DISCLAIMER: Okay, this time I actually own something! I own the lyrics to the song that's in this chapter – still no Zootopia though…

"Hello there, and welcome to Tunes of Zootopia, the only channel that gives you the hottest news on Zootopia's latest tunes and stars! My name is Casey Snowfur, and tonight we've got a very special guest sitting in the booth with us! After beginning her career by releasing her debut album last year and touring with the Fur Fighters, she has soared to the top of the music world as Zootopia's most popular pop artist. And now, she is here to talk about the bonuses on the re-release of her debut, starting with the new single she's just released this week – please welcome the Angel with Horns herself, Gazelle!

"Gazelle, thank you so much for coming onto the show tonight!"

"Oh, thank you so much, Casey. It is simply a pleasure to be here."

"Yes, so, we're all such huge fans of your work, but what's been on everyone's mind since Monday morning is your new song, it's been topping the charts and it's been playing on every single station, and– rumor has it you created the song all on your own, yes? You wrote it, composed it, came up with the lyrics, is that true?"

"Yes, I composed it myself. I did have a bit of help on the lyrics from my fans– "

"Oh yes, that's right, you also opened up a contest to assist with the lyrics, didn't you? And those lyrics, they're what everybody is talking about now – these lyrics are unlike anything we've ever heard you sing before. So, tell me Gazelle, what inspired you to create the song? Why did you decide to reach out to write a song with such thought-provoking and… actually quite relevant lyrics?"

"Well Casey, as you know, a month ago, the city faced a terrible controversy. More and more predator species were making headlines as savage beasts, out to maim their prey neighbors. And I… I absolutely could not stand how the citizens reacted. We were afraid of them for reasons that, I believed, had no basis in fact. I could not stand to watch my city fall apart the way it did. I felt compelled to write about it, to take a stand, if you will – and since I knew nearly all of my fanbase had experience with the topic, it only felt natural to get some outside insights…"

~x~

"So, I'm hoping to come and see how you're doing this afternoon, maybe in the evening if Bogo doesn't let me off my shift early," Judy said into the phone pressed against her cheek, her paws busy trying to pull up her uniform's shorts. She felt the phone slip and whipped a paw up to catch it. "So if you could just hang there until I get there, that'll be gr– "

"Yes, mother!" Finnick snapped back at her, "I heard ya the first time!" Judy heard him mutter a few more insults about impatient mammals before a huge yawn cut him off.

Judy smirked as she finally finished fitting her pants. "Not used to waking up at stupid o' clock in the morning, are you?"

"Um…. No," Finnick growled. Judy imagined he was glaring at the phone right now. "I'm not the cop here. When you work at a Little Rotentia fast food joint, you don't gotta get up at five! You get to sleep in till eight! But somebody decided it would be great to get me up just to tell me that you're gonna check up on me like some kinda daycare worker… !"

Judy's smirk faded as she held the phone a few inches away from her ear. She gave the device a sideways look as she listened to Finnick's now soft ranting.

It was moments like that that made Judy wonder if they were really friends. Even after an entire month of friendly – well, friendly by Finnick's standards – communication.

Once the phone went silent Judy rolled her eyes and pressed it to her ear again. "Okay, well… I'll stop talking about it, then," she groused. She eyed the digital clock on her desk, and her heart jumped a little; 5:28.

"I… I gotta go, Finnick," she added, reaching for the set of keys on the bedside table. "I'll see you later, okay?"

She waited for a grunt. A "meh". A disgruntled "Fine". Instead, she heard nothing. For a beat Judy figured he'd just hung up on her without a goodbye, just as usual, but then she heard him breathing.

"Uh…" Judy's paw hovered over her keys. Her ears drooped. "…Finnick?" Her paw dropped to her side. "Finnick? You still there?"

She heard him swallow. "… Um…" he mumbled, "…hey rabbit– uh– Judy…. Sorry…"

"Finnick," Judy said firmly, hoisting herself onto her bed so she could sit down. "What is it? You're not usually this– "

"I'm just– " Finnick snapped, making Judy flinch a bit. Then he sighed.

"I…. I guess I just wanna… I just wanna say thanks…"

Judy blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I– I– " Finnick stammered, as if trying to shove the words back in. He groaned. "I'm so… I guess… It's just… Nick and I… we'd been doing that conning stuff for so long, and– and I'd started thinkin' that that was the only job I'd ever get, but then you come along and get me this spot in that fast food place…"

Judy's playful smile slowly creeped back onto her face. "Hey," she said, cocking an eyebrow, "…are you giving me an honest-to-God compliment, Finnick?"

"N–No, I'm just– !" Finnick protested. He fumbled with a few more syllables, and then a loud groan filled Judy's ears.

"….Yes I'm complimenting you…" he finally deadpanned.

Judy couldn't help her snicker. Finnick growled, "Shut up," which only made her giggle harder.

"Really, Finnick, you don't have to thank me," she laughed, standing up, "I would've helped you either way."

"But…" Finnick said, "But… I still can't get why you did it. I mean… you only needed me to carry out your dumb police case, didn't you? Why'd you suddenly decide, hey, this little thief needs a job? And don't tell me you never called me that" he quickly added, "I know you were thinkin' it!"

Judy's smile faded once more. Her gaze dropped to the floor as she thought. Then she grinned, shaking her head.

"Well… you might think this is a ball of cheese, but…" She let out a single chuckle. "…Let's just say, the more I've hung out with you, the more I see Nick in you. You both needed help. So here it is."

She expected the ensuing silence. It lasted for what she figured was a solid minute before Finnick cleared his throat roughly.

"Well, uh… Didn't you say you gotta get going?" he barked, "Your Chief might be reconsidering letting you go back there."

Judy snorted. "Alright, fine. I'll let you get back to sleep. I'll, uh… I'll see you later, 'kay?"

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." Then, just before he clicked out of the call, in that small, tender voice Judy began to really enjoy hearing:

"…Thanks again, Judy…"

Judy smiled as she slipped her phone into her pocket. Her heart warmed. She took back what she thought before about her and Finnick ever being friends.

"If I just treat him the way Nick must've treated him," she thought, "then I'm sure he'll warm up to me. Eventually, anyway."

With that thought safe in her mind, Judy hopped in front of her mirror, looked herself up and down, rubbed her knuckles over her newly-polished badge, and beamed.

"First day back… Make it count, Hopps," she told herself.

Sucking in a huge breath she wandered towards the door, grabbing her keys on the way. But as she gripped the knob, something on the nearby table caught her eye.

She turned. And her stomach coiled up.

Her iPod sat there, face up, with her earbuds plugged into it as if fully prepared for her to take it with her. Judy recalled the last time she'd held the tiny device – just a few days ago – last Thursday, in fact – she'd heard about this new song – and despite her mind screaming at her not to do it, she'd downloaded it.

She knew the song's story. She'd been a part of it. But she hadn't been able to bring herself to listen to it yet.

Judy swallowed as she stared at the music player, her brow furrowing, her nose twitching. She pressed her lips together hard, feeling her throat tighten.

"It… It's been a month… it should be fine," a part of her reasoned, "You're probably going to hear it on the radio anyway…. And at her concert next month…

"Might as well get it out of the way…"

Judy dug her claws into her palm, holding her breath. Then she let it out in a sigh, her body relaxing. Shrugging, she grabbed the iPod.

"It's just one listen…" she told herself as she flipped through her saved artists, "You can make it through one listen…"

When she finally spotted the G's, Judy smiled. Her heart heavying ever so slightly, she tapped Gazelle's name.

Fitting the buds into her ears, she picked the song titled "Take Off the Mask".

~You've got a head full of dreams~

~It's how you found your place~

~You've popped at your seams~

~Everyone makes those mistakes~

As Judy walked down the street leading to the ZPD, listening to Gazelle's normally poppy voice singing such vulnerable lyrics, she remembered how the tune came to be.

She remembered the rush she'd felt when she first read about Gazelle's lyric contest after checking her emails. She remembered how she didn't think – how she immediately rushed to the submissions inbox and typed out the first lyric that popped into her head.

She hadn't thought Gazelle would actually go with hers –it was clear that Gazelle would get millions of submissions within just a few hours, if her popularity was anything to go by. Judy had just written it on a whim, only hoping that Gazelle might see it, and possibly understand why she chose to write it the way she did.

And now that she was hearing the lyrics in full, completed form…

An image popped into Judy's head. This time she welcomed it. The inspiration for the line she wrote, the smiling face of the fox she'd thought of the whole time she'd been typing.

~You are just a man~

~Just another animal~

~But they've made you a mask~

~And no one lets you take it off~

It was all pretty weird, she realized. As much as she didn't want to admit it, if herself from a year ago could see her now (along with her parents), they'd probably be wondering how Judy had avoided getting mauled by a fox before that day in the museum. And when they'd find out that she still considered that fox who attacked her best friend... she couldn't even imagine the drama that would arise.

And yet here she was. She knew who she'd seen save her career, who'd viewed her as more than just a stupid, airheaded bunny – a charming, smug, yet still incredibly charismatic and kind animal – and he just so happened to be a fox, of all mammals.

She figured she'd probably never find another friend like Nick. She might meet animals who were just as kind and friendly, sure, but Judy was certain that no other friend she'd ever have would be exactly like Nick. How could you ever replicate someone that great?

In all honesty Judy didn't care that Nick was dead. He would always be her best friend.

~But when I hear the words they throw about you~

~There's no way they could ever be true~

A light tinkling sounded in the outside world, cutting through Gazelle's music. Judy quickly paused the track and pulled out an earbud, turning towards the source of the noise.

A carnival-style ice cream stand stood at the corner of the street, its caribou vendor currently rummaging through one of its compartments as a pair of zebra foals bounced in front of it.

Judy wandered closer to the stand, squinting until she could actually read some of the choices listed on the menu printed on its side.

"Chocolate swirl…. Oreo cone…" Judy mentally listed, "Sprinkled with Jawbreaker bits… ice cream sandwich… standard vanilla cone…"

When she finally found the one she wanted her heart gave a little trill. She smiled, quickened her pace.

"There you go, guys," said the caribou as he handed the foals their cones, waving while they bounded away, "Have a good one!" Then he noticed Judy, who had just then brought out her wallet from her pocket, and his eyes lit up.

"Oh, hello," he said, turning to Judy, "What can I do for you?"

Judy grinned and held up a ten-dollar bill. "One cherry popsicle, please."

~I've seen for myself: you're an angel, pure to the bone~

~But then they broke your wings, turned your feathers to stone~

~Turned your "Love you"s to "Hate you"s, your smiles to snaps~

~And everyone who looks at you falls right into their trap~

As Judy walked down the street again, enjoying her popsicle, she found herself swaying her head along to Gazelle's voice. She listened closely to the lyrics, feeling a sea of warmth flood her chest at the line "you're an angel, pure to the bone".

In fact she was listening so closely she almost didn't notice the soccer ball bouncing her way.

"Whoops!" In an instant Judy halted, kicking the ball up onto her foot. She struggled to keep her balance, and then launched the ball up over her head, kicking it back around with her heel and, laughing while she kept her popsicle in a death grip, sent it flying back to its source.

After licking the stray bits of melty popsicle from her fingers Judy looked back to where the ball went, and spotted two pairs of short legs playfully fighting for it.

Then she realized the legs' owners. And once she did, that same warmth in her chest came rushing back.

Two young boys, possibly only third-graders. One a tiger. The other a deer. Predator and prey.

And yet, from the way they smiled at each other as they both chased the soccer ball, one could make the argument that they might've been friends since birth.

The deer looked over his shoulder as he chased after his friend, jerking his hoof around in an attempt at a wave. "Thank you!"

Judy chuckled, waving back at them. She sighed as she watched them, still laughing, still lightly nudging each other every time they came too close to the ball.

"See, Nick?" she thought, "Things're getting better every day."

She carried on.

~But they shouldn't see a demon when they look your way~

~Go on and show them the animal they'd want to stay~

~You know you're more than the predator they've made you to be~

~You just need to be brave and make them see~

Judy hummed along with Gazelle, wishing her leg was healed enough for her to skip high again.

"Hmm… shouldn't see a demon when they look your way…" she mumbled around her popsicle stick, "….duh duh duh, them the animal they'd want to stay…"

When she couldn't taste any more cherry and instead only wood, Judy stopped in her tracks once more and glanced around, setting her jaw in concentration.

She spotted a trash can just a half-block away from her, and she sped up her walk, almost lightly jogging now. She popped the stick in, brushed her palms together, and let out a contented sigh.

"Dunno if that could've been as good as the ones Nick and Finnick hustled… but hey. Ice cream's ice cream."

She spun on her heel, one foot already raised to take a step.

But Judy froze. Her breath hitched. Her short-term memory replayed itself for her, and her gut churned.

She turned back around, her gaze flitting upwards.

And she winced.

Standing in front of her, still just as tall as she'd remembered, was the Zootopia Rehabilitation Center.

Judy groaned through her teeth, a dull ache spreading through her chest.

She remembered the last time she'd been here – just a few weeks ago, she'd been visiting – she'd arrived as soon as she'd heard about the recently-developed Night Howler antidote – she'd checked on every animal, especially Emmet Otterton, but mostly, there was one other animal that she'd needed to talk to once he was cured – a predator that, she remembered, she felt like she could've fainted after seeing what Bellwether had done to him –

Clawhauser.

Judy ran her gaze along the hospital's innumerable windows, trying to figure out which one Clawhauser's might've been. She bit her lip, cringing as she shoved her paws into her pockets.

The only part of that visit she recalled enjoying was when he woke up from the nap she'd walked in on. She remembered the joy she'd felt, the joy he'd mirrored when he realized that it was her. Then came the part that had terrified her.

A flood of memories swarmed Judy's mind, and with each one the ache in her heart intensified.

"He… He knows he was under some kind of spell. He knows it was the Night Howlers that made him do it," a part of her reasoned, "He knows himself. He knows he would never attack his friends on purpose. He knows he's completely innocent– "

"Yeah, but he seemed pretty upset when you explained it," the other part of her butted in, "Besides, you haven't talked to him since they released him. How do you know he doesn't feel even a bit guilty about what happened? How do you know he's at peace with, let's face it – almost killing his coworkers? I know he was forced to do it, but still. How do you know he's okay?"

Now Judy's mind went blank. Her gaze drifted downwards, her brow creasing with thought.

Then her face relaxed as her lips curled into a small smile.

"Well," she muttered aloud, straightening her shirt as she spun around again. "If he does feel guilty, I'll just help him through it. Even if it takes a few years, I'll do it."

She looked at her watch then; 5:41.

"I gotta stop messing around," she thought, "Okay, just get to the ZPD. Don't wanna be too late my first day back here…"

For the rest of the walk Judy did her best to jog.

~It's time you take off the mask that they've made for you~

~And underneath we will find the truth~

As Gazelle sang the last few bars of the song Judy pressed down on the iPod through her pocket, silencing it. She looked up, plucking her earbuds out, and smiled wide at the exterior of the ZPD, still standing tall and beautiful.

But rather than bouncing up the staircase, bursting through the revolving doors like she'd first envisioned, Judy halted. She turned her head. Her eyes fell on the wall at end of the railing.

And her throat tightened.

Innumerable fresh flowers covered the wall, framing the giant piece of white cardboard plastered there. Little notes scrawled in a variety of marker colors covered the white surface, some large enough for Judy to read from where she stood – she spied "We love you"s, "We miss you"s, and one "You'll always be my hero!" with a tiny smiley-face doodled next to it. And at the very top of the board was a large photograph, and just above that, a name.

Nick. Nick P. Wilde. His arms folded as he grinned, his half-lidded eyes containing the smugness, the confidence, and the kindness that Judy had come to love.

Judy smiled back at Nick, her heart growing warmer the longer she stared at him. His expression made her think of the last time he'd looked at her like that – he'd been smiling at her warmly as he held up her carrot pen, reassuring her through a completely unrelated quip that he forgave her, forgave her for breaking his heart in the worst way she ever could have –

Judy puffed a breath of air. She shoved her paws into her pockets, shivering a bit to alleviate the heaviness in her chest.

That's when she noticed that she was not alone.

Another mammal knelt in front of the little memorial – a fox. A red fox, in fact. Just like Nick. He was tiny, no more than three-quarters of Judy's height; he couldn't have been more than six years old. He wore a small blue shirt, with a stitched-up tear in the collar. Judy looked down at his clasped paws, and saw that he held a folded notecard.

As the kid placed the card in front of the memorial Judy approached him. She smiled. "Hey," she called.

Upon hearing her voice the fox's ears perked up. Mumbling "Hm?", he turned around, staring up at Judy with huge brown eyes.

He squinted, looking Judy up and down. Then his eyebrows rose, recognition flashing in his eyes.

"Oh! Hi!" he said. He had a slight lisp. "You're that rabbit who helped Nick Wilde save Zootopia, right? Missus Judy?"

Judy chuckled, nodding. "That's me," she said, gesturing towards her badge.

The little fox beamed. He stood up, pointing at his notecard. "I wrote him a note," he said, "I thought he was so cool. He was a fox like me!"

Again Judy laughed. "Well, I'm sure he'd be happy to read it."

He nodded and turned back around. After a few moments, his ears drooped by an inch. His wide smile faded away.

"…I watched you talk about him save Zootopia," he said. "He sounded so much like me."

Judy cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

The fox turned around again to face her. He raised his right paw and pulled on his shirt collar – right at the ripped edge, Judy noticed.

Then Judy noticed something else, something that made her gut drop.

In the middle of his neck, standing out in his fur, were three white claw scars.

Judy couldn't help but cringe. Who would do that? To such a cute little kid?

"Everyone at school thought predators were bad," the fox explained, "They said they were going to start putting collars on me and my family because we're foxes. They said they already got a collar for me. They tried to put it on me."

"Apparently really jerkish prey children…."

Judy sighed, shaking her head. "That's horrible," she said.

The fox nodded briskly, smoothing out his shirt collar. "I know. I didn't think it was real. I never hurt anyone!" Then he smiled. He reached out, pressing his pawtips to Nick's face.

"But then I heard about Nick, and everyone left me alone!" he cried. His voice shook a little in his excitement. "He was just like me! I wish I knew him."

Judy chuckled as she crouched next to him. She lightly patted his head.

"Y-Yeah…." she sighed, "…He… He would've really liked you."

She shut her eyes and saw him again – this time standing between her and Bogo, defending her loud and pound, when nobody dared to even step up –

"Did you love him?"

"Doh– !?" Judy sputtered, her eyes growing wide. She felt her blood rush to her cheeks, felt her heart jump as she replayed the sudden question.

"I– ?" Judy swallowed before continuing. "I…? What'd you just say?"

"I don't mean you wanted to marry him." The fox glanced at her over his shoulder, that classic childlike innocence shining in his eyes. "You called him your best friend, and you started to cry when you talked about him. And I say I love my friends, especially my best friend.

"So… did you love him?"

Judy blinked as she relaxed, her ears falling flat against her head. She looked at Nick's photo, at his smug little grin, and she snorted a laugh.

"Well… when I first met him, he was not very 'fun'," she admitted, "…but once I got to know him…"

She smiled despite her welling eyes.

"…Yeah… I did love him…"

The fox beamed again, rubbing his paws together. "Cool!" He then stood up, brushing the dirt form his trousers. "I need to go. My mom's waiting for me. I need to go to school. It was really cool to meet you, Missus Judy! I can't wait to tell my mom about you!"

And with that, he sped off, his tiny legs carrying him as quickly as they could.

Judy laughed as she waved. "G'bye!" she called after him, "Tell your mother I said hi!"

And so Judy was alone again.

Alone with her thoughts.

And, now, with Nick's memorial.

As Judy stared into Nick's green eyes, and her heart ached all over again. Her smile disappeared slightly, now just a soft curl in the side of her mouth. She pursed her lips, and then sighed through her teeth as she shook her head.

"Well, Nick," she said softly, "Here I am. I finally made it." She raised an eyebrow. "Bet you're wishing you could be sitting with me in the meeting room, aren't you?"

She meant it as just a joke. But once the words came out she felt an arrow go through her. Her smile morphed into a cringe, and she averted her gaze to the flowers lining the board.

"…S-Sorry. That was dumb. A-Anyway, yeah. Today's my first day back at work. Gotta… Gotta make up for lost time. Can't go on any barefoot scurries anymore, though. My leg's not exactly… up to snuff, as the doctor said."

She went silent for a few beats. She fought down the growing lump in her throat. After a while she sucked in a shaking breath, held it, and let it out in a long sigh.

Her eyes found Nick's again.

And she smiled.

"…I… I told myself I was gonna stop crying over you…" she said, in a voice so soft she could barely hear it herself. "…But… God, this is so cheesy…"

She stood up.

"…I… I wasn't kidding when I told that kid how much I cared about you…"

Adjusted her shirt.

"And if it wasn't for you and me and Finnick, I think… I think things would be worse. Preds like you would never stop getting grief. Not bad for a dumb bunny, huh?"

Her eyes filled with tears.

"I… I hope you're proud of us, Nick…"

And she smiled.

"…. I hope you're proud of me…"

~x~

"Alright then, you lot, here are today's assignments. Officers Fangmire, Mughorn and Gazoli? You'll be patrolling Tundratown."

When Judy had finally walked into the meeting room, roll call was almost half over. Though he had been gentle with his words, Bogo still made it clear that should Judy end up late again her career might hang in the balance again.

As she'd hopped onto her seat Judy made a mental note to never get on the receiving end of a Bogo rant anymore.

"Officers Delgato and Wolford? Undercover in Sahara Square."

Her job seemed to insist that she act humble, a little uptight, and strictly professional. That didn't stop the impulse to squeal and leap for joy from entering Judy's brain as she listened to Bogo list the assignments. She clenched her teeth to keep from smiling, put her paws together to keep them from clapping, but most of all she poured her energy into forcing her right heel under her chair to stop it from tapping away.

"Snarlov and Trunkobi, we've had reports of a robbery spree in the Rainforest District. Gather as many eyewitnesses as you can."

Despite everything that this job had shown her, despite all the agony and hardships that had come her way for the past half a year, Judy knew she was ready. She needed to take up duty again.

She was ready to her childhood self proud and make the world a much, much better place.

"And, of course…" Bogo adjusted his reading glasses, peering at the last item on the clipboard he held. He glanced up, looking right at Judy. "Officer Hopps."

Now Judy let herself beam. She forced her paws to stay clasped together, pushed her foot into the bottom of her chair even further.

"Parking duty."

Judy's face fell. Her brow furrowed as she looked Bogo in the eye, her upper lip curling. She scoffed as if to say "Chief, what the heck?"

She was fully prepared to say it aloud, but then Bogo burst into laughter.

"I'm just joking, Hopps!" Bogo chuckled, folding up his glasses and tucking them into his shirt pocket. He held up the clipboard, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You're patrolling Savannah Square. We've got our eyes on a speeder tearing up the streets. You'll have to shut him down."

As soon as his first peal of laughter touched her ears Judy felt like slapping herself. She shook her head as she leapt to the floor, chuckling as well.

"M-mm…" Judy waggled a finger at Bogo, giving him a playful sideways look. "Very funny, Chief!" She still chuckled as she skipped her way towards the door, gently as to avoid sparking any fresh aches in her bad leg.

"Time for me to get back to living my d– "

"Oh, but, before you go, Miss Hopps?"

Judy froze mid-skip, falling back onto both her feet. She turned around, her ears swiveling with interest. "Yes?" she inquired.

Bogo cleared his throat as he walked up beside her, putting a hoof around the doorknob. "Someone dropped in just a few minutes ago," he explained as he twisted the knob, already stepping out into the plush corridor, "Said she wanted to speak to you, in particular." He then huffed, grumbling under his breath, "Even now, animals just don't realize how busy our officers are…"

Now Judy's ears stood on end. She blinked a few times, her eyes widening with each one.

"Someone's here… to see me?"

"Miss Hopps."

"Oh, um… sorry Chief! I'm coming!"

As Judy followed Bogo from behind down the corridor, her mind ran a mile a minute, filling up with possible candidates.

"No way it's Finnick. He made it perfectly clear how much he wanted to go back to bed. Mom and Dad? Well, if they knew it's my first day back… No, they've got too much work to do. Clawhauser? Maybe. But the way Bogo worded it…. No, it can't be him either…."

Judy kept listing names and reasons, eventually getting so lost in her own mind that she just barely ran into the back of Bogo's leg when he inevitably stopped walking. She peered past his leg, looking up, and spied the bold black text Chief Bogo at the top of the semitransparent door in front of them.

Bogo growled, shaking his head as he pushed the door open. "This better be quick…"

Judy walked in, a greeting for whoever was there already forming on her tongue.

Not even the first syllable made it past her lips.

A mammal sat in the small chair in front of Bogo's desk, lightly tapping their claws on the desk's woody surface. They wore a lavender dress with long, hanging sleeves, and a pinkish veil covered their head, leaving their identity a mystery. But when Judy looked them over further, she realized they had one very defining trait: a bushy orange tail.

Judy's heart soared. Despite everything that had occurred that morning, everything that had happened last month, she couldn't help the thought:

"…Nick…?"

As soon as they heard the creak of the door hinges, the mammal let out an "Ooh!" and turned their head.

They were a fox – just like Nick. They had bright green eyes – just like Nick. But now Judy noticed the rather feminine features in their face, as well as a light dusting of makeup on their cheeks.

"Oh." Judy's ears fell. "She's a vixen. Wow. I'm stupid…"

Before she could think anything more self-deprecating, the vixen's face lit up. Her lips curled into a smile. She stood up, pushing her veil back, revealing the gold button earrings in her fuzzy ears.

"Oh, my," she said elatedly, "Are you Judy Hopps?"

"Uh… Oh, oh, yes!" Judy laughed as she stepped further into the room, motioning towards her badge. "Yes, Judy Hopps, ZPD. How can I help you?"

The vixen chuckled. "Well," she said, resting her paws on her thighs so she could lean forwards, "I was just in town, and figured it was about time I met my son's best friend."

At this, Judy's smile faded a tad. "You… Your son– ?"

Then, almost as if on cue, it clicked.

Judy's mouth dropped open, her eyes growing wide. She stared up at the vixen, taking one step back as if to steady herself.

"You… You're Nick's mom…" Judy breathed.

The vixen's smile stretched an inch. She nodded. "Yep! That would be me!" She outstretched a paw. "Maria Wilde, Miss Hopps."

"Oh, no, you can just call me Judy!" Judy reassured her, shaking her paw. She cleared her throat, rubbing the back of her slowly-heating neck. "Oh gosh, I– I'm so sorry I didn't realize right away– "

Maria chuckled, standing straighter. "Well, that's quite alright."

"A-hum…"

Judy swiveled her ears around. She had completely forgotten Chief Bogo.

He still stood in the doorway, though he now leaned on the frame, his cheek in his hoof as he glared down at Judy.

"Is this going to take any longer, Miss Hopps?" he deadpanned. He glanced at Maria. "You do understand that our officers are very busy at this hour, right?"

"Oh no, Chief! It's fine!" Before either Bogo or Maria could say anything more, Judy held up both her paws as if to steady her boss. "It's really fine. I… I'm just wondering, could you leave us for a while?" She glanced at Maria out the corner of her eye, flashing her a smile. "I have a feeling this might take a while…"

Bogo opened his mouth as if to protest, then clamped it shut with a huff. Muttering to himself about wasting time and letting criminals roam free, he turned around, slamming the door as he left.

"I really hope you don't mind me coming down here," Maria said as she sat back down, smoothing out her skirt. She watched Judy pull out a second chair from the corner and added quickly, "I swear, if this is too much trouble I can come back another time– "

"No no no, you're fine. You're absolutely fine." Judy hopped onto her own chair, rubbing her own paws together as she sat down.

And so Judy sat there, staring up at the mother of Nick Wilde himself.

After a few seconds of silence Judy felt her smile disappearing again. Then it dropped completely as her ears drooped, a fresh pang aching in her heart. "I…" She looked to the floor. "…I'm really sorry about… you know. What happened to Nick…"

"Oh, don't apologize," Maria assured, "I mean… of course, I'm devastated, just as devastated as the day I saw it on the news, but… honestly, I'm just amazed that I managed to raise a pup who would become Zootopia's hero."

Judy grinned. She looked up at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Ah…" she muttered, "you heard about that?"

"Well, who hasn't heard about it? But, Judy… everything that you listed in your speech last month… I had no idea that Nicky had been dealing with that. Before he left the family home I had thought everything was fine…" An intent glint shone in Maria's eyes.

"Could you tell me about him?" she asked, "How you met him? What he's been up to since he moved out? Oh, I want to hear all of it!"

Judy chuckled. "Well… it's actually kind of a funny story…"

Everyone who caught the references to the movie's deleted concepts and the Robin Hood homage gets a million virtual cookies ;3

But anyway, OH MY GOSH IT'S DONE. IT'S ACTUALLY DONE. The longest fic I have written so far, and also, with thirty faves, fifty follows, and over seven thousand views, my most popular fic so far!

Thank you all so much for reading my story! Now, I will be writing a bit of a one-shot companion story in the future, as well as a possible spin-off/continuation story. However the second thing will definitely be longer than this fic, perhaps even novel-length, and I still need to figure out most of the plot before I post anything yet (and hope I don't lose inspiration for it thanks to Finding Dory and Cars 3…). So keep an eye out for those ;3

Anyways, thanks again so much for reading and supporting this crazy idea of a story. As always, my name is Pixel, and I hope you all have a wonderful day :) Until my next fic!

~Pixel