Chapter 4 - Help

The small apartment, shared by Nick and Judy, featured a pattered floor with months of usage, a rickety bed with similar age to the floor, and wallpaper, which appeared to be on the verge of tearing from scruffy living climate. Living adjacent to them were two crazy neighbors whose names Judy had not acquired yet. The new orange curtains that hung from the curtain pole above the window appeared out of place compared to the older style of the other items of furniture in the room. The small bed remained Judy's property, and a messily folded sleeping bag, stuffed in the corner, remained Nick's property. The room smelled of residence: the faint odor of the shower that was used that morning, and the occasional scent of Nick's cologne that sat, opened, on the bedside table. Joining it was a large, empty plastic cup that emitted a scent of cola and still had partially eaten stained ice at the bottom of the cup that had almost melted. A pizza box containing nothing but crumbs and grease stains lay opened on the bed and contributed to their dinner that evening. The sheets of the bed were loosely folded and wrinkled from continued use, and Judy's pink pillow lay atop. The slow, heaving patter of footsteps echoed to the rooms below. "Why are you doing this?" Nick sighs, his face curled into a series of pattern that resembled resentment. His large feet lugged along the coarse floor, and anyone could see they were under strain. Judy sat on his shoulders, her hands firmly fixed around the anterior side of his head. She would occasionally giggle in excitement when he playfully bounced her up and down. This playfulness had died down, but he had not completely stopped, but now just rarely bouncing her lightly. She now didn't seem to acknowledge it when he performed as such. He had been trudging in continued circles around the apartment for over two hours, and she never seemed to tire. The incessant movement tired him, ached his shoulders, and drained his energy to a point to almost sneak Judy's half-finished pizza from the paper plate adjacent to the pizza box. He could imagine it now: He would take the cold, unfinished pizza off the plate and chew it thoughtfully, ignoring the cold texture of the delicious meal.

He had done nothing wrong; she simply walked up to him, asked for a ride, and hadn't gotten off since. "Because it's fun," she replies, her arms still joined around Nick's forehead. "But I am willing to get down if you give me a logical explanation."

Nick and logical are two things that don't mix well. To have him come up with a logical explanation is about as impossible as having a homeless mammal pay to stay at the Grand Suite Hotel in Savannah Central. "Well, a logical explanation? I can't really do that. But I can say this: If you get off, right now, I will personally buy us a ticket to see Gazelle next weekend."

"That's not a logical explanation, but you won," she extends both arms from her sides. "Now help me off." Nick's large paws thrust under Judy's underarms and carefully transport the bunny to the ground.

"Is that better?" Nick says. "Or would Ms. 'I want everything' want something else?" He curls his fingers into quotes on the side of his head.

"Yes," she smiles, catching on to his teasing. "I, Ms. Everything, would like a thousand dollars."

Nick spins around on his heel, his back facing his girlfriend. He turned his head to glance at her, but his back remained facing her. "You didn't say from me. Wait till your bonus next week."

"There is no bonus next week." She corrected, her hands on her hips.

"Exactly the point," he says, his tail disappearing behind the bathroom door.

He returned a minute later, pulling his green Hawaiian shirt out from under the waistline of his beltless tan pants and smooths it out with the back of his hand. His hands move to his opaque red tie and quickly realign it to the base of his collar, leaving a small space between the top of the shirt and the knot. "Well? What's new?"

She looks up from the cellular device in her paw. "I have one million followers on Tweeter."

"Very funny," Nick says, planting himself to the right of where Judy sat. "You don't even have Tweeter."

She curls her mouth into a smile and places her right paw over her left, where her right was grasped onto the phone. She laughs. "You're right on that note."

Judy caught his boyfriend's attention when she turned off her phone. "It's late." She weaves her fingers in between Nick's paw, loosely laid over his left thigh. Shortly after she raises her paw, weaved between Nick's, and quickly raises it in the air, letting gravity take over and letting both of their hands fall back in between the two mammals.

He laughed at her seriousness and poor word choice. "Oh, c'mon. It's only, like, eight."

"Actually," she snapped on the little screen on her device and quickly glances at it. "It's ten." She turned it off again and threw it face down onto the bed.

He snatched the phone from the spot she had set her phone down. "I stand corrected," He says after emulating her actions and returns it to its previous location. He faces her with a smirk. "You were right. Ten-o-eight. Let's go to bed."


"Nick,"

His eyes snapped open at the sound of his name. "What?" He shut them again, the bright sun being almost new to his eyes after ten hours of darkness. "Hey," she curves her mouth into a frown, with her palms planted on his tense shoulders. "Get up. It's 8:15." She used her weight to move him back and forth, almost falling on top of him. She plants her knees on separate sides of his hips and retries. "Get up."

"8:15?" He says vaguely, looking at Judy blankly. "Are we late?" He traces one of his eyes with his fingertips and yawns. He rolls onto his left side and stretches his right arm over his right temple, stretching his legs away from his pelvis. He returns his arm to his head and cradles both paws under his left temple, supporting his head on the pillow. "Just ten more minutes."

"No, we're late," she yells, pulling his arm, unsuccessful at lifting him. "C'mon," she tries again. "Let's. Go. Now." She says, pausing in between each word.

He sits up after his arm begins to ache. "There's a fine line between being responsible and being annoying," he mutters, flipping onto his back. "And you just passed it." After he yawns again, he swings his legs to the side of the bed and cautiously steps down onto the hardwood floor. He stretches his arms above his head and smacks his lips together to make a sound like a ketchup bottle that is almost empty. He steps to the bedside table and gathers his uniform and retreats to the bathroom to change.

After ten minutes, Judy, fed up, knocks profusely on the bathroom door. "Why are you taking so long?" She stretches both arms above her head and lay them on the door.

" I'm shaving," he calls. "And stop being so impatient."

"Well, are you done yet?" She moves her hand to the door handle and attempts to open it, finding it locked. "Can you please get out here?"

"I don't want to go to work with a half-shaven face, would I?"

"Nick." she retorted, planting her shoulder blades back onto the wall adjacent to the door.

Ten additional minutes pass, and he emerges from the bathroom. Judy lugs him outside, shoves him into the police cruiser and snaps on the engine. She pulls out and starts to the road ahead.

The ride went well until the third light on their journey came into view. Judy saw the yellow light and started off quickly to attempt to pass it. "She's not gonna make it," Nick mutters more to himself than to her. "No, she's not." He says as they approach the intersection.

The light flashed red before the front two tires passed the pedestrian crossing. Judy slammed on the brakes, throwing him to the dashboard. Another car on a separate road, to the right of where Nick and Judy's car crossed the intersection ran directly past the pedestrian crossing on a green light and collided with the passenger's side of Nick and Judy's police cruiser. Both cars proceeded to skid toward the road to the left of Nick and Judy's cruiser and destination of the car that unintentionally ran into them. After ramming into the pole supporting the traffic light, the police car tipped onto the roof and rocked until gravity took over and stood still. After the dust settled, the driver of the other car, the same species of Nick, walked up to the demolished police cruiser. "Anyone in there?" The driver picked at the wreckage and inspected for survivors.

"Help," Nick groaned, rubbing his forehead. Judy answered with a "yes".

The driver managed to rescue Nick, who sustained a ghastly bump to his forehead and a few visible bleeding cuts on his arms, and managed to rescue Judy, who sustained a large cut on her forehead and a large gash on the top portion of her right arm. "Thank you," Judy said with a smile, inspecting the police cruiser. There was a significant dent sustained to the right side of their police cruiser. "Oh, Bogo's gonna kill me," she says, palming her face. "What's this gonna cost? I don't know!" She gestures to Nick. "And with you not able to help pay, I don't know what I should do..."

"Carrots," Nick says with a smile, waving the driver of the other car away. "I lied to you." His face falls and a bead of sweat trails down his nose.

"What do you mean?" She asks, her nose twitching with interest. Her eyes widen in anticipation.

"Well," he moves his paw to the back of his head and rubs it with the tips of his fingers. "Remember how I said I was bankrupt and have to stay with you?" He grimaces and shuts his eyes when he finds a spot of pain and lightly massages it.

"Yes."

He moves his paw to his forehead and runs his fingers up along it. "I'm not bankrupt." He retreats his fingers from his forehead and glanced at his blood-stained paw. When an answer did not come, he resumed. "I lied. I wanted to stay with you. I felt lonely. I felt... discouraged." He looks down at the asphalt and attempts to dig his foot into the ground. After a moment, he looks up. "I needed you. I still need you. So, I can help if you need."

"Oh, Nick," she gasps, surrendering her head to his chest. "I - I don't know how I should feel. I feel... confused." She moves her right paw to his chest and moves it in small circles around his sternum. "A part of me wants to be angry at you, but another part is just depressed. I don't know what to do." She drops her arm to her side.

"I don't know what to do, either." He wraps his right arm around the back of Judy's head. He pulls his arm back and decides on rubbing the back of her neck. After a moment, he backs up. "I don't want to be filed for PDA."

"Wasn't thinking of that, but that is a good idea," she laughs, looking directly at the approaching car. It runs down the side of the road until slowing and stopping where Nick and Judy stood. The window lowered, and sitting in the driver's seat was Bogo. He wore a large blue business shirt and a black tie, the top button unbuttoned. His left arm rested on the side of the car, reaching out the window; while his other firmly gripped the steering wheel. "Wilde," he says firmly, his eyes fixed on him. His eyes dart to Judy. "Hopps. Both of you, get in."

The two mammals enter the large vehicle. The seats were finished with a high-quality material, and the floor done with high-quality carpet. After the two sit, Bogo resumes his journey to his destination. "I was just on the way when an anonymous caller called in and said you both were involved in an accident."

"So where are you taking us?" Nick replies.

"You'll see," Bogo says, his eyes still fixed on the road. "Who was driving?" His eyes glanced at the rearview mirror. Nick aimed his index finger at Judy. Bogo frowned and returned his eyes to the road. "I wouldn't have expected you to crash, Hopps. But accidents happen."

Nick kept his paws in his lap and Judy emulates his actions. After a moment, he looks up. "What's going to happen to that car?"

"The team is already on it," Chief Bogo replies, his right arm stretched across the top of the passenger's seat. "And it will be taken to the local mechanic to be fixed up."

"And," Judy intervenes, gesturing the air. "I assume this means that we both have to contribute to the cost."

"Since I ruled it an accident, I will only permit you both to paying twenty percent. That's eight-thousand dollars."

Nick and Judy exchange glances and Nick looks nervously up at the chief. "When's this..." he swallows. "Sum of money due?"

"In a month." He says, pulling into the parking lot of a large brick building. He shuts off the engine and opens his door.

Without a word, the two follow Bogo into the building. The interior was much more defined: a large tile floor, clean white walls, blue waiting chairs with a few occupied by waiting occupants, and secretaries stationed at two separate desks with small lines of mammals anterior to each. After a minute, a fox - wearing a white shirt and pants, pulls Nick into room, while a rabbit dressed in similar clothing leads Judy into a separate room.

The room Nick entered contained a flat, desk-like chair, with a black cushion, and a long piece of paper laid smooth over it. Connected to the paper was a spool of even more paper, wound up on a stand above the furniture. A counter with a sink, a jar of cotton balls, and a sealed jar of tongue compressors stood against the white wall.

"Good morning, Mr. Wilde," the fox says, shaking Nick's limp paw. "I'm Dr. Sean. I'm here to examine you under order of your boss."

Nick nods. "So, what do I do?"

"Well, we've got to check you for any injuries other than the ones sustained to your head and arms. So, I ask that you remove your pants."

After following the doctor's instruction, Nick sat on the black cushioned examination chair and the doctor carefully examined his thighs, ankles, feet and lower legs. The doctor examined the other limbs of his body, then took a blood pressure reading, a heart reading and lung reading with a stethoscope, and checked reflexed. Receiving instruction, Nick pulled his pants back up to his waist and applied the buckle. Dr. Sean patched up a few cuts that were still bleeding.

"Okay," Dr. Sean concluded, standing from his chair and removing his gloves from his paws. "From what I have examined, you have sustained no broken limbs. You only sustained two skin-deep cuts on your right and left forearms, a minor bruise to your right thigh, and a mild bump to your forehead."

Dr. Sean lead Nick out the room, where Nick found Judy sitting in the blue seat, her paw grasped around her phone. She had a large white patch on her forehead, another on the back of her neck and a splint on her left index finger.

After the checkup and leaving the building, Nick complained of being nauseous shortly into the ride returning to the police station. Chief Bogo volunteered to drive back, but Judy ignored it, as Nick knew it would pass.

"Good morning," Bogo says firmly to the group of officers before him, but they remained negligent to his instruction. "Shut it!"

Silence takes over. After a moment of speaking without interruption he continues. "This morning, two of our officers experienced an accident on the corner of -"

"Ughhh."

At the sound of the guttural noise, Bogo pauses. Heads turn to the source of the sound. "Alright, who was that?" Bogo grunts, frowning.

Nick, who clutched his abdomen in pain, struck his hand weakly into the air. His eyes drooped and he was beginning to salivate. "Hopps, take him out, please. Wolfard."

The wolf officer lifts his head from the table. "Go get Wilde to a hospital. Pronto." Bogo says, his eyes widened in worry. Wolfard caught up to Judy, who assisted holding Nick upright. Officer Wolfard took over and assisted with the fireman's carry on Nick with Judy. After running outside, Wolfard calls an ambulance.

Shortly following the 911 call, Nick had a blank stare at the cement pavement. His eyes remained widened, and shortly after yelled and pain, grasped his abdomen, and forcefully threw up onto the cement pavement. She glanced away for a moment and forced herself to ignore the guttural noises emitting from Nick's throat. She didn't dare come near him.

All she could do was watch her friend, standing on the edge of the pavement, his lips curled in disgust, mouth wide open and still dryly coughing. He groaned and tried to empty his stomach again, for it was completely empty. He instead achieved a mass of saliva and remnants of stomach acid in his mouth in a mass of liquid to unevenly stream from his lips and land on the pavement.


Hello, guys, CrazyWriter here. I thank anybody who has read this chapter. The next chapter will be written within the time period of one day and two months from the time the previous chapter is written. If you want to give me suggestions, please do so, and anybody who also wants to ask me a question, wants me to add something to this current chapter, wants to suggest something for a future chapter, please PM me or send me an email (address is in my profile) and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Any constructive criticism is appreciated, but please try to avoid flares, as they will not be tolerated and will be immediately removed/reported. Thank you for your cooperation.