Chapter 4: Welcome Home, Judy

AN: Sorry for the update delay everyone, but between birthday celebrations, a family emergency, family vacations, and trying to find a job, life has gotten pretty busy for me lately. Because of that, expect there to be even more long gaps in between updates. But, I will finish this story eventually, so don't worry, I'm not abandoning it. With that, on to the next chapter!

Getting Judy home was a lot easier than Nick had originally thought. He had expected the cheerful rabbit to be ready to go home, but he didn't expect her to be as relieved as she was. When he and Finnick pulled up to the hospital entrance in the latter's van, Judy immediately started for the van door before Nick could even get out, despite the fact that she was hindered by the crutches she now was using. But, he managed to stop her before she could get in. He didn't want her hurting herself even more than she already did.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy there, Carrots," Nick immediately said, purposely blocking his friend so she couldn't run to the van. As expected, Judy immediately gave Nick a slightly annoyed look.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to get home as soon as possible," she calmly stated.

Nick had to think of something and fast. He could see that Judy was trying to get around him, slightly struggling with the crutches.

"You haven't seen your best friend in two days. Don't you think he at least deserves a 'hello?'"

Judy sighed, but a small smile crept onto her face.

"Hi. And, sorry about that. It's just that I have so much to do, and hospitals make me nervous and-" Nick stopped her and gave her one of his signature smirks.

"Hey, I get it. Hospitals are the worst. Nothing good comes out of them." Judy was about to disagree, having experienced many successful hospital visits amongst her large and ever-growing family. But, she decided not to say anything. Maybe Nick had a bad experience in the hospital that he never told her about? She shrugged this thought off and focused on figuring out how to get into Finnick's van without dropping her crutches, or worse.

"Need help," Nick's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"No thanks, I got it," Judy insisted. She was going to be stuck with these for at least a few more weeks, unless she could convince her doctor otherwise, so she might as well get used to using them. After a few minutes of adjusting her crutches so she had a free hand, while not falling over, Judy finally reached for the van's door. But, she was stopped for a moment when Nick got her attention.

"Hey," he said. The rabbit turned and looked at Nick with a slightly concerned look on his face. "I'm glad you're safe."

Judy gave him a shy smile and said, "Thanks. I'm glad you're safe, too. I was so worried about you after the ambulance came. I would hug you, but-" she then gestured to the crutches she was leaning on.

"Okay, first of all, don't worry about it," replied Nick. "And secondly, you were worried about me? You were the one that got hurt."

"Well, yeah, but I was still worried. It was a pretty stressful day, after all."

There was a pause as Nick thought about what Judy had just said. This was the first time in a while that someone actually showed concern for him, and he was nowhere near as affected as she was. Nick had to resist the urge to hug Judy, for he didn't want to hurt her any further. Instead, he said to her, "Carrots, you worry too much. Yes, I did get a few bruises on my paws and knees from being in that pit, and those sheep have probably scarred me for life, but other than that, I'm fine." He smiled at her for further assurance, and she smiled back.

Nick then gave Judy a gentle pat on the back as a temporary replacement for a hug. She looked at him and returned the pat. Then, Nick opened the door for Judy. He had somehow managed to convince Finnick to temporary re-install one of the back seats instead of making Judy sit on the old mattress the fennec fox used for a bed. Not even Finnick knew when the last time that mattress was washed.

Once he had helped her into the van, he got in the passenger seat. As they pulled away from the hospital, he and Judy greeted each other. The ride started off slightly awkward. Judy did most of the talking, and was trying but failing to get Finnick to say more than a few words to her. After a while, Nick chimed in. After a while, it ended up just being Nick and Judy talking, with Finnick focusing on driving. As Nick and Judy shared a laugh at a joke the red fox had made, he sighed with content. He had missed the conversations and laughs he and Judy had shared. He was glad they was able to once again spend time with each other.

As it turns out, it didn't take very long to get Judy settled. All that needed to be done was take out Judy's garbage, which was almost full, and put away a few of Judy's clothes that she had left on the floor, which was unusual for her, since she was usually so neat and tidy. As Nick was hanging up one of Judy's sweatshirts, which had the words "ZPD Academy" on it, Nick looked at it closer. Hmm, not bad, he thought. I bet I'd look good in one of these. He then turned to Judy, who was putting away a few shirts in her chest of drawers, and said, "Hey Carrots, do you think I could borrow this?" He held the sweatshirt to his chest so she could see what he was talking about.

Judy gave him a funny look, not sure whether or not her friend was serious. "Seriously, Nick?! That sweatshirt is way too small for you. Besides, you'll get your own, soon."

"But, what if they don't have this exact one, or one that's not in my size?!" Nick gave Judy one of his signature smirks, like he always did when he was trying to hustle someone.

"Nice try, but I'm still not letting you have it," said Judy, not fazed at all by his attempts to get her to give in. When she saw Nick's face fall into a look of disappointment, her mood changed to one of compassion. She gave Nick a reassured smile and said, "But if it makes you feel any better, I'll ask Bogo to tell the officers that work at the academy to make sure there's one especially for you." Nick studied the rabbit for a moment, looking for any sign that she was up to something. To his surprise and relief, she actually looked sincere. He gave her a slight smile and said, "Thanks." There was a slight pause. Then, Nick said, "Oh. I almost forgot." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, white box.

"Nick, what is that," asked Judy, confused and suspicious of her friend.

"Just a little something to say 'welcome home,' and 'thank you.'" Judy didn't even need to ask what "thank you" meant. They had been through a lot these past few weeks, and they had become very good friends as a result of this. Nick was looking at her expectantly, so she hesitantly opened the box, still unsure of what would be awaiting her. To her surprise, there, sitting in the box was a new carrot pen.

"Nick, I- where did you get this?"

"Only $10 at Targoat. Quite a bargain if I do say so myself."

"Nick, you didn't need to do this. Bogo said he'd give me back my old pen once forensics is done with it."

"I know," he said, "But I thought maybe you might need it sooner than that." Judy smiled at Nick, at loss for words. She hadn't expected Nick to actually give her something, especially something as nice as a pen that doubled as a voice recorder. She was surprised that he managed to get it for a decent price. The pen she had bought at Bunnyburrow's general store before she left for the academy had cost her at least ten times that much. Finally, Judy set the pen and it's box on her bed and gave Nick a big hug, slightly startling him, for he was not expecting the hug. But, he returned it. He always enjoyed Judy's hugs. To him, she gave one of the best ones he'd ever had, next to his mother, of course.

"Thank you," said Judy.

"No problem. We've known each other for so long now, I thought it was time I'd give you your first gift from me."

Judy gave him a mock annoyed look and said, "Great. That means I have to get you a gift now."

"Oh, no," said Nick sarcastically. "Whatever are you going to do?" Judy playfully nudged him in the ribs, and he returned the favor by giving her a pat on the head, much to the rabbit's annoyance.

"Hey! What did I tell you about patting my head?!"

"Well, what did I tell you about elbowing me in the ribs?!"

"Oh, come on. It wasn't even that hard." Nick tried to think of a good comeback, but, unfortunately, was unable to. Once again, the rabbit had managed to outfox the fox.

"Sly rabbit," he said with a smirk.

"Dumb fox," she quipped, also giving him a smirk.

Nick then pulled out his phone to check the time. The two had decided to go to the movie theater after they were done cleaning Judy's room. They had even convince Finnick to go with them, much to the shock of both of them. Judy decided she needed the break from all the madness of the past few weeks. She and Nick would head to the precinct the next day to retrieve her badge and talk to Bogo about the fox joining the force.

"Well, as much as I'd like to hang out in your apartment the whole day, I'd also like to catch that movie we were going to see that starts in half an hour," Nick announced as he put his phone away.

"Cheese and crackers, already?! Wow, that was fast," exclaimed Judy.

"Well, time flies when you're helping your friend clean her room," said Nick.

Judy gave her friend a mock annoyed look and headed for the door. "Come on, Slick. We're going to be late." Nick followed his friend out the door and back to Finnick's van, making sure she didn't trip and fall over her crutches.

AN: Well, what did you think of this chapter. Was it too rushed? Too short? Just right? Don't be shy, drop me a review or PM, follow, favorite, all four, or any combination. See you all next chapter!