Hope & Fear (Zootopia Fanfic)

2 - What Matters Most

Bad.

Very, very bad.

His apartment was a mess. In an effort to bathe the little guy, they had, more or less, destroyed the place. Turns out, Dox doesn't like water. Or soap.

At least he's cleaned up and finally asleep.

Lying there peacefully in Nick's bed, Dox clutched a small pillow tightly, quietly whimpering every now and then. His ears would flick and his tail would twitch. Nick could only assume the little guy was dreaming.

During his bath, Nick had been able to wash away what he assumed was dried blood. Dox's fur was left a darker shade of gray, with blue, Dalmatian like spots lining his chest and belly. Definitely not natural, Nick thought.

With a satisfied sigh, he slowly stood up and closed the door, surveying the damage.

Who knew a hybrid could be so disastrous. Chuckling, Nick gathered up what he could without making much noise. Wash cloths, suds and towels strewn everywhere in an effort to dry the carpet, Nick plopped down on the couch. Night one, done. Thirteen more days to go.

He thought about all the preparations that had to be done. Getting Dox enrolled in school would be difficult, especially so close to the end of the year. Get a tutor, see what he knows and go from there? he wondered.

It occurred to him that no one knew his true age. He looked to be about eight or nine, though acted as if he were six at most. He'd have to go to a doctor and get checked out. DNA testing would be good too, see if he's allergic to anything. Narrow down his species.

The fox sat up abruptly, nearly fainting, as he rushed over to his laptop. He took out his phone and dialed a number, setting it down on speaker.

"Nick...?" a certain bunny yawned. "It's two in the morning."

"Oh, really? Didn't know bunnies were so adept at telling time." Nick smirked. He loved messing with her, seeing her frustrated. He knew how annoying he could rely be, but never pushed Judy past her limits.

"What do you want, Nick?" she replied. Her normal cheerful voice had been replaced by a tone of annoyance.

"Remember when we had to file all those papers for Bogo?" Nick typed a few things, trying to pull up ZPD's Official Records.

"You mean when you pissed him off and he assigned us both to desk duty?" Judy sat up in bed when a heavy sigh, looking out her window. "How could I forget?" she said sarcastically. "Can't this wait 'til morning?"

"No, because I think I have our lead for today's bombing." Judy's ears perked. Nick looked out his window and waved. "You might want to throw on a robe before my neighbors see you in all your bunny glory." He grinned, respectfully looking away and back at his screen.

Judy looked down and gasped, shutting her blinds. Blushing profusely, she grabbed a robe and wrapped herself up, scolding herself. "You say one word, Wilde, I'll rip your tail off."

"Harsh," Nick said, instinctively wrapping his tail around himself. "You online yet?" Nick had finally pulled up the file he was looked for. "Sending you a link."

Judy received it almost instantly. "This was a non-credible threat against a pharmeceuticcal company-"

"Located in the same area as the bombing. Listen to this: 'Sources say Aviary Pharma has been experimenting on not just insects, but mammals as well.' Not only is that illegal around the world, but the local Mammal Rights' groups have been ticked off too."

"What's the connection?" Judy asked.

"Scroll down further and you see-" Judy gasped.

"Is that-"