A/N:
Welcome to, Chapter 6 of What Foxes May Come:
The Needs of the Bunny Outweigh the
Needs of the 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. ****
Ch 6
The Needs of the Bunny Outweigh the
Needs of the Fox
As Nick left Zootopia General he made a beeline to Precinct One. He walked through the main doors, not bothering to stop at reception, leaving a thoroughly confused and perplexed Clawhauser standing there with his maw open. Nick did his best to ignore others, as there was currently only one mammal Nick wanted to talk to as he bounded up the stairs to the mezzanine level. Knocking on the chief's office door, he waited a minute before he thought about leaving, when he heard Bogo say "Come."
Stepping through the door, Nick made his way to the chief's desk and waited patiently for Bogo to finish with what he was doin.
Finally finished, Bogo caught sight of Nick.
"Have a seat Nick, what can I do for you?"
After a moment of looking at his paws, Nick steeled himself. "Chief, I wish to tender my resignation."
"On what grounds Wilde?" Chief Bogo asked, a curiously unsurprised look upon his muzzle
"Judy is paralyzed sir"
Yes, I am aware of that, what does that have to do with you resigning?"
Sir, she is going to need full time care," Nick began, " and frankly I don't trust anyone else to do it. I can't work and take care of-"
"Denied," Bogo interrupted.
"But sir, I-" Bogo stopped Nick with an upheld hoof.
Sitting back in his chair, Bogo thought for a minute, "Son, what happened to you and Hopps is something that I wouldn't wish on any mammal. I watched the traffic cam, dash cam, and body cam footage of both you and Hopps. I am truly sorry. That being said, I have access to certain channels of funding for officers injured while on duty, to help while recovering. As I am placing both you and Hopps on indefinite paid medical leave, you are free to care for your partner while still maintaining rank and pay grade, so as I said before, denied."
Flabbergasted, Nick sat there for a moment willing his muzzle closed. "T-thank you sir, I-I don't know … what to say."
"Say you'll do your level best to help Hopps and we'll call it even."
"Yes sir, thank you sir. I can promise that, one hundred percent" half heartedly offering the chief his signature two fingered salute as he slipped from the chair.
Nick walked out of the chief's office still stunned by what had just happened. Coming out of his daze, he found himself sitting on a bench in Central Park near Precinct One and the hospital. He was deep in thought. He needed to figure out how to get everything that he needed to do done in a short amount of time. He didn't know how long Judy would be hospitalized but he knew she would be there for at least a few more months. Nick took his time returning to the hospital. Not because he didn't like hospitals, because in truth he didn't, but he needed time to think and plan. His apartment was too small for Judy's medical needs, with her potentially being in a wheelchair for a while, perhaps permanently, while hers was laughably inadequate. He needed to figure out a place for them both to live that would be easy on her.
His only problem was, he had no earthly clue what to do or where to start. For the first time in his life, Nick felt useless, his bunny needed specialized help and he had no idea who to call, or where to turn. And Mr. Big wasn't even an option Nick wanted to consider. So he started with the basics. He called social services to see what options he had, and came up empty. The most help they were, was to suggest he search the internet. He hung up with no small amount of snark… "Thanks for nothing."
After doing a bit of research online, he came across a company called Helping Paws. They seemed to specialize in equipment that was designed to help small mammals regain mobility or ability. They however, didn't accept the insurance that ZPD officers had, only full coverage, or cold hard cash. 'Typical,' he thought to himself. So it was back to Zoogle to see what else he could find in the short term. Still, he bookmarked them for later review. He needed to get the basics worked out first, like where to live. The chiefs boon to them both, was that they would still be getting paid their salary so there was at least that.
Noticing the time showing on the clock in the corner of his phone, he realized he had been at it for over 4 hours. Jumping up, he made his way back to Zootopia General and quickly up to Judy's room. He slipped through the door and found her sound asleep, so he quietly sat down on one of the big comfy chairs and continued his search. A good while later, as Nick noted that he had been back for at least 3 hours, Judy began to stir and suddenly became frustrated that she couldn't move. Releasing what sounded like a grocery list of vegetable laden expletives, Judy gave up and simply lay there with a rather impressive growl of frustration for someone her size. He smiled, Judy never did things half way.
Nick did his best to help her, but in the end admitted partial defeat as well. He would figure out how to help her if at all possible, 'maybe I can ask the nurses for pointers.' As he thought that, a couple of nurses, one of which was the water deer Nick had met several weeks ago. He gave her a warm smile. The nurse glanced at him with a flash of fear in her eyes, as they unhooked Judy from a large portion of the equipment, leaving only a few monitors and her IV's hooked up, but it freed her up some, much to her relief.
As the nurses finished up, Judy stated she was hungry, it had been three months and some change since she had last eaten real food. The simple nutrient fluid they pumped into her system while she was under was no longer going to cut it. As at least a partial joke, she mentioned that she'd even be willing to try some shrimp. Unbeknownst to Nick, who took it as a joke, along with the nurses, Judy was rather fond of some spicy shrimp.
Judy was told it would be a couple days yet for solid food, but she could have some gelatin if she wanted. As the nurses left the room, Nick stood up and stepped out just behind them. He got the water deers attention.
"Nurse, excuse me, nurse?" he said and he caught up with her. She paused and turned towards Nick as he approached. She looked at him with a brief moment of fear that all prey seemed to show around not just him but preds in general.
"I, I just wanted to apologize for scaring you the other day. You see my partner, Officer Hopps, was critically injured in that accident while I was thrown clear. She was all I could think of when I woke," he said as he looked to the floor. I didn't mean to frighten you." Pausing a moment, Nick continued as she looked at him expectantly. "Can I ask your name?"
Giving him a warm smile. "It's Jenny. Though most just call me Jen. Or just that nurse with fangs, please tell me you're not one of those."
Nick nodded with a warm smile. "Jen. And no, I'm not like that. Truly, thank you for all you have done for Officer Hopps, a-and myself."
Jen gave Nick a warm smile, all the fear he had seen in her eyes earlier was now gone. She placed a hoof on Nick's arm. "Thank you for apologizing. We don't hear it enough, and it can be hard when the patient is angry or confused. So again, thank you. It means a lot." She said as she turned to leave. Smiling over her shoulder, she gave Nick a wink and moved off to her other duties.
As Nick opened the door back into Judy's room she asked, "What was that about Slick?"
He sat down again, pulling the chair right next to her bed. "I may have scared her a bit when I first woke up the other day," he said as she glared at him. He gave a shrug and his usual smirk and continued, "What do you expect? They gave me something that knocked me out. You were my first concern when my brain finally engaged and remembered what happened."
She was still giving him the stink eye for scaring the poor girl, but a small smile was fighting to make itself known on her muzzle. Hearing that she and her wellbeing was the first thing on his mind when he woke up, enough to scare a nurse, gave her a warm feeling in her chest.
"Look Fluff, you are my priority, you have given me a reason to be more than just a fox." He then looked at her and she could see the look of haunting regret in his eyes right before he looked away.
She wished she could move, to reach out and comfort her fox, but the contraption the doctors had her in kept her entire torso from neck to waist immobilized. Her left arm was in a cast from the shoulder down, and her right arm was wrapped up to the elbow to help with swelling. She knew she was a mess, but not really how bad.
Weeks went by with Judy being immobilized. She was way beyond frustration, beyond even anger, fully bordering on rage. "SON OF A CARROT MUNCHIN', BLUEBERRY STUFFIN' TURNIP FARMER!" she exclaimed at one point. Nick looked up at her from his phone in shock, "Such language, young lady" he said, earning him daggers and a raspberry. Judy knew she couldn't move even if she wanted to, but the 'carrot munchin contraption' she was confined in made her feel trapped, and more than a little claustrophobic. She knew her fox would bend over backwards to help in any way he could, but she really wanted to move her arms and head at the very least.
x⁰X⁰x
One sunny afternoon a couple orderlies arrived, the same two mule deer by the names of Frank and Harold, to take her to do some tests and evaluations. The swelling in her back had fully dissipated and the specialists could finally see how badly her spine was damaged. Unfortunately Nick couldn't go with her, so he set off to get something to eat and wait till she was done.
Of course, Judy was apprehensive about the outcome of all the tests, x-rays, and deep image scans that were done. She grimaced at the pins and needles feeling that started in her feet, and moved up her legs. She didn't sleep for two days, almost begging the nurse for something to help her sleep. Finally, Nick had laid one of his shirts over her, and his scent from the shirt seemed to calm her. She was miserable, frustrated, and terrified of the results. Her life long struggle to prove a rabbit could succeed in being, well, anything other than a carrot farmer, had come to a sudden and excruciatingly painful end. Yes, she proved it, but that was a hollow victory in her mind in the face of her injuries
After a few dozen tests and evaluations, she was brought back to her room where she and Nick waited for the specialists to arrive and go over the test results. When they came into her room, both could tell that it wasn't great news. The specialist determined that her spinal column was indeed crushed. Extensive damage to 4 of her vertebrae in the lower lumbar region just above her pelvis. The specialist was frankly surprised that her pelvis was spared any damage at all.
"Well Miss Hop … err Judy, it doesn't appear that your spinal cord was severed, which is good … but it was pinched to such a degree that you may never walk again, even if we do remove the damaged choice is yours as to whether or not you want surgery to remove the damaged vertebrae, it is, from what I can see, possible, despite earlier evaluations," said Dr. Johanson, who had earlier identified himself as a spinal specialist.
"I understand." Judy said. It really wasn't a big question to her. " How soon can it be done, and what will you replace them with?"
"Lets see.. " Glancing at his pad. "We can schedule you … let's see, how about one month from now. Just remember this surgery is only going to remove the damage to your spine, it won't make you able to walk again."
Again Judy nodded in understanding. "What about all this hardware I'm stuck in? Will it get removed?"
"Yes," he thought for a moment, "I believe we can do that as well. Getting back to the pending procedure, once we remove all the damaged vertebrae, and repair any damaged surrounding tissues, we will put in 3D printed vertebrae to replace the damaged vertebrae. This will provide protection and support for your spinal cord and spinal column, as well as prevent any further damage."
He went on to explain the procedure in detail, how they will remove the damage, and use the specially designed 3d printed vertebrae that would not only protect her spinal cord, but also allow some freedom of movement, unlike other cages and plate hardware. After that Dr. Fast arrived and conferred with Dr. Johanson briefly, then began to remove Judy from most of the cage she was currently locked into.
Doctor Johanson gently lowered her right arm to her side, eliciting a groan of pain from Judy. "You're going to be stiff and sore for some time. You haven't moved in months. The back brace will have to stay to ensure no more damage is done until after the surgery." He instructed her to work the joints and muscles for a few minutes to ease the stiffness as he removed all the support hardware safely he could. Noting that she would have some physical therapy in her future as well. Her left arm, the one in a full length cast would remain in a smaller cage to maintain immobility, though it would also give her more movement. Recent x-rays showed it still had some healing to do, especially around the pins that were surgically implanted to rebuild her shoulder, upper arm and the bones in her wrist.
"Despite the extensive injuries you had when you arrived, you have healed extremely well, all things considered. We may have to do some correctional surgery on your wrist to remove a pin or two, but the rest will be permanent. They are a special pin that is made of a super hard compressed calcium rod. As your bones heal the rods will become part of the bone, and help fortify the breaks with new calcium. It is a new and quite innovative technique, actually. Really beats the old style stainless steel rods by a long shot. You won't set off the metal detectors with this technique." Dr. Fast explained.
Several hours later, Judy was finally wheeled back to her room by Frank and Harold, where a very anxious fox waited. Nick's eyes lit up when she was brought back, minus a good portion of the hardware that had been her closest companion for so many weeks. Even most of the monitors and wires were gone, just the standard set of heart rate and respiration monitors remained. After Frank and Harold left, Nick and Judy got the feeling they were the only two orderlies in the entire hospital. Nick stood just looking at her, with thumb and forefinger on either side of his muzzle.
"Something wrong Nick?" Judy asked
"No, nothing's wrong, but there's something different about you. Did you do something new with your ears?" he asked, almost able to keep the smirk off his lips.
Judy sat confused for a brief moment, then a smile brightened her face, "Nick you goof!" she said with a laugh, "Feel lucky I can't throw something at you!" They laughed briefly, and it felt good. It was something they both desperately needed right then. The stress and anxiety of the past couple of months melted away in that moment, even if only just for that moment.
Nick stepped over to Judy and softly kissed her on her head as he had done so many times while she was comatose.
"You mean a lot to me Carrots, more then you'll ever know," Nick said. " We will get through whatever comes at us, together."
Giving her paw a light squeeze, Nick looked her right in the eyes and said. "I love you, Judy Hopps."
x⁰X⁰x
A/N:
Wow … so that happened … How will Judy respond, and where will it lead? … Only the Muse knows. Also stay tuned as Judy prepares for surgery. Will the doctors perform a miracle
**Regular postings of every 1-2 weeks will resume this Saturday. The darkest parts are are almost over and Sunny Bunny days are ahead, so stay tuned.