One

Two weeks earlier…

"You know," said Nick, "when you said you were picking me up for a fun breakfast date, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"What do you mean?" The hurt in Judy's voice, combined with that sweet bunny face of hers, made his partner the picture of wounded innocence. She let the deflated kickball she had been inspecting fall to the ground with a hollow, rubber whumph. "What's wrong with it? I brought you coffee. We're getting to enjoy the fresh morning air. Look! There are even flowers to enjoy." She plucked up a dandelion that had sprouted up through a crack in the cement and held it out to him. "Make a wish!"

With one sharp exhale Nick blew the fluffy weed apart, sending the seeds whirling out across the lawn. "I wish that my partner was a better liar."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't you be wishing I were more honest instead?"

"Just because my con days are behind me doesn't mean I can't still hold an appreciation for the art," said Nick. He sighed dramatically. "How I fell for a bunny who lacks even the most basic skills of deception I'll never know."

"I guess you might call it an honest seduction."

Nick clapped a paw to his chest. "And cheesy too. The Great Turtle save me."

Judy poked him with the flower stem. "You know you love me."

There had been a time not so very long ago when that line would have filled Nick with panic. Ironic, considering it was a tease he himself had begun. But Nick had come to some realizations since then. He wouldn't call it growth—definitely nothing so healthy as that. it was more that he had learned to accept his more selfish desires: He loved Judy more than anything in this world, therefore, he would stay by her side and do just that for as long as the world would let him. Considering the odds that were stacked against them some might call that a bad bet. Nick preferred to think of it more as a thrilling long shot. Regardless, he was all in, which was why he responded to Judy's teasing with a bald, "Every furry inch of you," that made her beam.

He added regretfully, "Even if you can't act your way out of a paper bag—"

"All right!" she exclaimed. "If you want the truth: Clawhauser called me on my way over and asked if we could stop by."

"And you couldn't pass on this one because…?"

The look his partner gave him! You'd have thought he'd asked her to cover up a murder. "Nicholas Wilde! We have a duty to the citizens of Zootopia to—"

"Yes, yes. Duty and honor and all that, blah, blah, blah. You know we're not the only police officers on the force though, right, Carrots?"

Judy gave a careless shrug Nick didn't buy for a second. "There's nothing wrong with putting in a little extra work now and then, is there?"

There was when he could still have been in bed sleeping, or at a diner having breakfast with Judy, or a dozen other things that would have been preferable to what they were doing now.

But Nick knew what she was really saying. Being a fox and bunny couple who were dating openly, on top of being partners at the ZPD, put a huge target on their backs. Judy seemed to think that by working extra hard and making themselves indispensable that animals would be more inclined to give them some leeway. Hedging her own bets, basically. Nick had his doubts about the effectiveness of it, but if it made Judy feel better than he was willing to go along.

To a point.

He waved her forward. "Okay then, Ms. Hardworker. I leave it to you to take the lead on this."

"Petty fox."

She took a grudging stepped forward and cleared her throat. The two animals in front of them didn't look over. Nick wasn't surprised. They hadn't stopped arguing once since Nick and Judy had arrived and taken their initial statements.

"—Should be teaching her better," an older male goat was lecturing his neighbor, a striking young doe in a business suit. "I never would have gotten away with such tomfoolery as a kid."

"I already apologized for Fauna's behavior," said the doe. "She's been punished and grounded. What more do you want me to do?"

Judy cleared her throat. "If I could—"

"I want you to do something that works," snapped the goat. "Obviously your little punishments aren't getting through. Maybe if you tried something more corporal..."

"How I raise my child is my business. You have no right to butt in."

"Butt in?" The goat's voice rose an octave. "Is that a crack about my horns? Because I'll have you know I have never head-butted anyone in my life! Which is more than those young bucks you keep bringing around at all hours can say."

"If we could all calm down—" Judy tried again.

"Nine to five is not all hours. And those bucks are my patients. I work partly out of my home, which you well know. As a doctor who specializes in antler defects, you can see why some patients might feel more comfortable not coming to a clinic in a public area—"

"Well maybe if you focused more on your kid and less on a herd of insecure males with stunted—"

"Hey!" Judy's shout cut across the messy lawn, startling both deer and goat into silence. The goat stiffened and almost seemed to lose his balance before catching himself. He glared over at Judy. The doe crossed her slender arms and scowled.

"Thank you," said Judy. "Now, if we could behave like civilized animals for just a moment—" She cut a look at a snickering Nick. He grinned back at her unrepentantly. "I have both of your statements here. If we could just go over everything one more time for confirmation." She turned to address the doe. "Ms. Deerling, you claim Mr. Cabra has been trespassing onto your land and damaging property. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

Judy gestured to the deflated ball she had been looking at earlier. "Is this the property you spoke of?"

"Among other things," said the doe. "That's just what I found this morning, along with Fauna's bike." She pointed to a small yellow trike near the garage. The rubber had been torn off one of its tires and both the seat and front basket were little more than mulch. "All of Fauna's toys end up like this. And it's always after Mr. Cabra has one of his episodes."

The older goat stomped a hoof hard enough to leave a divot in the grass. "As if your kid's not the reason for half of them!"

"What kind of episodes are these?" Judy asked.

The goat huffed and fiddled with the curl in his short beard. "I have a… minor medical issue. I'm on medication for it, but it doesn't help when her terror of a child is always baiting me on purpose. I'm a victim of harassment here!"

"What kind of medical issue are we talking about?" asked Nick.

"Does it matter? The point is if she only kept her kid in line—"

"You can only reign them in so much," said Ms. Deerling. "And Fauna isn't trying to be malicious. She's only teasing. If you reacted a little less strongly I'm sure she would lose interest."

"As if I have that choice!" cried Mr. Cabra. "When that little menace is always—"

The bushes beside him exploded. A small dappled form leapt from the foliage, spindly arms and legs akimbo as they landed in front of Mr. Cabra with a high-pitched, "Boo!"

The goat's eyes bugged. His mouth opened as if to scream but no sound came out. His arms, legs, and back went stick straight as if they had suddenly turned to wood. He staggered back a step, his body swaying like a pendulum with his rounded belly acting as the bob until gravity finally caught him and he toppled face first onto the grass.

"Sweet cheese and crackers!" exclaimed Judy, rushing over to the goat's side. "Nick, call Clawhauser at dispatch! Tell him we need an ambulance at—Nick? What're you… are you laughing right now?"

Her partner shook his head in denial, but the paw over his mouth, the shaking in his shoulders… She couldn't believe it. "You are! Nick, this is serious."

"I know. I'm s-sorry, Carrots," Nick apologized, wiping tears from his eyes. "It just caught me funny and I—" He glanced over at the planking goat and dissolved into hysterics all over again.

"Mr. Cabra could be dying right now and you're standing there laughing at him!"

"He's not dying." With what looked like great effort, Nick managed pull himself together. "I promise, Carrots. Mr. Cabra will be fine. I remember a kid having this back in middle school. It's embarrassing, but he never needed an ambulance for it. Just give the goat a minute and he'll come around."

"Are you sure he's not dead?" Because Mr. Cabra looked dead. Like, really, really dead. Rigor mortis already setting in kind of dead.

"Positive," said Nick.

"Then what's wrong with him?"

"Well, I don't know the Latin term for it. But basically if anything startles him—"

"He faints!" crowed the fawn.

"Fauna Merryweather Deerling!"

The kid winced, all humor leaching from her face.

Ms. Deerling grabbed her daughter by the arm and yanked her around. "What did I tell you about scaring Mr. Cabra? You should be in your room."

"I wanted to see the famous police officers," said Fauna. "Vixie's always bragging at school about how close her family is with them and—I wasn't going to do anything, honest!"

Her mother pointed to the goat's prone form. "Then what do you call that?"

"But they wanted to know what was wrong with him. I was just trying to help, Mama, I swear! I just wanted to help!"

"I swear I don't know what I'm going to do with you." Ms. Deerling sighed, weariness settling in her features. "Go back inside," she ordered. "And if I see you put so much as a hoof outside your room so help me—"

The fawn scrambled back into the house.

The doe turned to Judy. She glanced uncertainly at the goat. "Is there anything I can do?"

Mr. Cabra had started to twitch, a spasmodic jerking of his limbs that reminded Judy of criminals who had been shot one too many times with a stun gun. Nick didn't seem worried about this development, though. And indeed, after about a minute of this, Mr. Cabra managed to get ahold of himself enough to sit up. Judy tried to help, but she was shaken off before she could so much as touch him.

"Do you see what I have to live with?" the goat demanded. "That kid is a menace. A goat shouldn't have to live in constant fear like this."

"It is unfortunate," Judy said carefully. "But... while I agree that perhaps your environment isn't conducive to treating a condition such as yours, if you were having problems with your neighbor that you felt were unfair then you should have come to the ZPD. The fact of the matter is, no one has the right to destroy the property of others, no matter what the issue."

"You're seriously taking her side right now?" cried the goat.

Nick stepped up next to Judy. "We're not taking anyone's side. We're telling you what the laws are. And despite the situation, you seem to have broken them."

"Who says I have?" sneered the goat. "Doesn't your precious law need evidence to convict? Where's the proof I did any of it?"

"So the ball Fauna threw at you yesterday just happened to be deflated this morning?" said Ms. Deerling.

"Balls deflate all the time. You can't blame an old goat for that."

Nick picked up the ball, turning it over to get a better look at the giant puncture hole. "Looks like a pretty violent deflating," he said.

Nick's right, thought Judy. The hole was too big even for a patch. In fact, it looked almost like a chunk of the rubber was missing entirely.

"And the bike?" demanded Ms. Deerling. "That didn't happen by itself. And I saw you yell at Fauna for using the horn."

"I doubt I'm the only one in this neighborhood your budding termagant has terrorized," said the goat. "Maybe one of them did it."

Judy eyed the bike, noting how much plastic and rubber was gone from the tire and seat. The way the front basket looked almost...chewed.

"She doesn't tease anyone else like this," the doe admitted. At least she had the decency to look chagrined by it. But she rallied as she said, "I know it's you. And I will press charges if you don't stop breaking my kid's things."

"Good luck winning that case without proof," said Mr. Cabra.

Judy glanced over at Nick. She saw by the horrified look his face that he had already put the pieces together as well. He knew how they could solve this case just as she did.

Which is why he started shaking his head furiously at her.

Judy sighed. Looked like it was up to her then.

"Actually," said Judy, ignoring Nick's pleading whispers at her. "I don't think getting proof is going to be a problem."

The goat sneered at her. "You've got nothing."

"You're right, I don't," said Judy. "But you do."

Nick groaned. The doe looked the goat over like she suspected the evidence to be hidden in his pockets.

"I have it?" Mr. Cabra pretended to pat himself down. "Funny. I don't have anything on me now."

Judy smiled at him. "Not right now you don't. But you will."

"Will I?" The goat scoffed. "When?"

Judy pretended to do the math. "Let's see… the average rate of digestion takes 24 to 72 hours… but goats are usually half that, right? And taking into consideration that plastic and rubber may take longer to… pass through? Or would it be quicker? Anyway, consumption happened roughly 10 hours ago so… I'd say you should have the evidence ready for us in… oh, the next day or so?"

Ms. Deerling gasped. Nick muttered, "Well there goes my morning." And from the front window Judy could just make out a tiny voice saying, "eeeew."

Mr. Cabra stilled as understanding hit him. Then his eyes rolled up into his head, and for the second time in so many minutes he pitched forward onto the grass.

Judy turned to Nick was a forced smile. "Well, that wasn't so bad. First case of the day already solved!"

"Yeah," said Nick. He twirled a claw around. "Whoo-hoo."

Nick didn't believe for a moment it was coincidence that half of his and Judy's detractors at the ZPD just happened to be in the holding block at the same time they arrived to put Mr. Cabra into a cell. Not even with the infamous rhino currently residing there did they need so many officers patrolling the hall all at once. No doubt they had heard the call come in and couldn't pass up the chance to see Nick and Judy humbled at something. No comments were made to them outright, but the stifled snickering and pointed whispers were enough to make Nick wonder just who was actually being booked here, the goat or them.

"Ignore them," said Judy, ears high as they escorted Mr. Cabra past a pair of openly smirking armadillos. "Just focus on the job."

Nick made a face. "Considering what lies in my immediate future, I'd rather not."

"Disgusting animals," spat Mr. Cabra. "I can't believe you would destroy an old goat's dignity like this."

"You destroyed it yourself when you starting eating kids toys," said Judy.

"Yeah, way to be a cliché, Goat Gruff," said Nick.

Coming to an empty cell, they escorted Mr. Cabra into it and unhandcuffed him. The cell was nothing more than a sink, a cot, and a toilet with accompanying control panel. Judy typed in the codes then set the controls to the auto-lock/no flush function. Mr. Cabra watched her with a paw to his stomach. "I don't feel so good."

"Someone will be down shortly will some pills to help make the process easier," said Judy.

The goat burped.

"This sure as heck wasn't in the job description," Nick grumbled as the left the cell.

"Every job has its downsides," said Judy.

"Sure they do. But we're famous now, aren't we? Sort of? Where are all the perks? At the very least we should be able to get out of doing tasks like this."

"Nicholas Wilde. What sort of officers would we be if we tried to take advantage of something like that?"

"I'm not asking for a parade," said Nick. "Just maybe an exemption from dealing with any more code twos."

Next to them a hippo broke out into a very suspicious fit of coughing. Judy rolled her eyes.

"You know..." she said as they made their way back down the hall, and Nick felt himself tense at her too-casual tone. "If you really hate doing things like this, we could always bring in a trainee. Clawhauser told me there are a lot students at the police academy who have been asking to shadow us. You know, to get some real world experience."

For a moment Nick felt like he might have caught Mr. Cabra's fainting disease. His body seemed to seize up and suddenly it was hard to breathe. It made his words come out more curt than he wanted them to. "That's a hard pass, Carrots."

But Judy was nothing if not dogged. "Not everyone will turn out to be like Tibor."

At the name, Nick's heart gave a sickening lurch. He could still picture the broken body of his former friend after he had fallen from the stage as if he were sprawled right in front of him. He still woke some nights from terrifying dreams of the hyena chasing Judy down through pitch-black tunnels, that yipping laughter a chilling, distorted echo that had Nick jerking awake, bathed in sweat and shaking.

Nick swallowed, throat dry. "That's not it."

Judy gave him a look that was far too understanding. "You have to start letting new animals into your life sometime, Nick."

"True. But why do it now when I can wait until I have no other choice? I think that's the healthiest way to go about things, don't you?"

Judy just shook her head at him. "Stubborn fox."

Nick thought she was far more stubborn. And brave. After all, any passing listener would think it was only Nick who had suffered from Tibor's betrayal. As if Judy hadn't also been a victim. More so, in many ways, than even Nick had been. He hadn't missed the way Judy tended to pause when she entered her apartment now. The excuses she came up with to check out the other rooms before settling down on the couch with him. The jokes she made that weren't really jokes when she asked if he could smell anyone else's scent besides theirs. And yet already she was talking about inviting someone else in.

If that wasn't the most stubborn kind of strength then Nick didn't know what was.

They reached the end of the hall just as the door burst open and officer Delgato stepped through. He beamed down at Nick and Judy with vicious glee. It was, without a doubt, the happiest Nick had ever seen the lion look when focused on them.

In his giant paw he held a plastic cup with two pills and a small case Nick recognized as a sample collector.

He shoved the items at Nick, his grin so wide it was impossible to see anything beyond his gleaming incisors. "For you, Fox."

"Well aren't you just the king of thoughtfulness," said Nick. "You shouldn't have. Really."

"Just helping a fellow officer out," said the lion, his small, dark eyes glittering. "Isn't that what they keep telling us in all those namby-pamby office trainings?"

"You're the one who keeps having to retake them. You tell me."

The lion leaned down close enough that the fur of his mane tickled Nick's nose. "Oh, I am going to enjoy watching you brought down a peg, fox. It's been a long time coming."

"There is no shame in doing one's job," said Judy. "Now if you don't mind, we still have a lot of work to do, so—"

It was at that moment that the goat made a sound of distress from his cell, followed by a smell that had several of the loitering officers fleeing the hall.

"Looks like your made-up estimate was a bit off," said Nick.

She bit her lip, shooting him an apologetic look.

The lion made a sweeping gesture back towards the cells. "By all means, don't let me keep you two from doing your duty." He chuckled at his own joke.

There was no escaping it. With all the dignity he could muster Nick turned back towards the cell. Before he had taken a dozen steps, however, the holding block doors burst open once again, this time admitting a frantic-looking officer Howle. As the most extreme expression Nick had ever seen the wolf emote was hardened stoic, this was another first.

Howle didn't spare Delgato so much as a glance, dodging around him to go directly to Nick and Judy.

"Jasmeen's gone into labor," he told them.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Judy gave a happy hop, clapping her paws. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you."

Outside the holding block Nick could distantly hear the happy howling from other wolf officers as the news spread. Howle, despite his name, did not join in. But he did smile, a small, fierce thing full of pride.

"It's her first litter so I'm taking Den Leave. Would you two mind covering my cases until I get back?"

"Of course," said Judy at the same time as Nick said, "How many cases, exactly?"

"Not too many," said Howle. "This spring has been pretty slow so far. Clawhauser's agreed to help out too." He held up a thin folder. "Ah, but I do have this thing I'm supposed to cover this afternoon. Clawhauser couldn't cover it so—"

"We'll do it!" Nick snatched the folder from his paw. "Anything to support a friend in their time of need." He tossed the plastic cup and sample case back to Delgato. The lion, not expecting it, fumbled the items, sending the cup and pills scattering.

"You'll cover this for us won't you, Delgato?" said Nick. "Since you're so big on helping out his fellow officers and all."

The look the lion shot him was pure hatred. Plastic cracked as two inch claws punctured the sample case.

That was their cue.

"Oh would you look at the time! Gosh, we better get out of here if we want to make it in time to cover Howle's shift," said Nick. Catching Judy by the paw, he broke into a jog with her down the corridor. "Howle, all my best to the Mrs. And Deglato—thanks, we owe you one, buddy!"

They made it through the door just as the lion's furious roar erupted down the corridor.

"Is it too late to go back to the precinct?" asked Nick.

Judy rolled her eyes and said nothing. She wasn't about to dignify such a ridiculous question with a response.

"What's the matter, Wilde?" Stella, a tiger officer who often backed up Howle during bigger assignments, grinned down at the fox over Judy's head. "Political campaigns not your thing?"

Judy could practically feel the waves of tension rolling off Nick as he surveyed the crowd before them. Mayoral elections always had the biggest turnout save for possibly a Gazelle concert, and the entire field was packed full.

Judy, Nick, and Stella had been assigned posts on the right side of the stage, next to a line of oversized flags, each one representing a different district, with Zootopia's official flag the tallest of all. The elevated position gave them a clear view of the crowd as well as the park and roads beyond.

"Is there anything scarier than impassioned voters?" said Nick with a shiver.

"Impassioned Gazelle fans?" asked Stella.

Nick made a face. "You're right. That is worse. At least here there's no singing."

"No, only arguing," said Judy as several voices started shouting near the back. Two arctic wolves Judy recognized from Tundratown as officers Fang and Clawe also spotted the troublemakers and started making their way over.

Because it was a mayoral election, it was mandatory that officers from each district were represented as a show of unity. Guarding backstage was a leopard and tree kangaroo from the Rainforest district, and far along the edges of the field were a coyote and mountain lion from the Savanna District.

The wolves reached the arguing group, who settled down after a few sharp words from the officers. Hopefully the campaigning would stay peaceful. There were always six campaigns in all. Once a week for six weeks the candidates would travel around Zootopia. The first campaign always took place in Savanna Central, then they would move on to Sahara Square, then Tundratown, the Meadowlands and the Rainforest District, with a final wrap-up campaign in the heart of Downtown. Final voting took place through the following week, with the new mayor announced that Sunday evening.

"Excuse me." A group of bunnies too young to vote sidled up to the stage, each of them clutching a cell phones in their paws.

"Can we get our pictures taken with you?" they asked Judy.

"I'm sorry," said Judy, "But I'm on duty right now."

Five pairs of ears drooped in unison.

Stella huffed and gave Judy a shove forward. "Oh, go on. The candidates aren't even on stage yet."

"You don't mind, Stella?"

The tiger waved her forward.

The bunnies squealed and rushed to gather around Judy. When they turned to Nick with hopeful eyes, the tiger smacked him across the back with her heavy tail, nearly knocking him off the stage. "What are you waiting for, Wilde, a written invitation? Get down there."

Nick glared at her, mumbling something about pushy cats, but he grudgingly climbed down and joined the group. He even smiled at Judy's urging.

"Do you think we could get a picture with the two of you holding paws too?" one of the bunnies asked. Her companions all looked away shyly, but Judy noticed they still had their phones at the ready.

"We only hold paws off the clock," was Nick's prim reply, sending the young group into a fit of giggling. "Now, shoo. Back to your parents. We've got important police work to get back to. Shoo, shoo."

They darted off, laughing.

"Only off the clock, huh?" teased Judy.

"Well I wasn't about to give the kits a show," grumbled Nick, avoiding her amused gaze.

Her fox was so cute when he was embarrassed.

As Judy past by him she briefly caught his paw in hers and gave it a squeeze, whispering in his ear, "Later then," and taking great satisfaction in seeing the shiver that went through him all the way to the tip of his tail.

Nick gave a nearly subvocal growl, too low for anyone but her to hear, and prowled after her as she returned to the stage. Before she could jump back up he was there, his paws at her waist and that smooth, conman's voice in her ear. "Here. Let me help you with that."

The stage was only a couple feet high—a cakehop for a bunny. That she would need help with it was laughable and they both knew it. But Judy didn't pull away. She relaxed into his hold, catching her breath as his grip changed, firmed. Felt the huff of his exhale as he lifted her. And even though his touch was completely professional and he released her the moment her toes touched the boards Judy's heart still thrilled at the moment. And she knew he knew it when she looked back and caught him watching her with a smug smirk on his face.

"Would you two stop mooning at each other already and get over here?" said Stella. "I can hear them getting ready backstage."

Nick scrambled up and he and Judy retook their positions. Not long after a band started up and the mayoral candidates along with a pawful of political volunteers and a caracal in an impeccable suit whom Judy recognized as Will, a top lawyer in Zootopia and friend-of-a-friend Robin Swift.

"Hey, isn't that—" started Nick as the caracal stepped up to the podium and began introducing the candidates.

"You remember Will, don't you?" said Judy. "He helped clear Marian and her brothers in court last year."

"Not the cat," said Nick, jerking his head. "Isn't that Cottonbutt?"

That caught even Stella's attention. "Who would name their cub Cottonbutt?"

"No one," said Judy. "Nick's just being—"

"It is him." Nick turned to her, an odd look on his face. "You didn't tell me he was running for mayor."

"That's because I didn't know."

She peeked past him, trying to see. He was right. Benjamin Cottontail, owner and founder of one of the biggest frozen food companies in Zootopia had taken his seat on stage along with the other candidates, which included the current Mayor Lionheart, a sloth, an elephant, and a polar bear.

"Marian didn't mention it to you?"

Judy shook her head. "No, but she's been so busy with wedding plans lately… it probably slipped her mind."

Nick's tone turned mocking. "Her husband-to-be not helping out?"

"More like he's trying to help out too much," said Judy. "Marian says she just wants a small wedding, but Robin keeps adding things to it to make it bigger."

"That fox never knows when to quit."

Judy knew he wasn't referring to just the wedding, but she didn't dare say more with Stella there. They watched as Will introduced the candidates. The sloth hailed from the Rainforest district, the elephant grew up in Savanna Central, and the polar bear was a proud resident from Tundratown. Cottontail, Judy noticed, claimed both Downtown and the more rural outskirts of the Burrows as his home.

"I can't believe Cottonbutt is running for mayor," Nick grumbled. "After everything he's done."

"His lawyers squashed that scandal pretty quickly," said Judy. "I don't think it even made it to the papers. And he's no worse than Mayor Lionheart. At least Ben feels badly for what he did."

"Oh, well, as long as Ben feels bad about it…"

"I take it you know this bunny?" said Stella.

"He's a… brother of sorts to a friend of ours," said Judy.

"And he's obsessed with Judy," added Nick.

"He is not!"

"Did he or did he not send you flowers for your birthday last month?"

"Because he happened to be with Marian while she was birthday shopping for me. It was just to be polite."

"Polite? Yeah, right. I bet my right eyetooth he knew where she was going and invited himself along on purpose just so he would have an excuse to send you something."

"Now you're just being ridiculous."

Stella smirked. "Feeling bit territorial there, Wilde?"

"Nick knows he has nothing to worry about," said Judy. She shot him a pointed look. "Or he should know, anyway."

"He's a newly mated predator," said the tiger. "Logic has very little to do with his brain right now I'm afraid."

"He is standing right here," growled Nick.

"And looking very handsome while doing it too," said Judy. They'd been required to change into their more formal uniforms for the function, and seeing Nick properly suited in blue did wonderful things for him. It made him stand taller, shine brighter. And the shine wasn't just because the navy set off his bright red fur to perfection. It also brought out a pride in Nick that wasn't visible nearly enough otherwise.

Although, Judy wouldn't lie that his normal, slightly rumbled look wasn't just as attractive in it's own way…

"Don't bother trying to flatter me," said Nick, but his stance relaxed and he let the issue of Cottontail drop. Stella shot Judy a look over his head that said, Told you.

For all that Nick hated Cottontail, however, the crowd seemed to love him. He and Mayor Lionheart easily earned the most cheers during their introductions. After that, each candidate took a turn at the mic, giving speeches on how they planned to improve Zootopia, what they saw for the future of the city, and how they would best serve its citizens. The sloth had a charming mien but unfortunately didn't get much farther than introducing himself before he ran out of time and was forced to go back to his seat. The elephant was more fast-talking and passionate, with lots of trumpeting exclamations and stomping feet, but Judy thought that there wasn't much substance to what he was saying overall. The polar bear was more reserved, with dire warnings that didn't seem to go over well with the crowd.

Mayor Lionheart, when it was finally his turn, received a deafening amount of cheers just by saying hello. He had the same booming voice and slightly smarmy personality that he always had. Maybe there was a touch more humility to his persona, but Judy couldn't tell how much of it was feigned and how much was sincere.

"Zootopia has overcome so much these past couple of years," said Lionheart. "Unfortunate events that have cost many of us our happiness, our security, and our very lives. But we are a strong city with strong leaders and we have survived. More, we have learned and grown as mammals. We are ready to face anything life throws at us now. I am ready. And if I have the honor of being re-elected, I promise to ensure that all of us find the peace and stability that every citizen in this city deserves."

More whoops and clapping from the audience.

"Did he just pretend to wipe away a tear?" said Nick.

"Even when he's talking about Zootopia he still somehow manages to make it all about himself," said Stella. "No surprise there."

Cottontail was last. One of the volunteers started to bring over a stool for him, but he stayed them with a single lift of his paw. Instead he leapt up onto the podium, balancing on the topmost edge. Stretching to his full height, he raised the mic. He was slim for a bunny, all sleek muscle with dyed golden fur and impressively tall ears that Judy knew had been achieved through expensive plastic surgery. His suit was perfectly tailored, his manner almost regal. He was a fraction of the lion's size and yet somehow managed to command the same level of attention. It was a skill even Judy with all her strengths hadn't yet been able to manage.

"Mayor Lionheart is correct about one thing," he told the crowd. "Zootopia has been through a lot of painful things. Terrifying things. Things some of us will never come back from." His gaze swept the audience, almost daring them to make eye contact, to connect with him and hear what he was saying. "But he's wrong if he thinks going back to the way things were will stop more bad from happening. What happened with the animals attacks last year… what happened with the murders this year… they happened because the way things were was wrong, and is still wrong now. You want peace? You want stability? Then you have to work for it. Fight for it. Only by changing can we grow and improve as a city. Anything else is regression. That's why I'm asking you: fight with me."

Cheers went up, but there was also a lot of murmuring. A warthog near the middle of the crowd yelled, "fight this, rabbit!" and raised something in his fist.

Fear rippled through the audience at the sudden threat of violence. Cottontail froze on top of the podium, eyes going wide. All the officers immediately started racing through the crowd toward the threatening herbivore, but there were too many animals and it only got worse as those closest to the warthog panicked and tried to shove away from him.

Stella dove into the crowd too. She was closer than the others, but already the warthog was drawing his arm back, prepared to throw whatever it was right at Cottontail, who stood there like a deer in the headlights.

"Nick, cover Ben!" Judy yelled.

Her partner didn't hesitate. He dove across the stage. At the same time, Judy hopped up and grabbed hold of the edge of Zootopia's flag just as the warthog hurled the projectile. Nick slammed into the podium that Cottontail perched on, shoving it out of the line of fire. Judy leapt across the stage, yanking the banner up. The object bounced off the flag and was flung back at the warthog, striking him right in the face with a wet popping sound. Red sprayed and animals shrieked and ducked away as the warthog went down.

Stella made it to him first. She stared down at the fallen herbivore, expression unreadable. Judy glanced over at Nick. He had Cottontail off the podium and shoved behind him. The rest of the candidates had fled the stage. Only the caracal, Will, hovered near Nick as they watched Stella inspect the warthog.

The other officers had made it over by this time too, and for a moment they all huddled around, no one saying anything.

Then the warthog bolted up, his face and tusks covered in gore as he wailed out curses. Stella rolled her eyes and caught him by the arm.

"It's okay," she yelled over to Judy. "It was just a tomato."

Clapping from the audience broke out, along with a few relieved chuckles. Stella passed the warthog off to officers Fang and Clawe to deal with while citizens returned to their seats.

Judy joined Nick, Cottontail, and Will on the stage.

"Nice teamwork there, partner!" she said to Nick, holding up her paw. The fox rolled his eyes but returned the high-five willingly enough, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"My thanks to both of you," said Cottontail, tugging at his cufflinks with trembling paws. "I can't believe I froze up like that. How embarrassing."

"Don't feel bad," said Judy. "It's an entirely normal reaction given you've never faced a situation like that before."

"Exactly." Nick clapped the bunny on the shoulder a bit too hard. "Give it a few weeks. I'm sure you'll get used to animals throwing rotten food at you in no time."

Judy shot him a look. Nick raised his eyebrows in an innocent What'd I say? gesture.

The caracal sighed and stepped forward, straightening his tie. "Right. Well, let's try and get this scat-trap over with then before someone else decides throwing their lunch might also be a fun idea."

"Not a fan of politics?" said Nick.

"Not even a little," said Will.

"But isn't being a lawyer kind of… similar?" asked Judy.

"At least in court if someone says something stupid I get to argue them into the dust," the cat growled. "Here I just have to listen to it until their time runs out. No offense," he said to Cottontail.

The bunny waved the insult off, still too shaken by what had just happened to care.

"Then why did you agree to be the mediator?" asked Judy.

"Why did you agree to the post? According to my information, an officer Howle was supposed to be accompanying officer Stella today, not you two."

"Let's just say there's more than one type of scat-trap," said Nick.

The caracal raised a single eyebrow. "Indeed? Well, if you'll excuse me, I would prefer to end this one before the flies start to descend." He looked towards the edge of the field where news reporters were already beginning to trickle in.

"I better join the other candidates in the back," said Cottontail as Will took the podium and started giving final announcements. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Judy. And Wilde. Will you be covering all the campaigns?"

"We were just fill-ins for today," said Judy. "We don't know yet if we'll be official replacements."

"If not, then I suppose I will see you at the wedding."

Judy felt more than saw Nick bristle beside her. Silly fox.

"Yes, we will definitely see you at Marian and Robin's wedding," said Judy, purposely stressing the we purely for Nick's peace of mind. It was ridiculous of course, but after everything they had been through, Judy was too happy to have Nick openly showing his feelings for her to mind a little jealousy.

Cottontail retreated backstage and Nick and Judy returned to their positions next to Stella, who also humored Judy with another high-five.

As Will announced the date and location of the following campaign in Savannah Square, Judy caught Nick's eye and they shared a smile.

Finally, thought Judy, they were back on track. And whatever came in the future, political threats or petty jealousies, they would be ready to face it. Together.