A/N:

Welcome to chapter 4 of what What Foxes May Come, entitled Broken Bunny, Weeping Fox

And as always my buddy Blkdragon7 did the editing. Go check out his ongoing story called A Friendly Hustle and show him some love. You can also check out his original work and link to his writing Blog, Scribblings, where a lot of it lives by hopping over to ( Direct: dcballard (remove the spaces) and my own writing blog, BearSpace, at: bearspace … because the forwarding is misbehaving.)

****Zootopia, Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and other associated characters are the Sole property of Disney Inc. I do not own the rights, save a few of my own characters and those will be noted at the beginning of their respective chapters. ****

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Ch 4

Broken Bunny, Weeping Fox

Early the next morning, Chief Bogo stopped in to see how Nick was doing on his way to check on Judy, and before heading over to Precinct one. Bogo took the time to get a verbal report of the incident from Nick, who delivered it with choked up anger and sadness. Nick still felt like it was his fault that Judy was in her current condition, despite assurances from Bogo to the contrary.

The traffic cameras told the story clearly, or so Bogo claimed. He tried to tell Nick that their survival was based on the fact that they were moving, so the hit was turned into a spin and roll. That there was no way they could have seen it coming or done anything more than he did. But in his heart, Nick just knew if he had gotten to her in time he may have been able to pull her free. And it galled him to no end that he couldn't.

Nick knew that Judy's condition remained the same, stable and still in a chemically induced coma. It hurt Nick's heart to know his bunny was so lost that this was necessary just for her to heal and not be in excruciating pain. That afternoon, Nick was discharged, and immediately set up in Judy's room so he could be there if she happened to wake up, by Bogo's request Nick figured. Rabbits tended to wake up frightened and tried to move, oftentimes doing more damage to any wounds. It was common practice to make sure a familiar face was present as they were slowly brought off anesthesia.

Following a nurse out to the nurses station, he signed all of his discharge paperwork, and signed a few more regarding temporary visitor accomodations in regards to coma or long term critical care patients. He then followed the same nurse to the elevator and up to the 4th floor, where long term care patients were cared for. As they entered the room, Nick noted that a non medical bed was set up with fresh bedding and his clothes in a bag sitting on top. Sometime during the three days Nick was asleep, it seems that someone, 'probably Fin' Nick figured, brought him a few changes of clothes.

After the nurse left he pulled the curtain aside and stood in horror at the sight that met his eyes. Judy was suspended in a solid frame, with steel rods protruding from the casts that covered more than half of her body. A thick cast supported her hips, and lower back with straps running across her upper chest and head. Another steel plate ran up the length of her back framing a cradle cast that held her back rigid. Her left arm was also in a cast and supported from the same kind of frame. Her right arm was wrapped in gauze and supported on a special pillow designed for that purpose. She had tubed running to and from her nose and mouth and others to and from her right arm, some to machines that were filtering her blood, and others removing waste. Her eyes were closed, her breaths slow and shallow, handled partially by the ventilator near her bed.

Stumbling backward onto the visitor bed he collapsed in a crumpled ball of heaving fur. Silent sobs wracked his body as he wept. He would give anything to have his bunny back. He wept till his tears dried up. He just lay there staring at the poor broken shell that used to be Judy, his bunny. He just knew in his heart of hearts that there was no way he could leave her side, she was his partner, his job to protect her, and in that, he felt like a complete failure. Exhausted he fell into a fitful sleep, as dreams of the wreck haunted his dreams and made him toss and turn. Dreams of Judy being lost and calling for her … he could see her, but couldn't hear her calling, as it seemed she ran in the opposite direction.

Waking up hours later with a start, he looked around fearfully for a brief moment before his eyes found Judy again. Getting up, he slid out of bed and made his way to Judy's side. Taking her paw in his he momentarily marveled at how small her paw seemed in his. Keeping her paw in his he laid his head down next to hers and quietly began talking to her, He had heard someplace, or read it somewhere, or .. something, that talking to coma patients can have a positive effect, speeding up recovery and bringing them around. This became a daily thing for Nick. He spent most waking hours talking to her and praying to Karma, and really any of the many gods that may hear, and decide to bring his Judy, his bunny, back to him. Heartfelt prayer often turned to long bouts of silent sobs, and offers of supplication on Judy's behalf. After a week or two, a couple of nurses, and Frank and Harold, (were they the only two orderlies in the entire hospital, Nick wondered), came to remove the machine that kept Judy in a coma. They explained that sometimes the patient woke the same day and others remained comatose. They said it was all up to Judy now.

Nick continued his daily ritual of talking to Judy and praying to Karma and the rest of the gods to please help her find her way home. He felt that asking them to bring her back to him was a bit selfish. He simply wanted her to come back, to her friends and family, and to him. Weeks passed in this fashion, with little to no change. The doctors were surprised at her brain activity however. 'Most coma patients show little brain activity, usually just enough to register on the monitor,' they said. Judy on the other paw, registered brain wave activity similar to one having a vivid and immersive dream, or perhaps a nightmare. They had little explanation as it was unprecedented. No comatose patient in the history of, ever, showed activity above the occasional flicker of one of the wave guides. Judy's brain activity made the monitor look like a Spectrum Analyzer at a Gazelle concert.

Nick never gave up, and never left her side. Nurses often found him curled up near Judy just in case she woke in the middle of the night. During the day he talked to her, read to her, and prayed. On one such day he was recounting one of his hustles, her paw in his, when he felt her paw twitch. Glancing at the readout there was a definite spike in higher brain function, as the doctor had shown Nick the different zones and the meaning behind them. He kept talking, looking intently and her face.

He started pleading with her to follow his voice, to find her way back. Suddenly Judy's nose twitched as did her ears. Glancing at the monitor, all zones had peaked and where holding steady save one, showing wakefulness, or consciousness, it remained low. Jumping up, Nick bolted from the room to find Dr. Fast.

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A/N:

Wait .. higher brain activity‽. Is Judy waking up? Find out in the next chapter called The Needs of the Bunny Outweigh the Needs of the Fox