"If there is no struggle, there is no progress." - Fredrick Douglass

Progress is progress, however small.

Three weeks back, when Nick and Judy had first arrived at the Zootopia Police Academy, they both could tell that there was a lot of work to be done. Failure after failure, the obstacle course claimed nearly as much time as the class work itself, and over the passing weeks, there were hardships aplenty. Throughout the ever counting days, Judy, alongside her many subordinates, would work on trying to conquer the infamous obstacle course. Dozens of tries in, and Judy was still far from completing the course. The terrain in the forest-themed course proved especially challenging. Yet still, with each new setback and failure, she would try and try again: Gaining ground little by little each time. She had even made it her personal goal to be able to finish the entire obstacle course in a single attempt by the end of the first five weeks of training at the academy.

One little step at a time, as it were.

Specializing in athletic talents, including, but not limited to running, jumping, and fighting, Judy was more than happy to serve as the top instructor for the more physical aspects of the academy. Alongside the obstacle course and basic cardio training, the bunny would work with the recruits in the boxing ring and gym, teaching them about the proper health and fitness requirements for being an officer of the law, and so forth. Judy would gladly spar, run, and lift weights with her subordinates every step of the way.

To her, it was nothing but fun for her to be able to work alongside the next generation of ZPD officers.

Being the more languid of the two officers, Nick himself decided to hone his teaching skills in the classroom, more so than on the battlefield. His lessons on staying observant at all times, and spotting potentially hazardous situations had much knowledge to offer, given the fox's own experience with the two of those categories. The recruits were quite fond of the humor and wit that he would sprinkle in; thus effectively keeping all of the students alert and attentive in the classroom, which Nick could appreciate. He had even started to feel some shred of sympathy for the teachers that he had acted so careless around back during his own time in school. Now that he was in their shoes, he could tell just how tough it could be to manage a room full of rowdy bodies. The fox made himself a silent promise to try not to be as disruptive during Chief Bogo's lectures ever again.

Despite his personal preference leaning towards the academic and social side of the training process, there were still times when Nick was forced to channel his inner coach.

He explicitly recalled an incident during the past week when he and Judy, along with Major Freidkin, had taken the recruits out for a grueling run on the academy's red gravel track, where the fox had taken notice of a young raccoon trying his hardest to keep up with the pack, but ultimately feeling to maintain pace. The raccoon admittedly wasn't in the best of shape, especially compared to some of the other recruits, but that didn't stop Nick from seizing the moment to egg the recruit on with some harmless teasing.

He had approached the raccoon as he reared his ninth consecutive lap around the track. Clipboard in hand, the fox casually sauntered up before asking;

"On a scale of one to ten, how hard is this for you?"

Instead of giving a straight answer, the cadet doubled over and vomited at Nick's feet, which the fox thought an understandably appropriate response.

"Well said." Nick grumbled flatly. "Ten it is."

Gastric-related accidents aside, many of the recruits were quick to learn, however, and in no time at all, results started showing, and with it, progress began to be made. The runners on the obstacle course would get farther every day, and the grades from each new classroom test just got better and better. There were a few stragglers that lagged behind, as there always were, but through Nick and Judy's tutelage, there was no goal too ambitious to work for. They both were, after all, the best that the ZPD had to offer.

Much fun was to be had working at the academy, even past Nick and Judy's initial skepticism and reluctance. All of the recruits were fine and productive mammals, and the two tiny officers couldn't be happier to be managing over them, especially Judy; even if she once caught Nick teaching the recruits about his favorite pawpsickle hustles from his time as a con-artist. The rabbit decided to let him off with a warning, as she figured that the recruits would at least be able to recognize such scams, if they ever came across them on duty, so perhaps it wasn't that inappropriate of a lesson after all. Turning a blind eye to her husband's old habits had long since become a habit of her own.

With all the teaching, and the socializing that came with it, it was only a matter of time before Nick and Judy began to develop a strong bond with their subordinates.

Nick, in particular, took a liking to Harlan O'Conall, the timber wolf that Judy had boxed on the second day of training at the academy. As it turned out, both fox and wolf had grown up in the same residential neighborhood, Happy-Town; Zootopia's largest predator ghetto. Apparently, Harlan had honed his impressive fighting skills over time by engaging in countless street scuffles, during his youth. Nick could respect that. If brains weren't enough to break the glass ceiling, brawn could at least get you a good view.

While Judy would frequently spar with Harlan, Nick himself would help the timber wolf with his own endeavors in the classroom, as his grades in that particular portion of the academy were considerably lackluster compared to some of the other recruits, to say the least. He excelled in all things physical, from sprinting to close-quarters combat, but it was clear that his grades in the class needed some attention. With Nick on the job, Judy was sure that her husband would get his student's academic scores up in no time.

And so, Judy was left to other tasks to deal with. Her most important one of all: Finding any information on the supposed spy that had infiltrated the academy.

After yet another hard day of physical training on the obstacle course, the recruits had been dismissed for a one-hour break. Judy figured that it was a well-deserved one, though, given just how torturous that Major Friedkin's exercise routine could get. While Nick took the time to shower and prepare for the upcoming lesson in the classroom, Judy herself took to making a brief stroll around the inner complex of the academy. Ever since knowledge of the apparent spy had been revealed to them, Judy had been extra careful to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. So far, the most scandalous act any of the recruits had engaged in was trying to steal candy bars out of the vending machine. But still; the lack of potential evidence wasn't enough to prevent Judy from taking patrols around the facility, if only to make sure all was working properly.

None of her personal patrols had managed to intersect with anything worth concern, that was, until a strange bleating noise caught the rabbit's attention as she paced down the length of an empty hallway in the depths of the academy. She was cautious, at first, before she took a moment to hone in on the new sound, and try to discern its origin.

Judy leaned towards the source of the noise - the nearby women's washroom. Her sensitive ears detected the sound of someone crying through the layers of the wall. She wasn't sure who was in there, or just what was going on, but the sense of compassion within her wasn't about to turn a blind eye (or ear, in this case) to someone in trouble.

Spy-related or not, something told Judy that this was something worth looking in to.

Sparing no more hesitation, she entered the washroom with her chin held high, and her will steeled for the worst.