Judy walked down the hallway from her room to the main living room, where she knew her parents would be waiting impatiently for her. There was a lot she needed to tell them, but she wanted to only tell them whatever was absolutely necessary, so as she walked, she thought about what to say and what to leave out.

The home was, expectedly, a burrow. There was a small house on the ground level to gain easy access in and out, but otherwise everything was underground. The main living room was directly underneath the house, and several hallways branched out from it like spokes in a wheel. Each hallway housed quite a few bedrooms, plenty for the hundreds of bunnies who lived here, as well as bathrooms, small community rooms, a few storage closets, and one or two emergency exits. It was a standard living space for bunnies, and having spent her whole life here before moving to Zootopia, Judy was intimately familiar with every nook and cranny.

Her bedroom was down the hallway her father had dubbed Hallway B, and was about halfway down the corridor, so normally it would take her about two or three minutes at a casual walking pace to reach the main living room. Right now, however, she was so lost in thought, it would probably take twice that long.

She had only been home for a few hours by now, but in that time, she had gotten a lot done. After Gideon had helped her move Nick into her bedroom, she had sent him to the store to get hair dye for her ears. While he was gone, she had changed from her police uniform to the nondescript outfit she now wore; even though she had moved away a few years ago, she had left some clothes behind for whenever she came back to visit her family. Then, when Gideon had come back, she'd dyed the tips of her ears as close as she could to match the gray of her fur. She was impressed with her work; a glance in the mirror almost made her look like a completely different bunny, and Nick's comment about it once he had woken up gave her confidence that she could walk around the town and not be recognized.

But there was still much to do. After getting her parents up to speed, she needed to contact Chief Bogo—not an easy task, given that she no longer had access to her phone. She also needed to figure out a disguise for Nick, who would stand out like a sore thumb in Bunnyburrow. And finally, she wanted to retrieve her files from the ZPD so she could continue working on the savage predators case…

She slowed to a stop and pondered.

All of Judy's work so far had only caused pain, to everyone she cared about. Zootopia's police officers were being beaten up, its citizens were being persecuted, and she and her best friend had almost died the night before—all because of her.

Am I really making the world a better place…?

"Judy!"

The voice called to her from behind. Judy turned around, and broke into a smile. "Sara!" Her sister was walking up to her from down the hallway, and a second later, she closed the gap between them as they embraced in a hug.

Judy had not seen her in a few years by now—not since Sara had left for pharmacy school. Now that Sara had graduated, she had come home to grab the last of her things before leaving for her new job in the city. Judy remembered her parents mentioning this a few nights ago when they had talked on the phone, but she had completely forgotten about it until now.

She held her sister for a few seconds longer than usual. She needed this hug—just a few extra seconds of a sense of normalcy, to help her forget about all the problems the real world was throwing her way.

"I'm so glad you came home!" Sara exclaimed, squeezing her all the tighter. "It's been a while!"

"It has," Judy concurred. She finally let go of Sara and flashed a grin. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

"And plenty of time to do it." Sara held up a bag that Judy hadn't noticed she was carrying until now. "I've got three whole days before my train leaves, and this is the last of my things, so…" She wiggled her eyebrows. "All the time in the world!"

Judy smiled at the thought. Three whole days of not worrying about the outside world, just spending time with her sister—with all her family—and relaxing, and not having to think about all of the problems she had caused…

Sara raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay, Judy?"

Judy blinked, a bit surprised that Sara had caught on to her mood change so quickly. She forced herself to adopt her smile again, and shook her head. "It's nothing." She quickly added, "You're right, all the time in the world! Sounds great!"

Sara noticed the pill bottle in Judy's paw, and pointed at it. "Is that for Nick?" she asked.

Judy held up the bottle and presented it to Sara. "No, I need a refill," she replied.

Sara glanced at the bottle, noted the red label, and chuckled. "Don't we all?"

Judy smirked in response, then lowered her paw. "Well…" She moved her head in the direction of the living room in the opposite direction. "I need to bring Mom and Dad up to speed. They…" She paused, trying to find the right words.

Sara finished her thought for her. "They don't know why you're here?"

Judy nodded. Sara, having just come back from Zootopia herself a day or two ago, knew all about what was going on in the city. She even knew why Judy and Nick were here—probably brought up to speed by one of their other litter mates. To Judy's relief, she didn't pry for more information, and seemed to understand completely that Judy wanted to talk about it as little as possible.

"You'd better go and tell them, then." Sara waved her along with a smile. "I'll see you at dinner?" Judy simply replied with a nod. "Keep making the world a better place!" Sara turned around and started back down the hall toward her own bedroom, bag in paw.

Keep making the world a better place.

That was enough for her. Judy felt a new resolve upon hearing her sister's words. Sara knew why she was here—in hiding, with a fox wearing a shock collar, responsible for all the turmoil in the city—and yet, she still believed in her.

So she would believe in herself.

She turned back around and continued her walk to the living room, a new spring in her step. After I talk with my parents I'll figure out some way to get in touch with Chief Bogo. Maybe he's got his court order by now. Maybe he can finally get Stripes to tell us everything he knows.

It was wishful thinking, however, and she knew it. She shook her head and forced herself to think instead about what she already had to work with.

The biggest thing was what she and Nick had overheard in the Trunk Hotel. Clearly, Assistant Mayor Rolfe was in on this conspiracy in some regard—though it was also obvious from the way he talked that he was not the one in charge of it all. Since her evidence was destroyed, there wasn't anything they could do about him for now anyway. And even so, there were a dozen mammals in that room, most of whom she didn't recognize, and all of whom seemed to be proper businessmammals. It would be tricky trying to identify every single one of them without raising suspicion.

Trying to figure out who was responsible for the savage predators would be a dead end. So Judy would focus on the other major objective of this case: figuring out how they were going savage. If she could figure out the cause, an antidote or a vaccine could be created, which would stop the attacks from ever happening again. And she just knew she had enough evidence to figure it out; she just had to find the proof in it all. She had a few blood samples from the predators, the coffee cup that she was sure had caused her to go savage as well, the pill bottle inside of Roark's car…

She suddenly stopped. The pill bottle!

Judy had completely forgotten about it. She had sent it off to the lab and never got the paperwork. And while she may not have been a chemist…

She quickly turned around. "Sara!" she called. Her sister stopped walking and turned around. "I need your help with something!"

Sara raised an eyebrow. "Sure, what is it?"

Judy quickly closed the gap between them and held up the bottle again. "I found one of these during my investigation in Zootopia." When Sara blinked in confusion, she quickly clarified, "Not these these. A pill bottle."

Sara stared at the bottle in Judy's hand, her mind contemplating what Judy was asking of her. "I don't exactly have a lab here at the house," she pointed out.

"I already have the lab results. I just need the ZPD to send them to me."

Sara's green eyes moved to meet Judy's. She grinned mischievously. "You do know how valuable a pharmacist's job is, right? How exactly do you plan in paying me for my services?"

It was a joke, and Judy knew it. She flashed the same half-lidded grin she had seen Nick adopt dozens of times. "How about a big hug and some fro-yo when we're done?"

Sara loved frozen yogurt, and this was the perfect bribe. She dropped her smirk and let out a genuine chuckle. "All right, it's a deal." She turned back around and continued her walk down the hallway. "Just find me when you've got it!"

For a second, Judy was excited. Sara was just the mammal she needed to make a breakthrough in this case, and it was incredibly fortuitous that she would be home right now to help her out. However, the excitement passed when she remembered the reason she had bumped into Sara in the first place.

She turned back around one final time, and continued her walk to the living room.

Judy's parents, surprisingly, listened to her story patiently and attentively. In the time it took for her to bring them up to speed on how and why she and Nick had ended up here, they did not interrupt her even a single time. She was impressed with their self-control; usually, they would have many quips and questions during their talks, even their important ones.

But it was clear, they understood the gravity of the situation. She informed them of just how bad things were in Zootopia—of predators being forced to wear shock collars for no good reason, of riots and turmoil in the city. And she also made it clear to them that she and Nick were fugitives, and that if anyone from the city knew they were here, not only would the two of them be in danger but so would everyone else in Bunnyburrow.

To that, her parents finally had something to say, and to her relief, it was a mature response.

"Don't worry, Judy," Bonnie said. "We won't tell anyone about you."

"Yeah," Stu added. "We won't even say your name out loud while we're in public." His eyes narrowed in thought. "Although, if I called you 'Jude the Dude', would anyone know I'm talking about you?"

In all likelihood, nobody in Zootopia would be trying to find her here anyway, but she wanted to be better safe than sorry. She quickly went over some ground rules with them for while she was hiding here: she would never go into town accompanied by any of her family, Nick would have to stay inside the house at all times, and she was still working as an undercover police officer, so she had to be left alone most of the time to get work done.

Her parents understood completely, but her mother insisted that she contribute to her share of the chores, as it was only fair for as long as she was here. Judy agreed immediately; after all, the house was big, and with a few hundred rabbits running around, everyone needed to do their part to keep it a well-oiled machine.

One of her chores was to help clean the dishes after dinner, and that night, she did just that. It was just her and her mother, washing enough dishes to feed fifty bunnies. Even though this was a chore, Judy had always enjoyed doing this growing up. In a family of over nearly three hundred brothers and sisters, having time alone to talk with her parents was always a blessing, and even as an adult, she still appreciated the opportunity.

Bonnie took care of cleaning the dishes, and Judy was in charge of drying them off and stacking them. Bonnie wiped out the inside of a cup as she started the conversation. "I need to apologize again," she said. "For how your father and I reacted when we saw Nick."

Judy took the cup from Bonnie and waved a paw in the air. "Don't worry about it. I can imagine it was a bit of a surprise for you two, seeing a fox you didn't know in my bed."

"Yeah, it was," Bonnie admitted. She took a plate and washed it under the faucet. "But it's still no excuse for how we acted."

"It's okay," Judy assured her. "We're over it. No need to worry about it anymore."

Bonnie silently nodded as she continued working on the plate. "Okay." She handed it to Judy when she was done. "So. Tell me about Nick."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "Tell you about him?"

"Well, yeah." Bonnie started working on a new plate. "I mean, you've mentioned him to us in calls, but until today we didn't even know he was a fox."

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that. Why did you think he was a raccoon?"

"I think your father was responsible for that idea." Bonnie flipped the plate over and rubbed against its surface with a sponge. "But yeah, Judy, tell me about Nick."

Judy shrugged. "What's to tell that I haven't told you already?"

Bonnie handed her the plate. "Well, pretend I don't know anything about him. Tell me about him, like you would to anyone."

"Well…" Judy took the plate and dried it with her towel while she thought. "I mean…" She completely finished drying the plate, and yet still couldn't think of anything to say.

"What's the matter?" Bonnie asked after the silence lasted for several seconds longer than expected.

Judy stared at the plate in her paws, but no matter how much she concentrated, she couldn't think of anything to say. Nick wasn't just some mammal she could list off a bunch of things about. Nick was…well, he was Nick. He was her best friend, and if she just started listing off random personality traits about him, it wouldn't do justice to the full person he was. Any words she said would not do justice.

Bonnie smirked. "Judy, I think you're blushing."

Judy jolted, dropping the plate on the counter and throwing her paws up to her cheeks. "I am not!" she exclaimed, but she knew she was.

Bonnie lifted a spoon and pointed it at her. Her eyes narrowed playfully. "So, he is your boyfriend?"

"No!" The word left Judy's mouth far louder than she meant for it to, and she sheepishly followed up with, "No, he's not my boyfriend. He's…"

She struggled to come up with the correct word to describe her relationship with him. They were best friends, but somehow, that didn't properly convey just how deep their friendship went. He was more than just a friend to her, but with how much she had put him through these past few days, she wondered just how true that even was anymore. And even worse, she wondered what he now thought about her in return…

She lowered her paws and placed them on the counter, then took a breath to calm herself down. "He's my friend," she finally said, settling for that.

Bonnie studied her face, not quite believing her, but to her relief her mother decided to leave it at that. She presented the spoon to Judy and repeated, "So, tell me about him."

Judy took the spoon and stared at it for a moment, clearly seeing her distorted reflection in its surface. "Well, he's my partner on the force," she started with. "Has been ever since he joined the ZPD." She picked back up the towel and started drying the spoon. "He's a great officer. He has a good heart. I've never seen anyone so focused on being a good cop like him. I've seen him take down mammals four times his size. But I've also seen him give mammals a ride home when their cars broke down. And I've seen him reach for things on the top shelf at the grocery store in Little Rodentia when no other predator would bother."

"He sounds like a good cop," Bonnie agreed.

"He's more than just a good cop. He's a good person." Judy felt a smile spread on her face. "He's a hard worker, and he's funny, and he's very caring. He's a joy to be around, and any day I can't be with him because of an assignment, I miss him so much."

Bonnie gave her a knowing look. "And you're sure he's not your boyfriend?" Her tone of voice made it clear, however, that she was just joking.

Nonetheless, her question made Judy pause. Technically, no, Nick wasn't her boyfriend—but the way she had been talking about him, and the way that the words flowed out of her mouth so easily, certainly gave off that impression. She had meant every word, of course, but she hadn't meant for it to come across that way.

Bonnie took a pause of her own, letting a cup fill with water in the sink. Her tone shifted, and it was clear her next question was completely serious. "Do you love him?"

It was a loaded question. Of course Judy loved Nick; he was her best friend, and with all they had gone through together, how could she not? But did she love him, in a romantic way? Did she look to him as a mammal she wanted to spend the rest of her life with? Did she feel for him the way he had once felt for her—before she had ruined his life?

"I don't know," she murmured. It was a cheap answer, but it was an honest answer.

Bonnie rinsed out the cup and handed it to Judy. "You don't have to rush to find out," she assured her. "Me, I had the hots for your father right out of middle school, and the rest is history. But you're not me, and that's okay."

Judy wasn't like anyone in her family in that regard. She had wanted to become a police officer as long as she could remember, and had spent her entire life working toward that one goal. That meant no time for boyfriends—no time to even think of romance. Just the daily grind, for years on end, to reach her goal. Most other bunnies wouldn't even finish high school before getting married and having kids, and her choice to place her career over a potential family had certainly drawn many judgmental stares over the years.

Bonnie cleared her throat and quickly busied herself with another plate. "Not my business," she quickly said, a bit ashamed that her curiosity had carried the conversation so far. "Nick seems like a sweet fox. And that's what matters." She handed the plate to Judy. "All the same…" She lowered her voice and barely whispered the end, "I'm glad he's wearing that collar."

Judy's paws slowed to a stop. She knew why her mother had said that, and it wasn't because Nick was a predator. It was because of what was going on in Zootopia. Predators were going savage seemingly at random, and Nick was just as much of a risk as anyone. Bonnie was clearly worried about the safety of her family, and Nick's shock collar gave her a sense of security.

However, the way she had said it lingered in Judy's mind. "I'm glad he's wearing that collar." To Bonnie, it was insurance. But Nick would never hurt anyone, and now that he was out of Zootopia there wasn't even a chance he would go savage. The collar now was not a preventative measure, but a pointless torture device. It was a brand on his body: a constant reminder that he was seen as a threat to others, just because he was a fox. Just because he was a predator. Just because he was Nick Wilde—his only crime, having been born.

The casualness of her mother's words bore into Judy's mind. It was a sentiment that she had heard many times by now, from other prey inside the city. The shock collars were there for everyone's protection. They were for the greater good. They would only last as long as the threat remained, and afterwards, they would be taken back. But all of a sudden, she wondered just how true any of that was. Even here, hundreds of miles away from the city, the collars were readily accepted. Even now, when she was on the brink of solving this case, they were being forced onto predators with no end in sight.

And it was only now, upon hearing her mother's words, that Judy realized that she had believed all of it. She knew the predators weren't going savage on purpose, but she had been attacked by so many of them in the past few weeks, and none of them were wearing a shock collar when it happened. When she saw a predator wearing a shock collar, she had always felt guilt, but she had also felt a small sense of security—that as long as they wore one, they wouldn't attack her.

Nick wouldn't attack her…

Her heart sank in her chest. Am I glad he's wearing that collar, too…?

A noise shook her from her thoughts. She snapped her head to the right, and almost immediately, she felt her heart sink in her chest.

Nick was standing in the hallway, a few feet away. There was a look on his face that flashed for only a split-second, but she saw it. He had heard what Bonnie had said—what they had both said.

The look of surprise and betrayal quickly disappeared, however, replaced by the stiff face of a predator who had spent years used to being insulted and distrusted just because he was a fox. He softly cleared his throat, folded his paws behind his back, turned on his heel, and walked away.

Judy stared at him as he disappeared around the corner, unsure of what to say or do to fix the situation. She wanted to berate her mother, but even if she did, that wouldn't help Nick feel better. She wanted to rush after him and apologize, but she had already done enough apologizing to last a lifetime in the past few days, and things only continued to get worse for the poor fox.

She stood still, frozen in her thoughts. For a moment, she considered simply leaving Nick alone, so he could sort through his thoughts at his own pace—but no, she couldn't do that. Nick was her friend, her best friend, and she had already caused him so much pain and heartache. She wanted—needed—to do something to make it right. He had already suffered so much, and not a single part of his suffering was through any fault of his own.

It was all her fault. Ever since the Gazelle concert—no, ever since Puer had pulled a gun on her—no, ever since Nick had been forced to put on a shock collar…

No. It had all started when she had the nightmare about Nick going savage on her. That was what had started everything. The first time she had the nightmare, it had left an impression on her, and she was sure that it still lingered in the back of her mind even now. It had caused some kind of rift in her relationship with Nick…

It had caused her to stop trusting him. And everything that happened afterwards was because of that.

Without saying a word to her mother, she stepped away from the sink and walked towards her bedroom. She ignored Bonnie's confused calls, and she ignored the other bunnies she brushed past. She had made up her mind, and she didn't want anyone to distract her.

There is one thing I can do.