Welcome to the last chapter of this story. Nick now heads to Far-End to take up his station as the Liaison-Officer for the ZPD while Judy starts her first day back to work after her Saturday in Bunnyburrow with her first partner truly gone.

The friendship between the two main characters seems to have waned and may be on the road to collaps... but that is why they have other friends - those who can save them from themselves.

Enter our unlikely hero, stage left, Ben Clawhauser.

The clock struck 5:30 and the alarm began to blare. A paw tapped the off button, and two furry feet met the floor with a mild thud before the small mammal who owned them stood up from their bed.

Time to get ready.

Nick shook himself to get his fur to stand up from his body. He had enough of it that when he lay down on a surface it would all become flattened against his body and leave him with bed fur. Still Nick had it better than other small predators. Some of his friends of the Arctic persuasion had such thick fur that they complained of constantly capturing little reminders of every fragment, chip and nugget of the city in their fur. They had to clean themselves at least twice a day or they started to look gray instead of white. The red, russet fur of his coat meant that Nick could blend in a lot of places with industrial development and not look dirty.

I bet red would look better against the woods than against steel and concrete, he thought as he grabbed the last of his bags and set them by the door. The apartment was now nearly empty. The badger he was subletting it from had been made aware of his desire to end the contract and this afternoon the badger had a team coming to wipe the place down for the next inhabitants.

Sweeping and waxing the floors to make the sty at the edge of the ghetto look more livable - some animals are the craziest. Nick thought to himself.

He did not linger, but quickly drew up the last of his belongings, deflated the air mattress he had been sleeping on, and took his stuff out of the apartment and closed the door behind him.

Elsewhere in the city, and at the same time, another alarm began blaring and another mammal tapped it to silence before getting out of bed.

Today it begins.

Judy lacked her usual spring, though given the week she had had it was understandable. She quickly cleaned, groomed, dressed, and left the apartment. No pause and no moment to reflect - she simply got up and went. In her mind there had been enough reflecting and though she was still feeling broody she knew that she could not afford to keep wallowing in her misery and thoughts. She needed to get back to work. She had a new partner, and she needed to be able to work with him as best she could.

The commute to work was not a pleasant one, but Judy felt like she was ready for what was coming. She would go on her rounds with a new partner. She would train him properly and pay closer attention, and she would continue living her life. She would be happy with it.

Among the many other animals across Zootopia who had to get up at these early dawn hours and silence the noise of their alarm clock, one more did so with a very different thought.

Gotta act fast.

Ben Clawhauser rolled off his mattress and started doing a few stretches to get himself loosened up from his slumber. He wiped himself down with some sanitary wipes to get rid of any bed smell and dandruff that he had lodged in his fur. With his size it would take a little too long to shower and dry off, but the sanitary wipes got rid of anything odiferous or unsanitary in his fur. He suited up, left his apartment building, and took a short jog to a small café in Downtown. He ordered two bagels and two coffees and then walked to a spot near the government buildings where he set out the professional-working-breakfasts at two spots. He settled in to sip his coffee and munch on his bagel and was soon joined by another animal who settled in next to him comfortably and lifted the coffee he had left for her.

"Buenos dias mi fuerte policia," said the elegant looking gazelle as she brought the coffee to her lips.

"I can only stay for a few minutes," he replied. "I need to get some things in place as soon as my Chief comes in. Glad you could come to see me though." He took another sip. "I always feel like things go much more smoothly on days when I see you."

"I am glad we get to see each other as well. What is it you are doing, Ben?"

"Helping save a great friendship for two really amazing animals that need some help."

"Mmm, so noble Ben. I would like to hear more when you are done," she sighed. "The tours are about to start again and I will soon have even less of these morning with my dear friend. And after so many weeks spent with protests when I could scarcely see or speak with you."

"Ahhh... you're gonna miss me." Ben crooned, half in mourning at the thought of further separation from his friend, and half in pleasure that she too felt as he did with regard to their separation. He and Gazelle were an unlikely pair of friends since they ran in such different circles and saw so little of one another. Nevertheless, they had bonded and over the months since their first meeting it had blossomed into a firm friendship.

Not yet as strong as the one that needs my help, Ben thought to himself.

"I hope you do not mind that I work with the protesters. I only want as many animals as would come to Zootopia to be free to come."

"I know. It's good that you do."

"So many times we could have done this, and now it will be months before we can do it again."

"We each have to do what we have to do, Gazelle. At least we get to do it knowing that we have a friend who understands us."

He took another sip of his coffee and looked at the time on his phone.

"Oh, the Chief will be here soon. I gotta go."

"Go and be a hero for me, Ben." She patted his shoulder and smiled warmly. Ben held her hoof to his shoulder and smiled back before he stood up from his seat and headed for the precinct. He was in luck, for right at that moment the tall, burly form of Bogo was entering the front doors. Ben knew that the Chief would go to the kitchen to grab the first cup of the latest brew of coffee, and would then go to his office for a half hour before the rest of the new shift arrived and morning announcements would be needed. It was a fortunate occurrence that Bogo happened to be on this Sunday. Ben did not have as a good a rapport with the other section leaders, and he needed a 'yes' for what he intended.

Once the Chief had his coffee and had taken a deep pull from is mug, Ben fell into step beside the large officer as he made his way to the stairwell.

"Good morning Chief."

Bogo grimaced. "Clawhauser what have we discussed?"

"That you don't deal with business until you're in your office?"

"And that from the moment I get my coffee to the moment I sit at my desk, what time is that?"

"Chief time."

"And who is allowed to talk with me during 'Chief time'?"

"The mayor, or a dead animal."

"Have you been elected to office since last night Officer Clawhauser?"

"Not as such Chief."

"Is it your wish to become the latter of those two options, Clawhauser?"

"No Chief."

"Well then Clawhauser, wait until after the meeting."

"It's about today's patrol, Chief. And Officer Paen."

Bogo paused for a moment in his ascent and looked down at Clawhauser.

"Is there an emergency I should be made aware of Officer Clawhauser?"

"No Chief, nothing like that - at least none that I know of, but something I need to discuss with you before you start the meeting that has bearing on who he's assigned with this morning."

"I am going to take a long walk and finish my coffee. When I return to my desk, you will inform me of the dilemma." Bogo then continued ascending and Ben ascended more slowly and headed to the Office of the Chief, while the Chief himself walked in another direction - where there were fewer animals around to demand things of him.

"So you want to bring Officer Hopps on your patrol this morning and have Officer Paen do half of the Downtown patrol on his own. Is that the gist of it Clawhauser?" Bogo asked as he looked askance at the cheetah in his office.

"Not alone Chief, I know he's a rookie and he needs oversight. I just thought that maybe if Judy was with me then she could watch how the kit handles himself. He'll have some rough spots, but I was thinking it would be better for Judy to watch from a distance and determine what needs fixing. If she's right there with him he might handle himself differently. I mean, when I started out with Officer McHorn I know I was acting differently when I was with him than when I was on my own. I think if he had seen me work without his oversight then he would have picked up on things that needed fixing faster. So I just thought that if Judy and I both took the time to watch how Travis handles it flying solo then we could spot his weak spots early and fix them before they become habits. We make this a kind of, a... self-analysis, or... . Am I making sense Chief?"

"Seems like a fair amount of extra work for you and Hopps when you should be focusing on the task at hand."

Clawhauser nodded and came back with another point.

"I agree Chief, task at hand is good, but while training Travis to do his job Judy already has to divide her focus. At least this way she's with someone a little more senior while she's divided. I can give her tips on how to improve his performance and coach her on how to teach him."

Clawhauser suddenly realized that he could use Hopps's own personality to make his case.

"Judy does have a habit of being demanding from the get-go Chief. She's a great officer, but you have to admit, once in a while her energy outpaces her experience and sense."

Bogo gave Clawhauser a nod. Hopps was a fantastic officer, but she was also hot-headed and prone to idealism that often conflicted with reality. She was like a gadfly to sting the department and make sure they adhered to the ideals of their job, but that sometimes came at the cost of realism. Bogo reasoned that Officer Paen, and furthermore Hopps herself, could do with a healthy dose of realism. For all his goofiness, Clawhauser was a realist... maybe it would be good for them...

"How exactly are you going to go about this, Clawhauser?"

Asking questions about execution. He's considering it! Clawhauser thought gleefully.

"I was thinking that instead of going from one end of the main drag to another we go as one unit: Travis takes one half of the street, I'll take the other with Judy. Judy and I hang back a unit or two on the street so we aren't breathing down his neck, and we take turns watching him and compare notes. So Travis learns to do his job relatively solo, we learn what he needs to improve on, he comes out of it with a little more confidence about being about to interact with the public on his own, and we get a view of how he handles the job without being there to tell him all the way through."

"Hmm..." Bogo steepled his hooves, or at least put them together as best he could as he pondered. Ben held his breath. He needed the Chief to okay this plan if he was going to have any hope of success in what came next.

"All right Clawhauser. I'll assign Hopps to work with you, and the both of you supervise Paen. I had planned to send Barkowitz with Sharp today, so bringing Hopps along shouldn't make things crowded in your squad car."

Clawhauser pumped his fist and then straightened. "Uh, thanks Chief. Will you want our report on what we find?"

"If he isn't harassing anyone or causing problems or violating policy or law, you handle any of the rough spots yourselves, Clawhauser."

Clawhauser gave an eager salute. "Yes Chief! I'll see you downstairs at the meeting."

With that the younger cheetah officer left, Bogo sighed, and scratched out and wrote in a few things on his morning roster.

Always something in this unit, he mumbled. Bogo had learned how to make use of a facial expression that he was sure was unique to animals in his position of authority - he could make his face grin ever so slightly while his throat let out an exasperated sigh. It seemed appropriate for how the department made him feel - quietly proud and audibly frustrated. The move by Wilde to Far-End had freed up his need to scrounge for a replacement for Tuske, the arrival of Paen had saved him needing to rotate Hopps around the other officers while waiting for a more permanent partner, and now he would have to change up the schedule to accommodate this plan by Clawhauser to reel in the teaching style of Hopps and educate Paen. On top of all of that he had mounting paperwork related to the issues of Zootopian-First Front and their counter protesters, things were getting tense in the city, and there was no indication that this issue was going to blow over anytime soon.

One day at a time old boy. One day at a time. He told himself as he rose from his desk and headed to the bullpen with his material for the daily briefing.

"...Downtown: Officer Paen, you'll be working with both Officers Clawhauser and Hopps. Continue with the patrol where your colleagues from Saturday left off. Clawhauser, here are the particulars. Divide into teams as per the direction of the senior officer, and remember Hopps, that's Clawhauser." She gave slight grin under Bogo's wilting gaze. He gestured his horned head at the door. "Hit the streets."

Bogo passed the Manila envelope to Clawhauser as he led Hopps and Paen to the motor pool to get their vehicle.

"I'll drive!" Judy offered. Her voice was upbeat and she was happy to be back in her element, but Ben snatched away the keys she had been reaching for and got one for a car large enough for him.

"Senior officer, Judy. Maybe when you're all grown up." He teased.

Judy huffed but tried not to look too petulant in the presence of her rookie. "Next time you're hiking it Ben."

Travis giggled at the exchange as they made their way to the squad car. "Hey Ben, any chance you come by more often. It's kinda fun to see the senior of this pair so riled."

Ben shared in the giggle and Judy gave Travis the stink-eye, but she had a little smile for him underneath the hard gaze that he caught despite the initial shock of her glare.

"Can't protect you forever little one," Ben said. "Gotta learn to deal with the boss lady yourself. Everyone strapped in?"

Ben started up the squad car and looked at the time on the dash.

Gotta go fast.

He took them out of the motor pool, turned in the direction of Downtown, and went at exactly the speed limit the whole way. He had to time this precisely.

Go be noble Ben, he muttered to himself.

"One for Far-End please." Nick said to the gemsbok behind the service counter. He handed over his credit card as he made the request and got the ticket, the card, and a receipt he had to sign only a few seconds later. He scratched in his name, gave a quick thanks to the gemsbok and made his way down to the platform. It was a trying effort since many animals were coming up the stairs than going down. For once the use of the escalator might have actually been the safer choice since the down-escalator was scarcely in use, and when carrying two sizable bags there was little room to navigate around ascending animals. Given the impatience of some animals with the speed of the escalator they were coming up the stairs in droves and Nick, now burdened with his bags, could not make use his almost preternatural knowledge of navigating Zootopian crowds to get around them. Too much gear.

He did not need to rush though. The train would not leave for another twenty minutes and he had already had enough breakfast that he was not concerned about needing to grab any last minutes snacks on the platform. Once a break occurred in the upwards stampede, Nick went for it and made his way down the stairs to the platforms below. A little distance on and he found the platform for the train to Far-End and settled in to wait. He took the time to start glancing around and watching the animals around him to see if there was anything suspicious. Most of the officers back at the ZPD would be more interested in the animals coming into the city because they might have some intentions towards violence or disruption. Over the course of his life Nick had learned that the city itself had a number of shady individuals and issues that it was more likely that an animal already in the city, who had committed some crime, would be trying to find their way out.

Always forgetting to look the other way, Nick thought to himself. He had tried to share that wisdom with other officers, and a few like Christopher Sharp and even Ben Clawhauser seemed to pay attention. Fangmeyer and Delgato seemed to have taken it upon themselves to look for this as well. He remembered being here with them roughly a month back and both of them had actually taken to Nick's ideas and managed to find two animals that were guilty of stealing from a convenience store several city blocks away. They had eluded the officers in pursuit, but when they came to the station Nick sensed something off about them, and Fangmeyer and Delgato had caught wind of it too. The arrest had been fairly easy, the perpetrators were two peccaries. They were winded from running, they were scared of the two large cats, and Nick had managed to trip both of them up and got them pinned to the ground when they ran.

I guess I will miss some things here, Nick realized and then began to think of Judy. He reached for his phone but stopped himself.

She's already on patrol. You can call her tonight. He talked himself down and withdrew his paw from his pocket. He straightened himself and waited for the train.

"Judy, I'm really sorry you weren't there for Nick's send-off the other night, it was a real blow out. We missed you."

"Yeah I had a great time," Travis corroborated. "Is Officer Wilde going to come back soon. He was really great to have on patrol."

"I'm sure he'll find his way back soon," Judy replied flatly. "Sorry Ben I felt I needed to go see my parents."

"Everything all right at home?" Travis asked.

Judy almost shot back that all was fine, but stopped herself. Travis was a young kit who had no idea what was going on and he did not deserve to be shouted at when he was asking an honest question and trying to be helpful.

"Yeah, yeah everyone at home is fine Travis, I just haven't seen them in a few weeks and I felt a day of R and R was what I needed."

Ben was not convinced, but he kept quiet as he moved into position. His plan had worked so far, now to make the final push.

The squad car stopped on the north end of Troop Street. He stopped the car and turned back to look at Travis.

"Hey Travis, how about you get started on the east side of the street. Judy and I will take the west side."

"Okay," Travis replied and hopped out of the cruiser. Once the small officer had crossed the street and gotten to the first shop on the corner, Ben rolled down the window.

"Hey Travis, you get started. Judy just got a call, she's gotta take care of something. Be back in a minute."

"Wait, I..." but Travis got no further before Ben put pedal to the metal and drove down the street. Travis began to wonder for a minute if he had been setup, but decided he should just keep going with the patrol. It would not do to be found that he had been lazy when they got back.

"They'll be back... I hope."

Judy was shocked. "Ben what are you doing. I didn't have anything just now."

Ben looked at the time again. "You most certainly do and we cannot be late."

"Ben, you're scaring me a little. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry I have to intervene this much Judy, but someone has to."

"In what, Ben make sense!"

"Just listen, because you need to hear this. You know one of the things I learned from my years at the front desk in the precinct?" He left the question hanging, but Judy could tell clearly that it was meant rhetorically. She waited and he soon began speaking again.

"A lot of animals assigned to work together aren't meant to be anything more than work partners. I've seen cops that are respectful to each other, and work well together, but I can tell that off-duty they have nothing going on with each other. And I've seen cops that buddy up well enough while on the job, and then lose touch if they switch shifts or get sent to new precincts. Those relationships, they only go as far as the door and as deep as the uniform, and that's fine we can only interact with so many of our fellows in blue. But I'll tell you this too. I've seen a few partnered cops in my time that are freakin' inseparable. They work well together, they buddy up when not at work, and you can see it in how they interact: the work partnership, it's an extension of a partnership they share in life. I could count on one paw how many of those I've ever seen, and of those few, you and Nick are by far the tightest and the strongest."

Judy looked away, feeling despondent. Ben continued to hammer away.

"And when a partnership like that starts breaking apart, the only thing worse is the thought that those two partners lose sight of how great a partnership they have in real life."

Judy shifted in her seat, and Ben delivered his coup de grace.

"And now I have to work alongside one of them after that separation, and I will not stand for seeing things play out like this."

She sighed. "Ben stop the car and take us back to Travis."

"Judy this about Travis too. And Nick. And you! You have to deal with this."

"Ben what are you expecting me to do?"

"I'm expecting you to make things right before it's too late. I'm expecting you be the bigger animal here and fix what you can so that time can fix the rest of it."

Judy could scarcely believe what was happening. By rights one of her fellow officers was abducting her. He had an altruistic rationale, and it was Ben for-crying-out-loud, he was not danger to her. Still, this was getting to be a little much. Ben noticed her discomfort and continued talking.

"I mean that about Travis. He may not see how upset you are about Nick now, but you know he's going to start to notice something soon, and how is that going to affect him in the partnership with you? Can you even imagine what that will be like? He'll have to work with an amazing cop after so many stories about her kicking tail with another officer who is way beyond him. He'll have to know he won't be able to measure up to the kind of partnership she's used to. Travis talked to me that night of Nick's send off..."

Judy put her head in her hands.

"Judy listen it's important. He told me that he knew from day one that he was never going to measure up to the partner you had before him. And I didn't tell him he was wrong to think that, but I let him know that it wasn't because Nick was a better cop, or because he's already been at your side under fire and in the thick of things. I told him that Nick was as much your partner off-duty as on, and it made all the difference in how good of a team you guys were. And Travis told me he can live with that fact. He's sure, and I'm sure, you guys 'll work well together fine and you'll teach him a lot, but this is the start of his career and you need to be there for him. Right here at the start he's going to need you more than he'll need almost anyone else."

Judy pursed her lips and felt herself welling up. Ben was right. Travis was brand new to this life and would need help. As his partner, she had to provide support and get him ready for this life. Being upset about the situation with Nick, though justified for herself, was unfair to her new partner.

"Ben... it's not..."

"Judy, do you see what I'm getting at? I told you, Travis is okay knowing he can't replace Nick. But you can't let him think that he's the reason that things got bad. And he's the one who's going to be sitting in the squad car next to you where Nick used to be. He's going to be helping you chase down suspects instead of his other hero Officer Wilde, he doesn't need to deal with doubts about what he's caused in your guys's relationship. And me - I don't want is to sit here with you and watch what you and Nick have between each other fall apart. I know I'm not the one causing a rift, but if I do nothing to help... well then I don't know what motivates me to wear this uniform if I don't work to find a way to help."

He let Judy sit with that for a moment as he neared his destination. He had to wrap things up so she would be in the right mindset to do what came next. For that, Ben knew he could add nothing but had to trust in his friends.

"You know, the other night Nick acted like his cool self, and he was probably a little bummed about leaving, but more so he looked upset that you weren't there."

Judy took a shuddering breath. "Maybe he… was just feeling nostalgic about his time at the precinct. I'm sure he wasn't…"

"He was actively scanning the room with his head tilted down. And that after he talked to Travis. After him, you're the only one in the precinct shorter than Nick. I think that narrows the list of who he was looking for, don't you?"

Judy sighed heavily and put her head in her paws.

"Ben, I don't doubt what you say, but look at the facts: he left, he didn't tell me about the job because he didn't trust me, and he never wanted to be my partner in the first place. I don't blame him for it, but I don't know that I can face him."

Now or never Ben! Now or never! The clock was nearly at the deadline.

"Judy," Ben replied. "He became a cop because he wanted to belong somewhere, but he also wanted to help you succeed and be close to you because you two are friends. I know it, believe me. There are other factors in his situation that make direct partnering up difficult for him, and I can understand why he wants this job and why he took it, but that doesn't mean he didn't want to work with you. I know what I've been seeing. That fox would jump in front of a stampede for you."

Judy wiped her face, she had not shed any tears, but they had started to cloud her vision. Ben continued.

"You should be upset that he didn't tell you about the job, that was wrong of him, but he didn't think you'd be supportive and I can sort of see why he'd think it. You don't like it when things change in ways you didn't plan on, and you fight hard to keep what you want the way you want it, even when it's someone else's personal choice. It's cool how scrappy you can be, but it makes others reluctant to share things with you when they think you won't like what you hear."

Judy's ears drooped even more. The word 'steamroller' popped in her mind again from her last face-to-face talk with Nick.

Ben, was not finished.

"But that isn't what's important right now. You need to think about priorities, like being a good partner to Travis, and keeping yourself together. The first step to accomplishing both of those things: keep the friendship alive. It isn't too late."

Ben stopped the cruiser and gestured out Judy's window with his head. Judy turned and her eyes went wide. Without her realizing it, Ben had driven her to Savanna Central Station. She looked back at him trepidatiously and before she could muster a question to ask, Ben spoke again.

"He's leaving, as in present tense… as in not yet gone… as in you can get in there and see him one more time before he goes… as in GET OUT OF THE CAR AND FIX IT!"

Judy looked at the station, back at Ben, and then undid her seatbelt and grabbed her personal pack from the floor. She looked at him with uncertainty and Ben finally groaned and reached past her to open the door.

"I'll tell Bogo you had a family emergency, I can take of myself and Travis for one day, now get going!"

It was only another second before she gave Ben a quick peck on the cheek and took off running. Almost like lightning she seemed to get to an open kiosk, put down money, grab a ticket and race for the inner entrance. Ben shook his head with a bit of a smile. He closed the door and started driving, hoping that Bogo would not tear off both his head (or Judy's) for this infraction.

It's all on them now Clawhauser. You did all you could. He said as he started heading back to Troop Street.

Last call for Far-End. All ticketed passengers please make your way to the train at this time.

Nick had waited on the platform just as Ben had warned him to. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to have transpired and it was now down to the last minute. Nick decided it was time and hoisted one pack over his shoulder, popped the wheels on the other and started walking towards the train doors.

Nick… the sound came like an echo and for a moment, Nick was not certain whether he had heard the sound, or imagined it. That had happened before. Instinct forced him to look around for anything unusual, but nothing threatening or attention-grabbing seemed to be in view, so he went back to walking onto the train. He had just cleared the gap and was inside the doors when he heard a loud sound tear the air.

"NICK!"

Nick spun around and saw a streak of grey fur and police blue fly right at him faster than he could dodge. The collision sent him sprawling onto the floor inside of the train and he winced at the impact, shutting his eyes from the jarring bounce that left a harsh ringing in his ears.

When the ringing began to quiet he could hear mild breathing mixed with a hint of sobbing. As soon as he opened his eyes he found a great deal of grey fluff in his field of view and he began to register a tight grip on his neck. He quickly determined who it was and pushed himself upright and off the deck with the rabbit still holding tightly to his neck and shoulders.

"Judy!" he exclaimed with a rasp; she was holding him around his neck after all. "Judy, what… what are you doing here?"

She didn't speak.

"Hey there, hey. It's okay." He offered as a verbal consolation and gently stroked her back with one paw, feeling her chest expand and contract. As he sat there, trying to comfort his friend and wondering just why she was there, the ticket taker came by.

"Something wrong here?" she asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Nick replied.

"Do you know this individual?"

"Yes we… we're workmates, she's my friend…" the doors slid shut and the train began slowly easing away from the platform. "…and I guess she and I are both headed for Far End."

"Do you two have tickets?"

Nick extended his paw and handed her his ticket. He then noticed the feeling of a hard edge against the back of his head, something as thin as a ticket stub. He reached back, took it from Judy's paw and handed it to the conductor. Judy had stopped sobbing, but her grip had only grown tighter and Nick was beginning to wonder if she intended to strangle him.

After both tickets were clipped, the taker offered to help Nick with the bags. He thanked the kind wildebeest and awkwardly got off the deck of the train with Judy still holding tightly to his neck. Her feet wrapped around him. A few more minutes found Nick and Judy in two seats by the windows as the train made its way out of the station. Judy still had not said a word or released her grip on Nick, and though he desperately wanted some answers, he opted to just stroke her back and wait to see how she intended to proceed. A few minutes more and Judy loosened her grip before letting go and sitting in the adjacent chair, looking Nick in the face. Her eyes were streaked with tears, her nose was puffy and her ears were drooping. She looked miserable and Nick felt awful thinking that he was probably the cause of this.

All of the other tensions between them seemed to dissolve now that they sat face-to-face. Nick started to speak.

"Judy…"

"I'm sorry." She interrupted him. Nick was about to follow up and say something in reply, but she got in before he could utter a sound.

"You were right. I wouldn't have been supportive of you going. I would have fought tooth and claw to convince you to stay. I would've said we had emergencies to deal with, cases to finish… I want to say I'd never create a case and waste department resources, but with you I might have dared. Because that's what I want. I want you here. I want you with me every day. I want to face every challenge knowing I have my best friend with me… but that's selfish, and if you want something as badly as you seem to want this, then I shouldn't try to stop you or hold you back…"

"My best friend," and here Nick grabbed her paw and squeezed until it almost hurt her. "Is the one who would do what you did. Call me out when I did something without regard for her, and let me know that I was being a jerk when I was. Going to this new job may be my choice, but I should have told you, it was wrong of me not to, and I'm sorry I didn't."

Judy gripped back and stood in her chair to look him in the eyes.

"Nick, I just got a lecture from Ben about needing to salvage our situation for more than just us. And he told me what he sees in us. He said that our partnership goes beyond our uniforms or the precinct; that it's an extension of who we are to each other in real life… and I thought that summed us up beautifully; and I think it explains why I'm so scared about this next phase. You're not just my partner at work, you're my partner in everything in this city. And the thought that you won't be with me is terrifying. I have my courage, I have my confidence, and I can face what comes my way; I always have. But when I face all that I have to, knowing you're there to help me… it makes me feel that much stronger, and I'm afraid of what happens when I'm not as strong."

Nick looked at her like she had grown another head.

"Judy, you graduated top of your class at the Academy, you uncovered a major injustice from City Hall inside of a week on the force, you solved your first major case by your own chutzpah, and to top it off you outwitted a wily fox that kept clean and steered clear of officers like you for nearly two decades. You're the definition of strong. When I was at the Academy and I had to slog my way through the mud, face down guys ten times my size, and outperform my classmates in academic tests and physical endurance, my rule was to think of what you would do and how you would face those problems. You once said I'd make a good cop, and I say that if I ever do make a good cop it'll only be because I learned from the best. You can handle this job without me. And you'll be a great mentor to Travis. I have every confidence in that."

She smiled to hear him speak so well of her and her abilities, but she teared a little bit at the 'without' statement.

"…and the moment you need me for anything: work, life, a helping paw, or a shoulder to lean on, you can call me and I'll be there. You said this partnership extends beyond the precinct and beyond the uniform; and I agree. And since it goes beyond those trappings, that means you can count on me for anything."

Judy launched herself into him again as the tears began forming in her eyes and she squeezed so hard that Nick felt his head throb and his eyes start to bulge. The instinct to pry Judy off of his windpipe was strong, but Nick fought his instinct in order to hold this embrace with his friend. When she let go and allowed him to breathe again, she remained standing in her seat and looked into his eyes with her paws on his shoulders. In this position, for once, she was tilting her head down to look him in the eye.

"Nick… for what it's worth coming from another rookie, you're a fantastic officer. You say you need to prove yourself, and I respect that better than anyone. When I had to do the same thing I didn't have to face prejudice from other rabbits like you have to with other foxes. But I want you to know that you proved yourself to me and earned my respect a very long time ago. What you're doing now, what you have to do, I know you can do it. So whenever you're down or you feel it gets hard, I want you to know that I believe in you. And you proved everything great about yourself to me many times over. You already have one small victory, no matter what else happens."

He grinned at that. She was one animal, and yes a rookie cop like him, but on the scale of individual opinions, hers was the most important to him.

They spent the remainder of the ride to the Far End talking and discussing what would happen next. Nick promised that he would give Judy a call every morning to say hi and wish her well, and she made him promise to take her call at night when she would tell him about her day. Judy teared up once or twice at the thought of him not being there for birthdays, the anniversaries of their biggest cases and busts, or Saturday afternoons when they would usually go and hang out together. He told her he would make an extra long call for the big days in their shared history, but he also made her promise to come up with a few new traditions with the other members of the precinct, and not allow the preservation of their friendship to stop her from developing new ones.

She promised, but only after making sure he promised to keep working with her on their online degree programs. She wanted to work on economics next, and while she and Nick were both comparably skilled at math, she needed to pick Nick's brain for his understanding of the flow of capital. His knowledge of markets for goods - and contraband - from his years of 'self-employment' would be very useful for this subject. Nick was just relieved she did not want to do cyber-forensics while he was far removed from the majority of civilized places that would make use of such methods for crime.

Finally, as the sun reached its zenith, the train screeched to a halt in a wooded glade and the conductor announced the last stop: Far-End.

Collecting Nick's bags, the two of them alighted from the train and made their along the platform. Judy stopped briefly in a female bathroom to change out of her uniform and into the civies she kept in her personal bag. She came out in more casual clothes and fell into place beside Nick, carting one of his bags.

Disembarking from the platform, the two friends marched up the road to one of the streets just off the main road (which only hosted a handful of shops and restaurants). The streets were minimally populated, and mostly included various deer, squirrels and other small, ground-dwelling animals descended from forest species. Nick and Judy blended in fairly well in this environment, though it seemed odd for them both to be in the more urban area and see so few individuals who were antelope, gazelle, or other animals of African stock.

Nick led her up the road towards the Glade station and brought them to stand in front of a small house a little ways from the building. This was the bunk house where he would be staying. He produced a key and unlocked the door. Judy set his case on the floor just inside and looked around. Mostly bunk beds, a few desks, a small kitchenette, and water closet. She started opening cupboards and asking for his utensils and other personal kitchen items so she could start putting it away.

When she saw him looking at her with a raised eyebrow she realized that this was not her business. It was a temporary stay, not his long-term apartment, and if it was his apartment, he should be allowed to organize it his way. She voiced this realization and apologized. He in turn smiled and thanked her for helping, then proceeded to hand her what she asked for. He had grown accustomed to a number of her systems and methods of operation. If she wanted to organize his place, he was fine with it. They decided to add just a couple of his things to the regular assortment of supplies so that he would feel a little at home until he could find a new place in town.

When most of his personal effects were where they should be, Nick glanced at the clock in the kitchen and realized it was afternoon already and he should be helping Judy get a back to the station so she could get a ride back to the city. She told him that there was still time enough and that they could go and see the officers at the station before going to get something to eat.

"Do you think there's enough time?" she asked.

"I guess we have some time, though not a lot. Why do you want to go to the station?"

"I want to see who you're working with. Even if just for a few minutes I want to say hi and tell them something important. If there's time then come on, let's go."

She took off running, and Nick knew better than to argue with her further. He followed and they reached the door of the Glade Station a moment later. Grizz and Marten were both up front, but Bambini and Boggs were nowhere in sight.

"Hey Nick, I thought you weren't starting until tomorrow." Grizz said to the entering fox.

"I'm not, but my friend wanted to see the station just before she had to catch the train." Nick replied as he gestured towards the rabbit at his side.

"Hello," said Marten. "Glad to meet a friend of Nick's."

"Likewise." Judy said as she extended a paw to Marten and then Grizz.

"I just wanted to meet you both in the fur. I'm sure I'll see more of you while Nick is here." She looked over at Nick sweetly and then turned back to the animals who would be his new workmates. "And I wanted to let you know you're getting one of the best officers in all of Zootopia. Treat him well, cause he's amazing."

Grizz nodded and grinned. "Well we're counting on it. The chief doesn't suffer sub-par work here."

"So are you going to use him as a detective? You know he's very clever."

"We are in need of someone to organize our investigations. If he can do that it would help us a lot." Marten acknowledged.

"Mostly we all just do what needs doing here." Grizz replied.

"I'd like to know more. If you aren't too busy." Judy pressed.

Marten and Grizz, and even Nick, shared a look and gave tacit nods to one another.

"Sure Miss..." Marten began.

"Hopps." Judy replied.

"Officer Hopps." Nick corrected. "She's been my partner in Zootopia for over a year."

"Oh, well Officer Hopps, come along I'll show you how it all fits together." Marten offered, and Judy followed.

For roughly half and hour, Judy followed Marten and at times Grizz, who showed her all of the work space and explained how they planned for Nick to fit into the whole scheme. The two of them were nice, though a little rushed in their explanations, but Judy assumed that they were in fact very busy and too polite to tell her so. She listened and followed the story.

While this impromptu tour took place, Nick kept glancing at the clock, concerned that Judy would not make her train. When felt enough time had elapsed he patted her arm and gestured his head towards the door.

"We should go Carrots. Can't miss your train."

Judy looked at the clock herself and realized he was right. She thanked Grizz and Marten for the tour and promised to come by again to talk with them some more. Then she and Nick left by the front door and took off running for the town.

Down at the train station, they stopped to grab a bite of something from the only vendor on the platform and sat eating and sipping a shared drink as they waited. There was precious little time until the train left, and they could not afford to eat and talk at the same time, so they decided to eat and occasionally look at each other with a friendly glance.

Once they had cleared away their food the whistle came as the last call for animals taking the last train back to Zootopia. Judy and Nick came up on the station walkway. Both turned to face one another and Nick smiled with that knowing, cunning, hooded-eye smile, but the corners of his lips began to droop and his brow gave him a sad look to think that he was now truly going to tell her goodbye. Judy felt herself growing sad all over again to see those features on his face.

"Oh Nick."

She jumped into his arms and held him close. She did not cry, but she struggled to assure herself that letting him go was the right thing. Almost without thinking she planted a firm kiss on his cheek. Nick felt a reflexive spike in adrenaline and an increase in his heart rate, but instead of making any obvious response he just held her for another instant and squeezed her close to him. He set her down and she walked toward the doors. Judy turned and waived as they slid shut, then walked along the aisle of the train to stay in place as it pulled away from the station.

Nick waved at the train as it pulled away and felt an amazing sense of relief. The relief was not in seeing Judy go, but in feeling that he had been unburdened of something that had lingered in the back of his mind for the whole time he had known her. It seemed rather extreme to be thinking on something from so long in the past, but there it was and he had to acknowledge it - and let it go. Nick recalled those first few days at the start of Judy's job when she had approached him with fox-repellent in her belt, called him 'articulate' in a condescending attempt to be nice, blackmailed him, saved his life, and then torn into his heart when she stepped away from him and reached for that tube of fox repellent in a moment of fear. Though he had put a lot of it behind him when she came to ask for his help, he never completely let it go… until this moment.

She believed in him, she trusted him, and she respected this decision. She had paid lip-service to the idea of trusting him, even of having a certain fondness for him, but now she finally sold him on all of those statements. His workaholic, job-centric friend had left her job in the middle of a task to follow him this far, gave him hugs in friendship and then as a goodbye, and by all accounts had demonstrated just how much she respected his wishes to take on this job that would help him in his own career plans. That she had carried his pack and helped get him settled in his new place, and then taken the time to say hello to the animals he would work with, had been the crowning moment of the day.

He had nothing left in him now but the fondest feelings for his little friend, and for the first time since he decided to become Liaison-Officer he actually wondered for a moment if this truly was the right thing, or if he should have stayed working with her in Zootopia. He soon let go of that feeling as well. He was where he should be, and he still had the best friend a fox could have. He smiled and started walking back to the bunk house up by the glade.

Judy got to the edge of the train and kept waiving as it continued to pick up speed and put more distance between them and the platform. She watched Nick until she passed through the trees and the train was practically swallowed by the forest. She found a seat and looked ahead to where the train coasted through the shadowed woods, easing comfortably into her seat and thinking over what had transpired. She and Nick had had a cathartic day as he began his new job in a far-away place. She missed him already and wanted him back with her, but she felt strangely at peace with where she and Nick were as friends; more so than she had felt in a long time.

Back when they had first met, and Nick had first hustled her and then stomped all over her dreams and hard won accomplishments, she had felt more resentment for him than she had ever felt for any other animal in her whole life. Even after his help in saving her job and solving her first major case, she had not entirely forgotten what he had said, and at times she had felt a bit angry about it. The news that he was taking a new job, and the fact that he had sprung this on her without her knowing ahead of time had caused many of those old sentiments to surface, whether she had openly acknowledged them or not.

After the things she had seen and heard today with regard to his now place, and all of the things he had said about how much he believed in her, and his promise to be there the moment he was needed, she felt she had no more reason to feel upset. All she felt for him now was love and appreciation. He was her friend, and he intended to stay her friend no matter what; and she was resolved to do no less, no matter where they were or what happened.

She felt like hugging him close one more time… if only he weren't already so far away.

"Oh dear... I hope Travis and Ben did okay without me." She said out loud. She did not relish the thought of explaining this to Bogo.

Well, back to Zootopia...

I enjoyed exploring what gave Nick and Judy closure on this issue. They are incredibly close friends who have been a great influence on one another despite the tension of the last few months that have precipitated these tense few weeks of story. I wanted that sense of devotion and compassion to remain, and their interpretations of forgiveness in this chapter I felt resolved what the movie did not, and I will explain why.

From the movie:

In the emotional scene where Judy comes back to Nick to ask for help on the case - and to apologize - she alone apologizes, even though Nick had some things to be sorry for as well. Also, it was Nick who gave Judy a hug and held her close while Judy just stepped into it and cried without hugging him back.

I think this reflects what each of them responds to, but not what each party really needed. That is why I thought all was not completely forgiven or forgotten, despite the partnership.

Nick is clever and sharp-tongued; words and even lies come somewhat easily to him, and he hears a lot of prejudice thrown his way, which he has mostly learned to shrug off. Few animals ever get physically confrontational with him, so when they do he notices it. Actions speak louder than words from his perspective. (Back to the movie:) When he snapped at Judy over her comments about predators during the press conference he was willing to stay and argue until she reached for the fox-spray. If you watch his expressions it is that action that spoke loudest to him. His face went from accusatory and aggressive to decidedly cold and disillusioned with her.

Judy is very energetic and fearless in terms of potential injury (think Scrappy Doo from Hanna-Barbera). Being small among many Zootopians, physical action is something she has to account for in a very analytical way in order to avoid being hindered by her stature or crushed by a larger animal. She is also very cerebral compared to most rabbits, so words make a bigger impact on her than actions. On the first full day at her job she got put down in a general way by her boss and other cops, and muscled aside by larger animals, but Nick putting her down in a very specific and personal way really caused her to grow despondent. Words can hurt her, and she takes them seriously. When she apologized to Nick we saw this normally stoic individual suffer painful tears and a cracking voice as she tried to say that he was right about how her behavior had hurt him.

All of this also goes with how Disney modeled the two personalities: Judy's strong sense of idealism (Leslie Knope) in contrast to Nick's stronger sense of realism (Han Solo). She lives with her ideals, he lives with reality.

The fact that each tried to salvage their friendship in the movie using the method that each, rather than the other, would respond to (Judy's speech, Nick's hug) I thought failed to address the underlying problems - which required being able to see from the other perspective: Nick needed the hug, Judy needed to hear 'sorry' and 'I forgive you'.

Judy putting herself in a position for Nick to try to 'savage' her when it seemed like he was infected with Nighthowler extract may have shown trust, but not necessarily respect, which is where I think the movie left off - and where the point of this story originated. Judy and Nick have learned to give one another trust, but not necessarily respect, which I wrote as being quite different in Nick's view.

From the story:

The forgiveness that both characters ultimately find for each other is due to what each of them sees in the other's behavior, and the interpretations are just as important as the acts themselves. Answering some lingering interests I know others have about their relationship, they are working their way back to resolidify their friendship, but the good news is that at last their old wounds are closing.

For Judy, hearing Nick apologize for not sharing his plans with her, telling her that he has faith in her abilities, letting her know how much he values her, and promising to stay in her life as much as possible, was the best thing he could have done for her. He assuaged her feelings over the harsh things he said before taking the Liaison job, and helped to mend fences from when they first met: all by apologizing in a way that she specifically identifies with.

For Nick, having Judy come with him on the train, hug him to show her affection, help him move into his place, and come to the station to meet his colleagues is what gave him closure. Having her there, putting herself in a physically and emotionally vulnerable position, showing support with regard to this change and respect for it being his decision was more than what any speech could do.

For now the two will go their separate ways, Judy will be mentor to Travis, Nick will work towards being a detective.

In my next stories I will deal with taking on roles of leadership and what it means to grow into adulthood and responsibility.

I hope you will all keep reading.