The yellow and silver train sped on through the landscape. Snow filled the window panes as it fell from the sky. The landscape outside moved at breakneck speed. Inside, all were warm and cozy. Some slept on their commute, and others read a book or listened to music. Some did both.

Others, such as Nick and Judy, sat in the dining car, where they had given complimentary hot chocolate. The two of them sat at a window-side booth together, a table with their mugs in front of them and the window behind them. The steam from their cocoa brew wafted through the air.

Sip.

Sip.

Neither spoke, content just to be in each other's presence. The hype of Christmas and the past day or so had finally caught up to them. It had been fun and wonderful, but it had been exhausting as well, and it was finally showing.

Nick sat his mug down on the table.

"Carrots, I – I can't thank you enough for bringing me out here. Really, thank you."

"It's no trouble at all, Nick. Just remember, if you want to talk about anything, I'm here." Judy replied.

Nick sighed. "Yeah… yeah, I know. I've been thinking… and I think I want to tell you about my mom." His face was forlorn

Judy's ears perked up ever so slightly. "What about her?"

"Well, I told you I wanted to become a Junior Ranger Scout as a pup, right? Well, she was the one that really pushed me to join."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was my idea, but she really pushed me. Even made me this scarf." He pulled out the red ranger scout neckerchief. Judy recognized it as the one from the Nighthowler incident. It was quiet for a few seconds.

"Tell me about her." Judy said.

"She was – she was great. She was kind, and encouraging, but she knew when to put her foot down. Believe it or not, Carrots, I was a little hell raiser as a pup."

Judy put her paws to her face in mock shock. "No! You?"

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, I know. You remind me a lot of her, come to think of it. I think she would have liked you." He took a sip of his cocoa.

"Is she…?" Judy left the unfinished question hang in the air.

"Hm?" Nick hummed, swallowing his cocoa. He set the glass down. "Oh, no! No, my mom's still alive. She's just… it's hard to reach her."

"What happened? Do you want to talk about it?"

Nick waved his paw dismissively. "Yeah, it's fine. She was fine, healthy even for her age, for a long time. Then one day, she just started forgetting little things here and there. Eventually it got so bad, that I had to call an ambulance for her one day. She had forgotten she was cooking and leaned her hand on the stove top. Burned her paw right through."

Judy gasped. "Oh, no! Is she ok?"

"Well, physically, yeah. But the doctors who treated her diagnosed her with Alzheimer's. So, now she stays at Veran's Vistas, a home for elderly like her."

"What about your dad?" she asked

Nick shrugged. "Never met him. Mom said he was a great fox, and he was around for most of her pregnancy, but one day he just disappeared. Nobody knew where he went, and he left no clues as to where he was going. I'm not too concerned with him, though."

"Still, she must be so lonely right now, seeing as it's Christmas and her son hasn't visited yet."

Nick sighed. "News flash, Carrots. It's really, really hard to spend time with someone who can't remember who you are."

Judy sat silent, contemplating. An idea sprang to mind.

"Hey, Nick. Why don't I visit her with you?" she asked

"Really? This isn't going to be anything like your hometown." He said.

Judy nodded. "I know. But nobody should be alone for Christmas, even if they won't remember. I'd love to meet her, anyhow."

"Alright, fluff, tell you what. We'll head over to Veran's after our shift tomorrow." He said

"I'm gonna hold you to that!" She said with a grin.

The rest of the train ride dissolved in to small banter and conversations. Eventually, the two mammals fell asleep leaning against each other. Judy's mouth snored wide open as she drooled on Nick's shoulder. Nick, on the other hand, slept quietly.

The train reached its destination before too long, and they got off with no hassle. With a final hug, they parted, and went home for the night.

Nick and Judy met at their usual spot about a block or two from the ZPD Precinct. After several chance meetings on that street on their way to work, their commute turned from walking alone to waiting for their partner and walking together. It made the morning commute a bit livelier, even though Nick wasn't much of a morning person. Judy's cheerful optimism never ceased to be a natural pick-me-up, and he always wore his aviators so she couldn't see his tired eyes.

As they walked in to the bullpen, they were stopped by a grey trunk.

"Francine!" Judy exclaimed, looking up to the elephant. "What are you-?"

Said elephant just pointed above the doorway, where several mistletoes were hanging. Crimson burned both of their cheeks. Nick looked out to the rest of the bullpen, where several other mammals had their camera phones at the ready.

Their cheeks still burned, but they had already gone through this before. 'Once more with their ZPD friends couldn't be that much worse, right?' Nick thought. He shrugged, gave a small smirk and lifted his glasses. They leaned in, closing their eyes…

It was at that precise moment that the entire bullpen became silent. It had been quiet before, but now it was at a standstill. A pin drop would echo in the space and everyone would hear it. A camera clicked.

That was the first thing they noticed. The next thing they noticed was that their kiss didn't feel the same as before. It felt – sturdy. Harder, but with a bit more muscle. Neither had gone for tongue, opting for a lip-peck, but it didn't feel like lips they were touching. They pulled back, and looked at each other. Horror dawned on Nick and Judy's faces as they realized they couldn't see each other, but rather, a pair of blue legs. Slowly, they looked up.

Police Chief Bogo was looking down on them with an angry expression. His eyes burned with fire as steam billowed from his nostrils.

"Hopps. Wilde. Since you two are so eager to get a leg up on your work, you will both be on parking duty for a week." he said in his signature firm voice. The two of them scampered back to their seat, trying to escape the embarrassment as soon as possible.

"Anyone else feeling like they got to be a kiss-up?" Bogo asked firmly. A few animals snickered as Judy and Nick just sunk in to their seat a little further. Nobody else moved a muscle.

"Good. Now, Fangmeyer and Wolford, you will be…" Bogo continued to hand out everyone's duties for the day, going on as if nothing had happened.

Eventually, the day came to an end, and both fox and bunny punched out for the day. Judy followed Nick to his car in the ZPD garage. Nick drove them through the busy city streets.

"Wait, stop here!" Judy exclaimed, pointing at a small shop with a green awning. Nick recognized the building, and with a "Sure thing, Carrots.", he parked in the small side alley.

The two of them walked in to the shop. Flower baskets hung from the ceiling and walls. It seemed as if every type of plant sat here in this humble shop. The bell above the door rang, and Mr. Otterton emerged from the other side of the back door. He wore a light brown pair of pants and a green sweater vest with diamonds across the front and back.

"Oh, hello! Welcome to Otterton's Floral Arrangements! How can I help you, officers?"

"Hi, Mr. Otterton!" said Judy "We're just looking for something small for his mom as a gift."

"Oh, meeting the parents, eh? Well, I got a few things here you might like."

"Oh, no, we're not -" Judy tried to say, but it was too late. He was already out of sight, digging for a book under the front desk. A few seconds later, he heaved it up on to the top of the desk and flipped to a page near the front.

"Hibiscus's are a lovely breed, and tend to be a favorite among potential grandmothers. They mean 'delicate beauty'."

"Well, it's pretty, but I don't think that's quite what we're looking for. What about roses?" Nick asked.

Mr. Otterton shook his head. "No, those have an entirely different meaning. More, ah, romantic. Maybe a carnation?" he flipped to a different page. "These yellow ones signify good cheer, while pink means gratitude. Couple a few of these with a larkspur or two for beautiful spirit, and it's a lovely bouquet."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, she'll like that. We'll take it."

The otter left and was back in a few minutes, a full bouquet in his paws. Judy brought out her wallet and Mr. Otterton rang them up.

As the transaction finished, Mrs. Otterton came in to the room. "Judy! Hi!" she greeted cheerfully.

Judy waved. "Hi, Mrs. Otterton! It's nice to see you again!"

The demure otter, dressed in a yellow sweater, walked up to Judy and gave grabbed her paw in a show of gratitude.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did for my husband." She said

"That was you two?!" Mr. Otterton exclaimed. "Hold on, let me get you something."

"Oh, no, you don't have to -" Judy started, only to be interrupted.

"No, no, I insist. Here." He handed them a small bundle of flowers and some seed packets. "There are some statices and red and white tulips in here, for success and love. The seed packets – well, I have no idea what's in them. I never got around to planting them, and they could use a good home."

"Oh, well, thank you very much, Mr. Otterton."

"It's no problem at all, dears. You just be sure to be safe! It's supposed to be cold tonight!"

"Will do, Mr. Otterton! Thanks again!" Judy said as she and Nick backed out the door.

The flowers were placed in the back of the vehicle, and once they were sure they were secure, Nick backed out of the alley and got back on to the street.

It only took them another ten minutes to get to Veran's. By that time, the sun was sitting gently on the horizon. Drab grey walls were accentuated by stripes of yellow paint on the ground floor. In the front of the building, two large push-to-open doors greeted them. A panel on the wall to the left held 10 numbered keys. Nick sauntered up to the panel and entered the passcode with his quick fingers.

A *CLICK* sounded from inside, and he pushed the doors open.

The two of them walked up to the front desk, where an aardvark was sitting and writing. She wore red wire-rim glasses and had the features of someone in the middle of their life. Judy spotted a bell near the bottom of the desk and rang it.

*DING*

The aardvark looked up, then down to where they were. "Ah, Nick! How nice to see you again! You're coming to see Ms. Wilde, I presume?"

"Yes, Gladys. Carrots here," he nudged her with his elbow "convinced me I should spend a little holiday time with my mom."

"Well, I'm sure she'll be glad to see you. She just took her medicine, so she should be manageable for a few hours. She's still in her old room, second floor, B226." She handed Nick a keycard.

"Thank you so much, Gladys." Judy spoke up.

"Oh, it's no problem! It's my job, you know."

Judy followed Nick over to the elevator. The doors shut behind them with a *ding*.

"You really do know everyone, don't you?" she asked playfully.

"What, you think I wouldn't know the receptionist where my mom is staying? For shame, Carrots." Nick snarked back

The doors opened with a woosh of air as the electronic bell dinged again.

"Now, let's see… B221, 222, 223…" Nick counted the doors as he went by. "Ah, here! B226!"

He swiped the white keycard in front of the small black panel. The red led turned green, and he opened the door.

"After you." He said. Judy smiled at him, and went inside.

The room was not what she had been expecting. From the outside, she had expected it to be like, well, a hospital. White or grey walls and clean floors, mixed with the scent of disinfectant and medicines. The room, instead, was the exact opposite. Floral wallpaper adorned the walls, the floor was covered in a rust-colored carpeting, and the scent of lilac wafted through the air.

It was more like what she would expect out of her mother's bedroom than a hospital.

A bed laid in the center of the room, and a red fox laid in it, remote in hand as eyes glazed at the television not ten feet away.

"Merry Christmas!" said Judy, waving at the fox on the bed. Nick's mom looked over to Judy and Nick, and her eyes lit up.

"Oh, Nick! Hi!" her eyes went over to Judy "And you brought a friend! Hello there, what's your name?"

"My name is Judy, Ms. Wilde! It's nice to meet you." She shook her paw.

"I'm happy to meet you as well, Judy. And please, call me Mary. My full name is Mary-Anne, but everyone calls me Mary."

"Ok, then, Mary. How are you doing?" she asked

"Oh, I'm doing fine. You're that bunny cop, right? What are you doing here with Nick?"

"Nick, here, is my partner on the ZPD. I'm here just as a friend." She replied. Mary's paws went to her mouth.

"Nick- is this true? Are you…?"

Nick grinned sheepishly as his paw scratched the back of his head. "Uh, yeah, I kinda became a cop. Sorry for not telling you."

"Never mind that! Oh, I'm so happy for you two! You know, Judy, I've been waiting for years for some vixen to come in to his life and set him straight. I can't thank you enough for what you did."

"Oh, no, Mary, we're not like that at all. We're just friends." Judy insisted. Mary-Anne looked at them both. Her expression said it all – she didn't believe them for a second.

"Well, if that's how it is, then I still have to thank you."

"So, how's the room? You really have a lot of space to move around here." Nick said with a touch of sarcasm. Judy smacked his elbow, but his mom just giggled.

"No, it's fine, hun. I know it's not the most spacious apartment, but it has all my needs. I'm not a very material person. And I'm sure that whatever Nick told you sounds worse than how it is. He has a habit of exaggerating the negative."

Judy laughed "That he does! By the way, we brought you a little something." Judy said. Nick pulled out the bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

"Oh, they're lovely!" she smiled "Thank you so much!"

Nick looked around the room. With no vase to put them in, he had to think of where to put them. An empty pot of coffee laid on the night stand, and an idea formed.

"Judy, can you go fill this with water really quick?" he asked "Bathroom's just inside the door to this room to the left."

She looked behind her. Sure enough, now that the door to the hall was shut, she could see another door leading to a small room to the side.

"Sure thing, slick. I'll be right back, Mary!" Judy bounded away with the pot. Nick watched her leave, then turned back to his mom on the bed.

His mom had gone from cheerful and friendly to serious as soon as Judy was out of sight. "Nick, I need you to be honest with me. How much do you like the rabbit?" she asked

Nick sighed. "A – a great deal. I couldn't imagine living without her in my life."

"Then why haven't you asked her out yet!?" she exasperated "You clearly like her, so go for it!"

"Mom, I can't just up and ask her out. Besides, what would other mammals say?" Nick knew his excuses were feeble at best. His mom did as well.

"Oh, posh on other mammals! Do what makes you happy, and what feels right. If you needed my blessing, you have it. Here," she reached in to the drawer in the night stand beside her bed. She pulled out a small ring, the diamonds shaped in the form of a fox's paw. "Your father gave this to me as a token that he promised to stay with me. I want you to give it to Judy."

Nick's face fell flat. "Well, he didn't really do a good job of that, did he?"

His mom frowned. "Nick…"

"No, Mom, I'm sorry. That was… out of line." He apologized

"Well, alright. I forgive you. But I still want you to take this." She put the ring in his paw and closed the fist. "Please."

Nick smiled and said "Alright."

His mom reached her arms up, and he leaned down to give her a hug. It was to this scene that Judy walked back in with the flowers nestled in the coffee pot, full of clear water.

"Awww." Was all she said, getting the attention of both foxes. Nick looked at the rabbit with a smile, his mom stayed still in the bed. Her eyes stared at the TV.

"Um, sorry for interrupting..." Judy said. She remained silent, but turned in to face Judy. Her eyes were expressionless.

"Do-do you want me to leave?" she asked.

No answer. Just a stare.

The silence thickened.

Judy looked around nervously. She'd never been in quite this situation before.

"I got you some flowers for your table." she said, placing the coffee pot on the night stand.

"Flowers grow."

"That's right, yeah. Flowers grow."

Quiet. Nick walked to a far corner of the room and sat down. His face showed no emotion.

"Are you having a good Christmas?" she asked.

Still.

"Did you get anything for Christmas?" she asked again.

Mary-Anne opened her mouth, but said nothing.

Then she did.

"Who fox?" she asked.

Judy's face dropped like a stone in water. Her heart sank to her stomach, and Nick... Nick had been dreading this. His frown carved deep in to his muzzle. He stood up and walked over to the door.

"Nick, where are you going?" Judy asked.

"Out." he said.

And then he was.

The room was oppressive in its depression, settling in hard as the door closed behind him. Judy watched the door, hoping for him to come back.

He didn't.

She looked back at the flowers, and then finally, back at his mother.

Mary-Anne Wilde held no expression on her face, and bore no words on her lips.

Silence.

Judy found Nick on a park bench three blocks from the building. He hadn't bothered to take the car, so she was able to use it to drive around to find him. It only took her ten minutes to find him, knees curled up on the green public seat. She got out of the car and walked over to him. She said nothing, and just soaked in the moment. Their breath caught in the wind.

"I'm sorry." she murmured.

"Heh. It's not your fault, you dumb bunny. She's been like this for a while now." He replied, a hint of his smirk coming back. It quickly fell again.

"Still, I was the one that insisted we come." Her ears remained down. "If we hadn't come, you might not have had to see her like that again."

"Carrots, please. I'm actually glad we came. It was - nice. To see my mom being normal for once. Before she relapsed again, I mean. It's rare to see her talking like that anymore." his paws shifted through his pockets.

"So please, don't apologize. It was one of the best Christmas's I've had in a long while."

Judy smiled, and gave him a hug. They sat there on the bench for a long while, embraced in each other's company.

Snow began to drift lazily to the ground again. The lamplights glowed yellow.

Eventually, Nick shifted. He pulled his paws out of his pockets, and held them close together, hiding something inside.

"My mom wanted me to give you this. And, I want you to have it, too." he said, opening his paws. In the middle lay the ring his mom had given him. Judy gasped.

"Oh, Nick, it's beautiful!" she said

"Judy, these past few days have shown me just how much you mean to me. As more than a friend. Will you this humble fox the honor of going out on a date?"

She smiled. "I was wondering how long it would take, you silly fox." she began nuzzling his side with the top of her head.

Nick laughed. "Yeah, yeah I guess I am a silly fox. But I'm your silly fox."

"Mm-hm." Judy hummed in agreement.

"Hey, Nick?"

"Yes, Judy?"

"I'm glad I met your mom."

"I'm glad I met your folks, too."

As the snow fell, the two remained in a soft embrace. The car slowly covered with snow, protecting the red and white tulips inside.

No matter what the future brought, they would face it together.

Because they were family.