A/N: A stubborn bunny tries to get a phone number out of an unwilling fox…in more ways than one.

I'm back! Exams are over, and I finally have time to write again. First of all, the picture for Chapter 6, titled "Plushies", was coloured by a talented artist named zl0tty, and it really blew me away. The link to the picture is in my profile page. I implore you to check out their work!

And of course, thanks to Froggypie, emotionalsinusoide, patrickharris98, WhyNotBoth, DarthJosky, sensoray, Stubat, Twinboy1995, tOSdude, Zodoro, zenith88, Euphonemes, Story . Writer . 2015, Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, Omnitrix 12, Shak112, side-fish, Britt30, Heyren, ShirQuickpaw, EverestHQ, BeecroftA, VickyT36, and Fox in the hen house for reviewing!

Chapter 10: Determination

"…How's the pizza?"

Judy looked up from her plate. Some of the cheese was drooping off the edge of the crust and onto the plate.

"Oh, yeah, it's great, Nick. I think it's drowning in cheese, though…"

"But that's the best kind of pizza! Cheese and tomato sauce and herbs…what more could you ask for? Well, besides a nice chunk of meat, of course." He smirked.

"Haha, yeah," she replied, forcing a smile. Judy wasn't particularly interested in entertaining his requests for her to try meat. She tried not to make it too obvious that she was staring at him in the corner of her eye. Rather, the item on his lap. His phone. Nick had told her to drop the issue of his mom, but she had no intention of letting it go. If he wasn't going to talk to her, she was.

And that meant getting her hands on his phone.

At the moment, Nick was seated on his mattress on the floor, by the foot of her bed. He was leaning against the wall, which meant she didn't have a direct view of his screen. That probably would have been hoping for too much. Still, from where she was sitting, by tilting her head slightly, she could barely make out what he was looking at. It looked like some news website, but she couldn't be sure.

All I need is her number. She must have a cell phone or a house phone, she thought to herself.

"Hey Nick, do you have my number?" she suddenly blurted out loud, before slapping herself in the head mentally. Too soon too soon!

The red fox looked up from his phone, blinking.

"Why Carrots, it's a little too early to be asking for my number, isn't it? I mean, we barely know each other yet," he said, smirking. "Also, people normally wait until the end of the dinner and drinks to ask for a number. Haven't you been on a date before?"

"First of all, we are not on a date, Nick—"

"You're probably right. I've already moved in." He interjected. "So when's the wedding?"

Whatever Judy had been planning to say was lost completely after that statement. She shook her head, trying to get the sudden images of her in a wedding gown out of her mind.

"Look, you don't have my number, right? I'm just saying that not having each other's number is kind of surprising, after everything we've been through."

"I suppose that's true." Nick shrugged. "So what's your number?"

"You can just pass me your phone, and I'll key it in. Your hands are dirty at the moment, right? Mine are still clean."

Looking to the side, Nick grabbed a napkin with a hand, crumpling it unceremoniously to clean some of the grease off.

"Problem solved. So what was it again?"

Drat. "Never mind, I'll just leave you a missed call," Judy said, tapping on her phone and trying not to look too disappointed. Nick's phone began vibrating, and he gave a thumbs up, before returning to his pizza slice.

Okay, different plan. I'll just wait for him to leave his phone unattended, and then I'll quickly check the number.

She nibbled at her pizza, taking care not to let the copious amounts of cheese land on her t-shirt.

"So where's this pizza from again, Nick?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, it's a place called Chewy's. Quaint little place in Little Rodentia. It's really popular with the working crowd."

"Wait, this pizza came from Little Rodentia?" Judy asked, surprised.

"You'd be surprised at what a determined rat can do. Especially cooking food for larger mammals. I think there was a movie on it once. Anyway, me and the chef go way back."

Nick stuffed the last bit of crust into his mouth, sucking his fingers off one by one with a contented smile on his face.

"Ugh, really, Nick?" Judy asked, giving him a look.

"It's practically mandatory when you eat Chewy's," Nick retorted, mouth half full. "Don't worry, I'll wash my hands. I know how fussy you are about this sort of thing…"

Judy watched him stand up—without his phone. Dabbing his mouth with the used napkin, he headed towards the door. Judy had to do everything in her power not to lunge at his phone right there and then. She waited till he was out of the room, counted to five, and then practically jumped at it.

"All right, let's see…"

INPUT PASSWORD

Instantly her shoulders—and ears—slumped. She didn't have an idea as to what his password could possibly have been. She stared at the screen for a while blankly.

"I need to try something," she finally said, shaking her head. She punched in the numbers 1-2-3-4.

INCORRECT PASSWORD

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. She then punched in 4-3-2-1.

INCORRECT PASSWORD

She bit her lip. The next incorrect try would probably lock the phone out for a while, and Nick would definitely know what was going on if he saw that. She thought about what numbers he would possibly use as a password. Birthday date? It was possible, but she couldn't remember his exact birthday off the top of her head. Maybe the year he was born? That was also possible.

Her ears suddenly perked up at the sound of footsteps. Nick was coming back! She decided to leave the phone where it originally was, just in time to see the red fox pushing the door open. Judy quickly got back onto the edge of her bed, taking a big bite of her pizza slice and pretending to look at her own phone.

Just act natural…

In the corner of her eye, she watched as Nick flopped onto his own mattress, leaning against the foot of her bed. He didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary with his phone, which was relieving. She then heard a click as the screen came back on. This was it. This was her chance. She tried her best not to make it too obvious that she was craning her neck.

6…4…2…5! She yelled in her head. Her eyeballs were starting to hurt from the way she was straining them. But she didn't care. She had his password.

"Say, Carrots?" Nick suddenly spoke up. Judy's head snapped back so fast she thought she would get whiplash. Fortunately she managed to save her plate from falling off her lap and spilling pizza all over her bed.

"Yes, Nick?" she replied, as coolly as she could muster.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad are the showers here?" he asked, continuing to tap on his phone. He was standing up now.

"Well, I can't really speak for the guys' showers, now can I? But if it's anything like the girls', I guess I'd say…a six?"

"Six, huh?" Nick replied, tapping his phone against his chin. "So, if it's six by country bunny standards, it probably means it's really a three. Well, time to see how bad it actually is."

Standing up, he plucked his toiletries bag and towel from the inside of the small cabinet, whistling as he did so. It wasn't long before he was out of the room again. Her heart thumping slightly faster, Judy waited till the sound of his footsteps disappeared down the hallway before she jumped back down to his mattress.

The lock screen came to life, presenting Judy with the number pad. She began punching in the numbers.

"6…4…2…5." She whispered to herself, feeling a tingle under her skin.

INCORRECT PASSWORD

"What?!" she almost blurted out loud, stopping herself before it got too loud. It didn't make any sense. She was absolutely sure she saw the numbers correctly. How could the numbers have been wrong? She quickly punched the numbers in again.

INCORRECT PASSWORD

How could it be? Her vision couldn't have been failing her; she was too young for that to happen. She was a hundred percent sure that she saw the right numbers. Even the movement of Nick's hand suggested that the password was 6425. That could only have meant…

"Yeah, I changed the password."

Judy's blood ran cold. The ever too familiar voice came from just outside the door. And the footsteps she was now hearing were decidedly his. She slowly turned, to see a red fox in the doorway, his arms folded. He was frowning slightly.

How did he get back so fast!? She didn't even hear him coming back.

"I pretended to walk to the bathroom," Nick replied, as if reading her thoughts. "I wanted to see whether my suspicions were right. Looks like they were."

"You…knew?" Judy said, feeling rather small. Nick walked in now, arms still folded. She was starting to feel like a kid caught red-handed with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Well, no, I didn't know exactly, but you trying to sneak a peek at my password was pretty obvious. C'mon, Carrots, you should have at least waited a little longer, or peeked out of the hallway to make sure I was really gone. You've got a lot to learn about hustling." he smirked.

She knew he was joking, but at this point, she couldn't really say anything meaningful in response.

Nick sat down on the ground beside her, gently taking his phone back from her. He stared at it a moment, before tapping in his new password.

"…So, are you going to tell me why you're so desperate to get your hands on my phone, or should I say it?" he asked.

Judy exhaled.

"I was…trying to get your mom's number," she finally admitted.

"Yeah, I figured," Nick replied, crossing his legs and sighing. "Look, Carrots. I know you really want me to patch things up with my mother, but you're just overreacting and being the rash bunny you always are."

Judy felt her ears drooping.

"This is my problem," he said, lowering his head to her level now. "I'll fix it my own way. But I really need you to promise me that you're not going to push this issue any more." He placed his hand over his chest. "This is my problem, not yours."

Which means you're not going to do anything about it. Judy told herself in her head. Nick's words were doing little to reassure her, especially considering what he had told her earlier about how he knew his mother had given up on him.

"Carrots."

She looked up at him now.

"I need you to promise me," he continued. "Really promise me that you're not going to push this any further."

Judy frowned, locking her gaze with his. Eventually, she broke the gaze first, sighing deeply in defeat.

"Alright, Nick. I promise I'm not going to push this any further. Bunny's honour," she said, raising up her right hand.

Nick looked somewhat more satisfied now, nodding.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have a one-star bathroom to patronise. He left his phone on his pillow once again, before leaving the room, presumably heading for a bath for real this time.

Sorry, Nick…Judy thought to herself, uncrossing her ears from behind her head. But all bunnies know that bunny honour doesn't count when your ears are crossed.

Nick's phone was no longer an option, but she had other ways to get the info she needed.

"I'm off."

Judy looked up from her table. Morning light was beginning to pour in through her window, brightening her room. Nick was adjusting his tie to make himself look neat and proper in front of the full-length mirror. Well, full-length for a bunny anyway. True to his word, Nick had actually made his bed and kept all his toiletries, although he had moaned about it the whole time.

"Did you remember to take everything with you?" she asked.

"Only the most useless documents of the lot," Nick replied. "You'd think that in this day and age, you'd be able to submit these things electronically."

"Not everyone is tech savvy, Nick. Did you bring your driving license?"

"Nope, don't have one," Nick said, slinging his haversack over his shoulder. Judy did a double-take.

"What do you mean you don't have one?"

"It means what it means, Carrots. I don't drive."

"B-but, your hustling…the popsicles, and the van…"

"All Finnick. I'm the brains of the whole operation. He's just there to drive around and look cute. Y'know, you do a good job with your joke-mobile. How would you like to be our driver?"

"Not interested, Nick. I have better things to do than to ferry a couple of foxes around Popsicle hustling." Judy rolled her eyes.

"Then how about the 'looking cute' part? I think I have an elephant costume in your size.

A crumpled ball of paper sailed through the air, bouncing off Nick's head and into the trash can next to him.

"You need a license to be a police officer, dumbo."

"Hey now, don't insult the elephants. Anyway, it's no big deal. I'm sure they'll train me on the job."

"You need a license to be accepted into the academy, Nick. They're not a driving school. Why don't you have a license, anyway? You're like what, thirty?"

"Thirty-two," He corrected, raising a finger. "But yeah, me and cars don't mix that well."

"Why not?"

"Let's just say Finnick's busted van is busted for a reason. He's never let me behind the wheel since then."

"That's a problem…" Judy muttered. "What about Flash?"

"Eh, he's been working on prepping lessons for me."

"And how long ago was that?" Judy asked. Nick looked at her, smirking. She sighed. "…never mind."

"We'll worry about it later, Carrots. Interview and tests first, then license. I'll be back in the evening, after I run a few errands."

With a final wave, Nick was out the door. The thump of his feet faded as he walked down the hallway. Once she was sure he was gone—and she made absolutely sure this time—she reached under her bed and pulled out a change of clothes, along with her straw hat that she normally wore back on the farm. She was glad her leg didn't hurt too much today. She had some walking to do.

"Is the chief available?"

"No."

"Could I just contact him in his meeting? It's urgent."

"No."

"Will he be done soon?"

"No."

Judy leaned against the glass door, watching the droves of mammals streaming in and out of the ZPD front doors. The conversation she was hearing belonged to Kang, the new receptionist that took over Clawhauser. He was busy responding to an old goat, and he certainly didn't look too happy doing it.

Other officers were about, helping different groups of people answer an assortment of questions. Mostly related to the Nighthowler case. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to the small bunny in a t-shirt and jeans, wearing a straw hat over her head. She was worried that her attire would make her stand out like a fish out of water, but she needed to hide her face as much as she could. In the corner of the room, a large screen display was showing footage of the train carriage that she and Nick had crashed. The video then cut to footage of her and Nick right outside the hospital after Bellwether was arrested.

She pulled the straw hat further down her head.

This was probably taking too big a step, but Judy was never one for conventional measures. Keeping her hat low, she weaved her way through the crowd, bypassing the main staircase and heading straight for a smaller one towards the back. She saw the familiar backs of Higgins and Krumpanski as they climbed the stairs, escorting a pair of deer. Quick as a flash, she slipped in behind them, looking as natural as she could. She kept in step, holding her breath, hoping that they wouldn't suddenly turn around for some reason. They finally reached the second floor, and were continuing to climb. That was when she broke away from the group, heading straight for a nearby door.

Okay, relax. Just walk as if you belong. She wasn't technically wrong—she already did have her job back, although Bogo had specifically told her not to come back till her leg had healed. But walking into the ZPD with her uniform would have probably resulted in instant suffocation with people crowding her. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to be here long. She just needed to find details about Nick's mom, and then she was gone.

The bunny in civilian clothes strode confidently over to the solid door, jumping cautiously to hang on to the handle. She quickly punched in the passcode she remembered, and was rewarded with a satisfying beep and a green flash of light. The lock clicked open.

Pushing the door open a crack, her eyes darted around, scanning the inside of the room. A few mammals were at their desk, typing away softly. They were on the far end of the room though. Everyone else was probably out for lunch.

Perfect.

She padded through the room, making a quick beeline to her desk. She climbed onto her chair—which they surprisingly hadn't changed ever since she had quit—and her hands immediately went to her keyboard, punching in her username and password. The moment she clicked 'Enter', though, she only saw a slow-spinning circle. It spun once, then twice, then thrice…

Weird. It doesn't normally take this long…Was the server under maintenance? No, it couldn't have been. Other people were clearly using their computers.

After a moment, it hit her.

I'm not back in the system yet! They must've locked my account after I left!

Sure enough, an error message popped up on the screen. Judy slumped in her chair. She hadn't considered this, especially since Bogo had given her badge back and everything. She scratched her chin, thinking. There had to be another way. Another way…

Maybe I can use someone else's computer? It wouldn't take too long to find Nick's mom in the database. But who can I ask?

The last thing she wanted was for word to spread that she was here. She had to ask someone she could trust.

What about Clawhauser?

She entertained the thought. Clawhauser was friendly, helpful…and most importantly, he was working by himself in records, where no one would disturb him…or herself.

She stood up, and then headed right back for the side door. A few steps before she got to the door, she heard a loud beep, before the door swung open. There was no time for her to duck into an empty cubicle. She froze.

Please be Clawhauser please be Clawhauser…

"As you can see, our station is well equipped for our officers, and we ensure that our officers are always well prepared to handle any domestic—"

A buffalo was standing in the doorway, with an important looking rhino beside him. Bogo's words fell away when he saw her.

"Uhm…sir." She saluted sheepishly. "I didn't expect your meeting to end so fast."

Chief Bogo could only stare with wide eyes. But soon, the shock seemed to wear off, and he shook his head quickly.

"…Rhinestone, please excuse me for a moment," he said, nostrils flaring.

"Oh?" the middle-aged rhino said, looking at Judy's purple eyes as they came into the light. "You're Judy Hopps, are you not? The acclaimed officer of precinct one that everyone is talking about." He asked. His soft voice betrayed his gruff exterior.

"T-thank you sir," Judy said, swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat. She finally realised who the rhino standing beside Chief Bogo was. The police commissioner of Zootopia, who oversaw all the precincts in Zootopia. Judy couldn't believe she didn't recognise him immediately. A mammal as well decorated as him was standing right in front of her, and she was dressed in bunny-bumpkin clothes. To top it off, she wasn't even supposed to be there in the first place. She felt a little bit of her die inside, and then some.

"Bogo, I assume her being here means that she's back on the force?"

"Y-yes. I apologise for her attire. She's not supposed—"

The Rhino chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sure there's a good reason. I'll wait outside. Go ahead and settle what you need."

Commissioner Rhinestone stepped outside, shutting the door gently behind him. Bogo turned. Judy was starting to get a strange sense of déjà vu…

"…Hopps."

"Sir, I…" she could have said so many things right there and then, but the only words that came out were: "…am I fired again?"

Bogo narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms and glaring at her. But surprisingly, after a few seconds, he exhaled and uncrossed his arms, moving them instead to his head and rubbing his temples.

"No, Hopps. You're not. But please, for the love of god, tell me why you decided to show up here in plainclothes and a straw hat on the day that I'm showing the police commissioner that we're on top of domestic attacks." He progressively began to grip his face with his hands.

"I…need to do research on someone, sir."

"Why."

"I need to find her details, sir. It's important," she said, trying to inject some urgency in her voice.

"Does this have anything to do with the safety and security or peace of Zootopia?" Bogo asked slowly.

"Well, no, not exactly…"

"Then that's perfect! Wait here," Bogo said, suddenly looking relieved. Judy could only blink at the sudden change in tone. She stood still as Bogo opened the side door once more.

"Rhinestone, could you go downstairs first? I'll be down with you shortly."

Judy heard Commissioner Rhinestone giving an affirmative. With that, Bogo stepped in, looking considerably more pleased. His pleasure, unfortunately, had the opposite effect on Judy. Her eyes followed Bogo as he strode over to her desk, pressing a couple of numbers. The phone began ringing.

"Hello?"

"Wolford, it's Bogo. Bring your car and meet me at the front porch. I need you to escort someone."

"Yes, Chief."

Judy felt a stone fall in her stomach.

"Sir?"

"Hopps, in the past year that I've known you, I've learnt that trouble always happens when you have that look on your face. And so, I am going to do the best thing possible to prevent exactly that from happening." He started walking towards the main stairs. Judy reluctantly followed.

"I seriously don't understand why you can't just stay at home and relax," Bogo continued. "Wait, scratch that, I do know. Never mind."

For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, Judy felt like a child being reprimanded for misbehaving. Which was sort of true, but still…

"Chief Bogo!" A loud, clear voice rang through the noise in the air, snapping Judy out of her thoughts. Her ears immediately turned towards the source, and her head soon followed. A wolf made his way through the crowd over to where she and Chief Bogo were standing.

"Wolford, please escort Officer Hopps to her house. And make sure she stays there." He whispered.

"Hopps?" he cocked his head, before looking straight at Judy. "Hey Judy! Nice to see you!" He waved his hand, with a stupidly large smile on his face. "Ow!" he yelped as Bogo grabbed his shoulder and yanked the wolf towards him.

"You moron! Can't you see I'm trying to be discreet?!" Bogo hissed. "Hurry up and get out of here! And don't tell anyone about this!"

"Yessir!" the wolf yelped, grabbing Judy by her wrist and pulling her away.

Bogo watched as the two of them disappeared through the front doors. He looked around, making sure that nothing else was around to conveniently make his day more difficult. He groaned, rubbing his temples once again.

He was going to need more aspirin.

The alleyway was quiet. The setting sun bathed the normally dimly-lit alleyways with warm golden light. The gravel below Nick's feet made a soft crumbling sound as he stepped on them, heading deeper in. He ducked below a broken chain-link fence, being careful not to snag his tail on the broken protruding bits. There was a single van there.

He unconsciously adjusted his tie. It was a habit of his whenever he felt unsure of something. It made him feel more in control. With the decision that he had made a few days prior, he knew he had to do this eventually.

"Isn't there someone else more important you need to talk to?" The voice in his head scoffed.

"Oh be quiet." Nick muttered. That was another problem for another day.

He stepped forward, rapping three times on the back door, before stepping back. A few seconds passed. And then, the doors swung open. A smirk grew on Nick's face.

"Hello there."