Author's Note:

Symbolism's important to a writer, and also to a lover. Nick is best fox husband. I certainly would feel lucky! Our little holiday is coming to a close, and goodness has it taken time for me to get here! Things are doing a little better for me, though I am still struggling with money. I started a for my other writing projects and that's helping a little and I've started working part time jobs so I should be able to write more going forward. For now, enjoy this chapter. It's got like… 350% more foxes.

If you are just joining this series for the first time this story is in the continuum AFTER Season 2, so you will definitely want to read Thanks for the Fox and Guardian Blue Season One and Season Two for important context!

I heard tell that fanfics don't pay, but I feel like I've gotten a lot out of this one, even if not monetary. The concept and characters are property of Disney, so it's to them we should ultimately give thanks, but I certainly don't mind pouring my heart into this either!

Also! A HUGE shout-out to J. N. Squire for assisting with editing this series! I can't believe he's still doing this. Thank you!

Winter Hearth

Chapter 5: Pie and Apologies

"Git off mah porch, weed-sucker. We don't want nothin' you're sellin' or any other troubles yer bringin'."

Well, this visit certainly hadn't started out well. A slightly older fox, appearing closer to Pop-Pop's age than her parents, shuffled out the door to make room for two of the largest red foxes Judy had ever seen. They stood on either side of the door, crossing their arms.

"I don't have a problem with anyone here," Judy responded tactfully, "I came to visit a friend for the holidays."

One of the burly vulpines, bearing a crest of dark fur over the top of his head, grumbled, "Holidays is for family. You ain't that. Wiggle yer nose some other place." Judy remained patient. She was actually used to seeing reactions like this to both her and Nick, since she'd been subjected to it a couple of times in Happytown. There, however, they disparaged her badge, not seemingly just her being a bunny.

"So, hey, I should have introduced myself first…" Judy pressed. She wasn't just giving up without even a mention of why she was actually there.

"Don't care." The other goonish fox rolled up the sleeves of his off-white dress shirt to show his powerful arms. Judy was well aware that was intended to be threatening behavior. She was not impressed.

"I'm Judy. I wanted to see Gideon and maybe-…"

"Wait. Hopps? Judy Hopps?" asked the fox with the dark patch. He wore a black sleeveless shirt and black pants. Judy wanted to correct him, but decided that it was better for the moment if she left that as is.

"Yes!" the doe chimed brightly, ears high. That should get the conversation moving.

"Germ…" grumbled the white-shirted vulpine. The dark crested fox fox looked back to him. That was obviously… Germ. Judy laid her ears back. "Git Gideon's foppy fox butt out here." Judy grimaced at that. Sure, he came off as harmless these days, but she would not have really considered it any level of foppishness. Germ did as he was told, grunting and wandering inside. The older fox shook his head, baring his teeth slightly.

"Yew lot kin deal wit this. I'mma git back t' my game." The tidier-looking fox in the white shirt rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall, arms still crossed defiantly.

"What?!" came a female cry from inside. There was toeclaw-click-laden patter over hardwood floor that punctuated a vixen's rapid arrival to the door.

"Git back inside, this ent for you!" Germ shouted.

"Oh holy Hell, it really is you!" the vixen laughed out loud, standing rigidly, grinning in the doorway. She had a fur pattern and color pretty similar to Nick's, save for the fact that her entire face was white. Her black ears pinned back as she took on a devilish grin as her fur bristled all over. "Oh God, I'm gonna enjoy this." The jean-jacket-wearing vixen refused to budge at Germ's insistence, remaining right where she was. The vixen looked like she was perhaps fifteen or so, and there was a lot of fire in her blue eyes.

Nick spoke up in a low tone. "Carrots, remember when we discussed phrases you don't want to hear in an unsecure setting?"

"I'm dealing with this, Nick. It's okay," Judy whispered back. She was not so sure of that, even as she told him that. There had been very aggressive behavior initially, and while she thought that things might improve after she said who she was, it suddenly didn't feel that way.

Her mate grumbled under his breath, "We have to go back to work tomorrow. I don't want to go on medical leave again, Judy,"

"We're just here to talk, Nick, stop it."

"They're gonna adjust their landscaping with us, Fluff."

"You oughta be listening to your translator, rabbit," the white-shirt fox grumbled. He acted very calm, if imposing. No one seemed desperately angry or immediately threatening, just… unwelcoming.

"Judy?!" came a voice from just inside the house. Gideon emerged wearing his usual jeans and gingham shirt with an apron. It was a plain white apron though, not the trademark pastel one from his work. He was helping with holiday meal prep, perhaps.

"Hey Gideon! Happy holi-…"

"Yew gotta go. Ah'll help you out to yer car," the baker fox interrupted. Judy put her ears back tightly.

"Too late for that, Gid," Germ growled, moving around behind Judy and Nick and positioning himself at the top of the stairs leading down to the yard. The bunny tensed up. There were flagstones on the walkway leading up to the porch. She would have to try to kick Germ clear of those so he didn't get seriously hurt.

"Are yew seriously doin' the scare-salesbunnies-away thing? Now? With her?" asked Gideon, putting his paws on his hips.

"Who says I ent serious about this?" queried Germ with a sneer.

"She's a freakin' cop, Jeremy!" Gideon held out his paws at Judy as if revealing a hidden truth. "She could probably already arrest yew for menacin'!" Judy moved her attention to the black-crested fox. Jeremy was definitely a better name. She wouldn't complain about her nicknames anymore.

"I'm not here to arrest anyone," Judy said. "I'm here to visit a friend."

"Yew ain't got no friends here, rabbit," the lone female fox insisted.

"Stow it, Liz. Git back inside," Germ growled again.

"I gotta see this!" she barked back.

Gideon sighed heavily. "Sorry y'all, but ah had no idea you'd try to run out here. We kin catch up another time."

"She ain't leavin'," snarled Germ.

"Naw, it ain't worth it. Let her go." This command actually came from the white-shirt fox.

"Shut up, Billy. She ain't leavin." Judy took a slow breath and moved her right foot-paw into place to pivot for the jump that would put both her feet into the column that supported the roof over the porch. From there she would be able to plant her feet into Germ and launch him into the yard off to the side of the walkway. She was ready. She was not happy, though. This was supposed to be a happy visit and now everything was completely messed up. Gideon would have to deal with so much trouble over this. She should have called. Making this a surprise for him was a complete disaster.

"Kin she really arrest him? She ain't in Zootopia." Liz sounded concerned.

"We can detain until the Sheriff's department can get here," Nick explained casually.

"I really don't think that will be necessary, though. I'm not here for any of that," Judy shot a look at her partner. Discussion of consequences was not likely to relax them. She would be eating a whole loaf of 'I told you so' later. This had been such a good idea in her sentimental bunny heart, but when her mom had told her that Gideon's family was not supportive of him doing business with the Hopps family, either Bonnie or Gideon had not expressed adequately just how negative it was.

"Look," Nick held his paws out, "I can tell you are set in how this is going to be, so we won't stick around and cause issues. But I will repeat what she said… We didn't come here with a problem. That was already here when we arrived. We will leave you to it."

Judy snapped her gaze to her fox. His expression had grown cold. These foxes were threatening her and he was angry. She could tell that while he looked perfectly calm and casual about what he was saying, he was choosing his words very carefully. He meant to say that if they made a move against them, it would not be the visiting party's fault. Nick was ready to fight, too. Judy felt guilty for that as well. She made a choice that might get her fox hurt. It was a perfectly rational-sounding idea though! Why would she assume that Gideon's family would just attack his police officer friends? That was just crazy!

Gideon moved to pass Germ and head to the stairs leading off the porch, speaking with a sigh. "Right, it shore ain't coming to none of that. Ah'll walk ya'll to yer car." In a flash, the black-crested fox grabbed the baker by the straps of his apron and spun a bit, hurling him back the way he came. Liz jumped just in time to not get trampled by Gid as he stumbled awkwardly through the front door, managing just barely not to fall on his backside from the rough throwing motion. Judy braced. If there was any more aggression toward Gideon or any at all toward her or Nick, she'd be doing a holiday UFR, or Use of Force Report. That was the last thing she wanted.

"What part of she ent goin' no where didn't yew git?!" Germ shouted. Billy moved between him and the door, perhaps to keep him and Gideon from fighting. Judy felt miserable. She only drove out to say hi, and she'd probably wrecked his whole holiday family visit, maybe worse. Still, it was suddenly becoming very clear what created Gideon Grey the bully. She knew his mother wasn't around, even when he was a kit, and his dad, if that's who the older fox was, appeared to care nothing for what his family was doing. That was a rough environment for a kit.

"You don't gotta protect our dumb brother, Billy." Germ spun around and faced Judy instead. "Yew think I'm scared of spending a little time in jail, rabbit? I been there before, t' ain't nothin' new!" His change in position meant that Judy could no longer punt him into the yard. She could run, but Nick would be left on the porch to contend with two or three pissed off vulpines.

"Why am I worth going to jail?" asked Judy, muscles starting to burn with tension. Waiting to fight was the worst part of officer altercations. Unless there was immediate danger to the public at large or the officer, every avenue of de-escalation had to be reasonably exhausted before use of force was considered.

"For what you did to Gideon, you dumb bunny!" Liz shouted. Judy had no idea who that fox even was. Maybe she was a cousin?

"What I did to Gideon? He's my friend, I didn't do anything to him!" the bunny replied hastily.

"She means the fight when we was kits, Judy." Gideon came back out the door, locking eyes with Germ. "Mah family sees that whole deal differently from you 'n most of Bunnyburrow." The baker fox had taken off his apron and rolled up his sleeves too. She absolutely did not want her friend to fight his family.

"Okay, so let's talk about it," Judy offered, glancing back and forth between two seething foxes.

"Let's not," said Gideon darkly, "Ah dun forgave Judy years and years ago, Germ. It's my problem, not ya'll's."

"See, that's the crap that's all wrong, Gid!" spat Germ. "You don't get to forgive her all on yer own. She messed up th' whole family!" Judy recoiled a bit at that. What? She glanced at Nick. He had his gaze fixed on Jeremy. Usually, when relaxed, her mate's paws were in his pockets. They were up, crossed in front of him. The bunny grimaced again. She needed to get this under control before Gideon ended up with a situation completely beyond repair.

"Indirect-like! And it was as much my fault, and don't nunna ya'll say it wasn't!" snapped Gideon back at his brother.

"Look," sighed Billy, using a softer tone ot Judy, "We'll deal wit this. Don't no one need arresting, so Git."

"Sorry for the trouble," Nick said, nodding as he directed Judy toward the steps.

"Nope," Judy responded bluntly.

"What?!" Nick whined.

Judy fixed her gaze on Germ. "Hold on, Nick." She glared at the black-crested vulpine. "It's been like… 16 years since that happened and this whole house wants to see me pay for whatever it was I did or I caused." The bunny indicated the white-faced vixen. "…Hell, she probably wasn't even born when it happened, and she's lined up to watch me get punted. I want this resolved. It's not good for anyone to leave it like this."

Gideon put his face in his paws. "Aw shoot, Judy… It's not…"

"Right!" snapped Germ. "Let's do this!" He stepped off the porch, fur positively fluffy with excitement. "Bunny ain't so dumb after all. Let's resolve it."

Gideon face-palmed. "She ain't gonna brawl with you in the front yard, Germ. She's a police officer, they cain't do that crap."

"Hold on, no, I wanna see this," Billy said. "I watch the news – Obviously Jeremy don't." The white-shirted fox grinned broadly. Judy's ears went back. Maybe Gideon wasn't the least favorite brother here after all.

The bunny gritted her teeth, restraining her irritation. "Will someone just tell me what it was I was supposed to have caused?"

"God. Fine!" the vixen shouted.

"Liz, no," Gideon interjected.

"No, she's right, this is dumb," the girl fox growled. She leaned back against the column, paws balled into fists as she crossed her arms in front of her. "When th' town found out about th' fight 'tween yew and Gids, no one cared that ya bullied him! It didn't matter to the town how ya'll talked down to him, treated him inferior-like. He lashed out cuz yew drove him nuts and suddenly our whole dang family's bunny-killers!"

Gideon spoke up defensively. "Liz, ah drew blood. You know how Bunnyburrow folks feel about that kind of thing! That a them thing, not a her thing."

"Shut up, Gid!" Judy and Billy both shouted. Germ grinned at that. Nick relaxed some, but from the glance Judy stole of him, he seemed deeply thoughtful, working out the scene and obviously playing scenarios through his head. This was a better situation for Nick. He could fight, but talking his way through a problem was always his stronger suit.

Judy decided to continue talking. "So, I get it. Foxes weren't really fairly treated back then – Hell, even now. I'm not blind. As a cop, I see it way more now. But I was nine! I didn't have any control over how the town saw it. Gideon and I got into a fight. Kits do that. And yes, I admit it. My friends and I weren't real friendly with Gideon, but he wasn't friendly with me either. He was always pushing my friends around, taking things from them, calling us names… it wasn't a one way street, and he was like that from the day I met him. As a kit, I didn't have any other impression of him."

Germ huffed. "Yeah, cuz we had to act tough or the kits walked all over us. Lemme ask yew sum'n. Yew know what 'Flickafang' is, dontcha?"

"No?" Judy responded in question. She genuinely didn't.

"That's more of a buck thing, really," Nick explained with a palpable tone of discomfort. Judy glanced over to him. His ears were back. "Someone tells a fox a joke. If he laughs, and his teeth are visible, it's a challenge for everyone around him to quickly reach over and thump one of his canine teeth. Pak! It's really… unpleasant." Judy cupped her muzzle at that.

"That's awful!" Judy cried in genuine distress. Bucks in Bunnyburrow really did that?

"Yep, and if a fight breaks out over that, guess whose fault it is?" asked Billy.

Germ nodded emphatically at that. "Yeah… First time it happened to me, the dumb buck what did it messed up and actually moved his paw to my face too fast. His dumb bunny butt actually cut himself on my tooth. I was tryin' t' avoid it, and I got suspended for biting him! All over some dumb stuff bunnies do to prove they ain't scared of fangs and stuff. 'Course they ain't scared of em, we ain't allowed to use em!" Judy's heart sank. It suddenly became painfully clear why Nick rarely talked about his formative years. Was it just as bad in Zootopia? Could it have been even worse?

Liz spoke again, less aggressively. "It's still like that. School sucks cuz of it. It's why half of us jest drop out." Judy sighed sullenly. Okay, so, maybe Gideon's household had a little to do with how he was when he was little, but if that's really how he got treated before Judy even met him, that was the very real spark to light the kindling of everything else.

Nick spoke again, "We can talk about how crappy school was till the next holiday rolls around. Let's stay on subject here. Judy obviously didn't feel like she was bullying anyone, but I've seen the scars to prove that the town had a reason to get peeved at Gideon." The baker fox winced, likely unaware that the attack left a scar that existed to that day on the bunny's soft cheek. Her mate continued, seeming to get his reasoning tone back. "Let's start with your side of this. How does this now involve the rest of the family so that Gid can't just let any of this go and move on?"

It was Billy who answered. "When we said the town labeled us bunny-killers, that part weren't no exaggeration. They sent kit services out t' our place and straight up took Gideon away."

"What?!" cried Judy plaintively. Okay, she did not know this part, but for obvious reasons she was not involved with Gideon after the fight. Could they honestly just take him away because he got into a fight as a kit? That didn't sound right at all! She suddenly wished she had really tried to contact him after but her parents told her to not go anywhere near him. She knew he switched schools but that was all. She didn't think Gideon would mind switching schools since he obviously hated the one he was in. The doe now had a better understanding of why. But still, to be taken away from his family was too extreme!

"That wasn't Judy's fault," Gideon responded passionately, waving his paws a bit. "Pop was laid out drunk when the case worker got there and me an' Germ stood up on the roof cussin at 'em, throwing stuff and everything. I'm not sayin they weren't there cuz the fight, but I wasn't choosin' right neither. Pop did the program an' I came right back. It weren't even a fully month, and they wasn't that bad at the other place. They was real helpful. I told ya'll that."

Germ answered that. "You were nine, Gid. You was the littlest one. They took you away, and the whole town treated us like we did somethin' wrong. Yew know about that. We wasn't allowed in half the stores just because we was Greys."

"I'm going to interject here, if I may…" Nick spoke calmly.

"Shore," Liz said, her eyes pretty consistently on him. The bunny could relate.

"Judy, did you harass Gideon when he was younger?" Nick's question was very formal and he used the kind of tone that he took on when talking to truant kits. She understood immediately where this was going. Good. This was good.

"I did. When I was nine." She wanted to be sure to express that it was a very long time ago, but regardless, it needed to be addressed to put any kind of ointment on this festering wound.

"What did you do? I want to know all of it." Her mate's words were stern. Her ears fell back. What?

"All of it? Nick, I-…"

"Everything you can clearly remember. Say it." Judy shrunk away slightly at that. Okay this… wasn't likely to help these foxes opinion of her. Maybe this wasn't so good.

"Well… Okay… I guess… Maybe we made reference to Gideon… not being the crispest lettuce in the field."

"Frequently?" inquired Nick. The bunny looked at his face. She could tell immediately that his walls were up in full. She had almost forgotten what they were like. Nick was genuinely upset. Was he upset at her?

"Oh yeah… A lot…" Judy glanced down.

"Ya'll, we don't gotta do all this," Gideon groaned. The baker fox was plainly uncomfortable as he stood there while his friend was being forced to confess her kithood mistakes. He obviously didn't like how it made Judy feel, but she understood that she should feel bad about those things, even if she was a kit back then. It wasn't right at all. None of it was. Gid pressed, "Ah let this crap slide ages ago. If you wanna make it right, let's just drop it all here and now. That's how we move forward."

"Your therapist told you that, Gid," Nick stated, "It's a bit of paper and plaster on a wall with a gaping hole in it. Nice enough to look at so mammals don't notice, but not structurally sound. They didn't fix you, Gideon, they just made you prettier for everyone else."

"Ah like this fox," Liz interrupted. She got shushed.

Nick gestured to the her partner's other fox friend. "Even worse, it's another way for the system to make the problem the victim's responsibility." Judy's mate paced. That was… a bad sign. Nothing about this situation should have her partner this upset. "Let it go, they say. Don't think about it. Forgive them, they were just kits." Judy's heart suddenly sank. No. She knew what this was about. She hadn't considered what things Vivienne had tried in order to help Nick. Of course she tried therapy. He absolutely knew what Gideon had been told. He continued, "They use big words with little kits like 'emotional accountability', 'social norms', and 'managing tendencies'. They surround you with inspirational posters. Yesterday is out of reach, so tomorrow up to you! Only you can make you happy."

"Nick?" Gideon murmured, sounding a bit concerned too.

Nick stopped pacing, staring at the other foxes. "Okay, so when I'm not happy, whose fault is it? Oh? It's the fox's fault again! Perfectly convenient! Meanwhile, we will just ignore the little thugs who screwed him up in the first place." The bunny winced.

"Oh, shit," Liz deadpanned. Her eyes shot to Judy. The doe sucked in a deep breath to calm herself. They thought Nick was still referring to her. Nick had not just called Judy a thug as he said that – she knew who he was referring to, but the other foxes didn't know that, and the implication was pretty severe. Despite who it was intended for, it still struck the bunny to the core. Every time she thought of what happened to Nick as a kit, it had made her nearly sick, but how different was she really? How little had she deviated to not be exactly the same?

Nick continued again, "Stow that velvet couch mumbo-jumbo, and listen to the bunny, Gideon. Keep talking, Judy. What else?" Judy trembled, but felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder. Nick's paw gave it a soft squeeze. Whatever he was doing, whatever he was getting at, he was still there. He didn't leave her. And oh how she needed his reassurance right then.

"I… I…" Judy's chest hurt. She was nearly the same as those Junior Rangers. They ruined twenty years of Nick's life. Had she really done the same to this fox? It really hurt. She closed her eyes and then shook her head, pushing her gaze to Gideon. No. This had to hurt. It needed to. It hurt because she wasn't like that now. If she felt nothing, then she wasn't any better now than she was then. She continued in a wavering tone. "I threw his lunch in the trash when he was distracted during an argument with someone else once."

Gideon interrupted. "Ah should explain that a bit better. I was poppin' off at a kit who just lost his mum, an' ah didn't know it. Everyone was super steamed about it, and Judy -…"

"Fluff, keep talking," Nick encouraged. There was not as much of an edge to his voice this time. He could tell this was hard, and it was, by the presence of that calm wall, hard for him too. Judy believed in her mate, however, and continued.

"I always watched for him to do something that was against the rules so I could tell on him," the bunny sighed.

"Thumper…" grunted Germ. Billy punched his shoulder.

"I was nine!" Judy pled.

"Keep going," Nick insisted.

"Seriously?" interrupted Liz. "Aren't you guys like… friends?"

"No, it's different," Nick said in a gentler tone, squeezing her shoulder again. Judy was encouraged by the thought of just what that difference was and sucked in a deep breath. She wasn't just doing this for Gideon. She was doing this for Nick. She would endure. It hurt, but it was supposed to.

"I made a point to remind Gideon that he didn't get to go on the field trip to the Zootopia aquarium. He uh… he didn't have the money for the trip."

"Wow… that's not cool," Nick grumbled. Judy wilted a bit. She wasn't sure if that was for show, or if he really was that disappointed in her. She felt miserable even remembering that little detail. It had felt justified back then. Why the hell had it felt justified?!

"I was-…"

"Nine, yeah, we get it," Germ cut in. "We kin stop making her say this stuff, we all git th' idear."

"Judy, would you apologize to Gideon?" Nick finally said. That. That was what she figured was coming to begin with, but she did not expect or enjoy being dragged through the muck beforehand. The bunny understood why Nick did that a lot better as she considered her apology. It was one thing to say 'sorry for all the bad stuff, Gid' and not give a second of thought to what it even meant. It would be paper and plaster on a wall. Everyone needed to know, especially with how long ago it had been since the offending action that Judy knew what she was apologizing for. She wasn't playing innocent. She admitted she did wrong. Nick placed a warm paw over her ear against the back of her shoulder. It gave her some needed strength.

The doe looked the baker fox in the eyes. Her voice immediately cracked as she tried to do this. "Gideon, it's been a very long time and this has been sitting undone for… 16 years too long." His chest didn't move. He was holding his breath, obviously fighting his own emotions. She couldn't even tell what those emotions actually were. He just looked distressed. "This has nothing to do with the fight we had. This is for everything before. This is for me being rotten because… well… everyone was rotten. I didn't even think it was weird. Sweet cheese and crackers, how could I not, even then?"

Judy leaned back against the column, a sudden wave of nausea. She crossed her arms in front of her, wavering a bit. Nick reached down with both paws and held hers. She wasn't like that anymore, but it sucked even coming to terms with the fact that she was at one time. And now Nick knew it too. How did he feel about it? Did he see the faintest possibility that she'd have laughed at him as those other kids crammed a muzzle on him? She would have drawn the line over something like that? Wouldn't she? When she stared back into Nick's eyes, the wall flickered and she saw, reflected in those warm emeralds, only love. And that hurt even worse. Was what she did to Gideon any less painful than what happened to her beloved mate?

Even the day of the fight, she called Gideon 'small minded' in front of half the town. Her mom and dad were there. The place was full of adults who were watching the stage play. She remembered very explicitly that not one mammal pulled her aside and told her that her behavior was unacceptable. That was immediately the most glaring proof she had ever seen that everything that Gideon's family claimed to endure had been true. And she was a part of it.

Judy sank down to the porch, trying with every thread of her being not to be the stereotypical emotional bunny. Gideon moved quickly over to her. She hugged him and just… let it out. Damn it Nick. This was his fault. She couldn't even look at him, not because she was angry at him, but because she felt like garbage. He couldn't have wanted her to feel that way, she knew that, but she did. She was a better mammal now. She knew that. That was just a part of growing up, but it didn't excuse the fact that she did it.

"Oh geeze…" whispered Liz in a sympathetic tone. She was shushed again by Billy and Germ.

"You haven't apologized yet," Nick reminded Judy, kneeling by her, still using an encouraging tone.

"Oh God, lay off the bunny," Liz snapped defensively. Judy opened her eyes, letting go of the other fox. Judy understood why Nick was suddenly more determined here. He had gone through some of what Gideon was dealing with, and maybe spent a lot of time thinking about how it could have been resolved better. This was not just for Gideon and she knew it. He wouldn't have thrown up his wall otherwise.

Judy spoke, forcing her voice to rise to make sure she was heard. "Gideon, I really am sorry for the way I treated you. Again, this isn't about the fight. This is everything else. I can't apologize for everyone, but I don't want you ever to think you are unwelcome or unwanted in Bunnyburrow again. We are happy and lucky to have you, and I think anyone I can name would stand up for you at this point. You made the reputation that you've had all on your own, and you should be proud of yourself. You're a good mammal, Gideon Grey. You all are." She brought her wet-eyed gaze to the other foxes.

"Who me?" Germ blurted out, "Don't saddle me wit that, I chucked a beehive into the library. And not when I was nine, and I'm gonna leave it at that."

"He was drunk and the librarian's assistant honked her horn at him," whispered Liz. The doe regarded Gideon. He was quiet and she couldn't really read his expression. Was it not enough?

"Judy…" Gideon used a quieter tone.

The bunny held up her paw. "You already said your side of all this the day the Nighthowler thing got resolved. You don't have to say anything."

Gideon took a deep breath, holding up a paw to make it clear he was going to speak. "I just wanted to say… You sucked." The doe stared at him, ears falling.

"What?" she asked.

"You sucked. You and your whole little crew of thumpers." Judy recoiled a bit. What the heck? The other fox got louder. "You hopped and skipped about like you couldn't do no wrong, but yer little friends was so rotten. Gareth was a thief – pocketed a cookie from tha lunch line every damned day. Sharla was the goddess of gossip. That miserable little sweater-factory spread lies an' rumors like a danged tabloid. One time, your little musical Bobby Catmul showed alla' us a bag of 'nip that he found in his dad's truck. Then, when he thought someone told the teacher that he had it, he ate it and went to sleep under the bleachers so hard he pooped himself, an' that's a fact. Ah could go awn like this fer days! All'a'yall sucked." Judy quickly glanced over at Nick, but his expression hadn't changed. Calm and passive. Did he actually expect this to happen? Her eyes scanned the other foxes on the porch. Everyone else stared at Gideon with very round eyes, a few jaws agape.

The doe glanced down, then back up, and spoke warily. "Ooookay… yes. We sucked." She figured that there was no call for her saying otherwise. She knew about the little nicking phase Gareth went through. She didn't remember Sharla spreading rumors really, but maybe she did? She certainly didn't remember her cougar class mate getting nipped out of his head in grade school, but maybe that was an understandably well-kept secret.

"I hated yew most of all," Gideon added. The bunny winced hard at that. That… stung. A lot. That wasn't… the direction that Judy hoped to go with this. Nick slowly moved in closer to the bunny, stepping slightly in front of her. Did he think Judy needed protected from Gideon?

"Gid…" The scratchy voice came from the doorway. Judy looked up and saw his pop standing there. When had he come back? Had he watched all the things she said about what she did to her son when they were both little?

The baker fox cut him off. "Naw, ah'm serious Pop. She made it her life's work back then to mess with me. And now I kin say… ah ain't sorry we got into a fight. Ah take back all my dumb apology about my rage and aggression. That's a pile of scat. Why did I have to say I was sorry for that? Ah was never sorry 'bout that. Ah had a right to be mad. We was eventually gonna have to fight. Judy didn't know when to quit." Judy's heart ached again. Really? Were they not friends now?

"Uh…" Liz sounded patently uncomfortable. The bunny glanced at Nick, but he just watched Gideon fixedly.

"But ah am sorry ah hurt her." Gideon said that in a much softer tone. Judy perked up at that. "Ah ain't never had the right to actually do… that. Shore, Judy sucked. Her friends sucked. But, when ah did that, ah sucked worse. Ah'm sorry ah hurt you that day. But most of all, and ah mean this, Judy… ah'm sorry that we didn't get to be friends back then. We sucked when we were nine. Maybe all of us was rotten when we was nine. But ah felt rotten ever since. Today, ah don't feel rotten no more, and Judy…. You shouldn't neither."

"3… 2… 1…" counted Nick. Judy suddenly hugged Gideon and sobbed. "So emotional," he added. The bunny would get him for that later. Nick moved over to her and stroked her back to make it clear that he had relaxed. It was a very welcome touch.

"I ain't gonna lie, this is awesome," said an obviously choked up Liz.

The oldest vulpine cackled at that. "Whataya know? Looks like Judy Hopps had a mess of friends here after all."

"Wilde," Nick corrected.

"Grey. Andy." The patron of the Grey family held his paw out. Nick took it and shook.

"Pleasure. But I meant Judy. It's not Hopps. It's Wilde."

"What? No…" Liz sounded crestfallen.

"Yer kiddin'!" barked Billy. "Seriously? Yer married?"

"Vowed up," sniffled Judy.

"Okay, where's the coin?" asked Germ with a wide grin.

"Ain't no joke," Gideon let Judy go finally, perhaps reminded that her mate was watching. Germ took a step back, eyes wide at the news that there was no getting. Gid continued, "Least of all, ah know Nick's vowed up, cause that's the only way Stu woulda known the words. Asked about it and I was jest flabbergasted. Judy, you vowed up now too? Witnessed?"

"My parents and Nick's mom, yep," Just elaborated, wiping her face on her sleeve. She was not sure if it was wise for Nick to dump that on these foxes right after that… whatever had just transpired. Maybe he did that to make sure that they knew he didn't hate Judy. He had been pretty forceful with the situation, but was that what it really took to fix that? It had seemed so completely unsalvageable.

"I gotta say… seein' how Nick was pushin' yew to pretty much disparage yerself, I wouldn't think ya'll was married," suggested Billy. To answer this, Nick got a mostly restrained squeak from Judy by leaning down and placing a soft bite on the back of her neck.

"That's jest the wrongest thing I ever saw," announced Germ.

"I heard Jack Savage was dating a fox," offered Liz positively. She was obviously not offended.

"Now who's th' queen of gossip?" laughed Billy.

"There's pictures of them cuddling on the internet!" barked the vixen.

"There's pictures of Lionheart kissing space aliens on the internet too!" laughed Germ.

"I'll confirm it," Judy said. "Jack and Skye are really a thing." All eyes were on her.

"Confirmed. 100%," Nick stated.

"Wait, you were with them for that mess in The Interior…" stated Andy. "Ya'll got the inside know on that."

"See? He watches the news!" Billy flailed a bit at the near-ancient fox.

"Gideon, you ain't datin' a bunny, are you?" asked Andy with a grin.

"If the truth gotta be known, ah think ah'm dating mah day-planner," Gideon chuckled.

"Who's that?" responded Liz.

"It's a book," Nick informed.

"Oh. Now a bunny don't seem so weird," offered the vixen.

Gideon stared at her. "What? No, ah… No!"

Everyone laughed.

After the laughter died down, Andy ushered everyone inside. Nick and Judy got to hang out with Gideon's family, and they took turns telling stories about Judy's youth. It was usually pretty embarrassing stuff, but not always. Apparently, their impression of her was not all bad. Judy, in turn, shared a bit more information with the curious skulk of vulpines about their dealings in The Interior, as there were only a few details that had been fully divulged. While some things were still off limits, they were able to discuss more than was known that had not been deemed sensitive. She told them about the other survivors from the mine, the spider incident, Nick being knocked through a wall by a hyena, and a few other fun things to get back at him for the emotional bunnies comment.

There were lots of stories to share, and Judy felt more and more comfortable. She wondered how much change they had really brought with them. Ending the unspoken strife burning outside Bunnyburrow could only be a good thing. Would things in town really change? Could they change for others? It renewed her desire to continue making the world a better place. If this mess could be resolved, then the thing that had been weighing on her heart for a couple days now might not be so hard. She could work things out with Sharla. Maybe Nick could help. Maybe he wouldn't even need to.

They remained there for at least four hours. The pair would have stayed longer but they needed to head back to the farm to get ready for their train in the morning. Judy had not expected they would stay so long, but it was important to her to get to share in their stories and learn as much as she could to make as good an impression as possible now that she was allowed to make a real one.

She learned that Gideon's dad was a refrigerator repair mammal, which she hadn't even thought about as a thing. She supposed no one wanted their food to go bad and they needed someone they could call to help them. It made sense. His brothers, Jeremy and Billy, were four and six years older respectively. Lisa, or Liz, as she preferred to be called for some reason, was adopted. Both her parents were in jail, but they never explained why. No one seemed to care much about it. As far as they were concerned, she was just Gideon's little sister.

She was encouraged by Nick to get her diploma no matter how hard school seemed. In the end, no one would be able to take that accomplishment away from her, and having that diploma made a pretty big difference later on.

Billy explained that the whole family hadn't talked to Gideon for months after he started working with the Hopps family, which Judy was completely unaware of. She felt bad for him. Apparently, the family's stance softened after Gideon got in the newspaper for helping rescue bunny kits from a blaze. With that, and the charity work to help the Tuber family, the reaction to the whole Grey family name improved significantly. Tense though it was, things normalized a little bit at a time with their family.

Judy's meddling nearly messed that up bad. She apologized profusely, but was assured it was ultimately for the best. Nick was thanked a lot for his help with that. He admitted that he got the idea of how to handle the whole issue from a book he'd read, but could not remember which one. Judy felt like he was just deflecting it. Nick loved attention, but not praise. Praise, he said, was just blaming someone for something that wasn't bad. You never wanted to be held responsible for something other mammals did, he'd explained.

After having a snack, they headed back to the farm.

It was far quieter for their final night. This suited Judy and Nick both just fine. It had been a very draining day. Judy rested against her mate, savoring having spent her first holiday with him in her family's home with his mother there to enjoy it too. As always seemed to be the case, what they hoped would be uneventful and peaceful was not, but at least it was done with on a high note. It wasn't always easy, but these were good memories they would take with them. They would have a lot to do when they got back, and they still had to get Judy fully cleared for active duty. That was first and foremost on their mind. They were sergeants, and while Tora intended to keep them together, they expected to have to learn some new duties all the same.

Nick attempted to apologize for how rough he was being at the Grey residence, but Judy shushed him. She reminded her mate that Jack was the one who liked the vicious fox thing, and that broke her mate's rising funk straight away.

Relaxing a little, the fox explained to Judy that he was terrified the whole time because he didn't know if it would work. He didn't think that psychologists were all quacks, but the ones that got used for wayward fox kits were often overloaded and results driven. They all read the same book, all did the same stuff. They tried, but there wasn't enough material to fix the damage, and what was left a fox was left to fix themselves… unless they were so lucky as to find a bunny who would gladly fill that hole with love and a special brand of insanity. The later hours of the evening were spent cuddling and kissing, holding one another. Nick reaffirmed more than once that he was proud of who Judy became, in case there could ever be any worry. It was blissful and made her glad that she had endured this, as it provided further proof of nick's commitment to their vow. All that she was, all that she is, all that she ever would be, was accepted. The let their last night in the country sweep them into quiet dream.

Judy scrolled through some of the pictures on her phone. She had taken to sorting images as her primary duty on the train ride home when she'd visited. She promised to visit more, so maybe she would not feel the need to take so many pictures. Nick sent a few of his own images to irritate the bunny, since it meant she had to sort those too. He obviously contacted his lover's siblings, as they started pitching pictures at her. They were good pictures too, so she couldn't just delete them angrily. No, they had to be put in their correct folders, all neat and tidy.

Nick bantered back and forth with Judy a bit, but she felt that something was slightly off. It was not like it had to be as noisy as it was at home when the kits were opening their presents, but it felt a lot more silent than the ride over. She finally put the puzzle piece in place and figured it out.

"Mom?" she inquired softly. Vivienne looked up, as if shaken from a dream.

"Y-yes?" she asked.

"You've been… quiet. Are you feeling okay? It was an early train, I know. Foxes hate that." Judy nodded.

"Oh no… I'm fine, Judy dear." She gazed out the window, watching trees slide by rapidly. She smiled, but the smile relaxed back to a blank stare out to the distance. Judy peered at her mate, who shared a concerned look.

"Mom?" he pressed. She peered back at them both.

"It's uh… I mean, I'm fine. Just been a… weekend." She smiled weakly again.

"You … You know I was a con artist, right?" her son asked.

Vivienne sighed. "Yeah, you like to remind me of that when I have anything at all on my mind, Nicholas. I'm just… thinking about things that happened." She gazed at the little velvet box her precious arrow pendent from her son was in.

"You have two cops with you. No one's gonna snatch it," Judy said with a smile.

"Was it too heavy?" Nick whispered with a tone of dread. "It was too much." Judy hadn't thought about how much Vivienne might have been taken by surprise by such a gift. It was a lot to deal with, knowing you were a part of something that big.

"N-no… No that's not it," stammered the vixen. "I… Okay… You'll find out about this eventually so I'm just gonna… Get it over with." Nick suddenly appeared extremely worried. Judy tensed up anxiously too. Vivienne's tone sounded like something really was wrong. Was there a problem with the bakery? Had that failed? Was she having money issues? Did she have to leave Zootopia? Was it something even worse?

"We're here, Mom," Nick reassured her in a tender voice.

"Judy… Nicholas… You'll forgive me if I really mess up, right?" she half-whispered. Judy felt her muscles tighten way more. That was not a Vivienne kind of conversation. That fox did not mess things up. Nick's expression softened, however.

"Of course we would, Mom. Just as you have… and would with me, or even Judy, if she ever made a mistake after the age of nine." Judy kicked Nick's foot hard. He kept his smile.

"I… I did something very wrong." She looked at her son, then Judy, then immediately down, shameful.

"Talk to us…" Judy leaned in as she said that, making it clear it was okay. She was with mammals she could trust.

"I didn't… help your sheep friend, Judy," Vivienne murmured in a dejected tone. She stroked the velvet box slowly again. Judy widened her eyes. Vivienne lied to them? She was never required to help Sharla in the first place. Failing to get through to that sheep was not something Nick or Judy would hold against her.

"Did you talk to her?" pried Nick as tactfully as he could. He was trying to figure out what part was true.

"Y-yes, I did," Vivienne answered slowly.

"And?" Judy pushed, worrying more about how hard it was to get her to talk about this. She admitted freely to shooting Nick's grandfather with an arrow. What had happened that she was so cautious about now?

"She was just terrible," Viv grumbled.

Judy leaned back, ears perking. "Oh…" The bunny suddenly felt awful for having allowed Vivienne to subject herself to that.

Nick's mother continued, "Now… understand, I know how that works, and I know she was stressed and upset, so I tried to find common ground! But she was so angry that she was just… saying stuff that… looking back on it now… she didn't mean. She can't have meant it. She was just trying to upset me."

"Like what?" Nick queried in barely more than a whisper.

"I asked how she felt about fox kits. She's a teacher, for crying out loud. She can't hate fox kits! And let me tell you… I was… very unhappy with her answer." Judy cringed at that.

"But you said that you knew she was just saying that stuff to provoke you," Nick clarified.

"Well… after I cooled off I figured that was it. She never looked right at me when she said that stuff. But… I was so… furious when she originally said it… I didn't help. I was there to do the right thing, and I went and did the wrong thing anyway." Her voice was pained as she explained that. Nick put his ears back with worry as he glanced over to Judy and back to his mother.

"You told us that you gave her information to help her find Gary," Nick stated.

"Gareth," Judy corrected.

Viv covered her face with her paws. "I did… but I never gave her the detective's information like you wanted." She reached into her purse and pulled out the folded napkin upon which Judy had written Pawlander's information.

"Mom?" Nick pushed. "Mom, what did you do?"

"I'm really sorry, Judy. I know you're disappointed, but someone hating kits… Nick was so little when… I mean it does so much damage if you even just don't care about them…" Judy felt a sinking sensation. Vivienne was becoming frantic. Something was really wrong.

"It's okay, Mom," Nick encouraged, hugging his mother. "We're with you no matter what. What happened? What did you do?" Judy felt a pang of actual fear. Could Vivienne have actually harmed Sharla? The thought of Nick having to arrest the vixen fluttered through her head and she shook it out. Unacceptable. She could not even let herself think of it.

The lady fox held the velvet box close again. "Since you gave me this I have thought about… what I did… nonstop. I said it myself. Everything we do becomes a part of someone else, even when we don't try to. How can I be… Guardian Mother of the Wild… if I just reacted the way I did in anger?"

Nick held his mother's shoulder, looking at her more intently, his voice more stern. "Mom. What did you do to Sharla?"

Vivienne spoke slowly. "I told her I knew a private eye… someone not the police, since she didn't trust them. She wouldn't shut up about the dumb 'status quo'. No one's gonna do anything because no one's done anything. So I suggested someone who wasn't a cop." Judy furrowed her brow, her ears falling back. That was out of left field.

"Do you… know such a person?" queried Nick.

"No. No, I do not," came the Nick-esque answer from his mother. "I told her this mammal knew people who might have learned something about G-Gareth… I told her they were smart, and could see patterns and follow leads that most mammals miss. I was just… so angry, Nicholas! I didn't think really, I just…" Judy listened curiously, but watched her partner's expression go from stern to a bit ill. There was a silence as, for the moment, her husband was speechless.

"Mom, where did you send her? Is she in danger?" begged Judy.

"No, I don't … I don't think so, not really," answered Vivienne, though her uncertain tone did not fill the bunny with confidence. "But, Judy, I got Sharla's address from Sammie – I was gonna cancel the whole mess, tell her not to go, but she was already gone. I went there yesterday while you were visiting with Gideon. I tried to fix this, I swear! But she must have taken the noon train." Vivienne whimpered.

"Train?" Judy repeated curiously.

"Oh God, no." Nick said in a strained whisper as he cupped his muzzle.

"Train to where?" Judy softly interrogated.

"No, no, no, are you serious?" Nick asked his mother in a pleading tone. She looked down with a grimace and slowly nodded.

"Nick?" Judy pressed, as he seemed to know something she didn't.

"She sent Sharla to New Reynard, Fluff," answered Nick darkly.

"What?" Judy posed weakly and then stifled a gasp as it all slammed almost painfully in place.

Nick covered his whole face as he murmured with a tone of sudden apparent exhaustion. "Mom sent your emotionally unbalanced and aggressive sheep friend to get help from Honey."