A massive thank you to KiltedGuy for this prompt and I hope you like what I came up with! Sorry it's taken so long but I've been busy with work and other projects. A massive thank you as well to my new editors, the equally wonderful thenameskipper and wildtimesllc, both of whom you can find on Tumblr! If you would like to give me some one word prompts for more stories, please put them in the comments or message me them here or on Tumblr! Also, don't forget to like, bookmark, subscribe and all that jazz!


"So, are you finally gonna tell me why you were black, blue, busted up, and butt naked in a ditch?" Danny asked, as he readjusted the bandages on my head for the umpteenth time.

"Will you leave off, Danny!" Shu grumbled, despite being unable to prevent him from doing anything as he lay in bed, with both his arms and a leg in casts. "You're like a bloody nurse."

"I am a bloody nurse," Danny reminded the red panda, as he pulled the bandages away from his left eye. "I thought I told you that on day one."

"Well, to be fair, I don't really remember much of day one. Or week one as a matter of fact," Shu admitted. "How long's it been now?"

"Coming up to a month now," Danny replied as he walked over to the medicine cabinet. "I'll have to get you something special for our anniversary."

"Yeah, like getting me out of these goddamn itchy plaster casts! Seriously, how much longer do I have to be in these?!"

"Well, your arms are nearly healed. I'd give them another week before the plaster can come off." Danny said, decanting a viscous gloop into a tiny plastic cup. "Your leg though, you'll be lucky if that comes off by the end of next month. But by then you should be able to move around with a wheelchair at least."

"Thank God! I'll finally be able to move by myself! You'd think not having to move a muscle would be a good thing, until you realise you have to be helped to do everything." Shu groaned, the all too vivid memories of being held with his lavatorial needs bringing a dark red hue to his white muzzle.

Danny returned to his side and, sitting on the edge of his bed, positioned the cup against his muzzle. Shu sneered as the buck held his daily dose right against him. He knew that the buck was not above using underhanded tricks to get him to take his medicine. Big, cute rabbit eyes. Softly pleaded. Sulking and acting hurt, with drooping ears to complete the sad picture. He'd even go on the charm offensive. Praising him, stroking his furs gently, even letting the red panda stroke his ears if it got him to take his medication. In any case, Danny always got what he wanted when it came to his medical well-being. Sighing silently, Shu politely opened his mouth as the buck poured the slow-moving liquid down his throat.

"Still tastes like ass." Shu grimaced, his face contorting with revulsion.

"Well, that's how you know it's working," Danny laughed as he took the cup away from his muzzle. "If it tastes nice then it can't be making you better."

"Where'd you get that titbit?" Shu asked as Danny hopped off the bed and placed the medicine back in the cabinet.

"Oh, you pick things up here and there. Probably from my mum, really. She's full of these little quotes and quips so it's not surprising I picked up a few of them."

"But that's beside the point," Danny said, his face becoming more serious as he turned back to his patient. "Why were you in that ditch Shu?"

"Can we not do this Danny?" He said tiredly. "I'm grateful for everything you've done, I really am, but it's really none of your-."

"Don't you dare say it's none of my business, don't you bloody dare." Danny warned coldly, his usual happy demeanour evaporating in a millisecond. His face turned hard while his eyes swam with rage that had Shu shrinking as far back against his bed that his injured state would allow.

"Do you know I frightened I was when I saw you? I work at a hospital. I see some pretty gruesome stuff there. Rabbits who get mutilated by farming machinery, foxes beaten to an inch of their life, cougars who've had their fangs pulled out with pliers. Stuff that will live with me forever. And I'll be okay with that. That's my job and if I can help those mammals in any small way I will carry those memories gladly.

"But then I saw you. Do you know how scary it is to be going down a dirt track in the dead of night, with rain bouncing off my windshield and see a body at the side of the road? Bones exposed, fur singed, battered beyond belief and not making a sound? That memory will haunt me till the day I die Shu.

"I dragged you into my car and sped all the way back to the hospital. I've never been so scared in all my life. I think that's why the Dean let me take you back home. I've been working there for a while and, with everything I've seen, he had never seen me look so frightened before."

Danny was shaking now, his paws quivering as the pure emotion flooded his body. Shu stared at the bunny as he visibly shook before him, his eyes beginning to brim with tears.

"I'm not asking for much Shu. I just want to know. I care about you, even if you don't care about me. I just want to know who would do something so horrid to such a nice mammal like you."

And that's when the tears began to flow, streaming down his face as the buck began to weep. The buck who had been nursing him back to health at his own expense, in his own time, with no expectation of anything in return other than doing the right thing, stood in the middle of the room, openly weeping.

In that moment a completely foreign feeling began to course through Shu's body. He suddenly wanted to break free from his cast, to cross the space between them and to pull that dumb buck into the best hug he could give. He'd stroke the back of his head and tell him all would be well, massage his ears in the way he knew he liked, and not let go until he cried no more. He owed it to him. More than any other mammal he knew. Shu closed his eyes and breathed.

"I was fifty bucks short."

"Huh?" Danny answered mid-choke, the tears still flowing down his cheeks.

"I was fifty bucks short," Shu repeated with a sigh. "I'm guessing you've seen my... marks."

"Yeah," Danny confirmed, his paw wrapping around the crook of his elbow. "I've seen them."

"Yeah... well I'm not gonna say what it was, though I'm betting you've already know anyway. Probably been treating me for it and all. Anyway, it turns out that that sort of habit isn't cheap, and bloody addictive as well. So you have to buy a lot of that stuff to keep up the habit. Pretty soon you start running out of money and start making a mountain of IOUs to people you don't want to owe.

"So, one day I'm just doing the usual naff all and then these mammals come over and had a 'polite conversation' with me. So after they've finished nearly knocking all my teeth out, they told me I had two weeks to pay them five thousand bucks or they were going to come over for a not very nice conversation. Seeing what a 'nice' conversation was like, getting the cash seemed like the best thing to do."

Stopping for a moment, Shu looked over at the buck. Danny had moved to the edge of the bed, his violet tinted eyes now only having a slight film of tears. His face had calmed, as his breathing. He now appeared as a resolute figure, urging him to continue.

"I'm not proud of what I did," He finally said. "I did a few cons, picked a few wallets, provided a few favours down dark alleyways and in the back of cars. Anything to get the money."

"You should have seen me though!" Shu laughed. "I practically skipped to the meeting. Not a care in the world. I went into that warehouse and practically slammed the money down on the table and dared them to find fault with it. Hell, they were preparing my next batch when they were counting it out. I was on cloud nine. All the crap I did, the degrading things I did in the dead of night with mammals that couldn't give the slightest toss about me, it was all worth it..."

The joy from Shu's face turned into a tight grimace as he stared into the middle distance.

"Fifty bucks short. That's all that needed to be said for me to descend into the inferno. I don't remember much. I got knocked out pretty quick. I guess it was a blessing, in a way. I don't remember most of what happened. But bloody hell, did I feel what I'd missed out on when I woke up. God, I must have woken up the whole planet with my screams. I dunno how long I was left there but, with all the rain and mud round me, I guess I'm just glad you found me when you did."

Shu looked down and felt the buck's paw on his, already stained with tears. He looked up at his face. His face was awash with emotion, yet his enchanting eyes refused to release the tears.

"It's okay, Shu," Danny whispered. "Just let it out."

That's when Shu felt the wetness on his muzzle. His eyes slowly leaking the pent up hurt he'd been carrying around, both physically and emotionally. It was if a huge weight he never knew he had been carrying was slowly being lifted his chest. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he could finally breathe freely.

Shu didn't even attempt to hold back. He just let them flow as his buck nurse finally closed the distance as he held him in his soft arms.

"I'm sorry Danny," Shu managed to say through his choked sobs. "I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad."

"Shh," Danny consoled, stroking his ears to soothe the distraught panda. "Just let it all out Shu. You're right, I did know, or at least I knew some of it. And yes, I've been treating you and I'm not sorry. You needed help and I gave it you. I could tell what you were on. It's not like you're the first junkie I've ever seen. I've seen what that stuff does to you. I've seen friends go down that road and not come back so I'll be damned if I'm letting you go down that tainted road. But we'll talk about this later."

Shu's eyes widened, but were met by the determined, penetrating buck's eyes in return.

"We are going to talk about this. I need to know exactly what's happened to you. A lot of mammals, good mammals, are going to need to know what happened to you. So we can help you. I know there's a lot of stuff you've left out. I know it will be hard to talk about but I'll be here for you. I'll be there every step of the way. Apparently, I'm like a bloody nurse so I guess I'll have to stick around to make sure you're all better."

Shu chuckled, revealing a small toothy grin as the tears flowed down his matted fur.

"See? You're getting better already," Danny snickered, as he help wipe away the red panda's tears. "Just get some rest Shu. We'll talk later. But, just for now, get some rest."

"Okay, I will," Shu finally said, his tears ebbing away. "Thank you. For everything."

"No problem. Now get some sleep. You need it. I'll be here when you wake up, okay?"

"Promise?" Shu asked urgently, looking down at Danny, his face mixed with fear and hope.

Danny held his head between his paws, looking directly into his deep, brown eyes.

"I promise," Danny affirmed, settling Shu's wavering eyes. "I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere Shu. I promise."

"Okay Danny," Shu breathed back, his face settling and tiredness taking over him. "Okay. I trust you."

"Good," he said, the monumental weight of his words not lost on him as he attempted not to break down there and then for him. "Now, please, get some rest."

"Alright." Shu yawned, as emotional tiredness took over him and let his eyes begin to droop as his buck nurse watched on, a glint of understanding in his eye.

"There's my good patient." Danny said, watching the red panda slip off into a much needed slumber. Not wanting to leave him, Danny curled next to him, determined to be there for him in case he needed anything.

"I've got his trust," he thought as his mind became heavy. "I'm not losing that. I'll never lose that Shu. I promise you."

A few hours later pair of violet eyes peeked round the door, having wondered where her son had vanished to. Quietly tiptoeing in the room, a pair of motherly eyes looked down at the buck nurse and his red panda patient. They were both soundly asleep, Danny still softly embracing the broken yet peacefully sleeping Shu. Placing a blanket over the pair, the matronly bunny backed out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"Is he alright in there, mum?" a bunny asked, a note of concern in her voice.

"Don't worry Judy," Bonnie smiled. "I think they're both going to be just fine."