Another chapter guys. I'm not going to keep you reading boring author's note for long so here you go.

"I, investigator Randal Coon, and my associate investigator, Alboar Porkins, admit that our previous report were incomplete. Events that happened during the investigation of the Po and Arfur case led us to believe that it would be in the best interest of the ZPD, and the investigation to not reveal certain elements of the case."

"After that it keeps going on for a while until we come to the interesting part."

"This brings me to the reason why we decided to conceal this for the moment. The two mammals in question were no other than officer Hopps, and officer Wilde. While I personally doubt that Hopps and Wilde are involved in any way with the murder, we cannot ignore the fact that they personally asked to be assigned as help on the case."

Zeke put down his own copy of the report and waited for the kangaroos to read through.

"As you can see, investigators Coon and Porkins were suspecting officers Wilde and Hopps to be involved with the previous murder case to which they were assign. As if of coincidence, investigator Coon and Porkins happened to die on duty while investigating that case."

"Are you suggesting that Hopps and Wilde killed Coon and Porkins?" asked Bogo while ignoring the glares of the kangaroos.

Zeke gave a toothy grin.

"Precisely…"

"27… 28… 29… And 30. Okay, next leg now. 1… 2… 3…"

Nick was seated in a chair, facing the male nurse. The nurse was extending and retracting his leg with each of his counts while Nick watched him do so.

"You know, maybe if you follow me around everywhere and put my legs in front of the other for me, I won't even notice I'm paralyzed."

"Shut it smarty fox. Were working on you situational awareness right now. The goal is for you to be able to tell what leg is extended."

Nick chuckled at the grizzly's jab.

"Beside, you won't be paralyzed for long."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can tell…"

"Hum… Okay. Care to develop there Barney?"

"I can usually tell which patients walk again, and which ones don't. It's like a sixth sense, you know?"

"Okay, now I think you're the one who needs checking."

"Whatever man. If you feel the need to play cynical then suit yourself. But in the 4 years I've been doing this I've never got it wrong."

Silence fell as Barney went back to stretching Nick's leg.

"Okay, close your eyes."

Nick closed them.

"Which leg am I holding up?"

"Uh… Right one?"

"Nope."

"Damn! that was a fifty-fifty chance."

"I know, that's why I was holding both of them up."

"Hey that's cheating!"

"Whatever, I think you're just a sore loser."

Barney went back to flexing Nick's leg.

"So, you think I'll walk…"

The grizzly stopped to look up at Nick with a smug smile.

"I think that if you give it a few months, you'll be running like a cheetah."

"Well I think that even in my present position I could outrun Clawhauser."

"Who?"

"Sorry, I uh… I'm used to only talking to people in a very closed circle."

"Wow, that's kind off sad you know."

Nick rolled his eyes and huffed as Barney snickered.

"I would kick you right now if could."

"Why don't you try it foxy?"

Nick cringed.

"Hurgh, no, and don't call me foxy, it really doesn't suit you… Or me for that matter."

"What do you want me to call you then?"

Nick faked being in deep thought.

"How about, 'cool dude with attitude'?"

"It just keeps getting sadder and sadder." Said the nurse while shaking his head.

"As sad as having to massage the legs of an ungrateful fox everyday?"

"Hey, I'll have you know, I massage the legs of plenty of ungrateful mammals, not just foxes. Speaking of which…"

Barney started to massage Nick left thigh with both paws.

"So, do you like it? This job I mean, having to take care of others like this, even if they are annoying?"

"Hell yeah! Its my dream job."

"Isn't it a bit unusual for a male grizzly to want to become a nurse?"

"Isn't it a bit unusual for a fox to be a cop?"

"Touché… So why did you do it?"

"I don't know. It kind of just, appealed to me. I want to help mammals, and there is something I like about nursing, I just don't know what it is. And you, why did you do it?"

Nick smiled.

"To impress a girl…"

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say it did."

Barney smiled knowingly before he stood up.

"Well, I think that's enough for today."

"Aw, already? I was just starting to warm up."

"Well, save your energy for tomorrow, because it has been two weeks since you started rehab; which means you get to start water training."

"Just to be clear, this isn't an euphemism for learning to hold pee in?"

"Nope, sorry. Looks like you get to keep that diaper on buddy."

"Its not like I use the thing, I know how to hold myself!"

"I'm sure you do."

"It's true! I didn't wet it."

"I'm proud of you. You're a big boy." He said while patting Nick's shoulder.

"Oh screw you Barney! But seriously though, is there any way I can have real underwear instead of this?"

"Sorry, but protocol states that all patients who are in your condition must wear diapers. Less work for the guy who has to clean the sheets…"

Barney formed a gun with his paws and pointed it at Nick.

"Paws up!"

Nick complied, but not without sparing his new friend an eye roll at his daily joke. He waited for Barney to grab him by the chest before letting his arms fall again. Barney lifted him up from the chair, and put him down on a wheelchair.

"Okay, time to go to bed."

"But daddy, I don't feel tired!" Nick whined.

"Hush now, and be a good fox."

Barney took off the wheelchair's brakes, and pushed him along. Nick let himself be carried to his destination, while he rested lazily in his chair.

"I heard that your bunny friend came to visit you while we were exercising."

"What?" Nick looked at him with wide eyes. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Before he he could reply, Nick grabbed both wheels and began turning them as fast as he could. He sped down the hallway on his own, leaving Barney behind.

"To impress a girl eh?"

Nick arrived to the front door of his hospital room, worried that Judy had already left. He stopped in front off his room when he realized, he couldn't open the door on his own while in a wheelchair. Not sure what to do, Nick simply shrugged, and knocked on his own door. He heard a bit of shuffling before the door opened to a smiling grey bunny.

"Hey!" He said, a smile spreading on his own face.

Judy moved aside, to let Nick roll in, and then closed the door behind him.

"So how have things been goin- hmpf…"

Nick was cut short, when Judy jumped into his wheelchair, straddling him, and pressing her lips against his. Nick quickly melted into the kiss and circled his arms around her. He kept holding her close to him, even when she pulled away.

"Good…" She answered with a smile. "And how have things been going on your side?"

"Hmm… I don't know. Maybe if you give me another kiss I'll remember…"

Judy was all too happy to comply.

"Mmh I'd say things are going well…" Nick said after she had pulled away.

"Great, because I have good news…" She said while booping his nose.

"Which is?"

"I'm moving back to city center tomorrow since they finished the repairs on the regular officers' offices. But more importantly though, I got us a deal…"

"You did?"

"Yup! For the one we liked, at the price we liked."

During the past week, Judy and Nick had picked up where they had left before the explosion. Which was talking about moving in together. It might have been too soon for the usual couple, but Nick and Judy were anything but usual. Plus, they both really wanted it, even more so after the explosion. They had learned that anything could happen at anytime, so they didn't want to waste any time.

"So… Should I take it?"

"I think it would be nice."

"Good, I'll tell Bogo that we're becoming roommates tomorrow. Perfect timing actually, because I forgot to tell you, there was bad news too…"

"What? Come on carrots, you know you have to tell the bad news first, otherwise the joke doesn't work."

Judy rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a smile from creeping onto her face.

"It's not that bad. Your uh… your landlord just said that he didn't want me to stay at your place while you were gone…"

"What!? Why? How is it not 'that bad'?"

"He simply said that he couldn't rent out your apartment to me."

"But you're not renting it, I am."

"That's what I said, but he wouldn't listen to me. Said that unless you were there, it was just like renting."

"But you're not paying the rent."

"About that…"

Nick looked at her confused.

"Your rent might have came while you were unconscious and… I might have paid it…" Judy looked away as she finished her sentence.

"Wait, with your money?"

Judy nodded.

"But, why? You know where I keep mine, why would you pay it? You should have just used my cash."

"It didn't feel right." Judy protested. "Plus, I feel like I owe it to you. You've been housing me for over a month now, and I just felt like it was the right thing to do. And it's not like it mattered really since we found a place anyway."

"But where are you going to sleep now?"

"Oh don't worry about that. Your landlord has given me a few days to move out, enough time to move into OUR new place."

Nick couldn't help but smile, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"You got everything under control haven't you?"

"Always" she whispered, before they went back to making out. Nick held her close to him as she kept straddling his hips on the wheel chair.

"Sorry to interrupt you two…"

Judy gasped and froze at the sound of the deep voice. They both turned their heads to the door, to find a grizzly under it.

"But I forgot to tell you, well, no I didn't, you ran away before I had the chance to say anything, tomorrow's rehab will start 30 minutes earlier."

"Your mother never told you to knock before coming in Barney?" Asked Nick with an undertone of annoyance. Meanwhile, Judy simply stood there, completely frozen in shock.

"Sorry but, this is an hospital, not a hotel. So you better keep that diaper on big boy."

With that, Barney closed the door and left.

"W-What was that?" Asked Judy, coming down from the shock.

"That was Barney being nosy. He's my rehab instructor, and don't worry, he's not going to tell anyone."

"Ah, uh… okay…"

"So… Where were we again?" Nick said with a smile.

Visiting time was now over, and Nick fast asleep after the long day. The lights of his room were off, while the lights of the hallway were only dimmed, as to let the patients sleep, while allowing the night nurses to see where they were going. The usually busy hospital, fell into silence at night, with the only exception being the low humming of machines.

Nick was far from having a good night's sleep. His head thrashed from side to side, as he was stuck in a recurring nightmare. He was alone, in a seemingly never ending hallway. In his dream, Nick could still use his legs, and use them he did. He tried to run away, but seemed to only be able to run at a crawling pace. Behind him he knew that the bomb was ticking. He had to run… He had to escape, had to warn the others, had to warn Judy… He needed to warn Judy, to make sure she was safe. The bomb was about to blow, he knew it. He had to warn her, he had to prevent her from getting hurt, he had to…

The bomb exploded.

Nick's eyes shot open as he woke up, panting. He felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep for a few hours.

He had been having the same nightmare, or one similar, almost every night since he had gotten out of his coma. It would always end with the bomb exploding somewhere, and either him, or even worse, Judy, getting hurt.

"Good, you're awake. I was starting to think I would have to wake you up myself."

Nick's rapid breathing came to a sudden stop, as the voice registered in his head. Using his hand, he quickly sat up in his hospital bed. Panic seized him, as he recognized to whom the voice belonged.

In front of him, in the chair Judy usually sat in when she came to visit, was a platypus.

Nick quickly looked for the remote to call a nurse.

"Don't bother…" Said Perry, "I put it away while you were asleep."

Nick looked at him, with fury in his eyes. In front of him was the mammal responsible for what happened to him, and for killing his friends.

"What do you want?" Asked Nick coldly.

"What? I can't come visit an old friend in the hospital?"

Perry propped one of his leg up on his lap, looking as if he was completely uninterested by what was going on. He started to fiddle with the dart poking out of his palmed foot, while he made a show of squeezing it, making a few drops of venom trickle out.

"Visiting hours are over."

"Meah, I'm supposed to lay low right now. You should be thankful I'm even taking some of my time to come by."

"You're here to finish the job, aren't you?"

"What Job?"

"You know what I'm talking about Perry."

"My apologies officer, but I am afraid you'll have to be more specific, for I haven't the slightest idea of to what you are referring."

"Perry, if you're going to kill me, then you could at least spare me the sass."

"Kill you? Heavens no! I would never do such a thing."

"You killed my friends."

"And do you have any proof of that?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

Perry dropped his foot, and got up from the chair. He slowly walked towards Nick, and stopped by his side. Nick was powerless to flee with his paralyzed legs, and so he was left with only one option.

Don't let him see he gets to you…

Nick didn't even flinch when Perry got closer. He simply continued to stare at him with even more anger than before.

Perry slowly leaned in towards him, and Nick waited for the inevitable. He closed his eyes, as he prepared to feel a blade slide across his throat, or to be asphyxiated by a pillow or something along the line. He felt Perry's breath crash against his ear, as the platypus probably wished to give him one last taunt.

"I hope you get better soon." He whispered.

And just like that, Perry pulled away. Nick cracked an eye open and saw Perry grabbing a coat and making his way to the door.

"Perry, wait."

The platypus froze, his paw resting on the door's handle.

"If you're not here to kill me, then why did you come?"

Then something extraordinary happened, something that Nick had never seen before…

Perry looked genuinely sad.

"I told you, I came to visit an old friend…"

Perry smiled at him, and opened the door.

"Sorry I didn't bring a card." He said as he walked away.

Nick was left alone in his room again; completely dumbstruck by what had just happened.

"This is ridiculous!" Said Bogo. "You are basing your case purely on coincidences. There is no proof of correlation."

"Chief Bogo, were you aware of the existence of this report?" Asked Wolf.

"No of course not."

"Then I assume you were not aware that officer Wilde and officer Hopps knew of it's existence."

"What?"

"The database's history states that this very file was accessed a few days after investigators Coon and Porkins' death from the investigation office; which, at that time, was used by officer Wilde and officer Hopps."

"I…"

"So they failed to report this to you I presume…"

Bogo didn't know what to say. It sure made them look guilty, but he couldn't believe that they would do something like this.

But the evidence was there, and it all pointed in one direction…

Man, I had too much fun writing Barney.

That's it for today guys and gals. Tune in next time when we finally come to the hearing, and see what repercussion it will have on our protagonists.

But in the meantime, let me know what you think in the comments and favorite/kudo and follow as always.