"No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. I feel like the maid! 'I just cleaned up this mess; can we keep it clean for... for ten minutes?!"

Mr. Incredible

Judy's mood had improved considerably by the time she arrived at Nick's apartment door the following morning. A night's sleep, the prospect of a day making the world a better place, and a couple of hours' worth of devious plotting was always enough to lift her spirits. She even felt sorry enough about having to wake him up before sunrise that when she did, she did it with a cup of coffee in her paw.

"Morning!" she sang cheerfully when he arrived at the door.

Nick, apparently, was in the habit of sleeping in his clothes (much to Judy's relief). His fur was so messy she ached to ask if he'd stuck his tongue in an outlet, and his eyes brought to mind the morning after six of her brothers had snuck out of bed to watch a horror movie marathon. "Someone had better be dying," he mumbled.

She pushed the coffee into his paw. "Had to get up early to get to the precinct, but I figured I'd swing by and return something you forgot last night." Glibly, she held up his phone.

He accepted it like he was afraid it might bite him. It had taken him about an hour's frantic search after getting home the night before to come to the realization that she had his phone, and he had been forced to lay awake for some time wondering what she might do with it. "So how much info did you pull off this?" he asked.

The bunny just smirked and folded her arms. "Enough to make us even," she replied, knowing that this would only increase his paranoia. With all the siblings she'd had – especially brothers – and the way that her ambitions of being a cop inspired them to try to put one over on 'Detective Judy,' she might as well have had a doctorate in Prankology before she finished Junior High.

Nick yawned as he checked his social media pages for any embarrassing posts. Thank goodness she left the shots from the Photobombing Run alone, he thought when he found nothing new.

"Oh, I got those photos you promised me," she added as if reading his mind.

Nick's eyelids dropped to half-mast. "You think you're funny," he told her, "but you're not."

Judy propped a fist on her hip and smirked. "Me, not funny? Let's see, I know you said something about that last night. What was it again? 'Funny, funny bunny'?"

He rolled his bleary eyes and continued to check for mischief. There was a new outgoing call with a number he didn't recognize. He'd call it once she was gone; no sense letting her know she had gotten to him - again. "I'm going back to bed," he announced.

"Okay, but I may need you later to help investigate someone's apartment. You're good at that, right? Nosing around-"

"Alright, alright," he surrendered, throwing his paws up. "I was a creep last night. You happy now?"

Judy stowed the recorder pen in her pocket, out of the fox's view. "Very. Sweet dreams."

He frowned as he shut the door and re-called the strange number.

"Viciously Veggie Herbivore Takeout," came the voice at the other end.

Nick stifled a groan and let his head fall back against the door. Touché, Carrots. Well played.

Judy strolled off, feeling more than a little triumphant – and that was even without taking into account the added contacts now stored in her phone. Those numbers, she was sure, would come in handy sooner or later.

Things were quiet in the ZPD lobby as Judy strode in. Most of the night shift hadn't departed yet, and hardly any of the day shift had arrived. Only a handful of officers of assorted species were to be seen, most of whom she didn't know.

The one familiar face in sight was Ben Clawhauser, whose whole figure seemed heavier than usual. His face was downcast, as were his ears (though they were so tiny compared to his head that it was hard to tell). His shoulders hung with a slump, and he gazed forlornly at the spot where a box of doughnuts usually sat. He was so gloomy that his body almost seemed to be absorbing all the light in the immediate area, casting a dim miasma over the front desk.

Judy felt a pang of guilt as she headed in his direction. Okay, so it wasn't like she had made the cheetah bet with Bogo over whether she and Nick were an item, but seeing him so down still bothered her – especially since her big mouth had accelerated his agony. "Hey," she greeted, trotting up to the desk and doing a quick chin-up to the counter. "How's life?"

"Oh, fine," he answered dismally. "Just... thinking."

She didn't have to ask what he was thinking about. "You holding up okay?"

Ben frowned. "Oh yeah; just so long as I don't look at anything round." He was avoiding looking at her; her head reminded him too much of a jelly doughnut. "Are you sure you and Nick are just friends?"

Talk about your lose-lose situations, she thought. Reminding herself that it would be wrong – and fry her shot at getting Nick into the department – to grant Ben's hopes, she nodded. "Sorry, Ben, but I'm positive. Hey, at least the chief didn't say no eating at all, right?"

"Yeah," he sighed, "but without doughnuts, it's just not the same."

Judy glanced at her watch and judged that if she was quick about handing in the progress report, she should have just enough time for a quick errand before roll call.

She disappeared, and was back in ten minutes. Clawhauser was so busy moping that he didn't notice her arrival until she set down a wax paper package on the counter. "Picked something up for you. It's not a doughnut, but I thought you'd like it."

Ben brightened a little as he opened the package; it was a beetle burger biscuit 'egg-wich' with double cheese. "Aww," he said wistfully. "Well, Judy, any guy would be darn lucky to go out with you."

Judy blushed. Too bad I'm a career doe, she thought. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she replied, heading for the briefing room.

It wasn't even a full minute before Bogo came along. Clawhauser had just finished the sandwich, eating slowly (well, slowly by his standards) to enjoy the flavor and calories.

"Clawhauser," the water buffalo rumbled, "what is that?"

"Uh, a biscuit beetle-burger egg-wich," the cheetah replied nervously. "With cheese, sir." Bogo had been watching him like a hawk to make sure he stuck to the doughnut deal, and caught him sneaking sugary snacks the previous day. Buzzing him on the intercom mid-snack, showing up in person, and even plucking doughnuts from the cheetah's paws had been so effective, Clawhauser had been too scared to sneak a visit to the doughnut shop before work that morning.

"Mm-hm. Open your mouth." Leaning in towards the cheetah's agape maw, Bogo took a sniff and grimaced. "Alright, but brush your teeth before it gets busy in here."

Ben wilted. "Yes sir."

Roll call in the ZPD played out pretty much as usual. The chief briefed them on a few new updates; reported sightings of suspects here, possible night howler labs there, and so on. He dispatched officers, but strangely said nothing to Judy until the bullpen was otherwise empty. Then he regarded her, pushing his glasses up on his face with one finger. "Hopps, I looked at your progress report. With your track record, I expected something more... substantial."

Judy had to admit – if only to herself – that she felt much the same. However, she put on a bold face and tried not to let her nose twitch as she replied, "I've been establishing contacts all around the city, sir; getting as many eyes out as I can for Woolard and the other suspects."

Bogo's expression didn't lighten. "The last time I gave you two days on a case, you found fifteen missing mammals – one of them before a report had even been filed on his disappearance. Now you've taken two days to not find three sheep wanted for questioning."

Well, when he was right, he was right. Still, it wasn't like the missing mammals had been actively avoiding detection. "Hate to argue, chief, but it did take three months to actually get to the bottom of that case even after I found the missing mammals."

"Yes, well, in three months there's no telling what kind of damage these sheep might do. I want them found, Hopps, before they can strike again. That's an order."

Judy nodded. As abrasive as Bogo's manner was, she knew he was right. The city was depending on her, perhaps now more than ever. Just because the immediate crisis was over didn't mean the case was solved; for all she knew, Doug, Jesse, and Walter might try something even more drastic now that the plot to turn the whole city against the predators had failed. "Don't worry, Chief; I'll bring them in."

Bogo's forehead creased. "It's my job to worry, Hopps. Dismissed."

Judy found Nick already at the front desk. The egg-wich must not have been as effective as she had hoped, because Clawhauser was all but begging Nick to say that he and Judy were a couple. He had gotten so bad that other cops were staring – and several snickering.

Stepping in, Judy took a spot between the guys. "Ben, I realize this is hard on you, but it's not

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