A/N: Nick and Judy learn something shocking, for different reasons.

Thanks to BeecroftA, Selaxes, Britt30, zenith88, Bukoya, Foxlover91, Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, Benben225, side-fish, Feyha, Aronim (it's been a while), and Kochich for reviewing!

Chapter 6: "I told you so"

"Your neighbours?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, those are my neighbours I was telling you about yesterday." Judy replied, nonplussed.

"They sound pleasant."

"Hey! Bunny cop, is that you?" Bucky's voice echoed through the walls.

"She's back?" Pronk followed up, sounding very surprised.

"I thought you left town because you got fired!" Bucky called out as they entered their room, slamming their door behind them.

"She didn't get fired, she quit! Weren't you listening to her back then, when she was crying in her room while drowning her sorrows in carrot juice?!"

"I was! And it wasn't carrot juice it was mango juice!"

"It was carrot juice! Now shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Hi guys." Judy rapped the wall separating the two rooms. "Yeah, I quit, but things sort of happened, and I'm back on the force again! Also it was guava juice."

"Congrats, bunny!" Pronk called out. "I'm glad you're back."

"I'm not," Bucky muttered.

There was the sound of loud pushing.

"Stop being such a grouch! It's not her fault you lost your wallet! Stop taking it out on her!" Pronk hissed.

"You're right; it's not her fault, it's yours!" Bucky shouted back.

"It's your wallet! How is that my fault!?"

"It was in your bag! That means you're responsible! Now shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Why do you need this again?" Nick asked, holding her alarm clock. She couldn't resist a smirk.

"Because they don't always last till morning. Besides, that's what I have these for." She held up her earbuds, before placing them back on the windowsill. "Sorry about them. Let's just try and finish our dessert in peace. I need to take my medicine…"

"You mean the medicine that's all over the floor?"

Judy looked down. Sure enough, her bottles of medicine were emptied all over the floor, the pills within scattered around haphazardly on account of her jumping at Nick and knocking the fox taser out of his paws a moment ago.

"Oh, right."

She began to kneel down to pick the pills up. As she did, a lance of pain shot up her leg, making her groan and wince. She quickly stood back up.

"Agh, okay, I don't think I can bend down right now…"

"Of course you can't. Not after trying to walk all the way home with that leg of yours. That's what happens when you're a stubborn bunny," Nick chided. He got onto his knees, beginning to pick up the individual capsules and putting them back into the bottles. Judy didn't retort this time; she was just glad Nick was there to help her out. She probably wouldn't have been able to see the pills in the dim light anyway.

Nick picked up the last of the pills and dropped it back into its bottle. Taking a quick look to make sure that he'd separated all the pills correctly by colour and size, he handed the three bottles over to Judy.

"Here. Two of this, three of this, and two of that," he said, reading off the labels.

"I know, I know. You're starting to sound like my mom…" she took the pill bottles from him, following his instructions and shaking out the exact number of pills that he specified.

"Well, she did leave me in charge. That obviously means she trusts my good judgment to take care of you." He dusted his paws and plopped down on the single chair in the room right next to the table.

"Good judgment? You're the guy who sold a mob boss a skunk butt rug," she deadpanned, washing the pills down with a mouthful of cola.

"Hey, that was just one bad decision among the good ones."

"That one bad decision almost killed you! And me!" Judy exclaimed. "If it wasn't for the incredible coincidence that I saved Mr Big's daughter, we'd both be frozen popsicles under the ice!"

"Whose fault was it for landing us in Mr Big's limo and getting us caught in the first place, hmm?" He tapped his chin. "Oh right, it was yours. I didn't plan to ever meet Mr Big after what happened, you know. In fact, I wouldn't have met him at all if you hadn't dragged me into your little investigation. I wouldn't have been almost mauled to death by a jaguar or forced to go savage either. And I definitely wouldn't have been crazy enough to apply to be one of these." He reached out for Judy's police badge and held it up. It glinted in the dim light.

Judy leaned back, her mouth curling into a wry smile.

"So…it was worth it in the end?"

Nick thought about it for a moment, tapping his chin.

"Is this the fault of an overemotional, reckless bunny? Yes, yes it is."

"You're avoiding the question."

"I'm not avoiding the question, I'm just answering the only important one that needs to be asked," he replied with his signature smile.

Judy rolled her eyes. "…Now I'm hoping you really tase yourself."

"Oh no, don't tase me, Carrots! Ahhhhh!" Nick picked the taser off the table beside him and plunged it into his stomach, mock screaming and writhing in fake agony—complete with fake leg and tail spasms.

"Hey bunny, cool down! No need to resort to police brutality!" Bucky called out from next door.

"Yeah! Just because he's a fox doesn't mean you can tase him all willy-nilly!"

"I am not tasing him!" Judy protested. "Nick, stop playing around!"

"Bloooood, agony, and…death." He stood up and spun around once, before collapsing in a heap on Judy's bed with his tongue stuck out. He glanced over to his side and grabbed a handful of Judy's stuffed rabbits, holding them in his paws like they were a bouquet of flowers.

"People who get tased don't bleed, or die, Nick. They just end up with their fur frizzled. Also you're a horrible actor."

"I learned from the best," Nick said, getting up and winking at her.

Judy sighed.

They did eventually resume their dinner, finishing up their burgers and moving on to the pies Gideon had baked. Surprisingly, Nick didn't seem to be bothered by the shouting and arguments from next door at all. Judy wasn't fazed, having lived next to Bucky and Pronk for several months now, but she had expected Nick to make a snarky response about it at the very least. Eventually, the two settled into a comfortable silence, scrolling through their phones and sharing a couple of amusing pictures and news articles while they worked through both pies. One by one, the slices disappeared, until there was only a third of each pie left over.

"Okay, I'm full." Judy patted her tummy, leaning back against the wall. "I don't think I can eat any more."

"Want me to put them in the fridge?" Nick offered.

"Don't bother. It's a communal fridge. I tried putting stuff in there for the first week. It all disappeared."

"They actually tried to steal from a cop?" he asked, amused.

"Yeah, and I never could find out who it was. I even labelled it and put a sign and everything." Her leg began twitching in annoyance. She resisted the urge to thump her feet; yesterday's incident in her apartment was embarrassing enough without Nick around to see it.

"Must be quite the thief to give the most persistent bunny in the world the slip." Nick smirked. "Hey, I've got an idea. How about going around door to door with this and asking real nicely?" he held up the fox taser. Judy glared at him disapprovingly.

"Nick, I am not going to go around tasing people over some missing sandwiches."

"You don't need to tase them, Carrots." He pressed the button, turning the small device on with a crackle of electricity. "Just the threat alone would be enough to get you the info you need."

Judy crossed her arms. "I am a cop. I'm not going to threaten people with violence just to get what I want. I have standards."

"Double standards, maybe. You sure didn't have a problem threatening to ice Weaselton." Nick smirked.

"That's because the city was in danger! I was desperate for the info!" she exclaimed. She also added with a whisper, "Also, I technically wasn't a cop back then, so it doesn't count…"

"Sure it doesn't."

As he said that, the taser gave out a weak sputter before fizzling out, even though Nick's finger was still on the trigger.

"Huh. That's weird. Is it supposed to do that?"

"No, and I don't think you should touch it. It's probably broken. And that's probably for the best," she muttered, going back to her phone and typing in a text on Furbook. Nick turned the taser over, giving the side a few knocks before pressing the trigger again. There was a slight sputter. He frowned, knocking a little harder.

"How could it be broken? It looks brand new." He read the label at the front of the taser. There were two large words printed: 'FOX AWAY', with a small little note at the bottom adding: 'Maximum voltage'. He shook his head.

"Pfft. Stupid thing was probably made in—"

All of a sudden, the taser came to life, sending a sharp burst of electricity flying out from the tip. Judy heard Nick yelp in surprise. What she didn't see was his leg jerking out reflexively, causing his toe to smack straight into one of the legs of Judy's bed. The fox yelled out a pained "Agh!" and instinctively keeled over in pain, but by the time he realised the implications of that action, it was too late.

"A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A—"

"That's much better acting, Nick. You might actually fool someone one of these days," Judy chuckled, continuing to type on her phone without looking up.

"A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A—"

"Hey Nick, not so loud, or people are going to—" she lowered her phone and glanced at him. Her blood instantly ran cold.

"NICK!"

His body was convulsing in a way that Judy knew he couldn't have possibly been faking. Nick's body was still on the chair, but his legs and tail were twitching uncontrollably. More worryingly, his paw was still tightly gripped around the taser, which was pressing against his left arm.

Her instincts immediately kicked in. She lunged forward, smacking the taser out of his paws. The pink block landed on the ground, fizzling out. Nick's body slumped onto the ground, before he let out the most pitiful, high-pitched whine she had ever heard. If she hadn't been so worried about him, she would definitely have laughed till her sides hurt.

"Nick! Nick, speak to me!"

"Aaaaooooowwww…" he wheezed.

Judy dragged the twitching fox to the edge of her bed. With a considerable amount of effort, she managed to pull his entire body up onto the soft mattress, taking a moment to catch her breath before rolling him over face up. He was still twitching slightly, but at least he wasn't convulsing wildly like a second ago.

Wilde-ly, more like…a voice echoed in her head. She shook it away; this was no time to be thinking of bad puns. She lifted his arm to see the point where the taser touched his skin. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any serious scrapes or burn marks, although his fur did smell a little burnt.

"Oh my god she actually tased him." She heard Bucky whisper from the next room.

"Should we call the police?" Pronk asked.

"You moron, she IS the police!"

Judy had heard of cases of taser attacks stopping the heart, but thankfully Nick was still alive and breathing. It was fortunate that he'd only ended up pressing it against his arm. And now that she didn't have to worry for his life, she could finally feel an inner sense of smug satisfaction of being right. After what happened with Bellwether's wool in her office and the bag of goop at the hospital, she knew his itchy paws would eventually land him into trouble. She just hadn't expected this to be how it happened—though it was oddly fitting.

The fox stirred, starting to come around.

"Ugh…wuh…what happened? I remembered hitting my toe really hard…"

"You tased yourself with the fox taser 'to be used by foxes'. I didn't think you were supposed to use it on yourself though."

Nick groaned.

"They weren't…kidding…about the 'maximum voltage' part." He tried to move, but he only ended up slumping back onto her bed.

"Well, you were right at least," Judy said, sitting on the bed beside him.

"About what?"

"It was extremely satisfying. Could you tase yourself again sometime?" She grinned.

Nick chuckled weakly.

"I don't think I'm done with this time just yet." He craned his neck to look at her. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"Absolutely, one hundred percent." Judy grinned with as much smug as she could possibly muster in a single grin. It felt so good using his own words against him. "And I did warn you about it. So, who's the stubborn dumb one now?"

"Still you, no doubt. I have a carrot pen confession, after all. Had, anyway." He tried pushing himself up to a sitting position again. This time he succeeded, but not without a fair bit of difficulty. With a groan, he flexed his arm, wincing as he did so.

"Ugh, I still feel tingly. Hey Carrots, do you think you could spare me some of your painkillers? I don't think I can walk home like this."

"Nick, taser effects don't last that long. Just wait a while, and it'll wear off," she said.

"Clearly you haven't experienced the wonderful manufacturing design of 'Fox Away' tasers. They really don't joke around with these things. Come on, Carrots. Throw me a bone here."

Judy looked over at the medicine bottles on the windowsill.

"I still don't think that's such a good idea, Nick. I mean, my medicine's meant for bunnies, not foxes."

"Yeah, that means I shouldn't have any problems taking it. In fact, I might need a larger dose than you do." He pointed at himself. "Naturally bigger predator."

Judy wasn't entirely convinced, but when she thought about it, it was just painkillers, after all. They probably wouldn't cause too much harm. Nodding, she grabbed the bottle marked with a blue marker and passed it to him along with his cup of soda. He gratefully took the items from her, shaking out a few pills and popping them into his mouth while she went to pick the taser off the floor. Bending over quickly so her leg wouldn't hurt, she grabbed and tossed it towards the table. It landed unceremoniously in one of the paper bags that once contained their dinner.

"Okay, just give me a few minutes. I should be good to go soon." He passed the items back to Judy before flopping down onto her bed, closing his eyes.

"Who's taking care of who again?" Judy joked, putting the empty cup and the medicine bottle on the windowsill behind her, before sitting on the edge of her bed once more. She tapped the fox's shoulder.

"Hey Nick, scoot over a little."

"Why?"

"Because it's my bed, and that chair is pretty uncomfortable." She looked at him expectantly.

Nick hesitated for a moment. But he eventually obliged, wordlessly squeezing himself against the wall to give her some space. Strangely, there was no snarky comment that accompanied the move. The fox only turned his head slightly to look down at her as she made herself comfortable, laying her injured leg flat on the bed while her other leg hung slightly off the edge of the bed. Leaning back against the corner of her pillow that Nick was currently resting on, she went back to being engrossed in her Furbook news feed, not noticing the quiet gaze that Nick was resting on her.

Moments passed.

"Don't you find this uncomfortable?" he finally asked. When Judy glanced over, he was looking up at the ceiling. "Your bed isn't exactly meant for two…much less one of them being a fox."

"When I was growing up, we'd fit about three, sometimes four bunnies on a bed like this. I'm used to tight squeezes," she replied, shrugging.

"Remind me to never sleep over at your place in Bunnyburrow…"

"You get used to it, really. Anyway, just relax for a while. The painkillers should work soon."

For a few minutes, the two of them just rested on her bed. Only the soft tapping on Judy's phone and the low hum of the lamp could be heard in the tiny apartment. It seemed that her neighbours had gone quiet…at least for the moment. Judy glanced at Nick in the corner of her eye. He was staring at the ceiling with his eyelids half closed, his paws resting on his chest. He seemed to be deep in thought about something.

It hadn't occurred to Judy immediately, but now that she thought about it, this was the closest she'd ever been to Nick ever since they first met—willingly, at least. She didn't really count the time they were squished between Raymond and Kevin in Mr Big's limousine, or the time they were literally tied together by vines while dangling upside-down in Tujunga. Lying this close to him, she could hear and even feel every breath that he took. The rhythmic sounds accompanied the slow rise and fall of his chest. It was calming, soothing almost. Being next to a fox was quite different from being next to a bunny, and it was certainly an interesting experience.

Even more interesting was the fluffy appendage that was currently draped loosely in front of her right leg. She'd seen it before, sure, but she never paid this much attention to it. Her foot was resting gently against Nick's tail, and even though she was barely touching it, she could feel just how soft and smooth it was. The way it puffed out slightly, and how pleasantly warm it was to the touch was starting to make her paws itch. She had the sudden urge to reach out and grab it.

Stop, Judy, what are you thinking?! You can't just touch a fox's tail!

And yet, it was lying right there, begging her to hug it and squeeze it. His eyes were closed at the moment. She wondered if she could get away with a quick feel. Her foot inched closer to the tail, pressing into it slightly.

"Carrots…"

Judy froze. Had Nick felt that? Or somehow heard her thoughts? The fox sat up shakily now, opening his eyes and looking at her. Judy cocked her head; the fox looked different somehow. The dim light in the room shined across his face for a moment, allowing Judy to realise that his eyes were dilated.

"Nick?"

"Hey…Carrots?" he hiccupped. "Why don't you like people calling you cute?"

Judy blinked. Nick's words were completely unexpected. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, you are cute, and I think you're really adorable. I thought cute would be a compliment to you…" he slurred slightly.

Judy raised an eyebrow. What game was he playing? Was this another one of his acts?

"I don't really have a problem with the word cute. I know bunnies are naturally cute. I just don't like it when people make it sound like I can't do something because I'm a 'small and cute' bunny. That's all." She shrugged.

"Well, those people don't know what they're talking about. You're amazing, Carrots. You became the first bunny cop, saved the city, and you saved…me. You really are my best friend, Carrots. The best friend I've ever had." He sniffled slightly.

Without warning, the fox leaned forward and hugged her, wrapping his arms gently around her shoulders. Her phone fell onto the bed. She could only stare forward at the wall, her mouth hanging open.

What.

She shook her head. Did the taser damage his brain or something? She'd heard cases of people that were tased far too long developing brain damage, but he was fine a moment ago. At least, until he took the medicine…

The medicine.

"Nick, how many pills did you take?"

"Six, why?" he asked, dragging out the last word a little longer than normal.

Six?! Judy broke the hug, pulling away and looking straight at his face. He was smiling, but he had a glassy look in his eyes. Nick was definitely not himself. She reached out and grabbed the bottle of painkillers from the windowsill, holding them against the light of her desk lamp.

Upon closer inspection, she realised something was wrong. Now that she was taking a proper look at them, she realised that the pills in the bottle weren't her painkillers. They were the same colour, but a slightly different shape. But how was that possible?

Then it hit her. Her collision with Nick. The taser hitting the windowsill. The spilling of the pills all over the floor. He was the one who picked them all up, which meant that he was the one that mixed up the medicine and put the pills into the wrong bottles.

Then, he ate my antibiotics?

She quickly switched the pills back to their original containers, before grabbing her bottle of antibiotics and reading the warning label that was plastered on the back side of the bottle.

"Warning: Overdose of medicine may cause undesirable side effects such as disorientation, uncontrollable emotions, loss of memory, and change in fur colour."

"Is everything okay, Carrots?" Nick asked, sounding concerned.

"Y-yeah, it's fine. Everything is fine," she said, trying to calm herself. At least the side effects didn't sound too serious. "How do you feel now, Nick?"

"I feel good. A little fuzzy, but I think I'm good to go. Your medicine works great!"

"Do you remember what we did today? This morning?"

"Oh yeah! We brought your parents out, ate at a nice restaurant, Finnick laughed at me, and then I brought you to get you your badge back from Chief Buffalo-butt," he giggled happily to himself at the sound of 'Buffalo-butt'.

Phew. At least he still can remember things. It looked like Nick was going to be fine. Somewhat fine, anyway. She watched him shuffle to the edge of the bed, getting up and taking a step forward.

…and then immediately falling over flat on his face.

Okay, maybe not. She sighed. She grabbed the dazed fox and pulled him back onto the bed. How long was he going to be like this? The warning label didn't give a clue as to how long the effects would last. At least her police academy training taught her how to handle inebriated individuals.

"Carrots, I need to tell you something," he said, sounding a little more solemn now.

"Yes, Nick? What is it?" she asked patiently.

"Back then, after the press conference…I really missed you. I missed you so much."

"Uh huh…sure." She paused. "Wait. You…missed me?"

Nick nodded slowly.

"Every day after I left, I never stopped thinking about you. I was a mess. Even Finnick could see it. I kept thinking about what I said to you back then. You said you were a horrible friend, but I was worse. I almost attacked you! And I didn't even give you a chance to explain yourself." He clenched his fists, looking down. "I'm sorry, Carrots."

He's apologising?! Judy gasped inwardly. He wasn't just apologising, he was telling her things. Things she had a feeling he probably would never have told her otherwise. Was this one of the side effects of the overdose? Uncontrollable emotions…it seemed to be the most likely case.

It was even more jarring, considering the fox was normally so emotionally unreadable. He always hid it away behind his sarcastic quips and a mask of calm indifference, never letting anyone see how he truly felt. But now…he looked vulnerable. She felt like she was seeing a rare side of him not many people had ever seen.

"Never let them see that they get to you."

"Nick, it's okay. It's not your fault," she assured him. She placed a paw on his arm gently. He slowly lowered himself back onto the bed, looking at the ceiling.

"It was. I should have looked for you. I kicked myself for days trying to get myself to do the right thing, to go up and talk to you. Make amends. But when I finally found the courage to see you, you had already left Zootopia. And then there was nothing I could do. I'm so sorry, Carrots. I was so stupid."

"Nick, wait." Judy's eyes were wide. She reached into her pocket. "What did you just say? Could you say that again?"

"Huh? I was…stupid." His eyelids drooped slowly. "That wasn't worth losing one of my true friends for. When I met you, and you told me I was so much more…I felt happy. Like someone really cared for me. Carrots, you…you got to me. You really got to me. I…just want you to know that."

A soft click.

"Don't worry, Nick. I do," she said with a smile, holding up a small orange carrot pen.

This was a brand-new carrot pen. She'd pocketed it out of habit that morning, having found it in one of the suitcases her parents had packed for her. She never thought she'd have a use for it so soon, though.

"Thank you…Carrots." Nick mumbled, his eyelids slowly closing shut. His arms went limp by his side. Judy's heart skipped a beat, but then she realised he'd just fallen asleep, probably from the medication. She exhaled in relief. And then she found herself giggling in excitement. She'd gotten Nicholas Wilde to admit he was a dumb fox! This almost made up for all the dirt he'd dug up on her the entire day. She was definitely keeping this little carrot safe.

"You should overdose on painkillers more often, Nick," she whispered. She couldn't resist a smile after seeing her friend pour his heart out the way he did. Would he remember any of this when he woke up? Judy wasn't sure whether she preferred him to remember everything he said or not.

Nevertheless, she was glad that she got a chance to hear those words from his own mouth—even though it wasn't entirely of his own volition. Also, she was going to have a field day with the recording once he woke up—

Oh wait.

She gently patted his arm.

"Nick? Nick, wake up. You need to go home sooner or later, you know."

No response. He was fast asleep on her bed. And then it occurred to her: he was probably going to be out cold for a good few hours, if not the rest of the night. It was already past 10 p.m., and with her leg the way it currently was, she wasn't going to be able to get him out of the apartment and back home.

Oh boy. What do I do now? She bit her lip, tapping her chin nervously.

She didn't have a car, so driving him home was out of the option. A cab was a possibility, but how was she going to get him downstairs with her injured leg? And even if she did manage to lug his sleeping mass down all the way out of her apartment and into the taxi, she didn't know where he lived. She only vaguely remembered his address from his case file, which wasn't going to cut it. She thought about it for a long while, staring at his sleeping form.

Then she made her decision.

But not before snapping some pictures of Nick holding her stuffed rabbits.