"Carrots, you really didn't have to call. Clawhauser already told me you were out today. It's no big."

Nick could hear Judy sigh on the other end of the line. "I know, I know. But, I felt like I should anyway. I didn't want you to just hear I was gone secondhand from Clawhauser. I felt like I owed you an explanation."

All Nick could do was chuckle as he delicately balanced his cellphone in the crook of his neck, still stuffing the tail of his uniform shirt into his trousers. "'Owed me an explanation?' You need to take a sick day, what else is there to explain? You're overthinkin' this one you innocent, hardworkin' little hayseed. Now go rest, will you? I can save the city on my own today."

For a few seconds there was nothing. Not even a rustle on the other end of the call. Nick was about to ask if Judy was still there when she finally replied, tinges of guilt and embarrassment in her tone.

"Well. I'm… I'm not exactly sick."

A sly smirk spread across Nick's face as he zipped up his fly, grabbing his equipment belt before slamming the locker door shut with his foot. "Ahhhh, I get it. Hung over, right? Did Clawhauser rope you into one of his 'girls nights out' at that gay bar down on 5th and Kalahara? Knock back one too many? Ehhhhh?" He was grinning now as he notched his belt around his waist. "C'mon Carrots, fess up. We've all been there."

"What? No! Of course not! Never! I'd never drink like that on a work night, you know that!"

Nick was struggling to hold back laughter, placing a paw on his muzzle to stifle the few snickers that managed to escape his lips. Judy's earnest, farmgirl's voice sounded so offended at the very thought of her getting rowdy drunk when she had to be at work the next day. It was too funny to him as a world-weary city slicker. She was just too pure for this world.

At least, that's what Nick thought at that point in the conversation.

"Oh hush I can hear you laughing!" Nick shouldn't have been surprised she could pick up on that, given how big her ears were. "I'm not sick. I'm just having some, issues. That's all."

Nick's smirk was gone in an instant, his brows furrowed in concern. There was something about the way she had said 'issues' that put him on edge. "Alright Hopps, level with me. What's goin' on? You ok?"

Judy groaned. Nick heard a rustle of activity which he could only assume was her flopping down onto her bed in exasperation. "Oh jeeeeez, Nick. Please, don't worry." He'd gotten a bit of a reputation ever since they became partners of being a bit overprotective. It wasn't exactly unfounded, given everything they had been through in the first few days of their friendship. But it was still a source of frustration for Judy though, being the driven and independent bunny that she was. She'd slaved away on her own to get this job and she didn't need anyone looking out for her. That was tough for her in Nick's eyes, however, because no amount of reassurance or annoyance on her part was going to get him to ease up.

"It's…" She started to explain, but trailed off. Maybe she was hoping Nick would just drop it.

No dice. Even as he navigated the locker room packed of half-naked ZPD officers, Nick was now singularly focused on the well-being of his partner. "Out with it Hopps, c'mon. I'm not hanging up, and I'll just keep calling back until you tell me. I can do this alllll day."

Judy sighed in defeat. She knew Nick wasn't lying. "It's… bunny stuff. Ok?"

"Bunny stuff?"

"Girl bunny stuff."

Nick stared at his phone, pondering turning on the video feature just so she could see the expression on his face. "Carrots, let's pretend for a moment I'm not in the 6th grade, or a Sunday school class? Just give me a frank explanation, okay? You're not gonna gross me out. If there's anything I can do, I want to help. Is there something you need me to pick up for you from the pharmacy or-"

"Nick, please." Judy cut him off before he could go any further. "It's really sweet of you to want to help, honestly. But there's nothing you can do about this." Her voice suddenly got a few octaves lower. "Not unless you were a male bunny. Though at this point, I'd probably just… I don't even know. Ugh."

It took a few seconds for Nick's brain to fully process what he had just heard. The moment the lightbulb went on over his head, he flushed pink under his fur. "Oh. So… so you mean-"

"Yes. Nick. I'm in heat."

A beat passed. "Well- no, no that's not quite right. Bunnies don't go into heat per say. We're not like other animals. But, we uh. We still have times every so often when we're just more, um, 'receptive' to mal e advances…"

"Receptive?" Nick found himself oddly curious all of a sudden. "What exactly do you mean by-"

"I want to screw anything with a pulse and male anatomy."

"Iiiiiiiii seeeeeee…" Nick responded awkwardly, stepping off into a side corridor and lowering his voice, making sure no one else was walking by. "So, normally you can just shrug it off or something?"

"Yeah. Usually I just feng shui my way through it. Sheer force of will, you know? But sometimes- I dunno. Today it's just a little overpowering. I just felt like if I even got close to a male of any species today I might do something drastic…"

"Heh. Drastic? Like what?" Nick blinked the moment that question had left his lips. It had come out a little too much like he was a patron on a phone sex line. What was with him? He kept finding himself thinking about how there were days that Judy had been sitting next to him in the car like this and he hadn't noticed. Maybe it was something only other bunnies could smell. Either way, the idea of a horny Judy sitting right next to him? That was a bit… well.

That was something, that's what that was.

"Ugh, I don't know…" Judy thankfully hadn't noticed Nick's borderline lusty tone, too frustrated with her situation to care. "…all I know is my body feels like it's calling the shots today and I don't want to tempt fate. And I just wanted to call to let you know that because I felt better with you knowing the truth and understanding why I'd be totally useless to you today. I hope it wasn't all too much info for you…"

"Hey, Carrots." Nick switched back to his favorite nickname for her, reassuring her that everything was ok. "As someone who used to work in a 'business' built around lies, I really appreciate you being straight up with me. And don't worry about it being 'TMI'- I'm a big boy. I've heard way worse things long before you and I met." He paused for a second, his smirk returning to his face. "I won't sully your pure little farmgirl ears with any of it of course, so you'll just have to take my word for it."

That got the first laugh of the day out of Judy, which made Nick feel better. "You jerk. Go be a cop. Hopefully I'll be back in control by tomorrow."

"I certainly hope so," Nick flipped on his aviators as he stepped out into the parking lot, the morning sun bearing down already- it was going to be a hot one. "The last thing I need is you coming in to work while you're still all 'needy' and tackling the nearest poor sap in the middle of a foot pursuit. Or tackling me because I'm the nearest thing with a set of balls!"

"Nick!" At first he thought she might be upset, but the giggle that followed put that thought to rest. Though it was immediately followed up with the thought of how adorable- and slightly sexy –she sounded when she giggled like that.

"Hey, don't laugh! You could do a lot worse than me while you're in this situation you know!"

For a moment, Nick thought for a second time that maybe she'd hung up on him or been disconnected. But right as he was opening the door to his cruiser, Judy suddenly responded in a coy, almost coquettish voice.

"You know, I really could."

That response caught Nick a little off guard, if not in its content, its delivery. It must have done the same to Judy as well. Before he could comment on it any further, she abruptly ended the call with a quickly stammered "Illtalktoyoulaterbye!"

Nick stared down at his cell, his brain struggling to catch up with what had just happened. It had all developed so quickly that all he could manage was to just go with the flow. And where had that just led them? This was not what he was expecting when he first answered this call five minutes earlier.

The constant dinging from inside his car, screaming at him to shut the door, finally roused him from his introspection. He didn't have time to think about this now. Partner or no partner, he still had a job to do.