5 Making Headway

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After leaving Nick's room, Debra makes a bee-line for the parking lot, making polite acknowledgements to any mammal that she comes across.

Trying to keep her mind on her driving, the tan doe manages to make the fifteen-minute drive to her residence just outside of Aurora without incident, knowing full well that she could otherwise end up in a situation similar to her sisters.

Barely taking enough time to park her van, Deb enters her home and goes straight towards the bedroom where her (at least temporarily) disabled husband spends most of his days.

Seeing him sitting on the edge of the bed, the doe helps him stand as is his normal reaction when she gets home.

"Honey, is something wrong?" he asks, suddenly concerned as he's gathered up into a very typical, emotional Hopps bone crushing hug "You're never home this early!"

"I-I had an issue come up in the Tri-Burrow hospital that almost cost me not only my job there but my license as well!" she admits, gently letting her husband settle back onto the bed that has become his typical resting place since the accident that put him there.

"What in the world?"

As Debra recounts the happenings at the hospital between her, Nick, Bogo and Judy, Danni Leaps can only stare in amazement.

"So, let me get this straight … Judy accidentally tries to make road-kill out of some fox that she's never met, said fox not only doesn't press charges but actually offers to foot the entire bill for her to go to the academy, including turning her phone back on and giving her access to one of his debit cards? Judy, the sister that you always referred to as Jude the Prude because she never even dated in high school? And now they're practically dating? And on top of everything else, your dad actually bans her from the warren?"

"That's it in a nutshell, yes."

Staring at his wife intently for several very uncomfortable (for Deb) moments, Danni finally asks "I know for a fact that Judy's a better driver than that … what aren't you telling me Peanut?"

"I … it … it's … complicated. I-I really can't say because of HIPO laws, Dan."

"Okay, you didn't tell me, but I can guess. Does she know who the father is?"

"No idea. She told me that after she got the good news that she'd been accepted into the police academy that she went out and celebrated and woke up having slept with some unknown buck."

"And this fox knows about all that, including the fact that she's with kits, and is still okay with being with Judy?"

"Yup, sure seems like it. When Wilde promised not to file any complaints against me, I … had to make him a promise …"

"Which was … what? Exactly?" asks the now concerned buck.

"To come straight home to my husband and kits, give them all hugs and tell them that I love them!" she answers, eyes rimmed with tears.

"That's all?" Dennis asks, more than slightly astonished.

"That's it. It's enough to know that he means every word that he says." answers the doe "I believe that Nicholas Wilde is a mammal of his word, fox or not. He told Judy in no uncertain terms that he likes her. She's supposed to research fox courting rituals, mating rituals and what it's like to be married to a fox. Then they can presumably start dating … once he's out of the hospital that is. Oh, and he says that he's going to transfer to the Tri-Burrow Sheriff's Office so he can be with her full time provided everything works out."

"Well, good for her. So, are you home for the night-"

"No such luck, I've still gotta make my rounds in Deerbrook, then go back to the Tri-Burrows. After it's all said and done, I still can't believe that Wilde still wants me to be his primary."

"Well, you are the best multiple species doctor in the area after all."

"Still … anyway, I'm gonna give the kits a hug and get moving so I can get home at a reasonable time. Love you, I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Love you too. Be safe ..." as Debra hurriedly exits the room.

Stopping only briefly, Deb hugs each of her kits, tells them how much she loves them and is off to finish her day.

After leaving Nick's room, Judy is on a mission: renewing her reservation at the local motel, purchasing some new clothes, fursonal grooming items like soap, fur shampoo and conditioner and such, some 'Vulpine Dating and Mating Customs For Dummies' books at the local bookstore (not caring who knows what she's getting the vulpine books for or why) as well as a couple of Lagomorph dating and mating books for Nick to read.

Once back at her room, she upgraded her laptop, took a quick shower, got dressed in one of her new outfits and set to work reading up on and cross-referencing the topics that Nick suggested. After being totally embarrassed several times even just skimming several critical topics, Judy looks up and notices that it's almost evening visiting hours. As she's getting ready to see her new … boyfriend? … her stomach reminds her that she hasn't eaten since breakfast.

Finding the nearest Dairy King drive in, Judy orders a veggie burger, and thinks 'what the heck?' and texts Nick.

Judy: 'hey foxy, finally gettin' some eats u want supin?'

Nick: (after a slight delay - one pawed todd remember?)'hey booful – sure some good cofe would be nice'

Judy: 'booful?'

Nick: 'booful=beautiful'

Judy: 'silly fox'

Nick: 'beautiful bunny' 3

Judy: 'k c u soon' 3

Ending the conversation with a goofy smile on her face, Judy quickly finishes her veggie burger and orders a wolf sized coffee with plenty of sugar and cream packets, just in case, then makes her way to the hospital, all the time wondering how Nick's going to be able to drink it having only his left paw to work with.

With visiting hours now nearly over, Judy has to have a security check with the third-floor duty nurse so she can visit with her fox. It sounds a bit strange on her lips, but in a nice way, as she silently repeats the two words – my fox.

Passing the third-floor nurse's desk, Judy notes a strange look from the vixen at the desk.

"May I help you?" asks the vixen whose nameplate reads 'T Redd'.

"No, it's okay, I know my way." answers the doe.

"And you are?"

"Judy Hopps to see Nick Wilde."

"Wait - You're Judy Hopps?" comes the surprised question.

"That's correct. Do you have a problem with that?" Judy asks, her attitude beginning to show. It has been a long day after all.

"Surely there's been some sort of a mistake!" answers the vixen "A rabbit doe to see a fox todd?"

"I can assure you that there's been no mistake Trixie." comes a new voice, one that Judy recognizes immediately.

"Dr. Hopps-Leaps, I meant no disrespect, but-"

"Then you really need to shut it!" responds the tan doe tersely. "Miss Hopps is here to see her boyfriend, and you'd do well to get used to the idea. Do I make myself clear?"

"Umm, yes ma'am?" answers the now slightly intimidated vixen.

"Much better. Come along Judy, we've got your fox to visit."

As the two does enter the room they're greeted by a slightly refreshed todd.

"And here are my two favorite does in the whole world!" he comments.

"And you would know more … how?" asks Judy paws on hips, feigning jealousy.

"I've been working for years as a cop in Zootown." Nick answers honestly "Where else would I have learned not to call bunnies cute? It's certainly not something that's mentioned at the academy."

When the does glance at each other, they both facepawlm, realizing that this bit of territory has already been covered.

"Nick," begins Debra "how did you know it was us when we first entered? I know you can't have seen us." indicating the neck brace.

Lifting his left paw, Nick gently taps his nose "With one of the best noses in the predator world, and training I've had, it was simple. I'd know the scents of Hopps sisters anywhere."

Stunned, Debra tries to debunk the todds analysis. "I might be a Leaps that married a Hopps buck!"

"You may carry the scent of a Leaps, but your base scent is exactly the same as Judy's … hate to disappoint." snarks the todd.

"How long have you known?" asks Judy.

"Since the first time I met Doc Deb here." Nick informs them both "I first caught your scent when you covered me up after you tried to kill me!" Nick tells Judy.

"Nick … I didn't, I mean-" stammers a flustered Judy.

"I know Fluff, I'm just pulling your tail!" grins Nick.

"Not just yet you won't mister Wilde." snarks Judy right back. "We aren't that far along in our relationship just yet."

With Nick letting out a heartfelt laugh, grimacing slightly due to the broken and cracked ribs (along with his other numerous injuries), with both does knowing that the exchange has never had any ill intent, but rather is simple banter between two mammals.

"You might want to be a bit more careful Nick." cautions Debra. "The neck brace and bandages on your face and around your ribs are there for a reason."

"I know, but right now they're more of a hindrance than a help." he answers. "I don't suppose I could talk you into removing at least the neck brace." the todd asks seriously.

"Are you trying to tell me that you don't feel any pain there? With the concussion and other damage, we felt that the brace would help stabilize your neck muscles and help them heal better and not be as traumatized." answers the doe.

"Seriously, I have no pain and very little soreness in my neck or face." comes the honest reply.

After several moments of serious thought, Debora stepped out of the room for a moment and returned with the desk nurse in tow.

"Nurse Redd, help me get this neck brace off of Mr. Wilde please. Be ready to help me reattach it, if necessary."

As the two medical professionals carefully remove Nick's neck brace, they keep a close eye on his reactions.

Cautiously turning his head from side to side then and down, and finally slowly rotating the aforementioned extremity, Nick smiles: "A little stiff but no pain, not even a twinge."

Settling his one unimpeded eye on Judy, a soft smile crosses the todds lips.

"If I had use of both of my eyes, I'd probably pass out from your beauty…"

"Mister Wilde, are you trying to coerce me into removing your head wraps as well?" accuses Debra, paws again firmly planted on her hips.

"Maaaaybe?"

"You've been told about your head trauma, and you still want me to remove the wraps?"

"Yes, absolutely, one hundred percent. Please."

"Nick" interrupts Judy "I know that you've been injured before while in the military and are used to dealing with pain, but are you sure that you're okay? I mean really okay?"

"I'm sure Fluff. I'm not gonna put my health at risk and put my hopefully being able to be with you both as officers and as possible mates. You are my world now Judy and I'm not gonna jeopardize that with a stupid mistake. I take it that Bogo filled you in on some of the earlier part of my life?"

"Only that you'd spent time in the military and couldn't talk about what you'd done or where you'd been. And – and that you'd been injured and have some rather nasty scars."

"Okay" interrupts Debra, "back to the subject at paw. Are you sure that you want me to remove the bandages on your head? Removing them is against my better judgement, but considering how quickly you've seemed to heal, I'll go ahead and undo them. But … be warned that just like the neck brace, if I don't like what I see, they'll go right back on. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." he agrees, looking the doe directly in her ice blue eyes.

"All right then, Judy please turn the lights down to around half-way, and nurse Redd, if you'll lend a paw here as well …"

As the bandages are slowly removed, Judy has to try to unsuccessfully stifle a giggle.

"What?" asks the as yet unseeing todd, who has taken the precaution of keeping his eyes closed to help minimize the light getting into his eye that hasn't seen light in a few days and therefore would be oversensitive.

"Your bedhead is hilarious … sorry?" Judy informs the todd.

First opening his left eye, then cautiously, slowly, opening his right eye, finally sees his bunny's bright, bucktoothed smile.

"Would you like a mirror, Nick?" asks an equally smiling Debra, with nurse Redd stifling laughter in the background.

Rolling his eyes (carefully) Nick nods in affirmation.

When Debra presents Nick with a small mirror, the todd can't help but smile himself. His head fur is stuck out and laid down at all sorts of odd angles.

Lowering the mirror, Nick fixes his gaze on Judy. "I can't wait to see what your bedhead looks like after the first time we sleep together…"

"NICK!" squeaks out the now horrified Judy.

"I'll need a picture of that one!" rejoins Debra, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"DEB!" practically shouts a now thoroughly embarrassed Judy as nurse Redd tactfully backs out of the room, smile fully in place.

Pondering the playful(?) interaction in the todd's room, Trixie considers the entire interaction between Nick, Judy and Debra. Two species as different as night and day, deadly enemies in the past, with one species being the primary food source of the other, carrying on without a care in the world. And two of them possibly being in love. Maybe dating outside her species isn't such a bad idea after all…

Returning to her desk, the vixen takes out her phone and quickly dials a number: "Hello Ray?' Yeah, this is Trixie. Umm, look, I've been thinking, and I'd really love to have coffee with you after shift. Yes, I know that I've acted like a jerk at times in the past, but … I've had cause to reconsider a few things lately, and if you'd like to give me a chance, I'd like to discuss them with you. No, the fact that you're a Lynx doesn't bother me, however it's actually one if the things I'd like to address. You would? Great! How about we meet at Girardo's at around seven thirty tonight? Really? Okay, I'll see you then."

"So mister Wilde," begins Debra "what do you attribute this fantastic bit of healing to? You're not some sort of space alien or something are you? You don't have some sort of super power like we see in the movies do you?"

Letting out a cautious, short barking laugh, Nick confesses "No such luck. And if I'm to call you Deb or Debra, you need to start calling me Nick. Deal?"

"Fine … Nick … now, explanation if you please."

"Well, I'll give you the quick version for now." he responds "when I was in the military, I was badly injured on a mission, which I'll go into a bit more detail perhaps tomorrow. One of the attending nurses was practitioner of an ancient energetic form of healing called Reiki. It's very common in most, if not all, of the Eurasian provinces. I was so intrigued by the technique and how I seemed to be healing faster that I quite naturally HAD to at least try to learn it. Her master agreed to train me in the art, and yes, it's actually considered a healing art, much like acupuncture in the Eurasian communities.

"My final attunement, or learning session was performed by Sifu Rich Mooney.* Sifu Mooney travels the world teaching this form of energetic healing and only agreed to work with me because of my status in the Teams and how grievous my injuries at the time. Suffice it to say that I now have a master's level certificate in the art, and practice it regularly although I never charge a dime for my services."

"And this … Reiki … works on anyone no matter how large or small? What requirements does one need to go through to acquire these services and/or training?" asks a now very interested Debra.

"To receive the services, all you need to do is … ask." answers Nick. "In fact, if you'd like a demonstration, I'd be willing to give you a treatment here and now.

"What are you talking about?" the doe asks suspiciously.

"You've been favoring your right shoulder, which I presume is your dominant side. I can offer my services to help alleviate the discomfort that you're feeling."

"And I'm supposed to just let you put your paws on me?" Deb asks suspiciously.

"Not necessarily. I can perform the actions without actually touching you, and no, you don't need to remove any clothing, plus, just to set you mind at ease, Judy can stay an keep a watchful eye on the entire proceeding. In fact, I'd prefer it."

"Wait a second, just how did you know that I'm having trouble with my right shoulder?" asks the now incredulous doe.

"I just told you, for one thing I'm a detective remember? Plus, I can sense that you have a restricted energy flow in that part of your body. The choice is yours; I'm simply making an offer to help you as a valid demonstration of my ability and to prove that the technique actually works. All that is required of you is to believe that it might actually work."

"What do you have to lose Deb?" asks Judy "Nick already told you that he doesn't even need to put his paws on you for it to work. If you're having a problem with your shoulder, this is your chance to have a free treatment and not have to rely on drugs, and I know how you dislike any sort of drugs in your system."

More that slightly intrigued, even though cautious Debra relents "Okay fine. What do I have to do? And remember, no touching…"

"Come and sit on the bed around my hip level, facing me. Like I said before all you really need to do is believe that it might work … oh, and keep a calm mind if you can. Think of something happy, like playing with your kits or something."

As Debra cautiously takes the suggested position, Nick closes his eyes and meditates for a few moments, then extends his arm and paw, keeping his left paw a few inches from Debra's back and right shoulder.

After a few minutes, Debra's eyes pop open and her ears stand tall, as she begins to feel heat from Nick's paw, and she turns slightly to make sure that the todd is indeed not touching her.

Calming and again closing her eyes, the doe begins to feel the discomfort of her strained shoulder gradually dissipate.

With around ten or fifteen minutes elapsed, Debra feels the warmth travel down her right arm and the bed give a slight shake.

Again opening her eyes, she observes Nick once again draw his left paw down her right arm, giving his arm and paw a gentle shake at the end. After the third repetition, Nick blows a gentle breath at her shoulder an pronounces the session at an end.

"I know you've got questions, so let me get ahead of you for a second if I may." The todd suggests.

"The heat that you must've felt is simply an energy transference from myself to you. Just so you know and to set you mind at ease, Reiki can never be used in a negative way, it can never be used to do harm to the mammal being worked on. When you felt the energy go down your arm, I was raking any negative energy down your arm and out your fingertips, then shaking that negative energy off of my paw. I blew a gentle breath on the affected part to sort of seal the affected area. So, how do you feel? How does your shoulder feel?" he finally asks.

Gingerly flexing the aforementioned limb, Debra is genuinely surprised when there is no discomfort.

"It-it's … there's no pain, no soreness at all. It's almost like it never happened! How is this possible? How does it work?"

"I actually have no clue; I only know that it works. And all I really care about, is the results." answers the now smirking todd. "I will caution you to not overdo anything that you need to use that arm with for a few hours, so as not to overwork the muscles."

"Is there anywhere close that I could possibly learn more about this Reiki thing?"

"You can check it out on the interwebs, and I can put out feelers to mammals that I know in Zootopia. A lot of physical therapists are required to take level one Reiki during their studies to become certified. You might inquire here and in Aurora … that's where your normal base is right? They might be a better source of information. in the meantime, I'll try to contact a few mammals that I know that might be willing to help."

"If this works as good as you say and are demonstrating, my husband could really use some about now. He was injured a couple of months ago in a construction accident and seems to be slow healing."

"Reiki is not the be-all-end-all." Nick cautions "But when used in conjunction with regular medical procedures and medications it does tend to speed the healing process. I'm living proof of that"

"Deb" interjects Judy "… if you can get Darci to go to the house and work on Danni, maybe that would help. I know that you two have your differences, but if it'll help Danni, wouldn't it be worth it?"

*SIGH* "As much as I hate to agree, yes, it really would. I-I'll talk to her tonight and see if I can mend some fences, for Danni's sake."

"Great!" acknowledges Judy "Now, if you're done here, give Darci a call, or better yet stop by. She's only a couple of minutes out of you way on the way home after all."

"You're right, but I think I really need to talk to Danni about all of this as well. Since I'm done here, I guess I'll head out."

"Thank you Nick, from the bottom of my heart, thank you …" as the doe stands and casts a questioning gaze at her sister, she sees a gentle nod, then proceeds to give Nick a very gentle and tender hug. "I'll be needing to explain how I've come to smell a bit like a fox todd to both Danni and Darci I guess."

"Have them call me, and I'll verify what went on was legit." suggests Judy.

As Deb leaves the room, Judy gives her todd a hug of her own with a bit of moisture in her beautiful amethyst eyes "That's so incredibly kind of you Nick!"

"It costs nothing to be nice, and it's such a fulfilling feeling to help someone to heal rather than to take a life, like I did so many times in the military." he admits.

"About that …" Judy begins.

"Judy?"

"Would … would you show me your scars sometime? Please?" she asks rather hesitantly.

After a few moments pause, Nick prepares her "If we truly do get together, you're going to see them at some point anyway, so yes, I will. But, can we wait until I've healed up a bit first? I think we've been over enough ground today. By the way, you really are beautiful, and even more so in that pretty dress."

Looking down at the sunflower yellow sun dress that she's currently wearing Judy accepts the complement. "Thank you, I got it just for you."

"As I said, it's beautiful, but" states the todd, giving Judy some pause. "you're not really comfortable in it … are you?"

Feeling a bit uncomfortable under the todd's gaze, Judy comes clean "No, not really. I'm a farm doe, jeans or shorts and t-shirts or crop tops are more my style to be honest."

"Then that's what I really want to see. The real Judy Hopps. We can both dress to impress when I'm otta here and we go on real dates or just for a change of pace. But for now, jeans and shirts or the like are the order of the day, okay?"

"Thank you … ummm … can … can I stay here with you tonight?" she asks hesitantly "I'll sleep on a cot or something, but I really need to be around someone ... except for Deb I really don't have anyone else….." she shyly admits.

"Of course you may, as long as the hospital will allow it. Plus, if you stay, there's more than enough room up here on the bed as long as you don't mind sleeping with an invalid. It's not like we'll be doing anything … at least I won't be…" he snarks.

"Quiet you…"

"Now, go ask the duty nurse if it's okay if you can stay over, then we'll get some rest. I've got a feeling tomorrow will be another long day." suggests the todd.

~0~

AN: *Reiki is an actual healing art that has been practiced in the far east for centuries. I myself hold a master's level certificate in Usui Reiki, with my final instruction given by Sifu Rich Mooney. Sifu Mooney also holds a 10th degree red belt in White Crane Kung Fu.