Chapter 21: Awakening

The sun began to slowly rise above the horizon, soaring over the tall skyscrapers of the city sending out its first warm, joyful rays that heralded another sunny day. This was the day that was supposed to end everything, that was supposed to be a reprieve for everyone involved in the bank robbery.

Nick, having undertaken to remove the documents from the bank robbery, decided to return to the hospital, there to wait patiently for the moment when he could finally greet Judy. He knew he wouldn't be able to contain his emotions that were boiling inside him even as he imagined the moment when he saw Judy open her crocus-filled, vibrant eyes. As he burned the file on the case he knew that it had caused changes that he would have to make to his life if he wanted to have a clear conscience. For now he didn't think about it that much, he wanted to focus on Judy's treatment. Returning to the hospital, the corridor was empty, the wait for Jack must have been bored and he returned to his wife. This didn't surprise him. From the woman's reaction when she noticed her husband Nick could see how much she missed her lover who had disappeared in an unknown way. On the other hand he felt sorry for them, their daughter had died, which must have hurt them terribly. Although this situation reflected positively on Judy, who needed that organ, the fox did not feel good knowing that he had taken advantage of someone else's misfortune, but he had no other choice. He wanted to keep Judy alive.

Sitting in the corridor, the fox stared at the dark dark blue night sky filled with bright stars beaming with their light. The night sky in clear weather with no clouds was a unique sight, especially when you were sitting dozens of feet above the ground and at the same time you could see the skyline of Zootopia. The city bathed in warm, light yellow light had a calming effect on the fox and a very sleepy one. The effect was so strong that the fox, after waiting for an hour, lay down on a bench of chairs and after lying down for a few minutes fell asleep

" Wilde? Nick, please wake up! Nick..."

Fox upon hearing the familiar voice opened his eyes lazily and immediately shook his head vigorously upon seeing Dr. Adams. Before he said anything he looked around. The corridor was alive with several hospital staff, several doctors and nurses with trolleys were walking through the corridors turning at an intersection. Some were moving to another wing of the corridor and others were probably heading to different floors. Fox was dazzled by the rays of the morning sun hitting through the glass walls of the hospital. Nick realised he must have fallen asleep.

"Doctor..."

"The procedure is now complete" The doctor communicated.

"I must have fallen asleep...how finished? Did everything go well? No doctor left the room...I thought something went wrong..."

"Please calm down. It was quite a difficult procedure...we had to have a lot of people with us and above all calmness. But thankfully everything went smoothly, a nurse will be with you shortly to take you to the room where Judy is staying" The doctor communicated. Nick gave off a smile signifying satisfaction. This was that dream moment for him, where he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and be sure that everything would finally be alright.

"Thank you doctor, you don't even know how relieved I am by this news" replied the fox. The doctor reciprocated the smile that was on Nick's face, he knew that Nick was taking the condition very seriously, he had seen that from the beginning. Since the beginning of Judy's stay in hospital only Nick had seen her so often. He could see that Judy must be minimally good friends with the rabbit.

"A nurse should be coming to you soon with information on where Judy is lying. I need to rest...this procedure has been tiring"

"Thank you doctor" stopped Nick the doctor who was already about to leave. Adams turned behind him and laughed.

"It's my job. My duty is to help others. It's Judy who should be thanking you not you thanking me"

"For what me?" Nick asked.

"If it wasn't for you and your faith...things could be different" replied the doctor. He said his last goodbyes and then disappeared behind the wall of the building.

Nick sat in the corridor all larky. He couldn't wait for the moment when he could go to the room where Judy lay. Nothing bad could happen now.

As long as he had time he was thinking about what he was going to do with himself when he burned the documents relating to the case. He knew that this decision would affect his whole life so far and perhaps his future, which would now have to look sadly different. He could not foresee everything, but he knew that some changes would be needed. He wouldn't necessarily want to make them, but there was no turning back now. Setting the file on fire caused the fox to feel some certainty that he would have to change some things in himself. Even though he had been a criminal before, he couldn't accept the fact that he had helped for criminals when he was a police officer. It broke several values in him that he guarded very solidly. He valued honesty and morality, which he had lost. He allowed himself to be partly bribed for a thief. As he sat and reflected on his actions he had a feeling that this might be the last time he met Judy...forever.

"Nick Wilde? Follow me, I'll take you to the patient's room" his thoughts were interrupted by the nurse who was about to come after him. After a brief orientation, the fox nodded with a motion of his head and followed the woman.

Following the woman, Nick could see how much the hospital had come alive at sunrise. At night there had been virtually no one on this floor, only him sitting under the hall, no one else. Now there were a dozen or so staff members moving papers between them or talking among themselves about something. Nick, along with the nurse, went to the lift going down to the 2nd floor.

The floor they descended to looked quite pleasant and safe for a hospital that is usually engulfed in cold colours. A narrow strip of panels on the glass wall caused an image of a rather cozy corridor that no longer resembled a morgue like floor 4. On opposite sides of the corridor were rooms set up where sick people lay, or people waiting to be discharged. Nick guessed this after seeing the person who was most likely just leaving the hospital together from here. This sight further added to the positive emotions for the fox, who was already buoyed up with joy.

Soon they both stopped with the room at number 25, and Fox could see Judy lying on the bed.

"You can go in to her, but please don't wake her and be quiet. She needs rest," the woman communicated. Fox nodded with a motion of his head, then reached with his hand for the door handle from the room. His heart sped up when he thought of Judy waking up. He couldn't wait for this moment, he would have loved to try to wake her himself, but he promised for the nurse not to wake her. He opened the door and then walked quietly inside closing the door behind him. The whole time he watched Judy, she looked better, much better. Her body had taken on a kind of warmth, her grey-silver colours had taken on a brightness, a kind of warm depth of hue. In previous days she had looked weak, practically dead. Now she seemed to be all right. She was still connected to the drip, which was natural. When the fox sat by her side he gently grasped her soft and petite hand, rubbed it gently smiling delicately to himself. He was overjoyed to see her already after the procedure, whole, healthy, safe. He couldn't wait for her to open her eyes, he didn't know when that moment might come, he was ready for a wait that might be long, but he didn't mind. He could sit by her all day.

An hour passed, maybe two, when the fox sat by Judy. He stared at her incessantly thinking about what would happen next. He felt that he couldn't stay here long, he couldn't be a policeman anymore, not after what he had done. He had a conviction that he was not fit for this profession, he knew that this might be his one and only chance to get such a good job, but he couldn't keep fighting it. He came to the conclusion that he had to free himself from his conscience, which had been tormenting him for most of this time. He didn't want to say it for the rabbit that lay beside him, but at the same time he didn't want to leave her without any information. He wanted to thank Judy in some way, but he didn't know how.

He soon noticed with Judy starting to make involuntary slow movements on the bed, which got his attention.

"Judy..." Said Nick quietly, seeing the moment had finally arrived. The girl moved her limbs a few times and finally opened her crocus eyes slowly. She immediately stared at her friend, who was still holding her hand and laughing staring into her eyes. He was happy. Most willingly he would have hugged her with all the strength he had, and he had so much energy he could have strangled her with joy, but seeing that she was still hooked up to the IV he refrained from venting his emotions.

"Where... where am I? What happened..."

"Shh...you're in the hospital, everything's fine now. Don't move violently, you need to rest" Nick said quietly holding her by the shoulders trying to restrict Judy's movements as she tried to sit up on the bed. The caring tone of the fox's voice made Judy nod with a movement of her head laying back on the bed. She leaned back comfortably against the pillow and stared up at the bright ceiling.

"How are you feeling?" Nick asked.

"I feel...a little different...like there's something different about me... I don't know how to say it...it's some new feeling, I can't describe it" replied Judy. Nick nodded with a movement of his head. He didn't want to tell her about the procedure she had undergone. He didn't know how she would react and he didn't want to upset her.

"The doctor will tell you what happened..."

"I remember the moment when I got a bullet somewhere..."

Replied Judy thoughtfully. Nick saw that Judy was touching herself in the area where she had received the shot. Her gaze betrayed that she had undergone some sort of procedure, in that statement Judy was convinced by the stitches she felt in her abdominal area. Judy's questioning gaze forced the fox to answer, who was reluctant to say what had happened.

"When you were shot, it turned out that you had lost a lot of blood and needed a new liver... they did a blood transfusion from me and you got a new liver..." Nick explained. He didn't want to go into details or the story about Jack and how he had pursued him. He expected that Judy would not be proud of his behaviour. Judy smiled at the fox for a moment, but after a moment her face saddened again and she stuck her gaze into the sheets of the bed as if she was thinking about something.

"Thank you Nick," replied Judy after a short thought.

"You know I would have done it, you don't have to thank me"

"I have to. And I'd like to thank the family of the person who gave permission for the transplant..."

"Hey, take it easy Judy. Right now the most important thing is that you get well and you can leave here, nothing else matters right now. There will be time for the formalities. The doctor will probably tell you more about it anyway" Nick communicated. Judy nodded with a movement of her head. Fox lowered his head to avoid Judy's gaze. He was still hesitating when to announce his departure. He didn't want to upset her or raise emotions in her, but he felt he couldn't hide it inside himself any longer. He missed Judy, and he expected to miss her, but he couldn't hide it any longer.

"Judy..." Nick began uncertainly as he raised his head. His confidence was immediately extinguished as he looked into the caring, beautiful eyes of the rabbit. They were astonishing, and he couldn't look at them indifferently, without any emotion.

"Hm?"

"What would you do if I I don't know...disappeared or left?"

"What do you mean like if you left?" Judy asked. Fox laughed nervously trying to avoid Judy's gaze. He couldn't look indifferently into Judy's eyes, they were too beautiful not to evoke any emotion.

"Well, I was wondering and..." Nick wanted to elaborate on his statement, but they were interrupted by the doctor who unexpectedly entered the room.

"Nick, can you leave us alone? We need to attend to a patient" The doctor communicated.

"Yeah sure..." Replied the fox. He said goodbye to Judy, then walked disappointedly out of the room.