Training Calls

Judy Hopps sat still at her apartment desk. One hand rested upon her cheek while the other was gripping at a pencil. Other than her radio, unfilled out papers cluttered her desk, piling up in heaps. Papers that would have to be turned into the ZPD first thing Monday.

Even though Nick had only been gone for a week out of the six month training course, Judy couldn't help but miss him. It was fine though -they emailed constantly. And it wasn't like he disappeared off the face of the planet, Nick was just a few cities over.

Still. She missed him. But now that she thought about, if she wanted too, she could call him right now. Judy's ears perked up as she considered it. It was only 10:30. What was the harm in trying to call? He probably wouldn't pick up, but at least she'd hear him over his voice mail.

Holding her breath, the fully trained police officer reached out for her phone. She had taken it upon herself to memorise Nick's number, going to her contacts was rarely ever necessary at this point. But by the fourth ring, Judy began to regret calling in the first place. Recruits rarely ever had their cellphones on them, anyway. She remembered her own training, where Abby, the polar bear, had gone so far as to collect them for a few weeks.

Chewing on her lower lip, Judy's eyes wandered over to the phone. Just as she was about to hang up, static sounded from the line. Quickly switching off speaker, Judy put the phone to her ear and asked aloud, "Hello?"

More static was her response, making Judy question whether it was an accident Nick accepted. She definitely didn't want to get him in trouble, after all. However before she could make up her mind, she heard a muffled; "Carrots?"

"Nick?" The bunny let out a sigh. "Hey. How are you?"

"One sec." Judy nodded, adjusting the phone up against the wall as she heard some shuffling from the callers other side.

"Okay, we're good. Hey, switch to MuzzleTime."

Immediately Judy remembered that feature and mentally scolded herself she hasn't switched to it earlier. With that, not only could she hear Nick, she could see him.

The police officer quickly turned on the camera, where she was greeted with a uniformed Nick.

"Nick! Oh my gosh. Look at you!" Judy teased, earning a smirk from the fox. "You look so professional!"

Nick grinned. He looked down to his uniform, as though he, himself, didn't even remember what he was wearing. "Yeah, not my best choice of fashion." He commented, looking back to his soon-to-be partner. "But what can you do?" Nick gave a small sigh before smiling widely at her again.

Giggling, Judy's eyes lingered to her own uniform placed on her bed. "The actual, police uniform's are so much more comfortable." The bunny promised, stifling a laugh. "Nothing compared to your Hawaiian shirts, I'm guessing?"

"Hey! I make them work."

"I know you do." Judy teased and right at that moment, she desperately wanted to be at her best friend's side in training. "Speaking of policing, Bogo's giving us a few options as to what car we want to take. Any suggestions?"

Nick didn't answer right away, namely considering static had returned. After a minute, Judy heard him speak, though it clicked at first. "Make sure it's nothing like that tiny bucket of rust you were driving earlier and we'll be fine."

"Right, right." She commented. "I won't. Besides, I'm waiting for you to make the official decision."

"Your gonna have to wait awhile, Carrots. I've only been here for a week."

"I figured. But that's fine." Judy clicked her pen shut, placing it neatly across the paper. "I can wait. It's fun trying out every car anyway!"

"Aw." Nick taunted. "You love me."

Just as Judy was going to respond, her ears perked up at another voice in the background. Nick's attention seemed to revert to it too, as the phone screen was now facing the ground. She desperately hoped she hadn't got Nick in trouble.

Fortunately, after a few seconds, his attention reverted back to her.

"Sorry." Nick muttered, rolling his eyes. "That was John. The snitch. I gotta go soon or he'll tell I have my phone out."

"You aren't supposed to have your phone?!" Judy asked, holding her mouth wide. Thinking back on it, it was weird Nick was able to talk so late.

"Nah, the polar bear lady collected them the other day. I had to find it."

Judy wanted to face palm. Of course.

She heard him chuckle. Obviously, he had saw her reaction. Thank you MuzzleTime. "Come on, you should be flattered."

"Nick, if Abby catches you.." Judy trailed off, ears twitching. "She isn't the nicest.. At first."

"Abby's the really annoying polar bear, right?'

Judy's ears twitched. "Yes Nick."

"Oh okay. Yeah, I don't like her." Nick muttered, crossing his arms. "Did you know we were all forced to climb a huge block of ice?! On the first day?! I swear Carrots this thing was gigantic. I could have died."

Holding a sudden smile, the police officer shook her head. "I did it too, remember?"

"How are you still alive?!"

Judy chuckled. Adjusting the camera, her face turned slightly more firm. She looked Nick in the eye, showing all seriousness. "Look, I know it's kind of tough. But if you disregard everything Abby says, it'll be a lot tougher. She's nice when you get to know her."

"I rather wouldn't get to know her, but thanks for that wondrous advice, Carrots." Nick grinned, earning another smile from from his almost partner. "I'm trying though. I'll promise you that."

"Good. If she tells you to put your cellphone away, listen. She'll give it back in less then a week, I'm sure."

"Hey, I wanted to talk to you!"

Judy felt her ears droop down at that comment, and she couldn't keep the small smile from moving off her face. "I wanted to talk to you too." She confessed, watching in slight amusement as Nick's smile grew. "But respect authority!" Judy chuckled. "Oh, and the odds are you won't die from that block of ice. Just find your way over it. Don't copy whatever anyone else is doing. It won't work!"

"Right." Nick pretended to write down notes. "Aw, is Carrots worried about me?"

"I know you can handle it, but I just think-"

"WILDE!" A sharp, booming voice echoed from the building and before Judy knew it, he'd best friend was sending her an expression of fake distress. She held back a giggle, wondering how Nick could possibly be so unfazed. Fortunately, he seemed to somewhat care, as he quickly shoved his phone to the back pocket, without shutting it off.

Shortly afterwards, she heard the familiar scoldings of a polar bear. Judy was more then shocked when Nick didn't object to them. But after five minutes or debating if she should just hang up herself, Nick pulled out the phone. Though his eyes seemed first focused at the door -Judy recognized the area- he soon shot her another glance, before whispering an apology.

"I got caught." Nick muttered. And Judy knew it was taking everything out of him not to go scream back at Abby. "Stupid John. He claims he never said anything, but ha!"

"Nick." Judy whispered, motioning for him to keep his voice down. "Just email me tomorrow and we can talk. I'm proud of you."

"Yeah." Nick sighed, but slowly slipped back to a faint smile. "Okay. Thanks Carrots. I'll tell you if I managed to survive the block of ice or not. My hopes are up."

Judy grinned. "I believe in you." She stated, with a chuckle. "Oh, and Nick?"

"Hm?"

"Good luck. And good night. Your going to do amazing."

"Thanks Carrots."

A/N : Happy Friday! I have a few more ideas for oneshots when Nick's away for training that I'm currently working on. However, I'm going camping for the next four days, without service unfortunately, and will be unable to update. I'm bringing my journel though and will still write. Until then, review, favorite, and follow.