"Badge, Hopps."

"But sir I-"

"Badge!"

Judy's face fell. She let out a small sigh, and all the light left her eyes as she slowly unclasped her badge. She placed it gently into Bogo's waiting hoof. It shined briefly in the dim streetlights before disappearing into his fist. He stepped back and Judy stood straighter, steadily meeting his eyes. She gave a small nod and her voice was strong as she spoke.

"Thank you for the opportunity."

Bogo seemed to flinch slightly under her gaze, clearing his throat and pocketing the badge. An awkward moment passed before he turned to his men. "Let's go," He shouted, his voice sharp.

She watched evenly as Bogo and the other officers walked down the hill. Her hands tightened into shaking fists and her heart raced but she stood strong. It wasn't until the last heavy footstep was an echo in the distance that she let herself break.

There was a heartbeat of silence, and then she slowly sunk to her knees. Her paws reached up to cover her mouth, and she took several deep, shuddering breaths. The spot where her badge had been burned, and she felt its absence like a lost limb. Everything she had done, all she had risked and worked for, her dreams, gone. She tried to fight them, but hot tears welled up in her eyes, and she curled into herself, sobbing quietly into her paws.

Nick watched her, his eyes wide. He knew that Judy had taken the case seriously, but he had never imagined that so much was on the line. His anger flared at the chief. It was clear that he had stacked the odds against her from the beginning, and shame quickly followed. He hadn't exactly helped, making things difficult for her at every turn, watching with vicarious pleasure as she failed again and again.

Nick sighed. He slowly walked over, crouching down and wrapping his arm hesitantly around her. She stiffened for a moment, before turning into his embrace and wrapping her arms around his neck. He sighed again, rubbing her back.

"Carrots...Judy...I'm so sorry." She sniffed and he felt her shake her head lightly.

"No, Nick, it's not your fault."

"Judy..."

"Please Nick..." She pulled away, looking up at him, "It's because of me. I should have never agreed to take this case, I should have just waited and paid my dues and..and then..." Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, and she wiped at them helplessly "I'd still...I'd still be..."

He pulled her close, letting her bury her face in his shoulder. She cried, soft hiccuping sobs, and Nick felt his heart break. He hated to admit it, but some part of him had started to care about her. He knew too well how she felt. To be told that you would never be enough simply for being what you are. It was crushing. But unlike him she kept trying. And while the world would never agree, he thought that should be worth something.

Eventually her sobs quieted, and she breathed deeply.

"Come on fluff, let's get you home." Her stood, pulling her to her feet with him. She wiped her face and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you, Nick."

He led her gently towards the sky trams, arm still wrapped around her back. "Don't mention it."

When they reached her apartment, Judy looked back at him and sighed. "Promise not to laugh?"

He nodded, and she turned the lock and pushed her door open slightly, reaching over and flipping the light on. She shrugged shyly.

"It's not much...but it's home."

Nick's gaze drifted over the room, lingering on her small bed, rundown desk and peeling wallpaper. Nick might have lived more or less under a bridge and in the back of a van, but he still had a room at his mom's house, and part of him couldn't believe that Judy called his hole home.

He forced a smile, "It's great. Real ritzy. The boys at the department really know how to set a girl up." Her face fell slightly at the mention of the ZPD, but she managed a laugh. He perked up at her smile, tears didn't suit her, and he was glad to see them leave.

"Yeah...They don't cut any corners." She sipped off her vest and tossed in in the direction of her closet, before walking into her tiny bathroom. "You can come in." She called to him, and he took the invitation, walking over and sitting on her bed. It creaked precariously under his weight, so he stood and awkwardly looked around the room. His eyes fell on her desk area, shaking his head at the cute carrot patterned suitcase. It was cheesy, but it fit her.

He peered closer at the plethora of picture frames littering the table. There was one holding an aging picture of two rabbits, he assumed her parents, all dressed up in white and black. They looked young and happy and in love. Next to it was various pictures of large groups of bunnies, some with Judy, some without. He sighed dramatically. It seemed impossible to keep track of so many children.

"That's my family." Nick started, before rolling his eyes and glaring at her.

"Sheesh, carrots, make some noise when you move."

"Sorry." She had changed into a baggy t-shirt and shorts and stood shyly gazing at him. Nick briefly noted that she looked cute, but quickly pushed away the thought as she looked over the pictures.

"I don't know what I'm going to tell them." She admitted, "I mean...they never really believed in me. They were supportive, but they kept telling me that I should 'settle' and give up on my dreams. They were happy when I got saddled with meter duty." She seemed to deflate even more, her arms wrapping around herself, "They'll probably just be happy that it didn't work out."

Nick sighed. That sounded about right for rabbit families. They were so scared of anything and everything. Especially if it was new or out of the ordinary. He supposed it was instinct, but it was hard on anyone of them who wanted something different out of life. And Judy was as different as the came.

After a moment she spoke up again. "I'm sorry...I don't really have any food or drink to offer..." He shook his head and put a light hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Carrots. I think you should just get some rest." She nodded and let him lead her the short distance to her bed. She climbed up and slid under the covers. She looked at him after she got comfortable, too sad to even notice the awkwardness of the situation, before letting her her gaze fall to her lap.

"Thanks again, Nick." He followed her gaze, watching her hands worrying the covers, tensing and releasing over and over. He frowned, doubting that she would get much sleep even if she tried.

"Now don't stay up too late. It's long past bedtime for you daytime mammals." He said. She gave him a smirk, and he was pleased to note that her hands had fallen still. He returned her smile taking a deep breath and putting his hands in his pockets, "Well...I'll get the door on my way out."

"Ok." She sat stiffly as he turned to leave, but before he could make it to the door she called out.

"Nick, wait!"

He froze, gazing back at her. "Yes?" She blushed all the way to the tips of her ears and her voice was quiet as she spoke, "Will...will you stay?"

He blinked, shocked, and she continued, "I just...I'm sorry you don't have to I'm just...I don't really want to be...alone, right now..."

He smiled at how flustered she was. "Don't get your fur in a fluff, Carrots, I'll stay." She smiled back, "Ok." Her eyes shifted to the floor, then back to the bed. She blushed again.

"I don't uh...have a sleeping bag or...um..." She gestured to the bed, sliding as close as she could to the wall, "I don't mind sharing..."

"I don't mind as long as you don't mind."

"I don't!" She shouted, her eyes practically burning a hole into the wall.

"HEY WOULD YOU KEEP IT DOWN IN THERE!?" Judy brought her paw to her head and groaned.

"HEY, WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!? DIDN'T YOU HEAR? SHE BROUGHT HOME A GUY!"

"YEAH WELL SOME OF US HAVE WORK IN THE MORNING!"

Nick laughed, and Judy couldn't help but join in as her neighbors descended into their usual chorus of shouts and threats. "They mean well." She offered, shrugging.

"I'm sure they do." She laughed again, and he smiled. Nick turned, closing the door and flipping off the light, before making made his way to the bed, taking off his tie and belt and dropping them on her chair. His wallet and handkerchief quickly joined the pile and as she moved over farther he climbed up and slid in beside her. They both shifted a bit, the mattress letting out mess of creaks. When they were comfortable she and more or less sure that the bed would collapse she curled up and closed her eyes. He lay back against the pillows, folding his arms behind his head and relaxing.

After a moment of silence, Judy's quiet voice spoke up, "Nick, really...thank you."

He chuckled, "You say thank you too much, Carrots."

"I'm just...really, I'm grateful for your help...for everything."

"Go to sleep," He playfully ordered, "you'll need your rest if we're gonna find those missing mammals."

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, "What?"

He smiled at her shock. "What, did you really think Chief Buffalo-butt firing you was gonna stop us?"

"But Nick I'm not a cop anymore I can't legally-"

"Who says it has to be legal?"

"Nick!"

He turned to look at her fully, his voice taking on a sudden seriousness. "Judy, do you really want to give up now? Just think, bend a few rules here and there and you could crack this case wide open. You could even get your job back!" She gazed up at him, eyes narrowed. "You didn't strike me as the type to give up," He added, "Just think about it, ok?"

She looked unsure. "We don't even have any leads or recourses..."

"Judy-"

She cut him off, "But fine, I'll think about it."

Nick gave her his signature grin, "Good. Don't count yourself out yet, Carrots. There's still some fight left in ya."

She huffed, collapsing back onto the bed, "I'm going to sleep before you try to turn me into any more of a criminal."

"Aw come on, it's not a bad lifestyle."

"Goodnight, Nick."

"Goodnight."

When Judy woke her head was pounding. She sat up slowly, rubbing her temple and gazing blankly at the lump of red fur curled up next to her. Slowly her memories from the night before came back. Her face fell and she blushed furiously. God she had acted so childish, crying over her job, asking Nick to stay with her. She was never going to live it down. She shook her head. No point worrying about it now. If Nick had been serious about still trying to crack the case they had a lot of work to do. She shoved him roughly.

"Get up you lazy mutt." He groaned and she pushed him harder.

"Five more minutes..."

"Nope. We're wasting daylight. Got work to do."

"Ughhh..." He pushed himself up and gave her a halfhearted glare, "I will never understand you morning mammals."

"Oh, stop complaining." She crawled over him and started rooting around in one of the drawers under her bed. She briefly considered various pants and shirts before settling on a red plaid button up and some jeans.

"I'm gonna go shower and get changed. I know a nice coffee shop down the road we can get breakfast at. Does that sound good?"

He yawned, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Carrots." He waved her off before flopping back down on the bed. She smiled as she walked to the bathroom.

"And no falling back asleep!" She called and heard Nick give a grumbly response, "I mean it!"

"Ok, Mom!" He shot back, his voice dripping with irritation.

She smirked and she stepped into the shower, the hot water washing away all the dirt and grime and sticky tear streaks from the night before. She stretched, sighing as she felt her joints pop. While she quickly lathered up with soap she couldn't help but wonder if Nick had been right. Sure, that kind of thing worked out all the time in movies and shows, but Judy had really been fired, and she knew that lawfully she had no business poking around a crime scene. Even if she did find Emmet Otterton and the others there was no promise that she could actually get her job back. She doubted Bogo was that kind of Chief. He had made it sound like he had been practically held hostage just to give her a job, she didn't think he could be convinced to give it back to her after everything that had happened.

She was started out of her thoughts by a rough knock on the bathroom door. "Come on, Carrots, hurry up. I've gotta pee."

She smiled, turning off the water and grabbing a towel. She had Nick with her, and he believed it was worth a shot. He had never seemed like he was the kind of mammal who put his money on a bad bet, so she figured he had some reason for thinking it would all work out. And hey, she reasoned, it was better than running home with her 'cute, fluffy little tail between her legs' as he had so eloquently put it.

"Alright, hold your horses, I'm almost done."

"Hurrrryyyyy..." He groaned, and she sighed. Foxes, so dramatic.

After a shower and two cups of coffee Nick was much more agreeable, though on the way to the cafe he had donned some ridiculous aviator shades, explaining that the early morning light was too hard on his eyes. She had told him that he looked like an ass but he gave her a glare so grumpy that she soon dropped it.

They ordered and quickly found a small booth tucked in the back corner of the cafe. They sat across from each other, Nick nursing his third latte while Judy muched idly on a coffee cake.

"So what's the plan?" She asked after a while.

"Well first thing first," He said, setting his drink down, "we need to figure out what happened to Manches."

"You don't think he just got loose, do you?" He shook his head.

"No. Some part of the handcuffs would have still been there, plus I'm sure someone would have spotted him by now. A savage jaguar on the loose wouldn't stay secret for long."

She nodded, taking another bite of her cake. She started to mumble around the food but Nick flicked her on the forehead. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

She glared at him and swallowed. "I said, what about the night howlers? He seemed pretty scared of whatever they were."

"Might be a gang, could have nabbed him while we were dealing with the fuzz."

"Hmm." She sat back and nodded, "You might be right. Still doesn't tell us why he went savage."

"Poison? Drugs?" He supplied, taking another huge swig of his coffee.

"Maybe...Either way, I think we should head back to the crime scene."

"Really? Isn't that a little cliched?" She rolled her eyes and kicked him under the table. "Ow! Sheesh, kidding."

"It's the only lead we have." She added, "We don't have another choice."

"Won't the place be crawling with cops?" Nick asked. She took another bite of her cake, pointedly chewing and swallowing before continuing.

"Bogo didn't even believe us about Manches, and he didn't look like a family man. They might not even know he's missing."

"Well then we better head over there before they get the news."

"Right." They stood, and Judy gathered their empty cups and plates, while Nick pulled out his phone, quickly looking up a map of the transit systems. She dropped the dishes gently into the return bin before following him outside.

"We can take the sky trams. It won't be fast but it's the most direct route."

"Sounds like a plan. Do you have fare?" He started to nod but she stopped, groaning and mentally hitting herself. Nick hadn't been home in at least a day! His clothes were probably filthy and she knew all he had on him was his wallet. "Wait, Nick, I'm so sorry, I didn't think. Do you need to go home at all? Get changed or something?"

"Don't worry fluff, my clothes have been through worse." Nick wasn't quite ready to admit to his living situation. He could only imagine the flurry of nagging he would get once she found out he more or less lived under a bridge.

"I know but-" He held up a hand, cutting her off.

"Im touched by your concern, but it's fine. I'm used to not hitting the den for a day or so sometimes, it's no big deal. Let's just get over to Manches' place."

"Ok. As long as you're sure."

"I'm sure." He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the sidewalk with him, "Now come on, we've got and otter to find."