Hey guys! StoryCrusader here. This is my second ever fanfiction. I hope you like it. For those of you who also read my other story, A Wilde Life of a Fox and Rabbit, this story is not connected in any way. It is an entirely different approach to Nick and Judy's relationship.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy. But best grab some tissues. I'm not sure how sad this is going to get.

Edited 12/6/2016: If you see any typos, plot holes, and the like, don't hesitate to point it out to me through a review or a PM.

But yeah, you may need the tissues for this chapter.

Chapter 1: Descent

"Nick! Go around and cut him off!" Judy yelled to her partner as she ran in full sprint after a fast moving antelope.

Nick gave a quick nod to her and peeled off down another street, shouting over his shoulder.

"Just keep on him!"

It had been a day like any other day. They both had woke up in the morning, met each other for a quick breakfast before walking to the police precinct. Bogo had given them their assignment, and they had been off to patrolling the area they were assigned. They had been joking around as usual when there was a report of a disturbance. Nick and Judy were the closest and had been the first to respond, and they were the only ones to respond for the moment.

Judy pumped her legs for all they were worth. This antelope was one fast mammal. Her black-tipped ears fluttered behind her as she dashed past the buildings along the street, weaving in and out of side streets. She lunged over an overturned garbage can.

The antelope, gun in hand, had just scaled a fence. It was too tall for Judy to clear in a single bound, even with her hopping talents, but she managed to jump most of the way before having to climb the rest of the way over. However, while she had been climbing, the antelope had rounded a corner/ She spoke into her radio.

"I lost sight of him."

Nick's voice cackled over the speaker.

"I see him. He is heading for the docks."

Judy raced in the general direction. Sure enough, she spotted the mammal on the far end of the street and gave chase.

She had just been gaining ground on the antelope when he fired a few shots from his gun in her direction.

Judy dived into an alley to avoid being shot, grabbing her radio as she did.

"Careful, Nick! He isn't afraid to use his gun." She warned her partner on the other end.

After the shooting stopped, the rabbit continued the chase. In the distance, police sirens could be heard.

Nick ran like he never ran before. He bounded over trash cans, across streets, and even had to jump clear over an elderly possum to avoid colliding with her.

He caught a glimpse of the antelope on the other side of the row of buildings he was racing along. Ahead of him, the street ended at the water's edge, and he would have to turn right, where hopefully he would be able to cut the antelope off before he made it to the warehouses.

Judy was facing this mammal head on while he was stuck trying to run as fast as he can to get in front of him. How did that work? Judy was faster than he was. She could have easily been able to get in front of this guy and cut him off. Regardless, Nick was a bit concerned about his partner. The fox didn't want anything to happen to his partner and friend. The antelope had already fired a few shots at her. It was only a matter of time when he will do it again. That is if Nick didn't stop him. He put on a renewed burst of speed, fire in his eyes. No one shoots at his bunny and gets away with it.

He growled as he turned around the corner and towards the spot that his path would meet with the antelope's. Unfortunately, the antelope had seen it coming.

The fox dove behind a trashcan just in time to escape with his life but not without a bullet grazing his arm, tearing his uniform as well as the skin and fur underneath.

Nick gnashed his teeth at the sting from the graze.

A concerned voice sounded over his radio.

"Nick! Are you okay?"

Nick grabbed his receiver.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Carrots. Just a scratch. But he is getting away!"

The antelope had disappeared into a warehouse down the way when Judy rushed into view, Nick meeting her at the corner. They both caught their breaths for a moment before dashing across the street after the antelope. Reaching the door, they took out their tranquilizing pistols. They weren't allowed to use their more harmful variants unless absolutely necessary.

Nick and Judy exchanged a look and nodded to each other. Nick quickly flung open the door and rushed in with Judy following suit.

It was a dimly lit structure. It looked worn from use and neglect. Boxes were everywhere. Some stacks were stacked so high that they reached the ceiling. A balcony hung to the left side of the expansive room. A massive window was aligned at the same level as the balcony, providing what little light filled the room.

The antelope could be anywhere. Nick sniffed the air. His nose may not be as powerful as a wolf's, but it was good enough. The antelope's smell told him that he was still in the building.

Nick and Judy moved slowly amongst the crates, keeping their eyes open for any movement. They had radioed in their location and backup should be arriving soon.

"Carrots," Nick whispered.

Judy looked up at him. He pointed to himself then at the balcony.

The rabbit gave a nod, and the fox quickly but silently padded towards the stairs while Judy continued to search the darkness on the ground level.

The balcony was equally as cluttered as the floor below, but it provided Nick with a better vantage point to search for any sign of the antelope's location. The fox saw Judy creeping her way through the maze with her attention focused away from him.

Where was this guy?

Nick looked around. He saw no movement but also saw that the warehouse had only one entrance and exit besides the two huge doors on the opposite end of the room from where they entered. The doors were locked with a padlock. Leaving the only escape route to be through the door Nick and Judy had just entered through.

The fox narrowed his eyes as his nocturnal eyesight provided him with a clear view of everything, but he could only see so much. There were so many boxes blocking his line of sight.

The antelope was here, somewhere.

Judy disappeared behind a pile of crates and reappeared on the other side, still looking away from Nick and the balcony.

The fox's eyes were roaming again over the sea of crates when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He saw a shadow raising a gun. Turning his head, Nick realized that the antelope was standing on the balcony with him and hadn't noticed the fox. Nick also realized with horror that the gun was aimed directly at his oblivious partner. He had to act fast.

"Judy, duck!"

The rabbit snapped her head in his direction before diving behind a stack of crates, as the startled antelope pulled the trigger just as Nick tackled him to the ground.

Judy was hit in the shoulder and gave a yell from the pain when her injured shoulder hit the ground.

Nick and the antelope exchanged blows as they rolled about on the ground. Nick tried his best to control his opponents gun-carrying huff but was sent flying backward with a yelp when the antelope kicked him in the chest. The fox got up quickly, but it was too late.

The gungshots rang in Nick's ears and sent shocks of pain throughout his body. He clutched his chest and stomach suddenly finding it hard to breathe, the air in his lungs being replaced with blood. He saw flashes of light across his vision. A chill spread to every part of his body. Then something struck him hard in the chest. The next thing the fox knew, he was freefalling through the open air. From somewhere above, he heard a heart wrenching scream. Time slowed to a standstill. Nick remembered all the things that happened in his life. The day his dreams of being a Junior Ranger Scout were crushed. The days of living alone on the streets. The day he met Finnick. The day he met… Judy. He saw her as clear as day in his mind. He remembered when they first met, the day she came back to him under the bridge, the day she congratulated him when he graduated from the academy, all the good times they had spent with each other, all the secrets they had told one another, the thing both keep avoiding, the things that were left unsaid that should have been spoken... three words that Nick should have said a long time ago.

Nick felt a sickening crunch on his back as his fall ended.

"NICK!"

Judy had watched helplessly at the struggle on the balcony as she fumbled for the tranquilizer gun that she had dropped when she had been shot. She had just turned her head and found the gun when she heard the shots whose piercing sounds ripped through her very heart. She had watched in horror as Nick was kicked out the window by the ruthless antelope.

Suddenly she had the gun in her hands and fired at the antelope, the dart flying straight and true into the villain's neck.

Seeing the antelope collapse, Judy clutched her wounded shoulder and rushed outside.

The first police cars pulled up as she burst through the door. Officer Delgato called to her, but Judy didn't hear him. She quickly staggered around the corner to where Nick fell.

There lay her bleeding friend amongst the broken glass of the window.

"Oh, Nick!" She cried as she rushed over to collapse by his side. She felt like something broke inside of her. Her heart dropped as she saw how seriously he was wounded.

The other officers still called to her until they came around the corner and their calls became mute silence at the sight in front of them.

So much blood. Nick lay on his back gasping for air, clutching his stomach. He had two gunshots to the chest and another in the stomach. His uniform was soaked in blood. His eyes filled with tears from the pain.

Judy lifted his head from the ground and laid it on her lap. She felt him shivering as she ran her paw across his head.

"Carrots?" Nick had a dazed look on his face as he gurgled blood out of his mouth.

Judy trembled as she supported his head.

"You are going to be okay. You have to…" She broke off with a sob.

The fox shed a tear of his own and raised a trembling paw to her cheek. Judy caught it and held it there. She felt a rush of warmth from it.

Nick grinned weakly.

"Why you crying… It's only a scratch."

He tried to laugh but coughed instead. His head fell back weakly as an ambulance siren sounded throughout the block. Judy let a small grin appear on her worried complexion with a sob. He could be dying, and he still couldn't resist a joke.

"Carrots?"

Judy's face ran full with emotion, as another torrent of tears came flowing at the sound of his voice.

"Yes, Nick?" She croaked, her ears drooping far lower than they have ever been before. Her lip quivered.

The fox's eyes looked at his legs. His voice was hoarse and weak.

"I can't feel my legs. I can't… Judy?"

Judy squeezed his paw tighter.

The fox's head slowly rolled to the side, his deep green eyes seemed distant and out of focus.

"I… I…"

Judy felt his paw become heavy in hers and her heart skipped a beat. She began to panic.

"Nick?"

Silence.

Judy's tears fell over the fox's face. The light in his eyes was fading as his eyelids began to close. Judy felt his body go limp in her arms. She put her cheek to his mouth. He stopped breathing.

"Nick? Nick! No no no no no no. Nick! You can't die! No no no. Stay with me, please. Please!" Judy closed her eyes as she touched her forehead to his, rocking her fox back and forth, weeping openly in desperation.

The rabbit felt her heart had been ripped from her. She felt cold. She felt helpless. She felt the warmth retreating from the fox in her arms. She was oblivious to the world as it spun in slow motion about her. She heard Nick's heartbeat fading. All other sounds were distant echoes to her ears. The sun did not shine. She felt alone. She felt cold.

Nick's mouth hung loosely open. Blood stained his fur a deeper red. His fur may have hid most of it, but Judy could tell that his skin was pale. His eyes were closed, and no matter what Judy did, whether it was performing CPR or shaking his head, he wouldn't wake up.

Judy hugged her partner, never wanting to let go. She would stay there until he woke up. She felt paws trying to pull her away. No! They couldn't take her away! Nick needed her there beside him. The paws wrapped around her stomach. No! She had to stay with him. He needed her. She screamed.

The lapin kicked at her oppressor but was quickly overpowered. Still, she kept fighting. She wailed and cried. It was useless. Judy allowed the paws of Officer Fangmeyer to pull her away from Nick as the paramedics swarmed his bloodied body. He didn't wake up. Why didn't he wake up? She needed to be there.

"Everything's going to be fine, Judy." The tiger cop reassured, but Judy didn't hear him. Tears streamed down Judy's fur. Her uniform had specs of blood and was nearly soaked from her tears. She felt cold.

She gulped.

"Nick."

"Yeah, I know. Let's go over here and let the medics take care of him, okay?"

Fangmeyer pulled the sobbing rabbit towards him, patting her on the back. Her sobs nearly got him going. In fact, all the other officers there were struggling to keep their composure. The antelope who had shot Nick was struggling against McHorn, dragged the mammal out of the warehouse like a ragdoll by his antlers. The rhino had a fire in his eyes that would burn a hole in anyone who tried to stop him from abusing his prisoner the way he did.

Judy closed her eyes and buried her face into the tiger's arm.

Fangmeyer saw the paramedics preparing to do something that he knew he didn't want Judy to see, so he pulled her in tight.

"Clear!" came the shout, followed by Nick's body heaving at the electric shock. Judy tightened her hold on her tiger friend as her body shuddered at the sound.

This continued two more times, until the lead medic, a black furred panther, confirmed Nick had a heartbeat. The paramedics quickly loaded the barely alive fox into the ambulance.

The sirens sounded off and the vehicle screeched onto the road and away, carrying a precious cargo.

Judy felt the tiger relax his grip on her.

"Judy, I'll take you to the hospital so you can see…" Then the tiger noticed the blood staining her shoulder and the hole in her uniform…

"Judy! You've been shot. Delgato! We got to go!"

Judy didn't respond, didn't need to. Fangmeyer quickly guided her to his patrol car and waved his partner to join him.

Judy felt like the world had gone dark, and she was alone in it. Pictures of Nick floated through her mind. How the two had first met. The jokes he told. The sly smile he always wore on his muzzle. She thought about how he made her feel. That was something that Judy had been wrestling with for a while now, and she could tell that Nick had thought the same by the way he had looked at her in recent months. But, was it too late to feel those feelings, to think those thoughts, to love someone in their last moments of life. Was it too late to say what Judy needed to say?

The tears returned as she began sobbing away what little energy she had left as she laid in the back of the patrol car. She didn't notice Fangmeyer and Delgato's worried glances at her.

Hope burned within her, but it was fading fast. However, another thing blazed within her, something she never felt before towards the fox, something she wanted to express although it may die with Nick's last breath.

Judith Hopps loved Nicholas Wilde, but it may be too much too late.

The daylight slipped away outside the window of the of the patrol car. Darkness swooped in upon the city and its inhabitants. Red and blue lights alternated on the surfaces of the buildings they passed. Judy felt cold. She didn't feel the pain in her shoulder. She didn't realize how tired she was. No one had noticed she was shot until Fangmeyer did. Judy had forgotten herself. Her eyes sparkled in the red and blue lights.

Nick.

The rabbit didn't hear Delgato and Fangmeyer's conversation.

Fangmeyer looked in his rearview mirror at Judy.

"She doesn't look too good."

Delgato took a glance at the rabbit also.

"What did you expect? She has been shot and her partner is in even worse shape."

"I saw you talking to the medics. What did they say?"

Delgato sighed and lowered his voice.

"It's bad. He took two bullets to the chest and one to the stomach. His lung has collapsed. A bullet barely missed his heart. They are surprised he is still alive still."

Fangmeyer looked back at Judy.

"No kidding."

Delgato rested his maned head on his headrest.

"They don't expect him to survive, and even if he did, he may never walk again."

The lion shook his head.

"Damn. I liked that fox."

Fangmeyer nodded.

"Me too. He was the life of the party. You know, I think she loves him, and him her, but neither wanted to admit it."

They both glanced back at the pathetic looking rabbit in the backseat. Her head hung to the side. Her ears drooping low, one of them was caught on her shoulder. There was nothing but pain and sadness in her eyes and expression. Her fur was matted from the tears. The blood still soaked her shoulder, although Fangmeyer had wrapped a towel around it to try to stop the bleeding. If they didn't get her to the hospital soon, the ZPD may lose two cops tonight.

Delgato shook his head.

"Can you imagine loving someone but never getting the chance to say it? Poor bunny."

"I can't imagine, but if we don't get her to the hospital, she may never get the chance at all even if Nick survives."

Delgato agreed. Both felines were worried about the rabbit cop's health, which was getting worse by each passing moment.

The silence of the night was broken by sirens. No one realized how dire the situation was for a fox being rushed into surgery. The fox could die that night. The surgical table was set. The battleground ready. A fight for a fox's life began as a heartbroken rabbit passed out in the backseat of a police car and a lion and tiger rushed her into the hospital. Tonight was going to be a long night.

Edited 12/6/2016: Hey guys! So, depressing? Yes, yes it is. Sad? Oh yeah. Will it ever get better? Well, keep reading. I'm seeing a lot of people turning away after the first chapter. :( That makes me sad. Is it really that depressing? Anyways, I hope you guys keep reading and like it.

Thanks for Reading! It means a lot!

StoryCrusader