Author's Note: Hey everyone! Aaaaagh I finally managed to finished this chapter! I just finished my finals, but I still have tons of work to do for grad school apps. But I couldn't leave you guys hanging so I worked my butt off to get this chapter out! Chapter 15 might take a while to come out too since grad school apps and I'm also going on vacation during Memorial Day weekend. I would say ETA would be about a week? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Oh and don't forget to leave a favorite/follow/review!

Nick laid down on the grassy field by the bridge, basking under the warm sun and staring at the clouds lazily pass by. He sighed, all the clouds reminded him of Judy. There was one shaped like a bunny, one shaped like a carrot, and one shaped like a heart. It's been two weeks since Nick got that month paid leave, but more importantly, two weeks since that moment. He cringed as he thought about how he broke down trying to explain the inner turmoil that occurs in his mind daily. It wasn't just embarrassing. It was fucking scary. He always thought letting someone know what exactly occurred in his mind would make them think that he was some freak, psycho, or at the very least a crybaby. It was one of the reasons he had that cool, wise-cracking, and sly fox persona in the first place. It served as a barrier to prevent anyone from finding out. However, even when he let down his guard that evening, it didn't push her away. It brought her closer. She opened up her arms and accepted him and his struggles. Words couldn't describe the amount of relief, gratitude, and love he had for Judy in that moment. He poured out his heart to her, and she received. And in return, she poured out her heart, and he received. And in that very moment of time, he felt they were one body and one soul. When they finally let go of each other, he wasn't sure, but he saw in her eyes that she felt the same way.

He grabbed his journal by his side and started writing. He started making it a habit to write out his thoughts, or what he liked to call it his stream of consciousness. Judy gave the journal to him the day after their moment.

On that night, she came in to his place holding a stack of books that hid the entire upper side of her body.

He smirked and asked, "What you got there Carrots?

She placed the books onto his bed, "Oh just some light reading about therapy, mental disorders, and psychoanalysis."

Amused by her dedication, he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "So what, you think you're an expert?"

"Well, probably more of an expert than you. Oh right, here's another thing." Judy said. She threw the journal at his face, which landed onto his arms.

"Ow!" Nick yelped.

"I also got you a journal so you can write out any thoughts you have! I heard that helps too."

He sat down next the books and threw the journal next to him, "Gee, sounds like a lot of work for a lazy fox like me."

"Come on Nick! We gotta work hard to beat this thing! I bet we can beat this thing in a week if we really work at it!"

Her naive optimism irritated him a little, she didn't fully understand that he has been fighting this for the majority of his life. He couldn't blame her though. She was a bunny cop with great impatience and great drive. She approached this like a case, which worked well for her many times. He just hoped that she wouldn't be disappointed when she realizes it may take a lot longer than she thought to "solve this case."

She started coming over every other day, the other days she reserved for Jack. Nick went along with what she had planned so she would feel like she's making progress. Unfortunately that meant doing a bunch of things he found annoying or pointless. He didn't care for meditation. By closing off the usual distractions in his life, it just gave him a time for him to be haunted by the failures in his past. Yoga caused him to lose his balance and fall many times, which just flared up his pain from the gunshot wounds. Also, the green juice-making sessions were just outright disgusting. Yet he didn't have the heart to tell her he hated doing all those things. Perhaps it was because doing those things were actually not so bad if it meant more time with her.

The times he cherished the most with her however were after all those depression-fighting sessions when they would just relax at his place. They would watch TV, cook together, play cards, gossip, or just talk. Just being with her distracted him from all the craziness that's been happening outside and inside his mind lately. The joy and boldness that exudes from her body were contagious, and it allowed him to be his happy self.

Nick noticed something interesting on the fifth day after their moment. It was a complete accident. He was passing by her to grab some water in the kitchen when his tail brushed against her face. He turned back to apologize when he saw her cheeks turn crimson red. She gently touched her cheeks as she seemed surprised herself.

She quickly turned around and stammered, "W-w-weren't you getting water or something?!"

He was amused by how flustered she was by a simple brush of his tail. Perhaps she still had some feelings for him. He entertained the thought of pursuing it, but he quickly shot it down. He never wanted to break up the relationship between Jack and Judy. He still believed they would always be the superior couple. However, that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun. He'll stop if Judy told him to.

Judy never told him to. For the next few days, whenever she came over, Nick would make sure to act in a way that was guaranteed to create that same reaction. That included brushing his tail against her legs, standing or sitting a little too close to her liking, and lying his head on her lap. With each action, her cheeks would turn crimson red and she would find it hard to speak again. But she would never protest. He was glad. These were kind of casual touches that he would do whenever he imagined them as a couple. It was nice to have just a little part of his fantasy become reality even though none of this would ever happen. Eventually he attempted even bolder actions, like putting his arm around her when they're watching TV or scratching the back of her head between her ears. To his surprise, that's when she started returning the favor. She would rest her head on his side, hug his tail, or rub his belly. The belly-rubbing was his favorite. It was strange, and morally gray at best, what was happening between them. He didn't mean for it to get this far. But this was the happiest he felt and by extension could also be helping his mental health. He should've realized that mental health wasn't always that simple.

Nick was sitting on his bed against the wall just looking through his Instagrr feed. He saw that one of his friends spammed his followers with 10 selfies in the row. He shook his head in disappointment, some mammals really need to learn their Instagrr etiquette. Only celebrities like Justin Beaver were allowed to do that. Just when he was about to comment on his friend's picture, his mind decided to betray him. He warped back to a time of a great pain. He found himself in the living room at his old home, where he and his mother used to live, after his dad left. There wasn't much in the living room, just a two seater couch, a 15 inch TV, and a small coffee table. They couldn't afford much more. There was pure darkness that surrounded him. Even with his night vision he couldn't see through them. He turned around and he found he wasn't alone. There was his mom. Lying on the floor on a pool of blood. A handgun by her right paw, and a bullet hole in her head. She was wearing makeup and her best evening gown, she wanted to go out with some dignity. He saw that her eyes were open, seemingly stuck in time, as they showed the feeling of pure hopelessness and despair right before her suicide. Nick's body started to shake and he got down to his knees. He covered his face with his paws and just kept whispering, "This isn't real. This isn't real. I'm at home in my apartment. This isn't real. This isn't real."

"How could you do this to me?"

He looked up and saw his mom, towering over him, with her eyes filled with hatred.

She snarled, "How could you treat me like this? Your own mother."

"I….I….I…."

"You made me do this. You were a terrible son. You caused so much pain. You abandoned me. You hated me. A mother could only withstand so much. You made me kill myself. What kind of poor excuse of a son are you?"

"I'm sorry mother!" he sputtered out. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me, please."

"If only you said that earlier, before I shot myself. Now I live in hell for an eternity with the shame of killing myself because I had a son like you. It was worth it though. I couldn't stand being alive knowing that you were my son."

His mind started racing at a million miles per hour, and his chest started feeling tight. He clutched his chest as he couldn't breathe and started to hyperventilate. His mother kept yelling at him until he suddenly heard a familiar voice,

"Nick? Nick? Nick? I'm here Nick. Don't you worry, everything will be okay."

He covered his eyes as a white blinding light shined through the darkness. He put his paw down and saw his mother was gone. He was back in his apartment. He felt a paw on his left shoulder and looked to his left. It was Judy. She looked at him with pleading eyes, like she was begging him to be okay.

"This girl...how does she do it?" Nick wondered in amazement. He felt her remove her paw from his shoulder to grab one of his paws tightly. That squeeze in his paw helped him remember that she was by his side. She wasn't going anywhere. She's here. For him. He put his arm around her and brought her closer to him. He whispered, "Thank you," and tenderly kissed her in the head between her ears. He then rested his muzzle on top of her head. He felt her shift her weight so she could wrap her arms around his body and rest her head against his chest.

He finished his last thought and closed the journal. He finished writing everything that occurred during the panic attack. He shuddered. Writing it down reminded him how scary his mind could betray him. However, he also realized something else. Writing it down made things much more concrete for him. This mental illness wasn't this abstract idea that he brought up to be some godlike force that was bent on destroying him. It was just his mind that was perhaps rewired strangely after some traumatic events in his life. To him that meant with some work, perhaps he could rewire it back to a time when he was happy. Maybe there is reason for hope. His ears drooped again. Who was he kidding, yes writing out his thoughts helped him with that epiphany, but it's still such a strong presence in his mind. How could he fight against that?

He threw his journal away in frustration and looked forward. He saw a bed of wildflowers and was brought back to a different memory. When his family and he used to come here, his mom would pick flowers and make flower crowns for all of them. As a kid, he would be amazed by her talent to create art from any material she randomly found. He would just sit and watch as she delicately crafted each crown. When she thought she might be done, she placed a crown on a rock to carefully inspect it. She always had this pose where she clench her paws into fists and make a V-shape to place her head on top. Her face would scrunch into a focused look, and it wasn't rare to see her tongue stick out subconsciously. Once she smiled and nodded, that's when Nick knew she was done.

He smiled but could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He hadn't had a memory about his mother for a long time that wasn't her suicide. He missed her. Channeling her artistic energy, he walked over to the bed of flowers and started picking some of the prettier ones. He was definitely rusty, his hands didn't have that delicate and subtle touch needed to make the perfect flower crown. Once he felt like he did the best he could, he set it on a tree stump and gave it a good look. He gave it a solid okay, not nearly as good as his mom's, but it was acceptable. With some work it could probably be Instagrr-worthy.

Suddenly it hit him. He was able to create something, and not fail. He was not the complete failure that he usually thought he was. And just like that he was able to chip away some of the darkness that plagued his mind. He smiled. Perhaps he really was getting better.

"Thanks mom," he whispered.

Judy and Jack were on patrol duty, parked at one of the busiest market streets in Sahara Square. There were blocks of street vendors trying to sell their latest wares ranging from fruits to jewels to celebrity memoirs. It was always a bit funny to Judy how just a simple presence of a patrol car could deter thievery by a significant amount. Being on patrol was by far not one of her favorite duties, but she recognized the importance of it. She rather be in less action if it meant safer streets. Besides, it usually wasn't too bad since she has Jack, who's always preoccupied what would be a dull time with good conversations and kisses. Today, however, she had a lot in her mind to get her through patrol duty.

"Is there something wrong? You've been awfully quiet today," Jack asked.

"Oh I was just thinking about that case, I just wonder what we're missing." Judy replied.

"Don't worry Jude, we'll figure it out soon. Maybe we just need a break from it and then we can attack it with a fresh mind."

"Yeah... you're right."

Jack kissed her on the cheek, and faced back ahead to keep watch of any suspicious activity.

Judy rubbed her cheek sheepishly and said to herself, "He really is sweet to me." She tried focusing on patrol, but after 5 minutes she found herself thinking about the case again. They were previously assigned a special case regarding a burglary of Bank of Zootopia. It seemed to be like any other bank robbery: weasel comes in, robs the bank, then escapes in a getaway car. However, when Jack and she reviewed all the traffic cameras, they saw that the getaway car just disappeared. Not able to do much with the scant information they had, they were relegated to patrol duty until they could make some progress in the case. Not being used to failure, she couldn't help but keep thinking about how they could approach it differently, what they missed, etc.

"Attack it with a fresh mind," Jack said in her head.

"Wait! Maybe I can ask Nick about the case!" Judy thought. "He would be a fresh mind to the case and with his experience with crime, he can definitely offer some helpful advice!" She could barely contain her giddiness about the possibility of a breakthrough for her case. Her mind then transitioned the past two weeks with Nick.

"Oh great, now my mind is on Nick instead of the case, I guess I'm never going to focus on patrol," she thought.

She quietly sighed. She hoped she was truly helping Nick. She figured out quickly that her original methods, like yoga and meditation, were not helping him much. In fact, she could tell that he sorta hated it. However, she never stopped carrying out those sessions because it was amusing to watch Nick trying to feign inner peace as he struggles to do a yoga pose or gag as he downs his green juice.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart," she thought.

What she also figured out was he was the happiest when they were just hanging out together after those sessions. Who knew that just gossiping with him or watching TV with him was enough. That's why she came over at a consistent schedule, she didn't want him to ever experience the level of sadness he had when he broke down two weeks ago. Her heart absolutely broke when she witnessed it happening. He seemed to be so dejected, so helpless. She couldn't let this happen any further. She did the only thing that she could think of at the time, hugging. With her hug, she wanted him to know that every little molecule of her body was telling every molecule of his body that she was here for him. Then it happened. She felt this connection to Nick that she never felt before. She could feel her heart screaming out to Nick and his heart to her. Only time she felt that way was….their first kiss.

She wasn't sure how, but she felt Nick also knew that things were different between them after that moment. Nick started acting more intimate with her. Three days afterwards, he brushed his tail against her face. No, more like his tail gently caressed her face. She was humiliated and quickly turned away, How could he do that to her, giving her such a tease. He knows that she has a boyfriend! She deduced there was a possibility he was just messing with her or maybe he was attracted to her, or both. She knew that she should've put a stop to it too. Jack would not be happy about this. He already had some qualms about her spending so much time with Nick. Yet, she didn't tell him to stop. Because she liked it. A lot. His scent, the feel of his fur, his warmth, everything. He was irresistible. Eventually, he did it so frequently, she figured it wouldn't hurt but to respond back by touching him too. If he was attracted to her, he would enjoy it. If he was messing with her, then she can mess with him back. Plus, she noticed that he seemed even happier when they were….interacting like this with each other. She justified this by telling herself that she was doing what was best for his mental health. And if she was attracted to him, this was just a good way to just let it out in a healthy manner that would most certainly not be cheating on Jack.

But then there was last night. She saw Nick sitting against the wall on his bed, with his arms holding on to his knees and his head down on his knees. He was shaking and muttering unintelligible words to himself. Her heart sank. Guilt and frustration filled her heart. She felt like a dumb bunny, thinking she could heal him in a week. Yet, here he is two weeks later, suffering from a panic attack. A bad one too, she wasn't even sure if he was aware she was here.

"God how could I have been so naïve," she thought sadly.

She heard Nick let out a yelp tinged with regret and sadness.

This was no time for beating herself up, she needed to help. She did what her instincts told her and she went on his bed and placed a comforting paw on his shoulder. He raised his head and looked at her. She didn't just see his bloodshot, puffy eyes, she saw shame, fear, and guilt. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly and whispered, "I'm here…I'm here...it's okay...everything's okay." He stared intensely at her as if she was the light at the end of the tunnel. Judy felt a sigh of relief as his breathing became more regular and controlled. Nick then let go of Judy's hand and used that newly free arm to wrap it around Judy's shoulder and drew her closer to him. He whispered, "Thank you," and kissed her on the head between her ears. He then rested his muzzle on that very spot and laid there.

Her heart was now fluttering like a butterfly. She missed this feeling, like she was the luckiest bunny in the world. Lucky to be treated with such love and affection. She then shifted her weight to hug him around his torso and buried her head against his chest. She's known how much Nick needed her. What she just realized was how much she needed him as well.

"Babe? What are you thinking about?" Jack asked.

Judy quickly sat up and looked to the front.

"Oh...just how I'm the luckiest bunny in the world to be with someone like you." Judy lied.

Nick and Judy were seated on his bed various reports and notes scattered around his bed and a laptop by their side. He just finished watching all the available surveillance videos of the robbery and escape and was now looking through the notes.

"What do you think Nick?" Judy asked.

His mind was carefully taking in all the details and then it clicked, he knew how the weasel escaped. He smiled.

"Judy, look at the Camera 68 and then 69."

She grabbed her laptop and watched the footage. Camera 68 showed the getaway car driving behind an 18-wheeler truck with a Gary's Groceries label on an empty freeway while on Camera 69 just showed the truck driving.

Judy has probably seen this footage over 100 times. A little irritated, she said, "What's your point Nick?"

"Well here's a little Zootopian history lesson for you, ready for class?"

She smiled and rolled her eyes. With fake giddiness she said, "Ready teacher! Oh so sorry I didn't get you an apple earlier, I'll be sure to get you one tomorrow!"

He wagged his finger, "Now Judy, no one likes a teacher's pet! Besides I like blueberries, which makes you a pretty crappy teacher's pet. Even worse! You get an F."

She gasped, "What? But I've never gotten an F before!" She placed her paw on her forehead as if she was about to faint, "Oh woe is me!"

"But maybe if you pay attention to this lesson, I can give you a…...C-?"

"Gee Mr. Wilde, that would be all kinds of generous from you!"

They both chuckled and then he began, "Well 15 years ago, Zootopia implemented this surveillance system about as part of the initiative to lower crime in Zootopia. It worked for the most part, a lot more criminals were caught for their crimes. Eventually one gang managed to find out a flaw in this surveillance system. You see, there's at least a 5 mile gap between the range of view of Camera 68 and 69, probably because the city was trying to save money in their budget. And they figured, 5 miles isn't too bad, and who's going to find out about it? Well Gary's mob found out, and they have been able to take advantage of that for the past eight years."

"Wait….the truck, that's big enough to fit a car inside."

"Bingo! This is one of their classic tricks!"

"So all we gotta do is follow where the truck went, and we can find the culprit!"

Judy started bouncing up and down on his bed with joy. She didn't realize nor care how strong of an impact each jump was making as Nick's body was unwillingly being bounced along and all the papers started getting scattered around his apartment. It was her moment.

Despite all the pain being flared up from being unwillingly bounced up and down, he didn't care. He made her happy, and that's all that mattered to him now. All they did was make a step closer in a case, but she had so much hope that they were gonna catch their crook. He felt that she was lighting up the room with her enthusiasm, passion, and joy. He loved her.

He let out an oomph when Judy landed on his stomach and bounced off right next to him. His stomach hurt, but like before, he didn't care. Her happiness was contagious. They laid flat on their backs and laughed. They rolled on their sides and looked at each other smiling. Their faces were inches from each other.

Judy said, "Oh Nick, what would I do without you? You basically solved this whole case for me!"

"Ahhhh you did all the work, I just gave you a history lesson."

"Stop it Nick! You did more than you know!"

He smiled, "Well I guess I deserve all the credit, if you insist."

"Hey!" She punched him in the arm. They laughed again. As they stopped they started gazing into each other's eyes.

She was the one. It didn't matter that she wasn't a vixen. No vixen has ever changed him for the better like she has. She was the one.

"Do it," his heart told him. "Do it."

He caressed her cheek with his paw. She gave a surprised look but then relaxed. He could've sworn her eyes telling him to do it.

"Do it," his heart screamed.

He leaned forward and kissed her.