Judy POV

My current schedule had me going to therapy one day, resting the next, work for two days in a row, another therapy and rest day, one work day, and then the week started over again. My leg was healing well and I wasn't as exhausted today as i had been in the past after a therapy day. I woke up early and did my daily asigned leg stretches before going out to pick up coffee and a few groceries.

My physical therapist told me to start easing off the crutches slowly so I left them at home for the first trip out for the day. Once I got home I would use them again around the house.

I had a few chores I needed to get done and din't mind leaning on the crutches when I was just at home. It was out in public when they made me feel slow and in the way. Plus it seemed like everyone's eyes were on me.

Once I finished mopping the floor, a job that wa particularly difficult while leaning on crutches, I dropped down onto me bed. The second my head hit the pillow I heard my phone vibrate from across the room. I groaned and dragged myself back up. Finnicks name lit up the screen with a new message underneath.

So, sounds things went well yesterday?

I stumbled back over to the bed before texting him back.

Why didn't you tell me?

I was going to text him last night when I got home but I was too exhausted. Plus I was still trying to process the information the information I had received from Nick. There was a lot to think about but it just wasn't adding up to me.

On one hand, I understood his hesitation, concern, and wanting to avoid me to a degree. But on the other hand if he has medication and he hasn't needed to use it at all yet, I didn't see the situation being as dangerous as he was making it out to be. There was no reasonable explanation for him to completely avoid me.

It wasn't up to me to tell. What happened yesterday, did he actually talk to you? Nick won't tell me anything at all but he seems a lot less down.

I checked my watch, it was already 2pm and I would need to be leaving right about now. I had planned to bring food with me when I went to visit Nick but I didn't have anything more to cook with than a microwave in my tiny apartment. Luckily, there was a small kitchen in the back of the precinct that I would be able to I use. But I would have to leave now if I was going to make it to Nicks close to the time he got home.

I typed out a few different responses to Finnick, deleating each one and trying again before I finally gave up for now and put my phone back into my pocket. I would respond to him later.

While I drove across the city to the precinct I flipped through radio stations, trying to find one that would match my mood and help get me out of my head but nothing felt right. I ended up driving the last few minutes in silence.

I parked in my usually spot and grabbed my bag of groceries from the back. I had hoped to slip into work unnoticed but that was, unfortunately, not the case. "Judy!" Clawhauser yelled from the front desk, jumping up and waving me over. I gave him an awkward smile and complied, shifting my grocery bag in my grip so that. Could wave back.

"What are you doing here today? You're not on the schedule." He turned his attention to the computer like he was double checking that I was indeed not on the schedule.

"I know, I'm just stopping in to use the kitchen really quick, I don't have a stove at home. I'll be in an out in just a few minutes, I don't want to distract you from your work." I tried to walk past his desk but he stepped away to meet me on the other side, taking the grocery bag from my hands and making it clear I wouldn't be walking to the back alone.

I let out a breath of relief when I didn't have the bag pulling my weight to one side. "Clawhauser, I'm fine carrying it myself. Shouldn't you stay at the desk in case anyone needs something or radios you?" He considered what I said for a second and then pulled a small portable radio off the charge to hook on his belt.

"You don't have the crutches with you today. How is your leg doing?"

I did leave the crutches at home. I was supposed to start with one to two hours walking around without them. I was already approaching about four hours today. I hid the aching pain and gave him a small shrug.

"It's healing well. I'm good to be off the crutches," I lied. We got to the kitchen door and I reached for the bag but Clawhauser pushed through the swinging door and set the bag on a table instead. He sat down at one of the wobbly metal chairs while I started to unload ingrediants.

"That's good. So, whatcha making? It looks like you have plans tonight, spending time with someone?" He raised an eyebrow and I shot him a warning look. He may not work in the field but he was actually a really good detective. He was able to pick put little details and deduce fairly accurate conclusions most of the time. It was really annoying.

"I'm just making some pastas for dinner. Nothing fancy or special, I was just tired of cheap microwaved stuff." I pulled a small pot out of the cupboard and filled it with water before dumping in dry pasta. I probably should have waited for the water to boil but I was in a hurry.

"That's a lot of pasta for one person," he remarked, a small grin playing across his face. It was a lot of pasta, I probably should have measured.

"Maybe I am just really hungry. Or I am making a bunch of leftovers to save for later. Why are you criticizing my pasta?" I tried to fake an annoyed tone but it was hard to hide my grin. He put his hands up defensively before rising from the table.

Clawhauser made his way slowly across the room, like he was contemplating staying longer but decided to go back to his desk instead. Right before he opened the door to the kitchen he spoke up, "Tell Nick I say hi."

I whipped around but he was already closing the door behind him.

I ended up leaving the precinct a little bit later than I had planned. I greatly over estimated the amount of pasta I made and with the vegetables I added, it didn't fit in the container I had brought to transport it.

I dumped the leftovers back into the pot, covered them with a lid, and left it in the fridge with a little note on it that said 'free.' In a busy police station, I was sure it would be gone in a few hours and I could clean the pot tommorow when I got to work.

The drive to Nicks apartment didn't feel as long now that I knew I would be welcomed in. I was learning the streets of Zootopia really well for my job and could almost find the right building without using the gps.

Taking the stairs without my crutches was easier than dragging them behind but the added bulk of the covered bowl made it a challenge. I made it halfway up the first flight when I realized that I forgot the handcuffs. Briefly, I considered just leaving them in the car. I hated that Nick thought he needed them but I would rather bring them with me and try to convince him not to use them then not have them and be told to leave. So back to the car it was.

Finally around 7, I was knocking at the front door. It swun open immediately on the first knock. As I stepped inside, I noticed the room had been cleaned up a little bit and the thick blinds were open, letting in the last bits of golden sunlight for the day.

"Hey, I brought some food." I held up the bowl and gave it a little shake. Nick went into the kitchen to grab some plates and silverware before pointing at the handcuffs I had tucked into my belt.

I set the bowl on a tiny table in the living room and pulled them free from the hook on my belt. "How about we leave them off for a little while? At least while we eat." I began to dish up food without handing him the cuffs.

He considered what I said before reaching for the cuffs anyway. "I already told you, it's not safe." His eyes dropped from mine and he clicked the first side to the bar on the radiator.

I set the plates down and knelt down next to him before he could close the other side on his hand. "Nick wait, how about a compromise." I gently pulled the unlocked side out of his hand and let it dangle against the radiator behind them. "Leave it like this, for now. If you feel like you need to, you can reach back and put it on your wrist."

He let a long breath out and settled onto the ground, testing the angle he sat so that he could reach back easy. When he seemed content with his position he reached for a plate.

We ate in silence at first, Nick scarfing down his plate like he hadn't eaten today. I quickly decided I would leave the bowl in his fridge before I left, there was still quite a bit leftover. I ate slower and noticed, after a minute, that he was staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He looked away. "It's just good to see you. So, what's the plan for tonight?" He reclined against the radiator, seeming to forget his carefully calculated position.

I shrugged. "I brought the food. I didn't have much planned after that."

"No more questions?" His smile looked more natural and less forced than it had before. "We're done with the interigation already, Officer Hopps?"

I stood and began to pick up the dishes. "Oh, I still have TONS of questions if you want an interigation." His brows knit together. "But I thought we can save that for later. Have any good movies to watch?"

I set the plates on the counter and the bowl into the fridge. Nick started to get up when he saw me struggling but glanced at the cuffs and moved back into his original position. Once again, he tested how easily he could grab the cuffs.

"I have a few movies, if you don't mind bootlegs." He motioned to small stack of dvds sitting on the floor next to the tv. I picked one out and got to work setting the TV up. When I finally sat back down on the couch I noticed that Nick had pulled one of the coushions off and had moved it to his spot on the floor. I grabbed the other coushion and set it down next to him.

He waited for me to get comfortable on the coushion before using his foot to slide the me and the coushion a few feet away. I rolled my eyes but stayed where I was put. Him letting me sit here was progress and I would take it.

I must have fallen asleep during the movie. A loud crashing sound woke me up and sat up from the floor. I quickly got my barings and realized that I was still in Nicks apartment. The TV had been turned off and the the only light was the dull moonlight filtering through the window at my back. Checking my phone I saw that it was nearly one in the morning.

Nick was nowhere around. I stood carefully and scanned the room again. One of the plates had been knocked from the counter to the floor, I stepped carefully around the broken pieces of glass and moved further into the tiny apartment.

"Nick?" I whispered. There was no response except for a small whimper from somewhere off to my right.

I stumbled in the direction of the sound until my eyes adjusted to the dark and I noticed a closed door on the other side of the kitchen. Gently, I knocked on the door, pressing my ear to it.

"Nick, is everything okay?" No response came from the other side. "Nick, I'm going to open the door."

I placed my hand on the knob. "No!" His voice broke the silence, a little bit strained. "Don't."

I let go of the handle and slid down to the floor. "Okay, I'm not opening it. But, Nick, what is going on?" With my ear pressed to the thin wood I could hear labored breathing from inside. It didn't take a lot of detective reasoning to guess what had happened. "Can I get you anything?"

Still no response. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, considering calling or texting Finnick, but changed my mind and put it back. "Nick, I need you to talk to me."

After a beat I heard him take a deep, labored breath. "I'm sorry. I should have never let you come over, I was stupid to think I would be anything other than a danger to you. You need to leave and don't come back. Lose my number."

My heart broke at his response. There was still that tiny growl in his voice but over all, he didn't sound much different than he typically did. Still sitting on the ground, I reached up and rested my hand on the door knob again. Taking a slow breath, I turned it and let the door creak open.

Nick was in the corner of the room, hunched over, head in his hands. He was barely moving, just breathing slow. I crawled across the ground, inch by inch until I was close enough I could touch him. The bottle he had shown me the day before lay on the ground next to him with the lid off. I could see four while pills sitting inside the lid that was discarded next to the bottle.

Very carefully, I rested my hand on his shoulder. His body stiffened but he didn't pull away. We sat like that in silence until he slowly, carefully, lifted his head. I held my breath, bracing for the black colour that took over his eyes when he was shot. But bright green stared back at me instead.

"Hey," I whispered. "I'm not going anywhere, how are you doing?" He slowly flexed his fingers and squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds. He relaxed his body muscle by muscle until his position had changed from hunched over to sitting with his back to the wall, knees to his chest.

"Why didn't you leave?" His voice still held the growl to it but it was fading a bit with each sentence. "Aren't you scared sitting so close?"

I scooted a little bit closer. "No, not at all. I told you, I'm not scared of you and I meant it."

End

Hello! This last chapter feels a little bit rushed or cut off. I had a really strong idea for the beginning of the story but as it went on I started to run out of ideas and was worried it was becoming sloppy and repetitive. I decided to come to a conclusion before I started to hate how it sounded. If anyone has suggestions I am not opposed to rewriting the last part and adding more.

A few little notes for how/why I wrote things the way I did.

* I wanted to have their relationship feel like it could become either a romantic relationship or just a friendship, I will leave that up to the reader to interpret.

* I did add a little bit of "language" for Nick and Finnic because let's be honest, if it wasn't a Disney movie they would swear.

* There's a few little details that I know don't necessary make sense in universe. I don't normally write stuff with animals as my main characters and opted to use more human actions or words so that the writing part felt more natural and I didn't get stuck on little details or had to make a choice on what would fit and what wouldn't. This is why I used words like hand instead of paw.

* This is also why I chose to do a pasta for the food at the end. I really struggled to think of something that would be within a real diet of both a fox and a rabbit while still flowing with the story. In the movie, I think, you only see Judy eat carrots as the stereotype for rabbits which was why I thought I should write it that way but then I realized you see Clawhauser eat donuts and Nick a popsicle so I just went with a pasta. XD

* Lastly, I really appreciate people reading and reacting. I used to be an avid fanfic writer as a teen but haven't done it in many years. I had this idea out of the blue and decided to make a new account and see how it went.