The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

37. Episode 37: The Date (Pt1)

Author's note: Salutations, dear readers. It is I, Valiant, and I have returned with a new chapter of my Zootopia Fan-fic. You know… it does not feel like that long since the last instalment of this story but I do believe that this calls for something special. I wager that this is the moment in the story you all have been waiting so patiently for and it could only be carried out in a fully-fledged two parter special. I have been hard at work making sure that this next chapter would be ready before the end of this month and, even after slicing out a few frivolous parts, I was still left with a behemoth of a chapter. Not wanting a repeat of the last time, I decided to split this one into two parts which should be a whole lot easier to digest. Anyway, no more stalling. Read up and enjoy.

Episode 37: The Date (Part 1.)

It did not take too long for Nick and Judy to push out their daze and call the other officers close to the site for back up, Judy explained in codes and succinct reports that the escort for the recent apprehended feline had to be reinforced, there would be no taking chances until they could get some answers. Nick watched from a distance, seeing the bunny raising suddenly from her perched seat right alongside him, get right on the radio and make the call, he just took the time to breathe and rest while 'admiring the show', in a manner of speaking. Every step that Judy took, every gesture, every word, just gave Nick more of a reason to speak up and tell her what he wanted to ask earlier, but it was definitely not the right time.

The ZPD arrived shortly, two cruisers with two officers each and a thick armored lock transport to transfer all of the apprehended suspects over to precinct one, the operation only took seven minutes or so, Nick and Judy had to drag the unconscious and immobilized jaguar off from the upper floor all the way down the stairs and over to the front entrance of the construction site, no problem, they did not have to make the entire track on their own. As Nick and Judy moved close to the entrance, they spotted the officers on call, Grizzolli and Adonis leading the small group, they rushed to help out just as soon as they identified the duo carrying the suspect over their shoulders, holding on to the unconscious feline by the arms as his lower half dragged limply across the dirt behind them. With the robbers safely detained and the situation under control, Nick asked Judy if it was alright for the two of them to make their way back to the precinct, Judy answered positively and they made their way back to the bank where their cruiser had been parked.

Unbeknownst to any officer or worker present in that location where that extreme situation unfolded, a set of digital eyes was keeping tabs on everything, a wandering drone was kept hovering over the district and it recorded data about the robbery, the chase and the ensuing confrontation. The imagery had been quickly transmitted over to a facility not that far away, over at the northern edge of the savanna, to a large conference room where a group of unscrupulous investors watched it all on their own private screens. Presiding over the gathering, one of the only two mammals present inside the office in the flesh, was Mr. Ortega himself, the goat gestured with opened palms at the main screen which showed the video fee being feed from the drone, as if he was the ringmaster of an enormous circus, while his loyal scientist remained seated and silent staring at the constant stream of information on the screen of his personal tablet. Six shadowy figures watched the demonstration on display and judged in silence, the quiet was only disrupted by Ortega's voice as he pontificated:

- As you can clearly see, my dear board of investors, the newest formula provided by our own head of development has yielded marvelous results. Strength, speed, cunning, resilience, it is all shown on the dossiers that have been mailed to your private digital accounts. The drug works.

There were murmurs in the air, gasps of intrigue and puffs of interest, music for the ears of the mammal in charge of that gathering, it felt like he was the one suspended at the very top of the pile, he enjoyed that feeling very much, he almost lost his composure and cracked an unhinged smile, almost. One voice, lowered pitched due to the safety precaution of a voice distortion device placed at the very start of the video conference, sounded from one of the monitors, the third investor spoke up and aired his opinion in clear so that the others could hear it:

- And yet… your little 'volunteers' still lost their confrontation with the ZPD. Your serum, it would seem, has very short lived effectiveness.

Ortega already knew that there would be an inevitable seed of doubt planted in the minds of one of his investors, they were merely looking out for the money that they all pooled into the development of the serum counseled by Ortega's company, it was just business after all. Ortega turned to one of the screens, adjusting the sleeves on his dark suit and the angle of his tie before answering to those words:

- Not so much. The struggle that the officers showed in order to defeat the volunteers was almost palpable and it lasted for quite a while. This was but a mere test, in order to see the wild effects of the serum on different mammals, prey and predator alike can feel its effects near immediately. One dose is all it takes for every shred of inhibition, fear, restraint, to be made insignificant for thought and consideration. Imagine the profit margin. Imagine the impact something like this can make on the populous.

- Yes. We have all heard the very same speech from you many times already, Ortega. There is no mare need to convince us of the efficacy of your scientific division and of your own ambitions for this project. Just tell us when we can expect a finished product.

Another voice came to disturb the goat, an inquiry disguised as a simple command, the voice was higher pitched and came from the image shown on the last screen. Another voice intermitted, not as disguised by distortion as the other ones, a shade was seen on the first screen raising his left arm in the air for clear display of intercession before he said:

- Now hang on just a moment. We all have seen the same footage, haven't we? Those "guinea pigs" that received the formula in their systems showed nothing more than unhinged behavior. There was no planning, no grander design, there was only instinct and savagery. That is not what I want for the project in which I poured so much capital into. That was not the end goal.

Ortega heard the apprehension disguised mostly as ire in the voice of the first screen, in the guise of a sales-mammal, the goat still had more to talk about and he made sure that his voice and stance would be more than enough to dispel any more owes that might come from any of the investors:

- Gentle-mammals, please. There is nothing to worry about concerning the nature of the product itself. Clearly, what was promised was a clinical way of manipulating the physical and mental attributes of a mammal of any given species into following their basic impulses without the loss of any cognitive capacity. The targets of this little… experiment, were nothing more than rabble off the street, any employee with a higher degree of thought will perceive a negligible effect in their own thought trail when under the effect of the enhanced serum.

The scientist in the room raised his right paw in order to give his own formula the props it needed, airing his own mathematical estimation so that he could offer support for his employer. Doctor Oncas tapped an icon on his tablet before speaking in a single breath:

- A margin of 0.0007 percent according to the estimations and calculated dosages.

Ortega thanked the doctor with a subtle waving gesture of his left paw before turning back to the group and telling them:

- There you have it, folks. Your money is as safe as it can be and the production of the improved formula is still on its way. Granted, you continue your vested trust in me and my employees to do our jobs.

Silence befell the room once more, there was a short exchange of looks and silent opinions before the mammal depicted on the center screen adjusted his body for only a moment and spoke up for Ortega to listen, slow but intimidating words came from the very center screen:

- The results are indeed promising, Mr. Ortega, but there shall be no praise or final decision until a concrete result can be submitted to the entire board as a whole. Until then, all production and distribution rights of the formula shall be again delegated to you and your slew of employees. The ZPD seems to be getting closer to cracking the front we all worked so hard to build with each passing day.

Ortega released a puff of air that, for some, could be perceived as a humorous scoff. The goat gave a single step ahead as he assured that there was no concerns to be had about the officers of the ZPD:

- Gnats and whispers to be certain. I assure you all that none of Zootopia's finest has any idea of the goings on in this. Not one of them knows of me by name and any trace of influence employed by any of you has been thoroughly scrubbed. Our tracks have been covered.

There was a nearly imperceptible nod coming from the presence on the center screen, more words followed shortly:

- Excellent. We shall leave you to your work, Mr. Ortega. I expect a lengthy update to follow and any further testing should be consulted before given permission to proceed. Good day.

Those ominous last words marked the end of the conference, all of the screens turned off, one after the other, and Ortega felt like he could finally relax, releasing a long sigh through his mouth before turning to the doctor and telling him:

- I think that went as good as expected.

It was meant more as a jest than anything else. Their attention returned to the only screen left in the conference room which was still active, the one tracking the progress of the confrontation between the ZPD, Ortega made a paw signal to the doctor and then issued an order directed at him and his handle on the drone camera operation:

- I believe that is more than enough expectation for us at the moment, Doctor. Call the drone back to its charging port and then erase its data cartridge.

Oncas began to tap at his claws on the command icons but he stopped himself short from allotting the final command as he turned his head up and asked:

- Should I save the recording of the test on the private cloud?

Ortega turned to the doctor and thought hard about that, inspecting the footage may give them more of an edge both in managing the next stage of serum development and any more possible confrontations with the ZPD. Ortega arrived at the conclusion that it would be far safer to cover his digital tracks completely, referring to the doctor once more as he gave the order once more, making it sound as more of a suggestion:

- It might be for the best if we continue to cover our bases safely for the time being. Erase the footage, we shall attain more data for studies through other means.

Oncas nodded his head once and returned to tapping away at the tablet. Ortega walked closer to the big screen closest to him, it was being once used for the extended demonstration of the serum effectiveness but it was now showing just the two officers responsible for giving his presentation a very appreciated touch of flare as they walked together on their way back. Ortega could not hold back the thought in his mind, wondering if continuous observation of the ZPD would prove fruitful, best to leave it be. The signal for the drone had to travel quite a long distance before being received by the hovering device, the motion of the propellers accelerating sounded off like a tinny buzzing passing by which Judy heard coming from just behind them. The bunny officer stopped her walking short as her ears twitched with the sound of the buzzing, she turned her head to the right and her upper body followed the flow of her motion, Nick noticed that his partner had halted her motion in the middle of the street, he stopped as well, turned to look at her and asked:

- Yo, carrots, everything alright?

Judy did not answer him right away, she continued to look around for the origin of the buzzing she had just heard, her eyes squinted to pick up any motion from afar and they moved frantically from side to side but she could only see the line of buildings stretching far behind them, the scene they just left and no suspicious sight. Judy spoke up, projecting her voice towards Nick as she said:

- I… thought I saw… No, never mind.

Judy finished saying that before turning her body back in the direction of her partner and moving towards him with a rushed step so that she could catch up and move right next to Nick. Judy thought for a moment that she may have been hearing things due to the escalating stress of the moment, she quickly pushed the thoughts of suspicion out of her mind and just focused on returning to the precinct next to her partner.

---

Half an hour later, Judy and Nick had returned to precinct one, alongside their cruiser came the escort of the jail car along with the cruisers of Fangmeyer and Mchorn, Wolford was on the driver seat of the cruiser leading the pack since his tigress comrade could still hardly move her arm around with the effects of the tranquilizer still present in her system. Judy exited the cruiser and climbed the stairs that lead out of the precinct carpool, she reached the lobby first shortly followed by Nick and the other officers and there were already some waiting for them and curious to know just what had transpired during the patrol shift.

Benjamin was found in his regular post, just behind the counter and searching about for forms to fill while having his mind wandering about his friends, he was very glad to see Judy and Nick walking his way but his mind flared with worry as soon as he saw the deplorable state that the bunny and the fox were with their uniforms stained with powder stains and dirt all over. Benjamin moved away from his computer screen, left his place behind the counter and moved towards Judy in order to ask of her:

- Oh, my goodness! What the heck happened to the two of you? It almost looks like you escaped from a war zone!

Judy lowered her head and her ears flopped around, she looked at the concerned and fluffy face of the cheetah lowering himself to speak to her and the fox right next to her before answering:

- We just came from a long chase and a full on brawl. I can tell you the details later.

Soon and with little warning except for the sounds of their footsteps climbing the stairs, Fangmeyer, Wolford, Mchorn, Delgato and Jimmy came through the door behind Nick, the fox turned his head to the left and looked over his shoulder as he greeted the others with a simple wave of his left paw, none of them bothered to repay the fox's gesture, they were all focused on other things, more specifically, just how tired they all were and the fact that they still had to escort the arrested mammals into the precinct. A few minutes passed by and, as the first officer on the scene to answer the call, Jimmy volunteered to inform chief Bogo about all that had happened, although, it would be up to Nick and Judy to tell the others what happened during the pursuit since they were the only two officers who managed to keep up with and successfully arrest the last robber. It was informed that the robbers would be transferred to lock-up shortly, Judy and Nick waited for a little while, seated on a bench with separated seats by the lobby and Judy noticed that there was something bothering Nick.

Judy and Nick decided to sit together at that bench for just a moment, to catch their collective breath after such a crazy patrol shift, neither of them bothered to even shake the dust that they brought along off before taken one seat each. Judy looked to her left, to the fox seated right by her side, and noticed how he was anxiously massaging his right shoulder, placing his left paw around it and dragging its palm over the sleeve of his uniform, up and down for a while. Judy leaned closer and asked of him:

- Nick, is everything okay? Are you hurt?

Nick turned to Judy, he had a little jump as soon as he heard her calling him by name, his shoulders raised only an inch before coming down, he looked to his right and assured the bunny that he was unhurt:

- I'm alright, carrots, honest. I just feel a little crick in my shoulder. I might have pulled something during our 'little maneuvers' back there.

Judy rose from her seat, standing on both her feet as soon as she got back to the floor and told her partner:

- Nick, you should go see Pura. She could help out if you're feeling pain.

Nick released a shot puff of air out of his nose and told her:

- What? No way, fluff. We still got a whole lot to do.

Nick let go of his own right shoulder and got down from the waiting bench as well, he placed himself right in front of Judy and she followed his motions attentively. Judy heard as Nick began to raise the fingers of his right paw one by one while he listed the items they still had left unchecked since their return:

- We got to get ourselves a shower to get all of this dirt off of us, we got to get a beat on the laundry for our uniforms, we both still reek of wet dirt and cement, then we have to fill in like a dozen reports to make sure that all that happened can get archived nice and neat, then we have to talk things over with Jimmy about his support, might let the chief handle the details on that one…

Before Nick could come up with any more chores to do, Judy approached him and placed her left paw over his right forearm, the fox looked at her, a little surprised by the sudden touch over him and the interruption of his train of thought. Judy took a short breath before telling him:

- Nick, it's fine. Go get yourself checked out just for a bit. It's probably nothing much but it would be for the best to just make sure of it.

Nick lowered his ears and then looked to his immediate left, taking a look at the hallway in the distance which lead straight to the lab of Doctor Pura, he imagined that it would be for the best to heed Judy's advice and go talk with the doctor before anything else. Nick looked back at Judy and then answered her:

- Alright, fluff, you win. I'll… just pop on over real quick to get this sorted, then we can get started on all of the other stuff we have to do for today.

The fox said so as he made a gesture with his left paw directed at his own right shoulder. Judy accompanied Nick but their walk was momentarily interrupted as soon as they saw the line of cuffed mammals coming from the front door of the precinct. Nick and Judy stopped for a bit to watch, the fox had his paws on the pockets of his uniform when he saw the group of robbers, now far more tamed, coming by on their way to processing and lock up while being offered additional escort by Grizolli and Adonis, the two officers armed with fully charged taser shooters just in case one of the criminals decided to act willy on the way to their privately reserved cell. Nick looked at the five criminals, now totally out of action and his eyes landed on the one that was the target of his search.

- Nick?

Judy called out to her partner who could barely listen to her at that moment, the fox began to walk with heavy steps towards the line of cuffed mammals, his paws clenched into fists, his tail lowered and the fur on it scraped the floor as he moved ahead, also, Judy was not exactly certain of it but she could have sworn that she heard a growl coming from her partner and it was getting louder as he moved ahead. Nick got just close enough to the apprehended mammals, he raised his right paw and pointed a finger at one of them, his arm rigid at an obtuse angle as he pointed ahead and as his mind turned off the feeling of discomfort that he was experiencing just a few moments before:

- HEY, YOU!

Nick spoke up, shouting all the while he kept stepping forth, he rushed his steps forward, Judy did the same as she caught up with her partner. Nick noticed how he called to the attention of every mammal present in the lobby so he decided to clarify just exactly who was he referring to:

- THAT'S RIGHT, YOU! THE THOUGHTLESS JERK WITH TWIGS ON HIS HEAD!

Judy was starting to become very worried as Nick continued to move ahead, the fox lowered his paw and the volume of his voice now that he was at a good enough distance to be heard and not have his words be misinterpreted. Judy sounded off a little yelp as she raised her paws and tried getting up in front of Nick as to call to his attention and talk him down, maybe prevent him from making a ruckus, it was already too late. Nick pointed a stare sharp as a sickle and a snarl loud as an engine to the elk in the line-up that was responsible for tossing bricks at him and the other officers, the same feckless loudmouth that imprinted a sharp dent at the hood of the cruiser belonging to him and Judy. Nick felt the hold of two arms pressumg over him, a force that prevented him from moving any further ahead, Judy was holding him back, it mattered not to him, the fox was already close enough to speak all that he needed to say, he did not move any further ahead but he could still feel Judy's effort on pushing him back as he let his voice and angry scowl loose.

Nick pointed a finger from his right paw at the elk who was actually fairly intimidated by the fox's approach at that point, the other cuffed mammals stepped aside and the other officers heard it loud and clear as Nick spoke up:

- You're the numb-nuts that tossed a brick at the hood of my cruiser. What the hell were you on that made you do something so stupid?! Do you have any idea how much love I poured into maintaining that car?! DO YOU?!

Judy kept holding on to Nick, she tried stepping her feet a little higher to force her partner back but the fox was not budging, he just refused to move from that spot as he continued to shout and belittle the tallest elk present in the group. Judy's paws slipped and wrinkled Nick's uniform a bit, she placed her head over the torso of her partner, hanging on tightly to him in order to prevent the possible conflict from escalating out of control but Nick's angry rant continued, the fur on the fox's entire body fluffed up, he was almost like a wild beast on the very edge of a confrontation, he did not care how he looked only that he made himself heard. Nick extended his pointing arm further ahead as he spoke to the elk and forced any other mammal on the group to step a little back with only his presence, the fox spoke up:

- You listen well to my words, you wet little pile of wet twigs: I'm about ten seconds from climbing on to you and wring every penny of the repair of my cruiser out of your scrawny little neck! I'm going to cross the 'T's and dot the 'I's of every report on my desk so I can push you under the bus myself! You do not mess with a guy and his ride! EVER!

- Nick, that's enough. Stop. Please.

Judy tried appealing to Nick's common sense, she pushed her partner further and this time he actually budged a little bit, his feet slid back as Judy employed a more consistent level of force in order to push her partner away from the target of his overwhelming ire. Grizzolli and Adonis both remained on standby, keeping an eye on the line of prisoners, the bear actually got quite the rise out of watching the fox stepping up and losing his cool like that. Benjamin was just about to reach for his phone so he could document the whole scene as it happened but the cheetah stopped himself short as he figured it would not be very tasteful to record Nick's outburst, especially if it would be just for a laugh later. Nick's rage called to the attention of many officers who were roaming around the precinct, including the chief:

- What is going on here?

Bogo stepped in just in time, the chief positioned himself with both of his arms placed at his back as he got a look at the situation from a distance, he was just coming from the eastern staircase leading down, right behind Nick and Judy, when he appeared with a much more intimidating aura than Nick could ever hope to manifest and halted the progress on that entire scene right away. Nick turned his head to look at the buffalo right behind him, Judy froze up with a breath of air stuck in prodigious pressure inside her chest and all the other officers stood at attention, ready to speak or hop to any given order that might have come from their superior. Bogo leaned forward, the cuffed robbers had no idea of what was going to happen next but they had little option of how to react, except for standing still and watching that whole mess as it trudged on, the chief looked at Nick and asked of him directly:

- Is there something the matter, Officer Wilde?

Bogo called out to Nick, speaking up to him with slow words and specific tone, meant to communicate to the fox that he was still in uniform and under the procedure of the ZPD so outbursts would not be a proper response for any kind of situation. Nick lowered his shoulders, stepped back for a moment, the fox still had his partner hanging on to him in a tight restraining squeeze as he looked at the chief and told him with blurted words coming through his pressed teeth:

- Nothing is the matter… sir.

Everyone was a little astounded to hear that, no one could recall a time when Nick referred to chief Bogo as 'sir', the fox would always greet the buffalo in charge with a very casual stance and tone of voice, goes to show just how serious that situation was and just how much restriction Nick was placing on his reactions. The chief nodded his head and stepped forth, satisfied with what he was seeing and expecting all of the officers to follow sooth in demonstrating professional behavior. Bogo proceeded to check all around, every presence in the precinct lobby was under his watch, the buffalo demanded a report, it did not matter of whom it came from, he asked:

- Now, would anyone just tell me what is all of this? I heard of the robbery but every shred of information after that was a blur.

Delgato approached, he raised his paw in the air and began to speak:

- We apprehended all five mammals responsible for wrecking the ATMs up on the western side of the savanna, sir. Hopps and Wilde got this last one, tough costumer.

The lion said so as he gave a gentle shove to the side of the jaguar, the feline in cuffs barely noticed it since his body was starting to fall numb, he could hardly move around on his own, the result of the tranquilizer in his body beginning to overpower the serum he and the others had doped themselves with. The jaguar took a little umbrage with being bumped like that, granted he did not feel any pain but the gesture on itself was taken as offensive, the cuffed feline opened his mouth to speak and released a grunt followed by a few selective words to the officers around him:

- My name is Gray and don't you dare touch me, you goon! We are sick and tired of being stepped over by the mammals in this city and we decided we were not going to take anymore.

Judy interjected, asking about the rashness and straight up foolishness of their actions as she spoke in clear protest:

- So you decide to stage a robbery?! That doesn't seem like the best way to change anyone's mind… at all.

- You shut up!

The jaguar spoke in response to Judy's words, stepping in her direction and suddenly stopped from moving any further from his position alongside his accomplices by having the heavy right paw of Delgato placed over his left shoulder, Gray struggled for a moment, trying to set himself free from the officer's hold but he just could not. Delgato spoke up, pushing the jaguar back to his spot on the line as he said:

- Pipe down!

A direct order that went unheard as Gray continued to shake his shoulders about before speaking up:

- You can lock us up, it won't make a difference. There will always be more like us. We're going to fill up all of your jail cells and then we're going to… going…

The jaguar was almost shouting as he spoke those words, almost as if he was trying to respond to Nick's previous outburst, the fox positioned himself at a ready stance with Judy placed safely close to his right side this time. However, the feline felon stopped his rant short as he figured that something was very wrong with him. As the jaguar opened and closed his mouth, he started to notice that he was not articulating some syllables as well as he should, his lips closed for a moment as his tongue moved around, he noticed that there was something solid and rattling loose inside of his mouth, maybe… a pebble that he might have picked up from the construction site?

'P-tooey!'

'Clack!'

Gray turned his head and spat out the small unknown item he was holding in his mouth, the sound of the impact that it made against the floor of the precinct reverberated to the others present in there. Everyone looked at the small spec of blood that ended up on the nice clean floor of the precinct along with a small, white and sharp item that was left there to the horror and surprise of all present. Gray had his eyes opened wide and his jaw lowered as he looked at what he had just spit out and asked with low volume:

- Is that a tooth?

Followed by a more clarified question relating to the same topic, only much louder this time:

- IS THAT *MY* TOOTH?!

The feline looked to his right in a fit of rage, his head turned so fast in the direction of Nick and Judy it was actually kind of frightening, Grizzoli's voice came up shortly after that as he shouted out:

- Holy crap!

Gray was absolutely livid, he did not care if the situation would be worse for him, he wanted to eviscerate the two mammals positioned across from him in that lobby. The jaguar took off, his paws still cuffed behind his back but that hardly mattered, if he could not use his claws then he would settle for diving ahead and using his teeth, Delgato let go of the suspect as the grip of his paw lessened with the shock of the moment, he tried reaching forth and taking hold of the felon once more but it was too late then, Gray had already taken long steps and was far out of reach. The jaguar shouted menacing as he stepped forth, lowering his body to be as close to the height of the two officers and do as much damage as he could in the least amount of time, there were so many officer present and all of the drew weapons towards the feline who continued to yell:

- I'M GOING TO KILL YOU TWO!

Judy reached for her sidearm, unsure if she had replaced the empty tranq cartridge, Nick raised his right arm and pushed her aside, placing himself as a shield in front of her, the fox had an iron stare directed ahead with the teeth in his maw in view of an aggressive scowl and showing just how ready he was for a full on fight. Before the jaguar could even reach for Nick and Judy, a presence stepped forth, Chief Bogo gave a big and quick step to the left, placed himself in front of the duo and smacked the feline across the face with a right sided back fist that stopped the felon cold in his tracks. Gray fell to the ground, unconscious once more and thoroughly defeated, another plain example why the chief of precinct one was equally feared and respected by the other officers. Bogo stood tall as he adjusted the sides of his uniform with a few pats of his hooves over the sides, he reached down and grabbed the feline by the scruff of his neck and just in time to hear as Nick dropped one of his signature bad jokes to break off the tension:

- Wow! The tooth fairy is going to have a field day with this guy.

Bogo turned his eyes to the left with wide eyes and an angry stare, his ears twitched as soon as he heard Nick's voice, the buffalo did not even dignify that joke with a response but he did crack a miniscule smile that, hopefully, passed by unseen as soon as the shock of the moment subsided. Bogo dragged the jaguar back to the lineup and the other four cuffed robbers stepped back, their hearts were beating so fast and they were starting to dread whatever may be coming next, that was the sure sing to all of them that the effects of the drug they partook in were starting to fade, their sense of fear was returning in full force and pushing hard on their reasoning, now they were fully aware of the consequences of their collective blunders. Bogo tossed the unconscious body of the jaguar on the floor, almost like a dirty rug, and turned to the other prisoners before telling them:

- Congratulations, gents. You are now fully qualified to share our dankest, darkest, most exclusive lock-up cell until your tails are shipped out to prison. You attack my officers and now you all shall suffer greatly. Them's the breaks.

Nick smiled as soon as he heard the chief's improvised 'pitch' for the situation that the robbers were now in, that was just delightful. Bogo turned to Grizzolli, the bear showed a steely stare directed forward and listened attentively as the chief told him:

- Grizolli, take these dirt bags to the lock-up down below. Prepare them for some grilling later. I'll contact the mayor's office and the safety board later to explain all of this… attempt to anyway. Adonis, Delgato, you follow him.

Grizzolli showed a single positive nod before getting right on the task entrusted to him by the chief, he called out to Delgato and Donny and the three officers transported the prisoners down the stairs near the right end of the lobby as it was ordered with the knocked out body of the leader in tow. Bogo turned back to Nick and Judy, finding the two officers still in the same position they were before, Nick posted gallantly in front of Judy in order to protect her from any more developments that might come their way, Bogo walked closer to them and then asked:

- Now, if it's not much trouble that is, tell me what happened.

Bogo's voice resounded his usual stoic air, it was calm yet stern, it would be difficult to hide any detail at all from him when he was like that. Judy walked around Nick positioning herself in front of the fox as she looked at the chief and then began to explain:

- We received the call about the robbers and drove to the scene, Nick knew the way best so he drove us there. None of the robbers wanted to listen to reason and they shot Fangmeyer with a tranq dart.

Fangmeyer was listening to that, the tigress yelled out to dispel any worries and still make it sound like she was the toughest under the precinct roof:

- I'm fine!

Judy continued shortly after:

- We apprehended the robbers who were in clear sight but the one responsible for opening the vault slipped away. I suspected that they were all under the effect of some drug when I caught one of the elks inside of the bank using a needle on himself. We collected it as evidence for doctor Pura to take a look at it, Fangmeyer has the it on her.

The tigress came closer, limping for a while since one half of her body was still being affected and softly numbed by the anesthetic, although it was slowly starting to wear off. Fangmeyer walked closer to the chief, Nick and Judy, before delivering the syringe placed inside the recovery bag, Judy figured it would be far safer with her friend. After giving the evidence over to the chief, Fangmeyer walked off, with the same rhythm of steps from before, going over to the breakroom so she could rest for a bit and eat something, Bogo inquired of her:

- Are you sure you don't need to go to the infirmary?

The tigress responded with the same tone from before:

- I'm Fine!

And continued to move on her way. Bogo shook his head from side to side before muttering to himself and to the two officer closest to him:

- Sometimes it feels like I'm in charge of a precinct filled with stubborn children.

Bogo turned his head back to Judy as the bunny continued to explain:

- The jaguar escaped the bank and slipped away through a washroom window. I didn't even know that was possible. We tried surrounding him but he jumped on Wolford and slipped away again.

Wolford added to that comment, The wolf officer had just arrived through the carpool door when he heard his name and contribution to the chase being mentioned, he pinched a portion of the shirt of his uniform and showed the claw marks that the feline placed on the fabric. Wolford spoke up with a very annoyed tone of voice:

- What really chafes my hide is that this was a brand new shirt. Now I'm gonna have to commend another one.

Wolford let go of his uniform and crossed his arms before leaning his back on the wall behind him while having a very sour look on his face. Judy turned back to chief Bogo and finished her report by saying:

- Nick and I followed the leader to a construction site, it was pure chaos. I sunk two darts on the guy and he got back up right after. I still can't believe we took him down.

Nick made a gesture with his left paw as he pointed to the opened door leading to the carpool, he added his own words to the report as he told the chief:

- And one of them tossed bricks at us, they dented the hood of our cruiser.

- Nick!

Judy turned her head to the left to look at her partner, communicating that the moment was really not the best of times to complain about the damage caused to the vehicle sitting in the carpool, but Nick still had more to say. Understanding right away what Judy meant by calling out to his name in such a direct tone, Nick made a gesture with his left hand, almost as if he was turning the page of a book, and then he delivered another point of concern he had considering how the whole deal began for him:

- Oh, also, that Gray guy totally wrecked one of the ATMs over by the automatic bank. I wished we could have arrived much sooner to help but now the whole entire place is a mess. It would probably stay closed for a long while until someone gets around to fixing it and a lot of mammals who live in the area will have their bank accounts facing an even greater disorder.

Bogo pressed his lips softly over one another, the chief searched in his mind for a short time as he came up with an expedient solution for the situation reported by Nick. Judy had her ears lowered as soon as her partner finished speaking his mind, it sounded for a moment like Nick was disappointed with their own performance, even if they were the ones responsible for capturing the leader, protecting the workers at the construction site and retrieving the stolen bag of money, the fox sounded dissatisfied with anything that felt less than perfect, she could understand some of that at least. Bogo leaned his upper body forward as he looked down over the fox, he told Nick after making a quick dismissive gesture with his left hoof waving in the air:

- I can touch on that on my call to the mayor's office later today, he will be thrilled to know all that happened and I'm sure he'll also give a helping paw in repairing the damage to the bank. You should be proud, Wilde, you two have done a lot.

Judy looked to the right, leaned forward with a single short step of her right leg as it supported most of her weight, looking right at Nick's face as the fox let his ears lower and said:

- It still feels like we could have done more.

Bogo let out a smile before saying:

- Of course it does. That's why you're such a good officer.

Nick had his ears raise high over his head as he heard that, Judy's ears twitched to the sides, every officer still present in there was definitely surprised from hearing those words. Nick pointed a claw from his left paw at the chief and asked of him with a progressive larger smile:

- Did you just say what I think you just said?! I'm a 'good officer'?

Bogo looked away, directing his sight to the empty hallway to the right before saying:

- No, never mind that.

Nick pressed the subject onward, raising his right and left arm as one pointed to the ceiling and the other pointed to his partner right next to him, Nick sounded off to the others as he spoke out loud:

- Ha! You said it! You all heard it! Carrots is a witness!

Judy lowered her head and placed the palms of her paws in front of her lips, pressing her mouth shut in order to hold back the little fit of laughter that tried to escape. Bogo rolled his eyes but his sight landed over Nick and Judy once more, only then he took notice of the deplorable state of their uniforms, all of the spots stained with dirt and the trail of specs and dust that followed the two officers around through their entire path across the precinct floor. Bogo pointed at them and asked:

- What the hell happened to your uniforms? You two look awful.

Judy and Nick took a look at themselves, the bunny and the fox answered separately:

- True that.

- Also… kind of harsh.

Bogo raised his right arm and pointed in the direction of the locker rooms, telling the two officers in front of him:

- Hit the showers and get cleaned. It smells like you two brought your own ecosystems along for the ride.

Nick and Judy took off in the direction pointed by the chief though the two quickly took separate paths as soon as they were far enough away from the front desk area of the precinct. Nick moved through the door of Pura's lab so that the feline doctor could have a quick check-up on the fox as it was instructed by Judy initially, Pura was not conducting any experiments when the fox walked into her lab so she had some time set aside to aid him and place a fast examination.

Nick sat down over a tall stool that Pura set over for him, the fox removed his shirt and his vest so that he could be thoroughly examined, he told Pura about his discomfort before it began, about the pain he felt on his right shoulder and the sudden worry that his bullet wound might be flaring up on him again. Pura grabbed a magnifying glass that she had in one of her desk drawers, she approached the fox seated on the stool with his back arched forth and both his shoulders lowered so that he could be observed ore easily, Pura placed her left paw over Nick to gently brush aside his fur and get a look over the scar tissue while her right paw hung on to the handle of the lens and placed into proper focus. A few minutes went by and doctor Pura let out a little 'hum', Nick had his left ear twitching to the sound of the doctor's voice before asking of her:

- Anything over there, doc?

Pura lowered the magnifying glass before telling the for her prognosis:

- Nothing serious. Your wound is not flaring up and there is no sign of tearing. My guess would be: You simply pulled a muscle.

Nick got down from the stool and rotated his right shoulder before saying:

- Yeah, I figured.

Pura placed the magnifying glass over the desk, she would later proceed to unintentionally place a pile of papers over it and promptly forget that the reading tool was even there, she turned to Nick and asked of the fox:

- I heard that you and Judy made another arrest today. I believe congratulations are in order.

Nick leaned forth to grab his shirt and his vest, determined to place them back on their places and redress in his uniform but he stopped himself short, he decided to lug the safety vest around as he flung it over his left shoulder while he put his shirt around him without even buttoning it up at all. The fox turned over to the panther and found her searching around for something in the pile of notes she had at a nearby counter, pushing aside empty beakers and receptacles that were recently used in her experiments. Nick spoke up as she called to Pura's attention:

- Heads up, doc. Chief Bogo might just call on you later. There is something that he and Judy might want you to take a look.

Nick adjusted the separate sides of his unbuttoned shirt as if it were the flapping folds of a coat placed around his shoulders, Pura took notice of his comment and halted her search, she was not even quite sure of whatever she was looking for at that point. Pura turned to Nick as she leaned her back over the side edge of the counter near her, her ears lowered and her tail swooshed down behind her as she asked the fox:

- What is this… 'something', exactly?

Nick turned to the doctor, his left ear twitched as soon as he heard her voice, Nick raised his left paw and showed its opened palm before answering:

- We arrested some punks that robbed a bank, Judy caught one of them sticking a needle on himself and she suspects that they were all under the effects of some drug. Judy collected the needle but I doubt you're going to find any significant shred of whatever it was inside it.

Pura had her search rekindled, this time she was certain of what she had to find, a pen to write and a blank page so she could scribble all the facts that Nick could give her, if she was going to engage with a brand new subject of research, she wanted to tackle it with the most accurate grade of data she could gather. After retrieving a blue pen with a reliable writing tip and a blank block of notes, Pura took a long step towards Nick and asked of him:

- Do you have any preliminary details about this substance? Anything concrete about its effects?

Pura asked for an answer that would come from the fox loud and clear, Nick looked right at the doctor before telling her every detail that he could recall about his confrontation with the robbers, emphasizing the endurance and dexterity of the jaguar that they chased, that was the most important bit of information to him. Pura wrote down the information as best as she could, simplifying Nick's narration with her own scientific terms placed on paper and the ripping out the square of paper she wrote all of it on before pining it to a stack of other notes so she would not forget to consult it at a later time. She was already looking forward to having the shred of evidence mentioned by Nick under her analytic eyes.

Pura watched as Nick began to dress himself up a little tighter, buttoning his uniform up to a certain point and she surmised that the fox was on his way out of her lab. Pura decided to ask of him before he left:

- Is there anything else you can tell me about this new… 'strange drug'? Maybe a name that was dropped by one of the suspects?

- No such luck. Sorry, doc. But if you can get a blood sample from one of the guys down pat, then maybe you can have some luck identifying the…

Pura stopped Nick's line of thought before it went any further, showing the fox the palm of her left paw before telling him:

- That's… not going to be as simple as you make it out to be. It is not permitted to extract sample of blood or any other fluids from another mammal without explicit permission.

Nick looked at the panther and asked her for further clarification on that matter, raising his left brow and lowering his right ear as he asked:

- Are you serious? The guys are already locked up and they are violent punks to boot. One of them is even unconscious.

Pura shook her head in clear disapproval and said:

- It's a fact. Only hospitals and medical emergency professionals can attain blood samples for studies. Under the precinct roof and outside of a serious medical emergency, forceful extraction of a blood sample is considered a very serious crime. This was covered for me in my orientation when I began my employment as local scientific consultant.

Nick lowered his head and mumbled mostly to himself:

- Well… that's kind of a tight vice.

Pura performed a single nod of her head that went unseen by Nick, the fox was already out on his way and glad that the discomfort he had been feeling was not anything serious. Nick passed through the eastern hallway of the precinct on to the locker room, he stored his dirty uniform away and grabbed a new set of clothes for himself, the last set of civilian clothes that he had in storage inside of the precinct, he had the clothes neatly folded in his hold as he made his way to the showers. Nick closed the door behind him, placed the clothes he had with him separately over a counter and hopped under the stream of hot water from the nearest shower, he was the only one occupying the bathing chamber of the male locker room so there would be no one there to disrupt his bath or to criticize as he let out a loud song as he bathed.

Feeling refreshed and much more at ease, Nick dried himself out with a towel and a quick rinse of a fur drier before dressing up and walking back to the lobby, once the fox reemerged from the locker room he had a brand new stance, really, he looked like a whole new vulpine. Nick was now wearing a cyan blue T-shirt that was fully buttoned up, a red tie around his neck with white stripes and a stylish pair of dark woolen pants, those clothes had been stored up in his locker for such a long while that he even had forgotten the fashionable ensemble was a very welcome look in his repertoire. Nick moved through the hall and could see a faint reflection of himself in the floor beneath him, he slowed his pace down and adjusted the fur over his head, making sure that his signature look fit every parameter. Nick exited the hallway, now once more in the front lobby of precinct one and he could see a small gathering of officers, familiar figures standing around in a circle and all of them commenting as they watched something, the fox's interest was piqued and he decided to approach and check it for himself.

Nick could begin hearing the words spoken by the group a bit more clearly as he got closer, there was a small breach among the gathering between the stances of Delgato and Grizzolli, the two officers posted with their backs to the fox according to the orientation that he was approaching the group from. It did not take too long for Nick to hear the voice of his partner, the voice of Judy narrating the escapades of their pursuit of the suspect earlier that day, for some reason it felt like quite some time ago to him. Judy gestured with her arms in the air as she regaled the other officers with the true facts of what happened that afternoon, she continued to speak without realizing that Nick was listening to it as well:

- So… we took off, crossing the streets and opening way through the savanna, we got to the construction site and the jaguar was doing whatever he could to slow us down. The guy punted the base of a ladder and the worker up top nearly fell down to the ground, he was so high up and so scared. Nick and I had to brace the base of the ladder in order to keep the guy safe, I spotted any leaning while Nick supported the base with a lot of effort to put the ladder back in a safe position.

Judy then opened her legs and placed her stance in a pose similar to the one Nick used to offer his support, extending her arms, clutching her fists and holding on to an imaginary ladder while demonstrating a face that showed an exaggerated expression of strain. Judy was mimicking Nick's pose and eliciting a little laugh out of the other officers as she politely placed the imaginary ladder back in place and returned to the narration of the pursuit, she had every other officer of the ZPD in the edge of their proverbial seats and they could all rely on the facts spun by Judy's mouth, they all knew just how honest the bunny was. Judy was not one to normally revel on the praise of others, neither was she one to brag about accomplishments during patrol hours, but Francine and Delgato had convinced her to tell every last detail about the arrest performed by the bunny and her partner that day and Judy easily succumbed to peer pressure as the others joined in to ask the same.

Judy continued with her undisturbed narration, moving her arms as if she was running while keeping her legs still, then pointing to an undisclosed spot up on the ceiling as she said:

- Nick and I moved on to get to the jaguar, the guy was standing still and admiring what he had done, that got me really peeved. He climbed to the next floor of the construction and threw a big bag of cement on us, it destroyed the scaffolding on around there. Things got really hectic after that.

Wolford leaned in a little closer to hear what was going to happen next, Judy was just about to arrive at the most exciting part of the story. Judy prepared to place her paws together and interlock her fingers, she looked all around as she saw the eyes of the other officers over her before speaking up:

- We were just about to lose the trail of the jaguar completely when Nick turned to me and asked all of a sudden: 'Carrots, do you trust me?!'.

All of the other officers found that hilarious, Judy made her voice sound a little deeper as to try interpreting the role that her partner played in the whole thing down to the very last detail, her impression of Nick was absolutely atrocious but the fox himself did not mind it in the least. Judy placed her paws together and her narration stopped abruptly, her smile faded as she took a more attentive look at the group surrounding her, the laughing from the others died down as they followed Judy's line of sight and found Nick, staring at her with his arms crossed and a little smile on his muzzle. Judy had returned to a straight stance with a snapping motion performed by her whole body, making so that her partner would not think that she was mocking him, his smile quickly dispelled that worry, the fox was actually kind of flattered.

Grizzolli and Delgato each gave a single step to the side, the lion stepped over to the right while the bear tiptoed to the left to give the fox a little more room, Nick uncrossed one of his arms momentarily, he gestured towards Judy with a rotating motion of his left wrist and then told her:

- Keep at it, carrots. You're getting to my favorite part.

Nick spoke as if he was nothing more than an impartial member of the crowd, not a character in the tale being told. Judy continued to speak, keeping her narration flow intact as she arrived at the apex of the story, once more adopting Nick's make-believe voice and speaking as he did before:

- I said I trusted him… obviously. That's when he told me: 'Then, hop on!'

Judy made another pose, slightly bending her legs and making a miniscule platform with the fingers of her paws interlocking together while her palms were aimed upwards. Judy proceeded to tell about her high-flying maneuver, how Nick caught and protected her, as well as the daring kick that she performed with the help of Nick. By the end of the story, the circle of officers sounded off a big salvo of applause, the cheers intensified as Nick entered the circle and walked closer to Judy, delivering her a long hug that pulled her up slightly and hoisted her up from the ground. Judy was not taken too high by Nick hug, her fee hovered only two inches or so off the ground, but it still felt amazing to her. Judy was placed on the ground once more and then asked of her partner:

- So… what do you think? Did I tell the story okay?

Nick showed a toothy grin before answering her:

- Great. Absolutely great.

The circle of officers became slowly undone, Fangmeyer and Snarlov walked to the side while Benjamin and Wolford turned over to the front counter, Delgato and Grizzolli remained in their original position as well as Adonis and Odalia, it did not take very long for the others to disperse but they each still kept an eye on the two officers who, once again, had managed to make themselves the center of attentions. Judy placed her left paw over Nick's torso, close to his right shoulder as she slid the palm of her paw over his shirt before asking of him:

- How is your shoulder, slick? Are you really alright?

Most of the officers still present in the lobby fell silent, their ears turned to the subtle conversation between the bunny and the fox, Nick took a good look at his partner, just like him she had bathed and changed out of her officer attire, now sporting a set of civilian clothes. Judy was now wearing a cream colored shirt with the wavy detail of an unknown flower sowed to the lapel, the shirt had three buttons by the neck area, all of them fastened, and she was also sporting a lean pair of jeans that looked spotless, almost brand new. Nick answered to Judy's question, right after giving her a quick scan, his eyes traveled up and down before closing off and showing his partner a slow gesture that related to his upcoming answer. Nick placed his left palm over his shoulder and gave it a gentle press with his fingers, he adjusted his shoulder with a slow rotation of his joint area and then spoke up:

- No big deal at all, fluff. The doc already checked on me and it turned out to be nothing more than a little pull, just like I told you. However, she couldn't do much about this… bunny shaped bruise that I got going on right here.

Nick said so as he pointed with his left paw to his torso, moving his finger at a concentric circle over his abdomen and lower chest, right around the area that he had used to cushion her fall when he caught her during the ensuing chase earlier. Judy turned to the right and used a soft bump of her left arm to get Nick in check, appreciating the jesting by her partner and then telling him:

- You clown.

Nick and Judy then saw the approach of chief Bogo, the buffalo looked less than enthusiastic but that is only because he was already feeling drained for the day and his own work shift was still hours away from being done. Bogo leaned closer and spoke to Nick first as he said:

- I gave a call to the mayor's office, he was very satisfied to know that we stopped a gang of robbers, retrieved the money and no civilian was injured. I spoke to him about the damage to the march and he said that he is going to pay the repairs for all of the damage out of his own pocket. There will be reporters for the reopening and everything else.

Nick had his ears twitching before they stood up straight over his head, the fox pointed a finger to the chief in a sort of saluting gesture before telling him:

- Old-fashioned and very appreciated. I think I'll be there to check on the ribbon cutting myself.

Bogo then turned to Judy and told her:

- The money bag is safely locked down in evidence. I had Snarlov hide it off so that no wandering louse gets any ideas to sneaking money out during the transference back to the bank. I'll also get around to talking to Pura about the drug or… whatever it was that the robbers used. We'll be grilling those punks all night long if need be but we'll get to the bottom of this.

Judy nodded her head while showing off a steely look to the chief, she was convinced that any additional piece of evidence that they could gather would be significant to solving the case.

"Another dot on the map to connect."

Judy thought so as she looked away from the chief, recalling how her own living room was still a zone of disaster on itself as she left most of the data she compiled on the night before scattered about. Judy released a little sigh as she moved away from the chief, grabbing a duffle bag with her uniform that she flung over her shoulders and only then drawing in her mind the scope of the remodeling she would need to do back in her apartment to make sure her living room would not look like the cliché and overthought scene from a detective movie. Judy walked near Nick and the chief once more, the other officers kept an eye on her, just in case there were any more developments for the shift's end, Bogo took in a long dose of air through his nostrils before saying:

- Until we make sure that this new brand of crazy will not be a problem, it would be for the best that no one let the details escape to the press. I'm going to issue for you two and everyone else that, If any reporters come by, no comment is given. That's final.

The chief finished the sentence while shooting a side glance at Nick, the fox noticed that and asked:

- What? Why are you looking at me when you say that?

Bogo rolled his eyes on to another direction before saying:

- Oh… no reason.

The chief walked a few steps off to his left, approaching the counter and checking on a new patch of documents that Benjamin was set to hand it over to him. Nick turned to the buffalo and spoke up, even if his words did not cause the chief to turn around and give the fox a lot of attention, Nick raised his paws over his head and said:

- C'mon, chief. It's not like I want any reporter to come right at me and ask some piercing question out of the blue. That sort of stuff happens and I just up and say what's on my mind.

To which Bogo responded without turning his head:

- That is exactly what I am afraid of.

The chief looked around for a moment just as soon as he picked the papers in front of him up, more documents and file addendums for him to stress over. Bogo noticed the continuous stare that the other officers who were positioned all around the lobby had on their faces, the buffalo took charge as she spoke to everyone:

- What are you all waiting for? A scene post-credits? Every in here still has a lot to do. Get on back to work.

The chief launched the order and it was tended to without complaint out of anyone, all the officers moved along to their assigned posts for the rest of the day closed, he then closed the bundle of stapled papers, folding them over the hold of his right hoof as it made it a little easier for him to carry them around, he turned his back to the lobby and walked to the eastern hallway, back to his office. Nick and Judy got that as the cue to leave the precinct. Judy said farewell for Benjamin and the others for the day, she had spoken with chief Bogo and he had given permission for the bunny and her partner to return home and rest for the day, Bogo implied that it would be one less strain on his growing headache but he knew all too well that Judy was probably tired from the strain of the entire shift and all the madness that ensued, there would surely be more work on the following day.

Nick waited for a moment until Judy returned to his side, he waited so that they could walk out the doors and eave the precinct together, the two officer walked down the stairs leading to street level, Judy walked across the street closely followed by Nick and she felt the need to speak up, she released a long puff of air from her mouth as if she was just letting go of a very precarious weight that was slowing her down:

- Today was such a mess.

Nick lowered his head before saying:

- You won't hear any arguments from me. I can't wait to go back to my apartment and have a long nap.

-That makes two of us.

Judy pressed her lips as soon as the ambiguous meaning of her words hit her own ears, she turned to Nick and showed him the palm of her left paw as her right paw tightly gripped the strap of her bag:

- Not… I mean… Not going to *your* apartment. I just…

Nick released a little puff of air out of his mouth as he held on to a laugh before saying:

- I get it, fluff. I get it.

The two officers kept on their walk until they reached their customary spot, close to the bench located at the small park square right in front of precinct one, neither of them took a seat, they just remained standing and quietly checking their surroundings, neither of them actually sure of what to say next. Nick became a little impatient, with the confrontation and incarceration of the bank robbers taking hold of the rest of their shift, he did not have time to finish his conversation with Judy, plus the damage to the cruiser really took the wits out of the fox to focus on anything else. Judy was still a little embarrassed for fumbling her words before, she had her ears alternating between low and high positioning over her head, the interruption caused by the call to action made it feel like that really was not the best time to speak to Nick, or ask him out on a date of all things. Nick spoke up, scratching the bottom of his jaw before telling his partner:

- Hey… I'm… sorry about blowing my top back there. I really can't take when the cruiser takes a beating, no matter how small. I think it was more about him tossing bricks at us.

Judy raised her left ankle, her foot passing over the rough surface beneath her in a back and forth motion as she looked down and spoke up:

- No problem, slick. I'm actually a little surprised that you of all mammals could lose your cool like that. It was actually kind of exciting… in a way.

Nick was looking away from Judy but he could still hear her words. Judy then spoke in thanks to another brash action that Nick ad performed earlier that day:

- Thanks for pushing me to the side when that crazy guy tried to come for us. That was really brave of you.

Nick's ears twitched up as he heard that, he admitted with a touch of embarrassment in his voice, even if there was no reason for him to do so:

- Yeah, no big deal. I think it's kind of reflex at this point.

There was a long moment of silence between the two officers, it bordered on awkward but Nick spoke up in order to break the silence, calling to Judy as he asked of her:

- Say there, carrots, with all that happened today, we never did finish the talk we were having while on patrol. Did you still need to tell me something?

Judy raised her ears and turned them in the direction of Nick's voice, she thought about just telling him of what she wanted to ask but the spark of courage was fizzling out of her for some reason. Judy shrugged that off, shrinking on the inside, feeling that there would be other chances to talk and maybe ask her partner if it would be alright to go on an actual date. Judy looked at Nick and lied to him, she truly hated to do that but she still felt like she had to do it:

- N… no, not really. It doesn't really matter now.

Judy turned around, she faced the direction of the street that would lead her back to her apartment and she had a very sour look on her face which, she hoped, went unseen by Nick. As Judy began to walk away, her confident stride letting show just how amazing she made herself look by each step at least in his eyes, Nick's mind returned once more to what he thought of on the night before, on that morning, that afternoon inside the cruiser, he had to say something. Nick pushed himself even further than before, no more dancing around the moment or hesitation, he would just ask it outright:

- Carrots, wait!

Nick called out to his partner, she halted her walk and turned around to face him nearly immediately, Judy founded Nick leaning forth in her direction and extending his left arm as if he was trying to reach her. Judy started on believing that she had forgotten something or that there was something vital concerning the case that he had to add, her nose twitched as she took in a short breath and her ears were turned on the direction of Nick's voice to listen attentively. Nick assumed a straight stance before he walked a few steps closer and then spoke up, knowing then and there that a better opportunity to seize that chance and brandish his feelings would not present itself any time soon:

- Listen… earlier today… I meant it when we talked about the things that changed and that… we can still get it done… work together and make the best out of it. I think we proved it today without a doubt.

Judy turned her entire body around and readjusted the positioning of her ears to face Nick, the fox continued to speak as he said:

- I have actually been meaning to ask of you: I know this great place where really amazing food is served. I was wondering if… maybe… if it is alright with you… would you want to go and go over there with me? We get some food, shoot the breeze and just… talk.

Nick felt like slapping himself silly in that moment, hearing his own words sounding like the sloppiest excuse for an invitation he had ever heard before. The fox fiddled with his fingers for only a second before closing two of them on each paw to grip around his thumbs, waiting with measured expectations for his partner's answer as she asked of him:

- Just… talk?

Nick nodded his head and told her:

- Yeah. Eat, hang out and talk. About anything… at all.

Judy asked of him something else, prying and digging further into her own emotions as she took a short breath through her mouth and said:

- Like a… date?

Nick had his eyes focused on Judy, they soon moved away from her, the fox braced himself internally as he asked himself that same question with low volume, quick words and different tones of voice:

- 'Like a date'… 'Like a date', 'like a date'?

It sounded almost like Nick was rehearsing the words to himself for an instant before he arrived at the correct tone of voice that would catch the correct thing to say to Judy, making sure he would not further disconcert himself in front of her. Nick answered Judy's question positively and confidently as he said:

- Yes. Yes, like a date.

Judy had attained confirmation and she was really happy to hear that, the objective she had set for herself had been achieved and she felt a tad stunned after hearing it happen. Nick kept waiting, a little worried that the answer to come up from Judy might be a negative one, he pressed the conversation a little further as he suggested a probable time for the date:

- So… what do you say about… tomorrow?

Judy pressed her lips, her tongue moved up and down as she tried to formulate an answer, the bunny placed both of her paws to grip the strap of her bag and then she spoke up, coming up with a soft work related excuse that would give her ample time to prepare:

- Oh, Nick… I… Tomorrow I can't. I already promised Grizzolli that I would help out with reorganizing of the left over archives. I already postponed it twice and I don't think I want to do it again.

Nick retreated, leaning his upper body back at a miniscule angle, nearly imperceptible, figuring that Judy had given him that answer as an excuse to spare his feelings, not the case at all. Judy finished her response to Nick by extending her left paw forth and telling him with a renewed glow in her eyes:

- But… My schedule is wide open the day after. I programed only a half shift for this Saturday.

Nick got an answer and a confirmation, he latched on to it. The fox turned his eyes to Judy and then snapped the fingers of his right paw, putting a pin of commitment on the subject as he said a single second after the loud snap:

- Boom. Deal.

Judy placed her the heels of her feet together, looking up to Nick as if she was admiring every facet of him during the conversation, now much more than ever before. Judy placed her left paw over the soft cover of her duffle bag, making it so she would appear a little more relaxed as she suggested a specific time for their stablished gathering:

- How about you come pick me over at… let's say seven thirty?

- Seven thirty it is.

The fox answered to her and, with that, placed the final directive for their date, silently patting himself on the back as it turned to be much easier than he initially thought. Judy gave a short hop in place, keeping her excitement I check, looking around before making sure to tell Nick in a simple yet impactful farewell for the day:

- See you later, slick.

Nick stood in place, watching Judy walk away again on her way and having no further intent of stopping her once more, having a little shard of incredulity in his mind for what just happened but convinced that it was all happening. Nick raised his left arm to perform a quick waving motion with a shake of his wrist before saying:

- See you later.

As Judy crossed the street, not turning to look back at Nick but acknowledging his words with a simple waving gesture of her own, Nick showed a smile that went well beyond satisfied, the fox turned around and faced the direction he was set to follow, all the way back to his own place but he did one last thing before going on his way. Nick clutched his right paw into a fist and pumped in in the air slowly before tucking his arm in and raising his right leg, a motion just showed just how excited he was, a motion of utter victory over himself and his fears. Nick unmade his stance and looked around, just to make sure that no one had seen him doing that quick victory bump, he kept on his way and went home not knowing that, in the meantime, Judy was skipping all the way back to her apartment, a little victory bump of her own that lasted far longer.

---

On the following day, Nick and Judy met during work at precinct one. Judy was much more rested after cleaning up her place, and storing all of the compiled evidence she gathered and brushed up on, it felt like she could put all of that stuff away and free some space in her mind for other things that were less stressful to deal with. For most of the shift, Judy was thinking only about her date with Nick marked for the day after and she wanted to make sure that she would be ready for it.

Just as Judy said to Nick on the previous afternoon, Judy helped Grizzolli out by reorganizing the files stored in the lower floors of precinct one, a simple task that really should not have taken much time but Judy asked of her partner to not be disturbed. Truthfully, she had a plan to clock out earlier than usual and make secret preparations for their date. Judy had not gone out on a date in the longest of times and the one she was asked for by Nick had to be over the top so she was set to buy new clothes and whatever she needed to be prepared.

As Judy kept herself busy alongside Grizzolli, Nick was posted by the upper floors of precinct one, the fox roamed around the corridors in between tasks and chores to spend some time as he thought about the details of the upcoming date. Nick was sporting a clean uniform, the spare one that he was instructed to get right as he began working at precinct one as his usual one passed by the laundry mat, he was grabbing himself a cookie at the break room when he heard someone else walk in. To Nick's surprise, he saw officer Jimmy walking through the breakroom door and pouring himself a cup of coffee, the fox walked a few steps closer and pulled some conversation out of the feline:

- Jimmy, what are you doing here? Did something happen?

The feline took a short sip from his coffee and answered to the fox with an unenthusiastic tone of voice:

- You could say that. I was halfway back to precinct two yesterday when the sergeant calls me and tells me to return and stand by on precinct one. Apparently, since I was lucky enough to be the one officer of another precinct on the scene during the whole robbery, I was assigned as a mammal-in-the-middle. Got to remain here and fill out forms until I am called again back to my precinct. I spent the night here waiting for the call back but it is still to come.

Nick lowered his ears as he showed a sour face directed at the feline, not even sure what that could be about or how he could be feeling. Nick raised his arm and placed over Jimmy's shoulder, standing side by side the bobcat was not that much taller than the fox, Nick took in a short breath through his nose and said:

- That's got to suck. I keep complaining about the red tape that goes around when it comes to separate precincts and other branches on Zootopia working together but this is just a little ridiculous. I never really understood it all too well myself, but I guess it helps to pitch in for record's sake when every mammal gets involved. At least, that's what my partner tells me.

Jimmy nodded his head in accordance to what Nick spoke of, the bobcat moved and reached on top of the counter to get himself a few cubes of sugar for his coffee, two small cubes did the trick and he returned to sipping the hot beverage shortly after. Jimmy looked back at Nick and then told him with a very hassle-free tone to his voice:

- Meh, not to worry. It's actually been kind of nice to move about and see what precinct one is all about. I've been in the force for well over a year and a half and I have never seen any other precinct but my own. You guys have so much more cool things than precinct two.

- Like what?

Nick asked with interest, trying to pinpoint what could be so special about precinct one that would elicit the low-key envy out of the officer beside him. Jimmy stirred the drink in the cup before telling Nick without a shadow of the doubt one of the best things he had experienced since crossing over to precinct one:

- Your coffee, for one thing. This is freaking tasty.

Nick had his jaw dropping halfway to the floor after hearing that, the fox aired his opinion after taking a short breath and pointing a claw to the cup in Jimmy's paw:

- Are you being serious right now?! The coffee machine over here is totally outdated, it only takes brewing a single pitcher before the filter needs to be changed and no one bothers doing it, the coffee over here always tasted like dirt and that is why I always go out to buy mine.

Jimmy did not mind that at all, the feline took in another long sip of the drink and then told Nick:

- Still a whole lot better than the stuff back at my precinct.

In the middle of the conversation, Fangmeyer entered the breakroom and searched around some of the cabinets, she looked to be in a hurry but did not disclose why. Fangmeyer went on to retrieve a single energy bar packet form the upper cabinet placed next to the fridge, apparently she kept a little stack of those to savor after lunch hours, neither Nick or Jimmy could see the flavor or content of the bar as Fangmeyer frantically ripped the wrapper off by using the claw of her right paw and a single cutting motion before attacking the snack in one fell bite. Fangmeyer turned around and only then realized that there were other mammals in the breakroom, she pointed at Nick with her left claw and asked of him:

- Wilde, what are you doing lousing about over here? Didn't you have another report to fill out just today?

Nick opened his arms and lowered his shoulders as he said in response:

- No worries, Fangmeyer. I'll get to it soon, I'm just enjoying a little break.

Fangmeyer gestured towards Nick again, showing three fingers of her left paw sticking out before telling him:

- Yeah? Well, I already counted three 'little breaks' taken by you so far. Just because Hopps is not around this floor to pull your ear towards work, doesn't mean there will be anyone else to do that for her. Get to what you're supposed to do.

Nick lowered his ears and raised his paws over his head, a jesting act of surrendering shown by the fox as he said:

- Alright, alright. I'll get over to the cubicle and get on it right away.

Fangmeyer took another bite of her snack, almost finishing it in just as many bites and spoke to Nick while still chewing on it:

- Yeah, you better.

Fangmeyer swallowed the bite of her protein bar before looking a little to the left, she saw Jimmy halted in place with a stunned expression on his face before telling him:

- You, over there, Half-pint. If you're going to hang around this precinct then don't just stand still like part of a scenery. Find something to do and get to working too.

Jimmy held on to his cup of coffee with both paws, his claws digging slightly on to the hardened foam cover of the cup before he answered with a stutter:

- I… Y… Yes ma'am! Right away, ma'am!

- Good!

Fangmeyer finished her thought and then darted out of the breakroom, there was still a lot of tasks to be done. As the tigress exited the breakroom leaving the other two officers who heard her short but stern talk behind, Nick noticed that Jimmy just let out a little sigh. The fox's ears twitched before pointing at Jimmy direction and his eyes landed on the feline near him to spot a dreamy look in his eyes. Nick quickly connected the dots in that situation, moving his eyes around back and forth between Jimmy and the presence of Fangmeyer and he spoke an educated, though intrusive, guess in Jimmy's direction:

- Dude, are you… crushing on Fangmeyer?

Jimmy took one step to the left, away from Nick's current position, and asked of him with both paws still holding on to the half cup of coffee:

- Is… is it really that obvious?

Nick released a little laugh before saying:

- Woah! I was just joshing on you. Are you really crushing on her?

Jimmy leaned his head to the right and then turned away, a little shy but still willing to admit to Nick:

- Yeah, at least… I think so. I only met her during the whole bank robbery thing yesterday but I already think she is the best. She is so assertive, strong and tough, she is quite beautiful and plus she is really tall. I got a thing for tall females.

Nick shook his head before coming one step closer to Jimmy, nearly mitigating the step that the feline had taken away from him. Nick raised his left paw and then said:

- Listen, Jimmy. I've only known you for a day, so I am not sure I can give unsolicited love advice to you. Here goes one anyway: Fangmeyer is a really cool mammal and an awesome officer, but she is also bossy, real demanding and the toughest can of cookies in this entire police force. Top of the charts.

Jimmy slowly turned to look at Nick, his eyes landed on the fox just in time to hear as Nick spoke the final piece of his mind to the bobcat:

- I am not trying to patronize you, or discourage you, or anything like that, but I still feel compelled to tell you anyway. If you try and step up to that tigress in any way at all, she is going to snap you in half.

Jimmy kept a smile on his face as he heard that, he looked over to the breakroom door leading to the hallway just outside, the feline released another loud sigh and spoke with a longing air to his voice:

- I should be so lucky.

Nick almost cracked a loud laugh after hearing that, the fox clapped his paws together and then retreated while maintaining a toothy smile on his face as he said:

- Well, I'm dropping out of this conversation before I learn something I really should not learn.

Jimmy laughed that off and wished farewell to Nick, the fox left the breakroom and moved to the cubicle area, set on achieving the task that Fangmeyer had reminded him of and not knowing about Judy's true location within precinct one. Nick knew all too well that wen Judy spoke about doing something that was exactly what she was going to do, the bunny officer was as honest as one could be and for that she was also accredited by the fox as a horrible liar, Nick could tell right away if his partner was hiding something from him. What Nick truly did not expect was for Judy to not tell him the entire truth of a matter and that is precisely what she did.

Judy really had to help out Grizzolli in reorganizing the files, she got in early for her shift to do just that in the most expedient manner possible, but she had set another objective for herself on that day and she would covertly attend to its completion. Judy climbed the stairs that lead from the sub-levels of the precinct up to the lobby, she stopped herself just before reaching the top of the stairs and hid herself with her back against the right side of the threshold, she had to make sure Nick was nowhere to be seen. Judy had an unmarked bag made out of paper with simple string shaped handles it contained a set of neatly folded civilian clothes for her to change into, she had all she needed to leave the precinct for at least an hour, as she had planned, but she could feel an air of hesitation. Judy thought to herself how wrong her course of action might end up being, she was about to leave the precinct well before her shift was over and there was the risk that an emergency may arise and she was nowhere to be found, it held more significance than skipping on a chore, she was skipping on her own duty. The risks for her getaway were considerable but she decided to go for it.

Judy ran across the western side of the lobby and ducked behind the front counter, the cargo inside the paper bag being held with its thin handles around her left elbow swinging around with every long step she took. The bunny spoke up with a loud whisper, calling out to the officer closest to her and hoping that he as alone:

- Benjamin. Benjamin, are you there?

The cheetah heard his name being called in such a covert way, he got a little concerned after hearing it. Clawhauser searched around for a moment and it did not take hi too long to see Judy's head popping up from just beyond the counter edge in front of him, he showed a surprised jolt before asking in high volume to his voice:

- Hopps? What's wrong?

Judy tried to remedy that by making a soft shushing sound directed at Clawhauser, she gave a few steps further, so that she would be positioned just in front of the counter and out of sight from anyone else who might come over in their direction from within the precinct main corridor, the bunny officer made a gesture with her right paw in the air as she beckoned the cheetah to lean a little closer, Benjamin obliged and he heard as Judy told him:

- Benjamin, I need your help. I've already helped Grizzolli with the organizing below ground and I need to leave the precinct. I'm sneaking out for an hour at most and I don't want to alert anyone about it.

Benjamin was immediately concerned, Judy had never asked about something like that, she might be into some sort of covert or sting operation that the cheetah had no idea about. Benjamin tried to match Judy's tone and volume, asking of her:

- Is there something you need? Did something bad happen?

Judy did not wish to worry her friend beyond reprimand so she reassured him by saying:

- Nothing bad happened, Benjamin, I promise. I just need you to cover for me in case Nick or the chief come asking for me.

Judy grabbed her cellphone from her back pocket and shot a quick message to Benjamin, an emergency quick shot call for her number in case a serious emergency were to happen while she was out. Judy stored her cellphone back in her pocket before telling her friend one last thing:

- This is just a 'personal emergency'… kind of.

Benjamin raised a brow and his tail swished behind him as he leaned his upper body slightly over the counter and asked for further information in a vague sort of way:

- 'Kind of'?

Judy showed the palms of her paws and told him:

- I swear it is nothing serious. It might be a little silly but this is something I think I need to do right away. I can't tell you what it is, just know that it's really important.

Benjamin leaned back, placing his posterior over his rotating chair once more, relaxing his facial expression and telling Judy:

- Hopps, you're asking of me to take a lot on faith here. If you say that what you have to do is important, then I trust you. Just be back real quick so I won't have to lie to anyone.

Judy gave a short hop while in place before pointing a finger of her right paw at Benjamin and telling him:

- You're awesome! I'll be right back.

Judy turned around and ran towards the front doors of precinct one, she descended the front stairs and then called for a cab via phone application, her destination was Nagmaal mall at the savanna center and she had called Fru-fru to accompany her o a rushed and delicate mission: Purchasing new clothes for her upcoming date. Judy had some difficulty understanding fashion trends but she trusted the opinion of her shrew friend and figured that she could count on Fru-fru to help out in that.

In less than fifteen minutes or so, Judy was taken to the mall, she paid the fair to her driver and entered the mall through the front door, there was a lot of movement on that day but Judy did not find too much difficulty in taking the path she had in mind to meet with her friend. Judy entered a bathroom and closed herself inside one of the stalls, she undressed and changed into her civilian clothes, the most simple attire she had with a bland looking cyan blue T-shirt and a pair of long dark jeans, she stored her uniform inside the paper bag and made sure that every part of it was secured and stored safely before she exited the bathroom. Judy thought for a moment as she exited the bathroom with the bag held under her right arm, she considered how it would have been far easier to change into a new outfit while back at the ZPD, but time for her was short and she had to leave the precinct while raising no suspicions at all.

Judy and Fru-fru met up, the female shrew was being escorted by one of her dad's enforcer polar bears, Augustus, and she had given him strict instructions of where in the mall they would find Judy and what they would be doing for their short duration there. Fru-fru had planned to meet Judy in front of the salon that they loved to go so much, from then on the shrew and the bunny would walk together through the mall until they reach Molane and Selin, the most popular clothing store situated on the second level of the mall's southern wing, Augustus would accompany them until they reached the store's front doors and he would politely and covertly remain outside and wait for Fru-fru, he was tasked with protecting Mr. Big's daughter and that is precisely what he intended on doing, even if there were clear limitations for his approach in security.

It was as agreed, Judy and Fru-fru entered the store, the bunny escorting her diminutive friend through the aisles by placing her over the palms of her two paws joined together, like a modest moving platform. Judy's pacing was rushed though much more steady than the bodyguard that was assigned to Fru-fru by her father, the shrew hung on to the fingers of Judy's left paw as she pointed ahead by a section near the changing stalls, according to Fru-fru, that is where the best and most stylish articles were hidden. Judy had to check out the bag with her police attire by the front counter, store regulations as they were did not allow customers to enter the store with uncertified bags for transporting products or items of any kind, she did not approve on leaving her uniform unattended like that but she was obliged to follow the rules of the store and then turn over to search for the perfect outfit.

Judy left Fru-fru to do a search in the clothing racks located close by, the female shrew judged the sections of outfits based on color, season, price, size and brand, almost as if she had organized a full grid in her mind to separate the clothes and make sure she would pick the right one for the occasion straight away. Fru-fru already had one visual of Judy and how the bunny was supposed to look in mind, a spectacular vision that would made hearts pop and jaws drop, so she selected the most fancy looking dress in that section and told Judy to pick up, Judy did not argue, folding the dress once over the hold of her right arm and taking it into the dressing stalls.

As Judy locked herself inside the first stall she could get into and begin changing her clothes, she could hear the voice of her friend speaking to her just outside, Judy continued focused on dressing as she only then took the time to look around and take notice of the store they were in. The store had two levels stacked on top of one another, sections that separated each article of clothing among season and species, Judy had darted straight on to the section for medium sized mammals without even giving her friend the chance to look at any other product offered by the establishment huge selection, however, Judy did think back on the glaring displays that she spotted on the way there and the manequins placed in different poses as to attract the eyes of consumers to the latest trends. Judy recalled seeing a particular one, just from the left corner of her eyes but she could still picture every detail vividly in her mind, a blank-faced doll that resembled a female vulpine in stature and physiology, the mannequin was dressed in a tight green tank top that barely covered anything besides its chest and a set of leggings that accentuated the natural curves of the unnatural plastic mold. Judy could not help but stop for a second and thinking to herself as the image popped in her mind:

"Is that really how someone expects to dress up?"

Judy's ears twitched after that image left her mind, she took to listening to Fru-fru's words as the female shrew was right in the middle of a sentence, speaking in a very giddy tone of voice as she talked to the bunny confined to the changing stall until the 'big reveal' of her new visage came to show. Judy did not catch the first part of the sentence that her friend was telling her, the shrew's voice was slightly muffled by all of the other sounds coming from the store, but Judy began to truly listen as the volume of Fru-fru's voice rose slightly, the bunny listened in silence as her friend told her:

- I'll tell you something, Judy: When you called me earlier and told me that you had a 'Fashion Emergency', I nearly shouted to the heavens with excitement. It took some convincing but daddy allowed me to get here once I explained to him that you were on a schedule yourself.

Judy lowered her ears and cracked a smile, both actions that went unseen by Fru-fru as the shrew continued to speak. Judy thanked silently for having Fru-fru along for that, there were so many gaps in her knowledge about fashion that Judy was unwilling to admit out loud, for Judy, the only thing that really fit her well in any situation no matter what it turned out to be, was her uniform. As Judy began to dress herself in the new outfit selected by her friend, Fru-fru spoke a little louder as she confessed:

- It is just so amazing. I can't believe my bestie is going on a date. Once we get together to talk, you know, when neither of our schedules are too much to handle, I want to know everything about it. I want all the details.

Judy wrapped the dress around her, closing a tiny zipper positioned under her left arm that latched the dress nicely around her figure, she turned to face the large mirror plastered on the back wall of the stall and spoke up:

- Fru-fru, listen, I'll tell you every single little thing about it once we get together and have the time. Are you sure that this is really the right dress for a date?

Fru-fru made a gesture that signified how magnanimous was her choice, soon a true spectacle would be unveiled and she was certain of it, she answered to Judy by telling her:

- Of course I'm sure. Trust me, Judy: You're going to be the most fabulous you have ever been on this date of yours. Your date is going to be utterly lost for words as soon as they see you.

Judy had no intention of being overly dressed for her date, then again, the image of Nick being utterly gob smacked and speechless with the sight of her was something she could certainly get behind. After a short wait, Judy unlatched the lock of the stall and walked out to reveal herself, she looked breathtaking and Fru-fru cursed herself for not bringing along her phone and capturing that sight.

Judy was sporting a long black dress, it latched on to her by a meticulously positioned short line of metal pins which closed the sides of the thin fabric around her torso as well as small zippers that locked in position under her arms as soon as they closed. The dress itself had a glittering detail to its sowing, a fabric dotted with small sequins that glistened in the display lights of the store, the long frills surrounding Judy's legs wafted elegantly as accompaniment for every movement she made, no matter how minor, the underside of the dress was not long enough to drag across the floor, leaving her feet well in sight as she moved and there was an opening in the fabric that facilitated movement but it also revealed a great extent of her right leg. There were no sleeves or straps around Judy's arms and shoulders, Judy's own body and natural curves were enough to keep the dress from falling off of her, there was a space shaped like a wide angled 'V' that placed her backside in clear view as well as a miniscule wedge by the posterior used to pluck her tail out of hiding, she found it to be extremely uncomfortable with every step she took out of the stall.

Fru-fru gasped and clapped her paws together as Judy appeared, the bunny looked like a true vision of beauty, a star of the moving pictures ready and waiting for her debut. Judy walked a single step closer to Fru-fru, the female shrew was positioned near the edge of a counter and close to Judy's height, looking at the bunny from head to toe before saying:

- You look spectacular! Judy, that is the dress for you!

Judy had clear protests to air about the dress that she was wearing at that moment, but she was afraid to move too much or breathe too hard since she was very much unsure if the dress would remain over her body after checking over the miniscule locks, zippers and pins that kept it in place. Judy spoke to Fru-fru as she pointed to herself with both paws on her chest and said:

- Fru-fru, this dress is completely extravagant. This is just silly. I can't wear this.

Fru-fru performed a pensive gesture, placing her right paw at the side of her cheek, tugging and twirling a thin lock of hair around her pointing finger for a few seconds, before saying:

- You know… there is this old saying that it's the clothes that actually wear you, especially when you are not feeling that sure about them yourself.

Judy made a dismissive gesture with both her paws before saying:

- Then I am definitely not letting this wear me. It's completely impractical.

Fru-fru gestured with both paws towards Judy before telling her:

- What are you talking about? I can tell just by looking at you that this is the dress to eclipse all others. It goes far beyond modesty, it's slick and very fashionable for any event and, according to the label, it's also machine washable.

Judy took the list of advantages for the dress in mind but she was already certain that that particular dress was not meant for her. Judy pointed to herself once more, her hips swaying to the right as she placed herself at a straight stance and gestured to the extent of the dress before saying:

- Fru-fru, this dress is way too excessive. I can't go out looking like this, there is just no way. It pinches around my tail, it flows wherever the wind blows and…

Judy did not feel like saying the last part out loud, she leaned closer to Fru-fru and placed her right paw opened in proximity to the shrew and of her lips as if it would act as a sort of inconspicuous shield as she whispered:

- This dress doesn't have a backside to it. There are no straps on the back or laces on my shoulders. The only thing holding this dress up right now is willpower.

As Judy and Fru-fru continued with their argument and Judy stood up straight once more to demonstrate the finer and more prickly linings of the dress, both of them failed to notice a young male buck that was passing by, an employee at that very store who spotted Judy's visage and could not help but staring. The buck was carrying on his arms three pilled cardboard boxes containing clothes that were to be moved from one section of the store to the other, more advert moves to influence costumers to buy one set of clothes over the other, and the buck was set to complain about the dull task the whole way through the store, that is, until he saw Judy.

The buck was tall, broad shoulders, light gray fur with a dark round spot around his left eye and dressed in a fuchsia T-shirt with the embroiled name 'Seth' on the lapel, that was meant to be part of his employment uniform, he preferred to dress in long pants since he complained constantly how the lower half of the uniform always felt very uncomfortable to him as he moved about. Seth moved on his way, carrying the boxes with the merchandise he was asked to transfer around but the sight of Judy automatically changed his mood for the better as he crossed that section of the store, he could not help but stare in her direction as his feet continued to propel him forward, marching ahead at the same speed he had and only a very precarious sense of balance supporting his cargo. Seth observed from a far as Judy moved and swayed, as her mouth moved and her shoulders adjusted lightly to the sides, seeing her in that dress was almost like getting a glimpse of his most provocative fantasy out in the real world. Seth could only see certain portions of his target from that distance, the dress certainly showed a lot of her physique and he could just catch glimpses of her facial features, sadly, his inattentive and flirty sight would end up costing him dearly.

Seth kept staring at Judy, his eyes squinting and yearning for more details as she felt right then and there that he had seen that particular bunny somewhere before, and he neglected to check where he was going, the buck trumped over one of the hanging displays located in between two separate aisles of the store and he let his cargo fall down. The sudden noise of the boxes tumbling to the ground over their flat sides, the hardened cardboard crumbling and bending, the display turning and buckling over the unexpected bumping impact, it caused costumers and employers alike to shout in shock as they saw it happen. Seth ended up landing on the ground and having one of the boxes fall right on top of him, the lid ripped open due to the fact that a single short peel of duct tape was used to keep it shut and half of the last month spring collection to scatter on the floor around him. Judy and Fru-fru looked in the direction of all the commotion in utter shock, several other employees came forth to aid Seth and make sure he was not hurt, asking directly of his condition as soon as they dug his form from under all of the cloth. The buck was not harmed at all, he looked barely bothered as he got back up on both his feet expediently and immediately searched around for another look at Judy and her magnificent dress, that was the one thing on his mind and certainly not all of the costly damage he inadvertently caused during work hours.

Judy caught sight of the buck staring right at her, she turned her eyes back at Fru-fru while having her left paw covering the sight of her face, praying that she would not be recognized by anyone at the time and hoping even harder that she would not be blamed for all of that. Fru-fru showed a little smirk directed at her friend, in a sense, showing enormous satisfaction for her choice in garment for Judy after witnessing the results. Fru-fru pointed a finger of her left paw at Judy and then at the scene far from view before telling her:

- There, you see? That dress not only makes you sexy. It makes you downright dangerous.

Judy placed her arms down, pressing her elbows close to her torso, she raised her shoulders and then elevated her forearms to show a definitive and symmetrical gesture of her paws before saying bluntly:

- I'm taking this thing off.

Judy retreated nearly immediately into the changing stall closest to her and began changing back into her previous outfit, afraid that she might cause another accident in the store. Fru-fru tried to reach out and grab at Judy in protest, even if the female shrew's diminutive size and reach would not reach at all, she still spoke out in the hopes of convincing Judy to keep the dress and then sighed in disbelief ad disappointment as soon as her friend closed herself in the booth:

- Wait, no, no, no! Awwwwwww….

After a short while, Judy emerged from the changing stall with her casual clothes, she placed the dress she had just taken off back in the hanger and by the display rack where it was taken from, a few more minutes passed by and the two friends continued to browse about. Judy kept track of Fru-fru, it was not difficult to keep an eye for her movement, they arrived at another section not too far from the one they were just in and they began their search anew, passing through the clothing on display one swipe at a time until a certain article caught the bunny's eye.

Judy reached for the top of the display rack, rotating it in order to arrive at a new selection of colors and styles, a glint of blue called to her attention, right there by her right side, Judy froze for a second before she reached for the dress, her right paw retreated only an inch before she removed the hanger from the pin and hoisted the dress up, placing it in front of her own figure and looking at it, for some reason she could not quite pin, it just felt like a good choice.

- This is it.

Judy whispered and Fru-fru, placed only a few inches from her friend's position, listened. The dress was of a beautiful blue tone and made of a much thicker strand of cloth than the one before though it still felt very soft in Judy's paws as she fiddled about to identify the thread count and the composition of the fabric. The dress, at least in Judy's eyes, was a great improvement, the upper portion surrounded the entire torso area, there were two straps around the area of the shoulders and the bell shaped frills on the bottom gave the entire dress such a cute and homey finish. Judy put in her mind right away that she had to try that dress.

Judy and Fru-fru went back to the changing stalls, Judy entered the very same stall she had used before and placed herself into the new dress, she emerged from the stall feeling like a whole other mammal, comfortable and expressive in the new attire. Judy looked at Fru-fru, the shrew showing her a critical stare, Judy asked right away:

- So… what do you think?

Fru-fru, lowered her arms and then gestured at Judy, giving her the honest review of the new dress with curbed enthusiasm:

- Well… it's certainly looks cute on you. It doesn't look puffy or cumbersome, the wavy bibs on the lower part give it so much personality on first sight, no unseemly spots, that's a plus. Blue is your color, no doubts about it. Give it a little twirl.

Judy took another look at herself, obeying to Fru-fru's request and performing a slow spin at her own axis, her left leg bent and her right foot bent near the toes as she spun around from left to right in a single push. The frills of Judy's new dress were flung up due to the momentum of her spin, after a full three sixty degree spin was given Judy abruptly stopped and Fru-fru gave the last part of her verdict:

- I still think you should have given the gala gown an honest shot, but… Judy, dear, I think this dress is totally 'you'. It just fits.

- I knew it.

Judy said as she gave one final check, that dress was her definitive choice for the date with Nick. Judy turned to Fru-fru once more and the look that they shared said it all, however, there was one detail that was left out and Fru-fru had to mend that as soon as possible. As Judy was just about to change out of the dress, head out to the front counter and confirm the purchase so she could return to precinct one, she heard as the little shrew called out to her, twice over, it was meant to sound as a whisper at first but it became a little louder shortly after. Judy's ears twitched, she looked at Fru-fru, still perched by the edge of the counter where she chose to be placed in order to catch every bit of the 'fashion show', as she put it. Judy leaned a little closer to listen to whatever her friend had to say, Fru-fru took that cue and spoke up as if imparting a secret most confidential:

- Now, Judy, you have the clothes and the right attitude for your date, you're almost ready. Almost. There is just one thing you're missing, right over there.

Fru-fru raised her right arm and pointed to some location off in the distance, her eyes were set at a far off sector of the store, that gesture that felt slightly ominous prompted Judy to turn her head and check the direction that her friend was referring to at the time, to a section of the store with a very noticeable display off in the distance by the furthest wall from their position. Judy turned around and leaned her body closer to Fru-fru, setting her sight on the approximate target that the shrew's small finger was pointing at, past the many racks of clothes on sale, the bin of bargains and the costumers seeking the right items for purchase, and arriving at one conclusion:

- Deodorant? Oh, yeah. That *is* important.

Fru-fru lowered her head and laughed after hearing Judy's words, the shrew then placed her right paw over the surface of Judy's right cheek and told her:

- Not the deodorant. The thing right next to the deodorant.

Judy squinted her eyes to look a little further at the same time she felt the miniscule pressure of Fru-fru's paw pushing over the right side of her face, guiding her to look slightly to the left and find what her friend was initially referring to. Judy's eyes landed by a big line of shelves installed at the far wall, a selection of undergarments in lingerie form, a very bold and extremely colorful collection. Judy tried protesting, she was only there to pick a new dress and she had achieved that objective without much fuss, the bunny showed the palms of her paws to Fru-fru and told her:

- Fru-fru, there is no need for that. Seriously.

The shrew interjected, turning to her friend and then telling her in a blunt tone of voice:

- Don't even try to slink yourself out of this one. I have seen what passes for underwear with you and all you have are workout bras and supportive undies. No lace, no lease, no comfort.

Judy crossed her arms, turned her sight away from her friend, feeling a little uneasy for having just heard those words, and then mumbled in soft defense for her choice in undergarments:

- I think they're comfortable.

Fru-fru continued to speak shortly as she said:

- It's not just about beauty and comfort, Judy. A sexy set under your regular clothes, even if unseen throughout an entire night out on the town, can give you all that you need to face off against anything at all. You'll not only feel sexy, you'll feel powerful. It's pure science.

Judy pressed her lips together in a bit of an awkward smile before saying:

- I don't… think science works that way.

- We shall see it soon enough.

Judy quickly changed out of her chosen outfit and back to her original clothes, she did not feel right wearing the brand new outfit around the store, she picked Fru-fru from her perch by the counter once more, against the bunny's better judgement, they moved to the lingerie department and perused the selection with the shrew taking the proverbial lead. Judy had her eyes averted during most of the time, Fru-fru moved her eyes over every inch of the shelves and gestured around with a selective motion on her fingers as they wiggled meticulously, for the time, all that Fru0fru had to go on for the next selection for Judy was a mental picture of her friend, imagining as the bunny might look with only the bare minimum of clothes and a gnashing look of sensual conquest in her face, a daring image and exactly the one she was going with as she made the selection.

After a short time, Fru-fru pointed to a set located at the fifth row of shelves, third line from the lower part going up, a beautiful black velvet looking pair with small hearts sown as a prominent pattern, Judy reached for it and the two returned to the changing stalls so that Judy could try it on. Judy entered the changing stall once more and removed all of her clothing, Fru-fru pressured her into trying the new set of undergarments just to check if they would fit and Judy agreed to it, Judy put the lingerie on and found herself pleasantly surprised with her new visage in front of the full body mirror. Judy looked spectacular.

Judy moved around, seeing herself in a whole new way through many different angles, not shying away from posing in front of the mirror and striding for the most daring stances she could think of, wondering if she would even dare to dress like that, even in private. Judy could see a little smile forming on her lips as she looked at her own image, her chest puffed within the soft confines of the top piece, her breasts filled the two round cups of the bra without exaggeration and she also could notice how her tail perked up nicely as the contrast between the dark coloration of the fabric popped beautifully with the light gray and white patter of her tail. With no tight strap clipping around her torso and the absence of a constrictive vest holding over her chest, Judy noticed how her breasts popped forth in a nice way, she raised her arms and then placed them both on the back of her head, lightly stretching her torso and roughly checking her own measurements along with the range of movement she had, she had no idea how sensual she could appear by doing that, it suddenly felt like she was staring at a whole other mammal than herself. Judy had her ears pointing to the immediate outside of the stall as she heard Fru-fru's voice asking of her:

- Hey, how does it fit?

Judy answered as she turned her body to the left, seeing herself in a sideways angle before answering:

- It fits like a dream.

- And… how do you feel?

Fru-fru asked that with and extended and nearly melodious tone of voice, asking for the specifics of Judy's condition inside the booth. Judy released a little sigh before raising her arms and admiring her bunny bulk as she tightened her biceps, she spoke up shortly after as she let out a small portion of air she still had left in her chest:

- I feel sexy *and* powerful.

Fru-fru listened to that and spoke in a triumphant tone:

- Science!

Judy and Fru-fru exited the store shortly after that exchange, Judy moved to the counter and paid for her two new purchases before thanking Fru-fru for all of the help and the wonderful time. Fru-fru wished Judy all of the luck in her date before calling for her polar bodyguard and going off on her way, Judy departed the mall as well, calling for the same service that brought her over via cellphone and returning to precinct one, sneaking in through the side entrance of the building and going over to the locker room so that she could hide the bag with her new clothes inside her locker and put her uniform back on. Judy returned to her work shift and no one but Benjamin was the wiser about her little leave of absence, no one had asked about her whereabouts but she still thanked the cheetah for agreeing to cover for her, all he asked in return was to hear in great detail some other time, perhaps, what her leave was really about.

The next day over, on the day of their date, Nick and Judy departed from precinct one at the very end of their shifts, each one of them trying to hide just how excited they were for the scheduled rendezvous, neither officer had seen a trace of chief Bogo the entire day, no upcoming news about the questioning of the suspects from earlier that week, Judy was a little unerved, to her it felt like, the entire day through, she was staring at a blank wall during work. Judy had all of her clothes and personal articles separated flawlessly for her meeting with Nick since the day before, the fox, on the other end, was still getting ready and showing all of the stress related to it. Nick was rummaging through his closet space and drawers in order to find the perfect outfit and look that would take him through the night with Judy, he knew that his ensemble had to be just right for the occasion. Finnick was seated in the living room watching television, tossed over the couch while having a half-empty bottle of beer placed next to him on the right and an opened sack of potato chips to his left, snacking and sipping gradually as he waited for Nick to return to the living room with his confirmed choice in outfit.

Finnick had come over to watch a football game and stand over to take care of Nick's apartment as the fox went on his date, he must have confined in Finnick about the date and the importance of it two dozen times or so since Judy had agreed to it but the little fox simply pretended that it mattered less than nothing to him , he knew that Nick's confident would carry him through it without an issue. Nick returned to the living room, he was shirtless and sporting a set of dark blue briefs while holding ties of different colors on both his paws, the fox positioned them over his bare chest as he asked his friend:

- Finn, what do you think? Red? Black? Blue?

The fox said so as he showed the selection of ties to his friend in a comparative manner, though Finnick already figured that the fox already had a solid answer in mind and that was just for the benefit of quelling his nerves for the date, it was actually a little funny for Finnick to watch all of that unfold in front of him. Finnick adjusted his posture over the couch, he had the beer bottle in his paw as he gestured towards Nick and told him:

- I 'think' that you don't need to doll yourself up or anything like that. Relax already, Wilde. You're gonna do just fine.

Nick barely heard the fine points of the answer, meant to be more of an encouraging advice from Finnick. Nick simply raised his arms with the ties hanging from his fingers and his right paw hoisted higher as he said confidently:

- You know what? You're right. Judy always sees me in black, I'm going with red.

Finnick lowered the bottle of beer and then returned to stare back at the television, staring at the moving images and not even bothering to talk back at Nick before he said unenthusiastically:

- Great choice. Go for it.

Nick moved back to his bedroom, he dressed himself up in the nicest set he could find, the red tie he had selected was the perfect addition for the pitch black buttoned up T-shirt along with a long pair of pants, a set of dark brown jeans made to mimic the pattern of his usual khaki pants. Nick decided to bring a jacket that would really bring the whole look together, the last article to place over him was a gift from long ago, he rarely used it and he kept inside the box that it was handed to him as a way of preserving it against dust and grime. The jacket still fit Nick very nicely, the outer fabric was made of very thick looking cotton, the flaps near the neck area of the jacket folded in a nice and stable manner and the inner layer was made of an insulating wool colored in an appealing cream pattern that matched Nick's fur to a Tee, the fox gave himself a look and a salute in the mirror and returned to the living room to ask of his friend:

- So… what do you think?

Finnick gave Nick a single look before his attention returned to the television and he aired his answer:

- Looking sharp as a tack. No 'buts' about it.

Nick flexed his muscles inside the outfit before saying to himself:

- That's right. Looking good, feeling good. Now I just got to stay like this until the date.

Finnick showed a little smile and sounded out a scoff before asking of Nick:

- Isn't your date with the fuzz more than an hour away from now?

Nick nodded his head and then answered:

- Well… sure. But I still want to look my best and keep at it for the whole entire thing. The last thing I want to do is mess things up and embarrass myself. I only recently figured out the 'being in love with her' thing and I want to officially start things off by putting my best foot forward.

Finnick was drinking the last sips of his beer during the entirety of Nick's words, the little fox set the empty bottle down before telling his friend what he wanted to say:

- Sure, whatever. Just make sure that you got everything along with you for this thing.

Nick patted himself and searched his pockets, listing everything that he had to bring with him:

- Let's see here… Keys, wallet, phone…

- Breath mint?

Finnick spoke up as he extended a packet of mint flavored gum at his friend, Nick did not even bothered asking why he would have that. Nick scoffed at Finnick's idea, convinced that the little fox was just messing around but Finnick was actually being serious, telling at Nick shortly after:

- Hey, it's best to go prepared for anything. You two are going to be alone for a while and I assume she won't want to be anywhere near your old dog breath.

- I don't have 'old dog breath'.

Nick reputed and Finnick renewed his offer for mints by simply telling his friend:

- I'm just saying.

Nick released a little sigh before ultimately accepting to take the pack of mints from Finnick, he placed it inside the lapel pocket of his shirt where it would remain hidden and inconspicuous until an opportune moment. Nick patted himself one final time and then asked of his friend:

- Any other nuggets of wisdom before I set out?

Finnick raised his left paw with his pointing claw directed upwards before answering with conviction and a solid advice:

- Yes. Ask her for a second date *before* you do anything to mess up the first one.

Nick tugged on the sides of the jacket, showing just how ready he was and not even dignifying Finnick's little piece of advice with a retort. Nick performed one final check on himself before hearing as Finnick asked of him:

- So, Wilde, you feeling ready for your date?

Nick looked at Finnick and answered as he had one last thing in mind:

- Just about. I only need one last thing.

Nick leaned closer to Finnick and extended the palm of his right paw in clear view before telling his friend:

- Finnick, I need the keys to 'the dark beast'.

Finnick rose abruptly from the seat on the couch, his feet were placed solidly on the floor before he turned an incredulous look at Nick and asked of him:

- Wilde, you can't be serious. You're taking the beast out of the lair?! That's… huge.

Nick nodded his head once before assuring his friend that the final choice concerning that subject was made:

- I know that, but the moment calls for it.

- Damn!

Finnick said so in a whisper as he saw the look of certainty in Nick's eyes, the fox was very serious and Finnick was inclined to oblige without any back sass. Finnick reached for his right pocket and pulled out a bundle of key strapped together via the thin ring of a keychain but there was one solitary key in the bundle that had an extension ring reserved for its very presence among all the others, a black key with nearly perfect silver inlay and with the mark of a 'W' marked in its plastic handle, Finnick delivered it up as soon as he removed the key from its spot and Nick safely placed it inside his front right pocket. Just as Nick was about to leave his apartment and get on his way, there was a soft knock on the front door, Maria Wilde entered the apartment and gave her son a quick 'hello' before coming I closer for a hug.

- Mom, hey. What are you doing here?

Maria released Nick from the hug and adjusted the hold she had on her purse before telling him:

- Oh, I came here to tell you something important, Nicholas. Just a quick word and then I'll be on my way, I won't be very long.

Nick did not mind that his mother had stopped by for a quick visit but he really wondered what could be so important that she would come over herself in order to tell him about it. Before Maria could even formulate the words for telling Nick that she would be leaving the city of Zootopia for a few days, she actually took a good look at her son, moving her eyes up and down as she checked his clothing and then speak up about it:

- Nicholas, you're looking so nice and handsome. Are you heading out for a party somewhere?

Finnick interjected, coming right up next to Nick and pointing a thumb of his right paw in the direction of the fox before saying:

- He's got a hot date for the night.

Nick turned to Finnick and spoke up, puffing the name of his friend between his pressed fangs so that the little fox would hush up and mind his own business:

- Finn! What the hell?

Maria raised her paws and came in closer once more, she began to pat Nick down and check him all over so that she could detect any slips or imperfections on Nick's outfit, the female fox gasped dramatically and intrusively before asking in a blunt way:

- A 'hot date'. Nicholas, you should have told me, I would've helped you pick an outfit.

Nick gave a single step back so that he would escape from his mother's reach, Maria watched with a little spark in her eyes as Nick adjusted his outfit and fur back to their previous settings, the fox then took in some air through his nose and said proudly:

- Mom, it's only a date, and I don't need you to pick my clothes for me. I'm a grown up fox and I can pick how I want to look.

Maria took a single step closer to Nick before telling him:

- Oh, I know that, Nicholas, and I would garner that this is more than 'just a date'. I just really wish to play a little more of a part in your life, even now that you are all grown and set.

Maria placed her paws over Nick's shoulders so that she could align the folds of the jacket over his shoulders, softly tapping over them as she said:

- I saw the news the other day, I heard how you and Judy got involved in another crazy crisis. I heard how you got into a scrape and fought off some awful robbers, I thanked heavens that you two managed to get through that without a scrape.

Nick had his ears lowered as soon as he heard that, he had been so focused on being ready for a night that would not merit any wild confrontations alongside Judy that he nearly forgot to tell his mother about everything that happened. Nick directed his eyes to the left and then said as a way to cover his own tail from any harsh words from Maria:

- Well… I… it was no big deal. The other officers were around to watch our backs.

Maria slid her left paw over Nick's right shoulder before telling him:

- Nevertheless, I want to be kept in the loop concerning your life. You have been doing such amazing things and, even if I am going to worry about you, I want to know all about it, the good and the bad. I want you to talk to me, Nicholas, even if it turns out to be something that is not world changing.

Nick lowered his head and agreed to that, showing a little smile as he said:

- Alright, mom. I promise I'll keep you informed. The good and the… not so good.

- Thank you, Nicholas.

Maria took one step back before letting Nick know the reason why she decided to visit hi in the first place, pointing a claw of her left paw over her right shoulder and turning her body in the gestured direction only a few degrees without taking her eyes away from her son, telling shortly after:

- Anyway, I came to tell you that I will be heading over to the town of Foxton for a few days. I leave tomorrow and I am going over there to help out with a donation drive that my group organized a few weeks ago, it's really all they have been talking about. My friend Cynthia will be giving me a lift so you can relax.

Finnick scratched his chin before asking of Maria:

- 'Cynthia'? Isn't her the pangolin lady with the crooked tooth.

Maria made a dismissive gesture with her left paw, looking right at Finnick and telling him:

- Actually she had a corrective brace fix that a long time ago. Her husband was against it but she insisted on it until he gave up on convincing her otherwise.

Finnick had his eyes squinted as he nodded his head and put that little detail in his memory before saying:

- Good for her.

Maria patted Nick over the head and then began to make her way out, she waved at Finnick and told him:

- See you boys later. Goodbye, Finn.

- Bye, Misses Wilde.

Finnick showed a little wave of his left paw as he said that little farewell to Nick's mother, she was one mammal that he really respected. Maria was just about to leave through the front door but she turned around and looked right at her son before telling him:

- Good luck on your date, Nicholas. Tell Judy I said 'Hi'.

Nick was just about to respond with a little positive nod but that last bit of information on his mother's words alerted him right away, he pointed a claw to the air as he raised his right arm and asked:

- Wait, how did you even…?

He could not finish that sentence, Maria had already walked off and closed the door behind her, she had left the two vulpine in the apartment while letting out a little chuckle that could still be heard as she made her way through the hall just outside:

- Dude. She is good.

Finnick said as he turned his head to look up at Nick and shortly after hear as he said:

- She's my mom. What did you expect?

Nick waited just a couple more minutes before exiting the apartment and heading out on his way, there was still plenty of time to seek the transportation that he required for the date and swing by to pick Judy up with time to flaunt before the agreed upon schedule. Nick was on his way to a secret spot on the lower half of the savanna, near the secluded garage where Finnick hung out on his spare time, the fox passed by many streets and a glance at a nearby shop called to his attention, a flower shop. Ick could smell very appealing scents coming from right inside the shop, scents that reminded him vaguely of his time spent in the town of Bunnyburrow during his week off for recovery, Nick had halted his walk and stared into the front entrance of the shop, a tall and imposing threshold with a wooden sign marked 'open' hung near the left side and a small mat underneath his position with the word 'Welcome' written in a very curved and alluring font.

Nick thought for a moment, wondering if it would be alright to bring a small flowery gift for Judy as to mark the occasion of their first official date, however, Nick knew that a bouquet purchased for the bunny would not be a very significant gift, he knew well how flowers were fragile, how they wilted and decayed even if cared for on the regular. Nick did not really believed in flower arrangements as gifts, maybe this was a belief shared by all foxes, then again, his father once told him how a simple gesture could go a long way when it comes to the ones you hold most dear in the heart. After a short time contemplating, Nick decided to risk it and enter the store to buy a simple set to gift Judy.

Just as Nick entered the store, he noticed how the place was empty, it was already rather late in the afternoon with the sun nearly setting over the horizon but there really seemed to be no one else inside the store but the fox. Nick looked around, a large variety of pots and pedestals were scattered about with floral arrangements of every color and size organized in varied shelves and presented with small descriptions in small plastic plaques, a wide selection and he had no clear idea what combination would be the most appealing, when it came to natural aesthetics such as those, Nick really had no sense for that sort of thing. The fox kept moving forward and he decided to call out to check if there were any attendants in the store, projecting his voice with his left paw placed on the side of his muzzle as he asked out loud:

- Hello? Is there anyone here?

It did not take too long for the fox's question to be answered, from behind a counter a presence could be heard, a set of quick footsteps on the approach and clacking against the smooth tiles on the floor, followed by a feminine voice that spoke out:

- Just a second. I'm on my way.

There was a narrow pathway on the side of the counter, a gap between the very edge of the counter and the right side far wall of the shop, a young armadillo walked through and made herself known to the fox, wearing a yellow shirt that was covered by a flowery apron and a nametag pinned to her right lapel displaying the name 'Darla' in very small letters. Nick received a cordial greeting from the female armadillo who quickly assumed her post near a shelf so she could get to helping her brand new costumer select the picks for the bouquet that would be to his liking.

- Sorry if I kept you waiting. This has been such a slow day that I was just about to close earlier today.

Darla said so as she reached for a crawl space near the left side of the entrance so she could retrieve a folded step ladder that would assist her in picking the flowers from the tallest shelves. Nick responded to her words shortly after as he said:

- Good thing you didn't, and no need to worry. I still got some time left on me. I'm just not quite sure about the type of flower I should get myself. I'm not really a 'flowers and cake' kind of mammal.

The armadillo looked over at Nick, his face was showing discomfort from being there and asking for assistance in that way, his nose lightly itching with the particles of pollen flicking in the air around him, the fox really had never gone out of his way to present an arranged gift to a friend, but the target of his affection was an easy enough mammal to figure out, anything from him would surely be appreciated. Darla unfolded the step ladder and looked in Nick's direction before carefully setting the support item on the floor, without taking her eyes off the fox as she tried studying his posture and words and figure out just what kind of sale she should push in his general direction. Darla swallowed some saliva and asked of the fox:

- I think you're the first fox I have ever seen with the interest of buying flowers. Is there some special occasion that warrants such a gift?

Nick reached for his tie with both of his paws and adjusted the strap around his neck, loosening it just well enough to give himself some better air and blood circulation as to answer her question. The fox took in a long breath of air through his nose and placed both of his paws on the side pockets of his jacket before saying:

- Yeah… I… It's a first date. Official and everything.

The armadillo had her ears raised and her nose twitching as soon as she heard that, she clapped her paws together and then spoke up:

- Oh, now that really is eventful. Flowers for a first date. It does sound a little old fashioned.

Nick smiled and shook his head slowly from side to side, his ears lowered as his eyes were directed at the ground below and then up again as he looked over to Darla and told her:

- I know. I quite frankly don't understand the appeal of flowers as gifts, but I figured I would pull out all the stops in order to impress her.

The armadillo scooched closer to Nick and pointed a finger of her left paw in his direction in a confident gesture before telling him:

- Good instinct. Do you have anything specific in mind?

Nick shook his head and admitted honestly:

- Not at all.

Darla decided to help Nick out, but first she would have to fish for more information relating to the fox's date. Darla started by asking of him:

- Is it a friend or co-worker?

Nick answered while showing a waving gesture of both of his paws, almost as if he was pointing to a small timeline of events stretched in front of him:

- It started out as friends, then co-workers and then… it evolved on its own. I guess.

The armadillo nodded once, she grabbed the step ladder and hoisted it over her own head as she moved it around to a more favorable position. Darla asked further:

- Is she from around here?

Nick answered honestly, posting another clue referring to Judy that just might help on selecting the best pieces for the bouquet as a whole:

- She's from way out of town. Came over to follow her dreams. The old and true story.

- I see…

Darla retorted, placing the stepladder down and then climbing on it two steps so that she could be at eye level with the higher shelves. One final question was predominantly nagging in her mind, just one final check before she could start assembling the perfect flowery gift, she asked of Nick:

- Is there anything in specific that you want the gift to say? Something personal maybe?

Nick thought on that for a while, his tone of voice for that particular answer changed, moderated to be heard as a little more than a joke but still containing many traces of truth which Darla was able to pick up on. The fox proceeded by saying:

- Yeah. I would like it to say: 'Things are a little awkward right now and I wish for them to be not-so-awkward anymore.'

Nick's answer said it all and Darla went right on pursuit of the main pieces for the gift, moving and leaning around as she reached for higher and lower shelves containing vases of specific flowers, she was off to craft a masterpiece. First, she reached low, using a set of pliers to cut a round flower with bright yellow petals, picking ones in the pot with thinner stems, she picked the smaller ones so that their mere presence in the bouquet would not outweigh the others and then whispering to place a mental checkmark on her selection:

- Sunflowers.

She then lowered her head a little more and searched more to the left, plucking a different set of flowers, this time one with long green stems and a line of blue petals hanging along them on almost equal distance to one another, shaped like small bells. Darla spoke with a slightly louder whisper before adding them to the group in her left paw:

- Blue bonnets.

Darla only needed a final touch before wrapping a handle around the flowers, the gift was nearly complete and her sale almost closed, Nick watched in silence, not wanting to disturb what he could only guess was an artist at work. Darla walked down the step ladder and moved to a pot placed at the opposite wall, she picked one last set of beautiful red flowers with thin stems, wavy petals and long strains of pollen, the final pieces were placed as the armadillo spoke:

- Carnations.

With the flowers picked and the set wrapped nicely, Nick approached and found himself pleasantly satisfied with the final product, even the price posted by the store attendant seemed to be reasonable, a full forty-five was all that was needed for the fox to walk out of the store, waving in thanks and content with the gift he had procured. Now, he only needed to hang on to it until he could deliver it to Judy.

Over at Judy's apartment, the bunny was pacing back and forth in her own living room as she waited for the time of the date, she had already showered, dressed, combed her fur and placed a thin spritz of perfume over the sides of her neck as a final presentable touch, she was ready to go but she did not feel ready. Judy placed the palm of her right paw over her forehead, her ears lowered and she could feel the lingering moisture over herself, it was not water from the shower she took as soon as she got home, she concluded and thought to herself:

"Oh, am I sweating?! I can't sweat! Not now!"

Judy sat herself at the center cushion of her couch, placing her paws on the back of her thighs in order to flaunt the lower half of her dress forward just as she was bending down to grab a seat, that way it would lock flawlessly around the form of her legs as she sat down and reduce unwanted creases on the dress. Judy grabbed her cellphone and checked the time, only ten minutes before Nick's arrival, as per the agreed schedule, but that was only adding to Judy's nerves, she should not assume that Nick would arrive at the dot of the hour, he might just arrive 'fashionably late' as he would put it, or so she thought. Judy placed her cellphone over the coffee table and there it remained, she hopped up from her seat and placed her posture straight as soon as she heard a soft knock on her door and a vocal confirmation coming from the other side of the frame:

- Carrots, it's me. Are you ready?

Judy released a little yelp of surprise, she hoped that Nick had not heard that, she patted her dress a few times and performed one final check to make sure that everything was nice, proper and symmetrical, she walked to the door shortly after and spoke up:

- Just a moment. I'm coming.

Judy took in a long breath, giving herself some courage to press forth, her nerves settled for a bit as soon as she thought just how much she wanted for that night to go well and turn out alright, she wanted to go with Nick to wherever place he had in mind, it really did not matter as long as they could sit, eat, talk and enjoy themselves. Judy turned the nob and the door swung open, she saw the full image of the fox and the fanciest outfit he had worn to date, the dark shirt and red tie really gave him a tone of proper and mysterious and the jacket he was wearing only added to that. Judy suddenly felt bewildered, the image of her working in exasperating fashion to remove the shirt in order to expose Nick's bare chest popped into her mind and she nearly yelped, her lips pressed and she simply looked at him, admiring the sights for a few seconds.

Nick was biting down on his lower lip just before the door was opened, one of his front fangs pining his mouth shut as he regretted near immediately the question he asked after knocking on the door, it made him feel like he was tugging Judy along as he asked if she was already ready to leave. That thought did not linger for Nick for very long as the fox was almost taken aback when he saw Judy's image being revealed as the door was opened, the fox opened his mouth to greet her with polite and flattering words, maybe speak in a witty tone that he had rehearsed in his mind many times before walking over there, but no words came out of the his mouth, his jaw merely hanged half open mid-breath as he saw Judy's in her new dress. Nick could not even dare to imagine that Judy could look so stunning, he would often see her in uniform or simple casual outfits, but, at that moment, she looked radiant beyond anything he could think of. Nick's tail began to wag reflexively and his ears lowered as he noticed the movement by his posterior, his expression was immediately placed in a defensive and unsure setting, lacking any coherent thing to say at that moment, all he could do was stare.

For a moment it felt like Nick's train of thought had derailed completely, his careful thought out plan about the route the night would take suddenly felt meaningless as the one image in his head was of Judy and he could just look at her for hours on end. Judy placed her feet together, her ears twitched to the sides and her nose twitched for half a second as she took in a quick breath and she finally got the sense to greet Nick properly, the bunny waved at him with her left paw and said:

- Nick, it's so good to see you. You're early.

Nick raised his ears and locked his tail in place, the fox had the flowers he had purchased held behind his back with his left paw gripping softly the plastic wrap around them, his mind sent a quick jolt to his wrist as he tightened his grip only enough to not let the bouquet fall to the ground unintentionally during his dazed state. The fox swallowed a small bit of saliva and leaned back before speaking up in response:

- Oh, yeah. My clock must… be running a little fast. Thought I was right on time. You're looking… amazing, Judy. Just amazing.

Judy looked at herself as Nick complimented her and gestured at her entire figure with a slow wave of his right paw, the bunny turned her body at different angles through subtle movements of her knees, bending as she turned only enough so that a few more aspects of her appearance were visible to the fox. Judy thanked Nick and then told him:

- You're looking quite spectacular yourself. That Shirt really suits you.

Nick grabbed a single piece of the shirt's fabric, pinching on it as he tried to answer back to her praise with a touch of modesty, even thought it could have been perceived as a jest out of him:

- What? This old thing?

Judy took a little more note of Nick's appearance, she could just about notice the scent of a different fur conditioner, it definitely did not smell like cologne, the fox in front of her looked like he was dressed for a full on gala event and it got her wondering if she might have 'underdressed' for their date. Judy saw that Nick was hiding one of his paws behind his back, the bunny leaned her head to the left and asked of him as one of her ears lowered at a small angle to the left over her head:

- What you got over there, slick?

Nick slowly revealed the gift he had brought over for Judy, carefully moving his arm at a wide enough angle so that no petal or leaf would be damaged as he gave the bouquet to her, Judy raised her arms and placed her paws on the sides of her face, her tail quivered, her feet elevated her into a short hop that did not take her off the ground and her mouth gasped in awe. Jud had never received flowers from a date before, bunnies had the tradition of presenting a potential mate with flower arrangements before an important event but that had never happened to her, most of her dates up to that point were organized or suggested by her mother or one of her sisters but there was ultimately no interest in pushing a romantic involvement any further, that time it was different. Though Judy imagined that Nick had no idea about serious commitment presented in the form of flowers, she accepted the gift and took the entire bouquet in paw just as she heard Nick saying:

- I know it looks a little corny, but I thought it would be alright to get you a little something as a gift to start things off right.

Judy returned to the interior of her apartment, appreciating the gift she had just received as she slowly walked in search of some place to put the flowers, looking closely at the texture and sniffing the aroma that was left behind, those were no cheap plastic knock-offs. Nick was mesmerized by her beautiful smile as he watched Judy moved around with the gift, he listened carefully as she began to murmur out loud, studying its simplistic, yet intrinsic, details. Judy passed her left paw over the petals of each flower placed in the bouquet, her fingers pointed and gestured to each flower that was in clear view starting to the ones placed front and center in the arrangement, the sunflowers:

- Helianthus promenadis.

Then her fingers moved down and she touched the stem of the blue bonnets, as if she was trying to shake the little flowers shaped like bells to see if any melodious sound would come out of them before saying with greater interest:

- Lupinus subcarnsosus.

Until her fingers landed on the final permanent set of flower at the very base and she spoke with great enthusiasm as if she had just found a hidden treasure:

- Nick, Dianthus caryophyllus?! How did you know? These are my favorite.

Nick gave a single step forward as he passed through the threshold of the front door, he placed his right paw on the back of his head and gave it a light scratch on his scalp, guiding his fingers to brush off back and forth for a few seconds. Nick was enchanted with the way Judy spoke, pronouncing the scientific names of each flower as if it were no big deal and almost like she was a teacher, explaining the finer points of nature itself, now he was truly captivated, the fox took in some air through his mouth just before speaking up:

- No big deal. Call it a happy coincidence.

Judy continued to admire her gift as Nick turned his sight to the left, he let out the remainder of air in his breath out through his mouth and thought with a line that nearly screamed inside his brain:

"Thank you, Darla!"

Nick turned his sight to look at Judy, he saw as she picked one of the carnations from the bouquet and brought it closer to her face, her nose twitching as she took in a few whiffs of the scent still contained in the soft petals. Nick saw as she did that and decided to tell just how great their date would be, the fox had a few pleasant surprises planned as they made their way out but, before he could even formulate a single word, he saw as Judy closed her eyes, opened her mouth and took a big bite out of the flower, all of the petals and nearly the entire top of the stem were munched by the bunny and that left Nick utterly shocked to see it happening. Judy began to chew the carnation without any worries, almost like she was feasting on a piece of candy, the nostalgic taste of the flower caused her entire body to give off a small shutter of delight as she turned to the fox standing so close to her, opened her eyes and told him:

- Oh, Nick. I haven't tried anything like this in a long time. Thanks for the amazing gift. I'll put these away.

- Ahm… Sure. You're welcome… No problem.

Judy moved towards the kitchen and placed the bouquet as gently as she could over the dinner table, Nick took that short time to put together the meaning behind what he had just witnessed before he thought:

"Bunny…"

The fox took his right paw closer to his face and the tips of his fingers gave his forehead a bit of a tap, pushing his head back before retreating, slightly face palming himself before giving continuity to his previous line of thought:

"Should've seen that one coming."

Judy let the flowers down, she wanted to keep on tasting the herbal charm of each petal but she decided to leave that for later, afraid that continuing might spoil her appetite for the night, she turned her head and looked over at Nick, the fox trying to hide away any shred of reticence he could have been showing before her eyes met up with him, she walked closer to Nick and signaled with a wave of her left paw, asking him if they should get going. Nick gave Judy the right of way, gesturing with a slow wave of his left paw towards the opened door, the two mammals left the apartment and Judy closed the door behind them, locking it with two turns of her key shortly after. Nick and Judy descended the flight of stairs leading to street level together, their speeds of pacing fairly matched as Judy took the lead but occasionally slowed down so she could remain side by side with her partner, Judy asked after a few more steps ahead:

- So, slick, what's the plan? Where are we headed?

Nick looked ahead, he answered to Judy very quickly since he already had it all worked out in terms of the route they would take until getting to the restaurant, the fox spoke up as he leaned his head closer to Judy and told her:

- The rainforest district.

Judy slowed her walk, almost halting completely as she heard that answer coming from the fox, her shoulders lowered and then she turned her head to the left to look at Nick before saying:

- Oh, are we splitting a cab or… is Finnick driving us there?

Nick released a little laugh before saying:

- There is just no way I could get Finn to drive us there and back. He would have given me an earful with the cost on fuel.

Judy lowered her ears, concerned on how Nick and her might travel such a long trajectory without apparent transportation, but she did not stoop to worrying too much about it, confident that the fox beside her had a plan of his own. Judy looked around, the movement that evening in the central savanna was so passable, the night was beautiful and the street lights illuminated the streets beautifully as the two cruised the sidewalk leisurely together. Judy turned her head slightly to the right and then returned it to the forward facing position before asking of Nick:

- How are we getting there then? The rainforest is kind of far.

Judy turned her head to the left to check behind her once more, she looked in the direction of Nick and only then realized that the fox had stopped his walk completely and was now standing near the side of a beautiful black car parked near the sidewalk. Nick reached his left paw on to the inner pocket of his jacket, hoisting a set of keys in the air shortly after and then inserting the main key of the bunch on the front door by the right side of the vehicle, it unlocked without any fuss. Judy turned her body around slowly and walked back to give it a closer look, Nick had unlocked the car and had opened the door to allow her entrance, Judy was hesitant for only one second before she reached for the sides of her dress and raised her left leg to enter the car one step at a time.

Just as Judy was situated by the passenger seat and had the seatbelt neatly fastened, Nick closed the door, walked with wide and quick steps to the other side of the car and opened the door on the driver's side to get in, he found Judy with a near dumbfounded expression, looking around as she took in every detail of the car's interior. The car was a true model of beauty, ingenuity, power and resilience made into the shape of an automobile, a black colored Impala model five outfitted with every classic add on for class and practicality. The car had a slick visual, the hood was long and smooth in order to house the V6 engine as well as the battery, which was covered by a thick security case to prevent misfires caused by potential battery leakage, and every other aspect of its internal electrical system, there were no electronic components beside the old CD radio installed on the dash board connected to a modulated sound system on the back, everything else was strictly analog as evident by the large lever with an adorned handle made to be the stick shift. The car on itself was an older model but it did not show it in the least, the interior had been refurbished with a new ideal set of seats and safety belts, the chassis was polished, every nook and breach was clean and there were no visible blemishes or scratches to be detected on any of the windows or mirrors, that vehicle had been cared for to a near absurd degree. There was even a small air freshener dangling about as it hung from the rearview mirror.

Nick placed the key in the socket next to the wheel, a single turn of it caused the engine of the car to purr into activity, the fox had his foot tapping on the accelerator and had the engine now showing just how powerful it truly was despite being left cold and unused for quite some time. Nick took a deep breath of bliss as he felt every piston and axel of the car bump and rattle into life under his influence, he raised his ears to make sure that every piece of the vehicle was running its own task as smoothly as it could be but he did not flaunt the potential of the car right away in order to show it off to Judy. Nick took his time in appreciating the kick of the engine and its noises simply for self-pleasure as it always agreed with him to have a nice and functional engine under his control, specifically, if it had been assembled by him. Nick turned a sight to the right, shooting a side glance at Judy before telling her:

- First time, every time. That's how you know the engine is made to last.

Nick unlocked the side break and directed the wheel to the left with a simple rotation, he changed gears as soon as the car was un-parked and they were finally on their way, however, Judy was in stunned silence for a short while as she simply observed Nick guiding the vehicle on to the streets with moderate speed as they went on a route that was unknown to her. Judy decided to speak up and ask something of Nick as soon as they passed the second block on their path, the bunny took in a small bit of air through her mouth and then said:

- Nick.

Nick's ears twitched as he heard Judy calling out to him, the fox directed his sight to the right before saying:

- What's up, fluff?

Judy then opened her arms and made a gesture directed to the entire car around her, her eyes directed at Nick, her ears lowering to the back of her head but not drooping down entirely, as she asked of him:

- Whose car is this?

Nick had his eyes squinting and his ears positioned up straight as he heard that question, the fox performed a small tap of his right paw over the steering wheel before answering:

- That's a bit of an odd question, carrots. This is my car. I thought it was obvious by now.

Judy adjusted herself over the seat, the cushioned venue where she was settled was adjusted to hold to a mammal slightly bigger than her, by the height she was seated she could barely take a peek over the dashboard, the lower portion of the seat was so large that it nearly offered a large enough platform for Judy to lay down over if she tucked herself in tight and there was more than enough room for her to stretch and move about even with the safety belt strapped over her torso and neatly buckled by her side. Judy turned to face Nick and inquire further details off of him, she took in a small dose of air through her nose before asking with a much more alerting tone to her voice:

- You have a car?

Nick leaned his head to the left, watching the road and guiding the car on a left turn come the following block before answering to Judy's next question with an immutable smile to his face:

- Of course I got a car. I'm a mammal that lives in the fast lane. I go to places and I like vehicles so it stands to reason that I would have a vehicle of my own stashed somewhere.

Judy was not muted or halted in her line of thought by the fox's attempt at subduing her with logic. Judy performed a focusing gesture with both of her paws, placing them near the sides of her face before asking in a slight huff:

- I've never seen you drive anything but the cruiser at work. Where has this car of yours been this entire time?!

Nick kept looking ahead, driving like there was no important detail to be discussed, after a brief intermission, Nick decided that it would be better if he told the entire story from the beginning, he began a narrative and made sure to skip over a few details on the way:

- It was a summer in the savanna, many years ago, it was obnoxiously hot and I was looking for anything at all to do after I finished every single assignment that I had for the day, it didn't matter what it was.

Judy repositioned herself over the passenger seat, taking a more relaxed lean over the repost of the seat and putting her shoulders back as she looked at the fox near her and listened attentively as he proceeded:

- Finnick invited me over to a spot out of town, he wanted take a look at the local scrapyard to look for a few spare parts in order to soup up his van, 'pimp it out', as he would say it. We spent almost an entire afternoon digging up through piles of twisted metal and junk, that is when I saw… this beautiful beast on top of a pile in the distance.

Nick said so as he took his right paw from over the steering wheel and placed on the dash, just above the radio, the palm of his paw passed over the rough surface almost as if he was petting the car down as he reminisced. It did not take too long before Nick continued his narrative, still having his paws firmly positioned in different spots on the car while keeping an eye out for unforeseen impediments on the road:

- Some dents on the body, some starches on the undercarriage and the wheels were all missing, even the spare, but I just knew that I had to fix it, something deep inside me told me that I had to repair this car, all of it. That entire summer was spent going up, down and all around in search of pieces that would fit and tools that would aid in fixing this beauty, I had so much fun. Finnick helped for a few things but I did most of the heavy lifting as I performed a re-kit of the engine, spruced out the dings and flushed out the old oil on the intakes. By the end of all of that, I had a car of my own and it was amazing.

Judy saw the little glint in Nick's eyes, clearly that car held a significant value to the fox, then again, he might feel that way for just about any engine and automobile he could get his paws into, the bunny chalked that off as some male drama that she could not understand straight away. Judy pointed ahead and asked of her partner:

- Why don't you drive it around then? This car looks and sounds really great and it looks hardly used at all.

Nick lowered his ears but his smile remained as he confessed:

- For all its beautiful attributes and all the happy memories associated with each of them, this beast has one lingering fault that is yet to be corrected. The gas tank is a transplant from another, way smaller, car. It was the only one I could afford that fit into the space and it is really not calibrated for the engine or the fuel distributor, it guzzles fuel like no one's business and it takes careful scheduling to fill the tank back up. I only take it out of hiding when I really need it.

Judy took another look at the cabin, her eyes passed over the ceiling and the ample space she had to hang her legs over the seat, everything about the car screamed nostalgic but there also so many other details about it that made it comfortable as a mode of transportation, Judy simply leaned back and let Nick take her away to their destination, measuring her expectations for their inevitable arrival and hoping there would be no unforeseen predicaments on their path there. Passing through a highway and cutting through two tunnels was all that it took for the car to arrive at the rainforest, Nick parked the Impala over at a rotating parking spot at the very base of a nearby tree and he could already spot the ascending spiral that would lead to the restaurant he had in mind. Judy waited until the engine was off before opening the door on her side, she checked the ground below to make sure there were no puddles around and got out of the car, gently closing the door behind her and making certain that it had closed properly. Judy heard a sound of a pin unlatching as Nick opened the trunk of the car and grabbed a large umbrella with a plastic hook for a handle, the fox closed the trunk with a flinging motion of both his paws before walking next to Judy and asking of her:

- Shall we?

Judy looked at the fox and the umbrella in his hold, nicely fit by the joint of his left elbow, she showed him a side glance as she began to move following his lead and said:

- You thought of everything, didn't you?

Nick made a quick waving gesture by moving his right wrist and opening his paw to grip nothing but air as he confessed:

- I thought of things up until a certain point. I want the rest of the night to be a surprise.

Judy gave a step to the right so she could walk a little closer to Nick, she reached for his left arm with both of her paws and the motion pushed the umbrella in his hold slightly aside as she began to match his pace and pulling him a little closer. Nick looked over to his left, his tail jolted and puffed up as he felt her touch, Judy leaned her head to the right and then spoke up:

- There have already been quite a few pleasant surprises so far. I can hardly wait for a few more.

Nick showed a little grin that evolved into a full on smile as they continued to move along. Judy lowered her ears for just a second, perking them up shortly after she thought about her actions up until that point:

"So far, so good. I really want to see this restaurant Nick spoke of. I hope I didn't sound too clingy or promiscuous by getting so close to him."

Judy renewed her smile as she tried matching speeds with Nick, the pair climbed over a sidewalk at the end of the parking lot and then moved through a terrain that was somewhat uneven before they arrived at the staircase that would take them higher and on to the next level housing the suspended paths above that crisscrossed neat the tree branches. Nick looked over at Judy, politely asking of her to go right ahead and climb on ahead of him, the fox took his time climbing each step as a new line of thought crossed his mind:

"Wow! Everything is going amazing so far. I'm really nailing this. Alright, don't jinx it, Wilde. Pump your foot on the break a little and make every second of this date count."

Nick made a gesture with his right paw pointing ahead, showing Judy that there was still a bit of a walk before they arrived at their destination, Judy showed a single nod of her head and the two of them continued their walk together on the direction shown by Nick. The suspension roads were packed with mammals that night and it became rather difficult for the pair to move along on a fixed path through the crowd, Nick had to resort to a small shortcut so that it would be easier for them to move along past the chaotic flow through such a narrow pathway, he guided Judy over to the side railing by the left of the path and they slipped through a merged bridge that took them straight through the hollowed trunk of a tree, Nick turned to look at the left and he could see the front sign of the restaurant from a far shinning in the distance.