~Friday~
Cole was nervous. So completely nervous. He likes Snow, he really does, just not in the romantic way. He hardly knows her, but he'd really like to. You're not going to fall in love immediately. It takes time. And after what he did at the party he wouldn't be surprised if it took Snow a long time to trust him.
But for the record, he really is excited for their date, and he prays to God that everything goes well. Perhaps a part of him really does have a slight crush on Snow. If not he wouldn't be so nervous right now.
It wasn't just the fact he was going on his first date. Ha! No, what he's really nervous about is seeing her dad. He wonders what must have happened when Snow told him about their date. Wait...did she even tell him?!
He was expecting, since they seemed to be on good terms, for her to text him. He then realized that maybe it should be the guy to initiate first. He sent her a simple text, days before, that said 'Hey', but he never did get a reply. Just an hour ago he conjured up the courage to send her another text. This one said, 'Hey. Can't wait for tonight. Excited but nervous.' Three hours later, there was still no reply.
Cole had figured that she probably forgot about their date, but how could a girl, who was the one who asked first, simply forget. Last he checked, girls remember everything!
Cole was glad he had her address. He doesn't have a car and her house was just 30 minutes away on foot. If he didn't have her address he would have simply sent a text, but she probably wouldn't have replied like how she's doing now. Maybe she got her phone taken away? Maybe it died and she can't find a charger? He knows there has to be a good explanation.
He actually got the address from Cheetia the day after the whole party incident. At the time Tia didn't know what had happened and thought that giving her best friend's crush her address was a smart thing to do to help her friend out. If Cheetia knew now that Cole was going to take Snow out on a date she would probably rip his eyes out.
Cole is pretty sure that Cheetia knows what he did at the party to Snow, and he does not want to cross her path at the moment.
Actually, he wonders if she's at Snow's house right now getting her ready.
Cole looks at the clock. 5:30 sharp. He better leave now if he wants to get there at six. He heads out, trying to ignore the different scenarios that keep running through his head.
Little did he know that an angry father awaits him.
~With Nick and Judy~
Day three and their daughter was still missing. Bogo knew that the parents weren't taking it well at all. He was, however, surprised to see Judy with a look of determination instead a look of grief. Of course she was still grieving, but what good will that do? Judy knows that the only way to get her daughter back is to track down the asshole who took her. She worked her butt off to become a cop, and now she's going to work hard to find her daughter.
After roll call, Nick and Judy weren't all that surprised when Bogo gave them meter duty. Bogo and the rest of the ZPD were aware that Snow was missing, and while he usually sticks with his stoicism, Bogo felt sympathy towards the interspecies couple.
He was going easy on them, giving them the meter duty, and they knew it. He knew that they knew it. He also doubted they'd follow the position given to them. When it comes to meter duty, everyone, not just them, always seems to abandon the position for something more thrilling.
Nick and Judy done it multiple times before, always getting into mischief and cracking crimes. However, its for good reason this time, and he wasn't going to get onto them if they decided to do something more 'thrilling'. Like finding their daughter. How could he get onto them for that? They're the best cops Zootopia has ever had. He could give them this one favor. Plus, who was he to stand in the way of two parents trying to find their daughter?
Nick and Judy were grateful for this.
"I expect," Bogo had said, stopping in the doorway with his head turned aside, "to have a full report on how the...meters are going." He turned all the way around and headed for his office before Nick or Judy could thank him.
"Damn," Nick curses, "now I owe him one."
Judy smacks him. "You can repay him by finding our daughter." She hops off of the chair she shares with Nick. "Now come on. We have our daughter to find and an asshole to beat the shit out of."
Nick hardly ever hears his wife cuss, and he loves it. He was hot on her tail as they walked out of the room and headed back to their car. "I love it when you talk dirty."
With the help of the current Assistant Mayor, Mr. Woodson, a friendly beaver, Nick and Judy were able to the footage they needed.
"Why the hell was she walking to the library at three in the morning?" Nick asked as he watched his daughter through the screen make her way toward the library. "She reads enough as it is!"
Judy ignored her husband, keeping her focus on the screen. Her eyes were narrowed in full concentration as she watched her daughter walk to a nearby bench and sit. "She's waiting for someone," Judy says, "but who?"
"Fast forward," Nick said, eagerly.
Judy fast forward just a little and saw an animal makes it way toward her daughter. Her eyes widened and her heart leaped. Is this him?
Snow must have been startled because she leaped to her feet, but later sat down with the animal. She must know him. And from the description that Judy was given about Snow's crush, she had no doubt in her mind that this was him.
"Is that a black...fox?" Nick asked after studying the screen for a moment.
Judy nodded. "That's Cole. It's gotta be."
Nick went ballistic. "That is Cole?! What the hell is she doing with the boy who broke her heart?!"
Judy shook her head, wishing she knew the same. "I'm not sure, but I don't think it's him that took her."
Nick rolls his eyes. "Just like how we didn't think it was Bellwether all those years ago?"
Judy sighs in annoyance, keeping her eyes on the screen. "Stop living in the past, Nick." Judy fast forwarded some more and stopped when she saw her daughter and Cole get up from the bench and go their separate ways.
Judy changed the screen to another camera's perspective because Snow had gotten too far away from the camera that was currently watching her.
She and Nick watched in silence as they saw their daughter walking alone on the sidewalk. The fur on Judy's neck stood as she saw a hyena walk behind her daughter. Judy doesn't know any hyenas and she doubts her daughter does too.
As she watches her daughter turn around to run, she notices a rhino and hippo come into view and Snow runs right into them.
Tears formed in Judy's eyes as she watched the rest of the scene unfold. When Snow was gagged Judy had to look away, clenching her eyes tightly shut. Nick watched everything, however, unaware of his own tears that formed. He has never felt this vengeful before. He has never wanted to kill before.
Until now.
He stormed out of the room, ignoring Judy's shouts for him to wait. If he stayed any longer he was sure to lose it. He was not going to lose it in front of everyone, especially Judy.
Unfortunately, when Nick made it to his police car, he lost it and began to hit the top of the car repeatedly.
"Nick!" Judy shouts one last time as she rushes to his side. She grabs his arm, being careful to not accidentally get hit. She knows Nick would never forgive himself if he accidentally hurt her.
"Nick, stop!" Judy demanded. "The more time we waste the longer our daughter is being held hostage somewhere."
Nick stopped hitting the car immediately. He was breathing heavily as he leaned forward and rested his forehead on his forearm. He knew Judy was right, but deep down there was a scary feeling that maybe she wasn't. "What if she's not? What if she's dead?"
Judy meant to groan in frustration, but instead let out an accidental sob. "Our daughter is not dead! God! I wish everyone would stop assuming that she's dead!" She was holding back tears, hating that they were making a scene and everyone was watching. "It's only been a few days and you seemed to have already given up."
Nick sighs and turns to look down at his wife. "I...I haven't given up, Judy. It's too soon for me to give up. I just..."
Judy knew what he was going to say. She's been married to him long enough to read him like a book. Her face softens as she grabs his paws. "You're trying to prepare yourself...just in case."
Nick nodded, his ears flattening against his head. "We've handled situations like this before, Judy. Most of the time the abductees are never found and when they are they're usually dead. We've seen how the parents act, we've seen their heartbreak, we've seen some commit suicide...I don't want to experience that."
"And you think 'preparing yourself' is going to make a difference? No matter how much you 'prepare' yourself nothing is going to stop the pain you will feel." Judy says, softly. She gave his paws an assuring squeeze. "Nick--"
"I know, I know," Nick interrupts, not really in the mood to be lectured on how he felt. "Can we just go home?"
Judy shook her head. "Not yet. We have to finish the video." Nick grimaced and went to turn his head away. Judy retaliated by cupping the side of his face and bringing it back her way so she could stare into his emerald green eyes that she adored.
"We'll get through this together. We always do. Snow's kidnapping..." Judy gulped, never in her wildest dream did she ever thought she would say those words. "...Snow's kidnapping is another challenge that we have to face. We've faced many challenges in our life together as partners, as mates. Be it from criminals, to prejudice animals, to marriage, to raising kids. We've never failed at those, and we're not going to fail now. Those challenges might have been hard, but this is our biggest one yet. They're nothing compared to this one, and I need you more now than ever. We need each other. Our other kids need us too. We have to stay strong for them and for Snow. Okay?"
Judy didn't care anymore that animals were staring, she just let her tears fall while Nick tried his best to keep his in. He really hated crying. All males are like that. It brings their masculinity down. Makes them look weak. Judy always says that crying means you care. It shows just how strong your heart it, apparently. If you don't cry your heart is weak and cold. Nick hasn't cried in a long time, but that was because he never had any reason to be sad. He was happy with his life and his family. But now his world is crumbling down.
Nick said no words as he nodded in understanding and let himself melt into the hug Judy was giving him. He hugged her back, letting out a shaky breath. When they finally parted, they hesitantly returned back to watch the rest of the video.
As they watched the tape, they saw a black van pull up and their daughter's capturers dragged her inside. The only fortunate thing they got from the video was the license plate.
When they went to take the number to their dear friend, Flash, they didn't arrive home with their kids until around 5 pm. They were with Flash since 1 o'clock. Honestly, that was the shortest it's ever taken him.
Now the couple are making dinner and thinking on what to do tomorrow.
Nick had already called Bogo and told him that they had three suspects. The hyena, rhino, and hippo. Judy wishes they had more information on their appearances. There are a lot of rhinos and hippos in Zootopia. They even have a few at the ZPD. But at least they know who to look for.
Judy, for the third time that week, grabbed 9 plates instead of 8. Her ears lowered and a frown was plastered on her face as she put one plate back in the cabinet. She also noticed how quite her house was. It was always so loud and full of laughter. Although, most of the time it's yelling because that's what siblings do. They fight. Judy knows that all too well with her 275 siblings. Now everything is silent. Everything used to be so bright and vibrant, but now Judy can see that it's slowly beginning to fade.
Ding dong!
"I'll get it," Says Nick as he stops washing the dishes.
He goes to open the door, and his eyes widened a little. He was not expecting to see a very familiar teenage black fox.
"Can I help you?" Nick asked when he opened the door and stared down at the fox.
Something in his mind kept telling him that this was the oh-so-famous Cole Blackthorn, and as realization came to Nick so did the glare that he was giving the boy. Yep. This is the fox he saw with his daughter in the video. The fox who threw his daughter in the lake. The fox who made his daughter cry. The fox that his daughter met up with the other night that got her kidnapped. The fox who is the whole reason his daughter is gone!
Cole gulped, no longer nervous but downright scared. "H-Hello sir. I'm--"
"Oh I know damn well who you are," Nick snarled.
How dare this boy come to his home?! After sending that text you'd think he'd get the memo and stay away!
Cole flinched at the harsh tone his date's father gave him, and he nearly whimpered on spot. He's used to his father always snapping at him, but not his Snow's father who is a freaking cop!
"S-So you know why I'm here then?" Cole suddenly freezes at his words. Was that the right thing to say? Does Mr. Wilde hear attitude in it when there really wasn't? Cole's dad always hears attitude.
"Actually," Nick said, in a somewhat calmer tone. "I don't. But guess what? I'm going to find out. Start talking!"
Cole jumps, but before he could get a word out, another voice speaks up from behind Nick.
"Nick, what's going on?" Cole was utterly surprised to see an adult female rabbit. This must be Snow's mom.
Cole knew Snow was adopted. He remembered her saying she was a few years back when he was eavesdropping on a conversation she was having. However, he never knew that her parents were an interspecies couple. If she mentioned it in the conversation that her mother is a rabbit he must have not paid any attention.
Judy looked at him in confusion for a moment, until realization flashed in her eyes. "Oh! You must be..." She looked at Nick, worried he was going to snap at any moment.
"I'm Cole, ma'am." Cole says, thinking that she didn't know who he was. Oh, but Judy is very well aware of who he is. Very well aware.
"I'm your daughter's date for the evening." Cole continued, feeling a little more relaxed now that he wasn't alone with Snow's father.
Judy and Nick went wide eyed and exclaimed at the same time, "Date?!"
Cole's brows narrowed in confusion at their confusion. "Um...yes. Did Snow not tell you about our date tonight?"
"Snow is missing!" Nick shouted.
Cole went wide eyed. "Missing?!" He then lets out a yelp when Nick grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"Don't play dumb with me, boy," Nick threatens. "I swear to God--"
"I didn't do anything! I swear!" Cole defended, scared out of his mind.
"I never said you did, but you sure did defend yourself pretty quickly. Now I'm having doubts," Nick growled, gripping the collar of Cole's shirt tighter, and leaning closer to Cole's face so Cole would have no choice but to stare him in the eyes.
Cole was sweating now, but that was the least of his worries. Worry one, he was going to get beat up. Worry two, Snow was...missing?
"I-I-I really didn't do anything to Snow," Cole stammers, swallowing hard.
Nick rolls his eyes and scoffs. "You threw her in a lake."
Judy groaned in annoyance. "Nick, that was two weeks ago, and it has nothing to do with Snow now. He has nothing to do with Snow." She gestures to the boy and Nick looks at her with an annoyed look.
"You sure about that, Whiskers?" Asked Nick. "You're a cop. You should know better."
Judy, ears flat and right foot thumping, glares at Nick before she begins to pace back and forth. Cole and Nick remained silent as they watched her mutter to herself.
She then comes to a decision. She heard Vixie from the top of the stairs just then and turns her head to call for her.
"Vixie, come here!"
A moment later Vixie comes down the stairs and approaches. When she sees Cole being gripped from the collar of his shirt by her father she lets out a surprised gasp.
"What the heck is going on?" She asked. "Wait, is that Cole? He fits the description Snow told me about." She then crosses her arms and glares at him. "Dude, you have some nerve showing up after what you did to her."
Cole looks away, still ashamed of that night. "I never meant to hurt her."
Vixie scoffs. "But you did. Anyway, you needed me, mom?"
Judy nods. "Yes, I need you to go tell your siblings that your father and I are going to have a police interrogation in the living room."
Vixie's ears perked at this. "Can we tie him up with my ribbons? Actually, I think fabric would work better."
Judy shakes her head, but deep down she was amused. It would definitely be a sight, but it's too unprofessional. "No, honey. We--"
"That's a wonderful idea, sweetheart." Nick says to his daughter. "Get every color so he can look like a rainbow sushi roll."
Vixie grinned. "I'm on it!" She took off to her room, ignoring Judy's calls of protest.
Judy looked at Nick in annoyance. "Really, Nick?"
"What?"
"We can't just tie him up with our daughter's fabric!" Judy argued.
Nick rolled his eyes. "We're not suppose to be having an interrogation in our living room either."
Judy 'hmphed' and turn to head to the living room. "Let's get this over with." She grumbled.
Nick lets go of Cole's shirt, and went to restrain him. Cole struggled to get out of his grasp and said, "Isn't this illegal? I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Tell that to the judge," he said, even though he knew a judge was not necessary. He just wanted to give the boy a hard time.
A few minutes later, Cole had his paws and feet tied together with Vixie's fabric. Judy was utterly embarrassed, but didn't stop them. However, when her husband and the rest of her kids, who all got informed that this was Cole and decided to participate, decided to literally wrap him up like a sushi roll, Judy did everything in her power to stop their behavior.
"Kids! Nick!" Judy shouts at them. "Is this really necessary?"
"Yeah!" Cole agrees. "I mean it's not like I'm going to run. You really think I'm that stupid to run from cops?"
The six kids and Nick looked at him with glares on their faces.
"You're stupid enough to throw our sister in the lake!" Robin says.
"She has been crushing on you for 5 years!" Todd adds.
Cole's eyes widened. Snow has liked me for that long? Whoa...oh my god. Now I feel even worse about what I did.
"You broke her heart!" Marian continues.
"Now we break your face!" Little Lola shouts.
All eyes turn to her in shock.
"What?" She asked in confusion.
Robin bursts into laughter. "Damn Lola!"
"Robin!" Judy scolded. "Watch your mouth."
Snow was right, Cole thought, her family really is like a circus. I...I like it. It's so much louder and chaotic than my place. I wish my place could be like this.
"Okay," Judy says in her cop tone. "I don't care if you stay and watch, but I want all six of you to stay quite while mommy and daddy ask Cole some questions."
Thumper's paw suddenly raises. Robin flicked his brother's ear. "Why the heck are raising your paw? We're not in school."
Thumper glares at his annoying older brother. "It's called respect, imbecile."
"Boys," Judy rubbed her temple, trying to get rid of the headache that was starting to form. She was way too tired and worried for her daughter, and all of this stress was really getting to her. She just wants all of this to be over. She wants her daughter back. "What is it you want, Thumper?"
"Yes, well, I was wondering," he pauses to point at Cole, "isn't tying him up without actual proof of him doing anything wrong against your police policy? Isn't it against the code?"
"I don't know," Judy says sarcastically as she turns her head to look at her husband, "I thought it was, but I'm not so sure."
Nick shrugged. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
Judy rolls her eyes and ushers to take a seat.
"First things first," says Nick, taking a seat next to the scared boy, and wraps an arm around him in a fake friendly way. "My wife and I, earlier today, watched a traffic cam video hoping to find our daughter. In one of the videos we found her and saw her at the library at 3 in the morning. Another thing we noticed is that she wasn't alone. You were there with her and you talked for a while. I want to know why, and you better give me an answer."
"And don't lie," Judy adds, "I can always sense when an animal lies. I doubt you want to know the consequences."
Cole gulps as sweat falls down the sides of his face. He takes a deep breath and tries to steady his heart beat. "After I received the text by you, Mr. Wilde, I waited two weeks to text Snow to apologize for my actions. You said she wouldn't be getting her phone back for another two weeks because she was grounded so I waited that long. When I finally got a hold of her, she suggested that we meet up at the library at three to talk.
I was originally going to come over here, but she didn't want to risk you waking up and finding me. I agreed and we later saw each other that night. Well, I guess I should really say morning. We talked and I apologized to her. I wanted to make it up to her and she suggested that we go on a date. That's why I'm here. That was the last I saw of her. I swear it on my life."
"Wait, what text?" Asked Judy, looking at Nick. "Did you send him a text using Snow's phone?"
Nick nods. "Yeah. Remember how you said it would be funny to send him a threatening text?" Nick replied. "Well, I did. It was your idea so don't you go blaming me."
"I didn't think you'd actually do it!"
"We've known each other for how long?"
"Hey!" Todd shouts. "We don't have time for your bickering. Nope! Not today. So I suggest you get your heads back in the game!"
Nick and Judy nodded at their son and returned their attention back to the tied up boy.
"So you just wanted to apologize to her?" Judy asked.
Cole nodded. "Yes. And if there's anything I can do to help find her...please tell me."
Nick removed his arm from Cole's shoulder and looked him dead in the eye. "Well, tell me this: why did you throw my daughter in a lake? That's a pretty fucked up thing to do. Did she ask you to do it? No. So why the hell did you do it?"
Cole explained to them, just like how he explained to Snow, the reasons behind his actions. When he was done, Nick looked at him with hatred, but Judy felt sympathy toward him.
"You could have said no," Nick grumbled.
Judy places a law on her husband's shoulder. "Nick, cut him some slack. He made a mistake. We all do. Remember all those years ago how I wasn't thinking about your feelings during that press conference?"
Nick stiffens and his ears go flat. "You mean during the missing mammal case?"
Judy nods. "Cole, in a way, did the same that I did. And just like me, he apologized. He even agreed to go on a date with Snow."
Nick scoffs. "Out of pity!" He points a claw at the young fox. "My daughter is more than a pity date, Blackthorn. She deserves so much better than you."
The last thing Nick expected was for Cole to agree. "I agree, sir. She absolutely does."
Judy smirked at Nick's surprised face. She walks over to Cole and begins to unwrap him from the fabrics.
"What are you doing?" Asked Nick.
"Are you blind?" Judy retorted. "I'm letting him go."
"But why?!"
"Nick, he obviously had nothing to do with Snow's kidnapping. This is all ridiculous." Judy responds as she focused on getting the fabric undone. "I really am sorry for all this, hon." She says to Cole.
Cole did a semi-shrug. "It's okay. I understand why you did. And are you sure Snow has been kidnapped? What if she ran away?"
"Our daughter would never run away!" Nick snapped, tired of everyone thinking that. "What reason would she have?"
"Well," Cole begins, thoughtfully, "maybe she left to find her birth parents and didn't want to tell you."
Cole didn't mean to, but his words struck Nick and Judy's hearts. The idea of their daughter wanting to find her birth parents was still a very sensitive subject to them. Neither of them would ever admit it, but deep down the thought of Snow wanting to find her real parents made them feel like they were never good enough. Plus, they both knew that they would be way too selfish and would want to keep their daughter all to themselves. They knew if that were to come their jealousy and protectiveness would get the best of them.
However, they knew their daughter was kidnapped, but if she wasn't...would that really be one of her reasons for leaving?
They seriously doubted it. They have told her from a young age that if she ever wanted to find her birth parents she could always ask them and they would help her.
But then again, she could have been really embarrassed about it. If so, there's no need to run away! She could have kept it a secret, although Nick and Judy would rather her not, but she could have stayed home and secretly search for them. Not to run away and find them on her own!
Judy shook her head. "None of that matters because she didn't run away. She was kidnapped. We...we saw it with our own eyes on the video. It was just a mere few minutes after you and her departed that a rhino, hippo, and hyena abducted her."
Cole couldn't believe his ears. A mere few minutes after they departed! They saw her kidnapping! She really is gone! And he could have helped prevent it!
When he was finally free from the fabric, Nick prepared himself for a chase in case Cole decided to run. Instead, Cole sighs, sadly, and buries his face in his paws.
"I could have prevented it," he mumbled. "I asked her if she wanted me to walk her home and she said no. I respected her wish and just left her alone. I knew better and should have listened to my gut! I should have ignored her and brought her back home safely. This is my fault."
Judy shook her head and rubbed Cole's back in a motherly way. "No, it wasn't. The only one at fault are her kidnappers. I swear, you foxes are so dramatic."
"Dr-dramatic?" Cole questioned.
"She says that to me all the time," Nick comments.
"That's because you are," Judy reasoned.
The Quads silently agreed, nodding their heads in unison. They weren't going to deny it. Foxes did have a tendency to be over dramatic. But bunnies are always so emotional too.
"So she's been kidnapped," Cole says, "what do we do?"
"We," Nick gestures to him and Judy, "are going to do everything in our power to find her and bring her home. You are going to do nothing. This is something the professionals have to handle. Not you."
Cole nodded, but on the inside he refused. I'm going to help find her. The more animals searching the better chance we'll have.
"So what now?" He asked, unsure of what he was supposed to do next.
"Now," answers Judy, "you are going to go home and forest any of this ever happened."
"And if you tell one single soul about what happened here," Nick pauses for a dramatic effect. "I will find you, and trust me when I say this: you do not want me to find you. Are we clear?"
Cole frantically nodded. "Y-Yes sir."
Nick smirked. "Good. Now would you like to walk home or do you want to ride in the cop car?"
Cole was not hesitant to answer. "I think I'll walk--"
"Absolutely not!" Judy interrupts and digs her regular car keys out of her pocket. "I'll drive you home, honey. We'll drive in the regular car." Judy glares at Nick. "Stop tormenting the poor boy."
"I make no promises," Nick replies in a low grumble.
"You really don't have to," Cole assures Judy, "I'm perfectly capable of--"
"I know you are," Judy interrupts. She swallows, and sadly looks down at her feet, her ears drooping in the process. "I just...I don't...I don't want the same thing that happened to my daughter to happen to you."
Everything went silent, and the awkward sadness grew way too thick. Nick, while he may not like the boy, didn't want him to experience the same fate his daughter was going through.
"Okay," Cole finally says.
Judy nods, fighting back her emotional tears. "Let's go." She leads Cole outside and they both get inside the car.
This is not how he expected his night to go. He's sure Snow is thinking the same about her life.
Snow. I hope you're okay.
AN: Sorry for the late update. Hope you enjoyed! ^_^