AN: OM GOODNESS! 6.18k views in a day! The story is up to 79k views! Holy cow! (no offense to cows) So in honor of that, 444 followers, 345 reviews and 275 favs you guys get something special. I referenced several Zootopia comics and pictures in here, so try to find them all!

Chapter 26: Sick Day

Written by Blenderguy15

The alarm broke the silence of the small apartment. The sound, the bane of any other mammals in existence, was music to the ears of Officer Judy Hopps. In a flash, she dressed in her uniform, pausing in front of the mirror to polish her badge in what had become a daily ritual. She raced out the door, grabbing her keys before bounding down the stairs two at a time.

She soon exited her apartment complex and was greeted with the streets of Zootopia. The busy lives of mammals were just starting to wake up as a cool breeze blew through the boulevard. The cold didn't bother Judy; it never did.

What did bother her was the fact that Nick was nowhere to be seen.

Over the past few months, Judy had grown accustomed to walking to work with Nick, even though Nick practically lived on the other side of town. She had wondered if the fox got up earlier than her to make the trip in time, but she never really dwelt on it. Most of the time, he had already started up the day's first conversation, drawing her from her train of thought.

Judy stood there, a bit dumbfounded. It felt strange having her normal routine be altered like this. Though her daily routine had been quite different since her and Nick had started their bet. She shook herself from her trance, an embarrassed smile on her face. "He's probably already at the ZPD," she said aloud. "He's probably waiting to surprise me and get ahead in the bet. Yeah, that's it."

She suppressed the rest of her doubts and began the walk to the ZPD, smiling smugly to herself. She wouldn't let Nick get the jump on her today. She was ahead, and she was going to keep it that way.

Before long, Judy was walking up the front steps of the ZPD and in through the front doors without hesitation, her senses alert to pick up the smallest sign of Nick. Upon a quick scanning of the large lobby however, she was slightly disappointed.

Nick was still nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Judy!" Clawhauser greeted from across the room. The cheetah had his usual bowl of Lucky Chomps in paw, pushing huge spoonfuls of the cereal into his mouth.

The bunny slowly walked over to the front desk, her ears swiveling as she tried in vain to pick up any sign of her partner. "Hey Ben," she greeted. "Have you seen Nick around?"

Clawhauser paused for a moment, bringing the spoon in his paw up to his chin in thought. A piece of soggy cereal fell from the utensil and landed in the bowl with a 'plop.' Judy winced slightly at the disgusting sound.

"Um, no I haven't. But he could just be running late," the cheetah said, noticing the slightly concerned look on the bunny's muzzle.

"Yeah," Judy said unenthusiastically, her ears lowering behind her head.

Clawhauser fumbled over his words, trying to perk this bunny up. "Uh – well – he may already be at roll call!" he said. "I have been engrossed with my Gazelle app for the past thirty minutes; he could have easily slipped by."

Judy's ear perked up as the thought processed in her mind. With a smile and a "thank you" to Clawhauser, Judy hopped over to roll call. Perhaps Nick was just waiting for her there and had asked Clawhauser to keep it a secret. Judy chuckled to herself; she was on to him.

Upon opening the door, Judy was once again met with disappointment and even some sadness. Nick was nowhere to be seen.

As Judy walked up to their usual seat, her heart sank a little lower. Where could he be?

"Alright, everybody. SIT!" Bogo bellowed as he entered the room. Judy quickly took her seat.

"I'm going to get right down to it," the cape buffalo began. "Officers Grizzoli, Delgato, Fangmeyer, you'll be going undercover in downtown Sahara Square. Officers McHorn, Rhinowitz, Wolfard, you'll be on a stakeout in the Rainforest District. Officers Higgins, Snarlov, Trunkaby, you three will be investigating a series of robberies in Tundra Town. Finally, Officer Hopps," he paused, causing Judy's anticipation to rise.

"Parking Duty."

Judy's heart sank faster than the HMS Furtanic at her assignment. As Bogo began to exit the room, Judy bounded over to the large herbivore.

"Sir," she began, but Bogo held up his hoof.

"Officer Hopps, I'm not changing my mind," he said. "I can't have you out on the field without your partner, and Officer Wilde called in sick."

"Oh..."

Judy's ears perked at that last bit of information. She stood there, frozen from shock. Bogo took that as his cue to leave and closed the door behind him, leaving a bewildered bunny in his wake.

Sick? she thought. Relief rushed through her body as she realized that Nick hadn't up and forgotten her. With a new found determination and a smile on her face, Judy raced out of the room. She had a fox to visit.

Repeated knocks on the door slowly drew the fox's attention. Nick made no move to answer it. Every limb felt like lead, his sinuses were clogged, and his eyes were irritated. Lying on the couch with a small blanket draped over his body, the fox felt...well, terrible.

"Come in!" he croaked, his voice hoarse. The door opened, revealing a very concerned bunny. Nick's ears perked slightly at the sight of his partner.

"Officer Hopps," he said, a sly smile on his muzzle. "To what do I owe the privilege of your visit?"

Judy quickly bounded over to the fox, a pot in her paws. "Bogo told me you were sick," she started, "so I brought you some cricket noodle soup."

Nick used his elbows to sit himself up, a thankful smile on his muzzle. "Thanks, Carrots," he said, tussling the bunny's ears.

Judy smiled before quickly hopping into the kitchen to prepare a small bowl of the soup for the sick fox. After several minutes, Nick had a warm bowl of soup in his lap.

"Mm, this is really good," Nick said between spoonfuls. "Did you make this yourself?"

"No, I stopped by Trader Goat's on the way here," Judy replied. "You owe me, especially for the look the cashier gave me!"

Nick chuckled. "Don't worry Carrots," he said. "I'll be sure to make it up for you." He went to put another spoonful to his mouth, when he suddenly started coughing, startling the gray bunny.

"Nick, you okay?" she asked, genuinely concerned for her partner.

"I'm all right," Nick said after his coughing stopped. He cleared his throat for extra measure, laying his head back on his blanket that was acting as a makeshift pillow. "It's just a cold."

"Well, until you get better, I'm going to be here to help you in any way I can," Judy said determinedly. As if to prove her point, Judy took his blanket in her paws and quickly tucked it in around his body, wrapping him like a sushi roll. She bounced up from the task, smiling warmly before hopping over to his TV. She quickly scanned the list of movies he had on the shelf to Nick's amusement. Her ears shot up when she found on. Grabbing the tape, she put it in and turned the TV on.

"What are you doing, Carrots," Nick finally asked as she walked over to the couch and sat on it next to him.

"I saw a comic online on how to care for a sad bunny before, and since you look so sad and pathetic right now," she winked at him. "I figured I should try it out to see if it works."

"Wow, that was savage, Judy," Nick chuckled. I thought I looked pretty good for a sick fox. He coughed again.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" she asked again.

"Actually, there is something that you could do."

"What?" Judy asked.

"When I was little and had a cold, my mother would always kiss the fever away," Nick tilted his head to the side, being the only thing he could move being so tightly wrapped. He dipped his ears behind his head, and put on the best begging face he could muster; his bottom lip even quivered, adding to the effect. "Do you think you could kiss my fever away? Pleeeeaaaase?"

Judy sighed and rolled her eyes; she expected this from Nick.

"Alright, my poor, sick, sad, fox," she said as she stood up on the couch and leaned over the bed-ridden fox. She cupped Nick's head with her paws and gently kissed his forehead. "You do know, however, that this means I get another point."

Nick merely smiled. She has no idea what she's gotten herself into.

Kiss Count:

Nick: 25

Judy: 28

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed another chapter! Poor Nick; it's no fun having a cold – especially since I had one for the past week. BUT, Judy just got herself into a funny situation; what will Nick have her do to make him "feel better"? Probably some silly antics and Judy will definitely want to get back at him afterward. We've got some great chapters heading your way, and I think you guys will like where the story goes from here. Be prepared!