Remastered - 10/18/2017

The days had passed just as usual for everyone in the world. But Judy, she was terrified of every little thing. The night Nick passed out on the side of the road did more to her than she let on. She never expected something like that to happen, but then again, no one ever does.

Thankfully, she was not the only one out there when it happened. One of their neighbors, a Bengal tiger… what was his name again? She couldn't remember, but she didn't think it ever really came up. They didn't know him too well but said hello whenever they saw him in the hallways of their apartment. He found Judy kneeling and sobbing over Nick and did as much as he could to help them, calling an ambulance and then giving Judy a ride to the hospital. She would have thanked him, but her mind was so preoccupied with… things. Bad things.

Now, Judy and Nick sat next to each other in the waiting room. Nick was so pensive she could feel it, like the drumming of an elephant's heartbeat. She was the same way though. The tests had been done while Nick was in the hospital, and now they were waiting for the results. A nurse walked through the door to the waiting room and called, "Mr. Wilde, the doctor will see you, now."

"Ok," came his voice, quiet and weak. Giving Judy a quick, fearful glance, he took her paw and they walked into the doctor's office

The nurse led them to the correct room where they took a seat in front of his desk. Nick felt the wooden chair, the oak was smooth beneath his pads and cool to the touch. Nick didn't realize it, but he had been staring at the top of the desk in front of him for quite some time, oblivious to the stag and the bunny staring at him.

"Mr. Wilde," the doctor said, bringing Nick's attention from everything else to him.

"Oh, sorry," Nick apologized. He rubbed at his eyes, hoping to regain some focus on reality, but his mind stayed in a very dark place which caused him to lose his grip on the real world every so often.

"It's quite alright. I imagine you've been quite nervous." Nick nodded his head up and down. "We've got the results back."

Nick gulped down a massive lump in his throat. This was it.

"People react to this news very differently, so I just need to get it out there…. The tests were positive for an aggressive, late-stage primary cardiac tumor. Mr. Wilde, you have heart cancer."

Judy heard, but she didn't believe. Nick? Cancer? It couldn't be, there was just no way this could be happening to them… they were just getting started with life. She tried to look at Nick through her tear-filled eyes, but he only came back as a blur of russet fur and blue from his shirt. She blinked, causing the tears to fall away from her eyes and reveal a version of Nick that she had never seen before.

Eyes stuck open and fearful, glazed over with uncertainty. His mouth hung open ever so slightly to give the world a fleeting glimpse of his quivering tongue and lips. His heart rate had slowed to almost nothing, but it was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear it. He looked afraid.

"It can be a lot to process, but there is something else that I must tell you." Judy looked back to the stag and envied his calm, emotionless attitude. She didn't want to feel like such a cry-baby right now, even if this was some terrible news. She wanted to be strong, strong for Nick.

"Unfortunately, the cancer was found very late. I'm baffled that you didn't feel symptoms earlier. Because of that, it is terminal. I will give you at most, two months. Mr. Wilde, Ms. Hopps, I'm terribly sorry…"

Two months…. I'm going to die…. Two months, and I'm going to die….

"Nick…" Judy said. He didn't respond.

"Nick," she said louder. He shuddered and looked around as if he'd just been released from a trance. He looked down at her, not saying anything.

"I'll leave you two alone for now. Please take the time to process this carefully. It's important not to do anything rash." With that, the doctor left the room. Nick opened his mouth as if to say something, but he closed it before he could speak.

"Nick, we have to do something about this. We have to be able to do something. I…." She stopped. Judy became distracted by Nick. He was just… staring at her, like he was trying to memorize every little detail of this moment, from the way her nose twitched ever so slightly, to how her fur danced back and forth with each movement of her head.

"I don't know what to do, Carrots. I'm just trying to figure out what just happened." Nick didn't know what else to say, so he just looked down into his folded paws. The tears began to well up in his eyes. Judy felt tears grow larger and larger until they too ran down her cheeks.

The two came together for a hug and Nick began lightly sobbing, patting Judy softly on her back. They said nothing to each other. It was maybe ten minutes after the doctor left that they finally left as well. Nick had his arm around Judy and she was holding his paw, holding onto it like he would disappear if she let go.

They walked out of the hospital and into the warm summer air. They walked all the way to their apartment from the hospital, as silent as possible. Neither of them had the energy nor the willpower to strike up a conversation. When they arrived at their apartment, Nick walked to the entrance of their bedroom and turned back to her.

"I'm going to do a little reflection… alone, if that's alright." Nick said quietly. Judy did not reply, so Nick walked into their room and shut the door. Judy walked out on the balcony and slid the glass door behind her. Just as she did this, her phone began ringing. She looked to see it was her mother requesting Muzzle Time. Even though she really did not want to talk, and even though she was in no place to be talking, she answered.

"Hey sweetheart, how have things been going?" her mother questioned.

Oh crap! she thought. Judy had been so preoccupied with the events of the last few days that she forgot to tell her parents what happened earlier that week.

"Life sucks right now mom. I completely forgot to talk to you about this."

"What's going on Judy?" Bonnie asked, feeling concerned.

"On Monday, Nick collapsed while we were walking to the subway station. He spent the night in the hospital while they did tests. The results came back today and we just found out... Nick has heart cancer. They are giving him two months. They said they found it late so there's nothing they can do for him, not that there would have been anything to do regardless." Bonnie looked confused and petrified at the same time, not really believing what she had just heard.

"Oh, my… I really shouldn't have called." Bonnie said

"No, mom, it's fine really. You were going to find out this way sooner or later." Judy said, trying her hardest not to cry.

"Listen, I'm not going to make you talk about it anymore. I'll let you go now."

"Ok, mom," Judy said. "I love you…"

" I love you too," Bonnie said, holding back tears. The call ended and Judy put her phone in her pocket. She sat down on the balcony and looked up at the blue sky, wishing that today had never happened. Judy's eyes closed, and within minutes everything went black.

Judy awoke to the sound of the sliding door opening. Nick walked out, staring at his feet. He took a seat on the balcony next to Judy.

"So… do you want to talk about earlier?" he said with a quiet voice.

"Nick, I'm not sure what to do. There's nothing we can do," Judy said.

"I know. That's the part I'm still trying to understand, but we have to… be ready. We need to be… prepared… for the worst."

"I'm just so scared, Nick. I really don't know how to react." Judy said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"I know… I am too." Nick knelt in front of Judy, putting his paw on her face, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You will be okay, Carrots. We still have time." Judy became angry.

"No! Nick. I won't be okay! You are going to die, and I'm going to be all alone! I'm scared for what's to come... I, I don't want to lose you!" Judy wrapped her arms around Nick's neck, sobbing heavily. Nick could tell that Judy was not going to accept the facts, at least she didn't want to right now. He hugged her back and held back tears of his own.

"Listen… Judy… I know you don't want to lose me. I'm not exactly thrilled either, but we need to stay hopeful." Nick said, hoping that Judy would calm down. He hated seeing her cry. Nick remembered the first time he had seen her cry, under the bridge. He remembered how hard it was for him to not start crying with her. Nick wanted her to know how much he hurt inside, how much he feared his last moments would be without her.

"I don't want to lose you, Judy. I don't know if you will be by my side when my time comes to pass, and I won't lie to you, that's my biggest fear, that you won't be with me until the end. I don't want this to be the end of us. It can't be. We need each other more than ever now." Nick began softly sobbing. His emotions were getting the better of him, but he didn't care. "We can make it through this together."

"You really think so?" Judy said, wiping the tears from her beautiful violet eyes. Nick stared into her eyes, fully realizing just how beautiful her eyes were. Nick looked at Judy as if it was the first time, taking in the exquisite beauty that sat before him. Judy, now sitting normally in her chair, stared back into Nick's piercing green eyes. Both of them leaned forward, lips touching in delicate passion. Nick's arms wrapped around Judy and her arms went around his neck. They moved apart, breaking the kiss, looked into each other's eyes once again, and moved back in for another kiss as if this was the last time they would be together. Nick moved away, still staring into Judy's eyes.

"I know so," he said. Judy stood up, motioning for Nick to get up as well. They walked back into their apartment, knowing very well that they had nothing to fear.

They slid the door closed behind them. Judy felt better about the situation, but she couldn't help still feeling scared. She had all the reason to feel this way, that was for sure, but Nick had shown her that she didn't need to be scared. Nick plopped on the couch and patted the spot next to him. Judy hopped up onto the couch and leaned her head against Nick's side.

"Ya know what, Carrots?" Nick said. "We never got to go to Ray's. How about some drinks to ease the moment?"

Judy looked up at Nick."I thought you'd never ask," she said. Nick stood up and Judy got up along with him.

"I think we'd better go if we're going to do this. They're going to be getting busy soon," Nick said.

"We can wait a little bit. I think we both deserve to just sit down here for a bit." Nick hated to admit it, but that did sound good. He'd spent the last couple days laying in a hospital bed, not getting out of it until last night, then going right back to the hospital to hear the worst news of his life.

He sank back into the couch, relaxing his entire body. He laid back, put his paws behind his head and let out a big sigh of relief. Judy put one of her paws on his chest, feeling his heartbeat and the rising and falling of his breathing. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Nick loved being this close to Judy. He always felt like nothing could go wrong. He looked at Judy, once again seeing just how beautiful she was.

Nick looked at his partner like it was the last he would ever get to see her. She looked up and their eyes met.

Damn… Nick thought when he caught glimpse of her lavender eyes.

"Has anyone ever told you just how beautiful your eyes are?" Nick said.

"Not really. I mean, sure, people have commented on how nice the color is, but I've never heard anyone say it like that." Judy said. She could feel her ears go red.

"Well, it's true. And not just about your eyes. You are beautiful. All of you. Every aspect of you, from your eyes to the way that you brighten up a room just by walking in. Don't ever let any of that change, Carrots. Never let anything take that away from you."

"Nick…" Judy didn't know what to say. She'd never heard words like that. Judy got closer to Nick. He looked down so his muzzle was touching the top of her head. They stayed in the embrace of each other for what seemed an eternity. An eternity that neither of them wanted to end.

Judy broke the silence. "Alright, Slick. I'm going to get ready." Judy said as she hopped down from the couch and into the bathroom. Nick got up and just sat for a moment, taking the time to remember and cherish that moment. Nick stood up and went into their bedroom. He walked by his desk, seeing his paper from earlier.

"Can't have her seeing that just yet…" Nick whispered to himself. He grabbed the paper and put it in the small filing cabinet beneath his desk. Nick walked over to the large walk-in closet, opened the door and turned the light on. Nick looked on the right side where he had all of his clothes. Nick figured that since tonight was going to be extra special, he'd wear something a bit more formal. Nick found a long-sleeved, maroon dress shirt, a black bowtie, and a pair of black slacks.

He grabbed his suit jacket as well just to complete the look. He put on his shiny black shoes and looked in the mirror. It wasn't really his style, but he had to admit that he felt proud of what he picked. He decided to leave the room before Judy walked in to get dressed. Nick walked back out into the living room and leaned up against the wall, being sure not to wrinkle his jacket. He heard the door to the bathroom open and Judy walked straight from the bathroom to their room. Nick pulled out his phone to see a message from Clawhauser.

Clawhauser: I hope everything went well this morning...

Nick: Things really can't be much worse, but right now everything is ok.

Clawhauser: I don't like the sound of that. Please tell me that everything is good…

Nick: Unfortunately no. I'll tell everyone on Monday.

Clawhauser: Ok :(

Nick put his phone back in his pocket. He looked at the clock on the wall, reading 4:37. Hopefully, they could get seats right away. Bar seats wouldn't be bad but Nick wanted to get an actual table. Going to Ray's without a reservation was nearly impossible, but if they were early enough, they should have no problem. Judy walked out of the bedroom. Nick looked over at her, seeing her in a maroon dress. Nick stared at her, amazed at how wonderful she looked.

"Great minds think alike," she said, nodding to Nick's shirt. Nick smiled. The dress was perfect. It left one leg significantly more exposed than the other; the perfect blend of class and sexiness. It was plenty long having a little bit of material lying on the floor behind her. What's more, it made her eyes stand out even more, giving her a radiating glow of extravagant beauty.

"I see. This is a nice surprise," Nick said, still stunned by the way she looked. Judy walked towards Nick. Nick looked at her, offering his arm to her. She reached up and held on and they walked out the door.

Nick and Judy made it to the front of Ray's Tied House. It was a rather large building, constructed in a way to make it appear as a large cabin in the mountains. The use of cobblestones on the exterior gave it a genuine feeling. Nick and Judy walked inside, where the theme of the exterior merged with that of a modern home. A rustic but refined atmosphere surrounded them. Nick and Judy stood in front of a podium where they awaited seating. A wolf walked by and saw the two standing there.

"Hi, welcome to Ray's Tied House. Do you have a reservation?"

"No, we don't," Nick said.

"Alright. Let me see if we have any available seating," The waiter looked down at the podium, scrolled on a touchscreen a couple of times then looked up,

"Is it just going to be a party of two?" The wolf asked.

"Yep, it's just us," Nick said.

"Ok, I'll have you two follow me," and they began following the wolf back to their seats. The wolf led them to a small round table right next to a tall window. "I can go ahead and get you some drinks…" the wolf said.

Nick took only a few seconds to order his drink, his usual scotch and soda. Judy ordered a simple glass of carrot juice as well as an extra glass of ice water. The waiter nodded and left to go get their drinks. Nick looked at Judy with a grin on his face.

"What?" Judy asked.

"Did you see the look on his face when he first saw us? He was so confused." Nick said, holding back a slight giggle.

"I didn't even notice," Judy said. "I kept getting a glare from that doe over there." Judy motioned behind her. Nick looked over to see a doe quickly turn her head away from the two. "I think she's jealous of my dress, or maybe the fox that's sitting across from me…. Or maybe both…" Judy said with a sarcastic tone.

"I imagine it's both. She gave me a bit of a death stare when we first walked in. Not that there wouldn't be a reason to be jealous… of us." Nick said sarcastically. He was right. There most definitely was a reason to be jealous. They were perfect together.

"You always know what to say to put a smile on my face," Judy said.

"I don't know about that, but I try at least."

"It works more often than you think, Nick." The waiter came back with the drinks and set them on the table.

"Can I get you two anything to eat?"

"We'll just have a small order of cheese curds for now," Nick said, "Oh and can you get a glass of Merlot for the lady?"

"Absolutely, sir." the waiter said. Judy gave Nick a glare, not unlike the one the doe gave them.

"Nick, you know I don't drink."

"Awww, come on, Carrots. Have a little bit of fun tonight. Let's try to have a good time."

"You can be such a pain sometimes…" Judy said, holding back a smile. After a couple of minutes, the waiter came back with Judy's drink.

"I've got the Merlot," he said. Judy looked up at him and he placed the glass in front of her. Judy picked up the glass and put it to her lips, taking a small sip. She set the glass down and analyzed the flavor. She put a clenched paw up to her chest as the alcohol burned in her throat.

"That is quite the feeling," Judy said while letting out a small cough. "Good flavor, but does it have to burn so much?"

"Do you want to try a sip of my scotch?" Nick said jokingly.

"Pass," Judy said with a giggle.

"Well, Carrots. We've known each other for three years now. I'd like to propose a toast." Nick and Judy both raised their glasses. "That the remainder of our time together is filled with nothing but good memories." Nick and Judy touched glasses and they both took a drink.

"I think I could get used to this stuff," Judy said.

"Oh, now you like it. I can't seem to do anything right can I?" Nick said sarcastically.

"You know what I meant."

"Well, on another note, I've always thought of what would have happened had we not met," Nick said. Judy herself had considered this on a few occasions over the past three years.

"While I hate to say it, you'd probably not be here right now," Judy said.

"Elaborate, please," Nick said, staring intently at Judy wanting to hear what she had to say.

"Well, think about it. Had I not been a prejudiced ass-hat, Bellwether would likely still be in power because I would have never had the help to solve the Nighthowler case. She would have gotten every predator in Zootopia, including you."

"Well let's not forget that you wouldn't be a cop either. Had you not had the help of an expert detective like moi," Nick said while pointing at his grinning face. "You would have failed to solve the case in 48 hours, or rather at all and then been forced to resign," Nick said.

"Good point, but what about all the good things that came. Like this last year of us." Judy put strong emphasis on the word 'us'.

"This last year has been one of the craziest things to happen to me. I mean, who would have thought that I'd be dating a fox from the big city? Most of my family didn't think I would make it through the academy, let alone become a notable officer in Precinct One. But this takes the cake. This last year… has an impossible one for sure." Nick looked at Judy.

"I can't be that bad for you to call it impossible," Nick said.

"You'd be surprised, Slick. There's more to you that you don't even know about."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Nick said, eager to listen to Judy.

"Like how you sing in the shower." Nick's grin quickly turned into a frown.

"You hear that, don't you…" Nick said, his ears falling back. Judy didn't reply with words, just a slow nodding of her head and a smug little grin on her face.

"Hey don't get me wrong, you're a great singer. It's just hilarious that you had no idea I can hear you." Just then, the waiter came back.

"Alright, I've got an order of our famous cheese curds?"

"Yep, that's us," Nick said

"Ok, can I get you two anything else?"

"Nope, I think we're good for now, thank you." The waiter walked away. Nick was staring at the basket of cheese curds. These were the best you could get, and Nick's favorite. Nick grabbed one and popped it into his mouth, chewing and letting out a satisfactory moan. "Soooo good!" Nick said.

"I never understood the appeal of fried balls of cheese. It just seems like a heart attack waiting to happen." Judy said.

"Oh come on, when something is this good, who cares if they're incredibly unhealthy." In five minutes, Nick had the entire basket completely gone and was ready for another glass of Brandy. Judy had managed to get the entire glass of Merlot down, but she refused a second as she was really feeling the effects of the alcohol. They spent almost two hours just talking and telling stories. Nick paid for the drinks and food, and they got up and left, Nick wobbling a bit as he stood up.

"You know Nick, I've told you all about my family, but I've never heard about yours. You've only told me about the muzzling, but we've been together for a while, and I want more." Judy said, slurring her words slightly.

"So you want to know about where I came from, huh? Well, let's get home so we can sit down and talk. It's kind of a long story."