"Family Day part 4"

The race was simple. The objective was to run as fast as you can to get the the other side. If Nick wasn't faced with bunnies who were obviously built for running then this would be easy. Foxes could run but they tended to not have the stamina, especially a fox like him who was more of a couch potato. He should have taken more cardio like Judy suggested when he first joined the ZPD. He usually let her do the heavy lifting on the job while he safely stayed on the sidelines until he was really needed. He ignored the stares and dirty looks from her relatives, who wondered what on earth he was doing turned to Judy, who was busy stretching out her legs along with the other thirty racers.

"Maybe I should just watch." He suggested to her, looking around. "It's obvious I'm just going to lose."

Judy bounced slightly, warming up her muscles. "Oh come on, it's going to be fun! Besides, they have a prize!"

His ears pricked up at the news. "Prize, you say?"

"Yeah, and this time I'm going to win it!" She said, rolling her shoulders to ensure that everything was stretched out. She was determined to win and wouldn't let herself get tripped up by stiff muscles.

"And what is the prize, Whiskers?" Nick asked with a sleepy gaze. His interest in the race has peaked. If there is a prize, it must be good if Judy wants it. It must be something of great value because more and more bunnies began lining up behind the starting line. Nick rubbed his chin in thought. He looked ahead at the grassy field, seeing some obstacles. There were three in total, a log jump, a wall climb and a tire run. He eyed the competition, there were a few kids, immediately he knew that they won't be a problem. They don't run as fast as the adults but that still left a lot to worry about. He quickly picked off a few that would prove a problem, some of the more athletic bunnies. He took note of three that had their calves built for running. He even added Judy to the list of bunnies to worry about. This race was going to be tricky.

"I don't know actually, it's a mystery prize." Judy admitted, giving him a halfway glance. She noticed that he was staring off into the distance, obviously scheming something. She smirked. As long as he was having fun. She'll let it pass. He hummed at the new information before shrugging.

"Alright, guess I'll play along..." He said going down to a running stance. He does not have the stamina for a long distance run, but he sure can sprint.

"That's the spirit!" She said giving him a toothy smile.

"You think you're up to it, hot shot?" chuckled a voice, making Nick roll his eyes as he turned to his right, facing Billy. Nick's eye cocked when he saw that Billy, was shirtless. Showing off his toned-muscles. He was much more muscular than any bunny in the race. More athletic and capable of going through the obstacles like it was butter. If anything, he was the greek god of bunnies. Even some of the females were already swooning. Judy shook her head, refusing to acknowledge his existence.

"You know I am, Easter Bunny." Nick smirked, laughing silently from Billy's fuming face.

Billy huffed. "I bet you can't even keep up with me, in fact, I bet you can't even make it passed the first obstacle."

"My my Billy-Goat, are you considering a bet?" Nick replied with a click of his tongue. Billy's eyes narrowed with determination, inching towards Nick before replying in a low whisper.

"Beat me, I leave Judy alone...don't and I'll have her."

Nick considered it. He turned back to Judy who was busy trying to ignore Billy. Nick believed that she didn't caught Billy's words. He also noticed an older bunny ready to start the race, holding a prop gun. He looked back at Billy, who was waiting for a response.

"Deal." and the pop of the gun, exploded.

Nick was starting to regret his decision because the moment he took off running, he already saw Billy in the lead of everybody else. The long grass was actually wet, and the thought of slipping became very real. He was actually in third! coming up behind Judy who was racing to beat Billy herself. Nick picked up the pace, jumping over the log with ease and becoming neck to neck with Judy. Nick's ears lowered with dread as he saw Billy was already half-way up on the wall. Nick jumped as high as he could, slamming himself against the wall. Slamming a bit too hard, because he felt the air knocked right out of him. A pitiful groan escaped his mouth making Judy look down from on top of the wall.

"Nick?!"

He waved her along, not wanting her to slow down. Taking a deep breath, he lurched upwards climbing with ease. Judy knowing that he was fine, continued herself, leaping down over the side of the wall and racing to catch up to Billy. Nick followed swiftly but he was starting to slow down. He clutched his chest, trying to catch his breath. He saw Judy almost neck to neck with Billy and coming up fast on the tires. It seemed that Billy was going to win as he was halfway done with the tires, until he suddenly tripped over. Nick ears sprang up and felt his legs begin to move faster. Nick watched with glee as Billy was busy trying to pry his leg out in between a couple of tires. Nick laughed loudly as he jumped passed Billy, who cursed under his breath. Nick finally made it to the other side, running on the clear field coming up behind Judy. Yet, he wasn't fast enough to beat her. He came up in second.

Judy cheered, jumping in place. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I won!"

'And I won too.' Nick snickered in his thoughts. He saw Billy rise to his feet while some of Judy's family members helped him out from his trap. Nick brushed himself off, strolling back towards her. Just in time to see her get presented with the prize.

"Congratulations Judy-" began a bunny with a handlebar mustache, possibly an uncle, holding an assorted gift basket. "You won a new tablet! 500$ worth of gift card and a new DVD player!"

Nick clapped. "Wow, congrats Whiskers, now I wished I ran faster..."

Judy giggled. "Well, now we can watch movies at my apartment again, we can replace the broken one." She gasped, her ears springing up at a new thought. "And I can get a smartphone with the gift cards!"

"That's something." He winked.

"Judy! Congratulations!" Yelled her mother, coming from the distance with her father struggling to catch up. Judy put out her paw meeting with her mother's. "I knew you were going to win!"

"Thanks Mom! It was nothing." She said humbly, scratching the back of her head. "This course just reminded me of the academy, so it was nothing I couldn't handle, but you should have seen Nick!" She exclaimed, making her mother turn to him in surprise and her father who finally came in during their conversation. "He was really trying hard!"

Nick chuckled, putting an arm around Judy. "Only for you, Whiskers."

She elbowed him playfully, making him jump back. "Well, I'm proud of you Nick, you actually tried really hard."

He shrugged giving her a smile,"Yeah, well..."

But their one moment of happiness was shattered when suddenly Billy walked up to them, inviting himself into their conversation.

"You were lucky, ya pelt!" Billy hissed, causing Nick to raise his brows in alarm of such a crude manner or speech, especially from someone that is Billy, who prided himself to being above the food chain. Judy audibly gasped coming in front of Nick.

"How dare you say that to him! your're nothing but a sore loser!"

Nick took a sidestep, watching it unfold as she reprimanded Billy, who seemed to not regret anything he said. Nick noticed that from Judy's shouts, most of her family were coming forward wondering what was happening. Her mother and father quickly backed away from the awkward scene. He didn't blame them, it wasn't in their place. They could see for themselves that Judy could take care of herself.

Once they were out of sight, Billy cleared his throat. "Judy..." He began softly with his paw out. Judy sniffed and turned away from him. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I just want to talk."

"Save it, Billy." She hissed. "Whatever we had is in the past; nothing you say is going to change that. I've moved on." She grabbed Nick's paw, walking away. Billy followed.

"You can't be serious! You can't expect me to believe that this fox is your new mate!"Judy ignored him, making Billy run up in front of her and block her path. Nick immediately tightened his grip on Judy's hand. "Judy! I know we fought before you left, but look how much I changed!"

Judy rolled her eyes. "I'm not some farm-bunny anymore; I actually have my own business in shipping carrots into Zootopia, so I can afford to take care of you!"

Judy let out a sound of disgust. "So I can be your pretty little house bunny!?" She jabbed her index finger into Billy's chest. "This is exactly why I broke up with you! You just want me to be your housewife! You never cared about my own dreams, only yours!"

Nick took a step back, watching as a crowd began to form around them. Billy seemed to notice the sudden amount of bunnies hovering around them, making him sweat nervously.

"I'm glad that I left you! You're nothing like Nick! He supports me!"

"He's a fox!" He retorted, becoming furious that she had the nerve to compare him to such an inferior animal. Judy gritted her teeth.

"He's better than you!"

"He's nothing! Look at him! you really think he can give you everything?"

"I don't need everything."

Billy's nose flared before he responded in a low and cold tone. "He can't give you children."

Judy went silent. Her face fell in a mixture of shock and hurt. Loud gasps escaped from the crowd along with hush whispers. She felt the words escape her, unable to respond. A tear ran down her cheek from the realization. She flinched when she heard a snarl behind her and saw Nick punch Billy, right in his jaw.

Billy fell to the ground instantly, dazed from the powerful punch. Nick fell on top of him and began punching him in an uncontrollable rage while screaming right at him.

"You got some nerve! you stupid bunny! Say that again! I dare you to say that again!"

"Nick!" Judy cried out, grabbing him at the bottom of his shirt trying to pull him away. She was surprised that he didn't move an inch. Billy started to fight back, punching Nick right at his sides becoming a real fist on fist fight. Some of her family actually came in a rush to break them up, three of her uncles grabbed Billy, finally pulling him away while two more of her uncles grabbed Nick, who was still fired up.

"Come on carrot-boy! You're going to be wearing gold buck teeth once I knock them out!"

Billy lurched forward, sporting a black eye and a busted lip. He was stopped by her uncles, dragging him back.

"Just wait till I sue you for everything you got!"

"Try it!" Nick snarled, only to feel a hard tug on his shirt, pulling not him backwards.

"Nick! Stop it! Let's just go!" She grabbed his arm and began pulling him towards the tree line, away from the crowd and away from Billy. She was afraid that Nick might actually try to hit him again. She could still feel him breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down. He normally never enters into fist fights but what Billy said, really hit a nerve. He softly groaned, clutching his side. He could tell it was bruised but he was glad he got more hits on Billy.

He and Judy walked in silence until they made it to a clearing with a single tree in the middle of it. In its branches held an old wooden tree house, built for a child.

Judy let him go, whirling at him.

"Were you nuts?! Do you want to lose your job?!"

He blinked at her in surprise. "What I did? What about what that pompous rich boy did?!"

Judy looked at him hard. "He was right, Nick."Nick's fur bristled. He saw her eyes glossed over and noticed her paws clutched against each other. She opened her mouth, sounding more like broken glass when she spoke.

"I always wanted kittens, I always wanted a family and Billy knew that....it was something I wanted as much as I wanted to be an officer." A sob escaped her mouth. "And let's face it, I can never have little bunnies if I'm..." She swallowed, making Nick lower his ears. "If I'm...still with you."

She covered her face, trying to wipe the waterfalls of tears. She felt guilty for saying it out loud because in truth, she had thought about it, and she was afraid to say anything to him because it would mean losing him forever.

Nick went forward, wrapping his arms around her tightly, making her cry right on his chest.

"Judy..." He started gently. She sniffed, feeling a set of droplets fall behind her neck. "You really think you're the only one-!" She shakily gasp when she felt Nick shoulder shake when he spoke. "I know we can't! Of course we can't! We can never-!" He took a breath, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "I can never give you that life-and I'm sorry!"

He held her even tighter when he fell to his knees, burying his face into her shoulder. Repeating his apology to her in a heart-wrenching voice. He repeated it so many times, each time breaking her heart even more. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wiping her tears on his fur as she nuzzled him in comfort, staying by him for what felt like hours.