The Event

Judy's heart was pounding, faster and harder that it had during her Academy entrance exams or even during her final one. She was excited and nervous, impatient and scared, all at once. She was so on edge that she jumped in startlement when she heard a light rapping on her door. Silently willing her heart to settle down, she called out, "C-come in!"

Turning towards the door, Judy saw her parents open it as they entered the room, dressed much sharper than they ever had in their Sunday best. The moment their eyes met, the eyes of Judy's mother grew wet as she said, "Oh, Jude! You look so….so….I think I'm gonna cry!"

"Oh, mom," Judy said softly, smiling in sympathy as her father gently patted her mother's back and said, "There now, Bonnie. It's okay." When her mom looked up at him and gave him a watery smile, her father kissed her mother's tears away before turning back towards Judy and saying, "But really, Judy Bear, you do look amazing. You definitely take after your mother."

"Th-thanks, Dad!" Judy said gratefully, looking down at her feet to hide her embarrassment, "That means a lot!"

"It's the truth," her father responded, "Anyway, Jude, how are you feeling?"

"Excited, but kinda nervous too," Judy answered honestly, "To tell the truth, this waiting is the worst part of it."

"I don't blame you, this is kind of a huge step, even bigger than becoming the first rabbit police officer," her father said understandingly, "Not everyone is going to be understanding about it either. You may get a lot of grief about it from holier-than-thous who feel that they know better. This isn't gonna be easy, Jude."

"Stu!" Her mother reprimanded him.

"I'm just being honest with her, dear," Her father defended himself before turning back to Judy, continuing gently, "There's a lot of close-minded people out there, even in a place as progressive as Zootopia. There are going to be those who will say some rather nasty things, things that may even cause some friction between you two. I just want to make sure that this is what you really want."

"It really is, Dad," Judy said as she smiled warmly at him, "I know that there's many hypocrites and idiots out there, having busted as few of them myself since I joined the force, and that they may take some potshots at us. However, we've decided to not let their opinions bother us. This is our decision, and if other people don't like it then that's their problem."

"You've grown up so much, my little Jude," her father said to her, and she though she saw his eyes grow a little watery as well, "I'm the proudest father in the world."

"I'm very proud of you as well, dear," her mother added as she hugged her tightly, "Oh, I love you so much!"

"I love you guys too!" Judy said as she hugged her mother back, drawing her father into the embrace as well, "Thank you so much for being here with me today!"

"No other place I'd rather be," Judy's father replied. She then felt him stiffen as he said hurriedly, "Oh dear, look at the time! Sorry, Jude, but I've gotta hurry along and get your mother into her seat. I'll be waiting outside for you, okay?"

"I'll be there," Judy assured him as he closed the door. Once she was alone again her nervousness returned in force. Trying to get her breathing back under control, Judy turned back towards the vanity mirror to make some final adjustments to her appearance: cleaning up where a small tear she hadn't realized she'd let loose had smeared her make-up, and smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress. Looking down at herself, her doubts intensified. Judy couldn't even remember the last time she'd worn a dress, save for the brief moment she had during that play she'd participated in during the Harvest Festival a lifetime ago. While she'd thought it was perfect back when she'd picked it out a month ago together with Fru Fru and the mayor, now she was having second thoughts. She still thought it beautiful, but on her it seemed rather out of place. What if everyone thought she looked ridiculous in it. What if he did? Would this cause him to have second thoughts about this whole thing?

"Just calm down, Judy. Remember to breathe," Judy said aloud to herself, "Everything's gonna turn out all right." Summoning up every ounce of courage she had, she straightened up and whirled around to practically march towards the door. "Okay, let's do this!" Judy told herself as she reached up with a slightly trembling paw and opened the door. Looking down the ornate hall, she saw her father standing by the huge double doors at the end, who smiled as he noticed her. Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Judy started to make her way down to him. However, it seemed that with every step her dress was growing heavier and heavier, and her legs were trembling so much she felt as clumsy as if she had two left feet. Miraculously, she made it down to him without incident, and her father reached a paw out to her as he asked, "You ready for this, Jude?"

Judy nodded yes, wetting her lips before she grasped his paw in hers and pleaded with him, "Please don't let me fall."

Her father smiled as he tucked her paw in his left elbow, patting it with his right as he said reassuringly, "Never." Then the double doors opened as the music swelled out of them. The first thing Judy noticed was the pressure she felt from all the cameras here as there was so many. There was more cameras here, both video and still, than she had ever seen in any press conference she'd participated in, and for the umpteenth time she wished that the mayor had not insisted on making this a media event. Of course Judy understood why this day had been so important to her, why the mayor felt she had to let the world know about it. After all, Mayor Gazelle had always been about strengthening the bonds between the species, especially between the traditionally predatory and prey ones, so obviously this event was a big deal to her. And since they'd practically become friends (real friends, not that fake friendship former mayor Bellwether offered her) since the day the mayor insisted on meeting her in person shortly after she'd taken office it didn't feel right to deny her this, especially since she also insisted on singing for her at the reception despite the fact that she's been out of show business for a couple of years now. Still, it made her rather anxious to know that the eyes of so many people were on her right now.

However, all that fell away the moment she noticed him standing by the altar at the end of the aisle. She hadn't thought it possible, but Nick looked even more devastatingly handsome in his tux than he had been back when she first saw him don a police officer's uniform, or even than the outfit he usually wore on duty since they both were promoted to plain-clothes detectives little more than a year ago. Whereas before she had been having trouble moving at a moderate pace without falling over, now she was struggling to keep from sprinting down the aisle towards him, dragging her father behind her. The last concerns she felt were chased from her heart when he looked at her in awe, as if he couldn't believe he'd gotten this lucky.

After what seemed like a lifetime of walking, they finally reached the end of the aisle and her father took her paw from his elbow and transferred it over to Nick's open paw before turning and taking a seat next to her mother. Once they were both facing him the priest began his oration, but Judy found herself hard pressed to follow along as her heart was doing a marathon, feeling the warmth of Nick's paw spreading throughout her whole body. Therefore, she heard perfectly as Nick softly whispered to her, "Hey, Carrots?"

Judy smiled at Nick's nickname for her. At first she'd found it annoying and insulting, back when she first met him before she'd practically forced him to assist in her investigation of what was now being called the Case of the Night Howlers. Now, however, she found she had a great affection for it, and she chuckled briefly before quietly shushed him, but Nick quietly asked again, "Carrots? Sorry, but I have to ask: Are you certain that you want to do this?"

This question stopped the breath in her lungs, her heart feeling as cold and as brittle as the surface of a lake in the onset of Winter. Focusing her disbelieving eyes on his face, Judy tried to keep her breathing under control and her tone low as she stammered, "I-I-I don't understand! What are you saying? Why are you asking me this now?"

"I'm sorry, but I was too afraid to before. I was afraid if I'd asked that I'd scare you off, that you'd leave me behind," Nick confessed to her, the fear apparent in his eyes, "But now I have to know, before it's too late."

"Are you saying you don't want to do this?" Judy asked him, tears welling up in her eyes, "Don't you want to marry me?"

"No! Of course I want to!" Nick assured her, "More than anything! But this isn't about what I want…"

"I don't understand…" Judy told him, her lower lip trembling.

"You've told me about your family so many times that I feel that I know them myself," Nick explained to her, "Especially your parents. You've told me about how much they loved each other, and even though they had so many children, including yourself, that they loved all of you equally. I remember that you told me that it was your dream as a young girl to someday have a family like that for your very own, and I don't want to be the one to take that away from you. After all, we don't know if it's possible for us to….you know. If you were to leave me I'd rather it be here at this altar, than for you to leave me later, hating me for…"

Judy took her free hand and laid a finger against his lips to silence him, saying, "You can stop right there, Nicholas Wilde. I'm not marrying you because of some silly dream I had when I was just starting grade school. I'm marrying you because I can't imagine there being anyone else in my life, that I can't see myself loving anybody the way I love you. Besides, there's nothing that says that we can't get started on a family. After all, medical knowledge is making leaps and bounds every day. Even if we're never able to have children, we can always adopt. I doubt that there's an agency in the world, let alone this city, that would deny two upstanding citizens like us the opportunity to give a child a good home, so don't you start thinking that I would leave you over something like that. Okay?"

When Nick smiled in response, Judy felt the warmth return to her body, her heart beating once again. However, it wasn't long before she realized how quiet it had gotten, that the priest had stopped speaking, and she felt every eye in the place upon them. Embarrassed about how much she imagined everyone here might have heard, Judy chuckled briefly before asking the priest, "I'm sorry….where were we?"

"The vows, miss Hopps," the priest answered drolly.

"Yes! Of course!" Judy said, recalling that she and Nick had chosen to recite vows that they had written themselves, rather than simply responding to the ones usually spoken by the priest. Turns out that Mayor Gazelle approved of this idea, and Judy recalled that analysts had speculated that it was Gazelle's own passionate speech during the peaceful protest that was held during the Night Howler incident that gave her the edge to win out against the other more "qualified" candidates when she ran for office a couple of years later. Gazelle had figured that Judy's saying her vows in her own words would sound more genuine to the public, that those who would look down on their choice might be more accepting of it if the vows sounded less routine and instead was born of the actual feelings between them. Of course Nick's last minute questions had shaken her up and made it difficult for her to remember what she'd chosen to say, but Judy figured that this made it more important for her to let Nick know exactly how she felt about him.

"When I first came to Zootopia, I was full of dreams and ideals. I thought I was progressive, open-minded about all species and ready to serve and protect everyone here in this haven of 'peace and harmony'," Judy said as she looked into Nick's eyes, "It wasn't until I met you that I found out how narrow my field of vision was, both about myself and on Zootopia as a whole. Not only was Zootopia not a perfect place where everyone got along, but a bad experience I had as a child had scarred me inside and skewed my attitude towards….certain predators, but that's not the me I'd started out as, who I'd set out to be. You helped me to discover the potential for personal growth this city has and the beauty here one can find if only they choose to look. You helped me to heal, re-taught me how to trust like I had when I was young. You showed me love. I believe that what I said when we first met still holds true: You'd make a great father. More important than that, however, what our years together as friends and partners on the force has shown me is what a wonderful husband you will be, and I can't see anyone else filling that role in my life. So I, Judy Hopps, take you, Nicholas Wilde, as my lawful wedded partner. To have and to hold, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live."

As she spoke the last of these words Judy took the ring that Fru Fru handed, or rather rolled, to her from the wide ledge next to her and placed it on Nick's finger. Then she felt her heart begin to race as the silence seemed to her to stretch out forever, causing questions to race through her mind. Was he having second thoughts? Had she explained her reasons for wanting to be his wife well enough? Was there anything that she said that could be interpreted the wrong way, like during that press conference she participated in concerning the Night Howler incident?

Judy felt herself start to breathe again as Nick smiled and said, "When I was young I had a dream: to fit in, to be accepted. Those dreams were dashed early on, leading me to believe that the world would never see me as anything mu a sly, untrustworthy fox. Since then I got on in this city as best as a sly fox can, until the day a certain officer entered my life. Who would have thought that a rabbit that proved to be quite the easy mark one day would turn around and get the better of me the next? Turns out, however, that was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Working with you, trying to help others rather than just myself, I found just how shallow and empty my life had been to this point. More than that, however, you've shown me that my dream was not as dead as I believed it to be. Not only had I fulfilled my dream without realizing it, but I actually exceeded my initial expectation. You've shown me what it's like to be needed, to be wanted, to be loved. Sure we've had our stumbling points and disagreements (who hasn't?), and I'm sure we may have more in the future, but I believe that each of those served to help both of us grow, and I would have it no other way. You've opened my eyes, my mind, and my heart. You've made me a better man, and I couldn't love you any more for that. So I, Nicholas Wilde, take you, Judy Hopps, to be my lawful wedded partner. To have and to hold, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live."

As Nick took the ring from Finnick, who was dressed sharply in his own little tux, and placed it on her finger, Judy thought her heart would explode. It was hammering so loudly that she could barely hear the priest say, "Now, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife." Then, feeling she couldn't wait any longer, Judy leapt up and wrapped her arms around Nick's neck, kissing him passionately. As Nick returned her affections enthusiastically, the gathered guests erupted in cheers and applause, but Judy didn't care about that as much as she felt she was melting in Nick's grip.

And yet, even in this moment of complete bliss, Judy felt like something was wrong, like a small burr just under her skin. It was a couple of moments before she realized that her sensitive hearing had picked up on something off in the sounds of jubilation surrounding her: the sound of someone clapping far too slow and methodically for it to be genuine. Had someone uninvited managed to sneak in despite all the extra security Mayor Gazelle had arranged for this event, someone who was determined to ruin this happiest day in her life? Attempting to locate the offender, Judy's eyes automatically scanned the crowd, tracking the sound to its source. Judy breathed a sigh of relief when she found that it was just their friend Flash, clapping as enthusiastically as the sloth was able, and next to him was his wife Priscilla, who was dabbing the tears from her eyes very slowly.

Nick, who must have sensed Judy's sudden tension, asked her in concern, "Is something wrong?"

Judy looked back into his eyes and gave him a reassuring smile as she said, "Apparently not, Nick. Everything's just perfect."

"Glad to hear that," Nick said with a smile, punctuating the sentence with a short kiss that warmed her clear to her toes, "Now, Mrs. Wilde, what do you say we hurry and get this reception taken care of so we can get started on our lives together?"

"Why, Nick Wilde, my husband, you are one wise and clever fox!" Judy told him with a huge and affectionate smile, then she placed her paw in the crook of his elbow and they made their way back down the aisle together.

Nick and Judy's adventures continue in "Vanished", plus find out whatever happened to Duke Weaselton in "Confessions of a Small-time Crook" (coming soon).