Note: Author makes to claim of ownership to the characters or settings.

Epilogue

Zootopia Police Academy
6 Months Later

"I dunno, Carrots." Nick muttered, peering at the much larger mammals that made up his training group. "I think I might be out of my depth here."

"You'll do great." Judy assured him, adjusting the fox's tie and brushing an imaginary spot of lint off his shirt. "You aced all of the entrance exams, right?"

"Yeah, but this seems a bit more..." He gestured to the academy gates. "...intense."

"You'll do fine, Nick." She began to bounce happily. "Oh, I'm just so proud of you!"

"C'mon, Carrots..." Nick groaned, looking away with embarrassment. He hadn't been certain about going to the academy at first, troubled by the thought of failing and disappointing her. "Tone it down a little."

"Oh, stop that." She chided him. "You should be every bit as proud of yourself."

He nodded, clearing his throat and figeting slightly as he couldn't seem to decide what to do with his paws. "So...I guess I'll see you when I see you?"

"Yeah." Judy grinned. "I mean, of course you will. See me that is. And I'll see you, too. We'll see each other at work, right?"

A flicker of...something...must have shown in his expression, because she rushed to clarify. "And other places! We'll see each other all the time in places that aren't work! I promise that we'll start seeing each other as soon as you've graduated!"

Nick blinked at her choice of phrasing as the bunny desperately tried to recover. "I mean, not seeing each other as in seeing each other but more like seeing each in the sense that you'll be my partner and we'll be together no matter what!"

"Carrots!" Nick tried to interrupt as her perplexing tirade began to attract attention. "Carrots, you're yelling."

"You think I don't know that?!" The bunny cried as she threw her paws in the air.

Shaking his head, the fox smiled at his soon-to-be partner and spread his arms out. He grunted slightly when he felt the impact against his chest accompanied by the suddenly tight grip around his midsection. He looked down and smiled softly at the grey bunny, gently stroking her drooping ears. "C'mon now, it's just a few months. I'll be back before you know it, right?"

Judy nodded, her face buried in his shirt. "Remember, I'm just a phone call away if you need to talk."

"You bunnies." He chuckled. "So emot..."

"Oh, shush." Judy interrupted, looking up at him. "I believe in you and I'm going to miss you every minute you're gone, you dumb fox."

"The feeling's mutual, Fluff." He assured her, hugging the bunny tightly.

Eventually she released him, stepping back as te fox hefted a bag over his shoulder. Flashing her his trademark smirk, he moved to join his training group.

ooooooooo
Academy Instructor Offices
Week 1 of 16

"Good morning, Major."

Major Rachel Friedkin looked up from her desk to find Sergeant Winters leaning against her office door, Snarlbucks cup in hand. "Morning, Sergeant. What can I do for you?"

"Just thought I'd drop by and see how the new training group is shaping up." He replied casually. "Any particular standouts?"

"They've barely been here an hour." Amused, she watched him take a sip of his drink. "No one has quite managed to distinguish themselves yet."

The cat nodded thoughtfully. Turning her attention back to her paperwork, Friedkin added, "Was there something else you needed?"

"Now that you mention it, I received an email from Officer Hopps the other day." Winters noted, idly examining his coffee cup. "About one of your new trainees, in fact."

"Oh?" Friedkin responded as she studied the recruit files strewn across her desk. "And what did she have to say?"

"Apparently," Winters replied casually. "The fox has what it takes."

Rachel looked up, giving the smirking feline her full attention. "Is that right?"

"Apparently so." He confirmed.

"Well," She grinned, retrieving Wilde's recruit file from the stack. "I guess we'll just have to see about that."

-END-