Nick strolled up to the front desk of the ZPD, raising his shades to his forehead and flashing a grin in Clawhauser's direction. "Good morning, Ben!" he cheerily greeted.

At the moment, the cheetah was busy munching on his morning donuts—every one of which was glazed, naturally—and Nick had caught him with his mouth full. He smiled as best he could and waved politely in return.

"Don't mind me," Nick insisted as he leaned on the counter. "Just keep eating your breakfast while I talk about my wonderful evening I just had."

Clawhauser clearly didn't appreciate the idea of being a rude host, as he quickly swallowed what was in his mouth, choked back some coughs, and replied, rather loudly, "You mean after you took Officer Hopps home last night?"

The rest of the mammals in the lobby stopped whatever they were doing at that moment and turned to stare at Nick. The fox, suddenly embarrassed by the number of eyes baring down on him, quickly cleared his throat and replied, equally as loudly, "I think you mean Officer Hoops, Clawhauser. Nothing like classic 60s jazz to help you fall asleep at night." To his relief, this seemed to satisfy the dozens of other animals, who went about their business. Dropping his voice back down to a normal level—maybe even a little quieter—Nick continued, "Yes, Ben, I took Carrots back to her apartment last night, but I assure you, nothing happened."

Clawhauser took another bite from his donut and nodded. "I believe you, I believe you," he insisted. "Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you by suggesting you two would—"

Nick rushed to cut him off. "She was dead-tired, and I wanted to do the polite thing and walk her home. That's all it was, I assure you." He found himself dropping his shades back over his eyes. "Nothing more."

Clawhauser smiled knowingly. "Uh-huh, sure." He washed down the rest of his donut with his coffee, before continuing, "Maybe when she arrives, I'll just have a little talk with her to verify—"

Nick panicked. Before he could stop himself, he jumped onto the counter, grabbed Clawhauser by the shirt collar, and pressed his snout firmly against the cheetah's. "Don't you dare talk to her!" he whispered as sharply as he could. "She can't know about my feelings for her! Do you understand?" He held this position for several long seconds before he finally realized what he was doing—and, more importantly, what he had just said out loud.

As he slowly let Clawhauser go, the cheetah, staring blankly at the fox, slowly brushed his shirt and stared at him inquisitively. "Well, that was dramatic," he said softly.

Nick slumped back to the floor, sighing in regret. "I'm sorry, Ben. I guess I'm under more stress than I expected."

Clawhauser, always quick to forgive, waved a paw through the air dismissively. "Of course. Your big case. It's a lot for anyone, Wilde, no need to bash yourself."

"No, not just the case," Nick admitted. He once again raised his shades to his forehead, though he still found it difficult to look Clawhauser in the eye. "Ben, I hope I can trust you."

In response, Clawhauser raised his paw, and to Nick's amusement, two of his fingers were crossed—something he had struggled to pull off a few days ago. In full view of the fox, he uncrossed his fingers and promised out loud, "I won't tell anyone else what you tell me right now. You can count on me."

Nick smiled at the gesture. What do you know. "The truth is…" He took a deep breath, and finished his sentence while he still had the courage. "I love her." When Clawhauser's face began contorting into an aw expression, Nick frantically shushed him. "Ben, you promised," he reminded him.

Clawhauser hurriedly sat on his paws, though a smile still beamed from his face nonetheless. "Sorry." The smile disappeared, replaced with a look of confusion. "But why don't you want her to know? Don't you think it would make her happy?"

"I don't know," Nick answered, speaking in a quiet voice—as if merely speaking about the possibility would jinx it. "I don't know how she would react."

Clawhauser's face lit up with realization. "Oh." He released his paws and leaned forward so the two of them could more comfortably talk in whispers. "It's okay, buddy. I know both of you—or at least, I think I do—and I think she would be flattered to know how you feel."

"I think so, too," Nick admitted, "but what if I'm wrong?" Nick glanced around the lobby again to make sure nobody was looking at him, and continued in an even quieter voice than before. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, Ben. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her, and honest to God, I think I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I don't want to say the wrong thing and ruin all of that."

It was all Clawhauser could do to not melt at the sincerity of Nick's words. "You two are so adorable together," he sighed.

Nick snorted. "Well, I don't know about that."

Clawhauser's face became serious as thoughts entered his head. "Wait. How would that even work? I mean…" He raised his two paws as if weighing options. "Can foxes and bunnies even have kids?"

"No," Nick replied. "I already looked it up."

"Okay, well…" Clawhauser froze. "Wait. Why were you looking it up?"

Nick stared at him blankly for a few seconds, before flatly replying, "I have no comment."

Clawhauser eyed him for another moment, clearly tempted to pry him on, but thought better of it and continued. "Okay, well, that would be something to consider. I mean, what if she wants kids someday?"

Nick quickly nodded. "I know."

"And what would her family think about her having a fox for a husband?"

"I know."

"And thankfully the ZPD allows for spouses to work together on the force, but you're both such high-profile officers, what would that do for—"

"Ben," Nick cut him off, finally forcing the cheetah to stop talking. "I've thought of all of that. And more. And I don't know the answers—and that's why I don't want her to know about my feelings yet." Clawhauser didn't immediately respond, so the fox continued, while he still had the courage to do so. "For me, things can only get better by living the rest of my life with her, but I'm not naïve. I know that she would be forced to make sacrifices to make it work with me—sacrifices I just can't ask of her. She's worked her whole life to be where she's at now, and I don't want her to throw it all away just because of me." Nick sighed and slouched on the counter, his good mood gone. "I'm not worth all of that," he finished in a whisper.

Clawhauser heard him anyway and, hoping to cheer him up, offered a single question in response. "And what if she feels the same way about you, as you do about her?"

Of course, Nick had considered that himself. Sometimes he daydreamed about what that future might look like: the two of them living together, growing old together, spending the rest of their lives together. And it was a beautiful thought—which made him want it all the more.

But it was also a very dangerous thought, because if it didn't happen, it would crush his heart. And odds were, it was just too good of a thought to be true.

He shrugged. "Then I suppose we'll figure that out when we get there. But until then," he quickly added, staring Clawhauser dead in the eye once again, "make sure she never hears about this."

Clawhauser dutifully crossed his heart and saluted. "Not a word," he promised.

Satisfied, Nick glanced at the clock. "8:25, huh? It's not like her to be this late."

"I'm sure she'll be here any minute," Clawhauser insisted reassuringly. "I mean, hey, we are out of donuts." He gestured to the empty box on his desk. "Maybe she's just buying some on her way here!"

The lighthearted suggestion forced a snicker out of Nick. Clawhauser was often seen as something of a buffoon by the other officers, but in his experience, the cheetah was a good friend with a good heart. He knew that the conversation they had just had would remain a secret between them, and that if Clawhauser could find any way to cheer Nick up through the rest of the day, he would do it.

"You're a good friend, Ben," he said with a smile.

Clawhauser shyly smiled in return and leaned back in his chair. "Aw. Thanks, Nick."

Nick glanced at the clock again. It was only a minute later, but even so, there were still four minutes left before roll call. Deciding not to let the extra time go to waste, he stretched his arms and backed away from the desk. "Well, may as well get some pushups in while we wait for her." He dropped to the floor and got started, counting out loud as he went. "One, two, three…"

"Hey, guys!"

At that moment, right on cue, Judy entered through the front door and made her way over to them.

Thinking fast, Nick changed his numbers mid-pushup. "Six hundred and four, six hundred and five, six hundred and six…"

Judy, of course, saw right through his farce and gently stepped on his back, forcing him to the ground. "Yeah right, Slick." She waved at Clawhauser. "Morning, Clawhauser."

Clawhauser waved back. "Oh, Hopps, I have something I need to tell you—"

Suddenly, Nick's trust in Clawhauser disappeared. Under the weight of Judy's bunny body, he turned as best and as fast as he could in the cheetah's direction. "Clawhauser, I swear to God!" he warned.

"From Chief Bogo," Clawhauser slowly finished, causing Nick to feel immediate embarrassment. "He said to be ready to see him in his office after bullpen assignments this morning."

At first, Judy's attention was focused on Nick's outburst, but after hearing this, she took her foot off of Nick and turned her full attention to Clawhauser. "Did he say why?" she asked. Nick could have sworn he heard a hint of nervousness in her voice—something very uncharacteristic of her.

"No, just that it has to do with something going on tonight." He called down to Nick, who was still lying on the floor trying to catch his breath. "Oh yeah, he asked for you, too, Wilde."

Nick stood up, brushing his sleeves and the front of his shirt. "Oh did he?" he coughed. "And why didn't you bring this up to me earlier, Ben?"

Clawhauser shrugged. "You didn't ask."

Nick glared in response, but decided not to say anything. Instead, he took one final glance at the clock on the wall. "Well, it's time for the morning report with Chief Balance-Board." He stood to the side, bowed politely, and extended an arm. "After you, Officer Hopps."

Judy rolled her eyes, but didn't say a word as she walked past them toward the back room in preparation for their daily assignments. Nick followed behind, though not before he made a quick motion to Clawhauser to keep his mouth zipped shut. In response, Clawhauser placed a paw on his mouth and made a zipping motion. Nick was now fairly sure—as sure as he could be with the cheetah—that the morning's conversation was safe and sound.

As the two of them sat down in their usual spot, Nick stole a glance at Judy, and he could see now that something was definitely wrong with her. Her breathing was shallow, her eyes were dilated, and her ears hung against the back of her neck. She was definitely feeling uncomfortable, and if he didn't know any better, he'd say she was afraid of something…

"Carrots? What's wrong?"

She folded her paws and sank into the chair, as if she hoped to disappear. "I'm fine," she insisted, though her body language continued to tell him otherwise.

Nick smiled slyly. "Come on, you can tell me. I'm your best friend, right? You can tell me anything." He leaned into her ear and whispered so softly it was barely louder than a breath. "Anything."

He honestly expected one of two reactions from her—and both of them involved bodily harm on his behalf. To his surprise, however, Judy instead turned away from him. It was slight, but it was noticeable—and it made him worry all the more.

Nick dropped his smile. "Judy, what's wrong?" he asked, using her real name to help catch her attention. "Come on, seriously, you can tell me. What is it?"

Finally, Judy turned to meet his gaze. Her eyes were filled with even more fear than she had led on, and her nose was actually twitching—something that only ever happened when she was terrified for her life.

Before he could stop himself, Nick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his body, hoping the gesture would bring her comfort. In response, he felt her softly press her head into his chest. Her arms wrapped around his waist—not exactly a hug, more of a grip, as if she were desperately trying to make sure the two of them could not be separated.

"I'm here," he whispered, barely audible enough for her to hear. "I'm here, Carrots."

The noise in the rest of the room seemed to die out for the two of them. For a moment, they were all alone—the fox, comforting the bunny in his arms, ensuring that no one could harm her. How he wished that she could stay there forever, and that he could do whatever it took to make sure she was no longer afraid.

Finally, however, after one last squeeze from her tiny arms, she pulled away and looked at him. In her beautiful amethyst eyes, even though the fear was still there, Nick could at least see some comfort as well. "Can I tell you later?" she asked.

Nick quickly nodded and let her sit back up straight. "Okay," he agreed. "Later it is."

And later it would have to be anyway. By now Bogo had entered the room, marched straight to the podium, and quieted the room down. "All right, everyone," he announced, "we've got a big event tonight, and I'll need all hands on deck for this one." He raised a pamphlet and waved it around. "I'm sure you all recognize this?"

Of course, everyone did. It was an advertisement for a Gazelle concert, happening that night—though Nick had been so preoccupied with everything else going on, he had completely forgotten about it. The room erupted in cheers and excitement for everyone's favorite pop star.

"All right, quiet down," Bogo ordered. When everyone had done so, he lowered the pamphlet and continued, "Gazelle's security team is expecting peak attendance at tonight's concert, and as such she had reached out the City of Zootopia and requested as many officers as can be spared to help out."

The door in the back burst open and everyone turned around to witness Clawhauser wheeze his way into the room. "Dibs! Dibs!" he cried out. "I call dibs on protecting Gazelle, Chief!"

Bogo slammed a hoof on the podium. "If anyone gets dibs, Clawhauser, it's me!" he screamed in response. The room returned their full attention to him, and after realizing what he had just yelled, he sheepishly cleared his throat and continued, as calmly as he could, "Unfortunately, Gazelle herself has provided a list of officers she would like to work on her security detail tonight. Those officers are as follows, and the rest of us will be working the stands." He put on his reading glasses and read the list. "Officers Hopps and Wilde." He took off his reading glasses and looked at the two, stunned in their seat. "Report to the Furdome at ten-hundred hours."

Nick wondered if he had heard right. Gazelle asked for us? Us? I mean, Carrots I understand, but…me? Why would she want me to work security with her?

Judy was less quiet with her thoughts. "Sir," she spoke up, "Officer Wilde and I are very busy on the savage predator case—and I believe we may have just made a significant breakthrough. Spending a day working security for Gazelle is—"

"I understand that, Hopps," Bogo responded, clearly agitated by the situation—though whether the agitation was because the two of them were being taken off a major case for a day, or because he wasn't the one allowed to be closest to his favorite idol, it was impossible to say. "But I repeat, she asked specifically for the two of you. Tonight's concert is being done, in part, to celebrate the differences between predators and prey." Bogo, clearly wanting to avoid giving a sermon, struggled to make his words concise. "Zootopia is in the midst of deep segregation. Gazelle wants to prove to the city that there is no reason to fear predators."

It wasn't enough to satisfy Judy. "But why us, sir? Just the two of us? There are plenty of other fully qualified officers—"

Bogo once again cut her off. "She has chosen the two of you to be her personal bodyguards because you are the most visible prey and predator in the ZPD. Everyone knows you, Hopps." He turned his attention to Nick briefly. "And you as well, Wilde. And speaking for myself, I couldn't think of officers any more qualified for this assignment."

Clawhauser, still standing in the back of the room, meekly raised his arm. Bogo glared at him for a few seconds, forcing the arm to go back down.

Bogo addressed the room as a whole. "Officers Hopps and Wilde will set an example tonight, not only for the officers in this room, but to the city of Zootopia. The ZPD does not discriminate, nor do we exercise prejudice. Just as it says on the badge of every mammal in this room…" He pointed at his own badge, placed firmly on his uniform. "We will strive for these: Trust, Bravery, and Integrity." He looked back at Judy and Nick. "Am I clear?"

Nick and Judy both nodded immediately in response. "Yes, sir," they replied in unison.

"Good." Bogo gathered his papers and grouped them neatly in his hooves. "The rest of you will be meeting with Boneson Security immediately to figure out your respective assignments." He noticed Clawhauser, still standing in the back. "Except you, Clawhauser. Front desk, as per the usual." He began walking away. "Dismissed, everyone. Hopps, Wilde, with me."

Having already been warned by Clawhauser to expect this, Nick and Judy slipped off their seat and followed Bogo out the door to his office. Nick found himself thinking about the chief's words. Clearly, Bogo seemed to expect something to go wrong tonight. Maybe it would be another attack from a savage predator—or maybe something as simple as a rowdy crowd of hardcore fans. Regardless, Bogo was expecting something bad to happen…

And if Nick were honest, he had the same gut feeling. It was the same feeling he had in the Natural History Museum, the moment he saw Bellwether strolling up to him and Judy, asking for their bag of evidence.

He tried shaking the feeling off. It's just nerves, Wilde, that's all it is. You're having a good day—a good week for that matter. Don't let your nerves get to you and ruin everything.

The gut feeling, however, still remained when they reached Bogo's office. The chief politely let the two of them sit down in their seats before he sat behind his desk and started talking.

"What I say next does not leave this office. Understood?" When Nick and Judy both nodded, he continued, "Gazelle was asked directly by Assistant Mayor Rolfe to give the predators on her crew shock collars. She refused."

The statement caught the two of them off-guard. In Nick's experience, Rolfe was used to getting his way, and when he didn't, he had a habit of making his displeasure known. For Gazelle to refuse a request for such a high-profile event…

I wish I could have been in the room to see his face. He would have smirked if it wasn't such a scary thought.

"She refused an order from the Assistant Mayor?" Judy asked.

"Since she's not a government employee, yes, she did," Bogo responded. He spoke in such a low voice, Nick wondered if he was afraid his words might upset Rolfe even further. "She is well within her rights to do so—and since there is no city ordinance in place, only recommendations, all members of her crew will not be wearing shock collars."

Nick felt the corners of his mouth rise. "All of her crew tonight, sir?" he asked.

Bogo sighed. "Not cops, Wilde," he sadly clarified, to Nick's disappointment. "You're still a government employee, which means you have to follow government orders."

Nick lowered his gaze and slowly nodded. "Understood, sir."

"Trust me, Wilde, I wish you could," Bogo said softly, and Nick believed him. "I wish all predators could take off their shock collars tonight—but unfortunately, it can only be limited to Gazelle's team. And while I agree wholeheartedly with the message she intends to spread, I also believe this could lead to her being a prime target tonight. That is why I have agreed to this," he added, holding up the piece of paper with their two names on it. "I trust that if something goes wrong, you two will keep her safe and quell the situation, by any means necessary."

Nick swallowed hard. I guess I was right. We both feel it: Something is going to happen tonight. Something bad.

Judy clearly felt the same. "What should we expect, sir? An attack? Another savage predator?"

"Possibly, but it could be anything." Bogo leaned forward in his chair. "Whoever is responsible for all the chaos going on in Zootopia is not going to sit idly by while the world's biggest pop star stands there surrounded by harmless predators." He dropped his voice even further. "And what's more, she just told off the biggest proponent for the shock collars, our own dear assistant mayor. Do you think he is going to be happy about that?"

Nick found himself slouching in his chair with a groan. "Oh yeah. Him." He folded his paws. "My life was a lot happier when I forgot he existed." He should have kept that thought to himself, but he knew Bogo and Judy agreed with him.

Judy ignored his complaint and spoke up. "With all due respect, sir, there's no evidence linking the assistant mayor to any of this."

"And I hope it continues to be that way," Bogo replied. "The last thing I want is another conspiracy by a government official." His face grew grim. "But he was nonetheless very… shall we say, unhappy with Gazelle's response to his request to mandate shock collars. If something goes wrong tonight, you can be sure that he will do everything in his power to pass city ordinance on them." He leaned forward, making sure the severity of his words were made known. "I trust you—both of you—to make sure nothing goes wrong tonight."

Without hesitation, both responded in the affirmative, "Yes, sir."

"That means you two keep your eyes wide open. If you see a predator so much as push someone, or walk around suspiciously, or even scalp a ticket, you take them down, and keep it quiet."

Once again, both responded in unison, "Yes, sir."

"I'm counting on the two of you," Bogo finished, easing up on his seriousness just a bit. "We're all counting on you. And I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when you can come back and keep working on the case."

"Speaking of," Judy replied, "have you heard back from Judge Seamammals yet?"

Bogo shook his head with a heavy sigh. "Not yet, Hopps. Hopefully soon."

Judy slowly nodded. "Hopefully soon," she quietly repeated.

"That will be all." Bogo leaned back in his chair and picked up a folder from his desk. "I'll see you both tonight at the concert."

Without another word, Nick and Judy stood up and left the office. Nick replayed the conversation in his mind quickly, trying to focus on key points that Bogo had made. Gazelle's defiance to Rolfe, he and Judy being hand-picked by Gazelle herself, possibly expecting some kind of attack during the concert, keeping Gazelle safe…

He sighed, overwhelmed with his thoughts. How do we even prepare for this? How is it possible to be ready for anything, when we don't even know what the "anything" even is? How can we be expected to protect Gazelle if we don't know what we're protecting her from?

He stole a glance at Judy, who was quietly keeping pace with him, staring straight ahead as if she were forcing herself to focus solely on the path they were walking. Whatever was on her mind before the bullpen was still there; Nick could still see the faint twitching of her nose.

To his surprise, that somehow made things clearer to him. It's not just Gazelle I'm protecting tonight. It's my bunny, too. He smiled. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect her. And if I can protect her, I can protect Gazelle.

By now the two of them had exited the building and were approaching the parking lot. As they walked up to their car, Nick decided to finally break the silence. "So… is it later yet?" Judy raised an eyebrow. "You know, later. When you would talk to me about what was wrong this morning."

Judy sighed and shook her head. "Not yet," she responded. "But I promise. We will talk, when I can."

Though he was disappointed, Nick still forced a smile. "All right. When you can." He opened the passenger door and slid into his seat. "In that case, onward, Officer Hopps! To the Gazelle concert!"

Judy also forced a smile and hopped into the driver's seat. "To the Gazelle concert!" she also called out. "And to the end of this case!"

Nick chuckled. "That too!" he agreed, as the car roared to life. "And also to the end of the mistreatment of animals in the Canals! And while we're at it, why not to the end of climate change?" He rubbed his chin. "You know, an end to me not being a millionaire would also be nice. And what about the end of—"

The car suddenly took off, forcing Nick into the back of his seat and closing his mouth. In the driver's seat, Judy chuckled at his reaction and flicked on the police siren. "And that," she said with finality, "is the end of that."