A/N: Greetings everyone, sorry for the long empty stretch, lot's of work to be done and I'm unfortunately not good enough to pay the bills with just writing. I may take a long time between updates, but, this story will never die, that is a promise!
Chief Bogo groaned loudly as he shuffled through the haphazard stack of vanilla folders and scattered files that sat on his cluttered desk. In front of him sat his best two Officers, both of which looked rather nervous at the large Buffalo's silence. Nick looked the worse of the two, his green eyes staring blankly at the wall, the day's events finally catching up to him.
"Feeling alright Wilde?" Bogo questioned, his usually stern tone replaced with a softer, more personal voice. Nick's eyes snapped forward and he shook his head breaking him from his silent stupor.
"Peachy sir, never better," the Fox murmured, his voice cracking ever so slightly causing Bogo's glare to soften. Although he could never bring himself to admit it, it always pained him to see his Officers to go through tough situations, especially good cops like Nick. In all of his years as a chief he had been blessed with a rather peaceful time, although he had seen his fair share of death, in total he had now lost seven Officers under his watch, two of them from their own hands. He could now see the same haunted look in the Fox's eyes he had seen many times in the past, the eyes of a Mammal realizing he had taken a life.
"Usually this would be the moment I berate you for an inappropriate comment then kick you two out threatening to put you on meter duty for a month," Bogo sighed, flipping one of the folders closed with a massive hoof. Both Officer's glanced up uncertainty, waiting for the Cape Buffalo to continue.
"Hopps, Wilde. Go home,we'll handle tracking down Luna and whoever else is working with him. You two deserve some down time anyways," Chief Bogo grumbled as he stood up from his massive office chair, his horns nearly touching the lazily rotating ceiling fan above. Judy opened her mouth to protest but caught a look at her disheveled partner, his downtrodden appearance making her think twice about speaking out. All the she wanted to do was continue the case, to continue to prove that a Bunny could be a cop. But, it seemed that her eagerness was starting to take it's toll on Nick. Suddenly guilt welled up in the doe's stomach as she watched the Fox weakly try to give her a sly grin, the fake expression failing to hide his real emotions.
"I'll arrange a paid vacation for you two, on those days I absolutely forbid you two from working or contacting anyone over the case," Bogo ordered as he stalked over to his office's door and quickly opened it. "That is all, now get out!" The Water Buffalo snapped loudly, his voice returning to it's gruff, no nonsense tone. Judy and Nick both climbed out of their shared chair and quietly padded out of the room under the watchful eye of the Chief until he slammed the door behind them with a bang.
"Sounds like Buffalo Butt's got a soft spot for the two of you," Officer Breckenridge grunted, pushing himself off the banister he was leaning on. Nick and Judy both froze at the sound of the White Wolf's voice as he stalked over to stand in front of them, his paws lazily stuffed into his pockets.
"What do you want?" Judy growled, something that would've been entertaining to her partner under any other circumstances, but today he could see the muscles in her neck tense as she watched the Wolf sigh.
"I just want to talk to Wilde," Breckenridge grumbled his sea green eyes glancing past the Bunny in an effort to avoid looking at her. Judy opened her mouth to let the Officer know exactly why she thought that was a bad idea, plus a few extra words that would usually never come out of the doe's mouth, but was stopped when Nick placed a hand on her shoulder. Her amyest eyes stared up at the Fox in concern, clearly not wanting to leave him with the Wolf.
"It'll be fine Carrots, I'll catch up to you later," Nick whispered trying to reassure his partner with a weak smile, though he could tell it wasn't very convincing. Judy wavered for a second, a little voice in her head screaming at her to stay. Finally she relented and turned away from the Fox to pad down the hallway her ears flopping with each heavy step.
"You ever kill anyone before today?" Breckenridge asked bluntly once Judy was out of earshot. Nick froze, the Wolf's question taking him by surprise. His green eyes scanned the other Officer warily, trying to pick up any deception in his gaze.
"I-I killed that Ram, when they were after Judy," Nick whispered, a shudder shooting down his spine as the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. The scattered memories tugged at his mind, flashes of emotion crashing to the front of his consciousness.
"Hate to tell you, but, it'll never get easier. The lives you end will never cease to haunt you, it's something you'll have to live with forever," Breckenridge admitted, watching the Fox for any change in emotion.
"If this is supposed to be a pep talk, you need to work on it," Nick sighed, his ears flattening against the back of his red furred head. Beside him Cliff snorted and leaned up against the railing that separated him from a long fall to the ZPD's lobby.
"I didn't become a cop because I was good with words, so don't judge me there," the Wolf muttered, his gaze lingering on the Fox next to him. It would be an understatement to say the other Officer looked like shit, his eyes were blurry and unfocused, barley able to remain open even for the short conversation.
"Listen, you and that Bunny go home and rest up, we'll need you two back in tip-top shape as soon as possible, especially since Stripes is down," Breckenridge grumbled as he pushed off the railing and started down the stairs that were a few feet away. Nick watched him for a few seconds, his strained mind too bogged down to even manage a witty remark.
Suddenly the Fox's Ipaw buzzed loudly in his pocket breaking the silence the Wolf left behind. Shaking the confusion from his mind, Nick grabbed the small device and flicked the screen bringing it to life.
'In trouble, please come home quick,' the sentence was simple, and yet it drove a sharp fear deep into the Fox's gut as he threw the phone back into his pocket and ran to the stairs as fast as his wounded body could manage.
A/N: Unfortunately I lost track of the follows and reviews this story received in my absence. Sorry for not getting a chance to thank everyone personally, I promise to keep track next time!