EPILOGUE 1


It was nearly impossible to find quietness in this place. There must be at least the distinct sound of the telephone ringing, the annoying sound of the keyboards typing, or the non-stop chatter of co-workers talking to fill this bullpen of Zootopia Police Department with noise. Even in the most peaceful day, there would be a phone ringing from time to time and the clicking sound from Ryan's desk to destroy the silence.

A desk job was the most tedious task he ever had, but it was better than staying at his apartment and doing nothing. Now that it had been nearly two months since he had come back to Zootopia from his unfortunate adventure with his friends, his series of unfortunate events, however, seemed not going to be over with him so easily. After he had set his foot on Animalia soil, he had to go through many things over weeks to finally sit here at his desk, and most of that was that he had to deal with Doctor Margaret Madger, who now seemed to be more likely his personal doctor by each day.

Once he had arrived at Zootopia General Hospital on the very first day after coming back from Aandhi, Doctor Madger had given him a good long word that anyone could utterly regret from what they had done, and for Ryan's case, it was that he was supposed to stay at least one more week at the palace to make sure his body was safely good enough for airborne traveling. And after his ears had gone numb by her scolding, his doctor had also suggested that he had to take at least two months off to be fully recovered and ready to go back to work.

Staring at her with eyes wide open, not only the two-month period he must do nothing caused his jaw to drop in shock, but also the realization about his job too. He became anxious and was afraid that he could not have his job back after being absent for months, even though there were so many reasons — his abduction was one of them — to make up his AWOL. But, much to his surprise, on a later day when he met Chief Bogo at the precinct, his buffalo chief still wanted him to come to work, but "only if Doctor Madger clears you first," he had said.

Good news, he did not have to worry about his career anymore, but bad news, he had to wait and did nothing to stress his body for two months.

He probably would be bored to death before he could go back to his law enforcement job for sure. So, if he did not want to wither away before time, he had to negotiate with his doctor, although he knew she certainly would not permit it. But, as constant dripping wears away the stone, he was going to drip his plea on her until she had to allow him, no matter how long it would take. And it did not take much time to make her give up to his annoying persistence and allow him to go back to his work. However, she had set some conditions in exchange, and no active duty was one of them.

So, after weighing everything, desk job was not so bad after all.

Now as the time on the bottom right corner of the computer screen read 5 pm, Ryan automatically knew something was going to happen soon, and just as a few seconds passed, a large silhouette faintly appeared on his computer screen. He knew all by himself what would be coming up next for him. As a pair of shiny black-furred arms snaked around his neck, the silhouette wrapped her arms around and pulled him into a warm, soft and smooth black fur of her upper chest. Thankfully he had been prepared for it just in time; otherwise, he could have fallen off his chair and laid on his back on the floor for sure.

Now that he could feel the purring vibration on his head as she chinned herself upon him, Ryan, who was still eyeing the monitor, simply said, "Welcome back. How was your day, partner?"

Ryan always asked every time because he knew her answer varied, depending on her mood and her daily task. Some days she was jubilant because she had an exciting chasing. Some other days she was so furious about her failure to catch the perpetrator. And others, including today, she always answered, "Nothing's significant, partner." And whatever her mood was, she always added, "It could've been better if you can come with us."

Ryan laughed softly. "I would love to," he said, "but you know what Doctor Margaret will do to me if I don't follow her conditions strictly."

"But you've stared at this computer screen for nearly two months," she protested, gesturing at his computer screen. Ryan could see the reflection of her worried face in the display looking at him. "You know it can damage your eyes, right?"

"I know, partner. I know." Ryan quickly typed in a few more words, saved his work and pressed a button to turn off his computer. "All right, I finished all the report for today," he murmured, stretching his arms high above his head as Star released him from her friendly hug, cracking his neck and then swiveling in his seat around. "That's why I bought the artificial tears to soothe my eyes," he added with a smile, picking out a little bottle of eye drops to show her.

"Well, it still damages your eyes, one way or another, though."

"It's okay," said Ryan, getting to his feet and pushing his rolling chair back under his desk. "It won't be long for me to be back on active duty. Let's see…" He went silent for a moment, thinking about each of his appointments for this week. "Tomorrow, I'll have to go to Bacillus Industries for my last inspection—"

"Oh, that right!" exclaimed Star, her face lit with a grin. "Can I tag along with you? Can I drive you there? Please, please, please?"

Ryan laughed. "I'd love to have your company, Star," he said. "But, I'm afraid I'm not the one who makes that call."

At that, her excitement faded away. "Aww, fish…" Star slowly turned her head away with disappointment on her features, her ears flopped back.

"Don't you worry, all right." Ryan patted and rubbed her head adoringly. "I think this turn might be yours since Nick and Judy already took me there. Otherwise, on this Thursday, my doctor will clear me for active duty, and on Friday, we will be working together for the first time."

Her face lit up again, with a faint smile. "Well then," she said, "if tomorrow is not going as I hope, I'll have to wait another two more days to see if your doctor is gonna release you or not, huh?"

"I'm sure she will," said Ryan. "Otherwise, I'll have to plead her again, more desperately."

Star laughed and patted him on his chest. "Let's hope you don't have to do that again," she cooed, tugging his arm. "As of now, why don't we go find some grub before heading back homes," she suggested, "and when we come back here tomorrow, we'll see who will have to drive you to my dad's company."

"Sound like a plan." Ryan nodded and began to lead the way towards the reception area. "And I believe today is your turn to choose where we're gonna have dinner, right?"

"Yep."

"Saxophone?"

Star nodded, her cheek rubbing against his shoulder. "You read my mind."


"And again, Nick and Judy couldn't make it here," Ryan complained as he and Star made their way to an available table in the middle of the restaurant and sat down. "Why Detective Oates always needs them to help to solve case all of a sudden. And why them?"

"Well, it's maybe a police emergency," said Star, taking the seat opposite Ryan. "And crime can happen anywhere and anytime."

Ryan sighed. "Man… I hope we can join and help them too. It could be fun."

"Don't forget about what your doctor said, though. Or else, you'll have to wait another month for active duty."

And soon a wolf waitress came to their table. "Hello and welcome to the Saxophone, I'm Christina, I will be your waitress today," greeted the waitress, offering them menus with a bright smile. "Can I start you off with anything to drink?"

"Yes, may I have some water, please?" said Ryan.

"And same for me," added Star.

"Sure," the waitress nodded cheerfully and noted down. "Would you like any appetizers today?"

Ryan looked at his partner to see if she wanted to order anything, and she shook her head no. "No," he said, picking up the menu, "thank you, that'll be all for now."

"Okay then," said the waitress, "let me know when you're ready to order your food."

Once the waitress left, Ryan and Star remained quiet as they scanned the menu, until Star started, "Ryan, do you think others see us dating?"

"I don't know. Why you ask?"

"Well, some times like when we walked down the sidewalk, others stared at us like…that," said Star, her eyes glancing over at the table of the sheep couple.

Following her gaze, Ryan saw the sheep couple was looking at them disgustedly, and he could assume what they were thinking of. Although the interspecies relationship was not illegal and was accepted socially for years, there would also be someone who was still conservative and against this completely. Although he did not like when people stared at him or others in disgust, he could not do anything as there was no harm in looking.

Maybe this is what Nick was afraid of, he thought and recalled the first time he and Nick had gone to Furrmart. It must have been nearly a year then, and at that time he still had not been well aware of the present diet for predators. He thought of the question he had asked Nick about his feeling for Judy, and the answer unsurprisingly was what he had expected. And thankful that he somehow had pushed Nick to follow his heart, now it was nearly like a dream come true when he saw him and Judy together.

"Perhaps it's that I used to be a star of my own unwilling show," said Ryan, trying to be optimistic, though he recognized the way of those looks. "So, it would be like, 'Oh, look! That's the human we used to follow his show every single day. He looks a lot handsome in real life than on the TV. And look at that jaguar, man. She's so lucky to be close to the celebrity,'" he said in a silly, mocking tone.

Star busted out laughing and shook her head in disbelief. "Now hold your taters, stud," she said. "I don't think they're thinking about us that way."

"Well then, why do we have to worry about what they think?" said Ryan with a smile. "You know, they're powerless without your reaction. So, as long as they don't give us a foul treatment, we don't have to give a fish about them."

"And we'd be suffered if we let those judging eyes mess our lives, huh?" Star added, putting down the menu. "Besides, we're not dating, right, partner?"

"Yep, we aren't dating, partner," Ryan replied with a knowing smile, putting down his menu, and raised his hand up to call their waitress.

After Christina had arrived again at their table with her usual cheerfulness and two glasses of water, she jotted down their preferred dishes on her small notepad, Salmon Rarebit for Star and Chicken Caesar Salad for Ryan. She nodded once they finished ordering and left them again.

Calm and relax, the melody of jazz began to fill in the background, and the chatter of the other customers started to get louder as the pair remained quiet. The music was enjoyable as always, and smiles could be seen all over this restaurant, even on the faces of the sheep couple who now was minding their own business and having their night.

As Ryan gazed around in the dimly orange-lit place enjoying the atmosphere, he could feel a certain pair of eyes locking on him. And they belonged to none other than his partner herself who propped her chin on her paw and fixed her dreamy eyes at him, she seemed to enjoy the view in front of her rather than around her.

"So, Salmon Rarebit, huh?" Ryan began, sipping water. "Isn't that a quite high-energy dish for dinner?"

"Well, it is," said Star, leaning a bit forward. "But, after having a long boring day of patrol duty, I need something delicious and energizing to cheer me up. Don't you agree?"

"Yep, I totally agree." Ryan nodded. "Delicious food can make you feel better."

"Besides," she added, raising her finger and waving it slightly in the air like a teacher lecturing students, "I need to eat about 2,400 calories a day to maintain muscle mass, and Salmon Rarebit has nearly 400 calories. It's just only one six. And this morning, I had Smoked Salmon Sandwich with Caffè Latte, which would be about 500 calories. This afternoon, I had a Big-Bug set at Bugburga, and that would be 900 calories. So, my total calories for today is approximately 1,800. It's 600 calories less than the requirement, and if I keep on like this, I'm gonna lose one pound per week."

"Wow," Ryan amazed, "I didn't know you take this matter so serious."

"Ryan, I'm a girl," said Star, reclining in her seat and crossing her arms. "I need to concern my health as well as my shape. Unlike you, Ryan…" She shook her head with a sigh and looked at him with a worried frown on her brow. "Chicken Caesar Salad? Really? It's only 200 calories, 300 calories top if the chicken is deep-fried, and your body probably needs 2,800 calories a day. You're gonna lose too much weight, and you'll lose muscle mass and then strength. Also, you might get sick and weak."

"Well, it can't help." Ryan shrugged. "My doctor said that I must not do anything to stress my body, which means exercising is not an option. However, morning jogging can be omitted if I jog not too hard and not more than half an hour a day. Actually, I already felt I lost nearly ten pounds during this time. So, to keep my body balance when I can't do my routine exercise as much as I used to do, I have to eat fewer calories and more healthy. But when after my doctor clears me, I'll hit the gym and build up my muscle again. And…" He paused, leaned forward and deepened his voice. "I hope you can help me with the weightlifting."

"Well, what a coincidence," Star cooed articulately, leaning forward on the table as well, "I am looking for a gym partner to help me too."

"Great," Ryan chuckled, "we're already partners at work, and soon, we're gonna be partners at the gym. And where it's gonna be next, huh?"

"Maybe partners at home."

Ryan stopped and stared at her in silence for a second. "Oh, you!" he blurted out and started laughing, leaning back in his chair. "Now it's your turn to hold your taters, Star." He continued laughing for a moment, and when he had it enough, he cleared his throat and said, "You never cease to surprise me." He chuckled and looked up at her adoringly. "Well, let's say, it's going to be soon enough that you don't even notice it."

"Really?" said Star in mock surprise, her paw on her chest. "Well, I'd better prepare myself for it then."

The pair fell silent again, simply savoring the moment until their waitress came back to their table again with their food. "Here is the Salmon Rarebit for you, ma'am and the Chicken Caesar Salad for you, sir," said Christina, placing their food in front of them, and left with a smile.

As everything was served, Ryan and Star began to eat their dinner and enjoyed every single thing Saxophone could offer. The conversation flowed freely throughout dinner and into the night, and as soon as the clock struck eleven, they called it a night and went back to their homes.


"Morning, guys!" came a cheerful greeting from the reception table. The cheery voice belonged to none other than the chubby cheetah in uniform named Benjamin Clawhauser, who waved his paw, then propped his elbows on his desk and smiled at the Nick, Judy, and Ryan as they walked towards him with a box of donuts in Ryan's hand.

"Good Morning, Benji!" Judy was the first to reply.

"What's up, Spots!" Nick added.

And "Morning, Ben," Ryan finished it. "Here's a box of donuts you might ask for," he said as he placed the donut box on the desk and opened it.

The smile on his round fluffy face broadened, the chubby receptionist squeaked with happiness, grabbed Ryan's hand with both paws and shook it madly. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" he said. " You're my life saver. If it weren't for you, I would've been dead by the long walk and heat stroke."

Ryan's one brow rose in disbelief. "Ben… The nearest Big Donut was only two blocks away and today's maximum temperature is only 86 Fahrenheit. You can survive, man."

"Oh Ryan, you know nothing about this cheetah." Nick snickered and reached for a donut. "Clawhauser traveling two blocks? That could take all day."

"And no donut for you, my little friend." Clawhauser snapped the lid close before Nick could have one, and pulled the box to him.

They continued their banter for a while, filling the air with laughter, and when Star had finally arrived, as well as it was nearly the time for the morning roll call, the four parted from the reception desk and headed to the briefing room. Star was thrilled. Since Nick and Judy had already taken their turns, this day it should be her turn to escort Ryan to her father's company and hang around with him for the whole morning, she was so sure about it.

As they walked into the briefing room, it was already packed with various animals in uniform from wolves to elephants, talking, laughing and arm-wrestling, as always. The gang walked down the center aisle to the front row. Nick and Judy took their usual seat on the right side of the aisle, next to Officer McHorn, the rhino police officer who used to give Judy an indifferent treatment on her first roll call, but now, that indifferent treatment had changed into mutual respect between colleagues. And for Ryan and Star, they took their seats the other side, next to Officer Grizzoli.

"Hey, Grizzoli," greeted Ryan, putting out his fist for a fist bump. "Ready for kicking some perp's asses, eh?"

"Right-o," replied the polar bear in a deep gruffy voice, giving Ryan a fist bump. Although his voice always sounded like he was grumpy, Ryan knew it by heart that right now this polar bear was stirring about his upcoming task.

"So, what's the catch?" asked Ryan, as he sat down on the chair. "Today, you're gonna raid Chuckles' hideout with the task force, right?"

"That's right," said Grizzoli. "Thanks to your two little friends over there…" He nodded to Nick and Judy who were unaware and still talking with the rhino officer "… If they weren't stubborn and continued investigating on that swamp freak, we wouldn't have known he's still planning on flooding Zootopia into a swampland. So, yesterday, while you were on the bench, Chief got the green-light from the city hall to begin the operation, and today, we're gonna put that crook behind bars."

"Oh, man… I wish I could join in this operation. It's gotta be exciting."

"Yeah…" Star added.

Grizzoli laughed. "You two are still rookies, though. Perhaps, next big catch, I'll remind boss to give you guys some action, all right, including our two little friends too."

"Thanks, Papa Bear," said Ryan with a smile, holding his fist for a bump again. "You're the best."

"And you'll have to babysit my babies for a night," the bear smirked, giving a fist bump as though it was a seal of the deal.

"Ha, of course! That goes without saying."

They laughed for a moment, until Grizzoli began, "Say…" He shifted closer to Ryan and nudged him on his side. "How was your dinner with your partner, huh?" he said teasingly in a deep little voice. "Damn… Isn't Saxophone too romantic for having dinner with your colleague, huh?"

"Wait a minute, how did you know that? Star and I didn't check-in on our Furbook or other apps."

"It's all over the internet, my friend. And there was a dozen of photos of you two in that place…" The polar bear leaned closer and whispered, "…gazing at one another sweetly. You wanna know what they wrote about you two? Wanna see those pictures?"

"Oh! Come on, man!" Ryan shoved Grizzoli back to his seat. "We're not dating."

Grizzoli let out a deep belly laugh as Ryan buried his face in his hands. He was not embarrassed or ashamed, but annoyed.

"Jeez…" he sighed, "Is there any privacy for me?"

"There is NO privacy when it comes to social media," said the polar bear, patting Ryan on his shoulder. "And don't forget that you used to be a celebrity — or even you're still one. You can't lower your profile so easily."

"I wish I could, though…"

"And for your info," Grizzoli added, "I've got a hundred zollars on you two, kiddo."

Ryan frowned for a second and looked at him inquiringly. "Are you telling me there's a betting pool going on? Over us?"

"Sure is!" the bear said and cackled, "It was the same as we did on Nick and Judy, wagering whether you two are gonna be in a relationship or not. And I daresay I'm gonna win this one like every other bet."

"Oh, man…" Ryan groaned, buried his face in his arm on the table again and remained quiet as there was nothing to talk, or he did not want to speak anything as this bear could have led the conversation back to this subject again for sure.

A few moments later, the door swung open, and there came a cape buffalo in blue, walking through it.

"TEN HUT!" was a shout from Officer Higgins in the front of the room.

Everyone snapped to attention, got to their feet and started stomping on the floor, pounding the table, hooting, howling and cheering as the Chief of Zootopia Police Department walked across the room to the dais with a handful of manila folders.

"All right, all right. Everybody sits!" Chief Bogo shouted as he took the dais, and everyone obliged. "I've got three item on the dockets. First…" He glanced at Ryan and Star, " we need to acknowledge our two newbies in the room. Panthera, Young, congratulation. You two aren't newbies anymore and will get involved in new cases soon."

"Thank you, sir," the two said in unison and smiled at their boss as everyone clapped their paws.

"Second, today's gonna be another big day in the history of ZPD. After I got a warrant and confirmation from the city hall yesterday, in very few moments soon, we're gonna send our task force to raid Chuckles' hideout in Herd Street and put that criminal mastermind in jail for good. For those who participate this, go get your gears and be ready in ten. Move!"

All the assigned officers, including Officer Grizzoli and McHorn, stood up and walked out the briefing room. Grizzoli patted Ryan on his shoulder and winked at Star before heading outside. Now the room was half empty with those who were not in the task force.

"And for the rest," Chief Bogo continued, "patrol duty. Dismissed."

"Sir, you forgot the third item." Star reminded, "is that about whom gonna take Ryan to Bacillus Industries, right?"

"Oh, that right. I almost forgot." Chief Bogo cleared his throat and looked at Ryan sternly. "Young…"


'Just Another Normal Day'