A/N How time flies...

It's been seven months since I finished Safe Paws. A lot of good things have gone on in my personal life which is probably why it took so long, but I won't bore you with the details.

I'm back now though and I bring you the sequel!

I want to thank you for all the love, comments, kudos, etc. that you've all left on Safe Paws, and all the private messages about it I still get. I hope the sequel lives up to expectation. I'm not promising a posting schedule as I don't know from one day to the next what life will throw at me, but I'm going to try my hardest to update regularly, and my other half has moved in with me so I'm sure he'll kick my butt if I don't...

Hope you all enjoy!

~ Ophelia x

"Guess what today is?" Judy gleefully slammed down a case file on Nick's desk, violet eyes meeting the emerald ones she knew so well. She could barely contain her excitement and had to actively stop herself from bouncing on the spot.

Pulled away from the paperwork he'd been doing, Nick glanced up at his bunny, quirking an eyebrow. "Monday." He deadpanned, pen still poised above the paper he'd been reading. Once he'd started at the ZPD, he and Judy had been assigned their own little office. Little being the operative word. It was just big enough for their two desks, chairs, a filing cabinet, and a ridiculous plant Judy had insisted on having to 'brighten up the space.' Massive divider walls towered above them, separating their space from their much larger colleagues.

Judy let out a groan of frustration. Nick could be so dense. "Yes it's Monday, but it's not any old Monday." She jabbed a finger at the case file she'd slammed on his desk. "Guess whose two months of probation are finally up?"

Nick's heart skipped a beat. Could it really be true? "No more paperwork. No more lame cases. No more sitting back during all the action." He gasped before he grinned. "Oh Fluff, please tell me you have a kick-ass case for us?" He reached for the file she'd put down, but the doe had anticipated his move and quickly pulled the file from his reach. Probation had meant that Nick had been forced to work low-level cases. He'd still been allowed to walk the beat and arrest criminals, but the workload hadn't been challenging or exciting. There'd been a lot of paperwork though. He was grateful that Judy had agreed to stick with him and work the same cases, even though she could've joined the other officers and worked on far more interesting things.

"Sorry Slick, this is just more paperwork." Judy felt a flash of guilt for having built up Nick's hopes, but she was sure something good would come their way soon. She'd been counting down the days until they'd be able to work exciting and high profile cases again.

Deflating at the news, the tod hid his disappointment with a shrug. "Hey, can't expect to work an amazing case right off the bat." He offered Judy a smile, returning to the paperwork he'd been looking over, signing his name on the dotted line at the bottom when he was sure the information contained in it was truthful to the best of his knowledge.

Judy opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of knocking at the entrance gap to their space grabbed her attention. It also caused Nick to lift his head.

"Hopps. Wilde." Chief Bogo greeted them in his typical manner, one paw placed against the divider wall while the other held on to a case file. His glasses were perched on the end of his nose, and by the way his nostrils were flaring he was feeling a little stressed. "Just had a call in, we've got a one-eighty-seven in the Marshlands. Everyone here is tied up. Think you can handle it?"

A murder. Nick's first proper case would be murder. "Sure thing Chief." He tried to hide his smile, throwing his pen down on to the paperwork. Grabbing his firearm and badge he slid them on to his belt, snatching up his aviators.

"You sure, Chief?" Judy questioned as she grabbed her own firearm and badge, picking up the keys to their cruiser that she'd left on her desk. While she had no problem working a murder, having witnessed the carnage in The Cloven Hoof several months back, she wasn't sure how Nick would fare.

Lifting a hoof, Bogo rubbed at his eyes, pushing his glasses back up his nose when he was done. "We're thin on the ground, and the victim's species will be of interest to you. You're the best partnership for the job." He handed over the small file he was holding. It didn't contain much, just the information Clawhauser has been able to gather from the beat cops who'd called it in. The location of the victim and a description of their appearance was all they had to go on until Nick and Judy arrived at the scene.

Curious, Nick took the case file from Bogo as they passed him, both officers heading quickly in the direction of the parking lot. It was only once they were seated in the cruiser, blue lights flashing as Judy whizzed through the streets of the city, heading towards the Marshlands, that Nick opened the case file. Clawhauser had scribbled some notes and left some jam stains on the page from his doughnuts. Nick swallowed thickly as he read between the jam. "Victim is located at Fig Docks, and is a middle-aged male fox…" He sighed, understanding now why he and Judy were best for this case. The other officers had no clue as to how his species operated, and though they'd come to accept he and Judy into the force, they still had an underlying prejudice against his species that could cloud their judgment.

Judy sighed, paws tightening on the steering wheel as they entered the Marshlands. "Is there any other information?" She chose to ignore the elephant in the room. Statistically, a lot of the murder cases that came their way involved species that the general population thought of as shady or dangerous – bats, pigs, raccoons, weasels, and foxes. It came as no surprise to Judy that this case involved a fox, but she was concerned as to how that information would impact her partner.

Shaking his head, Nick closed the flimsy file. "Nothing else, no." He jammed the file into the glove box before sitting back in his seat. Judy took a sharp turn left, followed by another right, and the vehicle slowed as they approached the dock. There was a flurry of activity, and police tape marked off the area. CSI's were already present, along with the beat cops who'd been in the vicinity and had helped secure the scene.

As the vehicle came to a stop, Judy killed the engine. Both mammals exited the car, heading towards the police tape. Flashing their badges they were allowed past the tape, and their first point of interest was the body. The tod was sprawled on the dockside walk, the wood beneath him dyed from the red blood pooling around him. "What happened?" Judy pulled her notepad and pen from her belt, aiming her question at Charles, the red wolf medical examiner.

"Stab wound to the chest between the ribs punctured the left lung. At this stage, I would say COD is pneumothorax, but I'll be able to do a thorough examination and run some tests once we have him back at the morgue." The wolf explained, removing the thermometer he'd had in the deceased's liver. "Approximate TOD is 2am – 4am this morning." He concluded.

Furiously scribbling down the information, Judy added some notes about the victim's appearance. He was well-groomed and wearing expensive clothes. She ruled out that his death had been part of a mugging though, as the shiny Roarex watch around his wrist was still in place and ticking away.

Nick's notepad remained empty. The fox hadn't even bothered to take it from his pocket. Instead, his gaze was focused on the sprawled body. "Take away the expensive clothes, and this could've been you a few years back, Wilde." The realization made his stomach roll, and the tod had to turn away. Leaving Judy to gather more information from the medical examiner, Nick strode across the dock towards one of the beat cops that had secured the scene. "Any witnesses?" Nick asked once he was in earshot of the rhino.

Turning to the tiny fox, the rhino looked down his snout at the small mammal. "None have come forward, which isn't a surprise. Even if someone saw something, they aren't likely to admit it in this part of the city." The rhino shrugged. He'd attended many similar crime scenes over the years, mostly involving unscrupulous animals, and very few of the cases had ever been solved. The rhino had a feeling this one would be no different.

"Nick!" Judy shouted from her position next to the body, gesturing for her partner to join her once she'd captured his attention. When he returned to her side, she handed him a clear evidence bag. "One of the CSI's found this in his wallet and thought it might be of interest to us, though all it has is a business name." She explained

Flipping the bag over, Nick took stock of the business card inside it. "Ruby Red's Relaxation Retreat." He read aloud, snorting.

"I guess we're going on vacation." Judy's face lit up at the idea of working a case while getting to enjoy a little bit of sunshine somewhere new.

Handing the evidence bag to the nearest CSI so they could take it back to their lab, Nick shook his head. "Sorry to burst your bubble Fluff, but it's not a holiday retreat."

Frowning, Judy scratched at her chin. "Then what is it?"

"A brothel?" Judy's jaw dropped as she stared at the small red door, tucked in a back alley in the Nocturnal District. How Nick had known where to find it wasn't something the doe wanted to delve in to. The only thing that gave the place away was the small price list taped to the inside of the blacked out window next to the door.

The fox couldn't keep the smirk off his lips at the look on Judy's face. "Most infamous one in town, Fluff. Apparently, many a famous mammal has been here to blow off some steam – a few previous mayors, some renowned surgeons, the list goes on." Nick headed for the door and rapped his paw against it several times in a distinct pattern.

It was only a few moments before a little peephole on the door was slid back, and Judy spotted a large yellow eye peering through. Nick muttered a few words to the yellow-eyed mammal, and the red door swung open.

"You coming?" Nick threw over his shoulder with a cocky smile, striding through the door.

Not wanting to be alone in the alley, Judy scurried after the tod. She stuck close to his side as the yellow-eyed mammal, which she now knew was a goat, led them down a flight of stairs to the basement. While Judy had expected the venue to be seedy, the room that greeted them as they took the final step down was not what she had been expecting. The room was huge, and though it stuck to the stereotypical red theme for such establishments, the furniture was comfortably modern with plush white sofas clustered around glass coffee tables. A long wooden bar ran the length of the far wall, and it appeared to be very well stocked. Elegant prints covered the walls, with the occasional soft erotic painting thrown in. Three doorways led from the main room, plush red velvet curtains covering them. It was from behind one of these curtains that a well-dressed red panda emerged.

"Nicholas Wilde the police officer, well I never." The red panda's voice was like honey, sweet and sticky to try and capture the attention of whatever mammal she was speaking to. It had clearly worked well for her over the years and had helped her cultivate her clientele.

The familiar voice warmed Nick's bones, and he turned to find Ruby. The daytime meant no customers, which allowed the panda to freely be herself. Dressed down in a pair of jeans and a blouse, she looked comfortable and a far cry from when they'd first met on the streets. "You're looking well, Ruby."

"Business keeps me busy at night, but affords me the luxury of sleeping and shopping in the day." Ruby offered her old friend a smile, crossing the room so the two could embrace. It was only as she pulled back from the hug that she spotted the small grey bunny by his side, large ears pricked up, violet eyes focused on her, and nose twitching. Out of respect, Ruby took a step back. It had taken her a short while in her profession, but she'd finally developed a knack for knowing when a mammal was spoken for. If her sixth sense failed her, Ruby had become adept at spotting where a ring should be, though it didn't take a genius to spot the pretty rock on the rabbit's finger and the way Nick's tail was curled near her feet. The confirmation that Nick had settled down, with a rabbit of all mammals, wasn't scandalous to Ruby, but it was pleasantly surprising. "Ruby Balliol. It's a pleasure to meet you." She offered the rabbit a paw and a soft smile.

Though the panda seemed as sweet as pie, Judy wasn't as naïve as most assumed. It took a certain kind of character to enter establishments like the one they were currently stood in, and it took a completely different character to run one. "Judy Hopps." The doe took the outstretched paw and gave it a firm shake, violet eyes finding the reddish-brown of the other female.

The tension in the room could've been cut with a knife, and Nick really didn't want Judy and Ruby to throw down with one another. Ruby was a scrapper thanks to the streets, but Judy knew the weak points on a mammal's body like the back of her paw. "How about a drink?" He gestured with a clawed thumb to the bar. It might've only been 11am, and they were on the clock, but it would break the tension and give them an opportunity to question her about the victim.

"The usual?" Ruby took her paw back from Judy, crossing the room to the bar. Even though she no longer worked behind it, she still had her mixing skills from when she'd initially started up. Being a one-mammal band had been tough work. "For you Judy?" She asked as she reached for the bottle of whiskey, adding a splash into a small glass for Nick.

Biting her lower lip to stop herself from yelling at Nick about breaking protocol, Judy made her decision based on the bottles she could see. "Elderflower wine, please." She hopped up on to a barstool, watching as Nick slid on to the one to her right just as his drink was passed across.

It only took a minute before Judy had her drink too, and Ruby had crafted herself some brightly colored cocktail. "How do you two know each other?" Judy took a sip of her wine. She tried not to wince at the flavor – it was nothing like the elderflower wine back in Bunnyburrow.

"It's not a pleasant tale, but Nicholas and I go way back." Ruby started, playing with the straw in her cocktail. She had half a mind to keep the story from the bunny, intrigued that Nick hadn't told it to her yet. "It was a difficult point in our lives, we were mooching one place to the next, doing whatever it took to survive. Nicholas was hustling, selling whatever he could get his paws on, and I was selling myself." Ruby paused to take a sip of her drink. She no longer felt ashamed talking about her past. Ruby had done what had been necessary to survive, and now she had a business of her own. She was able to bring mammals off the street, let them trade in a warm and comfortable environment, with the added bonus of regular medical checks.

Although the streets had been rough, and Nick had done many questionable things during his time to survive, he'd always tried to remain as true to himself as possible. That had included looking after females. They usually encountered the most trouble while sleeping rough, and although he was just a fox, Nick had tried to help as many as possible.

"One early morning, as I'd been walking back to where I was sleeping for the day, it had felt like I was being followed. I wasn't a fool, I'd been on the streets long enough to know the dangers, so I'd hurried my pace and crossed the road looking for a business I could enter and ask for help. Unfortunately, the dingo still followed and nowhere was open so early. It only took another two blocks before he caught up with me." The red panda shook her head as she took another sip of her drink. "He was vile, one of the worst mammals I've ever come across. Called me all sorts of names, made comments about how I was dressed and what I'd been doing, and then proceeded to think he could have a piece of me himself."

Nick's timing had been perfect that morning – another few minutes' and Ruby would've been in a much worse state. "I'd been heading to my usual hustling spot that morning when I stumbled across the situation. Didn't take much to figure out what was happening. I yanked a rusty bit of piping from a nearby building and pressed it against his back. I think he mistook it for a gun, which is insane as no gun I've ever seen has such a huge barrel, but it worked."

"He let go of me, paws in the air, begged Nicholas not to shoot and said it was just a misunderstanding before he ran off." Ruby couldn't believe that the pipe had worked either. "Nicholas introduced me to a group of mammal's he knew, and I felt much safer sleeping knowing someone was watching my back. I owe him big time." The red panda offered Nick a fond smile, eyes softening.

Judy blinked, in shock and awe at the whole situation. Nick had only told her snippets of his time on the streets; she knew there was a whole lot more, but each new story still surprised her. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." The doe offered sincerely, feeling compassion for her fellow female. Now it made sense. Ruby was so friendly with Nick because he'd saved her. Her spike of jealousy had been irrational, and Judy mentally cursed herself for it.

"Thank you. It was a long time ago, and what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger, eh?" Ruby took a final sip of her cocktail, placing the dirty glass in the bar's dishwasher. "I take it you didn't come here for a catch up though, Nicholas?" She turned her attention to the fox, cocking an eyebrow.

Sighing, the tod placed down his empty glass. "Afraid not Ruby. We're working a case, and our victim was found with one of your business cards on him. Red fox, middle-aged, well-groomed and dressed, wearing a Roarex." He rattled off some basic information, ready to pull out a photo if needed, but the dawning realization on Ruby's face was more than enough.

"Oskar. His name is Oskar." The red panda shook her head in disbelief. "What happened to him? He's a regular and was here last night, had a session with Lucinda, a pretty little raccoon, and left satisfied in one piece."

Though he felt there was no real need, the tod still pulled out the photo of the victim, just to be doubly sure that Ruby was talking about the same mammal. The red panda only took a glimpse at the image before she turned her gaze away, staring at the wall. "That's Oskar." She confirmed solemnly.

"He was found stabbed this morning in the Marshlands. Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt him?" Judy softened her tone, remembering her training and how much easier it was to get information out of upset mammals by soothing them.

Ruby knew how vital the information would be, so she took a moment to think. "I can't think of any mammal in particular, but a lot of mammals were jealous of Oskar and his success."

"His success?" Nick pushed.

Nodding, Ruby hummed her affirmation. "He was some high-flyer, hence the Roarex. I remember the first time he came here; he looked nervous and out of place, used his real name of Oskar Reddish when most pick an alias to keep this on the hush."

The more information they had about the victim, the better their checks would be back at the precinct. "You don't happen to have a credit card receipt or his signature or something on file, do you?" Judy quizzed. Being able to access Oskar's financial data would allow them to paint a picture of where he liked to shop and what his job might've been, and they could work backward from that.

Ruby had to stop herself from cooing. The innocence of the rabbit sat opposite her was adorable. "All my customer's pay cash and I don't ask questions, so I'm afraid there's nothing on file about Oskar or any other clients." Although it was not usual business practice, for the type of establishment Ruby ran it was necessary. Mammals came to her place to scratch the itch in private and then go home to their partners. Secrecy was key to her businesses survival. "I do have CCTV of this main area though if that would be of any benefit?" Ruby offered. While secrecy was paramount, she also had to protect the mammals working for her. The rooms were out of camera sight, but by monitoring the common area, she could keep an eye on the comings and goings of the place.

Dipping her head in embarrassment, Judy mentally kicked herself. She should've guessed records weren't the highest priority here.

"CCTV would be great, thanks." Nick took the reins, giving Ruby a smile as the red panda slipped from behind the bar and crossed the room, heading to her office. Even though Ruby had told them Oskar had left in one piece, the tapes would reveal if anyone followed him out or was watching him. Once Ruby was out of sight and earshot, Nick turned to his partner. "We have a name and a positive ID match now. We can run him through the databases when we get back. There were no camera's in the alley, I checked on our way in, so while we might be able to spot a mammal keeping an eye on Oskar or following him out, we have nothing to go on from there." Nick grimaced, scratching at his chin.

"Here you go, tapes from last night." Ruby emerged from her office, three tapes in paw. She handed them over to Nick. "Will you keep me updated on the case, please? If the mammal that killed Oskar was here, I need to know. I don't want them around here, and I don't need my clients knowing if they were."

As much as Judy wanted to promise Ruby they'd tell her everything, protocol dictated that they couldn't. "We'll let you know whatever we can." The doe assured the panda, offering her a small smile. They wouldn't be able to share sensitive information with her, or information that wasn't available to the public through the media, but Judy couldn't bring herself to explain that and disappoint her after all they'd done for her.

"Thank you. Stop by whenever you feel like it, the bar's always open." Ruby offered as Nick and Judy slid from their seats, heading for the exit. The three mammals said their goodbye's before Nick and Judy stepped back out into the alleyway, the door shutting behind them.

"Street cameras." Nick broke the silence, jutting his chin towards the road. "We can see what goes on inside the building on the tapes, and although this alley isn't covered by cameras, we'll be able to track Oskar once he enters the street." The fox remembered how instrumental the cameras had been in the missing mammal's case, and hopefully, they would be just as handy this time.

A small smile crossed Judy's lips as she shook her head fondly, heading for the driver's seat of their vehicle. "Slick Nick." She teased as she hopped into the car, Nick taking the passenger seat. Judy started the engine, and they buckled in, leaving the alleyway and Ruby Red's Relaxation Resort behind them.

"Please tell me we're nearly finished." Nick grouched. The two mammals were slumped at their desks, one of the tapes from Ruby's bar playing on a small TV they'd been able to borrow from the skunks down in the records department.

"We're only three-quarters of the way through the first tape, Slick." Judy chided, reaching to grab some chips from the packet Nick had procured from one of the vending machines in the canteen.

Smacking his forehead on the desk, Nick groaned. So far the tapes had provided them nothing – there was no sign of Oskar, but they had to watch for anything suspicious. "Don't eat all the chips," Nick mumbled into the wood of the table, lifting his head a moment later to watch Judy happily munching away while watching the screen. "Something interesting?"

Wrinkling her nose, Judy shook her head. "Not yet. I'm just surprised at how busy Ruby's place is. I guess I never realized how high the demand is for businesses like hers."

"Some mammal's like the anonymity it offers, others want to blow off steam but can't be bothered to work on chatting someone up at a bar where a fun night isn't always guaranteed, and others just want the company of another mammal and some physical contact for a few hours." During his years on the streets, Nick had spent plenty of time around mammal's that worked in such establishments, and at first, it had surprised him to learn of all the varied reasons clients visited.

Turning her focus from the TV to her mate, Judy tipped her head, her large ears flopping. "Have you ever been to a place like Ruby's?" She asked curiously, careful to ensure there was no judgment in her tone just in case.

The tod had to stop himself from smiling at Judy's question. Trust his rabbit to try and be as non-judgemental as possible. "Been to them? Yes. I helped Ruby set up when she finally had enough investment, and I was friends with several mammals' who worked in such places, and I would sometimes collect them after their shifts to walk them home. Have I purchased the services on offer? No. Never had the desire or the spare cash." He let out a humorless laugh.

Content with Nick's answer, Judy turned her focus back to the TV. It wouldn't have bothered her if he had spent his cash on a pretty mammal, as it would've been before they met and decided to be together. The streets had been lonely for him so she wouldn't have blamed him. "How about we flip to the second tape." Judy reached for the remote, ending the first tape before she swapped it for the second.

The tape had only been running for fifteen minutes when Nick spotted Oskar entering the central area from outside, and the tod was laughing at something the doormammal had said. "Now it gets interesting." The fox sat up straight, paw reaching for the remaining chips as Judy grabbed her notepad and pen, ready to jot down anything they saw and the tape timestamps for the report they would inevitably have to write up.

As the tape went on, the action playing out on the screen matched Ruby's description of the night to the letter. The fox had disappeared off with a slinky raccoon, Lucinda they both guessed, and an hour later he'd emerged back in the central area, a satisfied smile on his face. He'd planted a kiss on Lucinda's cheek, slipped her some cash, and then left. Nick and Judy watched the next thirty minutes of the tape but no one followed him out.

"I guess his killer wasn't at Ruby's then." Judy groaned, throwing her notepad and pen down on her desk. Their next option was the street cameras, but at least they now had a timestamp for when he left Ruby's. Judy didn't want to spend the next few days watching hours and hours of street footage. A knock had Judy and Nick turning their heads towards the doorway.

"I ran our victims name through the databases, and I'm eternally grateful that he gave his real name to your friend." Wolford offered both doe and tod a grin. He'd finally given up his undercover job so that he would be able to spend more time with his wife and not live in fear of someone finding out his true identity. It had been good for him and his missus, and they were now expecting their first pup. "Got a home address for him and it's not too far from here. Made a few calls and got a search warrant for you too." Wolford offered out two bits of paper.

Scrambling from her desk, Judy grabbed the papers on offer, bringing them close so she could read them. Oskar hadn't lived in a particularly affluent area, which was odd considering his watch choice and Ruby's high-flyer comment.

Standing, Nick paused the security tape as he stretched. "Guess it's time for a house visit eh, Fluff?"