Hello, my fellow Zootopians!

It's me, J.O. aka TheCatweazle, back in action after all this time!

I started writing this story more than one-and-a-half years ago, but then several things happened which put it on the shelf for about 17 months. The most important thing was that a different story was occupying my thoughts completely, and I needed to get it finished before being able to return to this one.

The story in question is named "How to Treat a Festering Wound."

It started as a spin-off to this one, explaining a few concepts I had taken for granted when I had begun writing this, but it soon developed a life of its own, expanding way beyond anything I could have imagined at the onset.

It grew so much in fact that I decided to make it a part of a trilogy. This trilogy starts with "Wound," finds its continuation in "Now Your Nightmare Comes to Life" and finally ends with this story, "Hammer to Fall."

While you may be able to follow this story here without reading my previous stories, I strongly suggest you read them first, otherwise you won't understand a sizeable portion of this one. (It's called shameless self-promotion, sweetheart!) For all those who lack the patience to read two stories which, when combined, have a total length of more than 250k+ words, here are a few basic facts you need to know about what happened earlier:

"Wound" begins shortly after the arrest of Dawn Bellwether. Judy, Nick, and Bogo go on to discuss her successor, agreeing that Leodore Lionheart, despite having falsely imprisoned several predators, still is the best mammal for the job. Judy, hell-bent on repairing the damage she caused single-pawed during the press conference, convinces Bogo to allow her to appear in front of the press for a second time. There, she goes on to deliver a lengthy speech in which she explains her mistakes and apologizes for them. On top of that, she accuses prey mammals of harassing and even attacking harmless predators, claiming that they were using her mistakes as an excuse to make the lives of predators a living hell. And she suggests that Lionheart might still be the Mayor Zootopia needs.

A series of rather convoluted events follows, which leads to the arrest of four more members of the City Council. Nick plays a vital role in those arrests, since his extensive knowledge of Zootopia and its citizens gives Bogo and the other police officers the tools to enforce the law in a proper way. This in turn motivates Bogo to help Nick get the coveted place at the Zootopia Police Academy, turning the former con-artist into a police officer.

In the end, everything falls into place. Lionheart is freed from prison and becomes Mayor of Zootopia again. Nick enrolls at the ZPA, finishing with top grades to become a police officer, and after some hardship, Judy also finds her place within the ZPD.

And that's where "Nightmare" takes over. Three years have passed since Nick joined the ZPD to team up with Judy. Over time, they became the most successful police team in decades. However, unbeknownst to either of them, both have developed strong feelings for each other. Neither of them dares to tell the other about it, for numerous reasons, among them rules and regulations within the ZPD which state that every officer having an intimate relationship with a co-worker risks being fired and even jail time. (Several people contradicted me during the writing of the story, but it's true: Rules against fraternization exist in real life! Just look at the U.S. military. There also are police forces with similar rules. Even some private companies have fired employees if they got too cozy with co-workers.)

As if this wasn't bad enough, disaster strikes, when Judy contracts myxomatosis, an illness which, while only befalling bunnies, has an insanely high mortality rate. While everybody's hoping against hope that she survives, Nick has a freak accident which causes him to lose his memory of the last five years, meaning he forgets he ever met Judy and left his hustling days behind. He flatly refuses to believe that he had ever been with the ZPD, and nobody can convince Nick otherwise, not even a slowly recovering Judy, which is why the partnership between Nick and Judy effectively comes to an end. Nick returns to his old hustling grounds to resume his previous line of work.

However, after a series of seemingly random encounters, Nick begins to remember bits and pieces, sees himself as a police officer again and realizes that leaving Judy had been a bad idea. He returns to Judy, just as she tried to come to terms with the fact that she had probably lost Nick for good.

Again, as the story comes to its end, everything falls into place. Judy recovers completely, and Nick regains his memories. And both finally act on their feelings, spending the night together and scent-marking each other as mates-for-life.

Now, what does that mean for our favorite couple? Well, let's find out, shall we?

Just so you know, this summary is very concise and doesn't do the stories much justice. (When taking the standard layout for novels in the western hemisphere into account, both stories combined would make for a novel of some 800+ pages. Condensing this into less than fifty lines is bound to leave a few casualties along the way.) For example, there's more to Chief Bogo than we've known before, and this fact comes into play in this story. And what about Finnick? Who is Vivian? Who the h-e-double hockey sticks is Rocky? What's the story behind Major Mastiff? You wanna know more? Read my other stories. I honestly don't wanna blow my own trumpet too much here, so I only say this: If the reviews they received are any indication, they're at least a worthwhile read.

This story firmly fits into the "Drama/Romance" section, and I have given it a T rating for some gruesome imagery and violence, and an eclectic assortment of four-letter words. There will be death, and it won't be exactly rare - mostly original characters, but one character from the movie will also be killed, a character who played a vital role actually. There will be a bit of fluff, but it's not the main focus of the story by any stretch of imagination. It's Drama first, with Romance being a distant second.

And just so you get a feeling for the scope of this thingy: Right now, I am planning for some fifty-plus chapters, maybe even more - and if the story spins out of control again, like my stories usually do (just look at "Wound"), I can even imagine a scenario of more than 80 chapters! Let's just see where we'll end up, shall we?

Another quick word on updates/new chapters: My first story, which was "Nightmare," consisted of 19 chapters, and I completed it in about three weeks. And it shows. I'm still fiddling with the thing, making changes and correcting errors I made due to the frantic pace in which I have written it. (After a last round of edits, I think it's finally as complete as I can make it.)

"Wound," on the other hand, took more than a year to complete. There were several events in my life which forced me into lengthy hiatuses (both my father and my father-in-law died, one of our bunnies also succumbed to cancer, and a lot of work needed to be done on top of that), and the story itself proved to be much harder to write as I had anticipated. Plus it expanded way beyond anything … but I've said that before, haven't I?

This means this story wasn't updated in over a year, and it will take me a lot of time until it can finally be called complete. I won't be able to deliver a new chapter a day - there will be periods of inactivity ranging between days and weeks. Although I hope there will be no more lengthy hiatuses in the future. 2017 hasn't been exactly kind to me. I hope 2018 will allow me to continue writing unimpeded, because I wanna be done before the year is out. I wouldn't count on it though …

I also gave the first ten chapters I wrote of this before I embarked on writing "Wound" an extensive round of proofreading. "Wound" in particular ripped a few sizeable plot holes in this story which I need to take care of before I can finally continue with this. This includes everything, both the story as well as the author's notes. Those will remain as they were, mostly, particularly in regards of the stats, but sometimes I just felt the need for some additions or corrections.

Disclaimer: The movie "Zootopia" and everything depicted therein belongs to Walt Disney Pictures/Walt Disney Animation Studios, copyrighted in 2016. I own nothing of it. I merely use their intellectual property for my own, sinister purposes, i.e. my own enjoyment. Please don't hold it against me! The state of my finances doesn't allow me to fight a lengthy lawsuit! (I mean, if everyone who read my other stories would give me one dollar, my financial worries would be much lessened. Just so you know, they were viewed a combined number of more than 120,000 times, got a grand total of 548 reviews, 427 favorites and 471 alerts - so far! Not bad, eh? Even this story sits, by the time I'm writing this, at some 18,800 views, 112 reviews, 123 favorites and 198 alerts. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me through all this!)

And just so you know, just as it was with "Nightmare," this story's title is borrowed from a song, this time from one by a certain band called Queen. The song's named "Hammer to Fall," written by Brian May and published in 1984 on the album "The Works" by EMI and Capitol.

So, let's get crackin'!

Chapter One

Plans

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

John Lennon: "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)," (Music and Lyrics: John Lennon, from the album "Double Fantasy," Geffen, 1980)

Foxes are shifty and untrustworthy.

Judy Hopps had no idea how often she had heard that sentence, nor how many mammals had given her this piece of advice. Her father, of course, had been on the forefront of those telling her to be cautious around foxes. But at the end of the day, the fact that foxes were not to be trusted was little more than everyday wisdom.

And no mammal represented this piece of wisdom better than Gideon Grey.

For a red fox of just nine years of age, he was quite tall, and the girth he was throwing around dwarfed all members of his peer group, even the other mammals he kept around. Which wouldn't have been a problem, if not for the fact that he also was a bully.

Hardly a day went by when Gideon wasn't up to his elbows in some bullying shenanigans. His track record at school was atrocious, so bad in fact that there was no mammal willing and able to stand up to him. Even the bigger mammals like the Catmulls, a family of cougars living near Judy's home, had learned to give Gideon a wide berth.

But when you want to become a police officer, standing up to bullies comes natural.

"Hey! You heard her, cut it out!" Judy left her cover behind the tree and walked up to Gideon.

Travis, Gideon's ferret friend, winced and jumped behind Gideon into cover. Gideon, however, seemed to be unimpressed by Judy. No surprise there - compared to the bunny, he was easily twice as tall and four times as massive. "Nice costume, loser! What crazy world are you livin' in where you think a bunny can be a cop?" He gave her a most malicious smirk.

Judy opened her mouth to tell him to return the tickets to his friends, when all of a sudden another voice spoke up: "You know, Gid, that's not the most crazy thing about this world."

Judy wheeled around. There was another mammal standing near, in the shadow of a nearby tree, leaning against the trunk with a relaxed posture. His face was completely obscured; the only thing Judy was able to make out was that he was even taller than Gideon, but much less massive. The unknown mammal continued: "The most crazy thing in this world by far and away is that there still are foxes around who have nothing better to do with their time than to bully other mammals. No wonder most mammals hold foxes in such a low esteem."

"Who're you?" Gideon asked with a threatening voice.

The other mammal chuckled. "You know perfectly well who I am! And you also know why I'm here. So, I strongly suggest you return the tickets to their rightful owners, like now." The mammal stood upright and took a few steps forward, stepping into the sunlight.

And to Judy's surprise, the mammal turned out to be another red fox.

Not only that, but he was also wearing the uniform of a police officer!

Gideon's eyes widened, shrinking back. It was obvious that he knew the other fox. Travis had obviously decided that his presence was no longer needed - he was nowhere to be found.

The other fox approached Gideon, towering over him. He was easily one foot taller than Gideon and of slender and athletic build. His age was difficult to determine, but Judy wouldn't have been surprised if he was almost as old as her parents. With a quick flick of his wrist he took the tickets out of the breast pocket of Gideon's overall. "You know, I'm sick and tired of running after you, making everything right that you do wrong. Stealing is a crime, Gideon! Yes, it's only a few tickets, and yes, maybe they aren't worth a dime, still they don't belong to you, so you have no right to take them by force. Do I really need to hammer this into your thick skull by force?"

Judy was witness to a first: Gideon was afraid! No, afraid was to weak a word. He was in mortal terror!

Which was somewhat surprising, all things considered. The other fox was an adult and probably much stronger than even Gideon was, but he hadn't uttered even one threatening word. He was just calm and collected. As far as Judy was able to tell, Gideon was in no danger of being harmed in any way.

Yet there he was, shaking in barely suppressed fear.

Judy should have been afraid of the adult fox, too. After all, foxes are shifty and untrustworthy.

But she wasn't.

The fox obviously wanted to help her friends. He had stood up to Gideon.

And he was a cop!

And he looked drop-dead gorgeous!

There was a silky sheen to his fur, his face showed a genuine smile, showing his fangs in a completely non-threatening way. His tail was long and very fluffy. To say that his uniform became him was the mother of all understatements. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, but somehow Judy was certain that the color of his eyes would be the most breathtakingly beautiful emerald.

"Go, Gideon, right now, before I change my mind about punishing you! And just so you know, the next time I need to right your wrongs, your parents and I will have a little chat, and believe me, you will not like the outcome of that chat very much. Now, get lost." When Gideon made no move, the fox cop added: "While we're young, Gid!"

Gideon seemed to wake out of his stupor. He turned around and fled the scene like a mammal possessed.

The other fox heaved a sigh, shaking his head, then he turned towards Judy's friends. "These are yours, I presume," he said, handing them their tickets. Her friends uttered a few words of thanks which sounded quite incredulous to Judy.

Just as incredulous as Judy was feeling.

A fox had stood up to a bully.

A fox had prevented a crime.

A fox had become a police officer.

He turned towards her, looking down at her with a friendly smile. "I'm impressed, Junior Officer! Standing up to a bully twice as tall as yourself takes a lot of guts."

Judy puffed out her chest. "Thank you, Officer!"

The fox chuckled, holding out his paw. "It's always nice to get to know other officers. Sergeant Nicholas Wilde, Zootopia Police Department, Precinct One."

"Judy Hopps, eh, uhm, Hopps Family Farm." She shook his paw.

His eyes widened as he took of his sunglasses. Yep, breathtakingly beautiful emerald eyes. "So you belong to the family growing those awesome blueberries?"

Judy had the peculiar feeling of drowning in his eyes. She took a deep breath. "You like 'em?" she said, trying her hardest to sound casual.

Wilde grinned. "Do I like 'em? No, no, I don't." He made a pause. "I LOVE 'em!"

"I could fetch you some," Judy said quickly.

"I like you already, Carrots," Wilde said, and to her astonishment, he knelt down and hugged her.

And before she knew it, the fox had planted a kiss on her lips.

A kiss which seemed to last a lifetime.

A kiss during which nine-year-old Judy grew into 28-year-old Judy.

A kiss which set every nerve ending, every fiber of her being, on fire.

The shifty, untrustworthy fox.

The love of her life!

Standing so close to him, kissing him, made her feel really hot.

It was just perfect …

If not for the splitting headache.

When you are a lightweight like Judy Hopps, emptying almost an entire bottle of apple cider is bound to leave you with a fiercely throbbing head.

Judy groaned, the last remnants of her dream leaving her quickly. It had been a good dream, one of her favorites, her fox friend standing up to the bully Gideon Grey. It was complete nonsense, of course, like most dreams she had, still it was a nice image she liked very much.

It didn't help her in her current situation, though.

Her head felt like it was going to explode, her mouth was parched, and she felt incredibly hot, despite the fact that she had obviously discarded her blanket at one point during the night, as it was lying on the floor in front of her bed.

Still, she had the feeling of being covered in a blanket.

A very soft and very fluffy blanket.

Her whole backside felt unbelievably warm.

As if someone …

Wait, WHAT?

She opened her eyes, slowly.

Looking down, she noticed two things.

One, she was stark naked.

Two, a big, red, fluffy tail covered her almost completely.

OH! MY! GOD!

This can't be happening to me!

Slowly, cautiously, she reached down with her paw, feeling her crotch.

It was hot, wet, and sticky, the fur matted by some … fluids.

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe slowly, trying her hardest to fight the panic that threatened to overwhelm her.

A task not made easier by the fact that certain parts of fox anatomy were resting against her butt, caressing her with every tiny movement of the mammal spooning her.

Her nose picked up an overwhelming scent. His scent.

He had scent-marked her. He had marked her as his mate-for-life!

She had marked him as her mate-for-life!

And they had … done what bunnies are most famous for!

Which obviously meant that they had created heaps of problems for themselves. Her life as a police officer, her professional career, was most likely over.

Well, maybe not her career, but his.

Had he really told her yesterday, amidst all this hormone-induced insanity, that he was willing to give up his job to be with her?

She had gained a life-mate, but maybe she'd lost her partner along the way.

Would it be better that way? Worse that way? Judy had no clue.

Being his life-mate and still working together as partners-in-crime, or rather partners-in-law, would of course still be her preferred choice, but she doubted Chief Bogo would play along.

After all, rules are rules.

By choosing to mate with him, Judy may very well have ended his career and their partnership.

Of course she was always able to blame it on the alcohol. Or temporary insanity. Or …

Who am I kiddin'?

I love this fox!

I've loved him for years!

"You know you love me."

"Do I know that? Yes, yes, I do."

Everybody at the ZPD had heard them exchange these sentences countless times. She had always believed it to be little more than harmless banter.

Turns out it was all but harmless banter.

Never had been.

Be honest with yourself, Judy! You've fallen for him ages ago! You started falling for him when he poured his heart out to you, up in that gondola. After he had saved your career. After he had stood up to Bogo, something you would never have dared to do.

And you definitely fell for him the day you pinned that badge to his uniform. When he returned your salute, an honest smile on his face.

They had shared a carrot milkshake afterwards. He had claimed to hate carrots, but had been playing along. Everything for my dumb bunny, he'd said. She had produced two identically colored straws, one for each of them, only to mix them up at one point. Which was when he had simply shrugged and used both to take a sip, announcing afterwards that this had officially been their first kiss.

She had sputtered at him in mock outrage, while a tiny part of her had kept yelling at her to give him the real first official kiss.

And then she had used both straws to take a sip, announcing afterwards that she could do with more of those kisses.

It had taken her more than three years and almost an entire bottle of cider to finally muster the courage to make her bold statement a reality.

They had mated. She had scent-marked him as mate-for-life.

Everybody with a working sense of smell would know immediately what was going on between them.

She had irreversibly, irrefutably, slammed a door shut last night.

And he had played along.

Maybe her alcohol-induced insanity was contagious.

No, it had never been insanity. And alcohol, while probably doing away with parts of her inhibitions, hadn't been that huge a factor either.

She had scent-marked him because she had wanted to do it for a long time.

It was just a culmination of everything that had happened between them over the years.

And if his words of yesterday were any indication, he felt the same way about her.

And this thought made her feel like the happiest mammal on the whole planet.

I've done it! Finally! I HAVE DONE IT!

Years of uncertainty, finally wiped out by the ultimate act of togetherness.

I have fallen for a fox! And I've fallen HARD!

And I love it!

I love YOU, my dumb fox!

Having reached this conclusion, she finally felt able to confront her more pressing problems. Her headache was killing her, and if she wasn't able to reach the bathroom soon, her bladder might make things between her and her lover really awkward.

She had to get up, and quite fast at that!

A quick assessment of her situation, however made it clear that this wasn't an option. She was pretty much buried under red fur attached to a fox much bigger and heavier than she was.

His right arm was lying on her chest, his paw close to her breasts, his right leg was lying on her own, and his whole body was pressed into her backside. His chin was resting on top of her head, between her folded-down ears. It was, a voice inside her head told her, quite the perfect fit. So perfect indeed that there was no way for her to disentangle herself from him. Not without waking him.

Fortunately, the faster breathing behind her told her that this was no longer a problem.

"Good morning, Judy."

Instead of an answer, she groaned.

"Then again," Nick Wilde added in a dry tone, "what's so good about a morning that starts with getting up?"

"Niiiiiiick!"

"What, Fluff? It's not my fault you drank almost an entire bottle of cider."

"I need to go, bad!"

"Oops!" He disentangled himself from her at once, and she got down from her bed, quickly donning her pajama which they had thrown from her bed to the floor at some point during the night. She left her room to run over to the bathroom to answer nature's call.

Having done that, she returned to her room at a much more sedate pace. Re-entering her room, she found Nick kneeling in front of her cupboard, putting two pills into a glass and filling it with water.

And Judy watched him doing this in all his nude glory.

He looked simply stunning.

The scrawny con mammal of old had been replaced by a slim, athletic fox, with well-defined muscles in all the right places. He moved with an almost feline grace. More than three years of regular workouts and the hardships of duty had turned the very un-athletic con fox into the epitome of physical fitness.

And when he was smiling like that …

Hmmm! Want! Fox! Badly!

He got up, holding up the glass in which the two pills were fizzing away. "Thought you might want some alka-seltzer."

Judy smiled, taking the glass from him. "I do, thanks. Good thing I bought some after Francine's party."

He shrugged. "I don't need this stuff."

"Of course, my boring fox."

"Boring? Says the bunny who didn't even know the words 'chill out' and 'relax' when I got to know her."

She couldn't help grinning at that. "You know you love me."

He looked down at her, his expression somber. "I think I do."

Standing on her tip-toes, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "I know."

He gave her a grin. "I could get used to this." Bowing down, he gave her a kiss between her ears.

Judy sighed. "I could, too," she whispered. "However, I think the next time will contain less alcohol."

Nick chuckled. "That's what you get for polishing off an entire bottle of cider."

She snorted. "Don't remind me. Ugh!" She looked at the almost empty bottle standing on her desk. "Stupid, really."

"Can't disagree with you there, Carrots."

She nodded. She had rarely seen Nick drink alcohol. Two tiny glasses of beer at most, that was it. And now that she knew his father's story, she knew why he usually stayed sober. "Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book, Nick."

"You definitely should. Too much alcohol doesn't solve problems, it creates problems."

Judy sighed. "Yep. Learned that the hard way yesterday." She emptied the glass quickly, finishing with a small burp.

Nick grinned. "Manners, Fluff!

She stuck her tongue out. "My apartment, my rules. My awful behavior."

He looked around. "Right. Your shoebox."

She put down the glass on her cupboard, then she looked at him, letting her gaze wander over his naked body.

Yeah! Hmmm!

Nick looked down at her, a smile on his muzzle. "You're waaaayyyy overdressed, Carrots."

She looked down at herself, at her rather bland pajama. "Looks like I am." She looked up again, grinning. "Wanna do something about this?"

He shrugged. "Well, I could get dressed …"

She chuckled, giving his upper arm a light punch. "Don't you dare!"

He chuckled, too. "So you like what you see?"

She put on a thoughtful expression. "Do I like it? No, no, I don't." She made a pause, looking into his face which looked quite crestfallen all of a sudden. "I LOVE it!"

He grinned. "Yeah, I know, it's called a hustle, sweetheart!" He approached her, taking her into his embrace. She snuggled into him, putting her arms around his waist. "I love you, Judy," he whispered.

"I love you, Nick," she said.

He disentangled from her and knelt down. His paws found their way under her pajama, caressing her tummy, pushing her pajama top up, freeing her breasts. Gently massaging them, he said: "Wanna continue where we left off yesterday?"

Judy closed her eyes, breathing heavily. "I … I don't … think I have … a choice," she said, then she gasped in response to his TLC. Bringing her paws down to what made him a reynard, her caresses caused him to gasp, too.

It was, of course, at this very moment that the disadvantages of living in the Grand Pangolin Arms apartment building became obvious.

"OY, KEEP THE NOISE DOWN OVER THERE! SOME MAMMALS'RE TRYIN' TO SLEEP HERE!"

"Says the mammal who keeps the other occupants here awake at night," Nick retorted immediately.

"HEY, BUCKY, IT'S THE FOX!"

"SHUT UP, PRONG! SO IT'S THE FOX! BIG DEAL! HE STAYS HERE EVERY OTHER NIGHT, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW. NOW SHUT YOUR PIE-HOLE AND LET ME SLEEP!"

"NO, YOU SHUT UP!"

"YOU SHUT UP!"

Nick sighed. "How can you stand it?"

She shrugged. "You get used to it."

"I doubt it. Honestly, you ever thought about moving?"

She sighed. "I did, but it's just so expensive in Zootopia."

"No kidding!" He put his arms around her. "Well, maybe we can find something together."

She smiled at him. "So you want me to stay around?"

His expression suddenly became serious. "Well, I don't know about rabbits, but when foxes mate, they mate for life." He put on his usual smirk. "And since this is a really serious commitment, at least to foxes, I guess you'll be stuck with me for the foreseeable future."

She couldn't help grinning at that. "I think I could get used to it." She leaned into his embrace. "Bunnies mate for life, too, you know."

Nick chuckled. "Judy, you just made me a very happy camper."

Judy chuckled, too, looking around. "I don't see any tents here." She disentangled from him and looked down. "Other than the tent between your legs."

"Uh, Judy, that would be the case if I were … excited and wearing trousers, but as you can see, I'm naked."

"PRONG, DID YOU HEAR THAT? THE FOX IS NAKED AND IN HER ROOM!"

"HEY, HE FINALLY DID THE BUNNY!"

"'BOUT FUCKIN' TIME!"

Nick sighed. "That does it!" He stepped away from Judy, approached the wall and banged against it. "IF YOU TWO DON'T PIPE DOWN THIS INSTANT, I'LL HAVE TO ARREST YOU FOR DISTURBING THE PEACE!" He turned towards Judy, shaking his head. "Those two really know how to kill the mood."

She shrugged. "What do you expect in this building?"

"A bit of peace and quiet for a change." He shook his head. "You definitely need to move out."

"I know." She smiled. "My next project."

He shook his head. "Our next project." Then he sighed. "But there are a few things we need to take care of first."

"Yes. We need to talk to Bogo."

"Of course. Let's see if the old softy will let me back in."

"You don't think so?"

Nick shrugged. "Well, given the fact that we broke the non-fraternization rules, I'm not sure."

"Who knows? At least you have your memories back."

"Yeah. I hope so, at least."

"You're not sure?"

"Carrots, I've 36 years' worth of memories. That's a lot. I have no idea if I got them all back."

She smiled. "At least you remember me. That's good enough for me."

Nick smiled, taking her into another embrace. "Oh yes, I do remember you, my sly bunny!"

"I guess we should visit Dr. Pawson first."

"You're right. I need that medical clearance."

"So, hospital first, then Bogo?"

He shook his head. "We're off duty till Monday. We can go there tomorrow. First, I have bigger fish to fry."

"Like what?"

He took a deep breath. "Visit my mom."

Judy smiled. "Tell her you mated with some dumb bunny?"

Nick had to grin at that. "Yes, there's that … I also want to tell her that I have my memories back."

"She'll be ecstatic to hear that."

"I hope so."

"She'll be. Right now, that's all she wants."

Nick said nothing for a few seconds. "Right, you talked to her."

"Yep. She told me everything, Nick." Her paws reached around him, coming to rest on his back, searching for scars. There was one, a quite long one too, and she was able to feel another one. "How many are there?"

Nick sighed. "Seven."

Her paw kept searching for further scars from this display of fatherly abuse. "Why did you hide them?"

Nick shrugged. "I didn't necessarily hide them - my fur does this for me. I just see to it that the topic never comes up."

Judy nodded. "You can tell me things like these."

"I will." Nick gave her a smile. "You're my life-mate, after all."

"Great. Oh, and by the way, my parents invited me to visit them on the weekend."

"They did?"

"Yeah." She put on a bashful smile. "I called them yesterday, before you returned to me, and they told me I should visit them to 'get over you.'" Her smile became strained. "Now I need to somehow tell them that I mated with a fox."

Nick placed his paw on her nose, moving it up, between her ears and down the back of her head. He knew from experience that this was the perfect way to calm her down. She closed her eyes and purred silently in contentment. "Don't worry, Judy, it'll work out," he said.

She opened one eye. "You sure?"

"One hundred percent. Just as it'll work out with my mom."

Judy nodded. "I know. She told me to, and I quote, 'make this fox yours.'"

Nick grinned. "That's my mom for you."

Judy closed her eye again, enjoying his tender strokes. "You said the exact same thing yesterday."

"I know."

Judy sighed. "Okay. To your mom it is."

Nick grinned. "Let's get going?"

"Let's get going." She took him into one a last embrace. "Last one to the showers is a rotten egg!"

They enjoyed the rest of the morning together, the shower, the breakfast, the kisses and caresses along the way.

Life was good.

Of course, good things like these never last …

I guess after the emotional turmoil that was "Now Your Nightmare Comes to Life," you earned yourselves a bit of fluff! Don't worry, I won't make a habit out of it! ;-) Next chapter will be a complete change in tone and scenery.

Oh, and another bit of bunny lore: When a bunny produces a soft chattering sound with its teeth (commonly called "purring," although this is a misnomer), it is very content. (Not to be confused with gnashing of teeth, a surprisingly loud grinding sound, which usually indicates that the bunny is not feeling well, i.e. in distress or pain.) The easiest way to make a bunny purr is to pet them in the aforementioned way: starting with the nose, between their eyes, over their forehead and ears and down their back. When the bunny likes you, it will purr almost instantly. You have to take it slow, however - a bunny may mistake fast movements for attacks, since most are far-sighted and cannot recognize objects at a close distance. Any fast movement might trigger their flight impulse. (Their eyes are specifically designed by Mother Nature to be able to spot predators from afar. They're almost useless when things are close and personal. They also cannot distinguish colors all that well. About the only thing they have is a field of vision of almost 360 degrees. So, take it slow around rabbits!)

So much for the first chapter! Please let me know what you think of this! (In other words, send me your reviews!)

And thanks for reading!

Take care!

J.O. aka TheCatweazle