Chapter One: Purpose

In a tiny apartment in Savannah Central, a phone laid on a desk. The lit screen was the brightest thing in the otherwise dark room.

"-know how much we worry about you-"

A rabbit sat slumped in a chair before the desk, head lolled over the seat back, ears hanging slack.

"-these are the best years of your life-"

One bleary, violet eye cracked open, then slowly rolled toward the digital clock on the nightstand.

"-there's more to life than your career-"

The electric green display read 05:27. Only three more minutes until she could cite having to go to work to get out of this.

"JUDITH LAVERNE HOPPS!"

The doe jumped in her seat, head snapping up and ears shooting to attention. She looked down at her phone and the image of her irritated mother it showed.

"What?"

"Are you listening to me?!"

"Yes."

"What did I just say?"

"Something about how I'm a terrible daughter for not giving you eight dozen grandkits."

"Judy!"

"What? Is eight dozen not enough? I could try for nine." Judy spent a second contemplating where this snide sarcasm was coming from. Her eyes rose to the framed picture she had sitting on her desk of Nick and her at his ZPD Academy Graduation. Violet eyes rolled in their sockets. The answer was obvious.

"Excuse me for wanting more for my daughter."

Exhaustion combined with frustration and the words were out of Judy's mouth before she realized what she was saying. "Excuse me for wanting to do more with my life than breed."

Two sets of violet eyes widened in shock. Then, one closed in resignation while the other narrowed in fury.

"What is that supposed to mean? Is being a mother not important enough for you? Is what I do beneath you, Officer?"

Placing her elbows on the desk, Judy sank her face into her paws. "Mom, I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. I'm not as dim as you seem to think I am, Judith."

Judy winced as her mother used her name again. The matronly doe only ever called her "Judith" when she was in trouble. She dropped her arms to the desk so she could look at the phone properly. Seeing Bonnie's pinched, indignant expression, Judy knew she had to run damage control.

"Mom," Judy began in a respectful tone, not wanting to upset Bonnie further, "I don't look down on you. You're a fantastic mother, and I love you. It's just that having a ton of kits is not for me. Why can't you see that? I'm not you, or Jessica, or Leylanie, or even Rebecca! I'm not like my sisters. When are you going to accept that I'm Judy; an officer? I have other priorities then having a family."

Bonnie was silent as she mulled over her daughter's heartfelt and honest supplication. Maybe she had been pushing too hard. Finally, she let out a sigh. "I just don't want you to be alone, Judy. Bunnies don't do well on their own."

Some of the tension seeped out of Judy's shoulders as the dreaded "Judith" went away. She managed a small, reassuring smile. "I'm not alone, Mom. I have lots of friends."

"That's not what I mean and you know it, dear. What if you never have kittens of your own? It could be the greatest regret of your life."

"I live in the city, mom. I'll never be able to afford to house a bunch of kits."

"It doesn't have to be eight or nine dozen, Judy. Why not one litter?"

Because big litters ran in the family, that's how her mother had so many kittens by early middle age, and Judy didn't think she could handle one tiny life being entirely dependent on her, much less fourteen! But if she blamed her biology her mother would take offense because Judy inherited her biology from her and Judy couldn't handle another fight this early in the morning and oh, fiddlesticks she hadn't said in anything in awhile say something say something-

"Because I don't like bucks!" Judy blurted.

There was an eerie quiet as two sets of violet eyes widened in surprise. Again.

Bonnie recovered first. "Oh, sweetie. Why didn't you tell me? You know I don't care if you like does."

Judy sighed in misery, once again dropping her face into her paws. "No, mom. I'm not gay."

"Oh?" The older doe asked, blinking in confusion. "Then what?"

Judy let out a miserable groan and dropped her paws so they landed on either side of the phone. "I don't know, just… not rabbits."

Bonnie tilted her head, looking completely lost. "...Hares?"

"No, mom, not hares."

"Hyraxes? Possums? What, Judy?"

"Mom, its not any of those. It's-" Knowing this interrogation wouldn't end until her mother had an answer, Judy cast her gaze around for inspiration. When her eyes settled once again on the picture of Nick on her desk, her desperation found a crack and poured out. "Foxes. It's foxes, mom. I like foxes."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, Bonnie Hopp's violet eyes narrowed in thought. Judy shrunk back uneasily, sensing she wouldn't like what was coming.

"Foxes. Like your partner, Officer Wilde."

Oh, fishsticks, this just kept getting worse.

"...yes."

"Are you dating your partner, Judy?"

"...yes?" Judy plastered on the most convincing smile she could and hoped the resolution was poor enough her mother wouldn't notice.

"Humph. Well, you could do worse than a police officer. At least he's not some con artist."

That's right. She had never told her parents about Nick's past or what he had been doing when they met. Judy's already strained smile grew even more crooked and her eye twitched.

"Yeah, he's great. Nice to everyone. Very respectful. And an exemplary Officer. I wish you knew him better," Judy lied through her teeth.

"Oh, don't worry. We'll get together and talk this out when we visit."

Judy froze, eyes wide with horror. She croaked, "What."

"Oh, didn't we tell you? A farmers market opened up in Savannah Central and they want our stock. Your father and I decided to come up there and negotiate prices face to face so we could see you."

Judy's voice was faint as she replied, "I had no idea."

"Oh. Well, we'll be there the day after tomorrow."

Before Judy could reply, an unseen, but familiar, voice called out on the other end of the line.

"Bon-Bon! I need help!"

Bonnie glanced to the side, then back at the camera. "That's your father, dear, I have to go. See you soon."

The image froze, blinked away to show "CALL ENDED", then blinked again to her home screen, which was a selfie of her and Nick with their heads pushed together, bearing their teeth at the camera like vicious predators, or so she'd thought when she took it. They were both grinning too hard to look scary.

Judy closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at it. Nick was going to be furious. Or laugh himself sick at her expense, and she wasn't sure which was worse.

"Nick's going to kill me," Judy moaned piteously. Then she glanced at her clock. 5:44. The rabbit jerked to attention. She was late! "Nick's going to kill me!"

The fox himself was standing at the reception desk chatting up Clawhauser when Judy burst through the front doors of the Station. Lifting his arm, Nick mimed checking a watch that wasn't there. "What the heck, fluff? I don't think you've ever been nearly not early before."

Judy rushed past the fox on her way towards the bullpen, hooking his arm as she went.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'll explain later, okay?!"

Nick was too focused on keeping his balance as he was dragged behind the rabbit to respond. When they burst into the bullpen, the other officers were already on their feet, pounding the desks and chanting. Reaching their chair at the front of the room, Judy jumped into the seat just as Bogo came through the door, with Nick just managing to scramble up after her in time to be seated as their boss took up his spot at the podium.

"Alright, alright. Shut it!"

The room went quiet as the officers all took their seats.

With an intimidating, dignified air that only one of Bogo's stature could accomplish, the cape buffalo fished his undersized reading glasses from his breast pocket and carefully balanced them upon his snout.

"Hopps. Wilde. There's been multiple reports of suspicious activity around the Canals. Patrol the area, talk to the locals; see if anything funny is going on."

Without delay, Judy and Nick exited the bullpen and headed to their cruiser.

A few hours later, the sun was high in the sky and Judy sat alone in the cruiser's driver's seat. Rather than keeping a keen eye on her surroundings, like she was supposed to be doing, the rabbit's head was down. Chewing a thumb claw, she stared sightlessly at her lap, so lost in thought she barely noticed when the passenger door opened.

Nick scrambled up into his chair, somewhat awkwardly since he had a foil wrapped cylinder in each paw. When he finally managed to get his tail in the seat, he placed one of the bundles in his lap and used his newly freed paw to close the door.

Huffing, he grabbed the bundle off of his lap. "I got you one of those spicy lettuce wraps you like." Lifting the shiny parcel to his nose, he gave it an experimental sniff, only to jerk back with a grimace. "Ugh. I don't know how you can stand so much ginger. I think I'd die if I ate this."

Twisting in his seat, Nick held the snack out for his partner to take. When Judy failed to respond, the fox narrowed his eyes.

Letting his arm drop so it rested on the console, Nick leaned forward. Keeping his tone light and conversational, he said. "The burrito baron said he saw four elephants in matching pink leotards dance through the park last night. They sang 'Ode to Funny Hats' and sacrificed a goose in the name of Cheezus."

"Uhuh. Make sure to take notes. Bogo will want a report," Judy said distantly, eyes still on her lap. Spotting the familiar glare of sunlight off tinfoil, she reached over and took the food from Nick's paw, all without raising her eyes, thanking him or otherwise acknowledging his existence.

Nick pursed his lips and flexed his now empty paw. "Your welcome," he said, keeping his tone light and irritation free through sheer force of will. "Just for kicks, I had them add in a shredded baseball glove. You know, kind of as a garnish." As he spoke, the irritation in his voice slowly increased, though he kept the volume very deliberately low.

Judy hummed absently, going through the motions of unwrapping her meal through sheer muscle memory.

Nick's eye twitched. "Instead of the corn salsa, I had them use horse meat and children's tears and you're still not listening- HOPPS!"

"Gah!" Judy shouted in surprise, jerking away from the noise. She ended up with her back to the door, half unwrapped lettuce wrap clutched to her chest. She stared at Nick with wide eyed surprise.

The fox smiled, giving Judy a casual little wave with the paw that still rested on the console. "Hey there, Carrots. I hope you enjoyed your trip to La-La-Land, but I sure am glad you're back in Zootopia."

Seeing there was no threat, Judy decompressed with a huff. "Cabbages, Nick! You scared me!"

"That what happens when you ignore your partner, cottontail."

"I was not-" The denial died on Judy's lips as Nick dropped his muzzle to stare at her from under quirked eyebrows, silently daring her to finish.

Judy looked away, as annoyed with Nick as she was with herself. "Fine, I'm a little distracted."

"And I'm only a little charming."

When Judy didn't rise to the bait, Nick let his frustrations go with a sigh. "Talk to your partner, fluff. All this neglect is bad for the baby."

Judy turned her head to stare at Nick, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "What baby?"

The paw on the console twisted to point two claws up at Nick's face. "Me. I'm the baby."

Judy huffed again, fighting back a smile. "Got that right."

Nick was glad to see her mood was somewhat improved, but it was time to get to the bottom of this distraction. "Carrots, level with me. What's wrong?"

Judy sighed, letting her head fall back against the door and dropping her lettuce wrap so it rested on her lap.

After a moment of quiet thought, she said, "I got in a fight with my mother this morning."

A frown spread across Nick's lips. Judy had been mentioning trouble with her parents, but hadn't gone into much detail. Apparently, talks had broken down.

"What happened?"

"Well, she called me. Said she wanted to chat. But then she started going on and on about…" Judy trailed off. She glanced awkwardly at Nick and turned away. Nick stared back at her with eyebrows quirked over her bizarre behavior. "...something. Anyway, she basically said my career wasn't important."

Nick winced, knowing exactly how badly those reactions could be. "I bet that went well."

"No. It did not. I said something that sounded a lot like you, actually." Judy glared in Nick's direction. "Thanks for teaching me how to talk like a sarcastic jerk, you jerk! My mother just loved it."

For his part, Nick didn't look the least bit ashamed or repentant. "Don't try to shift the blame, rabbit. You said the bad words, not me. What happened after that?"

"Well, let's just say I said something I shouldn't have."

When Judy stopped there and it was obvious she wasn't going to continue, Nick urged her to continue with a roll of his of paw. "Well?"

"Well, that's it. I said something stupid and now I have to deal with it."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Your partner can't help you if he doesn't have any details, Carrots."

"My partner can't help me with this one," Judy said. Nick stared at her, truly surprised by her denial. "This is something I have to deal with on my own."

After a moment staring at her determined expression, Nick knew he wasn't going to change her mind. The fox settled back into his seat, face forward. Grabbing his own meal, he tore the tinfoil open. As he lifted it up, he noticed from the corner of his eye that Judy was watching him, her food in still in her lap. Looking back down at his tortilla stuffed with crickets and beans, he ordered, "Eat your gross burrito." Then he took a big bite of his own and looked out the passenger window, effectively ending the conversation.

Long ears went limp and fell down her shoulders as Judy stared at her partner in dismay. It was obvious that she had hurt him. Then she looked down at the lettuce wrap he'd gotten her and felt even worse. It was her favorite lunch in the whole area and only came from a small, popular food cart. He probably waited in line twenty minutes to get it for her, which was as long as he could wait, considering their limited lunch break.

Sighing with regret, Judy brought up the tasty wrap and took a bite of the crisp lettuce, fresh veggies and delightfully tangy sauce. For how much she enjoyed it, it might as well have been ash.

The rest of the shift was spent mostly in tense silence, punctuated occasionally with the communications required by their job, but even those were flat and toneless.

At the end of the day, Judy parked the interceptor in the motor pool, feeling as though she'd just had the most unproductive work day of her career. If there was anything "funny" going on at the Canals, the infamous Hopps/Wilde duo sure hadn't found out what.

After turning the keys to the off position, Judy rubbed her eyes with both paws. The sound of a car door thudding shut had her head shooting up in alarm. Turning to the right, she stared at the now empty passenger seat with disbelief. For about two seconds.

"Oh, for pete moss' sake," Judy swore as she unbuckled her seatbelt. Throwing her door open, she leapt from the vehicle and chased after her best friend.

Surprisingly, she found him almost at once. He was standing next to the elevators, in a little corner where the cameras couldn't see. Judging from the multiple crumpled cigarette butts scattered about the pavement at their feet, it was a well known secret.

The fox had his back against the wall, arms crossed, tail curled around his feet and muzzle down. He was obviously waiting for her.

Judy walked up to him, raised a paw with one claw pointed at ceiling, opened her mouth and froze. Now that she found him, she realized she didn't have a clue what to say. She wanted to apologize, but she also knew that she wasn't ready to let him help her with her parents, and saying sorry, but I'm not changing my mind didn't feel genuine or helpful.

Sighing miserably, Judy let her paw fall back to her side. Stepping forward, she turned and leaned against the wall next to him, paws tucked behind her back and face tilted up as she pressed the top of her head against the wall.

The stayed that way for a few, long moments, with just the aching silence between them.

Nick spoke first, though he kept his eyes on the concrete just before his feet. "Well, today sucked."

The understatement made Judy's eyes roll, but also her head nod. "Yeah," she agreed.

"You're a cop, right?"

Knowing he was trying to make a point, Judy didn't bother with sarcasm. "Yup," she said, popping her lips on the p.

"Then you know that stress can make mammals do really dumb things."

After a quick, mental review of the last twelve hours, Judy couldn't help but agree. "I know."

"You know what helps me relax?"

"What?"

"Craft beer, greasy take out, a cheesy movie…" the fox finally shifted, moving his head so he was looking down at her with one eye. The corner of his lips was curled up in the barest beginnings of a smile. "And time with a friend."

Judy smiled back, shifting so she leaning against his arm. "Can we get those coconut worm skewers?"

Nick chuckled. "It freaks me out that you like those, but sure. All the skewers you can eat."

They ended up on Nick's couch, since Judy's apartment was too small for such things. The movie they were watching was some eighties b-movie featuring a musclebound idiot of a tiger and a vapid ocelot female lead who's only qualification for acting was that she was pretty.

Nick sat on his side of the couch, his favorite brand of home brewed beer in paw, while Judy sat curled up on the other, a pawful of empty, greasy skewers laid out on a napkin on the cushion next to her.

Though there was space between them, but they were far from separate. Nick's long, furry tail lay across Judy's legs, with the dark tip curled in her lap. The rabbit used both paws to stroke it, running her fingers over the lovely, coarse fur.

As the credits rolled, Nick threw back the last swig of his beer. Once it was gone, he pulled the bottle away with a satisfied sigh. Leaning forward, he gathered up the one other empty bottle and the two empty takeout boxes from the coffee table. "Make yourself comfortable," he said as he rose to his feet.

Judy let go of Nick's tail as it slipped from her lap. Grabbing the empty skewers, she placed them in one of the empty takeout boxes as the fox walked by.

While Nick busied himself with the cleanup, Judy turned to the back of the couch, which had a small, patterned blanket thrown over it. Grabbing it, she pulled it over herself.

When Nick returned, Judy was already curled up in a ball, her head on the armrest. When the fox sat down again, the bunny opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him.

They sat silently for a time, Nick staring forward and Judy watching him. Eventually, Nick said, "How do you feel? Less stressed?"

Judy nodded, humming an affirmative.

"Good, good." Things went quiet again. The silence wasn't awkward, so much as contemplative. Finally, Nick turned to her and said, "You know I'm here for you, right? For anything."

A simple nod wouldn't do. "I know, Nick. Thank you."

The fox gave a decisive nod. "Alright. You remember where your spare uniform is?"

"Suitcase under the couch."

"Got it in one. Good night, Carrots."

As the fox walked away, Judy stared after him. Purpose shone in her eyes.

Tomorrow. I'll tell him tomorrow.

Author's note: This chapter written by ADeadMissionary, with assistance from Starfang's Secrets.