Just a quick FYI before we start: for some reason, the last chapter glitched when I tried to upload it, so it looks as though a lot of you missed the e-mail alerts and may need to backtrack just a bit.
Incidentally, I saw your responses to my recent poll, and since you guys like my OCs so much I'll be posting some profiles in the near future, with a chance later on of side projects if I can make them work. No big spoilers, but hopefully it'll round things out a bit.
This chapter proofread by winerp and anonymous. Thanks, guys!
"Nature, like us, is sometimes caught without her diadem."
Emily Dickinson
Judy felt a little stiff the next morning as she headed for the precinct. She did her best to convince herself that this was only because she hadn't slept well, and maybe a bruise or two had developed from Jesse's punch. She was only twenty-four, for crying out loud. Hard knocks or no, she was too young to have a bad back.
I just didn't get enough sleep, she told herself. Late night, gunshots, bad back, threatening phone call, guilt over-
"Oh no," she groaned, having not yet reached the fountain out in front of the police station. "The bet!"
In all the excitement, she had completely forgotten about her deal with Chief Bogo. Now, heart sinking, she wondered how she was going to break the news to Ben. Somehow, 'Remember how you said you'd been meaning to lose weight and just never got to it?' didn't sound like the best way to go about it.
She coughed, preparing herself like she had for her graduation speech – except that there was no pride in her chest this time; just cramping in her stomach. "Hey, Ben," she tried, making an unsuccessful effort to force her ears up. "I, uh – I have something to-"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The despairing cry rolled out through the front of the building and across the open space in front. Mammals several yards behind Judy turned and stared in confusion while she winced and sucked in a breath. She knew two things for sure.
One: Someone had told him already.
Two: This was the start of a really, really bad day.
At first, Judy couldn't even see Ben when she entered the lobby. The front desk was surrounded by officers, trying in vain to offer a modicum of comfort. The cheetah's voice, however – begging and pleading for someone to tell him that Judy hadn't lost the bet – was loud and clear despite cracking at times. Judy barely had the heart just to walk up to the crowd, but her feet carried her there of their own accord. As she tapped on Officer Fangmeyer's leg, it almost seemed as if her paw were being drawn by a string like some marionette.
The tigress paused in the middle of offering to treat Ben to lunch – a proposition few could afford or stomach – and looked down. "Oh, Hopps," she greeted. It was hard to read her expression, but Judy got the feeling Fangmeyer blamed her for the whole fiasco.
"J...Judy?" came a weak and weepy voice.
Fangmeyer stepped away to the right, and Officer McHorn moved left, giving Judy a clear view of her friend. He looked even worse than he sounded, like a shipwrecked sailor who had just screamed himself into exhaustion only to watch as a passing ship continued deafly on its way.
"Ben..." said Judy softly, her ears hanging down her back. "I'm... I'm sorry. I tried to take him alone, but I guess... I guess I just wasn't up to it."
For a long moment, there seemed to be no telling what Ben might do. Just a second later, whatever reaction he had was rendered moot as a baritone voice broke in like a battering ram.
"Alright, what's all this?"
All eyes turned to the imposing figure of Chief Bogo. Even with his arms hanging impassively at his sides, one hoof clutching several folders, he looked forbidding and unapproachable.
"Chief..." someone whispered. It might have been Clawhauser. For all Judy knew, it might have been her own voice; her mind and body suddenly seemed that far apart.
Perhaps it had been Judy, for Bogo's attention flicked down to her. "Officer Hopps. Glad to see you in one piece. I understand you got hit pretty hard last night."
Judy's shoulders slumped. She had tried to talk Catano into glossing over the fact that it hadn't been a solo takedown after all, but the cheetah had pointed out that she didn't lie to her superiors. She'd also explained that chances were ten to one Jesse would blab anyway just from knowing Judy wanted it kept quiet, and letting the truth be known was important for Judy's well-being. She hadn't clarified that last part, but she had apparently reported everything just as it happened.
Ben was a bit surprised. He had known Judy needed backup to bring Jesse in, but someone actually clobbering her seemed unthinkable. "Judy?" he asked numbly.
No one present thought Ben was capable of moving as fast as he did then, but the cheetah fairly pounced on Judy and picked her up at arms' length, staring her frantically in the face.
"Are you okay?! Did they hurt you?! How many were there? How big were-?!"
"Clawhauser!" snapped Bogo, pointing a hoof at the floor. "She already needs one spine adjustment, and as far as I know that's all she needs. Now put Officer Hopps down and act like a professional before you add to the problem!"
Clawhauser reluctantly obeyed, and Judy straightened her uniform. Standing as straight and tall as she could, she stared up at the chief. "With all due respect, sir, I think Ben's just a little antsy. Maybe if you eased the do-"
"No." Bogo's voice, as usual, left about as much room for debate as a boot coming down on an ant mound; one made by the really, really small kind of ant. He looked up at Clawhauser as he delivered the next bit of news. "A deal is a deal. Besides, I don't have time to renegotiate things. Right now I should be in the briefing room – along with all these other officers," – he added pointedly, casting his eyes over the officers around the counter. His gaze swept them from their spots like a broom, sending the whole crew off to the bullpen.
"Except for you, Hopps."
Judy's ears popped up and swiveled backwards as she froze mid-step in following the other officers. "What?" she asked, turning the rest of herself around.
"As I understand it, you took a pretty hard blow to the back last night. Department policy says you need to have that taken care of." Leafing through his docket, he added, "Besides, you seem to have forgotten that today is Saturday, which you have off this week."
"What? But I... the case..." Judy's surprise turned to annoyance as she remembered that Chief Bogo was right. "Chief, I appreciate that, but I'd really like to just get on with the case."
"No." Chief Bogo found the paper he was looking for, extracted it, and handed it to Judy. "I had a feeling you might show up, so I came prepared. Here's the address of a chiropractic office on Baobab Street. I already told them to expect you."
Judy wanted to protest, but when Bogo's stern expression faltered for a moment, giving way to a look of something like worry, her objection died away. She knew Bogo was right; ZPD policy required that serious injuries be examined and treated as needed promptly. The confusion of the night before had only delayed the necessity – and besides, the pain in her back wasn't going away on its own.
"Alright, I'll go," she relented. Then, determined not to back down completely, she added, "but nothing in the manual says I can't go over a case off the clock."
The usual just-bit-into-a-lemon look came back to Bogo's face. "Fine. Just remember, no sensitive information gets discussed with non-officers." Seeming to guess she wondered why he would bring that up, he added, "The fox seems to have overlooked your schedule too. He's waiting outside in his car."
Judy's temper flared. "Nick would make a great officer if you'd give him the chance."
Bogo turned away to go about his business, but his voice was as clear as if he'd been speaking straight into Judy's face. "Perhaps he will, Hopps, but he's not an officer yet. He'll need to earn that chance just like you did."
She glared daggers at his back as long as her own allowed it. "He will," she promised.
It was hard to look stone-faced and defiant as one walked towards the door with a back injury, but somehow Judy managed it anyway. The only thing that stopped her was Ben's voice. "Hey, Judy?"
She turned, her ears dropping. To her surprise, however, Clawhauser was smiling It was only a tiny smile, but it was unmistakably there. That surprise kept Judy silent until the cheetah spoke again. "Thanks."
Somehow, the gratitude only made her feel worse. "Thanks for what? I let you down."
Ben almost acknowledged that she had, but held it back. "You did your best," he admitted. "Besides, I'd feel a lot worse if you came back in a wheelchair. Just get back in shape and solve the case, okay?"
In the time she had known him, Judy had come to take Clawhauser for a nice guy without much strength – in heart or body – to handle tough situations. This new side of him was surprising, but heartening. "You bet," she smiled, flashing him a thumbs-up. "And for what it's worth, you'll be a bigger mammal at the end of this."
He kept up his smile until her back was turned, then let his eyes and paws stray to his stomach. "Only in spirit, though…" he added forlornly.
Judy tried to take some comfort in Nick's demeanor as she approached his car, but that effort, too, seemed destined to backfire. The fox's trademark expression – calm, confident, and slightly perky when Judy was around – dropped a bit when he saw her sour face.
"Wow," he remarked. "Look, if this is about not calling after the case last night-"
She groaned, raising a paw. "It's not. Just a rough morning."
"Gotcha." Nick refrained from asking further questions on the matter, which Judy appreciated. Secretly, he just guessed that she would fill him in anyway – which, naturally, she ended up doing. She kept quiet about the gun, which she wasn't quite ready to talk about just yet, and the phone call, which of course she wasn't allowed to discuss. All the rest, however, came out of her mouth on the way to the clinic.
"Poor Ben," Nick remarked at the end, shaking his head. He tapped one index finger on the steering wheel, thinking over the situation. "I wonder if we could…"
"Not if it's going to hurt your chances of getting into the ZPD," she headed him off.
He drew his lips inward. "It probably would," he admitted reluctantly.
There was little more to be said, especially since they were at that moment arriving at the establishment in question. It was part of a quiet little strip mall right about where Baobab entered the Rainforest District, built in a U shape around a parking area. The building had an overhang shading a sidewalk which ran along the front, with regularly spaced pillars holding up the overhang. The pillars resembled tree trunks coiled about with ivy and serpentine forms, though the style of the carvings was rather boxy and angular. The front part of the facade, meanwhile, had a geometric backdrop of gray stone and wooden signs advertising the businesses present. The office they were after sat between a garden store and a thrift shop, and advised on the door that it was run by doctors Clawmeron and Stompson. Underneath that was a note in parentheses: 'Don't let the names fool you. We'll treat you right.'
"I hope their practice is better than their jokes," Judy observed.
"Well, I guess there's no sense putting it off," Nick noted, getting the door.
As Judy stepped inside, she was met with the sound of two mammals arguing – one doing an admirable job of remaining calm, considering the other's vehemence.
"I pay good money for these appointments, and you're putting me on hold?!"
"Ma'am, please, I'm not putting you on hold. Dr. Stompson is just caught in traffic, and he'll be here as soon as he can. And, much as I hate to make a fuss, we have been over the food policy before."
As the pint-sized pair entered, they saw the debaters: a blue-clad serval looking patiently up at a female hippo. The hippo's face was hidden by the angle at which she stood, but the girl calf at her side with a large lollipop stick protruding from her mouth gave Judy a sense of deja vu.
"You're here, aren't you?" the mother hippo demanded. "Look, I have a schedule, and-"
"Miss O'Glommel, I simply can't handle a spine your size," the serval iterated, having clearly brought this point up more than once. Catching a glimpse of the two mammals standing just inside the door, he added, "Besides, I have a priority patient to tend to who is in my size range. Dr. Stompson will be more than welcome – I mean, happy – to take care of you as soon as he gets here." He leaned to one side to signal Judy. "Right this way, ma'am."
"Oh, sure," the mother hippo ranted. "I'm here when the door opens, and you can't keep my appointment, but some prior..." she trailed off when she caught sight of Judy, who tried not to make eye contact.
Nick, on the other hand, could not resist taking a snapshot of the look on Mama Hippo's face... right before her daughter dropped the lollipop.
"Have a nice day," he called cheerfully, throwing off a salute as he followed his friend.
As soon as they were down the hall and into a small room on the right, the serval let out a breath and sagged as if he had partially deflated. "Much as I hate to put patients on hold," he admitted, "I appreciate your showing up when you did."
Nick greeted this with a smug grin. "Eh, it's good for her."
"You know that hippo?" asked Judy just before she remembered the inevitable reply.
"I know everyone." Then, leaning in for a mock-conspiratorial whisper, he added, "And if you think Jumbeaux is a jerk to foxes, you should meet that lady sometime." He yanked on the back of his shirt collar, bugged his eyes, and stuck his tongue out to one side, miming his opinion of the hippo quite expressively.
The chiropractor cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I think we have more important things to take care of than gossiping about a patient, whatever her attitude. Officer Hopps, I presume? I heard from the ZPD that you were coming. Doctor Clawmeron, at your disposal – but just call me Kirk, please."
"Yeah," she replied, shaking paws with him, "And you can call me Judy."
"Good. Just let me set up the table, and we'll get down to business."
Judy had been so preoccupied with the conversation that she hadn't even noticed the room in which they now stood. The walls were painted spring green and hung with a few framed certificates and numerous diagrams of backbones and nervous systems. Along the long far wall, next to a large cabinet, a metal rack supported a hanging replica of a backbone which looked like something from a science classroom. Judy wasn't quite sure what kind of spine it was supposed to be, but it was of median size and lacked the extra vertebrae suggestive of a feline, which narrowed it down just a bit.
At one end of the room, there were a pair of desks – one serval-sized, the other elephant-sized (evidently used by Dr. Stompson) – and each equipped with all the office basics: computers, family photos, and so on. On the wall above the desks hung a large bulletin board covered with photos of the two chiropractors – sometimes alone, other times together – with various patients. Nick noticed a certain red wolf among the familiar faces, and both he and Judy recognized the Otterton family as well as Officer Catano and one or two other cops.
By the time they returned their attention to Kirk, he had gone to a collection of tables in various sizes nested underneath one another. He extracted the smallest one, which on closer inspection looked much like the padded sort a massage parlor might use. "Judy, if you would? Just lie down on your stomach, and we can get started."
"Alright," she sighed, climbing up on the table as directed. "Can you make it fast? I have a case to get back to."
He chuckled as he began gently poking up and down her back. "I won't dawdle, but I don't rush these adjustments – especially not on police off- ooh." Though he was out of Judy's line of sight, the cringe in his voice was audible. "I think that explains your visit. You take a hit?"
Judy winced as he hit a bruise. "Yeah," she groaned. "Can you not poke me there?"
"Sorry. That's right where the biggest need is, but I'll do what I can. Anyway, I understand your impatience. Most officers are like this on their first adjustment." He checked the rest of her back one more time. "You're in pretty good shape other than that one hit. Just a few minor adjustments. Take a deep breath, please."
Judy inhaled, and he placed his paws on her back crossed over each other as if he were going to do CPR.
"And let it out slowly."
She breathed out, and he pushed down. She felt as well as heard a couple of pops from her upper back, though surprisingly they didn't hurt.
"How long is this going to take?" she asked.
"That depends on whether you want a subluxation and vertebral fusion," he replied.
"Subla-what?" asked Nick from the doorway.
"A subluxation is a misalignment of the spine," he explained in a tone which hung on the fine line between patient and curt. "If it's ignored too long, it can lead to fusion, which..." The serval paused and put a paw to his chin, thinking for a moment. "In layman's terms, let's call it back decay. Given enough time, the bones can break down and run together, resulting in permanent fusion."
Both the fox and the rabbit winced. Judy wasn't sure about Nick, but in her own mind's eye she had a mental image of herself permanently hunched over like her grandfather. "In that case, take your time."
"Thank you," Kirk replied, going back to work. He repeated what he had done a few more times, apologizing when he had to do so over Judy's bruises. Then he had her lay on her side so he could push her shoulders one way and her hips another just a bit, first on one side and then the other. To finish, he had her lay face-up on one of his paws while he pushed down on her stomach with the other.
"Aaand, one more deep breath... let it out..." he pushed down, and a few more pops came out. "There, that should do it. How do you feel?"
She gingerly sat up, leaned forward, and ran her paws along her lower back. "Wow, that does feel better," she admitted. The bruises were still there, but at least she felt like she could move again.
Kirk smiled cheerfully. "Glad to be of service. Well, I'm sure you have work to get back to, so I'm guessing you won't stick around for the complimentary acupuncture?" He raised an index finger with the claw protruding, then chuckled at the look on Judy's face. "Just a joke," he assured her. "But please, stop in anytime."
Out front, Judy took care of the deductible for her appointment. Midway through, Dr. Stompson's arrival rescued her from the hippo's irritated gaze.
"Happy adjusting, Dwayne," called Kirk with a cheerful wave.
The elephant simply glared. "Let me know if Francine stops in," he muttered.
As the pachyderms disappeared, Judy threw a questioning look to Kirk at the mention of her colleague. He, in turn, merely shrugged carelessly. "You probably know about as much as I do about it. By the way, it would be best if we scheduled you for a follow-up appointment in three weeks or so. That adjustment will do for the present, but it's better to be thorough."
As they took care of that detail, Judy could only hope that by the time the follow-up arrived the case would be finished.
Judy's mood was rather spoiled on the way back when a text came in from Bogo advising her not to bother coming for info on the interrogation. Lawyers were gumming up the works.
"I'm telling you," Nick said when she relayed this news to him, "if they just abolished all lawyers, that guy would have been off to prison in under two hours."
The joke drew a laugh from Judy, but her mirth died quickly. They still had most of the day ahead of them, and without fresh info from Jesse their means of determining where Obearon might attack were limited. Even if there had been a rhyme or reason to the past attacks, having a new mastermind to deal with would have thrown all of that out the window. With a load like that, the bomb, the gun, and the threat on her mind, and no leeway to discuss it with her best friend, it was hard to be patient with jokes.
This stinks, she thought to herself, furrowing her brow. This really, really stinks. Nick might be an informant rather than an informee, but he was also her friend. More than that, he was her partner, badge or no badge, and had been since they dealt with the start of this case over three months before, even if only informally. Yet here she was, keeping secrets... and there wasn't a blessed thing she could do about it.
'You could just tell him,' argued a voice in her head. 'It's not like he can't keep his mouth shut.'
She shook her head. Not with his chances of becoming a cop on the line. If we're both officers, then we can ditch the secrets. Besides, what's he going to do if he doesn't pull this off? Go back to hustling... no, he wouldn't do that. Especially not now that he knows he can find legit work with-
"Hey, hey!"
Jerked out of her fuming, she only just noticed the red light in time to step on the brakes. "Aaaah!"
Passing drivers stared as the cruiser screeched to a halt. Once she was sure they were no longer moving, Judy looked over at Nick. He was staring at her with fear written all over his russet face. Not just fear over having nearly wrecked, but fear for her.
"Carrots, are you okay?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just... I'm fine."
"Uh-huh," he replied. "And if I believe that, you'd like to offer me a great deal on the Bucklyn Bridge. Do you need me to drive?"
"I can't let you do that," she answered testily. "You're not a cop."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Clearly, he wasn't too happy about that either. "Well we're working on that, ri-?"
A horn blared behind them, informing them that the light was green again. Judy resumed driving, this time keeping her eyes on the road. Her heart, however, was all over the place.
"Sorry," she uttered. She shouldn't be treating Nick like this. He was her friend, after all, and no more to blame for the situation than she was. Really, if anything he was less culpable. "I'm just..." She paused, then plunged ahead. "Look, if there were things I knew that I wasn't allowed to tell you – important things, I mean – you'd understand that, right?"
He thought about that. "We talking someone's personal life, or is this about me not being a cop?"
It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess from his tone that he knew the answer.
"Yeah, like you not being a cop."
Nick was silent for a moment before he answered. "Well, would I be bugged about it? Yes, yes I would." Smiling ruefully, he added, "But I wouldn't blame you for it." When she said nothing, he took that as an invitation to continue. "Look, I get it. I'm on probation until I prove myself, and the chief hates my guts. I'm used to not being trusted."
"You shouldn't be, though," she argued. "And I trust you. I just don't want to mess up your chances."
"Then that makes it my turn to trust you. Look, if everything was the way it was supposed to be, no one would break the law – and where would you be then?"
Despite herself, she smiled a little. "Oh, probably running my parents' roadside stand back in Bunnyburrow," she admitted.
"Right. So let's get this case wrapped up and leave old Buffalo Butt without a hoof to stand on, right Fluff?"
Judy snorted, trying to hold back a laugh at the nickname. "You ever let that get back to Chief Bogo," she chortled, "and he'll have you polishing license plates."
Nick grinned. "Well, now you and I are keeping information from him. Even?"
She nodded, her high spirits back again. "Very."
Meanwhile, in a darkened apartment elsewhere in the city, a ringing phone woke up a certain female. Groaning at the interruption of her slumber, she picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hello," said a deep, familiar voice. "Sorry to wake you."
"I'm sure it's important. With you, it always is."
"Yes. I need to switch you over from your current duties. You'll be... monitoring an investigation being conducted by Officer Hopps and her associate."
The female, rising and stretching her long, lithe figure, nodded. "Nick Wilde, you mean?"
"Yes, him in particular. Make sure everything goes as it should. The stakes are high, and we can't afford any slip-ups."
She nodded. "When do I start?"
"Tomorrow morning, first thing. Sorry I couldn't give you more notice."
It was impossible to tell from his tone whether his apology was sincere or not, though the fact that he apologized at all was unusual in itself. She nodded, tucking the phone between her shoulder and ear so she could adjust her alarm clock. "Understood, sir. I won't let you down."
His answer was as grim as any guillotine. "I know you won't. Goodbye."
She considered her options as she fiddled with the timer. Going back to sleep right then would make it harder to accomplish the upcoming changes, which would never do. After some thought, she got up and dressed. As long as she had to be awake, she might as well go out for a jog and some shopping. For such an abrupt switch, she would have to pick up sleeping pills.
Not to mention espresso, she added mentally, rubbing an arm across her eyes. Keeping tabs on Zootopia's newest crime fighters, she'did need all the help she could get.
Well, after that little pause, the case is back on! I was actually going to focus more on the investigation, but I decided this one had a good stopping place – so you'll have to find out what's next another time. Will they be able to solve their dilemma and crack the case? Will Obearon strike before they're ready? Will Ben make it to the end of his bet without going to the happy hotel? Last but not least, who were those two on the phone? Well, true to form, only time will reveal the answers - with a vengeance.
As always, thank you to everyone reading this. I just recently discovered that, even stacked against stories that have had years more to gain a following, this is the most popular work I have on this site! (Still behind on reviews, but it should catch up to my Balto fic) Better still, my schedule has more or less settled into its summer pattern, and I now have the means to write more bits and pieces, so the updates should be more frequent.
Just a few quick notes about the world-building for anyone curious. Everything I wrote about chiropractic care is true. I had to guess on the ZPD's medical policies since my summer job doesn't have me regularly in touch with cops like the three-seasons one does. Everything else, though, is accurate or as close as the Zootopia world allows. On the part about Kirk having an elephant for a partner, my thinking was they could solo patients at the farther ends of the size spectrum, and work together on those in the middle. I debated between Saturday and Sunday for the timing of this particular bit, and ultimately went with Saturday because (for those who don't know) Ginnifer Goodwyn is Jewish. Not sure if Judy follows suit or what it would be called in Zootopia (Eweish? Shrewish? Gnuish?), but the Saturday off seemed appropriate.
Also, just for anyone wondering about that little scene at the precinct's front desk, I promise I'm not going to ship Judy with Ben in this story (although someone did mention the idea as a joke). Consider it an expansion on Benjamin's personality – of which there is more to come, btw – and of the camaraderie between him and the active officers like Judy.
Easter Eggs
Lilo and Stitch
Back to the Future
Celebrities
Thanks again for reading, and please keep those reviews coming! (Faves and follows are good too).
