-Treetops-
As a certain vixen from Zootopia had once said, "Fairfax is truly a town from another time."
Some recent travelers had noticed just how accurate this review had been.
There were old train tracks that seemed to just lead off into the middle of nowhere, mining equipment could be seen rusting on the sides of the road here and there, and some of the more senior residents looked as if they had been there since the town's founding.
Two such residents were currently occupying a set of rocking chairs that had worn down the wood on the old porch so much that there was a series of divets in the smoothed wood.
An old-looking possum in a pair of weather-worn jeans and a red checkered shirt rocked back and forth, a steaming tin cup in his paws as he eyed a pinecone that had landed right in the middle of the road just in front of the old house.
"It's cold today," Came a gruff mumble from an old raccoon dog that occupied the other rocking chair.
"Colder than yesterday for sure," the possum responded.
They sat there in silence for a few more minutes, content with not saying another word for at least another half hour.
The silence however was interrupted by a series of sirens that echoed through the otherwise serene forest.
The two older mammals slowly looked down the stretch of pavement and noticed two vehicles flying through the forest road.
A Fairfax police cruiser was followed closely by an older-looking green and white jeep, a familiar park logo on its side panels.
The two vehicles flew past the old shack, the two mammals staring with raised eyebrows as the two vehicles left just as quickly as they had arrived.
"What do you think that was about?" The raccoon dog asked as he raised his cup and took another sip.
"No idea, but someone at Camp Currey is in for a surprise I guess," The possum mumbled as he looked back at the road and spied the pinecone from before, spinning like a top from the near miss by the two speeding vehicles.
Peggy stood up a little straighter and admired her paw work as she rubbed her arm across her forehead.
The doe was currently occupying the recently cleaned front porch of Nick and Judy's cabin. Having just spent a good part of the morning cleaning and organizing the aging wooden entrance area.
This had been the doe's routine for quite some time. Ever since her daughter had disappeared Peggy had done everything she could to help with the search effort. When there was nothing else to be done she occupied herself with helping those still out there looking for the missing ranger.
Judy had insisted none of this was necessary but Peggy admitted it wasn;t just her way of saying thank you, it was her way of keeping her mind off things.
Peggy took a moment to admire her work as she strolled over and scooped up a glass mason jar filled with water, a few ice cubes clinking around here and there.
The doe had only just taken her first sip when her ears suddenly perked up.
At first, she thought her ears were playing tricks on her but soon she knew for sure she was hearing things correctly.
In the distance, a siren blared through the woods, and it was growing louder.
Peggy turned and waited, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the distance entrance to the Camp Currey cabin area. Her ears twitched as her heart began to race.
Two vehicles came into view, a police vehicle and a parks department jeep.
Peggy recognized the jeep as she had been driven around town in something similar on more than one occasion.
The doe felt her paw begin to shake and she immediately placed the mason jar down and wiped her paws with a rag she had stuffed in her cleaning apron.
As if in a dream the doe slowly descended the steps, her mind racing.
She wanted so badly for them to stop in front of her, to jump out and-
-But what if they brought bad news? What if they had found her sweet baby but not….
Peggy's breathing grew more labored as she began to panic, but she did everything in her power to maintain her composure.
A weaker mammal would have fallen to their knees when the two vehicles came to a sudden halt in front of Judy and Nick's cabin.
Peggy however had always been the strong and stubborn type.
She felt her knees go weak for just a moment.
When she saw Judy burst out of the passenger seat of the Jeep, a joyful look on her face, Peggy knew.
The doe was overcome with emotions as she ran forward and wrapped Judy in her arms, trying and failing to keep the tears in.
"We found her. She is alive and they are bringing her to the hospital," Judy managed to croak out as she squeezed Peggy close, her cheeks damp from her own tears of joy. "We found her Peggy, we found your daughter."
As it turned out finding Trisha was only half the challenge when it came to the rescue operation.
Nick had been somewhat naive in thinking all they had to do was find the ball of trouble and then they could just hike home.
Far from it.
Once they had called in that Trisha had in fact been found a flurry of questions was shot back to Nick over the radio.
What is her condition?
Is she in immediate medical danger?
What was their grid location?
How far were they from Wewa?
How far were they from a pick-up point?
Nick did his best to transmit what he could but they had very little to go on.
He was still reeling from his run-in with the rabid bunny. He was worried about transmitting that over the radio and decided to keep it all to himself.
While Nick would have done anything to help Trisha he was slightly surprised as to how far the parks department was willing to go now that they had found the missing bunny.
Nick and the others eventually found themselves at the front row to what turned into a rather impressive ariel retrieval.
They had gathered at the edge of a clearing that led into a shallow plain, the overgrown grass seemed to waft in the gentle wind.
There was a kind of excited silence in the group. Everyone occasionally glancing at one another or at Trisha who was now wrapped up in a blanket and carried in a makeshift stretcher that Nick and Delta would carry.
"So are we going to talk about this whole savage bunny thing?" Finn finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
"A bunny can't go, savage," Delta grumbled before looking at Chris and then to Nick. "Can she?"
"I don't know, all I know is if you hadn't been there I would probably have a rock…well…it would have been a hell of a headache," Nick said, trying to lighten the mood. He then glanced over at Chris, the old wolf seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "What was it you were saying before, Forest Fever?"
Chris blinked a few times before clearing his throat, "Was an old campfire tale folks used to use to scare campers. But it's said that sometimes if a mammal is stuck out here long enough or if the conditions are right they can go mad, we would call it Forest Fever but it had other names. To be honest I haven't seen a case like this in years.."
"Wait so you have seen it though?" Nick pointed out.
Chris remained silent for a moment or two before simply nodding, "Years and years ago came across two hikers who had gotten lost. They were aggressive and we had to restrain them."
"What happened to them?" Delta asked, a worrisome look on his brow.
Before Chris could answer the sound of propeller blades sliced through the air.
The first of the Areotak unit to arrive was a familiar two-seater plane with a white underbelly and orange wings.
Nick remembered from his time as a Firewatcher that this was a sort of spotter plane. Normally their job was to circle forest fires and give out information to the other members of their team in order to best fight any dangerous blazes.
The plane began its lazy circles overhead as it spotted the rangers. Just a few seconds later two helicopters came into view, one of them flying low over the tree tops as the other hovered a little farther in the air.
"Geeze they really did send out everybody," Chris mumbled.
"Don't they normally rescue lost tourists and junk?" Finn asked the question that was forming in Nick's mind.
"Not really, only on life-threatening occasions and never in such numbers," Chris explained.
Nick and Delta glanced at one another, a knowing look crossing between the pair of canines.
Both of them knew exactly why so many had shown up.
As much as Nick didn't want to admit it, Trisha was popular and had made a name for herself in Fairfax.
So when the call went out that she was in need of rescue the Areotak unit probably got in a fight over who would go first to rescue the long-lost ranger.
They sat and watched as the helicopter hugging the treetops slowly raised its nose into the air before descending into the field.
Gusts of wind poured over the group who lowered their heads to protect their eyes from any debris.
Nick instinctively took a knee in front of Trisha, blocking the small doe from any grass or pine needles that were kicked up by the helicopter.
The Areotak had barely been on the ground for a second before the side doors to the helicopter slid open and a familiar painted dog darted out.
Copper was all decked out in her emergency gear and wasted almost no time as she raised the protective visor over her helmet.
The canine was lugging what appeared to be a bunny-sized stretcher in one paw while hefting a medical bag in the other.
Delta turned to Nick and gave him the signal to keep an eye on Trisha which the fox responded with a quick nod.
Knowing that Delta entrusted Nick with Trisha meant a lot to the vulpine, after all until recently it had been apparent that the painted canine had blamed Nick for Trisha's disappearance.
Delta hurried over to Copper and helped his fellow painted dog carry over a proper stretcher.
When they arrived Copper simply plopped the medical bag she had been carrying on the ground and took a knee.
The canine began to gently but firmly run her paws over certain parts of Trisha's body, focusing on the ears at first and then the neck.
She then mumbled something into her headset which Nick couldn't quite pick up.
After a moment or two though Copper gave them all a thumbs up before waving Nick over.
Without any hesitation, Nick took a knee as Copper retrieved a neck brace from her bag.
"You and Delta will do a stretcher transfer while I hold C-Spine."
Nick's look must have given his confusion away as Copper smirked.
"Just help me roll her onto the stretcher while I make her neck doesn't get injured."
Nick help a thumbs up and managed to shout, "Next time use the dumb explanation first!"
Copper rolled her eyes at the fox's antics before wrapping the brace around Trisha's neck and holding it gently.
Trisha was so small, to begin with, that any one of them could have easily lifted her up and onto the other stretcher. This however was a bit of a delicate situation.
As one the three canine's worked together and managed to gently transfer Trisha onto the proper stretcher. Once she was secure Delta and Nick lifted her up as Copper ran alongside.
Chris and Finnick followed close behind, Chris carrying Copper's medical bag.
Loading Trisha up into the helicopter was actually rather easy, the ariel vehicle could hold several large mammals which meant there was plenty of room.
Copper hopped in first and helped Nick and Delta with the stretcher.
Once the patient was secured Copper then helped the others board the helicopter.
Nick scrambled on board and turned in time to see Finnick hold out a paw.
The fox reached out and managed to heft his old partner in crime up with ease. He then turned to look at Chris who simply handed Nick the medical bag before backing away.
"You aren't coming?" Nick yelled over the deafening sound of the helicopter's propellers.
"Hate flying!" Chris admitted. "I'll catch up with the other returning groups and see you back in Fairfax!"
"You sure?" Nick asked.
Chris just gave the fox a toothy grin and then a salute before heading back towards the tree line where several mammals were gathering.
Apparently, the announcement of Trisha's rescue had made it across the airwaves and now the search teams still out in the woods were heading back to Wewa.
Some of the groups must have heard the helicopters and come to observe the spectacle before continuing back to civilization.
Delta leaned forward and grabbed the latch to the helicopter door and gave it a tug, closing the sliding door as the helicopter prepared for its ascent.
As they got seated Delta sat across from Nick, his eyes going to Copper who was busy looking over Trisha. After a second or two the painted ranger turned and looked over his shoulder at the pilots before looking back at Nick and reaching for a headset hanging from the ceiling.
Nick did the same, placing the headset against his ears which flattened under the listening device.
The headset had been designed not only to communicate but drown out the noise coming from the helicopter.
As Nick slid the device on he felt a wave of relief as the deafening sound was muffled.
Seconds later one of the pilots came over the headset.
"Rockpile is patching in Supervisor Hopps now, standby."
There was a muffled click before a familiar voice came over the headset.
"Rangers," Came Judy's sweet voice.
Delta gave Nick a knowing smirk from across the helicopter.
Nick rolled his eyes at his friend as Judy continued.
"I will keep this quick but I have someone here who wants to speak to you," Judy continued.
Seconds later Peggy came over the headset.
"Boys…I can't tell you just how grateful I am…thank you for finding my little Trisha."
"Wish I could take credit Peg," Delta began. Nick knew where this was going and smiled as he shook his head. "But Nick was the one who actually found her."
"Nick are you there?" Peggy asked happily.
"Yes ma'am," Nick said as he looked over at Trisha who was still being tended to.
"Pinecone."
Nick could not help but smirk as he looked at the resting Trisha. No matter what was wrong with her it didn't really matter at this moment. All that mattered is they had found her and were on their way home.
Nick let out a pleased sigh before responding, "Pinecone."
Judy paced back and forth in the waiting area of the medical center as she waited impatiently for the Areotak's arrival.
While she knew the importance of having patience it was never really one of her strengths. Sure there were the times she would wait for Trisha to show up at her tower with a re-supply of snacks.
And of course, the time she was standing waiting by a large boulder for a certain fox to advise her he had arrived for their first ever face-to-face greetings.
Those times though felt like they went by instantly compared to the excruciating wait for the helicopter carrying her missing friend to arrive.
Judy detected movement nearby and stopped her pacing in time to see Peggy return to the waiting area, the doe's eyes seemed puffy and her cheeks were a little damp still.
The bunny didn't even make it 3 steps into the waiting area before a certain raccoon was at her side, holding up a fresh kleenex which Peggy took gratefully.
"Thank you, Lily," The doe said before dabbing her cheeks.
"Of course," The raccoon said as she glanced over at Judy and gave the doe a smile.
While Judy had rushed to get Peggy, Lily and a few other members of the park department had hurried over to the medical center to wait for the rescue team's arrival.
The waiting area was crowded with mammals from all over the parks department and Fairfax, most of them eager for an update on their blue-eyed troublemaker.
"Dave is catching the earliest train here that he can," Peggy continued. The elder doe had ducked away to call her husband with the news once they had confirmed Trisha was actually found and on her way home. "He will be contacting the boys as well so I have a feeling they will be on their way shortly."
Judy let out a pleased sigh before glancing over at Lily.
The raccoon cleared her throat and placed a paw on Peggy's back, "Please allow us to take care of all lodging and travel arrangements."
"Oh I couldn't burden you any more than I already have," Peggy protested.
"Peg, please," Judy said softly but her bright purple eyes seemed firm, telling Peggy she had little say in the matter.
"Oh alright, thank you both again," Peggy said as she let out a deep breath before glancing down at her phone.
It felt like an eternity before a familiar rhythmic thumping came from outside.
Judy took Peggy by the paw and gave it a squeeze as the two stood patiently by a set of large double doors.
When the doors finally opened everyone stood up and watched as three mammals entered the waiting area.
Nick, Finnick, and Delta looked worn down but pleased at the same time. As if they had all just completed a marathon and were now able to rest.
The waiting room broke out into quiet applause so as not to disturb the rest of the medical center.
Judy didn't even hesitate as she let go of Peggy's paw and ran over to Nick, using her strong legs to propel herself into the ranger's open arms.
The small bunny closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks, nuzzling against her fox who gently stroked her ear.
"Hey Carrots," Nick whispered sweetly as he gave the doe a gentle peck on the head.
"Thank you for finding her Nick," Judy whispered.
She leaned back slightly and looked up into Nick's eyes before her ears went up in curiosity.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Nick said defensively as he set Judy down. He then glanced around the room before speaking in a low voice. "I'll fill you in shortly."
Before Judy could pry any further Peggy stepped forward and hurried over to Nick.
The fox was caught off guard but managed to catch himself as the bunny wrapped her arms around the fox's waist.
"Nick I can't ever thank you enough for this," Peggy said through quivering lips.
"I heard you make a mean sandwich," Nick began as he gently patted Peggy on the back. "How about you make lunch and we call it even."
"Nick I will make you sandwiches till the end of time and it would still not be enough."
"Well maybe toss in some freshly baked cookies and then we can call it even."
Peggy snorted at the ranger's comment before giving him another hug.
Once she let Nick go Peggy immediately turned as her gaze fell on Finnick.
"And Fin!"
"I just went camping that's all," Finnick said in a gruff voice as he tried to step back, raising his paws and shaking his head. "No need for this mushy stuff."
The fennec fox continued to back up only to bump into something. He looked up and noticed a smug-looking Skye standing directly behind him so he couldn't escape.
"Accept your fate, Mr. Faux," Skye said with a toothy grin.
Peggy finally reached Finn and wrapped him up in a loving embrace as she thanked him for his help in all this.
Nick couldn't help but notice that while Finn did struggle at first he eventually relented and even gave Peggy a kind smile as he patted her on the back.
When Nick glanced back at Judy he noticed she was absent.
A quick glance around the room and he found her talking to Delta who looked tired but pleased nonetheless.
The two shared a friendly hug, Judy gently patting Delta on the cheek as he set her back down.
It was just then Nick realized that he wasn't the only one who had been missing his painted friend.
Judy had not only lost Trisha but Delta as well during all this. The painted ranger had cut himself off from the others while he searched for his bunny.
To see the two friends reunite made Nick smile.
The moment however was cut short when the double doors swung open once more.
This time an old porcupine in a lab coat strolled out holding a chart.
The doctor scanned the room before his gaze fell on Judy who nodded over to Peggy who stepped forward.
"Mrs. Rose?"
"Yes?"
"I am Dr. Salt. We are just finishing looking over your daughter, there are some preliminary concerns but it's common with mammals who have been lost for so long in the wilderness. If you like though you can see her."
Peggy took an eager step forward before glancing over at Judy and holding out her paw.
Judy looked a little surprised but stepped forward and took Peggy's paw.
"Normally we only allow family this early on," Dr. Salt said hesitantly.
Peggy quickly turned to the porcupine who towered over her and without the slightest hesitation spoke up, "I know, that is why it's more than fitting Judy be there. She IS family."
The doctor let out a defeated sigh and was about to turn when both Nick and Delta stepped forward.
"Oh for the love of-"
"They are family too!"
"I can see where Ranger Rose got her spunk," the porcupine grumbled before letting out a sigh.
The doctor turned and led them through the double doors and down the hall.
Nick had been in a pawful of hospitals in his time back in Zootopia, they were normally sprawling labyrinths with nurses and doctors of all shapes and sizes hurrying about.
The Fairfax Medical Center however was nothing like that.
Sure there were a series of hallways that seemed to head off in different directions but it lacked the same busy energy and sheer size of the hospitals one would find in the distant metropolis.
"I have to say Ranger Rose is tougher than she looks," Dr. Salt began as he flipped through his charts. "She is suffering from a myriad of injuries. All treatable of course but she does have a long road of recovery ahead."
Nick noticed how Judy seemed to walk a little closer to Peggy as they all made their way down the hall. The fox instinctively reached out and placed a paw on Peggy's shoulder as he walked behind her.
He was actually rather surprised how quickly Peggy reached up and gave his paw a gentle squeeze.
"Both her ears are in rough shape, one will need surgery and while we have her we will have to fix 2 broken ribs, a shattered knee, one sprained toe, and a mild case of forest mange."
Dr. Salt suddenly stopped and turned and gave Peggy a weak smile.
"My apologies Mrs. Rose, I understand how overwhelming this all can be but I am just telling you how it is. While I and the rest of the staff are thrilled that Ranger Rose was found we have some work ahead before that daughter of yours is back to 100%."
"I am sure she will be terrorizing the woods in no time," Nick couldn't help but slip out.
Judy turned and gave Nick a glare but Peggy simply snorted as she gave the fox another squeeze with her paw.
"Watch it, Wilde, her ears may be busted but I am sure she heard that," Delta chuckled.
"Well she will probably be hearing a lot shortly, I advised the staff to wake her up so we could run a few additional tests," Dr. Salt said as he began to turn and head down the hall.
"Wait!" Nick said suddenly which caused the others to stop.
The fox looked over at Delta who looked a little confused at first before a look of realization came over him.
The painted dog shook his head slowly, "No…you don't think that was permanent? She was probably just scared and dehydrated or some-"
There was a loud crash followed by a scream somewhere in the medical center.
Dr. Salt turned and looked in the direction of the noise and began to hurry down the hall.
"Wait! Doctor!" Judy began as she and Peggy hurried after the porcupine.
Delta and Nick however overtook the two bunnies and flew past them as a loud commotion began to echo through the hallway.
Dr. Salt turned a corner as another crash bounced off the walls.
Nick and Delta were close behind and came around the bend just a few seconds later.
At first, it appeared to be just another hallway.
It was not until a bed pan came flying out of one of the doors that they realized where Trisha might be.
A medical tray came crashing out of the doorway as Nick and Delta hurried over.
They were met with a rather terrifying sight.
Trisha was crawling atop a panther in scrubs, hissing, and growling as she tried to bring a medical chart down on the poor feline's head.
She looked just as feral as when they had first found her. She had a bandage here and there from Copper's handiwork but she still looked like she had been through the wringer.
"Grab her!" A female deer shouted as the panther reached over his head only to have the clipboard come slamming down on his muzzle.
"Ah!" The large predator let out as he covered his nose.
Trisha, or what used to be Trisha, suddenly lept on the bed and got down on all fours and bared her two front teeth at the others.
"Ranger Rose! Please! You are safe!" Dr. Salt shouted as he tried to approach.
Trisha detected the movement and turned, letting out a low growl as her bloodshot blue eyes narrowed in on her target.
"Doc duck!" Nick shouted just in time as Trisha propelled herself forward, her arms outstretched.
Trisha missed Dr. Salt and landed in a rather clumsy way on the floor but she quickly recovered.
At this point, Delta and Nick had joined the fray, not that they were much better off.
They simply added more targets.
Trisha turned to Nick and fire seemed to blaze in her eyes as she leaped at the fox, latching onto his arm before bringing her teeth down on his fur.
"AH!" Nick yelled as a searing pain coursed from his arm.
"Trisha!" Peggy shouted, she and Judy arrived to find the chaotic scene.
"She is still feral!" Delta shouted as he hurried over and grabbed Trisha by the waist.
The doe was no longer in the tatters they had found her in, she had been wrapped up in a medical gown that clung to the doe's body, showing her emaciated state.
"Feral?!" Judy let out.
Trisha's ears seemed to twitch and she loosened her bite on Nick as she turned to look at Judy.
One of the brown bunny's ears seemed to tilt upward while the other remained limp.
Nick noticed how Trisha seemed to relax and used the moment to his advantage as he looped an arm around the doe's neck.
Trisha immediately went back into attack mode and let out a loud yip mixed with a growl as she tried to kick herself free.
"Doc you got anything for this?!" Nick barked as he tried to hold onto Trisha but the doe was using all her strength and was starting to wriggle free.
"I got her," Delta said as he retrieved his tranq pistol.
As he did though Trisha flailed a leg and managed to smack the tranq gun and then the painted dog in the face.
Delta let out a grunt as he looked at the ceiling and then back at Trisha, a trail of blood coming from his snout.
Trisha, however, didn't let up, if anything she was becoming even harder for Nick to hold.
"Someone tranq her before she hurts herself," Nick ordered.
Delta reached for his tranq gun but was kicked again by Trisha, causing the ranger to fall, his foot kicking the gun away.
"Frick!"
"No just take your time, it's not like she is biting me or anythi- AH!" Nick let out as Trisha managed to turn and bite down on Nick's side.
"I got it!" Dr. Salt and Judy said in unison.
The porcupine had retreated out of the room only temporarily but had returned with a syringe which he held up with one paw.
Judy meanwhile was now holding Delta's tranq gun which was obviously two sizes too big for the doe.
"Judy wait!" Delta and Nick shouted.
It was too late.
Judy squeezed the trigger and-
"Carrots!" Nick let out as he looked down at the tranq needle now sticking into his leg.
"Oh gosh, Nick I am-"
"Hold her!" Dr. Salt ordered.
It took Nick, Delta, and the panther to retrain Trisha so she could receive the shot safely.
The small ball of brown fur let out a yelp and continued to wriggle and growl but soon she drifted off in the ranger's arms.
Not a moment too soon either as Nick slowly slumped down onto the floor, an annoyed look on his face as he looked at Judy.
"Oh Nick I am so sorry," Judy cooed as she hurried over and cupped the fox's head in her paws.
The world began to spin and fade into blue darkness as the tranq in Nick's leg took over.
The last thing he saw as he drifted off into dreamland was Peggy.
The doe standing in the doorway, a look of sadness on her face as she watched her daughter's limp body gently placed on the bed.
Hey there Firewatchers!
Sorry for the long wait, school hit hard and I had to focus on it for a bit. Hope to have more free time soon.
I know it feels like Fireflies doesn't have much in the way of direction but I promise the next chapter is where it gets fun! We get to meet a new OC of mine, Nick has another tranq-induced dream, and we learn about one of the forests' greatest myths.
Thank you all again for your patience.
More coming Soon.
Pinecone!
-Blue