Hello and thank you to those that have begun to review. This next stage of the story picks up on Monday where Bogo arrives at work with his plate already full to overflowing as he must address the issues he saw between Hopps and Wilde at the concert, as well as Clawhauser's petition to return to field work and get back on the beat.

I said that this story would not call too much attention to either Judy or Nick, but would instead focus on other ancillary characters. A few of those will be brought to the fore in this chapter, and greater depth given to them as the story progresses. Surprisingly, I really started getting into the details of one of them even as I wrote the story.

Repeat of Disclaimer: I own none of this. I write that others may take my words and expand their view of the world.


Chief Bogo arrived at Precinct One Station a full hour ahead of the regular officers. The night shift was still on duty and would remain so for another hour until the day shift officers arrived to relieve them.

The majority of officers now on duty included Geraldine Maddox. She was a giraffe and due to her size, and the difficulty she had in accessing many buildings throughout Zootopia, she had served as a desk officer. She had a slightly acerbic personality, but Bogo assumed that that was mostly because, like others of her species, she slept in increments of a few minutes many times a day. Due to her sleeping pattern she was a perfect fit for work on the night shift when the majority of officers were biologically tuned to turn in. Bogo nodded her way as he came in the atrium, passing by her desk on his way to the office. Maddox returned the nod and resumed her ministrations at the front. As he ascended the stairs behind her, Bogo could see a paper that he thought read Nocturnal District. He could only just make out the words due to the magnifying glass that Maddox had in place on her desk so that she could read papers and computer displays on the desk despite her eyes being so far away.
Bogo thought it remarkable at times that Maddox could make sense of words so far from her face. The equivalent for Bogo would be reading papers that never got above the floor, and his eyesight was weak enough without that added problem.

Bogo reached the top of the stairs and thought it was good he had kept Maddox as a desk officer. She was a very capable administrator, and her little solutions to the issues of how to read papers far from her face, or how she used her natural tendency to take micro-naps in order to keep herself relatively fresh and alert throughout the night shift, gave Bogo confidence that he was leaving the right animal for the job at that front desk whenever he went home.

Arriving in his office, Bogo picked up his agenda and sighed. It was going to be a long day.


An hour later, Bogo left his office, having met with other higher ups about budgetary matters that left him quite bored. He only made it through based on the knowledge that it was all essential to keep the department operating, both at the level of administration and on the street.

What was to come next after the morning meeting in the bullpen left Bogo with a sour taste in his mouth. It was one of those things that only the Chief could attend to, and being Chief meant being able to make hard decisions and enforce rules whether or not others agreed. He was resolved to speak to Hopps about the incident on Friday. He had come to the conclusion that his young rabbit officer had been acting borderline unprofessional at the concert where he had last seen her. She needed to be reminded of proper decorum and professional bearing when representing the uniform, even if she had not been wearing it. Wilde he would have to watch as well, but the fox was new to the unit and Bogo was still getting a feel for him. Hopps was the senior of the two and needed to set the example.

Bogo marched from his office to the stairs and made his way to the bullpen. The officer at the front was now his later morning appointee: Clawhauser. The portly cheetah waved to Chief and Bogo acknowledged Clawhauser with a nod. The other officers had arrived and were getting into their seats.
As he approached the door, scrapping his hooves against the floor in his customary manner to give Officer Perkins a warning, he reached for the handle. As he turned it there came the call.

Attention on deck!

Officer Perkins' announcement was followed but a raucous hustle as all the officers got off the chairs and stood at attention. Opening the door and stepping through, Bogo was, as per the usual, greeted by his officers through pounding of the desks and a rousing chant. There were days when Bogo came in and felt as if he were the coach of high school sports team coming into a locker room where his players were psyching themselves up before heading out to the big game. He reached the podium before he acknowledged the noise.

"All right, that's enough. Settle." He thundered and everyone went quiet.

He set his glasses to his nose and set his eyes to his clipboard.

"First of all we need to address the wolf in the fold. Woldford…", and the contingent turned to the wolf officer. "Happy birthday."

A cheer went up and many of the officers nearest Wolford gave him some good natured slugs to shoulder. He chuckled and hit back.

"Bring it back down. Bring it back down." Bogo called, and everyone settled. "Now, top priority for the day. There were a few complaints about hooligans after the Celebrate Zootopia Concert at the end of last week. As a result of the delinquent behavior there were also a few issues of vandalism in several districts that require follow up investigation. Several stores in Downtown reported damages to property and we need to canvas the neighborhoods and assess the state of affairs. Delgato, Fangmeyer and Grizzoli, your job for the day: Downtown to Midtown sections. I have your list of addresses that need particular attention."

The three predators came forward. Fangmeyer, who was in the front row, got to the file first. Delgato was standing right behind her and made an audible purring sound when he stared down at her tail as it twisted back and forth. Bogo's whipped his eyes on Delgato in a fierce gaze that made the lion officer clam up.

As the three officers left, Bogo went down the list. "The rest of you have your regular assignments and I want a report on any damages spotted in your areas. McHorn you'll take the Sahara and Francine you'll… actually Francine why don't you take Sahara and McHorn you cover the border with the Savanna."

As the two largest members of the unit took their folders and left, McHorn gave a playful snort.

"Hope you don't get heat stroke out there Frannie. Hate to see that derriere get dehydrated."

Francine rolled her eyes and shot the rhino a look of annoyance as they both left the room.

The chief continued with assigning the remaining officers to Tundra Town, the Rainforest, Meadowlands, Canals, even one assignment that needed to head to Outback Island and coordinate with the group there. At last he was left with his smallest pair of officers.

"Hopps and Wilde, I want you both on the Savanna Central Station area. Keep a watch on Little Rodentia in particular and as before, look for damages."

As Hopps reached for the folder, Bogo held on lightly to make it hard enough to take that Hopps looked straight at him.

"Hopps, hang back a minute I'd like a word in private before you head out."

The rabbit officer passed the folder to Wilde and told him to head on out and that she would follow soon after. She stood near the podium and Bogo looked down at her after he finished putting his glasses away. He waited to begin speaking until the door closed behind the departing fox officer.

"Right. Well first, how is your new partner working out?"

"Nick?" she asked in genuine surprise. "Nick is doing great. Us partnering together I think worked out wonderfully, we're getting a lot of work done."

"Yes I'm sure, but I'm asking about the personal dynamic."

"Personal… I'm not sure I get what you mean chief. We're getting along fine. Was there some suggestion that we weren't."

Bogo sighed.

"Hopps, I rarely match up partners of the opposite gender. I make exceptions in circumstances where other personnel of the same gender would not suffice due to environmental incompatibility. In the case of you and Wilde, partnering you two is essential due to your sizes. Aside from the matter of gender, there is the issue that you have a personal attachment to Wilde. If that attachment isn't affecting your decisions in the field then I don't much care that it exists. However, among partners the department expressly forbids fraternization."

Judy took a step back. "Chief, Nick and I are best friends but we aren't…"

"I don't suggest that you are. In fact I'm almost sure you're not. What I'm concerned about is that you're headed in that direction. You need to watch yourself Hopps. You and Wilde are good cops and a good team. I don't want excellence to suffer from lack of professional decorum."

"Chief, where did this come from? Have we done something wrong?"

"Friday night at the concert after party, I noticed you and Wilde remained close to each other most of the evening. Spending time together is not an issue, but the two of you were in physical proximity to such a degree it was bordering on inappropriate. And whether or not you're aware of it, I saw what I can only call 'flirtatious overtures' between you and Wilde."

Judy's eyes went wide. Flirtatious overtures.

"Chief I never flirt with colleagues. I am always professional…"

"Constant, high degrees of physical proximity: shoulder bumping at first, then instances of full body bumping. I came over to speak to the both of you and saw you lean yourself back into Wilde when he teased you about something. Such contact is inappropriate among workplace partners, and though we were after hours and you were not in uniform, you were there as a representative of the department, and Wilde is still your partner. Whether or not Wilde picked up on or reciprocated is irrelevant, you are the senior officer and need to be careful of this in the future."

Judy was stunned. The chief thought she was being inappropriate? She began to grow nervous.

Bogo could see the nervous look on the rabbit officer's face and brought up a hoof as an assurance to be at ease. "Hopps this isn't a threat, a reprimand or a warning. This conversation never officially occurred and will never leave this room. I am telling you what I saw and making sure you understand that it goes no further. I don't want to deal with reprimands or reassignments, but if you do not curtail those tendencies, it may come to that."

She regained her composure and straightened to show that she would not allow this misunderstanding to negatively affect her.

"Yes Chief. It won't happen again."

He gave a tight smile and a slight tilt of the head. "Well then there's no problem and nothing more to say. That'll be all Officer Hopps. Dismissed."

Hopps saluted, turned and left. She had originally been walking out with a broad smile and looking forward to another day on patrol. Now she left with a chastened air about her and a slump in her shoulders and ears. Bogo sighed as he watched her leave. While her chipper attitude could at times wear on his nerves, he genuinely liked his smallest officer and did not want to see her so down. He drew some comfort from the knowledge that he had only given her some important warnings without actually having to administer discipline. Hopefully he had also headed off any disastrous affiliation between her and Wilde that might compromise their effectiveness.

On the other side of the door, an entirely different outcome was taking place for his young officer.


As Judy entered the precinct atrium she came upon Nick, who was at the front desk talking with Ben.

"The fastest? Really?" Nick said incredulously.

"I'm serious. I set records for sprints in every micro-climate in the Zootopian obstacle course and they held for over five years." Ben replied.

"Given who stands before me now I hope you forgive my skepticism." Nick grinned.

Ben blushed, but had an understanding smile. "I got a back injury after my first year on patrol and they put me on desk duty for a few months. That's when I started to put on weight; I wasn't burning off all the food I was eating. Then the idea of going back out there just terrified me, and I figured I'd look like such a joke compared to what I used to be. So when an opening for a permanent desk officer became available I took it."

"So why this interest in getting back out there? I thought you were feeling good about staying at this post."

"Most days I am, but I think about what I used to be capable of and what's become of me since. I just wanna get some of that back."

Nick smiled slyly.

"Would a certain female of the musical-persuasion have anything to do with this idea of yours?" Nick asked.

Judy picked up on Nick's charming, teasing voice and looked sideways at him with a smile. If she had been listening to the exchange more closely she might have given the sly glance to Ben, but now she was still mostly lost in thought. She realized that whenever Nick made a comment in that tone of voice she naturally felt comfortable smiling at him with a sideways glance. Ben blushed and Nick tried to put his friend at ease before any feelings got hurt.

"Ben, I support you wanting to do this, I know Carrots certainly will too, but I don't think you'll be able to get back to that level of fitness again."

Ben gave a conciliatory nod. "Well I doubt I'll be setting any more records, but I could still get back in shape and be able to go on patrol again… you know, do what I originally came here to do. It would be nice to at least have that option again."

"Well we'd help you make that happen, right Carrots."

Looking at Judy, Nick noticed she was looking at her feet. She seemed deep in thought, but the slump in her ears made her look a little sad.

"Carrots? You okay?" He asked.

She snapped awake at hearing the nickname that she never liked, but somehow tolerated from him.

"Huh? Sorry, what was that?" She asked.

"I was telling Ben we'd help him get back into shape so he can get back to patrol."

The idea of helping a friend got Judy to perk up straight away.

"Of course. Ben, do you have a plan for that?"

Ben brightened anew and presented a two page sheet to Judy. It included an opening statement where Ben waxed poetically about the need for a police officer to be able to work the beat and serve his community as an enforcer of law and order, and suggesting that for younger officers, the role of Desk Officer should be a temporary stint and not a permanent arrangement.
The rest of the document included a workout schedule for the next three months that would get Ben in shape and in satisfaction of departmental requirements.

Judy looked it over twice and handed it back to Ben. "It looks great... by the way I liked the added part about an officer needing to serve the community as an enforcer."

"Yeah I wanted to make sure he saw that. My night shift counterpart Geraldine wanted to go on the beat about a year back, but Bogo insisted her role was here at the precinct and he refused the request. I figure perspective is important so I can make headway where she didn't." Ben explained.

"Well I think if that's your pitch it should go well. Just be ready in case he tries to talk you down. You know, fight for basics, but make sure you give him some wiggle room to negotiate." Nick suggested.

"Ben shouldn't need to negotiate down from any of that. It's perfectly reasonable." Judy disputed, then turned to Ben. "What went wrong with Geraldine's request?"

"She said Bogo pointed out how she gets chatty around midnight and thought she might disturb the neighborhoods if she went out on patrol when others are sleeping. Not sure if he used the word 'chatty' but it is true she gets vocal at night. I came in here once when I thought I had forgotten some important paperwork, and she was just humming here at the desk... it was kinda spooky."

Judy felt a little annoyed by this. While it was true giraffes would start humming to one another late at night, that did not by itself make someone chatty, and just because it was natural did not mean Geraldine could not contain herself for the sake of work. For that matter a mild hum from a passing officer might even dissuade some crimes from taking place if she were at the right place at the right time... it seemed quite unfair for her to be refused the chance based on a preconception.
Still, after what had happened in the bullpen this morning Judy grew brooding instead of vocally outraged. Meanwhile, Nick persisted.

"Ben, if you leave Bogo with only yes or no then it kills his chance to think or contribute. And if he just up and says 'no' then it's settled and he probably won't revisit it again. I bet Geraldine didn't negotiate anything out of that meeting with Bogo, did she?"

Ben looked down and shook his head. "No."

"So stick to your guns, insist you feel this is a good course of action, throw the Chief a few questions so he feels like he's in control of the process instead of just the final decision, and then make sure that if nothing else you end the meeting with a foot in the door so he knows you are going to persist until this happens. That way he might decide to just okay it now so he doesn't need to keep hearing more proposals."

Ben continued to nod, liking Nick's approach more and more.
"Okay, well I'm meeting the Chief in five minutes. I'll do what you said Nick, I think that'll help."

Nick gave Ben a salute with the first two digits on his fore paw and started walking towards the atrium door with Judy at his side. They were on foot today as they did patrol. Canvasing was easier to manage if they did not need to keep parking on all the streets they had to visit. Plus there were few parking areas around the station or Little Rodentia, so it was best that they did not obstruct traffic. Nick donned his aviators, though the sky was dotted with several clouds, and the sun a little less intrusive on sensitive eyes.


After a few minutes of walking down the street, Nick at last broke the silence.
"I hope that meeting with the Chief goes well for Ben."
When Judy did not reply he turned to look at her. She was busy scanning the street, but she seemed less vigilant. Normally she had enough attentive power to scan her surroundings and respond to Nick at the same time. If she were silent, something was up.

"Hopps… Hopps. Hello? Earth to Hopps!" He said.

"Huh?... Wha? Oh, sorry, what's up?" She said once she registered Nick speaking to her.

"Well I was saying I hope Ben's meeting with the Chief goes well, but when you were silent I asked what's wrong. You've been zoning out and unresponsive quite a bit this morning. What's the deal? You were bright eyed and fluffy-tailed when we got into the precinct earlier. What happened in the bullpen after I left?"

Judy pouted for a moment, not sure why she was still upset, or rather, not knowing if she should be dragging Nick into the problem. The Chief had squarely put the blame and responsibility to shape-up on her after all.

"It's nothing Nick." She said dismissively. "I'm just thinking about something. I"m okay."

Nick did not buy that for a second.

"Carrots, I'm your partner and your best friend. If you can't trust me with a small work or personal issue, how are you going to trust me with everything else you depend on me for?"

Just then Nick stopped at the crosswalk as the figure in the sign across the street turned red. Judy was not paying attention and began to step into the road as the cars began to release their brakes. Nick shot out and arm to grab her before she could walk into the traffic. Upon realizing what almost happened, Judy shook herself fiercely. Nick clicked his tongue.

"And now you almost walked into traffic, Carrots. That does not smack of 'nothing' or 'okay' to me. What's going on?"

"I told you, I'm just thinking about something. And about earlier, who said anything about a personal issue? I just stayed back a minute to talk the Chief and now I'm thinking about something."

"It's worrying that we're on patrol when we need to be alert for things, and you almost walk into traffic. You'd be grilling me fiercely if I had done that."

"It's my problem, Nick. I can deal with it." She replied curtly.

Nick knew from a great deal of experience when the time came to keep quiet and not press his luck. For whatever reason, Judy was clearly not of a mind to talk at this point, so the best thing he could do was turn his head forward and wait at the crosswalk with her.


"Thinking of telling me now?" Nick asked as he and Judy left the last one of the addresses that had been given in the meeting.

The store owner had had a front window smashed after a few concert attendees had come out, wandered the streets, apparently inebriated, and then thought that a store that sold only protein-based predator food was not in keeping with the inclusive ways of Zootopia that Gazelle espoused.
Nick and Judy had written up the incident report, had taken statements from a few witnesses, and would at least give the store owner the ability to use the report for insurance claims, though without photographs of the perpetrators there was little they could do to find out who was responsible.

Judy had collected herself after the morning and now seemed more alert and in the present. She proceeded to explain to Nick what happened as they strode down he street.
"And then he said that since he had gotten the message across, there was nothing more that needed to be said about it." She concluded.

Nick was stunned. He remembered the action being him bumping her back with his chest. If that was the inappropriate contact that got Bogo so upset, then he was the one responsible.

"That's bull! And to come down on you without telling me to shape up as well... where does he get off?"

"Nick, please don't make a big deal out of it. He's the chief, he did what he felt needed to be done. I'm not in trouble, I wasn't cautioned, he just said what he saw…"

"And he's wrong. Not that I want him coming down on me, but that's unfair. Carrots I'm amazed you aren't more upset about this?"

She stopped walking and her expression became one of intense fuming. Seeing her like this, Nick grew slightly nervous she would let him taste the wrath that was steadily building in her.

"Nick, I am very upset. I've thought through a hundred things I could do this whole day, but it all comes down to me making things worse if I try. If I make a scene, it becomes an issue, and then the news gets passed around the department that I was being unprofessional. And making a big deal of it will probably create additional problems between me and some of the other officers, and… I don't want to make it worse. It was nothing. Bogo isn't going to do anything, he just wants more cautious behavior. I can do that. Let's just get back to work."

Judy had a great deal on her mind as she resumed the march. She felt torn between what she saw as justice, and what she saw of the world. Bogo could certainly argue that she and Nick had been acting inappropriately; thought indeed there was more to it than what he saw. If he did not feel the need to press the matter, was it really in her interest to press back?

Judy had not yet come up with a plan for how to address the issue at hand, but her thoughts were churning and new ideas were swirling around in her mind.

"Well, no sense being upset on an empty stomach." Nick interjected. "Come on, I know a great food stand a few blocks from here. The guy sells everything any Zootopian could want... and a few Pawpsicles as well."

Judy looked askance at Nick, wanting to ask if this 'guy' were someone she knew formerly as a partner in hustling to a friend of hers. Before she could ask however, Nick was leading the way, so she just followed and waited to see.


Later in the afternoon, after a long but productive day of getting information regarding vandalism complaints around the station and Little Rodentia, having a nice walking-lunch from a street vendor, and continuing their survey of the beat, Nick and Judy returned to the precinct to check in before heading back out for the regular patrol. Inside the front door they saw Ben sitting at his desk, but half sprawled out on his workstation and looking exhausted. Judy and Nick both ran to him.

"Ben, are you all right? You look terrible?" Judy asked.

"Oh I feel fine..." Ben slurred, then winced. "Ow, jaw still hurts."

Nick looked at Ben quizzically. "So... how did your meeting with the Chief go?"

Judy gasped. "Did he say no? Did you go on sugar bender like when you found out you were being sent to Archives last year?"

Ben laughed with a wheeze. "I took Nick's advice... and five minutes into the meeting, the Chief tells me to go get into some gym wear and start out in the exercise room... and I asked 'why, I thought we were just discussing it at this point.' ... and he said 'And I see that on Mondays you'll run three miles and do calisthenics. Well, if that's how it's going to be, then go get Perkins and put him at the front. I want my three miles, and you're going to run 'em now.'"

Judy brightened. "Ben that's great!... so why do you look so tired, that was nearly six hours ago."

"Oh the run went okay. I was a bit slow, but I finished, and I actually got back to breathing normally again after another hour..." Nick bit back a chuckle. "...Then the Chief came back about two hours ago and said he wanted to see me do it again. I nearly collapsed after the first mile, but I made it through the whole thing... and he said he expects me to do everything I wrote in the proposal, and no backsliding... said he's going to be watching me every step of the way and demanding the best."

"Well way to go there champ." Nick said and patted Ben's shoulder. "Now all that's left is for you to do it."

Ben winced. "Nick, you know I'm a sprinter kind of cheetah. Distance isn't my thing."

"No pain, no gain, Ben." The fox officer replied.

Judy jumped in, excited to see a glimmer of progress among the animals she worked with. "Hey if you ever want some exercise partners, call us immediately."

"Right now, I just want to sit here and wait for the shift to end, then go home and sleep."

"No food binges, and only healthy meals. The Chief wants no backsliding, so don't let that happen." Judy admonished as she and Nick began heading for the offices to hand in their reports.


As the two diminutive officers passed the front desk, Geraldine Maddox entered through the atrium doors and approached the desk. She raised an eyebrow to see her day-time counterpart slouched over the desk.

"Ben, I came to make sure that new ergonomic chair I requested arrived... I see it hasn't, so I guess I'll have to bring my own from home tonight. What's with the slouching? Surely sitting here all day can't be that exhausting." Like herself, Maddox's greetings had a slightly acerbic edge, but came off with enough good nature to remind Ben that she was just being herself. Ben chuckled and winced as he sat upright.

"Hi Geraldine. I was just recovering from the run I just... no I guess both of them, not sure I completely got over the pain of the first one yet."

"Run? When did you have time to run while you were working the desk?" She asked.

"I asked the Chief for a chance to get back in shape to go out on patrol again. He agreed, but it looks like he's going to be pretty merciless about the return to fitness part of this whole thing."

Geraldine staggered back. "How did you get him to do that? I asked him a while back and he flat out said I should stay at my desk, and then when I asked him again later he just started saying 'some other time'. And why did he agree to let you do it in your condition? I'm in better shape than you."

Ben waved a paw to encourage less noise. "Just talk to Nick Wilde. He gave me some good tips on how to talk it over with the Chief. Then it came together. Maybe he has some advice."

As he said this, Nick came out through the office doors and stretched his arms over his head. Maddox strode right over to him.

"You're Nick Wilde." Her tone conveyed more statement than question. Surprised to find his momentary quiet shattered, Nick looked up at the giraffe officer and nodded. "I hear you got Ben Clawhauser a way out of permanent desk duty so he could get back to patrol."

"Oh." Nick blinked. He breathed a sigh of relief to find that this was about helping Ben and not some issue carried over from his days before becoming a police officer. Since giving up being a Pawpsicle hustler, a few animals had come to him with some complaints and addressed him about these past matters. Thankfully, this did not appear to be one of those moments.

"Well he came up with the idea and a plan for how to make it happen. I just gave him some pointers on how to negotiate with the Chief so he could get the best deal." Nick explained.

"Well then you and I need to have a talk, because that's exactly what I need." Geraldine replied and escorted him to one of the benches at the other end of the atrium.


About five minutes later, Chief Bogo was making his way down the stairs. Geraldine and Nick looked to him and then to each other before sharing a nod. Geraldine stood up and strode over to the Chief.

"Good afternoon Chief."

Bogo looked up. "Officer Maddox. You're here a bit early. Your shift doesn't start for another four or five hours."

"I was checking to see if my new chair had come in, but I also wanted to discuss something important with you. It would only take a couple of minutes."

"All right, I'm heading to get some coffee, would just outside the precinct door be an okay place to discuss it or shall we take it to my office?"

"Outside is fine." Geraldine would rather discuss it in the office, or here inside the precinct where Bogo would have to treat the issue and make decisions in a more official light. Outside would likely give Bogo a sense of mental disconnect from the workplace that she rather he not have when discussing this matter. However, Geraldine's height made walking up to and sitting in Bogo's office a difficult endeavor. She had to take a potentially less favorable battleground for the discussion, but one where she could at least deliver her spiel without needing to bend her neck and come off looking ridiculous.

Nick watched Bogo head to the break room, grab a cup of coffee, then walk outside with Geraldine. While this played out, Judy came out of the office herself and approached Nick.

"You would not believe what is going on back there. A bunch of the officers from Downtown are back there; apparently they divided up the places they were supposed to canvas, and Fangmeyer finished first, so Delgato was saying she must be 'really workin' that tail'... what's going on?" She asked.

"Geraldine was in about a chair or something, now she's talking to Bogo about getting back on duty like Clawhauser. I just gave her some of the same tips."

"Oh, good deal. I have to wonder, what happens when all of the desk officers stop working at the desk. Who will the citizens call, and who are we going to report to in emergencies?"

"Well the Chief must have stand ins for when Ben or Geraldine call in sick, maybe he'll make those other guys permanent. Or maybe he'll go with Ben's idea and make it like a rotating job. Maybe McHorn will end up at the desk for a week or two. That's something I'd like to see: that guy trying to deal with citizen complaints all day." Nick snickered and Judy had to hold in a chuckle as well. She and McHorn were not always on the best of terms, and truth be told he was a good officer and a relatively decent animal. He just came across a bit arrogant at times.

The two of them watched the scene outside unfold for a few minutes, and then Judy took a look at the time on her phone. "We should probably be getting back to our patrol." She said.

Nick hopped off the bench and followed her to the doors. As they went through, Bogo came back inside with Geraldine was following him.

"But that isn't fair." She said.

"Maddox, I can't just up and reconfigure the whole roster every time someone has a request about job assignments. I have enough on my plate as it is and I need a good desk officer, particularly on the night shift." Bogo replied.

"But I asked you about this transfer a year ago and you said you would think about it. And I brought it up again last month and again you put it off... but Clawhauser brings it up once and the same day he's already being streamlined for the position?"

"Maddox, Clawhauser came to me with a written proposal, he works the day shift where I could use more officers on the street and have alternative officers to staff the front, and he has prior records of good work in the field. That is why I approved his request."

"I can't get records of field work if I don't have field work, Chief."

"Maddox, we'll discuss this another time. I have a meeting with the Deputy Chief of Outback Island. She's taken time out of a similarly busy schedule and I've left her in the main meeting room for over fifteen minutes. Some other time."

Bogo ascended the stairs to his office, and Maddox stood at the bottom, looking forlorn. Ben watched this unfold and came out from behind his desk and approached Geraldine to comfort her. Hearing his approach she jerked away.

"Don't... just don't." She gritted out with a strained voice that sounded like she was close to sobbing. Ben backed off and returned to his chair.

Judy and Nick had watched the entire affair unfold as well. The rabbit officer had forgotten entirely about the business of getting back to patrol and stood there watching this officer have her simple request shot down. In the year since Judy had joined the ZPD she had seen Officer Maddox a few times and spoken to her on only two occasions. Geraldine was hard-working, resourceful, a bit brusque but not to the point of being off-putting. Judy knew Geraldine was very fit, she ran to and from the office from Riverside at the southern edge of Savanna Central and Sahara Square every day. That such an officer would not be given the opportunity to do what she wanted really rattled Judy to her core.

After what she had seen of Bogo's behavior, and the behavior of the department towards her fellow female officers, she became resolved of something herself.

"Nick," she said. "I have some things to take care of. Can you handle the rest of the beat by yourself until I meet up with you in a bit?"

Nick turned to look at her. "Uh, yeah it seems routine, but what are you doing now that can't wait until we're done?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow. See you out on the beat in a little while." With that, Judy marched over to Geraldine and hopped up to grab her by the tall officer's fore hoof. When she had Geraldine's attention, she asked her to follow her and the two went outside. Judy then came back and in headed for the office. Nick had stood still as he watched his partner go about her work. Judy now stopped and looked at him.

"I believe there is still a beat that needs patrolling Officer Wilde. Hop, hop!" and she continued making her way to the office. Nick, seeing that Judy was on mission and needed him to cover their assigned sector, decided to be on his way and let her be. As he walked down the street, having double-checked his belt for all of his necessary gear, Nick placed his aviators on his nose and looked back to see Judy conferring outside with Geraldine, Francine and Fangmeyer. Nick stifled a mild laugh to see such an eclectic group of female animals speaking together, but quickly turned back to the business of returning to Savanna Central near Little Rodentia and getting back to his patrol.

He was not yet sure what Judy had in mind, but if his instincts told him anything, it was going to be an attack on something she saw as unjust.


Now we begin to get into the story.

In a lot of male-dominant fields you will find chauvinistic behavior regarding gender. The behavior is not necessarily overt or openly discriminatory. It is mostly a byproduct of unequal gender representation.

In my own line of work, women are vastly underrepresented. My primary working group of about twenty people has only three women, and my smaller subgroup of about ten has only one woman. I would not consider myself or any of my colleagues gender insensitive, but given the general predominance of men in our circles we do tend to behave a bit like a boys club at times.

In Zootopia, Judy, Francine and Fangmeyer (and my own OC Geraldine Maddox) are some of the only females in the whole department. Given that imbalance, and the kind of work they do, I expect that the behavior of the group is decidedly more masculine. It may not necessarily be hostile, but the members of the ZPD are expected to fit a mold, and due to the higher representation of males that mold will tend to better accommodate your average male than your average female.

When Bogo talks to Judy about the issue of harassment, his efforts to stave off any liaison between her and Nick are somewhat imbalanced. In the bullpen there are several incidents of what could be construed as harassment, and the Chief does not make a big issue because it is somewhat in character of 'boys being boys'. Judy, being something of a special case to the department is easier for him to spot, so that is where he directs his attention.

Geraldine is another case where Bogo is being discriminatory, even he does not notice. I have not set Bogo up as the antagonist here, his behavior is merely a byproduct of his surroundings, and he does these things without necessarily being aware of them. It is that ignorance of action that is the antagonist.

Regarding Judy's nervousness and her backing down from making an issue in the first place I wanted her to feel trepidation about creating a fuss or starting a crusade. After what happened in the movie, she has become more aware of the impact her words have, and is slightly more measured. Nonetheless, she is Leslie Knope at heart and wants to make a change, hence her thinking about it constantly while on patrol. This will be a running theme for my version of Judy; she will still fight for what is right if she sees injustice, but she is going to be a little more cautious about what she initiates because she has seen firsthand how an issue can spiral out of control if she is indelicate about handling these matters.

In the coming chapters I will show a little more of the die-hard, making-it-right side of Judy; that part of her is very much still in business.

Please write, comment, and let me know what you think.