Set One

When Judy's alarm went off at 5:30, she immediately shut it off. She was eager to start her day. And since she was the only one who got up that early, as her neighbors Bucky and Pronk informed her through the wall, she had the bathroom down the hall all to herself. Her sisters had given her a big gift certificate for Plush and she'd stocked up on the finest soaps, shampoos, and body washes. She wanted to smell clean and fresh her first day on the job. As she lathered up, she was tempted to sing in the shower, but she had the feeling that would really annoy her neighbors. So she quietly hummed her favorite Gazelle songs, "You Can't Elope with an Antelope," "Crashin' the Stag Party," and of course "Try Everything."

Meanwhile, Nick kept sleeping.

Set Two

Judy woke up a few minutes before her alarm went off at 5:30. She took another look at the tax form copy that her old friend Jaguar had supplied her with. Nicholas P. Wilde. (She wondered what the P stood for.) Social Security Number, which she might be able to run through the ZPD computer if she got access in the next, let's see, forty-two and a half hours, which seemed unlikely. Address, 1955 Cypress Grove Lane. She wondered which district that was in. She consulted her ZTA map, the only map she had of Zootopia unfortunately. No, Cypress Grove wasn't one of the train stops. Cypresses, she knew from her botanical knowledge, grow in mild climates. So that would rule out Sahara Square and Tundratown, which together made up the eastern half of Zootopia. Well, she'd get a more detailed map later.

Then she shook her head. Of course, the Interpet. She did a Zoogle map. Cypress Grove was actually downtown, near the Troop Street station. She'd try to catch him at home, but if not, she'd comb the streets till she found him. Hopefully it wouldn't take up much of the remaining time.

She put the tax form back in the blue file folder that Clawhauser had given her. There wasn't much else in it, just what she'd transferred over from the red "Otterton" folder.

It was time to get ready. She was very glad that she was the only one who got up this early. She'd take a quick shower and—

Oh, the long-eared jerboa down the hall was just going into the bathroom. Well, at least he was small so he probably wouldn't take long.

Meanwhile, Nick kept sleeping.

Set Three

Judy and Nick kept sleeping.

Set Four

Her siblings wanted to hear all about Zootopia. Judy did her best to tell them without bursting into tears. She tried to concentrate on the good things, like the beauty of the city. It was even tougher to talk about her job as a cop, but she did her best with that, too. She knew her life sounded very exciting to her brothers and sisters, catching criminals, making the world a better place. She wondered what would've happened if she had agreed to Bellwether's plan for her to be the face of the ZPD. Her siblings would probably be even prouder of her.

Too bad she had a nagging conscience. Too bad she knew the truth about the damage she'd unintentionally but irrevocably done.

Meanwhile, Nick kept napping.

Set Five

Judy and Nick sat in silence in the waiting area at the hospital for awhile and then she said, "Oh, darn it! I need to get my truck back to my parents!"

"Right away?"

"No, I guess it can wait a couple days. Unless you could retrieve it for me?"

"And drive it to Bunnyburrow? No, I don't think so."

"I meant you could go get it and bring it here by the time they're done examining me."

"And you'd drive it to Bunnyburrow with an injured leg?"

She sighed. "I guess that won't work either."

"We'll come up with something. Don't worry."

"OK." Then she thought of something else. "Oh, drat!"

He smiled, maybe at the way she swore. "What is it this time, Carrots?"

"Well, I left the farm in such a hurry, and I didn't know how things would turn out. I just knew I had to find you and solve the case."

"In that order?"

She blushed a little. "Yeah. Well, I didn't expect to be rejoining the force. And I didn't expect to be injured. And, well, I didn't pack any clothes or anything."

"Ah. Well, I doubt Chief Buffalo-butt—"

She snorted at the nickname, although she knew she shouldn't. She and Bogo had much more respect for each other than they'd had three months ago.

"I doubt he expects you to show up for work tomorrow. He can probably give you a couple days to get settled in again."

She nodded. "I hope so. Oh, and I'll need to get the key to my apartment back from the landlady."

"You really weren't planning on coming back, were you?"

"No, I went home to Bunnyburrow with my cute fuzzy-wuzzy tail between my legs."

"I'm sorry about that. Not that your tail isn't cute—"

"Nick!"

"The doctor will see you now, Miss."

Judy sort of wanted Nick to go in with her, but it wasn't like he was family. And she was an adult after all, even if it did feel nice to figuratively and literally lean on him.

"See you in a bit, Fluff," Nick said, taking out his phone.

She nodded and hobbled down the hallway, a koala nurse coming over and assisting her after a minute. The nurse ushered her into the right room and the doctor introduced herself as Dr. Echidna. They both helped Judy onto the examining table. Then they had Judy take off her blue jeans so the doctor could examine the cut on her right leg. It was a good thing Nick wasn't there after all.

"Interesting tourniquet, the knot and the cloth. Were you hanging out with a Junior Ranger Scout?" the doctor teased.

"Sort of," Judy said. She hadn't even thought about Nick's handkerchief. She remembered him putting the blueberries in it and then tying it around her leg to stop the bleeding. The blueberries had spilled out onto the museum floor and then Nick had quickly done hand signals to indicate that they needed to switch the berries with the Night Howler pellets. He wanted Bellwether or one of her hench-sheep to shoot him, make him "go savage." At least that seemed to be what he was acting out, although she wasn't much more certain than she'd been about his signals outside the Cliffside Asylum.

Anyway, he must've kept his Scout handkerchief all these years, despite the bullying. She wondered what it was a reminder of. His old dreams or their decimation? Maybe both, knowing Nick's complexity.

The nurse took the handkerchief and looked like he was going to dispose of it.

"Uh, can I keep that?"

"Of course." The nurse put the handkerchief in a plastic baggy and returned it to Judy.

"Thank you." Judy tucked it into her shirt pocket and decided she'd present it back to Nick at just the right moment. Maybe when the 48 hours were up, and he'd offer her the carrot pen.

As for her leg, the doctor put some ointment on it and then a bandage. Judy was glad she wouldn't need a cast. "I'd stay off that as much as possible for the next couple days."

Judy nodded. She was sure Bogo would understand.

She had to put her jeans back on, since she had no other clothes with her. But she noticed that the nurse had turned them into cut-offs when she wasn't looking.

"Sorry about that, but I tried cutting off just one leg and it didn't look right."

"It's fine. Thank you."

When she went back out to Nick, he looked up from the Good Mousekeeping he was flipping through and said, "Showing a little fur, are we?"

Judy blushed again.