For the rest of the evening's daylight, the duo wove and danced about the countless policies and procedures the institution required to discharge a patient they were so swift to codify as high risk, Nick's hand ached with the countless waivers and affidavits he was required to sign to confirm and ensure his compliance and the responsibility of the department in the event of something going terribly wrong outside of their ever watching surveillance. He would sigh, finally free and moving across the expansive front lot of the campus, rolling his arm lightly as he releases a groan, "Oh man, that was a bit much don't ya think? I mean after the sixth paper I signed you woulda thought they would get the hint that I am alright, eh Carrots?"
Judy would glance up as she strolls alongside her partner, ears twitching idly as she flashes him a worried grin "Yeah Nick, it's a bit over the top I have to say, It's a bit overbearing and a bit controlling that they whom are a private institution feel they have the right to demand so much from public sector workers, I mean we do keep them safe and I can't count the number of times over the last few months that we've been called out there to deal with someone else acting strange or out of control." She would shift and lightly pop her neck as she moves to remove her keys, opening her assigned cruiser, whilst idly clambering inside with a relieved exhale.
Nick quirks his brow and shifts sliding into the passenger side as he leans back, gesturing idly towards her with a playful tone, attempting to break apart the uneasy and murky aura between them "Now Officer Hopps, I do believe it's against the rules to drive your assigned car whilst off duty…" He chuckles idly clasping his belt, feeling the course material of the belt brush against the bandages about his midriff, drawing a painted yip from him as he attempts to stifle and hide his doubling over. He would glance up to see Judy eyeing him with a mixture of concern and disbelief.
"Watch out.. Stop trying to hurt yourself you dumb fox, the last thing we need to happen are for your stitches to reopen, just take it easy and keep the movement light, no one's racing here" She intones firmly as she fires up the cruiser, pulling forth from the parking lot as she idly waited at a idle stop sign, she would reach out and fiddle with her mirrors, her ticks clearly betraying something behind her motives, "So… we are heading to your place right? If I recall it is friday, and I've got the weekend off… Well as 'off' as a watch duty can be whilst you're recovering. Do you mind If I stay over? You've got a bit more room then I do." She shifts, trying to play coy acting as casually as she could, however her latent talents for deception seemed to fail her in this instant.
Nick quirks the corner of his lips slightly, trying to fight off a chuckle as he shifts, placing a elbow upon the armrest between them as his tail sweeps to and fro "Ooo~ Officer quite a bold request I must say, eager to keep our friday engagements and plans I see?" His teasing jabs towards her goaded and idly prodded the slight bunny, as she huffs and puffs out one of her cheeks idly taking them about, heading down another side street. Nick clearly was savoring this stint of normality, something familiar to relax within. His mind shoving aside the unfolded events of the past few days as he attempts to gingerly slide back into his old life and ascribed routines.
Judy huffs and releases her breath, and speaks in an even tone, clearly choosing her words carefully "D'oh Nicholas Wilde, you are a pain in my tail I swear to you." She remains quiet for a few moments, the turns taking them forth as they reach the final leg of the route unto Nick's domicile, before she speaks up once more, "Mhmm… Well Officer Wilde, I must say that it is my responsibility to ensure that you remain clear in your mind and without incident. That being so, I see no reason why my watch cannot take place in your personal abode, and I see no reason why we cannot strive to return to a bit of normality…. " She finishes on a more somber tone, as they pull forth, idly turning into the fairly cosmopolitan structure, the well constructed and design squat structure sat idly by as the first few spatterings of rain began to accost the cruiser's windshield. She furrows her brow and glances upward as she silences the engine and idly unbuckles herself "Huh, I wasn't aware it was supposed to rain, weren't the forecasts to be clear?"
Nick shifts and slowly slides his way free from the passenger seat, giving a wry chuckle "Does it really matter? We planned to stay indoors anyway… Come on then I'll take you up, hopefully you can help me Officer as I may stagger and stumble a bit as I reach my room" He jokingly feigns a stagger or two as he makes his way up the flight of stairs that apex to the gate into the community. He glances around, still feeling a growing pride well up inside him as he felt the weight of his success bear upon him. Having gone from merely peddling goods on the side of the street to managing his funds from his former life, all whilst raking in the income from his new employment with the ZPD, he felt as if he finally had reached his valhalla.
Judy shifts and moves along with him, entering into the courtyard of the complex, passing by the floral arrangements in the center of the open yard, heading upward another flight of stairs before arriving at the door to Nick's home. She speaks up with the merest hint of indignation, layered evenly with subtle affection "Yeah, I am sure that was the original plan.. Hopefully you don't fall over and harm yourself or it's back to the hospital with you, and I am certain the security officers there are ripe looking forward for your beautiful complexion and jovial personality to return."
Nick winced and hardly managed to hide his shudder ears twitching at the flash of recollection, as he unlocks the simple exterior door and moves inside, flicking on the lights as he glances back at Judy "Oh yeah, I am more than certain they want to see me back around, It would be the end of the road for me… Did you catch the way the one fellow was looking at me? I could have sworn he was looking for an excuse to crack my head." He shifts moving into the home, idly tossing aside his wallet and keys on a tall table at the doors side, he moved and idly tugged his tie free and moved about.
Whilst the apartment wasn't anything stellar, it was certainly a step up from the squalorous basement he dwelt in prior. The apartment was comprised of a reasonable size, modest enough for one bed and one bath. The units design mostly going upward, leaving the sleeping areas up a flight of stairs, as the downstairs floor plan bore two rooms, a combination parlor, dining room, with a modest kitchen tucked away in a side room. The general style and design of the rooms and the apartment was fairly standard, backed against the stairwell leading to the bedroom, sat a wide and plush couch, which Nick heartily took to and collapsed upon, resting as he removed his jacket, moving to hang it up on the coat rack beside the couch.
Judy shifts and comes to rest on the couch as well alongside Nick, exhaling tiredly as she leans back against the backing of the seat, casting a glance towards Nick whom remained quiet, eyes closed, body sunk into the cushion, clearly taking care not to add pressure to his torso. She waits, the moments of silence ticking over before she speaks up quietly and watches him idly, "You know none of what happened was your fault right? Whatever those thugs had stored in that crate merely was messing with your mind… " She raises a paw idly as she shakes her head, stopping Nick before he could retort "No, I know what you're going to say, and I know you're lying. Your ears don't twitch like that unless something is really bothering you, call it an observation I've picked up on…"
Nick cracks open a weary eye, his otherwise mirthful exterior he shows the world rolled back, revealing clear worry and shame written upon his face "I know… I… Yeah I know it wasn't my fault, but it was my body. I shouldn't have done something so stupid, I mean people got hurt because of me Carrots, Its.. I don't want people to think I've lost it… I mean, ontop of it, I don't want to ruin your reputation if you stay around a fella like me…" He shifts and exhales moving to lean forward slightly, lightly rubbing his chest as a faint pain stirred within, he glances over at her gauging her. He knew deep within she wasn't going to to let him continue his self flagellation. He sighs slightly and rubs the back of his neck worriedly, growing quiet as she clearly ponders her response.
Judy would shift and slide closer to him, reaching out as she placed a slight hand upon his own, gently removing his hand from the back of his neck, she turns to face him and grants him purview into the inner workings of herself. "Nick… you know as well as I do, you wouldn't hurt a fly. Who cares about my reputation, I'd rather be known as a bunny who sticks next to her decisions and partner as opposed to someone who washes out and runs at the first sign of trouble." She shifts and flashes him a cordial grin "Besides, if your trouble then that must make me an accomplice…" She chuckles as she scoots forth idly, moving to rest her head against the crux of Nick's shoulder, he reflexively moves to place his hand upon her shoulder, gently thumbing her shoulder blade.
Nick releases a slight chuckle, resting his head back against the couch for a few moments more, as her transparency with her feelings brought him some bout of comfort "Heh, Yeah you're certainly a crooked cop then if you're smitten by me... I should have absolutely known you have a terrible taste in romantic entanglements." He rises to a proper seated position, tilting his head towards her as he stows the frets and doubts ravaging his mind for a time, "Now, how about… we order in, watch a movie and see where the night may lead eh?" He glances up, reaching over to the coffee table nearby to recover the phone, idly punching forth numbers as he prepares to make the arrangements for the evening.
Judy unburrows her face from his arm and flashes him a grin "Now that's what I like to hear, don't be cheap, we are cutting this fifty fifty, so make sure you order the good stuff..heavens knows we need something good right now" She adjusts her position to allow for her body to rest quietly against his side, taking special care not to provide pressure to his bandaged regions.
In the breadth of two hours, the duos food had properly arrived, delivered by a gaunt looking rain soaked boar, and the duo had properly changed into more casual attire, idly lounging about on the couch in the cusp of the dark storming fraught night, having a stout stack of movies they'd collected together over the course of the week, they routinely relaxed and watched through their collection over the course of their time together if they were not out and about. The current black and white classic film had their rabbit protagonist squaring off against low production budget aliens from the seventh moon of mars. Nick idly rubs his jaw as he nods along, a wry look upon his countenance as he speaks up "You know, Bartures movies are getting better, you know, I almost missed the strings on that critters arms…" He nods with a slight chuckle, idly adjusting the bucket of popcorn that found its way upon his lap.
Judy chuckles and huffs, playing along with his jest, as she lays against his side, chin resting on his right thigh "Oh of course, his direction and art work improved over the last ten years, I mean we do have the newer movies he composed back about oh… fifteen years ago? Those should be a real treat… You know I never really understood why his rabbits always cowered in fear when faced with mutant rodents or… well aliens from a moon.." She shifts, and glances up at him teasing "I think he is doing a terrible injustice to the representation of rabbits as overly cowardly damsels in distress.." She chuckles with faux smug look upon her face, clearly wishing to goad this conversation forth.
Nick glances down and quirks an eyebrow, raising a finger as he explains over the shrill cries of the protagonist of the film, "Now Now, here me out on this one, perhaps not all rabbits think as you do Carrots, perhaps due to their size and stature they are better suited and able to flee from confrontation rather than engage in it… If you happened to watch the instant stalwart classic that was "Frozen Simians from Beyond Time" you would notice whilst his rabbit actors /did/ flee from confrontation, not one of them was caught nor unable to escape unlike the lead lion. Now I would wager, that this is a direct dissection and a clever social narrative by our dear director friend. His efforts encourage us to do what we are good at doing, and dismissing what would be socially demanded in such trying scenarios, ala, bunnies run away and live another day, and lions well clearly they get their brains sucked out and put in jars to fuel a crazed sloth scientist's warmachine…" He moves to take a long drag from his bottle of pop, exhaling with a grin, hand moving to to find its place on Judy's cheek, idly thumbing over her plush fur "Mhmm besides, if all bunnies were fighters, who would I brag about eh? Not you, because you'd be boring.." He flashes a playful grin at her, and winks.
Judy fails to stifle her chuckle and slaps a hand upon her face, however permitting Nick to caress her cheek "Now that was simply terrible, you had me nearly going there and you had to break into the soppy compliment didn't you, you truly need to work on your act there, seem to be getting rusty" She purrs and chuckles, turning her head back over to watch the movie idly, giving a contented sigh, "Mhmm, as cheesy as it was it was flattering…" She moves to place her slight paw upon his hand, gently squeezing his hand "You stupid fox…" She chuckles quietly before remaining quiet, a bit at a loss for words, but it was a pleasant loss she supposed.
Time folded on, the hour hand marching steadily along, as the clock ticked onward. As Judy would lightly still, having drifted to sleep already during a lull in the action of the film they were watching, the clock would sound thrice, indicating it was three past midnight, Nick yawned heavily, rolling his left shoulder, as his right rested upon Judy, he shifts and glances over, idly moving to snag a blanket to properly bundle her within, moving slowly as she idly stirred with a few grumpy noises, however she refused to rouse fully from her sleep, with careful deliberation, Nick gentle hefted her from the couch and carried her up yonder the stairs and unto his bedchamber, depositing his dozing companion within his own bed before swapping his lounging attire for a simple pair of boxers, with careful movements, he slinks from the bedchamber and quietly closes the door, he however pauses. Casting a wary glance towards the door itself, something within him urging him that such was the right course of action, something felt right about ensuring her security with an added layer of protection. He shifts moving to take hold of the handle lightly, opening the door once more as he reaches within and moves to lock the room from within, before moving back downstairs as he tosses out a blanket from his coat closet. Before he lay himself down for the slumber that had so far long eluded him, he lay silently in the inky darkness of his own room, the looming shadows flitting through the blinds over the window beside his door lightly danced upon the coffee table and the now quiet television. Nick would uneasily shift, hand unwittingly moving to rub at his bandaged stomach, glancing around at each looming shadow and deep space of abyssal darkness.
"Heheh...heh… Just stop thinking about it, just relax. Nothing is going to happen it's just another day in my apartment, everythings fine. Judy's upstairs if anything happens.. I am fine" He shifts beginning to repeat his mantra slowly over and over, attempting his working to calm his frazzled nerves, now that he was once again alone among the quiet and stillness of the night his mind began to wander, almost tauntingly drawing his conscious thoughts back to the talk with the chief, the thoughts of him losing control and bringing harm to the innocent, they tormented him like proverbial prods in his back and sides, causing him to toss and turn uneasily for some time. His hand would nervously close about the end of his pillow, feeling the ends of his eyelids slowly drift closer and closer together, the once distinct and visible last radiating through the curtains drawn over the window growing muddier and muddier.
That was until the filtering light ceased, the room cast in darkness, Nick's eyes snapped open sharply, the light failing to reach through the blinds, it's light blocked from something not within the room, but between the crack of the curtain and beyond his window. Nick froze in his spot, his eyes darting over to the clock resting upon the table beside him…. 3:34 am, certainly no one would be outside at such an hour, the nearest door was several meters away, clearly whatever it was it was making the conscious decision to remain before the window, unmoving for far too long. As time crept on, Nick's heart slowly started to increase pace, his torso aching something fierce, his wounds growing tautly sore and painful, forcing him to double over in pain, his voice stilled and silent, not wishing to crack neer a peep lest that which lurks beyond the cracks in the curtains draw its focus upon him. He places a hand over his mouth stifling a groan as he winces, his hand upon his torso feeling a ominous budding moisture in the bandages, he shifts glancing downwards at his palm in lingering fear. In the looming darkness of the room, he could only barely make out the outline of his own palm, his hand turning over as he inspects it, feeling warm rivulets travelling down the contours of his wrist and arm, a faint and steady plip radiating from the cushion below his hand as something drips free at an even pace, he winces, slumping back over as he feels his vision greying, his head growing murky as his breath hitches, he casts his fading vision as he slips forth unto the eddies of the slumbering world, his mind reaching forth, almost seeking to flee his frame a unsettling feeling of weightlessness overtaking him once more as he had felt before in that stygian abyss back in the warehouse.
With a final glance of his fading vision, his eyes lingered once more yonder upon the curtain's crack dreading what he'd find yonder,yet stranger still the light once more filtering through unimpaired, the world once more at peace. The world about him blissfully unaware of the depths and savagery of his woes.