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

…..

Judy pulled Sally onto a side street near Sister Mary's and parked.

Nick had lobbied hard that Judy should wear a disguise so they could take the Metro versus her driving to the picnic, but after the fifth attempt at costuming his bunny, he gave up. It was the ears. Bandannas, ballcaps, a fur wig, even a Carmen Purranda fruit hat he had from an old hustle, nothing could hide those ears or neutralize the smirking muzzle attached to them.

"Stupid hacked JamCams, and stupid having to drive here and stupid life flashing before my eyes again," grumbled Nick under his breath.

"I heard that."

"Stupid sexy ears."

"Nick!"

Smiling at his bunny, Nick walked around to the trunk and, pointing past the small but full parking lot and toward his alma mater, said, "It looks like a lot of kits showed up for the picnic. I hope we have enough cookies."

"This crowd is barely enough for a double batch of my mom's recipe, and she had us do a quadruple one." Grabbing two boxes from the trunk, Judy nodded toward Nick and said, "We'll have plenty, assuming you let the kits eat first."

"Yes, Dear," chuckled Nick, "You know the other parents are going to blame us for sugaring up their kits, right?"

"Nope, snickerdoodles were my mom's idea, so it's totally her fault. Come on, or we'll be picked last for all the games."

Nick huffed, "What happened to makeup and clothes for our undercover op?"

"Toni said she was bringing Blueberry Dump Cake."

"You're right," Nick said, grabbing three more cookie boxes, "we deserve a break after the morning we've had."

Yes, it had been a very busy morning…

…..

Surprisingly, Nick was up before Judy and put in a French Toast casserole that he and Judy had prepped last night after their failed attempt at an amorous evening. Setting the oven to bake, and making sure the timer was on this time, Nick snuck back into the bedroom and nibbled and kissed his bunny awake and into her running gear.

An hour later, the sun barely peeking over the horizon, Judy led her winded fox back into their apartment just in time to get Toni's frantic text that she needed cookies for the picnic. Lots and lots of cookies.

Gearing into action, Judy did what every girl would do when confronted with a severe baking crisis; she called her mother.

Responding like a seasoned pro off one of those cooking competition shows, Bonnie immediately told Judy to turn her phone over to Nick. With a couple of taps to enable the phone's camera, Nick was hosting a virtual tour of his pantry and taking notes as Bonnie rattled off a favorite family recipe that would fit within the fox's stores.

Except for some Cream of Tartar.

Bonnie tasked Nick with borrowing a jar of the elusive substance from a neighbor, while Judy took back her phone and listened as her mother guided her through how to butter the cookie sheets…

"Nick," Judy yelled down the hall at her fox, talking to a kindly old raccoon, "We need some cookie sheets."

Needless to say, the first batch took the longest to mix and bake, but the rest were easy-peasy.

"How many kits will there be?" asked Bonnie after the first fully loaded cookie sheets went in the oven.

Nick shrugged into the camera, "I don't know. Today's picnic is for the middle school families, but Sister Mary usually lets a lot of the neighborhood kits come too. So, maybe a hundred kits if you include siblings."

Bonnie cooed, "A hundred, that sounds like a delightful number. You know Nicholas, growing up, Judy was so very wonderful at taking care of her younger siblings. She had a real knack with the little ones and was quite the role model to the older kits. She would teach them how to fold military corners on their beds and how to march around in–"

"Mom!"

"Of course, dear. You two kits have a good time."

…..

Shutting the trunk, Nick walked alongside Judy across a field marked up for soccer toward the orphanage slash school's main building. About halfway across the field, Nick nodded toward a fox kit shaped blur headed their way.

"Incoming!"

"Mr. Nick, Miss Judy!" came a voice from the young tod running out to meet them.

"Aidan, stop yelling Miss Judy's name. Someone might hear," yelled the tod's older brother Tyler, "remember, she's doing Ninja stuff for a while."

Judy set her box down just in time to catch Aidan in mid-air as he leaped into her arms, "Are you really working as a Ninja? That's so cool. Mom said I can't tell anyone, especially Jeffrey."

"Ninja stuff?" chuckled Nick.

Judy hugged the young tod and, just after sticking her tongue out at Nick, said, "It's good to see you too, Aidan. I've missed you. Mr. Nick and I were away for a little while, but now we're back with cookies."

Setting Aidan down, she hugged Tyler and said, "Not too much Ninja stuff. Mostly I was just visiting my family."

"Oh, I guess that could be fun too," replied a now subdued Aidan.

"You don't know the half of it kit. Bunnyburrow is a wild and crazy place. There was this tractor I had to chase, it had to have been going at least twenty miles an hour, and the old guy driving it had his blinker on and wasn't paying attention, so I had to–"

Aidan and Tyler stared. The waves of boring coming off the older fox were mind-numbing.

"Here, Aidan," said Judy handing her boxes to the kit, "Why don't you take these to the picnic area and give them to whoever is in charge of dessert." Followed by a whisper only the two young tods could hear, "They're from a secret Ninja recipe my mom gave me, so don't tell anyone where you got them, okay."

Nick handed his boxes to Tyler and watched as both kits tried to run past a pair of vixens who'd just come out the main doors, one of which told the kits to slow down before they knocked someone over and to take the cookies around back where the rest of the food was.

The vixen doing the telling was not Toni.

"Is that Sister Mary?" asked Judy waving at Toni.

"Yup, that's the Penguin. Every misbehaving kit's worst nightmare. The only mammal in Zootopia I've never been able to hustle. Somehow, she sees straight through you into your soul. Kind of scary, so don't cross her."

"But, she's like my size."

"She's an Island Fox, probably the only one in Zootopia since her people are native to a series of islands off the west coast. But don't let her size fool you, she's as tough as a rabbit cop I know, and she keeps a wooden ruler hidden under her robes, so ixnay on the whole Enguinpay thing, I bruise easily."

Walking the rest of the way to where Toni and the Penguin had finally shooed Aidan and Tyler away, Judy started to put out a paw, just to be interrupted by the stern-looking nun addressing her fox.

"Nicholas."

Nick sighed and held his paw out.

"Ow!"

"That's for not calling," admonished Sister Mary, re-holstering her ruler somewhere under her robe. And then, motioning for Nick to lean down, she gave him a hug, "And that's for taking care of that young doe and her kits. Your parents would be very proud of you."

"But…" whined Nick returning the hug while shaking his paw.

"Enough, I barely touched you."

The small vixen released Nick, and turning to Judy, she put her paw out and said, "You must be Nicholas' work friend, Judy. I'm Sister Mary Clawrence. Nice of you to join us today. You've made quite the impression on Toni and all the kits on our soccer team. And I've noticed the parents and coaches seem taken with you also."

Shaking the nun's paw, Judy smiled and replied, "Thank you, all the kits are great. Helping coach has been so much fun."

"Of course, dear. I'm sure it has."

"Yes, I, uh…"

"Sister Mary," interjected Toni, stepping closer to Judy. "Remember I told you Nick and Judy are going to a party tomorrow night and–"

"Yes dear, the rave," replied Sister Mary looking the country rabbit in front of her up and down. "Officer Hopps here needs a little costuming help to fit in better."

Both Judy and Nick glared at Toni, who shook her head as she mouthed, 'I didn't say anything.'

"Nicholas, don't blame Toni. She's still new to the school community and has a bit to learn about how things work around here." And putting a paw on Judy's shoulder, she added, "Why don't you and Toni go and keep an eye on all the kits. Judy and I can go through the costumes I have in storage and figure out an outfit that will work."

"Are you sure?" asked Nick, "I can help look if you'd like."

"Nicholas, I may be up there in years, but I'm still quite capable of helping a young doe find something to wear. Now go before I pick out new outfits for you too. I can't believe you're still wearing those ugly shirts donated to the school by that dance company that went out of business. You know those shirts were meant as a joke, right?"

Steering Judy toward the school's entrance, Sister Mary called out over her shoulder, "Make sure you talk to Eric and Cooper. They want to start an internet business and could use some advice on permits and licensing."

"Dear," said Sister Mary, looking at Judy as she held out an arm, "Help me to my office, please. The key to the storeroom is in my desk."

Taking Sister Mary's arm, Judy automatically replied, "Yes, ma'am," and with a worried last glance at Nick, she helped the aged nun through the doors.

"I'm good at picking out clothes," griped Nick.

Toni chuckled while waving at the hideous Pawaiian shirt he had on, and said, "Sure you are, and if you guys were trying to infiltrate a circus, I'm sure Sister Mary would be letting you help. But–"

"I know, I know."

-/-/-

"My office is on the far side of the building, so why don't you tell me about yourself while we walk. I heard you're from that town Cassy talked about in her articles, Bunnyburrow isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am, I grew up there. My family's been in Bunnyburrow since before the Accords, at least on my dad's side. My mom is from Hillsburrow."

"Not too many rabbits in Hillsburrow, pretty country though," replied the vixen shuffling slowly next to Judy.

"Yeah, I went to college near Burrow's Edge and visited my grandparents during my freshman Spring break. It was about a six-hour train ride from school, but it was worth it. The town is beautiful. It's spread out in a green valley between two old mountains."

"You're talking about the North Hills area, aren't you? A trade route used to run through there."

"Yes, ma'am, my mom's family are mostly shopkeepers. They don't know anything about plant husbandry, but they're good at math and they're really nice. I worked in their store for a few days to help out, and afterward, I went camping with one of my cousins and a few of her predator friends."

"Rabbits around a campfire with a bunch of predators? You know dear, years ago, you and your cousin would have been the main course at a predator campfire, not guests. I would have thought that being around all those fangs and claws would have made you uncomfortable, being prey that is."

"No, no, not at all," Judy gushed. "Fangs and claws have never bothered me a bit. And working with Nick has taught me to appreciate all the amazing things he can do with his sharp claws, like…" Glancing at Sister Mary, who had just paused mid-step, Judy realized she was about to fan-girl over Nick's sexy claws to a nun, so backtracking, she said, "…umm, picking blueberries, or catching things."

Sister Mary stared at Judy.

"Uh, things that aren't prey I mean, 'cause otherwise that would be weird, us being civilized and all."

Nodding slowly, Sister Mary started to move again when she was again stopped. This time by a scent, a very faint scent. Her eyes darted past and around Judy, looking for the source of a very female scent, a scent of excitement, a scent similar to one she remembered from her former life.

Looking suspiciously at the bunny next to her, Sister Mary quietly coughed once and said, "I understand you were the one who convinced Nicholas to give up his old life and become your partner at the ZPD."

"Yes, ma'am. We worked so well together on the Missing Mammal case and on exposing Bellwether that I asked him to be my partner on the force.

"He's been a great partner, too."

"I'm sure he has, replied Sister Mary, slowly moving again. "I was just a little surprised to hear how quickly Nicholas jumped into a new career. He's a planner, you know, not prone to making rash, life-changing decisions like more emotional mammals might be.

"Especially without a very good reason."

"He has a good reason," countered Judy, "He's helping me make the world a better place."

"Of course, dear," replied Sister Mary as she stopped in front of a large door. "That's very altruistic of you." Then reaching out with a trembling paw toward the door's handle, she added, "This is my office here."

-/-/-

"You and Judy seem close. She talked about you quite a bit after you left for Bunnyburrow."

"Yeah, she mentioned that you two were good friends now and that you'd helped her out with a few things. She didn't get into a lot of details, but thanks for whatever you did. It helped."

Toni smiled, "That's okay, she's great. I've always wanted a little sister, and she looked like she needed some big-sister help."

Nick chuckled, "You know she probably has, like, twenty or thirty older sisters, right?"

Huffing, Toni replied, "Yes, yes I do. But they're not in Zootopia, and they're most certainly not vixens.

"And speaking of vixen older sisters, do you have any family in town?"

"Nope, I was an only kit. My parents passed away by the time I was sixteen, so aside from Finn and Sister Mary, I've been on my own."

"Sounds like you could use an older sister then too."

"Volunteering?"

Stopping behind a tree at the edge of the school's play area, Toni straightened up and said, "Sure."

Now with a smirk on his face, Nick waved his paw and said, "Okay, then big-sister me."

"Ow! What'd you do that for?"

"That's for not telling Judy you were taking her out on a courting meal. And…"

"Ow. Would you stop with the poking."

"That's for nearly breaking her heart with all your antics in Bunnyburrow. And…"

Nick flinched.

Toni pulled him into a hug, "That's for everything else."

Releasing the tod from her big-sister hug, Toni steered him toward the large play area where the setup team of parents was laying out the picnic supplies and warming up the grills.

Almost within earshot of the activity, Toni whispered out the side of her mouth, "And if you ever hurt her, I'll hunt you down and bury you where no one will ever find the remains."

Nick paused and, looking over at the smiling vixen batting her eyes sweetly, said, "I'm not so sure this big-sister thing is such a good idea. Can we renegotiate?"

"Nope, it's all in the fine print. All sales are final, no returns, no exchanges. So, how about we find Eric and Cooper, and you can tell them all about how a master negotiator operates."

-/-/-

"Let me get that, Sister."

Judy opened the door and, stepping in first, turned on the lights. Starting to turn to help Sister Mary into the room, Judy asked, "Would you like me to get the key? Just tell me where it is, and I'll–"

"That won't be necessary. Why don't you have a seat," replied Sister Mary closing the heavy door,

And locking it.

Judy's ears nearly shot to attention at hearing the sharp click from behind her. Glancing around, she worked hard to keep a steady nose as she cautiously moved to stand next to one of the two chairs positioned in front of a large wooden desk.

Nose calmed, foot in check, ears on a swivel, Judy took in the old office. Sister Mary's lair could easily double as a library. Bookshelves stuffed full of classic literature, textbooks, old DVDs, and kit art covered all the walls except the windowed one behind the wooden desk that looked more like a sacrificial altar than a nun's workspace.

The full bookshelves also looked like they made for good soundproofing.

Turning toward the large picture window, Judy watched as Sister Mary walked, without shuffling, over to the window and looked out on the school's play area until she saw Toni and Nick join the kits playing in the playground.

With a solid jerk on the pulls of the overly thick curtains, Sister Mary shut out any prying eyes or ears and then, turning to her guest, barked, "Sit."

Judy sat.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"No thanks, I'm–"

Judy caught the water bottle tossed to her.

"Uh..."

Sister Mary pulled off her headpiece and blind pitching it toward a coatrack in the corner, caught an empty hook. Combing back her gray and rust colored head fur with a clawed paw, Sister Mary reached into a hidden cooler, a second time, and pulled out another bottle. Popping the lid off with a claw, the vixen took a swig, tromped over to the empty chair, and sat facing Judy.

Judy's nose twitched as she held her bottle up to her nose and took a sniff.

"Don't worry, yours is just water."

A tentative sip later, the water bottle was resting out of the way on the floor.

"Uhm… You're–"

"Yeah. So, what are your real intentions toward Nicky?"

"Nick?"

"Yes, Nicky," and taking another swig, added, "You know the good-looking tod playing with the kits."

"Oh, him," said Judy glancing toward the covered window, "Uh, well, like I said, we work together, and we're friends. After we solve this case–"

"Cut the crap. I wasn't born yesterday. Nicky's got a thing for you, and I've worked with enough rabbits to know how you all operate."

"Rabbit nuns?"

"No, I haven't always been a nun. I spent more than a few years working in Mr. Big's Palace club. I started as entertainment and worked myself up to manager before circumstances dictated that I do something else with my life, and I took over this place. I didn't take my vows until after Nicky's parents were mated."

"Mr. Big's club? Entertainment? Like in Entertainment? I didn't think he allowed that sort of thing."

"He doesn't, mainly because of me. I was a singer and did a little Burlesque. Later as a manager, I made it my job to keep the place clean and running above board. Big didn't like it when the girls would step out and try to hustle guys while on their backs.

"And neither do I," growled out Sister Mary, pointing at Judy.

"I've worked with a fair share of mammals over the years, most of them pretty decent, but a few liked to play the field a lot more than others."

"Rabbits," sighed Judy.

"Yeah. They'd pick out a guy, try him out for a while, and as soon as the poor shmuck started to get serious, they'd dump him in that cute-ass rabbit way of yours and move on to the next guy. I had to referee too many fights and console too many young mammals who'd had their hearts broken by a rabbit doe sowing her oats to watch one destroy my Nicky."

Judy raised a finger and–

"If you're about to tell me not to call a rabbit cute, I'll toss your furry little ass right through the door and tell Nicky you were just trying to hustle him."

Putting her finger down, Judy straightened up, "Why should I tell you anything about Nick and me? I don't know anything about you, and you don't know anything about me except that I'm the same species as a few horny does that spent all their time playing the field."

Sister Mary nodded and leaned back, "Jonathan Wilde was a real talent. He took over the family tailoring business, 'Suitopia,' from his dad, but his secret passion was as a costumer. And he was good at it too. Anything an actor or actress could want, he'd put it together.

"That's how Jon and Viv met. Love at first sight, right here in this office during a meeting with a community theater troupe that wanted to use the school's facilities for a season of shows."

"Nick's mom was an actress?" chirped Judy.

Sister Mary chuckled, "No, no. Vivian did the books for the troupe. She had a real head for business and was great with numbers. Almost as good at math as you rabbits."

"Har har," groused Judy.

Lifting her bottle as a salute, Sister Mary continued. "Jon and Viv helped the troupe through their summer season, and by the time the show closed, they were mates."

"That's awfully quick for foxes, isn't it? I heard that fox courtships can last a long time."

"Yeah, pretty rabbit of them, huh."

Judy glared at the small vixen.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, girl," grunted Sister Mary taking another swig, "They were perfect for each other, soulmates even, completely and totally in love.

"If only… damn that troupe." Draining her bottle with a final swig, the vixen tossed the empty into a trashcan by the door.

Judy's eyes went wide, "You were interested in Nick's dad, weren't you?"

"I wanted to hate Vivian for stealing Jonathan's heart, but I just couldn't. Instead, we all became good friends, and when they had Nicky, they asked me to be his godmother."

"Godmother?"

"Yeah, and it was Viv's dying wish that I keep an eye out on Nicky after she passed. Nicky's special. How any mammal could go through what he has and still care as much about others the way he does, I'll never know."

Judy raised a brow.

Sister Mary huffed, "I know, a nun drinking 30-proof water having doubts about faith. Who would have thought? I think Vivian knew more about me than I ever did, and I know she knew how I felt about Jon. But despite that, hell, maybe because of that, she trusted me to keep an eye out on her only son.

"Which is why we're sitting here. Nicky hasn't ever been in a serious relationship, and now he thinks he's in love with you. So, I'm worried he's started imprinting on you, and before the process gets too far along, I want to know what your intentions are toward my godson."

Judy's nose twitched as she thought, and then asked, "What's imprinting?"

Sister Mary groaned and slapped herself on the forehead, "Oh, sweet gods above, please help me. The rabbit's about to destroy my godson, and she has no idea what she's doing."

"That's not–" Judy started.

"You know it's true. Just say it and save us both a lot of time," growled out the vixen as she folded her arms across her chest again, "You're just like all those rabbits I used to work with, in it for a little tail, and when you're done, you kick the guy to the curb without a second glance."

Judy's mouth fell open.

Sister Mary leaned in sneering, "What? Cat got your tongue, or were you already thinking about the next heart you plan on crushing?"

A quiet rumble caught the vixen's ear. Looking around, she mumbled, "What the…" Until the room's light was suddenly blocked by the shadow of a growling doe hovering over her.

"That's enough from you. I don't know what the heck kind of nun you are, and frankly, I don't care. You say you're his godmother, well let me make a few things absolutely clear Sister Mary Clawrence. I love Nick Wilde, and he loves me. I WILL be taking him as my mate, and gods be willing, he WILL be the father of my kits. And not anyone on this planet, especially not some two-bit, former lounge singer with delusions of moral superiority, is going to stop us from being together.

"And, if you've got a problem with any of that, you can go to hell."

Sitting back down, Judy looked at the silenced nun, folded her arms, and ground out, "Otherwise, I'd appreciate knowing what imprinting is. Toni told me about fox courting, scent marking, and claiming, but she didn't say anything about imprinting, and I really don't want to make any more dumb-bunny mistakes in this relationship."

Sister Mary sat silently as Judy glowered at her until, after a few moments, the vixen's hind paw started slowly tapping the floor.

"A two-bit, former lounge singer with delusions of moral superiority? Kind of harsh, don't you think?"

Judy shrugged, "I love him."

"You'd better because if you ever break his heart–"

"I won't."

"–IF you decide being mated to a fox is too hard, or having to put up with the bigotry foxes live with every day isn't worth it, or you just up and figure you want to try out some old farm buck. If you break his heart, You. Will. Destroy. Him.

"Imprinting is a deep bond a fox develops for their mate. It happens over time, and for most foxes, red foxes in particular, it only happens once. When a red fox makes their choice, marks, knots, and claims their mate, the imprinting starts, and once complete, it's irreversible.

"When a fox that's imprinted loses their mate, it's devastating. Foxes call it Mors Tristis, the sad death. Maybe with a strong support network, or if kits are involved, the fox survives. But without a powerful reason to keep going, a fox will stop eating and drinking and just waste away.

"I've heard there are some medicinal herbs that can help ease the pain for a while, but in the most extreme cases, foxes opt for a quicker solution like… like…"

Sister Mary went quiet as she silently mouthed a short prayer to herself before continuing.

"I don't expect a rabbit to be able to understand what imprinting is. Hell, most predators don't even know about it. You have to live it to understand how wonderful or…" an old pain washed across Sister Mary's muzzle as she momentarily squeezed her eyes shut, "…how painful it can be."

Sniffing and then wiping something out of her eye, the old vixen gathered herself and said, actually almost pleaded with the rabbit, "If you care about my Nicky, even a little bit, and you're not totally committed, dump him now, before he imprints on you any more than he probably already has, and ends up a ruined, lonely tod for the rest of his life."

"Dump… Nick?" stuttered Judy. She'd been about to reach out to Sister Mary, the grief, the momentary pain, the love never sated, and finally abandoned, she'd just seen flash across the vixens' muzzle was heartbreaking, but–

"You want me to break up with Nick?"

"If you're not sure about being with him, better to do it now than later. Think of Nicky."

Judy stared at the nun, 'Think of Nick.'

That's almost all she'd done lately. When they were back in Bunnyburrow, her thoughts about him were light. She was a country bunny trying to catch up with all Nick had been up to while being his regular amazing self. Together, they were trying to figure things out. But ever since they'd marked each other, there'd been something else happening to her.

Judy's lower lip started to tremble as her ears shot up searching instinctively for approaching danger, 'Think of Nick.'

How could she not? He was always there for her, always ready with a paw. He knew her better than she knew herself sometimes. Other times she wondered if he wouldn't be better off without her around. A bunny. A bunny that was 'that kit' growing up. A tryer who threw everything she had at being a cop, but a screwup when it came to making her boyfriend happy. Maybe… maybe she should let him go.

A pain grew in Judy's chest, her heart rate accelerated, and she suddenly felt glued to the chair she was sitting in, 'Think of Nick.'

She loved him so much. He was a part of her. She could feel her heart breaking at the thought of giving him up. She remembered how miserable she felt those months after the news conference when she'd ruined their friendship. She'd vowed that if he ever gave her a second chance, she'd never hurt him again. And then she did.

A tear rolled out her eye and down her cheek, her breathing hitched, and her paws started to tremble, 'Think of Nick.'

"JUDY!" yelled Sister Mary.

Judy's head snapped over to the nun who was now kneeling in front of her.

"Look at me. Are you alright?" Sister Mary grabbed Judy's water bottle from the floor and tried to give the now panicking bunny a drink.

"No," Judy coughed out. "I love him. I won't give him up. I can't give him up."

Sister Mary put the bottle in Judy's paw and helped her take a drink. After seeing the bunny take a few swallows, Sister Mary rubbed Judy's legs and arms and pet her ears down.

"Are you okay?"

Judy trembled again, "I don't know. I kept thinking about Nick, and when you said I should break up with him, I… I… I can't, it hurts. I won't… Nothing you say is going to make me give him up. I love him too much. I'd rather die than hurt him again."

Sister Mary's head tilted sideways as she watched Judy pull herself together.

Setting her bottle back down on the floor, Judy caught Sister Mary's look, "What?"

"If you were a vixen, I'd think you'd fully imprinted on my godson and just suffered a taste of Mors Tristis. I've never heard of rabbits, or any other mammals, having a reaction like that."

Judy sighed, "Me neither, rabbits bond, we call it the bunny-bond–"

"Seriously?" chuckled Sister Mary, "Bunny-bond, that's too cu–"

"Hey!"

Sister Mary nodded and waved her paw for Judy to continue.

"My mom told all us kits about the bunny-bond. She said that rabbits truly in love will develop a deep bond with their mates and that it takes a long time, but once it's fully formed, it's unbreakable.

"I've known something's been happening to me for a while. My littermate thought it was the beginnings of the bond and accused me of moving too fast with Nick. I don't know, I've never heard of a rabbit bonding to another mammal so quickly and never so deeply that the mere thought of losing their soulmate would cause a near grand mal seizure or–"

Judy's eyes went wide, "Oh no, David."

Sister Mary's eyes narrowed, "Who's David?"

"You said 'Mors Tristis,' didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

"I heard my mom say that once. I was eleven. She was alone in the kitchen crying. I didn't know what it meant."

"Crying? What happened?"

Muzzle in her paws, Judy moaned, "Oh god, oh god, David. It all makes sense now. My dad, Cynthia leaving, all of David's littermates shunning my dad. I should have seen it. All these years, I thought it was just me he was so hard on. How could I have been so blind?"

Sister Mary rubbed Judy's back as the distraught bunny rocked in her chair, "It's okay, it's okay, whatever happened, it was a long time ago."

"You don't understand," Judy moaned, "my brother, he stopped eating, he wouldn't leave his room, he wouldn't do anything. I thought he was sick with something, but it was because of the bond. It was Mors Tristis. He was in love, and when he was forced to give up his true love just because she was a hare, he, he–"

Pulling the now trembling bunny into a hug, Sister Mary consoled her, "I'm so sorry. I've seen what happens when the bond is broken like that. There's nothing you could have done. You were just a little kit."

Sister Mary consoled Judy for a pawful of minutes before the trembling finally stilled, and Judy took a breath.

"Better?"

"Yeah, I think so. But I don't ever want to go through anything like that again."

With a gentle finger, Sister Mary wiped the tear tracks away from under Judy's eyes and then kissing her on the forehead, said, "Come on, Dear, we still need to pick out a couple of party outfits for your rave tomorrow."

Standing, Sister Mary held out a paw for Judy, and said, "And while we're sorting through the outfits, there are a couple that I kept from when I worked for Mr. Big that might look pretty good on you for one of those special date nights."

Judy blushed, "Nick and I are waiting on that."

"Good," smiled the older vixen. "It's nice to see there's something you two aren't rushing into."

"So, you're okay with us being together?"

Sister Mary rolled her eyes, "Oh great, now she asks. A doe that's bunny-bonded in record time to a tod that's likely gone and imprinted on her just as quick, Viv warned me Nicky would be a pawful, but she never said I'd have to deal with anything like," and waving her free paw toward Judy, "this.

"So, what's an old vixen like me supposed to say when kits like you two want to court, hmmm?"

Judy shrugged, "How about, 'Yes.'"

Sister Mary stared, and then she laughed, "Yup, you're a keeper, alright. Come on, the dressing rooms are behind the cafeteria kitchen.

"And speaking of courting, tell me about this special meal you cooked for Nicky, barbequed chicken, I heard."

"Uhhhh," replied Judy to the now smirking nun.

-/-/-

"You is ugly."

"The shirt's not that bad. Just take the picture."

"I wasn't talking about the shirt. Now hold still."

"Love you too, buddy. You know I need the ID by tomorrow afternoon, right?"

"Yeah, your girlfriend has already filled Toni and me in on the particulars, twice. So shut up already…"

…..

Shortly after Toni had joined the setup crew and Nick had found Eric and Cooper, Finn had shown up in his van with picnic supplies from the diner that included a couple of coolers of Pawpsicles. Giving his two new protégés their first lesson in business acumen, 'Starting at the bottom and working your way up,' the two kits were tasked with helping Mr. Nick unload the van.

With the heavy lifting and material transport done, Nick assigned the boys to help the moms with the final food prep and setup. Or, in business training parlance, lesson two for the kits, 'Surge support.'

Hunting around for a comfortable spot from which to partake in some of business lesson number three, 'Maximizing breaks,' Nick grabbed a blueberry soda and was about to head over to his new lounge chair shaped office when he was ratted out by his junior vice-president, soon to be mail-clerk, Finn and accosted by a vixen carrying a makeup kit.

Taking over a small classroom, Toni sat Nick down like she would one of her own kits and proceeded to brush out his head and muzzle fur, clip errant bits of fur in and around his ears, and then silently stare at her work of art in progress. Fur coloring in paw, Toni silently contemplated Judy's instructions on de-aging her partner by seven or eight years. Reaching out toward Nick's cheek, she stopped and pulled back her paw. Turning Nick's head with her other paw, Toni moved her brush in close again, just to pull back.

"Toni," Nick prompted.

"Shush," replied Toni pushing Nick's muzzle down to tip his ears closer, "I'm thinking."

"That mug of his ain't fixable. Just hit him upside the head with that big-ass brush thing there, and we'll call it good," added Finn.

Thinking back to the last fur cut she'd given Tyler, Toni deployed her brushes and gave her subject some de-aging highlights. Using a bit of dark gray, she changed the color tone of the white fur under Nick's muzzle, followed by a light brushing of chocolate brown on his cheeks and the top of his head.

Holding Nick by the Muzzle, Toni contemplated what else she could do while tipping his head up and down.

"You're making me nauseous."

Toni huffed and pulling Nick's head closer, she used a little gray coloring on the fur just inside Nick's ears, followed by a hint of burnt orange to lighten his dark ear tips.

"There," said Toni stepping back, "all done."

"Got a mirror?" asked Nick.

Finn rolled his eyes.

"What?"

Toni smiled as she patted Nick on the head and, handing him some wipes, said, "Use these to clean up afterward, I need to go help with the kits. And don't take too long with the pictures or you'll miss all the games. I heard you were pretty good at giving fox-back rides."

Last but not least, business lesson four. 'Work is hard, work avoidance is a skill, but not getting caught, now that's an art form.'

…..

"I saw the replay, great game," said Finn clinking his beer bottle against Nick's blueberry soda. "You knocked the Pack completely off the leaderboard. A total beat-down."

"Yeah," replied Nick throwing a pawful of dirty wipes into the trash, "we found a back door, they thought they had it covered, but we saw right through them."

"The replay didn't cover that part for some reason. What happened? There were only five of you left, and the commentator said the Pack deployed defenses strong enough to stop an oversized platoon of heavily armed mobile infantry. And then the feed went dead."

Nick coughed and, pulling on his collar a bit, said, "Just lucky, I guess. Probably best we don't talk about it, you know, if a certain somebunny were to find out what the Pack tried to pull, C-word and all, my inventory's low and, uh, I might end up getting derezzed."

"You mean your avatar?"

Nick shook his head.

"Okay, my lips are sealed," replied Finn as Nick took another swig of soda, "So speaking of lips, have you and the bunny-girl rutted yet?"

Nick spit his soda out all over some kit-art tacked to the wall.

"W–what?" Nick finally coughed out.

"You know, bumping uglies, a booty call, Pawflix and chill, uh, sex."

"I know what it means. *cough* I just can't believe you'd ask about that here, inside the Penguin's place."

"What? Ya think she's got the place wired or something?"

Nick looked up and whispered, "Yeah, mostly the 'or something.'"

Finn shook his head, "No one can hear us, so spill. What's going on with you two?"

"We're courting. We both agreed that we need to figure a few things out before going beyond that."

Finn raised a brow.

"No, not that. We both know how it works. There are just a few… complications we still need to work through. You know, her family, our work, both of our mating rituals, the law, her sex-crazed little sister, being hunted by unstoppable assassins, solving another drug conspiracy, figuring out who's hacked the ZPD, and preventing a secret legion of rabbits from pouncing on the world, stuff like that."

"How sex-crazed?"

Nick rolled his eyes, "I need the ID by tomorrow afternoon, and make sure it's solid. I don't want any problems getting into the rave."

"What's her name?"

"Finn…"

"Fine, well, while you been busy not rutting, I may have gotten a bead on the bunny-girl's hacker."

"I thought Rat was grounded."

"He sent me some of his specials, and I peppered Hopps' accounts with them, and I got a nibble late yesterday. I downloaded everything onto a USB stick so Rat can work it when he gets back online. With any luck, he'll be able to track down whoever it is next week."

"Assuming his mom gives him his computer back," added Nick.

"Yeah. Most of what I got don't mean much to me, but what I could read don't look good. Whoever this guy is, he's dug into your girlfriend like an Alpacama tick. He's in her bank accounts, credit cards, Muzzlebook page, and he owns her ZPD accounts big-time. At first, I thought he was a black hatter for hire to the highest bidder, but after I finished looking at the download, I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?"

"This guy is definitely working for someone, but his hacks feel personal, almost obsessive. He's after Hopps, but I think he'd be going after her even if he wasn't getting paid. He's got enough traps laid out for her that he has to be trying to find some dirt on her or bring her down somehow. I don't know… whatever's going on, it ain't good."

Nick nodded, "You did better than we did. All we've got is a white van with its left tail light out being driven by two mammals, one of which has short horns."

"What size mammals?" asked Finn.

Nick fished out his phone, flipped to one of the pictures Torrie had taken, and showed it to Finn, "Medium, I'd guess, smaller than a wolf the way he fits in the van."

"Nice one of your girl, you should talk to her about doing a calendar spread."

Nick grabbed back his phone, "I tried. She already said no."

"How about a 'Wanted' poster," chuckled Finn, "that might be more her style."

Nick smiled, "Yeah, although I'm not sure anyone would survive trying to collect the bounty."

Finn started nodding and then went silent for a double pawful of breaths.

"You okay, buddy?"

Finn nodded as he pulled out his phone, dialed one of his contacts, and put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" came a female voice from the phone.

"Sage, it's Finn. I–"

"You don't need to check up on me, I swear I'm keeping my snout clean."

"I'm here with Wilde at the Penguin's place–"

"Shit, I told Toni I didn't lift anything. I was just watching those two fools embarrass themselves. You're not going to rat me out to the Penguin, are you? I swear if you do, I'll… Come on Finn, please, I–"

"Relax, we're good. I'm calling 'cause I wanted to know more about those two mammals you just mentioned, the ones that lifted that POS sedan you told Toni about."

"The ram and the goat?" asked the teen vixen.

"Yeah, did either of them have short horns?" asked Finn.

"Horns? Uhhh, well it was kind of dark, but I don't think the ram had horns. And the goat… yeah, maybe. He was wearing a hoodie and whatever rack he had fit under his hood without looking stupid."

Finn looked at Nick who shrugged.

"What were they driving? The night of the heist, what were they bird-dogging in?"

"Nothing special," replied Sage. "A white panel van. Late model. No windows. Truck plates. All terrain tires. Road rash on the front and scratches on the passenger side panels. Sixty seconds max to boost it. Why do you care about these guys?"

Nick leaned toward the phone and said, "You said the van had truck plates, do you remember the plate's number?"

"Nah, sorry. I was only looking at the van for its tires. The rest was barely worth trading to Aurelio for a white fish taco."

"You were looking at it?" growled Finn. "What did I tell you?"

"I was hungry. Besides, I didn't do nothin', I knew you'd be pissed." And then with a sniff, Sage said, "Thanks for the food that night, my mom's loser boss has been shorting her hours for over a month."

Finn groaned, "Girl, why didn't you say something?"

"Sage," interrupted Nick, "we're doing a picnic at Sister Mary's. Get your tail down here quick, and I'll trade you a pile of leftovers for showing some kits what a good fox mechanic can do."

-/-/-

"So," asked Toni, "were you able to find something that fit her? You guys were gone for a long time."

"We might have chatted a bit too," replied Sister Mary as she watched Judy help some of the little kits learn to play soccer on the mini-field she'd set up.

"Oh."

Toni's tail swished back and forth as she chewed her bottom lip.

A few moments of silence later, Toni added, "She's good with the little kits."

"Mm-hmm."

"Everybody likes her."

Sister Mary nodded, "I know, and you and Finn have adopted her into the community."

"Everybody has. Judy's more than just some country bunny."

"For Nicholas' sake, I sure hope so."

Toni looked down at Sister Mary and tilted her head.

Sighing, Sister Mary said, "I like her too. If she were a vixen, she'd be a perfect fit for Nicholas, but–"

"I'm sorry, Sister, but I've heard from a lot of vixens in the community, a lot of very attractive vixens, that Nick would never give any of them the time of day. A couple of them even brushed him with their tails to try and get his attention."

Sister Mary raised a brow at that.

"Nothing worked. And now that I see Nick and Judy together, I don't think any vixen was ever going to have a chance with him. I think deep down, he knew his soulmate might be different, and now that he's found her, he couldn't care less what species she is. Assuming, that is, he's even consciously aware that they're different species."

"Consciously, I don't know, but unconsciously, they've both made their decisions despite being different species. And now, instead of one kit I have to worry about, I've got two."

"What do you mean? They're in love, and they're figuring things out. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"They've imprinted on each other."

"Rabbits imprint? I didn't know they did that."

"They don't call it imprinting, but that's what's happened."

"Are you sure? They haven't been together that long."

"I suspected it in Nicky when he went to ground for those few months after Bellwether's news conference, and I just saw it in Judy while we were talking. Whether they know it or not, they've decided they're destined to be mates, which means I've got a mess on my paws, a mess I thought I'd cleaned up years ago."

"A mess? What are you talking about?"

Sister Mary shook her head, "Nothing you need to worry about right now." And then waving to a newly arriving teen vixen, she added, "Come on, let's go have a talk with another fox that's too damned proud to ask for help when she needs it."

-/-/-

"Are you sure?" asked Finn, "I still think you'd be better off waiting for Rat to make parole."

"Just do it. Give him the memory stick, and be sure to tell him Carrots and I are looking for a ram and a goat and we've got a bead on them that we're checking out tomorrow night. Tell him to keep the Gazelle line clear, just in case."

"Do you think they're the ones that put the contract out on your girl?"

"No, criminal masterminds don't waste their time boosting cars, they hire that sort of thing out. Same for snatching predators to shoot up with whatever drug they're working on and hitting cops that are getting too close to figuring things out."

Finn sighed, "That means whoever the top animal is, he's got juice to spare if he can afford the Mule. I heard that crazy bastard won't answer the phone for less than six figures." And then coughing, Finn added, "Wouldn't answer the phone, past tense thanks to your bunny-girl."

"Yeah, she's something."

"Are you serious about taking her as your mate?"

Nick nodded, "Yeah, as soon as everything's right with her family and this case, I'm going to ask her. I'm thinking Sparkle Falls in the Rainforest District. There's this romantic spot–

"Ow! What was that for?"

"What are you going to do about the Mule? He played you like a fiddle in front of Mr. Big and hung you out to dry."

Nick closed his eyes, "I don't know. It happened a long time ago, and now that he's dead, I'm not sure it's worth opening old wounds. Besides, the Penguin smoothed over the whole skunk-butt rug thing. I should be okay."

"What the hell? Do I have to go get my bat and beat some sense into you? This ain't about you, it's about little Miss Cottontail."

"Huh?"

"You screwed up, you pissed off the most powerful crime boss in Zootopia, and now you want to be mates with the godmother of his grandkit. The made godmother of his grandkit –"

"She's not made," huffed Nick, "too serious of a cop for that."

Smacking his best friend in the back of the head, Finn barked, "She might as well be, and you know it. And unless you want your girlfriend to wake up next to a fox's head in her bed some morning, you need to fix this."

"But, the Penguin–"

"The Penguin brokered a deal. You stay away, and you keep your pelt. She had enough juice to cover that deal when you were just some con-fox on the outs with his family. But Big's not going to be able to turn a blind eye to you courting Hopps when he finds out it was the Mule that sold you that rug. He'll put two and two together and get six-feet under thinking you were working with the Mule to disrespect him and his family. No way does the Penguin's deal survive that.

Scratching the back of his neck, Nick sighed, "He won't believe me. Remember, I tried to tell him I'd been hustled by a guy I'd never met before, and he still almost iced me. All I've got is my word on what happened, and without proof or some audio on a carrot pen that I was set up, he's still not going to believe me."

"I was there. I'll tell Big I saw the whole thing and it was the Mule orchestrating the deal."

"No. I never told anyone back then that you were my wingmam for that transaction, not Big, not even Sister Mary. And if you want to stay alive, no one can ever know."

"But…"

"No. If I'd told Big you were there, he would have iced us both back then, and now… he'd probably ice us for lying to him. It was my fault you were there and I'm not going to let you take the fall for my mistake. I'll do it. I'll figure something out."

Finn put a paw on Nick's shoulder, "Look on the bright side, as soon as that town of bunnies hears a fox is making googly-eyes at one of their own, they'll probably tar and feather you, and you won't live long enough to worry about what Raymond and Kevin will do to you."

"Thanks, buddy, real helpful there."

"Maybe use your newfound cop powers to see if a camera picked up your meet with the Mule and the tape is buried somewhere."

"Seven years ago? Yeah, I'd have better luck going back to that alley and finding an engraved calling card with his name and number on it nailed to the wall."

Nick stood and tossed his bottle into a trash can, "Come on, can't keep the girls waiting forever."

Making his way toward the door, Nick pulled it open for his small friend. Only to realize he was alone.

"Finn?"

"You said 'calling card.' Didn't the Mule have some sort of calling card, something he sent to his victim's friends or family so they'd know it was him? I remember hearing he was twisted that way."

"Yeah, it was something different for each of his kills, something personal he'd take off the victim and use as a calling card he'd send to whoever they were closest to. Why?"

"What'd he send to Big?"

"I don't know. No one's ever said. I've never even heard a rumor."

Finn nodded and made his way past Nick.

"What's going on in that thick skull of yours, buddy?"

"Nothing. I see the Penguin, and she's talking all happy like at your girl. Best get out there before something bad happens."

…..

…..

A/N:

A special shoutout to CameraSkunk for talking me through the details of a Grand Mal seizure and then coming up with the idea of Mors Tristis and the lore around it. Please check him and his works out on FF, DA, and AO3. And if you'd like to read a little more about Mors Tristis, please check out my short story, Mors Tristis: A study in Vulpine Physiology