Self-preservation was high on Nick's priority list. It always had been, and that made sense. It was a natural instinct to stay alive for as long as possible, and everyone in Zootopia had it. They may have evolved over the course of thousands of years, but some things just wouldn't change. What did not make sense was the sudden and inexplicable shut-down of that sense of self-preservation. Desire to survive coursed through his veins, yet when it came to life-and-death situations like this one, the one thing that could have kept him alive was failing to kick in.

Nick and Judy had been dispatched to the Rainforest District to deal with a home invasion. It had quickly turned into a hostage situation, and while the rest of the squad tried to bargain with the offender through an open window, Nick and Judy had slipped around the back, hoping to creep in and get the jump on their target. The lion in question was standing in the living room in plain sight of the police outside, pointing a gun at a quivering gazelle's head.

Everything was going according to plan until Nick's paw found the puddle on the floor. It was just a small leak in the ceiling, but it was enough to throw him completely off-balance. He landed with a dull thud on the damp wood floor. The lion whirled around, panicked, threw the hostage aside, pointed the gun at Nick, who was just scrambling to his paws, and pulled the trigger.

Everything moved too fast for him to keep track, but suddenly, there was a small furry body leaping in front of him just as the gun fired. There was a sickening squelch as the bullet embedded itself in flesh. Judy fell backwards into Nick's arms with a high-pitched squeak of pain. It took a moment for him to process what had happened. Blood flowed from Judy's shoulder, and her nose twitched violently as she bit back a scream.

"Judy!" Nick gasped. His heart, which had been pounding at a quick, steady pace, suddenly kicked into overdrive, and thudded erratically against his chest, as though it were trying to escape. His vision flashed red, and he felt his body move of its own accord. For a split second, he thought he was running away, as should have been his first instinct. It took him a moment to realize that he had done the exact opposite, and it was not until he felt his teeth sink into warm flesh that he registered exactly what happened.

The frightened criminal cried out as the gun flew from his paw. The fox clawed at his arm, and he stumbled backwards and tripped, landing hard on the floor. Without thinking, Nick ripped his teeth from the lion's paw and snatched up the gun, cocking it and pointing it straight at its owner. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, and his breath came in heaving pants as he began to slowly squeeze the trigger.

"Nick!"

It was Judy's desperate gasp that freed his mind from the clutches of instinct. His paw shook as he beheld the scene before him with confused eyes.

"That's enough..." He heard Judy choke out. His blood ran cold. What had he almost done?

There was a crash from the room behind him, and in a flurry of shouting and pounding feet, the entire squad thundered into the front room, swarming them. Rough paws grabbed Nick's shoulders and yanked him back, as Chief Bogo heaved the lion to his feet. Nick stared at his paws as they dragged the criminal away, barking out his rights and putting a muzzle over his face. The world around him blurred. He felt hot and cold at the same time. He spat the blood from his mouth, gasping for air, a suffocating weight pressing on his chest. What had just happened?

"Nick..." Judy whispered. He shook himself, suddenly finding his grasp on reality once again. He spun around to find his partner being lifted on to a stretcher by emergency personnel. He followed them out to the ambulance, his mind blank, ignoring the confused stares of the paramedics as he accompanied her into the back of the van. He stood by her, ears flat against his skull, motionless as they began to bind her wounded shoulder. There was a shudder beneath them, and the ambulance drove off, wailing as loudly as Nick wanted to. Judy stared up at him with tired, sorrowful eyes, before losing consciousness and sinking back against the mattress with a sigh.

When she came to, her eyes fluttered open wearily to reveal a plain white hospital room. She shifted and moaned, bringing a paw up to her forehead. Her other arm was bound up in a sling, and bandages were wrapped all around her chest and shoulder. She felt the bed move beneath her, and turned her head to see Nick leaning over her.

"...Nick?" she murmured blearily.

"...Hey there, Carrots," he mumbled, giving her a half-hearted smile. "Welcome back."

"Oh, Nick!" she whimpered, sitting up suddenly and throwing her good arm around his neck. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah...Ditto, Carrots," he answered lamely, patting her back awkwardly.

"What happened back there?" Judy demanded, pulling back. "That guy...He had a gun, but you...You just..." She trailed off, looking down at her bandaged arm. She'd never seen Nick so...wild before, not even during the Bellwether affair. She swallowed and looked up at him, her ears folded back. "Nick..." she whispered slowly, putting her paw on his arm. "...He could have killed you." There was a minute of silence as Nick's gaze darted around the room, searching for an answer.

"...Yeah," he said at length, looking away. "I guess he could have."

"Then..." Judy reached up and turned his head back towards her to look him in the eye. "Why didn't you run? Your first instinct should have been to..."

"Well, it wasn't," he interrupted. "I don't know what happened but..." His breathing sped up, and he sounded frustrated. "You...He shot you, and something just...something just snapped, and I don't know what I...how I..." He fumbled and went silent, turning away again. Judy observed him silently for a minute.

"Your...instinct..." she murmured, mostly to herself. "Your instinct wasn't to run. ...It was to protect." The thought was a sobering one. Nick had gone borderline savage, throwing aside his own safety to protect her, at the risk of his very life. He hadn't made a deliberate choice. It just happened by instinct. She bit her lip. Come to think of it, she wasn't entirely sure how she had ended up taking that bullet for him in the first place. She had seen the gun pointed at him, and without even thinking, she had leapt in front of him, nearly getting herself killed. It seemed they both suffered from abnormal instincts.

Nick took a deep breath, and patted her shoulder, giving her another forced smile. "Whatever happened, you had quite an ordeal. You should rest now. Your parents are on their way here now, and my guess is you probably want to be conscious when they get here."

"...Yeah..." Judy murmured, lying back again. Nick stood up to leave, but stopped when he felt her paw suddenly grasp his. "Hey, Nick?" He turned to look at her. "...Thanks."

"No problem, Carrots," he said, his smile becoming genuine. He squeezed her paw, then left without another word.

A/N: Okay, so I think it's just utterly adorable the way Nick gets really protective of Judy over the course of their adventure, and that kind of manifested into its own thing here. I also like the idea of instinct being stronger in animals than it is in people, so even if they're evolved, they could still have "blank-outs" where they don't make a conscious choice to do something, but just follow their instincts. Not sure if that made any sense, but whatever!

A quick update for those of you who have followed me for a while, I will be removing a lot of my older fanfictions from the site, simply because it causes me so much grief to know that I've written such embarrassing things. I know there are a lot of people who will be upset, and tell me they really like those stories, but trust me, there is waaaaay better stuff on here to spend your time on. I'd rather people's first impressions of me come from more recent and better-developed stories. Sorry if I upset anyone with this, and please know that you can look forward to new and better-quality content from me in the future!

Ciao!

-NikiBogwater