CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Monday morning.

Nick opened his eyes slowly and tried to suppress the urge to yawn. He blinked a few times until his view wasn't blurry anymore. He looked around the room and spotted his favorite bunny dead asleep infront of him. He grinned as he watched her chest heave up and down, but his grin faded as he noticed his arm on her waist. In a swift movement he pulled it back, stifling a faint gasp. He didn't remember he put his arm there and was afraid that Judy might have felt bothered by it, but was too polite to remove it.

His sudden movements startled Judy and she woke up. Her eyes shot open and she came to a sitting position, panting.

"Who's there?" she yelped, but immediately relaxed as she heard Nick chuckle. She glanced at him with a frown.

"Look at you, jumpy rabbit." Nick joked with a large grin.

"Wilde, you scared me to death. I was having a bad dream." she stated accusingly, crossing her arms.

"Not my fault, you chose to move in with me." Nick remarked with his usual smug grin as he removed the sheets and got up from the couch, brushing invisible dirt off his upper body. As Judy didn't respond, he glanced at her with furrowed brows.

"What?" he asked a little dumbfounded.

"I did not move in." she declared with an arched eyebrow, releasing a low snicker. "Yet."

"So spending time at work with me is not enough, huh?" Nick teased, flashing her a flirty grin. Judy rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Nope, I am never gettin' enough of you, Slick." she replied, her smile widening as she watched Nick chuckle delightfully.

"Sweet."

Nick made his way towards the fridge and got a bowl of cereal.

"Breakfast?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. Judy declined his offer politely and went to the bathroom, getting ready for her big day.

Judy arrived at the ZPD and dropped Nick off, waving him goodbye. Nick got out of the car and started walking up the stairs towards the entrace of the ZPD, but froze in his tracks as a pang of worry rushed through him. He turned around, seeing that Judy wasn't gone yet. He ran up the car once more and opened the passenger door, sticking his head in. His expression was tense and cautious. Judy tilted her head and arched an eyebrow.

"Carrots." Nick breathed, slowly relaxing. "Please take care."

Judy smiled widely, it was so cute to see Nick worried about her. She gave him a reassuring nod.

"I will."

"Call for backup and I'll be there in the split of a second, I promise." Nick stated, his eyes never leaving hers. Judy chuckled and nodded again.

"Okay, don't get emotional." she said jocularly, watching a grin appear on Nick's lips.

"Countin' on ya, officer Fluff."

"I'll be back soon, don't miss me too much." Judy teased with a sassy grin. Nick pressed a paw against his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, feigning hurt.

"Oh, but I can't help it. When the light of my life isn't with me, my existence is meaningless." he mimicked with a large grin, which made Judy giggle.

"Get inside, Shakespeare. The chief is gon' eat you otherwise."

"Oh, right. See you in a while, crocodile." Nick said, winking at his partner. With that he turned around and entered the halls of the ZPD. Judy hesitated to drive off, she had the massive urge to run after him and embrace him tightly, feeling his soft fur against her own. Though, now wasn't the time for dreaming, she had a mission to focus on.

She started the engine and drove towards the park. Her thoughts wouldn't leave her alone and Nick's scent still lingered in the car. She sighed deeply as she thought about Nick's words. It would be too much to ask for if one day - oh, one day - he would say those words to her and actually mean them. She wanted to be the light of his life, but it seemed like he wasn't ready for it. Then again, they had just overcome their fight and Judy didn't want to make things awkward between them again, so this time she wanted to wait until he would make a move.

She arrived at the park, her notepad already in her paws. She surveyed the area cautiously, but around this time of the day there was no one around, except the owner, Silver, himself.

"Here goes nothing." she breathed as she jumped out of her massive police car and walked towards the field. It was silent around her, not even the wind was blowing. It gave her the creeps and her legs were a little shaky. Though, this time, she was wearing her uniform and was prepared for anything.

"Hopps." a dark voice called out, causing Judy to flinch. She turned around and saw Silver approaching her with a stern facial expression. "Took you a while."

"Hello, Silver." she said politely, offering him a nervous grin. Even now, knowing his background story, he intimidated her. "What's shaking?"

"What made you return?" he asked, locking eyes with her. His face was serious, yet his blue eyes seemed soft.

"I am here to ask a few more questions."

"I told you everything I know, Hopps." he replied, narrowing his eyebrows. Judy gulped and nodded nervously.

"I know, Silver. But one question has been bothering me."

"Hmpf. Shoot."

"What's the name of the fox you befriended in your youth?"

Silver hesitated to answer, instead he glared at her, a low growl erupting from him. Judy drooped her ears and took a step backwards, he didn't look pleased at all.

"Why would you like to know?" he asked, his voice low and edgy, his glare turning into a dark scowl.

"Because I have a lead and.. well, if you told me the name, I could maybe find out who did those atrocious things to your father."

"Hah. So you and your fox can bathe in attention? So you can be called heroes? For solving a mystery that occured over ten years ago? No, darling. I make the rules here and my rules don't allow foxes to succeed at anything. My condolences you're partnered with a fox." he said bluntly, causing Judy to frown.

"This is not about pride, Silver. Stop being so judgemental. Nick and I are merely trying to help, trying to make you feel better. He isn't like Diesel!" Judy blurted out, covering her mouth afterwards. Silver tilted his head and his expression softened. He looked rather confused now.

"Diesel?"

"Nevermind." Judy stammered, trying to regain her composure.

"Who's Diesel?" Silver asked again, crossing his arms, his stare persistant and intimidating.

"A suspect." Judy breathed, closing her eyes in annoyance.

"Hm, good luck then." Silver said, turning on his heel to walk away. "But his name surely wasn't Diesel." he called out before he disappeared into one of the holes. Judy's eyes shot open and her heartbeat increased. His name wasn't Diesel? She thought she was so close to cracking this case - but his name wasn't Diesel? It was a bummer. Judy growled and clenched her paws into fists.

"Wait!" she called out, but Silver wasn't in sight anymore. She rolled her eyes, debating if she should go after him, but it seemed too dangerous. Silver obviously wasn't in a good mood. Though, she had to hang on, he was the only witness she had, so she gathered all her courage and followed him.

Inside the warren she couldn't see him, but there were a whole lot of rooms. She crawled down the way too narrow tunnel and searched for him. Then she heard soft, sad music playing in one of the rooms. She twitched her ears to locate the sound and followed it. She stopped infront of a wooden door, which was odd, but she sighed and opened it. The room had a way higher roof and she was able to stand on her hind legs again. She looked around the room and spotted Silver standing infront of a wall, he obviously hadn't noticed that someone entered his room due to the music. Judy approached him slowly and watched him cautiously, not making a sound. He was staring at a picture on his wall, it showed a light grey rabbit in a black suit, saluting. Judy tilted her head and stepped a little closer.

"That's my father." Silver's low voice erupted, which startled Judy half to death. She thought he wasn't aware of her presence.

"I am sorry for snooping around." she said shyly, drooping her ears. Silver turned around and locked eyes with her.

"I am a rabbit, too. I have the same hearing skills, you know." he remarked bluntly. His posture and expression were much softer now.

"Yeah, that slipped my mind, sorry."

"Why did you follow me?" he asked, crossing his arms over his fluffy chest.

"I want to help you." she stated sincerely, flashing him a timid smile. Silver arched an eyebrow as he kept staring at her.

"You want publicity." he said accusingly, his expression darkening.

"No!" Judy barked, narrowing her brows. "I want to help a fellow bunny that's in need of help. I have no ulterior motives. You are acting tough on the outside, but I can see that you're hurting."

"You know nothing." he growled, turning away, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Please, Silver. If you let me in, we can finally find out who murdered your father. Don't you want your misery to end?" she asked soothingly, stepping closer.

"How is it going to end?" Silver snapped, glaring at her. Judy flinched mildly, but tried to stay calm. "Even if we found out who did this and even if you're able to put them behind bars - it won't bring my father back and it won't erase my horrible memory and it won't undo these scars!" he panted, feeling his paws starting to tremble. The hurt he hid behind his bitterness was unimagenable.

"Shhh, please. It will give you the oppurtunity to make peace within your heart." she said softly, offering him a sweet smile. Silver let out a mournful sigh and his posture softened.

"Just leave." he pleaded, his voice edgy, yet there was softness.

"No, I want you to trust me."

"No fucking way." he hissed darkly, his expression hardening once more. "You are working with a filthy fox, there's no way I could ever trust you."

"Stop talking about my partner in such a manner!" Judy snapped, getting annoyed by his judgemental remarks. "He has feelings too and he has a dark past, just like you! He is trying to make this world a better place, otherwise he wouldn't have joined the ZPD. I can assure you that he's not trying to harm anyone or let alone eat anyone. You're being delusional. Just give it a try!"

Silver narrowed his brows as he bowed down slightly, being on the exact same eye level with Judy, his expression beyond furious.

"Did I stutter, Hopps?" he asked, his voice fierce and bitter. "I said no fucking way."

"Fine! Keep dwelling on the past and sink even deeper into your depression. If you don't want help, I won't force myself on you." Judy replied bitterly, stomping out of the room. She slammed the door behind her and crawled out of the warren again.

Silver watched her retreating figure and flinched a little as she slammed the door. He drooped his ears and turned around to look at his father's picture again, gritting his teeth.

"I can't trust a fox, I just can't." he breathed, his eyes focused on the picture, as if he was talking to his father. "It wouldn't feel right to let a fox work on this case, not after what foxes did to you."

He exhaled sharply, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them again and walked to the other side of the room, opening a dresser. There was a small mirror inside of it and he stared at his own reflection, clenching his paws. There were four long and deep scars across his face. He slammed the dresser shut and turned away in disgust.

"Not after what foxes did to me."

Judy arrived back at the ZPD and was furious. She stomped into her office, past Clawhauser and some other officers. She slammed the door behind her and positioned herself on her chair, letting out a long sigh. She cupped her head in paws and tried to keep her breathing steady. This had to be a joke, this case was even harder than she thought.

Her office door opened and she looked up with a dark frown, but softened as she spotted Nick entering.

"Carrots, what's wrong? Did he hurt you?" Nick asked concerned, kneeling down infront of her. He rested his paws on her knees and locked eyes with her. Judy shook her head no and sighed.

"No, he didn't and I don't think he would. He just won't talk." she admitted, gritting her teeth bitterly. Nick arched an eyebrow and surveyed her. She looked severely annoyed.

"Why?"

"Because I am partnered with you, with a fox." she breathed sorrowful, bowing her head in shame.

"Carrots, you told me he has accurate reasons to dislike foxes, so what's making you so upset?" he asked soothingly, squeezing one of her knees to make her look up, which she did.

"He does, but that's no reason to make nasty remarks about them."

"He is just bitter and perhaps sad. I wouldn't be too fond of wolves or whatever predators either if they harmed me or my family." Nick reassured her, hoping she'd gather new hope. "You're an excellent officer and if it helps, tell him that you were partnered with someone else. With Francine or Delgato. I don't mind."

"No, Nick. I am not concealing you." she replied sternly. "By the way, Diesel ain't our man."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, rather surprised.

"Well, he didn't talk a lot, but he did confirm that the fox he befriended in his youth wasn't Diesel, which is a huge disappointment."

"Shit." Nick grunted, his eyes darting around the room for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts to find a solution.

"You could say that."

"I have an idea." Nick pointed out, looking at her again, a smile forming on his lips. Judy tilted her head and furrowed her brows. "I will talk to him."

"Are you sick or somethin'? He will dig a grave for you right on the spot."

"No, Carrots. This is not only about some missing mammals, but also about an unsolved homicide. We have to try everything." he coaxed her with a reassuring smile. Judy sighed deeply as she placed her paws on his, which were still placed on her knees.

"I guess you're right."

"Keep your head up. We will find the responsible foxes. And we will find the missing mammals." he said in a determined tone, his eyes never leaving hers. "I will talk to him tonight."

So, do you guys have any sympathy for Silver? 'Cause I surely do somehow. T_T

What do you think? Is it a good idea for Nick to visit Silver at night? I am not sure~

Nick's such a gift, no? 3

Tell me your opinions, share your thoughts with me! Leave a review. xoxo