The hospital was not what Judy had planned to visit after solving the stolen concert tickets case. It smelt exactly like the air she had breathed when she paid Emmitt a visit in the recovery ward; somewhere along the lines of an old library packed with a heavy medicinal scent. Judy remembered taking a queue number from the hospital's reception desk and having to wait quite a while; sitting with Nick on the waiting chairs before she was called in and diagnosed by a certified doctor to treat her scratch. This time, the situation was the opposite. Nick was the patient now, seated beside her and attempting to distract himself from the constant, pulsating pain induced by the multiple lacerations on his leg. Judy cast a worried side glance at Nick's injuries. She had his wounds wrapped snugly with her flannel jacket to stop the bleeding. It did stop after a while, but not fast enough as a large part of the cloth was dyed a deep red. Hopefully, he is not giddy from the blood loss, she thought. Which was a good sign as Nick displayed no signs of feeling light-headed or drowsiness. Despite there being nothing alarming, Judy was still concerned.
"You okay, Nick?" Judy asked she rested her paw on his lap.
Nick turned to face her. "I am feeling better already, Carrots. Thanks for treating my wounds," he gave Judy an appreciative smile, reassuring the ill at ease bunny. Furthermore, it was supposed to be a joyous moment for them, celebrating their success with Clawhauser and not warming up cold hospital chairs whilst waiting for medical attention.
"You would not be here if I darted Nat earlier," Judy apologized solemnly, slowly swinging her legs as she averted her gaze from him. "You might be right, I really do suck at aiming," she added.
"Hey, what happened to the optimistic, upbeat bunny cop that I know? It is not your fault, stop putting the blame on yourself; you emotional rabbit," Nick chided gently, reaching over to Judy as he comfortingly massaged her shoulder. "Look, I am alive and kicking! Well... maybe not the kicking part, but hey, I am not one paw in the grave, so cheer up!"
Judy turned her head towards Nick, looking at him in the eye. He returned her stare with a smirk plastered on his face. Perhaps Nick was right, maybe she was indeed overreacting; Judy thought to herself as she looked down at herself and considered what Nick had said. She managed a weak smile. "Sorry for being such a sentimental clutz, I cannot help it," Judy answered, laughing softly as she wiped the tears which had welled up in her eyes. "Maybe you do know a thing or two about us bunnies being emotional and all."
Nick chuckled. "That's the spirit!" he said, patting her back before resting his paw on her shoulder once more. "And yes, I have dealt with bunnies before, hard to explain how I came to this conclusion about your species."
"Can you at least provide a gist of what you have experienced? At least that way I can work it out," Judy replied playfully, actually curious about the matter. Nick rubbed his chin with his paw thoughtfully, trying to summarize it in a way that she would understand.
"In short, let's just say that they had many different and unique ways of expressing themselves after they realized that they were hustled by me. It was like watching a reality TV show drama take place live," Nick mused as he studied the analog wall clock on the wall.
The time displayed was fifteen minutes past midnight. Right beside it was a huge notice board pinned full of health product advertisements and fliers, with the majority of the posters mainly displayed for the sake of instilling health awareness and education into the patients. Though there were usually significantly lesser patients in the queue during such hours, they still had to wait for quite a while since they arrived at the hospital roughly around eleven thirty late at night. The nurses did recognize them being the city's finest ZPD officers when they stepped through the sliding glass doors. The one at the counter even offered to arrange the queue numbers such that they would be the first in line however, Nick had courteously refused the nurse's gratitude. Judy was hesitant about declining the offer but gave in as Nick mentioned that other patients may need the medical help much more than he does.
"Nicholas Wilde?" A soothing accented voice announced, calling out his name. Judy's ears shot right up as they shifted their glances towards the doctor's room, which now had a female tiger's head poking out through the opened door. "Come in please, I shall redress that wound of yours. Sorry for the long wait, it is really kind of you to allow the others to be treated first, Officer."
Fresh music pounded through the air by large concert speakers as disco lights showered the night party in bright vivid colors of the rainbow. A large crowd of many animals raved and danced to the beat, shouting and screaming excitedly at the top of their lungs as they take in the sensational experience. The flamboyant uproar doubled up as the stage lights switched on, encasing the entire platform in its brightness; A beautifully dressed Gazelle making her appearance under the limelight right behind the microphone stand. The celebrity singer flicked her hair back confidently as she took hold of the mic.
"Are you all ready?" Gazelle exclaimed loudly, which was met with a harmonized cheer and shrill whistles from the crowd. "Let's get this party started!"
At the front of the concert, mere meters away from the stage, a group of four animals were busy enjoying the time of their lives; especially the overweight cheetah. He was performing a series of small hops on the spot, paws supporting his chubby cheeks as he squealed in pure excitement. He was literally exploding with astounding elation on the inside.
"O-M-Goodness! This is the best! It really is! Gazelle, in her prime, just in plain sight! Without you guys, it would have only been just a wishful daydream!" Clawhauser shouted in glee, still shaking from the unbelievably close presence of his number one idol.
"That is what friends are for right?" Judy laughed, watching Clawhauser set his eyes lovingly onto Gazelle as the famous pop star began singing. She could tell that he was melting like a marshmallow in hot cocoa, awestruck by Gazelle's impressive vocals. The award-winning singer was simply the best, delivering songs of such finesse and talent. Judy could not agree less; after all, she was also a big fan of her. Now she had the opportunity of seeing her favorite singer perform live up close, all thanks to Clawhauser's fortune. "I could not thank you enough for inviting me, I am never going to forget about this night!"
As the two agitated animal officers were busy gossiping about their favorite vocalist, the other half of the foursome stood behind as they observed the bunny and the cheetah dance. Nick was one of the two, casually nodding his head to the beat of the music. Usually in a lively concert such as this one that he's in, Judy would encourage and nudge the heck out of him to dance along as well. But, the doctor did mention that he should not move or walk around too much, which was a bummer for her. As for him? Well, he could almost count that as a blessing in disguise. In fact, Nick was not proud of his dance moves at all, he had always felt like a vegetable with limbs when he flashed his "moves". However, there was one thing which kept his interest besides the concert. He fished out his phone from his pant's pocket and pretended to use it. "You know Chief, there's nothing to be embarrassed about; I know you are a huge fan of Gazelle," Nick said as he swiped the screen with his thumb. The buffalo immediately froze in place.
"H-How did you know that!" Chief Bogo hissed, shocked that even Nick knew of his personal secret.
Nick smirked as he shrugged knowingly. "I could tell from the way you were bobbing to the song and casting occasional glances at Gazelle as well." He kept his phone away as he locked eyes with the chief, who now had a face of complete disbelief. "I mean, it's obvious from the way you were acting, Sir. Just enjoy yourself to the fullest. Besides, wasn't that the sole reason why Clawhauser invited you along? He could have gotten anyone else."
Chief Bogo stared at the fox. Sure, Nick was unbeatable in terms of perceptiveness and discerning situations but the only downfall was that he was way too good at it. Bogo wondered how much personal information would the fox be able to scrape from him within a timeframe of a year; most likely by then Nick would have understood him like the back of his paw. He frowned at the thought of it. "Listen Wilde. Keep all of that to yourself and do not ever mention it to anyone. Got it?" he demanded, sighing. Clawhauser already spreads gossips about him like a virus on steroids; He does not need a second in command to help confirm the rumors.
"Would not tell a single soul, Chief. You have my word," Nick acknowledged, saluting.
"Good. I shall trust you. Now, if you do not mind, I shall go get a drink." Chief Bogo exclaimed, walking into the raving crowd, away from the trio. Not to actually get a drink but more of finding a spot where he could enjoy the concert without animals like Clawhauser interfering. He was craving to dance and express his actual personality.
The concert lasted well past midnight, ending with a blast before dawn arrived. It was a memorable night full of fun and singing. Never did Judy and Nick imagined that solving a case of a stolen doughnut coupon would lead them to the front rows of the greatest concert ever. Perhaps it was a token to congratulate them on their first actual serious case completion; excluding the Night howler felony or Flash the speeding driver. It sparked as the beginning of the many adventures they have yet to come across. And they were ready for the challenges ahead.