Disclaimer: Zootopia and all related characters are owned by Disney. All other characters, product names, trademarks, and copyrights, belong to their respective owners.

…..

"A few more miles and we'll be there," said Connor, glancing at Judy, who was sitting holding her knees to her chest, staring out the window.

Judy hadn't said anything since he'd told her what the Mule had done to Big's Gram-mama. He'd wanted to kick himself for telling her as soon as the words had left his mouth. She had enough to worry about without piling that news on top of everything else she'd been through today.

"I heard Bogo say you've been to this place before," Judy whispered.

"My rookie year, I volunteered for an undercover case investigating a gang that was targeting interspecies couples. They'd watch the bars here in Tundra Town, and when they spotted an inter couple, they'd send them a message with a beating.

"They'd try to make it look like a mugging, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what they really wanted."

"What was your undercover assignment, infiltration of the gang?"

"No, Bogo asked me to partner up with a third-year Officer from Precinct 6, we were set up as a couple, makeup, clothes, the whole nine yards, and then we spent about two weeks hanging out at bars waiting for the gang to make their move on us."

Perking up a bit, Judy replied, "Wow, not too many rookies get picked for something like that."

"Well, not too many officers are willing to pretend they're in an interspecies relationship. Bogo already knew about Olivia, so picking me was a no brainer, and the girl I was partnered with had dated a hyena in college, so we were able to fake it well enough to attract the attention the ZPD wanted."

Judy nodded, "Nice, what species was she, the girl they partnered you with?"

"Uh, she was a lioness."

Judy put a paw up to her muzzle and said, "Oh, no. Two weeks, bar hopping with another feline, how did that go over with Olivia?"

Connor cringed, "Not well. When the case was over, she spent an hour scrubbing my fake girlfriend's scent out of my fur and then…" smiling now, "I missed two days of work because she wouldn't let me out of bed. Best time I've ever had."

Chuckling a little, Judy unwound herself in the front seat and said, "Connor, TMI, I can't believe you said that."

Glad Judy was in a better mood, Pawson leaned over and mock whispered, "That's not all. She marked me so thoroughly I was assigned solo foot patrol for a week because no one could stand to be around me."

Judy hummed at the thought of marking a certain someone, and then asked, "Have you guys ever claimed each other?"

"You've heard of that, have you? Not something I'd expect most prey to know or care about." And then seeing Judy squirm a little in her seat, Connor continued, "Claiming isn't as big a thing for felines as it is for canids, but, yeah, after our commitment ceremony and again after my undercover assignment was over, Olivia and I claimed each other.

"It's one of the things I love about Olivia. I didn't ask her, I wasn't even planning on bringing it up, but both times, it was something she really wanted to do."

"That's so sweet."

"Yeah it was, although she doesn't know her own strength sometimes. I couldn't lift my arm above my shoulder for almost a week after her first claiming bite."

"TMI," Judy laughed again, "way, way too much information."

Connor turned into a snow-covered neighborhood and then casually asked, "So, any particular reason you're so curious about canid mating habits?"

"Nope," and then after staring innocently at Connor for a few moments, she pointed out the window, "Isn't that the street you want over there?"

"Sure, Hopps," Connor chuckled, "Nice save, by the way."

…..

The pair went silent as Judy fought down a severe ear blush by focusing on anything outside her side of the car. Fortunately for her, Connor was able to keep the snickering to a minimum as he turned onto a little-used, snow covered road. Passing a stand of pine trees, Connor raised his paw to point out their destination when Judy suddenly sat up in her seat, not believing her eyes.

"What are Raymond and Kevin doing here?"

Connor pulled his car into the driveway and watched as a pair of armed polar bears positioned themselves on either side of his car. They both wore shoulder holsters large enough so they could each carry two pistols and a pawful of extra magazines, in addition to the assault rifles hanging on their backs.

"You know these guys?"

"Yeah, they work for Mr. Big."

Pawson shook his head, "Great, just fucking great, heavily armed mob enforcers standing in front of the secret ZPD safe house I'm supposed to be hiding my partner in. I love it when a plan comes together."

"Connor, language."

Rolling his eyes, the wolf was about to ask if he'd get iced for using profanity when there was a tap, tap, tap on his window. Rolling it down, he barely had a chance to look up at a growling muzzle before he felt a gun barrel pressed against the side of his skull.

"I read lips."

"Kevin! Hi, it's wonderful to see you, but what are you and Raymond doing here?"

Connor carefully raised his paws, and turned toward Judy in time to see the other large bear's muzzle poke in through the window that Judy had just finished opening.

"Ahh, Miss Judy, it is good to see you well, but we must hurry." Pulling the door open, Kevin reached in, scooped Judy out of the car, and carefully held her to his chest.

"Bring wolf with bad manners," Kevin called to his brother as he quickly made his way to the door of the nondescript looking ranch style house.

"Kevin put me down, I'm not hurt that bad."

Ignoring his charge's protests, Keven reached the door just as another, even more massive bear, opened the door and ushered them both inside.

"Boris and Morris, you're both here too," chirped Judy to Mr. Big's largest and most intimidating bodyguard, and his twenty-year-old son. "What's going on? Why are you guys all here?"

Reaching out, Koslov gently brushed Judy's cheek with his finger, "We're here for you, Miss Judy."

"Hopps," interrupted a gruff voice before Judy could ask her friend anything else.

"Chief Bogo? You and Boris are here together, you… know each other?"

"No questions, we'll talk when Dr. Badger is finished giving you a checkup," replied Bogo as he waved Kevin toward the bedroom he'd just come out of."

"Hey, watch where you're pointing that thing. And what have you done with Hopps?"

Everyone turned to see Raymond push Pawson into the house with the business end of his pistol.

"It's okay, Connor, I'm fine."

Looking around the room, Pawson gulped, "Well, you're the only one, then."

"Please bring Officer Hopps in here," said a Badger wearing a white lab coat to Kevin, who did as he was told and gently placed Judy on a medium-mammal sized bed.

"Stay well, little one."

Waiting until Dr. Badger had closed the bedroom door, Bogo said, "Thank you, Koslov. I'll stay with her inside the house tonight. And Koslov, I'm not expecting anyone else, ZPD or otherwise, so..."

Koslov nodded slightly to Bogo and ushered his associates out of the house so they could set up for a long, sleepless night of guard duty.

Pawson closed the door behind the bears and then went over to the window and watched them split up and take positions around the house.

"Sir, what in the holy hell are they doing here?"

"Helping us keep Hopps alive. Now start talking, I need to know everything that's happened."

…..

Looking the bunny over for any obvious injuries, Dr. Badger asked, "Alright, where does it hurt?"

"My chest. I was buried under some construction debris, and Connor told me he had to lift a board off of me to get me out."

"You don't remember?"

"Not exactly, it all happened pretty fast. A guy slashed me with some kind of artificial claw, except all the claws were razor sharp blades. I tried to shoot him, but I must have missed because I think he slashed me again, and then I bounced off something, after that, all I remember is waking up buried under a bunch of trash."

"You must have gotten lucky then because I don't see any cuts on you anywhere." Using a small flashlight, Dr. Badger flashed it in Judy's eyes and asked, "Do you feel dizzy? Do you see any spots in front of your eyes?"

"No."

Focusing more on Judy's head, Dr. Badger ran her through a concussion test and then checked her for any bumps or bruises she may have suffered.

"A small bump on your head, but no signs of a concussion. Let's get your shirt off so I can check the rest of you." Pulling a pair of scissors out of her bag, Dr. Badger lifted the hem of Judy's vest and made to cut it off.

"Doctor, you won't be able to cut my vest off. There's a seam under my left arm, if you can help me undo it, that would help."

"Alright, but having to take it off over your head is going to hurt a lot."

"I'm ready."

"Raise your arms."

"Ow, ow, ooooh."

"Yeah, it sure sounds like bruised ribs. Unfortunately, we won't know for sure until I poke you with my finger."

Judy groaned, "You're not really going to do that, are you?"

Dr. Badger smiled and shook her head, "Doctor humor, just stay still, and I'll be as gentle as I can."

"Ow."

…..

"So, that's all I know. Hopps doesn't remember much about the fight, and the Mule and his accomplice got away."

"Alright, you did the right thing by not calling me on my ZPD line. Going forward, you report directly to me." Pulling a generic-looking cell phone out of his pocket, Bogo handed it to Pawson, "Use this phone when you need to get hold of me. It's clean, and it's programmed to make a secure connection when you call its mate that I'll be keeping on me twenty-four seven.

"If someone's hacked the ZPD systems, I don't want them to know anything about where Hopps is. If we're lucky, the Mule thinks she's dead, and I don't want anybody in Zootopia to find out any different and tip him off."

"What's the plan then, hole up here until we can find the Mule?"

"No, I want you to take her to Bunnyburrow tomorrow morning. She'll be safe from the Mule out in the country, and Wilde will be there to keep an eye on her too."

"Bunnyburrow, are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Bunnyburrow has an equid population of exactly zero, so if the Mule tried to hunt Hopps there, he'd be spotted in a second. And even if he decided to risk being exposed, it'd be nearly impossible for him to find Hopps in a town with a rabbit population in the tens of thousands. Hell, most mammals can't tell the difference between a hare and a rabbit, let alone one rabbit from another. He'd have to go through half the town's population to get at her, and the Mule may be a sick bastard, but that kind of heat would be a lot more than even he's willing to risk.

"So, yeah, I want her tucked away somewhere safe until we can figure out who's hacked the ZPD, who hired the Mule, and where the hell he is."

"Alright, guard duty it is."

"Not for you. I want you to take Dr. Badger back to her lab once she's done with Hopps and then get some shuteye. I need you back here by six tomorrow morning. You'll take her straight to Bunnyburrow, drop her off, brief Wilde on the situation, and then you're back here tomorrow evening.

"There are only a few Officers I trust right now, and aside from Clawhauser, you're the only other one that knows enough of what's going on that I can use. So, enjoy tonight with your mate, because it's double shifts, or worse until we find that bastard."

Nodding, Connor looked toward the still closed door to the bedroom where Hopps was and said, "Yes, sir, I understand," and then surveying the room, he added, "If you're going to be in here watching her by yourself, I've got a shotgun cased up in the trunk of my car, I can grab it if you'd like."

Smiling, Bogo nodded toward a large duffle, "Thanks, but I brought my own."

Walking over, Pawson took a look in the open duffle and nearly choked, "What the hell sir, are you looking to start a war?"

"No, but I'm ready to finish one if I have to."

"Just promise me you're not going to pull a minigun named 'Old Painless' out of your bag, I don't think I could handle that visual.

"Don't worry Pawson, there's nothing remotely painless about anything in that bag."

"Good, because… wait, what?"

Amused by the confusion on Pawson's face, Bogo turned when he heard Dr. Badger coming out of the bedroom carrying her medical bag.

"How is she, Doctor?"

"Good considering what she's been through. She has two bruised ribs and a bump on her head, but otherwise, she's in good health."

"No cuts anywhere?" asked Pawson, "Whatever weapon she was hit with, it shredded her uniform right off her body and sliced her Kevlar vest into chunks like it was made of crepe paper."

"I checked her over thoroughly, a few bruises, but no lacerations of any kind. It sounds like she could have been hurt much worse. She's one very lucky doe."

Focusing on Bogo, Dr. Badger said, "I left a jar of painkillers on her nightstand. She can take up to two every four hours for the chest pain. And Bogo, I told her, and now I'm telling you, she needs rest, a few days at least. And that means, no work, no strenuous activity and," nodding toward Bogo's duffle bag, "definitely no chasing down any criminals."

"Hey, guys," came a quiet voice from behind Dr. Badger.

Judy stood in the doorway to the bedroom dressed in an overlarge t-shirt, hugging her chest with one paw on her shoulder, the other cupping her elbow.

Pawson rushed over, "Doc says a few days rest, and you'll be fine," and then started chuckling as he saw the movie logo on her t-shirt, "Terminator? A little ironic there, don't you think, Hopps?"

Judy managed a wry smile, "It's Nick's. He gave it to me to wear after Clawhauser squirted me with one of his jelly doughnuts."

"Pawson, time for you and Dr. Badger to go."

"Yes, sir," and then touching Judy on the arm, he said, "See you in the morning."

A few moments later, Pawson, having successfully maneuvered past Miss Manners and his armed cohorts without getting shot for breaking any new etiquette rules, was speeding down the road, leaving Judy and Bogo alone in the house.

…..

Judy watched as Bogo knelt, and rummaging through his bag, pulled out a large-bore shotgun. Leaning it against the wall, he then grabbed a small, for him, machine gun and a bandolier of magazines.

Without looking up, Bogo said, "Hopps, you should go get some rest, you'll be leaving early in the morning."

Judy watched her boss insert a magazine into the military-grade weapon and then set it next to the shotgun and pick out another gun from his bag. As soon as Bogo started working the action on a large caliber pistol, Judy padded over to the couch, and using a small stool, climbed up onto one of the medium-mammal sized cushions, and said, "Bunnyburrow, I heard."

Bogo looked up as Judy waggled her ears, "I heard everything you and Connor said. What I didn't hear was an answer to Connor's question about Koslov and the rest of Mr. Big's bodyguards being here."

Setting the pistol on a small table, Bogo took a seat facing Judy, "Big and I don't see eye to eye on much, and if I could ever nail him on some of the things I know he's involved in, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but there are a few things that, every now and then, we both agree on.

"Bellwether and her cronies, psychos like the Mule, and… you."

"Me?"

"He thinks of you as a daughter."

"And you?"

Grunting his reply, Bogo said, "As a pain in my tail, which, by the way, is pretty much what my daughter is too."

Smiling a little, Judy looked down and said, "Thank you."

"Don't' thank me yet, I'm about to take my daughter's car away from her for missing curfew one too many times. I can be quite the ogre, just ask her next weekend."

"Ow, don't make me laugh, that hurts."

Getting a more serious look on his face, Bogo said, "I think you and Pawson are right about someone being in the ZPD's systems, and I think that someone must have it in for you. I didn't tell Pawson, but you remember our meeting with Councilor Woolerby, there were things she knew that she shouldn't have. Your reports on the Greytail kits for instance, I keep those on a private drive, no one should've been able to access them but me."

Thinking about that meeting and what happened afterward, Judy came to a decision, "Sir, there's something I haven't told you about that day. When I got back to my apartment, my landlord kicked me out. Sir, he knew my pay had been suspended, he said a little birdie had told him.

"And when I tried to use my credit card to get a room for the night, the desk clerk told me my card had been deleted out of the system, not just declined, but gone.

"Do you think Woolerby is the one that hired the Mule to kill me?"

Bogo rubbed his temple to stave off a headache that had suddenly reared its ugly head and said, "I don't think so. Woolerby is a speciest bigot who likes to throw her weight around, so it wouldn't surprise me to find out that she's using whoever's in our systems to cause you trouble. But hiring a killer like the Mule? No, that's not her style. Power, politics, and humiliation are her weapons of choice.

"I'll keep an eye on her just in case, but I agree with yours and Pawson's first instinct, you've pissed off someone investigating your drug case and that someone wanted to send you a message."

"Great," groaned Judy, "Why couldn't they have just sent me a Howlmark card, you know, 'Roses are red, violets are blue, stop investigating, or we'll kill you dead.'"

Bogo looked at the straight-faced bunny and then busted a gut laughing,

"Ow, ow, no more," Judy cried out as she joined Bogo, and in her case, actually almost busted a gut.

A quick knock on the front door was followed by a voice, "Are you alright, Miss Judy?"

Judy caught her breath and yelled back, "I'm okay, Morris. Thank you."

Serious again, Bogo asked, "If you lost your apartment and you don't have any money or credit, where are you staying?"

'In for a penny, in for a pound,' thought Judy as she replied, "Nick's place. He's pretty private, and except for one friend of ours, no one, including Mammal Resources, knows where he lives or that I'm staying there. Nick also keeps an emergency fund of cash on hand, so that's what I've been using while I wait for my pay to be reinstated."

Nodding, Bogo replied, "Good, you're off the grid, keep it that way until we figure this mess out."

"That won't be too hard in Bunnyburrow."

Bogo snorted, "Hell of a way to wrangle that vacation you've been bugging me about."

Judy smiled, "Yes, sir," and then thinking about the main reason she'd been wanting to go home for a while now, "Sir… on the drive here, Connor told me about the undercover case you assigned him to when he was a rookie."

"The gangbangers that targeted and assaulted interspecies couples?"

"Yeah. He said you knew about Olivia, and that they were mates. If you don't mind me asking, are you okay with uh, relationships like that?"

Bogo raised an eyebrow at hearing her question. The ZPD was a mixed bag of attitudes toward interspecies couples, most didn't care, but enough did that he'd had to occasionally step in and make some partner changes, the short-lived partnership between Garrison and Pawson being the prime example. 'Was she worried about something?'

"Hopps, what my Officers do on their own time isn't any of my business unless it impacts their job performance. In the case of Pawson and his mate, except for the fact that I'm sure Olivia deserves better, I don't have any problem with the two of them being together or a problem with interspecies couples in general."

Judy nodded, and then looked down to her lap where she started wringing her paws together. Bogo, still not sure what was bothering his smallest officer, leaned toward the bunny, opened his mouth and–

"Sir," Judy whispered, "if, uh, Olivia were an Officer with the ZPD, would she and Connor be allowed to patrol together?"

Bogo's eyes went wide as he took in the suddenly subdued bunny, and then leaning back, he asked, "You mean as partners and mates?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well," Bogo steepled his hooves as he looked at the tense bunny, "Relationships between partners do happen, and by policy, it's left up to the discretion of the Precinct Chief as to whether or not to allow those individuals to continue as partners."

"Oh," Judy perked up, "so, you might–"

Cutting Judy off with a quickly assembled glower, Bogo said, "So, I would review the submitted Mammal Resources Relationship Disclosure form, make it abundantly clear that I expect only the most professional behavior from my officers while in uniform, and then have a strongly worded talk with Olivia about keeping her partner on the straight and narrow,

"and OFF my pain in the tail list."

Judy's ears had lifted, and she'd started to bounce a bit, until the last part. Grimacing now, she asked, "Totally off the list?"

"Yes, Hopps, best behavior."

Chewing her lip for a moment, Judy nodded, and then sliding off the couch, she added, "I think Dr. Badger's painkillers have kicked in. I should probably go lie down."

"Goodnight, Hopps. Get some rest, you'll need it for tomorrow."

Watching the door close behind his smallest officer, Bogo huffed (silently) and made a mental note to up his bet on Hopps and Wilde as soon as he talked to Clawhauser in the morning.

…..

Nick looked up at the waning moon and wished he were a wolf so he could howl out his frustration. The whole day, ever since Janae's prank message, not a callback, not a text, nothing.

He knew something wasn't right, and he knew there wasn't anything he could do about it except sit and stew and lose sleep over it. For all of his up-front work before coming to Bunnyburrow, he hadn't taken into account how much he'd miss being with Judy, her smile, her–

"Nicholas? It's late, shouldn't you be asleep?"

Turning, Nick saw Bonnie in her robe, closing the door as she padded out to where he was sitting.

"Mrs. H. Sorry if I woke you."

Sitting on the cushioned bench next to him, she said, "It's alright, I've always had a sixth sense about my kits and when something was bothering them."

Nick looked down as he suddenly took an interest in if his claws were clean.

"Janae told me that you had to make a call during the movie, and you seemed worried. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sighing, Nick replied, "No, I don't think so, not unless you can teleport me to Zootopia, or tell me why Ca–, uh my friend isn't calling me back."

Smiling at Nicholas' shy stumble, Bonnie asked, "Your girl in the city?"

Nodding, Nick replied, "I've been trying to get hold of her all day, but she hasn't called me back. I'm probably overreacting, I just have this feeling that something's not right."

"Maybe she's just busy. Has she ever stopped returning your calls before?"

Nick chuckled, "Yeah, one time when I made her mad, she stopped talking to me for a few days."

"Uh-huh. So, do you think you've done anything that's caused her to be angry with you again?"

Nick turned his head toward Bonnie and got a pained look on his face as he mentally started down the long list of all the irritating things he'd done to annoy his bunny when he felt Bonnie's paw on his arm.

"I meant in the last couple of days."

"Oh."

Giving him a motherly pat on the arm, Bonnie said, "You should always trust your feelings, sometimes the heart knows something the head doesn't. Maybe give it another day and if you can't get hold of her, ask the Sheriff for a couple of days off and drive home. I'm sure whatever heinous crimes we have going on here in Bunnyburrow can wait a few extra days to be solved."

Nick chuckled, "Don't let Judy find out what you just said, she'd twist my tail first chance she got if she heard I was shirking my duty worrying about some girl."

"Don't worry, I won't tell her if you won't."

"Deal."

Staring up at the moon, Bonnie listened as a chorus of crickets and katydids called to each other and filled the night with a relaxing hum. She'd always found the night sounds relaxing, they reminded her of camping out with her dad when she was a little kit. Everyone else would be long asleep, but she and her dad would stay up well past dark, looking for night blooming flowers or lying on their sleeping bags watching for falling stars.

Turning to Nick, she could see that he was starting to relax a little too. His ear occasionally twitched when a nearby cicada was a little too loud, and she could see his eyes following fireflies making their way past the porch.

"Nicholas, if you don't mind, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. It's about Judy and something she said to Stu."

Feeling a slight breeze, Nick watched as a moth's flight was disrupted just enough for it to end up in a spider's web strung amongst the stems of one of Bonnie's hanging plants.

"I don't know, Mrs. H., you can ask, but wouldn't you prefer talking to Judy directly, especially if it's a family matter?"

Looking down, Bonnie flicked a bug off the bench's cushion, and after a moment of watching the critter right itself and fly off, said, "I would, but Judy's not talking to me. She won't take my calls or reply to any of my texts. We haven't spoken in almost a month."

"What happened?"

"This town happened. It hurt Judy, and it's been trying to turn Stu into something I know he's not.

"I'm sure you've seen it when you've been in town patrolling, and I know you saw some of it when you were in Predville with how the predators, and the prey that weren't lucky enough to be born as rabbits, are treated. I heard how you helped Gene Pawland, thank you for that, by the way."

"You know about that? How?"

Bonnie pointed to her ears, "A mother's ears hear a lot, especially in a town like this.

"Nicholas, most of the rabbits in Bunnyburrow, are decent folks, but some of them are the worst kind of bigots and bullies. Those few resist any kind of change, and when they see anyone trying to be different, they can be quite cruel. Judy wanted to be different. She had a tough time growing up here, not only because of the town but because of issues Stu was going through."

Nick's eyes widened, "I thought it was hard enough growing up with all the other species looking down on me for being a fox, but I can't imagine how tough it must have been on her to have her own species bully her and treat her like an outcast."

Bonnie nodded, "Fortunately, the bullying was short-lived. It stopped right after a couple of bucks who tried to jump Judy from behind, mysteriously ended up in the hospital with dislocated shoulders and lots of bruises they refused to explain."

Nick made a little fist pump and said, "That's my partner, toughest mammal I know."

Chuckling, Bonnie replied, "Yes, she's tough, but she's still my little bun-bun, and I wanted her to have more friends growing up, and that's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. I've been thinking a lot about what Judy said the last time she and Stu spoke. Judy said that she'd hurt a good friend of hers because she was trying to protect the family.

"I think Judy's worried that she will be the cause of some sort of problem for us, and she's suffering terribly because of it. I was hoping, if you talk with her, you would let her know that she's not alone and that I'd like to help if she'd let me."

Nick's face fell, he had no idea that Judy had had a falling out with her parents, and then to find out that it probably had something to do with him, hurt his heart to hear. Judy had warned him about Bunnyburrow and what might happen to her family if anyone found out about them, and Bonnie had just confirmed some of what she'd said that horrible afternoon in Judy's apartment.

The town, he'd thought that just getting permission to court Judy would be enough, but now he knew better. Just like he'd promised Judy on his first day of parking duty, if he had to make the whole world a better place for them to be together, then that was what he was going to do. Pred, prey, interspecies couples, rabbits, hares… 'Uh-oh.'

Bonnie patted Nick on his arm. "Thank you, Nicholas, I didn't mean to burden you with our family troubles the way I did, but as much as I worry about all my kits, I worry about Judy that much more." Looking Nick in the eyes, Bonnie reached out and brushed back some errant head fur, just like any mother would groom their kit, and said, "Thank you for being her friend. I know that as long as you are with Judy, she'll always have someone she trusts to help and support her."

Suddenly not feeling like a very good friend to anyone, Nick just stared as Bonnie made to get up, worried about what he'd done.

"Mrs. H.?"

"Yes."

"Will Janae be alright, I mean I know that rabbits and hares dating isn't legally the same as an interspecies couple dating, but I pretty much hustled her into going out with Dalton, and I'd hate to see her get hurt because of something I did."

Letting her ears drop, Bonnie clenched her fists and then waving a mom-finger around, she said, "I've always thought those laws were ridiculous, and the tenets against hares and rabbits being together are even more ridiculous. Just because two mammals in love are a little different doesn't mean that others should be allowed to bully or abuse them, or write a law to keep them apart."

Bonnie's voice went cold, "And don't you worry about Janae and Dalton. Years ago, I vowed that none of my kits would ever have to suffer again because of this town, so I've already talked with Dalton's mother, and if anyone dares give them a hard time, that bun will have two angry does to answer to."

Taking a couple of breaths to settle herself, Bonnie tightened the sash on her robe and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so emotional. It's just that a mother wants to see her kits happy, and ever since high school, Janae's carried on about how nice Dalton was, how smart he was, and," smirking, Bonnie lowered her voice," and how he was waaay cuter than any rabbit buck could ever hope to be.

"I'd always hoped Janae would ask Dalton out, but for some reason, she never would. Dalton is such a sweet boy, a much better choice than all those other bucks that kept trying to pet her ears on a first date or that awful bun, Blake, who was just looking for another notch to put on his belt."

Patting Nick's paw, Bonnie said, "You did well by encouraging Janae, thank you."

"The Love Doctor," snickered Nick, "has a nice ring to it."

Standing up, Bonnie rubbed the fur on Nick's head again and sweetly said, "Of course dear, but don't get ahead of yourself. I believe you still have some work to do if you're going to make things right with your girl in the city."

Nick deflated, "Yes, yes I do."

"Good night, Nicholas."

…..

Pawson closed the door behind him and stepped in, this time without the help of a gun to his back, and greeted his boss, "Morning, sir. How's Hopps?"

"Ask her yourself," replied Bogo as he nodded toward the open bedroom door.

"I feel a little better this morning," came a voice.

Followed with a whisper from next to Connor, "It's the ears."

Shutting off the room lights, Judy said, "I heard that, sir," as she stepped out. Wearing her pink plaid top over a pair of old blue jeans, Judy picked up the bag Bogo had used to clean out her locker the day before, and said, "I'm ready."

Pawson snorted, "Nice job on the farmgirl disguise. You should blend in nicely once we get you to Bunnyburrow."

"Connor, I'm not wearing a disguise. These are the spare clothes I keep in my locker in case Nick and I decide to go out for dinner or do something after work."

"So, you're saying Wilde wasn't kidding, you really dress like that when you're not at work?"

Judy scoffed, "Better than what you're wearing. What is that, a black faux leather jacket with black pants and a black shirt? Wait till we get to Bunnyburrow, talk about being a sore thumb."

Bogo broke in on the fashion discussion, "Enough. Hopps are you wearing your vest, and where's your gun?"

"It hurt like a hornet sting getting on, but I've got my vest on under my shirt and my pistol in a belt holster next to my tail," said Judy as she turned in place and lifted the back of her shirt so Bogo could see that she had all her gear on.

Pulling a slip of paper from his pocket, Bogo handed it to Judy, "Until we find the Mule, I need you to stay out of sight, which means no cell phone, and no phone calls to anyone in the city. If you have an emergency and you need to contact me, use this number. Clawhauser monitors it twenty-four seven, and he knows how to get hold of me."

Looking at the number, Judy raised a brow, "Isn't this the Gazelle Fan Club's main number?"

"Yeah," nodded Bogo, "So many people call it for Gazelle updates that if someone is monitoring the line, one more call won't be noticed."

Hearing a knock on the door, Bogo went to the window and waved to Koslov, who waved back and then went to greet the new arrivals.

"Alright, you two, your escort is here. They'll take you as far as the border, and then it's up to you, Pawson, to get her to Bunnyburrow in one piece."

"Yes sir," replied Pawson.

Holding out a set of keys, Bogo said, "You'll be driving the ZPD's newest secure transport vehicle–"

Judy's ears shot up and rotated toward Bogo, "Ooh, is that 'The Car'? I heard it's fully armored, has a built-in roll cage, a 6.2 Liter supercharged V-8 engine that puts out over 700 horsepower, and can go from 0 to 60 miles an hour in less than 3.5 seconds." And then making big eyes, Judy asked, "Can I drive, please?"

Both mammals turned to the excited bunny and simultaneously said, "No."

"Harrumph."

"As I was saying, here are the keys to the transport. I've already disabled the ZPD tracker, so no one will know where you are or be able to follow you electronically. The car's in the garage, and Koslov is headed there now. Watch for his signal, and then stay with your escort. The rest of us will be covering you in case the Mule tries to make a move on your way out."

Waving a small card around, Judy said, "I have my ZBI Evasive Driving and High-Speed Pursuit card right here."

Both mammals glared at Judy until she put away her credentials and then Pawson pulled a key off his key ring and handed it to Bogo, "Here's the key to my car, I'll meet you back at the precinct tonight. And, sir, try not to mess the seats up, I've got them set just right."

Bogo chuckled, "Get your tails out of here, now," and then hefting up a heavy duty assault rifle, went to wait by the door.

Judy and Connor made their way to the garage and passing Koslov, who was standing by the door control, got in, put on the demolition derby rated seatbelts, and waited.

Hearing a tapping noise on her door's small armored gun port, Judy opened her window.

Koslov leaned his muzzle into the large opening and glaring at Pawson said, "You drive, we fight. Someone shoots, you drive. One of our cars is hit, you drive. Nothing happens to our Zaychik, if something does, Koslov will visit you. Understand?"

Judy reached up to pet Koslov's muzzle, "Boris, Connor is a good guy, I'll be fine."

"Mr. Big worries about you."

"Please tell him 'thank you' for all his help, and yours too."

Koslov gave Judy a tender look and then glared at Pawson again just before stepping back over to the door control.

Judy closed the window and then smiled at Pawson as if she did this every day.

Gripping the wheel, Pawson looked straight ahead and groaned out to no one in particular, "Go ahead, swear on your pack, it'll be okay, nothing bad will happen, she won't get you in trouble. Now you're sitting in the ZPD's equivalent of a tank, you've got mob enforcers threatening to kill you, your boss is packing enough firepower to take over a third world country, and you're about to go up against the world's top assassin, all in the hope that you can keep one small bunny alive."

"Ahem."

Connor turned to said bunny staring at him with a raised eyebrow, and then watched as she pulled out a pair of Nitro model yellow sunglasses, flipped them open with the flick of her paw, slipped them on, and then lifting her gun in a two-pawed grip, smiled at him and said, "Do you want to live forever?"

Shaking his head at the sight of his badass bunny partner, Connor caught the signal from Koslov, watched as the garage door shot up, and then hitting the gas, yelled out, "Hooyah Hopps, let's do this."

…..

A/N: Zaychik: Little rabbit, Russian term of endearment used among very close friends.

Hi everyone!

Wow! We're a month away from the second anniversary of this little story, and I wanted to say thank you (again) to all of you for taking the time to read, comment, give kudos, or PM me with questions and feedback. I've had the best time reading all your comments, suggestions, and helpful hints. It's also been fun to see some of my more cryptic references get picked up, always a fist pump moment when I read those notes.

Like I did last year about this time, I need to spend some time working/reworking/editing the next set of chapters, so the next posting won't be until the end of February-ish time frame (I hope). In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or questions, please PM me and let me know what they are. You'd be surprised at how often a comment, or even a criticism, has gotten me to better think through a scene, motivated me to tighten up a plotline, add a backstory item, or sweeten up a scene.

I know this latest chapter has the feel of a cliffhanger, I wish it didn't, and since it will be a few months…

The next chapter up will be 'Home Is Where the Fox Is.' Which, from the title, should give you a strong hint that Judy will be meeting up with Nick in Bunnyburrow.

What was that everyone just yelled?

"IT'S ABOUT FRIGGIN' TIME!"

Yes, yes, it is!

Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

~Mikey