"Only on the edge of the grave can one truly conclude anything." - Henry B Adams

Inevitably, all beings must die eventually.

They cling to life with fevered desperation, for death is a cold unknown, filled with uncertainly and bleak, everlasting finality. An eternity of unperceived ideals. That is what death is, to many. Some accept their fate with grace. Others are dragged kicking and screaming, though in truth, none would go to death's hands willingly.

Nick Wilde didn't want it to end like this.

He'd never known what fate would have in store for him at the very end of things, but he knew that he didn't want to go this way. He'd always envisioned himself living to a ripe old age, and perhaps dying peacefully and painlessly in his sleep. Nick didn't want to go this way: His life taken from him in an instant. That wasn't what he truly wanted.

In that split second before impact, only two things pierced his mind: One, was his fear of death It was understandable. He may not have had much, but in his current life, he had more than he'd ever had before. Losing it all would have been a real major bummer, to say the least. The second thing that reached his mind was that of a single name.

Judy...

So when the black jeep struck him, the fox didn't know what to think. His brain barely had a single second to map anything out before the vehicle collided with him, sending his comparatively minuscule frame flying about a half dozen feet back, and his head slamming into the hard concrete pavement below him, effectively knocking him out cold.

Nick felt little pain, with the peak of it's reach being the moment of impact, and after that, his mind was lost to the void. However, his body still remained, vulnerable, lying in the middle of the road. He may have had only an instant to react before the collision, but in that short time span, a single thought managed to find it's way up from his mind.

Judy...

The bunny spared no time to waste as she sprinted from the cove. Her mate may have ran off in disappointing finality, leaving her alone with nothing but her cracked cries and broken hopes, but Judy had no desire to sit around weeping anymore. She had work to do, and the first thing on her list was catching up with Nick to make-up with him.

Judy was a pretty decent runner, not stopping a single time on her journey in the direction she had last seen Nick wander off to. Alongside this, the adrenaline pumping its way through her circulatory system was driving her towards her beloved partner ever faster with each passing step forward. As she ran through the streets, her sensitive ears caught the sound of an ambulance in the distance. She reared a corner, and saw a sizable crowd of varying mammals gathered around a fixed point in the middle of the road.

The commotion happened to be right in the way of the direction she was currently running in, so she decided to spare a glance as she ran by.

When Judy lay her gaze upon the source of all the commotion, her heart nearly stopped.

There, lying in a broken pile in the middle of the road was Nick. One of his shoulders was leaking blood profusely, and he wasn't moving.

Judy's shaking hands hovered above her mouth in an attempt to clamp it shut, but it was of no use. She called out Nick's name, but even she could barely hear it past all of the commotion around her. Judy pushed herself to the front of the crowd, and stared down at Nick as he lay still on the asphalt below their feet. The rabbit wanted to run up to him, but she knew that doing so would only make things worse. She new basic first-aid, but that was a far-cry from the medical attention that Nick would need for this.

His crumpled body was losing more blood by the second. Even Judy knew that if he didn't get medical attention soon, he wouldn't live to see tomorrow.

Judy's ears shot up in detection when an ambulance screeched against the pavement and slid to a stop just a few meters off. Thankfully, Zootopia's ambulance system was very advanced. She wasn't sure how long ago the collision had occurred, but now, the only thing that she wanted was for Nick to be alright, to make it through the pain.

Another noise soon caught her attention. Judy turned to her left just in time to see the driver door of a black jeep slam shut, a hippo behind the wheel, and then turn on the engine with an audible hum. The hippo then floored the gas, driving the jeep in reverse and away from the scene. The front of his vehicle had a busted light. It was a hit and run. A small part of her pestered her to chase after the law-breaker, but there were far more urgent matters to attend to. Judy turned her attention back towards Nick, who was now being placed upon a stretcher, the medical operators careful so as not to cause any further damage. The medical professionals packed him up into the ambulance

A few tears streamed down her face in silence. For once in her life, she wasn't sure what to do.

After a few seconds of uncertainty, she then took a step forward and broke out into a sprint, running

The bunny ran until she reached the building, not stopping a single time before nearly slamming herself into the glass-screen doors. She had skidded to a stop before contact, but hurriedly rushed inside and made way straight towards the receptions desk. That had been nearly five hours ago. Now, she stood in the waiting room, too stressed and agitated to even bother sitting down. Every time the surgery sector-doors would open, she'd quickly look up, hoping to something that it was the surgeon, there to tell her that Nick was alright. That he was safe, and most importantly; Alive. But not a single time did such an event happen. She was left waiting and in abject emotional misery.

She had so much to tell Nick. She'd never forgive him or herself - especially herself - if he didn't make it.

No Judy... Don't think that... Please... Her conscience forced her to believe.

The bunny was so enraptured in her own thoughts that for the first time, she failed to notice the sound of the surgery-sector doors opening. Two words broke her thoughts;

"Judy Hopps?"

She turned her head in the direction of the voice. A female pig in a nurse's outfit stood holding the door open. The bunny shot to her feet.

"You can see Mr. Wilde now." The nurse continued. "Right this way, please."

Hope you enjoyed this chapter of ours. It's rather short, but the coming ones will make up for it, I'm sure. Do stay tuned! :)

Also, as a point of fact, I'll have you know that the coming few chapters are going to be all for patching up the dreary moments we saw take place in this chapter and the chapter before it. After that, well, let's just say that the story's main plot finally kicks it into high gear! Keep reading, and you won't be disappointed, that much I promise. Nonetheless, I still thank you for your generous time and effort in the likes of my work thus far. It means a lot to me.

'Till next time...

Peace!