This had certainly been one of the more eventful days of Nick's life, only second to being chased by a savage jaguar and almost falling to his death several times in a single night. Then there'd been their fall from that sewer pipe and over a waterfall at the old Cliffside medical center. And feeling the hope that had just started blooming in his chest again crushed out later at the thoughtless words of a single bunny. But considering what they'd just been through, he was willing to call it even.

Almost.

"So," he cleared his throat, turning to face the rabbit sitting on a fake rock across from him. He could still smell the blood from Judy's cut, knew she'd be in trouble if they didn't get out of this pit soon. But short of trying to scale the flat, smooth walls with her clinging to his back, he couldn't see any way of them getting out. "Mind telling me where you've been the last few months, Carrots?"

He smirked when he saw her tall ears flush pink, before they fell flat against her back in embarrassment. At least, that's what he thought it was, until he saw the shame that flashed through her eyes. She toyed with her paws a long time before speaking, her downcast gaze flicking anywhere but him.

"I-I ran away," she muttered. She forced her paws to settle in her lap, her jeans bunching as she gripped them in her fists. "C-Chief Bogo gave me two days off after that press conference, and I spent almost every second of them looking for you."

She swallowed, and he could've sworn she blinked away tears.

"I-I wanted to apologize to you, Nick, and even when I went back to work, I still spent every free minute I had trying to find you," her fists tightened, she breathed sharply through her teeth as the action tugged at the bandana he'd tied around her cut. "J-Just about a week later, Bogo took me to the Mayor's office, saying Bellweather wanted to speak to us."

Her face warped in anger as she spat the name, and Nick felt a small shiver run down his spine.

"T-They'd decided to make me the…poster child for the ZPD, because I was 'a hero to prey', and 'they trusted me'," she scoffed, more to herself than him. "That's when I decided I couldn't do it anymore, I couldn't help protect the same city I'd torn apart. So, in that same meeting, I…"

She swallowed again, unable to fight back the tears this time.

"I turned in my badge, I gave up on my lifelong dream and went back to Bunnyburrow," her voice spiked with self-loathing. "I spent three months moping around in my room and feeling sorry for myself, just letting the guilt fester until…until…"

She let go of her jeans, pounding her fists on her thighs as she choked on a sob.

"It was all my fault, Nick, all of it!" she buried her face in her paws. He didn't think he'd ever heard someone so broken. Glancing up to make sure there wasn't a cop waiting with a ladder, he went over and sat down next to her, drawing her to his side and draping an arm around her shaking shoulders. Being the warm-blooded male that he was, it was hard to miss how her lean, curvy body pressed against his, the strength in her paws as she grabbed his shirt and cried into it, or how soft her fur felt when he smoothed his fingers down her arm.

"Lionheart and Bellweather were responsible for all of it," he said soothingly. A small smile touched his lips. "And if it weren't for one clever little bunny, they would've gotten away with it."

She sniffled, her eyes still watering when she looked up at him.

"But…the press conference, when I said biology was making predators go savage, I-I just made things a hundred times worse. And if that wasn't enough, I also hurt you, right after I showed you how much I trusted you!" she hid her face in his side again. "H-How could you forgive me for that so easily?"

He smiled again, then shook his head.

"Because I can, Carrots. I had three months to think it over, and I realized you were just repeating what we heard that badger say at Cliffside," he wiped a tear from her eye, his claws lingering over the three scars hidden under her facial fur. She'd told him that story on their way to find Weaselton, how a fox named Gideon had bullied her friends and scratched her when she'd defended them. "And I should've let you explain instead of storming out like that, but seeing all those pictures of the savage preds, muzzled like that, i-it was just too much for me. A-And then I saw you reach for that fox repellent…"

He trailed off, the wound still a bit too fresh to think about.

"I-It'd been years since I'd last let myself feel, really feel, and that, all at once, was just too much for me to handle. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, though, I'm sorry for that."

She swiped a sleeve across her eyes, hissing through her teeth when his foot brushed her cut.

"Don't be, I deserved it," she looked up, smiling now. "It forced me to realize I still had my own prejudices, that I had to face them if I expected to make a real difference."

She hugged his waist.

"And I wouldn't have solved either case if it weren't for you, Nick. You deserve just as much credit as me, and I was actually wondering…" she reached in her back pocket, pulling out a folded, wrinkled sheet of faded yellow paper. "We'll have to copy this down on a new form, that is, if you're still interested…"

He chuckled, squeezing her shoulder.

"Why wouldn't I be, Carrots? You're one of the only mammals who've ever believed in me, and after all this, I'm not about to give that up again," he watched her ears going pink at his words, felt the heat that welled in his own. "I'd love to be your partner, Judy."

He couldn't believe how easy it was to get lost in her eyes, his own face staring back at him from her wide pupils. He'd barely registered the fact his tail had draped itself around her when there was a shout overhead, a thick rope dropping over the edge of the pit and narrowly missing them both.

"That sheep must've planned to drop you two in here from the start," Officer Wolfard stepped to the rim. "Every ladder in this place is either welded to something or broken. You two need any help getting out?"

"We'll get it, Wolfard," Judy called up, waving at him. He'd been one of her few co-workers who hadn't given her the cold shoulder since the press conference. "Thank you!"

He smiled, waving back before disappearing to whatever task he'd been assigned to. Judy's excited posture fell when she focused on the rope. It was too big for her to grasp easily, meaning she'd have to 'walk' her way up the wall; just the thought of that was enough to make her leg ache.

"Problem, Fluff?"

She jumped when Nick spoke up, his brow cocked as he watched her. She shook her head.

"It's going to be trickier than I thought for me to get out," she explained. "I won't be able to get a good grip on the rope, and my leg hurts too much for me to brace my feet against the wall. I don't want to waste anyone's time by having them help us, the first few hours are always the most important when it comes to-"

Nick tapped her nose with a claw.

"You're rambling, sweetheart," he flashed a teasing smile, then pulled back, muttering to himself as he reached over to tug the rope. "I don't know what they tied it to up there, but it seems secure enough…"

He slid off the rock and knelt in front of it, his back to her.

"I'm not gonna sit down here all day, Carrots," he looked at her over his shoulder. "So hurry up and climb on, or I'm gonna leave you down here."

She continued to stare at him, then her ears flared.

"W-Wait, Nick, are you serious? That's crazy, I can't just-!"

He straightened and turned to face her, his paws on his hips.

"Now what's the problem, Carrots?" annoyance was clear in his voice. "If you're worried if I can handle it, don't be, it wouldn't be the first time I've done something like this. How else do you think we always got those jumbo pops on the roof?"

She froze, staring at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Fluff, you really think I didn't know you were following us? You couldn't have been more obvious about it if you'd shouted, 'hey, I'm tailing you two, don't mind me!'."

He waved his paws to complete the dramatic delivery, making her giggle.

"That's not what I'm worried about, Nick, it's just…" she bit her lip. "What if I fall off, or what if you lose your grip and we both fall?"

He shook his head, kneeling again.

"That's not gonna happen, Fluff, this kind of thing's a walk in the park for me. Besides," he glanced at the neckerchief tied around her cut, his eyes narrowing when he saw the blood starting to soak her pant leg. "There's no telling how much longer we'd be stuck down here otherwise, and you should really get that looked at."

He put a paw on her shoulder when she started protesting again.

"You said you trusted me, Judy," he said. "At least let me show you that trust's not misplaced."

The tone of his voice, coupled with the serious glint in his eyes, was too much for her to argue against. Sighing, she held out her arms, not missing the grin that crossed his face when he turned his back to her. Scooting forward, she wrapped her arms firmly around his neck, blushing as she hooked her legs at his waist.

"And if you even think about pretending to drop me," she muttered harshly in his ear. "Remember I still have one good leg I can use to kick you."

He laughed, batting her tail with his before standing, climbing on the rock to grab the rope.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Carrots," he tugged it again, then satisfied it was still secure, started to pull himself up. The whole time, Judy was amazed how easily he moved, almost like she wasn't even there. She could feel his wiry muscles shift against her, a blush lightly burning as she remembered how easily he'd handled that popsicle the day they'd met; it had been at least twice his size, but it might as well have been one made for a fox. She barely bit back a soft whine when they got to the top, Nick grunting slightly as he finally hauled them over the edge. She didn't want to let go, not yet!

"There's an ambulance right outside," he hooked his paws beneath her thighs. "Let's get that cut taken care of, huh?"

She nodded, nuzzling into the fur at the back of his neck. At least she'd get another minute or two to feel him up.

"I think Buffalo Butt's gonna want to talk to us," Nick spoke up, eyeing the massive police chief as they passed. The cape buffalo nodded at them, the barest hint of a proud smile fading from his lips almost the same second it touched them. "You want me to take care of that while you're getting fixed up, or…"

She shook her head.

"You should get checked out,too, Nick, you got knocked around quite a bit," she adjusted herself when she started to slip, groaning when his claws dug into her legs. "I don't want to start training you for the academy, only to find out you have a cracked rib or something."

He laughed, turning as he set her on the lip of the ambulance bay.

"I'm fine, but if it'll make you feel better, I'll do it," he tossed a casual salute as a white wolf EMT led him away. "See you in a few!"

She giggled again, shaking her head as another wolf looked her over, cutting off the ruined part of her pant leg before almost dousing her cut with antiseptic. He closed it with butterfly bandages, finishing it off with a large gauze pad.

"The cut's not too deep," the wolf started. "Change the dressing every other day, light walking only until it's healed, and you should be good to go."

She nodded.

"Thank you, I'll remember," she smiled, leaning back on her paws when he walked away to talk to the chief, her ears perking at the light scrape of claws on pavement. Nick rounded the corner, fixing his tie and smoothing down his ugly green shirt. "How'd it go, Slick?"

He groaned.

"Other than that wolf having no taste in, well, anything? It went fine," he sat next to her. "Just some bruises that'll heal on their own. How about you?"

She shrugged.

"The cut wasn't too deep, but I'm gonna be stuck lazing around until it heals," her ears drooped a bit. "Guess it's a good thing I'm going back home after this."

He looked at her.

"You mean you're not gonna ask for your job back?"

She scoffed.

"Of course I am, Nick," she shook her head. "I gave up my apartment when I went home after I resigned, and drove straight here from my family's produce stand. I don't have anything but the clothes on my back right now, and I still have to get the truck back to the farm."

It took him a second to digest all that, but it didn't take him long to start talking once he did.

"How about this then? We head back to my place so I can grab some stuff, then hit the road in that rust bucket and kick back in the country for a while. You can show me around that carrot-choked podunk when your leg's better."

She laughed, playfully smacking his shoulder.

"I told you, Nick, I grew up in Bunnyburrow, not Podunk!" she smiled at him. "But yeah, that all sounds great, except…"

She brought an ear over her shoulder, nervously toying with it.

"Do you think we can head out tomorrow? I've had just about all the action I can take for one day."

He chuckled.

"So miss bunny cop does have a limit, who would've thought?" he put a paw on her chin, tipping her head back. "But yeah, I can do tomorrow, as long as you let me try something first."

His warm breath wafted over her cheeks, making her blush darken.

"A-And what would that be?" she whispered breathlessly. He traced one claw lightly over her lips before leaning closer, his ears falling back as his eyes locked briefly with hers.

"This…"

He closed the last bit of space, pressing his mouth gently to hers. She moaned as, after a few seconds, he deepened it, his other paw covering hers and gripping it tightly. He wasn't sure what had prompted him to kiss her, only that the urge had popped into his head out of nowhere, and he didn't have the strength to ignore it. He knew the next few months were going to be crazy, that he'd be pushed to his limits in ways he'd never even considered. And he'd be lying if he said the thought of it all didn't scare him, but with Judy by his side, no matter where they ended up after today, he knew he'd be able to take anything the world threw at him.

He watched her nose twitch as he ended the kiss, could practically hear the gears turning in her head as she thought of just how she'd get him ready for the academy, the first step toward his new life. He couldn't be too worried, though, excitement at the thought of really getting to know her overriding almost everything else.

"Nick?"

He looked down at her, struck by how her eyes glimmered in the afternoon sunlight.

"Yeah, Fluff?"

Her ears went red as she bit her lip, her eyes lingering on his as she took a slow breath.

"Do you think you could…kiss me again?"

He couldn't hold back a small chuckle.

"If you wanted another taste, you could've just taken it."

She smiled slyly, grabbing his tie and pulling him down.

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay with it first, Slick."

He was quick to respond when she kissed him, the paw he'd put on hers slipping around to hug her waist, the other tracing over her cheek before gently cupping it. She wasn't sure where their relationship would go after this, but right now, she couldn't find it in herself to care, too absorbed in the taste and feel of him, his scent filling her nose as she breathed deeply, ending the kiss with one last lick to his lips. She loved how his eyes shone when he gazed back at her, but she couldn't help but feel some sadness. He was turning his back on the life he'd led for twenty years, basically betraying any friends he'd made and kept in that time, all for a crazy bunny he barely knew. But even with all that, he'd still made the choice, and she couldn't wait to see where the future would take them.

After all, where one adventure ended, another began.