A.N: Honestly, I saw this fanart- which is the cover pic -of Nick holding Judy's bloody body in the pouring rain and then this story was born. I wanted an explanation for what was happening. Plus, ever since I saw the movie, I've ben trying to hunt down some serious Judy/Nick angst. I haven't really read anything I liked enough yet, so I wrote something myself. Go figure.

This is super sad and will be continued, so I guess, please enjoy it knowing that I will write a happy ending no matter what.

Thunder booms loud overhead and the already ominous sky takes on a darker tone as more rainclouds gather. Nick looks up at the sky for a moment, grim faced at the prospect of rain that will inevitably add to what is already shaping up to be a troublesome chase. The humidity from the oncoming storm clogs his throat, it's so thick in the air.

Nick is quickly snapped back to reality when Judy peeks out from the alleyway and tells him, "Nick, we've gotta get moving!"

And then she's gone before he can blink.

"Carrots, wait! Don't!" Nick reaches out to pull her back, but he only swipes at the air. He watches helplessly as Judy races up the street after the portly hippo and his thieving zebra partner. The duo just robbed a bank and are trying to outrun the cops on foot. Judy and Nick were the first ones on the scene and at the moment, are the only officers in pursuit. There was no way that they could pursue them with the car, so they had to chase the robbers down on foot. It was Judy's plan to find a close hiding spot on a neighboring street ahead of them, so they wouldn't tip off the escaping perps right away and hopefully catch them by surprise.

Nick growls in frustration, knowing that if he doesn't act fast, Judy might get herself hurt and into trouble. She's a smart rabbit, but she's always overeager and running headlong into dangerous situations without thinking everything through. He dashes immediately after her, but despite his longer legs, he isn't able to match her speeding rabbit sprint as she chases down the hippo.

She's literally about to tackle him when he sees it, and his blood runs cold. A gun. The zebra has a gun pointed right at Judy and she's too focused on the hippo to notice it.

"Judy! He's got a gun! JUDY!"

BANG! Bang! BANG!

Shots ring out and in a literal flash of lightning, Nick's life suddenly switches into a stark, clear line of before and after.

Before, he and his family had played a board game after dinner yesterday and his wife had beaten him mercilessly. Before, Nick had tucked his two little ones into bed last night, reassuring them that Mommy and Daddy were always as safe as possible while on the job. They looked out for each other and kept each other safe. Before, Nick had spent all night curled up around Judy and found himself amazed that he still woke up to her smiling face each morning. Before, he and Judy had stopped at their favorite coffee shop before going into work today.

The after part, well, Nick is terrified to find out what the after holds for him.

"Judy!"

His heart stopped as soon as Judy hit the ground and he races to her side just as the rain starts pouring down. His knees skid against the pavement as he lands next to Judy, and for a moment, his mind goes completely blank and all of his extensive first-aid training is forgotten in an instant. All he can focus on is Judy's body lying in the middle of the road. Blood is already staining her police uniform. A deep, dark red that is saturating her shirt and Nick is horrified to see that there's just so much of it. He can't help but curse the police and their blatant lack of gun training. They didn't even have bullet proof vests because guns were outlawed in Zootopia a long time ago, and manufactures stopped making them shortly after that. There hadn't been a need for vests or proper training or anything of the sort before this very moment.

Nick tentatively reaches out and puts a paw on Judy's shoulder, his chest constricting in fear. Judy's violet eyes flutter open and her gaze lands on his face and his heart starts beating again, pounding in his ears like a drum. His brain kicks back into gear.

Nick slips an arm around her shoulders, holding her still in a comforting embrace, and grasps her paw in his. "Judy? Honey, you have to stay still," he instructs her gently. He has no idea how many times she was shot, but there's a lot of blood coming from her wounds and Nick can't do much of anything until an ambulance arrives.

He doesn't know what happened to the robbers and he doesn't care to know. All he's focused on in his bleeding wife lying in his lap. He looks up and scans the area, relieved to find that the perps are nowhere in sight and he'd rather keep it that way. Nick does remember to get out his radio and call for help, telling the first officer he gets that Officer Hopps is down, and that they need an ambulance before quickly giving them their location. There was already at least a couple cruisers en route to the bank robbery, and they were all just getting word that the criminals were escaping on foot down ninth street. Nick is confident that someone will be here soon. Everyone rushes to the scene when an officer is down.

Judy makes some sort of strained noise in the back of her throat, and he looks back down at her, anxiety filling him. Her heavy-lidded gaze tries to lock with his, but she seems to have a hard time focusing. Judy's breaths are coming in short, rapid pants and she grips his paw tighter as if in sudden pain. She sucks in a quick breath. "Oh, Nick, it hurts!" she moans.

"Shh, Judy, shh," Nick tries in vain to comfort her, but he's at a loss of what to do. He has nothing to stop the bleeding with, and all he knows is that he needs to keep her lying still until she can get to a hospital.

Finally, through the rain, lightning, and thunder, Nick's ears pick up the sound of sirens. Help is coming and a mediocre amount of relief seeps through him.

"Help is on the way, Judy. Your gonna be alright."

" . . . Nick."

Judy suddenly reaches up and somehow, despite her injuries, gently caresses the side of his face. Her paw is trembling and so is her arm. Nick instinctively turns his head and kisses the inside of her paw. His lips are a ghost of a whisper against her fur and she breathes out a small sigh of relief.

"I love you, Nick . . ."

Nick's throat constricts tightly and he tries to swallow down the lump in his throat. He manages to croak out, "I love you so much, Judy."

There's something about it that feels so final to him and Nick tries to shake the horrible feeling off, but now Judy's eyes have finally found his and she's looking up at him with such love and sadness and peace. There's a small smile on her face. Nick finds himself drowning in those large, violet liquid pools and he can't break himself free of her captivating spell. He clutches onto Judy tighter and then her paw drops from his face and she goes completely limp in his arms.

A crack of thunder has him shuddering and he feels as if he's just woken from a dream. All of a sudden, Judy's body begins to shake with uncontrollable tremors. Is she going into shock, already? Has she lost that much blood so quickly?

"Judy? Judy!"

How did she fall unconscious? God damnit, what's happening?

At that very moment, the blue and red lights of the police cruiser wash over him and hope lifts in his chest when he realizes that salvation has finally arrived.

"Help is here! Please hold on for me, honey!" Nick shakes her gently to wake her up and for a split second he doesn't think she's breathing. A cold, icy, tingling runs down his spine that has nothing to do with the rain. He fumbles for a pulse at her wrist and when he doesn't find one, a violent dread swallows him whole.

"JUDY!"

Cops are now surrounding him. Panicked voices are shouting out orders, and questions are being demanded of him. Nick hears the blaring siren of an ambulance. Nick is lost in the middle of it all, hurting so much in the wake of this horrible, tragic after. He cries into Judy's shirt, not caring about the blood.

"No, no, no, no . . ." he moans a broken litany into her chest, somehow hoping to will her heart into beating again.

More loud shouting- words he can't understand -hurt Nick's ears, as tears slip down his cheeks. He clutches onto his wife's broken, bloody body as if it is the only lifeline for his sinking soul in this endless sea of darkness. Everything around him is dimmed down, as if he and Judy are the only two mammals in the entire universe. The noises around him- voices, cars, sirens, thunder -are nothing but shushed whispers. He still has Judy's paw held tightly in his, it's his tether. He see's the red of the blood and the navy blue of her vest, his head still buried into her chest. Through the smell of the rain, he can still make out her distinct smell. It's something like lilac and summer and clover all rolled together.

Nick breathes in and out, trying to surround himself with her scent and imprint it on himself. He never wants to forget it. A choked sob escapes him and rolls though his entire body.

But all too soon, Judy is ripped away from his grasp and she is quickly shuttled into the back of an ambulance. They didn't even give him time to say goodbye or even allow him to get into the ambulance with her. Nick's eyes grow lost and distant when she's suddenly taken from him. He sits there, in the middle of the road, covered in blood that is not his own. The rain pours down relentlessly. Thunder booms in the distance. Nick stares down at the road, where her blood is now being washed away by the rain.

Someone is asking him if he's hurt and Nick shakes his head, eyes still unseeing. A fellow officer gently pulls him aside and kindly offers to take him to the hospital. Nick nods mutely, now in shock himself, and he has no idea what to do in this moment. He isn't sure how to carry himself, or what to say or do. He just feels so lost.

As Nick starts to get into the police cruiser, he suddenly remembers about the bank robbery and the criminals they were after and that damned zebra that shot Judy. Rage fills him and his fists clench in unspeakable anger. The anger gives him a rush of clarity, and despite his turbulent emotional state, Nick's sense of duty kicks in and he can't ignore the niggling long enough to leave the crime scene behind. Judy would have lectured him extensively for it.

He steps back out into the road, looking for whoever seems to be in charge of this catastrophe, when he literally runs right into Chief Bogo. Nick rubs his bruised snout after bumping into the hard muscled mass of the Chief. Bogo turns around and Nick's question must be written all over his face, because the mammal immediately reaches out a hoof and clamps it down on Nick's shoulder. It's a sign of solidarity. He gives Nick a firm nod and his message is clear. Go. We've got this.

Nick nods a quick affirmative and then rushes back to his confused escort, whom he only now recognizes as one of the young, new recruits. They literally just had their first day last week. Bogo must want the kid away from this horrific crime scene, too. He's fresh out of the academy, he still has zits all over his face. He doesn't need to see this.

Nick hoarsely thanks the kid for the ride and then he spends the rest of the trip in complete silence, staring blankly out the window without actually seeing anything.

The rain continues to pour and with a clap of thunder, Nick startles to realize how appropriate the weather is, matching the dark storm in his own broken heart.

A.N: Holy jeebus, I have never in my life killed off a character. Or ever written something so sad before. Why do I want to toy with Nick and Judy so bad?

Anyway, the second chapter is coming very soon, so be on the look out for that!