Shortly after arriving, Judy had to be checked into the hospital. It took a few minutes, leaving Nick in the waiting room as Judy was taken into the trauma bay for evaluation and then given a room for her short stay. The process took about an hour and a half, and as soon as it was finished, a fox in a white lab coat emerged from the swinging double doors of the emergency room. "Nicholas Wilde?"
Nick stood up from the blue cushioned chair and looked at the doctor. "Yes."
The doctor smiled at him. "We have very good news. Judy has no lasting damage, other than a few bruises here and there. She also came with a little low oxygen from being stuck in the bag for so long, and she was a little short on fluids. She probably needs something to eat, and we'll arrange that when she's ready. I just didn't go to that step yet, I figured you'd want to come and help out a little."
Nick smiled. "You don't see anything wrong with my girlfriend being a rabbit?"
He shrugged. "No. I was raised by 'em."
Nick smiled. "No kidding."
The doctor laughed. "No, I'm totally kidding. Though I'm still familiar with them. My uncle's married to one, and my first cousin has a rabbit girl of his own. You know, that news of yours really inspired them."
"Tell them thanks," Nick said.
He just smiled. "I assume you want to go see her."
Nick just nodded.
The doctor led Nick down a hallway and up an elevator, all the way to Judy's room. On the way there Nick asked about the doctor's family. Turns out he had even been in a relationship with a rabbit before too—which had only failed because of personality issues and not the species. Nick also jogged the doctor's memory about the Night Howler case. "Well, thanks for all you do," the doctor said. "You keep our cities safe."
"And you're keeping my rabbit safe." He smiled. "This is her?"
He nodded. "Yep. Three eighteen. If you need anything else, one of my nurses can help." He reached into his lab coat and produced a business card, which he flipped over and wrote a few numbers. "Here's my personal number. Give it a call sometime, I'd love to talk over lunch if our schedules match up." He smiled and started walking away.
"Dr. Shawn?"
The doctor turned around.
"I do need a little favor if you can."
Nick opened the door to Judy's room, and it squeaked a little as it did. The room was lit with artificial lights, and the landscape outside was a dark silhouette of mountains and city with tiny lights strewn about. Nick walked up to the rabbit, who was comfortably asleep, the sterile white covers of the bed wrapped around her little petite frame. Nick didn't want to wake her, but he just had to—it was just too important not to.
He set the present on the nightstand and knelt by her side, taking her free paw in his. The other was attached to a heart rate monitor and he didn't want to mess anything up. Judy stirred, but didn't wake. He rubbed her paw with his thumb. "Fluff."
Judy's eyes fluttered open and she smiled, giggling. "Hi, Nick."
"Glad you're awake." He brought his free paw to her head and ran his thumb down her cheek. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"I love you, Nick," she said, cuddling her head into his paw.
Nick just smiled. "You feeling okay?"
"Yeah. My leg hurts a little."
Nick shrugged a little, chuckling. "I'm sure you're gonna be fine, Fluff." He looked her in the eyes, her purple irises meeting his. They were silent for a moment. "I got something for you," Nick said, breaking the silence. "An early Christmas present." He took the little present off the end table and set it on the bed next to her arm.
"How sweet of you, Nick," she said softly, letting go of his paw and taking the box in her paw. She set it in her lap and took the lid off. "Wait, Nick, what is this?"
Nick just smirked. "You know, Fluff, that day without you was a mess. I think I went crazy. But it gave me some time to think." Judy just looked at him with curious eyes. "I was thinking about you." He took the box from her and removed a little felt box from it. "I realized I can't live without you. I can't date you anymore. I need you to be mine. My Carrots." He opened the little box. "Judy Hopps, the most beautiful thing in the world to me—will you marry me?"
A grin spread across her face. "Yes, Nick! Yes!" She touched his face with her paw. "Can you put it on for me?"
"Of course." He took the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger. "I hope it fits."
"It's perfect." She turned her head and kissed him. "What's next, Nick?"
Nick smiled. "As soon as you get out of here, Fluff, I'm going to see some lights again. But this time with my fiancée."
All right everyone! This marks the ending of this story, and I hope you guys had as much fun reading as I did writing it. Be on the lookout for more updates on my Profile page and for more stories-I have several in the works that I may be posting in the near future.