Chapter 14:

A pair of nurses walked into the small room and began futzing with the machines connected to Nick's body. The former pulled back the sheets on his bed, revealing a fox wearing only cheap blue hospital shorts. The cream colored fur on his chest was matted with either sweat or blood. Hopefully it was the first. Judy's attention was immediately drawn towards his right leg, which twitched over and over again. He had always had a form of restless leg syndrome when he slept. On multiple occasions, Judy would have to soothe him while he was asleep, and calm him down. Nick never liked to admit that he had flaws, but something as simple as a twitching leg had always thrown him for the loop. But this was very different. The shaking looked less like a result of a deep sleep, and more like something she had seen when she binged Preys Anatomy. Neurological damage. Her heart sank as she thought of the worst. He could be brain dead. On life support. Completely paralyzed, she thought, her mind moving at the speed of light. Judy watched as a nurse tried to carefully hold his leg down before giving up with the fruitless task.

Judy started to sweat and became increasingly panicked as dark thoughts went through her head. Images of Nick's lifeless body and broken soul continued to haunt her dreams and consciousness state. Her heart monitor started beeping faster and faster. She received a few worried looks from the nurses, but they went back to their task, tending Nick, when a doctor entered the room.

The doctor was a leopard, probably no older than thirty five, but could easily be pegged as older due to the exhaustion etched across his face. Wrinkles not caused by age, but probably by wear covered his fur and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. He wore stereotypical hospital scrubs and carried a cup of coffee and a clipboard into the room. The doctor pulled a chair up beside Judy's bed, and made sure that he was at her eye level. He opened his mouth, about to say something but suddenly stopped. The leopard grabbed the coffee he had placed on the bedside table and took a long swig before continuing. He stared at he clipboard with a blank expression and proceeded to throw it haphazardly on the table.

He began talking with a tired voice, like he had been telling patients bad news all day. "Good evening Judy, my name is Doctor Sasha. I was one of the surgeons who helped operate on both you and Nicholas," he cleared his throat before continuing again.

"So good news first, I'm glad to see you're doing better. Your recovery these past few days is quite impressive. That being said, I'm really hear to talk about Nicholas."

Judy froze, her face becoming noticeably pale under her fur.

"Since your his main contact and... wife, I'm going to give you the rundown and prognosis on his recovery and injuries." Judy noticed how he stopped and raised an eyebrow at her second, more recent title. Wife, that was something she never expected would happen.

Well, they were married in the law, though it wasn't exactly ceremonious yet. In her parents mind, they would never be together without a grand wedding. They were so close, just a ring and a kiss away from tying the knot. That's all Judy wanted, to show the world that they had found love in each other. Yet some psychopath had taken that away from the both of them. From the entire world. They would have been the first big interspecies marriage. Since they were both so well known, as Zootopia's favorite duo, they wanted to spread the message that it was acceptable, and hopefully encourage more couples to come out.

The doctor stood up and smiled, "but first, let's remove the tube shall we? It's about time, what do you think?"

He did a horrible job of conveying fake enthusiasm. Judy tried to let it go, as she noticed how truly exhausted he looked. He and the two nurses that had been working on Nick walked over. Collectively, they placed their paws on her shoulders and head to keep her in place. Sasha gripped the tube with his paw and pulled it out before she could realize what had happened.

Judy coughed in an attempt to clear the burning sensation in her chest. She gasped and sucked in air, not realizing how long she had held her breath when hearing about Nick. So much was on her mind, but one stuck out before the others.

Before she could think, she blurted out three words, "Is he ok?"

"Of course Judy. He should wake up from the anesthetics in a few minutes, which is why we're talking now."

She sighed in relief, that he wasn't in mortal danger.

"The only problem is that when he spun around to protect you, the bullet lodged its way into his back. That's what the forensic reports have told me." He pulled out a sheet which looked like an x-ray and held it in front of the rabbit's face. She could see the faint outlines of what she presumed was his body. What stuck out to her the most was his spine. On paper, she saw how curved it actually was. She already knew that Nick had scoliosis from his general hunched posture, but on paper, it was much worse. Judy's eyes wandered down each vertebrae until she saw what was his tailbone. Just a few inches above lay a black dot on the side of his spine. It could have been glanced over as a printing error, but they both knew exactly what it was.

Sasha, noticing Judy's discomfort spoke up, "luckily, due to his 21 degree curve, and never getting a brace, it saved him from more damage. A normal spined mammal would have been hit in the center of the vertebrae and would have instantly been killed." He pointed to each region on the paper as he explained them.

The information was supposed to make her feel better, but it only made her worse. The realization that he had almost died for her stupidity and ignorance. What a horrible mistake. She would had never been able to live with herself.

"Anyways..." The doctor drew on, trying to regain Judy's attention. He put the X-ray down and continued. "Nick has been through several surgeries so far that have gone thankfully well. That being said, any type of spinal or cranial injury can result in serious neurological injury."

"So far, we can't be certain on the extent of this damage, but I am certain that... "

Judy dreaded what he was about to say next. She knew it was coming ever since she saw the scar running down his back.

Sasha coughed before starting up again. "In my professional opinion, he won't be able to walk again." He placed a large paw on Judy's smaller shoulder and just waited. Waited to make sure she was comforted.

The rabbits eyes teared up. He had risked his life and ability to walk because of her. And what did I do to deserve that? I tried to buy us an apartment as a surprise.

Through her tears she watched as two blurry figures grabbed Nick from under his shoulders and knees and rolled him onto his side so he faced Judy. The nurses smoothed down his fur and removed a tube from his arm before leaving the room. She stared at his sleeping face in horror, unable to look at him knowing the hell she had inadvertently sent him through.

His eyes slowly started to open, revealing a pair of bright green irises. She continued to cry, her still frail body gently shaking. Her sobs were silent, but her pain was immense. Nick stared at her, with a drunken grin spread across his muzzle. He looked down at himself and then back at Judy.

Oblivious to his awakening, Judy closed her eyes and wished for the horrors to go away, and that Nick wasn't paralyzed. A deep and slurred voice brought her back to reality.

"You like... Whatchusee..." He mumbled, while pointing to his shirtless chest. A lopsided grin spread across his face.

Judy stared at him in confusion and... laughed.

All the restraints and added pressure just melted away. Dr. Sasha chuckled before responding, "Don't worry, he will be doing that for the next half hour. Until the drugs wear off. Until then, I'll leave you alone."

Every few minutes he would open his eyes halfway and asked her if she "liked what she saw." A couple times he would even gasp at her, his eyes getting huge before he drifted off into whatever drug induced world he was forced in. Every time he was about to say something that was important or at least lucid, he would mumble something else incoherent and crash. Judy saw the clock out of the corner of her eye. Half an hour went by which then morphed into 45 minutes. Each second that ticked by increased her concern. Soon it was an hour and a half and he was still drifting. Maybe he really was brain damaged. Oh no, that she couldn't deal with.

"Do you like what you see?" Nick said with a raspy edge to his voice. He pointed to himself for what had to be the hundredth time. His paw looked huge in comparison to his frail body. She could see his ribs piercing his flesh, creating a sickly pattern.

Her mouth turned into a scowl when she realized what was going on. "No."

Nick looked deflated as he frowned in response. "Really? I've been waiting for a yes for close to fifteen minutes now. I thought you were going to be happy to see me. I am now both physically and emotionally wounded," he mocked.

Judy smiled, happy to see his humor back, but generally upset that he didn't say anything earlier. "First of all, I will admit that I'm happy to see you. But did you really have to act insane."

They both knew the answer that was coming.

"Yes, yes I did."

He shifted uncomfortably before settling down once again. He grunted a few times as sharp pain radiated in his back, eliciting a worried look from Judy. Nick looked her right in the eyes and whispered in a still raspy voice, "You know I missed you a lot. I was beyond worried."

Judy looked at his green eyes, which were starting to glaze over. Nick crying? No I can never believe that.

"You foxes, so emotional."

"Not emotional, just concerned." He was blinking just a bit faster. "I'm not sure what I would have done without you…"

Judy smiled at him. "Apparently you would have formed a relationship with the beer fridge. Don't think I didn't notice, the scent was beyond obvious and we're having a talk about that when we get out of here."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Anyways…" he said trying to change the subject to escape the awkward conversation that was about to happen. "What possessed you to go house hunting on your own? Didn't I tell you that preds are natural hunters? We can find killer deals..."

Judy made a point of rolling her eyes. "And here I thought you had lost your sense of humor. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing."

"Please rabbit, when has my humor ever displeased you?"

"Oh I don't know, how about every time we were stuck on parking duty? Usually because you decided to say something stupid to Bogo."

"Says the rabbit who got a three day suspension after getting too excited on the job and beat up some random wolf of the street," he winked while chuckling.

"Correction, it wasn't some random wolf, he was a highly wanted crime lord who started throwing insults and slurs at you." That was one of her worst days, being told not to come to work for a while because she had tried to stand up for her partner. It was even more embarrassing, having to walk out of Bogo's office and out the front door with the entire department staring. Most of them were pitying her, as they heard the entire (predominantly one-sided) conversation through the not-so-soundproof walls.

"Alright, alright. I will give you credit for being a total badass bunny. You completely kicked his butt. I still don't agree with chief on suspending you but hey, now I know what it feels like."

Judy rolled her eyes at the lack of an apology. "Wait Nick, what do you mean you know how it feels?"

"Um," he scratched his head, looking increasingly uncomfortable. "I may or may not have been… penalized… for losing my mind."

She gave him an upset look. "Elaborate please."

Nick scratched his head. "When I walked into your bedroom, and saw the, disturbing display Polexia had set up, I uh." His voice cracked.

She didn't want to push him any more, but the only way for him to get better was to talk it out.

Nick looked away from her for a second, focusing on the clock. "Bogo found me in the middle of the floor… And I ran away to find you, but the department… thought it was me."

"Oh, Nick…"

"After they forcefully, incapacitated me and brought me back to the station…" His voice faltered and a single tear rolled down his cheek. His earlier joking attitude had completely dissipated.

"Bogo told me you were dead, you would never had survived the blood loss. I...I couldn't take it. I refused to believe it," Nick was softly crying, his pillow becoming damp and voice shattering.

"Judy, I can't live without you."

Judy placed a paw on her chest, to alleviate the pains that were racing through her heart. She had never seen Nick cry besides the one time he almost teared up when proposing. This, though. This was completely different. His frail body was shaking and it was breaking every inch of her heart. Even more so than remembering the torture she went through.

Nick couldn't look her in the eyes, all the shame from his whole life coming back. Judy felt horrible, unable to help the older fox because of the literal distance between them. She heard footsteps of a nurse in the hallway and signaled her over while pointing to Nick. The nurse understood what she wanted and rolled his bed over right against Judy's. He covered his eyes with his paws, embarrassed that he had succumbed to emotion. That he was crying in front of Judy and other strangers.

Judy gently pulled his body right up against her own. She coaxed Nicks's head so it lay over her shoulder, and felt his tears slowly trickle down her back. Judy slowly scratched his ears in an attempt to comfort him, but the fox looked so hurt. She hadn't felt his warmth in days, and it felt so refreshing. It made her felt safe, yet now it was her turn to return the favor. She pulled her head back while ignoring the throbbing pain in her neck, and forced Nick to look her in the eyes. Judy leaned forwards so her lips met his and closed her eyes. He immediately stopped whimpering and kissed her back, a warmth spreading through both of their chests. Judy pulled away and looked into his eyes while wiping away his tears with her soft paws. He looked away.

"Nicholas, listen," she said while cupping his face in her paws, forcing him to look at her.

"I'm here right now, and I love you. Don't be ashamed of anything," she whispered while stroking the fur on the back of his head. He seemed to lighten up, just slightly, at the sound of her voice.

Hushed whispers snapped her out of her daze. Outside, she could hear Bogo and Sasha talking. They were mentioning 'telling him' and saying things like 'it needs to be done'. Judy panicked right as she realized what they meant. In his current state, the news would be beyond painful. He was so fragile that any sudden movement could, and would, break him. Especially coming from the surgeon who seemed to lack a compassionate side. Judy knew she would probably regret this, but they were running out of time and options.

"Nick, I think it would be best if it came from me."

Her own violet eyes began to tear up in the slightest bit and his own gaze pleaded for good news. But there was no way to sugar coat it, or even try to dull the pain. She glanced over his furry shoulder at the clock on the wall. The second hand seemed to slow down, refusing to move until she continued.

"Nick, I don't think you will ever walk again."

His eyes shot open, shock wiped all emotion off his face. "Wait, what do you mean?"

Judy sighed, "I'm so sorry, you're… you're paralyzed."

I'm so sorry that this took forever to upload. No, I didn't give up on the story or ran out of ideas. I know exactly where this is going, I just had to finish up finals which was (sadly) consuming my entire life. I'll cut the dramatics here, but there will be 1-2 more chapters (no by saying that I'm not spoiling anything). I'm also sorry this had such a sad ending to the chapter, but it will go uphill from here. Hopefully. I also went through my previous chapters and fixed up the many mistakes.

Great. Now I'm going completely off topic, but who read those new comics on Reddit by Mead. They are so amazing, yet so emotional. I would love to write a story to it if they'd let me.

So if you haven't already heard, I'm going to start a new story called Fan Art Through the Mirror. I want you guys to talk to your favorite artists on Deviant art or Reddit and ask them to send me over some pics I can write a one-shot for. Please have them PM me personally because I don't want to steal anyone's work or not have their permission. I'm really excited for this and sad that I haven't gotten any so far. Please spread the word!

Please tell me what you think, it's beyond helpful. I would love to get ideas for my next story, Foxtrot Bunnyhop. There's more info on that in my bio. Next chapter should go up around Wednesday through Friday. It could be earlier though.