~6~ Help Is On The Way

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I know, it's a miracle, two updates, one for each story, on the same day.

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After the does have left the room and headed their separate ways, Nick quickly pawlms his phone and makes a call.

After several rings, the mammal on the other end picks up – "Hello?"

"Sifu Mooney? You may not remember me, but this is Nick Wilde-"

"Yeah, I remember you! Nick Wilde … Team member, shot to pieces and standing at death's door several years ago. Don't tell me you're in the same mess again!" comes the amused voice from the other end of the call.

"Well," begins the todd "not really, but sorta kinda? I'm back in the hospital again, but not nearly in as bad a shape this time. And you won't believe how I got here!" Nick admits with a chuckle.

As Nick narrates his latest adventure, the mammal on the other end has to laugh. "So, the infamous Nightstalker is almost done in by a bunny with a pickup."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it in a nutshell."

"So, if you're not in actual need of my assistance, what do I owe the honor of this call?"

"I actually have a question and then possibly a request." admits Nick.

"And that, or rather those, would be … what?"

"Would you happen to be in the Zootopia vicinity in the near future by any chance?"

"It just so happens that I'm doing a seminar at the main Shotokan dojo in Zootown this coming weekend. Whatcha need Nick?"

"Well, even though I'm not really in need of your talents, my girlfriend's sister and maybe one or two more would like a level one session if you're up for it. I'll foot the costs for your time, travel and anything else of course."

"So many vixens, all at once? And a girlfriend? You of all mammals?" comes the snarky question.

"Rabbit does as a matter of fact, Sifu…" replies the todd with equal snark.

"… Rabbit does? really?"

"Yeah, well, first she tries to kill me, then she steals my heart."

"Typical female, that's for sure," comes the laughing reply "although it's usually the other way around."

"True that, Sifu, true that. So …"

"Send me the address and I'll be there sometime later on on Friday afternoon. I'll text you my tentative arrival time after I land at the Zootopia International airport and get a car rented."

"Sounds like a plan, and thanks."

With that, the mammal in the other end breaks the connection, leaving Nick with a very wide grin.

After leaving Nick's room, Judy heads to the nurse's station, almost dreading the conversation that she needs to have concerning the evenings plans.

Seeing the doe approach, nurse Redd is unsure of exactly what she has in mind.

"May I help you?" the vixen asks. pleasantly

"I hope so?" Judy replies uncertainly, slightly put off by the now friendly demeanor that the vixen is presenting.

"Umm, due to certain circumstances, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to spend the night here at the hospital. In mister Wilde's room? Please?"

"Normally that would be against hospital policy," begins the vixen, much to Judy's dismay "however … Dr. Hopps-Leaps has made it clear that due to certain extenuating circumstances, it would be permitted. Will you be requiring any bedding?" asks the nurse with a slight smirk.

"No, thank you for asking." returns the now furiously blushing doe "And with mister Wilde being in the condition that he's presently in, I believe I can contain myself, at least for the time being. I will, however, need to take a few minutes to get some clean clothes and fursonal items from my motel room for my brief stay."

After a quick trip to her motel room for a quick shower and a change of clothes, both for the night and the next day, Judy heads back to the hospital, with only a quick stop to get her fox some more coffee. Arriving only roughly an hour and a half after she left, Judy goes straight to Nick's room where she's greeted with a warm smile.

"Is that coffee I smell?" he asks.

"I didn't think you'd mind." comes the shy answer as Judy carefully makes her way to his side.

After taking a few sips, Nick has his doe place the coffee on the nightstand and opens his arm to invite a cuddle. Holding up a finger as she heads toward the room's bathroom Judy quickly changes into an oversized t-shirt that she intends to use as a nightshirt. She then accepts Nick's offer, quickly falling asleep.

While Nick and Judy are busy doing what they were doing, or not doing as the case may be, Debra had quite another issue on her paws. That being a bit of fence mending with a littermate that hasn't spoken to her in several years.

With a true sense of dread, the doe stops in front of the entryway to the physical therapy department on the second floor of the hospital.

Figuring that she has nothing to lose, Deb takes a deep breath and enters the room, immediately seeing her sister, who is less than thrilled at her entrance to say the least.

"Just a couple more minutes and you'll be through Mrs. Thumper." comments the multicolored brown doe, addressing her elderly patient, all the while side eying the unwelcome intruder.

Politely standing off to one side so as not to create a disturbance with a patient, Debra waits until Darci is finished with her patient and the elder doe exits the room, blissfully unaware of the tension between the siblings.

"Wadda ya want Deb?" bluntly asks Darci.

"I-I need a favor." Debra manages to stammer out.

"Really? YOU need a favor … from ME? Miss high-and-mighty needs a favor from lil' ol' me?" disdain practically dripping from the does lips.

Gathering her courage, Debra admits "It's not actually for me, it's for Danni."

"And I'm supposed to believe you … why?"

"I'm sure you remember that he was hurt on the job several months ago."

"And the great Debra Hopps, doctor to end all, is concerned why?"

"He still isn't doing well … muscles are still messed up, bones not knitting the way they should. We've been to several specialists and no one can figure out why he isn't doing better. In fact, he almost seems like he's getting worse."

"And you think that I can help how?"

"Well, I don't know if you know that Judy was in an accident, but the mammal that she hit seems to be healing at an incredible rate. He attributes his high rate of healing to some Eurasian art called Reiki, and he said that a lot of massage therapists have been introduced to the basics. I remembered that you were a massage therapist before you advanced to physical therapy, so I figured that you've had the basics, and … and I thought that maybe you could put aside your jealousy long enough to at least try to help Danni. Please."

"First off, I did hear that Judy tried to run over some mammal, a fox I believe. Maybe she thought it was Gid, it wouldn't surprise me after the way he messed up her face in grade school."

"Judy and Gid made up years ago, so you know damned well that wasn't true. The fact is that Judy was distracted at the time. She at least stopped and called emergency, probably saving the fox's life. And believe it or not, they're gonna start dating after he gets out of the hospital and back on his feet. Plus, as an added bonus, he's paying Judy's way through an abbreviated ZPD academy course. She's gonna be a cop in the Tri-Burrows instead of Zootopia."

"Yeah, I heard through the grapevine that she's pregnant and has no idea who the buck is that got her knocked up."

"Already? Musta been dad that put that out, because he tossed her out of the warren, cut off her phone and credit and debit cards. If it wasn't for Detective Wilde, Judy'd be out on the street, pregnant with no money, no phone and no job."

"Really? Dad did that?" asks an astonished Darci. "That ain't right, even I know that. So, this fox … he's a detective in Zootopia? And Judy's gonna be dating him?"

"Seems like it, yeah. Besides everything else, he turned on her phone, gave her access to one of his debit cards, and is having a car delivered here tomorrow for her to drive."

"He's doing that for some random doe that he never met that almost killed him? And what is he expecting in return? Some bunny butt?"

"She's expected to teach him about the ins and outs of the Tri-Burrows because he's gonna transfer here and be her partner, on and off the force."

"That's it?"

"Yup, that's it."

After thinking quietly for several moments, Darci has to ask "So, this fox, he says he's into Reiki?"

"He said that he got his master's certificate from some Sifu, Money or Moon … no Mooney, Sifu Mooney,"

"Sifu Richard Mooney?" asks an incredulous Darci.

"Yeah, that sounds about right! You know him?"

"Never met the mammal, but I doubt if there's a Reiki practitioner alive who hasn't at least heard of Sifu Mooney. So, what did you want me to do about Danni?" asks a suddenly interested Darci.

"All I really wanted was the name of your teacher. Then I was going to ask Danni if it was okay to have someone work on him. I would ask you to help, but I didn't know if you'd-"

"I-I'll work on him if it's ok with you and Danni. I am curious though … why are you so convinced that Reiki could work when nothing else seems to?"

"Well, about a week ago I messed up my shoulder helping Danni into the tub and have been taking over-the-counter meds to help ease the pain. Wilde sensed that my shoulder was messed up and talked me into letting him work on it. Without even touching me, he got the pain and soreness to go away in just a few minutes. I figured that it was at least worth a shot if it might help Danni even a little."

"Wait … he didn't even touch you?" asks an incredulous Darci "That mammal has some serious skills. I'll tell you what … if you can arrange a meeting with this fox, I'll gladly work on Danni, since the master who worked with me on my first level of Reiki has long since moved away. That is if you and Danni are both okay with it."

"Meeting Wilde is gonna be the easy part" concedes Deb with a big grin "He's more than likely gonna be a rehab patient of yours before too long. Unless I miss my guess, it'll be way sooner than the 6 to 9 months that I initially figured. You MIGHT wanna check with Judy first though … you're the one who started the whole 'Jude the Prude' thing after all, and I doubt that Judy's forgotten about that."

"Damn" comes with the sudden realization from Darci "I had totally forgotten about that. Well, it's totally worth a shot regardless. I guess all I can hope for is that Jude is in a forgiving mood when I ask her, huh?"

"To be honest, I think it'll be okay," theorizes Debra "especially if Wilde has anything to say about it. He and I had a bit of a … misunderstanding … earlier which could have cost me my job and my license but a heartfelt apology was all it took to smooth things over. Play nice, be sincere, and I think everything'll be fine."

Seeing the contemplating look on her sibling's face, Deb offers one last bit of advice as she gets ready to head home "I think I'd wait until tomorrow if I was you though. Today's been a bit trying for everyone, especially Judy. She's supposed to be getting the car that Nick has arranged for her then, so she'll probab-"

Being interrupted by a ping from her cell phone, Debra quickly looks down to read the brief message.

"Looks like our little sis is gonna be spending the night with her fox." grins the doe "Normally I wouldn't allow it, but since Nick has no living kin, and Judy basically has only Nick and her hotel room to go to, so I guess I'll give her a pass this once. Besides, it's not like she's gonna be able to do anything slightly romantic with her fox outside of a stolen kiss or two, especially considering that he's in a partial body cast."

"That would tend to complicate things!" giggles Darci.

"Well," continues Debra "I'm gonna head home and talk to Danni about you possibly working on him. When did you want to get together?"

"Tonight would be good if possible, I don't have anything else planned."

"I'll text you if Dan's okay with it. I guess the sooner the better is probably the best idea."

"I've only got one more mammal on my schedule today, so I should be finished by suppertime." admits Darci.

"I've got to make supper tonight anyway, so if it's okay, I'll just make a bit more and you can eat with us … I promise not to poison you, my cooking has improved since high school home-ec."

"I figured as much with several kits and a husband … and all still living ..." snarks Darci with a smile.

"Har, har … anyways, see you in a bit …" says Deb over her shoulder as she heads out of the room.

During the drive home, Debra reflects on how the past week or so has changed so many lives. First, Judy accidentally(?) hits a todd while during home from a disastrous doctor's appointment, one where she finds out that she's become pregnant from an unknown buck. Said todd not only forgives her but offers to help her through an extremely tough time, one that has seen her totally abandoned by both of her parents. Now that todd has managed to help Debra herself reconnect with a littermate that she's been at odds with for almost a decade, and that littermate is willing to help attempt to heal her husband, who for some odd reason is not healing properly from a work-related accident that has kept him pretty much bedbound for months.

Arriving home, Debra informs her husband of her conversation with first Nick and then Darci, and Danni considers the idea of the more than slightly questionable treatment for a few moments before accepting the offer. Nothing that they've done lately has seemed to help, so what does he, and therefore they, have to lose at this point, so he tells Debra that he's fine with the suggested treatment.

As Debra begins to prepare supper, she texts Darci that Danni is good with trying the Reiki treatment.

A return text lets Deb know that her littermate will be by after she finishes with her current patient, and should be there around 6:45 or 7 pm.

Shortly before 7 pm, a knock at the front door has 3 young kits scrambling to answer it.

As they stare up at an unknown doe, in unison they yell "MOM! There's some lady here!"

Exiting the kitchen, a smiling Debra greets her littermate "Darci, welcome." As she remembers that there are 3 kits who've never met their aunt, introductions are in order "Kits, this is my sister and littermate Darci Hopps. Darci, meet Adam, Avery and Alecia."

Squatting to be at eyelevel with the kits, Darci tells them "I'm very glad to final meet you all."

The young bucks simply say "Hey!" and take off toward the kitchen to finish setting the table (it was their turn), Alecia asks "If you mamma's sister, why you ain't never been here before?"

"Alecia!" squeaks out a horrified Debra.

"No, it's a valid question, all things considered." admits Darci.

"Your mom and I haven't been on speaking terms for a while." Darci tells the young doe as she squats on her haunches to better look the doe directly eye to eye "It's something that you'll understand when-"

"When I gets older … yeah, like I ain't never heard that before…" says the now disgruntled small grey and white doe as she heads toward the kitchen.

"Darci, I'm sorry about her-" begins Deb.

"Naw, it's okay. To tell the truth, she looks and sounds just like a young Judy … except for the blue eyes of course."

"You have NO idea. Anyway, supper's ready, come sit down."

After taking a few tentative bites of the vegetable lasagna, a frankly surprised Darci tells her littermate "This is really good! Your cooking skills have improved since high school."

"Yeah, well I haven't managed to kill my mate or kits so-"

"If I remember correctly-" was all Danni could get out before being cut off.

"Okay it took a while, but at least it's edible now." quickly admits the doe, side eying her grinning husband.

As the conversation continues, Darci brings up their sister "So, Judy and a fox huh?"

"I know, right? So focused on her trying to get ready to go the ZPD academy that she had exactly ZERO time for dating." confirms Debra.

"And to be honest, how many of the bucks really wanted to date her anyway? I mean, she basically had no curves, nothing but muscle. None of the bucks I knew wanted anything to do with her."

"Actually" remarks Debra "I think that Tommy Digger asked her out in her junior year, but when she found out that he only did that on a dare she blacked both of his eyes and even beat up both of the Sager bucks for putting him up to it."

"I remember that!" Danni adds to the conversation "According to LeRon, she had to spend a bunch of time in one of the south fields chopping up an old tree stump to work out her anger issues. I don't think it helped."

"Aaaaanyway" interrupts Deb "We need to get back to the task at paw. How do you want to do this?"

"Well, after we finish eating and get the dishes cleared away, I think all we'll need to do is have Danni moved back away from the table a bit so I can stand behind him to do the Reiki. Since I'm not nearly as accomplished as Judy's fox, I'll need to place my paws on his shoulders in order to try to normalize Danni's energy."

Seeing a slightly questioning look from her sister, Darci explains: "Energy runs different in males than it does in females, regardless of species. In males, energy generally runs down the front and up the back in counter-clockwise paths in the chakras, while in females it usually runs back to front, clockwise. Also, energy flow along the front and back sides of the body is opposite in males and females. In case you were wondering, your chi is basically located between the stomach, and belly button."

"I … don't understand a lot of what you just said" admits Debra "but as long as it works, I really don't care."

After a bit, with dinner finished and the kits having cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, Danni is moved slightly back from his position at the dinner table.

When Darci positioned herself behind Danni, Debra notices that she takes a moment to meditate and center herself, much like Nick did with her.

As she places her paws gently on Danni's shoulders Darci tells the buck "Just stay calm, breathe normally and calm you mind. Try to think of something happy…" and begins.

After roughly ten minutes or so, the two young bucks lose interest and head outside to play, while Debra and Alecia remain seated and watch intently.

When just slightly more than 20 minutes have passed, Debra notices a slight change in Danni's breathing pattern, he seems more relaxed and is breathing easier, like the severe pain that has haunted him for months is either gone or has significantly decreased.

Another 20 minutes later, Darci removes her paws from Danni's shoulders and makes a few slight gestures over his head, then blows a short breath over the top of his head.

Just as Debra is about to ask her mate how he feels, a light snore escapes the buck's lips.

Stunned, Deb quickly looks to her sister who answers honestly "Yeah, this happens sometimes. It's nothing to be alarmed about. If you'd like, I can help you move him to somewhere mor comfortable."

"Ummm, I guess that'd be okay. We can sit him in his recliner if you don't mind. He used to sit there after work to relax. It has a lift function so it won't be too difficult for me to get him out of it later and into bed."

With that minor feat accomplished, Debra escorts her sister to the front door and takes her into a typical Hopps bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you so much sis, I don't know how I'll ever repay you." Deb confesses as the hug is broken.

"Just do your best to make sure I'm introduced to Judy's fox is all I ask. Maybe I can get him to help me with my next attunement. It's kinda difficult to explain … kinda like when you'd do labs or on-site learning when you went to nursing school I guess?"

"No promises, I have to go through Judy after all, but I promise to do my best."

After her sister is gone, Debra briefly stands in the doorway to the living room and gazes contentedly at her mate before going into the bedroom. The doe marvel's that he's still sleeping soundly in his favorite chair. She's needed to change sheets, which has been difficult at times, what with Danni spending the majority of his days in bed due to his injuries, and with her being worn out after working long hours in one or more of the local hospitals. It's been especially difficult since Judy has managed to put her fox in the Tri-Burrows hospital.