A/N
Alright guys. First I have to say thank you for tuning back in the last time to this story I began last year during quarantine. This chapter is LONG just like the other one but this time with no break. I figured most will just power through it. I will see you all down below. Here we are. Final chapter.
Chapter 30
Time
The morning rays pierced through the curtains of the hospital room as Judy slowly opened her eyes. Her phone alarm didn't sound this time due to being damaged from the fall and submersion of water. The phone still worked – barely – but with a cracked screen and not much of a charge. Judy stretched her arms with a yawn. A sinking feeling hit her stomach as she began to recap everything that had happened. She then reached for the buzzer for a nurse. Moments later a soft knock was heard at the door.
"Come in" Judy called meekly rubbing her eyes. The door opened revealing a young female giraffe nurse.
"Good morning Ms. Hopps" she greeted walking over to the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a train...but also..." she trailed off noticing her dry mouth. "Thirsty."
The giraffe turned around pulling a cart inside from the hallway. On the cart was a glass with water along with a bottle of orange juice. Next to them were pastries and a mug with tea and sweeteners.
"I figured you might be hungry as well" the nurse chuckled pushing the cart next to the bed. "I'm nurse Olsen. I also have some pain medication that should help ease that 'hit by a train' feeling you just described" she smiled.
Judy returned with a weak smile grateful for the kindness from the nurse. "Thank you so much" she replied reaching over for the orange juice. The nurse knelt down pulling a tray out from beneath the cart. She unfolded the legs from under it placing it on the bed in front of Judy.
"This will make things easier. Just tell me what you need and I'll do the rest" she spoke. "Don't want you moving to much right now."
Judy nodded in agreement despite hating the feeling of being helpless. She pointed to the glass of water and blueberry muffin sitting on the tray.
"Here you go" the nurse said placing the items on her tray along with 2 small white capsules. "Take these with your food and ring if you need something else okay?"
Judy nodded reaching for the muffin when she stopped.
'Blueberry...'
"Hey um nurse Olsen" she called out to the giraffe as she was leaving.
"Yes dear?" She replied turning back towards the bunny. Judy took a swallow of water whipping her mouth.
"My partner – Nick Wilde – do you know anything of his current condition?" Judy asked nervously. She feared the answer to come. The nurse peeped out in the hallway and then turned back.
"Doctor Thorn is going to be here to check up on you shortly." Olsen responded. "He would likely know more than I would regarding your partner."
"Oh...okay" Judy answered nervously. The anticipation of finding out what would happen gave her anxiety. "How long do you think it will be before he comes?"
"It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes dear. Please be patient he is a busy mammal.." the nurse assured now pulling the cart out into the hallway. "Just sit tight. And don't hesitate to call if you need anything alright?"
"Okay.." Judy mumbled. She didn't even know if she could bring herself to eat until she knew something – anything. The idea just wasn't appealing to her.
Judy leaned back in her bed staring blankly at the television screen. The news was covering the incident from the Palm Tree Hotel last night. The helicopter camera angle showed the aftermath of the explosion panning all around the scene. At the bottom of the screen was a picture of her and Nick. The camera than changed to a gazelle reporter standing in front of the building.
"I am here right now at the Palm Tree Hotel where police say a gathering of possible criminal negotiations took place " the reporter began. "Late last night an explosion that woke half of the city went off causing a massive fire to spread. A gang member by the name of Isaac Claw was found dead amidst the fire. No other casualties have been reported although one officer by the name of Silvia Vines has gone missing. Arrests have been made on several of Zootopias wealthiest mammals present at the scene. Officers Nicholas Wilde and Judy Hopps are currently in the hospital fighting for their lives. How anyone could possibly survive thi-"
Judy shut the television off in that moment now sitting in silence. She closed her eyes tightly shaking her head.
"No other casualties..." she groaned. "They found Isaacs body but not..D-"
Suddenly the door to her room opened. In the doorway stood a gerbil in a doctors coat with a large clipboard.
"Ms. Hopps" the mammal greeted as he made his way into the room. "I'm doctor Thorn."
Judy sat up instantly.
"How is he? The fox Nicholas Wilde – the officer – my partner how is he is he alright? Where is he?" Judy blurted out.
"Hold on now" the doctor put up his tiny paw looking at the clipboard. "Before that I need to focus on the patient in front of me which is you. Now ho-"
"I'm fine! Great! Just a little soar but nurse Olsen already gave me this medication so I'll be just dandy!" She interrupted. "Now enough about meeee...haha...what is the current situation of him?..."
The gerbil stood there for a moment before taking off his glasses. He walked over to the side of Judys bed now resting the clipboard on the chair.
"Alright Judy, since he has no apparent family in the area aside from.." he looked down at the clipboard. "A Finnick? I supposed you are the first in line who should know."
The silence that followed nearly suffocated her. She began trembling.
"We did an extensive X-ray scan last night on him" he began. "It would appear that the medics made an error in their autopsy report. Mr. Wildes' injured ribs are fractured, not shattered meaning no vital organs were punctured." The doctor looked at the bunny who had a blank expression on her face. "This means while still uncertain, there is now a chance that Nicolas Wilde could live. Now as for hi-"
"H-he's going to make it?!" Judy exclaimed now attempting to stand up knocking over the tray that was on her lap. "I..I"
"Just a second Judy" Thorn intervened. "We were successful filling air back into his collapsed lung restoring it to mostly to normal. And his rib injuries will heal with time thankfully due to that vest he was wearing cushioning the impact. Right now the main worry I have is his head injury."
Judy immediately slumped back down onto the bed. "How bad..?"
"He is in a deep sleep right now. One I am not sure he will ever come out of .."
"B-but there is still a chance though.." Judy spoke up urgently still grasping a bit of hope.
Doctor Thorn looked at his clipboard for a moment longer. "I don't want to give you false hope, but yes there is a chance – while perhaps not very high – that he will survive."
Judy let out a deep breath sitting still.
'If there is a chance than he will make it...' she thought silently to herself.
"Well if you are feeling alright I best be going. I have my paws full today" the doctor spoke now making his way to the exit.
"Wait" Judy called out. "Will Nick be moved to one of these rooms possibly soon then..since the surgery went alright?"
Doctor Thorn glanced back. "If the procedures go as planned he will be able to have visitors as soon as tomorrow evening. Nurse Briggs notified me of you wanting Nick to have this specific room with you."
"Y-yes...but if he won't be out until tomorrow evening I guess it won't make a difference.." Judy responded quietly. "If I could just be notified the second he is put in a room that would be..great."
"I will have a nurse contact you. Also now that you're awake you should notify you're loved ones you are alright" the gerbil quickly said now heading out the door. The door quietly closed behind him. Judy found a new hope in that moment laying back. Nick could actually still have a fighting chance. Now the only thing she could do was wait. Moments into thinking a deep hunger hit her stomach. She looked over at the blueberry muffin now reaching for it.
After 5 minutes of nibbling on her muffin, Judy pushed the food tray aside now reaching for her phone. She wouldn't be able to face time with a cracked screen – but she could still call them at least. She pulled up the contact taking a deep breath. She dialed.
3 rings later the phone picked up.
"Judy!" Bonnie cried happy to hear from her daughter. "Sweety we've been trying to get a hold of you."
Judy bit her lip knowing that they must've had an idea of what happened last night. News spread fast in bunny burrow.
"Oh sorry mom I..kinda dropped my phone in water and now it's a little messed up" she paused. She didn't necessarily lie, but it was an extreme oversimplification of the truth.
"Honey the news is saying 2 cops escaped a burning building or something – barely with their lives.."
Of course they were watching the news segment. Her parents hardly ever paid attention to the news. Judy would have to come clean. Preparing for the freakout that was about to happen, she took a deep breath. Before she could speak her fathers voice was heard in the background.
"Is that Jude on the phone?" He yelled full of worry.
"Yes dear it is" Bonnie replied. The sound of items being knocked over and heavy breathing followed.
"JUDY" Stu cried into the phone causing her to pull the device away from her ear. "Our baby where...wait I can't see you. Why can't we see her Bon?" Stu questioned frantically.
"My phone is messed up at the moment dad. I kinda fell..." Judy answered.
"Oh my goodness are you hurt?" He answered in a panic. Silence followed.
"I..well." It was no use in hiding it anymore. "Yes..but I'm starting to feel better though!" She fake laughed trying to put optimism in her voice. Stu began to lose it.
"Stu enough. Go sit down somewhere and calm down" Bonnie ordered tussling the phone away from her husband. His voice became muffled as a door slammed. Bonnie had locked herself in the bathroom.
"Now" she began quietly. "About these 2 cops...they said one was a red fox and the other a grey bu-"
"It was us mom...me and my partner were on a mission to take down this...crime boss who happened to also be his brother but not really – and this other officer we were with was actually in on it – but she's not bad she just-"
"Honey sloooow down" Bonnie spoke. "I just wanted to know that you're alright. We can save the details for later."
"I..I am fine...doctor said I should be good to leave tonight."
"Oh thank heavens" Bonnie replied letting out a sigh of relief. "So you weren't to badly hurt..?"
"Just bruised my right leg and..some soreness but no I'm okay..." Judy answered quietly.
"Well...surely your boss will let your vacation start a few days early...you are still coming now right? At this point your father would have a heart attack and that's without knowing the full story..."
"I...can't leave him.." Judy murmured.
"Who?" Bonnie questioned. "Do you mean your partner? He made it out safely to...right?"
"N..no. He's not in the best condition right now.." Judy began. She closed her eyes. 'Please not now...' she thought feeling a lump in her throat. "The doctors say h..he has a chance...a small chance but still a chance."
Bonnie was silent on the phone. Hearing the pain in her daughters voice shook her. Remembering how Judy looked at the fox the day they video called in the car – she knew he meant the world to her.
"Judy" Bonnie spoke softly.
"Y..yes m-mom.." Judy responded with her voice now shaking. Her vision became blurred as the moment lingered.
"You do what your heart tells you sweet heart. We understand and love you very much. You hear me?"
"I love you mom" she replied almost sobbing. "Tell dad and everyone else..."
"I will. We are all very proud of you" Bonnie spoke in a soothing tone. "Everything is going to be alright."
"I hope.."
"It will." Bonnie took another pause. "We will figure something else out. Keep your phone close. We will call to check up on you later."
The phone conversation ended after another moment of silence. Judy sighed laying back on the pillow.
'I have got to pull it together..' she thought. If only she could physically see Nick for herself to confirm he was still alive..but hope was all she had at this point.
A knock on the door was present a few minutes later.
"Come in" Judy called out. She glanced at her half eaten blueberry muffin. "Nick would've finished 3 of these" she mumbled to herself. The door slowly opened revealing a large buffalo in police uniform.
"Glad to see you're awake" Bogo said walking into the room. He had a vase of flowers with a card. "These are from all of us back at headquarters." He placed the items on a small table next to the chair. He handed Judy the card.
The front read 'To Hopps and Wilde from Precinct 1'. Judy smiled happy that the officers – despite some of them not forgiving Nick for the tranq incident – hadn't forgotten to put his name on the card with hers. Inside the card was a collage of pictures ranging from the day Judy graduated the academy to pictures of Nicks graduation. Below the pictures were signatures from their colleagues with small notes such as 'get well soon' and 'you both are missed'. Francine had the largest signature of all.
Judy closed the card with a warm smile looking up at the police chief. "Thank you chief..." she spoke hesitantly. "I'm sorry for what I said last night I.."
"Don't." Bogo interrupted putting a hoove up. "No need for apologies. I admit I have been hard on both of you." The chief made his way to the chair. "Any report on Wilde?"
"Yes sir" Judy answered with a glimmer of hope. "They say he may have a chance of survival after all.."
Bogo let out a relieved sigh at the news.
'Thank heavens...' he thought.
"We scouted the hotel shortly after you two were escorted here" he began leaning back. "Unfortunately there was no trace of him..."
"I heard from the news channel" Judy leaned forward. "That's...impossible... the floor we was engulfed in flames. Nick and I had to jump – there is no way he could have had time to escape..."
Bogo shook his head. "I agree it is highly unlikely he survived, perhaps his body was over looked" he then paused. "What about officer Vines?"
Judy froze at the mention of the ocelot. She didn't want to straight up tell Bogo that she was working with Donte, but then again she also didn't want to lie.
"Officer Vines disappeared without a trace" Judy mumbled looking away from him. Bogo huffed raising an eyebrow.
"Strange...reports sighted a helicopter fleeing the scene moments before the explosion..." he began. "And both her and Donte have gone missing the same night."
Judy was now growing very anxious with every passing moment. She knew for a fact Silvia didn't leave with Donte, but she couldn't explain that without telling how she knew that. "Regardless of officer Vines whereabouts, we accomplished the mission sir. I'm..sorry I don't have more information.."
Bogo lingered his gaze on the bunny a moment longer before dropping the topic.
"Well you're vacation has officially begun. I've decided to extend it to a month – paid of course."
Judys head spun back around. "A whole month?! No no no chief please I will drive myself crazy going that long without-"
"It's already been set. Or you could just spread it though the rest of the year. Regardless I don't want you returning to work for awhile. That's an order."
Judys ears dropped. "Well..if...when Nick... recovers you'll have him back won't you..like officially?" she asked.
"Wilde – despite being a pain in my hoove – is a fine officer. I think we can all agree we want him back at headquarters" Bogo spoke now standing up. "Hoping for a speedy recovery."
"Yeah..me too" Judy sighed looking down at her paws.
"Well I best be going now. Just wanted to brief you on the situation and drop off those flowers. One body was found – a panther I presume to have been a part of the mafia. Isaac Claw."
Judy remembered the news reporter mentioning the panthers last name being Claw. "As in the same last name as Vick Claw?"
Bogo nodded. "Yes. As unfortunate as it is to have casualties I must say the streets are a bit safer now with that mammal gone. According to sources he was up there in murders and possessions" Bogo stated. He began making his way to the door to exit before looking back at her. "I don't care if Donte may have somehow escaped. As far as I'm concerned you two did outstanding for the odds you were stacked against."
Judy smiled at the kind gesture from the buffalo – something that was a rare sight. He saluted the officer making his exit.
The hours crept slowly as the evening came. Judy had become restless; not used to being stagnant in one area for this long of a time. She was usually always on the go, looking for things to do, and if there was nothing to do she would always find something. It was now 5:50, her time bound to the hospital was coming to an end..but her partner still hadn't made it out of the ER. A sinking feeling overcame her at the thought of leaving him alone. When he's transferred she wanted to be there with him – so that he'd know despite him not having any family close that someone did care enough to stay with him.
A soft knock came from the door.
"Come in" Judy responded. She felt like she'd told more mammals to come in today than she had the entire time living in her apartment. The door opened revealing nurse Briggs – the hippo from last night. A warm smile grew on Judys face as she recognized her.
"Hello dear" Briggs greeted. "Feeling a bit better?"
"Better than I was. The pain medicine is definitely helping." Judy answered with more optimism.
"Soooo...I hear your friend may still have a fighting chance after all." she said walking over to her bed side.
"Yes. And he is going to pull through.." Judy said hopefully. "Also..thank you for your effort to try and get him here. I hope it didn't cause to much trouble.."
"None at all. I like to keep my promises you know?" She winked. "Anywho, I came by to tell you you're free to go whenever you're ready. Doctor Thron wanted me to check your heart rate and give you a prescription before we send you on your way."
Judys warm smile faded. "Oh..um well" she paused.
"Yes?"
"Look after him while I'm gone..I know it's your job already but..you know" Judy stammered.
"I will. I promise" nurse Briggs replied placing a hoove on the bunnys shoulder. "Here, write down your number and I will text you as soon as he is finally transferred from the ER."
While the nurse had optimism present in her voice, Judy could hear a hint of doubt. She passed Judy a pen and clipboard for her to write her number down.
"Alrighy, let's get you checked out" she spoke.
After the initial check up and prescription Judy was on her way. Upon arriving to the front desk a young gazelle stopped her. She passed her an envelope saying it was from an officer that was there last night. It read:
You owe me one. Feel better soon.
-Fang
Feeling a small hard object in the envelope Judy opened it to see her keys to the cruiser. Fangmeyer must have driven her cruiser to the hospital so that she would have a way home. She walked out into the parking lot pushing the button to listen for the horn. Conveniently it was parked close to the front.
'A perk to being a police officer' Judy thought smiling.
On her way back home Judys phone had began to vibrate. Looking at the cracked screen she could make out it was her parents calling.
"Hey" she answered.
"Hey honey, you doing any better?" Bonnie answered. Stu surprisingly wasn't heard in the background this time.
"Yeah, I just got released so I'm going home for the night" Judy spoke pulling down her street.
"Good. I just wanted to let you know your father and I booked last minute tickets for the train. We'll be there tomorrow morning to see you."
"Really?!" Judy smiled now opening the cruiser door. "Aw mom.."
"I figured we could come to you. I didn't want to keep you from your boyfriend at this time." Bonnie spoke. Judy blushed at the reference of the word boyfriend.
"Who said we were...er..dating..haha?" Judy said nervously. With everything that had happened recently; the last thing she wanted was to get into the conversation with her parents – specifically her dad – about her dating a fox.
"You don't have to. Just know your mother knows" Bonnie answered smugly. "Anyway I'll let you go, we have to get up early and your fathers already asleep. We're only in town until Sunday morning – your sister was complaining about watching the kits for more than a day."
Judy giggled at the thought of her sister being stuck babysitting. She remembered when she was the oldest living there who had to babysit. Not fun times.
"Okay mom..I love you" Judy said making her way to her apartment door.
"I love you Judy. See you in the morning."
Judy awoke early the following morning to pick up her parents from the train station. Since they weren't familiar with the big city, she figured it would be easier on all of them if she just came to them. Trying to explain to them the streets and address of the hospital would've been enough of a nightmare. Not to mention it would be cheaper to get them herself instead of paying for a zoober.
As the 9 oclock train arrived she sat patiently on the bench. Locking her eyes on the door; a stream of mammals began to emerge from the train. With her parents being on the smaller side, it would be more difficult finding them amongst the larger mammals. Finally after a minute of fiddling, Judy spotted a small rabbit couple stumbling out of the train. She jumped to her feet walking towards them – which in moments turned into a full on sprint.
"MOM, DAD!" She yelled making her way to them. Both parents looked to see their daughter approaching.
"Judy!" They both yelled embracing her. Judy winced in pain as the hug put pressure on her injuries; but the warmth of the embrace was enough to pull through.
"Oh dear, Stu ease up a bit. Her shoulder.." Bonnie said releasing the bunny. Stu was so caught in the moment he hadn't realized his daughters obvious expression of pain on her face.
"Sorry Jude" he spoke remorseful. "Wait, that must have been quite some fall for you to do that" he commented. "How did you say that happened again?"
Judy froze not wanting her father to have a heart attack from the story.
"Later" Bonnie spoke up saving her daughter from the question. "Let's get out of here."
Judy nodded in agreement relieved to be saved from explaining – at least momentarily.
"Alright, but we are discussing this young lady" Stu spoke sternly letting the subject go.
"Yes dad" Judy replied now turning to lead the way back to her cruiser. "But just wait until you see what I drive to work everyday."
Stu, while sensing the obvious bait grew intrigued. The mammals made their way back to Judys cruiser.
"Sweet cheese and crackers!" He blurted out looking up at the vehicle. "This thing is big enough to fit an elephant!"
"Yes father, we obviously need vehicles big enough to detain mammals of all sizes" Judy responded snidely.
Bonnie while surprised at the vehicle herself, giggled at her daughters rebuttal. The 3 jumped into the car pulling off.
"Where to?" Judy questioned with a grin.
"Well the hotel check in isn't until 11..maybe we could meet your friend..?" Bonnie suggested putting emphasis on the word 'friend'.
Judys ears shot up at the mention of Nick. She checked her phone seeing if she had a text from the nurse. Stu was to occupied by the interior of the car to question anything. "Is that okay with you?" Bonnie continued looking at her daughter.
"Um...well..." Judy answered hesitantly as her mind drifted back on the fox. " .am actually waiting to get notified about..."
"Well how about we go exploring first. Show us around the city. Maybe a gift shop or something so I can grab a souvenir for the kids" Bonnie suggested sensing the touchy subject. Stu instantly became excited at the thought.
"Yeah! Maybe see if they have the missing piece I need to fix the tractor too!" He blurted out hopefully. Bonnie shook her head smacking her paw on her forehead. Judy giggled in the moment knowing exactly what her mother was wanting to say.
"Okay, I know a few places" Judy responded taking a turn a the stoplight.
The 3 spent the day exploring the city from district to district. They stopped at multiple locations – including 2 auto part stores for Stu. Shortly after they found a decent place to eat in Savanna Central. It was a much needed light for her to spend time with her parents. The day seemed to pass in the blink of an eye before evening had come. It was now 8 oclock. Judy checked her phone noticing she had finally recieved a text confirming Nick had finally been moved into a room. A wave of excitement over came her.
Judy had become silent on the way to the hospital. It only just now occurred to her that her father likely didn't know this mysterious friend she was worried about was a fox. How he would handle that was a whole other situation that Judy frankly wasn't in the mood to deal with right now. She pulled up parking close to the entrance. The 3 sat in the car for a moment in silence.
"Well are we going in? I mean I know he may not be awake but I'd like to put a face to the name at least." Stu yawned tired from the long day. Bonnie glanced at her daughter. She could tell Judy wasn't ready for them to see her friend – at least not in the current state he was in.
"I think we can wait. I'm actually getting tired myself" Bonnie spoke nudging Judy softly. Judy looked back at her mother noticing the wink she gave her.
"Okay well do you want me to take you over to your hotel?" Judy questioned.
"No dear, it's literally right across the street. I wasn't aware how close it was to the hospital your friend was staying at." Bonnie answered. "Now let's all get out and give hugs so you can hurry and be with him."
Judy smiled at her mother as they exited the car. Stu could sense he was missing something but decided not to ask. As Bonnie came in to hug Judy first she noticed a necklace tucked in her shirt.
"Oh I didn't know you started wearing jewelry sweety I would have brought you some of my old pieces.." she spoke pointing at the necklace.
"Ah..well actually...funny you say that.." Judy spoke pulling the pendant out revealing the golden carrot. Bonnies eyes widened as she studied it.
"Is this...?" she gasped looking at the pendant and turning it over. "My..grandmothers...how?"
Stu stepped forward now to get a better look at what all the fuss was about.
"My friend...Nick..he..found it at an auction and got it for me" Judy answered quietly. Bonnie was lost for words for a moment. A tear fell from her eye reading the engraved message on the back.
"He..really?" Bonnie asked. Judy nodded. At this moment Judy had witnessed the biggest smile she had ever seen come from her mother in years. Looking at the pendant and back at her daughter – her grown up daughter who despite the odds stacking against her went after her dreams – embraced her lovingly. Stu now recognizing the object let out a small sob walking in to embrace both bunnies.
"Whoever this Nick is..he must really be someone special" Bonnie spoke softly into her daughters ear. Judys embrace tightened.
"He is" she whispered. "He really is."
The three let go of each other slowly.
"I can't wait to meet this fella" Stu spoke softly whipping his eyes. "Praying for his recovery."
"We both can't wait...but for now go be with him Judy. We've taken up enough of your time away from him." Bonnie sniffed rubbing her eyes.
"I love you guys" Judy said hugging her parents one last time before their departure.
"We love you too Judy" they both replied. "See you in the morning."
After one last hug, Judy began to make her way back to the hospital entrance. She walked up to the mammal sitting at the front desk with haste.
"Which room is Nicolas Wilde being kept in?" Judy questioned anxiously.
The mammal glanced up with a look of boredom. "Room 209. Second floor all the way at the end on the right" she replied now returning to her business.
Judy began making her way towards the stairs now in a light jog. She was really about to see him at last. As she began climbing the stairs she broke out into a full on sprint dashing up the steps. Despite her sore leg, she pushed herself to go as fast as her body would allow her to.
'I'm coming Nick..' she thought racing to the second floor.
Upon arriving on the 2nd floor she quickly ran down the hall looking at the room numbers as she passed by them.
'194...197...202...205..'
Judy stopped at the door that read 209. Before she could knock she heard voices inside the room. The door was already slightly opened. The sound two female voices was accompanied with an extremely deep voice. Judy slowly pushed the door open. Inside she saw Nurse Briggs standing next to a bed with two other mammals. One was a short fenneck fox while the other was a tall red vixen. Nurse Briggs was the first to notice the tiny bunny standing in the doorway.
"So glad you made it Judy" the nurse greeted. The two other mammals turned to see who she was talking to. The shorter fox smiled genuinely at the sight of Judy while the vixen stood with a curious look across her face.
"Long time no see bunny" Finnick commented leaning on the side of the bed. Judy let out a small laugh walking closer to the bed. Laying there was her fox wrapped up in a blanket with a bandage around his head and torso. His left arm had been covered as well.
"Hello" the vixen spoke up looking down at the bunny standing beside her. "I don't believe we have met.."
"I'll leave you 3 alone with him" Nurse Briggs said now making an exit. "Also we have PetFlix available now so feel free to watch a movie. You all have a good night." The hippo exited the room quietly closing the door.
Finnick looked at the tall vixen raising an eyebrow. "You really don't know who this is?" he questioned.
"No...should I?" she replied returning the gaze at the small fox.
"Sorry ma'am... I'm Judy.." the bunny murmured embarrassed. "I presume you're a friend of Nicks..?"
The vixen let out a small chuckle. "Hardly" she answered. "My name is Victoria, I'm Nicks mother."
Judys jaw dropped in that moment. Of course the resemblance was there but...from what Nick said his mother was far gone from Zootopia.
Finnick looked at both mammals before letting out a subtle sigh. "Alright ladies, you two get caught up. I'm going to see if they have anything to eat in the lobby" he muttered moving past them to the door. As soon as he left an awkward silence occurred.
"So..." Victoria spoke taking a seat. "I suppose you are a friend of my sons..?"
"Hehe...well partner..friend..." Judy nervously responded. She didn't know how Victoria would react to knowing her son was dating a bunny. Hopefully not as bad as her father.
"Well it is nice to know he has more than one friend out here" Victoria sighed looking over at the fox laying on the bed. She then looked back at the bunny. "So you two known each other long?"
"Uh..well kind of. We are actually partners on the force" Judy answered now taking a seat herself.
"Ah..okay that makes sense. As soon as I saw the news yesterday morning I jumped on the first flight I could to get here" the vixen answered. "You're the officer that he was with when this happened to him?"
Judy swallowed hard before opening her mouth. "Yes..."
Victoria shook her head. "Donte.." she muttered letting out a sigh. "That troubled soul..."
Judy looked over at Victoria waiting for her to continue. "Yeah..that's for sure..."
"I can tell by how you look at my son he means something to you.." Victoria spoke up changing the subject. "I have faith in my heart he will pull through this. I am only here for the night and will be leaving tomorrow morning. I only ask that you look out for him" she spoke now standing up. She placed a paw on Nicks forehead.
"Why can't you just stay here?" Judy asked abruptly.
"My son and Is relationship has changed drastically since he was younger. I would like to think our love is strongest with a bit of distance between us...at least for now until he let go of the past and move forward." The vixen moved her paw from Nicks forehead now walking towards the exit. "Hopefully with you at his side maybe he finally can."
"W-wait Ms. Wilde" Judy said getting to her feet. "I..uh.."
"I will be downstairs" she replied. "I assume you were hoping for some alone time with him." Victoria had her paw on the handle. "Call me Victoria by the way."
The vixen shortly made her exit after wards. Judy looked back at the sleeping fox in the bed.
"Well, just you and me now slick" she sighed pressing the Petflix button on the remote. She scrolled through the list of movies available to watch. None of them really interested her although she did giggle at a few of the titles of the cheesy slasher films. As she scrolled to the romance section the title 'Love Wilbert' came up. Her heart skipped a beat remembering the night they watched this film was the night she confessed her true feelings for him. She glanced over at the sleeping fox.
'Probably not a good idea to put myself through this but...oh well..'
She pressed the play button on the film.
As the movie was playing out Judy surprisingly didn't have tears in her eyes mostly. Probably because she had cried so much in the last 32 hours that she didn't have any tears left. Either that, or she was just used to being sad at this point. She even almost dozed off a few times. As the final scene played out and the ending credits began rolling she stopped the movie taking a deep breath. She turned the television off now reaching over to pull the lamp switch.
"Definitely in my top 3 favorite films ever slick" she muttered with a sad grin. She grabbed his paw squeezing it one more time before calling it a night. It could have been her mind playing tricks on her but she could have sworn – just for a second – that she felt him lightly squeezing back. She sighed shaking her head.
'I'm going crazy' she thought pulling the light switch. She laid back in her seat trying to get comfortable. She pulled a small blanket she brought from home over her.
"Goodnight Nick.." she spoke softly. Her eyes slowly began to close.
A moment into dozing off Judy ears picked up a slight shuffle sound.
"Yeah...probably my favorite film we've watched so far" a voice croaked followed by a snicker. Judys ear twitched. Surely she was hearing things.
"Ignoring me again eh carrots..?"
This time Judys eyes shot wide open. Urgently reaching for the lamp she flicked the switch to see Nick looking at her with a grin. It didn't feel real.
"N..n...N-Nick?" she gasped breathing heavily. It felt like her heart was about to jump out of her throat.
"Hi" the fox replied calmly. Judy hesitantly reached for his arm pinching him "Ow!"
It was real.
"NICK!" She yelled lunging on top of the fox. She embraced him tightly causing him to cough.
"Ah...carrots...ribs...body...pain!" He struggled to say. But she didn't let go. "Your..first reaction is..to pinch me...and now..crush me..urghhh"
She snapped out of it pulling away. She reached in to pinch him again.
"Ouch! I've been mummified for lord knows how long and your first reaction is to attack me?" He said attempting to move away from her.
"Sorry I-I just..had to see if this was real" she exclaimed smiling ear to ear.
"What? That doesn't make any sense you're supposed to pinch YOURSELF to make sure it's real not-"
"Cheese and crackers I missed your slyness so much!" Judy opened her arms going in for another hug. "Never stop talking again."
"Agh..ha ha.. oh yeah? Careful with your..choice of words... fluff" Nick grimaced in pain while letting out a slight chuckle.
Judy eased off again now with her muzzle close to his.
"I love you" Judy spoke softly kissing him on the cheek. "You're great."
"What if I changed my name to Wilbert like that plumber from the movie, would you still love me then?" The fox grinned leaning back in his pillow. A moment of silence fell before Judy suddenly started laughing. It wasn't even that she found the joke funny, but rather how confident his demeanor was that he thought he told a good joke. She kept laughing harder to the point of her face turning red.
"Okaayy carrots, I know I'm funny but.." Nick began. Judy laughed even harder now leaning into the fox wrapping her arms around him – this time with not as much force. He placed a paw on her back. "Sounds like someone hasn't heard a joke in awhile eh?" He began rubbing her back.
Soon after her laughs were interrupted with coughs. The coughs then turned in sobbing.
He could feel the wetness of her tears running down his neck. She began bawling uncontrollably holding the fox tighter. Nick wrapped both arms around her now embracing her as tight as he could ignoring the pain.
"I love you too Judy."
The next morning
Bonnie and Stu had reached the room Judy told them she was staying at with Nick. Entering the room, Bonnie had a vase of flowers she had picked up from the gift shop in the lobby.
"You must be Nick" she smiled placing the vase down on the counter next to the bed. Judy was still asleep in the bed with him while he was awake. Stu – although slightly surprised to see it was a fox his daughter was upset about walked over slowly taking his hat off.
"That's quite a beating you took son.." he spoke noticing the many bandages on the fox.
"Ah this ain't nothing" Nick snickered. "You should see what these bears did to me when I swindled them out...of...uh" he trailed off noticing the look of confusion on both mammals faces. "Never mind" Nick shook his head. "Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, it's a pleasure to finally meet you both" he gestured weakly reaching his paw out.
"Please, call me Bonnie" the older doe smiled grasping his paw with both of hers. She smiled gazing upon her sleeping daughter. Bonnie released his paw now looking over at her husband who was still silent. Stu glanced down at his sleeping daughter noticing that her paw was still holding on to Nicks. He stared for a moment longer before looking at the fox himself. He extended his paw out.
"The pleasure is mine" he spoke now forming a smile. "And please, call me Stu."
- The Golden Carrot
A/N
Just a moment I have something in my eye. OKAY guys come on, Nick is my favorite character there is no way I was going to have him actually die. I just needed to build the suspense and pull the heart strings. I feel like it all paid off in the end though. As for the Donte , that is up for you all to decide. Originally I was going to have him live but be locked up in prison, but he was so un likeable I also wanted him to die lol. Also originally Silvia was going to stay a crooked undercover cop (but I began to like her character myself so I turned her good). Now I have one more segment coming after this. It will be up within the next day. An epilogue that will show what happened to Silvia and her daughter 6 years after these events. I can't believe we made it. Finally. Well I want to give one last thank you to everyone out there. Tune in for the upcoming epilogue if you are interested. But for now you all take care and be safe. It would be cool to see someone pick up this story line and make their own sequel especially after this epilogue. *hint* *hint* ANYWAYS...
To quote what Nick said to Judy:
You're great
-Don