The usual agitation in the Zootopia police department, was far from the same as it was three days ago. The reason is that Alisha is not present. After learning of the kits case, the next day, early in the morning, Nick, Alisha and the Senior Officer set out for the RainForest district. In those three days, Judy had not received any phone call or message from her partner, much less she wrote or call him back. The paperwork on the table was piled up. Without Nick around, Judy had twice as much work. Although Wolfard was her partner at the moment, the wolf, after patrol the streets with her, had other work to do, thus leaving the reports of the days being made by the little bunny. Not that she cared. At least her mind was filled with something and not with less good thoughts about what Nick and Alisha might be doing at that moment. But one thing she expected, that they were doing the work that was their job, and not ... other things.

Just at that moment, the senior officer, a black wolf and brown eyes, sat at the large oval table in the restaurant. Dinner would be served in a few minutes, and his stomach was scream with hunger. Meanwhile, from both his sides, two officers tried to be understand, but the task seemed difficult to realize.

"Two minutes before and we would have arrested them." The once melodious voice, was irritated and even a little hoarse. The agitation in her elegant body was visible, the movements of her arms accompanying her frustration.

"In those two minutes you would have been wounded, Alisha. Point it out as a fact and do not detract from it." The soft voice, but his arms folded across his chest, and the expression of patience, which until then had been so well maintained, was about to break.

"What the fuck, Nick!" A fist clenched against the wood with force. "Where was I with my head when I asked you to help me?"

"The same I question."

"Boys, it's time to calm down ..." The officer's thick voice made them both face him. "Enjoy the dinner and tomorrow we will lock them up without any problem." A sniffling smile formed on his muzzle. "After all, this pathetic discussion is of no use, and to these thugs this discution will be the cherry at the top if the officers are uncoordinated."

Alisha and Nick closed their eyes and took a deep breath before they began to eat.

The clock marked eight o'clock. Half an hour earlier, Judy had come home tired, but glad to have finish the paperwork. Her badge was carefully placed on her desk, and as she paced the room, her uniform was removed and scattered on the floor without any concern. Completely in her underwear, Judy lay on her bed and put an arm around her eyes. At that moment, Nick's image came to her memory. She missed him. Missed the messages and the phone calls. Since that fatigue night's they never spoke again, and even in their departure for the case it was rare that they looked at each other and not a single word they said. Taking a deep breath, she tried to dissuade the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. When suddenly, her cell phone started to ring. Judy reached out and placed the screen of the little device in front of her. It was her parents. She rolled her eyes. At that moment, her state of mind was not well enough to talk to them, but she knew that if she did not answer the call, they would be quite worried. So, she pressed the answer button.

"Hello."

"Hello, my dear. Is everything okay with you?" In a way, her mother's cheerful voice brightened her a little.

"Yes, it's all. What about the house?"

"Wind-saver." The cheerful smile outlined on Bonnie's muzzle made Judy smile back. "We're not disturbing you, are we?"

"No way. I just got home and I'm just relaxing a little. "

"Good." Bonnie smiled again. "Judy, we wanted to ask you if you can come to the festival? We are in need of help and your partner could help us."

"Mom, I don't think it would be a good idea to take Nick there."

"Judy, my dear, I've already told your father about this, you don't have to worry."

"Talking is one thing. Seeing the actions is another, Mother." Judy sighed and forced a smile. It was not just her father that she was not going to talk about the festival to Nick. That would be no impediment to taking him there. But the reason was, that the two of them didn't speak and it would be quite possible for Nick to tell her a no. "In the meantime, I'm going to ask the chief if he'll let me be away for two weeks to help you."

"We were very grateful. Although we have spare paws, the little ones will only destroy rather than help and we need help from the elders. Besides, it would be a good excuse to take a vacation, for I know you must have accumulated them, have you not, Judith Hopps?" An eyebrow arched in her mother's face, gave the little bunny a good laugh.

"Yes, mother don't worry. I'll talk to the chief and then I'll call you to tell you something about that."

"Great. Well, I need to go. Send Nick a kiss for me. I love you, my dear. Bye."

"I love you too, mom. Good-bye." And she hung up, putting her cell phone on the bedside table again.

The bright full moon over the starry sky, provided a magnificent landscape. Over the moonlight, a thoughtful mammal, he sighed in a row. On his paws, the cell phone was resting. On the screen, the photograph of the female that was dear to him, reflected in his emerald green eyes. He knew perfectly well that he had not been the best partner in the last few months. The Obsession for Alisha grew stronger with each passing day until he eventually fell in love with her, and he realized that Judy had already noticed it. However, he never thought that such a thing would affect the relationship of friendship with her. After all, if it had not been for that bunny, he would not have gotten that far. But, his heart had sometimes deceived him well. Several profiles of Judy made his heart race and his cheeks burn, but ... he had never fallen in love with her. In fact, he recognized that his admiration for his partner was no more than ... not even he knew. Although, what he was sure of, was that he had fallen in love with Alisha and would do anything to declare himself. In another long sigh, Nick looked once more at the image on his cell phone before locking it and putting it back in his pants pocket. He rested his arms on the cold marble of the balcony of the hotel room and focused his attention on the moon. Who did he want to fool? Was it really that he was in love with Alisha or was it just an obsession? After all, he had to admit that this vixen exceeded all that he had have previously. Her all-white fur shone with each reflection of light. Her well-shaped curves moved with his interior. The deep blue-dark eyes looked like bright crystals. How could he not fall in love with that Vixen? But ... ARGH. Nick recovers! You have several opportunities to declare yourself. It is her that your heart chose. Why the doubt? He knew he had to do something, otherwise he'd freak out and this case could be his chance. But first, they had to arrest the traffickers and free the kits. That was the priority right now. The rest, come later.

To be continued….