She watched him until he was blocks away. The foreboding terror she felt seemed uneager to subside as he rounded the block and out of sight. She put herself in his shoes for a moment and imagined what it might be like if Mary couldn't be with her for reasons that were out of her control.

It felt like swallowing a rock, and she held her stomach in pain. She impulsively looked for him again at the end of the street, even knowing that he wouldn't be there. Her eyes and nose twitched for a moment. It felt like her stomach was now pushing a choking sob up through her throat, and she had to clench her jaw and her fists to stop it from happening.

She took a few deep breaths, and to break loose from her miserable distraction she peered back towards the cafe. Mary was still there, it looked like she was just sipping her coffee and waiting for her.

"How can she not care how important this is to me?" she thought and forced her legs to carry her back.

"Is he gone?" Mary didn't so much as look up from her coffee, which was halfway to her mouth. If Judy hadn't known for sure she was talking to her she could've assumed she was talking to herself.

She sat down carelessly, and almost missed the seat completely. She didn't respond to Mary. Instead, she stared blankly at the knots in the wooden patio.

"It's not your fault hun," Mary sighed before finally bringing her cup all the way to her lips. "You know that right?"

She didn't snap out of it. She brought her head and view up to eye level slowly, and shook her head slightly at the same pace. "He doesn't deserve this…"

Mary's eyebrows rose, and she leaned forward resting on her forearms.

"He ain't a baby, Judy." She focused herself on Judy, trying to get her attention. "Yea, it kinda sucks for him, but them's the bricks sweetheart." She reached out and placed a hand on her arm.

Judy shrugged it away and averted her glare in the opposite direction. "It seems like you were trying to get under his skin." She lulled bitterly, "I don't like all this jealousy Mary, I can expect it from Nick… but I thought you would be more mature than that."

With the hand she used to try to comfort, Mary aggressively scooped up her cup of coffee. Her hand was doused in scalding hot coffee. "Tsssss!" she winced and set the cup down. After rubbing it for a moment, she glanced at Judy to see that she was showing little interest. "Oh, don't worry your little head about me, sweetheart, I love-love-love burning myself with coffee!"

Judy rolled her eyes and grabbed the nearest napkin. As she rubbed and dabbed, Mary asked a question that seemed to be burning in her mind. "So… just how important is this guy to you?"

"Well," she kept dabbing. "I wouldn't be here without him, and you probably never would've met me without him… so, pretty important."

Mary must've taken it to heart, and as her brow came down and her gaze shifted left, Judy stopped. She watched Mary scratch the bridge of her nose until she gave her response. "Well, I guess I can't be such a bitch anymore, huh?" She scoffed as Judy started laughing.

"For the record, I tried to be friendly just like you asked honey bunny."

Judy slid her hands around her cheeks and pulled her head forward to place a kiss on the bridge of her nose. "I know, thank you."

-Monday morning; bullpen-

Front row, just like always, she sat with hands laced together on the table. She had to force the grin on her face, but she wanted it to be the first thing Nick saw when he walked through that door.

It was excruciating how long it took him to get there. When he finally did casually stroll through the door, coffee in hand, she primped her ears and gave the biggest and most welcoming smile she could muster.

Then he walked right past her…

She watched, as he made his way to the back row and sat in a seat he'd never taken before. It was a hard punch to the stomach. Before she could muster up her nerve to try and get his attention, the chief entered and the chanting began.

"Alright, alright, settle down we've got plenty to discuss before I hand out assignments…" Bogo scanned the room, as he would always do, even if only briefly. This time, however, it took him a little longer. "Why are you two in different seats?"

Neither of them said anything. She hung her head, filled to the brim with nerves, just waiting for Nick to say something.

"Am I going to have to separate you two for awhile?" His scowl traveled slowly from Nick to Judy. "Until you can focus on your duties… because I can't have you bringing this into the workplace, I think you're well aware that this is a dangerous job that requires your FULL attention."

She looked towards him, but he was looking away. She clenched her fists pressed against the seat beneath her, "we're fine chief… we can focus."
Bogo looked doubtful but proceeded with the assignments.

Nick left the bullpen first, and Judy had to rush in collecting her things to catch up with him. She reached him just after he'd pushed through the double doors and started descending the steps.

"H-hey… buddy!" she exclaimed, and as she did she laid out what she'd assumed would be a playful punch to the arm.

He groaned with pain as he clasped his ribs. "Oh- cripes!" She hovered around him with her hands out, "are you… ok?" He lifted his head slowly, and she started to panic when she saw the annoyed scowl on his face. "Nick I'm- I'm sorry I didn't mean to hit you that hard…"

He didn't say anything and brushed off his hip as he started to stroll away. "It's fine Hopps, let's get going."

…

the majority of their shift was spent in terrible silence. It had been an uneventful day, and Nick had spent most of it with his head propped up looking out the passenger side window. She'd thought, more than once, about trying to talk to him, but it would distract them and she couldn't allow that to happen while the were on duty. Eventually, their first and likely only call came in.

'Dispatch to any available units' She reached for the scanner, but Nick snatched it up first. 'Domestic dispute in progress at Broadway and Savanna, please advise.'

"This is car nineteen responding, we're in route."

'Copy.'

He hung up the scanner and pushed up his aviators. Judy couldn't allow his cold focus to get to her, without another word, she pressed down on the pedal…

…

As soon as they arrived on the scene, she could see a wolf couple heatedly arguing on the sidewalk just outside one of the biggest housing complexes in Sahara Square. She went into work mode, and expected she'd need to take control of the situation, it seemed that she was in for a surprise.

Nick hopped out before the squad car had even come to a stop and calmly, but quickly made his way over to the fight.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about Travis!"

"Shut your whore mouth! I talked to Samantha, she showed me your texts!"

Judy hung back and observed as Nick took command of the argument.
"I'm officer Wilde. Sir, I need you to come with me." He kept a hand on his taser, and another extended out in front of him.

"What!?" The male swung around with an aggravated shrug, "I'm under arrest or something? I didn't do anything!"

"You aren't under arrest, but I'll detain you if I have to." He glared over his aviators. "Now come on." He took the male by the arm and escorted him back to their squad car, "just sit tight for a minute," and closed the backseat door behind him.

As Nick made his way back over to his wife, Judy watched in awe. She'd never seen him take charge like this before. He wasn't a bad cop, but he wasn't one to take the lead. She drug her hand across the hood of the squad car as she circled around it to keep an eye on him. What she saw next made her heart sink.

There was a little boy crouched on the first step of the stoop leading into the complex. Even from this far away she could hear his whimpers, and see his wrists wiping up tears. She impulsively took a few steps towards the complex, and then glanced back at Nick.

"Officer, he hit me!" The wife pointed accusingly at the squad car, then lifted up her chin. "You see- You see that bruise right there!?" She shouted, pointing it out to him.

"I'll get your statement in a minute ma'am," he placed a gentle hand on her arm and guided her a few feet away. "For now, why don't you have a seat on the curb for me?"

"I want him gone officer, I want him out'a my house!" She bellowed. It looked like it was an afterthought for Nick. Judy watched him walk right up to the boy and crouch down in front of him.

She couldn't quite make out what he was saying, he was speaking too softly. She took a couple more steps forward and then stopped. She saw him reach into one of the pouches on his belt, "what is he-?" her thought was interrupted.

She was surprised to see what he pulled out of it, a starburst candy. "Does he just carry around candy? I've never seen him eat one… is it just for kids?" she pondered.

She watched him give the little boy the candy and then ruffle his ears around. They kept talking, and as she tried as hard as she could to hear what Nick was saying she heard the husband start shouting from the back seat of their squad car.

"This is gonna' get out of hand if she hears him, I'd better-" she started heading towards Nick, but then stopped again. He finally rose from his position and scooted the little boy along to his mother, still planted on the sidewalk. She caulked her head to the side in confusion as Nick just stood there and watched. Soon enough the little boy embraced his mother, and she could see them both start to cry.

Nick was headed back to the squad car. "Nick, what's going on? Do you need my-" he didn't say anything to her and opened up the backseat.

"Come on pal," he escorted the husband out of the back seat and pointed him towards his family. "I think your son has something to say to you."

She watched Nick cross his arms. He watched as the enraged wolf huffed his way over to the curb. "Nick, we should probably go with him, what if something-" he shushed her, to which she wasn't very pleased. She was getting ready to give Nick an earful when she heard a cry ring out from the direction of the complex.

When she turned to look, "oh…" she cooed and brought a hand to her chest. They were all balled up on the curb, it seemed that just like that they'd reconciled, she could only imagine that it was for the sake of their son. "Nick… is she… pressing charges?"

When she looked up, Nick was wearing a big grin. "Nope."

She watched him for longer than she intended to. His smile was warm and comforting, and the longer she watched it the more at ease she felt. She'd always respected him, but couldn't say that she'd ever admired him before today.

When his smile suddenly spread, and he looked at her for the first time that day, her heart jumped into her throat. "Come on Hopps, I think it's about quitting time anyways," he sighed, and starting making his way towards the driver side of the car.

"Oh, can you toss me the keys?"

She was still in a daze, but when she realized what he was doing she collected herself quick. "You need a license to drive Nick, we've talked about this." She crossed her arms.

"Oh didn't I tell you carrots?" He smirked, and smugly pulled out his wallet and flipped it open revealing a new license. "I'm official now." She skipped over to him and snatched his wallet away, "Hey!"

"Pfff!" She clasped her hand over her mouth before losing it, laughing hysterically. "You're always so photogenic Nick!" She looked like she might suffocate on her whooping howls. "What the HELL happened here!?"

"Well excuse the hell out of me for having an off day fluff!" He snarled as he snatched it back. Her laughter slowly subsided while he stood sternly waiting for her to stop, and as she did her expression shifted.

"So… are we uhm-" she pushed an ear out of her face, still bent forward. "Are we… talking again?"

"…" It took him a moment. "Toss me the keys Hopps."