I don't own Zootopia.

Chapter 1 : Trouble in Tundra Town

1:45 PM

Judy and Nick had just been alerted to a robbery that had taken place in the heart of Zootopia: a jewelry store just on the outskirts of city center, heisted in broad daylight. The details on the crook revealed that he was either a fool or an amateur; he wore a hood to conceal his face, but his thick black and white skunk tail swayed clearly as he ran. Even if they didn't catch him this time, knowing his species would dramatically decrease the amount of work needed to track him down.

"Officer Hopps. Do you and officer Wilde copy?" The voice of police chief Bogo called out through her compact police radio.

Judy pulled the radio from its holster, holding it so that Nick could easily hear any further transmissions. "We copy loud and clear, chief."

"Information suggests that the jewelry store suspect from the previous dispatch was seen fleeing to Tundra Town. You two are the closest officers to his last known location." A GPS marker that had been sent remotely from police headquarters sprang up on the car's navigation screen. They were less than three miles away. "There's no intel on whether or not he's armed. Be careful, and show this skunk just why you're considered Zootopia's finest."

"Yes, sir! We're on it!" The eager rabbit holstered her radio. "Ready, partner?" She asked the fox beside her.

"It's no citywide conspiracy… but it's as good an excuse as any to spend the afternoon with my favorite bunny." Nick responded with a wry smile and gave her a thoughtful wink before sliding his sunglasses down over the bridge of his nose.

Judy returned the smile, then flipped on the roof lights and siren, set the police cruiser in gear and slammed the accelerator to the floor. They had a crook to catch.

TUNDRA TOWN

To even low-level villains, Tundra Town was known for its criminal network and black market activity. Judy and Nick reasoned that the skunk almost certainly didn't live in this freezing climate, and was likely here to sell the stolen jewelry in some seedy hideout or another. Classic.

Judy and Nick's police cruiser tore down the chilly streets of the icy city sector weaving between traffic that barely had enough time to get out of her way; all weather tires and all-wheel drive working overtime. Seemingly unfazed, Nick casually browsed through a newspaper article, fully accustomed and trusting of his partner's driving skills.

"Hey, Carrots?" Nick asked nonchalantly from behind his newspaper.

"Hmm, yes, Nick?" Judy said in slight strain, focusing intently on the road. Though she once intensely disliked it, she had grown to enjoy that particular nickname he gave her; so long as he was the one saying it.

"Pistachio or peanut?"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm asking which you prefer: pistachio or peanut ice cream?"

"Why are you asking this now? We're in the middle of a pursuit."

"Exactly. We barely had time to finish our lunch before we got this dispatch, so after we pick this guy up and get him down to headquarters, I wanted to treat you to desert."

"Oh, umm..." Judy smiled at the thoughtful gesture. "For me it would be peanut."

Nick gave a mildly surprised scoff. "Peanut? What are you, a squirrel? Pistachio definitely has the better taste."

The rabbit turned the wheel sharply, barely avoiding sideswiping a car. "Why do you ask what I like if you're just going to tell me how much you don't like it? I like peanut ice cream. It's very tasty and it's not just for squirrels." She retorted matter-of-factly.

The red fox took on a mockingly hurt tone. "Oh, Carrots… I was simply asking to make sure we have the same good taste. After all, having similar preferences really helps in getting along, wouldn't you say?" He gave her his signature wry smile again.

"Funny..." She began, veering sharply around a corner, nearing the position listed on their GPS. "Because I can't stand pistachio."

"Seriously? You've got to be kidding! I've never heard anybody say that before. Nobody. Not one. Everyone loves pistachio."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Then I'm the first; not that it would be surprising."

Nick went on. "Pistachio is sweet, smells good, it's soft, and it's green!" Nick lifted his shades, looking at her with his confident green eyes. Even though he knew she couldn't afford to pay attention to him, he was certain she was aware of him looking at her. "Come on, Carrots. You do at least like green, don't ya?"

Judy softened visibly, slightly easing off the accelerator of the cruiser. "Yeah, I love green, you know I do. Just know that I have the right to like what I like. As for pistachio, I'm sorry, but not everyone likes it like you do."

Nick softened as well, always retaining his playful smirk. "So, even though peanuts are lumpy, bitter, beige, and generally less delicious than pistachio... I'd be happy to buy you cupful of peanut ice cream once we're finished here, alright?"

"And I would be happy to accept a peanut ice cream from you, thank you, Nick." The rabbit couldn't help but grin.

Nick sighed. "Are you sure you're a rabbit? Because you're as stubborn as a donkey."

"Well then there's something that we do have in common."

Judy screeched the cruiser to a halt right on top of the GPS destination and disengaged the police lights and siren. No skunk in sight. No surprise there. She pulled out her compact police radio and reported. "Officer Hopps to headquarters. Officer Wilde and I are at the appointed GPS location in Tundra Town, following up on the jewelry store robbery. The suspect does not appear to be in the immediate vicinity. Have you received any more information?"

There was a brief pause, then the response came through. "Negative, officer Hopps. Please standb- wait... " Judy felt her heart skip a beat in hopeful anticipation. "We've just received a report that the suspect, one male skunk, has been seen heading into The Ice Pack Club. Coordinates are being uploaded to your GPS."

"YES!" The rabbit cried out, a stark contrast to her formal manner of speaking from only a moment before. She pushed the button to transmit on her radio. "Thank you. We're on our way!"

Nick felt a genuine smile spread over his face. He loved how quickly Judy could go from behaving formally to barely being able to contain her eagerness and excitement. Her bubbly nature and optimism was infectious, and in a way he enjoyed.

1:57 PM

The Ice Pack Club was only a half-mile away. As the two officers pulled up in their cruiser, they were in store for a fortunate break. There, right out front, was a skunk dressed all in black, seeming to engaged in an argument with an arctic wolf.

"Hey, is that our guy?" Nick asked in amused surprise as he and Judy quickly unbuckled.

"If it is, that's one heck of a lucky break!" She responded; both opened their cruiser doors and jumped out, quickly moving toward the unsuspecting skunk.

A familiar pang of guilt struck Judy as they made their approach. She knew the skunk was probably the guy they were after, but it didn't sit right with her how easily she had formed an assumption that he must be the culprit because of his species and the clothes he wore… and that he matched the suspect's description and location perfectly… Even so, that this assumption seemed to fill her mind so automatically made that guilty sensation feel even worse. She imagined that after getting to know Nick, this part of her should've slipped away… no, now was not the time for such thoughts; she had a job to do, they had a job to do, and as she felt the presence of the fox striding confidently beside her, Judy felt her resolve strengthen.

Judy warily called out to the skunk. "Excuse me, sir?"

The skunk turned his head slightly, only half paying attention, then motioned it back as if to continue his discussion with the wolf, before quickly doing a double-take with an expression of surprise and panic. In an instant he snatched up a small black sack near his feet and bolted.

"Police! Don't move!" Judy demanded.

"Not like he'd listen." Nick nearly growled out, his red fur instinctively bristling in anticipation of the chase. They both charged after the skunk as he quickly rounded the side of the building.

Nick pulled out his radio, nearly yelling into it in excitement. "Base, this is officer Wilde!" the fox panted out, keeping pace with his partner. "Officer Hopps and I are on foot, in pursuit of the jewelry store suspect! We're at The Ice Pack Club in Tundra Town. We'd appreciate some backup!"

"Copy that." The radio emitted as Nick hastily crammed it back into the holster.

The duo rounded the corner only a couple seconds after the skunk. The suspect was headed toward the other end of the club where there was a downward slope that led to the banks of a frozen lake. It would've made for a lovely view if not for the focus on capturing a fleeing criminal. Snow kicked up in billows as the skunk slid down the bank, stumbling at the bottom in an awkward fall. The fox and rabbit were closing in, sliding down the slope right behind, but the skunk scrambled back to his feet before they could reached him and - just as Nick and Judy suspected - ran toward the frozen lake.

"Stop! If you stop now you may receive a lighter sentence!" Judy cried out, she and Nick now only a half-dozen meters behind the fleeing skunk. He wasn't stopping, and he was definitely faster than he looked - fear of imprisonment is a strong incentive.

All three were out on the ice now, footing becoming difficult to maintain. Nick and Judy panted, the cold air stinging their lungs while the wind swept small flurries of snow up across the lake, pelting them and leaving specks of ice where their fur shown. Slowly they were closing the gap. They could get this guy. Twenty feet from the perpetrator became fifteen… became ten… suddenly there came a sound of ominous cracking. Their heavy footfalls weblike patterns across the frozen lake. The ice was thinner here.

"Carrots, the ice! Be careful!" Nick cried out in concern as Judy took the lead, having adapted and gained enough footing to break into a full sprint.

Judy let out a determined growl, a sound that most would consider quite odd from a rabbit. She was focused, willful, and a lot stronger than she looked. Only a couple meters between them now. The hard clink of jewelry from the small black bag and raspy, labored breathing of the skunk filled her ears, driving her forward even harder. With precision and momentum, Judy would strike hard, trip him up and take him down.

"GAHH!" The crook cried out in what Judy thought was a rather weasel-like tone. His foot had broken through the ice and caused him to stumble, sliding forward on his chest and face, his loot flying out of his hand.

Just as she was ready to make her move, Judy's foot slapped down behind where the skunks had, breaking a bigger hole into the ice. With a shocked cry of "Ni-!" The rabbit fell through the ice into the frigid waters of the lake.

2:00 PM

"JUDY!" Nick screamed, eyes wide in horror as he watched his partner break through the ice, feeling a sick sensation as her ears disappeared beneath the deadly waters. The criminal was dazed, slowly regaining his composure, but right this instant Nick couldn't care less about him. Screw the jewelry, forget the crook, they were nothing. All he could possibly process right now was to save his partner… save Judy. He slid to a halt just before the now broken edge of the ice, not even considering that he might break through as well. The ice held, and the fox fell on all fours, peering in panic into the meter-wide hole in the ice. "JUDY!" Though the sun shone down into the murky depths, Nick couldn't see her… but he heard something… tapping. He looked to his right and there was Judy, five-or-so feet away from the opening, banging on the underside of the ice.

Nick had once been taught that most people who drown in icy waters often do so because they either can't find the hole they fell through, or the undercurrent of the water drags them away so they can't get back to it. He didn't care which case this was. Without another thought he dropped into the water, making sure he was holding onto the edge while facing Judy's direction. This was pure agony, as if the ice had surged beyond his fur, skin, and muscle; straight to his very bones. He nearly gasped in surprise at the shocking sensation, but managed to resist the fatal temptation. His overworked lungs burned from all the running he'd just done and he instantly ached to resurface for air. If he felt like this so immediately, he could only imagine what Judy was feeling.

Save Judy.

Save Judy.

Save Judy.

The words beat through Nick's being like a mantra.

Nick could feel a mild current tugging at him, dragging him in Judy's direction. It wasn't very strong, but the way the frigid water seized his muscles made any movement feel stiff and difficult. Though the water burned his eyes, he could see her, his best friend and partner, clinging to the ice, kicking against the current to work her way back to the opening; back to the fox.

"Judy, oh God, please hold on!" Nick held the opening of the ice with one hand, reaching out his other to her. He could see the hazy color of her fearful violet eyes. His heart screamed for him to be selfless and let go of the edge, to go to the freezing, drowning rabbit, wrap his arms around her, swim her back to safety. 'Go be her hero', the idea demanded, and every part of him ached to obey. Even so, the fox knew he should only do that as a last resort, and instead reached out to her while maintaining a grasp on the edge to the surface; this was their best chance of survival.

Judy scrambled, strain plastering her features as she kicked hard, reaching out to Nick, their fingertips touching. She couldn't hold out. Her muscles sapped too much oxygen from the chase, and she had been under too long. In a sharp burst, her lungs forced her to inhale, purging the air within and filling her with water… she went slack… and didn't register the desperate, vice-like hold of the fox stretching out to his limit, grabbing her wrist, and yanking her back to him. Despite the cold and muscle stiffness, he dexterously slung the smaller rabbit over his shoulder and pulled on the edge of the ice with all his strength, resurfacing, gasping for air.

"H-H-Hang in th-there, C-C-Carrots!" Nick's teeth chattered helplessly. He dug the claws of both hands into the ice, secretly praying it wouldn't break off from the rest, and hoisted himself and his unconscious partner into the surface. He wanted to tend to his best friend immediately, but the fox knew it was far too risky to stay so near the edge of the hole. It was a miracle the ice held enough to support both their weights in getting out.

With what Nick considered to be a reasonably safe amount of space between themselves and the thinnest ice, he quickly undid the velcro of her police vest, pulled it open to expose her chest. She wasn't breathing. The training from the academy kicked in; he placed one hand over the other just below her diaphragm and began to push in repeated burst motions to force the water from her lungs.

"Come on, Judy, come on. Breathe for me, please!" The desperate fox demanded. Sure enough, after a few more pushes, Judy convulsed sharply, spewing forth the water in her lungs. The hoarse, gurgling, agonized sounds that came from the small rabbit's throat as she coughed and vomited up the water sent a new chill up Nick's spine. It felt so foreign and wrong to see her in that kind of state, as if she'd been punched really hard in the stomach. Nick rolled her onto her hands and knees, allowing her to purge the rest from her system.

Judy panted and shivered. "N-N-Nick-k-k."

Nick scrambled out of his vest and pulled Judy to him, letting her chest press to his with both arms securely around her. "Shh, I'm here, Carrots. Breathe. Don't strain yourself." They were both freezing with soaked fur, but this slight shared warmth was much better than nothing.

"D-Did we g-get him?" She asked behind chattering teeth.

Nick had completely forgotten about the suspect. "We'll get him next time, don't worry."

Judy felt a pang of annoyance at their failure, but then relaxed and clung to Nick's larger frame. Being a great cop was her passion, her dream, and the rabbit knew that if she had been chasing a perpetrator and she saw anything happen to Nick, she would've ditched the pursuit and gone to help him without a moment's hesitation. She wasn't upset with him. In fact, she was glad to now realize that he would do the same for her, that Nick placed her above the job just like she did for him.

"N-Nick?" Judy's shivering and chattering teeth had lessened, though she still felt achingly cold. "Thank you… thank you for saving me." She rested her forehead to his collarbone, ears downturned as her head nestled under his chin, letting her eyes close for a moment.

His relief overrode any drive to make a witty response, so he let slip a sincere, "You're welcome," between labored breaths. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."

"I didn't mean to." The bunny nearly whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I forgive you." Despite the cold, he found his wry smile returning. "But you still owe me a new pair of shades." His playful tone reemerged.

"H-Huh?" Judy opened her eyes, looking up into his; violets to emeralds.

"When I went in after you, I forgot that my sunglasses were on top of my head, so they got washed away." He gave her a toothy grin. "I suppose it was a good trade - some slick shades for a cute bunny - but then I remembered that you earn a paycheck, so now you owe me a new pair. I get to have my cake and eat it, too." Nick finished with a teasing wink.

Judy felt a smile spread across her face. Her brows furrowed in that playful way whenever she was going to make some witty response to her best friend. "Oh really, mister fox? I don't see how your forgetfulness is my fault." Her smile turned to a smirk.

"H-Heh. I'm too cold to argue about it right now, so how about we put a pin in this and get somewhere warm?"

"Agreed." Judy stood, offering her hand to Nick, who took it gladly. She pulled him up with surprising strength; it was quite something that she had recovered this much so quickly.

"Thanks, Carrots." Nick steadied himself on his feet and shook his head wildly, spraying water all about, including onto his already soaking rabbit companion.

"Hey, stop that! I'm already drenched!" Judy whined a bit indignantly, yet couldn't help but start laughing at the silly look of Nick's 'poofy' damp fur. It didn't last long. Her laughter quickly turned into a painful cough.

Nick waited for her to finish before pulling her close again. "Carrots? Are you okay?"

She cleared her throat. "Yeah. Though I wouldn't be surprised if I caught a cold from all this."

"Let me carry you back." He kneeled, presenting his back to her.

"Nick, I'll be fine, I ju-"

"Judy..." Nick said sternly. "Please."

Judy coughed a couple more times before conceding. "Alright, Nick." She wrapped her arms around the fox's neck. He hooked his arms under her legs, stood up, and began walking. "Thank you." She whispered softly, squeezing tighter as the wind picked up once more.

Incoming sirens blared in the distance as they made their slow trek back to the shore. Through the sunny sky, flakes of snow began to slowly descend upon them. What a day.