A/N: So it's been a while. Yeah, I guess I dropped the ball on updating. Let's just say something important got in the way of things. What can I say? Real life does that to you. Anyway, I'm really amazed with the feedback I've gotten. I honestly was not expecting this amount of feedback since I was sorta after a non-serious comedy-ish like story, but it warms my heart. Anyway, without further ado, here's chapter 2. Enjoy :).

Coffee

Nick was slowly waking up. Only this time, he was not feeling good about it. His memory seemed fuzzy, but his vision was finally returning. He could hear the hum of a machine to his right, while his vision was good enough to see that he was in a sterile environment. He was able to put two and two together. He was in a hospital.

The other important thing he noticed was Judy at her bedside. She sat on a chair, but her head seemed to have rested on the side. The moving eyeballs behind closed eyelids indicated she was in a deep sleep which seemed to have been broken with her head stirring at the slight motion of the fox. Her eyes opened immediately at the sight of the slightly agitated fox.

"Nick, you're awake." Judy smiled.

"Carrots…" Nick replied weakly. "What happened to me?"

"Coffee poisoning."

The fox and the bunny looked at the doctor before them. The bunny looked confused, but the fox immediately recoiled in fear.

"Y-you!"

"Yes. Me. Dr. Madge Honey Badger." The badger smiled.

"Wait, Nick. Isn't she… Aren't you the doctor who was with Lionheart?"

The badger continued her smile with several nodes.

"But… you know what, forget about it." Judy decided to go back on topic. "So… coffee poisoning?"

"That's right. Mr. Wilde suffered a severe case of caffeine poisoning." Dr. Badger then pulls down a chart seemingly out of nowhere. "As you can see, coffee is poisonous to most mammals, including but not limited to vulpine creatures, lupine creatures, feline creatures, mustelids and so on…"

The doctor carefully approached Nick's side. "Sounds familiar doesn't it?" She whispered.

"Judy! She's the one I was telling you about. The one that's talking to some random wall for some reason."

"Oh, I wasn't talking to some fourth wall. There was a camera there." The badger looks to the bunny cop. "Don't worry. We don't have cameras here. As a doctor, I take doctor-patient confidentiality seriously." Madge replied reassuringly.

The doctor was near Nick's ear once more. "I shared it to your furbook. It already has a thousand likes." She whispered again.

"Woman! How are we friends in furbook?"

"You know everybody." Madge looked at Judy. "He knows everybody."

"She got you there, Slick. Doctor, is my partner going to be alright?" Judy asked.

"Well… allow me to explain."

…

Our ancestors are actually intolerant to a lot of things. Caffeine is just one of those substances our bodies can't process. Consumption of this deathly liquid known as coffee can lead to a build-up of caffeine in our bodies. The only way to filter this is by dialysis.

…

"Which explains this machine on your side. It's specifically designed to remove caffeine and my God, did we remove a lot of them. With the amount of caffeine we got out of you, it's a wonder you're still alive, Mr. Wilde." Suddenly, the badger looks to Judy suspiciously, narrowing her eyes with a question to follow. "By any chance, you're not drinking coffee, are you?"

"Oh no. No. That's just Nick. I'm a tea kind of animal."

Madge maintained her narrow stare. "What kind…?"

She did not know why, but the bunny was starting to get a bit nervous. "White… tea?" She asked with less confidence than usual.

Madge shifted to a more relaxed and delightful look. "Well aren't you the health-conscious animal. Tea has less way less caffeine." Madge looks at the fox. "And theobromine." She winks, giving the fox an awkward vibe. "Which I would say is pretty safe for consumption." Her face returned to her more serious look. "Just don't overdo it."

"Look, Miss health police." Nick started. "This is ridiculous. Is there anything we can eat or drink that won't kill us?" He ranted.

The badger raised her paw and lifted her index finger. "Water." The badger then removed a notepad out of her pocket and began scribbling some notes. "I'm glad to tell you that we've filtered most of the caffeine in your system. In fact, you'll be healthier than your bunny friend… in terms of caffeine at least, but I'm afraid you're gonna have to cut down on the caffeine. That means no more coffee."

The words seemed to stab Nick through the heart. Nick loved his coffee. He could not imagine life without it. Not having coffee is like the end of the world. A wise person once said that coffee is one of the miracles of the world.

"Only a fool would drink something that's not good for him."

Nick looked to the side to see the doctor badger whispering beside her ear again. "Can you like read my mind?" He asked, seemingly numb at the revelation of parting with his past-time drink.

"There there. I know it's hard to make big changes like this." Madge tore a sheet of his notepad. "I've written some alternatives in this prescription paper."

Nick looked at the paper with less enthusiasm. "Alternatives to coffee. Number 1, decaf. End list." He read. "Great. This is just great."

"You know, Nick. If you want, I can share some of my tea with you." The bunny looks at the badge as if looking for some kind of approval.

The badger smiled. "Now there's an idea. Just with moderation though."

The badger and the bunny continued their discussion, discussing things like Nick being invited to tea parties, or afternoon tea times, and such. Nick still seemed to be in disbelief. Time seemed to slow and Nick seemed to be disconnecting himself in reality as things start to get blurry. The words no more coffee with Madge's voice replaying in his head.

Weeks later…

In a Snarlbucks somewhere in downtown Zootopia, Nick and Judy were having there mid-afternoon coffee non-coffee break sessions. Nick looked at the styrofoam cup of decaf on top of the table, but not before looking around his surroundings. He'd been doing it a lot more often after his release from the hospital. Somehow, he realized that those around him, the tiger, the two wolves behind him, the lion, the badger most of them where in fact drinking decaf. It was not that he could see it, but he could smell them. Why on earth make a coffee shop where your main product isn't even coffee? He though- wait a minute, did he just say a badger.

Nick looked at his far right to see someone holding a newspaper from another table. The newspaper slowly lowered until it revealed the eyes of a familiar badger.

"Everything alright, Nick?"

Nick looked at the bunny he shared the table with. He briefly looked back at the badger's table only to find she was not there anymore.

"Nick?" The bunny asked.

The fox seemed on edge. He took deep breaths to calm himself, then lifted the cup of decaf and drank its contents. Once finished, he put the styro cup back on the table and tried to muster a smile. "Never better."

Back at Badger M.D.'s office…

Another lesson learned. For our next chapter, we'll be discussing another substance that is not only heavily circulated in the streets of Zootopia, but is also toxic to some of its fellow citizens: Alcohol. Once again, this is Dr. Madge Honey Badger, doctor and concerned citizen, signing off.