"So what do you think Nick? I know we talked about it before in passing, but you need to pick a major before next semester, and this would be a great way to decide if it's what you want." Judy said while they walked together.

 

They had decided to go down to the woods and explore a bit. Judy was trying to convince Nick to try something with her, and Nick is just having fun walking in the woods with his favorite mammals.

 

"I don't know you really sure you would want a FOX as a partner?" He asked a little more aggressively than he ment to.

 

Suddenly Judy was standing directly in front of him blocking him in. "Where did that come from?" She asked with a slightly hurt look.

 

"I was looking over your Furbook while I was bored. You have quite a bit of anti-fox stuff on there for someone who is dating and possibly planning a future with one. You haven't posted anything since college started up, but it seems like you hated foxes before."

He said with a slight scowl.

 

Judy's ears dropped, "Nick I don't get on Furbook very often. I admit before I met you I did have something against foxes, but only because the only one I had ever met was Gideon. I haven't been online to clean up my page since college because I was having too much fun with you when I had down time. I'm sorry you saw all that and I'm going to delete it soon. Can you forgive me?" She was looking at the ground while she spoke and little tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She was afraid she may have lost the only mammal she cared about over some old crap online.

 

Nick looked her over and could see the sorrow. He could tell she was really upset over this. He sniffed the air and sensed fear. Seeing all of this his heart ached worse than before. He put his paw under her chin and raised her head so he could look into her eyes.

"Judy, I'm sorry. I saw all of that and I thought that maybe you didn't want to be with me. I thought maybe you were afraid to tell me how you really felt and that everything we had been through was just going along because you were scared of me. Please don't ever be afraid of me or of telling me how you feel... It may not seem like it, but your the most important mammal in my world. You're all I have. What little family I have left I never even talk to let alone get along with. I was just trying to make sure you really weren't afraid of me and giving you an out if you didn't want to be with me." He stayed one hundred percent serious and stayed looking into her eyes just to make sure she understood that he was speaking from the heart.

 

Judy was at a loss for words. She couldn't believe what he said. "Nick why would you think I was afraid of you after everything we have talked about? I've shared things with you that no other person knows about me. That includes my parents and siblings."

 

"I have insecurities about myself and I'm afraid of doing what my friend from school did back in zootopia." He said dropping his ears and looking away.

 

"Tell me please. I promise to you from deep in my heart I'm not going anywhere unless you decide you dont want me." She said moving in front of him so she could look into his eyes again.

 

"He dated this sheep for a while. We all thought they were happy. That is until the sheep stopped coming to school. She had convinced her family to move away. It was then that we discovered why. She had only entered the relationship in the first place because she was afraid if she said no he would hurt her. Him being a fox and all. She and her family moved without telling anyone where they went just so she didnt have to keep seeing him and fearing for her life every day. I was afraid maybe the same thing happened here. After all the only time I have even heard of a pred-prey relationship was that one."He said gloomily.

 

She stepped forward so she could place her paw on his heart. "Nick I could never be afraid of you. You're the sweetest most caring person I've ever met. I enjoy spending time with you, That goofy smile of yours always warms my heart, and I trust you with so many of my secret hopes and dreams. Your an amazing mammal, and I would never dream of leaving you." She said all this while holding her paw to the side of his muzzle while the other stayed on his heart. She stepped forward and embraced him in a deep heartfelt hug.

 

"Thank you Judy. I'm sorry I was upset." He said hugging her as tight as he could without hurting her.

 

"It's ok Nick, I understand." She gave him a quick kiss then stepped back and they continued thier stroll in the woods both of them feeling much better now.

 

.....

 

Later that week

 

Both of them stood in a line with about 16 other mammals. They waited to meet the drill instructor and stood at attention.

 

"Welcome you wanna-be cadets. So you decided you wanna be cops huh? Well I'm here to show you all just how much difficulty you will have. You will all be begging me to stop by the end of the day. You will do what I say when I say it or YOU'LL BE DEAD!" A polar bear yelled as she walked in front of them.

 

They ran the obstacle course and both Nick and Judy had some difficulty, but they never gave up. They did everything she yelled at them to do even if it took a few tries and they had fallen on thier rumps a dozen times trying to do it. They both put their strongest paws forward and even when they felt like leaving they stuck it out. At the end of the day they had to spar to show their skills. The first few matches went slow and steady, the opponents being evenly matched. Then Judy entered the ring with a rhino. Nick stood at the ring's edge sweating bullets. He was afraid she was going to be crushed.

 

The rhino grinned "this will be the easiest match I've had all day," he chuckled as she entered the ring.

 

"Perhaps that's because you'll get a nap afterwords" she quipped at him.

 

He scowled and moved forward to begin. He took a few swipes at her, but couldn't connect. She was too darned fast to watch. He started stomping around the ring chasing her until he heard the ropes behind him stretch to the max. He turned to see what she had done only to see a grey blur and feel a firework go off in his head. He blacked out.

 

Nick stood there with his jaw hanging open and eyes wide. He had no idea how to even process what just happened.

 

Judy saw this and after jumping out of the ring she walked over to him and grinned, "just a little reminder of what I can do if you ever make me mad," she said with a sly smirk,

"And now you know for a fact why I was never afraid of you" she whispered so only he could hear.

 

By the end of the day only 6 of the original mammals who showed up that day remained. the rest had quit at some point and gone home. "Congratulations future cadets you survived day one. This was just a taste of what to expect if you choose to become officers. It only gets worse from here, but if you can survive the academy, then I promise you will be the toughest and best mammals on the street. Just remember that only we can make the world safer for all and better in the end." she said to them all while standing in front of them making eye contact with each one.

 

=================

 

"So what did you think Nick" she asked as they walked from the bus stop.

 

"Well it was tough, but doable. It will take lots of practice not to die." he laughed.

 

She chuckled at that "so have you decided or do you need more time to think?" she asked cautiously. "I dont want you to feel rushed or pressured. Its your life and your decision."

 

He stopped and turned to her "There isn't anything I can think of that I would rather do than be by your side making the world a better place." He said with a smile

 

They embraced before continuing on there way back to thier rooms.