Prologue. "Savior"

Shay found her in one of those dark alleys of Zootopia Downtown that have seen more tragedies than average policeman or gangster. She wasn't meant to become one of them though, now that he saw her. Three teenage punks that attacked her were no challenge for him, a gazelle in his early thirties practically raised by Skooba's gang. He didn't even draw his machete. Now that all three were lying by the walls beaten up to unconsciousness, he approached the little creature in the corner. It was a brown bunny, no older than fifteen years old. Shreds of her once azure dress were now brown with mud and red with blood from wounded paws, as she had been trying to defend herself. The bunny was now desperately trying to cover her legs with what remained of her clothes. When Shay approached her, she squeaked and pressed into the corner, trying to fill as little space as possible. It hardly surprised him, though. He was an adult with a machete at his hip and awful bite mark at throat towering over her. Shay sat down a few meters from her, not caring about muddy ground.

"Harsh night, huh, kiddo?" He started, trying to bring her attention. The bunny raised her eyes slowly. Two beautiful sapphires, as he noticed. "You're safe now, though. Those chompers won't harm you," He promised, his voice filled with disdain for three predators that attacked her.

"Are they... dead?" She asked, terrified.

"No, only messed up a bit. But don't think about them anymore. I am Oliver Shay Antiery, call me Shay. And you?" He asked. Oliver Antiery was fake given to him by Skooba, but Shay was real; the only his parents left him. Nearly no one from the gang knew about it and yet, something in this bunny made him share it with her immediately.

"I'm Kaylee," she mumbled.

"You do have a surname, don't you?"

"Nothing to be proud of."

"It doesn't matter. You bunnies are little and helpless alone. Your strength is en masse. And if they see your family doesn't stand for you, no one will. So, your surname, darling. With pride," he encouraged her.

"Crane. I'm Kaylee Crane," she managed to say.

"Good," Shay smiled warmly. "Now, little Kaylee Crane, we need to take you home. Where do you live?" He asked.

"Mom will be mad. I... I messed up a dress she gave me."

"If I tell her what happened..."

"Mom will be mad," Kaylee repeated firmly and gazelle hesitated. She was a mess and yet, she didn't want to go home at all. It was just… sad.

"Fine then, I will take you to my place. You will clean up, change this messy dress and have some warm chocolate. Then you will sleep in comfy, big bed. By tomorrow your parents will be surely terrified about you and the last thing they will care about will be your dress. How does it sound to you?" He offered and she bobbed her head once. She didn't move beyond that, though.

"I will now carry you to my car, OK?" He asked and she nodded again. Shay stood up and walked up to her. He took her gently in his paws and she momentarily hugged his neck.

"Thank you," she whispered. Shay could feel how cold and shaken up she was. He carried the bunny to the car and settled on back seat, not caring about mud. Before they headed house, they made one stop; a 24h supermarket where he bought instant hot chocolate, some carrots and multiple bunny clothes and pajamas in different sizes. Some of these had to fit her and he forgot to ask her size. Equipped like this, he took her to his small flat. He showed her the shower and gave new clothes and left her to put herself back together. While she was washing, he prepared her chocolate and waited. She came back twenty minutes later dressed in pink long shirt and tracksuit. He then bandaged her arms and offered a warm drink. As they sat down on the couch, she finally opened up. She told him how her family hated her because she stuck out, how her class and neighbors hated her for the same reason. She confessed she loved technical stuff and wanted to be programmer once she'd grow up. She even managed to save for her own PC without a bit of parents' help. It wasn't much, but she could learn on it, as she assured. They talked like that for at least two hours, till around 1am, when the bunny was already falling asleep in her seat. Still, quite an impressive hour as for a bunny. Shay put her to sleep in his bed, but instead of calling it a day like her, he grabbed a beer from fridge and settled at the balcony of his small flat. He knew he should simply drop the bunny off at her home tomorrow and forget about her. He spent enough money on her. On the other hand, he knew she wouldn't survive on her own. A bunny with no family to back her up is a dead bunny, especially in a city like Zootopia. And for some reason, he really didn't want Kaylee to end up a dead bunny. And then, sitting on the balcony of his small flat, he came up with a plan. A plan that would change both their lives.

Chapter 1. „Casual Thursday"

Over last two years, Officer Nicholas Wilde managed to figure out an acceptable morning routine. The alarm would go off at 6.15 a.m. Nick, nocturnal by nature and hating to wake up earlier than around 10 a.m., would ignore it for next twenty minutes before he'd switch it off and go for a long hot shower. Next, he'd comb his fur carefully and even trim it a bit, if there's a need. Afterwards, he'd make a breakfast; usually cereals. The fox would settle himself on a coach and turn the TV on, selecting Channel 4. At 7 there would always fly random episodes of classic TV series; best of his childhood memories. The moment of nostalgia would last to around 7.40 when, right before the episode's climax, having brushed his teeth and worn his uniform, he'd leave to the café vis a vis his apartment. There the old tiger, the owner, would greet him with his standard 'Hey, Blues! Same as always?' and give him two coffees, one for Nick and the other for Judy. The fox would say hello to cafeteria's patrons and leave for the car parked just behind the corner. He'd drink some of hot coffee; only at that point was he really awake. The moment he started engine he'd send an empty text message to Judy so that she'd know when to expect him. He'd check the time as music of radio station would fill the car. Usually it was around quarter to eight at the time he was leaving his parking lot. More or less twenty minutes later he'd already be at Judy's apartment. He used to honk at her until she learnt to recognize noise of engine and now, she'd already waiting at the block's door, as he pulled over. The rabbit would cross the street carefully and hop inside.

"Hey, Nick."

"Hey Carrots. Your coffee." He'd smile, as joining the traffic again.

"Thanks." Judy took a big gulp of her black bitter coffee. She didn't even use sugar. She was sweet enough without it, as Nick noticed in his mind. "So, you picked the movie for tonight?"

"Sure I did. Oh, and mom is expecting us at the 6 as always," the fox assured. It was Thursday, the day with the least crimes committed in the Downtown of Zootopia. Which meant Judy and Nick could leave job at 5 pm without much of a problem and that left them a long evening of possibilities. They had an established routine for that too; they'd change from uniforms and go to Nick's mother for a dinner around 6 p.m. Then, around 9 p.m. they'd end up in Nick's apartment for another session of 'cinema education' as Nick called it. Movie tastes of theirs were completely different and for first few weeks they struggled with choosing a movie together. Instead of constant fighting about it, they figured they'd choose movies in turns; Nick would usually pick some classics, usually thrillers or action movies, while Judy preferred comedies or dramas. At first they picked quite neutral positions, but within months they managed to establish what the other one enjoyed and they started slipping in some positions slightly out of partner's zone of comfort; Nick would freak Judy out with horrors once in a while and she'd sometimes soften him up to a predictable and yet touching romantic comedies. After the movie Nick would drive Judy home discussing the movie in meanwhile, if she wasn't already sleeping, that is.

Nick loved the Thursdays and their routine they had established. On the weekends they never had a consisted plan. If they weren't on case, sometimes they'd go for a concert or to cinema, often with a pack of friends, sometimes they'd go searching for new hidden gems of Zootopia nightlife or just end up at old good 'Tom's' with half of Precinct 1's cops. But Thursdays were always like this; wake up early, work hard, have a delicious dinner at mother's and a delightful movie night with the best rabbit in the world. For last year, they did not break the routine for a single time except for their visits to Bunny Burrows and he couldn't imagine what would force them to do it; death, probably. Yeah, it could be enough.

"What are you thinking about?" Judy wondered.

"Nothing, Carrots," the fox assured, as he pulled over and found a spot at the parking lot just by police station. "And there we are. 8.25, right on time." He checked the time as grabbing rest of his lukewarm at best coffee and finished it, throwing both their cups into the trash bin. As they walked inside, they were greeted, as always, by Benjamin Clawhauser, a chubby cheetah from the dispatch.

"Hey, Benji!" Nick waved at him.

"Nick, Judy! Last chance to join the pool!" the cheetah called them.

"Pool? What pool this time?" Judy wondered, as they stopped by dispatch desk.

"Oh, don't fall for that, Carrots. You'll never win," Nick warned her, while Clawhauser was pulling out a huge sheet of the paper.

"You don't know?! The thing is, today the new officers start their service. We know there will be three officers and two technical ones coming and so, as every year, there's a pool. You have to guess what species three out of five will be and you take triple the money you bet!" Clawhauser explained, showing her the pool with list of several dozen species and bets of other policemen with sums they betted. It looked like most of the ZPD took part in the game.

"Isn't that a bit… wrong?" Judy asked carefully.

"Oh, come on, no one really minds. Even chief made his bet, see?" Clawhauser pointed at the row signed 'Bogo' and his bets; two wolves and a polar bear.

"Doesn't Chief already know what animals will join?" Nick noticed, smiling slyly. Who knows, maybe he'll actually play too?

"Oh, no. Chief made his bets before he actually received the info. It wouldn't be fair otherwise. Oh, and all the income from lottery we give to the charity! This year we help an orphanage in Tundratown!"

"OK, you got me there. What's the fee?" Judy asked.

"Anything, really. Most bet between five and fifteen. If you score, you get the triple. So, make a bet, Judy!"

"I'll bet fifteen, then," she decided, taking out the money.

"What will be your types?" Clawhauser nodded.

"OK then, I bet fifteen on a wolf…" Judy hesitated looking at the list. "Tiger and… whatever. And a rabbit," she decided and Nick snorted, barely containing a laugh.

"Bold pick, the last one," he noticed, managing to withstand her electrifying sight.

"Nick, will you join?" Cheetah asked.

"You know, I don't usually take up a bet I can lose, but, for the children. A polar bear, hippo and a wolf. Wolves join us every single year, don't they?" He decided, putting fifteen dollars on the counter. Then, since 8.30 was dangerously close, both of them rushed for the roll call. Inside, they exchanged pleasantries with some of the officers and took their shared seat at the big-mammal sized chair in the first row; no one actually bothered to buy proper-sized chairs for a bunny and fox when they could just sit together. Nick looked around, searching for new faces. He quickly spotted a young arctic wolf that sat by Wolford and apparently quickly made friends with him. Nick was certain he had seen him before, but couldn't tell where. Next, he located a tiger and polar bear sitting in the third row by the wall. So, Nick was still missing a hippo and Judy missed her bunny. Nick smiled thinking about it. Judy definitely was an optimist. He looked around again. The fourth new recruit was another wolf, this time a grey one.

"It's two, two, Carrots," Nick said.

"Sorry?" She watched him curiously.

"I see an arctic wolf, a grey wolf, tiger and polar bear. That makes two of my bets and two of yours and one recruit left. Can you see him?" He asked. Judy looked around carefully, noticing the four new ones that pretty much stood out. And then, she grinned.

"The last row, in the right corner," she said triumphantly. Nick looked there and saw it too. A pair of long brown ears. A rabbit, a female, looking around nervously. ZPD has Precinct 1 actually received another bunny, even if, looking at her uniform they could tell she was only a Technical Officer. Still counted, though.

"Congratulations, Carrots. You just stole thirty bucks from the orphans," Nick smirked and his partner huffed angrily, but before she said anything, Bogo walked in. And so, another casual day on the ZPD started.

Thursday, as usual, was a quiet day. Judy and Nick had some of the paperwork to fill from the case they nearly closed two days earlier. Well, some paperwork was understatement. There was literary a ton of paper that was going to take them a whole day. By the noon Nick was mentally exhausted and his wrists burnt like hell. As soon as clock hit half past twelve, he dropped the pen and shot out of his seat.

"That's it, lunch time or I'll freak out. Care to join me, Carrots?" he offered. "Time to meet the fresh blood!"

"I'll finish the paper and join you," she assured. Nick nodded and headed down to the break room. There was quite a crowd now. As an unspoken rule, everyone that was at the station at the time would gather there around half past noon. Nick grabbed his sandwich from the office fridge, bought a cheap coffee from automat and, instead of mingling into the crowd, stood by the wall, next to an old ram.

"Barnes," Nick greeted him.

"Fox. How are the new recruits?" The ram asked. Victor Barnes, that was his name, was one of the oldest officers in Precinct 1. At age of fifty-one, he had been twenty six years on the force. Their friendship didn't start all that good. Nick generally had a problem with liking anyone that called him 'a fox' since they usually meant to offend him, especially when they were a cousin of infamous Dawn Bellwether. Barnes, though, never had bad intentions behind this nickname. He was a mammal of old date and any kind of political correctness was simply beyond him. And so, he'd publicly call him a fox without a hint of offence, just like he called predators chompers and fellow prey the weed-munchers; it was who they were in the end and there was no point in getting offended by that in his belief. As soon as Nick realized that, they quickly got to like each other. Wilde really appreciated the grumpy and bitter ram for his realistic approach and experience, while Barnes, although he never really admitted it, was secretly proud of a fox that returned on the path of law after so many years of hustling.

"Didn't meet any yet. I heard one of them is your new partner," Nick noticed, as taking a bite.

"Yup. The arctic wolf. Max Reynolds, if I got the name right." The ram confirmed, pointing at the young wolf in the middle of a crowd. He knew how to bring attention.

"Reynolds? That Reynolds, like in Reynolds Industries?" Nick wondered.

"Reynolds Industries or not, it's another wolf. Chief has a crude sense of humor, doesn't he? Once more he gives me a pup, and an overconfident jerk, apparently. As if he didn't learn from previous times," Barnes muttered and Nick nodded. The arctic wolf definitely looked like an overconfident jerk indeed. A kid of millionaire that joined the force to let off some of the steam.

"Maybe it will be different this time." Nick suggested, not really convinced.

"I give him three cases before he does something that would put him in hospital or coffin, were it not for me. Or actually will." Ram muttered angrily.

"That's quite pessimistic." Fox wished he could honestly disagree, but somehow, he had bad feelings too.

"Have you ever carried your partner's coffin?" Barnes asked and Nick felt creeps across his body, as he pictured Judy in a coffin and him carrying her in her last earthly journey.

"No," he replied tersely.

"Then you don't know what you're talking about." Victor Barnes said and Nick couldn't really deny that. Barnes' partner of first twenty years was famous Serena Harrington. When she had a heart attack in age of fifty, she decided it was time to slow down and became a sheriff in some village in the east. Since that, passed six years and Barnes had three different wolf partners in that time. All of them quit force, none willingly. And now he was assigned a fourth wolf. It certainly did sound like a crude joke.

"Let's hope you are wrong this time and this Reynolds will turn out to be calm, composed and soon-to-be a cop of a year," Nick cracked a smile, as he bounced of the wall with his back. "I'll go and say hello to the newbies."

"Yeah, sure. Until next time, Wilde," Victor Barnes muttered, staring at his new partner and finishing his cup of coffee. He had awfully bad feelings about it.

Judy decided to make a break five minutes after Nick. She tidied her desk and headed for the break room, when she heard sounds of someone writing on computer in quite impressive pace. She came over to the source of the noise and noticed a brown bunny writing something quickly on office computer. On her left, there was her laptop, which seemed to be quite an expensive one, on right some messed up papers. By the monitor, she had a cup of coffee from that cheap cafeteria vis a vis police station. Judy knocked and rabbit's ears perked up.

"Hi there. Judy Hopps, nice to meet you," Judy offered a paw. The other rabbit turned around on chair, hopped of it and shook her paw carefully, but staring her in the eyes.

"The famous Judy Hopps. Crane. Kaylee Crane. Nice to meet you," she introduced herself. Judy watched her carefully. Kaylee was a brown rabbit just like Judy's father, although a bit taller than her. She had bright blue eyes and was nothing but skin and bones.

"I like your eyes. Lavender is such a nice color," Kaylee told her.

"Thanks. Yours are pretty too," Judy complimented. "So, how's the first expression?"

"Grumpy chief, chubby cheetah at the dispatch that called me cute and everything at the station is oversized. Others do watch their feet though so I think I won't get stepped on, which is nice. I'll make it work," Kaylee summed up.

"Oh, Chief's grumpy only on the outside. Just work on him a bit and you'll get to all the good that's hiding deep under that thick skin of his," Judy promised. She knew that the traditional 'introduction' could be a bit of letdown to the new officers just like it was to her. "At least you weren't assigned a parking duty."

"You were assigned a parking duty on the first day?! Oh dear, famous Judy Hopps writing down parking tickets. I'd love to see that!" Kaylee chuckled, but then, as if finding it improper, quickly shut it off and lowered her sight. "Sorry. Well, I won't be even doing that, though. I'm Technical Officer and I'll be moved to their 'lair' as soon as they make there enough space to me. So while you write tickets and chase bad guys, I will be comfortably sitting here, watching your and your boyfriend's tails."

"You mean Nick? He's not my boyfriend," Judy brushed it off with a bit of awkwardness. Why did mammals keep taking them for a couple?

"Oh, really? Sorry, I assumed..." Kaylee asked, confused. She obviously didn't believe her. "Anyway, I'm just a Technical Officer, not a real cop."

"Don't say that!" Judy protested. "Who told you this?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm… kind of glad anyway. I mean, I'm not a brave bunny and I wouldn't stand a chance out there, against preps. Just a nerd in police uniform," Kaylee explained with tone of someone used to this kind of treating.

"If you're not a cop, then why do you have a badge?" Judy smiled. "Don't let them tell you that you're less than you really are. Even ZPD has its own idiots," she assured.

"I will keep it in mind," the brown bunny promised. "Wow, you do have beautiful eyes. That color, just… wow."

"Hopps family trait." Judy returned it and then, they heard some steps.

"If those aren't ZPD's cutest officers!" An arctic wolf stopped by them. His azure eyes estimated each of them very carefully, as he leaned against box's wall with his arms crossed. Kaylee huffed angrily, but Judy watched him with curiosity. He was one of the newbies.

"And you are?" Crane wondered, grabbing a cup of warm coffee.

"Officer Max Reynolds," he introduced himself, still with his arms crossed, acting cool and all even more than Nick sometimes would. Even Judy couldn't help secretly disliking this attitude of his.

"Officer Judy Hopps." She introduced herself, also crossing her arms.

"Technical Officer Kaylee Crane." Kaylee said and Max snickered at the sound of the last word. Her fist clenched on her cup crushing it a bit.

"Crane? Like that bird?" The arctic wolf asked.

"Yes, why?" Crane's voice might have sounded neutral, but Judy could see the spark in her eyes. Oho wolf, don't go down that rabbit hole, she thought. But he did.

"It's a really stupid surname, you know? Like are you a mammal or a bird? Or maybe you just have such long necks that…" And then, Max Reynolds shouted in surprise, as Kaylee Crane spilled her coffee all over his perfect uniform. Luckily, it was barely warm now.

"Oops. My bad." Kaylee almost sounded apologetic. As Reynolds was staring at her in silent disdain as the rabbit stood on her chair and pushed it from the table, so their eyes would be on the same level. "Now, let me explain you one thing, snow-white. You can call me cute. You can laugh at my long ears and little puffy tail. But you will not make fun of my family name ever again. Are we clear?" She stared in his eyes easily withstanding his silent fury. "Good. Now go change yourself, you're a mess," she suggested, sitting back on her chair. Reynolds snarled angrily and left the box.

"Jerk," Kaylee muttered, as he left.

"Wow. You know how to stand up for yourself." Judy, who was watching whole this confrontation in silence, finally regained ability to speak.

"If you don't stand up for yourself no one else will," Kaylee told her looking inside her cup and drinking the last few drips of coffee. "Gosh, once in the life you decide to pay for your coffee and you waste it."

"You do love your family, don't you?"

"No, I don't. I hate them and the feeling goes both ways. But they are my family and only I have the right to offend them," she explained. "I shouldn't really have done it, though. It was Max Reynolds after all."

"I don't understand?" Judy watched her carefully.

"Max Reynolds? The son of Thomas Reynolds? That millionaire, owner of Reynolds Industries, the biggest designer and manufacturer of CPUs on the continent and not only? Rings any bells?" Kaylee asked, but Judy shook her head apologetically. Brown rabbit sighed. "You're obviously not from Zootopia."

"No, I am not. Are you, though?" Judy wondered.

"Yeah, raised at the Acacia Street, now renting a flat in Meadowlands."

"That's quite far away."

"It's cheap, though. Oh, isn't that your boyfriend?" Kaylee called the fox who stopped, looked around and, as soon as he noticed two bunnies, approached them with a charming smile.

"Hello. Nick Wilde," he introduced himself, deciding not to hear the 'boyfriend' part. Mammals had lots of ideas about two of them and he didn't even bother trying to straighten things up anymore. He learnt long time ago it was no use.

"Kaylee Crane," she introduced herself, blushing gently.

"Nice to meet you. I assume the coffee-stained wolf was your job?" He guessed.

"He deserved it," she turned her sight away a bit shamefully.

"If you say so. Are you getting along with Carrots?" Nick wondered. Kaylee actually chuckled at the nickname. She had really cute, childish giggle.

"That's how he calls you? Oh, that's adorable!" She asked the bunny and Judy couldn't help blushing.

"Bunnies always get offended when they hear her nickname, that's a nice change," Nick noticed. "Anyway, we'll be going out on Saturday to Tom's, would you like to tag along? I'd love to get to know another bunny crazy enough to join the Blues." Nick invited her and Kaylee hesitated, although she seemed charmed.

"And be just a third wheel?"

"There will be approximately half of the Precinct 1 like every Saturday, so no one is going to be a third wheel. Also, my treat." Nick insisted and bunny couldn't help smiling.

"OK." She agreed, carefully. "Where do we meet up?"

"Everyone starts gathering there around seven. What do you say I pick you up from your place? It's hard to find Tom's at the first time," Nick offered.

"I live in Meadowlands, so it would be quite a ride. I will take a bus under the police station, it's not far from here, is it?"

"No, it will be just fine." He agreed. "So, see you around! Carrots, I think the break's over."

"Sure. Looking forward to working with you, Kaylee." Judy smiled and waved her, as she headed to her box.

"He's a keeper, you know? Don't let him slip away, Judy," Kaylee said quietly as staring into fox's bushy tail. Judy sighed shaking her head with disbelief and returned to the work.

By the 5 p.m. Nick and Judy were done with their reports, they had put them up together and officially closed another case. They left the police station, Nick dropped Judy at her place so she'd change and drove to his own for the same purpose. He picked her up twenty minutes before six and they headed for house of Mrs. Wilde.

"So, Kaylee thinks I'm a keeper?" Nick smirked and his partner blushed.

"You heard that?" She asked, embarrassed.

"I hear a lot more than you'd want me to."

"She assumed we are a couple from the very start." Judy explained. "I refused, but I think she didn't believe me and I don't know how to prove her wrong."

"Well, it's a common mistake," the fox shrugged.

"Yeah, but I'd like them to stop making it. It's frustrating," Judy huffed and then she realized how she sounded. "I don't mean I wouldn't want a boyfriend like you! You'd make a perfect boyfriend it's just you're a… You know…" The bunny gesticulated, lacking words.

"Fox?" Nick guessed.

"Yes!" A drowning one will clutch at straws and Nick didn't bother to give her anything more than most fragile ones. "No! No, that's not what I… Oh, sweet cheese and crackers." Judy hid her face in paws with embarrassment and then noticed that Nick was giggling. He loved setting her up in situations like this.

"You know what I mean," she mumbled.

"Of course, I do, dumb bunny. We're partners and best friends any of us will ever have. But as far as I know, no romance," Nick explained.

"Yes, thank you," she agreed, staring at the fox with a smile. After barely three years of knowing each other, their friendship reached the level she'd probably never achieve with anyone else. They understood each other without a single word, on duty or not. She loved it, even if it caused some troubles. Like when she'd go out on dates (and she did give it a try several times), she'd compare all those rabbits to Nick and let's be honest; none of them stood a chance. Judy had no idea if Nick was trying to hit on any vixens since they met, but she didn't notice anyone appearing in his life, so she guessed it worked quite the same on his side.

"We should put an end to this confusion." Judy suggested.

"Yeah, we could make our own business cards; Officer Nicholas P. Wilde and Officer Judith L. Hopps. We are NOT a couple. Or we could just make a public announcement, media would love that. Or you know, some kind of a non-wedding, when we'd have a pompous ceremony with lots of flowers, white balloons and church music where we'd declare to be the best partners and friends with not a hint of romance till death do us part," Nick joked.

"I'm serious!"

"So am I. I love weddings! Or non-weddings, if that's the case," the fox protested. "Speaking of media though, when we gave that radio interview we did make it clear we are not a couple," he reminded her. "If that didn't help, I don't know what would."

"We did, but only after reporter asked if we were already engaged and what had our families said to that. And since we both were laughing for few solid minutes after the question, the most of public probably failed to hear the answer," Judy recalled. "It was one funny interview."

"Your interviews are funny ones by rule. If you don't cause a racial divide which nearly tears Zootopia apart, that is."

"Har, har. You're never going to drop it, are you?"

"I forgive, but I do not forget, Carrots." Nick smiled slyly. "Well, well, look where we are!" He noticed as pulling over and finding a spot at the parking lot. They walked up the third level of old tenement house where Mrs. Wilde lived and Nick knocked at the door. A few seconds later, there opened Nick's mother. Sixty-year-old vixen hugged her son, greeted Judy with smile and invited them inside. The rabbit was always impressed by her apartment. Though small, it was cozy, well-kept and had this aura that made you feel at home, even if you came here for the first time. Sylvia Wilde put a lot of effort into making sure her son would always have a place to return and she certainly did succeed.

The three of them sat to the dinner and since both Judy and Nick were famished as always, any conversation started only after they filled their bellies with delightful meal prepared by Mrs. Wilde. After they were finished, Nick offered himself to wash the dishes as usually. While he could not see them, he heard them clearly.

"So, it was a first day for the new recruits, wasn't it?" Sylvia Wilde noticed.

"Oh, yes! There's another bunny on the force!" Judy confessed excitedly.

"That's wonderful. It must be good to have someone your size on the force besides Nick. Did you get to meet him?"

"Her, actually, and yes. Her name's Kaylee Crane and while she's a Technical Officer, she's definitely not a token bunny. She stood up to a wolf picking on her on her very first day."

"Yeah, Kaylee's got some guts. I like her," Nick added, as brushing the last plate.

"You wouldn't ask her out if you didn't like her," Judy noticed, deciding to try being the one making fun of her partner. It couldn't backfire this time, could it?

"I always had a thing for bunnies." Fox returned to the dining room and winked at his partner in what was supposed to be a seductive manner. His mother burst out with laughter. "But at least I don't steal money from orphans," Nick riposted. Judy huffed. It did backfire again. It always did.

"You stole from orphans?! Judith Laverne Hopps, that is just as vile of you as usual! Firstly blackmailing my son and getting him nearly iced by the mob boss and now stealing from children? Orphans, even?! Is that what ZPD stands for?" Mrs. Wilde scolded her, smiling in the same sly manner Nick did when making fun of his rabbit partner. It was moments like this that reminded her how much the fox took after his mother.

"That's Officer Hopps for you, mother. I have no idea what kind of atrocities she would have committed, were it not for me. Now, Carrots, share the story," he suggested and Judy explained with some awkwardness how she won in the betting pool.

"I don't know if I'll retrieve the reward, though. The more you speak of it, the more wrong it seems," she confessed at the end.

"You did deserve it! You actually assumed a bunny would join the force. And one did and I don't think anyone else actually made such a call, there won't be many wins this year." Nick protested. He didn't believe she'd take his jokes this seriously.

"You totally should, Judy. Retrieve the reward and treat yourself to something nice." Mrs. Wilde suggested. "You, ZPD Officers are paid so poorly you definitely deserve a small bonus once in a while!"

"You're still saving for a PC, aren't you?" Nick reminded her. "Every dollar counts."

"I… suppose you're right." Judy finally agreed.

They stayed at Mrs. Wilde's home till almost 9 p.m. Then, as planned, they drove back to Nick's house where they prepared snacks, settled themselves at the couch and watched the movie fox chose for them this week. It was one of those old criminal movies where two detectives solve a case of brutal murders with well-paced action, deep and relatable characters and no more than a hint of romance between the main couple. When the movie ended sometime around the midnight, Judy was already falling asleep. Bunny's natural clock, while convenient for early wakeups, would nearly always make her fall asleep around that time. Nick carried sleeping Judy to his car, drove her back home and woke up when he had parked by her house.

"Come on, Carrots. Time to bed." He poked her gently, waking her up. The rabbit muttered something inarticulately, stretched up and cracked her eyes slowly. Nick walked her to her flat's door, wished her good night and drove back to his place. Then, he paid a short visit to bathroom, set alarm for tomorrow and went straight to the bed. He smiled before drifting away completely; he loved those casual Thursdays.