The rain was coming down hard in the city center, though that didn't bother most of the mammals. They all had important things to do. Some where on their way home from work, while others were off to get dinner as the late afternoon set in.

Nick on the other paw was heading to see his friend, hiding under an umbrella, he did his best to keep from getting wet. He had gotten off work not too long ago and figured now as a good time to go visit Judy. He was dressed in his usual attire, a green Hawaiian shirt and a pair of brown slacks, And of course a tie to match.

His tail was curled up around his waist at the moment to keep it out of the rain as he walked, the last thing he wanted right now was a cold and soaked tail.

Nick hadn't been able to visit Judy for the past few days she'd been out of the hospital. Bogo had been keeping him kind of late and by the time he clocked out the only thing on his mind was a warm bed. So of course he planned to make it up to her by bringing her a treat.

Tucked under the fox's arm was a carrot cake, fresh from the bakery. Even with the damp scent in the air he could smell the aroma of such a sweet confection just waiting to be eaten. "I hope she's hungry." Nick made his way into the shoebox of an apartment building, heading up for his friend's apartment.

He knew he was getting close when he heard the sound of two antelopes arguing about some TV show. Nick came to a stop at the door with the carrot welcome mat and gave a knock. He waited quietly for a few moments but when he got no reply he knocked again, louder.

Finally he heard something on the other side. It sounded like paw steps alright, but not Judy's normal quick ones. No, these were sluggish. Soon enough the door to her apartment opened and what greeted Nick worried him.

Judy was smiling up at him, but she frankly looked like hell. She had bags under her eyes and her fur looked ruffled and in need of grooming. Her clothes looked like she'd been wearing them for a few days in a row. "Hey Nick." Her nose twitched a bit as he watched, her eyes locking on the carrot cake under his arm.

He gave her a worried smile, "Hey Fluff, how are you? Mind if I come in?" He didn't wait for an answer and walked in past her, looking around her little apartment. What he found worried him even more. Things were in a sorry state. Her trash hadn't been taken out in a while. Her bed was a mess too, it clearly hadn't been made in days. No, none of this was right for Judy.

Though of course it made sense when he thought about it, she was still recovering. Only now did it really hit him just how much she needed help.

"I'm doing fine." She said, closing the door and making her way over to him. She sniffed at the box again, "Is that what I think it is?" She asked, licking her lips ever so slightly.

Nick gave her a little smile, holding the box out to her, "Yup, and it's all yours." He watched as she snatched the box from him and went to her bed to start enjoying the cake. The way she ate it worried him. It was like she hadn't had a good meal in days.

He moved to sit near her on the bed, wondering how to bring up that she needed help, "Is there anything else I can do for you, Carrots?" He watched her with a worried look, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "Because it really looks like you need some help..."

Judy stopped eating the cake for a moment, looking up at him, glaring in fact, "I'm fine Nick, don't worry. I can take care of myself." She had a firm tone in her voice, but it fell short. "Thank you for checking up on me though."

Before Nick could say something more Judy reached for a napkin only to wince and grab her side, her face contorted. Though she didn't have to reach anymore as Nick handed her the napkin she was reaching for. "Here you go, Fluff."

"Thank you." She went back to enjoying what Nick was becoming more and more sure was the first real food in days.

He started to put things together though, and something worried him, "Carrots… when was the last time you changed your bandages?" He asked, since with the way her fur looked and her room looked… well it wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

"Just this morning." She commented quickly and curtly, not looking at him as she spoke this time, making the fox raise a brow at her.

Nick had a feeling what he was about to do might get him in trouble but he was too worried about her not to. He reached over and carefully, but quickly pulled the back of her shirt up and what he found upset him.

The bandages covering her side and back were very clearly old, how old he couldn't say but they needed to be changed. "Judy..."

She quickly tugged her shirt back down, "Nick! I said I'm fine." Her tone was a mix of annoyance and embarrassment, her cheeks burning pink from being caught.

Nick's brow furrowed "Fine? No, you're not. Do you want to end up back in the hospital with an infection, Fluff? Because if we don't get that cleaned up, that's exactly what's going to happen. Now let me help, please."

She was reluctant at first, almost acting like she hadn't heard him before letting out a sigh and pushing the cake away, slowly pulling her shirt up over her head with her back towards Nick. "Alright… The bandages and stuff are there." She said, pointing to the drawer of her bedside table.

He went to work quickly, pulling the drawer open and grabbing the box that was inside and setting it on the table. He took hold of the scissors that were inside and carefully cut the old bandages off of her, really getting to see her wound for the first time.

Nick grimaced at what he saw, but kept any thoughts to himself, instead simply getting to work, "This is gonna sting a bit." He commented, starting to dab at her wound with a swab dipped in alcohol.

The way she reacted made him frown, her whole body tensing up and her biting her lip, a small whimper coming out of her lips. She was putting up a front for him, but he could tell this really hurt. He tried to be quick but also thorough about it.

Once he was satisfied that everything was nice and clean he began gently applying new bandages to the wound, carefully applying medical tape to keep it in place, "There, all done." He said, putting everything back in it's place in the box and even getting up to grab her a new shirt, bringing it to her.

"Fluff… You need help." He said, watching as she got her shirt on with a few grunts and winces when she stretched her side just a little too much.

"I'm fine, Nick, really..." She lied, pulling her shirt into place finally and turning to face him, "Besides, if I did need help, I couldn't ask you to be around constantly…"

He cleared his throat softly, "What if I offer? Because that's what I'm doing. Fluff, come stay at my place until you're better. I'll change your bandages, cook you dinner, or at least order something every night. I'll make sure you've got clean clothes everyday too. And we can make sure that your fur is clean too."

She shook her head, looking off to the side, "I can't ask that of you. That's too much. Thank you for the offer though, Nick."

Nick let out a soft sigh, "Judy… You're like this because I made a mistake and you saved me. So I owe you, alright? So let me help you, please."

Judy gave him a look, scrunching her nose slightly at him. She was silent for a long few moments before relenting with a sigh. "Alright." Her shoulders slumped slightly, "I need help, you're right.

A wide smile spread across Nick's muzzle, "Great. I'll pack you some clothes alright? You just sit back and relax. Nick's got you covered, Fluff." He got right to work, raiding her drawers to gather up some outfits for her to wear, trying to find things that looked comfortable.

After a few minutes he managed to pick out enough outfits for her to have a different one each day of the week. "Alright, where do you keep a suitcase? You do have one right?" He asked, cocking a brow at the injured bunny.

She gave a small nod and pointed under her bed, "Not a lot of storage space in this place." She had a little smile on her face, watching him work. It was hard to believe this was the same fox who only about a year ago was trying to swindle her out of twenty bucks for some ice cream.

In a flash only Nick's bushy tail could be seen swaying about in the air while he fished around under her bed. "Jeez, you weren't kidding. You use this place like a second closet, don't you? You really need to get a bigger place, Carrots." He commented as he pulled himself out from under the bed, dusting his shirt off and setting the suitcase on the bed next to Judy.

"Something that actually has a bathroom built into it, a kitchen too. You know, the basics?" He asked with a teasing grin, "After a few weeks at my place you won't want to come back here, you're going to love it." Nick was quickly packing her clothes away, even making sure they stayed folded.

Judy had to smile as she watched him pack her things for her. "You seem really eager to have me over." She commented, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. "Thank you, Nick… This really does mean a lot to me."

"Ah, don't mention it, Fluff." He said, zipping her bag up for her, making sure to grab her phone charger too, that would be the biggest crime to forget! "What do you want for dinner? I can't let you just have carrot cake alone in good conscience. You're a growing bunny after all! You need real food." He was grinning kind of wide now and his tail was shifting behind him, almost wagging.

"Maybe just a salad… Nothing special." She insisted, climbing down from the bed with a little grunt since it looked like they were ready to get going. She didn't want to slow Nick down at all.

"Alright, there's this great place on the way to my place, they make some amazing salads. I'll call them up as soon as we get back to my place and they'll have you fed in a jiffy!" He grabbed the umbrella he'd brought with him and took her suitcase in the other hand, preemptively wrapping his tail around his waist to keep it from getting wet once they were outside.

As Nick stepped out of her door and into the hallway of her building something occurred to him. The walk back to his place wasn't bad, but with her like she was, "You know what, let's call a cab." He suggested. It wasn't going to be cheep, it never was in the city center. But the idea of her walking all that way, in the rain with him wasn't an idea he could get behind.

She gave him a little nod and got her phone, calling them a cab on the way down. Soon enough the two of them were waiting on the ground level under Nick's umbrella. It wasn't the biggest thing in the world so Judy had to lean against him to stay out of the rain, her head resting on his warm tail.

"Shouldn't be too long." He said, looking down at her with a little grin, "Comfy?" He asked with a teasing tone in his voice since she was using his tail as a pillow. Not that he minded, but he couldn't help himself but to tease her.

She pulled her head away in reflex, feeling like she'd been caught, "Yes, I was." She said, looking a little grumpy at his teasing.

"Well, then keep your head on it, I don't mind, Fluff. I'm here to keep you comfy for the next few weeks while you recover anyway. So if you want to use my tail as a pillow, you can anytime."

Before she could do just that however the cab arrived. Nick made sure Judy got in first before he went to put her suitcase in the trunk. He climbed in shortly after her, "It's really coming down out there." He commented to the cabby who just nodded, "Where to?" The panther driving the cab asked. "1726 Palm Way." He said, getting in nice and comfy next to Judy before the cab took off.

The ride was a short and uneventful one, they had gotten the one cabby in Zootpia who didn't make a habit of talking to his clients while they rode. Not that Nick really minded, it gave him more time to relax and think about the next few weeks. He was going over a mental checklist in his head to make sure he would have everything Judy would need.

He hardly noticed that by the time they'd gotten to his place she'd fallen asleep leaning against his tail once again. Nick smiled softly at the sight before gently shaking her, "We're here Hopps. Wake up."

Her ears perked up at her name being called and quickly she was awake, slowly sitting up. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was so tired." She commented while they climbed out of the cab, once Nick had her stuff ready of course and had paid the fare.

"Don't worry about it. Now let's get inside before you catch a cold." He ushered her towards the door of his apartment building. He lived in a better part of t own than her. Not upper class by any means. Middle class was the best way to put it. "You're going to love this, we've got an elevator here, no stairs for us." He said with a chuckle, leading her in and right to said elevator.

The inside of the apartment building was nice looking, it clearly was taken care of by at least a few staff members to kept things dusted and clean.

Mirrors lined the inside of the elevator, letting Judy see herself for the first time in a while, "Oh jeez… You're right, I do look bad." She said with a little chuckle, trying to make light of it. "I do need a shower…"

"You can worry about that in the morning." Nick said as their ride came to a stop with a ding six floors up. "For tonight, you're going to put your paws up, watch some TV and let me order you some food, that's it, Fluff."

She gave a little nod, that sounded good to her.

The pair made their way down the hallway towards Nick's apartment. Once inside Nick set her bag down next to the couch and put his umbrella somewhere for it to dry off. "Welcome to my home, Carrots. Your home too for the next few weeks. Now get comfy while I call in some food." He said, pointing to his large couch. Well large for her, it was fox sized after all.

Judy got herself sat up on the couch while Nick left the room to make a call, leaving her to turn his TV on. His TV which she found to be pretty big, bigger than her! When she turned it on it was on the news, with Gazelle being interviewed "I want to say that these rumors are hurtful and untrue!" She stated, "Having hurtful words like this spread about me is disrespectful at the very least." Of course the news cut away after the interview without saying what the rumors had been leaving Judy in the dark about it.

Nick was back before she knew it, plopping down on the couch next to her, "Dinner will be here in five." He put his paws up on the coffee table and got comfy. He was sure the next few weeks were going to be great, of course spending time with Judy was always great in his book, she was his best friend after all!

Just a little author's note here. Sorry for the long wait! I'll try to get the next one out a little sooner!