Chapter 43: Visiting

"And how is he?" Asked a low male voice located outside the observation room. It was Commander Bogo, who as promised at 4.00p.m. had turned up at the hospital where the rabbit was staying. Seeing her condition he knew she was not feeling well and this was his best police functionary. Her condition was important to everyone and she was probably the most liked person at the station since the wild boar case was solved which made everyone appreciate the doe's hard work.

"When she was brought here she was in a really serious condition. Tests showed that her body had reacted quite badly to what happened on the premises. Fortunately, today she is much better. Her fever has stopped, she had a lot of energy this morning and she already has faint signs of light sensitivity in her eyes," replied Alex. The Doctor while Judy slept spoke to the Commandant, who was looking forward to the moment when he could talk to her.

"If she was feeling well why is she sleeping now?" Bogo asked.

"It is natural, please don't worry. She came here barely conscious, I had to help her get up from the bed to examine her, her body needs to rest. Let's not disturb her maybe okay?" Alex suggested.

"Of course. I'll wait as long as it takes" replied the Commander. He sat on a bench in the waiting room and looked at his watch counting down the minutes.

Half an hour later

It had been half an hour since the Commandant had waited in the waiting room when he could go inside. He wanted to talk to the doe as soon as possible to find out as much as possible about her condition, when she would be able to return to continue the investigation and what exactly had happened last evening. He remembered that she had already mentioned it to Judy, though he hoped that the rabbit had remembered a new and very important detail that might be helpful in unraveling this mystery.

"Commandant, you may come in. Judy is already waiting for you" The doctor communicated as he left the room after consulting with his patient. The commandant rose from the bench, thanked Alex, then walked inside the room tracking the silver and white figure automatically.

Although Judy was lying on the bed with her ears down (which usually indicated that she was feeling poorly) she looked full of strength and as always - positive. Her vivid violet eyes sparkled with life, there was even a modest smile on her face, which was reciprocated immediately by the commandant upon seeing it. Bogo sat down in a chair and sat in silence for a few moments watching the rabbit.

"How are you feeling Hopps?" Asked the commandant after some thought.

"I feel better... I still have a slight headache and as the doctor said a hypersensitivity to light, but other than that I am ok..." Replied the rabbit. Although she seemed to be in a good mood Bogo knew that something was making her sad and taking away her reasons to be happy and he guessed who it could be about by her earnest look that asked to say something about Nick.

"Unfortunately we don't know what happened to Wild yet. All we know is that he was kidnapped, but we don't know what the intentions were or where he was abducted. We are investigating the case, but the kidnapper has left virtually no trace of him." The commander confessed. It was hard for him to talk about such a turn of events while at the same time looking at her eyes, which were so joyful. He felt guilty in a way about what had happened, but there was nothing he could do about it. Judy sighed heavily at this news laying her head down on her pillow. This was not the news she wanted to hear. Her good mood immediately waned, she had hoped that the officers would find something after all, some minimal clue, but as it turns out the police are powerless so far.

"How is it that residents are kidnapped and the kidnapper leaves no trace?" Judy asked.

"He masks himself well. He must use gloves for sure. You can tell he knows what he's doing," replied the Commander.

"That I already know...but we need to work out his plan of action, this is the second time he has fooled us" remarked Judy. Bogo sighed heavily. He had nothing to say on the subject. It was a truth that was hard to dispute. The first time he'd run for Nick and Caroline, now he'd poisoned the whole room and kidnapped Nick, it was hard to call it a good situation.

"How long do you have to stay here?" The Commandant asked. He remembered the doctor's words informing him that Judy should get plenty of rest. He didn't want to burden her even more with a case that had been on her mind for days anyway.

"I am supposed to rest for a week, but they told me that if I feel well I can leave the hospital tomorrow" Judy communicated.

"Will you be able to return to the police force?"

"Unfortunately no. I'm supposed to rest for a week" Judy replied. The commander nodded with a motion of his head. This is a big loss for the police, losing two of their best officers was not good news, especially when they are especially needed now.

"Ugh...that's not good. Rest up for this time Hopps, when you get back to the station you'll need to be ready to be called out" Bogo said, to which Judy smiled slightly. Although it sounded rather silly she felt honoured knowing that she was the best officer.

"I know Mr. Commander. I'll be back in full force" replied Judy jokingly.

"That's good... we're all waiting for you" replied the Commander.

"Mrs. Hopps, your parents have already arrived!" The doctor communicated, followed by Stuu and Bonnie entering the room. They both looked concerned about their daughter's condition. No one could have been surprised by that. When they got the call from the unknown number they could not have expected that their daughter was in hospital. When they heard about it they thought it was a joke, but unfortunately it was not. They got ready to leave as soon as possible and found themselves in hospital 2 hours later.

"I'll be going now...take care Hopps" The Commander communicated, he didn't want to disturb for Judy's parents to visit. He got up from his chair then left the room.

"Oh Judy, we were so worried about you! We said it was too dangerous a job! You know what could have happened..." Bonnie began to pronounce. She was the first to sit down beside her daughter, while Stuu stood over the bed gazing pityingly at a still somewhat weakened Judy, who was listening impatiently to her mother's argument.

"Mum, no one could have expected this, nothing serious happened to me, really" Judy explained calmly trying to reassure her parents who had been fuming all along. She had expected them to be frightened and upset, and they were all of them. For as long as she could remember they had been oversensitive about the dangers that awaited them around them. It was something that made Judy nervous and she had tried to change their attitude several times but never succeeded.

"Well, okay, but tell me what happened to find us in the hospital, in the Fox Quarter? You know how..." Stuu said quietly. Before he could finish his sentence he turned his attention to a few doctors who were walking into the room attending to patients. So as not to offend them he walked over to the opposite side of the bed that Boonie was on.

"You know how much we dislike foxes," Stuu whispered. These words hurt Judy. She immediately remembered Nick and their relationship. The words that they don't like foxes didn't fill her with optimism about confessing to being together with a fox.

"Dad...species doesn't matter" Judy admonished him sounding as stern as she could. Stuu sighed heavily, he wanted to make another statement on the subject but was stopped by Bonnie attacking him with a look that caused Stuu to give up speaking.

"Times are changing Stu. And you Judy, tell me what happened?"

"My partner and I were supposed to search the restaurant where he was supposed to be wanted. When we went inside, most likely the Suspect we were looking for threw two grenades with poison gas that caused everyone in the room to lose consciousness" Judy communicated. Even though she was telling this story for the umpteenth time in one day it didn't bother her. By telling it she could visualize the situation more and recall some additional facts that could trace the suspect.

"Actually, last night when I was coming back from the shop they were talking about it on the radio! The restaurant...Under the Fox Grove, correct?" Stu asked. Judy nodded faintly.

"Sorry we've only just arrived now, we couldn't have come earlier..."

"It's okay, I slept most of the day anyway, I felt tired...and who's watching the house then?"

"The kids can look after themselves, they won't do anything wrong during that time" Stu replied.

"And as for the house. When can you get out of here?" Bonnie asked.

"The doctor said I could leave as early as tomorrow if I feel well. But I'm supposed to rest for a week and not go out anywhere," replied Judy. Although her voice seemed normal by her face Stu and Bonnie could see that the doe was not at full strength. There were signs of fatigue and a slight fever on her face.

"If you want, you can come to us for that time... There's nothing like resting in your own home," Stu suggested. Judy took some time to respond. On the one hand she wanted to be close to the events of Zootopia, she couldn't expect when she would be needed, but on the other hand she wanted a real rest, away from the things that tormented and haunted her. She wanted to be with her family, she missed it altogether. Yes, here she had Nick by her side, but she was missing someone with whom she could talk about things...more private. The fox sometimes turned into a joke about things that were not funny at all for the doe.

"It's actually not a bad idea...I could use a rest like this," decided Judy.

"Rest is best in your own home. You'll feel better right away" Stu replied. It was hard to deny that, lying alone in a flat in Zootopia would give her a sense of even more loneliness, and that would not be good in her condition. She needed the care that her parents could provide.

"I'm unlikely to be comfortable alone in a flat," chuckled Judy. She wondered if it was definitely a good idea to go to the countryside, after all her presence might be needed at any time, on the other hand she wanted a bit of a break from the Zootopia stuff.

"Temu we want to take you, we can come and pick you up tomorrow, you can give us the keys to the flat, we'll take your clothes and..."

"I don't think that will be necessary. There should be some old clothes of mine in the house. I'll mostly be lying in bed anyway," interrupted Judy for Bonnie when she heard her mother's suggestions. If they went to her flat they would surely see pictures of her with Nick that clearly showed they were in a relationship together, and she didn't want them to find out that way. It wasn't the best solution to this situation.

"Something we should find, if you don't want I'll look for something for you tonight"

"Great idea" Judy confirmed. At this time the doe doctor who had come in to check on how the patient was feeling entered the room. He greeted Judy's parents then took her temperature by putting a thermometer to her forehead.

"The temperature is just about right. 37.1, don't you feel tired, can you look at the light?"

"It's much better now doctor. I don't feel any pain in my eyes" replied Judy.

"Okay, but just to be sure, I'll check, okay?" Asked the doctor, Judy didn't seem to mind, so the doctor took out a small torch, approached the patient and shone it towards the patient's amethyst eyes. The pupils narrowed, everything looked fine too. With a slight smile on his face Alex put the device in his pocket leaning back from the doe leaning against the arm of the bed.

"All is well, I will prepare your discharge tomorrow. Just remember to write it off for at least a week, the more you rest the better" The doctor communicated.

"I will rest doctor, these two here will see to that" replied Judy ironically.

"Hehe... Okay, I won't bother you any longer, have a nice conversation, good night" replied the doctor, then left the room.

" He seems nice to me for a fox..." Threw Stuu quietly when Alex was gone.

"Dad, how many times do I have to tell you that species has nothing to do with personality! A rabbit can also be rude just as much as a fox..." Judy replied. Stu didn't reply. He was heavily stereotyped, so it was hard for him to accept that fact, even though he was increasingly aware that he might actually be exaggerating at times.

"Oh you know how he is...not very progressive" sighed Boonie heavily.

"We just used to be taught that way and that was the system"

"But times change Dad" replied Judy.

"Maybe Judy maybe...but maybe we can talk about this some other time...it's quite late" replied Stu. It was striking 8.00 p.m., it was already dark outside the windows due to the winter weather.

"We'll get you tomorrow Judy, we love you" replied Boonie hugging her daughter.

"I love you too" replied Judy. After a brief hug, she said goodbye to her father and was then left alone in the hall.