A/N / So... Here is yet a 4th installment. Hope you enjoy.

The events here take place a year or two after the movie. This is a bit more of a Slice of Life story, so it is and will be slower than some other action-packed fics.

Note: I will occasionally be using an internal dialog technique that I am totally stealing from another author. I loved it so much I'm test driving it here in hopes of using the same technique in my original works.

Note2: This is the refresh. I want to thank Hereford67 and Bear678 for their work. Bear678 as my regular beta that keeps things at least marginally readable, and Hereford67 for their selfless volunteering of listing all the items they took note of. Thank you both!

I do not own and claim no rights to Zootopia or its characters. They belong to Disney.

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Precinct One - Post relationship reveal

Lizz and Judy walked out of Precinct One and rested for a moment when they reached the sidewalk, happy grins on both of their faces. They stood there just taking in the warm morning sun as mammals walked past the pair starting their days. Each reveling in the sudden lightness that the reveal put on them, lifting the burden of secrecy.

After a few moments, Judy looked up at Lizz. "So... Pretty good feeling to be fully open about it. Are you ready to have some fun? De-stress a little bit?"

Looking down at Judy, Lizz returned a warm, contented smile to Judy. "It really is. It really is. I'm already de-stressed, but if you have more, I'm on-board. You said you would take care of it, so what's first?"

"First. We head back to Therus. I'm a bit hungry, and I know you are. We have a quick bite, and a few friends I want you to meet are supposed to meet us there. After that, I was thinking about some shopping, a juice bar as we can't drink alcohol, then we'll see what sounds good from there. A minor spa treatment maybe? It is really up in the air based on how we are feeling and what we feel like doing. When was the last time you had your claws done?"

Lizz grinned and shook her head. "Food sounds good. Shopping? Having my claws done? Never. I may be even less girly than you. I don't shop. If I need clothes, I hit up Woolmart or Bulls-Eye, maybe Steers. They all have good large predator selections."

Laughing, Judy shook her head in return. "Oh, I know. I not much of a shopper either. The girliest things I owned until recently were presents from my sisters. I'm quite a fan of Steers clothing lines, farm girl after all. A good pair of well-worn jeans are my go-to."

Lizz grinned and put out a paw for a lo-high five. "Preach. Nothing more comfortable."

"I know, right! Although I get my workout clothes from Big 4 sporting goods."

"Same. They have the selection that other places don't."

"That they do, and yet... the girls have helped me see that there is something to it. Shopping that is, even if you don't actually buy anything. Just trust me on this. Though it will be nice to have a non-shopper to share the pain with. There are times I just cannot stand the girls as they go on about this outfit or that. Still, it's fun on the balance. As for getting your claws done. That doesn't mean you have to get them painted too, but trust me, you'll wish you'd been doing it, always."

"I trust you. Yet I see that yours are painted."

Judy looked at her claws, painted a deep purple that matched some of the deeper tones of her eyes. "Yeah. Joan talked me into it a few months ago. Nick not only noticed, but complimented me on it, which felt really good. So... I kept doing it. Besides, it comes with a massage."

Lizz gave Judy a skeptical look then shrugged. "Well, we shall see. So, am I driving?"

Judy beamed up at Lizz. "Yep. I'm leaving my car here for Nick to use after work, since he came in with me this morning."

Lizz nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. I'm assuming I or someone else will be dropping you home at some point?"

"That's the plan."

"Then let's go. I only had a few protein bars this morning. I was so nervous I couldn't hold anything else down, but now that it's over..." Judy nodded knowingly and followed Lizz to the large mammal lot.

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Tuesday, late morning - Therus

A few minutes later they were walking into Therus, the waitress, Erin, smiling as they both walked in.

"Ah. Ladies, back already?"

Judy looked up with a smile, getting another view up-skirt of the cougar.

Oh DAMN! Just underwear today. What a view!

We really shouldn't be looking.

You know this is the view Fin gets, right? I wonder if she did it on purpose.

She probably just forgot about smaller mammals like us.

Riiiight...

Stop being a perv.

Fine. Killjoy. It isn't as if we are taking a pic.

Then stop trying to memorize it!

But...

Stop! OMG, I cannot stand myself.

I blame Nick.

Nope. This is all us. I really hope she doesn't realize we were perving on her.

Hey, maybe next time she'll be wearing something skimpier.

My gods. Fin is right, there is something wrong with us.

Yeah, it's called a sexual awakening! Freedom!

I'm so done with this. Just stop.

Prude.

Perv!

You know that you're having this argument with yourself, right?

/Grrrr.../

Geez. Touchy. Fine, but we need to talk about this more later. With Nick.

/Sigh.../ Yeah. We do.

Judy's gaze finished traveling up and found Erin's face. "Morning, Erin. Told you that you'd be seeing a lot of me. Just a quick bite and then we are heading out for a girl's day out. They're supposed to pick us up here. Heading to the mall. The lingerie store, maybe a spa treatment. Lizz needs some relaxation."

Nodding down at Judy, Lizz smiled. "Yes. Though I am already feeling less worry than I did just a day ago, thanks to you and Nick."

Erin led the pair to a table and adjusted the seat, while also helping Judy up into the chair. "So, what can I get you ladies?"

Judy didn't even look at the menu, handing it back. "I'll have the spinach salad with grilled shrimp and the spicy lemon dressing. Fox sized peach blueberry tea."

Jotting that down with a shake of her head, Erin turned to Lizz. "And you ma'am?"

Lizz glanced over the menu a moment, being lunch the selection was reduced and slightly different. "Hmm... Actually, I will have the spicy shrimp bug burger with extra crispy fries, and a diet soda. Doctor says I need to keep the sugary things down, but I think I can get away with that."

"Great choice. One of my favorites, though the salmon you had yesterday is just about tops."

Lizz nodded. "It was one of the best pieces of fish I have had." Turning to Judy. "Isn't the cook, that fennec fox, one of Nick's former associates?"

Judy nodded as Erin walked away. "Yeah. Fin is a good mammal. Rough around the edges, but a good heart just like Nick." A shadow passing over Judy and her smile faltering. "Foxes have it so unfair, they rarely get opportunities that they don't have to work so much harder for. If they are not simply stuffed in a box and forced to conform to certain expectations." Judy looked down with a sniff. "I kinda get that, to be honest."

Lizz watched Judy for a moment as realization of what Judy was talking about hit her. Hard. How much harder had Judy had to work to be taken seriously as a cop, she wondered. The fact that so few took her seriously, even after everything. "I'm sorry Judy. There are expectations that every species has. I imagine it can be even harder to break out of them and be taken seriously as a smaller species."

A deep rumbling shout coming from the kitchen. "There is something seriously wrong with you rabbit!"

Shouting back at the kitchen with a grin. "Hey! He has a name!"

The reply, just as loud, but with a hint of a laugh. "You're right, but not what I mean, Toot-Toot!"

Judy's grin changed to a glare. "Don't make me come back there!" Silence responded for a moment before a deep belly laugh echoed through the restaurant, Erin looking back and forth between the kitchen and Judy, confused.

Lizz doing the same. "I'm so lost."

Chuckling, Judy took a sip of the tea that Erin had just set down. "Nick and Fin were partners before I met them. As you know, I turned Nick into a cop, which stole away Fin's partner in their various hustles. The infamous pawpsicle hustle being only one of many as it turned out. They actually worked nearly 16 hours a day, six and even seven days a week in order to make enough money to live off of." Glancing briefly at the kitchen. "Fin floundered around on some less lucrative hustles before I busted him on a minor theft charge while Nick was in the academy." Looking up at Lizz, her eyes sad. "The hustles he ran with Nick were all legal, barely, and riding the gray line, but they were. Save the taxes issue, which they have both cleared up. Thing was, they were all Nick. Fin never had the head for the research needed to make sure he stayed just on the right side of that line. He's not dumb by any means, but he's had it pretty hard, even by fox stamdards, and never got the chance to grow his education. Being foxes, it wasn't like they had a lot of choices, but that is also why Nick never had a record. It may have been sketchy, but what they were doing was legal."

Lizz's ears fell back. "Oh. Untrustworthy, sly, thieving fox, and all that."

Judy nodded sadly and looked out the window, ears laying down her back. "Right. I was no better the first time I met them. I accosted Nick because I believed all the crap my parents and others had said about foxes. Sly, conniving, untrustworthy, criminals by default..." Giving a wry chuckle. "I followed Nick into that ice cream shop because he was a fox, and for no other reason than that. Sure, this didn't help." Showing the scars on her cheek by pushing the fur back. "Grade school bully. A fox. Was a fight between kits. Long story short, he was bullying some of my friends. I stood up to him, he pushed me, I kicked him, he scratched me. Still... that's just an excuse." Lizz gasped, putting a paw over her mouth. "Yet we all grow up and realize that some of the dumb stuff we got up to as kits was just that. Dumb stuff that kits do, not knowing any better, no matter what the adults tell us. Gideon works with my family now. Could even call him a family friend at this point, and I do consider him a very close friend. He gave me a lot of information on Red Foxes early on in Nick and my relationship. He's also who I got the NightHowler clue from after I returned home in disgrace. You need to try the pies here, they're his, shipped in from Bunnyburrow."

"I will. So what happened?"

"I realized that I stole Fin's partner to a better life. I left Fin without a partner, and without the guide that was Nick, or opportunities, that kept him on the right side of that thin gray line of what is, and is not, legal. Fin is proud, so I couldn't just give him something, he'd never accept it. I remembered that Nick had told me that Fin was a really good cook, so I offered to use my badge to make sure he got a fair shake in an interview, as long as he would make the real effort to go straight."

Lizz's ears fell back, and she looked at Judy horrified at what she had just implied. "Judy! You didn't?"

Judy gave Lizz a very predatory grin that set her ears back further. "Nick isn't the only one that can run a hustle, but you should know that by now. The restaurant I got him an interview with is owned by my cousins from my Aunt Jessica's third litter. They'd gone in together and bought the place. They were doing pretty good business and were one of the first places to start bringing in Gideon's pies and other baked goods into the city. They were also a prey only place and wanted to expand, at least draw in some omnivore business, so they needed a cook that could do predator as well as prey food. They tried cooking up some bug burgers themselves, but none of my cousins could handle the smell, and things like shrimp or fish... Just not going to happen. Foxes being omnivores make good cross food cooks. If they can get a chance."

Lizz was grinning now. "So, as long as he could actually cook, he had the job."

Fin's deep voice coming from the side of the table, the tips of his ears just visible as he approached. "Yeah. Worked there for a bit over a year. They even paid for night classes at culinary school. Helped me get this job when they brought on that silver fox Judy found them. Kinda wish I could have learned under that guy for a while. He turned that little dinner into a 3-star bistro when word got around about his cooking. Still, like I said, they helped me get in here since o'l Jack retired." Looking up at Lizz and Judy as they looked down at him. "Still a damn good hustle there, Toot-Toot. Had me fully convinced that you'd gotten just a little bit dirty, just to help me out. If anything, I appreciate the help more because it was a hustle and not strait up. Didn't catch on til I caught ya in the office talking to Teresa one day when I came in early for some extra hours. Keep that up rabbit and you'll be able to use that same stupid line that Nick does."

Judy laughed. "Yeah. I know a guy."

Fin chuckled. "That ya do. Now here, try this. I know you ordered the salad, but I wanted to try a new dressing, a spicy sesame base. So, give it a taste."

Judy took the offered sample, dipped a few offered leaves in it, and popped it in her mouth, eyes going wide as she chewed. "Oh wow! Fin! That is fantastic! Please, yes. Use that instead of the spicy lemon." Offering the sample to Lizz.

Tasting it, Lizz eyes lit up. "Oh my! That is good. Can you put a bit on my burger while you are at it?"

Fin grinned proudly. "Will do. Food will be done in a few min. Enjoy ladies. But don't expect this to be on the regular menu."

They watched him return to the kitchen; Lizz then turned to Judy. "So, you trusted them, your cousins trusted Fin because of you, giving him a chance. Like Nick becoming a cop."

"Yeah. To someone like a fox that no one trusts that no one wants to sit next to because they have a strong musk, and so many other stupid, false reasons. It means a lot to them. Think about it. They have few prospects, often being forced to crime just to feed themselves and their families. They mostly live in Happy Town and other less desirable parts of the city, because so few will rent to them.

You don't see it, but I do now. We rarely go to Happy Town on patrol, we don't get calls there unless something is really bad, so you don't see it. They have almost an entirely separate economy and culture in those areas. Did you know that putting Happy Town on your resume hurts your job prospects, no matter what else might be on it, because that's where foxes and other criminals live." Seeking Lizz's skeptical look and frowning. "No, I didn't say that wrong, and you know it.

Even if you are not a fox, a Happy Town address hurts your chances of getting any job that is more than menial, minimum wage, part time, and you're almost guaranteed to be paid less. Even with my degrees, I applied to a few jobs that I was more than qualified for, but used a Happy Town address, Nick's mothers place. I didn't even get an interview. When I called back, they claimed that they had filled the position, but when I drove past, they had in fact not and were still doing interviews for it."

Lizz shook her head. "Judy... Surely... There has to be a different reason."

Shaking her head and not looking up at Lizz. "I talked to a few foxes that were waiting for their interview. They actually lived in Happy Town but used a friend's address in other parts of the city on their resume to get a foot in the door. It was for a call center job, and they had to borrow a friend's address just to get an interview and get paid half what the other workers do."

"Judy, that would be illegal."

Shaking her head slowly, Judy studied her drink. "Yeah, it is. I reported the company. The foxes and others, if they can get into a job like that. They don't complain. They can't afford to." Taking a shuddering breath. "You know what happened next? After I filed that report? All but two foxes ended up getting fired. Accused of stealing office supplies, and then black-listed for that kind of job. The law is set up so that the labor department is required to notify companies of complaints. Only it's worse than just that. The law is written so that they must give details, notify the company ahead of time that they're coming to visit for an inspection, etc… It is literally written to protect companies that chose to discriminate.

The company paid an insignificant fine, and seven foxes, with families, lost their jobs, because I did what I was supposed to and reported it. They lost their jobs, Lizz. And if I hadn't interfered, one of them would have lost their son to Kit services. I got written up for that, but I stopped it." Laughing darkly. "I kept Social Services tied up long enough that the father could get a new job and they moved." Pulling an ear over her shoulder to pet it. "It's stupid, but one of the proudest moments in my life so far was getting written up and losing a month's pay for interfering with another agencies investigation."

Pausing Judy took another shaky breath, held it, and let it out before continuing. She turned to look out the window as a small herd of deer walked past. "One of the reasons foxes do better than other unfairly maligned mammals is that they are smart. Stupid smart, as a species, society just won't allow them to do anything with it." Turning back to glance at Lizz before looking away again, still petting her ear. "Did you know that the inventions that make your and my cell phones so powerful were all created by foxes? The programming language that the operating system is built on, that makes it possible to be used on phones as small as a mouse or as large as an elephant, was created, from scratch, by a fox. Red Fox as a matter of fact. A fox that was then fired and several of his co-workers taking credit for and claiming he stole their work and ideas. It's still in the courts, and he has proof, and yet, he's lost the most recent appeal, because he is a fox, and the judge said as much!" Anger at the injustice tinging Judy's voice.

Lizz could see that Judy was getting more and more upset. "Judy. I didn't know any of that. Being mates with Nick has to make this really personal."

Judy nodded and looked down. "It does. Nick has an IQ of more than 160. It's high enough that the number is an estimate. I'm smart, but not like him. Not like most foxes. Nick isn't an exception, he's pretty average by red fox standards in that regard."

Lizz shook her head. "Judy, that's genius level."

Laughing sadly, Judy took a drink. "Yeah, I know. You do know that Nick was Valedictorian of his class too. Scored a few points higher than I did in a few areas, and I held the record. Still do for a few things, he holds the others. He studied the law at the library, which is why his hustles were always just barely on the right side of legal. He just never bothered to look into the whole taxes thing."

"I didn't know that."

"I didn't either. I mean, I knew he was smart, but after we started dating, and talking, it all came out. He didn't want there to be any questions of honesty between us." Glancing up at Lizz before looking down, stroking her ear more, the other drooping but still up. "You know what I fear most? Nick and I are so much more open, and after today, there's no more hiding for us. I'll never tell him this, but I'm terrified of what will happen with our kits. Kit services jumps at even the slightest hint of anything to pull a young fox out of their home and stick them in foster care. Though they normally end up in a group home; no one wants to foster a fox.

Why pull a kit out of the home? Because their dad got fired, accused of stealing from their job. Doesn't matter that they didn't, or that they worked three times as many hours for half the pay of the other workers. All because some dumb bunny did what they were supposed to and reported the company for discrimination. The only people hurt were the foxes, and two weasels. If it is actual criminal stuff, no lawyer wants to touch their case, and even the public defender only does it because they have to and puts almost no effort in. That company never pressed charges. Why would they? That would mean an actual investigation." Judy wiped away a tear with the back of her paw and took a drink of her tea. "The accusation is all that is needed."

Lizz had switched back to being aghast and horrified at the implication of what her friend feared. "No! Judy, that will never happen with you."

Judy looked up, a tear in her eye. "Won't it? I can't be sure. We're cops, but... I watched it happen, and got written up in order to stop it, because I did what was supposed to be the right thing. The only way I could do the actual right thing was lose a month's pay and have a write up in my permanent file." Closing her eyes and taking a deep, shaky breath as her ears lost some of their rigidity. "Yes, it is that bad and worse, and it could. It really could.

I know a lot of foxes now. There are even a few that talk to me as an honorary fox. That's a real honor by the way. I mean that. I know mammals at the precinct talk about how Nick and I get all the cases that have a fox as a suspect. It isn't because of Nick though. I am the one that insists. Don't get me wrong, we go in like any other case, Bogo wouldn't give us those unless he knew we were completely professional, but I make sure that the fox actually has to be guilty." Looking towards the kitchen. "I also work a lot of old cases. Going back over the evidence. Nick and I have a deal. I can only work one at a time, and he controls how many hours I can spend on it. I was trying to do so many at one point that I wasn't sleeping." Sniffing strongly to hold in the tears.

Lizz felt the look towards the kitchen had a lot more meaning then Judy just looking around, but felt it wasn't the time to ask about it. "You guys do have a reputation for getting convictions overturned, and not just for foxes. Even gotten a few officers and at least one prosecutor sanctioned. Hasn't helped your interaction with some of the officers or the DA's office."

Judy shook her head, staring into her tea. "I know. I just cannot stand by when I know that someone was railroaded for the crime of being born the wrong species or being in the wrong place at the wrong time." Her voice took on a harder edge. "If they are guilty, then they need to go to jail, period. But not just because they are a weasel, a fox, a sheep, or anything else. A fox's musk isn't any worse than any other mammals. Sure, you could say I'm biased, but unless they've not gotten a shower in a few weeks, it really isn't any stronger or worse than anyone else. But what happens when you're living on the streets and relying on shelters for a shower, only to get turned away because you're a fox, a skunk, a weasel? Nick used 24hour Gyms that he'd hustled his way into memberships, and even then, he could only come in late at night."

Judy paused and looked up at the ceiling for a moment then looked down before continuing, clearly struggling to keep her ears up as they drooped but stayed up. "I'm sorry, Lizz. I'm being an emotional bunny and being pregnant only makes it worse. I guess we all have our worries and fears, and I didn't mean to be such a downer. Today is supposed to be about having fun and forgetting about all that, at least for the day."

Judy took another deep breath and shook herself, clearly trying to smile and not quite succeeding. "Sorry again. It's just a big deal for me. Once I knew Nick and Fin as mammals, even before Nick and I became more. I realized that I had been so wrong about so many mammals I had known in my life, and seeing that, I realized just how much of a jerk I was." Putting her paw to her cheek. "I realized that me and my friends were no less bullies, and a lot of the bullying that Gid did was all that he could do to defend himself, to reclaim some momentary hint of power.

I realized that prey have used their numbers and positions of power to do the real evil so often projected onto predators. Not just the overt, over-the-top stuff like Bellwether, but the more mundane stuff too. The laws I was talking about with the labor department, written and championed by the prey on the council, and passed on prey only votes.

I realized that, if I was going to make the world a better place, I needed to fix myself, and then stand up to the injustice that so many suffer from." Judy paused for a long shaky moment to get herself under control, her ears finally gave up and fell behind her. "I knew the first thing I needed to do was get over my fear of predators. All of them. They're no more or less likely to be violent, and if anything, most predators are more careful. Heck, we get called out on more domestic violence calls, murder during mating season, etc... for prey than all predator calls put together for an entire year."

"Oh Judy." Lizz looked on in shock, near tears herself.

A small smile coming over Judy as their food was delivered. "It's a fact. I did a, me, as Nick would call it. I looked it up and going over the numbers was one of the first steps in dealing with my fear. It is true, even when you calculate it as a percentage of population size. I reviewed all the studies and did the math myself.

As I moved my way through that fear, realizing how unfounded it really is. Sure, there are violent mammals, but that's true for any species. Thing is. Working through all those feelings. That's when I realized I was in love with Nick." Looking up at Lizz, she saw how distressed she was and turned on her brightest smile. "Sorry again, Lizz. I don't mean to be such a downer. I get going sometimes. Nick says it is because I care so much, and says it is one of the reasons he fell in love with me. Did I mention that working through all this is how I realized that I was in love with Nick?

"You did."Said Lizz, blinking away her tears and giving a weak smile.

The sadness and pain draining from her as her ears came back up, Judy turned a brighter smile on Lizz. "Yeah. You want to talk about fear? It wasn't the admitting to myself that I was in love with Nick. No... It was the day I decided to tell him. Now that was real fear!"

Lizz chuckled and sniffed, wiping away the tears in her eyes. "Judy, you are an amazing mammal, you know that. But yeah. That was the most fear I've ever felt. More than being in a firefight and running out of ammo, or anything else. Mike and I were doing well as partners, but one day, he was sick and I got paired with Delgato. He's a good guy, a good cop, but something felt wrong with me. Even Delgato mentioned that I seemed off. Distracted. Of course, I waved it off, there was nothing wrong." Judy's smile morphed into a grin as she gave Lizz her full attention. "At lunch I wasn't hungry. Me... Not hungry? Doesn't happen. I kept thinking about Mike, I couldn't get him out of my head."

"Was he okay? Was he hurt? Should you take him some soup, some medicine? What kind of medicine would he even use or did he?"

"Yeah, all that and more."

"That thought, nipping around the edges of your brain that you can't quite catch."

"Oh. That is a good description. Exactly that. Like I was being stalked by this feeling I knew but couldn't put a name on."

"Then something. Something silly. Stupid. Unrelated to anything else in the world, and not at all related to the actual feelings you were being stalked by, happened. You saw, smelled, heard something, and ..."

"It struck. Boom! And I knew exactly what it was that I'd been feeling, why I'd been off that day, and why I couldn't get Mike out of my head."

"You were in love with him."

Lizz nodded. "I was in love with him."

Grinning knowingly, Judy sat back with her drink in paw. "Let me guess. You freaked out."

Lizz looked down, ears folding back and tail drooping, un-moving. "So badly. I punched out early, told Delgato that lunch wasn't sitting right. He gave me a look, because I hadn't eaten, but let me go. I left the precinct at a dead run. I totally did."

"Didn't go home though, did you. You walked, and when you came to..."

"Sounds like the words of personal experience talking, and yeah. I walked. When I actually registered where I was, I was near his place. I looked up and saw him in his window as he walked past. He was wrapped up in a blanket and clearly looked miserable."

Judy leaned forward, putting her drink down. "And?"

"And... The next thing I knew, I was at his door and had already knocked. I should have been on shift for another four hours and had no excuse. I wasn't in uniform. He opened the door and just looked at me. He was so sick he barely recognized me."

Judy gave Lizz several moments before speaking up. "Oh, dear gods, what then? Do not leave a rabbit hanging like this."

Chuckling, Lizz leaned forward. "He tried to chase me off, being sick and all. I pushed passed him, took stock of the situation, and dragged his arse to urgent care. He got prescribed meds, which I picked up for him. I took him back home, to my place, and fed him. While he slept on my couch I went back to his place and picked up some clothes for him, toiletries, etc... He ended up taking three days to get better and I took those days to nurse him back to health. By the following Monday as we entered the precinct, I knew I needed to confess to him, so I asked him out for a drink after work. We did just that, and over our fifth beer, I admitted that I had fallen in love with him. There was the usual crap coming from me about him not feeling the same and just needing to let him know."

"That you are happy with just being friends and partners, but you cannot continue without letting him know. All very cliche."

"So very cliche." Lizz looked away, embarrassed as her earls laid out to the side. "He stood up and said that we needed to go home. That was his reaction, and I was dying inside, but then he said it again. Emphasizing that we needed to go home. Then took my paw and dragged me out of the bar to his place. Once inside his demeanor changed from serious to pure puppy joy. Wagging tail, grin, and tears in his eyes. He told me how he was in love with me and was too terrified to tell me because he was afraid of losing what we had. Then we kissed for the first time. We didn't even do anything but kiss and snuggle, but it was heaven."

Judy groaned despite her grin. "Gods, our mates are so alike in that way."

"So, what? Your story mirrors mine?"

"Bar a few minor details, they're almost interchangeable. Only I was the one that was sick."

"Just your luck."

"He was so caring, so careful, so... just everything. Refused to let me stay in the shoe box of an apartment I had and took me to his. It's right on the border of what most mammals think of as a bad neighborhood, but he owns it outright. It took what I knew I was feeling and poured a fifty-gallon drum of gasoline on that little ember of a feeling."

Lizz chuckled. "Exactly that."

Looking down at their food. "You know what. Let's eat. The girls should be here soon, and I think we've had just about enough emotions for a bit, don't you?" Digging into her food. "Mmm. That new dressing is the best."

Lizz nodded swallowing a bite, watching Judy carefully. "Agreed, and yes, that dressing is to die for. It really adds something to my burger."

Judy grinned. "Don't tempt me to demand a taste."

Chuckling, Lizz smiled. "At this point, I'd let you."

They ate in silence for a time, Lizz finally setting her burger down, blinking back tears. "Judy. I'm sorry."

Looking up at Lizz, Judy's ears came up. "What for?"

"I've judged both you and Nick so unfairly. I've judged people not for who they are, but for what they are. Even being with Mike... I still did it when I met you, we all did. We only saw a rabbit wearing a badge we didn't think she could possibly have legitimately earned. Bogo showed us some videos and pictures from the academy. Video from when you and Nick were on the Missing Mammal and Night Howler cases. It shocked all of us. You showed yourself to be so much stronger than most of us veteran cops.

You... both of you faced down Manchas and came out of it because you trusted each other. You weren't even a full week on the job and showed more of what being a cop was about than any of us. I thank you and Nick every day for solving those cases, for revealing who was trying to destroy this city." Putting her paw over to Judy. "Yet, despite how we treated you, how you still get treated by some of us, you still keep going. You and Nick welcome us as your friends. We really don't deserve you two."

Smiling and patting Lizz's paw. "Lizz. We don't deserve, or not, anyone in our lives. We deserve what we get by the decisions we make about people and ourselves. It's not perfect, because society can push back against you, but you have to keep trying. It's when you give up and just accept it... The Gods know I have made some mistakes in my short time as a cop. That press conference will haunt me for the rest of my life. Nick was a civilian I essentially blackmailed into helping me. I wake up thanking any gods that will listen that Nick is beside me in spite of that. That he loves me in spite of how we started out. I try every day to do just one thing to try and make up for all the hurt and pain that still festers in this city, that my few so poorly chosen words caused."

Lizz looked at Judy in shock. "Judy. I've seen it. Read the reports. You were just repeating what you heard that doctor say, and she was a predator. The Gods only know how or why Bogo let you get put up there with no preparation or anything whatsoever. You were new to the force, had no backup from any of us, no support, no preparation, nothing. You were set up by Bellwether, with Doug planted in the pool of reporters to hit you with that damn question. You'd had how much sleep? A few hours, if any at all, and been living off adrenaline up to that point too, right?"

"Yes, and all of that is still an excuse. I could have... I should have done better. I hurt so many innocent predators. I have to do everything I can to be better, and to fix what I can. To make the world a better place. I know that the city has always been broken, but some of those newest and rawest cracks are there because of me, and what I said."

Shaking her head, Lizz leaned back. "And that right there, is why we... why I don't deserve you."

"No. Lizz, you are my friend. I didn't mean to dump all that on you, it's just been weighing on my mind, and I haven't had anyone to vent to. I'm the one that should be sorry for dumping on you like that. If you want to feel that you deserve to be my friend, then be my friend back. That is all I am asking from you."

"Okay. Then as your friend, don't hesitate to unload like that. The friend thing goes both ways, right? I know you would be there for me if I needed to unload like that, and I'm sure I will sometime soon. The whole being open thing needs to finish setting in I think, and then I'll probably need a whole evening of ice cream and romance comedies to get through it, and I know you'll be there for me when I need it."

A genuine smile brightening Judy's face and eyes. "Thank you, Lizz, and you know I will. There is a lot of this stuff that I just can't talk to my sisters, mom, or even some of the other girls that I've met in the inter-community. The cop stuff, ya know? Nick has his own outlets, and we talk too, but he also has his night out with the guys, including Mike."

"Yeah, and that leaves us without anyone. It would be nice to have someone I can call. A different ear than just my mates to bend."

"Right. Someone I can complain about my mate to, too. I mean, I love that fox, I do, but he can be so annoying sometimes."

Lizz nodded with a smile. "Totally get you. Mike can drive me right up a tree sometimes. Besides, no one that hasn't worked with Bogo, Andersen, or even Ben, will understand. Especially if you need to vent about a case or some traffic stop."

"Right! The nerve of some people. My gods, the grief you get. It isn't like we made them speed."

"Oh, don't I know it! I'll warn you though, now that I know you are a meat eater, I'm calling you in on the next blood bath I get called out on. I mean, just because I'm a tiger doesn't mean I need to get assigned all the gruesome, nightmare inducing, crime scenes."

Judy chuckled darkly. "Nor do I need to get assigned to every produce related crime. Yeah, I'm a farm-girl and proud of it, but damn it! Surely there is someone else that can be sent out whenever someone snatches a few carrots at a farmers market."

"Right! Still getting stuffed into our boxes. Maybe once we're both back on the force, we can band together as a foursome."

"I like the sound of that. Now, let's finish up. I see that Carry has just gotten here and..." Judy froze for a second as her eyes went wide. "NO WAY!"

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A/N /\\\\ So, even I can do cliffhangers. Sure, it doesn't have the tension of cutting out in the middle of a firefight, or Judy leaping into the breach, but it still is one.

Remember to review if you are enjoying this little foray into WildeHopps. I do have original work as well, which I cannot post here, but I can point y'all to it if you want.