friends.

The car sped up and finally came to a stop in front of the store. The door opened and a mole stepped out, wearing a long coat. He walked towards Cletus, who was busy double-checking his list.

And then, Nick heard it. An intake of air, and a lock…the sound of a dart gun being loaded.

With a burst of speed, he ran towards Cletus, feeling the world go into slow motion. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the mole raise his paw and whip out a dart gun from beneath his coat.

"CLETUS!" yelled Nick as he pushed the rabbit out of harm's way.

And then he felt it. A sharp sting on his left paw, right beneath his thumb.

"ARG!" Nick fell to the ground and quickly pulled a small dart out of his paw, throwing it a few feet away.

George Jenkins was paralysed, but only for a second. He quickly realised his mistake and turned around to run towards the car. But a flash of grey and purple tackled him to the ground. Judy jumped onto the mole and pinned him down, making him drop his dart gun.

The driver inside the car saw the scene and hit the gas, swerving away down the street at top speed, abandoning Jenkins and heading for the town exit.

Bonnie and Stu, Amber and Garth caught up with Judy and Nick just as Nick got up and helped Cletus to his feet.

"What in tarnation was that all about, you loony-heads!" bellowed Cletus.

"If I were you, I'd be saying 'Thank you, Officer Wilde', Cletus," said Stu. "That mole was gonna shoot you, and Nick pushed you out of harm's way."

Cletus went silent. He looked wide-eyed and stunned, not knowing what to say.

"P-Please," said Jenkins, still pinned under Judy's paw. "I assure you…it was not my idea…there is a perfectly good explanation for this…"

"There'd better be, Mister," said Garth.

Judy turned her head to Nick.

"Are you alright, Nick?" asked Judy.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "It'll take more than a lousy tranquiliser dart…to…put…me dooonwnn…"

Suddenly, the world went blurry to his eyes. Everyone watched aghast as Nick fell to the ground and started shaking.

"NICK!" shrieked Judy.

Amber quickly kneeled over him, and then reached for the dart, smelling the tip. Her face went pale!

"This isn't tranquiliser!" said Amber. "This is poison!"

Those words made Judy's blood turn to ice. The world stopped for her all of a sudden, and a deep and terrible rage suddenly took over her. She turned to George Jenkins, still on the ground, cowering.

Judy was not a hitter. She had never been one for fisticuffs. But in the seething anger that consumed her, she felt her paw close into a rock-hard fist and she swung it with all the might in her body, striking the mole squarely on the left cheek. A cracking sound, his glasses shattered into bits, the mole's head hit the hard pavement…and he passed out.

The doors to the doctor's office burst open! Doctor Briar and his nurse, both rabbits, were sitting at their desks. They jumped up in surprise as they saw a group of people rushing in!

Garth and Amber were carrying Nick, followed closely by Judy, Stu and Bonnie, Cletus and Gideon Gray, who had seen the commotion from the window of his bakery and had rushed out to help.

"Quick, doc! Get off your butt!" yelled Amber. "I have to stabilise him! He's been poisoned!"

The doctor and the nurse looked shocked.

"Nurse, get me salt water and lots of cotton, disinfectant and bandages! Doc, syringe and test tubes. Garth come with me, I'll need your blood."

It was amazing how Amber, a slender and seemingly frail young lady, galvanised everyone into immediate action with her words.

They carried Nick to the back room. Amber had tied her scarf around his wrist tightly to prevent the poison from spreading. Everybody knew they were racing against time.

"Okay, scalpel and tub," said Amber as they placed Nick on the cot. "Folks, I got this. Please wait outside in the waiting room. Garth, you stay. Doc, nurse, get a move on!"

Gideon, Cletus, Bonnie, Stu and Judy walked out of the room. The doctor walked in with all the necessary equipment and closed the door.

"I'll…go get the kids," said Bonnie. "From school…they have to be here…"

She ran briskly out of the waiting room towards the exit.

Cletus, Gideon, Stu and Judy sat down on the chairs in the waiting room. They were stunned. They could not believe what had just happened.

It had all been so fast. Nick had fallen, Judy had knocked Jenkins unconscious, they carried Nick to the doctor's office while Sheriff Shepard rushed to the scene to take Jenkins away to the police station. Gideon had come running across the square to help, they burst into the doctor's office…and here they were.

The big question was…what happened next?

Judy was in shock. She barely blinked. This felt so unreal. It was like a horrible nightmare. A horrible, terrible nightmare, the worst she could ever imagine…but it was really happening to her.

Her partner…her friend….her beloved Nick…her first friend from outside her hometown…the first friend she had made in Zootopia...

"No," she whispered. "No, this isn't happening..."

When she had been looked down upon by everyone…when she had been abandoned by everyone, almost renouncing to her dream…he had stood up for her before her chief…back-talked him…the only one who had ever been able to make her chief stand quiet, unable to retort…he had been her friend…her accomplice…her partner…her companion…

Nick was the first person outside of her family that she had loved. A pure, deep, ever-lasting love, capable of anything and everything.

She could not lose him. She simply could not lose him.

The minutes seemed like hours. Stu looked out the window and saw Bonnie rushing across the square with the children. They all looked scared and desperate.

Then suddenly, the door burst open and Amber stood in the doorway. Her glasses were slightly askew, her eyes were on fire and she looked fierce.

"You, baker boy!" said Amber. "Get in here!"

Stu, Cletus and Judy looked at Gideon, who stood up immediately, not knowing what to expect. He walked into the room, wondering what was going on.

Amber closed the door again and walked back to Nick's side. It was a terrible sight to behold. He was terribly pale and was trembling. His eyes were closed. There was a small metal tub full of blood on a sink not far away and Garth was sitting on a chair beside Nick, shirtless and looking very concerned. The doctor and nurse stood to one side.

"He's stable, but he's lost blood like crazy," said Amber to Gideon. "You look like you have more than enough for a skinny chap like him. Get on that cot over there and pull up your sleeve; we're going to need a transfusion."

Gideon looked a bit queasy when he heard the word 'transfusion', but he steeled himself and did what Amber told him to.

"I'm ready," said Gideon as he sat on the cot and rolled up his sleeve.

"Okay," said Amber, rubbing disinfectant on his arm and preparing the transfusion equipment. "Here we go."

The clock ticked loudly in the silent waiting room. Everybody was sitting down, speechless. It was almost like a gathering of ghosts.

The children were all there. Their eyes were full of tears. They hugged the grown-ups, unable to believe what was happening.

Isabelle sniffled as she sat in her mother's lap. She looked up at Bonnie with big, damp eyes.

"Is he gonna be alright, mommy?" asked Isabelle through her tears. "Is Uncle Nick gonna be alright?"

"Don't worry, angel," said Bonnie, hugging her tight. "Your Auntie Amber will make him okay again. He's going to be just fine."

More sniffles were heard. Maggie hugged her sister Penny's arm tightly.

"Please…save him…Auntie Amber," said Maggie in a low voice. Penny hugged her sister close. Her eyes streamed with tears. She tried to be strong, like her dear Auntie Amber, but she could not hold her tears back.

Bianca burst into sobs on Judy's lap. Judy held her tight, kissing her little sister's head and holding her close.

"He's going to be alright, Bianca," said Judy. "Uncle Nick is going to be alright…"

"Please…don't…die…Uncle Nick," sobbed Bianca. "Please…don't let him…die…"

"He's not going to die, sweetheart," said Judy through her own sobs.

"Please…I…don't want…you to…die…Uncle Nick…I love…you…please…don't die…"

"He's not going to die," sobbed Judy, hugging her sister tight. "He's not going to die…he's not going to die…"

Cletus was blubbering like a baby in the corner. Stu did his best to comfort him, but he was disconsolate.

"I…misjudged him…"

"It's alright, Cletus," said Stu, his eyes just as teary as the rest. "It's going to be alright."

"I…it's my fault…he's…dear me, why did I…have to say…"

"Don't, Cletus," said Stu. "It wasn't your fault, none of this…"

The clock ticked. The minutes snailed by. The uncertainty was eating

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