Judy POV
** A week and a half after last chapter
Ten days after Judy was released from the hospital**
I trudged into the precinct, still half asleep. The coffee I bought on my way to work was nearly empty and I would probably end up making another cup in the break room right after roll call.
Right now sitting through the morning briefing was just a formality. I knew what my assignment would be for the day without Chief Bogo telling me. Paperwork. It has been paperwork since I was reinstated as an officer at the ZPD.
The paperwork assignment wasn't chief Bogos' fault, it was a decision from someone above him. After my "traumatic" experience, they decided it would be best if my first full week back on the force was spent only doing desk duty to "ease me back into the job". After that, it would be up to the chief if I was ready for real work, or light duty, or just more paperwork.
After getting released from the hospital, I spent three days in Bunnyburrow with my parents, then one day moving into my new apartment, and now four days at work with a single day off in between. This meant I would still be doing paper work for another day after today.
Normally during roll call I would be sitting at the front of the room. I liked it best sitting front and centre but it was also a necessary spot for me to be able to see Chief Bogo as well as anything on the board. These past four days I've taken a new spot in the back. There wasn't anything up front that I really needed to see anyway.
Once I made it into my seat I leaned back and sipped the last of my coffee. The assignments given out were pretty standard, there hasn't been much going on in Zootopia as far as major crime went. I was grateful for that. If I was stuck at my desk while some really exciting case was going on I would lose my mind.
After the last officer took their file and left the room, I followed behind. Instead of exciting the precinct like everyone else, I turned for the break room. I wasn't usually exhausted in the mornings but I had physical therapy every day after work and it was really taking it out of me. Not to mention that I've just been pretty stressed and haven't been sleeping too well.
"Just two more days of this." I muttered to the empty break room, pulling a chair over the counter with the coffee maker.
"Two more days of what?" I jumped and nearly dropped my paper coffee cup. Evidently, the break room was not empty. Clawhauser was in the corner wiping something spilled from the counter.
I set my cup underneath the coffee maker and pressed the brew button. "Nothing, just two more days of boring paperwork. I am dying to get out there again and do some real police work."
He laughed and tossed the paper towel he was using into the trash. My coffee finished and I popped the lid back on, following Clawhauser to the door. He got there first and held the door for me. We walked together in tired silence until he turned off to head back to the front desk. I continued on toward my own desk and my lovely pile of papers I would get to file today.
"Hopps!" My name echoed across the mostly empty hallway before I made it to my destination. By now I was accustomed to Bogo's tone of voice. He sounded like he was angry most of the time, even when he wasn't. Still, my shoulders drooped as I changed directions toward his office.
The police chief was leaning against the front of his desk waiting when I walked into the room. "Yes, chief?" I asked, climbing onto the large chair in front of him. I took a sip of my coffee and winced at the bitter taste. I had forgotten to add creamer.
Chief Bogo turned around slowly and grabbed something off his desk, holding it just slightly above my head and out of view. "I know you are not ready to be fully out in the field just yet but I did have a small assignment I would like to put you on, if you are willing. I don't want you to feel pressured to take it."
He held a small pile of papers, about ten pages stapled together, out for me to look through. When I tried to take the stack myself he held it tight. His hoof was covering the top of the paper.
"We have been getting calls and complaints about a resident in an apartment complex downtown. I have been ignoring most of the calls as much as I can but at this point there have been enough complaints that I have to send an officer to talk to him, just a wellness check and a warning. I would like you to be the one to do it."
I scanned each page quickly before moving to the next. It was a wide variety of complaints ranging from noise complaints to drunk and disorderly. There were calls from neighbors complaining about loud music or breaking glass or yelling. Page after page of similar complaints.
"This guy sounds like a real piece of work, I'm not sure why you would want me to talk to him though." Usually when the police check on calls for warnings and wellness checks it is two officers who go. Most of the time you just give the person a warn the person that there will be further issue if their behavior continues and that's the end of it but every once in a while things will escalate.
Because of that concern, it's always best to have back up. Chief Bogo may be a jerk sometimes but he wasn't one to put his officers in danger. This had to be a zero risk call or something.
He pulled the pages back and out of my hands so that the first page fell back into place on the top. "It is completely up to you, Hopps, I can certainly send another officer but I thought you might prefer to take this one yourself." He moved his hoof so that the name was now visible on top.
NICHOLAS P. WILDE
I took a sharp breath in and took the pages back to scan them a second time, my teeth grinding together more and more with each page. When I finished the last one I realized that Chief Bogo was staring at me, waiting for my answer.
"Of course, sir. I will talk to him." I tucked the papers under my arm and he made a grunting sound in response, turning to sit at his desk. "Thank you for coming to me." I added before racing out of the office.
*O*O*O*
I'd been sitting in the police issued vehicle for nearly half an hour. I checked the file sitting in my passenger seat for the tenth time just in case I was maybe at the wrong location. Somehow the address was the same as the nine times I checked before. I was just stalling at this point because I was anxious.
I was ready to immediately jump back in as soon as Chief Bogo asked me to check on Nick but now that I was here, I no longer felt ready. He never texted me after he got out of the hospital, I wasn't even sure if Finnick had actually given him my number. If he did have my number and was choosing not to text me it might not look good if I showed up at his apartment as a cop.
And if he didn't have my number he would probably think that I was mad or was avoiding him. I never visited him in the hospital, not when he was back to himself. And as far as he would know, I never even bothered to try to reach out.
When I moved back to the city I had looked for the pair of foxes all over. I just never found them. I didn't even see Finnicks relatively recognizable van and I checked every back alley in Zootopia. It was so tempting to look up Nicks phone number or address in the police database but I had managed to restrain myself. If he didn't want to reach out, I didn't want to force him. Now he would have no choice but to speak to me.
I flipped through the file again. The reports listed out didn't sound anything like the fox I had known. Something had to have happened after he was given the antidote.
"Just go talk to him. It's Nick, what are you so scared of?" I asked myself out loud. Finally, I took a deep breath to steady myself and stepped out of the car. Adjusting my badge and slicking the fur on my ears, I walked across the parking lot. I still had a slight limp but it was going away day by day as my leg healed.
Nick lived on the sixth floor of the apartment complex. It wasn't a super fancy building but it was definitely nicer than mine. The lobby had been freshly painted and the floors were clean. I took the elevator to the sixth floor and then walked slowly down the well lit hallway looking for the right number.
His apartment was near the end of the hall. I found the right number pretty quickly but froze once again. I stood in front of his door mentally scolding myself for acting so ridiculous.
After a few deep breaths I knocked on the door as hard as I could. "Nick, It's Officer Judy Hopps, ZPD." I had debated on what to say when I first knocked. I decided to go with the official ZPD business route. He would have to open the door and I could tell Bogo that I at least spoke with him. If he really didn't want to see me and I just said it was Judy I might not have that chance.
I was getting ready to knock again when I heard the quiet click of a lock from inside the apartment. The door slowly opened, just a crack. It was enough to see the emerald green of his eyes. My fear melted away, along with everything I had planned to say to him. I let out a long breath, releasing the pent up anxiety I had in my shoulders.
"Officer, huh?" His voice broke the silence. Nick retreated back into his apartment, leaving the door open a crack. As an officer I knew I wasn't supposed to just walk into someone home without invitation but this wasn't just some random mammal. Plus, the door being left open felt like invitation enough.
I gently eased the door open further and stepped inside. Nick's apartment wasn't much larger than mine but it was definitely nicer from what little I could see, but I couldn't see much. The curtains were drawn and all of the lights were off.
As my eyes slowly adjusted, I saw that Nick was now lying on his back on a dark coloured couch. He was staring straight up at the ceiling with his arm over his eyes. Now that I could see more than just a sliver of his face I could see that his clothes and fur were disheveled. Standing just a few feet away from him, I noticed the slight smell of booze in the air.
"Nick, it's been a while. How are you doing?" It felt like the wrong thing to say and I regretted it immediately. Clearly he wasn't doing well. "I gave Finnick my number to give to you but I haven't heard anything. Did you get it?"
He didn't move to look at me as he spoke. "Yeah. I got it," Was all he said.
I perched on the edge of a chair across from the couch. "Why didn't you text me? I've been so worried about you. They wouldn't let me visit you at the hospital." I was trying to sound as professional as possible but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Tears were starting to fill my eyes and I wasn't sure if it was because I was so happy to see him or so hurt that he had deliberately chosen not to reach out.
"There was nothing to text about." Another short, to the point answer. I was quickly realizing this would be a very one-sided conversation.
"Nothing to text about? Nick last time I saw you, you were…" He cut me off, sitting up slightly from the couch and removing his arm from his face but still not meeting my eyes.
"Last time you saw me I was what, Carrots? Trying to murder you?" The bite of his words stung but I wiped away my tears and pushed on.
"I was going to say, you were saving my life from those psycho sheep. We were working together solving that case as friends, or at least I thought we were friends. Why, then, would we have nothing to text about?"
I adjusted my position slightly to take pressure off my leg. "Nick, nothing that happened after you were shot was your fault and I am not upset at you for any of it. Is that why you were avoiding me? You thought I would be mad or something. I'm not mad!"
He was silent for a while after that and I wanted to move to the couch, closer to him, but thought it would be best to stay where I was.
Finally, he stood up, still not looking at me, and walked to the door. "You should go. I'm guessing you are here because my neighbors have been calling the cops on me, Officer Hopps?"
I stayed frozen on the couch. He was seriously kicking me out already. We had only been talking for a few minutes and nothing was resolved. I quickly reviewed what I had just said in my head trying to figure out if some part of it could have offended him. "Nick, please."
"I am very sorry about the calls you have received. It won't happen again. Good day, officer." He motioned again for me to leave.
Slowly, I stood and followed his direction. I shot one more glance backward as he closed the door behind me. I had been anticipating a dozen different ways that conversation could have gone. Having no real conversation at all, was not one of the ways.
"This isn't over, Nick." I whispered to myself as I got into the elevator. Pulling out of the parking lot, I began searching, once again, for a particular van.
*O*O*O*
It took me nearly an hour to find Finnick's van. When I knocked on the back door there was no response. I knocked again, harder this time. Still nothing.
After a quick walk around the block I found him. Again dressed like a child, standing behind a lemonade stand. The 'd' in the word lemonade was backwards.
He currently had two customers in front of the stand. Elderly Hyenas purchasing two cups. I rushed up to the stand before they left, pulling out a few dollars from my wallet.
"Hey, little guy! Can I buy a cup?" The look I got from Finnick was absolutely murderous as he went to pour lemonade into a third paper cup. I turned to the two women and gently put a hand over my chest. "Isn't he just absolutely adorable? So sweet, running his little lemonade stand all by himself. I wonder where his parents are though?"
I only caught Finnicks gaze from the corner of my eyes. If I thought he looked angry before, it was nothing compared to the look he just gave me. His expression quickly changed when the two women turned back to him.
"Oh my, yes. He seems much too young to be out here all alone!" One of the women exclaimed. "Sweetheart, where's your mommy or daddy?" She glanced around frantically for a potential parent. Finnick didn't say anything for obvious reasons but just pointed vaguely behind him.
I gave the woman a reassuring smile. "Don't worry ma'am. I will make sure to find where the little guys parents are."
They both nodded and took their lemonade as they walked away chatting together. I waited until they were out of ear shot. "I'm curious, how many mammals in Zootopia know what an adult Fennec Fox looks like compared to a child, little guy?"
"What do you want, Julie? Can't you see I'm working here." He snatched the bills out of my hand and slammed the remaining cup of lemonade down in front of me.
"It's Judy, actually, but we've never been properly introduced. I am just here to ask you some questions about Nick. I'm not leaving until I get some answers."
He signed and rolled his eyes. "Help me move this shit back to the van, then. I'm not gonna be getting any customers if I'm standing here talking to a cop. I'm just about out of product anyway."
I helped him haul the table, pitchers of lemonade, and cups back to his van. Lifting stuff was difficult with my leg but I tried not to let it show. Inside the van were large, empty to-go cups of lemonade from a shop I recognized in Sahara Square. Finnick slammed the back of the van shut with us both inside and removed the colorful shirt and jean overalls he was wearing to reveal his normal attire.
"I don't know why you're coming to me," he said. "I gave Nick your number. It's not my fault if he hasn't texted you. I got nothing to say to cops." The smaller fox thumbed through a stack of money while he spoke.
"I just left his apartment. He let me inside and I thought we were going to talk but that didn't really happen. " I was going to elaborate but Finnicks look of confusion and shock stopped me. "What?"
"He let you inside his apartment? He won't even open the door for me." He shoved the bills into his pocket and leaned forward with his chin in his hands.
"Well, sort of. He let me inside for like two minutes before he made me leave. He was… I don't know, different. I was hoping you might know what is going on with him."
Finnick sighed. "I don't really know what is going on, but something did happen the day I picked him up from the hospital. Some teenage morons sideswiped my van and Nick's reaction was just really weird. He was breathing hard and shaking and there was something wrong with his eyes."
"His eyes? What was wrong with his eyes?" I managed to keep my voice even as I spoke. I was trying not to sound too desperate.
"I don't know, they were, like, lines instead of circles. The black parts were." Finnick pulled his car keys out and swung them around one finger. He was clearly trying to imply that I should leave. I didn't care.
"His pupils were lines, vertical lines? I tucked my hands underneath my legs to keep from twisting them together. From what FInnick was saying it sounded like when Nick was first shot with the serum. But he was fine when I saw him.
"Yeah, that's literally what I said." He switched from spinning his keys to tossing them from one hand to the next. "Anything else or are you ready to leave?"
I swallowed hard. "Thank you, that's all. This information really helps. I think I need to pay him another visit."
Finnick shrugged. "Do whatever you want, Junie. But if you do get another chance to talk to him, tell him Finn said to get his ass back to work."