The Unplanned Detour - Chapter 21
Impressions of sounds and touch began to intrude on Zoe's awareness but it was... distorted, almost like being underwater. She could feel herself laying on something hard and, when she tried to move, she found that she couldn't, at least her arms and legs. She slowly realized that she was bound with ropes that had been wrapped around her. Her mouth was dry and sticky, but when she tried to open her muzzle to ask for water, she found that her muzzle had been bound as well. At least she could breathe.
There was a soft light penetrating her eyelids, and when she was able to crack them open slightly, her vision was warped. Little by little, her vision cleared and she was able to focus. Her heart leaped for joy when she saw her mate, but sank again when she saw that he was hanging from the ceiling by a chain. She tried calling out to him, but the cloth that muzzled her would only let her make minimal sounds.
Someone spoke, drawing her attention to them. It was a lion, and he was talking to Dylan about someone named Cutter. Then she heard a third voice and could see that it was a hyena, the same hyena from the hospital! And he was talking about eating Dylan! And then eating her!
Zoe watched as the hyena and her mate got ready to fight. She started praying to all the gods but mainly she asked Ares to grant her mate the strength he would need, and to Nike to grant him victory over his foe.
Zoe observed, wide eyed, as they began fighting. She was amazed at how in control of himself Dylan seemed. She'd seen him do what he called his kata's, but she'd never seen him fight for real. She hummed happily when she saw Dylan sway out of the way of Cutter's charge and then slammed him into the wall. Her heart leaped when she saw him kick Cutter several feet into the darkness, but then her heart almost stopped when she saw Cutter emerge carrying a pipe.
When Cutter swung the pipe and broke her mates arm, she screamed the best she could as Dylan cried out. She celebrated when Dylan was able to get the pipe away from the hyena but cried out when Dylan was slashed across the chest. She could see the blood fly from the wounds.
She continued watching as the two traded blows. She cursed Cutter when he grabbed one of Dylan's batons and cheered when Dylan broke Cutter's elbow. More blows were traded between the two and when Cutter bit into Dylan's shoulder, both mates screamed in concert.
Zoe kept jerking her head trying to clear the tears out of her eyes so that she could see. She saw Dylan stumble into the table and snatch his other baton. Her eyes widened in amazement as Dylan began to use the baton as if it were a natural extension of his body. Her mate quickly beat the hyena down until Cutter was a boneless mass on the floor.
Zoe exulted, at least until she heard the lion speak up, "Bravo Mr. Ambrose. It seems you are a formidable mammal. Too bad I can't keep you around."
She shifted her gaze to where the lion stood and her heart went out of her. The lion was holding a large gun in his right paw.
He continued by saying "Nothing personal Mr. Ambrose, I'm sure you understand."
Zoe screamed a muffled "NOOOOOOO!" as the lion raised the gun and pointed it at her mate. When she heard the shot, Zoe screamed again, but this time with the pain of acute loss. She closed her eyes and began sobbing for her lost mate.
Then she heard another voice saying "I surrender". Opening her eyes and blinking away her tears, she saw a fox she hadn't noticed before lay a pistol on a table and walk into the darkness. Hopeful eyes shot over to where her mate had been standing before and saw him swaying as he worked his way over to her.
Joyful tears rained onto the floor at seeing her mate alive. She cried out when he fell to the concrete floor and felt sorrow at seeing him still struggling to get to her. Her fiance stopped moving and looked her in the eyes. She could see the need in his before his head sagged and his eyes closed.
Sudden noise echoed throughout the building as the ZPD made their presence known. Zoe didn't care. Her mate was injured and she was helpless to aid him. She rolled her body until she was close to him and then wiggled until her muzzle lay atop his head. Zoe began whispering endearments the best she could into Dylan's ear as the ZPD entered the lit area, dragging the red fox with them.
Zoe recognized some of the officers from her association with Dylan, but couldn't bring herself to care that much until she felt the cloth around her muzzle removed.
"Dylan!" She cried "Dylan, don't leave me! Please, I need you, stay with me!"
More tears flowed and she began to practically blubber, not even realizing that the ropes holding her captive were being untied. Her focus on Dylan, she didn't notice at first as the two paramedics, both black bears, place a gurney next to her fiance before examining him, taking his vitals, and treating his injuries.
It wasn't until a small rabbit police officer decked out in riot gear commenced talking to her in a gentle voice and stroking the fur on her head and cheek, that Zoe's sensed returned to normal. Turning her head slightly, Zoe saw a concerned Judy explaining to her that they needed to take both of them to the hospital.
"I'm going to ride with Dylan!" insisted Zoe.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea Zoe, they may need the room to tend to Dylan." Judy pointed out.
"There's plenty of room in a medium mammal ambulance. I'm not injured, I was only drugged. They can check me out at the hospital, but I will ride with my mate!"
Surrendering to the inevitable, Judy helped Zoe to her feet and steadied her as they followed the gurney carrying Dylan outside to the ambulance. After they loaded her fiance into the bus, Zoe climbed in with Judy's help. She gave the bunny a heartfelt hug prior to her sliding as far to the front as possible.
Two ZPD officers, also in riot gear, closed the doors and then they were on their way. Zoe would have found the ride fascinating, seeing the process from this end, but her only concern at the moment was the wounded mammal laying on the gurney. She ached to help the paramedic out, but she knew that she wasn't in any shape mentally to do anything. She also had no idea what drug the hyena had used to knock her unconscious much less what, if any, side effects there would be.
Zoe listened with half an ear as the bear radioed in Dylan's vitals and cataloguing his injuries. The small part of her brain paying attention listed them and realized that none of them on their own should prove fatal, as there were no known bleeds detected. The major problem was the bite on his shoulder that had probably broken his collar bone.
Zoe started fighting the staff when they separated her and Dylan, the nurses wheeling him off down the hall while trying to get her in an examination room. It was only when Dana, a nurse that Zoe had worked with before, informed her that Dylan was being taken into surgery and she wouldn't be able to follow him anyway that she calmed.
Zoe was laying on the bed in the examination room waiting for the doctor. She found herself staring at the ceiling and seemingly out of touch with her environment. Some small part of her understood that she was probably suffering from shock, but she found it to be more curious than a cause for concern.
She didn't even react when the doctor, a moose, walked in followed by a couple of nurses.
"Miss Loper, I'm Doctor D'velvet. I understand you've been through quite an ordeal. We just need to check you out and make sure you're okay. Can you tell us what happened?"
She hadn't worked with Doctor D'velvet before, but she had heard only good things about him. So Zoe explained everything from the time she got off shift until she arrived at the hospital. That she repeated everything in a dull monotone and with no expression worried the doctor. He ordered a blood test to try and determine the drug that had been administered. While that was being done,
D'velvet addressed Zoe again. "Okay Miss Loper, from what I can see you're only suffering from psychological shock, but until we know what you were given, I'm hesitant to proscribe any medication for you."
Zoe shook her head, "I don't want any medicine, not until my mate is out of surgery and I can be with him."
"You're a medical resident Miss Loper, so you know that getting rest can help. I'd also like to give a referral to Doctor Waves, our onsite psychologist so that you can talk to her."
Zoe nodded, accepting the doctor's advice. They covered Zoe in what the hospital considered blankets, also known as oversized towels. How much time passed, Zoe didn't know. Her head just swam with thoughts and images of Dylan, his smiles and his laughter, his gentle caring and sweet nature. His expression when he realized what Rruff was, and the tender way he looked at her as they made love.
The door to her room opened, distracting her from her thoughts. A cheetah wearing a lab coat with the name 'T. Adams' embroidered on it, walked in and stood next to the bed.
"Miss Loper? I'm Doctor Adams, I'm the surgeon that operated on your mate."
Displaying more emotion and energetic movement since she'd been brought in, Zoe swung her legs over the bed and stood up.
"How is he? Is he okay?" She asked earnestly, her eyes pleading for good news.
Doctor Adams raised his paw in placation. "The lacerations on your mate's chest and side, while not life threatening, did cause muscle damage, but other than some scarring he should be okay. He has a mild concussion, but that is treatable with pain meds. He also suffered a broken forearm and clavicle. His lower mandible has a hairline fracture and he suffered punctures to his shoulder as well. Other than that, he had some abrasions and contusions. He can expect a full recovery, but it's going to take up to take time."
Zoe nodded as she remembered that a clavicle fracture could take up to 12 weeks to heal, but she couldn't help but to sag in relief, letting herself sit down on the bed and released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. The stress she'd been holding in, the worry that she'd been carrying since the beginning of the fight, suddenly rushed out and caused her to start crying in solace.
Doctor Adams let her cry herself out as he stood there, knowing that crying could be therapeutic. He didn't want to try to physically comfort her as he'd had mammals react badly to being touched after a traumatic event. He simply waited until her sobs died down and the asked "I can take you to him if you'd like? I've already arranged for a bed to be placed in his room for you."
With tears in her eyes, Zoe nodded and said "Thank you, for everything."
Doctor Adams smiled. The she wolf would be okay.
Zoe walked into Dylan's room and felt her heart clench in sympathy. Bandages covered his left shoulder, his left arm was in a cast as well as a sling that held it against his body. The hospital blankets hid his chest. She padded over to the near side, which happened to be Dylan's uninjured side. She stood there a while, holding his paw, as she slowly ran her gaze over him, matching his features with the ones in her memory. She marked every scratch or bruise that didn't belong on her mate, feeling sympathy pains for each one. Zoe leaned over as she raised Dylan's paw, brought it to her lips, and kissed it, willing her mate to feel how much she loved him.
A soft knock caused her to turn and see her family standing there. Another wave of relief washed through her. Zoe's expression had her mom move swiftly to her side. Zoe felt her mom's arms wrap around her in a loving embrace, soon to be joined the rest of her family.
"Zoe, what happened little wolf?" her mother asked, using an old term of endearment from when Zoe was 10.
Taking a deep breath, Zoe began describing, again, what had happened after her ER shift. When she started describing how Dylan had shown up and the fight, her family kept glancing over to the unconscious mammal in the bed. As she recounted what happened afterwards with the lion, the gun, and then the shot, the other members of her family felt their hearts clench even though the proof of his survival was evident.
They explained how Judy Hopps-Wilde had called them and let them know, briefly, what had happened. They rushed over as quick as possible to be here for the couple. In the midst of comforting Zoe, each one had their own thoughts about Dylan.
Robert stood in awe of Dylan. No matter what else, Dylan had proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was worthy of his daughter, and Robert couldn't be prouder of him.
Cynthia was moved by the love the two shared, thinking it was almost fairy-tale like.
Arthur was astounded that a mammal with no proper teeth or claws could go one one one with a predator and win. He resolved never to get on Dylan's bad side.
As for Tara, she was going through a drastic change. Hearing Zoe's tale seemed both heroic and romantic. She felt bad that, even now, she was crushing on her sister's mate. All of the love games she had played before paled before the real thing and she wondered if she was ever going to find someone like Dylan.
Later, they helped Zoe push her bed against Dylan's so that she could lay next to him by his good side. After a few more hours, they left so that Zoe could get some sleep. Zoe snuggled up against Dylan the best she was able, holding his paw against her. She could barely smell Dylan's scent through the antiseptic and traces of blood. It was hard for her to sleep, for she had nightmares everytime she drifted off.
In the morning, a drowsy Zoe was greeted by her sisters, who brought her some food and told her how there had been riots last night in all of the districts. The news was saying that City Hall had been attacked by armed mammals, but were beaten back by the ZPD in full riot gear with many arrests. ZNN was still covering the attacks and the recovery efforts. Amanda left and found a doctor to come give her sister something to help her sleep, and with those meds, Zoe was finally able to rest.
oooOOOooo
Dylan slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the brightness of the lights. He could see, but his thoughts felt sluggish and it took some time to understand just what he was seeing. He was in a hospital room, so that meant he'd survived his fight with Cutter. Dylan's eyes opened wide in shock and fear and his heart started beating fast as one thought was clear in his mind, Zoe! Panicked, he tried to move only to find he was only partially successful. His left side was heavily bandaged and his arm strapped to his side.
When he tried to move his right, he felt something on it. Letting his head fall to the side, he saw his mate next to him. It took a little while, but Dylan couldn't see anything wrong with her. No bandages, and he could see her breathing. Dylan sank into the bed and cried tears of relief, his mate was safe! In due time, Dylan realized that they had him on pain relief medicine, probably something like Morphine, which explained not just the lack of pain from his injuries, but how his head felt like it was filled with jello. Dylan moved his right hand until he could grip Zoe's paw before he relaxed and let his eyes begin to close again. Sleep, yeah, he just needed a little more sleep.
Zoe awoke feeling much better thanks to what the doctor had given her. She felt the heat in her paw and looked down to see Dylan's paw grasping hers. Her heart started beating fast as she took this to understand that Dylan had woken sometime earlier. Using her free paw, she pressed the call button and waited. A minute later, a white-tailed doe in nurses scrubs walked in.
"Miss Loper? You buzzed?"
Grinning widely, Zoe held up Dylan's hand and said "He woke up!"
The doe smiled indulgently and said "Apparently. How are you feeling Miss Loper?"
"Better. But I'll be even better when my mate wakes up!"
With a nod to Zoe, the nurse walked over and read the monitors. "I'm going to call Dr. Rheinhold, his primary physician, and give him your mate's vitals. He's the one who took care of Mr. Ambrose when he first arrived here."
The doe then nodded her head at Dylan. "Just to let you know, I love his music, and I was there when he proposed to you." She smiled at Zoe as she left.
The lights were more subdued the next time Dylan woke. He could hear soft voices conversing near him. Opening his eyes, Dylan saw his mate talking to Dr. Reinhold. He could see that the bed Zoe had been sleeping in was pushed back against the wall. With a grunt, Dylan called out "Baby?".
Zoe turned and was next to him in a flash, grasping his hand and kissing it, interspersing the kisses with terms of endearment. Amused, Dr. Reinhold strolled to this bedside opposite his very affectionate mate. Dylan could feel Zoe's tears as they landed on his hand. "Baby, it's okay."
"No! It's not!" Zoe cried, "I almost lost you! I woke up just in time to see you fight that hyena, and I swear that every time I saw you get hurt, my heart died a little."
"I'm sorry Love, I had to. I was too afraid they were going to kill you if I didn't show up like they told me to. But we're here together now Beautiful! Did the cops show up? Did my plan work?"
Zoe laughed shakily "They arrived within seconds after you passing out."
Dylan pulled Zoe's paw to his lips and kissed her knuckles, staring into her eyes, trying to express his love for her.
"Mr. Ambrose," Dr. Reinhold interrupted, "I took over your care since I was the mammal most knowledgeable with you and your anatomy, not that it mattered much. Let me update you on your care. You're currently on Morphine for the pain, as well as Penicillin for any infections that the hyena's bite might cause. You have contusions and abrasions which are very minor. The claw marks on your chest and side have been stitched up and, other than some scarring, should pose no problems. Your left forearm had a clean break and the cast should be able to be removed in four to six weeks. You suffered a mild concussion but you should be able to shake off the effects of that in a few days with rest. You have a hairline fracture of your lower mandible which is going to require you to eat soft foods for a few weeks. Your last injury was the most troubling. When the hyena bit you, he splintered your collarbone in three places. It required surgery and the use of plates and screws to put it back together. That will take between ten to twelve weeks to heal."
"Thanks doc. So, what's the bad news?"
"The bad news is that we're going to kick you out of the hospital in the next three to five days. All depending on how you treat the nurses that is." Dr. Reinhold chuckled. He patted Dylan on the foot before turning and leaving.
"I could have lost you." Zoe repeated, the pain and fear still evident in her eyes.
"But you didn't Love." Dylan stated "My plan worked, the bad mammals were defeated, and we're together." He kissed her knuckles again trying to comfort her.
Zoe let go of Dylan's hand long enough to grab the other bed, move it next to Dylan's, climb in and snuggle up against him. Dylan loved the feeling of her pressed up against him, her head on his shoulder, her muzzle against his neck, feeling her breath flow over his skin. This was the healing he needed, being close to his mate.
Zoe softly kissed his neck, even going so far as to give him several licks. He hummed in pleasure when she did that, making her feel better. Her mate was here, and they were together.
"I don't understand about your plan. What did you plan for?" She whispered as the fingers of her paw tenderly ran through his beard.
"Well Love, I had several actually. When I heard that most of the Happy Slayers escaped, I wrote a program that would track my phone and send my location to Judy and Nick. I thought that it was possible that, if I wasn't killed outright, that they'd be able to locate me that way. I also thought that they might pull a stunt like the TV and Movies showed all the time where I came from and kidnap someone I cared for or even loved." Here Dylan squeezed her paw. "They'd do that to bait the hero into a trap. I do admit that getting knocked unconscious and chained up wasn't part of the plan."
"I've never been so afraid in my life Dylan. I don't know what I would have done if you'd died." Zoe said, still in a whisper.
Dylan could feel her tears on his shoulder. "I know Love, I was afraid too, of the same thing. Seeing Cutter carrying you over his shoulder, not knowing if you were breathing, I felt like my heart had been pulled from my chest. I love you Zoe, and I will always, always, come for you. I don't know how I'd survive if I didn't have you."
Dylan heard Zoe sniff some more before she snuggled as close as she could. Dylan pulled her as tight against him as possible and held her as he heard her breathing slow and even out. He smiled happily when she started snoring softly. Closing his eyes, he could feel himself drift off.
oooOOOooo
The next morning, Dylan was wondering what, exactly, constituted soft foods. The lime jello he was currently trying to force himself to eat was the reason for the thought. Beetle Poppers weren't that hard were they? Sure, they were a little crunchy, but they weren't hard. What about chicken salad sandwiches? As long as there were no bones they were kind of soft. Fish, fish was soft!
He looked up when Zoe returned, and not alone. With her were two of his most favorite people, Nick and Judy! "Look who I bumped in to coming back from the cafeteria!" Zoe exclaimed.
Dylan grinned, "About time you showed up to visit!"
Then to Zoe he asked "Were you able to get it?"
Zoe sighed sadly, "Yes, I got it, but you shouldn't be eating it. You need to get better! I expect my mate to be ready for our wedding night."
"Baby, we get married next month and I'm going to be in this sling for at least a month and a half afterwards. I'll do the best I can but I'm not going to be 100%."
Nick and Judy watched as Zoe pulled a sandwich out of her purse and, regretfully, hand it over to Dylan. Dylan tried to unwrap it one handed but was having a difficult time of it. Looking up at Zoe, Dylan gave his best puppy dog look. She lasted for all of twenty seconds before huffing and unwrapping the sandwich for him.
Nick and Judy snickered at the byplay between the two mates. "Are you sure you aren't married already? You two act like you've been married for years!" Judy declared.
Dylan looked at Judy, grinned, and said "Thank you!"
"So, Dylan." Nick said as he held up his phone with the screen pointed in Dylan's direction. "About this."
Dylan then repeated what he had told Zoe last night about the villain kidnapping a loved one to lure the hero into a trap. "So, I wrote a program to track my phone. If I didn't call my own number every ten minutes, it would call all phones withing a 150 yards. So, when Lionheart's phone rang, I yelled the code phrase. That resulted in several things happening. One, all phones that had rang would stay on even if they were shut. Also, while the phones were on, they would record everything said and store it on the sim card. And, if the phone was one of the newer models, it would sent a signal to ZPD Headquarters notifying them of a possible crime having been committed and that the possessor of the phone would be a person of interest in said crime."
"That's very clever Mr. Ambrose, but what can you tell us about your other programs." A soft female voice chimed in after Dylan's recitation.
Everyone in the room looked over to the doorway to see a lioness and a rabbit standing there.
"Madam Mayor! We didn't expect to see you here!" Judy exclaimed excitedly. "And Carl, nice to see you again."
"Hey sis." Carl said.
The lioness walked in with Carl trailing behind her. Judy gave the introductions "Dylan, Zoe. This is Mayor Lillian Fairbreeze and my brother, Carl Hopps, Deputy Mayor. Mayor Fairbreeze, Carl, this is Dylan Ambrose and his mate and fiance, Zoe Loper."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am. What can I do for you?" Dylan greeted her.
Lillian smiled and launched into what she had come here for. "I'll be succinct as I'm very busy, especially in the last few days. Mr. Ambrose, what can you tell me about the programs you have installed in the ZPD computers?"
Dylan nodded, understanding now. "Ah, first, let me thank you for everything you've done to help me since I've arrived in Zootopia. Okay, my programs. Well, one I had installed when I wrote the tracking program for the Gang Unit. That one would track phones anytime there was a group of twenty or more within 100 feet of each other and crimes are reported within a half a mile of them. The information would be displayed on all monitors along with a projection of the possible direction of travel. The other was similar in that the monitors would flash red if the same number of mammals were all headed to one or more municipal buildings. The program wouldn't be able to tell if they were a mob, or a gang."
Mayor Fairbreeze nodded her head in thought. "It seems that your foresight saved not just myself, but other city employee's. Several armed mammals attempted to take over City Hall. They didn't just have dart guns, but actual projectile throwers. Those have been traced to shipments that were supposed to have been disposed of years ago. I believe we have more charges to bring against Dawn Bellwether."
Carl continued, "The fox that was captured at the warehouse has been extremely cooperative. He's given us lots of information on Lionheart and his plans."
Dylan broke in, "I don't think it was all Lionheart. I saw his eyes, he seemed completely insane and I'm not sure that he could have planned all this by himself."
Lillian nodded to him "That is something we'll investigate. Regarding your programs, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with them. I tend to feel like it's an invasion of our citizens right to privacy."
"It doesn't track any one person Mayor." Dylan stated.
"But it could if someone was to add more programing." Lillian postulated.
Dylan nodded, acknowledging the truth of her words. "There's an easy fix Madam Mayor. At any official computer, type in 'Ragnarok' at the command prompt. The program will delete itself."
Lillian looked at the mammal lying in bed. Coming out of nowhere, he had quite possible saved the city from a threat on the same level as the Night Howler incident. "Thank you Mr. Ambrose. And I want to personally thank you for your programs, they probably saved many lives. I just have to think of the people of my city."
And that's what makes you a good mayor Your Honor." Dylan stated.
A/N: There will be at least one more chapter since I haven't gotten everything done that I wanted to. And Yes, the part about the program was a nod to The Dark Knight.