account," said Judy mischievously.

"My my, Officer Hopps, what would your mother say if she heard that?" said Nick with mock disapproval.

"Unless your apartment is bugged, we won't have to worry about that," said Judy, her eyes narrowed. "And if it is bugged, well…Hi mom!"

Nick chuckled as he walked into his bedroom to put on some clothes. He returned shortly, dressed in a comfortable T-shirt and joggers.

"Now then," said Nick. "Let's get these groceries in the kitchen and whip up a lovely meal, shall we?"

Judy giggled.

"If you don't mind," said Judy. "I'll make myself comfortable in your humble abode."

"My humble abode is your humble abode," said Nick.

As he lifted the grocery bag from the coffee table, Judy opened her overnight bag and fished for some things, putting them on the coffee table: fur conditioner, shampoo, a brush, pink bathrobe…

Nick couldn't help noticing.

"Overnight bag, huh?" said Nick. "Am I reading too deep into it?"

"Nice choice of words, slick," said Judy with a hearty wink, flashing a cute pair of silky undergarments at the bottom of the bag. "Now get in the kitchen and crank us out a meal."

"Your wish is my command," said Nick, smiling warmly as he walked into the kitchen with the groceries.

He placed the bag on the kitchen counter and emptied the contents. Leeks, olives, mushrooms, blueberries…

"Hmmm…"

Nick looked at the blueberries and remembered the night howler serum. It had been blueberries that saved them and were instrumental in catching Dawn Bellwether and her flock. Blueberries grown on Judy's family farm.

And he also remembered something else. Pebbles.

"I wonder."

Nick took some blueberries and tried to juggle them over the sink. They fell with a loud clang, he didn't catch one of them.

"Everything alright in there, Chef Excellence?" asked Judy from the living room.

"Um…yes, everything's fine," said Nick. "Did I really juggle those pebbles?" he said to himself.

"If you don't mind, I'll step into the shower for a moment," said Judy. "Gonna freshen up…and get into something more comfortable."

"Make yourself at home, Carrots," said Nick as he sorted the vegetables.

As he lined his ingredients, Judy's face appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. She looked at him with an alluring expression.

"No peeking, mister," she said mischievously.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Officer," said Nick with a playful smile.

Judy blew him a kiss and went into the bathroom. Nick walked to the small blackboard that was on the wall beside the refrigerator and wrote down the ingredients in order with chalk.

"Okay, time to whip up something fabulous," he said, reading the list one more time.

Nick placed the blueberries back in their basket and was about to move to the sink, when he stopped.

"Hmm…let me try again," he said, taking two blueberries and juggling them. "It can't be all that hard."

It was easy enough with two…until he dropped one and it rolled under the table.

"Aw, drat," he said, bending down and retrieving the berry. "Well, I guess I can't juggle after all…"

He stopped dead. On one of the stools, sitting down like a creepy sign…was a baby chick plush toy.

"What?" said Nick. "How…did this…?"

Then he looked in the direction of the hall.

"Judy," he said to himself. "That bunny. Playing tricks on me like that. She reminds me of myself, almost."

The baby chick plush toy suddenly started chirping. And it was then that he felt it again. His ears started ringing.

"What?"

Then suddenly it turned to pain. Intense, severe pain.

"Arrrgg!"

Nick fell to the floor, writhing in pain.

"No! Get out of my head!"

And then all went dark.

Judy enjoyed her shower. The water was so warm and the tub was so ample, she felt like singing.

"I told the witch doctor I was in love with you…"

This was fun, she thought to herself. Singing in the shower was actually something she could get used to.

"..Ooh, eeh, ooh-ah-ah! Ting tang, walla walla bing-bang!"

The bathroom door opened. Judy didn't notice.

"You've been keepin' love from me as if you were a miser, and I admit I wasn't very smart! So I went out and found myself a guy who's so much wiser, and he taught me the way to win your heart!"

Suddenly, through the shower curtain, Judy saw a silhouette. A familiar one. It was Nick, and he was holding something in his paw. Something long and pointy.

"Nick!" said Judy, grinning and frowning, her paws on her hips. "That joke was funny in like 1968. Welcome to the future, honey bun."

She thought he was re-enacting a famous scene from a horror film, where the killer snuck up on the victim in the shower with a knife.

"Or….maybe you just couldn't resist having a peek?" said Judy teasingly. "Naughty fox, taking advantage of dis cute widdle bunny while she's in the shower."

Nick didn't answer. He just edged closer.

"Maybe just a little peek…" said Judy, opening the curtain just slightly.

Then it happened.

Nick roared with fury and ripped the curtains down. His paw brought a kitchen knife down where Judy's face would have been if she hadn't dodged to the right.

"Okay, Nick! This isn't funny anymore!" said Judy angrily. "Time out, Norman Bates, you've crossed the line….Nick?"

Nick lunged at her again, and Judy dodged to the left and leaped out of the tub, almost slipping because her feet were wet.

"Nick?!" she gasped, looking into his eyes, which were vacant. "Nick, honey! What's the matter?! Snap out of it!"

Nick lunged at her again. Judy shot out of the bathroom and into the living room.

"Nick, snap out of it! It's me, Judy! Hopps! Carrots!"

Nick ran out of the bathroom and lunged again. Judy dived behind the sofa just in time. She rolled underneath and emerged from the other side, racing into the kitchen.

"Not you too, Nick," Judy thought desperately. "Please, no…not Nick."

She turned around and saw Nick running at her. In desperation, her paw closed around the first object within reach: The pepper grinder. She swung it at him and powdered pepper flew all over Nick's face and nose.

"Ahh…achoo!"

Nick dropped the knife and closed his eyes. He sneezed, wiping his face with his paws. He couldn't see. Moving sideways, he knocked over a stool, on which a baby chick plushie had been sitting. The plushie fell down and rolled on the kitchen floor, stopping near the door.

Judy backed away and tried to support herself, but suddenly her paws slid on a rough surface and her claws scratched the kitchen blackboard, where Nick had written all the ingredients. The screeching noise it made was unbearable.

"Aahhrr! Make it stop!" cried Nick, his eyes teary, cupping his ears in pain. "Make it stop!"

Judy realised the sound had made him snap out of it. She clenched her teeth and scratched the board once more, making Nick scream with pain. Then, with a tremendous leap, she sprang across the kitchen and jump-kicked him hard right in the belly.

"OOF!"

Nick flew back through the kitchen doorway, back into the living room, winded. Judy glanced to her left and saw a table cloth folded on the counter. She picked it up and jumped onto Nick.

"Sorry about this, love," said Judy. "But I have to."

She wrapped Nick up in the table cloth and tied a knot around his midsection, leaving him unable to move, like a fly in a spider's web.

Nick coughed a few times and passed out.

Nick opened his eyes warily. As his vision came into focus, he saw the roof of his apartment, part of his sofa, and Judy, in her pink bathrobe, kneeling beside his face, with a wet towel in her paws.

"Nick!" said Judy with a relieved smile. "You're awake."

"Awake…I didn't go…to…sleep?"

He tried to get up but realised he was all tied up in a tablecloth.

"Um…Carrots? Did I miss something?"

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"What happened just a few minutes ago?"

"Er…kindly fill me in," said Nick.

Judy told him everything. Nick's face was taut with shock.

"No…no, tell me I didn't."

"It wasn't you, Nick," said Judy comfortingly, rubbing his cheeks. "There was someone inside your mind, making you do things…it wasn't you."

"In my own home…" Nick felt as though something sacred within him had been violated. "In my own home, trying to make me kill my own girlfriend…"

Judy couldn't help feeling warm when she heard him say that last word.

"This…has to stop…" said Nick. "We have to stop this!"

Suddenly, they heard something from the kitchen. It was a chirping noise. Judy recognised it as the baby chick plush toy, but it sounded off-key. Maybe the chirping mechanism had been damaged when it fell to the floor.

Suddenly, Nick started to convulse and writhe, struggling against his bonds.

"Ahh! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Judy stepped away from him and suddenly it all clicked.

"No! I

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