Dear friends,
We are so happy to see you again with this new chapter of Zootopia: If It Ever Happens. The chapter is coming out somewhat later than first expected due to events in the author's life (this pesky life that gets in the way of fanfic-writing) and also due to the fact that events are starting to pile up in our heroes' lives, which makes writing out their lives all the more challenging (taking into account our continued effort to stay true to the original movie and characters!) Hopefully the delay is worth the wait; as usual feel free to leave your comments and any feedback you feel like sharing, this is highly useful for improving the general quality of the narrative.
Once again, rest assured that this story will be told till the end; for one thing the ending has been planned from the start and it would (really!) be a shame not to share it and for another, the authors hate unfinished business in general :) So, we advise you to sit tight when the breaks between chapters are somewhat lengthy; new chapters will be uploaded eventually. Thank you for your continued support and understanding!
And now, back to our heroes' world!
'He was suffering from the loss of an illusion.'
― Rafael Sabatini, Scaramouche
The prequalification test our heroes were to sit for in order to know whether or not they'd be admitted to the State Examinations was to take place the last Thursday of August. Our esteemed reader can vividly imagine the turmoil preceding that significant event. Which is why it would be rather surprising to take a glimpse into our heroes' humble abode, Zootopia's penthouse, on the Saturday preceding the test, and then again on the Saturday following it. The atmosphere one would discover there would be rather different from what one could have expected, in both cases.
The Saturday preceding the test, one peeks curiously through the huge oval window overlooking the penthouse living room, expecting to find Nick and Judy ear deep in revision, the cares of the world on their shoulders. It has to be said that there were indeed many books scattered across the dining table with dozens of bits of scrap paper covered in Judy's neat handwriting poking out here and there. But the two young ZPD officers, far from poring over their studies, were lounging on the couch in the sitting room area, enjoying a pair of drinks and laughs with two of their closest friends.
FruFru and Finnick indeed had reason celebrate.
'I can't believe you're already making a profit FruFru,'Judy said, shaking her head as she took a hearty swig of carrot fizz. 'Not that I don't think you haven't got it in you or something,' she added hastily. 'But it's just, it seems like it's mere weeks since you started out and I always thought that building a business took ages –'
'It's all about strategy,' FruFru squeaked wisely, sipping the ginger ale she'd been served in a thumbnail. Then she tittered. 'Well, that and the fact that I've been reading rodent beauty magazines since I was seven – trust me, I know what trends are going to prove successful in the long run by now. It's a sort of sixth sense one develops.'
'Still, already getting a return on your time and money investment…' Judy shook her head, bemused. 'You're a real star FruFru!'
'It's not a big profit so far,' the shrew said modestly. 'But yes, I am glad I'm going to close up August in the positives. It sure makes me feel rather pleased with myself Judy,' the shrew nodded her head complacently. 'It makes me feel like I'd found the right approach to our customers, like –'
'Right approach to customers is milking 'em dry,' Finnick quipped, grinning from ear to ear and passing his beer mug from paw to paw.
Nick threw his head back and gave a hearty laugh as FruFru bristled indignantly and turned to face Finnick, her impatience rendered not so impressive due to her minute stature, even in comparison with the short fox.
'And is that the full summary of your tactic, Mister Finnick? Pray tell,' she said icily, brushing some imaginary crumbs off her skirts in a somewhat contemptuous gesture.
'It's an approach that works, is all I'm saying,' the latter replied, trying to keep a straight face. 'Ain't that right Wilde ?'
'What would I know about business matters pal?' Nick asked, arranging his features into the image of innocent amazement. The overall impression he wanted to convey was somewhat spoilt by the fact that he followed his would-be guiltless look with a huge wink directed at Finnick.
'You are the limit, Mister Finnick,' FruFru said in iffy tones. 'And the same can be said for you Nicholas.'
'Foxes were meant to be sly Ma'am,' Nick grinned.
'There's a fine line between sly,' FruFru was starting up, when Judy interrupted her.
'Peace, all of you, I can't hear my own thoughts anymore!' she exclaimed, pulling her ears down in mock frustration. 'What matters, the way I see it, is that FruFru's hair salon is doing a fine job and bringing mammals over to Zootopia and Finnick has successfully found us sixteen whole families ready to rent flats in the building come September.'
'All clean too,' Finnick quipped readily. 'No one who would 'ave done time or nothing.'
Judy groaned.
'One can only hope so,' she grumbled.
'For their own sake,' Nick added, taking a huge gulp of coke straight from a slim glass bottle and wiping his mouth with the back of his paw. 'Behind bars is nowhere to be nowadays. Food's terrible.'
Judy laughed with the others, but her tone was a touch uncertain and she looked at Nick curiously as she passed a bowl of spicy taco chips around (FruFru needing to break off a small piece as an entire chip would really be too much for her). The bunny was quite sure that her best friend had never actually been in prison, that much seemed certain by his eagerness to do everything necessary to avoid it on their first encounter. And yet, she wondered in bemusement how many close shaves he'd actually had in his life, narrowly missing a sentence, and how close they had been.
Perhaps she'd find out sometime, Judy told herself with a shrug. Heaven knew they'd have ample opportunity for talking, and soon enough too. For, if the two animals were successful with their prequals, they'd be required to head over to the rural destination of the Rocky Caves police and military training camp for a good three months. The trip alone took several long hours, and once there, Judy hoped she and Nick could be in the same classes and study and train together. This hope seemed to be founded on reasonable aspirations, for very few in number were the ZPD officers actually admitted each year to attend the autumn training session. Three months, Judy thought, three months to prepare for the real State Exams. She glanced over at all the textbooks littering the table impulsively.
'How is it going Judes?' FruFru asked sympathetically, lowering her minute makeshift cup as she caught the direction of Judy's gaze.
'Good,' Judy replied carefully. She cleared her throat and tried to speak with a touch more assurance in her voice. 'No really. We've been at it day and night. I feel like I've memorized entire books on strategy and special force team management and inner politics and economy of the state and –'
'It would only be half-bad, Carrots,' Nick cut across her sleekly. 'If you had only tortured yourself with these strange and unnatural methods. Why you have to drag a poor unsuspecting red-furred bystander along is beyond me.'
'It'll all be worth it Nick, you wait and see,' Judy clenched her fists with the usual fired up expression she got when her professional ambitions were involved. 'We can do this, I know we can, we're going to be the youngest ZPD officers to have ever succeeded at the prequals and then –'
'And then our reward is going for three months to that doggone hole in the caves to get to study even more and probably get up at five am every blessed day for routine sport sessions or something, I know, I know,' Nick replied wearily.
'Three months,' Judy said strictly. 'Is a very small price to pay for what we stand to gain from it. Don't you see Nick, if we succeed, we'll be on a straight and narrow path to become squad leaders and eventually we'll each have our own precinct and— you're the one who said you wanted to progress and earn more Nick –'
'I never said progress, although I do agree with the 'earn more' part Rabbit,' Nick conceded. 'If anything, I would highly appreciate a 'regress and earn more' model. Besides, I've inquired into what chiefs make on the force – they're hardly rolling in cash Carrots, don't kid yourself.'
'How on earth can you have 'inquired' into that?' Judy asked in amazement, lowering her orange soda.
'Never you mind, Officer Long Ears,' was the exhaustive response she obtained, causing Finnick to chuckle and FruFru to raise her eyebrows sardonically and sniff.
'Mmm-hum,' Judy mumbled suspiciously. She looked at her partner curiously. 'You are glad we're doing this, aren't you Nick? And you do want to succeed at the exams?'
Nick faltered under her earnest wide-eyed gaze somewhat and muttered something that sound like 'phooey' as he lowered his long nose back to the coke bottle. It was Finnick who replied Judy, giving a yapping little bark of laughter as he did so.
'He's not unhappy Rabbit, believe you me,' was Finnick's helpful opinion.
'Go soak your head buddy,' was the advice Nick offered the latter following this comment, making FruFru titter and rock back and forth in her seat.
Judy shrugged, accepting the reply, or lack thereof, and leaned back on the sofa, letting the conversation flow over her.
She was confident, as near confident as one can get before a test of some level of personal importance, She and Nick had been at it hard, she hadn't lied when she'd said that she hadn't been far from memorizing entire textbooks. The prequalification exam was merely a written, theoretical test, there was no risk of a tricky undoable sport test or something being thrown at them at the last minute. She'd manage – Nick would manage too, if he kept a cool head, but this was hardly one of his weak points. She'd gone through the theory thoroughly enough with him, and he'd applied himself surprisingly in earnest. The fox was well versed enough in financial questions and legal ones as well, his weaker spots were related to anything that had to do with the ZPD's general structure and somewhat complex administrative hierarchy, and the many formal organizations that functioned around it, plus their many intricate and interconnected roles.
Naw, they'd do fine, Judy told herself evenly. That much was sure. They'd worked they're tails off, studying late every night and over the week-ends too. They'd get there alright, she thought, clenching her fists. September would find them in the train, whizzing towards the Rocky Caves camp.
It is funny what a difference one week can make! You see the state of affairs we leave our heroes in on that fine summer evening of a Saturday, surrounded by their friends and their warmest hopes.
Peering into the penthouse seven days later, on a Saturday evening as warm and as balmy as the one that had preceded it, you might well expect to find our dear Nick and Judy once again enjoying a drink, accompanied perhaps by their friends, chuckling over their victory.
The scene we discover in reality is so different, it's startling. No hot or cold drinks are served in the sitting room, a few half-empty cartons of cold take-out are shoved onto the kitchen counter hurriedly to suggest that the penthouse's occupants could hardly have been bothered much with what they ate at their last meal and had just shoveled several mouthfuls down for sustenance's sake. All in all, a chill and eerie aura of gloom hung heavily over the place.
To lift the suspense, one must grit one's teeth and admit the unutterable in order to shed some light on the current proceedings.
Nick had (one can rest assured) succeeded at the prequalification exams, albeit scraping by at hardly more than a whisker's breadth in some areas.
Judy had failed the test.
'Don't beat yourself up Carrots,' Nick said for what felt like the twentieth time.
The fox's tone was rather rough, in a 'cut the nonsense out' sort of way, but one who is by now well acquainted with our friend Mister Wilde will not be fooled so easily. The fox had rather the habit of hiding his feelings till his paws were right against a solid brick wall – and then hiding them still.
'I'm not being hard on myself,' Judy groaned, slumping on the couch in their living room and loosening the collar of her ZPD uniform. It had been, the rabbit felt, one of the hardest and longest days of her life, and her career.
Nick seemed on the verge of saying something comforting (or attempting it at least) but this proved to be beyond the fox's capacities. So after a moment's hesitation, Nick let the air out of his lungs with a frustrated 'whoosh' and turned on his heel, heading over to the counter in the klitchenette corner and starting to (rather noisily and messily) fix himself a cup of coffee.
Judy watched him morosely, not even bothering to harp about how he'd be up half the night and exhausted the following day if he started gulping down espressos at this late hour. Her brain seemed to have temporarily abandoned its usual circuits of cool logic and constructive thinking. It had just been too much, all of what had happened.
Laboriously, her brain buzzing louder than the Nespresso machine Nick was fiddling with, Judy went over everything yet again.
She had been so confident. That was probably why the sting of her failure – failure, she had to actually use this word in reference to herself! Sweet soy milk cream and sesame crackers, the word seemed to float in front of her eyes, blinking and flashing an angry red – why the sting was so very marked. She had had some misgivings, Judy admitted to herself, rubbing her nose in distraction. But if she was honest, a hundred percent honest, all of these misgivings had been on Nick's behalf! Which was why she had gone over the sections they had had to prepare that she knew would be the most difficult for him in such detail. Her friend had applied himself thoroughly (as we have had occasion to see for ourselves on our previous excursions, when we followed the two young ZPD officers on their study sessions).
Nick had worked hard, and Judy was rather serene about what the outcome of the prequalification tests would ultimately be for her friend.
'Remember Nick, develop all of the points you mention in your opening argument for the essay part, be precise and quote actual statistics and data, that way it's concrete,' she had whispered as they stood in line, waiting for their name to be called out in alphabetical order by the heavy boar who was distributing the exam papers and ushering the participants into the auditorium.
'Keep your fur on Carrots, you've only told me that a bazillion times,' Nick whispered back, barely moving his lips (Judy's hearing was so perfect she hardly needed him to speak louder over the hubbub the other participants were making. 'I just hope they let us have a decent choice of subjects to choose from, I'd much prefer anything in macroeconomics to regulation or—'
'Officer Hopps!' the boar roared at that point.
'You show 'em Carrots,' Nick had whispered hurriedly, giving Judy a tiny wink and a thumbs up, and Judy had grinned briefly back before hurrying over to get her exam sheet.
Her heart beating fast as she took her seat, the rabbit had scanned all of the pages at lightning speed, assessing the questions before plunging in, and her last apprehensions had eased: there was ample choice for the essay, including topics on taxation and associated fraud (which was something Nick could write a book about, let alone a few thousand words). Her worries thus quieted before Nick even took his seat further down the row from her, Judy pulled pen and paper towards her, sharpened her pencil and prepared to plunge in.
The boar went into some detail about the formalities of filling in the title page of their tests – each animal had been assigned a special participation number which they were to write on the title page of their exam papers (it was forbidden to write their actual names as such a system ensured that the experts grading their papers would have no room left for bias based on species and origin). Once their papers were graded, a separate animal, a sort of undersecretary, one who had nothing to do with the actual grading, would go over the papers to match animal with grade. And the results would be made public once the whole process had been completed.
Which was all very well, Judy had thought impatiently, now can we just dive in? And she had frowned in irritation at Margaret Frost – yes, the reporter who had somehow wormed her way into the actual examination room to film the ZPD officers as they took their seats and prepared to do their best. The reporter was chatting away into the camera excitedly, repeating what the boar had just explained about the rules, though what there was to be excited about Judy could not really comprehend.
'At least she'll have to clear out when they give us the actual word to start working,' the rabbit had thought in some satisfaction. And clear out Margaret Frost did, as did every outsider except the examinees and the examiners. And Judy forgot everything as she scribbled away on her paper, the big clock overlooking the doorway ticking away methodically. Once she had started in on an exam, Judy was always focused, calm and businesslike, any stress that might have preceded the actual moment having evaporated.
It had been a good exam paper, she had felt, as she handed the finished result in. And Nick was looking relieved as well. All had gone well.
How how how could she have been so mistaken? Back in the present, Judy pulled her ears down over her eyes and whimpered at the memory. When the exam results had been made official – a copy pinned neatly to the bulletin board in the ZPD headquarters' massive hall – Judy had been so confident about her own success that she had not bothered going over the 'H's in the list of names, her gaze had frantically jumped straight on to the letter 'W' and her heart had given a joyous leap as she read 'Officer Wilde, Nicholas Piberius' in the list of mammals who had succeeded in their prequals.
Her mind's eye had run off at that point, already painting a happy image of how she and Nick would be heading off for the few months of intensive training preceding the actual State Examinations. It would be tough, but worth it in the end. They'd have to leave the penthouse and Zootopia for that time, but it would only be temporary. She could leave FruFru her set of keys in case of emergency and then, when they were back, it would be better than ever, celebrating their final victory at home, because the penthouse was really feeling more like home than any other place had so far –
Thus Judy's thoughts rambled on, as she turned to her partner joyously, preparing to hop up and high-five him in mid-air.
Which was when she had seen Nick staring at her, his face rather blank and his eyebrows up.
And as soon as she caught his gaze, Judy knew.
She went through the motions of turning back to the list and searching for her own name this time.
And it wasn't there alright. Which effectively meant she had failed.
'Bugger everything Carrots, how in the name of heavens did you ever..?' Nick trailed off, gesticulating dangerously with his coffee cup and bringing Judy out of her reverie.
'How did I ever flunk it?' Judy snorted. 'You can say the word Nick, no need to feel like you're hurting my feelings. A rabbit's gotta face what a rabbit's gotta face.'
'Well,' Nick grimaced at the word. 'Well how Fluff? What the bloody..'
'It must have been the essay,' Judy replied evenly, clasping her paws in her lap and staring at the rug. 'That was the only party of the whole test that was not a series of multiple choice questions. And when I think back on it, I must have been over ambitious in my choice of topic and the narrative tone I went for, I rather—'
'Oh come Carrots, that's just-' Nick used a rather rude word at this, making Judy blink and look up at him. 'The hell you were overambitious, you've always written the best reports in the whole team, synthesizing ideas is your thing, even old Buffalo Breath thinks –'
'He was very kind about it,' Judy nodded woodenly. 'He called me over for a talk and all.'
'Kind, my bushy tail,' Nick waved a paw in the air in frustration. 'This is a case of species-ism, it has to be – you should ask the Chief to demand an inquiry—'
'Oh come on,' Judy shook her head. 'It can't be. The Chief actually mentioned that; he reassured me that he knew the encryption procedures used for the prequals quite well, and that he was sure that the examiners who had graded my paper had had no idea it was me, well, a rabbit I mean. So their grading must have been objective, fair and square. He told me that specifically as he guessed I must have been – well, rather surprised at failing as I had been.. had been quite confident about.. well, my level, in general, seeing as how I'd started the whole talk about applying in the first place.'
'The hell Carrots,' Nick said again,' more in a tone of almost bleak surprise than any real feeling or passion. He ran a distracted paw through the fur on top of his head and took a humongous gulp of coffee, all but emptying his cup in one go.
Judy looked at her friend for a moment and then (with somewhat of an effort) sat straighter up and attempted a grin.
'Enough about the bad news,' she offered. 'We should also be talking about the good – and that's you! Way to go Nick, I'm so glad you passed.'
'Mm-hum,' the fox replied, his thoughts obviously still elsewhere as he contemplated the last dregs of coffee at the bottom of his mug.
'You'll be preparing the State Examinations next, this was just a first step of sorts after all,' Judy continued, trying to sound boisterous. 'You'll—'
'That's the whole thing,' her partner said, finally looking up, his face a grimace. 'I got the memo right after you know.. I'd have to leave in a week for the training center.'
Judy felt the bottom of her stomach clench suddenly.
'In a week?' she echoed, her voice a bit croaky all of a sudden.
'Yup,' Nick was drumming the countertop irritably and studying the remaining Nespresso cartridges with a frown as if the outcome of this whole affair depended on his finding the right one.
'Training starts sharpish; those animals sure don't let their paws trail once they've decided on something,' the fox was saying, still going over the coffee cartridges. 'They want us all – the mammals who've been.. selected that is, - to confirm that we're going on with the whole shindig A-S-A-P.'
'What do you mean confirm?' Judy's ears shot up. 'Of course you're in! There's no question about you not going now, is there.'
Nick hesitated a rather long moment before replying, seemingly choosing his words with care.
'Look Carrots,' he said finally, lifting his gaze and abandoning the Nespressos. 'Let's face it – I only scraped by cause you were holy enough to school me and go over my work in that painstaking obsessed rabbit mode of yours.'
'So?' Judy countered. 'I might have helped you prep Nick, but you succeeded at the prequals all by yourself! No one helped you during the test itself, you passed fair and square.'
'That might be,' he fox agreed. 'But my oh-so-heartwarming success might also be one of the reasons that you didn't cut the chase Fluff; have you considered that, had you spent less time tutoring me and more time prepping yourself, you—'
'No way Nick,' Judy was on her feet, her fists clenched decisively, her feet planted squarely on the fluffy rug. 'Coaching you could only have helped me out in turn, I was sure to revise at the same time as you did. So don't even suggest—'
'If you want me to pull out Carrots, if you feel that I could be the reason you didn't make it, just say the word,' Nick put in, obviously somewhat relieved to phrase what was weighing on his mind.
Judy swayed on the spot, somewhat abashed. After a moment, she gathered her thoughts and plunged on.
'No way Nick,' she said firmly. 'Don't you even make any allusions to pulling out. You passed the prequals, your honor-bound to go on with it now.'
'Good thing foxes don't have any honor,' Nick countered, with a ghost of smile at his attempted joke.
'Consider it my honor then,' Judy insisted, stamping her foot. 'I helped you prepare, like you said, so it would be my work you'd be forsaking as well as your own.'
Nick considered her, his head cocked to the side.
'If the situation were reversed Carrots, like it should have been, would you have gone on and left me behind?'
Judy faltered, caught out. She would not have, she thought, she would have refused the training and stayed behind a year to help Nick prepare again, in the hopes that within a year they'd manage to get in at the same time, the both of them.
Since it was out of the question to admit this out loud, she changed tactics.
'Bogo will go berserk if you pull out,' she stated flatly. 'It'll look like the officers of his precinct don't know what they want, signing up at one moment and quitting at the next. And I'll get in next year, you'll see! So I'll just be a year behind you in the end.'
Nick chewed his lip, not bothering to point out that Judy had avoided answering his question. The only possible course of action seeming to hang in the air as heavy as jell-o.
'I'll pack my bags this week-end,' Nick said finally. 'I'll reply to the memo tomorrow and tell them I'm in, as promised.' He gave Judy a wry half-smile as he shook his head. 'Not exactly the outcome we've imagined, is it Carrots?'
'Nope,' Judy agreed, her energy spent by the discussion. She sank back down on the couch.
'Well,' Nick said after a pause, 'Night night then,' and he headed towards his bedroom, his paws dragging somewhat.
Judy heard the door of his room close with a soft 'click'. The little sound was sinister in its finality to her ears.
When she looked back at those last few days before Nick's departure, Judy marveled at herself for she hardly knew how she had gotten through them. The time had seemed to go by way too fast and at the same time to stretch on forever.
The two partners' daily work was often disturbed as Nick had to go to several debriefing meetings in order to prepare his departure; Judy found herself more often than not paired with Francine the elephant who would be her 'replacement' partner during Nick's absence. Back home in the evenings, there was no more hanging out and chatting over evening coffee and infusion on the sofa as Nick had to go through the endless list of books and clothing he seemed to be required to bring along as he left for the special training; one evening the young fox was out entirely to pay his mother a visit before heading off.
As the final day before he was to leave rolled along, there wasn't even any opportunity to grab a proper chat in their office as Nick was pulled out along with Taggart the tiger (who had also been selected, much to Judy's humiliation; she had privately considered the tiger kind but rather air-headed) and the two red-furred officers attended yet another meeting specifying the details of the departure that would take place the following morning.
Take place it did; Nick and Judy had made their way to work as if it were any other morning (though Nick was dressed in civilian clothing for the trip and had his bag on him) and then, as they arrived at the ZPD HQ, before Judy could quite wrap her head around it, Nick was giving her a sort of shove/pat/punch on the shoulder and saying (his grin not quite reaching his eyes) :
'You hang in there Carrots-Chief. You've got the penthouse all to yourself to throw all the parties you and FruFru can dream up! I'll be working my tail off with the other suckers all the way out there; it's enough to make a fox cry from joy.'
'Take care Nick – write me a message when you get there—' was what Judy had time to say, her heart suddenly thumping in a panic at the sight of her friend's retreating back.
Nick gave her a 'don't even sweat it' sort of wave as he sauntered off towards Taggart and the other officers awaiting departure.
And that was that!
Well, that wasn't that to be precise, obviously. But Judy could barely process current events any further that day. She felt somewhat numb about the whole affair; random thoughts chased each other around her head all day long as she went about her business patrolling the streets with Francine. At one moment she would start feeling annoyed, believing that Nick had been all but indifferent to his sudden forced departure; at another she was overwhelmed with remorse and worried about how he would get along once the actual training process went under and she was not there to help him and encourage him along the way. And yet again she would be engulfed by a wave of shame and that one question – how the hell did I not pass?
The upshot of it all was that Judy had stayed as late as possible at work, filing reports, then she'd dropped by a diner for some soba noodles, unwilling to face the empty penthouse, and then… she found herself walking, walking downtown, heedless of where she was going, certain only that she wanted to keep moving in the warm summer air, perfumed with its evening scents, firmly knowing only one thing: she'd keep from screaming out loud if she kept on walking.
She hardly knew how she found herself in Sahara, let alone outside Savage's undercover chocolaterie. Yet when she did, she nodded thoughtfully at the smart shop's windows (still brightly lit despite the late hour) as if she had been purposefully making her way there all along. Without further ado and without heeding the 'closed' sign, Judy pushed her way through the entrance door, causing the cheerful bell to tinkle, as if she had been planning to pop by all day.
Savage was (at least on first glance) alone in his boutique, poring over some paw-written recipes spread over the counter. He looked up sharply at the interruption and gave no surprise at seeing Judy (unless you counted his eyes widening slightly).
'The shop happens to be closed now, Officer,' was how he greeted Judy.
'Well boo-hoo,' she replied, realizing that she had come over looking for a fight – anything to ease the tension that had been building up all day – knew it was childish and did not care.
As if to emphasize the challenge she was throwing down, Judy walked over to the counter and deliberately perched herself on one of the high stools present for customers wishing to enjoy a snack in the daytime.
Savage watched her evenly for a couple of seconds before returning to his papers and commencing to file them coolly.
'Of course,' he said after a while, 'I did say that you Officers would be the ones coming back to me about my offer of partnership, and here you are, proving me right.'
'Who's talking about the partnership offer?' Judy fired at him readily.
'What has you so frazzled Officer?' Savage asked her, one eyebrow up.
'Who's frazzled?' Judy countered, and then felt rather sheepish as she realized how her last two questions had sounded.
'Well,' Savage said, his whiskers twitching suspiciously. 'If you put it that way.' He studied her a moment more before abruptly adding, 'I was making myself a late evening mug of hot cocoa Officer, if you'd care to join? I promise it is not poisoned or otherwise spiked, and I will drink it in front of you to prove my point,' he added, seeing her open her mouth.
Judy sniffled irritably, feeling that accepting hot chocolate drinks was going against the enemy stance; yet the mug Jack set in front of her did seem very inviting and he did drink some himself, proving his point about it being safe. She took it reluctantly in the end.
'Thank you,' she said stiffly, cradling the cup.
'Hmm-mm, don't mention it Madam,' Jack replied, folding some more of his papers carefully. 'Animals of a species must help each other out after all, and you looked to be in need of it, if you permit my saying so.'
Judy avoided answering directly, casting her gaze round for a change of topic. Her eyes fell on a row of cheerful potted plants lining the wide windowsill.
'That begonia you gave us is doing really well,' she said.
'Indeed? I am happy to hear it.'
'Yes,' Judy nodded. 'We set it out in the furthest corner of the garden in case you'd bugged it somehow. After we'd checked it all over and all.'
Jack did laugh at that.
'Officer, I have a real liking for plants and I like my little corner of nature and my rare occasions for gardening as much as any rabbit. I guarantee you I have never used a plant for the purposes of spying via electronic device.'
'Great thing we've cleared that up then,' Judy sniffed.
Savage shrugged, as if to show that he did not care one way or another whether she thought it to be a great thing or otherwise, and bent over his files again. Judy watched him a moment, before the realization soaked in slowly but surely that here was after all someone (though undoubtedly enemy) but with whom she shared that in common at least, of being one of her species who was ready friends with those who had naturally been their nemesis (or, in Savage's case, more than a friend it seemed.)
Judy stared at t Jack's ears for a moment, wondering whether there was some faulty gene the two of them had in common or something of the sort. It was not a reassuring thought.
'What ails you tonight Officer?' Savage asked, cutting through Judy's train of thoughts suddenly.
'Judy straightened in her seat and bristled, feeling wrong-footed; she had come over looking for a fight, so to say, and here it seemed like no fight awaited her.
'What are you, a shrink?' she asked rudely, sipping her hot cocoa in a derisive manner.
'Hardly,' Jack replied. 'And hardly am I a friend of yours or someone you should trust with ease; we are on opposite sides of our current professional ventures I should think; in short one of us wins when the other loses, as it were. However, that being said, I do not like to kick an animal already on the ground, particularly a lady and a rabbit at that. There is no pleasure in an easy victory. So I'll let you off the hook of our Night Howler's case tonight, shall I, and just ask as I did before,' he looked up straight as Judy at that, his cold blue gaze quite intense. 'What ails you Officer?' he reiterated.
Judy felt suddenly like she couldn't quite say 'nothing' or otherwise force her way out of that direct interrogation; laying her soul out bare to Jack Savage was not an option in any case either though. She compensated by countering his question with another question of her own (a good way out in any pinch, dear reader), and she said, after a moment's thought,
'Does it ever bother you then, being so different, Savage?'
This question was very obviously outside any topic they had previously been discussing, nor did it have any connection (at first glance) with what Jack had asked her. The would-be chocolatier seemed to consider the matter seriously though, before stating,
'I can't really say it does Officer. No, I can't say it does. There might have been a time,' he ran his right paw through the fur on top of his head absently, his gaze thoughtful, reminiscing. 'Being a rabbit, a rabbit who is somewhat more ambitious than the average one, as you know Officer, it can be… a challenge when one is growing up. And then, being an animal who is altogether different from others in ways that—'
Savage waved a paw vaguely here, letting Judy deduce what she would from his gesture. She did so with ease, assuming he was referring to his affair with that arctic vixen, Skye.
'One gets used to it,' Savage finished with a shrug. 'One gets a thicker skin, call it what you will. The older one gets Officer, the less one minds. This has been my experience in any case.'
'Isn't it kind of… lonely?' Judy asked awkwardly, burning with curiosity at the forbidden subject and at the same time not wanting to make any direct reference.
'Lonely?' Savage chuckled. 'Did you not grow up in a family that counted hundreds Officer, as I did? Lonely could be a nice thing for one of our species, a nice change…In any case I have never felt that way.'
He had finished putting away his papers by that time; he drummed his fingers on the empty counter thoughtfully and added after a moment, as if determined to do justice to Judy's interrogations and give her an answer that was as informed as possible.
'I would rather,' he said, looking straight at Judy again, to carry his point across as well as he could. 'I would rather do what I liked in life, drink my fill if you will, and let hang the opinion of any animal who leads such a dull life they have to constantly survey mine.'
'I see,' Judy said after a pause. She hardly knew why, but this conversation (and the cocoa perhaps) was making her feel better by the moment, though heaven knew it changed nothing about the fact that Nick had left, that she had spent a miserable day and that she still had that heavy feeling of shame about not qualifying for training hanging over her. Yet somehow, maybe because the subject at paw was somewhat different altogether, she found their talk engaging. It echoed some thoughts she had not quite expressed even to herself, and echoed them in a good way.
'So you don't really mind about being different in the end, cause it's your life and you can do what you want with it?' she rephrased.
'Yes, that is my opinion,' Jack inclined his head. 'More hot cocoa Madame?'
'No thanks, I should be going,' Judy was hopping up. 'I'll see when I see you I guess, and this short truce'll be over by then, won't it?'
'Perhaps,' Jack agreed, preceding Judy to hold the door open for her. 'Take care Officer.'
'Same,' Judy called over her shoulder, sauntering out into the warm night, feeling a mite better for all of the week's mishaps.
It's a funny thing, but true, that sometimes key things happen in life thanks to a series of coincidences. Or is it really coincidence? A case by case study might be relevant to be able to give an accurate answer to that last question. Let us then commence with the case at hand, the one of our dear Miss Hopps.
For Judy was still, I am afraid, doing poorly after several days. There was nothing physically wrong with her - nothing the ZPD's kind zebra doctor Mister Stripeston could detect anyway. He had hummed and ermed over Judy's temperature, her blood analysis results, her heartbeat and finally declared that she was fit as a fiddle - and that it had to be nothing more than a case of fatigue, hence he urged her to consider taking a vacation shortly and getting a change of scene; maybe heading over to the countryside for a while to visit with her family. This made Judy feel more disgruntled than ever - she felt that work was pretty much the only thing keeping her together those days, and she was rather sure that there was nothing she wanted less than to hang out at her parents' at that time - not with her sister Connie and her brother Matt both preparing their upcoming nuptials and her mother cooing over her smallest siblings. These scenes of domestic bliss were somewhat disgusting at the time to the young police officer.
Hence, that cold and stormy Wednesday night found Judy tossing and turning in her bed, unable to snatch more than ten minutes of sleep at a time. At length, with an almighty 'harumph' of annoyance, the rabbit sat up in bed and listened to the tick-tock of the great grandfather clock out in the living room; Everything was very still inside the penthouse, outside the rain was pattering a steady calming beat on the window in the roof. Judy dragged herself out into the living room wearily, and faced the kitchenette corner, scratching an ear. She wondered absently whether she could take another chamomile infusion - she had already had three that evening though, and they did not seem to be lulling her to sleep as had been promised on the cheerful package. Her eyes fell on the door of Nick's room in the semidarkness. She remembered morosely how he had told her that she ought to feel free to have friends crash for the night and that they could take his room and his bed whenever needed.
A sudden idea hit her in her drowsy irritated mood - perhaps... She crept over to Nick's door and pushed it cautiously open, as if someone were watching her. Feeling a mite guilty - though whatever for, she had his authorization to go in after all - Judy poked her head in. The room was very still, the bed had been made with a clean set of sheets, the quilt folded neatly at the foot. Judy's ears drooped a little as she surveyed the bedroom - it felt distant and impersonal - Nick had indeed left it ready to be occupied by any newcomer who chose to do so - there seemed to be little of the fox himself that remained.
Then suddenly, a touch of dark blue flung over the back of a chair caught Judy's eye - she hurried over to it, and sure enough, it was Nick's Police Academy hoodie. Judy picked it up cautiously, wondering why he had left it behind - but then, the season was summer after all, he'd hardly need it - and, after a moment's pause, she sniffed the hoodie carefully. It had not been laundered too recently, and, to her delight, Judy felt the familiar smells that always seemed to hang around her best friend - coffee, a fresh outdoorsy tang of plants, face wash - and some kind of indefinable smell that was sort of fox and all Nick. Judy held the item of clothing happily in her paws for a second, feeling her jaded nerves calm down, before arriving at a snap decision.
It was not like there was anyone to see - and besides, Nick had said she could use his room. Plus, it seemed like this was the only way she would get a decent night's rest and be fit for work on the morrow. So, without further ado, Judy slipped Nick's hoodie on - so big was it, that it covered almost all her body and the sleeves hung right down over her paws - before climbing into his bed and settling down. This maneuver somehow made her feel less alone and desolate, and much more at peace with herself and the world - and so, turning on her right side and tucking her feet under the duvet, Judy closed her eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.
So you see, she was really not to blame - on the rabbit's side, it was nothing but her wish to finally get some peaceful slumber. The slumber seemed to be all too peaceful though - maybe thanks to how high-strung she had been previously - who knows. All that matters, is that shortly before dawn, the sweet sleep Judy had so craved was interwoven with bright flimsy dreams. They started out quite commonplace, if cheerful - she was playing with little JuJu at the Grande' home, the toddler was squeaking in joy - FruFru appeared and showed off her newest hairdo. As Judy admired it, FruFru started putting the kettle on and fussing that there were no cakes for tea. Judy told her she's fetch some in a tick - and then, with the ease one has in dreams, she was already out in Sahara Square, peering into her favorite pastry shop, the fluffy carrot cream muffins beckoning. And as she was vaguely trying to remember whether she had her wallet with her and when she had actually gone out - the bits of thought that are susceptible to point out to one that this is nothing but a dream and that it is time to wake up - a shadow fell over her from behind and a voice she knew too well was saying in a kind slightly mocking tone, 'And you have the nerve to call me a sugar-addict, Carrots.'
Judy whirled around, and sure enough, Nick was there, shaking his head and smiling at her like he always did. She felt an almighty rush of joy, and at the same time a fleeting notion that he could not really be there (though she could not remember why) that made her panic, and hurry over and exclaim, 'Nick! Finally! Are you back now - are you back for good? You won't be leaving again?'
'Not if you don't want me to Carrots - keep your fur on,' replied Nick-in-the-dream, holding his paws out to stop her running into him head on. Judy felt so relieved - and still a bit worried that he would somehow get away - and outraged that he could even joke about her not really wanting him to stay - that she reached both paws out and grabbed right onto him tight, onto his shirt with one paw and his tie with the other, and refused to let go.
'No, I don't want you to!' she said decisively - and then, well.. propriety shirks from describing what happened then - but one has to put things down faithfully. It will be requested that the reader remember that Judy had been exhausted with her preceding sleepless nights, and that, being a dream, it was not strictly her fault. It was, if anything, Nick's fault - he was the one who always wore ties, even on his free time. And he was still laughing at Judy in her dream, like he was doubting she really meant her words - so that, you will understand, it was partly out of annoyance at that, and to prove she was sincere, that Judy did what she did next.
It is our unfortunate duty to report that she pulled Nick down by the tie and kissed him - yes, on the mouth.
Now, one can only imagine what the real Nicholas Wilde could have reacted like in similar circumstances. The Nicholas Wilde in Judy's head though had one strong advantage compared to the real one - he acted only the way Judy wanted him to act (whether she knew it or not). So that what happened next was that Nick Wilde of the dream reacted only too enthusiastically to such a display of affection on Judy's behalf - so much so that the dream went very fast through the ratings of the PG levels, and probably all the way to 'M' as far as rating went. (Something that would probably not have happened out in Sahara Square in broad daylight, but there you go - the beauty of the dream world is that anything is possible, even things one would never have considered while awake).
This event, entirely distressful though it was, was only a figment of Judy's imagination after all - and everything could have ended quite well, with her forgetting all about it by morning, the way she often did with her dreams. But that was where those sneaky coincidences crept in - see, the dream occurred just a short time before the alarm on her phone was due, for it was a work night after all. And, as the scene in Judy's head reached a happy rosy summit, her phone went of with its chipper melody to proclaim that it was already half past five am - and Judy found herself lying in Nick's bed, the duvet all out of shape, clutching the sleeves of his hoodie around her, her heart beating like she'd just run ten miles.
And, though it can probably not be described as a restful night, one thing is sure - and that is that, thanks to the alarm's timely intervention, she remembered the dream in minute detail.
...And there we go. What else is there to say? Things are happening, yikes!
A sketch of what Nick probably looked like, sauntering into the dream, is up for you all on irina-bourry DOT deviantart DOT com and irina-bourry DOT tumblr DOT com.
Everybody enjoy the rest of their week, leave us your thoughts and... see you soon for more!
-ChezIBY