(Friday, April 15)

When Judy woke up the next morning, she was feeling slightly tired. She reminded herself to get some coffee before her morning run. Once again, she found herself hoping that it wouldn't be too much longer before her job got more exciting.

In the meantime, at the very least she had her nightly conversations with Nick, but she got the feeling that it wouldn't be too much longer before the two of them would meet face to face. She just wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

While she was getting dressed, she found herself thinking that her uniform was starting to feel more like a costume. When she had first been fitted for her uniform, she felt so proud that all her dedication had finally paid off. But now, it felt like she was only pretending to be a cop, upholding a charade. This wasn't what a cop's life was supposed to be like, she was sure of it.

But as she gathered her things, something caught her eye: the bottle of fox repellant. Up until now, she had always carried it with her on instinct. It was just something she kept in order to feel prepared. But the fact was, she had never been in a position to defend herself from any mammal, fox or otherwise. And given what Nick had said about prejudices, the fact that fox repellant was even allowed to be mass produced was a frightening thought.

She knew there were good foxes out there, she had just never met one. But evidently, Nick had.

After some internal debate, she tossed the fox repellant in the trash can.

—

'Come on,' Nick said to himself, anxiously. 'Pick up, pick up!'

He paced around his apartment until he heard "…Hello?"

"Finnick?"

On the other line, there was a grunting sound. "This better be important."

"Finnick, I…" Nick took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. You were right."

But the smaller fox just chuckled. "Nick, I am always right. What was I right about this time?"

"About Judy."

There was a pause. "Don't tell me you're going to jail now?"

"No," Nick insisted. "Not yet anyway. It's just… well, she said some very speciesist things the other day…"

"You don't need to say anything else." said Finnick. "I'll be at your apartment in half an hour."

Nick paused and looked around. "I don't know if I'd be able to do a hustle. I've got nothing planned, and I'm just getting over a cold."

"To tell you the truth," Finnick said, "I'm not in the mood for that elephant costume today. How about I take you out for some BuggaBurgers?"

Nick smiled. "Finnick, you know the way to my heart."

"Better than that cop ever could, anyway."

Nick didn't say anything.

—

'I can take it, I can take it, I can take it' had become Judy's new mantra. She had to keep repeating it to herself, otherwise she might just stop believing it.

She could have been working in an office anywhere, she didn't need police training for basic paperwork. At this rate, by the time she got to actual police work, she would have forgotten most of what she learned at the academy!

By the time lunch break had come around, Judy was almost at her breaking point. Maybe that coffee had been a bad idea because she could feel herself on edge. But she reminded herself not to lose her cool. One more mistake and she could lose her job.

While she sat down to eat her lunch, which was especially dry today, Officers Delgato and Higgins sat down at a nearby table, having a conversation. Judy wasn't normally one to pry, but she quickly realized that they were talking about her.

"So tell me…" Delgato began. "How long do you think the boss will keep Hopps as a meter-maid?"

Higgins shrugged. "Could be a year, maybe longer."

"Definitely longer for a bunny."

"Yeah," Higgins said with a sigh. "She wants to be doing real stuff like us. It's kinda cute."

"Hey, don't say that around her. It's a taboo word."

"Pfft, I don't care, it's true."

At that point, Judy had to speak up. "Excuse me," she said. "I hate to interrupt your… stimulating conversation. But, uh… you're an officer of the ZPD, aren't you. You probably shouldn't go around saying things like that. Especially not about your colleague."

"Well, I'm sorry. It's just…"

"Let me ask you a question," she said. "How would you feel if you went around calling you 'cute'? You wouldn't like that, would you?"

But at that moment, Judy froze when she heard the distinct voice of her boss. "Hopps."

Judy turned around, alert. The chief was standing about ten feet away with a tray in his hands and a very stern look in his eye.

"I don't suppose you had anything you wanted to say?"

Judy took a deep breath, internally forcing herself to tone down her anger. "I just wanted to ask, um.. how much longer were you planning on keeping me doing paperwork and parking duty?" When he didn't respond, Judy said, "It's a perfectly reasonably question."

"Then I'll give you a perfectly reasonable answer," said Bogo. "As long as I can."

Some of the other officers gasped. The chief glared at them, mumbling "Don't act surprised."

Judy looked up at her boss. She started to say, "Sir…" but then she froze, remembering that her job was in serious jeopardy.

But the chief was staring at her. "What?"

Judy looked at her boss, trying to be as calm as she could. "I want to do something valuable with my life. I want to actually make the world a better place."

"Hopps, I have nothing against you personally," said the chief. "I just need the very best in the ZPD. You want to be a cop? This is what that looks like. And hey, it's farther than any other bunny has ever made it. Take pride in that if you want. But at this point, you have two choices. Keep doing what you're doing, or leave this job. You can become a carrot farmer for all I care."

And with that, he turned away and headed back to his office.

Every mammal in the room was staring at Judy. After a moment, some of them began to get back to their lunches, trying to pretend nothing had happened. Some of the others started to walk towards her, attempting to console her.

But she closed her eyes firmly. "Don't look at me like that! I don't need anyone's pity."

Francine spoke up, softly. "Judy, you can take the rest of the day off if you want…"

"I don't…" Judy began, but then she stopped. In truth, she didn't really feel angry anymore. Just miserable.

She looked at her elephant co-worker. "Tell Bogo I will be back tomorrow," With a slight hesitation she added, "Probably."

It took every ounce of self control that Judy had not to burst into tears on the spot. She couldn't let anyone see her cry. She didn't need to enforce the prejudice that everyone else had towards her. Bunnies were called weak and vulnerable and delicate. She had tried to push beyond those stereotypes for as long as she could remember.

She couldn't give into them now.

—

Nick was absentmindedly staring at a sports game on TV, not paying attention to the game or anything else that was happening.

"Nick!"

Nick turned to see Finnick, starting at him with a quizzical look from the barstool next to his.

"…What?"

"Did you hear a single word I said?" Finnick asked, exasperated.

Nick mulled it over, "Uh… I know you said 'Nick' right now."

The smaller fox grumbled before glancing over at his friend's glass. "Nick, you've barely even touched your drink!"

"Well, considering how things went the last time I got drunk…"

But Finnick simply laughed. "Don't blame the alcohol, man. That relationship was gonna go south no matter what happened."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nick said with a sigh. "The question right now is, how do I get out of this?"

"Don't talk to the goddamned cop any more," Finnick said. "It's what you should have done in the first place."

"Are you sure?" asked Nick. "I mean… what if she tracks me down?"

"How?" Finnick asked, "She doesn't know where you live, or your species… And if you were smart, you didn't tell her anything that she could use."

Nick took a look at his drink, debating wether or not to have any. "I hope so, but it's probably not smart to underestimate a cop ."

Finnick gave him a blank stare. "I think you're giving them too much credit. We've always managed to stay one step ahead of them, right?"

"I don't know… Nick said. "Maybe we've just been lucky."

"It's not luck," Finnick said. "The ZPD is so clueless. You know, I heard something a while back that said they were hiring bunnies."

"That can't be true," Nick said, chuckling a bit. "Do you believe everything you read on the internet?"

"Look, all I'm saying is, we've been hustling for a long time, and we haven't been caught by the fuzz." Finnick looked at his friend, earnestly. "Because we know what we're doing, and they don't."

Nick sighed. He looked at his drink again, before deciding to put it down. He put his head in his hands.

"What is it, Nick?"

Nick looked up. "…Why is the world so unfair?"

Finnick laughed. "You're just asking that now?"

Nick gave his friend a look that clearly showed that this was not a time to joke around. Finnick sighed and grabbed Nick's arm, staring at the larger fox with a look that was in equal parts intense and sincere. "Nick, at some point or another, you gotta realize what you are. If the world says we're vermin, let's be vermin. Once you embrace it, nothing else matters."

After a few moments, Nick stood up and said, "I've gotta get home."

—

One ring… Two rings… Judy tapped her foot impatiently. Finally, she heard a voice coming from the phone. "Hello?"

Judy took a deep breath. "Mom?"

"Judy!" There was some uncomfortable static, then… "Stu, come quick! Judy's on the phone!"

In no time at all, both of her parents were on the other line. "Hey there, Jude! Jude the Dude, remember that one?"

Judy smiled. "Hey, Dad."

"It's been a while since you called," her father said. "Is everything all right?"

"No…" Judy said, quietly. "No, everything is not all right."

"What's wrong?" asked her mother.

"Are you sick?" asked her father

"No, I'm in good health. Though that's kind of the only good thing that's going on in my life." Even as Judy was saying it, she knew it wasn't true. She had Nick… but she knew that if she brought up her new online boyfriend, her parents would want to talk about nothing but that for the rest of the call.

"It's about my job," Judy began slowly.

"What about it?" asked her mother.

"Well… you know how I told you I was stuck doing parking duty and paperwork?"

"Yeah?"

"The chief implied that he wants to keep me there… permanantly."

"Are you serious?" asked her father.

"I'm serious," Judy said. She was already starting to feel the tears welling up. "Mom, Dad…"

"Oh, thank God!"

"What a relief!"

For a moment, Judy was still. "…Excuse me?"

"It's just… we're happy for you," her father said. "You've got a steady job, and it's a safe job!"

Her mother continued. "It might not be exactly what you wanted, but…"

But Judy didn't want to hear it. "You're happy for me. I'm stuck in a dead end job, and it sucks, and you can't even pretend to be disappointed?!"

Judy stared in disbelief at her phone, while her parents were rapidly talking over one another. "Sweetie, that's not… What we meant was… Oh, how do I put this…"

Judy spoke up. "You want me to be normal. Those are the words you're looking for."

"Her father tried to think of the right thing to say. "The thing is, Judy… not everyone can be a hero who changes the world. Some mammals just have to settle for less."

Judy was getting desperate. "Mom… you have my back, right?!"

On the other line, her mother was hesitating. "Sweetie… you went to the big city to become a police officer, and it turns out it wasn't everything you hoped. Maybe it's time to give up on those dreams, Judy. I mean, no one can say you didn't try."

"Yes, said her father. "That sounded better than what I said."

Judy gritted her teeth. "I gotta go!"

"Judy, we're proud of all you've accomplished so far," her mother said. "It's just…"

"It's just that you don't want me accomplishing anything else," Judy finished.

Her parents were at a loss for words. After a second, her mother said "Judy, please…"

But Judy hung up, with tears already starting to well up in her eyes. And there was no stopping them this time.

All her life, she had believed that Zootopia was a place where anybody could be anything. That with a dream and a little perserverence, you could do anything you wanted to do. But now it seemed like the whole universe was against her. Everyone she talked to, even her own parents, were telling her that this dream really was impossible. That the entire thing was a fool's errand.

Suddenly, Judy's phone rang. She looked and saw that her parents were trying to call her back. She pressed 'Cancel.'

There was only one mammal that she wanted to talk to right now.

—

When Nick arrived home, he thought it would be best if he just took it easy for the rest of the day. He signed on to his laptop, hoping to watch some funny videos or something, when he saw a notification in the top right corner of the screen.

Z-Harmony

Judy has invited you to chat!

Nick stared at the notification, perplexed. It didn't make sense. Judy should still be working at this time of day. Had something happened?

'Talk to Judy? Y/N'

He couldn't talk to her. Not now, not after everything Finnick had said. He had to move on. He moved the cursor over 'N', but felt himself shaking. It must be important if she wanted to chat in the middle of the day. He looked at the message again.

'Talk to Judy? Y/N'

Such a casual font, such a simple question. And yet, it felt as though everything in his life had been building to this moment. As much as it hurt, there was still a part of himself that cared about Judy. As much as he wanted to deny it, there was still a part of him that wanted to talk to her. To hear her voice… just one more time.

'Talk to Judy? Y/N'

Nick sat down. He took several deep breaths. He crossed his fingers.

At the very least, she deserved a respectful goodbye.

He clicked 'Y'.

—

Author's Note: Are you feeling TENSE yet?

So, I wanted to address something. So, recently, somebody with the username Edit100 has become the first person to leave negative comments for my story, and some other commenters defended me while also kind of attacking them and their stories. To all those who have defended me, I appreciate the help, but let's try not to have a war in the comments. As for Edit100, if you don't like my story, that's fine. It's impossible to please everyone. Just go read something else, please.

The next chapter should be up pretty soon. Get excited, because it's gonna be a pretty big deal.