Nick sat in the hallway. It was quiet and dark, and he had little difficulty catching most of the hushed conversation being held in the other room:

"….took him in….he's causing problems. Some of the kids are afraid of him!"

"We told her we'd take care of him…..what we're going to do"

"Bon, I…try to get him to shape up."

" ….no such thing! …..had enough today…."

The voices were replaced by the soft padding of feet. Nick scrambled to his feet as quietly as he could and bolted down the hall, navigating the rooms and corridors to his room. Most of the Hopps children shared rooms, but not Nick. He had his own small room on an upper floor. He closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of his bed, feeling the tears start to brim in his eyes, fighting to get out. They thought he was a problem too. Everyone did. Maybe he should just run away to the city and-

"I saw Jonny push you first. That wasn't fair. Why are you crying?"

Nick snapped out of his tearful state to see one of the Hopps children poking her head around his door. She sidled in, wearing blue pajamas with little carrots on them. Nick sniffed, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I'm not crying, dummy. And didn't you hear everybody? I shoved Jonny because I'm a bully and he's smaller than me." Nick pouted on the edge of his bed, sniffling once and looking away from the smaller bunny.

"You're not a bully, Jonny is. He likes to pull my ears when the teachers aren't looking. Ms. Campbell shouldn't have yelled at you like that." She hopped up next to him on the bed, and he saw she had a small bunny plush in her arms. It was wearing an astronaut suit. Standing there, she was the same height as the seated fox.

The two were interrupted by a knock at the door, and Bonnie half-entered the room. She looked to the bunny next to Nick.

"Oh, hello sweetie." She turned to Nick. "Nicholas, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Hopps." Nick answered, clasping his hands in his lap and looking down at them.

Bonnie smiled gently, a slight sadness in her eyes. "Listen, Nicholas, I know it's hard being…different, and the children at school can be cruel. We'll talk more about this tomorrow, but until then, don't think we won't always have a place for you here, okay? You can think of this as home."

Nick looked up at her and nodded hastily.

"Alright then." Her smile brightened. "I'll be downstairs if you need me. Have a good night you two."

She closed the door, and the two heard her footsteps recede down the stairs. The bunny sat down on the edge of the bed as well, looking up at the fox. They watched each other in silence for nearly a minute before Nick finally spoke.

"Judy, right?"

"Yep! You're already doing great with the names."

"Why are you and your mom being so nice to me?"

"Because you're family! Mom and Dad said you're going to live with us for a long time, and you help around the house and we go to school together and a lot of things. I asked Mom if we adopted you but she said no, but you can be part of my family if you want." She smiled at him. After a pause, he smiled back.

"Does that mean I'm a rabbit now, fluff?"

"No, you're still a goofy fox, but you're my fox now." With a bound she wrapped herself around his chest. Though they were the same age, Nick was close to double her size. Judy then bounced to the floor and towards the door. The rabbit plush sat in Nick's lap where Judy had left him. "That's Mister Moonbun; look after him for me! Goodnight!"

The door clicked softly shut as Judy left.

Nick smiled, picking up the doll and turning it over in his hands. They didn't want him gone, and Judy wanted to be his family. He could have a sister. Moreso than ever before in his life, Nick felt like he could belong.