A/N: A moment to breathe helps to remember important things forgotten.

Thanks to BeecroftA, Mad-Racer, side-fish, Goldyx, and daphrose for reviewing!

Plenty of things can happen in this story. If you wish to offer a suggestion or what you wish to see, leave a review or a PM. I'd love to hear from you!

Chapter 2: A True Friend

"This…is your place?"

The two were walking through the front doors of the Grand Pangolin Apartments, Nick carrying a paper bag containing their dinner in one paw while helping Judy along with the other. The fox had been eyeing the building the entire time they approached, and now that they were inside, he was glancing around, scrutinising the entire lobby as well.

"Yup, this was where I stayed when I first came to Zootopia. It's small, but quaint. And it does come with complimentary delousing once a month." Judy let go of his side and hobbled over to the front desk, reaching up and ringing the bell that sat on the counter.

Nick didn't seem impressed. "I don't really see what's 'grand' about it. Or which part resembles 'apartments', for that matter."

"Shh, Nick. Not so loud, or someone might—"

"Can I help you?" A raspy voice rang out from behind the front desk. An armadillo was glaring back at Nick. Judy almost jumped a foot in the air, but held herself back for the sake of her leg. How did she get there so fast?

She swallowed, forcing a smile. "Good evening, ma'am. I'm the rabbit who was staying in room 203."

"Yes, I remember." The armadillo squinted her eyes, moving her spectacles up the bridge of her nose. "You said you were going to leave, weren't you? I remember now; you told me to rent out your room if you didn't come back by the end of this month."

"That's right. Well, things kinda happened, and I…well, I've decided to stay on."

The armadillo looked at Judy with what could only be described as a look of disdain. She reached under the desk and rummaged around for a bit before finally standing back upright, holding out a familiar looking key.

"Don't lose it. And I'll be coming by to collect rent in two weeks." Without another word, she turned around and disappeared into the room in the back.

"So, the 'pangolin' part doesn't make sense either. So that's zero out of three," Nick said, smirking.

"Come on, let's go upstairs. Hopefully my neighbours aren't around."

It was a little belated, but when Judy got to the foot of the stairs, she realised the issue with what she'd just said. The stairs stared menacingly back down at her. It was only two flights of stairs to get to the second floor, but they weren't exactly bunny-sized. With her leg the way it was, they looked like mountains to climb.

Nick seemed to notice her hesitation, glancing over at her.

"Need another lift, Carrots?" he asked.

"No thanks, I can manage," Judy replied, grabbing the baluster to her left—the stairway handrails were too high for her to reach—and pushing herself up step by step using her good leg.

"Whatever you say." Nick shrugged. If Judy had been looking at him, she might have noticed the slight look of disappointment on his face.

It took a few minutes, but eventually they found themselves inside her apartment. The place was exactly how she'd left it the day she left Zootopia to head back to Bunnyburrow; her bed was neatly made, with a couple of old hangers she had left behind still hanging on the single chair. The walls were still greasy, and the first floorboard next to the door was just as squeaky as it was before.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was 'quaint', Carrots." Nick took a moment to glance around the entire room, before walking forward and setting the paper bag on the table.

"Sorry about the small space. I didn't really plan to have guests over anytime soon…"

"It's not an issue, relax." He sat down on the only chair in the room, taking a plastic box out along with a wooden fork and holding it out to her. "Here you go, one fruit salad. I'm sure you must be starving; I hear near-death experiences from exploding trains and getting mauled by a savage fox tends to work up an appetite," he chuckled.

Judy was starving. She hadn't thought about it until now, but she hadn't eaten anything ever since morning, when she'd left the farm and driven off to Zootopia to find Nick after figuring out what the Nighthowlers really were.

How much had happened since then.

She gratefully took the food from Nick and sat down on her bed. And with that, both of them began to eat in the small, dimly lit apartment. Dinner was eaten in surprising silence; she kept waiting for the shouting match next door to begin, but it never did. Her noisy neighbours weren't actually home.

Or maybe they're being quiet for a change.

She thought about it.

Nah.

The silence, although unexpected, was completely welcome. Only soft chewing sounds were heard between the two, with the occasional squeak of the floorboards above. As Nick had promised, her dinner was delicious. Maybe it was just because she was famished, but the fruits were fresh and juicy, almost comparable to the ones back home. As she felt the food begin to fill her empty belly, the tension from the day's events began to ease, and for the first time since that morning, she found herself relaxing in the quiet confines of her room. Nick looked to be pretty relaxed himself; he was leaning back in her chair with his legs extended and crossed while polishing off the last of his own bowl of fruit salad.

"I didn't know you liked salads, Nick," Judy finally spoke up.

"Hey, I love my bug burgers and fries as much as the next fox. But I love fruits, especially blueberries. But I guess you already know that." He smiled. He got up to adjust his chair, but before he could sit down again, Judy reached her paw out to grab his arm, causing him to turn and face her. She patted the spot on the bed next to her.

"It's softer."

"Alright then, if you insist." He sat down with his empty salad bowl beside her. "So what do you think of the food, Carrots? I bet you'll agree it doesn't compare to your home-grown stuff."

"No, but it's a lot better than eating microwaved dehydrated carrots…thanks for buying dinner, Nick."

"It's no problem, Carrots. You can always pay me back in blueberries." Nick reached into Judy's bowl and plucked out a single blueberry, popping it into his mouth. "Mm, not as good as the ones from your farm, but still tasty."

Judy looked down at what remained of her own salad. She was almost done as well; a single blueberry was left nestled under an apple slice. She picked it up and held it in front of her, looking it over.

"Blueberries…" she whispered.

"What was that?" Nick asked.

"Back there at the museum…" she started, looking up straight at him now. "If you hadn't brought those blueberries with you, we would never have duped Bellwether into thinking you had gone savage."

"Thank your family for growing such delicious blueberries then. Oh, I could really go for some of those right now," he said, almost looking like he was going to salivate.

"That wasn't just luck. You're the one who came up with the whole idea to replace the serum with the blueberries. You saved me, Nick."

"Well, the serum was the same size and colour as the blueberries, so…you know…" he mumbled softly.

"You stayed with me instead of saving yourself. It wasn't just this time, too. You could have gotten away on the sky tram when we were being chased by Manchas, but you didn't. You stayed."

Nick was silent now, not answering. He looked back down at his empty bowl, twirling his fork around with his fingers.

"I knew it, Nick. You really are so much more. You defended me from Chief Bogo when no one believed me. You could have taken the evidence and gotten to the ZPD, but you risked your life to stay with me. That was the most selfless thing I've ever seen. You're a hero, Nick. You're my hero. I don't know how I could ever pay you back for this." She placed a paw on his arm.

Nick leaned back slightly, looking away from her. Unlike the previous time on the sky tram, he didn't pull away from her. He just seemed to be taking in all the words she had said silently. When he finally opened his mouth, his voice was soft, gentle.

"You've already paid me back, Carrots. Back when we first met."

When we first met? "What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

Nick held up his paw. "Fifteen dollars for a jumbo pop."

It took a moment, but then it finally hit her. He was smiling. Not his usual smirk, but a sincere smile. She rubbed her eyes, unable to stop herself from smiling back at him.

"I'm pretty sure what you've done for me is worth much more than fifteen dollars."

"You're right, it's probably sixteen. It's okay, Carrots. You can pay me back next time." He winked.

Judy couldn't help but laugh. Even in such an emotionally vulnerable moment, he was still able to joke around. That's just how he was, she supposed.

"You're the best friend I've ever had, Nick." She pulled her paw away from his arm now, hesitating. "We're…still friends, right?"

Nick looked straight at her, and after a second that felt like forever to Judy, he held out a paw in front of her, still smiling.

"Yeah, we're still friends."

Nick almost couldn't believe his ears.

The bunny sitting beside him had just said that he was the best friend she'd ever had. And even after everything they'd been through, after that emotional moment under that bridge where she cried into his chest, she was still asking whether they were still friends.

Oh Carrots…what a silly little bunny you are.

He held out a paw in front of her, still smiling.

"Yeah, we're still friends."

Not many things caught Nick Wilde off-guard. Years of cynicism and hustling experience had beaten that into him. But he never expected what Judy did next. Her paw slowly moved to meet his. He expected her to shake it earnestly, maybe sniffle a little while she was at it, wiping tears from her eyes and claiming she wasn't crying while he'd tease her about it.

But her paw moved past his, and her other paw suddenly followed. Before he could react, the bunny practically lunged at him, throwing her upper body around his and wrapping her arms around his waist in a tight, affectionate hug.

Nick could only let out a breathless whimper.

His outstretched paw continued to hang in midair, frozen in shock along with the rest of his body. Judy nuzzled her head against his chest, making him shudder ever so slightly.

"I'm so glad I got to know you, Nick. I'm glad I walked into that ice-cream shop and bought you that jumbo pop." She continued pressing against his chest, her eyes closed. Nick's breathing was starting to grow heavy. The little bunny was in a very intimate position; his nose was overwhelmed with a sudden rush of her scent. She was stirring something deep inside him. Feelings he had suppressed for years were now erupting to the surface.

"Thank you, Nick. For everything," she whispered.

It was getting too much to bear.

"Carrots…you're welcome."

Something was rising in his throat. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. He forced the feeling back down his throat, taking deep breaths through his nose. He was glad that she wasn't looking up at his face right then.

Ever so slowly, he moved his arms around her body, gently petting her back and lowering his chin on her head. Her fur tickled his lightly, reminding him of a similar hug earlier that day under the bridge. He didn't say anything this time though, instead letting the moment pass in a knowing silence.

In that moment, Nicholas Wilde was content.

But as he knew all too well, good things didn't last forever, and soon Judy broke the hug that connected them both. She suddenly seemed a little flustered, a little hesitant. But she looked happy. And seeing her that way made him happy as well. He looked down at Judy's leg, which was still neatly bandaged.

"Hey, Carrots, I've got an idea. How about I buy breakfast for us tomorrow? We can have it here, and then I'll bring you around Zootopia on a tour. I bet you haven't actually seen much since you came here, considering you're a complete workaholic. How does that sound?"

He could almost see the bunny's eyes light up like Christmas lights.

"Nick, that sounds great! But, uh, I don't think I'll be able to walk by tomorrow…"

"Leave that to me. I know some people." He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts list. "Yeah, it's still not too late. I think I'll head out first to get everything ready, Carrots. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

With that, Nick got up, heading straight towards the door a little faster than he had intended. As his paw grasped the doorknob, he heard Judy get off the bed, leaning on her good leg.

"Nick!"

The fox froze. He turned halfway, looking back at her.

"Yeah?"

He saw her bite her lip. She looked like she wanted to say something, but for some reason, she was holding back. He tried his best to keep his breathing rate steady and maintain his neutral expression as best he could.

"…no. It's nothing, Nick," she finally said. Her usual cheerful expression returned to her face. "See you tomorrow!"

Nick managed a smile back as he pulled her apartment door open. He took one last look at the rabbit standing in the room before quietly shutting the door behind him. The moment he did, he marched briskly down the stairs and out of the building. He turned the nearest corner, slipping his paws into his pockets and keeping his head low.

The night was cool and windy, but right now, Nick felt only a strange warmth in his chest. He sighed in relief to himself; thankfully Judy didn't notice his sudden change in demeanour as he left her apartment. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else, but the only things that were going through his mind right now were memories. Memories from that day in the sky tram. They were playing in his head like a broken record, again and again and again.

"I learnt two things that day. One, I was never going to let anyone see that they got to me."

"And…two?"

"If the world's only going to see a fox as shifty and untrustworthy, there's no point in trying to be anything else."

"Nick, you are so much more than that."

She said the same thing again tonight. How could she possibly have thought that that he was anything more than a sly, hustling fox? He didn't even believe it himself.

But…maybe he wanted to. Maybe there was a little part deep inside of him that wished that it were true. And that was why it had hurt so much after that terrible press conference. What she'd said about predators—about him—was devastating; if it had been anyone else, he would have never spoken to them again after that.

But he had forgiven her.

After seeing her heartfelt breakdown under the bridge, the way she cried and apologised…it was the most honest, sincere thing anyone had ever said to him. She didn't try to defend her actions in the slightest, instead looking for a way to redeem herself. After all that, there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to forgive her. And when he did, he felt an unexplainable rush of joy through his chest.

No, it wasn't unexplainable. He was happy that he had his friend back.

"You're a hero, Nick. You're my hero."

He looked down at his arm. He imagined her paw there again. Even though he tried his hardest not to, he liked it. And that hug, that nuzzle against his chest, that had been the straw that broke the camel's back. It wasn't like the one earlier that day under the bridge where she'd begged him to forgive her. This time, the hug was closer, more intimate, more caring.

"I knew it. You really are so much more, Nick." Judy's voice whispered in his head.

Nick clutched his chest, his breathing growing heavier again.

"You're the best friend I've ever had."

His mouth crept up into a smile. A real, genuine one.

"Thank you, Nick. For everything."

Not many things got to Nicholas Wilde. Years of experience had trained him to be cold, detached, to treat the world as if it was out to get him. He'd always been able to control his emotions, but he struggled to do it now. All because of one little grey bunny who hugged him and said words he never expected to hear. No one had ever believed in him or cared so much for him ever since his mom, many years ago. The little bunny reminded him so much of her. Always believing in him, telling him to never give up. And as he continued to think of her, something began to well up deep inside him.

Heh. You got to me, Carrots. You got to me good…

In the quiet darkness where he knew no one would see him, he felt a couple of drops of water run down his face. He wiped them away with a paw, realising that they were tears. The last time he'd remembered crying, it was as a kit, on that awful night with the Junior Ranger Scouts.

This time though, the tears were tears of joy.

He finally had a true friend.

Nick…

Judy stood quietly in her room, leaning on her good leg. She relaxed her paws, not realising that they were clenched tightly, and sighed.

I should have asked him.

Her eyes fell to the table in front of her. More specifically, the drawer under the table. Nervously leaning forward, she grabbed the handle and gently pulled it open, hoping that the landlady hadn't cleared out its contents. When she had quit her job at the ZPD and packed her bags to leave Zootopia, she had decided to leave her memories of her time in the big city in that drawer.

And that included a small, folded piece of paper.

Thankfully, everything was still there. The landlady had apparently kept to her word of not touching her room until the end of the month. Inside the drawer lay an assortment of items. An old field manual from her academy days, some old pieces of paper she'd written on while solving the Night howler case, a bottle of fox repellent…pulling out the papers, she saw what she was looking for. The yellow edges of the folded paper were instantly recognisable against the white of the others. She pulled the yellow piece of paper out and unfolded it, hoping that it was what she hoped it was.

ZPD EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION FORM
APPLICANT NAME: Nicholas Wilde P.

Everything was there. All written in his neat handwriting. She looked all the filled blanks over, committing them to memory. Just in case she lost the paper and had to refill it for him.

I should have asked him…she thought to herself. I had so much time to ask him over dinner, but I didn't.

Nick had already forgiven her, and he had already said they were still friends, but she still couldn't find it in herself to ask. If everything was all good and well between them, then there was no reason why he wouldn't have agreed to it, right?

But…what if he says 'no'?

The thought sent shivers straight up Judy's spine. The chance was small, but it was there. There was a possibility that Nick would say no. What would she do then?

She shook her head, trying to push out the negative thoughts. Nick literally offered to be her personal helper for the next few days while she recovered! She didn't have a reason to doubt his sincerity. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself.

I'll ask him tomorrow.

But not before doing him a big favour to thank him for his help.

Okay, Judy, think. What can you do for him? What would he appreciate?

He probably wouldn't appreciate a soft toy or a plushie. No, he'd probably just tease her about it. Money was out of the question, too. She didn't have much, plus the fox probably made more than she could as a rookie cop.

"A rookie cop who got fired…"

"I didn't get fired! I quit!" she yelled at the wall. The wall did not reply.

She blinked, groaning. It was almost like Nick was filling in the spaces in her thoughts. She wracked her brain, going through a list of things that she could surprise him with.

"Mmph." She habitually began thumping her right foot against the ground.

"OWWWW!" the pain shot right up her right leg, making her jump a foot into the air, before she landed in a crumpled heap on the ground next to her bed.

"Bad idea bad idea…" she groaned.

"How do you even forget you're injured, Carrots?" his voice echoed in her head.

"Shut up, Nick."

"Hey, keep it down up there!" A loud voice yelled from below her, followed by some angry poking below the floor where she was lying.

"Sorry…" she whispered apologetically to the floorboards, slowly picking herself up and pulling herself back onto her bed. She looked around, half expecting Nick to be there, looking at her with his trademark smirk and making a sarcastic comment. But obviously, he wasn't.

"Dumb fox…" she muttered to herself. How hard could it possibly have been to think of a thank-you gift for him?

"It's no problem, Carrots. You can always pay me back in blueberries."

Something clicked in her head.

Blueberries.

She clapped her paws together. Of course! Blueberries! Nick loved blueberries! She berated herself for not figuring it out earlier. And she knew just the person to ask for a blueberry-related favour.

"I never thought I'd be saying his name so soon…" she mumbled to herself. Gideon Grey…

She pulled out her phone, but as she held it in front of her face, a thought occurred to her, somewhat belatedly.

I don't have his number.

The second thing that occurred to her was staring at her directly from the phone screen.

MISSED CALLS: 37

She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. The screen didn't say who the missed calls were from, but she could make a pretty good guess. It had completely slipped her mind since her phone was on silent. She winced as she unlocked her phone, bracing herself for what she was about to see.

Mom…dad…mom…mom…dad…aaaand I'm dead. She groaned. Of course they would have tried to call me! I just grabbed their truck and drove off without explaining anything earlier…

She bit her lip, glancing at the time on the screen: 10:19 p.m. It wasn't too late to call them, but she wasn't looking forward to doing so in the slightest. They would definitely have a whole slew of questions for her to answer.

But she owed them that much, at least.

Bracing for the worst, she tapped in the speed dial for her mom on MuzzleTime, pressed the button, and waited. The phone began ringing. The droning was almost therapeutic after what she'd been through today.

Three rings…four rings…still no answer. She shifted on her bed to get more comfortable. Something poked out of her right pocket. Looking down, she realised just what it was. Reaching in with a paw, she pulled out a familiar red handkerchief. The blood on it had already dried by now, and in the dim light, it was hard to see that it was soaked with blood at all. She had completely forgotten about it after what happened over dinner.

"It was my favourite handkerchief too…"

Nick probably thought she hadn't heard while they were in Bogo's car, but she had. It was only a split second, but she'd seen the look on his face when he said it. He cared about this little thing. Deeply. She had requested that the doctors not throw it away with the bloodied portion of her jeans. After a cursory wash, Doctor Morlez had given it back to her, although the stains still remained.

Nick hadn't asked her about it, so he probably thought they'd thrown it away during the this was a good opportunity for her.

I'll wash the stains off, and then I'll surprise him with it.

She grinned, thinking of the shocked face he would have when he saw it. It would go well with the surprise she had planned for him. She did wonder what the story behind the handkerchief was though. There was an elaborate pattern woven into the red fabric, still visible—barely—under the red stains. She squinted, bringing her face close to the handkerchief to get a closer look.

"Judy!"

"AHH!" she yelped, tossing her phone into the air. She fumbled around, managing to catch it in her paws before it could drop onto the ground.

"M-mom?"

"Oh my gosh, Stu! It's Judy! Judy's on the line!"

Judy quickly righted the phone as her father came into the picture, pressing up tightly against her mother as they fought over the limited camera space. He began fumbling with the phone, trying to angle it properly so the two of them could see her properly.

"Judy! You're safe! Oh sweet cheese and crackers I was so worried…" she heard her father choking back on his words.

"Stu, Stu, it's okay. Judy's alright. She's alright. You are alright, aren't you, dear?" her mother asked.

"Y-yes, mom. I'm fine. I'm sorry I didn't pick up my phone earlier. It was on silent."

"Where are you now?"

"Back in my apartment in Zootopia. It's late and I can't drive home, so I'll be spending the night here."

"Zootopia?" They both said simultaneously, exchanging glances. Stu was the first to speak up right after. "What happened, Jude? You just suddenly drove off with the truck without telling us what was going on. Why can't you come home?"

"It's a long story, dad."

"Could you tell us?" He asked. Both parents were staring worriedly at her.

Judy took a deep breath. Okay, just let them in on it gently.

"Well, remember the whole Night howler problem I was trying to solve in Zootopia? The whole 'predators going savage' thing? Thanks to you two, I figured out what it was. It was the toxic flowers you use to keep the bugs out. Someone was taking concentrated extracts of the Night howlers and darting predators to make them go savage. I had to go back to solve the case."

There was a moment's pause. Stu went out of the picture, only to reappear a moment later.

"Did you have anything to do with this?" Stu held up another phone screen to the camera. Judy squinted to read what was written on the overly bright screen.

"Mayor Bellwether arrested after being connected with the savage…wait, it's news already?!"

"See? I told you, hon! I knew Judy had something to do with all these big incidents!" Stu exclaimed, shaking the phone he was holding violently.

"Judy! Are…are you okay?" her mom asked, her brow furrowing. "Did something happen to you?"

Judy gulped.

"Yeah, I kinda got involved in the incident. I injured my leg, so I can't drive the truck back for a while. I'll have to wait till my leg hea—"

"You got injured?! How? When? Where? Why?" Both parents yelled in tandem, making Judy recoil. Even though it was a video call, she could almost feel her parents physically breathing down her neck.

"It's nothing…I just tripped while running. I already went to the doctor and got stitches. He said it'll be a few weeks before it recovers."

"Stitches?! Judy, how bad is the injury? Show us!" Stu demanded.

They might as well have been in the same room as her at that point. "Yeah, okay. Gimme a sec. I'll point the camera at it now."

She turned her camera over and pointed it at her bandaged leg.

"Oh, that doesn't look so baduuuuuaghhh…" Her father's voice trailed off, followed by a loud thump.

"Dad fainted, didn't he?" Judy deadpanned, turning the phone over.

"Hey everyone! Daddy's on the ground!" A high-pitched squeak came through the speakers.

"Wheeeeee!" Judy heard the loud thumps of what could only be her younger siblings bounding across the room and piling on their father.

"Kids, don't squish your father." Bonnie's voice cut through the air.

"Aww…"

Bonnie's face returned to the screen.

"Your dad will be fine. We're more concerned about you, Judy. The injury looks quite bad…"

"It'll be okay. I've been through worse."

"…so we're going to be over tomorrow morning to bring you home."

"Oh, that sounds great…wait, what?"

"Yes, we'll take the train to get to you, then we'll take the truck to bring you back home. That sounds like a plan. Let's see, I think there's an early train at seven…"

"Mom, it's okay! I'm…I'm not going home. I want to stay. In Zootopia."

Bonnie blinked, taken aback. Judy's ears drooped. She had been dreading this part. This was going to be hard to explain to them.

Her mom seemed deep in thought. Finally, she spoke up.

"Did you get a boyfriend, Judy?"

Never had the heat rushed so fast to Judy's ears. Her drooping ears instantly shot up while her eyes widened in disbelief. She clenched her paws tightly around the phone.

"No I didn't!"

"It's okay if you did, dear. Your father and I won't be mad at you. It's about time you found one and settl—"

"Mom. I do not have a boyfriend, alright?" Judy said slowly, emphasising each word.

"Alright, honey. But you should get one sometime. You're already twenty-four, for goodness sake. By that age, your father and I—"

"Yes, yes I know!" Judy quickly cut her off. She had no desire to hear that story again. "I'll think about it, mom." In a million years, maybe.

"But you sound a lot better than you did this morning. Even with your injured leg. I hope everything is okay with you."

She scratched her chin awkwardly.

"Yes. Sorry I was so down earlier today, mom. And thanks for trying to cheer me up. I needed it."

"That's what parents are for, sweetie. I'm just glad that you're happy again. Me and your dad will still be there tomorrow morning."

"You really don't have to. You've both done enough for me already."

"Well, what are you going to wear tomorrow, then?"

Judy winced. Her mother had a point. Other than her wallet and phone, she only had the clothes on her back right now; she'd brought back everything else when she'd moved back home to Bunnyburrow. She didn't even have the family truck with her right now; it was still parked in a random carpark somewhere near the closed Sanyan Street Station—the place where she and Nick had found Doug's underground Nighthowler lab.

"Well that settles it then," Bonnie said triumphantly. "I'll pack all your stuff for you then. Let's see, clothes, your soft toys…oh, this is so exciting! Stu, wake up! We're going to Zootopia tomorrow to see Judy!"

"Huh, what? We are? Whoo hoo!" his voice echoed through the phone.

Judy couldn't help but smile. It seemed like her parents were looking for any excuse to come visit her. Not that she didn't appreciate it.

"Mom?"

"Oh, yes, sweetie?"

"I'd like to ask a favour. You work with Gideon Grey now, right? Do you think you could give me his number?"

"Gideon? Oh, sure I can. What do you need his number for?"

Before Judy could respond, there was a loud crash on the other end. She heard an exasperated sigh from her mother, which she knew could only mean one thing.

"They broke the vase again, didn't they?" Judy chuckled.

"It wasn't me!" A chorus of squeaky voices called out.

"Heh, I miss them already," she added, a little wistfully.

"They miss you too. Especially little Kyra. She was sad you didn't say goodbye today when you left. Quite a few of them are," her mother replied.

Now she felt bad. "Thanks for the guilt trip, mom."

"You're welcome, dear. I'll send you the number in a message. Don't get your stitches wet, alright? And elevate your leg when you sleep. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye, mom." She gave a little wave before the call dropped. She heaved a sigh of relief.

That went better than expected.

In truth, she was really glad that they were coming. Now she just had to contact Gideon, ask him whether he could deliver some blueberry pies to her house, and then everything would be good.

She flopped back onto her bed, exhausted. She wasn't sure if it was because of the day's events or the medicine she'd taken. Maybe it was both. Whatever it was, she was glad the day was finally over. The rickety bed felt like a soft cloud at that point, and the moment she was lying on her back, she found her eyes struggling to stay open. Sleep was probably a good idea right about now.

Okay, tomorrow mom and dad will be here in the morning. Nick will also be here for breakfast. Then I'll ask him about joining the Z—

Her eyes shot open.

Nick and my parents are going to be here at the same time tomorrow.

A chill ran down her spine.

Nick is going to meet my parents.