"Look up. Look down. Now follow my paw." Dr Wiley finished checking Nick's eyes and said, "Well, Officer Wilde, you're doing very well. Do you have any pain?"

Mindful of Judy sitting there watching so intently, Nick shrugged. "Maybe a little."

"Any light sensitivity?"

"No more than usual."

Wiley regarded his patient. "Did you use up the drops I gave you?" Nick nodded and the coyote selected two bottles from a drug cabinet. "Keep using them as instructed until your eyes are symptom free, but I don't need to see you again unless you're having a problem."

"Thanks, Doc." Nick pocketed the bottles. "Ready, Carrots?"

Judy got to her feet and went up to the doctor. "I want to thank you for taking such good care of Nick." Her voice trembled and the coyote smiled warmly.

"I'm just glad I was able to help both of you. It's a genuine pleasure to meet you, Officer Hopps. I was very interested in your story of being the first bunny cop. I'm the first in my family to graduate college. In fact, I'm the first in my family to finish high school. It's not easy breaking the mold." He put out a paw and Judy shook it, then he turned to Nick. "Take good care of yourself, Officer Wilde. You wouldn't be easy to replace."

Judy smiled gratefully at the coyote as she and Nick left, the fox wincing and putting on his sunglasses as they walked out into the sunlight. "Don't look at me like that. I've always needed shades in bright light."

"I know," said Judy. They got in their car and drove to the ZPD, reporting in to Bogo before heading back to their apartment house. Nick had been unusually pensive and Judy finally asked, "What are you thinking about?"

The fox sighed. "You should know if you ask me that question, I'll answer it." She didn't respond and he said hesitantly, "I'm wondering about the fox repellent."

"Nick, I am so sorry about that…"
"I know. And it's okay. It's just...you had it the first day we met, and when you were...lost...you went back to carrying it. It's been a week, and I thought maybe you might want to tell me about it." Now it was Judy's turn to hesitate and Nick said softly, "Only if you want to."

"I want to." Judy paused for a moment to arrange her thoughts. "I was nine years old, at a county fair...

Judy saw one of her sisters skipping behind a booth with Sharla, the little sheep who portrayed an astronaut in her school play, and Sharla's brother Gareth. Right behind them was Gideon Grey and his ferret sidekick, Travis. Her nose twitching, she went to investigate. Peeking around a tree, she saw Gideon standing over Sharla.

"Gimme your tickets right now or I'm gonna kick your meek little sheep butt!" The fox hit Sharla across the face and she cried out in pain.

"Ow! Cut it out, Gideon!"

He snatched her tickets. "Baa, baa, what are you gonna do? Cry?"

"Hey!" Judy came forward. "You heard her. Cut it out."

"Nice costume, loser." Gideon lumbered towards her, Travis close behind. "What crazy world are you livin' in where you think a bunny could be a cop?"

Judy gulped but bravely held out her paw. "Kindly return my friend's tickets."

The fox grinned wickedly and thumped the chest pocket he had tucked the tickets into. "Come and get 'em. But watch out, 'cause I'm a fox, and like you said in your dumb little stage play, us predators used to eat prey, and that killer instinct's still in our dunna."

Travis leaned forward. "Uh, I'm pretty much sure it's pronounced D N A."

Gideon pushed him back. "Don't tell me what I know, Travis."

"You don't scare me, Gideon!" Judy raised her chin and Gideon pushed her so hard she fell to the ground and lay stunned for a moment.

"Scared now?" sneered Gideon.

"Look at her nose twitch! She is scared!" Travis was still hanging back but he was clearly enjoying the show.

Gideon bent over Judy. "Cry, little baby bunny."

Judy's ears went up and she pulled back her feet and kicked hard at Gideon's face, sending him back a few steps. The fox felt his lip and glowered at her. "Aw, you don't know when to quit, do you?" He held up a paw and Judy felt her heart start to race so fast her chest hurt. Then he snarled and swiped his claws across her face. Judy put a paw to her cheek and was sickened at the sight of blood, then Gideon was pressing her face into the dirt. "I want you to remember this moment the next time you think you will ever be anything more than just a stupid carrot farming dumb bunny!" He gave her head a hard shove and walked off, laughing and high-fiving Travis.

"So that's why you were scared of me at the press conference. Wow." Nick shook his head.

"I wasn't scared of you, Nick. I was just startled because…" Judy's voice dropped. "For a second, I felt like that little bunny getting bullied at the county fair."

"At least you got past it." The fox's voice was surprisingly bitter. "You didn't turn into a loser like I did after the Ranger Scouts."

Judy stopped short and said sternly, "Nick Wilde, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Really?" He turned to face her and took off his shades, his sharp green eyes boring into her soft violet ones. "I gave up on myself. You didn't even let it slow you down."

"Nick." Judy put her little velvet paw on his arm. "I had my mom and dad and all my brothers and sisters, and I was a hero at school. I was the only one who ever stood up to Gideon Grey. And do you think I had to deal with prejudice against rabbits in a place like Bunnyburrow? What did you have? Your mom, and she died and you were left all alone in a world that hated foxes. I don't blame you for turning out like you did. I admire you for not going totally bad even after all you had been through."

The fox said wistfully, "I could have turned out a lot better."

"And if you had, I might never have met you." Judy's eyes filled with tears. "Is it terrible that I'm so glad to have you as my partner that I wouldn't change anything in your life if it meant we weren't together?"

Nick felt a weight lift from his heart and his eyes twinkled. "Of course it's terrible. It's so terrible I think I need some dinner to make me feel better."

The bunny had to laugh. "I suppose we could stop at a fast food stand."

"I was thinking the Chocolate Moose."

Judy scoffed, "You want to get into the fanciest restaurant in town, tonight, without a reservation?"

"We have a reservation." Nick put his rough red paw over Judy's and gave her a little squeeze. "It's not every day I celebrate getting my partner back."