S02E04 - Safehouse

"Safehouse" is the fourth episode of Season 2 of We Can Fix Pawbert. It is the first episode of the Homecoming arc (E04-E07), following the pack's return to Site Two after Pawbert's extraction from Zootopia Correctional Facility.

Synopsis

The morning after the extraction, the pack settles into ZSI's Site Two safehouse. Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps retrieve Pawbert's belongings from ZCF while Luther and Pawbert reconnect after a year of separation. Nikki Bramble arrives to explain Pawbert's new legal status as a ZSI consultant still technically serving his sentence. The episode is a quiet, character-driven piece focused on reunion, recovery, and domesticity.

Plot

The morning after the extraction, Pawbert wakes tangled with Luther on the Site Two couch—too exhausted the night before to make it to a bed, too desperate for closeness to care. Nick is already in the kitchen making breakfast with more enthusiasm than skill, and Judy realizes that Pawbert's belongings are still locked in ZCF property storage. Nick volunteers to retrieve them, giving Luther and Pawbert something they desperately need: real time alone together, without prison bars between them.

At their apartment, Nick breaks down—the stress of three days believing he might lose both Luther and Pawbert finally overwhelming him. Judy grounds him, reminding him that they regroup together as a pack. At ZCF, the facility is still in chaos from the siege—construction crews patching breach points, guards moving with the tense energy of mammals who survived something terrible. Officer Kett has Pawbert's property box ready: the green sweater, photographs, the recipe card in Lillian's handwriting, Maddie's card, Charles' napkin, the heist trophy, and a thick stack of letters worn soft from hundreds of readings. Kett shares that in fifteen years he has seen many inmates give up, but Pawbert never did. Nick and Kett share a moment of grief over Warden Hartwell's death.

At the safehouse, Luther sheds the Rook persona permanently as his temporary tattoos dissolve in the shower. Pawbert watches the prison marks wash away—the gang affiliations, the visual language that told other inmates who Rook was—revealing the wolf underneath. Their physical reunion after a year of separation is tender and intense. When Nick and Judy return with the property box, Pawbert pulls on his mother's green sweater. It fits differently now—tighter across his broader shoulders from a year of prison PT, loose at the waist from the weight he lost. But it is still his armor.

Nikki Bramble arrives to explain Pawbert's new legal status: technically still serving his sentence but now in ZSI protective custody as a consultant rather than an inmate, with over nine years remaining to conditional release. She acknowledges the four mammals who have fought for him and tells him not to waste it. When Agent Corbin demands immediate briefings, Luther pushes back—everyone needs tonight. The episode closes with Pawbert reflecting that he chose to stay a year ago, and he is still choosing.

Key Moments

• Pawbert wakes in Luther's arms on the Site Two couch, savoring a moment of peace before the day begins
• Nick makes breakfast with more enthusiasm than skill while Judy tries to salvage the pancakes
• Nick gives Luther and Pawbert time alone, recognizing they need real time together without prison between them
• Nick breaks down at the apartment, the stress of three days of fear finally releasing
• Nick and Judy retrieve Pawbert's property from ZCF, where the facility is still in chaos from the siege
• Officer Kett shares that Pawbert never gave up during his year inside—always watching the door on visit days, always first in line for mail call
• Nick and Kett share a moment of grief over Warden Hartwell's death
• Luther's Rook tattoos wash off in the shower, fully shedding the cover identity
• Pawbert and Luther's physical reunion after a year of separation
• Pawbert puts on the green sweater for the first time since his arrest—it fits differently across his broader shoulders
• Pawbert cooks a real meal for the pack, contrasting with Nick's breakfast attempt
• Nikki Bramble explains the protective custody arrangement and the nine years still remaining on Pawbert's sentence
• Luther pushes back on Corbin's demand for immediate briefings, insisting everyone needs tonight
• Pawbert reflects that he chose to stay a year ago and is still choosing

Key Lines

Locations

• Site Two safehouse (living room, kitchen, bathroom, shower, bedrooms)
• Nick and Judy's apartment
• Zootopia Correctional Facility (lobby, property storage room, corridors)

Items

• Green sweater -- Retrieved from ZCF property storage; now fits differently on Pawbert's broader frame from a year of prison PT
• Mother's photo (wallet-sized) -- Retrieved from ZCF
• Laminated photo -- Retrieved from ZCF
• Recipe card -- In Lillian's handwriting; retrieved from ZCF
• Maddie's card -- Retrieved from ZCF
• Charles' napkin -- Nick jokes it should be "bronzed"
• Heist trophy -- Small and gold; retrieved from ZCF
• Letters -- Thick stack, edges soft and pages worn thin from hundreds of re-readings
• Luther's temporary tattoos -- Rook's prison marks and gang affiliations; wash off permanently in the shower
• Dancing frog figurine -- Ceramic figurine Nick bought at 3 AM; kept at their apartment

Notes

• This episode begins the Homecoming arc (E04-E07), shifting from the action-driven prison arc to character-focused recovery.
• The sweater fitting differently on Pawbert's broader shoulders is a visual marker of how prison changed him physically.
• Nikki Bramble's line -- "Everyone deserves one person who fights for them. You've got four now." -- echoes and expands her original defense of Pawbert from the pilot.
• Pawbert's cooking returns as a character beat; he makes a full meal from the groceries Nick and Judy picked up, contrasting with Nick's well-intentioned but mediocre breakfast attempts.
• The episode's final exchange between Pawbert and Luther -- "I chose to stay. I'm still choosing." -- callbacks to Pawbert's pivotal declaration to Dr. Fuzzby about choosing to live.