Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia. All rights belongs to Disney.

Nick and Judy watched with wide eyes as the building slowly burns down to the ground, their hearts threatening to jump out of their chests.

They had just escape their wanted criminal's attempt to kill them when the black panther's window of opportunity became available.

They were so close too. Judy had just cornered the guy after his first attempt to kill the tag team failed.

The case was simple. Nick and Judy were on patrol, decided to stop to get some gas and some snacks, planned to go back to the police station to do some agonizing paperwork, and call it a day.

Unfortunately, the second Judy opened the driver door and put her foot on the ground, that black panther criminal busted through the doors of the gas station, money in one hand and a gun in the other.

Nick took immediate action and raced out of the car as Judy was already two steps ahead of him, chasing after the feline.

Sadly, the panther wasn't unprepared as they hoped he was. His slick, navy car was already roaring as the panther got into his car and slammed on the pedal, taking off in the distance.

Nick and Judy didn't stop for a second. As soon as they saw him get into his car, they ran back to their cruiser and stepped on it after him.

"This is officer Wilde! Officer Hopps and I are on the chase of a black panther in a navy blue Furd convertible! Suspect is armed and dangerous! Request back up!" Nick said as he grabbed the car radio.

"On it! We're finding your location now!" He heard feedback come back through as he and Judy kept their eyes on the panther's car.

The panther apparently was deadly determined to keep that money at any cost because the next thing they knew, they were no longer in the vicinity of innocent civilians, but instead they were outside of Zootopia city limits.

Nick and Judy chased the guy for thirty-nine minutes, trying their best with little gas their cruiser had. Finally, the panther pulled into a parking lot of an old, decrepit warehouse with busted windows and broken roof tiles.

"Freeze!" Judy said as she halted to a stop, came out of the cruiser, and pointed her tranquilizer gun at the panther.

The feline scoffed as he opened his door and opened fire at Judy's head. Luckily, she ducked behind the car door, and the panther took the chance to run into the warehouse.

"Carrots!" Nick said as he came out the cruiser.

Judy ignored him as she raced after their target and followed him until the warehouse.

Nick followed foot after Judy, trying to keep up to make sure nothing happens to her and the feline.

The feline wasn't that far ahead of them, but he wasn't close to them either. Judy tried to fire at the panther, but the panther leaped and dodged the dart as he turned a corner.

Judy followed suit, but as soon as she turned the corner, the panther wasn't there. Judy slowly walked with ears alert to catch any sort of sound to give away his hiding place.

As Judy walked closer and closer, she heard a sudden noise from above, but it was too late as the panther pounced on her and knocked her gun from her hand.

Just then, Nick came around the corner and saw the panther's claws about to dig into his partner's stomach.

"Carrots!" He said. The panther turned to Nick in anger, and using this, Judy kicks her legs to push him off with earth-shattering strength.

The panther hisses in pain as he held his side. Judy uses the chance to grab her gun.

"Freeze!" She repeated. Nick blinked in amazement, but snapped out of it and held his gun too.

"Nice try bud, but time to go down," Nick said with a steady gaze.

Oddly enough, the panther just smirked. "This isn't my first time, you pathetic wanna-be cops," he said when all of a sudden, a knife was thrown right at Judy's head.

Judy managed to miss a fatal wound, but cried out when the knife nicked her cheek, her blood dripping down like tears.

Nick's heart stopped for a second as he dropped his guard.

"Carrots!" He said as he reached for her until the air was knocked out of him when he was slammed into the wall.

The panther was on the run again before they had the chance to recover from the shock.

"Crap!" Judy said as she wiped her cheek and started back up again with the chase.

"Wait!" Nick said as he forcefully dragged himself up and raced after her.

The panther kept running and running down any hallway, up any stairwell, and across any catwalk he saw.

"I'm not gonna tell you again! Stop in the name of the law!" Judy yelled.

"Go to hell, sweetcheeks!" He said as he kept going. The panther then went up another flight of stairs along with Judy as well.

Nick stopped to see his surroundings as he now lost sight of Judy. "Carrots! Jude!" He yelled. He started to look around frantic to find his partner when he heard a shattering noise from above.

Nick heard Judy's yelp as he raced to the source of the noise.

He saw Judy finally cornered the panther into a corner. "Carrots! Don't race off like that without making sure I'm behind!" Nick said as he started to walk closer. Again though, Judy ignored him and kept her amethyst eyes on their suspect.

"It's over!" She said. The panther's face faltered a little until an angry look came across his face.

"You think so?! Huh, sweetcheeks?! Well, It's over for you and your little fox!" He said as he put his gun up and shoot at Judy, who again managed to dodge the bullet.

Nick's anger rises as he pulls his gun out to shoot the suspect until the three of them heard a tea kettle noise.

Nick and Judy turned to the noise as the panther smirked. The bullet that the panther shot had gotten lodged into an steam pipe and now the steam started to overheat a gas chamber next the pipe.

"Time to go up in flames," the suspect said as he jumped out one of the warehouse's windows, and Nick and Judy watched from the top floor as he safely landed on his feet in the parking lot.

"Damnit! He's getting away!" Judy said. Nick looked at her in anger. "Are you kidding me?! Come on!" He said as he picked her up, and he raced out of the warehouse before the gas chamber could blow up.

Nick ran as fast as he could go, ignoring Judy's protests to put her down. Heart pounding and palms sweaty, Nick managed to get out of the warehouse ten seconds before it exploded into complete debris.

The force of the explosion knocked Nick off his feet as he drops Judy, and they both tumbled to the ground.

Now, it is back to the beginning of the story as Nick and Judy watched the burning building.

Judy snapped out of it as she remember the cause of said explosion.

"Nick! The suspect! We gotta go!" She said as she started to get up from the ground, only to be pull back by Nick.

"Are you freaking serious?! You almost died five times, and you're still concerned about the freaking panther?!" Nick said angrily at the rabbit.

Judy blinked in shock at his tone, but then started to grow angry as well.

"That's why we are here in the first place, Nick!" She said, "We need to do our job!"

"Shut it right now, Judy!" Nick said.

"Don't you dare tell me to shut it, Nick!" She said as she ripped her hand away from his grip and glared into his deep green eyes.

Nick got up from the floor and glared right back at Judy. Their argument started getting more and more heated as they tried to yell over each other.

"Okay, I'll tell you this then! Don't you dare run off again without me behind! If I haven't shown up to distract that bastard, you would have been ripped into like a chew toy!"

"I was fine! I could have done it without you or not!"

"Not to mention you almost had two bullets and a knife go through your skull!"

"I dodged them! I know what I'm doing! You shouldn't have gotten throw off guard by the knife attack and kept your gun on him!"

"Well, sorry if I panicked at the thought of you being mutilated!"

"Ugh! I wasn't going to be freaking mutilated! I had the situation under control!"

"Oh yeah and that's why the building is now in shambles! Judy, stop putting your job first and putting your life on the line!"

"Putting my life on the line is my job, Nick! That's what I'm assigned to do!"

"Judy, you can't do your job when you're freaking dead!"

"What, you don't think I can stay alive long enough to catch the guy?!"

"Considering what happened in there, I'm surprised you managed to even stay alive long enough to corner the guy!"

"Screw you, Nick!"

"Back at you, Fluff!"

"DUMB FOX!"

"DUMB RABBIT!"

The two just stopped and panted as the reality of the situation finally hit the both of them like a flight train. Their angry faces melted into sorrow and guilt.

They almost died. They almost lost each other. And they are arguing right after the chance of never living with each other again.

A few moments pass before Nick pulled Judy into his arms, and Judy wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips met halfway, and it felt bigger than the actual explosion of the warehouse.

They didn't know if it was the stress of the explosion or the adrenaline of the chase, but one thing was certain.

The fact that they almost lose the person that change the other for the better and almost lost their future together crushes the duo's hearts.

The sheer chance of them not seeing each other every morning with Judy's perky attitude and Nicky's tired, coffee-dependent attitude hit a deep nerve in their hearts.

The idea of no more all nighter movie marathons, no more bowling nights at that small little family bowling alley, and no more random pizza topping dinners scares them both.

They kissed for what felt like an eternity until their lungs demanded for a breath of air.

Nick and Judy pulled apart and looked into each other's eyes as the fatigue from the chase started to take hold of them.

A few seconds passed with them just looking at the other until Judy broke the silence.

"I'm…I'm sorry." She said as she started to tear up a little. Nick just place a paw on her cheek and rubbed away the blood that begin to trickle down her cheek.

"Me too. Judy, I know you're strong, and you proved it many, many times before this. But I can't afford to lose you. If you die, I might as well die along with you," Nick said as he nuzzled her cheek. He started to lick the blood off her cheek.

Her face started to burn as he did that, and tears started to fall a little from her eyes.

"I know, but I can't live with myself if I couldn't help those who need it," she said as she sniffled.

Nick stops licking and grabbed her face to make her look at him.

"You help more than you realize. If you haven't helped Mrs. Otterton by offering to find her husband, we wouldn't be partners. We wouldn't have gone through that adventure together. Bellwether would still be on the streets. Chief wouldn't see you as a serious officer. Zootopia wouldn't be a better place than it was before. Judy, without you, I would still be in the street selling pawpsicles to make a quick buck," Nick explained to her as he put his forehead against her.

Judy's face was drenched in tears by now at his speech, and she started to feel more and more guilt overcome her as she listened.

"You helped me become a better person, and I want to devote my whole life to repay you. But I can't do that if you die, so please, be more careful," he said as he gave a tiny smile with a bit of watery eyes himself.

Judy nodded mutely as Nick put her back in for another kiss and held her in his arms.

A few moments pass as they passionate kiss again when a chirping sound halted their blissful moment.

"Officer Hopps! Officer Wilde! We have apprehended the panther! Do you copy?!" Clawhauser's voice echoed.

Nick and Judy looked at each other before Nick squeezes her tight and puts her down to her feet. He grabbed his radio and talks back to Clawhauser.

"Hey Donuts. We're okay, but a bit banged up. Can you tell us where the back up is so we can meet up?" Nick said as Judy grabs his free paw.

"Of course! They were able to get the guy two miles down south officials the street from where your cruiser is located," he said.

Nick squeezed Judy's paw. "That's great. Is an ambulance nearby?"

"Yeah, we can sent it down to where you guys are right away!"

"Awesome, thanks bud," he said as he puts his radio back on his belt.

Nick looks down at Judy, who looks ready to pass out from exhaustion. He chuckled a bit before he picks her up bridal style and starts to head for the cruiser.

"Hey, Nick?" Judy said as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah, Carrots?" He said as he walks.

"You've help me too," she said.

He raises an questioning eyebrow. "How?"

She smiles as she starts to fall asleep.

"You helped me realize what falling in love is like."

I hoped you enjoyed my first Zootopia Drabble!