Author's note: Hey there, Valiant again with another chapter of my own attempt at fan-fiction, I will publish one more one more chapter after this one and let it simmer for a bit until I manage to get the other ones in line, if you find any errors in pronunciation please forgive me, my computer's Orthographic reviwer is kindda buggy.

Episode 3: Recovery

It took quite a long time to find a doctor that wasn't too busy that day to take a look at Judy's wound, but, after it was all properly sorted out, the nurses pointed the pair to a free room on the second floor of the building where she could sit up comfortably and have her wound cleaned and treated before the doctor could arrive to take a proper look and administrate the correct treatment. Nick helped her along the way as she limped on her good leg and kept the hurt one elevated, they took the elevator until the second floor and Nick opened the door of the room, a nurse followed them along, a very tall deer with a very stylish haircut and dark brown eyes with the name Amara stamped on the tag pinned on her white shirt, she helped get everything set up in the room.

The nurse fluffed the pillow in her hooves and placed it over the huge bed that would accommodate the bunny, Nick helped Judy get over a small, two steps tall stair near the foot of the bed and settled her over the right side of the mattress, the nurse then removed Nick's handkerchief from the wounded spot on the bunny's leg and passed a sterilized rag to clean up the area, the bunny winced a bit as the medicine made its effect and caused the bloody gash on her flesh to sting for a few seconds, she made a small sharp sound as she inhaled some air through her teeth and Nick displayed a similar expression on his face in silence after seeing her like that, he quickly averted his face back to its previous state after making sure no one saw him doing that. After the nurse was done cleaning the wound up, she grabbed her medical supplies and exited the room saying that the doctor would be there to talk to both of them shortly.

Judy sat over the bed and looked around to identify any major details from her new surroundings, bottom line: It was leagues better than her old apartment in the city! Not only was the bed she sat on huge, there was a little television on the far wall with a small remote which was located over the night stand close to her, there was a small portrait of a leafy green tree by the left wall, which was painted in a nice shade of blue, a huge window right near her and enough space on the floor for her to run around… if she could run that is. She kept looking with a stunned expression on her face until her eyes suddenly landed on her fox friend, Nick was resting on a chair located near the bed, the arm chair was quite large and it seemed very nice to sit on but the fox wasn't paying any attention to that, instead, he was looking around rather nervously as his muzzle twitched from time to time, Judy also noticed that his green eyes were bouncing from side to side and his breaths were made somewhat shallow. Worried about the condition of her vulpine companion and believing that he might have been more hurt than he let on before, she decided to ask:

- Nick, are you sure you are alright? You seem… frazzled… for some reason.

The fox turned his head without raising his body from the chair and answered with some discomfort in his voice:

- Frazzled?! I don't get frazzled Fluff! I'm just… getting a bad feeling from this place.

The bunny looked at the fox without any certainty of what he really meant by that; Nick appeared to be in a huge amount of discomfort right then. He let out a huff of air from his mouth and explained what he really wanted to say:

- Look, I don't share this with a lot of mammals but… the thing is: I hate hospitals. Everything about them makes me feel uneasy inside, the sounds, the feeling… the smell most of all. Every single time I take a whiff of a hospital room or anything that has a sterilized smell to it I can't help it but to feel a little sick inside.

Judy thought that was a bit unusual, her nose twitched as she took a quick series of sniffs to identify what the fox meant by that; she didn't detect any sort of smell that felt unpleasant to her. The clean environment still had a perceptible sent of sweet alyssum, possibly from the cleaning supplies used in it before her arrival, she turned her eyes back to Nick who remained seated with the same look of discomfort plastered all over his face, after some time of thinking it started to make sense to her, Nick's muzzle was bigger and his sense of smell was many times more powerful than hers, he could sense every single smell inside, not only the room, but the entirety of the medicines, cleaning products and sterilized environments of the hospital as a whole. She tried to speak to him about some other subject, something that might get his mind away from the smell and the sensation that he was trying to avoid with no success, her left ear twitched as a thought appeared in her head and she decided to speak her mind:

- Nick.

The fox placed his full attention over the bunny and asked:

- What is it fluff?

- I just remembered that I still haven't acknowledged you for going along with my crazy plan. You were willing to risk everything to go along with my gambit of switching out the serum capsule out. I mean, can you imagine what could've happened if Bellwether would've found us out?!

The fox's mind turned a significant amount of brain power into imagining scenario after scenario of failure and dreed that could have unveiled, if their plan didn't work anything could've happened now that he stopped to think about it: Judy could've been hurt bad if her idea wasn't good enough to fool Bellwether, the crazy sheep might've had an extra serum with her to pop in the gun chamber and make the fox go full on savage. The image of himself as a true angry and unreasonable beast, snarling and creeping about, appeared all of a sudden in his mind and that made his skin crawl and his fur stand on end, he calmed down and answered the bunny who was just by his side watching as he buried himself in deep thoughts:

- I don't even want to think about that. What really matters right now is that we are both alive and that Bellwether is going to spend a long time where she belongs: Behind bars. Besides, we helped each other a fair bit during these last few hours, I'd say we are pretty much even now.

The bunny slowly had a smile forming on her face, she felt relieved that the fox's thoughts and feelings were back and directed to what really mattered the most, she adjusted her body over the mattress and continued to speak:

- Right, you took a large risk by going along with me on this, I really appreciate it. Honestly, I would think a lot of the plan's credit goes to your acting skills. If I didn't know it was all an elaborate hoax, I really would have believed that you had gone all the way savage.

Nick's expression changed suddenly after he heard that:

"Was I really that scary?!"

He got up from the chair, walked closer to where she was resting and spoke:

- I'm… sorry if I had you scared for a moment there fluff. I had to make it look good.

Judy's smile did not faulter, she placed her paw over Nick's paw, resting near her over the mattress, and talked to the fox with a sweet tone of voice:

- Nick, it's okay. You didn't scare me for real. I have complete trust in you. I knew right then and there that it was all just an act, I know that you wouldn't really hurt me in any way. Although… to tell you the truth, that fake bite of yours did give my heart a little jump.

Nick's eyes squinted after hearing that, he turned his sight to her neck immediately after to check if there were any visible markings of his teeth he may have left unintentionally, he took his paw close to her neck and asked:

- I didn't hurt you for real, did I?

The bunny held his paw again as he was just reaching for her and answered:

- The only thing that hurts is my leg. Aside from that, I'm fine, Nick.

Reassured by her words, the fox sat back on the armchair near him and relaxed, his mind didn't even notice the mixture of smells that were making him uncomfortable before, his ear twitched to the side as he heard the sound of the room door opening and a pair of small steps making their way inside. From behind the recently opened door was revealed the image of a pudgy looking beaver with a white lab coat and a well maintained hair cut on the top of his head, he had a pair of small spectacles resting over his nose and was holding a clipboard in his right paw as the left one adjusted the glasses and he walked with a somewhat fast pace into the room. He took his eyes away from the clipboard in his grasp and cumprimented the occupants of the room with impeccable cordiality:

- Hi there. Good afternoon.

Nick got up from the chair again and came closer to the beaver, compared to Nick the mammal in front of him was about two thirds of his size, the beaver extended his paw to properly introduce himself and speak up:

- Hello. I'm Cavorten, Doctor Steven Cavorten. But you can call me Steven.

- Nicholas Wilde, it is a pleasure to meet you Doc. The one resting over there is Judy Hopps. She's my friend.

Judy waved her paw in the air to say hello to the doctor without moving her body too much, the beaver approached her with the clipboard in his paws and spoke up on his way to the left side of the bed:

- Well miss Hopps, the nurse that was just here informed me of your situation, I'm sorry for the hold up, we have had a lot of mammals checking in as of late for check-ups. At any rate, your wound is not very deep, but it is still plenty wide, you will recuperate and be back on both your feet in no time at all, but you will have to take two stiches and remain in observation for a few days.

Judy released a long puff of air through her mouth after hearing that, unfortunately, even if she felt quite prepared for the future and simple medical procedure, she wasn't ready for the question that came soon after:

- At any rate… what happened to you? How did your leg get like that?

Judy didn't know how to answer him at that moment, truth be told, she didn't know how the doctor would react if he heard the truth behind her wound. Everything blurred together after a few seconds as Judy tried to quickly come up with a viable answer or any excuse to explain what happened to her, but Judy was terrible at lying, she could think and act her way during various investigation scenarios with a carefully laid out plan, but her options for a tall tale came up as a total blank inside her mind. As her attention returned to the doctor by her side Nick's voice entered in the middle of the scene to place his sharp words and quick wit to the test as he came up with a plausible tale on the spot:

- You see, doc? Judy here was jogging up Dolson St. and she passed right by the construction site that has been there for a couple of months, all of a sudden this porcupine walks in front of her with a trolley full of tools and building supplies, next thing you know she is on the floor and I am dragging her all the way here, luckily a friend of hers was nearby and gave us a ride to the front door.

Judy listened to Nick's hastily cobbled, but believable, tale and took the chance to record every major point of the made up story in her mind just in case it popped up later in the conversation with the doctor, she felt a little bad for having to lie to him but it was probably for the best, it would cause some latent panic and speculation that might spread in the city like wild fire if anyone would have found out about the now former sheep mayor's plot. Nick looked at the time on the screen of his phone and spoke to Judy and Doctor Steven before he decided to leave the room:

- Well… as much as I would like to stay and exchange small talk, I have to take care of a few things of my own, stay well fluff, I'll come back to visit after you get settled in and patched up properly.

Judy showed a smile and nodded her head once, as Nick was starting to get on his way out, he was stopped by the beaver who asked:

- Before you leave Mr. Wilde, is there anything else that I need to know about your friend as she is being treated? Any aversions or otherwise allergies to any medication?

Nick thought for a bit with one claw gently passing under his chin in a back and forth motion, he answered with a jokey tone:

- Yes, she likes to squirm a lot so, if she tries to resist in any way, do not hesitate to pump her full of morphine.

- NICK!

The fox busted out in laughter as the bunny yelled his name in protest of his previous statement, Nick raised his paws and remedied the situation by speaking up as he tried his best to suppress his laugh:

- I'm joking! I'm joking!

He turned back to the beaver who was placing the clipboard in front of his mouth to hide his smile, Nick gave the bunny one last wave of good-bye and sad as he was getting out of the room:

- Stay well fluff. I'll be back later to see you.

The fox went on his way leaving the bunny in capable paws and exiting the hospital, Judy placed her head on the pillow and sank into a peaceful sleep as she waited for the procedure to stich up he leg, once more Nick found himself alone and left to wander off by the streets of the city, only this time he didn't have the usual pep in his step that he had at any other day. Nick walked with moderate paced steps on the sidewalk, slowly putting one paw after the other, as his eyes kept looking at the sky above, the wind arranged the clouds in a beautiful pattern, but his mind was placed elsewhere, his thoughts were still aimed at the bunny that he had left on that hospital bed. He kept a small part of his reasoning locked on her as his body continued to move ahead on its own. He kept on remembering the words she let out beneath that old bridge, the tears in her little violet eyes and the laughs of relief that she let out along with more tears as the fox admitted having forgiven her.

Nick felt betrayed and upset to the tenth degree after hearing what Judy said that day during that press conference a month before, how she placed the blame on the savage outbursts as a mere biology mishap which, made some very disheartening memories rush back into his mind and, also, labeled every predator in zootopia as a potential subject of risk to be around, including Nick. From that point on things in Zootopia spiraled out of control, there were protests on the streets, fear in every eye, there was even speculation that predators would be forced to use special shock collars to keep all of them and their emotions in check, that most assuredly would've closed Bellwether's plan with a tight little bow on top of it all. Having a giant bomb of fear planted right in the heart of the city with her vile little hooves placed right on top of the trigger, anyone tried anything stupid and the mammals of Zootopia would've been coerced into tearing each other to pieces and she was just gonna let that happen. Even the thought of her smug looking face looking down on everyone while her fluffy tail sat nice and easy on a cushion on top of city hall was enough to spark a bit of anger in Nick, he pressed his teeth together and released a small snarling sound from his mouth, his anger was short lived as a new thought appeared to calm him down:

"Thank God that didn't happen."

After what seemed to be an eternity of walking through the streets, alleys and avenues with his paws in his pockets and his head alternating between being high in thought and down on the ground, Nick found himself back in the old industrial part of Savana Square, the old park laid right across the street from him and right in it, the abandoned warehouse, the old broken water tower by the distance and the old stone bridge. That old bridge was one of his favorite places to just sit down, relax and be alone with his thoughts, he had a lot of spots like that around Zootopia, the abandoned bridge, however, was a particular special spot for him, under this very bridge Nick and a pack of friends from his school days, Finnick amongst them, gathered together to listen to loud music, tell a few stories and have a few gallons of beer, after a few hours of partying his tail off and getting himself utterly and completely shit faced drunk, Nick spilled out this grandiose idea that came to him about a big amusement park where predators of all ages and sizes could come and just be themselves, be who they wanted to be with no limitations or prejudice, the name of this made out place stuck in his head for months: A big carnivore carnival called "Wild Times". The idea had some considerable shred of credit, but it turned out to be nothing more than a distant dream, but it would still beat being a no-good con mammal by a long shot if it ended up panning out though.

With the park abandoned, much like a few other buildings at that portion of the Savanah, and no water running under the bridge, which was left unattended and unsupervised since the park was abandoned, the spot was, for quite a long period of years, a safe and preferable spot for Nick to just kick back and think of another brilliant way to make quick money, it was quiet and just far enough from the regular noise and smogging atmosphere of the busy streets for Nick to relax for a bit. Even so, that bridge was going to be regarded as his favorite spot for another reason entirely: It was the place where he saw his favorite bunny return to come and find him so she could deliver him an honest and overdue apology. Nick returned to that spot so he could let his brain unwind for the day, he got to the lowest part of the bridge and found his lawn chair placed in the exact same spot he had left it, he placed his back side over the chair and laid there to feel the setting sun on his face and the fresh wind passing by, after a few deep breaths he opened his eyes and noticed that the sun was about to disappear on the horizon, he had quite the eventful day and he was pretty happy with the way it all turned out in the end, curiously, there was still this strange feeling in the back of his head that alerted him constantly as if he had forgotten something.

Nick's body leaned forward without leaving the chair and he focused on whatever he could've forgotten, he recalled his steps from that day front to back to make sure that he would find it… whatever "it" was. About ten minutes passed by and he still didn't know, he decided to leave that worry alone until he could get back home, he was certain that if it was truly important, he would remember it on his own time. He got up from the chair so he could fold it and put it in its rightful spot back at his apartment, he had a long walk before he could get there, take a bath and throw himself on the bed.

- Can't wait to get a warm shower and sleep until noon tomorrow. Maybe I should call a zoober to pick me up. Quite ironic, I spent so long learning how to drive like a pro with Flash and I couldn't even bother to scrape enough money to buy myself a real ride… to…

That's when it hit him! The thing he was trying to remember, he let the folded chair fall to the grassy ground beneath him and spoke up to himself:

- Carrot's truck! We left it parked by the old printing building! Someone might boot it or even impound it if it just sits there until morning!

The revelation hit Nick like a rock, Judy managed to save the city, but got sent to the hospital right after that and, with the rush of it all she forgot about her means of transportation, which was a fine mess for her in Nick's perspective, as well, since she had the keys with her and there was no way he could get back to the hospital and ask for the keys of the truck to get it out of that spot, it might have been way too late in the night by the time he made the course to there and back again. Nick started pacing nervously from left to right as he thought of a quick solution to that predicament, even if he wasn't sure of why he was thinking so hard about that. He stopped his pacing and began to talk:

- Alright Wilde, take it easy. You are a clever fox. You can figure it out.

He started pacing again as he talked to himself a lot more, no one was around to hear him, Nick often took his moments of solitude to let all of his thoughts out in the open with no regard to how loud they might come up, as he placed all of the options in front of him a particular course of action struck him as the most prudent and less likely to end in a mess, he picked his phone and dialed a number with quick presses over the screen, as the call began he started to talk:

- Hey Matthew, it's Nick.

-…

- Yeah, I know. It has been a while. How have you been?

-…

- Oh, I have been great. Just got out from a full day of work. Listen, I need your help, you got time?

- …

- It's nothing serious, but it is urgent. Listen, does your tow truck still run at this hour? I have a vehicle in serious need of assistance.

-…

- No Mat, it is not a scheme of any kind. Look just bring your tow by the old Gallia printing facility, I'll explain it as soon as you get there. It's real important.

-…

- Okay, thanks. I'll see you later. Bye, for now.

Nick turned his phone off and left the lawn chair behind, hidden under the stone bridge, so he could travel faster to where he needed to go, it was a long jog but he felt up to it all of a sudden. After he left the park, Nick ran about twelve blocks straight ahead and up a slightly inclined street until he got to the upper part of the industrial area, on that portion of Zootopia subways and buses barely stopped by, they usually crossed it as fast as possible or simply avoided it entirely, some of the buildings that used to be warehouses, old factories and market places were left abandoned since Nick's childhood days and he, along with a few other mammals that operated at the very margin of the law, used these spots to hide away goods and their presence in the under-belly of the city, Nick has been running around these places for most of his life which meant that he knew every street and land mark by heart, back then he thought of all the walls, fences, gates and exposed pipe lines as part of a big jungle gym and he knew how to get by it like it was nothing more than a game.

After a lot of effort Nick arrived at his destination, he was winded and his paws were hurting from all the running, but he felt victorious anyway, his relief only grew as he saw the truck still parked underneath the shimmering light of an old lamp post, Nick approached the vehicle and took a quick look on each wheel, checking to see if there were any metal boots placed or any signs of parking tickets on the wind shield, everything seemed to be in order.

Nick leaned against the truck and slouched his body a little close to the ground as he recovered his breath, he felt more exhausted than before but he took some solace after coming to the conclusion that he was almost done with his objectives for the day, even if things took an extremely tight turn to the unexpected. After five minutes of waiting Nick's ear twitched to the side as he caught the sound of a familiar engine rolling by, the toe truck stopped just as the driver saw Nick walking to check and identify the origin of the sound, the engine of the tow truck ceased and the driver stepped outside. Nick showed a little smile as he saw the image of an old friend stepping over the sidewalk, Nick extended his paw and spoke:

- Matthew! Thanks a bunch for coming.

A strong looking San Bernard walked in the fox's direction with a tired, but admittedly friendly, look on his muzzle, the big dog was wearing a pair of safety goggles resting around his neck and a dark blue set of suspenders with a few dark spots of oil sprinkled all over the fabric, sure fire sign that he had quite the experience as a mechanic, after the dog cumprimented Nick with a firm paw shake, he spoke up while holding back a yawn:

- It's nice to see you again Nick. You look terrible!

- I've had a terrible day. What's your excuse?

The two canines exchange a nice laughter after their paw shake was done, Matthew walked past Nick and took a look around as he prepared his tow truck and spoke again:

- Hope that this is worth it Nick, I was right in the middle of my favorite show when you called.

Nick rolled his eyes and spoke as he walked in the direction of Judy's truck:

- Which is probably code for: You were drooling all over yourself as you watched that ridiculous sci-fi series of yours.

The dog shot back immediately after:

- Hey! First of all: Star Blazers is not a 'ridiculous' series! It is a futuristic soap opera with massive production values and impeccable story telling; And second: Briana Newfoundlander is a total hottie in those space age trackpants!

Nick could not help but to laugh at that. The san Bernard came closer to ask with his paws in his pockets:

- So… is this the one?

- You got it.

Matthew was skeptical to say the least he took one good look at the truck in front of him and sounded off a single incredulous laugh:

- Shit, Nick! Are you kidding me?! This thing is a piece of junk! Whatever hustle you are trying to run cannot be worth hauling this thing around on the streets at this hour.

Nick turned around to face his friend and make the motion of dispersal with his paws:

- This is not a hustle! Cannot stress that hard enough.

Nick took a breath before explaining:

- Look, this truck belongs to a friend of mine, she is in the hospital and I want to help her out.

With a cheeky smile and a raised brow Matthew asked:

- Oh… so it's a "she" then? Yeah, okay. I get it now.

Pointing a claw to the dog's face from a distance, Nick placed an end to his line of thought:

- Do not even start with me on this, I'm literally too tired to deal with that. Just help me get this truck out of here and into somewhere safe.

- The usual place? You sure Finnick won't mind it?

- Yeah, don't worry about it. It's only temporary until she can come get it herself.

- Alright. Let's go then.

Nick and Matthew strapped the hook on the front of the old truck, afterwards, Nick entered the tow truck on the passenger side and Matthew started to drive to the designated location, Nick looked behind from time to time to certify that the vehicle being moved was still safe and sound, right after his tenth look he calmed down and kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead. Matthew was getting a huge jolly from seeing Nick act that way:

"Wow, never seen him like that. This girl must be a huge deal to him."

After a few miles of road had been crossed, Nick talked to Matthew, calling his attention without disrupting his driving:

- Hey, thanks for doing this dude. I really appreciate it.

- *Pft* You don't have to thank me for this, I still owe you big time for your help. Hell, if it weren't for you my cousin would be in serious trouble with those car jackers.

Nick recalled the mentioned time, about five years ago or so, Matthew's cousin, Sophie, got involved with a rowdy crew of mammals that stole cars and stripped them down of all their most valuable parts, Nick managed to get them a prime ride that had been left to rust on the side road by Mr. Big's goons and the car jackers let her out of a major dept. Nick turned to his canine friend and shrugged the comment off like it was no big deal:

- Meh, you don't have to thank me for any of that. Sophie deserved a better life away from the spoiled thugs from Zootopia. I had no use for that scrappy old limo anyway. The transmission was a piece of junk even when it was brand new. It tore Finn's heart out though, he had high hopes for that ride. Even if it was solely directed at getting some tail.

Matthew smiled again after catching a glimpse of the fox's distinctive wit. The truck took a sharp turn as it approached a district with an old outdoor pointing to a storage complex, noticing that they were getting close to their destination, Matthew asked:

- So, Nick… what is the deal with this truck anyway? I know you are not the kind of mammal to go this far for just any female. Does she have anything on you?

Nick launched a single laugh as he placed his paw in front of his eyes, he looked out the window and explained himself:

- Her name is Judy, she is… different.

- Uh… now I'm intrigued. Do tell.

After taking a small shot of air, Nick looked at Matthew and spoke up with a low, but comprehensive volume in his voice:

- I underestimated her. She hustled me. She hustled me good.

- Wha…?! Are you for real right now?!

- I'm serious. Should've seen it coming. She is no slacker. I shit you not.

Matthew slapped a paw the wheel of his truck and spoke:

- Oh, wow! Wish I could've seen it live! Nick Wilde, the master of hustle, done in at last, and at his own game no less.

- Yeah, yeah. I know. Soak it up.

Matthew kept on driving and laughing for about two minutes until he finally had enough air and composure to ask:

- This girl… Judy. What is she like?

With his paw in the shape of a fist supporting his tired head from underneath his jaw, Nick answered:

- At first, I thought that she was just another easy mark, boy was I wrong. She came at me right the next day and threw everything I dished out right back at me and then some. I thought that she was just annoying at first, she held me pretty tight by the leash, but then… I don't know. I started to respect her more and more. She's tougher than she looks, that's for sure. We… had an argument a while back, I thought I would never see her again, shit happened and we split up, but she came back, she sought me out and apologized to me, can't remember the last time someone went that far for a guy like me. She made me think that I could put the effort to do something worth doing with my life for a change, so… Now, we are pretty much cool, I just want to help her out.

Matthew slowed the ride down for a bit as he was taking the last turn and sad:

- Well, I'm glad for you. It's about time someone put you in your place.

- Gee, thanks Mat. It's nice to have friends who support you.

Nick spoke in a sarcastic tone. Matthew tried to explain himself:

- What I meant to say was: You've been going over this whole Con-artist business during most of your life without ever stopping to wonder if there was anything better for you out there. It was about time someone opened your eyes for the big picture. You're a smart guy Nick, you should play the part and actually do something worth doing with your life.

Nick crossed his arms and took a look at the night sky with only a few stars and the crescent moon up above, he thought rather deeply about what his friend had said and believed he was right. After they arrived at the empty garage where Judy's truck was to be stored, Nick exited the tow truck and made signs with his paws to show Matthew how to place it inside in just the right way as to not scratch the, plenty rusty already, paint of the truck. After the transported cargo was safe and sound, Nick and Matthew parted ways, as the dog drove back home, Nick walked back to his apartment, dragging his paws over the sidewalks he slowly made his way back home, guided by the light of the lamp posts, still feeling plenty tired but confident that all of his efforts were about to be rewarded with a peaceful night of sleep. As soon as he arrived by the red bricked building where his place was located, he opened the front door, got up two long flight of stairs, which seemed to take forever from his perspective, got inside his place and, with no more energy to do anything else for the day, he tossed his body over the couch and fell into deep sleep.

Even with his mind and body being overloaded, his brain flashed a few memories of the day that passed by in front of his eyes, every sound and color whooshing pass by his barely perceptive senses like a fired arrow flying through the air in high speed, he didn't bother to over analyze any of it until the last discernible image that he saw appear that is, an image depicting Judy, a simple sight of her, smiling, resting, safe and sound on that hospital bed. He shut off completely before he could figure out why that happened, that didn't discourage him from cracking a little smile before starting to snooze until the morning light came through the window.

The sunlight shot past the blinds covering the window hitting the sleepy bunny right on her closed eyes, she turned her head to the other side and tried using the pillow, on which her head was resting, to try and cover her eyes, protecting her from the brightness of the morning threatening to wake her up before she recovered all of her senses completely. Her ear twitched as the horns from the transports and the busy bustle of the streets just outside started to form up and raise its volume, along with its consistency. She opened her eyes bit by bit, she directed her attention to the ceiling and it took a little time to sink in to the fact that she was not in Bunnyburrow any longer, she was resting over a big hospital bed with her arms feeling incredibly sore and a sharp sting on her recently stitched up leg, Judy did her best to not mess or scratch the spot where she got the two stitches holding the torn on her flesh closed shut, and, as she took another look around to get a more accustomed feeling for her surroundings the sensation of boredom started to slowly make itself present.

When Judy finally had enough will to wake up all the way it was already past ten in the morning, she reached for her phone to see if there were any important calls or notifications but her battery died a few seconds before she could get anything done, it suddenly occurred to her that on her haste to leave her home behind and get back to Zootopia she forgot a lot of essential items, like her clothes, her toothbrush and the charger for her phone. She loathed the fact that she forgot such crucial details in her rush and was left incapable to check for news online or talk to her parents and explain that everything was okay, her self-loathing was interrupted, however, when the room door opened and the nurse from the day before came inside holding a plater containing food and two pills set alongside a small cup of water. Amara approached Judy and asked of her:

- Hey there. Sorry if I couldn't get to you sooner, there are a lot of other patients getting checked out today. How are you feeling?

With a sympathetic smile the bunny answered:

- It still stings a bit, but I am feeling much better now, thanks.

The nurse placed the plastic plater over the bed and pointed out to the pills so that Judy could take it later, a small dose of pain killers for her to relax carefully calculated for a mammal her size. As Judy ate the salad and fruits that were presented for her the nurse moved around to do a quick check of the room. Once Judy was halfway done with her meal, the nurse peeked outside the door and pointed out that there was someone waiting outside to come in and see her, Judy's ears darted upwards and a familiar red furry figure appeared though the door to say:

- Hey there carrots.

Judy's mouth opened into a huge smile after hearing that familiar tone of voice, the fox was slowly entering the room with a renewed pep in his step, he had his left paw in his pocket while his right paw was holding a small plastic bag by his side, after the nurse left the room, he walked close to the bed and the surprised bunny could only say:

- Nick! You came!

- Well… of course I did. I said I was going to be back to see you, and I am a fox of my word. How is the leg by the way?

Judy moved the toes on her right hind paw and assured the fox:

- I'm feeling much better. Actually, Nick, can I ask you something really quick?

The fox placed the bag he was bringing over the armchair he sat himself on the previous day and looked at the bunny, Judy asked him as she grabbed her phone:

- Can I borrow a charger? My phone just died and I left mine back home.

The fox grabbed his own charger wire from inside the plastic bag and placed the phone to charge up on a nearby outlet, Judy thanked Nick who came close once more to pick up a few objects from inside the bag, as she moved and leaned around to catch a glimpse of what he brought with him she simply decided to ask:

- What do you have there slick?

- Well, fluff, it occurred to me that you may be bored out of your wits cooped up in this hospital room, so I brought a few things to pass the time.

- Nick, you didn't have to.

- No problem carrots. I don't have anything better to do today anyways.

Judy raised a brow his way and asked with an air of suspicion:

- Really? You want to stay here with me, inside this boring hospital room? You don't have anything more interesting to do today?

Noticing the tone in her voice, Nick looked at her with a side grin on his muzzle and answered while letting out the outmost confidence with a playful tone of voice, much like the way Judy addressed him when they were leaving the naturalist club:

- Yeah, see? The most curious thing just happened to me this morning: I woke up, ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, combed my fur and… for some weird reason, I didn't feel the need to hustle anyone today! Isn't that just the weirdest thing?! Cause I think it's very weird!

The smile Judy had right then was absolutely precious. Nick returned his eyes to the bag and retrieved the items he was looking for to present them to her:

- I brought you a few crossword puzzles and also these to pass the time.

The fox showed a full deck of cards and a box of dominoes that he had kept at the bottom of the bag, he asked as he took the rubber band holding the cards together:

- You play?

- I… my dad and my brothers play cards all the time back home. I never played it myself.

- Well then fluff, get ready to be thoroughly humiliated by me. When it comes to card games, I am undefeated. I'm like… the Rocky of poker.

Judy looked at the fox's devious smile and overconfident stare and felt a strong fit of laughter making its way from her lungs to her mouth. She placed her paws over her muzzle to hide her smile and muffle her laughs, even if it all proved ineffective, the air of her laugh made through the gaps in her fingers and she was heard for a fraction of a second making Nick's smile even bigger, she raised her left paw after she calmed down and asked:

- Nick, wait. Before anything else could you do me another tiny favor?

The fox placed the cards aside and answered:

- Sure carrots. What is it?

Judy reached to her wallet placed over the nightstand and opened it to look for some change money, she flipped through a few documents and a picture of her parents that she liked to keep with her until she found and retrieved a five-dollar bill and gave it to Nick as she explained:

- On the way to the room yesterday I saw a vending machine down the hallway. Could you get me a bottle of iced tea? I've been craving one since yesterday.

Nick picked the bill from her paws and stepped outside the room to go in search of the aforementioned vending machine, Judy remained seated over the bed and decided to try moving a bit to see if she was more apt to move about, the moment she tried moving her feet, however, she felt a sharp sting on the side of her leg, even with the medicines taking effect and alleviating some of her discomfort she still had not recuperated her entire range of movement for her right leg. She returned to the original position she was on and opted to try doing something else as she waited for Nick to return, she reached for the deck of cards that he had left behind to see if she could familiarize herself with any notion of a game, only, as soon as she arranged the deck in her paws she heard a familiar set of voices coming by the hallway outside. Her ears moved as they caught wind of two familiar voices coming straight for the door of her room:

- Are you sure this is the right way?

- The nurse told us: "Room 201". This has to be the right way. I'm sure of it!

She released a little gasp as it hit her as she placed who the owners of the voices really were, there was a gentle knock on the door and a sweet female voice asking for her:

- Judy! Dear, are you in there?

Judy sat straight over her bed and asked unsure of how in heaven's name her family managed to find her, but also feeling a little bad for remembering just then that she left Bunnyburrow without giving her parents a plausible explanation. She asked as a sure sign to give them permission to come inside:

- Mom?! Dad?! Is that you guys?

The door of the room opened like lightning, Stu Hopps almost let the white wooden frame hit the wall close by with the speed and intensity that he opened it, the couple of bunnies looked stunned as they found their daughter placed over the bed with a white patch over her leg, they had a terrified look in their eyes but they gradually downgraded into relief as they entered the room and got close to her. As they hopped over the mattress, they embraced their daughter and bombarded her with questions as soon as they managed to free her from the mutual embrace, first of it all Bonnie Hopps, her mother started speaking rather fast:

- Judy, dear, we were so worried for you! You grabbed the truck and zoomed away without saying nothing, you left us totally confused! What happened?!

Her father jumped in the talk as well:

- Yeah, Jude. What happened?! We came to Zootopia on the train and went on to talk with the chief of police to ask for you. When we heard that you were in the hospital, I almost had a heart attack!

- So did I! Judy, why did you leave?! What were you talking about when you drove away like that?! How did you get hurt?! What in goodness sakes happened to you?!

Judy raised her paws to try and calm them both down:

- Mom, Dad! Breathe! I'll explain everything that happened to me, but first, I'm gonna need you two to take a breath and let me get a word out.

Stu and Bonnie heard their daughter's voice telling them to take a second to cool off, they listened and took a collective step back giving her time to recapitulate the whole story:

- When I came back home and began working on the farm, I did it because I believed that I had made a huge mess of things when I solved the case of the missing mammals. The thing is, once I heard Gideon call those flowers "Night-howlers" it occurred to me that I missed one crucial piece of information on my previous investigation, so, with that in mind, I rode back to Zootopia to amend my mistake and solve the case all the way through.

Judy took a deep breath and noticed how her parents bended their bodies forward as they were deeply invested on her story, she continued:

- I dug deeper and found out that the predators that turned savage were not purely reverting to a wild state of mind on their own, someone was targeting them and forcing them to become savage and hurt others by using a modified serum that came from the flowers! Sorry if I left without saying much, this was something that I absolutely needed to do.

Bonnie gasped and placed a paw on her mouth as Stu's eyes shot open as both of them heard that last bit of information, with her mind peaking with curiosity, Bonnie asked:

- The flowers were the things making predators go wild?!

- Not the flowers per say mom. When dad told me that Uncle Terry started to act out after he ate one of those flowers it daunted on me that they had unusual properties. It turns out there was someone using and distilling the flowers to make a serum and then using the serum to make it seem like the predator population of Zootopia was reverting back to a savage state! It was all an act to turn prey against predator, and it almost succeeded!

Bonnie and Stu could barely swallow all of that at once, it did sound a little crazy, but they knew Judy and how honest and smart she was, with the tone of conviction she was using to explain that entire affair it must have been all truths coming out of her mouth. Bonnie could only turn her eyes different ways as she organized the images in her head trying to make some sense of it all as Stu wobbled in place and held her arm looking for some support for his body as he spoke almost losing his breath:

- Oh, Sweet cheese and crackers! I think I need to sit down!

Judy saw what talking about that was doing to her parents, she decided to end the explanation with a reassuring line:

- The important thing is: The mammals responsible for this are detained and behind bars, the ZPD is working on a cure for the Night-howlers serum and I'm doing okay. Despise my leg, obviously.

Her father managed to walk to the big armchair close by and sit down to take in some deep breaths, Bonnie came close and climbed over the bed to hold Judy's paw and say:

- Judy, what you did was amazing and really brave, but you could've called us and explained it all, we called you a dozen times and didn't get any answer. We almost assumed the worst.

Judy pointed to her phone charging in the corner of the room with her free paw and explained that part as well:

- My phone died, and I forgot the charger back in Bunnyburrow, along with all of my things now that I think about it.

Bonnie pointed out to a big plastic bag that she had brought along with her and spoke up:

- I imagined as such. That is why I brought your luggage with a few of your clothes, along with a couple of other things. We didn't know where or how you were, so we thought: Better safe than sorry!

Judy smiled and thanked her mother, she received the plastic bag and began to scout around its contents just in time to hear her father out as he placed one paw over one of the arms of the chair and spoke with an authoritarian tone of voice:

- In any case Judy, what you just did was immensely dangerous! You had the right intentions, but you should not have done this alone.

- I wasn't alone dad! I had help!

Both of the elder bunnies looked at Judy with faces of utter surprise, especially because she was not the type of mammal that asks for help very often. She explained that last bit with a tone of uncertainty and a small dose of sadness returning to her face, her ears became droopy, touching her back, as she spoke up:

- When I came back to Bunnyburrow I needed some time to figure out how things had gone so wrong over here in Zootopia. I made a huge mess for every mammal around me, even if you kept telling me that it wasn't my fault, I felt responsible and pretty defeated, that is why I decided that I had to rush over and fix things, even if I didn't really know how. You are the one that always said to try and make things right whenever I mess things up!

Stu shrugged that off with his shoulders, silently admitting that she was right, Judy continued after that:

- Also, to top it all off, I ended up hurting the feelings of a very nice friend of mine. He went along with me and helped uncover important clues during my first investigation, he risked it all to help me, trusted me and I treated him like he was just another creature on the verge of becoming savage! He walked away and I regretted what I said ever since that press conference, I hated myself for the way I thought and for the way I acted in front of him. As soon as I heard the real reason why the mammals of Zootopia were turning savage I knew that I had to make things right and apologize to him, make him understand how sorry I really was. He helped me again and even brought me here after I got hurt. He is a really amazing guy.

Bonnie placed her paws over her chest as her daughter's face lit up as she talked great things about this mysterious mammal, it has been a long time since she had seen Judy's eyes spark in such a sweet manner. She scooched a little closer to her side over the mattress, being careful to not touch her leg with the stiches on and asked:

- Well, I say he is quite lucky to have such a dedicated friend like you dear. Who is this friend of yours? I would very much like to meet him.

- Well… he's…

As Judy was looking for the right words to answer her mother's question there was another knock on the door, before anyone could inquire who was there the door opened and everyone in the room saw the fox with the green shirt, striped blue tie and khaki pants making his way inside with a bag loaded with bottles by his side and a reassuring smirk on his lips, without paying much attention in the room he just entered, he spoke up:

- Hey fluff, listen. I didn't know what flavor of tea you wanted so I brought three different ones so you can take your pi…

The fox turned his eyes away from the contents of the plastic bag in his paws and realized just then that his bunny friend was not the only one inside the room, he placed his back as straight as he could, almost like a soldier standing up at attention, and corrected his tone of voice to a more formal way of speaking:

- Oh, I… didn't know you had company.

With a smile on her lips, Judy raised her paw and introduced her friend to her parents:

- Mom, Dad, I would like you to meet my friend, this is Nick Wilde, he is the one who helped me during my investigations and also brought me to the hospital to get patched up. Nick, these are my parents, Stuart and Bonnie Hopps.

The fox approached the bed as Bonnie hopped off the bed and walked ahead to get a better look at the great friendly mammal her daughter talked about, Stu had the same idea, he got up from the chair and walked closer to the slim looking fox that just appeared in the room, Stu extended his paw and introduced himself properly:

- Hello there. It is nice to meet you Mr.… Wilde, is it?

Nick placed the plastic bag on his other paw to shake Stu's paw and answered:

- You can call me Nick, Mr. Hopps. I don't mind it.

- Well, only if you call me Stu.

After the firm paw shake and that nice change of sympathies were done Nick looked for something to say at that moment, he didn't expect to meet Judy's parents that day, there was also a tad bit of worry on the back of his mind since he had no idea what to do if Judy had opened up about any majorly dangerous events from the last 24 hours. He opted to put out a little ice breaker for the moment, he grabbed one of the bottles from inside the bag and offered it to the couple in front of him:

- So… any of you want some tea? I have plenty.