Judy's couch is not that comfortable a place to spend the night, let alone after a day like the one I'd had. I was totally fried by the time she and I sat together in Bogo's office, as usual sharing a chair that dwarfed the both of us.

"You sure you got enough sleep, Slick?" She placed a paw on my forearm. Giving her a thin smile, I shrugged.

"Depends on how much caffeine I can get. You should really think about getting a better couch for me to sleep on," I replied, shifting my arm out from under her touch in order to pop my back and shoulders. And also to avoid the funny feeling that was cropping up more and more when she did stuff like that.

I could tell she knew I was avoiding the real question—was I okay—but she gave a hum in acknowledgement and let it slide.

The door to the office opened. My paws returned to my lap, hiding the way my claws pressed against my palms. My hindpaws began kicking at the seat. Judy took my paw in hers, sandwiching it between us so Bogo wouldn't notice, and my heart stopped racing.

"Well, Hopps, I can't say I'm surprised…"

This was it. I just knew it. We'd be split up and she'd have to go through field training all over again and I'd get booted out.

"You've done a fine job with Wilde," he finished, throwing down my file as he took his seat. "Other than that irritating snark of his," he continued, taking a moment to glare at me over his spectacles. It didn't faze me—I was still stuck on "fine job".

"So Nick passed?" Judy squealed, pulling her paws up to her muzzle, mine still trapped along with them.

Bogo raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on it as I snaked my paw out of her grip.

"Yes, with flying colors. You've certainly rounded out since your own training and helped Wilde avoid some of those same mistakes with his. I want Wilde taking point for today's patrol; after that, you can split the lead equally amongst yourselves." He collected the results of my exam and tucked them securely away in my file before stowing it all in his desk. "Dismissed."

"Thank you, Chief! We won't let you down!" Judy shot from the room without a glance backwards. I made to follow her when Bogo stopped me.

"Wilde."

"Yes?" I responded, turning back to face him. He gave me a funny look. I pride myself on reading mammals—it was what I did for a living for twenty years. But the way he looked at me…

"Come to me if you need anything," he said finally. His voice was low and calm, more so than I'd ever heard from him before. I nodded hesitantly before slipping out of the chair to follow my partner.

She struck as soon as I'd turned the corner from Bogo's office, hugging me tightly around the middle.

"I'm so proud of you!" Judy said, pressing her forehead into my side.

"Hey," I exclaimed, tapping her right between the ears with a claw. "I seem to remember a lot of that praise back there directed at you." She leaned back to get a good look at me, smiling broadly as she did so.

"Let's chalk it up to a team effort, Officer Wilde." Striking a rigid salute, I gave her a smile in return.

"Copy that, Officer Hopps." She pulled away and we started back down towards the motor pool. "So does this mean you'll let me drive?" She gave a laugh.

"Not a chance, Slick," she said, checking me with her hip before bouncing off towards our cruiser. "You drive like my grandpa!"

God, it…it practically hurt, feeling how much she cared for me. I don't know what I did to deserve a friend like her. I deflated somewhat as she rounded the corner out of sight, allowing some of the pent-up stress of the past few days to bleed away. A pit remained in my stomach, however, prompting me to seek out the subpar coffee the precinct offered in the break room.

…

About once every half hour I'd get an update from Finn about the two wolf detectives.

gettin lunch at a pred place uptown.

talkin to a guy outside of rodentia.

scopin out a spot in the square.

Finn was charging me a supremely stupid amount for his services, but I knew that any good hustle had to have the proper ground work. I had no idea what I'd do with the two of them—part of that stemming from the fact that I didn't know exactly what they'd done to make Judy upset. Still, I was confident that after a few weeks of reconnaissance, I'd have enough to work with for a suitable pranking.

I'd managed to smooth myself out somewhat since the precinct. That comfortable, familiar feeling of routine helped. I led the patrol much the same way Judy had, albeit a little bit more out of the car and on the street. I loved the cruiser, don't get me wrong; but nothing beat actually being able to see the mammals you were meant to be serving up close.

My phone buzzed again, prompting a chuckle from Judy.

"What?" I asked, peeking at the screen to see another message from Finn.

gotta go for today. ciao.

She just smirked and tossed her head.

"You seem very popular today, is all." Stifling my annoyance towards Finnick flaking, I pocketed my phone.

"Need I remind you, Fluff, that I know everybody. That means that, occasionally, some of the everybody need my sage advice." She snorted.

"Or you've got yourself a special vixen to talk to," she replied, bumping me with her side. "You don't usually get this many texts, so I'm thinking she's pretty special."

"Ha ha," I replied snidely, my mood souring. "We're practically attached at the hip, Carrots, you'd already know if I was dating someone." I turned away and started to up my pace along the sidewalk.

"Hey!" She caught me by the arm. "I was just joking, alright? No need to get so upset, I was just talking about Mother's Day coming up. You know, 'special vixen'? Your mom?"

For all the things she could have said, this was the only one that could have made it worse. I clenched my paws, feeling the bones shift as I struggled to rebuild my mask that Judy had run away with under the bridge.

"Yeah, of course," I replied, trying and failing to sound as though I weren't gritting my teeth. "Mother's Day. How could I forget." She was practically jogging to keep pace with me now.

"Nick?" Her eyes were wide and full of concern when I glanced over. "Are you alright?" I mustered up a smirk, my eyes low and hooded.

"Just dandy, Hopps." She recoiled as though she'd been hit. "Why don't we finish out the patrol in the cruiser?" Without waiting for an answer, I snagged the keys from her belt and stormed off.