After the honeymoon, the ZPD had to adjust to a name change. Benjamin had insisted on going by the name of Dubble Bubble at the office. Of course, Hopps had been given a special privileged alternative in the form of the name B.B. Queen—if anyone else called him by that name he would have assumed it to be an insult.

Several months later, Wilde approached the reception desk and said, "How's married life treating you, Dubble Bubble?"

"Just beautifully," he responded, sighing. "And just think! Our wedding anniversary is on the way."

"Wow, has it really been a year already?" Wilde asked.

"Yeah… in two months," Benjamin responded, happily. "But I mean, wow, it just feels like yesterday that he proposed to me and you two started dating."

"Yeah," Wilde said. "You know, I know you didn't see it but I caught the bouquet at your wedding."

"Really?" Benjamin asked. He laughed boisterously and gave Nick a soft tap. "That's always a good omen."

"I mean, I know that Judy wants to take things slow… but this is like sloth slow. And I'm not talking about Flash either," Wilde said. "I just wish that she'd give me a sign, that she's, you know, ready."

"I'm sure she will," Benjamin said, "Just be patient. Good things come to those who wait."

"I've waited for four years!" Wilde said.

"I waited for eight," Benjamin responded.

"I really don't want to have to wait twice as long as I already have," Wilde groaned.

"You won't," Benjamin said, "I was only dating him for two years before he proposed."

"Two…" Wilde said, "Two years? To the day?"

"Good heavens, no, Wilde!" Benjamin said, "You're really overthinking this. Just relax."

Wilde did not take this advice to heart. Instead of relaxing, he started examining Hopps more closely than ever. And after a while he started to notice her becoming more distant from him.

Hopps, meanwhile, was asking Bogo for advice. "Sir, I was wondering if you could give me some pointers on something really important."

"Yes?" Bogo asked.

"How do you sweep a predator off his feet?" Hopps asked.

"Why are you asking me this?" Bogo asked.

"Because I saw you propose," Hopps said.

"Ben is rather easy to please, I've gathered over the years," Bogo said.

"That wasn't easy pleasing, Chief. That would have made anyone give a yes," Hopps said.

"No, it wouldn't have," Bogo said curtly.

"What do you mean?" Hopps asked.

"Well for starters, a lot of us just don't like being pampered and fussed over because it wounds our bullish pride—or whatever you bunnies and foxes call it." Bogo said, "Of course in that situation, he would probably rather propose to you than the other way around."

"I can understand that, chief, but I'm not going to settle for waiting for him to get his act together," Hopps responded.

"I thought my former troublemaker might say that," Bogo said, "So what you'd need to do in that case is propose to him like you're giving him an offer he can't refuse."

"How exactly will I do that?" Hopps asked.

"Like I said, I didn't understand why you were asking me," Bogo said. "I know the best way to woo guys like Ben, and the worst way to woo guys like me. That's it. But you… Hopps, you solved fourteen missing mammal cases in two days. You will think of something."

"Thank you, sir," Hopps said.

She walked out of Bogo's office and ran into Wilde. "Oh, Nick, how long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Only about three seconds," he responded. "Super important business?"

"Oh, nothing like that," Hopps said. "Just a little question."

Wilde looked her in the eye and then said, "So, uhh, our dating's been going really smooth huh?"

"Yeah," she said, coolly, trying to avoid his eyes and force down a smile. She ran out of the room.

Wilde was alarmed. Was he getting too clingy? Was he… pushing her away? He walked down the stairs and paced around the lobby.

"Are you okay, Wilde?" Benjamin asked sympathetically while chewing on a maple bar.

"I have a huge problem," Wilde said, "You know how I was waiting for a sign from Judy to see if it was time?"

"Yeah," Benjamin said.

"Well, now I'm worried that it'll never be time," Wilde said. "She's been so… distant lately, it's like she doesn't want anything to do with me."

"What are you talking about?" Benjamin asked.

He recalled a time a couple of days ago.

"Hey, B.B. Queen," Hopps said, "Want to exchange attractive boy stories?"

"Sure," Benjamin responded. "Last night, my hubby tried to cook me scallops to surprise me.But goodness gracious, those things were overdone.They tasted like erasers.But he doesn't eat scallops so I could tell he was doing his best.I told him they tasted good and he called me a liar.Eventually we just went out to dinner."

"That's funny," Hopps said, "Because in my story, I was trying to make us a vegetable pie but accidentally left it in the oven when my friend Fru Fru called, and we talked on the phone for an hour, and Nick tried to take it out of the oven, but I didn't have any oven mitts his size in my apartment so he dropped it on the floor and it went splat.I found it sometime later and he said, 'the good news is the pie isn't burnt.'"

Both began to laugh hysterically.

"Isn't Nick just so sweet?" Hopps asked.

"Yeah, just like the Chief," Benjamin said.

"Neither one you would have guessed at the start, huh?" Hopps asked.

"I guess not," Benjamin said, shrugging.

He contemplated sharing this incident with Wilde, but then thought better of it when he realized what this apparent discrepancy could mean.

He smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" Wilde asked.

"Nothing?" Benjamin said, still smiling. "I'm just a happy guy that likes smiling."

"Yeah, but not when someone else is suffering in front of you," Wilde said, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Benjamin said, "Nothing, nothing at all."

Wilde smirked at him. "You are the worst liar in the entire world."

"I'm no worse at lying than my husband! Not that that's a very high bar to reach. Okay, nothing bad at any rate, something might be very good and I don't want to give too much away but… oh crap, I did already, didn't I? Don't quote me on this, I'm merely speculating."

"I still have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, scatterbrain," Wilde said.

"You don't? Thank goodness, I was afraid it would turn into a repeat of what happened with me," Benjamin said and then covered his mouth. He berated himself, "Stupid, stupid top chase mouth and dropped chase filter."

"So what you are saying is…" Wilde said, "Judy is going to pop the question!? REALLY!?" He looked entirely too eager.

"Don't quote me on this!" Benjamin says, "She didn't tell me that! It's just speculation!"

"But… you think that she still likes me and is avoiding me with an ulterior motive, is that it?" Wilde asked.

Benjamin sighed and said meekly, "Correct."

"I will absolutely take it," Wilde said.

"Oh, no…" Benjamin said.

"Relax," Wilde said, "I don't know for a fact that she's gonna do it, right? But just knowing that she might is going to boost my confidence and give me the strength to continue to wait."

Wilde was very happy for the next several days, giving half-knowing glances to Hopps. Hopps continued to avoid his gaze until she eventually barged into Bogo's office.

"What do you want, Hopps?" he roared, very upset at the sudden interruption.

"I need your help again," she said.

"If this is about proposing to Wilde, just buy him a ring and bloody do it. No bells and whistles required," Bogo said.

"But, sir, you had bells and whistles," she responded. "I just want everything to be perfect."

"It's not about how badly you want something," he responded.

"It's about what I'm capable of," she said. "Yes, I know."

"So if you find the stops too difficult to pull off, just. Don't. Bother with them. They aren't going to change his answer one way or the other. You know this, don't you?" Bogo asked.

"They… they're not?" she asked.

"No," Bogo said. "He loves you. Not the perfect projection of you that the confused masses had for a time. The real you, warts and all. Just like Ben would have said yes if I proposed to him at a filling station over microwave bean burritos with a kitschy plastic toy because he loves the real me, warts and all. Love is not diplomacy, and if it requires diplomacy, it shouldn't end in marriage."

"You've given me a lot to think about," she said. "Thanks, Chief."

"These detectives are going to be the death of me," he muttered as she left his office, massaging his forehead.

Hopps decided to talk to one more mammal before she made her move. "B.B. Queen, I have to ask you a question, and I need an honest answer," she said.

"Pfft, your boyfriend made a comment on my lying skills earlier this week," Benjamin said.

"A brutally honest answer," she said, "Like one the chief would give."

"Oh, uh," he said. "Okay. You sure it won't hurt anyone's feelings?"

"This conversation will not leave this room," she promised.

"Okay, shoot," he said.

"Would you have married Bogo if he proposed to you at a gas station?" she asked.

"Doubtlessly," he said. "I love him all over the world."

"And made you eat bean burritos you cook in the microwave," she continued.

"Aww, the chief being so frugal and sweet," he said. "Yes."

"And proposed to you with a kitschy plastic toy," he said.

"I prefer the term 'camp aesthetic' actually, and that would be lovely," he said. "Yes."

"Wow," Hopps said, "The chief… he was right. It doesn't matter. The stops. They don't matter. They won't change his answer!"

"Of course they won't," Benjamin said, "If they did, you'd see more engagements after the first date."

"See you tomorrow, B.B. Queen. Hopefully with a fiancé in tow!" she said leaving.

He cradled his chin and looked at her admiringly as she left. "Good luck," he said softly to himself. "And you too, Wilde."

Hopps went home a little later than usual. Wilde was sitting in her apartment, waiting up for her. He messed with a plastic doodad he found on her desk. It had been a gag gift from Officer Delgato at last year's Christmas party. He started to worry and decided to go out and look for her. He got to the door and was startled when she opened the other end.

"Oh, hey, Nick," she said. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

"You didn't," Nick lied "It's fine."

"I just had to make a little secret stop before I came home," she said, pulling out a small box. She got down on one knee. "Nicholas Piberius Wilde… will you marry me?"

Wilde was rendered speechless. He managed to sputter out a cough or two. "Wow, after all this time, going sloth slow, you hit me full force like a cheetah in pursuit of a pop idol," he remarked.

"Is your answer yes or no?" she asked impatiently.

"Of course it's yes, Carrots! I've actually wanted to marry you for the last year but couldn't tell if you felt the same way… until all of the sudden you just ask me with all the nuance of a brick and all the buildup of a freak snowstorm!" he said. "Who taught you how to propose?"

"Chief Bogo," Hopps said.

"Well, that makes sense… wait, that's actually kind of ironic considering how he proposed," Wilde noted.

"He did those things because he wanted to in order to make our Dubble Bubble happy, not because he felt like he had to in order to secure a yes," Hopps said. "And he actually said he'd rather see me ignore the stops altogether than think of them for me."

"Well, it's a good thing that advice was sound," Wilde said. "You're right. I don't care about fancy dinners or sightseeing or silly glurgey petnames. All I care about is… you."

He pulled Hopps closer to him, lifted her up, and kissed her.

When they got married, Benjamin kept his promise to be Hopps' man of honor, and the team was henceforth referred to as team Wilde-Hopps—their new legal surname, though they still went by their unmarried names when referred to distinctly. And soon, they realized just how much of a good deal the boss and receptionist had had for a long time.