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

…..

Nick wandered down the hall toward the kitchen, yawning wide, and stretching his arms. With a quick double-take, he looked around to make sure no bunny saw his wide-mouthed, full-fang stretch. Fortunately, he was in the clear.

It was waaay too early in the morning to be up, especially after dinner last night. Smoothing out his carrot print pajamas, he started to devise a way for nocturnal mammals to take over the agency that controlled daylight savings time and get them to start the morning around noon.

Passing the common room, he saw that the tables were about a third full of bunnies eating cereal, pancakes, and fresh fruit. Almost to the kitchen, he caught the whiff of something he didn't think was possible here, fresh coffee.

"Good morning Mrs. H., that coffee smells delicious."

Bonnie watched Nicholas enter and chuckled at his pajamas. "Good morning Nicholas, trying to fit in I see – love the pattern."

"Yeah, these were Sunni, Sasha, and Susan's idea. I figured they'd get a kick out of me actually wearing them."

Grabbing a mug, Nick poured himself a cup of joe and blew on it to cool it off. "Although it'd probably be in my best interest if Judy doesn't find out about these, I'm not sure I can handle the teasing."

"Your secret is safe with me. Not so sure about the kits, though."

Bonnie nodded her head toward the common room, and Nick turned to see a couple of young does taking pictures with their cell phones, giggling, and comparing images.

Nick smiled and took a tentative sip from his mug, testing the temperature, "Oh yeah. My dignity is a small price to pay for a good cup of coffee."

"I'm glad you like it. Janae picked up a package of coffee from Gideon's and told me that you had a 'thing' for it, so I pulled our coffee maker out of storage."

"Thanks, Mrs. H., I'll have to thank Janae too when I see her, this is good."

Holding the mug, Nick warmed his paws and savored the taste while the caffeine started coursing through his veins. He broke away from his reverie as Bonnie slid a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of him.

Looking up at Bonnie, Nick said, "Has anyone ever told you that you're an angel?"

Bonnie chuckled as Nick took a deep whiff of the tall stack of deliciousness. "Only when they want something."

"Definitely, I would love a peek at your recipe book, specifically the blueberry section."

Bonnie could tell that Nick was a charmer, so she retaliated with a big smile, "No can do, Officer Wilde, that book is filled with Hopps family secrets too special for mortal mammals, especially the recipes that involve blueberries."

Nick smiled himself and broke out his best puppy dog look, wide, sad eyes, head tilted to the side, bottom lip trembling. He even threw in a quietly pleading, almost injured whine. He'd conned many a mammal with this look.

"Pleeeease, Mrs. H."

Bonnie rolled her eyes at his antics and asked, "Has that look ever worked on Judy?"

Nick dropped the face and sighed as he replied, "No, not really."

"Well, it's not going to work on me either."

Nick slowly picked up his plate, and with rounded shoulders hunched over and his tail dragging dejectedly on the floor, he very slowly shuffled toward the dining room. Only a few feet away, Nick took a deep breath and let it out in a loud, stuttering, emotional way, and then with one last sniffle, he stepped across the threshold into the other room.

Bonnie watched the pathetic display as Nick made his way to the dining room. Looking up at the ceiling, she shook her head, "Fine, one recipe, you can pick it out, and we'll make it together for dessert one evening this week."

Nick instantly brightened up and rushed back into the kitchen and gave Bonnie a hug, "Thanks, Mrs. H., you're the best."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just don't tell Judy what you did, I don't need her thinking I'm getting soft in my old age."

Laughing, Nick started back toward the dining room when Bonnie stopped him, "Nicholas, Colton and his littermate Cody are helping Stu work on his old truck out in the large barn, it might be interesting if you like old vehicles. Stu won't get rid of that old truck, which means he's always tinkering with it to try and keep it running."

"Sweet, when I'm done eating, I'll change and head out." Lifting his bandaged arm up for emphasis, he added, "I didn't have anything planned for today anyway."

…..

Judy was walking down the sidewalk, enjoying a pleasant morning in the sun. Even though she didn't have to work today, she'd gotten up before her alarm went off and gone for a nice long run. The park had been a little more crowded with joggers than usual because it was the weekend, but she knew of a few scenic trails that were designed for small mammals, so she was able to get in a good run without worrying about being trampled by any of the larger mammals.

Judy had stopped at a small grocery store after she'd finished stretching from her run, and now she was walking the last few blocks to her apartment building as a warm down.

As Judy turned the corner and approached the Grand Pangolin Arms, she saw one of her neighbors sitting on a large suitcase surrounded by boxes, bags of clothing, and an animal cage all on the front sidewalk.

Coming up on the skunk doe reading something on her phone, Judy asked, "Hey, Mindy, what's with all the boxes and bags?"

Mindy looked up from her phone and smiled, "Hey, Judy," and then nodding toward the building entrance behind her, she added, "moving day."

Looking up at the entrance, Judy saw their landlord, Mr. Critterly, a thirty-something Red Panda, wearing torn jeans and an old dirty white t-shirt, standing at the top of the stairs with his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face.

Judy grimaced a little at seeing the panda, ever since he'd taken over the building from Dharma Armadillo, the only thing he'd been prompt about doing was collecting the rent. Turning back to Mindy, she asked, "What do you mean?"

Mindy shrugged, "Bruiser got loose again, and this time that old creeper saw him in the hall. Critterly got me on the lease's 'no pets' clause and told me I had to get rid of Bruiser or leave."

Judy cooed when she saw a pair of eyes blinking from Mindy's lap, giving away the presence of the small chameleon. Judy reached out and lightly scratched the lizard on his head. Bruiser leaned into Judy's touch, and after a moment, she could hear his quiet purring.

"Who could ever be so mean to such a happy little guy?" Turning toward Critterly, Judy returned his scowl.

Mindy turned around and joined Judy in glaring at Critterly, and then Bruiser ran up Mindy's arm and standing on her shoulder, hissed his own displeasure at the red panda. Critterly huffed at the angry display and waved a paw in dismissal of the group before opening the entryway door.

Seeing Critterly about to step into the building lobby, Mindy quickly raised her paw and giving the finger to her former landlord, barked out, "I better get all of my deposit back, you sleaze." The last thing either girl saw before the door closed was the landlord returning Mindy's suggestive gesture.

Judy chuckled at her neighbor's tact, "That probably didn't do anything to help speed up getting your deposit back."

"Maybe not, but it sure felt good. That degenerate slimeball has been useless ever since he took over the building."

Judy reached out and scratched Bruiser again, "Do you want me to see if there's anything the housing board can do?"

Mindy shook her head, "Nah, ever since that squirrel at the end of the hall got booted, I've been looking for another place to live, I figured it was only a matter of time before that maggot panda came after me."

Surprised, Judy said, "What? I didn't know that guy got kicked out, what happened?"

"His girlfriend stayed over one too many times. Any more than a couple of days a month and wham, lease violation. He had to either add her to his lease or leave, he decided to move in with her at her place."

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen him around for a while."

"Yeah, I think our scumbag landlord is trying to take the building condo or something. He's been snooping around and writing people up, no matter how small the violation, it's almost like he's looking for an excuse to toss mammals out."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"My old college roommate has a place with an extra bedroom, and the building allows pets, so I'm moving in with her. She should be here in a minute with her brother and his truck to help me with my stuff.

"Judy, you may want to start looking around too. This place is a dump. I mean, I was done with communal showers after my first year living in the dorms at school, and when you add in the fact that he's started to charge us for delousing, the heat barely works, there's no AC, no workout facilities, and the frosting on the cake, Mr. Lazy Ass still hasn't installed any lobby door locks, something I've been asking for since that witch, Dharma, ran the place."

Putting a paw on Judy's arm, Mindy huffed, "Us delicate does need to worry about those kinds of things, no way do I want any of the shady characters that Critterly hangs out with anywhere near me or my sweet little Buster." Scratching her chameleon along his back and down his tail, Mindy cooed and made some kissy-face noises until Buster started to rub his cheek against Mindy's paw.

Looking up from her loving pet, Mindy said, "Judy, trust me, Critterly is a flaming POS, and he deserves to be buried under a truckload of manure, or squished by a rampaging elephant, or both. Hell, I'm almost glad he booted me out, no way is living here worth the grief, and it's certainly not worth the rent he charges."

Judy was torn between agreeing with the less colorful parts of her neighbor's rant and having to go back to the store to get some ear wash to undo the damage Mindy had just inflicted on her sensitive appendages. In the end, she decided not to get into it with Mindy. It had taken her way too long to find this place when she first moved to Zootopia, and even with as bad as it was, she didn't want to have to go through a search like that again. So, instead of egging the skunk on, she just said, "Thanks, I'll keep an eye out. I live alone, and I'm pretty quiet, so hopefully he'll just leave me alone."

Mindy got a coy look on her face, "Alone, huh, how about that good-looking fox you're always hanging out with?"

"Mindy, he's my partner at the ZPD."

"Oh, okay, well in that case, here," Mindy handed Judy one of her contact cards from work, "give him my number and ask him to call me. You know, once you go skunk, no one else ever smells as fine." Nudging Judy lightly with her elbow, Mindy leaned in, "I made that last part up just now."

Before Judy could roll her eyes or reply, a truck pulled up and parked in front of the small pile of boxes. Mindy's new roommate and her brother both got out of the vehicle, and after a few quick greetings everyone, including Judy, helped load the truck up. Once the sidewalk was empty, and Bruiser safely on Mindy's shoulder, Judy and Mindy gave each other a hug.

"Good luck, Judy."

"You too, Mindy."

Judy waved as the truck pulled away and then headed into her building. Passing a trashcan, she was about to throw Mindy's contact card away, no way was she going to give it to her fox, when Judy suddenly started chuckling with a much better idea. If Mindy was interested in meeting a fox, Judy knew exactly the right one to introduce her to.

…..

Nick made his way out to the large barn. This was the largest of all the barns, being big enough to park multiple tractors, a plow, a flatbed trailer, and a variety of different pull-behind implements. The walls were covered in tools, and at least eight workbenches were mounted to the perimeter walls, most holding partially completed projects.

Nick headed to the back corner where all the activity was. This part of the barn was split between a machine shop and a repair bay. He spied an old pickup truck on a portable lift. Nick recognized the truck as the one that Judy had driven from Bunnyburrow to Zootopia a year ago to find him and tell him about her Nighthowler discovery. Now it looked like it was in surgery, and the prognosis couldn't be good.

"Nick," hollered Colton as he waved, "we're back here."

Stu came around from behind the lift dressed in old, grease-stained overalls, and grunted at seeing Nick amble into his domain.

"Hey, Colton, good morning Mr. Hopps," and then nodding toward the truck, "Mrs. H. said there was a little surgery going on out here. How's the patient doing?"

Stu folded his arms across his chest and was about to say something about foxes needing to mind their own business, when Colton broke in, "Come over here, we were just getting ready to remove the transmission."

Nick grimaced at seeing Stu giving him the hairy eyeball, so he quickly went over to where Colton and his littermate were standing. "What's wrong with the transmission?"

Stu spoke up before his boys could answer, "Have you ever worked on a car or truck before? Some of the repairs we have to make can get pretty complicated, and not every mammal is used to that kind of detail-oriented work."

Nick shrugged, "A little. The car I'm driving was my dad's, and when I was a little kit, he and I did most of the repairs to get it up and running. We had to replace the brakes, install a new alternator, new belts, and do a tune-up. Probably the hardest thing we had to do was replace the radiator."

Stu, a little surprised by the fox's answer, waved Nick back, saying, "How about you stand over there and yell if you see anything snagging on the transmission as Colton pulls it forward."

Colton undid the brackets, and then he and Cody slid it out. As it cleared, Cody started to slip. Instead of yelling, Nick jumped under the transmission, taking the weight on his right shoulder and arm. Once Cody regained his footing, Nick helped the rabbits place the transmission on the workbench.

Stu watched as Nick brushed himself off and asked, "Are you alright?"

"No problem, Mr. Hopps, I used my good arm. Although I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell Mrs. H. what I just did, she told me to take it easy."

Stu shook his head, maybe Bonnie was right and he needed to give the fox more of a chance. Maybe. "Don't worry, what happens in the barn stays in the barn."

Throughout the next hour, Nick, using his good paw, and the younger bucks disassembled the unit under the direction of Stu.

Once the gears were exposed, Stu grumbled, "This looks bad, half of the gears are stripped, and one of them is cracked and wobbly. This shaft looks bent too."

Colton looked up at his dad, "Do you think we can machine something, or are we looking at a new transmission?"

Stu stroked his chin thinking about the various parts around the farm and then shook his head, "Neither, we don't have anything close enough to modify, and this truck is older than I am. They don't make parts for trucks this old anymore, and I went through all the junkyards in the Tri-Burrows area the last time she broke down."

Stu sighed, this was his dad's first truck, and it was a hobby of his to keep it running. His thoughts were bouncing around reviewing increasingly desperate ideas on how to fix the transmission. As he started contemplating how duct tape could play a role in the repair, his sensitive ears picked up a tap, tap, tap noise. Looking up, he saw Nick typing a number on his phone.

Nick turned on his phone's speaker, so everyone could hear, "I know a guy."

A voice on the phone announced, "Ridgeway Pull and Pay, this is Jake, how can I help you?"

"Jake, this is Nick Wilde, how are you?"

"Alpha Foxtrot, he lives and breathes, what have you been up to, we've been missing our best sniper."

Nick tried to answer, but Jake was yelling, "Josh, Josh, get your butt in here, Nick's on the line. Hang on, Nick."

Nick finally broke in, "Jake, get your dad too, I'm helping a friend find an old truck part."

"DAAAD. NICK'S ON THE PHONE, HE NEEDS TO TALK TO YOU!"

Nick seeing all the rabbits cringe, reached down and adjusted the phone's volume a bit. A few moments later, a couple of new voices joined the conversation. There were competing questions from Josh and his dad until the older mammal quickly won out.

"Nicholas, you haven't been over in a long time, how are you doing?"

"Hi Mr. Hunter, sorry I haven't been by. I started a new job and all. I'm actually working in Bunnyburrow for a couple of months and ran into something I was hoping you could help me out with."

"Sure son, what do you need?"

"I have you on speaker with Mr. Stu Hopps. He's looking for parts for an old truck. I'll let you guys talk, Mr. Hopps, this is Mr. Karl Hunter if he can't find your parts, no one can."

Nick, Colton, and Cody listened in as Stu and Karl quickly got down to business. Stu described his truck and the parts that were damaged. Karl didn't have that model year truck on the lot, so they both debated compatible parts from different years. Nick smirked, the two old-timers were going to be at it for a while.

Colton, padded up next to Nick and in a low voice, asked, "Alpha Foxtrot?"

"Yeah, my gaming handle, haven't played much lately, but Josh, Jake, and I used to team up all the time."

"What are their tags?"

"Jake is FoxFire and Josh is QuickPaw"

Colton started waving his littermate over, "Cody, those guys are Skulk Prime."

Nick did a double-take, "Do you guys play?"

Colton nodded, "Yeah, I'm Buckshot, and Cody is Rogue Bun."

"Sweet, you're the Crazy Hares, right?"

Stu whooped as Nick overheard Karl report back that one of his old wrecks should have what was needed. The conversation started to focus on how to get the parts to Bunnyburrow when Colton hopped over and got involved.

"Dad, Cody, and I will drive to Zootopia and pick up the parts." Moving closer to the microphone, he called out a challenge, "Hey Jake, would you and QuickPaw like a team deathmatch with the Crazy Hares, in person?"

"Seriously, I can't believe it, I'm talking to team Crazy Hares. You guys are going down!"

Nick heard some frantic pleading from the other end about Colton and Cody staying the night, and no they won't stay up all night, and they swore they would get the basement cleaned out. After a few more negotiations were had, he was able to retrieve his phone and walk over to Stu.

Stu had a grin on his face and was lightly bouncing on his feet. "Thanks, Kurt knows his stuff, I can't wait to get the old truck running again."

"No problem, Mr. Hopps. Mr. Hunter used to help my dad and me out when we needed parts for the convertible I'm driving."

Tilting his head a bit and with a gleam in his eye, Nick added, "If you'd like to make a friend for life, Mr. Hunter loves strawberries and his mate likes blueberries almost as much as I do."

Stu smiled at the suggestion and directed his boys to load up some of their best berries as a gift for the Hunters while Nick headed into the house to clean off any evidence of working on the truck before Mrs. H. caught wind of his transgressions.

Half an hour later, after Nick had carefully washed the grease off his paw, his phone buzzed with an incoming text message. Looking at his phone, he saw it was from Sheriff Hoofson.

Nick, no work tomorrow so your arm can heal another day. We do need you to come in a little before 4. Mayor has a press conference set up to brief the rescue. She wants to give you a pat on the back, so please wear your dress blues.

Nick rolled his eyes. Seriously, a press conference? Anyone would have done what he did, hell, Carrots would have figured out a way to lash together an ambulance and would have had the kits out in half the time. Figuring there wasn't any way out of it, he sent back a text letting the sheriff know he'd be there with bells on.

You city slickers sure have a funny way of dressing up :)

Nick groaned at the dad joke and went to grab some lunch.

…..

Judy dropped her laundry bag on her bed and pulled out all the still warm clothes. Aside from Mindy moving out, and the ear maintenance she'd had to do because of their conversation, it had been a quiet day of hanging out topped off with laundry. Judy had pitched all the Musk Mask cleaners and laundry detergent into the trash, she was done with ever doing that level of cleaning again. The last few nights of sleeping with her marked fox plushie had made it clear that she liked the scent of a certain fox and she was a grown doe, and if that's what made her happy, then she didn't have a problem with it, and if Garrison did, well she could just go–

Judy shook her head to stop herself from going all Mindy-like on Garrison, instead she decided to focus on more fun thoughts.

Yesterday's soccer game was so much fun, and the kits were the best. She wished there was something fun, and cheap, she could treat them to. Judy was living on the edge financially, between rent and her student loans, she had to watch her pennies. Her last big splurge was buying the salmon for Toni and her family. She really shouldn't have, but it was so worth it, she didn't feel a bit sorry about the cost.

Hmm, what would Nick do if he wanted to do something fun for his friends? Shaking her head, she laughed, 'Dumb bunny, he'd hustle someone or call in a favor.'

Judy pulled out her under bed drawer and put her folded clothes in it and pushed it back. Picking up one of her uniforms, she pressed it out with her paw, put it on a hanger and hung it up on the rack next to the purple dress Janae had bought her.

Running her paw through the fabric of the dress, she remembered Nick's vivid description of what he thought she would look like when she finally wore it. A coy smile broke out on her face as she imagined her own version of what Nick's reaction would be. After a few moments, she sighed and then chided herself for having naughty-bunny thoughts about a certain fox with a wonderful smile, warm fur, an extra fluffy tail, and… Okay, she was doing it again. With determination this time, Judy finished with her uniforms, put away her laundry bag, and then sat on her bed to think about something other than her fox.

'A hustle or a favor?'

Considering she was a cop, cashing in a favor was better than running a hustle. So, who owed her a favor? Judy tapped her finger on her chin as she thought about it. The Museum. After the Bellwether incident, they'd told her she could come to visit anytime and bring anyone she wanted. Something about no safety railings around the pit exhibit during the construction work and the museum wanting to avoid any uncomfortable legal action. They said that they'd give her free passes to all the exhibits, including the special ones, the planetarium, a behind the scenes tour, and even meal vouchers.

Judy gave a call to Toni and asked if she thought the kits from the team would be interested in a day at the museum. Toni hesitated until Judy explained that the Museum would cover all the costs, including meals, and she'd talk to Bogo about the field trip and having it count as one of their weekly meetups. Judy gave Toni a few upcoming dates that would work for her and told Toni to pick one that would work for the group and let her know when and how many could make it.

They chatted for a few minutes until Judy heard a crashing noise in the background. Toni let Judy know she'd be back to her soon on the trip and then excused herself to go find out who broke what in the other room.

Judy leaned back on her bed with a smile on her face, this was going to be so much fun.

"Hey Judy, can we go?"

"She didn't invite us, you dummy."

"But she's our friend."

"She's my friend, you're too loud, so she doesn't like you."

Judy clapped her paws over her ears, "Guys, guys. This trip is for kits, I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy it."

"Are we still friends, even though I'm loud?"

"Yes, Pronk, we're still friends. It would be nice, though, if sometimes you were a little less loud."

"See, we're friends."

"Fine, but she wants you to be quiet."

"I would be if you'd try to be quiet too."

"Would not."

"Would so."

Judy grabbed her headphones and put them on. She picked a soothing playlist, closed her eyes, and waited for her noisy neighbors to stop arguing.

…..

The following morning found Nick asleep on a couch in one of the media rooms with a game controller resting next to him. Nick had finished a movie with the little kits and was getting ready for bed when Alpha Foxtrot was invited to join the combined Skulk Prime/Crazy Hares team as they made Planet Doom a better place, one enemy at a time. Well, depending on the weapons being used, sometimes whole squads at a time. They dominated the battlefield until team 'Mom can't take it anymore' hustled them all off to bed.

Nick had meant to go back to his room and bury himself in his blanket pile but had been thwarted by the comfy couch in the media room. During the night, Nick had curled himself into a furry ball with his nose tucked into his paws and his tail covering everything but his head.

Bonnie was on her way to the kitchen to get started on breakfast before anyone woke up when she heard unusually heavy breathing coming from one of the media rooms. Poking her head in, she saw the source of the noise was a carrot print covered lump on the couch. Smiling at the sight of Nicholas on the couch, she padded over to the snoring fox and spied the game controller on the cushion next to his paw.

Paws on her hips, Bonnie shook her head. 'Nicholas Wilde, what were you thinking? Your arm is bandaged up, and your paw is hurt, and you're playing video games.'

Wondering what Nicholas' mother would think of her kit's behavior, Bonnie was about to 'harrumph' when she felt a chill and saw Nicholas shiver and tighten in on himself. Shaking her head, Bonnie reaching down, moved the game controller over to the table, and then finding a blanket, she draped it on Nicholas and tucked it in around him.

As Bonnie nodded at her handiwork and made to leave, she heard a whisper from the sleeping fox, "Love you, Mom."

Bonnie covered her mouth and almost teared up. What a sweet boy. She bent down and lightly brushed his head fur and smiled at the innocent look on the sleeping tod's face. Sighing, Bonnie quietly padded out of the room and gently closed the door behind her so that Nicholas could sleep in for a few more hours.

…..

Nick woke to a commotion as Colton and Cody pulled up outside the burrow, honking the truck horn followed by the whooping and hollering of two excited bucks. Nick made it into the common room just in time to see a two-bun synchronized binky. "Nick that was the greatest, it was so sweet to meet those guys and play together, we were unstoppable."

Bonnie stood laughing at her boys while wiping her paws on her apron. "Glad you kits had fun, throw your dirty clothes in the laundry and get cleaned up, you know you both have potato chip crumbs in your fur."

In unison, they gave a deadpan response, "Yes, Mom."

Bonnie smirked and gave them both a look.

Bouncing over to Nick, Colton gave him a quick fist bump, "Mr. Hunter said to say 'Hi.' He's a pretty cool guy. He showed us around the yard and let us see some of the crazy weird things he's picked up over the years. He asked about you, so I hope you don't mind, but Cody and I told him about how you rescued the Thrasher kits and defended them from those animals. He seemed pretty happy to hear about how well you're doing at being a cop."

"Thanks. You're right, Mr. Hunter is pretty cool, he and my dad knew each other growing up, and were good friends."

Colton smiled like Nick had just answered a nagging question. "That explains it. I was wondering how he knew so much about you. At dinner, he told us a bunch of stories about you as a kit."

Nick groaned, "He didn't."

"He did, and I'm thinking Judy would really like to hear about the chocolate paw incident."

Nick chuckled, the kit sure knew his way around a hustle. "Okay, what'll it cost me for you to forget everything you heard?"

Colton smiled big, "Alpha Foxtrot plays for the Crazy Hares in the deathmatch tournament next month."

Nick shook his head, "Not against Skulk Prime."

Colton waved his paws in front of Nick, "No, no. Don't worry, we're already teaming up. Jake thinks he can get the Raccoon Raiders to join us, and then we're going to challenge the Wolf Pack."

Nick whistled, "The Wolf Pack? And you've got the Raiders?"

Colton nodded as he bounced in excitement. "They won't know what hit them."

"Sweet, as long as I'm not on duty, I'll do it."

"Cody, he's in!"

Nick laughed as he watched the two bucks high four each other, and then Colton came bouncing back over.

"Thanks, Nick. And I won't spill anything to Judy." Colton grabbed his backpack and pulled out an old cardboard box and handed it to Nick, "Mr. Hunter wanted me to give you this. He said you'd know what it's for."

Nick took the box and opened it up. Inside was an old motor wrapped in faded newspaper.

"He also said to tell you that he sends his respects and that your dad would be proud of you."

Nick's eyes widened as Colton finished relaying the message, and then he smiled looking at the lift motor for his convertible's top. His dad had asked his best friend, Karl, to find him this motor just before the accident. It was the last thing they needed to replace before the father-son project would have been completed.

His dad was happiest when he was working on that car, and it was during those times that Nick felt most comfortable talking with him. If only his dad had been given more time, he would have been so happy to see the car fully restored.

"Thanks." Nick checked the time and saw that he had a few hours until he needed to leave, plenty of time to swap out the motor.

Bonnie watched Nick head to his room to change, a smile on her face as she noticed the spring in his step and the happy swish of his tail.