The Pursuit, Chapter 6.4 – Understanding

July 1st, Friday Morning – Meadowlands Health

Sometime later, Judy snapped awake, her mind immediately racing to put everything back together. This time it only took a few seconds and she remembered where she was and what had happened to her and Nick. Looking around, she found it was night outside and her mother sat in the chair alongside the bed, sleeping quietly.

Soft whispering drew Judy's attention to the hall outside the room. There, she could see Nick's mother and her father sitting in chairs across from the two rooms, talking to each other. The conversation was too quiet for her to hear at that distance, but they were both smiling and looked as though they had been friends for years. It warmed her heart, given how her father had reacted to Nick in the burrow.

"Oh, hon," Judy's mother remarked, sitting up sharply. "When'd you wake up?"

"Just now," she replied, smiling. "I miss much?"

Reaching over, Bonnie patted Judy's arm. "A little. Nick's been awake on and off, though not for very long and I'm not certain he remembers much yet."

"What're Dad and his mother talking about?"

Bonnie glanced over her shoulder. "Not sure, hon. I think at this point, just sharing embarrassing stories about the things their kids did when younger. Neither was in any shape to sit around and wait for you two to wake up. They needed some distracting. They both worry too much."

Judy watched her father and Nick's mother happily. At least some members of the families seemed to be getting along.

"Judy, honey," her mother added after a short pause. "Aren't you going to go to him?"

"Nope. Betting he doesn't want me there."

Bonnie's face crinkled a little and her ears tilted back. "Judy, he's asked for you every time he woke up. I think you're a little confused, hon."

"He…asked?" Judy could not believe what she was hearing and believed it even less when her mother nodded vigorously. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"Oh, I tried. You were really stubborn about staying asleep. It got a little weird when you called me Nick and asked me to turn off the alarm, but I figured that was the medicine talking."

Judy bit her lip and gave a halfhearted laugh that she hoped her mother might accept.

Lying where she was for a little longer, Judy finally looked back to her mother. "Do you think he'll mind if I go in there?"

"Not at all, hon," Bonnie answered, smiling. "It's almost dawn, so he'll probably not wake for a little longer. I doubt he'll mind if you're there when he does, though."

Judy dearly hoped her mother was right. Easing herself to the edge of the bed, she took the crutch that was within reach and used it to slowly slide down off the mattress until her toes came down on the cold floor. As before, it took a minute before her balance was stable enough to walk, but soon she was able to begin the painful trip between rooms.

As she passed through the hallway, Judy got reassuring smiles from both her father and Nick's mother, but neither said anything to her. Once she had passed them, they resumed their conversation, and Judy was able to hear that her mother had been right—they were discussing embarrassing stories about their children. Judy tried hard to ignore the fact that her father was rambling about the time she had run around the burrow naked after a bath when she was just two years old.

Judy made it into Nick's room and found he had not moved much from the last time she had been in there. The respirator had been removed and he appeared to be breathing normally on his own, though the rest of the monitors were still strapped to his chest. Blood had stained the bandages, giving her an idea of how large the wound had been. If she could ignore the bloody bandages, he appeared to be resting peacefully, even drooling a little at the corners of his muzzle.

She stood at the door for what felt like a long time, watching Nick sleep. Deep down, she wanted to go to him, to be with him while he recovered, but that nagging doubt about where she stood with him resurfaced and she could not bring herself to put one paw in front of the other and get any closer. Finally Judy told herself she was being stupid and turned to go back to her room.

"Where you going, Fluff?"

Judy froze at the door with her back to Nick, her ears perking at the sound of his voice. "How long have you been awake?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Long enough to know you're worried," Nick answered airily, chuckling weakly. "That and long enough to watch that fuzzy little tail waggle out of my room. You do know that hospital gown doesn't cover your backside all that well, right? You mind walking out and back a few more times? I need some cheering up here."

Judy laughed in spite of herself and despite the pain in her side. Turning back to Nick, she made her way to the chair and sat slowly at his side.

"You're doing well for someone with a hole in his chest," she said, setting her crutch against the wall nearby.

"Am I?" Nick wheezed a little, looking down at his own chest. "So I am. Not sure what I'm pumped full of, but I barely feel it. Thought I was just short of breath."

"Trust me when I say you shouldn't get up yet, no matter how you're feeling."

Nick smiled and relaxed back onto his pillow. It seemed to take all his strength just to stay awake and talk intermittently. The brief periods his eyes were open, she could tell he was barely able to see.

Judy gave him several minutes before she glanced back toward the hallway. Both her father and Nick's mother were watching her.

"I suppose now's as good a time as any," Judy said, slumping back in her chair. "Your mother said you were going to talk to me the night you stormed off?"

Nick smirked and held up his left paw with its bandaging. "I'd say that didn't go as planned, Carrots."

"What happened? What did you want to talk to me about?"

Nick turned his head a little so he could look down at her. "You really don't know?"

"Not a clue. You came by and were a little weird about things. I thought at one point you were going to throw those flowers at me. Next I knew, you were angry and left. It's never been the same since. When I saw the flowers, I'd hoped maybe you'd forgiven me for Bunnyburrow and…you know. Being a bit eager and pushy. I just didn't know how to approach you since then."

Nick's broad smile was a welcome relief. "Nothing to forgive. I was scared. I should've been clearer about why I was saying no. I was terrified of hurting you and not just emotionally. You said you didn't want to be tied down, so I was trying to work with that."

"I don't, if it means giving up my dreams," she confessed. Nothing about this was going the way she had expected. "I…I don't think I need to give up anything with you. That's why I wasn't afraid anymore."

"Then why'd you change your mind?"

Judy froze at that question, feeling her nose twitching nervously. "You changed, Nick, not me. I came back into town hoping to patch up our friendship if you had gotten scared off by what happened. Instead, you ran off and hooked up with Silvia."

"Rebound," Nick admitted, frowning and looking away from her. "Not one of my better choices in life. What was I supposed to do when I found out you'd gotten together with someone else after I left the burrow? I wasn't ready for that and I acted a little childishly. Maybe a lot childishly. It was that or drinking myself unconscious for a week. That might've been smarter, actually."

Judy's ears shot up. She wanted to grab Nick, to make him look at her and explain, but with them both on the verge of bleeding she knew that was not an ideal choice. "I didn't hook up with anyone, Nick. You're the only one I've even considered being with in a very long time."

Slowly Nick turned back to her. "What about Jack? Am I not supposed to know you've got another bunny living with you? Did you forget I saw you two in your pajamas on the floor together? Only one bed in the place."

The confusion gradually faded away, and Judy could not help herself. She started laughing. Even when Nick stared at her as though she were insane, she kept laughing until she knew her side was bleeding. Still, it was difficult to stop the hysterical giggling.

"Jack?" she demanded between chortles. "Jack Hopps? He's my brother, you dumb fox. He moved here and needed a place to stay until he gets a job. He's sleeping on the floor. Please tell me you didn't do all this because you didn't bother to ask me one simple question. If I'd realized you didn't remember me mentioning him in the burrow, I'd have spelled it out for you. I swear I mentioned him when we were out in the fields. Why didn't you ask?"

Nick groaned and closed his eyes. "I may be the dumbest fox ever. I thought he was your boyfriend."

"Oh, Nick," she chided, shaking her head. "We've been at odds over that? I thought it was because you were mad over what I did in the burrow. I was trying to give you space."

"No, I was definitely not mad about what happened, Fluff. I'd been dwelling on that a bit more than is fair to you. Space was about the worst thing for my paranoia. The flowers were supposed to be a peace offering so we could sit down and figure out whether there was any chance of…of us."

Judy reached out and took Nick's paw in hers. He squeezed back and that gentle touch let her know things had a chance of returning to normal.

"Is there?" he finally asked, those green eyes watching Judy more intently than she had been ready for. "At least a chance?"

"For us? Nick…you have Silvia, for better or worse. I'm not going to just turn around and pretend none of this happened. It did. Ignoring it isn't fair to her and probably not even fair to you. Maybe someday, but not right now. We missed that chance. You need to figure out where you are with her first. After that, I'm willing to talk about it. Settle things there and we'll see."

"I'd have to say that's on the rocks. Having her try to maul my best friend doesn't usually bode well for a relationship."

"She was being territorial," Judy noted, frowning at Nick. "I get it, even if I still think she's crazy. That's a talk you two need to have. I'm not getting into that."

Nick nodded and tightened his grip on Judy's paw as he closed his eyes. "Promise me you'll at least stay with me. That you'll be here when I wake up. This month's been awful. I don't want to wake up alone."

"Do you want me to call Silvia, to let her know you're here?"

Nick took a deep breath and almost began coughing. Shaking his head, he replied, "No. Can I be honest, Carrots?"

"It kind of creeps me out when you are honest, but you can always be honest with me if you want."

"She scares me," he said, smiling sheepishly. "Will you protect me?"

Judy laughed and clasped Nick's paw in both of hers. "Yes, I will protect you, but you need to promise you'll talk to her about how you really feel, even if you have to hide behind me while doing it."

"Okay," Nick replied, smiling, though his voice sounded sleepy. When he spoke next, Judy was pretty sure he was already mostly asleep. "It's good to have my sly bunny back again."

Once Nick's breathing had steadied and she was certain he was soundly asleep, she replied, "It's good to have my dumb fox back too."

Judy stayed where she was until well after the sun had risen. She did not relax until Nick's mother came in sometime later and put a paw on her shoulder. The gesture was not meant to start a conversation, and Judy realized she merely wanted to reassure Judy. That simple action did exactly that, and she soon fell asleep holding Nick's paw, with his mother's paw petting her ears the way her own mother had when she was a child.