A/N

Hi all I like to start off by saying a massive thank you for all your support. I honestly didn't expect to get as many Favs and followers as I have. I just hope that this next chapter lives up to all your expectations.

Second there may be a delay on the next chapter as I'm having a conflict with my self. I've had 2 different ideas for a story and then a third popped in to my head that I'm now running with so some re-typing is having to be done. Any way I hope you all enjoy this next chapter Please leave a review as I really enjoy reading what you have to say and some time I find that your reviews inspire to add new twists to a story or a new story in general

Disclaimer: Zootopia and it's characters are the property of Disney.

Chapter One

Masked Emotions

They stepped out of the apartment buildings main door and in to the bright sun lit street. Nick squinted as he followed Judy out the door and shivered as he felt another cold chill wash over him as he was greeted by the cool morning air.

"Nick are you sure your ok?" Judy asked with a concerned expression on her face as she gazed at him. Nick gave her a reassuring smile as he reached in to his shirts top pocket and pulled out his avatars, placing them on his snout.

"I'm fine Carrots." He replied shaking his head with a smile.

"You worry too much." He added before walking away from her and heading down the street.

"Some one has too." She called before hurrying after her partner and falling in to step at his side and gazing up at him intently. Something was defiantly wrong, his usual confident swagger was gone, his ears lay back and his fur didn't have that natural shine, It looked dull and warn. she looked away from him and began to think. She'd only known Nick for just over a year and they'd only been working together on the force for about 6 months and yet. She knew perfectly well when he was hiding behind his masked emotions. Judy lowered her gaze and thought about how she was going to help him. She cared deeply for this fox, so deeply that she would do just about anything to protect and comfort him. She looked up at him again and asked in a curious tone.

"Have you taken any holiday time since you finished the academy?" Nick was surprised by this question and looked down at her with a puzzled look.

"Umm...no...why?" he replied in an equally puzzled tone. Judy gave him a shy smile and brushed her ears back as they began to heat up.

"W-well I was just thinking. I'm going to be going back to Bunny Borrow for a few days in a couple of weeks to visit my family and go to the Carrot festival...and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me." She said in a slightly shy tone. Nick gave her a grateful smile but said in an apologetic voice.

"Thanks for the offer Carrots but now's not really a good time for me. Got a lot of things going on." Judy felt a small pang in her heart but also curiosity at his reply.

"Oh...OK...well if you get things sorted the offers still there...What have you got going on by the way?" she said tilting her head slightly to one side and noticing Nicks eye's widen in alarm.

"Oh just this and that...you know a build up of lots of little things." He replied in a slightly panicked tone and looking away quickly after a short pause.

"Crap...come on Nick your getting careless." He scolded him self quietly. Judy picked up on the slight panic in his tone, this was even more proof the fox beside her was hiding something and she was determined to find out what. But before she could try and delve a bit deeper she found herself following Nick up the creamy yellow coloured, stone steps that led to the ZPD's precinct one main entrance. They stepped threw the large revolving glass door and were immediately greeted by the over weight, cheerful cheetah Officer Benjamin Clawhauser who was the precincts receptionist and dispatch officer. As they approached the front deck Nicks heart sank, Now that his mother was gone he needed to up date his emergency contact information, after all there's no point trying to contact the dead.

"Morning you two." Ben said in his usual cheerful and excited tone.

"Morning Ben." Nick replied before turning to Judy.

"Carrots I'll see you in the bullpen...Just got some paper work to do before I forget." Nick said quickly before turning towards the lifts and walking away. Judy was taken aback by this. What paper work could he have to do that was so important. She looked up at Clawhauser who looked just as confused as she did.

"What's with him?" The Cheetah asked. Judy just shook her head and said gazing off in to the distance.

"I really don't know." Her tone was full of concern and the way her ears drooped told Clawhauser that she felt very strongly for that fox. He leaned forwards resting his elbows on the desk and placing his paws on his chubby cheeks. He gave a loud thoughtful sigh witch caused Judy to look up at him.

"What?" she asked looking at the Cheetah who was gazing off in to space. Clawhauser looked down at her and just shrugged.

"Nothing." He said in a dreamy voice. Judy raised an eye brow.

"Ooookay." she replied looking past the cheetah and up at the clock on the wall. The clock read 7:45. She looked away from the clock and back in the direction Nick had gone in.

"Well. I'd better get going." She said walking off across the lobby and towards the bullpen. Clawhauser watched her cross the tiled lobby floor and gave a soft sigh.

"why can every one else see it, but that fox and bunny." He said to him self with a sigh.

Judy stepped threw the door in to the bullpen and was greeted by a wave of noise as her fellow officers talking and laughing. She exchanged greetings with her colleagues as she made her way between the rows of desks towards the front of the room to her usual seat next to officer McHorn. She reached her seat and hopped up in to it with out any difficulty and gave the giant rhinoceros to her right a quick nod before turning to face the front. After a few minuets every one in the room fell silent and stood to attention in preparation for the chiefs arrival. The door at the front and to the right of the room opened and an immediate chorus of howls, grunts and cheers broke the silence as the massive bulk of Chief Bogo entered the room.

"All right, All right, every body sit." He ordered as he approached the podium at the front and looking round the room. His eyes fell on Nicks empty spot next to the rabbit officer. He huffed before dropping his clip board on to the wooden podium in-front of him.

"Hopps...were is your partner." He asked in a displeased voice. But before Judy could reply the door at the back of the room opened. The Chief looked up from Judy and his eye's settled on Nick who had just entered the room.

"Arrr...Wilde, finally decide to join us." Bogo said in a dry tone.

"Sorry Chief, just had some paper work to do before role call." Nick replied jumping in to the first empty seat that he saw. Although the Chief didn't show it, Nicks response surprised him, there was no sarcasm or jokiness in his tone. This wasn't like Nick at all and the great cape buffalo wasn't the only one to notice this, as some of the other officers in the room wore confused and even surprised expressions.

"Well you'll have plenty of time to catch up on paper work today, as you and Hopps are on desk duty." The chief said looking down at his notes. Both Judy and Nick slid off their seats and exited the room with out so much as groan. Once the door had closed behind her. Judy hurried after Nick and grabbed his arm causing him to stop walking. She looked up at him with a firm expression on her face.

"Nick...What was that back there?" she asked in an equally firm tone.

"What was what Carrots?" Nick replied looking down at her with a vague expression.

"You...the way you replied to the chief. Normally you'd make a joke out of it." She replied gazing hard at his face.

"Well maybe I don't feel like joking around today." He snapped looking away from her. Judy released her grip on his arm and let him go.

"What's going on Nick? this isn't like you." She said in a slightly hushed tone.

"Nothings going on." He snapped again before walking away. Judy remain rooted to the spot as she watched Nick walk off towards the stairs. Her ears drooped as she lowered her gaze to the floor and closed her eye's. She opened them again and lifted her head when a voice behind her spoke.

"That wasn't like him at all...In fact everything about him has been off the last month." Judy looked to her left when the large form of a grey and white wolf wearing a ZPD t-shirt a uniform trousers stood next to her.

"I know wolford." She replied looking towards the stairs. After a brief moment she turned her head to the wolf and asked.

"What do you mean everything?"

"His whole aurora has been off, No confident swagger in his step, his ears are flat, his fur is lacking it's shine witch was the first thing I noticed and he drags his tail when something is bothering him." Before giving a small chuckle and continuing.

"hm, hm...Guy might think he can hide his emotions but we've all known him long enough to see threw his mask...He might have been able to fool strangers on the street but he can't here." Wolford said looking down at the shocked bunny. He gave another chuckle before saying.

"hm, hm...what you didn't think you were the only one to pick up on it did you?"

"W-well yeah I did." Judy replied looking away and then thinking. "How could I have been so stupid to think that...of course the others would pick up on it...their all cop's.".

"Nick just needs to learn that he is not alone, you both do." A second voice said. Judy looked to her right to the large bulk of a hippo and looking up to see who it was, it was officer Higgins. She tilted her head slightly before asking.

"What do you mean?" Higgins looked down at her.

"We're not just colleagues Hopps...We're a family...a weird one but a family all the same." The hippo said with a chuckle. Wolford also chuckled and commented.

"yeah defiantly weird." Judy looked at the wolf for a second before turning back Higgins who was speaking again.

"Point is...we all find that out in our own time. Your getting the idea. Wilde's choosing to ignore it...I think he has a hard time trusting others."

"You don't know the half of it." Judy replied looking down at the floor. Both Higgins and Wolford shared a knowing glance before the giant hippo spoke again.

"In that case Judy...You need to teach him to trust in us." He said before walking away followed by Wolford. The Bunny watched the two walkaway, Higgins heading in the direction of the garages and Wolford towards the lifts. She gave a small sigh before walking forwards and heading towards the stairs to join her partner in the Cubical that they shared.