It was late at night and the hospital was sleeping. Nick had been preparing his escape as much as his bandaged paws and dizzy head would allow. The custodian's keys formed an uncomfortable lump beneath his pillow. He had dressed in the jeans and Hawaiian shirt Judy had brought along with the blueberries on her first visit. He was as ready as he'd ever be.

The ICU was on the ground floor near the emergency room to allow for easy transfer of patients. If his room had been on any other floor Nick wasn't sure what he'd have done. This would do nicely. He had to get out of here, clear his head. Maybe leave Zootopia altogether. This wasn't the city he knew anymore. The window only opened an inch or two for safety he presumed. It was noisy but it was his only option. If he hit the glass at the right angle and speed he'd be out and running before anyone could come running.

When his room's clock hit midnight he got out of bed and stretched. The one chair was metal and would do nicely. He hefted it and smiled. This'd go through no problem. Chief Buffalo Butt still had the polar bear guarding him at night. Polar bears could run faster than foxes and they were a lot bigger. He knew it was a dramatic escape but by locking the door he'd buy himself the extra time he'd need to get out.

Nick crept and hefted the chair. His paw bled from where he'd tugged the drip out but the pain cleared his head. He pressed himself against the wall and rushed forward. Zootopia General was the oldest hospital in the city and though its inner workings were state of the art. The outside was not. The glass broke easier than expected and Nick was out with the chair.

"NICK!" The bear's bellow followed him as he ran out into the Zootopia night. For the first time in as many days Nick felt free. Still at the back of his mind the memories lingered half-hidden and smoky. He shook his head as a drizzle began to fall. The water left a light sprinkling on his fur. He disappeared down a back alley across the street from the hospital and watched as flashlights lit up the parking lot. In the distance, sirens.

…

"You caught Flash how many times?" laughed Wolford.

"Five," replied Judy, giggling despite herself. "Nearly six but he threw us off on the highway."

"Damn and he's never had his licence revoked."

"No, see someone in the Department of Mammal Vehicles knows how to fix up points on a licence. They've never been caught so until the system catches up to Flash it doesn't matter how many times we catch up to him."

Wolford barked out another laugh and sat back in the cruiser's seat. Despite himself and the circumstances he was enjoying being Judy's partner. He could see why she had worked so well with Nick. Her by-the-book approach and his fluid street knowledge were like chocolate and peanut butter. Wolford worked better alone and hidden behind a pair of shades. Judy worked better in a pair but things had been pretty good the last few nights. Then the radio crackled.

"All Units, all Units," growled a voice. "This is Highway Patrol Officer Grizzoli at Zootopia General. Detective Nicholas Wilde has escaped from the hospital. He's disappeared! Clawhauser I need an APB out on Nick, now!"

Wolford was driving before Judy could buckle up. Sirens were starting to shriek all across the city. They were close to the hospital but the area around Zootopia General was a maze in one of the oldest parts of the city. Finding Nick would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But Judy had an inkling where he'd go. But there was one problem.

"He never wants to see you again," she muttered sadly.

"C'mon Hopps that's not true," snapped Wolford, turning hard. "Once we find him and get him the help he needs everything'll be OK you'll see."

"We're not going to find him," she stated, her voice shaky and determined. He risked a glance at her and saw that the bunny's eyes were shining. Wolford knew Judy was upset but his instincts told him that Judy had a plan. He slowed the cruiser and pulled over, turning off the siren. She picked up the radio and switched it to the Chief's personal channel.

"Hopps?" came the bleary voice. "I'm on my way now. What the bloody hell is going on? Are you at the hospital already?"

"Chief listen to me," said Judy, her voice cracking. "I'm about to give you an address I need you to go to. Nick might be going there. It's just a hunch but if it works this might be the only chance we have of seeing… of see-"

"I understand Hopps," Bogo said, much quieter and more awake now. "Give me the address. If he's there I'll talk to him. I may even have a plan to get him out of this mess."

Judy thanked him and rattled off an address in Foxton. The Chief clicked off and Judy sat there with Wolford in silence. Drizzle began to dapple the windshield and start a light drumming on the roof. The silence seemed to stretch and stretch and stretch.

If any mammal were to pass by the darkened police cruiser on that late, rainy night they would have seen a small bunny wrapped in the arms of a timber wolf, crying. But there was no one to see and so the bunny and, eventually, the wolf wept in silent solitude.

…

Nick was about to lay down in the ashes of his old home when a shadow, large and horned, darkened the doorway. The water buffalo ducked under the easel and crossed the threshold. Rain pattered on the partially collapsed roof. Neither mammal said anything. They didn't have to. Nick knew the jig was up.

Wordlessly he plucked a bottle of cheap whiskey out of his shirt pocket and offered it across. Buffalo Butt shook his head. As Nick shrugged and pulled the bottle back a hoof came out of nowhere and knocked the bottle against the wall. Glass shattered and Nick growled as the spotlight from a police helicopter washed over the neighbourhood. The buffalo's dark brown eyes lit up but Nick saw only misery in there.

"This ends now Wilde," he said quietly but authoritatively. "I've seen too many good detectives go down this road and I won't let you be one of them."

"You don't know anything about me," said Nick, looking morosely at the whiskey dripping down the scorched wall.

"On the contrary Wilde I know everything."

"Just because you read a file-"

"I read no files Wilde. I know because I've been here where you are right now."

Nick looked at him doubtfully but he didn't say anything else. Bogo took that as his cue to continue hoping against hope that this would awaken something in the box where Nick's memories had been locked away.

"A long time ago I was a detective with the ZPD," he started. "Myself and my partner were on the Grizzly Gutter case. You remember that? Good. We took him down but not without my partner dying horribly in front of me. It's been decades and I still can't shake those memories from my brain. I fell into a funk, a depression that only booze and pills could bring relief from. I was on administrative leave, typical for any cop that has to deal with trauma on the job, but I lost myself in that time off. I went on week long benders, avoided friends and family. Eventually I ended up in hospital with no memory of how I got there just like you. My friends came in and took me away to a place on the coast. Rehab if you want to put a word to it but it helped enormously. I still carry those scars and I always will but I'd be dead now if I didn't accept the help I was offered."

Nick was looking down at the floor but Bogo could see darker tracks of wetness running down his muzzle. The huge buffalo hunkered down and extended an enormously beefy arm. Nick looked up, still not meeting Bogo's eyes.

"Won't you take a friend's paw Nick," asked the buffalo gently.

The realisation hit Nick like a truck. He knew this mammal all of a sudden but it was because he'd never called him friend or even Nick before. The amused shock registered deep within a part of Nick's brain and he felt something crack open. He remembered morning meetings, fists pounding on tables and barked orders. The bellow of "Shut it Wilde!" or "Wilde! Hopps! My office, now!" echoed in his head.

"Nice to see you again Chief," he said shakily with a half-smirk on his muzzle. "Been a while."

"It has indeed Wilde," said the Chief, smiling. "Now let's get you somewhere safe."

…

Chief Bogo didn't show up for the morning role call the next day. He'd left a note with Clawhauser citing a stomach bug. Francine performed the Chief's duties well enough but it didn't warrant any table pounding. A lot of the officers noticed that Detective Judy Hopps had a bit more pep in her step on that morning. They were glad as often the mood of the precinct could be judged by the mood of the rabbit.

"What gives Judy?" asked Wolford as she took her place beside him. In reply Judy unlocked her phone and showed him a message from Bogo that said: "Found him. He's safe."

Outside the sun shone and Judy felt that she could breathe for the first time in weeks. The future was uncertain but Judy felt positive about it no matter how long his recovery was going to take.