Chapter Text
Judy Hopps was irrefutably, unequivocally, undeniably, in love with her best friend Nick Wilde.
Honestly, she was running out of synonyms to describe just how sure she was of her feelings for him.
Things had progressed in the blink of an eye, going from seeing him as simply a partner in crime (or crime solving, rather), to seeing him as someone she could easily spend the rest of her life with.
She had first become aware of her deep seated feelings that dawn at the weather wall. Even though her body was shutting down, agonizing pain searing along every nerve in her body, all she could think of was Nick.
And in the immediate moment of being resuscitated by the antivenom pen, the first and only thing on her mind was running to save him. It didn’t matter if she fell off the side of that icy cliff with him. Being alive wouldn’t be worth a bunny’s tail if he wasn’t by her side. Nothing would.
And so, she jumped after him. Not knowing Gary was behind her to catch them both.
But thank goodness for the snake. Or De’snake, rather.
The fallout was both equally overwhelmingly emotional and intense. Judy, feeling so fortunate just to see her fox standing in front of her, felt even more fortunate to hear him communicate with her for what felt like the very first time. Hearing him bear his soul to her, finally confessing that he was terrified to lose her, made her realize that she felt the same exact way. She couldn’t live this life without him. She couldn’t dare imagine it.
So in turn, she had also developed a paralyzing codependency on the fox– wanting to be with him at every waking moment. She wanted to be able to gaze into his emerald eyes, trace her fingers along his soft, red fur, and hold his hand whenever she needed him.
He was always there to ground her, to bring her back into the moment when the traumatizing memories of her brush with death crept in, with just the most gentle squeeze of a paw.
So you can imagine her panic when she was admitted into the hospital.
“Nick, stop! I can just rest at home!” she protested, using her balled up paws to repeatedly punch her partner in the chest. He barely flinched, a concerned scowl on his face as he towered over her. Bogo stood from a distance, watching the scene unfold.
The sun was just barely rising on their second day back at the precinct, and Judy Hopps had just collapsed walking up the stairs to the entrance. Naturally, this caused Nick to lose his ever-loving mind, and scream for help while he carried her into the lobby. Everyone had crowded around to spectate, Chief Bogo included.
When she awoke a few moments later– only to find the fox shoving a paper cup of water in her face, she knew exactly in which direction this conversation was going to go.
Nick scooped his gentle paw behind her back, propping her up from the cold, porcelain floor of the precinct lobby. She weakly took a sip of the water, studying his expression. It was not a happy one.
“Carrots,” he scolded, his free paw stroking the delicate furs atop her head. “I told you that you would need time to recover.”
The nosy officers began to scatter, no longer amused with the scene. Everyone knew that what Nick and Judy had was special. This moment was nothing unlike what they'd seen before. More PDA.
Or as Judy had assumed it all to be: platonic displays of affection.
Still, Bogo lingered.
“I think you need to go to the hospital.”
And with those words from her best friend, Judy shot straight up to her feet. Nick followed, confusion playing upon his features.
“Nick, I’m fine,” she whispered in a hushed tone of voice. Of course, she was ignoring the fact that her heart still felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. Her vision was also tunneled, and it felt like she could fall over again at a moment's notice. “Don’t do this to me. Not here.”
He shook his head stubbornly, paws on his hips. “Nibbles is still in the hospital. Don’t tell me you think that is just going to magically heal on its own.” He gestured to the comically large bandage on her neck. She rubbed it self consciously, the soreness causing her to flinch.
Nick grabbed her by the paw and started to drag her out of the front door. She met this with defiant protest, planting her feet onto the ground in an attempt to stay put. He tugged with even more force on her paw, causing her to yank it out of his grip and beat on his chest repeatedly out of frustration.
“Nick, stop! I can just rest at home!”
“ENOUGH!!!” bellowed a deep voice from behind the two, causing them to freeze instantly as if they were caught in a mischievous act.
Bogo marched over to the pair, his height intimidating the two immediately. Judy dropped her paws from Nick’s chest, defeated.
“Hopps, medical leave. I’ll call for an ambulance.” he decided, his voice cutting through the air like a kitchen knife.
Her heart sank to the floor at her feet. Medical leave? As in, staying in a hospital away from Nick and the ZPD and everything she could possibly ever care about, and did she mention Nick– medical leave?
Judy didn’t dare vocalize her protest, especially after the scene she had just caused in front of all of her colleagues. Her ears slowly began to droop, her gaze directed solemnly at her best friend.
The buffalo then turned to her partner. “Wilde, you’ll be placed in a temporary partnership while Hopps is away.”
Another blow.
“No way, chief!” Nick threw his arms up, brows furrowed. He was obviously just as appalled by this idea as she was. “Me and Judy, we’re a package deal, buddy. No way I’m leaving her side.”
Bogo tilted his head, taking Nick’s words as a challenge. Judy’s paw found its way to her forehead, her nose twitching in discomfort. Her eyes squeezed shut.
Great, now not only am I going to be placed on medical leave, she mulled, but my partner is going to be fired, too.
But instead, the chief simply smiled. “Well, Wilde, if it weren’t for the 200 criminals that are still on the run– thanks to you– I’d be inclined to say yes.” he bent down to the fox’s level and stared him down menacingly. Nick didn’t seem all so confident anymore. “You always have your lunch breaks.”
He gestured to Officer Wolfard, who stood at the desk browsing through a folder of case files.
“McHorn is on vacation. I’m sure the two of you will get along just swimmingly.”
Nick opened his mouth to speak, his eyebrows still furrowed in a scowl– but unfortunately Bogo was already walking away in the direction of his office. The fox grumbled obscenities under his breath.
Judy shook her head in denial. “I can’t be away from the ZPD.” she pleaded, staring into her partner’s eyes. His gaze softened when it met hers. “From you.”
Nick let out a deep sigh, before gesturing to the clock. It was almost 9 AM, and most of the officers were probably in the bullpen by now.
“Chief beef is right, carrots. As much as I don’t want to admit it.” He rested a paw on her shoulder, being careful not to get too close to the puncture wound on her neck. “You just fainted out there. I’m really worried about you.”
Deep down, Judy knew that everyone was right. Just two days prior, she had come so close to death that she could practically see the white light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn’t everyday you heard of a 25 pound bunny returning to work the Monday after almost being poisoned to death.
And she had felt weaker this morning. Weaker than she did yesterday, actually. Each breath took more energy than the last, and she could feel her heart trying to catch up with the demand that her body was giving it. On top of all of this, her neck was beginning to sting like no bunny’s business.
But how badly she wished to be the exception. The idea of being holed up in the hospital and pumped full of pain medicine and antibiotics was terrifying. Almost as terrifying as being away from Nick.
“But what am I going to do without my emotional support animal?” she pouted, flashing the carrot pen for him to see. He gave her a sly smile. His hand still on her shoulder, Nick guided her out of the front door and down the precinct stairs and to the parking lot.
“Your emotional support animal will be fully available for cuddles at…” he checked the watch on his wrist. “Twelve thirty.”
Judy huffed and stomped her foot in disapproval, but there was nothing she could say or do in the moment. Bogo and Nick were right. She obviously wasn’t ready to return to the field yet. It was apparent in the way her legs trembled as she had gone down the stairs, the way she constantly found herself leaning over in an attempt to stop her lungs from burning, and the way her mind perpetually felt like it was in a fog.
So as she watched Nick head back into the precinct to greet their colleagues– without her– after anxiously staring as she was lifted into the ambulance, Judy did the only thing she could do.
She cried.
***
All Judy could hear was tick, tick, tick.
She stared at the clock with narrow eyes, almost as if staring would make the time pass her by faster. But it didn’t. It just made the slightest movement every what-felt-like-an-eternity.
Tick, tick, tick.
There was nothing more the bunny wanted than for it to be twelve thirty. To see her fox again, for him to hold her and tell her that everything would be okay. Because truth be told, she hated hospitals. She was terrified of needles and doctors and nurses, and everything that came with being a patient. This was something of her worst nightmares.
Tick, tick, tick.
She fumbled absentmindedly with her hospital gown, pulling at the loose fibers. How many mammals had worn this before her? How many mammals had died in it?
Oh god.
She shuddered.
Tick, tick, tick.
The bunny’s mind trailed back to her best friend once again. She pictured him joking around with Wolfard, and getting along with the other officers like she had never really managed to do despite finally earning their respect.
She also couldn’t help but worry that maybe, just maybe, Wolfard and Nick would mesh a little too well. Maybe Bogo would see how efficient Nick was with another partner– perhaps one who wasn’t head over tails in love with him– and decide to switch up assignments upon her return.
“-- and then we’ll want to keep you for some lab work to make sure everything is okay before you go home. Does this make sense, Judy?”
She suddenly snapped back into reality, realizing that there had been a doctor in front of her– probably for the past ten minutes– explaining her treatment plan.
“Umm.. y-yes.”
“Good. I’ll be back for evening rounds to see how you’re doing.”
The doctor, a tall giraffe– which yes, Judy knew that giraffes are tall mammals by nature but this one was exceptionally tall– ducked under the doorway and shut the door behind her. This left the bunny in her solitude once again. It was already driving her crazy.
Is that what Nick felt like those few hours in that jail cell?
No, at least he had Nibbles with him.
All Judy had was herself right now.
Too bad she wasn’t paying attention to the treatment plan, because every time the nurse came in the room with a different medication, and sometimes a different needle, Judy panicked out of sheer confusion.
But still, she asked no questions– just swallowed every pill, closed her eyes for every needle stick, and held back tears as she anxiously awaited twelve thirty.
And soon enough, it did come.
Just as the second hand on the clock welcomed twelve thirty, there was a light knock on the door. Assuming it was her nurse returning to poke her yet again, she flinched at the sound. “Come in,” she squeaked, just below a whisper.
And there he was.
Nick. Her Nick.
They had been separated for what felt like a lifetime, but had only been three and a half hours.
He was still in his blues, his newest pair of Purrrrda sunglasses adorned upon his head. Judy’s eyes welled up with tears at the sight of her partner. Not only was she elated to see him, but it was truly hard to deny just how handsome he looked in his uniform. She tilted her head, smiling warmly, as she glanced down to his paws.
He was holding flowers.
“Heya, carrots,” the fox muttered sheepishly, one hand rubbing the nape of his neck while the other held tightly onto the bouquet. “I, uh, got you something. To apologize.”
He cautiously made his way over to the hospital bed, before sitting on the edge. He was sat just right beside where Judy’s legs lay under the covers. She found herself subconsciously moving them closer, itching for contact... just any contact from him.
Nick handed the bouquet to the bunny, and she gushed with adoration. They were the most beautiful pink flowers, most likely peonies, and they smelled like back home.
He pulled her in for a tight embrace, being careful not to pull any of the monitors she was hooked up to. Her face was nuzzled in his torso, and she inhaled the sweet scent of his sweat from the first half of his shift. His muzzle was buried into her shoulder and she could feel every heavy breath escape him. She could stay like this forever, truly.
“Nick, thank you.” she breathed, the tears threatening to flow again. “They’re beautiful.”
The fox pulled away from the hug, eyes probing into her with an unreadable expression on his face. Judy silently hoped that he didn’t notice her puffy eyes.
But instead of commenting on her clearly unwell emotional state, he gestured to the bag of IV fluids on the pole next to them.
“Boy, guess you really needed this, huh?”
Judy gently nudged him in the chest, finally cutting the tension that had been building up, threatening to blow like a pressure cooker. She carefully placed the flowers on the nightstand next to her. “Yeah, slick– I guess I did.” she admitted.
Nick patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, carrots. You’ll be back to your old, bubbly self in no time. Just need a bit of R&R.”
She nodded.
“But,” he added quickly, almost coming off as desperate to fill the silence in the air, “Just so you know, me and Wolfard do not get along. He refuses to let me drive the patrol car.” he joked, causing Judy to erupt into a fit of laughter.
This also brought a sense of relief. So there really was no replacing her, then.
She rested her head on his shoulder. Nick seemed to accept the gesture, pulling her in closer by the waist. She smiled fondly. “That’s probably because you’re a terrible driver, Nick. And I don’t let you drive either. Not after that snowmobile incident.”
His paw flew to his chest, feigning insult. “I’ll have you know, I am usually a better driver.” he defended himself, chin held high. “Forgive me for being high on adrenaline after my bunny saved my life. God forbid.”
My bunny?
Nick must have noticed the subtle shock in the way she stiffened, and cleared his throat. He loosened his grip on her waist and her heart sank as any physical contact with him had been ripped away.
“Anyway, how ya holding up? How long you gonna be in here?”
Judy’s head hung low. “I…. don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” He wore a look of concern on his features. She watched as he pulled the scratchy hospital blanket back, slipping underneath next to her. Their legs brushed, causing the fur on Judy’s bare legs to stand on end.
“Well, I was a little out of it when the doctor came in,” she admitted, not daring to make eye contact. Nick’s eyes narrowed. “You know how much I hate hospitals. It was like she was talking, and it went in one ear and out the other.”
He reached for her ears and flicked them playfully. “I feel like that happens when I talk to you too, sometimes.” He gave an earnest smile.
She rolled her eyes. “No really, Nick. I hope I’m not staying here for a week or something. You know I can’t be away from work that long.” She didn’t mention that she would miss Nick almost as much as she missed the ZPD, if not more.
Nick pulled himself further under the covers, seeking warmth with a content sigh. Judy felt herself frozen. One wrong move and he’d know exactly how she felt about him. How much she wanted to pull him underneath the covers, kiss him lazily as the pain medicine kicked in, to have him whisper sweet nothings in her ears..
“Don’t worry, fluff,” he assured, seemingly unaware of the thoughts running rampant in the bunny’s mind. “Nibbles texted me and told me that she’s getting discharged today. I bet you’ll be out of the hospital by Thursday.”
Judy tried to ignore the fact that Nibbles had texted Nick with the news and not her, snapping out of her thoughts. “Thursday?! That’s in two days, Nick!”
He scoffed and took one of her paws in hers. She felt a deep heat rise to her cheeks.
“Darlin’, I think you’re forgetting that a few days ago, you quite literally were full of poison.” he squeezed her paw. “The antivenom may have helped in the moment, but that kind of thing doesn’t leave your system overnight. Just take the couple of days to rest, get back to your normal self, and we’ll be busting smuggling cases like nothing ever happened.”
But something did happen.
They both had almost died. There was no ignoring this fact.
Before she could respond, there was a heavy knock on the door. The nurse strolled in unceremoniously, as though the knock were just a pleasantry. She wasn’t truly asking for permission to enter.
The lioness directed her gaze to Nick, then to Judy again, and then back to Nick. But she did not comment on the obvious elephant in the room. Instead, she glanced down at her clipboard, frowning.
“How are you feeling, Judy?” she asked pointedly, as if she were expecting a certain answer.
Judy could feel her partner’s eyes on her. “Fine.. I guess.”
Her nurse took a few steps closer to the bed, acting as though Nick wasn’t under the covers next to her like he was a patient himself. She brought the back of her paw to Judy’s forehead, still appearing troubled. This seemed to worry Nick as well.
“Miss Hopps, it appears as though that puncture wound to your neck has caused a widespread infection,” she said gravely, and Judy’s heart began to pound. “You’re very sick. It’s a good thing you came to the hospital when you did.”
Nick’s hand was still in hers. She felt him squeeze again, this time not to comfort her but to comfort himself. She could tell he was worried. “So will she be okay?” he breathed out, his voice cracking, and she could feel his hand was shaking.
The nurse nodded. “Of course. She’ll be getting antibiotics for the infection, and those IV fluids are helping to flush the venom out of her system. Though, unfortunately the antibiotic course for an infection of this caliber is a few days long.”
It was Judy’s turn to squeeze Nick’s paw. She kept quiet.
Even longer away from work.
From the comfort of her all too familiar apartment.
From Nick.
A long, drawn out sigh escaped her lips.
“In the meantime, I suggest you get as much rest as you can, Miss Hopps.” the nurse suggested. She was already halfway out the door. “No strenuous activities, nothing that will raise your heart rate too much. Doctor’s orders.” And then she was gone.
The silence was heavy. And it was approaching 1PM.
Nick and Judy were both snuggled under the covers, in the platonic sense (of course). She knew that the time on his lunch break was running short; he had to be back at the precinct by one thirty. Her eyelids felt heavy– her emotional support animal was doing a damn good job.
One of her paws snaked around his arm. She felt the outline of his biceps, noticeably larger than she remembered it to be. He looked down at her and met her gaze with a warm smile. She felt her insides melt.
“Hey,” he mumbled. “You’re going to be okay, Judy.” She knew he was serious when he said her name. “I’ll see to it.”
She nodded. “I wish you didn’t have to leave.” she moped. Her codependency was showing again.
“I’ll be back after my shift,” he promised, “We can talk all about the stupid shit that Delgado had to say today. And I’ll tell you about all the criminals I wrangled with my bare hands.” He made two fists.
Judy chuckled. “Whatever, slick.”
Nick laughed along for a brief moment, before his smile slowly fell for some odd reason. He had begun to make his way from out of the bed sheets, and Judy reached her arm out for him, pulling him back in. She really didn’t want him to leave her alone again.
He looked down at her paw, which had a firm grip on his forearm. Surrendering to the bunny for just a second, he allowed her to pull him back onto the bed. He fell with all of his weight beside her, both of them letting out light, airy laughs.
“You always get what you want, huh?” he grumbled with a smile, his muzzle dangerously close to her ear. She laughed it off, trying to ignore the fact that she wanted nothing more than him to pull her closer and kiss her until they were sick. “I have to go, fluff.”
Judy let out a playful groan, turning towards him and pulling on his ears. He let out a low hum. “You better come back later.”
They were both lying on their backs now, staring at the ceiling. Nick’s arms were folded across his torso. At this point, he was going to be late from his lunch.
Judy knew she was being selfish, but with him here she had truly forgotten about everything. All of her ailments had disappeared with him in the hospital bed next to her. As soon as he left her, all of the aches and pains would come back. She’d find herself short of air again. “Just five more minutes.”
And so the two laid there for five minutes more. No holding of hands, no cuddling. Just laying next to each other, staring at the ceiling in silence.
It was comforting. It was still.
Nick finally arose from the bed, and Judy allowed him to depart from under the covers this time around. He turned to the nightstand, picking up the bouquet, and sticking it into her water bottle sitting on the table.
“See you at 5, carrots.” he hummed. “I’ll miss you all the while.”
Tears started to form in Judy’s eyes. “I’ll miss you more.” She whispered.
He winked and disappeared behind the closing door.
***
Judy awoke with a familiar set of arms wrapped around her. Nick must have snuck his way into her room, and it must have been late at night since all of the lights were off. The only lighting came from the ambient glow of the IV pump. She could see his face right next to her on the same pillow, eyes closed and blissful with sleep. He was in an undershirt and shorts.
“Nick?” She sat up slowly, calling his name in the dark. Her eyes adjusted and she watched as he sat up next to her. “When did you get in here?”
“You’ve been sleeping.” he whispered, groggy. His muzzle suddenly made its way to her neck and she shivered. “I told you I’d come back”.
The rabbit blinked quickly, taking in the scene. Nick was still nestled into her neck, the good side of course, and his tongue slowly made its way across the fur. She let out a low moan.
“Nick…” was all she could manage to get out. Her heart was pounding.
He shushed her and continued to swipe his tongue up and down, slowly. “I missed you so much,” he muttered into her neck before suckling on the skin and another moan escaped her lips. “I needed to come and see my favorite bunny.”
Nick’s paw trailed from her arm all the way to her shoulder, causing her body to twitch uncontrollably. His touch was light– calculated, and she laid there with bated breath to see where he would go next.
“Now just be a good bunny and lay there while I help you feel better.”
Judy’s eyes snapped open and she shot up in bed, panting heavily. The lights had suddenly come on, and she found herself alone in her hospital room. Her paw floated to her neck, where Nick had just been, only to feel the same untouched fur that was there an hour ago.
Her fingers trailed under her gown out of curiosity, and she couldn’t help but notice the newfound moisture that definitely was not there before she had slipped into her slumber.
She sighed and closed her eyes.
These dreams of her and Nick were a recurring theme ever since that fateful morning, and they were relentless. It felt as though she couldn’t even take a nap without the fox making a surprise appearance, and with every dream came an even more worrying manifestation of her subconscious desires.
Now she was dreaming about him taking her, right there in the hospital bed.
She groaned out of frustration and buried her head in her pillow, only to hear the door creak open.
“Judy, was that you?” Nick’s voice questioned from the doorway.
Oh, for fluff’s sake.