The thing about time is that it passes quickly if you aren't paying it enough attention. And if Judy Hopps was being perfectly honest with herself, she hadn't been paying it very much attention at all.

It was her own fault, really, she had been quite preoccupied. Solving the biggest case the Zootopia Police Department had ever seen was a big job and so, it seemed, was the popularity that came along with it. Oh, it was nothing compared to the likes of say, Gazelle. But it was enough to where she had to avoid the front doors of the precinct for a good two weeks and even after she would sometimes be seen shaking hands with a few appreciative mammals. Although that part she didn't mind so much.

Nick would sometimes joke that she didn't even need him as a friend, she seemed to have so many, to which she would flick his arm playfully. But as the news went on to other things so did people. And though her heroics were not at all forgotten, everything seemed to be settling down to a sort of hectic normality. She was no longer the center of attention, something for which she was thankful and she still had plenty of cases to keep her busy.

Nick graduated from the academy soon after and then her days were filled with late night stake outs, early morning coffee runs, and midday radio calls that were often interrupted by sly remarks, playful teasing, and joyful laughter.

And that was exactly the way she liked it.

chapter one

I am not in the mood for this. Judy rattled her door knob, trying to un-stick a very stuck door that just didn't seem to want to budge. It was Monday night and all she wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. It had been a very long day and she had another long one the next and if she could just get into her apartment she might be able to get some sleep.

After several minutes of failed attempts- kicking the door, sweet talking the door, kicking the door again when sweet talking didn't work- she gave up, slumping.

"oh," she grumbled, "I'm sick of this, oh go away Stewart I don't want to see you!"

Stewart, who had always been a very nice yet jumbled kind of mammal, dropped his paw to his side mid-wave. He tilted his head, a pleasant smile on his grandfatherly face. "Perhaps you need some help, my dear," he said. His voice crackled with age as he hobbled forward.

"I don't see how you could do anything..." Her voice trailed off until it was nothing as Stewart, with one hard tap of his walking stick, flung the door wide open.

"How did you-" "Doors are a tricky business in any house, my dear, you must know how to handle them properly or they'll walk all over you." He said, nodding to himself as if he had just recited a piece of ancient wisdom. "Now," he continued, "what has you all riled up?"

Judy shrugged, still feeling very silly and rather embarrassed with herself. "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." He nodded, understanding. She thanked him and said goodbye, and he left with a flourish of his stick and a chuckle that escaped his chest in short puffs.

She liked Stewart, in fact ever since she had moved in he had been one of her favorite occupants in her dingy little apartment building. And because not many people actually lived there, they had become friends rather quickly, enjoying the occasional lunch out on the front steps or debates about which celebrity "wore it best" in that month's Mammal Magazine. He harbored a not so secret love of gossip tabloids, something she took pleasure in teasing him about.

She walked into her apartment and closed the door, throwing her stuff on the bed and sighing. She hadn't really been able to spend much time with Stewart recently and she felt terribly guilty. He had probably been coming over hoping to catch up and she had been rude.

She would make it up to him tomorrow night, hopefully by then she would finally have a break.


"I'm sending you both on an assignment effective immediately." Never mind.

Chief Bogo was sitting behind his desk, peering at Judy and Nick over a folder so thick it looked like a college textbook. He leaned forward and the sound of Paper slapping against snapped as he tossed it on the table in front of them, big and important and musky spelling.

Judy peered down at it, a look of surprise on her face while Nick simply raised an eyebrow. " And what exactly," he asked, "does this assignment entail?" It was early morning, he was half asleep, and he didn't exactly want to deal with something so..official looking.

"This," said Bogo, his voice impatient, "is your newest case, I thought that much was quite obvious Wilde." He opened to the first page and pointed to the face staring up at them. "That is Danny Castellano, he's just shot to the top of our most wanted list." He hesitated and then continued, "He's the head of a very large and influential crime syndicate located in the next city over. I'm sure you've heard of him." They both nodded.

"Good, then you'll also know we have yet to catch him. There's nothing we can pin on him, nothing that can get him into the precinct. He's completely clean. Not even a parking ticket, we don't even know where he is right now. Not to mention his lawyer is a slimy bastard." This last part was mumbled very quietly under his breath in a way that made Judy suspect Bogo disliked the lawyer more than the client.

"Sir-"

"Shut up Wilde I'm talking."

Nick snorted, a sound Judy thought sounded more like an angry horse than a grumpy fox, and flipped his shades down in a very cross manner and kept them there over his eyes. What followed was a very long and very tedious set of instructions that gave Judy a headache and by the way Nick was rubbing his temples, gave him one as well. They were to assist the local Police Department, this was an undercover mission so discretion was to be employed, (at this point Bogo had given Nick a very pointed look). They were to assemble a team of their choice, whether this team was from the force or other places not so respectable (another look at Nick) was up to them, however approval was needed for the police chosen. Their temporary residence was provided and was already prepared and they were to leave immediately.

"I expect the best from both of you, after all-" he sat back down in his chair, with a look that was almost pride, "you are detectives now."

AN:

Hello everyone! First off, I'm sorry I took a little longer than I expected to really plan out where I wanted this story to go. I actually had another first chapter almost finished, only to realize it wasn't representing the characters well. So I completely started over!

This chapter itself isn't exactly how I wanted it, but I wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way, though I defiantly will revise it later on. It's also short, and not nearly as smoothly written as I wanted but I thought what I have coming next would fit better as a new chapter. AND I'll be getting that one out much faster than this one. Chapters should be a lot quicker in coming now haha.

Tell me what you think! I would love a review!

And thank you everyone who followed and favorite this story!

Also: car213, Charis Lagenaire, Reish95, Shahrezad1,and Meatfilly36. Ya'll were my very first reviewers EVER! This story got more attention than I thought it would so thank you haha