Authors notes:

Hey guys, thanks to every one giving this story a chance. This is my first fic so any advice is well appreciated. I'm going to try to get up to chapter 3 out as quickly as possible, but after that expect a weekly update schedule. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2: Where ever the trail leads

The duo arrived at the missing kits home in Tundra Town and walked up to the door. "Carrots, are you cold, you're shivering more than a squirrel with anxiety" Nick said seeing Judy's tremors.

"N-no, I'm f-fine Nick." She lied. Nick just shook his head and put his coat over her, it almost covered her completely.

Already feeling warmer she looked up to him as he knocked on the door, "Thanks Nick, but aren't you cold." she asked.

"I'll be fine Carrots, we'll go inside soon anyway." he said, already feeling the cold. I hope they get here soon or my tail will freeze off. He thought.

They heard some one walk to the door and soon it was opened and a kind looking female snowshoe hare appeared.

"Hello mam," Judy started, "I'm officer Judy Hopps and this is my partner officer Nick Wilde. We're here to help find your daughter." She said the last sentence reassuringly.

"Oh thank you, please come in." she said, holding back tears at the mention of her missing daughter.

"Thank you Mrs.?" Nick asked.

"Harely, and it's the least I can do."

Once inside, she showed them to the living room where they sat down and began to talk.

"Is your husband home, we would like to talk to him as well?" Judy asked.

"No, he's at work. He works with a software company and isn't home much." she responded. This got Nick's attention but he kept his mouth shut as to not anger the hare with any comments he had.

Judy began the questioning, "So, when did you first notice she was missing?"

"That was a couple nights ago, I went out to grab some groceries for dinner and when I got home, she was gone. I immediately called the police. I already told them all this why are you questioning me again?!" responded starting to get defensive.

"We just received this case and wanted to get a better grip on the facts first." Judy said trying to calm the hare.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so worked up. It's just..." she said, feeling bad for lashing out.

"It's okay mam, I understand you're worried. I assure you we are doing everything to find your daughter." Judy said reassuringly.

"Now then, what was she doing before you left?"

"She was in her room, so I don't know"

"Can you think of her friends, they might know something important?"

"She had some friends at school but I never met them."

"Where did she go to school?"

"Tundra Town Public."

"What was she like at home?"

"She was normally very active, but recently she's been quite reserved." This once again got Nick's attention, but once again kept his mouth shut.

Judy continued, not knowing of her partners thoughts. "When did that start?"

"About a week ago I think. Her father had just gotten back from a business trip and she was excited but when he got home, she asked to play and he said he was tired and couldn't." Once again provoking the same response from Nick.

"Do you have any idea what has happened to her? Has anyone come forward with demands?"

"No, and no one has given any demands."

Satisfied with the information, Judy decided to stop prying for more and simply said "Thank you mam. If you have any more, please don't hesitate to call." and she handed the hare a card with her work number on it. "No, thank you. And I will." said as they got up to leave.

Once back in the cruiser and on the road, Judy said to Nick "You were awfully quiet in there, do you have any ideas."

When he didn't respond she noticed he was on his phone. "Nick! What are you doing!" she exclaimed, angry at him.

"Whoa Carrots, calm down. I had an idea and I'm trying to work an angle." He said.

Calming down, Judy asked "Okay. Well what is this idea of yours." He turned to her and began explaining "Well, from what I heard in there, I think this kit...Sahra was it...ran away because daddy wasn't home enough for her."

Judy took a moment to ponder this and said "Makes sense. So what's this 'angle' you have?"

"Well, if she ran away, the street kits might know where she is. Since Finnic kind of resembles a kit, I'm trying to get him to get some info from them." he responded.

Judy thought about this for a moment then said "Sounds like a good idea, but lets see if her friends know anything." as they pulled up to the school.

The principal lead the two of them to Sahra's classroom where they asked to talk to any of Sahra's friends. A few kits came to them but all they got from them was what they already knew.

"Well that was a bust, I hope Finnick comes up with something." Judy said as they were walking out of the classroom.

Suddenly Nick noticed something out of the corner of his eye and stopped. "Hey Judy, I'm going to take care of something. I'll meet you at the cruiser."

Judy looked at him, a little confused, but after seeing the look in his eyes decided not to ask questions. "Okay Nick. I'll be waiting for you." He nodded and she left.

Nick headed for what he saw, an arctic fox sitting in the back of the classroom. "Hey buddy, whats your name?"

The fox looked up and quietly said, "Nathan"

Nick could see something was bothering the fox. "Well Nathan, what seems to be wrong?" Nick asked, worried for him.

The fox looked surprised to see that someone cared. "Well, its just that... no one likes me. They say it's because I'm a fox but what does that have to do with anything." The kit responded sadly.

Nick got a hurt look in his eyes, having experienced the same treatment when he was younger. Nick looked into the younger foxes eyes and said "I know how you feel. Just don't let the jerks get to you and change who you are. This is Zootopia, and here, you can be anything. Don't let them convince you otherwise."

The young fox brightened up and said, "Thank you. You're going to find Sahra, right?"

Nick smiled and said "Of course we are. Are you two close?"

Nathan smiled, "Yeah, we're really good friends. Everyone says it's weird but we don't care."

Nick felt really good now and said "Good, don't let them tell you two how to live your lives. Well, I have to go, but here's this to remember me and what I said." and he placed a "junior detective" badge sticker on the fox then left as the kit waved bye to him.

Once Nick got in the cruiser, Judy asked "So what was that about?"

Not wanting to seem to sappy, Nick dismissed the question, "Nothing Carrots, it's fine."

That didn't satisfy the rabbit though. "Come on Nick, tell me what held you up."

Nick let out a sigh and began, "There was a fox kit in there and I wanted to talk to him. Turns out he went through the same kind of stuff I did when I was that age. I told him not to listen to anyone who doubted him and even learned he's really close with Sahra."

A little surprised, Judy said "That's really sweet Nick. Who knows, maybe those two will end up just like us."

Nick pondered this for a moment then said "Yeah, you might be right. He seemed really concerned about her." after that, the rest of the ride was in silence as the two were lost in their thoughts.

They got to the precinct just as the sun began to set. "Hey guys. Hows the investigation going?" Clawhauser asked as they entered the building.

"It's going just as you would expect it to, Benji." Nick responded, not wanting to discuss the case out there.

"Well, okay then. Chief wants to talk to you two."He said.

Ready to get to Bogo's office, Judy said "Okay. Thanks. See ya." Then the pair left to meet with Bogo.

Once outside Bogo's office, Judy knocked and the chief called out "Come in Hopps." They entered and Bogo immediately asked "What's the progress on the case?"

Judy was the first to answer, "Well, we haven't found much, but from what we've been told by the parents and her friends we believe she ran away."

Nick quickly added "And I'm working with a contact to find anything we can from the kits on the streets."

Bogo grunted and said "Good. Tomorrow, don't bother coming to roll call, clock in and work on the case immediately."

Confused, Judy asked "Sir, whats the rush? Whats going on?" Bogo sighed and said flatly

"Hopps, normally a missing mammal case is just that, but now a kit is involved. Now, whether it's a kitnapping, a run away, or they got lost in the city, it quickly gets noticed. Once the media gets a hold of this, You two will be critiqued for every move you make. I want this cleared up before that."

Judy nodded her head in agreement and looked to Nick who returned her gaze and said "Don't worry, we'll find her. And we'll try to keep it out of the media."

Bogo looked at them curiously. He knew they were a couple, but he couldn't quite wrap his head around it. "Well, now that everything has been said, go home and get some rest. I have a feeling these next days are going to be tough." And with that, they left Bogo's office and started on their way to the garage.

"So Nick, I was wondering if maybe I could spend another night at your apartment." Judy said as they walked.

"Sure, I don't see why not. We can swing by your place and pick some things up and you can stay at my apartment." They both were happy about this arrangement and quickly made their way to Judy's apartment.

Judy opened the door to her apartment and Nick gasped. "Carrots, how can you live here. It's barely a whole in the wall."

"I know, I know. And you haven't even heard Bucky and Pronk yet." Judy said in a defeated tone.

Nick decided to take advantage of the situation "You know what, I can't let you stay here. Maybe you should pack your bags for a few days."

Judy made a show of considering it then said "Sounds great Nick, I'll pack for a week. Does that sound good?"

"A week sounds good rabbit" came a voice through the wall.

"Yeah. It's better than forcing us to here what you two will be doing." Came another voice followed by laughter. Judy just slapped her paw on her face and suddenly couldn't wait to get out of this apartment.

Nick on the other paw responded "Well, if all goes well, you two will here anyway. Ow!" as Judy punched him in the arm for his joke.

"Sounds like you don't get to decide that fox."

The two in the other room laughed while Nick and Judy froze. "Wait, how did you guys know I was with a fox?" Judy asked nervously.

"It's all over the internet." one voice answered

"Yeah, some cop posted about it on Furbook." came the other voice.

"Damn it Clawhauser!" both Nick and Judy yelled at the same time. This was responded to by laughter.

Judy quickly packed while Nick searched the internet to see what everyone thought. "Hey Carrots," he started, "do your parents have easy internet access?"

Judy answered, surprisingly calmly, "Yes. But they don't ever use it so they probably don't know."

Encouraged by Judy's calmness, Nick said, "We should call them tonight." Judy began to protest but Nick continued, "It's better they find out from us before we are ready than someone else tells them." Knowing he was right, Judy just finished packing instead of arguing.

They arrived at Nick's apartment and collapsed on his couch. "Ugh, I'm not looking forward to this." Judy said as she pulled out her phone.

"Lets get this over with." Nick said, dread of the conversation soon to come filling him.

Judy dialed her parents phone number and after a few moments, her fathers face appeared. "Hey Jude the dude, how are you doing."

"Hey dad, I'm doing great, how are you and mom."

"We're doing fine. So hows it going in the big city."

"Actually, that's part of why I'm calling. Can you get mom."

"Sure, I'll be right back." He set down the phone and left to go get Bonnie.

Judy turned to Nick and asked "Are you ready?"

"No. But we have to do this." he responded.

"Hi Judy." her mom started.

"Hi, how ar..." as her mother interrupted.

"Judy, did you get a new apartment?"

Judy sighed and answered "No, I'm Staying with someone for a few nights."

"Oh," Bonnie started, "Wait, is this 'someone' more than a friend?"

Judy was slightly shocked but still answered "Yes, he..." and she was once again cut off.

"Oh this is great. Can we meet the nice young rabbit?" her father asked. Nick's heart dropped at that and Judy nodded to him as if to reassure him it will be okay.

"Well dad, that's the thing. Mom, dad, meet Nick." She turned the phone so Nick was on screen. He froze and his eyes widened as he began to comprehend what just happened.

Luckily for him, Judy's parents were to shocked to speak so he nervously said "Hello Mr. and ." They suddenly both found their voices as Judy turned her phone back to face her again.

"What are you thinking Judy!?" Her father anger filling his voice

"How could you do this!?" her mother now.

Before they could continue, Judy quieted them by yelling "STOP! I don't care that he's a fox!" Her father attempted to argue

"But Judy..."

"NO! We called so you would find out from us. Before you try to argue, just know you won't convince us to change our minds. I love him and he loves me. It doesn't matter he's a fox. He is a great mammal." She said, calming down. Nick quickly moved over to her and wrapped his arm around her as the tears started to form in her eyes.

He looked into the phone as he heard Judy's dad yell "Get away from her you dirty fox!"

Nick fought back the tears forming in his eyes and said, "Mr Hopps, Mrs. Hopps, I love your daughter. Now I'm sorry, but please call us back when you have calmed down. Good bye." And with that he hung up the phone and took it from Judy's trembling paw and set it down.

They both let go their built up emotions and balled their eyes out while clutching each other for dear life. After a few minutes, they both managed to stop crying and simply kissed. The kissing soon turned to marking(The most intimate action two mammals can preform outside of sex and marriage). They began rubbing their cheeks on each other. Each marking the other as theirs. Once they were satisfied with the marking, they made their way to the bedroom, shared an intimate kiss, and fell asleep in each others arms.