Episode 4: Getting back up

Nick was leaned against the side wall of the room as Judy and her parents drank subtle gulps of the cold drinks inside each bottle he had just given out to them, he really did not expect her parents to be so cool headed about this entire situation, then again he was not expecting nothing of what happened to him to occur in the last twenty four hours. After Stu and Bonnie were done with their drinks they tossed the empty bottles in a small trash receptacle nearby, Judy saved the remaining of her tea for later, Bonnie was sitting close to Judy, the overbearing mother was perched close over the edge of the bed trying to understand what exactly happened to her daughter and how the fox that just entered the room fitted into this strange situation. Nick remained still with his back on the wall and with an awkward smile plastered all over his face, he was usually so talented when it came to small talk but none of the many capers that he got involved could prepare him for the encounter with the parents of his bunny friend, what was he supposed to say in that moment?!

"Oh, Damn! What do I do?! What do I say?!"

While Nick's head was near a boiling point thanks to all of the thinking, Judy's mind was cool and collected, she had no reason to overthink or to stress herself in that moment, she was amidst mammals that cared for her more than anything else. The room was engulfed in an unbearable silence until Bonnie leaned her body forward over the mattress and asked:

- So, Nick. How did you meet our daughter? Are you employed by the ZPD?

The fox's back pushed him away from the wall out of pure reflex making him stand up straight, he didn't know if he should laugh or yelp with that question, Judy answered on his behalf with a calm tone of voice:

- Nick is not an investigative officer Mom, he was a key witness during my first case. We searched all of Zootopia for the clues that lead us to the missing mammals and he also helped me during the search that lead us to the night-howlers serum. Nick here is a Zootopia native, he knows the entire city like the back of his paw.

Stu's ears shot upwards as he heard that curious fact, he asked:

- Is that so?

Without wanting to brag or sound too pretentious, Nick passed a paw over the extent of his tie and answered:

- Yep, Born and raised right here. It's basically like this city is a part of me at this point.

Judy's parents were rather impressed by that, Nick's shoulders moved down a bit showing that he was now a tad more relaxed at that moment. Judy simply smiled as she got comfortable again over the pillow placed behind her, unfortunately, her rest was cut short as her father asked one question that had been dormant on his mind until that very second:

- Jude, honey, I'm glad that you are alright and all, but I've actually been meaning to ask you: Where is my truck?

Judy's eyes shot open and she let out a loud gasp as she remembered that crucial detail about the previous day:

- Oh, Sour grapes! The truck! I completely forgot!

Nick watched as the bunny's expression made a total flip from calm to panic in a matter of seconds, she leaned her body in the direction of her father to try and explain her blunder to him, during that rushed motion she ended up moving her patched leg and forcing the stiches a little bit, she felt a small amount of pain but still kept her strong conviction as she called her father's attention and spoke up:

- Dad, I drove the truck during the last part of the investigation, before the ZPD showed up and Nick had to hurry me over to the hospital. I… I think it has been either impounded or booted by now. I am so, so, sorry!

Stu's eyes were shot open for about half a minute as he processed what his daughter just told him, Judy looked from side to side, not knowing what to say next, that is, until Nick walked closer to the bed to call their attention and jumped in the conversation with the thing he has been meaning to say to Judy:

- On that front, you don't have to be concerned.

Every eye in the room turned to Nick, Judy asked:

- W… what do you mean Nick?

The fox walked closer to the edge of the bed where Judy was sitting and explained his previous statement, with a few paw gestures he pointed to the air and spoke to her:

- I imagined that you might have forgotten about the truck, so, I decided to give you a helping paw with that too. Imagining that it might be impounded come this morning, I arranged for it to be safely stored somewhere else. Long story short: I have a friend that works with the towing company right by the downside of town and he owed me a favor, he helped move your truck so it wouldn't be impounded or worse, vandalized. It is currently parked in a garage nearby.

Stu released a sigh of relief after hearing that, he was in no mood to power through the paperwork and fines of the Zootopian law system to get his truck back. As for Judy, happy with her friend's course of action to help her out even more than he already had, she launched herself to the side to hug the fox's arm, she didn't even mind the small bit of pain that sparked on her leg, she turned her small bunny body over the mattress and held Nick with a strong grappling motion which startled him for a bit, she pulled him closer with such ease that it still astonished him how strong she really was. Judy, still having his arm secured in her grasp, yelped in excitement:

- Nick, Oh my gosh! Thank you! Thank you! You're a life saver!

Still stunned by her soft and yet quite strong embrace on him, Nick sounded off a single nervous laugh and said:

- Well, it was nothing major for me fluff. I'll be sure to add that to my resume.

Judy let his arm go after hearing his retort, the fox passed a paw over the spot on his arm that was being squished by the bunny just a few seconds before, he saw her little smile and extended his paw to ask of her:

- If you give me the keys, I can go get the truck so your parents can take it with them.

Judy reached down into her pocket to look for the keys to the truck, she was so happy to hear that there was one last thing for her to not worry about on that day, Stu and Bonnie were standing close together and were glad that their daughter was not only safe but happy, since she went back to Bunnyburrow she had been so down with herself, it was nice for them to see her smile once more, the two bunnies were, also, rather intrigued by the fox standing in the room with them. Judy found the keys and extended her arm to give them to the fox as she spoke up:

- Nick, I cannot begin to thank you for what you are…

Judy stopped talking snappishly after looking Nick in the eyes, the thing is: Before she let go of the keys over Nick's paw, which was extended in front of him awaiting for the small metal latch to fall over it, she took one quick look in his eyes and saw something else, something that wasn't entirely defined as good will, his smirk grin confirmed it, he was after something else, she wasn't sure what. Judy flicked the keys back and held them tightly in her right paw, her eyes squinted to best analyze every little detail of the fox who was standing beside her, Nick stared at the bunny laying in front of him with confusion and moved the fingers of his extended paw back and forth as he asked again:

- Ahm… you can give me the keys now fluff.

With the keys held firmly in her grasp, Judy leaned her head forward to take a better look in the eyes of the fox and ask him one crucial question:

- What's your angle here Wilde?

Judy let out a small puff of air from her nose and let it show a small side smile, the fox, knowing she did not mean any harm by those words and was just making sure that the aforementioned vehicle would be in good paws, simply answered with a flippant tone of voice, as the palm of his right paw was reaching for his chest and he let out a fake gasp of disbelief from his mouth:

- "Angle"?! Me?! Why, Officer Hopps, I am shocked to my very core with the thought that you might even suggest something like that in my presence. I am simply trying my best to do something nice for you.

Stu and Bonnie remained close to one another, watching the scene unravel in front of them, without understanding the meaning of it at first. Judy inspected the fox from top to bottom until she let out a full smile and deduced what his main goal might be:

- You want to eat the basket of blueberries inside the truck, don't you?

There was a moment of silence as Nick thought how the bunny was… sort of right. He truly wanted to help her and her parents out, but, a small part of him though how some small reward would be rather nice, especially if it would just so happen to be his favorite kind of fruit. The silence was broken as the fox launched a smile and confirmed the bunny's suspicions:

- Uh! You got me fluff! I do want to help you out with this, but… I would be lying if I said that a small token of appreciation for my services would be unwelcome.

Judy did her best to keep from launching a laugh his way, she smiled and slowly shook her head from side to side, it was a mixture of slight disapproval but it was not a completely unexpected answer from the fox. Stu, curious about what that was all about simply asked:

- Wait a second! Blueberries?

Judy turned around and answered to her father's doubts:

- There is a small basket of blueberries inside the truck. Nick here really liked them.

Stu's brows raised as a sudden realization came to him, he placed his right paw over his forehead and spoke up:

- Oh, so that's where I left the blueberries. I was wandering that just the other day. See sweetheart? I told you that I would have found it sooner or later.

Bonnie giggled after hearing that, she knew her husband all too well and understood how he tended to forget a few small details on a daily basis while he divided his time between working on the farm and helping with the chores at home, she approached the fox and spoke up:

- Well… If you like our blueberries so much Mr. Wilde, I see no harm in letting you take them with you to enjoy later.

Before Nick could say his thanks for such generosity coming from Judy's parents, the bunny sitting over the bed shook the keys in the air and cut into the conversation:

- Not so fast!

Nick turned to Judy, still placed over the mattress and with a face that clearly signified that she meant business, even while having limited movement options. With his pointy ears perked up and directed in the way of her voice to hear whatever she might be saying to him, Nick heard as she continued:

- I am willing to let you take some of the berries as payment *if* you manage to get the truck here unscathed. If there is one scratch on the paint that does not belong there, you will not get a single treat for your efforts.

The fox extended his paw again to grab the keys and launched a retort:

- Are you doubting my skills as a driver fluff? Because I know that I can try a few tricks behind the wheel that would leave you utterly gob smacked!

Judy placed the keys on the fox's paw and demanded:

- No tricks! Just… please, bring the truck back in one piece.

The fox started to walk out of the room and, before he got out the door, he placed a paw over the left lapel of his shirt as he stated without any irony or mischief in his voice:

- You can trust me. I'll be back in just a minute. You can all relax here and… catch up.

With a sweet smile in her face, Judy released a sigh and spoke with a soft volume:

- Thanks Nick.

Nick grasped the keys in his left paw and started to walk in the direction of the door, he stopped himself halfway and turned around, he reached inside his pocket and retrieved something to give to Judy, she extended her paw as Nick spoke up:

- Before I forget, here you go.

Judy received from him a money bill that, after some time of analysis, struck her as awfully familiar. She directed her eyes at him and asked:

- Wait, isn't this the same bill I gave so you could buy the tea?

Walking a few steps back with the door right behind him, Nick answered:

- My treat fluff. Next time you can buy me a drink. Fair warning: I am not much of a tea guy. So have that in mind for next time.

Not wanting to waste too much time the fox didn't say anything more, he simply gave a little wink and walked away, closing the door of the room behind him. Judy's parents were very much intrigued, the fox that just left the room seemed to have a deep relationship with their daughter, it seemed that the two of them had known each other for years, Judy had her mind set on achieving her dream of becoming a police officer for most of her life, so she never truly found much time to hang out with friends or make new ones on a daily basis. That fox, both of them thought in unison, was someone truly special to her, Bonnie and Stu could feel this good energy that was being exchanged between Judy and Nick, the way they joked and banter, they looked at Judy, still smiling, it felt great for them to see her smiling like that, after a whole month of gloomy afternoons it looked like the dark cloud hanging above her head was finally gone for good. Judy was happy, really happy, and that filled her parents with pride and relief. Bonnie came closer, she sat on the bed and placed a paw over Judy's paw, Judy, after putting the bill in her pocket, looked at her mother who could still see a faint spark in her daughter's violet eyes, Judy darted her ears up as her mother spoke up:

- He seems like a really nice friend.

Judy gave a small giggle and answered:

- He is. Even if he is kind of annoying sometimes.

Stu came close as well and asked something he had been meaning to ask, only, he was a tad uncomfortable about asking it before with Nick still in the room:

- Why did he kept calling you "Fluff"? Is that some type of joke? Because I don't get it.

Judy adjusted her body over the bed to look straight at her father and answer:

- It's just a nickname dad. It's just a thing between Nick and me. He likes to call others by silly names.

With some time to kill before Nick returned Judy talked with her parents, she kept apologizing every so often for making them worry so much while they bombarded her with questions about the big city and some impressive and even odd sights that both of them had witnessed on the way, Judy felt more relief than she had ever felt in a long while, it appeared like every single piece in her life was finding its rightful spot to fit in, for the time being she had no worries and no major regrets weighing her down. She kept conversing with her parents, only, her mind was not entirely focused on that conversation, during intervolves of a few minutes or so, her eyes turned to the room door as she awaited in anticipation for her fox friend to return, she didn't know why her mind was turning to him so often during the past hours, they were friends again, they had talked and been through so much, but it still felt to her like they could have spent more time together.

On the first time she had been to Zootopia, during the case that she decided to throw herself in to without thinking about the consequences to her carrier as a law enforcer and to herself, Judy tricked Nick into helping her, mostly to give the trickster a sour taste of his own medicine, but, as they went on to explore all the corners and angles that the investigation had taken them, the fox decided to open up and reveal why he chose to live a life of trickery and malice, surrounded by walls that he put on around himself and his own heart, the episode that left his world shattered as a pup and convinced him to never let anyone get too close and convinced him to make a living out of con money. Judy understood why Nick chose to behave like that, she could, somewhat, relate to his perspective in life, he was mistreated and untrusted because he was seen as nothing more than a shifty and unreliable vulpine, while she, on the other hand, was looked down upon, considered as weak and fragile during most of her life because she was a bunny. If it wasn't for her determination to prove others wrong and her optimistic way to go about living, she could have ended up looking at life the same way that Nick chose to.

She was glad that she met Nick when she did, in a way, the meeting between them brought both the best and the worst in one another at just the right moment in their lives, she learned so much by spending time with him and, for some reason, she was looking forward to seeing and learning more of him.

Nick was on his way to the garage that he and Matthew had left the truck on the night before, he was happily cruising over the sidewalk while humming a simple melody, he felt so happy on that day, especially for the fact that the meeting between him and the bunny's family had gone rather smoothly, he didn't have to put on any sort of façade or elaborate ruse to impress them or get them to trust him, Judy's face and her tone as she vouched and set her trust upon him said it all. Nick had a challenging personality to deal with at certain occasions, but she was willing to put a great deal of trust into him, Judy picked up quick on how the fox gave away pleasantries, he tossed a smart remark here and there, made up a few quick jokes to break the ice and she responded to them in kind, either by entrapping him in a corner of the conversation that he couldn't escape so easily or just shrugging it off, it was a refreshing kind of dynamic on both of their points of view. After turning one last corner as he recalled the route that Matthew's tow truck had taken, Nick visualized the old vehicle depot at the end of the street, he noticed that one of the doors that lead inside the modest looking vehicle storehouse was already open, which could only mean one thing: Finnick was already inside and, possibly, angry and looking for an explanation of why there was an unknown transport inside his personal workshop.

Finnick is a cream furred colored fennec fox, he is one of Nick's oldest friends who, despite his diminutive size commonly associated with his species, is one of the toughest, most earnest and fearsome mammals around. Finnick was Nick's go to guy for the majority of his hustles and schemes, specifically because the small vulpine had the times and the means to transport both of them wherever they needed to go, most days they just drove around in search of new and creative ways to get some quick cash but they only hung out together to get a quick drink or to catch up on a different plan for the next time they met. Finnick is most known for three things: His love for auto mobiles, his van in particular; his deep voice that calls the immediate attention of anyone who hears it; and his renown fame around the bars and taverns of Zootopia as a ladies mammal.

Nick approached the garage door and knocked on the wooden frame by the right side, he saw his friend sitting over the cushion of an old couch by the far wall and reading an issue of an old Playmale's magazine, Nick entered the garage and Finn spoke up without taking his eyes away from the pages:

- It's about time you showed up Wilde! You owe me an explanation!

The fennec fox pointed a claw to the side aimed directly at the truck and spoke in a loud voice:

- Care to tell me what *this* is doing inside *my* garage?!

Nick made a gesture with his paws and said:

- I know, you don't have to flip out at me, I only needed somewhere safe to store the truck for the night, I'll be taking it away in a second.

Nick approached the old truck and opened its side door with the key provided by Judy, he reached inside the cabin and retrieved the prize that he was seeking for his services, even if he didn't exactly asked for it, he grabbed the basket of blueberries from inside the truck and picked a few in his paws before tossing them into his mouth, he walked close to Finn and offered the remainder of the berries while still chewing some of the treats between his fangs:

- Hey you want some? They are really good.

Finn's big ears moved in the direction of Nick's voice but the small vulpine didn't seem interested in eating at that moment, he showed the palm of his left paw while his right paw still held the magazine in its grasp open, he patted a paw over his stomach and followed with a decisive answer:

- Pass. I already had a big breakfast.

The fox shrugged the response off with his shoulders and proceeded to shove more of the sweet treats in his mouth, he walked back towards the truck while speaking and chewing at the same time:

- Oh, Wow! You don't know what you are missing.

Finnick tossed the magazine aside over the couch and got up to speak more clearly with Nick, he walked closer, poked Nick's side and asked:

- Yo! I saw that bunny cop yesterday, she was asking for you and I sent her your way, what did she want? Are you in any trouble? Is this her truck?

Nick did not answer that question immediately, he placed the basket of blueberries back inside the truck carefully putting it over the passenger seat, he picked a paw full of berries and placed it inside his pocket so he could enjoy them later, he turned around and answered his friend's question with a little smile on his muzzle:

- She sought me out so she could apologize, believe it or not. We managed to patch things out rather nicely in my opinion.

- I thought you didn't want anything more to do with her after that whole Press conference deal. Haven't seen you that down and angry with someone else in a long while.

Nick closed the door of the truck and went on to check if every tool and object that was left in the vehicle's carriage was still in its place as he answered:

- I was angry when I said all of that. I also might've been a little drunk, but that is besides the point! She didn't keep any hard feelings after what happened that day, also, since the cops are not after either of us it is safe to assume that she did not rat us out, so… that's a plus.

Finn chuckled for a split second as he heard that, then, he remembered how Nick was after that press conference and, after all of that nonsense, he could only try to find some sense of it all by drinking and whining, a lot of bad memories rushed back to him during that time and it pained Finnick seeing Nick like that, even if he didn't like admitting it, the little fox had a lot of respect for him, they had been through all kinds of ups and downs together but he had never seen Nick like that before. Finnick felt a bit of relief after seeing a healthy smile returning to Nick's face after a pity party that lasted a whole month. As Nick paced around the garage, Finnick decided to just say what was on his mind:

- Well, I think it is about damn time you picked yourself up from the ground Wilde. I was getting tired of hauling your sad ass around town to work every day for a month.

Nick was just about to enter the truck and drive away, but, after hearing his friend's opinion about his emotional condition of the past weeks, he closed the door on the driver's side and turned around to point a claw at Finnick and clarify:

- I was like that because of the way Zootopia was turning upside down with all the riots and protests between preys and predators. Granted, having her saying that the whole reason behind the savage outbreak was merely for "biological reasons" on live television did not help improve my opinion on her close-minded stance one bit, but I'm trying to put those thoughts behind me.

Finnick's smug grin was enough to rival even Nick's at that time, barely able to hold back a chuckle the fennec fox approached and asked with an air of humor in his voice:

- Sure, sure. You are just doing all of this out of the goodness of your heart for that bunny cop, if I didn't know any better, I would think that she still has you on a tight leash. What does she have on you this time?

- She's got nothing on me. I already told you, that whole felony tax evasion deal doesn't even matter to her anymore.

Nick made a short pause and finished his line of thought:

- Shit! I hope! Look, I'm just trying to do something nice for a change, ok?

Finnick was seconds away from bursting into laughter, he launched one last remark:

- Yeah, right. You never plan to do anything 'nice' for anyone out of the goodness of your heart, ever. So what? You think that a few favors and good deeds out of the blue are going to make all the awkward go away and turn you and her into best friends? What's next? You're gonna become a cop like her?

Nick was wordless, he hadn't thought about that day in a long time. Seconds before climbing on the stage at the press conference, Judy gave him a paper application to join the ZPD, she said it herself that she would need a partner to watch her back out in the city, before it all fell apart in one major misunderstanding, she called him the fox no one had ever placed so much trust before that day, to become her crime fighting confidant, Nick had even started to fill out the application, but, after hearing Judy's words, after seeing her reaction, witnessing her small paws reaching for the fox repellant on her belt as her violet eyes sparked with fear towards him, he stormed out of the ZPD building before Judy could explain herself.

Nick felt lost, he hated that feeling, he was used to being in control of any given situation, he made sure to perceive all the angles so he could come out on top, but after that… he felt cornered, wasn't sure what such a situation was going to demand out of him. Nick looked to the floor and to the walls around him as he buried himself deeper in thought, his face said it all and Finnick caught up to it, the small fox approached a little more and squinted his eyes to get a better look at his friend's expression, after a few seconds studying Nick's face changing like he was analyzing a mural he was building in his mind with pathways to every outcome, Finnick reached a sudden conclusion, the little fox let out a blurt of words with a low volume:

- Holly shit!

After seeing Nick's gaze turning his way and watching as his ears darted upward while his mouth opened but no word of objection came out Finnick was definitely worried, he knew Nick all too well and knew how much he loved to speak or give out snarky retorts, seeing the big fox with a stupefied expression and a speechless stance in front of him was clearly a sign that something was amiss, Finnick gave one step back as he pointed at Nick and yelled out:

- HOLLY SHIT! YOU REALLY ARE CONSIDERING IT!

Nick's eyes shot open and his ears hurt a bit after Finnick yelled out of nowhere like that, he tried to calm Finnick down by waving a paw to the side and saying:

- I'm not considering anything.

Nick took a deep breath before leaning his back forward and explaining to his friend:

- Look, I think that carrots is a really amazing mammal and the fact that she searched for me so she could deliver a sincere apology was a very sweet thing to do, but I am not just going to go and become a cop just for that, it sounds completely crazy if you think about it!

But Nick was thinking about it, he placed his back against the oxidized chassis of the truck behind him and placed a paw over his forehead, he looked at Finn with a rather somber tone and explained himself:

- I know that I said a lot of shit about her and what she did, but I was so angry at her during that time and I didn't even stop to consider her side of it all. There might have been a good reason for her to carry that fox repellent with her.

Finn slammed a paw on the ground and yelled out:

- BULLSHIT!

Finn crossed his arms and turned around, he walked back in the direction of the couch and sat himself over it, he turned to Nick, still with his arms crossed and spoke up:

- If I were you, I wouldn't forgive her, if ya asked me, she should've just taken that fluff ass of her back to where she came from and stayed there.

Nick's face frowned with Finnick's answer, he stepped forward and defended Judy by pointing a claw at Finnick and saying:

- You weren't there Finn! You didn't see how she was; you didn't hear the way she spoke to me. She was genuinely sad! She was sincere. She apologized to me and she meant every word. She went well beyond her way to fix things up and, in all seriousness, I have nothing but respect for that.

Finn simply rolled his eyes and answered:

- Whatever.

A moment of silence descended upon the room, Finn was seated on the couch with a bratty expression plastered on his muzzle as Nick remained standing with his posture as straight as possible, Nick didn't like to discuss with Finnick like that, they had their fair share of disagreements about all sorts of things sure, but they rarely stayed mad or stored any resentment at each other for very long. As Finn picked the magazine to bury his eyes in the pages once more Nick gave a few steps in his direction and let out a small puff of air from his mouth before speaking:

- Look, what she said that day was really shitty, I won't deny it, but she didn't have all the facts with her, neither of us knew the entire story, you don't have to forgive her like I did but you also can't just stay mad at her forever. She is actually a pretty cool mammal once you get to know her.

Finnick raised an eyebrow and shot a side look at Nick, Nick continued speaking:

- Besides, I am not thinking of tossing out everything I worked for during most of my life out of the blue to become a cop, that would be just plain crazy, there has never been a fox cop in Zootopia, ever. Nothing is decided for me just yet. I just want to do this one thing for her and then see where it takes me.

Finnick knew that his friend had already made his mind about helping the bunny out, it seemed like Nick had thrown a reasonable argument out in the open, Finn didn't know the whole story of the relationship between Nick and Judy so he just let out a short sigh and nodded his head, he already knew that Nick had a "go with the flow" sort of mentality and figured that raising a new argument would've been pointless. Satisfied with the response of the short fox, Nick hopped in the truck, adjusted the driver's seat, turned the key and, finally went on his way to deliver the vehicle back to its rightful owners. The ride back to the hospital was peaceful, Nick passed two traffic lights on his way back, after parking the truck in front of the building, Nick went directly to the room where Judy was staying in, he found her still conversing with her parents, as he entered the room he kept a cheerful smile as he jingled the key in the air and extended his arm forward to give them to Stu, the senior male bunny raised from the bed where he was sitting comfortably and picked the keys as he heard Nick reassuring words:

- Here you go, sealed, delivered, no scratches or dents, just like I promised.

The fox shot a side look to the bunny still laying over the bed who just shot another similar look and a smile back at him, Nick gave the keys to Stu and, after a firm paw shake followed by a sincere thanks from him and a short hug from Bonnie, which left Nick a bit surprised and left Judy smiling like a kit, the bunny couple gave a sweet farewell and exited the room. Nick and Judy were left alone in the hospital room once more. Nick came closer to the bed to reacquire the deck of cards left on the night stand near the arm chair, he sat himself over the cushioned seat and started passing the plastic cards around his fingers with a noticeable level of skill, like he has done it a thousand times before, Judy watched his motions and, as he shuffled the deck in his paws, he decided to ask without taking his eyes away from the stack being flipped around in his grasp:

- So… your parents seem really cool.

With a smile in her face, Judy answered:

- They are. They asked a lot of questions about you.

Nick held the deck of cards firmly in his paws, some of the plastic cards almost fell to the ground after he heard that, he directed a side look at Judy and asked, doing his best to not stutter during his question:

- Really? What did you tell them?

Judy leaned her head to the side as she spoke with a witty tone of voice:

- I told them that we met when I was out on patrol through the city, I said that you asked me for help and I, being the upstanding citizen that I am, did my civic duty and helped you out. I also might have told them that you decided to "politely" offer your assistance during my investigation, don't worry, I left out some of the most dangerous and incriminating parts of the story.

Nick placed the entire deck in his left paw's grasp and asked with a satisfied and relieved smile on his muzzle:

- Seriously? You saved the entire city from a grim fate carrots. Do you really think it's wise to hide the truth from your folks?

Judy sounded a little giggle after hearing that question:

- I didn't hide the truth! I just opted to leave out the more trivial points out of the story. The thing is: My parents are open minded, but they are also rather overprotective, to all of their children. If I told them that I faced gangsters, corrupt politicians and jumped out of a train car in motion all while paired up with a shifty fox that tricked me into buying him a giant popsicle, I am pretty sure my father would've had a heart attack.

Nick chuckled as he finished shuffling the cards and placed the deck over the mattress before joking out loud:

- Well, look on the good side, we're already in a hospital.

Judy let out a gasp and leaned her body to the side to give the fox a punch on his shoulder, Nick noticed the bunny's intentions and leaned back to try and evade the fluffy fist coming his way, it was not very effective, Judy's fist still hit him, not as much force as a direct hit, but it was enough to make a single spot on his forearm sting a bit. Nick inhaled through his teeth after feeling the impact of her punch and spoke up:

- Calm down carrots, you may be small but you're still way too strong. If you keep this up, Dr. Carvorten is going to have two patients.

Judy frowned at the fox's joking nature, she should've expected that kind of answers coming from him, but it still infuriated her how he could joke during a serious situation, her response to him after that punch was simply crossing her arms turning her head away and saying the first thing that came to her mind about him:

- Dumb fox.

To which he replied:

- Clever bunny.

Judy turned to him and her grumpy face slowly converted into a smile, she let her arms down and looked at the cards as Nick rapidly and efficiently distributed them amongst himself and Judy, after five cards were placed for each of them the fox picked the ones that were meant for him and explained the rules while simultaneously pulling her into the game:

- The game is Paw-line poker, we play our paws one card at a time and the one with the best combo of cards after six turns wins. I also feel that it is fair to warn you: I have never lost a round of this in my entire life. Care to try and break my streak?

Judy took a glance at the small stash of cards close to her and placed a paw over them, she brought the cards close to her chest and looked at them, nothing too remarkable, a ten of clubs, a three of spades, a five of diamonds, a six of clubs and, finally, a queen of hearts. She had no idea what to make of those cards, but she felt intrigued about the fox's interest in her state of mind and comfort in that hour, he looked at the fox's face over the cards, his snarky smile was still right where she had left it, Judy adjusted her body over the bed and turned herself completely over in his direction, she got her mindset focused on the game, only, before the first round started, she spoke up:

- Nick, thanks, for being around and willing to help, for sticking with me, and for… you know, everything else. You're a good friend. Even if I am forced to deal with your snarky nonsense most of the times.

The fox placed a paw over his chest, almost as if he got hit with a small blunt projectile after hearing Judy's words, he looked at her, faking a look of pain in his face and answered:

- Oh, that cuts deep fluff! You treat all of your friends like this? You only have to deal with my gleaming exchanges of dialogue for about… thirty-five percent of the time. Besides, what you dare call "Nonsense" is just one of the facets of my sparkling personality.

Judy shook her head, but her smile didn't faulter, Nick placed one card over the bed and picked another over the pile, he explained that she could only place another card over it to match the previous one's nape or a sub sequential number, Judy placed a six over the fox's five of diamonds and the game was set to continue, before Nick placed the next card Judy called his attention again and spoke:

- I'm glad that you're here Nick. I just want you to know that… after everything that we went through… I feel proud to say that… I trust you. Always.

Nick was paralyzed for a short second with the drawn card in his left paw and a stack of the remaining cards in the other, he slowly placed the drawn card over the short stack in front of him and thanked her honesty towards him by saying:

- That… means a lot to me fluff. No joke. Thanks.

There was a nice moment between them, as they continued the simple game turn after turn, round after round, Judy welcomed that simple distraction for the day, sometimes she added to the flow of the game by commenting about her parents and about how they spoke of the dangers of the big city and about the concerns they had about coming to Zootopia themselves as they talked before Nick returned, some of them made Nick laugh, especially after she explained that Bonnie and Stu used to worry a lot about the increasingly tension in the relations between predator and prey. Judy felt good inside for having someone alongside her who she could open up, joke around and talk to with no worries about sounding too boring or intrusive, she believed that she could stay calm and let her guard down whenever Nick was around, now that both of them were on talking terms once more she didn't feel the need to prove anything to anyone or take any hastily thought out action, it was something that she took notice since the day before, being with Nick made her feel relaxed, safe. A feeling she could very much get used to.

Their game continued and the next hour flew by as they exchanged gaming tricks and sympathies, from time to time one of them checked the expression the other was making over their cards, Judy didn't understood how the game needed to progress but she didn't really care about winning, she had fun as she kept herself distracted and bare witness to Nick's face changing expressions based on the cards he had to work with, based on the frowns he made, she figured that he had a bad draw for most of the rounds but, through sheer will power, he managed to defeat her and accumulate a favorable deck on all of the times, if he was cheating she couldn't tell. On Nick's side of the board, he found some difficulty in reading Judy's expressions, she just kept a sweet, simple smile during most of the game, he kept believing that she either had the best draw imaginable in her paws or maybe a unfaultable strategy to beat him, the times when her face was overtaken by an expression of deep concentration made him think that he should play more defensively, but ,in reality, she was still getting the hang of the game.

They were having quite the deal of fun together, until they were halted mid round as there was a loud knock on the door and a big figure made himself present in the room with little warning, the figure of a somber looking caped buffalo dressed in the regulation blue attire of the ZPD command. With her eyes shot open and her ears placed up straight with sheer surprise, Judy let go of her card deck and tried to get up and salute him out of habit but she forgot how she was still hurting and ended up just wincing with pain as she showed up a sloppy sign of attention with her right hand placed over her head:

- Chief Bogo! Sir!

Nick turned to the door after hearing the loud knock and he was also quite amazed to see the police chief again, the fox was, after all, the one mammal that was able and willing to stand up against him when he ordered Judy to fork over her badge, a feat that filled Nick's chest with a significant amount of pride, he rarely stood up to high authority figures in his life, specially ones with such influence, unless he needed money or was really sold up on pulling off a prank.

The chief approached the hospital bed with heavy steps over the floor tiles and a posture that just screamed discipline as he kept both his eyes fixated on the pair of mammals in front of him, he stood close to the foot of the bed and waved his hoof down as he spoke to the bunny who was doing her best to show her respect to him:

- At ease Hopps. You don't have to go that far whenever I enter a room.

Judy placed her paw down and felt a small blush on her cheeks, Nick placed his deck down as he leaned closer to her and complemented the chief's line of thought with his own concerns:

- Yeah carrots, you're still healing. You've got… to be kidding me!

With the sudden change of tone shown by Nick, Judy became rather distressed and asked:

- Nick! What's wrong?! What happened?!

The fox pointed a claw to the pile of cards that the bunny left to rest over the mattress and spoke up with a loud setting to his voice:

- You had a pair of aces on your paw and didn't use them?! Are you serious fluff?!

Unclear about her friend's shift in perspectives and interest regarding the situation, Judy squinted her eyes for a short second and simply asked:

- Is that… a good thing?

Nick placed the palm of his right paw over his eyes as he realized by that question that after seven consecutive rounds, Judy still hadn't grasped how the game worked. The chief walked a couple more steps so he could approach the bed and look the immobilized bunny in the eyes before speaking up, his voice was serious as always, but he still had a tad of happiness in his tone brought by the good nature of the news he was about to deliver:

- I just came by to inform you Hopps: Bellwether was taken into custody as well as all the mammals that were in league with her, I was especially shocked when I saw some of those ram goons of hers trying to impersonate officers from *my* precinct with those knock-off uniforms, I made a case to deal with them myself. The recording you provided of her speech and that weird serum gun really brought enough evidence to put her and all of her collaborators behind bars for a long time, After the sound of the recording is placed on file I will return your pen personally. Furthermore, now that we know what and how the predators around Zootopia were turning savage the eggheads back at precinct nine are having a field day as they search for a solution, I paid them a visit last night and they informed that we are well on our way to a vaccine against the night-howlers serum.

Judy placed a paw over her chest as she thanked the heavens for such good news, when she was just starting as an officer of the law, she made a promise to a desperate otter as she assured her that her husband would be brought home safe and sound. Judy could only imagine the look of relief that Mrs. Otterton was going to have on her face when she could finally have her husband back to his normal cheery self, the florist who was proud of his own life as a family mammal was going to turn from a savage animal back to the loving being that he used to be before this whole mess started to unfold. Nick felt great pride after seeing the bunny's smile becoming wider by the second, he walked a few steps closer to the chief of precinct one and spoke up:

- You have to admit it, she may be small, but she knows how to leave an impression. After all of this I wouldn't be surprised if you decided to give her a raise and a promotion on the force.

Bogo's expression remained stoic but Judy's changed from blissful smile to worried frown, it only then occurred to her that she hadn't told Nick about her decision to quit the force and to the fact that throughout this entire half of their adventure together, he hadn't know that she was not with the ZPD anymore. With the silence taking hold of the atmosphere inside the room, Nick looked to both sides as he saw the faces of the caped buffalo and the small bunny without understanding why they were frowning that way, her face most of all, he turned his whole body around and asked:

- What's wrong fluff? They don't give you raises on the ZPD? At least tell me that they pay you for overtime, because I am pretty sure this entire ordeal counts for it, big time.

Judy scooched her body over the mattress so she could get closer to Nick and be heard, with her ears drooping down behind her head and her eyes presenting genuinely sadness, she spoke up with low volume but serious timbre in her voice:

- Nick, I am not a police officer anymore.

The fox's ears darted up as soon as that revelation hit him, it just daunted on Nick's mind that Judy didn't have the common police attire or equipment with her during that entire caper. She had no radio, no badger or tranquilizer gun, she had no resources or back-up during that entire second half of that adventure and yet he had not figured it out until then, not believing it after hearing it the first time, Nick approached the bed and asked:

- What was that now?

Judy placed her paws together and fiddled he fingers over one another, she took some seconds of her time to look at Nick's eyes and explain herself:

- One month ago, I saw the state that Zootopia was getting in to, the protests, the fear, I thought it was all my fault, not to mention the fact that I broke the trust you had in me with my words. It was all just too much to handle.

Nick gave it a small shrug with his shoulders and walked closer to the bed as he said:

- C'mon fluff, I already forgave you for that.

Judy continued:

- I just… couldn't take all of the things I caused in stride anymore. I… decided that it would be for the best if I just gave up my badge and returned to Bunnyburrow. I needed some space to think, I also had no other place to go so…

Nick's eyes shot open with shock, it all suddenly fell into place for him, Judy tried her best to play it cool, she had a fake smile on her face that was not fooling Nick in the least, he asked with a tone of incredulity directed at her:

- So, you just gave your badge up?! Just like that?!

Judy raised her paw to reassure him:

- Nick, it's okay.

The fox retreated from her touch and spoke up, pointing a claw at her and making his point clear:

- It is not okay fluff! After everything you went through, after all the effort that you make, you deserve to be a cop more than anyone, more than anything. You put your heart and soul into this cause for the good of the entire city and you deserve to have this job, especially after having to drag me around through most of it. So you don't get to quit that easily, not while I'm around at least.

Judy's face had a noticeable blush building over, but her eyes also had a spot of alarm showing that she was not prepared at all for the words that she had just heard, Nick barely noticed the blush that appeared on her face as he walked to the buffalo who was merely posing as a spectator to this whole scene, Nick stopped his walk inches in front of the chief, the fox looked up as the buffalo inspected down while maintaining his stoic expression and Nick spoke:

- You have to give her job back!

Judy gasped as she heard Nick speaking that with such conviction right to the chief's face, figuratively speaking of course, she tried to raise from the bed and rush to him, her back leaned forward and she reached her arms his way in an effort to detain his course of action but she was stopped as she looked his way and got a quick response from him:

- Nick, wait! I…

- Don't stop me carrots! If anyone in this room is deserving of a badge it's you! You have to put her back in the force.

Bogo didn't say anything at first, he remained stationary with his arms crossed, just waiting to see where the fox was going with this, after Nick took some time to breathe after his blur of words that… just came out with no tangible reason, Bogo looked down at him and answered:

- You are the fox that stood up to me a while back.

Bogo uncrossed his arms and bent slightly down to get a better look at Nick:

- Not a lot of mammals have the guts to do what you did that time, that was one of the first times anyone without a suit or a uniform had ever talked to me like that, that wisecracking tone of yours almost made me want to scream in frustration, but I didn't. I didn't believe someone would do that again after that, and yet, here you are again, taking a stand because you believe in her. You got guts fox, and I admire that in a mammal.

Nick was left speechless for a short second until Bogo finished his line of thought:

- Nevertheless, Hopps chose to walk out of the force, the decision to give back her badge was entirely her own, at this very moment I do not *Have* to do anything, for anyone.

Those words hit hard, they were harsh but factual, Judy truly had placed her badge over the table and walked out on her dream job, a chance that she took and had to sacrifice so much to attain, she just let it slip through her fingers. Nick was seconds away from launching a not-so-casual remark to Bogo, but the chief surprised everyone as he complemented his previous line of though without changing his expression:

- I am, however, obligated to follow protocol. The very same protocol that clearly states how an officer from *my* precinct is supposed to take his or her leave from service. If I remember it correctly, Hopps here didn't go through any of the procedures to properly leave the employment of the ZPD.

Judy's ears darted upwards like lightning after hearing that, she looked in the chief's direction without understanding where he was going with that, Nick looked at the two of them more confused than anything else, Judy decided to gather some courage and ask:

- Chief? What do you mean?

The buffalo walked pass Nick and placed himself right beside the bunny, she was sitting with her back straight and her eyes looking up on the massive figure near her while her nose twitched a little out of instinct, Bogo continued his explanation, only this time, it was possible to notice the left side of his mouth retracting up, almost like a smile. He spoke up:

- What I mean is: You did not deliver a report explaining your motives, you did not present a letter of resignation, you did not receive a lease from any employee under my roof asking to be reassigned anywhere, you simply placed your badge on a desk and left out the door. That is not procedure, Hopps.

Judy was catching a few subtle glimpses of where this was heading, but she didn't wish to get her hopes up without enough reason, she took a breath to speak but the chief continued with his explanation, apparently, he wasn't finished just yet:

- That being said, ever since you landed on my precinct, Hopps, protocol is the one thing that you haven't been following. However, your instincts lead us to the arrest of a much greater threat to this city's safety than any of us could ever have imagined, so… I believe that *this* rightfully belongs to you.

Chief Bogo reached a hoof and searched inside the pocket on the left lapel of his uniform before retrieving a small, shiny metal shield, he placed it on the paw of the bunny that still could not consider how that was happening. She examined the metal trinket in her hands passing her fingers up and down over its smooth metal surface, she did so as a way to make sure of it, no doubts left, that was her badge:

- Chief… I… I don't…

Bogo walked alongside the bed as he explained with a hoof pointing to the badge in her hands:

- After you walked out of the office, I've been holding on to that ever since. I'm not usually wrong, but I am a big enough mammal to admit when I am, I was wrong about you Hopps. When first we met I thought you were just some hotshot noobie, trying to show off or prove something for her own benefit, turns out you have the heart of a law enforcer, what you brought to the table was a true game changer and it would be pretty stupid of me to leave such a proficient piece out of the gameboard.

Judy was so lost in thought, all of the emotions taking hold of her on that moment were too much, the words struggled to leave her mouth and a few tears also threatened to leave her eyes as she searched for the right thing to say at the time. Chief Bogo halted her as he laid down a few things that he wanted to get off his chest first:

- That being said, if you really wish to keep working under precinct one's roof you are going to have to follow our rules to the letter Hopps, which means: No running off on your own, no taking over investigations without my consent and, if you find any leads of significant consideration you talk to me first. Also, last but not least, do not lose that badge, otherwise we will be having a very lengthy and serious conversation. Am I clear?

Judy held the badge close to her heart and nodded rapidly to show that she understood what he meant by that, the chief saw it fit to clarify it further:

- And don't even think that helping to save the city gives you the right to act like a cocky veteran all the time. You are still a rookie on my precinct and that means you will be treated like one, you will put on the time to perform the menial tasks of every day until you earn your keep in the force, including parking duty, only once you have enough experience under your belt, only then I will give you full disclosure to take the big cases on the docket. Are we on the same page?

Judy, not deviating her bright eyes from him, answered with a single positive nod:

- Yes sir!

- Good.

Bogo walked with slow paces back in the direction of the door, his heavy hooves clacking against the stony white floor tiles of the room, he went pass Nick who just launched a sympathetic look his way, the fox thought how he had figured the police chief all wrong, the guy talked a big game and he seemed like a tough nut to crack but, it seemed like he was a mammal who had no problem doing the right thing for someone else. Before leaving the room, just as his right hoof was placed on the doorknob, Bogo turned around and said:

- There will be a press conference in a few days, the mammals of Zootopia want to know what happened and why we just arrested another mayor, I would prefer if they heard the truth from you Hopps. Unless you think it would be best if someone else gave them the facts.

Nick turned his gaze at Judy, she was sitting with her back straight over the bed, still embracing the recently reacquired badge close to her chest, she decided to think on that for a bit, sensing that the answer may not come without some time to think on it Bogo completed his thought by adding:

- If you don't feel up for it I can stall the reporters and give the answers they want myself.

Judy looked at Nick first of all, she did so out of instinct, the fox didn't have any sign of a clear course of action in his eyes so she decided to look for the answer somewhere else, she looked at every corner of the room by moving her eyes around but, in reality, she was looking at every corner of her mind as she reached a conclusion:

- I think I can do it chief.

- Great! Get well soon Hopps. I'm heading back to get over some paperwork. Also, if anyone decides to ask about it just say you were on a temporary leave from service to clear your head, much easier than anything else.

There was an instant when Judy felt conflicted, that was another little lie to add to the pile, but she felt that it was better to agree with the chief on that one, would be much easier as an explanation. As the buffalo fully exited the room Nick approached Judy once more and asked:

- Wow! I absolutely did not see that one coming! Guess the 'Brick wall' has a heart after all. So carrots, now that you are a cop again how does it feel? What will you do?

After looking and passing her fingers over the indentations of the metal badge, Judy looked up at Nick and made a gesture with her paw, she moved her fingers signaling for him to come closer, Nick didn't get it at first but he decided to humor the bunny anyway. He sat over the mattress with his legs hanging just over the edge of the bed and leaned closer to her, as soon as he was just close enough, Judy snagged him into a strong, soft hug, she brought the fox into full contact with her while placing her paws around his thick fluffy neck in a soft hold and Nick, a bit surprised but not unwilling, decided to repay the gesture by placing his paws on her back and gently petting her. Judy leaned her head to the side and buried her right cheek on Nick's neck fur, he turned his head a bit and asked:

- What's this about fluff?

She didn't move much, she just put a little more pressure on the hug and answered him:

- Not much. I just… really felt like hugging something.

The fox let out a snarky chuckle and launched a retort:

- You bunnies… so emotional.

Judy squeezed him a little tighter in her hug and spoke up:

- Nick, I will shove you and knock you off this bed if you don't let me have this moment.

The fox made a sound like he was clearing his throat and answered:

- Okay, I'll shut up now.

Nick had a nervous look in his eyes, but, truly, he was happy for his friend, Judy had just got her dream job back and she could get back to doing the thing that she trained and prepared her entire life, helping others. After they broke off from their hug, the fox asked in a curious note:

- So… you went back to the farm to get some thinking done and then returned all the way here to apologize to lil' ol' me? I'm touched fluff. Then again, I should've realized that you had went back to your home once I saw the logo on the side of your truck. Speaking of home… do you have a place to stay here in the city?

Judy thought for a bit and looked away with a little blush in her cheeks, she asked in silence that Nick wouldn't notice it showing through her fur and, after thinking for a bit, she answered his question:

- I think that I can still cut a deal with the tenant of my old building, if no one has come to claim my apartment then there is a pretty good chance of me getting it back. If that doesn't work, I think I have enough to get myself a hotel room.

Nick approached her and gave a soft bump to her shoulder, she looked at him and he took it as a cue to say:

- If you need any help, you know that you can just call me, right?

The bunny showed him her sunniest smile and answered:

- I know. Don't worry Nick, I know things are going to work out.

The fox sat himself back over the mattress and grabbed the deck of cards so he could shuffle them again, as he put his best game face on, he asked:

- Ready to go another round? You nearly got me last time, but your beginner's luck is over.

Judy placed the badge over the nightstand by her side and turned back to Nick as she decided to take his challenge on once more:

- Sure thing. I have a feeling that I'm going to beat you this time.

As the fox masterfully juggled the cards between the fingers of his two paws, he dealt the cards and spoke up:

- Love the enthusiasm. Not gonna happen though.

With that last little giggle he got from her for the time being, they started another round of their game, as the time flew by Judy thought about the new press conference she was going to have as soon as she felt able, she had a few nervous instances at first but she was steadily calming herself down, she felt up for that challenge, now that Nick has shown that he stood by her no matter what she felt up to take any obstacle head on, much like she felt during her police academy days, she felt empowered, she felt ready, she felt… safe. She was starting to enjoy that feeling as of late.