He had not removed his arm from around her waist, neither had she let go of him. The cut in her leg still throbbed painfully, so Judy appreciate the added support as Nick helped her up from the display pit. Even once they reached the main floor, she still had to lean most of her weight against him so she could stand straight. But Nick didn't seem to care and neither did she. She was too relieved at their finally getting to the bottom of this infernal case. Around them, officers of the ZPD shuffled about, some leading the former Mayor Bellwether away, others gathering up the incriminating weapon that had caused them so many problems.

Judy let out a sigh. She'd done it. They'd done it. A smile spread across her face, so grateful for Nick's help, knowing that she couldn't have solved it without him. She looked up at him happily, expecting to see his regular smirk plastered on his face. But he was not smiling. Instead he held a puzzling expression that Judy couldn't quite place. Concerned, she opened her mouth to question him about it, but a sharp voice interrupted her.

"Hopps!"

She nearly jumped out of her fur as she turned to look up at Chief Bogo. His expression was stern, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.

"I'm beginning to think you might have a vendetta against the leadership in Zootopia," he said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, well, you know me," Judy shrugged. "Just doing my duty for the good of the people!" She held up the pen still clutched in her paw. "Here's the mayor's confession," she added. "Nick?"

The fox reached into his pocket and withdrew the serum.

"This is what was responsible for turning all the animals savage," Judy continued as Bogo accepted both. "Be extra careful with it!" She added. "It was derived from a flower called Night Howlers and its effects are not restricted to predators."

"Excellent work," the chief nodded. "I look forward to hearing all about it in your report. That is..." he cleared his throat. "I hope this means you'll be returning to the ZPD?"

Judy's ears perked up in surprise.

"Really? You...you want me back?"

"Well of course!" Bogo exclaimed, then caught himself. "I mean, we'd be fools to not accept a find officer like you."

Judy's heart soared and she couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face. But it faltered almost immediately. Here she was being handed everything she'd always striven for. Even so, something would still be missing.

"Yes. I'll rejoin...on one condition." She looked up at her would-be partner. "Reconsider," she urged.

Nick raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno, Carrots," he drawled. "The ZPD may not want a fox for an officer."

"Uhhh...let's take this one step at a time, shall we?" Bogo interjected. After a moment though, he added, "But never say never."

And with that he turned to walk away, only to stop again when Nick cleared his throat.

"Um, if it's not too much trouble, I was just wondering if we could get a paramedic or something?"

Bogo's calm demeanor was instantly replaced with concern.

"Oh—are you injured?" he exclaimed, his eyes falling to Judy's elevated foot.

"It's nothing really," Judy interjected. "Just a scratch! Really, I'm fine!"

"I should have a look at that..." Bogo answered, taking a step towards them.

To Judy's surprise, Nick's arm tightened ever-so-slightly around her waist, holding her more firmly at his side.

"Actually, I think paramedic should be called."

The chief glanced between the two of them for a moment before nodding once and moving away, reaching for his communicator to bark orders over the line. But Judy wasn't listening. She waited until he was out of earshot before looking up at Nick in confusion.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

Nick shrugged. "Just wanna make sure you're properly taken care of." He offered her a carefree smile, but it did not reach his eyes.

"Nick, what's wrong?"

He considered her a moment, his expression pensive. Then he looked away, shoving his free paw into his pocket.

"It's nothing. C'mon, let's get moving." He tried to step forward, but Judy wouldn't budge.

"Nick."

He refused to look at her, choosing rather to examine the material that made up the floor. Finally he spoke, and though they now stood well apart from the rest of the officers, his tone was low.

"I just...I don't want you out of my sight okay?" The fox let out a sigh of frustration and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, it was all great, what we did with our little performance back there—it really was a brilliant plan, and we got Bellwether and that's what matters." He still wouldn't look at her. "But I don't...I wouldn't want you to think...that I...I mean you were pretty convincing and I wouldn't want..."

"Nick..."

Judy put her free paw on his chest to quiet him. This was the first time she'd ever seen him unable to get his words out.

"We had to be convincing enough to trick Bellwether into giving us a confession! You did what you had to do, and I did what I had to do—"

"I know, I know," he cut her off. "I just...I wouldn't want you to think any less of me for it."

"Nick, I could never think that way about you..." She stopped herself. What had she literally just done that got them all in this mess in the first place? "Okay," she continued. "Maybe back then, when I was prejudiced and narrow-minded, unable to see past what someone is for who they are. I thought I was doing something good and I ended up dividing a city. Even worse: I hurt a friend. But this case...it's taught me the importance of not prejudging people...or judging people at all for that matter." She took a deep breath. "The point I'm trying to make is...it was just an act! On both of our accounts. Convincing beside, I know it's something you would never be capable of in a real scenario."

Her eyes were boring into him and yet even now he wouldn't look at her, so she couldn't make out his expression.

"Do you hear what I'm saying?" she asked.

He was silent. Then he let out a small chuckle, surprising Judy.

"Y'know, I really should invest in one of those pens," he said, at long last turning to face her, his signature smirk in its proper place—and this time it was genuine. "I could keep a record of all your deep, heartfelt confessions and use them as blackmail whenever I felt like it..."

"Ohhhh—you—!" Judy's face scrunched up in annoyance and she punched him in the gut. "Here I am trying to cheer you up, and you're laughing at me!"

"Ow!" Nick exclaimed, rubbing his abdomen. "Geez, Judy can you stop with the hitting? I am just an unarmed fox after all..."

"No," she said, punching him again.

"I will drop you."

"Go ahead!" she huffed. "My leg's getting tired anyway from all this standing around!"

"Well why didn't you say something?" And with that he swept her off her feet and into his arms, careful not to jostle her injured leg.

"Nick, what are you doing!" Judy squeaked in surprise.

"Quiet now, Carrots, you're making a scene."

"Put me down!" she fussed, squirming in his arms.

"Nah," he grinned smugly. "Besides, the paramedic should be here by now, and wouldn't it be just swell for the press to see a predator heroically carrying the prey who saved the day?"

Judy crossed her arms. "You're impossible." But she leaned back against his chest, fighting back a smile.

"That's right, just make yourself comfortable."

She elbowed him in the ribs.

"I swear I'm going to be black and blue by the time all this is over and only half of it will be from the actual dangers of this case."

A/N - Wrote this a long time ago so I didn't feel like editing it too much. And no, no this wasn't just an excuse to have Nick pick up Judy why would you ask such a thing.