"OK, we're making a left here: make sure your signal is on and start applying the brake before you start making the turn," Vivian said. Skye nodded as she slowed the car down and turned onto the driveway. She slowly brought the car down the drive until they came to a stop outside the Hopps home.

Nick breathed out a small sigh of relief from the backseat, which made Skye look over her shoulder, annoyed. "Drama queen."

Vivian giggled from the passenger seat and patted her daughter's shoulder. "Good job, sweetie."

The younger vixen beamed at the praise. "Thanks, momma."

"Just make sure you don't hog the left lane, though," her mother added. "It's for passing, not cruising." Skye nodded her head, and with that, the three foxes exited the car, Nick immediately heading over to Vivian's side.

"You feeling OK?" the todd asked.

Vivian smiled and nodded, though she looked a little exasperated. "Yes, Nick, I'm fine. A little tired, but it's all good."

"OK, just…" the younger fox trailed off before finishing with, "just try to take it easy on this trip." It had been nearly a month since his mother started her treatment, and already they could see the effect and toll it was taking on her. She was starting to become more and more sluggish, and her appetite seemed to have taken a hit as well. Nonetheless, Vivian was adamant that she kept working at the restaurant, despite everyone's objections to cut back on it.

"You don't need to parent me, Nick; that's my job," Vivian said, chuckling.

"Mom-"

"Don't worry," she interrupted, shouldering her bag and making her way to Skye, who was standing at the door to the house. "I'll be OK."

"…OK," Nick conceded, heading over to his sister as well, shouldering his bag as well. Before they entered the house, he turned to her. "Hey, Skye?"

"Yeah?"

"You did a good job," he said. She smiled at that and nudged his shoulder before walking inside. They made their way to the living room, where things were about as chaotic as usual. It only took a few seconds before they heard:

"Guys, Nick and Skye are here!"

Within moments, the three foxes were surrounded by a swarm of younger bunnies, all talking over each other and asking questions:

"Did you guys have a good trip?"

"Can you guys play with us?"

"Nick, you owe me a rematch in Smash!"

"I got a new action figure; want to see it?"

"Can you paint my nails again, Skye? That was so much fun!"

Before any of the foxes could answer, everyone heard, "OK, everyone, give them some room." They turned and saw Stu walking into the living room. "You'll have time to play with them later, let them settle down first."

"OK!" With that, the younger kits went back to what they were doing before, leaving Nick, Skye, and Vivian to talk with Stu.

"How was your trip?" he asked.

"A little boring," Vivian answered, giving a shrug before patting Skye on the shoulder. "This one here drove us up."

"Nice!" Stu then looked at Nick and Skye. "Jack and Judy are downstairs in Jack's room, if you want to head down there." The todd nodded his head and headed towards the stairs, his sister right behind him. Once they were out of earshot, Stu faced Vivian again, this time a little apprehensive. "How're you feeling?"

The vixen rolled her eyes. "I get asked that question enough times from my son, Stu, I don't need-"

"Vivian."

She stopped and looked at her friend, who had an uncharacteristically stern look on his face. After a moment, Vivian sighed and made her way over to the couch, slowly sitting down on it. "Well, I feel like crap, my feet are killing me, I feel like I'm going to vomit every time I eat something." She snorted. "Starting to lose some fur as well, though it's not too bad yet."

Stu sat down next to her. "Do you feel like it's working, though?"

"It's only been a month, Stu," Vivian said. "We'll see how it goes after another month or two." She then took a breath. "Look, I appreciate the concern, but I don't want to talk about it on this trip; we're here to relax and have fun, right?"

Stu nodded. "Right." Before he could add anything else, Bonnie walked in, holding a laundry basket filled with folded clothes. She stopped when she saw the vixen.

"Vivian! It's great to see you!"

"You, too, Bonnie," Vivian replied, smiling.

"Did you guys have a good trip?" the doe asked, setting the basket down and making her way over to the vixen.

Vivian nodded her head as she stretched her arms behind her head, the sleeves of her jacket rolling down slightly. "How're the kits?" she asked.

Bonnie smiled as she sat down on the fox's other side. "They're fine, though some are having some trouble with school."

The vixen was about to say something when a text notification went off. She pulled out her phone and Bonnie and Stu briefly saw the name of the mammal who sent it: 'Big'. Vivian huffed out a breath, typing back a response before pocketing her phone. "Sorry about that."

"Who was that?" Stu asked.

"Lorenzo, he's…an old friend," the vixen said, though Bonnie noticed that there wasn't anything friendly about the way she said it. "He and Jon were pretty close, but he and I weren't. He runs a few businesses in the city, and he contacted me about a month ago, offering to help with treatment."

"Well, that was generous," Stu said, smiling a little.

"Yeah, he's a saint, all right," Vivian muttered sarcastically, quiet enough where Bonnie and Stu weren't sure if they heard correctly. "What's new with you guys?"

Stu looked a little surprised at the sudden change in topic but answered, "Well, we're about to start our harvest in a few days, so it's bound to be a little more chaotic. Which reminds me, we have a basket of blueberries for you guys in the kitchen."

"Thanks," Vivian said, smiling. "Should last us at least a week if Nick decides to share."

Bonnie giggled. "I've never seen someone that loves blueberries as much as that boy of yours."

Stu chuckled as well. "He's our best customer." He then took a look at his watch for the time. "Hey, Bon, it's almost six."

"Already? Radishes," the doe said under her breath. "I need to start preparing dinner. Stu, can you take the basket to our room?"

The buck nodded as Vivian said, "Mind if I help?" Bonnie shook her head, and the three adults stood, Stu grabbing the basket of laundry and heading down the hall while Vivian and Bonnie made their way to the kitchen, though at a slower pace for the vixen. As they entered, Vivian chuckled. "'Radishes', really? Am I ever going to hear you swear for real?"

"Hey, I swear," Bonnie defended herself. "I just do it when it's appropriate."

"Bon, the whole point of swearing is that it isn't appropriate," Vivian said, smiling.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, though she had a small smile on her face. "What would you like to have for dinner tonight, Viv?" she asked, walking over to the cupboards.

The vixen shrugged as she leaned against the counter. "I'm fine with whatever you make."

"Oh, I know," Bonnie agreed. "But what do YOU want?"

Vivian thought about it for a moment before saying, "Well, you make a mean carrot soup; would that be acceptable tonight?" She figured that soup would be easier to keep down instead of something solid.

"Of course!" Bonnie immediately went over to the refrigerator, opening it and reaching inside. "Can you grab me one of the large pots?" Vivian nodded and the two of them got to work. The two worked together silently for the next couple of minutes, with Bonnie occasionally giving instructions to the fox. Vivian went to grab a knife when her elbow clipped the side of a measuring cup, knocking it off the counter and sending it to the floor. Bonnie turned to the noise and saw her friend bending over to grab it when her ears shot straight up.

"Oh, my goodness! Vivian, what happened?!"

The vixen jumped at her friend's exclamation. "What?"

"Your shoulder!" Bonnie said, pointing. The vixen looked and saw that her shirt had slipped slightly, exposing…

Vivian quickly grabbed it and covered up her scar, feeling her cheeks flush. "It's nothing-"

"'It's nothing'?!" Bonnie cried out, incredulous. "Vivian, that looks like a bite mark! Who hurt you?"

"No one hurt me, Jon-"

"Jon did that to you?! How could-"

"Bonnibel!"

The bunny immediately stopped, staring at the vixen, her eyes as big as dinner plates. It was silent for a moment before Vivian let out a little laugh. "It really isn't what you think; I did to Jon, too."

All that did was confuse Bonnie even more. "What do you mean you did it to him, too? Do foxes just bite each other?"

Vivian shrugged, smiling a little. "Only if they really love each other."

"…What?"

The vixen laughed, her previous embarrassment wearing off. "Bonnie, what do you know about fox culture?"

That made the bunny stop. After giving it some thought, Bonnie realized that despite knowing Vivian and her family for over two and half years, she actually didn't know much about their culture. "I guess less than I thought. Is…biting important to foxes?"

Vivian shrugged. "Sort of. It's how foxes claim each other," she explained. "It can happen anytime, though it usually happens when, um," she made a lewd gesture with her fingers that Bonnie immediately understood. The vixen nearly laughed when she saw the bunny's ears turn red.

"…Oh! Oh, um, OK," Bonnie sputtered. "But, why? What is claiming?"

"Back in the old times, it was the equivalent of getting married. Anyone who saw the marks knew that the fox carrying them was now taken and off limits. Essentially, it was how Jon and I let others know we were mates at first," Vivian said. "Now, the thing is, just because everyone back home knew what it meant, it didn't mean that the city did, which made it a little harder to find a job and place to live." She then held up her paw, showing her wedding ring. "So, a few years after we moved to Zootopia, we made it 'official'." She took another look at her scar, and Bonnie noticed she frowned at it. "The thing is, unless you know what to look for, it's usually well hidden. I guess the fur loss is making it more visible than normal."

The way she said caught Bonnie's attention; she almost sounded…troubled. She also noticed the way Vivian's eyes quickly darted to her forearm. Before the doe could question it, something else occurred to her. "Wait, is marriage not a thing where you're from?"

"No, it is; why?"

"So, why didn't you two get married there? Why come out to the city to do it?" she asked.

Almost immediately, Vivian's mood seemed to drop. "There were…many…reasons why we couldn't get married back home." Before Bonnie asked about it more, the fox said, "It's not important, don't worry about it."

"Are you sure-"

"Yeah," Vivian answered, cutting Bonnie off. "I-I'm sure." The vixen then took a breath. "Is there anything left we need to do here?"

"No, I don't believe so-"

"Good, I'm going to go and get some things settled, alright?" Vivian didn't wait for an answer before she started walking towards the kitchen door, narrowly missing Stu on the way out. The buck looked over at her confused before heading over to his wife.

"Is everything OK?" he asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I just asked why she and Jon couldn't get married back home. I guess it's a touchy subject for her."

Stu frowned at that before he said, "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"That…friend she mentioned, Lorenzo Big? I decided to look up their name and try to find some of their businesses."

"OK, so what did you find?"

"Outside of a limo renting company, nothing."

"What?" Bonnie asked, stunned. "Nothing other than that?" Stu shook his head. "But wait, a limo renting company can't be THAT profitable, can it? If you can't find any other businesses, then how is he paying for her treatment? Where is the money coming from?"

Stu was quiet before he said, "Here's the thing: while I couldn't find anything on what he does or on him specifically, I saw some results for his last name. Apparently, back in the sixties, there was a family that had a lot of influence in the colder regions of the city, to the point where they practically ran the show and had a bunch of businesses under their thumb, though there was no solid connection that they owned them. Three guesses as to what the family name was?"

"Big," Bonnie breathed out, to which her husband nodded. "So, what does that mean? Were they a crime family?"

"I don't know. There are a lot of theories about them, but nothing definitive," Stu answered. Bonnie was quiet as she took this all in, and she looked towards the door Vivian went through. "What're you thinking, Bon?"

The doe sighed as she turned back to her husband. "I think the more glimpses I get into Vivian's past, the more concerned I get."

Stu's head cocked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it: she never talks about her family outside of her kits and Jon, this 'friend' who's helping her get treatment sounds extremely shady, she was really dodgy on telling me why she and Jon 'had' to go to the city to get married, and…" Bonnie trailed off, thinking back to the scar near Vivian's collarbone.

'It's usually well hidden. I guess the fur loss is making it more visible than normal.'

She then recalled the way the vixen was looking at her arm, looking anxious. Bonnie knew that she shouldn't jump to conclusions, but there was one that she immediately went to, and she didn't like it one bit.

"'And'?" Stu prodded.

She shook her head. "…It's nothing," she said quietly.

"It doesn't sound like it," her husband said. Stu paused before he asked, "Do you think we should talk to her about it?"

Bonnie immediately shook her head. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea. If Viv wanted us to know, then she would've told us, right?"

"…Right," Stu reluctantly agreed. He looked out the kitchen window and saw that it was starting to get darker outside. "It's starting to get late; I'm going to go check up on the kits and see who's outside."

Bonnie nodded. "I'll get back to this," she said, gesturing towards the stove. With that, the two bunnies split up, the doe returning to preparing dinner. As she was stirring the soup and letting it sit, there was one thought running through her head:

'What aren't you telling us, Viv?'

The last few notes of the song rang out, and with that, the record ended. Taking it off the turntable and placing it back in its sleeve, Skye looked at her brother and friends. "So, what did you think?"

Nick, Judy, and Jack looked between each other before the todd said tentatively, "It's, uh, pretty good."

Skye snorted. "Nick, you suck at lying."

"Better at it than you."

The vixen sighed. "OK, so what did you guys not like about it?"

"It's not like I…disliked it," Jack began, prompting a skeptical look from Skye. "Seriously. It honestly wasn't bad; I just don't think it's something I would listen to often."

"Same," Judy added. "I guess metal just isn't my thing."

"It's the vocals for me," Nick said. "I couldn't make out what he was saying half the time."

Skye shrugged as she put the Counterbarks record back in her bag. "That's fair."

"I'm just surprised you like it," Nick said, a little puzzled. "This isn't usually what you listen to."

The vixen paused slightly and looked down at the record. She then said, "Honestly, I think it's mostly the lyrics."

"You can understand him?" Nick asked, scoffing a little.

"There's a lyric sheet." Skye then sat back down and asked, "OK, who's next?"

The kits spent the next few hours listening to records, a tradition they kept up with since the first time they met. Whenever they saw each other now, they would also bring along their own personal records with them, trying to introduce new artists to each other. It wasn't until they finished listening to In Color by Cheep Trick when they heard someone knock on Jack's door.

"It's open," the buck called out.

The door opened and one of Judy's siblings poked their head in, looking around quickly before seeing Nick. "Hey, Nick, can you play games with us now?"

The todd looked at his sister and friends to see if it was OK, to which they nodded. "Yeah, sure, let's go."

As he got up and left the room, Skye noticed the way Judy's eyes were following him the entire time, almost longingly. The vixen withheld a groan; her friend really was hopeless.

It was time to finally do something about it.

"Hey, Jack, can I talk to Judy for a minute?" Skye asked.

Jack shrugged. "Sure, go ahead." The buck sat there, prompting the vixen to raise an eyebrow at him. "Alone! Got it. I'll just be in the hall." With that, he got up and left the room, leaving the door slightly open. Judy looked at Skye, confused.

"What's up?"

"You tell me," Skye said instead.

That only confused Judy more. "Huh?"

Skye gave the bunny a sympathetic look. "You like my brother."

Judy looked like she was about to argue when her shoulders slumped. "Is it that obvious?" she asked quietly.

"Judy, everyone's known for about two years now," the vixen said. "Even Nick knows."

"He does?!" Judy squeaked out, her ears shooting straight up.

Skye noticed her friend's distress and quickly said, "It's OK, it's OK! He feels the same way."

That made Judy pause and look at the fox, hopeful. "He does?"

"Rabbit, I live with him," Skye deadpanned. "Trust me, he likes you."

Judy looked at her friend before an annoyed look appeared on her face. "If he likes me, then why won't he just say so?!" she asked.

Skye just shook her head. "If you're waiting for Nick to ask you out, you're gonna be waiting for a long fuckin' time," she said under her breath, though Judy still heard it.

"What do you mean?" the bunny asked, now intrigued.

Skye hesitated before going over to the door and closing it fully. She then faced her friend and said, "OK, what I'm about to say can't leave this room; if anyone asks why and how you know this, you didn't hear it from me. Got it?"

Judy nodded, a little unnerved by how serious the fox was right now. "Uh, yeah, OK."

The vixen took a deep breath. "So, you know how back in ancient times, mammals were more in tune with their primal instincts, and how centuries later, we phased them out and became civilized?" The doe nodded. "Well, some mammals…didn't phase them out."

Judy tilted her head in confusion. "'Didn't'?"

"Or at least, not completely," Skye amended, shrugging her shoulders. "We all developed a gene that allows us to repress our primal instincts, like a predator's need to hunt. But others stuck around, like how some wolves feel the need to form packs together. Those instincts are easy to overcome and ignore, but some mammals, for some reason, don't get that gene, and have trouble doing it or just physically can't. Have you ever eaten something with cilantro in it?"

"Uh, yeah," Judy answered, not sure where the white fox was going with this.

"Does it ever taste like soap to you?"

"No, but some of my siblings say it does."

Skye snapped her fingers and pointed at the bunny. "It's like that: you're perfectly fine, perfectly healthy and normal, except for this ONE little thing; it's like an allergy. Does that make sense?"

Judy nodded her head. "I guess, but what does this have to do with Nick?"

"…Nick and I went to the doctor last year for a checkup, and we found out that hedoesn't have that gene and can't fully repress certain instincts," Skye revealed. "When it came to courtship for foxes, it was the vixen who initiated it. Now, like I said, we've all evolved to the point where anyone can make a move first, but for someone who can't repress their instincts…"

Judy looked puzzled when it suddenly hit her. "You mean…?"

Skye nodded. "Judy, when I say that Nick can't ask you out, I'm not saying that because he's an oblivious moron; trust me, he knows EXACTLY how he feels about you. What I'm saying is that as much as he really wants to, he can't make the first move. YOU have to."

"What?!" Skye jumped slightly at the exclamation as Judy jumped to her feet, looking frantic. "Nonononono, I-I can't-"

"Sure, you can," the fox gently interrupted. "Look, you know Nick likes you already, so what're you afraid of?"

"Um, me messing up and ruining everything between us and losing one of the only friends I have?!"

Skye stared at her friend silently before she said, "Well, that's a lot to unpack…"

The bunny sighed. "Look, Nick's my best friend, OK? I've never felt this way for anyone before, I've never done this before, and I'm just scared that…" Judy trailed off as she sat down at the base of the bed. "I just feel like I'm going to screw all of this up," she muttered, pulling her knees up to her chest and hiding her face in her arms. "What if I say the wrong thing, or do the wrong thing, or…" she trailed off before groaning.

Skye sat down next to the bunny and put an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, you have nothing to worry about. I mean, you two are already very open with each other, you both enjoy being around each other, you've slept together," Judy's ears shot up and turned a vibrant red at that, prompting the vixen to quickly add, "and I just now realized how that sounded, but you know what I mean." She faced the bunny. "Nick's crazy about you, and I know you're crazy about him. And I think there's something that you're forgetting."

Judy looked at her friend. "What?"

"You're Judy Hopps," Skye declared, poking her friend's chest with each word. "The most badass bunny who's ever walked the earth, the one who's going to become the first bunny police officer. Asking my brother out is a cakewalk compared to that."

Judy wasn't sure if she agreed, but she appreciated the sentiment. She ran her paws over her ears and took a deep breath. "Well, when should I do it?"

Skye looked down at her phone to check the time and shrugged. "How 'bout now?"

"What? Now?!"

"No time like the present," the fox said, standing and walking to the door, Judy quickly following her. Exiting out to the hall, the girls found Jack outside still waiting for them, looking at his phone. He looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"What's going on?" the buck asked, pocketing his phone.

Before Judy could answer, Skye chimed in and said, "Jude's finally asking Nick out."

Jack looked between the two of them before he smirked. "About time."

"Don't you start now…" Judy grumbled under her breath, brushing past her cousin. Jack and Skye shared an amused look before following the doe down the hall.

The three of them walked into the game room to find it bustling with energy, with Judy's siblings either running all over the place or playing video games. Judy scanned the room looking for Nick when Skye nudged her shoulder and pointed over to the corner of the room. The doe looked and saw the todd sitting off to the side with Cotton, both of them watching two of her brothers playing a game against each other. Judy took a deep breath to steel herself, which Skye noticed.

"Hey, you've got this," the vixen told her.

Jack nodded his head in agreement. "Absolutely."

"…I got this," Judy repeated to herself quietly. With that, she started making her way over to him, leaving Jack and Skye behind. As she got closer, she began to make out what Nick and Cotton were saying, and she couldn't help but smile.

"…and it looks like Jason has taken the lead, earning another goal over his opponent," the cream-colored bunny was saying, almost like a sports announcer. "It's almost like Mikey's losing on purpose."

Nick theatrically played up his skepticism. "It's a bold strategy, Cotton, let's see if it pays off for 'im."

"No comments from the peanut gallery, PLEASE," Mikey grounded out, eyes glued to the TV screen and making Jason laugh.

Nick was about to say something when he finally noticed Judy standing off to the side. "Hey, Carrots."

Judy smiled, trying to hide her nervousness. "Hey, Slick. Can we talk for a sec?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

The bunny glanced at her siblings and asked, "Uh, can we talk alone?"

Nick looked a little surprised but said, "Uh, yeah, sure." He got up from off the couch and the two of them walked away from it to talk privately. "So, what's on your mind?"

Judy's eyes quickly darted over to Jack and Skye, the latter of whom gave a double thumbs up in encouragement. She took a breath. "OK, so, you're my best friend."

"Right…"

"And I really like being around you."

"OK…" Nick drawled out, not sure where she was going with this.

"A-And I was just wondering if, uh, if you wanted to…" Judy trailed off, her confidence starting to leave her.

Behind the rabbit, Jack and Skye were listening in on the conversation, muttering, "Come on, come on…"

"Wouldyouliketogooutanddosomethingtogethermaybe?" Judy suddenly blurted out, startling Nick a little and causing her to wince.

"Smooth, Jude," Jack muttered.

"Shut up!" Skye quietly scolded, slapping his arm.

"…I'm sorry, what?" Nick asked, a little confused.

The bunny took a deep breath and tried again. "Would you like to go out and do something together?"

Nick just stared at her. 'Did she just…?' "You mean, just you and me?" he asked. "Like a date?"

Judy missed the hopeful tone in his voice and just shook her head, thoroughly embarrassed. "You know what, never mind, I don't know why I asked…"

"Carrots."

"…it was a stupid thing to ask…"

"Fluff."

"…I'm just being a dumb bunny-"

"Judy." The use of her name stopped her rambling. Nick gave her a genuine smile and said, "I would love to."

The bunny's ear shot up in excitement and she beamed. "Really?"

Nick nodded. "Really, really." He paused before asking, "So, what did you have in mind?"

Judy fell quiet as she pondered the question, eventually admitting, "I…have no idea." Nick snorted at that. "Honestly, I didn't think I'd get this far."

The red fox's face softened. "It's cool. We can do something here, or we can do something next time you guys are in the city. I'm not picky."

"OK, um, how about something in the city?" Judy asked. "There's probably much more to do out there than here."

"Oh, definitely," Nick confirmed, nodding his head. He noticed how relaxed the bunny in front of him looked, like she had a heavy weight taken off her shoulders after she asked him out. "So, out of curiosity, how long have you wanted to ask me out?"

Judy gave a nervous laugh. "For a while now? Honestly, I was kind of waiting for you to say something first." A guilty look flashed across Nick's face, and she hastily added, "It's OK! I know you wanted to but couldn't because of instincts."

Nick relaxed at that only to then realize what she said. "Wait, how do you know about that?"

Judy froze. "Oh, um…" She avoided his gaze, and he noticed her eyes quickly look at someone else in the room. He turned and saw…

Nick's ears went flat against his head at the realization. 'That bitch…' "If you'll excuse me…" he said, leaving the doe before she could say anything and marching over to a certain white furred fleabag.

Skye was talking with Jack when she saw her brother walk up to her, looking determined. "What's up, Slick-"

"You told her."

The vixen looked shocked but quickly tried to play it off. "What're you talking about?"

Nick scoffed. "And you're calling me a bad liar? You told her about it."

At that, knowing she couldn't hide anything, the vixen panicked. "Look, I'm sorry, but the two of you guys kept dancing around each other, and I knew that you wanted to say something, and I knew that she was scared that you didn't feel the same, so-"

She was cut off when her brother suddenly wrapped her up in a tight hug. After a moment, Skye heard him quietly say, "Thank you."

Skye let out a nervous laugh as she softly returned the hug. "You're not mad?"

"Oh, no, I'm mad. Angry, even," Nick clarified. "I'm not going to focus on that, though, and just thank you instead."

Skye nodded, though she risked a smirk. "Well, anything for my baby brother."

"And, just like that, the moment's ruined," the todd said, ending the embrace. "You ruined it."

The vixen chuckled. "Love you, too."

Nick rolled his eyes and went back over to where he had left Judy. Skye smiled and faced Jack, who was beyond confused.

"'Told Judy' what? What happened?" he asked.

Skye shook her head. "I already risked his wrath telling Judy, so I'll let him tell you instead," she said, looking back at her brother and Judy. The vixen smiled. "I wouldn't worry about it, though."

Nick returned to the doe and asked, "Sorry, where were we?"

"Is everything-"

"Yeah," the fox interrupted. "It's good. What were we talking about again?"

"We were talking about what to do for our date," Judy said, feeling a little rush of excitement from just saying that. Before she could add anything else, she and Nick heard from behind them:

"Hey, guys, Mom says that dinner's ready!"

At that, everyone but Nick, Judy, Jack, and Skye got up and bolted towards the door. The remaining four kits all looked at each other and started laughing a little.

"See you guys upstairs," Jack said, soon leaving as well. Skye smiled and followed the buck.

"Don't take too long," she tossed over her shoulder, smirking a little.

Nick rolled his eyes again and looked at Judy. "We can hash out the details later. We got time."

Judy nodded. "OK, that works." She gestured towards the door. "C'mon, let's get some dinner." She then grabbed his paw, lacing their fingers together, and the two of them left the game room to join the others. Along the way, Nick spoke up:

"So, question for you."

Judy turned her head to him, intrigued. "Yeah?"

"Does this mean I get to call you cute now?" Nick asked, wearing a little smirk.

There was a pause as Judy contemplated the question. Eventually, with a slight smile, she said, "This is a nice moment; don't ruin it."

Nick just chuckled. "OK, fine." Judy nudged him with her shoulder, causing him to nudge her back. The two just smiled and continued upstairs.

THE NEXT MORNING…

Bonnie often found breakfast to be a fairly laid-back time of the day on the weekends. Unlike lunchtime or supper, most of the burrow was still asleep and wouldn't get up until much later. Not that it stopped her from getting up early to start cooking. The Hopps matriarch was dishing up some plates when she heard the door to the kitchen open up, and she turned to see her husband walking up to her.

"Hey, you," Bonnie greeted with a smile.

"Mornin'," Stu replied, stifling a yawn.

"Busy day today?" she asked, holding out his mug, already filled with coffee

He chuckled, taking it. "You know it." Stu took a sip and sighed blissfully. "Oh, I needed this."

Bonnie giggled and shook her head in amusement. A few minutes later, everyone started piling in, and soon enough, there was a cacophony of noise inside the kitchen. "Have you seen Vivian yet?"

Stu nodded his head. "She's in one of the bathrooms, getting cleaned up."

"OK," Bonnie said, nodding to herself. She was a little concerned that she hadn't seen the vixen yet; usually, she was one of the first ones up and helping the doe prepare breakfast. It also didn't help that Vivian didn't eat much the previous night, claiming that she wasn't really that hungry. Bonnie tried to push the thoughts to the back of her mind, pouring some orange juice for the kits. Then she heard from behind her:

"Hey, Mom? Dad?"

Both Bonnie and Stu turned to find Lucy standing by the kitchen door. "Yes, sweetie?"

"There's someone at the door asking if they could come in," she said.

"Who is it?"

"I dunno, but she said that she knows Mrs. Wilde and that she wanted to talk to her."

Both parents looked at each other, confused. 'Did Viv invite someone out here?' Bonnie thought. She then faced Lucy again and said, "Um, OK, tell them that they can wait in the living room."

"OK!" With that, Lucy raced off to the front door.

"Who do you think it is?" Stu asked quietly.

"I don't know," Bonnie answered, looking around for someone, finding them shortly. "Brian," he looked up at that, "can you go tell Viv that someone's here to see her? She should still be in the bathroom getting ready." Her son nodded and left as well. Bonnie set the pitcher down and made her way to the living room, Stu right on her heels. They entered the room, only to stop in surprise at what they saw: a fox sitting on the couch, talking with some of the bunnies' children.

What was startling to Bonnie, however, was that outside of her eyes and looking about half a decade younger, the vixen was the spitting image of Vivian.

"Oh, that's very interesting," she was saying to Lucy. Bonnie noticed that she had an almost airy quality to her voice.

"Yep!" the bunny kit said. "And then yesterday, we-"

At that moment, Stu cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention. "Now, Lucy, let's not talk our…guest's ear off."

The vixen giggled. "It's no worry, Mr. Hopps, I don't mind." She then took a look around the living room. "This is a very lovely home you have."

"Um, thank you." Bonnie then looked at her kits and said, "Why don't you guys run along now and let the adults talk?"

"OK!"

With that, the kits left the room, leaving only Bonnie, Stu, and the stranger. The vixen then turned and said, "Your children are wonderful."

"Thank you. They are quite the pawful, though," Stu said.

"I can only imagine." The fox then stood and faced them. It was only then that the bunnies noticed that she was wearing a nice designer suit. "I'm sorry if this is rude, but is Vivian Wilde here? I need to speak with her."

"Hold on. I'm sorry, but who are you?" Bonnie asked, still a little on edge.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The vixen held out a paw. "I'm Abigail, though you can call me Abby."

Bonnie tentatively shook the fox's paw. At that moment, Nick, Skye, Jack, and Judy happened to walk up from downstairs, talking and joking around with each other. Nick was laughing about something when he and Skye both saw Abigail and froze in place.

"The fuck?" the todd asked.

Before either Bonnie or Stu could scold him for his language, Abby smiled and said, "Nicholas! Skylar! It's great to see you again!"

Bonnie's head whipped back to the vixen. "Wait, you know Nick and Skye?"

Abby shrugged, still smiling. "Well, I wouldn't be a good aunt if I didn't know my niece and nephew, now would I?"

''Aunt'? What is she-'

The realization of who the vixen was hit both Bonnie and Stu like a freight train. "Wait a minute, you're-"

"Abby?"

Everyone turned to see Vivian standing in the door frame, looking like she saw a ghost. The other vixen gave her older sister a small smile. "Hey, Vivvie."

It grew quiet in the room for a few seconds before everyone heard Bonnie quietly mutter under her breath.

"Son of a bitch."