The Conspiracy

by Zanrok

Winter is one of Zootopia's most interesting seasons. It's the time of year when many mammals choose their mate, it's a season with love in the air… except that some are too blind to see it. And others are fed up with those oblivious idiots and are determined to do something about it… at any cost.

17. Chapter 16 - Are We There Yet?

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CLASSIFIED: DO NOT READ

THE CONSPIRACY

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Operations Clock: 7.5 hours

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Disclaimer:

Thump…

Thump…

*Clod of dirt gets throw to the side and a grumpy hand breaks through to the ground*

'Ugh, how bloody long did they keep me down there? And they didn't even bury me with any coffee! Now that's just Rude!'

'Disclaimer ? Does death count? No? Not if you don't stay dead? Well darn…'

'Look we all know who created the original ideas from which this fluff monstrosity spawned from! All credit to them, Now *cracks shoulder* I've got a fluff monstrosity I need to reawaken…"

Dark mutterings*

'7 years and 7 days, ugh *cracks other shoulder* This is gonna take a Looooooot of coffee…'

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Chapter 16 In Page Art!
Courtesy of Mr-Punctual

(YES this FanFiction DOT net so you have to go look it up yourself, but it is SO WORTH IT!)
CHECK IT OUT AT:

Deviantart DOT com/mr-punctual/art/An-Undercover-Wedding-697558420

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Chapter 15 Part 2… ehem… Now presenting as

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Chapter 16 - Are We There Yet?

The little slice of heaven Judy was in came crashing back down to reality at the sound of the cough behind her.

"MEEP!"

It dawned on her exactly what she was doing and exactly where she was doing it, and that even as an adult, getting caught making out with her boyfriend was exactly as embarrassing as- Boyfriend, sweet cheese and crackers, was Nick her boyfriend now?! He hadn't exactly said so, but then again they hadn't been doing much 'talking'… though his kisses sure seemed to say a lot and- Carrot blast it! There was no way she was just going back to being 'friends' with him after that! And he'd called her CUTE, not joking cute, or normal cute, but cute cute! BUNNY CUTE! You didn't call someone Cute if you weren't interested in starting something so that dumb fox had just better get used to the idea that he was now dating a bunny because with that little 'Foxy Lady' stunt he'd pulled she'd lost all her remaining patience for dealing with him and far Far more importantly she'd just lost her only reason for NOT going after him. Serendipity save him because he'd need more than Karma's help if that fox had a carrots chance in a bunny burrow of escaping her! She'd decided before to be a police officer by all the gods and she had, and now she was going to date Nick, and he was going to be Her boyfriend, and there was nothing that could possibly stop her from-

"Ehem."

Or… she could die from embarrassment because she'd just been caught kissing her better-be-her-boyfriend-or-there-was-going-to-be-hell-to-pay boyfriend like she'd never kissed anyone before. In public. Kissed him to the point a complete stranger had to interrupt her.

Judy flushed so badly she nearly passed out and buried her face in Nick's ruff.

Maybe she could just burrow in there and hide forever in his fluffy long fur.

Nick's tail, already circling her, tightened like a fluffy belt and his chest began to rumble with an angry growl.

Or maybe she could let her boyfriend handle the situation.

How the heck do other bunny's live through this?! Judy thought frazzily, I thought this kind of teenage embarrassment was supposed to go away when you grew up! Carrot sticks, Jessica gets caught like this (and a whole lot worse) all the time and she never gets flustered or embarrassed!

Normally she was the one to take charge and lead the way, but she was having a hard enough time not spontaneously combusting. It was like she had just run into her own personal kryptonite. So maybe just this once she'd step back and let her boyfriend deal with it.

Boyfriend.

Nick was her boyfriend.

Her Boyfriend!

Sweet cheese and Crackers she liked the sound of that.

Nick was her B-o-y-f-r-i-e-n-d. Boy-

The way Nick's growing growl hiccuped and spluttered out with a muffled yelp alerted Judy that something was seriously wrong and she managed to look up despite her blush.

Her boyfriend (even with her 'serious bunny' switch turned on, the word made a happy little tingle run through her) was staring… up, and looking just about as happy as he had the first time she'd met Mr. Big.

Judy tilted her head back a little further and saw two upside down white mountains towering over them… except they weren't mountains… rather, not literal mountains.

Oh… well, that explains Nick's expression… was her first thought.

OH *censored* Fru Fru is going to find out I'm dating Nick in about Three Minutes! Maybe Two!

Was her second thought.

"Raymond! And is that Kevin?" Nick hurriedly stood, lifting Judy with him till she got her feet on the ground, though even then neither his protective hold nor his tail unwrapped themselves from around her. He cleared his throat, pasting a hesitant grin on his muzzle. "Long time no see! And speaking of 'no see', how about you forget you saw us and just skedaddle along on your own business? Huh? For old time's sake?"

"Nick!" Judy whispered quietly, glancing back at the bears, "If that didn't work last time, why do you think it'll work now?!"

"I panicked! It's a default hustler response!" Nick hissed back, his eyes not leaving the two polar bears, as he took a slow step backwards, dragging her along with him, "Do you have any idea why Mr. Big's enforcers are here?! I thought your BFF cleared up that little rug misunderstanding between me and her father!"

"Fru Fru did!" Judy answered in a return whispered hiss then gulped, the blood draining from her flushed cheeks and ears. "Fru Fru has also been asking me forever who I like and when I'm going to go out with someone and *sigh* making what I now realize were not to subtle hints about you. She's going to be absolutely ecstatic," Judy raised her eyebrows meaningfully, "when she hears about us. Like 'invite' us to a tea party so we can tell her all about it! In Detail! Lots of Detail!" Judy found the blood in her cheeks suddenly reversing course and running back upwards, "With Emphasis on all the kissy bits!"

Nick relaxed ever so slightly, a small smug grin coming to his muzzle.

"Well… that doesn't sound so bad, Hell of a lot better than getting iced. Wait… did you just say us?!" Nick's head snapped back to her, his green eyes focusing intently, "Like 'us' us. An official 'us'. A-"

"Yes, you dumb fox!" Judy's blush was back in force. "We are an 'us'… aren't we?!"

"I don't know!" Nick said his eyes large and just a bit frightened and Judy could feel his heart beat hard and fast as he spoke quickly, "We've only kissed so far! You haven't technically asked me out yet!"

"Asked you? You haven't asked me- oh cabbage balls," Judy muttered suddenly remembering what Skye had told her. "Dumb fox customs…"

This whole flipping the traditional roles for foxes was going to take some getting used to…

Though… Judy's brow furrowed.

That did mean she could take the lead… She enjoyed leading. She was rather good at leading, especially when she had a clear goal. In fact, she rather liked the idea of taking the lead here too. If she were leading…

Judy's grip on her fox tightened as if afraid he might escape her somehow, her head snapping up to look into his eyes with new found determination.

"You are my boyfriend." She stated adamantly, before swearing under her breath and blushing, "-I mean I want you to be my boyfriend," she rephrased, turning her statement into a sortof question, her paws now desperately clutching Nick's fur with a deathgrip as an unexpected wave nervous angst started welling up in her as Nick seemed to freeze in place, not saying anything back.

Soggy Cabbage Balls! How can I already be messing this up! Judy's thoughts spun, her nervous angst starting to condense towards dread as a single second passed, Leading was supposed to be Easier not Harder!

"I… I mean," Judy took in a shaky breath, trying to fight off all the conflicting emotions welling inside of her. How many bucks had she seen growing up, ask a doe out? It couldn't possibly be that hard could it?! She could do this, she would do this, Nick was not getting away from her! She couldn't take even the thought of that, not now! Not after she'd had just a taste, a glimpse of what her dreams coming true could be!

"Nick," Her paw's hold on him was shaking slightly, her determined look now taking on a slightly desperate edge, "Would you be my boyfriend?" she finally asked, trying to keep herself from breaking down and just begging him to say yes.

There was a hitch in Nick's almost nonexistent breathing, as his heart thumped wildly below her paws grip… please please please by all the gods, just say yes! Judy begged in her mind, as Nick's adam's apple bobbed as his jaw tried to move… Please Please PLEASE… his paws and tail still wrapped around her tightened ever so slightly, pulling her closer to him as his lips started to curve up into a happy smile before he finally responded.

"Okay." he mumbled almost too low for her to hear.

Judy not quite collapsed forward onto Nick's chest as a wave of pure relief washed over her. She looked back up at him, watching as that small happy smile just continued to grow across his muzzle, and she tapped him right in his ruff with one paw.

"And we're going to start dating, like right now. Seriously dating; courting, not 'bunny scouting the burrow' casual dating!" Judy continued intently, her determination coming back with that growing smile of his and she poked him again for emphasis.

"Okay." Nick now looked more than just happy.

Judy flushed, feeling warmth blossom somewhere inside at the way he was looking at her and accepting this so easily.

"And that means today technically counts as our first official date!" Judy stated her cheeks heating to a nice cherry red.

"Okay." Nick replied, seeming to simply exude happiness, his tail's tip starting to thump against her.

Her blush got a little brighter and she wondered if Nick was as clueless about bunny courting customs as she'd been about fox's. He was a fairly knowledgeable mammal though, and knew a lot more about all the species in Zootopia than she did, (He'd always said he needed to know a mammal to hustle them…) so he should know right?

"And then…" Judy stalled out for a moment, wondering how much the median number of dates was for city bunnies, let alone foxes… she'd heard city bunnies were a little more progressive…

"Okay." Nick said again, his tail thumping even faster now, his smile starting to morph into a full on grin.

"I haven't even figured out what the next step is!" Judy spluttered in surprise at his preemptive response.

"Don't care. I'm agreeing to it." Nick replied immediately grinning fully now, his emerald green eyes seeming to almost sparkle as he looked at her.

"EHEM.".

"Meep!"

This time the cough was louder, instantly grabbing both Judy and Nick's attention back from where it had diverted

Judy flushed all the way to the tip of her ears, hopping involuntarily within Nick's arms. She turned around to face the two mountains of white fur, her back now against Nick's front while his hold on her turned from happy to protective.

Darnit, how had she forgotten those two?! And when had she and Nick stopped whispering?

"Um… there's no chance I can convince you two to not mention any of that to Fru Fru?" Judy asked on a long shot.

Kevin's big eyebrows actually raised as if to say 'Seriously?'

"Right… thought not…" Judy said nervously, thinking of the impending inquisition she was going to be put through. Maybe she could convince Fru Fru to make it more of a girls day out or something; that, Judy thought, still blushing, might make it easier to answer her friend's questions about her budding relationship with Nick.

One of the bears smirked and made a chuckling noise, except two octaves lower than any chuckle had any right to be. The other elbowed him, gave him a stern expression and then nodded back to her and Nick.

Looking slightly chagrin, the first bear rummaged in his pocket for a second before pulling out a small phone with more finesse than one might consider such a large mammal capable of.

"Is that my phone?!" Nick's ears went flat as the bear smirked and held out his paw.

"Why does one of Mr. Big's bears have your cell?" Judy asked confused as Nick quickly searched his pockets, the action inadvertently making Judy think of just how many times today Nick had inconspicuously stuck his paws in his pockets while walking around today or adjusted his clothes… almost like he had been trying to cover something up...

Dumb bunny, I should have picked up on that far earlier! Judy thought with some consternation before shaking her head and bringing her mind back to the present.

"Did you drop it? Or do you think…" Judy whispered to him, glancing back at the two mob enforcers.

"Maid Marian save me, pickpocketed by a polar bear?! I'm going to lose all my street cred," Nick mumbled under his breath taciturnly. Then grumpily reached out to take the phone.

The bear flicked the phone up out of his reach right before Nick could grab it, then delicately tapped the screen with a claw before lowering it and letting the fox snatch it back.

Judy looked at both the bears who seemed to be eyeing Nick with amused expressions like he was either the butt of a joke or possibly a replacement for a much anticipated game of kickball… with him being the ball.

Judy frowned, staring back at the two bears, and was contemplating how she would stop them if they tried any such thing with her boyfriend when her ears caught the sound of ringing from Nick's phone and then a click, realizing that the bears had dialed the phone before handing it to Nick.

"Nick?! Where by the Hood's bloody great big sack have you been?! I've been trying to get ahold of you for freaking forever!" snapped a low deep voice over the phone that Judy instantly recognized. Then her frown deepened as she caught a slightly desperate edge to the voice.

Nick apparently caught it too because he stiffened, his tail dropping down low behind him.

"Finnick, what the heck is going on? I was kind of in the middle of something super important, when Kevin and Raymond appeared with my phone and interrupted! I thought you were going straight and staying away from-"

Finnick's voice cut Nick off.

"I'm calling in my favor."

Nick's fur practically pin cushioned, his hackles spiking and his tail puffing. Judy gave him a concerned look, but Nick's attention was now fully on the phone.

"Which favor?"

"That favor." There was a pause, and then an almost too low for even for Judy to hear Finnick added, "The skunk butt rug favor."

Nick gulped, then asked.

"Trouble?"

"BIG Trouble." Nick glanced toward the two bears watching him, then lowered his voice.

"What's the situation Finn."

"Someone might have found out how I helped you with that and kept your ass from getting iced too. Lucky it's just that or I'd already be one of my own pawpsicles. I'm calling in my favor Nick, I need your help."

Nick ran a paw over his ears in an agitated manner, glancing toward the bears again, breathing a bit hard. Judy put her paw on his arm and squeezed lightly, reassuringly, and Nick calmed.

"Finnick, just for the record, your timing absolutely Sucks!" Nick sighed, giving her a quick grateful glance in return, before he continued, "what do you need? I'll help in any way I can, but-"

"I know the rutting rules Nick! This has got nothing to do with ZPD. You really think I'd ask you to ruin yourself now that you finally managed to make a clean start?! Damnit Nick, You're the freakin poster boy for foxes; mammals, kits, look up to you, you'd better not go doing something stupid to let them all down now!" Finnick finished with an angry huff like he wanted to bite Nick's head off. Then continued in a low tone, "I think I got a way to clear the board with the Big's over this old matter, a simple personal favor for a friend of one of the 'family' that only requires you to be your charming hustler self. It's a straight deal, all above board, and then I'm in the clear."

"That sounds almost too good to be true." Nick replied a bit warily, though some of the tensions seemed to drain from him.

Finnick laughed

"I'd say, But you've always been a lucky bastard Nick, I don't think this is any different."

"Sure…" Nick said with a slight note of sarcasm to his response, then asked, "What are the details of this hustle?"

"I'll explain when you get here, trust me it's not as bad as you might imagine, easy as pie actually. But you need to hurry the rut up or I might be a frozen foxsicle by the time you arrive! And anyway, this whole mess really is your fault for being such a colossal idiot, so move that tail you're so damned proud of!"

Nick winced slightly.

"I've apologized before for the um… rug incident, so I'm not going to apologize again," Nick said, a bit of irritation entering his voice. "So spit it out already so we can get this over with. If I hurry I might be able to salvage the end of my night," Nick said, glancing back at Judy with an apologetic (and longing) look for a split second.

"Koslov's Palace," Finnick replied over the phone and Nick winced again while Judy's ears perked. She'd heard of the place; apparently it was used as a bit of a retreat for the tundratown well to do's (and those connected with the mob). The police officer inside of her couldn't help but be interested and wondered if she might be able to scout the place out so she could use the knowledge on future cases.

Nick let out a small groan and turned to Judy.

"You've been listening?" he asked and she nodded. Nick glanced toward the bears who'd backed up a step to give them some semblance of space then sighed. "Right, it's going to take me longer than I'd like to pull Finn's tail out of whatever fire he's gotten it into this time," his ears sank as he looked at her, a slight pleading note coming into his voice, "Can… can I call a rain check on the rest of the night? I wanted to walk you home but…" Nick seemed to blush ever so slightly, looking down and mumbling for a second before meeting her eyes again as his paws fiddled with the phone. "Could we go out tomorrow to make up for this? I promise I'll think of something really good as an apology-"

Judy's eyebrows rose indignantly and she was just about to tell him to go stuff it and eat carrots because there was no way she was going to let him go tearing off to pull a friend out of trouble, particularly mob trouble where her friendship with Fru Fru was something that might give them pause, and certainly not when it was Finnick too. Gruff and irascible he might be, but she still considered the older yet smaller fox a friend.

She was about to tell him all that when Finnick beat her to the punch.

"NICK, DUMBASS?! You still there?!" came the tinny gruff shout from the phone in Nick's paw and he snapped the phone back up.

"What now Finn?" he said, his voice more than a little clipped as he glanced nervously again at Judy.

"I'm calling in That favor because I don't just need you, I need you and your new hustling partner. So go grab miss goody two paws and get you and your bunny's Freakin tails here Pronto!"

Nick went utterly, absolutely stiff, his eyes flashing as his claws dug into his phone for a second.

"You… want me to drag… Judy into this?" Nick said slowly, dangerously, like he'd asked him to throw her off Cliffside Asylum's waterfall.

"Did I stutter?" Finnick responded almost cavalierly. "You and the Bunny. There shouldn't be any problems so stop worrying your pretty tail because mine's the one on the line, now- Ohhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiit. Got to go Nick, Hurry up!" There was a click and the call went dead.

---

"Who wants some fresh baked pie!" Mrs. Koslov said entering the room with two oven mitted paws holding a steaming pie dish.

"Damn, Mrs. K," Finnick said, quickly stuffing his phone in his pocket as his nose sniffed the air. "That smells F- um… very good." He managed to say, remember some manners, it paid to be polite sometimes.

"Just the thing to keep you all from freezing now isn't it?" The older polar bear said proudly as she set the pie dish down and grabbed some plates. "Now if you want some slices, I want some stories!"

Koslov groaned and let his head fall into his paws as Finnick gleefully jumped up onto one of the bear sized chairs by the table.

---

"Nick, there's no way I'm letting-" Judy started to say as Nick stared at the phone in his paw with that dangerous, almost feral edge to his expression. His head snapped up at her voice though and before she could blink he'd stepped in front of her glared daggers at the bears.

"This is between me and Finn and you all! Leave Judy out of it!" He growled threateningly, pointing a claw at the two bears, who both look a bit shocked (if not particularly threatened) by Nick's suddenly aggressive stance.

Judy for her part felt a bit miffed at Nick's attempt to keep her out of this. Though… there was a little part of her that felt charmed by his protective attitude. She was still miffed, but the happy little pool of feelings from knowing he wanted to protect her too was kind of nice as well.

She huffed, stepping under his arm so that her ears popped up next to him, right where she was supposed to be, and gave him an elbow.

"He means you all had better not do anything to Finnick before we sort out this mess or you'll have us to deal with!" Judy stated forcefully as Nick flinched from her elbow and then looked at her in surprise, that bit of feral gleam in his eyes vanishing.

"Finn's my friend too Nick!" she hissed back at him without taking her own glare off the two bears who looked at their defiant stance with… amusement… That, made Judy's ear twitch angrily. "And I'm still your partner, on or off the job!" she finished hissing at Nick, glaring even harder at the bears.

---

"That paw," Nadine said snapping her tail against said paw dipping into her pants as she gave her hugely grinning wolf a look (okay so she'd only managed a halfway chastising look, but that would have to do), "better be down there for police business and not for playtime!"

"Of course!" Ralph reassured her, grinning even more. Nadine only managed to hold onto her half-serious look for another second before a blush broke through and this time her tail curled around his legs all on its own.

"Uh-oh…" the grin vanished from Ralph's face, "Judy's ear is twitching. Bunny is about to go ballistic. You ready?"

Nadine gave him a quick kiss and nodded her affirmative right as the crowd cheered the next song.

---

Judy hated when mammals didn't take her seriously. Kevin and Raymond might have gotten the jump on her and Nick back during the Night howler case, but she'd been trapped in a car then, if it came to a fight this time, things would turn out differently, she'd put in a lot of practice since then and gotten even better. She'd almost wanted a chance for a rematch.

Nick gave her an unreadable look before shaking his head slightly as if he should have known better, (and honestly, Judy huffed to herself, he should have!) But Nick only stood up straighter next to her, a small smile now edging his muzzle as they squared off against the two polar bears, who for their parts straightened, crossing their arms with an almost dismissive stance toward them. While the two bears took on a more serious air though, that semblance of amusement still lurked beneath making Judy's ear twitch again.

There was a roaring cheer around them as the next song started and the ruckus chant began to spread to the beat of the music, seeming to almost egg on the confrontation brewing between them.

~Waka, waka!~

~Waka, waka!~

There was a moment's silence between them as Judy stood there with Nick at her side facing the two bears while Gazelle started singing.

~You're a good soldier~

~Choosing your battles~

Judy's ear twitched again, still more than slightly irritated at the way the bears were looking at them with that almost smirk, but she tamped down her own feelings.

"Come on Nick, let's go save Finnick. We can deal with these two dunderheads another time."

"Right you are," Nick said, giving the two bears a dismissive glance as he turned away with her. "Let's roll partner." Nick offered his fist and she bumped it as they started to move toward the concert's exit.

There was a snicker from behind them and one of the bears whispered over to the other in a gravelly voice.

"Didn't they look so cute?"

Judy's foot froze mid step. Her ear twitched hard; Nick's hackles rose.

~You're on the front line~

~Everyone's watching~

You know it's serious we're getting closer, this isn't over

"What… Did you call her?!"

"What… Did you call him?!"

They both growled in unison, turning back.

"Nothing!" one bear said, apparently trying not to laugh, while the other leaned over raising a paw up to his mouth as if that would prevent her from hearing what he said and chuckled behind it.

"You're right… that is cute."

---

"DON'T CALL HER/HIM CUTE!" two shouts rang out above the music and crowd.

Ralph glanced at Nadine, his eyes wide at hearing the dreaded C-word, and saw she recognized too that things were going to hell in a handbasket.

There was a moment's pause… then a barely audible low gravely snicker, followed by an almost cute snarl and another definitely not cute snarl.

"Go!" Ralph said, pulling out Nadine's tranq pistol as she spun, dropping into a sprint, while he darted to the side following her.

If they got there quick enough, maybe unlike when Nick went off in the warehouse, they would be able to keep the stadium standing…

---

"Ohh, I think we should add this song to the playlist for the reception!" Cassy said, grinning broadly and shaking her tail as she danced to the beat of the music next to Greg.

~When you fall get up, oh oh!~

~And if you fall get up, eh eh!~

"Agreed, I like this one," he said, smiling while shaking his tail back and forth in unison with his wife's as they danced side by side.

~Tsamina mina zangalewa~

~Cause this is Zootopia!~

Cassy bumper her hip into his with a half hidden grin on her muzzle and he bumped her back not even bothering to try and hide his own smile. Greg hadn't seen Cassy this happy, this free spirited in a long time, probably not since their own wedding. But then again it wasn't every day you got to see your own pup take that first step down that happy path toward starting a family of their own. Plus the idea of grandpups running around their house certainly appealed to him too. Ralph and Nadine were definitely going to need someone to puppysit with their work schedules and it had been a long time since their house was filled with noise and bustle only kits could bring.

He wondered just how long Ralph and Nadine were planning on waiting before trying for a litter of their own (or if they might have already gotten started). Those pamphlets from the Honeywell Genetic Counselling Center that Ralph had not so covertly hidden under his bed sure made a lot more sense after finding out that Ralph was a bit more than just 'police' partners with Nadine.

Greg smiled as he looked at Cassy humming along to the song, her ears perked and smile playing on her muzzle. Running the pack for her was work, Caring for pups, on the other hand, was something she enjoyed, and the chance to spoil her own grandchildren rotten was something that she no doubt would love. He wouldn't put it past her if she was already planning on how to do just that.

There was a flash of orange and black that darted through the crowd followed by a grey furred blur.

"Cassy did they just-"

"I think that's our que." Cassy grinned, giving him a peck on the cheek before grabbing his paw as the happy little smile on her face gained a wolfish edge. "Ready to play our part?"

Greg used his other paw to dig around in his pocket for a second before finding what he was looking for and grinned back. He always had enjoyed a good chase.

"Got the subpoena right here. Lets go get'em!"

---

"So… ya… he was late… ummm… must have rushed because he… missed a spot on his… cheek… ummm… this… ummm… is really good…" Finnick said, wielding the bear sized knife more like a sword as he cut himself another smaller slice off the Big piece of pie on his plate.

"Chew, then talk, dear," Koslov's mother chastised pleasantly, waving her spoon at the small fox while Koslov sat at the other side of the table, head slumped down dejectedly on his own empty plate while he made strangling motions at the fox.

Whap*

Mrs. Koslov's spoon rapped across the younger bear's gesturing paws, which snapped back to his side of the table.

"You know the deal, no story, no pie," she said, waving the spoon in warning before taking a bite of pie from her own plate.

"Ummm… I do say, I think this may be one of my best pies ever! Now Finnick dear," she beamed at the small fennec fox, "was it just one kiss mark or were there more?"

Koslov groaned, Finnick grinned, Mrs. K beamed like a master hustler. The younger bear covered his eyes with his paws as he moaned, his cheeks turning pink.

"Well, it certainly looked like he had cleaned off more than one-"

Finnick's phone rang.

He pulled it out about to gruffly reply when he saw who it was.

"Ehem… ah Mrs. Fru Fru-"

"Finny! What did you say to Judy and Nicky?!" The shrill little voice squeaked across the speaker and Finnick quickly pulled the phone a few inches away from his large ears with a wince. "Instead of leaving their scuffling with Kevin and Raymond!"

"Huh…" Finnick muttered, "didn't expect that…"

"FINNY!" squealed Fru Fru through the phone making him wince again. "This could wreck the plan! If they don't leave and-"

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down, this might actually be a good thing," Finnick said, wiggling a claw in his ear to try and get the ringing to go away.

"A good thing?! How can this possibly be a good thing!" came the shrill voice from the cell phone.

"Well…" Finnick said, trying to remain calm. It would not be in his best interest to get snarky with Fru Fru Big. "You're trying to get them together and we just interrupted them dancing. If that didn't irritate them at all, then I'd say you're barking up the wrong tree."

"But Finny! Their-"

"Fru Fru… mammals, particularly predators, get touchy in winter when it comes to who they're courting. Everyone knows it's a bad idea to mess around with a newly mated pair… or couples that are as good as one. And if two mammals ever qualified as that, it's those two." Finnick rolled his eyes, "Give Nick a little slack if he's-"

"Nicky," Fru Fru cut him off, "isn't the one that's worrying me!"

---

Nadine was sprinting all out on all fours, but even in the few seconds it took her to reach the spot where Judy and Nick were, things had turned into a mess.

One of the polar bears was yelping between shouts of, "Get Him Off Me! Get Him Off Me!" as he jumped around in a circle and swatted ineffectually at a quickly moving bulge under his suit jacket. The other bear was already laid out on the ground looking dazed.

Judy was holding one of the splayed out bear's ears as her foot rapid fire thumped him right between the eyes.

"Don't. Ever. Call. My. Boyfriend. Cute!" Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Her nearly too fast to understand speech seemed timed to the thumping of her foot, "Nobody. But. Me. Gets. To. Call. Nick. Cute! I. Don't. Care. If. They're. A. Bunny. Or. A. Fox. Or. A. Bear! And. Just. Be. Damned. Glad. You're. Not. A. Vixen. Or. A. Doe. Because. If. I. Thought. You. Were. Making. A. Serious. Pass. At. MY. Boyfriend. I'd. Make. You. Wish. You'd. Been. Iced. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear! Now. Apologize. This. Instant. Or. I'll-"

Since Judy seemed to have that bear well in paw, Nadine angled toward the upright one.

"Wilde!" she shouted, coming in fast. The fox's head popped out of the collar of the bear's jacket and spat a puff of white fur out before turning to see her. His head popped back down as a large white paw swatted at where he'd just been, before he popped up on the other side of the collar, tapped the bear on the cheek and, having gotten the bear's attention, pointed at Nadine.

The bear only had enough time for a shocked expression to appear on his face before Nadine collided with him and Nick jumped away like a parachuter from a crashing plane.

Nadine was big, but the polar bear was even bigger, so she didn't try to just ram him or shove him. No, she used her momentum and training and not inconsiderable strength, and lunged up from her low sprint and grabbed his arm and shoulder before pivoting, one foot behind his to trip him, transferring all her built up momentum to the bear as she spun flipping the larger mammal to the ground.

The bear hit with a resounding THUD louder than the base beat to the music.

"Wilde, what mess have you gotten into this time?!" Nadine snapped as she moved to secure the bear.

"I- They- HE-" Nick pointed at the bear, seeming to almost literally fume and splutter. She snapped her fingers in front of the fox.

"Focus." She said, "C-word reprisals later; what's going on? These two are connected to the Mob right?"

Nick's expression cleared and then got worried.

"Finnick… crap, we need to get to Finnick…"

"Police! Stand back everyone! No need to panic, go back to enjoying the concert. We've got this! Judy, Sheesh, I think you got him good enough," Ralph said, stepping up from the side, and Nadine glanced over to see him pluck Judy off the bear. "Uh-uh, you stay right there." Ralph added with a gesture of the tranq pistol at the bear who'd started to sit up. The bear blinked a few times, saw the tranq pistol and frowned, almost as if considering if the small dart would give a mammal of his size any real trouble.

"Don't try it or you'll be asleep in seconds," Ralph warned and then seeing the bears continued frown, lowered the pistol and held up the bunny still clutched in his other paw. "Or I could always set her on you again."

The bear's frown vanished, and his face went pale.

"That's right," Ralph snickered. "You'd better listen. I got a bunny and I know how to use it!" He bobbed Judy in front of the bear.

"You!" Judy, still dangling from Ralph's paw, snapped her finger out at the bear who went cross eyed staring at her paw. "Apologize!"

"S-s-sorry!" The bear mumbled, still staring just a bit dazedly at her paw.

"Right. Judy, Nick" Ralph glanced at the two of them, "Sorry for crashing your party, but this assignment is yours so we're following your lead. What do we do with these two? Book them?"

"Assignment?" Judy gave Ralph a confused look.

"Opps, forgot. Right we're all just here to enjoy the concert," Ralph said, giving her a wink that she missed, glaring as she was at the bear. "But that still leaves these two." Ralph gestured back at the bears, one sitting and crosseyed and the other dazed on the ground with Nadine holding his paws behind his back.

"I think…" Nick said slowly, "That we can just call this a big misunderstanding. Kevin has apologized and if Raymond does to for calling Judy 'cute'," He glared at the bear Nadine was holding, who in turn looked confused, before a sudden light of realization seemed to dawn on him, and looking almost chagrined, coughed and muttered a grumbly apology. Nick gave him another glare but then seemed to accept that that was all he was likely to get from the mammal turned back to the rest of them. "Then I think we can all leave it at that, right everyone?" Nick smiled around broadly, though when he looked at Judy he mouthed 'Finnick' and Judy's glare at the polar bear disintegrated as her ears dropped. Nadine and Ralph looked at each other, a quick understanding passing between them.

Whatever had been going on before they'd dropped that C-word bomb, the bears weren't the primary goal. Something much bigger was afoot.

"Right, we've got to go anyway and-"

"rrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALPH!"

Nadine's face lost all its color at the howled warcry. She dropped the polar bear's arms as the familiar shout echoed out from nearby in the crowd.

"Yes, we got to go, I think we ALL need to go right NOW!" Ralph yelped, dropping Judy as he scrambled over to grab Nadine's paw and tug. "Judy, Nick, a little hustle if you'd please!".

---

Nick shook his head to clear it and looked at Judy. They needed to get to Finnick and the faster, the better, since he was on the other side of the city. Judy looked back at him with a glance at their friends, and mouthed back, 'Chief's Order'.

Right, they also needed to make sure Nadine didn't have another episode… which, was probably guaranteed to happen if Ralph's parents caught them.

"Ya, um exits um… that way… I think," Nick said, trying to think through how they could manage all that at once and pointing toward the entrance they'd come in. Ralph shot past him with Nadine in tow, heading the way he'd indicated.

He sighed, giving in to the inevitable.

"Bring them along?" Nick asked Judy, and she nodded before they both turned to follow the wolf and tiger.

Only, the wolf and tiger had turned around and were heading back their way even faster than they'd gone running off.

"WILDE, HOPPS, FIND ANOTHER EXIT!" Ralph shouted.

"Uh-oh…" Judy muttered just as he too saw the upraised paw of the mammal making their way through the crowd waving an official looking sheet of paper.

"Side Exit!" Judy shouted, grabbing Nick's paw and dragging him off in the opposite direction, followed closely by Nadine and Ralph. "Forget the main entrance. Get to one of the stadium's side exits!"

"Greg! There they are! Get them!" Came a shout from their side and Judy altered course leading the retreat.

"Got to be another exit this way…" she said, running all out now, with Nick barely able to keep up as they dodged through the crowd. A crowd which, thankfully, was thinning the further away from the stage they got.

"Ralph! You two marked each other!" Mr. Wolford's voice called out from not that far behind them, "Well, marked each other more. I can smell it all the way from here! You know what that means!"

"Don't think you can elope!" Mrs. Wolford called out as she forced her way through the crowd after them. "You two are going to be properly wed and the Pack is going to have it's traditional ceremony and no one is going to be able to say there was anything improper about it! Now get back here and bring my daughter-in-law with you so I can smack some sense into the pair of you!"

"Not by the whiskers on my chinny chin chin!" Nadine practically screeched in terror and picked up the pace, drawing even with Nick.

There was an audible and very disgruntled 'Huff' from behind them and a group of pigs in the way of the fleeing mammals looked up in alarm and scattered.

"There!" Nadine shouted, pointing as they ran, "There's a side entrance!" She beelined in that direction.

It was another few seconds before Nick saw what the larger mammal had spotted, and almost snorted with amusement.

"Out Of The Way! Coming through! MOVE!" Nick shouted at a news crew he was pretty sure they'd almost run over with a Segway earlier. It looked like the entrance before them was the media entrance for the concert, and judging by the news crews reaction they recognized them as well, because this time, they got out of the way a lot faster.

They'd almost cleared the group of camera-mammals and reporters and photographers and escaped outside when Nick looked back and saw Wolford's parents break through the remaining crowd and spot them. A shiver ran up his spine as he saw the grin that ran across the she-wolf's face as she brought both paws up to her muzzle to shout.

---

"Oh now isn't this lucky," Cassandra snickered to Greg as they spotted their son and his mate and their friends charging through the media group to get away from them.

She sucked in a large breath of air and shouted.

"RUNAWAY BRIDE AND GROOM!" she hollered, pointing at the escaping tiger and wolf while Greg dutifully waved the court order in the air for all to see. "Exclusive coverage of their wedding to the first group to stop them and the Groomsmammal and Bridesmaid!"

Every newsy, from the small mouse camera crew to the giraffe photographer, who all moments before, had been making a gap for the running group, turned back like Cassy had thrown raw bait to a group of starving alligators.

"Oh, Cassy… that… that's just cruel!" Greg tried not to laugh as they slowed and watched as pure chaos erupted around the sectioned off entrance. Mammals wielding microphones, camera equipment, sound booms and hand recorders, quite literally charged like they were a motley armed militia.

"Had to… to do something…" Cassy grinned taking in a few breaths of air, "We're not as young as we used to be and that'll keep them running. I… I don't think I could have kept up chasing them all that much longer… not… not after earlier and then all that dancing."

"It has been a while since we've gotten a chance to let loose like that," Greg said, putting his arm around Cassy's shoulder and digging in his pocket. Shouts from the mob of reporters hurled questions, and themselves, on the group of fleeing lovers in an attempt to both stop and interview them at the same time. Others screamed dibs and even a few fights between rival news groups broke out.

"Hey! HEY! Remember the ground rules! No touching of the face and fur!" one reporter was screaming as he fought with another. "It takes my makeup artist furever to get it right for the camera!"

"Think they'll be okay?" Greg asked as they watched as some of the camera crews rushed to take sides with the struggling reporters and a general melee ensued, as the fighting spread and engulfed a group of public radio correspondents that had tried to slip by in the confusion.

"Oh, they'll be fine," Cassy said, watching the spreading chaos with just a bit of awe, before shaking her head. "Ralph picked a good mate. She's strong and smart and I'm sure they can handle a little scuffle like this…"

She looked back at the chaotic brawl growing like a fire in a dry forest and muttered, "I hope…"

"NO INTERVIEWS!" Roared Nadine as if on que and the tigress broke out from the horde of newsies at the far end of the media entrance, "AND GET OFF MY MATE!" she snarled, reaching back to pull Ralph out too.

"Come on!" Wilde shouted at the tiger as he and Judy managed to weasel their way out of the pile of reporters. "Let's go while they're distracted!" he yelled, waving back at the fighting news crews, who on hearing his yell, all stopped and turned to look at their escaping quarry.

There was a moment's silence and then some mammal in that pack shouted, "Policia! Stop those policia from escaping!" and Cassy heard the fox mutter. "Well, I didn't see that coming…" right before the roar of the news mammals drowned out the music behind them.

"RUN!" Hopps yelled before grabbing the fox by the tie and yanking him along with her as she sprinted off, Ralph and Nadine and the entire horde of newsies just on their tails.

"Well, that's certainly something you don't see everyday." Greg muttered, lowering his phone he'd raised to film the whole fiasco as he'd watched with Cassy.

He grinned at his wife waving his phone back and forth for a second.

"How much do you think the news groups would pay for a video of that?"

---

"There's something… inherently… wrong… about this…" Nick gasped between breaths as they ran, following Wolford towards one of the park's parking lots, "I mean… we're… police officers!... Why are… we running?!"

"Because they have the backing of that stupid court order!" Nadine shouted, sounding terrified, and seemingly spurred by that fear, managed to pull ahead of them all a bit.

Nick turned his head back to see that thankfully they'd put some distance between the mob chasing them like they had a bounty on their heads.

Which, sort of was the case…

Nick shook his head at the seeming insanity of the situation and muttered over to Judy running at his side.

"Remind me… to thank you… for forcing me… on all those… morning runs… with you…"

Judy smirked and hopped mid stride to bump his hip.

"And you have yet to beat me at anything other than a sprint," she said, not sounding winded at all.

Nick just shook his head again as they made another turn passing one of the closer parking lots.

"Ralph… where the heck… did you say… you parked?!" Nick shouted, taking another worried look behind them.

"Hey! The lots were… full today! It's not my fault… I could only find parking… at the far end!"

"Well, we'd better hurry up!" Nick shouted, a spike of worry shooting through him as he saw two zebras from one of the camera crews come charging around the bend with some of the mice reporters riding on their shoulders and carrying something between them.

"What the heck?!" Ralph said looking back too with an alarmed expression. "Is… is that one of those… big camera covers?! They can't seriously be… trying to net us with that!...are they?!"

Nick glanced back over to see the two equines swinging the cloth between them back and forth, then again even faster before snapping it forward with an audible crack and catapulting something their way.

"INCOMING!" Nick shouted and ducked as the cannonball like object hurtled toward them and sailed right over his head. His warning came too late for Ralph, who staggered and stumbled as whatever it was slammed into his shoulder.

"AAHHhh! What the hell?!" Ralph shouted, nearly tripping and going down, before the gray cannon ball like thing clinging to his shoulder suddenly uncurled itself and the armadillo stuck a microphone in his face.

"Mr. Wolford! Mr. Wolford! ZNN correspondent Ed Bradley; Is it true that as the heir to the Wolfard pack. Your intended bride, a feline, will become the defacto pack princess of the Wolford Pack? That she will eventually be the female Alpha of one of the most prominent wolf packs in the city!"

"Gahh! It's a reporter! HELP! Get it off! Get it Off! Nadine HELP!" Ralph shouted, trying to pry the reporter off his shoulder unsuccessfully, as his claws failed to get purchase, sliding off the armored hide of the mammal.

"Pack PRINCESS?!" Nadine shrieked, looking over at Ralph with a panicked expression, "What the heck does he mean by Pack Princess RALPH?!"

"Nothing!" Ralph shouted with a guilty expression, "It's just pack politics! I'll Explain Later! Just get him off!"

The armadillo snapped the microphone out toward the tiger, "Miss Fangmeyer, are you saying you didn't know that your fiancé, Ralph Wolford, so called Prince of the Packs is descended from royalty? That you are effectively marrying into royalty?"

"WHAT?!" Nadine shrieked, wide eyed.

"Shut Up! Shut UP! SHUT UP!" Ralph barked at the reporter. "I hate that nickname! That was a joke my brother started that's gotten out of hand!" Ralph glanced over at Nadine and his snarl disappeared, replaced by an anxious expression. He stopped trying to pull the armadillo off himself and started frantically waving at the gaping tigress. "Nadine, it's not like he says! I mean technically it sort of is… but it's NOT. Pack's aren't kingdoms! We don't have autonomy and gave up that royal nonsense centuries ago! There are technically no 'royal' lines anymore!" he gave Nadine a pleading look.

"Technically?!" Nadine shrieked, staring at Ralph.

"Wow…" Nick muttered, "and to think I was… worried that newsies... might make a commotion… if we ever started dating…"

"You don't have any secret noble lineage I should know about, do you?" Judy asked jokingly, though she was looking at Ralph a bit wide eyed too and glancing suspiciously back at him.

Nick snorted over another snap from behind them.

"Sorry Carrots... I'm no prince in disguise… if that's what you were… hoping for." He grinned. "Foxes have never been into… that whole packs… and pecking order thing… Quite the opposite in fact…"

"Mr. Wilde," a small sound recorder was shoved down in front of his face from a flying squirrel that appeared, snapping open his arms and legs and gliding above Nick's head as he ran, "Is that statement a refute of the rumors some have suggested that you are in fact a descendent of the legendary vigilante known as the Hood?"

"GAHHH!" Nick yipped, jumping, then started swatting at the squirrel above his head, who dodged, winging out of the way of his paws, "NO! Don't you dare go starting rumors like that! Go Away! Go Away!"

Judy ended up saving him, again.

"Hey! Leave Nick alone!" Judy hopped up, snagging the squirrel out of the air with both paws and glaring at the smaller mammal as she continued to run. "We're not giving interviews and we're busy and in a hurry so do as he said and Go Away!"

Her attempt to rescue him turned out to be more of a mistake, as the squirrel focused on her.

"Miss Hopps," he said sticking the microphone in her face, "Did you know there is a large heart shaped sticker on your back that says-"

"EEEP!" Judy flushed like a ripe tomato, "NO COMMENT! GO AWAY!" she squeak-squealed and threw the squirrel behind her.

The squirrel though only snapped out his limbs and started gliding behind them again, still shouting questions.

"Is that sticker a secret reference to you being Mr. Wilde's 'Maid Marian'?"

"Are you two pulling a modern age Robin Hood and stealing the Wolford's Pack Prince and Princess so that they can escape the formal pack wedding and elope?"

"Are you and Mr. Wilde eloping along with them? Is that what you meant by 'in a hurry?'."

"Run Faster Nick!" Judy squealed, grabbing his paw as she shot past him, practically dragging him along with her.

Nick, not wanting to get dragged by his bunny, wasn't able to reply as all his effort went into breathing and keeping his feet under him as they came even with Nadine and Ralph, who had just gotten the armadillo off the wolf's back and sent the mammal rolling away like a bowling ball.

There was another snap behind them and two hamsters hit Nadine.

"Minsc-" the first said, scrambling up to her shoulder, "And Boo-" continued the second who'd managed to climb up onto the top of her head. The two small mammals talked in a rapid fire alternating sequence, "from-"

"Fur Realz Magazine-"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Nadine screeched, swatting at the hamster on her shoulder, who sidestepped and then stood on her paw like it was an interview platform, as Nadine continued to shout in alarm, "AHHHHHH! OH GODS, GOSSIP REPORTES! RALPH! HELP! HELP!"

"Miss Fangmeyer-"

"Or is it now Mrs. Wolford?" the second one cut in.

"Or Princess Wolford-" the other added.

"Our audience wants to know-"

"How does your mate's lack of 'classic feline traits' affect your love life?" The first said, bobbing his tiny eyebrows suggestively.

"WHAT?!" Nadine shrieked, staring at the hamster on her paw like he'd unexpectedly whacked her in the face.

"The looooove hooks-" the hamster on her head said, hanging down in front of her face and gesturing with one paw.

"The naturalist feline's prized 'sensation stimulators'-" the other continued, rolling his hips

"The pleasure and pain spines feline females seem to love and hate at the same time-" the first added sotto voce into her ear.

"Does your mates lack of 'pointy bits' make sex better-"

"Or worse?" the other gossip reporter interjected gleefully, looking at Ralph and whispering behind a tiny paw.

"Or…" the one on her head said with a conspiratorial tone, noticing how her eyes glanced over at the wolf, "does his canine 'attributes' make that all knot matter."

"He- I- We- I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT ANY OF THIS!" Nadine roared, her whole neck and face flushing and coloring in the white between her stripes with a heavy blush as she renewed her effort to grab the two surprisingly swift hamsters, "OUR SEX LIFE IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN!"

"HA! Got that on camera Boo, did you see how she looked at him? That blush and longing expression in her eyes!" one of the scurrying hamsters guffawed, "That's going on the front page of the magazine! Their eyes always give them away. I've always said go for the Eyes, Boo! Go for the EYES! That's a money shot right there!"

*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR*

Nadine's verbalized displeasure sounded more than half savage and made Nick and everyone else near her wince; but worse, in her fury to try and get the hamsters scampering around on her off, she started falling behind toward the oncoming mob of reporters chasing them.

"Nadine!" Ralph shouted, looking back with a terrified expression as she fell behind the group.

Nick shook his head in horror, as he saw that the wolf was about to reverse course and go after her.

"Go get the Cruiser so we can escape!" Nick shouted at him, "We'll get those gossip rag rodents off Nadine, so HURRY!"

"What's your plan?!" Judy shouted, following as he backpedaled toward Nadine and the closing mob of fearlessly determined reporters that seemed more than willing to risk becoming tiger fodder to get their scoop and nab the rights to an exclusive story.

He wasn't surprised that the gossip reporters might be that insane, but the rest of the media circus? Some little couples' story and wedding couldn't possibly garner that much interest no matter how odd of a couple they were… could it?

"Plan? Plan? Ha! You think I have a plan for this?!" he all but yelped, feeling a rising panic and his voice showing it.

"You Always have a plan Nick! What would you do as a hustler?!" Judy replied, glancing at him worriedly as the mob chasing them closed with alarming speed.

"Oh, You're not going to like this… You sure you want my 'hustler' plan?" Nick asked with a slightly unhinged laugh as they got to the flailing tiger.

"If it keeps those two from making Nadine lose it, then YES!" Judy replied with another worried look at the pack of oncoming suicidaly rabid media mammals.

"Then keep them distracted for a few seconds!"

"How?!" Judy asked but Nick didn't reply, only turned and howlered up at the two hamsters harassing Nadine.

"Hey! Fuzzballs! Don't you want to ask Judy about our sex life?"

---

"-our sex life?"

Judy tripped over her own feet and on the way to the ground she couldn't help but think Nick had been right. She didn't like this plan. In fact she hated this plan! Though that realization took a moment to process as all her first thoughts were either confused thoughts of 'what sex life?' or elated musings along the lines of 'YESSS! he wants us to have a sex life!'.

She came to a tumbling sprawling stop right by Nadine.

The two hamsters on the other hand paused, swiveled their heads to look at the bunny like she was a walking, talking, gossip gold mine and then scampered in unison across Nadine's clothes and down her arm before stopping, one hanging onto the edge of Nadine's shirt and holding the other as that one proffered a rodent sized video camera at her.

"Then you admit the rumors are true!"

"This was a secret double date for the undercover couples!"

Judy looked up groggily from her crash only for the dangling hamster's to drop as Nadine roared and took another swipe at them.

They landed on Judy, rolled and came up by her nose poking that cursed camera right in her face as they started firing off questions like a machine gun spat bullets.

"Would you like to describe your first experience sleeping with a fox-"

"As a prey mammal, didn't sleeping with a predator scare you at all-"

"Were their troubles with him being too aggressive in bed-"

"Did he bite you at all-"

"Did you enjoy him biting you at all!"

"How did it happen the first time-"

"As a smaller mammal did you have size issues with his-"

Judy, blindsided by the barrage as they kept hitting her with questions like a series of one two punching combo of pure embarrassment, tried to refute it all but ended up sputtering like a teapot coming to a boil.

"That'snoWehaven'tAFRAID!?I'dnever!NotofNick-bite?!he-hey!he'snotthatmuchbig-

"Did you and he tie the knot the first time?"

"Or did you have to work up to that?"

"And since bunnies are known to be quick and resilient in bed, what did you think of an extended session stuck with your lover? good or bad?"

"If you had to give Wilde a rating in bed what would it be?"

"Was he a Doe's delight?"

"Or all fluff and no fun?

"Come on now, our readers want your inside scoop on being a predator's mate!"

Judy didn't just sound like a teapot, she felt like one too as she blushed all the way up to the tips of her quivering ears.

"Wehaveknot!Meep!ImeanNOTknot-OhhSeredipitysaveme!NickandI-MATED?!We'reonly-"

Judy didn't have that feeling like she had back at her first press conference where things seemed to slip out of her control, as she utterly failed to make any coherent response, because this time she'd had no control to even start with! Had Nick's entire plan been to simply throw her to the reporters to save Nadine?! Well… he warned her it was a bad plan, but even by 'bad plans' this was hideously horribly bad! He'd better have more than just that to his 'distraction' plan or she'd…

Judy's thoughts and stuttering jumble of an inadequate reply were interrupted as she saw Nick, curving gracefully through the air mid leap and arcing down toward her like a silent, diving, russet-furred falcon. Her more cogent mind couldn't help but think, 'What the carrot picking hell is he doing?!' while a less cogent part contemplated how elegant and beautiful he seemed leaping through the air like that. Though as beautiful as it might be, it also stirred some vestigial remnants of long lost bunny instincts that screamed, 'DANGER! FOXY PREDATOR! and she shivered. Except that shiver wasn't from that instinctual reaction but from some other not so vestigial and far more powerful reaction to seeing Nick diving towards her. It too shouted 'DANGER! FOXY PREDATOR! but there was a sort of gleeful note to it and a sudden desire to grin stupidly and dart away all the while flashing her tail back at that fox as if to say 'Just try and catch me!'

The urge was so strong Judy found herself starting to do just that, even as she knew she'd seen Nick too late, that he would be on her before she could right herself and take a single hop.

Nick reached out with both his paws leading his dive as if to grab her, and another giddy shiver rolled through her…except Nick didn't grab her.

The two hamster's who'd so deftly avoided the tiger's attempts to swat them away were wholly focused on her and probably could have dodged any attempt she made to grab them, but they never saw nor heard Nick until it was too late.

At the last second something alerted the rodents, maybe his shadow, or maybe her staring at him, but Nick's paws clamped around them before they could dodge and he tucked his head hitting and rolling off Judy in a tumbling ball along the asphalt parking lot.

"Oooowwwwwww…" Nick groaned as he came to a stop, "Never… ever… doing that again without snow to cushion my landing…"

"Nick!" Judy shouted in concern and amazement and disappointment and admiration, and even Nadine stared at the fox for a second with a shocked expression at how he'd snagged the two irritating gossip reporters.

Nick shook his head again and then sat up.

"Right, I think I'll be taking that." Nick said, setting the rodents down but plucking the tiny camera out of their paws with the same dexterity she'd seen him use the tiny silverware at Fru Fru's wedding and started carefully tapping buttons on the mouse sized piece of equipment with the tip of a claw. "And recordings deleted, now let's get the hell out of here!" he said tossing the tiny camera back to the now angrily squealing and fist shaking reporters before bouncing to his feet.

"You two coming?!" Nick shouted as he started legging it away from the two tiny reporters now scurrying after him furiously.

It was only then that Judy realized just how loud the closing mob of reporters had gotten in the few seconds of their scuffle. And apparently so did Nadine because the tiger let out a very loud and very un-tigerly EEP!

Then Judy meeped as the tiger snatched her up off the ground.

Carrot Blast! First Mrs. Wolford and now Nadine, that's the second time today someone's grabbed me like that! Judy couldn't help but think in surprised irritation at the ease with which Nadine had plucked her off the ground.

Nadine though just dropped her onto her back with a growled, "Hang On!" before dropping to all fours.

The tiger seemed absolutely hell bent to a savage degree on getting away from their pursuers now and Judy was almost tossed off before she snagged the collar of her shirt as Nadine leap forward in an all out sprint. It took the larger predator two full strides before she caught up to Nick, but Nadine didn't stop or even slow to grab him, but snatched him mid stride by the scruff of his neck with her jaws.

"HEY!" Nick protested as he found himself suddenly dangling helplessly as Nadine shot across the parking lot. "This is COMPLETELY undignified!" he hollered, his tail curling up between his legs to avoid getting scraped along the ground as he whacked a fist on Nadine's jaw. "Put me down! I'll take my chances with the reporters rather than get hauled around like some kit!" he shouted indignantly, but Nadine paid him no attention and Judy had her hand's full just hanging onto the fleeing tiger. But even if she hadn't, she would certainly not have left Nick to take his chances with those… those… she shuddered… those insane reporters and gossip diggers no matter the indignity to his pride. Plus, he looked kind of cute dangling there like that with his tail curled up protectively, not bunny cute, normal 'cute'.

She snickered

"This is payback for using me and 'our' sex life as a distraction!" Judy shouted towards Nick, who blushed visibly, his tail curling up a bit more.

"Hey! It worked!" He replied, sounding embarrassed and defiant.

Judy just snickered again.

The roar of a familiar car engine met Judy's ears as Ralph and Nadine's cruiser came speeding out of one of the rows of cars ahead of them, skidding to a stop on the main street.

"Lets go! Lets Go!" Ralph shouted as the window to the back seat rolled down and Judy ducked as Nadine leaped. The tigress got half way through the window and dropped Nick before scrambling, her legs flailing with a sound of claws on metal, before making it the rest of the way through and into the vehicle.

"Don't go messing up the paint job!" Ralph said, sounding mildly horrified as Nadine flopped onto the back seat.

"Screw the cruisers paint job! GO GO GO!"Nadine returned with a growl and the cruisers tires squealed as Ralph put his foot down

Nick tumbled down into the footwell as Nadine flopped across the seat and Judy rolled into her as the car skidded, heading for the parking lot exit.

"So do we have a destination in mind besides 'Away from here!' Ralph asked as the car skidded again and then picked up speed.

"Sheesh!" Nick popped his head up from under the seat where he'd rolled. "We've escaped, no need to kill us now that we've gotten away!" He muttered, shaking his head.

"Nick, you have noooooo idea how persistent my parents are. We haven't escaped, we've just pulled ahead a bit," Ralph huffed with a slightly amused and terrified snort.

Nick rolled his eyes, clearly not believing the wolf as he started scampering up and through the opened grating between the back and front of the police cruiser. He flopped down in the passenger seat and started buckling himself in with exaggerated effort, even giving the oversized belt a few tugs to make sure it was secure.

"At least it can't be as bad as riding with Flash…" Nick muttered, then leaning forward as far as he could, started tapping at the cars GPS bringing up a map. "Here, I'll give you directions if you don't mind dropping us off. Judy and I need to get to Koslov's Palace in Tundra Town to pull my friend's tail out of the fire."

Judy, not as car shy as her fox was, still sat herself down in one of the seats and started to buckle up. She'd rather not have to give herself a ticket for not 'clicking it'. Seatbelts weren't just a smart idea, but required by law after all. But as she did so, she noticed Ralph glance back through the rear view mirror and exchange a look and a nod with Nadine before she too started to buckle up too.

"No problem, Nadine and I can take you guys there," Ralph said, looking back to the road ahead of them.

There was something odd about that look, like they'd just been given confirmation of something, and she remembered the comment Ralph had made back at the concert.

"Okay, what's going on with you two?" Judy asked, crossing her arms.

Ralph and Nadine glanced hurriedly at each other again, though this time it had nothing of that silent, conspiring understanding behind it and a hell of a lot more in the way of heated and embarrassed looks.

"Nothing!' They both burst out, blushing and looking away from each other and Nadine started fidgeting right before Ralph's tail started to wag.

Nick snickered.

"You two do realize that you absolutely reek of each other right?" He added and waved a paw in front of his face, grinning. "I mean, I'm finding it a bit hard to breathe in here with how much you two marked each other."

"Ya… that's not what I was asking about, but while I might not have a fox's nose there's no way even I could have missed that…" Judy added, blushing just a bit too. The smell of their marks on each other was almost overpowering in the small confined space and made her own mind wander toward thoughts about her own love life and her brand new boyfriend.

Boyfriend…

She really did like the way that sounded...

"That umm… wasn't- wasn't what, I um… meant… though…" Judy said distractedly trying to redirect the conversation back toward her original question. Her blush worsened though as Ralph's wagging tail started fanning the air around and Judy caught a trace of Nick's… her boyfriend's (some part of her mind giggled gleefully) comforting musky scent…

Judy swallowed hard.

She suddenly felt hot, far far too hot… like the car had turned into a convection oven. It certainly didn't help that Nadine was fidgeting next to her and glancing back toward Ralph every second or so as Ralph's subtler scent mixed with her mark, wafted back along with Nick's muskily pleasant smell.

Hot. Too hot… Judy suddenly found breathing harder than before as the air started feeling thick and stuffy and she shifted uncomfortably. It almost seemed like Nadine was giving off waves of heated scent like a radiator on overdrive as she fidgeted worse than before and if that wasn't bad enough, her scent must have reached the front of the car because even Judy with her average nose was able to detect the noticeable reaction Ralph had, his scent rising in response.

And average nose or not, Judy's better than average hearing caught the distinctive sound Nick made when a scent caught his attention and he tried to smell it with discrete shallow breaths.

"I… um… I ah, meant what… um…" Judy tried again as the veritable fog of scents in the car grew, spiraling out of control in a worsening cycle.

A flush started running up Nadine's neck and she shifted…

Ralph's tail wagged faster fanning his and Nick's scents back and theirs forward…

Judy started to squirm as Nick's musk seemed to get stronger…

Nadine's flush creeped a bit higher…

Too hot… too many smells… tiger, wolf, fox… my fox… my foxy boyfriend… he smells… good… Judy's mind seemed to almost swim in the veritable sea of pheromones filling the air and she felt a little light headed, like she was starting to burn up with a fever from inside out.

Nadine and Ralph's marks…

Life mates...

Their scents so clearly broadcasting their desire for each other…

mates...

Building… growing…

Mixing…

Mating…

That warm comforting musk like wild violets...

Too little air…

Newly mated…

New boyfriend...

Too hot…

Her boyfriend…

Her hot new boyfriend…

Way too hot…

She was too hot…

She needed something to cool her down…

Nick's musky scent…

Nick…

Nick… always made her feel better…

If she could snuggle into that musky scent of his she'd be better…

He always made her feel better…

Nick…

Breath… remember to breathe...

Tiger, Wolf, marks, mates, Fox… bunny? Was that her scent? No… she couldn't smell any of her own scent… she smelled… her fox smelled… nice…

Too hot…

He'd said…

He'd told her… told her he was in love…

Ralph and Nadine were in love…

She wasn't a canine but she couldn't possibly miss those scent signals…

Mated… mates… mating…

He was in love with a 'foxy lady'…

Musky foxy scent…

She was his Foxy Lady...

His unique scent…

In love with her…

In love…

She loved him so much…

Sooooo hot… need to breathe...

She loved him… wanted to be with him… wanted to always be with him… wanted him…

Nick started to make an almost inaudible whine then stopped and mashed the down button for his window.

She thought she heard him moan as he stuck his head out into the blast of air but wasn't sure since her ears seemed to be stuffed with cotton and pounded with the beat of her heart.

"Ahh… sorry," Nick said, sticking his head back in and leaving the window down, "No offense but I think we could use a bit of a breeze in here." He gave a smirk toward Ralph, though it looked a little forced, "You and your new mate, and congrats on that," Nick gave them both a quick wink and sly grin, "Were sort of hotboxing the car."

Nadine's creeping flush surged the rest of the way over her face and she determinedly looked away from Ralph, seeming to wrestle with her emotions… and lose to her blush.

"Hey! That wasn't all us!" Ralph mumbled embarrassedly, pointing a finger at Nick. "You sure started to help out when you smelled J-"

"SHHHH-SHhhhSHHH!" Nick waved his paws at the wolf, making shushing sounds loud enough to drown him out before hissing quietly (though not quietly enough for Judy to miss overhearing), "Dude! Manners! You don't sniff and tell, that's against the canine rules! Keep your nosey insights to yourself!"

"Well it's not my fault if you're getting scent drunk! I at least have an excuse! I'm newly mated!" Ralph hissed back, sounded inordinately pleased about that last bit.

"Right… oh… I um… wanted to congratulate you two as well." Judy smiled up at Nadine, whose blush flared again. "Just didn't have the chance between the fight… and your parents… and that mob of reporters… But, ah… I really think you two are great for each other. You and Ralph make a very cute couple."

"I thought bunnies don't like the c-word?" Nadine muttered still wrestling with her blush.

"No, we just don't like others using it to describe us; it's got a different context coming from a bunny, and you two are very cute together," Judy said with only a minor blush and silently thanked Nick for opening the window. The stream of fresh air was helping to combat the storm of scents and pheromones in the car and, barely, kept it from becoming that overwhelming sweltering fog it had been turning into a few moments before.

She could actually think almost clearly now (and not just about her new boyfriend, her actual not 'friend' friend but boyfriend some part of her thought pedantically with a squeal of joy that was accompanied by a giddy butterfly feeling.). With that breeze she was having a somewhat better time than Nadine in controlling her reactions and blush.

She still felt too hot though… and serendipity curse it, horny now too. Like that cloud of scents that had only partially dispersed thanks to the breeze from Nick's window, had grabbed her bunny drive and thrown the throttle from idle over to full then mashed the nitrous injector too.

Judy concentrated hard, keeping all that at bay. This wasn't any worse than those natural urges puberty smacked her and all bunnies with during their teenage years…

...at least not that much worse… not really… she could still handle it…

Judy fidgeted for a second embarrassed and uncomfortable before mentally slapping herself.

Regardless, all bunnies had to learn to control their libidos or the world would have been overrun by them now, and she, Judy 'ZPD Police Officer' Hopps, wasn't going to lose control to some stray thoughts about her carrot blasted hot boyfriend. Her very hot foxy boyfriend. (Her Boyfriend! *squeal!*) Her cute sexy boyfriend with his musky male scent that made her want to flick her tail at him and cuddle up in his lap… and maybe he'd run his paw over her tail… *shiver*… or caress her ears… *silent groan*… or how those strong paws might feel exploring… other… sensitive areas…

Judy squirmed, her breath becoming a bit heavy and her nose starting to twitch before she realized where her thoughts had started heading and smacked down some discipline on her mind. She would not let some base urges turn her into a brainless panting doe! (not here where others were present and she couldn't deal with her problem properly.) That would have to wait until she could get home and locked herself in her apartment with her fox plushie that just happened to have a custom made hideous floral pattern shirt and tie exactly like Nick's and her super secret collection of hot fox police officer photos (Hey, Jessica might have her huge collection of playbunny magazines to help her to take care of her personal needs, but she on the other paw had a more specific type… a very specific type. Playbunny magazines certainly didn't have her type, in fact it just so happened that there was only one mammal she knew of that fit 'her type', that, how did Mrs. Wolford put it? Cranked her gears)… so she'd bunny up and just manage until she got home…

She could take care of that by herself then.

Though…

A new, dangerous and oh so appealing thought surfaced.

She did have a boyfriend now… so there were other options opening up besides dealing with it by herself…

pause*

contemplate*

Would that be moving too fast?

She didn't want to mess this up.

They'd literally just started dating.

Then again Ralph and Nadine had apparently not even waited that long…

But she was a bunny, a proper bunny!

Maybe wait for a few more dates?

Three was considered perfectly respectable in Bunnyburrow before starting to hop around in bed together…

Two would raise eyebrows and garner some snickers…

One would certainly cause snickers and pointed fingers and lots of unwanted gossip… though… it wasn't unheard of… or really all that uncommon.

But no… she could wait for three, or she could at least take care of herself until three. Their neighbors in Bunnyburrow still snickered about how her parents had wound up engaged by the end of their third date.

No, she would wait for a few more dates before she'd ask Nick back to her place, then a few more dates and they could start making more permanent plans about their future. And, she noted to mollify her raging inner base bunny, today did count as one date. Plus she could ask if he wanted to go out with her tomorrow… did it count as two dates or just one if they went out on a date in the morning then met up again for dinner?

She might have to phone her sister and ask, she'd certainly know. Jessica knew everything when it came to dating. She'd know exactly what was proper… (and all the loopholes a smart doe could use while keeping it 'proper' too.)

Yep. That was the way to do it. Proper by any-bunnys standard. Longer than many she knew back home. Her choice in mates was already going to raise some, okay lots, of eyebrows and ears but no bunny would say she hadn't taken plenty of time to properly court and consider Nick before making the decision to choose him as her mate.

Her life mate…

She would take her time, do it properly, and consider their prospects of a future together thoroughly. Like would he move in with her, or her with him, or somewhere new? How many kits did they want to try for? Oh gosh, kits! She'd always been rather hesitant about the idea. But kits with Nick?

Memories of Nick out at the borrow when they visited her family, Nick grinning as he let the kerfluffle chase after him, teasing them with his long tail. Nick curled up on the big family room sofa with her and the kerfluffle scattered all about them as they watched them to give her parents the night off, a couple of her younger nieces and nephews all cuddled up between her and Nick with his tail wrapped around them all. The caring look on Nick's face as he watched them as the kits fell asleep to whatever movie had been on.

The thought of Nick holding a little red furred baby bunny or gray furred fox kit with that same look…

Thump.

When should they try for kits? It would be best for them to get promoted first in the ZPD before having kits, how hard would it be for them to have kits? Nick was a fox… but then again she was a bunny, and if there was one thing that they were good at… well, bunny common sense would say that expecting to have sex and not possibly get pregnant would be about as stupid as stupid could get… They might need to go consult a doctor on it… but even if it turned out that kits for them were long odds, wouldn't that mean they'd just need to start trying earlier in their plan to counteract the odds? Difficult just meant they'd need to try a bit harder… *giggle* She doubted that would be a problem for them.

Her and Nick together…

*giggle*

Yes, this needed to be done absolutely properly. She'd not tolerate any questions about propriety or legitimacy about her and her mate, Judy flushed a bit more and corrected her thoughts, about her prospective mate. He was her boyfriend, not her mate… (yet…) She was just being smart, logically considering what being mated to Nick would entail rather than jumping in tail first without any thought whatsoever!

Her and Nick…

She and Nick were dating, actually dating!

Nick was her boyfriend! He wasn't in love with some vixen, she didn't have to worry about him wanting to marry someone else! She didn't have that conflicted feeling about being hopelessly in love with a fox who'd already fallen for another female now! No more conflicting feelings about stealing him away. No, it turned out the girl he'd fallen for was her! (and so what if she was a dumb 'Foxy Lady'; he liked HER! And she was now his girlfriend!)

giggle*

She, Judy Laverne Hopps, had a smoking hot, roguish, police officer fox as her boyfriend. Okay, so Nick was the only one of those in the world, but that just showed how awesome her boyfriend was. How many does would kill for a boyfriend like that? Okay then, how many vixens would kill for that!

giggle*

Daydream images of Generic Fox police officer (who just happens to look exactly like Nick), russet fur gleaming with perfection, uniform pristine and molding to that sleek toned body, his tie loose just a tiny bit in a badass cop sort of way and showing just a hint of his ruff as he stepped out of their cruiser with its lights flashing. Dark red paw comes up and swipes his shades off in a dramatic, patently Nickish fashion, and two gorgeous emerald green eyes pin her.

Carrots… You've had your last hustle. Don't try to run, don't try to escape, it won't do you any good.

(Dream Police officer's voice, aka Nick's voice, is stern, hard, its tone telling her she's in trouble, deep trouble, and he's not going to show her any leniency because she's gone too far. Broken a rule there's no fixing, and he's a police officer, and a damned good one at that.)

'You've stolen my heart and now you'll have to pay the price for your actions. I'm taking you in Judy…'

(Dream Nick's voice takes on a sexy rumbly edge over that oh so serious tone)

'For life…'

Giggle*

"Judy!" Nadine said in near mortification. "If the word-that-shall-not-be-said's 'context' is different coming from a bunny then why are you giggling so much!" Nadine was glancing at Ralph again, blushing fit to burst, looking oddly unsure of herself. Like she didn't know how to respond to being congratulated on officially being mated.

That, though, didn't stop her body's apparent decision on how to react as another veritable cloud of scent wafted off the tigress.

"Oh, no!" Judy waved her paws quickly as Nadine's blush flared. "I wasn't giggling at you! You and Ralph do make a cute couple- I mean," she gestured wildly. "You two seem good for each other, like you fit together!" Judy realized as Nadine flushed a bright cherry pink the likes of which is only possible on those just discovering true love or expectant bride-to-be's, that her frantic circular waving with one paw at Ralph and her pointing from Nadine and then back at Ralph (where her paw was making a circle in the air) sort of looked like a big innuendo about them 'fitting' together.

She blushed and immediately stopped gesturing.

"Nadine I didn't mean that. Sorry, I don't mean you two fit in that sort of way!"

"Hey!" Nadine shrilled embarrassedly. "Ralph and I will have no problem 'fitting'!"

"No no no!" Judy grimaced and risked waving her paws again, feeling flustered and talking too fast. "Of course you two will 'fit' I mean you are bigger and-"

Nick made a stifled snickering sound in the front seat. Ralph's ears flattened as he growled back at the fox.

"It doesn't matter if I'm bigger than him!" Nadine snapped in a high defensive tone, giving a worried glance in Ralph's direction like she was afraid that might make him reconsider being with her.

"I got a very good idea of how big he is this morning and he's plenty big enough for me!" she added in a hurried still shrill voice. Then seemed to realize what she'd said as her raging blush exploded like a firework across her striped face.

The inside of Ralph's ears also turned a bright pink at that and perked up attentively.

Nick didn't even bother trying to stifle his snicker this time and leaned over, elbowing the wolf and whispering.

"Plenty Big Enough, eh?"

snicker*

"Way to go buddy! You must have really impressed her!"

"Hey!" Nadine squealed in an embarrassed tea kettle voice as she pointed a claw at Nick while Judy leaned down so low into her seat that she had no problem kicking the back of the passenger seat, wishing furiously that Nick would shut his mouth.

"Don't throw sticks when you live in a glass house Wilde!" Nadine continued shrilly. "I can smell almost as good as you canines! You have your own 'fit' issues to worry about! Let's hope Judy only finds you plenty big enough and not TOO Big!"

Nick's snicker choked off in a spluttered cough and this time it was Ralph's turn to try and stifle his snickers.

Judy on the other hand squeaked as she started blushing that same cherry pink blush Nadine was sporting.

"W-W-W-Whaaaaattttt! We Haven't discussed sex ye-! He's Not TOO BIG!" Judy blurted out with a sort of defensive automatic 'Don't say I can't!' reaction… Then meeped in mortification, staring wide eyed between Nadine, who looked slightly abashed at her outburst and Ralph, who was shooting Nick smug male-ish looks.

Then something else clicked in her mind.

"W-w-what do you mean by that 'can smell almost as good as canines' comment!" Judy stared at Nadine. The tiger already knew that she was in love with Nick, but she didn't know Nick loved her! They'd only just figured that out themselves! How had Nadine known?!

"I, um- Well… it's not like it's a secret!- going to stay a secret-," Nadine corrected, rambling as she looked at Judy with a half apologetic embarrassed expression before hurriedly continuing.

"You and Nick are usually covered in each other's scents but something happened back at the concert!" She said almost accusingly, like she was daring Judy to deny it. "His and your scents aren't their normal bottled up, frustrated, sexualy-repressed flavors. They're now giving off full on open winter gone wild sex-vibes like crazy!"

"Busted!" Ralph snickered grinning at the passenger seat. "Since Nadine brought it up, it's fair game! So…" He turned partway in his seat to grin at Nick who failed to reply with any snarky comment and remained suspiciously quiet. "You and her huh? It's about damned time. The betting pool at the office is going to go ballistic when they hear it finally happened."

"BETTING POOL?!" Judy gaped at Ralph. "WHAT Betting Pool?!" Her ears were all the way up in alarm. "And what do you mean by 'about damned time'!"

"Ummm…" Ralph said, his ears snapping back against his skull with a sort of puppyish 'Opps!' expression. Rather than answer her, he gave a weak smile and shot a pleading 'help?' look Nadine's way through the rearview mirror.

Nadine, seeing the look, blushed all bridal pink again and huffed.

"Oh this is ridiculous…" Nadine turned to Judy pointing a finger right in her nose.

"You and Nick have been dancing around each other for months and months and" *poke* "MONTHS! Like since his first day working with you at the precinct! Everyone and I do mean Everyone knows you and Nick have a thing for each other!"

"That's the understatement of the century…" snickered Ralph and Nadine rolled her eyes.

"Whatever! And as if that wasn't enough, Nick has been following you around like a lost puppy all winter and puffing up like a rooster whenever someone else so much gives you a sideways glance-"

"I do not!" Nick protested indignantly.

"You do," Ralph retorted with a snort. "You really really do. It's rather cut-" He stopped himself with a barely contained snicker as Nick puffed indignantly and Judy started to growl.

"See! Just like that!" Nadine said and then turned her 'done with the B.S.' look back on Judy, "And you! You sneak glances at Nick every possible moment you can with this longing 'I waaaaaaaaant him' look like your dying of thirst in Sahara Square and he's a tall glass of ice water!-"

"More like one of those pawpsicle sticks his friend still sells," Ralph interjected again and Nadine chuffed and shot him a 'stop interrupting me!' glare.

"Sorry dear, continue," Ralph said with tongue-in-cheek sweetness, grinning fit to burst. After a seconds pause in which Nadine's blush reasserted itself, she reached forward just above Ralph's head rest and flicked one of his ears.

"Ow!" Ralph yelped, though he seemed to only grin more afterwards.

Nadine, blush back on the rise, chuffed again and turned back to Judy.

"How neither of you picked up that the other was desperately in love with them is beyond me! It was almost depressing to watch! Gahhhh! It's about time you two FINALLY figured it out!" Nadine shook her head and crossed her arms in irritation as Judy flushed and Nick muttered in the front seat.

"Rooster… I do not puff like a rooster…"

"I… I... fine! So we were a bit slow to figure it out!" Judy said huffing (and blushing), "But you can seriously tell just by how we smell?! I mean, unlike you two, WE haven't gotten to marking each other yet!" Judy blurted out with an accusing finger pointed back at the tiger, then realized how presumptuous of her that sounded (She was supposed to be doing this properly!). She squeaked and shot a concerned glance toward the back of Nick's seat where he was slumped.

Sure, she was certain that's where things were headed (and Like Carrot Picking Hell would she let anyone steal him from her now that she was officially his girlfriend!). But still to just say it like a fact they would… They'd only got around to admitting their feelings and kissing for the first time (well… first real time), and she hadn't started probing Nick yet on whether he was ready for such a commitment! That was atleast a second date topic! Propriety had to be satisfied! The rules needed to be followed! (or she and Nick would get no end of snickered comments from her family and she had a large family!) That and Rutabagas! They hadn't even gotten to rolling around in the hay yet, let alone started talking about that and kits yet!"

"Hey Judy, how's it make you feel to know that Nick, the mammal you're so obviously crushing on, is in LoooooOOOOOOOoooooooove with you?" Ralph said with an ironic retro, almost groovey twist to how he said 'love'.

"I-I…"

A spike of molten warmth rolled through her as she glanced toward Nick's seat.

"I…"

His paw on her cheek looking into her eyes… "You know I love you, right?"… his lips on hers… Kissing her boyfriend for the first time. Their first real kiss… and the kiss that followed… and the kiss that followed that… and then the…

Ralph snickered. Judy's ears snapped up only to then notice that Nick's breathing sounded a bit odd, too heavy… like he was trying very hard not to pant or whine…

"That's how Judy," Ralph grinned and hit the button on his window too. "And you blame us for hotboxing the car?" He snickered again then looked over at Nick with a smug expression, "You okay there?"

Nick didn't answer for a few seconds then just gave a gruff neutral-ish growl, something that sounded like 'Yes, thank you kindly for your concern, but if you do that again I'll have to kill you.'

"Hey, it's not my fault you're letting yourself get scent drunk!" Ralph said defensively, though he still sounded smug.

"And that!" Judy pointed at Ralph embarrassedly. "I keep hearing people saying that! Scent Drunk?! What the heck does that mean?! How is that a give away that we're dating!"

Ralph snorted.

"Pretty much exactly what it sounds like." He said and looked back at Judy tapping his nose. "Bit of a canine thing. Scents tell us a lot more but it's a double edge sword. Just like pepper spray might just be irritating to most mammals but nearly debilitating to canines. We can get a little um, intoxicated, is the best way to describe it, on scents. If you think some scent smells good or is distracting… well, let me tell you, for us it's a whole different level of 'distracting'…"

Judy just stared at him, her expression conveying her total lack of understanding. Ralph shrugged.

"Look… say you really like someone, " Ralph glanced back at Judy through the rearview mirror and grinned, before pointedly looking over at Nick. "You might start to enjoy how they smell, enjoy their particular unique scent just like you might enjoy a particular drink." Ralph's eyes in the rearview mirror caught Judy's. "I'm sure you might have some idea of what I mean by that," Judy blushed hard before Ralph looked back to the road.

"But canines need to be careful that we, um… don't get overly distracted with a scent… particularly of a mammal we're interested in, and um… particularly in winter… scents sort of have a way of bypassing rational thought and jabbing mammals right in the instincts." Ralph gestured with one paw explaining, then pointed at Nick.

"Nick, for example, likes how you smell. And it shows."

"HEY!" Nick spluttered, embarrassed and indignant. Judy flushed.

"Oh, he's tried to be discreet about it," Ralph said in a way that made it seem like he'd failed miserably, though Judy for the life of her couldn't remember Nick ever sniffing her… well intentionally sniffing her, not like that. She flushed more, and sure as hell hoped he'd never realized that she... might have, um... done something similar to him before… a lot.

"Nick here," Ralph said, reaching over and patting the fox's shoulder, "Has been in like, a half buzzed state all winter around you."

Nadine let out a rather unflattering snort at that as Nick mumbled grumpily in the front seat.

"That doesn't explain how you know we made out at the concert!" Judy countered, feeling flustered. Did Nick know she liked cuddling up to him not just because (as she'd heavily implied) it was a bunny thing (which it sort of was… just not quite to that degree…). If he knew she did it instead because she liked how he smelled… and felt… and liked when he put his arm around her…

"Oh so that's what you two were doing!" Ralph said with a wolfish grin and Nick, who'd slunk done in his seat, apparently tried to dye his fur a redder shade just by blushing.

"We only kissed! You two marked each other!" Nick snapped, his ears down and cheeks burning a deeper red.

Nadine flushed more than a little at that, though Ralph simply looked very pleased with himself.

"Judy didn't say you 'kissed', she said you made out," Ralph egged him on, grinning.

"It was just kissing!" Judy huffed not quite looking at the wolf and then muttered quietly, feeling her ears get hot. "Fine… a lot of kissing…"

"Well, whatever you call it," Ralph snickered. "You and Nick finally stopped trying to hide your feelings and let them out. Your scent sure reflects that." He said with an eye roll Judy probably wasn't supposed to see, then cocked a thumb over at Nick. "If he hadn't been so lost all winter with trying to be near you without being near you, and letting himself get half drunk on your scent, Nick here might have actually picked up that you were interested in him just from how you smelled when you were around him."

"I was not scent drunk!" Nick muttered. "And I did pick up on those scents! I… I… just… wasn't sure…" Nick's voice dropped embarrassedly. "Judy's always kind of smelled that way… I didn't- wasn't… wasn't sure it was because she liked… me… or liked…" Nick trailed off looking away from the wolf.

Judy stared at Nick's seat slack jawed.

"You knew! You knew all this time that I've liked you?!" She shrilled, her ears now aflame.

Nick slumped a bit lower as if literally melting under his blush and mumbling something even she couldn't make out.

"Nawww, Judy," Ralph said, attempting to calm her down, though he was obviously struggling not to laugh, "You've had him flustered for so long he couldn't find his own tail if you'd asked him where it was, let alone be able to figure out your scent clues. It's not completely his fault, They weren't anywhere near the level they are now and he's just been stupidly in love with you this whole time. Emphasis on the stupid. I, on the other hand," Ralph said humbly putting his paw on his chest, "Was able to figure out Nadine liked me with one good sniff!"

There was another flick as Nadine's paw flashed forward above his seat.

"Ow!"

"Don't be smug Ralph! You only had to shove your nose between my breast to figure that out! Nick's at least a real gentlemammal and would never do anything so crass!" she huffed dramatically and crossed her arms back over her chest.

And blushed just a bit.

"That was an accident!" Ralph whined with a sort of apologetic, yet still boyishly happy tone. "It's not my fault if they're at the perfect height for me to walk into!" Nadine's blush grew some more but she stuck her nose up in the air. "I just came walking around the corner and it was like WHAM! Right into the two best airbags any mammal could ever wish for! You completely blindsided me just like you did when you dropped your towel! And it's certainly not my fault when right after I ran into you that I assumed the wrong thing when you dragged me into a empty room and locked the door while smelling of excitement and intrigue and-"

Flick*

Yelp!*

Flick*

Yelp!*

"Ow! Why both ears?!"

"There's no need to go telling anyone about any of that!" Nadine said hurriedly retracting her paw and using it to cover her burning face. "Uggghhhhhhhh… Judy, Nick...please, please forget everything you just heard!" she pleaded, shaking her face in her paw.

Judy, her ears still flaming, looked at the blushing tiger and patted her thigh sympathetically before looking at the abashed and yet still boyishly happy wolf.

"You're… you're telling me that any mammals that smells us now can tell we're dating?" Judy asked in a weak, embarrassed tone. She'd have really like the chance to tell Bogo first so he didn't think they were hiding it and what if news got back to Bunnyburrow before she had a chance to break it to her parents in the right way?

Judy's face paled.

Oh dear Carrots above… What if her father heard she was courting a fox before she could tell him in the right manner! He might have a heart attack! He'd tried sending her to Zootopia with a bag full of fox-away products! He'd certainly have a heart attack! She'd be responsible for sending her father to the hospital! Oh this could be bad… very very bad! He'd certainly been trying this last year to be more accepting, working with Gideon, and had even seemed to accept Nick as her police partner (though… there had been that incident where he'd passed out shaking Nick's paw at his graduation…) but as her partner partner…

She'd needed to be very careful how she did this. Get her mother on her side first… then maybe if both of them worked on her father it wouldn't be so bad… She could start making calls as soon as she got home tonight…

Judy gulped, feeling all sorts of butterflies in her stomach, and not necessarily all happy ones as she considered the challenges her change in relationship with Nick was going to bring.

NOT that That wouldn't stop her. Certainly not! She was going to be with him. But… that didn't mean those butterflies didn't frighten her a bit too…

Judy snapped back to the present as she realized that Ralph was talking.

"-so ya… I guess, any mammal with a half decent nose is going to know. You two are so hard up for each other-"

flick*

"Ow! Hey they are! Don't blame me if it's true!"

"Be polite!"

"Fineee. You two smell more like you're a newly mated pair… just without the marks. More like lovers I guess… um… notably without the sex, though… at least not yet; you two do smell like you seriously want to rut ea-"

Flick*

"Ow!"

"Ralph…"

"Um right… but ya, it's pretty easy to tell. Hell, all you have to do is watch Nick. Your scent before was enough to buzz him, but with its shift since you two opened up to each other, Nick smelling you is more like watching someone guzzling moonshine. It's almost funny. *snicker* You're turning my buddy here into a panting mess. You two must have been unbelievably pent up-"

FLICK*

"OW! Nadine! Come on! I need my ears intact! Who taught you ear flicking is a she-wolf thing anyway?! I thought you were a feline! I didn't think I'd have to deal with that if I mated you!"

"I have eyes! I've seen other she-wolves in your pack, and I learn quick! And it's your fault anyway. You decided to claim me as your mate, so deal with it!" Judy saw Nadine look over at Nick, now slumped in an embarrassed puddle in the front seat even as his musk seemed to have ratcheted up a few more notches.

Judy tried covering her own eyes with her ears as she blushed furiously too. Which she suddenly realized, might not have been the smart thing to do.

With her sight blocked and her trying to ignore Ralph and his all too accurate remarks, (at least on her end), she could now pick out her own scent drifting around the car even as the two open windows worked to disperse it. As soon as she smelled the scent she was giving off, her blushed burned hotter and the scent filling the air grew stronger.

Nadine chuffed sympathetically.

"And I'll mention for Judy's benefit," she said with another *Flick* and 'Ow!' as she looked at Judy with understanding pity. "Since Ralph seems to be getting an inflated opinion of himself and so you understand that Nick isn't the only stupid male in this city, that we wouldn't be in such a tight spot with his parents if he hadn't gotten completely 'scent drunk' and TOTALLY lost it this morning where he marked me without even realizing what he was doing!"

Flick*

"HEY! OW! That was unintentional! I couldn't help it! Not after smelling Your living room! I- You- you had my shirt! Your scent was all over my shirt! My Shirt Nadine! You'd clearly been sniffing my shirt while pawing yourse-

Flick*

Flick*

Flick*

Flick*

FLICK*

"OW! OW! Nadine! OW! I'm Driving! OW!"

"BAD WOLF! BAD WOLF!" Nadine's shrieked as she reached forward with both paws over the seat and started pinching the wolf's ears, "It's bad enough you found out about that! GAH! Don't you dare go telling EVERYONE about it!"

Nadine looked over at Judy, a half mortified, half panicked expression on her face.

"You see what I have to put up with now!? AND I'm stuck With Him FOOOOOOOREVER!" she wailed. "Rajah Save me! STUPID BAD WOLF! You'd better be damned careful with Nick!" She released one of the yelping wolf's ears and pointed a finger at Judy, "And don't let him," her pointing claw speared the fox puddle in the passenger seat, "be as DUMB as my stupid, loudmouthed, doesn't-know-when-to-stop-talking, MATE!"

"Nadine…"

Ralph took one of his paws off the steering wheel to rescue his remaining captured ear from the tigress mauling it, snagging her paw with his.

"I'm Sorry! I couldn't help myself! Seeing- Smelling… um… that…" his voice lowered as he brought her paw down to the center console above the top of the lowered grating separating the front and rear seats. "I love you… and I- I lost control…" he glanced back at her in the mirror, seeming ashamed of that admission.

"Sorry?" he asked, pleadingly.

Nadine's mouth stopped mid tirade, stayed that way for a few seconds before snapping shut. Then she thumped her head against the back of his seat a few times, her ears back and showing their white spots. Slowly she brought their clasped paws up to rest against her cheek as she leaned against his seat in defeat.

"Fine… since we're stuck together… I'll forgive you," she closed her eyes muttering like she hoped that would prevent anyone else from hearing her, "I… I love you too."

Ralph's tail started wagging again and he pulled Nadine's paw forward, holding the tiger's bigger paw delicately.

"Thanks Nadine. I promise I won't ever bring up the living room incident again," he kissed the back of her paw lightly. "You know you make me the happiest wolf alive though, right?"

Nadine seemed to have trouble swallowing for a second, before mumbling incoherently into the back of Ralph's seat as she tried to hide her face and held onto Ralph's paw.

"Gahk! Gah! GUYS!" Nick stuttered, pointing at their clasped paws like a horrified kit afraid that he might contract cooties from just witnessing the sight.

Ralph rolled his eyes and glanced over at the fox.

"Oh come on, Nick! That was just one little kiss on the paw. You and Judy were doing way worse earlier!"

"N-NO! NOT YOU GUYS! T-THOSE GUYS!" Nick barely managed to get out in a near petrified tone as his paw made desperate pointing motions at their paws… or rather past their paws and to the open window where a microphone boom was hanging, extended from the window of the news van now driving alongside the police cruiser.

"Mr. Wolford! Would you care to clarify what you meant by 'worse earlier'?" A giraffe said, his head sticking out of a sunroof just ahead of the news vans satellite dish while leaning over to the window to be heard above the whistling air. "We have reports that there was an 'incident' in the Love Tunnel ride. The attendants would only say that one couple capsized a boat while making out while another pair had issues getting, Ehem, 'Un-Stuck' from another."

"NIIIIICK!" Judy unthinkingly shrieked in sudden dread, her mind instantly going back to how it had felt so comfortable to snuggle up with her fox on top of her, and also how it was that same fox's fault they'd gotten stuck to the seat and simultaneously what a colossal problem rumors of that event could make. All while wishing her fox could somehow just make it all disappear.

Her voice apparently conveyed something of her thoughts because the giraffe focused on Nick.

"Mr. Wilde, would you like to comment? Another pair of predators interviewed said they sure smelled what seemed to be a fox and a bunny that had, as they put it, 'Sure as the dickens gone at it' on one of the boats."

Nick seemed to choke, his eyes nearly popping, before shouting back.

"NO, NO! WE DID NOT!"

"They knotted?!" howled the wolf reporter driving the van with glee before banging on the horn and then shouting up at the giraffe. "Hot Damn! I Knew you were good Jim, I just didn't think you were that good! Getting them to admit that they've tied the knot!" Nick made a sort of squeaking sound like a maiden mouse in the shower who'd just had the curtain yanked open as the wolf continued, "First News agency to confirm WildeHopps are Mated! WOOHOO! That's an exclusive headline right there! Quick! While you're on a roll, ask the wolf what the 'living room' incident was! I'll call Headquarters!"

Ralph went pale.

Nick continued to imitate a mute mouse opera singer.

Judy pulled her ears down over her face again, and shrieked her embarrassment into them.

And Nadine… Nadine ROARED.

"I'M GONNA KILL THEM!" she thundered, bashing the down button for the window repeatedly and with such force that it broke before the window had opened more than a crack. She bashed it a few more times than with an unintelligible *ROAR, dug both sets of claws into the opening at the top of the window and with a squeal of grinding gears forced the window down before reaching out and swiping her paw, claws fully extended at the microphone boom.

The cruiser swerved as Ralph's ears pinned down under Nadine's continued Roaring while she swiped at the fuzzily insulated head of the microphone hanging from the rod. The sound-mammal tried desperately to keep it out of her clutches but close enough to the cruiser to catch any other potential tidbits as the giraffe shouted some more hurried questions.

"HAND OVER THAT MIC AND ALL YOUR OTHER RECORDING GEAR AND SWEAR TO NEVER SO MUCH AS BREATHE A WORD OF THIS TO ANYONE EVER SO LONG AS YOU LIVE AND I MIGHT CONSIDER KILLING YOU QUICKLY!" Nadine thundered, straining against her seat belt as she tried to get further out the window still swiping madly at the boom-mic.

"Nadine, You can't kill the reporters!" Ralph shouted back at her wincing as he straightened the car out.

"ARE YOU GOING TO STOP ME?!" she roared back.

"Nadine!" Judy barked reprimanding, her police training getting the upper hand over her embarrassment for a second.

"Um… Maybe?! Yes!?" Ralph replied over her.

Nadine stopped roaring at the microphone boom and roared at Ralph.

"If you kill them," he snapped at her, ears pinned back, "Then Judy and Nick will arrest us and then MY MOTHER will bail us out of jail just to drag us to Our Wedding!"

A look of pure terror rolled across Nadine's face as her ears folded down while her shoulders hunched.

"Hey! I'm With Nadine on this one, Kill Them ALL!" Nick shouted, now huddled in his seat behind the center console as if they had cameras aimed at them and he was at risk of getting shot... which Judy suddenly realized, was probably about exactly right and she hurriedly looked for something to hide behind too.

That didn't stop her from yelling at Nick, chastising him too.

Nadine, still half out the window, was looking at Ralph with a drowned cat expression of misery and confusion, but then the fuzzy microphone on its boomstick bobbed right back in front of her face as the mic-mammal tried to get her response and she roared again.

"THEY'RE REPORTERS! IT'S SELF DEFENSE!" her paw this time snagged the Microphone and her claws dug in.

"THEY HEARD ABOUT US THIS MORNING AND THE LIVING ROOM INCIDENT!" she roared, her other paw snapping over the microphone's extension rod with an iron grip as the sound mammal got an alarmed look on his face.

"THEY HAVE. TO. GO!"

"SORRY Sweetheart!" Ralph shouted back a bit desperately as he hit the brakes, throwing the wheel over to the side, "No killing the reporters today! No matter how much they deserve it!"

~you are no longer following the route. Recalculating~, chimed the GPS unit as Ralph took a hard turn onto a different street. Nadine roared, shaking her captured boom-microphone at the news van as it braked hard, but failed to make the sudden turn to follow them.

~please make the next available U-turn~ the GPS unit chimed just as Judy looked behind them and saw a second news van squeal as it successfully followed them around the bend… then a third…

"Nick!" Ralph shouted, glancing back too. "Directions! NOW."

Nick's head popped up over the center console just as a fourth news van joined the line chasing them and he gulped.

"Ten blocks, then take a left onto Seventh street." Nick said in an almost calm voice that belied the panic in his eyes.

"That will take us downtown!" Judy said with a sudden panic, "We should go straight!"

"That will take us through Sahara Square!" Nick countered waving at the window as he looked at her. "If they have someone ahead of us, they'll call them and cut us off at the tunnel to Tundra Town! Then we'd be screwed! Ralph and Nadine will be extra screwed! The reporters will be Tiger chow! And Finnick will get iced!"

"Downtowns gonna be backed up!" Judy retorted worriedly as the news vans started catching up, "You're the one that told me to never go down town if you can avoid it!"

"Guys!" Ralph shouted as Nadine roared, waving the boom mic she'd acquired like a sword at the pursuing vans.

"It's Valentine's day!" Nick countered, "The traffic should be lighter!"

"Guys! Which way?!" Ralph called as the intersection started approaching and the vans closed on them like pirate ships which suddenly started sprouting a slew of boom mics and cameras like they were cannons.

Judy gulped and even Nadine looked slightly intimidated.

"Straight!"

"Left!"

~Make the next available U-turn~

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!"

"Guys!" Ralph almost whined as Nadine roared at the vans and started batting at their extended microphones with hers. "Which Way?!"

Judy met Nick's eyes for just a second.

Downtown Traffic!

We can make it through!

You taught me to never risk going downtown when you're in a hurry!

Will you stop throwing what I taught you back in my face!

No! I had a good teacher!

We CAN make it through!

We'll get stuck!

We'll think of something!

And what if we don't! Nadine will go savage!

She's already gone Savage!

*ROOOOOOAAARRRRRRRR* "IF I GO DOWN, I'M TAKING YOU ALL WITH ME!" *Sounds of clashing boom mics, piratical shouts of interview questions* "NO! MY MOTHER-IN-LAW CAN GO BITE MY FURRY ASS BEFORE I'LL SURRENDER!"

I mean More Savage!

Then we distract them again!

Nick! I- that- we-haven't-even-had-sex-yet-and-you-want-to-talk-about-it-to-reporters!?

JuuuuuuuUUUUUuuuuuudddyyyy!

*sigh* You sure?

Trust me!

"GUYS, Which Way?" Ralph shouted desperately as the news vans started to box them in and Nadine, outnumbered and overwhelmed, started losing as her flailing paws and now bent boom mic started getting tangled up with mic wires from the other microphones.

"DON'T THINK THAT WILL STOP ME! I STILL GOT MY TEETH!" Nadine roared, baring her fangs. Then a mic booped her on the head and she snapped at it and roared only to have the fuzzy end of microphone shoved in her mouth. "MMHMHHHH! GAMHMMM! MGHG!"

"LEFT!" Both Nick and Judy shouted

Ralph turned right.

Judy nearly got thrown into Nadine's rear as the car swerved but was saved by her seat belt while Nadine was saved from getting flung out of the car by hers.

There was a terrifying moment of squealing tires and roaring engines, and Judy was sure they were about to be in the worst crash in Zootopia history, or at least the craziest one as the cruiser spun, skidding out to the right and barely missing one of the trailing vans. It kept spinning, as Ralph hauled on the wheel and stomped on the breaks. The news vans all shot past as they continued to spin, doing a full circle and a quarter before the cruiser lurched as it came to a complete stop in the middle of the intersection.

Nadine flopped back into her seat, her seat belt ratcheting down from the sudden motion, pinning her in place, even as Ralph threw the car into reverse and they were all thrown forward as he floored the gas pedal.

Nadine grunted through the fuzzy microphone sleeve stuffed in her mouth, while Ralph started down the left turn lane backwards, driving with one paw on the wheel as he bent around in his seat looking through the rear window.

"I don't think you're supposed to drive like this!" Nick shouted, clinging to the seat's armrest, His face a terrified rictus.

Nadine grunted something.

Judy looked at the wolf in admiration.

"Holy Carrots… I gotta learn that trick!

"No! No You do nooooooOOOOOOTT!" Nick shouted as Ralph pulled the emergency break and spun the wheel, shifting back to forward as the car skidded in a short, sharp half circle.

"There, now we're going the right way," Ralph said, flooring the gas pedal again as Nick meeped.

Nadine grunted louder, sounding miffed around her microphone gag as she struggled unsuccessfully to free herself from the tangle of snapped mic cables which immobilized her arms like the worst yarn ball ever while the seat belt, having been overextended, had ratched down holding her in place.

"Give me a minute sweetheart," Ralph said as he checked his mirrors. "I don't see any of them, are we clear?"

Nick was checking the mirror on his side too but it was Judy who heard it before they saw the van as it came around the turn after them.

"That's the first news van we escaped from!" Judy warned as the van, now at least a considerable distance behind them, started picking up speed.

"MghhhHT! GhmhhhtTTT!" Nadine added furiously, her brows furrowing at the mention of the news reporters.

"If you're going to try attacking them again, I'm gonna leave you tied up and in time out!" Ralph threatened and Nadine's ears snapped down as she glared and kicked his seat.

"Heh. Can't flick my ears now can you?" Ralph chuckled and Nadine's tail snapped furiously as she seemed to pout bad temperedly.

"Oh don't sulk," Ralph said grinning at her through the rearview mirror. "It's your own fault you're all tangled up like that, though…" his grin got boyish. "It makes me really really want to boop your nose since you can't stop me right now…"

Nadine blushed badly and her tail made a whip crack sound. Then, her blush only getting worse every second, she started sputtering furiously at Ralph.

"Could you save the flirting for later Romeo? Oh, and take the next right up here." Nick pointed as he fiddled with the GPS.

"I thought you were taking us through downtown?" Judy asked in confusion, mentally pulling up a map and trying to figure out what Nick was thinking.

"Sure am," Nick answered smoothly, "But only an idiot drives though Downtown. We can avoid most of the snarl by going through downtown's residential section."

"Nick!" Judy's ears snapped up with worry. That wouldn't work at all! "They put in all those low speed zones to stop people from driving through there to commute! If we go that way they're sure to catch up!"

"Right you are Carrots," Nick added like a proud teacher, tossing her the hand mic for the cruiser's radio. "Can you check to see who's on speeder detail today?"

Judy caught the mic easily enough, but it took her a second to catch up to her fox, then…

"OHHHHhhhh! Oh that's devious!" Judy shared a grin with Nick. He winked at her before turning the radio unit on.

"Station 1, Hopps here-"

"Hopps?" Delgato's voice cut across almost immediately. "Everyone thought you were with Wi… um… at the concert? No, Don't tell me you decided to work Valentine's evening too?! Ughhhhh…" there was some muttering about hopeless idiots. "Hopps, you do know that all work and no play will wear that hop right out of your name, right?! Plus we all can't keep up with that kind of insane work schedule! It makes us look bad! I'm supposed to be the best looking Lion around!" Ralph let out an amused snort at that last bit which Judy was pretty sure Delgato hadn't meant to broadcast.

"Delgato… flicking your mane doesn't make you a good officer," Ralph commented. "Movie star maybe… but not Police officer."

There was an indignant huff.

"And what are you doing with Hopps, Wolford? You're supposed to be on a date with Fangmeyer," He said that with more hidden, sly-nudging and enthusiasm than any gossiping school girl could have possibly managed. There was some muffled grunting from Nadine as her tail started snapping again, "And wait, wasn't Hopps supposed to be officially off duty?!" *GASP* "She hasn't kidnapped you so she can try and sneak in extra hours around Bogo's back has she? Hummm… if you're not on your date with Nadine then maybe I still have a chance to convince her to come out with me and the lionesses as soon as my shift is over…"

There was a crunching sound and Nadine spit out the remains of the microphone.

"Don't even think about it Delgato! Ralph and I are going to be busy and if Ralph's mother can't stop us then you don't have a chance in hell!" she snarled, ears pinned back.

"Bad Kitty! No snapping at our friends!" Ralph waved a finger at her reprimanding. "You're still in time out until you cool down."

Nadine bit his finger and Ralph yelped.

"Delgato… ya… you might want to avoid teasing Nadine… she's had a bit of a rough day," Judy muttered into the mic, as Nadine growled, refusing to let go of Ralph's paw as he yelped again, trying to get it back and keep driving at the same time. Judy shook her head. "To answer your questions. I am off duty and Ralph is on a date with Nadine, and they are just dropping me and Nick off. And as much as I'm sure you'd love to gossip, we called because we wanted to know who's on speeder duty near downtown."

"Oh, that's McHorn and Francine. Why?" there was the sound of another line cutting in across the radio.

"Judy! What can we do for you?" Francine trumpeted, then attempted to talk in a quieter, almost conspiratorial manner. "I heard from Clawhauser that he saw you two at the concert, said you and Wilde looked like you were getting pret-t-y 'hot and heavy'! Is there something you want to tell your girlfriends at the station?!" The excited elephant added leadingly.

"Seriously? You already know about that?!" Judy facepalmed, blushing.

"Give girl, Give! Did something happen between you two? You know you won't be able to hide it!" Francine continued relentlessly.

"I…" Judy's ears were burning now, but there really wasn't any point in hiding what had happened, nor did she really want to. "We, um…" her blushed just about doubled, "We're going out now…" She finished.

Francine squealed and, unexpectedly, McHorn started shouting triumphantly.

"YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS! HA! I WON! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN TODAY! DADDY'S GETTING THAT NEW GRILL HE WANTED! BULLYA!"

"Guys! Guys!" Judy shouted into the mic over the radio noise, Nadine's continued growling and Ralph's yelping. She was blushing furiously now too. "GUYS! Can you keep a lid on it for now!" she asked in a flustered tone. "We need to talk to Bogo and I need to warn my mother so she can warn my father before the news gets to him and he has a heart attack!"

"Judy… might want to hurry things up!" Nick warned while looking back at the lone van catching up to them. Judy thankfully noticed at least that she wasn't the only one blushing now after seeing Nick's reddening face.

"Francine…" Judy said into the mic desperately as the cheering continued. "Come on please? Keep it down and… and… I'll tell you about it later, okay? We actually need your help for something."

There was a thump and McHorn's boisterous, jubilant shouts cut off.

"Absolutely, our lips are sealed!" Francine said, "Nobody is going to hear about it from us-"

"Except Delgato, and everyone else on the channel, and every mammal with a police scanner…" Nick muttered, the inside of his ears turning a brighter red as he watched the van still pursuing them.

"-us, so what can we do for you Judy?" Francine finished enthusiastically. Judy tried to control her own raging blush. To take her mind off that, she checked the street sign as they passed through an intersection and Ralph slowed to the new speed limit, the news van now gaining on them fast.

"You guys at the usual speed trap spot for the new residential section, right?" Judy asked hurriedly.

"Sure am. Been sitting her for most of the afternoon after swapping with Johnson and Higgins. Hasn't been much to do. I think mammals have caught on and we're going to need to change up the spot soon."

"Good." Judy said as they passed by the other cruiser that had pulled off on a side street parking spot hidden by a corner building. "Then could you pull over this news van chasing us?"

"Chasing you? Why are you being chased by a news van?! And you of all mammals know we can't pull someone over without reason." Francine said confused right before the news van blew by the intersection.

McHorn, back to his usual briskness grunted.

"Fifty two, more than twenty over."

"Oh…" there was the sound of sirens as Francine's cruiser pulled out behind the news van. "Never mind Judy, we got them." Judy took a moment's satisfaction as she watched the confused looks of the mammals in the news van that had just caught up to them. The sound mammal suddenly started pointing toward the dashboard, apparently realizing how fast they'd been going. The news crew started arguing with pointed fingers at the cruiser they were chasing, then back at the cruiser tailing them with lights flashing, before the disgruntled driver pulled over.

Judy turned back to Nick who was grinning now and they high fived.

"Oh, that was so much better than the talk-about-our-sex-life plan Nick!" Judy beamed.

"Sex Life?!" Delgato's voice cut across Judy's beaming smile like a knife. She looked down at the mic still in her paw with the toggle pressed and her smile started to bleed out.

"For how long? When did you and Nick start?! Was it Christmas Eve? Tell me it was Christmas Eve!"

"NO DAMNIT, YOUR NOT TAKING MY NEW GRILL FROM ME DELGATO!" McHorn bellowed over the radio.

"Oh no no no…" Judy muttered flopping her head down into her paws as her blush roared back over her face. "This can't possibly get any worse."

"Come on Hopps, this is important! We need to know when you and Wilde started… hey," Delgato's voice almost tripped over itself and he continued in a flustered confused tone, "is… is… someone purring over the police band?!"

The channel went silent and it became apparent that there was a low rising purr coming from somewhere. In fact it wasn't coming from the radio at all…

"Nadine! Come on! I need that paw to drive!" Ralph pleaded into the sudden silence and the purr rose higher.

"Please? Nadiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine…" Ralph practically whimpered, and whimpered in a way that was clearly not from pain. "Can't this wait until we get home?" he asked, sounding desperate.

Puuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

Judy turned her head and saw Nadine, still with Ralph's paw held fast in her jaws as she sat there pinned in place and immobilized, though she wasn't staring moodily with that half savage anger at the wolf anymore… she still looked half savage just in a completely different way.

Puuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

"Nadine?! Is THAT You?" Delgato's voice cut through the silence again, sounding like Christmas had just come early. "Oh my… When Clawhauser hears about Thi-"

There was a click and the radio went dead right as Nadine's eyes lost their feral edge and flew open.

"NO Delgato! Don't You Dare Tell Clawhauser!" Nadine shouted, (and Ralph reclaimed his freed paw, "Nick! Turn that Radio back on!"

"I, um… think it's better if we leave it off," Nick muttered, looking at the radio like it was a snake. "I really don't want to hear all the gossip that's about to start."

Judy nodded her head so hard in agreement that her ears flopped back and forth.

"But! But! I wasn't really purring was I?!" Nadine said frantically looking at the radio almost as if wondering if ripping it to shreds would fix her mistake.

"Ummmm…" Ralph winced.

"Ummmm…" Nick said.

"Ummmm…" Judy parroted.

"Maybe a little?" Ralph added with a hesitant smile toward his mate and seeing that wasn't helping, Judy pitched in.

"I mean it was just a little purr, it's no big deal right?"

"Judy…" Nick muttered quietly. "It's a big deal to felines…"

"Ohhh…"

Judy looked back over to Nadine who, all the fight seeming to have gone out of her, now looked almost ready to cry.

"Hey, it can't be that bad. Nick sort of does this rumbly purr thing when he's really happy."

"JUDY!" Nick yelped and Ralph broke out laughing.

"He… he does?" Nadine whispered in a small shocked voice looking over at the fox, who'd puffed up in embarrassment.

Judy, now feeling embarrassed herself, looked back and forth between Nick and Nadine, and wondered if she should answer.

Ralph continued to laugh.

"Oh shut up and drive!" Nick muttered pointing toward the road.

---

By the time they made it too tundratown, Ralph had stopped laughing (mostly…), Nick was grumpy and moody in the passenger seat and Judy had managed to get enough of the mic cables wrapping Nadine up loosened to the point the tiger was able to free her arms and cut away the rest with her claws.

"Are you sure we couldn't go back and arrest all those news reporters, Judy? I mean, isn't that assaulting a police officer?"

Judy shook her head.

"They'd almost certainly argue they were working for Ralph's mother to bring us in under that court order."

"But… but… damnit I don't like being the one being chased! I like doing the chasing!" Nadine fumed, though she seemed a good bit calmer now that there weren't any reporters in the immediate vicinity.

"Nadine," Ralph said from the front seat as they drove through the western climate wall tunnel to Tundratown, a slow grin forming on his face. "I thought you said that you wanted me to chase and woo you?"

"I- That's- That's a special case!" Nadine said and paw flashed forward to flick his ear… and missed.

Ralph snickered, one paw covering his ears protectively as Nadine huffed, withdrawing her paw right before Ralph managed to snag it in turn.

The two of them shared a series of looks which ended with Nadine glaring at Ralph's seat, half angrily and half hungrily, as her scent spiked again.

"Ralph…" Nick muttered shaking his head as he glanced over from his sullen, I-do-not-puff-and-purr-sulk. "You realize that teasing a tiger and grabbing her tail is not the smartest thing right?"

"Oh, I beg to differ," Ralph chuckled. "That sure worked out fine for me this morning."

"I laid you out flat this morning!" Nadine growled. "I owned you. You were a half unconscious mess by the time I finished," she said flatly and both Judy and Nick winced. They'd fought her in the ZPD ring before and Nadine was a force to be reckoned with.

Ralph though only hummed happily for a second, his tail starting to wag.

"And I still want a rematch," he added with a grin toward Nadine. She chuffed a bit and looked away, a blush rolling up her cheeks.

Judy, slightly confused by their odd flirting… and even more confusingly, slightly turned on, leaned over to the tigress and whispered.

"What kind of fight did you have with Ralph?!"

"I… it was… I don't know! It was complicated!" Nadine whispered back to her, blush rising a bit more.

Nick just shook his head in a comically pitying way as he looked over at the grinning wolf.

"Remind me to come by your hospital room and tell you I told you so after your honeymoon," he said jokingly… except that Ralph's grin sort of froze and his tail stopped wagging and dropped like it had been shot.

"Um… Ralph…" Nick looked over at the wolf with concern… "You okay there bud? That was a joke. You know that, right?"

Ralph gulped and glanced at Nadine, a hesitant puppy smile on his face.

"Nadine… you're, um, dad was joking about that whole first time in heat and 'not wanting us to end up in the hospital' thing right?"

Both Judy and Nick stopped and turned around to stare at the tigress with a mix of confusion and curiosity. Nadine's mouth worked for a second but no words came out.

"Right…?" Ralph added again this time sounding a touch more worried.

"I- Yesssssnnooooo!" Nadine finally managed and flushed hard. "Ralph, look," she said hurriedly waving her paws. "I'm not one of those pure naturalist felines where sex has to be a battle! So no! No hospitals! No clawing each other up! No biting!... not much biting," she flushed harder. "No serious biting! I- look we just might need to be a wee bit careful, okay! I certainly don't want you to hurt yourself! I need you fit for more than just one round! One round is not going to be enough, not after-" Nadine snapped her mouth shut, her entire face blushing red as she glanced at Judy with her ears upright and attentive and Nick looking on very curiously, and then glanced back to Ralph desperately.

"We can discuss the details as soon as we're home, okay? Just, No. No Hospitals! Sex, yes. We are having sex! Hospital, HELL No!" She said with such force it was like getting slapped by the frozen paw of old man winter himself.

Judy's teeth instantly started chattering and her upright ear, flattened themselves along her back to try and stay warm. Nadine's fur spiked and a visible shiver ran up her spine.

"Holy Crap! GAHHH! Put the windows up!" Nadine shouted as the car filled with a white flurry of furiously wind-gusted snow.

Nick managed to close his window first, though to be fair, Ralph had his paws full with maintaining control of the cruiser as they exited the tunnel into near white out conditions.

"Hold on, this should clear up as soon as we're away from the Climate wall!" Ralph shouted through the howling snow still gusting through his half closed window as he tried to drive, shield his eyes and close the window all at once.

Nadine, apparently not satisfied with that, managed to lean around her seat belt enough to reach a paw up past his seat to the window controls.

"Gahhhhh! UP! UP! NOT DOWN!" Nick shouted from his seat, curling up into a ball and using his tail as a shield as his window dropped and a snowy gust smacked him in the face.

"Sorry!" Nadine shouted back, "Working on it!", reaching desperately with her paw.

"Got it!" she shouted triumphantly and all the windows in the cruiser dropped.

Judy had to admit later, that Ralph's driving skill might surpass her own. He managed to maintain control of the vehicle even as the entire car turned momentarily into a micro blizzard of howling snow and screeching mammals.

It only lasted for a few seconds before the windows went back up and the storm stopped, or at least was regulated to outside the car, but for those few moments it had been like nothing Judy had ever experienced before. She'd lived through her fair share of storms and even a few winter blizzards out in Bunnyburrow, but by the time the last window closed and the howling wind was cut off, Judy found herself buried in a small drift of snow in the back of the car.

"F-Freezing c-c-carrots and c-cabbage balls!" Judy muttered popping her head up through the white powder piled over her. She realized she'd gotten the worst of it as the snow had unluckily piled up in her corner of the cruiser. She shivered, though not as badly as the tigress who looked like someone had flash frozen her whiskers. Judy started pushing the snow off the seat and into the foot rest.

"I d-don't remember the c-c-climate w-wall making so m-much snow the l-last time w-we were here," Judy mumbled, teeth chattering.

"It usually doesn't," Nick answered in the same sort of crabby, pouty, almost cute, haven't-had-my-coffee-yet tone he had when they had to get up extra early for the occasional odd hour assignments. "Something has to be going on because I've never seen them making snow like that before," Nick muttered, shaking himself and sending up a small cloud of snow.

"Nadine, I think your understanding of the phrase, 'Got it.' Needs work!" Nick snarked at the tiger as he shook himself again, before taking his tail and brushing the remaining snow off of it.

"S-S-shut, u-u-up!" Nadine managed to respond, clutching herself as she shivered. "Y-you at l-l-least have t-t-that F-F-Fluffy tail o-of yours to k-keep w-w-warm!"

"Jealous?" Nick snickered back, brushing his pride and joy with extra vanity (even for him), and then snuggled his cheek against the oh so soft...and warm looking… fluffy… russet and deep red fur of his tail as he grinned at the tigress.

Nadine growled and Judy looked away from Nick and his fluffy tail to the mini snow drift she was still stuck in.

"Oh screw this," She muttered and then quickly unbuckled and scampered out of the snow, over the grating and center console and practically dove into Nick's seat, wrapping herself up in his tail like it was a double sized scarf. She sighed, feeling better almost immediately and then adjusted his seat buckle to cover them both.

"I… I… t-t-thought that n-no one w-w-was a-allowed t-to touch y-your t-t-tail," Nadine said, looking at Judy snuggled up happily next to Nick as if the bunny had just abandoned her to freeze alone.

"Sorry," Judy mouthed, blushing at the tigress as Nick tried to look stoic and like he wasn't blushing too now and muttered about 'special exceptions'.

"I'd offer Nadine," Ralph said looking back at her, the powdering of snow on his fur and the small icicles on his chin that had started to form, seeming to not affect him. "But I don't think it would be the smartest thing to try while driving."

Ralph grinned playfully, but then noticed the contemplative look she was giving him and his seat. He hurriedly reached over, turned the heat on and cranked it up to full.

A blast of warm air came through the vents and Nadine groaned in relief.

"T-thank you," Nadine managed as her shivers subsided. She shot the wolf a grateful glance. "I could kiss you for that."

"Carefully with what you promise," Ralph answered easily with another glance and smile at her. "Because I'm planning to take you up on that."

Nadine blushed a bit, eying the snow covered wolf and then huffed.

"Let me correct that, I'll kiss you once you defrost your muzzle."

"As long as I get my kiss," Ralph said happily, his tail starting to wag as the view in front of the car started to clear up as they got further away from the Climate wall.

Except it didn't clear up all that much and his enthusiastic wagging dampened as they all got a look at the storm clouds moving down the mountains and already starting to drop even more snow.

"Ummm… where exactly are we going again?" Ralph asked craning his head upwards to look at the massive storm front as a snowplow whistled by them in the opposite direction, plowing the snow that had already started accumulating on the street.

"Ummm… up there…" Nick said hesitantly, pointing up the mountain right toward where the snow was already coming down thicker.

Nadine and Ralph exchanged glances again, with a look toward her and Nick, and then seemed to nod to each other.

"Right…" Ralph turned off the main street onto the small winding mountain road that the hurriedly working snowplows hadn't managed to keep entirely plowed and switched the cruiser over to four wheel drive. "We'd better hurry so Judy and Nick can save their… um, friend." Judy caught the wolf and tiger exchanged knowing glances again. "Then we all better hustle and get the hell out of here before that storm catches and buries us alive."

Nick nodded, his attention still fixed on the storm.

"We owe you guys one. I don't know how we would have gotten there before the storm caught us if it wasn't for you two."

"Don't worry about it," Ralph said, waving off his thanks with a paw as Nadine nodded in agreement. A sort of too casual agreement, like they'd planned on this.

"Okay, what is going on, you two," Judy asked in a no nonsense tone, giving them stern glances (or at least as stern as she could be cuddled up against Nick and using his tail as a fashion accessory. A very warm, very comfortable fashion accessory.)

They glanced at each other again, then her, as Judy's nose twitched and her eyes narrowed, a sort of 'oh crap she's unto us!' look coming over both wolf and tiger.

"We got, um, distracted… before, but you two aren't getting out of answering this time." Judy crossed her arms under her furry, oh so nice smelling scarf, and her foot started tapping impatiently as she looked hard at their friends.

"Oh-oh…" Nick muttered watching her foot and giving a knowing glance toward Ralph. "Bunny's reached her limit," he said with a not quite snicker, and Judy flicked an ear whacking his shoulder smartly.

He gave out another muffled snicker but wisely shut up.

"Look Judy," Nadine started with a concerned glance toward Ralph. "It was mostly my idea-"

"No, it was our idea," Ralph countered, though Nadine continued right over him.

"We heard some rumors going around about your assignments, um… supposed assignments, not that there were any!" she said hurriedly, then continued on even faster. "It's just, darnit, we've been working a lot of mob cases recently and there's been… odd rumors… information about strange activity, stuff that just doesn't make sense! With this, and that, and some other stuff, we figured that there might be something going on today with you two. We figured that it wouldn't hurt if we just happened to be at the concert incase something did go down! It's better to have backup and not need it than the reverse!"

"Wait, you guys heard something about what was going down between Finnick and the mob?" Nick asked, all snark gone and his attention now fully back on their current task.

Ralph glanced at Nadine and she shrugged.

"Not about your friend in particular… but it wasn't a surprising to us that those two bears showed up at the concert. We assumed that was some sort of warning?"

Nick slumped back in the seat and Judy could feel the tension building in him. She bumped him and took his paw in hers with a squeeze; a sort of, 'don't worry, we have this' squeeze.

Nick looked at her and relaxed before nodding in return.

"It was more a call for help than a warning," Nick added to Ralph, "It looks like something happened that stirred up some old bad blood from my hustler days and my friend got caught up with it."

"You mean that Fennec fox you worked with? The guy that passes us info now and then on what's happening on the street?"

Nick's ears flattened, and he glanced around quickly like they might be overheard while driving through a growing blizzard.

"How the heck do you know he passes the ZPD info?!" Nick hissed in alarm over at the wolf. "Besides Judy and I, Bogo is the only one that should know that! He could get in some seriously hot water, or really, really, ice cold water, if you get my meaning, if that gets out!"

"Whoa, it's fine, no one is going to find out Nick!" Ralph said, making calming motions with his paw.

"Ralph knows because he gets a lot of the toughest undercover work, Nick," Nadine added, as if that should be obvious. "He's had a few run-ins with your friend before on assignments. I know because I'm his backup, and if things go south and I have to come charging in leading the rest of the SWAT unit, we want to make sure your friend doesn't get shot by mistake."

"Right, as far as I know, no one else is aware of his help," Ralph finished.

Nick grunted, not seeming particularly happy about it, but then nodded.

"Okay… well that explains why you might have heard about something involving him too," Nick shook his head worriedly, before looking at them both seriously. "The problem we have right now is that we're working off the books. Fin's called in a favor. He thinks he has some plan to get him out of trouble but that means it can't be the ZPD coming to bail him out. Even just grabbing a ride in your assigned cruiser to get there is risking involving the ZPD too much." Nick looked back out at the snow outside which had grown stronger since they'd entered tundra town and shook his head. "Not that I'm sure how else we would have gotten there, though," he finished with a mutter.

"Well then," Ralph said, seeming to perk up as he smiled at Nadine and she smiled back at him. Almost grinned, really. "It's a good thing we're off duty as well. That means we can help too."

Nick started to say something, stopped, and got a funny look on his face like he did sometimes when he was trying to cover up his emotions. Judy smiled happily, snuggling up against him.

"It's good to have true friends, the kind that will always help you out in a bind, isn't it?" Judy asked, looking up at her fox. Nick had opened up in a lot of ways ever since heading to the police academy, but sometimes, especially when reminders from his past cropped up, he seemed to slip back a bit… fall back into old habits and look at the world like it was them versus him. It wasn't often, and it seemed to happen less and less, but she was determined to show him that he wasn't alone. That he would always have her and that they would always have their friends. He might tease her for being an overly optimistic, naive bunny, but she thought that her optimistic world was better than living in a gloomy, hopeless one.

And given how Nick looked back at her and smiled, how his arm went around her and pulled her close, she thought he agreed with her too.

"Right you are Carrots, it is good to have friends you can trust."

Nick leaned down and placed a kiss between her ears and she hummed a bit, snuggling closer. It didn't matter what crazy fight they might be running toward. With Nick by her side, with their friends at their back, they'd find their way through.

They didn't say anything more for a bit, until the sound of Ralph's wagging tail became too distracting and they realized that Ralph and Nadine kept covertly glancing at them, sharing hidden smiles.

"What?" Judy asked feeling her cheeks warm.

That was just because Nick's tail made for an excellent scarf she told herself and fought not to blush more as she saw Nadine, still trying not to smile, bite her lip as if to prevent herself from speaking.

Ralph though didn't seem to have the same problem.

"Do you two have any idea just how cu-"

Flick*

"Ow!"

"C-Word!" Nadine hissed and Ralph gave her a sheepish expression as she turned to Judy and blushed a little.

"Ralph just means that you and Nick together look c-… umm… that you make for a c-…" Nadine's eyebrows furrowed. "Oh bloody hell," she turned back to Ralph in exasperation, discreetly waving her paw at her and Nick snuggling in the passenger seat. "How the hell aren't we supposed to use that word when describing them?!"

"I don't know!" Ralph whispered back to her behind a paw, as if that could stop Judy from hearing. "They were cute enough before, but now seeing them being all openly cuddly and coupley?" he shook his head. "Even the city's most ardent species purity supporters couldn't deny how cute they are! Sheesh, as soon as word of them dating gets around, you know that those stuck-ups are going to be arguing that they're too cute, that it's a crime against nature for anything to be that cute, that the gods intended mammals to stay with their own species to prevent that kind of cute-"

"Guys!" Judy said desperately, flushing so badly she was afraid she might pass out, "Okay! We get the point! Thank you, but please stop calling us cute!" She looked up at Nick who was blushing and holding her protectively. He looked more embarrassed than any hustler had a right to be, yet simultaneously not all that unpleased about the situation…

Judy's flush worsened dramatically as another wave of heat rolled through her, making her ears burn and her tail twitch as she melted further into her fluffy scarf.

"It's not like we're the only cute couple," Judy mumbled, embarrassment and happiness waring within her. "You and Ralph looked really cute together at the concert too."

"Awwww… you're just saying that because it was dark in there," Ralph said jokingly, though he was shooting Nadine happy looks that had her flushing while his tail started to wag again. "I don't think we could ever look as- um… adorable? *grin* as you two."

Judy flushed again and Nick, who she thought had been oddly silent and slow with his usual wit, groaned, closing his half lidded eyes and buried his nose in her neck.

Judy meeped softly, then shivered and went near boneless against him as his nose nuzzled softly into her fur, fluttering it as he breathed in long shallow breaths.

"Ni… n… Nick…" Judy tried to speak, and mostly failed… then practically moaned as Nick's nose nuzzled her again and his tongue darted out to give her neck a short soft lick. Her whole body shivered and folded against him, her mind suddenly having trouble thinking as she vaguely became aware of just how strong Nick's scent had become. In fact, with the vents still blasting hot air and the windows closed, the air in the vehicle had slowly yet subtly filled up with a fog of their scents again. Hers, and Ralph's, and Nadine's, and oh gods sooooo much of Nick's comforting musky smell, It was all around her, light and fluffy like his tail, earthy and compelling and she just wanted to snuggle into the source of that musky smell forever…

"Oh-oh… Nick! Buddy! Breathe! No! Not in her fur! Crap! Darnit isn't there a paper bag or something in this car?"

Judy didn't quite process the sounds through the rushing noise in her ears as Nick's nose nuzzled its way along the side of her neck to the hollow of her throat and fluttered her fur again.

"Nadine, can you help them?"

"… Nadine?"

A low, almost inaudible purr seemed to fill the car followed by a desperate whine.

"Nadine… *whine* oh gods… concentrate… road… driving… got to concentrate…"

purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

whimper*

"Sorry Nadine!"

A blast of cold snow and wind filled the car just as Nick's tongue flicked, licking lightly at Judy's throat and her moan turned into a Meep. Nick bit his tongue and with a startled yip, as a deafening YOWL echoed through the car.

Nick, who'd nearly jumped out of his seat, landed and curled up around her into a protective fluffy ball under the seat belt, his tailtip slapping over his face to protect it from the arctic blast coming into the car.

Judy shocked by the cold, embarrassed by the realization of what had just happened, mortified by how easily she'd accompliced herself to it, and still burning up inside with the desire to cuddle up with her fox and let him nuzzle and groom her, decided that her current position wrapped up by Nick was a good place to hide from everyone for a little bit as she tried to recover her self-control and burrowed deeper into the fluffy foxy ring surrounding her.

"RALPH! WHAT THE HELL!" Nadine shrieked from the back seat, "CLOSE IT! CLOSE IT FASTER! AGHHH!"

Judy let one of her ears pop up to listen, then wiggled her nose out just far enough from under Nick's tail so that she could look back and see the tigress, claws out and pressed as far as she could get into the opposite corner of the cruiser from their window.

Nick shifted slightly and his head rubbed against hers as he peeked out from under his tail too.

"I had to Nadine!" Ralph said, nearly panting as he leaned over the wheel, his own claws digging into it as he focused intently on the snowy mountain road. "It was that or run off the road and have all of us stuck in this tiny car till the storm passes and some one can dig us out!" Ralph said, his tone a bit more sharp than normal as he glanced around at them all. "I'm not sure how well Nick would hold up under those conditions give that he was just losing it, and I don't think that we were doing much better!" he glanced at Nadine through the rear view mirror still breathing hard.

"That and as much as I like you two," he added with a glance toward her and Nick, "I really don't want to spend my first night with my new mate, with company!"

There was a moment of silence as they all considered that.

Nick blanched, as she meeped while Nadine squeaked from the back seat. Looking aghast at the idea, Nick turned his head toward her… and accidently bumped her nose with his long one. There was another moment as Judy watched the fox's cheeks turn scarlet red through his russet fur, his nose still touching hers, and then Nick's head disappeared as he pulled it back under his tail to hide even as her cheeks started to burn.

"Ya. That's about what I thought too!" Ralph practically growled, breathing hard, his paws gripping the wheel strong enough he was sure to leave marks.

"Oh gods, if we- in the cruiser… Bogo would kill us!" Nadine shivered wide eyed, before hurriedly looking around at all of them. "Okay! Okay! Everyone lets just calm down and think normal, everyday thoughts for a bit! We're all grown-ups here, let's act like it. No joking around, no cuddling," Nadine eyed Judy who was still peeking out from under Nick's tail and shot another glance accompanied by a growl at the fox attempting to hide from them all; Nick twitched and then the both of them hurriedly scampered apart like two scolded kits, blushing furiously as they tried to sit properly in the seat without touching each other and avoiding the other's gaze. Nadine chuffed lightly, then continued. "No playing pawsie, no holding hands, no cleaver little comments about how much your partner… loves you…" There was a hiccup in the tiger's voice at 'love' as her eyes glanced at Ralph and Judy used the pause to steal a glance toward Nick only to catch him sneaking a glance at her and they both blushed more and looked away quickly, she playing absentmindedly with her ear while Nick started twiddled his thumbs. "-don't even think thoughts about your mat- your significant other," Nadine's voice sounded slightly horse to Judy though that might have just been the blood rushing to her ears and cheeks, "or after we're done with this mission here, or… or… what you two might do together tonight…" Ralph groaned, leaning hard against the wheel.

"Nadine…" he whimpered, making an effort to breathe shallowly, "It might help if you stopped thinking along those lines…"

"I-what!" Nadine seemed to snap back to herself, "I am not! I was not! And why is your tail wagging!?" she asked indignantly then flushed hard, looking away from Ralph, who groaned and whined while he adamantly kept his eyes forward watching the road.

"Canines," Nick said flatly, as if he was struggling to control his voice, "Your scent is being pretty clear about what you were thinking…"

"HEY!" Nadine choked out as she shifted in her seat, before glancing at her wolf, who was still breathing in a very controlled and deliberate manner as he stared at the snowy road in front of them. The tiger shifted again, then gave out a defeated mortified mewl as Ralph's breathing hitched for a moment and his paws clenched on the steering wheel before she hunched down in the seat and stuck her blushing face in her paws.

Judy closed her eyes hoping like hell she wasn't giving off any unintended signals as she tried to keep her mind off Nick… on anything about Nick… or about anything about Nick or where she might want to go with Nick for a date tomorrow…

She might have hoped too hard because Nick's nose started doing the fox version of the bunny nose twitch. Nadine let out a groan as the car seemed to become hotter and more stuffy in contrast to the increasing snow and wind outside.

"Oh gods, are we there yet?" Nadine asked despairingly and looked up… only for her eyes to start tracking Ralph's tail as it wagged. She seemed to have to practically rip her gaze away as she flushed again, adding to the growing fog of scents building once more in the cruiser.

Judy's own nose started twitching as the mix of scents became so strong that even she was having a hard time trying to ignore them. She squirmed in her seat trying not to blush or look at Nick.

"Just another ten minutes…" Nick said, breathing hard and clenching his jaw

Ralph whimpered and his paw reached for the window controls.

"NO!" Nadine shrieked, reaching forward to grab his paw.

"We can make it without that! Come on We've all survived the Academy survival course! We can survive ten minutes in a stuffy car! Right? Right?" Nadine said looking around frantically, her paw shifting to hold Ralph's in a way that expressed her extreme desire not to get flash frozen and asked her mate not to press that evil button again before her eyes finally found Judy's. "Right Hopps?!" she said desperately, adding with a bit of challenge, "We can survive a little smell for ten minutes! We're cops aren't we?!"

Nick groaned, putting his paw over his face as Judy straightened in her seat at the note of challenge.

"You're right Nadine!" she said, puffing out her chest proudly and… glanced quickly at Nick… and then just as quickly away and certainly did not blush, no she did not! (she told herself). Judy redoubled her effort, crossing her arms, ears up determinedly, "We're cops. A little smell can't bring us down!" she added with every ounce of pride she had.

Nick and Ralph both whimpered as the Bunny and Tiger exchanged determined, if blushing, but very determined nods.

---

END OF

CHAPTER 16 - Are We There Yet?

Operations Clock: 8 hours

---

Not enough kissing you say? Where'd all the kissing go, you say?

Look, you leave things sitting around too long and they get a bit cold, you gotta heat them back up if you really want to enjoy it, maybe throw it in a pressure cooker for just a teensy bit…

…

Thanks to all my friends and everyone who's stuck around this community, I might have been gone for just a tiny little while but I never forgot about you all. Now what other Fluff has sprung up in my absence?