Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia. The only character I own is Rick.

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while. School has just started back up and I'm trying to get back into that awful routine of studying and doing work! Anyways, I'm back with another chapter, and I hope you guys love it!

Nick Wilde was walking home from another day at school. As usual, he had been avoided or ridiculed for his species. It used to bother him so much, but nowadays it just fueled that anger he had for the bigots of Zootopia. If it wasn't for his two friends, Finnick and Flash, he would have already dropped out of school and lived his own life. He knew how to make money, thanks to his hustles with Finnick. He laughed at himself, glad that he had managed to convince the fennec fox to steal from the people in a more...refined way. Directly stealing from stores or pickpocketing people had lead them to an all-too-close encounter with the police. Luckily, they hadn't been able to see either of their faces, but Nick was not going to have any more close calls like that. But as he was walking through the city, listening to the different sounds of people living their daily lives, feeling the warm concrete under his feet, he felt a bit more calm.

He would have to tell his mom that he failed his Science exam, but he knew for a fact that the teacher had done that intentionally. He had looked in his textbook to see what he had gotten wrong, and as it turned out, a few of the problems that he had gotten right, the teacher had marked off. It didn't help when he approached the horse about it, and she shrugged it off as if it were nothing, leaving a seething Nick to resist the temptation to throw her stapler at her.

The adolescent Nick kept his pace through the crowds of mammals, thinking about the day's events. Several times, he had almost told his mom about these problems, but he had vowed never to let anyone see his vulnerability. He didn't care how strange it made him seem, he wasn't about to open himself up to anyone. But sometimes his mom looked at him with sympathy, as if she knew that he was holding back. The only time Nick could remember allowing her to see him weak was that night with the scouts. He shuddered. That thought was still fresh in his mind. It had happened years ago, but the laughing, the taunting, the beating...it was still so powerful to remember.

Nick finally emerged from another insanely large crowd of animals, and could see his apartment building from across the street. He avoided another group of animals, sidestepping to the crosswalk. Looking both ways, the fox walked uncaringly to the other side of the street, sighing with a newfound sleepiness as he got closer to his apartment building. It was as if his bed had sensed his presence, and was now calling to him. He never realized how much school exhausted him until he got closer to home.

His steps now turned into lazy shuffles, Nick walked into the building and to the nearby elevator. A yawn threatening to escape him, he pressed the button, summoning the elevator to him. Except the button didn't light up like it usually did, and Nick had to look up to see the sign that read: Out of Order.

He was starting to get really tired now. His body and mind were ready to just shut down. With a heavy sigh, he walked to the staircase, practically dragging himself up each individual stair. All that he could think about was that he wanted to sleep forever. The idea of sleeping and never waking back up wasn't a bad idea. Not like death, just an eternal slumber. He wouldn't have to go to school, or deal with the bullies. He was finally on his own floor, feeling like he was going to collapse before he made it to his apartment.

As soon as he reached the door to his apartment, he put his hand up to the knob. But as soon as it made contact with the warm metal, he felt awake again. In fact, he felt more than just awake. He felt alert. Feeling a severe sense of dread, Nick opened the door and tried to run in, but was blinded suddenly by a severely bright light.

Nick wasn't sure what was happening, but he blinked a few times, trying to will the pain in his eyes away. A few more blinks, and he could finally see well enough to observe his surroundings. What he saw shocked him. There was a T.V hanging on the wall in front of his bed, a bouquet of flowers on a stand to his left, and to his right...a sleeping bunny in a chair. Her head was resting on the bed, her hand laying gently on his. Just like that night on the gondola.

He had no idea why, but Nick felt a strange sensation in his chest when he noticed the bunny that was so close to him. He would go as far as to say that he was even touched by the act. A small part of him was still trying to decipher whether he was still dreaming or not, but another part just wanted to go back to sleep, and let the feeling of Judy's hand around his carry him to a faraway place. He almost let his eyes close themselves, and follow what that part of his brain was telling him, until…

The fox sat up straight in bed, "Rick." He said this in a quiet manner, but the shock was no less prevalent. Nick's hand had shifted out of Judy's, and the bunny stirred a bit, but he ignored it and got out of the bed immediately. The sheets that had once wrapped him in an oddly comforting embrace were thrown off a bit violently as the fox jumped off of the bed. The sheet managed to hit Judy's head as Nick was walking out of the room, making her head shoot up sleepily. Her ears were trying to raise straight up to listen for potential threats, but she was still too groggy to manage that.

Nick passed by a mirror on the way out of the room, noticing something different about his appearance. His shirt was gone. He was still wearing the same pair of jeans, but what had happened to his shirt? The bandages had even been replaced with fresh ones. He also had a good chance to look at the very faint, but still present claw mark on his chest from the severe panic attack he'd had. The ones on his face were almost completely gone. It would be another day, perhaps, and they would finally be out of his life.

Looking around, but unable to find his shirt, Nick just stopped caring and walked outside of the room to search for his friend. To his luck, there was a nearby antelope nurse who hadn't yet noticed him.

"Excuse me," said Nick, putting a charming smile on. "Could you tell me where Rick Howlens is?" The nurse looked him up and down with suspicion in her eyes. She lingered for a few seconds on his bandages.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, sir?" she asked, still staring at the bandages wrapped around him.

"Oh, don't worry, I just got into a bit of a scuffle, that's all. Yeah, I'd say the doc patched me up pretty quick. He said it was okay of I saw a friend, and here I am. So, where do we stand on Rick Howlens?"

Right when the nurse was about to ask him to return to his room, Judy walked out, looking very tired, "Nick?" Nick silently scolded himself for not being more careful about not waking her up. He was just so desperate to see his friend.

"Hey, sleepy bunny. This kind nurse was just telling me where Rick was," Nick said, hoping that Judy would just play along.

She had already woken up a bit. That was one of the things about Judy that impressed Nick. She had taught herself to wake up fast.

"Shouldn't you be in-" Judy didn't finish when she saw the look on his face. The doctor had given her specific instructions to keep him in bed and rested, but could she really deny him the privilege of at least seeing his friend? "I mean, shouldn't you be seeing Rick right about now? Nurse, you were saying?" She put on the most innocent smile possible, and could see the thankful spark in her partner's eyes.

The armadillo looked at the two and sighed, "Well, I suppose I could let you two see him, but you're not allowed to go into the room. The doctor was very clear when he said that nobody was to disturb him." She walked down the hall, a coffee in her hand, and lead the two down the pasty white corridor, flooded with unflattering light. Nick kept eyeing the coffee in the nurse's hand, wondering where she had gotten it. He could really have used one right about then.

"How is he doing, anyway? I never really got to ask," said Judy, keeping pace beside Nick as they followed the nurse.

"Well, I think you should really ask Doctor Sheldon about that, but I do know that he needs plenty of rest, that wolf does," she responded. Nick swallowed nervously, trying to comprehend what had happened to his friend. He didn't bother asking the nurse. She would just tell him to ask the doctor, and he honestly didn't mind that. The doctor could not only tell Nick what happened to Rick, but explain the whole situation. But right now, all Nick needed was peace of mind.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Nick asked Judy quietly. The bunny gave him an apologetic look.

"No, I was a bit busy worrying about you. Chief Bogo said that he suspected some things, but he couldn't tell me until he had done some digging," she said.

"Who brought me the flowers?"

"Clawhauser," they both said at the same time.

"He was actually crying a little, you know," Judy said. "He was really worried about you…we all were."

"What about Rick? He's the one you all should've been worried about."

"Nick, you were gone. I saw you, I looked into your eyes. You were just gone, and then you passed out. Whatever happened to Rick is more predictable. It could have been a number of things...but none of us know what happened to you." She lowered her voice so much that Nick even had trouble hearing it. "That's why the doctor said you shouldn't be out of bed."

Nick was able to avoid having to reply to that because they arrived at Rick's room. While they weren't allowed to go in, as the nurse had already stated, there was a very convenient window for them to look through. Rick was so peacefully asleep in his hospital bed, as if nothing had transpired at the ZPD. Nick put his hand on the glass, wishing that there was a way that he could let Rick know that he was there. That he would make sure he got out of all of this mess.

Judy gasped in fear, and Nick had no idea what at until Doctor Sheldon appeared at their side. He didn't look angry, just a bit...irked.

"And what are we doing out of bed, Mr. Wilde?" asked the doctor, getting the fox's attention.. The nurse had already walked off and hadn't noticed the doctor's appearance, or heard what he asked Nick.

"I just-"

"Wanted to see your friend, I know," the doctor finished for him, "but the best thing you can do right now is return to your room. Once you're safely back in bed, I can tell you all about what happened to your friend and you, at least as much as I know. Deal?" Nick just looked at the doctor, turned around, and calmly walked back to his room, but not before taking another long look at his friend on the other side of the glass.

They all returned to Nick's room, and thanks to Judy, the very confused nurse had been saved form a tongue lashing by Doctor Sheldon for letting Nick out. Nick had climbed back into his bed under Judy's orders, and the duo waited patiently for the doctor to give them the news. Judy wanted to hold his hand comfortingly, but instead laid it beside her friend, hoping that he would still somehow feel its comfort.

"So, Mr. Wilde, usually this is the part where I tell my patients that I have good news and bad news. But, in this situation, I'm not really sure what kind of news this is. You see, we weren't really able to find out what happened to you. What I can only guess is that it was an evolved form of shock, but I looked at your records, and saw that you do have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD for short.

"While I would love to tell you that you were just shocked to see your friend in that state, Mr. Wilde, I suspect that this may go a bit deeper than just that. So, I am scheduling an appointment with a friend of mine who specializes in this sort of thing. It's too early to say anything right now, but I just want to be thorough and make sure that we get to the bottom of this, okay?" He smiled at Nick, and the fox smiled back somewhat insincerely. The armadillo doctor patted Nick on the knee and walked out.

Neither Judy nor Nick said anything for a few minutes, as they both suspected who this friend of the doctor's was.

"Great," Nick said, "he wants me to see a therapist."

"We don't know that for sure," Judy said comfortingly.

"No, but I don't think we should get our hopes up on it being a clown who rides a unicycle and scares children." Judy tried to smile at Nick's attempt at a joke, but couldn't. Things were getting more and more pressing in this city, to the point where Nick's jokes couldn't make her laugh. That was especially scary. "But it's fine. It's not like they can force me to go see this guy."

"Maybe...you should." Nick looked at her incredulously, his emerald eyes widening to an unnatural extent. Judy knew she had messed up now.

"Look, I'm not going to spend a good chunk of my money to talk to someone. Much less a stranger. Carrots, I know that he's a professional and all, but that makes me want to talk to him even less." Nick had his head down. Even Judy thought that he needed help. The only one that had ever believed in him wanted him to go to therapy.

"Okay," Judy said. "You won't have to, Nick. We really should start focusing on the case again, anyway." Nick was too smart for his own good, looking up at his partner with suspicion.

"You changed your mind pretty quick," he said, keeping his accusatory tone level. "What are you planning?" His smile started to appear, allowing his eyes to sparkle like they always did when he had a joke ready.

"You let me worry about that, sly fox. Now get some more rest. Whenever you feel up to it, we'll keep going with the case, provided the doctor gives the okay to remain on duty." Nick nodded. Judy suddenly threw something at him. He didn't know what it was until the soft fabric hit his hand. It was one of the shirts he had packed, and he was dumbfounded as to where she got it from when he hadn't been able to spot it. "I have your suitcase and laptop, by the way." Nick smiled, throwing the black T-shirt on.

"Snooping through my stuff, are you Carrots?" Nick asked, pulling the rest of the shirt over his stomach, his smile on in full force. Judy let a smile of her own appear, kind of disappointed that the fox hadn't left the shirt off a little longer. It's not that he was muscular or anything, it's just that the look of his small chest peeking out from the bandages made her heart skip a beat. She shook her head, clearing her mind of whatever these thoughts were that seemed to come from nowhere.

"Maybe I did. Maybe I also looked through your laptop and discovered some crippling information about you."

Nick narrowed his eyes in amusement, "So you know about my screensaver then, huh?"

"What?" Judy tilted her head in confusion, a smile still on her lips.

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it." Nick laid back in bed, his arms resting behind his head, looking quite pleased with himself. "Maybe if you can guess the password correctly, you'll know what I'm talking about." Judy looked at her partner, her mouth agape. Of course he would find a way to redirect her joke into a new way to torture her.

"You're just trying to rile me up," she said, catching on to the fox's plan. He just shot her a toothy grin. He never did that. All of his grins were usually casual and laid back. He must have really been enjoying himself.

"Yes, I am, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give my screensaver a look. In fact, I have so much faith that you'll get it, I won't even give you a hint."

"Whatever, I need to go speak to the doctor and ask him when you'll be ready to leave." And with that, Judy was out of the room, and Nick was left feeling satisfied. He grabbed the remote sitting next to him, and turned the T.V on. He couldn't really remember the last time he'd had an opportunity to just sit down and watch television. He had solved the Night Howler case with Judy, gone to the Academy, come back, and was given another case that had evolved into something completely more within days of his arrival. He hadn't even gotten to see that movie with Carrots because of...events.

But after the machine was turned on, emitting a high pitched squeal before allowing the screen to light up, Nick found himself flipping happily through each of the forty channels, looking for a good show to watch.

Meanwhile, Judy was walking towards the doctor, who was looking at a clipboard at the reception desk, picking his head up occasionally to say something to the receptionist, who was a cheetah lady. Whatever the doctor had said, the woman giggled at it, in turn making him smile back. His smile made the bags under his eyes more prominent. Judy wasn't sure what time it was, but she knew that it had to be late at night...or maybe early in the morning. All she knew for certain was that it was still very dark outside. The only light that shone through the very large windows was coming from the different buildings spread across Zootopia's vast and magnificent Savannah district. But with the sickening white and artificial lighting, it created a barrier that kept the city lights from breaking into the building.

She walked up to the exhausted doctor shyly, standing only close enough for him to notice her. When he looked up, she saw how alert and attentive his eyes were, making the rest of his face double in age.

"Can I help you, Ms. Hopps?" Doctor Sheldon asked politely.

Judy gave him that sweet smile she always gave when she was nervous, "I was wondering if I could ask you some things."

"Well out with it, then."

"About your friend, I assume he's a therapist?"

"She is, yes."

"Well, Nick doesn't really want to talk to a therapist. He may not even go to any appointments with her. He's not very open about his problems, you see. I can barely get him to talk to me."

"Where are you going with this, Ms. Hopps?"

"Please, call me Judy," she said. Everybody knew her name in Zootopia. She was the police officer who cracked the Night Howler case, except she felt guilty about that. While Nick didn't let her, Judy really wanted him to share the spotlight with her. She was still getting free cupcakes at a nearby sweet shop around the corner from her apartment, even though she had repeatedly insisted that she didn't need them. "I was wondering if, instead of sending Nick to a therapist, he could instead just talk to me?"

Doctor Sheldon looked at her with an emotionless face, "I cannot allow that, Ms.—I mean, Judy. Dr. Mona is a professional, and she knows all of the ways to make Nick feel comfortable. She's had hundreds of patients that previously refused to talk about problems."

"Not like Nick, doctor. He's been holding this stuff in his entire life. I've managed to get him to tell me a few things. And besides, he says that all of the things that gave him anxiety in the first place are in the past, and that not talking about them makes him feel better. He likes making jokes, and being annoyingly lovable, and clever. He loves his job and the mammals who work with him. But I've seen him when he remembers his traumatic experiences, Doctor Sheldon. He changes into a completely different fox. He just wants to be the Nick Wilde that he always is, not the one he used to be." Judy was breathing hard after this, having not given herself the time to take a breath during that whole thing. Doctor Sheldon looked at the bunny with a bit of sympathy.

"Ms. Hopps, you were originally talking to me because you wanted to be Nick's therapist, and now you're telling me that he doesn't need to talk about his problems. Which one is it?"

"Look, if Nick absolutely has to talk to a therapist, then let him do it indirectly. I can record him telling me what is bothering him, and give it to Doctor Mona." Doctor Sheldon glanced at the receptionist, who avoided his gaze, not wanting any part of this conversation.

"Ms. Hopps, I understand and respect that you are trying to help your friend, but he really must go to a therapist. If it will help, I'm sure Doctor Mona will be fine with you being in the room with him as he talks to her. That is the most I can do for you." He looked at his clipboard one more time. "I need to go check on another patient. Excuse me." The tired armadillo walked off, adjusting the glasses resting on his nose. "By the way, Mr. Wilde is to stay overnight. Well, as much night that's left, at least. He needs his rest." Judy groaned, stamping her foot on the ground. When Nick had told her how uncomfortable talking about his problems really made him, she finally understood. How could she make anyone else understand the way she did? How could she get anyone to see the sincerity in his eyes as he revealed such things to her?

But, on the other hand, Nick was very convincing. He could have just told her that to get her off his back. Maybe a professional could make Nick feel better about opening up. Maybe he would be freed from his troubles. Still, as she turned around to go back to his room, she felt a severe dread put weight in her step. She had to tell him what she asked the doctor. She had to show him that she supported the therapy sessions. The only thing she hoped was that he would trust her enough to at least try it out.

She walked back to Nick's room, her head slightly down, not ready to ruin the good mood she had put him in with their banter. But as she peeked her head around the blandly painted wall of the room, she saw Nick asleep in his bed, remote in hand, and the T.V playing some random channel that Judy wasn't familiar with. The bunny softened at the sight, and went back to her spot in the chair next to his bed, taking the remote from his hand, and turning the T.V off. Still keeping her eyes on her friend, she leaned forward, using the bed as her pillow. But as soon as her head hit the mattress, Nick jerked awake, his eyelids droopy.

"Carrots?" he murmured, half-asleep. "Is that you?"

"Do you know any other bunnies patient enough to stay with you?" she asked with a laugh, realizing that she had really been spending too much time with this fox. She was starting to makes jokes like him now. His eyes opened a bit more, looking her up and down, staying unnervingly silent.

"It can't be very comfortable in that chair." He looked her in the eyes now. "You can...you can sleep in the bed with me if you want." They both were very silent for a long while, staring each other in the eyes. Judy had to admit, the chair really was very uncomfortable. Why did this feel so awkward? He was just making sure that she wouldn't completely ruin her spine by sleeping in that hunched over position in the chair. Nick was just doing what any friend would do.

Judy swallowed hard, standing from the chair, and climbing into the bed with Nick, grabbing some of the covers to wrap herself in. They were both laying on their backs, as still and stiff as possible, but neither knew why. Judy wasn't sure how long either of them were like that. All she knew was that she could hear Nick's breathing get slower and slower until she looked over to see that he had fallen asleep again. There it was, that same peaceful look on his face. Never would she ever be able to explain why, but Judy's hand was compelled to move towards his muzzle.

His soft red fur brushed against her paw, and she felt like her face looked just like Nick's in that moment. Peaceful, relaxed, protected. This fox loved to poke fun at her, but he refused to leave her. Even in the Night Howler case, he remained at her side even when she told him to leave...even when she betrayed him.

Retracting her paw from his muzzle, she turned on her side, letting her own breathing get softer, and falling into the land of dreams.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Updates will be a bit slower, but I won't forget about you guys. If you have any suggestions, you can review or PM me!