A/N: Added scene

I recently took some time away from the fic to figure out if I wanted/needed to do the Cliffhaven scenes and where I wanted the fic to go from there. After thinking about it for a while, I realized the Cliffhaven scenes wouldn't change that much, so I ended up skipping them. Don't worry, I won't skip the press conference scene, though ^_^ It's the next one (unless I add one at the apartment, but it's not likely).

Judy watched as the last of the missing mammals was loaded into the back of the medical van. Most of them had been tranquilized and now they were so still Judy would have been afraid they were dead if she couldn't see and hear them breathing. She hoped they would be alright.

"Hopps," Chief Bogo said, coming up behind her.

"Yes, sir?" Judy said. She hoped he wasn't mad at her for the way she'd handled thing –at least this time her 'savage' mammal hadn't been stolen away by Timberwolves.

"You have 32 hours to rest and recharge," the Chief told her. "After that I want you back in the office to fill out the paperwork."

"I can do that right now," Judy said. She'd do just about anything to make sure her work stood out.

"No," Chief Bogo said, "You won't. I've worked cases like this before, and, according to that fox over there, you haven't slept for at least 24 hours. I want you rested up before you write that report. If your mind is foggy from sleep-deprivation you probably won't be able to remember all the details clearly."

"Surely you'll need that report right away?" Judy said.

"I will need it within 48 hours," Chief Bogo said, "But for the moment being my focus will be in assisting with the transportation and identification of the missing mammals, and it'll take a while for the doctors to assess the health of all 15 mammals. Give yourself a break, Hopps; I'm not going to fire you for getting some shut-eye."

"I-" she heard someone clearly their throat softly, and saw Nick shaking his head at her. "Thank you, sir," she finished. She risked a second glance at Nick and saw him smiling slightly. Not smirking, but actually smiling. It was a welcome change.

"You are dismissed; I'll take care of your times at the prescient." Chief Bogo said. He turned and walked away toward a group of officers preparing to accompany the medical vans.

"So," Nick said, strolling up to her. His smile had been replaced with the smirk again, but this time it was at least a bit softer than when she'd first seen him in the city. "What'd ol' buffalo-butt have to say?"

"He said I should get some sleep before writing the report," Judy said. She started walking to the meter-maid buggy, which somehow hadn't run out of gas yet –she was going to have to look at that fuel efficiency for future vehicles.

"I'd have to agree with him for once," Nick said. "We don't need a repeat of the 'Speech' incidence."

"I was 14."

"Exactly. You were old enough to realize that staying up for two nights straight before delivering your graded speech was a bad idea."

Judy glared at him but decided to focus on something else he'd said instead. "You said you'd agree with him 'for once', I didn't think you'd met before this morning."

Nick shrugged, facing away from her with his ears drooping slightly. "I was a… witness… for a case back about a year after I moved to the city," He said. "They took my testimony and I decided to stay anonymous. Apparently the chief didn't like that since he came to try and talk me into releasing my name for the records, at least…" he trailed off. Judy got the picture, though. She chuckled.

"No wonder he looked ready to blow a fuse when he saw you in the Rainforest district," she said. Nick's ears went back up and he gave her a small smile.

"He probably didn't plan on ever seeing me again unless I was the one in cuffs," he said. He hopped into the buggy ahead of her, leaning back and waiting for her to start the car.

"Nick," Judy said as she started driving, "You remember how I was giving you all that grief about not sending us your address?"

"Like it was yesterday," Nick said. Judy rolled her eyes at him.

"Your mom saved all the letters we wrote," she said. "She gave me a set of the ones she thought were the most important. I've got them back at my apartment. I know you're probably inching to get back to whatever you were doing, but I was wondering if we could stop by the apartment so I can give them to you?"

"Of course we can, Carrots," Nick said. He ruffled the fur between her ears. "I'm not going to promise to read them right away, though. Knowing Mom, it'll probably take a little while. I'll wait until after we've cleared up my part in this mess."

"Sounds good," Judy said. She smiled as she turned onto the main road. She hadn't managed to wrestle Nick's address out of him yet, but giving him the letters was the next best thing. Nick yawned loudly beside her. "I think we both need some shut-eye," she said. She shook herself to make sure she was staying awake to watch the road.

"You got it," Nick murmured. He already sounded half-asleep. Soon enough Judy felt the weight of his head leaning on her own as he drifted in and out of a doze. She'd let him sleep for a little while, after all, he'd already helped her a lot. And anyways, she was glad to have her friend back.