Judy groaned, hearing the blare of her alarm ring throughout the room, and into her sensitive bunny ears. She rolled over, burying her head under a pillow, willing the noise to go away. It was way too early for work, especially on a Saturday. But life in Zootopia doesn't stop, and so she sighed, lightly shaking the form next to her.

"Nick, turn in off."

She heard a low growl of protest, but alas the damned thing was turned off. Judy sighed in content, muttering a "thanks" before rolling over on her back and attempting to will away the sleep. Last night had been a long one at the station. She didn't get much sleep, and now they were at it again like clockwork. But finally, she managed to urge herself out of bed and get ready for the day.

"Where is everyone?" Judy asked, raising one of her fluffy ears up into the air. She found it particularly odd that there was no other noises being heard in the house. Especially on a Saturday. There would have at least been the background noise of a TV being played somewhere in the house.

"Friends house." Nick answered, nonchalantly as he sipped his coffee.

The two stood in the kitchen, trying to fill up on caffeine before heading out for the day. Chief Bogo had sent out an urgent call, saying he needed all officers at the station, alert and ready to go. It was nearing six o'clock by now. They didn't live too far away and they were expected to be there no later than 6:30am, so they still had some time on their hands.

"When will they be back?" Judy asked, but again, Nick just shrugged.

"Don't know" he said, not bothering to elaborating on the subject as he began to gather up the rest of his things for work.

Judy sighed, following what he was doing. Nick always told her to stop worrying. They can take care of themselves. Judy hoped he was right. Afterall, Zootopia is a big place. Who knows what could happen to them out there.

"You're going to fry that brain of yours, Carrots." Nick said, his sly smirk slipping into place. "They're fine, I promise." he said, reading her thoughts exactly.

Judy couldn't help but to force a smile. "I hope you're right, but okay! Let's go."

"Alright everyone, listen up and listen good!" Chief Bogo's voice rang throughout the room. "We have a new problem on our hands that needs to be taken care of immediately. We have a new missing person's case."

The room seemed to intensify within a matter of seconds. Missing persons cases are hard to solve, and no doubt this one won't be a walk in the park either, considering the seriousness matter at hand. They can only hope they some good leads and some evidence to go along with it.

"The person we are looking for is in fact none other than Mayor Lionheart."

And just like that, everything just got worse.

"This case is now our top priority, and I need everyone alert and on the case! With that being said, I'm splitting up this cases to each of your teams, but you are all to stay in contact and work together to solve this case. Zootopia is counting on us to bring our mayor back."

So one by one he handed out different agenda's to different teams. One team got the job of finding evidence, another to talk to friends and family, get a sense of why he has suddenly disappeared. Soon there were only two teams left, and when the other team was assigned the task of finding Lionheart, Judy became concerned.

So help me if he assigns us parking duty….

"Hopps and Wilde!" Bogo said, placing a rather thin file down on their desk. "You get the task of finding Mayor Lionheart's kidnapper."

And Judy sighed with relief. No doubt this was going to be a hard case, but at least she wasn't stuck here filing paperwork. Her and Nick shared a look of determination and confidence as they headed out of the conference room and out towards the front desk.

"So whatcha get?!" Office Clawhauser asked the pair as they approached.

"We get to find the crazy kidnapper." Nick said, kind of excited. It's been awhile since they were given a big case like this.

"O M Goodness, this is so exciting!" The cheetah squealed. "I wish I got to go out and do that kind of stuff. But instead, I get to sit here and watch all the crazies come in and out of the station. It's quite amusing."

The pair laughed at their cheetah friend. "We have to go now."

"Oh yeah! Right, of course, don't let me stop you!" he said, waving them off. "They're gonna need all the help they can get."

"So, where to first, Carrots?" Nick asked, sitting in the passenger seat, shades firmly in place as he flipped through their case file. They didn't have much sadly. A few suspects were listed, including Duke Weaslton, although how someone so small could have kidnapped a lion, Nick had no clue. They had a few locations sighted for the last place the Mayor was seen, but unfortunately, they would be travelling all over the city districts.

"We need to go talk to some some suspects around the city, and then we're off to Tundratown to go talk to Mr Big. Apparently he has some helpful information for us."

"Don't tell me it has something to do with one of his limo drivers." Nick shuddered.

Judy only laughed. "I don't think so. Anyways, we need to talk to Weselton."

"Weaslton." Nick laughed. "You know he hates when you call him that."

But she only shrugged, as she stepped on the gas in search of their next destination.

"Just tell us what you know." Judy insisted, growing impatient. Nick stood by her side, as the two tried to get the weasel to talk. Although, by the looks of it, threatening to take him back to Mr. Big seemed to do the trick.

"Alright, alright! But I don't know much!" came Duke, who seemed a little frightened by the bunny rabbit. "Last I saw of the Mayor, he was heading home from City Hall. Saw some not so friendly guys following behind him. Seeing as I'm not all that popular around here, I hid. Didn't want to get my tail kicked again, you understand." he said.

"How long ago was this?" Judy asked.

"A couple nights ago. Two, maybe three."

"Makes since." Judy says. "He's been missing for over 48 hours now."

"Do you know who was following him?" Nick asked.

"Was about three or four of em. Don't like me very much. Don't particularly know their names, but it was a bear, a rhino, and a Sheep." he said.

Judy frowned. Sheep, huh? Why does that worry me?

"Couldn't make out the fourth one. Maybe a horse? Zebra? But that's all I know! I swear!"

"Just one more question." Judy said. "Where can I find a 'Mr. Hunchback'?"

"You know him?" Judy asked her partner as they pulled into an abandoned office building on the outskirts of the Sahara District. It was late into the afternoon. If they're lucky, they should be heading home soon. Of course, if they learn any new valuable information here, they may need to put in a couple extra hours.

Judy sighed at the thought as she fished through their case file and handed him a photo of their next suspect.

"Course I do, Carrots, told ya I know everyone." he said with a playful wink. "Edward Hunchback. He pretty much owns every franchise in this district. Lots of money." Nick said.

Judy frowned. "So then why the abandoned building?"

Nick shrugged. "Just because he has lots of money doesn't mean he earned it the right way. Apparently he's got this whole underground thing going. Can't exactly do that in an office building in the middle of the city."

"So he specializes in illegal activity…" Judy commented. "Think we need backup?"

"Nah, we'll be fine." Nick said, hopping out the car. "Just let me do all the talking."

Considering they were in the Sahara and it was the middle of summer, it was really cold in the abandoned building. Judy was practically shivering. Perhaps animals of different species were working with Mr. Hunchback who weren't exactly born in the desert heat. "Where are we going?" Judy asked Nick, who seemed to be leading their "team" of two.

"Don't know, but this place is huge." he said. "Wish we had a map."

Judy rolled her eyes, perking her ears up to see if she could hear anything. The building was big, but simple. It must be an abandoned dentist's office or something. There weren't any long, mysterious hallways, or closet doors hidden with mischief and danger. The building itself was only about three stories high. It wasn't intimidating at all, inside or out. Very low profile, you really wouldn't expect any illegal activity to be going on around here. The only thing eerie about the place was the lack of lighting.

Suddenly, Nick threw his arm out, causing Judy to stop in her tracks. "You hear that?"

Judy's ear perked up, trying to find something. "Not really. Just a rumbling sound, like maybe the air conditioning unit or something."

"Or something." Nick replied as he scurried off down the hall. Judy followed suit. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever. When they hit the end, there was only two ways to go. "Split up?" Nick asked, unsure.

Judy thought for a moment. They needed to figure out what was going on, but she didn't exactly feel right being separated from Nick either. Judy pushed it away though. Right now they were partners at work, and they needed to be smart about what their next move would be.

"You go left, I'll go right. Got your walkie talkie?" Judy replied.

Nick gave a firm nod, before the two disappeared out of eyesight.

As she continued down the hallway, the rumbling got louder. The hall seemed to have gotten darker, but maybe it was just the sun outside sinking lower, darkening the light shining through the windows that lined the wall. Judy paused momentarily wondering if she should call backup. Stubbornly, she shook her head.

I can do this on my own.

Eventually, upon reaching the end, there was a door opened, a dull light, probably from a lamp, shining out into the hallway a bit. Judy advanced forward, stopping a few feet away from the door, to listen in on what was going on.

"...I told you, if you want it done, it comes with a price." the voice said. "Either your in or you're not, but I get paid either way…..yeah….okay."

What's he talking about? Another kidnapping maybe?

"Sure I can…..oh please, they'll never find him, not in time anyways….. He's probably frozen to death by now."

Judy had to stop herself from gasping. Tundratown! He's there somewhere, probably locked away. But did this guy do it? Maybe he hired someone to do his dirty work. Or maybe-

"Carrots!" Nick shouted, running down the hall. It appears he was being chased by two rather large guards. Bears maybe? It was hard to tell. "We gotta go!"

Judy paused. Well now they know we're here….

Judy couldn't just leave though. She was so close to finding answers. Maybe not to his kidnapper, but she could probably at least figure out where the Mayor was being hidden. So, without really thinking, she ran into the room where Mr. Hunchback sat at his desk and slammed the door shut, locking it in place.

"Carrots!" was the last thing she heard, upon closing the door. Sorry Nick…

"Ah, Judy Hopps." came the same voice she had heard before. She turned around to face none other than Edward Hunchback, a camel who had now stood up from his desk to walk around and properly greet the bunny cop. "I've been waiting for you to arrive. I've heard a lot about you."

"Enough small talk." she said, clearly not in the mood. "Where's Mr. Lionheart?"

The camel gave her a sneer smile. "I'm afraid it's a little too late to be asking that question my dear. I have no idea where he is."

"You're lying!" she spit out bitterly. "I heard you on the phone, something about him freezing to death."

"And what makes you think that it is the Mayor I was referring to?" The camel asked, a sense of hurt in his voice. "Aren't police officers supposed to have proof of things before they come into someone's establishment, accusing innocent people of innocent crimes?"

Judy looked about ready to attack. She was a prey, sure, but she could get pretty fired up and downright scary. "You are not innocent. And it seems that the police have had a warrant on you for well over a year now. Mind explaining that?"

"Dear, naive, cute little bunny." he said.

"Don't call me cute!" she growled.

The camel continued on as though she hadn't said a thing. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. I suggest you walk out that door, and return back to your partner before you both get seriously hurt."

"I'm not going anywhere without some answers." she said. "The first being who are you working for and who was on the other end of that conversation?"

The camel sighed, taking a seat back in his desk chair. "The person I was talking to was a Mr. Watterson, and who I work for is of no importance to you."

Judy had to take in deep breaths, using everything in her power not to scratch his eyes out. "Who is he, and what were you two talking about?"

The camel made a tsk tsk noise. "You think I'm just going to give away information that easily? I'm quite offended."

"Just answer the damn question!"

"Ooh, feisty." he said. "I like that about you. Anyways, I don't know much. I just answer calls and deliver packages."

"What kind of packages?"

"I'm getting there." he said. "Patience is key. All I know of this Mr. Watterson is that he lives in the Rainforest District and I may have his address." he answered with a sly smirk. It wasn't like Nick's; playful and filled with mischief. No, his was filled with pure evil and bad intent.

It send a shiver down her spine.

"Of course I can give you the information you're looking for….with a price of course."

The bunny groaned. "What do you want?"

The camel's smile seemed to grow that much more terrifying. "A trade."

Nick had made it about halfway down the hallway when he had decided it be better to be safe than sorry, and call for backup. Boy, was he glad he had made that decision, when he ran out the front entrance to see the building surrounded by more police cars. A sigh of relief escaped him as the two animals chasing him were immediately cuffed and driven back to the police station for questioning.

"Where's Officer Hopps?" came another officer.

Nick's blood seemed to have run cold. "She's still in there. I don't know what she's up to, but I imagine it can't be good."

"Alright, let's send a team in to get her."

Nick seemed to sigh in relief. He just hoped Judy was okay. They may be partners, but he loved that bunny with all his heart, and he'd bite the head off of anyone who dared lay a finger on his Carrots.

He went in with another team to go and retrieve his partner. As soon as they reached the end of the hallway, they could hear yelling from the room, Judy had disappeared into. Nick only hoped that she wasn't getting herself into something that she couldn't get out of.

As they approached the door, they could hear their muffled conversation through the door.

"On the count of three." an officer said, but Nick wasn't really listening. He just wanted his Carrots back.

Within a couple of seconds, the door was busted through, Mr. Hunchback was taken into custody, and Judy emerged from the room, a confident smile on her face.

"What's up with you?" Nick asked cautiously.

"I think I know where to find our Mayor."

"Thanks to Judy's quick thinking, our team is closer to finding Mr. Lionheart." Chief Bogo addressed the department. "But there's still more work to do. Hopps, you still need to find his kidnappers, but for now you are to go home and get some rest for tomorrow's work." he said. Judy would have argued against it if Nick hadn't of ushered her out the door, against her protests of course.

"Come on Carrots, we've got people waiting for us at home." he said. "Besides, there's a team already out looking for the Mayor around the clock. There's not much else for us to do tonight."

Judy sighed, knowing he was right. "Okay. Let's head home."

"Mom's home!"

Judy smiled as she entered into the house, followed closely behind by Nick. "Daddy's here too!" he said.

Around the corner, came a little bunny, hopping up and down in excitement. "I told you they'd be home in time for dinner!" Hope shouted.

"What, you want a medal or something?" a voice replied from deeper into the house, probably from whoever was in the kitchen making dinner.

Hope frowned, bouncing back in the direction of which she came. "Shut up Lexi!"

Nick and Judy stepped fully into the house, taking off their uniform vests, before walking deeper into the house. Upon entering out of the front hallway, they see their kids all huddled up in the kitchen. Hope sat at the kitchen table, with her twin sister Maria while Lexi was cooking something in the oven.

"Where's Chase?" Judy asked.

Lexi shrugged. "Somewhere. Most likely his room."

"I'll go get him!" Hope shouted, leaving the table to go get her brother.

Lexi smiled, turning to her parents. "I may have put a little too much sugar in her cereal this morning."

Judy shook her head, and Neck just kept smiling, happy to see his family happy and together. Giggling could be heard down the hall, followed by the thumping of feet, as the little bunny scurried down the hall, laughing, followed by a red fox chasing after her. Eventually he caught her and threw her over his shoulder as they walked over to the dinner table.

"Chase! Put me down!" she laughed.

"If you drop her I swear." came Lexi, scowling at her twin.

He only shrugged. "Calm down Lex, I'm not gonna drop her." he said, gently setting her down, tickling her sides, before finally letting go.

Maria giggled. "You totally should have dropped her."

Chase flashed her a smile, similar to his father's. They looked almost identical; same colored fur, same colored eyes. His sister was different though. Alexa or Lexi, the oldest and also a fox, had Judy's grey fur and purple eyes. Maria, a bunny, had brown eyes, and brown fur to match. And little hope, although Maria's younger twin, was still known as the baby of the family, with bright white fur and blue eyes.

"He'd never do that!" Hope defended her older brother.

Eventually, Lexi came over with the food, pizza of course, along with a salad and breadsticks. Once everyone was settled, the family of six sat down and ate, talking about their day and what they all did. Someone on the outside who didn't know them might have found the sight quite odd, but to them, this was normal. People for the most part had accepted Judy and Nick's relationship a long time ago, so when they got married and decided to have kids, it was no surprise to them. Judy's parents absolutely loved them, and Lexi was best friends with Clawhauser's son Max. Even Nick's mother, who didn't understand, or agree with the relationship at first, finally accepted them, and absolutely loves her grandchildren.

Not everyone agrees of course, but they were a happy little family, nonetheless.

After dinner, the kids ran off to do their own various things, and Nick and Judy decided to settle down for the night and watch was some tv on the couch. The house was quiet except for the tv and the occasional laugh from the two bunnies down the hall. They shared a room and loved to play games together. Lexi was probably off in her own little world, talking to some friends, and they could only hope Chase was working on his summer school homework.

No, this family wasn't perfect, but whose was?

Judy sighed in content. "I'm happy we decided to come home."

Nick smiled fondly, kissing Judy on top of her head. "Me too. Got a long day ahead of us though."

Judy frowned. "Let's not think about it right now." she said, turning her head slightly to kiss Nick on the lips.

"Eww, they're kissing!" Hope said, covering her eyes as she ran around the corner.

Maria snickered, running up behind her. "Leave them alone!"

"What's up girls?" Nick asked, chuckling.

The twins shared a look. "Nothing." they said with a shrug and a giggle as they turned back around and ran back to their room.

Judy couldn't help but to laugh. "That was weird."

"You love us." he said, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Do I love you guys?" she asked herself, placing a paw under her chin, as she pretended to process the question. "Yes. Yes I do."