A/N Hi all,

Gosh, I've missed you!

Its been a few months now since I finished Safe Paws. Thank you all so much for the love on that story, it means the world to me. The sequel is being fleshed out, but I've got a lot of exciting and life-changing things planned over the next few months so I can't say yet when I'll start writing/posting it. Stay tuned tho!

After taking a break from writing, I'm back with this series of one-shots.

These are all stand alone and have no relation to Safe Paws. I wanted to give myself a bit of a challenge and work with varying characterizations.

Some of my Safe Paws readers have been voting on what they want to see me write, but if you have any prompts please feel free to leave them in the reviews. I can't promise I'll get around to them all, but I'll try my best.

Hope you enjoy!

~ Ophelia x

The third time Judy broke the bulletproof glass, Nick knew they needed to talk.

"Fluff?" The fox called out, unable to hear the volume of his voice thanks to the ear defenders he wore. He approached the doe with caution, acutely aware of the weapon she held in her paws. It hadn't taken Nick long to find her down at the shooting range, it had become a habit of the small rabbits over the last couple of days to blow off some steam once they were done with the day's work. If it were any other mammal currently firing round after round into the glass, Nick wouldn't have even blinked, but his happy-go-lucky partner? That raised a lot of questions.

Even though she wore ear defenders too, the doe hadn't missed Nick's approach. After spending so long working and living together – "Your place is a dump, Fluff. My apartment's got plenty of room for the two of us" – the rabbit and fox were very in tune with one another. Flicking the safety back on, Judy placed the weapon down, removing her ear defenders. She didn't wish to talk, too bothered by the news from home, but she knew that her behavior had been markedly different and that Nick had probably noticed. Usually, she could escape to her room at home, or flip the conversation to the case they were working on when sat at their desks or out in the streets, but down in the basement at the firing range there was no escape. "Yeah Slick?"

Lifting his paws, the fox yanked off the defenders, sound that was once muted now more apparent. "I don't know what that glass did to hurt you, but remind me to never get on your bad side." He quipped, taking in the shards of glass over the range floor. Contrary to popular belief, the bulletproof glass could be broken, so long as it was hit a considerable amount of times. Though Judy's eyesight wasn't as good as Nick's, the doe had still been able to cluster her shots and shatter the pane, and the casings littering the floor told the fox just how many rounds it had taken her.

"Harhar." Judy rubbed a paw over her face before turning to face her partner, slapping on a smile. "What's up?"

"Doc." Nick couldn't help himself, and he barely held onto his snicker. His amusement died however at the look of confusion on Judy's face. "You know, 'what's up, doc?' Bugs Bunny, the kit show." Nick explained, baffled by Judy shaking her head. "Don't you have a TV in Bunnyburrow?" He couldn't believe the rabbit hadn't seen the cartoon, and he made a mental note to introduce it to her on their next weekend off. The mention of home had Judy's eyes widening and her ears falling. "Home. Whatever's put her in this mood relates to home."

Smoothing out her features, Judy focused on his failed joke. "We own a farm, Nick. My kithood consisted of playing outdoors and harvesting the produce."

"You're missing out. Not a problem though, this is something I can fix." The tod spared a glance to the shattered glass. "Unlike that." He nodded his head in its direction. "What's bothering you, Fluff? You've been a bit tense these last few days, broken a few panes of glass, and gone through a small army worth of bullets, which will be fun explaining to Chief Buffalo Butt."

Shaking her head again, the doe shrugged. "Nothings bothering me, I just felt it was time to do a bit more target practice. We have the demonstration for the kits in a few weeks." The lie rolled off her tongue, but it felt acrid, and guilt blossomed in her gut. She hated lying, and she especially hated lying to Nick.

She was on the defensive. Judy's aim didn't need that much improvement. Since they'd agreed to live together, or more realistically since Nick had insisted she get out of her hovel of a room and share with him, he'd become the Judy Whisperer. Knowing when to pick his battles, he decided to let it slide. For now. "Maybe if you keep trying, you'll be as sharp a shooter as I am." He flipped to humor to diffuse the situation, offering the rabbit a lazy smile. Nick's incredible vision had helped him become top of his class at the shooting range, and Bogo often called on him when a mammal with a steady paw and a perfect aim was required.

Relief coursed through Judy's veins as Nick changed the subject, and she felt the weight lift off her shoulders. Her features relaxed, lips curving into a softer, more genuine smile. "Careful Slick, or your head will be too big to fit through the door." She teased, turning to scoop up her weapon. There was no way she'd get to continue blowing off some steam now that Nick had found her.

With her gun in one paw and ear defenders in the other, she made her way past her partner and out of the range, back to Officer Trumpet. The elephant was on duty in the basement, in charge of the range for the week. "Sorry about the mess in there Bob, got a bit trigger happy." Judy offered her colleague a sweet smile, trying not to laugh at the funny noise his trunk made as he snorted. "Will some carrot cake make it up to you?" She bargained. After a shipment of her family's produce had arrived at their place for her a few weeks back, the rabbit had been excited to finally get to use a semi-decent kitchen again, and had gone crazy baking one Sunday afternoon. She'd brought a small carrot cake into work on Monday, and since then her fellow officers had continuously asked her when her next baking weekend would be.

"That'd be just great, Hopps." The elephant took the weapon and ear defenders from the bunny, offering her a smile. Truth told working the range was a tedious job. Not many mammals liked to spend longer than necessary at the precinct, preferring to be out patrolling the streets or working cases. Range work was a substantial change in pace.

Handing over his own ear defenders, Nick gave Officer Trumpet a nod before he followed Judy towards the stairs back up to the rest of the precinct. "How come you never bribe me with carrot cake, Fluff?" The fox teased, purposefully keeping the conversation light for now. Once Judy was her usual chatty self, he'd try and get answers from her again. They climbed the stairs together, and the tod spared a glance sideways in time to see his partner shake her head, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"You hate carrot cake." The doe pointed out. It had greatly disappointed her when Nick had tried some of her cake and had proceeded to dry-heave. She'd wrongly assumed all fox's liked carrots, then again before meeting Nick the only fox she'd had any contact with had been Gideon. 'There's nothing wrong with the taste, Fluff. I just don't like the texture.' Nick had informed her before he'd scraped all remnants of carrot from his tongue. As the daughter of carrot farmers, it had mollified her that at least the tod didn't utterly despise them.

Nick hid his grimace at the memory of the carrot cake incident. He'd felt terrible afterward, and it still bothered him to this day that he didn't like the star produce from his partner's family farm. "Okay, blueberry muffins then. As long as the blueberries are from your family farm."

"Then I'll bake you some." Judy decided, offering the fox a smile. His love for her family's blueberries knew no bounds, and she got a strange enjoyment watching him eat them.

Chuckling, the tod didn't bother hiding his smile. Though he would never admit it aloud, and some would call him sexist for it, the sight of Judy puttering in the kitchen, and the smell of freshly baked goods wafting through their home, filled him with contentment. "I knew there was a reason I asked you to move in with me."

Before Judy could stop herself, she stretched out an arm and punched Nick's shoulder as they left the precinct and crossed the parking lot, heading towards his car. Though not a hard punch, it was enough to draw a soft 'oof' from the fox, and the tod reached up to rub at his arm, shaking his head fondly at the small bunny as he circled the car, plucking his keys from his pocket.

Eternally grateful that his partner had springy legs and could hop the small distance up into his car, Nick waited for Judy to fasten her seatbelt before he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. Now, with the doe right where he wanted her, he began on Plan B. It hadn't taken Nick very long, when he'd finally passed the academy and started working with Judy, to work out that he had to plan ahead and have several contingency plans, that she wouldn't always do as he anticipated. "Want to swing by BugBurger on the way home?" He asked nonchalantly, sparing her a quick glance as they pulled up to a red light.

Shaking her head, Judy reached out for the glove box handle, opening it. Shoving a paw into the space, she started to rummage for her book. Last week, when she and Nick had been walking the beat, they'd come across a small independent bookstore. They'd decided to take a break and have a look inside, and Judy's eyes had instantly been drawn to a copy of To the Doghouse by Virginia Woof. Since then, the doe had spent each morning on the way to work, and each evening after work, reading a few chapters. As the rabbit moved her paw, she couldn't find the familiar feel of her book. "Have you seen it?" She quizzed Nick, not needing to offer any further explanation. Her eyebrows were drawn together, lips thinned.

"Nope." Nick popped the 'p,' feigning innocence as the light turned green and he continued to drive. Part of Plan B had involved moving Judy's book from the glove compartment to the trunk before he'd ventured down to the range to collect her and attempt Plan A.

Huffing, the doe slammed the glove box shut. "I swear I left it there. I was reading it on the way in this morning." She slumped in her seat, folding her arms across her chest.

"Sure you didn't take it in with you and leave it on your desk?" Nick offered, taking a left turn. They were only two blocks away from their apartment now.

"I don't think so." The rabbit shrugged. "I'll check tomorrow." The two mammals fell silent as Nick turned on to their street.

Slowing the vehicle to a crawl as he searched for a vacant parking space, the tod broke the silence. "Can I ask you something?"

Aware of her partner's nature, for she didn't call him Slick Nick for nothing, the doe contemplated saying no. Her curiosity got the better of her though. "Depends"

"It's hypothetical." The fox tried to throw Judy off. "Say you know someone really well, and you essentially live in each other's pockets. Say they start acting a bit strange, a bit distant. How would you react?" Nick asked as he finally spotted a space, pulling the car into it.

"No." Judy shut the conversation down as Nick brought the car to a stop, and she reached for her seatbelt. She didn't want to talk about it, and she mentally kicked herself for believing that Nick would drop the subject. The fox never let anything go, especially if he thought it might provide him with some juicy gossip or information that could come in useful in the future.

"It's hypothetical." Nick protested calmly, trying to get back to the topic at paw.

Sighing, Judy shook her head. "I know what you're getting at. Please don't." The doe unfastened her seatbelt and started to reach for the door handle.

"Fluff, this is for your own good." Nick reacted immediately, locking the car doors just as Judy's paw closed around the handle and she pulled.

Surprised by the tod's actions, Judy gasped, trying the door handle a few more times. It wouldn't budge. "This is creepy, please unlock the doors." She demanded, giving up on trying to get out of the vehicle and instead turned her focus to the other mammal. Nick had never gone to such an extent before to get information out of her. Usually, he was kind to the point she felt lousy hiding things from him, so gave up and divulged.

"Nope. You'll run away from this conversation. I know you, and you never run away from anything, you always want to talk things out, so naturally, I'm concerned about the fact you now don't want to." He turned off the engine, knowing the doors would remain locked until he pushed the button again. Nick watched as the doe slumped back into her seat once more, her little nose wiggling in frustration.

Folding her arms over her chest, the rabbit glared at the fox. "Be grateful I left my fox repellent in my desk drawer." She muttered. Her threat was empty for she'd never use it on Nick, and both of them knew that, but it served as a good indication of her mood.

"Duly noted," Nick observed her threat before he fell silent. Giving her a moment to hopefully calm down a little, he turned his focus to her body language. Shoulder's hunched, ears up, nose wiggling. She was tense for certain, and maybe even a little nervous. A different approach was needed. Clearing his throat, Nick dropped his tone to a softer one, features softening. "Whatever it is, you can tell me, Judy. It's okay." He opted for her full name, hoping it would convey to her just how worried he was.

The switch in Nick's tone pulled an instinctual reaction from the bunny. Her ears fell and her arms loosened from across her chest. Her left paw even began to rub her right arm. "It's nothing serious." She revealed, guilt coursing through her now for making him worry and probably think the worst over something insignificant and stupid. "It's dumb."

"If you're worried this much about it, then it's not dumb." The fox pointed out, not wanting Judy to belittle how she was feeling. Abandoning his hold on the wheel, Nick reached across the car to stroke the small amount of visible fur on Judy's arm closest to him. "Whatever it is, I've got your back." He reassured her. He would go to the end of the world for the little rabbit, a thought that had terrified him the first time it had crossed his mind, but he knew she would do the same for him.

Looking across to her partner, amethyst met emerald, and a soft smile crossed the rabbit's lips. "I got a letter from home." She started, features turning in to a frown of their own accord. "My high school is having a reunion, and I've been invited." Gaze dropping, she felt a sudden wash of shame at how lame it was to be worked up over something so trivial.

Nick blinked. That was what Judy was so worked up about? He was grateful Judy had averted her gaze, as it gave him time to close his slack jaw. Countless other scenarios had been running through his mind, all of them more gruesome than the last, but it was a high school reunion that had his unshakable bunny so worked up? "From how you've been acting, I take it that's a bad thing?" He questioned, a little unsure. Nick had never been invited to a high school reunion. For that to have happened, he would've had to go to high school. That hadn't been his priority as a kit. The streets had taught him everything he knew.

"Of course it's bad, Slick! I don't want to go." Judy all but exploded, throwing her paws up in the air in frustration, knocking Nick's paw off her arm.

The fox tried to keep a blank expression, worried he might upset her. He'd never seen Judy like this before, and new territory deserved to be walked through carefully. "RSVP and say you're busy." He suggested, the answer perfectly logical.

"Then I'll be shunned even more the next time I go home. They'll think that I believe that I'm better than them." That was the crux of the matter. If Judy went it would be hell, her old school acquaintances would no doubt make barbs about her job and life, about her leaving Bunnyburrow behind and not being a 'good bunny' like the rest of them. If she didn't go, though, the barbs would be even worse and said behind her back. She was so frustrated with having to continually defend herself and her dream to those in Bunnyburrow.

Eyebrow quirking, the fox couldn't believe any mammal would think that way. Sure he would be annoyed if someone couldn't make it to his get together, but he'd never shun them for it. "Why on earth would they do that?" It baffled him.

"It's a small town, Nick. Not even saying hello to someone on the street can cause a fuss." Judy explained. It was why she enjoyed city life so much, there were no expectations, she didn't have to act in a particular manner to please other mammals.

"You're worried about what they'll say if you go, so you're debating if you'll go or not, but you're also worried what they'll say if you don't go?" It all clicked in Nick's mind. In his opinion, it was a little odd for Judy to get her panties in a twist about the views of others, but if it genuinely did bother her, then he'd help her find a solution.

Nodding as Nick got it, the doe offered him a sad smile. "I'm not normal by their standards, with my 'dangerous' city job and big dreams." Judy shook her head. It still disappointed her that Bunnyburrow wasn't progressing very quickly. They'd come forward a little, removing all tasers and weapons aimed at fending off predators from the shops, and accepting Gideon and his business once they'd tried his pies, but it was hard to rid an entire town of their old ways of thinking overnight. "They'll make snide comments about my job, and the city, and about me not being married and with kits yet." She rolled her eyes, already hearing her old school acquaintance Ashleigh Flufftail's voice in her head. She was the perfect doe in Bunnyburrow's eyes – pretty body, not very bright, but with the desire to be a homemaker.

"Why do you care what they think, Fluff? It's never bothered you in the past." Nick was genuinely perplexed. Judy had dealt with their comments before, pushed through them to join the academy and become an officer. Why was she so bothered now?

The question had kept her up for several nights, but thankfully having grown up in a warren full of baby bunnies Judy had become conditioned to function on little sleep. "I know, but I don't want them to rain on my parade. My life is amazing now; the city is wonderful, I'm respected even though I'm a rabbit, work is going well, and I have you by my side. They'll pick holes in my life for sport, and I'm tired of defending what I have and want."

"Then we pick holes in theirs." Nick offered as a solution. If they could dish it out, then they should sure as hell should be prepared to take it.

The tod's choice of words caught the doe by surprise. "We?" She questioned, eyes widening as her lips parted slightly.

"Yeah. We. We're a team, a partnership. I'm going with you." The fox decided with a nod. He could offer her as many reassuring words as possible, but they were empty and meaningless. They wouldn't make the situation any better. At least if he was there with her, it wasn't just a show of support, but he could act as a buffer between Judy and her school friends if things started to get difficult.

Shaking her head vehemently, the doe's paws rose to grasp at Nick's muzzle. Amethyst held emerald, and the rabbit pleaded with the fox. "Nick, no. They'll make snide comments about you." Though it made her uncomfortable to hear what her old school acquaintances thought of her, the very idea of them making comments about Nick, brave and kind and sometimes snarky Nick, was unacceptable.

"Then let them. It's no fur off my muzzle, and it'll take the attention off you." It didn't bother Nick in the slightest. Being a fox meant he was used to harsh comments and being judged, it was nothing to him now. If anything, while getting to support Judy at her reunion, it would also be an excellent opportunity to see where she'd grown up and learn a little more about his partner.

Though his offer was sweet, Judy could see an immediate flaw with it, and while it pained her to point it out, she felt it had to be said. "I think turning up together would draw even more attention to me." Bunnyburrow would come alive at the news of Judy returning home with a fox in tow. If they were going to do this, she'd have to brief her family beforehand so they wouldn't jump to conclusions.

"Yeah, I am devastatingly handsome." Nick joked, breaking some of the tension and making Judy guffaw in the process, her paws slipping from his muzzle. Hearing her laughter after dealing with her gloomy demeanor for the past few days was a breath of fresh air. "Honestly though, Fluff." He switched to a serious tone. "I'm more than happy to come with you. No one is going to make snide remarks when you turn up with a mean old fox. The comments will be aimed at me, and I don't care. All I care about is whether it would help you."

The unexpectedly kind gesture from her partner had the rabbit's eyes welling up with tears. It meant the world to her that he was willing to deal with her judgy school acquaintances to ensure she was okay. She forced the tears back though, not wanting to cry. She loathed the 'emotional bunny' stereotype, even if there was a merit of truth to it. Having Nick by her side would make the reunion bearable, and afterward, they could laugh about it together.

"Would it help?" Nick sought clarification, noting the tears welling up in Judy's eyes. He had to stop himself from reaching out to wipe at her cheeks, stop himself from shushing her and telling her it was okay. "Since when have you been so emotional, Wilde?" He mentally chastised himself. Judy's small nod was all the confirmation he needed, though now he'd have to go out and find a smart outfit from somewhere. He couldn't exactly turn up in his usual Pawaiian shirts. He wanted to look the part, to give Judy's friends less ammunition. "Then it's settled. I'll come with you." Though the fox would be out of his element, he was a pro at adapting to new and challenging situations. It was what had made him such a good hustler, and what made him a good cop.

Wrapping her paws around Nick's neck, Judy yanked him down into a fierce hug. The angle was awkward, and the center console made it uncomfortable for them both, but the rabbit didn't care. Burying her nose in the fluffy fur on Nick's neck, she smiled, holding on to him for a little longer than usual. "Thank you, Slick." She gave the tod a squeeze before pulling back.

"You're welcome, Fluff." Nick offered her a toothy smile. Judy had always been a touchy-feely mammal and often gave the fox hugs. With the matter resolved, Nick twisted an arm behind himself. A clawed finger found the door lock button, and he gave it a push, the click of the doors unlocking echoing around the space.

"That was still creepy, and you better return my book to me!" The rabbit waggled a finger at the fox good-naturedly, this time able to exit the car with ease to the sound of Nick's rumbling laughter.