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Thanks for the Fox

Chapter 5: Candied Walnut Shrimp and a Surprise

The local grocery was fortunately not very busy. Monday nights often tended to be heavier traffic in that part of town, Judy had found. She had not gone grocery shopping with another mammal since leaving Bunnyburrow, and actually really enjoyed Vivienne's company. The vixen felt like family for how relaxed she was around the bunny. At least, the experience felt like shopping with her family. She knew what they were coming to get after talking with Vivienne for a bit during the walk to the market. She was not enthused about what it was, but it was not that much of a surprise. Nick loved eating fruit and veggies just fine, but a little bit of extra protein in his diet was necessary for him too. She just wished it was not what the bunny referred to as glorified water filters. She looked at the wrapped package of small shrimp that Vivienne put in her basket with distrust, as if they were going to sneak into her mouth in her sleep.

Vivienne spoke up cheerily, "I stand by what I said. I can fix 'em if you want, and you don't have to deal with that part." The vixen laughed as Judy gave the dead sea-bugs the stink-eye. The doe snapped out of it and chuckled at that, having not realized that she was being so obvious about her feelings toward the food.

Judy said softly, "No, he's worth suffering my distaste for this culinary experience. I can certainly help prepare the honeydew and the crushed walnuts. I've never candied them before, so you might need to show me about that." She followed along, watching the tail of the older vixen sway in front of her. It was similar to her partner's, though Vivienne's was almost unnaturally full and long. That was, Judy had found from Nick, considered attractive to foxes. Knowing that his mom was all alone made Judy kind of sad, but she knew from the media that foxes rarely took a mate again if they lost one. For how sad that was, Judy was glad to see that Vivienne did not seem particularly unhappy. Of course, she was getting a big part of her happiness back. Judy had to consider then that maybe this was not so typical for Vivienne's mood. She hoped it could be, going forward. Nick's mom had been so sweet and deserved to be happy, the bunny thought.

Judy helped collect the rest of the items as swiftly as possible, not wanting to run out of time to make Nick's meal. It sounded more and more complex as the vixen described how to make it. Judy was not a phenomenal cook since all her effort went into learning the ins and outs of law enforcement. They were making candied walnut shrimp with sliced melon and a sweet butter sauce glaze. It was the kind of thing that Judy would expect to see done on one of those crazy cooking shows her mom loved. She hoped she could learn to make it, but felt like she would need to pester Viv for written instructions or something.

As the pair reached the checkout line, Judy engrossed herself in sending an update text to Bogo so he'd know they were likely to be finished making dinner in about an hour and twenty minutes. She wanted to plan his releasing Nick in about an hour. Bogo responded back with a simple " >: } " emoticon that made Judy actually shake to hold back her laughter. It was not the kind of thing she expected from the hardened buffalo. Because of the attention she was giving that exchange, she almost missed the one between Vivienne and the cashier. Working the register was a middle-aged, black and white male goat with long dark horns. As he spoke with Vivienne Judy's ears perked because the conversation was very much unlike the usual checkout-line babble she was used to when shopping.

"...need you to empty out your bag there, please. C'mon, we don't want to hold up the line." Judy initially looked up with a start because it sounded like the vixen was actually getting robbed, but that wasn't the case. The goat calmly took a sip of a newly opened cola, having a little break as he publicly violated Nick's mother's basic dignity. Vivienne put her receipt in her pocket because of course this came after she already paid and could not just leave her groceries there as a show of disgust for the treatment. She put her bag on the counter and opened it. Judy's teeth gritted slowly tighter and tighter with silent rage as the well-dressed and polite vixen quietly and dutifully took out a neatly folded blouse, a pressed and folded pair of dark slacks, a little bottle of musk-specialized fur shampoo... she'd have kept going except Judy loudly interrupted.

"What the_Hell_?" The goat looked at her curiously, perhaps not realizing the two were even together. After all, she was a bunny, and that was a fox.

"It's standard procedure, ma'am." The goat bleated officially. "I promise, it won't take long and we will get right to you." He actually thought Judy was mad because this was delaying her, not because Vivienne was being treated like a criminal. He continued to explain, "It's part of our shrink-reduction program. Random baggage check. There's a sign about it at the entrance." He hooked a little keratin plated thumb at the unassuming white bit of paper posted at the entrance on the glass.

The bunny narrowed her eyes, actually bristling. "Odd..." she growled, holding up her silly bunny-bag. "In all my years, I never had my bag checked. I wonder why that would be." She stroked her long ears to indicate her being a rabbit. Judy knew about it. She knew that it happened out there, Nick had told her about it. Judy figured it likely happened to the sort of foxes who went through the checkout lines wearing thick jackets in summer or something. That alone was still pretty unfair but had some basis in logical thinking. But here she watched it happen to an older, nicely-dressed, kind vixen in her fifties? It was a complete outrage.

Vivienne spoke up softly, "Judy, it's alright, this is normal, I pay, they check, and then we head out. A lot of places do this." The lady fox looked very uncomfortable and that was the only reason that Judy decided not to immediately have a manager brought over so she could make her complaint about this 'policy' formal. Vivienne obviously did not want to make a scene and Judy decided to respect that, crossing her arms and grumbling.

However, that ball was already set into motion. "Wait, Judy... Like Judy Hopps?" came a voice off to the side. A sheep clacked over, hard hooves on tile floor sounding his approach. The bunny looked up at his yellow name tag.

The bunny glared and spoke. "Yes, Manager... Luke?" Both goat and sheep looked mortified about a publicly negative-sounding interaction with a 'celebrity' in their checkout line. The manager led Judy over to the end of the check-out counter where the bagging usually took place and motioned the goat over to them. They leaned closer so their conversation was more private.

"Look, I know what this is about. I know about how crap went down, I assure you, the bag check is not because she's a fox, it's because she has a large bag." He darted his eyes to the floor as he said it. Judy frowned. Nick had taught her some interesting things on their first day patrolling together about reading other mammals. That was definitely a 'tell'. It meant the sheep was telling a lie. However, she knew there was little she could do about that but stop being a patron here. The 'random' search was all legal and hard to prove it targeted predators, but she was still furious.

Judy decided to make her point, even more irritated about being lied to. She said coldly, "There was an assault committed about a mile from here about a week ago, Manager Luke. What time do you get off work? What direction do you go when you go home?" He recoiled.

"What are you even talking about?" he asked.

"How do I know you are not part of some crime committed nearby unless I institute a policy of randomly questioning mammals who have some specific thing in common, like... all living in this general area? I should randomly detain mammals once in a while just in case, right? Do you have an alibi? If you don't have proof that you didn't commit the assault, maybe it's necessary that I take you in for further questioning, Manager Luke. I just don't know, maybe you aren't even really the manager of..." She looked at a bag to make her point of the lack of importance, "Your 'Friendly' Ewemart Grocers. I'll never know unless I thoroughly check." She could see Vivienne watching curiously, her eyes round from the bunny's apparently carefully thought out argument.

"Preposterous, you can't justify that in court, you'd get fired." The sheep said haughtily.

"Why not?" Judy asked loudly. The sheep tried to wave her voice down, looking very uncomfortable.

"Because it's just... Wrong." He hissed, crossing his arms, glaring at Judy. The goat, in a show of support for his manager, did the same, perhaps unintentionally boxing her in at the counter. Some of the other mammals around them looked away, not wanting any part of this. The pair leaned down a bit, looking over the bunny threateningly. That burned her fuse lower. She was not going to be intimidated when she knew was right. She remembered Nick's feelings about the long game but surely he would want to say something about his mother being treated like this.

She spoke only louder, "What, wrong like assuming that anyone with a bag must be a crook? You think this is even still about pred/prey? How many of your male customers have to submit to this abandonment of their basic dignity? Why not just post a sign stating no large bags? I'm not going to tell you how to run your store. That's not my job. You are right, I can't possibly detain you for being a sheep a certain distance from a crime scene, or a male, or being named Luke, but I have no problem telling you this: Even if you truly believe that your policy is justified, I know darn well it's not actually random. You know you aren't fixing your 'shrink' problem. You are actively shifting money out of your store in the form of unwelcomed customers. Don't for a minute think I believe it's about your profit margin!" Judy turned to her new vulpine friend. "Viv, put your stuff back in your bag." Vivienne, eyes wide, did as she was told. Judy looked back to the speechless sheep and goat. "Yes, you are currently on the right side of the law, but you are on the wrong side of this community, this city, and history."

"We have the right to search her bag, and now yours." The manager stated firmly.

"What is your recourse if I refuse to empty my bag?" Judy asked.

"We call the police." Luke grumped.

The bunny grinned at that. "I will wait here then. But while you are waiting, you will need to provide proof to the investigating officers that you've made everyone here empty their bags." She nodded to the other registers, lines having gotten backed up because the attention was on her.

"I won't do that, they aren't even suspected of anything," Luke growled.

"Right. Because they weren't a fox and they didn't make you mad. You know that if you forced all of them to endure this insulting degradation they'd not likely shop here again. You still want their business, so you won't search them. You will search the ones you don't like so they are less likely to come back. It's not random." There was a murmuring from the other lines and much of it sounded supportive of Judy. The bunny turned away. They didn't have time for this.

Suspecting that the conversation, awkward as it was, was wrapping up, the manager merely waved a paw dismissively. "Just go then, whatever. Say what you will, but we do it randomly and there's nothing wrong with protecting our bottom line, that's what merchants do. We're here to make money and we don't make it if we are being robbed blind by mammals who obviously never earned an honest dime in their lives," he said gruffly. Two other customers booed the manager loudly in one of the other lines. The comment was taken in offense in their case, but Judy didn't notice who booed.

The bunny frowned at the comment herself, tensing up a bit. There was so much more she wanted to say, but she got the feeling neither Nick nor Vivienne would want her to say those things. There was no convincing this mammal and any further discussion would just waste time that should be dedicated to the happiness of her partner and his mother. Judy just grumpily sacked their own groceries as the goat backed away with apparent uneasiness. She then hastily walked toward the exit with Vivienne quietly following.

Just before reaching the door the grey doe turned on her heel to say that she would not shop at the store again, and would ensure her friends did not either. It was the only power she really had in that situation so she intended to use it. But, as she turned she was treated to the sight of a caramel-toned geyser of foaming soda erupting violently from the goat cashier's nearly-full drink. It gushed all over him with a loud 'ppssssshhhth', cascading its freezing cold contents down over the goat, the manager, the register and counter in spectacular fashion. Both mammals cried out in panic, and the goat suddenly went rigid and fell right over. This fainting was a carry-over panic-response for his species. He pulled with him a full wire-metal rack which sent a stand with about a hundred small bags of potato chips onto its side with a loud crash. Laughter erupted around the startled pair from other workers and customers alike at the comical disaster.

Judy cupped her small muzzle in her grey paws and stared up at Vivienne. The kind and polite vixen wore a very Nick-esque smug expression. She had a grin nearly back to her ears and her eyes were half-closed in casual pride as she padded cheerfully through the automatic doors without even looking back at the chaos and roaring laughter in her wake.

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

Judy wiggled her nose a bit subconsciously as she watched the vixen tumble the little shrimp around in the pan. They didn't smell as fishy as she thought they were going to which made her feel a little bit better about possibly making them for Nick. However, she was still very squeamish about how they looked, and for the longest time she could place exactly why. They were just tiny light pink little things, curled like little commas, fleshy and naked. The realization hit her suddenly, and she felt absolutely no better when she understood. They looked a tiny bit, just the barest resemblance, like baby bunnies before their fur came in.

Sure, it wasn't like they really looked like baby bunnies, they were barely more than little shapes in the pan, but the pale pink naked forms made her realize that was what her mind was clinging to, making her uncomfortable with them. She opted not to bring up the comparison to the fox mother who was humming some happy tune as she dusted the seasoning on them and turned her attention to the small honeydew melon they had picked up. She asked Judy to cube it and keep away from the rinds. She was to use only the sweetest part. As Judy worked on this task and thankfully pulled her attention away from the work being done on the stove, she helped herself to some of the remaining melon, rind and all. She grinned, her mind going back to something less discomforting during this distraction.

Judy said casually, "You know... Nick would be really proud of you for what you did at the grocery." The doe smiled broadly at the memory. Judy and the vixen had laughed themselves into coughing fits as they walked home with their bags. They had said little else about it after their laugh however, as the discussion had focused instead on what kind of apartment her son lived in. Was it big? Was it safe? Did it have an extra room or would his mother be flopping onto a bachelor couch for the night? Judy could not help but laugh again as the imagery of what Nick's mother had done came back to her. The bunny hadn't even seen her shake the drink! Nick's mother wore a slightly anxious expression however, still grinning all the same.

Vivienne shook her head a little, saying, "Please, Judy, please do not tell my son I did that. I never do that, I don't know what came over me. They were trying to intimidate you and that made me so... I mean, there's no way either of us are allowed back in there like... ever." She shook her head and sighed. "Well, it's done. And happier things inbound, right? Forget them, this is a good night!" She popped a little shrimp into her mouth and nodded, seeming happy with the taste and the level of cooking. She put the burner on very low.

The bunny replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I will not say a thing to him, but I think you should know... he's more like you than you probably want to admit." Judy smirked at his mom.

Vivienne looked up curiously as she covered the pan with a lid. "Old Nick or new Nick?" she asked, mixing the brown sugar and butter for the walnuts in a separate bowl.

"Real Nick." Judy said with a very confident tone. His mother paused a moment, and Judy could not quite read the expression. It was excited, puzzled, and cautious, like someone waiting to go down a very big water slide for the first time. The vixen went back to mixing the food. As she did, Judy noticed a picture out of the corner of her eye sitting on the couch-side table.

It was of Nick at graduation. The bunny gasped quietly and moved swiftly over to it, trying to not make it obvious what she was doing. She carefully put it face down, not wanting that to give anything away. She then saw another picture on a book shelf of the fox and bunny in uniform doing a training exercise where he and Judy were actually thrown by a bear up to a second story window. The image immortalized there was of Judy not enjoying being thrown whilst in midair, her face contorted in a mix fear and indignity. Judy gritted her teeth, unable to believe he had the picture in the first place, much less that had it there to look at all the time. Her partner could be such an insufferable goof sometimes.

She turned that one around as well. The bunny then looked around for more evidence, eventually putting away a commemorative plaque that was on another book shelf, but seeing no other evidence. She came back to the little dining area, making sure there was not any evidence in there. Fortunately, she had wanted to let Nick actually give a tour of the apartment if he liked, so his mother had not really been shown much of the apartment. He kept a tidy place but the bunny would not want Nick to think his mom saw a potentially rude screen saver on his laptop or a book or some other thing he might think was objectionable. It was better to let him control the tour. Viv only went as far as the kitchen and the bathroom.

Judy's phone pinged, causing the bunny to take it out of her pocket to address it.

"Nick?" asked his mother. Judy checked and nodded.

"Yep, he'll be here in ten." The bunny skipped into the kitchen. "How are we on time?" she asked. She could probably stall him outside a couple more minutes if she needed to.

"We are done, actually," Vivienne stated a little breathlessly, "I'm plating it now. It will keep warm enough if he's that close, I think." She then took a moment and held up a paw, level to her eyes. It was shaking a little. "Look at me. It's my own son, I feel like I'm on a spy mission," she laughed. "Nicholas would laugh at me so hard right now." She patted herself down, taking off the 'Kiss the Fox' apron that Nick had. She hung it up on the back of the pantry door where Judy had found it. She then placed the food on the table.

Judy grinned to Nick's mother. "So, we are ready then. Like we talked about, yes? When he comes in, you stand outside the kitchen, kind of in the laundry room. There's not a light in there, but that doesn't matter to a fox, I guess..." Vivienne nodded to the bunny, smiling.

Viv held up a paw again, getting the bunny's attention. "Judy. Before we start... I know Nicholas... does not like to show emotion, so if he acts completely smug and calm, or just seems embarrassed or something after the initial surprise..." She looked anxious as she spoke. She was obviously concerned that Judy might be disappointed in the reaction his caring friend was after.

The bunny grinned broadly. "Oh no, I understand, Viv. Nick's whole motto of 'never let them see they get to you' is one I know all too well. I can be a very emotional bunny so there's a stark contrast between us. However, I absolutely know what this means to him." She took Vivienne's larger paws soothingly. "When it finally came out that he thought you had passed, he showed plenty of emotion. He may usually hide it, but I promise you... This _will_get to him." Judy then tensed up a bit. Would he cry? She had actually looked away when she thought he had been crying in Bogo's office. Could she watch him now? She sucked in a deep breath. If he cried, it would be out of happiness and she would not look away. She wanted to see his face.

She heard the sound of a key pushing against the door lock and then falling on the hardwood floor in the hallway. There was grumbling, then fumbling, and then pushing the key into the lock again. Vivienne visibly spazzed a little and Judy shooed her into the laundry room before Nick could open the door. He had fumbled with the lock a bit, which made it obvious he was really tired. Judy moved in front of the entrance to the dining area. Nick opened the door to the apartment and walked in. Like usual, he had changed out of his uniform back into one of his Pawaiian print shirts. It was the one he was wearing when she met him, appropriately enough. At least it was close enough in style and color she could not tell the difference. Judy smiled from the doorway of the dining room which led into his cozy living room area.

Nick sighed heavily, "I got out a little sooner than the three hour mark, but I am beat!" He put his keys on the end table by the couch and his shoulder bag on the couch itself. He splayed his ears with apparent irritation and put his picture back up where it had been turned face down beside where he'd dropped his keys. He did not really seem to care why it had fallen over. He fortunately didn't do a check of his apartment for anything else missing or changed. He didn't have long to ponder it though, as he saw a smiling bunny by the kitchen. He grumbled, "Buffalo Butt actually helped me look through hundreds of files himself before going 'Oh no.' and running off suddenly. He then called my phone and told me it was on his desk the whole time! He forgot that Clawhauser had brought him a stack of files that morning. He told me I could leave early... sometime this... week...." As he approached, his voice began slowing down while his nose began to quiver. "I guess he's still feeling... generous... after..." Nick's eyes were extremely wide, his green irises lost in pools of white. He had to recognize the smell, given his expression.

Judy smiled casually at him and said, "I told you he actually cares under that mean old boss exterior." Judy said. Nick stared hard at her. There were no words for a moment.

Finally, her partner spoke in a slow and wary tone. "What am I... smelling, Fluff?" he asked. She continued to smile, looking calm and happy.

Judy said in a casual tone, "Dinner! I told you dinner would be ready for you when you got home." She kept her ears perked up proud and tall, but also further blocking his view into the dining room. Nick didn't say another word, he just reached out and placed his warm, strong paws on both of Judy's upper arms and simply picked her up. He turned with her and placed her where he had been in the living room, and walked into the kitchen, looking down onto the table. He was perfectly statue-still, arms limply down by his sides as if his those limbs were dead. Judy walked into the kitchen after him, smiling.

Her partner spoke again. He was stammering, which was something she rarely ever heard Nick do. "Judy, what... What is... Why... How did you..." His expression was hard for the bunny to really fathom as she walked around him to the other side of the table. He looked so conflicted.

Judy answered by chiming brightly, "I think this is exactly what you've needed." Nick brought both paws to his face and rubbed them all the way down. He then slowly went over to Judy's side of the table and pulled a chair out and sat down in it. He carefully put his darker-toned paws out and took her smaller ones into them. She sucked in a breath, worried a moment. She could not read him at all. He looked at the bunny's violet eyes, those emeralds gleaming as he seemed to peer into her heart and mind.

With a heavy serving of exasperation in his voice, Nick stated, "Judy... You cannot have known about this... this..." He indicated the food. "What... did you do?" The tone was accusatory as his eyes stayed wide, alarmed.

"I got help." Judy stated bluntly. She was still smiling. Nick was not. He looked like he was barely restraining himself from completely freaking out. Fortunately he was following the very lose 'script' that the bunny and his mother had mashed together. It was close enough that they were not going to have to bounce him around much longer. Judy and Vivienne both knew Nick well enough to guess he'd know the bunny could not have figured that dish out on her own. Nick took a deep, shaky breath, appearing to realize something. Probably that she got help in New Reynard, and after he had praised the bunny for not digging into his business and being annoying. Judy waited for it.

Nick spoke in a slow and even tone, as if he were not actually saying the words but slowly bleeding them out. "Who, Judy? Who in the whole of Zootopia or anywhere else helped you with that?" he indicated the untouched food again. Judy smiled.

A kind voice was heard from behind the seated fox.

"I did."

Judy looked beyond Nick where his mother stood in the kitchen where she had not been before. She had exited the laundry room quietly as he had started to interrogate the bunny. Nick's eyes shot wide open at the sound of her voice, staring at Judy, his pupils dilated almost completely in those emerald irises. They were now just thin jade rings around pools of black as he froze. He held perfectly still for a moment, only his paws barely shaking. That was only perceptible because they were still holding Judy's fingertips. He then slowly turned his head and his shoulders. The motion reminded the bunny of what she might see right before some unlucky sap bought it in a horror movie.

Nick's green eyes fixed on his mother, standing there. She was dressed nicely, perfectly alive and well. Her arms were down at her sides and she wore a warm smile on her face. She had told Judy she wanted to make sure she did not seem scornful when he first saw her and she was right. The bunny knew he needed to see her smile.

Time seemed to freeze. Nick actually looked like he stopped functioning entirely for long enough that Judy began to worry. He then let go of the bunny's small paws rather suddenly and leapt out of his chair so quickly it toppled backward with a loud clatter on the dining room's tile floor. Judy could not put a label on the short little squall Nick made but he traversed the dining room in a single fluid motion so fast she could barely figure out which muscles were used to accomplish it. And then he was in his mother's arms. For a brief moment it was quiet again, foxes embracing, eyes closed, time seeming to stand still as if this were a painting. Abruptly, a shuddering, baying sob rose from him as both foxes went to their knees on the floor. Nick's legs suddenly stopped working, and his mother was too surprised by that to hold him up. Judy cupped her muzzle as Nick held the vixen achingly tight and loudly, shamelessly sobbed.

The expression on Vivienne's face was one of utter shock initially, as she looked at Judy over Nick's shoulder, and then she grimaced with the flood of emotions before pushing her cheek to his and letting the sobbing consume her as well. The two held one another for a long time, coughing, sputtering, and shaking. Judy found that there was only one emotional war she could hope to win, and that was that she only cried quietly during this. There was no way to prevent tears while seeing it, especially with how surprised Vivienne had been with her son's reaction. She was seeing what Judy had fleetingly advertised. It was the real Nick. There was no wall for the moment, and they had their emotions out in loud, raw abandon.

Nick finally began to get his shock under control, his disbelief smothered in the arms of his mother. The reality of the moment perhaps began creeping in on this surreal explosion of joy on his dining room floor. Finally, the first intelligible words he could form came rolling out.

He whimpered, "I was wrong... my whole life. You did everything to show me your heart, the things you wanted to share, all the parts of life you wanted me to love and I closed my eyes. Or I looked away. Maybe I even pretended it wasn't real." Judy held her breath a moment as how uncharacteristically desperate Nick sounded. It was as if he expected this chance was only going to last a few moments before the universe somehow snatched Vivienne away from him again. "I'm so sorry, mom! I spit on everything you gave me and acted like you were the misguided one and I... I can't believe how stupid I was!" he cried out. Tears still streaming, he'd leaned back to look his mother in the face as he said that to her. Their faces matted with tears, noses wet, the two foxes embraced again. Judy choked sown a sob and picked up the chair nick had knocked over, sitting down in it. She knew she could probably leave them to the conversation since it was deeply personal, but it was nothing Judy didn't already know and she wanted to burn this moment into her heart. This moment was everything she needed from this.

Vivienne sniffled and finally spoke up herself, "Nick... Nicky, it's okay, I knew you would eventually understand, I... I hoped! But it just wasn't something I could say louder than what the city was constantly roaring back at you." She wiped her face a bit. Nick leaned back again, his own face deeply pained.

"What happened, mom? Where were you, I thought you were..." He appeared unwilling to even say it right then. "Your neighbor said-..."

He was cut off as his mother shook her head. "No, Nick, it was Nanna! Remember old Nanna Liska, from Beech Street? She passed away in my apartment after we did some hobby work together. The neighbor thought it was me being taken out and... because it upset me so bad... I never went back to the apartment, I just... moved away." she stated sadly. Nick looked a little blank at first, and then nodded as it seemed he remembered who she was talking about. It was obviously a mammal from a long time ago for him.

Nick looked to his mother again and sniffled, asking, "Where did you move to? I can't believe I didn't bump into you, I've not exactly been hiding!" He wiped his cheeks and got himself a little more under control as he asked this.

Vivienne said softly, "I moved to New Reynard, sweetie. I had friends and family there and things were so crazy here after the savage mammal crisis, I decided to just... bug out. I didn't change my phone number or anything since I figured you would call me if you came looking for me. I had no idea someone would tell you I died!" she obviously felt awful for that, and Nick hugged her again, this time to comfort her.

"It's okay, oh Mom, it was all a big mistake, I'm glad it was, I thought you were really and truly gone! I am just so glad you aren't! I... I..." He trailed off. "Wait, did you say New Reynard?" he asked.

His mother nodded. "Yes, Sweetie. Your father's family's from there. You've been there before when you were little." Nick held his mother close, not letting go, but Judy watched as his eyes locked on her. He looked utterly shaken for a moment.

He spoke in a wavering tone, "Judy came and found you?" His wide eyes were glued to the rabbit. The bunny nodded to Nick, feeling a little worried since this was the part where he would realize she didn't just let it go like he wanted. Was he going to be mad at her for it? She would not blame him if he was, but the expression was not irritation. It looked like... fear. What was that about? He was shaken from his expression as his mother pushed her cheek against his, the push an obvious marking of mother's scent to a lost kit, and he just hugged her again and then leaned back once more as Vivienne spoke.

"She came looking for me, yes Nicholas." She explained. "And I came right away. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this... and for so long! But I promise, everything will be all right." Judy's partner stood shakily, and then spotted his food on the table. His expression shifted to hysterical enthusiasm as he appeared to reconnect to two things. He had been starving, and his favorite meal ever was getting cold on the dining room table.

He sat down immediately in front of it and moaned out, "Oh mah gah-awwm." He snatched a fork full of it and pushed a heaping portion into his mouth as he gave his plate his full attention. While the moment was not accompanied by more sobbing, there were definitely tears in his eyes.

"Take your time, Nick, they aren't going anywhere!" his mother laughed, finally managing to dry her own eyes.

Nick said in a squeaky voice around a mouthful, "I missed them so much!" Judy would have laughed except watching him cram those pudgy curled up little shrimp into his muzzle full of teeth stuck at something in her primal core and she was a little uncomfortable seeing it. While she had watched Nick's emotional firestorm from start to finish, she turned to give his mother her full attention while her partner ate his lovingly prepared food. Judy felt a little self-conscious that it even bothered her. It shouldn't. He was a fox. He should get to enjoy that. Vivienne was quiet for a bit, just appreciating the enjoyment of the meal they had prepared together. Her expression was one of motherly contentment. That thick vulpine tail swayed hypnotically side to side so slowly. Judy endured for as long as she could the gnashing and squishing and popping of helpless little sea grubs before she sucked in a deep breath and just had to speak to make some other sound.

"I will let Nick tell you about some of the very important changes in his life since last you saw him." She felt selfish about it but she needed a break. To that end she gave the foxes something to talk about so the sound of flesh being ground between Nick's teeth would be interrupted by something that didn't send a chill down her spine. She wished her ears were not so sensitive. She knew that Nick almost never consumed anything that she would not herself when she was with him, and was suddenly acutely aware of how considerate that had been. Maybe she could eventually get used to it, but she didn't want to say anything about it right then and ruin such a special moment. She grinned meekly at the older fox. Vivienne nodded emphatically at Nick and he swallowed down some of his very deeply appreciated repast.

"Oh! Oh Mom, you have no... She didn't tell you anything?!" he asked incredulously. Judy crossed her arms, feeling safe to look back at her partner. She was shocked to see the plate was two thirds empty and most of what remained was melon and walnut. It had been barely five minutes! Judy shook away the shock from her expression and grinned at her partner proudly.

Vivienne chimed brightly, "Nope! So out with it, son! What have you been doing? You have a nice apartment I see, that's a good start!" The vixen motioned to what she had seen so far. It was small and cozy, but looked nice and was maturely kept. Nick blinked a bit, silent just a moment before speaking again.

He gaped at that and said, "Wait, really? You two rode out here from New Reynard and she didn't tell you anything? Wow, Carrots, I'm impressed!" Nick laughed at that.

Judy laughed at Nick and returned, "Hey! I would not dare deprive you of the chance to talk to your mom about this!" She didn't get to add anything as they were interrupted.

WHOP!

_ _

The unexpected sound accompanied the sudden impact of Vivienne's flat palm against the back of Nick's skull.

"Don't call her that!" cried the shocked vixen.

Nick cried out, "Ow, geeze, Mom!" He rubbed the back of his head. Judy cringed too. It sounded like his mother just flattened half the fifth grade inside her partner's poor head.

Judy tried to dispel the exasperation in the older vulpine, saying quickly, "No, it's okay, Viv, it's just a playful nickname, I call him Slick, so it goes both ways! We're really good friends and my family really is a bunch of carrot farmers." The bunny rambled a bit.

Nick cut in, his tone serious, "No, it's okay! Alright Mom, I will try to call her that less - for you! But it's a habit now. Been like that a while. We were not exactly friends at first, but heck, we trust one another with our lives now! It's not like I don't respect her, there's not a mammal in this entire city I could have more respect for." Vivienne's eyes widened at that, and she rubbed the back of her own head softly, seeming to contemplate that as she stood there. Nick got up and walked over to her.

Vivienne looked up at her son curiously and said, "Nick, it sounds like you and Judy are really close. I don't think I can name anyone that you would have said you trusted with your life. You really, really have changed a lot... what happened?" Judy's ears were torches, and she dropped them down her back hard. Vivienne already seemed to think that the bunny was too close to her son, and Nick's compliments were both heartfelt and beyond Judy's expectations from him. Her cheeks blazed as she stammered to try to interject, but Nick led his mother over to the couch.

"Yeah, a lot's happened Mom. If Judy didn't tell you then you have no idea. Come, sit, sit, sit." He brought her over and had the vixen plop down comfortably on his neat, clean couch. He then opened his shoulder bag, rummaging in it for a moment. Judy's heart raced. She knew what Nick was after. She stood closer to watch. Nick then brought out a folded, pristine, flat black vinyl object that looked a little like a wallet. He held it in front of him a moment and spoke. "You can tell already that things have changed. A lot." He spoke clearly but softly as he explained. "I think it's time for you to see just how much." He handed her the object. His mother held it in her paw a moment, looking at it, feeling the weight of it on the pad of her palm.

She smiled up at her son and said, "Nice and heavy, but Nick, you know money doesn't make the mammal." She smiled, obviously pleased all the same.

Judy watched intently at her partner as he answered that. "That's not a wallet, Mom. Boy do I wish, but no. Open it." Nick knelt down in front of her to watch as well, obviously nervous and excited. Vivienne tilted her head a little and opened the folded vinyl, revealing a bright gold and silver badge with a shiny, perfect name plate underneath. The plate read, in bold, proud letters, 'Nicholas P. Wilde'. It was Vivienne's turn to freeze in time as Judy smiled to Nick and then back down to his mother. Her eyes tracked slowly back to her son in disbelief.

"What..." She murmured softly, rapidly blinking her eyes as if dazed. Nick put his claw-tips gently on his mother's shoulder reassuring and spoke in a smooth, tender voice,

"Mom, you are looking at Zootopia's first fox police officer." To punctuate this, he gave a bright, proud grin to his mom. A quarter second passed and she just exploded. The vixen threw her arms around her son, clutching his badge in her paw and sobbing as she held him. Her emotional state was even more intense than when Nick had greeted her so emotionally. Judy could not help but start crying again too, and she patted the vixen's shoulder encouragingly. Nick smiled up at his partner over his mother's shoulder. It was juxtaposition from how they had been moments before. He was proud and happy, pressing his cheek to his mother's ear and just gripping her tight in his arms. After taking a moment to really get herself back under control, Vivienne leaned back into the couch and sighed deeply, holding the gleaming badge in one trembling paw, her other one over her heart. She looked back up to Nick and hiccupped, then said wistfully,

"Alright Nicholas... Talk. Tell me everything."