A/N: So I was talking with a friend about how I plan to put a chapter like this in my story, Snake in the Big City. Then I asked him the question if I should make this a standalone. I told him the premise would be very different to the one I planned in a supposed future chapter. I agreed with his advice and made this a standalone story, and while I was writing this story, it kinda reminded me of a tickle fic (I blame you. You know who you are :P), but it won't be that much… I think. I also thought of making this a one-shot, but after realizing that I could not finish everything before the weekend ends, I'm gonna make this a two-parter. I'm gonna postpone my update of Snake in the Big City by a week or two to accommodate this, but do check that out. This will be a light-hearted fanfic so enjoy.

Flea Season (Part 1)

Fleas have existed since the times of savages. Every mammal would have its own parasitic blood sucker attached to their skin and there were many many different kinds of fleas. But as time progressed, mammals evolved. And as mammals evolved, so too did these blood suckers. And there would eventually be a one size fits all that affects any mammal that resides in the great city of Zootopia when it's that time of year again when the furs are shedding and the paws are scratching. And for the first time, one familiar bunny from Bunnyburrows will get to experience it… first paw.

Judy and Nick had just finished their shift from the ZPD. But they don't usually head home soon afterwards. The night is still young of course, and that night, they opted to take the time to eat out in a restaurant that's a little more upscale than what they usually eat, whether with each other or alone. Judy enjoyed Nick's company. Being a country girl in a big city can always make a daunting impression on herself or any country folk for that matter. There was a prominent example right now as she looked at the number forks and spoons on the table, a specific one for every purpose. Surely, you do not need that many spoons and forks. But she had Nick now to show her the ins and outs of the city. Now, Zootopia feels like her second home. She could feel that she was now a part of the big picture. And with that, she grabbed the spoon with the more circular top known as a soup spoon… just like that. Her adjustment to city life was well, if not exceptional.

After dinner, it was only expected of Nick to accompany her lady to her residence, a small apartment unit in downtown. It was but a simple walk, nothing fancy as her home was nearby. They were just enjoying the rest of the night. Her attention to her surroundings lowered as Judy could not help but look beside her. A look at Nick. She could not help it, but sometimes, she thought of him as her knight in shining armor. They eventually arrive and Nick gave his farewell.

"Thanks Nick. I had a great time." She said to him, her voice sincere.

Nick looked at her in her typical half-lidded gaze and that trademark smile. "Anything for you, Carrots. I'll see you tomorrow."

This was definitely one of the more enjoyable nights. Judy wished she had more nights like these.

But she had work the next day.

And so, she went to bathroom and did her routines. After she had brushed her pearly whites, it was time to hit the hay. She closed the light from her reading lamp, then lay down on the bed, tucking herself between the blanket and the bedsheet. She closed her eyes and soon fell into a peaceful sleep.

She woke up the next day at 5:30 in the morning, eager to start the day. She did her morning routines and was ready to leave the unit, all in under thirty minutes. She began walking out of the building and headed for the train station. Things were going fine.

And then it started.

While she was walking, she felt an itch. It started under her right foot, but she paid no mind to it. By the time she would reach the station, it would probably be gone, she thought. And so she continued her steps, but as she continued her way, the itch felt getting stronger and stronger. The tingling sensation had spread from under her right foot to in between her toes. Suddenly, the urge to stop and scratch it off seemed to increase. And so, she paused for a moment and did her best to scratch the soles of her foot using her right paw without tickling herself.

But it was a mistake.

Now, her right paw started to itch as well, and it was beginning to irritate her.

She made her way to the train station and went to the platform of the inner loop line. By that time, her itch had made its way to both of her legs, her right paw and her right ear. Ears being sensitive to touch, Judy could not help but twitch her ears as the itch grew stronger and stronger. She resisted any urges to make a scratch on the thought it might just spread and get worse, but it did anyway with or without her help.

At the ZPD, Nick had already arrived a few minutes before.

… and before Judy apparently.

He realized this when Clawhauser greeted him. "Well this is a change. Nick arriving before Judy, never thought I'd see that day." This was a rather strange occurrence. It would seem that she was slowly rubbing off on him. Either that or she was getting sloppy. He did not put more thought to it. Nick greeted Clawhauser and proceeded to the bullpen.

With a box of assorted donuts on his left and a cup of coffee on his right, Clawhauser continued to play with his phone in the front desk. Gazelle had released a new app apparently. This time, they improved it to add three more animals dancing alongside Gazelle. But just as he was about to look for pictures on his Zoogle photos, the familiar sight of gray bunny ears came into view. Clawhauser smiled and leaned forward the desk to greet Judy Hopps. "How's my favorite bunny cop doi- Holy Cow! What happened to you!" Clawhauser stood up in shock.

Judy Hopps looked like she woke up from the street. Her eyes and ears were twitching, her paws were scratching in so many places that she never knew her arms could reach, her feet were twisted inward, her right foot constantly slapping the floor, and her toes curled in the most uncomfortable way possible. Rashes started appearing and the strands of her gray fur were falling off.

"Hey… C-Clawhauser." She replied with a jumpy voice, not bothering to slowdown the strokes of her small claws to her body. "P-Please tell me, I'm still early."

Clawhauser gave a look of concern to her rabbit friend. "Judy? Uh… are you okay? You look like you should see a doctor."

"I'm fine. Just… p-p-peachy." Her left eye blinked and her foot tapping increased dramatically. "Are they in the b-bullpen?"

"Yeah, the morning assembly begins in a few minutes."

"I should get g-going." The bunny said as she paced her way out of the main lobby.

Clawhauser looked at the fleeing bunny with worry and confusion as he steadily put a chocolate donut with candy sprinkles into his waiting mouth.

Inside the bullpen, Nick was starting to worry as he looked beside the empty seat on his left. It was unlike Carrots to be this late. Well, technically she still was not late, but she was never late at being early.

But there's a first time for everything apparently. Chief Bogo arrived at the bullpen.

"Alright! Settle down! Settle down!" He declared. His authoritative voice calmed the entire room to silence.

"We have three items on the docket…"

Nick was officially worried now. It was unlike of Carrots to be officially late, if she will even come at all. He was about to phone her, when Bogo looked his way.

"It appears we're an officer short." Bogo declared. "Wilde! Where is Officer Hopps!"

"I'm about to call her, sir. She didn't say anything about not reporting for work."

He dialed her number and was about to press the call button on the touch screen when the door behind them opened. Everyone looked with their mouths agape, the chief no exception. Nick just stared in shock and disbelief. Judy, her partner, looked so terrible. She was usually clean and very presentable. Public image is an important part of being an officer after all, always looking your very best. This was one of her very philosophies, so the bunny over the back door was a bit of an eyebrow raiser. Was this the same Judy Hopps he'd known when they first met? This wasn't her or was this an impostor, wasn't it? The bunny presented herself in the most unlady-like way. With all the scratching and clawing, the hair falling, the ear flicking, the eye-twitching, the stiff movements… she looked like a creation of Doctor Frankenswine. Nick pressed the call button just to be sure.

And then her phone rang.

It was not even a request or a suggestion. Bogo had ordered Judy out of the bullpen and into the infirmary for observation by the physician. Judy had protested, but Nick eventually convinced her, explaining that she would not be a good role model looking like this from public eyes. She had said this to him many times before. Seeing as she can't disagree with herself, she had nodded and went to the infirmary. Thank heavens, Bogo allowed Nick to accompany her. Now, she was seated on the infirmary bed as she was being examined by the physician, a female porcupine. She wore her spectacles and initially checked her ears, which bothered the patient a lot. Judy would scratch it now and then. She checked her arms until she went to inspect her feet, which seemed to be where most of the itching sensation was. She would take notes now and then.

Nick had a look of concern on his face. Eventually, the suspense had reached its peak for the fox and had to ask the question. "Is she going to be alright, doc?"

She stopped scribbling her notes and removed the glasses on her head to look at the fox. "She's fine actually. She's just suffering a bit of flea infestation."

"F-F-F-Flea infeststation!" Judy exclaimed.

The physician looked at her again. "Correction. A major flea infestation."

Nick calmed down a bit. Flea infestation was a common illness. He'd never been hit by it though on the fact that he'd been taking his yearly vaccines but he had seen animals afflicted with the disease on his hustler days. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Judy, have you taken your anti-flea shot?" Nick asked.

Judy looked at him puzzled. "Anti… flea… shots?"

Well that explains it. Judy, growing up from the town of Bunnyburrow, always looked at Zootopia as this place of shining bright lights with its tall skyscrapers overlooking the ills, if her first day was any reminder. Just like flies, they would be allured by the light of a burning candle, unaware of its fiery dangers until it's too late. Of course flea infestation is just a small hiccup of city life. Living in Zootopia is just blueberries and Nick would not trade living anywhere else.

"I've n-n-never h-had a flea infestation b-before."

"You've never had it because the common flea isn't endemic in Bunnyburrow, but you do now." The porcupine explained. "The common flea is a parasite that affects all mammals. It usually manifests itself around on the foot since it's the point of contact to the ground. It then starts spreading everywhere else. And considering flea season started about two weeks ago, I'd say that's about enough of an incubation period before the infestation manifests itself." The physician went over to a stool and placed it near one of the overhead cabinets. "The good news, as pointed out by Officer Wilde, is that this can easily be remedied with a vaccine. It's not really a vaccine though on the fact that it introduces a chemical on the bloodstream that's poisonous to the flea, but not to the host." She opened the cabinet drawers only to find that the cabinet empty. "Hmmm… it seems we have a problem. Unfortunately, I don't have a stock."

"Doctor!" Judy started as she grabbed the coat of the porcupine, pulling her near Judy. Her eyes shrunk. "I'm s-starting to lose m-my mind here! I n-need that v-vaccine so I can g-get on with my duties!"

"Wait a minute."

The both of them looked to Nick, who seemed to have an idea. "Why don't I go to the drugstore and get the vaccines she needs?"

"Good idea." She went over her desk and began to write on her prescription notes. "Take this. She needs about two shots. That's about one every day for two days. That should be enough to kill all of them." She gave the note to Nick.

Nick immediately took the notes and held it tightly with his grip. "I'll be back before you know it, Carrots." He replied as he closed the door.

The porcupine looked at bunny on the patient bed. "I'll be continuing my clinic duties. Under no circumstances you are to leave this bed."

Judy sighed and lied down. "G-Great." She said sarcastically as she scratched herself away.

Nick wasted no time going to the nearest to the nearest drugstore. It was roughly two blocks away, not a long walk by any stretch of the imagination. He went to the prescription counter the moment he set foot. The sound of what sounded like elevator music filled the air. There was a line, but it was not a very long one. Finally, it was his turn on the table. A hippo, with a nurse outfit, assisted the fox.

"Hello sir, what can I do for you today?" The hippo asked.

"I have a prescription… well it's for my friend." Nick handed to her the prescription notes.

She looked at the notes. "One moment sir." She replied as she went to the store room.

He stayed in place. What's only a few more minutes to add anyway? He looked animal behind him, a deer who was typing away in his phone. It did not take long for the deer to realize that he was being stared at. Nick just smiled at the deer, to which the deer looked closer to his phone as a silent reply to leave him alone.

The hippo soon came back at the counter, but the fox wondered why she did not bring anything with her back from the storage.

"Sir, I'm afraid we've ran out of stock, sir."

"What?" His voice rose, getting the attention of nearby animals. Nick immediately lowered his voice. "How come?"

"It's something that's on high demand considering it's flea season. And there's a backlog too at the pharmaceutical company that makes them. We may not have stock until next month."

"Next month?" His voiced rose again. "Ma'am, you must know some other place that still sells these vaccines."

"Let me check the inventory system. It's possible we still have supplies from other branches." She immediately typed in the name of the drug on the inventory system on the computer. She pressed enter, results immediately popping up. "Well sir, you may be in luck it seems that we still have stock over a branch in Tundratown, but they're running on limited supply. I'd say you should probably get there now befo-" The hippo looked at the fox beyond the counter only to find he was no longer there.

Nick ran as fast as he could toward the subway station. The trains are the fastest way to get to any point within the city after all.

He approached the train station and went straight pass the ticket scanners. Being an officer meant you can bypass the ticket office, one of the perks of being a cop. He got inside and sped as fast as his fox legs could go. He was on the escalators heading to the platform. Fortunately, the train bound for Tundratown was on the platform.

"Doors are closing." The automated voice from the train spoke.

Nick panicked and sped his way, passing through dozens of commuters from the escalator. Once he got on the foot of the elevator, he went immediately for the train doors, which were already closing. Nick rushed pass the door. He almost thought he made it until the doors closed.

"Ouch!" He yelled as he looked back. His tail got stock in the door. He immediately pulled out his tail, slowly caressing it hoping for the pain to go away. "The things I do for you, Carrots." He mumbled to himself as the train started to leave station.

Nick took the time to catch his breath while on the train. It was then that he realized that something grabbed a hold of his tail, pulling it in a tugging motion. Nick looked behind to see the culprit responsible, it was a young bunny seated on the chair. He just smiled at the bunny. "Aren't you a curious fella?" He greeted before the kid was tugged by the mother beside him, something about not bothering the officer. Other than that, the ride toward Tundratown station was mostly uneventful.

Nick finally alighted the train and made his way out of the station as soon as he can. He needed to on the count that the drugstore was running out of stock. Judy's life depended on it… sort of. Nick did not think she could last another month of flea infestation without losing her sanity. He ran as fast as he could to the Tundratown branch of the drugstore. He finally found his way inside and sped to the prescription counter, handing over the prescription notes to the nurse on station, a moose.

"You need two anti-flea shots?" The moose asked.

"Yes, sir. It's for my friend. She's rather ill as of the moment."

"Well, I do have some good news and bad news for you."

"W-where is h-he?" The female bunny asked while she seated at the bed. She failed to control her urge to scratch all over her body. Two hours had passed and he had still not returned. Two hours to go to the nearby drugstore, she thought. A twitch in her ear made her do something she has not done yet. She used her left foot to scratch the itch she felt on her ear, just like a dog. The claws will hopefully get the job done. It felt good while she used her arms to scratch other parts of her body. "Awww y-yeahhh…"

Click!

Her eyes popped out as she looked at the entrance, seeing Nick on the door. Nick carried a small brown bag on one hand and a phone on the other.

Nick smiled. "I'm gonna cherish this moment forever."

"N-Nick! D-Delete that p-photo. N-Now!" Her cheeks were red as she stopped what she was doing.

"No way, Carrots! You're lucky I didn't video this."

Judy just glared at Nick. "You're gonna regret that."

The physician then soon emerged from the bathroom of the infirmary. "Oh good! You're here." She looked at the brown bag. "Is that everything?" She asked.

"Well, not quite." His ears dropped a bit to indicate his disappointment. He opened the brown bag and lifted the one vaccine. "Sorry, Carrots, but this is the last one."

"Well, one is better than none, I suppose." The porcupine replied.

Judy's eyes widened at the vaccine. "G-Gimme! Gimme!"

The physician wasted no time. She got the vaccine and readied the patient. Judy gave out her right arm as the porcupine was carefully feeling her arm for a vein.

"Hold still. Take a deep breath." The porcupine directed as she rubbed carefully inserted the needle on her arm. She then placed a cotton ball on top of the syringe as she pulled it out. "Done. Now the drug will start to effect in a few hours, so I suggest you go home and take some rest."

Judy was about to reply in protest, but the porcupine was not finished. "I'll inform Chief Bogo that you'll be taking a two-day sick leave. Now I did require that you need two shots, but hopefully one should control the infestation to manageable levels."

Judy tried to think of her options, but soon enough, she had to comply. She had no choice and knew that this was coming. She felt kind of awkward leaving the precinct before 10 a.m. Nick offered to drive her home with their police car. It was strange sensation to be in the passenger seat for once. Nick had his license renewed a few months back just before getting in to the service. They eventually arrived at the Grand Pangolin Arms, Judy's apartment, where she is to stay for the rest of the day and the next.