Nick lay still against the padded surface of the surgical table. He pondered about his surroundings; eyes bouncing from one piece shinny of equipment to another, before finding himself staring blankly at the overhead lamp that hung above him again. He observed as the geared up staff around him prepped the room, shifting carts and instruments while some approached him. Though he had lost count of the hours he had spent in the operating room, as well as the numerus procedures he had endured there, this was the first time the fox had spent a waking moment in the room.

The fox held himself as he felt the tremors and shivers that crept throughout his body, a result of the cold, dry atmosphere of the room. It also didn't help that he only had a layer of cloth that separated his fur from the air. Nick was also mildly jittery from the anticipation and the hint of fear that came along with it. He found himself reciting numbers as he controlled the tempo of his breaths; a small trick from Violet he religiously performed to cope with situations like these.

A brief moment later the staff approached him once they were done with their duties. He was familiar with the basic procedures by now; the nurses gently moved his limbs about as they fixated pairs of electrodes across his chest and exchanged his IV bags with new fluids. Despite that, Nick winced at every shift of his muscles that sent raw, unfiltered aches throughout his system. The fox's body was flushed from painkillers a few hours prior, an experience that he hoped he would never ever have to go through again. After a while, the machines started beeping in sync with the rhythm of his heart and the monitors started broadcasting information such as his blood pressure and cardiograms.

The door in the end of the room flung open, revealing a masked up Dr Capra and his kidney donor, Gideon Grey. The larger fox was dressed identically like him in a light blue hospital gown with a paper bracelet on his wrist. After further instruction from the doctor, the fox was laid on a separate operating table a few metres to his left.

Nick was oddly discouraged, his mouth forming a tiny, crooked frown; contrasting Gideon, who held a genuinely relieving smile on his face. Though he was overly grateful of him for everything he had insisted, Nick couldn't help but feel awful about the situation. To a fox it was strange to receive something so life changing yet unconditional from another mammal; a stranger, no less a mutual acquaintance he had only met a few days ago.

"You okay?" Gideon whispered, a smile creaking out of his muzzle.

"I… I can't thank you enough," he slowly broke into tears.

"You don't have to," he replied whilst keeping his warm expression as he comforted him. "From what I think, it's already a miracle that I'm a perfect match."

Nick despised being so emotional and exposed, nor did he ever believed in destinies or miracles. But for whatever reason, he knew deep down that Gideon was right; in the right to oppose every single one of his debates, eventually leading to where the two foxes are right now.

"If it makes you feel better," Gideon shifted to a more muted tone, "I'm doing this for Judy too,"

Before he could further the conversation, a clear plastic mask was placed over Nick's muzzle, prompting the fox to focus his senses on his breathing. He saw the same for Gideon, the two foxes locking gazes one last time.

"See you… when we wake up," Nick uttered, sharing a chuckle with him as they giggled.

He fixed his head straight, giving his full attention to the doctor that loomed over him.

Here we go…

"Count back from ten," the goat instructed, prompting him to begin himself.

"Ten…"

He could feel the effects of the anaesthetics he inhaled. The air around him felt heavy and sunken, which made his entire body feel dozy.

"Nine…"

He was losing focus, the fox's eyelids feeling weighted as he stopped trying to concentrate on his voice.

"E…."

Judy and her sister waited outside the wing, the two bunnies sharing the waiting longue couch. Violet tapped away at her phone, scrolling aimlessly at the wall of text in her emails messages. She sighed as she checked the time displayed on the top of her screen; the numbers stated that she only lasted about 10 minutes since the surgery began. Curious, she glanced over to her idling sister, who did not seem bothered at all. She wore a calm but focused expression, distracting herself from the boredom with her own thoughts.

"He's not going anywhere you know," she teased her sister.

Judy perked over, cheeks blushing as she was met with a smile. She started giggling awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"So you guys are like… together now?" Violet continued, seeing how she caught her sister already, "Tell me if I'm wrong but weren't you all like he's my co-worker the last time I've checked?"

Judy felt a rush of heat rise up to her face as she tried her best to avoid the smugness written on her face. Her ears flopped down over her eyes, the bunny making an effort to hold them in place.

"Fine… you win…" the embarrassed bunny let out a muffled sulk.

"This begs the question," Violet inquired, shifting herself closer, "How long have you… you know…"

If she was on fire before, Judy was blazing now. She sworn that she could feel her blood boiling, a sensation that churned through her stomach to the tip of her heated ears.

He was all she could think about at that moment; his snarky laugh, witty lines and nicknames he pulled out from seemingly nowhere. She wasn't sure when she started to have feelings for him, but she was inclined to have him stick around after he revealed the touchier and genuine side of himself after he had stood up for her in their first partnership together.

"I'm not gonna answer that," she bit her lip, her mind flustering with thoughts that only made her foot thump faster.

Her sister kept her amused look, sensing the red in her voice.

"Vi," Judy whimpered after they both settled down, "Is this wrong?" she uttered in a serious tone, her face turning over to her sister as she anticipated her answer.

"Wrong… how?" she returned, a perplexed look on her face.

"I really… do like him but… he's my partner," her eyes sagged, painting her mouth over with a frown, "He's my friend and we work together and…"

"He's a fox." Violet spat out blatantly.

Judy looked at her sister as if she hadn't just reached into her head and pulled out that one thought she kept locked behind her lips.

"…and that too…"

She shifted the edges of her mouth, cringing slightly at the question she threw against her speechless therapist.

"He loves you, and you love him." she began in a bright manner, "I'm no love doctor, okay maybe I am… That feeling is real. It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong but it's there."

Judy focused on the calming eyes that sat behind a pair of purple rimmed glasses, the very same eyes that comforted her since she was born.

"And don't let anyone take that from you," she ended.

Violet placed her paw on top of hers, giving her a small sign of assurance.

"What's everyone gonna think?" she gritted her teeth as the realisation hit her, "What are mom and dad gonna say?"

She shifted her smile, "Accept or not, I'm very certain that wouldn't change what they think about Nick. He was the mammal that saved their daughter's life after all," she explained, "All it matters is that both of you are happy."

Happy.

Judy thought. She was undoubtedly joyous when around him. Apart from his charming personality, it was assuring to know that he cared for her deeply, even if it meant diving head on into a volley of bullets. A week ago she was guilt ridden, her emotions unaccepting of the pain she brought upon him. She would have blamed her feeling for him towards either pity or plain guilt, but it was now clear to her that Nick had shown her the extent of his nobility. He did it because he loved her.

"As for work and the whole partner thing, I'd suggest going up to mammal resources and make things official," she blurted in an upbeat tone, "Trust me, it gets pretty awkward if you hold off the paperwork."

Violet and Judy shared a chuckle.

"What about you?" she lifted her head over to her sister. "I don't see you bringing a buck back home even before you left for Zootopia."

"Relationships aren't my thing," her sister replied in a spliced laugh, shaking her head as a gentle decline.

"Surely those psychic powers of yours picked up a few mammals who eyed on you," Judy proceeded to laugh along. "How about that secretary of yours, he's cute,"

"First of all, John's my friend. I've known him even before I went freelance. Secondly, he's not single. You should see his girlfriend, now she's cute. And again, I'm not looking for relationships." Violet explained without missing a beat, her face as calm and preserved as always.

Before their conversation dwindled, Finnick entered the lounge with his usual grumpy look. Upon catching sight of the shorter mammal, the two bunnies gave him a wave, prompting him to let out a slight sigh as he walked towards them.

"I was dropping stuff over for Nick," Finnick greeted in an annoyed tone, "They told me he's in surgery again. What happened?"

Judy gave him an exited look.

"He got a donor," she spoke, smiling at the fennec.

His face lit up immediately, the grey concerned look washed off his face. He was in disbelief yet stoked to hear the news.

"Wow," he uttered monotonously.

The bunny felt her own face brighten up too, the fox's response reminding her how great things turned out.

"So how long's he gonna be in there for," he replied, getting ready to seat himself on the couch beside them.

"40 minutes, more or less," Violet reported.

Finnick let out a defeated sigh before reaching over to grab the morning paper from the stack of magazines on the glass table. Settling down, the fox looked up to see the two bunnies staring back at him in intrigue.

"What?" he prodded grumpily.

"Nothing," Violet responded in a happy chuckle, the bunny glad to see how much his friend actually cared, "I thought you had better things to do,"

"Keep your thoughts to yourself doc," he commented bitterly, covering his view with the headlines from the day's edition.

Nick was moved back to his bed in the ICU after the successful surgery. He was glad to be awake and aware again, though it meant that he had to endure a wave of aches and pains before the painkillers kicked in. As the nurses focused on getting him plugged back into the machines, the fox had his attention fixed on the happy faces that stared back at him from behind the glass. He forced himself to return a smile, something that he found really hard to achieve when recovering from drowsiness.

After the nurses left, the trio of visitors allowed themselves into the room.

"How're you feeling?" Judy greeted, the bunny already stood close to his side.

"Pretty good actually," Nick responded as he felt her paw rubbing against his shoulder.

He turned to the other two mammals; Violet giving him a welcoming expression while Finnick wore a blank but subtle smile, something he had only seen him do twice in his life. Although he was joyed that he woke up to the smiles and chatters of his friends, he was slightly disappointed that he didn't get to see Gideon after he was wheeled out of the room.

"Where's Gideon?" he wondered as he realised.

"He's moved to a ward," Violet explained, walking a step closer to him, "It's procedure. He's gonna be staying here for the next day or two."

"Thought I could thank him before we got out," he chuckled, masking the disappointed thoughts he had.

Nick moved his paw against the new bandages across his hip, instinctively hovering a touch over the area where he felt the slight stinging pain from what he presumed to be stitches underneath.

"Dr Capra said the surgery went well," Judy spoke as she brushed her paw against his, "We'll be sure to visit Gideon later. I'll let him know that you're already starting to miss him," she smirked.

"That's his kidney talking," he returned with a giggle, before turning his attention to the smaller fox that started to chuckle along. "That's a first," he pointed out, smirking at his friend.

Finnick kept his lifted expression. "I'm just glad that things turned out okay after all this shit you went through," he replied in a laughy tone.

Nick was overjoyed to hear his friend confess in such a genuine way, especially in front of the two other bunnies he used to call as strangers.

"You still owe me for all this," he spoke as he gestured along in his classic irritated tone, shooting down the fox's temptation to follow up with a witty comment.

Before he could continue, the doctor walked into the ward, accompanied by a nurse with a small cart.

"Sorry to interrupt," Dr Capra apologized as he moved towards the crowd. "Post-surgery check-up, it'll just be a while."

Finnick and Violet began to step themselves out of the room, already familiar with the whole procedure. The bunny even helped the doe with the curtains before she left.

Leading into the fox, Judy planted a small kiss on her partner. "See you in a bit," she whispered before pulling away.

Nick smiled warmly at the kiss. "I can get used to that," he responded, catching eye of the disgusted look Finnick wore on his face.

"When did you guys…" he scoffed, mildly annoyed, eyeing the couple who shrugged back at him. "Never mind. It's about time anyway," he shuffled out of the room.

The bunnies followed, leaving behind a blissful fox to his doctor's stethoscope.

"Gideon?" Judy greeted as she entered the room.

The room as identical to the ward she resided in, from the medium sized furniture to the bleak décor; plotted plastic plants and a lonely piece of abstract art. Gideon was seated up on the exact cot same oversized cot she woke up on, though it seemed to be of perfect size for the larger mammal.

"Judy?" he replied, turning his head to meet her joyful expression, "How's Nick doing?"

"Nick's doing fine," she replied whilst rubbing the back of her head, "I heard the surgery went well."

"That's good to hear," he added.

The two seemed to have paused for the moment, both expecting the other to voice out the topic lingering in both their heads.

"I-"

"Jud-"

They shared a nervous giggle. "You go first," Gideon insisted, returning a mousy smile.

"Thank you for saving my partner's life," she began.

As she ended her sentence, she felt elated in a fuzzy sense of relief. She could feel her tears starting to form in her eyes, though she made an effort to supress it.

"I… I'm…"

"I should be the one thanking," he interrupted. "Nick saved your life."

He kept his eyes locked onto hers as he presented a weighted, nerved look across his face. His looked emulated a genuine thankfulness, yet it bore a quiet sense of apologetic sorrow.

"Judy," Gideon continued, "I'm sorry if this comes out a bit awkward, but I wanna let you know that you're one of the most important people in my life."

Judy was astounded. A look of awe glazed her face as she felt the nerves in her stomach flutter with emotions.

"Growing into maturity, you made me reflect back in a way. I know you're sick of hearing my apologies so how about I just thank you instead," he uttered in an earnest, confident tone, "Hearing about your graduation made me look back on the more um… outlandish… passions I've had."

"Outlandish?" Judy prompted.

"It's not every day you see a tod that bakes and owns his own business… kinda have to thank your parents on that one too," he chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Likewise a bunny cop, who happens to be the most bravest mammal I know. And of course, it takes only the most noblest of mammals to save her life."

Judy was amazed at Gideon's confession. His solemn and gracious statements only amplified the awe she had felt moments ago, and moments then; when she had found out about his seemingly unreal transformation. She remembered how that feeling rescued her views and rebounded her from her resignation from her first case; the thought at there is always good in mammals, leading her to look in another light regarding predators and eventually pushing her to apologize to Nick.

"I may never be able to repay for the dumb things I did back then, but being granted the chance to help the fellow fox that saved your life is pretty darn swell," he ended, giving her a heartfelt smile.

She felt her cheeks light up in joy as well; sharing the wholehearted moment that simmered between them.

"Judy?" interrupted Violet as she allowed herself into the room, a ram following behind her. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything… again."

"Miss Hopps," the nurse greeted, "It's time for another bandage check. And if it checks out, I'm given the permission to remove the bandage on your ear."

"Hope it checks out then," Gideon smiled.

"See you around," she replied.

After exchanging goodbye waves and more smiles, Judy exited the room with her sister and the nurse. She felt content and complete, thankful to be able to learn more about her childhood bully turned unexpected friend.

Judy stood in front of the mirror, freshening herself up with a damp towel against her face. She sighed as she let her ears flop in front of her view before brushing the fur on it too. She glued her eyes to her cringed expressions while she worked on the exposed wound on her ear, each pass sending tiny yet irritating stings across her skin.

Judy stopped after finishing up her ear, lifting it back up to as high as it could stand before it crooked at where the injury began. She found herself staring at the wound, eyes glued at how it exposed her pure, pink flesh underneath all her puffy fur. Her ear was chipped a quarter way from the tip, leaving just enough cartilage, fur and muscle to keep the remainder of it from drooping off too much as she kept her ear perked. Despite how eerie it made her look, the wound seemed to have healed to its fullest, her patchy fur already starting to grow over the skin that it left behind.

That's gonna leave a mark…

The bunny shot herself a dispirited look as her paws landed on her left cheek. Memories began flooding her mind; recalling the one moment that changed her forever. Although the claw marks Gideon gave her were invisible underneath her fur if not long gone already, it was still distinctively tangible to her. She felt the phantom scar and its sting, its pain emotionally tearing and akin to the one that radiated from her ear.

She recalled his aggressive swipe and the sharp tip of his claws as they landed on her. She remembered the fear she felt when her fur was scrapped off her cheek, and the fretful scream that exited her throat.

It was uncanny to her; how one chilling moment left a scar on her for so long, yet it was also a reminder for something else. A sense of bittersweet nostalgia gushed through her system as Judy recalled how it pushed her to stand, to fight and to strive until she got where she was now. She could not stop to wonder how daunting it was to be alive after all that had happened to her.

Now here she more than a decade later, still dumbfounded by how much things have changed.

Her partner turned boyfriend was a fox; in Gideon's own words, the noblest mammal she had met, and to think how unnerved and cautious she felt about him when they first met. Granted, he was likely a very different person before she came into his life, but she would like to think deep down he had always been this way.

Perhaps Gideon was too.

Two days have passed since the surgery; two days of constant monitoring and demanding bandage routines that the fox was disgustingly familiar with. To his surprise the scar the surgery had left him with was visibly cleaner than the ones that overlaid it – that in his doctor's words; the patch on his hip had been opened and reopened exactly three times, one by the bullet that struck him and twice by the scalpel that expanded it. That would also explain the almost constant weight and pain that radiated around it, despite the copious amounts of medication pumped through his body.

Apart from the more tedious routines he was forced to adapt, he also wasn't very fond of the diet he had been restricted to. Though he thought weeks earlier how the hospital food he was fed couldn't get any worse, he sighed in mild disgust at the spoonful of oatmeal he held in his paw. Nick understood how his diet was affected by the transplant, but it didn't mean that he couldn't appal. It had the texture, scent and taste of wet, milky, flavourless cardboard; sugarless, soggy, lumpy and bland. Thinking back, maybe being fed through a tube wasn't that terrible after all.

As he toyed around the lumpy warm soup, the fox was interrupted by a knock on the glass door. His sour look was wiped off immediately when he saw the bright faces of his partner and his new found friend.

Gideon was dressed in a smart casual attire; the fox seemed to have abandoned the hospital gown he last saw him in. It was heart-warming to see him not as a patient or a 'surgery buddy' anymore, but as the collected, polite and happy friend he'd come to know all those days ago.

"You're up early," Gideon spoke first, returning him the hearty smile he gave him since they woke up on the operating tables next to each other.

"Kinda against my will," Nick spoke, "You look great,"

"I'm feeling great too," he replied as he patted the bandage underneath his shirt, "Apart from the stitches, I really didn't feel like I'd lost an organ."

"Can't relate, I'm not the one with a singular kidney," he joked, stirring a laugh between the two. "Again, I can't thank you enough," he continued in a genuinely disheartened yet grateful tone.

"You don't owe me anything, truly," he replied. Gesturing to the bowl in front of him, Gideon proceeded, "If anything, that dietary restriction thingy's probably the only bad thing I had to go through since the surgery."

"That salad last night was really pushing it," the smaller fox chuckled, prompting his friend to nod in agreement. "I know Carrots would've enjoyed that," he looked over to Judy, the bunny wearing a tiny hint of annoyance behind her half-smile.

"There's nothing wrong with greens as long as they're good to eat, Wilde," she sighed sarcastically as she approached her partner.

"Can't relate, must be a bunny thing," he giggled coyly.

"Dumb fox," she stood herself next to him before brushing a paw against his shoulder.

"Well, I just thought of dropping by before they're done with the paperwork. I gotta admit though, can't say I'm a big fan of the hospital stuff," Gideon replied, "Don't know how you guys manage being here all day."

"Spending most of my hours sleeping helps," Nick replied, "That and contraband blueberry jelly," he smirked cheekily, silently thanking Finnick for the jar he managed to smuggle pass the doctors and nurses into his ward.

"You know there are medical reasons why you're not allowed those, right?" Judy added in an irritated tone.

"And those medical reasons are gonna go away in like three more of these sad excuses for me to go vegetarian," he snickered, "Lighten up fluff, it's not like I'm breaking any rules here, I'm still gonna finish this," he gobbled down a spoonful of his breakfast.

"You're lucky Violet's not here," she rubbed the fur between her eyes.

"If Violet was here, we wouldn't be having this conversation," he responded, "Hey Gideon, you gotta hook me up with more of that good stuff."

Gideon smiled back, "As long as you get yourself out of here, you're welcome to drop by the bakery anytime you want."

"Now I really do owe you for that one."

As the three basked in their happy conversations, Dr Capra entered the ward, his unexpected presence commanding the attention of the room. He wore a stern professional look behind his glasses; the stereotypical concerning look doctors would always wear when they had revelations to share.

"Everything fine doc?" the larger fox turned to the goat.

"Good news or bad news? It's hard to tell sometimes," Nick interrupted.

A smile quickly formed in the doctor's once expressionless gaze. "Congratulations on your recovery Mr Grey," he began in a bright tone, "As for Mr Wilde, I am happy to report that your body has been responding well to the transplant and that kidney functions are expected to return to nominal."

Nick's blissful expression returned, relieved to finally hear about something good for a change. His joy only grew along with the elated looks of his friends as they basked in a tiny celebration.

"That's good," Judy gave him an elated look as she massaged the back of his shoulder.

"Guess I'm gonna miss the dialyser," he chuckled in a sarcastic tone.

Dr Capra didn't help but to chuckle along. "But I'm sure that's to be expected." he spoke again, grabbing the curiosity of the room once again. "I'm actually here to announce Mr Wilde's discharge from intensive care."

Nick's face lightened immediately.

"Ain't that swell," Gideon was the first to break the pause in the room.

Judy exchanged expressions with her partner, the two surprised and overjoyed by the news.

"Cheese and crackers that's… amazing..." the bunny teared up as she clutched him in her paws.

"Wow." A blank response escaped Nick's mouth as she leaned in for another hug.

He was stunned and struck with awe, the fox couldn't fully believe his doctor at first. His eyes darted back to the goat, who gave him an assuring nod followed with another conformation.

"It seems that your wounds have been recovering steadily, and the reports from Dr Hopps assured me that your psychological health has been too." He continued with a smile hanging off his face. "Of course we'll still be monitoring you for time to time but I think your body can handle itself going forward."

Nick basked in the creeping euphoria; a feeling of delight that only amplified with every loving nudge her partner gave him.

"You will be moved to a room for the rest of your recovery and hopefully, your rehabilitation," he explained, "Regarding your new arrangements," he held his sentence as he kept his eyes on the two officers, "If both of you don't mind, regulations would allow for you to share a ward with partner."

Nick an elated look to his partner as they shared their answers mentally.

"We're gonna be roommates!" Judy shouted in joy as she held his paw firm in hers.

The fox's mood only brightened further as his partner's joyous expressions resonated with the optimist within him. "So, when is this happening?" he returned.

"I've already cleared out the documents so you can leave whenever you're ready," the doctor replied in an upbeat tone as he took the clipboard off the cot, confiscating it underneath this armpit. "I'll see to it that you're discharged latest by this evening." He left the room to the three jubilant mammals.

Wow.

Nick repeated in his head, the fox basking in the lightened mood he was left with.

"Guess you're not far behind," Gideon commented as he gave a gentle pat on the smaller fox's shoulder, "Speaking of which, I gotta get going. You two take care of yourselves now."

After waving their goodbyes once more, Judy couldn't stop herself from leaning a head onto his shoulder.

"So, ready to pack your bags?" she began, adding to the excitement that brew within him.

He responded with a gentle smile, one that captured all the joy he felt in that moment. "Ready, partner."

Nick was seated securely in a large padded wheelchair, staring blankly at the glass door in front of it. It felt weird to him to be seated upright after being bounded to lie down or against a pillow for two weeks straight in either the cot behind him or the occasional gurney. It even took him a while to shake off most of the strain and aches he felt in his neck, shoulder and especially from the humungous wound on his stomach, buried under all those bandages.

Though he was comfortable for the most part, he couldn't stop himself from focusing his sights on his laps underneath the blue hospital gown he wore. Sitting upright cursed him to finally get a clearer mental image of the tear in his thigh and the salted pain that radiated from it. He recalled how he had torn the muscle in his leg and how much he must have endured through to get his shredded that way. Lingering upon the thought he attempted to shift his leg on his own, only to regret it instantly when the amplified strain jolted through his system.

Goddamn.

He sucked in a breath.

It hurt; and it wasn't just the pain that hurt him. Nick was struck with a creeping thought that burned sorrow into his if the wound did heal, there was no way of telling if his strength and agility could recover to how it was before. It took him so much to move even his uninjured leg, as if his lower body was buried in a pit of cement. He despised the thought; it reminded him of how long he was about to spend his life bounded in this very chair, and that things might not even fully get back to the way they were.

"Mr Wilde?" the nurse's greeting snapped the fox out of his sunken mood.

The doe had previously been busy with the preparations; removing and reattaching his IV bags and tubes to the mobile unit behind him. She had also made sure that Nick's stuff was all packed up in a box to his instructions.

"We're all set," she continued, "I'm gonna move you to the third floor now, that's where your partner's ward is located. Do tell me if you need to stop."

"Will do," he replied in an affirming tone.

Nick discarded his previous worries as the doe held both her hooves on the handles of the wheelchair.

It was happening.

A fizzling sense of excitement churned in him while they moved towards the doorway. It wasn't until they made it through the exit that Nick a smile started to creep up to his blissful face.

ICU 4

The white lettering printed on the glass door was now behind him. For almost all his stay he had been taunted by the inverted letters but upon witnessing how far behind they were now, he was content, triumphant even, that he was no longer bounded by that damned glass, alone with his concerns and nightmares in a box full of machines and wires that was made for broken mammals like him to face their fate. In the moment, he didn't care what the future was about to be for him for he only felt joy for overcoming the first two weeks of his dreaded journey.

Leaving the dreaded hallways of the ICU, Nick was greeted by the main lobby of the hospital. The change in scenery was refreshing to the fox. In a way, it felt great to be surrounded by different and unfamiliar surroundings and people; he got a glimpse of what his friends and co-workers had to manoeuvre through to get to the isolated wing he previously resided in. Other than the classic doctors and nurses in their white work coats, Nick was glad to see mammals going about their day to day lives; waiting patiently in the lobby chairs, semi-arguing with the miserable giraffe at reception and the overjoyed cougar cub who was escorted out of the large front doors by his parents.

The scene painted him a glimpse of the city life he missed. Crowded strangers, overloaded traffic, mindless chattering and even the occasional petty troublemaker that reminded him of who he was before Judy told them off.

Nick frowned as he was wheeled into the lift carriage that took them to their designated floor. As its metal doors parted, the fox was greeted again by another smaller lobby, one that led them into a hallway full of doors that he presumed led to rooms where he would spend his next weeks or months in. But this time, he wouldn't be alone.

"Here we are," the doe commented as they arrived at one of the doors.

3-06

The door was labelled with a small plaque in the centre. A rectangular window grew from the doorknob that led into the room, though Nick didn't have the pleasure of looking through it from where he was seated.

This is her room…

He thought to himself. He was bewildered at how long the way was between their wards, and how much his stubborn partner had to walk every day when frequenting to see him.

"Nick!"

Judy's brightened voice was the first thing that greeted the fox as he made his way into the room. The room was as Nick expected; larger, more spacious and friendlier in a way. Unlike before, it now held an extra bed next to Judy's with a retractable curtain in the middle of the two.

"You did get the better place," he commented whilst he glanced over his new surroundings as his partner trailed beside him.

Upon reaching his bed, Nick was lifted off his chair carefully by the nurse before being plopped back down on the mattress. As she worked on getting his IV bags and tubes installed onto the steel holders beside his cot, Judy helped made him comfortable, pulling his pillows in place while he shifted his head. Though it took a few attempts and pained grunts, the fox was finally settled into his new home.

"Much better," he replied as he sank his head in place. "The bed's a little lumpy though,"

"Don't get them any ideas to send you back now," Judy giggled.

"I'll stop complaining," he shot a quick response, "though I am kinda missing the loud beeping noises,"

The bunny leaned into him for a well pent-up hug, gripping his body into a warm loving embrace he definitely earned. It was uplifting to witness her partner's slow but steady improvement throughout his entire stay under intensive care, but it was truly amazing for her to see him well and out of that despairing environment. She rubbed her face against the fuzz of his neck, chuckling in joy into his fur.

"Ow, ow, ribs…" he gave a sudden yelp, prompting her to pull away almost immediately.

"Sorry," Judy apologized immediately as she brushed against his arm.

Shrugging off the pain, he shot her another smile, "Better now. Where were we?" he asked gleefully.

"Slick," she uttered, before returning to the fox for a kiss on the cheek.

A moment of heartfelt gazes later, Judy found herself sat by the side of his bed again, caressing the fur on his paw.

"So you lost your bandage?" Nick directed a stare at the middle of her crooked ear. "Does it hurt?"

Confused at first, she blushed at his comment as she brought the scarred ear down to her face. "It stings a bit, but other than that the doctor said it's as healed as it could be," she frowned, "He actually offered prosthetics, said it could make the scar a little less obvious…"

"Looks badass though," he interrupted with a small chuckle.

"You think?" her mood brightened in response.

Judy's cheeks reddened as Nick drew his paw up to her face, gently brushing against the grey tip of her ear. She brought her own paw to meet the back of his as she savoured the gentle touch his digits.

"Compared to mine you got the cooler scar," he teased.

She smiled. "Making progress with yours?" she continued, keeping her entranced eyes on his.

"The ones on my back are getting better," Nick replied, "I'm not so sure about the big one though," he hovered a paw above the bandages on his gut, "And the fur too. Gonna take a while for the patches to regrow."

His voice seemed to trail off at the end.

"Looks like you got the wheelchair now," she poked cheerfully.

"And you've ditched the crutches too," he returned with a smirk. "Seems like you'll be back to serving tickets in no time."

"Waiting on you too buddy," Judy nudged her partner's shoulder. "The doctor still doesn't let me use the treadmill for more than 3 minutes. At this point, Gideon's probably in a better shape than I am even after the surgery."

They shared a laugh, before returning to a tranquil paused state.

"Judy," the fox called in a sombre tone, "About Gideon,"

She gave him a neutral look. "Gideon?"

"C'mon Carrots, you'd expect me to believe that 'childhood friends' thing? No offense but I kinda assumed that burrow dwellers like where you came from aren't necessarily friendly with predators like us."

"Hey, he's a business partner with my family,"

"Probably just before you came to town too. Last time I remembered, you were on high alert with your fox spray when we first got along."

Judy sighed, the bunny tired of hearing his partner rip apart her white lies. He was a detective like her too.

"Fine, fine, slick. You got me there," she rolled her eyes to the view of her amused partner. "I did meet him when I was small but we weren't exactly friends back then."

Nick nodded as her tone grew serious.

"Gideon was… He was the bully," she spoke. "He used to tease me a lot, you know, the wanna be bunny cop. One time, he actually did hurt me. Swiped at my cheek. That was probably the last time my parents would let me go near Gideon, or any fox for that matter. Kept telling me how sly and devious foxes were."

He could hear the strain in her saddened voice. Nick understood now. He understood her caution around him before they were partners and the sloppy pre-emptive speech she gave on the nighthowler case. He also understood the pain she must've felt growing up while being bullied to follow dreams. He knew it all so well.

"But you know, things turned out well. Maturity got to all of us, even my parents. I don't see them complaining about Gideon or you for that matter," she ended.

Judy held his paw within his, rubbing her digits against his knuckles.

"So uh," he swallowed a breath in a pause, "Have you told your parents about us?" he glanced at her.

Judy felt the itch again; the feeling of nervousness and pessimistic uncertainty she had previously when discussing the topic with her sister. Though she knew she was happy with Nick, and that he was the mammal that she would want to spend her life with, she was reminded of the concern she had.

"No," she sulked in response.

Nick returned the emphatic look before his eyes trailed off to the hospital gown beneath him. His expression only made the bunny more ashamed and sunken as her eyes did the same.

"It's funny," Nick hummed in a growing tone, "I wouldn't have thought that I'd end up with the most ambitious bunny in the world." He snickered.

Judy turned her head back to meet the smirking fox.

"Didn't think you'd go for a mammal like me too."

"Well, I promised didn't I," she chuckled, "No matter what happens, I'm gonna be sticking with you all the way."

"That's profound," he responded dryly, "Anyways, do you think your sister sees other therapists?" he returned in a playful tone, "Like how doctors need other doctors…"

Judy leaned her head into his side, the bunny drained from her thoughts and their discussion. Perhaps she was concerned or stressed before, but now she could only focus her mind on the warmth she felt from her partner. She could feel his heart syncing with hers as well as his gentle nudges from his muzzle on the top of her head. Everything around her seemed to blur out; her fears, his worries, their aches…

She felt complete by his side as they rested, longing for everything else to disappear, leaving only each other to lean on whilst they slowly recovered.

"…or how officers got their partners to look after them…"

A heartfelt smile grew on her face.

Breathe...

Nick kept telling himself as his senses adjusted to his surroundings. It was dark; everything was murky even for a nocturnal animal like him. He could just make out the shapes of the objects around him, though he was limited to just their silhouettes and the grainy shaded colour they possessed. The space around him was large and spacious; its walls dreadfully out of reach unlike the smaller spaces he was familiar with. Light seemed to echo throughout the room, pulsing cloudily against the ceiling and its contrasting walls.

Where am I?

Focusing on his other senses, his ears were greeted with static akin to that of flowing air from a source of ventilation, as if he was inside of a duct. Ignoring the whirring in the background, he tried his best to pick up the more distinct noises that slowly appeared.

Breathing?

Someone else was with him; breathing. It sounded faint and distant, making it hard to pinpoint where it came from. He could only twitch his ears towards the direction he thought it came from, which he guessed was to his left. The breathing was soft and steady, beginning and ending gently in a slowly paced tempo. It was familiar and calming to the fox, who began matching his stuttered gasps with hers.

Judy?

His realisation hit him faint, yet it grew the more he lingered on that thought. He needed to know if it was truly her, or if it was just another one of his night terrors again.

"Judy?" he whispered into the space in front of his face, a tiny gasp of air leaving his muzzle.

He was met with silence.

Louder…

He couldn't.

He couldn't even move his mouth. His breaths began increasing as he began hearing his heartbeats; pounding away out of sync from the movements of his chest.

No…

Her gentle breaths grew in volume; coming in and out of his head as staggered gasps that mimicked his own. She sounded distressed like she was fighting to breathe.

No… please…

A simmering panic bubbled within him, constricting his lungs and heart in an outstretched fatigue. Nick's huffs became rapid as his throat spiked with every shortened breath he took. His heart pulsed as he attempted to seek out where she was, only for his motions to be supressed by his weighted body.

JUDY!

He screamed tirelessly in his head as he was haunted by the vividly daunting image of her scared, fright stricken face. Her enlarged pupils bore into his in an agonizing call for help. A dreadful moment later he found himself starting helplessly at an unconscious bunny, limp in his arms; motionless.

He cried again and again for her to hold on as the ringing grew louder with every echo of a blare. Tears tainted his face as his breathing was stuttered by his sobs and wailing, burning his airways as he inhaled.

Judy awoken to a series of eerie yet subtle rubbed her eyes as she perked up her ears, the sleepy bunny's senses still dazed from waking up.

What was that?

She propped herself up with both arms as she scanned the unlit room. Reaching a paw over to the light switch on her nightstand, she was stunned to realise that the weeping came from her partner.

"Nick?" Judy called out in panic, the bunny's eyes darting over to the bed she had forgotten was there.

The fox shivered as he lay on the bed with widened eyes that seemed to pierce the ceiling. His frightened and stuttered breaths echoed from the sides of his mouth, adding to the daunting noises that made her heart jump.

"Nick, what's going on?" her concerned voices shot out loudly as she witnessed the condition her partner was in.

The worried bunny wasted no time in rushing to his side, ignoring the covers she had accidentally taken with her onto the cold tiled floor.

"Nick?"

As she hopped onto the side of his bed, she was heartbroken to see the sorrow and terror that was written all over his face. His eyes were bawled from the tears and his pillow and gown were ridden wet with drool.

Is he having a nightmare?

"Ju… Judy…" he mumbled breathlessly as he sprang himself up, his enlarged eyes locking sights with the scared bunny in front of him.

"I'm here Nick," the bunny cupped her paws onto the exhausted fox's face. "We're in the hospital… remember?" she uttered in a collected tone.

Judy pulled her panic stricken partner in for a hug as she gently rubbed his back, attempting her best to calm her partner down. It was painful to see him like this; vulnerable and petrified. Judy wanted to cry as well, but the bunny bit her lip, forcing herself to stay strong for him. She hummed a gentle melody as she felt his rapid breaths battering against her body, worryingly synchronous the heightened pace of his pulse.

A minute of solace passed before Nick gathered himself. "Sorry…" the ashamed fox sniffed as he took in the sight of his eased partner, "I… uh…"

Judy interrupted him with a brush on the cheek, hushing the dejection and worry between them.