2 More Confrontations

~0~

Prior to Debra's short meeting with Judy and Bogo, the following took place:

As Nick slowly awakens, there's an all too familiar feeling on his face – MUZZLE – trying to remove the offending device leads to another startling discovery … his limbs were unable to move! And why can he only see out of one eye?

As the todd begins to thrash around in a state of panic, a small but firm voice captures his attention as a soft but again firm paw is placed on his left arm.

"Mister Wilde, please calm down before you injure yourself even more that you already are! If you'll just calm down, I'll explain everything."

As Nick attempts to force himself to calm down at least a bit and focus his one good eye on the sound, a rabbit doe comes into view.

"My name is doctor Debra Hopps-Leaps and I'm your primary physician. You were unfortunately involved in a traffic accident, not of your own doing. If you'll calm a bit more, I'll remove the oxygen mask that's on your muzzle.

With relief born of the knowledge that he's not actually wearing a muzzle, Nick calms noticeably.

"Good … good." murmurs the doe softly as she reaches in when suddenly Nick's one good eye goes wide as a pair of surgical scissors comes into view.

"It's all right mister Wilde!" again intones the doe gently but firmly "I just need to cut the retaining straps on the mask so I don't have to fight the bandages on your head to remove the mask … okay?"

Again breathing a sigh of relief, Nick again calms almost immediately.

"If you're done panicking, I'll remove the restraints on your left arm and leg as well. Are you good with that? Promise not to panic again?"

When Nick tries to nod, he's once again presented with the fact that his range of motion is restricted, this time due to the neck brace, but struggles to maintain a semblance of calm.

After the restraints are removed, the doe sits closely on the bed beside Nick, and something about her scent is vaguely familiar, but the todd can't seem to place it at the moment.

"I know that things are a bit fuzzy right now, but I'd like to at least give you the basics as to where you are and why you're in the state that you're in.

Seeing the todd staring at her with what seems to be the approval to continue, Debra does so.

"You are currently in the Tri-Burrow Medical Center. Earlier today while you were walking along the side of the road on state route 281, you were struck by a pickup. From your injuries, I'm guessing that you either sensed or heard the oncoming vehicle that struck you and turned at the last second. The short version of your injuries includes a slight concussion and damage to the orbital bone of your right eye, damage to your snout and lower jaw which will make speaking difficult and painful for a day or so, severely strained neck muscles, a broken right arm and separated right shoulder, a broken right leg and cracked pelvis, cracked and broken ribs on your right side and some internal damage. You are expected to make a full recovery, however the recovery time will vary from six months to a year depending on your devotion to healing and to the rehab process. Do you understand the information that I've given you?"

After a moment's thought, Nick gives a shaky thumbs up with his left paw.

"Good. Now, I'm going to give it another thirty to forty-five minutes or so for you to fully recover from the sedation and to fully grasp everything that I've told you, then you'll be moved into your room where your chief and the unfortunate mammal that struck you will be waiting. I'll be checking back on you not long after that to make sure everything's still okay. Just rest as best you can for now."

With that, Debra exits the room and leaves Nick to his thoughts.

The short elevator trip to the fifth floor was one of relative silence, except for a long-drawn-out sigh from a certain bunny doe.

"Hopps?" asks a concerned Bogo.

"I can't help it sir, it's just … how can you be so positive that Mr. Wilde will be so forgiving?"

Pinching his snout, Bogo gives the only answer he can "I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself, there's nothing else I can think of to say or do to convince you."

Exiting the elevator, the two are immediately facing the duty nurse's desk.

"Chief Bogo and Judy" begins the attractive female skunk, "I'm not sure if you were told, but Mr. Wilde's room is 512, just down the hall on the right. And Judy, Debra would like to have a few words with you when you have a few minutes."

Rolling her eyes since she had just recently talked to her sister Judy answers "Fine, where is she?" with a bit more heat than she intended.

"It's ok Hopps" says Bogo, trying to defuse the situation a bit "Nick isn't supposed to be around for around forty-five minutes anyway. Go talk to your sister and then you can come back. Neither Nick nor I will be going anyplace soon."

Deflating somewhat, Judy knows that she really needs to talk to Debra anyway.

"I'm sorry Elaine, its – it's been a rough few hours." apologizes Judy "Where's Deb wanna meet?"

"In room 501. She asked me to tell you to wait for her there since it's empty."

"Thanks …" as Judy heads down towards the opposite end of the hall, Bogo can only shake his head and enter room 512 to wait for Wilde.

As Judy waits in the empty room 501, gets a chance to try to mull over the days happenings when she hears the door open then close again.

"All right Judes, what the hell is up with you?" pointedly asks Debra.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Why are you so interested in that fox? I know you were accepted into the police academy, and the Chief is here because one of his officers was injured, but why are you so interested?"

"BECAUSE I'M THE ONE WHO ALMOST KILLED HIM, OK?" shouts the gray doe.

Stunned, Debra can only stare open mouthed as Judy continues.

"I-I was headed home after finding out that I'm … pregnant …" Judy continues shakily "I found out earlier today." she admits, looking dejectedly down at the floor, ears flat against her back. "I was busy cussing myself out and got distracted. I drifted too close to the side of the road and hit Nick."

"Pregnant? You?" asks a further stunned Debra.

"Yes, me! … Jude the Prude, as all of you asshats like to call me!" answers Judy, anger building again. "When I found out that I'd been accepted into the Academy, I let loose for once, went out to celebrate, got drunk and ended up getting laid by some buck I'd just met that night. And no, I have no idea who it was, so don't ask!"

"So … now what? Are you going to have an-"

"NO! Absolutely not!" as Judy pinching the bridge of her nose as she once again flatly rejects the idea "Like I told the Chief, I'm NOT gonna kill my kits because I screwed up. Bogo told me that there's an abbreviated course for small town police forces offered at the academy, so I might just take him up on that. He thinks that the Tri-Burrow sheriff's office has a day care setup for officers with small kits. Hopefully I can I can get hired and work there until the kits are born, take maternity leave, and drop the kits off at the care center when they're old enough for me to go back to work. It's not perfect, but at least I won't have to stay and work on the farm."

"Listen here Judes, working on the farm-" begins a now upset tan doe.

"I don't mean to demean the farm," interrupts Judy holding up a paw "but it's not what I want to do, and I'd be so miserable, especially with kits in tow, that I think I'd go insane!" fires back Judy "It's not like you'd ever go back to the farm voluntarily, so don't even go there!

"And you really have no idea who the father is? Really?" asks Debra.

"None. All I remember is that he's from out of town. I'd never seen him before, and you know I have a memory for names and faces."

*SIGH* "Fine, I guess. I guess I can see why you're so out of sorts and worried about the fox. Do you think that he'll press charges against you?"

"According to Bogo, no. Bogo seems to think that once Nick knows all of the facts, that he'll forgive me."

"Nick? So, it's Nick now?"

"Yes, it's Nick. That's his name. It seems a lot more respectful than 'the fox'. What's your problem anyway?"

"Just that you've always been a bit standoffish with preds, especially foxes, since Gid clawed you in grade school!"

"I know already, and I've been trying to work on that, especially since I was trying to go to the academy. If I'd been able to go and then get a job in Zootopia as an officer, I'd be bound to run across one every now and then. Almost accidentally killing a fox kinda helped to get my head straight!"

"You're sure that it was an accident … right?" accuses the tan doe.

"I wasn't even looking at the road when I hit him, I was busy pounding my head on the steering wheel if you must know!" replies Judy hotly.

"Fine, fine … it's … it's just so … not normal for you." admits Debra.

"I know … I've been so focused of becoming a cop that I never even though about having a normal social life … kinda like you when you decided to become a doctor instead of staying on the farm …" Judy taking a slight verbal jab at her sister.

Just as Debra opens her mouth to answer, there's a slight knocking at the door to the room-

"Yes?" answers Debra.

"Mister Wilde is lucid and Chief Bogo would like Judy to join him in the fox's room."

"I'll be there in a sec, thanks Elaine." answers Judy.

Turning her attention to her sister, Judy asks her sister for a slight favor: "Please don't say anything to mom, I'll tell her everything later, I promise."

"To begin with, HIPO laws prevent me from telling her that you're pregnant even if you aren't one of my patients, not that I would anyway, and I don't want to be anywhere close when the folks, especially dad, find out that you're not only knocked up, but have no idea who the father is!"

"Me neither, actually …" mumbles Judy.

"Well, I'm otta here for now, good luck with your fox…." comments Debra, getting one last quick dig at her sister as she exits the room.

As she slowly makes her way to the room containing a fox todd and cape buffalo bull, Judy's apprehensiveness grows. While hoping for the best, she's preparing for the worst.

Opening the door, Judy is stunned by what she sees. While Bogo is sitting with a stern attitude, the fox – the mammal she almost killed – is a sight to behold.

While the right half of the todd's head is wrapped in bandages, a neck brace in place to restrict his head movement, his entire right side is encased in a plaster cast, with said arm and leg suspended from a sort of trapeze looking device. And to top it all off, the todd was looking straight at her … and the look was not pleasant, but not unpleasant either, simply … curious?

"Miss Hopps…" begins Bogo.

"Chief…"

"Introductions!" begins the buffalo "… Judith Hopps, say hello Detective Lieutenant Nicholas Wilde. Nick, Judith Hopps."

Wiggling the fingers of his left paw seemed to be Nick's acknowledgement of the introductions.

"Normally, it would be difficult to get Wilde to keep quiet, but you seemed to manage that feat quite well." smirks the much larger mammal, which earns him a middle finger salute from the bedridden todd.

"Manners Wilde-" begins Bogo a bit testily.

"No … no it's alright," interrupts Judy "he's earned the right. I did almost kill him after all."

"Yeah, about that …" continues Bogo.

"Chief?" asks a now confused rabbit doe.

"Take a seat please."

As Judy takes a seat in a bunny sized chair, the buffalo continues.

"While I was waiting for the detective to arrive from recovery, I took the liberty of getting your full packet from the ZPA."

"Oh, no!" thinks Judy "here we go – I'm headed straight to jail…"

"Judith Laverne Hopps," continues Bogo, reading from the ZPA entrance packet that he had downloaded to his ZPD issued tablet. "Species Leporid - genus sylvilagus nuttallii, female. Graduated top of her high school class as Valedictorian, National Honor Society. College studies include top marks in criminal justice, criminal psychology, among others with a minor in pre-law. Top academic marks in her ZPA entrance exams and best physical shape of any recruit to ever apply to the ZPA.

"All very impressive except for one detail which I personally find disturbing …. The packet mentions a report of a scuffle between yourself and a red fox kit by the name of Gideon Gray. While you were cited for simple assault, the Gray kit was pegged for felony assault and did ten months in juvenile hall. Would you care to explain the difference to myself and Lieutenant Wilde? The report doesn't give any specifics, but I'm hoping that there's no anti-predator bias as to the reasoning."

With her ears flat against her back and tears welling in her eyes, Judy fills in the missing pieces:

"When I was nine, I took part in the yearly Carrot Days festival. I participated in a skit with several other kits and was dressed as a police officer. Gideon Gray was in the audience and heckled me specifically during the performance. After the performance, I caught him bullying several of my friends and saw him steal their ride tickets. When I confronted him, he pushed me down and I kicked him in the muzzle which is where I got the simple assault charge since it was basically considered self-defense. The reason he got sent to juvie is because of this!" as Judy ruffled the fur on her left cheek, showing three faint scars. "Gideon clawed me and my parents pressed charges. I'm not particularily proud of what happened, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat!" she finishes with a bit of heat creeping into her voice.

Mildly stunned into a thoughtful silence, Bogo mulls over the new information for a few moments.

"I'll doublecheck this new information with the local police, and if it checks out I'll be sure that it's updated in your packet."

"Thank you Chief, but all things considered, I doubt if it'll do me much good." says a despondent Judy.

"Oh? And why is that, pray tell!"

"For one thing, mister Wilde doesn't seem to give much of a damn about my story, and I did almost kill him. Plus, there's that other issue to consider." says Judy, again threatening to tear up.

"I haven't mentioned that particular piece of information to him because I didn't think it was my place to give out that sort of information." admits the buffalo.

Pondering her next course of action, Judy decides what the hell – in for a penny, in for a pound and addresses her next remarks to the bed-ridden todd. "I-I also happen to be pregnant! I was so thrilled at being able to be accepted into the ZPA that I got stupid. I got drunk and … and…"

"Hopps …" begins Bogo.

"No, I – I need mister Wilde to know." looking straight at Nick, Judy continues her confession "I was driving home earlier after finding out that I was pregnant … I was so busy berating myself for being so careless … so stupid, that I inadvertently drove too close to the side of the road and … and …"

"It ... Ok…" comes from the todd.

"Wilde…" begins Bogo.

"Fone!" the todd manages to croak out through clenched teeth, wiggling the fingers of his left paw.

After a moment, Bogo finally understands Nick's request and fetches the todd's phone and places it within easy reach of the todd's left paw.

As Nick attempts to tap out a text message to the buffalo, he becomes increasingly irritated at not being able to punch out the correct letters using only his left paw.

"What's going on here?" suddenly comes an angry voice from just inside the doorway.

"Debra!" squeaks Judy, as all eyes turn toward Judy's sister.

"This mammal has been through enough without all of this! I want both of you gone … NOW!" as the doe stamps her right hind paw for emphasis.

"But-" comes from both Judy and Bogo at the same time.

"NO! Mister Wilde is lucky to be alive, all things considered, and you two have absolutely NO business aggravating him like this. This is what's going to happen – Chief Bogo, you may come back tomorrow during afternoon visiting hours for one hour. Whatever police business you may have can be conducted then and then you'll leave."

Turning her attention to her sister, Debra continues "Judy, you need to go back to the warren and contend with both mom and dad. You know mom's gonna ream you a new one because of your condition and not having a husband or at least a potential mate. And don't even get me get started on dad. Yes, he and Gideon are business partners, but that's as far as that story goes. You already know he's gonna lose his mind having to pay medical and rehab expenses for a fox. Besides all that, you need to figure out what you're gonna do for a job before and after the kits are born. You know the folks won't let you just lay around the warren even if you wanted to."

"I already told you that the Chief said that I could probably take the shortened ZPA course in a couple of weeks if I wanted," retorts Judy hotly "so I think I will. I will need to scout for a place to live though, 'cause I'm sure as hell not gonna stay in the warren and listen to mom and dad all the time."

"Then you're gonna need to get your shit straight, and do it in a hurry." shoots back Debra, paws on hips "You can take my pick-up and use it until you go to the academy, I'll catch a ride home with Elaine when she gets off and use the van since Danni's still not in any kind of shape to walk, let alone drive. You can use the time between now and then to find yourself a place and some sort of vehicle, as well as making sure that you'll actually have a job with the sheriff's department when you get back from the academy if you go. Plus, you might want to arrange for a way to pay for stuff until you can get financially stable on your own, because I doubt that dad 'll be of much help, even with mom's prodding."

*SIGH* "I know, I know." responds Judy "First mom and dad, then tomorrow I'll need to see if I can even get a job with the Tri-Burrow sheriff's office, then start looking for my own place."

"I told you I'd put in a good word for you miss Hopps" interrupts Bogo. "I'm reasonably certain that Sheriff Justice could use someone as capable as you seem to be. Maybe we can meet up for a few minutes after you talk with Detective Wilde here in a day or so and work things out."

"That … would be nice" admits Judy "let's plan on that then."

Turning her attention to the other mammal in the room "Will that be okay with you mister Wilde?" Judy asks.

With hardly a second's thought, a still vocally challenged Nick gives a thumbs up as a reply.

"I'll arrange a ride to the sheriff's office for myself, then secure a hotel room for the next couple of days." Indicates Bogo as he heads for the door. "We can meet-up here sometime on Friday afternoon."

"Then I guess a confrontation with my folks is next on my to-do list …" admits a very apprehensive Judy as she gathers her coat and gloves for the ride to the warren.