"Never goes smooth. How come it never goes smooth?"
– Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly, "Safe")

"Blood, blood, blood, and... death."

The fox relaxed and smiled. Backing away from the melodramatic bunny, he quipped, "All right, you know you're milking it. Besides, I think we got it."

Offering his smiling friend a paw, he continued, shouting into the darkness overhead, "I think we got it! We got it up there! Thank you, yakety yak! You laid it all out beautifully!"

Click-click. "Are you looking for the serum? Well, it's right here," the fox explained.

Leaning on Nick for support, Judy chimed in, "What you've got in the weapon there, those are blueberries, from my family's farm!"

Nick continued taunting the petite ewe. "Mmm... They are delicious. You should try—"

Pfft! "Ow! What was thuh... Whuh... No-o-o!" Eyes wide, the fox collapsed, his body again taut.

As the fox fell, the injured bunny lost her balance and stumbled, sprawling across artificial plants and the stuffing from a prehistoric deer display. He glared at her, struggling to shout, "Jude!... Run! Awuh!... Ruh!... Way!" With a quiet groan, he turned his head.

"No, no, no! Please, no!" the bunny pleaded. "Nick, please don't do this! Please, no!"

A malicious sing-song echoed overhead. "Clever, clever bunny. But not clever enough. Too bad I had more darts, huh?"

Suddenly, he pounced. His speed caught her off guard, and she desperately jumped away, shrieking in pain as her injured leg buckled. She tumbled roughly across the floor, barely noticing the deep scratches down her arm.

Her eyes scanned the display pit, looking for an exit, for somewhere to hide, for a way up, for... for Nick. Where was he? Where did he go?

Ears alert, she listened for any sign of him, for any indication of the next attack, for her friend. She heard whispering... whispering and hooves overhead. But where was Nick?

Too late, she felt his claws on her back. She rolled, tucking her good leg between her and the fox, kicking him away as hard as she could.

Again he was gone. No, not gone. Stalking her. Hunting her. Trying to kill her. Because of Bellwether.

Judy stifled an anguished scream.

A uniformed tiger burst through the door. "Mayor Bellwether, where..." The snarls and shrieks echoing from the display pit answered the officer's unfinished question.

"Officer Hopps is trapped down there! With a savage fox!" As several other officers ran in, the wide-eyed ewe continued, "Please! Please help Officer Hopps!"

Her plea was answered by a final shriek, a sickening snap, and then silence. "Oh, no! You're too late!" she lamented.

Chief Bogo broke the silence, "Wolford, the paramedics are on the way. Escort them in. Trunkaby, Grizzoli, Delgato,... McHorn,..."

No one moved. The chief blinked his eyes, then opened his mouth again.

"And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way." The recorded voice was unmistakable. All eyes turned towards the mayor, then towards the display pit, the source of the recorded sound. Bellwether turned to flee, only to face a wall of enormous officers.

"What are you gonna do? Kill me?" the recording resumed. "Oh, ho, ho. No, of course not. He is! Pfft!"

"Dawn Bellwether, you are under arrest."

"Mmmm..." Everything felt so strange, so distant.

"Mmmm..." And dark... Why was it so dark? Even at night, he should see something.

"Mr. Wilde, please try not to move." The unfamiliar voice sounded so far away. "Mr. Wilde, if you can hear me, please just relax and try not to move. You're in the hospital, Mr. Wilde. The doctor will be here soon to explain your condition, and your treatment. We're taking good care of you, Mr. Wilde."

"Mmmm..." The hospital? Why was he in the hospital? The last thing he remembered was...

"Mmm-mmm! Mmm-mmm!" He had to know. Was Judy okay? What had he done to her? Had he killed her? Had he... eaten her?

"Please, Mr. Wilde. Please calm down. You're safe now."

"Mmm-mmm! Mmm-mmm!" Why couldn't she understand? Why couldn't he talk?

"Mr. Wilde, please. You're safe now. Please calm down. You're safe. Everything will be fine."

A soft paw touched his arm. A familiar paw. And a familiar voice spoke softly, "It's okay, Nick. You're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay."

He suddenly felt lighter, so much lighter, as his worst fear floated away.

"Mmm-mmm?" She was here. She was alive. He hadn't killed her.

"Thank you, Officer Hopps. I'll call the doctor."

"Welcome back, Nick," Judy's voice continued. "It's been a while. You... We... I... Nick, I'm so sorry."

"Mmm-mmm?" What did she have to be sorry about?

"Yes, it's me. It's Judy. I'm here, Nick. I'm right here," the bunny continued, gently caressing his arm. "And thank you. We did it. We stopped Bellwether. And the Night Howler antidote works. Well, I mean, obviously it works. But I just saw Mr. and Mrs. Otterton, and now you're back, and soon the others, and... and... Nick, I am so, so sorry."

"Mmm-mmm?" What wasn't she telling him?

"Nick, I tried not to hurt you. I really, really tried. But you were... You almost... And I... I broke your jaw, Nick. That's why it's wired shut. And your eyes should be fine once the bandages come off. And the concussion. And, well, everything else. And... and... I'm... I..." The bunny sobbed, desperately clutching his paw in both of her own.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm..." The fox gently drew her paws closer.

Judy wiped her tears on her forearm. "But hey, maybe we can go through rehab together."

"Mmm-mmm?!"

Notes:

I've read a few stories that offer alternatives to the movie's version of the events at the museum. This is mine. I didn't think things would go quite according to Judy and Nick's plan. But at the same time, I didn't think Nick would/could kill Judy, or that Bellwether would/should win.

Thanks to nburgin for his prepublication comments, which were extremely helpful in polishing this story.

While discussing unfinished versions of this story with nburgin, I ended up with an image in my head: a Firefly scene with Zootopia characters replacing the humans. That mental image grew into a full-fledged plot bunny (no pun intended), which was the beginning of "Zootopia That Was", my Zootopia-Firefly crossover.