Chapter Sixty-Seven
Medical Procedure

Nick Wilde and Chief Bogo stared at one another, their expressions locked and their bodies stale.

Bogo's raised truncheon slowly lowered. He glanced down to the fennec fox Wilde was pinning up against the wall, and then up to the fist Wilde had raised in preparation to strike him. "Mister Wilde," Bogo uttered carefully, his voice calm in the way it only was when he was truly, truly mad... "would you be so kind as to put this criminal down?"

Closing his gaping mouth, the red fox withdrew his arm from the smaller fox. Sensing they were distracted, Finnick bolted for the door, but the Chief spun on his soles and cracked the fennec alongside the knee, dropping him instantly to the floor.

"Arugh, crap! My leg!"

...

The various instruments beeped and tapped out a monotonous, tuneless rhythm. Saint Bernard's Hospital was anything but silent. Even the one-bed rooms were not exempt from the noise of nurses and doctors working in the other wards, as well as the beeps of respiratory machines and the likes; the talking of the other patients, their coughings and complainings. The hospital was anything but silent.

Wolfard lay beneath the white sheets of his bed, now fully dressed in the blue medical pajamas Flo had given him. He lay there, in a pit of shame, breathing the sterilized air which burned his nose and thinking over ceaselessly about what had happened. He'd had plenty of time to 'calm down' since Flo had left, and now he just idled there, occasionally growling outwardly as he reminisced upon his incompetence. What had he done, such a stupid jerk… He had to go and get all excited on her, didn't he... Now she'd never... want to...

The wolf gazed expressionlessly at the end of the bed. That ridiculous, rebellious thought was creeping back in again — that little part that kept on at him, telling him, despite what had happened and because of it even, that he should just be damned with it, pluck up the courage and ask Flo on a—

This was pointless. She's was a hare for fluff's sake! She'd never want to... with a wolf. And anyway, she was a prey like... his brain slowed to a halt as the thought entered his head... like Hopps was. And Wilde? They were obviously just a fluke, a one-off thing. There was no chance of any other prey mammal wanting to d— to da— a predator, there was no... no chance—

"Curses," he muttered, pulling the thin sheets up over his head out of shame rather than chill. "Curses and wretchedness, why did you have to go get a damn hard on for? Over-excitable, damn, little—"

"You know, if you're suffering from Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder," came the familiar voice from the door, "I can get you some anesthetizing agent, or book you in for some corrective nerve tissue surgery if you want."

"Erh... yeah. Flo, I'm sorry I—"

"Or I could just cut the whole system off if you'd prefer." Wolfard laughed at the joke, but then his smile vanished, as the hare peeled-off from leaning in the doorway and made towards the table of tongs, scalpels and bone saws. "Hang on, I'll get the equipment. There's a bit of an anesthetic shortage though. So if it hurts, just grip your knees tighter." Turning towards him with a scalpel, her face as impassive as it ever could be, the nurse made towards him without any hesitance swimming in her eyes.

"Erm, Flo?" he whined, his voice rising in pitch, his body pulling inwards as he sheltered behind the sheets. "Flo-Flo-Flo-Flo!"

At last — with her face now hanging inches from his — the slightest of smiles grew on Nurse Flo's essence. "On second thought... no."

Wolfard stared at her, his heart pounding in his chest in the quest of escape. "N-no?" he stuttered.

"No," she said, loosely, "I think it would be a waste of the government's money to have removed from you something, which is hardly even there..."

Wolfard's expression fell. With an air of supreme smugness, Flo turned around sharply and returned the scalpel to its former location. Recovering enough to recognize the insult to his wolfhood, he sat up, his desire to 'impress' the hare overpowering his usual 'sociological inhibitors'. "Hey, I'm bigger than any rabbit— you can't deny that much!"

"I'm a hare, not a rabbit," Flo countered flatly, before adding in tones musical, "and you'd be surprised. Hares may be smaller than wolves on average, but they pack a pretty big load for their size." She half-turned back to the wolf, her lips... playful? "It takes a lot to sexually satisfy a female hare, after all." Wolfard's tongue caught in his throat, his head spinning slightly, while a familiar 'throbbing' sensation grew around his loins. Between the shock and present surprise, was Flo talking 'dirty' to him?

"Anyway, that was one of the sub-headings of study in my University dissertation for my PhD: ''Reproductive Pathology–The Effects of Hormones on Ovulation and the Menstrual Cycle'.''

"Are... are you serious?"

Flo adjusted her glasses, sighing. "Mister Wolfard, I am always serious when it comes to medical matters."

"So... what are the effects?"

"Okay, it's fairly simple really. It only gets really complicated when you look at it in detail, and compare the systems of different species with one another, taking into account their birth rates, gestation period and the relative size of their reproductive organs, compared with the size of the species itself. But basically, at the start of the female's monthly cycle, the body starts producing follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. The former triggers the maturation of an egg in the ovary in preparation for fertilization, and causes the release of a further hormone: oestrogen. This oestrogen itself then releases another hormone, which stops the production of FSH, and tells the body to produce more luteinizing hormone."

"Interesting," Wolfard kinda lied, "so does—"

"The higher build up of LH then causes the mature egg to be later released from the ovary into the uterus, which is where the male's sperm goes during sexual intercourse. If nothing comes of this, then the progesterone levels, which is the hormone that builds and maintains the lining of the uterus for the reception of the egg, decline and the uterus lining breaks down. It is then flushed from the body alongside the unfertilized egg, and this is what causes the bleeding at what is widely regarded as the 'start' of the menstrual cycle."

The wolf stared at the hare with the lack of availability to properly react. "Sooo," Wolfard drew, unsure of what to say, while hoping to find something that continued the conversation in a natural way, without making it obvious that most of what she'd just said had gone over his head... "you've a PhD...?" She blinked at him and then raised her arms and indicated the medical equipment around her. "Oh, ughm... yeah…"

"I can see why you haven't made it to detective."

"Hey!"

"Just making an observation. Anyway, what I came here for..." Reversing out of the room, Flo re-emerged a moment later with a small trolley that bore a white plate with a white, plastic lid. "Supper time," she announced cheerfully with only slight sarcasm, and pushed the tray up to the edge of the wolf's bed.

"Oh, thanks!" he said, reaching out and taking the plate of hot food. The lid was lifted to reveal a plate of brightly, too brightly, colored vegetables. He sniffed at it and picked up a soggy piece of broccoli with his fork. He lifted it and the broccoli slid off again. "Gee... great."

"As per governmental requirements," Flo stated, pushing up her glasses, "all overnight patients of any hospital acting under Zootopian law are required to provide a nutritious meal of a quantity relevant to that species' size. Said food must conform to the 'healthy eating' plan and contain no synthetic meat products of any kind, regardless of said species' 'species', in accordance with the 'Public Offense Prevention and Unsavory-Predator-Tendencies Act' of eighteen ninety-one."

"A nutritious meal," he repeated and Flo nodded brightly... "It's over-boiled vegetables."

"Thus also fulfilling the requirement to ensure all patients are drinking enough water in relation to the Health and Hydration Act of—"

"Alright, I get it!" Wolfard looked down at the plateful of assorted mush, bigheartedly pushing his fork through the pieces of food, which offered no resistance to the metal prongs, due to the fact they were largely water. Flo sustained her forcibly cheerful smile a moment longer, but then it carefully started to fall. That was the reaction most people, predators especially, had when presented with this. But for once, she actually felt a little sorry about it. She wasn't even in the mood to make an indirectly condescending comment about it like she usually would've.

Sighing, the wolf forced a piece of the soggy greenery into his mouth. He chewed, well, sucked on it for a moment. Then, his head not turning, Wolfard's gaze caught onto the hare stood beside him. He had to make a little effort at least. He'd be out of there in the morning, and he'd probably never see her again. There was no harm in... testing the waters.

Clearing his throat delicately, the wolf pulled himself upright a little more. Flo drew herself from her thoughts and concentrated expectantly towards him. "So, heh..." he slightly lost his sentence, not intending to ask her out yet, but already feeling tense just because of the desire to. "You been a nurse long?"

Flo's expression turned curious as she stared at him closely, as though trying to judge his motives. A few long seconds later, something seemed to spring in the hare's mind, and she brightened up a little and answered, "A fair few years now. I left collage in my early twenties. Went to university, completed my PhD when I was twenty eight, applied for a job in this place and went from there. What about you? Always wanted to be a policemammle?"

"Pretty much," he said, trying just a little too hard to sound cool about it. "My dad was on the force, you know. He—"

"I don't."

Wolfard paused. "Pardon?"

"You implied I knew you father was on the force. I was informing you I do not."

Wolf squinted. As far as he could tell, she wasn't being ironic. "No... it's just a figure of speech."

"Oh…" Wolfard wondered for a moment if she really hadn't understood what he'd meant. He considered following this line further, but quickly decided that picking holes in her knowledge, her being as proud of her smarts as she was, might not be the best way of getting her 'attention'.

"Well, I," he started, after a moment... "I guess if you haven't heard it before, it might be a little confusing." Flo inclined her head as though making to nod. Wolfard scratched as his collar as he thought for something else to say, aware that her job would drag her away all too soon. "So, eh... you always wanted to be a nurse?"

"I had no particular interest being or not being a nurse at any point. It was simply a matter of doing what I was good at."

"Oh, really?"

Flo nodded. "Hm. I used to get picked on quite often when I was a kid: called 'four eyes' and the likes. The bullies used to come up to me and take the mick out of my clothes or my hair or my glasses... Then I used to deconstruct their habits and lifestyle choices, and exactly how they were shortening their lifespans and what infectious diseases they were increasing the chance of getting."

"Really?"

"Yepp. One time I was called into the headmaster's office for making one of the students cry by 'pointing out' the likelihood of him having a bulimia and anorexia disorder."

"God, how old were you?"

"About six, seven when that happened." The wolf stared at the hare for some moments. He pictured the image of a tiny hare sat in a large office, trying to convince a stoic, stern headmaster of the fact she was only trying to help people, by pointing out what was wrong with them. He processed the image a moment longer, and then, a smirk started to break out on the wolf's face with a newly formed chuckle.

Flo raised a brow. "I really see no matters worthy of causing your laughter at the moment, Mister Wolfard. Would you kindly desist in your rhythmical contractions of the diaphram?" At this comment, Wolfard's laughter grew in volume; despite herself, a small grin formed on the hare's own face.

Encouraged by the feeling of warmth his laughter had created, the wolf decided to try and take things a little step further. "So, Flo," he started, doing his best to make his voice warm as he shined towards her... "would you mind telling me your 'first' name?" Under most circumstances, Wolfard would've been happy to let the relationship between them build naturally for a while before trying to force intimacy out of it — but he also knew he was only spending one night here, and that the only way he would be able to see her again would be outside of the hospital — as friends or on a date — so had to rush more than he would've liked.

Flo watched him curiously. Again, it was as though she was trying to read his intentions. Her brow furrowed, and her expression tightened as she tried harder and harder to figure out his reasons for acting how he was. Eventually, her shoulders sagged and she sighted lightly. "Never been able to read expressions," she muttered, grimly. "Alright, why are you asking that?"

Wolfard's smile faded a little. "I just... I was just curious about what you're called, that's all."

"You don't need to know my first name."

"No, but... I'd like to."

"Why exert the energy? The only reason you have for wanting to know me better is if you hoped to—" She cocked her head in thought, her expression tightening again as she tried to work out his motives. She'd always had a skill for spotting and deducting medical or lifestyle issues in people, but when it came to expressions and social motivations... "So what's your first name, anyway?" she asked in the time of her musings.

"Uh-urh, don't think I'm telling you that without you telling me yours."

"Well, you tell me yours and I might tell you mine."

"'Might'? Come on, Flo, I hardly know you at all, and I know not to trust a 'might' from you."

A small smile grew on Flo's face, so he realized that she was enjoying this. She was enjoying this mental confrontation. It was probably stimulating her or something. "Names are meaningless anyway," she disregarded, "a completely arbitrary system with no historical or personal meaning."

"Is that so?" he said jokingly. "What about the name your parents gave you? That must have some sort of 'personal' meaning."

"I never knew my parents," she deadpanned.

"Oh," he mumbled his laughter caught dead in its prematurity. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she assured, slipping her paws into her pockets and gazing up at the ceiling's light. "I've had more than long enough to get over the fact I never met them. It doesn't emotionally affect me anymore."

Wool sat in quiet thought, then he carefully tried to find more about her, "You an only child too?"

Flo nodded. "I grew up with my aunt. She's just about the only family member I have."

Wolfard sighed to himself. "Yeah, it's starting to make sense now."

"What is?" Flo asked, turning towards him.

"You're not a... it's just, you're not much of a—" Wolfard trailed off, glancing down at the floor as he tried to find a delicate way of putting it. His sight rose again, and met the intelligent, sharp blue eyes of the tall hare. "You're a 'head' person. It sounds like you always have been. You're not one for socializing, not one for romance and you told me you were bullied at school, surely because you didn't really get on with anyone and made them jealous, by being top of the class all the time."

The nurse's head tilted to one side. Wolfard shot to worry he'd taken it too far, but then thin amusement formed on her features. "Go on."

"The other kids were bitter that you were naturally so much smarter than them, and they used to tease you for it, forcing you to retaliate with ironic and sarcastic comments of your own; hence, your current, passive-aggressive 'charm'. You found that the jealous masses were no less childish towards you after you left school than before. And so, in defense, you grew to enjoy your own company and being alone, and learnt to get a kick out of teasing and mocking other people in ways so sarcastic and subtle, they hardly even realized they were being poked at."

Slowly, the white-coated hare raised a paw and slipped her glasses from her face, cleaning them on the sleeve of her coat. "I take back what I said, Mister Wolfard. You're fit to be a detective after all."

The wolf beamed. He hardly knew the hare at all really, but already he knew her well enough to know that compliments came very rarely from her, but very earnestly when they did. "Well thank you," he said, still trying to take in everything he'd just said; everything he'd just worked out on a role of deduction after deduction, flowing naturally as though coming from nowhere. His self-satisfied smile slowly started fading, as he processed the last little bit he'd worked out — about how she'd learned to enjoy her own company — and he turned up towards her with a questioning expression on his face. "Sooo... with that in mind..."

Flo's thin smile grew a little more as she took in his curiosity. "Yes?"

"Why are you here? Hanging out with me?"

The hare's amusement flickered to dust. She floundered with her words for a moment, and then, without warning, turned and made to take the trolley out the room. "I'm sorry, Mister Wolfard, but I really have no time to chat. There's so much work to do tonight, and I can't afford the time to—"

"Flo, wait!" Wolfard's paw shot out and grabbed the hare by the wrist. Flo flinched at his touch and pulled, but the wolf's paw remained; eventually, she stopped pulling and sighed. Her gaze rose to the ceiling and fixed on one of the bright strip bulbs. "F-Flo," he stuttered, his tongue catching in his mouth and all his words rolling into one, "woul— wouldyouliketogoutonadatewithme...?"

Flo didn't move, and just continued staring up at the ceiling like nothing had been said. A moment later, her eyes closed, and she tried pulling away again. This time, Wolfard relented, and her paw slipped away from his, just as the hare slipped away out of the room a moment later... the door swinging closed behind her.

Wolfard gawked at the empty door. He sat back, heavily, into the wall with a thump. He was such a stupid, stupid jerk! Was that how one was asked out? Blabbing it all in one cry like some sort of maniac. Would it be any wonder if she wasn't interested after this?! The wolf fell lower with a heavy huff into the stiff mattress of the uncomfortable bed, his limbs falling limply off, while he stared at the piercing, white lights of the ceiling. He had a headache, and he needed a drink. But right now, he couldn't even be bothered to reach over and pour himself one.

"But then I guess I shouldn't be too pissed about it," he muttered to himself, turning onto his side and facing away from the door. "Hopps and Wilde have spent pretty much all day every day with each other for over a year now. I guess it just takes for a prey to trust a predator enough to want to be in that kind of relationship. Just a pitty," he grumbled into the cushion, "that Flo and I never had the time for that to happen."

His eyes straining under the intense, bright light, Wolfard pushed his head underneath the semi-darkness of the cushion and forced his mind to close.

...

Elsewhere, in a none-too-wealthy, though cheerful and upbeat part of the city of Zootopia, a taxi pulled up to a stop on a clean city street.

The occupant thanked the driver and pawed over the appropriate cash, stepping out of the taxi and looking up towards the café with the gold-leaf sign above the door: 'Joe's Place'.

The gray rabbit took a slow breath, stepped away from the cool tarmac of the road and headed towards the red-painted door of information.

Author's notes:

Hesitance jumps around your mind,

Grooms decision thus chosen blind.

Your thoughts most succulent of snack,

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