Disclaimer: I OWN NONE OF DISNEY'S ZOOTOPIA

After the last chapter I published, I found myself enjoying my own company more, it was like a therapeutic release, simply doing new things and seeing the world differently. That's why when I was reading fanfictions I felt a pang. A feeling I had felt before, I wanted to write again! SO, here we are. I will try my best to finish what I started. As always, reviews are highly appreciated and especially with this chapter, they're encouraged. Please enjoy!

Jack walked down the street, his shoulders hunched as he moved. He was disappointed and saddened as when he opened his closet this morning he found a tear down the side of his suit. On a normal day, his tailor could have fixed it up in a short while but when he came into the small family owned shop, the air was heavy and cold. Jack asked for his tailor by name and was told the sad news; he had died in his sleep two nights ago.

It made Jack think about himself, his suave and confidence a defense. He thought about his life and mortality. He thought about Skye.

Skye.

An angel to Jack, Skye was his fiancee. She was an agent too, a very good one at that. Jack met Skye through Daniel on a chance meeting in the academy. They quickly became friends and eventually secret lovers. Interspecies relationships were universally frowned upon, love be damned. But, they made it work. When marriage between lovers of all types was legalized, Jack proposed.

As fate would have it, the next day Skye was assigned to a solo objective. It was a dangerous mission, but Skye rarely failed solo missions, her only failures had happened when she was a rookie. A total of two accounts on the books. She was near spotless, a prime candidate.

But it wasn't any old solo mission. No, Jack remembered the events leading up to the mission quite vividly, his most cherished and yet most regretful memories.

Memory

"Jack, I have to tell you something, and I need you to tell me you won't laugh or say it's silly." Skye said nervously.

The white and black hare simply rolled his eyes with a grin on his face. "Skye, I swear I won't do that."

"Ok, ok. You don't have to sound too patronizing and condescending." She giggled at her fiancee's never ending amusement. "Well, on my last assignment I felt odd. I felt out of place and like I was being watched. I know I'm supposed to be a ghost on internationals which is why it felt so… wrong. Sinful. I turned and saw nobody. Am I crazy?"

Jack's eyes widened at her whimper, one of confusion and shame, but his eyes softened. "No. No, I don't think you're crazy. I also don't think there's a soul on this earth that is good enough to catch you or any of the CIA Elite Espionage team members on a mission. We're trained to be paranoid."

"Those were my last words to the love of my life. 'We're trained to be paranoid.'" Jack whispered to himself, finally taking a break. He sat down on a park bench and took in the light, the bright and warm rays of the evening sun. The colors dazzled him.

Jack stifled a small sob at the cruel memory that came next in his mind. It was like he was punishing himself for betraying Skye. He almost slept with some rabbit that rubbed him the right way. It wasn't love, and it wasn't a bond, it was nothing more than hormones, pheromones and looks. He was so glad that Nick caught them, even if he just felt lonely. He had to keep up with the reputation of tough guy but he was swelling with regret and guilt. He could never imagine how Nick felt.

The next memory. Jack called it the Doorstep memory. The door to his humble house had been knocked on many times over the years, but it felt different. This one time felt so much more different.

He could never forget it.

*Knock! Knock!*

"Who could this be? Daniel usually calls before coming over." Jack muttered lazily. He got up from is seat on the couch and walked to the door.

*Knock! Knock!*

"Ugh, I'm coming! Have patience please." He said to his visitors.

Jack opened the door and yawned. It was sort of early and Jack had woken up from a rest in his living room, so he was understandably tired and not entirely awake.

That is, until he saw the faces of the German shepard and Bison before him. The downtrodden looks, an atmosphere you can only describe as suffocating and dense. He could tell they were hesitating to speak to him, almost as if they wished he had never answered the door.

"Are you Jackson?" The dog asked, roughly clearing his throat.

"Yes. Why?" Jack answered carefully. He knew something was not right.

"We have to give you some bad news. Would you mind letting us in? It's better if you sit." The bison said in response.

Jack found that his mouth wouldn't open. His legs began to feel faint but he nodded and let them in. They sat on his couch while he sat on the foot rest. His heart began to pound in response to the eerie silence. The temperature of the room dropped. Or, at least, it felt like it.

"We regret to inform you…", began the large dog.

Jack's mind began to race. 'Please stop.'

"... that Agent…"

'Stop now.'

"...Skye Lauren has…"

'Please…'

"... been killed in the line of duty."

'STOP!'

Jack's world was shattered that day. And he would never forgive himself. He was the one who gave her a false sense of invincibility, of utter confidence.

Her death was on him.