There was nothing more infuriating than being kept away from Nick while he was in the trauma ward. Three of her older brothers were standing outside of the main entryway: as resolutely as they possibly could, considering the fact that that friend was injured, and their sister was giving them the riot act with a litany of colorful words and phrases. Yelling about letting her in, demanding to know what Pop-Pop was doing, screaming about needing to make sure that Nick was alright. Judy did not even notice when the trio stood up straight while staring past her. When she finally realized and turned around, Stu's paw fell on her shoulder. She was surprised to find that it was not her mother: as Bonnie was standing down the hall watching the conversation.
Her father brought his daughter into a gentle hug and that immediately drained all of the fight from her. Judy was angry and she did not want to simply hit her knees to cry about what had happened. The hug nearly broke that resolve.
"My love. I need you to calm down now. Nick's sleeping again and Thomas needs to the room so that he can focus on patching him up some more. You'll get to see him as soon as Thomas or Veronica says that it's OK to do so, Judy." Stu said, turning her a bit to walk them over to a nearby bench for those who usually waited. "I know you're going to stay, but you need to rest a bit. That was extremely stressful for all of us to witness and we know that it had to have been the hardest on you. So, please, rest… Your mother and I need to go take care of the two Zootopia officers that showed up… And, I imagine that others will be here soon to gather more information, as well. Will my little trier be patient and take a breath? Please?"
The tenderness of the request and the look on her father's muzzle was what finally broke her. It started as a little quiver on her lower lip and quickly devolved into a massive shuddering across her whole being. Stu quickly swept her up, spinning around so that he could drop into the seat while holding his amazingly headstrong daughter in his lap. Judy Hopps broke down like she had when she was a kit; clutching and pulling at her father's shirt while openly crying for the whole world to see.
"Shhh, shhhh, my love." Stu whispered comfortingly. "Nick's going to be alright. Thomas already assured us of that. He just got cut up a little bit. That todd might look a little different when his bandages come off, but he'll still be the same fox that you introduced us to. Nick's a fighter and he's going to be just fine, sweetie."
"He could have died." Judy whispered softly.
"And, you knew that when you asked him to be your partner at the ZPD." Her father's voice was firm, but kind. "You know that anything could happen to either of you there. And, you knew that he was the kind of mammal that would go so far out of his way as to be injured or worse just to protect others. You picked an amazing guy, Judy."
As softly as Stu had swept her up, he equally slipped her onto the bench before removing his jacket and placing it down around her back. Isiah stepped over and down on the bench next to her and wrapped her in a hug of his own.
"When they say it's alright to do so, you and your brothers make sure to let Judy see Nick." Stu told the buck.
"We'll do that, Dad." He replied quietly.
It took a while, after her parents left the East Hill, for Judy's tears to stop falling. The only thing she could do was stare down at her paws and wait. Time slipped on as the sun began to fall outside of the windows around the entrance to the medical wing. Little snippets of the moments after Nick's fall were eerily playing in her mind despite her best attempts to think about happier times.
The sound of her own screams echoed around from when the bucks had taken over the handling of the larger fox. When they carefully moved him onto a stretcher before quickly lifting him up and placing him in the back of the truck. Others had been milling around the dead hawk while keeping their long-arms trained on it; ready to finish anything if the need arose. How it had been so odd not to hear her mother shouting orders and demands on the billowing winds. And, Judy would never forget when she looked back to see why. The matriarch had been in such a state of shock, upon reaching the area where the fight occurred, that it chilled Judy to the core. Bonnie had merely looked from the todd and then to the blood-soaked snows, which were spread across a twenty-square-yard area before repeating until Nick was finally being driven away.
Judy had been forced to stay with her parents as sheriff's officers and the media vans began to converge on the scene. Two dark-green Dodge pickups had led the charge through one of their locked gates without even stopping to attempt to get the chains off. Two pitch-black Chevrolet SUVs were hot on their heels, then the deputies, and then the media vans. The latter of the two groups didn't make it far due to the depths of the snows within the field.
When the doe had turned back to the scene all of the incidents of violence, which the duo had witnessed on cases in Zootopia, flooded into her mind while staring at the crimson patterns on the brilliantly white layer of snow. Judy remembered each individual patterning style from her training. The heavy droplets from where one of the fighters had bled out while standing or laying still. The smears of previously soaked fur or feathers when the tussle had taken them both into powder. The area surrounding the hawk's resting spot was covered by a spray pattern where the internal jugular vein had been releasing the last of its blood flow post-death. It reminded her again of how much blood Nick had been covered in; only, she was not sure if it was his own or the hawk's.
It had taken several more minutes for Judy to gather herself enough to begin moving her mother out of the area. The scent of the gore had looked as if was beginning to take a toll on the matriarch.
The memories ended up causing Judy's paws to unconsciously rub together from the continued nervousness. The doe did not feel too hot or too cold. She was just worried. Judy did not even realize that another form had stepped up near to the group outside of the doors. The pitch dark of the night was what blew on the winds outside the windows when another paw fell on the top of her head gently. Judy looked up to find that Thomas was standing there with a soft smile on his lips.
"Thanks for being patient with us, Sis. Y'all can come see Nick now. He's still asleep, so I need all of you to be quiet while you're inside." The doctor requested kindly.
Isiah had the doe on her hindpaws before she could even process the words that had been spoken and he took her paw to lead the way into the room. When they rounded the corner, the only spoke in the whole room that was lit up, due to the fact that there were also litters of kits in the area, was the spot around Nick Wilde's hospital bed. Veronica was buzzing around the area as they stepped across the room.
Judy's brother released her paw as soon as they were a few feet away. She immediately rushed forward to the side of his bed so that she could make her own assessment of the situation. The todd was resting in a hospital gown and laid underneath a blanket. His hindpaws were exposed due to the fact that the digits on the left was wrapped in gauze. The entirety of his right leg was exposed so that the doctor and nurse could paw careful attention to the bandaging around his thigh. Nick's fur was dry but matted from how wet he had gotten while lying in the snow. Possibly on his torso, as well, though that was covered.
Nick's head was wrapped in gauze: high above his brow, though it was not restrictive of his ears. Those were had little gauze pads wrapped around the edges. It was clear they had been cut or nicked by the hawk during the fight. There was an additional peppering of patches covering the top of his head and one that was right between his eyes.
Anger began to override grief as she worked further down the todd's muzzle. He was still covered in dried blood along his muzzle, on his forepaws, and down the neck. The blood looked tacky and acted like little bows to accentuate tufts of fur. Immediately, the doe wiped over towards Thomas, but she was immediately intercepted by Veronica.
"Judy!" The doe whispered urgently, knowing exactly why her older sister was upset. The younger doe hugged Judy's arms around her torso tightly to keep her from lashing out. "We received his medical records from Zootopia General. It said that he had a long-running history of PTSD from your first cases. We cleaned him up enough to stave off any infections, but we did not want him to wake up later and find that he harmed Thomas or I. We didn't want to trigger that kind of response. Not after all he did for all of us today!"
The anger receded as Judy began weeping quietly; feeling the hug deepen from Veronica.
"Please, bring me what I need to do it." The purple-eyed doe lamented quietly. "I don't want him to wake up and see himself like this. Not like this…"
"Of course, Sis." The doe said and quickly rushed off.
Isiah stepped past her to lower the guard on the edge of the bedframe before turning and picking his sister up under the arms. She yelped a little in surprise as one of her quietest brothers swung her around to set her down on the bed near to the todd's head. As soon as she was set up properly, he stepped away to take a seat with Isaac Senior and Ian. They began quietly talking amongst themselves as if they were certain that she would not do anything rash.
Thomas returned with Veronica a few moments later: the doe was carrying a bowl of water and several folded washcloths. As soon as the bowl was close enough, Judy immediately dunked a rang-out one of the cloths before carefully wiping down the todd's muzzle. Judy did not know how sore he was around his whiskers and lips, so the caution was necessary. Thomas remained nearby as he checked the monitors.
"How bad is it, Tom?" Judy whispered, leaning closer to Nick's nose to remove the flakes from near his nostrils.
"Fortunately, most of the damage from the hawk was superficial. With the exception of the puncture wounds on his thigh, that is. After I had watched some of the recorded footage of the fight, I was amazed that the asshole had not cracked his skull with its beak. I have to tell you, though…" Thomas paused, looking up past his clipboard and over his glasses. "Nick's gonna look a little different. The wounds on his head might result in patches of shorter fur... if it even regrows at all. And, his ears were lacerated enough that it will be obvious that there were cuts. Even after all the stitches are removed and the healing is done. He's also got punctures and gashes along his shoulders and back. I have more hope that the fur there will regrow due to the thickness that he usually has in the winter. I can't be sure when it occurred, but he also has a cracked rib, so he's going to have to take it easy while moving around lest he wants to quickly run out of breath. Any tensing of the muscles will likely bring in a serious amount of pain."
"What happened to his paw?" Judy asked, not taking her eyes off of her work.
"He ripped out a couple of claws while trying to scale the bird at the end." Thomas explained in a clipped manner, still having been fiddling with the instruments that were monitoring the fox's vitals. "He'll never regrow them. The beds of his claws were too severely damaged. So, we're going to make sure to talk to him about prosthetic options."
Judy involuntarily flinched at hearing that news. It sounded irrevocably painful even if Thomas did not sound all that concerned about it. The bowl of water was tingeing redder and redder with each section of Nick's muzzle that she cleaned off.
"And, what about the fall?" She finally wondered aloud.
Thomas chuckled a little at that one. "He's gonna be sore. So, make sure that the kits go easy on him. And, that goes for you, too." He replied without any tone of judgement.
Thomas eventually walked away from the area to check on the litters with Veronica. Judy paid him no mind, considering that the medical report seemed taken care of, and shortly finished with the cleaning of the todd's muzzle. There was still a little staining of red within his fur, but she did not want to risk prodding a sore spot just to wash it out completely. Knowing that her brothers were quietly keeping an eye on her, Judy leaned in to place a soft kiss on Nick's moist nose. There was a pull at her core to chin him right then and there, but she refrained.
Instead, she carefully took up his left paw and began to wash the blood away that had caked to his digits. She was beginning to tire from the emotional toll that the day had taken on her. His opposite paw took a little longer to clean because of that. Once everything had been set aside on a table, Judy pulled up the covers enough to allow for her frame to slip under and next to the sleeping fox. His fur was scented in a soft wetness, but it looked cleaner than it had when the doe was first allowed inside. She could see that the fur on his cheek was standing up. It looked a bit fuzzier, now that the matting had been cleaned up, and that made her smile a bit.
Judy glanced back towards the trio of brothers sitting nearby and pointed at the lights. The clock indicated that it was nearly midnight, and she was ready to sleep. The lights were dimmed adequately as the doe got comfortable against his shoulder. The familiarness of the proximity to Nick, and the musky scent that surrounded her, was fuel on the fire of her immediate exhaustion.
It was not until much later when the doe woke to the sound of rustling nearby. There was the feeling of Nick's body being jostled around against her body and that had the immediate effect of her eyes fluttering open to look around. The heart-rate monitor was still steadily beeping away next to them, though it was set to a much lower volume than it had originally been. The bed had also been pushed into an upright position. Judy looked down the bed to find that Veronica was carefully changing the bandage on Nick's thigh and, beyond that, Thomas was propped up in a nearby seat and completely asleep himself. The entirety of I-litter was also sprawled out nearby. It was a complete surprise to feel a large paw rest on her head, between her ears, and it brought her eyes over to Nick.
"I was wondering who had left me such a cute plushie when I woke up." The todd said quietly with a gentle smile.
"Hey, Slick!" Judy said, swelling with happiness that he was finally awake.
"I'm pretty sure one of your ears smacked me upside the muzzle and woke me up." He teased. "And, then, Veronica immediately wanted to torture me."
The younger doe looked over and stuck her tongue out at the duo. "You hush. I'm not the one that made you decide to take skydiving lessons without a parachute." The nurse sassed back.
"Can we shut that infernal machine off now?" Nick requested, not able to hold back a slight grin.
"Talk to your adorable plush bunny. I'll take care of everything when I'm done 'practicing' medicine on you." Veronica responded seriously.
The sound of the todd's quiet chuckling was a blessing to hear fall on Judy's ears. Him being in good spirits made her feel so much better about everything that had happened over the previous forty-eight hours. Even while seeing how badly his eyes had hemorrhaged when he looked back down towards her. The scleral surroundings of his pupils were more red than white, but his eyes were filled with warmth and happiness.
"I'm so glad that you're alright." Judy whispered up to him.
"Lookin' a little worse for the wear, huh?" He inquired politely. "Just tell me that I still look handsome enough to go for next year's departmental exotic calendar."
"You look like a carrot that dressed up as a quarter of a mummy for Halloween." Judy teased him. She would thank Serendipity later that the todd's jovial nature was so infectiousness that it could override her own internal pains and fears.
The comment made Nick snort so hard that it opened his muzzle and released a loud laugh. He reached up to run his paw-pads over the bandages across the top of his skull and over his ears. The clarity of his emotions was obvious enough; that he was happy to be able to move his ears around a bit. There was a fleeting moment of fear before there was a soft smile on his lips. Judy still remembered how the staff at Zootopia General had wrapped his entire skull after the pit incident and his savage state. The todd had been furious about that – after coming back to the world – and had not explained, until much later, that he had feared that something had happened to his ears at the time.
Judy squeaked so loudly due to the surprise of feeling Nick's nose press right up underneath her ear: snapping her out of the memories of years past.
"Can you get me a mirror, Fluff?" He whispered so softly to her.
The doe pulled away enough to turn so that she could look up at Nick. He had backed away a bit, lowering his muzzle, though his eyes were closed from the request.
"I have my phone." Judy said, pulling it out so that she could engage the camera feature and show him the reversal on the screen.
"Thank you, sweetheart." Nick said. His eyes reopened to focus on the vastly smaller screen than what he was used to with his own phone.
Judy remained quiet and watched the todd while he began to unwind the gauze from around his forehead. His ear flicked when he heard the echocardiogram cease its annoying beeping. Neither of them missed the stern look of disapproval that Victoria shot Nick: watching as he removed the cloth and as she began removing all of the leads that were attached to his chest and arm. However, the younger doe remained silent on the issue. Nick continued to focus on pulling it all away. Once the long strip was removed, the todd tilted his head around while staring at the screen to take in all of the little pads that were taped to his skull and ears.
"Not all that worse for the wear." He mumbled.
"Mister Wilde, you're going to be extremely sore for the next week or two. Maybe longer. We can write you a prescription for the pain." Veronica addressed the issue.
"No. I'll be fine or I will find some ibuprofen. Thank you." Nick replied.
"You will be resting." Judy said loudly.
Veronica continued on with packing the intravenous bag and tube away after cleaning them up a little bit. Judy could feel how restless Nick was becoming, so she hopped off of the hospital bed to collect up a new set of clothes that Robby had managed to bring in the evening prior. They were a little large for her smaller paws, but she carried them back over to the bed while Nick was distracted with fiddling around on his phone. There had to have been dozens of pieces of correspondence on it. And, there was probably more on her own: which she had not made time to check. The sound of a message being sent from Nick's phone rang audibly throughout the room.
"Thanks for these, Fluff." Nick said, setting his phone down to slide his pants under the covers so that he could pull them on.
As soon as it looked like he was ready, Nick spun his legs out so that he could hop off the bed himself. The landing looked like it had been slightly painful, but Judy made no effort to stop the todd fox. Nick carefully pulled his fresh shirt on before one of his ZPD training hoodies was wrapped around his shoulders and zipped up.
"I have something to take care of before breakfast. Do you think you can get Wolford and Fangmeyer recalled, please?" Nick requested.
"I can talk to them and call the Chief this morning. But, you'll have to call him later, Nick." Judy accepted softly. "But, where do you need to go?"
"It's just a chat that needs to be had. It's time sensitive." The todd replied with an even tone.
"Mister Wilde… I strongly advise that you stay here and rest." Veronica said seriously.
The three mammal's conversation was beginning to rouse the sleeping adults nearby, so Judy hushed them both with a fuzzy digit against her lips to remind them of the fact.
"I'll be fine, Veronica, and I'll make sure to come in at least once a day to be looked over. I know your parents would want that." The fox replied in a whisper.
Judy's younger sister huffed in annoyance, turning on her heel to walk away from the two taller mammals with a rapt determination. Nick's phone chimed again, so he checked that while gingerly testing his weight against the obviously painful strain of his right leg. Judy's eyes roamed the todd's frame quietly, while he was not paying her any attention, and she noted that nobody would have thought much of his appearance if not for the fact that his eyes were so bloodshot and that he had little bandages all over his head and paws. When he turned a bit, she could even see larger coverings on his shoulders. Judy was interrupted by the annoying metallic sounds of Veronica dragging a pair of crutches over to the todd.
"If you're leaving now, you're going to use these." She said, staring up pointedly at Nick now.
"I will." Nick replied, taking them from the doe.
They were all surprised to hear the door pop open, across the room, but they immediately relaxed when Robby hustled through it. Nick immediately fell onto the supports of the crutches so that he could cross over to meet his friend. The four bucks that had been sleeping nearby had been woken up by the loudness of the door cracking off of spring-doorstopper that had been mounted to the baseboard. Robby stopped far enough into the room to wait for the wounded todd to make it over to him. It was clear that they were leaving immediately.
"Did anybody get the license plate of the truck that hit me?" Nick started cracking off jokes while Robby merely shook his head, grinning all the while.
The tone and volume of their voices diminished a little when the two males turned away to head out.
"No. And, as a matter of fact... There's a warrant out for your arrest, Officer." Robby lauded.
"Wouldn't be the first time." Nick replied simply. "What's the problem this time, though?"
"Operating an unlicensed aerial platform over the Tri-County area." Robby explained.
The todd and the buck immediately broke out into a fit of loud laughter before exiting back through the door that Robby had come in from. The closing of the hydraulic door punctuated any more of the conversation from the two troublemakers. Thomas had gotten out of his sleeping spot, trying to press the wrinkles in his overcoat away with his paws while he approached the two does.
"Where is he going?" The doctor asked groggily.
"Mister Wilde discharged himself." Veronica vocalized rather sharply. It was clear that she was not happy with the decision.
"He'll be back later." Thomas said definitively before beginning to clean up the rest of the area on his own.
The bucks from I-litter were already dispersing out of one of the other exits while Thomas and Veronica busied themselves before other does would arrive to help out with the newborns that were being kept in the medical wing. With nothing more to do, Judy slowly began to meander out of the room. Smiling at the little cribs full of kits as she passed by. They reminded her of what she had been contemplating for her own life over the last month. Instead of focusing on those warm thoughts, Judy withdrew her cellphone from her pocket again before dialing out to a number that she had memorized. The device only rang a single time.
"Hopps." The gruff tone of Idris Bogo came through immediately.
"I apologize for not calling sooner, Chief." Judy said. "We've been busy…"
"I understand, Officer. That's why I sent Wolford's patrol out. Where is Wilde?" Bogo sounded exhausted.
"He left the infirmary, Sir. There will be things that need to be taken care of before we return. I will make sure that he calls you as soon as he's free." The doe responded.
"Don't bother with that. You two are to see me in my office, after the bullpen, when you get back. I'm going to recall Wolford and Fangmeyer. Just make sure you remember to report in every couple of days." The Chief punctuated his points thoroughly.
"You may not be able to reach them if they haven't already checked in. So, I'll be sure to let Wolford know, Sir. It's still early here. I'll tell them that you want them to return, but after breakfast." Judy explained.
"Are they rested enough to travel?"
"I wouldn't see why they would not have been able to sleep. If not, then I'll make sure that they call it in, Chief." She answered.
The silence of the line resonated for a moment.
"How are you, Hopps?" The Chief asked.
"It's been a long day… I need to eat something. But, I'm alright, Chief." The doe whispered.
"And, Wilde walked out of the infirmary? Cracking jokes, I would imagine." The bull muttered more of a statement than a question.
"I would have said 'hobbled' if it had not been for the fact that he had used a set of crutches, Chief." Judy said, wishing that she could have laughed at the joke though she could only smile a bit.
"It was a terrible thing to team you up with Officer Wilde." Bogo said in surprise, but he could not help but laugh softly.
"It's who we are, Chief. There's nothing to worry about… I'll be sure to check-in." Judy said finally, ending the call with the push of a button.
...
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Robby inquired, taking hold of Nick's crutches while passing him a crudely-produced wooden cane.
The two males were staring down the hall of an extremely unknown area to Nicholas Wilde. The hallways were lit, though extremely bleak. There were no crayon marks on the wall, nor were there pictures of any of the family members. The buck had told him that all of the other rooms, for this particular wing of the warren, were empty. They were all storage rooms for a generation that had either passed or moved on, and from the generation prior to Bonnie's.
"As long as you're sure that he's awake right now, I'm sure that this needs to be done." Nick explained. "He demanded this much of me."
"What happens if he doesn't like what you have to say?" The buck inquired with concern.
"You will not, in any form or fashion, intervene." The todd replied simply.
"Aight…" Robby drawled with a raised brow. "I'll wait here."
"Thank you, Robby."
It would have been funny to all of his old friends, from back in the day, if they had seen just how fucked up his gait was now. Far worse than back when he had been drinking-in-excess during his grifting days. And, on top of the fact that he had never used a cane in his whole life. The todd did not want to purposely strain his leg. He did not want to make the damage so permanent that he could not roll patrol with the gorgeous gal that he had always sat shotgun for.
Robby stood by while the todd made his longest capable strides across the hallway. As soon as Nick turned to face the simply tan door, he raised a paw and faltered a bit. He had suspicions about the ancient buck now. There was a little piece of him that was screaming about ending up dead from the encounter. The voice was shoved aside as quickly as he hammered on the door with his left paw: before dropping it to the knob and turning it. He certainly was not going to wait for any invitation. Not when his presence had been demanded in such a fashion.
Nick slipped through what little of the opening, that he would allow for himself, and closed the door with a pronounced clack. The room was dimly lit from the lamp on the desk at the back of the area. It was set right in front of a large windowpane and that still featured the barest of sunlight from the still rising sun. Nick could see what was plain that Pop-Pop Hopps could clearly not, in return. So, he used the cane to propel himself across the darkness and into the light properly. The Old Timer was staring at the spot where he knew the door was and precisely where Nick ended up materializing from.
"Boy… I didn't expect to see you so soon." The buck growled.
"I checked myself out." Nick replied curtly.
"My daughter and son-in-law will be extremely upset with that." He said matter-of-factly.
"I'll take care of that when it's time." The todd said.
Nick stood far taller than the desktop's height even with his cane and aching back. Not that the Old Timer seemed all that concerned with the fact.
"My name is Nick Wilde… But, I only know you as Pop-Pop. So, let's start there." The todd introduced himself kindly while making the request.
The older rabbit sat up against the desk with his paws clasped while staring Nick. "Alex Pederson. You will refer to me as Mister Pederson, though." He replied sharply.
"Absolutely, Sir." Nick said with a nod. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Mister Pederson?"
Any mammal, with a modicum of brain cells, could tell when they were being visually assessed. No matter the reason behind it. Nick could see that he was being looked over due to how brightly lit Pop-Pop's whole desk was. When he had entered the room, he had not merely paid attention to the fact that the desk was occupied and lit. Nick had noticed that every inch of the walls within were covered with frames that either held pictures or drawings. Literally. They were butted up against one another in such a fashion that there was no wall to even look at. But, on the left side of the desk, facing outward and behind the older buck's computer screen, were three pictures. One of them was set in black-and-white. Simple and grainy. It was clear that it was the Old Timer and his wife. As far as Nick knew, Judy's grandmother was long passed on. The other two were in color and far more recent, relatively speaking. It was of him, Stewart, Bonnie, and more likely than not some of their earliest litters.
"I'm still very curious about the reasonin' behind your actions yesterday." The Old Timer finally said.
If there was ever a shore that could have been referred to as "stony", it would have been the face that Nick had adorned due to the question. For the fact that he had already answered it, to the best of the todd's recollection. So, he made no comment. The buck would either pursue the already provided answer further or he would be a mammal that had some sort of memory issue.
"I fought a war against your kind, boy. You know that, right?" Alex confirmed Nick's suspicions.
"You fought foxes… and I don't give a shit, Mister Pederson," The todd said firmly. "History needs to be learned from, yes… But, today is not even close to being one of the days that you were out there fighting in."
"So, you don't condemn me?" The buck asked simply.
"That was before my time. No matter how much history that I have studied, or could ever read about, it would not change the fact that I wasn't there. The texts, that I have read, outlined a war of total annihilation. Attempted genocide in the area of the conflict. Prey texts don't read the same way, of course. But, again. That was all before my time. Before my grandparents' time… Before they even immigrated to Zootopia…" Nick explained.
"You're a product of the devil, boy." Alex said, raising his brow a bit.
"No." The todd said icily. His paws were beginning to shake from the anger that was welling up within his soul. Nick was beginning to feel as if the encounter was going to go bad. Karma had demanded clear and complete honesty from him within the Hopps warren. "A being, of a far grander enigma, produced the concept of the red fox… Or, any fox, for that matter… It is for you to decide if that was because of the Old Norse Gods or Karma."
"Do you know why we went to war back then?" Alex countered.
"I don't give a shit if you pull the excuse that a 'chicken was stolen', Mister Pederson. I don't even give a shit that, as it was written in my textbooks, it was a prey campaign-of-elimination against all of vulpine-kind." Nick replied plainly. "Those issues weren't yesterday's issues. And, they aren't today's issues."
"We're not beyond those days, you pelt!" The buck smashed a paw on his desk while bellowing.
The cane was brought up and out of Nick's supporting paw with such a ferocious speed that he nearly missed it. The palm-swell was released, and the cane was caught by the lower end with a deftness that he did not recognize. As the cane was rising into the air, his paw was fast approaching until it's closure. He continued to bring it up until he couldn't anymore.
Nick brought the cane down so violently on the edge of the table that it snapped in half. The handle portion was propelled by the energy of the severance. It flew past the buck and into the large window behind the desk. Fortunately, the panes did not shatter. They merely cracked in several locations while the wooden handle clattered to the floor. Nick was shaking from the anger that he felt within his frame. It was the first time that he had reacted so violently to the slur in his whole life. He did not even realize that the other end of the cane had fallen away from his grip.
"You've had your opportunity to speak your mind!" Nick snarled, baring all of his teeth out of fury and pain as he shuddered to keep himself upright without a support. "So, Mister Pederson… You tell me why a fox went out to save some bunny kits that he did not even personally know!" The todd nearly fell forward in the effort to slam his balled paw on the desk. "You explain that to me!" He shouted.
The chair spun enough for the buck to step away from it before he took purposeful strides around the desk that he had been sitting out. The todd's hindpaws were brought up underneath his frame so that he could lean heavily on the edge of the desk; all while turning to face Alex Pederson's approach. His whole body relaxed as his emerald eyes searched for any signs of hostility. There were no bulges in the rabbit's pockets: nor was there the smell of ozone from the battery pack of an electrical defense item. The older buck certainly did not look as if he could take Nick on in paw-to-paw combat. Even with all of his wounds. Confusion niggled at the back of Nick's mind subsequently.
There was that feeling of being visually assessed again. The rabbit was not even trying to hide the fact that all of his senses were being used to take the todd's entire being into consideration. Nick did not feel like he was in danger, but there was still the little voice in the back of his mind that was screaming bloody-murder about being furious if he was killed by a crotchety and ancient mammal such as Alex Pederson… After having survived something that had been far more than a mere formidable foe.
Nick's tail was lashing around behind his back from the scrutiny while the pain was starting to make his wounded leg tremble. Not a single shred of his being could stop the peeled lips on his muzzle as it was torn between showing the buck his disdain, through the presentation of his fangs, and the soft panting that his overheated body was producing.
"I'll answer your question, boy. But, only after you speak with another." Alex's voice was low enough to be considered a growl. Something told Nick that it shouldn't be taken that way, though. Not like one that he would elicit. "Can you stand a bit of a walk?"
Nick cast his eyes down as his ears took an even deeper retreat over the top of his hind-skull. His time out on holiday felt like it was slipping through his digits faster than it had been intended to. And, what was more, the todd needed the answer to his question. He was tired of the cloak-and-dagger mentality of the older buck. The depth of the hostility shown and spoken was wreaking havoc on his mental state. There was enough on that plate already.
The emotional turmoil was exacerbated as Alex cleared the distance, between the two mammals, in only a couple of strides. The buck turned the todd with a firm paw and sidled up under his weakening side. The buck shoved his shoulder right up underneath Nick's arm and clasped his around behind his back to offer a bit of support despite the fact that he was a little short. Nick wrapped an arm up and around Alex's back to grasp at the opposite shoulder and steady himself. There was no helping the release of a gasp from between his lips and clenched fangs.
"C'mon, boy. We got places to be." The buck drawled while hefting the additional weight of the fox on his shoulder.
"Stop calling me that!" Nick growled through the pain. "I might be a fox, but I have a name."
The older mammal merely laughed at the todd's plight while hauling him out of the room.
...
Wolford and Fangmeyer were not content with the fact that they were being recalled to the city. It was as if they had felt that they had not done enough during their sudden tasking, though they did not verbalize their thoughts to their younger colleague. As soon as their breakfast had been finished, the two uniform-clad officers left the warren without any more than a simple goodbye and short well-wishes to the upcoming holiday.
Judy had watched while the ZPD patrol unit was driven out of the driveway and past several news vans, that were parked along the side of the county road, out front. Some of the reporters attempted to stop the two large predators and gain some sort of insight to their prospective story. They were merely greeted by the wail of the siren from the vehicle. No brake lights had been seen and it was clear to Judy that they would be speaking to nobody.
It was an absent-minded thing to suddenly find herself sitting in the common area, near to one of the hearths, while being surrounded by several of her sisters. Judy could not recall how long she had been sitting there, completely disassociated from the nearby conversations, until her eyes found Vera's as the doe sat next to her quietly. There was only one conversation to be had for all of them. It was not surprising, to say the least. The smallness of the area was quieted as Judy's mind tuned back in to the fact that Vera's lips were moving: directing conversation towards her older sister patiently.
"Are you alright, sis?" The doe inquired softly.
"Just tired." Judy whispered. "Where's mom and dad?"
"They didn't come out of their room this morning. And, earlier, they wouldn't let us come to the infirmary." Vera explained. "I think it took a lot out of mom… How's Nick doing?"
"He's wandering the warren. He said he had to take care of something."
Julianna, Kathleen and Joy were sitting, silently, on each side of Vera. The looks of concern and worry were beginning to deepen as they listened to the lack of emotional tone from their favorite sister's voice.
"I could have lost him." Judy's voice was so soft, but filled with fear this time, that it was nearly missed by many of the does nearby. "He needs to know."
Emotions were resoundingly strong to rabbits. Even while the fact remained that none of the other does had the same depth of investment in the todd, there was not a single one of them that had not shivered at the consideration of losing one of their own loved ones in such a fashion. Especially if it had occurred before any sort of convenience of love could have occured. For most of them, that was not the main issue in the mind. What if a loss had occurred while the love had been known? It caused a strong scent of fear to permeate the area around the fire. For themselves and their own situations, yes, but far more due to the fact that their headstrong sister was being tormented by the thoughts of what had not happened. By what could have happened… They all understood now.
It would have been too late, then.
Vera slid over towards her sister and pulled Judy's head down against her shirt-covered dewlap while brushing her paw over the top of the older doe's ears comfortingly. The other was hugging Judy's body so close to her own that it was shortening her breath inadvertently. It was a loving embrace.
"You know what you need to do." Vera whispered, planting a gentle kiss on the top of Judy's head.
As if someone had snapped their fingers in her ears, Judy felt an electrifying jolt of a switch in emotions run through her body. A moment after the feeling had taken hold of her, Judy grasped her sister tightly around the waist: giving her one of the most heartfelt hugs that she had ever given to one of her siblings.
"I love you all," She said with an emotional smile. "I have to go for a bit."
The support of all of her siblings, thus far, was the fuel that caused Judy to pull away from Vera's grasp and hop up to her hindpaws. With a dutiful purpose, the doe left the common area while remembering all she needed to so that she could find her way. It had been a long time since she had been down some of the oldest of the main halls. In the end, Judy ended up using the scents on the air to find her way through the area. As soon as she reached the end of the hall, with a blatantly obvious door set against the end of it, Judy hammered on the door three times.
"Mom! Dad! It's Judy!" She said, feeling the other emotions starting to mingle with the newfound confidence.
The urgency of her tone had been clear enough. Her father opened the door within seconds of hearing the franticness behind his daughter's voice and Judy propelled herself through the opening before he could even ask what the issue was. Her mother was sitting on the edge of the bed and she was rubbing her paws over her knees nervously. It was clear that she had been crying for quite awhile during the morning hours. Judy rushed over to sit down next to her mother before giving her a quick and tight hug. Stu slowly came over to her opposite side and was given one, as well.
"What's up, my love?" Her father asked.
"There's something that I need to tell you both." Judy said, hearing her voice cracking as the two states of emotional turmoil began to roil inside her body.
"Is Nick alright?" Bonnie asked worriedly.
"Yes! He's up and about." Judy said quickly. "He shouldn't be. But, you know that todd… He's headstrong."
"Then, what's the matter, Judy? Momma will put him in his place." Stu stated firmly.
"No!" The young doe's urgency was clear as she leaned over against her mother's shoulder. Her shoulders were immediately encompassed by the matriarch's arm. "There's something I need to tell you both…"
"What is it, dear?" Bonnie asked.
The worry was swelling within Judy's heart. "I—I love him!" She stumbled, hearing as her own pitch was getting higher at the prospect of the admission. "I want Nick to be my mate…"
Worry turned to fear as soon as the words had slipped past her own lips. In Judy's mind, there was no way to know what her parents would think of such an admission. The two mammals, who had given her life on the planet, were the two most important voices in her whole life. And, this was the most important topic that she had ever wanted to discuss with them. To hear anger, or to be shunned for her feelings, now would be devastating. Hope, due to all of her siblings support thus far, was what drove her to tell her parents now. That, and the fear of nearly having lost the love of her life the day before.
Bonnie slowly let her weight drag the two does towards the bed, laying them down while her father grasped his wife and nuzzled against the top of Judy's head. The loud squeak, which she released, bounced off of the furniture and walls nearby. Stu brought both of his loved ones against him, purposely squishing Judy between the two of them, while each of her parents laid kisses on her head.
"When will you tell him, Judy?" The matriarch asked quietly.
The question broke the original resolve that Judy had held when she entered the room. Her body could feel the support from both of her parents' bodies now. The lack of even the most miniscule of resistances echoed resoundingly within her own mind and it caused the immediate release of worried and joyful tears against her mother's shirt.
"Soon!" Judy cried out.
"You understand what you need to do, right?" Her father asked quietly, having taken to brushing her lowered ears with a soft and caring paw.
"Yes, Dad!" Judy hiccupped, clenching her eyes shut tightly while she tried to reign in her emotions.
"You have our full approval, sweetie." Bonnie whispered, kissing her daughter right on the temple to emphasize the statement.
"Really?" Judy turned her head up to look at her mother through tear-filled eyes.
Bonnie smiled with a nod while Stu chuckled from behind her.
"We really don't get enough credit for how perceptive we are, Bon." Stu said wryly to his wife. "It's as if we weren't able to suss out the mindset behind all of the looks that Jude the Dude would send Nick's way…"
Bonnie laughed quietly while boxing her husband's shoulder. The flushed embarrassment on Judy's ears was ignored as she gave elicited a wet laugh and attempted to dry her eyes.
"You both knew the whole time…" She mumbled.
"Yes, dear. We knew the whole time." Bonnie said, her tone was lit with warmth and kindness.
"Hard not to notice, really." Stu stated with another chuckle.
"Stewart," His wife chastised. "Be nice."
"I'm rooting for her as much as you are, darling. This, I swear." The buck admitted freely.
Judy's entire being was aflame due to having already been discovered by her parents and how they had seemed to be able to keep their knowledge a secret from her the entire time.
"Our little trier…" Stu commented, wrapping both of his loved ones into a hug. Further sandwiching Judy between the two parents. "She's about to embark on another adventure. Arguably, her biggest one."
"It's the scariest one yet." Their daughter admitted.
"Love is always the most daunting of endeavors, Judy. There's not a single other adventure that's harder or more strenuous on the soul and heart." Her mother whispered; her lips were pressed against the doe's head. "It's leaping out of a plane. But, we both know that your parachute is going to work."
"What do you mean, Mom?" Judy asked in confusion.
"The way you two dance around each other. Both of you look like kits running around with water-guns. It's always your two sets of eyes." Stu laughed at the mental image.
"And, there isn't a single morning that you two don't smell like each other already." Bonnie added.
"Gods, you two are so embarrassing." Judy laughed while giving them both a big hug.