Judy followed the doctor into an empty exam room, an overwhelming feeling of dread weighing her down. The doctor gestured for Judy to sit down before taking a seat himself.
"I shouldn't really be telling you this because you're not family, but I know how close you two are and I'm sure you'd find out anyway." The doctor said nervously.
Judy didn't respond, she just gazed vacantly at the door. She hadn't even thought about family, she would have to phone Ms Wilde, but she needed to see Nick first.
"Officer Wilde is in the ICU, we've managed to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding but he's not out of the woods yet."
Judy gave a slow nod, she was trying her best to concentrate and to process what the doctor had to say, but she was struggling to take it all in.
"He's lost a lot of blood, the bullet punctured his right lung and broke a few ribs. Now we have managed to repair the lung but he'll need a lot of rest for it to fully heal."
Judy nodded again, she was still staring vacantly at the door like she was waiting for somebody to come through it. "When can I see him?" She asked quietly.
"they're just finishing up with him and then he'll be allowed one visitor at a time. But Judy... I should warn you. Nick, he... he's in a coma."
Judy closed her eyes and with her paw over her mouth she let out a ragged breath. She looked at the doctor with wide, almost pleading eyes. "But he's going to be ok?" She asked not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"It really is too early to say, but the surgeon is confident that he'll pull through."
Biting on her claws, Judy gave another slow nod. She had to tell herself that Nick would make it, he was strong, and Wolford was right. He doesn't know when to quit.
Judy was stood in in the corridor of the ICU outside of Nick's private room. It had windows but Judy couldn't bring herself to look in. She just stood with her back to the wall, waiting for the nod to go in and finally see him. The image of him bleeding out in her arms was still haunting her and she hoped that seeing his sly face again would get rid of it.
"Officer Hopps..." A female ferret called from the door to Nicks room. "you can come in now, were almost finished."
Judy nodded and took a deep breath before making her way into the room. Nick was lying on the hospital bed motionless, his fur was all ruffled and out of place, the creamy fur on his neck and chest was stained a strange pink. Judy moved to his side and clasped his limp paw with both of hers.
"Oh Nick." She said quietly, hugging his paw to her chest. "It should be me lying there." Her voice cracked and she squeezed his paw tightly against her, but the lack of any response from him made her feel empty. Judy looked around the room at all the machines that were hooked up to Nick through more wires and tubes than she had ever seen. The slow beep of the heart monitor was a strange comfort to her. It was proof that although Nick was totally unresponsive, he was still alive.
A firm but quiet tapping on the window of the room brought Judy out of her thoughts, Bogo was standing there in full uniform, holding his hat in his hooves. Judy looked up at the clock, almost 15 minutes had passed in what felt like seconds. She carefully lay Nicks paw down by his side and after stroking the fur of his cheek she walked out to meet Bogo.
"How is he." Bogo said, his usual careless demeanour was nowhere to be seen. Instead he was genuinely concerned.
"He's just lying there... he, he... he just won't wake up." Judy said, tripping over her words.
Bogo kneeled down and carefully hugged her, the sheer size of the buffalo made it extremely awkward but Judy appreciated it anyway.
"What about you Hopps?" Bogo asked before he got up.
"I, I don't know." Judy said, but she genuinely didn't know how she was feeling. It was a mixture of sadness, worry, anger, relief that Nick was alive and immeasurable guilt all mixed into one big dark cloud.
"I found this." Bogo said. Holding a hoof out towards Judy. He was holding her bloodstained, slightly bent badge.
"Sir, I..." Judy started but Bogo held up his hoof to stop her.
"I get it Hopps... but the Judy I know wouldn't quit… and I'm sure Nick wouldn't want you to either." Bogo handed the badge to Judy with a cheesy salute. "I've sent Wolford to get Ms Wilde, and I've brought you a fresh uniform, we can't have her seeing you like this."
Judy sighed with relief, she was dreading telling Nick's mum what had happened, and she had completely forgot about the state she was in. If Ms Wilde had seen her like this she would have had a heart attack. Judy looked like something out of a horror movie. "Thanks Chief." She said hesitantly taking her badge back and following him to the cruiser to change.
Judy was changed and had fallen asleep in the chair beside Nick's bed. She woke up at the sound of a chair squeaking across the polished floor.
"Sorry." Ms Wilde sniffled. She was sat on the other side of the bed holding Nicks paw in exactly the same way Judy had been before Bogo turned up. How she had managed to sneak in without waking Judy was a mystery, but Judy didn't dwell on it.
Judy didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. She stroked Nicks face with her paw, he looked more peaceful now, he could just have been sleeping if it wasn't for the tubes coming out of him.
"I'm so sorry." Judy uttered to Ms Wilde without taking her eyes off Nick.
"It's not your fault Judith..." Nick's mum said, taking one paw from her son's and gently squeezing Judy's arm. "The nice wolf that brought me here told me what happened a and it's got Nick written all over it, well the new Nick anyway, he always puts others first." She said, a little pride making it's way into her voice.
Judy nodded but looked away to yawn.
"You should get some rest."
"I can't leave him." Judy said as she tried to straighten a tuft out on Nick's head.
"I'll phone you as soon as I hear anything else. There's nothing more we can do for him now." Ms Wilde said swallowing a lump in her throat.
Judy sat quietly thinking for a moment. "Ok… Can I get you anything before I go?"
"A water would be nice, thank-you. Do you have a way home?" Ms Wilde said.
Judy hadn't even thought about getting home. The car was at the precinct and the rest of the officers had either gone home or were at work sorting this whole mess out.
"I'll sort something out." She said before slipping out to fetch some water.
Judy walked out of the hospital and headed for the bus stop over the road, she was shocked at how dark it was, she had been in the hospital for almost 7 hours, but it felt like minutes. According to the time table it was a 10-minute wait for the next bus. 'At least the bus stop was quiet' Judy thought to herself, there was a female ocelot with her kit waiting in one end of the shelter.
Judy plodded over and stood at the opposite end with her head against the cold glass side of the bus stop. She could feel the other mammals' eyes on her, and it took all of her might to not say something.
"Mommy, what's wrong with that bunny?" the kit asked quietly, but Judy's ears picked up almost everything, so she heard it loud and clear.
"She's a police officer Sam." The mother replied, but that didn't really answer the question and the kit wasn't satisfied with that answer.
"But Mom, why is she all red?" the kit asked with more urgency in his voice. Judy had totally forgot about her fur. It was still red and matted with blood. She dropped her head into her paws when the image of Nick popped back her head.
"She's probably just saved somebody, someone she's probably never met before." The mother said to her Kit who was visibly inspired. Judy would normally have jumped in and encouraged the little one, but now she saw that sentence for what it was. A romanticised vision of police officers that although had some truth behind it, it was seldom the reality. She had realised quickly that most of the time if a police officer was covered in blood it was their own or another officers.
After minutes of silence the bus finally arrived, Judy stood back to let the mother and her kit on first.
"Thank-you." The mother said as she ushered the kit on board, Judy didn't even smile in return, she just stared into the door of the bus, thanking god that it was empty. Judy paid the fare and shuffled to the back of the bus where she took a window seat and sat back to watch the city streets go by. She found an unusual comfort riding around the city on a bus, but she couldn't wait to get to her bed.
Stepping into her dark, gloomy apartment Judy threw her things on the table and grabbed a towel before heading off to the shower so that she could wash out her fur. The water was instantly hot, Judy let it wash over her and she finally felt able to relax. Soon her back was against the tiled wall. She found herself sliding down it and before she knew it Judy was sat on the shower floor with the water washing over her head. She couldn't shift the image of Nick in her arms and the longer it was there the more vivid and terrifying it became. She didn't know how she would cope at work tomorrow knowing that he was still lying in the hospital, unsure when he would wake up if he ever did.