Judy stared at her screen, her body stiff. She didn't even feel like wiggling her nose, because that'd require moving. And moving wasn't allowed. It'd be a few days since she'd been put on desk duty. It felt like eternity.

Of course, she'd pushed her luck. Yesterday she'd tried to sneak out with Waggles, but the officer had laughed and smiled that huge grin only hippos can have. "Not in a million years, Judy. You know the Chief would have my hide!" She groaned, her head dropping. That wasn't the worst of it.

She'd tried to exercise this morning. She was slim as it was, but she hated sitting still. She needed to move. She could finally do all of her morning stretches without any discomfort, and her stitches were healing well as far as she could tell. But when she'd tried to sneak off to the work out room, she'd been caught. She'd hoped it wouldn't get back to the Chief.

As if on cue, out bellowed his voice. "HOPPS! My office, NOW!" Her ears lay back against the back of her head. Unlike Nick, her ears couldn't just lay against her head. Oh no, when they went down she could feel the tips nearly touch her tail. As she scooted off the chair they actually did touch.

She walked to his office, looking around. She saw Clawhauser talking to Buckley down at the front desk as the rest of the Precinct buzzed about. She walked up to his door and knocked.

The door opened and Bogo pointed his hoof at a chair. "In. Sit. Now." His voice was so full of authority that Judy felt insecure for a moment.

She moved to the chair and hopped up, forcing her ears up so she didn't look so gloomy. The door had already been shut and the larger mammal sat behind his desk.

"What were your orders, Hopps?"

She knew where this was going. "Desk duty and finish reports."

"Why were you given that assignment?"

"To recuperate."

A hoof slammed on the desk, making her jump in surprise. "Yet you try to sneak out for patrol duty with Waggles?"

'Not fair, Justine,' she thought. She looked at the Chief. "But sir! It was patrol! I could have sat in the passenger seat the whole time!" His eyes bore into hers. "I just… My desk… It's… Suffocating, sir."

He huffed. This wasn't going at all like she planned. "And earlier this morning?"

"Excuse me, sir?" She was shaking, but she hoped she was hiding it well. The Chief had a soft side and from time to time gave exceptions, but now wasn't that time.

"This morning. The exercise room. Coming in clear yet, Hopps? Or have Wilde's actions rubbed off on you?"

'So much for that thought.' She tried to stare him back down. "Chief, I'm not a kit, or a fawn, or anything like that. I can handle myself. I'm fine. I don't hurt and I'm healing fine. It won't kill me to do some running or some hurdles."

"Did you get clearance?" His voice was eerily calm all of a sudden.

"It's exercise, I don't need clearance for that!"

"You took three weeks of medical leave!" the Chief yelled at her. "The doctors specifically told you to rest and yet you nearly cried to get back to work. The doctor didn't clear you and only agreed when I promised him desk duty. Even Mayor Lionheart has been making inquiries as to what's going on! And now you're pushing past all of that, despite warnings, and ignoring medical orders after major surgery! Tell me right now why you won't listen to anyone!"

Until a moment ago, Judy had wanted to speak back up, to defend herself. Now, she felt like she was in a corner. She knew she was pushing too fast, too hard, too quickly.

"I have to, sir."

He slammed his other hoof on the table, knocking pencils over. "What does that mean, Hopps? What are you so impatient to get to that you're willing to harm yourself for?!"

She ducked her head and reached into her pocket, pulling out a piece of paper and putting it on Bogo's desk. It was folded up, so he quickly unfolded it before staring at her wide eyed. "This is a private file that the hospital hasn't released and we blocked from access."

She was glad he didn't ask how she'd gotten it. She couldn't have protected her friend right now. "I know. But I had to know what I was missing out on." She had noticed something was off. The way Nick had acted, the way he hushed the other officers a few times, the way he was always prepared to answer questions about it. Something had been off.

The Chief laid the report down. Surely he noticed that one section was less bent or pressed than the rest. Like it had been saved and read and was the most important. The part of the report detailing the injuries. The Chief read it out loud to her horror.

Lieutenant Judy Hopps was located in the basement level of previously mentioned building. Showed signs of internal damage. After assessment by medical team, she was sent to William's Memorial for treatment pertaining to internal injuries, damaged right thigh and left foreleg. Officer Nickolas Wilde found further inside the basement level. Immediate assessment found ragged breathing, suspected sprain to the right front leg, and immediate gastrointestinal damage via external puncture. Sent to William's Memorial for immediate treatment to prevent further loss of blood. No other bodies found.

She was looking at the floor. He'd acted fine, but she'd known there was more. And she'd found it. She may have been internally bleeding, but that didn't mean he'd avoided injury. He was also in a life threatening situation. Tears ran down her face silently; somehow, hearing it out loud was so much more painful.

She didn't notice the chair turn around. "When the building collapsed, there was a lot of damage. Support structures were busted everywhere. A piece of type 2 rebar ended up puncturing him. It entered right below the ribs and came out the front."

She had been glad there wasn't a picture, but she could imagine it. Now, the image was clearer. More terrifying. "Why didn't he say anything?"

"To protect you."

She looked up, looking at the back of the Chief's big chair. When he turned away, she didn't know what his face read. Nick was better at that, anyway. "How? How could not knowing protect me?"

The Chief turned the chair enough to look at her with one eye. "He's on the case. The same case that put him in that state. The one that left you comatose for 13 days. He knows the risks, and still asked Clawhauser, myself, and any other officer to hide what had happened from you. He didn't say it, but he did so to keep you from being involved."

She felt her ears droop. She wanted so badly to work the case, to find out what was going on. To work with her partner and solve this crime. She hadn't realized what he'd gone through until she found that file. Now she realized it was deeper.

"I'm just a dumb bunny." It came out before she realized she was thinking it. The Chief shook his head at her.

"No. He's stubborn. And he's protecting his friend." The thought didn't help much. She immediately looked up more so she could see the Chief with more than just the tops of her eyes.

"Why would you put him back on the case? Knowing what he went through, why would you let him anywhere back near the case? He's personally involved at this point!" She didn't realize she was shouting until he raised his eyebrows at her.

"A second ago you were mad that he kept you out of him. Do you understand why now?" She nodded but kept her eyes on the Chief. He sighed and rubbed his head. "He was able to figure out the same about the case with no resources compared to the department's backing and three other Precinct's help that Talens and her partner got. His background makes him valuable. His urge to protect you, while leading to misunderstandings, is just as valuable at this point." He nodded toward the edge of his desk where multiple files were stacked. "Also, unlike you, his injuries were dangerous because of blood loss. He didn't rupture anything vital, and the doctors agreed he could be back on this case thanks to his stronger muscle structure and less overall damage."

She wasn't happy about it. She jumped down, her back to the Chief as she walked to the door and reached for the handle. "Hopps!"

She turned around. "What?" she snapped back. He may be her boss, but he was being unfair. And Nick… he was being stupid. She'd have to yell at him when he called to give her an update.

The Chief's face softened, surprising the small rabbit. "Wilde is a valued officer, but so are you. Despite being smaller than those around you, you both have forced all of us to acknowledge you. The city has as well. You think we don't understand what you're going through?"

She looked down, her paws clasped in front of her midriff. She was strangely aware of her new scar.

"This is for your own good, Hopps. Your doctor appointment to make sure you're fully cleared is soon, and we need you back up and running."

She looked up at him. "When I get cleared, will I be put on the case?"

The Chief raised his arms. "Depends on what's happening. Your partner may have solved it by then. You two seem to do well with small time frames."

She tried to laugh at the comment, but instead it came out a sniffle. She'd been crying more than she realized. "I don't think he'll have this one done by then."

Bogo waved his arm. "We'll see when the time comes. Now get back to work. And for God's sake, stop pushing yourself and my buttons. Between you and your partner, I feel like I've gained five more years in the past month."

She opened the door and left his office, heading towards her desk with a newfound vigor in her feet. She'd rest and recuperate, and when she was put back on the case she'd kill Nick and then solve the case with him. She looked down and saw Waggles talking to Clawhauser. Clawhauser noticed her and waved while Waggles looked mortified. Judy read the silent 'Sorry!' mouthed at her and shook her head back, not angry anymore. She waved at Clawhauser and went back to her desk.

As she sat down, she noticed she had a new email from inside the department. She clicked on, and quickly read the message.

He'd be mad if I told you, but you seem like a pick me up. Remember that file Nick gave back to me that he wouldn't tell you about? I uploaded it and sent it to you. Maybe you can figure out why he needed this old thing. Don't forget about going with me to get Gazelle's new CD this weekend!

-Benji

She laughed to herself. Even in a message, Clawhauser could make anyone feel better. Even if he was never assigned to a case, he was just as important as any other officer. She clicked on the attached file, noticing as three small pictures came up of smaller mammals, all of them predators. She didn't mind that, it was just an interesting connection. She noted that the wolf in the picture looked like he was an arctic, but with the black and white photo she couldn't be for sure. Dogs were unusual to see; most of them preferred the country, especially those who had a "hunting" biology. But the fox looked familiar. Despite being a colorless photo, it was obvious that he was a red fox. His ears had dark tips and so did his tail. He was about the same height. She looked up the top to see who was involved. She quickly found the case summary following the photos.

Three wounded predators from what appears to be an organized attack. All three taken to hospital for medical treatment and statements. Elijah Snow (Wolf) died in surgery. Zachary Hunt (bloodhound) survived life threatening injuries and gave descriptions of attackers.

Judy froze as her eyes saw the next line and read it out loud, noticing but not caring as voice got louder. "Daniel Wilde (fox) survived minor injuries but left treatment against doctor's advice, unable to locate to get a statement?!" She immediately started to speed read the old case, noticing it was closed due to no leads. As she memorized the details of the case, she only had one thought in her mind. She immediately began to search for the officer file of her partner, hoping she could find something, anything!, to connect the two. She lost all track of time as she started looking through documents and old maps, her paws tapping away at the keyboard with a ferocious speed.


AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I wasn't actually sure where to take this chapter. I knew what to do with Nick next, but once I started this it flowed better than I hoped. I also planned to introduce this idea later, but right now became opportune for another bombshell I intend to drop later. Two major plots going at the same time with a touch of romance and quite the mystery. I don't want to toot my own horn, but I'm surprising even myself. Hope you're enjoying the twists and turns too!

Jay AKA Pyre