A/N: Sorry ladies and gentlemen, this is gonna be a short one. Unfortunately it's been exam time here in Australia, so I've been busy studying (or so I tell myself...) I may try this format of posting shorter chapters more often, just to see if it works better. Let me know what you think!

I teetered on the edge of panic, struggling to keep myself from breaking into a flat-out sprint down the stairs. I had to find Nick, there was just no way I could stand not knowing what had happened to him. Had he been taken to hospital in time? Stabilised? I didn't know. I couldn't know, unless I got there as quickly as possible.

The thoughts chased each other unbidden around in my head, each followed by another, more awful possibility. I jumped the last few steps and hit the ground running, my mind racing still faster than my body. I was fully aware that I was sinking into a panic, but I didn't have the luxury of time to calm myself.

'Judy!'

At first I kept running, so focussed that I didn't register the exclamation of my name.

'Hey! Judy!' It was Clawhauser, sitting behind his desk and looking surprised. I skidded to a stop, almost losing my balance as I spun on the floor.

'Oh! Hey, Benjamin!' I smiled, but only out of politeness. I probably looked more terrified than pleased to see him, and it didn't escape his notice.

'What's wrong?' He asked, his ears lowering slightly. 'I haven't seen you or Wilde for a while.'

I paused for a moment, getting my thoughts in order. 'We've been… suspended.' I could feel the time pressure bearing down upon me like a vice, and wondered why I'd even stopped for Clawhauser.

He looked shocked. 'Suspended? But why?'

'Don't worry, it was just a mistake, it's okay now,' I said, rushing to end the conversation. 'Anyways, I have to, got stuff to… I've gotta go, bye.' I started sidestepping away.

'Well… okay then. Bye.' He looked slightly hurt, as if he wasn't quite sure why he'd been shut off so quickly. I turned fully around and power-walked the remaining distance, twisting my paws in an attempt to relieve some of the stress that had been building up inside me. Downtown Hospital was only a short tram ride away, after all.

I walked out to the stop and waited, hoping that one of the less-frequent night trams would arrive soon. The fresh night air was a change for the better from the recirculated, stuffy office air. I slowly ran my claws through my ear fur, the soothing motion relaxing my agitated state of mind. Within five minutes an older, tired-looking tram rattled to a stop on the rails, the door opening with a snakelike hiss. I jumped aboard, and the doors shut again. I sat down in the closest seat to the door, wanting the best view of where we were going, and the carriage lurched off down the tracks. Chewing at an index claw nervously, I tried to keep my mind blank. There was no point in panicking. I couldn't control what had happened, but still... it didn't stop me from being afraid of the worst.

The tram trundled along for another few minutes, following the curves of the track as it twisted around the central streets of Zootopia, before it slowed to a halt at the stop outside Downtown Hospital. The doors opened, and I jumped out onto the pavement. The tram groaned as it pulled out and away, and I made my way inside the lobby.

The receptionist was very helpful, looking Nick up on the computer system and giving me the ward number. I took the elevator up to the twelfth floor, then paced along the corridor. Each door had two small plaques; one with a number, and the other with the name of a doctor. I moved with ever-increasing urgency, counting up the numbers, 10…11…12… 13. The name emblazoned on the plaque read; 'Doctor Yves R. Slippton'.

I stopped, then approached the door hesitantly and knocked. 'Wait a second,' said a reedy voice from within.

The door opened a crack, revealing a greying ferret wearing thick, round glasses. He squinted through them, scrutinising me for a brief moment, before sighing and nodding lightly. 'Visiting? Yes, I thought you'd be here. Come in.' He pushed the door open fully.

I walked in, putting my paw over my mouth when I saw Nick. He was lying on the hospital bed as though he'd been thrown there, an IV pole and heart-rate monitor next to him. The wires and tubes from these snaked across to his left arm. His eyes were closed, but I could hear the small puffs of air as he breathed in and out, as well as the reassuringly steady beeps of the monitor.

I let my paw fall. I ran to his bedside, and lightly grasped his right paw, my ears drooping as I noted it was colder than normal.

'Oh, Nick…' I whispered, terrified at the state he was in. 'Will he be all right?' I asked louder, a note of desperation in the question.

The ferret tilted his head. 'Yes…' He was evidently trying hard to maintain his professional mask, but I heard his hesitation nevertheless. 'Considering the circumstances, he's doing fairly well. He's received some heart trauma, but he was also in shock for quite a while, which is why we've had to put him under.' Again he squinted at me, then looked down and readjusted his glasses. 'You're Judy Hopps, aren't you?' he asked. 'The ZPD officer?'

I blinked in surprise. 'Yes. Yes I am.'

'Well, I feel that you ought to know something. Mr Wilde was talking in his sleep earlier, just after the medications had begun to take effect.' He paused. 'It was hard to understand him, but he was saying something along the lines of, "I have to tell Judy. She needs to know." If that means anything to you…' he trailed off, obviously curious himself.

I quickly disengaged my paw from Nick's behind my back, hoping he wouldn't notice the movement. 'I don't think so, no.' I cringed.

'Mmm,' he said, walking away to his desk. He sat down, pulled a piece of file paper and pen towards him, and started scribbling. I looked back to Nick, knowing with a horrid certainty that this was my fault. We could have, should have walked away from the case. Going back to the warehouse had been madness, and I'd been the start of it all. I lowered my head and sniffled, feeling a wave of regret surge through me. It had always been my fault, ever since we'd met. I was always the judging one, the one hurting Nick. And what had he shown me? Respect, patience, and maybe… maybe even love?

A brief red flicker in my vision drew my eye to the plastic trolley that comprised Nick's bedside table, interrupting the thoughts that had caused my eyes to well up. The trolley had several metal shelves, most of them seemingly empty. The flicker happened again, and this time I saw that it was a reflection from one of the lower shelves. I craned my head down, and to my surprise, found myself looking at a shock collar. Nick's, I guessed. I watched, wondering what had caused the flickering. The collar's glaring green was the only light I could see coming from this shelf.

Briefly, almost too quick to be noticed, the collar's light flashed a dull red. I reached in and snatched it up, examining it closely. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I wanted some kind of confirmation that it'd been tampered with. And after a few moments of searching, I found it. There were six small screws holding the backplate together, and these had originally been coated with black paint. That paint was now chipped away, leaving bare metal exactly where a screwdriver would have contacted it.

I glanced at Nick, seeing the burnt fringes of fur around a bandage on his neck. Well, now I knew for certain that his collar had been tampered with. Big deal, I'd already known that. His collar had been one of the many I'd seen, being taken apart at the warehouse. So why did I still feel that I was missing something?

'Excuse me, sir…' I addressed the ferret, who looked up from his documents. 'Has this collar been tested? For, um… faults?' His head snapped around, and he let out a low hiss.

'Put that down!' I paused, nonplussed by his sudden change in tone. 'Quickly, back on the shelf!'

Still confused, I complied, setting the collar on the edge of the top tray with a chink. The doctor took a deep, shaky breath.

'Sorry, sir,' I ventured, hoping for an explanation.

'That's quite alright,' he said, removing his glasses and polishing them on his coat. 'We have been told, I am afraid, to not allow visitors to handle removed collars. It's unsafe.'

That sounded sensible enough. 'O…kay. But has it been checked?'

He shook his head. 'We're not allowed to handle that. The collar system is new, and they say it'll take a few weeks for the equipment to be distributed.'

'What?!' I exclaimed, shocked at such a basic oversight. 'But sir, his collar isn't— it isn't functioning properly! I was there when it happened.'

'I'm truly sorry,' he said, sounding genuinely so, 'but the best that can be done is to hope this was a once-off.'

I was getting desperate now. There was no way I could let them put that collar back on Nick. It was too much of a risk to assume that it wouldn't be activated again.

'Oh,' I said, pulling my best impression of disappointed acceptance, 'that's a shame.'

'Indeed it is,' he said. 'If there were any way to avoid it…' he shook his head and huffed in frustration, his paws unconsciously fidgeting with his own smaller collar.

If there were any way to avoid it… I glanced guiltily at the collar that lay on the metal tray, knowing that my next move could be a risky one. So, I wanted to stop it being put back on Nick. But how? Obvious, really; steal the collar. I bit my lip. Now I was thinking like a criminal. Stealing that collar would be dangerous, idiotic, and rash, not to mention very definitely illegal. I couldn't do it. As a police officer, it was my duty to uphold the law, and sometimes that meant doing things that weren't right. It was one of the first things we were taught at the Academy; we followed the letter of the law, even when we thought it was unfair.

Nick stirred lightly. I stared at him, feeling agonisingly torn. He just seemed so… vulnerable. Seeing him like this… could I really do that to him? Let them put the collar back on? If I did steal this one, surely they'd give him another. And that would be a new one, an unmodified collar. Slightly safer… I think I could do that for Nick.

I breathed in deeply, steeling myself. As the ferret turned back to his desk, I reached out and pawed the collar, accidentally allowing it to scrape a little. The doctor's ears twitched, and I hurriedly stuffed it in my pocket.

This was insane. I cringed at just how visible the bulge was on the side of my pants. How had I not thought about that? Oh, well. I'd decided what was to be done, now I just had to carry out the remainder of my task. Time to get out of here. But how to do so without being noticed? I decided my best option was to simply make a rush for the door, and hope the ferret didn't notice the obviously absent collar.

'Excuse me,' I spoke quickly, turning myself so the bulging pocket faced away. 'Thanks, sir, but I'd better get go–' he turned rapidly. Please don't look at the tray, please don't look—

He glanced at the tray, then at me, his eyes full of frightening realisation. I felt my stomach drop in fear. He had seen the collar was gone, but he didn't acknowledge it, instead twisting back around and staring determinedly at the papers on his desk. 'Thank you for visiting, Miss Hopps.' His voice had a slight tremor, and his collar was now flicking between yellow and green. 'I suggest you leave now. Please.'

What? I hadn't been prepared for this, whatever it was. This co-operation. I scrambled to the door and opened it, stepping through, but turned to take one last look at the room. There was Nick, thankfully stable. The doctor was still looking purposefully away from me, but I could see the slight wetness in the corner of his eye, and realised that of course he, too, was considered a predator. He couldn't do anything overtly against the rules for fear of losing his job, but in letting me escape, he'd found a way to wage his own war.

On that sombre thought, I continued out to the hall, knowing it would be an uphill battle from here on out.