Chapter 14: Letters from Home

Bogo was waiting for them when they pulled into the underground ZPD parking garage, along with a short but stocky honey badger in a white lab coat and a antelope in nurse's blues. A pair of gurneys lay waiting nearby as well.

Andersen and Johnson only escorted them to the entrance of the precinct headquarters, where they killed the lights and sirens and drove off, bidding Judy and Fangmeyer a good day as they resumed with whatever task they had assigned that day. Turning into the underground parking garage, Judy spotted Bogo and the two medical mammals and drove towards them as quickly as she dared in the cramped space.

Pulling into an empty spot next to them, she killed the engine and unbuckled herself quickly, reaching over Nick and unlocking his door.

It was quickly opened and gloved reached for the still unconscious fox. "...Easy does it now, careful with him…"

Judy didn't move from her seat as she watched them haul her partner away, pulling him out of the car and into one of the waiting gurneys. Not even the warning growls from Wolford in the back distracted her from her unwavering gaze as it followed Nick's closed eyes.

"-fficer Hopps… Officer Hopps?"

Judy blinked, slowly turning her head to look at the antelope nurse only after recognizing that her name was being called. "Y-yes?"

The nurse smiled softly at her. "You don't need to worry about you're partner, he's in good paws. Want to step out of the car?"

Judy blinked again, then nodded. "Oh, yeah, I guess I should do that," she muttered, slowly getting around to actually doing that. Sliding out of the too-large-for-her seat and down to the ground, by the time she went around over to the others, they were already getting Wolford strapped down on the remaining gurney. The wolf was once again unconscious, an IV line running into one of his arms. Fangmeyer was standing protectively next to him.

Judy stopped next to the badger doctor, a strange feeling of recognition creeping over her. "Wait, I know you," she said when she finally found her voice, "you were at the asylum. With ex-mayor Lionheart... I arrested you."

The doctor, grinning, pointed a finger at Judy. "That you did, bunny," she replied. "And now I'm here taking care of the same fox who was with you. Small world, huh?" Her fingers uncurled and she offered her open paw to shake instead. "Dr. Madge Honey Badger. You can call me Honey. Foremost expert on Nighthowlers in this city, which by extension, if I may be a tad bold, the world."

Judy raised an eyebrow even as she accepted the paw and shook it. "They still allow you to work in the medical field after… the arrest?" Her eyes went back down away from Honey and to the unconscious forms of Nick and Wolford. "But if you really are that good, I'm not going to complain. But… please be careful with them..."

She felt a hoofed hand settle on her shoulder, and she glanced up at Bogo. The chief was looking down at her with a gentle expression that was quite unusual of him. "Let the doctor do her work, Hopps," he muttered, "the ZPD always keeps a close line of communication to her and her team in case we ever had to apprehend savage mammals again, even after Bellweather was caught. There's no better place for Wilde and Wolford to be right now."

Judy nodded. "I understand chief… But I still can't help but be worried." She watched as Honey and her assistant raised the two gurneys in preparation to roll them out of the garage. The sight of both Nick and Wolford, breathing masks over their muzzles and the steady beep of vitals monitoring equipment was very unsettling for her. So much, that as much as she didn't want to leave Nick's side, at the moment, she also wanted to be anywhere else but here. "I…" she frowned. "I guess I should go and start writing the report," she finally said, "get everything written down while it's still fresh." But as she turned to go, she was stopped when Bogo didn't let go of her shoulder.

"Don't worry about the report, Hopps," Bogo replied. "I want you to go with Doctor Honey. Fangmeyer too." At the sound of her name, Fangmeyer glanced up at the chief. "The doctor and I were discussing this when you were still driving over. You told us that you didn't find anything that could explain Wolford going savage. Then especially after Wilde went as well..."

That only made Judy feel even worse than before. "You think we might have Nighthowler in us as well, sir..." she mumbled. "...I guess I can see how that can make sense."

Bogo nodded. "I won't feel comfortable letting you go without having the two of you checked out. Doctor Honey insists it's only a simple procedure. Nothing to worry about."

Judy's nose started to quiver as the full realization of the implication of what Bogo was referring to hit her. Only the increased pressure on her shoulder brought her back from her thoughts.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Bogo said guiltily, "I just wanted you to know-"

"N-no, I understand sir," Judy hastily cut him off, "I would be worried about the same thing. If I were in your position."

Bogo nodded, then motioned at Honey. "Don't keep your partner ready."

Freeing herself from his grip, Judy shuffled over to Nick's gurney, staring at his sleeping form. A slight bit of comfort came to Judy with the fact that since they ventured down that tunnel, this was the first time she saw him actually looking at rest and peaceful.

"Since you need to go with us," Honey said from behind her, "there's room next to him so that you can ride along." Despite speaking softly, her voice was unexpected enough that it caused Judy to jump slightly from shock.

"I uh..." Feeling silly at the whole thing, Judy nevertheless jumped up on top of the gurney and sat down, immediately grabbing one of Nick's paws and placing it on her legs. Her own paws stroked his fur slowly almost out of their own accord as she nodded to signal that she was ready.

"What about you, Fangmeyer? It's not a big issue to get someone to help you over to the medical rooms," Honey asked the tiger.

Fangmeyer didn't even look away from Wolford as she answered. "No, it's okay. I want to walk."

Bogo opened the door for them to go through into the building proper. "I'll be in my office, keep me updated," he told the doctors. "Good, bad, I don't care. And don't try to sugar coat it either."

"Will do, chief," Honey replied courtly. Then to her assistant, "George, if you don't mind..."

Judy stared blankly at the walls as she rode Nick's gurney through the halls of the precinct, hardly paying attention even when Honey forced her to leave his side so that they can undergo the various testing that needed to be done. The badger went with Nick, leaving Judy with another assistant that she didn't bother remembering the name of. Not that she wanted to be rude, but she simply wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings at the moment, too worried about Nick to care about herself. Several times, she would try to ask for an update on Nick's status, only to receive a useless answer, usually along the lines of "he's doing fine, don't worry". Her own tests were rather uneventful, although she did receive some sort of bitter tablet that she was told to swallow, a small cup of water with it to help her take it down.

Then several hours later, she was finally allowed to leave the medical wing of the precinct, but with the explicit promise from her that she was going to spend the night within Precinct One's walls. It was an easy promise for Judy to make, since it meant that she would stay closer to Nick, and by extension, find out about his state sooner.

Plus, whatever they had given her had left her feeling somewhat queasy. A bumpy ride through Zootopia's subway lines was not something she minded missing out on. At first, she went up to the offices in search of Fangmeyer. The senior officer was in her cubical, fast asleep. The computer displaying the day's report were only filled with the date and names of the officers involved, with everything else blank.

Not wishing to disturb Fangmeyer, Judy headed back downstairs aimlessly. On her way down, she stopped in front of the doors to Bogo's office. Unable to explain to herself why she was even doing it, she gently knocked on the door, ears waiting for his gruff call out to let whoever was knocking on his door in. Instead, all she got was silence. Knocking again, she again didn't get an answer. Crouching over, she looked down at the crack between the door and the ground. Instead of the expected light from the office, she saw that the gap was dark. Bogo's office was empty. Strange.

Standing back up, she again let herself wander further downstairs, arriving over to the receptionist desk. Occupying Clawhauser's usual spot was the ibex officer of the evening shift. Judy stopped, and glanced at the clock on the back wall. Sure enough, it was well into the evening, so Clawhauser would have already ended his shift… about two and a half hours ago. Had she really missed the passage of time so much?

Approaching the reception desk, Judy cleared her throat. "Hey, uh, Peter… Have you seen Chief Bogo?"

The officer glanced down at her, an odd expression on his face. "Bogo left for home shortly after his shift ended, Hopps," he answered plainly. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, I uh..." Judy found herself stammering. "...Actually, I don't know," she finally concluded, almost to herself.

Officer Peter sighed and moved aside his nameplate so that he can look at Judy better. "Listen, Hopps. Judy. I don't know what happened today, since Bogo only gave me the bare minimum of information. Mainly, that I am not to allow you or the others there to leave this building for tonight. Well, not unless there will be a dire emergency, that is." He flicked his head over to the main entrance. "But think of it this way: do you really think that chief Bogo will allow himself to go home if he wasn't certain that everything was all right back here?"

Judy shook her head. "No, no he won't," she agreed.

Peter nodded. "So for what it's worth, I personally don't think you have anything to worry about." He gave Judy a smile and motioned towards the kitchen. "Grab some dinner, you look like you can use a nice warm meal. Might help cheer you up."

She even managed to return the smile as her stomach rumbled at the mentioning of food. "Yeah, sure, sounds like a good idea." Walking off, she waved a paw at him. "Thanks, Peter!"

Arriving at the kitchen, she peered inside the shared refrigerator and took out something that looked like it would be edible. Haphazardly tossing the bag of vegetables into a plastic bowl, she let the whole thing microwave for a minute before taking the warmed meal over to a table.

Sitting down, Judy realized that she just wasn't in the mood to actually eat it. Or perhaps it was still the queasiness from the pill she had to take, but it wasn't like she hadn't eaten through worse feeling before. No.. it was definitely her mood. She used a fork to nudge the steaming vegetables around the bowl, but other than the occasional smallest of bites, she didn't actually do anything about her appetite.

Normally, as much as she loved to complain about Nick's endless fooling around and terrible jokes, he somehow also always was able to read her mood perfectly. And through that, he also knew what to do or say to make her feel better. But he was back in some room somewhere, either asleep naturally or because of some drug pushed into his system, but out of it either way. So there she was, twirling a pea around the perimeter of her bowl, wondering when she would gather the courage to actually admit to herself that she wasn't in the mood to finish her meal.

Judy was still sitting at the table, her food long cold, when she barely noticed someone sitting down next to her. Slightly surprised that someone would do such a thing, she looked over to who it was. "Oh, hey Trigger..." Try as she might to put in even a little effort into not sounding so down, she just couldn't get herself to do it.

The pilot placed his own dinner on the table and sat down behind it. "Hey, Judy," he greeted in turn. "Hey, uh..." Unlike her, he was quite eager to bite into his food as he spoke, so he also had to pause in between filling his mouth. "-I heard you came across a body today." He sat his plate down, scooting closer to her, examining her posture. "Was it that bad?" He tilted his head, curious. "And where's Wilde? Err… Nick?"

Judy blinked at her bowl. Truthfully speaking, she had completely forgotten about the body they had discovered when they had first arrived at the abandoned warehouse. But the body's information was radioed back to Clawhauser, who no doubt spread it to the rest of the station. But everything after they went down underground – everything that was actually leaving Judy feeling as she was now, didn't get told to the Precinct's gossip channels.

"No, Trigger, it's not about that… I..." her voice faltered, and Judy felt her eyes start to water all over again as she couldn't help but remember Nick's state. "...I don't want to talk about it," she forced out. To her relief, he backed away.

"Don't worry, Judy, I understand," Trigger said, then returned to eating his food in silence.

As he ate, Judy couldn't help but wish for him to get up and leave her alone completely, but as some more time passed, her contempt towards him lessened as she started to appreciate the fact that someone was nearby, but also giving her the space she was asking for by not insisting on talking. Just like something Nick would do. Unfortunately, this only served to increase Judy's need to be with her partner instead, so she minded her own thoughts and didn't say anything either.

Her theory that Trigger wasn't leaving her was only confirmed when he set his empty plate down in front of him, but didn't get up to even put it away. He simply propped up his elbows on the table next to the plate and rested his head on his paws, gaze staring in the vague direction in front of him.

Twirling around her food for some more, Judy decided that she was going to cut the tension in the air after all. "I really am just a dumb bunny," she said suddenly.

Trigger snorted as his head jolted. "Huh?"

Judy frowned when she realized that he had been well on his way to dozing off – something that Nick would never do, unless he knew that the absurdity of the act would be in itself a distraction enough to lift her spirits. Something she was certain Trigger wasn't thinking about. "Trigger, if you're going to fall asleep, you have a place for that," she scolded. Later, she would feel slightly bad for chastising him like this, but right now, Judy either wanted him to actually be helping her, or leave her alone.

Trigger's ears folded over as he shrank away from her. "Sorry, Judy," he muttered quietly, "I uh… Guess I was more tired than I thought." Fidgeting in his seat, he adjusted himself to a less comfortable position, forcing himself to stay awake. "You were saying?"

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Judy figured it wouldn't hurt to try again. "I said 'I really am just a dumb bunny'."

Trigger tilted his head again. "Why?"

Staring down at how her legs were dangling off the chair, Judy answered. "Because. While today went… really bad, in the end, no one was actually seriously hurt. I was straight up told that Nick is fine, and yet all I can do is mope about and worry about him. So… dumb bunny."

"I wouldn't call yourself that," Trigger said slowly. "I think it's a perfectly natural thing to think. Emotions rarely follow logic, so even if you know one thing, you can't help but feel another. Can't always force the two to line up."

Judy hummed in agreement as she pondered her own conflict between what she was thinking and what she was feeling. "Yeah, I suppose so," she eventually muttered before falling silent again, allowing herself to admit that this wasn't actually helping her mood all that much. Maybe attempting a distraction will be what will help her. "So tell me about what you and Count were up to today."

Trigger raised an eyebrow at her. "I know what you're doing. Well, if you think it will actually work, then-" he proceeded to tell her how he and Count got to give a rather large talk about the drones they flew against to a group of officials. "-they didn't ever introduce themselves, but I'd wager there was both Ocelotians as well as some of you Animalians there as well." He then shrugged. "I don't know if you want to hear or not about what we actually talked about, but I don't think I'm allowed to actually tell you that. It's a type of 'I can tell you, but then I'll have to kill you' type of deal."

The quote even brought a slight slight smile to Judy's lips. "I made Nick watch that movie shortly after we brought you and Count in. He insists he doesn't care for it, but I suspect he rather liked it."

Another shrug from Trigger. "Can't get through fighter pilot training without seeing it at least once, really," he commented. "Actually, we had one writing assignment which was to point out everything in the movie that is wrong compared to actual fighter flying. Hate to break it to you, but it's basically the entire movie."

Judy grinned again. "Well, yeah. But when was the last time a cop movie actually showed what being a cop was actually like? Endless paperwork and boredom only occasionally intermixed by shear terror and excitement."

Trigger nodded in understanding. "You mean like today?" His eyes widened when Judy's ears, which had even lifted themselves up slightly during their conversation, instantly dropped again. "Oh, shi-, Judy, I- I'm… it just slipped out!" he stammered.

The freshly depressed Judy stared at her half-eaten dinner bowl. "I know, Trigger. Just… could have not used the reminder." Trigger, for his part, buried his muzzle into his paws, and she could swear she heard the phrase 'dumbass' be murmured by him. And, as much as she wanted to enjoy being angry at him, hearing him scold himself instead of needed her brought a grin to her own muzzle. "Don't worry about it, Trigger, really."

Her grin that was matched by chuckling from a new arrival from behind.

"Trigger, are you being a dumbass again?"

Without looking up from his paws, Trigger groaned back. "I don't need your snarky attitude now, Count. Do us a favor and keep going."

Count, instead of listening to the advice, did the exact opposite and sat down next to Trigger and Judy. "Well, normally I would," he sneered, "but I brought a friend over. So no can do."

Trigger looked up, glare in his eyes. "Oh for f-. What friend?"

Judy, for her part, already saw exactly who it was Count twas referring to, as Jack Savage sat down on the other side of her. But her attention was focused between Trigger and Count. Sure, she was already familiar with how the two of them would sometimes not get along, but most of the time, they acted… fine with each other. So why the sudden hostility?

With Count still smirking, Trigger barely registered Jack's presence as he continued to glare at his fellow pilot. "Count, I swear I'm not in the mood for attitude. So unless you drop that smirk off, either you or I are leaving, but one of us will go." He started to gather the remains of his dinner in preparation to do just that. "You too, agent Savage," he said, finally recognizing the newest arrival. "Unless you have something useful to say, I'm gone."

Jack lifted a backpack up and placed it on top of the table in front of them. "Well, Trigger, actually, I think you will find it better that you remain here." Turning to Judy, he added, "Hopps, I heard about today… I'm sorry about what happened , if you think that will mean anything coming from me. But I think you will also find it nicer to stay and watch."

Judy nodded. "Yeah, sure, no problem," she replied back quietly.

Digging into his backpack, Jack started to explain why he arrived over with Count. "First thing's first, since you are all too polite to ask about it," he paused to point at his right ear, almost fully covered in a thick bandage. "For the past several days, I flew down to see this Four-Four-Four squadron for myself and- um... Something wrong?" He glanced at the two pilots, with Count failing to look uninterested in the conversation and Trigger fidgeting nervously in his seat. "Anything I should be aware about?" Savage asked uncertainly. "Count? Trigger?"

"Nope, nothing at all," Count quickly replied. "Someone try to gnaw your ear off?"

"If you mean by 'someone', you are actually referring to an Urusian bomb, then sure," Jack replied deadpan. "But then again, I did arrive right as the airbase had been relocated to a more forward position, so it's only natural to assume that the Urusians would try to counter attack." He paused again as he pondered his thoughts for a moment. "First of all, I want to express my deepest sympathies to the two of you for having to deal with a commanding officer as useless as Colonel McKinsey." Jack shook his head. "That warthog really has something eating at his tail, and I mean, really..."

"Yeah, McKinsey sucks, something that already told you," Count countered lamely. "What about the other thing?"

"Oh, well," Jack fidgeted. "Luckily for me, I was only there for two days, but here's something I don't get… Four-Four-Four is a front line unit, am I correct?" When both Trigger and Count nodded, he continued. "Well, along with finding myself in the middle of an Urusian bombing raid..." He pointed at his bandaged ear again, "...after all, I didn't get this by accident, so here's the other thing: I arrived there after a rather long flight and even longer drive in a military convoy. Let's just say I was quite hungry when I arrived, so can you imagine my pleasure when I saw that the only thing they had available was a plain bowl of old rice? Contaminated with bugs? That were still alive?" He shook his head, snorting with amusement. "Every capable military knows that one of the easiest ways to keep morale up is to provide plentiful, good-tasting food. Something that was completely absent there. What was is that Naponyon said? 'An army marches on its stomach'?"

At the mention of their squadron's cuisine, Trigger's stomach noticeably rumbled, and even Count grimaced at the memories. Jack raised an eyebrow at the two's reactions.

"So yeah, something about that unit is really bothering me," he continued, "but in order to avoid rambling, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about." Rummaging a bit more through his backpack, pulling out a pair of envelopes. "Count, this one's for you. Well, you and Trigger both, but..." he handed over one of the envelopes, then the other two to Trigger. "And this one's yours."

As Trigger stared with wide eyes at the envelopes, Count skipped looking them over, choosing instead to tear right into his after only a brief moment of bothering to read from where it was from. "Mail call!" he called out, an uncharacteristic amount of pure joy in his voice as he pulled out the letter. "This one's from Tabloid!"

Jack grinned as he watched Count start to read through his mail. "So, aren't you going to read it out aloud?"

Flipping his still closed envelopes over, Trigger narrowed his eyes towards the ZIA agent. "You already read them," he said accusingly.

"Guilty as charged," Jack answered bluntly. "It's part of my job, what do you expect?" He turned his attention back to Count, grinning wide. "So, want to share with us?"

Count shrugged as he let out a huff of annoyance. "Yeah, sure," he muttered. "But only because bunny cop here is in a bad mood. God knows I have enough to deal with with Trigger." He brought the letter closer to himself and began to read:

"Count, Trigger,

Don't know how much of this will make it past the censors, but here it goes:

Word got to us rather quick that you and Trigger somehow survived getting your tails shot down. And right over Zootopia, too! What are the odds of that, right? Anyways, the Animalian bunny showed up asking questions about the two of you, and us in general, so I figured I can type this up real quick and let him have something to take back. So as for our base, what can I say? Don't know how much you two are able to keep up with the news, but we're basically at a stalemate here. Even with the moving the whole base up closer to the Urusians, until we do something about those arsenal birds, there's not much we can do.

So first of, the good news: McDicksey impressed someone high up enough that we starting to receive more supplies. NOT FOOD though (it's still the same terrible stuff we all know and love. Worse than before, even). No, it's ammo, fuel, spare parts, that sort of deal. Don't know why they can't just throw in some fresh canned meals in with the rest is beyond me. And then the Urusians try to intercept that as much as they can, so we have to fly out to protect our own resupplies.Actually, the missions these days remind me a lot of how things used to be before Trigger joined our squad.

The bad: Seems like the whole airforce is running low on good pilots. Seems like every new replacement we get only somehow barely earned a single line for their name, and that's only because 444 is fighting the other squadrons for pilots as hard as they are for us. Trigger:DON'T WORRY ABOUT US. We're starting to find our mojo again, even if it's without the two of you. Bandog does what he can to help us out, but you know him. Although, personally, I think it's only down to the Urusians getting a little more confident ever since they realized they are not flying up against The Pilot With The Three Strikes anymore. Count: hate to admit it, but yeah- you are the better leader than I am. BUT ONLY when you put your mind to it. But since you're not here with us, kind of amoot point, isn't it? "

Count paused the reading of the letter as he let out a triumphant whoop, flicking at the letter. "Hah! Told you, Tabloid!" he shouted gleefully, quickly spinning in place to face Trigger. "See? He even admits it!"

Trigger shrugged, chuckling slightly. "Yeah, but as he said, you're not flying now, are you?" Count stuck his tongue out before resuming reading the letter.

"Anyways, the plan is for us to get the Urusians to fear all of us: One line, two lines. Doesn't matter. Still no one else with three lines on their tails, so you're the only one still, Trigger. But if we can get the Urusians to be afraid of attacking us, then perhaps we can even find the time to see about the situation in our kitchen. I know, priorities.

Also, one last thing: Apparently McDicksey wants something nice for Christmas this year, because he even allowed us to do something which I ever actually expected him to: I drew up a design for new shoulder patches for the squad. Was planning on surprising the two of you when we joined up again at the new location, but since you never got there, never got the chance to. Anyways, I slipped in a set for the both of you, so you can at least look proper when you finally come back to us. Hope they reach you safe and sound!

Not actually missing you much at all,

Tabloid

P.S. I think Scrap Queen wants to write something for you, Trigger. Didn't think she was the type for something like that, especially how much she can't stand you.

P.P.S. -" Count hesitated as he read over the last part of the letter, glancing between Jack and Judy. The ZIA agent was smirking back at him, while the ZPD officer had a confused look as to why Count would suddenly stop reading suddenly like that. Her ears were as straight as they can be, eager to find out what Tabloid had written that got Count so worried over.

"So, Count,want to finish that up? Trigger asked, breaking the silence and waking Count up from his indecisiveness.

"Oh, well, yeah, sure. Not like Savage here doesn't already know what coming up anyways, here it goes:

P.P.S. Speaking of food: If we ate the bunny, would it count as a war crime, or will it pass as collateral damage? Just my stomach thinking for me here."

Judy's face distorted in disgust. "Eat Savage? Gross!" she complained. To his credit, Jack only smirked even more.

Finishing the letter, Count looked inside the envelop it came in. "There's nothing there..." he noted, cursing underneath his breath. "Stupid Ocelotian intel guys probably stole the badges." He folded the letter up and stuffed it into a pocket. "So, Tabloid wrote up a letter? Well, he was always more of a poetic type of guy, so I guess it's not too odd of him." Count himself let out a dreamy smile. "Didn't think getting news from home would feel this good. Say, Trigger, why don't you read your letter?"

Trigger still hadn't gotten around to even opening his, but he was interrupted by Jack.

"Actually, I know why the envelope didn't have the patches. I completely forgot about them," Jack said, again searching through his backpack. "Here they are!" He handed a pair to Trigger, and another to Count.

Count, for his part, gave them a glance and immediately let out an exaggerated groan, covering his eyes with an arm. "Seriously, Tabloid? Really?"

Trigger took his own set, eyes widening in surprise as he glanced over them. He slid one over to Judy so that she can see better. Her own reaction at seeing it was one of amusement.

The patch was of a circular design, an amber furred canine's head clutching a revolver in it's jaws, with a ribbon with the name 'Trigger' covering the neck area. Circling around the entire patch were the words, starting at the bottom: '*444* STICK WITH TRIGGER AND YOU'LL MAKE IT THROUGH'.

"Seems like you really left an impression on them," Jack commented as he also looked over the patches again.

"I uh, was actually trying to avoid this kind of notoriety," Trigger said, but the slight grin on his muzzle betrayed the fact that he was clearly enjoying the new badge design. Setting down the one he was holding, he picked up his own letter again, using a claw to tear it open. He glanced at the first short line of text on the top, letting out an amused groan. "Yeah, it's from the Scrap Queen."

Count smirked, a knowing twinkle in his eyes. "That means you've got to read it!"

Trigger was about to do just that, but another new voice from behind them stopped him.

"Couldn't you all have waited for me before starting that?" the tired voice of Nick came, announcing his arrival.

In a flash, Judy jumped off her chair and bolted over to him. "Nick!" Arms wide, she enveloped him in a deep hug. "Nick, I was so worried!" she mumbled into his chest.

"Carrots, stop! You're hurting!" Stumbling backwards from the force of her, Nick was able to pry her off as he then hobbled over to her abandoned chair and sat himself down on it with a groan. "Ugh, feel like crap," he complained, reaching over for a half-drunk glass of water before changing his mind and pushing it away. "Got bored and restless out of my mind, so I convinced the nurse to let me walk over here." He jerked his head off to the distance, where the antelope nurse from the garage was keeping a close eye on him, while still proving a polite gap between them for privacy. "Was hoping that a walk would help me feel less… sick." He let out a groan, wrapping his midsection with his arms as he bared his teeth in frustration. "Only seems to have made it worse."

Pulling another chair over to him, Judy sat down close to Nick, placing a paw on his lap. "How else are you feeling Nick? Still feeling like you are under the Nighthowlers, or is it all gone now?"

Nick looked away from Judy. "Still feel it quite a lot," he admitted with some hesitation. "Completely angry at the world... But whatever they pumped me full of… Too tired and too sick to care." As if to prove his point, a low growl rose from his throat, but he quickly suppressed it down with a deep breath. He then glanced over to Trigger. "So what about that letter? Could use some good news for today."

Trigger glanced down at his letter nervously. "Well, uh, I guess..." Unfolding it all the way, he began to read.

"Hey Dumbass-" Everyone around him erupted in laughter, forcing him to stop. Nick, with his lowered coordination, nearly fell off his chair, prevented only by the timely intervention of Judy. For her part, she decided to keep a closer eye on Nick after all.

"Guys, please," Trigger complained failing to hide his own smile from the introductory line, "if you aren't going to listen politely, I'm going to read it on my own. Count, especially you."

"Don't be like that, Strikes! Read it to us!" Nick complained as he re-righted himself on the seat, only to angrily shove the supporting hoof of the nurse away from him. A moment later, based on his suddenly hurt expression, he seemed to realize what he just did. "I- sorry 'bout that," he quickly mumbled.

The nurse shook his head. "Don't be. I can only imagine what you're feeling like right now. It's why I'm here, after all."

Judy watched over her partner carefully. "Are you sure Nick is fine being here right now?" she asked the nurse quietly.

"Well, no, not really," the nurse replied, ignoring the low growl from Nick who clearly disagreed with him. "He really should be in bed still, but officer Wilde was getting rather, um, unmanageable lying in bed. So, Doctor Honey finally allowed him to walk around the building for a bit, but she wants him back very soon." He answered Nick's growl with a stern look of authority that said clearly: No, Nick was not allowed to argue against it this time. "Very soon," he repeated, just to further shove the point home.

Nick, to his credit, was able to calm himself down enough to where the nurse felt comfortable enough to walk off in a search for his own seat. "Okay, let's just... ignore that little interruption," he said with a slight chuckle, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "So Stripes, the letter? What tales from the far corners of the globe have you received?" The nurse returned with a chair and a full cup of water, which this time Nick took eagerly.

Trigger returned his attention to the letter. "Right, so, to start again, here it goes:

Hey Dumbass-" Again, everyone started to laugh, though not so much as before, so he chose to ignore them and continued to read, only raising his voice enough to be heard by everyone and let them know that he wasn't going to stop again.

"-Since I'm not good with this writing stuff, I'm just going to keep it short and let Tabloid do the rest.

First: The new guys at base can't tell a flathead from a pawllips to save their own hides. I miss being able to yell at you and Count all day and still expect the work to be finished. So as soon as you two figure out a way back, we're waiting!

Second: Was talking to McKinsey in his office a while back when you were still with us. But then you flew out before I could give it to you. Consider it a late 'well done for not trashing your plane again' gift.

Last: Laika's getting rather lonely without you. If you ever need a reason to convince yourself to rejoin us, think of her.

Scrap Queen"

Trigger finished reading the letter, and refolded it. "Well that was short. And to the point." Just like Count had, he looked inside the envelope only to find it empty. "Savage..." he warned.

"Already on it!" Jack replied back. Sure enough, he was searching for something in his backpack. "I know I have it in here somewhere, just give me a moment!"

Waiting for him to grab whatever he was looking for, Judy rested her chin on her elbow. "So Trigger, who's 'Laika'?" she asked in a teasing voice. "Got a girl back home?" From behind her head, she swore she heard Nick whisper something along the lines of 'some dumb cute bunny?'. She struggled not to laugh and hoped desperately that her fur was going to hide the redness of her cheeks as she waited for the answer for her question.

But before Trigger could answer her, Jack let out a triumphant whoop.

"Found it!" He was holding a rather small rectangular paper. From the light shining on it and leaking through, it was clear that it was a photograph of sorts. "So, is that Laika?" he asked as he handed it over to Trigger.

"No, I doubt it," Trigger answered with a shake of his head. "Laika's-" Taking a look at the picture, his expression instantly softened, whatever he was saying forgotten.

"Our squad doesn't have anyone with the name or callsign of 'Laika'," Count clarified in Trigger's place. "Actually, Trigger, really. Who is this 'Laika'? And how does Scrap Queen know about her?" When Trigger didn't answer, he glanced over at the other pilot, still frozen in his seat as he stared at the picture. "Come on now, don't be rude, Trigger," he teased. "Come on! Let the rest of us have a look." Slowly reaching over, he noted how Trigger didn't react to his hoof slowly approaching the picture. Once close enough, he quickly snatched the item. "Thank you, Trigger, you're too kind!" Taking a look himself, Count broke into a wide grin, letting out a chuckle. "Ha! Always knew you had a girl!"

Seeing Count steal the picture, Judy quickly stood up on her chair. "Count, don't be mean!" she admonished. "Give it back!"

"Don't worry, I will," Count reassured her. "Here, take a look." He got up and moved over to the others. Since Savage had no doubt already seen it, he held the picture steady to where Nick and Judy could see it clearly.

The photo was that of Trigger, in his flight suit and in front of a fighter plane, but not focused on it. Standing right next to him was another golden-furred canine, a female, also in a flight suit. The two were captured in a moment of a playful fight, arms wrapped around each other's heads, whether right before or after a flight, Judy couldn't tell. Not that it even mattered.

What was odd, instead, was seeing the look of pure joy and delight on Trigger's face. The entire time Judy knew him, she couldn't ever recall ever seeing him so… happy.

"Aww, that's a really cure picture, Trigger," Judy complemented, moving closer to Nick so that she can be sure that he also has a clear view. Then, forgetting what his lasts words were, she asked, "take it that's Laika?"

"No!" Trigger gruffly replied, taking her slightly aback with his tone.

Lifting the picture away so that he can look at it again, Count took his time to appreciate it. "So, think you'll ever introduce her to me?" he asked. "Cure girl like her. Well, cute if I was into dogs, which I'm not." When Trigger didn't answer, he tore his gaze away from the photo and towards the pilot. "Come on, it's just a silly question!" he protested. "I can understand missing her and all, but I'm actually rather curious as to when you will think of introducing her to the rest of us-"

"Never!" Trigger growled back. Judy felt Nick tense from behind her. "You will never see her, Count!" Trigger repeated again. "Neither you nor anyone else, so shut up!"

Count frowned. "Why the anger, Trigger? Surely you're not-" He hesitated, slowly starting to grin, raising the picture far over Trigger's head in order to tease him. "Surely you're not jealous?"

"N-No, it's not that..." Trigger replied, his voice straining audibly.

Count frowned. "Then what in th-"

"She's dead!"

Just like that, two words killed the mood in the entire room.

Trigger let out pained groan as he buried his head under his paws. "You... Won't… Because... she's dead!" he mumbled again, his voice repeatedly breaking.

Even Count looked genuinely upset at his earlier teasing. "Well… Crap." Slowly, he lowered the picture and gently placed it on the table next to Trigger.

Judy held onto Nick's paw tightly as she struggled to think of what to say. Watching Count sit down next to Trigger, placing an arm around his shoulders, she felt helpless when she realized that she was hopelessly out of her league when it came to figuring out how to help the pilot. Trigger, for his part, was struggling to maintain even a pretense of any composure. Glancing over at Nick, who was sporting a frustrated expression, she knew that he was also trying to figure out if he could do anything. Deciding that remaining silent was the worst thing to do, she took in a deep breath. "Trigger-"

"Don't!" Count interrupted her, briefly glancing her way. "I know you want to help, but, don't." He pulled Trigger's head closer to himself, giving the upset pilot a slight shake of reassurance. "Just give him some time, all right?" Looking back at Nick and Judy, Count flicked his head down the hall. "Actually, if you want to help, probably will be best if you just go. All of you."

Judy glared back at the deer. Was he really telling them what to do immediately after what he himself had done? "Count, I don't think you're in a position to boss us around," she argued. "Why don't you ask Trigger?"

Count shook his head, then picked the picture up again, showing it to Nick and Judy once more. "I'm more in a position than you are," he said coldly. "For you, our war is… just something in the news. Gossip. But for Trigger and I? ...It's home. Not something you can understand." He let out a long sigh, giving Trigger another slight shake. "But okay then. Trigger, what do you want?"

"Please go," was the quiet answer. "Nick, Judy… Just… go." He slid deeper into Count's embrace, falling silent.

Judy was about to protest at being dismissed just like that, but a tap on the shoulder by Nick stopped her. "All right, we'll go then," she said as she stood up. "We'll all be spending the night here, so… if you'll want to not be alone-" her voice faded, but she had said enough, with Trigger nodding slightly to show that he heard.

"Come on, Fluff, let's leave them be for now." Nick slid off his seat, picking Judy up and pulling her along with him as he started to hobble off, the nurse walking close behind them. Turning around a corner, he emitted an angry growl. "Well today sucked." His paws clenched into tight fists.

Judy nodded in agreement. "Nick? It's not right for us to just walk away like this. He needs our help."

"Carrots, what Count said, about the war? I guess what I'm trying to say is that, for this time around, you should know when to quit. You know him: If he will want to come and talk to you, I'm sure he will."

"I guess," Judy mumbled. "Still doesn't feel right."

"I'm sure everyone in this building will be willing to help any way they can," the nurse reassured the both of them. "Just as long as the time will be right."

"Wilde! Hopps!" Jack came running up to them. He stopped next to them with a grim expression. "I just want to apologize for what happened back there," he said quickly. "If I had known, you know, about the picture? I wouldn't have..." He shuffled his legs nervously. "Uh, tomorrow's going to be a long day," he added hastily. "try to get some rest." He nudged Nick's shoulder. "Especially you, Wilde. Okay… Have a good night." With a slight polite smile, he walked away.

The nurse cleared his throat. "Nick? It's time for you to go back to the medical room. Time for another dose."

Nick's ears fell, his tail curling between his legs as he let out an involuntary whimper. "Right, okay. Carrots, care to join me? Keep me company?"

Judy looked up at the nurse, who nodded his approval. "Sure, Nick," she then answered, a small smile returning to her. She grabbed one of his paws and held it with her own. "I'd love to."