it been like?" asked Garth.

"Well, other than a slight obsession with my weight and the resurgence of a few pimples, it's been simply grand!" answered Amber.

Nick jumped a bit when they both squealed with absolute bliss! Garth ran to Amber and Amber ran to Garth. They made a complicated paw sign and high-fived and finished with a fist-bump.

"Where have you been all my life!?" said Garth.

"Where have YOU been all MY life!?" said Amber.

"Saving the world…"

"…from the comfort of my basement!"

The laughed mirthfully. Nick's face turned from astonished to mischievous. As Amber and Garth chattered happily, he quietly backed away and opened the door, sidling out slowly.

"I'll, uh...leave you two alone," said Nick with a mischievous look on his face, quietly closing the door behind him.

Judy walked briskly down the stairs to the basement of the precinct. She had been in her cubicle, doing research with the help of the videos she had recorded the previous night. She checked the traffic cameras to see where the black car that she had been chasing went. It turned out it went to a private garage, owned by Terra Firma, Inc. And the license plate number coincided with a car purchased by the company as well. She felt they were on the right track, slowly piling up the evidence.

Judy walked to the door of the Forensics Department and opened it.

"Hey guys, I found something that…might…help…"

She stopped dead!

Amber and Garth were locked in a tight, warm embrace, kissing passionately, their paws all over each other, Garth's tail wrapped around Amber's waist and her lab coat unbuttoned almost completely.

They suddenly stopped, sensing her presence. They looked at Judy, all three of them wide-eyed and stunned.

"Uh...Officer Hopps!" said Amber.

"Um...don't mind me. I didn't see anything," said Judy, walking backwards and closing the door. "I'll come back...in a few minutes…or so..."

Judy walked away from the door and stood against the wall of the basement corridor. For a few seconds, she couldn't quite believe what she had witnessed. But then suddenly…she put her paws to her face and started shaking with suppressed laughter.

Just then, Nick came walking down the corridor and smiled at her.

"Alright, Carrots?"

Judy burst into laughter, leaning on Nick and laughing mirthfully.

"You are...a bona fide Cupid...you sly fox."

"Um...am I missing something?"

Judy told him what she saw. Then it was Nick's turn to double over with laughter.

"Noooo...you mean...Garth...and Amber...nooo…no way!"

"I'm telling you, it's snog central up in there. If I'd walked in two minutes later than I did, I'm sure I'd have had to lecture them about indecent exposure."

"Well, I'll be a sheep's mutton chops," said Nick. "Looks like Marie Curie has found her Pierre!"

Judy hugged him happily. It felt so good. A new love was born on that fateful late afternoon, and she and Nick had had a part in it. Judy felt a bliss welling up in her body as she pulled Nick closer to her and kissed him, and he happily kissed her back.

Love was always a good thing. In a world where greed and selfishness often obscured the joy of others, a new love was like a rebellious ray of hope that pierced the dark clouds of despair. Judy had promised to strive to make the world a better place. And she knew, as did Nick, that love made the world a better place.

After ten minutes, Nick knocked on the door of the Forensics Department gently. The door opened and Amber (properly clothed, but with her glasses slightly askew) opened the door.

"Officer Wilde! Officer Hopps! Come on in!"

Judy and Nick walked in. Garth was sitting at Amber's desk, doing something with her computer while humming a tune which Amber hummed along with him. The complicity and tenderness was already palpable between the two…and it had barely been thirty minutes since they first laid eyes on each other.

"Officers," said Amber. "I know what we're dealing with."

She beckoned for them to follow her. She showed them a sample of the orange liquid in a glass slide under the microscope. Then some test tubes in which she had done tests on it with different reagents.

"If this really is what it is, Officers," said Amber. "Then Terror Firma Incorporated has some serious explaining to do, because having this stuff is very, very illegal."

Amber was in her absolute gravy. She loved her job, they could tell. She paused for her words to take effect before showing them a paper she had printed with a complicated formula.

"This is pan-dimonium acetate," said Amber. "It was developed in the 1950's during the agricultural revolution, originally meant to be an effective weed killer. But it turned out to kill everything else, not just weeds. What this chemical does when spread on the earth is cause the nitrogen to become volatile and evaporate into the atmosphere, thus impoverishing the soil. Its effect was almost catastrophic and it was therefore banned. Anybody who is found in possession of this substance, let alone using it, can face some serious consequences. We're talking a lifetime in prison."

Judy and Nick were stunned. Slowly and surely, things were beginning to become clear.

"If my speculation is correct," said Amber. "Terror Firma Incorporated is spreading this chemical in some way over the fields, making them barren, and then purchasing the land shortly after, which they'll once again fertilise and use for their own purposes."

"What a scheme," said Garth, walking towards them after having finished doing whatever he was doing with Amber's computer. "Making the farmers unable to plant anything and stealing their land. It's right out of a science fiction film."

"Their entire livelihoods depend on agriculture," said Amber. "Spreading pan-dimonium acetate over the fields would cause..."

"...Pandemonium!" exclaimed Garth.

Amber and Garth burst into laughter and high-fived. Judy and Nick glanced sideways at each other and grinned.

"Pan-dimonium acetate can be easily neutralised with sodium chloride, also know as common table salt," said Amber. "But you would have to know it's there. And the poor farmers don't. They think their crops are failing. Their lands are being contaminated by this evil entity."

"But how?" asked Judy. "We would have noticed if someone was spreading this stuff over our fields."

"Hmm…" said Nick. "Maybe in the water…"

"This stuff is not hydrosoluble," said Amber. "It would float to the top of the water, thus making it very noticeable."

"Okay, scratch that…but still, it had to be done in a way that could be secret and imperceptible," said Nick.

"If only I could get a soil sample," said Amber. "It would be so much easier if I could get samples of the soil from the farms, then maybe we could figure out how they're getting the chemical into the ground."

Judy and Nick looked at each other and immediately read each other's minds.

"Hey Amber," said Judy. "When's your day off?"

"Oh, I have the weekend off," said Amber. "As a matter of fact, I have accumulated quite a few days off, which I can take whenever I please. I've been working almost non-stop since I joined. But I enjoy it. For me, it's like being at home."

"How would you like to go on a little field trip?" asked Nick.

Amber's smile could have crushed diamond.

"Really!? Sounds exciting!" she said girlishly. "Where to?"

"Bunny Burrow, my hometown," said Judy. "And bring along that handsome escort of yours," she added with a wink.

"You mean it?!" asked Garth, becoming just as excited as Amber.

"What better way to have a weekend away from the city and perhaps a little romantic alone-time?" said Nick with a cheeky grin. "Plus you'll be in situ, so you can research the soil at your heart's content. And Garth's computing skills will certainly come in useful."

"YES!" said Garth and Amber in unison.

"Then it's settled!" said Judy. "We'll leave tomorrow at midnight, arrive the next day in the early morning. I'll arrange everything."

And so it was settled.

Judy and Nick said goodbye to Amber and Garth and walked out of the Forensics Department, leaving the two new lovebirds to their studies and video game quotes and high-fives and mutual affection.

As they walked out of the station and into the evening, Judy beamed happily. It had been a great day! She looked at Nick, also smiling as he walked beside her, and snuggled close to him.

"You know, when this is all over…we should talk them into having a double date with us," said Judy, hugging his arm.

Nick turned his head and his warm, affectionate smile filled her heart with bliss.

"That's a D and an E and an 'efinitely," said Nick, tapping her nose with his finger playfully.

The train arrived on time. It was half past five in the morning when Stuart and Bonnie Hopps stood in warm clothes on the platform and saw their beloved daughter Judy walking paw-in-paw with her beloved Nicholas Wilde. And behind them, walking arm-in-arm, were the funniest couple the Hoppses had ever seen. A small, chubby,

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