Zootopia Central Hospital
One Day Later

Nick awoke in a fright. He looked around to observe his surroundings. He was in a hospital room. He took it all in: the tan facade of the walls, the tiled linoleum floors, the open window with curtain billowing in the wind. Chairs lined the wall to his left, but they were empty. He was hooked to more tubes and wires than he thought possible; he felt like a living computer with the noisy setup connected to him. He glanced to his right and saw a vase with flowers. Two parcels lay on the tray next to him. He grasped the first and inspected it.

It was an envelope, addressed to "Nick", and sealed on the back with a carrot sticker. Nick smiled; Judy had written it for him. He undid the seal and fished inside for the letter.

"Dear Nick,

"I have requested some vacation time from work to spend with you while you recover.

I'll see you soon.

Judy."

At the end of the letter was a heart, penned in ink and colored red. He realized in that moment how much he longed to see Judy, to see that she was okay, to hug her and never let go. Nick tried to take a deep breath before wincing; his ribs stung in pain when he tried for anything more than a shallow one. He put the letter back and grabbed the second parcel.

It was considerably bulkier, and after tearing through the brown paper wrapping on the outside saw that it was a small cardboard box. After finding and opening the sealed flap, he grabbed the note on top. Having unfolded it, Nick realized that he didn't recognize the handwriting. It was a neat script, slightly tilted, and perfectly inked; it reminded him of the calligraphic scripts he saw in the museum as a child. He began to read.

"Dear Officer Wilde."

Who was this? He didn't recognize the handwriting, and his coworkers wrote to him fairly often. Fans, perhaps? He continued.

"My apologies for nearly killing you by accident."

Nearly killing you by accident? The Night Howler Killer managed to sneak a letter into his hospital room? Nick's mind flooded with questions; he returned his gaze to the letter to continue reading.

"It was a reflex on my part, and I never meant you any real harm. You're lucky I made antidote, or else your doctors would have to lock you up for a long time until the drug expired on its own. The rabbit did a good job administering it through sheer reflex. I am, however, impressed with how you fought against it. Most animals would have gone savage after seconds, but I am told that you held out for nearly a minute. Does the rabbit mean that much to you that you could avoid your biochemistry?"

Nick paused. So it was as he suspected; he had gone savage, and by the sound of it, Judy had saved him. He turned the letter over in his paw. It sounded congratulatory, and yet, vaguely condescending. Nick pressed on.

"Either way, you are an intriguing fellow, and I would like to play a game with you. Inside the parcel is a syringe. Choose whether you or the rabbit will play my game. Twenty-four hours to choose.
-GS"

Nick thought hard. Who was GS? They weren't any initials he could recognize, let alone heard before; why would the killer sign with his initials, why not something more secretive? He took a look inside the cardboard box; there was a small cylinder, with a capped needle on one end. It had no label. Nick turned the letter over in his hand one final time. There was an after-note hastily scribbled at the bottom that Nick nearly missed.

"P.S. I left you a flower; get well soon. It will make my game hard on you if you are unwell."

He glanced over to the flower vase. Which flower could have been left by his stranger? There were roses, tulips, and several flowers he couldn't name; all light yellow, white, or red flowers. Then, there was one flower that was starkly different from the rest. It was deep blue, six petals, with yellow stamens. A Night Howler.

The psychopath had actually been in his room, and not merely had the letter delivered.
Yet somehow, Nick was alive.

"Choose whether you or the rabbit will play my game..." Nick read softly, repeating the phrase over and over. His heart sunk into his stomach. Would he hide the letter from Judy and take the challenge alone, or would he tell her about it while they thought about any possible alternative? He set the contents of the package back on the tray. Why did this have to happen now, of all times?

In that moment, Judy stepped into the room. She was no longer in uniform, instead wearing a violet sweater and long khaki pants.
"Hey Carrots," Nick said weakly, a big grin emerging on his face. She turned to face him; her eyes were red. She had been crying. "Carrots, what's wrong? What's with the tears? We're all alive!"
He then noticed that her arm was in numerous bandages and a sling.
"What happened to your arm?!" he asked loudly, before clutching his chest in pain.
"Nick, you shouldn't exert yourself. This is nothing," Judy said, pointing to her arm. "And these are tears of joy. After the doctors told me you wouldn't end up like the polar bear, I couldn't help but tear up."
She and Nick shared a big dopey smile.
"So, err… Carrots, what happened yesterday, exactly?" Nick tried to change the subject. "My memory is kinda fuzzy after waking up."
"Oh. How much do you remember?" Judy asked, drying her eyes on her sleeves.
"Well..." Nick began. "First, the building got smoked out, then you got sent in but dragged me along, and then I got hit by a dart and... that's it."
"Well, you passed out and I had to call assistance on my radio," Judy said, taking a seat.
"Judy, the truth."
"You don't believe me?" she teased, looking away. He could tell she was lying.
"I know I went savage. You used your vial of Night Howler anti-toxin and it didn't work. How did that happen? I need to know Carrots, please."
"How could you..?" Judy trailed off. She saw the Night Howler in the vase. "No. He was here…"
"Judy, answer me. I need to know." The bunny sighed deeply.
"Fine. I'll tell you everything. Only on one condition."
"Name it," commanded Nick, eager to know the truth.
"You don't feel guilty about what happened."
Nick paused. Was the truth that hard? Had he hurt her?
"Deal," he answered after a moment of deliberation.

"I pulled out the dart in your ribs. You were going mad, twitching, your mouth was foaming, you were clawing at everything. I tried to check if you were okay but you..." Judy touched her cheek. Nick only then noticed three lines where she was missing fur. His heart sank even lower.
"Well, I thought you were about to turn feral, so I took my shot and gave it to you, but that only made you more violent. You jumped. I got out of the way twice, but the third time, you got me." At this point, Judy motioned towards her leg.
"How bad it is?" Interrupted Nick. Judy was silent; she grabbed at her arm, nervously rubbing it, before staring at the floor. "Carrots..." he reiterated. She sighed.
"You tore most of the muscle to shreds; they had to perform emergency surgery. It was 77 stitches." Seventy-seven, Nick mouthed, the anguish growing within him.
"It doesn't hurt so much anymore, and that's seventy-seven total, not just in my arm. I managed to get you off, and that's when you got my arm. I just barely grabbed some syringe on the ground and jabbed you with it, and you stopped. SWAT came in, and that's that," finished Judy.
"So you'd jab me with any dirty needle you found on the ground," Nick spoke, laughing.
"Hey, it was a reflex."

Nick thought about showing her the note. What would she say if she saw it? He decided that it was best to share it. She deserved to know.
"I think when the Night Howler Killer visited my room, he left me something," Nick responded, grabbing the cardboard box. He took the note out and handed it to Judy. As she read it her eyes widened.
"Nick..." she began.
"I'll play his game Judy," Nick said, sitting up. While it pained him to do so, he had to show that he was serious.
"Nick, no! He'll kill you! There has to be another way."
"Like what? Your arm is torn up because of me. I almost killed you. I can't lose you," Nick angrily shouted.
"We'll go to the police, they-"
"We are the police, Judy!" Nick interrupted. "He made a fool out of us! What choice do we have?" Judy stopped and sat silent for several minutes, eyes closed. Finally, she spoke.
"It says here that we have 24 hours to decide. We should think about it carefully."
She walked over, put the note in the box, placed the box back on the tray, and laid on the bed with Nick. He cradled her in his arms as she pushed up against him.

Twenty-four hours didn't seem like nearly long enough.