A/N: Thank god for my second fluff piece because I'm getting very sad re-reading this story myself. I'm such an asshole to do this to such nice characters. Remember, reviews are loved, PM's are appreciated, and donations are mandatory.

Disclaimer: Who has no thumbs and no ownership of Zootopia? This guy! Donald Duck is a friggin sadist.

Chapter 10 - A secret revealed

Who does that fox think he is? Judy stormed out of the precinct, nearly knocking over an otter coming up the steps. She was so pissed off she barely noticed the poor mammal and didn't bother to apologize. Her phone rang and, after digging it out of her pocket, became even more enraged as Nick's face filled the screen. He disappears after work without even saying goodbye and now he wants to talk to me? She swiped and declined the call. Let him deal with talking to a machine for once. He did it to me all day today. He seems to enjoy tormenting me. He broke my trust this morning! I never would have let him sleep in my bed and he knows it.

Except he said it was your idea last night.

He was lying!

Have you ever known him to lie to you like that?

...Well, no bu-

And is he they type of mammal that would hurt someone like that?

No!

Then why would you accuse him of being one?

Judy stopped dead on the sidewalk. "I wouldn't," she whispered aloud. "Ugh. Why didn't I let him explain?!" I'll call him back. Right now. Opening her phone she stared at the background image for a few seconds. She and Nick were laughing as she had shoved his ice cream into his nose, the timing of the picture could not have been any more perfect. She smiled softly at the image. Things were so much simpler back then. Bringing up her contacts, she tapped the first name in her favorites and chuckled at the contact picture she had of him sleeping with his tongue hanging out. Her sudden good mood lasted only a few seconds as she got a busy signal. She sighed. I'll just call to apologize later. Hanging up the phone she noticed a new voicemail had been added. 4 minutes? Who sends a voicemail for 4 minutes? Bringing up the menu, she selected the voicemail tab. Seeing the name of who had left the message she sighed. Nick. Nick leaves a 4 minute voicemail. Snickering she keyed the play button and listened, her eyes growing wider and more horror filled with each word whispered into her ear.

Clawhauser was busy with his new Gazelle app. It was late in the evening and he knew very little happened in between shift rotations so he figured he had a good 20 minutes to lay back and chill. He stared down at the "Angel with Horns" filling his phone screen. What I wouldn't give to meet her in person, he thought happily. Everyone knew about his obsession with the famous singer but they humored him as it seemed to keep him happy no matter the problems around him. He was just settling down to listen to her new album he had purchased earlier that day when he heard a strangled cry from outside the front doors. Looking up, he felt a twinge of fear as the door slammed open revealing a panicked looking rabbit who was shaking from her ears to her hind paws. "Judy!" Clawhauser scrambled over the counter as fast as he could, grabbing a blanket from underneath the shelf. "What's wrong, honey? Here get under the blanket." He had barely finished putting it on her when her knees gave out and she collapsed to the floor.

Sobbing, her tears ran down her face and dripped onto the front entrance floor. She hunched over, her breathing ragged and uncontrolled. "They...took him," she whispered, her knees drawn to her chest.

Ben sunk down to his knees and wrapped his arms around his friend. "Who took who, honey?"

With a strength that surprised even herself, Judy threw the portly cheetah back, screaming to the entire precinct, "THOSE BASTARDS TOOK NICK!"

"How is she, Clawhauser?"

She hasn't moved or said a word for the last twenty minutes, Chief. She just lays there, staring at nothing." Ben and Bogo watched the small gray bunny laying in her partner's desk chair, unmoving. If not for the ragged breathing and the occasional tear, you would almost believe her to be asleep.

"We tracked his phone and found it in the park west of here. It was laying next to the body of the wolf we watched on the screen last night. If they stick to their same time table, they won't broadcast for another two or three days." The Chief turned to his old friend. "Work with her, Ben. I need to see her in my office in an hour ready to work."

"Chief I don't think th-"

"One. Hour." Turning, the large mammal stomped away. The cheetah swallowed hard at the look on the Chief's face. Almost like…guilt.

Ben moved into the office and pulled over another chair to sit next to his friend. Slowly stroking her head, he whispered soothing words to her. "Don't worry, hon. That partner of yours is one tough cookie. I doubt there's a cop in the entire force that could take what he can and dish it out half as hard. This won't slow him down at all." Ben threw caution to the wind as he smiled down at her. "And I know he won't be going anywhere. Not with his little bunny waiting for him. After all, she hasn't told him she loves him yet, has she?"

Judy raised her head to look at her friend's warm smile. Her sobbing began anew as she shook her head frantically. "No. I-I never g-got to tell him. And n-now h-he's g-g-gone!" Ben's eyes went wide and his smile disappeared in horror as he realized what he had just done to his little friend. He picked her up and held her close to his chest as he rocked them back and forth, her tears never ending as her sorrow filled the office. He rubbed her back for what seemed like hours until her crying had slowed and her trembling had stopped.

Ben looked at the clock and knew she had to go see Bogo in the next few minutes. If he kept her there he would come looking for her instead and it would be so much worse. "Hon. You need to go see Bogo. Are you up for that?" Judy shuddered, her breathing catching around the few dry sobs she made. Ever the dutiful officer, she nodded against his chest. "Okay little bun, I'll walk you up there."

"No. It's okay, Ben. I can do this." Judy straightened her uniform and stood tall even as her ears betrayed her, drooping down her back. Ben shot her a look saying he wasn't convinced. "I can. I can do this. For Nick."

Judy made her way up the staircases to her boss's office. Never before had the trip up those stairs felt so draining to her, both mentally and physically. Raising her paw to knock on the door, she hesitated, taking a hard look at her current state of mind. Her emotional stability was gone, stripped the moment she heard that voicemail. This case had been a trial far harder than she could bear alone. Without Nick beside her, she would have crumbled the first day. Now, it was Nick himself who was in danger and she felt more lost than she could ever have believed. He had secretly been taking over her whole world. He had become everything to her and she had been unwilling to ever tell him until suddenly she felt that she would never get to. He could die. Her paw slapped to her mouth as she realized the truth. He could die, never knowing that I love him. The thought brought new tears to her eyes before she hastily brushed them aside. No! Nick needs me. And I will not let him down. Not now. Not ever again.

The door to Bogo's office opened slowly. The Chief automatically looked up at eye level before noticing the tufts of rabbit ears scrambling into the oversized chair in front of him. He leaned over his desk to stare at his favorite (although he would never tell anyone) officer, his usual stern scowl softened by her appearance. Understandably, she was distraught at losing her partner, especially to these madmen. "Hopps. I need to know if you can handle this." Judy looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time that night. "We need all hands if we're going to find Mr. Wilde. You said he left you a voicemail while he was being taken?" Judy nodded in the affirmative.

"We had a fight earlier. I mean you could probably tell. Everyone else could." Her eyes darkened at how minimal it had all seemed. There was no reason for the fight. She had simply been stubborn and an ass that morning and pushed where she shouldn't have. "He um…he knew I was too upset to answer the call so a voicemail would be the perfect way to record whatever was happening. He had been hit with a dart right before so he didn't have much time to talk to anyone." Bogo raised his brow, impressed by the idea the fox had come up with while suffering from the tranquilizer. Judy raised her eyes to look at her boss. "Why would they do this, Chief? A cop? That seems like such a huge risk. And why Nick? It just doesn't make any sense." Judy cast her gaze back down to the floor as she sniffled.

Bogo fidgeted in his chair, his eyes subconsciously trailing to the scrap of paper he had stashed in the book on his table. He had been looking at it again when Judy's sudden appearance at his door had caused him to hastily stuff it out of sight. "Look Hopps'" he began, his stomach churning at the lie he was about to tell her. "Sometimes evil people just do evil things because they can. There may not be a reason behind it. Might not have even been a target, just a red fox traveling through the park when they were dumping the body."

She seemed to accept this and as she did Bogo felt a wave of guilt wash over him so badly he felt sick. Mumbling an excuse he stomped out the door and headed to the washroom. Judy hadn't heard him dismiss her so she stayed where she was in case he needed to keep questioning her. Unknown to Bogo, the rabbit in front of him was very observant, able to fool others into thinking they were sly, but all that time working with Nick had given her some useful skills like how to watch people and gauge if they were lying or being misleading. She had gotten that sense from the Chief and she couldn't fail to notice how his gaze had wandered to the book on his table, the same book she had seen him hastily shut when she came in earlier. Hopping off the chair, she ambled over to Bogo's and used it to get to his desk. Her paw hovering over the book, she thought about a time where she would never had dared to do something like this, but now her fox was in trouble and she didn't care what happened to her if she was caught. Flipping the pages, she came to a section in the middle that had a slip of paper stuffed into it. Flipping it over, her breath caught in her throat as she felt her world start to unravel.

Bogo had finally made his way back to his office, his legs a little uneasy after what his body had just gone through. Too many emotions were flooding his system. He needed this day to end so he could go home to his family and sort this out in private. Reaching the door, he realized it was still open and he could hear short, raspy breaths coming from the room. Turning the corner, he saw Officer Hopps crouched on his desk holding a thin strip of paper in her paws. Oh no. His hooves clacked against the linoleum before hitting the carpet of his office, the sound reaching the gray bunny. She slowly turned her head to stare at him with a fury unmatched by anything he had seen from her before.

"Chief. What is this?" Her smooth tone made him even more uneasy. He couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze and she knew he was afraid of what she had found. "Chief. I'm going to ask again. And remember I have taken down much bigger animals than you and I am one pissed off rabbit right now. WHAT. THE FUCK. IS. THIS?!" Throwing the piece of paper at him, he stared down at the simple line. One of your own will be next. You will have to choose which one. On either side was a picture of Nick and Judy. Nick's picture had been circled numerous times in red ink. "Just tell me, Chief. How could you just give him up so easily? It seemed quite easy for you to choose between us. So why?"

The cape buffalo stared down at the ground, his head hung in shame. "I didn't choose," he grunted. Looking back up, he stared unwavering into her angry glare. "Wilde did."