A/N: Unless you WANT to cry, I'll give you some advice:

Don't read this while listening to "Say Something" by A Great Big World. It will bring you in tears…

GRAB TISSUES, GUYS!

25

Say Something

Judy rushed down the hospital hallways, breathing heavily. She fought back the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes. She fixed her eyes on the elevator ahead, wondering if she really did want to go and see him.

Just minutes earlier, Judy was speaking with Mrs. Bamboo. When she heard the news, her phone fell from her hand and she began shaking. Mrs. Bamboo looked at her, quite concerned. She asked what was wrong, but Judy just replied by saying she had some important business to attend to. Then Judy rushed out of the house and ran into her police car. She turned on the sirens on the car so that she could get there faster. She had to see him.

Judy neared room 370, sucking in a very big, deep breath before walking into the door. She slowly pushed it open and the sight before her almost made her fall to her knees.

Nick was lying down on the concrete floor in a sickly state. His eyes were half closed and saliva dripped out of his mouth like blood from a flowing wound. The sight was so disgusting that Judy almost puked. But she managed to hold herself together.

Judy walked up to the glass and pressed her paws against them. Nick made no move. He almost looked as if he were dead. She started breathing heavily, staring at her deadly fox.

"It's painful to see him like this, isn't it?"

Judy turned around to see Dr. Barns.

"You didn't try," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You didn't try at all! You didn't try hard enough! You didn't try to find a cure and now you're just letting him die!" Judy spat. "HOW COULD YOU?!"

"Judy Hopps, get a hold of yourself!" Dr. Barns exclaimed. "I did everything that I could!"

"Did you? DID YOU REALLY? BECAUSE MY FOX IS DYING! HE'S DYING BEFORE MY OWN EYES!" Judy growled. "You never cared! You muzzled him, you attacked him, you did worthless tests on him, and now you're killing him!"

"Hopps, what do you think doctors are for? To kill our patients?"

"You never even cured Jaws! He died too, and you never tried hard enough! You shouldn't even BE a doctor!" Judy gritted her teeth. "And it's all your fault! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Judy's tears began to flow out of her eyes, uncontrollably. She brought her paws up to her eyes and sobbed into them. Nick was dying right then in that stuffy cell. She wished that she could bring him to her apartment and let him die with her right by his side.

"Judy…" Dr. Barns sighed. "I'm sorry if you feel that way. But he's close to death. He can die any minute now."

"But yesterday he wasn't like this. Why is he now?"

"Yesterday he wasn't as savage as usual," Dr. Barns exclaimed. "Last night he went into some sort of fever and it led into this."

Judy looked at Nick. He only had minutes to live? Maybe about a few hours left. But Judy needed to be by his side.

"I'll let you say your goodbyes," Dr. Barns said. He turned to leave the room, but Judy stopped him.

"Wait!" she said. "I…I want to be by his side for one last time. I need to stay by his side when he dies. That's what…that's what a good friend would do."

More tears rolled down Judy's cheeks. Dr. Barns nodded at the bunny.

"Okay, okay. Let me help you get that protective suit on and then I'll leave you to say your goodbyes," he explained.

"Oh, thanks you!" Judy said. She followed the doctor to the small back room where he explained to her how to put the suit on. Then he helped her pull it on (it was a little big) and opened the cell door for Judy to walk into.

"If he happens to try to attack you—even in this state—just run back into this room and lock the door behind you," Dr. Barns explained.

"I will, thank you," Judy replied, another tear rolling down her cheek. Dr. Barns nudged Judy into the cell and closed the door behind her.

Judy walked up to Nick and knelt down by his side. She stroked his greasy fur and looked into his dull, green eyes. He made no move to attack her and his eyes said that he had no intention to.

"Hey, Nick," she whispered. Judy scratched a spot behind his ears, though it probably didn't feel as good as it could have been since her paws were protected with gloves.

Some of Judy's tears fell onto Nick's red fur. Judy continued to stroke her fox as she began to cry even harder.

"Nick, why did you leave me? WHY?" she wailed. "I need you. You're my best friend, Nick. I can't live without you."

Nick made a little groan noise and tensed his body. After a few moments, he relaxed again and stayed there on the ground looking as sickly as ever.

Judy stroked Nick between the eyes and tears continued to drop on him. Judy didn't care anymore if she cried too much. These were her last moments with her partner, Nick Wilde.

"Nick, stay with me. Please! I need you," Judy carried on. "You are the most brilliant fox ever. And to think, you got criticized so much just for being a fox."

Judy balled her paws and looked at Nick. He definitely was losing this battle.

"And to think, I believed that you could make it. But I was only trying to convince myself. There's no way out of this one, partner. This is really our last goodbye."

Judy wiped her nose, even though more tears came rolling down.

She let out a small, bitter chuckle. "Who would have thought that it would end this way? You and me in a glass cell together? Is this how the legendary Nick Wilde is supposed to die?"

The bunny rested her head on Nick's back and lied there for a while, continuing to stroke his fur. Then she took off a glove and stroked his fur with her own skin. It felt so soft, but greasy. Her poor fox. Nick, her best friend, was dying by her side. At least she was here for him. That's what friends were for.

Judy didn't know how long she lied there, but she wasn't done talking. Nick had to hear more. He needed to hear what she had to tell him, even if he couldn't understand in the rabies state.

"Nick, I wish…I wish things didn't go bad back there in Bunnyburrow. You thought that I was scared of you all along. But Nick, I'm not scared of you. You are my very best friend, but now you're…you're…YOU'RE LEAVING ME!"

Judy dropped her head and sobbed, dramatically. She had never cried like this before, but every tear was big and held so much meaning in it. It began to get harder to breath as she wailed, uncontrollably. Her last moments with Nick needed to mean something to her. She couldn't forget this marvelous fox.

"Nick, say something," Judy whispered, blinking out more tears. "Say something, Nick. I'm…I'm giving up on you."

Nick moved a little bit, but then he was still again. Judy stroked him faster and faster, crying harder and harder.

"Nick, I…I need to hear your beautiful voice one last time. Please. SAY SOMETHING!"
But there was nothing but silence.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't hold onto you. You're almost gone. Please, Nick. I need to hear your voice say their last words. Let it be something meaningful, instead of what you spat at me back in Bunnyburrow. PLEASE!"

Again, silence.

"I was wrong, Nick. I was stupid and feeling so small. I thought that nothing could possibly go wrong. I should've known that the nightmares were trying to tell me something. I should have told you about them, but I couldn't. I was so prideful. I thought that I could handle the pain on my own, but I was so wrong! Oh, I was so wrong, Nick Wilde. And now I'm here, watching you die."

Judy slipped her glove back on and took Nick's muzzle in her paws.

"But I've swallowed my pride, Nick. And I've let everything out. How wrong was I, to treat you so wrong. I was a horrible friend, and you never deserved someone like me."

Judy looked into his half closed eyes that were slowly opening up a little bit more.

"Nick Wilde, it's you. I've been fighting my feelings for so long, trying to hold them back and throw them out, but I can't fight them any longer. It's you. You are the one that I love. I love you so much, Nick Wilde. You were always there for me, but I feel like I was never there for you. I didn't ever deserve you, but here I am, loving you so much. I love you, Nick Wilde. You are the one that I truly love."

Judy hugged Nick tightly and squeezed more tears out of her eyes. "But now I'm saying goodbye."

Judy dropped Nick's head and looked at him. She bent down and set a kiss on his forehead.

"You will always be with me, Nick. I'm sure of it. You will forever be remembered, my Nick. My precious, sly, dumb fox. Oh Nick!"

Judy cried into his neck and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you."

Just then, the small door bursted open and Dr. Barns walked in. He grabbed hold of Judy's arm and began to drag her away.

"Wait!" Judy cried.

"Judy, we have to go."

"NO!" Judy shouted. "I'M NOT LEAVING HIM! I'M NOT LEAVING HIM ALONE TO DIE!"

"Come ON!" Dr. Barns jerked on her arm and dragged her out of the cell. Judy screamed a blood coiling scream.

"NO! NICK, NO!"

Judy kicked and fought, but it was no use. Dr. Barns was already stripping the protective suit off of Judy and pushing her out of the small room.

"Go home, Judy. You said goodbye, so go. There's nothing more you can do here."

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? I NEED HIM! I NEED TO BE BY HIS SIDE AS HE DRAWS HIS LAST BREATH! WHAT A MONSTER YOU ARE!"

"OFFICER JUDY HOPPS, LEAVE THIS BUILDING!" Dr. Barns exclaimed. "You…you are no longer needed here."

Judy didn't bother to wipe her tears. Instead, she looked at Nick one last time and pressed her paws up against the glass.

"Goodbye, Nick Wilde. I love you more than words can express. You will always be here in my heart and in my most fond memories."

Regretfully, Judy turned and left room 370, sobbing her heart out.

##############################################################################

"So, Nick Wilde. It's just come down to you and me," Dr. Barns said, looking at the dying fox behind the glass. "Maybe I should just make things easier on you and…"

Suddenly, another doctor bursted through the door, holding a container.

"SIR! I FOUND IT!"

He rushed towards Dr. Barns, being careful not to drop the container.

"The antidote, Dr. Barns! I was in your office, getting the papers like you asked me to when I found this…" the doctor (a leopard) slowly looked up at Dr. Barns who had a deep frown on his face. "Wait a minute…you had this all along. Were you going to…kill him?"

"Hand it over, Dr. Tales."

"Um, no…I think that I'll hold onto this myself," he said, slowly trying to inch his way to the back door. But Dr. Barns pulled a gun from beneath his lab coat.

"Hand it over, Dr. Tales!" he growled.

"Do you WANT this Nick Wilde dead? You had this all along! Why the hell would you do that?!"

Dr. Barns loaded the gun and glared at the leopard. "GIVE IT TO ME!"

Fear sprung from Dr. Tales's eyes. He did the only thing he knew he could do. He had to save Nick.

"JUDY HOPPS!"

Aaaaaaaaaaaand, there you go. It was a shorter chapter, I know. But I hope that you enjoyed it. I know, ANOTHER cliffhanger.

Will Nick survive? Yes? Or no? I mean, Dr. Barns is pretty smart…he has a gun and all…

Review, REVIEW! REIVEW!