"Do you want to explain to me just what in the hell you were thinking?!"

Judy flinched at the tone the chief was using. She had been yelled at by him before, but right now he was livid. He was furious at her and he had every right to be. She didn't blame him, she was angry at herself as well.

She had been taken straight back to the Zootopia Police Department to discuss what happened, but for some reason she didn't know how to explain herself. Her reasoning for what she did seemed..ludicrous now. Seriously, how could she just say to the take-no-bullshit chief of police that she was in love with her partner?

She kept her head bowed in shame while fidgeting her fingers around each other. "I— I wasn't thinking." She finally said, after a moment of deep breaths. It was impossible for her to keep her composure, but she could not break down into tears right now. That would just make things worse. "I was acting on emotions instead of common sense and I'm so sorry. I know I screwed up—"

"Screwed up?" Bogo scoffed, "You did more than that, Hopps. You willingly kept a savage animal to yourself, stole medical property, and ran from the police. How do you think this makes you look as an officer? I'll give you a hint; right now I've got everyone asking me why I haven't put you behind bars yet."

Judy frowned. She didn't know that everyone wanted her arrested for what she did. Sure, it was unethical, but no one was in any real danger.

But then she remembered, there was real danger out there, and the only one who could stop it was her. "Okay, I know I deserve to suffer the consequences, but before you do anything, there's something I have to tell you." She spoke, sounding more serious than before. "I'm not the bad guy here, the one who shot Nick with the Night Howlers is. And I know who did it."

Bogo seemed intrigued, up until she finished with, "It's Bellwether. She's at it again."

"Hopps, she's in prison." He said, deadpan.

"Not anymore." She shook her head. "She escaped and now she has this big, elaborate revenge plan to use savage predators to obey her every command."

"Do you have any evidence to support this?" He asked, still not believing her story. He was starting to think she was just making it up to get out of trouble, and he wasn't willing to fall for it so easily.

Judy sighed, but then quickly realized she did have evidence. She mentally thanked herself for being smart about it earlier and pulled out her phone. She showed the video she took in the woods to Bogo, which revealed every piece of the plan—the predators, the lists, everything.

"I almost didn't believe it when I saw it." She said uneasily. "I saw her with my own eyes, and she told me everything. She tried to kill me, but I made it out. And I never would have if it weren't for my partner."

Bogo analyzed the video and pictures carefully, having to use his glasses since her phone was small and he could hardly see its screen from afar. He could tell it was Bellwether, even though she wasn't physically seen in any of the evidence. But he knew her writing, and he knew only she would want to do this to predators. And although his trust in Judy was straining, he knew deep down she wouldn't say it was Bellwether if it wasn't.

"So she really did escape." He said to himself, his rage inducing at the thought. How could this have happened? And how did she escape without a trace left behind?

"Sir, I know I'm in a lot of trouble, but everyone's life is in danger." She said, standing at the edge of the chair she was in so she could be closer to the desk. "I think we need to put the city in lockdown until we find her."

Bogo immediately declined her suggestion. "Absolutely not." He said, setting her phone down. "The last thing we need right now is a mass panic. We need to keep everyone calm."

Judy was surprised he wasn't on board. How could anyone stay calm if there was a threat on the loose? "But as long as Bellwether's out there, no one is safe! She said it herself, she's going to release the predators into the city and let them kill everyone!"

He put his hoof up to try and calm her down, since she was raising her voice. "She's not going to get the chance." He said with certainty. "We'll send a search team to find her. With any luck, she'll be sent right back to her cell by sunrise."

Before Judy could protest, they both heard a small ding coming from his phone. It was probably best she didn't argue, anyway. It would likely just get her in more trouble, no matter how much she feared for the safety of Zootopia.

Bogo picked up his phone and read the message he received. His expression was hard to make out. He seemed to be confused, annoyed, and amazed all at once. What could he be reading that would cause him to feel that sort of mix of emotions? And why was he staring at it for so long?

Finally after what felt like a minute, he sighed and set his phone down. "So according to the medics, the Night Howler antidote doesn't seem to be working on Wilde." He informed.

"I know." She nodded, "Bellwether said she made the serum stronger."

"Well unfortunately, now they have to take him to a research facility outside of town to make a new one." He said wearily, taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.

Judy's eyes went wide. "Wait, what?! Out of town?" She repeated nervously. "How long is he gonna be gone?"

The chief wasn't in the mood to answer a bunch of questions. It was clear he was stressed and needed to focus on other things before he could worry about this. But then again, one of his officers was turned savage and was now taken away to be observed. "For as long as it takes them to make a new antidote, I suppose." He said with a shrug. "I don't think that will be anytime soon."

"N-no, they can't." She said, the panic she felt earlier slowly returning. "He's— he's not some monster they can experiment with. I know he might be savage right now, but he's not dangerous. I wouldn't have hid him if he was."

"Listen Hopps, I want to trust you, I really do." He said, standing up from his chair. "But from what I and the rest of the officers have seen, he attacked a medical technician and is under the affects of a stronger serum. We can't take any risks."

"But sir—"

He pointed at her, "And you are to stay out of this mess until I can clear your name. Until further notice, you will not come to work, you won't communicate with the other officers, and you won't get involved with the Bellwether case. Am I in any way unclear?"

Judy opened her mouth to try and plead one more time, but quickly decided against it by seeing the look on his face. She already did everything she could, but there was nothing more she could do now to help. She screwed up her reputation, no one was ever going to trust her again.

She lowered her gaze, "No, sir. I understand."

"Good." He said, much calmer than before. "Don't worry, we'll figure something out soon."

At least he had some sympathy for her, even if he was still angry. He didn't want to fire her or have her arrested, and he wanted to keep his faith in her. It felt good he was still on her side.

As he was about to leave his office, Judy chose to tell him one more piece of the truth, since there was no use in hiding it. "Sir, wait."

He opened the door before turning to her. "Hm?"

"This might be a bad time to tell you that I'll need to go on maternity leave soon..."

—

Judy slowly walked through the ZPD, and it was taking forever for her to actually reach the main doors to leave. Maybe she was subconsciously trying not to go, because she knew it would be the last time she ever stepped foot in the station for a long time.

She could feel everyone's eyes burning holes through her head as they glared at her. Those who were still at the ZPD working their night shifts knew of her wrongdoings and no one was happy with it. But she still didn't blame them, she just wished it didn't have to warrant such cold looks from mammals who used to be close acquaintances.

Finally, she was in the main room, walking past the front desk. She was surprised to see Clawhauser sitting there on his computer, since he didn't usually work at night. He must've been called in earlier, for reasons she didn't know. But it wasn't her business anymore, so she didn't bother asking.

But her presence didn't go unnoticed.

"Hopps?" She heard the cheetah ask, which made her stop and turn around to face him. She expected him to be annoyed or even mad, but instead he seemed...remorseful.

"Hey, Clawhauser." She said with little emotion. "I guess you heard what happened?"

"Words gets around." He chuckled awkwardly, folding his paws together. "So..Wilde was actually savage this whole time?"

She sighed, nodding slowly. "Yes, he was. But it's strange, because when I found him like that, he tried to attack me, but then he stopped. And later he..actually started to protect me." She explained, "That's why I'm still alive and..that's why I kept him hidden."

Clawhauser listened attentively, furrowing his brows. It sort of made sense, but only for the fact that she wasn't fox food right now. "Do you know why he didn't hurt you?" He asked curiously.

"Well...someone told me it's because I, uh.." She hesitated to tell him. It wasn't something to casually throw in a conversation. But to be fair, nothing about what they were saying was casual. "Because I might be pregnant."

He blinked a couple times, trying to take in her reason. Not only was that a shocking conclusion to jump to, but it also didn't sound like that was the case. "That doesn't sound right." He said, "I mean, even if the kid was his, it's not like he'd know for sure."

Judy narrowed her eyes, "Wait, then why else would he be protecting me?"

"Beats me." He shrugged. "But I don't think he would magically know you were pregnant."

Maybe he was right. Nick might've had a stronger sense of smell, but when he attacked her the other night and was on the verge of killing her, he didn't do anything but stare and growl. Then he walked away, without doing anything else. He might've known she pregnant, but he wouldn't have figured it out until later on.

So what stopped him from killing her that night?

Well, regardless of the reason, he saved her life and got himself trapped in a muzzle for her. He risked his own safety and comfort for her sake. Now it was time she returned the favor. Even if it was crazy and insanely dumb, and she could actually get in trouble for it. But Nick would do it for her. He would do anything for her.

Now she had to do it for him.

"Excuse me, I have something to take care of." She said to dismiss herself from the conversation.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Clawhauser asked.

She began to walk away, never once turning back or stopping to think about it. Her only thoughts were Nick. "Something stupid."