A/N: I'm back, I apologize for the wait. Personal loss and professional struggles abound and made things difficult. There is a scene at the end that cause me to bump the rating to T.

It took nearly two hours to get the trash taken out, to use Ms. Wilde's euphemism. Grizzoli and Francine showed up within the first hour and hauled Mr. Johnson to the squad car where they let him cool off from his being manhandled by a bunny cop while the four of them performed a quick canvass of the building for any other victims of the skunk's schemes. In all, they found another six residents who had been victimized by Mr. Johnson, not including Ms. Wilde and Mr. Biederman, who were still living in the building, there were still more that had moved out. It was decided that they would discuss the particulars with the investigating detective and Chief Bogo the next day; and Grizzoli and Francine bid Nick, Judy, and Ms. Wilde goodnight to go drop their guest off at central processing.

Back in the apartment, Judy helped Ms. Wilde get dinner on the table while Nick straightened the living room. Ms. Wilde was regaling Judy with tales of a young Nick when he joined them at the table; the first thing he noticed was the ease of which the two females interacted with one another. The next thing was the brilliance of Judy's smile. It had been a long time since he had seen that particular one, one that was effusive with joy and free of inner turmoil, that she used to radiate frequently; it could not even match the ones he got on their secondary dates when he was consistently pulling out his best material to lighten her mood. For heaven's sake, she was giggling like a school kit, her pert mouth tucked behind her paw delicately. Nick was mildly concerned that the tales of his misspent youth were amusing his Fluff as much as they were but he would not deny that the relaxed way she sat across the table from him, occasionally giggling- or even outright belly laughing- at his antics as relayed by his mother were not helping to ease his own discomfort at the earlier fuss. Nick also refused to discount what the homemade meal was doing for Judy's mood; he made it a point to come home every so often just for a meal—not that he was unable to cook in his apartment but nothing he was capable of making could beat his mother's cooking- there was no competition. Judy was still living on her own more than two hundred miles away from the cooking she had grown up with, her little apartment while functional as a living space, had no place to really cook unless she went to the communal kitchen and even then, Nick didn't think she had the necessary utensils because he had never seen them the few times he had seen the inside of her apartment. Storage space was nearly non-existent, if not simply above her head. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered why the females in his life refused to find appropriate living quarters; which directly translated into the thought of Judy living with his mom somewhere and the cold chills down his spine brought him back to the conversation at the table, enabling him to catch the end of his mother talking about his last girlfriend—not that he would have called her that.

"I'm just so glad you're no longer seeing that tramp, Nicholas, she wasn't any good for you but it's been long enough. When are you going to start dating again?" His mother's question raised the fur on his neck. The last thing he needed right now was to be involved with someone, especially given his internal, on-going debate with himself regarding one incredible dinner guest currently sitting at his mother's table. Besides, given Judy's recent history with the topic, he decided it would be best to change the topic as soon as he could.

"I don't know, Mom. Maybe I'll consider it once I don't have to worry about you living here anymore," he knew she might call him out on the sass but he did not want his romantic life the focus of the conversation right now. He did not want Judy to have the image of him and someone else slipping around in her head; even though he knew that with his feelings, it might be for the best.

"Oh, psh." His mother responded, waving a hand at him, "It's too late tonight to be arguing about that. I've told you before, I don't want to move and I want to leave it there." The steel in her voice let him know he needed to back off.

Putting his paws up in surrender, Nick tried for neutrality in his voice, "Alright, fine. No more about it… Tonight." With his capitulation, dinner carried on at a comfortable pace. Judy got along with his mother and laughed at their stories; she even talked his mother into letting her help with dishes, his mother who believed that guests had no business in her kitchen at all. Nick leaned back into the kitchen counter and listened to the companionable talk with his eyes closed. As Judy was waxing rhapsodic about The Burrow, as he sometimes thought of it, and of the fair coming up; Nick was wondering if she could help him make his case for his mother moving out more effective without forcing him into strong arming her out of the building. An uninhibited smile began to cross his face, before he caught his mother's words.

"Oh, I've always wanted to go to a town fair!" his mother exclaimed. "Tell me all about it, please. I'm sure the ones here in the city can't compare to the charm of what you grew up with."

He cracked an eye open in time to catch her brush the lower left side of her face; the blush climbing into her cheeks really was cute, not that he'd tell her that. He noticed they had finished the dishes and both were leaning against the counter by the sink.

"Well, I don't know about that. I've never gone to one in the city before. I didn't even know you had them," Judy replied earnestly.

Nick caught the calculating gleam in his mother eyes and closed his again, mentally girding himself for what he knew that look was.

"Well then, Sweetheart, we'll just have to rectify that then. Maybe you and Nicholas could check out one his high school does every year," his mother posited thoughtfully.

'And there it is,' Nick thought ruefully, stretching his arms above his head. Opening his eyes, Nick looked at the clock above the stove. Seeing that they had been there for nearly five hours, and he needed to run past his place, he answered, "Sure thing, Mom, will you be okay by yourself for a little while? I need to run by my place and pick up a few things if I'm staying here for a couple of days. Hopps, how about I escort you home?"

His mother clapped her paws together, "Oh, Nicholas, that's a wonderful idea." Of course it was, and but which part she was most excited over, he was not sure. Staying there would give him a chance to make sure things would be okay at his mother's and he could hopefully work on getting her agreement to move, with Judy's helpful input but offering to walk Judy home in front of his mother would definitely give her the wrong impression about them. "Judy, dear, you will come back for dinner one night again, won't you? With or without my son, you're always welcome here, I hope you know."

"Hey!" Nick's voice cracked like a teenager's at the idea of the two conspiring against him without his supervision. He started to usher his partner to the door so they could escape his mother and her machinations.

As he guided her toward the door, Judy rubbed her cheek and smoothed her ears down, before turning back to his mother with a nervous, "Sure, I-uh- I don't see why not. That sounds like fun." Nick scanned the room to make sure she had not left her phone out and grabbed her work bag from where he'd deposited it when they walked in earlier. He turned and watched as his mother took over escorting Judy toward the door, her arm around his bunny's slim shoulders.

"Excellent and we'll get together for coffee one afternoon soon." Eugenia Wilde was plotting something, he could tell and Judy looked guilty at the mention of coffee. "It was a pleasure to officially meet you, dear, after hearing so much about you."

"Seriously, Mom? Are you trying to embarrass me?" Nick could feel his own blush crossing his face. He was out the door with his paw reaching to pull Judy out as the rabbit turned and hugged his mother. He felt his jaw unhinge at the sight.

"Thank you for dinner and for welcoming me into your home," she offered quietly, but Nick caught it. He could tell his mother did too, by the way her eyes watered. His mother caught his gaze over Judy's head with a look he remembered well from his youth. Nick did not need what she was planning; not today, not ever.

"You're very welcome, my dear. I meant it; I hope to see you again soon." And with that statement, they turned to hurry for the train station.

As Judy and Nick made their way to the street level, she let him guide her towards her apartment with his arm resting lightly around her shoulders. She was suddenly glad to realize how close he lived to her if he had to go back to his mother's that night, now worried because surely he was as tired as she was. A slight shiver down her back caused him to glance down at her; breaking the companionable silence Judy gave voice to her concerns, "Nick, I know you need to get back to your mother's so you can get some sleep. It's okay if you don't walk me all the way to my apartment, I can make it from here." She did not want to be a burden to him, and she knew he was a mammal that loved his sleep.

He looked down at her, affronted or appalled, she could not decide which. "Carrots, I'm insulted. When I say I'm going to take a girl home, I mean to take her all the way." The heat in his voice brought the color back to her cheeks and she hoped he could not tell she was blushing. Something about his words gave the warmth in her face license to wander her body. "Besides, if I don't take you to your door and something happens, my mother will never forgive me." His congenial answer deflated her a bit. "She, uh, she seems quite taken with you."

"Oh," was all she could say, wanting to clarify she position, "I was just trying to be helpful, I know your apartment is in the other direction and you still have to head back to you mom's."

"Oh, Fluff, don't worry about it. I'm tough; I can make it on little sleep and nearly no caffeine." The look on his face seemed to disagree.

"Heaven forbid you don't get the caffeine you need to be a decent fox," Judy's scandalized tone brought out a smile on his face. The shivers were back running their way down her spine.

"Hey, you cold?" Nick asked as if he just noticed the shivers she was suffering from. Not wanting him to know it was not the temperature giving her trouble, she shrugged and murmured noncommittally. She was distracted by his hands going for the buttons of his shirt.

"Nick, what are you doing?" Judy hissed, the sight of him peeling off his Hawaiian shirt from his torso. She felt her brain stutter at the sight of his arms and pectorals encased in the white cotton shirt he had worn underneath. "Yeow," she could feel the warmth of the shirt as he swung it around her shoulders, but her focus remained on his muscles. She did not remember all those from their training previously, and wondered when he had grown them.

"You've been shaking on and off since we got out of the terminal," the concern in his voice was having a funny effect on her higher reasoning. The concern and the bulk that had been hiding under his uniform, apparently, and shaking herself, Judy smiled up at him as genuinely as she had in a while.

Nodding a bit self-consciously, she pulled the shirt tight around her frame and breathed in the scent on the collar. "Thank you," she whispered, they both turned to continue their way to her apartment.

"Don't mention it, Sweetheart. You saved me today; the way I see it, I'll still owe you when we're old and gray—oh, wait, we are," he could only be referencing their age difference and the shade of her fur. Judy had to groan at the attempt of humor; she rubbed her face along the collar again, hoping that it would look like she was trying to wipe the memory of that off her instead of doing her best to absorb his scent.

"I have siblings older than you, you know that, right?" She asked, slightly annoyed at the reminder of the age thing. The fact he stopped walking and looked at her oddly was the clue she had failed to mention it to him in the past.

"No, I was, uh, not aware of that." His voice sounded out of sorts.

"Yeah, the oldest set of siblings is just over tweleve years my senior," she informed him, she could feel the grin eating up her face.

"Huh, learn something every day." If she was not mistaken, he looked stunned.

"Yeah, one of my older sisters was engaged to a hare that was eleven years or so older than her," Judy enjoyed the astonishment that flashed across his features; she knew she should not enjoy his discomfort but he was pretty cute that way. As they were closing in on her building, she decided to cut him a break, asking, "You think your mom is going to be alright?"

If the change in subjects threw him, it was not detectable. "Oh, yeah. She survived my teenage years without 'returning me from whence I came'; she'll live through a move to somewhere else. She's no shrinking violet, I can tell you." He was quiet a moment before adding softly, "Thanks for tonight by the way."

"It was my pleasure. Well, I mean meeting your mother… the deal with the landlord wasn't what I'd call fun but, uh, yeah. Shutting up now," she finished lamely, her embarrassment leaking out; not believing she was letting her foot ruin the flavor from dinner earlier.

"Nah, I get it. I wish there was more I could do for her, ya know? I'd love to get her out of town for a few days or at least out of the building." He was so good a brushing off her awkward, verbal stumbles. Nodding her head as they paused at her front steps, Judy was stuck with a thought that she did not think she wanted to let slip just yet.

"I might have an idea; can I look into it and get back to you?" Judy was hoping that her voice did not reveal too much. She hopped up the first three steps and turned to face her companion.

Nick shrugged, "Sure thing. Although, don't go to too much trouble on my account."

Blushing, Judy agreed before adding, "Thank you for walking me home." At this height, they were near to eye level, and Judy was struck by how alert his green eyes were in the light of the street lamp. He dropped his eyes from her and looked away before speaking again.

"Thank you, Judy, for everything." The emotion in his voice stalls her from going in the building and sets her leaping to hug him around the neck tightly. She had caught him off guard for half a second as he has to step back to catch her, before he was responding with the same enthusiasm as she. As he set her feet back on the ground, Judy went to remove his shirt. "Nah, you hang on to it," he said, not looking directly at her but Judy thinks she sees a reddening under his fur.

"Take it, in case you get cold, please. I hate the thought that you would be stuck shivering the whole way to your apartment," she does not say that if she keeps it, she knows she will be sleeping with it.

Nick reaches out and cups her left cheek, gently running his thumb pad along it but seems to catch himself and stops quickly; Judy is suddenly worried he found the scars there but the worry flies when he drops his forehead to hers. "Alright, you talked me into it," he says as he accepts the shirt and steps back from her.

She feels him nudge her up the stairs and she turns and waves as she goes in the door. Hurrying up to her room, Judy is able to catch sight of Nick before he turns the corner. Watching until he disappears from view, Judy flops back onto her bed and wonders if she's in over her head.

The warmth was the first thing Nick noticed, that it was encompassing and comforting. A gentle scent of farm fresh earth with hints of something sweet and warm fur wafted about his nose and his paw reached for the smell until it found the plush softness of a well-rounded, fur-covered hip. Pulling it closer to him, Nick breathed deeply, feeling himself shift forward into the gentle curve that is cradled by his hips. His reaction was instantaneous and he was ready for duty; his nose edging closer to the scent's home, where the slim column of neck met a sexy, sloping shoulder and the sigh uttered pulled him closer to the edge he was dangerously skirting.

"Oh, Nick…" The low, heated moan captured his attention, as his lips nuzzled the neck in front of him and his own response thickened. The softness in front of him pushed back as he ground harder against it. Nick let his fingers run over the yielding form before him as they sought out flesh to uncover and tease. He carefully traded gentle nips of his teeth on the coat before him with affectionate kisses, hoping to excite his partner before they had to get up. As his name escaped her lips for a second time, Nick felt himself tense. Something was off and upon opening his eyes, Nick could not believe the gentle gray fur that found its way into his field of view, and as much as he tried to hold himself back, he felt his hips buck forward again. The plea was there again, "Oh, Nick…" He felt the resistance in him melt and as suddenly her unmistakable violet eyes were looking up at him, affectionate and hazy with sexual excitement as the body spooned against him turned to draw him against her. The kisses littering his face were teasing, soft, and driving him mad with want. The situation was not helped by the fact she rolled him to his back and ground down against him delicately from her superior position; as she began to roll her hips in time with his forward thrusts, he found the barrier of their clothing provided a tantalizing friction.

Nick's eyes closed as he whispered her name, "Judy, oh Judy." Her enthusiastic groan brought his paws to find her hips and pull her down to him again and again; she leaned forward to hold his shoulders for balance and he noticed then how light her touch was. "Sweetheart, I need you to hold on to me. Please…" His request was rent from his lips as he jerked forward in the pleasure she offered and he took a deep breath searching for the scent that was uniquely her and driving his need through his core.

"Oh Nick… Oh, Nick," her voice was low but the longing in it was unmistakable. He gripped her hips tighter as he continued to drive forward wanting to have her reach her peak first before his own was met, and he was getting incredibly close.

"Sweetheart…Judy…." His own voice growing hoarse with want, "Please, I need you to let me know how to get you there. I don't want to let go without you having…" Her moans filled his ears, the pleasure he derived from it carrying him closer to his end as did the smell of the two of them filled the air around his bed. He continued to grind against her, his paws tightening on her hips again, desperate to give her the pleasure he was so close to finding. He felt himself tightening and knew he was close when she leaned forward, shirt open and he caught a glimpse of the glorious flesh underneath. He felt her lips by his ears, her words driving him over the precipice, "I need you. Oh, Nick… I lo-"

Nick pitched forward to a full sitting position, eyes open and breathing heavy. He was alone in his bed, in the room he had used until he had moved out to become his own fox. Still in the clothes he had walked Judy home in, her smell still lingering after their friendly embrace. Dropping back onto the bed, his breaths still coming hard and fast, he glanced around to see the sheets tangled by his ankles and a pillow over his abdomen; his green shirt was balled up next to his face. He tried to piece together what had happened; he remembered walking Judy home and the final hug they had shared on her front stoop. He remembered pulling his shirt to hang around his neck on his was to his apartment; he remembered looking for enough clothes to hold him over for a few days, and by the time he made it back to his mother's, he had been so tired Nick had simply dropped into the bed and closed his eyes, thinking he would get up in a couple minutes a get ready for bed and turn out the lights. He took a deep breath and was surrounded by the fragrance that could only be Judy.

His disbelief at what had just happened was substituting for the cold shower he was sure he would be taking before too long. He had not had a dream like that in years. Years. He had never, ever, had a dream that hot before—that erotic—and it had not even been all that vivid; it was chaste compared to most he had had previously. Nick had known his feelings for his partner were getting out of hand, but this was ridiculous. He sprang from the bed and checked the time, half past five. 'Time to get a grip,' he thought sourly. Checking his clothes, he was glad to see that whatever mess he could have made had been contained by his pants and would be easy enough to clean up, especially considering the state they had been in before he had passed out.

Grabbing what he would need for his shower, he made his way gingerly to the bathroom. As the cool water ran over his shoulders, he struggled to find peace. Judy was his partner, his best friend. She had taken the time to help him with his training to get into the academy and once he was in, she kept training with him. She was helping with his mother's situation and being a better friend than he deserved, and he had reacted like a hormonal teenager. Was currently reacting like that hormonal teenager again, he realized. A frustrated growl came out as he realized a cold shower was not going to help; he was going to have to handle the issue himself. 'It's a natural reaction,' he thought, 'there's nothing to be ashamed of, even if you were dreaming of your best friend. It's been a while since you've had a date, let alone… You're just taking care of it now so you can focus today on what needs done instead of letting this eat at you.'

As he adjusted the water temperature and himself, he tried to relax into his usual fantasy; allowing the hot water to work the knots in his back easing the tension that had been there when he had awoken. It was a few minutes before Nick figured out that his usual fare was not going to work, an aggravating position to be in right now. Allowing his mind to wander, it went back to the dream and Nick felt himself begin to color as his response picked up. He did not want to go there, to remember the way it had felt as Ju—She—ground against him, to imagine the softness of her fur or the way his shirt hung open just so on her small frame. Giving in to the fantasy his mind had constructed, Nick let himself go with it leaning on his arm above his head; picturing her as she was in the dream and allowing his mind to build on that foundation and swallow him under the warmth of the water. When he got to the part where he had awakened earlier, Nick's release came fast, hard, and sooner than expected. He wondered if it was what he had imagined her to nearly say, that had driven him over the edge. 'Oh, Nick… I love y-'.

He had to stop that thought immediately. The embarrassment rose through him - embarrassment he did not want to feel -and he wanted to crawl under the covers and hide from her until the feelings passed. Anger he had not felt in months rushed through him; he thought he could deal with this, it was just a crush. It was supposed to go away, not grow out of control and take over his dreams like it had. He wished he was off his probationary period and could take the day for himself, be by himself and away from her. Unfortunately, he could not do that today; they were working his mother's case until relieved by the chief and then they would surely have other cases to look into. 'What a way to start the day,' he thought wryly, 'the happiest ending I've had in a while and I'm not even sure which part finished me off. I don't know what the universe is intent on throwing at me but I don't think I'm up for it.'

AN: I have mixed feelings about the last part of this chapter. When I began writing this story, I wanted to keep it clean until this scene popped up and refused to leave me alone until it was out. I've never written a scene like that before (I had one planned for my FT story but that's a pipe dream while this one eats my brain). I hope I did not offend anyone with how it is written or how it occurs; if it does bother you, please understand that wasn't my intention or goal. Thank you for reading.