The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

21. Episode 21: Truths and comprimise

Author's note: Salutations, my dear readers, it is I, Valiant and I have returned with a Stocking-stuffer of story for you all with a brand new chapter of Zootopia. This will be my last story beat for this year and I'm not sure when I will be back with another chapter of my Spyro fan-fic, You'll juat have to wait a little bit more for that one. This has been a crazy year for everyone, there was vaccination, new moments of hope and new crisis that took a hold of our time, but I also noticed that there were many charities willing to lend support for people who really need it so I know things will get better. I feel like I need to apologize for the last chapter, I received reviews saying that it was kind of long and I do know that, I only wanted to stop the last chapter right after the alley figth so it wouldn't be left hanging in the air, this next chapter is much shorter and much easier to digest. I also wanted to put this chapter out much earlier but I had to figure out a few things here at home, I had one of my teeth removed. So that was a thing. At any case, I hope you enjoy this next chapter and I hope you will be around when I come back next year. Happy reading!

Episode 21: Truths and compromise.

It was a long drive from the Rainforest back to the Savanna, Nick remained in silence at the first half of the drive as Judy focused on the road ahead, there were so many detours and adjacent streets with plenty of cars and other vehicles roaming so it became rather hard to find an expedient route back to precinct one, the road back was rather slow but Nick barely took mind of the time that passed inside the cruiser. The fox had a hard time adjusting his body over his own seat, the fight from earlier had left him sore on a number of places and the movement of the cruiser was not helping him feel any better thanks to all the turns and abrupt stops along the way, he would sometimes groan and take shallow breaths as his body kept alerting him of the discomfort which got seriously annoying after a while but he was going to keep quiet and take it. Judy was worried about him but he kept dismissing it and saying that he would be fine after some rest during both times she inquired about his condition.

Nick and Judy drove across the Savanna soon after their cruiser exited the tunnel that connected that district with the lower streets of the rainforest, the air was more dry the temperature inside the cruiser climbed and Judy was driving in more of a hurry than any other day but Nick was not exactly sure why. Nick leaned his body to the right as he found a more comfortable stance for himself, he looked to the left and found Judy with a blank look on her face as she looked at the windshield to the road ahead but there was something else to it. Judy thought that Nick was not really paying attention to her, she believed that the fox was only focused on recovering his own energy, but she was mistaken, Judy turned the wheel of the cruiser and she felt a string of pain running through her left arm which she tried to disguise in silence as she pressed her teeth together and squinted her eyes with noticeable discomfort. Nick got the sense that she was hiding an injury and she was going to figure it all out later.

Judy and Nick arrived at precinct one's front door and saw as Delgato and Wolford had parked their cruiser next to the carpool entrance and were taking the two apprehended mammals from the back seats and guiding them into the building except one of them was still unconscious and had to be dragged up the steps and into the lobby. All of the other officer arrived at the front desk to see what was going on since the word of Nick and Judy tangling up against two assailants reached the ZPD radio waves and spread on to every ear in the station. Nick and Judy walked together up the steps and received a warm welcome from the other officers as soon as they crossed the front doors, Fangmeyer, Francine, Grizzolli and Higgins were already there along with Benjamin to congratulate their safe return and Nick's first official arrest.

Chief Bogo walked out of the west hall with a heavy set of steps and a clearing throat sound that made everyone in the main lobby pay attention to him and go silent while opening a path for him to come through. The caped buffalo looked at the two officers that were clearly responsible for the scene and said:

- Here I was, having a calm day at work and then all of a sudden this mess gets dropped on my front lawn. What happened, Hopps?

He nodded his head at Judy before crossing his arms as he stood straight and in expectancy of an explanation. Judy took some air and pointed to the two cuffed mammals as she answered:

- We have a purse snatcher and an associate and both of them are charged with assaulting officers and resisting arrest. The one in charge has confirmed criminal history.

Chief Bogo turned to face the two mammals, one kid armadillo and one knocked out fox, both did not look like a huge deal to him but they clearly had put Nick and Judy through the wringer. Bogo looked over at Nick and noticed how he was clearly worn out from a fight and knew that he was going to make things exceedingly harder for the two mammals brought into custody. After that brief report from Judy, everyone noticed that the cuffed fox was starting to wake up from his hit of tranquilizer dart, Daniel began to stir up and opened his eyes to find a room full of police officers staring at him, his first instinct was to ask out loud while his brain was still waking up:

- What in the fuck just happened?

Daniel opened his eyes just in time to see Nick and his first instinct after waking up was going in for a punch:

- Wilde!

Daniel said so as he tried to walk towards Nick and deliver a hit but he was held back by the combined weight and grip of a big paw over his right shoulder along with the fact that his paws were cuffed together behind his back. Fangmeyer was holding Daniel back as the angry fox continued to struggle and tried to free his paws from the cuffs holding him back, he looked around to all of the officers having their eyes fixed on him and at that point it was already obvious what had happened. Nick crossed his arms as he continued to stare Daniel down and Judy placed her right paw over her left arm as chief Bogo walked past the two officers to get a better look at the criminals. Bogo looked at the armadillo, doing his best to avoid eye contact and shaken with fear, not the stance of an seasoned criminal but he would not assume anything concrete just yet, he looked at the fox next to him, baring his teeth and looking angrier by the second. Daniel saw as Bogo was eyeing him and spoke up with an angry tone, not realizing that it would just worsen his circumstances:

- What are you looking at?

Bogo got right to work, asking the two mammals being held in front of him to fess up and tell their version of what happened, it was routine and the buffalo really wanted to know what was the cause of all the commotion, although, what he really wanted was the chance to put the pressure on the one responsible for wishing harm on his officers. Daniel dismissed the question with a scoff but Jaime was very inclined to answer to it, even if he would inevitably get into trouble for it. Daniel turned to Jaime and saw that the armadillo was not even trying to hide his expression of guilt, that he was about to speak up and it was not going to be favorable for neither of them, the angry fox spoke while pressing his teeth together:

- Don't you even think about it.

Jaime took a long breath before turning his head in Daniel's direction and saying:

- You told me that it would be simple, one step up the ladder and we would have it made. This is not right.

Bogo let them speak, already getting a very good impression of what was happening between the two. Daniel growled and spoke with higher volume to his voice:

- Be quiet!

Bogo already had an idea of what was going on but the true confirmation to it came when the young armadillo moved his body to the side without a lot of effort showing that he was not even trying to escape that situation, he looked at Judy and called to her attention by nodding his head in her direction and saying sincerely:

- I'm sorry for coming at you like that back in the rainforest. I don't even know how to fight.

Judy dismissed that and spoke up as she recognized the tone used by the armadillo as sincere and accepted his apology:

- It's alright. I figured you weren't actually trying to hurt me.

That exchange of words made Daniel livid with anger, he leaned his legs in the direction of Jaime and trying kicking the kid who luckily noticed that and tried protecting himself by recoiling away from the reach of Daniel's legs. The fox shouted out after seeing that his kicking attempt was utterly ineffective:

- You little prick! I should've known you didn't have what it takes to join in!

Jaime, trying to defend himself, confronted Daniel by saying:

- Look where we are, Daniel. It doesn't matter anymore.

- You bite your tongue you insufferable little piece of…

- ENOUGH!

Chief Bogo's thunderous voice echoed in the lobby and caused immediate silence to descend over everyone, the buffalo leaned forward and grabbed the fox in front of him by placing his paw over the left shoulder and pulling the shirt fabric with an aggressive touch. Bogo looked at the other officers and spoke his intentions as he prepared to do the work he wanted to do himself:

- I'll put this one in lock up myself. Higgins, you get the other one to the interrogation room and see if you can call his legal guardians.

The hippo stood straight and saluted the chief before saying:

- Yes, sir!

Bogo turned his sight to the fox in his reach and said:

- I don't know who you think you are and I do not care, you assaulted one of my officers. No one assaults my officers and gets away with it. I'll lock you up for today and then I'll be making sure the rest of your life becomes a living hell. That's a guarantee.

Daniel did not even have time to answer to that with some sarcastic remark as Bogo tugged on his short and pulled the fox in the direction of the stairs at the eastern side of the lobby, the same stairs that lead to the suspect cells below ground level. However, as the fox was being forcefully guided on the path downstairs, he still had the time and the gull to turn his head and yell out so that the main subject of his anger would hear his words well:

- This ain't over, Wilde. You and I are gonna meet again someday and there won't be any mammal around to help you get rid of me. I'm gonna end you, you hear me?! Your ass is grass and I'm mowing the lawn!

Bogo pushed the criminal aggressively so that he would shut up and not make the situation any more unbearable. Higgins waited for the chief to leave before he went on to guide the young armadillo to the nearest interrogation room, there was still more to learn about what had transpired in the rainforest and that would end up being one more item in the docket for the day, a whole lot of paperwork. While Jamie was walking away with officer Higgins walking with heavy but silent steps right behind him, Judy leaned near Nick while keeping her eyes on the scene and asked with a whisper:

- Do you think he is going to be okay?

Judy was not expecting much of an answer but Nick turned his head at her and answered to her question with a comforting tone in his voice and a stance of confidence:

- I guess it depends on him. If he gets out of this and keeps his nose clean, then he is going to be alright. At least… that's what I think.

Judy let out some air as she also figured that the young armadillo would be okay. There were only a few more seconds of silence before the other officers approached Nick and Judy to congratulate them on such a successful and eventful outing patrol. Fangmeyer was the first to get near Nick and pat him on the shoulder as she said:

- Congrats, rookie. You just managed your first arrest. How do you feel?

Nick looked at the tigress with a smile but his smirk slowly downgraded as the full scope of what actually happened hit him with full force. Nick looked over at Fangmeyer and said:

- I'm not sure how I feel. It's… sort of a lot to take in.

Wolford was the first to jump into that argument by speaking up:

- Trust me, we all felt the same way.

Nick had a hard time believing those words, he knew all too well that he had done the right thing, he saved Judy and helped her put a criminal behind bars, it was their job, but there was something more to it, he was not exactly sure what but he had some suspicion. Nick had not put just any mammal in jail, it was someone he knew, someone that represented a connection to a part of his past that he still held tightly in his heart, Daniel was an unruly vulpine and he clearly deserved to be tossed in jail for the choices he had made but Nick still felt like something was not right with that. Judy poked Nick gently on the side by bumping her right elbow against him without much force, with her smile and her bright look, she had assured Nick that he made an excellent job by taking on a hostile without the need for a tranquilizer gun, something that they would have to look into at a later time.

The ZPD officers opened way for Judy to pass as she spoke up with a cheerful tone:

- C'mon, slick. We have to submit a full report about what just happened. We better get started so…

- Hold on!

Nick stopped Judy's walk and she turned around to find him approaching her with a short set of steps and reaching in her direction with his left paw, all the other officer remained close to the front desk unsure of what was happening and unsure if they should intervene with whatever that was, Benjamin had to lean his body over the counter to watch what was going on and he was very uncomfortable holding that pose but it mattered little to him. Nick walked until he was positioned right in front of Judy and she followed his pattern of movement with her eyes until he stopped completely, Nick pointed a finger of his left paw in her direction and asked openly:

- How's your arm?

Judy had her eyes wide open with surprise but she tried to quickly unmake that expression and disguise it with an uninformed gaze, she turned her eyes the other way before looking back at Nick, clear sign that she was nervous, as she asked him:

- What about my arm?

Judy's tone did not convey any form of certainty making it sound like she was forcing herself to hide away her discomfort and pain, Nick still insisted on it as he gave a step closer to her and spoke up:

- You hurt your arm earlier right before the fight, didn't you? When we first got separated?

Judy did not have any way to run or hide from that inquiry, she looked the other way while placing her right paw over the spot of her left arm that was still stinging with some residual pain and that only made Nick want to help her even more. Nick raised his right arm and showed the palm of his paw as she asked without sounding too forceful:

- Let me see it.

Judy didn't want to make a scene or make it look like she was in serious need of help, she just kept telling herself over and over again in her mind that she was alright and there was no need to be worried, Nick would not have that. Judy turned herself in another direction but it did nothing to deter Nick's inquiry as he asked again of her:

- Judy, please. Let me see your arm.

The eyes and ears of every officer present in the lobby were now glued to the exchange of apprehensive looks and words taking place there in the lobby. Judy stopped resisting and extended her left arm in Nick's direction so that he would take a look for himself, Nick took Judy's left paw in the palm of his right paw and used his left paw to gently push the sleeve of her uniform out of the way so that he could better see the damage that was inflicted on her. Nick pressed his eyes and identified a bruised placed next to her wrist and well hidden underneath her fur but it was still plain to see that it hurt a lot from the way she recoiled back and winced with inconvenience when Nick removed the fabric out of the way to examine it. Nick pointed in the direction of the break room by the northwest corridor and said:

- C'mon, let's go get some ice to put on this.

Judy felt as Nick pulled on her arm to guide her in the direction he was pointing but she quickly retreated and recoiled her left arm back to escape Nick's grasp and assure him that there was no need for any of that.

- Nick, I'm fine.

The bunny saw as Nick stopped his walk and turned around to face her just as she held on to her uncovered wrist and stepped back to be out of his reach, Nick did not enjoy seeing that and gave one step closer as he said sternly:

- Judy, you got hurt and that might swell if we don't get it treated. Let's head to the break room and get some ice on it.

- Nick, I don't need ice. This doesn't even hurt that much.

Nick crossed his arms, raised his ears and lowered his muzzle to look slightly more intimidating as he said:

- We both know that is not true and that you are a terrible liar.

Judy showed a frown with her ears lowered to the back of her head as she tried to counter act Nick's intimidating stare with a stare of her own, it wasn't very effective. Judy did her best to make it look like she felt no pain but Nick was still insistent on it as he gestured in her direction and spoke again:

- You don't have to argue with me on this one, Judy. Just let me get some ice on that and you will be fine.

- I *am* fine. Quit bugging me, Nick.

Nick took a bit of offense in that and insisted more as he imposed himself with another step in her direction and said:

- I'm only trying to help you.

- I don't need help with this. I don't need help at all.

Nick gestured by showing his left paw in Judy's direction and saying:

- Is that a fact? That is not how it looked like earlier today.

Judy was showing a face of anger in disapproval of Nick's words, that was not the point of that discussion and he was only using that to make her lose her temper and make her see reason after getting all of her frustration out in the open. Judy became silent as she pressed her lips together and tried avoiding eye contact with Nick but he did not let that go as he walked around her and placed himself back at the front of her line of sight before getting what he really wanted to say out in the open:

- You ran off without me, you could have been hurt way more than that. We are supposed to be a team and you just up and left me to venture off on your own.

Judy looked straight at Nick and countered his words:

- I wasn't 'venturing off', I was pursuing a suspect. I don't understand why you are being like that you caught up with me right after.

Judy tried turning around as if to put a final dot on that conversation but Nick was not done with it just yet as he spoke up:

- Yes, I did. After doubling back and passing over two blocks just to find an adjacent alleyway to find you and help you out. You're just lucky that most of the alleyways in the rainforest interconnect with one another.

Every one of the other officers was uncertain about what to do, Benjamin had his right paw over his lips as he did what he could to keep his mouth shut and control his breathing, Fangmeyer was just about to step up and break off that discussion but she decided to keep her thoughts to herself and let all of that work itself out. Wolford was a model spectator as he crossed his arms and waited to see how all of that would unfold and Grizzolli fiddled around with his claws as he was getting more nervous with all of that growing tension. Passed a few more seconds, Judy broke away from her silence once more as she spoke:

- Nick, he was going to get away if I didn't continue the pursuit.

- I wasn't telling you that you should have broken off the pursuit, I'm telling you that if we were to stick together we would've found another way and we would've won all the same.

- It might have been too late.

- You don't know that!

- I didn't want to take any chances.

Nick was getting tired of that back and forth and he countered with a slightly raised volume to his voice:

- You took a major chance when you put yourself in unnecessary danger like that.

Judy grunted in frustration as she was getting tired of that incessant discussion herself and there was no clear sign of stopping that any time soon unless either of them was willing to give the other some leeway in the argument. As the fox and the bunny continued to exchange words with one another the other officers continued to wage if there was something any of them could do in that situation, while Nick and Judy were busy staring each other down, Fangmeyer spoke in a whisper directed to the others near her:

-This is getting kind of ugly.

Grizzolli agreed to that as he leaned to the right and asked with a whisper of his own:

- Should we… do something?

Benjamin leaned a little more over the counter as he entered the conversation with his own whisper:

- I don't think any of us is crazy enough to step into the crossfire.

The other officers agreed with that in silence except for Wolford who just wanted that whole deal to be over so everyone could step back to work. The wolf gestured with both paws on each side of his torso as he spoke up:

- Guys, this whole thing is getting blown way too much out of proportion. Let me just see if I can alleviate things.

Fangmeyer already knew by the tone and posture that the wolf was demonstrating to everyone else that this was a horrible idea, she reached for him and spoke up without raising her voice:

- Wolford, please don't get involved in this.

The wolf swiftly avoided her reach and spoke to her in a relaxed tone:

- Don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing.

Fangmeyer stayed quiet after hearing that and after remembering how many of the wolf's ideas ended badly right before he said those exact words. Wolford began to approach Nick and Judy as the two officers continued their discussion:

- Nick, can you please just drop it? We're both here and we're fine, there is no need for further concern.

- That is not the point of this, Judy. We both know that what you did was reckless and I really don't want it to repeat in the future.

- Are you telling me I should stop putting in the effort to do my job?

- I'm not saying any of that.

- Nick, quit being so stubborn and just drop it already.

- Oh, I'm being stubborn?! I'm being reasonable, you're the stubborn one.

Wolford got close enough so that his voice could clearly be heard by the two mammals right in front of him, both of which were still spitting harsh but warranted facts about one another and exchanging angry stares. The wolf showed the palms of his paws and reached ever so close to them as he gestured and calmly spoke in a nonchalant effort to diminish the tension:

- Guys, take it easy. There is no reason to blow of anyone's top over what may or may not…

At that moment, Nick and Judy turned their sights and their stares of fury in the direction of Wolford, he felt like a line of knives was being aimed right as his chest and the confirmation of unleveled hostility came as soon as Nick and Judy yelled at the same time:

- *STAY OUT OF THIS, WOLFORD!*

Rightfully scared of the two mammals' shared tone of voice and sharp glares, Wolford skipped back almost tripping over his own feet and tail, he walked back until he was returned amidst the group that he was conversing with before almost making the grievous mistake of getting between Nick and Judy's heated argument. The wolf walked until he was right behind Fangmeyer, making appear as if the tigress was his personal protective wall against anything harmful that still might come his way. Fangmeyer watched the fearful retreat of her colleague and spoke to him:

- I tried telling you that it was a bad idea.

Wolford sounded out with a whisper of anxiety as he answered her:

- Next time, try harder. I'll listen.

Once Wolford had backed away, Nick continued to talk with Judy as he spoke up:

- You should've waited for me to catch up with you. I was right behind you, you could've waited a little more.

Judy did not change her tone of voice as she said:

- They would've gotten away.

Nick realized that the argument was going to walk around in circles if he kept that angle up so he decided to employ a more personal tactic. There was a moment of silence between the two of them that seemed to stretch endlessly, Judy looked at Nick with a side glance that lasted one second and a half before she turned her sight away, the other officers had the impression that the discussion was over and that Nick had given up but Judy knew far better than that. Nick turned his body in her direction and asked:

- What are you trying to prove?

Judy's ears darted up and she asked of Nick, not believing she was hearing that question from his mouth:

- What?

Nick asked it again with more determination in his voice:

- What are you trying to prove? That you can take on anyone by yourself and not care about the consequences. That is not a very smart thing to do and you should know that by now, you're smarter than me.

Judy had renewed anger in her eyes as she looked at Nick and said:

- I'm not trying to prove anything to anyone. I'm just doing my job.

- Is that what you want to call taking off and diving head first into an unknown situation before getting hurt? Because that could've been avoided.

Judy grunted with frustration and passed the palms of her paws over her head before looking at Nick and saying:

- I'm done! This conversation is over. I did what I felt was right at the time and managed to get it done in the end. I don't want to talk with you anymore today.

Judy said that in an effort to put a definitive end to that conversation, the words were rushed and harsh but Nick knew that it was just the heat of the moment talking through her. Judy crossed her arms and turned around with her ears hanging low behind her head, Nick did not show any emotional reaction to what she had done but he still wanted to make his point and his feelings clear for her as he took in a long breath of air and released it as to take in some courage to talk to her one more time, even if it was made clear that she was not going to gratify him with a response. Nick spoke softly as he called to Judy's attention:

- Judy.

Her body twitched while standing straight showing that she heard him but was making a legitimate effort to not answer him. Nick continued:

- You don't have to talk to me, just listen.

There was still no answer from her, Nick kept going:

- I understand that when you see the chance to seize a win you have to take it, I understand that better than anyone might know. I get that you did what your gut was telling you to do and I'm not telling you to stop doing it, I'm not even asking you.

Judy turned her head a small angle to the left as she was somewhat curious to hear where Nick was going with that. He continued to speak after getting a single step closer to her:

- I don't mind that you are angry with me and I absolutely don't care if we find ourselves in a hard spot in the future. What I'm saying right here, right now, is that you wait for me next time you decide to toss yourself into the danger. That you wait until I get there so I can toss myself with you.

Judy heard that and thought it to be very silly and unbelievably sweet, she turned her body to face Nick and speak to him after making sure that she absolutely wanted to respond to his words:

- You… shouldn't have to do that. Go along with my crazy instinct and my weird notions of doing right, I mean. That is something that I just… shouldn't do.

- Why not? That's just who you are.

Judy's ears slowly raised and Nick gestured with both paws pointing at her figure before saying:

- You are a protector, Judy. You have this… drive inside of you to help others and that is a major part of who you are. It's one of the things that I admire in you. Bear in mind, I do not always get it but I do admire it.

Judy felt her lips forming a little smile and she turned her face to the right so it wouldn't be facing Nick until her smile subsided. Nick continued to speak after repositioning himself and making sure that Judy would be looking him in the eyes as he said:

- Listen, you don't have to stop doing what you do as an officer, that is not what I am asking you to do. Plus, you also don't have to take on everything alone to prove yourself tough enough to be here. You are tough as nails and every officer here knows that already.

Nick said so as his right paw gestured towards the other officers who were still watching that scene, every one of them showed a face of approval as they silently agreed with Nick's words. Nick cleared his throat and turned his full attention back to Judy after she only then realized that there was a full audience watching her tantrum and Nick doing what he could to calm her down, she felt beyond silly with all of that and it could have all been easily avoided. Nick took in some air through his nose and continued:

- All I'm asking you is that next time you feel like taking on a group of muggers you wait on me so I can watch your back and you can watch mine. We're a team and that is how it's supposed to work. That was the pitch when I joined the ZPD, right?

Judy laughed with her lips closed and her teeth pressing together once she heard Nick referring to all of her words about team work during their training period together as a 'pitch'. Nick placed his left paw over Judy's shoulder and he asked once more:

- Can you promise me that you will wait for me next time?

Judy smiled and delivered the words that Nick was waiting to hear:

- I promise.

Nick also decided to point toward the far off corridor with his right paw and ask of her:

- I'm also asking for you to go get some ice on that bruise so it won't swell and hurt as much later. I'll go on and prep things up for our report.

Judy thought for a bit and her mind could only melt away with the sound of Nick's voice and his reasonable concern filling her ears much more warranted now that she wasn't feeling angry any more. She nodded her head and assured Nick that she would proceed to the break room and get herself something to place over the bruise on her arm as she looked at him and said calmly:

- Okay.

Judy began to walk away in the direction pointed by Nick, the fox relaxed for a bit as he felt his shoulders loosening up and released a puff of air from his mouth that he felt like it had been trapped in his chest for more than half an hour. Judy continued to slowly walk away in the direction of the break room and she had no intention of changing her course, however, her right ear twitched to the side as she heard a whisper coming from right behind her in a non-aggressive tone, it was Nick's voice saying:

- Stubborn bunny.

Judy continued to walk but she felt the need to clarify to that as she turned her face to the right and projected her voice through the lobby by speaking up:

- I heard that.

Nick gestured at her, even if she couldn't see all of his exaggerated motion, and spoke up:

- You better have heard it, because I'm not apologizing.

With that, Nick walked off in a different way, going to the cubicle belonging to him and Judy so that he could do the rest of his part for the day. After that whole agitation was done and the two officers had gone their separate ways inside the precinct, all of the others were left nearly speechless. Wolford came out from behind Fangmeyer, Grizzolli and Benjamin both had big smiles on their faces and Higgins was the only one to pick up the slack for the others as he spoke up:

- Alright you guys, show's over, everyone get back to your posts.

The ZPD crew disbanded back to their work stations but Grizzolli stayed for a little longer as he leaned closer to Benjamin and spoke in a whisper:

- So much better than a soap opera.

To which Benjamin replied:

- I know, right?

---

The rest of the work day went by without any more commotion, chief Bogo made sure to supervise all of the processes that were still to be finished and he was just leaving his office to take care of one last thing for the day. On his way through the corridor and heading for the stairs leading to the below ground floors, Bogo met with Nick as the fox was carefully transporting a thin stack of papers stapled together, a small documentation that he had to get archived. The chief saw the fox, focusing on a small but integral task and asked of him:

- Wilde, how are you feeling?

Nick heard the chief calling for him with that unmistakable thundering voice but he was not sure how to answer to the question, the fox halted his walk and looked up at the buffalo before taking some air in his chest and speaking up:

- Well, not too bad. Just taking this last piece of work down to Snarlov and then I'll finally be done for the day.

Bogo released a sigh as it was obvious by the tone of voice that Nick used that he did not get the meaning behind the inquiry. Bogo gave a single step in Nick's direction as to figuratively barge his way from going any further until the question was properly answered, the chief reiterated the question he had spoken only a few seconds earlier and asked:

- I meant how are you are feeling after what happened today. Hopps told me that you know one of our most recent convicts. I also heard he gave you a special hard time.

Nick then took in mind that the chief had asked for his attention as a fellow officer and not as a casual friend taking interest. The fox folded the thin stack of papers that he was carrying and spoke with Bogo in a more serious tone of voice:

- Daniel was a bad element when I was a kid and it really bites that he didn't mend his ways with time. The group he ran with was called the 'Shock Choppers', they all had this tattoo with the symbol of a wrench that fired bolts of lightning.

Nick explained that part and chief Bogo was moderately intrigued with that piece of information as he recalled similar rumors being recorded in a file long before his time as chief of precinct one. Nick showed a small frown as he continued to speak:

- I used to think he was the smartest guy on the block back in the day. I guess we would have crossed paths eventually, that was a bit of inevitability, just never figured we would be crossing paws too. I'm sore all over and not in a good way.

Bogo crossed his arms and listened attentively to what Nick had to say about the apprehended individual, the fox was giving off traces of his usual jokey self mixed in with a long dose of reality in facing of what happened. Nick's tone of voice changed drastically but his volume remained the same as he continued to speak:

- When I saw him at that alley, my focus was on him and disarming that situation at first but it did not go well. When I saw that Hopps was hurt I… just…

Nick showed his free right paw attaining the shape of a pronged claw slowly closing into a fist in the air as he tried to give some symbolism to his emotions. Bogo could understand it perfectly as the vulpine showed the claws in his right paw slowly coming together but the buffalo did not change his facial expression and merely continued to listen. Nick unmade his paw gesture and returned his entire body to a more relaxed stance before he spoke again:

- I convinced Judy to go get some ice on her injury. It wasn't easy convincing her on it.

Bogo finally changed expressions as his mouth showed a little smile forming on the right side of his face, he could read Nick very well at that point in the conversation so he decided to just ask the other question that he wished to present to him:

- We are about to send the fox you and Hopps apprehended down to one of the interrogation rooms, after that is just a quick report sent to the least busy judge and a long trip to prison. Do you think you could come along and give some help? It might help things go smoother.

Nick was quick to answer after Bogo stopped talking:

- I don't think that is a good idea.

Bogo became silent and waited for an explanation from the fox. Nick took some breath and spoke up:

- I am glad to help with reports or descriptions to put his tail behind bars for sure but putting me in a room with Daniel will not go well for either of us.

Chief Bogo was sure that there was a good reason for that and inquired jointly:

- And why would that be as such, officer Wilde?

Nick explained as he gestured with both of his paws:

- It's not only that I know him, is that he also knows me. If I go in there he is going to push my buttons and I'm going to push his buttons, he is going to punch me in the chest and I'm going to kick him in the nuts, so on and so forth. If I lose my temper things will go his way more than anything else.

Bogo nodded his head as he understood Nick's line of thinking, the fox was avoiding contact with the criminal in order to help the precinct ideology as a whole. Nick excused himself and moved along to deliver the file he had in his paws while Bogo walked off in order to make sure everything in the precinct would be well placed and organized for the next shift over, the chief still had to brew himself a nice cup of coffee and get something nice to eat before supervising the shift change which was usually a smooth transition but anything could happen in Zootopia so it paid to be prepared.

Nick wandered off back to the cubicle in the work area as soon as his delivery was completed thinking that he would find Judy in there, no sign of her. Nick hadn't seen or heard anything about Judy ever since they parted ways in the lobby earlier but he didn't worry about that, he sat himself on his revolving chair and turned to his computer so he would pass the time by fiddling around and distract himself with a quick game of solitaire before the afternoon shift was over. When the time to clock out had arrived, Nick went to his locker and grabbed a few items that he was set to take home with him and moved towards the front door of the precinct while checking his phone for the time, he stored the phone in his back pocket and looked ahead to the front desk and that was when he saw Judy talking with Benjamin.

Nick walked with a little more speed to his steps until he approached the front desk, he could not make out what Judy and Benjamin were talking about but she looked satisfied with something by the way she was smiling and looking over. Judy had already taken out her uniform and was dressed with something far more casual to head out for her home, she turned her eyes to the right and saw Nick walking in her direction, the fox stopped only a few steps away from her and Judy fell silent, placing a paw over her chest as soon as the fox halted his movements. Nick gestured with his right paw as he pointed to the front door and asked of Judy:

- Are you heading out?

Judy showed a little smile and nodded her head before answering:

- Just about. I finished all the work and revisions I had for the day.

Judy gave Nick the right of way and the fox walked past her towards the front doors, he turned his head to give Benjamin a quick salute with his right paw and the cheetah answered with a wave of his right paw in the air. Before walking away, Judy turned to Benjamin and waved farewell for the day, the cheetah answered with another wave of his own before turning his revolving chair around and watching as the two officers walked out together. Benjamin started to reorganize his work place but he was suddenly interrupted by Wolford as the canine approached the front desk without maing a sound and surprised Benjamin by speaking up:

- How's it going, Clawhauser?

Benjamin yelped and nearly dropped the clipboard that he was holding in his paws, he turned over to Wolford and said:

- Good grief, Wolford. Never sneak up on an unsuspecting feline. I thought you would've learned that already.

Wolford gestured with both his paws as he apologized for sneaking up on Benjamin like that. The wolf leaned to the side and placed his right arm over the counter next to him and asked of Benjamin:

- So… what happened today was crazy, right?

Benjamin placed the clipboard he had with him down and answered:

- I wouldn't say 'crazy', just exciting.

Wolford nodded his head in agreement as he thought that that word was much better fitted to describe the happenings of that afternoon. The two officers stayed in silent for a few seconds before Benjamin inquired of the canine close to him:

- You still think it was a good idea betting that they wouldn't be a good mix as partners? One month passes by in a flash.

Wolford's ears raised up over his head and he turned to the right so that he would face Benjamin completely, he found the cheetah moving a small file holder around while having a snarky smirk on his face. Wolford pointed a claw at Benjamin and asked with a tone that demanded a straight answer:

- How did you know about that? Did Grizzolli tell you anything?

Benjamin made a dismissive gesture with his left paw while his right paw was preoccupied with reaching for the handle of his favorite coffee mug, he delivered a verbal answer without giving off too many details about the methods he used to acquire that particular piece of information for himself:

- Oh, I know everything that happens around this precinct, especially when a juicy bet is involved. You really should've known better. There is no way Hopps and Wilde would ever split at the seams, not after what happened today.

Wolford gestured to an empty spot on the lobby as an approximation of the place where Nick started arguing with Judy, his paw opened in the general direction of the spot and he asked:

- Are you joking? Were any of you guys watching the same scene that I was? They were here fighting and nearly jumping at one another's throat.

Benjamin showed a shake of his right paw pointing finger and disagreed with Wolford's words by saying:

- Wrong. They were arguing from a place of concern for each other. Wilde wants Hopps to keep a level head during unpredictable situations and wait for him so they could tackle it together. Hopps, in contrast, doesn't want Nick to take unnecessary risks or follow her into the danger without preparation. Seeing that just confirmed that they deeply care for each other as partners and as friends.

Benjamin finished his explanation and turned around to dedicate some of his focus to that task that he was still in the middle of, he grabbed a small box of donuts that was left empty under the counter and let out a few more words directed at Wolford as he was facing the other direction:

- You really should have read their interactions better. I told you there was something more to their relationship.

Wolford released a puff of air from his mouth and waved his arms once in the air as he admitted to his frustration and to Benjamin's insight simultaneously while saying:

- Fine! They're really good at working together. I was wrong, you were right. Are you satisfied?

Benjamin tossed the empty container he had in his paws into the trash bin and turned back to Wolford as he answered:

- Not quite yet. I'd wager that there is still something more to it.

Wolford raised his brows and spoke up, asking with mild frustration:

- What more could there be?

Benjamin placed the fingers of his left paw over his chin and spoke with vague traces of intrigue in his voice:

- I'm not sure just yet, but I will find out.

Meanwhile, just outside the precinct and at the base of the front stairs, Nick and Judy were walking together and both of them were silent as they placed one foot after the other on their way. Judy turned her head to look at Nick but the fox didn't even notice it, he had his eyes directed forward and walking calmly by her side, she wanted to call to his attention and say a few things that stuck with her after their discussion but she felt uneasy, almost short on breath, she did not know how to speak up to him at that moment. Nick continued his walk and directed his eyes to the right as he saw the street that would take him right back to his apartment, figuring on his own that Judy would also be on her way and back to her own place but he also felt a little pinch in his mind as he still wanted to tell Judy a few things.

The pair slowed their walk as they entered the square at the street right across from the precinct building and that is when they called out to each other:

- Listen, carrots…

- Nick, I…

They each halted their walks and looked at one another once they realized that they stepped over their words without wanting to do so. Nick smiled and Judy released a nervous giggle, she gestured to him as to give him a chance to say what he wanted to say but Nick responded to that by saying:

- No, go ahead. You can speak.

Judy decided to take that chance and say what was on her mind, she took a couple of seconds to breathe a little easier and speak to Nick:

- I wanted to apologize for what happened to day. I shouldn't said that you were bugging me and that I didn't need your help. You were amazing today.

Nick gestured with his left paw as it swung slowly to the side passing right in front of his muzzle almost as if he deflected that compliment. Nick poked Judy's right shoulder and answered:

- You were plenty amazing today as well. You held your own while I worked through my own thing. I'm just a little steamed because I couldn't keep up with you and… you got hurt because of that.

- Nick…

Judy called to him but the fox continued on his train of thought:

- I can't believe that Daniel just did that. If he wasn't already on track for the big house I would…

Nick looked like he was about to burst in a rage but he held himself back, Judy reached for him and did her best to calm him down by placing both of her paws over his right arm and speaking up:

- Nick, it's alright. I'm not that hurt and you did an exceptional job by coming around to help me.

Nick looked at Judy and figured that there was no point in ruminating over what had happened any more than he already did for most of the day but he still wanted to talk with Judy about what he could've done better. Nick took another look over Judy as she retreated away from him only by a single step and he noticed how she looked somewhat flustered, that was an eventful day and there were a lot of feelings flaring up but the two of them kept their minds cool while their talk continued. Nick pointed his right claw at Judy's arm and asked:

- Is your arm feeling better?

Judy decided to show Nick so he could see it for himself the method that she used to take care of her bruise. Judy held the left sleeve of her shirt and slowly pulled it to reveal the spot of her left arm that was now equipped with a curious blue patch over the general area of the injury. Nick squinted his eyes to analyze the patch and Judy took that chance to explain what it was:

- This is one of Dr. Pura's creations. It is a medicinal patch that contains a cold gel and that can be placed on a bruise so it will not swell. This way I don't have to worry about pressing an ice bag over it all the time until it gets better.

Nick slowly nodded his head as he admired the simple but effective accessory that was created by the scientist in the ZPD employ, he figured that it was quite the nice piece of medical gear and wondered if he could get one of his own in the future, just in case he also picked a big bruise of his own. Passed the time of thinking and contemplation, Judy extended her sleeve back to its original position and lowered her left arm to look back at Nick once more, the fox had an appreciative stare in his eyes and Judy decided to take the time to say a few more words to him:

- I… talked with that armadillo kid, Jaime. He was very cooperative and chief Bogo called his parents to explain the situation. Jaime is a nice kid but it is probable that he will still land in juvenile hall for what he did.

Nick inhaled sharply through his teeth and spoke to that as he imagined what it would be like for the young armadillo:

- Juvie? *Uhf*… That's a tough place to land, even if it is a best case scenario for him.

Judy lowered her ears showing that she was a little worried even if she figured that Jaime would get a reduced sentence for good behavior since he was so well mannered while in the custody of the ZPD. Judy walked a few steps ahead and Nick followed her that is when it hit Judy that Nick would've been feeling some of the damage that befell him during the confrontation with Daniel. She turned around and asked:

- Nick, what about you? Don't you need to rest and get some ice?

Nick smiled and pointed to the spot on his muzzle where Daniel had punched during their fight, there wasn't much of a mark to be seen anywhere and there wasn't even any visible blood so he didn't feel the need to get a patch over it. With a grin that just radiated confidence in all directions, Nick spoke up:

- What, this? I'm gonna wear this like a badge of honor. And do you know why?

Judy released a sigh and said without much enthusiasm in her voice for she was already expecting a silly answer to come out of her friend's mouth:

- No. Why?

- Because I just came to blows with my first bad guy and I came out on top.

Nick pumped his chest and placed his paws over his hips as he adopted the classic pose of a super-hero to demonstrate how he was full of pride for how his conflict against Daniel ended. Judy rolled her eyes and started to walk again leaving Nick to unmake his pose and follow her soon enough. Nick caught up with Judy with a bit more of a rush in his step and he positioned himself by her right side as they continued to move through the square and just in time to hear Judy saying:

- As soon as we can, we got to have you outfitted for a tranquilizer gun, Nick. I think today proves that the two of us have to be prepared for just about anything.

Nick had his ears raised in expectation as he heard that, he placed himself ahead of Judy's walk so that he could look at her face and ask directly:

- Wow! A tranq spitter just for me?

Judy showed the pointing finger of her right paw before she clarified what she was saying:

- We would have to get a few petition files ready but I believe it would be for the best to have you fully equipped for future confrontations.

Nick pumped his fists in the air before asking for more details on that:

- Awesome! Do you think it would be possible for me to get one of those newer ones with the laser sights and the capability to fire shocks instead of darts?

Judy halted her walk and Nick noticed that almost instantaneously, he placed himself right in front of Judy before stopping his walk completely and turning over to face her as she said:

- Those are expensive, Nick. The ZPD is not an unlimited source of funds for equipment. We need to be mindful of the limitations that the city hall places on us. How do you even know about these so called 'new models' anyways?

Nick placed both paws behind his back and answered:

- Delgato likes to show pictures of security issued equipment at the locker room. It's really great stuff.

Judy crossed her arms and showed a side smile as she almost figured that Nick was confessing to something that it was not meant to be done amongst his colleagues judging by the tone he used, but it all just felt rather trivial. Nick showed the palms of his paws as he continued to speak:

- Plus, last time I checked, the ZPD had received a bigger budget from the new mayor himself. We got money in the bank.

Judy released a guffaw from her lips that was quickly suppressed before she spoke in a serious tone:

- First of all: 'Money in the bank' is not a thing for the ZPD, our budget has its own constraints that chief Bogo needs to take special care; Second of all: We only need to procure equipment that is necessary to patrol the streets and keep the piece, so no fancy shooters for you, mister.

Nick shrugged that off as he raised his shoulders and admitted out loud:

- Very well. I suppose a nice ordinary shooter is better than nothing at all. I'll take care of the papers later.

The pair continued their walk and Judy smiled satisfied with the fact that Nick understood the position she established in that argument. After Nick and Judy reached the southern edge of the square they decided to end their conversations for the day and part in different directions, Nick pointed to the right and said:

- I'll be heading off home. I'm gonna toss myself on the couch and sleep it off.

Judy nudged her head to the left and said:

- I'll be heading home too. I will be relaxing like never before after such an eventful day. Take care of yourself, Nick.

Nick gave a little salute in Judy's direction with two fingers placed over his forehead before saying:

- Same to you, Judy. See you tomorrow.

Judy and Nick walked their separate ways and each of them walked with a gratified look on their faces for having resolved a great deal of challenges together on that day. High expectations were reserved for the day that followed but, for the moment, Judy and Nick only wished to rest.

---

Judy arrived at her apartment and closed the door behind her, she grabbed her phone and opened a music application to select a playlist that was filled with calm and relaxing music before carefully taking off her clothes and hopping in the shower. Judy left her cellphone over the bathroom sink and pressed 'play' so that an orchestra filled with slow moving rhythms would play along as she bathed herself.

A flute started to play in a gentle solo as Judy reached for a plastic vial of soap by the corner of the shower box, she was not in any hurry to get out of the bath, she heard the sound of music mixed with the sound of running water and it just caused her entire body to relax. Her muscles and joints became looser as she used her right paw to spread soap over herself, her ears lowered and she allowed water to splash over her head, her shoulders lowered as she let a long dash of air escape through her nose. Throughout the entire duration of the bath, Judy was careful to not let much water fall over the cold gel patch that was still placed over her left arm, the pain on her arm was not intense enough to bother her anymore, the cold feel of the patch over her skin was subsiding but it still felt pleasant.

Judy exited the shower box and dried her fur out with the warm air of a small hair drier, she enveloped her body in a towel and stepped out of the bathroom while leaving her cellphone playing, she went into her room and selected a new set of clothes for herself, something that would feel cozy before she moved to the living room. Judy returned to the bathroom and set the folded clothes she had picked up aside, she brushed her fur with a metal toothed brush and went to dress herself once her fur was well in order. Judy turned the music she was listening off and exited the bathroom once more while having dawned a white T-shirt with short sleeves and a pair of shorts that left most of her legs out and uncovered, she felt warm and at ease.

Judy went over to the living room and placed her bottom over the center cushion which placed her directly in front of the television, she crossed her legs over her seat in a lotus position and thought about what she should do next in order to pass the time. Judy had heard from chief Bogo that there would be no in-depth investigation until Doctor Pura had returned and she was already on her way back from the science symposium that she was set to attend, there wasn't much to do for the time. Judy moved her eyes from side to side as she scanned her own apartment and wondered what she should do, there were many options and she searched her mind for the one that would be more appealing. Judy thought as she laid down her options:

"Should I watch a movie? It has been a while since an motion picture grabbed my attention. Maybe something with music."

She thought as she looked to the television, but her mind quickly deviated to something else as her eyes moved down and landed over her old gaming system:

"Maybe I could play a game. I never did finish playing 'Android Saga, Resurrection". I'm still so far from the true ending."

Judy placed her right paw over her lips and her pointing finger lightly tapped intermittently over her upper lip. She moved her eyes away from her television towards the hallway leading to her room as she thought about a chore that was left uncompleted from the day before:

"I really should do the rest of my laundry. My dirty clothes have been piling up and I really need to get my uniform cleaned up."

Judy's mind bounced around the room and she began to feel tense as she realized how she couldn't decide on what to do, that is, until she realized that she was feeling a little hungry. She placed her left paw over her belly and decided to figure out how to spend her time later, she would first procure something to eat.

Judy hopped out from over the couch and walked to the kitchen so she could grab a bowl of instant noodles for herself. The preserved food was contained inside a plastic cup with a green outer plastic cover and a thin lid that was easily removed, Judy opened the lid, inserted a fresh dose of hot water and waited a few minutes as the temperature settled in before she could consume the dish. Judy placed the plastic bowl over the dining table and sat herself to better enjoy the meal, with a fork held in her right paw , she happily took bite after bite of the delicious and warm noodles and greatly appreciated the nice mixture of vegetables contained inside the pack. Judy was very satisfied and the warm dish provided a very cozy sensation inside her belly.

"These new instant meals are so tasty. So much better than the microwaved stuff I used to eat not that long ago."

Judy thought to herself as she continued to eat. After arriving at the halfway point of the bowl, Judy grabbed her cellphone once more and turned the screen on to check if there were any notifications, there was nothing, she swallowed the portion of noodles she had in her mouth and moved her eyes around the apartment while tapping the fingers of her left paw over the table frame and thinking what she would be getting around to do once her meal was finished. Still, nothing came to mind. Judy thought about her options but nothing seemed particularly engaging for her, she directed her eyes down at the bowl right in front of her and thought:

"Do I really don't know how to relax on my spare time? This is silly."

Judy returned to eating but she was interrupted mid-bite by the ringing of her cellphone, the device sounded off a chiptune melody and vibrated over the table to alert Judy of an incoming video-call, she directed her eyes at the screen after forcibly swallowing the bite she just took of her noodles without chewing it properly to look for the identification number and see who was calling her. Judy saw the small icon showing the picture of her parents and promptly pressed the green button on the screen to answer the call, the image of her mother occupied the screen at the next moment and waved her a quick hello:

- Hey, sweetie. How are you?

Judy put on a smile and grabbed her phone to position it better and direct the camera at her face so that her mother could see more clearly from the other side of the call.

- Hey there, mom. I'm doing fine.

Judy answered as she passed her eyes over the screen in search of any trace of her father, she didn't find him and there was very unusual since her parents usually called to her together. Judy looked at her mother and asked:

- Where's dad? Is he busy?

Bonnie Hopps rolled her eyes without unmaking her smile and pointed a thumb to an area outside of her cellphone's view screen as she answered:

- Your father is currently trying to fix our shower head. The heat regulator coil burned out and he won't hire an electrician to fix it.

The voice of Judy's father came into attention just a couple of seconds later as he spoke up while keeping himself outside of the cellphone's camera view:

- I don't need any help with this, Bonnie. It's just as easy as changing a light bulb.

All of a sudden, to the surprise of everyone involved in the conversation, Stu received a nasty jolt and yelled out but not from an electrical shock, the coiled mechanism from the shower head that needed to be changed sprung out of his paws and landed on the ground just as he was getting it installed. Frustrated with that, Stu grunted and spoke up:

- *Ugh*! Slippery little sucker.

Bonnie slowly approached and picked the metal piece from the ground before handing it over back to Stu's paws, he thanked her and returned to his task right before noticing that he was also appearing at the cellphone screen, he waved with his right paw at Judy and spoke to her:

- Hello, Jude. It's nice to see you.

- Hey, dad.

Judy answered to the gesture with a salute of her own as she changed the paw she was using to hold the phone from left to right and waved without realizing that she had placed the cold patch she still had in her arm within clear view of her parents. Bonnie noticed the strange accessory placed on Judy's arm right away as she squinted her eyes and asked:

- Judy, what is that thing on your arm?

Judy looked at her left arm and hid it behind her back right away as soon as she remembered her minor injury, she turned her attention back at the phone and answered honestly but struggling to find the right words:

- This… happened during work. Nick and I stopped a couple of purse snatchers today.

- OH, MY GOSH!

Bonnie yelled out on to the phone and Judy lowered her ears and retreated away from the screen as it sounded like her mother's voice was going to echo around the entire apartment with that volume. Stu immediately got down from the little staircase on which he was perched and abandoned his task to come near the phone and see it for himself, the male bunny placed his head right alongside his wife and asked:

- Did she say 'purse snatchers'?! Jude, are you hurt?! Are you okay?

Judy put on a smile and answered while making a single dismissive gesture with her paw:

- Mom, dad, I'm fine. This was nothing. It's not even bleeding. Nick and I caught up with the thieves and resolved the situation quickly. I just got a little ahead of myself during the whole deal but Nick was there to watch my back.

Stu released a sigh of relief as soon as he heard that and as soon as it was confirmed that his daughter was fine. Bonnie placed her right paw over her chest as she swallowed some air and returned her full focus to the phone as she said:

- I'm very glad Nick is your partner. For what you always tell us he is quite the remarkable officer.

Judy placed her left paw over the table frame and her ears raised as she began recounting the events of that afternoon while giving Nick and his efforts some praises:

- Mom, you don't know the half of it. Nick tackled the thieves and he was so brave as he drove the leader away. He fought like I have never seen before and he helped me out tremendously in the process. It was like seeing the live rehearsal of a full-on action movie.

Judy had her eyes on the screen ant they opened wide before turning away into a random direction as soon as she realized that this was probably not the best subject to talk about in front of her parents. Stu and Bonnie only wished for Judy to be safe and that was only natural when taking into consideration the profession that she chose to follow, it was a major relief to hear how capable Jud and Nick were as a team and that they could always count on her coming back to her apartment safe. Judy took some time to breathe and she heard as her mother spoke up:

- Well… we just called to make sure you were okay and to tell you a little bit of good news.

Judy saw a big smile forming on her father's face and she waited with moderate anticipation for the news she was about to hear. Stu placed his right paw over the phone frame as to direct the camera to him and make sure that his entire face would appear on the screen before he had the chance to say:

- Your sister Sarah just had her first baby. A beautiful little girl named Eliza.

Judy had her ears placed parallel to one another as she felt a warm feeling from her core when she learned that her family was still expanding. Judy placed her left paw over her mouth to contain a squeal of happiness but Bonnie could already tell that her daughter was overjoyed with the news. Bonnie pulled the cellphone to a different angle that would show her entirely on the screen before she spoke up with a well-humored air to her voice:

- That's on more little bunny that is going to call you aunt.

Judy showed her smile and admitted that she could not wait to see and meet the newest member of her family. Stu returned to the task that he was previously preoccupied with and Bonnie was left holding the cellphone and talking with Judy some more, just to make sure if there was still something that Judy wished to talk to her. Bonnie placed the cellphone closer to her face and asked:

- How is everything else there in Zootopia? Have you been hanging out with your friends? Have you been… meeting with anyone special?

Judy released a sigh and her happiness quickly blew away as she heard those questions, she was quick to groan and say:

- Mom, not this again.

- I'm only asking for curiosity sake.

Judy raised from her chair and walked out of the kitchen for a bit as she answered to that:

- And I keep telling you that I am not going to make the time for dating just yet. I'm far too focused on my job. There are cases and files dropping in and there is little time for socializing even outside of work.

Bonnie was quick to launch a retort:

- Which is why you got to hang on to the time you can get outside of work. I do know that an buck would be lucky to have you for company.

- Mom.

Stu kept hearing that conversation while he worked and decided to step in, his voice was heard outside of the phone field of view as he spoke up towards his wife:

- Leave her be, Bonnie. If she says that she is not ready to date then that is her choice.

Judy blushed as soon as she heard her father's voice saying that and she felt that it was crucial to clarify her standing on the matter by speaking up:

- That's not the problem, dad. I'm just focusing on the ZPD for now.

Stu was still butting into the conversation as he spoke with the calm voice of a wise mentor while he continued to tinker away with the shower pieces:

- Jude, it's alright. I'm sure that you will find the time to work, to date and anything else you put your mind into. You just have to remember to…

Right at that second there was the sound of a loud snap coming from the shower, Stu had once more let the heating coil slip away from his paws only this time he also let the screwdriver he was holding slip away and scratch one of his fingers. The male bunny yelped in pain and yelled in frustration:

- *Youch*! Sweet rutabaga! That stings!

By that sound, Judy was well aware that something bad had happened. Bonnie turned around to look at Stu and she panicked a little bit as she rushed over to grab some gauze, she looked at the phone one last time and said:

- Sweetie, I got to go. Your dad just hurt himself. Bye. Love you.

Judy showed a quick wave of goodbye and answered:

- I love you guys too.

The call was ended and Judy put the phone over one of the couch's arms, she only the noticed that she had walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Judy returned to the kitchen and to the bowl of noodles she was eating before being called by her parents, she grabbed her fork and continued eating with mixed emotions, morose and at the same time glad that the conversation was over. Judy always did her best to avoid the subject of dates when her mother brought it up, she just didn't like talking about it and thought that she could use her time better by thinking about more constructive things, at least that is what she told herself. Judy didn't like saying it out loud but there were times when she wondered what would it be like to have someone to date, an individual to exchange affections with and that could be available for her, but her mind would also turn away to the uncountable occasions when her attempts at dating turned out to be less than optimal. It was just something she was more comfortable setting aside in her mind for another time.

After finishing her meal and feeling very satisfied, Judy tossed the empty plastic bowl in the trash and went back to the living room so that she could sit herself on the couch and continue pondering on what to do now that she had some free time of her own. Judy had yet to set her thoughts in order on what to do next and she was about to make the decision to grab the controllers from the television stand and play a few rounds of a game, that was when Judy's cellphone rang again and she turned her head to the left to see the device vibrating over the couch arm where she had left it before. Judy leaned herself over the cushions and reached for the cellphone and looked at the screen, she was fairly surprised to see that it was Fru-fru calling her. Judy pressed the green button and answered the call:

- Hello?

- Hey there, Judy, it's me, Fru-fru. How's it going?

Judy smiled while having the phone up to her right ear as it was always nice to hear the voice of her friend, the volume was a little low but Judy could still understand the female shrew on the other side of the conversation. Judy released a smile and leaned her head to the right as she answered her friend's question:

- Nick and I had a really long day at work. We patrolled around the rainforest and everything was so beautiful. We crossed through the market streets and there were so many colorful things to see. I'm thinking about going back there once I get some more free time outside of work.

Fru-fru got excited after hearing that. On the other side of the line the female shrew was tending to her motherly duties by bottle feeding her little baby daughter while continuing to talk with Judy, the cellphone device that Fru-fru was using to communicate with Judy was huge compared to her own physiology but Fru-fru didn't mind that one bit, she had her father arrange that for her as a very extravagant birthday gift, her own idea of an all-inclusive entertainment system for herself. Fru-fru turned to the device with Little Judy being held by her left arm while her right paw was occupied holding the bottle of warm formula, she spoke up as an answer to her bunny friend:

- Well, sign me up. I haven't had a trip to the rainforest myself in almost two years. The atmosphere is always so humid and it messes with my fur, but I can take a few cosmetic precautions to ensure that won't happen.

Judy did not unmake her smile as Fru-fru spoke to her, it was always a pleasure to plan a casual hang out with her friend. Judy fell to silence after a few seconds and Fru-fru noticed that, on the other side of the line Judy had a few thoughts of moments pass invading her mind and making her a little unsure about how to follow up on the conversation. Curious about the rest of Judy's patrol at the rainforest and wanting to know more about her regular routine, Fru-fru inquired:

- Did something happen today?

Judy didn't really identified the exact tone that Fru-fru used for that question. Judy thought right away that the shrew had somehow sensed her emotional state through the phone line and asked in a somewhat discreet way if there was something bothering her. Judy was quick to answer but her tone of voice was nervous, almost like something pressured her into answering:

- N-no. Nothing… happened.

Judy regretted using that tone of voice almost immediately as she realized her volume and speaking speed were a little outside her common tone but there was no more turning back after that. Fru-fru, leaned a little closer to the cellphone and asked with the intent of getting an answer that was concise and honest:

- Judy, what's wrong? Did something bad happen?

Judy leaned her back on the couch repost right behind her and placed her left paw over her forehead before sliding it over her head, the bunny brushed over her fur with the palm of her paw while lowering her ears to the back of her head and trying to alleviate some of the tension she was feeling at the moment. Judy was unsure if she should tell Fru-fru about what happened but she was very sure that she would be happy to confine what was bothering her to her friend. Judy took a breath and answered with a solemn tone of voice:

- Today, during our patrol, Nick and I went after a couple of purse snatchers. I thought it would be an easy arrest, I thought that I would be able to handle it no problem, I was wrong. One of them hit my arm with a pipe when I wasn't looking.

- OH, MY GOD!

Judy retreated from the phone but she did not act surprised by hearing the tone and volume on Fru-fru's voice, it was justifiable after hearing the shocking news. Judy placed the phone next to her head once more just in time to hear Fru-fru asking frantically:

- Judy, are you really alright? Are you really hurt? Did you fight the guys? Did you arrest them? Tell me everything.

Judy took another breath and began to calmly tell about what happened to her and to Nick:

- I got careless. I got hit and I didn't know what to do and that is when Nick swooped in. He fought the thief in charge to a stand-still while I arrested the other one, this was Nick's first official arrest and I could not be more proud for his dedication or more glad that he is my partner for that matter.

Fru-fru was hanging on every word right at the other side of the line, she decided to place Little Judy on a cozy spot where she could get a little bit of rest, Fru-fru covered her daughter with a small blanket and the adorable little shrew showed a sweet smile as her small paws grabbed the thread before pulling it closer to her head. As soon as her daughter was safely tucked away, Fru-fru returned to face the phone and just n time to hear Judy speaking:

- Nick and I booked the two perps on the spot, it all seemed to go very well, but it all changed when we arrived at the precinct.

There was a pause of silence that caused Fru-fru to be at the edge of her proverbial seat, she leaned closer to the microphone at her end and waited for Judy to add an explanation to what she meant, the words came soon enough as Judy leaned forward over her seat, scratched the fur under her chin and spoke up while letting out most of her breath during the sentence:

- Nick and I… we… had a fight.

Fru-fru placed both of her paws in front of her mouth and Judy could hear a little gasp coming from the other side of the line. Judy was silent for another moment and she intended to continue talking but Fru-fru interfered with another question that did not sound intrusive for Judy, the tone of the question was leaned towards more worry than actual intrusion for the sake of gossiping but her volume was low mostly because she did not wish to disturb the rest of Little Judy:

- You two had a fight? I don't believe it. What was it like?

Judy nodded her head once and spoke with a smile in her face as she recalled how foolish she was for not accepting Nick's helping and advice right at the moment when he asked her to patch her bruise:

- Nick knew that I was hurt and that I should go treat it, I wanted to appear tough and rise above what I thought to be nothing but a mere scratch. I insisted on getting back to work, he insisted on helping me, our discussion went back and forth until it escalated. I think it was mostly my fault, I think I raised my voice a little too much at Nick and he was only trying to help. I feel so dumb for doing all of that.

Fru-fru placed her right paw over her chest and put her left paw next to the screen as she asked:

- Are you okay?

Judy released a humorous puff through her lips and answered without much delay:

- Yeah, I'm okay. I heeded Nick's advice and put a cold patch on my arm, I'm feeling much better now. I was just being prideful and silly. I still can't believe that Nick wasn't mad at me after that. He was a champion today.

Fru-fru shook her shoulders in the air and could feel herself getting all giddy with the route that conversation was taking, she stepped around before turning back to the phone and saying:

- I always get so… ecstatic after hearing about you at work. You lead a life that is so amazing all the time, Judy. It sounds like nothing can slow you down.

Judy smiled and spoke up:

- Well, there are a few things that can definitely slow me down. Right now all I really need is to rest up and relax, there is going to be more work for me tomorrow.

- Of course. You rest up. I'll talk to you later.

Fru-fru was just about to hang up the call but Judy's voice came from the other side of the line wanting to ask something but not pressing on with a high degree of urgency. Judy wanted to ask a serious question but she wouldn't be bothered if her friend wouldn't want to answer it or if it turned out to be nothing more than an unfounded quarry of her own mind at the time:

- Fru-fru, wait up.

Fru-fru held out her paw and waited for a little longer on the line to hear what Judy still wanted to discuss with her. Judy took a little bit of air through her nose, leaned back on the couch repost once more and asked:

- Do you think I'm too… uptight?

Fru-fru leaned her head to the left and asked without being sure where that question actually came from:

- What? What do you mean?

Judy gestured with her left paw in the air, even if there was no one around to see her gesture, before she got around to explaining her question:

- It's just… after all that happened today, the patrol, a chase, a tussle, a fight, I'm sitting here without knowing how to let time go by. I just stopped to think that… maybe… I got too much work into my routine and I don't remember how to let myself relax to a certain point. Maybe.

Fru-fru did not talk to that for a quite a few seconds. Judy raised her legs and placed them over her cushioned seat and waited for a laugh or a sigh, any sort of response from the other side of the line but nothing came up right away. Fru-fru pointed her paws at the screen and asked:

- Is this about that one time when you wanted to bring all of those documents from work to your apartment and you didn't get enough sleep because you spent so much of the night organizing everything in your new file cabinet?

Judy opened her mouth to answer but the words got stuck in her throat for a moment and were replaced with a little laugh, the incident described by Fru-fru in a fast and concise manner suddenly came back to Judy's memory and she recalled how tired she was for work on the day after that. Judy let her laugh die down a bit and admitted:

- It's a little something like that.

Fru-fru let out some air from her chest after hearing and confirming that Judy had a laugh, the shrew moved closer to the phone and spoke back:

- Judy, we both know that you are dedicated to your work as a police officer but that is not all that you are. You are an amazing mammal, you're fun and sweet and very intelligent. If you take our work away for just a few hours then you are more than set to relax and just be yourself. Mess around, let loose and discover new things about yourself and, if that is not what you want to do, then just let your fur down and relax, there is no urgency.

Judy smiled and answered to that with a relieved air to her voice:

- You're right. I'm going to take it easy for a little while. Thanks, Fru-fru.

- No problem Judy, it was my pleasure. I got to go but send Nick a hug for me, alright?

- You got it. Talk to you soon.

Fru-fru made the sound of a kiss with her lips and turned the call off. Judy put her cellphone away after placing the screen on sleep mode and returned her attention to her living room. Having heard the words from her friend and thinking about them in earnest, Judy got how it was not productive to doubt herself inside her own living space as a mammal who would not know how to spend her down time in any way, it was her own relaxation period and she could spend it however she liked. Judy rose from the couch and arrived at a conclusion as she thought to herself:

"I think I'm going to get myself some tea and turn on the gaming system for some mindless fun. It will be a nice pastime before going to sleep."

Judy went to the kitchen and opened the fridge to find a bottle of cold tea for herself, she returned to the room with the bottle in one paw and a pack of saltine cookies in the other before turning on the gaming console and losing most of the time she had in digital entertainment. Judy felt very satisfied with how her day had gone by and she could hardly wait for the day that followed thinking that Nick must be feeling much like her in that way.

---

After leaving the precinct and saying farewell to Judy, Nick returned to his apartment and was a little surprised to hear that the television was on inside, he retreated from the doorknob for a quick second as he made sure that the noise was coming from the other side of the door frame and got a pretty good idea about who was inside. Nick opened the door and found Finnick seated with his body leaning over the cushion placed by the left arm of the couch, the little fox was enjoying some television and watching an old racing movie that was dragging through some lines of dialogue when Nick entered. Nick walked into the living room after closing the door behind him and placing his keys over the near stand, he waved at Finnick and spoke up:

- Hey, Finn. How's it going?

Nick did not mind that his friend popped in unannounced for a visit, it was no big deal at all. The little fox waved his left paw in the air and answered:

- Hey, Wilde. I just got out from a full day at work.

Nick let out a sigh and said:

- Same here.

Finnick didn't even turn his head around to face Nick but he could already tell by the fox's tone of voice that he was tired and needing some rest. The little fox gestured with his left paw until it made a small arch in the air and pointed a finger at the kitchen, he spoke up with a higher volume to his voice so his words wouldn't get garbled by the sound of the television:

- I brought in a few sodas with me, thought about getting beers but I have to drive off back home later. Take a few for you I bought plenty.

Nick looked in the direction that was pointed out by Finnick and thanked his friend for the gesture:

- Thanks, Finn. I could use a cold drink for myself.

Nick walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, he retrieved a glass bottle with the cold fizzy drink and a plastic container with some ready to eat chicken that he had left in there earlier, he poured the food on a plate and placed it inside the microwave to heat it up until it was crunchy and warm just the way he liked it. Nick picked the plate from the microwave along with a fork and a knife from the kitchen, he took the complete meal set that he had gathered with him to the living room and sat himself on the opposite end of the couch that Finnick was seated releasing a relaxed grunt as he did so. Nick placed the plate with food along with the utensils over the coffee table since he was not intending on eating it just yet, instead he picked the cold bottle of soda and placed it on the side of his head to alleviate some of the pressure that had built up on his body throughout the day.

"Damn! It feels like an entire stack of encyclopedias fell right on top of me."

Nick was not sure where that analogy came from but that is how it felt right for him at the time. The fox released a pleasure grunt as he felt the relief of the cold glass pass his fur and over his skin, he only then realized that he sat down to relax while still in uniform but that didn't let that stop him from kicking back on the couch. Nick reached for the neck piece of his shirt and loosened his tie before completely letting his shoulders rest on the couch.

Finnick didn't know what the noises that Nick was making were all about and he decided to finally turn his head over and look at his friend. To Finnick's surprise, he found Nick battered like an old shag carpet tossed over the couch, the fox had his fur completely messed up, his shoulders were hanging lose over his torso and there was a clear bruise mark on the side of his muzzle. Finnick gasped and pushed his upper body away from the couch repost as he sat up straight to look at Nick's face and ask directly while airing his shock to see the fox like that:

- Holly Hell! What happened to you?! It looks like you got hit by a car!

Nick took the bottle he was holding with his right paw away from his face and answered to that by saying with a smile on his face:

- You should see the other guy.

Finnick jumped off the couch and stood up, he walked a single step closer to Nick and pressed him to answer:

- What happened?

Nick looked at his friend and recalled in his own way what had happened that afternoon:

- Carrots and I were patrolling the rainforest, regular stuff like any other day out on patrol, we were talking when she heard a scream asking for help, we were quick to answer but she was way faster than me and I ended up lagging behind for most of the whole deal, kind of embarrassing if I'm being honest.

Nick's listing of the happenings from his patrol shift was going swiftly but Finnick couldn't help but notice that there was a lot of dragging along during that narrative, he communicated with a sharp look directed at Nick that asked the fox to speed things up and get right to the part where things escalated towards full conflict. Nick got the gist of Finnick's look right away and got on with his story, he gestured with his left paw pointing to the side and said:

- Anyway, carrots ran ahead of me in pursuit of a purse snatcher, it was just a kid, she ran off into a locked alleyway and I couldn't follow right away, by the time I finally caught up with her she had her back against the wall against one kid and a thug, I tackled the thug out of the way and helped her out.

Finnick was hanging on every word, his big ears perked up and his eyes opened in surprise while his tongue pressed over his mouth's ceiling. Finnick gave another step as he repositioned his body and turned completely in Nick's direction to her a little more, Nick leaned his body forward and placed the bottle he had in his paw aside before continuing his narration with a few subtle gestures performed in the air by both of his arms:

- Carrots planted her feet down and aimed her tranquilizer gun at them, been meaning to get one of my own, the top thug came right at me, I tried reasoning and he got one lucky jab on my face but I repaid him in kind. We fought all over the alley, we went back and forth until he was tired, for every hit he got on me I answered with three of my own, I would've destroyed him completely but Judy took him down for good with a tranquilizer shot right after cuffing the kid to a bike rail.

Nick picked the bottle again and placed it over the right side of his neck before he finished his story up with a sigh and a simple set of words that disclosed how tired he still was:

- It has been a day.

Finnick turned the other way and started to pace around the living room, the movie on the television was still going on but the little fox could not care less for it at that moment. Nick let his friend pace around and decided to finally open the bottle up so he could take a swig of the refreshing drink inside, he removed the metal cap from the bottle with a conjoint spinning motion from his right paw and claws releasing a fizzing noise from the bottle, Nick brought the bottle to his lips and took three gulps before letting the bottle down and turning his eyes at the television, it was orange soda his favorite flavor.

Finnick was done pacing around as he stopped his movements abruptly to face Nick once more and ask:

- You arrested a guy?

Nick gestured with his left paw pointing a thumb to the side as he answered:

- Yes, I did. Carrots arrested the kid but she didn't rough him up too much. The other one needed a little more convincing. A lot more, actually.

Finnick put both paws over his head and brushed his ears back as he took in every detail of what was said to him, he didn't know if he should be freaked out or excited about that. Nick also had forgot to tell about the main detail about his first arrest so he decided to disclose it right away, he took a breath before calling to Finnick's attention and saying:

- Also, there is one last thing.

Finnick turned to face Nick once more with his ears up and readying himself to hear what else could there be in that story, Nick took a breath and said:

- The thug that I arrested was a fox. It was Daniel.

Finnick's eyes were wide open with disbelief, he took a step closer to the couch and leaned his body against the cushion as he asked:

- Daniel? As in 'Daniel Mowlfang'? That prick who chopped cars up and sold the parts out to motor-head suckers on the street?

- That's the one.

Finnick pushed his body away from the couch and pumped both of his fists in the air after getting the confirmation that a long time hated mammal had got what was coming to him. The little fox closed his mouth and filled his cheeks with air so that he wouldn't let out a yell of excitement, he let out the air that he was trapping on his mouth before pointing a finger to the wall he was facing and speaking up:

- Now that is rich. I wondered what happened to that insufferable punk and now I know that he got his tail tossed in jail. This is a great day.

Nick had his ears lowered after hearing that. Finnick turned his body around to look at Nick once more and asked:

- And you said that you kicked his ass?

Nick gestured with his left paw and answered:

- To be fair, he started it.

Finnick could not stop himself from smiling and tensing up from excitement, he continued to wander around aimlessly through the living room until he stopped again to say:

- Oh, I wish I could have seen it. That idiot always acted like he was the biggest mammal on the block all because he was part of some gang of misfits seeking to make a quick buck out of robbing cars for parts. I told you that he was a rotten guy right from the beginning.

Nick raised and lowered the open bottle in the air like he was making a toast but it was just a simple gesture as he agreed with Finnick and said:

- That you did.

Finnick finally stood still so that he could rest after getting such a sudden rush with the news, the little fox sat over the couch once more and took in a few deep breaths before placing his head back and resting it over the couch repost. Nick stayed silent for a while, he reached for the plate of crunchy chicken that he had heated for himself and took a piece to eat, the crunchy and delightful taste felt very welcome to him. Nick swallowed he bite he had and took another swig of his soda before speaking up:

- I'm glad that you think what I did was epic, Finn. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

Finnick looked over and asked while raising both of his paws above his head to emphasize shock:

- What are you even talking about, Wilde?! You said it yourself, they had the fuzz thrown on a spot, he punched you in the face, he was an asshole then and he is a bigger asshole now and you taught him a lesson that he will never forget.

- That's the thing, Finn.

Nick put the bottle of soda on the coffee table and turned to his friend so that he could speak while looking directly at him:

- Daniel is a jerk, he always had a thorough ass-kicking heading his way, but I did so much more than that. Today I put him in jail, I was literally responsible for tossing a living being in a cage.

Finnick already knew where that conversation was heading, he stopped Nick's line of thought by leaning closer over his seat and pointing his right paw at him while saying with conviction:

- Stop it right there!

Nick retreated for a moment but his body returned to its original position soon after. Finnick continued to make his point:

- You were not responsible for Daniel's actions only what they lead to. You said so yourself, he was the one in charge of the whole deal and you stepped on him along with the fuzz. Don't give me the whole talk that you're feeling guilty about something. You did your job.

Nick looked up and his ears moved around as he thought hard about that, he thought back to the alley and how he and Judy dud their separate parts to ensure that Daniel and Jaime would be taken into custody, he thought about what Daniel said along with the things he did and all of the choices that could have lead them into that confrontation. Nick arrived at the conclusion that there was really no choice when it came to what had happened and his face quickly turned from a look of uncertainty to a look of anger. Nick turned to Finnick just as soon as he was certain that he was a little calmer about that whole deal referring to Daniel and said with a calm tone of voice:

- Yeah, you're right. You're always right.

Finnick smiled, being really satisfied with himself after hearing that, and spoke with well-earned self-praise in his voice:

- Of course I am.

Finnick got off from the couch after saying those words, he had left Nick hanging on his own thoughts and figured that his friend would just be alright to figure out the rest of what was bothering him on his own. Finnick walked over to an electrical outlet where he had left his cellphone charging up and checked on the time, he removed the charging wire from the outlet and put both it and his cellphone inside his pockets, he walked towards Nick and spoke up while pointing his right thumb over his shoulder:

- Listen, I got to head on out right now, there is this guy I need to meet in order to fish out a couple of parts that I've been needing from my ride.

Nick raised his brow and inquired:

- Are you finally going to install those nice new seats that we have been talking about all this time?

- Something like that.

Finnick turned away from Nick and walked towards the door while only having that vague answer to satisfy the fox's curiosity for the time being. Finnick reached for the doorknob but he stopped his movements so that he could turn around and ask of Nick:

- Are you gonna be okay? Is there something you need still?

Nick smiled as he looked over to his friend, turning his upper body to the right and placing his right arm over the couch repost so that he could look straight at Finnick before assuring him:

- I'll be fine. Just have to rest up for tomorrow. I still got this case left on the backdraft.

Finnick nodded his head and answered to that while saying a farewell to Nick:

- Cool. Take a load off and get ready. I'll be around.

Nick nodded his head affirmatively signifying that he understood and Finnick opened the door to exit the apartment, he headed off on his way as he walked down the stairs onto street level so that he could get his van and drive to his established destination. Nick finished eating his meal and drinking his soda, he went to the kitchen so that he could wash the dishes before going to the bathroom, getting out of his uniform and getting a shower, he felt very relieved after the bath and his mind also felt very much at ease.

After Nick got himself into a more comfy set of clothes he decided to go to bed and wait until he was feeling sleepy enough to turn off for the day. Nick's thoughts often reverted back to Judy and how she acted during their patrol shift, how she was brave and skilled, coolheaded and unflinching while facing off against two opponents that were bigger and noticeably stronger than her. Nick's admiration for Judy continued to grow even if she was often hot tempered and impulsive when it come to her obligations as a police officer. Nick slowed his breath down gradually as she slowly fell asleep and waited for the next day at work when he would continue to do his best to improve and keep up with Judy.

---

The sun came up and Judy's alarm rang out, forcing her to wake up from a peaceful dream state. She reached out from under her covers and her right paw stumbled around for a bit as it searched for the button that would turn the alarm off, her fingers slowly rode up onto the frame of the night stand until she felt the touch of the plastic belonging to the noisy device, her paw slammed the button and her room returned to sweet silence. Judy wished remain on her bed for a little while longer but she also knew that if she just stayed like that her entire schedule would be disrupted so she gathered some courage, tossed her sheets to the side and got her head away from her pillows.

Judy stretched her body slowly beginning with some slow circular motions with her shoulders before moving her knees and her feet, she stretched her arms out and finally moved her entire body, realigning her sitting posture to jump out of bed. Judy opened her closet to grab her uniform and another set of clothes that she decided to take with her to the precinct in case she decided to change her outfit at the end of her shift, she went to the bathroom and undressed herself, tossing her pajamas inside the clothes bin to be washed later. Judy brushed her teeth and tossed some water on her face to shake off the snoozing look that was still well present in her expression, she brushed her fur and dressed herself in uniform before exiting the bathroom and moving to the living room.

Judy went on to the kitchen and decided to grab herself a nice bowl of cereal to start her day, she grabbed an already opened box from her pantry and picked a medium sized ceramic bowl from the cupboard, she put the bowl and the box on the table side by side before going to the fridge to pick up a box of milk. Judy was meticulous as she poured some of the milk inside a little glass pitcher until the half-full mark and placed it inside the microwave, she pressed the buttons to set the timer for thirty seconds and waited for the milk to be heated. As soon as the timer was over, Judy took the pitcher with warm milk out of the microwave and placed it over the table, she picked the box up to drop some of the crunchy sugar treats into the bowl before pouring the milk over it and beginning to eat it.

Judy ate the cereal in small bites, making sure that the preferable ratio of milk and cereal was scooped by her spoon before she ate it. Judy grabbed her cellphone to check on the morning news while on her fourth spoon, using the thumb of her left paw to type and scroll across the screen while she continued to use the spoon to eat with her left paw. There were no news about outrageous robberies or assaults but there were quite a few notifications on her messaging app sent by her siblings, all of them congratulating her and asking things about the thugs that she and Nick had arrested. Judy smiled and set the notifications aside so that she could sent out a mass answer later that day and that was when the remaining notes on the screen called to her attention.

Judy continued to scroll down slowly to see the rest of the news page in front of her eyes and she suddenly saw a mark with big letters that called to her attention by showing in extravagant typing font: 'Officer Judy Hopps and her partner arrest purse snatchers at the Rainforest.'. Judy tapped her thumb over the screen and proceeded to scroll down on the subsequent page, it was the summary with no photos about the arrest on the Rainforest performed by Nick and her. Judy placed her spoon over the table and put both paws over the cellphone as she brought it closer to her eyes so that she could read the article.

It turns out that the female pig that had her purse retrieved by Nick and Judy was interviewed and reported how the two brave officers gave their all to help her, right below the summarized writing piece there was also a page of comments of many eye witnesses that Saw Nick and Judy blazing a trail in pursuit of the purse snatcher. There were no images or videos to add to the news article but Judy was satisfied in knowing that Nick and her had done a good job and that it was recognized by others, she was not after more fame or recognition but she imagined Nick would have been excited with that news.

Judy finished her breakfast and made a few last preparations before leaving her apartment and heading out to work, she made the usual course on her way to the precinct one building but as soon as she entered through the front doors she was met with a sight that she was not prepared for. Judy opened the doors and saw chief Bogo standing next to Benjamin as the two of them looked over a big opened file being held by the capped buffalo, the chief's eyes were directed to the front doors and at Judy as soon as his ears caught the sound of her entering, he closed the file, handed it over to Benjamin and walked towards Judy. Benjamin returned to his spot behind the front counter and Bogo approached Judy with a set of heavy steps, she offered him a regular salute as she said:

- Good morning, chief.

He answered in kind with a stoic salute of his own:

- Good morning, Hopps.

Bogo wasted no time speaking up what he wished to discuss with her:

- There will be no patrol for you and Wilde today. Doctor Pura is set to walk through these doors at any minute and you two are the officers most suited to debrief her about all the details concerning the case of the strange substance used to destroy those windows.

Judy nodded her head signaling that she understood what was asked of her to be done, even if it sounded much more like an order with his stern tone of voice. Judy stopped to think for a moment as she imagined that she would probably need to get over to her computer and print the report that Nick and her had worked on right after their initial investigation. Judy adjusted her uniform before she spoke up to the chief:

- I best head out to y cubicle so I can wait for Nick and tell him about this.

Bogo saw as Judy took a single step and halted her movements with a single gesture of his right hoof by saying:

- That won't be necessary, Hopps. Wilde is already here and I spoke to him about the same thing.

Judy's ears were standing up, showing that she was surprised after hearing that. Nick had never arrived for a day of work before her before, the fox's sudden punctuality was an abnormal occurrence for her. Chief Bogo pointed to the second floor of the precinct and informed that Nick was at the gym, he has been there while waiting for Judy to arrive which only told her that he had gotten to work quite a while before her. Judy walked past chief Bogo and ascended the stair until the next floor, she walked straight toward the gym with a rush in her step and found Fangmeyer leaning against the gym door's threshold. Judy approached the tiger and leaned her body to the right to get a better look at her colleague's face as soon as she was close enough, she noticed that Fangmeyer was looking at something inside the gym and a quick scan of the area revealed what it was.

Judy turned around as soon as she heard the sound of repeated hits being dispensed inside the gym, the sound of paws bashing repeatedly over a rigid leathery surface, she saw Nick, dressed in the regular ZPD training attire and exerting great effort as he bobbed and weaved around while taking every punch he could get at the punching bag hanging from the ceiling and near the back left corner of the big room. Nick was the only mammal exercising inside the gym and the punching bag that he was hitting was made for the exercising routine bigger mammals but he was still determined to break a sweat as his repeated punches moved the bag around while it hanged from its chained support.

Judy remained right by Fangmeyer's side as they watched Nick continue with his assault over the bag, the tiger officer leaned to the side and whispered:

- He has been at it since he got here this morning, the chief let him pass the time while waiting for you. His posture for throwing a punch is kind of sloppy but he has a lot of stamina. I might just give him a quick lesson later.

Judy turned her head to the left and looked up so that she could see Fangmeyer's facial expression didn't communicate anything resembling worry or sarcasm but Judy still had a feeling that her comrade's words were meant to raise some awareness to the fact that there was clearly something bothering Nick. Judy walked inside the gym and walked past all of the training equipment until she arrived to the reserved spot where Nick was training. The fox didn't even noticed the approach of his partner, he continued to strike against the punching bag with two right jabs and a subsequent straight left, he followed those actions with a high hook kick and that was when Judy decided to step in.

Judy got a single step closer to Nick and called to his attention, she raised both of her paws to show their palms and spoke up with a little joke:

- Whoa! Easy there, slick. I think he's had enough.

Nick stopped his training, he was just about to deliver another hit to the bag but hearing Judy's voice and watching her frame entering his field of vision completely halted his movements. Nick showed a smile that grew gradually before he spoke up:

- Oh. Hey there, carrots. When did you get here?

Judy could hear the panting in Nick's voice as he took in a few deep breaths in order to recover some of his energy more effectively, the fox leaned forward as he only started to feel how he had spent himself in that exercise after he had stopped. Nick placed his right paw over his chest to feel the beating of his own heart, Judy leaned a little closer and asked of him:

- Have you been at this for too long? I have a slow morning waking up and I just got here.

Nick shrugged that off, thinking that Judy may have been feeling a little awkward with her supposed tardiness, he made a dismissive gesture with his left paw and answered:

- I haven't been here for that long. I couldn't sleep a lot last night, far too many things nestling up in my mind. I woke up early and got a premature start at work. I put some of the files that were hanging around my side of the cubicle away and came here, the chief said it was alright. He also told me that the doc is coming back today.

Judy nodded and said:

- I heard it too. I can't wait to see her again.

Nick shook his head to metaphorically shake off the feeling of weariness from his head, he removed the training gloves he was wearing and slowly walked off to the main counter of the gym so he could retrieve some of the things that he had left over it including a little towel to wipe off the sweat on his face and a bottle of water. Nick placed the towel over his left shoulder and opened the bottle to take a few swigs off of it, Judy walked next to him, not placing herself in his way as she waited for a good moment to ask of him, after Nick was done drinking water ad removed the plastic bottle from his lips, she asked:

- Nick, is there something bothering you?

Nick looked at her and thought how he should have expected that question, Judy was looking straight at him with her ears up and waiting for an answer. The fox placed the plastic bottle over the counter right after firmly tightening the plastic lid over it, he turned back to Judy and answered her:

- That's… not an easy question to answer right now.

Judy was definitely not expecting that answer. Nick picked the towel left over his shoulder and retold his answer in a way that made more sense:

- Yesterday, after the arrest and after heading on home, it hit me that I had arrested someone that I knew, someone that lived a life not too different from my own. Finnick was at my apartment and we had a talk that set my head on straight before I head off to sleep. However, I am still a little mad with how that fight broke out between Daniel and me. It was crazy.

Judy showed a little smile and added to that by saying:

- You were incredible.

Nick looked away while having a smile on his muzzle and said:

- It was quite the tussle but I was glad you were around to watch out for me at the end. You improved as a shooter.

Judy released a chuckle and shrugged Nick's compliment off by saying:

- He wasn't that far away from us. It was an easy mark to hit, plus, that was the last dart in my shooter.

Nick passed the towel on the right side of his head using his left paw to do so as he gestured with his right paw, pointing at the punching bag and saying:

- I came here to let out some steam before we get on to work. I feel ready now. How about you?

Judy clutched both of her paws into fists without applying too much strength to it, she made small arches as she waved them near the sides of her torso and answered:

- I'm way past ready. Let's go.

Nick showed a toothy smile and said:

- Let me just pick up my uniform from the cleaning. Jostling around in that alley made it all smelly and I needed to get it clean.

Judy and Nick walked out of the gym together and the fox felt necessary to clarify something that he only had discovered that morning:

- I just found out that we have a cleaner for our uniforms.

Judy looked at him and said:

- Sure we do. I rarely use it, though. I feel like it's way better to make the laundry on my own.

Nick looked ahead and said:

- I don't have patience to do laundry on my own. Finnick is way better at it than me.

After their talk was concluded and Nick was dressed in his uniform, the two partners went to their cubicle to wait for the arrival of Doctor Pura. A whole hour went by until there was word that the panther was stepping through the front doors of the precinct so Nick and Judy went there to receive and greet her. Dr. Pura stepped into the main lobby of the precinct while dressed in an ensemble of clothes that looked like vacation attire, she had a casual shirt that hung lose over her slim figure, a cozy pair of pants with a colorful design to them and a pair of shades that had small, dark tinted lenses with a round frame over her eyes. Pura walked to the front desk while carrying a single piece of luggage behind her with her left paw and having a plastic bag on her right paw, she was really glad to be back to the ZPD.

Nick, Judy and Benjamin were the first officers to receive her and welcome her back to precinct one, she removed her glasses to get a better look at the officers and spoke up:

- Salutations, everyone.

Pura leaned forward as Judy spoke up:

- Welcome back, Pura. We really missed you. How was your symposium?

Pura leaned back as she recalled the almost full week she had for herself and her scientific colleagues as she answered:

- Tiresome. Who could have guessed that there would be so much to do in a science exposition. There were so many places to go and thesis to see. I'm just glad I'm here and I am anxious to take a look at that data that you have collected. Chief Bogo already gave me the summary via text message.

Judy nodded her head and was already prepared to fetch the printed report that she had prepared but Doctor Pura did not gave her that chance as she reached for the plastic bag she was bringing with her and declared:

- But first, I brought some souvenirs for you all.

Pura walked past Judy and Nick so she could get to Benjamin and present him with a plastic bowl that was colored in a dark green and had a few words scribed over the side. Benjamin studied the gift he had just received as he read the words written on it and spoke out loud:

- "You are the Neutron to my Electron". Aww. Thanks, Doctor.

Pura then walked next to Nick and presented the fox with a small cylinder that had a few curious adornments to its side. Nick studied his gift until he found a set of lenses set on one of its extremities, he arrived at one conclusion as he asked:

- A flashlight?

Pura felt the need to clarify the true nature of the gift, she pointed to it and explained:

- Not just a flashlight. A solar powered flashlight. That little panel on the side soaks up sunlight and charges the battery placed inside. It's light, compact and it lasts almost four hours with a full charge. Just leave it in the sun for a few hours and it will be good to go.

Nick had his eyes opened wide and his ears pointing up as he suddenly got excited with the nature of his gift. He looked to the panther and spoke up:

- Oh, that is so awesome! Thanks, doc.

Finally, Pura directed a look at Judy as she reached inside the bag and retrieved a piece of clothing, Judy received the gift and discovered that it was a T-shirt made out a fabric that felt warm and soft to the touch. Judy extended the fabric in front of her figure and also noticed how it was a little bigger than her, Pura apologized as she said:

- I didn't know your exact size.

Judy smiled and looked at her friend as she said:

- It's okay.

Judy analyzed her gift and the details called a little more to her attention. The shirt was colored in pure white except for the massage pasted over it with letters and a little image of an element belonging to the periodic table. Judy squinted her eyes and asked:

- 'Never make comments upon my mass and density'.

Judy was unsure of what the symbol right under the words meant, it was a big blue square with the letters Os contained within it along with the number seventy-six. Judy directed a look at Nick and asked:

- What is this?

She asked so as she hoisted the shirt slightly in the air in clear view of the fox, he pointed to the fabric and answered:

- That's the periodic class for Osmium. The densest and most stable element in the world.

Judy took a mental note of that interesting fact and thanked her friend for the gift, assuring her that she would wear it at any possible chance. Pura felt satisfied and pointed a claw at the inside of the precinct as she said with determination:

- Well, there is no time to lose. Let us head on and analyze some data.

Pura took off on her way to her laboratory so she could get changed into her lab coat and begin her studies on what Nick and Judy had found, she wholeheartedly believed that she would be more comfortable in her work clothes than in her vacation attire. Nick saw the panther heading into the hallway at the distance and said:

- Now there is a feline that really enjoys her work.

Judy looked at him with an immutable smile and folded her new shirt before holding it tightly in her arms, she gestured with her right paw and said:

- C'mon, slick. It's finally time to get to work.