The weekend before Nick officially assumes his duties at Far-End and both main characters have left Zootopia for the day. For Nick, he is going to Far-End to see the station in a more official capacity, learn where things are, and get his bearings. He reflects on the decision and thinks back on the stories his dad used to tell him about the Wild.
In the meantime, Judy is in Bunnyburrow, seeing family and getting herself back together. She is a tough character and bounces back quickly, but having your best friend dump on you about how you dominate their life (accurate though the concerns are) is a hard truth to swallow.
Judy came bouncing into the burrow, her ears hot and erect, her chest heaving, and her limbs sore. She had decided to go for an hour-long run before everyone else got up. Now that she had returned, her first stop: the kitchen sink. She did not bother with a cup, but lapped water right out of the tap to quench her thirst. Her next stop was the bathroom, where she was able to get some hot water mixed in as part of her ablutions. She still had memories of being a little kitten and having to share a whole tub with at least half-a-dozen (and often more) young bunnies when they got dirty. The new-born infants could count on a little bit of grooming from their mother, but after weaning, just as a bunny would start wearing clothes, so would they start bathing in a tub rather than be cleaned by their mother's administrations.
Judy was rather weary after a night of poor sleep. The ride from Zootopia had passed in the blink of an eye while she thought over all the complications that she had left behind. Her frustrations, rationalizations, and her attempts to reconcile all of the swirling thoughts in her head had turned more and more nebulous (though no less cacophonous) as she left the city behind. By the time she got to Bunnyburrow she could only say 'hi' to her parents and some of her siblings, grab a quick bite of the late-evening meal, and stumble into the guest room and into bed.
That morning, Judy had decided a long run was what she needed to clear her head and get her mind to a stable place. It had done a good job so far. The shower helped too, though she had to remember to save some hot water for the others. Zootopia had spoiled her a little; she preferred taking long showers if she could.
Emerging from the tub, and with her fur now sufficiently soaked and clean, she grabbed a towel and patted much of the excess moisture away, then headed back outside, still in her towel, to let the early morning sun beat down on her fur and carry away the last of the moisture.
This was something she would never have considered as a younger doe, when she had learned about laws of public indecency. Her time at the Academy had made her a little less squeamish since she had to use shared facilities for all of her bodily functions and grooming, so despite the conversation she had had with Nick only recently, having parts of her body at risk of being seen by others was not so terrifying for her these days. She was on her family's property anyway - who would be offended or make any sort of a big deal over it? Judy also had to admit to feeling a little pride in her good appearance and healthy physique. The bucks in Bunnyburrow had not shown her much attention growing up because she was so career-driven and serious, but when they saw her now - healthy and strong with nice feminine curves, and no mates - she had been witness to some of those bucks giving her very forward doe-calls.
As the rays warmed her, Judy raised her feet, stretched her legs, and allowed her thoughts to wander. She felt at peace for the most part, despite the upending of her normal work- and social-life in the last week.
Judy was still upset with Nick for leaving, but at least she had a new partner to work with in Travis, so she was not expecting to be sent back to meter-maid duty. As to her friendship with Nick, that was a little more complicated. Part of the issue to deal with, she decided, was whether or not she had been able to see things from Nick's perspective.
She had devoted a lot of time to think over what had happened in the department when she brought up the issue of gender discrimination all of those months ago. It was true that since that time Nick did not seem to be receiving a particularly warm welcome among their colleagues, and if she compared his acceptance with what she had been experiencing at a similar stage in her career, she admitted that the majority of their coworkers had nowhere near the same regard for him as they had had for her.
There was also the fact that Nick was the kind of animal who would keep things bundled up and avoid voluntarily sharing his problems until they got really out of hand. He was reluctant to share such matters even with her. She had known this to be true from their earliest encounters, so his reticence about sharing his difficulties was not surprising, and she probably should have kept a closer watch on his situation. She had felt so elated since those shake-ups, and thought that she and Nick were so in-sync as they made such big and important changes together, that she had forgotten the important fact that her partner often felt very alone; he cracked jokes, he grinned in self-assurance about his clever turns-of-phrase or fast-thinking, but it was very rare that he ever truly smiled.
There were times she began to think that he practically encouraged his own isolation. While she rebelled against society and worked to find her place in it, he put on a mask, adopted the stereotypes for which he was expected to accommodate, and kept his true self hidden and confined while all those around him mistook the situation as them actually knowing him. He had an amazing skill in being able to make it look like all was okay even as these pressures plagued him. He looked so composed and confident even when things were bad for him - even she could be sold on his facade.
She thought of Geraldine, the friend for whom she had worked hard to provide an opportunity to pursue the work she wanted. Even though Judy always thought Geraldine just wanted to be a beat cop in Downtown like everyone else at Precinct One, she never really took the time to appreciate the fact that her giraffe friend had wanted, for good reason, to do her work somewhere that would better accommodate her uniqueness. Judy had come to see the parallels between Geraldine and Nick, and now more than ever she understood why Nick felt so drawn to Far-End. The officers at that site did not seem to judge by species, so they did not seem unwelcoming of him as a fox. If there was an opportunity for him to do some case-work and learn to be a detective, maybe it made sense for him to work in a smaller pond where he was the biggest fish (or perhaps even the only fish). Plus, if he was so driven to do it, then she should encourage him one-hundred percent.
That only left the blow-up that had occurred at Nick's apartment on Tuesday for her to deal with. Though the short note he had given her at least made her feel a bit better, having her feelings so severely hurt was something Judy felt she still had to work through. It reminded her of their first case, when she had let slip insensitive comments while talking to the press that had cut Nick to the quick, and he had stomped away from her with a cold, dismissive air. She had worked hard to regain his trust, to get him to come back to her and do what needed to be done. In the end, she had even gotten him to be her partner on the force like she had wanted.
"But I never asked what he wanted," she suddenly said to herself, echoing what Geraldine had made her think about. "And if he said anything it didn't seem to make a difference in my mind. I just pushed him to be like me; ignored all the signs, all the reasons, all the evidence that it wasn't supposed to be that way. And now it's come to this."
"Judy who are you talking to?" Came a voice behind her.
Judy hopped into the air at the sound and spun around. Her younger sister Janey had come out of the burrow and was quietly approaching her.
"Oh Janey, hi. I was just talking to myself."
"About something that happened in Zootopia? You came in last night like you had just gotten away from something - which, come to think about it, is not really your style."
Judy sighed. "I just... there's a big mess there and I felt I needed to get away from it and clear my head before I can approach it again."
"But won't it just be waiting for you when you get back? Why didn't you deal with it there?"
"Because the issue isn't in Zootopia it's in Far-End."
"Okay, so why didn't you go to Far-End?"
"Because I... look Janey it's complicated."
"And it's bumming you out and that's going to get Mom and Dad on your case, so you might as well tell me what it is so someone can help you through it - or at least so I can run interference with the folks."
Judy sighed again. Janey had always worked hard to wheedle the truth out of others if she sensed secrets. Though the point about Mom and Dad was true, it was was clearly just as much an attempt to force Judy to open up and share what was bothering her. Judy decided to at least share the general aspects of the problem without explicitly naming individuals. Maybe the younger Hopps rabbit would actually come through and help Judy in her situation - or at least voicing her problems out-loud might help Judy reach her own conclusions.
"One of my closest friends got a new job without telling me, and now that friend is leaving and I won't see them for a long time."
Janey nodded slowly. "Okay, that's too bad you won't get to see them for a while, but that sounds like good news for them."
"It is. And I understand all of the logical reasons why they should go, and I should be happy for them, but I can't get over the fact that they kept it secret from me. Now I feel foolish and I'm missing the friend who would make me feel better."
"This is about Nick, isn't it?"
Judy's eyes went wide. "It... um..." when she failed to respond immediately, Janey cocked eyebrow that dared Judy to lie. Judy gave up quickly and admitted the truth. "Yeah it is. How did you know?"
"That last morning you were both here I talked to him about Far-End and he said that he spoke to the rangers for a while. He mentioned that there was supposed to be a short-term ZPD officer job there that he thought sounded interesting."
"He told you he wanted that job?"
"No, I was asking about what he had been talking to them about. I heard about that officer position among a whole lot of things he discussed with them... besides, what other animal do we know who could make you feel so upset by their absence? It would have to be your best friend."
"Yeah..." Apparently Nick's plan to apply for the Liaison-Officer had not crystallized at the time of their last visit when he had first heard of it. Maybe it really had just fallen together like Geraldine and Nick both maintained it had.
"Come on," Janey interrupted Judy's thoughts. "Why don't you come inside and get dressed. I mean we all envy your athletic figure, but at some point you're gonna need to put some clothes on."
Judy relented and went in to get her clothes. Once she was decked out in her standard plaid shirt and jeans, Judy came outside with Janey. At Judy's insistence, and Janey's acceptance, they went to the garden to pick some berries to put in the morning salads and mash. It would give them time to talk as they did something essential, and it provided privacy since most of the kittens were still in the burrow.
"So how did this all get started?" Janey asked.
"Nick wants to be a detective."
"Well that makes sense. I mean, he's clever and he prefers using his head to using his paws or his claws. I think he'd make a good detective."
"A part of me, I think, always knew he didn't like being on the beat like me and the other officers. Nick really seemed to hate it when we had to go out looking for suspicious characters. And I remember, I always felt suspicious about kits who came walking through nice neighborhoods but dressed like they were from rougher parts of town: just like they taught us at the Academy. But Nick... he always looked at those kits briefly and then directed his eyes to other animals who - if you knew what you were looking for - actually were more suspicious: the ones we really should have been focusing on. He always knew something about animals that we passed and it didn't matter if they were well-dressed or looked important or what, he knew all of the animals that had their paws in dirty business."
"Well he knows things about the city that you don't. It's not fair to compare your abilities with his since he has so much background knowledge from a whole lifetime in Zootopia."
"I know, but... I always thought that that was why we needed him out on the beat so badly; to spot the things I couldn't, that the other officers couldn't. But it never really seemed to work. We never really took his side of it seriously, and it was only later that we realized the points he made were so important. We missed all of the really big fish by looking for small fry."
Judy then thought back to the argument in Nick's apartment.
"In fact, he told me that he never wanted to be out there because he thought it was such an unfair and biased way of dealing with justice. I could never get him to see my side of it and he could never get me to see his. I just thought he needed to time in order to grow into this kind of work, and I just pushed and pushed so he would keep at it."
"And you didn't ask him what he wanted, huh?" Janey asked.
Judy paused as she was picking a berry and made an audible sigh. "No I didn't. How did you guess?"
"Because Judy you're you. You see talent for something in an animal, you see a place it could be put to use, you assume that the animal will just jump at the chance to help and do things just as you imagine. And you work hard for them to fill that niché, but you don't usually ask them what they want."
Judy stopped her berry-picking to reflect on this. She knew she was a pusher, and it had served her well in the past. It got her to stand up to bullies as a kitten, it got her to go the Academy and pass with flying colors despite how everyone told her there was no place for her in the ZPD. It had gotten her the Otterton case, and it had gotten Nick to work for her. Pushing was her modus operandi, and she always felt it was the way to do it because it always seemed to get results. She was small, and she could be ignored, but she could push and push. Animals could only stand so much of her until they usually gave way and did as she said. It just seemed so wrong for it to not work like it so often had... and the suggestion to not push... it sounded like crazy-talk to her.
...but then the evidence was there and she could not deny what Janey had said.
"No, I guess I don't ask."
"Don't get me wrong Judy I admire it. And it's wonderful to see how much you care. And Nick seems like the kind of animal that needs a friend like that: someone to give him the push he needs, and something to believe in. Let's face it, you've both been orbiting one another so closely since you started working in Zootopia, now you're very attached."
"Janey, we're not like that. Gosh, Geraldine, now you, why does everyone seem to think we're like that? We're friends."
"I didn't mean romantically. I meant that you feel a great sense of responsibility when it comes to Nick. You helped turn his life around and you made it possible for him to do things I doubt he ever dreamed of. And he's been a big part of your life in turn. You guys are like each other's family in Zootopia. But friendship and family take different kinds of work - my friends at school definitely take more work to get along with than you or the rest of my family."
"Yes I get that Janey, but the point is my friend just made a major life choice without letting me know and now he's just leaving and I'm supposed to be okay with it."
"Yeah that's true and it wasn't cool of him. But you made a big life choice by leaving here... twice in fact... and we all learned to be okay with it."
"I was never dishonest about what I intended to do with my life."
"No, but seeing our 'Jude-bug' leave home," Janey borrowed their father's pet-name, "really upset Mom and Dad. They mostly let it go because they saw how happy you are being a cop in Zootopia. And if you were doing anything other than what you wanted, if they had insisted that you stay closer to home, or never leave, maybe it would make them a little happier, but you would have been miserable. It would kill the whole point."
"Janey you have a remarkable amount of insight for one so young."
"I don't intend to stay in Bunnyburrow my whole life either, Judy. You needed so much reasoning to convince Mom and Dad to be okay with you going, I know I'm going to need to have all the reasons in place for why I need to follow my own dreams. You're the model I'm basing it off of - by the way, that means your my exhibit A so 'keep yourself together', or Mom and Dad are gonna use your experiences against me."
Judy grimaced and turned to look at Janey. "So on the matter of my issues, what you're saying is..."
"Sounds like Nick wants to take this job and be a detective some day. You could hold onto him with both paws and never let go, but I don't think he would ever really be happy with that. And seeing him being less than what he can be, wouldn't that make you sad too?"
Judy was silent, but her acceptance of what Janey said was clear. They spent the rest of their time in the garden on other matters - first silence, then small talk of no real consequence. That was not so much Judy's forte, but it was nice to just have her precocious and insightful little sister nearby.
At close to dawn, Nick boarded a train heading to Far-End, planning to see the station through the eyes of a visitor one last time before he took the job. With him he took a small duffel bag that contained his uniform, some water bottles, a rain poncho, his laptop, and several pads of paper. He arrived in Far-End a couple of hours later and made his way to the Glade Station. Thankfully, despite the forecast that convinced him to bring the rain poncho, the cloudy skies did not release any rain, so the gravel path did not include any mud puddles, and Nick did not arrive at the station soaked and dirty.
Nick came in through the main doors of the station and let them close behind him.
"Ah, our new Zootopian Liaison has arrived." Marten announced from the front desk. Grizz looked up from his one of the other desks and gave a smile and nod before looking back down at his work.
"I think officially I don't have that job until Monday." Nick pointed out.
"You're here, you're from Zootopia, and Tuske is gone - you're the Liaison. Learn to love it." Grizz called.
"Why don't you set your gear over at your desk and get situated." Marten suggested, pointing towards a separate office.
"I get my own office?"
"Well we hope that you'll actually leave the door open," Marten said as he aimed a paw and one digit over his shoulder toward an office in the back. "That way we can come in and talk to you if we have work for you to be involved in."
"Certainly hope to see you on this side of that door now and then." Grizz added.
"I intend to be... now and then..." Nick remarked as he walked towards the office with the door marked Liaison. He opened the door and found it fairly sparse. Apparently anything having to do with Tuske did not seem to have been retained. There was a computer, some trays on the desk for paperwork, several shelves where boxes of files could be stored, one swivel chair at the desk that was against the wall beside to the door frame, and a couple of fixed-frame chairs along the far wall that Nick guessed would be sufficient to seat Bambini and Marten, but were probably a little small for Grizz. He was already in love with it.
"Well Dad, I made it to The Wild, and got an office just after I got in the door." Nick said to the air. He set his pack inside the office and came out again into the main room. Marten spotted him and called him over to the door.
"Hey Nick, I'm going to go on the local survey of the camp sites and parking spots - see if anyone left anything, stayed after hours and what-not. Wanna come?"
"Sure." Nick responded, and followed Marten out the door.
Nick kept just to the side and behind of Marten. Marten was scarcely taller than Judy, and did not stand quite as tall and confidently as she did, but Nick could sense cool, collected and mature sense in the smaller, more senior officer. They made their way out the door when Nick realized he had left his rain poncho. He thought of going back for it but then realized he would have other days like this, so he better get used to the likelihood of going out and getting wet.
Besides, I may need an emergency poncho one day.
As Nick and Marten went down one of the trails, a marmot in a ranger-type uniform came by, leading a group of voles, mice and rats.
"One of the rangers," Marten whispered over his shoulder to Nick. "A colleague of mine from before my policing days. Better give him the road, we'll cut through the brush."
"Now everyone, it was in places like the Wild where animals used to run freely, exposed to the elements and at the mercy of primal instincts. On days like this, some animals chose to wander through the underbrush and let the smell of rotting logs and other forest smells block their scent. Everyone smell the air."
Nick smiled and shook his head at the performance and followed Marten into the scrub.
"Ah, and our good resident officers are demonstrating something quite important," the guide said as they walked by. "It is believed that predators could hide their own scent from smaller prey animals by smearing their coats with the dew on plants and the natural forest smell would hide their own natural odors. Don't worry, I know Marten and I am sure the new officer is not a danger to anyone."
Nick felt incensed by the comment, but kept it to himself.
"I hear it too." Marten said. "Ignore him. Most of the rangers are better mannered than him, he just tries to keep the crowd awake and paying attention."
Nick chose not to comment.
Marten took Nick through several of the campgrounds Nick had passed through on his last trip here and several others. In several instances, Marten stopped by a campsite and spoke to the campers to check if they were packing up or paying for an extension to their stay. Many of the inhabitants made some excuse affecting to one of the two courses of action, and Marten and Nick went on their way. Nick was going to ask Marten if he was going to just take their comments at face-value, Marten waved off the concerns and continued on.
After nearly an hour of this, Nick wanted to press Marten for how he was going to attend to those individuals. Marten only replied:
"Take a note."
Nick reflexively reached for the pad of paper he had stuck in his side pocket.
The puma did not seem particularly friendly, though it seemed more a matter of annoyance at being interrupted than in any form of open hostility.
"Nick could you remind me who has reserved this site?
Nick pulled out the sheet that Marten had given him as they walked through the sites. He scanned the lists and found the lot they were in and a name and information associated with it.
"I'm... not seeing a name for today, which I believe means no reservation and no payment."
"Hmm," Marten mused. "And who had this site yesterday?"
"Name for this lot was... Mr. Arthur Felidopholos, one camper, one tent, two cubs."
"Hmm," Marten repeated. "Do the vehicle and occupants match the descriptions you see written there?"
"Yes they do." Nick replied, having adopted the matter of fact, self-assured tone of voice that Marten was using.
"Hmm, now Mr. Felidopholos, my partner and I are just need to make sure you get your ticket to keep your reservation for the site. As you know, the per-day cost for camping in this lot is eight dollars, and for those wishing to stay additional nights - as I gather you do - need to make their purchases by 1100 hours. It is now just past that time and I noticed you did not have the new ticket attached to the post at the entrance to your lot. So, I wanted to offer you the chance to purchase it from the officer, we will record you as staying another day, and we can save you the trip over to the Glade Station."
Mr. Felidopholos clearly was not pleased about being pressured to pay for his site so soon, but he grudgingly went to his jacket and pulled out his wallet and presented Martin with a tenner, for which Martin gave the big cat his change.
"Thank you sir. Nick, would you please mark Mr. Felidopholos as continuing on at this site, and sir," Marten said, looking back at the larger predator, "I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here. I will place a new tag on the post at the entrance to your site and all should be put to rights. Good day, and have a good day cubs." Marten called to the little cubs who were gleefully stirring the wood in the campfire. They waved their paws and Mr. Felidopholos gave both Martin and Nick a nod as he turned back to spend time with his cubs.
"Wow, never would have pictured you putting the squeeze on anyone." Nick remarked to Marten once they were a way from the Felidopholos campsite.
"I believe it was you who had all of the information on the fellow," Marten responded. "I just reminded him of the rules and had you confirm that he, and he specifically, had yet to follow them to the letter."
"Still, pretty cool how you did that."
"Something I learned early on in this job. The forests are large enough and we are few enough that we cannot possibly be aware of all that happens. Our best bet is to make use of the systems that track those going in and out, and show up just often enough that we can keep them aware of what they owe for use of the facilities. I try my best to remind them that the facilities are for their uses and the use of all animals in perpetuity. It seems to help when they know that their actions will carry on for a while."
"I take it our size probably requires us to take measures Grizz may not." Nick offered.
"Sometimes, but then that's what we have our rules for. Could deal with a giant bull elephant that could squish me with one foot and never notice, but I've found even the biggest and most contentious animals will bend to the rule of law... still, it helps to have witnesses."
"So no doing this sort of thing on one's own, then." Nick finished.
"Avoid doing it alone, but get it done one way or another." Martin amended.
Some of the other exchanges with slow-to-respond park visitors were more of the same. While not as varied as an average day of work in Zootopia, Nick found it nice doing this work. His partner taught him, included him, and asked only for attention to detail, which Nick had plenty of.
When Nick and Martin returned to the office a light rain had begun to fall. Fortunately they got in just as the first big drops started to patter on his ears. The tour that Nick had encountered earlier was now in the main room of the station and the tour guide was still going. Right now the tour guide was getting into topics about the first animals that built huts and kept more permanent villages that were not burrows. Nick remembered hearing about this part of animal history; or lore more appropriately since writing was only a few thousand years old, and by the time writing came about, all animals were sharing the same script, so the formation of trust between one another, and peace between predators and prey was already established.
"No one knows how it all began, but a number of theories offer us insight..." the tour-guide continued. Nick remembered hearing the same things in school. No one knew. Then again there seemed little incentive for anyone to actually get to the truth - predators did not need to remind other animals that they had once had to eat them to survive, and many prey did not like to look at a time when their own kind were persecuted and hunted.
"Let's get to the squad car," Martin said, tearing Nick away from the tour guide. "Got some more patrol in town to take care of."
Nick snatched the poncho from his office and followed Martin out the side door to find only two cars in the lot; one large enough for Grizz, one just large enough to accommodate Nick in addition to Martin. Not much in between, but then there were not too many animals in between. Until Nick remembered.
"Hey, which car would Bambini take?" Nick asked as he put on his seat belt.
"The one he's driving now." Marten replied. "One car can't patrol all of the streets in town in one morning. One animal keeps shop, one or two check the camp grounds, one patrols the first half of town and then the first animals spell them."
"Sounds like one animal calling in sick is going to throw this all into confusion."
"How do you think Bambini got his job? Grizz was sick that day and someone needed to watch the front." Marten put the car in gear and pulled out of the lot.
"What about the night shift?"
"We have a few guys in that position. Arthur Link, he's a bobcat. Chuck Bowers, he's a beaver... mostly guys who are naturally inclined to low light conditions. Grizz actually started with those hours, but having a giant bear walking through the woods at night started scaring some of the guests, and Grizz wanted to spend more time seeing the forest during the day."
"What about the Liaison? Do they need to stay up with the night shift?"
"The Liaison just has to do the job, and the job just needs to get done. Hours start to fall away at this job, Nick. We do what has to be done and we stay for as long as it takes. Sometimes it ends on-time, sometimes it goes overtime, but we don't have the money to pay for overtime so I suggest you not ask for it. That's just kinda how it is."
Nick nodded and settled back as Martin continued driving.
The patrol in the nearby town was fairly short. Officially the incorporated community was called Far-End Village, but Nick learned from Martin that every resident called themselves a 'Wild-tonian'. The colloquial name of the nearby forests held greater sway than anything a batch of official documents from the megapolis of Zootopia might tell them. This was The Wild.
Nick continued working with Martin, Grizz, and later Bambini for the rest of the day. He learned where all of the documents were kept, where he could get a meal from the vending trucks that came near the station without trespassing on park property, and was made aware that he would need to bring snacks since it was unlikely that they could get proper meals most days. He learned just enough about the computers to know how not to delete important documents, though not quite enough that he felt more comfortable with their system than he did with the ZPD network in Precinct One.
As the sun sunk from the sky and the shadows lengthened, Nick let them now he had to get going so he could get his belongings from his apartment back in Zootopia and be back to wrap up his orientation the following afternoon.
"We didn't scare you away already did we?" Grizz asked.
"Not as yet." Nick teased back and waved goodbye as he made his way back to town. None of the officers offered him a ride, but seeing the backlog of paperwork on nearly every desk, Nick had a feeling that there was a lot of work still to do before any of them were going home.
Looks like I'll really be earning my keep, Dad. Nick thought to himself as he looked back at the station and at the vista of woods along his path to town and the train back to Zootopia.
Judy spent the rest of her day with her parents and a large group of her nieces and nephews. While many of the rabbits from her generation had gone off and married; making burrows either adjacent to the burrow and farmland of her parents, or a little further away, many of them still sent their kittens to their grandparents. Judy could remember being a young kit and many of her siblings going to the burrows of both sets of grandparents, but she had grown to feel unwelcome among her paternal grandparents. They had a very traditional sense of what a rabbit, and in particular a female rabbit, was expected to be and do. Her maternal grandparents she remembered had been more supportive of her eccentric desires to be in law enforcement. Neither of them had left the tri-county area in their lives, but they encouraged Judy in all that she dreamed of doing. Watching her Mom tend to her nieces and nephews she could see much of the same dreamer-encouragement that Judy remembered getting from her mother's own parents. It was encouraging to see that that openness to new ideas and unconventional behavior had another home now that her own grandparents did not have the time of strength to really tend to so many grandkits.
Judy had arrived at the train station in the early evening after a last meal with her parents and a small group of siblings and younger bunnies. 'Small' by rabbit standards meant roughly a score of rabbits instead of the near hundreds it could have been. She was on the platform with her father and mother and her closest siblings saying her last goodbyes. Judy could remember a time when this sort of event had occasioned so many tears and sadness at her departure. Now it was much more routine and everyone seemed more secure in the knowledge that she went where she was supposed to be and would find her way back when time granted.
"Jude-bug are you sure you can't stay another night?" The Hopps patriarch asked of his daughter.
"The trains won't get her back in time for work tomorrow, Stu." The matriarch reminded him. "Remember her schedule?"
"I'm sorry it was a short trip you guys. I'll do my best to find some time to come see everyone again soon." Judy promised.
She gave them both her customary double hug and cheek peck and then grabbed her pack and headed for the doors to the train. She had already given most everyone else a hug and a peck on the cheek goodbye. She was ready to go.
As she lifted her foot to step into the train, one last voice rose from the small group of rabbits.
"Judy, are you ready to solve what you need to?"
Judy looked back and saw Janey standing apart from the rest of the Hopps clan. She was closest to Judy now and could get in these last few words without any of the rest of the family listening. Judy gave a sad smile.
"I think so. Thanks Janey. I'll call you soon."
Janey would not take such a dismissal and jumped as Judy started to turn. She held her sister closely in one final embrace, that Judy returned with an awkward reach and back-pat, which was all she could manage in her current position. Janey withdrew to the rest of the family and Judy got on board the train just as the doors closed. She turned and waved, but only her parents and Janey were still looking and waving. Most of the rest of the Hopps rabbits had started to head to the exit of the platform.
I guess this has gotten fairly routine. Judy thought to herself, but she kept waiving to the remaining rabbits until the train left the station and passed from view.
For the few hours that she was on the train, Judy just sat and left her mind roll as she listened to Gazelle's newest album. I need to find some other artists to listen to, Judy thought to herself. It was true her music choices were fairly restricted, but then she knew what she liked. For a little while she just left the album on shuffle and let the music play itself and dull out the sounds of the world.
Judy was close to dozing off when the lights from the sky began to fade and the sharp lights characteristic of Zootopia suddenly appeared through the windows of the train car. Judy looked out the window and sighed. She had lived in the city two years now and though some parts had grown commonplace, she still managed to find enchantment in what she could see all around her. The colors of the sunset now bathed her city in a golden, fiery glow that made it look almost as if on fire. Many buildings had begun to turn on their exterior lights, especially on their roofs, but many were still only marginally lit by late-night office workers, and reflected the red light of the evening sun in beautiful flashes from their windows. It caused a staccato sequence of flashes in the train as they rounded the city, and Judy smiled widely to see it all again.
On the platform the foot traffic was still considerable, but less intense on a Saturday night than most other nights of the week - most animals were already in the city or left and were enjoying themselves in either place. Judy smiled and hurried to the escalator and up to the street level. She knew Ben would be on the evening patrol and decided to look for him. He was over in the squad car making his rounds. Judy hurried his direction and waved. The cruiser slowed and the window came down to reveal Ben.
"Hi Judy. Back already?"
"Yeah, I didn't find anyone to take my shift tomorrow."
"I'm sorry. I would've, but I'm already scheduled to work that day too. So how was your trip?"
"It was good. Saw my sister and talked to her for a while," she started look a little down, but then recovered. "My parents are the same as ever - 'am I thinking I might move?' that sort of thing. I think seeing me will tie them over for at least a week before they start calling and asking me to come home again."
"I wish I wasn't on the clock now, we could hang out."
"That would be nice. Well, I shouldn't hold you up. I'll see you at the Precinct tomorrow. Goodnight Ben."
Before Ben could say anything more, Judy had patted the door and waved goodbye as she headed for one of the buses further up the sidewalk. A few minutes later, Judy had reached her building. As she alighted from the bus and looked up at the dingy exterior she found her thoughts slipping back to earlier when she had mentioned talking with Janey.
Judy realized that she needed to do something about the Nick situation. She got out her phone and saw that it was close to the time when he would be getting back to the city. She raced inside and got herself into her room before the noise and the shouting from Bucky and Pronk could derail her - and before her footfalls could alert them to her presence. Once inside, she put on her headphones, adjusted the small microphone in the cord so it was near her mouth, and selected one of the most frequently used numbers in her call history.
She leaned back in her chair as it rang.
As the train from Far-End pulled into the station, Nick stood at the doors with his pack set firmly on his shoulders. The number of passengers coming from Far End at this time of night was low, so the doorway was not crowded. When at last the train stopped and the doors open, Nick was able to walk out relatively slowly as he found his way across the platform and towards the stairs. For some reason he had always hated escalators - probably because with his bushy tail he had no faith in any piece of ground that could grip his fur and pull under. He had been warned by his mother, while a kit, about foxes that got caught in escalators and were pulled under and never seen again. Nick had long-since learned that such stories were ridiculous, but they left an indelible mark on his feelings towards escalator. If he was getting to another level, he would take an elevator or find the stairs and hike it himself.
The stairs were closer, so he chose to walk up. As he went, a buzz came from his pocket. Nick fished his cell phone out of his pocket and took a few moments to collect himself when he saw the name on the caller ID. He breathed deeply, waited until the third ring, and then accepted the call and put the phone to his ear.
"Hi." He said simply, and with a reasonably friendly tone.
"Hi." Judy responded, in a tone that said she felt tense but wanted to keep things calm.
Not wanting to leave any silence and allow her to grow more tense, Nick responded almost immediately. "How-how are you? How was your Saturday."
"It was good. I just got back to my apartment. I went to see my parents all day."
"Oh that-that sounds nice. Are they okay? Any new Hopps bunnies around? There seemed to a new one every time I visited with you." He gritted his teeth, feeling foolish for mentioning those times.
She smiled despite herself. "Yeah my folks are fine, and now that you mention it there was a new arrival during the last week. My newest niece born to my sister Mary. How was your almost-first day?"
"Hmm," he smiled over the phone, "it went well. I was at Glade Station, saw my new desk and got acquainted with the computer system and the case-file system... or rather the lack of one. I went out the door with Marten and was on patrol immediately before I could get any time to become familiar with anything else. A-and I saw the bunk house where I'm going to be sleeping until I get a real place in town. Kinda wishing I had got that squared away a bit earlier - but then the interview was only the other week and the heads-up hire came on Monday."
"Yeah I... maybe I could have helped you find a place." Realizing that her comment might have come off a bit rude Judy immediately offered to be more helpful. "I could still look online and see if I see anything if that would help."
Nick was surprised, but took the offer. "That-that would be nice, thanks."
"Okay well I need to get some sleep. I'm on patrol tomorrow with Travis."
"Yeah... yeah of course. I-um, I need to finish packing. I just brought a day-pack today, so I need to get all of my clothes and toiletries ready for tomorrow."
"When do you think you'll be back in town again?" Nick thought for certain her voice sounded a little hopeful.
"I'm not sure. From what Tuske told me he sort of had to lie, steal and cheat to get time away... but then those are things I always had a knack for so... I expect I'll be back soon." Judy smiled a little to hear him joke, even if it was somewhat at his own expense.
Nick concluded with "I promise you'll be the first to know when I find time to come back."
She nodded. Even if he could not see her, she still nodded. "Good. I don't wanna lose touch. I hope it works out. And... if you ever need anything you can always call."
"Yeah I hope it works too. I'm sure you'll do well with Travis. Just tell him I said to listen to his partner. He won't find a better one."
She absorbed that for a few seconds before speaking again. "Okay. Well I... I'll miss you Nick. Good luck."
"Yeah... yeah take care Judy I... I'll see you."
With that, Nick hung up the phone. At once he felt relieved to have ended the tension, but on the other paw he was sad to have left things as he had. He had been hoping to resolve a few things over the phone, but little seemed to have changed.
I guess talking is good enough for now. He thought to himself. At least we seem willing to try.
On her end, Judy felt relieved too. She had built up in her mind a number of scenarios where she spoke to Nick, tensions would be high and tempers would flare. The actual result had been much calmer and she had come away from the exchange feeling at least a little better about where she and Nick were. There was tension still, and a great deal left to say. Yet... they both seemed willing to talk, and wanted to keep the friendship alive. If nothing else, she could say that they both cared enough to try, and that was something.
"Hey Nick. Nick over here." Came the voice of Ben Clawhauser in a nearby police cruiser. As he crossed the open walkway, Nick turned to see the upbeat beat cop waving from the driver's seat of his cruiser. Nick redirected his steps to aim towards the cruiser and waived at his old short-term partner.
"Ben, what are you doing here?"
"I was on the later shift. Just about to head in. So, you psyched about Monday?"
Nick nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am. I really am. I just came from the station and the unit out there. Not a bad day."
"Cool, hey I could give you a lift if you'd like."
Nick thought for a moment and then nodded. "Sure, if you don't mind heading towards my neighborhood."
Ben shrugged and opened the passenger door. Nick circled around the front, hopped in, and adjusted the seat so that he could just see over the dashboard.
"I saw Judy come in a little while ago. She was out at Bunnyburrow with her parents the whole weekend, that was why didn't make it to the party last night. You seemed a bit bummed about that. I noticed you kept looking for her."
Seeing no good way to lie about the situation, Nick decided not to answer and kept his maw shut.
"Odd that she would schedule a trip with only one day, and on the night we were all saying goodbye to you no less."
Nick shook his head. "Well she probably wanted to see her folks. Once in a while you just gotta do that."
"You know, I haven't said anything, but when I really think about it, you guys have been a bit distant since Monday night. Is something going on?"
Nick exhaled. Now he was on the spot... and since he was leaving... "Yeah Ben, Judy and I aren't in a good place at the moment. A lot of pent up problems that kind of all came out at once."
Ben tentatively offered a theory. "Is it because of Travis being her partner and you going away? Friendship strain?"
Against his typical judgment, Nick decided to speak the truth. "I didn't tell her about the Liaison job, not even when I was applying for it. Then I took it and... well suffice it to say that not telling her was a poor method of handling it."
"Wait, you didn't tell her?"
"Ben, the road!" Nick exclaimed just before Ben ran the cruiser through a red light. The cheetah officer slammed on the breaks and both of them lurched forward in their seats as the squad car skidded to a halt.
"Sorry, sorry... you okay?" Ben checked and Nick nodded. "Good, good, sorry. But what's this about you not telling Judy? She's your partner. More than that, she your best friend! Why wouldn't you tell her about this stuff?"
"Ben I feel bad enough as it is, you don't have to make me feel worse. I called her just before you offered me the ride, I've apologized to her several times, I even went to her place the night of the send-off party and she wouldn't answer her door. I'm not sure what else I can do now. She and I can at least still talk, I guess that's all I can hope for."
"But... I mean this is 'Nick and Judy'. You guys are the closest friends I've seen in the Precinct in probably all of my time there."
"I guess maybe we're just not as close as you thought."
"The hell you aren't!" Ben snapped. Nick was actually rather shocked to hear his big-softy of a friend get so angry. "You guys are that close. I know it, she knows it, and you know it too!"
Nick took a deep breath and blinked his eyes in a look of shame.
"Yeah Ben, we are close. And yeah, I screwed things up and that's on me. But what can I do now if I'm leaving and we can barely get by with talking to one another? I'm out of time, and I don't know what I can do to convince her to see me. I told you I already went to her place, knocked on her door and even gave my apologies to the door and left a note. Then I called her... I'm not sure what else to do."
"Well..." For another few moments, as they neared Nick's apartment, Ben was silently mouthing something to himself, working out a plan and trying to see that it all matched up. He then sat upright and looked at Nick's direction as he pulled up in front of the apartment building.
"When 's your train leave?"
"I was going to take the 830, why?"
"I can work with that. Just stay on the platform for as long as possible. I'll take care of the rest."
"Ben it would probably help if you just tell me what you're..."
"Have a good trip Nick. I'll see you when you come to visit. We'll be in touch." With that, Ben opened the passenger side door and all but shoved Nick out. He gave him a wave, a good luck, and took off driving up the street before turning around and heading back towards the Precinct. Nick could only stare in mild bewilderment at his sudden egress from the cruiser.
From the beginning I wanted this story to deal with personal growth and opportunities for improvement, but also friendship, and about the kinds of trials that are intrinsic to having someone like Judy Hopps as your best friend. She will love you and fight for you. She will be your champion and she will never quit - but if her goals and plans for you are not aligned with what you had planned for yourself, then redirecting her course to match yours is a challenge... and if you are a closed-off individual like Nick Wilde - who lives life by never letting others see that they get to you - the challenge of getting your friend to see things from your perspective is even greater.
The more you think about it, even though Nick worked as a con artist and interfaced with other animals all of the time, his closed-off nature smacks heavily of him being an introvert (loner, brooding, thinking). By contrast Judy, though very self-motivated and somewhat solitary, is at heart probably more of an extrovert (exuberant, sociable and engaging). Getting an extrovert to appreciate the perspective of an introvert is a constant struggle.
All of this leads to a lot of repressed feelings and rising tensions, and if these issues are not addressed, they result in an explosion that can hurt everyone (see the previous two chapters).
In all of my stories, understand that I do not create problems for the sake of just writing about problems for everyone to watch and say 'oh, so sad' and 'what a shame, glad that isn't me' - this is not schadenfreude. I try to identify where there could be issues for those who choose to take on the more difficult aspects of society, as these characters do. I try to find a way for individuals like Judy, Nick and the rest of the cast to respond to these challenges, being true to how I first they were first described, and I try to have them work towards a solution. For me as a writer, a story told only for the sake of discussing problems and never dealing with solutions misses the point and is a waste of time for the writer and the reader.
Up to this point, both sides of the problem (being our two main characters) have been coming to their own separate realizations: Nick realizing just how much Judy means to him despite his dislike of how she dominates his life, and Judy realizing that she needs to respect Nick's choices, even if it means letting Nick put some physical distance between them for a time.
In the next (and final) chapter of this story, a new phase begins for both of them.
Thank you for reading.