It took more practice that he'd ever admit to, but the look on her face when he matched her obstacle course times exactly made it worth every second.

"Wilde!"

Nick turned toward the booming voice, coming face-to-face with their senior instructor, Major Friedkin. "Major?"

"Wilde, I just watched you intentionally slow yourself down on that obstacle." The towering polar bear glared down at him. "I'd assume it was laziness, but yesterday I watched you push yourself damn near to the breaking point doing wind sprints. Care to explain yourself?"

Although Nick intended to spin an eloquent and masterful story to explain his actions, the combination of physical exhaustion and the bear's stormy expression turned his silver tongue to lead. "I...I'm..."

"Answer me, Cadet!"

"I'm trying to match Judy Hopps' scores, Major."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm trying to match Judy Hopps' sc..."

"Stop." She interrupted. "Training office. Now."

"Wilde, I need to know if I should be concerned." The Major revealed as she tossed her clipboard on the desk. "The psychological stress a candidate undergoes is a major factor in training, but so is determining whether that stress is negatively affecting their performance. You understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, Major." He responded, standing rigidly at attention.

"I'll admit that you've set an admirable goal, and you're not the first cadet to come here chasing a former cadet's scores." Friedkin leaned down to eye level. "But gauging your performance against someone else's metrics will not help you improve."

"Yes, Major." He repeated.

"Which begs the question, why are you so determined to beat her? Looking to prove something?"

"I'm not trying to beat her scores, Major. I'm trying to match them. Exactly."

That seemed to give her pause. She took a seat across from him, her expression unreadable even to the former con artist. ""I...see. You'd best expand on that."

Nick hesitated, mentally reviewing the train of thought that had brought him to this point.

It was no secret that there were plenty of political figures in Zootopia who hadn't been fans of Leodore Lionhart, even before the Nighthowler crisis. With the former mayor in prison – albeit for less time than his successor would be – many of his opponents were eager to tear down his legacy. The Mammal Inclusion Initiative, in particular, had attracted its fair share of criticism, particularly from those speciest apparatchik wackos in the Taxonomic Solidarity Party.

A year ago the TSP would have been laughed from the podium, but even after Bellwether's scheme had been revealed as the cause of the 'savage predators', inter-species tensions remained higher than ever. Their message was beginning to gain traction among frightened mammals looking for an easy answer; a place for every mammal, and every mammal in their place.

Naturally, the TSP leadership felt very strongly that the ZPD wasn't the place for either a fox or a bunny – particularly since it undermined the very core of what they represented. When he and Judy exposed the former mayor's conspiracy, it had given Bogo the leverage he needed to push the TSP back. Even so, Nick could still see the writing on the wall.

Even after all she'd accomplished, Judy remained an outlier in the eyes of most mammals. The single exception to the rule that a bunny could never be a cop. And if she had been the trial run for the MII, then he was the confirmation test.

"I'm waiting, cadet." Friedkin reminded him, snapping his attention back into the present. For his part, Nick matched her stare and tried not to fidget.

"If I do better than her..." Now that he'd started, the words came pouring out. "If I do better than her, then critics of the Inclusion Initiative will call it proof that she did well 'for a bunny', but not as well as other mammals in her size-class could. It'd rob her of the credibility she's worked so hard to earn. On the other paw, next to her I'll be the smallest mammal to ever attend the academy. If I do poorly, they'll call it proof that Carr...er...Hopps was an outlier and that the clear majority of small mammals aren't up to the challenge. The only way to side-step that is to do exactly as well as she did, across the board."

The Major paused, leaning back in her chair. "Wilde...that is far and away the most nonsensical thing I have ever heard. And I used to process mental patients into holding."

"Because politics always makes sense?"

"Watch that attitude, Cadet!" She admonished sharply. "Neither the credibility of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative or that of Officer Hopps are your responsibility. Your responsibility is to perform to the utmost of your capabilities, and if I think you're doing any less I WILL have you ejected from the academy so fast you'll think your tail was on fire."

It wasn't as if he was doing this for fun, or to try and prove a point. As paranoid as his reasoning might sound (and he could admit that it did sound a little paranoid) it wasn't something he was willing to take a risk on. Judy had done so much for him, changed his life for the better in so many ways, that even the outside possibility of screwing it all up terrified him.

"Dammit, Wilde. If I catch you slacking again you ARE going to receive a swift kick in your bright red hind parts! Am I understood?!"

"Yes, Major!"

Nick had never believed in the idea of luck. As far as he was concerned, it was a myth for the unintelligent and underprepared. But if there was such a thing, he'd probably used his entire life's supply just getting here. Surviving the Missing Mammals case and getting through the Nighthowler Crisis that followed were impressive enough, but then he'd actually been accepted into the Zootopia Police...that alone seemed to defy all sense and logic.

He'd never admit it to her, but he'd only applied for Judy's sake. The idea that a fox's application would even be considered was absurd, but he'd done it just to see that beautiful smile. When he'd received the call to come in for an initial interview, he'd assumed that it was just a courtesy. An acknowledgement for his contributions to the city, at most.

When the desk sergeant directed him to the Chief's office rather than the recruiting section, he thought he knew what was coming; a brief thank-you followed by a polite explanation that his application couldn't be accepted. It wouldn't be the first time, and over the years he'd learned so many polite ways to be rejected.

"Run it again, Wilde! I want to see six seconds less on the climbing wall and ten seconds off your overall time."

"Yes, Major!"

Faced with the same buffalo he'd verbally skewered a few months earlier, it had taken all his willpower to maintain a calm expression. They sat in silence, taking their time to size one another up, before the Chief began. "I'm well aware of your questionable past, fox, and I've rejected applications without hesitation for far less. Had you applied a month ago, you'd have never even received a response."

"I..."

"The city council would have given Hopps anything; if she'd requested my job, she may well have gotten it. But all she asked was that I take a leap of faith and accept your application." The buffalo had pulled a sheaf of paper from his drawer, signed them and handed them to Nick. "Hand these to Officer Clawhauser on your way out."

"Er...thank y..."

Bogo raised a hoof and Nick had fallen silent. "This will not be easy, fox. In all likelihood, you will not be successful. But it won't be because you weren't given a chance."

"Wilde, get back on your feet or I'll have you running this course until I get tired."

"Yes, Major!"

Unfortunately for Nick, the Major was as good as her word. Every time he tried to manipulate his performance - even when he'd been certain she couldn't see him - she seem to appear out of nowhere to tear a strip off him. On the bright side, his remaining time at the academy flew by once he stopped watching and analyzing every step he took.

When they were handed their final grades, he found that his performance differed from Judy's in almost every way. Although she held several academy records for fastest course times, he'd needed far fewer tries to master each obstacle. She'd excelled in hand-to-hand takedowns, he'd qualified for sharpshooter his first day on the range.

Her encyclopedic knowledge of Zootopian laws, by-laws and statutes was unparalleled. He'd shown such skill with communication and interrogation techniques, one of the instructors had recommended he be assigned back to the academy to teach future officers.

He was still going over his final marks when the Major spoke up from behind him. "Looking forward to graduating tomorrow?"

"I really am." He chuckled. "Who'd have thought?"

"I can't speak for anyone else, but I was fairly confident." She gestured to the paperwork in his paw. "Not for nothing, but if you had matched all of Hopps' scores I'd have personally recommended that the two of you not be partnered together."

He looked up in surprise. "What?!"

"Good partners should complement one another, and Hopps doesn't need to be patrolling with another Hopps. As it happens, I think the two of you will work nicely together. That being said..." She held up her clipboard, revealing a blank ZPA Obstacle Course scorecard. "I'll be on the training field at 8pm this evening with a stopwatch. Just in case you feel like taking one last swing at it."

Gasping for breath in the cool evening air and resisting the urge to retch on the grass, Nick turned to face the amused bear. "How'd...I...do?"

She didn't answer immediately, the only sound was the faint scratching of her pencil. Just when he was about to give in to temptation and ask again, she smiled and handed him the completed scorecard. "You did it, Wilde. Right down to the second."

"I...did?"

"Numbers don't lie, Cadet. It won't be reflected in your academy records, but at least it'll give Hopps a good shock. I hope she realizes how lucky she is to have someone so dedicated."

"Well, it's like you said," He stepped back to shake some water from his fur. "We work well together."

"Not what I meant, Cadet."

"Then what did you mean?"

"You'll figure it out." She pointed to the cadet barracks. "Now go to bed, Wilde. Tomorrow's a big day."

"Y'know Major, you act tough but deep down you're just a big teddy bear." Nick realized his mistake the moment the words left his mouth, and the scowl on the bear's face only served to underline it. "I..."

"You know what, Cadet? This is an old stopwatch."

"It...is?"

"Yup. You'd better run the course again, just to be sure."

Nick sighed and began trudging toward the start line. "Yes, Major."

Chapter edited after posting, because I managed to get Friedkin's name and rank wrong. I'll leave it up to you whether to be disappointed or impressed.