A Whole New World (Extended Epilogue).

Love is friendship set on fire.
Jeremy Taylor.

Happy New Year everyone! Happy new beginnings :)

wildehopper - yup, a huge relief :)

First Guest - I know, no one seemed to have questioned why I'd introduced Lamo into the story, so that turned out well for surprising you all :)

Second Guest :)

GhostWolf88 - After ALL this time is right, geez, I am reaching closure myself here, after spinning the story for over two years!

AeonFeral - thanks, been doing fine here :) Yes, they are discussing everything now, you'll see :) hope you're doing well and had a great NY's eve!

imjustlikehumphery - we'll find out what's left and have all the loose ends tied up soon enough :)

Nick came to slowly, his blurred vision focusing on a cheery leaf-patterned mint green curtain. That was strange, he thought. The curtains in his bedroom were blue. And in the training centre at Rocky Hills they just had those cheap sort of blinds you had to pull down to shut the light out. Conclusion: he wasn't in his room, nor was he at the training centre. And why did his leg hurt? He tried moving it a bit to one side gingerly. Ouch.

Why were there weird little monitors to the side of his bed? They looked... clinical. Oh... oh wait. Right.

He was in a hospital room, he realized, as the memories of the eventful night of the big pop concert came rushing back. His leg had been bitten by that Night Howler Serumed lioness, Jack Savage had cornered Margaret Frost but spared her due to the timely intervention of his wife Skye, he and Judy had gone after El Lamo when they learned he was supposedly behind this whole scheme and they had been trapped in a burning shed... where something had happened, something else.

Well, our hero thought, his gaze running over his bedside table that bore several pastry boxes, a vase of flowers, a bowl of fruit and some 'Get well soon!' cards. This was a pleasant surprise indeed, coming back to consciousness in the first place and in what looked to be a safe and secure location at that. His eyes halted on a plate bearing a sizeable share of blueberry pie, also set on his bedside table. That pie. He knew it. He'd already-

Fresher memories came to him, flooding his mind, and he realized with a jolt that this was the second time he had come to since the events we acquainted our esteemed reader with in the previous chapter. His mother had been to see him, this was her pie sitting right by his side. She had naturally not arrived empty-pawed. Nick recalled her coaxing him to eat a morsel and crooning over him like he was a very young kit. He hadn't eaten any after all, the fox remarked, clocking the wholeness of the slice. He had still been way too out of it, he'd done his best to grin valiantly at Mrs Wilde though and he had heard the heavyset ox of a nurse reassuring her sotto voice, telling her that her son was in no lasting danger and just needed time to rest, get the oxygen pumping back to his brain after all the smoke he'd inhaled and have his wound tended to.

Right on cue, the handle of the door leading to Nick's room turned and the ox marched in, clipboard under her arm.

"Oh good," she exclaimed, noticing her patient was very much awake and alert. "Mister Wilde, with us again, bright and well!"

"I dunno about bright," Nick replied, wincing as she started wrapping a band around his arm to take his pressure. "I feel done in."

"That's to be expected," the nurse agreed, clicking her tongue sympathetically. "What you went through back there, you'll need lots of rest, sleeping it off would really be best... you were out for eleven hours just now since your mother came to visit, do you know?"

"Really?" Nick blinked, his eyes roaming the vicinity in search of a clock. "What time is it now? Or, to start with, what day is it?"

"Tuesday evening," the ox replied briskly. "Gone eight pm. And... your pressure and heartbeat are normal. You should eat," she waved a hoof at the treats spread out next to his bed. "There's all this sustenance you've received - or I could have a dinner tray brought in for you?"

"I'll have my Mom's pie nurse," Nick replied, reaching for it. "There's nothing in the world'll revive me faster, believe you me."

"You do that," the ox smiled, shaking her head, as Nick tucked in. "Seeing as how you're so chipper this evening Mister Wilde, you might as well know you've a visitor waiting to pay you a call. I'd a notion to have sent her packing for the time being, but you do appear to be in shape-"

"Don't send anyone away," Nick waved an airy forkful of blueberry pie. "There could be more snacks overlooked that way."

"How opportunistic," the nurse replied. "I'll go ahead and buzz them through then..." she added, already heading out the door of Nick's hospital room.

He couldn't very well have his mother sent away without seeing her at least for ten minutes and reassuring her of his well-being, Nick though. She must have been worried sick, to be back again and again to check on him. He had to make her laugh to show her everything was ok now...

As he took another bite of his pie, the door handle turned once again. Nick looked up and nearly choked as his mouthful went down the wrong chute. It wasn't Mrs Wilde who stood before him, but no other than our beloved heroine, Miss Judy Hopps.

"Hey!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "You're awake!"

"Hey," Nick echoed, his voice rather strained. We have it on rather good authority that the reason for this was not the pie incident however, but entirely the fact that, upon laying eyes on his partner, our red-furred hero's mind was suddenly and forcefully made to recall the exact circumstances and contents of their last interaction.

Nicholas Piberius was suddenly and inexplicably at a loss for words at the sight of his partner, friend and (pent)housemate.

If he could think of nothing to say however, Judy seemed more than ready to fill in the silence for the both of them.

"How are you feeling Nick?" she asked, sidling over to the little stool next to his bed and depositing the basket of fruit she'd brought onto his bedside table. "How's your leg?"

"Oh you know," he cracked a feeble smile. "Had better days. Crazed lioness gone and bit through it and all."

"Har har," Judy gave him a look that was meant to be sarcastic but somehow only made our young fox keenly aware of how her eyes were purely violet in colour. He had never noticed or paid attention, but they were an entirely unique shade. He found it impossible to tear his gaze away from hers for the remainder of their conversation.

"You're pretty lucky, all things considered," Judy added, taking a mango from the fruit basket and starting to peel it for him with her pocket knife. "We both are, rather," she amended after a moment. "Things could have turned out way way worse."

"That's just the thing Carrots..." Nick rubbed his nose, trying to collect himself. "How did they turn out? Last thing I remember we were goners in that blasted shed we were left to burn down in."

"We were," Judy confirmed matter of factly, pulling a little saucer towards her and slicing the peeled mango into it carefully. "And we would have been, but for FruFru. Well, but for all of our little team after all. Savage and Skye stuck around to keep an eye on Frost - who's in custody now and awaiting trial - and Finnick was getting worried about our heading off after El Lamo like that, so he mentioned it to FruFru who had come to see him to ask what was going on. Luckily for us, FruFru had prepared a whole battalion of back-up rodents (quite a few of them her father's subordinates I guess) and they are the ones who managed to make it in through that tiny airhole in the shed, and unblock the shutters in the roof window and hoist us out."

"Wow," Nick digested this. "We owe her, like. Something big."

"You know what she's like," Judy shrugged with a grin. "She always maintains she owes us because of that time ages ago I saved her from being smashed by a giant fake donut."

"That would have been an inglorious demise," Nick agreed, accepting the saucer of mango slices. "But not nearly as pathetic as suffocating in that stupid shed. Carrots, what of the llama then?"

"He'd made a run for it with those two sheep henchmen of his," Judy replied. "But they had to go past the group of shooters who had already been retained by Bogo and the others. The sheep who were in pawcuffs got angry about their comrades making a break for safety and basically sold them out-"

"That's loyalty for you," Nick rolled his eyes, his mouth full of mango.

"- And Bogo had everyone held back for questioning. The dialogue was apparently getting heated with all the sheep having a go at each other and being really offensive, when (so Clawhauser told me) Lamo completely lost it and went into a rage. Apparently he shouted his two henchmen down saying it was all their fault the plan had fallen through, after all his careful scheming, that he'd spent ages setting this up to get rid of Gazelle-"

Nick whistled at that. "Sick bastard," he muttered.

"-Yes, and that he deserved to be the number one pop star in Zootropolis, that she was just getting by on her youth and looks-"

"No way," Nick rolled his eyes. "She is tons better than him, if you ask me ."

"I know," Judy nodded with feeling. "And anyhow, what sort of a solution is that? He'd then have to mow down the next successful young star who outshone him."

"Nutter," Nick commented laconically. "These sort of psychos Carrots, it's like the evil queen in Snow White. They think they can have their spot in the sunlight if they destroy whoever is already there."

"Hear hear," Judy sighed. "Is he seriously ill, mentally? They'll see during his trial and evaluation I guess. Which will run parallel to Margaret Frost's trial based on her very extensive list of accusations," she added with no small measure of satisfaction. "And perhaps it is the least significant of her crimes, but I am very pleased to inform you that her tampering with my prequal exam sheet has been added to that list."

"Buffalo Chief went through with the inquiry?" Nick asked, his eyes wide.

"Yup," Judy nodded triumphantly. "He went ahead right after the concert, as agreed. And everything came out. I've been back to work you know, though I'm still officially on leave, I inhaled quite a bit of smoke myself after all, but I had a nice long chat with Bogo. He was sort of torn between annoyance that you and me didn't take him into our confidence sooner, and some measure of admiration of how we managed to secure the situation. Anyhow, he understood why I'd asked to hold back on the inquiry, and now that the thing has been cleared up, well, Taggart will have to be pulled out of training cause he failed the prequal dramatically after all-"

"Ouch," Nick winced. "He must have felt it when he heard that. But then again, it is the truth..."

"It is," Judy inclined her head. "What's also the truth is that I am approved for going through with the training now and I can join any session I like as an added bonus and to compensate for my prequal result being mixed up!"

"Congratulations Carrots," Nick couldn't help but smile at her obvious enthusiasm. "You deserve it like no one else. Everything ends happily ever after for ZPD's best known bunny."

"Does it?" Judy asked with a peculiar half-smile and a wide-eyed look at Nick.

Nick's pulse that had managed to slow down to a normal pace immediately sped back up at the obvious weight behind this seemingly innocent question. He had nearly managed to convince himself during their exchange that the entire 'Judy confesses' scene had been a figment of his imagination and a concoction of his smoke-muddled mind. Now in the blink of an eye he didn't feel so sure anymore.

"Um," he said uneasily, playing for time. "Yes? I guess?"

A longish silence stretched out between the pair, finally broken by Judy.

"Nick," she said in a small vice, flushing slightly and looking up at him appealingly. "You do remember?..."

Riiight, it definitely hadn't been his imagination. Quick buddy, the fox told himself. Think of something.

He couldn't somehow joke the whole thing off, not with it hitting so close to home and with Judy looking up at him with such obvious sincere feeling in her eyes.

"Carrots," he said finally, feeling rather hot around the collar himself. "Anything we said or didn't say - it would be best for both of us, for everyone, if we just-"

"I'm not asking you what's best for everyone," Judy interrupted heatedly. "I was asking you whether you remembered -whether you really meant-"

She stopped short and finished her question wordlessly directing an appealing gaze at him.

"What-" Nick started, still rubbing his brow and still unable to look anywhere but straight into Judy's eyes. Finally, rather more flustered than ever, he started in a voice that attempted to be reasonable but sounded more agitated than anything else. "Do you hear yourself Carrots? The things you come out with! What would anyone say or think? What would you feel like yourself, being the much talked of freak rabbit of your native Bunny Burrow? Your parents, they'd-"

"Never mind everyone else for a moment," Judy cut him off quietly but firmly. "What do you feel Nick? What do you want yourself?"

This silenced our hero for a couple of seconds rather effectively.

"I..." he said finally. "I mean.. I guess..." he swallowed audibly, unable to continue.

Judy laid a tentative paw on his and took it as a good sign when he didn't pull away.

"Did you mean what you implied you felt - you know, when we spoke in that shed?" she asked carefully.

"Yes," he said finally, in an equally quiet and even albeit low tone. Saying anything but the full truth was out of the question at that point. Everything was too real, too important, too close to home. And too dear.

"I did too," Judy said seriously. "Still do," she added for good measure. "Still mean it."

They looked at each other speechlessly for a long moment.

Finally Nick said, with a lopsided attempt at his usual jokey grin, "Still mean... that you know you love me Carrots?"

Judy smiled brightly at that, her eyes shining in happy triumph, locked with Nick's, before she leaned right over the saucer he was holding (still containing a couple of slices of mango) and shyly but decisively, she kissed her one and only fox on the lips.

She had been hoping he wouldn't jump or pull away or (cream fudge forbid) push her away. And her heart gave a happy bound when she felt his paw clasp around hers and pull her closer, definitely not pushing her away any time soon.

A Whole New World (Extended Epilogue). Part 2.

Thanks everyone for the reviews and feedback :) Yes, the epilogue is moving along, sadly, but at the same time how exciting to finally be here and discover how our heroes will adjust to their new life!

Guest - I don't speak Spanish but I appreciate your sentiment :)

Gallawaychi - glad you are enjoying the read :)

Wildehopper - so happy you are enjoying the story :)

TheRedOmega - yup, all good things must end one day!

GhostWolf88 - it almost feels weird to be finally in this place...

And I am *thrilled* that you all seem to be enjoying the romance so far as Nick and Judy are becoming an 'item' because frankly? It's a bit like leaving the safe pool area where you can always touch the ground with your feet (aka circle back to the film and the characters' definitions as painted by their creators) and wading out into uncharted waters -_-'' One wants so much to do the pair justice and not portray something that has nothing to do with their original characters as they become romantically involved. Here's my best shot anyhow :)

Nightfall came to the city of Zootropolis very early indeed given that the month of December was almost upon it, and with it the promise of winter. Still, winter meant the holiday season, time spent with family, gift giving and other such pleasant prospects. And the weather wasn't as rotten as it could have been, Judy decided, as she scanned the inky sky through the oval-shaped windowpane in the living room ceiling with a practiced, farmbunny-bred eye. True, the sudden hailstorm that had darkened the sky even earlier than usual had forced her and Nick to rush back home, cutting their jog short, much to Judy's dismay (and Nick's lack thereof). But the clouds looked torn now and one could see a winking twinkling star here and there that proved that the next morning would likely be much calmer than tonight.

Nick had indeed gone jogging with Judy (almost) willingly that evening. Indeed, in the seven or eight weeks that had elapsed since the hospital scene our amiable readers have just witnessed, our two heroes were rather loathe to part from one another, when given the choice. To such a degree that Judy accompanied Nick on his donut purchasing sprees, and Nick had already come jogging with Judy thrice (if one counted this hailstorm-interrupted-expedition). What our dear Mister Wilde felt in the depth of his private heart about going out for a run, an activity he had once fervently promised Miss Hopps he would not engage in except of course when forced to do it for training or for work, one can only guess. It seems pertinent to point out however that the fox bore it tolerably well in the end. Perhaps the changes that had taken effect in the small penthouse recently provided - compensation - enough to render the new habit bearable.

And everything had changed, Judy thought, glancing idly around the cosy living room. How ironic that things seemed exactly the same; same comfy plush sofa, same chipper patterned teacups and teapot on the kitchen counter, and the begonia Jack had offered them stored safely on its stool in the corner, out of the bitter late autumn chill that had settled in the garden. Everything the same, yet everything had changed, and in so short a length of time!

"Better," the exuberant tones of Nicholas Piberius announced, jolting our heroine out of her reverie, as he made his appearance on the scene, having exited the bathroom. "Nothing beats a hot shower after being caught in that mess!" With that remark the fox dabbed his furry face with the towel draped around his shoulders, getting the last of the water droplets out.

Judy flushed at Nick's appearance and issued a quick would-be nonchalant 'yup!' of consent. The reason for her discomfiture could perhaps be traced to the fact that our hero found it perfectly acceptable to come forth in nothing but a fresh pair of trousers and the aforementioned towel hanging around his neck. That was definitely one of the things that had changed as of late, Judy remarked to herself, taking a hurried and unnecessarily huge gulp of steaming camomile tea and scalding her tongue in the process.

"So," Nick leapt easily over the back of the sofa and landed beside Judy, nearly causing her to topple to the floor. "Jog was cut short by the hail," he added, helping the bunny balance herself properly in a sitting position again. "What does that mean then? Did I earn it?" he smiled into Judy's flustered face.

"Earn what?" Judy stammered, instinctively holding her hot mug between them as if it were some sort of shield.

Nick's eyes gleamed with mirth as he took in her reaction.

"The jam tart, you rabbit," he said lightly, tweaking her nose kindly. "Get your brain out of the gutter! Wasn't that my prize for coming out to jog with you?"

"Oh right, that!" Judy tweaked Nick's nose back readily and laughed. "Well, it wasn't your fault we had to go back early and you did come almost willingly this time, or at least without whining. So I should think so, yes!" with that she bent over and pulled a pastry box from under the couch smartly.

"The simplest hiding places prove to be the most effective ones, don't they Carrots?" Nick winked, accepting it from her; "What the-" he frowned at the box and then blinked at her. "Tony's? Really? When you said 'jam tarts' I thought you just meant like supermarket-bought ones. I'd have gone out and ran for less, you know!"

"Yes well," Judy shrugged, smiling. "I know you like these best. And it happened to be on my way when I was out on patrol with Francine today... so."

Nick's expression softened somewhat, as he looked back at her.

"You two were on patrol in Rainforest Miss," he told her. "I bumped into Forgetful Francine before leaving the office and she told me about it and how she'd gotten soaked while you two went to inspect those tree-dwellers' streets. And Tony's," he added unnecessarily. "Is all the way out in East Savannah."

"Um," Judy blushed a little. "Maybe it wasn't exactly on my way. But whatever, I knew you'd enjoy them. And.. you've been through a lot not too long ago," she added, catching sight of his shin that still bore some evident scars from the stitches he had received following his injury on the fateful night of the concert.

"Your kindness is greatly appreciated Carrots," Nick returned, smiling warmly down at her. He opened the box of pastry and sniffed appreciatively. "Care for one?" he asked, holding the box out for Judy.

"Don't mind if I do," Judy beamed back, accepting the treat and settling back on the sofa.

The pair chewed in comfortable silence for a moment, their mouths full of yummy jammy crust. Nick had a tart in each paw, but his tail was wrapped around Judy, who had nestled closer to him on the couch, and tucked her feet under its bushy orange fur as if it were a handy duvet. 'Was this real?' Judy wondered dreamily, as she watched a tiny airplane zooming overhead, its lights winking through the gaps in the thick dark clouds.

"Bite the bullet then Miss," Nick said suddenly, jolting her out of her reverie. "Now that I've been fortified and my blood sugar is up. How was it?"

"How was what?" Judy asked, her eyes back oh Nick's.

"Bunnyburrow, what else," Nick raised his eyebrows comically. "You never got the chance to tell me about the Sunday at your parents' and... how it went down?"

"Oh right," Judy giggled. "That."

It was hardly surprising that Nick and Judy hadn't gotten much opportunity of talking things over since Judy'd gotten back from visiting her family the night before. Both mammals were currently going in to work at the office; due to the injury he'd sustained, Nick's training was temporarily on pause and he'd not been sent back to Rocky Hills as of yet. Nor was he on active patrol at this time, finding himself ear deep in paperwork which was of course far less physically demanding to his injured self (and very demanding on his boredom tolerance threshold he'd informed Judy gloomily.) Still, he would be able to resume training as soon as the doctor and physiotherapist he was seeing okayed his recovery, and the added perk was that Judy, who had been fully approved to pursue the training after the inquiry into her prequalification test had been completed (revealing Margaret Frost's forgery) had been told that (in compensation of the unfair treatment she had suffered) she was free to choose the month she would commence the training at Rocky Hills herself. This effectively meant that if the two took good care, they could very well head to the training grounds together and avoid the necessity of another prolonged separation.

Thus all in all a somewhat puzzled Chief Bogo had found Officer Wilde not altogether displeased when he'd had to inform him that he was on report duty until his leg healed completely. Not that, despite every discretion our heroes undertook, it seemed very likely that their friends at work would remain in the darkness for very long regarding the evolution of the nature of the two young officers' relationship. These things had a way of getting about a workspace, one thing and another adding up till it became obvious to one and all. Nick and Judy had held a quick conference on the drive to work one morning and agreed that they could hardly deny they were together, if asked directly by their boss for example, even if it got them 'in trouble'. As it were, it didn't seem likely it would, and the two young animals were fast discovering that (as often is the case) they were much more the ones shocked at what had come to pass between them than anyone else. A brochure containing the details of what was and what wasn't acceptable if mammals involved in a personal relationship were working together at the ZPD was discovered one morning among the paperwork on Judy's desk (appearing after Bogo had passed to see her about some robberies she'd handled the previous year). And Clawhauser had been more beaming and jokey with both Nick and Judy than usual, but not in a nosy way.

In this manner, work seemed to be shaping up pretty well around the freshly dating Judy and Nick. That was only part of the equation of course. There was more, so much more. And the much more was mostly their families. Judy hadn't felt she could keep her relationship with Nick a secret from her folks for any extended period of time; she was likely to slip up in a phone chat sooner or later, and much preferred to bite the bullet and tell them point blank. Hence the news that her recently wed sister Pansy (the seamstress we first encountered a few chapters back, if our esteemed reader would be so good as to cast among their memories) was visiting Mister and Mrs Hopps with her husband Bobbie that week-end had been all the excuse Judy had needed for inviting herself over as well, intent on imparting the necessary piece of news. How the scene had played out was exactly what Nick was anxiously waiting to hear about as the two lounged on the sofa.

"Am I to expect every member of the Hopps clan old enough to carry a pitchfork and a fox taser to show up at my doorstep within the next twenty four hours?" he asked Judy, only half-joking.

"Maybe not every..." Judy started teasingly, before she saw his face. "Oh Nick, lighten up! It went down much better than I thought it would, honest it did?"

"Yes?" the fox's ears perked up hopefully.

"Yes," Judy laid a reassuring paw on his. "Pansy being there with Bobbie had already mellowed my parents somewhat and they were happy to see me after all that mess with the concert. And then you know... I just up and told them," she shrugged. "It was hardly ideal, as there are always so many of my younger siblings hanging around eavesdropping on everything you say, but that can't be helped. And Pansy and Bobbie were finishing their tea. But I just said it! I went, Mom, Dad, there's something I really need to tell you, and that's that me and Nick have started going out together."

"And they said, please Jude the Dude, tell us 'Nick' is some bunny friend from your childhood you reconnected with on one of those online chat thingies," Nick suggested, shaking his head, impressed at her bravery despite himself.

"Not a bit of it," Judy thrust her chin out. "They knew perfectly well I meant you, who else could it be? Both Mom and Dad were somewhat stricken of course, but Pansy came through marvellously and piped in that she always thought we'd have made a great match. Then Mom sort of unfroze and she started to say something hesitantly about how she knew times had changed, but they had been imagining something different for me, like when they'd tried to set me up with Jack who they still think is named Harry-"

"Of course," Nick passed a weary paw over his eyes briefly. "How can one forget. The infamous Hopps' matchmaking scheme."

"Yes," Judy sniffed irritably. "I went ahead and told them not to bother with any more of that, because after getting to know Jack further I had found out that he was an undercover criminal and that he was already married - to an arctic vixen from a famed mafia clan - so he'd hardly have had eyes for me in the first place."

Nick broke out in peals of genuine laughter.

"Bet they loved that," he offered, wiping away tears of mirth.

"There wasn't much to counter to that," Judy confirmed placidly. "My Mom just went oh, oh, oh my. And then she rallied and said that they of course knew you were a decent animal. And Dad suddenly came through! He sort of cuffed me on one ear and said, as long as you're happy Jude the Dude."

"Wow," Nick shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching. "They've come a long way."

"They have and they will some more," Judy agreed happily. "What about your Mom Nick? When will you tell her?"

"Already done," Nick replied laconically, polishing off another pastry and grinning down at Judy.

The rabbit practically jumped in her seat, making the box of jam tarts topple dangerously.

"You're kidding!" she exclaimed, rescuing the tarts. "But when - you hadn't told me you'd been to see her - I thought-"

"Naw, I didn't do it in person," Nick rolled his eyes. "It was just too much to imagine. I'd rather let her get over her initial glee in private. I just put it in a text I sent her."

"No way," Judy had to hide her bemused grin with a paw. "How on earth did that text run?"

"Don't remember exactly," he shrugged. "But something like, this and that, work's been full, injury healing, oh yeah, me and Carrots are like a thing now and we'll come see you together next time, love ya."

Judy squirmed a bit, half-embarrassed and half-pleased. It was still new enough, their going out together, that it gave her a thrill when she heard Nick actually put it into words.

"Think she'll react ok?" she asked anxiously. "Me being a bunny - it won't-?..."

"Relax Carrots," Nick laughed merrily. "She loves you, and she'd all but given up hope of my ever settling down... little blame to her, mind you," he finished with a chortle.

"So that's that," Judy exhaled gustily. "And I have to be honest with you Nick, FruFru knows too."

"Fine with me," Nick had finally had his fill of jam tarts and he leaned back against the sofa back, stretching. "We pretty much owe that shrew our necks, and she's a great chum of yours."

"That she is," Judy agreed fervently. "And guess what Nick, she had some news of her own! She'll be having another baby come spring, little JuJu will be a big sister!"

"Well that's hardly shocking," Nick considered the matter. "But I am extra glad no harm came to her during that blessed concert."

"Hear hear," Judy nodded. "She told me she'll be taking some time off with working at the hair salon when the new baby comes, but the operation is running so smoothly now that her assistant - the field mouse, you know, Janie - can take over for the time being without it being too much of a strain."

"She's an organised one, your shrewmother pal," Nick observed. "Runs in the family; Big is insanely meticulous in all his business enterprises... including our dear old Zootopia building and the loan he gave us," he added as an afterthought.

"The loan that started it all and got us living here," Judy agreed fondly, patting the sofa arm affectionately.

"Yes," Nick agreed with a sigh. "And I had better tell you straight Carrots, that while we're doing pretty well here, I doubt we'll ever manage to pay off the entire sum Big lent us. We'll be the owners of the penthouse and maybe of a couple of the flats for rent alright, but he will hold the upper paw on the major part of the building."

"I think that's fine," Judy said quietly. "I figured as much and I touched on the subject with FruFru. Hope you don't mind. She figures her father won't mind letting us have the penthouse and the part of the flats we have managed to pay back as our property and keeping the rest in his name, renting it out as well."

"It sounds like the best conclusion our daring venture could have aspired to," Nick said after a thoughtful pause. "What say you we celebrate and have a pizza night tomorrow then? Pull all the stops out," he added with a wink.

"Great idea, pizza to top off the jam tarts," Judy shook her head with mock gravity. "But it'll have to come late in the evening you know, or did you forget we promised to go to the orphanage to take Charlie on an outing after work?"

"Is it already tomorrow eve, that?" Nick scratched his chin in astonishment. "The weeks sort of fly by on one, geez."

"We could have pizza out on the town with the kid," Judy suggested. "You know how he is, he won't ask but he'll be thrilled if we offer."

"I know only too well," Nick agreed, shaking his head. "And it sounds like a plan."

"He really sprouted in height this last month, huh?" Judy had her chin cupped in her paw as she thought over the last time they'd seen the young boy, the previous week. "He really seems to love it when we take him out."

"Well, it's fun for us too," Nick shrugged. "So where's the harm?"

Judy opened her mouth as if she had something to say to this, thought better of it and instead indicated two thick silvery envelopes lying side by side on the coffee table.

"If you are quite done munching on your sweets Nick, here's the post I was telling you about. See, they look petty smart, and there's one addressed to you and one to me. Let's open them and see what that's all about?"

"Let's," Nick agreed, picking the envelope addressed to 'Nicholas P Wilde' up curiously and starting to slice it open with a sharp claw. "Looks like invitations," he added. "There're RSVPs..."

Both animals perused the matching neat paw-written cards in silence for a moment before turning to peer at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Vow renewal?" Nick quoted. "Is that a thing? Savage the Bunny and Skye Snowfox feel their vows need to be refreshed after going through all that mess with the family?"

"Likely they want to have a big party to celebrate their reunion and everything ending well," Judy suggested. "Sort of thing they'd do, lavish event, you know... look at the venue! Palm Tree Central Hall, and the dinner is black tie!"

Nick snorted.

"Well that's a no for me," he commented decisively.

"Aw, come on!" Judy shoved him. "Make an effort! They're nice enough to invite us-"

"They would not have been reunited if it hadn't been for us Carrots-" Nick pointed out.

"And I've never been to Palm Tree Hall!" Judy added bouncing up and down in excitement. "You won't make me go alone, will you Nick?"

Nick looked at her to see if she were serious and was met with the most earnest and appealing pair of deep violet eyes imaginable. He sighed briefly, already wondering where he'd be borrowing a full evening wear suit from. He knew when he was beat.

Still, beat was one thing. There was also such a thing as the conditions of one's capitulation.

"You want to go that much Carrots?" he laughed, tapping her nose with a finger. "Say please!"

Judy shook her head and rolled her eyes at this, but she still folded her paws in a mock-pleading gesture.

"Oh Nicholas Piberius," she started in pompous tones. "Would you please, please, pretty candy-topped please do me the honour of accompanying me-" she broke off giggling as Nick shoved her with a 'way to oversell Carrots!' She shoved him back and a mock battle ensued on the couch, the results of which more than satisfied both parties concerned, though no prisoners were taken.

Ah, I must put it in here, the vow renewal prompt was an idea of Brutus's, thanks so much :)

A Whole New World (Extended Epilogue). Part 3.

Once again, the vow renewal prompt was an idea of Brutus's, thanks so much :)

Wildehopper - glad to hear it :)
The Red Omega - we shall soon know ;)
GhostWolf88 - ditto, we will soon know :)
imjustlikehumphery - glad you're enjoying it!

Here we go everyone :)

Palm Tree Hall was indeed an imposing grand venue. One of the chicest, most sought-out elegant places in the entire city of Zootropolis to hold a special celebration, it housed such occasions as the mayor's inauguration or the annual cancer research fundraising ball, to name a couple. What strings The Savages had had to pull to secure the hall for their vow renewal celebration, Nick and Judy could only guess.

"They live in a universe completely different from ours, after all," Judy pointed out philosophically, as she and Nick made their way to the ceremony.

Nick snorted.

"A universe we are most often trying to corner and place behind bars you mean," he pointed out dryly as he walked along the street briskly.

Judy was pleased to see that every sign of a limp was gone from Nick's stride. Three weeks had elapsed from the scene our dear reader will have just witnessed, and the major changes one could detect were that Nicholas Piberius had definitely recovered from the wound he had sustained, and of course the fact that winter had descended on the city in earnest. The rainy gloomy skies were replaced by dazzling sunny frozen mornings and early chilling dusks, plus a definite bite of frost in the air and, on a couple of occasions, a sprinkle of snow in the districts outside of Tundra Town (where snow was a steady nearly year-round fixture).

"By 'put behind bars'," Charlie piped up, "do you mean put in prison Nick?"

Judy saw Nick's ears twitch as he realised his blunder and heard her chosen one unintelligently stammer 'Um' in response to this inquiry. Nick sought out Judy's gaze in a mute appeal for help and Judy buried her nose deeper into the scarf wound around her neck to hide a laugh. Charlie had been invited along to the party as well by an insistent Sylvester Savage. His parents had accepted gracefully and the orphanage hadn't raised any objections, given how it was Nick and Judy taking him out for the night, and the two had long since established a solid foundation of trust with the little guy.

"Nick was just using a metaphor Charlie," Judy said smoothly, smiling down at the young bunny who was walking between the two of them, holding onto a paw of either.

"Oh," he digested this. "What's a metaphor Judy?"

"It's kind of like a joke," she explained authoritatively. "But a bit different."

"Right," the youngster seemed to have lost interest in that particular thread of conversation by that point. "Do you think Sly's parents ordered a big cake for the dinner?"

"You're smooth Carrots," Nick commented with faint admiration. "Talking right around the issue."

"I have two hundred plus siblings," she returned casually. "And I am sure they ordered a massive cake Charlie, given the number of mammals they've invited!"

Judy's prediction was confirmed to be true later that evening. as supper was served in the imposing hall by a dozen smartly dressed waiters. A dozen was really not too many to ask for, because there were a hundred and fifty guests present at a rough head count. FruFru had been invited as well as our two heroes (though whether this was due to her involvement in the concert business, or to the fact that Jack and Skye didn't wish to overlook the influential Big clan was a tricky question. Mr Big was also spotted at the rodent table, laughing gaily with some cronies of his over the stew that provided the hot starter dish.

"Judy," the now-very-obviously-pregnant FruFru cried out, rushing over to greet her, her dazzling gown of silver chiffon shimmering in the candlelight along with the many tiny diamond studs she had put into her elegant updo for the occasion. "What an event! How charming! And the ceremony! It was perfectly-"

"Long?" a gruff voice suggested from behind Nick, causing all three mammals to whip around to see Finnick striding along to greet them as well. Judy was surprised and touched that he had been included in the invitation - very undoubtedly due to his involvement in the events of the disastrous concert night that had ultimately resulted in the imprisonment of Margaret Frost - and doubly touched that the fennec fox had at least more or less abided by the dress code, as he had donned a white shirt, black pair of trousers and black bow tie for the night. "That was the darnest longest bit of waffle I've ever sat through," Finnick concluded, sliding onto a chair beside Nick's and loosening his bow tie with a casual paw.

"There's no help for that, Mister Finnick," FruFru replied, hopping atop the table with Judy's help and sitting down on the linen tablecloth, spreading her gown out evenly. "You do know that in the event of... well, vow exchanges in a cross-species couple it's a smallish department of the city council run entirely by sloths that handles the affair."

"I didn't - how'd you want me to know a thing like that?" Finnick complained. "Would have reconsidered coming if I had known. Still, grub is decent," he added fairly. "If dessert is as good it makes up for the drag."

"The dessert is supposedly very good," Nick reassured him, laughing and loosening his own tie. "Charlie - that's our young friend running after the Savage kid way over there - had it from Sylvester Savage. Some huge triple chocolate and truffle concoction apparently."

"Which figures," Judy leaned her chin on her paw and grinned at FruFru. "Savage is a chocolatier after all... or he is in his free time from his main work."

"Better he quit the main line of wok altogether and stay in the chocolate business," FruFru suggested crisply. "Especially now he's exchanged vows with Skye a second time around and taken official responsibility for setting a good example for their brood there. Judy," she added, after casting an appraising glance over her friend. "Your dress is amazing! Wherever did you get it?"

"Oh," Judy flushed with pleasure at the praise coming from her fashionista friend. "Do you think so?" I didn't get it anywhere, truth be told! My sister Pansy - you know, the seamstress - went and designed and made it for me when she knew we'd all been invited to a ball thing way out here. She kept saying I had to look the part at such an event. So I owe this nice outfit to her," Judy plucked at the skirts of her creamy violet gown, pleased. Her dress was in truth far from being as elaborate and flamboyant as FruFru's; it was a simple affair with a straight neckline, spaghetti straps, a flowing skirt and violets embroidered along the hem. But it suited Judy to a T and brought out her eyes perfectly.

"Pansy should set up shop in the city," FruFru said bluntly. "She'd be a roaring success."

"And Carrots here should set up as her lead model," Nick added with a small kind laugh, pulling Judy's ear. "She'd rope all the customers in."

"You're always teasing me Nick," Judy replied, fake-punching his arm, but only in pretence. She could tell he had meant the compliment.

"Nice to see you're all having a good time, and thanks for bringing Charlie too," a melodious voice interrupted them.

The small group whipped around in their seats to see Skye and Jack themselves coming over to their table. The couple who had newly renewed their vows were obviously 'doing' the turn of tables to chat to their dining guests. Jack looked more relaxed and genuinely happy than Judy and Nick had ever seen him. As for Skye, she was a vision in a long trailing pale grey silk dress studded with pearls. She wore a stunning set of pearl earrings and a pearl necklace with several layers to match, not to mention the brand new wedding ring Jack had placed on her finger during the ceremony with its huge bright solitaire. Judy spotted the plain looking silver chain with its tiny diamond pendant Jack had given her during their earlier days together, that she had held on to through thick and thin, among the layers of pearls though, and it made the bunny cop smile a bit.

"Everything to your liking Officers?" Jack asked Nick and Judy, indicating the table laden with food, the festively decorated hall and the crowd of laughing and chattering guests in one swooping generous gesture.

"Everything is awesome," Judy said warmly. "Thanks for having us."

"Everything... and the ceremony only lasted about three hours," Nick added with a gleam in his eye.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed, embarrassed at his jest.

Jack seemed to be in a mood to be pleased with everything and everyone though, and he threw his head back and laughed obligingly.

"And that's only because it's a renewal," he said, wiping away tears of mirth. "If either of you had been present at our actual wedding Officers... that well and about overshot the six hours mark, didn't it love?"

"That would be about it, yes," Skye agreed with a reminiscent grin.

"Goodness," FruFru muttered to Judy as the couple of the hour drifted away to chat to some other guests. "Six hours worth of one of those sloths droning on and on through their texts! Couple ought to be motivated to go through that if you ask me."

"I guess," Judy agreed absently. She was keeping an eye on Charlie instinctively. He was still rushing around, chasing after Sylvester and whooping with laughter. Judy wondered whether she ought to find some excuse to pull him away for a time out, for it sounded to her that his screeches were reaching that alarming 'over-excited' octave.

"So," FruFru said from beside her elbow in an undertone, as Nick and Finnick chatted away on her other side. "Your parents approved of Nick then?"

"Oh, approved, accepted, they didn't raise much objection anyhow," Judy returned, shrugging. "Honestly FruFru, the whole thing went down much better than I could have imagined."

"Good to know," FruFru beamed.

"Yes," Judy frowned slightly. "Though I am still waiting with baited breath for the first time we all hang out together officially you know. Wonder how they'll treat Nick then." Judy refilled her water glass and took a sip, shrugging in a would-be nonchalant way. "Guess I'll find out soon enough though; they said they'd come up to the city to visit us in some two weeks or so."

"Oh," FruFru digested this. Her tiny ears perked up with a sudden idea. "You should bring Charlie along when you have them over," she piped.

"What?" Judy looked down at her friend with raised eyebrows. "Whatever for?"

"It'll break the ice," FruFru said wisely. "Kids always do! Lighten the atmosphere."

"I don't know," Judy commented a touch dubiously. "I'd have to go around explaining things to Charlie first. Talk about awkward!"

"Don't explain much," FruFru replied. "Just tell the boy you're meeting up with your parents! And as for explanations, I am sure he is aware you and Nick are together now."

"How could he be?" Judy asked baffled. "We haven't told him anything."

"Kids," FruFru shrugged. "They have this sixth sense. They just about read the minds of the grown-ups they care about. Little JuJu knew I was expecting baby here way before I told her," she added, patting her baby bump fondly.

Judy was hesitant about following FruFru's advice, but to her slight astonishment both Nick and Charlie hailed the idea as a brilliant one when she voiced it to them. To her further surprise and somewhat amusement, the shrew was once again proven to be right.

Meeting her parents at Zootropolis Central Train Station with Nick by her side was somehow immediately rendered free of any trace of awkwardness when she thrust Charlie forward saying, 'And this is Charlie Mom and Dad, the boy I've told you guys about."

Charlie went to shake Mr and Mrs' Hopps' paws readily with an easy, 'Is it true you live on a carrot farm?' as an opening remark.

From there on out it was smooth sailing for the rest of the Hopps' visit. Stu and Bonnie were so used to having dozens of children about them that they fell in sync with Charlie immediately, and answered his many questions about life at Bunnyburrow patiently as they made their way along the busy metropolis streets, Nick and Judy tagging along behind them.

"I'll say this for kits," Nick whispered at Judy as he shook his head fondly at Charlie's back. "They sure can talk circles around a body."

"Hear hear," Judy agreed happily, mentally thanking FruFru for her advice.

Charlie seemed to be present at nearly every major event of our heroes' lives these days. He was also invited when it was Judy's turn to 'officially' be presented (again) to Nick's Mom. Not that the rabbit had feared there'd be much of a heavy atmosphere that time around, but somehow Charlie just ended up being there nevertheless. He praised Mrs' Wilde's blueberry tart heartily and sincerely and left with our two heroes after a cheerful visit with a generous slab of pie in a paper bag under his arm.

Undoubtedly though, the most significant event the young rabbit assisted to so far as our heroes were concerned took place during the spring two years after the events of the concert fiasco. Our two favourite ZPD officers, accompanied by their faithful young charge, found themselves randomly wandering through the Rainforest district.

"Oh," Charlie said suddenly, cutting off his own endless line of chatter about a new TV show he was really into that seemed to centre around dinosaurs. "Can we go on one of those cable cars? Please, Nick, Judy? I've always wanted to but never been somehow."

"You've never been?" Judy raised her eyebrows. "Then of course, let's go! The view is amazing, you'll see."

"Right this way for the stunning vista of our unique capital young man," Nick said jokingly, holding a cabin door open for Charlie and Judy.

"It's high isn't it?" Charlie commented when they were off, peeking over the edge. "I'm not scared of heights though or nothing. But it's not too fast-going is it? I like it. It's like in one of those computer games I've played with Sly, there's one about-"

"Hm," Judy muttered, only half-listening. her mind suddenly full of a distant memory of the first time she and Nick had gone on one such cable car. She glanced at the fox and guessed with a smile that he was remembering the same thing. The pair exchanged a look of incredulous joy and some wonder.

"To think," Judy said reminiscently.

"Yup," Nick rubbed his nose with a somewhat dazed expression. "To think! Carrots," he suddenly added, making both her and Charlie jump.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Let's do it," Nick said jubilantly, obviously following some mental thread of his own. "Let's get hitched! I mean," he broke off, seeing how completely astounded both rabbits looked at this seemingly random remark. Officer Wilde flushed a tad. "Sorry," he rectified hurriedly. "You must think this is totally crazy and whatnot. I've thought about it a bit though and - dumb thing - sometimes when I think about something a lot, I sort of forget I haven't discussed it with you yet," he gave a self-deprecating would-be casual laugh.

"I see," Judy said a bit faintly. She knit her eyebrows, a bit confused. "So did you think about it a bit or a lot?" she added. "Which one is it?" A gleam came into her eye.

"Oh stuff it Carrots," Nick grumbled, his colour rising further.

Judy giggled at that, but not unkindly. In truth it was because a bubble of pure delight was starting to inflate in her chest.

"How you do sweep a damsel off her feet Nicholas Piberius," she commented with a mock swoon.

"Alright rabbit," Nick raised his paws defensively. "You've had your fun. Let's forget the whole thing."

"Forget?" Judy stared at him. "It was a proposal! I'm supposed to reply."

"Yes well," Nick grimaced. "Maybe now isn't the time. We'll hear what you have to say later."

No one will ever know what Judy would have had to say to that because Charlie, who had been listening in on this exchange intently without comment suddenly broke in fervently.

"Later?" he exclaimed indignantly. "That's not on! That's not how it goes on TV! Judy has to answer now!"

Both of our heroes jumped somewhat; they had temporarily forgotten about the presence of a third party at the scene.

"At once?" Judy echoed, looking a bit dazed.

"At once," Charlie confirmed, stomping his foot on the floor of the cable car in a gesture not unlike Judy's when she was frustrated.

"Um..." Judy scratched her ear and shifted her gaze from an impatient Charlie to a slightly nervous-looking Nick. A sudden grin split her face.

"Then there's only one answer possible I guess," she laughed hugging an instantly relieved fox around the neck. "Who could say no?"

"Of course," Nick lifted her up a bit, smiling widely himself. "After I stunned you with my perfect prose and all Miss Hopps. It was a closed deal!"

"Oh gross," was Charlie's comment as he covered his eyes, shuddering, to avoid seeing our two young mammals kiss. There was no denying that the youngster was very happy for Nick and Judy, but still. Witnessing a kiss of all things was off the table.

Charlie was forced to bear witness to a second kiss between Nick and Judy though, as were many other mammals, when the wedding ceremony actually took place of course. It was not a grand affair, not like the Savage's vow renewal had been. Indeed, it took place the following summer in no other location than on the spacious roof of the Zootopia building. In the balmy warm weather the rooftop was a convenient location to welcome all the mammals who had shown up to wish the happy couple a bright new beginning.

Judy's entire family was present and her many siblings had brought dozens and dozens of flowers from the farm to decorate the venue. Judy's bouquet of daisies and other field flowers echoed the decorations, as did her flowing creamy gown and veil embroidered with posies (courtesy once again of her seamstress sister). Nick wore a white shirt and light beige suit which was perfect for the summer day, and Mrs Wilde looked with tears in her eyes at her son who she was finally seeing standing up to say his 'I dos'. That is, she did so when she wasn't submerged knee-deep in the many, many rabbits that constituted her in-laws now and who came over one after another to introduce themselves to her.

FruFru was there with her husband, with JuJu and little TimTim, her youngest who was by then a toddler of two. Finnick was lounging in his seat, head thrown back with aviator glasses on, enjoying the warm rays of the setting sun, and the Savages were all there as well, Sylvester having already run off to hang out with Charlie. And of course a host of friends from the ZPD was attending, not the least being Chief Bogo and Clawhauser.

A ginormous barbecue and many tables laden with salads, fruit, jellies, pies and cake were prepared for the meal, and a dancefloor improvised in the far corner of the rooftop was waiting for when night fell and the strobe lights came on. It was truly a night to remember.

Once one got over the actual ceremony, that was. It had not been a joke, it was the absolute truth; the ceremony lasted just under six hours. The guests bore it out about halfway through, until first the kids and then finally the adults all started humming, chatting to each other, nodding off or wandering around, stretching their legs. The positive thing that could be pointed out was that the minister in charge, a Mister Speed, who was actually a cousin of Flash's, was blissfully unaware of the inattentive guests. He was rather old after all and seemed to be quite deaf to boot. Once Nick and Judy had figured this out, they were quite free to chat in lowered tones themselves, as they stood up bravely through the whole ordeal.

"Everything you ever dreamed of Miss?" Nick asked Judy with a wink.

"Marrriiiaggeeee..." Mister Speed droned on, oblivious. "Is a verrrryy serrrriouussss"

"Everything and more," Judy confirmed, beaming. "Or at least it will be when this part is done," she added, with a comical look at the minister.

"Oh I don't know," Nick said in a fake-serious manner. "Gives you time to do a runner if you realize you've made a mistake half-way through. That's something."

"...Notttt ttttooo be takeeeen liiiightlyyyyy..." the minister continued.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed indignantly before lowering her voice hurriedly. "How can you say that! As if I'd do such a thing!"

"Just kidding Carrots, keep your tail on," he joked back at her.

"By annnnyyyyoooonnnneeee..." Mister Speed read on doggedly from his notes.

"Are you having any second thoughts?" Judy asked in sudden slight alarm, noticing a faint crease between Nick's eyebrows.

"No!" he replied at once, looking at her. "It was more for your sake... I mean, I don't know, having your whole family out here like this, it did make me realize," he broke off awkwardly.

"Realize what Nick?" Judy asked quietly, reaching for his paw and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"We maybe should have talked about this sooner," he said apologetically, holding onto her paw too. "But I hadn't thought... you won't mind it Judy? That it'll just be the two of us? That we can't have kids I mean?" he finally blurted out, looking at his bride anxiously.

The magnitude of the question was somewhat lessened by the background of Mister Speed's slow and ponderous page-turning gesture.

"Of course I know we can't have any," Judy whispered back, as soon as the minister started reading out loud from the next page. "But that doesn't mean we can't have a family of our own."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, not following.

Judy looked up at him, violet eyes earnest under her veil.

"We could always adopt," she said as casually as she could.

Nick stood rather rooted to the spot, gaping at her as Mister Speed contentedly said from in front of him, 'We assssskk ourssseeelvessss whhhhyyy marriageeee hassss beeeeen-'

"Adopt," the fox finally repeated. He passed an unheeding paw over his brow. The thought had never once crossed his mind. But as soon as the word was uttered, the penny dropped with an ear-splitting clatter. He understood in a second what and whom Judy meant.

"Yes," she said hesitantly, scanning Nick's face for a reaction. "I mean if he'll have us," she added fairly.

Nick didn't ask whom she meant by 'he', he didn't need to.

"I don't know Carrots," he said slowly. "I'm not sure I'm parent material."

"Don't write yourself off Nick!" the future Mrs Wilde said hotly. "You wouldn't have thought you were ZPD Officer material, or husband material for that matter, some years back, yet here you are!"

"Yes, that's true," he smiled at her.

"Take a chance," Judy suggested with a shrug. "You have to believe in yourself in this life."

"Truer words, bunny," Nick replied. He sighed meditatively. "Perhaps it's worth a shot. If he'll have us," he repeated.

"I think there's a good chance," Judy said brightly. "And you'll see Nick, I'm sure that when we actually do have kids you'll-"

"Kids?" Nick looked at her narrowly. "Now listen to me, Carrots. I won't deny I love the little guy. He's grown on me, like on you, and maybe we have enough on him too. But hear me when I tell you this."

"Yes?" Judy looked up at him anxiously.

"I am putting my foot down on this one," Nick said in mock severity. "We adopt one kid Carrots. That one. If he wants to come with us. But that's that and that's final."

"Ok," Judy nodded fervently. "It's a deal!"

"Theeennnnn... yooooouuu mayyyyyy... kisss..."

A sudden hush fell over the babbling crowd as all the guests realized that a beaming Mister Speed had come to that all-important point in his recital. The happy couple themselves were caught off-guard due to their conversation, but quickly recovered.

"Well, here's to our new life Carrots," Nick said, ginning and holding out his paw for Judy.

"Yup!" she agreed happily, before hopping into his arms for her kiss, to the cheers of the crowd.

There will be some more yet ;)

A Whole New World (Extended Epilogue). Part 4.

The Red Omega - All good things must end someday my friend!

Everyone - The Red Omega has it quite correctly, we have reached the last bit of the fanfic! (gasp) After this I will just splice together the different parts of this Epilogue Chapter 'A Whole New World' and re-upload them altogether for more convenient perusing but yes, this is the end of the story :)

That being said, it maybe isn't the end of my writing about Nick and Judy, I love them so much and the Zootopia fandom :) I wrote a short piece quite some time ago that you can check out in my profile, about Nick and Judy's married life, it takes place at roughly the same time as what will follow here. I think that if I keep delving into the fandom then what I will write about would be the years right after Nick and Judy get married, how their work life and domestic life progresses. Or something entirely different after the second film comes out and we all see what canon plotline the writers choose.

So let's not be sad about this dear readers; after all we can't have one story that drags on and on, a point has to be set down somewhere. But again, it hardly needs to be the end of our diving into Nick and Judy's adventures :)

As for this story, I am rather satisfied altogether; I have tied up all the knots hopefully (but if anyone still has some unresolved questions or bits that are unclear after reading this last bit, feel free to ask in the feedback reviews or PM!) I am vastly pleased to have arrived here, the story had always been planned around Jack and Skye's making an appearance, the criminal plot and the love story reaching their summit at the concert and these happy scenes that follow :) So there we are :)

An enormous thank you goes to all of you lovely people who have been reading and supporting me so much through this story, with particular thanks and mentions (hopefully not forgetting anyone!) to The Red Omega for checking in on me during the hiatus, Orieon for all the support in the early days, AeonFeral, FullTimeFangirl93, Brutus, Imjustlikehumphery, Gallawaychi, NextGeneration18, WildeHopper, GhostWolf88 for all the great feedback and prompts :) Virtual hugs all around :) You guys rock 3

Let's do this ;)

Two years later.

"But why?" Janet Wilde demanded, her emerald green eyes flashing.

"Because I said so," her father, Nicholas Piberius Wilde, repeated patiently for the umpteenth time.

"But why?" she asked again, starting to stomp her foot on the floor in that nervy twitching way rabbits had about them when they were getting irritated. Behind her back, her brother Charlie rolled his eyes expressively at the ceiling and continued munching on his apple without comment. My trooper, Nick thought with weary appreciation.

"Janet," Nick said, facing his daughter as calmly as he could. "Honeypops," he added for good measure. "You have four brothers and sisters. How on earth do you think your mother and I are going to be able to buy an expensive new cellphone for each of you three times a year, or however often that stuff comes out, and still be able to put bread on the table? You've an A in math my dear, you can surely tot the numbers up quite easily."

"But this is a special promotional offer," Janet whined, pulling her long ears down along the sides of her face in agitation. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity Daddy! And it's not so much, seventy five bucks altogether."

"Right," Nick sighed, biting back his exasperation. "Janet, honey. Like I said, there's five of you, your mother and I are not buying fifteen new mobile phones a year for plum pudding's sake. You've a perfectly serviceable phone already. You know the rules; you want some luxury for yourself, you go earn money, pick up the babysitting hours. And mind you, that's only allowed if your studies are going well and your grades are up to standard. I'm waiting for that spring term report to see if you've started handing your essays in on time Miss."

This of course all sounded perfectly reasonable and logical, so Janet latched onto the one thing she thought she could still argue about.

"It's not my fault I have four siblings!" she wailed pitifully, wringing her paws together like a fifties' black and white soap operetta's lead actress. "It's not fair! I didn't ask to be part of such a huge bunch of kits!"

No, Nick thought, half-amused and half-exasperated. He hadn't asked for it either. In fact, he distinctly remembered placing his one condition on Carrots, aka the newly hitched Mrs Nicholas P Wilde, on the day of their nuptials, and that condition had been that they adopt one child only (if any), that one being Charlie, whom they had already come to know and love.

Well, Charlie was their son alright, no mistake about it. But somehow, he had ended up very much not alone. She was a sly bunny, his wife, Nick reflected speculatively, when everything was said and done. She had sneaked them past his nose, one by one. Not literally of course. But the whole thing had sort of snowballed out of any measure of control...

When they'd approached him, Charlie had been ecstatic about the idea of becoming Nick and Judy's son. The staff of the orphanage had been jubilant too in a touching way; they had come to care for the compassionate and sociable Charlie and had been harbouring hopes that Nick and Judy would end up being 'the right match' for him. Like everything that Judy had ever been involved in, they did it 'right'. They read books about raising an adopted child. They attended special classes. They let Charlie pick out the furnishings he wanted for his new bedroom (which was Nick's old bedroom at the penthouse; Nick and Judy now shared Judy's previous room). They filed all their paperwork in a timely and organized way. And they let Charlie ease into things when he did move in, not demanding anything of him that he wasn't yet ready for, least of all that he call them 'Mom' and 'Dad' till he felt like it.

(He had been ready in only a month after moving in with them. He had been out for a late movie and burger night with Nick, while Judy took an evening shift at work, and after the cartoon had ended and the lights had come back on, he'd turned an already half-asleep face towards Nick and said, 'I know you said I could have a sundae after this, but I'm beat. Let's just go back home maybe Dad?' It had given Nick a jolt like a mild electric shock and still ranked as one of his top memories ever, right there up with his and Judy's first kiss and the first time he and Carrots had both met).

And everything had been going well and dandy for some months until Carrots had started going around with this slightly puckered frown and biting her lower lip, and upon being questioned by her concerned spouse had finally revealed that she was concerned that Charlie would 'miss out' by being raised an only kit. When Nick had pointed out that he himself had been perfectly happy as an only child, Judy had morosely told him that she had come across some statistic (in one of her only-too-numerous parenting books) on the life-quality level of young mammals by species, where it had been stated that rabbits needed to grow up with siblings due to their long historical background of being issued from huge families.

Nick had told her the whole thing was rubbish and that she read too much, but of course the seed of doubt had been planted. Looking back now, he wondered a mite cynically if she hadn't played him like a fiddle, knowing he cared as much for Charlie as he did for her (she had not after all shown him the actual mention in the book she had spoken of). One way or another, they had ended up with Jamey and Janet and a very heavy bill on some huge renovations that had consisted in expanding the penthouse to include two more bedrooms and enlarge the living room. Jamey and Janet were both friends of Charlie's from the orphanage and they had grown on Nick and Judy in a rather similar way that Charlie had, as they frequently took Charlie back to the orphanage on an odd day off to hang out with his old buddies.

Both Jamey and Janet were older than Charlie, but by a matter of months only. Janet was a striking rabbit with auburn fur and emerald green eyes, making her a rather fox-like rabbit altogether. While Jamey was in all truth a fox and the eldest of the trio. The paperwork had gone smoothly yet again, the positive record Nick and Judy had after Charlie's adoption playing in their favour; plus by then they had both risen in rank at work following the training they'd finally completed and their income had increased noticeably. Thus a new idyllic chapter was about to start.

Except it hadn't been idyllic, Nick remembered with a grimace. The three newly pronounced siblings, who had said over and over again how happy they would be to become brothers and sister, fought mercilessly from the start. There was jealousy between Jamey and Charlie, the former being the eldest but the latter feeling he had a special 'place' as the first child to have arrived under Nick and Judy's roof. Janet was discovered to be a drama queen when the mood struck her and to go into hissy fits over the slightest issues. Jamey roared and stomped his feet, while Charlie sulked and looked at his parents in silent defiance when they tried to appeal to his more reasonable side. Nick and Judy lay whispering late into the wee hours many nights in a row, trying to figure out what on earth they could do to improve things. To both their credit, sending any of the children back to the orphanage never came up and Nick never told Judy 'I told you so' about her 'let's adopt more' strategy.

Several months had dragged by, and there were of course moments when all three children got along so well for one whole evening, playing and chatting together nicely that their parents, looking on and squeezing each other's paws in silent glee wondered whether a new page were finally turning. But the next day would start with a fresh row. In the end, after having Nick's Mom come over to babysit for a couple of hours, the hapless parents had gone to consult with a psychologist on the matter.

The anteater in pince-nez who received them in her office with its walls practically bursting with diplomas and special awards had pronounced, after listening to their recital gravely, that it sounded like they were doing a 'wonderful' job, and that it took time for youngsters from a home to settle into their new family, perhaps even a couple of years.

"Can't we do anything to speed the process along a bit?" Nick had asked anxiously.

Yes, he admitted, he had asked the question. No one had egged him on. Which is why he had brought the whole thing on his own ginger head once again.

There was perhaps something, the anteater had told them. If they had another child, an actual baby, that the whole family, siblings included, would help raise 'from scratch'... It often proved to be an incredible bonding experience for families and could ease the tension between their elder children, she had told them.

Nick had spent the entire drive back home informing his silent spouse about why this was s completely crazy, suicidal idea and why they had just wasted the hundred bucks or so they had paid the shrink. Judy had not said a single word in reply during the trip. But the next day they scheduled an appointment with the orphanage just to ask them whether they actually ever got any babies under a year old who could be up for adoption. Of course they did. And when they came to the home, the director had told them that they actually never did as they took kids who were at least preschoolers, but this month they were housing an infant just as they waited for his permanent place to be made ready at an infant home in Sahara Square. Of course they were. And Judy had wanted to see the baby, and he had crawled up into her arms and then into Nick's and he had been cooing and pulling on Nick's whiskers. Of course he had.

His name was Richard, he had only been seven months at the time and he came home with them within the fortnight that followed.

A lion. An actual lion cub. Nick looked at him in the little crib they had speedily purchased and placed by the side of their own bed and wondered how on earth they had ended up like this. And that was the last thing he wondered for a while, because they had no more time to think after that.

Richard didn't sleep through the night. He didn't nap properly. He had difficulty finishing his bottles and would often spit up his entire milk feed. He had colic and reflux and diarrhoea. It was impossible to lay him down for more than fifteen minutes; his gut would start troubling him and he would whine and wail and growl throatily until one of his parents picked him up. He would frequently start screaming in the pram on an outing out of the blue, and no amount of rocking the pram back and forth could sooth him. The nurse who came to see how they were getting on with him suggested they get a baby-carrier-rucksack thing, saying colicky infants preferred them to prams. Richard hated that even more than the pram and kicked so viscously the handful of times Judy tried to coax him into it that they gave up.

Mister and Mrs Wilde didn't fight or blame each other, though exhausted they definitely were, but passed him back and forth between the pair of them all through the night, each letting the other snatch a couple of hours of sleep at a time. Judy took several months of unpaid leave from work to look after the baby, and Nick did likewise once her leave was up. Mrs Wilde Senior came brilliantly to their rescue on a number of occasions, whisking Richard away for a few hours so that his exhausted parents could collapse for a much-overdue nap. Mister and Mrs Hopps were glad to lend a paw when they could as well, though admittedly they lived rather further away and had so many youngsters still in their own care.

Both parents were stretched so thin that it took them some time to notice that the anteater's prediction was coming true. In a strange and unexpected way, the three older siblings seemed to place their differences aside in light of the tiny newcomer. They never complained about Richard's howling and fussing at night, not even Janet. They tiptoed around the house and kept their music down. They bent anxiously over the crib when Richard would start to fuss and consulted one another in hushed tones.

"See his legs," Janet would say. "See he's bringing them up like that. His belly hurts."

"Poor guy," Charlie would whisper, stroking Richard's tail with a finger. "Hang in there."

"He's getting better," Jamey would add robustly. "See last night he slept longer. He'll get better."

And shortly after his first birthday, Richard did outgrow the baby issues one by one and finally, finally the Wilde household relaxed into s state of relative calm and contentment. Jamey, Charlie and Janet didn't fight nearly as often as they used to and Richard took his first tottering steps to everyone's delight and said his first hesitant 'Mama'.

Now Nick could relax, or so he thought. He had reckoned too much, too soon. Judy was the senior officer present at the ZPD one lazy summer morning when a shop assistant from across the street had come to report that someone had actually disposed of a baby in the dumpster not far from their store. Really, this sort of thing still happened, Nick and Judy had mused. The baby was brought in. Nick had taken one look at her and known they were in trouble. It was a tiny angelic lamb with the biggest blue eyes one could possibly imagine. Judy had become conspicuously quiet after the infant had been brought to the ZPD headquarters. She'd gone through the necessary administrative actions. The lamb's family were never traced. Given the circumstances, an inquiry had to be placed at an infant home for a spot for the newly pronounced orphan. Judy had had to dash to the nearby supermarket and get some formula milk for the little one while she was still at the ZPD, for the lamb was obviously starving. Nick had held onto her silently while Judy went out for her purchase and handed her just as silently back to Judy who had fed the lamb on her knees with all the knack she still had left over from Richard.

To be fair, Judy hadn't asked Nick to adopt the lamb. But she had cried into her pillow for three nights straight when she'd thought her husband was already asleep, and Charlie, Jamey and Janet were all becoming concerned about how peaky their mother looked at the breakfast table. So on the fourth night Nick switched the night light on (to avoid waking Richard who still bunked in their room) and said to Judy, 'Ok, now look here Carrots'. His message was simple: fine, but this is the absolute last one.

He was only half giving in; he couldn't pretend he hadn't been fretting over the tiny ball of fleece over the past days himself. So little Mary joined them, and Nick once again prepared for some rough sleepless nights. And yet this time it seemed that fate had dealt them a good hand.

Mary was as different an infant from what Richard had been as night was from day. She nearly never cried. She downed her bottles in five minutes flat, never got any stomach pains and slept blissfully all through the night, every night. She liked to be pushed around in the pram, she liked to be carried around in the baby carrier, she liked to hang around her parents or siblings, she liked to mess around with her toys, and if she suddenly found herself flat on her back with nothing to entertain her in her crib, she would merely clap her miniature hoofs one against the other to amuse herself patiently until someone came along. And Richard seemed visibly thrilled to receive a sibling rather closer to his own age.

So the family living in the expanded penthouse had breathed a sigh of relief. And things proceeded merrily, with only the occasional hiccup. Like the whole scene Nick now found himself immersed in.

"Janet, for the love of-" he said for the umpteenth time, massaging his temples.

"Janet?" Judy's voice made the rest of her family turn around to look at her as she entered through the front door and took the scene in, in one practiced all-encompassing glance. Little Mary hanging in the baby carrier in front of Judy gave a faint and pleased 'meeh' sound as she recognized she was back home, and Richard who had walked in holding onto Judy's paw now released it and ran at Nick crying 'Papa!'

"Hey bruiser," Nick said catching him up with a grunt. The cub was growing by the day. They would not be able to keep tossing him into the air for long, his parents wouldn't.

"What's all this?" Judy was demanding with a frown, as she pulled Mary out of the carrier and sent a piercing glance Janet's way.

"Nothing," Janet knew when to admit defeat and she started shuffling away shiftily, heading to her room.

"Nothing, hm?" Judy echoed, putting her paws on her hips and surveying her daughter critically.

"Watch Mommy give big sister the talk," Nick told Richard with a wink as he set him down.

"Nick really," Judy shot at him. "Now Janet - if it's nothing, it's nothing, but I don't for a moment believe it is by your face. If you've discussed everything with Daddy though we'll leave it."

"Yeah, we discussed everything Mom," Janet mumbled, scuffing a toe on the rug.

"Then go and get washed up for supper," Judy said with the air of one turning a page and moving on. "Boys - Jamey - Charlie-" she addressed the pair lounging on the couch. "You too, and whose turn is it to lay the table?"

"Mine," Jamey replied, scrambling to his feet. "But I won't be a sec' Mom-"

"I'm coming," Charlie said, following his brother and sister though to the dining area to wash his paws too.

Judy shook her head at her three eldest' departing backs and came over to Nick and Richard, Mary now out of the carrier and cradled in her arms.

"Nothing, so like the same yarn she'd pulled about the cellphone, Or is it make-up she wants this time?"

"Still a cellphone," Nick shook his head grinning. "She sure hangs on to what she believes in."

"Consistency is key; so long as we stay on the same page she'll let go eventually," Judy sighed, bending over to pat Richard on the head.

"I guess," Nick chuckled. "Good walk Mrs Wilde?"

"Oh sure," Judy straightened up and smiled at him. "Mary is starting to point at things;"

"That's funny," Nick replied. "I remember when this guy here did it for the first time." he ruffled Richard' fur fondly. "Time flies."

"Yes, yes it does," Judy linked her free arm with his and laid a head on his shoulder. "But does it fly the right way at least?"

"What do you mean Carrots?" Nick asked, peering down at her, mystified by her cryptic question.

She took a moment to reply, and when she did she looked up at him and asked almost shyly,

"Is this ok Nick? Is this... what you'd hoped for?"

He looked amazed for a second before he burst out laughing.

"It's much than I ever bargained for Mrs N Wilde, believe you me on that," he replied cheerily, cementing his response with a kiss. "Now come on, before those three make a mess of grub."

THE END.

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