Authors note:

Hi everyone! Guess I'm really going this. This is my first ever fanfic so please bear with me. If I make any major mistakes, especially with my spelling, please don't hesitate to tell me in a review. I hope you guys enjoy.

Chapter 1:

Another day in Paradise

Zootopia; where anyone can be anything. That's not always true; you have to want to be something to be anything. But like I said; not always. Judy Hopps was a bunny that made that phrase true. She is the first bunny police officer, and has been for a little bit over a year now. She is not the only one that can break expiations however.

Nick Wilde was another fine example that anybody can be anything. He was the first fox in the ZPD, not really anything could make him prouder of himself that that. He owed it all to Judy. She is the one that pulled him out of the hole that he dug himself into. She made him want to be more than just a sly fox.

Nick joined the police academy about six months ago. During that time him and Judy became the closest of friends. So naturally Judy asked for Nick to be her partner when he graduated. Seeing how they were the only cops that small and that they worked very well together, Bogo put them together. Though he did it that way; just to make Judy quit asking him if she could have Nick as a partner. So now almost a year later they're still working together to make the world a better place.

It was a normal early summer day in Savanna Central and Nick and Judy were out on a normal patrol. Judy was driving like normal and Nick was just being; Nick. They were both enjoying the normal banter between themselves.

"Come on Carrots, I wouldn't do such a thing." Nick stated smirking.

"Then where is the pen, Slick?"

"How am I supposed to know? You're the one who always has it"

The two were arguing about where the infamous carrot pen was at the moment. Judy had been looking for it all morning and come up with nothing. So the only logical thing to do was to blame her partner for taking it.

"I know you have it, Nick." She replied starting to grow a little bit frustrated.

"Carrots I promise you I don't have it." He swore crossing his chest. He actually did take the pen; it was in his desk back at the station. He was going to leave it out tomorrow where he knew Judy would find it and then he would mercilessly tease her about being forgetful. "Even if I did have it. Why would I give it to you after what you did to me when we first met?"

She was about to reply even had her mouth open and everything when something caught her eye. She looked over to see a very suspicious looking bunny. "Hay Nick," He looked at her raising his eye brows. "Look at the bunny over there." She said pointing.

"He looks like he's up to no good. Think we should check it out?"

"Nah, let's wait and see what he does." She pulled their cruiser over like they were taking a break. The bunny still hadn't noticed them yet because it was the end of lunch hour and everyone was getting back to work.

Just then Judy noticed a ram walk in to the alley that the bunny was standing by. The bunny looked around once more before he too went down the alley out of sight of the two cops. Judy picked up the radio to call it in. "Dispatch this is Officer Hopps, I've got some suspicious activity over here. Me and Officer Wilde are going to go check it out."

"10-4 Officer Hopps you guys be careful." Came the voice of Benjamin Clawhauser through the radio. Nick and Judy both grabbed their tranquilizers and a few extra shots each out of the compartment in the center console.

"Okay Nick let's go." They hopped out of the cruiser and ran across the busy street to the alley. Judy using her bunny hearing; was listens for anything out of the ordinary then peeked around the corner; nothing. She gave Nick a few hand motions and they both slowly proceed into the alley crouched to the ground to avoid being seen as easily.

Judy hid behind a knocked over trash can and Nick takes cover behind a dumpster further ahead. He could hear whispering ahead but couldn't make it out. He signals the all-clear and Judy moves up next to him.

"Can you hear them?" he whispers in to her ear as to not alert their position. She nods in response.

"Come on man! I don't have that kind of money. Can't I get it cheaper?"

"I'm sorry but the ingredients are getting more expensive, I can't get it to you any cheaper.

"Well can I at least get a smaller amount?"

Judy immediately knew what was going on they had stumbled on a Nip dealer and one of his buyers. She looked at Nick and mouthed 'Nip' he nodded knowing what she meant.

Nip was a common street drug. Anyone could get addicted to it but felines were affected the most by it. Nick had been around it a lot when he was younger. He actually sold it one time when he was about sixteen or seventeen. After a successful sale and a healthy profit to celebrate he decided to try to some. It was terrible, well not at first. After about six hours it made him feel like he had the worst hangover ever for the next two days. That was the last time he had anything to do with drugs of any kind. He never told Judy about that even though he knew that she wouldn't judge him about it. He was too ashamed of himself for even doing something like that to talk about it. He never even told Finnick.

Judy looked up at him and gave him a sweet smile and nodded. That smile lit up his world. He would do anything to make her happy. He looked in to her eyes and nodded to her. He had her back, and she had his.

They both came from around the dumpster and went deeper in to the cluttered alley. They went around the slight corner that was ahead of them. There they saw the ram leaning on the wall casually and the bunny pacing in front of him.

"Freeze! Police, put your hands in the air!" Judy roared next to Nick making even him flinch.

He actually found it funny the reaction the bunny had to her all the blood drained from his face making his dark brown fur look a lot like Judy's dad's. The ram recovered first.

"Run man! Run!" He hollered at the bunny. He knew if the cops caught him he would be next even if he got away today. They both took off in the opposite direction if the two cops.

"Carrots, why do you say that when it just makes them run away?" Nick huffed as they started the chase. Judy just rolled her eyes in return.

Up ahead of them the ally 'Y-ed' "Split up!" Ordered the ram. The ram went left and the bunny right.

"Nick you take the bunny! I got the ram." She knew that the bunny would give up easily seeing from his reaction to them earlier. The ram on the other hand would not quit so easily and be harder to catch.

Nick nodded in response. He didn't like the idea of Judy going after someone so much bigger that her without him, but he trusted her and went after the bunny. The bunny was not particularly fast compared to Judy, but he was still fast.

On the other hand Judy's chase didn't last long at all. The ram must not have known the area very well because he ran in to a dead end no more than 20 yards after the Y. He turned around and crouched down in to a fighting position. Judy could tell from his foot work that he had some experience fighting, but not much.

Nick about six blocks away, had just caught the bunny and was about to call it in when he heard a very large amount of static on the radio. He was baffled by if for a second before he remembered that is what it sounds like when a radio battery dies, or when one is destroyed.

His eyes widened in panic as he pulled out his own radio. "Carrots? Judy?! Judy can you hear me?!" He immediately pulled out his second pare of cuffs and cuffed the bunny to a medal fence post nearby and took off in the direction he thought Judy was in. "This is Officer Wilde 10-78 (need assistance) at Pine and Cedar. Hopps' radio is silent."

"This is Office Mchorn. I'm heading your way ETA: two minutes."

Judy had her tranquilizer trained on the ram in front of her. "Put your hands behind your head and get down on the ground!"

"Why would I listen to a cute little bunny?" He put his head down and charged said Bunny. Judy's reaction was insistent she shot the ram in the right shoulder as to not hit his horns. He slowed down considerably but didn't stop. Judy was reloading another shot but wasn't fast enough. The ram came barreling down on her. She side stepped but once again wasn't fast enough the ram swiped at her in one final attempt. His hoof hit the pouch that held her radio, which completely destroyed it. It also tore her belt and part of her pants at the hip.

Judy held the spot as the ram fell completely unconscious. "That's going to leave a bruise." she winced. Reaching down to her torn belt she retrieved a pair of pawcuffs and cuffed the unconscious ram; better safe than sorry.

She than busied herself for a minute trying to tie the hole in her pants at her hip up. Just then Nick ran down the alley.

"Carrots?! Are you okay? What happened?" He grabbed her shoulders and inspected her to see if she was hurt or not. Seeing no injury he wrapped her up in a hug.

Judy was slightly startled by the act because Nick usually wasn't a very physical person but returned the hug none the less. "I'm fine Nick, don't worry." He stepped back and looked at her again with caring eyes. They then widened a little bit.

"Ah… Judy what happened to your pants?" Judy started to blush.

"The ram hit my radio and that tore my belt off and ripped my pants." she shrank into herself blushing so much that Nick could actually see her ears turning a nice dark shade of red.

Seeing her embarrassment he put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Carrots it happens to all of us." He reassured.

"Then why did it not happen to you?"

"Because I'm a devilishly handsome fox and that kind of stuff just doesn't happen to me."

"That's no fair! Sometimes I wish I was a fox!" Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her paws. Normally Nick wouldn't mind her saying something like that, but her reaction to what she said is what gave him pause. "J-just forget I said that." She mumbled as her deep blush started to burn even hotter.

Nick was caught off guard for a moment. He didn't want her to be a fox even though he knew she would be beautiful. He wanted her to stay a bunny, he loved everything about her. From her amethyst eyes, her long ears to that cute little poof of a tail. How he would love to just reach out and touch her tail. He immediately shook the thought from his head. What am I thinking?! I can't do that to her, it's not right!

Nick's radio crackled to life. "Wilde where are you? All that is here is a rabbit cuffed to a fence."

Thankful for the distraction he answered "Sorry Mchorn. I gave you the location of the suspect before I went to assist Hopps. Can you do me a favor and take him in for me I need to help Hopps with her suspect."

"Yeah I can do that for you. But you're going to owe me!"

"I won't prank you for two weeks."

"Deal! You'd better keep to it this time."

Five hours and a change of pants later. The fox and bunny pair were just putting the finishing touches on the report they had to fill out over their little drug bust, well more the fox.

Jason Reed ran a one-person drug business and Jones Candy was one of his buyers. Nick felt bad for them they both lived in a bad spot in town and had lost several jobs, and then turned to drugs for comfort.

Jones was actually trying to get his life back together and had been weaning himself from drugs. He had answered all the questions that were asked of him truthfully. For providing information his sentence was reduced to nine months.

Jason Reed was another story completely. He had been making drugs to sell and for himself for years and was good at covering his tracts. Nick never met him but had heard of him. In his hustling days if you wanted Nip you went to Jason. He had never been suspected of any crimes because of how well he hid them. The only reason they knew he had been in operation for so long is because Jones told them he was his supplier for almost nine years. For resting arrest and attempted assault of a police officer on top of producing illegal substances Jason was sentenced to forty-five years in prison.

Judy had finished her report thirty minutes ago, and was now reading Nick's over his shoulder as he worked. She just so happened to notice a particular pen that she was missing in his desk drawer when he got more paper out.

"I knew you took my pen!" A bomb couldn't have made Nick jump more. He flew out of his chair and landed on his back clutching his chest with wide eyes.

"Carrots!"

"What my dumb fox?" She asked as she pulled the pen form his desk.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Don't steal my pen from me them. Now get back to your report before Bogo hangs your hide above his mantle."

"If he did that who would keep you in line?"

"What do you mean by that? I'm the one always keeping you in line."

"Maybe so, but you wouldn't be able to handle not having me around."

She hesitated, "No"

"What?"

"No, I wouldn't be able to handle it." She whispered.

"I'm sure you're just saying that so I don't feel bad. Now I have a report I need to get done."

She wasn't just saying that, she meant it she couldn't imagine what life would be like without him. It was actually the reason she had been hit today; she was worried about Nick. It hurt a little to have him say that but she knew that he never liked talking about stuff like that.

"Okay you better get it done then. I'm going to get another radio before we have to clock out."

"I'll be here."

Another twenty minutes later they were both ready to clock out for the day. "Heading home for the night you two?"

"Yeah Clawhauser, we're getting there." Replied Nick.

"Goodnight Clawhauser." Judy said as she fallowed Nick out the door.

"You guys have a Goodnight." He replied with a wave.

"Hay Carrots, you want to come over to my place and watch a movie?" Nick casually asked.

"Sure Nick that sounds like fun." About three or four times a week they would watch a movie at one or the other's houses. Any other time they alternated getting dinner for each other. It was never forced or awkward they just enjoyed being around the other. They never called them dates. Never even had that thought cross their minds that they might look like they were dating. Though, you couldn't convince Clawhauser about that. They tried, and failed every time they did.

They continued walking in a some what comfortable silence both mulling over what Judy had said earlier. She didn't mean to say that she wanted to be a fox it just slipped out and in all reality she didn't. She just wanted what her and Nick had to maybe be something more. She had come to terms with the fact that she was in love with Nick almost immediately after he had become her partner.

For Nick on the other paw it was worse. He had fallen for Judy; hard. After telling Finnick that he was in love and was looking for advice. Finnick had actually guessed that it was 'The bunny meter maid'. After a few too many beers and a very long talk about love that was completely one sided that didn't help in the slightest Nick left more embarrassed that he had been in ten years. He decided not to tell anyone else after that.

They were almost to Nick's apartment it was only about twelve blocks from the station. Judy's was still closer at five blocks in the opposite direction. Nick had moved there after he had come back from the academy. He used to live in the Rain Forest District in some little basement that someone had probably just built a door to the outside on to. It was much worse that Judy's by far. It was about the same size and had leaky pipes as a roof, no bathroom and no kitchen. It was just a place to crash when the weather was too bad to stay at the bridge where Judy apologized to him.

They stopped at a little pizza place to get something to eat for dinner and a drink they could share. It only took about five minutes after that, including waiting for the pizza, for them to get to Nick's apartment.

His place wasn't very big but it was nice. In the entry way there was a cove for hanging coats and jackets and to put shoes underneath them. It had a living room kitchen combo about three times bigger than Judy's entire apartment. In the living room there was a navy blue medium sized couch that could fold out in to a futon. There was a cubby in the couch just like a center console in a car with a little wood counter in front of it for drinks and bowls. There was a wooden coffee table in front of that. The table top could lift up for extra storage; Judy guessed that this was homemade. Behind the couch, separated by a divider wall, was a wooden card table that they use to eat at.

The entertainment center, if it could be called that, it was more of an oversized night stand with an early 2000's ninety inch flat screen TV that had trouble playing bright scenes. Next to it was a cheap movie case. The kitchen had an island with some bar stools and some cabinets under it. The counter was in the corner with a stove/oven along one wall and a sink on the other. On the kitchen side there was a door to a little bathroom, and on the living room side there was a very short hall way to the bedroom. In between the living room and the bedroom there was a little broom closet for storage. On the other side of that there was another closet that had an over under washer and dryer in it. The bedroom had a desk and a little cove as a closet without a door and a bar across the top for hanging clothes.

It was actually a really nice house. But as nice as it was it sure did take a healthy bite out of Nick's paycheck. He was actually kind of struggling to make ends meet. When he rented the place he was actually going to ask Judy to move in with him. It was so much better that what she had and she deserved better. But asking your friend that is also a girl (with a space in the middle) and that you just so happen to be in love with to move in with you, is a lot harder than it sounds.

"Hay Carrots, what do you want to watch? He asked as he set his keys on the counter.

"I don't know Nick. What is there to watch?" Nick set the pizza and their pop on the coffee table and went to the kitchen to get them some cups.

"You ever seen Lonesome Dove?"

"No. What's it about?

"It's a western, not super action-ey though, but it has a great story."

"Okay let's watch it."

And thus their movie watching marathon began. It was a four part series and was quite long. But the night was still very young. The movie was about a group of ranchers that wanted to start the first ranch in Montana. After surviving a bad sand storm the group was crossing a large river. When Sean a young otter was attacked by several snakes and killed. The scene almost made Judy cry but she managed to hold it together.

There was a rescue where the main character Gus a coyote saves Lorie another coyote from the bad guy. After returning to Call; an older fox, Deeds; a very gentle timber wolf, and the rest of the group they continued on their journey. Deeds was later killed by a deer when he was trying to help a young fawn. He died in Gus and Call's arms. Judy did cry at this part, Deeds reminded Judy a lot of Clawhauser and it hurt to make the connection.

At this point they had eaten all of the pizza, and Judy was still hugging Nick while he comforted her. "Why are you bunnies always so emotional?"

"Shut up" She mumbled in to his shirt.

"You ready for the next part?" Judy just nodded in to his chest. "Well if you want to watch it you have to let go of me first." She sprung off him like he was on fire. She was really enjoying being held by him. She loved how caring and gently he was holding her. The thing that sold it for her was his nice foxy smell, she just wanted to sit there and hold him some more. She could feel herself starting to blush again. Not the time for thoughts like that.

"Okay Carrots last part. This is where we find out if they make it to Montana."

The group had finally made it Montana but Gus had been shot with an arrow and was dying of infection. His last wish was to be buried back in Texas where he met his true love. Begrudgingly Call made the long journey back to where they came from to bury his friend. In the end Call walked through the town of Lonesome Dove into the sun set to start the long hard journey again.

"You were right Nick the story was really good." Judy stated as she yawed.

Seeing Judy yawn Nick glanced at the clock up on the wall. It was almost midnight. "Do you want to sleep here Judy? It's pretty late.

"Yeah I guess I could stay."

"Can you throw that out?" he asked gesturing to the pizza box "I'll go get you some cloths." Judy got up to throw the pizza box away and to put the leftover pop in the fridge, while Nick went to get her something to sleep in.

They both had a pair of pajamas and extra pair cloths at each other's houses in case they had to spend the night working late. It was the same way with toothbrushes and other toiletries.

When Judy came back to the living room Nick had a pair of her pajamas in hand and another one of her uniforms on the coffee table. "Thanks Nick." she chirped as she took her pajamas and headed to the bathroom to change into them.

When she came out again Nick had already folded the futon out. He went in to his room and came out a little later with one of his pillows just finishing putting a new case on it. "You don't mind using one of mine? The ones for the futon aren't very good."

"Don't worry about it Nick I don't mind." She assured with that sweet smile of hers.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay. Goodnight Nick."

"Goodnight Carrots."

As Nick retreated to his room Judy started making herself comfortable on the futon. She set her phone alarm, though she probably wouldn't need to anyway. She shut the lamp off and smuggled into bed. The pillow she was using smelled like Nick. She buried her face in it and started to drift off to sleep.

Yaks Observatory Northern Tundra Town

Chuck Lukas, a middle aged lion, was once again staying at work way later than he was supposed to. He was currently enthralled with several dark spots on the surface of the sun; sun spots. Sun spots were usually an early sigh of solar flares. They tended to move around a little bit. So it wasn't a very big surprise when they migrated closer together.

Chuck was the only one at the observatory at that hour of the morning. He wasn't supposed to be looking at the sun he was supposed to be studying Calathon. It was a lot like the Earth according his studies.

He had only ever seen one solar flare in his life and it was never looking through a telescope. Not seeing anything happen so far tonight he was about to pack up and go home. But then he noticed that the sun spots move particularly close together, closer than he had ever seen them.

Just than the spots almost touched and lit up with a surprising amount of light; a solar flair and a big one by the looks of it. From how bright it was he could guess that it was heading right for Earth, but he wasn't sure he wasn't an expert.

Running over to the phone Chuck dialed his boss's personal number. It range five times and was on the last ring when he answered. "Sir, I think we have a problem."

...

"I know I'm not supposed to be here this late."

...

"Would you let me talk already?!"

..

"Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled.

...

"I just saw a huge solar flare and I think it's heading for Earth."

..

"Like two minutes ago"

...

"Okay, I'll see you then."

Authors Note:

Hi again. First of all what did you guys think? Please tell me in a review below I REALLY want to know what you think. Second I need to tell you that this is a prequel to Sophie Ripley's Traditions Among the Stars. If you haven't read it, GO READ IT and all of her other stories because they're awesome! If you're reading this Sophie thanks again for letting me do this! I hope you enjoyed I'll see you next time. :)