Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nick went into work with a smile on his face, which was a pretty new experience.

Work. Smile. Not two things he would have thought would ever go together a while ago, much less for him personally. But they did now.

“Hey, Nick,” Clawhauser greeted him. “Great concert last night, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Nick said, lifting up his shades to smile at the cheetah. It had been fun. He’d liked dancing with Judy. He’d liked Judy making him want to dance.

“Isn’t Gazelle the best?” Clawhauser squealed. “Oh, and don’t forget it’s the Chief’s birthday next week, we’re having a party.”

Nick didn’t answer that, instead giving Clawhauser a nod and heading off to the bullpen. Judy wasn’t there yet, but a couple of other officers were playfully wrestling.

Nick greeted them casually – because as much as he was a stand-up, justice-seeking fox now, he still wasn’t big on cuddly displays of emotion. He hopped onto the chair he shared with Judy. They always did that, even when there were empty seats. Which was fine. Nick liked it better that way, and he suspected that Judy did, too.

Judy hurried in a few minutes later, climbing onto their chair. She looked like she hadn’t had quite enough sleep. “Hey Nick,” she yawned.

He grinned. “Hey Carrots. Seems like you partied a little too hard at the concert last night.”

Judy smiled and shook her head, yawning again. “It’s my neighbors,” she said. “They went to the concert as well, and they stayed up all night fighting over whether Gazelle is the voice of a generation or has delusions of grandeur.” Another yawn.

“You really should look for a different place to live.”

“Oh, well. They’re growing on me, kinda, you know?”

Chief Bogo’s arrival interrupted their conversation. And everyone else’s as well, because the Chief looked like he hadn’t slept at all. And had had a few drinks too much last night. And no shower this morning. Chief Bogo put his glasses on, which took him a couple of tries, and glared around the room. Nick tried very hard to appear respectful, which was difficult at the best of times and nearly impossible right then.

“So, people,” Chief Bogo said. “We’re all tired, because apparently the whole city went to Gazelle’s concert last night.”

“Saw you there, Chief,” Nick said. “Nice dance moves.”

Judy coughed and turned her face away.

Chief Bogo scowled at Nick. “Likewise, Officer Wilde.”

Judy was outright snickering now. Nick poked her side to make her stop, but she only gasped. She was ticklish, Nick noted. Might come in useful at some point.

The Chief delegated cases to all officers. Nick and Judy were last, as usual. “Officers Hopps and Wilde, paperwork. I’m missing records on those speeders you caught two days ago.”

Judy nodded, Nick groaned. It was his fault, to be honest. He liked to keep Judy away from reports and records and paperwork. He preferred pretty much anything, really. Especially car chases.

Chief Bogo left the room and Judy hopped down from their chair. “C’mon, Nick,” she said. “We should’ve written that report yesterday.”

“You didn’t want to, either,” Nick said, getting off the chair as well. “You hate it just as much as I do.”

Judy smiled. “I don’t let the Chief know it, though,” she said.

“Ah,” Nick said, carelessly waving a paw. “I’m clearly his favorite Officer.”

Judy snorted. “You wish,” she said. “It’s obviously Clawhauser.”

“Alright,” Nick conceded. “But I’m second.”

Judy patted his shoulder and said, “Of course you are,” as they sat down in her cubicle. Nick leaned back in his chair.

“Uh-huh, no,” Judy said. “I’m not writing it while you’re relaxing here.”

“I’m not relaxing, I’m resting my eyes. You know, foxes are very sensitive to light. Those glaring screens are fatal to our sight. You don’t want your partner to go blind, do you?”

Judy gave him a look. Nick straightened up and searched her desk for notes on the case.

They were having lunch in a café, even though his mom had always insisted that cake wasn’t lunch. This was proving her wrong, definitely, he thought, smiling as Judy licked cream off her nose.

“My parents would ground me for years if they knew I was having cake for lunch,” Judy said.

Nick laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing. Not your parents, though, obviously. My mom. She always used to say that.”

Judy smiled up at him. “Yeah, parents are like that.”

“Sucking all the fun out of life,” Nick said.

Judy grinned and took another bite of her piece of cake.

“So,” Nick said. “What is this big party everybody’s planning for Chief Bogo’s birthday?”

“It’s not really going to be that big, I don’t think,” Judy said. “Just, I don’t know. Cake at work and stuff. Everybody’s more preoccupied with the ZPD ball that’s coming up.”

“ZPD ball?”

“Oh, yeah, apparently there is one every year, and I think it’s going to be –“ She was interrupted by her phone ringing.

“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I’ll just –“

“Sure, go ahead,” Nick said.

Judy answered her phone. After listening intently for a few seconds, she beamed and squealed. “That’s great! – Yes, today’s gonna be a bit difficult. – But we can come by tomorrow. – Aww, that’s so sweet. – Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye!”

She put the phone down with a wide smile. “Fru Fru’s just gone into labor! Isn’t that exciting?”

“Yes,” Nick said. “Wait just a minute, though. When you said ‘we’ can come by tomorrow –“

“Oh, yes, Mr. Big said you should definitely come as well! Fru Fru asked for us both, isn’t that nice of her?”

Nick grimaced. “Maybe I’ll be too busy with work.”

“Nick,” Judy said strictly. “You have to stop being afraid of Mr. Big, okay? He’s been nothing but friendly to us.”

“Except for the icing thing,” Nick muttered.

“Well,” Judy said with a crooked smile. “He hasn’t been threatening to do it to us lately.”

“He looks at me like he wants to, though,” Nick grumbled.

Judy shrugged. “He does.”

Nick threw up his hands, but he had to grin.

“Do you wanna do something tonight?” Judy asked. “Like, get dinner, or watch a movie? Oh, we could go dancing! I like dancing.”

“I don’t,” Nick said, even though dancing with Judy at the concert last night had been fun.

He remembered it clearly, how she’d smiled at him and laughed, and suddenly he couldn’t not think about that one conversation they had had in the car a little while ago.

“You know you love me…”

“Do I know that? Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Nick?”

“Yeah, sure,” he said automatically. It didn’t mean anything. It had been friendly. A joke. A friendly joke, that was all. Judy wasn’t anything but his friend. He just kept thinking about that moment because he’d never had such a close friend before, and he didn’t usually have people telling him they loved him, platonically or otherwise.

“We could order take-away and watch Floatzen, everybody says it’s really good,” Judy said.

“You haven’t seen it?” Nick asked.

Judy crossed her arms. “You a fan?”

“No, no. No… A little. Not as much as Finnick.”

They shared a grin across the table. Nick couldn’t help but think that he’d grinned more in the time he’d known Judy than in the rest of his life put together.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

Nick sighed. Eventually, he wouldn’t keep replaying that conversation in his head. Eventually.

“Judy, Nick!” Clawhauser called to them when they got back from their lunch break. “You won’t believe it!”

“Oh, is it the new Gazelle album?” Judy asked excitedly. “Is it finally out?”

Clawhausers face fell. “No, they keep pushing back the date…”

Nick cleared his throat and Clawhauser smiled again. “Right,” he said. “They’re hiring someone new.”

“No!” Nick gasped. “I don’t believe it. Will they make the date a city-wide holiday?”

Judy threw him a strict look. Nick shrugged. Clawhauser laughed good-naturedly, because he was that nice a guy.

“Not just anybody,” he said. “Another bunny!”

“Oh, great,” Nick said. “We’ll have to deal with two of them.”

Judy nudged him in the ribs. “That’s great, thanks for telling us, Clawhauser!”

“Oh, no problem, it’ll be amazing! Though obviously whoever it is will have a lot to live up to, what with you doing so well right away.”

Judy beamed. Nick lightly poked the top of her ear. “Paperwork,” he said. He didn’t know why he minded Judy smiling at Clawhauser like that. Maybe because Judy was his partner, not anyone else’s. After all, Nick really liked Clawhauser even if was sometimes a bit too happy to deal with.

“You’re right,” Judy said. “I don’t believe it, pretty soon you’ll be the conscientious one between the two of us.”

Nick snorted. He highly doubted it, and going by Judy’s cheeky smile, she did as well.

“Really? Microwavable carrots, Carrots? Who came up with this?”

Judy shrugged. “You pick something, then.”

“Blueberries.”

“In the fridge. My parents just sent them.”

“Your parents are the best.” Nick got up and fetched the blueberries from the fridge, tossing one into his mouth on the way back to the couch where Judy was curled up with the remote, ready to play Floatzen.

“I can’t believe you haven’t seen it,” Nick said.

“I can’t believe you have!”

“Finnick made me.”

“Yeah, right.” Judy snorted.

“Alright,” Nick said, kicking her lightly. “Stop it.”

“Earlier you said you don’t like dancing,” Judy said.

“Huh?” What did that have to do with anything? “So?”

“That’s a problem, as we’re going to the ZPD ball together,” Judy said, grinning at him cheekily.

“Are we? Maybe I want to go with someone else?”

“Who, Francine?”

“Ha ha. Of course we’re going together.”

Nick hadn’t planned on going, but if Judy wanted to, of course he was going to come with her. They were partners and best friends, after all.

A thought suddenly entered his head. “Do your parents mind?”

“Mind what?” Judy asked.

“That you’re friends with a fox. They gave you the fox repellant –”

Judy sat up straighter. “Oh, Nick,” she said. “No. No, of course not. They actually have a business partner who’s a fox!”

“Right,” Nick said, feeling weirdly relieved. Of course, it didn’t really matter what Judy’s parents thought of him. He’d seen them very briefly at the concert, and was likely not going to meet them again anytime soon. It wasn’t like he got out to Bunnyburrow much, and they didn’t seem the types to spend a lot of time in the city. Not that he cared. Sure, he’d prefer them liking him, for Judy’s sake. But it wasn’t like he’d ever have to get along with them, unless he married Judy or something. Which was absurd. Completely absurd, obviously.

Judy, who seemed oblivious to his thoughts, ate one of the blueberries. “What do you think of the ZPD hiring another bunny?”

Nick shrugged, glad she had changed the topic. “I don’t really care. I’ve got one already.” He didn’t realize how much he felt that way until he said it. Judy was his bunny, his first real friend, and even if the ZPD hired a million others, she’d stay his, and he wouldn’t care much about the rest. She wasn’t replaceable.

“Oh, right,” Judy said. “That’s – uh, good to know.”

“So you don’t need to get jealous,” Nick told her with a wink.

She grinned. “I know I don’t need to.”

“Do I know that? Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Floatzen,” Nick said.

“What?”

“The movie. We should start watching it. It’ll get late otherwise and we were going to visit Fru Fru and the baby tomorrow.”

“Right,” Judy said, still looking at him. After a very awkward pause, she took the remote and played the movie.

Nick didn’t really manage to concentrate on it.

“Hellooo!” Fru Fru squealed at them. “There’s little Judy’s godmom!”

“Oh, is that her?” Judy asked, leaning over the tiny, tiny crib next to Fru Fru’s bed. Nick suddenly felt vey big.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Fru Fru cooed. “Do you want to hold her?”

Judy nodded excitedly and carefully cradled the baby in her paw. “She really is beautiful!” she said.

The door opened and Mr. Big entered the room. He kissed Fru Fru’s forehead, then looked up. “Judy, I need to speak with you, if that is alright.”

“Oh, of course,” Judy said, putting little Judy back into the crib and following Mr. Big into the hallway. Nick strolled after them, ignoring Mr. Big’s glare. He wasn’t scared of Mr. Big.

At least not with Judy there.

Mr. Big paced back and forth in the corridor. Nick and Judy had to duck just to be able to walk through it. At least the small rodents wing of the hospital wasn’t as small as Little Rodentia, or they would’ve had a problem.

“My dear Judy, how good it is to see you,” Mr. Big began. “Nick.”

Judy coughed.

“I am worried, deeply worried.”

“What happened?” Judy asked concernedly. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

Nick groaned inwardly. He looked at Judy like, What are you getting us into?

She threw him a strict glare.

“I need your help as an excellent officer of the ZPD,” Mr. Big continued. “And – an officer.”

“Alright, I get it,” Nick grumbled, but both Judy and Mr. Big ignored him.

“Several of my – associates have gone missing. Disappeared, just like that,” he said. “It is very sad at a time like this, when my first grandchild has just been born.”

Judy nodded understandingly. Nick shifted his weight from one foot onto the other.

“I need your help to find out what has happened to them. I ask you as a friend and hope you will agree, as we are on good terms. Mostly.” He narrowed his eyes at Nick.

Nick sighed.

Judy delicately cleared her throat. “Uhm, Mr. Big. Are those associates – how should I say it – are they –“

“Gang members wanted for a number of illegal activities,” Nick helped her out.

“No,” Mr. Big said unconvincingly.

“Uh, great,” Judy said. “Of course we’ll help. We’ll do whatever we can.”

“Whatever we want to,” Nick mumbled.

“Thank you, my friend. Nick,” Mr. Big said.

“I said, I get it,” Nick said, only to be ignored again.

“Follow me to my office, please, and I will tell you everything I know about this situation,” Mr. Big said. “It is most worrying.”

Chapter Text

Judy was a little worried. Someone who was making ‘associates’ of Mr. Big’s disappear was probably pretty dangerous. After all, normally no one in Zootopia would dare to cross Mr. Big.

On top of that, she had to be careful. Sure, Mr. Big had said none of the missing people had been involved in anything illegal, but she wasn’t so certain, and Nick didn’t seem to be, either. Mr. Big hadn’t made much of an effort to sound very convinced, so Judy was definitely inclined to doubt his word in this case. If they weren’t careful, this would conflict with their duties as officers of the ZPD. Judy knew that even though Nick would never admit it, he loved his job with the police just as much as she did.

She went into work a little early so she’d have a couple of minutes to chat to Clawhauser before heading to the bullpen. Talking to him would cheer her up.

“Judy!” he called as soon as he saw her. “You doing okay?”

She nodded. “I’m a godmom now,” she couldn’t help but declare. Plus, it was that or “I’m peripherally involved in illegal gang activities!”

Clawhauser gasped. “That’s great!” he said. “Whose?”

“Oh, the baby’s called Judy as well. She lives in Little Rodentia. Remember when I – uh, when I chased that thief back when I’d just started and just stopped a giant donut from running over that one lady? It’s her daughter.”

“That’s fantastic,” Clawhauser said. “And it’ll be great for Nick. I know he doesn’t seem like the type, but I bet he secretly loves kids.”

“Huh?” Judy asked. “I’m sure he does, but it’s just me.”

“Oh,” Clawhauser said. “Oh! It’s just you. Of course.”

Judy frowned slightly. She wasn’t sure why Clawhauser would assume anything else. And no matter how much Fru Fru liked Nick, Judy doubted she’d give Mr. Big a heart attack by making him godfather of her child.

“Hey Judy, hey Benjamin!” someone called from behind them, stepping up to the reception. It was Francine.

“Hey Francine!” Clawhauser said. “Guess what? Judy’s a godmom now!”

“That’s great!” Francine said, reaching out to put Judy into one of her signature friendly choke-holds before hesitating. “I’m not trying to discriminate against you or anything,” she said sheepishly. “But –“

“Yeah, no, that’s okay,” Judy said, grinning up at her.

Francine smile back. “So,” she said. “Big party! Anyone know how old the chief is today?”

Judy shook her head.

Clawhauser shrugged and smiled. “My lips are sealed,” he said apologetically. “I had to swear on my Gazelle mug.”

“Aw, come on!” Francine said, but she was laughing.

 “Anyway,” Clawhauser said, checking his watch. “We better go ahead and decorate the bullpen.”

“We’re decorating the bullpen?” Judy asked disbelievingly.

“Oh yeah,” Francine said. “It’ll be great. The Chief’ll love it. Snarlof brought streamers!”

“Right,” Judy muttered.

“What the hell is this?” Nick asked, wide-eyed and with a voice a little higher than usual.

“Birthday decorations,” Judy said drily.

“Chief Bogo’s going to kill us all, you know that, right?”

“Francine and Clawhauser thought he was gonna like it.”

“Do I still have time to call in sick?” Nick asked just as Chief Bogo entered the bullpen.

“Happy birthday!” everyone shouted.

Chief Bogo stopped in his tracks, put on his glasses, blinked for a second, and smiled. It was a very brief smile, but it was definitely a smile, Judy was sure.

“Thank you,” he said gruffly. “The streamers weren’t necessary, though. Now, we’ve got a new recruit. I don’t know where she is and I don’t care. Cases for today!”

Judy looked around the room. Maybe this new recruit was the bunny that was going to be hired? In the very back of the room there was a chair that seemed empty. Maybe someone was sitting on it and just wasn’t visible behind all the other officers.

“Officers Hopps and Wilde,” Chief Bogo ended that day’s assignments. “Go through the past week’s communications and make note of any irregularity.”

Judy could practically see Nick deflate at the thought of not getting to take part in anything exciting for another day. She poked him in the side to cheer him up. Soon, they’d get more interesting cases again. After all, it was important to recall that boring cases meant a safe city.

As she and Nick walked towards the door to get to their cubicles, someone next to them brightly said, “Hi!” It was the new bunny. She was very cute. Which was fine. Judy didn’t care.

“Hi,” Judy said, looking at the new officer. “I’m Judy, this is my partner Nick.”

“Hi,” Nick said.

“I’m Haylee, Haylee Warren,” the bunny said, smiling. “I can’t wait to talk to you guys later, but now I’ve gotta go, I’m on parking duty.” She buzzed off excitedly.

“Why is she so tiny?” Nick asked as soon as she was out of earshot. “And fluffy?”

Judy elbowed him. “Shhh,” she said. “It’s because she’s a rabbit. They don’t like being called tiny.”

“But you’re a rabbit,” Nick said. “And you’re taller than she is. Like, actually a lot taller.”

Judy crossed her arms. “I’m a hare,” she said.

“Oh,” Nick said. “So – you’ve been lying to me all along?” He clutched his heart in mock-horror. “Officer Hopps! I’m disappointed. You’re supposed to be the pride of the ZPD, a shining beacon of good behavior and morals or something.”

“I wasn’t lying! Why would I lie about that? I never said I was anything but a normal bunny, which includes hares! It’s not like it makes any difference.”

“Deeply disappointed…”

“I don’t know why the Chief has us doing this,” Judy said quietly. “There is nothing unusual about these communications. Normal emails, calls, nothing out of the ordinary at all.”

“I don’t know, this one has Clawhauser saying no to having a donut,” Nick said, pointing at the screen of his computer. “Highly suspicious.”

Judy’s lips twitched. “We should definitely investigate that.”

“I wonder why he assigned us to this,” Nick mused. “It’s not like we’d usually go through the department’s communications, and neither would anyone else unless they had a cause, wouldn’t they?”

Judy nodded. “I suspect Chief Bogo has one that he just hasn’t told us about.”

“And here I thought we were all best buddies and there weren’t any secrets between the three of us.”

“But what could it be?” Judy continued as if Nick hadn’t spoken.

“Maybe he thinks everybody on the force is talking about him behind his back and trusts us enough to find out.”

“Yes, I’m sure he’s terribly worried about office gossip.”

“Maybe he suspects a huge conspiracy of – something.”

Judy laughed. “Boring days just make your imagination run –“

“Wilde?” Nick asked innocently.

“That isn’t even funny.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Not really.”

“A little bit? C’mon.”

“A very little bit,” Judy conceded. “Now, look at this.”

She showed Nick a file under the desk. “This is the file I’ve started on Mr. Big’s case. Four of his associates have vanished. He’s asked us to investigate this one first: A hyena named Lisa Miles. He says she was responsible for making sure that potential new business partners of his are – uh, trustworthy.”

“Right,” Nick says. “I’m sure they all are. Just look at Koslov. Really trustworthy and approachable. When was Lisa last seen?”

“Two weeks ago,” Judy whispered. “In company of a sloth bear in the Rainforest District.”

“Then we have to find that bear,” Nick said.

Another officer walked by the cubicle and Judy hastily shut the file and put it in her desk drawer.

“Anyway, Mr. Big has arranged for us to talk to Ms. Miles’s sister tomorrow evening. He’ll send a car to pick us up.”

“I can’t wait,” Nick said.

“Cake for lunch again,” Judy said. “We’re terrible.”

“It’s the Chief’s birthday,” Nick said thickly through a piece of cake. “We have to, it’s only polite.”

Judy grinned. “If you say so.”

“Hey guys,” a voice said from next to them.

“Oh, hi Haylee,” Judy said. “How was parking duty?”

Haylee shrugged. “Fine. I hope soon they’ll let me move on to real cases, though, like the ones you guys work on. I read all about the Night Howlers thing.”

“Yeah,” Judy said.

Nick kept eating cake.

“So, Nick,” Haylee said. “You’re the first fox in the ZPD ever, aren’t you? That’s great!”

“Uh, I guess,” Nick said. “Can I get you guys some cake?”

“You only want to get more for yourself,” Judy said. “Don’t you?”

Nick nodded and grinned at her.

“Sure, thanks!” Haylee said. Once Nick had moved over to the table that held the cakes, she turned to Judy. “He’s nice. And a fox, that’s kind of cool.”

“It doesn’t make a difference,” Judy said coolly.

“Of course not, except it’s sort of attractive. Predators, you know,” Haylee said, winking.

Judy tapped her foot. “It’s your business what you find attractive. But we’re all colleagues here.”

“Oh, I wasn’t thinking anything like that!” Haylee said. “I swear. I mean, he’s not a rabbit, you know. Why, wouldn’t that be allowed? Colleagues and stuff?”

“It’s frowned upon,” Judy said, even though she had no idea. She wasn’t enjoying this conversation. It just seemed strange to think of Nick in romantic terms. Even if it was abstractly through someone else’s eyes. And she didn’t like the way that Haylee had said that Nick wasn’t a rabbit, as if that mattered. Nick was a better friend than anyone else, rabbit or not. Though she didn’t mind Haylee not being into Nick, for whatever reason. Because they were all colleagues. And Nick was her friend, obviously.

“Carrots for you, Carrots,” Nick said, handing Judy a piece of carrot cake, interrupting her rather confused train of thought.

Judy didn’t manage not to smile.

“Why were you angry at the new recruit?” Nick asked once they were back to poring over the communications files.

“I wasn’t angry,” Judy said. “Where did you get that idea?”

“From you tapping your foot more rapidly than a hummingbird flapping its wings?”

“Oh, I don’t know. She’s nice enough, I guess.”

“Boy, you’re enthusiastic about not being the only bunny around anymore.”

“It’s not that,” Judy said. “I’m sure I’ll like her better once I get to know her.”

“As long as you like me best,” Nick said.

“Oh, as if you had any competition,” Judy said, lightly kicking his shin.

“I think you’re only saying this to make me do most of the paperwork.”

“I’d never!”

Nick poked the top of her ear. “Suuure,” he said.

“I am sure,” Judy said.

Chapter Text

Nick and Judy were called into the Chief’s office the next day.

They waited outside – you didn’t just walk into Chief Bogo’s office unless you were Clawhauser.

“What did you do to make the Chief mad, Carrots? You keep getting me into trouble,” Nick said.

Judy nudged him. “Shut up,” she muttered just as the door opened and the Chief ordered them in.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I assigned you to go through recent communications yesterday,” Chief Bogo began.

“Judy thought it was to figure out what everyone says about you behind your back,” Nick said.

Judy glared at him.

Chief Bogo ignored him. “In fact, it was because I trust you two.” He took a breath. Nick didn’t even feel like making a joke, that’s how serious the Chief’s face was.

“I fear we have a mole in the ZPD,” he said

“Uh – yeah?” Nick said. “Is there a problem with her?” He liked Officer Wilkes, although he didn’t know her very well.

“With all due respect, Chief,” Judy said politely. “Officer Wilkes may have bad eyesight, but in my opinion she is one of the most capable new recruits –“

“No, not a mole like Officer Wilkes, who, as you just observed, is indeed very capable.” The Chief rubbed his temples. “A double agent. An informer.”

Judy gasped and looked horrified – Nick knew that in her eyes betraying the ZPD was sacrilege. Her loyalty was admirable, really.

Nick frowned. “How do you know?”

“Information has been given out to petty criminals for some time. I realized it while interviewing a suspect who knew internal info. This is something that happens unfortunately often, because there is a profit in it for whoever gives out the information. We need to investigate this and make sure it stops, and I would like you two to take the case, and not to tell anybody about it. Only report to me. We don’t know who it might be.”

“Of course, Chief!” Judy said.

“What are we supposed to tell people who ask us what case we’re working on?” Nick asked.

“Tell them you’re on parking duty.”

Nick reluctantly put on his grey hat, causing Judy to burst out laughing. It was unfair – Judy looked all cute in her parking duty uniform. Nick thought that he himself just looked ridiculous.

“Now you know what I felt like when I started out,” Judy said smugly, but she patted Nick’s shoulder in sympathy. “Don’t worry. We’ll solve the case and have our officers’ uniforms back in no time.”

“We don’t have any leads,” Nick said dejectedly. “There was nothing unusual in the communications we went through.”

“We’ll find something,” Judy said determinedly. “I just can’t believe any of us would do something like that.”

Nick shrugged. He knew Judy couldn’t believe it, but he didn’t have any trouble. There had to be some bad eggs in every institution. He didn’t like seeing Judy this sad, though. “It’ll be fine,” he said to cheer her up. “We’ll figure out who did it.”

Judy smiled up at him. “I know we will,” she said. “So let’s get started on looking at suspects before we leave for that talk with Mrs. Xiang tonight.”

“Mrs. Xiang?” Nick asked.

“Ms. Miles’s sister.”

“Oh, right. Do you think we’ll get anything useful from her?”

Judy looked surprisingly grim. “Let’s hope so.”

Mrs. Xiang was crying, which made Nick pretty uncomfortable. He felt sorry for her, but he had no idea what to do. He couldn’t handle anyone crying very well. Maybe Judy, but that was it.

Luckily, though, Judy knew what to do. She patted Mrs. Xiang’s shoulder and said nice things until the hyena had stopped sniffling.

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Xiang said. “It’s just – I’m terribly afraid for my sister. Something must have happened. It’s not like her to disappear like this!”

“We believe you, Mrs. Xiang,” Judy said seriously. “We will do everything we can to find your sister and make sure she’s alright.”

Nick decided to let Judy handle this and leaned back in his chair, taking off his sunglasses now that they were in Mrs. Xiang’s living room. A picture of her and another hyena who Nick guessed to be her husband with a bunch of little hyenas hung over the sofa. Sitting there on the sofa next to Judy in plain clothes, Nick felt as if they were here to have a cup of coffee.

“Now, can you tell us anything about what may have happened to your sister?”

Mrs. Xiang hesitated. “You’re from the ZPD,” she said.

“That’s right,” Judy said gently.

“But Mr. Big sent you?”

“Ah,” Judy said.

She and Nick exchanged a glance. Nick shrugged to let her know he trusted her to deal with this.

Judy cleared her throat. “We are aware that Ms. Miles may have been involved in some – uhm – legally grey activities,” she said.

“She’s a good person,” Mrs. Xiang said. “She’d never hurt anybody. It’s a job, and it’s only checking out people’s backgrounds, nothing more.”

“Of course,” Nick threw in smoothly. Judy shot him a look that was somewhere between grateful and Didn’t you want to let me handle this?

He shrugged and let Judy go back to questioning the witness.

“You see, because of her job she had some… unsavory contacts, but she could handle herself, believe me. And then, about ten days ago, she told me that she was in danger – well, she didn’t say danger, she said ‘a complicated situation’.”

“Do you think she may have gone into hiding because of this complicated situation?” Judy asked.

Mrs. Xiang shook her head. “Not without telling me not to worry, at least.”

“Ms. Miles was last seen in the Rainforest District with a sloth bear. Do you know if she is acquainted with any sloth bears?”

“Oh, yes, she has a good friend over in the Rainforest District,” Mrs. Xiang said, nodding. “Mr. More. I don’t know his address, I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine, thank you. You’ve been a great help.” Judy jumped down from the sofa, landing with a thump, and stood up straight. “We will find your sister, Mrs. Xiang,” she said.

Nick couldn’t help but stare at her. Judy was a sight to behold when she was this determined.

“Come on, Nick. We need to talk to our friend in the Rainforest District.”

“Who’s that?” Nick asked.

“Mr. Manchas,” Judy said, driving along the road that led into the rainforest district.

“I see,” Nick said. “’Friend’ might be overstating it a little, though.”

“Well, I couldn’t say ‘We need to talk to our brief acquaintance who on our one meeting nearly killed us’, could I?”

“No,” Nick said, grinning at her. “By the way, why do you always get to drive?”

“I wish you were holding a pawpsicle,” Judy said, but she was grinning as well.

“Do you think Mr. Manchas will be able to help us?” Nick asked.

Judy shrugged. “I hope so. If not, we can look the address up in the system, but – well.”

“We shouldn’t leave too many traces,” Nick said.

Judy nodded, lost in thought. “Mr. Big is our friend, and I really hope everyone involved in this hasn’t done anything too illegal, but I wish we could go through the proper channels.”

“We’ll be fine,” Nick said. “We’ll hustle it. Boom.”

“Boom,” Judy agreed, stopping the car and getting out. “Let’s see what we can find out.”

They walked up to Mr. Manchas’s house and rang the doorbell.

It took a while until the jaguar opened the door, but he greeted them with a smile. “Officers Hopps and Wilde, am I correct?” he asked. “You are friends of Mr. Big’s.”

“That’s right,” Judy said with a smile. “We have a couple of questions. May we come in?”

“Of course,” Mr. Manchas said. “I’m sorry our last meeting was not very friendly. I apologize.”

“That’s fine,” Judy said. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Nick and Judy sat down at the table, Mr. Manchas opposite them. “How can I help you?” he asked.

“We’re investigating the disappearance of several of Mr. Big’s associates, including Lisa Miles. She was last seen in the company of one Mr. More, a sloth bear,” Judy said.

“We’d like to talk to him,” Nick added. “Do you know where he lives?”

Mr. Manchas nodded. “Yes, of course,” he said. “Everybody knows Mr. More. I will explain to you the way to his house. He should be home at this hour of the day.”

“’Everyone knows Mr. More’,” Nick said mockingly in front of Mr. More’s house. “I don’t, and I know everyone.”

Judy smiled indulgently. “Maybe it’s more of a local knowledge,” she said.

“Maybe,” Nick grumbled, and rang the bell.

The door was thrown open from the inside and a bear pointed a taser at them. “Leave me alone!” he shouted. “Just leave me alone!”

“Whoa,” Judy said, taking a step back. Her nose was twitching slightly but she raised her hands to calm the bear down. “It’s alright, we’re here to help,” she said.

“Yeah,” Nick said. “Can you please point that somewhere else? It’s kind of disconcerting.”

The bear lowered the taser. “Who are you?” he asked.

“ZPD, Officer Hopps, this is Officer Wilde,” Judy said.

“Are you Mr. More?” Nick asked.

“Police?”

“Are you?” Nick repeated.

“Y – yes,” Mr. More said, dropping the taser. “You’re not wearing uniforms.”

Judy flashed her badge. Mr. More stepped aside to let them in.

“Why are you here?” he asked. “I didn’t do anything!”

“What did you mean when you told us to leave you alone?” Nick asked.

“I thought you were someone else, I didn’t know you were the police,” Mr. More said. “I swear.”

“Do you know a hyena named Lisa Miles?” Judy asked.

“Lisa?” Mr. More asked. “Of course I know her. She wanted me to work for Mr. Big, as a – uhm – caterer, but I declined. There were no hard feelings.”

“So why was the last time she was seen before she vanished with you?” Judy asked, apparently deciding to ignore the very obvious lie about what Lisa had wanted Mr. More to work as.

“She vanished?”

“Ten days ago. She was last seen with you, in the Rainforest District, according to a newspaper vendor who was, uh, questioned by Mr. Big,” Nick said.

“I didn’t know that,” Mr. More said. “It’s true, we talked to each other ten days ago, but she left, she said she was going to go home. I don’t know what happened to her.”

“Why did you think we were threatening you when we rang the bell?” Judy asked.

“There’s been animals following me,” Mr. More said. “And I’m not stupid. I know that associates of Mr. Big’s have been disappearing. I think it’s the same people who’ve done something to them, and Lisa talking to me has made me a target. They probably think I’m working for Mr. Big, too! I don’t want to be involved in anything like that, honestly.”

“Have you seen any of these animals following you?” Judy asked. “Who were they? Did you recognize them?”

Mr. More shook his head. “A jackal, a bat, a zebra,” he said. “Those are the ones I noticed, but they’re very good at not being spotted.”

Nick nodded. “Anything else you can tell us?”

Mr. More shook his head.

“Do you know anything of internal ZPD information being given out to criminals?” Judy suddenly asked.

Mr. More hesitated. “I don’t know anything specific. But living here, you hear all kinds of things. It’s not like Savannah Central where stuff like this might go unnoticed. There’s been talk of police officers telling some people – things. But I don’t know any details.”

Nick nodded.

“Thank you, Mr. More,” Judy said. “This is my number. Please call me if you have any more information, no matter how insignificant it may seem. If there’s any new animals following you, or if you get any names. Anything really.”

Mr. More nodded and took the card.

“Can I drive?” Nick asked.

“I’m driving already,” Judy pointed out.

“We could stop and switch.”

Judy rolled her eyes.

They drove in silence for a while, until Nick suddenly noticed something. “Judy?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you see that car behind us?”

Judy nodded.

“Doesn’t it seem like it’s been following us for a while?”

“Yes,” Judy said. “Okay. I’ll keep driving, and you try to get a look at who is driving that car, okay? Act inconspicuously.”

“I’m always inconspicuous,” Nick said.

“Right,” Judy said, but she seemed tense.

“It’ll be fine,” Nick said.

“We’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

“Hey, it’s true!”

“Alright, alright.” Thankfully, Judy was smiling slightly. Nick considered it a success.

“It looks like the car’s speeding up,” Nick said. “Maybe it wasn’t following us and just wants to overtake.”

“Yeah,” Judy said, braking slightly to let the other car pass.

The last thing Nick saw before it crashed into theirs was Judy trying to keep hold of the wheel.

Chapter Text

“Nick? Nick? Nick, please, wake up. Nick? Come on!”

Judy saw the other car speed away and frantically grabbed her phone, dialing the department’s number.

“ZPD –“ Clawhauser said.

Judy didn’t let him finish. “Clawhauser! Nick’s hurt, I need an ambulance. I’m in the Rainforest District, please, quickly –“ She couldn’t think of any codes and abbreviations…

“Judy? It’s okay, where exactly are you?”

“On the highway, just before Sahara Square. Please send someone!”

“I’m on it, just sit tight, okay? They’ll be there in a minute.”

Judy nodded even though she knew Clawhauser couldn’t see her.

“Nick?” she asked again, touching his shoulder. She didn’t dare move him because they were still in the car. All the first aid skills she had learned in her training seemed to be gone. She took a deep breath. She was Judy Hopps, Officer of the ZPD. She could do this.

Do not move the injured if there is risk of a spinal injury.

The other car had crashed into theirs and pushed them against the mountain wall on the highway’s side – right where Nick was sitting. She took another deep breath and decided that the risk was definitely too big for her to attempt moving Nick, especially since she wouldn’t be able to move him very well since she was a lot smaller and lighter.

Judy wasn’t sure why Nick was unconscious – there was blood on his head, maybe he’d hit it against something. But certainly it wasn’t anything more serious than a small concussion. It was going to be okay.

She didn’t think she was badly hurt herself, the other car had impacted theirs towards the rear and thus missed her, but she could feel pain in her right leg.

“Nick?” she whispered. “It’s okay. The ambulance is going to be here soon. It’ll be fine.”

She could feel tears run down her cheeks and noticed that she couldn’t lift her left hand enough to wipe them away because it hurt too much. She’d never felt so alone in all her life.

This was all her fault. If only she’d let Nick drive…

And finally, after what felt like an eternity, she could hear sirens approach from the distance.

When she woke up, she was lying in a bed. Everything was white. White sheets, white walls, white ceiling. This had to be a hospital. She remembered the car crash. Someone had crashed their car into Judy and Nick’s… Nick!

She hopped out of bed and had to cling to the metal railings at the edge of the bed for a moment in order not to keel over. Everything was woozy.

She left the room and found herself in a (white) corridor. She decided to go right in the hope of finding a reception or something where she could ask what had happened to Nick. She didn’t make it very far, however, before she was stopped by a nurse.

“Officer Hopps,” the polar bear said. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“I was looking for Nick,” Judy said. “Do you know where he is? Officer Nick Wilde.”

“Of course I know where he is,” the nurse said, gently steering Judy back towards her room. “In the room right next to yours.”

“Oh,” Judy said. “I need to see him. Is he okay?”

“You can see him, but maybe you’d like to get dressed first,” the nurse suggested, indicating Judy’s hospital gown. “He was hurt worse than you, but he should be alright in a bit of time.”

Judy sighed in relief. Nick wasn’t dead. She had tried not to think of that worst possibility, but now that she knew everything was fine, she realized just how horrible it would have been to lose Nick.

As she neared Nick’s room someone left it, closing the door behind them. At first Judy thought it was a doctor or a nurse, but as she got closer she realized she know who it was – Haylee Warren. Judy’s stomach clenched painfully.

Haylee didn’t say anything as they passed each other, just smiled at Judy.

When Judy entered his room, Nick looked up. His head was bandaged and one of his legs was in a cast, but he was awake.

“Hey, Nick,” she said softly, closing the door behind herself. “Do you mind if I stay with you for a while or would you rather be alone?” She wondered briefly whether she should mention Haylee Warren, but decided against it.

“Hey, Judy,” he croaked. “Stay. Maybe car chases aren’t that much better than paperwork, after all. How’re you?”

“Nothing happened to me,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Nick, this wouldn’t have happened if I’d let you drive –“

“Don’t say stuff like that,” he said. “Of course it would’ve. Also, you’re not fine.” He indicated the bandages on her leg and arm.

“Oh, those are barely even scratches,” Judy said.

“Officer Hopps, being all macho,” Nick said, grinning. It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off Judy’s shoulders.

The next day she decided to mention what had been bothering her. “Uh, Nick, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Nick said, tossing a blueberry into his mouth. He’d insisted on having Clawhauser buy them some ‘to sustain them during the healing process’.

“Yesterday Officer Warren visited you, right?”

“Yes,” Nick said, frowning. “It was a little strange, I wanted to tell you anyway. She talked to me about how committed I am to the ZPD and stuff, and how great that is, but how terrible that I got injured because of it yadda yadda…”

“Oh,” Judy said. “That was it?”

“What else would she have talked to me about?” Nick asked.

“Nothing – I don’t know…” Judy said, looking out at the ceiling. She was glad. She didn’t want Warren talking to Nick about personal things. She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t like the thought at all.

Three days later, Nick insisted on being discharged.

Judy wasn’t entirely happy with it, and tried very hard not to tap her foot – she knew that Nick knew it meant she was angry or at least dissatisfied.

“The doctors recommended another two days’ rest for you,” she said. “And your leg’s going to be in a cast for a while longer, you shouldn’t be out of the hospital yet.”

“But you’re getting out today, and you know you can’t get anything done without my help, Carrots,” Nick said.

“Alright, one condition,” Judy said. She hadn’t really thought this through, but it was as good a solution as any. “It’s the weekend now, so you’ll come with me to Bunnyburrow to get some country air and a good rest, and then we can get back on the cases when we return to the city on Monday, alright?”

Nick pulled a face and Judy hid her smile.

“Bunnyburrow?” he said. “Really?”

“Really.” Judy crossed her arms and gave him a challenging look.

“Okay, okay. I’ll come with you to Bunnyburrow. But if I die there, promise me you’ll make them bury me in the city.”

“Oh, no. I’ll have them bury you right next to my great-great-uncle William on the family graveyard.”

Nick was apparently well enough already to slowly chase after her with a pronounced limp.

“Oh, Judy!” Mom called as soon as Judy stepped up to her parents’ carrot and vegetable stand. “How nice to see you, it’s been so long! You don’t call enough! And you must be Nick! I’m sorry we didn’t really speak at the concert. What happened to your leg? Would you like a seat? Stu? Stu! Look who’s here! Zootopia’s heroes!”

She pulled Judy into a tight hug that made it difficult to breathe. Ever since Judy’s first real case, her parents had been even more overprotective than before.

“Can we have some blueberries, Mom?” Judy asked as Dad came round the corner and the next flurry of hugs broke down over her.

Nick was smirking at her from behind her parents and she threw him an evil look. His grin only widened.

“So, Jude-the-dude, why this sudden visit?” Dad asked.

Nick mouthed Jude-the-dude?, looking incredulous. Judy frowned at him.

“Come inside, come inside,” Mom said, ushering them into the kitchen, leaving the stand in the care of Winnie and Bill and their seventeen children.

“Oh, you know, we had a slight accident – nothing dangerous,” she added hurriedly while sitting down at the table. “And we thought we could use a weekend off and some fresh air.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Mom said. “Cream and sugar in your coffee, Nick?”

“Uh, sure,” Nick said.

“Nick, it’s great to finally meet you,” Dad said. “Judy’s told us so much!”

Judy threw Nick a sheepish smile. She wished the earth would swallow her. And her parents.

“Really?” Nick said.

“Oh yes. Do you play cribbage?” Dad asked enthusiastically.

“Uhm – I’d love to learn how to,” Nick said diplomatically.

“Lewis,” Dad called happily. “Set up the board. Come along,” he said to Nick who turned to give Judy a questioning look. She nodded encouragingly and Nick trailed behind her dad, hopping slightly because of the cast on his leg.

“Men,” Mom said, shaking her head, sitting down with Judy and taking a sip of her coffee. “Why are you really here, and why did you bring Nick?”

“I told you,” Judy said. She knew it was useless, her mom could always tell when she wasn’t being totally honest. Though Judy didn’t even really know why she had wanted to visit her parents, much less bring Nick. She felt it was something besides being rattled from the accident and the visit to the hospital, but she wasn’t sure what it was.

“Alright,” Mom said. “Eventually, I will find out. Moms always do.”

“When you know, tell me what it is,” Judy said. She suddenly felt sad without knowing the reason.

“Oh, Judy!” Mom said. “Don’t look so sad. Your ears are all droopy. Cheer up a little, everything will be alright. Are you on a tough case just now?”

“Something like that. It’s just – we’re not really getting anywhere. I mean, we are, but I don’t know where it’s going to lead us – I can’t really tell you…”

“That’s okay. Have your coffee and some more blueberries. You’re the best cop I know, and your partner there seems great as well. I’m sure you’ll solve it and make Zootopia a safer city.”

“Thanks, Mom,” she said, hugging her. She was so glad they had come here.

The next day, Judy was woken up by her phone ringing. She answered it, still half-asleep.

“Who’s there?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Officer Hopps?”

“Mr. More?”

“Yes,” Mr. More said. “I’m calling because you said to let you know if I was being followed by any more animals.”

Judy sat up straight. “Yes. Are you?”

“Yes. There’s been police officers.”

“Police officers?” Judy asked, incredulous. “Following you?”

“Exactly. In the beginning, I thought it was because I used to be involved in some – you know, less than legal activities, but I haven’t in a long while. And they’re talking to the animals that have been following me all along. Altogether I think there’s five of them now.”

“How do you know they’re police officers? Are they in uniform?”

“No, but I used to be down at the ZPD a lot, getting – uh – arrested, and I still know some of them. I didn’t understand why they were around, but then one of them told me that he was with the ZPD and had some interesting information for me if I’d let him have some of the earnings.”

“How did you react?”

“I said no. Like I said, I don’t do that anymore. He left me alone. He didn’t tell me his name, all I can tell you is that he is a hippo.”

“Thank you,” Judy said, her mind reeling. ZPD officers offering up information to criminals. The informants. According to Mr. More’s statements, there had to be more than one of them. “This is all very helpful, thanks.”

She hung up. Why was Mr. More in the middle of this? Or maybe he wasn’t. Maybe the animals that had been following him weren’t doing it because they thought he might work for Mr. Big. Maybe they had all been police officers, trying to figure out whether he’d use their information and make them some money. It was all too much – her mind wouldn’t put the pieces together properly.

She decided to try and push these thoughts aside and have breakfast.

“It’s all very small,” Nick said. “Very nice, and comfy, but I wish I had been able to stretch in my sleep, you know. I kept hitting my head.”

Judy laughed. “Poor Nick,” she said. “Other than that, how are you?”

“The cast is really getting on my nerves,” he said. “But your family is nice. And… numerous.”

Just then, two of Judy’s nieces ran up to them and tugged on Nick’s shirt.

“Aunt Judy, can we borrow him, please?” Ann asked.

“He promised to play with us yesterday, so he has to!” Hannah added.

“Sure,” Judy said. “Just be careful. He needs to protect Zootopia again tomorrow, so don’t break him. He’s only got one leg left.”

“Oh, that’s nice, Carrots,” Nick said, but the two kids pulled him away.

Judy watched them make Nick throw Frisbees for them on the grass. He was cute, she thought.

“Judy?”

“It! I mean, it is cute! Not he!”

“Right,” Dad said, obviously a little confused. “I was just wondering whether you’d like to help me prepare lunch?”

“Sure,” she said.

She threw another look at Nick. Cute. The word echoed in her mind.

Oh, sweet cheese ‘n’ crackers.

“And then it turned out that little Josh had hidden Timmy’s soapbox because he wanted to win the race!”

Judy nodded at her dad’s story. He’d been going on about how Timmy’s soapbox had vanished and at the same time Josh had been giving Timmy advice on how to race to deflect suspicion.

And then it hit her.

“Dad,” she said. “Say that again.”

“… because he wanted to win the race?” Dad said.

Judy stared at him, then threw down her knife and the carrot she had been peeling. “I’ve gotta go,” she said, running outside.

“Nick! Nick!” she yelled, racing across the green.

“Judy?” Nick asked. “Are you okay?”

“Yes!” she said, hugging him but quickly letting go. “I’ve got it now! It’s the same person! The cases are related. Josh pretends to help Timmy in order to take him out of the race!”

“Right,” Nick said. “I know some of your nephews are pretty devious, but I don’t think we have to investigate against them.”

“No,” Judy said. “Don’t you understand? Whoever has been giving out internal information has also been kidnapping Mr. Big’s associates! They’ve done it so that they can profit twice – getting money from the criminals using their info and taking out the competition! We’ve been working on one case all along!”

Nick stared at her for a second. “You’re one sly bunny, Carrots,” he said, tossing her the car keys.

Chapter Text

“… and that’s how they’re connected!” Judy finished.

“And we couldn’t prove any illegal activities for any of Mr. Big’s associates or Mr. Big himself,” Nick said, not adding that they hadn’t tried very hard. He secretly suspected that the Chief knew that already.

“Hopps, Wilde,” Chief Bogo said. “Good work.”

“Thanks, Chief,” Judy said, glowing with pride. She was standing up very straight, smiling, and wearing a parking-duty uniform. She looked really beautiful.

… Anyway.

“So I want you two to go and talk to her, see whether you can find out anything,” Chief Bogo said.

Nick realized he’d zoned out for a moment. “Sorry,” he said. “Talk to who?”

“Gazelle,” Judy said as though it was obvious.

“Gazelle?”

“Yes,” Chief Bogo said, scowling at Nick. “There was an attempted robbery at her house last night. She was supposed to be on holiday, which she’d let us know because there had been B&Es at her house in the past while she was away. I suspect someone at the ZPD gave the criminals a hint. They got away, unfortunately, but maybe Gazelle can tell you something relevant to the case.”

“Right,” Nick said. “Gazelle. Great. We can all get her autograph.”

Judy’s face lit up. “Chief Bogo?”

“Yes, Hopps?”

“Can we take someone else?”

“I can’t believe it,” Clawhauser gasped from the backseat. “I’m going to meet Gazelle! In the fur! Do I look okay, Judy?”

“You look great,” Judy said.

“I’m so excited!” Clawhauser squealed.

“I know, me too,” Judy said. “Gazelle’s amazing, isn’t she? But we are here to do police work.”

“I know, I know,” Clawhauser said. “The Chief’s told me about the case you’re on. I knew that it wasn’t parking duty right away!”

“He told you?” Nick asked. He hadn’t expected the Chief to talk to anyone about cases, especially this one.

“Oh, yes,” Clawhauser said. “I think it’s great that you two are taking care of it, you’re going to solve it in no time.”

“Thanks!” Judy said. “That’s so sweet.”

“Do I know that? Yes. Yes, I do.”

Nick cursed himself. Of course, just now, in the middle of a case, those thoughts had to come back. Wasn’t that fantastic.

Judy stopped the car outside something that could barely be descried as a house. ‘Palace’ was more like it, Nick thought, as he walked up the stairs to the front door with Judy and Clawhauser.

A sheep opened the door for them. “Hello,” he said.

“Hi,” Judy said. “We’re officers of the ZPD and here to see Gazelle.”

“Identification, please,” the sheep said.

They all showed him their badges and he led them into a lounge and told them to wait.

A moment later, he came back with Gazelle herself.

Clawhauser’s jaw dropped.

Judy’s eyes went really, really wide. Nick figured he would have to do the talking.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hi,” Gazelle said, smiling. “You’re with the ZPD, aren’t you?” She turned to Judy. “You’re Judy Hopps, who did so much for predator-prey relations.”

“Oh,” Judy said weakly. “It was nothing.”

“Let’s go upstairs to talk,” Gazelle said, leading them up a flight of stairs into a big living room. A few of her tiger dancers were lounging around.

Nick caught one of them giving Clawhauser a look. He wondered whether he should tell Chief Bogo that to get the whole thing moving and stop the Chief being in a bad mood so often.

“You’re here to talk to me about the attempted robbery last night, aren’t you?” Gazelle asked, sitting down on a plushy sofa and interrupting Nick’s scheming.

“We are,” Nick said. “You told the ZPD you were going on vacation, is that correct?”

“I did,” Gazelle said. “But one of my dancers was feeling unwell, so of course I decided to not go after all. In the past, my house has been broken into when I was away, and I thought letting the ZPD know would minimize the risk, although obviously it did not.”

“I see,” Nick said. It felt kind of strange to do the principal questioning. Usually he left that to Judy. At least he didn’t have to take notes – Clawhauser was scribbling down every little detail.

“Is there a chance that someone at the ZPD told whoever tried to break in that I was going to be away?”

Nick stared at her.

“I’m famous, not stupid,” she said.

Nick shrugged. “Yes,” he said. “That’s why we’re here.”

Gazelle got up from the sofa and started pacing back and forth. “It was different from the other times,” she said. “In the past, when the house was broken into and I was away, it wasn’t dangerous to the members of my staff remaining in the house. They were never threatened. This time, they had weapons. What was it, Frank? Knifes?” She looked at one of the tigers.

Frank nodded.

“And they were wearing masks. I didn’t see them, but Frank made a statement to the police. He said it was a zebra, a jackal, and a rhino.”

Frank nodded again.

“So they’re getting more aggressive,” Judy said, still looking admiringly at Gazelle.

“That makes sense, considering what we think it’s related to,” Nick said, trying not to mention anything secret. “A zebra and a jackal,” Nick continued to Judy. He knew she remembered that a zebra and a jackal were among the animals that had been following Mr. More.

“You could tell they were accustomed to being in stressful situations,” Frank said.

“Like police officers,” Judy whispered.

Everybody was silent for a moment.

Nick cleared his throat. “Uh, thanks, Gazelle. You’ve been a great help. Thanks, Frank.” He nodded at the tiger. “We better go now, but if you remember anything else –“

“Can we have autographs?” Clawhauser burst out, immediately clapping his hands over his mouth in embarrassment.

“Sure!” Gazelle said. “I’m impressed! Usually people make more of a scene when they ask.” She smiled at Clawhauser who clutched his heart. “You’re a goddess,” he breathed.

“Thank you!” Gazelle said with another charming smile. “Who’s that for, then?”

“Benjamin. Benjamin Clawhauser,” Clawhauser said.

“Does anyone have a pen?” Gazelle asked.

Judy handed her the carrot pen with reverence.

“To Benjy,” Gazelle said. “Keep making the world a better place. You’re a hero! Love, Gazelle.” She handed the autograph to Clawhauser and Nick worried for a moment that the cheetah was going to faint.

Gazelle made out an autograph for Judy before turning to Nick. “And for you?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t really need – to Nick Wilde,” he said quickly. Judy grinned at him and Nick was hit by a sudden inspiration. “And could we have one to Chief Bogo as well?”

When they arrived back at the ZDP, they dropped Clawhauser off at the front desk and made their way to Judy’s cubicle.

Nick made sure there wasn’t anyone around to listen to them. “Do you have any idea who it could be?” he asked.

Judy shrugged. “Not really,” she said.

“Which means, yes, you do.”

Judy gnawed on her lip. “I don’t have any proof,” she said.

“Come on, Carrots. You can trust me.”

“You don’t think – I – I think it might be Haylee Warren.”

“Haylee Warren, the bunny who’s neither a zebra nor a jackal nor any of the other animals Mr. More or Frank have seen?”

Judy shrugged. “I have a strange feeling when it comes to her.”

“I know,” Nick said. “But, Judy, she only joined the ZDP after the whole informant-business had already started.”

“Yes,” Judy said. “Yes, I know, it’s just – it feels like there’s something wrong with her.”

“I know your instincts are pretty good –“

Just then Judy’s phone rang. She groaned and answered it, holding it between her and Nick’s ears so they could both listen.

“Hello?” Judy asked.

“Judy? This is Mr. Big.”

Judy sat up straighter and her ears were much less droopy all of a sudden. “Hello. How can I help?”

She stood up quickly and checked once more that there wasn’t anybody around before sitting down at her desk again.

“Judy, I’m calling with news. Apparently, it is not enough now to stalk my associates. I have been followed myself by a very suspicious animal.” Someone said something in the background and Mr. Big’s voice got louder. “Ice ‘em, you idiots!”

Nick jumped. He couldn’t help it. It was Mr. Big.

“Uh, Mr. Big? Is everything alright?” Nick and Judy exchanged a glance.

“No,” Mr. Big sighed. “Fru Fru and little Judy are coming home today and my kitchen staff has still not finished the icing on their welcome-back cupcakes.”

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Judy said, sounding relieved. “But who has been following you?”

“A bunny,” Mr. Big said grimly. “Very small, smaller than you, dear Judy. And fluffy.”

Judy almost threw her phone in the air in shock. Nick’s jaw dropped.

“Thanks, Mr. Big. We’ll have solved the case soon. We’ve just made enormous progress.” Judy hung up.

Nick stared at her. “Sly bunny,” was all he could think to say.

Judy grinned up at him. “Dumb fox,” she said fondly.

“Wilde!” Chief Bogo shouted when Nick gave him the autograph. “Thank you,” he continued calmly, placing it against his computer screen. “I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Chief.”

“A zebra, a jackal and a rhino,” Chief Bogo mused. “That doesn’t help us much. We have several of all of those in our service at the ZPD. But a bunny – we only have two of those. Although you need to conclusively prove that it is Officer Warren who’s heading the informants and kidnapping criminals at the same time.”

“We’re still on it,” Judy said. “We’ll trace her movements and follow her tomorrow until we can nail her down.”

“I’m convinced,” Chief Bogo said. “So get some sleep and then close this case.”

“He does love us,” Nick said when they were standing outside the Chief’s office.

Judy rolled her eyes. “What do we do now?”

Nick thought of Gazelle’s autograph for him. ‘To Nick. Don’t give up, don’t give in. Try everything. Love, Gazelle.’

He decided to take the advice.

“Now,” he said. “We talk to someone very important.”

“Nick!” his mom called when she opened the door. “What a surprise.” She hugged him tight and then beamed at Judy. “And you must be his partner at the ZPD! It’s so nice to meet you. Please, come in.”

Judy followed his mom into the kitchen and turned around briefly to give Nick a smile. He knew that she understood why he’d brought her here, even if he didn’t understand it himself.

Chapter Text

“Oh, Nick,” Judy said when they stepped back onto the street. “Thanks so much for introducing me to your mom. She’s really nice.”

“I met your parents, you had to meet my mom… Oh look, there’s a baby rhino using a hippity-hop. Adorable, isn’t it?”

“Nick,” Judy said. She knew what he was doing, and she wasn’t going to let him get away with it. “I mean it. Thank you.”

She put a hand on Nick’s arm and he looked down at her. “No problem,” he said softly. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“No problem,” she echoed.

Before she could say anything else, Nick had raised a hand in half a wave and said, “See you tomorrow.”

“This place is great,” Nick said. “Especially since you made them, you know, actually observe hygiene regulations.”

“Remember our first meeting?” Judy asked. “Finnick in his elephant costume. That was so cute.”

“Of course I remember. You were the most gullible cop I’d ever met,” Nick said. “It was pretty cute, actually.”

Judy shot him a glare over the sundae they were sharing. “I think I’ve grown since then.”

“You have,” Nick said. “Oh, she’s putting on a jacket. It does not look good on her. I think. I’m not really a fashion-conscious guy. But you know that. Except for my sunglasses, which are just very cool…”

“Why did you get the good seat?” Judy asked. She couldn’t see Haylee at all because she was sitting with her back to the window.

“If I skimped on my parking duty, I wouldn’t go buying jackets,” Nick continued his ramblings. “Especially if I was the head of a mob organization that wants to take over Zootopia.”

“I don’t know,” Judy said. “And I think she’s in there to pick out an outfit for the ZPD ball.”

“Is that still happening?”

“Yeah,” Judy said. “And you’re not backing out of going with me.” Her heart was beating a little faster as she said that. Back when she had asked Nick to go with her, it had seemed much more innocuous. Now it felt like something more.

“You know how Warren was talking to me and visiting me in hospital?” Nick asked, changing the topic.

“Yes,” Judy said. She didn’t particularly like being reminded of that.

“Do you think she was trying to gauge my loyalty to the ZPD? She did ask a lot of questions about how I liked working there and whether I was doing it for ideological reasons…”

Judy looked up, feeling relief sweep over her. “That makes sense, actually,” she said. “Of course. She wanted you on her side, that was all!”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

The idea popped into her head all of a sudden, and she gasped.

“What is it?” Nick asked.

“Do you think you could pretend you were on her side? You could fake supporting her and collect information. Be an informer about the informer.”

“No,” Nick said. “I don’t want to not be by your side when we solve this.”

“But… we would only be faking you not being by my side.”

“I don’t even want to fake not being by your side.”

“Oh,” Judy said. She couldn’t help but notice that they kept saying by instead of on.

“We’re a team, right?” Nick asked.

“Yeah.”

Nick was so close. She could just lean in. Just lean in over their sundae and…

“We should go,” Nick said. “She’s leaving the shop, we don’t want to lose her.”

Judy blinked. “Right,” she said. “Let’s go.”

She considered Nick’s lack of funny comments to ease the tension proof that, at the very least, he had been a little bit caught in the moment as well. She wasn’t sure if that was logically sound, but she decided to believe it anyway.

“No, Mom, I’m fine… I am. Really… yes, I am… yeah, it is. I can’t tell you about the cases… thanks, say hi to Gideon from me, too… No, I didn’t visit Janet and the baby… because if I visited every time I got a new niece or nephew, I would be out of a job and time to eat and sleep.”

“Alright,” her mom said. “So, now that we’ve beaten around the bush for ten minutes, why don’t you tell me why you really called?”

“What do you mean?” Judy asked, feeling guilty. “I just called to ask how you guys were doing…”

“Sure you did,” her mom said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with Nick, does it?”

Judy sucked in a breath. “How do you know that?” she asked.

“I’m your mom, Judy. I know you. I told you when you brought him with you the other weekend, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did,” Judy said. She sat down on her bed, rubbing her forehead. “But – I don’t know.” Maybe calling her mom hadn’t been the best idea. Maybe she shouldn’t even be thinking about all this. “We nearly kissed!” she burst out. “At least I think we did.”

“That’s sweet,” her mom said.

“It’s not – I mean, maybe. But it’s confusing. It’s a bad time –“

“Isn’t it always?” her mom asked. “Judy, have you thought this through?”

“What?” Judy clutched her phone. Her mom had gone from sounding supportive to apprehensive, which wasn’t a good sign.

“You have our support, Judy, always. But don’t take these things lightly. Nick’s a fox –“

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That that’s – unusual. It’s not like it never happens, but – well. People would expect you to find yourself a bunny –“

“I don’t want to find a bunny, and I especially don’t want other people to want me to,” Judy said. She tapped her foot on the floor. One of the Oryx-Antlersons shouted at her through the wall to stop it.

“I never said you had to. I’m just telling you the truth before you find out the hard way.”

“The hard way?” Judy felt her ears droop.

“You won’t have children –“

“Mom! You have 3464 grandchildren already!”

“I know,” her mom said. “Judy, I’m just trying to make sure you know what you’re doing. I suppose you could adopt –“

“Mom,” Judy groaned, embarrassed. “Stop it! How do you go from ‘we nearly kissed’ to ‘Judy wants babies’?”

“But if you’re aware of all of that, and you can get past it, that’s great, and we’re happy for you. Just don’t settle. You made us realize it’s not always the right option.”

“You think so?”

“Judy, you’re the bravest bunny I know, and you’ve taught us a lot. I know you will always make your own way, and if you do that with someone who’s not a bunny and doesn’t know how to play cribbage properly, that’s perfectly fine. Though doubtlessly your father will continue to make him play every time you bring him with you, so I’m sure eventually he’ll become very good.”

Every time you bring him home with you.

The words echoed in Judy’s head, strangely scary and exciting at once. Her mom made it sound easy and natural, like there wasn’t even a question. But there was. Or wasn’t there? Judy felt a headache coming on. Fantastic.

“Right,” Judy said distractedly. “Mom, thanks. Really, thank you. But I think I need to be by myself for a little while now. Just to think.”

“Sure,” her mom said. “Call me if you need anything. For what it’s worth, your father and I really like Nick. And, Judy?”

“Yeah?”

“You once said that change starts with you. So does everything that happens to you.”

“Right,” Judy said again. “Bye.”

She hung up and dropped back onto her bed, squeezing her eyes shut. She didn’t really feel any less confused now.

Of course she loved Nick. She’d answered that question ages ago, as easily as she breathed.

Yes. Yes, I do.

But back then she’d meant it as an expression of love between friends. Very good friends, partners, nothing more. Now, everything was different, and she didn’t know where friendship ended and love began.

She sighed and looked at Gazelle’s autograph, which she’d pinned to her wall. Dear Judy, it read. Look how far you’ve come. Love, Gazelle.

Judy wasn’t entirely sure what that was supposed to mean. That she’d done enough and could just leave everything as it was, or that she shouldn’t give up now? She shook her head. It didn’t mean anything, she thought. It wasn’t like Gazelle was a goddess, no matter what Clawhauser thought. But still. She had come this far in her relationship with Nick. Why give up now? She felt a little like there was a butterfly parade going on in her stomach.

She sighed and got up. This wasn’t the time to think about it. She looked at her dress and got up to get ready just as her phone rang. It was an unknown number.

“Hello?” Judy asked, dropping back into her desk chair.

“Officer Hopps?”

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Officer Snarlof.”

“Snarlof! What’s going on, is everything alright?”

“Listen, Hopps,” Snarlof said quietly. She was almost whispering. “I heard you and Wilde have been assigned to some top secret case.”

“I – we’re on parking duty,” Judy said.

Snarlof ignored her. “And I know it has something to do with Mr. Big’s organization.”

Judy hissed in a sharp breath. “How do you know that?”

“I have a brother who – is acquainted with Mr. Big.”

“Oh,” Judy said. That had to be difficult, being a police officer and having a brother who worked with criminals. Then again, she and Nick were sort-of-friends with Mr. Big. Well, she was. She wasn’t that sure about Nick.

“Yes,” Snarlof said. “He told me he’s seen suspicious activity around Mr. Big’s house. Secretive animals sneaking around, possibly spying. He’s afraid and asked me for help. I can’t do anything about it, but I know you’re on that case, and I thought this might help you.”

“It does,” Judy said, head spinning. “Thank you, Snarlof. We’ll do our best. We’re close to solving it now.”

Snarlof exhaled. “Good,” she said. “Thank you. See you at the ball tonight.”

Butterflies returned to Judy’s stomach. “Right. See you then.”

She hung up and texted Nick. Something was going to happen, she could feel it, and it was going to happen soon.

She took down her dress from its hanger and started to get ready.

Chapter Text

From what Nick had gathered, the annual ZPD ball wasn’t a huge deal, and mostly pretty boring. Apparently, a lot of speeches were made every year by the Mayor and various high-ups and all kinds of other people who probably didn’t have anyone listen to them most of the time and had to let it all out this one day of the year.

He was not particularly looking forward to it.

Well. To be honest, he was. A little. Because he was going with Judy, which was nice. It wasn’t even the kind of event that you had to show up to with a partner (not that he usually went to those, anyway) so it was even more special.

He smiled at himself in the mirror thinking about how he and Judy had sort of shanghaied each other into being dates for tonight. That was a good thing, he decided. It had to mean something, if only a little something. He didn’t really know how to put anything of all this in words, not even in his own head.

He had bought a tux just for tonight and he actually thought he looked pretty good in it, especially in combination with his sunglasses, but he’d take those off once he got to the actual ball, which was, in his considered opinion, a huge loss for everybody who was going to be attending.

He emptied his cup of coffee, looked in the mirror one last time, straightened his tie – he could hardly believe how fancy he looked –  and left for the ball.

“Hey Nick,” Judy called from a corner when he arrived.

Nick’s jaw nearly dropped. “Uh, hey,” he said. “You – uhm. You look really nice.”

“Thanks,” Judy said. Then she grinned. “You, too. Cool suit. And your sunglasses.”

“Oh,” Nick said, realizing he’d forgotten to take them off. “That wasn’t… anyway.” He quickly shoved his sunglasses into the pocket of his suit jacket, blinking into the light.

“I just spoke to Officer Snarlof and she said thanks that we’ll have a look out for Raymond –“

“Raymond?!”

“Her brother, remember how she called me?”

“Her brother’s Raymond?” Nick asked incredulously, looking over to Officer Snarlof who was on her phone and the picture of lawfulness.

“Apparently,” Judy said, shrugging. Then her eyes suddenly narrowed.

“She’s here tonight,” she said, looking across the room. “See? Over there?”

“Yeah,” Nick said, still looking at Judy, who was tapping her foot now.

“Can you believe her? An informant and criminal, and she’s here, enjoying the free champagne!”

“There’s free champagne?” Nick asked. “Let’s find some before we have to sit down for the speeches.”

That turned out to be a good idea once the new mayor took the stage.

“Oh, sweet cheese ‘n’ crackers,” Judy muttered from where she was sitting between Nick and Officer Newton.

“And this is just the beginning,” Officer Newton said morosely, draining his champagne.

Nick pulled his phone out of his jacket. He was not going to make it through this part of the evening without some senseless entertainment.

The speeches dragged on and on, with only Chief Bogo’s providing a short relief from the boringness.

“I don’t care about making a speech and you don’t want to hear one, so let’s leave it at this,” he said curtly, and sat back down.

Nick was the only one who clapped. Everyone looked at him. Judy next to him snickered. Thankfully, the dinner – the best part of the evening, in Nick’s opinion – started and all the animals present concentrated on their plates.

“So, you having a good time?” Nick asked a while later, when he and Judy were dancing.

“Oh, yes,” Judy said. “You?”

Nick grimaced. “Don’t really like dancing.”

“Come on,” Judy smiled at him. “You’re having fun. I can tell.”

“Alright, alright. Dancing isn’t that bad with you – ow – except for the fact that you keep stepping on my tail –“

“Not on purpose –“

“And you don’t have any feeling for rhythm –“

“You’re supposed to lead! And you step on my feet as well!”

“Because you’ve got big bunny feet,” Nick said, taking his hand off Judy’s waist and gently poking the top of her ear. “They keep getting in my way. I thought you liked dancing.”

Judy grinned up at him. “I do like dancing. Doesn’t mean I’m good at it. Let’s get some fresh air,” she said.

Nick reached for another glass of champagne on the way out, but Judy lightly pushed his hand away and grabbed them two glasses of water.

Nick pouted. “It’s free champagne, Carrots!” he said.

“Yeah, and we’re small animals. If we have another glass, we’re not going to be able to have more dances. Then I’d have to arrest you for being drunk and disorderly. Though I guess you’re disorderly most of the time…”

This was good news, Nick thought, because apparently Judy did want to dance with him again despite their previous dancing adventures not being the most glorious. His tail really hurt, and surely Judy’s feet did too.

“Look, some people are already leaving,” Judy said, once they had stepped outside on a little porch-thing and looked over the street.

“Spoilsports,” Nick said. “This is where the party is!”

They both laughed, before turning quiet again.

“Judy, I’m really glad we went to this thing together,” Nick said.

Judy looked up at him. Her eyes were so big, and she was so beautiful…

They both leaned in, and Nick could feel his heart beat unnaturally fast.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Judy murmured without pulling back. “Pretty much all of the ZPD is here…” Suddenly, her eyes went even wider. “All of the ZPD is here. All of the ZPD is here!” she said, her voice rising.

“Oh, no,” Nick said. Maybe they could kiss first…

“Oh, yes,” Judy sighed. “Let’s go.”

“She’s not here,” Nick said a little later after they had searched the ballroom and the garden. “She must’ve left.”

“We need a car,” Judy said. “Clawhauser!”

“Yes?” Clawhauser asked, looking up from his phone where he’d shown officer Swinton something.

“Can we borrow your car?”

“Uh, sure, Judy, but – uhm –“

“What?”

“We can’t drive it,” Nick said. “We’re not tall enough.”

“We can drive it!” Judy said. “I’ll steer and you can use the pedals.”

“And who’s gonna shift gears?” Clawhauser asked.

“It’s not an automatic?” Judy and Nick said together.

“No,” Clawhauser said, almost insulted. “I’ll drive you wherever you need to go. Unless you were wanting to be alone, of course, I’m not going to make you guys take me –“

“Drive us, please,” Judy said. “We need to check something out.”

“Alright,” Clawhauser said, getting up. “Bye!”

Officer Swinton waved goodbye at them, apparently slightly confused.

Judy, Nick and Clawhauser hurried to the car.

“This is our chance to catch her red-handed!” Judy said.

“Right,” Clawhauser said. “You think she’s taking the opportunity to strike while nearly all of the ZPD is at the ball. Should we call for backup?”

“Let’s make sure she’s not just going home for a hot bath first,” Judy said. “Take a left here.”

“Why are we in Tundratown?”

“Visiting friends,” Nick said.

Clawhauser shook his head but kept driving until they reached Mr. Big’s house.

Several cars were parked in front of it.

“Uh-oh,” Clawhauser said.

Judy and Nick jumped out of the car and snuck closer to the house. Clawhauser followed them with a nervous glance back.

Clawhauser lifted Nick and Judy up so they could look through the windows.

“Can you see anything?” he whispered.

“It’s dark inside,” Judy whispered back. “I can’t see Haylee.”

“Because she’s not inside,” Officer Warren said from behind them.

Clawhauser dropped Nick and Judy with a squeal.

Officer Warren was standing there with officer McHorn and two other officers who’s names Nick didn’t know.

“We should’ve called for backup,” Clawhauser muttered.

“Thanks, Clawhauser,” Judy hissed.

“You two,” Warren said, scowling at Nick and Judy. “I knew you were going to make this more difficult. If only you had joined me,” she said to Nick. “You would’ve been out of the way.”

Nick shrugged. “No thanks,” he said. “I’ve got the world’s best bunny partner already.”

“We had cake with you,” Clawhauser said accusingly.

Warren rolled her eyes. “It didn’t even taste good!”

Clawhauser gasped. “It was delicious!”

Officer McHorn thoughtfully tilted his head as if to judge the cake they’d had at the Chief’s birthday party.

Nick rolled his eyes. “Can we get back to the point?” he asked. “What are you trying to do here? Take over Mr. Big’s clan or something now that you’ve kidnapped most of the town’s bigger criminals?”

“Exactly,” Haylee said. “Search them,” she added to her accomplices.

“I can’t believe you would betray the ZPD like this,” Judy said. Her foot underneath her long ball gown was tapping the ground rapidly.

None of the officers replied. They silently searched Nick, Judy and Clawhauser and led them inside.

“Where’re Mr. Big and all the polar bears?” Judy whispered to Nick.

He shrugged. “No idea,” he whispered back. “They can’t have overpowered them. Warren doesn’t have that many accomplices. They’re five at the most according to everything we’ve heard.”

“Nick,” Judy gasped suddenly. She was staring into a corner with wide, scared eyes.

Nick followed her gaze and his stomach churned. On the floor in the corner lay a polar bear, his white fur stained with red. It was Raymond.

“Oh, no,” Judy breathed. She raised her voice. “Sir? Are you okay? Don’t worry, help will be here soon.”

One of their captors put a hand over Judy’s mouth, but the polar bear stirred softly.

“What have you done to Mr. Big?” Nick asked. Sure, he didn’t get along with Mr. Big that well, but he remembered grandmama’s delicious cannoli, Fru Fru and the baby, and Mr. Big’s helping them with the savage-mammals case.

“Nothing yet,” Warren said darkly. She left the room and ordered her cronies to keep watch.

“Can we at least help him?” Judy said with a desperate look into the corner where Raymond was still lying.

The officers exchanged a glance, then let her go but stood in front of the doors.

Judy, Nick and Clawhauser leant over the polar bear.

“Are you alright?” Judy asked.

“I’m fine,” the bear whispered, but he didn’t sound well.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Nick said. “Or call the Chief somehow. Or the ZPD, someone is still going to be stationed there who can send help.”

“Chief Bogo’s our best bet,” Judy said quietly. “He’s closer already, anyway. But I don’t know his number.”

“I do,” Clawhauser whispered. “If I can get to that phone, I can call him.”

Nick looked up at the huge, polar-bear sized desk with the polar-bear sized phone on it. There was no way they would be able to use it in secret.

“We could try some acting,” Judy breathed, looking at Nick. “Hustle?”

“Oh, sweet cheese ‘n’ crackers,” Nick muttered, but he agreed: “Boom.”

Judy nudged him in the ribs and cleared her throat.

“Oh no,” she cried dramatically. “We need an ambulance! This polar bear is dying!”

The rhino and the zebra looked at them, unimpressed.

“You’re officers of the ZPD!” Judy exploded. “How can you do this?”

The two officers looked down at the floor, but they didn’t react otherwise. Judy’s foot was tapping the floor very quickly, but her nose was twitching slightly at the same time.

“What have you done with everyone you’ve kidnapped? Why did you give out information? How did she make you do that? At least let him call his family to say goodbye!” Judy shouted, pointing at Raymond, her eyes welling with tears.

Judy crying was utterly heartbreaking and probably real now, but Nick was aware what she was trying to do.

The zebra and the rhino held exchanged a glance, then Officer McHorn shrugged. “Alright,” he said. “One call.”

Clawhauser jumped up and fetched the phone.

“Your sister,” Judy breathed in the polar bear’s ear. “Call your sister.”

Raymond nodded and dialed weakly. They could just hear someone at the other end say, “Hello, who’s this?” when Warren came back.

“What are you doing?” yelled, jumping forwards and grabbing the phone. “Why would you let them make a call?”

Nick cursed silently. Now there was no way to let anyone know where they were.

Officer McHorn shrugged uncomfortably. “He’s not feeling well,” he said. “We thought a phone call wouldn’t…” He trailed off.

Warren snarled. Nick hadn’t known bunnies could do that. It was actually pretty scary. “Kill them!” she ordered.

“What?” the zebra asked.

“Kill. Them,” Warren repeated slowly.

“They’re colleagues,” Officer McHorn said, hesitating. He lowered his gun the tiniest bit.

Nick figured this was the chance to get the upper hand in this situation. The two informants didn’t seem to be entirely on Warren’s side anymore.

Warren looked ready to kill someone, but Nick took a step forward and put her in a chokehold before anyone could move.

“What are you doing?” she screeched. Her accomplices only now moved to help her, pointing their guns at Nick again.

“Natural enemies,” Nick told her with a shrug.

“Nick!” Judy said.

“Don’t shoot him!” Clawhauser called, which was pretty nice of him.

McHorn and the other one seemed unsure of what to do.

“Let us call for backup, or I’ll –“ Nick didn’t finish the thread, because he wasn’t going to do anything to Warren, but the others didn’t know that.

Finally, McHorn dropped his gun and nodded to his friend to do the same.

“Wow,” Clawhauser said, wiping his brow. “Fieldwork is pretty taxing compared to being at reception, but I think I’m getting a taste for it. Now let’s call for backup, alright?”

“I think backup’s already here,” Judy pointed out.

They heard cars approaching and eventually Chief Bogo’s loud voice outside the house, Judy looked at Clawhauser. “Could you hold her for a moment?” she asked, pointing her chin at Warren. “I’ve got to finish something.”

“Sure, Judy,” Clawhauser said, taking Warren from Nick.

“Why –?” Nick started to ask, but Judy stopped him with a kiss.

“Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde,” Chief Bogo said gruffly. “This is not the time and place to – canoodle.” He grimaced. “It’s bad enough you left the ZPD ball to chase after a criminal without telling me. If Officer Swinton hadn’t alerted me to it, this could’ve gone down very differently.”

“Sorry, Chief,” Judy said, but she grinned at Nick.

“How did you even know we were getting into a danger?” Nick asked.

“It’s you two,” Chief Bogo said. “I figured you weren’t not going to mess something up. But I suppose, since you’ve contributed so much to solving this case and were just in a very dangerous situation, you might need some rest at home before we take your statements. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, nine o’clock sharp.”

“Sure, Chief,” Nick said, taking Judy’s hand and pulling her towards the door while their colleagues flooded the house, fetching Mr. Big and his family from the room they had been locked in, and arresting Warren and her accomplices who were already spewing information about where the kidnapped animals were and other things, probably hoping to seem cooperative. They were officers, they knew how this worked.

Nick grinned at Warren’s unhappy face as they left.

“We should get rest,” Judy said once they were outside.

“Oh yes, we should,” Nick said.

“Or we could talk.”

“And kiss again.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Judy said. “Do you think the Chief’ll mind us borrowing his car?”

“Nah,” Nick said against his better judgement. “He’s a big softie and he loves us. Clawhauser can drive him home. That’ll cheer them both up. Besides, the Chief’s car is an automatic.”

“You take the pedals, I take the wheel?” Judy asked.

“This is gonna go great,” Nick said, grinning and opening the door for her to get in. “Funny story,” he said as Judy started the car. “I think Gazelle kind of had a hand in this. I was looking at her autograph…”

“Really?” Judy asked, “You, too?” as they drove – not at all becoming of two Officers of the ZPD considering car regulations and safety – down the street.