The following morning, the fox and the bunny were abruptly awoken by a pounding at their apartment door. Judy was the first to stumble up from bed and answer the door; she could hear Nick muttering things under his breath as he was making his way down the hall. After unlocking the door and pulling it open quickly, she was somewhat surprised to see Chief Bogo. That feeling of surprise was quickly replaced by a feeling of worry.

"Chief? What's going on?" Judy asked as she noticed the three large officers who were accompanying the Chief.

"Where's Wilde?" the cape buffalo asked gruffly.

"I'm right here. What's going on?" Nick asked as he came into view at the door, his paw resting lazily on the doorframe.

"Officer Wilde, we're going to need you to come with us," one of the three officers, a polar bear, stated.

"What for?" Nick asked.

"Wilde, don't make this difficult," the Chief snapped.

"What?" Nick asked again, giving them all a bewildered look, while Judy stood in silence.

The Chief sighed as he nodded at the officers. The officer who had just spoken to Nick stepped forward.

"Nicholas Wilde, you are under arrest for assaulting Jim Plains at approximately 2:00 PM yesterday afternoon."

Judy gasped suddenly, putting her paws over her mouth.

"No, no, no," Nick shook his head. "What is going on?"

The officer continued as he removed a pair of handcuffs from his belt and began to turn Nick around.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish."

Nick pulled his paws away from the polar bear, an immediate resisting of arrest. The Chief reached out and gently pulled Judy out into the hallway, away from the commotion. At the resist, all three officers began to retrain Nick, who began shouting.

"Chief, they can't do this! Nick did not assault Plains, he was arrested!" Judy cried as she watched in horror.

The Chief opened his mouth to respond, but then the unthinkable happened. In an instant, the situation escalated to a very violent level: one of the other two officers pulled out a muzzle from his belt. Everything seemed to slow down as Judy reached out, ready to grab Nick, but was restrained by the Chief. A look of pure fear flickered over Nick's face as he caught sight of the metal contraption, and before he had time to react, the muzzle was forced over his face. The look in Nick's eyes was enough to make Judy's heart break. She fought in vain against the massive cape buffalo, watching Nick's eyes widen as the muzzle was secured. She heard his breathing turn rapid, saw his whole body begin to shake, saw the fear become a permanent part of his face.

"Take it off! Take it off of him!" Judy screamed.

They didn't.

Once the muzzle was secure, they locked the handcuffs over Nick's paws, his arms held behind his back. Nick was hyperventilating, unable to say a word with the metal mask restraining his jaws.

"Nick, it's okay! I'm right here, okay? I am right here! Please take it off!" she continued to yell at the officers.

Judy fought against the Chief's harsh violently, and from the look in his eye, he wasn't enjoying a moment of it, but it was part of the job.

"Hopps, settle down," he stated in a gentle, yet firm, tone.

"Nick, it's okay. Look at me. Look at me, Nick. Breathe. You're going to be fine. I'm not going to let them hurt you, okay? Try and stay calm. Just breathe."

Judy saw Nick attempt to take deep breaths, but the more he tried to breathe, the more he felt the strangling of the metal.

"Please, take it off!" Judy pleaded as the officers began moving Nick out of the apartment. "You're hurting him! He can't even breathe for God's sake!"

Judy looked up at the Chief.

"Tell them!"

The Chief looked up at the officers, and with pain and guilt in his expression, he nodded at them. With the signal, the three officers moved Nick past Judy and took him down to the patrol car that was parked outside.

"No!" Judy yelled after them. "Nick! Just breathe! It's going to be okay!"

Once the four had departed, the Chief tried to reason with Judy.

"Hopps. Hopps, listen to me."

"No! They took Nick! He can't have a muzzle on! He panics!"

"Hopps, he was resisting arrest, and he's an officer."

"He was resisting arrest because he didn't do anything!"

"He assaulted an animal who is very high up in the corporate chain."

"Oh, Nick didn't touch him!" Judy shot back.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I was there! Nick didn't lay a paw on that jerk!"

"Why were you two there?"

"Plains and his buddies were in our apartment."

"And you didn't file a report?" The Chief's voice rose slightly as he began to understand the severity of the case.

"No," Judy fumbled. "Well, I was going to. I was a bit busy!"

"Too busy to file a report on a case that you were not legally allowed to handle due to subject of interest?" the Chief snapped.

"Yes, I was!" Judy yelled back.

"With what were you so busy with, Hopps?"

Judy finally stopped fighting him and looked right into his eyes.

"They knew Nick as a kid," she quickly went on. "They forced a muzzle on him and bullied him. Now, let me go so that I can make sure that my partner – who you just muzzled – is okay."

The Chief stared back at her with an expressionless face, and then after a moment of thought, he released her.

"Fine, we can go down to the ZPD together," he huffed.

Judy sighed with relief as she stepped away from the cape buffalo.

"Thank you," she breathed, tears in her eyes.

She turned to leave, but the Chief caught her arm once more.

"And Hopps? Pretend this conversation didn't happen and I'll pretend that you aren't fraternizing with your partner."

Judy gave him a grateful smile and nodded.

"Don't need my best team separated because of love," the Chief muttered as the two left.