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Thanks for the Fox

Chapter 4: Two Train Tickets and a Sly Bunny

Judy's mind raced, her heart hammering so hard in her chest that she could hear it in her own ears. She moved a paw over it as if to try to keep it from just falling out. No. This wasn't happening. She was misunderstanding the situation. It was as if wishful thinking had been energized by a bolt of lightning. Clarity, she needed clarification.

"You..." Judy shook her head in disbelief and had to start again, "Are you... Vivienne Wilde? Mother of Nicholas Wilde?" she asked a little breathlessly. It was a mistake, it had to be. No mere confluence of chance and her often irritating persistence could possibly have led to this kind of circumstance. It was beyond fantasy. The vixen began to look a little perturbed.

The russet waitress looked back at her manager with a bit of confusion and then to the rabbit before quickly saying, "Yes, I thought I had just established that, please! I... I want to know what happened. Is my Nicky gone? I can't - I just..." Her voice broke with a stressed squeak, the vixen visibly shaking, tears still falling freely. The other part of what was happening finally fell into place for Judy. Vivienne was looking at a police officer from Zootopia who had travelled all the way from the city to talk to her about her son. The most likely reason that this would be happening was to report that her son had...

Judy jerked suddenly with that realization and cried out, "Oh!" She gasped, shaking her head vigorously as she said quickly, "Oh no! No! Nick's fine! He's... He's great! I just..." Judy found that she was shaking too, but not in fear and grief like Vivienne was. She was excited and close to just bursting into tears about this. This was real! The older slightly heavier vixen backed up a little, face scrunched up curiously. She was apparently not exactly following anymore. Vivienne held her dark-toned paws out expectantly as Judy faltered, green eyes peering intently at the bunny. Judy was having trouble expressing the real problem here. She had to tell her the reason she came here, but her mind was spinning in circles trying to figure out how she even ended up in such an insane situation. This entire sudden scenario was beyond her imagination. Wide-eyed, Judy just stared, speechless, at Vivienne. There was so much she had wanted to say and she suddenly couldn't say a thing!

Vivienne became understandably impatient and spoke up. "Is he... In jail? Did he get into some kind of trouble? I mean, better than dead... but I would not think you'd be informing next of kin." She was visibly confused. At least she wasn't crying and shaking anymore. This helped the rather empathetic bunny calm down as well.

Judy finally sucked in a quick breath and tried hard to quickly explain what was happening. "No, Mrs. Wilde, your son is not in jail, he's not in trouble, he's not hurt... He didn't die, you did!" she finally resolutely blurted out. This was so crazy. "I'm here because of your passing, not his," the bunny added plaintively. Vivienne stepped back, eyes round, and looked back to her manager. She put on a sly grin almost identical to the one Judy was so used to seeing on Nick when he was about to get himself into trouble with Bogo. Their resemblance was suddenly uncanny.

"Hey Annie! I died! Can I use a sick day?" The black vixen behind her laughed. Vivienne turned to Judy and rubbed the back of her head a little sheepishly. "I'm sorry, bunny. I shouldn't tease here, but... you have to understand why I am not... taking that statement seriously. What do you mean I died?" Judy took another deep breath. With how much Vivienne obviously still cared about her son, this was about to get a whole lot less comical.

The rabbit sat back down on her stool, not even sure when she began standing on it. Her heart was still kicking the hell out of the back of her ribs. What was going to happen? What was she going to do? What was Nick going to do? He could not possibly be mad for her meddling if it meant this, could he? Vivienne gazed at her expectantly.

Judy let out her breath and then spoke up. "Mrs. Wilde..." she began.

"Vivienne's fine. Or Viv. Oh! Or V if you sign my pay checks." She laughed. Annie snapped her fingers a couple of times.

"Damn right!" she barked happily. The mood was far better in the diner from the tragedy that was unfolding a moment ago. That, the bunny felt, was about to change. Judy cleared her throat to get Vivienne's attention again. Once it was secure, the bunny resumed speaking.

The bunny asked carefully, "Can you think... of any reason that your next door neighbor would have told your son that you had died?" The russet fox female furrowed her brow, confused obviously for a few seconds. Then suddenly her eyes widened at the question. Then a horrified expression quickly overtook her, darker paws slapping over her muzzle in shock. This resulted in a look of concern from the other vixen.

"V?" Annie asked cautiously.

The fox waitress spoke in a raspy tone. "Nick... Oh no! No, no, no!" Vivienne held either side of her head. "That wasn't me! That was old Nanna Liska! She... She passed away right there in my apartment. She was having a nap after we'd done some fabric work together!" Judy rubbed her chin. So the mammal that Clarabelle saw being taken from the apartment was not Mrs. Wilde. That made Judy feel better, at least. She had worried for a moment that for some reason the raccoon had cruelly lied to Nick. It was just an unbelievably tragic misunderstanding! The frantic vixen continued. "...Oh, I was so_messed up about it... her going like that right on my easy chair - I couldn't go back into the apartment! I just... I mean..." The vixen looked so flustered and anxious now, but Judy did not try to stop her as she explained. "Things were still nuts in the city after the Savage Mammals business and I had a standing offer for a place to stay here with John's sister, if stuff got too bad... and then after the sad business with Nanna... I just took the offer... Had the movers go get my stuff a few days after. I... I didn't realize anyone thought that was me. I didn't even know anyone came out to see what was happening!" Vivienne paced a bit, the scene obviously starting to really unfold for her in her head. "I was so shocked and upset by it, I guess I didn't really go back into the building at all to set anyone straight! Nick... Oh Nick, he really thought I was _dead? He went back asking for me and they said..." Vivienne took on a look of genuine panic. "Oh this is terrible, bunny!" Tears were welling in her eyes.

Judy spoke up, seeing that Viv understood the depth of what happened. "He went back to see you and thought that he was too late, Viv. He's thought you were gone for over a year. But it's all been a terrible mistake."

Vivienne paced in agitation behind the counter, pulling her ears back as she spoke hastily. "I left without telling him because I wasn't sure how to get in touch with him back then. I figured if he ever came back looking for me and I wasn't there he'd just call but... But I didn't know someone would have told him I died! I guess trying to call me then would have been... Oh bunny we have to tell him! We have to fix this!" The vixen manager nodded emphatically, but did not seem so distressed. She had a grin split ear to ear. She was outside of the pain of it all and saw what Judy did. There was a glorious opportunity to put this terrible thing right. This was likely the juiciest drama she'd heard in a long time. It would probably be hotter than anything on the diner's menu by the time the dinner crowd started showing up.

As Vivienne was finally reaching the conclusion that the truth be revealed to the bunny's still-devastated partner, Judy's mind was rolling as fast as it could as she considered what was about to happen to Nick. She could certainly call him then and there and say something like, 'Hey, I was at a diner in New Reynard and your mom's here. Wait, don't hang up the phone! She wants to talk to you.' The thought of trying to do this on the phone, with the kind of emotion behind Nick, the regret he felt, the need to tell his mother she was right about everything... it felt like using the phone was all wrong.

Judy looked up at the almost panting, flustered red fox and said, "Vivienne, I want to take you to him. He wants so much to talk to you, but I don't think this is the kind of talk that you should have from your work on a cell phone." The bunny spoke with an air of authority. She decided, as she spoke, she did not want to take away Nick's right to tell his mother about the changes in his life. This was something he had worked so hard for. He sacrificed for it, and he had every reason to be proud of it. Judy could not steal this conversation away from him despite how very much she wanted to share that happiness.

Vivienne huffed softly and waved a paw at Judy, looking a bit crestfallen. "Honey, I'm working today and tomorrow, I can't just hop a train this minute and run out to the city! And I am absolutely not about to make him wait two more days thinking I'm dead!"

"Go, V." Annie stated solidly with a grin. The red fox female looked incredulously at her manager.

"What?" Vivienne asked meekly.

The dark-toned fox said in a kind tone, "How many years have you waited? I ain't denying you this. No way. You go see him. Be back on Wednesday for the dinner lot. You know Monday and Tuesday's our short nights and I bet Rex is hurtin' for the hours 'cause of his busted transmission. Go!" Annie laughed.

Vivienne took a deep breath as if having just finished a run while standing right where she was. She puffed, "I... I need to go back to my place to get a change of clothes and all, I don't want to go like this. I will be real quick, I promise!" She began to sound extremely excited. "Whatever the bunny would like to eat... just put it on my tab, Annie." She then bolted for the door. "Oh my, oh my, oh my..." Judy watched the vixen's black-tipped tail slip out the closing door as the bell on the inside of it dingled with its closing. The bunny then slowly turned back to Annie before cupping her tiny claws together in praying fashion.

She said pleadingly, "Pleeeeaaassse the steamed vegetable medley!" The dark vixen manager laughed at the desperate tone and called out to the kitchen,

"Eddie, Hot Salad!" She looked back to Judy, smiling, paw on her hip. Her amber eyes were keen and eager.

"So, I gotta ask... If you were looking for Vivienne Wilde to talk to her about her son, but you thought V was dead, what were you gonna talk to her poor departed soul about?" she asked. Judy blushed. She wasn't sure what she should say anything so personal to this vixen's boss. She then considered then that Annie had just let Vivienne off work on the spot to allow her go see Nick. Judy asked meekly,

"Has she spoken much about her son?" she wanted to know what Annie already knew. The bunny did not want to air out Nick's past to strangers. The vixen leaned on the counter, thick tail swaying this way and that in a hungry, predatory fashion. Judy was not fazed because she knew that Annie was starving for information. She knew that look well from her sisters. This was gold to her.

The manager spoke casually, "Talkin's about all we get to do in this place, Honey. Don't know much I couldn't answer about the boy. I know he ain't been real great for V, but she loves him to bits no matter what, like a good mother should. I don't know what _you_know about the lad, but his mom had a good reason to assume he'd be dead or in jail." Judy looked back with slightly wider eyes. Okay, so Annie was very much in the know. The bunny inhaled deeply again, still catching her breath from the emotional and shocking revelation.

"Judy Hopps, by the way," she greeted. They seemed to know who she was, but hadn't spoken a name to go with the Zootopia 'icon' they were talking to.

"Judy then, I'm sorry. I knew we recognized both you, but most mammals around here just say 'bunny cop' when they talked about ya. Not like we can get you confused with all the other bunny cops," she chuckled.

Judy looked down at her little grey paws on the counter as she composed her thoughts, trying to figure out how to say this. She finally stated, "Nick's life has... changed. And he wanted to tell his mother. He wanted so much for her to be proud of him, but when he went to find her she..." Judy felt a tug at her chest even thinking about the reason she was originally here. This tragedy was suddenly just... gone. It had evaporated in an instant and Nick didn't even know yet. He had no idea that everything was about to be okay. He could never even hope for what was about to happen to him, and the intensity of that secret was making it hard for Judy to sit still.

Annie caught on to what Judy was saying and gasped slightly, murmuring, "Oh my goodness, no..." She looked genuinely horrified. "So wait, he tried to fix things and went back and... thought he was too late?" she asked incredulously. "That's the sorest tragedy I think I ever heard!" her voice cracked a little. The bunny nodded emphatically.

"Absolutely!" Judy huffed with seriousness. "And then he didn't tell any of his friends or anything. That was over a year ago! He found out just a couple weeks after Viv left Zootopia! Annie, he's been just... letting that rot inside him for so long." Judy forced herself to calm down a little. She had raised her voice at the last part because of how frustrated she was that Nick had emotionally abused himself so long without her even knowing it.

"Oh Judy," Annie murmured, "That boy must have been so scared and ashamed... I can't even imagine."

Judy shook her head to clear it and then said, "He didn't know where to look for her and he really and truly felt like he didn't even deserve to. So it came out finally, and I decided to see if I could find his mom to... You know... Tell her. Tell her he was doing better. I wanted to say that he was going to be okay so she..." Judy looked up, eyes wider, trying to keep tears from obviously spilling and of course failing anyway. The vixen handed her a napkin which the bunny used gratefully. "... So she didn't have to worry on the other side, right? Nick felt so guilty about it that he couldn't face her memory and I wasn't going to leave it like that. I just couldn't." The bunny's breath hitched a little. Judy dabbed her violet eyes a little more and looked up, ears falling back to see Annie looking a little skeptical.

The vixen manager said slowly, "Well, Judy, that's awful sweet of you. But given V's son's... general history... what makes Zootopia's renowned bunny cop drag herself all this way to undertake such a task. In a nearly all-fox settlement at that!" she barked incredulously. Judy looked a moment to the older fox. The bunny didn't have any reason not to explain, she just didn't want it as general gossip.

Judy whispered, despite the diner being empty aside from the two of them and whoever was in the kitchen. "Can you promise you won't tell any of this to Vivienne? At least, not until Nick has a chance to talk to her..." Judy asked. Annie canted her head slightly, looking much more curious.

"I can hold my tongue, sure," she replied frankly.

Judy grinned. "Good. I want Nick to be the one to explain everything to his mother. He deserves that, and she deserves to hear it from him." Judy fished out her phone from her ridiculous-looking bunny-bag and then scrolled through some of the images until she found one of her favorites. It was a selfie she had taken of her and Nick, both in uniform in front of the fountain at the park in front of the ZPD Precinct One headquarters. Their badges, bright in the sun, were both showing in the image. She held up the picture to Annie, who slapped both paws over her muzzle and recoiled as if pushed back by it.

"NO!" she gasped. "You're pulling my tail!"

"He's my partner!" Judy chirped proudly. "I came because I gotta take care of him. I can't watch him suffer and just... do nothing." Annie turned suddenly, moving a paw to her face, obviously trying to get herself under control. Judy hoped it had been okay to tell her. The vixen slid unevenly down onto her knees behind the counter. Judy watched with a little concern as she had not expected her to be that emotional about it. Apparently she and Vivienne were pretty good friends.

Annie cried out, "Oh V... V's gonna be a wreck, she won't believe it!" She sniffled a bit and looked back up. "I won't say anything, Judy, I promise. I can't believe this!" Her voice squeaked a little. "You sure are right, Nick should get to be the one to tell her all of this. And in person too, I agree!" She slowly stood up, napkin her grasp. She probably had it in her pocket for lightning fast spill control. She sighed and then fanned herself a bit. "I can't tell a single other mammal, not just V... If I tell another soul here it would get back to V in an hour. Are you going to call ahead and tell Nick his mom's alive?" she asked, seeming to absolutely feast on the drama. Judy could not blame her. The bunny would be glued to her seat if this were a movie she had been watching.

Judy then widened her eyes at the invitation to actually consider the logistics of telling Nick. "I... I don't know!" she said suddenly. She couldn't just walk through his front door with his mom behind her, that seemed brutally anticlimactic for the weight of this kind of revelation.

"Order up!" The call came from the back. Judy assumed it was another fox working the kitchen. The 'hot salad' smelled wonderful. The vegetables were fresh and there was what appeared to be a balsamic dressing of some kind used sparingly to add a hint of extra zing to everything. Judy let them cool a little as she answered.

"I... guess we could surprise him, show up at the precinct or something. But I don't know exactly how he's gonna react! He might really go to pieces on duty and Chief Bogo would not be real enthused about that. So maybe I could have Viv at his place when he got off work?" Judy said, still mulling it over. Everything was happening so fast, and she didn't want to really shake Nick up too badly with this, but how could she not? She was about to give Nick his mother back!

"I have an idea." Annie grinned. Judy perked up, beginning to munch on her dreamy steamy veggies.

"I'm listening." She mumbled with a mouth full. "These are crazy-good."

"Thank you, dear." Annie stated. "Okay, so I happen to know that V used to fix Nick his favorite meal on his birthday every year, or if he did something really good to celebrate. That's a thing I know a boy can't forget. So, invite Nick over to a home cooked meal. I promise you he ain't about to refuse. So, when he sees that food there, with the meaning it's got, V can be there to help him celebrate an unexpected and happy reunion!"

Annie was obviously, by that point, as excited as Judy was by this. The bunny thought about that a bit. It could work, but they would be cutting it awful close. Nick would likely get home before she could get there, and she didn't have an oven or stove to cook a nice meal at her efficiency apartment. She then put her paws together. Nick had one though, and Judy had a spare key to his apartment on the off chance that he locked himself out or lost his own keys while tussling with some aggressive mammal on duty.

Judy finally answered, "I think I can manage that, yeah! But... we'd need to pick up some groceries when we got back, and we would need time to get it all prepared. I would have to find some way to delay him getting home..." She rubbed her head in frustration. She could call Finnick, but she doubted Nick would feel that compelled to suddenly not go home if the fennec asked him, particularly with everything he had on his mind.

Annie chimed in, "So, see if his boss will hold him late. I bet if you explained, he'd find a reason." Annie said it as easily as if it were in the script. Judy's eyes shot wide open, and she regarded the lady fox in awe.

"Oh, you are goooood." She took out her phone again, taking another bite of her cooling medley. "Gimme a sec..." She turned around, as if that gave any privacy. She normally would not call this particular number, but this was an occasion where she could not feel sorry for using it. After a single ring, a deep voice cut in.

"Adrian Bogo, ZPD, how may I be of assistance?" came the gruff, practiced response on the other end of the line.

Judy stated eagerly, "Hi Chief, it's Officer Hopps."

The buffalo paused a moment on his end, then growled, "This is my direct cell line; if you are calling in, please use the HR line, Hopps. Since I don't think you have ever once called off, I can accept this, but in the future..."

He was cut off by the bunny. "It's not that, I need a favor." She grinned.

"A favor?" Bogo asked. The chief might normally have been far angrier, Judy thought, if it were not for how curious he surely had to be.

She explained, "I need you to make Nick stay at work for another... what... three hours. Three should be enough." Judy realized after saying it that it sounded way more ridiculous than it had in her head. It actually was pretty offensive.

Bogo seemed to feel that way too, as he growled, "I would love... for you to tell me, Officer Hopps, why in the blazes I would do that to your partner with all he's going through right now!"

Judy answered promptly. "I want to go to his apartment and create a special home cooked meal for him to cheer him up." She didn't want to risk giving away everything but she began to realize she was going to have to tell Bogo. There was no way that reason was going to be enough. This was so private and personal that she didn't want to involve everyone else in Nick's life, but she might have too in this case.

Bogo snorted. "I'm trying to understand this, Hopps... You are going to enter Wilde's apartment and make him dinner, but I have to make him three hours late? No way. Not gonna happen. Get the little tiny fennec to take him out ugly-shirt-shopping or something." he said bluntly.

"No, that would never work; it's got to be mandatory." Judy said. Yeah, there was no way out of it. She had to tell Bogo and hope he would then understand.

The chief sighed, sounding like he might be well and done with humoring Nick's sentimental bunny partner. He said slowly, "Hopps, I like what you are trying to do, but I'm not making Wilde work three hours overtime for a dinner. Even if it's home made."

"Did I mention his mother will be cooking it?" Judy asked. The line went precariously quiet. A few moments later she heard a smaller, almost meek tone that she had never heard from her boss.

"What?" he asked. Judy smiled at that. She didn't want to tell him everything, but that's really what it took. She felt a hint of pride in dumbfounding her boss.

The bunny said softly, "It's a long story and I can tell you all of it later, but I went to New Reynard and I found Nick's mom. Alive. Her neighbor, the one who told Nick about his mother's passing, made a mistake. It was someone else. Nick's mom moved here to New Reynard. Vivienne Wilde is alive and well. And I am bringing her home for Nick." Judy felt a swelling of joy in saying that.

"Hopps, are you serious? Are you sure? You _can't_be joking. Not about this..." Bogo half whispered.

"I'm positive, Chief," the bunny offered with confidence as she turned and saw Annie bouncing a little in place. The manager was obviously able to hear both sides of the conversation because of how loud Bogo's voice was on the phone. And she was still eating up the drama.

There was a bit of a pause on the other end before a much happier sounding Chief Bogo spoke again. "Well then... I am about to make Officer Wilde a very grumpy fox at the end of his shift. I will see to his delay personally." Judy actually heard him chuckling as he hung up the phone without saying goodbye. The bunny blushed again, ear's high. She almost never heard the chief laugh about anything. What had started as a somber day was turning into one of the best she could ever remember.

"All set up then?" Annie asked. Her paws were clasped together eagerly. Judy ate a bit more of her food, nodding.

The bunny said, "Right! Gosh, I hope I don't kill my partner doing this." She laughed, pushing a little bushel of broccoli into her mouth. They both laughed some more and Judy reveled in the best spirit she'd been in for days. So often she wanted to fix the things that hurt Nick, his past, the way the city treated him, the way he felt about himself... and finally, finally she was going to get a chance to really help him

.

*************

A little out of breath, Vivienne sat across from Judy on the train. She looked at the small bunny happily. A large green bag rested in her anxious paws on her lap. It presumably contained a change of clothes and some personal effects. They had barely made the train, and the bunny paid for the ticket for Vivienne rather than have her break the bank as it were. Judy was the reason she was going to Zootopia at a moment's notice, after all. The price of a ticket was worth what this was going to mean for her partner.

As she caught her breath, with Judy wistfully watched the trees sliding past, Vivienne spoke. "So... You said you were looking for me to tell me about my son. What about him?" she asked. Judy had considered how much she could tell Nick's mother without spoiling things for him, and she looked at Vivienne and smiled.

"I am going to let Nick tell you most of it, but I will at least say that I was coming to New Reynard to find your memorial, Viv... and just tell you about your son." The vixen jerked a little, perhaps finally understanding that Judy was there to talk to her spirit, not to her, another reminder of how serious this had all been.

"But you say he's okay, right? Nicholas is not in any trouble?" the vixen asked softly. Judy perked up a bit, never having heard someone call him that. It was a stark reminder that this was his mother.

Judy then refocused and nodded with a smile. "I was intending to tell you that Nick's life has improved. He has good friends and in a lot better place than he was when you last saw him. I want to leave a lot of the details to him. He would want that, but my mission to New Reynard was about a mother's peace of mind." Judy nodded a bit, thinking that was a good enough response and Vivienne smiled, understanding that just fine.

"Do I need to polish all my 'I told you so's'" she laughed.

"... and probably pick up a few brand new ones!" Judy laughed back. Nick's mom applauded at that, rocking back and forth. She still appeared pretty spry, suggesting that she was rather young when Nick was born. She could see why losing her like that had been such a shock to her best friend. It certainly did not seem like her time.

Vivienne leaned back again and then murmured, "So, at least maybe you can tell me why he's got Zootopia's first bunny cop mixed up in this? I mean... you have to know I am curious about that," she laughed. "We are going to pick up the stuff to make his favorite meal in his apartment. How are we getting into his apartment, Officer Hopps?" The vixen grinned broadly. "Am I to understand that he's given a young, sweet bunny her very own key?" Judy's eyes shot painfully wide.

"Oh! Oh no, it's not like that. I... We ... I mean... Nick and I have been very good friends for over a year... after he helped me with the Nighthowler case!" Judy grinned, her ears scorching as they fell down over her back to hide her obvious blush inside them. Yeah, her having a key to his apartment and searching for his dead mother to make peace with her was honestly pretty intimate. The smug expression resting on his mom's face made Nick's smug look like smug-in-training. Crap.

"Ah... Uh huh..." Vivienne chuckled. Something then appeared to click, and she said, "Wait... I remember - Something mammals were saying after more of the details became common knowledge during Smellwether's trial..." Judy stifled a laugh at hearing the former mayor's nickname living in perpetuity on the tongue of other predators. She would not dare correct her. "A civilian helped you in getting a confession from the former mayor... Something about sabotage and some sly trickery..." Her emerald eyes widened suddenly and she gasped, covering her muzzle again. "You can't mean to tell me that..." She looked at Judy expectantly, apparently unable to even entertain the thought.

"That's right, Viv." Judy felt comfortable enough to use the friendly nickname. "Your son was the fox responsible for helping to bring down the former mayor." Judy felt it was okay to say this, as that's what ultimately linked them as friends. It was the only way the bunny could think of to get the other idea out of his mom's head. She didn't have to go into all the changes he made after. Vivienne taptaptapped both feet excitedly as she clutched her bag close with a happy squeak. She was proud. Bellwether's arrest was a serious and unexpected hurdle cleared for the city and a boon for predators who had watched their future grow more and more uncertain. The vixen sucked in a deep breath.

"All of it. Tell me all of it. It's a long train ride, I have to know everything." Her eyes were so wide and full of excitement. Judy sighed and smiled at her partner's mom.

The bunny said, "I want to explain all of it to you, I really do, but I think Nick is better for this. He was there for all of it. He was with me the entire time, and that's when we became friends. And we've been good friends ever since. That's what brings us to this point." She indicated the train. His mother sighed.

"Alright, so you can't tell me all that, but I am really looking forward to seeing him, bunny cop," she laughed. "So, that said, we know you won't talk about him. Tell me about how you became a police officer! That sounds like it's a big story in and of itself!" Judy laughed at that and nodded.

"If you want, sure, I can tell you that. It will take a while." She leaned back and thought about where to begin.

Judy was actually surprised at how much attention the vixen paid to just the bunny telling her about life on a carrot farm with all her brothers and sisters. One of the first questions she asked was how it was physically possible for her to have that many siblings without totally physically destroying her mother. This confused Judy a little until she figured out that Vivienne thought that Judy meant her mother gave birth to 275 bunnies. She laughed loudly at that and shook her paws in front of her dismissively as if erasing a written thought from the air. She explained that because of how communal a nearly completely rabbit-populated town was, all the kits in a specific age group were grouped together as 'siblings'.

Judy's family was considered large on its own, with 18 kits having been the total. If you were a bunny in Bunnyburrow, your brothers and sisters were the mammals you were responsible for looking out for and getting along with. They were closer to what the mammals in Zootopia might call their friends and classmates in a single grade. They went to school together, ate together, and hung out together like a family. It was not the same as a direct, blood-related brother or sister, but the accountability for one another was closer to what one might see with family in Zootopia. Judy had not realized that anyone might have been taking the number of siblings literally because it was so built into the culture where she grew up. She was tickled at the thought. How would her parents have even remembered her name, much less cared if she wanted to be a cop?

Vivienne understood better after her explanation and paid very close attention to the challenges that Judy faced, particularly enjoying her stories about being in the police academy. As they were approaching the station however, her story was interrupted by a call from Nick himself. Judy held up a paw to let his mother know she needed to be super quiet.

"Hey fluff. You are not going to believe this..." The fox sounded very agitated.

"You lost your apartment key again?" Judy offered, just to provide something random.

After a pause, Nick's grumpy voice replied, "No, not that, thankfully. But, the way my day's going I will have you know I immediately checked when you said it," he stated. Judy tried to hold the phone tighter to her ear because she could tell by Vivienne's expression that the vixen could hear her son's voice. Her tail was whipping everywhere in excitement, her feet patting the floor of the train as she clutched her bag hard again. Judy leaned on her own ridiculous bunny-head bag.

"So what's up?" the doe asked.

"Buffalo Butt is making me stay late to help him look for a file. A. File. Fluff, he lost a file and instead of heading home, I am heading to records. He will be in there with me for, gosh I don't know, maybe _hours_helping me look because he already promised our spotted friend he could go home early." Nick sighed, then perhaps realized he was venting and changed the subject, "So, I was thinking about hitting up that place with the rice balls you love, and the loud pop music... What was it? Panda Panic?" He laughed. The sound of Nick's laugh hit his mother harder, and she cupped her muzzle.

Judy laughed back, "Panda Picnic, Nick! Actually, since Bogo's got you stuck there, I'm gonna go to your place and make something for you. Then we can watch a movie or goof off, I'm almost back in Zootopia." There was a pause, and Judy felt maybe Nick knew something had to be up.

"You don't have to do all that, Judy." His serious tone was back. Oh yes, that's right. Self-loathing fox was self-loathing.

Judy spoke with a hint of scolding in her voice, "Nope, it was already intended, no wiggling free. You are coming home to hot food and annoyingly energetic bunny company, and there's no getting out of it!" She grinned.

Nick sighed very audibly on the phone. "I might normally put up more of a fight on this, rabbit, except I am starving already and will be honestly too tired to make anything or go anywhere by the time I get home, so I will... see you in a few hours. I'll message you when I know when I'm gonna be leaving work." he said. His voice sounded less irritated given the promise of food and company to come home to. That tone made Judy feel better about her sudden intrusion.

She replied sunnily, "I will keep an ear out for my phone. I think you will like what I have in mind." She made it obvious she was not going to tell him what it was by the teasing lilt of her voice.

"Lemon honey carrots?" he asked. Judy knew he liked those, he filched one every time she brought them for lunch.

The bunny clicked her tongue. "No. And no guessing! You will see when you get home." She laughed, "See you soon." He said goodbye and headed for the records room as he hung up the phone. Judy was actually touched that Bogo was personally holding Nick there for her. She would message Bogo when she felt they were ready for him to head home. It was starting to come together nicely. She was shaken from her thoughts by a high pitched excited squeak from the vixen across from her.

"He will message you when he is leaving work?!" she cried out. "Nicky has an actual job?!" She drummed both her feet on the floor again, wiggling like a child who just could not sit still. Judy had to laugh at the image. It suddenly burned in her ears that she wasn't just helping Nick. By finding Vivienne she was bringing his mother some highly unexpected happiness too.

Judy sighed softly, "That was part of the thing I was gonna let him tell you, but I guess you were bound to figure that out by his just not being home." The train pulled into the station.

Vivienne gripped her back and grinned at the bunny. "What does he do?" she asked, and then shook her head. "Nope! Nope, I will let him tell me, thank you so much Judy!" she barked happily. "Where to now?" She wrung her paws excitedly. Judy smiled brightly at that. Vivienne was having fun. She radiated a positive energy that Judy could appreciate. A little shock ran through her as she realized that Nick's mom acted a lot like the bunny herself did. Was that why Nick was able to open up to her so quickly when they met? Was that why he could be so comfortable around her, even then?

She shook the thought away and stated, "We head to the grocery, there's one near his apartment." She offered. "Do you know all the stuff you need to get for it?" she asked.

"Yes." The vixen stated this confidently. "And any grocery should have what we need. Judy, I know this meal is not really your kind of thing, so if you don't want to be involved making it, just put me in his kitchen and I'll get it put together-..."

Judy interrupted the vixen. "Tut-tut-tut!" She shook a finger as they got their bags and headed off the train. "You are hours away, if Nick's been especially helpful and I think his favorite dish is in order, I should know how it's made!" The vixen appeared to actually blush at that but it was pretty hard to tell with red fur. Judy worried suddenly that she had overstepped her bounds. Was it something only his mom was allowed to do? Fortunately, her features warmed a bit.

"That's so sweet of you Judy, but are you sure? I mean, with what it is?" she asked. "I feel strange asking a bunny to make that..."

Judy laughed. "I don't have to eat it, just know how to make it!" Vivienne nodded and followed her out of the station with a bright smile. This promised to be a wonderful evening!