Outreach

    "We're so thankful you two were able to find the time to come out today, you have no idea how much it means to the residents." The rotund porcupine gushed, taking the lead as the trio made their way through the corridors toward the hospice wing. Behind the orderly, a tall, jolly fox with the first signs of stray grey hairs walked in stride with a stoic middle-aged rabbit bore the dress blues befitting her rank as Chief Inspector. To her side, however, the fox sported casual slacks and one of his old tropical flannels. Looking at him, it was impossible to tell this laid-back huckster was the Chief for district one, precinct one: City Central. Even though the Inspector had officially ascended above precinct jurisdiction, she made a point to spend a fair amount of time around her old stomping grounds. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but him, but she missed the good old days when the two were partners.

   

    The fox grinned, "You can thank Inspector Carrots for that, her outfit's reduced the workload so much we're scrambling to find enough bad guys to keep busy. A little meet and greet keeps me from spit-balling the newbies out of boredom."His companion offered a terse correction. "What he means to say is that it's our pleasure to get out here and get in touch with the community. Zootopia's seniors are some of our most valued citizens, and there's nowhere we'd rather be than right here letting them know we care."

    The orderly nodded and ushered the two down the hall, past the day room where more than a few police officers had already begun to interact with the residents. A few sat around a TV swapping stories with the veterans, while another two were engaged in what appeared to be a very intense game of Spades with a pair of old ladies, a couple of greyed wolves who didn't bother to hide their devious grins.

   

    Inside the hospital, a twang of classic blues resonated from the hospice wing, where the two had volunteered for the community outreach program.

    "We got to talk a bit on the phone, I was so glad you were able to make the time for Mr. Theratos. It really cheered him up to hear you two were coming to visit."

    "Heck of a name." The fox lead. The rabbit saw what he was implying and cut him off before he could get another word out. "No nicknames. Thanatos is fine. Y-" She reddened when she saw the beginnings of a smile. Of course he'd try to get a rise out of me.The orderly cleared his throat as they approached the doorway, where a faint beep slipped under the door at regular intervals. He lowered his voice. "We'd talked about Mr. Thera's condition on the phone. I'm afraid… It's gotten worse since. We're running on fumes as it is, but he's fighting it. He really wants to meet you."

    Judy put her hand on the porcupine's shoulder, as lightly as she could. 'I wonder how many pairs of scrubs'- she killed the thought. "Trust me, Thanatos was a big inspiration to me after that mess with Bellwether. We'll treat him right." She stepped forward, and opened the door.

   

    Inside the room was a stout, elderly pred - a panther with grey tipped fur and two poorly healed scars that ran from his right ear down to end somewhere about his breast, lightly visible through the thin hospital gown. Three large machines stood vigil at his bedside, including one whose purpose was unable to be determined by either of the two tenured officers. To either side of the large construct that encircled the head of the venerable panther's bed were two smaller machines. The first, an electronically regulated intravenous system that fed two bags of liquid through an complex coil of small plastic tubes that burrowed into both of the old mammal's inner elbows. A larger machine stood opposed to the IV system on the other side of the bed, this one a much more complex combination of life support systems that groaned rhythmically , moving the panther's chest in time - a rigid, mechanical flow whose cadence was punctuated by noises more suited to a train station than a hospital wing. The panther stared over his abdomen and its unnatural, uncanny heaving and came to life in slow motion. His eyebrows raised and his fur bristled, lips curling back to show rows of teeth in earnest grin, sharp and white in contrast to their owner. He offered a wheezy laugh, and started to raise to a seating position in his bed.

    "Mr. Theratos, let me help you," the nervous orderly sputtered, rushing to his bedside and helping him sit up, raising the incline of the bed to a chair-like position.

    "Thank you, Thomas." The panther smiled at the young, but heavily built porcupine, then turned with effort  to face his visitors. "Officers, Mr. Wilde, Mrs. Hopps, is it okay if I call you kids by your first names?"    

    Judy stood rigidly, hands behind her back in veneration of the aged cat, years of duty and solemnity wordlessly written into the instinctual manner she presented herself with. In stark difference, her old partner and older friend stood at her right side, perpetually slack and loose at the joints. Thanatos's pleased expression only grew as the odd pair entered the room, their combined aura looming above them, despite the fact that neither of the two stood fully half as tall as the elephant-sized doorway.    

    Never one to allow an awkward silence, the fox broke the ice. "Frankly, Thanatos, I'd be offended if you didn't. Seems like reputation robbed us all of our clumsy introductions - shame. Nick, pleasure's all mine. And this-." Here it comes, Judy thought. Like clockwork, the ingratiating smirk crept from cheek to cheek, the signature of a rogue who never completely reformed, and he immediately fulfilled the rabbit's unspoken prophecy. "This is Carrots." Of course. 

    "Judy will do, sir. It's an honor to meet you. I read all about your activism when I was just an officer. I got to hear you speak at the march that finally shut down FoxAway: a truly inspired address, sir."

    The panther laughed at that, dismissing the orderly as he finished setting the bed into place. "Thank you, Thomas." His expression relaxed, but the warmth behind it didn't fade. "Honored? Twist my tail, that makes my day. I'm glad you could visit an old relic like me, it's me that ought to been honored. Winding down for a good long sleep and who should remember ol' Thanatos but Zootopia's finest?"

    Nick took a seat at the cat's bedside, speaking as he might to an old friend; "Please, we just put the baddies in cuffs. It was your movement out there, keeping watch for anyone those old gangers decided wasn't pred enough. While we were sitting with our hands tied and dealing with some of the most corrupt cops-," He gestured south out the window, "And I'm from Happy Town. Takes a hell of a criminal to catch me off guard. It wasn't right how the mayor shut you folks down."

    "I'm sure she's feelin' a mite penitent these days," Thanatos chuckled, entertaining the stray memory of the day Zootopia learned it had pulled a hat trick with corrupt heads of state. "You give me too much credit, I spent most of my time organizing instead of… being out there actually ready, visible, walking with old ladies and making sure kids made it across the street alright."

    Nick interrupted, "And trashing the odd ganger, I'm sure. Don't sell that organization short, Whiskers. Besides, you didn't get that scratch leaning over a desk. Your boys did good work. It's kinda funny, you know? The whole time that mess was going on, we responded to so many calls of a gang scuffle, and there we'd be, bagging and tagging one or three K.O.'d pred fanatics with a few boys and girls with your nice berets who happened to see them run into a wall several times. Believe me, our friendly neighborhood commissioner was right up my tail trying to get us to bring your buddies in. It's odd we never really caught them, bad police work on our part."

    Judy fidgeted a bit uncharacteristically while the two were talking, compelled as she was to reprimand Nick's nonchalant self-incrimination, she knew this wasn't the place. Thanatos didn't forget about her, though. "C'mon Mrs. Hopps - Judy! Have a seat, it's okay. Your peers, your superiors, they're all outside this room, most outside this building. I want to talk to Judy, if the Chief Investigator is willing to be put on a coat rack fer a bit. And don't worry about your loose-lipped friend here, day's gonna end with the same amount of people knowing as it started." He chuckled and gave a big, dramatic grin, closing his eyes in his best impression of a cartoonish theater mask. "Won't take a lot of tryin' on my part to take that kinda secret to the grave."

    This gave Judy pause, her torso slightly twisted to squeeze past Nick on her way to the empty chair at his side. She quickly regained her composure and finished seating herself, however. The old panther reassured her, "Don't worry, I'm alright. I made my peace, I'm just happy to see you both. You'll pardon an old mammal his gallows humor, I'm heading to the pearly gates with a smile on my face and a song in m'heart. I did a good bit while I had the time. Did enough."

    "And look at you two! You had the keys to the city, and you never took a step out of line you weren't right on fixin'. That Nighthowler business, Swinton's double-dealing, I've lost track of how many kingpins and gang-bangers - not even a plaque of your own. I seen the one at ZPD. You're damn near the bottom, not one bit distinguishable from every other officer that worked that case. You always stood by your brothers and sisters in uniform, and Nick! You were Happy Town trash like this bag of bones. Working with the fuzz, you rascal." Nick laughed, suddenly reminded of his old partner in crime, long since retired and living in the lap of luxury in a Sahara Square penthouse. When Nick went cop, the two stopped talking, but they'd since exchange pleasantries and respectful nods when their paths crossed in public. Thanatos saw the light behind Nick's eyes at that jab, now fixing his gaze on Judy.

    "You two used the heights you reached to boost your peers to new levels. Prey, pred, doesn't matter. I see so much of myself in you two, you have no idea how proud I am. The mammals your paths have crossed have gone on to make this the best city for hundreds, maybe thousands of miles. Corruption and crime are at an all-time low, the streets have never been safer, and I never saw common folk with this much trust in the police. I should know, I was around back before they created the ZPD." Nick chuckled at that obvious hyperbole, lightly nudging Judy with his elbow. Judy's allowed her smile to deepen, rolling her head slightly at the mature fox, a gesture of reluctant amusement that unfortunately did little to hide her slight discomfort at the reminder of Thanatos's age. It was something she knew from the few minutes with this mammal he wouldn't miss, and despite her hopes that he would, he winked at her from the bed, adding: "It was right around the time they invented dirt, I think. I get to close my eyes in a better world than I opened them to. What else can you ask for?"

    He took held out his paw, and Judy took it, allowing the panther to fold his other paw over the top, enclosing her own. The abundance of short, stiff hairs around his cracked and calloused pads was mildly abrasive, but not unpleasant to the touch. She released the tension in her posture, permitting her shoulders to drop slightly, similarly inclining her head to avoid the steady intentness in the panther's milky green eyes."Judy, it's okay." He leaned towards her, moving his free paw from her hand to gently lift her chin, opened eyes betraying the first tears of a soft weeping spell beginning to well up under her bright amethyst pupils. "I hope I'm not overstepping here. You're the example everyone looks to, even if you don't want to admit it. Ever since you got that badge, you've done your best to be the figure of authority people look to you expecting, I see that and I respect that. I know it's a huge burden, but dear: no-one expects you to be Chief Inspector Hopps all the time. The City won't tear itself to pieces if you make time for yourself be to Judy first. Spend some time among your fellow citizens as the bright-eyed bunny that broke all the rules. We're safe enough to enjoy it because of the cop she became."

    "Oh, I'd say tearing to pieces was definitely an Officer Hopps whoopsie anyway. Judy whoopsies are more like standing in wet cement. Oh! Or that time with the elephant escalator-"  Nick laughed as she returned the earlier nudge with triplicate force. "He's right though," Carrots, he thought, catching the word before it was loosed. "Judy."

    "Thanks Thanatos. It's-" She acknowledged, pausing momentarily to find the words. "Overwhelming? Can you believe they tried to put up a statue?! Cheese and crackers, that's not me. I swear, It's like they were trying to get back at me, given how hard we had to fight them, but after refusing the ego trip statue, they insisted on the name of the building that replaced it…"

    Thanatos beamed, "That you two and the Chief helped raise the money for, I remember. You can feel proud of that. Back when I could move more than a few feet a minute, oh, I'd catch the Zoop' Loop to the Burrows express line a few weekends out of the month. Spent some time at local B&Bs, helped around the farms when money was too tight to pay in cash; but it was worth it to get up each morning and head on over to work with the kids. The Wild Hopes Center for Young Dreamers. It's not a bad name. Y'know, no matter how early I got up though, I never managed to wake up before those farmers of yours. You come from a good folk, Judy, and a good community. And now kids from miles around all come there to get the resources to follow their dreams, and you won't find a soul around to tell them they don't belong or aren't equipped to be the best they can be."

    "Saw the half empty box of Gideon's in the corner there, old timer. And a 'Burrow-style box, too, not the franchise stuff. Gid' himself always did have a special, personal touch. Who'd you pay to smuggle that in? I refuse to believe they let you have 'Burrows Gid's without a tax slice." Chastised Nick. "Y'know all that sugar's bad for your health. If you cut down on those, you might buy some time."

    Thanatos let out a raspy guffaw, batting his knees and waving away the glare Judy shot him. "No filter, Wilde. I love it, oh! I'm not going my merry way till I'm good and finished with that pie, bless that Gideon Grey. But oh, those poor bastards comin' to your precinct don't have any clue what they're in for, do they?"

    "Academy gets you ready to break your body in service of The City, but only Precinct One gives you the skin thick enough to survive the real world, sir. We've got a secret binder back at the station half-filled with a storied history of hazed valedictorians." Judy didn't stop at a glare this time, punching him in the arm. "Okay, not okay."Nick leaned back, dramatically nursing his arm. "Oh relax, Carrots. The other half of the binder's got the retaliation. We give as good as we get in P-One."

   

    Thanatos smiled, stifling a painful spasm that forced a brief, thought noticeably sharp report from his old lungs, followed by a lengthy, peaceful sigh.

   

    "We've seen some dark times, it's true. We never got the chance to stand next to each other, but you two stood with me. An' I stood with you. We made it through the worst of it. As much as folks were scared or worried about each other, when the chips were down they were reachin' for any mammal they could hold onto. Prey, pred, didn't matter at that point. It broke my heart in the best ways. Even before Swinton, when folks were running riot down on Pack, I counted my stars to be lucky.." He took a moment, to catch his breath, waving away the concern as Nick and Judy both began to rise out of their chairs. A coughing fit came and went, and the two slowly returned to their seats."Sorry. I was lucky enough to see the birth of one of the biggest movements for pred-prey solidarity firsthand. There's so much beauty in that. Just… seeing people stand with each other. Look where we are today!" He leaned back, grinning, "This generation's gonna do so much with what we've been able to build for them. I'll sit down happily in front of that seed knowing it's gonna shade young folks someday soon. There's a darn good reason folks still tell those stories. Why they're still writin' new ones. Y'know, these old paws are riddled with arthritis now, but I bear it proudly. I get to close my eyes knowing every word I wrote about how we came apart inspired might've five words about us comin' back together.

   

    "Used to believe there weren't any happy endings, and I think life proved me right on that. There's more to it than that. World's not lacking for happiness, I think it just takes this much time to understand that… there aren't really any endings I guess, there's no happily ever after to lean your expectations on - just comfortable spots to rest before your next journey. You take some time to appreciate the people resting there with you, and you get ready to hit the ground running when that next journey begins… And then you keep going until the next happy rest, stopping only to help people up and get them running with you. It's been an honor talking to you two… do you mind if I ask both a few questions for the thread? Still plenty of folks out there with stories to tell, and they love hearing about the both of you.You two are a gift, thank you. I know there's plenty of folks here still waitin' to see ya, I won't keep y'that long. After all that pleasant conversation, I feel a mighty reckoning for some pie… And a happy rest."