First, all Nick saw was total darkness. What happened? He wanted to say, but he felt too numb to do that. It definitely wasn't heaven. Or if it was, it's a lame one, where your arms and torso hurt like hell. If it's hell, then I'll have a few words with the manager. I wasn't that bad of a mammal… For most of the time.
As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw the light happily filling the room, reflecting from each one of the white walls.
He wasn't sure what the muffled continuous sound was, but as he fully regained his senses, it got cleared too. The sound was a beep coming from the machine next to him. The line constantly went up, down, back to middle Up, down, middle. He was in a hospital.
He remembered a few things from yesterday… Or however long he was out. The race, how he almost took over the rival, and how a car appeared, completely blinding him for seconds, while he tried his best in regaining control, he hit the wall, and it sent him straight to the deep fall. He remembered the sudden pain in his arm, and then everything was black. Complete tape cut.
"NICK!" A loud, caring voice greeted him. "I WAS SO WORRIED!"
Immediately a hug made him jump in pain. At least he would have jumped if he wasn't lying on the bed. "Ahhh Ribs!"
"Yeah, yeah sorry." Judy quickly said and stepped back. However, after a second of relief, Nick felt the pain again, now in his non-broken arm. The rabbit hit it with all her strength.
"AHH! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his upper arm.
"You know very well!" Judy half shouted, and half cried. "You turn off the phone on me, piss off Bogo… You threw away your job… And you promised you would be careful!"
"I'm sorry… the heat of the race kinda just… kept me going if you know what I mean. And the accident… It happened quickly! There was nothing I could do." Nick claimed but he knew he won't be able to close this conversation that easily.
Judy gave another full strength hit with her fist. "You could have WAITED until you get to a less dangerous part, where… I don't know… You could see the road!"
Nick rolled his eyes while trying to slide to the other side of the bed, where Judy couldn't reach him. "That's not how racing works, Carrots. You see an opportunity, you take it!" Another hit was directed to the fox's arm. Seems like the distance didn't matter at all. With one jump, Judy could even hit harder. "Ahhh! Can you stop it? Would you like to break my other arm too?"
"You DIED in front of me!" Judy said, ignoring Nick's painful shouts.
"Well, as you can see, I'm not dead." Another hit came from the unnaturally strong rabbit, which started to anger the fox "OH COME ON!"
"When the accident was reported, and your car was described I prayed, It wasn't you. The ambulance was already on the scene when we arrived." Her voice cracked. "I saw them bringing you up from the wreck, blood all over the place… Your heart... stopped… and I was standing there, nothing I could do… You died for 47 seconds! It was the slowest 47 seconds of my life!"
Now Nick suddenly felt guilty. All the hits he received from Judy, felt well deserved. If the whole scene played out the other way, with Judy being in the same position he was… it would be a nightmare fuel for his entire life. "I…" He opened his mouth. He had no idea how to finish this sentence. I'm sorry? That would be a bit short for an answer. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you? That wouldn't be an honest answer. While racing you inevitably have to risk more than you are willing to.
He was a bit ashamed to admit, if he had the chance he would do the overtake again. If the car didn't come on the other lane… But then again… If he wasn't that selfish to keep racing at all cost, this whole accident wouldn't have happened in the first place.
"I…" he tried again, but no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts left him at the most important time. His head felt empty.
Judy pulled him in for another hug, now being careful to not hurt him unintentionally. "I thought I'd lost my partner." Her voice was muffled by Nick's hospital coat
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Nick finally answered. With his non-broken, yet still hurting arm he hugged the rabbit back. "And when I said you were the brawn of the team, I wasn't lying. My arm still hurts from your rage. Oww, that's gonna leave a mark."
Between two sobs, Judy gave a few smaller chuckles. "S-sorry about that. I-I was angry."
"No-no, I totally deserved that." As the door opened, both their ears perked up. A young doctor opened in. He glanced up then back at the papers.
"Ah! Good to see you are getting better. My name is Dr. Chase. I originally came here to check on you, but as you are awake, I might as well do some other tests if you don't mind." the cheetah explained.
"Absolutely, do what you have to doc."
"Erm… should I leave or…" Judy started but the cheetah immediately answered.
"Don't have to. It will take about 2 minutes." He said and clicked in his flashlight, shining it into Nick's eyes. "Pupil reflexes are fine… Can you do this?" He asked while touching his thumb with each finger. After a bit of trying Nick managed to do it on each side. "What is your name?"
"Shouldn't you know it already?"
"I'm just trying to discover if there is any damage to the brain, sir. Trust me, I'm not trying to make friends."
"Nicholas, Wilde"
"Ookay, cognitive functions are fine… Well, if things go alright, you will be able to leave the hospital in 3 to 4 weeks. Someone up there must like you. You survived quite the fall with less severe injuries. If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is."
"Yeah, thanks doc." Nick nodded
"You're welcome." And with that, the doctor left.
Thinking a bit, the gravity of the situation he was in sank in.
"What about Bogo?" Nick asked what bothered him. "How much jail time is waiting for me after getting better?"
"Well… I'm on a great path… He definitely won't tuck you in jail, but… Well… I'll fight for your job too, don't be nervous. He WILL make you regret everything though, you should be prepared for that. But other than that, I think you will be back on duty in no time."
Hearing this was relieving for the fox. Seems like his stupidity didn't hit back hard on him. "Hey… I…" He started, not knowing how to finish. In the end, he just said. "Thank you. I don't deserve you."
Judy gave a smile. "It's alright… However… if you don't answer your phone and turn it off on me again… You will experience the wrath of an angry rabbit. And you don't want that, trust me."
"Oh, I have no doubt. Don't worry, lesson learned."
As days passed it was clear that Nick would shortly heal up fully, which also meant the little talk with Bogo came closer too. That was something he didn't look forward to. The buffalo did visit him once, wished Nick a fast recovery, and left. He knew it wasn't the place to shout off someone.
Most of his colleagues gave a visit at least once, demanding the full story behind his racing, and he patiently told the story for a thousandth time too. He kinda left out the part where he decided to stay with the Quickshifters over the police, and the whole car chase was just a 'way to gain the racers' trust because he was on thin ice.'
Most of his colleagues just laughed, saying how believable their acting was with the chief. Some of them were suspecting more in the background, but since Nick didn't say anything else, they were left with weak guesses.
One day it was like the previous ones. He was alone, healing steadily while switching the few channels around the television he had in the room. While laying on his bed, a badger opened the door.
"Mr. Wilde?" The nurse asked.
Nick turned off the TV and sat up, with curious looks. "Yes?"
"You've got a visitor. Your sister?"
"My sister?" He asked, tilting his head a bit, thinking what 'sister' the badger was talking about. "I… I don't have a sister..."
The nurse gave a smile. "Yes, she said you would say that. Mia Wilde. Your half-sister?"
"Mia Wi… Oh!" The situation became clear to him. Seems like Mia wanted to give him a visit, and decided to pick the 'Wilde' name up just so the employees wouldn't question where he had known her from. "You mean that sister! Of course! Well… Let her in."
The badger nodded, and the vixen slowly walked in, seemingly unsure if she should be there in the first place. She even avoided eye contact.
"Hey sis, how are you doing?" Nick asked with a smile.
"Well, I'm not the one who just survived a 60 feet fall, so… I should be the one asking that."
"Aside from a few smaller injuries, I'm doing great. It could have gotten worse." Nick turned to the badger, thinking Mia didn't risk a visit just to make sure he was alright. "Ehm… Excuse me, can we talk privately? We have a lot of catching up to do."
"Ah yes. Yes of course." The nurse nodded and disappeared behind the door. Now only the two foxes were in the room. Mia was still near the door, either because she wasn't comfortable going in more and wanted an 'escape' route if things went bad, or just simply didn't know what to do.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Nick decided the break the ice.
"So? What is it, Sis? Long time no see. Yeah sorry for letting down our whole species."
"What?" She furrowed her eyebrows, with crossed arms.
"You know… Quick fox reflexes."
"Oh… Yeah about that… Back then I just lied, so you would shut up."
"You're kidding…" Nick said, surprised.
"Nope… Foxes weren't even the top 10, and the first one was some blind mole."
"Wow… And I believed it… My whole life is a lie…"
"Heh yeah…" Mia nervously chuckled while fidgeting with her fingers. After waiting a bit, she started talking again. "So… Officer Wilde, huh? I should have known..." Mia shook her head while walking to the window with crossed arms. "I mean it was too good to be true. Someone doesn't care about money, and is in desperate need of help from me… I was so stupid."
"Look, I can explain." Nick tried to sit up, but the sudden pain in his chest reminded him not to.
"You don't have to explain." Mia finally made eye contact. "I mean, you were only doing your job, weren't you? And frankly, I think you were quite good at it. You managed to fool not only me but Jack… You fooled everyone. If anything, you should get a raise from your boss."
"Yeah, I'm not sure about that raise…" Nick muttered. "Look, don't worry, I won't talk about you. You can even keep whatever you've got from me, and you can start that mechanic business!"
"And what about Jack?" Mia asked, but based on her expression she knew what the answer would be. "What's gonna happen with him?"
After a bit of hesitation, Nick said "I can't say the same to him. He… He is a criminal."
"Are you serious? After all he did for you, you would just… tuck him into a jail cell? He helped you!"
"That's not what I said… If he gave himself up right now, he could easily get years off his sentence! I can even say a few good words for him, which means a lot. He should..."
"Can you hear yourself right now?" The Vixen interrupted in disbelief. "Decades, or Years, that doesn't matter. He trusted you!"
"Oh yeah? Well, what am I supposed to do?" Nick snapped on the Vixen standing next to him. "Just let the street racing go on forever? It's dangerous!"
"Yeah… That's not what you've said 1 week ago," The vixen rolled her eyes. "Let me remind you that Jack didn't want the race against the Blacklisters. You took that risk! You alone!"
"I know. And I may have enjoyed the racing a bit too much, that's on me. But it's gotta stop. I'm sorry, okay? It was good while it lasted, but it has to end. Sure, you are a more experienced driver. But what about the daily accidents? In the past 5 months the number of car crashes, Tripled, and 60% of those crashes are caused by racing," He pointed at himself. " I'm the prime example... Jack is a great guy, and I just want the best for him too. If he got caught now he would face at least 15 years of prison. If he gives himself up..."
"Can you just stop? You're such a hypocrite..."
"I'm sorry, but..."
"Stop saying you are sorry!" Mia waved her paws, signaling she had enough. "Do you know what my father used to say? 'If you don't want to be seen as an untrustworthy fox, just don't be one!'" With that, she left in a hurry
"Yeah… because everything is black and white huh?" Nick muttered, knowing the Vixen didn't hear his last sentence.