Author's Note: Zootopia and all characters within Zootopia are property of Walt Disney and are used without permission for nonprofit fan based parody. Manny Gujerat is borrowed heavily from S. Andrew Swann's 'Moreau' series, which is highly enjoyable and I suggest giving a read.

Crucible

Rain pattered against chief Bogo's window. He stood looking out over the city, hands behind his back, watching the last of the storm run itself out. Blue sky peeked over the edge of the horizon past Sahara Square. He should be happy. His department had performed exceptionally well in keeping citizens safe during what had proved to be a thousand year weather event. The property damage was immense, but there had been no reports of fatalities. At least not caused by the storm directly.

He ran a hand across his muzzle, the growth of stubble rasping against his palm. No, not directly. Related too, certainly. He was not looking forward to this. The chief turned towards his door at the tentative knock.

"Enter."

The young police woman who slipped through the door was, for all intents and purposes, the model of rules and regulations. Only the bandages marred her uniform appearance. Bogo knew that the ones on her arms and ears were not alone. There were more under her clothing. For a second he felt his blood boil at the thought of the attack on one of his own. It must have showed on his face for the rabbit he'd called in suddenly dropped her eyes to the floor, ears hanging behind her back. He took a breath and forced away his anger.

"Officer Hopps."

"Sir." Judy Hopps clicked her heels together and saluted the water buffalo, a paragon of attention again. "Reporting as ordered sir."

"At ease officer."

"Sir." The rabbit did not relax in the slightest.

Chief Bogo settled his bulk into the chair behind his desk with a soft sigh. He wiggled a little bit to loosen up his tail, shifting his haunches until everything was perfect. The only time Judy had seen him do that was when he was getting ready to deliver a class one reaming. She gulped and stared straight ahead.

"Per standard operating procedure officer, there will be a homicide investigation into the outcome of this case. You will be placed on paid administrative leave until such time as the investigation returns a finding. The district attorney's office will then review the investigation and decide whether or not to present the case to a grand jury."

"Sir."

"Furthermore officer you will surrender your weapon to me for forensic analysis."

"Sir." The rabbit unbuckled her holster and laid the duty sidearm on the chief's desk.

The water buffalo rubbed his eyes and sighed. He shifted his weight again and leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together.

"Sit officer."

"I would prefer to stand sir."

"Sit. That's a direct order."

Judy neatly pivoted, pulled out the chair on the other side of the chief's desk and sat in it. Bogo sighed again at her posture. Fully at attention, even while seated.

"You are not being dressed down officer."

"Sir?"

"What happened yesterday was clearly reported by you, the backup squad, and every other officer who responded to that call. This is not a reprimand. This is not me sitting here chewing you out for any perceived wrongdoing. I want you to understand that."

"Sir." The rabbit kept her gaze level, fixed at some point over the chief's shoulder.

Bogo watched her carefully. Situations like this were always tricky, especially with young cops. What happened here could make or break her as law enforcement. He grunted, leaned forward, and laid a hand on her trembling arm.

"Judy."

"Sir."

"Look at me Judy."

Judy shifted her gaze to her commander's face. She felt her foot trying desperately to start pounding on the floor. It took every ounce of will she had to keep it from thumping a rhythm as fast as her heartbeat against the hardwood. She'd never had Bogo call her by her first name before. It was always 'Officer' or 'Hopps' or, on rare occasions when he was in a righteous fury, 'You damned overzealous bunny'. That last one may have been a violation of a hostile work environment law, but she'd also heard him call an elephant a 'Peanut sniffing son of a sea cow and a coconut that couldn't find its own trunk with a flashlight, map, and Special Forces team'. That was a pretty memorable screw up, one she had thankfully not been part of.

"Judy, this is entirely off the record here. You are not in trouble. If it were up to me I'd be putting an official commendation in your file for being cool headed under extreme stress and acting to save the life of a fellow officer. Unfortunately there are ways this has to be addressed and that isn't one of them. Do you understand me? Homicide is going to determine that you were in the right. I'm not going to let you hang out to dry on this."

"Sir…thank you sir." Judy bit her lip to keep it from trembling. One hand reached up to swipe at her eyes. "And sir…is…?"

"Officer Wilde is out of critical condition and the prognosis looks good. Apparently that fox's head is harder than anything I've ever seen."

"Thank you sir."

"Dismissed Hopps."

Judy rose from her seat, shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs. She swiped her hand over her eyes again and marched towards the door.

"Oh and Judy?"

"Sir?" She froze, hand on the doorknob.

"The first thing I suggest you do is pay a visit to Wilde. I'm sure he'd appreciate it. And I'm sure you need it."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir."

"Hello Judy."

"Hello Doctor Gujerat."

The mongoose opposite her smiled and let out a wry chuckle.

"I'm only Doctor Gujerat to my students. Please, call me Manny."

"Yes doctor."

"Manny.

"Yes Manny."

The mongoose smiled again and gestured towards the plush armchair opposite his desk.

"Please, have a seat."

Judy folded herself in the chair, knees up around her chin, ears drooping down her back. She stared at the floor, intent on discovering the mysteries of the universe in the deep pile carpet. They had to be in there somewhere. She heard the mongoose sit down in his own chair, the creak of the springs as he leaned back indicating the session was ready to begin.

"So Judy. Please, tell me why you're here."

"I'm here because of an incident on the 28th of May, which was eight days ago today. My partner, Officer Wilde, and myself were acting on a concerned citizen call. Officer Wilde was injured, I was superficially wounded and I discharged my weapon in defense of myself and my partner. After I was cleared by homicide of wrongdoing I was allowed to return to the force in a non patrol capacity until such time as Chief Bogo feels like I am ready for active duty."

"Textbook." The mongoose's chair squeaked again. "Yes, I suppose from that standpoint this is all just rules and regulations isn't it? Does that make it easier to deal with?"

"Excuse me?" Judy lifted her eyes to the psychologist. "Easier to deal with? Those are the facts. There is no easier or harder to deal with. Officer Wilde and I responded to a call. I was forced to use my weapon. Officer Wilde was injured but is making a full recovery. That's all there is to it. End of story. Case closed."

"I see." Manny shifted his spectacles and glanced down at the chart in his hand. "Tell me officer, do you recall how many times you discharged your weapon?"

"Four or five."

"Four or five shots? Are you certain of that Judy?"

The rabbit felt a flush rising to her face.

"Are you saying I'm lying?"

"No, not at all." Manny lifted a hand in a conciliatory gesture. "I'm simply asking if you are certain of that."

"I…yes it must have been. The first shot missed, and then two rounds to center of mass, and then aiming for the head when the perp kept coming forward. That's all. I fired my weapon four or five times."

"Judy…" Manny leaned forward and presented her the chart in his lap. "The official report puts your empties at 19. You completely emptied your weapon. Don't you remember?"

"Why would I-" Judy flinched back from the chart like a poisonous snake. "No. No I didn't fire that many times. That's panic fire."

"It's right here Judy."

"No. It's wrong. I fired four or five times."

Manny withdrew the untouched case file and leaned back. He studied the young police woman in front of him. Her nerves were plain to see, raw and inflamed. Fear and paranoia etched on every line of her face, from the tension she held herself in, to the way her foot kept twitching against the chair.

"Judy I want you to go through, step by step, exactly what happened that day. As much as you can remember. Not the official story, but what you experienced."

"And if I don't want to?"

"I can't force you to."

Judy lifted her eyes from the floor and studied the doctor sitting across from her. He was lean in his slacks and button down shirt, a clashing tie with a riot of colors against the simple white cotton. Smile lines were etched around eyes that hinted at good humor, infinite patience, and deep sadness. Delicate hands were clasped under a pointed muzzle starting to go grey.

"You haven't gone through the psych eval yet doctor." She pointed to the questionnaire she'd filled out before coming into the office.

"No, I haven't." The mongoose picked it up from the end table and glanced at it. A wry smile touched his lips after scanning just a few lines. "I'm sorry Judy. It appears you may have filled this out incorrectly. No fault, no blame, but just some inaccuracies I'd like to go over."

"Such as?" Judy felt herself starting to flush again. "Did I misspell my name or put the wrong year or something?"

"Such as if you accurately recall exactly what happened. We've already established that you don't."

"Yes I do." Her foot was going a full 100 BPM against the chair now. "I remember everything perfectly."

"Including the number of rounds you fired? Your own admission doesn't match up with the official finding."

"Why would I lie?" 120 BPM. Her ears were starting to lift off her back as her anger began to boil. "I did not empty my weapon, I have no reason to lie, why are you calling me a liar?"

"Easy now." Manny gestured back towards the chair. "Please, take your seat."

The anger was tinted with a touch of shame as Judy realized she had left the chair and was halfway to the doctor. She slid back onto the cushion, foot still pounding furiously.

"I'm not calling you a liar Judy." Manny set his chart on his desk and leaned forward, hands spread wide. "In an event like this many officers have difficulty remember exactly what happened. It's normal for any mammal in an extremely difficult and dangerous situation to suppress, or misremember exactly what happened."

"So if I admit I emptied my weapon you'll sign off on my eval?"

"…Not as much, no I'm afraid."

"Why not?"

"Because Judy, in an officer involved shooting almost no officer remembers how many rounds they fired. It's common. No, I need you to tell me exactly why you put 19 rounds into the suspect. I need you to tell me, in detail, exactly what happened that day."

"And why do you need to know that?"

"Because of why you were referred to me. It's not simply the case; it's your reactions afterwards that have concerned your superiors."

"You mean the archives?"

Manny nodded and spread his hands in a placating gesture.

"Exactly that. Judy, why did you freeze when you were asked to go down into the archives to store some files?"

"I…"

She was standing at the top of the stairs leading down into long term storage. The box of files which a few moments ago had been so light felt like it was dragging her to the floor. The light changed, flickered, dimmed. She felt herself falling down the stairs, down…down to a place with no light and the smell of death and something incredibly dangerous. It was down there. Waiting for her. Whatever it was it waiting for her. It was hard to breathe. The lights went out and Judy could hear it moving below.

"I don't…" Judy shook her head. "I just had a dizzy spell is all."

"Judy", the mongoose reached out and put a hand on the arm of her chair. "They found you a half hour later, curled around the box of files at the top of the step, weeping. When Benjamin Clawhauser touched your shoulder you took one look at him and started screaming. It took another half hour to calm you down."

"I was startled." Judy felt her nose starting to twitch. She gripped the arms of the chair tightly, trying to control her breathing.

"Of Benjamin? He has the subtlety of a parade and is slightly less threatening than a children's film. He's your friend. He called out to you before he approached."

"He's…it was the basement and he's…"

"He's what Judy?"

"He's a feline…" The words came out as a whisper. "He's so much bigger than me. And he has claws and teeth and they didn't give me a sidearm yet and-"

Judy felt her nose going full force. Her chest heaved as she thought of a shape towering over her, tail lashing back and forth. A clawed hand reaching for her. Scrabbling for a gun that wasn't there.

"Judy." Manny touched the tip of one her fingers. "Judy it's OK. You're safe."

The mongoose moved his hand on top of hers. The gentle pressure drew her back in to the room, her breathing slowing. Only the constant twitching of her nose belied her terror.

"Judy, I can't clear you for duty yet because you just told me you were terrified of your friend simply because of his species. I can't clear you for duty because you panicked at the thought of having to go into a basement. And I especially can't clear you for duty, or to be issued a sidearm, because Benjamin reported that the first place you grabbed for was where your holster should have been."

"Are you saying I would have shot Ben?" To her ears the words sounded sickening.

"I'm saying you might have reacted without realizing what you were doing." Manny leaned back again and turned to his computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. "You went through a lot. The official report doesn't cover it all. If you're willing, I'd like you to come back in a few days. In the meantime I'm suggesting, not ordering or mandating, only suggesting, that you be placed on medical leave. Please, don't try to rush yourself back into work. I've been working with emergency personnel for a very long time now and what you deal with can be comparable to the stresses of soldiers in combat. Take some time off, come back in a few days, and we'll see if we can work through this."

The printer hummed quietly and Manny offered the output to Judy.

"Top copy is a tentative schedule for sessions, second sheet is my response to the evaluation, third sheet is my recommendation, and the remaining copies are for whatever bureaucracy needs them."

Judy took the printouts, her nose finally slowing to a stop. She glanced at them and looked up at the mongoose.

"And if I don't want to come back?"

"Then I can't clear you for duty. Neither can any other mental health professional. You don't have to keep doing this. You can retire from law enforcement. Nobody would blame you or be upset. You had an extremely traumatic experience that, I feel, stems partially from the fact that you're a woman and partially from the fact that you're the physically weakest member of the force. You can walk out of my office and never see me again."

The mongoose leaned forward, concern and compassion etched on his face.

"But you'll also be carrying that fear around with you. Ask yourself if you want to keep carrying that."

Judy looked down at the top sheet in her hands for a long moment. She swallowed and returned her eyes to the doctor.

"I'll see you in a few days then."