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

…..

"Morning," said Judy, yawning.

"Hey, about time, Jude. You almost missed breakfast again."

Sitting down next to her littermate at the otherwise empty table, Judy arranged her plates of food before replying, "Yeah, it was a rough night last night."

Janae raised a brow.

Chewing a mouthful of waffles drowning in strawberry syrup, Judy looked over at her suspicious sister and shook her head, "Stop with the look, it was my ribs. I overdid yesterday, and they started hurting again late last night."

"Oh," replied Janae, relieved that her littermate was behaving herself.

"I must have woken up Nick with all my tossing and turning because he came in to check on me and wouldn't leave until I took a pain pill."

"That was sweet of him."

"Yeah, I could do without all the sniffing, though."

"Sniffing?"

Slathering maple butter all over a stack of pancakes, Judy replied, "It's a fox thing. He's checking me over to see how I'm healing, or that I haven't hurt myself again, or something."

"He can smell all that?"

"I guess. I told him I was fine, but besides the pain pill last night, I had to promise to take another one this morning. He said if I didn't, he was going to call out of work and watch over me all day."

"And sniff you all over again?"

Starting in on her eggs and toast, Judy nodded.

"So, how does the whole sniffing thing work?"

"Well," Judy cooed, "he starts at the top of my head between my ears, and then he slowly works his way down my cheek and neck until he reaches my collar bone where he– Hey!"

Janae was grinning, "Do tell."

"Shut up. It's not like that."

"Uh-huh."

Throwing a piece of crust at Janae, Judy huffed, "You're such a bunny."

Janae smiled and put up her paw, pinky extended.

Rolling her eyes, Judy hooked Janae's pinky with her own and whispered, "His nose tickles, and sometimes he nips at my fur while he's checking me over."

"What about his claws?"

"They're amazing, he gives the best back scratches. And then sometimes he does this thing where he–"

"You meanie!"

"Yeah, you're supposed to share!"

"We called dibs on Mr. Nick first. He's part of our litter, not yours."

Quickly pulling her pinky back, Judy focused on the trio of young, foot-tapping does in front of her and said, "What? I didn't do anything."

"You did so," replied Sasha.

"Yeah," added Susan.

"You hogged Mr. Nick's tail for the whole movie last night," huffed Sunni.

"I did not!" countered Judy.

"Uh, Judy, you kind of did, like all night," whispered Janae.

Judy glared at her turncoat littermate.

"Yeah," said Susan.

"But he's my… uh, partner," groused Judy. "What about rule 8-6-0-0-7 slash D?"

Sunni stomped her foot cutely, "Slash B, but that doesn't matter. If you don't share, then we're going to tell on you."

"Go ahead," said Judy smugly, folding her arms across her chest, "Mom won't care."

Sunni leaned closer and snarled, cutely of course, "Not Mom, the Council of Litters," and then, mirroring Judy, she folded her arms and smiled.

"What? No. You can't." And then looking at Janae, "That's not fair."

Janae shrugged, "You violated dibs. Kits have been sentenced to double chores for less."

"But…" Judy started, and then looking back at Sunni, she sagged, "Fine, I'll share."

"Yes!" Sunni hollered with a fist pump and then getting serious again, "We want a schedule."

"What! Schedule tail petting? You have to be kidding, who does that?"

"Ahem," said Amy sitting a few tables away waving her paw. "I–"

"NO!" replied five voices.

"I'll do it," whispered Janae once Amy had been safely glared out of the room. "I'll design a sign-up board so you guys can pick your times, and that way we can make sure everyone gets a turn."

Judy stared daggers at her ex-littermate.

"Deal?" smirked Sunni, holding her paw out.

"Grrrrrrr."

"Do you want me to go get Amy?" asked Janae.

"Fine. Deal. But I get to pick my times first," replied Judy shaking her little sister's paw.

-/-/-

"Thanks, Mr. Furston," Nick said to the scowling shopkeeper with an exaggerated wave. "Have yourself a wonderful afternoon."

'Three times isn't the charm with this guy behind the counter. Next time, shopping anywhere else is probably a better choice.'

Nick pushed his way out of the General Store and stopped just outside the main door. Opening the small paper sack, he pulled out one of the half dozen packages of chew sticks Judy had asked him to get. Taking a sniff of one, he recoiled a little, who would make Brussels Sprout flavored sticks, yuck.

Dropping the sticks back in the bag, Nick decided it was his duty as an officer of the law to keep those sticks wrapped up until he verified that the kit who asked for them really wanted them and wasn't being subjected to some kind of cruel, fiendish punishment.

His morning shift had been boring and uneventful, just the way he liked anything early in the morning to be. Well, except for the part where he'd slipped into Judy's room and woke her up with one of his famous back scratches so he could give her a thorough health check. The kiss goodbye was nice too.

Unfortunately, Sheriff Hoofson wasn't as easily swayed by the promise of a back scratch.

"No, sir. Just kidding. I'm sure your mate is quite capable."

"The last couple of days? Uh, yeah, everything worked out. Sorry I didn't call."

"Of course, I'll make the time up. Don't worry, I'm not a lollygagger, no sir!"

"Yes, sir. I'll make sure to tell Rabbit Resources while I'm over at City Hall straightening out some permit paperwork."

"I'll get with Buckstein on working some of his shifts. Thank you again for letting me have the afternoon off."

Reaching into his pocket, Nick pulled out his car keys, and as he did, a blue and gold marble popped out with the keys, bounced on the ground, and rolled down the sidewalk toward a space between the General Store and the shop next door.

"Damn."

Nick stuffed his purchases in his back pocket and took off after the speedy marble. Ten yards away, just where the sidewalk crossed an alley, Nick saw the marble come to a rest near a large trash can. Slowing up, Nick was bending to reclaim his charge when he saw a brown and white mottled paw reach out from behind the bin and grab the marble off the ground.

Nick jerked back his own paw, and then moving around the bin, he saw a sixteen-year-old doe sitting on the ground examining the marble.

"Hello."

Startled, the doe cried, "I didn't steal it, I just saw it there," and holding a sling wrap carrier to her chest protectively, she held out the marble with her other paw and pleaded, "Please don't hurt me, I'm sorry."

Going to his knees, Nick gave her his best toothless smile and said, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm Deputy Nick Wilde with the Sheriff's Department. Are you okay?"

The doe whimpered and shook her head, "If you work for the town, you're not supposed to talk to me," and then, closing her eyes tight, she turned away from Nick like she was expecting to be punished.

Nick skootched closer to the doe, and noticing how she was holding her sling carrier, he said as gently as he could, "I'm also an Officer with the ZPD, which I think means it's alright for you to talk with me. What are you carrying there?"

The doe opened one eye and looked back at Nick, "Are you sure?"

Nodding, Nick replied, "Yes, ma'am, one hundred percent," and then slowly reaching out, he pulled back the edge of the wrap and said, "Are these your kits? They're beautiful."

The doe opened the wrap a little more so that Nick could see the two tiny, helpless kits, barely a few days old, both sucking their thumbs and fast asleep.

"Mmm-hmm, thank you. They're all I have left, and now I… I'm having trouble feeding them. I haven't had anything to eat since before they were born and… and I'm afraid when they wake up I…" She looked up at Nick with bloodshot eyes, dirt streaks down her cheeks, and a look of desperation on her face.

Nick's eyes narrowed, "Where is your mate? Or your parents?"

"I don't have a mate, he left right after we, uh… and I don't have any family anymore, not since my kits were born."

What did she mean she didn't have any family anymore? A traffic accident? House fire? As far as Nick knew, nothing seriously bad had happened in town recently. So, what was going on? As many questions as he had, they could wait, this doe needed something to eat and a safe place to rest.

"Alright, how about I get you inside, and get you something to eat. We'll figure out everything else after that."

"Thank you."

As Nick moved to pick up the doe and her kits, he heard a loud "Ahem" from directly behind him.

"You'll need to leave that there girl alone. She's not to be talked to or touched or even looked at, being as she and her spawn were banished from their warren," scolded Furston crumpling Nick's forgotten receipt in his paw.

And then, turning to the girl, the gnarled old bun spat, "Unmated is bad enough, but relations with a hare? Disgusting, and I sure as hell wouldn't have let you use my barn to birth that filth in, neither."

Nick froze. 'Newborn kits, no mate, no family, no home, no food, and some old guy just told me to leave her be?!

'Some old buck just told me, Nick Wilde, to stop helping this doe and leave her and her newborn kits to starve alone on the street.'

Living in the city, he'd heard vile comments like the ones this old bun was spewing his whole life. They were usually directed at small predators, and more often than not, foxes.

'But a rabbit doe?'

No one cares about a fox, and no one was ever going to be caught dead trying to help a fox, especially if that fox happens to be a young vixen in trouble. Filth, pelt, spawn, Nick was used to hearing other mammals use those words against his kind.

'And some old bigot wants me to walk away and not care that he's using those same vile words against a frightened rabbit doe and her kits.

'Well today, someone cares.'

Kneeling on the sidewalk, few could imagine that Nick Wilde was constitutionally incapable of not helping this doe and her kits. The only question being mulled over in the fox's mind right now was how it was going to happen.

He imagined a sliding scale, on the low end, he shows his badge, the buck backs off, and all is good. On the high end, Nick guts the buck, covers the doe in his entrails to keep her warm through the night, and carries her to safety in the morning.

Nick knew what he wanted to do, but seeing as it was barely noon, not at all cold out, and he was sans a lightsaber, Nick decided he'd try the badge option first.

Channeling his best 'pissed fox, irritate at your own risk' persona, Nick stood and firmly addressed Mr. Furston, "Excuse me, sir, this is police business, and you will step back and let me do my job."

The old buck gulped but didn't move. "No. You do anything for that doe, and you hurt all of us here. She made her choice and now she has to live with it. If you were smart, you'd be the one to step back and leave her be."

The gears in Nick's rational brain momentarily seized as his 'reaction scale' slid all the way up to 'screw the lightsaber, I'll use my bare claws to gut the buck' and then, through sheer force of will, Nick kept his claws sheathed as he looked Furston in the eyes and growled out, "You go ahead and try to stop me."

The old shopkeeper finally realized he'd crossed a line. A line that had been drawn by an angry predator with sharp claws and teeth designed specifically to end him. He had no idea why a fox would care a wit about a young bunny doe, but this one did.

Stepping back from Nick, Furston nervously looked around for an escape route. About ready to heed his instincts and bolt, relief flooded through the old buck as he pointed behind Nick and said, "Sheriff's here, he can explain it to ya."

Furston quickly leaned out into the street and waved down the Sheriff who pulled his squad car in and parked a few spots away from Nick's convertible.

Nick turned and felt his own sense of relief as he saw Sheriff Hoofson approaching, "Sheriff, I'm glad you're here. This doe and her kits need immediate medical attention and some food. Would you please give me a hand with this buck so I can get her some help?"

"Hoofson took in the scene and then shook his head as he greeted the rabbit buck, "Howdy Samuel, I'm sorry for all the ruckus. I take it the rumors were true."

"Yes, Sheriff and your Officer here is tryin' to stick his nose in where it don't belong."

Pasting a stern look on his muzzle, Hoofson said, "Officer Wilde, I appreciate you wanting to help, but this ain't any of your concern. So, I'll need you to step away from the doe and leave her be."

Looking at the now frightened rabbit, he asked her, "Do you have enough money for the bus to Podunk later this afternoon?"

The doe shook her head and looked down.

The Sheriff sighed, "After I leave, take a look over near that trash can, I reckon you'll find enough for bus fare, okay?"

The doe nodded knowing this was the best she was going to get. Now all she needed to do was find a little water and maybe some old food to eat. She'd have to look in the dumpsters down the alley by the diner and see if they'd thrown anything away that was still edible.

Now that the situation had been resolved to everyone's satisfaction, Hoofson looked up ready to dismiss Nick so he could mosey away. Instead, the Sheriff did a double-take as he looked Nick in the eyes. He was not seeing the look of a satisfied officer having completed his duty successfully, he was seeing rage, absolute, pure, cold rage. The Sheriff let out a surprised high-pitched snort and instinctively stomped a hoof at the look of Nick's entire body tensing up.

In a voice that sounded frighteningly calm, Nick said, "What did you just say? Because if you said that we aren't going to help this doe and her kits, then we are going to have A. Very. Serious. Problem."

With his hoofs up, hoping to calm the fox down, Hoofson tried to explain, "Wilde, we can't help the girl. She's been banished from her family, and the best thing for her is to leave Bunnyburrow. Anyone who tries to help her in any way will just cause problems for her, themselves, and anyone else involved. I'm sorry, but it's a rabbit thing here, and being as we aren't rabbits, and we work for the town, we don't get a say in how this is handled, we have to respect the community tenets, even if we disagree with them."

Nick lost it.

"That's insane! I don't give a flying fuck what anyone around here thinks. I will not stand here and do nothing. And I can't believe that all the rabbits in this town are like him and would stand by and watch another rabbit suffer. No fox would ever, not ever, let that happen to another fox if they could help it. This whole town must be crazy. She's got kits for god's sake! This is bullshit, and I'm not buying it for a second! I'm going to get her some help, and you can all go screw yourselves if you don't like it!"

To his credit, Sheriff Hoofson recognized that his fox deputy appeared a mite bit agitated and his best course of action was to calm him down just a tad. "Look son, you can't do that. If you up and take her anywhere without someone having vouched for her, you'd be putting an entire warren in jeopardy of the same thing happening to them. Now, no one in this town is going to stick their neck out for this doe, so you have to let her go. She'll be fine, there's a home in Podunk for mammals in her situation, and they'll take care of her."

The doe started to dry cough as she heard the Sheriff, "I've lived here my whole life, and I've never been anywhere else, please don't make me leave."

Listening to the Sheriff, Nick had calmed a bit, not because he wasn't still royally pissed but because he was dissecting what the Sheriff said. "What was that about somebody vouching for her and then I could help her? Whatever that is, I'll do it."

Furston gasped, "You can't vouch for anyone, you're not a rabbit. You're just a predator, a fox at that."

Nick glared at the buck. With the Sheriff standing nearby, gutting Furston was off the table, so he had to come up with something else. "I'm the holder of the Burrow Meister, which makes me an honorary rabbit. That should be good enough to vouch for her."

Furston shook his head, "That's just an award, and it's usually given out posthumously. It doesn't mean anything."

Hoofson chimed in, "Wilde, he's right, I've only heard of rabbits vouching for rabbits, and with Judge Beans away on vacation, there's no one around with the authority to say different."

Nick couldn't believe any of this was happening. How in the world–

"I'm sorry. This is yours, you should probably go," whispered the doe holding out Nick's marble.

Nick shook his head as he reached out to reclaim an old bun's treasure he'd been entrusted with, a sad old bun filled with regret and stories. Stories so old they didn't make sense…

Nick froze.

'Tommy.'

"Hold on," said Nick pulling back from the doe still holding his marble.

Grabbing his phone, Nick swiped and tapped until he'd brought up one of the documents Professor Pachter had sent him. "An old-timer I met at the hospital a couple of weeks ago told me the Burrow Meister is a thing, not just an award." Nick tapped the keys for a document search and then started swiping through pages on the phone's small screen. "Yeah, Thomas was right, here it is."

Looking up, he showed his phone to the Sheriff. "I have a copy of the Old Law translation, and it says," pointing a claw at the small screen, "right here, that the Burrow Meister can be called upon to mediate and resolve disputes, advocate for members of the community that request it, and that he's responsible for upholding and defending the decisions of the duly recognized leader of Bunnyburrow. There's other stuff too, but," looking at the shopkeeper, "it's definitely a thing, not just an award."

Furston lifted a paw, "But–"

"And it doesn't say anywhere in here that I have to be a rabbit to do my job or to vouch for someone either," Nick growled out, causing the buck to take a nervous step back.

Done with the shopkeeper, Nick looked down at the now quiet doe and gently asked her, "Would you like me to advocate for you?"

She smiled and responded in a shy voice, "Yes, please."

Nick had a seriously smug look on his face as he turned to Hoofson and Furston, "Well, in that case, as the official Bunnyburrow Burrow Meister, I accept your request to be your advocate. As your advocate in the dispute regarding whether or not Mister Wilde can vouch for you, I resolve it by declaring that if he meets the qualifications necessary to vouch for a rabbit that it is his right to do so.

"In light of all this, I declare–"

"No, wait," Hoofson stopped Nick from finishing his declaration with a hoof up almost touching his muzzle. "Wilde, normally it'd be the head of a warren or someone that knows something about taking care of, or supporting, a bunny that would be doing the vouching. Them's the only qualifications I know of, and without them, I don't think you can do it."

"What do you mean? My ZPD partner is a rabbit, and I help her all the time."

Hoofson raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, she's the one that helps me. How about, uh, around the ZPD, she's really short, so I have to lift her up so she can reach the counter in the break room."

"It has to be something not work-related," scoffed Furston. "Like any pred would help a rabbit without having to be paid first."

Hoofson shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry Wilde, you heard the buck, I don't think anything to do with your partner or anything from work around here counts." Turning to the young doe, Hoofson started to tell her he'd see if he could find her a blanket when he was interrupted by a shout.

"I've got it! I have a pawful of kits staying at my place in the city, and, uh, since I'm providing a burrow for some rabbits to live in, I'm helping support them!"

"Charging rent?"

"Nope, they just take care of the place and pay the utilities."

Hoofson scratched his chin as he thought about it. He really hated it when a rabbit was banished by their family. Fortunately, it had only happened a few times since he'd become sheriff, and this was the first time to a doe this young. The mayor had pledged an end to the practice when she was elected but hadn't made much headway against all the crazies that kept screaming it was their gods given right to do whatever they wanted as head of a warren.

"You said one of the Burrow Meister's duties was to uphold the Mayor's decisions, right?"

"Yes, sir."

Hoofson nodded, 'Maybe this was an opportunity to help the Mayor chip away at one hateful practice and show the town how wrong banishing someone was.'

"Well then, I do believe that qualifies." Smiling, he gave a bow with a flourish. "Go ahead and finish your declaration, mister Burrow Meister."

"As Burrow Meister, I declare that Mister Wilde meets all the requirements to be able to vouch for a rabbit. And as Nicholas Piberius Wilde, I further declare that I vouch for…" turning to the doe, Nick whispered, "What's your name?"

The doe smiled as she whispered back, "Ruth Anne Edwa– uh, just Ruth Anne, my mom used to call me Ruthie before she left."

Nick's eyes widened, "Did you say, Ruthie?"

"Uh-huh."

Goosebumps flowed down Nick's tail as he thought, 'Serendipity had to be watching over this girl.' And then, with a last glance at the doe, Nick cleared his throat and loudly proclaimed, "I Nicholas Piberius Wilde, do formally vouch for Miss Ruth Anne and her kits."

Glaring at Furston and then nodding to Sheriff Hoofson, Nick went over and picked up the doe and her kits and buckled them into his car. Reaching into his emergency bag in the back seat, he grabbed a couple of water bottles and a box of veggie meal bars. "Here you go, don't eat these too fast, or you'll make yourself sick."

"Thank you, Officer Wilde. I'm sorry, I don't have any money to pay you back."

Nick huffed, "Don't worry about it, and call me Mr. Nick, that's what everyone else calls me."

He shut the car door for Ruthie and jogged around to get in the driver's seat. Opening his door, but before he was able to get in, Furston yelled at him. "Fox, you have no idea what you've done, mark my words, you'll burn for this."

Nick pointed a clawed finger at the old shopkeeper and barked back at him, "No, you mark my words Furston, this is the last time anyone gets banished in this Burrow. Tell people the Burrow Meister has forbidden it or tell them Baba Yaga will hunt them down and punish them if they ever try it again. Either way, I don't care. Dumping a kit on the street to starve is immoral, and this fox won't stand for it."

Nick got in and started his car. Still pissed, he drove half a mile before realizing he didn't know where he was going. First priority, Ruthie needed immediate medical attention. Normally, taking her to Bunnyburrow General would be a no-brainer, he just didn't know exactly what the hell banishment and vouching entailed.

"Was Furston serious about you having to birth your kits in a barn?"

Her mouth full of meal bar, Ruthie nodded.

"Holy gods."

Nick pointed his car toward the Hopps' farm, Mrs. H. would know what to do.