Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Nick watched Honey pace back and forth furiously rubbing her chin with one knuckle. Guilt swelled in his gut. He'd not seen her this mad in a long time, all he wanted to do was give her a hug. To tell her how sorry he was. Instead, he was hooked to a table vice while Hexter worked to cut through the cuff. Judy sat in the chair offered to her while Bartrand cleaned the cut on her forehead.
“You're a very sturdy for a bunny.” He chuckled.
“Thanks, you're very scary for a badger.” She smiled nervously back at him.
Nick was surprised at how well she kept herself composed under the circumstances. In all the years he'd been in charge of Wilde times, no prey animal had ever set foot in the amusement park. This was kind of a big deal.
“No, you have to stay out right now. There's no school.” Finnick yelled at the door he was leaning on.
Nick looked at the smaller fox, who was diligently guarding the door. The sound of kids pushing and shoving at the door to get a look at the new visitor Nick brought to the enclave. The first thing Nick agreed to when he got back was that the kids needed to be kept at a safe distance from Judith until they were sure of her intent. Just then, Nick heard a loud ting on the concrete floor. When he looked back he saw the arm of the cuff laying on the floor. He pulled his hand back rubbing his wrist. It felt like a heavy weight was lifted from him. He was finally free of the cuffs.
“Alright, Officer. I'm going to use this blow torch to cut your cuff off now. It might get a little warm. If it does, just tell me and I'll let it cool down so it doesn't burn you.”
Both Hexter and Bartrand's bedside manner were impeccable. Judith responded with a shy nod. A blush seemed to bloom on the bunny's face as Hexter leaning in for a better angle. Honey took Nick by the hand pulling him to the corner of the room. She still wasn't happy about Judith being there and was even less happy that Nick allowed himself to get involved with what happened.
“What's the matter with you?”
Even with her hushed voice, it hurt Nick's feelings to be scolded by her. “I couldn't just leave her there to die on the tracks.”
“So why didn't you just leave her in the sewer?”
“Because she cuffed me before I could.”
“Dammit, Nick, why did you get involved in the first place?” Honey's voice hissed but he could see she was on the verge of tears.
“I had to, she was electrocuting that lion to death.”
“So you thought it was a great idea to bring her here. Maybe she can harm the children while she's visiting.”
“I...I didn't have any other choice. She swallowed the key so, I thought the best option was to bring her here.”
“She's dangerous...”
“I, I don't know if she is or not. There's something about her, I can just feel it. I seriously think she's and all prey mammals have been as misinformed about the collars.”
“He's right.” A deep voice rumbled through the fox's ears, he turned to see the lion from before.
“Oh, you made it. Good on ya, and I see they took your collar off too.”
“Yes, yes they did. I've not properly introduced myself. I'm Leodore Lionheart.”
“What? Not the Leo the Lion.”
“The same. You've done a great service to not only me but the whole city, kid. I was on my way to deliver a groundbreaking story to my publisher. If you hadn't stepped in I'd be in jail and no doubt, my personal effects destroyed. You have my most sincere thanks.”
Nick shook the lion's hand. “Well, as you can see, it did come with a little snag.” Nick gestured to the bunny getting a bandage pressed to her forehead.
“Just a small one.” The lion gave a breathy chuckle before walking towards the bunny.
“Nick, I really have to talk to you.”
“One second, I wanna make sure this stays civil.”
“Officer Hopps?” Leodore said, his voice very cordially.
The bunny looked up at the tall lion and immediately cringed. They stared at each other for a long time, neither of them making a move. Finally, Leodore knelt down in front of her with a gentle smile on his face.
“Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. At least, not anymore. You were just doing what you thought was right.”
“I...may have acted bullheaded.”
“It's all in the past. Right now, I just want to know more about that little device you have on your belt.” Leodore reached out grabbing the device from her gadget belt giving it a closer look.
“These aren't standard issue, are they?”
“No. These are a fairly recent addition to the arsenal. They're mostly given to small prey officers. But lately, they've been giving them to every officer. We're also instructed to use force at the first sign of trouble.”
“I wonder why that is?” Leodore set the item on the table next to Hexter.
“I'm...not at liberty to say.”
“That's fair. You're not a prisoner and I'm not interrogating you.” Leodore kept his voice even.
“Then, you'll let me go.”
“I'm not at liberty to say.” The lion gave her a smug smile before he got to his feet.
“You can't keep me prisoner, here,” Judith grunted.
“And we won't, Officer Hopps, but we can't let you go just yet. There are a lot of factors in play here.” Bartrand sat back on his heels, digging out a small bottle of pain relievers from his pocket.
“What fac-”
The door opened and a pudgy fox stumbled in, a cloud of kids voice calling out behind him. “Whew doggie! There's quite the commotion out there.”
“Gideon?” Judy said, the sound of her cuff hitting the concrete floor, she instinctively grabbed her wrist with her other hand while watching the fox.
“As I live and breath, Judy?” The pudgy fox cocked his head.
The bunny jumped up from her seat and lunged into the fox's arms hugging him closely. She was small next to him, her head coming up to his chest. It forced him to scoop down to hug her back. The country fox let loose a breathy laugh, fond in tone. Even the bunny let out a giggle.
“Oh my god, I've not seen you in forever. Is this where you've been?”
“Yep, some guy name Mr. Bart came and took me away from my folks right after I turned six. I've been here ever since.”
“That...explains a lot. I tried calling you but no one would tell me where you were. I thought you just didn't want to be friends with me because I was-”
“A bunny lords no. You were my best friend. I wanted to call you and tell you where I was but Mr. Bart wasn't keen on letting us use the phone.”
“Look at you, you've not changed one bit. Maybe a little taller but you were always taller than me.”
“Aw shucks, the big difference is you. You sure are as pretty as a picture and all decked out with that shiny badge...wait...you're a cop.” Gideon took a step back looking around the room at the others. “You're not here to arrest my friends are you? I can't let you do that. Nick's the salt of the earth. He loves them kids and takes-”
“That's enough, Gid.” Nick chimed in, wincing at the over eager fox.
“What's he talking about?” Judith looked past Gideon to the skinnier fox standing behind him.
Nick was in the process of lighting a cigarette, he let is slip from his lips into his hand. “Nothing, Gideon why don't you take Officer Hopps to get some food. I have to...discuss things with everyone else.”
“I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on,” Judith interjected.
“In time Jude. For now, let's get you something in that belly. You look skinnier than a rail.”
The pudgy fox took her hand and they walked through the opposite door towards the kitchen. As soon as they were gone everyone looked at Nick, who was yet again trying to light his cigarette. This time, he followed through with it before acknowledging that everyone was looking at him. Honey wasn't impressed with his overly calm demeanor. There was a visual anger boiling up inside of her. Still Nick acted like he knew what he was doing.
“What are you going to do about this?” Bartrand leaned against the table with his arms cross.
“We can't let her leave.” Honey added.
“That chick'll come back here with an army of cops and crack this place wide open,” Finnick said, Nick looked down at the small fox and pursed his lips.
Leodore stood next to Nick resting a heavy hand on his shoulder, the feeling caused Nick's ears to slip back. “This officer Hopps could be a great ally to us. I sense good in her.” Leodore inferred with a soft voice.
“As do I,” Bartrand added.
“I think she's being fooled by her superiors. There's something stirring beneath the surface.” Leodore pondered aloud.
“We'll just have to help her see things our way.” Nick took a drag on his cigarette.
“But how, brother?” Finnick asked.
“I don't know but I'll think of something,” Nick answered, his words riding on a puff of smoke.
Nick walked towards the door where the kids were waiting. Honey followed close behind him as they walked into the common room. Once the kids saw that there was nothing of interest in the room they all went back to doing what they were doing before the commotion started. Nick walked into the locker room to finish his cigarette and think about what his next move was.
“Nick, I really need to talk to you.”
Nick dropped his cigarette into one of the toilets before he wrapped his arms around the badger pulling her into a kiss. It started chaste at first but deepened as the badger's willing. Time seemed to slip away. The feeling of her tongue caressing along his. Nick slipped back into one of the stalls with her wanting to be alone. Wanting it to be just him and her. His hand fumbling to lock the door. When she pressed him against the wall he felt a warmth radiate through him. It felt like a safety blanket being wrapped around him. His ears slipping back to submit to his beautiful badger love. When she pulled away from him, she pressed her forehead to his lips, tears dripped from her jawline soaking into his shirt. Nick knew she was crying but couldn't bring himself to look.
“I'm so scared, Nick.”
“I am too. I don't really know why I got involved, I wish I could just take it all back.”
“Then why are you acting so sure of yourself? Like you have some kind of plan.”
“Because everyone out there is relying on me to fix this. I can't let them see that I'm completely clueless about what I'm going to do.”
Honey blinked, her hands rubbing up and down his chest. “You're a good mammal, Nick Wilde. I'm so scared that you're gonna go to jail.”
“I-”
“I don't want to raise this child without a father, Nick.”
Nick's eyes went wide, he pushed her away only slightly so he could look at her. He even shook his head, hard so his ears flapped around his head, as if he trying to get something out of his hear or that he didn't hear her correctly. The badger nodded and bit her bottom lip. She grabbed her soft round of her belly and smiled up at him. Nick's mouth hung open for a moment, still in shock. Nick knew he must have looked funny with his mouth hanging open. Honey took his trembling hands in hers and pressed them to her belly.
“I'm pregnant.” She said again, louder and more confident.
“Are you...”
“I am, the test was resoundingly positive.”
Honey reached into her pocket and pulled out the test so Nick could see it with his own eyes. The pink plus sign was vibrant and there was no way to misread it. Tears welled up in his eyes. Seeing him that way caused a trembling smile on the badger's muzzle as she leaned in to kiss him again. Nick fell to his knees and pressed his face against her belly. His tears soaking into her shirt. She ran her fingers down the back of his head and neck, soothing him.
“You foxes are so emotional.”
“Shush, I just have something in my eyes.” Nick snorted a laugh through his tears.
Honey knelt down on the floor with him, giving him another kiss on the lips. “What are we going to do, Nick? I can't have our child collared and I don't want to raise them without you.”
Nick ran his fingers along her belly. Ever since he was young, he'd wanted a child of his own. To right the wrongs that his dad and Mr. Bart delivered onto him. There were times he was afraid of having a child, having his child, but when he met Honey, all of that fear washed away. Now he was at an all time low with no sly tricks he could use to get out of it and like a pillar of light, this unseen marvel of a child growing in the mammal that he loved was working like a beacon to guide him.
“Judith doesn't understand, then I'll just have make her understand.”
“How?”
“You leave that to me, Honey. You take care of my baby. I'll be back in a little while.”
Honey looked at the newly found determination in the fox's eyes. Whatever he was planning, it was diabolical, almost frightening in a way.
