Author's Note
Here is a less dramatic chapter for you guys, all in Nick's POV, but you know how I like to leave things at the end of my chapters... I hope you enjoy it.
Nick's POV
My eyes were closed, my body sound asleep. I was still deep in thought about what was going to happen these next few days. Then I felt a paw gently press against my forehead, Judy's. She slowly stroked my fur, and behind my ears. My head leaned into it just barely. I wanted to move my arm up to her ears and do the same, but I couldn't, I was sleeping. If this is one of the side effects Alex was talking about, then this is going to suck. Do I sit here and think for eight hours straight? I sure hope not. Maybe I'm not in deep sleep yet. Is Judy gone? Her paw was no longer against my fur, so most likely. She could just be staring at me. Is Alex back with my clothes yet? I tried to shut myself up, but I just kept asking random questions to myself. After about ten minutes or so I felt my eyes start to rise, revealing the dark moonlight.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time, two at night. Then another thing caught my eye. I wasn't sleeping for ten hours. I was asleep for thirty four. I groaned, upset that I probably missed out on something important and relevant. Oh well, I could just ask Alex or Judy. Speaking of them, Alex was sleeping on floor with a blanket and pillow. Carrots was probably in her room. I snuck over to the restroom and shut myself inside. I took off my casual green shirt, revealing my blood ridden fur. If anyone saw me now, they'd think the blood wasn't mine, as every wound I once had was now invisible. I stepped outside, leaving my shirt on the toilet, and looked around the dark, silent house. I found a stack of clothes on the coffee table next to the couch, I remember now that Alex had gotten some outfits for me while I was out. I grabbed a pair of jeans and another green shirt. I had a couple extra green shirts, because like I said, it's my favorite.
As I placed my new outfit neatly on the toilet, I made sure to move my old, blood stained shirt to the floor. I took my pants off and climbed into the shower, and turning the water on, it was cold, but I wanted to clean my fur as soon as possible. I pulled and yanked on clots of fur, pulling our dry blood, after only five minutes I got out and grabbed a new towel from the cabinent to dry myself off. I had a crazy thought. How strong were my healing capabilities? Mr. Jaguar asked this question back at the hospital. I put on my new pants and stalked into the kitchen. I mentally slapped myself as I starred at the counter, a large knife sitting in it's wooden holder. No, that's a stupid idea. I am not cutting myself. I repeated this as I took the knife and jogged back into the restroom, closing the door. I wanted to know for sure, what exactly happens to my injuries. I lost so much blood from the hospital, I should be dead, even without the gunshots. I placed my new clothes on the floor, then I sat on the toilet. I pulled the knife up to my paw, readying myself. As I inched closer, I felt the cold metal graze my fur.
"Nick, are you in there?" Judy said throught the door, causing me to jump, cutting my paw.
"Damn it!" I yelled, dropping the knife. Dripping blood on the floor.
"Nick, are you okay? I'm coming in!" Judy said, concerned about my well being. She opened the door quickly, her arm covering her eyes.
"Judy, I'm not naked. You could have given me a heart attack!" I said, giving her the okay to open her eyes. Judy gasped upon dropping her arm, seeing the knife in front of her. Here we go.
"Nick, what the hell are you doing?" She whispered, realizing Alex was still sleeping just outside.
"I was testing myself. Seeing how exactly I recover, especially with blood and all." I claimed, not wanting her to make such a big deal out of this. Judy just starred at me, still confused, but less upset.
"Why are you shirtless, and still wearing those pants?" She asked. I was still wearing my old pants, which were ripped and covered in blood.
"Want me to take them off, Carrots?" I said, grabbing the waist of the pants. Her reaction will be priceless. She just makes it too easy to tease.
"I'm waiting outside, dumb fox." She said in anger, closing the door behind her as she left. I sighed, switching into my clean, blue jeans.
"Sly bunny." I whispered to myself as I put on a white tank-top on, then my green shirt over it. I left the restroom and entered the kitchen, where Judy was.
"I am making coffee, want some?" She asked quietly. I wasn't feeling tired, but I don't mind coffee.
"Sure, why don't you get some sleep? I kind of woke you up early." I wondered, as she usually wakes up around six.
"Well Alex and I decided, we were going to wake up early today anyways, or at least the day you woke up. Not this early, but no harm." She answered. That doesn't really make any sense, I thought. "You see, the three of us are going to the ZPD," She began, "and we are going to work with Chief Bogo to find whoever is behind this." She said, motioning a paw to me. That makes more sense, earlier the better. I thought about what Judy was doing before I was truly asleep. The both of us sat at the kitchen table, waiting for the coffee.
"Hey Judy, would you mind scratching behind my ears again? It felt great." I asked, her ears dropping behind her.
"I thought you were sleeping!" Judy refuted, leaning over and hitting my shoulder.
"If you're going to punch my shoulder, please use the other one, that one still has a bullet in it." I laughed, she didn't look amused. Judy got up and walked back towards the living room. My back facing her. I heard her stop, and then I felt her paws upon my head.
"Feels great huh?" She said, scratching everywhere behind my ears. I just grinned, it sure did.
"I'd rather have this than coffee every morning." I said, causing Carrots to stop. She walked over to the coffee machine. "The coffee can wait, can't it?" I asked. She just ignored me. "Aww, does Judy need her beauty sleep?" I joked, getting her attention.
"As a matter of fact I do, Nick." She played along, remembering the day of the mall incident. We both just laughed, dropping the conversation. We both drank our coffee in silence, it was burning hot, but I was used to the pain. Carrots starred at me almost every second of it, like she was trying to read my mind. I held my paw up in the air, looking at the now barely visible slash upon it.
"Hey Carrots, you wouldn't mind making your favorite fox here something to eat, would you? I am starving." I broke the silence, pushing my coffee mug away from me.
"You're one of the two foxes I know, don't get your hopes up." She said, getting up and walking over to the counter. "Alex has taught me his french toast recipe, which has been passed down for generations." She said slowly, grabbing away at cuboards. Sounds good enough for me. I wondered when Judy and I should wake up Alex, the clock on Judy's microwave was just about to strike three. I set my head face down on the kitchen table, my eyes covered in darkness. I looked up slightly every several seconds, watching Carrots make me food. I was glad to have her as a friend, anyone else probably would have abandoned me at a time like this.
"Boo." A disembodied voice whispered, causing me to jump. I turned around in my chair, my nose hitting Alex's. I placed my paw on his chest and pushed him back.
"You could have done better than that." I said, rubbing my nose. That boo was a little too weak, especially for him.
"Yeah, true, but I didn't want to give you a heart attack." He laughed, walking towards Carrots.
"Alex, good morning, want some french toast?" Judy asked, "I'm not letting you help me, I want to see if I can perfect it on my own." She said, making Alex take a step back.
"Sure, suit yourself, Jude." He answered, swinging around and taking a seat across from me at the table.
"Jude, huh? Where'd you get that one?" I asked. He put his paw on his chin, as if he was actually putting thought into answering.
"I just thought of it, sounds nice." I just shrugged and put my elbows on the table, holding my head up. I continued distracting myself with serene thoughts, most of them about Judy, my parents, more specifically my mother, and my job. I somehow managed to go from conversation to deep thinking in a matter of seconds. I thought about what Judy had said before I went to sleep a couple days ago. She wanted to talk about us, what does that mean? I had a weird feeling that I knew what it meant, but I didn't want to know.
"After we eat, we need to get ready to head over to the ZPD, Bogo wants us to meet him and a couple others there an hour earlier than our usual time. So around six, which gives us about three hours." Judy explained, breaking my trance. I went back to thinking afterwards. Judy approached the table, tossing down two plates of the frenchiest toast. She made sure to give me more than double what Alex got.
"I'm twice Nick's size but only get a third of what he is eating?" Alex questioned, even though he truly didn't care.
"Perhaps, but look at it this way, I use ten percent of my brain, you? Three percent. So I need to eat three times as much." I laughed. Carrots gave a little smile, sitting down between Alex and I.
"You got me." Alex whispered, almost as if turning himself in, putting his arms halfway in the air. I chuckled, returning to my french toast. I took a bite, then another, and another. It was delicious.
"Judy, you should let Alex make the french toast next time." I said, my mouth full. She looked a tad bit upset. "Because if you don't, I may end up gaining ten pounds." I said, devouring the rest of my food. That got her and Alex to laugh, and her to hit my wounded shoulder, gently this time.
"I love how you two manage to joke around and laugh, even after all that has happened." Alex said frankly. It was true, we kept our spirits up almost all the time. We continued eating our meal, and once finished, we all stood up at once.
"Okay, both of you, get in uniform." She instructed. I scratched my head in confusion.
"Carrots, we aren't due at the precinct for about another three hours. I'm sure we can just hangout for a tad bit longer." I started, she didn't look very convinced, she always wanted to be ready. "Please, I miss this, I've been stuck in a hospital this last week." She rolled her eyes, a grin forming.
"Alright, I get it, you hate being responsible." She laughed, "What are we going to do for the next two hours then?" I looked upwards after she asked, what would we do? Watching a movie seems too overused, and just talking in general would get boring.
"How about we test Nick's 'limits'?" Carrots asked, her grin crawling across her face. Alex looked at me deviously.
"What are you talking about?" I asked nervously, knowing exactly what she was talking about.
"Well, I'm interested in how you're effected by blood lose." She explained. "I was joking about 'testing', maybe just something small." That made me feel better, but not much, that knife hurt like a bitch earlier. Alex looked up, thinking about it.
"Actually, that would be interesting, but we have to be careful, Nick's body isn't at the least stable, health wise." Alex cut in, enforcing Judy's cautions. I shrugged, with a single nod of my head.
"You lost a lot of blood two days ago, Nick, regardless of the obviously fatal injuries, just the blood lose alone would have stopped your body from properly functioning." Alex told me, sounding more like a mad scientist every second.
"Just how involved were you with the science side of this operation?" I pursued, as Judy was jogging around the house, carrying objects which I wasn't paying attention to.
"I hate to tell you this, as it's terrible, but also good, but I somewhat helped in the process of making it." Alex explained, looked at the ground beside him. "I was there when Dr. Harris, along with a few others were designing and developing it." His words cutting into me. I felt angry at him, but his knowledge of this serum is only benefiting me.
"That explains how you knew so much about it earlier." I said calmly, "Well, let's do some 'testing' as Carrots calls it." I chuckled, looking around for her. My eyes widened when Judy came out of the bathroom, transporting an assortment of items. She had bandages, paper towels, her tranquilizer, a pen, and a notebook. She passed up and laid all these items on the kitchen island, and placed a knife next to the pile of stuff.
"Surely you are insane." Alex teased, but I could tell he was some truth in his voice. Judy just smiled, probably thinking about brutally torturing me.
"No, just want to know more about my favorite fox." She corrected. Heh, so I was her favorite fox. I mean, I already knew that. Judy placed a chair from her kitchen table in the center of the kitchen, and placed paper towels around it. I felt sick to my stomach as I sat down. "Nick, before I actually do anything, how painful is the knife?" She asked, noting my scene on the toilet earlier.
"Hurts like a bitch." I responded, using the same description as earlier. Her ears dropped at that, sympathy overtaking her.
"Nick, if you would have told me that earlier, I wouldn't have suggested..." She began, before I cut her off.
"It's not all that bad, go ahead, bring the knife here." I countered, partially lying so she wouldn't be upset. She brought the knife over and handed it to me. Alex standing silently by my side the whole time. I mentally prepared myself as I brought the knife to my paw, readying my body for the pain that would follow. I yanked the knife away, leaving a large cut across my paw, blood already oozing out. I grunted in pain, but held back the vigorous words that would usually follow. Alex and Judy just stared at my hand closely, not noticing anything special.
"So, how long until it heals?" Judy asked, disappointment radiating off her words.
"Give it a minute." Alex cut in, right before I could answer. The two of them continued watching, blood coming out slower and slower, until it stopped. A layer of skin overtook the wound, then another, and another. It was clear that there was a wound, but here in ten minutes it would look as if I hadn't even been cut.
"Wow, that sure is something." Carrots said, her face full of surprise. Alex nodded his head in agreement, not as shocked a Judy, but still amazed. Alex wiped my paw with a paper towel, before the blood could dry. We continued doing this for the next hour, mostly just for fun, even though it seems dark.
"I'm pretty sure your favorite fox here isn't dying anytime soon." Alex said, putting a paw next to his mouth, as if it was a secret. My phone buzzed in my pocket, the sudden silence told me that Judy and Alex heard it too. I slowly pulled my phone out, an unknown caller.
"Don't answer it." Judy cautioned. Alex sighed, looking at the phone.
"Answer it." He objected, making Judy shoot him an angry glare.
"Why, it's probably just a threat, that won't do us any good." She responded, easily beating Alex in the newly founded argument. I answered the phone, defying her orders.
"Hello?" I asked with a normal tone. No one responded at first, they must haven't realized I picked up, since I took so long.
"Hello Nick, it's your friend, Mr. Jaguar." Said the same voice from the hospital, "Let's not get overzealous here, but I was just wondering when you were going to visit again." He asked, showcasing no professionalism.
"I was thinking this Monday, maybe even tonight if you're lucky." I said, whispering seductively at the end, causing Judy to raise an eyebrow and Alex to hold in his laughter, covering his snout with both paws, he then crouched down next to me so he could tune in on the homoerotic conversation.
"Yes that sounds great, tonight would be even better, but we are no longer at the hospital." He said, apologizing about the inconvenience. If I was prepared, I could have traced this call, bummer. His voice picked back up, "I'll give you our current address." He forwarded. As he told me the address, I snorted. I thought right away it was fake, but then I countered, what if it's real, and they want a fight? No, they're too smart to do something like that. "Also, I'm using a pay phone, so don't bother tracing it, just come here and we can talk." He finished. While I thought about the address, he hung up.
"That sounded more like a significant other than a threat." Judy pondered. Alex couldn't help but laugh this time.
"It was someone from the hospital." I corrected, sliding my phone back into my pocket as her ears dropped.
"Payphones, who uses those anymore?" Alex joked, elbowing my side lightly. People that don't have the money for phones, people that don't have their phone on them, and criminals. It was almost five o' clock, just fifteen minutes shy.
"Alright, get in uniform, grab anything you may need for the day." Judy declared, making her way to her bedroom.
"Mine's out in the car, I'll be right back." Alex told her as she passed him, before walking to the front door. I grabbed my uniform from my pile of clothes and headed into the restroom. I took off my clothes and switched into uniform, ensuring I had all my equipment. I exited, Alex quickly taking my place, his uniform in his arms. Judy hopped out of her bedroom, looking more eager than ever.
"Alright Nick, once Alex gets out, we're heading out." She said confidently. I smiled, looking down at her.
"It's just a meeting with Bogo to discuss the situation, no need to get over enthusiastic." I said, gesturing with my paws to calm down. She just laughed, then went to the front door.
"Okay, whatever you say Nick, in fact, you should be more excited than I am." She said, opening the front door. "I'm gonna start the car, tell Alex we are waiting on him." She said, her head disappearing behind the now closed door.
"Hey Alex, we are..." I started, passing on the message.
"Waiting on me, I know, I'm ready." He intervened, opening the door a second later. He looked professional enough, but still had his 'I'm the funny guy', look. Hard to explain, let's just move on. We both left the house together, after Alex made sure to turn off the light in the kitchen. Alex and I climbed into the car, I took shotgun, forcing Alex to stay alone in the back.
"Alright, Nick, you and Alex will do most the talking, since you are both personally involved. Alex, you are going to come clean about your side of the situation, this will ultimately help all of us, since you can only tell Chief Bogo so much before he catches on anyways." Judy directed, laying out a general plan for our talk with him and some other officers. Alex dipped his head in unison with me, affirming Judy's words. I also needed to bring some form of information to the table, such as locations and names. The address the jaguar gave me, I could give them that. Speaking of which, what was the address again?
"Alex, what's the address they gave us again?" I asked, turning back only slightly. I could see Carrots roll her eyes on my side.
"I could barely hear the guy, how'd you for..." He trailed off, "No fair, you have a legitimate excuse." I adjusted in my seat-belt, and turned to face him.
"Legitimate excuse?" I laid out slowly, unsure of what he meant.
"Does 'Memory problems' not ring a bell?" He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. How convenient is that.
"I would try calling back, except he said he was using a pay phone." I deduced, "There goes our one chance at finding these pricks." I slammed on the dashboard. "I couldn't remember one damn thing!" I shouted, causing Judy to flinch slightly. She paused, then her eyes widened.
"Nick! You're not a genius!" She exclaimed, causing me to groan. "You said he was using a pay phone at what, like five in the morning!" She continued, catching both Alex's and my attention. "You said it yourself Alex, who uses pay phones anymore? Well, I'm sure Bogo would have no problem letting us check the traffic camera's to find our lucky caller." She concluded, making me face palm.
"How did I not think of that..." I sighed. Alex laughed, he was probably going to take advantage of my memory problems. I felt a lump in my chest as I looked at Judy, I was her favorite fox, and right behind us, her favorite wolf. I smiled, just taking in all my surroundings, Judy, Alex, and the beautiful darkness of Zootopia. Judy was so strong-willed, my mind trailed off, starring out the window. I heard a noise, faint, almost inaudible. The sound grew closer to me, I continued starring out the front window of the car.
"Nick..." I moved my ears around, trying to distinguish where the sound came from. The pain in my chest intensified, causing me to place a paw across it.
"NICK!" I heard, jolting me upwards, I turned to Judy, so slowly it made Flash look fast. The car moved slow, she moved her arm, her paw drifting through the air, until after what seemed like several seconds, collided with my sleeve. My eyes moved back to looking out the window. I started hyperventilating, as the pain grew larger. I felt a large, white paw grab my shoulder, Alex. The car quickly halted, breaking my slow-motion trance. I couldn't breath, and I dragged my paw against the car door, searching for the handle. As Judy tried to stop me from pushing the door open, Alex moved to open his. I fell to the concrete road outside, and felt sweat staining my fur. My mind full of perfidious thoughts, I could no longer tell the difference between Judy and Alex's voice as they shouted at me, their words drained out by the sound of my heartbeat. But after a few moments, I heard Judy's voice, soothing and quiet in my head, "Don't give up on me, Nick."
Author's Note
Yes I love cliffhangers, yes I'm an asshole. Also, longest chapter once again. That being said, hope you enjoyed this less dramatic chapter, with the exception of the ending. You've only seen a small portion of what Nick will experience due to his 'Situation'. Please leave a review, telling me about your thoughts, concerns, and ideas.
Gotta love the foreshadowing about Nick's situation at the end, just hit ctrl+f, and search heart. Anyone catch the subtle reference to Breaking bad? Or the one to the movie Tommy boy? No? Okay.
May crippling social anxiety be with you.