Chapter 4: Hospital
After checking that everything was off, Nick got into his car at a run, checking once again that he had all his documents with him. Outside it was starting to rain more and more, which was increasing with each passing moment. Although it was dark and he couldn't see the dark planes in the black sky that were getting bigger and bigger and heralded more and more blooming rain, Nick guessed that the rains were going to come down harder and harder. It was quite cold outside and a chilly, unfriendly wind was blowing which sent shivers down the body of anyone walking down the street during this gloomy night. Soon Nick was out from under his house and heading towards the central hospital in Zootopia. It was the largest hospital that was located in the metropolitan area. It housed various medical departments: infectious diseases, ICU, quarantine rooms, several operating rooms, rehabilitation rooms, or rooms for simple, small procedures. Judy was transported there because the emergency room people who had taken the injured rabbit with them, seeing the condition Judy was currently in, immediately realized that her condition was worse than bad. Nick, in all the panic, didn't realise how bad a state Judy was in, he just wanted her to get out of it. Although he wanted it badly, at the back of his mind was the thought that things might not turn out the way he wanted. He had seen for himself how much blood Judy had lost lying barely conscious at the counter. So much red precious plasma had been spilled that even his uniform was partly soaked in her blood.
The road Nick was driving on was practically empty, no one had driven his route during this older dreary holiday night. A few times Nick had to stop at a red light, but it was even better for him, he could calm down while driving and breathe. He was so preoccupied with the situation that his right leg that he was operating the gas was trembling every time he pressed it.
Finally, after 25 minutes on the road, Nick saw a large glass skyscraper on a modern street with a white and blue sign hanging from it: "Zootopia Central Hospital". At the sight of it, and the sight of the ambulances that stood outside the building Nick swallowed his saliva hard, he had never liked places like hospitals, it had always been associated with something negative and not very friendly. That was exactly the impression he got when he pulled into the car park and found a space for himself at the entrance. When he stopped he could hear the raindrops hitting the bodywork and windows of the car, which upon impact flew down the side of the car leaving a dozen streaks in their wake. Nick put his hood over his head to avoid getting wet and then got out of the car. He immediately felt a mass of droplets falling from the sky on him. Fox closed the car and slipped his hood more over his head and marched towards the white-lit entrance. Although the rain had already managed to wet his clothes, he didn't want to rush anywhere. The thought of talking to a doctor who didn't have the most cheerful tone of voice didn't presage anything most likely good.
When he reached the entrance, he stepped into the corridor. He was immediately blinded by the whiteness of the corridor. The strong white light caused Nick, with his eyes unaccustomed to such light, to squint so he could see anything. Once he could look normally he saw a dozen people in the corridor, most likely waiting for their turn to see the doctor. It was a classic sight that reinforced Nick's belief that the hospital was not the most cheerful place on earth and there was nothing joyful about it. After casting a glance at the patients who were waiting their turn, Nick approached the receptionist who stood behind the illuminated white desk. Her gaze indicated that she knew what Nick had passed for and she expected him to approach her. The entire room was covered in a snowy, cold white, making it seem cold and uncomfortable in the hallway.
"Good morning, I've come here to see Dr Adams..."
"We were expecting you. Floor 4, room 255" the woman replied, pointing with her hand to the other side of the corridor where the lift was.
"Thank you," Nick replied, then headed towards the lift. To his delight, it was empty, so the doors from it quickly opened and he stepped inside. He chose the floor with the number four, the lift doors closed and he started to go.
"'Let's hope the doctor has good news' thought Nick as he found himself alone in the lift. His heart, which was already working fast sped up even faster when the lift stopped and the doors opened showing the fox a brown, warm corridor in front of his eyes where the walls were covered with brown wooden panels that made the room much cosier than the ground floor. When the fox exited the lift he strolled down the corridor looking at the plaques on the doors. On them were numbers and names and the profession a particular doctor was in.
"'This must be the doctors' floor' thought Nick, seeing that each door was assigned to a particular doctor. Soon Nick found the door with the number 255.
"Dr. Adams. Transplant and translation specialist" Nick muttered.
He knocked on the door, then went inside. He entered a room where shelves of books of various kinds stood to the right of the entrance and a large wall chart to the left. The view was mainly attracted by a desk placed opposite the entrance, in front of which a doctor was sitting with his hands crossed. A reindeer of medium height dressed in a suit pointed with his hand to a chair for Nick to sit on.
"Good morning Mr Nick Wilde" said the doctor disengaging his hands from each other.
"Good morning doctor. How is Judy? How is she?" Asked Nick frantically. The doctor sighed and stared into the fox's emerald eyes for a moment until he rose from his soft chair and left the room.
"Please follow me," the doctor said. They made their way to the lift, which they took to the floor above, which was floor 5.
"When I first saw Mrs. Judy Hopps, I was shocked to see how such a bullet could do such gigantic damage" began the doctor as they stepped out of the lift. Again they found themselves in a snow-white corridor, which this time contained glass insulated rooms where the badly injured lay. Nick swallowed his saliva hard when he saw this, still deluded that Judy was not in such a state.
"Here's Mrs. Hopps," the doctor said when they reached the glass room with the number 333. Fox immediately moved closer to the glass through which he could see his partner. His heart froze. She was hooked up to apparatus, her abdomen as well as her head was wrapped in bandages, oxygen for her was artificially supplied.
"Judy..." Nick sighed quietly. He was heartbroken to see her in such a state, tears came to his eyes that he had to hold back.
"Mr Wilde, I don't like hiding the truth, so I'll tell what we know" began the Doctor touching the fox's arm to get his attention.
"Judy is in a serious condition. She lost a lot of blood when she was shot, she will need a blood transfusion"
"Well there's no problem with that, I'm up for it Doctor" replied Nick.
"Unfortunately there are two problems. We don't know if your blood is suitable for a blood transfusion for a patient and secondly we can't transfuse that much plasma from you. We need a second donor," replied the doctor.
"Surely someone has to agree. Can't you borrow blood from another hospital?" Asked the fox immediately, looking for another solution.
"That is not out of the question. Unfortunately we have a second, more serious problem," added the doctor.
"What's that?"
"Judy's liver is shot practically through... most likely to require an organ transplant."
"Shit..." Nick growled. If it was a kidney, there wouldn't be a problem, with one kidney you can live. Worse with the liver. If it was a kidney, he could give her one, but he can't give his liver. This was the real problem, which made Nick more depressed.
"And it's not possible...don't you have a liver...to transplant?"
"The liver is a terribly delicate organ, the body has to be intact in that area , around the abdomen, it's hard with that" replied the doctor. Nick sighed heavily seeing his partner confined to bed. It was a horrible sight for him to look at.
"Doctor, can I come inside?" Asked Nick to which the doctor refused with a shake of his head.
"We need to cover the superficial wounds" replied the doctor placing his hand on Nick's shoulder.
As Nick saw his wounded partner looking like he was half dead already Nick felt two emotions at once: sadness, he couldn't bear to see this older to him. He loved Judy's crocodile eyes that were always full of energy and joy and on the other hand Nick felt anger inside him that someone had hurt Judy so badly. At that moment Nick felt in himself that he had to do something under the impulse of his feelings, he felt that he had to make revenge...