June 7th, 20X8

Night

South Canyon

Nick backed up the van out of the brush where they had hidden it, the wheels of which were caked in mud. He had to wait several minutes to merge onto the main road heading up to the Cliffside facility. There were still plenty of cruisers, ambulances, and even a few news vans clogging up the only street. Finally he was able to make his way up to where he left Judy, who was standing on the side of the road.

"See?" Nick rolled down the window and leaned out the driver's side, "I do too drive!" He rested his paws on the edge of the window, staring down at the bunny.

"Yeah, OK," she said, giving him a grin. "So, are you driving us home then?"

"You're riding with me? Figured you'd at least get shotgun with your new buddies," he said smugly, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Nope, chief sent me home," she stated proudly. "Said I'd need some sleep for the conference tomorrow. We'll be announcing the case's closure and the rescue of all missing mammal cases."

"Oh goody," Nick hopped out of the van, leaving the engine running. "Guess you'll be driving us back to town then!" He gestured for Judy to get in the vacated driver's seat before walking around towards the passenger's side.

Judy scoffed, suppose I should've expected that, she thought as she climbed into the driver's seat. She found the seat still warm from his body heat, and was grateful for the relief from the cold night air. Judy put the car into gear and began the long drive back into town, the road ahead littered with flashing lights.

"So, that all the Chief said? 'Go home, you're done here?'" Nick said, disappointed. "Didn't even congratulate you? No apology?"

"Oh, he did!" Judy grinned, "At least… I think he did…"

"C'mon, what'd he say?"

"He said he'd talk to me in the morning, and that, 'he misjudged me,'" she said plainly.

"…That's it?"

"Oh, believe me, with him, that's as close to an apology as I think I'm ever going to get."

"Huh…" Nick shrugged, yawning, "I guess we'll take what we can get, right?"

"He didn't ask for my badge!" She said confidently, "I definitely take that as a good sign, oh— and he called me Officer!" She was practically bouncing in her seat.

Nick smiled at this, "Mm-hmm, I think we did it, carrots. You're officially a cop."

Nick's fatigue was catching up to him, the adrenaline from the earlier events had started to wear off and was now leaving him with no energy.

"You can sleep if you're tired," Judy offered, "it's gonna be about an hour before we get back to town."

Nick's eyes shot open. It was getting late, and Finnick might have tried to call him on his broken phone.

"Carrots! I need to use your phone."

Judy reached into her belt and pulled out the phone, which Nick promptly took.

He dialed Finnick's number.

"Hey, who's this?" Finnick asked on the other end.

"Fin! It's Nick, uh, my phone is a little wet, so I'm calling you from Carrot's—er… Judy's phone."

"Niiick!" He grumbled, "'Bout time you frikkin' remember me… Ain't at the girlfriend's place no more, she didn't want me staying for who-knows-how-many hours you two been gone. Went… better than expected, though. I took a ZUber to your place and let myself in."

"Ok, was just wondering where you were, little buddy."

"So, you done with the little adventure then?" Finnick asked, "Can I get my home back now?"

"Mm-hmm," Nick said, but then remembered that his bed was a bit muddy. "Oh, I'm gonna need to switch out your sheets before I—"

"What?!" Finnick almost shouted, "Nicky, you best not be saying what I think your sayin'— you using my bed for funky stuff, I best be poppin' you one—"

Nick's face flushed and all the fur on his neck stood on end. Somehow, he managed to keep his composure and after a hard gulp, said in an even tone, "Buddy, listen, it just got muddy. It's been raining up in South Canyon."

Judy looked over to Nick, confused at strangely forced cadence and what he could be talking about with Finnick. Nick just shrugged.

"Ahh, Nick," Finnick said, chuckling rather boisterously. "You know I'm just playin', but seriously though, I wanna know what you and that bunny girl've been doing all day— she a real cop yet? She find her missin' marmot or whatever?"

"It was an otter," Nick corrected, "and I guess you'll have to buy me a cold one to find out, right?"

Finnick huffed, "Like you'd actually drink it. I'll give you a cold pop right in the face, how's that?"

"Mm-hmm, I'll see you later bud."

"Yeah, whatever," Finnick hung up.

Nick held out the phone to Judy, "Thanks."

Judy felt around in the dark for Nick's hand, she found it grabbing onto Nick's larger paw before finding her way up to the phone. She pocketed it.

"So, where is he?" Judy asked, "Are we picking him up?"

"Mmm, I'm sure you're wanting to get some sleep for your big award ceremony tomorrow, carrots," Nick teased, "I myself would like a medal, if you don't mind."

Judy smiled at him in the dark. The only light was coming from the glow of the dash board and the headlights shining on the road ahead. But it was enough light for Nick to see her.

"Anyway," Nick continued, "Go ahead and drive to your place, I'll take the van from there. I'm gonna have a nap while you drive."

"OK, but, um…" She hesitated.

"What's up?"

"You should be with me, at the press conference tomorrow," she insisted earnestly.

"Heh, was there any doubt?" Nick said in his signature smug tone, "This fox wouldn't miss it for the world, carrots."


June 8th, 20X8

Morning

Clawhauser let out a gasp as he looked up from his phone. "Ohhh! Little bunny, how're you feelin'? Did you get some sleep? Please tell me you got some sleep," The rotund cheetah wore a face of concern and guilt. He was wedged in his seat snugly behind the front desk in the brightly lit police precinct.

"Hi, Clawhauser," Judy replied, wearing a glowing expression. "I slept great, thank you!"

"Oh, goodness, hunny-bunny, I just found out what Bogo did to you!" He said apologetically, "I had no idea he had only given you 48 hours; I said those things to you while you were trying to investigate—" His voice was higher than usual, strained and concerned.

"Clawhauser—" Judy's ear twitched momentarily.

"Oh, and he was trying to make you quit, and he was just gonna make you keep doing parking duty—!" His voice seemed to raise an octave with each new realization.

"Hey—!"

"Oh, little bunny, I'm so sorry—!" A series of barely recognizable squeaks.

"Benjamin!" Judy yelled, before the large cat's voice could get any higher. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Look, look, it's OK, I don't know what you heard, but everything's fine, I'm not getting fired, I cracked the case! We can all put this messy business behind us, OK? No need to break down on me!"

"Ohhh," Clawhauser looked at the bunny, still looking guilty, his paws bunching up near his profound chin. "Judy, if Bogo ever does that to you again, you come right to me, OK? We won't be tolerating him bullying you."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Judy laughed, feeling grateful for his concern. "But thanks, Clawhauser, I appreciate it."

"Now-now, you call me Ben, or Benji, there's no need for last names between us," Ben said, trying to make up for his disregard for her troubles. "Now Bogo wants to speak with you, and it better be an apology— he tries to give you any more of his bull crap, I swear I'll walk over there and twist his little bully head off and shove it up his tail long-ways. OK?"

"Oh— uh, wow…!" Judy remarked, incredulous at Ben's sudden unexpected promise of violence, "I'll uh— I'll go see him now. Thanks Ben, I really appreciate you looking out for me."

"Don't mention it, Judy-bunny," he gave her a sincere yet sorrowful smile, "He's waiting for you down the hall here, near the south conference room. He's just getting ready for the press." He pointed down the hall behind himself. "Oh-oh, Judy, wait, wait," Ben piped up before she could walk away, "Here, lemme give you my number, let's stay in touch OK? You text me anytime the chief or any other officer else gives you trouble."

"Oh! Thanks, Ben, I'm sure I'll be fine, but it'll be nice to chat with you here and there."

The two exchanged numbers.

"Text me anytime, bun-bun, I'm always a good texter, but you tell me if I send you too many memes, I can get a little carried away," Ben guffawed hardily.

The two said their goodbyes, then Judy finally made her way to the Chief. He was talking with a giraffe, much taller than he was so he had to strain his neck to look up at him. They were talking about setting up equipment and what to show on the monitors during the conference. Bogo turned to Judy shortly after as the giraffe went on his way.

"Officer Hopps," he said stiffly.

"You wanted to speak with me, Chief?" She tried to hide a smile from the affirmation of the proper title.

He let out a sigh, "Yes. I want to go over the press conference with you, seeing as this will be your first..." he eyed her up and down and let out another deep sigh. "But... I need to talk, mammal-to-mammal."

"Of course, sir, what do you need to talk about?" She asked cautiously as the buffalo scrunched his muzzle. His face looked pained, like whatever he was going to say was difficult.

"Hopps, you're a rookie. From the first day I heard you were going to be assigned to me, I knew there was going to be trouble—"

"But, sir!" Judy protested, not believing she still hadn't proven herself. Her stomach turned over in a panic, "I—!"

"Hopps!" Bogo interrupted, putting his cloven hoof up to silence her, "I am sure you think you know where this conversation is headed, and I assure you that you've got the wrong idea. Let me continue." He put his hooves behind his back.

"Y-yes, sorry, sir," She tried to mentally undo the knots turning over in her gut.

"Hopps," Bogo huffed, avoiding her eye contact uncharacteristically, "I knew there was going to be trouble when you were assigned to me. Not from you, but from everywhere else."

"Sir?" Judy said, confused.

"I'll keep this quick, Hopps," he continued, "I'm not very good at apologies—" He glanced down the hallway she had come from, "—And you may never hear one from me again. I treated you unfairly, and I was wrong… I'm sorry." He stood straight and waited for her response, letting his pride lower for just this moment.

Judy could feel her pride swell in response; she had solved the case, all of them. She had undoubtedly proven herself worthy of her uniform several times over. There was no denying it.

"Thank you, sir!" Her face glowed, "I'm glad I could prove myself to you after all."

"You still have a lot to learn, Hopps," his voice shifted back into sternness. "You're still a rookie, you lack experience. That only comes with time."

Judy held onto those words; she had overcome one obstacle, only to be presented with another. She was determined to keep going. She'd prove herself time and time again, if need be.

"Then I'll show you that I can handle myself day in and day out, for as long as it takes for you to see me as a real cop," she promised, standing tall with her hands clasped behind her back.

Bogo allowed a rare smile at her, "Good, I will overlook your… physical limitations from now on. I expect you to perform duties just as any of my other officers. So, we'll get you situated to be a 'real cop.'"

"Yes!" Judy shouted. She couldn't be happier to have heard those words; after a few hitches and bumps, she was going to be recognized as a real cop. "Yes, yes, YES!" Her enthusiasm continued loudly.

Bogo did his best to ignore the triumphant outburst, his eyes rolling upward as they shut. He was going to regret this, he was sure of it. "You'll need a firearm, we'll see what we need to get a cruiser outfitted for your... size. And you'll need a partner. We can discuss this later, but for now, follow me. We meet with the press shortly."

Judy hadn't thought of that, she would need a partner. She hadn't had time to get to know any of the other officers, or even if any of them were available to be partnered up with her.

"Oh, and Hopps," he continued in a unusually sweet voice, "A certain Assistant Mayor called me yesterday inquiring as to why you had to go to her to use the traffic cam system. Clawhauser has the paperwork you'll need for logging into the computer at your desk."

I have a desk!? She screamed internally, both in surprise and jubilation.

The chief began walking past her.

"Chief!" She said, she had an idea. There was one other mammal that she worked perfect with, and if a bunny could be a cop, then…

He turned to look at her, in mid-step.

"I do have a request, actually," she started, "to have someone assigned to be my partner."

"Oh?" The chief looked puzzled. He pivoted to face her better with both hooves planted on the ground.

"Yes," she said confidently. "I would like to request, Nicholas Wilde... the fox who helped me crack the case."

Bogo's face turned skeptical. "The fox...?" He paused, not sure how to continue.

"Nick would make an excellent officer," she resumed, "I really couldn't have done it without him."

"No," Bogo said sternly, "Hopps, he's not an officer. You can't ask for a civilian to be your partner."

"I mean, he can go to the academy!" Judy reasoned, "I'm sure he would graduate, and I already know we work great together!"

Bogo scrunched his snout, still skeptical, "You realize that you'd be waiting for at least the next six months?"

Her heart beat faster, This could actually happen! Nick and I could be partners!. "Yes, I understand, sir, and I fully stand behind my request to have him as my partner."

Bogo looked at her, his shoulders raising, then lowering as he took in a breath. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Alright," Bogo relented, "Have Wilde fill out an employment application. Clawhauser will give you one, I'll interview him personally."

Judy was elated "Oh! Thank you, sir! He won't disappoint you!"

"He better not, Hopps," Bogo agreed. "I only said I'd allow him to be assigned here and to be your partner. It's up to him to pass the police academy, which, I'm sure you're aware, is not a cake walk. If he flunks out or gets anything less than stellar scores, there's nothing I can do. Precinct One can only accept cadets who have graduated top of their class."

Judy hesitated, but reminded herself to believe in Nick. "Of course, sir, we won't let you down." A aura of stern confidence surrounded her.

Bogo only gave a gruff approving sigh as a response, but let the smallest hint of a smile show through before promptly removing it. He said nothing further, and walked away towards the podium set up for the conference.

Judy walked back over to the front desk to talk to Clawhauser. Somehow, he seemed to have poured himself a bowl of cereal and was munching away quite happily as he greeted the incoming members of the press. She assumed he must have had a mini-fridge behind the desk for storing the milk, as she didn't notice him leaving his post as she spoke with Bogo.

"Hey, Ben," Judy spoke up, "The Chief said I have a—"

"Oh, sweetie," he spoke, putting down his bowl of cereal, milk spilling from his mouth. He wiped at his generous chin with a napkin before continuing. "Did he apologize to you? Because I swear, if he didn't apologize—"

"Oh, yes, yes he did," She held her paws up, trying to assuage the impending thoughts of violence Ben was no doubt conjuring up. "He even promised to get me properly equipped, so everything's all good, Ben, no need for the, uh— crazy protective-cheetah-mode." She laughed nervously.

"Good! Oh, dear, I'm so glad we got that squared away. I can. Not. Stand it when the chief bullies anyone! Especially if it's a new recruit."

"But, um, the chief said something about my desk?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Wwwwhere is that exactly?"

Ben said nothing, slowly raising his paws to cover his agape mouth.

Judy looked around awkwardly, trying to determine what Ben was so aghast about.

"He didn't even show you your desk?" He finally said behind his paws, his eyes wide.

"Nope, this is the first I've heard of it."

"Oh, that STUPID buffalo!" Ben's face turned from a look of horror to one of rage. "I swear how does he even come off— How did you clock in without your computer? How did you—?"

"Ben, Ben!" She spoke loudly, trying to steer him away from further ranting, "You know what, we can talk about all this later— I should get ready for the press."

"Oh, yes, yes, of course!" He said, waving a hand at her. "You go get ready for that, they should be starting up in about twenty minutes."

"Speaking of which, have you seen Nick— well, a fox come in?" She asked, looking around the lobby for her friend.

"Oh, that's right," Clawhauser leaned forward on his elbows propping up his chin. "I heard you worked with a civilian to crack the case! A fox even!"

"Yep, he promised he would be here for the press conference," she smiled fondly.

"Oh, I'm sure you've got a story to tell," Clawhauser grinned, Judy got the feeling he was the gossipy type. "You'll have to tell me all about him when you get off-duty tonight."

"Aaah, there's not much to tell," She waved a paw at him, "Just me doing my job protecting the city. And Nick being a Good Samaritan, of course."

Clawhauser's expression again changed, to one of adoration and admiration. "Oh, you are so humble, too! You are just what this precinct needs. And that fox, oh, if he were an officer, you two would be so great together!"

Judy grinned warmly at this compliment. "Oh, before I forget, can I get an employment application?"

"But you're already—" Clawhauser gasped at the realization. "You're gonna ask the fox to…?"

Judy grinned excitedly, nodding in affirmation.

Clawhauser gave out a high pitched, drawn out "Ohhh!" He waved his hands around in the air, looking around behind his desk. "Where did I put them? Ah, yes! There we go, one job application!" He handed the form to Judy, who scanned it quickly before folding it up and stuffing it into her tactical belt's rear pocket. "So exciting! I can't wait! First, a bunny officer, then a fox officer, what an exciting age to live in!" He was elated. But something else caught his attention quickly— she turned to see the front doors catching the light whenever mammals passed through into the lobby. "Oh! But I've kept you long enough," Clawhauser shook his head and returned his attention to his now soggy cereal. "You go get ready, and look for that future partner of yours. I'll send him your way if I see him."

Judy nodded, "Thanks, Ben!"

He simply nodded in response, his mouth already full of cereal.

Judy wandered around the rapidly filling lobby. She was getting anxious about what to say when Bogo would call her up to the podium. She kept looking around for Nick, where is he?, she wondered. She pulled out her phone to check the time, 3 Minutes… Oh, Nick, hurry up.

While he didn't need to be there, she felt comforted knowing that he would be nearby watching her, projecting his foxy confidence towards her. His charismatic, adaptable aura was contagious, and now that she had spent some time apart from him she could feel it wearing off.

She started walking to the entrance where several press mammals were still filing in. A familiar fluffy red tail caught her eye. Relieved, Judy hopped over to Nick as he followed some taller mammals.

"Nick!" She called out.

"There she is!" Nick smiled as they caught each other's eye, "How's the little super trooper?"

"Best sleep I've had since I moved here," she said, giving him a soft punch on his arm.

"Well, good, all that work you did on that case deserves some good sleep," he simply looked at her with his usual relaxed grin. She wondered if his face just naturally settled like that.

"Hey, this is your case as much as mine," she tapped the Jr. police sticker still on his shirt pocket. She was strangely happy to see he hadn't taken it off. It was apparent from his wrinkled state of clothes that he must have slept in his multipurpose attire. In truth, she had done the same, but she had at least changed out of them in the morning.

"Eh," he shrugged simply, "I was just along for the ride."

"There you are!" A cheery voice interjected.

The two turned to see an ecstatic Bellwether. She was rather excited, clopping her hooves on the floor as she briskly walked towards Judy, her glasses slipping from her face, which she promptly pushed back up.

"Assistant Mayor Bellwether!" Judy smiled, turning towards her.

"Please, Judy, call me Dawn," Bellwether insisted, clasping her hooves together in front of her skirt. She turned to Nick, "The same goes for you, too— oh, and I don't think I got your name the first time we met, we didn't get much time to talk!" She giggled candidly.

"Nick, Nick Wilde," he held out a paw to shake her hoof, which she shook energetically.

"Oh, you both did just a super-duper job with the case!" She said, her bubbly voice breaking. "I can't tell you what a tremendous service you both have done for the City."

Judy remarked mentally at how excited Dawn seemed, in spite of the news that Mayor Lionheart had been arrested as the mastermind behind the whole plot.

"You know," Nick shrugged, "Just doing our part."

"Oh, you stop that," Dawn giggled, "Don't you think for one second that what you did wasn't just… amazing! You both really proved that the little guys can really do anything!"

"Well," Judy started, grinning at the energetic lamb, who was practically dancing in place, her hooves clacking on the tile floor. "It's all thanks to the ones that believed in us."

"Not to mention," Nick cut in, "A certain Dawn Bellwether that helped us track down a very important lead."

Dawn laughed bashfully, "Aww, you know, I couldn't turn down the chance to help with such an exciting case—" The sound of microphone feedback echoed through the lobby's speakers, "Oh! Looks like we're starting! Are you ready, Judy?"

Judy let out a sigh, looking up at the podium, where the Chief was getting ready to speak with the awaiting crowd of news mammals. She nodded resolutely, "Yes, as ready as I'll ever be."

She reached into the rear pouch on her tactical belt again, feeling for the empty application Clawhauser had given her. Would he even be interested? she wondered. Would he even want me as a partner? Her paw pinched the form, feeling its edges carefully; she hesitated on pulling it out completely. She'd find a good opportunity to drop it on him.


Nick sauntered to the van sitting in the parking lot of the police station, his fists clenched in his pockets. Finnick played with his phone, waiting for Nick.

He opened the passenger side door and hopped in, putting on his seatbelt. He subconsciously slammed the door loudly.

"That was quick," Finnick said, putting his phone away, glancing at his friend who wore his usual face. "How'd it go?"

Nick shrugged, "Great! Just some interviews, nothing big— Do you mind taking me to pick up a new phone? Mine got soaked." Nick tapped impatiently on the armrest on the door. "Oh, and I wanna check out that new cafe they opened over on Marten Street. Haven't had breakfast yet."

"Uhm… Is everything OK?" Finnick asked concerned. "Did you even get to talk to Judy?"

"Oh, yeah," Nick chuckled, his hurt barely showing through, "Yeah, I definitely did, she had plenty to say to me."

"Hey, fool, tell me what's goin' on! You tellin' me you just walked in and out of there? Nothing happened and now you're all upset?"

Finnick and Nick had been friends for years, best friends. Even when Nick didn't show it, Finnick could always tell when he was hiding something. But this time Nick wasn't doing a good job of hiding it, he was being sloppy.

After a pause, Nick just shook his head, and sighed.

"Look, buddy," Nick said, "let's just go, OK?"

Finnick eventually started the van, nodding in relent. "A'ight fine, we gonna have a talk about this later, though." Finnick promised.


Night

Nick fiddled with the new phone, feeling the wrap that he had yet to peel off the fresh device. Finnick had offered to spend some time with Nick, in case there was something he wanted to get off his chest. But he had declined, much to the dismay of his worrisome friend.

He sat alone on his couch in his dark apartment. A glass full of expensive brandy sat untouched on the coffee table in front of him. He was hurting, and his mind was swimming in a mix of strange and familiar emotions. He thought that he would have calmed down by the time he got home, having spent the day with Finnick, not hustling, but doing other things. Errands, shopping, eating, anything to stop thinking about the rabbit police officer.

It didn't work. He was now alone with his thoughts, not able to sort through them any better.

Why… did it hurt so much? He thought, his chest feeling tight, hollow, Why did I yell at her like that? Why does it matter?!

He recalled the look on her face, her nose twitching, her mouth hanging open. She hurt him, and he wanted to hurt her back— and he did, he couldn't stop himself. But it didn't make him feel better.

It wouldn't be the first time someone thought I was nothing more than a worthless predator, a worthless shifty fox… He scowled at those words, words that he'd heard countless times from mammals of all kinds. So she's some speciest hillbilly bunny from the country, who cares? Why do I care? So she expected more of me, then turned around and basically told me I'm a no-good predator—

He growled in frustration. He couldn't put the way he felt into words, or even thoughts. "What did you do to me, bunny?" He stood and picked up the glass of brandy. He was done sulking, done feeling sorry for himself. He had done enough of that in his lifetime, and he wasn't going to let himself spiral into depression again.

Walking over to the kitchen, he did what he did best when something was bothering him: try to accept it, and move on. Only, it wasn't working this time. He raised the glass over the sink, and slowly tipped it, sending the expensive brandy down the drain.

"What did you do…" he whispered, grimacing. Eventually, he shook his head, tired of the emotions. "Just let me be what I am, just… stay away from me."

5 Days later

June 13th, 20X8

Night

Savanna Central

—helped me regain my life. Caracort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. With asthma, I didn't think I could ever get back in the game. But thanks to Caracort, my game has never been better, and can live my life on my terms.

Overall effectiveness and expected side effects may depend on your species, talk to your doctor to see if Caracort is right for you. Risk of high blood pressure is greater for species with a high natural resting heart rate.

If you are uninsured or are otherwise unable to afford your prescription, SinistraNova may be able to help. Just call 1-800—

— were rescued with only minor injuries. In the business world, Nova Ferocia-based Pharmaceutical company, SinistraNova is facing a serious class action lawsuit for its asthma and COPD medication, Caracort. They are also facing a federal audit and investigation, following reports that it knowingly sold an improperly manufactured lot of the drug. The lawsuit is alleging that more than fourteen thousand mammals have developed chronic illnesses through daily usage of the drug, and that—

—the ZDA have blocked further sale of the COPD medication Caracort—

—SinistraNova announced the acquisition of Northern Federation pharmaceutical manufacturer, Allergibbon. The pharma giant declared this deal follows the successful launch of its long-term use COPD and asthma inhaler—

Nick sighed, rubbing his eyes. He had been researching so long that his apartment was now dark; his eyes were strained from staring at the bright screen. He closed his YakBook and stood up from his couch. As usual, he had no lights on his apartment, only the ambient light from the city flowing in through his undraped windows. He grabbed a cup and filled it with water from his fridge's water dispenser.

He strolled over to his window. He could see most of the city, his apartment being on the 53rd floor. His view faced the Zootopia Sound area, most of the city was still very much alive this time of night. Protesting now littered the streets; predator and prey alike marched against one another. One side, wanting safety; the other, equality. Now, these things seemed mutually exclusive.

Nick shook his head and took a long drink from his cup. "Well, we did it, carrots…" he grumbled. Every time he mentioned the rabbit's nickname, his chest would hurt. He would feel angry, frustrated, betrayed. Yet he could not forget the girl who had strolled into his life and accomplished things that he never dreamed a bunny… and a fox… could do. A single anomaly in his philosophy that all mammals must be what they are: a dumb bunny, and a sly fox.

"You really had me going," the fox muttered bitterly, "Made me think that I could be… a fox could be a police officer…" He finished his water, letting the paw that held the now empty cup to fall, his arm swinging at his side. He walked away from the window, plopping the cup onto the kitchen counter as he made his way back to the couch. He slumped down, staring at nothing in particular. She really hustled me… huh… He looked at the carrot pen he had placed on the coffee table, his "prize" for assisting the rabbit.

He gave out a pitiful sigh before leaning forward to grab it. He rolled it around in his paw, feeling the plastic, finding the button. This thing only has one button, how do you record with it?, he thought, rubbing his padded finger over the button.

Sliding the button upwards, the carrot played a sound as if it were rewinding, and let it go.

"—a minute sir, I think your 10 dollars worth of popsicles can—" the pen played, before Nick managed to stop it. He frowned as Judy's voice replayed in his mind, strange unwanted feelings in his chest. He chucked the pen aside to the far end of the couch.

"Hah, I make 200 bucks a day… fluff," he recited quietly to himself. It had been the first time he had played the pen since receiving it five days ago. But he could remember clearly the conversation the two had, unbeknownst to Nick at the time that he was being recorded. "365 days a year… since I was twelve…"

Nick closed his eyes, he could feel them getting watery. I've been doing this since I was a kit, and along comes this… this buck-toothed bunny hick He laughed to himself, keeping his eyes closed, and the tears inside. He sat silent for a moment, reflecting on his time with the rabbit, the friendship built… and lost.

Nice try, sweetheart, he thought, opening his eyes. He leaned forward to his YakBook and opened it up, clicking on a tab he had open for Zootopia Airways. I actually thought you… you had me going…! He clicked on the large "buy" button.

The webpage went blank, eventually coming back to read; "Airship fare confirmed for June 17th, destination: Nova Ferocia."


June 16th, 20X8

Evening

Savanna Central

"Nick, man you gotta chill out," Finnick laughed, watching his friend pace around his apartment. "Flash said he took care of everything, we're ready to pull the biggest hustle of our lives. This ain't no time to be getting cold feet."

Nick stopped pacing, and smirked at his smaller buddy sitting on his couch. "Fin, I never get cold feet. I'm just busy planning."

"You sure seem like you're losing your nerve right now," Finnick scoffed, skeptical, "We need to get some sleep, our flight leaves in the mornin'."

"Can't sleep, too excited," Nick sat down next to him and opened his YakBook, typing away.

"Dude, you really need to tell me what happened with that bunny," Finnick said after some time. "I don't care about all that bullcrap about not showing when somethin's buggin' ya. I can tell when my best friend is torn up about—"

"Fin," He interrupted snappingly, his paws raised in a tense position from the keyboard. "I… I— told you, I'm busy." He went back to typing.

"Yeah, fine whatever," Fin relented, "When you ready to talk, I'm here." He picked up Nick's remote and turned on the TV.

Finnick busied himself watching TV, trying his best to give his friend some space. He flipped through the channels, spending a few minutes on each. Eventually he switched to ZNN.

—comes just one week, after ZPD Officer Judy Hopps connected the violence with traditionally predatory mammals—

Finnick noticed as Nick froze at the mention of the rabbit officer's name. Nick's tail twitched, the rest of his body unmoving, his eyes closed as he bared his teeth. The TV showed footage of a Gazelle peace rally. Prey had shown up to protest, and there was a shot of Judy attempting to keep the peace as the mammals' arguments escalated. When Nick opened his eyes again, they were glued to the screen, watching the small mammal's helpless actions.

Nick snapped up the remote from Finnick suddenly. He shut off the TV and tossed the remote onto the couch.

Finnick looked up at him, concerned, "Um, OK. Anything you wanna —"

"Nope! But thank you!" Nick grinned at him, walking away to his room. "See you in the morning buddy." He shut the door, leaving Finnick in the now quiet front room.

Finnick shook his head. He knew Nick, he would eventually talk about what was bothering him. The question was when?

He saw that, in his haste, Nick had left his laptop open and logged in. He looked towards Nick's closed door.

This is for your own good, man, he justified mentally, I need to know what's buggin' ya if I'm gonna help.

He stood up on the couch and hopped over to the coffee table. Hunched over the laptop, he saw some emails had been sent, and a text file was open. He scrolled through Nick's inbox: most messages were just emails confirming their flight to Nova Ferocia, emails between him and Flash regarding the details of the hustle. An email to Morgan Wilde, Nick's mother. Finnick decided against reading the email to his mother, and opened the text file.

Hey Fin, when you're done with my computer can you check the stock prices for SinistraNova and DewLabs? I'm thinking of getting into investing, especially when we have insider info ;)

"Agh," Finnick scoffed, pushing the YakBook away, "Just when I think you gettin' careless…"

Finnick took out his phone, checking the text thread he had started with Judy. He texted her a few days ago to ask what happened between her and Nick. He had gotten the rabbit's number after Nick had called him using her phone during one of their night's out. All three messages in the thread were from him, Judy had yet to respond.

( Hey Bunny, you mind if I have a chat with you? )

( What happened with you and Nick? I'm worried about him, he's not himself lately )

( Hello? )

Finnick sighed, hopping back over to the couch and dropped his phone. He settled into the blanket that Nick had left for him and stared up at the darkening ceiling.

"What ever you did, bunny," Finnick muttered to himself. "You better undo it quick, else we gonna have a problem."

June 17th, 20X8

Morning

Nova Ferocia, Northern Federation

"Welcome to Nova Ferocia Inter-territorial Airdrome. To expedite your entry into the territory, please have all required documentation ready and proceed to the queue designated for your species size category." The intercom echoed throughout the bustling airport, before repeating its message in another language that Nick did not speak.

The airport was tall, an arched skylight stretched along the entirety of the main entry terminal. The sky was pure white, cloudy overcast, snow falling on the many window panes in the ceiling. Mammals of all types littered the terminal, however it was noticeable that most of the visiting mammals consisted of polar bears, caribou, and moose, those suited for tundra biomes.

Nick wore a fluffy black coat, as the tundra-based territory was known for its bitter cold, even while it was summer in Zootopia. Nova Ferocia was a city that was in constant winter. He wheeled around his rolling baggage as he looked for Finnick. Spotting him, he walked over to the shorter fox as he was digging in his equally fluffy coat for his paperwork.

"Got everything?" Nick asked, settling his luggage and putting his paws in his coat pockets.

"Mm-hmm," Finnick said, yawning a toothy yawn. "I need more sleep, man, some baby kept cryin' the whole flight. Or some full grown dude, couldn't tell."

"Let's get through customs and we can go to the hotel," Nick gestured for Finnick to follow, the smaller fox finishing accounting for the crumpled papers he had pulled out of his pocket.

Finnick walked ahead to catch up with Nick; the bag he carried was light, only containing a few changes of clothes, as well as his sneaking outfit. Something he had not used in a long time.

Nick lined up in the queue labeled for medium-sized mammals, Finnick in the one for smaller-sized.

Finnick watched his friend as the two proceeded through the lines. Nick's expression was his usual dreaded grin. Still though, something was off. He hoped he could at least keep it together for this job.

Nick had organized the biggest con they would pull to date, bordering on corporate espionage and fraud. They were going to take advantage of a complicated legal situation that arose between pharmaceutical giant SinistraNova and a class-action lawsuit filed by a large Zootopian law firm on behalf of the victims of improperly manufactured asthma medication.

The finer details were lost on Finnick, but he knew his part; he was disaster control, and Nick's inner turmoil— that was definitely an impending disaster.


Nick and Finnick sat in silence as their ZUber drove them through the city. The car drove slowly through the blizzard; while Nova Ferocia was a city in year-round winter weather, the streets of the city were not equipped with magnetic coils like Tundra Town was.

While Finnick was exhausted, he couldn't sleep, still frustrated by the lack of communication between them. Nick simply sat, watching the blizzard. Taking in the nostalgia he had for the city he had only visited occasionally over his lifetime.

Nova Ferocia was a somewhat more specialized city, not many species were able to visit or live here, and its population consisted almost exclusively of medium and larger mammals. The design of the city reflected that. While most buildings were grey, soulless concrete, more colorful buildings were interspersed, the favorite of which was red. The city was much more spread out than Zootopia, and had no skyscrapers; the tallest buildings only reached about 30-40 floors.

The airport they were driving away from overlooked Fundingo Bay, which was frozen for most of the year. Nick had vague memories of his mother and father taking him there when he was very young, to learn how to ice skate.

Finnick felt his phone vibrate, he reached around to find the pockets on his thick coat and pulled it out. Judy had finally responded to him.

( Can I talk to Nick? )

Finnick scoffed, and Nick looked over to him. Finnick ignored him and typed back a response: ( Why don't you just call him then? )

He waited a moment for a response, the bubble that signified her typing a message popped in and out of existence.

( I don't have his number, I only have yours. )

( Must be a reason he didn't give it to you then. ) He humphed, thinking about what to say next. He wanted answers. She had destroyed his friend and he was going to do what it took to fix him. ( You listen to me, bunny. You tell me what the hell you did to him )…( Then MAYBE, I'll think about passing along a message for you. )

His phone started ringing, Judy was calling him. He promptly rejected the call. Nick looked over to him again. "The misses?" He teased, pushing the back of his paw against Finnick's shoulder.

"Uh, nah, just some… friend I haven't talked to in a while," he half-lied.

( I'm in a car with Nick, can't talk, text for now. ) He explained, ( Better type fast. )

( Please! Tell him I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! ) She was begging.

( Why should I? ) He tapped harshly at the device, ( You took your sweet time responding to me, now all of a sudden you wanna get all boo-hoo on me? )…( Tell me what the hell you so sorry about )

( Can you just tell me where you are? I'll come over now )

( No can do, bunny ) he dismissed candidly, ( We're out of town, visiting up North )

There was a pause in her responses, she was possibly wondering why Nick had skipped town, probably blaming herself. A thought Finnick was fine with.

The familiar bubble finally reappeared, indicating she was writing a response.

( Then, can I just call you? I'll explain everything )

Finnick let a moment settle in, she was going to have to try harder than that.

( Please ), she continued, ( I just want him to know I messed up, that I didn't mean what I said )

He waited to see if she would continue, he was relishing her begging, after what she did to Nick. Maybe with his silence, she would finally explain what was going on.

( Please, I'm such a moron. )

Finnick put the phone down, not wanting to look anymore. Her begging was fringing on pathetic, but it wasn't totally lost on him. The phone vibrated once more, Finnick lifted the device to check what she had sent.

( I miss him )

The words rang in Finnick's head, her desperation was escalating. He raised an eyebrow, glancing over to Nick, who was still staring out the window, the sky becoming brighter as the sun rose behind the thick layer of storm clouds.

How did some random idiot bunny shake up the almighty Nick Wilde? he chuckled quietly, shaking his head. The way Nick was acting, how Judy was trying to apologize… Even though he had just barely started to get some answers about what happened, Finnick felt this story was starting to sound all too familiar. Nick, you a damn fool, you know that?

Finnick tapped a response, deciding she had suffered enough, ( Fine, we're on our way to a hotel, I'll call you when I get some privacy. This better be good. )


The two foxes collected their luggage from the ZUber car and stood in front of an older looking hotel. It was still early in the morning, but the blizzard was making things chilly. The harsh cold nipped at their noses.

"Any reason we stayin' at the same hotel we stayed at last time we were here?" Finnick asked, skeptical, "S'not like we broke."

Nick proceeded into the foyer of the hotel without a response.

They entered the moody lobby, the only other mammal they could see was the female caribou receptionist that watched them enter. It was warm inside, a fire crackled in a room meant for lounging off to the side of the lobby. The fancy carpeted floor looked nice, but aged. Nick remarked mentally at how little the place had changed since the last time he was here. The hotel had aged noticeably, but it wasn't in disrepair, possibly maintained to be in this state.

"Hey darlin'," he spoke sweetly to the caribou, "Two rooms, should be under the name Nicholas Wilde."

"Of course, let me just get you both checked iii-in," She trailed off as she tapped on the touchpad for her computer. "Your rooms are 036 and 037," She smiled as she reached down to hand the two their keycards. "Have a nice stay you two, I hope you enjoy the city of Ferocia."

Nick nodded returning her smile. "I'm sure we will."


Nick dropped his luggage near the entry way. He struggled out of his thick winter coat, unbuttoning, then unzipping, finally letting it fall lazily on the floor in a pile.

Finnick had gone off in a hurry to his own room, a smaller room meant for mammals his size, of which there weren't many in this hotel. He was oddly quiet, normally he would pester Nick about his mood, begging him to open up. It was nice to finally have Finnick back off, though he did feel guilty for keeping him out.

The room was dark, the only light filtering in from the heavy blizzard outside through a half-draped window. The dark wood-paneled walls sapped most of the ambient light.

It looked precisely like he remembered. A hotel stuck in a lost time, back when wood panelling wasn't tacky. The hotel was purposefully nostalgic, or at least Nick had assumed it was. Effort was seemingly put into making everything look like it was from the 80's. However, the high end flat-screen TV that was mounted on the wall looked grossly anachronistic.

The walls that weren't paneled in wood were plastered in faded wallpaper, showing sketches of birds and different breeds of flowers. This level of tacky would make any other mammal physically ill. But Nick felt at home here; his childhood home, his mother's home, felt similarly.

He quietly paced around the room, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes. He stood in front of the foot of the bed; this room was meant for a larger mammal, so the bed was large enough to accommodate several mammals of his size. He preferred this when he travelled. He felt safe in a larger bed, comfortable.

He fell face first into the bed, turning his head enough so his muzzle wouldn't be smothered underneath him.

He rubbed his paws around the nicely made bed. The blanket was a soft material, a tacky dated pattern lined the sheets, in line with everything else in the room. Including the veiled canopy of the bed.

He allowed himself to swim in his memories, to be pulled into the memories of lost love, Pythia, who spent time with him in this hotel years ago. The words of Mr. Big echoed, "Love does strange things to us, my child."


Three years earlier

August 13th, 20X5

Evening

Nova Ferocia, Northern Federation

"Nick, have you ever thought of… getting out of this business?" The female Arctic Fox asked, rubbing Nick's chin. "Like, leaving it all behind, starting a more… normal life?"

"Huh, of course I haven't, then I'd have to leave you behind," Nick chuckled, his arm behind his head. The two foxes were cuddled in the hotel room's large bed. The room was dark and moody, their clothes littered the floor, the scent of love filled the air. As snow fell from the darkening sky outside, a fire crackled subtly inside, accenting the conversation the lovers shared.

"I'm serious!" She thudded him lightly on the chest with an open paw, "Red, let's leave this behind, start a new life, you can be… the secret agent you've always wanted to be." She smirked, rubbing his chest with her white paw, feeling Nick's fur between her clawed fingers.

"Mmm, think the ship's sailed on that one, sweetheart," Nick grinned playfully, "'sides, I'm happy with the way things are, I'm rich, powerful, and most of all, I'm good at what I do."

The white fox looked at him, disappointed. "Nick, I don't think you're happy… I think you want to—"

Nick put a finger up to her muzzle, "Shhhh, s'long as I'm here with you, I'm happy, I couldn't ask for more, snowflake. We're good together, we're unstoppable. Why would I want that to change?"

She brought her paw up to grab his, her face held an odd expression, but Nick couldn't tell what it was. Was it… Longing? Desire? …Desperation? Nick couldn't be sure. He looked back at her, confused.

"Listen to me," she pleaded, Nick was puzzled, why would she want to leave the life she had worked so long to build? "We can stay here, in Ferocia, or go anywhere. I don't care! Let's just forget about all this. I want to be with you, just give up the shady fox life, I'll give up mine too… I…"

Nick stared at her. She was serious, she wanted to give up her career in organized crime, and she wanted him to do the same. And to what? Run away? Start again? If Nick couldn't be anything he wanted in Zootopia, what were the chances in Nova Ferocia? Questions swam in his mind. The possibilities, the why.

"C'mon, puffball, you're scaring me," he gulped. It was true, he wasn't happy with his life, his choices. But this fox girl made it all different, he was happy when he was with her, even if he had to work in shady places, deal with dangerous mammals. But this girl made every moment special.

"I'm serious, red," she cooed, rubbing his cheek against hers. "You can be better than this, I can be better. Let's show the world that foxes can be anything too. Come with me and… and I'll tell you everything. All of my secrets… and we can really be together."

Nick returned the affection, her love for him warming his entire body. He rubbed the back of her head with a paw, and rubbed his cheek into hers, taking in the scent of the velvety white fur of her ear before speaking softly into it.

"But we are together," Nick assured, not entirely sure what she meant by that, "and there's no secret you can tell me that'll change that."

She pushed him away to his dismay, he saw water in her eyes, before she turned her face away from him. She got out from under the blankets showing her bare white fur, and sat at the edge of the bed.

"Hey, hey," Nick said, concerned "What's wrong? I…" Nick knew that he was avoiding answering her, to agree to give up this life and start again. "I can't just walk away from this. I have too many commitments, too many mammals expecting me to get them information. My guys rely on me. And— OK, I'm not happy, I'll give you that. But I'm good at this, this… this is the only thing I'm good at." He scooted towards her, putting his paws on her shoulders.

"I know…" she sniffed. "Nick, I just… I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey, you white foxes, so emotional," he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning his head against hers. "What do you have to be sorry about?"

"Let me go, Nick," she said suddenly, her voice cracking.

"What?" Nick said, frozen in place, "What did I—"

"Please, just let me go, get off me," she pleaded.

Nick complied, sitting back, confused. He felt like a little kit, being scolded. She was pushing him away, and it hurt. What did he do? What did he do wrong?

"Pythia, did I do something wrong?" He asked, his voice almost breaking.

There was a moment of silence, as Pythia looked around the room, avoiding looking at Nick. Finally, she turned her face towards him.

"No, no," she finally answered, "You didn't do anything wrong, darling."

Nick noticed something odd about the way she was talking, she was strangely more… indifferent.

"Are you sure? I mean—"

"Nick, we should get some sleep, we've got that fur rug deal to oversee early morning," she interrupted dismissively. "Don't want to keep Tony waiting back home."

She laid back down on the bed, bringing herself back under the blanket. But she faced away from Nick, didn't slide herself next to him like she normally did.

Nick laid down underneath the blanket as well, there was a feeling he couldn't shake, something had changed with his lover, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. He was afraid to ask, so he pushed the feeling aside.

"There's uh… no problem?" He pursued, trying to assuage his uneasy feeling.

"Nope, let's just turn in for the night, OK?"

Nick settled in under the blanket, and waited for Pythia to scoot closer like she usually did. She didn't, so he scooted to her, wrapping his arm around her.

She shuddered at his touch. Strange, yet she didn't reject his embrace, she laid there, still. And stiff. Nick shrugged it off, and did his best to fall asleep. It's probably just the stress of the deal meeting tomorrow, he thought attempting to comfort himself, but he knew it was a lie.


Present day

June 17th, 20X8

Nick shook his head, this wasn't the same room that he and Pythia stayed in. It didn't have to be, the rooms were similar, similar enough to bring back memories of the days they spent together. He remembered the room though, almost every detail. If there was one thing Nick was known for, it was his ability to retain details, information.

Slowly pushing himself up from the bed, he walked over to a tray on the lunch table which was almost as tall as he was, accompanied by two nostalgic chairs. He hopped up onto one of the chairs and took a look at what was on the table.

The tray contained a small collection of cheap alcohol. He reached for the small container of brandy. After examining to ornate glass bottle, he popped the lid, and filled one of the glasses. He set down the bottle back onto the chrome tray, clacking. Picking up the freshly poured glass, he took in the aroma. Awful, he thought.

A knock came from the door way, at which Nick allowed a grin. About time, he mused, Thought you forgot about me.

He put the glass down on the table and walked over to the door. Sighing, he opened it to reveal his shorter friend, no longer wearing his thick coat, now wearing his usual polo shirt and jeans.

"Can't sleep, buddy?" He teased, "Need a bedtime story from daddy?"

Finnick walked past Nick into the room. "If I was taller, I'd punch you right in the face."

"Yeah, you always say that," Nick closed the door.

"One o' these days I guess you'll find out if I meant it or not," He threatened, almost seriously, to which Nick let out a short laugh.

Finnick climbed up to one of the chairs that surrounded the tall table, then sat back and noticed the glass of alcohol Nick had poured. Nick sat on the edge of the bed and started loosening his tie.

"So, what's up?" Nick inquired, after noticing Finnick wasn't talking.

There was a silence, Finnick trying to decide where to start. "I had a chat with your little bunny friend. Judy— carrots or whatever the hell you call her."

Nick froze. His tie was almost off his head, the knot still done. He recovered quickly enough and flung the tie on the floor. "Oh? How's she been?" He asked cooly. He stood up and walked to his suitcase and sat on his haunches next to it.

"She wants to talk to you," Finnick said simply, "Says she, uh… she misses you."

Nick continued with his luggage, as if he didn't hear. He was taking out some clothes, arranging them on the floor. One piece of clothing, the blazer for a suit, he laid out carefully on the floor, as to not wrinkle it. Although it was already wrinkled from being in the luggage.

"Yeah?" He said finally, sighing. "I bet she told you everything then."

"Pretty much," he admitted, "though I only have her side of the story, since some fool won't give me his."

Nick continued sorting his clothes. He had managed to store a shocking amount of clothing in the suitcase, most of them all the same exact green shirt.

"You need to talk to her, man," Finnick pressed. "At least for closure."

Nick stopped folding his clothes. "Do I now!?" he hissed. The fur on the scruff of his neck was standing on end. "I suppose I should just fly home right now and we can all hold hands and do a little dance! I've always liked musicals!"

"Nick, come on man," Finnick rolled his eyes. Nick rarely acted like this, but when he did, it was like talking to a wall. A stupid, smug, thickheaded wall.

"No," Nick snapped, continuing to do an inventory on his clothes, although more furiously than before. "This has nothing to do with you, absolutely nothing. It's none of your business!"

"Oh, yeah? Look at you, man! You see what's happening? You blind?! You acting like some damn fool that don't know how to deal with his own feelings."

Nick continued to rummage through the luggage, huffing. He wasn't even sorting anything anymore. Just uselessly stirring around contents.

"Seriously, man, that bunny, she…" Finnick paused, unsure how to get through to Nick, he was getting light-headed. The lack of sleep didn't help him prepare for this. "Didn't you tell me you told that bunny she should give up bein' a cop the first day you two met? Now that she's the one sayin' it, does that somehow make it any different?"

Still no response from Nick. Finnick was getting frustrated. He continued, "Why you gettin' all bent out of shape? We all heard what she said, she was on the damn news! Yeah, it was all air-headed conjecture. And now you actin' like your world is over."

Nick was getting upset, but he kept his nose in the suitcase, trying to keep his face away from Finnick. There were no answers in the suitcase. No responses.

Something clicked in Finnick's head, "You remember the last time that bunny pissed you off? Who the hell knows how she pissed you off the day she met you, but whatever. You go and give Flash a call, a dude you ain't worked with for a year at least, then you organize some high profile con, something we ain't done in a long time."

"Finnick…" Nick said in a warning tone.

"Then! This press conference gets you all huffed up again, now we here in Nova Ferocia, scamming some giant medical company. I think this bunny—"

Nick had had enough, he stood up and marched over to where Finnick was seated. "Finny!" He shouted, "What makes you think you know anything?! Huh?! You think I talk to you, tell you all my problems and suddenly you're just able to help me sort everything out?!" His voice was rising, his arms waving frantically in the air as he shouted. He pointed a clawed finger sternly at Finnick, inches away from his nose. Nick drew his face closer. "What about you? You think you have all the answers? You can't even sort out your own crap, Clarissa still doesn't want you. And it's all because you messed up, you're messed up and now you can't sort out anything! Who are you to tell me how to handle my life?! I—! I…"

Nick realized what he was doing. Finnick just sat there, an angered yet hurt look on his face.

"Fin… Finny, I didn't mean that," The anger drained out of Nick's face, quickly filling with regret. He had said something he would never be able to take back. Nick backed away, in horror, having lost control of himself, and now his best friend was caught in the collateral.

Finnick simply closed eyes and stood up on top of the chair.

"Finnick, I'm so sorry, I didn't…" Nick begged.

The smaller fox didn't respond, but reached out to the glass of brandy. "You weren't gonna drink this anyway." He said, before gulping down the strong drink.

Finnick hopped down from the chair and walked towards the door.

"Fin, come on, you know I didn't mean that… Can you stop, please?" Nick pleaded, knowing it wouldn't do any good.

Finnick chuffed at how similar Nick and Judy both sounded, both begging to be heard after saying something they wanted more than anything to take back. He opened the door, but turned to his friend.

"Didn't mean that, huh? You think she meant what she said?" He shook his head, looking away. "We all just a bunch of fools."

With that, he had left Nick to the quiet gloom. Nick stared at the door, then around the room, at the table, his briefcase, himself.

Tears threatened to appear again, as the loneliness settled in. He let out a quiet pitiful laugh, before whispering, "Yeah, I guess we are."