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Chapter 2: Train like a Fox
Artwork by Gokhan16
Edited by BeecroftA & OnceNeverTwiceAlways
"Nick, are you sure you're alright?"
Judy stared at her partner in concern, gently laying her paw on his arm as they walked towards the precinct's gym. He had been eerily silent the entire walk, not a single jib or joke to be heard. Even his characteristic, lazy smirk had vanished like a wisp of smoke. Ever since the name of her opponent for the charity bout had been announced, it was as if he were a different fox.
Seeing no response from the now brooding fox, Judy let her arm slide off his when they reached the locker rooms. "I'll see you in the gym?" she asked, a hopeful rise in her question.
Nick nodded hesitantly, attempting a smile. Reaching out, he tussled the fur between her ears, earning a quiet bout of laughter from the rabbit as she swatted his paw away. "See you on the other side, Carrots," he said with a salute.
Feeling slightly better at Nick's more normal behavior, Judy bounced and turned towards the locker room. She mentally prepared herself for whatever training Nick would help her with. If the ZFD chose someone this good, they really must want to win badly. Then again, it was random so...
Shaking her head, she quickly got changed into her gym clothes, the same style and fit from the police academy from long before. As she was wrapping her paws with tape, the door to the locker room swung open. Turning, Judy smiled when she saw the warm gaze of Kitsun looking back at her.
"I see you're all ready to go." Kitsun walked towards her own locker in the small mammals section of the locker room. A few seconds later, and it was open. The vixen pulled her own gear from it. Sitting on the bench next to Judy, Kitsun shot her a sad smile. "Sorry you learned about the whole thing this way. Usually folks get a little more warning about it. And it really isn't supposed to be that big of a deal, but with what Bogo said about the charity drying up..."
"Makes it seem a little far-fetched to believe the first bunny cop and first rabbit firefighter were randomly chosen for this, huh?" Judy supplied with a wry smile. The doe chuckled as she finished wrapping her paws. "So, here to watch Nick train me?" she asked, throwing a few shadow punches with a smile.
"Oh, he won't be training you."
The rabbit's ears perked up. "Oh?"
The female fox nodded. "I saw him in the hallway on the phone upstairs. He asked me to come down here and take over your training. Said something about having an emergency he had to attend to."
Judy's ears flopped behind her head. "Oh..." Standing, she grabbed her spare sweats and shirt that she kept in her locker. "Then I'll go with him. I can put off training for a day to help my partner and boyfriend."
A gentle paw on her arm gave the rabbit doe pause. Looking back at Kitsun, the fox held a glum expression. "He said you'd say that. And told me that, more than anything, he wanted you to train with me so that you wouldn't get hurt in all this. I know it's supervised and for charity, but, he apparently is quite worried about it. About you."
Nick's words from earlier, which now seemed like warnings, rang through her mind once more. She nodded. "Alright." Judy smiled as she looked the red fox in her eyes. "Then we better not let him down."
Kitsun laughed. "That's the spirit, Judy!" Clapping the rabbit on the back, she proceeded to pull her own gym clothes from her locker. "Now get out there and do five, hundred-meter warm-up laps."
Judy shot her a wry grin. "One-hundred meters? I'm not going to run five, one-hundred meter laps."
"Wha...what?" Kitsun gasped. "But..."
"I'm going to run five, two-hundred meter laps. Before you get out from the locker room."
The smarmy smile Judy gave her was one that only Nick could beat with his sly grin. The red fox laughed. "Well, you better hurry then, as I think I only need one of those laps to get changed."
Judy was becoming nervous as she left the precinct gym. Not about the bout. No, she felt that Kitsun was doing a fantastic job helping her prepare for that. The vixen had lived up to her promise to push the doe farther than she'd ever gone before in her training, telling her that the academy would feel like a breeze compared to what she was going to put Judy through.
She hadn't been kidding.
For all the work the academy had put her through, Kitsun, with her actual boxing experience before becoming a police officer, put even Judy's endurance to the test. As Judy's enthusiasm had her running double the laps Kitsun had asked her to do, the vixen took it a step further when she'd arrived and spotted the bunny running in place with a smile on her face. The red fox ordered Judy to warm up her limbs for five minutes so she could do another run, this time a full mile, while alternating between dead sprints and fast jogging. When Judy had finished, only slightly out of breath, Kitsun had tossed her a jumping rope, saying they'd start practicing drills.
"I never want to look at another jump rope again..." Judy groaned, ears flopping behind her as she struggled to keep her bag hefted over her shoulder. For thirty minutes, Kitsun had made her try different ways to practice with it, ordering her to never stop jumping. If she did, it was ten push-ups.
Thankfully, if there was one thing bunnies were good at, it was jumping, so no push-ups had been required at her paw.
Yet, Judy had never been more exhausted in her life, and that was just the first hour of training. As she'd panted, waving her paw at her ears to help cool herself down, Kitsun had asked her why she was resting. Tossing the rabbit officer her sparring gloves and helmet, the vixen was nearly forced to drag Judy to the boxing ring to start the punching drills, a first for the normally very enthusiastic and athletic bunny. For what seemed at least an hour, the vixen instructed Judy with punching against practice gloves. As the fox would raise a glove, Judy was supposed to strike it at least three times. Once with a jab, second with a cross, third an uppercut.
She had barely managed the jabs before the gloves were pulled away. To make matters more nauseatingly annoying, she was asked to do five jumping jacks for each miss.
Two hundred and twenty five jumping jacks later, Judy was spent, and Kitsun had called it a day.
Now, as Judy trundled out of the precinct, grunting at her fellow officers with her arms hanging limply at her side, her only thoughts were of getting home and flopping into bed. She hadn't worked out how she'd open the door, as that would require her to raise her arms, but she'd figure it out.
She wasn't expecting in the least a pair of russet furred arms to scoop her off the sidewalk.
"Going my way?"
Judy smiled, lolling her head back while Nick carried her bridal style towards his car. "Have I told you how much I love you right now?"
"I wouldn't mind it if you did," he said, smiling back at her. "Looks like some bun has had a rough day. Kitsun put you through your paces?"
Judy groaned. "You could say that."
Nick buckled the bunny in, then was regaled with the training regimen that their coworker had outlined for Judy. Her minute by minute commentary left Nick chuckling at points, the fox enjoying the fact that she was too tired to even attempt to punch his shoulder.
After a short carry out of the car, up the stairs, and into the apartment, Nick somehow managed to open their door while holding her, a feat which Judy would thank him later for. She found herself gently laid onto the couch and finally relaxed into the soft cushions for the first time that day.
"I'll grab you some ice packs for your arms and, if you're a nice bunny, a massage for your legs."
"Thank you!" Judy yelled over her shoulder as he retreated towards the kitchen.
True to his word, he returned a moment later, several ice packs in paw.
Compared to earlier, the next hour was heaven. Nick's fingers delicately soothed out the tension in her legs, and, once he finished there, he switched the ice packs to her legs and massaged her sore arms. All the while Judy chirred in delight, reminding him of how amazing he was.
"And here I remember you once saying how you didn't want to compliment me as I already had a big enough head," he said with a chuckle.
"Just keep doing that..." Judy cooed as he worked his way down her arms. Several moments passed in peace before she spoke again. "So….What was the emergency earlier? I missed you in the gym, and you never showed back up during practice. Everything alright?"
He nodded. "Everything's okay, Fluff. I'll be there tomorrow for ya."
Judy yawned widely.
"You're so cute when you yawn," Nick said as he admired his partner.
She waved her paw for him to come closer.
Knowing the risk, but also knowing how her muscles probably felt like putty, he leaned in. "Yes—OW!"
"Don't call me cute!" Judy said as her arm flopped back down onto the couch.
Judy walked into the precinct, head and ears held high, with Nick by her side. The previous night, he had continued his ministrations on her over the course of several hours, until she was fast asleep. She had woken up that morning, a little sore still, but feeling much better than the prior night.
The greetings of her fellow policemammals as they headed towards their office were a welcome interruption. Each cheered her on after hearing about her being chosen for such a 'prestigious' opportunity, as Klankton, a polar bear in narcotics, had put it.
"Speaking of opportunities..." Nick began as they reached their office and began checking their emails. "I have a few I have to cash in on at the moment. I'll be right back." The fox slid off his seat, leaving it spinning behind him. He stopped only to briefly muss up Judy's fur between her ears, enjoying the playful swat she sent his way.
"Gotta be faster!" Nick jibed, raising his paws before sneaking out the door.
Groaning, Judy leaned back in her seat. Faster...I'll show you faster after all this. It was the same advice that Kitsun had given her the prior day.
"Judy..." the vixen had began after the bunny's 15th set of jumping jacks."I know you can be faster than this. In order to even last a round, you have to increase your speed. Or else you won't last a minute in this competition."
She must have been sitting there for some time, lost in her memories, as a quiet 'ahem' behind her brought her from her tormented thoughts.
"You alright there, Hopps?"
Judy nodded at the sound of her friend Nadine's voice. "I'm doing okay."
Looking up, she saw the tiger staring at her, one eyebrow raised. "You don't look it. Are you sure you're doing alright? Not practicing too hard are you?"
Judy's ears shot up. "Practice! Kitsun! Oh...I'm going to be late!"
Before the tiger could get a word in edgewise, Judy was off, heading downstairs like a runaway freight train.
Judy rushed into the gym, busily wrapping her paws. The end of the tape was still in her mouth as she spun her paw quickly in a haphazard way. "Swrry, swrry!" she yelled, muffled by the tape until she finished wrapping it. "Sorry. I was meeting with Bogo and..." Judy looked up and stopped, blushing instantly. "Uh…. Hi, Ryan. Did I interrupt something?"
Kitsun blushed deeply, covering her muzzle with her paws. The fox with white ear-tips froze on the spot, scratching the back of his head as he looked at the bunny. "Sorry."
Judy giggled and waved her paw in jest, deciding to have some fun with one of her favorite couple-not-couples. "Doesn't look like anything that Nick and I haven't been caught doing in the precinct before." Judy snickered as the blush ran deeper into Kitsun's ears. "So, what are we doing today?"
"We—" Ryan stated with a smile—"are going to help you learn a few tricks that will help you in this match. Some things you haven't tried before. I've helped Kitsun with these before from my own training and thought why not give my favorite ZPD bunny some helpful tips."
Judy smiled. "Great! Let's get started! With all the tips and techniques you guys are giving me, I know I'll win and do the ZPD proud."
Kitsun laughed nervously. "Judy, most of these techniques are things Bianca already knows. I've been training you to simply survive against her. Winning will be much more difficult."
Judy's ears wilted momentarily. But her confidence came back full force within seconds as she gave the two foxes her strongest gaze. "Then let's start training to win. Is Nick ready?"
"He's occupied presently," Ryan replied, trying to smile. "But he said he'd be here soon."
Judy's ears wilted. "Oh..."
"Hey, don't be like that Judy," Kitsun closed in on the doe, wrapping her up in a hug. "He said he'll be here, and he will. You trust him, right?"
"I do" was Judy's instant reply.
"Then there is nothing to worry about," Ryan added, walking towards the pair, his muzzle raised in a one sided smile. "Alright, we will go over some speed drills later, so let's go hit the speed bag."
Judy punched her gloves together. "Let's do this."
Judy sipped at her water bottle, before dumping part of it over her ears. Glancing at the clock showed a little past noon, meaning that she'd been practicing for nearly four hours now. Ryan had rotated her between the speed bag, jump rope, the heavy bag, and sparring with the practice gloves. Ryan was impressed with her performance at each of them, especially with the heavy bag. They'd been forced to switch from the small mammal sized one to the medium sized mammal one after a particular heavy cross sent dust settling onto the ground around them, the bag's chains groaning against the ceiling hook it was attached to.
Though he still had the same advice that Kitsun had: She needed to increase her speed.
"Just how fast is this Bianca?" Judy asked Kitsun who had sat down on the bench next to her, leaning against the wall.
Kitsun thought as she put a paw to her chin. "You've heard of Manny Pacquigrowl?"
Judy nodded. "I've heard of him, but don't know about him."
"Oh!" Kitsun grabbed her phone and pulled up a video of the Malayan Civet. Judy watched, her jaw dropping slightly at the speed at which he was pummeling a koala. "She's almost that fast as that."
Her jaw dropped further. "What?!"
She turned as another shadow fell over her. Ryan stood with his arms crossed. "Yeah, Kitsun's showed me her matches against Bianca. She's fast. But I know you can be faster with some specified training."
He held up a blindfold and then tossed to her.
"What's this for?" Judy asked, staring at the cloth in her paw in confusion.
"It's called 'Blind Boxing'," Ryan replied. "And it will help you develop the ability to somewhat sense what your opponent is going to do based upon hearing them. As a rabbit, you have incredible hearing, so it's about time we taught you just how to use that to your advantage, as I can guarantee Bianca will be using it to hers. I've gone over the technique of 'Blind Boxing' with Kitsun here, so I'll watch as she helps you develop your senses with this."
Judy turned to her friend who spoke quickly, but cheerfully.
"Your opponent can strike in the blink of an eye. So the only way to know a hit is coming is to be so in tune with your senses that you don't need to see a punch coming. Focus is the key to everything, and, if you can manage that, it will help you prepare for her punches before you're hit. The blindfold—" she pointed to the cloth in Judy's paws—"will help you focus on listening to where your opponent is. If you know where she is, you know where, and how, she could attack."
When Judy raised an eyebrow, Ryan chuckled. "Trust me. Once you get the hang of this, you'll see how much it will help. We'll get back to speed training soon. But for now, get in that ring."
Judy nodded and leapt towards the ring, though she paused and turned around again. "Is Nick going to help with this?" she asked.
"He should be here soon," Ryan answered. Waving the bunny towards the ring, the fox had to laugh as she put her gloves back on and Kitsun began explaining more about how they'd practice this new drill.
Ryan leaned against the gym's walls next to the door, watching the two as they started. The first few minutes he could only wince as he watched Kitsun circling the blindfolded bunny, tapping her again and again as Judy whirled around in confusion, flinging punches blindly. It was only after more encouragement from Kitsun that the rabbit seemed to calm and focus. After that, Judy actually began dodging a few of the hits, her ears swiveling and focusing on the vixen.
Ryan let out a huff as the door opened quietly behind him. "Judy's distracted by your continual absence, Nick." Turning, he saw the fox in question slowly walking up to his side, ears and tail slumped, though his eyes never left their focus on Judy in the ring. Ryan also turned his sight back to the rabbit. "That distraction of what her partner and boyfriend is doing is hampering her ability to focus, which will only cause both of you pain in the end. Her most of all."
Nick hung his head. "I know."
Ryan huffed again. "Then, where have you been? You, with all your knowledge of her opponent and claiming to be Judy's boyfriend, yet you've been gone the past two days. Why?"
"It's complicated."
This time, Ryan actually growled. "She's a smart bunny. I'm sure she'll understand."
Nick crossed one arm against his chest, using his other paw to swipe slowly across his muzzle in a tired motion. "It isn't that simple. I wish it was."
"Again—" Ryan countered—"smart bunny, dumb fox. Tell her what you've been doing—besides not helping her."
Nick watched Judy training, noticing her footwork as she dodged and began parrying the shots Kitsun was throwing faster and more frequently. He smiled, remembering back to a time years before when similar scenes had played out.
"You're much closer to this Bianca then you've let on, aren't you, Nick?"
Jolted from his thoughts, Nick turned to Ryan, his mouth opening as his ears and tail shot up. He stayed silent at the smirk from the other fox.
"Thought so." Ryan pushed off the wall and walked over to his friend. "Nick, whatever happened before with Bianca, it's the past. You have a future now." He motioned towards the bunny in the ring, who was actually smiling as she began throwing punches of her own after dodging Kitsun's strikes. Ryan gripped Nick's shoulder tighter. "Don't throw away your future over your past. I know you love Judy. I can see it in your eyes."
"I do," Nick said immediately. "But I don't want to see either of them hurt. It's why I've been trying to—" He stopped quickly, then shook his shoulder from under his friends grip. "It's too late now. I couldn't change this." Waving his paw at the ring, Nick hung his head in sorrow. "I tried and failed, and now both will be hurt. I failed her, I failed Judy, and...I don't want to see her hurt."
"That is going to happen either way, Nick," Ryan said crossly. "It's just that if you help her, then she might have a chance at winning this. I talked with Bogo earlier after offering to help. The Fire Chief has been pushed by the mayor to advertise this to gain even more money for the charity drive. He's selling it as 'The Bunny Brawl'."
Nick grimaced at the name. "Why couldn't they have just stuck with a calendar? I'd rather have that than see my friends injured because some moronic mammal wants to make some money. No matter the cause."
"You can't stop it now," Ryan replied. "It's going to be huge, Nick. Mammals have already donated tens of thousands of dollars in advance and the tickets for the venue are already sold out. Judy needs your support to not become a laughing stock in front of potential millions. Not your absence."
The two male foxes stood in silence for several moments. Finally, Nick's gaze raised to meet that of his friend's. "I'll tell her. She won't like what I was doing, but she deserves to know."
Ryan patted him on his shoulder. "You'd better tell her as soon as you can. If she stays this distracted, you'll have to help her from the ring in a stretcher with the reputation I've heard of the ZFD's bunny."
"I know that reputation all too well," Nick replied calmly, yet Ryan noticed his voice warbling slightly. Nick offered a sad smile towards the other tod. "I almost managed to pull it off."
"Pull what off?"
"Gah!"
Nick jumped into the air, tail fluffing out as Ryan burst into a full on belly laugh. "Geez, Carrots." Nick gasped, clasping his chest as Judy giggled. "Let a fox know when you're sneaking up on him."
"But seeing you jump is so much fun!" she said with a smile. Her smile warmed, and without waiting another moment, she leaned into her partner and hugged him. "I'm glad you're finally here, Nick."
He gently patted her back. "Me too, Carrots. Me too."
Hearing a cough, both looked up to see Ryan pointing towards the doors. "We'll be outside."
"We will be?" Kitsun asked. "But we still have several more hours of training to do and..."
"We have a lunch date," Ryan interjected, freezing the moment he said it.
"We...do?" Kitsun asked, a blush turning the inside of her ears scarlet.
Ryan chuckled nervously. "Uh. If you want? I mean, if you don't want to go on a date lunch, er, lunch date with me than I'd understand. But if you'd like to go on a date with lunch for me that is good too."
"Just go, Romeo." Judy laughed, waving the now crimson-eared tod away. "Don't forget to get some strawberry pie for Kitsun. It's her favorite!"
"Yes! Strawberry pie is a must!" Kitsun jumped up and down once before grabbing Ryan by his arm. "I know just the place, and it isn't too pricey either!"
Nick and Judy watched in fascination as the vixen dragged the nervous tod away.
"I'm glad he finally asked her out," Judy said with satisfaction. "About time!"
"About time is right," Nick chuckled.
She 'ahem'ed, grabbing her boyfriend's attention. "Speaking of time, what have you been up to, Nick? You seemed shocked earlier."
His calm facade froze for a moment before being replaced by a casual smirk.
His mask...
Sighing heavily, he clasped her paw with his own, squeezing tight. "I have been trying to help you, Judy."
"How?" the rabbit asked. "I haven't even seen you near the gym. I know you despise violence, but this is just helping me out for this one match. What have you been doing to help me?"
The fox shifted nervously. "I've been trying to help through...other means."
"What other means?" Judy now demanded.
It wasn't like Nick to hide anything from her. They shared an apartment, were partners on the force and even were talking about getting engaged, so what could have Nick so worried that he'd be afraid to tell her?
Sensing the fox about to open up, she reached out and grabbed both his paws in hers. "You can tell me, Nick. We're partners. We long ago said we'd share our secrets with each other. I won't be angry, even if you've done something stupid—like prank Bogo with laxative-filled jelly donuts."
Nick nodded, chuckling at the memory of that day. "Are you sure, Judy?"
"Absolutely. One hundred percent," she replied.
After a heavy sigh, he looked her directly in the eye. "I've been trying to stop the match."
She blinked. "What?"
"I know you bunnies have good hearing," he joked, only to grimace when her eyes turned frosty and she added a raised eyebrow. "Okay, look. I know your opponent, and I also learned that ZFD purposefully chose her because of her history." He held his paw up when she went to interrupt. "They want a win and haven't had one against the ZPD in years in this charity event. They were also hoping that her opponent would be me, not you."
"What do you mean? How did you find this out, Nick?" Judy asked. To say she was stunned by the information would be overselling it. She had guessed at most of it, though the part about him supposed to be the ZPD's choice was new. "I'm sure that the ZFD weren't forthcoming about this, so how did you find this out?"
"Actually..." Nick said, his ears drooping. "You...You know I love you, right?"
Now Judy was concerned. She gripped his paw tighter. "Nick. I know with my heart and mind I love you. And I know you love me as well." There was a pause before she added. "Who did you go to?"
"My ex," the fox admitted.
"Your ex?" Judy asked, blinking with one ear drooping slightly. "What would you ex have to do with this charity fight?"
Nick chuckled morosely. "She actually has everything to do with it, Judy. My ex... is your opponent. Bianca Flowers."
Judy let her paws slip from Nick's as her mind almost overloaded with the information he had just dropped on her. She was going to be in a charity boxing match, against her boyfriend's ex. Something that had been staged and promulgated by his ex.
And now Nick was stuck in the middle of it.
"She's...your ex?" Judy stated in complete shock as she sat down on the bench. Seeing Nick nod, she blinked away the surprise she was feeling. "When was this?"
"Nine years before I met you," he replied solemnly. "Listen, Judy. I only went to her to try and see if she could back out or find a replacement. I didn't—"
"I trust you."
Nick stopped completely in his tracks. "What?"
Judy let out a shallow laugh, almost a mockery of one. "What are you doing now? Trying to persuade me that you didn't go off to have a romp with your ex girlfriend?" She rose from the bench and clasped his paws in hers. "I trust you, Nick. I know you'd never betray me. Just as you know I'd never betray you. We're in this together, and—as much as I find it sweet that you went out of your way to try and save me from getting hurt by going to Bianca and asking to stop this—you are also a very dumb fox."
Nick blinked once, then twice as she laughed at his response.
"Am I a little annoyed at what you did? Yes. Yes, I am. But you did it out of love, and a carrot patch worth of dumb foxness."
"That isn't all though, Judy."
Perking her ears up, her head leaned to one side. "What do you mean?"
Nick sighed, turned and plopped down on the bench next to her. He leaned against the wall, head down and tail lifeless behind him. "Bianca wants me back."
"She can't have you. You're a taken tod," Judy reminded him.
He grinned. "I know that, but she didn't. With how our relationship ended...she...well—" Nick threw his paws into the air. "She wants us to pick up where we left off and said she still loves me."
Judy hesitated in her reply when she saw the tremor in his paws. Sitting down next to him, she leaned her head against his shoulder and held him around his waist. Nick rarely opened up about his past, so hearing him sound so broken and weak about this situation left her wanting to comfort him but also learn more about his mysterious past. "What happened?"
Nick looked up, gazing into emptiness as he spoke, eyes focused on nothing. "It was after one of her matches, against an ocelot from Sahara Square. She won it of course. Easily, but...that wasn't the outcome a certain mob boss watching in The Palm wanted as the end result. He lost a lot of money when Bianca beat his boxer."
Judy hugged Nick tighter as she felt a shiver run through him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. If it is too painful..."
Nick waved off her concern. "No, I need to tell you this." He let out another long, shuddering sigh as if the memory of whatever happened was still fresh in his mind. "We were going to go out to celebrate her victory and our two year anniversary. I went ahead to place a reservation while she changed and got ready. When she left The Palm...that's when she was attacked."
Judy let out a silent gasp. "What happened?!"
"She and I were on the phone when she said some mammals were following her. So I ran back and found them already assaulting her. She tried to fight them off, but one of them sliced her leg with their claws from behind."
Nick folded in on himself and began to cry. "I should have been there for her. She was injured because I didn't prevent the attack from happening. If I had been there..."
"Then they would have attacked you as well," Judy stated calmly while rubbing his back in a pattern she knew would soothe him. "You made it to her though, right?"
Nick shook his head. "I made it in time to see her being loaded into an ambulance, along with two of the creeps that attacked her that she managed to knock out. They wouldn't let me in as I wasn't family and who would trust a fox, nor believed one could date a bunny."
He let out a wry laugh. "Now that is more common than a fox dating a fox, with how many of your sisters have come to Zootopia looking for their own fox. And some of your brothers."
Judy smiled. She knew Nick was trying to deflect parts of the memory he held with humor. It was one of his go-to defenses he had kept after putting away his old life. Summoning up the courage to ask, as she knew there was more to the story, she gently guided Nick's chin down so she could look in his tearful eyes. "There's more to it, isn't there?"
Again he nodded. "Bianca isn't a native to Zootopia. She actually ran away from home to come here, since she wanted to get away from her rich and pampered lifestyle. Of course, her parents found out about her career here and about her injury. They flew in that night. I had to run to the City Center hospital since no taxi would pick up a fox that late at night and, by the time I arrived, they'd already had her taken to the airport to be transferred back home."
Nick looked softly at Judy, a sad, melancholic smile on his face. "I never saw her again until yesterday, and I don't know why she didn't try to contact me since she's lived here for six months now. All I can think about is her getting hurt, over and over again. And then that is replaced by what could happen to you with how focused she is on winning me back."Judy quickly found herself wrapped in a tight hug. "I don't want to see either of you hurt."
Patting his back, Judy let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, what had been an exciting challenge to the doe, had just become a lot more complicated. But for now, she pushed aside those thoughts as she gently rocked the sobbing fox in her arms, patting his back and whispering words of love to him as his history came back to haunt him once more.

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Chapter 2: Train like a Fox
Artwork by Gokhan16
Edited by BeecroftA & OnceNeverTwiceAlways
"Nick, are you sure you're alright?"
Judy stared at her partner in concern, gently laying her paw on his arm as they walked towards the precinct's gym. He had been eerily silent the entire walk, not a single jib or joke to be heard. Even his characteristic, lazy smirk had vanished like a wisp of smoke. Ever since the name of her opponent for the charity bout had been announced, it was as if he were a different fox.
Seeing no response from the now brooding fox, Judy let her arm slide off his when they reached the locker rooms. "I'll see you in the gym?" she asked, a hopeful rise in her question.
Nick nodded hesitantly, attempting a smile. Reaching out, he tussled the fur between her ears, earning a quiet bout of laughter from the rabbit as she swatted his paw away. "See you on the other side, Carrots," he said with a salute.
Feeling slightly better at Nick's more normal behavior, Judy bounced and turned towards the locker room. She mentally prepared herself for whatever training Nick would help her with. If the ZFD chose someone this good, they really must want to win badly. Then again, it was random so...
Shaking her head, she quickly got changed into her gym clothes, the same style and fit from the police academy from long before. As she was wrapping her paws with tape, the door to the locker room swung open. Turning, Judy smiled when she saw the warm gaze of Kitsun looking back at her.
"I see you're all ready to go." Kitsun walked towards her own locker in the small mammals section of the locker room. A few seconds later, and it was open. The vixen pulled her own gear from it. Sitting on the bench next to Judy, Kitsun shot her a sad smile. "Sorry you learned about the whole thing this way. Usually folks get a little more warning about it. And it really isn't supposed to be that big of a deal, but with what Bogo said about the charity drying up..."
"Makes it seem a little far-fetched to believe the first bunny cop and first rabbit firefighter were randomly chosen for this, huh?" Judy supplied with a wry smile. The doe chuckled as she finished wrapping her paws. "So, here to watch Nick train me?" she asked, throwing a few shadow punches with a smile.
"Oh, he won't be training you."
The rabbit's ears perked up. "Oh?"
The female fox nodded. "I saw him in the hallway on the phone upstairs. He asked me to come down here and take over your training. Said something about having an emergency he had to attend to."
Judy's ears flopped behind her head. "Oh..." Standing, she grabbed her spare sweats and shirt that she kept in her locker. "Then I'll go with him. I can put off training for a day to help my partner and boyfriend."
A gentle paw on her arm gave the rabbit doe pause. Looking back at Kitsun, the fox held a glum expression. "He said you'd say that. And told me that, more than anything, he wanted you to train with me so that you wouldn't get hurt in all this. I know it's supervised and for charity, but, he apparently is quite worried about it. About you."
Nick's words from earlier, which now seemed like warnings, rang through her mind once more. She nodded. "Alright." Judy smiled as she looked the red fox in her eyes. "Then we better not let him down."
Kitsun laughed. "That's the spirit, Judy!" Clapping the rabbit on the back, she proceeded to pull her own gym clothes from her locker. "Now get out there and do five, hundred-meter warm-up laps."
Judy shot her a wry grin. "One-hundred meters? I'm not going to run five, one-hundred meter laps."
"Wha...what?" Kitsun gasped. "But..."
"I'm going to run five, two-hundred meter laps. Before you get out from the locker room."
The smarmy smile Judy gave her was one that only Nick could beat with his sly grin. The red fox laughed. "Well, you better hurry then, as I think I only need one of those laps to get changed."
Judy was becoming nervous as she left the precinct gym. Not about the bout. No, she felt that Kitsun was doing a fantastic job helping her prepare for that. The vixen had lived up to her promise to push the doe farther than she'd ever gone before in her training, telling her that the academy would feel like a breeze compared to what she was going to put Judy through.
She hadn't been kidding.
For all the work the academy had put her through, Kitsun, with her actual boxing experience before becoming a police officer, put even Judy's endurance to the test. As Judy's enthusiasm had her running double the laps Kitsun had asked her to do, the vixen took it a step further when she'd arrived and spotted the bunny running in place with a smile on her face. The red fox ordered Judy to warm up her limbs for five minutes so she could do another run, this time a full mile, while alternating between dead sprints and fast jogging. When Judy had finished, only slightly out of breath, Kitsun had tossed her a jumping rope, saying they'd start practicing drills.
"I never want to look at another jump rope again..." Judy groaned, ears flopping behind her as she struggled to keep her bag hefted over her shoulder. For thirty minutes, Kitsun had made her try different ways to practice with it, ordering her to never stop jumping. If she did, it was ten push-ups.
Thankfully, if there was one thing bunnies were good at, it was jumping, so no push-ups had been required at her paw.
Yet, Judy had never been more exhausted in her life, and that was just the first hour of training. As she'd panted, waving her paw at her ears to help cool herself down, Kitsun had asked her why she was resting. Tossing the rabbit officer her sparring gloves and helmet, the vixen was nearly forced to drag Judy to the boxing ring to start the punching drills, a first for the normally very enthusiastic and athletic bunny. For what seemed at least an hour, the vixen instructed Judy with punching against practice gloves. As the fox would raise a glove, Judy was supposed to strike it at least three times. Once with a jab, second with a cross, third an uppercut.
She had barely managed the jabs before the gloves were pulled away. To make matters more nauseatingly annoying, she was asked to do five jumping jacks for each miss.
Two hundred and twenty five jumping jacks later, Judy was spent, and Kitsun had called it a day.
Now, as Judy trundled out of the precinct, grunting at her fellow officers with her arms hanging limply at her side, her only thoughts were of getting home and flopping into bed. She hadn't worked out how she'd open the door, as that would require her to raise her arms, but she'd figure it out.
She wasn't expecting in the least a pair of russet furred arms to scoop her off the sidewalk.
"Going my way?"
Judy smiled, lolling her head back while Nick carried her bridal style towards his car. "Have I told you how much I love you right now?"
"I wouldn't mind it if you did," he said, smiling back at her. "Looks like some bun has had a rough day. Kitsun put you through your paces?"
Judy groaned. "You could say that."
Nick buckled the bunny in, then was regaled with the training regimen that their coworker had outlined for Judy. Her minute by minute commentary left Nick chuckling at points, the fox enjoying the fact that she was too tired to even attempt to punch his shoulder.
After a short carry out of the car, up the stairs, and into the apartment, Nick somehow managed to open their door while holding her, a feat which Judy would thank him later for. She found herself gently laid onto the couch and finally relaxed into the soft cushions for the first time that day.
"I'll grab you some ice packs for your arms and, if you're a nice bunny, a massage for your legs."
"Thank you!" Judy yelled over her shoulder as he retreated towards the kitchen.
True to his word, he returned a moment later, several ice packs in paw.
Compared to earlier, the next hour was heaven. Nick's fingers delicately soothed out the tension in her legs, and, once he finished there, he switched the ice packs to her legs and massaged her sore arms. All the while Judy chirred in delight, reminding him of how amazing he was.
"And here I remember you once saying how you didn't want to compliment me as I already had a big enough head," he said with a chuckle.
"Just keep doing that..." Judy cooed as he worked his way down her arms. Several moments passed in peace before she spoke again. "So….What was the emergency earlier? I missed you in the gym, and you never showed back up during practice. Everything alright?"
He nodded. "Everything's okay, Fluff. I'll be there tomorrow for ya."
Judy yawned widely.
"You're so cute when you yawn," Nick said as he admired his partner.
She waved her paw for him to come closer.
Knowing the risk, but also knowing how her muscles probably felt like putty, he leaned in. "Yes—OW!"
"Don't call me cute!" Judy said as her arm flopped back down onto the couch.
Judy walked into the precinct, head and ears held high, with Nick by her side. The previous night, he had continued his ministrations on her over the course of several hours, until she was fast asleep. She had woken up that morning, a little sore still, but feeling much better than the prior night.
The greetings of her fellow policemammals as they headed towards their office were a welcome interruption. Each cheered her on after hearing about her being chosen for such a 'prestigious' opportunity, as Klankton, a polar bear in narcotics, had put it.
"Speaking of opportunities..." Nick began as they reached their office and began checking their emails. "I have a few I have to cash in on at the moment. I'll be right back." The fox slid off his seat, leaving it spinning behind him. He stopped only to briefly muss up Judy's fur between her ears, enjoying the playful swat she sent his way.
"Gotta be faster!" Nick jibed, raising his paws before sneaking out the door.
Groaning, Judy leaned back in her seat. Faster...I'll show you faster after all this. It was the same advice that Kitsun had given her the prior day.
"Judy..." the vixen had began after the bunny's 15th set of jumping jacks."I know you can be faster than this. In order to even last a round, you have to increase your speed. Or else you won't last a minute in this competition."
She must have been sitting there for some time, lost in her memories, as a quiet 'ahem' behind her brought her from her tormented thoughts.
"You alright there, Hopps?"
Judy nodded at the sound of her friend Nadine's voice. "I'm doing okay."
Looking up, she saw the tiger staring at her, one eyebrow raised. "You don't look it. Are you sure you're doing alright? Not practicing too hard are you?"
Judy's ears shot up. "Practice! Kitsun! Oh...I'm going to be late!"
Before the tiger could get a word in edgewise, Judy was off, heading downstairs like a runaway freight train.
Judy rushed into the gym, busily wrapping her paws. The end of the tape was still in her mouth as she spun her paw quickly in a haphazard way. "Swrry, swrry!" she yelled, muffled by the tape until she finished wrapping it. "Sorry. I was meeting with Bogo and..." Judy looked up and stopped, blushing instantly. "Uh…. Hi, Ryan. Did I interrupt something?"
Kitsun blushed deeply, covering her muzzle with her paws. The fox with white ear-tips froze on the spot, scratching the back of his head as he looked at the bunny. "Sorry."
Judy giggled and waved her paw in jest, deciding to have some fun with one of her favorite couple-not-couples. "Doesn't look like anything that Nick and I haven't been caught doing in the precinct before." Judy snickered as the blush ran deeper into Kitsun's ears. "So, what are we doing today?"
"We—" Ryan stated with a smile—"are going to help you learn a few tricks that will help you in this match. Some things you haven't tried before. I've helped Kitsun with these before from my own training and thought why not give my favorite ZPD bunny some helpful tips."
Judy smiled. "Great! Let's get started! With all the tips and techniques you guys are giving me, I know I'll win and do the ZPD proud."
Kitsun laughed nervously. "Judy, most of these techniques are things Bianca already knows. I've been training you to simply survive against her. Winning will be much more difficult."
Judy's ears wilted momentarily. But her confidence came back full force within seconds as she gave the two foxes her strongest gaze. "Then let's start training to win. Is Nick ready?"
"He's occupied presently," Ryan replied, trying to smile. "But he said he'd be here soon."
Judy's ears wilted. "Oh..."
"Hey, don't be like that Judy," Kitsun closed in on the doe, wrapping her up in a hug. "He said he'll be here, and he will. You trust him, right?"
"I do" was Judy's instant reply.
"Then there is nothing to worry about," Ryan added, walking towards the pair, his muzzle raised in a one sided smile. "Alright, we will go over some speed drills later, so let's go hit the speed bag."
Judy punched her gloves together. "Let's do this."
Judy sipped at her water bottle, before dumping part of it over her ears. Glancing at the clock showed a little past noon, meaning that she'd been practicing for nearly four hours now. Ryan had rotated her between the speed bag, jump rope, the heavy bag, and sparring with the practice gloves. Ryan was impressed with her performance at each of them, especially with the heavy bag. They'd been forced to switch from the small mammal sized one to the medium sized mammal one after a particular heavy cross sent dust settling onto the ground around them, the bag's chains groaning against the ceiling hook it was attached to.
Though he still had the same advice that Kitsun had: She needed to increase her speed.
"Just how fast is this Bianca?" Judy asked Kitsun who had sat down on the bench next to her, leaning against the wall.
Kitsun thought as she put a paw to her chin. "You've heard of Manny Pacquigrowl?"
Judy nodded. "I've heard of him, but don't know about him."
"Oh!" Kitsun grabbed her phone and pulled up a video of the Malayan Civet. Judy watched, her jaw dropping slightly at the speed at which he was pummeling a koala. "She's almost that fast as that."
Her jaw dropped further. "What?!"
She turned as another shadow fell over her. Ryan stood with his arms crossed. "Yeah, Kitsun's showed me her matches against Bianca. She's fast. But I know you can be faster with some specified training."
He held up a blindfold and then tossed to her.
"What's this for?" Judy asked, staring at the cloth in her paw in confusion.
"It's called 'Blind Boxing'," Ryan replied. "And it will help you develop the ability to somewhat sense what your opponent is going to do based upon hearing them. As a rabbit, you have incredible hearing, so it's about time we taught you just how to use that to your advantage, as I can guarantee Bianca will be using it to hers. I've gone over the technique of 'Blind Boxing' with Kitsun here, so I'll watch as she helps you develop your senses with this."
Judy turned to her friend who spoke quickly, but cheerfully.
"Your opponent can strike in the blink of an eye. So the only way to know a hit is coming is to be so in tune with your senses that you don't need to see a punch coming. Focus is the key to everything, and, if you can manage that, it will help you prepare for her punches before you're hit. The blindfold—" she pointed to the cloth in Judy's paws—"will help you focus on listening to where your opponent is. If you know where she is, you know where, and how, she could attack."
When Judy raised an eyebrow, Ryan chuckled. "Trust me. Once you get the hang of this, you'll see how much it will help. We'll get back to speed training soon. But for now, get in that ring."
Judy nodded and leapt towards the ring, though she paused and turned around again. "Is Nick going to help with this?" she asked.
"He should be here soon," Ryan answered. Waving the bunny towards the ring, the fox had to laugh as she put her gloves back on and Kitsun began explaining more about how they'd practice this new drill.
Ryan leaned against the gym's walls next to the door, watching the two as they started. The first few minutes he could only wince as he watched Kitsun circling the blindfolded bunny, tapping her again and again as Judy whirled around in confusion, flinging punches blindly. It was only after more encouragement from Kitsun that the rabbit seemed to calm and focus. After that, Judy actually began dodging a few of the hits, her ears swiveling and focusing on the vixen.
Ryan let out a huff as the door opened quietly behind him. "Judy's distracted by your continual absence, Nick." Turning, he saw the fox in question slowly walking up to his side, ears and tail slumped, though his eyes never left their focus on Judy in the ring. Ryan also turned his sight back to the rabbit. "That distraction of what her partner and boyfriend is doing is hampering her ability to focus, which will only cause both of you pain in the end. Her most of all."
Nick hung his head. "I know."
Ryan huffed again. "Then, where have you been? You, with all your knowledge of her opponent and claiming to be Judy's boyfriend, yet you've been gone the past two days. Why?"
"It's complicated."
This time, Ryan actually growled. "She's a smart bunny. I'm sure she'll understand."
Nick crossed one arm against his chest, using his other paw to swipe slowly across his muzzle in a tired motion. "It isn't that simple. I wish it was."
"Again—" Ryan countered—"smart bunny, dumb fox. Tell her what you've been doing—besides not helping her."
Nick watched Judy training, noticing her footwork as she dodged and began parrying the shots Kitsun was throwing faster and more frequently. He smiled, remembering back to a time years before when similar scenes had played out.
"You're much closer to this Bianca then you've let on, aren't you, Nick?"
Jolted from his thoughts, Nick turned to Ryan, his mouth opening as his ears and tail shot up. He stayed silent at the smirk from the other fox.
"Thought so." Ryan pushed off the wall and walked over to his friend. "Nick, whatever happened before with Bianca, it's the past. You have a future now." He motioned towards the bunny in the ring, who was actually smiling as she began throwing punches of her own after dodging Kitsun's strikes. Ryan gripped Nick's shoulder tighter. "Don't throw away your future over your past. I know you love Judy. I can see it in your eyes."
"I do," Nick said immediately. "But I don't want to see either of them hurt. It's why I've been trying to—" He stopped quickly, then shook his shoulder from under his friends grip. "It's too late now. I couldn't change this." Waving his paw at the ring, Nick hung his head in sorrow. "I tried and failed, and now both will be hurt. I failed her, I failed Judy, and...I don't want to see her hurt."
"That is going to happen either way, Nick," Ryan said crossly. "It's just that if you help her, then she might have a chance at winning this. I talked with Bogo earlier after offering to help. The Fire Chief has been pushed by the mayor to advertise this to gain even more money for the charity drive. He's selling it as 'The Bunny Brawl'."
Nick grimaced at the name. "Why couldn't they have just stuck with a calendar? I'd rather have that than see my friends injured because some moronic mammal wants to make some money. No matter the cause."
"You can't stop it now," Ryan replied. "It's going to be huge, Nick. Mammals have already donated tens of thousands of dollars in advance and the tickets for the venue are already sold out. Judy needs your support to not become a laughing stock in front of potential millions. Not your absence."
The two male foxes stood in silence for several moments. Finally, Nick's gaze raised to meet that of his friend's. "I'll tell her. She won't like what I was doing, but she deserves to know."
Ryan patted him on his shoulder. "You'd better tell her as soon as you can. If she stays this distracted, you'll have to help her from the ring in a stretcher with the reputation I've heard of the ZFD's bunny."
"I know that reputation all too well," Nick replied calmly, yet Ryan noticed his voice warbling slightly. Nick offered a sad smile towards the other tod. "I almost managed to pull it off."
"Pull what off?"
"Gah!"
Nick jumped into the air, tail fluffing out as Ryan burst into a full on belly laugh. "Geez, Carrots." Nick gasped, clasping his chest as Judy giggled. "Let a fox know when you're sneaking up on him."
"But seeing you jump is so much fun!" she said with a smile. Her smile warmed, and without waiting another moment, she leaned into her partner and hugged him. "I'm glad you're finally here, Nick."
He gently patted her back. "Me too, Carrots. Me too."
Hearing a cough, both looked up to see Ryan pointing towards the doors. "We'll be outside."
"We will be?" Kitsun asked. "But we still have several more hours of training to do and..."
"We have a lunch date," Ryan interjected, freezing the moment he said it.
"We...do?" Kitsun asked, a blush turning the inside of her ears scarlet.
Ryan chuckled nervously. "Uh. If you want? I mean, if you don't want to go on a date lunch, er, lunch date with me than I'd understand. But if you'd like to go on a date with lunch for me that is good too."
"Just go, Romeo." Judy laughed, waving the now crimson-eared tod away. "Don't forget to get some strawberry pie for Kitsun. It's her favorite!"
"Yes! Strawberry pie is a must!" Kitsun jumped up and down once before grabbing Ryan by his arm. "I know just the place, and it isn't too pricey either!"
Nick and Judy watched in fascination as the vixen dragged the nervous tod away.
"I'm glad he finally asked her out," Judy said with satisfaction. "About time!"
"About time is right," Nick chuckled.
She 'ahem'ed, grabbing her boyfriend's attention. "Speaking of time, what have you been up to, Nick? You seemed shocked earlier."
His calm facade froze for a moment before being replaced by a casual smirk.
His mask...
Sighing heavily, he clasped her paw with his own, squeezing tight. "I have been trying to help you, Judy."
"How?" the rabbit asked. "I haven't even seen you near the gym. I know you despise violence, but this is just helping me out for this one match. What have you been doing to help me?"
The fox shifted nervously. "I've been trying to help through...other means."
"What other means?" Judy now demanded.
It wasn't like Nick to hide anything from her. They shared an apartment, were partners on the force and even were talking about getting engaged, so what could have Nick so worried that he'd be afraid to tell her?
Sensing the fox about to open up, she reached out and grabbed both his paws in hers. "You can tell me, Nick. We're partners. We long ago said we'd share our secrets with each other. I won't be angry, even if you've done something stupid—like prank Bogo with laxative-filled jelly donuts."
Nick nodded, chuckling at the memory of that day. "Are you sure, Judy?"
"Absolutely. One hundred percent," she replied.
After a heavy sigh, he looked her directly in the eye. "I've been trying to stop the match."
She blinked. "What?"
"I know you bunnies have good hearing," he joked, only to grimace when her eyes turned frosty and she added a raised eyebrow. "Okay, look. I know your opponent, and I also learned that ZFD purposefully chose her because of her history." He held his paw up when she went to interrupt. "They want a win and haven't had one against the ZPD in years in this charity event. They were also hoping that her opponent would be me, not you."
"What do you mean? How did you find this out, Nick?" Judy asked. To say she was stunned by the information would be overselling it. She had guessed at most of it, though the part about him supposed to be the ZPD's choice was new. "I'm sure that the ZFD weren't forthcoming about this, so how did you find this out?"
"Actually..." Nick said, his ears drooping. "You...You know I love you, right?"
Now Judy was concerned. She gripped his paw tighter. "Nick. I know with my heart and mind I love you. And I know you love me as well." There was a pause before she added. "Who did you go to?"
"My ex," the fox admitted.
"Your ex?" Judy asked, blinking with one ear drooping slightly. "What would you ex have to do with this charity fight?"
Nick chuckled morosely. "She actually has everything to do with it, Judy. My ex... is your opponent. Bianca Flowers."
Judy let her paws slip from Nick's as her mind almost overloaded with the information he had just dropped on her. She was going to be in a charity boxing match, against her boyfriend's ex. Something that had been staged and promulgated by his ex.
And now Nick was stuck in the middle of it.
"She's...your ex?" Judy stated in complete shock as she sat down on the bench. Seeing Nick nod, she blinked away the surprise she was feeling. "When was this?"
"Nine years before I met you," he replied solemnly. "Listen, Judy. I only went to her to try and see if she could back out or find a replacement. I didn't—"
"I trust you."
Nick stopped completely in his tracks. "What?"
Judy let out a shallow laugh, almost a mockery of one. "What are you doing now? Trying to persuade me that you didn't go off to have a romp with your ex girlfriend?" She rose from the bench and clasped his paws in hers. "I trust you, Nick. I know you'd never betray me. Just as you know I'd never betray you. We're in this together, and—as much as I find it sweet that you went out of your way to try and save me from getting hurt by going to Bianca and asking to stop this—you are also a very dumb fox."
Nick blinked once, then twice as she laughed at his response.
"Am I a little annoyed at what you did? Yes. Yes, I am. But you did it out of love, and a carrot patch worth of dumb foxness."
"That isn't all though, Judy."
Perking her ears up, her head leaned to one side. "What do you mean?"
Nick sighed, turned and plopped down on the bench next to her. He leaned against the wall, head down and tail lifeless behind him. "Bianca wants me back."
"She can't have you. You're a taken tod," Judy reminded him.
He grinned. "I know that, but she didn't. With how our relationship ended...she...well—" Nick threw his paws into the air. "She wants us to pick up where we left off and said she still loves me."
Judy hesitated in her reply when she saw the tremor in his paws. Sitting down next to him, she leaned her head against his shoulder and held him around his waist. Nick rarely opened up about his past, so hearing him sound so broken and weak about this situation left her wanting to comfort him but also learn more about his mysterious past. "What happened?"
Nick looked up, gazing into emptiness as he spoke, eyes focused on nothing. "It was after one of her matches, against an ocelot from Sahara Square. She won it of course. Easily, but...that wasn't the outcome a certain mob boss watching in The Palm wanted as the end result. He lost a lot of money when Bianca beat his boxer."
Judy hugged Nick tighter as she felt a shiver run through him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. If it is too painful..."
Nick waved off her concern. "No, I need to tell you this." He let out another long, shuddering sigh as if the memory of whatever happened was still fresh in his mind. "We were going to go out to celebrate her victory and our two year anniversary. I went ahead to place a reservation while she changed and got ready. When she left The Palm...that's when she was attacked."
Judy let out a silent gasp. "What happened?!"
"She and I were on the phone when she said some mammals were following her. So I ran back and found them already assaulting her. She tried to fight them off, but one of them sliced her leg with their claws from behind."
Nick folded in on himself and began to cry. "I should have been there for her. She was injured because I didn't prevent the attack from happening. If I had been there..."
"Then they would have attacked you as well," Judy stated calmly while rubbing his back in a pattern she knew would soothe him. "You made it to her though, right?"
Nick shook his head. "I made it in time to see her being loaded into an ambulance, along with two of the creeps that attacked her that she managed to knock out. They wouldn't let me in as I wasn't family and who would trust a fox, nor believed one could date a bunny."
He let out a wry laugh. "Now that is more common than a fox dating a fox, with how many of your sisters have come to Zootopia looking for their own fox. And some of your brothers."
Judy smiled. She knew Nick was trying to deflect parts of the memory he held with humor. It was one of his go-to defenses he had kept after putting away his old life. Summoning up the courage to ask, as she knew there was more to the story, she gently guided Nick's chin down so she could look in his tearful eyes. "There's more to it, isn't there?"
Again he nodded. "Bianca isn't a native to Zootopia. She actually ran away from home to come here, since she wanted to get away from her rich and pampered lifestyle. Of course, her parents found out about her career here and about her injury. They flew in that night. I had to run to the City Center hospital since no taxi would pick up a fox that late at night and, by the time I arrived, they'd already had her taken to the airport to be transferred back home."
Nick looked softly at Judy, a sad, melancholic smile on his face. "I never saw her again until yesterday, and I don't know why she didn't try to contact me since she's lived here for six months now. All I can think about is her getting hurt, over and over again. And then that is replaced by what could happen to you with how focused she is on winning me back."Judy quickly found herself wrapped in a tight hug. "I don't want to see either of you hurt."
Patting his back, Judy let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, what had been an exciting challenge to the doe, had just become a lot more complicated. But for now, she pushed aside those thoughts as she gently rocked the sobbing fox in her arms, patting his back and whispering words of love to him as his history came back to haunt him once more.