Chapter Text

“Last stop, Bunnyburrow, approaching soon. Please gather your items before departing.”



Judy lifted her head, blinking. Oh. That was a lot faster than she remembered it taking before. She checked the time on her phone. Late evening. She gulped, turning it off and holding it tight in her paw. She hadn’t really thought this through before she’d left the city, she’d just known that she needed to get out of there. It was too much, everything had gone wrong and they just expected too much of her and the walls had been closing in and, Frith, she hadn’t been able to breathe--



“Bunnyburrow station!”



She started before standing up, grabbing her bag. No more time for that. It was time to get back to normal civilian life.



Frith, could she even do that anymore? Could she remember how to not be an officer? It had been such a big part of her life for so long, something she had ingrained into herself. And now…



It was over.



The train stopped and the door opened, and she stepped off. She glanced around despite herself. There was no one here for her. Of course there wasn’t, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to call anyone. She was still too ashamed.



But she couldn’t stay here, and it was too far to try to walk to anyone’s house.



What to do. She wasn’t about to call her parents, she was NOT ready for THAT yet. She could call one of her litter-mates. Except Justin. But Jared or Jason or Jesse would help her. She quickly dismissed that thought. They had their own lives and families to worry about now.



Maybe Elyza? Or Natalie? But they had families, too, others to take care of right now. So who…



Only one other came to mind and she looked at her phone. Surely she wouldn’t mind...she had always told her that she could call if she was ever in trouble. And she never judged her and had always believed in her and supported in any way she could. Maybe...maybe it would be okay to ask her for help.



She turned her phone on and went to her contacts, dialing the number before she could change her mind. It rang twice before answering.



“Hey, Ange? It’s me, Judy. Something’s happened...can you come pick me up at the train station?”



About half an hour later a red truck pulled up, and out stepped a tall brown bunny. Judy stood up from the bench she’d been sitting on, her nose twitching. The other doe saw her, her pale blue eyes warm and concerned. She quickly walked over, her arms open. “Little bug.”



Judy didn’t think twice about throwing herself at the tall rabbit, wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her face in her white dewlap. She was barely keeping tears back as it was. “Hey, Angelica.”



Her sister hugged her tight, leaning her cheek on her head. “Hey. I’m glad you called me.” Soft paws rubbed gentle circles against Judy’s back. “Have you been here long?”



Judy shook her head, pulling away from her sister and wiping her eyes with the back of her paw. “Not long, only about thirty minutes.”



Angelica nodded, her ears pointed towards her sister. “Well, let’s get you out of here, yeah?” She grabbed Judy’s suitcase with one paw, her other arm wrapping around her shoulders. “You must be tired, it’s a long ride from the city.”



“Yeah, I am.”



They walked back over to the truck. Angelica threw Judy’s bag into the bed and got into the drivers side. Judy got into the passenger's seat, staring out the window. She could sense that her sister was looking at her, but she couldn’t meet her gaze. The truck was started and they started down the road.



“So,” Angelica said, breaking the silence. “Do you want to talk about it?”



Judy shook her head, her paws clenching into fists. “Not really.”



“I heard you solved the case.” The other doe’s tone was careful. “You’ve been all over the news lately.”



“Yeah.” She swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice even.



Angelica reached over, laying a paw on her shoulder. “You don’t have to talk about it right now. Just answer one question for me, okay?”



Judy finally looked at her, her ears drooping. “What?”



Angelica looked at her, pale blue eyes worried. “Are you going to be okay?”



Violet eyes filled with tears and Judy had to look away, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. “I don’t know.”



The paw moved from her shoulder, open between them. Judy quickly took it, holding on tightly. Angelica had always been there for her, being three years her senior and always seeming to know what to say or do to help her. It seemed like this time was no different.



“Thank you, Ange.”



The other doe just nodded, and the two rode in silence the rest of the way.

Angelica had a house on the outskirts of Bunnyburrow, still on their parents property to be close enough to their family that help wasn’t far away, but still far enough to feel like it was far away from everything. It was just just a little one story thing, a big porch on the front, with a barn and shed only about ten feet away. It was nothing extraordinary, but it was good enough for Judy right now. Still close to family, but far enough that she wouldn’t feel overcrowded or overwhelmed by them.



Angelica set her up in the guest room, which just had a bed and a closet. “I know it’s not much, but hopefully it’s okay for now,” the brown doe said to her sister, rubbing the back of her neck with her paw. “I can try to get you some shelves or a dresser if you end up staying longer.”



Judy shook her head, managing a smile. “This is great, Angie. Thank you for helping me on such a short notice.”



“Hey, anything for my little bug.” Angelica smiled at her, giving her shoulder a squeeze with her paw. “I’m always here for you.” Then she left, leaving Judy to unpack and contemplate.



She couldn’t hide from her family forever, she mused as she started to hang up the clothes she had in the closet. They would find out eventually. Plus, it wasn’t fair to just keep them out of the loop completely. If nothing else, her departure from the police force would probably be on the news before too long.



Ugh, she hadn’t even considered how bad the media storm was going to be. Hopefully they wouldn’t be able to find her all the way out at. She didn’t want to be an even bigger bother to her sister.



It didn’t take long to unpack all that she had, it wasn’t much. She sat down on the bed and played on her phone a little bit, but ultimately found that her head was much too full for that. She plugged in her phone on the charger she’d brought and headed out of the room, making her way down the hall towards the door of the house. She stepped out, making sure that the door closed gently behind her before taking a seat on the porch steps. She rested her elbows on her knees and set her chin in her paws, glancing up at the sky.



It was a clear night, not a cloud in sight and the stars shining brightly. This was something she had missed very much. In the city, the sky was usually too full of smog to be able to see the stars. At least, in the main part of the city. It wasn’t so bad in the rainforest district, especially when you were on the trams, like she had been that night with--



She suddenly noticed that she was crying again and she angrily wiped her tears away. No, she didn’t get to cry over that. It was her fault, she was the one who had messed up and hurt him so badly, and now she would probably never see him again, and, Frith, she hated herself so much.



Her ears twitched when she heard the door open behind her and she quickly wiped away her tears. She watched Angelica sit beside her from the corner of her eye before turning her gaze back up at the sky. “You don’t get this kind of view back in the city,” she surmised to her sister. “Not where I was at. It’s nice, being back.”



“You don’t have to lie to me, you know.”



Damn it. She’d forgotten just how perceptive her sister was. “I’m not lying, I’m fine--”



“Judy.”



She winced, glancing over at Angelica.



The brown doe looked at her, pale blues sympathetic. “It’s okay to not be okay. You know that I’m not going to judge you, especially with this kind of thing.” She reached out, touching her back. “You can talk to me. You know I don’t mind.”



“No, Ange, I don’t want to bother you. You’ve already had such a rough time--”



“This isn’t about me. It’s about you, and why you left your dream job in the city to come back to a place that you despise. And don’t try to tell me that you don’t, I will see right through your bullshit.”



Judy groaned, burying her face in her paws. “But if I talk about it then it becomes real here, too, and it’s just too much. I don’t want you to be ashamed of me.”



“That will never happen. You’re my sister, I will never be ashamed of you. Talk to me. Please. Let it out.”



Her will crumbled, and Judy told Angelica everything. She told her how no one had taken her seriously at Precinct One and how she had basically just been a huge joke to everyone.

She told her about the missing mammals case and how no one had believed she could solve it. She told her about the press conference and about how what she’d said was now hurting all of the predators in Zootopia. And she told Angelica about Nick, about the fox who she’d begrudgingly partnered up with, how she had started to see him as a friend and encouraged him to join the force, only to hurt him greatly with what she’d said at the press conference.



When she was done she was in tears again, but didn’t bother to wipe them away this time. “Because of me, so many animals are suffering more than they should have to. I hurt the city, I hurt my fellow police officers, I hurt my friend...I hurt everyone, Angelica. I hurt them and it’s all my fault, and I don’t know what to do to fix it.” She sniffled, swallowing back the sobs that desperately wanted to come out.



The older doe just looked at her and rubbed her back. “That’s a lot to be putting on yourself, little bug.”



“What else can I do? I’m the one who caused all of this.”



“Maybe. Maybe you are. But you aren’t the one causing the animals to go savage, Judy. That isn’t on you. Like you said, they don’t know what’s causing it.” She wrapped her arm around her sister, giving her a squeeze. “Trust me, I know from experience that putting all the blame on yourself doesn’t solve anything. It just makes everything so much harder.”



Judy leaned her head on her shoulder, exhausted now. “I’m sorry for putting all of this on you.”



“Don’t be.” Angelica gave her another squeeze. “You were there for me when Bill died. The least I can do is be here for you. We’re family. The Hopps’ look out for each other. It’s just what we do.” She rubbed her arm gently. “You can stay here as long as you need to. I promise to help in any way I can.”



Judy nodded. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do for now.