A/N: Just got to see Zootopia for the first time last night, and suddenly I understood why the fandom has taken off so fast... Anyway, I got home and promptly started browsing the new stories on this site, and thanks to a particular line in Alex Reynard's piece 'Breaking Bellweather', decided that I had to write this.

Hope you all enjoy!

-Triscribe

Prologue

"So what are you going to do? KILL me?!"

"Oh, no, of course not - he is."

Pow!

Splat!

"Argh!"

"No! Nick, fight it, please, you have to fight it-!"

Even as Judy pleaded with him, though, Nick could feel the poison seeping into his veins, overriding his thoughts and replacing them with a primal need to hunt, to kill, to feed-

Distantly, some part of him remained that could hear Judy's shriek of fear, with the demented little sheep's bleating laughter in the background. It was that portion of Nick Wilde that grasped desperately at some semblance of control, tried to rein back his growing savagery. It was all in vain, though. His nose had picked up the scent of blood, of fear, and was intoxicated by it.

He leapt forward, chasing that elusive, fleeing form, one that he knew would provide a bountiful meal for a predator such as himself. Something else, something that wasn't his prey jumped at him, and the fox proceeded to tear it to bits. Then he was stalking towards the cornered rabbit, which had clearly given up on the chase and was just waiting for him to snap its neck and start devouring still warm flesh-

Gasping, Nick sat bolt upright, eyes darting about in a panic as he tasted imaginary blood filling his mouth.

Plain white walls. Wide window opposite a heavy door. Medical equipment on either side of the bed he was laying on. And off to one side, a pale grey and white bunny sat slumped over in a chair, nose twitching slightly as she slept.

Nick ran a shaky paw over his head, gradually calming down as memories returned to him: swapping the serum for blueberries, bringing Bellweather to justice, making it through the police academy, and starting his cop career as Judy's partner. Which all led up to their most recent case, one that included chasing down an elusive tech thief, one with claws sharp enough to-

Oh, right.

-to apparently slice right through police body armor and give a fox four deep gashes across his torso.

Vaguely, Nick could recall Judy standing guard over him, trying to staunch the bleeding until their back-up arrived. After that, everything just sort of faded to black.

Wincing as he laid back down, the fox ran a tentative paw over the bandages wrapped around his middle. At least nothing more than skin and muscle had been torn, though he figured it was a sure bet Judy would be giving him what-for over not being more careful.

Hypocrisy, thy name is rabbit.

Just as he was debating going back to sleep or trying to call for someone, Nick's attention was caught by his partner shifting in her seat.

"Nnnoo..." Judy mumbled, apparently caught in a nightmare of her own if the paw twitching and face scrunching were anything to go by. "Nno... Leave 'im 'lone... Nick..."

Cheeks warming beneath his fur, the fox tried to intervene before anything more embarrassing came out of the bunny's mouth. "Carrots. Hey, Carrots! Judy!"

Purple eyes snapped open, and in an instant she was on her feet, fists held at the ready to go up against supposed opponents. "W-wha-?"

"You alright there, Cottontail?" Her gaze snapped to Nick's grinning face, and Judy went through several different emotions so quickly it was almost impossible to catch them all: relief, joy, irritation, anger, and finally a tired sort of happiness.

"Hey. Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?" She asked, coming over to stand by his bedside.

Nick started to fold his arms behind his head, but quickly stopped when the motion unpleasantly jostled his chest. "Eh, I've been better. Also been worse, though, so I'm not about to complain." Judy just hummed, eyes checking over his bandages, before scanning the fox's entire form to make sure he hadn't gained any new injuries.

"You scared me, you know." The bunny said softly, instantly causing her partner's cocky expression to fall. "Worse than at the press conference. If you ever get hurt like that again, so help me Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you'll wish Mister Big had iced you last year."

He chuckled, and then instantly winced. "Okay, no jokes, laughing apparently hurts."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault." Nick reached out to catch her chin, lifting it enough that Judy's guilty eyes met his own reassuring ones. "Same goes for what happened on the chase."

The tears that he had been expecting made their appearance, and Nick was quick to grab both his partner's paws and tug her up onto the bed. Granted, he wasn't able to do much actual tugging, but despite being confused as to the why Judy followed through with his silent request, settling herself into a ball beside him.

"I swear this thing's so big it's liable to swallow me whole," the fox joked once they'd both gotten resettled. "At least if you're up here taking up some of the space, there's a chance we can both get some decent rest."

"Both?" Judy asked, cautiously leaning against him.

"I woke up from a nightmare too." He replied darkly.

"Oh... I'm sorry. Was it the museum again?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Same... Well, sort of, but not quite." She quickly added, feeling how tense Nick had gotten. "I keep seeing you getting hit with the real serum, and then the rest of ZPD arriving and forcing a muzzle on you before they dragged you away."

Without a word, he tightened his hold around her slight shoulders, and Judy in return slid an arm across his stomach, just below the bandages. The two of them just stayed like that for a while, basking in the tangible proof of the other's continued life and sanity, until they eventually dropped off in a more peaceful sleep.

There were several animals who came by that saw them like that. The first was a nurse who simply smiled, checked Nick's vitals, and then went on her way. Later was Clawhauser, who snapped a picture of the pair on his phone and immediately sent it off to half the police force. And last but not least came Mr. and Mrs. Otterton, who tucked another blanket around the sleeping officers before leaving a Get Well Soon card and care package on the chair Judy had vacated.

So exhausted from their respective rough times, neither rabbit nor fox reacted towards any of them.

It was one of the last decent rests they each got for a long while...