This chapter is also available as an audio drama on YouTube!
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Judy wakes up when the nurse of the morning shift walks into the Nicks' room. The look of the young sheep was friendly, but also somewhat dispraising when she sees the rabbit in Nicks' bed.
"Good morning, Miss Hopps. Did the pat… I mean Mister Wilde woke up, yet?" she notes some data from the monitors into a patient file, then turns around to Judy who has climbed out of the bed and onto the chair again.
"Not that I know of, I am sorry." Judy answers a bit tire and sad.
"This is nothing uncommon, Miss Hopps. Just be patient, the doctor in charge will be here in about an hour."
"Okay. Can you tell me what time it is?"
"Its seven minutes past six." The nurse gave her a short smile, then left the room quietly.
Judy looks concerned to Nick, stroking gently his cheek. Then her eyes travelled over the rest of the room. There are no windows; except from the monitors and various medical emergency devices, only a small table is in the corner of the room. On it is a glass with water and the flowers Evelin brought yesterday. Under the table their common bag is laying. The corresponding plastic chair for the table took Judy beside Nicks' bed, now sitting on it. Opposite the table is a small basin, a mirror, a soap and a germicide dispenser. The heart monitor beeps quiet but frequent, the transfusion still dripping every few seconds. On the whole, the room was just as clinical and sterile as Judy would has imagined a hospital room.
"Hey, Nick." She turned to the fox again, encloses his paw in hers and speaking quietly with a soft voice. "I do not know if you can hear me, but I once read about patients in a coma, that they can recognize familiar voices. I just want you to know, that I am here; and that I will not leave your side. So better you don't try to steal away to where I cannot follow you." Judy sighs, stroking with her thumb over the back of his paw. "Amie had drawn you a cute picture. Oh, and she had picked some flowers for you. I put them into a glass with water; hopefully you are not allergic to them." She smiled lightly. "Evelin thinks you are cute. She is one of my younger sisters and a really close friend. I think you will like her, she is very similar to me, you know? But don't get any naughty thoughts, I keep an eye on you!"
Rubbing with her muzzle over the back of his hand, Judy buries her nose into Nicks' fur. "Bogo said you can take a day or two off tomorrow, until you are strong enough for your cheeky comments again during his morning briefing." She snickers quietly. "Joking aside, Bogo and the rest of the precinct are worried, too. And I should message their best wishes for you. I even took some leave days. Oh, and Clawhauser said he will send you a gift basket; hopefully not only donuts, or you two will soon share the same dress size."
A single tear runs from Judy's eye over her cheek. "I am so sorry, Nick. It is all my fault. It was me who caused the wagon to go rampage! And never should I have persuaded you to visit my parents out of the blue so soon. And I should not have given this stupid interview. And it was also my idea to participate for this competition in the first place. When we would have done regular patrol on this day, nothing of this would have happened! Please forgive me, Nick. I am just a stupid bunny. But I am your stupid bunny, so please forgive me and wake up." Judy started to weep again, her muzzle pushed into the blanket covering Nick.
Doctor Greenwood stands in the doorframe and clears his throat. Judy snuffles and turns her head to him. "Oh. Doctor Greenwood. I didn't notice you."
"It is okay, Judy. I hope you have slept for a while?" He walked to the other side of the bed, checking first Nicks medical journal, then listens to his heartbeat with a stethoscope.
"Two hours, maybe three. I am accustomed to it."
"Just like me; medical staffs' and police officers' schedule is very similar I bet. But neither of us should push it too hard." He put his stethoscope down and notes some data to the journal. Then he reached for the bandage on Nicks' head, but hesitates. "I will have to take a look at his wounds, change the bandages, and so forth. Maybe you want to go to the cafeteria as long as it takes."
Judy shakes her head and leans back on her chair, but still holding Nicks paw with hers. "If it is okay with you, I would like to stay."
The doctor thinks for a moment, then nods and continued to unwind the bandage around Nicks' head. He finishes the moment when the same nurse from an hour ago enters the room with a tablet, containing gauze bandages, a dark unction, a bottle with tincture, pads and other medical accessories. "Excuse me, Miss Hopps. But I need to get to your side of the bed to assist."
Judy nods, slips from the chair, giving Nicks' paw a last rub with her chin and walks slowly to the table. She bends forward and searched the backpack for a fresh shirt. The doctor and the nurse were busy, so Judy quickly changes her shirt, then walked to the sink. She splashes some cold water into her face, drying herself with some paper towels. Then she walked back to the foot of the bed, watching Doctor Greenhouse currently swabbing Nicks' abdominal wound with the tincture and pads.
"How is he?" she asks nervously, hardly able to take a look.
"The wound looks good, no inflammation so far and it started to heal already. The same for his head wound." Latter was already bandaged with new gaze.
"But why does he not wake up then?" Judy's voice was half pleading, half nervous.
"As I told you yesterday, head wounds can be tricky. At the moment his body needs every bit of energy for recovery, and staying unconscious aids it." He smiled in her direction. "But you can still talk to him, this will not do any harm. And maybe he even senses you being nearby. You just have to be patient a little more." The nurse hands him some gaze and bandages, then Doctor Greenwood applies them and looks satisfied. "We will change this again this evening. And give him a new transfusion at …" he looks on his pocket watch. "… 8 o'clock."
The nurse makes some notes, then nods and leaves the room. Judy walked to the chair again and sits down, immediately reaching for Nicks' paw again. "Thank you, Doctor Greenwood."
"Don't mention it, Judy. I am your families doctor since at least 55 years. And of course I will spend special attention to your partner, too." The old rabbit smiles mildly.
"I would wish, my parents would see Nick as part of the family, too." Judy's look was slightly angry, but also worried and sad; it was really difficult to account for a specific emotion in her face right now, and even Judy is not sure what she is feeling about the situation exactly. For the last 12 hours she distracted herself from the previous argument, Nick was her current top-priority.
Doctor Greenwood looks enquiring to Judy, not sure if he should ask further questions. "I did not ask about the accident in the first place yesterday. And it can wait until Nick is awaken. But I have to fill an accident report for requesting his medical records. Your parents did not…?" he stopped discretely.
"What? No, no they did no harm to him. Physically that is." When the old rabbit did not respond, Judy added inertly: "They threw a tantrum the moment they realized Nick and I are not only partners on the force, but also dating. One of my litter-brothers lost it completely. And we had a really bad argument." Her look goes to Nick and Judy strokes with her free paw over his cheek. "Nick left the house, and shortly after the accident with the wagon happened. I am not totally sure what happened exactly, but as far as I could reconstruct he prevented that this wagon overrun one of my youngest sisters."
"Then he is a real hero, my dear! You can be proud of him."
"I am!" Judy smiled. "And I am really overjoyed that Amie was not injured! But …" Judy hesitates.
"What is it Judy? Something is agonizing you."
"It is all my fault!" she started crying again. "I set off the wagon by accident during a punch-up with my brother. I not only nearly injured my sibling, but I am responsible for… for … "she made a gesture to Nick, but could not say it loud.
"Oh my dear. Judy…" Doctor Greenwood quickly walks around the bed and put his arm around Judy's shoulders. "It only was an accident, and Nick will recover completely, I am sure. Don't burden with the fault for everything. You are overthinking this." He hands her a handkerchief and pats her back while she wipes her tears away.
"Thanks..."
"It is okay. But I have to go now, there are more patients waiting for my ward round. I will drop over again at noon." He takes a turn to walk to the door, then speaks again. "And Miss Hopps, you have to eat something for breakfast. Medical order." He winks, then leave the room.
Judy sat by Nicks' bed the whole forenoon and did not leave it for a minute. She was not really hungry and only eat an apple she had put in the backpack. Time was creeping; the nurse came in a few times, checking some data on the monitors, but she never really talked with Judy. Doctor Greenwood also dropped over around 13 o'clock, but he only had time for an examination of Nick and was not as chatty as in the morning. She still blamed herself for the incident. And she had no idea what she should do; choosing between her family and Nick? No, that was no option, she could not do that. And her parents would never demand such a thing from her, she was sure. Judy wiped those thoughts away and addressed herself to Nick again. "Did I ever tell you when I arrested some crops when I was a child for growing into the wrong direction?" she smiled softly and talked about some childhood memories.
"I told you, that she would spend the night at the hospital at Nicks' side!" Evelin states to her disgruntled father and her worried mother after breakfast. "Of course her bed is unused."
"She should not stay in the hospital for so long, or she will catch some disease herself there." Bonnie Hopps says while clearing the table.
"Yeah, some rare fox diseases!" Joshua says, standing in the door frame of the kitchen.
Stu did not say anything and was just looking out of the window. He appears to be contemplative.
"Oh, and of course because of your constant ranting, Josh!" Evelin stares icily at her older brother, but turns around to their parents again. "Why are you giving Judy such a hard time? Do you really not notice how much she is hurt by it?" Evelin seemed to be sad and disappointed. "Judy always was so positive and in a good temper, come what may. Even when she quitted the ZPD half a year ago she wasn't as depressed as she is at the moment."
"How can you defend this fox? You don't even know him!" Joshua said bitchy, their parents still keeping silent.
"And whose fault is that? They came for a visit this weekend so we could become acquainted with him. But you prejudged him the second he entered this house!" Evelin was not as loud as Judy was yesterday, but she was totally flying into a frenzy slowly.
"He is a fox!"
"He is her partner and boyfriend!"
"He made her completely mad, perhaps seduced her into rotting and…"
"Joshua!" their mother stopped him. "Keep your temper, there are kits in the house!"
"What is the matter with you, Josh? You know what a bullhead Judy can be, are you really thinking anybody could will her? Maybe she is not mad, but in love." Evelin says.
"No difference." Joshua states frustrated.
"Now you are fudging." Evelin smirks, but immediately looking serious again. "Do you think, Judy does not know what she is doing, too, mom?"
Bonnie was looking embarrassed to her daughter, playing with a cleaning cloth in her paws. "No… but…"
"No 'but's, mom. Are you trusting her?"
Her mother, visible uncomfortable with her daughter interrogating her like this, finally says "Yes. Yes, I do."
"So what is the problem, then? Dad?" Evelin now looks at her father, who still looks out of the window in silence. "Great." She states frustrated. "I was so happy to see Judy again. We all get to see her only at rare intervals because of her job, and now maybe even more rarely. It is her life, and she is old enough to do whatever she likes!"
"That does not mean, we have to approve it." Stu finally said without turning around.
Evelin sighs. "I don't get it. Nick helped Judy with her first and all-dominant case, saved her life, he is an Officer at the ZPD, he is really handsome and seems to be a nice guy; not to mention Judy is in love with him and he seems to treat her really well. And he even saved Amie yesterday without hesitation and regardless his own well-being. What is it, for carrots sake, aside from his specie, that makes you so reserved against him?"
"You are too young, my dear. You cannot put his species apart so lightly." Her mother said carefully.
"Why not? We are still all mammals. The only problems are in your head!"
"It's morbid!" Joshua stated. "Foxes and Rabbits are natural enemies!"
"A thousand of years ago, Josh! Back then everything was totally different. Take a look at your history books. A lot of other animals were our enemies back then, but not today! We have developed! Well, most of us…" a sly grin was on Evelin's face watching Joshua. "By the way, mom." Evelin had one last ace up her sleeve. "Some of us want to bake a blueberry cake later."
Her mother looked at her, but doesn't say anything. Then Stu interferes: "For the fox?"
"For Nick." Evelin corrected him. "He loves our blueberries almost as much as Judy as far as she told me. And I believe it is the least we can do to thank him for protecting Amie."
Now Stu Hopps was grabbed by his pride for his farming products. Being it a fox or not, someone loving his blueberries was always welcomed. "Clean up the kitchen afterwards." He says while turning around, then facing his wife. "And maybe we can make a hamper with different vegetables and fruits, too, Bon."
Bonnie nodded, smiling lightly, and Evelin turned to Josh with a sly grin Nick would be proud of. She really was very similar to Judy. Joshua just snorted contemptuously, then left the kitchen.
"As the clock strikes midnight, both let the magic potion's effects wear off. They revert to their original forms, he as a gazelle and she as a lion. After all the king, her father, gives his blessing to the marriage and apologizes for all and everything he did before. Both forgive him his earlier behavior, and the party resumes. And they lived happily ever after." Judy finishes reading the book, she originally brought for her younger siblings. It was a classic fairy tale about a lion and a gazelle falling in love with each other, her parents not approving and trying to trick her into marrying another lion. But the gazelle bought a magic potion from a fairy godmother, transforming him into a grand lion.
It was the only book Judy took with her; and after telling each and every childhood story she could remember, she read it to him aloud. There is a quiet harrumph at the door and Judy turns her head by surprise. Evelin stands in the doorframe, smiling at her.
"That was a nice story." She said to Judy, taking a few steps into the room and letting the door shut close.
"How long are you standing there?" Judy asked somewhat irritated. It was always difficult to sneak up on her, but in this silent room it should not be possible at all.
"Quite a while, sis. I did not want to interrupt you, and I like fairy tales." Evelin winked and spreads her arms. "Come here, Juju." Judy slide off the chair, walked to her sister and hugged her firmly. "How is he?" she asks with a short look to Nick.
"Unimproved. The wounds are healing, but he was not yet awake. Doctor Greenwood says that it may take a while with head wounds, but I am anxious nevertheless." Judy sounded worried, her look was sad and tired.
Evelin put her paw under Judy's chin and pulled her face in her direction. "And what about you? You really look terrible, Juju."
"Exactly what a woman likes to hear from her sister." Judy smiles lightly, but Evelin shakes her head.
"Come on, Judy. How much sleep did you get since yesterday? And did you eat something?"
"I slept a few hours, and I had some fruit earlier." Judy says, deciding it would be best to be not too specific with the facts.
"Some fruit, eh?" Evelin eyes her up closely. "Well, I brought some blueberry cake I made with our siblings today. It is for Nick, but as long as he is still asleep you can have a piece. We always can bake another one for him." The younger rabbit walked back to the door, where a bag was standing on the floor. She takes it and carries it to the small table at the opposite corner of the room. "Come here, sis."
Somewhat grudging Judy scuffed her feet to her sister, looking to the content of the bag. There was a Blueberry cake as she was already told, some magazines, two bottles of carrot juice, paper plates, napkins, more picked up flowers, a crocheted blanket with a pattern of flowers, a small pillow, a photo album and a small plush bunny. Evelin takes the latter from the back and brings it to Nick, laying it at his side.
"This is Mona, Annie's favorite doll. She will take care of Nicky while you are sleeping." Evelin winked at Judy. "And the flowers are from Annabelle this time. The cake is backed by me, Jana, Sam, Fiona and Carl. A lot more wanted to help, but we created enough chaos with five rabbits backing a single cake." Evelin smiled to Judy, then added: "As you can see, your boyfriend has yet quite some fans. Oh, and I bought some magazines for you to read."
Judy smiles and is visible affected. She started to tear up again, hugging her little sister. "Thank you, and everyone else." Evelin just patted Judy on her back and smiled.
"Okay, but now you will eat a piece of cake. And after that you can take a shower; there are some open bathrooms including showers near the cafeteria." Judy wanted to object, but Evelin raised her paw. "I will sit here and watch for Nick in the meantime. But we have to make sure that it is not you being smelly that keeps him unconscious." Evelin winked amused about Judy's reaction. "Come on, I am eager to hear your judgment about the cake." And with this words she takes the blueberry cake out of the bag.
Judy crouches down on the tiled floor, letting the hot stream of water run over her exhausted body. Not only tire but also mentally exhausted. She and Nick had won the 3rd place in the biathlon about 60 hours ago; previous to 36 hours they were dancing and partying like there is no tomorrow; and in the last 24 hours she had a bad argument with her family, and Nick had been in an accident and is unconscious since then. How could her life change so quick and abrupt? She had undergone her highest highs and lowest lows in less than 60 hours.
The rabbit straightens herself up, tilting her head backwards and lets the water pour onto her face. She has to talk with her parents in the near future; studiously avoiding them would work for maybe another day or two, but in spite of everything she loves her parents and her family. And she loves Nick. It has to be possible to reconcile both without letting anybody down. At least she hopes so. Choosing between her parents and Nick? This was no option and would be as impossible as choosing between her mother or her father. Nobody can demand this from her. She thought about the fairy tale; in the end everyone always realizes their mistakes and there is a happy end. But her life was no fairy tale and there was no author she could convince to wrote such a happy end for her, she had to do it all by herself.
With a sigh, Judy turned off the water and after hesitating a few seconds she steps out of the shower. There was a body-sized air blower, big enough for animals triple her size. She switches it on and a warm and steady airflow blow her fur dry within minutes. Judy closes her eyes and leans against the wall. Evelin was such a great relief to her. Most likely she had talked with their parents already, trying to convince them how absurd this whole argument is. That will make things much easier for Judy. Suddenly she missed living in Bunnyburrow and seeing her siblings every day. She loves Zootopia and her job, she loves Nick and had quite some friends in the big city. But there was none of her family, only short visits every few weeks or talking via muzzle call. This sudden realization left a stale aftertaste and frustrated she switched off the air blower. She quickly slips into a fresh pair of underwear, pants and shirt, bundles up her old clothes and walks outside the door of the public bathroom.
In the lobby Judy's gaze lingered on the people coming and going. Finally, she spots whom she was looking for, takes a deep breath and walks towards the security ram near the entrance.
"Excuse me…?" Judy started, getting some indifferent looks from the guard. "I want to apologize for my bad manners yesterday, Mister…" she searches for his name tag, "… Sheppard; my partner was in a critical state and I stand in my own light. This was some nonprofessional behave, especially … attacking you. I will give you my staff number at the ZPD so you can submit an official complaint." Judy grabs into her pocket to get her ID.
"Is your partner O.K.?" Sheppard asks, his facial expression was now somewhat more friendly.
"Doctor Greenwood said he will recover completely, but he has not awakened yet." The rabbit sighs. "But that is no excuse for my behavior. I am really sorry about that."
"Maybe it is no excuse, but it makes it much more understandable. And I really appreciate that you apologize personally. Let's not talk about it further, and best wishes for your partner, Officer Hopps." The ram shakes hands with her and Judy smiled a little.
When Judy entered Nick's room, he was still laying unchanged in his bed; Evelin was browsing one of the magazines she had brought for Judy. On her entering, Eve turned to her and smiled.
"You look much better now, Juju."
"Thanks, the shower really was a benefit. Anything new about Nick?"
"No, I am sorry." Evelin slides from the chair and made a few steps in Judy's direction who put her old clothes into her backpack. "Judy, can we have a talk?" The older sister doesn't look too enthusiastic, eventually noticing the undertone in Evelin's voice. "I talked with mom and dad…"
"Eve, please. I know I have to deal with it sooner or later. But I do not think I am ready for it, yet." Judy looked at a moment's notice very exhausted and tired.
"I can relate with you, sis." Evelin sighs and takes her sister in a firm hug. "But you should know, that mom is in fact still arguable, but she only wants you to be happy, with whomsoever that may be. And dad… he just needs more time, I think." Then she added with a sly smile: "Just try to not make out with Nick in front of him. But otherwise you two should be fine."
Judy smiles and laughs lightly, then hugs her sister again. "You are the best, Eve!"
"Don't forget it, when you are selecting the maid of honor for your twos wedding."
Now Judy laughs for the first time, winking to Evelin. "Promised."
Evelin stays for a while to accompany Judy, the older one telling her sister a few funny stories she had experienced together with Nick in Zootopia. But after the evening ward round she has to go, as being only a regular visitor. Judy goes to the cafeteria while the nurse changes Nicks' bandages, getting herself a cup of tea and a sandwich. Finally, Nick and Judy are alone again. She sits on her chair, holding his paw between hers. But shortly after, her head sinks onto the side of the bed, and the sleep overpowers her.
It is not until the first ward round in the morning that Judy wakes slowly up again from her deep sleep. There was some quiet mumbling near her, but she doesn't want to wake up yet. She was having a beautiful dream with her in a splendid weeding dress, and the full Hopps family including all relatives were there, cheering and smiling to her. Her father was walking down the aisle with her, where her grandfather Michael was waiting to espouse her to her fiancé: Nick. When she was standing beside him, he reaches for her paw, holding it tight. The priest made his speech and when he finally asks the magic words, Judy whispers: "Yes, I will."
"You want what, carrots?" Nicks' voice was asking. 'What?' Judy was irritated. The dream faded away, even faster as she tries to hold it just for a few more seconds. Finally, she awakes, but refuses to open her eyes yet. It was a nice feeling of Nick stroking the back of her hand. Then awareness strokes her like a lightning and she pulls her eyes open. The feeling of Nick stroking her hand was not only a dream, but he really was stroking it. She turns her head and grimaces because of the position she had fallen asleep yesterday. But she did not sense any pain the moment her eyes meet with Nicks', smiling at her. "Good morning, carrots." He speaks still somewhat weak, but he was finally awake.
"Nick!" Judy makes a jump on the bed, ignoring her aching muscles and hugging Nick firmly. Her eyes filled with tears of joy, she holds his face in her paws and touching his nose with hers.