Chapter 11- The Fight
The cool liquid caressed Judy's lips and brought her back into reality. She coughed, spluttering some of the water down herself.
"Easy tiger." Nick joked softly, holding the rabbit's head.
She sat herself up, with Nick's help.
She could smell food straight away, and although her partner being alive should have been the greatest news to her at that moment, all she could think of was satisfying the crunching hunger in her stomach.
Nick handed her the plate of carrots, he smirked at the irony, and she scoffed it eagerly. When she was finished, she collapsed back, leaning against the cool wall, and finally looked at Nick. Really looked at Nick. She looked at his dry fur and worn down eyes.
"You're alive!" She cried out, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yeah I am" He smiled, holding the bunny in his safe arms. He was never letting her go again, "but I think I might have blown our cover."
Judy sat back, "I don't care. You're here, and you're safe, and we are going to get out of this together." She said, always the optimist, although her purple eyes were loosing their vibrancy, and her smile withered.
"Wait till I get my hands on that Rocco. He is going to pay for nearly killing you." Nick snarled. "He hasn't hurt you has he?"
Judy shook her head, she wouldn't admit it, but she enjoyed this density side if Nick. He was probably open to the idea of killing someone to keep her safe, nobody had ever cared about her that much. "Don't be rash, Nick. He didn't hurt me, I was just starving, but I'm fine, and you're not going to anything to put us in anymore danger. If you tried to pick a fight with that snake we will probably never see Zootopia again."
"He tried to choke you." Nick pointed out.
"But he didn't" Judy smiled.
"You know they're going to be very annoyed that you gave them the password to Clawhauser's personal desktop, and not the main frame of the ZPD." Nick remarked. He had to admit though, it was smart if the bunny's part.
"I know. Poor Clawhauser, it took him long enough to learn that password, he had it written in every notebook, I'm guessing that's how you noticed it?" Judy asked Nick, inching closer to him for warmth.
"Smart bunny" He grinned, ruffling her ears.
They sat in silence for about a minute, enjoying each other's company. Breathing in sync. It felt so normal. It felt right.
Just the two of them, alone.
Judy looked up at Nick, about to say something, when the door opened and Rocco slid in.
Something snapped in a Nick when he seen the black mamba slither in. He felt Judy tense up ever so slightly beside him, and he knew instantly that the legless creature scared her, even if it was only a little, he still scared the bravest person he knew.
He launched himself at the snake, teeth bared, ready to snap his head off. Judy screamed his name, yelling at him to stop, but he didn't stop, he couldn't.
Rocco seen his attacker and bared his fangs, venom already dripping from them.
Nick sank his teeth into the snake's body, Rocco yelped and slid right under the fox, rising to Nick's neck and readying himself to kill the animal with a single bite.
Judy had managed to pull her still queasy body over to the fight, and was trying desperately to pull Nick off of the snake.
"Nick stop it!" Please Nick!" She begged but it was no use.
Rocco was just about to bite Nick's neck when Mr Croc stepped into the room, took one look at what was going on, and with his giant hand, pulled Nick by the scruff of his neck off of Rocco, shaking his head in disappointment.
Rocco hissed frantically, trying to regain himself.
"Honestly, Nick, I can't believe how much you've changed. And for what? A dumb bunny?" Croc remarked, while Nick realised how out of character that was for him. He looked at Judy with sorry eyes, while Croc dragged him out of the cell. Rocco left with them, and Judy was once again left alone, without her partner at her side.
(Scene break)
Monday, 2:12am
Judy feared the worst for Nick. She hadn't heard from him, or anyone else, since the fight, and time was marching wearingly on.
She couldn't deal with losing Nick again.
She curled up in her cold bed, repeating Croc's words in her head again and again: "I can't believe how much you've changed. For what? A dumb bunny?"
Had Nick really changed for the good because of her? Had she had that much of an influence on him?
She warmed herself of the ludicrous thought of the two being intimate. Just rarely let these thoughts into her brain, but the odd occasion that she did let her mind wander, she was filled with all sorts of emotion.
She could still remember the first time she felt attracted to Nick. It was during their showdown with Bellwhether, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the pressure of the situation, the fact he was protecting her, or the sheer primal aspect of it all, but when Nick faked going savage, she felt her ears prick up. The fur on her arms stood up. She had known it was all pretend, and they had planned t together, but when she was watching him come for her, with that hunger in his eyes, she really felt like she could've just lay down and let him take her. The bite was a nice added extra, and Judy bit her lip and the memory. Sometimes she liked to rub the tiny marks his teeth had left on her. Like he had marked her.
She stopped thinking about that particular time, feeling her heart rate pick up and wanting her mind to think of anything else. But it wouldn't let her.
She skimmed through all the times that she had felt attracted to her partner. At first it was a few times a week, but now it was a few times per hour. It could be anything that made her heart flutter and her cheeks flush. Sometimes it was when he loosened his tie, pulling his collar buttons down. Other times it was the cheeky looks he would give her, the way he would cook his head to the side. She loved every movement he done.
Nothing was better than when he hugged her though. Having his arms around her made Judy's head spin, her knees weak. When she could feel his chest rise and fall against her cheek, she never wanted to let go.
Her chain of thought was rudely interrupted by loud noises from through the wall.
Judy's excellent hearing, as well as the small vent on the wall, made it easy for her to hear everything that was being said in the cell adjacent to her.
The voices were unfamiliar, "Enjoy your stay, but I doubt the boss will keep you long, after what you done to Rocco." The voice said.
Judy knew it was Nick who was the prisoner. The captors left the cell, Judy could hear their footsteps and then the door slam.
"Nick?" Judy called, her mouth close to the wall so nobody else's would hear her.
"Carrots?" Nick asked, amazement in his voice. He hadn't expected to be able to hear anyone in the cell. Usually cells were created for solitary confinement, but he wasn't complaining.
Judy frowned, something sounded off with his voice. "Nick what's wrong?"
There was a long pause, and she heard Nick sigh.
"They're pissed at me, Carrots." His voice was muffled, Judy could hear every breath as if it were hitting off of plastic or metal.
Then he said possibly the most heartbreaking sentence Judy had ever heard Nick say. His voice was heavy, and she could swear she heard tears welling up.
"They put a muzzle on me."