A/N HOLY FUCK I WAS GONE A LONG TIME, so back to writing stories again. I like this chapter, took me two weeks to hammer it out, but I hope you guys like it for the first one out of this story's hiatus. I went beyond my 3k word count and made a 3.6k word chapter. So about what happened. I got mah job and shortly after I was rejected from the military, and then I posted a shit chapter, after which I erased and am considering binning the story for a world war 1 or high school zootopia story, anyhoo after I erased the chapter I was having trouble with my finances, and my older sister constantly saying I'm a waste of space. I had to get away, so I moved back to my hometown and started anew. I have a good job, a nice room I am renting(The people I rent from are very kind too), my mother and father are visiting now and are very happy to have me living near them. I thank all of you who read my stories for sticking with this and putting up with me. This and age of steam are in motion, while FFWR is on hiatus now until I decide what I'm doing with it. Okay, enough of my chattering, on with the chapter! Please enjoy responsibly. :3
Chapter 19 The Most Unusual Therapy
Nick sat up in his bed, it had been a month since he faked his death. He felt terrible, not from his scars, but from what he made Judy go through.
"I swear I will make it so we can be a family again, Judy. I won't stop until you and Flynn are safe."
A chuckle startled Nick out of his trance. The badger that operated on him was sitting in the room.
"Doctor, I want to start a new regiment in my therapy."
The badger hummed, "And what would that be."
Nick looked at the doctor, "I want you to start giving me doses of the night howler serum."
The doctor laughed, "You can't be serious."
Nick growled, "Start off small, but finish with the largest dose I can take. I want to train to control my savage state while under the night howler's influence."
The doctor sighed, "Fine, but you must be restrained and wear a muzzle."
"Do I look like I care?"
The doctor's eyes widened, "A year ago you wouldn't even wear one. How? No one has ever gotten over a mental scarring like that in such a short time."
Nick grinned, "Not normal mammals, but I'm married to a bunny that likes to do some… Special therapy."
The badger took a minute to figure out what Nick was saying, and then grew incredibly embarrassed.
"Fine, we'll do the doses, but I'm not responsible for what happens to you while you are under its influence."
Nick grunted and waited for the doctor to exit before laying back in his bed. Every fiber of his being screamed and howled for him to rush to Judy and never let her go again.
"Funny, to be able to make the family whole again, I had to tear it apart." Nick ran the grim thought through his head many times before sleep washed over him.
Judy woke in an uncomfortable position.
"You'll get back problems sleeping in that bed."
Judy grumbled from the race car bed that she was curled up in.
"This room still smells like him."
Vivian sighed, "And what happens when it stops?"
Judy gripped the sheets, "Then I'll still be sleeping here."
Judy shuddered, "Nothing is the same without him, even the chief is saddened at roll. He keeps waiting for his quip, but it never comes and the silence hangs there as a grim reminder."
Vivian hugged Judy, "I know, I find myself still calling his number at lunch to talk, but my little kit grew up, he gave me grandkits, and then suddenly gave his life to save another."
Vivian let Judy cry in her arms and rocked back and forth until she fell asleep. Once Judy was asleep, Vivian let her own tears fall. This was never supposed to happen. She was supposed to grow old, be put in a nursing home, and then say her final goodbyes before dying, all the while watching Nick grow into a better mammal.
Vivian felt a familiar dull pain in the small of her back as she laid beside Judy.
"Sweet dreams my lovely child, maybe you can at least find some peace in them."
She closed her eyes and fell asleep next to Judy.
Nick woke the next morning.
"Nick, do you feel any different?"
Nick looked to the badger, "One, watching me sleep is creepy, doc, and two, I don't."
The badger hummed, "That's interesting."
He wrote a note and fiddled with his pen, clicking it repeatedly.
Nick was trying to think of someone who could keep it a secret that he was still alive, but he couldn't think clearly with the annoying sound the pen was making.
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.
"DOCTOR!"
Nick was startled by his own outburst.
"There it is. We dosed you with a small amount of the serum Bellwether was using, and you just showed me the effect it has on you. We will start training you to keep your cool, even with the most annoying mammals, whilst the night howler serum courses through you."
Nick grunted, "You just wanted an excuse to watch me squirm."
The doctor smiled, "Not too far from the truth Wilde, consider this payback for all the stress you have been causing me keeping you "dead" my friend."
"Doc?"
The badger turned around to see a very sincere fox.
"Yes?"
Nick sighed and said, "I want you to know that I am truly sorry for what I have put you through. I know it weighs heavily on your health, both physical and mental."
The badger smiled, "It's nothing compared to the decision you made. Rest now, Wilde, you will need it.
Nick was a bit restless, but sleep found him easily. He slipped once more into a peaceful dream.
Judy was dressed in a beautiful, flowing dress and her fur was shimmering in the moonlight. He slowly approached her and wrapped his arms around her.
"I know you're a dream, but let me stay with you for a while longer."
Judy tilted her head at him, "What are you rambling about? The dance is about to start!"
Nick looked around, but he wasn't at the ball. He noticed a banner which read, "Bunnyburrow High Prom."
Nick was a bit befuddled, but regained his composure before continuing with Judy. There were stares and sniggering, all of which made him more and more angry, but he ignored them for her.
When Judy turned around, he noticed that she had braces.
"Hey, carrots, you never told me about those."
She knew immediately what he was talking about, but didn't feel ashamed of them. She loved how he cradled her cheeks in his paw or wrapped around her in a big hug, making her feel secure.
"Nick," she said playfully, "You drove me back to my house after I got them put in. You couldn't stop laughing as you videotaped me."
Nick sighed and smiled, "Sorry about that, Judy, I can be a real jerk sometimes."
Judy smiled, "I forgive you."
The room suddenly filled with a waltz and all the mammals grabbed their partners.
Nick held out his paw to Judy, "May I have this dance?"
Judy nervously took his paw, "You may."
Nick slowly guided her onto the dance floor and took the lead. They swayed and twirled to the music with grace as the music played on. Judy was happy, sad, and confused all at once.
Nick whispered to her as they danced, "What's wrong, fluff?"
Judy sighed, "Do you think I'm desirable?"
Nick's heart was hammering as they continued their graceful movements.
"Judy, any male would be lucky to even be friends with you, I should know."
Judy let out a shuddering sigh, "Thanks, Nick, I needed that."
Nick whispered once more, "What happened?"
"Jack stood me up at my house, and when I got here, he was with another rabbit."
Nick was surprised to feel Judy tighten her grip on his hands, "I feel you growling, please don't do anything rash, I don't want you to be kicked out of school for doing something stupid for me."
Nick sighed, "You win, fluffy bunny, let's just enjoy our dance."
Their swaying continued and Judy rested her head on Nick's chest.
Nick could tell her sadness was winning her emotional war, and he slowly led her away from the dance floor. After a few minutes of searching, Nick found a private place where Judy could talk to him without prying eyes.
Once Nick shut the door, he turned around to see tears streaming from Judy's eyes.
"He used me. He told me that I was the one, that I was his true love, and then he shows up to the prom with that whore."
Nick wrapped his arms around her and slowly sat her down on the floor, letting her sob into his tuxedo jacket. He started to rock her and stroke her ears.
"He's a fool, besides, who would want a mate with the IQ of a pile of dirt?"
Judy let out a brief chuckle and Nick gave a small smile.
"That's better, you look much more amazing when you're smiling."
Judy blushed, "Nick, you're just saying that to make me feel better."
Nick got a mischievous look, "You want me to prove that I'm not blowing hot air?"
"Go ahead, slick, I know all of your hrmph…"
Nick put all of his emotions that he had held back, all of the frustration, all of his passion, joy, anger, and sorrow into the one kiss. Judy pulled away after a few seconds.
"Nick."
He sighed, "It's okay, I know. I will leave you alone now. Thank you for being my friend when no one else would. You're the most beautiful female I have ever met, your personality is so upbeat and bubbly, your eyes are like amethysts shining in the moonlight, and your fur is the silkiest by far, so if any mammal tells you that you aren't good enough for them, then he's got it backwards, you are too amazing to even know them."
Nick turned around and hastily made his way to the exit. Judy's mind was still backfiring as he walked out. He made it to the center of the ballroom before he heard his name called out. Nick turned around to be tackled by a mass of grey fur.
"I love you."
"You're delusional, carrots."
Judy felt terrified, "How, why?"
Nick let out a pitiful smile, "No one can love me."
Judy shook him, "You know that's not true!"
Nick sighed, "Everyone who loves me ends up getting hurt in the end. Mom was shot by a mugger, dad hung himself after the store burned down, grandpa and grandma died in a crash. I can't lose you too."
Judy kissed him and gripped him tightly, "You won't."
Nick was finally happy, completely and truly happy, but reality had other plans.
"Well look here, Black and Decker pecker wrecker and the lowlife, what a surprise."
Nick growled at the buck that caused Judy to cry.
"Fuck off, fuckboy, you can take your opinion and shove it right up your ass, wait don't you might like it.
Jack spat in Nick's face, "Know your place fox, you wouldn't want another incident to happen, my that was a terrible fire."
Nick was overflowing with rage, "You. You did it?"
The buck shrugged, "Wanted to have my dad pay a guy to, but he wouldn't cough up the money."
"You bastard, do you even know the pain that I felt, finding him after school? He worked his entire life for that shop."
The buck laughed, "Funny it took only a few hours to burn."
Nick couldn't take it anymore. He snarled, lunging at the offending buck, but dodged to the side when he saw a glint at Jack's waist. The buck was brandishing a switchblade.
"Looks like I've got you in a corner, Wilde. Tell you what, I'll cut your ears off, screw that bunny bumpkin, and leave you both in a gutter, beaten within an inch of your lives, sound good?"
Nick simply lunged forward without warning. He pinned Jack up against a wall.
"Stupid fox."
Jack stabbed Nick in the side, but he didn't flinch. Nick grabbed the knife and pulled it out of his side and jammed it into the wall above Jack's head.
"You are going to learn just how much pain I felt, but it won't be emotional."
The waltz was still playing as Nick proceeded to beat the buck. Jack tried in vain to fight back, blow after blow was brought down on him until he was on the floor. "Desperate times, desperate measures," He thought. He pulled out a small derringer pistol, but it was wrenched from his grip.
"You can't even fight honestly can you?!" Nick tossed the pistol aside and contorted Jack's arm.
"I could handle you putting me down, I can handle you threatening me with harm, I can handle my dad's death, but no one threatens my friend." Jack let out a terrible scream as his arm snapped with a sickening noise.
"Never show your face to me again."
Nick then made his way to the door, walking out into the night.
Judy ran after him, but her dress seemed to trip her every time she would get close. She was focusing on her dress when she heard Nick's voice.
"You should stay away carrots. I'm as good as dead now."
She pulled out her phone and dialed 911.
"Hello, yes I need an ambulance at the crossley store, my friend was stabbed and we were able to escape. Thank you."
She closed the phone and knelt next to Nick.
"You're losing a lot of blood! We need to get you to the hospital!"
Nick smiled, "It's funny, I thought I could be with you, I thought I could stand up for myself, but it seems that life is out of my reach."
Judy teared up, "No it's not, I'll become a cop and you'll never have to worry about being judged or discriminated against because I'll lock anyone up who makes my fox feel bad."
Nick chuckled and winced, "I am pretty sure that's illegal, carrots, besides what cop would willingly date a felon?"
Judy was confused, "Nick you haven't done anything."
Nick laughed, "What I just did, combined with the lawyers Jack has, I might as well be preparing for death row."
Judy started to cry, "Then I'll become a lawyer and get you out of jail."
Nick grabbed her paw, "No, you are becoming a police officer, you got accepted, now go live your dream. I wasn't going anywhere with my life anyways."
"Nick, you are an amazing person with a creative mind, you can do anything."
Nick smiled at how naive she was, "Thanks, Judy, but no one will hire a fox, they'll just accuse me of stealing and fire me."
Judy was sobbing now, "You can open a store, or come with me to Zootopia and be an officer."
The ambulance wasn't far off, as the sirens could be heard.
"I'm dead weight, fluff, best if you leave and cut all ties with me."
Judy kissed him, "I won't go anywhere without you."
Nick saw red light flickering on the sides of the buildings.
"They will have something different to say about that."
Judy panicked and marked him.
"W-What did you do that for?"
Judy blushed, "To let them know you're mine, so they'll take good care of you."
Nick pulled her in close and nuzzled her neck.
"Now all those pushy bucks will know to stay away."
The siren drowned out what Nick said next, but before Judy could ask what he had said, he was being carted into the ambulance. Judy made a mad dash for the police station.
The door to the police chief's office flew open.
"Chief Williams, I have evidence of an attempted murder with a deadly weapon."
The old deer looked at her and smiled, "What is this evidence, Judy?"
She deposited the derringer on the table, mortifying the chief.
"How the hell did you get that, and how did you get it past security!?"
Judy laughed, "That old wolf is asleep, and Nick was able to wrench it from Jack's hands. He could have used it on him, but he tossed it to the side."
The chief looked amazed, "Are you willing to testify in court?"
Judy shook her head.
"We have been waiting for something like this. Jack has danced around and made a mockery of the law, now he will get everything that is coming to him."
"Chief? May I ask a favor?"
The deer chuckled, "Ask away, you just gave the department one of its biggest breaks."
"Can you drive me to the hospital? I need to know if Nick is okay."
Nick regained consciousness and looked about groggily. He saw an IV drip, heart monitors, several other machines, a bunny in a prom dress and a police jacket…
Suddenly everything came flooding back to him. Judy woke to find herself being pulled into the hospital bed by Nick.
"I'm sorry that I ruined prom for you."
Judy smiled, "Well at least when our kits ask how we met, then we can give them an exciting story."
Nick blushed at the mention of kits, but hid it by pulling Judy closer to him.
"The chief says that the gun will be able to stand as evidence in court, since only his prints are on the handle, not to mention you were stabbed and he only has internal injuries. You won't go to jail."
Nick chuckled, "I'm not getting rid of you easily, am I"
Judy punched him in the gut eliciting a series of yelps.
"I'm so sorry Nick, I wasn't paying attention!"
Nick simply pulled her into a passionate kiss. She could feel him trembling in pain and she was a bit nervous until it faded away.
"Judith!"
Judy was startled out of her tongue wrestling session with an audible gasp.
"Mom, it's not what you think… DAD NO!"
It was too late; Stuart had already discharged the pepper spray hitting nick directly in the face. Judy was mashing the nurse button as Nick started coughing and wheezing. A wolf ran into the room and quickly assessed Nick's condition, then rifled through the medical supplies.
"Oh stop, that fox is over reacting, he just wants to be hopped up on something."
The nurse glared at the bunny, "No, he is allergically reacting to YOUR pepper spray, and if I don't administer an adrenaline injection, HE. WILL. DIE. Do you want a murder on your hands?"
Stu looked down, "No, sir."
The wolf found an epi pen and quickly stabbed Nick with it, eliciting a gasp as his throat stopped closing.
"Mr. Hopps, please leave."
The bunny obeyed the nurse and left. The wolf then turned to the two female bunnies and waited for an explanation.
Judy spoke first, "Since Nick is unfit to speak now, I will have to say this. Nick and I are dating and Nick saved me from Jack."
Bonnie laughed, "That was a good one, now who was your friend stealing from when he learned his lesson."
Judy scoffed, "Jack stood me up, mom. Nick was the one who picked me up and took me to the prom where I found that Jack was cheating on me. Nick then asked me to dance and when I needed to cry, he took me to a private room and cheered me up, after which he confessed his love for me. Not only did that, when I told him I loved him, Jack called me a terrible name and put Nick down, even confessing to the arson of his father's business. Nick fought him after he threatened to rape me and cut Nick's ears off."
Bonnie huffed, "I will have no such slander said about that nice young mammal in my presence, Judith. You will go straight to his house and apologize."
The police chief walked in and saw the new bunny in the room.
"Ah, Mrs. Hopps, how are you?"
The bunny scoffed, "Quite miffed, my daughter is bad mouthing that nice Jack Savage."
The deer had a grim look on his face, "I'm afraid what she said is true. She brought in a pistol that he had tried to use on this young mammal in the bed, on top of which we found a knife in the wall of the ballroom, which had Nick's blood and both his and Jack's prints on it. I can only assume that his came from pulling the knife out of his side. Jack is far from the "young gentlemammal" you think he is."
Judy held Nick's paw in defiance.
"I still don't approve of this, you will find yourself a nice buck and you will marry him."
Judy pulled Nick closer, "I will marry Nick."
Bonnie laughed, "You have no say in that, I am your mother and you will date who I say you can date."
Judy shot back angrily, "I turn eighteen in two days, mother, then what? You will have no say on who I love."
Bonnie was about to reply, but felt the glare of the chief on her.
"Mrs. Hopps, I must remind you that Nick has no criminal record, and defended your daughter from a psychopath that thinks the law doesn't apply to him."
"I don't care; she will NOT be dating him."
The chief sighed, "Judith Hopps, do you feel safe in your own home?"
Judy took a long look at Bonnie.
"No, I do not, sir."
The chief turned to Nick, "Simply shake or nod to my questions. You have your own house, left to you by your parents, do you not?"
Nick nodded.
"Would Judith cause any undue stress or financial obligation?"
Nick shook his head.
"Would you be willing to house her until she finds another residence?"
Nick nodded.
"Then it is decided, she will stay with Nicholas until she can find her own place."
Bonnie shouted, "This is ridiculous, you are coming home with me right now!"
The chief stepped between the two, "Ma'am, I'm afraid that I would have to arrest you for abduction if you did that. She is now under the custody of the law, formal papers for her situation will be drawn up and printed tomorrow. I suggest you calmly return to your home and give your standpoints a long hard look. I don't want to have to take more than Judy into my custody."
Bonnie retreated at the threat of losing all of her children.
The chief smiled as he left the room, "You two get some rest. An officer is outside with instructions to only let your nurse and doctor in."
Judy simply flopped back next to nick and let sleep take the two.