The sun shone brightly on Nick as he walked down the street. He pulled out his aviators and stuffed his paws in his pockets. Seeing as it was now mid-afternoon, he found himself in the rare position of not knowing exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of the day.

At first, he considered heading straight to the precinct. It was technically his day off, but he was itching to do something—anything—to purge his mind of the last few hours of his life, and he knew going home and watching movies wouldn't be enough. But on the other hand, he also wasn't in a rush to go straight to work. He just needed to find the perfect excuse…

His stomach growled, and that answered his question. He decided to swing by a restaurant, grab a bite to eat, and then head over to the ZPD to check in on Judy. Nick wasn't one for big meals, on account of his penny-pinching upbringing, but right now he wanted something big to fill his empty belly.

A quick subway ride later and Nick arrived at his favorite Boarrito. He knew this particular Boarrito well; it was located in Savanna Central, just a mile or so away from the ZPD. And lucky for him, the boars inside knew him well, too. As soon as he walked inside, the boar at the front of the line noticed him and waved eagerly. "Hey, Officer Wilde!"

Nick took off his sunglasses and stuffed them into his shirt pocket. Then he flashed his signature half-lidded grin and waved back to the boar. "Why hello, Wilbur. How are you doing today?'

He walked as he talked, and as soon as he was done talking, he felt his smile leave his face. Wilbur—and all the other boars working the counter—were wearing shock collars. In fact, as he looked down the line of other diners who were currently ordering their meals, he realized that every single predator was also wearing a shock collar.

He stopped in his tracks and quickly glanced around the restaurant. Of all the predators he saw, only one was without a collar: a lone skunk, sitting in the far corner. All other predators, big and small, were wearing collars.

It had not even been a week since Assistant Mayor Rolfe's initiative had been passed, and yet now, almost every single predator was wearing a shock collar. They had all been branded, labeled a threat against prey—against all animals.

Nick suddenly felt very conscious about his own shock collar. He was noticing its existence less and less often, but during moments like these, he became all too aware of it. He could feel the eyes of all the prey in the restaurant staring at him—at the collar on his neck. Sure, it shined green, and it always would, but the mice and deer and zebra who were busy eating their burritos were keeping a watchful eye on him.

They look like they are ready to run if my collar turns yellow. His breath caught in his chest upon realizing, No, they're ready to attack me if my collar turns yellow…

"You okay there, Officer Wilde?"

Nick vaguely heard Wilbur call to him, and forced himself to snap out of his trance. It won't last forever, he told himself. It won't last forever. It won't last forever… Even so, he could feel his heart race inside his chest.

He resumed his cool persona and waltzed up to the counter. "I'm fine, Wilbur. Just fine. Nothing wrong at all." He leaned on the counter and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Except my empty stomach, of course. Which is why I have come to you, in my hour of need."

Wilbur snorted, a smile coming across his face, and Nick could have sworn he saw a hint of blush in the boar. "Aw, shucks, Officer. I'm glad to be of service." He then proceeded to plop down a massive tortilla on the counter. "What'll it be today? The usual?"

"Ah, you know me too well, Wilbur." Nick began walking down the length of the aluminum bar. "Black beans, a ton of cheese, and just a hint of that spicy stuff."

In no time at all, Wilbur had Nick's burrito made exactly as he had requested. "No protein for you today, Officer?"

Nick smirked and shook his head. "Wilbur, Wilbur, Wilbur, you know I don't eat meat."

Wilbur motioned to the end of the bar. "You sure? I got some fresh fish straight from Tundra Town this morning. And that pile of bug supplements ain't getting any younger."

"And I assume you're willing to add those on for free?" Nick already knew the answer to that, and without another word, Wilbur hurriedly wrapped the burrito and rang up Nick's total.

A few minutes later, Nick was sitting at a table, slowly chowing down on his burrito. The other customers seemed to be a bit more at ease with his presence now and most of them were no longer staring at him. However, he noticed one young bunny staring at him from two tables over. The bunny was brown, couldn't have been older than 8, and was seated only with a single older bunny that Nick presumed was her mother.

Nick politely smiled to the bunny at first, but when she kept staring at him, he began to feel uncomfortable. I wonder if she's scared of me, he wondered. I am a fox, after all. And this stupid collar isn't doing much to help the situation. He nibbled off some more of his burrito and tried looking out the window to the busy street to distract himself.

"Excuse me?"

Nick turned his head back around and was surprised to see the young bunny and her mother now standing close beside him. It was the mother who had spoken.

He hurriedly swallowed and cleared his throat. "Can I help you, ma'am?"

The mother smiled politely and looked down. "This is Lisa. She has something she'd like to ask you. If that's okay, of course."

Nick smiled warmly at Lisa. "Of course!" He leaned down, unsure of what to expect. "Hello, Lisa."

Lisa didn't respond. She kept staring at Nick, exactly as she had done from her seat for the past few minutes.

Trying to help put her at ease, Nick continued, "My name is Nick. Nick Wilde." He reached out his arm and presented his paw for her to shake.

To his horror, she recoiled, and quickly hid behind her mother's dress. She completely disappeared from Nick's view, except for the top of her head, which peaked out.

He quickly apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry! You don't have to be scared of me. I'm a good guy." He quickly fished out his police badge from the back pocket of his pants. "See? This is my police badge. I'm a police officer."

Lisa slowly poked the rest of her head back into view. She no longer stared at Nick, instead focusing on his badge. Her nose didn't twitch like it would have if she was scared, so he continued.

"Have you ever seen a real police badge before?" Nick held it out to her. "You can hold it if you want." He glanced up. "If it's okay with your mom, of course."

Lisa's mother smiled warmly and nodded. Lisa, ever so slowly, walked back in front of her mother, and reached out to Nick's badge.

"Careful, it's heavier than it looks." Nick gently placed the badge in Lisa's paw. He knelt down on one knee in order to be on her level, and began tracing the badge with his finger. "See? That's my name. Nicholas P. Wilde. And you see the words? Trust. Integrity. Bravery." Lisa looked back at him and he found himself smiling even brighter. "I take those very seriously. It's my job to brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy. That means it's my job to make sure you are safe and happy in Zootopia."

The expression on Lisa's face softened as Nick spoke, and when he finished, he was greeted with one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen. He still wasn't quite sure what Lisa's first impression of him was, but he was sure that now, she trusted him.

He gently took back his badge and pocketed it. "Now, little Lisa, I believe you had a question for me." He rested his arms on his knee. "What would you like to ask?"

Lisa was obviously still very shy about talking. She glanced up at her mother, looking for reassurance. After a nod of encouragement, she turned back to Nick. "Um…" She looked down at her feet and tucked her arms behind her back. "Do you know Judy Hopps, Officer Nick?"

Nick was caught off-guard by the question. He was more expecting something along the lines of "What's it like being a police officer?" or "How fast can you run?" or even "Can I see your taser?" He wasn't used to people asking about Judy, except coworkers—and they never asked about Judy, not in this way.

The expression on his face spoke for itself, and the mother decided to explain. "She heard the staff here address you as an officer," she said. "So she was hoping you knew Officer Hopps."

"I love Judy Hopps," Lisa explained. "She's the first bunny police officer, and I want to be just like her when I grow up!"

Nick managed to find his composure again. Now that he better understood the little bunny, he knew exactly how to respond. He smiled at Lisa and nodded. "Yeah, I know Judy Hopps."

Lisa's shyness faded away. Her face brightened, and she stared at him with newfound awe. "You've met her?"

"Yeah, I work with her almost every day."

Lisa hopped back and forth on her hind legs in excitement, and it seemed she was struggling not to burst into jumps of joy. "What's she like? Is she nice?"

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, she's nice," he replied. "She's the nicest bunny there is—but only to the good guys." He playfully raised his paws. "But you'd better be careful not to be a bad guy, because Judy Hopps is not nice to them!"

It was only after he raised his paws that he realized it might be taken as a real threat; after all, he was a predator, and the mammals in the eatery were already wary of him. However, thankfully, neither Lisa nor her mother seemed scared. In fact, the little bunny giggled so hard she had to cover her mouth with her little paws.

"What else is she like?" she begged.

Before Nick could answer, Lisa's mother patted her head. "Come on, Lisa, you promised you wouldn't bug the nice officer."

"It's not a problem, ma'am," Nick insisted. He quickly turned his attention back to Lisa and leaned closer to her. "Let me tell you something. Officer Hopps is, without a doubt, the best person I've ever met in my life. She's kind, and brave, and loyal, and she never gives up on you." He felt a rise in his chest, and had to quickly continue speaking before his sentimentality could get the best of his emotions. "But above all, she is an inspiration to all of us in the precinct. In fact, she was my inspiration to join the force as well. Can you believe that?"

"Really?" Lisa's eyes widened, farther than Nick thought was possible.

"Really." He reached into his pocket and retrieved a little sticker—a replica of the ZPD police badge design. It was the exact same kind of sticker that Judy had given Finnick long ago—and which Finnick had then stuck to him when he began working with Judy. When he joined the ZPD, he had made it a point to get a few of them for himself, to distribute to children in Zootopia whenever the opportunity arose.

And now, for the first time, he was able to. "I want you to have this, little Lisa." He placed the sticker gently on her shirt, taking his time to make sure it was centered and straight.

Lisa looked down at her shirt in disbelief, words refusing to form. She looked back at Nick, then at her shirt again, then at her mother, then at Nick again.

Nick gently patted the top of her head. "I'll be sure to tell Officer Hopps about you, Lisa. And I hope you grow up to be a bunny cop, too, just like her. Because this is Zootopia, where anyone can be anything."

Lisa, apparently unable to do anything else, jumped forward and embraced Nick's neck. Nick was once again startled by the bunny's actions, but managed to catch his balance before they could topple over.

Lisa buried her face in Nick's fur. Her little arms could barely make their way completely around his neck, but she didn't seem to mind. She just held on, as tightly as she could—though, thankfully, not enough to choke the fox.

He couldn't resist, and found himself returning the hug. He gently but firmly pulled Lisa close. He could feel his aviators flexing in his chest pocket, but he didn't care. This was more important—this feeling. This was something he had never felt before.

So, this is what it feels like to truly make a difference.

Her mother gently cleared her throat. "We have to go now, sweetie." She reached down and brushed her daughter's shoulder. Lisa let go of Nick, who settled her back down to the ground. Her mother tugged her arm and slowly guided her to the door. She quickly looked back at Nick and smiled. "Thank you, Officer Wilde. She'll never forget this."

Nick couldn't help but chuckle in response. "I sure hope not." He waved goodbye as they left. "I won't either," he promised.

Lisa waved at him the whole way out the door. Even after they rounded the corner and left his line of view, she never stopped waving. Seeing the smile on her face was easily one of the most gratifying things Nick had ever witnessed.

As Nick watched them go, he suddenly realized that the entire restaurant had witnessed the exchange. He expected to find himself embarrassed, and apologizing for causing a scene. But for some reason, he wasn't embarrassed—and he certainly felt no need to apologize. Instead, he quietly sat back in his chair and continued munching away at his burrito.

For the first time in a long time, he didn't care what anyone else thought about him. He knew he had just done something special, and that no one could take that away from him.