A/N: A tour turns into something different, and people behave strangely.
Thanks to Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, zenith88, BeecroftA, Guest, Goldyx, SeekerofAura, RavenMoon33, Kochich, side-fish, Rxn, and Chaos-Wolfy for reviewing!
Chapter 4: Unexpected Surprises
"Nick…what are we doing here?"
The sprawling area in front of them was instantly recognisable to Judy. The prominent buildings, the tram that ran the perimeter of the square, the large fountain in the center of the square, and the many different species of mammals all moving in different directions. In front of her was a building she wasn't expecting to see.
The ZPD.
"There's only one reason we'd be here, isn't that right, Carrots?"
Judy looked at him, stunned. He was smiling.
"Time to get your badge back." With that said, he began walking towards the front doors.
"Hey, wait—Nick!" Judy called out, limping after him. She followed him through the revolving doors, eventually stepping into a very familiar lobby. She exhaled; the place hadn't changed a bit. In fact, it seemed busier than ever. There was a press conference apparently being held at the designated press corner, which made her shrink back a little. She hurried over to Nick, as much as her leg allowed her to move. As she arrived at his side, she noticed that the person standing behind the counter was not the tubby cheetah she had gotten used to seeing.
Said person behind the counter sat up. A tired, irritated pair of eyes glared back at her from behind a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles. The eyes were attached to a kangaroo, who definitely did not look pleased to see them. Judy took a quick glance at his name tag. It read: 'Kang'. He was most likely a new officer, Judy thought. She hadn't seen him before.
"Can I help you," He said, sounding like he wanted to do anything but that.
"Hi, we're here to see Chief Buffalo B—I mean Bogo. We're here to see Chief Bogo." Nick corrected himself. Judy was quite sure he did that on purpose.
"Do you have an appointment." The response was practiced, almost robotic.
"Well, no, but—"
"You need an appointment."
Judy and Nick exchanged glances. Nick was the first to speak up.
"Uhh…Chief Bogo told us to come down to see him whenever we wished. I don't think we need an appointment."
Kang's eyes narrowed. He pressed a button on his phone.
"Chief, there's a rabbit and a fox here to see you."
"What? Already?" Bogo's incredulous voice blasted over the speaker. "Ugh, send them up."
The kangaroo turned back to them, not looking much happier. He pointed with a hand.
"Elevator's over there."
"Right. Thanks," Judy said, following Nick to the elevator. The new receptionist continued glaring at them as they left. One thing was for sure: he was certainly not as friendly as Clawhauser.
On the way up the elevator, Nick was quiet, which made Judy all the more confused. Why had he brought her here? She had expected a park, maybe a…well, she didn't really know what to expect. But certainly not this.
Nick knocked on the door before swinging it open. The buffalo seated behind the desk looked up, looking a little worse for the wear.
"Hopps! You couldn't wait until you could walk at least before coming to get your badge back?" Bogo groaned.
"Well, I was going to, but…" Judy glanced at Nick.
"Ugh…I don't know what it would take to keep you out of work. One day you're going to bite off more than you can chew, Hopps." He motioned for them to sit, which they did.
"I'd say she already has," Nick said, chuckling. Judy ignored him.
"Chief, how is Bellwether's case? You look tired."
Bogo rubbed his temples, stretching his neck with an audible pop. "She originally tried to deny everything, but the recording was enough to shut her up. They're getting ready to bring her to court, which is going to be a real pain. We can't return you your carrot pen because it's being used as evidence. I hope you weren't planning on getting it back."
"No, it's fine. It's not that important. I'm just glad I was able to help. How about the Night Howler victims?"
"We interrogated Bellwether's cronies. The ones that were manufacturing the serum. There is an antidote, but it will take some time to make. We shouldn't get any more cases of animals going savage, at least."
"Well that's good. The public should be relieved. Hopefully the protests will stop," Judy said.
"Stop? Hmph." Bogo snorted. "Did you know that there have been rumours going around? Some people are saying that some of the ZPD's officers were helping to cover up for Bellwether."
"What? That's crazy!" Judy exclaimed.
"People are still in shock. They probably didn't expect two mayors to be arrested in such a short time. People think crazy things when they're scared, Hopps. The only thing we can do is to do our job, and ignore the crazy people. That's all we can do as officers."
Our job…
"Speaking of that, I believe I have a promise to keep." He opened a small wooden box on his desk, taking out a very familiar golden badge. Judy's heart skipped a beat upon seeing the glint of the shiny metal.
Bogo stood and circled around the table, holding Judy's badge in his hand. Her badge looked tiny in comparison. She immediately stood to attention, despite the pain in her leg.
"Hopps, you're injured. You don't need to stand. It's not a ceremony anyway." Bogo said, walking up to her.
"Sir, I am being reinstated onto the force. It wouldn't be right if I didn't stand."
"That sounds just like you. In any case, this would be where I make some meaningful speech about you getting reinstated. But I won't, because I can't be bothered."
Judy nodded knowingly.
"But I will say this. You are a good cop, Hopps. Never lose your way. The ZPD needs people like you to remind us old ones, what we really do this job for." He placed the badge onto Judy's outstretched hands. She took it from him, feeling a similar feeling she did during the graduation academy. A deep welling of pride. She saluted her boss, making him do a double take.
"Hopps, you don't…ugh…" he rolled his eyes. Looking very reluctant, he saluted back. He cut the salute down a moment before Judy followed.
"Thank you, Chief. I won't let you down."
"Just don't go stirring up trouble over mouldy onions again." He said gruffly. "You're still too impulsive. You need to tone down your expectations of being a cop. Not everything we do is like this Night howler case, hunting down criminal masterminds and infiltrating secret labs. That's detective work."
She decided not to correct him this time. In the months that she'd been employed, she had realised just how right Bogo had been about her. As much as he didn't like her at first, he was right about her being reckless. She had been blinded by her own desire to prove herself and to help people that she'd completely ignored her surroundings.
"He's right you know," Nick chuckled. "You get excited way too easily."
Judy's ear twitched, her head turning to see Nick. He was still sitting comfortably in his chair, looking very relaxed. The pride she was feeling was dissipating, being replaced with another feeling.
Uncertainty.
This was her chance. It was just her, Nick, and Chief Bogo. If there ever was a time to convince Bogo to let Nick join the force and be her partner, it was now. The problem was that Nick's application form was gone. And she was supposed to have asked him first before coming to see Bogo.
It didn't matter. It had to be now. She did a quick mental rehearsal in her head. "Nick, I know you said no last time. But…I still want to ask. Would you be my partner?" She nodded. It wasn't the great way she'd been planning to ask, but it would do.
Bogo's attention now shifted to Nick, after hearing him speak up.
"Ah, you. The fox," Bogo said dryly.
"Chief Bogo?" Nick said, clearing his throat. "Nicholas P. Wilde. I am a friend of Judy's."
"Yes, I remember you, unfortunately. What is it you want?"
"I have been inspired by officer Hopps' acts of bravery throughout the entire time she had me chained to her leg. Even though we almost got killed more than a couple of times." He cast a smirking glance over to her, before returning his attention to Bogo.
Nick, what are you…?
"As a result, I wish to follow in her footsteps and join the ZPD…as her partner. Here is my application form." He pulled out a folded yellow piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, placing it on Bogo's table.
Judy and Bogo's jaws dropped.
At first, Judy thought that it couldn't have been the same application form, but she recognised it, from the way it was crumpled. How had Nick gotten a hold of it? There was only one way she could think of. He robbed me!
"Nick, you…" she began. But Bogo beat her to the punch.
"You're serious?" Bogo said, realising that every single part of the form had actually been properly filled up. "Is this true, Hopps? You want him to be your partner? This…this…"
"Fox?" Nick answered. "Well, she's a bunny. Someone's gotta look out for her, right? Keep the impulsive bunny out of trouble. And yes, I am serious." He leaned to Judy's side. "Hey Carrots, put in a good word for me, won't ya?"
Judy blinked, trying to find the words to say. She had a million things she could have—and wanted to—say, but she didn't know where to start. In the end, she settled for nodding slowly.
"Y-yes, yes I do, Chief. Without him, I would never have gotten the confession from Bellwether. And he did save me from being killed."
"Twice." Nick held up his fingers.
"…twice." She rolled her eyes. "He'd make a good cop, Chief."
"Hmph. A fox cop? Leave it to the first bunny cop to suggest that." He turned to Nick now. "You want to become a cop just because of Hopps?"
"Yes. Yes I do. I owe her a lot, and I want to show you…show her, that I can be more than what everyone sees me as. I want to be a cop." He stared straight into Bogo's eyes. That look, Judy thought. That was the same look he gave Bogo back at the sky tram station. He was serious.
"Also I think the uniforms look pretty neat," he said, and the smirk returned to his face.
Okay maybe not, she thought, sighing inwardly. She turned to her boss.
"Chief, please. You gave me a chance. Please give Nick one, too."
The chief's attention turned back to her. She tried her best to look pleading, although she suspected he had more than one reason to not want Nick on the force. After a while, Bogo took his reading glasses from his pocket, putting them on. He smoothed the application form out and gave it a quick read-through.
"Applications don't come through me, and I have better things to do. Sawyer is in charge of that." He paused. "…But since it's a personal recommendation from you, Hopps, I will give it a personal look."
"Chief…!" Judy said, her eyes lighting up. She looked at Nick, who seemed just as delighted as she was.
"I'll get Kang to do a standard background check first." He pressed a button on his office phone. "Kang!"
"Yes Chief?!" a familiar high-pitched squeak came through the speaker.
"Clawhauser?" Judy asked.
"Oh, right. I keep forgetting he's in records now." Bogo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Clawhauser, help me get some info on one Nicholas P. Wilde. Red fox. Give it to me once you get it."
"Will do, Chief!" Clawhauser said, before hanging up.
Bogo turned back to Nick, scrutinising him. Nick continued standing casually, hands in his pockets. The buffalo placed his elbows on his desk, resting his heavy chin on his hands.
"I might be Chief, but the mayor's—former mayor's—Mammal Inclusion Initiative is responsible for Hopps being here. If I had my way, Hopps wouldn't have been here to begin with. I can't just bring any officer I want to Precinct One."
"Oh…" Judy said, looking deflated.
"But…" Bogo held up a finger. "If he performs well in every single aspect of the police training, I can make a case for him coming here. I will make a personal request. That is, if he can even pass the training at all."
"Shouldn't be a problem, Chief." Nick shrugs. "I mean, if a bunny did it, and came out top of her class, I'm pretty sure passing can't be that hard."
"Hey! It wasn't that easy! It's not like you would know, popsicle fox." Judy retorted, crossing her arms.
"Of course I do, Carrots. It's just a little hop here, and a little jump there. Nothing to it," he said, emphasising the 'bunny' words.
"…Carrots?" Bogo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it's her pet name. She likes being called it a lot."
"I do not!" Judy protested, scowling at Nick. He was completely unfazed.
"Yeah you do. She also likes being called Cottontail, Fluff…ow!" Nick flinched as Judy's clenched fist socked him right in the arm. His smirk returned. "Heh, you still hit like a bunny."
"Chief Bogo!" A large cheetah burst into the room, panting. Nick quickly made room before Clawhauser could fall on him. The tubby feline was gasping for breath, looking visibly exhausted. "I've…got…the data on Wilde…hoo boy, it's a long climb from…records…" he stumbled over to the desk and barely placed the file on the table. "I need to sit down." He gasped, flopping onto a nearby chair with an audible groan. Coming from the chair.
"Clawhauser, you could have just used the elevator." Chief Bogo said.
"…I did, Chief."
"Well, that's all I need for now, Clawhauser. You can go back now."
"Hang…on…Chief. Just need a little…time to rest." Clawhauser wheezed. His attention turned to the two smaller mammals in front of him. "Judy? You're…back!" he said between wheezes. "You've got your badge! Chief, is Judy…back on the force?"
"Hi, Ben," Judy waved back at him. She did feel happy to see Clawhauser again, even if he wasn't the man at the front desk.
Bogo sighed. "Yes, Clawhauser. She is."
Adjusting his glasses, Bogo opened Nick's file, taking a good, long read. The room fell silent, bar for Clawhauser's deep breathing. Judy looked in the corner of her eye at Nick. His tail was twitching. Was he nervous? He was hiding it pretty well, but Judy could tell he was definitely not as calm as he was pretending to be.
"What did you work as before this, Wilde?" Bogo asked, flipping through the few pages in the file.
"Businessman. Nothing special, really," Nick shrugged.
"Any particular reason why you changed your answer from yes to no for this question?" Bogo said, tapping his thick finger on one of the last few questions on the application form. Specifically, the one asking whether Nick had been convicted for a past crime. She noticed his tail twitch a little more.
"I wasn't sure if indecent exposure really counted. I couldn't really tell, with the way the officers were laughing back then. Wait, is that in my record?"
Bogo looked at the file, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I suppose I can overlook that." The chief opened his drawer, taking out a small piece of paper. He began scribbling something on it, before clipping it to the application form.
"Clawhauser, help me get this onto Sawyer's desk before you head back." Bogo turned back to Judy and Nick, sighing. "Against my better judgement, I've made this a personal recommendation. Once it goes through, Sawyer will call you up for all the necessary administrative issues."
"Chief…! Thank you!" Judy exclaimed. "Nick, you made it!" she said, grabbing his arm excitedly.
"The next batch of recruits is going in at the end of next month. It's a last-minute thing, but you can join them." Bogo said, looking at his calendar. "If you clear the tests, you'll get an email on what to pack and what to bring. And I'm sure our newly reinstated officer Hopps would be happy to help you with it. Isn't that right, Hopps?"
"Yes sir! I'll take care of Nick, don't worry."
"Splendid. Now, if that's all, I have work to do."
"Yes, Chief! C'mon, Nick, let's go!" she jumped to her feet, and yelped again as she landed a little hard on her leg.
"Jeez, Carrots, you could at least wait till we're out of the office before embarrassing yourself. Anyway, thanks for your time, Chief. See you at work in about…Carrots, how long is academy training?"
Judy groaned, holding her leg. "Six months."
"…six months, then. Save me a nice desk. No windows, 'kay? I don't want the bright glare reflecting off my badge and into my eyes."
"You can't just pass if you want to be here, Wilde. Top scores. Don't forget it. We'll see if you make it through. And Hopps!"
Judy looked up, startled.
"Chief?"
"Don't come back until those bandages are off. And preferably when the media stops pestering you."
"I will, Chief. Thank you for this." With that said, Judy and Nick walked to the door. Nick held the door open for her.
"Officer Hopps." He smiled.
The moment the door closed behind them, Judy punched Nick on his arm, hard.
"Ow! Well, you're getting better at punching, at least. What was that for?"
"For stealing the application form from me."
"Well now, it was crying to be taken, with the way it was sticking out of your pocket in the diner. Besides, you were taking too long to get to asking me, so I decided to surprise you." Nick said, walking towards the lifts. Judy followed.
"You…you knew I wanted to ask you about joining me?" she asked, stunned.
"I had a hunch. So did you enjoy my surprise?"
She looked at the badge in her hand. "Yeah…I did. I appreciate this. Thanks, Nick."
"Hi guys!" The floor shook slightly as Clawhauser caught up to them, looking slightly better than he did a few moments ago. They both turned. "Judy, it's good to see you again! I thought you were gone for good."
"Oh no, nothing can keep this bunny down," Nick replied, chuckling.
"This is great! Do you know how famous you are? You're the bunny who saved Zootopia, twice! That's really something. You'll be a big hit once you're back."
"Yeah? Well, I'm hoping that won't be the case. How's everything in records? Is it okay?"
The change in subject seemed to strike a nerve in Clawhauser somewhat.
"Oh…yeah, it's fine. Kinda deep down, and dark. And lonely. But hey, I have my boiler, and my snacks. So it's not all bad." He said, trying to smile. Judy could tell he wasn't feeling the way he was trying to look.
"I'm sorry, Ben. Maybe, once everything settles, you can get your old job back."
"No, I don't think it's going to happen. Kang is doing a great job at the front desk, and it's better for the ZPD overall like this," he said, unable to hide his deflated tone now. But he immediately tried to perk himself back up. "It's okay, Judy. What about you? How's your leg?"
Judy felt her heart sink a little. The case was solved; predators were innocent. But it was going to take a while for the fear and discrimination to ease.
"My leg's fine, Ben. Although, I've been embarrassing myself a lot because of the stupid thing. I just hope it'll heal faster."
"Hey, I think it's pretty cute when you embarrass yourself like that. I think you should do it more often." Nick grinned.
Judy heard Clawhauser gasping loudly. He immediately yanked Nick over, whispering into his ear.
"Oh, uh, Nick…bunnies don't really…they don't really like it when you call them cute. It's kind of…not nice." As much as he tried to whisper, Judy could hear it all.
"Huh? Really? I've never heard that one before. But Carrots is cute. I don't think anybody can deny that. Did you know, when she was young, she—"
"Oookay, that's enough!" Judy grabbed Nick's wrist, and yanked him back towards her. "Y-Yeah, Ben, it's okay, forget about it. You can't fix him. He's unfixable."
"Well now that's just offensive." Nick chuckled as the two of them continued walking, leaving behind a very confused Clawhauser.
"Wait, she let him call her cute." He whispered to himself. "Then, that means…HOOOOOOO—" his hands flew to his mouth, covering them as his eyes went wide.
Nick and Judy got into the lift, before realising Clawhauser wasn't there.
"Ben? You wanna get in?" Judy called out from inside the lift.
"Oh no, I'm good! I just forgot something in the chief's office. I'll see you around, Judy!" He waved as the lifts doors closed. He rubbed his hands to himself.
"The plot thickens…"
There was silence between Nick and Judy as the lift descended. Judy looked at the badge in her hands. It hadn't been that long since she'd given it up, but it felt like it had been forever. There was some lingering guilt, but she felt like she could wear the badge again with pride.
And hopefully, Nick will too.
"Nick…when did you decide?" she finally spoke up as they exited on the first floor.
"On what?"
"On being my partner. After what happened last time, I…" she hesitated. "I never thought you would say yes again."
"Well, you kept the form, didn't you? You kept it for the same reason I kept the carrot pen."
"And that is?"
"I kept it because deep inside, I hoped I could see you again. And I'm glad you came back, Carrots. I missed making fun of you for three whole months."
"I'm glad I came back too, Nick. And I'm so happy you said yes to being my partner." She leaned in towards him.
"Well, I couldn't really say no to my best friend. Aww, come here, emotional bunny. I know you like hugs."
"My parents told you that too, didn't they?" Judy said, sighing as she leaned in for a quick hug.
"Maybe," Nick said innocently. They broke the hug and continued walking to the exit. The two were completely oblivious to the click of a camera from the third floor. "So, dinner at your place again? We can get takeaway from a joint I know. They have best bug burgers in town."
"Yuck. Not even if you paid me, Nick. I'll stick to my vegetables and fruits, thanks."
"Hey, you never know. You might be surprised at its taste. I know plenty of prey who've come to like the taste of insects and fish."
"I think I've had enough surprises for today, Nick." Judy said as they exited the building.
Now it's my turn to surprise you.
"You know, speaking of surprises, I thought Buffalo Butt would have been a lot harder to convince. Especially with that whole bit about not being able to trust foxes back when Manchas disappeared."
"Yeah, I'm not sure why. I thought he would've rejected you outright for being so snarky. You should really tone it down, at least in front of him, Nick."
"Hey now, if he's going to work with me, he needs to get used to my charm," Nick said, turning the corner with Judy he led her to the nearby burger joint.
"Oh, you're certainly 'charming', Nick. Just not in the way he likes. Which makes me wonder why he said yes…"
"Darn, wish I still had the carrot pen to record that first part." Nick said, sounding disappointed. "Charming? It's rare I ever get a compliment from the prude bunny…" he trailed off, looking ahead.
"Nick?"
"Hey Carrots, how professional is your police department?"
"Uh, very? Why?"
"Because I don't remember ever deleting the other recordings on your carrot pen."
"Wait, what? Why didn't you?"
"Well, the forty-eight hours I gave you under the bridge wasn't up, and I still wanted to hear you call yourself a dumb bunny for a while longer. I didn't think it would end up as evidence."
Judy gave him a look. Nick grinned sheepishly.
"Ah don't worry. I'm sure they were only interested in Bellwether's recording. It's not like the police would be interested in you crying your eyes out while calling yourself a dumb bunny."
"…I really am just a dumb bunny!"
Chief Bogo sat at his desk, taking a nice, long stretch. Today hadn't been pleasant; he was getting a migraine from all the work he'd been trying to clear.
This made it slightly better, though.
Bogo had noticed that ever since the press conference, Hopps had never quite been the same. And after hearing this recording that was delivered to him from the extraction department, he finally understood why. He thought he'd understood the bunny's motivations, but the words that she was tearfully crying out in the recording said otherwise.
Wilde's case file was still sitting on his desk, his profile picture smirking back at him. Bogo wondered if he could wipe the smug smile off the fox's face. He hated his kind. Not foxes, but the smarmy, sarcastic kind. It just so happened that a lot of foxes were coincidentally smarmy and sarcastic. Coincidence? Bogo didn't believe in coincidences. Still, he owed Hopps big time. She essentially saved the face of the ZPD. And if the fox was the reason she solved the case, and he was that important to her, then he deserved a chance. Even if he was a smarmy little bugger.
He was a smarmy little bugger that stood up to you. He had the guts to do that, at least.
Bogo chuckled to himself. Maybe there was hope for the fox to become an officer. And if he ever did end up in Precinct One, Bogo was glad he had some insurance on him. Insurance was always good. And in the meantime…
"…I really am just a dumb bunny!"
Bogo smiled. Today wasn't turning out so bad after all.