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.

31. Episode 31: Take the time

Author's note: Salutations, dear readers, It is I, Valiant, and I am finally back with a new chapter of my Zootopia fanfic. I really missed you all and I thank you for the amazing support that this story has been getting, I never imagined that putting my ideas out there (despite the ocasional slips) would be so fun and rewarding. My days have been full with tasks, chores and distractions but I still found the time in every day that went by to work on my stories, I think it is more than a hobby at this point. At any case, this chapter is on the long side but it is worth the read, it stops in a bit of a cliffhanger but do not worry the story continues on and it is getting really spicy, I will take a short break to work on some other projects but I hope you will keep coming by to give your support, reviews and opinions for this and other stories. Have a great reading and stay awesome. On with the show!

Episode 31: Take the time.

On the following day, Judy and Nick went to work at the ZPD like normal, the fox was instructed by the chief to remain in the precinct for that work shift and Nick took that as a chance to cross a few work-related chores of his list. Nick walked up and down through the precinct for the rest of the day as he transported boxes that were easy to transfer and took copies of selected documentation, he just refused to stay by the cubicle so he just kept busy with various tasks, Nick went to the basement to refurbish his sidearm and check out the orderly spaces of the ZPD servers, he went over to the carpool to check if the cruiser's systems as well as all of its components were nice and aligned, from tire pressure to oil level. Following that, Nick decided to reorganize his computer's working space, Nick had a well-known grasp on technology and he could organize all of the items he needed pretty fast with the help of his computer processing capabilities, all of the items that he felt did not need to be occupying the space on the hard drive anymore were safely stored away in a free server space. Nick returned to the cubicle after a full morning of tasks stacked back to back, he felt satisfied, finally being able to rest his back on his seat but he did not even stop for a moment to look at Judy or consider how she was doing.

Judy did not comment or oppose to Nick's decision to take on the work day with gears grinding, the fox was content with being at the ZPD after a boring stay at the hospital, any task that came his way was gladly taken without complaints, Judy saw that as a good thing for her and she did not even halted Nick to complain about his oversight at work. The bunny's thoughts were still focused on the dream she had the night before, her feelings for Nick were stirring up inside her chest to a point where she could not deal with them rationally anymore, every time the thought of Nick came to her head, being wherever she was or whatever she was doing, she did her best to push the fox out of her mind and focus on anything else entirely, even Judy herself had to admit that this was not the best way to deal with such thoughts, still, she believed that the least amount of interaction with her partner would be preferable to aid her in dealing with these new emotions on her own before they got out of control. Once more, for most of the work shift, Nick and Judy barely talked to one another but it would not be that way for too long.

The next day, the chief had gathered everyone in the bullpen for the assignments of the day, against his protests, Nick managed to convince chief Bogo to go out and patrol with Judy granted that they would not be involved on anything major until the fox was fully healed. Before arriving at the bullpen, Bogo rummaged through his papers so that he could find the easiest patrol route available for the pair and safe himself any probable headaches for the day, he planned to direct Nick and Judy towards the upper savanna and give them a short ride through the museum, years of patrol taught the chief that the upper savanna is a zone with lots of crowds and daily movement so something noteworthy for the force rarely happened through there. All f the officers were gathered in the assembly room, everyone was already on their seats and some of the officers were conversing about what they might do with the rest of their day, Nick and Judy were seated down in their shared chair, Judy was fiddling her fingers as she placed her elbows over the desk frame in front of her and Nick decided to call out to her:

- Excited, carrots?

Judy retreated, she was expecting to only wait in silence until chief Bogo entered the room for his common announcing but hearing the fox's voice startled her out of her distracted daze, Judy sounded out a little gasp through her nose as her arms tucked back near her torso, she turned to Nick and answered quickly:

- I… Yes, I'm real excited.

Nick frazzled his brows lightly as he leaned closer to Judy, the fox took a closer look at her and Judy did not know how to react, raising her shoulders and shrinking away as Nick came closer to her. Nick swallowed some saliva and said:

- You don't look very excited. You don't sound very excited either. Are you feeling alright?

Nick asked out of concern for his partner, Judy let him know that she was alright even if she still had a few intrusive thoughts to deal with:

- I'm fine, Nick. I'm just a little on edge.

Nick adjusted his shoulders before telling Judy that there as indeed an air of tension in the air but there was no reason to be worried:

- I get what you mean, Judy, the tension here is definitely palpable.

After Nick said those words, everyone could hear the heavy steps of chief Bogo approaching the side door of the bullpen and making his entrance, the stack of documents labeled as important and being held under his right arm did not seem too large which meant that day would not turn out to be too much of a rush. Nick watched the buffalo walk slowly towards his podium and place the papers gently over the support in front of him, somehow it did not feel right to the fox, no one was rowdy and the chief was not telling anyone to be quiet, that particular day of work on the ZPD suddenly felt somber and lacking motivation, Nick did not even feel like cracking one of his jokes to lighten the mood. Nick leaned closer to Judy, the bunny also noticed the soft way that the chief seemed to be carrying himself into the assembly room, Nick whispered to her while keeping his eyes ahead and leaning closer to her hearing range:

- What do you think this is all about?

Judy turned to Nick and whispered back to him her answer:

- I'm not really sure. At this point, I'll just be glad if we can move through the work shift without having something totally unexpected bursting through right in front of us.

At that moment, the back door of the bullpen opened up wide, Doctor Pura turned the knob and swung the door wide open while having a spritzer of some unknown solution held in her left paw and a clean piece of cloth being supported around the upper part of her right arm, the panther as happy and absolutely thrilled to be there, there was something that she needed to show everyone. Pura's sudden burst into the room surprised everyone, Bogo tapped the palms of his hooves over the podium almost as if he as pushed back by a sudden impact while Judy leaped over her seat as soon as she heard the doctor shouting for everyone to hear:

- EUREKA!

Judy pressed her lips together and commented on the timing of that occurrence as she said with a pressured whisper:

- I could almost sense that coming.

Every eye turned to the doctor as she crossed the little path in the middle of the bullpen and arrived next to chief Bogo on his little stage, the buffalo looked at her and gestured ahead with his left arm as he said:

- Doctor Saonai, what is the meaning of this? I was just about to commence with the shift assignment for everyone.

Pura showed both of her paws to the chief, one of them still holding firmly to the bottling mouth of the spritzer as she said:

- I know that, sir. I know that. I just had to come over right away and show this amazing new discovery I just produced in my lab. I spent the whole night synthesizing this thing and I just had to show it out.

After hearing that, the chief felt like he really had no choice, he knew that Pura would just take the time to speak out about her brand new creation, no matter what he might have to say to oppose her. Pura took center stage and began her demonstration posthaste, she started by showing everyone who could see her the full extent of the rag she had ovr her arm, she settled the little spritzer bottle down over the podium and showed both sides of the cloth, perfectly square, scrubbed clean and golden yellow in coloration, it almost made it look like she was about to perform a magical trick in front of an excitable audience, Pura followed up with her demonstration by retrieving the bottle and spraying the cloth three times with the substance, there were long seconds of silence and nothing significant happened. Chief Bogo and all of the other officers waited for something of significance to happen and the buffalo even started to think that there was nothing to what the doctor was trying to show them, but that was when it happened.

Suddenly, the center of the cloth started to change color, a noticeable pink splotch began to appear and Judy was the first one to realize what the mixture actually was and speak out, leaning over the surface of the desk and pointing ahead with her left paw before saying:

- I see it!

To which Nick complemented by saying:

- I see it too.

The fox did not lean ahead over his seat, he remained reposted over the chair with his left arm over his right one as he spoke up. The other officers mumbled as they too saw the splotch and began to understand what was going on, everyone had heard whispers of Doctor Pura brand new investigative mix to detect blood but no one suspected she would get it to work. Pura performed a couple of short hops in place with her arms tucked in and her paws close to her chest, each of them holding on to the rag that served as the basis of the live experiment and the bottle with the solution that shook around as she jumped in place. Pura stopped with her triumphant hops and gestured toward the little plastic bottle in her left paw:

- At last, after countless weeks of notes and experiments, I have developed the investigative non-toxic solution that will make possible to detect traces of blood even if it has been washed away. I give to you all 'Hemogloreactolite' *2.0*!

Judy showed a little smile, it was definitely a pleasant surprise for that morning to see that Pura had perfected her concoction to help out the ZPD and any other investigative organizations, her scientific achievement was something to behold. Pura gave a few steps to the left, she appeared to be having some issue with moving about, almost as if she was nearly tripping over her own feet to move, no accidents happened and the panther adjusted her stance to continue her explanation:

- I have managed to isolate the strand of the mix that was giving me such a hitch only a few weeks ago, it took lots of effort but I got to isolate the traceable particles of blood in cotton and synthetic fabric. Bear in mind, I still need to test the mix on other materials that present a challenge for retaining traces of bodily extract like jeans and cashmere. Still, this is exciting.

Judy raised her right paw to point at the doctor and ask her right away before anyone else in the room had the chance to post any other question that may sound less important in comparison:

- Pura, did you spend the night in your lab testing again?

Judy asked so because she already knew to not put it past the dedicated feline to turn the whole night working on the finer details of an important experiment, Pura showed a stunned face as she looked at Judy, made it look like her mind was slowly booting up before posting a satisfactory answer, the panther only then noticed that she had once more lost the concept of time in favor of science. Pura shook her head and answered while showing the palm of her left paw:

- T-that has no importance right now. What is important is that I have finished my work on my latest creation and that shall enable me to rub it all over the face of my scientific rival.

After saying those words, the doctor felt the need to reaffirm her sentence by saying:

- Well… figuratively, of course. I won't be literally rubbing it on his face.

Nick raised his left paw and pointed a claw in the direction of the doctor with a flick of his wrist, he posted the question that he really felt like asking as soon as he heard that new piece of information:

- You have a rival?

To which Pura replied promptly:

- Of course. The area of investigation sciences is rich with intense rivalries. My rival, Emmet, always teases me with his new creations every year that we meet, but on this day, I have the advantage.

Nick, showed a smile after hearing that, he never believed Pura would be a competitive sort but he knew all too well that healthy competition was a sure way to bring mammals closer to excellence specially if it meant that such a clash would help to bring advances that would help others keep one step ahead of danger. Pura adjusted her coat and firmed her grip on the plastic bottle before speaking up briefly about the path she took to arrive at her discovery:

- Believe it or not, I actually owe officers Wilde and Hopps a great deal when it comes to this discovery. Thanks to the freezing solution that they brought over as evidence not that long ago I was able to develop my own strand of the cold agent. Thanks to putting my original solution in a deep freeze I was able to study it much better and identify the impurity in the solution that caused so many problems to me in the past.

Nick gestured with his left arm, rotating his paw as he asked:

- So… you essentially induced a Faraday cage effect on the mixture after it was nearly crystalized, only, instead of blocking electromagnetic impulses or signals, you blocked chemical reactions and foreign substances that might have made their way into a vat over a set period of time to help the originally planned reaction run its course.

To which the panther pointed with her right claw in a snap while her other fingers were still preoccupied with hanging on to the bottle, the liquid in the plastic container splashed around as Pura performed her gesture and spoke quickly:

- Precisely.

All the other officers looked at Nick, most of them were not even aware about the scientific references made by the fox but he as apparently right on the money when it came to explaining the process used by the doctor in a much broader stroke. Everyone was mystified in a sense with what Nick had disclosed, he had understood every little thing of note that went into making the new mixture but no one knew exactly how he came to know of it. Nick took a pause to bask silently in his own smarts and that is when he noticed all of the eyes in the bullpen turned unblinking at him, the fox looked around and asked:

- Why are you all looking at me like that?

Everyone came to think that Nick was hiding a beautiful mind under his occasional sass and jesting and the fox realized that promptly, passing out the truth about how he came to know about the said process that was transcribed to the experiment:

- C'mon everyone, I read a lot of science fiction. That said, just because it is science *fiction*, it doesn't meant that is not *science*.

Nick said that in sort of a triumphant tone when he emphasized the main words, there was a little laugh among the other officers and Judy smiled as she came to perceive that the amount and variety of facts that her partner had in his head were still mostly unknown to her. Chief Bogo was not too keen on the interruption overall or about the impromptu class that unveiled itself at the bullpen that morning, the buffalo placed his left hoof over the left temple on his head and whispered something that went unheard by everyone in the room, most likely asking for more than enough patience to deal with all of that. Bogo went ahead and directed doctor Pura towards the nearest exit of the bullpen, asking her to tell him firstly in case any new developments in the lab came to light before telling it to everyone else on the spot. Pura left on her way, showing a little wave of her right paw as a farewell to everyone else before leaving out the side door of the room, that being done, Bogo returned to his original position at the podium to continue with what he was saying before:

- Very well, with all of that out of the way, we can keep going.

The buffalo searched around his pockets to look for his reading glasses, he was a little frustrated when he could not find them in his lapel pocket right away but then he remembered that he had moved the reading apparatus over to his right side pocket, he proceeded on reading the stablished assignments noted on the file in front of him posthaste. Bogo began by pointing out to the officers that were at the front row, excluding Nick and Judy, their assignment would come later, he began speaking up:

- Fangmeyer, Wolford, you two will get over to the Sahara district, there are other officers from precinct five that will meet you both there to exchange details of the latest sweep investigation of the dune market, you better hustle to get there.

The tiger and the wolf got on their way and moved to the exit of the bullpen, they had to get to a cruiser and take off to Sahara Square as instructed by the chief, it was a long drive under the scorching sun. Bogo continued with the assignments as he nudged his head up and called out to other officers:

- Francine, Snarlov, you two will join Grizzolli by the Thundra Town docks, there were reports of a shake down near that area and you will be in charge of the investigation going from there. The area has already been isolated, report your finds and initiate the grid pattern for standard search and investigation.

Francine was just getting her phone out of her pocket to pick-up on her notes application, she liked to pull up digital notes in case there was something she let slip by on a long investigation period. Bogo turned to the other officers that were in the room as he called out:

- Mchorn, you and Delgato are needed by the edge of the rainforest, there has been reports of a mugging near a convenience store earlier today. It may seem like small stuff but I do not want it to escalate any further if that is not the case. Get there.

With that direct order from the chief and clear directions laid out, the lion and the rhino got out form their seats and went on their ways, the last officer remaining in the room by then were Nick and Judy who were still waiting on their assignment, Nick was excited to hear what would come their way while Judy was simply hopeful that it would turn out to be something nice and simple to pass through their work shift without any issues. The instructions from Bogo came out as the chief said:

- Hopps and Wilde, there have been reports of some small disturbances by the upper savanna, it might be nothing much but it is still required for a patrol to jot by that area and make sure that it is all fine. You will go up the slope and patrol near a place you might be all too familiar with, the museum of natural history.

Nick was pleasantly surprised ate hearing that, it was news to him that the museum was back in working order and open to the public once more, it was a remarkable place to be for a multitude of reasons, most important of which was the fact that the museum was the site where their most remarkable adventure had come to a dramatic close. Judy did not give too much thought about remising or about how monotonous that patrol task may turn out to be, she was just glad that it turned out to be something very simple, something that would keep her mind distracted and that might aid Nick in relaxing as well and help him with his ongoing healing. Nick thought it over for a second and made himself believe that this assignment would be much more of a field trip for him and Judy than anything else but he did not question the chief or his decision, the fox and the bunny hopped down from their shared seat on to the ground and went over to the carpool of the precinct so that they could board the cruiser and drive on their way.

The drive towards the upper savanna was slow but Nick took the time to relax on the passenger seat before they arrived at their destination, the fox placed his back over the seat repost and turned his head to the left to look out the window, he saw a few sights that he had not appreciated in quite a while. As Nick adjusted the repost of his seat so that he could sit down at a comfortable angle, he checked the skyline of buildings out the window and the many colors of the buildings and billboards that passed by, Nick felt so light inside, he had a feeling that it was going to be a great day. Judy was not sharing on that same vibe deep down inside, the bunny was driving without any urgency but her paws were gripping tightly over the steering wheel cover, her eyes were set in a specific direction and there was the predisposition on the back of her mind that told her to just be done with that task as fast as possible.

Nick readjusted his seat so that he could seat straight up and another look out on the streets alerted him to where they were at that moment, he saw a building that looked brand new with a great linear parking space by the right side of the main entrance way, that place used to be a nice field where he and a couple of friends liked to play around, be it a simple match of soccer or some other imaginary scene, it used to be a grand place to just let time roll by without any major issue. Nick let out a little noise as he pointed out and tapped his claw on the closed window before saying:

- So many good times on this street.

Judy let out a little gasp, her grip on the wheel lessened as she asked:

- What? Did you say something?

Nick heard her, he shrugged that off with a wave of his left paw and said:

- Oh, no, nothing much. Just… recalling a time long ago.

The drive continued with Judy focused ahead ,she passed her paws over the cover of the steering wheel, each paw petting a small fraction of the wheel's circumference with a short and repetitive motion that only lasted a few seconds. Another right turn was coming up just ahead, Judy checked the GPS on the cruiser dash board screen and certified that she would have to take that next turn, get up on the express way and make a direct drive to the museum, it was not that complicated to find her way after a while since the display on the screen next to her was so nicely placed and easy to understand, Nick helped her a lot as the navigator when they started their patrols together but the new features that he helped her discover about the cruiser were indeed helpful and phenomenal in her opinion. Judy made the turn, it was sharp and Nick ended up rolling over his seat and pressing his right shoulder against the door, he only recalled about his injury when the angle that he was pushed over against the door.

As the turn was over and Judy straightened the wheel out to climb over the ramp and merge with the other vehicles on the express way, she heard a sharp inhale coming from somewhere inside the cabin, she turned her sight to the right and saw Nick, placing his left paw over his right shoulder, baring his fangs as they pressed over one another and pressing his eyes shut, he was hurting. Judy slowed the cruiser down as it only daunted on her some three seconds later what had happened, the bunny had her ears lowered as she looked over at her partner and said:

- Nick! Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry! I should have warned you about the sharp turn.

Nick opened his eyes as soon as he heard Judy's voice, he imagined how he should have seen that apology coming at him. Nick turned his head to Judy and diverted the blame at himself as he said:

- Nah. The fault was mine, fluff. I am still getting my mind in gear. I didn't sleep too great tonight.

Judy looked ahead, the other vehicles were moving at a steady pace and she became less worried with the tight maneuvering space in that road, even for a advantageous mode of transport like the cruiser. Judy locked her right feet over the accelerator and popped the clutch to a lower gear, the speed of the cruiser was manageable and Judy took the time to look over at Nick once more and certify that he was alright, the fox was back on a comfortable stance over his seat, just enjoying the ride and the sights as they continued on, Judy turned her sight back to the road ahead but her shifting posture did not go unnoticed by Nick.

Nick was just trying to relax, the pain of his injury came and went away regularly but it was hard for him to gauge the extent of his current capabilities, for all the he knew most of the pain he felt when moving around or trying to just sit down was all in his head, his mind alerting him to upcoming strain to the wound and making it seem worse than it actually was. As Nick lay back over the seat repost once more, his ears twitched and directed themselves to the left, he could hear Judy's grip over the steering wheel firming once more, her breathing deep and exhaling air forcefully out of her mouth, she was trying to calm herself down but she was forcing herself to do it. Nick leaned to the left, coming only a few inches closer to Judy to ask her:

- You feeling alright over there, fluff?

Judy raised her shoulders with surprise, she was so focused on the path ahead that Nick pushing a talk with her out of the blue like that pushed her out of her concentration. Judy turned to her partner while keeping the direction and speed of the cruiser going steady, it was becoming rather difficult coming up with excuses that would allow her to hide away the newfound feeling for Nick that Judy was experiencing, then again, she found that excuses were also increasingly easier to manufacture if they were brief and mixed with a certain amount of truth. Judy swallowed some saliva and eased the hold on the steering wheel once more before she spoke up:

- Nothing much, I just had some trouble sleeping the night before.

Nick made a clicking noise with his mouth and returned to his relaxed posture over his seat, he spoke in prompt answer to Judy's words as he was also relating to her apparent reported lack of comfy sleep since he was also enduring some of that himself:

- Been there, done that. I haven't been getting a lot of shuteye myself.

Judy inquired for more information on that, feeling herself getting calmer as she pulled some more talk with Nick, as they normally did on their extended rides through the city:

- How so? Are you drinking soda before going to bed?

Nick made a dismissive gesture with his left paw before answering:

- No, nothing like that. It's the pills that were prescribed to me. Doctor Pura said herself not that long ago that the side effects may vary and I am feeling them frequently. After taking the pills I can feel myself either getting very sleepy or completely wired for action. It's almost like taking a bet on how I'm going to react every time I take them.

Nick laid his head back on the repost, his answer continued as he slightly worried while he proceeded that he might be filling his partner's ears with mumbles and complaints that she could not help change, even still, he kept going:

- Last night, I took the pills right before bed and could not get any sleep done right away. I watched silly videos on my phone, check on some notes and even read three different comic storylines before finally getting around to snoozing. It was just past three in the morning.

Judy had her ears standing up as she said with concern:

- Oh, my goodness! You should talk to the doctor about this. You need resting more than anyone.

Nick politely disagreed as he said, pointing his left paw forward in a waving gesture:

- No, thank you. What I need right now is something to keep me busy. Something to focus on and to make me forget how tired I might be getting.

Judy shook her head slowly as she said:

- You can be real stubborn and silly sometimes.

Nick showed a little side smile as he leaned his head towards the window by his right and said:

- Well, at least I can still do my job as best as I can.

Judy felt those words pressing against her chest, she felt like Nick was pushing himself forward, past any point of logic, because she taught him to do as much, because that was the example she may have set for him during their training and subsequent partnership, that did not sit well with her at that moment. Judy moved both of her wrists conjointly, her paws passing over the rough exterior cover of the steering wheel in front of her with nearly symmetrical precision, they were nearing their destination, she felt like pulling some more talk out of Nick, it was easing her nerves, making her think more attentively about Nick and his presence by her side. Judy decided to speak up about a subject that was nagging at her but without giving too many details:

- Nick.

She called out his name and the fox leaned his head away from the window and towards her as he simply replied with an inquisitive and adorable hum:

- 'Hum'?

Judy lowered her left ear, the sure tell for the fox that she had something nudging the inside of her head, he merely let her speak. Judy asked:

- Have you ever have one of those… weird dreams when you feel like you are… someone else?

Judy pressed her lips together, she braced herself and scolded herself for pushing such a strange topic out like that, something relating to her strange thoughts but that she also hoped may not rise any suspicions out of Nick. Sure enough, the fox took only a couple of seconds to think about that question before asking Judy for more information:

- 'Someone else'? How so, fluff?

Judy tried explaining with enough details to make Nick understand and provide his own opinion right after, but first, she would turn the wheel for a supple left turn, they were now only minutes away from the museum even being able to see a glass dome that popped on top of other buildings in the distance, he sight of the destination itself. Judy finished her change in course before taking the time to explain to Nick what she meant with her question, she took a short dash of air into her lungs before saying:

- It's the sort of dream when you are placed in the skin of another being, you still feel very much like you only in the role of another. A little like taking a role in a stage play.

Nick got to understand her question a little better following the explanation, the fox indeed had many dreams that he could recall but none of the ones that came immediately to mind were similar to the explanation given by Judy. The fox shrugged it off by leaning his head momentarily in Judy's direction before answering:

- Gotta tell you, carrots, I don't think I ever had a dream like that. I have had plenty of dreams and most of them were proactively weird, but I am always me in these kinds of things. When I dream I do so while in my own role, I might be somewhere else or dressed in something different but I always do so as myself.

Judy nodded after hearing that, Nick's answer convinced her that the last dream that she had, the one that saw her and Nick himself embark on whole new lives but that made her so sure of the veracity of the whole scenario at the time, was something only she experienced in a once in a lifetime kind of deal, at least, that was what she got and what she told herself to keep the subject from derailing in her mind. Nick made a little wave gesture towards his own torso as he concluded his answer by saying:

- Have you ever had one of those dreams where you are naked in public?

Judy lowered her ears and trapped a yelp at the back of her throat before asking:

- What?!

Nick spoke up right after:

- Yeah I have those quite often. I think my brain is trying to tell me something.

Judy released a snicker as she said:

- I have no idea what your brain is trying to tell you but I am telling you right now that you are just plain weird.

Nick smiled in clear view of Judy before saying in retort:

- That's no news to me. I have been called way worse.

Judy tapped her left paw over the wheel and asked him:

- Why did you even ask me something like that? What would even be the point of asking me something like that?

Nick raised his left paw in a mild gesture as he said:

- No reason at all. Just trying to figure out this dream stuff that you brought up. I don't really mind the whole 'naked dream' deal myself anymore, must be a sign that I am comfortable in my own skin.

- T… that's enough of that. Let's just do our patrol.

Nick smiled as he was satisfied with the fact that he had successfully made Judy uncomfortable, but she was ultimately glad to be able to talk to Nick freely like that once more, her intrusive thoughts were far more manageable and she began to wonder if that angle, that easy chemistry that they shared, was related to her dream. Judy truly felt like she could talk about anything with Nick, maybe even someday tell him about her inner most feelings. After a few more minutes of driving, Nick and Judy arrived at the museum and it was hard for them to find a parking spot for the cruiser, the fox suggested that they utilize a multi-story parking lot that was located near there, it would be far safer and more convenient than leaving the cruiser by the street side. Judy took Nick's advice and directed the cruiser to the appointed parking lot as directed by the fox, the purchased ticket to park was cheap enough and Nick gladly paid for it despite Judy's protest, they found ample parking space for the cruiser at the third floor but they had to take the stairs up to the level where the museum entrance was located, the main elevator of the parking compound was undergoing maintenance.

After arriving at the front doors and entering the museum, Judy was astonished to see how it really was inside, the displays were bright and invoked the curious mind of anyone that stepped near them with grandiose sings directing visitors to the main exhibition pavilions, parents guided their children around as the younger ones pointed to all of the directions of the things they wished to see and learn about, students moved frantically in tight groups as they searched for the expositions that would help them with important school work and a pleasant breeze blew past coming from the ample threshold behind her adding even more to the movement that might have looked chaotic from a far but it was actually employed with remarkable control as each visitor to the museum tried to keep themselves to a moderate flow as they either directed themselves to following tour groups to new wings of the building or took their own routes of discovery.

Nick and Judy entered the museum walking side by side, it did not take them long to recall some great memories of their past in there as they saw the pit where they acted out and surprised Bellweather with their unshakable teamwork, the two officers walked past that point and were playing that crucial moment in their minds with added flare from their respective points of view. They walked past the enclosed synthetic environment from the left side, passing behind tourists and other patrons of the museum who were engrossed with the frontline exhibit, an hemmed in cycle showing the protocols of long forgotten hunters on the prowl. Nick leaned his body to take a look at the inside of the pit, now rearranged and having fancy new guardrails at its outward edges to prevent any passer-by from falling in, he nudged his head in the direction of the pit and said out loud:

- Well… that brings back some memories.

As they walked further into the museum, Nick approached a little information kiosk that was placed near the right wing hallway, he scanned the available pamphlets that were available Judy took the lead as she walked with a rushed step for only a single second, assuring that she would be placed slightly ahead as she turned her head around to drink in as much as she could of the exhibits, Nick kept walking at a regular pace, watching with a little smile as Judy took the initiative and that is when they were approached by a mild mannered hare who was occupying the position of attendant at the information kiosk. The hare was large and pudgy in build, he had white fur that was slightly grayed out around his arms, he was dressed in an appealing dark green T-shirt that was buttoned down except for a single button closest to his neck and he had his stylish look complemented by the sleeveless maroon vest over his shoulders which was also adorned with a tag card on his right lapel depicting his likeness, his name and his job, Stanford Marchways. The large lagomorph approached the two officers and he went right to asking:

- Is there, something wrong, officers?

Nick puffed up his chest slightly and adjusted his right arm in the sling before speaking up in response to that, making his best to incorporate a heroic voice that let the employee of the museum know that this was just a routine patrol:

- Worry, not citizen. We are simply here for a routine patrol of this sector of the savanna. Let us to our obligations and there shall be no disturbances.

Judy walked next to Nick and positioned herself by his left side, she gave the fox a soft bump with her right paw on the lower left side of his torso to call to his attention and said:

- Nick, you don't have to talk like that. He can clearly see that we are here to do our job. You're making it sound as if we are robot-like in our assigned duties.

Nick turned to Judy and spoke in response:

- Okay. First of: Never call me or compare me to a 'robot' ever again; Second: I realized it was sort of forced the moment I started out but then it was too late to stop.

Judy shook her head slowly after hearing that, her ears moved about over her head and they twitched in the direction of the hare in front of them as he exclaimed:

- Goodness! You're Judy Hopps! You're the star officer of the ZPD.

Judy gave her usual reply, forcing a soft smile on her face as she said:

- I am not a star, sir. I'm just a member of the force and I am doing my job like any other.

The hare suddenly turned to Nick and pointed both of his paws in his direction, shaking them as an excited gesture as he completed his thought:

- Which means you can only be… Nicholas Wilde.

Nick took a little umbrage after hearing that, he made a quick horizontal dismissive gesture with his left paw as he said:

- Hey, only my mother calls me 'Nicholas', pal.

The hare stepped back and apologized right away for that, he asked the two officers to wait at that spot for a moment and went into his booth so that he could retrieve items that would aid the them in patrolling the museum ground more efficiently, Judy looked at Nick, slowly turning her head back to the left, she placed both of her paws behind her and asked him with a whisper:

- So… only your mother gets to call you 'Nicholas'.

Nick placed his left arm over his sling almost as if he was trying to cross his arms in a stance of clear defiance but the medical accessory did not make that motion carry the same impact as he imagined, his paw touched the moderately stretched fabric of the sling and that caused his paw to slip down on it, he returned his left arm to a more favorable position before saying:

- It's a clear matter of principal. My father told me and made it clear long ago that only three people in this whole entire world would get to call me by my name, it would be only himself, my mother and, if matters came to it, the president.

Judy retreated with estrangement, leaning herself back with a squint in her eyes before she asked:

- When would the president ever need to call you for anything at all?!

Nick smiled while letting out a puff of stateliness escape his nostrils, the fox directed his eyes to his partner and answered with a calm tone of voice:

- I don't know, but, if a president calls me for anything during any time at all, I make it clear that he, or she, can call me that way.

Judy placed her right paw over her eyes, Nick's nonsense was not settling her down at that time but she was glad to hear that his jovial nature was well enough. Stanford returned from his kiosk booth and he had in his paws two large folded pamphlets that contained maps of the museum with details about the wings and aisles of the building in nice to understand scale, the hare handed out the papers to the two officers and said:

- These will help you find your way around the museum, we usually only distribute them for new visitors, there were a number of renovations and new places that were added to the main displays and pavilions. Feel more than free to look around and if there is anything you may need you can call either me or ask the museum security personnel about Oswald, he is the head of security around here.

Judy held on the pamphlet that was given to her with both of her paws and said:

- Thank you so much for the help, we will keep it in mind in case we need anything else.

Judy saw as the hare went on his way, getting back to his tasks for the day and she turned around to do the same. Judy opened the pamphlet and only then took noticed of the map's true size along with the many paragraphs of information contained in every fold, she had her arms opened as wide as she could after unfolding all of it up and she could barely hang on to it, the paper just flopped and bent around on her grip until it collapsed softly over her head and covered her almost in its entirety. Nick was standing by and laughing it up as he saw Judy struggling with keeping the map opened, Judy turned in the direction of the fox's laughter while having the paper map over her and asked:

- Are you going to help me or not, slick?

Nick closed his mouth and held his breath before answering her:

- Oh, you seem to be all over it, carrots. Then again, it might be 'it' that is all over you.

- Just quit being silly and help me already.

Judy did not give that order to her partner with a demanding tone, she knew how Nick liked to joke around and she did not mind it too much that time, that was supposed to be an easy patrol route for the both of them after all. Nick reached for the low hanging edges of the unfolded pamphlet, he only had to pinch it with his left fingers and slowly pull it up to see Judy's face once more, her ears lowered as her eyes turned up to look right at him:

- Hello there.

Nick said so with low volume to his voice, Judy blushed a little bit after seeing his smiling face and his soft stare in her direction, she looked away and moved ahead so that she could grab another piece of the map while Nick was still holding on to it and that would make it easier for them to look at the scale depiction on the paper. Judy pointed her left paw to the main areas of the map and tracked an imaginary line through it, she spoke to Nick and they agreed that setting out for the eastern pavilion would be a nice place to start their patrol in the museum grounds, they refolded the map and Judy stored it away in her back pocket before taking the lead and trailing off ahead. Judy turned her eyes to the right as she entered the second hallway in her planned out route, checking if Nick was still closely following her, trying to make herself look adventurous as she walked ahead but she was actually struggling with some of her thoughts. As soon as they entered a section of the museum where the crowd of mammals around them looked more manageable, Judy slowed her walk and took a long pause to think about the surging feelings that were still swirling inside her. Judy looked around, the mammals passing by her and the parallel talk that reverberated through the hallways about several subjects may have been a nuisance but she was more focused and she could not stop wondering why the pull her mind felt towards Nick would not simply cease, she thought that Nick was interesting, that was a given, but she began feeling a much stronger attraction towards him that went far beyond a casual hang-out or a respect directed at a co-worker. She worried that it might interfere with their job or even their friendship, that was an unnerving thought.

her body still clamored for the amazing sensation that she felt at that night, the track her mind decided to take as she imagined Nick in a more 'sensual' light, that lone of thought could not help but show up during work hours and she decided that could absolutely not become a routine for her mind, Judy kept her distance in the hopes of getting her thoughts back in order, away from Nick.

- Yo, carrots! Hold up.

Judy turned around and saw Nick, waving his left paw in the air and calling to her, she had gone ahead so far from him and she did not even realize it until he called out to her. Judy halted her walk and remained still, looking back with moderate expectation until Nick caught up to her, the fox approached with long strides until he was close enough to her and figured that the still presence sound of the movement around them would not interfere with their conversation. Nick leaned slightly closer and asked:

- You rushed off ahead of me, are you in a hurry to get somewhere?

Judy looked off to the left without turning her head away from Nick's sight and fiddled with her fingers before she looked back over to him and answered:

- No… I'm just…

Judy thought it over before giving some excuse to Nick:

- I'm just a bit excited, also maybe a little overwhelmed. I didn't even notice how far ahead I was heading.

Judy really did not enjoy hiding the truth like that, specially towards Nick, she was aware of how close they were but she saw almost no other option in that situation. Judy noticed that Nick was breathing deep almost short on breath, she leaned to the right and saw the crowd that she and Nick had gone through, most of the mammals larger and wondering off in the direction of the exit, Judy thought about it in silence for a short time and understood that Nick and her had been walking against the current of visitors walking about the museum, she did not even noticed that because of her diminutive size in relation to all the other mammals she passed through but Nick had to wobble his way through the crowd to get to her. Nick placed his left paw on his hip, he looked around before letting out a long pant and saying:

- Yeah, I guess this place is sort of overwhelming. There really is a whole lot of movement here, more than it usually were when I used to visit.

Nick gave a few steps ahead off in the direction they were headed initially and Judy thanked in silence for the apparent fact that the fox bought her hastily cobbled excuse. Judy watched Nick moving ahead and asked of him:

- You used to come to the museum regularly?

To which he replied quickly with a turn of his head over his right shoulder while his ears pointed in the direction of her voice and an irrefutable smile on his lips as he answered:

- Not that regularly but it is a great spot to go when you want to think things over while learning a thing or two about the world. I used to come by when I just had too much in my mind, trying to flood my head with other bits of information so whatever problem was bothering me wouldn't bother me so much anymore if I just let it flow off with other thoughts and discoveries that came over whenever I saw the exhibits. Some of the most interesting facts about the world and Zootopia itself, I learned right here.

Judy was nearly stunned by the fox's simple but exploratory way of thinking, she continued to follow closely as the two of the turned to the right at a nearby cross and directed their attention to another wing of the museum. Nick seemed to know where they were heading, he slowed his walk and pointed to a little nook carved into a wall to the right depicting an old totem that was donated very recently to a new exhibit of foreign cultures.

- That's definitely new.

Nick said so as he pointed a claw at the totem while giving a single step closer to get a better look at it. The wooden object was very different from other totems that he had seen on television or read about in any book, it was short, almost his overall height in comparison and it only depicted a single strange creature that did not look like any mammal he has ever known, it did not represent any manner of virtue or attainable enlightenment. The creature depicted on the wooden carving was unrecognizable but its expression was of indubitable anger, it had a big snout, a snarling opened mouth with uneven fangs on each side, a short tongue tucked inward, pointy ears and very short fur, most of it placed right atop its head. Nick kept staring at the piece, unsure if it was some sort of nod to modern art, Judy walked to the tag that was placed next to it on a neat metal pedestal to learn what exactly it was, she read the summation of the artifact, scrapping her throat as she read the nomenclature of the artifact, she spoke out loud to explain its origins to Nick as well:

- Says right here that this thing is called… a 'Carranca'. It's classified as a South American totem that was used as the figurehead on old ships that crossed the wide rivers that connected throughout the tropical regions and it is still carved to this very day as a regional souvenir to be left at the entrance of homes and stores in order to ward off bad spirits as well as bring good luck. Like a little wooden gargoyle. Its gapping maw is a warding covet as it consumes bad omens and even nightmares which dare cross its gaze.

Nick leaned his head to the side and squinted his eyes to get a good look at the now nameable figure from a different angle, his face soured as he opened his mouth and tried to copy the facial expression of the wooden statue only reinforcing the fact that he considered the wooden visage absolutely unappealing. After a few seconds of observation, Nick undid his forced expression, leaned his head back to its original position and said:

- With an ugly mug like that it's pretty much guaranteed to scare away any spirit.

Judy turned her head and showed a smile to Nick's humorous comment, she turned her head to read the small foot note at the bottom of the descriptive text soon after:

- It also says that it is a newly stablished tradition that the owner of the Carranca places a scratch in the shape of a tally line at the bottom of its throat every new year's eve to symbolize the start of a prosperous new year and the satiated appetite of the beast for malevolent vibrations.

Nick leaned down after hearing that new bit of information and, surely enough, he was able to locate a group of tally lines carved out at the very bottom of the wooden beast's throat, a quick count revealed how old the item was in terms of ownership:

- Seven years of 'satiated appetites' and counting.

Judy leaned herself away from the information stand and turned back to the way Nick and her were walking previously, the bunny was glad that she was able to absorb that new piece of information but it was just a short break on their patrolling shift. After a full minute of walking, Judy stopped at a fork in the path, the left corridor would lead them to an outside space, it was the eastern pavilion where some mammals and various food vendors congregated, it was the course she had set for their patrol but there was also were another corridor located far to the right and that was the one Nick wished to take, he pointed his left paw in the opposite direction that Judy was facing and he guided her as he began to walk slowly in that direction with the excuse that it was only a small detour. Nick hurried his step just a bit but not too much as to allow Judy to follow him closely all the way to the destination he had in mind, at the end of the corridor, she was astounded to find the exhibit of astronomy and space exploration, Nick's favorite part of the museum and the one place he wished to visit.

Nick adjusted his sling as he looked around, he began to walk slowly as he looked up to the ceiling and took in the details of the massive exhibit, things that looked familiar to him, facts that he stored in his mind for reference from a long time ago from previous visits, and objects that looked brand new. Nick looked around to see dioramas of planets, moons and asteroids, placed as illusions and scaled replicas of celestial bodies drifting around in outer space as well as scaled models of satellites and space vessels that had been assembled right there in the museum, as well as some screens showing off short movies involving experiments and inner workings about astrophysics and natural sciences. Nick and Judy were not the only mammals in that place, there were a couple of janitors finishing a round around that wing of the museum and a big group of kids roaming around in the middle of a school field trip, Nick stopped his walk as he placed himself in front of a large display depicting the solar system in its entirety and Judy was right behind following his walk, she placed herself by his right side and looked at the huge model as well becoming almost immediately awe struck with what she was seeing.

Judy did not keep her eyes focused on the model for too long, she turned her head to the left and leaned her body slightly forward to get a look at Nick's face, his big smile and his eyes full of wonder showed that he was lost among the stars, his slow breathing also showed how relaxed he really was at that moment, it almost saddened her having to disturb him. Judy scooched to the left and poked Nick's arm with her paw, the fox was quickly brought back to solid earth as he turned his head to her and asked:

- Something bothering you, fluff?

Judy showed a dismissive sign with both of her paws and answered:

- Oh… nothing like that. I was just wondering if you were actually meaning to come to this spot all along.

Nick placed his left paw under his jaw and turned his eyes back to the model in front of them as he answered:

- I really liked coming here. It wasn't like this a while ago but it's still really cool. I remember when I was brought here during a field trip, the teacher had to pry me away from this place, I didn't want to leave.

Judy turned her attention back to the model and only then she noticed how her interactions with Nick up to that point had been relaxing and very welcome to her, she was no longer worried about messing it up or about the thoughts she had intruding in her mind before, talking with Nick about whatever subject it may be was something that was coming naturally to her and she felt like there was no more need to worry about what had occurred during the start of her estrus, she chalked it up to her mind being too scrambled at the time to be thinking about anything or anyone else beside the one mammal she knew she could count on at any time and that she worked in close proximity with almost every day of the week. With her rational thinking placed in new condition and feeling more than ready to continue the patrol shift, Judy called to Nick's attention and spoke up, minding her tone and volume to not disturb anyone else:

- This place is kind of nice. It's so peaceful here.

Nick agreed with her by doing a slow positive nod with his head and saying:

- True that. I was expecting more of a turn out around here. I know that not a lot of mammals come by this part of the museum but it gives out a lot of space to think and it shows that they got a lot going on here, it is so fascinating to see all of this stuff. More than four hundred million miles long compressed in this room and that is still just a miniscule fraction of the galaxy we live in as well as all the things we still are left to discover.

Judy raised and then lowered her shoulders after hearing that, Nick noticed that little motion she had performed but he was not very sure why she did it or what she actually meant by that. Judy liked seeing that side of Nick, his wondering mind being adrift amid the stars, it was a piece of him that delighted her on occasion as it showed that the fox had a much wider perspective of existence and science as a whole, he looked so happy. Having suddenly become a little worried that they may have been wasting time in their patrol shift with that little detour, Nick turned his head over to face Judy and said:

- I'm… sorry, fluff. This might be kind of boring for you.

Judy was a little surprised to hear that coming from Nick, she did not want to appear bored or uninterested in whatever he had to say. The stars were a favorite subject of his and she sincerely wished to know more about the things he enjoyed without meddling too much into his personal space. Before Nick could apologize any further or say anything else, Judy cut in and spoke up:

- No, Nick, it's okay. I don't think this is boring at all. I really like it here and it's like I'm getting a private tour from you. I like learning new facts from you and we can go back to patrolling after.

Nick raised a brow after hearing that, he was half convinced that Judy was hiding something from him, or maybe she was just indulging him on his brief meanderings in that part of the museum. Nick did not give that a lot of thought to that as he turned his eyes back to the model in front of them and Judy followed his lead shortly after. It was at that moment when Judy noticed that there was a tiny detail that she considered missing from the huge model, she counted all of the spheres represented within the solar system and realized that there were only eight of them. Calling to Nick's attention again with a gentle tap of her left paw over his left arm, the bunny asked:

- Isn't Pluto supposed to be right there at the end?

Nick turned his eyes to Judy and saw her pointing a finger of her right paw to the very edge of the model, in her eyes there was a vacant spot that was supposed to be occupied by the ninth planet in the line-up but to Nick there was a crucial bit of information that his partner seemed to be unaware of. With his shoulders lowered and his ears pointing straight up, Nick took a short breath and said:

- Carrots… I don't know how to tell you this but… Pluto is not a planet.

Judy turned her head quickly to look straight at Nick's face, he was not telling a joke, she could tell that right away. With her ears raised up over her head and a blank expression that was legitimately unsure of how even to react to what was just said, Judy asked of her partner:

- Wait, what?

Nick was quick to repeat what he had said before but only with a few more details so that his reasoning would be clearer:

- Pluto is not a planet. It was debunked and degraded in classification as a planetoid. The representation of Pluto is still displayed in solar models but as a celestial body separated from the other planets of the solar system.

Judy gave a short step back as that new detailed shred of information stunned her, she leaned towards Nick and asked:

- Since when is that a thing?!

Judy did not have an exaggerated volume to her question but her tone which made her voice sound almost squeaky communicated well that she had no prior knowledge of the change in the astronomical shift in information she had just received. Nick pointed his left thumb over his shoulder to symbolize what was heard and stablished in regards to the dwarf planet and said:

- Well enough ten years or so ago. At least I think.

Judy turned her sight back to the model and spoke up sounding almost short on breath:

- I can't believe I have never heard about that. I liked Pluto.

- Well, it's still there, fluff. It's just not a planet anymore.

Nick was satisfied with having been able to teach his partner something, he was a little amazed that Judy did not know about the state of Pluto in its classification but it did not bother him. Nick leaned closer to Judy and asked of her:

- So, do you have a favorite planet?

Judy turned to face Nick again with a twitch of her nose as soon as the subtle shock of what she had just learned dissolved, she was just about to answer him with the most obvious question, that of all the planets spinning out in space the one they were currently standing on was indeed her favorite. Judy took a quick breath and was just about to speak up when Nick put a small restraining condition on her answer as he quickly said:

- Besides the one we're currently on.

Judy showed a little side smile as she should have predicted that there was going to be such a condition in his question. Judy had to think it over for a few more seconds before she had the confidence to point over to the model and speak up:

- I'll have to go with… Saturn.

Nick directed his head in an angle slightly up, he had this sensation that almost felt like getting a short stress relieving pressing over his shoulder, a short lived pleasure, as he got in that the cue to continue speaking about one of his favorite subjects in great depth. Searching his mind about the relevant and truthful facts about the planet mentioned in Judy's answer, Nick leaned closer to her and said:

- Saturn is quite the beautiful sight. Amazing skies and the rings around it give quite the nice touch. Too bad the days are so short, only ten hours and then it's over.

Judy turned back to face the model just in time to hear Nick speak out his own opinion:

- I would have to take my sights on Jupiter. Vast vistas, hot spots of gas and more moons than anyone could possibly need. Toughest thing to overcome would be the gravity.

Judy squinted her eyes, not sure what Nick was referring to, she lowered her ears slightly over her head and turned over to Nick before asking:

- 'Gravity'?

Nick placed a little more scientifically reasoning on his answer as he pointed to the model for further visual aid and spoke up:

- That's right, carrots. It is a fact known by few that the density and therefore size of a celestial body be it planet, asteroid, moon or star dictates its gravitational pull. Jupiter is about thirty two times bigger in diameter than our own little marble and that means its gravity is that much stronger. If I were to set one immediate foot on the gas giant my entire body would instantly weigh more than three tons. That is the inherently risk of colonization when it comes to space travel, our bodies evolved and are already so acclimated to the gravity we have been dealt that any other gravitational field may leave us discombobulated in some way.

Judy heard something just as Nick finished telling her the interesting science fact, the fox's explanation had reached its conclusion and Judy had paid close attention to it when she heard the distinctive sound of a pencil running over a piece of paper after Nick stopped talking, it was frantic and quick with loud taps and it was coming from right behind them. Judy's right ear twitched and turned in the direction of the sound, she looked over and spotted a little giraffe next to them, Nick noticed Judy quick head turn and followed up so that he could catch a glimpse of the little mammal as well. The little giraffe could not have been more than seven or eight in age, the little kit was wearing an adorable yellow skirt, a red back pack holstered by her skinny shoulders and a white shirt with the emblem of a school stamped on it, Nick and Judy did not have time to read the name of the institution on her shirt as she closed the notepad she was writing on an placed it over her chest before saying:

- Sorry to eavesdrop. My school paper is overdue tomorrow.

The little mammal retreated and walked into a group of other kids, different species piled up into a group while being guided on to another wing of the museum by a moose dressed as a teacher. Nick and Judy watched the group disappear as they all turned and walked down the hallway that served as the entrance to that exhibit and Nick took that chance to tell Judy:

- I should have charged for the tour.

Judy giggled after hearing that but she was quick to let her laughter die down and guide Nick off towards their original route so that they could continue their patrol. After returning to the precinct and being at the cubicle for the rest of the shift, Judy took a look at the clock at the corner of her computer screen and saw that it was almost time to head on home, she decided to look for Nick so that she could see if he wanted to head out alongside her, Judy saved her progress on the document she was typing on and turned the computer off for the day, she collected the notepad she had brought along with her and paced her cellphone in her right side pocket, she only had to find Nick so that they could go. Judy walked around the room but she could see no trace of Nick around, the fox had left the cubicle earlier that day after their return from patrol but he did not let Judy know where in the precinct he was heading, she decided to look for Nick and she only hoped that he had not left yet.

As Judy exited the cubicle area of the precinct, she moved by the western hall and found chief Bogo swiping and tapping away on his cellphone, dismissing away an avalanche of notifications that were shown in his screen and that caused him to grow rather frustrated. Judy called to his attention as she asked him:

- Hi, chief? Have you seen Nick anywhere? I can't seem to find him.

Bogo looked away from his screen only to hear the incessant beeping of even more notifications coming by, he looked at the screen once more while letting out a soft grunt of frustration and said:

- Hopps, I have better things to do than keep track of your partner, I am not his babysitter. I have been dodging from those reporters since earlier today and the mayor is not faring any better than I am by the looks of it, they won't leave us alone.

Bogo kept walking without dropping the look of anger from his face, Judy thought it best to not disturb the chief any further. Judy went towards the front desk of the precinct lobby, she asked Benjamin if he had seen Nick and the cheetah dropped the papers in his hold before quickly pointing a claw of his right paw to the door in the far leading to the carpool, Judy rolled her eyes after getting the directions as she imagined how Nick must have been stubbornly obsessing over the cruiser's condition. Judy walked away from the front desk and reached for the carpool door, after taking the stairs down she could already hear Nick's presence in that place, she did not even need to call out his name to discern his location as she could hear a soft hum being mildly muffled by the sounds of metal parts clinking and turning, he was definitely there and doing something he was not supposed to be doing. Judy rushed down the remaining stairs and arrived at the underground level, she spotted Nick's backside, the fox being supported underneath by a stepladder while he was leaning over the opened hood of the cruiser.

- Nick.

The fox stopped his task and raised from his work station, he placed his back straight and looked to the left, his first instinct was to turn in the direction of the well-known voice that called out to his name and wave a little hello, he did just that. Nick raised his left arm to wave and did not even process the fact that he was still holding on to a socket wrench as he did that, Judy saw that the fox had spotted her and acknowledged her presence there but she stopped in her tracks with a stunned expression once she realized that he had no shirt.

"Ugh! Why does this keep happening?!"

Judy thought to herself as she fought against the violent blush on her face, she walked ahead and wasted no more time in asking:

- Nick, what do you think you're doing over there? I have been looking for you and the shift is about to end.

Nick set down the wrench he had in his paw as he looked around and his eyes landed on the engine once more and he said:

- Already? Time sure flies when you're keeping yourself busy.

Nick reached for a little red rag that he had set down to clean his paws once he was done, he placed the dirty cloth around his right paw and the scrubbed his left pa all over it to remove any excess traces of oil and grime that he had on him. Nick finished that preliminary cleaning but he accidentally bumped his left wrist against the handle of the wrench which was located not that too from his hold, the tool tumbled off from its perch over the popped hood of the cruiser and found a route straight on to the hard ground below, the metal collided against the hard concrete and a miniscule chunk of rock was chiseled off thanks to the impact, the harsh sound echoed around the large garage and that caused Judy to clench her teeth and lower her ears due to the volume and aggravation, she looked over to Nick and the fox appeared barely fazed by the sound, he simply came down from the stepladder and said:

- You have no idea how annoying it has been to work on repairs with only one arm.

After saying that, Nick tossed the red rag over the top layer of the stepladder, he tried to lean down so that he could retrieve the tool wherever it had fallen off to since it had trickled away after its first hit against the ground, Judy noticed her friend struggling a bit as he kneeled down to look for it somewhere near the wheels of the cruiser, she had already spotted it actually only a few inches outside his probable field of vision. Judy stepped to the right and showed her left paw as she said:

- Here, I got it.

She walked only two steps before leaning down and retrieving the tool from the spot where it had fallen and giving it back to Nick who thanked her promptly for the provided assistance. Nick stored the tool away in its secure box, he closed the metal container and locked it with a simple latch before turning to Judy and letting out a satisfied sigh, he was tired but really happy to have that task concluded. Judy watched in silence for a moment as Nick walked off to retrieve his uniform shirt from the front seat of the cruiser, he had little difficult that time, taking the sling off and putting the shirt back on before flinging the sling over his shoulder once more and putting his right arm back on it, after he was done redressing himself, Nick heard as Judy asked of him:

- Why did you take your shirt off?

Nick was a little preoccupied with the closing of each button of his shirt but he still answered Judy without taking his eyes away from the simple task:

- You didn't want me to accidentally smudge my uniform with oil, did you, carrots? I just had it clean not that long ago so I thought best to take it off when I work on the engine.

Judy waited two seconds before asking further:

- And *why* did you feel the need to work on the engine? I thought you already had it sorted out.

Nick finished buttoning his shirt up before he turned his sight to Judy and answered her:

- So did I, but I did not care about the sound that the cruiser made when you parked it here, it was bugging the hell out of me when we went back to the cubicle and I only got the nerve to come take a look at it much later.

Judy thought it back to the very end of their patrol and commented on what Nick had said:

- I didn't hear any weird sound coming from the cruiser.

To which Nick replied while placing his left paw near his ear and tapping over the very tip of it as he said:

- That's because you weren't trying to listen for it. I, on the other end, am always on the lookout for anything of the sorts.

Nick turned himself around and went on to close the hood of the cruiser, close the stepladder and carry both it and the toolbox back to their original spots next to the little shack where the maintenance workers of the ZPD resided in between shifts, he left the items there so that they could still be easily found and used later. Nick returned to Judy and the bunny leaned to the left, she looked at him from head to toe and asked while pointing her right paw to his shoulder:

- Does it still hurt?

Nick looked to the right and to his sling before placing his left paw over his right elbow and saying:

- Not really. I sometimes even forget that this is here. Unfortunately, I get reminded of it soon enough.

Nick finished saying that with a certain strain in his voice, the fox placed the palm of his left paw over his right shoulder, sometimes he could feel the piercing pain of the wound as if by a form of magnetism that refused to cease, his shoulder would move about as he moved on his way and he would feel nothing but as soon as his paw were to touch near the spot and his mind would to take full account of his condition, as soon as he was reminded of his wound, he would feel all of the accumulated pain of a day compressed in a single second, something he tried to hide or hold it in. Judy looked at Nick with a little dismay, her eyes filled with a tinge of longing caught Nick's attention and the fox went right to reassuring her as he said:

- Hey, no need to be like that, fluff. I'll be back to full strength in no time at all and then we will be all set.

- It's not about that, Nick.

Judy let herself fall down, she sat herself over a little concrete divide right behind her that served to mark the parking spot of the cruiser, there were many more little traffic barriers in the carpool and they were not a particular favorable spot to sit down but that one was the closest thing that Judy could find to sit down and collect herself. She let her ears fall and flop behind her head before she said:

- I've just been finding out that things are… a little more complicated right now.

Nick approached Judy, he picked up a spot to sit alongside her over the traffic barrier, he leaned down and placed his posterior over the uncomfortable concrete and positioned himself to her immediate right before asking:

- 'Complicated' how exactly?

Judy gestured with both of her arms forward as she said:

- I don't know, that's precisely the problem. I don't know what to do next.

Judy took some air before clarifying her answer:

- We still haven't had any significant leads to follow up on the mammals responsible for hurting you, that sort of thing is to be expected but it feels like no matter the answer to that more questions are going to arise and I don't know how to proceed even if we come to learn more about that. I don't have any plans and… I keep thinking how more complicated the situation around Zootopia is going to get, mammals are worried and I fear that the ZPD won't be able to help if all of this goes off the rails.

Judy looked to her right, turning her head slightly in the direction of the fox, she whispered to him:

- Nick, I'm scared.

Nick stayed silent after hearing that, his blank expression told Judy that he was not expecting to hear her saying that, to most mammals that she knew, even her partner, Judy was held in high regards as an unstoppable force, she hit so many snags but she kept treading forward, but that was not the case at that time. Judy suddenly felt like she had slipped a little too much but, to her surprise, she felt as Nick placed his left arm over her shoulder and pulled her close to him for a supple hug, she pulled her gently so that she would lean closer to him over their seat before saying:

- The fact that you admit to that makes you a whole lot braver than a bunch of other mammals that I know, carrots.

Nick released Judy from his hold, she raised her head and turned it to look straight at Nick as he continued to speak:

- I realize that this may not help right now, the last thing I want is to put any more pressure on you, fluff. Things are not going easy and I doubt that any plan could have counted on all the crazy that has been going on around the city, but I have faith in you and all of the other officers doing their jobs. I trust that we are going to recover.

Judy raised her ears after hearing that, she leaned closer to Nick once more without laying herself over his figure for another hug before she asked:

- You have faith in me? Even now when I clearly don't know what to do?

Nick raised and lowered his left shoulder as he answered her:

- Sure I do. I am not expecting us to figure the solution to everything on the spot but I do know that, when the time comes, we're gonna figure it out together. Ever since we started working together we took on some crazy challenges, stuff that I could not even imagine, but we came through and I am glad I was there to watch your back.

Judy closed her eyes, she thought things over and, for a second, it felt to her like she was about to drop some tears of happiness. Judy reopened her eyes and looked at Nick once more, the fox had not changed his expression, waiting for a reply from her, Judy leaned her head over Nick's left arm, the fox tried to remain still as to not disturb her and he continued to wait in silence in case she had something more to say, his wait was rewarded as she heard her voice speak in a whisper:

- I'm glad you have been there for me.

The two stayed just like that for twenty seconds or so, it did not feel right to any of the two to disturb the other with any more words, Judy closed her eyes and surrendered partially to the comfort of Nick's warmth while the fox simply kept his left arm and shoulder still as his tail wagged from side to side behind him, scrubbing the floor beneath its fur with slow repetitive movements. Judy breathed deeply, she spoke up once more and told Nick something that she had in her mind since the end of their shift:

- That guy at the museum, the moment he recognized me, he treated me like I was a celebrity. I almost forgot how weird that felt like. Mammals looked to me as if I was some grand symbol of control and hope, my family speaks of me like I am this perfectly aligned being and I know that other officers talk about me like I am a perfect example to follow. I don't want to be put on a pedestal like that but I fear like it would be wrong to tell others off all of a sudden because of that. The more I hear others speaking about me in such a way, the more it feels to me that acting shaken up, being scared, it feels wrong more than anything else.

Nick noticed how saddened Judy sounded, her voice coming to him and the way she said it, his tail stopped moving and slowly dropped on to the ground as the fox spoke up:

- Some mammals get the idea of grabbing on to the notion that the ones that they look up to are... perfect. I like to remember my father just like that, perfect, but I know that is not the truth, far from it, and I know that is not the truth with you too, Judy.

She lowered her head, feeling diminished by those words for a moment before Nick continued:

- Takes a little time to hit us that the fact will always remain, there is no such thing as perfection, there is no such thing as a perfect anything. There is balance at some places, at some times, in some beings, but there cannot be true perfection in anyone, that's just not how it works.

Judy squinted her eyes as she asked:

- Nick, what are you talking about?

Judy thought for a moment that the fox was trailing off to a subject that was not related to the conversation they were having previously, Nick thought it over for a second before he decided to make a more helpful analogy. Nick recalled a long time ago, about a longwinded explanation that his father gave to him about automobiles but Nick did not even pay attention to it, only many years later during a detailed school lecture he came to understand his father's words and he was to quote him soon enough as he took a long dash of air and explained to Judy:

- When I was a kid I tended to look at many things as absolutely perfect, a car, a food, a moment, and my father would always take a second to tell me that perfection doesn't exist in our world. I always thought that he was being a nitpick about every little thing, but I soon came to learn that he was referring to a certain law of nature.

Nick raised from his seat, he took notice of how uncomfortable the concrete lump where his behind was posted truly was once he stood up on his two feet once more, the fox walked closer to the cruiser and continued to explain:

- Mechanics with talent, like my father was, understand quite well the hard fact that no car, no engine, will ever be made to be a 'perfect' machine because there will always be a little bit of energy that goes somewhere else. Not all of the fuel is directed to moving the pistons and axels, some of it turns into particles of water, smog, heat, a perfect engine is a fantasy referring to the definitive mechanism that will make use of every ounce of fuel and energy to devote itself towards a single task. It's more than a fact of science it's a fact of life, something like true perfection can never exist.

Nick turned to Judy and gestured towards her and to himself as he said:

- Even you, even me, that goes for every living mammal in the world, we are evolved and our bodies are fine-tuned to go through life without a hitch but not even we are perfect because, much like the engine of a car, our energies are devoted to so many things and not all of it is used as efficiently as it could be. We move, we grow, we learn, we are masses of thought, expression, instinct and motion and in no way we can be perfect, not even if we tried for ten lifetimes.

Nick returned to his seat right next to Judy, he was a little disappointed with himself for returning to that hardy seat but it would serve well to illustrate the final piece of his explanation:

- We can't be perfect, none of us can, and if others see us like perfect then they need to learn for themselves that is not meant to be. We have imperfections, vices, quirks and limitations like anything and everything, that goes independent of the way others see us, we might as well learn how to live with them and try to do the only thing we can do to make living along with others tolerable.

Judy had her ears lowered at a small angle to her left over her head as she asked:

- And… what would that be?

Nick made a pinching motion with his left paw and answered with a smile and a wink towards her:

- We make ourselves a little better in whatever way we can, a tiny bit at a time.

Judy was hit full force with the words of wisdom, the long winded explanation from the fox made full sense and Judy felt a little silly for letting the way others still perceive her to be some fraction of the guiding force that pushed her on her way. Judy was not perfect no matter how others saw her and she was just reminded that it was okay to be just as she was as long as she kept applying herself to her work and doing a little better than she was doing before. Judy snickered, her smile filed Nick with relief and he was ultimately glad that his words had a positive effect on her, Judy leaned closer and hugged Nick by placing her arms as softly and as widely as she could around his torso, he reciprocated to that by petting the top of her head with the palm of his left paw. Nick smiled, he felt Judy's touch easing some of the discomfort he felt before while Judy let herself be taken into a mindset of calm bliss as she felt Nick's natural warmth and heard the strong beat of his heart, that was such a good feeling for her and it felt for a moment like she would not be able to retreat, it almost felt like her body was trying to convince her to stay just like that for far longer than she needed it to be.

Judy took a deep breath, she could sense Nick's scent, the scent of the cruiser engine was still on him but she did not mind it, Judy then retreated slowly, easing her hold on Nick and then telling him:

- We should… probably get going.

After saying that, Judy raised from her seat and adjusted her uniform in an awkward manner by patting herself down with quick passes of her paws over her figure before turning around and gesturing towards the door leading back to the main lobby. Nick followed Judy's lead, still not sure what was happening with her mood but still glad that he was able to help her out. The two officers exited the carpool and Nick passed by his locker so that he could retrieve a few items he had left in there, a can of deodorant, a folded set of clothes and his cellphone along with its charger, he also decided to leave inside the safe locker space his fortified belt and his taser shooter inside, he stuffed al of the retrieved items he was going to bring home in a duffle bag and shut the thin metal door tight as soon as he made sure that all that he needed was stored away nicely inside the locker.

Nick reunited with Judy by the main lobby and the two officers were just about to leave the precinct, they waved farewell to Benjamin but the cheetah was quick to call out to their attention before they left out the door, apparently there was a crowd of mammals looking for them, there were reporters skulking around the precinct once more and they were hunting for answers. Judy took one look around, usually the reporters that managed to gain access to the precinct one building were hovering around chief Bogo, she became a little worried that they were going to be surprised with recorder devices and flying questions out of nowhere if she was not careful. Nick looked out the door and saw a glimpse, a blurry image of a group of mammals of different sizes gathered by the left edge of the steps leading to the front door, he nudged Judy and gestured with a nod of his head that the news crew was probably waiting for them to step out, Judy thought about taking another exit out of the building and just sneaking past them but she also thought in counterpoint that dealing with that was probably the best way to mend that scenario.

After talking things over with Nick, Judy convinced the fox that they would have to face the reporters and barrel through their questions with added caution. As soon as Nick and Judy walked through the front doors of the precinct and descended a few of the steps ahead together, they were besieged by the reporters, cellphones set to record it all and cameras out from the back of the group were set over Nick and Judy and the fox's first instinct was to speak up:

- Well, this scene seems oddly familiar.

The reporters came closer and Judy stayed close to Nick as the questions that piled on top of one another sounded to be directed exclusively at the fox. As Nick suddenly became fed up with the excessive noise of the questions and of the voices that he could barely identify at that point, he finally gestured to the reporters by showing them the open palm of his left paw and said:

- Hey, one at a time.

The crowd of inquisitive mammals stepped back together and Nick made another gesture with his paw pointing at the male aardvark immediately in front of them, one of the few mammals on that group nearer his height, and saying:

- You, right there, glasses at the front row.

The mammal up in front looked both sides as to make sure that he was indeed the one that Nick was referring to, after making absolutely sure of that, the aardvark adjusted his light brown colored suit and reposted his question by saying:

- Officer Wilde, Dan Vitae, Zootopian Times. After your serious injury don't you think that you should be resting and recovering? You were just shot after all.

Nick answered to that with a defiant look in his eyes but still containing the rash impulse in his voice by saying:

- Yeah, I was shot, but I can still move, I can still come to work, I can still help. When that is not the case and I am thoroughly deterred by something else, I will consider staying at home to rest.

That answer had significant impact on the other reporters, the next mammal on the front row, a thin looking female jaguar in a dark red suit, asked as followed:

- Officer Wilde, can you give us any indication if the mammals responsible for the assault against you and the city are being tracked down? What is the ZPD doing in order to apprehend these criminals that are still on the lose?

Nick pointed towards the ZPD and answered to that:

- Inside that building some of the most clever minds I have ever met are working on pursuing every trail that they can find viable. I trust every officer and researcher in there to do their best, every clue we find is another step in taking these criminals down.

Nick left a certain vagueness in his answer, he did not want to give any detail about the traces of rare minerals found in the bullet casing as it was reported by Judy and Doctor Pura, that might alert the criminals if they were to watch the news feed later. Another question came fast, this time from a moose on the back row, Nick could not see his torso, only his face popping out from behind the crowd and pushing some other stalwart news seekers aside as he asked:

- Officer Wilde, you were reportedly the first mammal to receive the charge of a lead-spewer in more than a decade and survive. How does it feel?

Nick took some seconds to think that over, he was not sure how he should answer that or even why the reporter would take the time out of everyone's schedule to post that question, Nick was almost convinced that he was employed by some tabloid. Nonetheless, Nick took a breath, pointed to his right shoulder by softly placing his left paw over his chest and saying:

- Like some unhinged nut-case jabbed me in the shoulder with a hot iron poker… and twisted it around.

That description definitely left an impression, for the crowd of reporters retreated with their recording devices and Nick could notice very well as they all showed sour faces and sharp inhales after hearing his answer. Nick let that slide with a smug look on his face as he smiled and said:

- Yeah, I know. That sucked.

One decisive question came soon after the reporters managed to get their bearings as a young male brown bear with a thin coat over his shoulders asked:

- Officer Wilde, do you have any messages to give to the ones responsible for this crisis? Is there anything at all you would like to say?

Nick frizzled the fur on his tail and on the back of his neck, to think that he would have a chance to speak his mind, challenge and call out the one that was truly behind his pain and Judy's worries, but the fox held himself off before any other word escaped his mouth, acting out in anger in front of cameras was not going to be helpful at that time. Nick calmed himself down, his tail leaned down closer to the ground behind him and his ears raised over his head, the fox did his best to channel the best impression of chief Bogo and put out that stoic 'no nonsense' energy that the buffalo always radiated before answering:

- No, I would not. There are other things to worry about than air some cheap insults at some posh criminal out and about who might not even care for what is said about them. Even if it would make me feel better to insult or call out to the one that was behind this dread on public television, I literally have a million better things to do.

After saying that, Nick reached back with his left paw, he looked at Judy and placed his left paw softly over her right paw, he had to lean down slightly in order to reach her, Judy was surprised to feel that so suddenly, she was just about to push Nick aside and tell him how impressed she was with his restraint and his ability to speak so eloquently with the press when she felt his hold over her. Nick walked past the reporters who continued to prattle on with more questions but he was not even giving them attention, the interview was over and all that Nick wanted to do was to get away from them, he did so in a calmly fashion but there was also no way that he was going to leave Judy there so that the reporters could pick her up and stress her out with more questions, she did not even think about that at the time. As Nick and Judy walked their way past the street and on to the park, she looked over at him, raising her head to look in his direction, his eyes focused on the path forward as he guided her, her mind solely focused on his touch over her, the soft pressure of his fingers closed around her paw and the mindful tug of his arm, she matched speed with him and the two of them walked off, leaving the reporters and the precinct one building behind.

Judy wished to ask why Nick decided to cut the interview short, why did he abruptly ended the conversation with the reporters and took off like that, she was not complaining but she still wanted to know. Nick kept walking until he was sure that he had given the reporters a good enough slip, he stopped walking by a corner two blocks away from their original position, he looked back while Judy kept her eyes focused on him and he finally spoke up:

- I didn't have enough patience to deal with those guys, now I really can't wait to get home.

Nick looked over at Judy and let go of her paw, the fingers of his left paw fiddled around before he spoke up once more:

- Sorry about pulling on you. Didn't want you to get even more on your plate with those guys.

Judy did not change her expression as she said to him in response:

- No, it's fine. I think you handled that interview quite nicely. They might take it a little harsh since you walked away like that.

Nick shrugged that off and told her:

- Meh. I got everything that I had to say across just as I liked it. Aside from that, I don't really care what they think about my getaway.

Judy looked back and her ears moved about as she tried to get any sound of the reporters who might still be following the two of them, if not on foot then by any other means of transportation, her ears could not pick any sound that made it like they were being pursued but she soon heard Nick's voice once more as the fox pointed at the direction they just came from and said:

- Aw, I was so focused on skipping those guys that I went the wrong way. My place is back there and they might see me again if I just go back.

Judy took that chance to suggest a quick resolve for Nick's aired impasse. Judy turned her head quickly to him as she said:

- I can go with you.

Judy spoke that reasonable option with quick words and a moderately exaggerated volume to her voice, she retreated after realizing that by leaning her upper body back and placing the fingers of her right paw over her lips, Nick turned his head to look back at her and found her with her ears pointing straight up and her eyes opened wide with wariness. Judy lowered her paw slowly and freed her lips once more before speaking a more sensitive option as she suggested cautiously:

- Or, maybe, you could come over to my place for a little while, just until you think it best to go back to your place.

Nick thought that over for a few seconds while Judy braced herself internally for the answer, her partner spoke soon after as he adjusted the strap of the bag he was carrying over his left shoulder and said:

- Sure. That sounds like a good plan.

Judy smiled and released a soft dash of air through her nose, she gestured with a nudge of her head for Nick to follow close and he walked a few paces after her. Judy was glad to have Nick's company for a little longer, her frame of mind was still uncertain on how to proceed but confident in how she should be feeling, Nick's presence calmed her down and she told herself constantly on the path to her apartment that she should not dread or avoid his presence alongside her. Nick and Judy arrived at her building and walked a single flight of stairs before arriving at Judy's front door, she unlocked it, entered and turned on the light switch to reveal the interior of her apartment, to Nick's surprise, it was not all neat and tidy as he was used to seeing it. Plenty of books and notepads were out of their places on the shelves and left strewn about on counters and over the coffee table in the living room space, there were opened file folders over the couch ad used dishes left over the dinner table in the distant kitchen area, Judy only then recalled that long nights of work review at home left her with little time to reorganize her things and she invited Nick over without even recalling to clean up her place.

Judy was embarrassed with the fact that her home was in such poor condition, she turned around to look over at Nick and the fox had a surprised look on his face as he saw all of that, Judy went right ahead to cleaning the mess as she picked up the books that were closest to her position in the apartment and stacked them over her arms before placing them back on their appropriate shelf space, she did so while apologizing for her apparent sloppiness:

- Nick, I'm really sorry you had to see all of this. I didn't even think about cleaning this morning.

Nick approached the couch and let the duffle bag over his shoulder slip down over the length of his arm, he set it down gently on the floor next to the leg of the couch while Judy kept frantically trying to reorganize her home and hoping that Nick would not be judging her too harshly. Nick tried to stay silent and let Judy do her task but the fox decided to let her know that there was no major issue with all of that:

- Relax, carrots, I don't mind a little mess. I'm just a little surprised to see it while also being too tired to care.

Judy halted her task for a moment, she had just ran to the coffee table and closed a yellow folder with plenty of papers contained within, she turned her sight to Nick and saw the fox coming closer, the papers in her hold as she held them close to her chest. Nick did not care about that disorganized scene one bit, he planned on getting comfy right away and sit himself down on Judy's couch, he was already aware of how comfortable its cushions were. Nick dropped his posterior over the seat immediately behind him and he felt a small pinch coming from under his tail, it was not too painful but it did startle him a little as he reached back with his left paw to search for the culprit behind it, Nick grunted with effort as he reached over and it turned out to be a blue pen that was left there overnight, Judy walked closer to him as soon as she heard his grunt, she reached for the pen in his hold and snagged it away so that she could store it inside a drawer somewhere.

Judy had finished her preparations, the books and notes were stored away, the files were back inside the archive cabinet in her bedroom and the floor beneath her was free of any other material or tool that might have been used for her research, there was now nothing more for her to do but sit herself down on the couch next to Nick and relax. Judy grabbed a seat left of Nick, her ears flopped to the back of her head as soon as she sat down, she did not wish to have any more tasks or chores at that moment and she let out a satisfied dash of air from her mouth as she leaned against the repost. Nick showed a side smile as he saw Judy sit herself next to him, she did look exhausted, he reached for her and tapped lightly on her shoulder, not wanting to disturb her but only ask her a quick question with low volume to his voice, he knew that she would hear him without much issue if she was still awake and alert:

- Hey, carrots, are you hungry?

Judy turned her head in the direction of Nick's voice, her answer to him was a simple positive nod of her head. Nick asked her another question as he leaned his upper body closer to her and said:

- Do you want to go half-n-half on a pizza?

That was more than enough to wake the bunny right out from her tired daze, she leaned her upper body forward over the seat by only a few degrees before looking over in Nick's direction and telling him:

- Oh, I could really go for a pizza right now.

Nick reached over for his duffle bag and retrieved his cellphone from within it, he turned the screen on and showed it to Judy before saying:

- I'll put on the order. What kind of pizza do you want?

Judy thought that over carefully, but she did not take too long to air her answer:

- I think I'll have a vegie choice on the menu, anything without kale or sprouts.

Nick nodded and went on to post the order on the delivery page, he also put in his half f the request as he ordered a pizza with turkey bits as well as a cold one liter soda that they could share. Minutes passed inside Judy's apartment and for that window of time she barely moved from her seat, however, after feeling like she had laid about for long enough, Judy got up from the couch and went over to the kitchen so that she could retrieve plates, silverware and cups that could be used by her and Nick during their upcoming meal. In the middle of her retrieval task, Judy was surprised by Nick, the fox had sneaked up on her and offered to take some of the items she was carrying in order to help her set the table, she accepted without protest. As the two mammals were setting up the table, Nick noticed how Judy was moving about with her ears still lowered, he inquired of her:

- You seem to be a little down on energy there, fluff. Something bothering you?

Judy did not raise her ears, but she still answered Nick as she said:

- I am just feeling a little spent at the moment. These last few days… I haven't been getting too much sleep. Two nights ago I… fell out of my bed.

Nick's head leaned to the right and he asked for a little more clarification:

- Rough dreams?

Their conversation about dreams from earlier that day popped into his mind but Judy did not fret about answering him with vagueness and sincerity, she looked at him with a left side glance of her eyes and a soft smile on her lips before answering:

- Pleasant ones, actually.

She said that so sweetly, Nick still had no clue what dreams she may be having but her tone of voice assured him at least that there was nothing serious disrupting her sleep. Nick knew it was possible but, to his perspective, it was difficult to see Judy slowing down, ever since they met he had seen her as nothing short of unstoppable. Spent a few more minutes of waiting, the table was set and the pizza was delivered in the time table advertised by the service, Nick and Judy delighted themselves with slice after slice and some nice conversation, by the end of their meal they retired to the couch with the intent of continuing their talk, however, in little time Judy had fallen asleep. The bunny had suggested that they turned on the television and watched a few relaxing minutes of this new series of documentaries that she had discovered, all about the beautiful vistas and charming cultures around the world, she had heard great things about it but had not even gotten around on watching the first episode. Nick grabbed the remote and selected the indicated icon as instructed by Judy but after only a few minutes of pleasant music and scenes form the screen, he could feel the press of her head against his left arm as she had fallen thoroughly asleep.

Nick left Judy there to rest peacefully, his visit had ran its course and he decided to make his path back home, but first, he left a message for his partner. Nick retreated carefully, supporting Judy's head and placing it over a nice cushion so that she would not drop down over the couch and wake up abruptly, he thought that she deserved some rest and he was not going to be the one to wake her up, he had already stepped out and he was on his way back to his apartment, he was looking forward to a long shower followed by a much deserved night of sleep, Judy woke up suddenly on her couch and looked around her living room, her fox partner was nowhere to be seen.

- Nick?

Judy called out to him but no answer came from inside the apartment, she raised from the couch and looked around one more time until her eyes landed on a little blue note that was placed over the coffee table, naturally because it would have been one of the first things she ever spotted when she woke up, he name was written on it and the black pen used to write on the little square paper was placed carefully over it as to hold it in place, the calligraphy used to write her name was really nice and she turned the paper around to read the message while already having a good idea of who had left it for her:

'Carrots, I took off already. You looked so peaceful asleep and I didn't want to wake you up. I'll be seeing you at work later. Pleasant dreams, always. Nick

P.S. Thanks for the meal and for the company, I had fun.'

The note ended on a cheerful note with the drawing of a smiling face looking at her, Judy smiled and placed the little note over her chest, her time hanging and dinning with Nick was short but it was very pleasant and his kind words transcribed on the paper were also very comforting to her, it was time to sleep and Judy went ahead to prepare herself without a hint of urgency in her movements. Nick had left the front door of the apartment unlocked when he left so Judy's first doing was to lock it up for the night, Judy then entered the bathroom, took off her uniform and hopped under the shower stream, the warm water felt absolutely delightful over her, she washed her body with the softest and slowest touches of the soap in her right paw, gently massaging and rinsing every inch of her fur with it, the energy she radiated was that of utter calm and serenity. Judy exited the shower and went straight to her room so that she could put on a pajama, lay down and sleep, she closed her eyes and dozed off without any trouble while having her mind set on the fox and the fact that her feelings for him only had gotten stronger but she did not act out with stress or refusal over it.

As the night passed and the next day arrived, the savanna started to wake up a little at a time and, somewhere, housed in a luxurious apartment somewhere in the upper savanna, was Desmond Ortega, waking up from slumber early in the morning as he did every day. The goat woke up without the aid of an alarm clock, he looked around his room and could see the dim illumination of the sun's rays coming from behind the blinders by the window, it was time to get to work, but first, preparations. Ortega reached for his cellphone and checked the time, six O' five, his list of tasks for the day was already filling his screen with notifications but there was one marked with a tag for urgency near the end of the list. Ortega tapped over the icon and then he proceeded to type a long code of numbers to unlock his phone, once it was unlocked he could see the news feed of the day before and the many notes that the press had posted about Nicholas Wilde and his return to active duty as well as the brief interview that was placed upon him on the steps of the ZPD.

Ortega sat on his bed, the thin sheet of fabric and his natural fur were the only things covering his body as he read through the article, the news of Zootopia always intrigued him so he put his full attention and his alert mind into reading every word. The answers given by Nick seemed to be vague, expected, predictable in the eyes of the goat, but the last answer in the line-up, the refusal to air any challenges or provocations while also issuing the officer's personal opinions in relation to the mastermind of the whole ordeal, now that was truly unexpected, the delegating goat had the initial impression that Nicholas Wilde was a harsh acting mammal out of the streets, someone that would jump at the chance to make a sharp statement, that answer showed that initial shred of intel passed by his informants as not being the case. Ortega saw the words written in the article as a cautious show of strength, he could see in that the bearing soul of one of his possible adversaries, callous yet conservative, powerful yet caring, it filled him with the excited palpitation to predict what would be the next move against him or maybe the next move towards his opponent, it was the unmatched thrill of the game.

Ortega bounced over his seat on the bed, he scrolled the newsfeed back to the image of the fox, shown to be stoic while answering the questions, the goat's breath became more erratic, his heart began to beat strongly in his chest and the sudden movement of his body over the springs stirred another presence next to him. Underneath the sheets a shape began to form and wobble around, the humming of a feminine voice was heard and Ortega took his eyes away from the phone screen and towards her, it was Cassandra and her flirtatious voice was heard as she asked:

- Is something wrong?

Her eyes were just starting to open and her mind was just beginning to wake as she gently pushed the sheets away and turned her head in the direction of the male she had just shared a bed and a capricious night with. Cassandra was also bare naked except for her natural wool, the female sheep sat herself over the bed while stretching her body and softly waking her muscles up, she wanted to know what caused her employer to be so riled up at such an early hour. Ortega showed a mere glance of his phone screen and answered her with a booming yet soft voice that gave her goosebumps, she listened to the answer given to her but the tonality of the voice coming to her ears was just as appealing:

- Just the news of this morning that were sent to me, along with a brand new page of tasks that I had to get done before the sun sets on this new day. That fox officer is still alive and his defiant nature keeps him as an interesting obstacle, the pieces in my board just changed and that is an unnerving prospect, yet, inviting.

Cassandra leaned her upper body to the left so that she would be closer to him, she supported her upper body over the mattress with her left paw pressed over the comfy surface and asked:

- Anything I can do to help you?

Ortega changed the stance of his seat, he turned his whole body around over the mattress and sat near the left edge of the bed, his feet were dangling off the bed frame as he answered her:

- You already do your job in order to aid me, in addition to so much more. You do not have to concern yourself with anything more.

Cassandra got the sense that the goat was ignoring her, focusing his mind solely on whatever he might need to do next, his ambitions were set as were the next goals of his plan, he was powerful, he was rich and he was definitely strong in both body and will, the fact that such an individual could be passionate and yet so indifferent towards her presence only made him more attractive in her eyes. Cassandra began to crawl over the mattress in his direction, Ortega could hear her approach but he did not bother moving, he just let the sheep come close and wrap her arms around him, the room had air conditioning and it was comfortably nippy but the soft and warm touch of a female certainly gave him a brand new kind of cozy sensation at that moment. Ortega looked in the direction of Cassandra as she placed her chest and her head in full contact with his body, she was passing her torso over his back in a sensual embrace, he did not mind it, he did not even gave her an audible answer as he kept a hold on his phone and continued to scroll through the schedule he was granted for the day, she thought that was incredibly sexy.

Ortega finally gave Cassandra due attention, he acknowledged her presence so close to him as he asked her:

- What is the situation with Andersen? Is he still keeping in contact?

- Aw, do we have to talk about business on the bed?

She proceeded to place her head next to his and deliver sloppy kisses over his right ear, her lips and tongue worked in unison to awaken the sexual impulses he had demonstrated the night before and her soft breath seemed to signal that she was in the set mood for more passionate interactions. Ortega did not react to her, he merely put a greater emphasis on his previous question as he said:

- 'Business' is the one thing that can never be left aside. I require constant status updates on all of my areas of interest. Tell me about Andersen.

Ortega did not demand outright to have his question answered but his tone still communicated that what he asked for was placed as an order from a boss towards an employee, Cassandra felt somewhat diminished but she still delivered the information while gladly enforcing her presence with a tighter hug:

- Your little pet ocelot kept laying low as you instructed. He continued to monitor the activities immediately outside the city and he sent repots over to the private e-mail that you had me set up, most of it goes to spam.

- Excellent. Sent me a draft of those later today when I get to the office.

Another order but that one was set to mark the end of that particular conversation, Ortega placed his feet on the ground and raised from the bed, escaping Cassandra's embrace in the process and setting off to prepare for the day. With a clap of his paws together, Ortega activated a system in the room that opened the blinds on the window, the sunlight came into the room without any hindrances and illuminated it all, the goat did not even care if he were to appear naked in front of the large window since that room was located at the thirtieth floor of one of the largest towers in the city. His exposition would not last long as he leaned down to look for his clothes which had been precariously tossed around during the passionate rendezvous from the night before, he did not even minded the presence of Cassandra anymore as the sheep shielded her eyes from the harsh morning light with both of her paws and whined to his harshness by saying:

- Ugh, give a girl some warning before doing that.

Ortega found his shirt tossed over a chair, he picked it up and began to dress himself, flinging the cotton vestment over his shoulders and then closing each of the buttons on the front one by one, Cassandra remained on the bed for a time, simply enjoying the view of the goat's body as long as she could, she knew that there would be rare opportunities to catch that sight again. Ortega went over to put on his underwear, his pants and then a red tie that he had brought along, more of an accessory to appear fancier in meetings since it was only a clip-on tie, he figured it would save him more time than learning how to actually tie a knot, he turned over to Cassandra after he was done dressing himself and said:

- Thank you for joining me. It does assist a lot in maintaining a less stressful ambient in my household before going to work.

Cassandra tucked herself over the bed, bending her legs closer as she looked in his direction before telling him:

- No problem at all. I enjoy our little private gatherings. We should definitely do it again sometime. If you're feeling up for it, that is.

To which he answered promptly:

- Inadvisable. If others were to suspect anything as a romantic involvement with an assistant my image might be jeopardized. Best to keep it casual for now.

Cassandra untucked her body over the mattress and rolled over before saying:

- Meh, I can deal with 'casual'.

Cassandra watched as Ortega walked slowly towards the bathroom, he would take a quick shower and change to some more fancy clothes before heading out to his main office in the Rainforest District, he had so many things to do and every second he let his thoughts wain or he thought about dawdling around, felt like a second that could be used on something far more productive. Ortega left Cassandra to sort her clothing and her leave of his apartment for herself, they would meet at work later that day and act as they commonly did, as two working individuals who only sought to finish their quota for the day.

Later that day, following back to the center savanna, Nick was already on his way to work, the fox felt refreshed and he wondered how Judy must have been feeling, he left her place with only a note of departure and she stayed in his thoughts for most of the night, he hoped that she had caught up on her rest for that morning, she did look very tired the night before. Nick arrived at the ZPD, he walked up the steps with a short bounce on each of his feet and passed through the front doors, giving Wolford and Delgato a quick salute before heading inside, the fox walked over to the front desk and found Benjamin, occupied at that time with files on his computer, an incessant barrage of deployment files posted by all of the other precincts and he had to comb through them all that morning.

Nick gave Benjamin a casual greeting and the cheetah halted his task for a moment to answer to that, he also congratulated Nick for the message he let out during his interview on the previous day, news had traveled fast and every precinct in the city had already learned of the fox's gutsy move, to issue a clear challenge to the criminal element in hiding without actually doing so. Nick basked in the praise given by Benjamin but he cut that moment short as he leaned a little closer to the friendly feline by the front counter and asked about the whereabouts of his partner, Nick wanted to know if Judy had already arrived and if she had shown any signs of weariness like she had done the day before. Benjamin pointed to the upper floor of the ZPD, Judy had arrived shortly before Nick and she was engaged in a short training regimen at the gym, Nick got that as his cue to climb the stairs and go see her, he thanked Benjamin for the information and for the talk before heading off on his way.

Nick climbed the stairs and arrived by the front door of the gym, he could hear the sound of one harsh impact after the other, Judy was engaged in some serious training but she was alone in the gym, bashing against a training dummy positioned right in front of her. Nick adjusted his uniform and the sling around his right arm, trying to appear more presentable before coming any closer, he stepped into the gym and waited until there was a short pause between all of the punches and kicks that Judy was letting out against her immobile target, the fox produced a sound that made it seem like he was clearing his throat and that surprised Judy quite a bit. Judy's ears twitched as she heard the rash sound coming from right behind her, her ears twitched and pointed back over her head and she turned around in a snapping motion while still placed in a ready stance, such a move startled Nick and the fox instinctively placed his left paw in front of him for protection before saying:

- Whoa! Hey! Friendly here.

Judy tucked her arms closer to her torso and her ears were placed parallel to one another, her eyes opened wide and she quickly apologized for that after finding out that it was Nick who surprised her:

- Oh, my gosh! Nick, I'm sorry.

Nick lowered his paw and made a slow dismissive gesture before saying:

- Nah, it's cool. Let me just… get a hold of my breathing.

Judy laughed and left her sparring target behind, she greeted Nick for the day and asked for him to wait up at their cubicle, she would need to change out of her work-out clothes and back into her uniform. After a quick dash to the locker-room, Judy found Nick seated and waiting in their shared cubicle just as he was asked to do, Judy sat down on her chair and turned around to face her computer, there was more work to be done on that day even if there was not that much of it piled up on her side of the cubicle. Nick did not turn over to the screen on his side to get to work just yet, the fox wanted to make some conversation so he inquired:

- Did you sleep well tonight?

Judy stopped her typing for a moment, her left ear twitched and she answered with confidence without turning her chair to look in Nick's direction:

- Just fine, actually. It was a very good night's rest for me.

Judy continued typing after finishing her answer and she inquired of Nick in the middle of the repetitive clacking of her keyboard:

- How about you, slick? Sleep well?

Nick raised his left arm in the air so that he could give a little stretch over the chair, he leaned more against the repost behind him before answering with some minor strain in his voice:

- I slept a little late last night. Took my time before going to bed to search for a few things on the net, like some funny videos to watch. I think I took my time getting to bed because of all the soda I had.

Judy turned her face to the right so that she could project her voice towards the fox a little better, she spoke up:

- Well, you did have three more cups than me last night.

Nick released a little humorous puff out of his nose, it went unheard but it still showed that some of the humor from the joint meal he and Judy had still stuck with him. The fox tried crossing his arms as he looked at Judy, placing his left arm softly over the rough but malleable fabric of the sling, he took a deep breath and let out a short sigh before saying:

- Thanks for offering to let me stay in your place yesterday. I don't know if I would've been able to dodge those reporters all the way up to my place.

Judy pushed herself away from her computer desk with a gentle motion of her right paw, she only retreated slightly from her previous position noticed that she had a more assured flow to her work, she was not stressing about Nick's presence and she quickly came to realize during that morning that the ways she was thinking and acting when it came to him were not productive in any way, Nick was a crucial part of her life and his presence should not give her any cumbersome anxiety, she was ultimately glad that the way her mind was behaving before with the struggles between her logic and impulses, ceased for the time being. The two officers noticed that the movement around their cubicles had increased, half an hour later there were heavy steps and many voices from other officers coming from the halls and spaces outside of their cubicle, that would turn out to be a busy day for precinct one in the filing department.

As Judy ad Nick stablished a nice work load for one another to share and push through, however, they were interrupted by a last minute memo which made their way to their cubicle via Benjamin, the cheetah rarely left his post by the front counter but the other officers were busy and he only went there in order to deliver a message to Nick and Judy. Benjamin let them know that chief Bog wished to see them in his office right away and they heeded the summon almost as soon as the message was delivered, Nick turned his computer screen off and ensured that no one would mess with his notes by engaging the computer standby mode, Judy left her computer screen on and she only had to reorganize the physical notes placed over her organizer before leaving the cubicle in the direction of the chief's office right alongside Nick.

After passing through the eastern hallway of the station, Nick and Judy arrived at the front door of chief Bogo's office, Nick went right ahead and knocked twice on the door, they did not have to wait too long to hear the familiar gruff voice coming from the other side telling them:

- Come in.

Nick reached for the knob, he opened it slowly and, just as soon as he could see the buffalo's scowling face staring down from the other side of his work desk, the fox asked:

- Heya, chief. What's new for… today?

Nick only then noticed that Bogo was not the only mammal in that room, after opening the door Nick could see the image of a tall and well-dressed zebra standing just outside his initial field of vision into the office, the fox waited for a moment while grasping the doorknob in his left paw before letting Judy know as she entered the room right behind him:

- Hey, the mayor is here.

Judy was glad to see mayor Zeinhanart again, it has been to long since the dedicated zebra had visited precinct one. After Nick spoke up what was plainly obvious for everyone else in the room, Bogo spoke in response to that:

- Your powers of observation baffles the mind, Wilde.

Nick leaned his head and looked at the chief but he did not let that barb diminish his smile, he pointed at the buffalo with a direct gesture from his left paw and said:

- Wow, that there was quite a jab, chief. Did not expect to hear sarcasm from you of all mammals today.

- Sit down, the two of you.

Bogo said so while pointing to the two chairs placed on the other side of his desk, Nick and Judy grabbed the chair that was placed nearest to each one of them respectively and sat down, Judy sat herself by the right, Nick to the left, it was almost automatic for the two of them to be positioned like that, though Judy was a little worried that there might be something wrong, they were called there on such short notice. After getting comfortable in their seats, Nick and Judy waited patiently until the chief spoke up:

- Me and the mayor were just having a little chat concerning the most recent advances of the media towards both him and the ZPD in recent days. It seems like we can't go anywhere at all without being stormed with questions from all sides. I figured that you have some knowledge of what that must be like.

Bogo said so while gesturing to both Nick and Judy with his left arm, Mayor Zeihanart was only standing nearby, he politely refused to sit down when he came to visit chief Bogo earlier that day and he hopped in the conversation as he began telling what he had gone through when it came to the scouts of the media around the city:

- My home and my office have been surrounded by those scavengers from the press. They are relentless. Always looking for the next angle to write down their next stories, unfortunately, neither I or the chief have any concrete answers to give them regarding the whereabouts of the criminals responsible for this outrage or their motivations.

Judy nodded her head, she felt for a moment that she should have been doing more to solve all of that as soon as possible but that was not the case, the chief had actually called out to her and Nick there that morning to discuss something more lenient than devotion to work. The mayor walked a single step closer to the chair where Nick was seated and patted his left hoof over the repost, Nick was surprised to hear the sudden tap so next to him, he turned his head towards the mayor's figure and the sound he let out and held a strong breath within his chest as he just heard the zebra talking:

- However, I certainly did not expect anyone at all to deal with them much better than I could ever hope for.

The mayor finished that sentence as he grabbed his phone and showed a tagged clip, the screen showed Nick and Judy at the steps of the ZPD, the date marked the day before and the footage showed as the fox finished his last question and slipped away with the bunny right next to him, the two mammals disappearing past a corner of the square once they were out of the camera's focus. Nick had no idea that the footage had leaked in such a way, he was only praised for getting his opinion out, not for the getaway that he performed at the heat of the moment, looking back on it, it might not have been the most prudent course of action at the end of an interview. Nick pressed his teeth together, he looked at the mayor with a squint look in his eyes, not knowing if he was about to be praised or scolded for what he did the day before, Nick took a short breath and said it so that the two high-ranking mammals in the room could hear it:

- I'm sorry, that was all on me. I only wanted to get me and Judy out of sight of those guys and I didn't even stop to think…

The mayor stopped Nick, raising his arm away from the chair and gesturing with a single circular motion of his hoof before saying:

- No need for 'sorry' right now. You spoke out like a true contender and you didn't give away anything that could have been used against you or the ZPD. Makes me wonder if the punks still running through this city might think more than twice before facing an officer under this roof. You even handled the exit like a champ. I wish I were this limber to escape a press conference.

Zeihanart laughed out loud after he said that, the zebra could not contain his excitement, he was finally speaking face to face with the one and only fox officer of the ZPD and the mammal who has been causing such an uproar through all of his involvements ever since he was named a fully-fledged officer of the force. Bogo signaled off with his right hoof that the mayor and Nick should talk things out, Zeihanart continued to push conversation with the fox and the two of them left the room, they were excused, Bogo only wished to talk to Judy.

After Nick and the mayor left, Judy was left on her own with chief Bogo, she did not understand if what had happened was about the mayor wishing to have a friendly chat with Nick all along or if it was all some strategy to get her some alone time with the chief, if the former was truly the case, than the situation may have been truly dire. Bogo raised from his chair, he walked around his desk until he was next to Judy and he was looking at the final lines of an important file in his hold, the folder opened wide as he read through it, and his heavy steps sounding loud in Judy's ears before she heard his voice speaking out:

- No matter how much I try convincing myself that Wilde is going to learn his lesson and lay low for a bit, he manages to stick out like a sore paw. I do have to give him props, I don't think we could have asked for a better bash of media even if we tried to.

Judy was still a little lost in that moment, she still did not get what was the true reason of her presence in that office. Bogo stopped his walk once he was standing right in front of Judy's seat, the buffalo closed the folder in his hooves and turned his eyes towards her as he said:

- I trust that you have been keeping a close eye on him as to prevent his wound from being any more of a bother while he works.

Judy sounded a little gasp, she was given the turn to speak and answer to the chief and she did so posthaste as she said:

- Oh, yes, sir. Nick still feels some of the pain of his wound from time to time but it has not interfered with his work. He continues to do it very well.

Bog held on to the closed folder that he had on him with just his right hoof as he nodded his head once and said:

- Good. That is very good.

Bogo was about to finally reveal the contents of the folder to Judy, that was the true reason why he wanted to talk to her and why he wanted to be left alone with her. The chief passed the folder on to her with a small curved motion of his arm stretching down slowly as to make so that the item would be at eye level with the bunny officer and demonstrated a single nudge of his wrist as to incentivize her to take the information he was giving to her and advising that she take what was contained within it with calm. Judy picked the folder as soon as she understood what was being asked of her with that silent and the simple gesture, she slowly opened the folder and, to her surprise, there was a military file inside, a short list of commendations and pictures taken during what she could only guess was a basic training encampment, all clipped next to the photo of a menacing looking feline that she recognized right away:

- Ringing any bells?

Bogo asked of her, the picture of the ocelot sent a shiver down her spine, only the image filled her with anger, sorrow and confusion, the feline placed in the little plastic frame was nothing like the criminal she encountered before but there was no doubt left in her mind, it was him, aside from the scar the facial features were all there. The picture showed a young ocelot, bright spots on his fur, beret over his head and tassels of ranking on his shoulders, a stoic and sharp look in his eyes along with a full name written with small letters next to it, Andersen Corvathia. That was the mammal that shot Nick. Bogo leaned closer so that he could explain:

- We got this thanks to Donovan and his ZBI pals, your description of the ocelot that handled the lead-spewer was enough to get them a requisition for a full face scanning sweep. After the computer identified a match, this picture popped out and it was only a matter of time before we connected a name to it.

Bogo proceeded to fetch a picture that was kept in his left side back pocket, the picture recently retrieved was much more in line with the one that Judy had seen and described to Donovan, the ocelot in the picture was depicted as an irritated individual, he maintained a menacing look even during the most casual of tasks, the date tag on the bottom of the picture showed that it was taken fairly recently, not even a month before that day, the lighting in the photo made it difficult to discern exactly where in the city the picture was taken but, luckily, there was no blurring in the image so a clear sight could still be made. Judy felt no intense shock after seeing the other photo, most of her shock had already subsided in relation to the one she felt before, Bogo aired an explanation to her as he said:

- We already put out an APB on mister Andersen, sources tell that he enlisted in the military when he was still young as a means to bring in cash flow, even if it would come at considerable risk to his life. No living relatives on record and no previous address were listed, apparently he moved around a lot, it didn't take since we also found a bridal registry.

Judy took her eyes away from the paper file in her paws as that new fact hit her, if that information was contained in the file she had not seen it yet. Judy placed her back straight over the seat before turning over to the chief and asking:

- He was married once?

Bog already figured the route that the conversation would take starting from there and he dashed Judy's inquisitive path from there as he showed the palms of his hooves and walked back to the seat behind his task while answering:

- Don't bother, his wife has moved far from Zootopia and it would take quite a while to track her down. Court records show that shortly after their marriage they started fighting a lot and it only got more violent from there. Andersen was arrested for domestic violence but he was released from jail early due to the bailiff pledge of good behavior.

Judy turned her eyes back to the file, she took one last look at the abridged story of the feline that had caused so much trouble to her and Nick, Judy closed the file and raised from her chair, hopping back on to the ground and walking two steps forward to place it back on Bogo's desk, the file would be far safer and more well stored in the chief's reach. Judy walked back just enough so that she could see the chief's face on the other side of the desk, he was seated while keeping both of his arms over the table frame and he spoke up:

- Apparently the characteristic scar on his face that you spotted was some sort of weird initiation rite to a prison gang. Andersen played the long game apparently because he went right back to illicit activities after leaving prison. That is, until he dropped completely out of the ZPD's radar.

Judy clenched her right paw and spoke up as she complemented that idea:

- So, there must be an important reason why he decided to reappear after all this time.

Bogo reached for the closed file with his left paw and slid it over the desk so that it would be placed close to him, he agreed with Judy's brief although relevant theory. Bogo took a deep breath before telling Judy why he waited until both Nick and the mayor walked out the room:

- For the time being, you, me and Donovan are the only ones who know the full story on this guy. Data transport at the ZPD is not the most reliable recently. There are a few repairs going on at several of the precincts' servers so we all must be careful how files are stored and passed along.

Judy sat herself on the chair she had chosen previously, she looked over at the chief and asked of him:

- Sir, why did you call me and Nick over? Is there something wrong?

Bogo placed both of his paws together over the table and answered that:

- Hopps, I am concerned. Not only with all of this mess but also for you and Wilde as well. It seems like the craze about the two of you has only gotten worse and it might only take a single slip before sensitive information leaks out of the ZPD. Maybe worse, it might make one or either of you a target for any crook who thinks of themselves as prodigious enough to stand out in the crowd. The dust is kicking up all over the city and I don't believe there is enough aspirin for me to deal with it.

Judy placed her paws over her knees as her legs dangled over the edge of her seat, she lowered her head and the fur on her tail became frazzled with what she heard. It was not uncommon for the reporters who patrolled the streets in search of news to pass along to their editors, it was possible for the whole city to know what the officers at the ZPD or the agents of the ZBI were up to and that would inevitably include their enemies. Information of all types and sensibilities would have to remain locked up tight, something that would be quite tricky to accomplish with news scavengers routing around in every unsuspecting corner. Judy racked her mind trying to come up with a quick solution but the chief had one that would be far from quick and most effective in that scenario, he started with an innocent enough question, a way to 'butter things up', in a way:

- Hopps, did you know that ever since coming back to the ZPD, you have never taken a single day off? That is quite the accomplishment.

Judy straightened her shoulders out as she looked over to the chief once more and said:

- I'm… actually quite proud of that, sir.

- Of course you are.

Bogo picked up a small chart from his right side drawer, it was the evidence that marked that Judy still had not taken an off shift or a single day off from work, even in free days or shift changes, Judy had remained diligent and dedicated to her role in the ZPD. Bogo placed the small sheet which represented Judy's lack of absence at work over the desk and leaned against the repost of his chair, there was a slight squeak of metal settling behind him before he spoke up:

- Well, you can now feel free to put in a full week's notice to get away until the media wave settles down on this whole thing. If it ever does.

Judy leaned forward over her seat, she did not really understand why the chief was saying that. The first thought that popped into her head was that she might be getting suspended from duty without any reason but that was definitely not the chief's way of operating or commanding his officers, that was very much not in character for him. Judy extended her right paw ahead to call to the buffalo's attention and asked:

- W.. wait! Notice? Sir, I can't go anywhere now. This lead on the shooter might be slim but it is still significant. I cannot just up and leave the ZPD at a time like this.

Bogo showed the palm of his right hoof, it was a slow gesture asking Judy to calm herself down, the chief then went ahead and explained what he wanted to say:

- Hopps, this is not a suspension or anything like that. Frankly, it has been hard for all of us in and out of the precinct. We have some answers but only more questions pilling up and everyone is scared about what might happen next. After Wilde's… after he was hospitalized, we were all shook, nothing like that has happened in this city in a long time and we all braced ourselves for a major bash coming all way. My point is, no one knows what could happen, but we are still ready and waiting for it and I am sure all of the other officers and I will be able to hold things down for a week without you and Wilde, if there is anyone that deserves some time off in here, it's you two.

Judy did not speak, she simply let the chief get out what he wanted to say. The buffalo continued to speak right after he decided to get up from his chair and come closer so that he could communicate better with Judy:

- The reason why I am telling you to take a week or so off from the precinct is so that you can get some much needed rest. This is not an order or a dismissal directed at you, it is just an option that I am putting out. You and Wilde have been through a lot and not even he wants to slow down after all of that, I think he is trying to follow your example.

It might have occurred to Judy before that Nick may have been refusing to sit back and rest at home because of her, she placed the fingers of her left paw over her lips as she thought about that carefully and it turned out to make a lot of sense. During their training and studies together, Judy would tell Nick to push himself as much as he could as to make his presence known, it was what she did but she never wished for her friend to push himself past any unhealthy limits. Judy almost became too lost in thought until she heard the voice of the chief speaking up:

- Listen Hopps, it is your choice if you will want to take the weekend for yourself or not, but I also suggest that you take Wilde along with you. It might do both of you some good to recharge your batteries while away from the station and all of this fuss.

Judy looked at the chief while having her ears standing up and parallel to one another, her tail twitched behind her and over her seat, she clenched her paws in front of her chest and contained herself as she asked:

- You want me to bring Nick along?

Bogo made a loud sound to make it seem like he was clearing his throat as he rephrased that:

- It's your choice. It might also do me some good to not take notice of his shenanigans while you are both out of here.

Judy relaxed her body, she showed a little smile in the chief's direction as she said with a sweet tone of voice:

- You care a lot about Nick.

Bogo looked away from Judy, placing his sight on a blank spot on the white board of his office as he said:

- I am the chief of this precinct, I am a leader and I have to watch for everyone. Of course I care about Wilde, as much as I care for every single officer and worker in here.

Judy nodded her head, she hopped down to the ground and directed her body towards the front door of the office, she had barely given a single step before she spoke her answer to the chief:

- I agree with what you said, it would be nice to take some distance from the rush of the city. I 'm going to take this little time off for myself and I'll see if Nick wants to come along.

Bogo found that suspicious at first, he opened his arms and lowered his ears with incredulity, during that situation the rarest thing happened as the chief abandoned his stoic visage to speak up with incredulity:

- That's it? You're just going to take it and leave? I was honestly expecting a little more out of you Hopps.

Judy was just about to reach for the doorknob when she heard that, she halted her movement, lowered her right arm, turned to the chief and explained herself:

- It's true that I would rather not leave the ZPD and my post unattended, but I really think that a little distance might do me some good. It feels like every problem and concern that I think of keeps stacking up one after the other so a little time to relax actually sounds good. Also, if Nick wants to come along so that he can heal properly, it might be good for him too, I just have to convince him.

Bogo released a sigh and returned his expression to a stoic type, he turned his eyes back to his desk and saw the small pile of paperwork that still waited for him after that conversation, he turned away from Judy and let her leave on her way before saying:

- You can put in a single request for Benjamin, I'll brief him on all of this and tell him to keep matters secret for the other officers. Best of luck, Hopps, for you and Wilde.

Judy opened the door and turned back to look at the chief one more time as she said:

- Thank you, sir.

Judy closed the door of the office behind her and walked slowly through the hallway so that she could find Nick. After two minutes or so of searching around the precinct, Judy managed to find Nick, the fox was seated in the ZPD breakroom enjoying a pack of cookies, she found him tossing the treats into his maw and delighting himself with the taste while seated on the nice couch in the room. Nick saw Judy entering the breakroom and gave her a little wave of a signal with his left paw, he was still chewing on the one cookie he had left in the pack as he waved to her and asked her to come sit down near him with that gesture. Judy obliged to Nick's request, she walked towards his position with a quick set of steps and jumped over the couch, sitting herself to his immediate right side and waiting a few seconds until he was done eating before asking:

- So, what did the mayor talk about with you?

Nick licked his teeth as to remove some of the crumbs that were still stuck on his molars before he got around to answering:

- Well, we just shot the breeze with some nice talk. He bragged a lot about some new ideas that the city council had about the betterment of the lives and housing of plenty of mammals in the city and, it turns out he is also a major gearhead, like yours truly.

Nick said that as he raised his snout up at a small angle and placed his left paw over his chest in a identifiable gesture, Judy smiled and leaned her upper body forward over her seat so that she could look up to Nick and get a better look at his expression, the fox's face directed down towards her once more before he continued to speak:

- Turns out our dear mayor is quite the expert when it comes to new and improved engines and wheels, he even offered me a quick tour of this new dealership in town, I refused, don't got that much interest in seeing new machines, it might be difficult for me to fawn over beautiful machines that park outside of my price range.

Judy smiled as she heard that, it was nice for her to see Nick telling about his conversation with the mayor, she already knew that Nick could talk it out and make friends wherever he went. The fox finished his talk as he took a short breath and said:

- That might be the coolest elected official I ever chatted with. He had to go just now, apparently there is way more in his schedule than in ours and I do not envy him for that.

Judy turned her sight ahead but she did not have a lot of time to contemplate as she heard Nick asking of her:

- So, what did the chief wanted to talk about?

Judy looked at Nick and thought on telling him about the file that the chief showed her, disclosing the full uncovered story on the ocelot, Judy decided to keep that detail hidden for the time and it really did not sit well with her trying to hide things away from her partner, it was a struggle having to hide the truth from Nick about anything and it bothered her that the inconvenience relating to that was dulling out the more she had to do it. Judy blinked rapidly and her left ear gave out for a moment, leaning a bit to the side before she took a hold of her emotions, straightened her posture and her ears before answering Nick's question:

- Well, the chief started out with a normal icebreaker, he complimented my efforts on the precinct and yours too.

Nick made a dismissive gesture with his left paw and said:

- Heh, I knew he cared.

Judy held out her laughter and continued with her answer:

- He also called to my attention since, apparently, I have not taken a single day off ever since rejoining the ZPD.

Nick cut into the talk again as he remarked nonchalantly:

- Surprising… no one.

Judy closed her eyes and held off the intention to tap her paw against Nick to get him to stop interrupting, she took a short breath through her nose and continued:

- So, the chief convinced me to take a few days to myself. I believe that would make for the best option at this time.

Nick had his eyes opened wide as he looked at Judy, he opened his mouth but no sound came out from him for five seconds until, that is, he decided to speak his mind to her:

- Wow! The chief convinced you to take some time off? Must have been one tough discussion, you were in his office for a while.

Judy turned away from Nick as she confirmed that by saying simply:

- Yes. Well… we exchanged some words and I decided to take up on some of the days off that I had stored up. It's really no problem for the chief at all.

Nick smiled but it soon came to him that if he decided to come to work for the near future whist Judy was taking her very deserved time off he might have to take the time to do his work alone, it also struck him that Judy might have gone through the same thing with a higher level of anxiety while he was in the hospital recovering. Nick turned his head slowly towards his partner as he asked her:

- So… where do you plan on going on this little time off of yours, fluff?

Judy raised then lowered her shoulders before she answered:

- I think I might just go visit my family in Bunnyburrow and relax for a while. It would be nice to see everyone again and catch up on things that are not related to Zootopia and the news.

Nick nodded his head twice and showed her a coy smile as he said:

- Alright, that's cool.

Nick turned his head away from Judy, he looked forward into a blank spot on the wall ahead as he continued to imagine how dull it would be to not have Judy around during work hours, only, the next surprise came at him quickly as Judy placed an innocent request to him. Judy took her time with plenty of awkward pauses in the middle of her words as she asked her partner:

- So… I was thinking… just now. Maybe, just maybe, you… might like to go… too… with me? Maybe?

Nick heard that, his ears raised straight up and he turned his head slowly back to Judy as he asked:

- What?

Judy showed a quick dismissive sign with both of her paws, palms turned to him and moving from side to side as she rephrased that:

- Well, it's just that… I know we have been going really well and nicely at work but I couldn't help but wonder if some time to relax might do us both some good. Also, maybe we could enjoy that time off… together. If that is alright with you… that is…

Nick turned his body slightly to the right over his seat so that he would be fully facing Jud as he talked to her, that motion was tricky to carry since his right arm was contained in the embrace of the medical sling and he did not wanted to give it any extra effort for the day, some of the pain he felt had come back and he still had to take his medicine that day. Nick tucked his right leg over the seat and turned to Judy as he asked her:

- Hang on there, carrots. You want me, a fox mind you, to come over to your family's farm and just hang out there with you? Are you sure your parents will be cool with that? I occupy a lot of space.

Judy smiled after it was confirmed that Nick was considering coming over to spend the time off with her in her hometown. Judy showed a wave of her right paw as she said:

- Nick, my parents will be delighted to have you coming along. There is always plenty of home in the Hopps' household and I just know that it will be a good time if you are there to rest and have fun with me.

Nick nodded his head slowly, his eyes deviated off to the left, he was seriously considering accompanying Judy to her home and just kicking back for a time, it really helped to solidify the idea in his head as Judy made it seem like the time off was her idea at the beginning. Nick raised from his seat, readjusting himself over the couch and putting both of his feet back on the ground before he said:

- You know what, carrots? You're on. I figure it's about time I took a gander at your old stomping grounds.

Judy was beyond excited, she could hardly wait for the time to come, she would take Nick along on a time that would be just for them to talk, relax and just stay their distance from any inquiries and controversies. By the end of the shift, Nick and Judy delivered the requisition form to Benjamin, who had already been informed by all of it thanks to the chief, and the two planned to meet up on the day following the next one so that they could go to the train station and pick on the next train to the tri-burrow area.

Judy had spent the day before the meet-up with Nick organizing her apartment so it would all stay clean and stored before her leave as well as making sure that her travel case would be well packed for the programed travel period. Judy owned a considerable amount of possessions since moving back to Zootopia but she still made a case to travel light so she only needed one suitcase to transport her articles of clothing and other personal belongings that she had chosen to bring along. Nick had a longer time than Judy planning and packing, for one crucial detail, the fox did not own any traveling cases so he had to go out and actually select one for purchase, nothing fancy or cumbersome, just something that would be easy to carry along and spacious enough to pack all of his clothes and other items. Nick ended up buying a dark green case with a retractable support handle and wheels on the back brace that would make the travel container easier to drag along and transport.

Nick returned to his apartment and had the worst time deciding what he would take along with him, he did not know what would be his accommodations at the home of Judy's parents so he decided to bring along a sheet and a pillow that he could use at night as well as a nice stack of box underwear, a nice selection of shirts, five pairs of long pants, two of his khaki shorts and no less than four ties of different colors each. Nick also decided to bring a small selection of comic books so that he could entertain himself before heading to bed during his stay, a stack of five of his favorite fictional stories safely stored at the bottom of the travel case, store along a toothbrush and a can of deodorant and he was ready to take his first trip out of town in quite a long while.

When the day for the meet-up finally arrived, Nick decided to sleep in, he was not going to work that day and the time to get to the station to board the train was not that early in the morning, the trip over to Bunnyburrow was quite short so there was actually no urgency at all. Just as Nick arranged on the day before, Finnick came over and agreed to take care of the fox's apartment until his safe return, the fennec fox knocked loudly on Nick's door as he asked for entry and Nick went on to answer, he appeared in front of Finnick with his best green leaf stamped suit and his fur totally neat and clean, he was ready for travel and for a grand ol' time out of town. As Finnick saw his friend opening the door and revealing himself to him, the little fox gestured towards Nick and said:

- Well, don't you clean up nicely?

Nick invited Finnick to come inside with a lean gesture of his left paw, the little fox came inside without any complaints and Nick took that as the cue to grab his case and get on his way. As Nick returned to the living room while dragging his new case behind him on its wheels, he found Finnick already seated on the couch and making himself at home, Nick came close and spoke up:

- Alright pal, I left some beer in the fridge if you want it and there are no deliveries to be made so you can just chill. Remember, no girls, no parties and no late night card games. I'll be back in a week.

Finnick already knew all of that so he asked Nick to stop pestering him about it. Nick decided to give his friend one last warning just in case before leaving out the door:

- Oh, one last thing. If by any chance some reporter from the local news drop by, do not tell them where I went and do not give any answers in my behalf, just send them off.

Finnick had not heard that bit of warning when he agreed to come over on the day before, the little fox turned in Nick's direction over the couch and asked:

- Can I flip them the bird? I always wanted to flip the bird to someone on the local news.

Nick placed the palm of his left paw over his muzzle before answering to that:

- Finnick, please, do not flip the bird to anyone on the local news. However, if you absolutely feel the need to do it, do not do it on my behest.

The fennec fox showed a thumbs up and spoke to that:

- Go it.

Nick grabbed his travel case and walked out the door, he gave Finnick one last farewell before leaving and heading out on his way. Nick had called a Zuber to take him to the train station, he could have asked Finnick to take him there but he felt like that would be more efficient and, most importantly, would save him from his friend's rant about wasting expensive fuel on the trip there and back again. Nick walked up to one of the service counters of the station and purchased a ticket for the town of Bunnyburrow, with a fresh new ticket in his possession, the fox moved up the escalator and began to search for the correct platform for his departure. Nick sat down on a bench close by, he waited for Judy as he hoped that she would see him so close to the platform where the train would soon arrive, the fox tried to relax while he just sat and waited but he could not help but notice that some of the eyes of the passengers departing Zootopia were landed right over him, he began to ask in silence that no mammal were to recognize him and that he could just board the train along with Judy without any hassle, that is when one thought popped into his mind:

"Damn. Now I get why Judy actively tries to avoid bursts of fame and fanfare towards her. This feeling is kind of annoying when I stop and notice it."

Nick tried to relax a little more, leaning his backside against the repost of the wooden bench and breathing deeply, he had to wait quite a bit so he decided to entertain himself by fiddling around on his cellphone, he scrolled around through some newsfeeds, mostly useless gossip and needless information, the fox waited for about twelve minutes before he heard a familiar voice calling to him:

- Nick.

He looked away from the screen and saw Judy, walking his way with a spring in her step and a medium sized travel case in her right paw, he raised from his seat and directed her to the platform nearest to them, it was time to depart. Judy and Nick walked side by side, each one of them looking forward to their time out of the big city, Nick was hesitant to admit that he was a little anxious, he had never been on a farm before and he did not know what it was going to be like, however, he was also excited to go, he knew that there would not be any bother since he already knew Judy's parents and how nice they were. Judy halted her walk as soon as she saw that they had arrived by the platform, there were not many passengers heading the same way they were going, she thought that was good, there would be plenty of free seats in the train that they could choose from, she swapped the paw she was using to carry her luggage, she raised her right arm and tapped Nick's left shoulder as she asked:

- Is everything in order for our trip?

Nick nodded his head once and answered to her, giving her a report of the details almost as if he was giving a casual report of facts back at the precinct:

- Yep. I let my mom know where I was going just yesterday, she wished both of us a nice trip and I also asked Finnick to watch things over while we were out of town, anything major pops up out on the streets and he will message us right away.

Judy released a sigh and spoke with a soft tone to her voice:

- Good.

Judy knew that Finnick, as one of the toughest and most well wired mammals both she and Nick knew, was the right choice as a source of intel for anything that might have slipped by during their absence, while it was unlikely that something truly serious might occur while the two officers were out of town, it would be best to have a reliable and efficient source to keep them in the loop. Nick had finished with what he had to say so it was Judy's turn to give him a short report of her own as she said:

- I cleared things up with my parents. You are going to have a room of your own while we are staying there and it will be no bother at all. We'll meet one of my sisters when we arrived at the station in Bunnyburrow and she will drive us to my parents' house.

Nick looked around as he searched for the train and spoke up as he acknowledged Judy's words:

- Sounds great. Let's get it going then.

Judy took a long breath through her nose and let out most of the air she had taken in through her mouth, she set her case down on the ground next to her and adjusted the fur on her head before she spoke up to Nick once more:

- Nick, listen, before we go, I feel like I should lay out some ground rules for you to follow.

Nick turned his head to the left to look at Judy and ask of her:

- 'Ground rules' like what, carrots?

Judy showed the pointing finger of her right paw as she began listing:

- First of: I will ask that you do not call me 'carrots' while we are at my parents' house. You might call me 'Fluff' but not 'carrots'. My family may get the wrong idea since they don't get how we operate together just yet.

Nick showed a nudge of his head in her direction as he said:

- Fair. Anything else?

Judy pointed in Nick's direction as she listed the final and maybe most important rule:

- Yes. My mom has a private little garden near the house. It's a little fenced off area that only she and my father can get in. You cannot touch anything in that little garden, otherwise, you will inquire her wrath. If that happens, you are on your own.

Nick made sure to keep that rule at the forefront of his mind, the last thing he wanted was to cause any friction towards Judy's parents. Given some five minutes of wait, the train arrived at the station, Nick and Judy boarded it through the first door that they could find, they embarked via the third train cart and got themselves two nice and comfy seats side by side next to the right side window. Nick got on his seat first, he asked to be next to the window so that he could be the first to check on their destination, Judy did not mind it and sat next to him after she finished storing their luggage on a reserved space right over their seats, Nick did his part to help out storing their cases since his luggage was much heavier than hers, the two sat down on their comfy seats and the train departed in no time at all.

As the relaxing rhythm of the tracks took hold, Judy lowered her ears, leaned back on her seat and looked to her right, Nick already had his eyes closed and breathing slowly, he looked to be asleep, Judy thought about leaning a little closer to him, placing her head over his shoulder and let time pass by in a flash as she picked on some sleep of her own, she was not very sleepy but she figured it might be nice. Judy tried leaning in close over the armrest on her side of the seat, she came in closer to Nick as slowly as possible as to not disturb him but she quickly retreated once the fox's voice rang out asking her:

- So, what's the plan?

Judy placed her upper body straight over her seat as she asked:

- T… the plan?

Nick opened her eyes and looked in her direction as he asked:

- Yeah, what are we gonna do after we get settled in for our little relaxing trip? What do you do for fun over there in Bunnyburrow?

Judy thought that over, she began listing off some of the best places to go in her hometown, she only knew a few of them since she rarely went out for fun activities when she lived there:

- Well… let's see. I know there is a nice mini mall with lots of great stores and there are some great restaurants with open air spaces. My sisters always talked about these places.

Judy searched her memory for anything else of note but there was nothing more to report as she said with a bashful tone:

- That's… about it.

Nick looked at her with his ears raised straight up and unsure of what to say next, Judy tried to remedy that situation by saying:

- It's a town with lots of inhabitants but it is still out of the way by 'big city' standards. There is not a lot in terms of entertainment.

Nick returned his head to the resting position he was before as he said:

- Meh, no problem. I'm sure we'll find something to have fun over there.

Judy smiled and nodded her head once before leaning her upper body back onto her seat and shrinking away into the comfort, she was a little embarrassed to have tried a simple advancement towards Nick so early into their trip, she figured that a calm week by the country side would be just the thing to help her sort things out in relation to her feelings towards the fox but, upon second thought, she believed it would be for the better to just wait it out for a bit. Nick kept relaxing over his seat, placing his left paw behind his head to provide him with extra comfort but then he also made a clicking noise with his teeth after a while, Judy looked over to him and asked:

- Everything alright there, slick?

Nick nudged his head to the right and answered her by saying with a vagueness to his tone of voice:

- Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't shake this feeling in the back of my mind that I might have forgotten something.

Nick made a quick inventory of all the items he took with him inside of his travel case, he accounted for his lucky deck of cards, his comic books, his pajamas and his cellphone charger, by his own account, Nick had brought over all that he really needed. Nick chalked that off as mere travel anxiety, he rarely left Zootopia after all so feeling like he forgot something back a ways might have been just part of his lingering discomfort caused by leaving his well stablished habitat and routine. After almost half an hour of traveling, the train out-speakers rang the sound of a bell that informed passengers that the train was near its next stop, that was Bunnyburrow. Nick looked out the window and saw the sign that welcomed new visitors to the little farming town, booming with population and friendly vibes, he looked over at Judy and nudged his right shoulder in her direction as he said:

- Looks like this is our stop.

Judy raised from her seat and reached up so that she could pick up hers and Nick's luggage, Nick made a dismissive sign with his left paw telling her that she could go right ahead and look for her sister, he would take care of picking his own travel case to carry along, Judy protested for a second as she told Nick that he did not know the area and there was no assurance that Judy's sister would be around to greet them upon arrival right away. Nick told Judy to not worry, he would be quick to grab his things and exit the train right behind her, she agreed upon his insistence and exited the train cart, she did not have to look around too long to get a sight of the sister that was sent over to provide them with greetings and transports:

- Judy?

The bunny officer turned her ears in the direction of the voice calling to her, her head soon followed that motion and she could identify a familiar face in the crowd right on the spot. Waving at her with a right arm sticking way up in the air while standing at the tips of her feet was a female bunny with a slick body and nearly clean white fur, dark tips on her ears and a very distinctive dark circle around her left eye, she was dressed in a humble attire with a blue and white flannel pattern T-shirt and a long pair of jeans that covered most of her legs. Judy smiled widely and spoke out the name of that bunny which she already knew by heart as one of her younger siblings:

- Theodora!

Judy rushed in the direction of her sister with her arms wide open and Theodora answered to that by opening her arms just as wide and bracing herself for a nice hug. Judy embraced her sister and the two of them were more than glad to see one another after what felt like such a long time apart, they released each other from the hug and Judy went right ahead to speaking:

- You look so big. I didn't know mom and dad were going to send you to pick us up.

Theodora nudged her head from side to side in an adorable quirky display, she kept a large smile on her face as halted her head in place and said:

- Yeah, the task came up and I volunteered on the spot. Mom and dad wanted to come over to see you up themselves but something urgent came up. They had to make this huge delivery of vegetables two counties over and it could not wait, so… here I am.

Judy and Theodora hugged once more and the white clad bunny said in a sweet whisper:

- It is great to see you again, Jude.

They released each other once more and Theodora inquired the most important question that she had, the younger bunny walked around her sister with a single wide step and looked around for a certain mammal o interest, she put herself back at the tips of her feet as she scanned the train platform, asking of Judy:

- Anyways, when do I get to see this 'cool fox partner' of yours that everyone has been so gaga about? Don't come and tell me that you left him back at the big city.

Theodora continued to look around until her eyes landed over the tallest figure leaving the train cart that Judy just came out of. Sticking out like a gleaming tower from the crowd of other mammals that were boarding the train, Theodora could see Nick, the fox she had heard so much about, sporting a magnificent look that left her speechless for a second. Nick stepped out of the train while carrying his luggage right behind him, he stopped as soon as he set foot on the platform to set his cargo down and search around in his pockets for one crucial item that he really hopped he did not forget, he picked up his classic aviator sunglasses from his left side pocket, flicked them open and placed them over the bridge of his muzzle, he let off a little smile as he protected his eyes up with the reflective lenses. Nick looked to the left and was quick to identify Judy and one other bunny placed next to her in the idle of the small crowd moving by the platform, the movement over there was big but it certainly was not bigger than back in Zootopia.

Theodora was awestruck, in her eyes the fox that came out of the train and was moving in their direction was someone with superstar status right out of a blockbuster movie, his smile and the way he moved utterly captivated her and she could only watch while frozen like a statue as Nick walked with a moderate pace and placed himself next to her. Nick let go of the extendable handle of his luggage and placed it at a standing position right next to him, he turned to Judy and asked:

- I take it that you already found the one who is giving us a lift?

Judy nodded her head and introduced Nick and her sister to one another:

- Nick, this here is Theodora Hopps, she is one of my younger sisters, she is the one who volunteered to come and take us into town. Theodora, meet my partner and friend, Nick Wilde.

Theodora got that as her cue to extend her paw forward and present the fox with a greeting, however, she almost made the mistake of showing him her right paw for a shake, she noticed that his right arm was placed in a medical sling and corrected her mistake expediently by extending her left arm ahead twice as fast and hoping that he would not notice it. After showing her left paw, Theodora spoke up while almost tripping on her own words:

- I… I mean… It's a pleasure to finally meet you, mister Wilde.

Nick leaned forward and showed his left paw, he grabbed the bunny's paw and shook it in the air twice as he said:

- Call me 'Nick'. The pleasure is all mine.

Theodora lowered her arm slowly as soon as Nick let go of it, she showed a silly smile and sounded off a giggle from the back of her throat, Nick's mere presence enchanted her and she did not know what to say or do next. Nick looked at the two bunnies and asked:

- So… shall we get going? Where is our ride parked?

Theodora pointed her right arm to the nearest exit to the station located far from the platform where the three of them were located, she aired instructions on how to find the car she had taken to drive all the way there, Nick looked in the direction that the younger bunny pointed and set his mind to be on the lookout for a small blue car that had the logo of the Hopps family farm stamped to its side. Nick decided to head off ahead, give Judy and her sister a little more time to talk and catch up and, as the fox walked ahead with a hurried rhythm to his steps, Judy and Theodora walked following his path at a certain distance from him so that they could continue talking, the younger bunny just had to say her thoughts and the first thing she spoke out to Judy was:

- Holy macadamias! When Samantha said he was 'hot' I did not believe, her but now that I see him in the flesh… I had no idea he was going to be this hot!

Judy turned to her sisters and thought about reprimanding her right away with an ear full as to stop her from talking like that any further but her words were halted half-way by a more important question:

- Theodora, that is not… Wait, Sam's here?

The younger bunny turned to her sister while slowing her walk and answered:

- Oh, *everyone* is here. After mom and dad let out that you were coming for a visit, a lot of our brothers and sisters came by to see you. Samantha came home from her shift as a nurse, Pam is also here, Meggie, Talia, Diana, Joselyn, Gale… Then there also Albert, Dillan, Jonathan…

Theodora just kept going, listing off the many siblings that had come over to Bunnyburrow to see Judy and the bunny officer immediately dreaded having to greet and introduce Nick to some of the most embarrassing siblings on that list. Nick found the car described by Theodora at the parking lot in front of the train station without any issue, Theodora unlocked the vehicle with the use of a small button on the key in her paws and Nick gladly embarked, he did not actually plan on spending the upcoming week in that calm rural town but now that he was there, the fox wanted to learn all that he could about his new surroundings and have as much fun as he could before returning with Judy to Zootopia. As Judy entered the car and occupied the front passenger's seat, she waited for Theodora to come in and sit in front of the wheel, the younger bunny sat down and put the seatbelt only to hear Judy's voice speaking to her as soon as she was about to put the key in the ignition:

- Are mom and dad actually cool with you driving around? This car is really high maintenance.

To which Theodora replied:

- Meh, no worries. While you were out busting crooks on the big city, I got my driver's license.

Judy raised her brow at that and asked:

- Did you now?

Theodora had little defense against Judy's inquisitive stare so she came clean and said:

- Okay, fine, I only got a learner's permit. Now put on the seatbelt and get off my case.

With that, Theodora turned the engine on and drove off in the direction of the town off in the hills nearby populated in the majority by bunnies and other lagomorphs. So began Judy and Nick's little time off from the city of Zootopia which now seemed as far as a distant dream.