A/N: This is it.

Thanks to Tinbuzzard11, Bloodfox22, TheAlienHeart, serpentacodex, Blkdragon7, Lupin1968, Mooni.95, InTheLionsDenOnDA, side-fish, and J Shute for reviewing!

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

Chapter 30: The Living Years

"Thanks, Kong. This is the last time. Pleasure doing business with you."

Nick's paw hovered over the 'send' button for a moment as he finished typing the message. He reread it once, and then a second time. The weight of the words he'd typed were finally starting to sink in. It had been close to six months, but it felt like a lifetime ago now.

He sent the message out, picking up a white cup from the table as he did so. The rich aroma of black coffee wafted from the opening in the lid and into his nose. Today's brew smelt better than usual for some reason. Maybe it was just because of the occasion.

A few seconds later, there was a short buzz, with a simple thumbs-up emoticon.

"Really, Nick? Even on graduation day? We're supposed to be on in ten minutes, you know," a voice called out from nearby. The voice belonged to a tiger, who had a toothy grin on his face as he walked up to Nick.

"Can't be a graduation without it, Hobbs. How do you feel?"

"Nervous. Proud. Relieved, mostly…ahh, hang on, I'm having a little trouble with these eg…agri…these loopy braids." Hobbs craned his neck, trying to reach behind his uniform.

"Aiguillette. But don't worry, we'll only need to wear this for the ceremony. Putting this on every day would get old, fast." Nick placed his cup down and walked behind Hobbs to help straighten the nylon cord, the tiger crouching down so he could reach. "There, I think that should do it."

"Thanks, Nick. Your uniform looks good to go too." Hobbs pointed out.

"Not just yet." Nick raised a finger, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pair of sunglasses. He flicked them open coolly with a single paw and slid them on with a smirk. "Alright, now I'm good to go."

"Only you can pull that off, Nick." Hobbs shook his head with a chuckle. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask: what are you doing after the ceremony? Do you want to go grab a drink with us? Lenny said first round's on him."

"Not today, Hobbs. I've got somewhere important to go after this. Let me know when y'all are meeting up for round two, and I'll tag along then, alright?"

"Sure thing, Nick."

The tiger turned around and pulled the backstage curtain a little to the side, just enough that they could peek at the stage and the open field outside. The rows of seats that were set up for the ceremony were already beginning to fill up with various mammals, and the sounds of excited chatter in the air began to grow louder with each passing minute.

"Shall we?" Hobbs motioned with his head.

"Of course."

With all the cadets ready, they got into formation behind the stage and stood together in silence. Soon after, a hippo stepped onstage, and a few seconds later, his voice sounded through the speakers around the field as he introduced himself and welcomed the guests to the ceremony. He started talking about the history of the academy, but Nick had already tuned him out by that point. It seemed he wasn't the only one; the rest of the cadets were fidgeting impatiently behind the stage, talking to each other in hushed—yet eager—tones while exchanging expectant glances. A few moments later, the chattering died down.

"…Please put your paws and hooves together for this year's graduates!"

That was the cue. As they had practiced over the last week, the cadets marched out from backstage towards their assigned positions on the field, with increasingly excited cheers coming from the audience with every face that emerged. Once they were in their places, all of them turned simultaneously to the front of the stage and stood at attention.

"And now, we would like to invite our special guest of honour to give a speech to our graduates. Officer Judy Hopps, please," the hippo said, before returning to his seat onstage a short distance away.

There was a roar of applause as the grey bunny climbed onto the podium and adjusted the microphone in front of her. She took a moment to look at all the mammals standing before her, and the crowd quickly quietened down. Judy took a deep breath and smiled warmly.

"When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place. Where everyone got along, and anyone could be anything. Turns out, life's a little bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life…is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes. Which means hey, glass half full, we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be."

Nick stood in the front of the group, his sunglasses still resting over his eyes. He had a great view of the little bunny standing in front of the podium, who seemed to be doing a pretty good job with her speech.

Maybe all that public speaking had some use after all. Nick smirked. It was definitely less cheesy than he had expected.

"…But we have to try. So no matter what type of animal you are, from the biggest elephant…to our first fox…" Judy motioned right towards him with a paw.

Nick immediately felt a welling of pride. He lifted his sunglasses, enough so that he could lock eyes with Judy. He winked at her, with a knowing smile on his face. He saw the tiniest glimpse of a smirk on her face, before she continued.

"…I implore you. Try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognise that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us."

With that, the audience gave a hearty round of applause. Judy gave one last smile to the crowd, before stepping off the podium and returning to her seat onstage. The same hippo from earlier stepped up towards the podium, lifting the microphone up to his face instead of adjusting it.

"We would now like to present our newly graduated officers with their badges."

One by one, the cadets had their names called out for everyone to hear. Nick watched as one by one, the cadets climbed up onto the stage and had their newly earned badges pinned onto their uniform by a large rhino officer, which was promptly followed by loud cheers and hearty applause. The cadets—now officers—then returned to their original positions, all beaming proudly. When everyone else had received their badges, the rhino stepped off the stage. The hippo held the microphone up once more.

"…and finally, valedictorian of his class, Nicholas Wilde."

Nick handed his coffee over to Hobbs, who took it with a nod. The fox smiled back, before walking up onto the stage, He could feel the eyes of everyone there looking at him. Judy took a few steps forward, pausing for a brief moment to look up at him before she moved in to pin his badge to his uniform, her smile widening as she did so. At that moment, Nick felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. A deep welling of sincere, heartfelt pride.

As the two of them saluted each other, the cadets began to cheer, tossing their police caps into the air in celebration. Nick could barely hear them. He could only focus on Judy's elated expression as she whispered: "You did it."

Yes…yes I did.

Nick could have stood there in that moment forever, if not for Judy motioning for him to return to his place with the cadets. There he tossed his cap as well, with everyone crowding around him and giving him celebratory slaps on the back—literally. The hippo onstage tapped the microphone once more, before clearing his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemammals, we would like to thank you for attending the ZPA graduation ceremony today. The ceremony has now come to an end; please feel free to join up with your friends and family. Have a wonderful day."

The moment the hippo finished, there was a flurry of activity as everyone in the audience began standing up and moving in towards the newly graduated officers, who themselves were running in all different directions to meet up with their friends and family. Nick quickly made a beeline towards a less busy part of the field before he could get flattened by the incoming exuberant stampede.

"And that's a wrap!" a familiar voice said from behind Nick. He turned to see Judy jogging up to him, still beaming. "I still can't believe no one called you out on bringing coffee and sunglasses to a graduation ceremony."

"That's what friends are for." Nick grinned, walking slowly across the grass. Judy walked beside him, quickly sidestepping a group of tigers who were rushing by, looking for a spot to take a family photo.

"I still remember you telling me when you first joined that you didn't really like your bunkmates. But from what I saw just now, it seems they like you just fine."

"Well, I have Flatfoot to thank for that too. Speaking of him, where is he, anyway?"

"Pass him over, Lothar!" Hobbs yelled from nearby.

Nick and Judy both turned simultaneously to see Robbie being tossed into the air by Lothar, one of Nick and Robbie's bunkmates. The brown bunny was half laughing, half squealing as he was tossed up and down repeatedly by the black bear. Finally, Hobbs grabbed him out from midair, holding him up for a second before pulling the bunny towards his chest in a big hug.

"Don't forget us, okay, buddy?" Hobbs said, as everyone else from Nick's bunk moved in for a group hug.

"I won't, Hobbs. I'll keep in touch with all of you, I promise," Robbie replied, looking a little misty-eyed again.

"I guess that answers my question." Nick grinned, continuing to walk ahead. Judy smiled as well, looking at the heartwarming scene for a moment longer before returning to Nick's side.

"By the way, Nick, there's something that I—"

"MAMMAL PILE UP YEEEEAHHHHH!" a loud shriek cut Judy off. The two of them paused in their tracks, just in time to see several newly graduated officers running towards a rapidly growing pile of blue-suited bodies in front of them. It was amazing that there wasn't a crater in the ground with the number of heavy mammals all piled up on each other.

"What was that?" Nick asked. "And before you ask, no, I am not interested in joining the pile."

"Yeah, I figured." Judy chuckled. "I was saying that I wanted to show you something. Can we go somewhere a little quieter? Preferably somewhere where we're less likely to get stepped on? Or piled on?"

"Hah, don't hold it against them, Carrots. It's probably one of the happiest days of their lives. It's all downhill from here, though." Nick smirked.

"You're always the optimist, Nick." Judy rolled her eyes. "C'mon, I think over there is good," she said, pointing at the nearest building. The two of them made the short trek over, the raucous cheers slowly fading away as they stepped through the front doors. The building looked completely deserted. All the lights were currently off inside, though there was still plenty of natural light streaming in from the windows.

"Is this good?" Nick asked, looking around the empty lobby.

"Almost. Can we go to the canteen? It'll be easier to show you there."

"Whatever you say, Carrots." Nick shrugged. He had a nagging feeling something was up, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was. At the moment though, his thoughts were focused on something else, so he didn't push it any further. Neither of them said a word as they walked through the quiet hallway, the sound of their footsteps echoing off the walls. After a bit, Nick cleared his throat.

"Hey, Carrots."

"Hmm?"

"Do you have any plans after lunch?"

"Plans? No, not really. I figured you probably wanted to have a nice long nap today to celebrate your graduation, so I was planning to do the same. Why?"

"You know me well." Nick smirked. "But since today's a big day and all, I was thinking of bringing you somewhere special."

"Really? Where are you thinking of?" Judy asked, looking up at him now.

Nick took a deep breath.

Now or never…he glanced down at her.

"Have you ever heard of the Evergreen Forest?"

Judy paused in her tracks, seeming to think long and hard about the name. She frowned.

"I think I've heard about it before. Where is it exactly?"

"It's on the outskirts of the city. It's a pretty small place. I'd like to bring you to see something," Nick said, as they stepped through the doorway to the canteen. The lights were off here as well, and the place was as silent as it could ever be.

"What is this 'something'?" Judy asked curiously.

"Something you'll probably enjoy very much. So, are you in?"

"I find your answer vague and unconvincing. Sure, I'd love to go." Judy beamed. "But before that, since we're here now, would you mind if I show you something first? It's a little gift as a reward for your graduation."

"Is it another carrot pen? Because if it is, that would be good timing. I could use another one to record some juicy blackmail material of our new colleagues with."

"It's not," Judy replied. "But if it's alright with you, I'd also like to claim my prize now. The one we agreed on after our little fight."

"You…want to claim it now?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Don't worry. It's nothing bad, I promise. And besides, there's no one else around."

Well, here it comes. She's going to ask me to see my mom. Well, she's gonna be in for a surprise.

"Alright…so tell me, Carrots. What do you ask of me?"

Judy inhaled softly, letting the question hang for a moment before she answered.

"…I'd like you to kneel. And close your eyes."

Nick did a double take.

"That's it? Really?" He raised an eyebrow. Judy nodded earnestly.

Nick's spidey-senses were tingling inside; there's no way that this was all she wanted. He had been a hundred percent certain that she was going to ask him to reconcile with his mom. So if that wasn't it, then what in the world did she have planned?

He had no clue. But a promise was a promise.

"Alright then, suit yourself. I'm just going to get on the ground now…"

He knelt on the tiled floor. At this height, he was just a bit above Judy's eye level. She still had a smile—a knowing smile—on her face. His heart suddenly began to beat a little faster.

"Close your eyes, Nick."

"I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?" Nick shook his head. He exhaled softly.

Oh well, nothing she does would probably surprise me at this point.

He closed his eyes.

The world went dark. But still, in the silence of the room, he could hear Judy's gentle breathing. He heard a faint rustle, and then the sound of her soft footsteps approaching him. Her smell began to fill his nose. She was close to him. Very close. A moment later, he felt something soft being wrapped around his neck. Something soft, probably made of cotton. It felt so familiar. It felt just like—

"Alright, you can open your eyes now," Judy said.

Nick opened them slowly, not sure what to expect. The first thing he saw was Judy. She had taken a few steps back, but nothing had changed about her. She wasn't holding anything, either. It seemed that the only thing she did was to wrap something around his neck. He reached a paw up to touch it. It was definitely cotton, but now that he was feeling it with his own paw, the feeling was unmistakable.

It couldn't be.

As if reading his thoughts, Judy held up a small pocket mirror in her paws, so Nick could see his reflection.

"Carrots, this is…"

It looked and felt exactly like the same Junior Ranger Scout neckerchief that he'd held on to for so many years. The same one that he'd wrapped around Judy's injured leg when they were being pursued by Bellwether in the Natural History Museum.

But…it was gone after her operation on her leg. Could this really be…?

"It's the very same one," Judy replied quietly, reading his thoughts again.

"I can't believe it. You've been hanging on to this all this time? And…" he sniffed it. "You must have washed it a lot. With my favourite fabric softener, it smells like."

"Yeah, I mean, I couldn't give it to you covered in my blood, right?" she chuckled.

"Well, you could, but it would have made this experience a lot more macabre. But if you had my neckerchief all this time, why did you wait until now to give it back?" Nick asked.

"Well, I had planned to after I got it cleaned. But I wanted to wait for the right time to give it back. And I needed it for something."

"What's that?"

"This," Judy replied, nodding. Not at him, but behind him. Judy took a step back, and at that moment, Nick heard footsteps. Footsteps that didn't belong to Judy.

As the footsteps got closer, a new scent began to waft into his nose. It was a familiar scent, one that he didn't immediately recognise at first. But when he did, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

It can't be—

He never got a chance to turn around, because the person who the scent belonged to passed by his immediate left from behind him. He saw a brief flash of purple and red before the person stood right in front of him. From his kneeling position on the ground, he had to look up to see who it was, which was a little difficult with the light shining right into his eyes from the window. But the figure moved a little, blocking the light enough for Nick's eyes to adjust.

And then, he saw her.

"Hello, Nicholas."

It was only two words, but the voice and the person that it belonged to were both unmistakable. Time seemed to come to a standstill at that very moment, as Nick stared straight into the eyes of the fox that he'd lied to for over twenty years.

He had prepared for this moment for so many days and nights, playing scenario after scenario out in his head, practicing hundreds of speeches. After years of running and turning his back on her, he had finally resolved to face her. To tell her the truth. To look her in the eye and tell her all the words she needed to hear.

But now, on his knees before her like this, he couldn't find any of them.

"Mom…you…you're here…" were the only words he could croak out.

The older fox nodded. There was a look on her face that Nick couldn't quite place. He couldn't figure out for the life of him what it was supposed to be. Regret? Disappointment? Resentment? All three?

"Yes, I'm here. I couldn't miss an opportunity like this, now could I?"

Definitely all three.

He'd heard her voice over the phone plenty of times before, but this was his first time hearing her voice in person—not to mention seeing her—in over a decade. Her voice hadn't changed much since then, though it did sound a bit more tired now compared to before. Maybe it was a sign of her age. Or perhaps she was just tired of him. Whichever it was, all he wanted to do right now was to run as far and as fast as he could and bury his head in the ground like an ostrich. But no matter how much he willed them to, his legs wouldn't move. In the back of his head, he had a feeling that this was the exact reason why Judy had asked him to kneel this way.

He regretted not having written the speech down. Maybe it would have been easier to have just written her a letter. That would have saved him a lot of trouble. He thought about turning his head and giving Judy the death glare, to buy himself some time while he tried to think of what to say. But with the way his mom looked at him, he couldn't find it in himself to turn away; all he could do was to stare blankly back at her. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something, but he still couldn't find the words.

But he had to try.

"Okay look, I know what you're thinking. Why didn't I visit you for over ten years, right? Well, haha…it's a funny story, actually. I was kinda caught up in life, and work, and then the whole Nighthowler thing happened. I know it sounds crazy, but I was planning to visit you soon, I swear. But things kept happening one after another, and I didn't think you would…understand…"

His mom was silent, her gaze unwavering. It was like she was staring straight into his soul. And right now, his soul felt like it wanted to be anywhere but inside his body.

Nick closed his eyes and hung his head, his rear slumping to the ground with his tail between his legs.

"You probably already know everything, huh?" he mumbled. "I know you hate me after what I did. No, I never went to business school. I didn't get a job at Barker's Bank. I never got promoted to Senior Consultant. Most of the money that I gave you was exactly where you think I got it from. I became everything you never wanted me to be. That's the truth. And that's why I never came home for the last ten years. I couldn't face you after that."

He kept his eyes closed and waited for her to shout at him. To scold him, to berate him, to maybe give a tight slap or two. But nothing came. He clenched his fists.

"…I know you wanted me to visit, which I never did. But what was I supposed to do? You would've known that I was lying eventually, and I would have broken your heart. But I guess that didn't matter, did it? You must have already known. You must have been so disappointed. So ashamed. That's why you told me that you didn't want to talk to me anymore. You gave me a chance to come clean, but I couldn't find it in myself to do it. I was a coward. I was stupid. No, I'm still stupid. I'm nothing but a stupid, good-for-nothing, useless fox. You don't need to say it; I already know that better than anyone. But go ahead, let me have it. Tell me what a failure of a son I was."

Still silence. Every excruciating second that went by was another lance right through his heart. This was just like the nightmares that he had for years, but this time, it was real. Painfully real. He opened his eyes, his breathing growing increasingly laboured.

"Why won't you say anything?!" He finally yelled, loud enough that his words echoed throughout the empty canteen.

Still breathing from his mouth, he finally found the willpower to raise his head to see his mother's reaction. She looked like she was in shock at his outburst. Her paws and her lips were trembling. Nick felt his heart sink further into the pits of despair; it was cracking and breaking into little pieces inside of him. He lowered his head again—he couldn't bear to look any more.

All of a sudden, Nick heard the older fox fall to her knees in front of him. He felt a paw gently touch his cheek, before it lifted his chin up. As he forced his eyes open, he looked straight into her eyes and saw…tears.

"…You really are my Nick. Oh sweetie…" she lunged forward suddenly, pulling Nick into a bear hug. "I missed you. I missed you so much."

The breath had left Nick's lungs. His eyes were wide open. Memories from more than a decade ago began rushing back to him in a flood. There was no contempt, no scorn in her voice. Only a gentle warmth that flowed through her words and into his ears, soothing the pain he felt in his soul.

"B-but…I lied to you for twenty years…" he stammered.

"I know. And I was wrong. I'm so sorry, Nicholas."

Nick took a good few seconds to process what his mom had just said. Of all the words he'd expected to hear from her, the word 'sorry' wasn't one of them. While he tried to get over his feeling of disbelief, his mom pulled away slightly, looking him straight in the eye.

"I was wrong to treat you the way I did before. You were just trying to do what was best for us. I knew the truth; it wasn't fair, the way people treated us. But I still tried to push you to do what I thought was right, instead of appreciating everything you did for us. I should have defended you more. Like that night back then, with the old goat and that wallet. You said it so clearly to me. I wish I had listened. I wish I had done things differently."

The memory came crashing back to Nick in a wave of emotion. He remembered everything. The pain. The indignation. The anger. He could replay every moment of that night, word for word. He closed his eyes, seeing a younger version of himself standing in front him, seething with anger.

"Everyone already thinks I'm one of those foxes! And you know what? I would rather have been a horrible, dirty fox that kept the wallet and actually made our lives better, rather than be accused of being a thief and humiliated by a stupid old goat!"

"Nicholas! Don't say that!"

"I don't care! I hate you! I wish I'd never listened to you, because maybe then we would have a better life!"

Slowly, Nick opened his eyes.

"…it's not your fault. It's mine. I knew things weren't good for you either, but you were trying to do everything you could to raise me right. I was just a selfish kit who didn't know any better. I said terrible things."

"I said a lot of hurtful things to you too. I should never have said what I said two years ago, telling you to visit or stop calling. I was upset, but it was an awful thing to say. I pushed you away, and not a day goes by that I don't regret it."

Nick looked down, trying to avoid looking her in the eye.

"You didn't push me away. I did. I was the one that didn't believe that you could understand. I was the one who ran away and abandoned you."

"Don't say that, Nicholas. That's not true. I know you still cared. That's why you always sent me money every month. It doesn't matter how you got it. I was just…happy to get it from you."

"But…you knew where that money was coming from, didn't you?" Nick asked.

"I had a hunch. But I didn't know how to tell you. I…didn't want to make things worse than they already were."

Both of them fell silent now, as if an unsaid conversation was playing out from where it had ended. Eventually, Evie broke the silence.

"If I had just been home more, if I had just spent more time with you…then maybe all this wouldn't have happened."

Nick shook his head slowly.

"…No. Things were…things were fine the way they were. You needed to earn the money to pay off the house. To put food on the table. And to raise an idiot son." He allowed himself a wistful chuckle.

Evie returned the chuckle with a sad smile of her own, gently clasping her left paw around his. She waited a few moments, before continuing.

"I heard you say just now that you wanted to go to the Evergreen Forest. Would that be because…?" she trailed off, sounding hopeful.

"Yes, I was planning to come home. To tell you…everything. But seeing how all this is playing out, I'm guessing she found you first, and the two of you went about orchestrating this whole thing." Nick glanced over at Judy, who up to this point had just been watching quietly from the sidelines. To his surprise, she shook her head.

"Sorry Nick, but it wasn't me. Not this time."

"Sure it wasn't…" Nick rolled his eyes.

"She's telling the truth," Evie said, causing Nick to turn back towards her. "I was the one who looked for Judy first. I know she promised that she wouldn't look for me, but I don't think there was anything about me looking for her, right?" she tilted her head slightly with a twinkle in her eye.

"But…why were you looking for her? How did you even know that we knew each other?"

"We were together on national television after Bellwether's arrest, Nick. It wasn't exactly hard to miss," Judy pointed out.

"Oh, right. Good point."

"When I saw the video of you standing with Judy outside the hospital, and I realised that you were involved in that terrible incident…I was worried sick," Evie continued. "I heard terrible things, like you having gone savage and attacking Judy. I had to find out how you were doing, but…I didn't think you would pick up my calls. I remembered seeing Judy on TV with you, so I tried to find her to ask whether you were okay. She came to my house, we spoke, and…"

"You came up with this plan." Nick sighed. "I'm guessing it was your idea to have me kneel on the ground while she ambushed me from behind?" Nick turned to the grey rabbit standing a short distance away.

"Actually, that was all her," Judy replied. "I even told her that she should have been the one to give your neckerchief back to you, but she insisted that I do it, since I'd been holding on to it all this time."

"You came up with this?" Nick looked at his mom. Her mouth curled up into a coy smile.

"It was just a little fun that I wanted to have, after I found out that you were planning to visit me today after the ceremony. Honestly, Nicholas, if you were planning to have a big emotional reconciliation, you could have at least invited me to your graduation," Evie said with a little playful huff.

"Y-you…knew about that?" Nick stammered. "How could you have known?"

"I'm your mom, remember? I know everything." She winked.

She was deliberately being vague about it; Nick still had no idea how she could have possibly found out. He hadn't told Judy about it either, so there's no way that either of them could have known. The only person who knew about his plan to visit his mom was…

Flatfoot.

Nick sighed. "Well, I thought that it would have been better if I already had the badge when I showed up at your doorstep…I didn't know if you even wanted to see me after my first try, so I wanted to make it look as good as I could."

"And miss hearing that my son graduated with highest honours? Not a chance." Evie shook her head. "I didn't even know about that until you went up on stage, just so you know. Judy didn't tell me that beforehand; she just told me that there was a little surprise waiting for me during the ceremony. I'm guessing this was it?" she glanced over at Judy now. The bunny nodded, beaming proudly.

"So…you were there? In the crowd?" Nick whispered. "You were watching?"

"Yes, I was. A little bit further back so you wouldn't notice me, but I saw everything. I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Evie clasped her paws together joyfully.

It had been many, many years since Nick had seen his mom this happy. It was a little bittersweet, but seeing her like this warmed his heart in a way nothing else ever could. The warm feeling began to spread from his chest through the rest of his body. For the first time since seeing her, he felt the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile, but he paused halfway.

"Wait a minute." He glanced over at the bunny standing suspiciously quietly next to him. "If you didn't plan any of this, then what did you do?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just keeping a promise to a little friend," Judy replied, motioning to Evie with a grin.

"What…?" Nick started, but he trailed off as he was cut off by a voice. His own voice.

"…I was a coward. I was stupid. No, I'm still stupid. I'm nothing but a stupid, good-for-nothing, useless fox."

Nick's eyes went wide as his head snapped back towards his mother.

"You didn't."

Evelyn Wilde had a wry smile on her face. A smile Nick hadn't seen in years but knew all too well. Ever so slowly, she pulled out a small orange carrot pen with her right paw.

"That's…" Nick gaped.

"I believe…this is what you'd call a hustle, sweetie," Evie said softly.

There was no reply. No witty comeback. In hindsight, it should have been obvious, but in the moment, Nick hadn't even considered it to be a possibility. It was Judy's trick that she loved so much. And he fell for it. Again. In the back of his head, he made a mental note to have a chat with her 'little friend' at the next available opportunity.

"Of all the people…" Nick finally found his voice, barely mustering a laugh. "Alright. I admit it. You got me. You got me good. Both of you. I've…lost."

It was strange—normally, he would have been annoyed or frustrated at himself for admitting defeat out loud like that, but at that moment, he only felt a sense of relief within him.

Evie placed the carrot pen on the ground beside her, joining both of her paws together to hold Nick's own paws gently now.

"Sweetie, I…" Evie hesitated. "There's so many things I want to say to you, but I don't even know where to start."

Nick squeezed the two paws that were in his own. A pang of regret shot through him as he realised just how rough his mom's paw pads were compared to his. But that feeling began to grow into resolve as he looked straight into her eyes.

"Mom…there's so much I want to say to you too, but for the life of me, I can't remember anything right now." He sighed. "I don't know how to say it, but…is it too late for us to start over?"

Evie froze; her mouth quivered slightly the moment she heard Nick's words. For the briefest of moments, Nick felt his heart skip a beat, but that feeling quickly vanished as his mom's look of shock gave way to a look of pure, unadulterated joy. Her eyes lit up in an instant, as if she'd been waiting to hear those words all her life.

"…No, it's not."

With that, mother and son moved in simultaneously, hugging each other tightly like there was no tomorrow. What seemed like an eternity of pain, doubt, and fear, all seemed to evaporate in that moment. After several precious seconds, Evie gently pulled away.

"I think that's enough kneeling on the ground, sweetie. You're going to get your uniform all dirty."

Evie pushed herself to her feet now with a little difficulty. She wasn't that old yet, but Nick could definitely see the years of labouring starting to catch up with her.

"Could you stand, my son? I want to see you properly, with my own eyes."

Feeling the blood flowing through his body once more, Nick pushed himself to his feet, never taking his eyes off her face as he did so. He stood up straight, finding himself rising half a head over his mother. Evie reached a paw up to his shoulder, running her paw over his aiguillette. She then moved downwards, resting it over his new police officer badge which glinted under the fluorescent lights. Her gaze then moved towards the red neckerchief that was tied around his neck.

"You look great, sweetie. But I think there's a little something missing," she whispered softly with a smile, before reaching into her right pocket. Before Nick could respond, she pulled out a small gold ring. It took a second, but he recognised what it was.

It was the same gold slide that was part of his original Ranger Scout uniform.

Evie pulled gently at the neckerchief to undo the half knot that Judy had tied. And then, like she did over twenty years ago, she slipped the ends of the neckerchief through the slide, pushing the slide up before tugging gently at both ends of the neckerchief to even them out.

Nick suddenly found himself in another time, standing in front of his mother as she fiddled with his uniform while gushing over how handsome he looked. That same neckerchief was around his neck once more. It was certainly a few sizes too small for him now, but that didn't matter; the feeling of happiness that he felt wasn't diminished in the slightest.

Her head tilted upwards slightly, and she looked straight at him, her eyes filled with nothing but love and pride. He smiled back, feeling a resolution growing inside him. After so many years, he was finally seeing her eye to eye. And as he looked at his mom's smiling face, he told himself that this time, things would be different. Things weren't going to end like they did years ago; he was going to make sure of it. This was exactly what he had been dreaming of, for so many dark and lonesome nights. Those dreams were no longer yearnful wishes. They were real.

"I am so proud of you, sweetie. So very proud." Her eyes began to well up again. She rubbed them with a paw, just in time to see her son move in to embrace her again. Nick felt his own eyes welling up, but he squeezed them shut, instinctively trying not to show it here. Still, he couldn't stop himself from letting out a small sniffle. It was ever so soft, but he knew that his mom would have heard it.

But perhaps, that was for the best. As if responding directly to the sound, she wrapped her arms around him, humming softly. At that moment, he was eight years old again and in his mom's arms, crying into her chest while she whispered words of comfort to him. Her smell filled his nose completely, reminding him of what he had lost, and finally found again after so many years. He opened his mouth, his voice beginning to tremble.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry that I never told you the truth. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to stand before you like this. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you."

Although he couldn't see it, he could hear his mom's breath growing shaky. She was trembling as well now, trying her best to keep her voice steady through her sniffling.

"You already have, Nicholas," she whispered. "And I'm proud…not just because you became a cop. I'm proud…because you've gone through so much pain, but you're still the kind, helpful, loving kit that I remembered. It must have been so hard for you…and I'm so sorry too. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you before. But no matter what you did, and no matter what's happened before between us, I want you to know that I will always love you."

Nick froze. His addled brain was in shock—he could barely process the words that his mom had just said. It was only after a few seconds that he realised that she had just said the words he had longed to hear again ever since he was a kit. He slowly pulled away, half expecting her to disappear into thin air and for him to wake up in yet another cruel dream. But she was still there. And despite the fresh tears that were forming in her eyes, Nick could see that the smile on her face was nothing less than genuine. Slowly, his disbelief turned to relief, and finally, to cresting joy.

As the ice around his heart finally melted away, he gave in, letting everything—his sorrow, his suffering, his joy—overwhelm him completely. Years of burdened pain bottled up deep inside finally left his body through his eyes and down his cheeks. They were flowing freely now, but in that moment, he couldn't have cared less.

"M…Mom…I…" Nick stammered. He wanted to say so much more, but those two were all he could manage.

"It's…it's okay, sweetie," Evie gripped her son tightly, tears streaming down the side of her own face. "Everything is…everything is going to be okay."

For the first time in over twenty years, Nick believed her.

A/N: To celebrate this important milestone in the story, a special piece of art was made by the wonderfully talented Kochich! You can find it by going to his DeviantArt page, or by visiting Evergreen on Archive of Our Own (AO3). (FFN why won't you let people post art in the chapter, it's been like eleventy trillion years…)

It has taken many years to get to this point, but I am proud to announce that with this chapter, Evergreen is almost done, and we are now entering the final arc of the story. If you have made it this far, especially if you've been following this story for a long time, all I can say is…thank you. Thank you for waiting so long. Thank you for being here for this moment. I couldn't have reached this point the way I did if not for all the kind words and encouragement I've received from all of you.

We are so close now. I hope you will enjoy this final stretch of this story. Thanks again for being here!