"Nick, wait!"

The glass doors slammed open to the diner as Nick pushed them open with a force that seemed impossible for him. Judy was close behind, having to slide in between the closing doors as she tried to keep up with the fox that was currently fueled with rage. Everyone in the diner jumped in surprise, some dropped their silverware, some froze, some gave disapproving looks. Dawn, the young white-tailed doe hostess, dropped the stack of menus she had been carrying and froze, and the otter family she had been escorting to their seats huddled together in fear of the fox.

"Nick, what's going on–?" the doe began.

"Who were those animals, Dawn?"

"What animals–?"

"They're regulars here, aren't they? Who are they?" Nick growled at the doe.

Judy stepped in, putting herself between the two. She placed a paw on Nick's chest to let him know that she would stop him if things became too aggressive, even though she knew Nick would never take things that far.

"Nick, she doesn't know who you are talking about. There are dozens of animals in here every hour!"

"Who are they?" the fox asked again, ignoring the bunny in front of him.

Judy felt the growl in his chest with her paw; it frightened her slightly, but she held her ground.

"Judy, what's going on?" Dawn asked in petrified voice.

"Dawn, there's a group of animals that may come here often. It's a zebra, a bank vole, a donkey, and a hippo, I think."

Judy felt another growl vibrate through Nick's chest.

"We need to know their names. Now."

Dawn nodded her head quickly before stumbling over her hooves to the wooden podium that welcomed customers when they first entered the diner. A large red book filled with every customer's name and possible contact information sat upon the wood. Both Dawn and Judy knew that there was no guarantee that the names Nick was looking for would be in that book, but it was the only thing they had at the moment.

Dawn began flipping through the book's pages, her hooves shaking to the point that she fumbled a few times.

"I-I don't see them in h-here," Dawn stuttered.

Nick let out a vicious snarl. Judy knew his reaction wasn't directed at Dawn or because of her, but rather because they had hit a dead end. Gesturing at Dawn, hoping that she wouldn't hate Nick later, Judy let her know to continue working and escort the otter family to a booth. Dawn didn't hesitate and the group was gone moments later.

Judy turned to Nick, both of her paws now on his chest, restraining him more securely.

"Look, we can go to the ZPD, we can try to find some files there," she stated calmly.

"That'll take too long."

Nick was shaking from anger, his paws balled in tight fists by his sides. Much to Judy's horror, Nick's teeth were slightly bared, glinting in the evening light that was streaming through the windows of the diner.

"No, it won't, we just need any of their names and we can figure this out."

Nick suddenly went still, his eyebrows raised and his eyes staring off into oblivion as he remembered how this entire situation originally came about.

"Plains. Jim Plains. His name is Jim freaking Plains."

With that, he was gone, racing out of the diner's doors and down the sidewalk to their SUV.

"What? Nick!"

Judy ran after the fox once again, barely making it into the passenger's seat of the car before Nick reversed, changed gears, and then slammed his foot against the accelerant.

"Nick, where are we going?" Judy exclaimed in surprise.

"The suits, Carrots!"

"What–?"

"They were all wearing suits that day, and the zebra introduced himself to me – Jim Plains. From what I saw that day – how they acted – they work at the same place."

"How can you make that assumption?"

"They were acting as if they see each other every day, not like it had been years since they had seen one another. They have to work together! And if they were eating at the diner, and still live somewhat near the area we did when we were kids, then I know exactly where they work."

"Wow," Judy murmured, taking a moment to catch her breath. "That was quite some detective work, Nick."

"I'm a con artist, Carrots," Nick chuckled.

"Were a con artist," Judy corrected.

Nick shot her a sideways glance, a nervous appearance falling over his character. Judy's eyes narrowed.

"Nick? You were a con artist, right?"

"Uh, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Nick!"

"Oh, look! We're here!"

Nick slammed on the brakes, threw the car in park, and jumped out in one fluent motion. Judy was still sitting in her seat, completely flabbergasted.

"Nicholas Wilde, we are not done talking!"

"We can talk about it when I get back! Stay there!" he called back over his shoulder.

Judy huffed, astonished at the thought of waiting in the car. Without a second thought, she hopped out of the car and followed Nick into a large skyscraper that was entirely made up of glass and steel.

The lobby was absolutely beautiful; a large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, black velvet pieces of furniture were placed in elegant patterns around various silver-painted coffee tables, and a massive mahogany reception desk sat against the far wall that featured a cascading waterfall. Nick was already at the reception desk, a smug look playing across his face as he flirted with the snow leopard receptionist. Judy scowled as she saw the show he was putting on for her. One minute he was a predator threatening an entire diner, the next he was a player tugging at everyone's heartstrings. She made her way up to the desk, her ears tuned to listen to every word being exchanged.

"Oh, really? That is so fascinating!" the leopard giggled, a blush spreading across her face.

"Yeah," Nick shrugged lazily. "Being a private detective is quite the job."

Judy's jaw dropped, momentarily astounded at how thick he was acting. However, a devilish look slowly spread across her face as she realized how much fun this was about to be. Putting on a face of false surprise, she spoke, her voice ringing out in a sickly-sweet tone.

"Private Detective Wilde, what a surprise!" she called.

Judy noticed how Nick's shoulders tensed before he turned around, a look of horror flashing in his eyes.

"Ah, J-Judy, how good it is to see you too! I wasn't expecting you to be here."

Judy heard the stress in the last word and smirked at him.

"Who's this?" the leopard asked Nick with a jealous tone.

"Oh, me?" Judy cut in.

The big cat looked at her, a resentful look in her bright blue eyes.

"I'm just his wife! Judy Hopps, very nice to meet you."

Nick's ears quickly fell flat at the word "wife;" surely she wasn't going to go there.

Oh, but she did.

"I was just coming here to meet with Mr. Plains. He's an old friend of ours, and I thought that we should tell him we are expecting."

The leopard's eyes widened slightly at the sudden change in the atmosphere. From what she could tell, she had just flirted with a husband and father-to-be, and her sudden uncomfortable posture gave that away.

"O-oh, of course. I'll let him know you're on your way up," she replied politely.

"Oh, can we keep it a surprise?" Judy quickly amended with a sweet smile. "I would greatly appreciate it."

Nick could only look on in absolute horror as the bunny worked the receptionist.

"Oh, yes. He's on the fifth floor, head office. Uh, congratulations," the leopard said as she faked a smile.

Judy thanked her and then turned to Nick, taking his paw gently.

"Come on, Honey, let's go tell Jim the big news."

Judy continued to act as a sweet "pregnant wife" as she dragged her "husband" to the elevator. She even gave a small wave to the receptionist before the sliding metal doors closed, all for good measure. Once the doors had shut, she fixed Nick with a deadly gaze.

"Private detective, huh?"

"Pregnant wife? Seriously?"

Nick's face looked empty, as if he had lost all of his color. Judy couldn't help but laugh.

"That was good, and you know it," she giggled.

"No, it wasn't!"

"What, were you worried there for a second?"

Nick swallowed loudly, and Judy suddenly went silent.

"Uh, anyway," she said, trying to usher the conversation onward. "I got us in."

"Yeah. Good work."

"Yep."

An awkward silence fell between the two as the elevator passed the third floor. They both stood still, staring at the doors in front of them.

"Uhm, what I said back there, about being your pregnant wife…" Judy muttered. "I was just messing around, you know?"

"Yeah."

"It's not like we would…"

"Right."

"I mean, unless we… uh, never mind."

Nick glanced at Judy before turning his attention back to the doors of the elevator.

"Unless we what?" he asked curiously.

Judy's face flushed a dark shade of pink.

"Unless w-we decided to do that…" she answered lamely.

This time, it was Nick's face that blushed violently.

"W-would we decide t-that?" he asked.

"I don't know."

Silence descended once more, the quiet humming of the elevator filling the void.

"Well," Nick cleared his throat. "I would."

Judy's head shot up, looking directly at Nick, who was standing with his paws in his pockets, a smile on his face.

"Wait, you would–?"

Just then, they were interrupted by the elevator coming to a halt and the doors sliding open to reveal a bank vole, a hippopotamus, a donkey, and a zebra all laughing and chatting as they waited for the elevator.

All six fell silent at the sight of one another.