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The nurse, a petite skunkette, watched from her station as the huge cape buffalo paced back and forth in the hallway outside the examination cubicles in the emergency room. From time to time he'd take out his cell phone either to answer a call or make one. Occasionally an intern would come out of one of the cubicles he was interested in, but he would ignore them, patiently waiting for the physician in charge to make an appearance.

Looking through the observation window into the waiting room, the nurse could see almost a dozen ZPD officers pacing about or talking, all holding cups from the coffee machine located there. At one point a police lieutenant came into the unit and talked directly with the Chief. As he listened his expression would change from one of anticipation, to brooding thoughtfulness and then grim acceptance of the facts he was given. Never during this time did he raise his voice above that of a whisper.

When the duty physician, a honey badger, finally came arrived the chief was all over her with questions. The doctor skillfully guided Bogo into her office and closed the door.

"You were right about the x-ray," Madge said. "Officer Wilde suffered a severely bruised sternum. Fortunately, there's no sign of fracture or cracks, so aside from some difficulty breathing he should fully recover within a week."

"He's not going to like being inactive that long," the chief rumbled.

"If he gives you any grief about it, remind him that he would be dead right now if not for his vest."

Bogo nodded, filing that bit of information away for possible future use.

The doctor continued. "His footpad was severely lacerated, but again there doesn't appear to be any sign of infection or permanent damage. He should stay off of it for at least three days. No running, jogging and absolutely minimal walking or he might pull loose his stitches; and before you ask, he had seventeen."

"Is that important?"

The doctor smiled taking off her glasses momentarily. "I've worked enough with the ZPD to know there's probably already a betting pool about it by now."

The chief grumbled some. "What about Officer Hopps?"

"Well, there's no physical damage in her case, but she's going to be out of it for at least then next 24 hours?"

"That long?"

The honey badger nodded. "She received a dose of tranquilizer intended for someone twice her body mass. I'd estimate she'll be unconscious for at least fifteen to eighteen hours and then spend the last six to nine hours recovering from side effects."

Bogo grimaced at the thought of what her recovery would be like, having seen it first hand in many a jail medical ward. Still, the effect, though unpleasant, wasn't life threatening. "How soon can I get an interview statement from Officer Wilde?"

"Not before tomorrow morning," Madge replied.

"I thought..."

"He was in a lot of pain so I administered a sedative so he could sleep comfortably through the night."

"I wish you'd asked me first before knocking out one of my principle witnesses."

"Sorry chief. But my patient's needs come before yours," the doctor replied. "If you'd like, you can have one of your men interview the young ferret girl who came in with your officers."

"She's awake?"

The honey badger nodded. "She received only a tiny dose of tranquilizer, good for maybe an hour or so. She's awake and her side effects were almost nothing. If you'd like, I can have her transferred to a regular room for the interview since we're keeping her overnight for observation."

"How is she doing?"

"Bruises, lacerations... nothing too serious, though she's still suffering a bit of trauma, so whoever you send in, make sure they're easy on her."

"Noted. I'll have Officer Brie from the Little Rodentia sub-station come by to do the interview. She shouldn't be too intimidating."

"Thank-you," Madge replied. "I'll have your people admitted as well and get you a list of their room numbers. Oh, now that I think about it, your mugger should be ready for pick-up in about twelve hours. Officer Anderson is watching over him in the jail medical ward."

"I'll send someone up to relieve him later tonight. I take it our perp got off with less damage than he deserves?"

"Minor concussion, though once he gets to jail, you might want to have him shower. He stinks like a garbage can."

"That can be arranged," the chief replied.

Madge smiled, then escorted Bogo from her office, shaking hands with him as she went off to help one of the interns with a patient.

The cape buffalo pulled out his phone and made a quick call before turning and walking into the waiting room where the other officers sat. "Listen up!" he said, keeping his voice toned down for the sake of the civilians in the room. "Both Hopps and Wilde will make full recoveries and are not in danger." He looked over at a dark gray lupine. "Wolfard...drive over to Little Rodentia and pick up Officer Brie. Bring her back here and observe a witness interview. Let Brie do all the talking, you just take notes."

The wolf nodded and left.

"Fangmeyer... Take a break, get some sleep then report back here in seven hours to relieve Anderson in the Jail Medical Ward."

The tiger also nodded and left.

"The rest of you get back out on the street and finish your watch." There was a long pause where no one moved and they all looked at Bogo in anticipation. He waited until the count of five before saying anything.

"Seventeen!"

There was some soft chuckling and the group began to break up. Three of the offices cursed mildly, crumpled up some pieces of paper they had and tossed them casually toward the trash can. They all missed.

"You three," Bogo, said sharply. They paused and looked at the chief. "Parking Duty...Two days each!"

"What?" Grizzoli asked. "What did we do?"

The chief looked over at the polar bear. "Two things... First, I don't like betting on the job, especially when it involves the health and safety of fellow officers. And you can tell whoever started this poll that if they don't put the money for it in the ZPD Police Charity Fund by noon tomorrow, they will replace Officer Muriel as the Permanent Parking Enforcement Officer when she retires.

"What's the second thing?" another officer asked.

"Littering in a public area," Bogo growled.

**********

Nicholas Wilde, as a rule, had learned long ago to deal with new experiences with either an exuberant elation, if they were pleasant, or a sardonic acceptance of life's tribulations if they weren't. Waking up in the hospital definitely fell into the latter category. He groggily opened his eyes and looked around him for a moment or two before taking a deep breath, or half of one as his chest quickly reminded him that bullet proof did not mean pain proof. After a few careful breaths, he found a comfortable compromise that satisfied both his lungs' desire for air and his sternum's desire not to be overworked. It helped that there was a fox-sized cannula leading from his nosepad to a small oxygen tank. The down side was it left his mouth feeling horribly dry.

He quickly spotted a small pitcher of water and a paper cup next to his bed, both in easy reach and just that quickly his problem was solved. Unfortunately, not all problems were so adeptly mastered and ten minutes later his second problem of the day made its appearance known in the form of a stern faced cape buffalo.

"Morning Wilde. How are you feeling?"

"Considering the circumstances, sir, tolerably well," the fox replied. Bogo noted that the glint had returned to his officer's eyes. "How's Carrots... I mean Judy doing?"

"Well enough. She's still tranqed out but according to the doctor, she'll make a full recovery."

Nick gave a sigh of relief hearing that. "Any chance I can see her?"

"I'll take you to her room personally once we finish with your debrief."

The fox looked up at the chief. "I'll do my best, but I'm afraid that after I was shot things were kind of fuzzy. I may not be able to give you much more than my immediate impressions."

"In some cases, impressions can be more revealing than eyewitness testimony, especially when backed by solid instinct."

The todd smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment, sir."

"Assume nothing, officer. I'll let you know when I'm giving you a compliment." He turned and gestured toward the door and a stenographer stepped into the room carrying a notebook and portable recorder. To Nick's surprise, it was Deputy Butler. The hinny smiled at him, set aside her cane and took a seat, placing the recorder on a nearby service table.

"Where's Angela, your secretary?"

"She's out sick for a couple of days," the chief explained. "Sergeant Butler volunteered to help out when I couldn't get a temporary replacement from the City Services Work Pool."

"I use to work as a court stenographer before applying to the Sheriff's Department. Some skill sets never leave you."

"That's why I have to keep a close eye on Officer Wilde," Bogo said to the Deputy. "I have to make sure his talent for hustling is only used in the cause of justice."

The fox's gaze shifted back and forth between the two, his expression completely deadpan. This could become both interesting and enlightening.

The chief looked back at his officer. "Okay. Let's start with the most nagging question first. How exactly did Officer Hopps manage to shoot herself with one of her own darts?"

**********

Judy had felt better. She just couldn't remember when at the moment. Wiping her mouth with a moist towelette, she passed the bedpan back to Nick who handed it to a nearby nurse's aide.

"If you just lie back and not move, the nausea will pass," the young otter said, turning and walking into the restroom for the third time.

The bunny tiredly lay back and closed her eyes. She thought back to her academy training when they'd been introduced to the tools of the trade by being subject to a tranq round measured for one fifth their individual body size. It had put Judy down for about fifteen minutes, but hadn't caused the side effects she was currently suffering. At the moment, she felt sorry for herself, and by extension anyone she'd ever had to dart. A standard round was measured to take down a wolf-sized predator (or prey). The larger the perp, the more darts you used. It had been evaluated thoroughly and judged safe for use on a criminals as small as a squirrel. For escaping suspects smaller than that, the police carried aerosol cans called glue tubes that were effective at stopping rats, mice and chipmunks in their tracks, though clean-up tended to be a bit more difficult.

"You want some water," asked Nick, interrupting the bunny's reverie. She started to instinctively push herself up, but a gentle fox hand on her shoulder kept her in place. "Relax, I've got this," he said. The todd held out a cup with a straw in it and guided it up to Judy's mouth. She took a few sips then thanked him, her eyes still closed against the nausea. It had been such a relief to see her partner sitting next to her bed when she woke up that she immediately reached out and hugged him. Naturally, this triggered a near catastrophic case of vertigo, but the fox was able to grab a bedpan in time to avert a disaster.

"Officer Wilde... Didn't I tell you before to stay seated in that wheelchair?" admonished the otter. "Ignore me again and I'll wheel you right back to your room for the rest of the day."

"Just helping out my partner, and if you look closely, I am not standing on my injured foot."

"You let me worry about Officer Hopps... now SIT!"

Nick sat down, momentarily defeated. "Yes Nurse Rachett." He watched as the otter as she gathered together several towels and headed out the door. "I wonder if she's any relation to the chief."

"I doubt it," Judy responded. "Speaking of Bogo, when do you think he'll come by for my debriefing?"

"Not until late. The doctor and I conspired to make sure you don't have to answer any questions until you are over your side effects."

"I still can't believe he thought I was clumsy enough to shoot myself with my own tranq."

"Stranger things have happened, but then he wasn't there."

"Neither was I, to be honest. I never saw who shot you. All I could see was a large, dark figure in an equally dark alley."

"Not to worry. Both Penelope and I saw enough to ensure the safety of your marksmanship medal."

"Penelope?"

"The mugger's victim. She pretty much cohobated what I told Bogo."

"That's a relief. So the person I tried to tranq was actually our mystery hero from the train robbery?"

"That's what I told the chief."

Judy sighed ruefully. "To think I had a chance to bring that whole case to an end and I blew it. Considering the circumstances and the fact he saved your life, I'm kind of glad he got away. I wonder what that makes me."

"Just like the rest of us, Carrots. Trying to stay sane in a crazy world."