Cheers greeted Nick and Judy the second they entered the cafeteria at the precinct for lunch. Their fellow officers were grinning and clapped loudly.
“Our singing sensations!”
“Whoa!” Judy drew back in shock. “What—?”
“What’s all this?” Nick asked, just as shocked.
“We heard the news about the bar,” said one of the officers. “You two made ZPD proud with those voices. You’re all the rage!”
“How did you know about that?” Judy asked. “You mean our karaoke performance?”
“Duh.” The officer looked at her admirably. “News travels fast when it’s our people involved. Why didn't you tell us you could sing like that?”
“Wait,” Nick spoke up. “What do you mean, ‘news travels fast?’ Are we missing something here?”
“Dude, you’re all over TikTok.” Another officer held up his phone, where a video of Nick and Judy singing at The Watering Hole was playing. “Someone at the bar captured your magical moment. Seems everyone in there was entranced by you, and now I can see why just by listening to your voices. You guys sound amazing!”
“Someone recorded us?” Judy cried in disbelief. “When??”
“Must be because you gave one kick-ass show.” The officer shrugged. “Hey, if you’re gonna do karaoke like that at a public bar, expect to be recorded. It’s kind of a thing in today’s world.”
“Let me see that!” Nick snatched the phone and stared at the screen. His eyes went wide as he watched himself and Judy onstage.
“You two really got close during that song.” An officer smirked. “Like close, if ya know what I mean.”
“Who could have recorded this?” Nick wondered.
“Anyone,” Judy replied, leaning in to watch it with him. “There were a lot of people there. It was like the whole bar stopped and watched us when we were singing. There are probably multiple videos out there of us.” She squinted at the caption below the video, reading it aloud. “‘Incredible Singing by ZPD Officers at The Watering Hole.’”
“It’s already got over a million views?” Nick cried out. “And it’s still counting! This thing literally blew up!”
“As we were saying, you guys are the rage right now,” the officer said as Nick handed him his phone back. “You’ve done all of us proud. That performance will be a golden mark on the ZPD for a long time.”
“Well, do you know the backstory behind that?” Judy asked as she picked up a tray from the line. “It was completely unintentional. Nick decided to pull a fast one on me and forced me into singing that song. I didn't have much of a choice. The audience was waiting, and the DJ announced my name in front of the whole bar. I honestly thought that Nick was going to be the one to perform. I had never been so put on the spot in my life.”
She almost glared at Nick, but Nick just gave her his irritatingly attractive smirk in response.
“Come on, you know you loved it,” he insisted. “You were radiating passion the whole time we were singing. You put all your soul into that song. I saw that smile on your face.”
“Because I was secretly thinking of getting back at you for calling me up like that,” Judy answered. “It was embarrassing. I was not prepared to sing in front of a bunch of strangers. I thought YOU were going to sing something!”
“I did,” Nick reminded her. “With you.”
“Ugh!” Judy rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky I love to perform. Otherwise, I would have tanned your hide the second we got home. You sly fox.”
“So Wilde was the one who convinced you to go up there?” Officer Henderson spoke. He clapped Nick on the back. “Way to go, dude! You all deserved those millions of views.”
“Yeah, he convinced me, all right,” Judy answered. “After the DJ name-dropped me as the supposed star of the evening. Leave it to Nick to be sneaky like that. You don’t want to know what was running through my head during that moment. I certainly did not expect to become TikTok famous, either.”
“Who does?” Officer Higgins.
“Well, Judy then said she would sing only if I got up there with her,” Nick explained. “So I thought that was fair. That’s how I ended up being onstage with her.”
“That song—it’s so familiar.” Officer Edelstein. “What’s it called?”
“‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside.’” Judy spoke at the same time Nick did, and then they both blushed, coughing awkwardly, before Judy continued. “It’s usually performed around Christmas, and it’s meant to be a duet. I just had it stuck in my head and I guess Nick took advantage of that.”
“I heard her singing it to herself one morning and I fell in love,” Nick admitted. “I told her she needed to go out and flaunt that skill. Pure talent should never be hidden.”
“Preach!” Officer Higgins shouted.
“How many of you have seen that video?” Judy demanded.
“Um,” Officer Edelstein started. “Pretty much the whole precinct. At least by this point.”
“What? Really?” Nick cried.
“Has Chief Bogo seen it?” Judy asked.
“Who knows what Chief Bogo does?” Edelstein shrugged. “But I believe he has. I don’t know how he wouldn't. And Clawhauser has been raving about it all morning at the front desk.”
“Oof.” Nick shook his head, amazed.
“You guys are true karaoke heroes,” Higgins praised. “You know, Hopps, despite everything you may have been feeling at the time, it seems Wilde did you a favor by pushing you to sing. You’ve seriously got talent. None of us knew your voice sounded like that, and now you’re all over TikTok. He’s right; you’ve gotta flaunt what you got.”
“I don’t want to be a singer, though,” Judy replied. “I’m happy right here as a cop. I want to help people and make the world a better place.”
She slid her tray along the food line and carefully picked out her lunch, walking with it over to a table that wasn't as crowded. She sat down on the end of the long bench and opened her can of soda. A while later, Nick came over to join her and sat directly across from her. His tray had twice as much food on it as hers did.
“What? I’m not glum,” Judy replied.
“Your face says otherwise.” Nick opened a carton of milk. “I can read you like a book, Carrots. You’re not still upset about the karaoke, are you? Because you enjoyed it.”
“Sure, I enjoyed it,” Judy confessed. “Once I got my confidence rolling. And having you there really boosted morale for me. I just hated being put in the spotlight without being told. I felt singled out.”
“You were singled out,” Nick told her. “I singled you out because I care about you and I wanted that entire bar to see you in the way I saw you. Everyone needed to hear your voice. What’s the point of having singing skills if you can’t share them? You deserve to feel appreciated, Carrots. I fell in love with your singing in my shower that morning and I wanted to make sure others fell in love with it, too.”
“Yo, Hopps! Wilde!” Henderson called out to them. “What’s the precinct’s biggest hit duo doing over there? Sing something for us!”
“What?” Judy called back. “You want me and Nick to sing for you? Wasn't the TikTok enough?”
“Nah, dude,” Henderson answered. “The TikTok doesn't really do your voices much justice. It’s always grainy on a phone. We want to hear you up close and in person. Are there any other songs you guys know that you can sing together?”
“I know a few,” Judy answered. “What do you want to do, Nick? Should we belt out a tune for our fellow guys in blue?”
“Only if you want to,” Nick replied. “Personally, I’d prefer to have just you strut your stuff and sing something on your own, but if you want me to join in, I will. What do you want to sing?”
“There’s a song called ‘White Bird,’ which is similar to the holiday one,” Judy said. “It’s kind of long, though. We may have to shorten some of the verses.”
“I think I know that one,” Nick said, perking up. “If it’s the one I’m thinking of, it goes ‘white bird, in a golden cage.’”
“That’s it!” Judy affirmed it. “You’ve heard it?”
“A long time ago,” Nick answered. “I don’t really know the lyrics that well. I only know the main verse. But luckily, we can get the whole lyrics.” He pulled out his phone. “This is one instance where Zoogle is your BFF.”
