A/N: In a fox's darkest moment, he makes a plea to be seen, to be understood…to be forgiven.

This chapter is dedicated to side-fish, a dear friend of mine that I have known for many years. My deepest condolences for the loss of your father in 2020, it was too soon for him to leave you and your family. May he rest in peace.

Thanks to BeecroftA, aomagrat, Wolfx1120, Lupin1968, Blkdragon7, TheAlienHeart, GhostWolf88, RassyEyefur, Guest, Tinbuzzard11, BoltDMC, xXSilenceXx, J Shute, Minion Master 1, Declanflannery, D Fox, Sergeant Sargent II, sondreadful, InTheLionsDenOnDA, side-fish, and Guest for reviewing.

Also, a special thanks to BeecroftA for editing this chapter.

Chapter 25: Ode to My Family

Nick couldn't focus.

There was a book in front of him, but the words on the pages might as well have been gibberish. He was sitting in the academy library, trying to do some last-minute revision for his written exam later that day. He wasn't sure why, but he was having trouble concentrating. Which was odd, considering that the environment was as conducive as it could be—the library was completely empty. But now that he thought about it, the library being empty was odd in itself; he'd imagined that the place would have been packed with panicking mammals trying to do some last-minute cramming.

Where in the world is everyone…? Nick thought. He couldn't even hear Major Noise Pollution shouting at some unfortunate saps outside; normally he could hear her from any part of the campus.

He shook his head; this wasn't the time to be worrying about other mammals. He had to focus on the radio communications exam later that afternoon. He closed his eyes and tried to remember all the codes he'd memorised so far.

…He was drawing a complete blank.

"Okay that's it, I need a break." He groaned out loud. "I must be studying too hard. I should go take a walk. And maybe grab a burger. Yeah, a burger sounds pretty good right now…"

"Nick!"

"Gah!" Nick almost jumped out of his chair, immediately turning towards the source of the voice behind him. There was a grey bunny standing there, wearing a pink checkered shirt, jeans, and a straw hat. She looked like she was halfway towards having a panic attack.

How did she get there?! I didn't even hear her come in!

"Jeez—Carrots! What are you doing here? And can you stop showing up at the academy unannounced? I swear, one of these days you're going to give me a heart attack—"

"Nick, I'm sorry!"

It took a moment for Nick to process what she'd just said. "…What?"

"I'm sorry. I know I promised not to, but…I found your mom. I called her. I told her everything."

Nick felt his shoulders stiffen, but only for a second. He narrowed his eyes, folding his arms across his chest.

"Hmph. I see how it is. You thought you could pull a fast one on me, eh, Carrots? I don't know what your game is, but you're going to have to do better than that to get me to tell you anything about my mom. Just for the record, I knew you hadn't given up on finding her. And I know you challenged me to the fight to try and force me to go see her if you won. What's the matter? Scared you'll lose? Panicking because you finally realised that you're out of options?"

"I'm not kidding, Nick," Judy pleaded. She thought to herself for a moment, before taking a deep breath and looking straight at him. "Her name is Evelyn Mary Wilde. She lives in the Evergreen Forest. She has a sweet tooth and especially loves fruit rock candy. When you were eight, you accidentally ran up to a random fox stranger and gave her a big hug and kiss before realising that wasn't your mom."

Nick's mouth hung open slightly. Judy cleared her throat.

"…Also, when you were twelve, you found a magazine filled with scantily clad vixens and hid it in your third drawer under your winter clothes for years."

If Nick's jaw could have unhinged, it would have fallen to the ground. The first few sentences hadn't fazed him—they were all information that she could have gotten from anyone who knew his mom—but that last one sent a multitude of chills up his spine.

"How…could you have known that? I never told anyone about that!"

"Your mom knew," Judy replied quietly. "She just never brought it up to you."

Nick had no idea how his mom could possibly have known that; he'd never told a soul. But if there was ever a way to convince him that this wasn't a bluff, this was it. Judy was definitely telling the truth. And yet, despite the bunny having just dropped a figurative bombshell on him, she still wasn't grinning, smirking, or threatening to tease him with this info until the end of time. She still looked dead serious.

That concerned him.

"You…you called her? And you told her everything?!" he finally yelled, finding his voice.

"That's what I've been trying to say!" she replied, sounding slightly exasperated. "I tried to explain everything to her. I told her that you had changed, that you were going to become a cop because you wanted to be the fox that she always wanted you to be, but…" Judy gulped. "But…she wouldn't listen. She's still mad at you for not telling her the truth."

Nick felt his heart rate spiking up to dangerous levels. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was unintelligible blabbering. He gripped the sides of his head, trying to take deep breaths to calm himself down.

"That's why I told you to let it go, Carrots! Why would you still…" he trailed off. There was a sudden sense of dread, a foreboding feeling rapidly growing inside him. He looked at the bunny standing in front of him, swallowing nervously before opening his mouth.

"Wait… that's what I've been trying to tell you all this time. If she's mad at me, and you know that…why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I didn't give up. I wanted to show her how you've changed. So I brought her here to see you. She's downstairs." Judy pointed at one of the glass windows.

WHAT?!

Nick sprinted over to the window, blinking a couple of times. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the bright midday sun, but sure enough, he spotted a familiar purple blouse and pink dress on a red fox. The figure was unmistakable, even from this distance.

"Carrots! You…I…why…"

"I'm really sorry, Nick. I really tried my best. I think she's just upset, but maybe if you went and talked to her—"

Nick didn't need to be told twice. He immediately bolted out of the library, almost forgetting for a moment how to get down the stairs. He burst out into the courtyard with his mouth open, ready to call out her name, only to realise that she was no longer there. He looked around frantically, but it was like she'd vanished into thin air. But then, in the corner of his eye, he saw the tip of a red tail disappear into a nearby building. He made a beeline towards the door, grabbing its handles just before it closed. He yanked it back open and saw the older red fox walking down a dimly lit hallway. He wasn't even sure what building he was in; not that it really mattered right then.

He ran up behind her, slowing as he approached. His mom's figure finally came into full view. Her back was turned to him, but Nick could tell in an instant that it was her. She was wearing her favourite outfit, and although her fur was a little less vivid than before—which made sense considering her age—from the back she looked practically the same as she did twenty years ago.

"Mom! Hey…you're here!" Nick called out. His mom didn't turn to face him, but her walking slowed. Nick gulped, expecting a tirade of words to come flying out of her mouth at any moment. But there was none.

"So, uhh…I see you've met my friend Carrots—I mean Judy. I call her Carrots, but not in a mean way, you know? In an affectionate way. Just like how you used to give me nicknames too! Remember that nickname you gave me when I was six that I hated so much?" he laughed.

His mom did not laugh with him. She did finally stop walking though, which was at least something. But she still would not turn to face him. Nick's heart skipped a beat.

"Look, I don't know what Carrots told you, but whatever it is, we can talk it out. We can…we can…sit down, grab a coffee, I can tell you everything!"

There was no response. She was completely silent. Nick's breathing began to grow a little heavy.

"Mom, please! Just…just talk to me! I know you're upset, and you have every right to be. I became everything you didn't want me to. But I never wanted to be this way. I always wanted to be better; I'm trying to be better! I'm doing all this, for you!"

Nothing was getting through to her. His mother just stood there, completely still, with the back of her head staring him right in the face. It was like he was talking to a brick wall.

"She won't even look at you, Nick."

Nick jumped. He spun to see Judy standing beside him, her arms folded, with a look on her face that could only be described as utter disdain.

"C-Carrots…?"

"She won't forgive you. And why would she? You lied to her for so long. Maybe if you had come clean to her from the start, she might have forgiven you. But you never said anything. I thought you were a good fox, Nick. But I was wrong about you; you don't even love your own mother."

"N-no, that's not true!" He shouted back. "I DO love my mother! I…" his voice trailed off. Even saying those five words felt so alien to him. When was the last time he had said that to his mother? When was the last time he had even thought that?

Judy shook her head.

"Well, if you do, then prove it. She's waiting, you know." Judy motioned towards his mom's back expectantly.

Nick turned to look at his mother. Her arms were crossed now. Nick clenched his fists, taking a deep breath before opening his mouth to speak.

…No words came.

Nick's brow furrowed, and he shook his head a couple of times. What was wrong with him? He knew what he needed to say to his mom right now, so why couldn't he say it?

His mom uncrossed her arms and let them hang by her side. Her shoulders slumped, and she lowered her head. After a moment, she began to walk away dejectedly.

"Mom!" Nick called out. He wracked his head as hard as he could, but he still couldn't figure out what to say for the life of him. In a last, desperate attempt, he tried to run ahead of her, to try and cut her off. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't run fast enough to catch her. She was getting further away from him now. Nick reached out a paw towards her.

"Don't leave me! PLEASE! I'm s…"

He suddenly froze, the words catching in his throat. All of a sudden, he felt his throat tightening, as if someone had wrapped their paws around his neck and began squeezing tightly.

"I'm s…sor…"

He clutched his throat, gasping for air. He couldn't talk. He couldn't breathe. His legs were shaking. His mom's image began to blur as she faded away.

"W-wait…please…I'm…I'm sor…sorr…"

He fell to his knees, coughing violently. His body was trembling. Was he having a stroke? A seizure? He didn't know what it was, but he felt like he was dying. He couldn't even find the strength to stand.

"Nicholas Wilde?"

Nick looked up, still clutching his throat. There was a badger standing in front of him. It took a moment, but Nick recognised him as the doctor from Zootopia General Hospital who had operated on Judy's injured leg after she'd injured it in the Natural History Museum.

"Your mother's body was found in her home just before midnight last night. We estimate that she was there for about three days before we found her."

"Wait, wha…what do you mean?" Nick croaked. "Her…body?"

"Yes. She had a very bad stroke and was unable to move or call for help. There was no one in her house when it happened, and by the time we got to her, it was too late. She died alone, Nicholas. There's nothing I can do. There's nothing you can do." The doctor pointed straight at him, which somehow had enough force to cause him to fall backwards onto his rear.

Nick scrambled backwards, his back and head eventually hitting a stone wall. Hearing the words sent a spike of panic through his entire body. His heart was beating a hundred miles a minute, and he felt himself beginning to hyperventilate. Everything was starting to become blurry. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the sides of his head tightly as realisation finally dawned on him.

"No…no, this is a dream. It's just a bad dream. Wake up…wake up…" Nick willed.

"That's right, you need to wake up," a different voice barked. Nick opened his eyes to see a small fennec fox standing in front of him with an unmistakable grumpy look on his face. Except that this time, the look leaned more towards disgust rather than annoyance.

"F-Finnick…?"

"You could have stopped this. She could have lived if you were there to help her! But she's dead now. All because you were too proud to admit you were wrong. Tell me: was it worth it, Wilde?"

"You're wrong! She's not dead! This isn't real!" Nick screamed in denial. But still he wouldn't wake.

"Give me your arm," Finnick suddenly said, walking up to him.

"What? Why?" Nick asked. He didn't get a chance to hear an answer, as Finnick suddenly grabbed his right arm and yanked it towards him, before chomping down directly on it.

"Ahhhhh!" Nick screamed. Lances of pain shot through his arm. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't pull away. It was like his brain was disconnected from the rest of his body. Completely paralysed, all he could do was to sit there and take it.

"She's dead because of you, Wilde," Finnick snarled through a mouthful of Nick's arm. "Why didn't you listen? I told you so many damn times to go and see her, but you refused. She's dead now, and her blood is on your paws!"

"No, that's not true! It's not my fault! I didn't want to become like this, I didn't choose to be this way!"

"Wake up!" Finnick screamed. "It was always your choice! You chose to lie to her, you chose to run away, and you chose to kill her! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Nick's eyes shot open. He bolted upright in his bed with a gasp, his breathing erratic and shallow. It took him a moment to realise that it really was indeed a dream. Or rather, a nightmare. A horrible nightmare.

He was still in the academy, lying on his bed in his room. It was all starting to come back to him now, in unusually vivid detail. Normally his dreams were fuzzy, incoherent messes that he would forget the moment he woke up. Not this time. This time, he could remember almost every excruciating detail of what happened.

He felt prickles of pain in his right arm. He lifted it up, half expecting to see sharp teeth and a fennec fox that the teeth belonged to. But there was nothing. Only the feeling of little needles stinging him over and over. He belatedly realised that he had been lying on top of his arm in his sleep, and his subconscious mind had decided to turn the sensation into a very bitey Finnick. Now that he was awake and his brain was operational, it began to dawn on him how ridiculous everything was.

What was I thinking? Of course it was a dream!

The more he thought about it, the more he felt his frustration build up. The nightmare was completely nonsensical; it should have been obvious that it wasn't real. The signs were all there: not being able to read what was in his book, the library being completely empty, Judy appearing out of nowhere and knowing something she couldn't possibly have known, random badgers and fennec foxes suddenly materialising…the list went on.

He gripped his blanket tightly for a moment, before tossing it off him with a frustrated sigh. He shouldn't have been upset; he should have been relieved that it was just a dream. But the anger was still bubbling deep inside him, because in that moment, he believed it. All of it. He believed that his mom refused to forgive him. He believed that his mom had died. And more than anything else, he believed that it was truly his fault.

Isn't it, though?

He pushed himself to the edge of his bed, still feeling his head and heart throbbing furiously. As he did so, his paw brushed over a damp spot on his pillow. He paused, feeling it over again, wondering what could have caused it. And then it hit him. His paw travelled to his left cheek, and sure enough, the fur there was damp as well. He couldn't believe it. Tears? From a nightmare?

…Wilde, you are a moron.

He shook his head, considering briefly to burn the bedsheet to hide the evidence of his stupidity. He thought better of it and pushed himself to his feet, groggily stumbling out of the room, down the hall and down the stairs. The hallways lights were dim, but bright enough to illuminate the way. Even if they weren't, he could still see well enough in the darkness.

Before he knew it, Nick found himself in the open field behind the building. He went far enough that the dim rays of light from the building hallways could no longer reach him, before flopping down onto the grass and staring up into the night sky.

"It was just a nightmare. A stupid nightmare," he repeated to himself.

Why? Why was he having these thoughts now of all times? He had nightmares before about his mom, but that had been when he was young and naïve. When he'd started his hustling life, and when he'd started lying to his mom about everything. But that was a long time ago, and his heart had hardened ever since. He knew he'd been thinking about her more and more recently, but there was no reason why he should have been feeling this way now.

Then again, maybe there was.

"…Nick?"

Nick kept his eyes closed, remaining completely still. He didn't need to look to know who the voice belonged to. There was really only one other mammal it could've been, anyway.

"Did I wake you, Flatfoot? Sorry about that," Nick said, not even turning his head.

He couldn't see what the bunny was doing, but there was a soft rustle of grass from somewhere to his left. He imagined Robbie had sat down on the grass next to him. There was a moment of silence, before he finally spoke up.

"…Bad nightmare?" Robbie whispered.

"Yeah, pretty much," Nick replied nonchalantly. "I dreamt that I went into today's exam and I couldn't answer any of the questions. Oh, and that I was standing in the middle of class in my underwear. You know, the usual." He chuckled.

Robbie was silent for a long while, as if waiting for Nick to say something more. A moment before the silence became too uncomfortable, he heard Robbie exhale softly.

"It was more than that, wasn't it?"

That was enough to make Nick open his eyes at last. He glanced over to his left. Sure enough, there was a brown bunny sitting there, dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts. He had a worried look on his face. But more than that, he had a look on his face that said that he wasn't buying Nick's answer in the slightest. Nick maintained a stony expression, turning his head and looking back up at the sky.

"Whatever do you mean, Flatfoot?"

"You were whimpering in your sleep. I heard you mumbling something about your mom…quite a few times. Was she part of your dream too?"

Oh great, he heard that too. Nick grimaced inwardly, though his face remained unflinching. As if the nightmare wasn't bad enough, his whimpering was apparently loud enough to be audible.

"…Did anyone else hear it?" Nick muttered.

"No, I think it was just me. Stupidly large bunny ears, you know." Robbie held up his ears with a slight smile, before letting them flop behind him again. His smile quickly faded. "Nick, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but you sounded like you were in a lot of pain. You don't need to tell me the details if you don't want to, but…are you okay?"

No, I'm not. The response in Nick's head was instantaneous, but his mouth was still wired shut. He didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to have to say it. And yet, he knew there was no point trying to hide it any longer. Robbie already knew the gist of the story regarding his mom, and it was clear he wasn't buying any of his attempts to deflect the issue. And as much as he hated it, a part of him deep inside did really want to talk to someone about it.

Robbie would have to do, he guessed.

"…I'll be fine." Nick finally exhaled. "You're right, I did have a nightmare. It was about my mom. I had a dream where she came here to see me, but she was all mad at me and didn't talk to me. Oh, and then she died. Don't ask me how that happened, because I have no idea either." He chuckled.

"I…I'm sorry, Nick. That sounds horrible. It must have been so hard for you to go through."

"Relax, it's not the first time I've had this kind of dream. It just comes and goes from time to time. Nothing to worry about at all." Nick shrugged.

"You've had nightmares like this before?" Robbie asked, sounding increasingly concerned. "For how long?"

"Heh, long enough. You probably hadn't even learned to walk yet." Nick grinned. Robbie did not grin with him. He looked like he was processing just how long that actually was. A moment later, the bunny looked straight back at him.

"Nick, you said that in your nightmare, she was mad at you. Was she mad because you…?"

"…Because I lied, yes." Nick finished. "And because I ran away. I told you before that my mom never suspected anything. Or at least, she didn't say anything about it. That was technically true; she never called me out on anything. But…there was something else I didn't mention. About two years ago, she called me and gave me an ultimatum: either visit her and tell her everything, or stop calling completely."

Robbie's ears flattened further behind his head.

"She…said that?"

"Yes. And I probably don't need to say what happened next. That was when we split apart entirely. I haven't spoken to her since then."

There was a long, unspoken silence between the two of them. The air between them was almost stifling, despite the cold morning wind blowing through the field. Eventually, Nick pushed himself into a sitting position, turning to the bunny beside him.

"You asked me before why I joined the academy, and I said it's because your sister asked me. And that's true. What I didn't tell you—or her—was that I wanted to do something right with my life for a change. Something that my mom would be proud of. But now I'm not even sure if that's enough."

"What do you mean?" Robbie asked.

Nick stared straight into Robbie's eyes.

"You remember the first time we got food from The Kong? When I told you that bit about 'being your best self'? I told you I got it from my previous job, but actually, that came from my mom. That's the kind of person she is: kind, helpful, encouraging, always telling me to do my best. That's the kind of person she wanted me to be. But I didn't. I became everything she hated."

Nick's paws tightened, the grass underneath snapping from the force. "And even after I lied and ran away, she gave me a chance to tell the truth, to come clean about it all. And what did I do? I spat in her face and threw it away. I might be doing all this now, but that doesn't change what I did for the last twenty years. Even if I were to show up now, what would I tell her? Even if I got on my knees and begged her, what reason would she even have to forgive me?"

Robbie opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it, looking back down at the ground.

"I…don't know," he finally said.

"…Yeah, that's what I thought. That's why I never went back. It doesn't matter how much I wished things were different. It's just a stupid fantasy to think that this would be enough to make up for everything I put her through. Besides, if she really did want to give me another chance, she would have tried to reach out to me again. But she never tried to call or message since that day. Not even once." Nick tossed the fistful of grass into the air. The individual blades scattered from a gust of wind, disappearing into the dark morning sky.

Robbie was quiet for a very long while. But eventually, he turned back to Nick, though it took a couple of seconds before he finally spoke.

"Maybe she doesn't know how to say it to you either. But Nick, everything you mentioned just now…you're already all those things. You're brave, kind, helpful, encouraging…you're everything I wish I could be. Like I said before, you're the one who gave me the strength to make it this far. I'm only here because of you."

Nick turned and looked at the little brown bunny beside him, placing a paw on his head and ruffling the fur on top of it.

"Heh, it's nice to know that I have two bunnies that think so highly of me. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can find a third before the end of the year." He chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure there's no third bunny," Robbie rolled his eyes, not resisting Nick's touch. "But if you ask me, after what happened yesterday, I'm sure that there's more than just two bunnies that believe that about you." He glanced upwards, towards where the rest of their bunkmates were sleeping, before looking back down. "Maybe you should start believing that about yourself, too."

"Well, it doesn't really matter what I think about myself. At the end of the day, that's not going to change what my mom thinks about me," Nick retorted, pulling his arm back.

"Maybe not, but if you ask me, I think you could change her mind. If anyone could make her understand, you could."

Nick glanced away.

"…And if I can't?"

"Then…I guess you'll know you tried. And that can't be worse than where you are now, right?" Robbie paused for a moment, placing a small paw on Nick's shoulder before continuing. "Nick, I don't know what your mom is like, but if she were here right now, and she saw everything that I have, I know she would be proud. I know she would understand."

It was rare that Nick found himself lost for words. But right now, he found himself struggling to think of a response. He felt like he was on a gondola again, listening to a certain purple-eyed bunny giving him similar words of encouragement. In that moment, Nick really appreciated that Robbie was Judy's brother. He just sat there, taking in every word that he had just heard. It was a while before his body finally responded, and when it finally did, he could only blink in surprise.

"…That's probably the nicest thing you ever said to me, Flatfoot."

"I'm not saying it to be nice," Robbie immediately replied. "I'm saying it because I believe it."

Nick hesitated once more, looking down at the ground for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. The light from the screen was dim, but in the surrounding darkness, it was almost blinding. He tapped the screen, going into his address book and scrolling down to his mom's contact info. He didn't need to see the number—he already knew it by heart—but he found himself doing it anyway. He stared at the number for a while. He knew that he had the power to do something about it if he really wanted to; all he had to do was to push a single button.

But maybe not at that moment; it was four in the morning, after all.

"Well, thinking about it now isn't going to change anything," Nick finally replied, shutting his phone off. "I can think about it again once this is all over. I've got other things to worry about right now. Like that comms exam later. Not looking forward to that." He chuckled.

"I've seen the way you've been cramming over the last few weeks, Nick. I'm sure you'll be fine," Robbie replied. "You should probably get back to bed and get some rest, though. You'll need it for later."

"Speak for yourself, you should be in bed as well; preferably with earplugs in so you don't wake up hearing things…" Nick mumbled towards the end. He coughed a little, glancing away slightly before adding: "…Thanks for following me out here, Flatfoot."

"Did…it help?" Robbie asked.

Nick got to his feet, dusting himself off before offering his outstretched left paw to Robbie. He allowed himself a small smile.

"A little."

A smile began to cross the bunny's face as well now. Robbie grabbed the paw, pushing himself up to his feet.

"I'm glad, Nick. C'mon, let's go. You've got an exam to ace later."

"So do you. Speaking of exams, how's your arm?" Nick asked, as they began to walk back towards their bunk. "You haven't told me how that doctor's appointment went."

"Oh, that? Same old story as before, you know. The doc told me to take it easy for a while, give it time to heal. I can still do all the written finals on time, but I'm working out something with Major Friedkin for the physical stuff. They'll have a few make-up exam slots the week after you do your tests. I'll be good to go by then." He clenched his left fist, looking at the brace that was over his left arm.

"That's good to hear. It's nice to see you looking confident for a change, Flatfoot."

"Heh, like I said, you did change me, Nick. I have you to thank for that," Robbie replied.

It was quiet between the two once more. The cold morning air continued to blow through the field and through their fur. As he felt the grass crunch beneath his feet, Nick found himself closing his eyes, the scenes of the nightmare beginning to fill his mind once more.

"I thought you were a good fox, Nick. But I was wrong; you don't even love your own mother."

"It always was your choice! You chose to lie to her, you chose to run away, and you chose to kill her!"

Dream Judy and Finnick continued to whisper into his ears, over and over. And though they were only figments of his imagination, Nick knew that they were right. They were just telling him things he already knew deep down inside of him. Everything that he'd ever hated about his life—including turning away from his mom—was his choice.

And he was tired of it.

He was tired of hating himself for the choices he had made. He was tired of always looking back and wishing that things were different with his mother. He was tired of missing her and feeling sorry for himself. And most of all…he was tired of running away.

As the light from the bunk corridor touched his face once again, Nick felt his jaw set. At that very moment, it was like something had finally given way inside of him. The voices in his head began to fade away, and with them, the feelings of fear and doubt inside him. There was a different feeling rising within him now; something he never thought he would feel after the nightmare that morning.

Resolve.

He didn't know how or when yet, but he was going to do it.

He was going to see his mother again.

1 day earlier

Judy pressed the button and held the phone to her ear. She took deep breaths, trying to focus on something else to calm her nerves. It didn't help; the usual doubts about Nick's mom that she'd been trying to push away were coming back in full force again. As much as she tried, the voice in the back of her head kept asking the questions she feared getting the answers to.

What if she doesn't pick up the call because she doesn't want to talk to me?

What if she really never wants to see Nick again?

What if things go wrong and Nick finds out? What would that do to our friendship?

She almost dropped her phone when she heard a small beep; she immediately opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself when she realised that the sound was just the ringing tone droning monotonously in her ear. She rapped the side of her head with her free paw, forcing herself to exhale deeply. It was too late now; she'd already committed to doing this, and she was going to see this through.

She pressed the phone more tightly against her ear, listening intently to the sound of the ringing tone. She had to focus.

One ring. Two rings.

Maybe Evie was away from her phone? Or maybe she was looking at her phone and wondering who the phone number belonged to—people did tend to be cautious of spam calls these days.

Three rings. Four rings.

As the phone continued to drone on, her hopes began to wane a little, and her eyes found themselves drifting to the multitude of mammals who were spilling into the precinct lobby. A bunch of them were carrying umbrellas, while others had raincoats on. The rain outside hadn't let up a bit; it looked like it had gotten heavier, in fact. Every time the doors opened, a strong gust of wind blew through the lobby with some accompanying splashes of rain. She definitely wasn't leaving the office anytime soon.

The normally spacious lobby was quickly filling up now. Judy backed away towards her left, heading towards a less crowded part of the lobby. As she did so, she heard the sound of frantic heavy footsteps getting closer.

"Look out!"

She turned around just in time to see a couple of elephants burst through the front doors, completely drenched. There were still a lot of mammals congregating around the front entrance, so the sudden push forward resulted in a whole lot of mammals being knocked over or thrown into the air—quite literally. The domino effect was almost instantaneous. Judy yelped, barely managing to jump away just before a giraffe's neck hit the ground where she was standing. She barely managed to land on her feet, skidding a few inches on the slippery floor before finally coming to a stop.

There was a cacophony of screams and yells from behind her, accompanied by a medley of crashes and thumps. Judy spun, turning around just in time to catch the tail end of a multi-mammal pileup right in the middle of the precinct lobby. It had only taken a few seconds, but the resulting scene looked like something out of a disaster movie. It was a mess. Wet mammals were strewn about everywhere, some struggling to get up due to the slippery floor.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…ting-a-ling-a-ling…

She could hear her phone still ringing in her paw; no one was answering still. Judy immediately ended the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket. This would have to wait. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any smaller mammals pinned under the larger ones, but a lot of them were still on the ground, some uncomfortably close to the main pileup in the middle of the lobby. Judy winced, trying not to think about what it would have looked like had they been standing a few inches closer before the collapse happened.

There were several ZPD officers already rushing towards the scene. Fangmeyer and McHorn were the first two there, and they were barking instructions to the rest of the crowd. Delgato and Wolfard were next, and they immediately started working on getting the mammals off the top of the pile as fast as they could. None of them seemed to notice her at all.

She may not have been on duty, but Judy wasn't going to just stand around and do nothing. She immediately sprang into action, running towards the nearest pair of gophers that were on the ground beside the giraffe that almost landed on Judy earlier.

"Are you two okay?" she asked, quickly looking them over before offering a paw to help them up. The two gophers nodded wordlessly. They still seemed a little dazed, but they were otherwise fine. Judy pointed them over to the press conference stage, away from the crowd. She went back to check on the giraffe that had landed next to her, but he was already sitting up and slowly getting to his feet—muttering some less-than-family-friendly words under his breath as he did so.

Satisfied that he was fine, she moved on to the other mammals within her weight class: a few other bunnies, sheep, and a couple of smaller deer. Other than some minor knocks and bruises, they were fine as well. It was a miracle that none of them had been seriously injured during the collapse.

The stage was starting to fill up rapidly, so she started ushering the smaller mammals towards the sides of the lobby instead. Once that was done, she moved closer towards the main pile in the centre of the lobby. As she did so, she noticed several items spilled out haphazardly across the floor: a wallet, a water bottle, an assortment of food coupons, and a cell phone.

She did a quick scan around. There was a mammal on the ground a short distance away, wearing an oversized dark blue raincoat that was a few sizes too big for them. There was a small open handbag on the floor a short distance away, suggesting that the owner was female. The contents of the bag most likely belonged to her. The mammal looked like a smaller wolf, judging by the shape of her tail under the raincoat, though Judy wasn't completely sure since the wolf was facing away from her.

Judy bounded over, picking up the coupons, wallet, and water bottle before stepping forward towards her.

"Hi ma'am, I think these belong to you. Are you okay?" she asked politely. The wolf was still facing away from her.

"Oh, thank you so much," the wolf replied in a soft voice, confirming to Judy that she was indeed female. She began to turn around. "I don't even know what happened, I turned around and everyone just suddenly fell over."

"Yeah, I don't think anyone could have avoided that. I almost got flattened myself." Judy chuckled, reaching out for the last item—the cell phone. The moment she picked it up, the screen lit up. There was a notification on the wolf's phone that flashed in front of her eyes for a brief moment before the screen went dark again.

Judy's entire body froze up. A chill ran down her spine.

She stood there for a good two seconds, trying to process what she'd just seen. Finally, she tapped on the phone's screen again. The notification flashed once more, and sure enough, there was a little icon of a green phone, with a red pointed arrow right next to it. The unmistakable symbol of a missed call. But what had caught her eye was the number listed on the screen right below it. She thought she had read it wrong, but she hadn't.

It was her own number.

But…how? How could my number possibly be…

Feeling her paw tremble, Judy looked up from the phone and straight at the mammal in front of her. Now that she had turned around fully, the bunny could see a pair of green eyes looking at her from under the hood of the raincoat. The eyes belonged to a face covered with orange and cream coloured fur. As their eyes locked, Judy finally realised that the mammal kneeling in front of her wasn't a wolf; she was a fox. And said fox's eyes were now looking straight into her own. She looked just as surprised as Judy was, if not more.

"You…" the fox started. "You're Officer Judy Hopps, right?"

Judy nodded, still in disbelief. "Yes…yes I am. You…you're…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I should have introduced myself first." The fox pulled her hood back, revealing her ears and her face fully for Judy to see. Her green eyes were a little wearier, and her face considerably more troubled, but there was no mistake; the fox she was looking at was the very same one that was on the piece of paper in her pocket. Said fox placed a paw on her chest, still looking rather nervous.

"…My name is Evie Wilde."

A/N: The next chapter is all Judy and Evie, I promise.