Author's Note: Not a lot happens in this chapter, and I apologize if it is not as interesting a read as it maybe should be. It was one of those necessary needing-to-get-characters-from-point-A-to-point-B chapters. Next chapter will hopefully place us somewhere more interesting! Also, for those of you who might have been wondering, I am hoping for this story to be similar to the film in creating chemistry between Nick and Judy without actually spelling out a relationship. I'd like to focus mainly on other things than WildexHopps, but I do hope for them to have a dynamic relationship. As always, comments and reviews are much appreciated.

Chapter 8

On the run.

The ground was cold and hard, the air filled with the noisy voices of birds and the rushing of the wind. Neither Nick nor Judy slept well, and they awoke only a few hours later with sticks and rocks boring uncomfortably into their bodies. There was a small comfort however. Nick considered said comfort whilst slowly awakening, eyes still peacefully closed. The body next to him was a small but soft source of warmth, comforting and pleasant. It had been such a long time since he had felt the comfort of a friendly body anywhere near him. His sleepy thoughts revolved around home and family, memories of his mother and father embracing him on a cold winter night.

The pleasantries vanished however when he opened his eyes and stared straight into the front of fox repellent spray. He shuffled back with a start, raising his hands to protect his eyes from the attack he expected. "Carrots! Cheese and Crackers, what is wrong with you!", he already cried accusingly, waiting for the onslaught that didn't come. After a few seconds passed he reopened his eyes and lowered his arms to find the spray-can shake with the trembling paw of the bunny.

Officer Hopps was staring him down with a mixture of fright, anger, and…blushing embarrassment. A smile crept onto his lips as he realized that his tail was still covering her. She seemed mortified, perhaps scared, but hadn't pushed him away out of want for warmth.

"Hey, it's alright, Rabbit. I'm not one of those guys that disappear before breakfast."

There was no doubt about it now – Anger was the distinct emotion making the bunny's nose twitch. She whacked the side of his head with the fox repellent before reluctantly letting it sink back into her bag. Nick sat up and began plucking twigs and leaves out of his fur. The two of them scanned the area silently. It was more comfortable not to speak, with hunger growling in their stomachs and thirst parching their throats. The forest revealed no distinguishable sight or clue in any direction. Nothing but trees and undergrowth lit by a shifting mosaic of golden sunlight.

The bunny, soon returned to a state of panic, thought them lost.

"Oh, what have I done?", she questioned in a high pitched voice. "I assaulted a guard…I refused to cooperate with police work! I helped a criminal fugitive escape! I…slept on the ground…with a…with a…. fox!"

"Really? Low blow. I thought you liked me right where I was, the way you snuggled up to me last night."

"I am so fired…" Judy didn't even pay attention to him. Nick had to do a double take to confirm that he did indeed see tears well up in her eyes. "I will have to quit the force…", she murmured. "Chief Bogo will never give me another chance. I'll have to move back to Bunny Borrows… I'll have to become…a-a…carrot farmer…li-like all the other…", and she started crying for real now. Nick's eyes widened with both shock and discomfort. His tail twitched nervously. "…. du-dumb bunnies!"

The fox couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes. He picked himself up from the floor and stood, brushing the remaining dust and dirt off of his grey jumpsuit. "Bunnies.", he sighed gently. "So emotional."

He reached a paw out to help Judy up, and, after blinking at him pathetically through tear glazed eyes, she accepted the gesture.

"Let's go, Fluff. There is a tourist site on this side of the island. I'll guide you there. You'll be safe. And there we part ways."

"What?"

Nick had turned his back to her and was casually strolling off into the direction he knew for certain to be the right one. The bunny on the other hand could only guess that he knew his way.

"A tourist site. Arcades, pestering merchants, cheap souvenirs, burger vendors…that sort of deal."

"No, I mean…Nick! Nick stop walking right now! WILDE!"

He didn't stop. He had a premonition that she would be stubborn and insist on playing his enemy. And he couldn't let her do that. He had come too far. He had one shot at escape – finding his friends and destroying the tracker in his collar before they found him. After that…well. He hadn't quite thought that far ahead. He suspected his life would be full of midnight runaways and falling asleep after a long and exhausting chase under a bridge or shrubbery.

Nick didn't care. It was better than prison, and tenfold better than death. He'd have his freedom. If he was on the run anyway, he might as well find someone to take off his collar and be free for real.

The fox had not intended to stop until he was painfully pulled back by his tail and a growl vibrated in his throat. The officer had just grabbed the red and black fur and refused to move.

"I'm taking-" she said in between tugs as he tried to wring himself free. "You back to the station!"

When he stopped resisting, her gaze and grip softened a little. "I want to help you, Nick, but we have to do it the right way. If you're telling the truth…"

"Which I am!" he said once more.

"The we can protect you in custody. We can reopen an investigation, with your help we might find the culprit from back then, and maybe it's all linked to the current crimes as well! You could really make a difference! You could help protect the city!"

One by one Nick peeled her fingers off his tail. With each one, her hopeful expression sank a little more. She made for a sorry sight, her fur littered with undergrowth, her eyes teary, her ears drooping back, deep shadows under her eyes. Nick stared at her unimpressed, lids half closed.

"You have no way of restraining me.", he said simply, turned, and continued.

"I- I have the fox repellent!"

She waved it in the air pathetically. He wanted to call her bluff, but he had done that before during the interrogation and it hadn't ended well for him. So instead he just kept going, his longer legs outmarching her slightly.

"If you want to wave toys around, you'll have fun at the arcades.", Nick suggested amiably.

"Nick, please! You don't know how much this job means to me – I'm going to lose it all because of you. Because I trusted you!"

"That's your fault, not mine."

The tapping of her feet stopped. She had frozen still, an expression of hurt on her face. Nick only glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. He didn't want to be cruel. She had helped him, and in a wave of immense gratitude he had not been able to leave her anywhere near that ram. Had taken her paw and pulled her to safety. And he would repay her, still, by safely guiding her out of the forest. He was not even opposed to doing some investigating himself when he was free of her. He wanted to find out who had ruined his life as badly as she did – and then maybe, if he found something, he would tell her.

"Are you saying you can't be trusted?", the bunny asked quietly. It pained Nick to answer, but his face remained calm and cruel when he turned and crouched down to meet her at eye level.

"Listen. All this is very simple. It is exactly what it looks like. You trusted me. I betrayed that trust."

He pointed at himself. "Sly fox." And at her. "And you'll never be more than a dumb bunny. Don't feel too guilty. It's in your nature."

His lips were in the process of twisting into a smug smile when she slapped him across the face.

The fox was struck silent and dumb for several seconds, the side of his snout stinging from the impact of her quick paw, his eyes wide with disbelief. Slowly he raised his paw to touch the spot she had hit. But the bunny looked more pained than him. With tears glistening in her eyes once more, she stood firmly, her clenched little fists trembling with anger and anguish. Her posture was stiff and defiant, a pathetic attempt at protecting her hut pride.

"The only reason you think I couldn't be more than a bunny, is because you are scared of the possibility that you could be more than just a sly fox!"

His stunned silence made her courageous. He straightened himself, still rubbing his snout. He had his shoulders pulled up and his tail tugged between his legs.

"You, Nick Wilde, are a coward!", the bunny continued. She stomped one of her powerful little feet on the floor, whirling up leaves and dust. "And you can run from me as much as you want! But I will follow you! I will find you! And I will find out what happened and right all the wrongs done to you, if you can't stand up and fight for yourself!"

"You believe me", the fox murmured numbly. His thoughts had gone silent. A strange calm enveloped his heart, warm and fuzzy.

Judy hesitated as though the reality of those words hadn't occurred to her. Her lips set into a straight line and she made a decision.

"Yes. I believe you. I believe that…that there's more to it than everyone thought. And…you did save me from drowning."

Slowly, the smile returned to the fox's lips. The bunny expected smugness and a comment regarding their brief lip contact, and quickly added "But we're even. I saved you from the guard." Nick's smile however had no smugness or meanness in it, and Judy looked up with big eyes when she glanced upon his first sincerely happy smile since the beginning of their acquaintance. It was a smile full of hope and trust, the smile of a drowning man seeing the light of the surface.

The bunny felt her concerns slip away at the sight of that smile, a little voice in her eagerly singing: Way to go Judy! Making the world a better place! Bringing smiles on everyone's faces!

It would have been a picturesque and heart-warming scene in any story. But life didn't always work that way. Their stomachs grumbled in unison and ruined the moment. Drawn back into reality, Nick awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, and Judy suddenly found the ground very fascinating.

"Sorry I slapped you."

"I deserved it."

"I'm coming with you."

"Yeah, I understood that much."

"So, urh…where are we headed?"

Side by side they walked on, tired and hungry. Ultimately, however, a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Nick had regained his usual composure and reinstated his smile, albeit not as mean as it had sometimes been. It was smug, confident, but not belittling as such.

"First, the tourist village. Maybe we can get some food. I happen to know Outback Island's finest burger place." Judy lifted a paw, but Nick interrupted. "I know what you're gonna ask me: Do they do carrot burgers? Why yes, you're in luck. The very best. Bobby's Burgers. Great place."

The fox had fond memories of eating there with his father. It was a predator vendor in one of the least favourable locations of the village, run by Bob, a bear. The shabby location had once seemed unfair to Nick, but was now welcome. They could sneak around the main parts of the tourist attractions easily, and visit the vendor without being seen.

"When was the last time you've been?", asked Judy.

"Must have been ten years ago. But believe me – that guy had a passion for burgers. He'd never give it up."

Two hours later, a tired bunny and a tired fox stood in front of an overgrown ruin that used to be a wooden burger vendor. Daffodils and daisies had claimed the grass around it. Wind made moist with the water surrounding the island had eaten away at the wood, made it brittle and mouldy. A grimy sign hung off the top of the building, vertical, unhinged on one side. It read "Bobby's Burgers – Best Burgers in Zootopia". Nick walked up to the building and broke off a large junk of one of the wooden boards decorating the front of the vendor. He crumbled the piece between his fingers, watched the pieces fall to the ground with an expression of pained disbelief.

"I don't believe it!", he whined, whilst Judy was torn between feeling sympathy, and feeling simply frustrated about the hunger pains she was feeling.

"Not Bob! Bobby's Burgers was the best place on this god forsaken island! There's no way he gave that up – he had his son with him on Sundays, to show him the ropes! It was a family business…"

Judy wasn't so sure about Nick's conviction. She looked around rather doubtfully at bins covered in overgrowth and paved ground covered in weeds. The vendor was quite a way away from the main tourist village. Judy doubted it had ever gotten much attention. The bunny however couldn't bring herself to complain at the sight of Nick so disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Nick", she said a little less sincere than she had hoped for. With a begging smile she pointed into the direction of the village. "Maybe we can try somewhere else? It's my money we are spending anyway…I doubt you've got coins hidden away in that jumpsuit of yours."

"You would have loved his carrot burgers", Nick insisted with a raised finger. He stormed past her in a disappointed fury, and right back into the woods adjourning the unkempt square. "I can't go to the village. There's probably police."

He scanned the sea side. A garbage ridden pebble beach lay flat where the paved square ended. Not too far from it, there were a few grimy boats tied to posts besting the water.

"I best wait here.", he murmured, eyes darting. Judy fixed her stare on him intently. "You're not thinking of leaving me here and escaping in one of those boats – are you?"

He couldn't help a grin. "Sweetheart, that's exactly what I was thinking. Maybe you're slier than you look. But alright. Alright. I'll be waiting for you here. I promise. Alright?"

Still she stared him down. He opened his arms in an innocent, amiable gesture, invited her to look into his innocent, friendly face. "Come on. You can trust a face as handsome as this."

"Harhar.", she sighed. "I'm going, but only because I'm starving. You stay right here."

She had barely gone three meters when Nick hissed out of the shade under the trees. "Carrots! Carrots!" She turned, an expression of sheer annoyance on her face. She was tapping her foot impatiently. Had she ever been this hungry? Never! Ever! "What is it?"

"You look too much like Officer Judy Hopps!"

"I am Officer Judy Hopps."

He shook his head violently and stepped out into the light towards her. "No, no. They will recognize you like that. Arms up."

She obeyed in confusion. He removed the holster from her belt, pushed her arms back down, and to her horror licked his paw before drawing it over her head. He ruffled the fur between her ears until it stood up in wild spikes, and his paws moved towards her blouse before he thought better of it and drew away with an ironic smile. "And open one of your blouse buttons."

She glared him down whilst obliging to the command. Feeling a lot looser and uncomfortably casual, she flapped her arms up as he stepped back to examine her. "Better. Much better. You don't look like a prude anymore!", he congratulated, and then waved her away dismissively.

"Go, go! I'm starving."

Judy kept her head town all the way through the tourist village. With her eyes set to the floor, she walked into a mammal here and there, mostly prey enjoying a day out with their family. The air was warm where sunlight had been reflected of the bright floor, and the waves of the large lake washed over the beach lazily.

Once Judy caught a glimpse of her reflection in a window, and was stunned at the change Nick's quick makeover had led to. She seemed like a different person. A more mischievous, fun seeking person. Rough, ruffled and daring. Uncomfortable with the sight, she smoothed the fur on top of her head down in passing.

She returned to their agreed meeting spot only half an hour after they had parted ways, two burgers in her paws. They were fat dripping and grimy, but Judy had a limited amount of finances to support both of them with and had chosen a cheap vendor. Food was food. Her stomach wasn't picky at that time.

When she returned however, the overgrown square was deserted.

She scanned the forest, finding not a hint of red fur. Wind swiped across the ground and made dry leaves and withered grass dance. Judy gripped the burgers tighter, a feeling of utter dread coming over her.

"Nick?"

There was no reply. The bunny felt her heart tighten with despair. She felt no anger at the thought that he had left her, but the painful stab of betrayal. Tears burned in her eyes at the thought being abandoned, distrusted, used. With all her heart she had wanted Nick to be trustworthy, had wanted to believe in him, and yet…

"Pst, carrots! Over here!"

The sudden sound of a voice almost made Judy drop the burgers, but her body knew better than to throw away their only source of nutrition. She frantically searched the place for the speaker, but could not find anyone still. On the lake, a cloth covering one of the boats in the water shifted, and a red paw waved out of it.

"Quick, before you're seen", the fox ordered. Judy quickly hopped towards the boats and marched through a few meters of shallow water to reach him. Nick reached out to grab both her wrists and helped her into the boat. The second she uncomfortably fell onto one of the narrow wooden benches, Nick ripped one of the burgers out of her hands and began eating with the fervour of a starved man.

"Mmh. Grimy fastfood. So much better than prison grub", he murmured with a full mouth, his expression content. Once he had devoured two large bites he pulled the blanket back over them. They ate in the twilight of sunlight casting through thin fabric, close together in the tight space of the boat. They were not yet done eating when Nick extracted his claws and cut the rope that kept the boat tied to a post on the beach.

"I thought you had left.", the rabbit uttered in shame and was answered with an amused grin.

"What? Me? I'd never do that to you."

The boat swayed gently on the water. They both finished their meals in silence. Content now, warmed pleasantly by the trapped air under the blanket, they made themselves as small as possible until they had drifted away from the main land. Nick occasionally lifted the cloth to scan their surroundings, which were more and more taken up by nothing but water.

When they had naturally drifted perhaps twenty meters away from the coast, the fox pulled a paddle from the side of the boat and began pushing them forward. He kept himself half hidden under the blanket as he drew the wooden tool through the water, soon huffing with exhaustion. His muscles were tense, and Judy reckoned his wound was hurting under the strain.

It wasn't long until Judy felt too bad watching him suffer and offered to take over. He accepted her help gladly, sunk back onto the floor of the boat with significant relief.

"Don't worry, Nick. I've got this.", Judy promised enthusiastically. She pushed into the water with the same eager fervour with which she got up at 5:30 every morning. She was helping out a struggling citizen after all. Nick only laughed bitterly at her words however.

"I don't think so, Carrots. We've got a long way to go."

That made Judy's ears perk up.

"Where are we going?", she asked suspiciously, expecting the worst. Nick confirmed it with a smug grin.

"The Rainforest District."