As the door shut after Kimberly, Judy glanced down at her legs. The paramedics had to cut her pant leg off above her knee so they could get to her injury, and now she didn't know what to do. She certainly didn't want to go out in public like this but didn't see any way around it.

"Why the long face, Fluff? I thought you'd be jumping for joy—we can finally escape!"

She motioned to her leg. "I really don't want to go out like this." Looking up, she caught Nick's smirking face. "What!? Do you think this is funny?" She bawled a fist up and waved it at him.

"No, no!" Nick exclaimed as he waved his paws in front of him. "That's not what I'm laughing at."

"Then what?"

Still smirking, Nick reached into the cloth sack and pulled out the sweatpants. "I thought you might run into this problem, so I came prepared." As she took the pants and smoothed a paw over them, Nick added, "And since the sun has set and I don't want that fuzzy-wuzzy tail of yours getting cold"—he reached in and pulled out the sweat shirt and held it up so she could see the front—"I bought you this, too."

"You . . . bought these for me?" At Nick's happy grin, she asked, "But . . . why?"

"What do you mean, why? You're my best friend, and as such, it's my job to look out for you. You said you came straight from Bunnyburrow, and it's obvious you didn't bring anything with you, so what else was I to do?"

Judy's eyes welled up with tears and she couldn't hold them back this time as she hugged Nick again, the clothes squashed between them.

"Oh, you bunnies, always so emotional." Wrapping his arm around her, he patted her back a moment, then started stroking her ears again. She sniffled, then giggled, and he couldn't stop his tail from curling around her. She was just too darn cute, and her constant hugs were making him warm and fuzzy inside—a feeling he hadn't felt since he was a kit in his mother's loving arms.

Holding her just a moment longer, he then moved back enough to look at her. Wiping her tears with his thumbs, the dark fur a stark contrast to her lighter grey, he lost himself in her amethyst pools. With a gentle smile, he said softly, "Come on, we need to get you changed so we can get out of here. I don't know about you, but I've had my fill of white, sterile walls and bright, fluorescent lights."

"Ya, me too," Judy laughed weakly. Pulling out of Nick's embrace, she picked up the clothes as Nick hopped down from the bed. Looking the shirt over, she felt impressed. The purple material really highlighted her eyes, and the scene was beautiful and reminded her of home. She could tell Nick hadn't just grabbed whatever was handy but must have put a fair amount of time and thought into finding something special for her.

Her mind went back to the conversation she had with Cindy in the ambulance. Remembering how the impala had accused Nick of leaving her with empty pockets, she couldn't hold back a laugh.

Nick cocked his head and raised an eyebrow as he stood waiting to help her down off the bed. "What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking about that idiot impala we had to deal with earlier. In the ambulance, she claimed you would rob me blind." Holding up the clothes, she continued, "You didn't take a penny from me, but spent your own to make sure I was comfortable." With a smug grin, she added, "I hope we see her on the way out so I can rub it in her face how wrong she was about you."

Nick broke out in a belly laugh at the image Judy's comment portrayed. He really hoped they ran into her, too. It'd be a fitting end for their time at the hospital.

Reaching out to carefully grip Judy's waist, he lifted her off the bed and carried her to the chair he'd been sitting in earlier. At removing his hands and stepping back, he added, "If you think this is nice, wait till we get out to the truck."

Seeing his smug grin, she asked, "What do you mean? What else did you get me?"

"Uh-uh," he said shaking a finger at her. "If you want to know what else I got, you'll just have come see for yourself." Spinning around, he headed for the door. "I'll wait outside the door while you get changed."

"Oh, wait, Nick. Can you . . . can you stay in here . . . please?"

Nick paused by the door and glanced back over his shoulder. "Huh?"

Judy looked down at the floor, her ears and face bright red as she kneaded the shirt fabric in her paws. "I . . . I might have trouble . . . getting my pants on."

Nick swallowed. "O—kay." Turning around, he walked back over and leaned against the bed with his back to her. Pulling his phone out, he tried to distract himself from the blushing bunny disrobing behind him. Sadly enough, it didn't do a very good job of it. Foxes had excellent hearing, almost as good as a rabbit's.

Back in their historic past, mice, voles, and lemmings actually had more to fear from foxes than rabbits. Although rabbits made up a part of their diet, the smaller rodents were much easier to catch, and so made up the bulk of their diet. And that's where their larger ears (compared to other canids) and sharp eyesight came in handy.

They listened for the rustle of tiny feet scurrying through leaves or rooting around in the dirt digging for food. Once their prey was detected, they'd move in just close enough to see (usually 4 to 5 meters away), then would spring up and over, dropping down out of the sky onto their unsuspecting dinner. Very few mammals were aware of how well foxes could jump when starting from a crouched position.

Since they evolved and no longer hunted, and thus lost the need for such an evolutionary adaptation, few foxes could still jump as far (not without a lot of training), but that didn't change the fact that foxes were great leapers. And given their larger bodies, they could easily out jump a rabbit if they put their mind to it. Well, Judy might be the exception. It was obvious she'd trained her body hard, her legs particularly.

The sound of rustling cloth made his ears twitch and Nick had to force his ears to remain upright and facing forward. His instincts were telling him to track the prey moving behind him. Come on, get it together. She's a bunny and your best friend. Don't mess this up. Taking a deep breath, he focused back on his phone. Opening one of the games that required complete focus, he tried beating the first level, but kept failing miserably.

"Um, Nick, I . . . I can't get my pants off. They keep snagging on the bandage."

His ears immediately flicked back to catch her every breath. Taking a deep breath himself, he slowly let it out. Turning around, he was grateful to see she wore the sweatshirt and that it came down past her panties, but it still left her shapely thighs open to view in all their radiant beauty. He had to swallow his saliva before he started drooling.

Forcing his gaze up to meet her own, he realized she was staring at the wall and kneading the hem of the shirt with nervous fingers. Her cheeks and ears were red again. Swallowing, Nick said, "Right." Stepping up to her, he knelt down.

Judy had scooted to the edge of the chair and had managed to push her pants down past her knees, but the fabric bunched up against the bandage and wouldn't budge without dislodging it. "Let's see what I can do," he murmured softly. Straightening the cut part of the fabric, he then slowly tugged it down. Once they passed the bandage, the pants dropped to the floor and Judy picked her feet up so Nick could move them out of the way. Before he could stand up, though, the sweatpants appeared before his view.

"Can you slip these over my feet and pull them up to my knees? Please?" Judy was sure she'd catch on fire at any minute with as hot as her face and ears felt. But Nick wasn't teasing her as she feared he might, so it wasn't quite as bad as it could be.

Swallowing again, Nick took the sweats and slipped them over her feet and up to her knees. After she grabbed the waistband, he pulled the bottom of each pantleg up past her feet so she wouldn't step on them. Standing up, he took a step back.

"Thanks," Judy murmured. "Can you hold me so I don't fall over?" Feeling Nick's large paws settle on her shoulders, she pulled the waist of the sweats up her thighs as she slid off the chair. Landing lightly on her good leg, Nick steadied her as she pulled the pants up over her hips. Wiggling her tail through the tail-hole, she released the waistband with a sigh. "There, all done."

Nick glanced down from the window he'd be staring at and looked her over. The deep purple shirt really brought out her eyes and the black pants were a good contrast to both the dark purple fabric and her grey fur. Even though she was in sweats, she looked stunning to him—especially when she glanced up with those mesmerizing amethyst orbs that he could spend all day drowning in.

After smoothing her paws over the soft fabric, Judy had looked up at Nick to ask, "How did you know my size?"

"Hmm? Oh, I didn't. I just guesstimated."

Her brows dipped slightly. "What do you mean?"

Sliding his paws down her arms, he rested them on her waist and picked her up, then stood her on the chair so they were practically eyelevel. With his paws encircling her waist, his claws nearly touching, he squeezed lightly. At her "Eep!" of surprise, he grinned widely, explaining, "I just remembered how small your waist was and compared them to that."

"Oh," she whispered, her face and ears flushing red again, as she rested her paws on his upper arms. "Well, you did an excellent job. They're a perfect fit." Judy found herself unable to pull her gaze from his emerald pools. They were such a stunning shade of deep green, and at this distance, she found herself drowning in them.

Nick chuckled. "You say that now, but you haven't tried the rest. Sweats are easy, since they can be a little big or a little small and they'll still fit. I have two other pairs that are more fitted. You'll probably be fine if they're a size too big, but if they're a size too small—we'll have to scrap them."

"Hm." Judy was still drowning in his emerald pools and couldn't pull her gaze away or think of much else. Nick's eyes were so deep and expressive—she could get lost in them all day long!

On impulse, Nick leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers and breathed in her sweet scent—female bunny and lavender. He'd never imagined he'd find the scent of bunny appealing, but her scent captivated him. Taking a deep breath, he slowly let it out. "Come on, Fluff, let's get you home."

"Hmm," she murmured, her gaze having never left his. "I like the sound of that."

Chuckling as he raised his head, he then slipped one arm around her back and the other around her thighs as he pulled her to him (though he was careful not to press her too hard against his bruised ribs). She let out another cute "Eep!" as he picked her up and spun around, carrying her over to the small wheelchair sitting by the door.

After she was situated comfortably, he picked up her discarded clothes and stuffed them into the cloth bag, then set the sack of leftovers on top of them. Handing the bag to Judy, he then opened the door and stepped behind the wheelchair and gripped the handles.

"Welcome to Air de'Wilde. Please keep your hands and feet within the plane at all times. Next stop: Freedom. Please enjoy your flight."

Judy giggled at Nick's crazy antics. "I'm ready for takeoff, Captain."

With a wide grin, he murmured, "Here we go then." Humming a deep rumble that mimicked a plane engine, Nick sped off down the hall. Ignoring all the disapproving looks, they made it to the checkout desk in record time.

After signing out, Nick wheeled Judy outside. It was cool and Judy felt grateful that Nick had the foresight to buy her sweats. Glancing around, her ears pricked forward as she caught sight of Cindy pushing an empty gurney into the back of an ambulance. Pointing a finger, she exclaimed, "Look, Nick—there's that bigoted impala!"

Looking in the direction she indicated, Nick smirked. "This is our lucky day." Leaning down to whisper in her tall, slender ears, Nick murmured, "Ready for some face rubbing?"

"Most definitely." Lifting her hand to get Cindy's attention, she suddenly dropped it and exclaimed, "Oh, wait, I got the perfect thing." Reaching into the cloth bag in her lap, she pulled out the half-eaten veggie wrap and quickly unwrapped it. "Okay, now I'm ready."

Raising her hand again as the impala closed the back door of the ambulance and started walking towards the cab, Judy called out cheerfully, "Hi, Cindy! How's your shift going?"

The impala perked up at hearing her name, then turned around. Upon seeing the bunny and fox together, she immediately scowled.

Judy gave her the smuggest grin while waving the veggie wrap in the air—showing that it clearly came from outside the hospital—then took a big bite out of it and grinned blissfully with eyes closed. Returning her gaze to the fuming impala, Judy then swiped the air with her hand, indicating her new clothes. Jerking her thumb back, she pointed to Nick and mouthed the words, "I told you so!"

Cindy ground her teeth in disgust. Not only was this bunny really, really dumb, but the way she gloated over her closeness to the filthy pelt was just sickening. "Just wait," she spat out, "sooner or later he'll take everything you got and leave you crying."

Judy hummed a moment in thought, then replied, "Perhaps you're right, but should that day come, I won't have any regrets." With her smirk returning, she added, "And I'll be sure to enjoy every moment of it." With a slight wave, she said brightly. "Ta-ta now." Turning slightly to Nick, she whispered, "Come on, let's go before she realizes what I'm talking about."

Pushing the wheelchair forward, Nick turned his gaze to the scowling impala. Touching his hand to his head and giving a flippant wave, his signature smirk firmly in place, he said, "Have a good evening, now. Don't work too hard." Turning the wheelchair into the parking lot, he heard the impala stamp her hoof and huff in irritation.

Judy sat back in the wheelchair as it turned away from Cindy and pulled her ears over her face. What was I thinking, saying that out loud!? Gah! I really am starting to sound like my sisters now! She could feel her face and ears getting hot again and knew they were turning red. Stop thinking weird thoughts about him. He's your best friend, nothing more. Her mental freak-out was interrupted by an irate, disgusted yell behind them.

"That dumb bunny!"

Judy sat up straighter and glanced back. Cindy's view was blocked off by a vehicle they passed, but she could just picture the impala's disgusted, angry look. With a smug chuckle, she turned back around and focused on where Nick was taking her.

Looking down to study his amused friend, Nick was puzzled. Leaning over, he asked, "What were you talking about?"

Judy's slight blush immediately turned beet red. "Oh, um, it's . . . nothing. It's just . . . just a girl thing. Nothing for you to worry about."

Nick looked dubiously down at his furry friend, but seeing her embarrassment, he decided to let the subject drop—for now anyway. Focusing on the parking lot, he steered Judy over to her parent's truck and lifted her into the passenger seat. There was a slight twinge in his ribs from the movement, but he ignored it. This wasn't the first time he had bruised ribs, and compared to back then, this was nothing. Certainly nothing to the cracked ribs he'd received as a teen.

Leaving Judy to get situated, he pushed the wheelchair back to the emergency entrance and left it with the others just inside the door.

When he returned to the truck, he caught Judy going through the rest of the clothes he'd purchased. With a smug grin, he slid into the driver's seat and turned the key. As the engine roared to life, he saw Judy lift her head to look at him, tears shimmering in her beautiful eyes.

"Ni-ick," she whined, "you didn't have to get me all this!"

"Of course, I did. And do you know why?"

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her arm. "Because you're my best friend."

"Well, yes, there is that. But there's another reason, too." At her expectant gaze, he answered, "I did it because I wanted to. I'm a pretty selfish creature, so if there's something I want to do, I usually do it. And the selfish me really wants to do anything it can to see you smile."

She sniffled again. "You like my smile?"

"You have the most radiant smile I've ever seen, and it warms my heart every time I see it."

Sniffle. "Ni-ick!" Judy never expected Nick to ever say anything so sweet, and his smile was the warmest, sincerest one she'd ever seen. Her heart melted into a pool of wax again. With a shaky laugh and a small smile, Judy said, "Well, Cindy did say you'd leave me crying."

"Well, you may be crying, but I haven't left you yet—and I never will." Another tear ran down her cheek and Nick caught it with his clawed finger. "Oh, you bunnies. So emotional." Judy laughed with a little hiccup. "Come here." Pulling her closer (another twinge in his ribs at the awkward movement), he held her for several moments, then softly asked, "You really wouldn't regret me taking everything from you?"

Rubbing her cheek against Nick's chest, Judy answered, "Well, Cindy was thinking of material possessions, and I know you'd never take any of that."

"But you meant something else." Judy nodded into his shirt but said nothing. "And you're not going to tell me what it is?" She shook her head, her ears getting warm again. "But you won't regret me taking it anyway?"

Turning to rest her cheek against his warm, broad chest, she sighed in contentment. "No, I won't regret it because you would have given me so much more in return."

Nick thought about this for a moment, but quickly set the worrisome thoughts aside. They were wasting gas sitting here with the truck running, and he needed to get his bunny somewhere warm where she could rest. Planting a soft kiss between her ears, he murmured, "Come on, let's go home."

As Nick released her, Judy gave another watery laugh and wiped at the last of her tears. "Yeah, let's go home." As Nick started down the road, Judy paid close attention to the street signs as they chatted about anything and everything. She was grateful Nick was such an easy talker, keeping her mind engaged and awake. She didn't want to fall asleep on the way and possibly get lost later. If she was going to be staying with Nick for a while, then she needed to know where he lived.

She recognized the main streets, but once they turned off on a side street, she wasn't sure where they were going. After a while, though, she started to recognize a few landmarks and had a sinking suspicion she knew where they were going. She'd stopped at the address on his tax papers the week before she quit the force and, subsequently, ran back home with her fuzzy-wuzzy tail between her legs—just as Nick had predicted.

With ears pricked forward, she saw the familiar house come into view, the overgrown weeds still covering the yard and growing up and over the flat stones that led to the porch. The wooden railing and wooden supports of the porch, along with the trim, looked to have been painted a few years ago, but now looked warn and peeling in a few places. But although the paint was worn, the wood itself seemed to be in good condition and none of the roof tiles were missing.

Turning to Nick as he pulled into the driveway, she said, "I came here looking for you before I left, but the place was vacant. It still looks vacant."

"Yeah," Nick muttered as he scratched behind his ear. Leaving the truck running so they'd have light to see by, he explained, "I have another place I'm living at, but I do come here about once a month to check on the place."

Judy's eyes widened. "You're renting two places!? Isn't that expensive?"

"Not really." With a smug smirk, he explained, "I'm not renting this place—I own it."

"Wait! You own a house!?" She glanced over the place and turned back to him. "A two-story house!?"

"If you're asking if I bought it, the answer is no. Honey left it to me when she died."

"Who?"

"Maige Badgersen. She hated her name, though. Said it reminded her of her crochety old grandmother she was named after, so she had everyone call her Honey. Anyway, she's a honey badger who took me in when I ran away from home as a teen. She became a second mother to me and treated me like her own son. Her husband and infant son died in a traffic accident before their 2nd anniversary and she never remarried, so I became her son. When she died five years ago, she left me the house."

Judy sat quietly for several minutes as she tried to take everything in. "Wow." Taking a deep breath, she studied as much of the house as she could with the headlights, then murmured softly, still feeling shocked, "So Honey left you the deed to the house?"

Nick glanced over the house and murmured under his breath, "She left me everything." There was sadness in his voice and a lost look in his eyes.

Opening her mouth to ask what he meant, she changed her question, feeling it wasn't her place to ask such a personal question. Instead, she asked, "And yet you don't live here?"

Nick flicked his gaze back to his cute, little honeybun (not that he'd ever call her that). Seeing the concern in her eyes, Nick answered honestly, something he normally wouldn't do. "I tried moving back after she died, but it was just too big and empty, with too many memories." Turning back to the house, he whispered, "It was too lonely living here by myself."

His words were so soft, Judy almost missed them. Realizing his mask was completely down, her mind flashed back to the sky tram. Just like then, Nick was letting her in, and she loved this vulnerable side of him. She hoped to see more of it, that he'd trust her with it. But seeing the pain etched on his face, she knew now wasn't the time to probe. He'd tell her when he was ready. She just had to be patient.

Trying to bring him back from his somber mood, Judy decided to change the subject. "What about your other place? Are you renting it or are you . . .?" She let the sentence hang, not sure what she was asking. In asking the question, it suddenly struck her how odd it was that Nick was bringing her to a place he rarely visited instead of to the place where he actually lived, and where he had everything he needed.

Was he embarrassed about where he lived? Did he have his dirty clothes lying all over the place? Maybe he lived with a questionable roommate?

Nick turned his gaze back to her and watched the play of emotions across her face as she tried to figure out his other place. Chuckling, he decided to give her some crumbs to chew on. "I'm not renting that place, either. And before you ask, no, I don't own it—technically."

"Huh?" She scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion and her nose started twitching. "How do you . . .?"

Nick pulled his house keys from his pocket and jangled them in front of her face. "I don't own the property, but I have the keys and they were legally obtained. And no, I didn't hustle anyone to get them."

Her eyes widened with her nose still twitching. "So, how do you—"

"Uh-uh. That's a very long story for another time." He booped her nose and it stopped twitching. So cute! "Right now, we need to get you inside and comfortably resting. Then I need to run down to the 24-hour pharmacy and fill your prescription." Pausing, he asked, "Are you even in the Woolgreens system, or any pharmacy in Zootopia?"

"Woolsgreen is perfect. There's a Woolsgreen in Bunnyburrow I've gotten meds from, so they should have all my information at the one here."

Nick nodded, feeling grateful, as the alternative would have been a long, drawn out headache trying to get her prescription filled without a driver's license and insurance card. With that worry removed, his thoughts returned to the future. Stepping out of the truck, he spoke over the seat. "While I'm out, I was thinking of picking up some breakfast food. Anything in particular you want?"

"Hm, some cereal and almond milk would be fine—but none of that sugary kind." Unbuckling her seatbelt, she added, "Oh, and some bagels and cream cheese would be nice."

"I'll see what I can find." Shutting the door, he walked around to Judy's side and pulled her down from the seat and into his arms. With a wide grin, he carried her to the front door and set her down just long enough to unlock the door.

Picking her back up, he stepped inside and switched the lights on. Passing through the entryway, he said with a wide smirk, "Welcome to Casa de Wilde, my 'Home Sweet Home'. . . I guess."

Judy giggled as he carried her over to the couch. "You guess?"

"Well, it hasn't felt like home for a very long time." Meeting her concerned gaze, his expression brightened, and his happy smile returned. "But now that you're here, maybe it'll start feeling like home again."

….….

Hi WingedKatt here! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

A note about red foxes: Red foxes in the wild really can pounce from 4-5 meters away onto their unsuspecting rodent prey with a fair amount of accuracy. And mice, voles, lemmings and other small rodents do make up the bulk of their diet, while rabbits are more of an opportunistic catch.

Chapter 5: Ear Rubs and Exclusive Rights will post on Wednesday. In it we'll get to see a little of Nick's house and Nick and Judy will have some things they need to contemplate and thinking deeply on.

If you have any thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear from you.