Nothing to fear

Chapter 7

Chief Bogo had spent years as a cop, almost longer in uniform than the bunny Judy had been alive and his eyes had already seen the ring on her finger, guessing what had transpired before meeting the pair at a diner not far from the steps of City Hall. He'd directed the newlyweds to the place before taking care of the business that had brought him out of ZPD's Precinct One. Now he sat across from them in the back booth that allowed the Cape Buffalo to watch the rest of the Helen's Hash House with ease. His two officers sat opposite him, their expressions not unlike children expecting a scolding and it was taking all of the bull's not inconsiderable willpower not to smile. They watched as he lifted his mug up for a sip of what he considered the best coffee in the city, the cup itself what Nick and Judy would've considered a large bucket.

"I'd congratulate you, but I don't care about your personal lives," Bogo finally said with a frown. "What I do care about is how this affects the way my department is run. I've struggled to get it to what it is now and every time I turn around the two of you insist on kicking it as hard as you can to see how long before it breaks!"

Other patrons looked over at the deep, booming voice that had a surly edge to it, Bogo's sheer volume rattling the window next to the table. When the Cape Buffalo looked up the other diners quickly returned to their breakfasts and coffee, many thinking about being very small if the way their shoulders hunched in were any indication. Judy's ears were plastered to the back of her head and neck while Nick was simply stunned. He'd thought they'd made their way to the top of the Chief's police teams and it was almost as if they were fresh out of the Academy rookies again. He opened his mouth to speak when Bogo effectively shut him down.

"Can it, Wilde," the bull snorted while glaring dangerously at the pair. "There's only one way around this that I can see."

'Oh, no!' Judy thought to herself as she waited for the worst to happen. 'He's going to split us up! We'll be transferred to different precincts! One of will have to quit!'

"I'm going to go ahead and authorize an additional week of personal leave, not like you don't have the time off saved up," Bogo said, his face instantly losing its furious tightness and his voice becoming something that was actually friendly. That alone did more to throw the fox and bunny off balance than anything else he could've done.

The brow scrunched down over Nick's left eye as he stared at the Chief in confusion while Judy just blinked several times in silence.

"What?" Bogo asked as he lowered his mug before smiling. "There's no law against getting married. At least there better not be."

"Y­y­y­you aren't going to make one of us quit?" the bunny inquired, her fingers loosening a little where they had a vice like grip on Nick's.

The Cape Buffalo snorted into his mug. "Are you kidding me? You two are one of the most efficient teams in the precinct!" He leaned back with a gleeful expression. "Clawhauser's going to be furious when he learns that I already knew about this!" he exclaimed while rubbing his hooves together with a mad gleam in his dark eyes. "I've finally got the drop on that gossip­monger!" He finally looked at Nick, his large head tilting quizzically. "Wilde?" Bogo asked snapping a finger and thumb in front of the fox.

"Sorry, Chief," Nick replied without even flinching. "I was expecting an explosion. Now I'm wondering if there's a cloud with a lightning bolt coming my way," he deadpanned.

"Well, there are stipulations, of course," the bull said with as smug an expression as Nick ever had as a con artist. "I don't normally let couples work as partners, but you two are just too good to completely split up. So, I'll keep both of you on the same schedule, but you'll have to spend two shifts per week playing babysitter for rookies. They get to learn from experienced cops, you get to stay together for the most part, I get to twist Clawhauser's shorts into a knot. Everybody wins!" The grin he gave was far too toothy for someone that the young couple was used to seeing with a frown, scowl or in a full blown rage.