A/N:

First of all, I would like to say thank you for the reviews, and also shout out to the readers who PMed me to let me know what they thought and how I could improve. Your advice has been helpful in writing this chapter and I hope I met all of the points you mentioned.

I also want to encourage people to let me know what they think, this can be through reviews or PMs. Either is good for me because all I want to do is improve the story and make it more enjoyable for you readers.

Sorry for all the errors in the layout of the last chapter it was my first time uploading on Fanfiction. I've tried going back and adding spaces between paragraphs to make it easier to read, but I'm not sure if it worked.

I'm also sorry for the poor quality of chapter 1, I was really struggling to get into it but I think I've gotten into it now so hopefully this chapter will be to a better standard.

I just wanted to warn you, I'm not very good at chapter titles. I tried to go for a funny one while tying it in with what happens in a later part of this chapter, I don't think I succeeded. If anyone has any good ideas on what this chapter should be called please let me know.

Rated T because I'm not sure what I'll end up witting in this fic.
Once again I don't own Zootopia, the movie and its characters all belong to Disney.

Chapter 2: What happened last night?

Judy's PoV:

It's only been a day since I woke up in the hospital, and I'm already itchin' to get out of this bed and go back to work.
Dr Whitpaw has already been round to see how I'm doing and to check my stitches, she said that they look good but it's still early days. She also told me she doesn't want me walking on my leg till at least tomorrow. Great, another day where I can't get up and stretch my legs. It's only been a day. I mentally chide myself. But I want to get out of bed now, part of my mind whined childishly.

"Stop acting like a kit." I mumble to myself, in the hospital two days and I'm already going mad from boredom.

At the moment I'm waiting for Nick to come and visit me, he wanted to stay here last night but got caught by one of the nurses and was told the visiting hours and to come back tomorrow. He said it was all my fault he got caught, he said the nurses didn't check on me as much when I was asleep which is the reason he got caught, but I could tell he was only playing.

Knock, knock…

"Is that you Nick?" I called out eagerly, hoping for my friend to arrive and help take my mind off not being allowed to walk.
A gruff voice rumbled back, "No. It's Chief Bogo." That was definitely not Nick.

"Can I come in?", asked the chief even though he was already opening the door to my room.

"Of course, sir." I subconsciously sat up straighter in my bed.

"You don't need to be so formal, you're not on duty at the moment." He told me.

"Okay. Why are you here, surely you have more important things to be worrying about?"

"Nothing's more important than making sure one of my officers is okay, and besides I need your say so on whether to reinstate you." He said in a slightly softer tone.

"Yes!" I yelled, "I mean, yes I would like to be reinstated into the force." I added a bit more composed. It's nice to know the chief dose have a caring side, I thought.

"Right, I'll have it sorted by the end of the day." He told me. "When are you allowed to leave?"

"Today's Friday, right?"

"Yeah."

"I should be allowed to leave this time next week." I told him.

"Fine. I want you in my office first thing next Monday morning, don't be late. You've already missed enough work." He grunted at me, turning on his hoof to leave. It's not my fault, I thought.

"Yes, sir. Of course." I had to hold myself back from saluting, relax you're not at work.

"Get some rest Hopps." And with that he left, closing the door surprisingly softly for such a large mammal.
I decided to follow the chief's advice and have a nap. There's nothing decent on telly anyway, I thought to myself as I shut my eyes and drifted off into the realm of dreamless sleep.

Third person:

As the sun continued on its customary journey across the brilliantly clear blue sky, it watched over the inhabitants of Sahara Square as they rushed around making the most of their Friday afternoon. The chaos of the midday traffic was finally starting to let up, as two of city's smallest predators casually walked along the streets of Zootopia's desert district. The pair were walking at a gentle pace but they weren't drawing out the experience, just enjoying each other's company as they walked to their destination.

Nick's PoV:

Finnick and I were on our way to the construction site in Little Rodentia, just chatting and bantering to pass the time, when something crossed my mind; I haven't told Finnick about this being my last con! I screamed to myself, I was really starting to panic about how I'd tell my oldest friend that I'm leaving him for a new life, and more importantly, how he'd react to this game changing news.

"what's up, Nick?" The small fennec deadpanned.

His question caught me off guard, I'm never one to be off my game and Finnick knows this, so I know he picked up on my emotions straight away. "What do you mean?" I questioned back, as soon as the words left my mouth I wished I could take them back. When I spoke my voice had an icy, almost aggressive edge to it which I didn't mean to use with Finn, I could see his disapproval in how I spoke to him.

"Whoa, what's witchu, I was jus' askin'." His voice now adopting a dangerous tone, even with the sudden aggression between us he picked up on the fact I want to answer his question and dropped the subject, which I was thankful of.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that." I told him. "It's not your fault, I'm just stressed is all."

"S'okay, but if you chat to me like that again I'll bite cho face off." He said with a sinister grin on his muzzle.

My stomach jumped into my throat, how am I meant to tell him that? I asked myself, my mind going a mile a minute. I gave myself a moment to swallow my fear and gather what courage I had before I started.

"Listen, Finn…" I wet my dry lips, my mouth felt as dry as summer in Savannah square and as rough as sandpaper as I stood there contemplating on how best to phrase my next sentence. "… There's something I need to tell you…" No goin' back now, I thought solemnly.

"Yeah, wha's tha'?" He asked me, "Dis 'bout a minute ago?"

"Yeah…" I said sadly. "You remember how I told you about Hopps suggesting I join the force?"

"Sure, you said was goin' to go for it." He told me, I nodded my head to this. "But den you and Officer Fluff had yo fallin' out, and you din't say no more 'bout it..." he trailed off in thought.

The smaller fox fell silent for a moment, confusion on why I would ask such a thing was written on his face until… His eyes widened with realisation, his shock was short-lived replaced with anger and resentment. "You're leavin' me… to go be a cop!?"

He had on a façade of outrage, but through the mask of anger the sorrow and betrayal in his eyes was as clear as day. The grief his eyes showed me caused me even more pain in telling him the truth. "I'm not leaving you…" I softly told the tod. "…Just this life we live."

"What's wrong with the life? Yeah it ain't the best but we make a killin'."

"It isn't honest; it isn't a life I can be proud of!" The smaller Reynard looked insulted by my outburst.

"What… I ain't good enough to hang with yous no more?"

"That's not it! Of course your good enough, you've always been there for me." I cried, not wanting Finn to think it was something he did. "I'm just tired is all; tired of always lying, of always breaking the law, tired of everyone always looking down on me for being a fox."

Finnick's features softened a fraction, I know at times he's felt the same way as me and gets why I'm doing this.

"Our last con, huh?" He smiled, sad that the journey we shared had finally come to an end.

"Yeah, our last con."

And with that we walked onto the site to complete our last job together.

Judy's PoV:

Anyone brought up on a farm can tell you that you develop certain habits to help you get through the day, for me its listening to music. It makes boring chores more enjoyable, and helps me to relax with the stress and strain that comes with being a cop in the big city.

Another habit I've kept even after moving away from the Burrows is being an early raiser, even now being in hospital hasn't effect my sleeping pattern that much. My nap after Chief Bogo's visit was brief, I fell quickly into the clutches of a restless sleep, it felt as though only a few moments had passed before I was up again. When I woke up I found my sheets were twisted around me, constricting my body like the coils of a giant serpent eager to devour an easy prey. I could feel my wound throb against the claustrophobic grasp of the soft cotton bedding, the dull pain helping bring my mind back from the haze of slumber.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, 1500, yet another habit I kept from living in the country, and still no sign of Nick. I thought to myself. Unless he came when I was asleep and decide to let me rest. By this point I was curious as to where Nick was, he told me yesterday he was going to go see Finnick and tell him about his joining the force. I haven't heard from him at all today, I hope he's alright and the small fennec didn't react too badly.

An amused smile stretched across my face, I bet he's done something illegal today. Finnick dragging him into it no doubt, but I can't see Nick putting up much of a fight though. The smile grew the more I thought about it till I was smiling from ear to ear (I just realised that doesn't really work with an anthropomorphic rabbit). Hell, I expect it was Nick's idea in the first place.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of something orange, I swung my head to face the door only to be met with the sight of Nick's head poking through my door. "It alright if I come in?" he asked me, his head still the only part of him I could see so he looked like a floating head.

"Of course you can come in, why wouldn't it be okay?"

"Dunno, you looked caught up in your thoughts was all."

"If you were here that long you could of knocked, it tends to work better than stickin' your head through doors."

"Oh well, at least I found the right room this time. I think the otter in the room I went to first had a heart attack when I did that to him." He said smiling trying to hold his laughter back.

Is he being serious, I asked myself, you know what I don't even what to know. Well… maybe a little, but not just yet.

When he finally got himself together he asked me, "What were you smiling about then?"

"Not much really, just thinking about what took you so long."

For a moment I thought I saw his emerald eyes light up at my comment, and could have sworn I saw him blush, or is that just his fur, I wondered, It's hard to tell with all the orange. As quickly as I saw it, it was gone, maybe it was my imagination.

"I went and saw Finn, and explained to him what's going on."

"How much did the two of you make today, then?" For a second I could see the panic in his eyes before he put on his signature smirk and said to me, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Fluff."

I decided I'd play along with his game, "You know, scamming mammals out of their hard earned money by selling them pawsicles with your son who wants to be an elephant." He didn't even blink, this was what he did for a living, I reminded myself. All he did was widen his smirk, obviously knowing what he was going to say to outdo me.

He put a paw to his heart and put on his best hurt face, "You wound me, Carrots. I'm applying to become a police officer; a job I have always wanted since I was a small cub. I'm shocked that my friend would think so low of me as to jeopardise my only chance to follow my dream." He exclaimed with mock heartfelt-ness.

We both had grins on our faces, just enjoying each other's company and having a laugh like friends should. I turned still smiling at him and told him, "Don't you think it's time to retire? After all, I get reinstated in a week and I'd hate to have to arrest my best friend and roommate for conning mammals."

I looked at me, still smiling, and revealed what he'd been up to today. "Don't you worry your fuzzy little tail about it. Remember, I went and saw Finnick and explained to him that I'm getting' out of the pawsicle business."

"How did that go?"

"Better than I thought it would." He explained, but then a grin split across his face for some reason. "He only threatened to bite my face of once, I think he gets why I'm doing this and that's his way of saying he understands."

At this I just started to laugh, I think I startled Nick a bit 'cause he looked at me like I was mad.

"Care to share with the class, carrots?" He asked, mirth shining in his green eyes. "I'm sure we are all dying to know what is so funny."

"It's nothing really, I just think it's funny how unusually yours and Finnick's relationship is. Only in a friendship like you two have could a threat be seen as an act of understanding and compassion."

"I guess you're right, but it's only natural after how long me and Finn have been friends for."

Nick and I just kept talking like this until, at around six o'clock in the evening, a nurse came in to give me my tea. I was so caught up in chatting with Nick that it had only felt like an hour, two at most, had passed.

The nurse, a female jackal in her early twenties set the tray of food down on my lap before turning to Nick, "You had better get going soon, visiting hours' end at seven pm, that's in about 20 minutes and the senior nurse on tonight is a right stickler for the rules." She explained to him. "She'll throw you out herself if she catches you even five minutes after visitations have closed."

The jackal then turned to leave for the door but stopped when Nick thanked her, "You're welcome" was her only reply before she left to complete her rounds.

He turned towards me, "Well I better get going then, I'll see you tomorrow." He got up from the bedside chair and walked towards the door.

"Wait! Where are you staying tonight?" I called out to him. "I know you were staying with Finnick but what about tonight, is he still going to be okay with you crashing in his van after what happened today?"

"I don't know." He had a confused expression on his face. "I hadn't even thought about that…"

"If you want you could crash at my place tonight," I told him. "I don't want you to hurt your friendship with Finnick by not giving him his space after what happened between you today, but I also don't want you stay out all night and you are not sleeping under that bridge."

"Thanks, carrots." His smile made me feel warm inside, he was going to take my offer… "But I can't stay at your place, it doesn't feel right me staying there while you're in the hospital… almost like I'm scabbing off you." (A/N: sorry if you don't understand that sentence. it's an English thing, I think. Or it might just be used where I'm from. If you don't know what it means, it basically means living off of someone else).

"I don't mind, really. It was my idea after all."

"I know, but it still doesn't feel right to me." He walks back over and sits down. "Tell you what I'll stay here and if I get caught, and only then will I take you up on that offer."

"Deal!" I quickly say, already thinking of how I can get him to go rest.

"Ah, ah, ah…" He says shaking his head and a finger at me. "…Not so fast."

"What is it now?" I sighed, this is getting annoying.

"You are not allowed to tell anyone or behave in a way that will get me found out. Think of this as a game of hide and seek."

"Fine." Was my reply, I wish he would stop out-thinking me, I said to myself.

Time skip: Early next morning
Nick's PoV:

As I woke up I finally had the chance to take in my surroundings, plain walls, soft bedding, medium sized bed. I thought I stayed in the hospital last night, how the hell did I get to Judy's flat. I wondered… Wait, I thought her walls were wallpapered. How long have they been white? As I looked around the room more I found a large window with metal blinds, and a lot more space than her room usually had.

"This isn't Judy's apartment." I whispered to myself. Then where on Earth am I?

Before I could think more on the subject, something soft and warm rubbed against my side and I damn near jumped out of my skin. Unfortunately, I jumped out of the nice warm bed and hit the cold hard floor with an undignified "Ugh!" in the process.
Apparently the commotion I caused woke up the warm fluff ball that cuddled into me, the cause of my pain crawled out from under the sheets…

It was Judy, her right ear was up while the left was led behind her head making her look adorable as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with the back of her hand. She is sooo cute with one floppy ear and those sleepy amethyst eyes, it makes me want to hug her for a change. I thought to myself, oh god I hope I didn't say that out loud, she would kill me for the cute comment. Wait… did I mean it about the hug part?

"Wha's goin' on, Nick is that you?" Judy asked, her voice heavily filled with drowsiness as she tried to make herself get up. After a few failed attempts to raise, she succumbed to the lure of sleep and made herself comfortable as she drifted off into the realm of Morpheus.

"Yeah it's me, carrots." I rasped in reply, my voice felt strained even though I had a full night's rest, before I realised she had gone back to bed. How did I end up in bed with her? I wondered as I picked myself up from the floor, and eased my aching body into the soft padding of the armchair that was next to her hospital bed.

As I sat in the chair I tried to strain my memory to last night and what happened, all I can remember is Judy's offer for me to stay at her place, my politely declining, and me then purposing to stay in the hospital even after the warning about the grumpy duty nurse.

As I sat there pondering over what led to Judy and me shearing a bed, I became aware of just how tiered I was and decided it would be best to make myself comfortable in the large armchair. I'll just rest my eyes for a bit, what's the harm in a five-minute nap, I told myself. With that last thought I closed my eyes and drifted off into a deep and peaceful sleep.

A/N:

Sorry for ending it like that but I thought that would make a good starter for the next chapter, I would also like to apologise for the obvious mistakes. I was trying really hard to write how Finnick actually talks, but I'm not sure if I got his character across though.

Sorry this chapter has taken so long to post, I've had a lot happen this month (and it's only the 7

Th as I write this).

I'm currently looking for a proof-reader following the advice I got from a reader, and would like to know if anyone is interested. If you are, please PM me.

As always please review or PM me with any feedback, honestly good or bad is fine by me. As long as I can learn something from it and improve my story I don't mind harsh comments.

I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of A Wilde love, be sure to keep an eye out for the third. I will hopefully have it posted by new year's.