Judy stepped in the door, taking off her cap and brushing a few flecks of dust and debris from her shoulders. Stu, Bonnie and Ian were wide awake, leaping from the couch as she came in. 
“Hey guys.” She softly greeted. 
“Jude!” Stu shouted. 
“Judy!” Bonnie and Ian chimed in, rushing over to offer up a good long hug. “Oh my poor girl, are you alright?” 
“I’m alive.” Judy shrugged with a quick giggle. 
“I’ve been on absolute pins and needles.” Stu interjected, releasing his daughter but keeping a clasp on her shoulders. “We heard that officers were killed and feared the worst.” 
“Well, you did. I figured you’d be fine, Judy.” Ian quickly snuck in. 
“I’m ok. But yeah, we lost some good mammals today.” Judy wiped her nose. 
“Who?” Bonnie eagerly questioned. 
“Kate Rosa and Alex Hecklefang.” 
“Oh!” Ian backed up a little. “That fox girl, right?” 
“Yeah. How are the cubs?” Judy asked, peering up the stairs. 
“Out like a light. Jason was extra fussy though tonight.” Bonnie answered, nudging Stu.
“Darn right. Little bugger kept trying to sneak into the kitchen to steal the cookies from the pantry. When we caught him, he refused to fork em over. Sent him to bed, and it took more than a few attempts to keep him there.” 
“Lovely.” Judy sighed. “Well, I think I’m going to hit the shower. Get some sleep, try to shake off this headache.” 
“You got it, Jude.” 

The next morning, Judy eased herself into her uniform, each slide into the sleeves and step into her pants felt quite painful. Though she managed to sleep reasonably well, her whole body was still quite sore from the previous day’s events, along with the antidote that saved her life. The headache was still lingering, but it wasn’t anywhere near as severe. She took her time coming down the stairs, seeing Liam and Hannah playing at the bottom, kicking a pink ball back and forth to each other. 
“This time! The goal is right here, on this corner!” Liam animatedly explained, pointing to the corner of the door to the kitchen. “Right there, ok?” 
“Ok!” Hannah giggled, rubbing her paws between her legs. Giving the ball a fair kick, it bounced off the rail and went through the door. “No!!” She flopped on her back, giggling at her own miss-shot. 
“Ok, so my turn!” Liam bounded into the kitchen grabbing the ball and bringing it back out. Standing just ahead of Hannah’s feet, he gave it a good kick and sent it right into the kitchen, missing the corner. Judy sat on the bottom of the stairs, simply enjoying watching the two play. 
“Ok, this time. I’m gonna. Ok, I’m gonna do a throw.” 
“No, you have to kick it!” Liam protested. 
“I’m not good at kicking, I have to throw it. I’ll do, one throw.” She explained, throwing up a finger. “Just one.” 
“Ok, but then. I get to do a throw after.” Judy couldn’t help but giggle at the two. As Hannah lined up her throw, Judy managed to tap the ball in the air as it came over and managed to aim it right for the corner. Hannah squealed with delight, bouncing around as Liam rushed over for the ball. 
“No mama! It doesn’t count because, mama touched the ball.” Liam countered. 
“Go ahead Liam, you give it a kick and I’ll see if I can help you get a point too.” Judy giggled once more. Liam scooped up the ball and rushed back over, offering up a devlish little cackle as he punted the ball high up, almost hitting the ceiling. Judy swept the ball with a fair tap and her aim was true enough, bouncing off the corner and landing back by the door. “Ha! See, mama’s got a solid kick.” She playfully winked. 
“Sis!” Ian called from the kitchen. 
“What is it?” 
“Your phone’s been ringing for like, 20 minutes now. There’s a text on your screen from the Mayor asking if you’re coming in!”
“Oh drat!” Judy snapped her fingers. “I’m not late, so why’s he riding my case.” She pondered, drudging into the kitchen and snatching up her phone. “Thanks Ian.” 
“No prob.” He smiled, carrying on washing a few dishes. 
“Huh.” Judy pondered for a moment, reading the texts from Bogo.

“I was hoping to bring you in early so we could go over a few things you need to know as the interem chief.” Bogo explained, striding down the stairs at the precinct with Judy behind him. “I got a few things started for you, but you’ll need to carry on from here on your own. I have a meeting with herds and grazing in an hour.” 
“Ok, sounds good.” Judy bounded up to his side, trying to keep pace with him as they aimed for the bull pen. 
“The autopsy reports on officers Rosa and Hecklefang are ready. The family has been informed and the named disclosed to the media. You may have to field a press conference later. The reports on recent port activity turned up nothing, however an unmarked plane departed from an old airstrip seventeen miles north of the city three days ago. Jam cams show that Stamper and Rhyhorn made a trip up there around that time.” 
“What about a flight plan?” Judy questioned. 
“Never filed, or at least the filing of it was lost. The databanks at Zootopia international were compromised.” 
“Huh.” Judy huffed, scowling down at the ground. “Bet Psych had something to do with that.” 
“Predaton has gone quiet. There are rumors that a rival crime family to the Barones has been slain. Kasi assures me they have a plan for them and are working toward a big move. She’s also assured me she’ll turn over Parker Wilde the moment he’s in custody.” Bogo stated, opening the door to the empty bull pen. 
“Good.” Judy scowled once more. “I’m gonna drag an answer out of his hide about Nick if it’s the last thing I do.” 
“Sadly no news about him either.” 
“I know. I don’t want to believe he’s gone but. It’s getting harder to ignore the possibility.” Judy sighed. “This plane that left though, any word on where it might have gone?” 
“Nothing yet, but the reports in your office are ready for you to look over. Trust your hunches, Ms. Hopps. They seem to have served you well in the past.” 
“I’ll do my best.” She smiled, as the first of the officers began entering through the door. 
“I’ll take my leave then.” Bogo nodded, patting Johnson and Grizzoli on the shoulder as they walked in. Judy started reading through a few of her notes as more and more officers piled in. The tone in the room quite a bit more solemn and reserved. Many just stirring their coffees and a few making small talk about trivial things, a few even taking note of Judy at the head of the room. As the last of them arrived and sat down, Grizzoli took the same position that Ryan used to and called. 
“Ten hutt!” The officers stood up, a few saluting while a few took their hats off and covered their chests. 
“Thanks Matt. Take a seat everyone.” Judy took to standing up on the podium to look over everyone in the room. “I wanna start by taking a moment to reflect on those we lost yesterday. Alex Hecklefang and Kate Rosa. Kate and I were good friends and had been working together quite a bit up till her passing. She was strong, cleaver, dedicated and an honorable example of what the ZPD stood for. She knew how to make us laugh and cared for everyone here in this room, and outside it. As for Alex, we didn’t get a chance to talk personally. However what was obvious was just how brave, loving and faithful he was. Leena spoke of how he joined the force simply because she was. He was the kind of mammal who could keep calm in a crisis, who could de-escalate even the most hostile of situations and a reliable, truthful and noble officer of the ZPD. Let us take a moment, to remember our brother and sister.” Judy stated, folding her ears back and placing a paw on her chest, the room followed suit and took a moment of silence. 
“Thank you.” She reaffirmed after the moment passed. “Because of their closeness, both Leena Evens and Ryan Wolford are on bereavement. I’d encourage anyone to reach out and offer your condolences to them with respect. Services for Alex and Kate will be held tomorrow at 9:00AM in the Bastion cemetery, north of the city. Now, let’s get down to business.” 
“Ms. Hopps?” Johnson spoke up. 
“That’s chief Hopps.” Matt corrected. 
“Right, sorry. Chief, is it true Ryan and Kate were involved?” 
“Officer Johnson, their relationship or lack thereof is irrelevant.” 
“I only ask because-“
“Drop it.” Judy cut off. “If you have something to ask on the matter, speak to me after.” 
“Yes ma’am.”
“From what we know, the chemical known as Bloodlust has left the city. A forensic team had swept the remains of the lab, there was no trace of it left. Judging from the crates the Rhyhorn and Stamper were seen transporting, a large amount of it has been moved to another location. Where, we don’t know yet, but we’re working on it. We’ve put out notices to neighboring cities with the most detailed description of the plane we could make. Everyone’s keeping their eyes peeled, if we hear anything about it, we’ll notify everyone we can. The big thing now is addressing public unrest. The city is nervous about this stuff getting out again. We have to be extra diligent with the mammals in our city that we are not going to allow another outbreak of this chemical. I’ll likely be speaking with the media tonight, informing them of the existence of our counter-agent for it, and how we will get as much as we need to counter any further threat. It’s my belief however, that things will likely quiet down now with Yorik dead. It’s also worth noting that the head of this plague of illegal vaping products is gone, and it’s string of runners disbanded. The mammals we saved were sent home to their families, most of which only suffered minor injuries from the explosion. Stamper and Rhyhorn are being held in the maximum security prison, Rhyhorns leg was a total loss but, he can limp his way to trial.” Judy smiled, a few in the room exchanging a few laughs. “Assignments. Macuihtal, Johnson, Alister, you are on Tundratown patrols today. Trunkaby, Austin, Clawbourne, your teams take Sahara Square. Matt, heh, sorry. Grizzoli, if you could rally a few officers to relieve those overseeing the cleanup at the crater, keep me posted on any new findings.” 
“You got it.” Matt smiled. 
“Rest of you, be safe out there. Keep a counter-agent on you at all times.” Judy nodded, as the officers rose up to leave the room. 

Walking down a fairly long hallway at the hospital, Judy pushed through a fairly hefty steel door and stepped inside the morgue. Inside three deer surgeons seemed to be at their washup station, clearing off their hooves fairly vigorously. 
“Ahh, officer Hopps?” One of the stags greeted. 
“Chief, temporarily.” She smiled and bowed. 
“Ahh, well then Chief Hopps it is. I suppose your here for the findings on miss Rosa and Mr. Hecklefang.” 
“I am.” Judy agreed, cautiously walking inside. 
“Well, if you don’t find it too unseemly, they’re both right here.” He showcased, revealing back the drape covering up Kate’s body. Judy climbed up on a small stool and could see her lying there, motionless. Massive scars on her belly and most of it exposed from where they shaved her. 
“Oh Kate.” Judy momentarily whimpered. 
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. Were the two of you close?” 
“Friends, yes.” Judy spoke softly. 
“I’m terribly sorry.” He attempted to cover her up again but Judy placed a paw on his forearm to halt him. 
“It’s ok. What did you find?”
“Well.” He sighed, opening up her chart. “Her eardrums were blown out, conducive with death from extreme concussive force. This was likely from the said explosion. Third degree burns along her back, strikingly severe ones as we found the spine fused in several locations along with multiple bone fragments embedded into the muscle tissue. Her tail burnt off and significant cartilage damage to her left ear.” 
“Did she suffer you think?” 
“Oh lord no.” He shook his head, placing the chart down. “She likely didn’t even get a real chance to know it happened. An explosion of that magnitude likely killed her instantly. We found broken ribs and bruising on the chest, but they seemed to be inflicted post-mortem. Likely from CPR?” 
“Yeah, Ryan tried to give her CPR.” Judy acknowledged. 
“That makes sense. Mr. Hecklefangs cause of death was also quite direct. Significant penetrative trauma to his chest. Major damage to the liver and stomach along with most of his ribs shattered. Significant perforation in the alveoli of the left lung and minor displacement of the heart. Unfortunately based off of the report given by miss Evens, his death wasn’t quite so instantaneous. What was interesting about Miss Rosa’s case however.” He paused for a moment to re-open her chart. “Her bloodwork came back positive for Bloodlust, along with the said counter-agent.” 
“She was hit?” 
“Indeed.” 
“Hmm.” Judy pondered for a moment, before recalling how Roger Leppes almost swiped at them with small spheres of it before. “Of course, the pellets! Yorik must have shot her with one.” 
“Interesting.” 
“I have a small favor to ask.” 
“Oh?” 
“Mmm. Are you able to test for pregnancy after death?” Judy asked, folding her ears back. 
“Oh. Well.” He scratched behind his antlers. “I suppose I could, it’d be difficult and certainly not 100% accurate.”
“How accurate?” She seemingly pleaded. However the stag tapped on the table and spoke. 
“I’ll be honest, less than 50%. Post-mortem the urine samples I could collect will likely be contaminated, in that the relevant levels of the hormone we would test for would likely be trace to zero. When you combine that with how her bloodwork came back, the risk of contamination is quite high.” 
“I see.” Judy sighed, leaning over she pulled the drape up over her friend. “Goodbye Kate.” 
“I’ll see what I can do.” 
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like she can carry them to term right?” She shrugged. “Thanks for your time, please send a copy of the reports to me tonight.” 
“Of course, Chief.” 

Judy soon found herself inundated with more paperwork than she had ever seen before in her life. Taking in multiple officer statements from the explosion and the cleanup efforts that followed. All the evidence catalogued including the details on the explosives used, the overall damage done to the foundation along with neighboring buildings. The details on deliveries to the airport. Judy slammed her head on the desk, a pile of papers her cushion. While it was awkward enough to work on such a massive desk, it was tedious and boring work at its best. 
“Here I thought the job of chief would be a little more, engaging?” She spoke to herself. Not a moment later, Johnson knocked on the door and let himself in. 
“Chief, I got the autopsy results on Kate and Alex here.” He offered up on a little flash drive. “Figured you could use a paper copy that wasn’t the size of you.” He smiled. 
“Thanks.” Judy smiled, snatching  up the USB and plugging it into the computer. 
“Sorry, by the way.” 
“Hmm?” Judy perked up. 
“Well, you know. In the bullpen. I just thought that, you know.” He rambled through. Judy invited him to take a seat and sat cross legged on the edge of the desk opposite him. “I feel bad for Ryan, you know? It’s rough losing a girl like that.” 
“Hmm, I know a little something about that.” She smiled. 
“Heh, yeah. I miss Nick too, not gonna lie. He had really good jokes.” 
“Of course that’s what you remember.” Judy playfully giggled. “He told some real groaners at home.” 
“I lost someone too, years ago.” 
“Oh?” 
“Nadia, she was my fiancé. We met about a week after I finished training camp at the ZPD. Anyway, there was this car accident and she was seriously injured. She ended up going brain dead and we had to take her off life support.” 
“Oh my gosh, Adam, I’m so sorry.” Judy folded her ears back and clasped her paws together. 
“Thanks, it’s been quite a while now. But I think of her now and then. It’s just, I know that’s what Ryan might be going through. When I came back to the station after bereavement, Chief Bogo set up a weekly event at the local pool hall. We played every friday night, even entered a couple tournaments. It didn’t last but, having something like to take my mind off of things and, having good mammals around me. It really helped me cope. I think we should do something like that for Ryan.” Adam suggested. 
“Hm. I think that’s a fantastic idea. I probably won’t be chief by the time we put it into action, but I think we can swing that for him.” Judy rose to her feet with a smile. “Thanks for suggestion.” Judy extended her paw to Adam, to which he delicately shook it. 
“No problem.” Judy watched briefly as Adam left the room, but returned her attention to the computer screen. She clicked on the file for Kate Rosa’s autopsy results, seeing much of the same details the doctor had shared earlier. However one notable event was added, the results of one pregnancy test. Positive; but with a note of the sample containing contamination. Judy shuddered and covered her face. Before the gravity of it could sink in however, yet another knock came to the door. “Was there something else Adam?” Judy called, but swinging open the door with a fresh set of bandages on his head was Diego Delgato. “Chief!” Judy happily beamed. 
“Well, don’t you look comfy.” He chuckled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He was still dressed fairly casually, a simple button up dress shirt and black denim jeans. 
“Hardly.” Judy scoffed, sitting down on top of the desk. “You’d think they’d have some bunny sized desks for me to work off of.” 
“You could have done most of this work from your own workstation you know?” He noted. 
“Yeah, but.” 
“You’re not sitting in the chief’s chair?” He added. 
“Exactly.” 
“Well, how’s it suiting you?” 
“Not well.” Judy shuffled forward. “I thought I’d revel in the chance to be the chief but, to be honest, I don’t really like it.” 
“Prefer to be out there, busting the actual criminals?” 
“Yeah, think my feet belong on the beat you know?” She giggled, clasping her paws together as she sat on the edge of the desk. “How’s your head?” 
“Oh god, don’t even get me started.” He groaned, grasping the bandages. “The cuts weren’t too bad, but the fact I got that moderate concussion months ago, top it off with this one. My god, the headaches are the absolute worst.” 
“When do you think you’ll be back?” 
“Tomorrow.” He quickly noted. Judy seemed rather taken aside by the idea. 
“But, you’re hurt!” She lightly protested. 
“Grizzoli’s stepping in to help with Ryan’s duties, I need you on the streets. We need info on where that bloodlust stuff has gone.” He explained. 
“Makes sense.” She agreed. 
“I’m hoping you can dig up whatever you can on where it might have gone. After that, I’m gonna partner you up with Leena. Can show her how to work with one of our cities finest.” He smiled. 
“I was just talking about that after taking over for you. I offered to take her under my wing, so to speak.” 
“Great minds.” Delgato pointed to her. 
“There was.” Judy trailed off for a moment, glancing back to her screen then gazing back to Diego. “There was one more thing, about Kate.” 
“Oh? Something they found in the autopsy reports? I can look them over for myself.” He assured her. 
“Not just that.” Judy insisted. “Kate, a few days before the mission. She told me that she took a pregnancy test. Came back positive.” 
“Oh, and who’s.” Diego clued in. “Oh. Oh no, no no. God damn it Ryan.” 
“Ryan didn’t know. I talked with Lani Grizzoli, asked if she could confirm it first. They did a test during the autopsy though, came back positive again, but with severe contamination.” 
“Judy.” Diego heaved a good long sigh. “Ryan wasn’t overly subtle about his relationship with miss Rosa but, part of being chief is using our better judgement in situations like this. Do you think we should inform Ryan of the autopsies findings?” 
“No.” Judy refuted. 
“No?” 
“No. For one thing, it was never actually confirmed unequivocally by a doctor. Without a concrete answer, all we would likely be doing is adding salt to his wounds. I think it best we leave it at that.” Judy stated. 
“I can somewhat agree with that, however I think it best to inform him of the results, but reinforce that there was significant contamination in them.” 
“Diego.” Judy sighed once more. “He’s hurting so badly already. I’m begging you to let this one go.” 
“Well.” He huffed, folding his arms. “It’s not something we have to decide right now. Let’s let things simmer a bit, see where we all are in a week or two.” 
“Ok, I can agree with that.” 
“Well.” He groaned, getting up out of the chair. “I’m going to head home. Sleep off this headache.” 
“I’m surprised that’s all you got.” 
“Oh, you should see the bruising under my fur. Eight foot long one from the top of my shoulder down past my ass. Likely from that door getting blasted into me. I’m not looking forward to sitting tomorrow, let’s put it that way.” 
“Sweet cheese and crackers!” Judy exclaimed. “Want me to get you some ice packs?” 
“There’s some in the freezer in the break room right?” 
“I can grab a couple extra from the med closet and throw them in tonight.” She offered. 
“You’re a lifesaver Hopps. Have a good night, don’t work too hard.” Diego farewelled. 

A full week had passed. The funeral for Kate and Alex was held on the sunday as promised. Judy and Diego oversaw it together before he resumed his duties as chief, and gave Judy relief for the rest of the day. In the mean time, Ryan had still not returned to the ZPD. His home once a fairly neat yet simplistic place, was now in disarray and neglected. He hardly ate, rarely changed his clothes and had begun to nest a small collection of empty scotch bottles on the counter in the kitchen. He lay strewn out on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV before turning on Zooflix. Though this failed to detract from his habit of simply shuffling through shows and movies for something to watch. What caught him off guard however was a soft knock at the front door. He ignored it at first, thinking it was likely just a solicitor and he was in no mood to be sold anything that didn’t come with a cork in it. However the knock persisted, even becoming a fair bit louder. 
“Ugh!” He fumed, rolling off the couch dressed in nothing but his boxers he swung open the door. “What!? Oh.” He paused, rather surprised to see who it was. 
“Hi sir.” Leena smiled rather shyly. “Um, did I catch you at a bad time?” 
“Yeah, could say that.” Ryan scratched at his neck, before adjusting his boxers. “Not really in the mood for guests if you know what I mean.” 
“Yeah, I know. To be honest, neither was I. But someone insisted I come by.” She smiled with a quick shrug. 
“Hmm?” 
“Well, someones, I guess. Diego and Judy?” 
“Oh.” Ryan sighed heavily. “Course.” 
“Huh.” Leena pondered for a moment, reaching out she touched the scars on Ryan’s shoulder. “What happened here? They look old, can’t be from the accident.” 
“No.” Ryan brushed his paw over his shoulder. “Still hurts now and then too. Got impaled by that asshole, Parker Wilde. Shocked me with those stupid claws of his.” 
“With his claws?” Leena asked, confused by the notion a foxes claws could do that.
“He made these retractable claw things. Wired in with some high voltage battery. He pinned me down with em after he found out I was a cop during the whole Psych and Oshu shit.”
“I remember hearing about that. The station explosion, the street races.” 
“Yeah, I was right in the thick of it.” 
“Sir, maybe we could, talk for a while?” Leena requested rather nervously, sweeping her paw on the ground.
“Look, one; stop calling me sir. I don’t even know if I’m going back to the ZPD. So just call me Ryan. An second, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean, you’re attractive and all but-“ 
“Heh, I’m gonna stop ya right there. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just my apartment is kind of freaking me out with the quiet and it’d be nice to talk to someone who’s going through something similar, you know.” 
“Ah, you and Alex were-“ Ryan insinuated. 
“No no. Been getting that a lot for some reason. We were just friends. No benefits either.” She playfully nudged. “But he joined the force because of me. I can’t help but feel like, this is all my fault you know?” 
“It’s not, and don’t go down that road. While I didn’t sign up with any close friends per-say. I’d be lying if I said everyone I started with is still alive today.” Ryan stated. Leena clasped her paws together and smiled. 
“So you do know what I’m going through, huh?” 
“Yeah.” Ryan took a good long breath before standing aside. “Come on in. Mind the mess, and give me a minute to at least dress a little decent.” 
“Need a few to shower too?” She jokingly prodded. 
“Eh, don’t push it.” He chuckled.