Nick walked in casual steps up to the startled bunny and pat her on the shoulder, asking.

"Bunny Cakes? You okay?"

Judy seemed not able to move, as her bunny eyes examined the stranger just before her. Her nose twitched, her ears were raised up high, and she seemed for once in her life, unable to move.

"Judy?"

Nick felt a lump in his throat before turning to Pete, who was also frozen stiff, and the fox said, as unrudely as he could.

"Excuse me, Mr rabbit."

"Actual my name is Peter Wabbit."

"Okay,"

"Peter Wabbit?" Judy said in a quiet voice and Pete nodded slowly, continuing.

"Yeah, but my friends call me Pete."

"Pete?" Nick said and then Pete hesitated, laughing nervously as he put his hand behind his head and added.

"Well, they would... If I had any around."

"Okay..." Nick said, feeling like this Pete was kinda creepy now and Pete quickly seemed to realize what he said and instantly shot his paws up to correct them.

"No, what I mean is... I come from a small town originally, and I just moved here... and oh jeesh... I probably sound like a weirdo."

"We like to help everyone here." Nick said quietly, politely, but inside his mouth his teeth were grinding, as Judy hadn't said anything and was still looking at the bunny with eyes of curiosity, puzzlement.

"Weirdo?!" She finally spat out and Pete looked up at her, freezing as he thought she was making fun of him. Judy seemed to snap out of her paralysis and continued, "Sir, Pete, there are no weirdos in this city... you can be whatever you want to be. And you, Pete, are not a weirdo."

"Really?" Pete had to make certain and Judy quickly nodded her head, looking at him with huge gaping eyes and said.

"Yes."

"Judy, we need to get started on this case soon."

Judy twitched a little, looking at Pete, and smiled at him quickly, before zooming over to the vending machine. She jammed money into the slot, got ten carrot protein bars and dashed back to Nick, saying urgently.

"Okay, let's go, these should keep me awake for the whole night. This is going to be done!"

"That's the spirit, apple of my eye." Nick said, literally feeling like his heart was crushing and Judy began walking back to their office when Nick shouted to her.

"Judy."

"Yes, Nick?"

Nick paused for a second, before sighing and turning around to stare at Pete.

"Good day to you, Peter."

"It's Pete."

"Yeah... you should probably leave unless you want to get fined for harassing an officer."

"Oh, um..." Pete said quickly, looking about urgently in case anyone saw that he had done anything wrong and nodded his head, saying with a big nervous smile. "Right, well thanks for everything, officer."

"No, thank you." Nick said quietly and began to walk away too after Judy, muttering under his breath as he felt a jabbing pain in his heart, "Thank you... so much."

xxxx

In the police cafeteria, Judy was devouring the snacks like they were nothing, eating five in five minutes and Nick could sense that she was extremely anxious.

He tapped on her table and she looked up at him, smiling with orange grains on her teeth and said quickly.

"Nick, did you help that bunny?"

"Yes, yes I did... and Judy I have to ask this."

"What?" she said nervously, slotting the rest of the bars in her pocket.

"Why were you, yourself... acting so off?"

"Oh, I don't know... I guess I just thought he was... cute..."

Nick's ears dropped down instantly when she said that and he continued, leaning his paw on the table and shadowing over her.

"Him, cute? Yeah... maybe if he had any meat on his bones."

"He looked healthy."

"And maybe if he wasn't so jumpy."

"Well, that is what rabbits do."

Nick frowned, and looked down on her, sighing as he sat down on the opposite side of the table and leaned his head on his arms, asking quietly.

"Judy... am I cute?"

"Everyone's cute..." she said nervously, and Nick shut his eyes slowly to that, feeling his heart thump a little harder as he added.

"Then how come you've never called me cute?"

"Well you're more handsome than cute-"

Nick grinned instantly when those words escaped her mouth and Judy quickly waved her paws around, saying embarrassed.

"Wait- that's not what I meant."

"What do you prefer, handsome or cute?" Nick asked back casually, but it was anything but in his heart. Judy sat there, gripping onto her chair's sides in panic and just said in a quick shout.

"Are we going to start this case or what?"

"I don't know... darling, are you going to calm down... you're acting like you've tasted a bit of a Night Howler."

"No, No, I haven't." she said desperately fast, blushing and Nick grinned.

"Yeah, like you've been infected by something bad."

Judy would've come back with something as equally smart but all that was running through her mind was the 'darling' Nick had just said in his speech, the 'sweet baby of mine' he had said earlier in the day... and that guy bunny's eyes.

And she quickly looked into Nick's eyes, seeing that they were gazing deeply into hers with a mind behind them she couldn't read.

But her heart was beating faster than usual, her fur letting off sweat and she whispered.

"Nick... I think I've just come down with a bug."

"Well, too bad... we have to solve this case."

"But you said it's dead."

"Well, I just found a lead."

"And what would that be?" she said nervously, sweating as she suddenly seemed to finally clue into what all those cute nicknames' hidden meanings were.

Nick repeated off the top of his head.

"One of the 'monkeys' was a mountain gorilla, named Samual Hunts. He had a loving family and three kids. I say we go over to the mountain forest district and see what we can scrape up from his wife."

"And what's the lead in all this?"

"Oh, I sold him drugs one time..."

"Nick."

"They were under the counter, just something to help with Nightmares."

"Were they fake?" Judy asked cautionary and Nick sighed. He couldn't escape his criminal past, but at least that made him more capable for this job in many ways.

"No. They were not." he said. And Judy knew when he used that voice he was telling the absolute truth. It kinda scared her how sure of himself he was.

"Well, alright then." Judy said, and jumped up on the table, looking down on him with a big glowing smile. She was too positively upbeat about this all. But then he had to remind himself that she had just eating five high energy chocolate carrot bars.

"We are on the case."

He smiled back up at her, but his heart hurt a little as now he realized her own mind... and how it had for once noticed attraction, was now suddenly hard for him to analyse and read.

And now he was even more lost in that... now... there was a possibility of losing her.

xxxxx

The two reached the mountain range district which was cloudy, wet and very foresty and they got out of their car, walking down the slippery stone footpath as they headed towards the house of the first missing animal.

Judy seemed to chat more than usual on the car trip up, and Nick had to wonder why she was so inexhaustibly talkative.

Then the reminder set in each time.

Judy, stay away from sugar.

"And so that's when I realized, hey mister- you can't treat animals like that- so I, I-"

"Judy." Nick said calmly as they reached the front door and the bunny perked her ears up eagerly to know what he was gonna say.

"Y-yes, Nick?"

"You're cute when you eat too much sugar."

"Hey, that's speciest!"

"Excuse me, Miss Adorable." Nick said and Judy's cheeks went bright red under her fur, but Nick could sense the heat suddenly exuding off of her and said back, slyly.

"You called me handsome before... is it not speciest to call a fox handsome?"

"Well, not many foxes are handsome."

Nick gave a pretend gasp and uttered under his breath with a grin, "Speciest."

"Nick, I didn't mean it like that." Judy said, trying to defend herself and the fox only smiled, saying.

"No, I understand..." He pressed the door bell and Judy stood beside him, upset now at her mistake... and she always tried her best to accept everyone.

"You just find one fox handsome."

"Nick..." she said under her breath and he couldn't help himself but to add.

"I guess that's why I'm such a... fox?"

"Urgh..." Judy said, sulking and running her paw down her face in humiliation. But before she had a chance to retaliate, the door opened and a female gorilla looked down at the two tiny police officers.

She just smirked and said kindly. "It's not Halloween yet... why are you dressed like that?"

"M'am. We are officers."

"But you're so puny."

"M'am, you do not want to offend us." Judy replied even more stern and Nick just added in.

"Yeah, whatever you do, don't call her cute... that's like calling a fox handsome."

"Niiick..." Judy said, annoyed at him, and she thumped her foot on the ground before turning to her partner and saying.

"Are you not going to act professional on a case like this?"

"But I am."

"Sorry, am I disturbing something, little guys?"

"M'am." Judy said, and looked the confused gorilla right in the eye. "I'm a girl bunny."

"I think she could tell, Judy." Nick said back, tired but loving all the mishaps they were already having.

"Are you Mrs Hunts?"

"I was..." the gorilla said quietly and looked at the two before adding. "Before my husband disappeared five years ago. I got remarried... I'm now Mrs Bongo."

Nick smirked, amused at this and Judy pulled him a look, telling him off.

"Sorry," Nick said, wiping a tear from his eye, and continued, calming himself. "But sometimes our last names really are so stupid."

"Hmpth..." Mrs Bongo said, offended and Nick calmed himself even more. Getting as mellow as he could before he said slowly.

"Mrs Bongo... Was your previous husband acting funny a couple of weeks before he disappeared."

"Yes." she said, seeming to forget his rude antics before and continued. "He was very drowsy... he nearly had a car accident."

"Right. Thank you, that's all we need to know." Nick said and turned, leaving the scene of the crime. Judy hopped to position, startled, and followed her best friend as he walked away.

"Nick, what are you doing?"

"Solving this crime." the fox said smoothly, and got back in the car. Judy followed him and hopped in frustrated as she didn't know where he was going with this and she absolutely had to.

xxxxx

In a few minutes time the car parked before a giant chasm, and the fox got out. Judy followed him and he looked at her saying.

"Mr Hunts was on sleeping tablets, not 'No more scary Nightmare tablets.'"

Judy followed him along as he stood at the gate that stopped animals from falling into the pit of doom.

"Some side affects included drowsiness, loss of concentration... and sleep walking."

"What are you saying?" Judy said, fearing something bad was going to come out of Nick's mouth and fox looked at her slowly. Seeming to know what he had done and sighed a deep breath of regret.

"I think Mr Hunts... shared the tablets around with some primates... and the unlucky ones... slept walked off into this chasm."

"Oh my horse nipples." Judy cussed and Nick had to restrain his inside tortured laughing at that reply. But he wasn't going to laugh even though that was the funniest swear he had ever heard come out of her cute bunny lips. No, he was upset... because of his stupid antic's in the past had probably killed five or more monkeys.

"I'm sorry, Judy... I was just... well... after sales."

"That can't be it."

Nick approached Judy and gave her a hug, fearing that it was it and Judy tried to push off him but was enveloped in his loving embrace.

"Nick, I don't believe you killed them."

"I did, but."

"No... they aren't dead... they can't be."

"Judy..." He said, and held up her chin with his paw, looking into her eyes and saying, "Get some choppers down there and I swear you will find skeletons."

"No." Judy said and just gazed into his sad green eyes, and felt a draw from them... an ancient dangerous extinctive draw.

"You are not dangerous... They are not dead. No one has to know... this case is..."

He looked at her confused, and Judy just swallowed, continuing.

"This case is dead... we solved it in two hours. Let's go back to the station."

"Judy..."

"I was wrong to look up cases that are filed as unsolvable... I know that now." Judy replied, and gave Nick a sudden warm hug back, jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck.

The fox paused, as she had never given him a hug like that before and he wrapped his arms tighter around her, too.

"Let's go." Judy said, and let go of him. The fox reluctantly let go of his grasp on her too and the two began walking back towards the car.

Judy got into the driver's seat and Nick took the passenger this time... as he felt a part of him... a part of their friendship had slightly broken just then... not became stronger until Judy said.

"Let's go to your place. We need to talk."

Nick looked down to the ground, to his police uniform and said quietly.

"Okay... hunny bunny..."

"Right, right on... foxy... fox..." Judy said quietly, playing the game for once and he blinked, looking at her confused... what the hell were they going to talk about at his place?

And then after the talking... what were they going to do then?