"Over here. There are no paw prints on this bank, why wasn't anyone over here looking! Niiiick. NIIIICK!"

"Judy please you need to go to the hospital. It's been four hours since he went over the falls, he could be anywhere. You to be seen by a doctor to make sure you're alright."

"Send that asshole medic to the hospital, I warned him not to try and strap me to that bed."

"He is going to the hospital, you broke his arm, and tying you down was for your own good to get you to be seen. You're still bleeding from hitting your head on the rocks!"

"A dislocated shoulder, concussion, and sprained wrist. I got a sling from the ambulance after snapping that ferret's arm, I'm fine to look for Nick."

"You forgot near drowning and passing out several times. I don't want to have to fish you out of the river again."

"You didn't fish me out, Nick did, and now I have to find him."

Stu gave up, there was no convincing her to go. She broke the ferret's arm like a twig after being told they were going to bring her in no matter if she wanted to or not. It had been four hours since Nick had gone over the falls and almost every mammal in the county was out looking for him. Park rangers were canvassing the banks of the river and out into the trees, the river rescue squad had their best otters battling the river currents, and every mammal that could walk covered the woods surrounding the river.

The sun was setting as Judy overheard a ranger behind her talking into his radio, "Pull the swimmers it's getting too risky with nightfall approaching, they can start again in the morning for the body recovery."

She spun around and was in the bear's face so fast it startled him, "This is still a rescue operation, NOT a recovery, understand!? I will find him, alive!" Judy shot down the river bank looking for any clues on Nick's whereabouts.

The bear tried shaking off the look Judy had given him. Mostly anger, but terror and panic were etched into those eyes as well. He looked down to Stu who just shrugged his shoulders "Don't take it hard, she scares us all when she's like this."

Judy stopped at another cliff edge to the river and stared into the blackness of the water as the sun began to dip below the tree line. She dropped to her knees not even trying to fight back the tears that fell from her eyes. "Nick how could you do this to me. You saved me, but now I'm all alone. You choose me and I choose you, but I don't want to go on without you. Please give me some sign you're alive."

She turned to the sun and the radiant colors it cast across the clouds and landscape begin reminding her of the first night with Nick. Having the golden, glowing image or him on that balcony sent another set of tears down her face, she couldn't take it anymore and ran along the edge with tears clouding her vision. She was going as fast as her feet would allow her trying to outrun the sun, outrun the image of Nick.

Her paws were slamming into the hard rock of the cliff when suddenly her paw hit air instead of rock. She had no time to react as she fell hitting the dirt a few feet below knocking the wind from her lungs and slamming her bad shoulder into the ground. She laid there trying to catch her breath as the searing pain of her rough landing coursed through her small body. She sat up looking back at the way she had come from as the sun sent its last rays straight into her eyes, she threw her paw up to block it and turned her head back towards the river.

She began to think it was punishing her for running away from the memories when her eyes caught something across the river. She slowly crawled her way to the river bank staring at a small opening cut into the rock by the river. The position of the sun was in just the right position to cast light into the otherwise black opening illuminating something inside, something reddish orange. She stared at the figure as her eyes cleared of the tears bringing her sight into focus. It was definitely large, red, and she noticed tan as well? Then she saw the bright green Hawaiian shirt, his shirt. "NIIIIIICK!"

"So cold, why am I so cold. I can't move either. Everything is dark, why can't open my eyes. What is going on!?" Nick was trapped in his mind, confused as to what was going on around him. He couldn't move, open his eyes, even sounds eluded him. All he could do was feel cold, no pain, just numb.

"Niiiiick." He heard his name, very faint and quite as if it was almost a whisper for some great distance away. "He's over here, please someone help." Again he heard a voice only slightly louder but still a whisper.

He suddenly felt something "Why am I wet?" He thought to himself. Fighting to remember what was going on. He tried to move again and instantly regretted it as every part of his body was in searing pain. "OWWW, why does everything hurt so much. What a minute! Cold, wet, pain... do I hear water? I do, but it sounds so far away just like that voice" *SPLASH* "Did something just fall in the water... JUDY! Judy was in the water, what happened to Judy!"

Nick felt paws grab onto him, he wanted to cry out in pain but the words never came out. His mind started to go fuzzy again from the pain as he felt himself removed from the icy river. The sensation of damp dirt on his back then warm across his chest, it felt soft and...familiar. He thought he heard soft crying and picked up a scent. "I know that scent, Judy. She's crying... she's crying! She's ok! Judy, please don't cry for me. I would... do it... again... even knowing... it would be the end." The pain and cold went away, all he could feel was the warmth of her body on his. Finally, that too faded and the cries softened in his ears as his mind shut down.


Loss, it should be one of the four letter words you don't say, everyone processes it differently. Some get upset, others go into a deep depression, Judy was just numb. A week after the incident she still hadn't fully processed it. Her parents came to their condo and stayed with her to help while she healed, both physically and mentally. She got up at her usual early time and went to the kitchen, her parents were already awake and had breakfast going.

"I'm going to visit alone today, you guys have been so helpful but I need to start doing this alone." Judy talked without looking at her parents, she kept her head down eating breakfast.

"If you feel you're up to it, just remember what the doctors said about pushing things too fast." Bonnie was concerned for her daughter, she was a strong bunny but everyone has their limits.

"I know mom, it's just today I have to go alone." Judy looked up at her parents and gave them a comforting smile. She finished her food and went to get dressed, putting on nice sundress Nick had gotten her before they went to Bunnyburrow and slid her arm into the sling. Going back to the kitchen she grabbed a small box of blueberries, his favorite.

"I'll be back late, take in some sites of the city. You guys deserve it for helping me so much this past week." Her parents both smiled and nodded as she walked out the door and headed to the train station. While waiting for the train several mammals who recognized her quietly gave their condolences. She thanked them but secretly wished they would just let her be. When the train came she found a seat alone near the front and sat quietly looking out the window. Thankfully the twenty-minute ride was a quiet one, the other mammals leaving the grieving bunny to her thoughts.

She walked through the entrance and moved past the markers looking for his name, the few workers there looked at the bunny and bowed their heads. No need to ask if she needed help, as she knew where she was going. She kept walking not saying anything until finally finding the name she was looking for, Nicholas Piberius Wilde. She changed the flowers and blueberries with the new ones she brought.

"Hello, Nick. It's me, Judy. I came alone this time, hoping it will speed up the healing. It's so hard without you by my side, even with my parents staying at the condo it seems so empty. Bogo has given me as much time as I need before coming back to work, but I just done know when that will be, if ever. Without you backing me up I don't think I can go back to the department, it will be too difficult. You were my partner, my mate, we always had each other backs in everything we did. But now I have to go on alone and I don't think I can. Please Nick, give me some kind of sign that tells me everything will be alright, that it's ok to move on. I'll never find another mate, but I need to know if it's ok to continue on with my life. It's just so hard without you."

Judy dropped to her knees and openly wept, she didn't care who saw her. The mammals walking by just let the grieving bunny be, it was always like this here. Everyone knew he was her fox, especially after the news came out. Everyone read about how he rescued her, sacrificing himself to save her. Even the naysayers of pred-prey relationships couldn't deny what Nick had done. Knowing he would go over the falls by throwing Judy to her parents when he could of just let her go and save himself. He was the hero again, and everyone knew it.

She didn't know how long she had stayed there but she must have fallen asleep as someone had put a blanket on her. She looked around to see who may have done it and saw Stu standing by her. He looked down at the sound of her getting up. "I Figured you wouldn't be able to do it alone yet, when I saw you lying there I went back to the car and grabbed a blanket and decided to watch over you. Don't need someone bothering you at a time like this."

"Thank you dad, I thought I was strong enough to come alone but I guess I'm not yet." He helped her to get to her feet as turned around but kept her head low, "It's just hard to think of him as gone."

"Don't think like that. You were the first one to yell about him not being gone, that he couldn't be. He's in there somewhere, just remember that." Stu put a comforting paw on his daughter's shoulder, feeling the pain she was in.

Judy looked up at the fox lying in the bed in front of her. All manner of wires and hoses attached to him, there was more medical equipment than fox to her eyes. He had been in a coma since she found him in that cutout. Her screaming bringing the otters and they quickly got him out and to the shore. They airlifted him and Judy to Zootopia General Hospital, losing him twice on the thirty-minute flight. They had to sedate Judy after the second time as her screaming and jumping was interfering with the medics trying to save him, the extent of his injuries was astounding. Both legs were broken, his right arm shattered in in ten different places, skull fractured, six broken ribs, a punctured lung, broken muzzle, several claws had been ripped from his paws, and massive internal bleeding.

After twenty hours in surgery to fix everything they put him in a medically induced coma for three days but after taking to drugs away he didn't wake up. The doctors informed Judy that he may never wake up with his injuries and the amount of time he spent underwater, and if he did wake up he may not be the same fox. Judy didn't care, every day she came to the hospital and waited for him to wake up. She hardly ate or slept and it showed, "Why don't you go get something to eat. If anything changes I'll call you." Stu was genuinely concerned for her, she needed to keep up her strength to heal.

"Thanks dad. I'll just go to the cafeteria and grab something quick. I'll be back shortly." She hugged her dad and walked out of the room.

Stu walked over to Nick placing a paw on the fox's. "You have to wake up, she loves you so deeply I fear she'll follow you if you die. Please don't put an old rabbit through that. I couldn't bear to bury one of my own children." Stu began to cry. He tried, but failed, to hold back the tears. "We found this in the pants you wore that day, Judy couldn't bring herself to even touch the clothes you were wearing so we brought them home. As Bonnie was cleaning them this fell out," Stu rotated Nicks paw so it was facing up and placed the ring in it, covering it with his own "You didn't get the chance to finish what you wanted to ask but after seeing this I know what it was. When you first said you two were dating I was so scared, I didn't want anything to happen to her and I was scared you would hurt her. Instead, you willingly sacrificed yourself for her and I can't overlook that. So you have my answer and it is yes, you can ask her to marry you. I couldn't be prouder to call you son."

The tears flowed out of Stu's eyes, seeing the battered fox in front of him was too much. Knowing the pain Judy was in was unbearable for the father to deal with. He began to turn around but his paw didn't follow. He spun his head and looked down to see Nick had grasped his paw and held on tight. Stu looked up at the fox's face, "Nick?" His eyes stayed closed but they flinched. "Nick can you hear me, squeeze my paw if you can." Stu waited for what seemed like an eternity but Nick did gently squeeze his paw. Once he did alarms started going off on the equipment in the room, Stu couldn't decide if it was good or bad.

Suddenly the room was filled with doctors and nurses, one of which ushered Stu from the room, "I'm sorry sir but we need to work right now." They closed the door in the stunned bunny's face, snapping from his shock he grabbed his phone from his pocket. While trying to dial Judy his paws were shaking so bad he dropped it onto the floor.

He was reaching to get it when he heard the elevator ding at the end of the hall. Looking up he saw Judy walk through the doors, "JUDY! Judy come here!"

Hearing her father's panicked voice she dropped her bag of food and sprinted as fast as she could down the hall knocking over severals mammals as she did. "What dad!? What's going on"

"He's.. he's. awake! He squeezed my hand." Before Stu could get everything out Judy blew past him throwing the door open to Nick's room with a crash causing everyone in the room to jump.

"Excuse me you can't be in here right now." One of the nurses turned to remove Judy from the room when everyone stopped.

"She… can stay." Nick spoke very hoarse and raspy.

Everyone parted letting Judy look at Nick, they had the bed angled to allow Nick to partially sit up. She walked over to the edge of the bed and it took everything she had to not jump into the bed and hug him. Judy just stood there looking at her fox not knowing what to say.

"Hey there carrots. Looks like I wasn't fast enough, you look like crap." He tried to give a weak smile then closed his eye and winced at the pain.

"Oh shut up you, I'm alive thanks to you. You were fast enough for that." Even with all the crying, she had done the tears poured from her eyes. But these were tears of joy, not sadness. Nick reached up with his paw to pull her in when he felt the ring enclosed in it.

He thought for a second then smiled, "I know your suppose to get on one knee for this but seeing as I can't do that part," Judy shot her good paw to her mouth as Nick opened his paw showing the golden ring with a small diamond encircled with amethyst stones glistening in the light coming through the window, "Judy would you make me the happiest fox in the world and marry me."

The room went silent save for the slow beep of the heartbeat monitor, the hiss of the oxygen flowing, and Judy's quiet weeping. Nick's hand began the shake as he held the ring waiting for Judy's response, he didn't have to wait too long. "YES! Absolutely yes!"

Everyone began clapping and Nick slipped the ring onto Judy's finger. She hopped onto the side of the bed and did her best to hug him without hurting him more. "Ok everyone, we can wait until later to continue our testing. Let us give these mammals some privacy." The lead doctor ushered everyone out of the room and closed the door.

"So the doctors told me I was out for seven days." Nick had to speak slow and quiet barely above a whisper, the pain in his chest preventing him from speaking any louder.

"Yes, you gave us all a big scare. I thought I lost you." Judy moving as close as she could get next to Nick.

"I know," Judy gave him a perplexed look, "I think I knew when you were around. The parts I remember are really hazy, like my mind was in a fog. But at times it would clear, I couldn't hear or feel anything but I sensed you around. Then just before waking up I heard you and your father speaking to me. I couldn't let you give up your dream and your father being so scared of you following me if I died… I couldn't have it. It snapped me out and brought me back. Besides, I still needed to ask you to marry me."

Judy looked up and kissed Nick on the cheek, "I couldn't do that to my family. It would have been hard living without you but I would've forced myself to do it. But now we don't have to worry about it, you're awake and I have my fox back.

"And I have my Bunny, Nothing can break us apart." Nick pulled her even tighter into him laying his head on hers as they both enjoyed the warmth of each other.


Nick's road to recovery felt like driving up a mountain pass. The going was slow and twisty with a few times to road giving out causing him to slide back to a lower point. The thought of standing at the altar as he watched Judy walk down the aisle to him kept pushing him along, and Judy literally did push him along. After two months he was finally allowed to leave his bed and go outside in a wheelchair that Judy pushed. The casts were gone but he still had heavy duty braces to prevent his legs from moving too far and re-injuring them. He would sit in the chair taking in the fresh air, slowly increasing the amount of air he could breathe in as his lung and ribs healed.

He would sit there listening to Judy talk on about what was going on at the precinct, she was Clawhauser's assistant while Nick was recovery. Bogo made sure that if she needed to leave in case something happened she could and wouldn't be out in the field. It pained her to just sit there running small errands but at least it kept her busy.

"So have you seen the new video of Gazelle's baby, it's so cute. Clawhauser showed it to me, the little guy is starting to walk." Judy showed Nick her phone, a video was playing of Gazelle holding her kit, he looked like her except having the light jaguar spots and eyes, and then letting go. He took a few uneasy steps before falling on his butt laughing.

"That is cute, can't believe he's walking already and gazelle, WOW. She lost all that baby weight fast." Judy hit Nick in the arm, causing him to cry out in pain. "Ouch, murder! This savage bunny is trying to kill me."

"Nick, it's your other arm you busted up." Judy looked at Nick as he faked his left arm giving him all the pain. He stopping yelling out and looked at his bunny. They locked eyes before neither of them could take it anymore and they busted out laughing, causing Nick to truly call out in pain as he grabbed his ribs.

"Got to take it easy on the laughing. That really did hurt." Nick rubbed his ribs as Judy grabbed the chair to bring him back inside. "Well, it's time to be in more pain. I need to get to work and you have physical therapy."

"Ugh. I swear they are trying to re-break me not help me get better." As much as he hated being in his bed all day going to physical therapy was downright torture. They had to put his legs into a machine that would bend them at a painstakingly slow speed, just enough to not cause any more damage but fast enough that the attendants needed to step away once they turned it on. Otherwise, if they were in reach of Nick when his pain threshold was broken they could get hurt themselves. He didn't mean to but he had a tendency to lash out at anything nearby when that barrier was broken. Thankfully the first attendant that find this out was quick enough to dodge his paw and the remaining claws he had. He would get fitted with prosthetic ones once his paws fully headed, ripped out claws wouldn't grow back.

Finally, eight months after nearly losing his life he was deemed well enough to go home. He still had a lot of healing to do but at least he could go home. His arm had healed and his legs were strong enough to support his weight with the help of a cane. Although the hospital made him ride a wheelchair out one last time, it was policy and they couldn't break it even with his protesting and with all the paperwork to be filled it was nighttime when Judy rolled him out of his room. What Nick didn't expect was what waited for him outside the doors.

As soon as they opened Nick was inundated with flashbulbs and cheering. Apparently, word had gotten out about his release and the press was in full swing. Nick noticed something else besides all the cameras, regular mammals standing around cheering for him. He even caught sight of the bunny from the market that first gave them grief about being together, it almost seemed like he was cheering the loudest. A few feet out the door Nick made Judy stop, this got the entire crowd to quite down. It was so silent you could've heard a sloth scratching its head.

Nick reached down and flipped the brakes of the chair and swiveled the paw rests out of the way. Grabbing his cane, and with Judy's help, he got to his paws. A bit unsteady at first but then he settled out, he smiled and waved causing the entire crowd the erupt in thunderous applause. The two made their way to the waiting police cruiser and got inside.

Bogo himself was behind the wheel, "It's good to see you up and around again Wilde, and it's about time too. You're almost out of vacation time so you better hurry up and get back to work. I think Clawhauser is about to lose it with Hopps pestering him about his eating habits."

Nick and Judy let out a laugh as Bogo pulled away from the hospital towards their home. After arriving Bogo turned around to talk to his officers on last time, a gentle smile across his face. "I was only playing around Nick, you take the time you need to heal fully and properly. Don't rush it, your seat will always be available so long as I'm chief."

"Thank you, sir. I'll do my best to come back better than ever." They said goodbye to Bogo and got out of the car and heading to the condo. Judy opened the door as Nick was treated with a welcome home banner hanging from the ceiling and all matter of festive decorations around the place. On the kitchen table was a very nice, professionally decorated cake that said, "Welcome home, son".

"My parents had Gideon make that for you. They figured we would like to be alone so they had him drive this up and they went home with him. They said you are welcome anytime at the farm, and if you ever needed anything to just call them." Nick had tears in his eyes as he hugged Judy.

"I feel like I've regained the family I lost when I was younger. Now to just make it official and get to planning the wedding." Nick smiled at Judy and leaned down pulling her into a deep kiss.

They parted and she went to the bedroom, "Yes we do have a lot to plan but for now let's get some rest. This bed has been too big and lonely since you've been gone." Nick hobbled to the bedroom as Judy was putting on her pajamas. He got changed into his and crawled into bed wrapping Judy in his arms and tail. She rubbed her head against his chest. "Much better, I missed this. I love you, Nick."

"I love you too, Judy." He kissed her on the top of her head as they both fell asleep.


A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the mid chapter "cliffhanger", and I really hope i didn't get to many of you mad at me about it. Don't worry there are several more stories to come, theres a wedding to plan and attend plus married life itself So plenty of Nick and Judy to come.
With that said though my weekly chapters may get spaced out a bit more. I am a bomb tech in the US Navy and I have a major qualification coming up so for the next month I will be extremely busy. I will still try to get the chapters out but it may be a while but I ams till here don't worry.