Author's Note:
I promise, this whole season's not about Sam. We all know that "uh oh, they added a kit, there goes the story" feeling. We will soon have Sam-free chapters for our fans of the police procedural plotline! This is not that chapter. O.o
If you are just joining Guardian Blue for the first time, you will want to check out Season 1 and 2 first, and I would highly recommend Thanks for the Fox even before that as well so everything makes sense. ^^ Duke of Absolution will likely also be needed. This story is getting big.
Disney has their hands so full buying up properties, companies, and dreams, so I feel like they are not likely to notice all the fun I'm having with their characters and their beautiful city. Still, it does belong to them, so thanks Disney.
Also! Another HUGE shout-out to J. N. Squire for assisting with editing for Season 3. Also, I would like to extend a special thank you to a few others who are helping me to keep updating and keep the quality high even with my busy schedule, and my friend Alex who helps me greatly with beta-reading! I will be doing something special to recognize them soon!
Guardian Blue: Season Three
Episode 7: Candidate
Judy watched the door of Vivienne's bakery. The smell was already lovely and they weren't even open yet. She had just dropped Sam off, and she and Nick were about to head back to the precinct. The doe knew that Vivienne would take the absolute best care of the little kit, but somehow, leaving him there made her anxious. She decided to keep that to herself, as Nick would latch onto that and might feel bad that the incident with Sam triggered her maternal instincts unexpectedly. Being a bunny made it so that those tendencies presented themselves often enough, even when just dealing with younger siblings or the occasional times that they had to deal with kits or cubs in their normal duties. Having Sam literally under her care was slightly different, however.
First, she got to have a sneak peek at how her mate might function as a father, and she deeply enjoyed that. Second, the one she was caring for was a fox, and looked a lot like Nick anyway, so that was bound to provoke her maternal senses on its own. Finally, Sam had been absolutely worn out from his trip and he quickly fell asleep against her. Sleepy kits are shameless maternal button pushers. While their schedule made it hard to invite him over often, Judy hoped eventually to be able to take him with them on a holiday to Bunnyburrow to let him play with some of her own nieces and nephews. She was sure he'd have a lot of fun with that.
"He'll be okay," Nick stated, sitting in the back seat beside the bunny as their Zuber driver pulled out of their parking spot.
"I know. Just feels bad to kinda… dump him," Judy expressed, pulling her attention back to the car.
"Hey, you guys are those two cops, right?" their driver asked, looking up at the rearview mirror. Behind the wheel was a young, dark-coated deer with one missing antler. Nick answered in the affirmative. This was going to be a downside to having to take Zuber. A lot of mammals recognized them already, especially if they were taking rides in their uniform. Judy was not looking forward to every point A to point B becoming an interview opportunity for the curious citizens of Zootopia.
"Heading to the precinct while in uniform makes us easy to spot," the bunny laughed dismissingly. Conversations while in public usually immediately went to Nick being lost under the city and Judy preferred not to dwell on what was literally the very worst week of her entire life very much. As such, she normally kept her replies personable but generic.
"I saw some guys posting on Chitter that you got hitched," the buck stated casually. "Did that happen, or is it just stuff going around? Pardon the question if it ain't and all," he added hastily.
"We got married, yes," Judy informed. While a few mammals had approached them about it, fortunately most seemed to get that it was entirely private and didn't pry. The question was usually more about verifying that it wasn't an empty rumor. This was not such an instance.
"Wait, really?" he asked, eyes widening as he checked out his rear view again. "They really let you guys do that? With your work and all?" It was obvious the last part was added to imply that they should not have been prevented because they were a fox and a bunny.
"It doesn't interfere with our work, actually," Nick explained with a generic-looking smile..
"I guess. I sure couldn't work with my wife," laughed the driver. Judy rubbed one of her ears. Oh. This was a different direction than she usually saw these conversations go. Normally it was more about the fox and bunny thing when they wanted to go deeper into the subject. This was more about how they worked together at partners. It felt oddly refreshing. So far, only Carlisle seemed to care much about that aspect.
"We worked well together long before it became a different sort of relationship," Nick responded.
The deer continued to press with his curiosity. "No one's hassling you about it? The internet can be pretty nasty about … well…"
"Literally everything?" offered Judy. She was happy to leave that side of the discussion in the dust. They didn't need to be defended. There were negative opinions about it, but they opted to almost completely ignore them except the rare occasion where it came from someone Judy literally grew up with.
"Huh… Yeah, I guess," their driver agreed. "I'm glad after all the stuff you two have gotten into, you can carve a little happiness out of this crazy place," he laughed, sounding much more positive.
He didn't have anything to really add to that as they moved swiftly from Sahara Square to the precinct in city center. It was fortunately a rather short drive, and it was certainly faster than the bus, which had been their only option before. Upon reaching the precinct, they got a pleasant and unexpected surprise.
They both got to see Clawhauser jogging around the station with Tora. He looked like he was doing okay, and perhaps even cheerful about it as the tiger chased him, barking out orders. It wasn't a fast run, but he was certainly doing more than walking. Nick gave a pleased smile at that, and Judy gave a supportive pumping of her fist to the puffing cheetah before entering the station and taking a seat in the bullpen. A second surprise came with the arrival of acting Mayor Bogo. The room was intensely loud to show approval as he brought in a guest, a red squirrel in a very neat and tidy grey suit and round spectacles perched on his nose. The tufts on his ears were long and meticulously groomed. Judy was fairly certain that she'd seen him before, but could not exactly remember where.
With only a sharp glare honed from years in his role as chief the officers went dead silent and allowed their former chief to speak.
"Good morning, officers," the former chief began in a lighter tone than usual. This informed Judy immediately that this was a political introduction. He abandoned his gruff tone only when dealing with a VIP that could affect things like funding. Bogo verified this as he continued speaking. "I would like to introduce Dr. Oliver Oak, our city's newest candidate for the terrifying position of mayor."
Unexpectedly, the guest quickly moved, making two short hops to get from the floor to a file box by the podium and up from there to the top of the podium so everyone could see him. He was a head shorter than Judy, but stockier… or just fluffier. He spoke, not bothering to allow the acting mayor to continue with the introduction, flicking his voluminous tail energetically.
"Good morning! What an exciting time to be in Zootopia!" Judy perked up immediately. His voice and demeanor were both immediately captivating. She hadn't expected that. Most of the squirrels she knew growing up were not nearly this engaging. She felt a pang of guilt for finding this unusual. Why shouldn't they be?
"Good morning!" a number of officers returned, including Judy. Nick watched the newly introduced candidate without speaking, however. Judy couldn't fault him for it. He wasn't the 'automated greeting, automated reply' kind of fox.
"As mentioned, I am the new mayoral candidate… but at present, I am running unopposed. Can you imagine? It seems that no one particularly wants to be mayor." He rubbed the back of his head with an air of confusion.
"I knew I should have run," Nick stated. There was a chuckle in the bullpen. Judy knew that was not a serious consideration, of course. Nick was directly involved in the investigations that removed the previous two mayors from office, and had a long history of pranking the current acting mayor. She couldn't help but smile at the thought, however.
"What happened to Myra Bois?" asked Fangmeyer from the back. Judy looked up expectantly at Bogo. Bois was the elk candidate who had just entered the race against Swinton a month or so before Swinton turned up dead. Judy hadn't heard any activity from other candidates in more than a month, but figured a lot of that stuff was on hold until they made some progress with the investigation.
Bogo was the one who answered. "While Bois was never implicated in Swinton's untimely demise, as the candidate running against her she has decided that she will not continue her bid for the office due to worry that it might appear that she is trying to take advantage of the tragedy."
Nick spoke up again as well. "It didn't help that she had nearly a quarter share of Great-Boar Tractor Supply."
"A subsidiary of Lanolin," came another voice. It was Tora, who had just entered the bullpen. She was still in the blue ZPD jogging shirt that she'd been wearing while chasing Clawhauser around the perimeter of the police headquarters. Judy was still stunned at her direct involvement with his continued physical therapy. "Very sharp, Nick." The fox didn't smile; he just continued to study the squirrel.
"Ahh, Chief Tora!" chimed the candidate in a sunny tone, "I saw you running around the building. I thought that was you! Also, I was actually unaware of that fact about our elk candidate," he admitted. "That is an unfortunate piece of happenstance. I can understand why she'd have dropped out then. I thought perhaps it was just… that the job became unappealing with all the… misfortune in that office of late."
"Do remember that we have an appointment across the street in about 20 minutes, sir," Bogo explained.
"Right, yes… So, with introductions out of the way, I should say why I came in today, yes? Yes." The squirrel adjusted his glasses. "I will be announcing my candidacy and my vision for the beautiful city of Zootopia this morning. I will be very busy in the coming weeks actually meeting the many mammals that make this city great. I don't want to just go on TV and say how I feel. I want to know how you, all of you, who it will be my greatest honor to earn the respect of, feel about the city of Zootopia. What can I do to make it better? What can I do to restore some of the heart that was lost in recent events? It won't be easy and I know that I cannot do it alone. I don't hold some special secret recipe to solve the city's problems, and I don't pretend that I have a grand road map to guide us back to everything that we've lost. It has to be one mammal at a time, and it has to be about regaining respect for an office that has lost its luster so terribly that the only one who stepped forward to take it over was me, the guy who redesigned the city sewer system." There was a potent laugh that rippled through the bullpen.
"What kind of doctor does that?" asked Wolfard, tilting his head in typical canine-curious fashion.
The squirrel answered patiently. "My background is in engineering. I specialize in miniaturization technology, mechanical automation, and robotics."
"Okay, well, you're immediately outside the usual political spectrum," commented Delgado with a chuckle.
"Indeed, and perhaps that's what's really needed," explained the squirrel with a smile. Judy actually found herself rather excited for this new candidate. He wasn't a typical politician. He wasn't likely to be on the payroll of some corporation, and he was filled with hope for the city. He was a planner and a thinker. How long had it been since the city had that as their mayoral option?
"That leaves you with little political background, however," Pennington said evenly. She had her arms crossed on the table in front of her, sitting alertly. "If someone decides to run against you, do you think maybe that will hinder you? Being kind of an unknown on the news and everything might make you seem less experienced."
"I am not overly concerned with appearances in that regard," answered Dr. Oak. "I am sure that question will come up even if I run unopposed, and the simple answer is… I don't know everything. No one does. No one, on their own, can have all the experience necessary to lead a city as sprawling and incredibly diverse as Zootopia. To advertise otherwise would suggest an embarrassing level of hubris." Judy looked over at Nick to gauge his reaction. The fox was smiling, his eyes wider. He saw it too. This mammal sounded genuinely good for the position, provided he was speaking from the heart. He continued, "Having said that, it is my intent to surround myself and others in my administration with the most respected experts in the city. Nepotism and back room dealing have obviously worn thin on the citizens of Zootopia."
There was a loud cheer in the room, and even Tora appeared pleased.
"So you know what we are most likely to ask, right?" inquired Pennington.
The squirrel smiled and nodded to the acting chief. "No, but it is my expectation that she does, so if you have concerns or expectations from the city of Zootopia that you wish to address with me, do not hesitate to speak with Chief Tora. She will always have a direct line to me. For today, however, as mentioned, I am open for questions. So please, do ask!"
"I suggest you keep questions brief, however, as we cannot stay long," added Bogo.
The elephant asked her question. "How will you address the conflict in our city surrounding the previous mayor and the mess with Lanolin?" Judy nodded. That was a very good first question and it affected their department a great deal. The squirrel took off his glasses, frowning a bit.
"Not an easy answer, that one. As mentioned, I will be consulting a lot of mammals and I know there will not be one best answer. It's going to take a lot of work to heal the injuries that those two events left on the city. We were barely recovering from the attacks on our predator population during the Nighthowler scandal when suddenly our sheep population found itself on the receiving end of the same nearly fanatical anger. Even hatred borne of genuine pain is harmful to a society. Biting your wounds does not heal them, but for some reason we are driven to do just that. Our instinctive anger is as hard a thing to ignore and prevent as physical pain is. While we must show sympathy for the feelings of anger that resulted from injustice, we cannot let it define the future of our city."
There was additional cheering. Judy joined in the applause, and was happy to see Nick do the same. The last time she saw him applaud anything a chinchilla was completely covered in whipped cream on stage.
Bogo interrupted. "Sir, a live video feed, you will find, is your most impatient critic."
"Yes, of course," Oak stated, nodding in affirmation.
"One more question," Nick interjected.
"Uh oh," Bogo reflexed. Judy glanced back and forth between them. Nick was smiling, so he wasn't about to do some kind of mischief. Was he? Oh no.
"Absolutely, sir," responded the squirrel candidate.
Nick spoke in a casual tone. "Out of the projects that you have been involved with in the city, which one made you the happiest?" Judy remained still and quiet. That didn't seem like a joke question, at least. Bogo deflated slightly in obvious relief.
"I hope that the media is as thoughtful with their questions are you are, officer," replied the squirrel. "You have just asked in a very astute fashion… Dr. Oak, who are you?" Bogo and Tora both widened their eyes. "I suspect this answer will mean more to you than a reporter if they asked it, but I can immediately answer it. My favorite project that I have worked on was the anti-crush safety system that is now the standard in rodent-class vehicles. I didn't invent the system, of course, but I was in charge of figuring out how to best implement it on an appealing variety of vehicles. If customers did not like the design of the car, all the promise of safety in the world would not have resulted in the adoption of that feature." Judy finally realized where she'd seen him before. His picture was on the front cover of the book that each officer was provided in the police academy that taught officers safety policy. The feature he spoke of was ultimately what allowed rodents to drive in designated lanes throughout the city, instead of being constrained to specialized public transit which was ultimately not nearly as convenient to them.
"Thank you, sir," Nick expressed genuinely.
"Now, I hope to get to address you all again soon, but the next few weeks or so I know will be a whirlwind, so… Good luck and stay safe out there!" He hopped straight down from the top of the podium with a little thump. Squirrels were pretty agile.
With Bogo and Oak leaving, the dull roar of officers providing their largely positive reactions to the new candidate overtook the room. It took Tora a couple tries to get it back under control. She provided the case-load for the day and dismissed everyone. Judy and Nick did not require additional cases as they were working specifically on the cheese one to at least entertain other possible leads, but they had to rely on Zuber to get around, which would not be as easy.
Judy spoke as they went down the steps outside the precinct. "If he gets his message out to the city like he did in there, anyone who would run against him would have to be deeply overconfident. What did you think?" she asked.
"I like him. It's certainly a better choice than either Swinton or Bois would have been. Both of them were into corporate cash pretty deep. A candidate typically has to be bankrolled somehow though, so I guess we will have to see if he really does want to be the mayor, or if someone else is encouraging him."
Judy considered that, but nodded. Nick was cynical sometimes, but it was a good question. "What were you trying to figure out with your question about his favorite project?" she asked, putting their order for a Zuber into the app on her phone.
"He was afraid to answer Francine's question about the angry mammals in the city," Nick stated. "I wanted to know what he really hoped to do about it."
Judy looked away from her phone at her stoic partner. "How were you gonna get the answer to that from the question you asked, Nick?" she asked.
Nick put his paws in his pockets, smiling. "The project that he most liked would be the one he feels best employed his approach to a problem. That is his ideal approach. How he handled that will be how he handles something as important as the one Francine asked about."
"Right, but I still don't follow. What did that project have to do with quelling the discontent that's putting strain on the public?" she inquired. Nick often thought a couple more steps ahead than Judy, and she knew it was cultural. Nick had told her before. Foxes were planners. Sometimes what her mate was doing was part of something she hadn't even considered yet.
"Well, his answer tells me that he understands that not everyone will like a plan or an idea, and it takes work and careful consideration to get others to adopt your vision, even if it's clearly meant specifically to help them more than yourself." Judy gazed appreciatively back at her mate. That was a very non-cynical takeaway and she felt even better about the interaction in the bullpen.
"That… That's a good thing then," she reported.
"That is a very good thing. I think this mammal might be a good mayor for the city of Zootopia." Judy beamed. She loved hearing her fox sound positive and happy. "I mean… until pictures surface of him in some weird club tucked almost completely into peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
Judy stared at the fox. "What?" she murmured in disbelief. Had he… seen something like that? Why would he say that? Why was she thinking about that?! A grin slowly spread over his face. "Nick!" Judy cried, punching his shoulder.
"Stop! Don't take that out, it came with the building! Drinks go in there!" That shrill voice was from the young lady otter, Kris, whose father bought the gas station where the cheese had been produced and stored. Nick and Judy entered to find her trying to block two wolves in jumpstuits from picking up and moving the cooler that had been in front of the counter where the cash register would go.
"You got pictures of the place before?" asked a lupine, shrugging. "We's been told whatever contained the whatever gots to go."
"Hold on a moment," Nick said, striding over to where the wolves were. In this particular establishment, they had to bend down a little not to brush the lights with their ears. It really was made for mammals of fox size and smaller.
"Oh, here's a cop now," pointed out the other wolf. "Tell this slipper that we gotta do our job, will ya? I nearly stepped on her twice already."
"Put the cooler down a moment," Nick instructed. The wolf did so. Judy watched, not interjecting right away. How did her partner intend to resolve this?
"Officer Wilde!" the otter squeaked and threw her arms around his waist. She was so tiny, not much more than half Judy's size, honestly. It was like Judy hugging Wolfard. Nick didn't try to wrench her free, but the bunny certainly didn't feel threatened by Kris. She finally cleared her throat and let the fox go. "Oh… Officer Hopps! Sorry, just.. I was so excited! I need help! They're taking everything!"
"It's Wilde," clarified Judy.
"Right, yes," the little otter responded, looking as if it were news to her.
"So, if you will please… note that there is no tile around where the feet of this cooler were…" instructed the fox. Judy stopped paying attention to Kris and focused on what Nick was showing them. There were little bare squares on the dark colored cement where the feet of the cooler had been.
"Yeah, so?' asked one of the wolves.
"Right, so… that suggests that when the tile was installed, the smaller owner didn't want to try lifting this big cooler by themselves, so they just installed the tile around it, but this floor isn't new. It's probably been here for years. That means the cooler was here a long time ago, and is most likely part of the gas station. You can just leave that there. You're probably not gonna need to rip out the walk in cooler at the back either, if I can offer clarification there." Judy smiled. He was right, of course, and the wolves both shrugged.
"Sure, whatever you say. You take the heat if we ain't did it right. I don't wanna carry out none of that stuff no-how," grumped the taller of the two canines, and they picked up a couple of crates and went back outside. At least the crates were obviously evidence.
"Thank you so much, Officers!" chimed the otter exuberantly. "They were gonna tear this place apart! How can I help?"
"We just wanted to look at some of the evidence ourselves, actually," Judy stated. "We have been given the case file and are investigating."
"You two are the ones investigating?" asked Kris in obvious awe. Judy laid her ears back, puzzled. What was her infatuation?
Nick nodded, taking point. "Yup. I wanted to ask if you remember seeing any vehicles around here when you first arrived to check the place out, or saw any mammals on property, even if all they did was come up and say hi. Especially if it happened before you first spoke with the police."
Kris appeared to think for a little while on that, then patted her little paws together.
"Yes. Oh yes, actually, there was a bat," informed the otter with a changing tone, leaning toward scandal. "She was literally hanging around the entrance when I pulled up. I thought it was so weird, but when I found all the other stuff, I guess I just… let it go." Kris rubbed her little chin.
"A… A bat?" asked Judy. They were not common because their population was just incredibly low. Three hundred years before, nearly eighty percent of the world bat population was wiped out in the span of a decade by a fungus that attacked their respiratory system. So far before modern medicine, it was one of the great historical tragedies. There were a few settlements in the Interior where bats flourished, but they were isolated because early on during the plague bats found themselves maligned. It was even suggested that bats were seen as a security risk because of their ability to fly and that the fungus may have been intentionally introduced into their population. This was later proven to be definitively false, but the result was that bats were still very scarce in the city of Zootopia. With few notable exceptions, they generally kept to themselves.
"That would count as a lead, I think. You are sure this was a she?" asked Nick.
"Yes," insisted Kris, "I was startled, but didn't want to seem rude, and I noticed that her toenails were painted my favorite color of pink. I told her that it was lovely!"
"Thank you. I'm gonna make a quick call, Judy, if you want to ask any other questions," Nick stated. He then made a beeline for the door. Judy fidgeted a little. He knew something. Did he know that bat? Nick said he knew everyone. There were not a lot of bats. This could be an even bigger lead than she thought!
"What's it like?" asked Kris.
"What? The job?" asked Judy.
"No… Being married to him." She nodded to the door.
"It's uh… It's nice," insisted Judy. Dear heavens, she did not want to be roped into this conversation! "So, vehicles and stuff… see anything like that?" asked the doe wanting to lead the conversation away from something more personal.
"No. Not that I remember. Is he the sweet, quiet type? Or is he more the overpowering dominant personality type?" Judy stared at the little otter, stunned. This was bordering on obsession. Was that okay? Nick was famous because of the Bellwether thing, the Darmaw incident, and the Interior thing. Judy already knew that they had actual fans, even if it didn't interfere very much. Was that all this was?
"He's sweet, very intelligent, and very loyal," Judy expressed, adding emphasis at the end. The doe didn't want this poor otter ignoring the right one for her because she was distracted with her blind attachment to a famous fox. Ultimately Judy worried that she might have sounded possessive just then, and she had no cause for jealousy.
"Oh gosh, you are just the luckiest bunny!" squeaked Kris. At least she seemed happy that he was with Judy. That helped.
"Do you know him from somewhere, or just TV?" inquired the doe, open to at least finding out why this strange little otter fawned over him so.
"I know him because he helped save my uncle Emmett," explained Kris. Judy gasped.
Oh! She … Oh she had a personal reason to see Nick as her hero. Of course she was a fan of the fox! Judy relaxed almost completely.
"That was a very tough case. We've met with Emmett Otterton a couple of times since. I'm so happy he's doing well," expressed the bunny.
"Aunt Elaine wouldn't let me go see him when he was in the hospital," explained the small otter gal. "I didn't understand at first, but then I saw the videos of how those mammals were. How… they couldn't even remember who they were or… or… anything!" Judy put her ears back slowly. It was different for those mammals who had a friend or family member get Nighthowlered. It was a completely different level of fear.
"I'm glad that so far as we can see, there's no lasting effects of the serum," Judy stated. "But those mammals are never going to forget about it, so we have to show a lot of support and care for those who went through it. Emmett has a good family."
"Yeah… but if Officer Wilde … Nick I mean … hadn't been so brave and faced Bellwether even though he wasn't trained or anything then maybe all of those mammals would have … I don't know. Maybe they'd still be like that." She sighed, trying to calm herself. Judy leaned against the wall by where the cooler had been moved. It made a lot more sense to the bunny why this little otter seemed so obsessed. It also made Judy feel better because it appeared, to her at least, that most mammals dismissed Nick's role in the whole thing, even after the actual video of the incident in the museum had been made public.
"I am very lucky to have him," Judy agreed, nodding. "Not just personally, but even as my partner on the force. He is every bit as good a police officer as he is a friend."
"When they thought he was lost I couldn't even eat," said the smaller mammal. Judy recoiled at that, which Kris seemed to actually notice. "I mean… I shouldn't talk about that. It was terrible, I'm sorry… but… I was there. With my aunt and uncle. When they said you found him…" Judy took in a slow, very deep breath. Of course Emmett would have gone to the funeral. Even Koslov had been there. Finnick had told her that.
"I uh… I feel awful that I didn't… I didn't go…" Judy offered. She did. She still felt guilty for that even though Nick and his mother both made it clear that she would never, ever have to apologize.
Kris, however, threw her arms around Judy's middle, pressing in her cheek and giving a very… Otterton-esque hug. Otters, Judy understood, were huggers on par with bunnies.
"But you brought him back, so it's okay," laughed Kris.
"I'm trying not to be jealous but…" Nick's voice broke both the awkward silence and the hug. Kris stumbled back and then darted over and gave the fox a squeeze too. Judy laughed to herself. Her mate's expression made it clear that he had not intended to provoke a hug of his own.
"Did you find anything out?" the doe inquired as her partner tried to carefully and tactfully pry off the little otter gal.
"Ah, yeah… Actually… I did… And we gotta go," he remarked. Judy nodded to her mate and the otter finally let go.
"Be safe you two," she chimed.
"Thanks, Kris!" Nick barked back, falling into step beside Judy. While Nick wasn't facing her when he said it, Judy had cast a glance back at her, and she beamed at Nick actually using her name. The bunny chuckled. Maybe her fox had a fan club out there after all!
