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Sorry for the long wait. Hope that this is a nice Thanksgiving surprise for you all!
This is it, Judy. Your first day.
The rabbit let out a long breath to try and calm herself down as she walked through Precinct One's front door with Nick. She knew this wasn't really her first day, but it may as well have been.
The fact that she even still had a job here in the first place was lucky enough. A sure sign of Chief Bogo's confidence in her, if anything. She had a big role to fill here at the ZPD: Her own.
In the morning, Judy had started off confident. An early alarm - which she was quick to shut off, as to not disturb Nick's slumber - signaled the start of her day. She went on a short jog while the sun was rising, followed by eager - if woefully one sided - breakfast chatter with her partner once she got back. He had already showered at that point, so she was able to get in without delay.
After drying herself off, Judy got her uniform ready to go. Everything was laid out on her bed; shirt, pants, vest, belt, badge. The rabbit was having trouble hiding her excitement, making a couple remarks about her not believing this was really happening, to which Nick would wryly reply from the other room, "Believe it, Fluff."
She was a cop. Really a cop, and had been one for over a year now. Yet, she had only a limited idea of what to expect. Nick had given her a few pointers about the Precinct, and was going to help her relearn everything else about the job.
Despite that, she was still incredibly nervous. What if she couldn't get the hang of everything again? What if they had to let her go because she couldn't keep up, or was making mistakes that even the greenest rookie wouldn't make in a million years?
Nick had told her not to worry, but that was proving to be incredibly difficult. Losing two years of your life in the blink of an eye was bad enough - and was something she was still struggling to completely wrap her head around - but the prospect of failing at her life's dream after already achieving it filled Judy no small amount of discomfort.
But she was Judy Hopps, born trier and never one to back down. It had been a hectic week for the rabbit, but with some dedication, focus, and a bit of luck on her side, she might just be able to become the cop she once was..
Judy and Nick each gave Clawhauser a wave as the passed by, while the cheetah gave them a smile back while munching on a bowl of cereal. She didn't even know eating was permitted at the front desk.
"This way to the bullpen, Hopps." Nick said, pointing further down the hall. Judy was thankful Nick already had her back; embarrassing herself by getting lost in the precinct on her first day would make for a good story in the future, but Judy would rather go without more teasing in her life. She'd gotten enough over the past week from Nick, so she was content to just stick close to the fox and let him guide her around.
Staying close shouldn't be too difficult. He does look rather sharp in that unif- okay, thank you brain. Trying to prove to everyone that I can still do my job here, no need to keep a clear head or anything.
Thoughts like that were starting to become more frequent, more intrusive, and Judy had to wonder what kind of trouble her mind was trying to get her into. Was it intentionally trying to sabotage her? Judy certainly hoped not, because having things be awkward between her and the one mammal who was going to make sure she did her job effectively was one hell of a way to trip her up.
She took a deep breath as they entered the bullpen, clearing her mind for the coming work.
Most of the other officers noticed Judy as Nick guided her to their seats. Some gave a brief glance, a few gave her a nod, while several others said things like, "Welcome back, Judy.", "There she is!.", or "Good to have you back, Hopps." She would give them each a smile and a nod of her own, feeling a bit nervous thanks to all the sudden attention, but hopefully that would pass.
Nick stopped her in front of one of the tables, gesturing to the large chair in front of them, clearly designed for neither foxes or rabbits.
"Wait, who's chair is this … yours or mine?" Judy asked.
"Ours." Nick replied.
"What? We don't each have our own?"
"Well, when all but one of your colleagues are at least twice your size or larger, not everything is gonna fit you quite right. You should see the maneuver each of us have to do just to reach the coffee machine." he said with a chuckle.
"And we've never asked for separate chairs?" Judy questioned.
"Never bothered either of us as far as I know, but it doesn't matter all that much. Our actual desks are down the hall, and the only time we meet here is to get our assignments, and the occasional surprise meeting set up by Bogo. Besides, if you're still that same bunny I knew before, my guess is you won't really mind all that much."
"I mean… no, not really. Just a little curious about it, I guess."
"Hey, I don't want to make you uncomfortable on your first day back, Carrots. If you'd rather have separate chairs, I can pester the Chief real quick before we head out to do whatever it is we're doing today."
"Nick really, it's fine. It doesn't matter to me." She told him.
Truth was, Judy was a little nervous about sharing a chair with the fox. Though, that was mostly because she was a little nervous that she'd end up doing something stupid like scooting a little too close to him, or accidentally steal a glance at him and he'd somehow notice. If anything like that happened, she'd-
"Just can't stay away from me, can you? I don't blame you, Hopps." Nick said, giving her a playful wink before climbing up onto the chair, reaching his paw down to help her climb up. He gave her a sly smirk as she grabbed on and was lifted onto the large chair. He was surprisingly strong for his size.
You're not making this easy for me, you dumb fox.
In an instant, her eyes went wide, her mind felt like something inside somehow snapped into place, and she began to see images once again.
She was in a police cruiser. No wait, she was drivingthe police cruiser. She could feel the pedals beneath her feet, obviously modified to allow her short legs to reach them. A stoplight was waiting for her down the block, just waiting to turn red by the looks of it.
"So are all rabbits bad drivers, or is that just you?" she heard to her right, turning quickly to see that it was Nick, holding a paw shaped popsicle with a smug grin plastered on his face.
A red light was appeared in front of them, and she suddenly slammed on the brakes, sending Nick flying forward with a very audible "oomph."
"Oops. Sorry." Judy heard herself say, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Nick quickly returned to his normal sitting position, his popsicle now stuck against his left eye. He pulled it off and gave a light chuckle.
"Sly bunny." Nick said.
"Dumb fox." she replied, almost like it was instinct to do so.
"You know you love me." Nick said, leaning in towards the center console with a smile spread across his muzzle.
"Do I know that?" she said, her voice once again heavy with sarcasm. She paused for a few seconds, causing Nicks smug expression to falter slightly. "Yes. Yes I do." she said, causing Nick's smile to return.
The images faded, and Judy suddenly realized where she was; standing on an oversized chair in Precinct One, with her fox partner sitting to her right, chatting with the rhino next to him - McHorn, if she remembers right. Even though Nick was sitting down, he still had a good inch or two on the bunny, and it was clear that she was going to have to either stand, or sit on her knees if she wanted to see over the table.
Another memory. Judy thought. She couldn't exactly pin down why, but for some reason that one in particular just felt… good. It made her feel happy, and… safe? Why is that what she was getting from all that?
She decided it was best to put it aside for now, at least until after Bogo finished giving out everyone's assignments.
Judy opted to sit on her knees for now, just to give her legs a bit of rest before they had to go to work. She hoped they wouldn't get assigned anything too dull, even though Nick had told her to expect as much. It was likely that they wouldn't be working on any proper cases for quite some time, and she understood why. Even though she'd devoted her entire week to studying - and she thought she knew all the material quite well - the plain and simple fact was that she essentially a rookie again, and there are a lot of things that a cop can't learn in a textbook.
After a few more minutes of waiting, Chief Bogo walked through the door, moving up to the podium at the front of the room.
"Morning everyone. Let's all quickly welcome Officer Hopps back for a moment."
The room erupted into a cacophony of hooting, roaring, hollering and shouting.
Barely a second passed before the cape buffalo blurted out. "Alright, that's enough. Now, nothing too exciting this morning, I'm afraid. We did have a small surge in burglaries over the weekend, however we're not noticing any obvious pattern in the thefts. But, I'm sure most of you won't be opposed to a bit less work on a Monday. So, let's get to it."
As the chief read of the day's assignments, Judy crossed her fingers in hopes that she would get something at least somewhat interesting. Nick has already made several bad jokes about parking duty, so she hoped that none of the officers - most of all her - would have to handle that today.
"And… Officers Wilde and Hopps. You two are on foot patrol in Savannah Central. Make sure to come see me before you head out. We have a few things to discuss."
Judy and Nick stayed in their seat while Bogo read off the rest of the assignments, the bullpen gradually becoming more empty until it was just them and the Chief.
"So, what's up, Chief?" Nick asked.
"I want both of you to understand that I'm putting a tremendous amount of faith in Officer Hopps by letting her remain on the force. This is an extraordinary situation, to put it lightly. Hopps, I recommend you let Officer Wilde take the lead on anything you may encounter out there. I don't want any complaints coming to my desk about how a certain rabbit officer was going against any important procedures or protocols. If anything like that does happen, then we may have to have a discussion about your future employment."
Judy gulped at his words. The very last thing she wanted was to be fired because she made a stupid mistake out in the field.
"But, as I said, I have good faith that you will be able to handle yourself. However, each of your assignments will have to be limited for some time, so expect a lot more patrols than either of you were used to."
"Heh, considering half our job beforehand was patrols, that doesn't bode well for any excitement in the near future." Nick said giving Judy another small nudge.
"Consider yourself lucky, Wilde. After what happened to Hopps, most other officers would kill to keep their partner and have easier work for awhile. Now, here is the route in question." the buffalo said, handing a small folder to Nick. "Alright. You're dismissed."
Judy and Nick were quick to exit the bullpen, with the fox starting to lead them each to their desks.
"Hey Nick." She began. "I think I remembered something."
"Really? What happened?"
"We were in a cruiser, and you were holding a popsicle, and-"
"Pawpsicle." Nick blurted out.
"Uh… okay. Anyway, I think you said you loved me."
"W-what?" Nick said, his eyes growing wide and body stiffening slightly.
"I think you were teasing me … You said something like, 'You know you love me.' Sound familiar?"
Nick let out a sigh, followed by a small chuckle. "Yeah, yeah. That was on my first day, actually. Just hazing my new partner a little."
"If it was your first day, shouldn't I have been the one doing the hazing?" Judy asked.
"Technically yes, but you know me. I do enjoy teasing you. Anyway, Officer Hopps. In the words of a weird, cute, over-optimistic bunny I once knew, you ready to make the world a better place?" Nick said, extending his fist towards the bunny.
Even though she had no recollection of ever saying that, Judy still couldn't help but smile at his words. They just felt comforting. Like everything was beginning to go back to normal, whatever that meant.
"You know it." she replied, giving the fox a fist bump before they each headed off to their desks, ready to get the day started.
Stay focused Nick, she's doing fine. No need to worry about her right now.
The fox had to keep reminding himself to not take a worried glance at Judy every time they rounded a new block. He wasn't really concerned that she'd do anything wrong, but that she'd… changed in some way. Back before the accident, she always tried to keep a positive attitude during patrols, even though she too found them incredibly dull. If she didn't keep that same demeanor that she once had, maybe other things could've changed about her as well.
Like an attraction to a certain fox she'd come to know.
He shook his head clear once again. He'd seen no sign so far that she thought about him in that way, and until she does - if she ever does - Nick had to keep quiet about it, or he'd risk weirding her out and ruining everything.
So far she seemed to be attentive and eager, ready for anything that might come her way. As long as she could stay that way until at least noon, Nick thought that she'd be okay, at least for today.
The fox found his mind wandering back to what Judy had said after Bogo gave them their patrol. She'd remembered that little moment they'd had on Nick's first day as an officer. He'd played it off as a little friendly banter between two partners when he explained it to her, but the truth was a bit more complicated.
At that point, Nick and Judy had known each other for a little over a year. They'd spent a lot of their free time together after Bellwether's arrest, with each of them making the decision to become roommates around two months after. Nick had been planning on moving out of his place for awhile, and Judy's landlord began to up the rent to ludicrous prices for what she was getting, so the timing was perfect for both of them. They had become fast friends during the Night Howler incident, but while they waited for Nick's application to the ZPD to finally go through Nick quickly found Judy was the best friend he'd ever had. But it wasn't until Nick began his training at the ZPD academy that he began to realize a few things.
He first noticed that he immediately missed spending time with Judy. A lot. It was like a dull ache, that only seemed to disappear when he and Judy talked over the phone or texted each other at night, catching up on the others day and just talking about any old thing they felt like.
And whenever things got tough, he found himself using her as motivation to power through. Having trouble remembering the exact procedure one should take when encountering evidence of domestic violence? "Study harder, Judy's going to need you when something like this comes around." Muscles starting to ache a bit too much after the daily workouts? "Tough it up. If Judy could do it, you sure as hell can. She's gonna need you in peak condition once you get out in the field." Can't make it over the ice wall? "Well, we're not going to encounter any walls of ice in the city, but still, do it for Judy."
Finally, whenever the two of them talked over Muzzletime, he found he couldn't stop staring into those beautiful violet eyes, often times completely zoning out and entirely forgetting what Judy had said. He had to fight just to stay focused, and when they were done talking and they'd said their goodbyes, he often wondered what was happening to him. Why the heck was he thinking this way about a bunny?
Nick wasn't entirely sure why he'd said what he did on his first day. Maybe it was so he could have some sort of hope that she felt the same way, or maybe it was to let her get the hint so she could reject him, and he could move on. As if anyone could ever move on from someone like Judy.
How often had he considered telling her, only to reel at all the ways that could go badly? Judy was the best friend he'd ever had, the only mammal since his mom and dad who saw him for who he really was - And he'd sooner die than do anything to mess that up.
It was a stroke of dumb luck that they'd gotten together, really … That night. That incredible night. What Nick wouldn't give to relive it. How desperately he hoped he could.
He couldn't believe it when the words slipped out of her mouth.
Nick thoughts were abruptly halted when he felt something suddenly pulling on his neck, causing him to let out a small gag. He quickly came to his senses, realizing that Judy had tugged hard on his tie, preventing him from walking right into a busy street.
"Jeez, careful Nick! You're supposed to be looking after me, remember?" Judy said, adjusting Nick's tie so that it was back in it's normal position.
The fox let out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, sorry. Got a little bit lost in my own thoughts I guess."
"Well, try to stay focused! We're supposed to be on patrol, keeping an eye out for anything that might need our attention."
"Let me tell you right now Carrots, out of all the days we've spent doing foot patrols, only two of them have ever resulted in an actual arrest. The rest of them are either spent helping tourist, or drinking coffee. Maybe we spot a car accident if we're lucky."
"Don't be so negative, Nick. Think of all the bad things that could happen if we weren't here."
"You know, that sounds pretty negative in itself, Carrots. I'm not saying we shouldn't be doing the job. Someone has to do it. Just so happens that someone is going to be us for a little while. And by the way, those two arrests I mentioned? I was the one that spotted each one. You've got those ears on you, but there's no way you're beating my eyes. You've got a bit little catching up to do. Sly fox - 2, Dumb bunny - 0."
"Heh. Isn't it dumb fox and sly bunny?" Judy asked.
"Eh, either one. So- you remember that, do you?"
"It may or may not have been part of that memory I told you about." she replied.
"Alright, well let's say you accidentally spill coffee on yourself one morning. What would that make you? A dumb bunny." Nick said with a smirk.
"And if you weren't paying attention and started to walk out into traffic? What would that make you?"
"A dumb fox. See? You're getting the hang of it already. You'll be back to normal in no time." The fox said, causing Judy to let out a huff of air.
"Heh, we can certainly hope can't we? In fact, I think I'm already on my way." Judy said with her own smirk.
"Oh?" Nick asked, wondering what the rabbit was getting at.
"Well, if you'll look over there…" she began, pointing across the street to the parking lot. "You'll notice that someone appears to be breaking into a car."
Nick turned to look at the parking lot, eyeing the car in question. A brown weasel was exiting the car through a broken window, though probably not by him, as there was tape suck around the edges and a thin plastic sheet lying on the ground. Clearly a lazy patch job done by the vehicle's owner. A wallet that was much too large for a weasel was being held in his paws. Upon further inspecting, Nick was able to clearly make out who it was.
"Alright, the sly bunny reveals herself at last. Let's get him. Just follow my lead, alright?"
"Right behind you." Judy said with an affirming pat on Nick's arm.
The two officers crossed the street, walking fast towards the thieving weasel.
"Dukie, dukie, dukie … You really should know not to do this kind of thing by now." Nick said as they approached. The weasel's head snapped towards them, his eyes going wide before he suddenly dashed down the sidewalk.
Judy's reaction was instantaneous, rushing after Weaselton with the great speed that bunnies were known for.
"Carrots, wait!" Nick called after her but she'd already rounded the corner in chase.
Ugh, right. She doesn't remember how easy it is to deal with him.
If Nick knew Duke - and he most certainly did - then he would come up with the most idiotic, predictable escape path he could come up with. He was bound to loop back to that same corner he just rounded eventually, especially with Judy on his tail.
Nick placed himself at the edge of the wall, just out of sight of anyone coming down the street the weasel and Judy had dashed down a second ago. After waiting there for around a minute, he could hear feet quickly scampering towards him. Once he heard it come close enough, he stuck out his left foot, causing the Weaselton to fly forward and land flat on his face, the stolen wallet landing unceremoniously next to him. Judy was quick to follow, running up to the weasel and pulling him forcefully to his feet.
"For cryin' out- Hey, what gives Flopsy?" Weaselton said, struggling against the rabbit's tight grip.
"What gives is that we caught you breaking into a car! Nick, radio the precinct so we can-"
"Ah, I don't think that'll be necessary, Hopps. Let him go." Nick said.
"What!? W-we just saw him break into a car! We have to bring him in!"
Nick said nothing as he moved closer and separated Judy from the weasel, only mouthing the words "Trust me." to her once he knew that Weaselton had no chance of seeing him.
"Now Duke, old buddy." Nick began, turning to face the weasel and bending over to pick up the stolen wallet. "Did you think that no one would notice you walking down the street with a wallet made for a wolf wrapped up in your paws? This thing would work better as a purse for you."
"Ah, what do you care, Wilde? I just needed a few extra bucks for my niece's birthday." Weaselton said.
"That's touching, really, but most mammals would've gotten the money in more honest ways that this." Nick continued.
"Ha! You'd certainly know what making money honestly looks like, wouldn't cha? How's your paycheck now? A little lighter than you're used to?"
"Oh, I make plenty enough to live on now, but that's not the point. We've caught you in the act… again. So, we could drag you down to the precinct kicking and screaming, or we could make a little trade."
Nick could practically feel Judy's questionable gaze on him as the weasel considered the fox's words. He'd explain things to her, after he got what he wanted.
"Alright, alright! I can't miss Abigail's birthday again. What do you want to know?"
"There've been quite a few burglaries that've been reported lately. Makes me wonder if there might be some kind of connection between them…" Nick said, giving the weasel a suspicious look in the hopes that it would cause him to fess up.
"Don't look at me! Stuff get's stolen every day, it's not like I do all of it- er, I mean, it's not like I do any of it."
"Right, that'd be so out of character. Listen, Duke. Just answer me this. We can't see any obvious connection between the thefts. So do you know of anything that might prove a connection? Anything that is… less than obvious?"
"Well… you didn't hear this from me, but… you might want to keep an eye on this jewelry store down on Cabral street. That's all you're getting out of me."
"See, was that so hard? Now run along, and don't let us catch you getting your grubby paws on any more wallets, you got that?"
"Yeah, yeah. Damn coppas." Weaselton groaned as he walked away.
"Good to see you too, Dukie! Say hi to little Abby for me!" Nick yelled at the departing Weasel before turning to Judy, who gave him no time to explain himself.
"What the heck was that all about, Nick? We witnessed him committing a crime! We can't just let him go!"
"Sure we can. He just gave us a lead to something much bigger than just a petty theft. Why try and catch just tiny minnow when you can use them to catch a whole tuna?"
"But he… this doesn't sit right with me, Nick." Judy said. "We have a duty to stop criminals, however petty their crime might be."
"I know you don't like this, but don't worry. I doubt this is going to be the last time we catch Duke in the act. The guy's got a record as long as a giraffe's neck. You'll get your chance to bring him in, not like you haven't before."
"O-okay. Just… give me a bit of a heads up next time. We are partners after all, so anything we have to do, we should do together."
"There's my sly bunny." Nick said with a wink. "Now how about we find out who's wallet this is? I'm pretty sure they're going to want it back."
"I'm inclined to agree with you there, Slick." Judy said, her peppy smile returning to her face. It didn't take long for Nick to realize he was staring.
Stay focused, Nick. You've got a lead to follow now.
