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Zootopia was now a much more structurally sound city following the arrest of Mayor Bellwether in the involvement of the Missing Mammals Case. Now that the Nighthowler Serum had been obtained, scientists and doctors could begin finding a cure and a vaccine for all those that could be affected in the future. And of course, now that the mystery had been solved, the racism war between predator and prey could finally stop. That was the overview, and a great victory at that, but there was more to the story in the sense of dreams being resolved. The hero in this case was Former Officer Judy Hopps, the very bunny that solved the case in the first place, and then went onto risk her life to uncover the full truth. The reason she was no longer a cop was due to her personal resignation following her poorly delivered observation that all predators were turning savage possibly due to their biology. She had resolved her shame as she was a city hero, and she would have been guaranteed reinstatement, but that was only if one injury wasn’t a serious matter. In her efforts to keep the case containing the Serum safe, she slit her calf against a razor sharp tusk in the National History Museum. The replica cut very deep into the flexible part of the leg, separating both muscle and tissue with it as her leg’s bleeding was only stopped by Nick’s handkerchief. But the obvious wasn’t as certain as it may seem. Judy might have suffered a deep wound, but the fact was that when she received it, she was unable to walk. From Nick saving her life in that construction-inhabited exhibit to the scene they cleverly acted out to buy time for the ZPD to arrive, she couldn’t stand nor move gracefully without the fox’s assistance. While the ZPD handled Bellwether’s arrest, Nick had caught them a cab to the Hopps Family truck, and he drove it to the hospital some time away. The bunny sat shotgun and seethed in pain as the fox tried to go as fast as he could without risking getting pulled over or tailgating the heavy traffic they encountered. The only way Nick could think of possibly filling the time was small talk about slightly related topics to her injury, for the case being cracked was still a foremost stain on his brain. Meanwhile, all the former cop cared about was if her career was over when she could finally get the shot she had worked her whole life to deserve. “So, what happens now at the ZPD,” Nick asked. “They should have a lot to debunk.” “Not really,” Judy breathed heavily. “If I give some further testimony alongside whatever Bogo says, and with all the evidence being turned in and other factors that’s hard to explain to a non-police officer, we’ll finally get that serum into trustworthy medical paws and we will put Bellwether away for good.” A pause ensued before Judy asked a question. “How far away are we from the hospital,” she asked. “I’d say roughly twenty minutes,” the fox answered, blasting the truck horn at a car that failed to move as the others accelerated. “The traffic is terrible. I’m trying to get there as fast as I can.” “I know,” she seethed again. “I’m not complaining.” “Is it starting to get bad,” he asked. “I thought you played it off well in the acting bit we had back there.” “Thanks,” Judy replied, her ears now pinned to the back of her head. “It stopped when you were carrying me, but it’s acting up now.” “Any reason that may be,” the hustler questioned. “Normally,” Judy began, calming herself slightly, “injuries tend to feel more present on an animal’s body when they’re stressed. It’s a pretty cool fact I learned in anatomy class ten years ago- I never forgot it.” It didn’t take much for Nick to understand why she was aggravated. “I know why you’re anxious,” Nick began, “and we don’t need to talk about it until the doctors ask you some questions.” “It’s okay, Nick,” she insisted. “Look, worst case scenario is I have a career ending injury. I went back to carrot farming and made due with it, and I can do it again.” “But you’re not happy with it,” Nick contested. “I know it’s stressful, and I can’t imagine what’s going through your head right now. But, the good news is that I have yet to see or hear about anyone getting a limp from a leg cut no matter how deep. If it was severed, that would be completely different- plus, Judy Hopps would be so much more of a fitting name in that case.” Judy smiled lightly, letting a ‘har har’ escape her lips softly. “It’ll be alright, Carrots,” Nick assured her. “Don’t waste your worries.” The two finally got to the hospital parking garage, and Nick carried the bunny all the way to the front desk on the bottom floor of the ER. Nick let her down, and this was where Judy greeted the less-than jolly zebra secretary. “Hello, my name is Judy Hopps and I need to see a doctor as soon as possible about my leg,” the former cop insisted. “How did you get this injury,” the worker asked. “How critical would you say it was?” “I was injured on duty with the ZPD,” she answered, prompting the zebra to snap his head up. “You’re in the police force,” he asked. “Yes,” she smiled. “Follow me- the ZPD called ahead for you. All officers and city safety employees get earlier access than most people in the waiting room- by law, of course.” “Okay,” Judy smiled, surprised she didn’t know that rule herself. “Right this way,” the zebra smiled. Judy hopped on one leg with Nick accompanying her to a nearby room, where she jumped onto a medical bed and laid down. The secretary then handed her a file. “Please fill this out,” he insisted. “The doctor will be with you shortly.” “Thank you,” the bunny said as the secretary departed. She filled out the files and left it on the table side stand she had at her aid. The cop waited patiently with Nick, still talking about a variety of details from earlier as they tried to avoid any mention of Judy’s potentially costly injury. Finally, a doctor came in- it was an elephant. “Hello Officer Hopps,” the medical expert began. “How are you doing today?” “Not too good,” she said as kindly as she could. “I was injured on a mission today, and I couldn’t walk because I ran my leg along a sharp object when running.” “You’re obviously not in uniform,” the doctor insisted. “Was it undercover?” “Kind of,” Judy insisted, although it really wasn’t. “Okay, let’s have a look at it,” the doctor mumbled. “Well, that does look deep. Cut some muscle and tissue, that’s for sure. We can do an X-ray to see if the bone is injured at all. If it’s not fractured or shattered somewhat from the impact, you’ll be out of here five minutes after with my advice to stay off your feet for a few weeks. The X-ray is next door if you’ll follow me.” “Great,” she returned. She hopped off the bed and into the X-ray room, where she spent a few minutes lying on a table as the machines worked their magic. She then went back into the room, talked with Nick, and waited for what felt like decades for the results to return, and ultimately they watched as the elephant come back in. “Officer Hopps,” the doctor began. “I’ve got news- it’s not good news…” Both Judy and Nick’s hearts dropped. “…it’s great news! Your bones are fine and you just have a deep tissue-only tear on your leg. As I said earlier, three weeks off your feet to let the tissues repair themselves, and you’ll be good to get back out into the field in no time.” Judy breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Thank you, Doctor.” “You’re quite welcome,” he said. “Here- your partner, I’m guessing, here can wheel you out in this.” A nurse brought a wheelchair around the bend, and as a surprised look appeared on Judy’s face, a smile crept onto the fox’s… Nick wheeled Judy through the sliding hospital doors and onto the nice courtyard of an exit. Her leg was stabilized on a modified extension and her cut was tightly wrapped by blue bandaging. “You enjoy this “ Judy asked, on the verge of laughter. “Don’t you?” “Do I enjoy carrying you around without you having to say anything about it,” Nick asked aloud, then smiled. “Yes…absolutely…” And within three weeks, the newly sworn in cop was back on the force and on more advanced cases, and when she had time to herself on her shift, she was enjoying the city she adored when she was young and the kindly features of it…such as a stroll through the park and interacting with some kids here and there looking to enjoy a game of soccer. And while that all occurred, she waited for her incoming partner to get his graduating grade from the Police Academy. THE END. Credit to the deviation ‘Zootopia-Case Closed’ by RobertFiddler for inspiring this literature piece. It’s available to view in my favorites.