to worry, but Nick wasn't so sure about tonight. He decided it wouldn't hurt to take a look around and if he couldn't get a bead on the kits, he'd call for backup. "You're right about it getting dark. My eyesight's a lot better and using my nose, I should be able to track them pretty easily since they haven't been gone that long."

Nick asked for some of Jessie and Alex's dirty clothes and took a deep sniff. Memorizing the scent of the two kits, he handed the clothes back. "I've got their scent. I'll start tracking them and don't worry, the night is calm, so it shouldn't be a problem finding out where they went. It'll be like taking a nice walk in a Sahara Square park."

Nick went out to the front yard and started sniffing until he caught the scent of the older doe. It had been a few hours, so the scent was a little weak. It faded in and out causing Nick to lose time reacquiring it. After the fourth time losing the scent, Nick stopped, looked around and shrugged his shoulders. No one was around so he wouldn't be seen. Nick went down on all fours. Picking up the scent again, he returned to his hunt for the rabbits. After a few minutes of tracking the kits, Nick had to admit to himself that being down low was the way to go; he was making good time, and he had no problem tracking either kit's scent.

Nick came up to a small pond formed behind a poorly built beaver dam. He found a towel near the pond with a small backpack and a book laying on it. He sniffed around the shore and near the dam and found traces of both Alex and Jessie all over. He was initially worried that the kits had drowned until he found the doe's scent on the riverbank headed downstream. Nick searched around for Alex's scent and followed it to the top of the dam where it suddenly disappeared. Nick saw some freshly exposed logs and then saw some material stuck on the riverbank a few yards away.

After thinking about it for a few moments, Nick had a pretty good idea of what had happened. He needed backup in case either one of the kits was hurt. Nick grabbed his phone to call the sheriff and saw there was no service available. Putting the phone back in his pocket, he rubbed his brow, he couldn't risk the time running back to the Thrasher's to make a call, with no real choice he took off on all fours following the doe's scent trail.

A few minutes later, a gentle breeze blew through the glade that held the pond. Something changed in the humidity or the atmospheric bands or some other such thing. The change lasted for only a moment, but that moment was long enough for the phone in Jessie's bag to vibrate and ping with the receipt of a half a dozen delayed texts. As the phone went back to sleep, the preview screen showed one of the messages. Sorry Jess can't meet u at the pond, dad needs help until late call u tomorrow – L.

…..

Alex landed on his back in the river, yelling as he hit the surface. He went under and was spun around by the current and turbulence until he was disoriented. He broke through the surface coughing while bobbing in the water. Alex was pushed into a branch dislodged from the dam as he fell. Grabbing hold of the branch, Alex yelled for his sister as the river current swept him away.

Jessie was frantic as she ran along the riverbank keeping up with her brother. She could see him hanging on for dear life, long ears trailing in the water behind him with only his swim trunks on in the cold water.

"Heeeelp!" Alex screamed again.

Jessie yelled back for Alex to hang on and she'd find a way to pull him out. She patted her thigh feeling for her phone out of habit, she was wearing only her swimsuit, no pocket, no phone. She hesitated as she looked back up the river toward where she remembered leaving her phone and then heard Alex yell again. Decision made, she ran along the riverbank pacing her brother, looking for a way to pull him out of the river.

Jessie put on extra speed and ran ahead to a bend in the river, she stopped on the small bank that jutted out into the water and looked for anything to use to snag the floating branch. She grabbed a long-dead branch and turned to use it only to see Alex float by her position.

Jessie's next couple of tries failed in the same way. She had been keeping up with Alex for what felt like miles. She was getting tired and started to stumble over some of the tree roots she easily hopped over earlier. To make things worse, the sun would be setting soon. Once it got dark, she and Alex would be in real trouble, rabbits had terrible night vision.

Finally, she was in luck. Up ahead was an old tree with long branches hanging over the middle of the river, one only about ten feet up but hopefully low enough for her to snag her brother. She put on a burst of speed and headed to the tree. Grabbing the longest branch she could handle, she went out onto the lower limb and swung it into the path she hoped the river would push her brother.

"Alex! Alex! Grab the branch!"

Alex looked up from his 'raft' and reached for the end of the branch in front of him. He hung on tight as he was swung around in an arc toward the shore. When he was only a couple of yards away from the riverbank, he felt the current grab hold of him again with a sharp tug. He started to paddle with one paw to get out of the rough water and get closer to the riverbank. The current suddenly stopped pulling and he heard a loud scream and the branch he was holding suddenly went slack and started to float away.

Alex let go of his end of the branch and made it the rest of the way to the riverbank. He looked back to the tree limb his sister was just on and didn't see her.

Alex was cold and completely drenched with river water. He dragged himself up onto his feet and went around the base of the old tree to find his sister. Once there, he saw her unconscious form in the rocks. She had fallen off the branch when the river's current changed suddenly causing her to lose her balance.

Jessie's limp body was partially in the river and Alex knew he had to get her out of the water so she wouldn't get too cold. He found a safe spot a few yards away and used all his remaining energy to slowly and carefully drag Jessie out of the water.

Alex had been able to pull Jessie most of the way out of the river when his foot slipped on some wet rocks and he fell over. As he fell, his foot got stuck between a couple of the rocks and he twisted it enough that he cried out in pain. Fortunately, as Alex went down, Jessie landed on top of him instead of on the rocks. Alex was in a lot of pain, but he continued to drag his sister out of the water and onto the muddy riverbank near an old log.

Alex started to cry. His sister was unconscious, he couldn't walk, he was cold, wet, and now it was starting to get dark. This was all his fault and he didn't know what to do. Alex curled up next to his sister and snuggled into her as close as he could get and tried to stop crying.

…..

"Dylan, do you have to hit every rut and pothole in the road?" Ethan had been in a bad mood since his brothers had decided that they would go to the old beaver pond to drink their last batch of moonshine.

"This is stupid, why are we going all the way to the pond?"

Henry, the oldest of the littermates, whacked his brother in the back of the head. "Why do you think? We have to go there because those animals found our spot in the forest, and then Dad said he'd banish us if he ever caught us drinking shine anywhere near the farm."

Dylan groused, "I still don't know what Dad's problem is, we're all almost old enough to drink. Just because he thinks alcohol Is 'the devil' doesn't mean we should have to suffer."

Ethan shook his head, "Dumb ass, a year isn't almost and shine ain't legal, and besides hating alcohol, Dad don't want the sheriff chasing up and down the farm looking for a still."

Henry fumed silently while his brothers bickered until he couldn't take it anymore. "Shut up, both of you. All of this is because of those filthy cats. The Pawfields had to go and hire more preds this year to work their farm and just like all preds they couldn't keep their noses out of other people's business. Now we can't go there no more, mangy animals ruined it for us."

"Damn felines, hiring preds should be illegal," Dylan added, slapping the steering wheel.

Henry motioned, punching his open palm. "Yeah, maybe after we finish the last of our shine, we go pay them a visit."

It was quiet in the truck for the rest of the trip to the pond. It was pretty late, and nice and dark when Dylan finally pulled the small truck next to the beaver pond and unloaded a couple of liquor jars as his brothers moved a log over so they could sit down in front of the truck's lights.

…..

Nick was panting now. Splattered with mud, twigs stuck in his fur, and he was starting to smell a little ripe from the hike. Yes, a long time ago foxes tracked their meals through the wilderness, but modern civilization happened and now that he was a city fox, Nick preferred to track his meals with a phone app. It was quicker and cleaner and you could watch TV while doing it.

The trail took another sharp turn to the water line and Nick followed. Nick had been sure for a while now that one of the kits was floating down the river and the other kit was following. Every now and then he followed the trail to the river's edge and saw the signs of another attempted rescue, and then he'd was back to following the trail downriver as the rescue attempt must have failed.

It was pitch black now, not even the moon was out to lend a little light. Nick's night vision was excellent, but that didn't prevent the occasional stumble or being scratched by the thorns on a bush. He'd traveled a few miles by now and was getting tired. The scent grew stronger as he approached another outcropping into the river, the doe must have stopped here to try and pull her brother out again.

Nick sniffed around the outcropping, but the doe's scent stopped. Nick's heart sank as he realized that the doe must have gone into the water here. Backtracking, Nick started sniffing around the riverbank to see if the doe came out and after a couple of minutes of searching in the pitch black, he found the doe's scent again, and if Nick was right, her brother's too.

Nick followed his nose a short distance until he could barely make out two lumps huddling close to each other next to a downed tree trunk. As Nick got closer, he saw the lumps were a teenage doe lying still with a smaller, shivering buck pressed up against her side.

Figuring something bad had happened to the doe, Nick slowly reached out to the buck and then whispered, "Hello there, are you Alex?"

Nick heard a quiet voice reply, "H-help please, I'm so c-cold and Jessie's h-hurt."

Nick could see the buck's eyes looking blindly out toward the sound of his voice. "My name is Mr. Nick, I'm a police officer and I'm here to help you both." Hearing the kit's teeth chatter, Nick took off his shirt and laid it over the two bunnies. "This should help a little. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I-I hurt my ankle getting Jessie out of the water and I can't walk. I think Jessie hurt her head when she fell off the tree and into the water over there." The young buck's voice started to crack, "Is s-she going to be okay?"

Nick looked over to where the small buck had indicated and saw the scrape marks in the dirt and mud leading up to where the two kits were. "Alex, you must be a very brave and strong buck to have helped get your sister all the way over here."

Nick reached down and gently examined Jessie. Her breathing was steady, but she was shivering and had a decent sized bump on her head. Sniffing around her, Nick could smell a little blood from a few cuts he couldn't see. She probably had a mild concussion and maybe some other injuries.

"Alex, she looks like she will be fine, she's just sleeping right now. Do you know how long you've been here?"

"I'm not sure, a long time, it wasn't nearly this dark when Jessie fell."

Nick guessed that to float all the way here from the pond, Alex must have been in the cold water for a very long time and the sun had completely set nearly an hour ago. That meant that both the kits had been wet and cold in the chilly evening air for hours, and with their short fur, he had to worry about hypothermia. The doe needed a doctor and the young buck was cold, couldn't walk and couldn't see. He'd already checked his phone and still no service, which meant he was on his own.

It was probably three miles back to the pond and even further to the Thrasher's burrow if he couldn't call for help. Nick chewed his lip as he evaluated options. Jessie looked to be smaller than Judy, but not as lean which meant she was going to be about as heavy as his partner, and with almost the same build, Alex was about three-quarters the size of his sister. So, between the siblings, he was going to have to deal with one-and-a-half to nearly two Judys worth of weight.

He'd always believed that rabbits were cute balls of fluff until the first time he'd lifted Judy up so she could reach the coffee maker in the precinct breakroom. She was deceptively dense, probably due to her supernatural bunny strength. Of course, said strength and the possibility of being punched were reasons enough for him to keep all opinions about a bunny's weight to himself.

Jokes about bunny density aside, if it was just the doe, he could probably carry her out in his arms, both of them, no way. How about carry her, let him ride on his shoulders? In the dark, cold night through the underbrush that he had trouble enough traversing on all fours, nope.

Nick thought about a drag-along carrier, but bouncing a doe with a possible concussion through the underbrush wasn't a good idea either, even if this city fox, with ten minutes of Ranger Scout experience, could figure out how to put one together.

Another idea struck Nick, not a good idea, but it was all he had. "Alex, I think I know a way for me to get you and your sister back home, but for it to work, I need your help. Do you think you can be extra brave and help me?"

Alex replied to where Nick's voice was coming from with a slightly stronger voice. "I think so."

"Alex, have you ever met a fox?

"No."

"Well, I'm a fox. I'm going to help you and your sister, but before I start, I was hoping you could hang onto my tail for a few minutes while I get us ready to go."

Nick stretched his tail over to Alex, who grabbed hold of it. Nick hoped that the small rabbit could get used to being near a fox quickly. All he didn't need was an injured bun trying to run through the trees, terrified that he was about to get eaten.

"Wow, it's so soft and warm."

One minor problem solved, ten major ones to go.

Nick grabbed his shirt from where it lay on top of the kits and wrapped it around Jessie with the sleeves hanging loose. He used his pocket knife, go Ranger Scouts, to cut his pant legs off and then cut them into large strips. He slid the cloth strips around the Doe's waist and thighs and then made sure she was resting on her side.

He was about ready to load Jessie up when he grabbed his phone and tapping the torch icon, he handed the phone to Alex, "Here you go bud, this will help you see better."

"Thanks, Mr. Nick."

"Alright Alex, I'm ready. I need you to move over here while I tie Jessie to my back and then I want you to crawl inside my shirt next to her and hold onto my back fur real tight. Okay?"

Alex let go of Nick's tail and crawled to the other side of Nick and watched as Nick lay down next to Jessie, tied all the strips around his chest and waist. Next, Nick tied his shirt sleeves together and then rolled over onto his stomach with the doe strapped to his back.

"Alex, Jessie's all set, time for you to crawl in."

Nick loosened the sleeves so Alex could slide in next to his sister, retightened the sleeves, checked his makeshift straps, and then lifted himself and the two kits on his back until he was standing on all fours.

"Alex, I need you to hang on and tell me if you think you are starting to fall off. And uh, buddy, go ahead and turn off the light, I can actually see better without it."

After a little rustling around, Alex replied, "Thanks, Mr. Nick, The light's off and I'm hanging on real tight."

Nick grunted as he turned and started to retrace his steps along the riverbank and headed back to the pond. This was going to be a long, slow hike back.

…..

Robert Gardiner, Sarge to everyone in town, was sitting with most of his older kits around a dozen benches in their common room. Their afternoon of work out in the west barn had lasted late into the evening, but they'd fixed the combine and it would be ready to use in the morning. His mate had saved him and the boys some dinner and now she and a few of their kits were cleaning up those dishes and readying the kitchen for breakfast in the morning. With all the young kits having been put to bed a couple of hours ago, most of the family's older kits were spread out playing games on their phones, watching TV or thinking about going to bed themselves.

One of Sarge's sons, Logan, was showing him a drawing and was trying to explain something to him when Sarge heard the phone ring. He was old school and still had a landline, so he looked up toward the study. Wondering who would be calling this late at night, he heard one of his kits yell, "Mom, it's Mrs. Thrasher, she wants to know if we've talked to Jessie or Alex."

"Tell her no, and that we will give her a call right away if we do."

Logan's ears shot straight up as he heard his mom's reply. "Mom, what's going on with Jessie?"

"Liz called hours ago, she said that Jessie and Alex weren't at the house when they got home from shopping and she was wondering if Jessie was with you. I told her no, that you were working with your brothers and wouldn't be back until very late."

Logan jumped up from his seat, "Dad, I need a truck, I have to go now."

"Son, it'll be lights out in a bit, where do you need to be going at this hour?"

"Dad, don't be mad, but I was supposed to meet Jessie at the old beaver pond this afternoon. I texted her and told her I couldn't go, and now I'm afraid she went and something bad happened."

Sarge slammed his paw on the table, "How many times have I told you kits to stay away from that beaver pond, it's not safe."

"Dad, I know. Please, I need to go now."

"Fine, but not alone. Take Mitch with you."

Logan waved his littermate over and they both moved toward the door.

"Logan, you guys take the new truck, it has the bigger light bar. And radio in when you find out what's going on, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

Logan grabbed the truck keys off the panel of hooks by the door and were soon headed out to the barn to get the truck. Sarge stood by the window, with his arms folded, watching his son slide into the large truck and then carefully maneuver it down the driveway.

The truck was barely fifty yards away when Sarge's nose started to twitch followed by a tingle that ran down his back to his tail. It'd been a while since he'd felt that tingle, not since…

Using a voice that could be heard throughout the warren, Sarge called out, "Abigail Gardiner!"

An eighteen-year-old doe, studiously researching makeup techniques and proper jewelry placement for an upcoming date with a really, really cute buck, looked up in surprise. "Present."

"I want your team geared up and ready to deploy ASAP."

"What?"

"Girl, you heard what Logan said, I've got a bad feeling about those kits and Logan is engineering, not EMR. So, move your tail, I want your team at the pond before Logan gets there, and he left two minutes ago!"

The light brown doe, dressed in pink warmups, hopped up onto the table, pointed at various siblings with her nicely manicured finger, and bellowed out orders like a veteran noncom.

"All right people, you heard the Old Bun, we're taking two trucks, drivers grab the best for off-road, muddy conditions and pull them around for loadout now. Who's the medic on duty?"

A doe quickly came in from the kitchen. Wiping her paws on an apron, she replied, "I am, what's up?"

Abby pointed at the doe, "Emma, we're looking at a possible nighttime water rescue from the pond, and injuries that could include anything from broken bones to hypothermia and dehydration. Grab your gear, the trucks are being loaded outside right now."

Dismissing Emma, Abby glared at a couple of slow-moving rabbits, "We are on the clock people, move like you have a purpose!"

Sarge checked his watch and nodded proudly, they'd be ready, Abby was too good not to make it.

Sarge called out to her, "Abby, no restrictions if you need to cut across any fields, do it. Anyone raises a stink, I'll take care of it."

"Yes, sir. Pedal to the metal." Yelling at a black and brown buck standing in a doorway that opened to a room filled with electronics, "Ronald, you're on comms, finish your checks, the trucks are moving out now, now, now!"

As Sarge watched the trucks racing away, he called the sheriff's office to let them know about the failed meetup at the pond and that he had some kits on the way to scout it out. Waiting for the office to answer, he mentally rearranged next week's schedule to include tearing down that old beaver dam.

…..

Nick was feeling it. Tongue hanging out he was panting trying to cool himself down. He felt like he'd been running or hiking for hours and almost half that time he'd been doing it with nearly his own body weight in bunnies tied to his back.

"How you *pant* doing back there, buddy?"

"I'm okay, it's nice and warm now."

"Good *pant* to hear, I *pant, pant* think I need some water. *cough, pant*"

Nick had been panting hard for a while and was starting to feel dehydrated. He wasn't sure how far away from the pond he was, but he couldn't wait, he needed water now. Veering toward the river, Nick saw a flat rocky surface that jutted out from the shore. Stepping onto the rock, Nick was preparing to lean his muzzle over the side and lap up some water. He was just glad no one from the precinct was around to see this, he imagined finding old-style canine drinking bowls in his locker for the next couple of months.

"Hey Mr. Nick, you can't drink out of the river below the pond. My mom says it will give you a stomach ache."

Nick stood on all fours shaking his head, "What do you mean Alex, what's wrong with the water?"

"Mom said that with all the rain lately and the planting going on, the fertilizer is running off and cotanimaiting the river, so we're not supposed to drink from it for a few days."

"I think you mean contaminate there, Alex. What's wrong with some of the fertilizer going into the river, I thought farmers around here only used all-natural fertilizer?"

"Yeah, they do, that's what I'm talking about."

Nick bent over the edge and took a deep sniff, "Ugh, you're right." You had to have a good nose to smell it, but the river definitely had a tint of 'all-natural,' and now that Nick recognized it, he decided a drink could wait for a little while.

"Alright Alex, we can't be any more than a half a mile from the pond, just hang on tight and everything will be okay."

Nick started up the river again, he was still thirsty and worn out from the long hike, but he was determined to get these kits back home safe. Nick moved away from the river's edge to avoid the mud and find more solid ground to walk on. With his head down, panting again, Nick almost walked headfirst into the roots of a large tree.

Moving back toward the river's edge to get around the huge roots Nick saw a spot where he could walk over them without getting wet. A few more steps and he'd be around the tree.

Suddenly, Nick's left paw slipped on the flat surface of a wet rock. Nick lost balance as his arm slid out and then he shrieked out in pain. With a high-pitched howl, Nick collapsed and went face-first into the mud. As tears of pain were squeezed out of his eyes, he did everything he could to stay flat and not spill his bunny load into the mud.

A pair of ears poked out from his makeshift backpack. "Mr. Nick, are you okay?"

Breathing heavily, and barely able to talk through the pain, Nick said through clenched teeth, "Ah, it's *whimper* I'm *pant* my arm, *ah…* hang on."

Lying in the mud, Nick could feel that he had impaled his left forearm on a broken root sticking up from the ground. He took a couple of quick breaths to prepare for the pain and then carefully pulled his arm up and off the root. Pulling his arm to his chest, Nick let out another scream, this one muffled by mud. "Oh, gawd bless…, mother fu…, *moan*."

"Mom says those are bad words, Mr. Nick."

"Got it, Alex." Nick licked his arm and tasted blood, and then quietly berated himself, "Great, just great. You stupid, clumsy pelt, you thought you needed another challenge, like this wasn't hard enough already?"

Nick heard Alex quietly crying, "This is all my fault, I'm so sorry Mr. Nick."

"Alex, it's okay, I just need to catch my breath, alright." Nick grimaced as he listened to Alex and then had an idea. "Alex, I could really use your help, do you think you can help me fix my arm?"

"*sniff* Sure."

Lying in the mud, Nick reached around to his back pocket with his good arm and pulled out an old red kerchief. Groaning again, he repositioned his paw so it was behind his head. "Alex, I'm holding a cloth near your head, can you grab it out of my paw?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Lifting his injured arm up so Alex could reach it, Nick told him, "Alex, use the light and wrap the cloth around my arm where it's hurt and tie it real tight."

Alex pulled the phone out of his trunks and tried to get it to wake up so he could use the light again, but nothing happened. "Mr. Nick, the phone won't come on."

Nick groaned again, 'Great, so much for being able to call for help.' Trying not to worry the buck, Nick went with plan-B. "It's alright, Alex, the battery probably died. Can you see anything at all?"

"A little."

"Okay, buddy, I'm holding my arm up, use your paws to feel where it's wet on my arm and then put the cloth around that spot and then tie the ends together with a knot."

Nick felt the cloth on his arm as Alex found the right spot.

"Your arm's wet because your bleeding, isn't it?"

"Don't worry about that, buddy, it's just a scratch."

Nick felt the cloth tighten around his arm as Alex knotted it.

"Pull just a little tighter and then knot it again, okay. You're doing great."

Once Alex was finished tying off the makeshift bandage, Nick was able to lift himself back up on all fours and got ready to move out. "Thanks, buddy, remind me to get you a Junior Ranger Scout first aid badge when we get home. Now scoot back next to your sister and hang on."

Nick limped slowly for another half an hour before he noticed the trees starting to clear a little. Looking up, he saw the old beaver dam off in the distance. Thank god, he'd made it. "Alex, we're almost there."

As Nick got closer to the pond, he heard some music playing and saw the lights of a vehicle, still a ways away, shining in his direction. It looked like someone had a little party going.

Looking around, Nick saw a good spot about twenty yards away near the edge of the clearing surrounding the pond. "Alex, I can barely move, I need to drop you guys off over there by that tree. You stay with your sister and make sure to keep her warm and covered up. I'll get help and be right back."

Nick carefully flattened himself on the ground and then gently rolled the two kits off his back. Once they were covered up again, he rubbed Alex's head fur. "We're almost home."

Alex nodded and cuddled into his sister to keep her warm.

Nick hadn't been this sore and wiped out since running the ZPA obstacle course for the third time in one day. He was half-naked with only cutoffs on, his back was killing him, and he was cramping up. Nick tried to stand and groaned instead. As humiliating as it was, he had to stay on all fours if he wanted to be able to move at all. So, Nick painfully hobbled his way toward the parked vehicle, and hopefully, someone that could help.

…..

Ethan was still pissed about having to come all the way out to the pond, so he hadn't been drinking as much as his brothers. They, on the other hand, were already halfway to drunk. Sitting on an old log grumbling, Ethan heard the voice first. He stood up, ears erect, and looked to the source of the cries. Unfortunately, being a bunny, his nighttime vision wasn't very good, so all he saw was a hunched over, furry animal on all fours stumbling toward their campsite.

Ethan called out to his brothers, "Guys, something is coming this way, look." Pointing at the approaching creature, he heard it say something again, but couldn't make out the words.

His brothers got up and despite the alcohol were able to make out the slow-moving figure too.

Dylan squinted and was finally able to make out the form. "Whoa, is that a fox? How the hell did a fox get here and why is it hobbling around on all-fours like that?"

Henry slapped Dylan in the chest with the back of his paw, "How about we have some fun?" Dylan grinned and they both ran to the back of the truck and grabbed a couple of ax handles. Stumbling a little, they walked at a relaxed pace toward Nick swinging the large wooden handles in their paws.

Henry and Dylan separated to try and surround the fox, then they started edging closer to their prey.

Ethan called out, "Is he drunk or hurt or what?

"Don't care, the only good pred is a dead pred. Go grab the shovel in the back of the truck, we'll bury this pelt as soon as we finish giving him a beating."

Henry swung his stick under Nick hitting him in the chest and knocking him over. Nick curled up and coughed out in a weak voice, "Stop, I'm a cop, I'm a cop."

Kicking dirt into Nick's face and eyes, Dylan yelled, "There's no such thing as a fox cop, so shut your filthy, lying muzzle." And then to drive the point home, he kicked Nick in the stomach forcing the fox to curl in on himself even more.

Henry moved in and followed up his brother with a kick to Nick's side and laughed, "Damn pelt, we'll teach you what it means to come around the Burrows."

"Hey, whoever you are, leave him alone."

All three bucks looked over at the tree line as a head ducked behind a large root. "Look, there's another one over by that tree." As Ethan pointed to the tree, Henry nodded and started to walk toward the new target. "You guys finish that pelt off, I'll take care of his buddy."

Spinning the ax handle in his paw like a baseball player getting ready for his turn at bat, Henry walked toward where Alex was hiding, not realizing he was stalking a bunny kit.

Nick couldn't see because of the dirt in his eyes and he was nose blind due to the foul mud dried all over his muzzle. Fortunately, he could still roughly make out where his attackers were by listening to their movements. Realizing that one of them was headed to where he'd left Alex and Jessie, Nick screamed out "No!" and with everything he had left, he bolted to his feet and leaped toward the sound of the animal hunting his charges.

Slamming into Henry, Nick knocked him over and then moved past him. Back on all fours, he spun around and placed himself between the kits and the attacking animals and let out a loud set of vicious barks. Nick's fur was bushed out and his tail bristled as he bared all of his teeth and growled menacingly toward where he thought his attackers were.

Henry rolled over, picked up his ax handle, and looked at the now savage fox. He backed up to join his brothers. "Spread out, we hit him from three sides at the same time, and we can take him down and then get whoever he's protecting."

Tracking the voice, Nick yelled out, "I'm Officer Wilde, ZPD. You've assaulted a police officer, don't make this any worse than it already is, put down your weapons and get on the ground."

Ethan looked at the fox and then over at Henry, "Are you sure he's not a cop, they let preds be cops in the city?"

Nick snarled as he tried to blink the dirt out of his eyes, but it wasn't working. He was about to try cleaning them with his paw when he saw a couple of fuzzy, bright lights coming from a couple of miles down the road.

The bucks all looked behind them and with their better hearing, heard what Nick was seeing, two or three trucks, bright lights shining, headed toward the pond.

"Someone's coming, leave the pelt, we gotta get out of here now!"

Ethan pulled Dylan away from the fox, but Henry rushed Nick and leveled a swing at him with his ax handle, Nick ducked but not quick enough and took a glancing blow to the head. Nick yelped in pain and went down in a heap holding the side of his head.

Ethan pushed Dylan toward their truck and then pulled Henry away from the fight. They all grabbed their stuff and made a beeline for the truck. A few moments later, Ethan had the vehicle racing through an old fallow field pointed toward a road that would get them out of there.

As Nick rolled on the ground groaning, he heard the loud roars of multiple truck engines as they pulled up and came to a stop about twenty yards away, their lights illuminating a broad section of the pond shore. He was dizzy with pain, exhausted, and he had no idea what these new animals wanted, but he was going to be ready this time. Nick struggled until he was back up on all fours again and then facing toward the new threat, he limped backward until he'd positioned himself in front of where Alex was hiding. Nick bristled his fur out and prepared to defend the unconscious doe and her brother, no matter the cost.

As Nick made out some blurs slowly coming his way, he felt a small paw grabbing hold of his back fur, Alex was hopping on one foot trying to put himself in front of the fox. Waving his free paw, Alex yelled at the new arrivals, "He's a cop. My sister's hurt, please help us."

As Alex pleaded with the approaching animals, Nick reached into his back pocket, pulled out his badge, and dropped it on the ground in front of him. "I'm a cop, please help them."

Nick started to black out as he heard a female voice say, "It's okay, we're here to help, just take it easy Officer, we've got you."

…..

A/N: EMR = Emergency Medical Response