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"Oh my gosh," Gary panicked, "what if she's dead?!" He examined her features for any signs of life. "I'm not sure if she's breathing! I don't want her to die!"
"Gary..."
"Where would we bury her? Should we bury her? I'm not good with funerals! I-"
"Gary!" Pawbert finally grabbed his partner's attention. He cleared his throat as a small apology for yelling. "Take it easy. She's not dead... she's just sedated. The tranquilizers knock you out for a bit. They weren't trying to kill her. Just catch her."
"How do you know that?" Gary responded, and Pawbert finally noticed his friend's tearful demeanor. He took a deep breath before answering.
"Well... they were trying to handcuff her partner. So it seems like the were sent to capture them, not take 'em out." He turned for a second to check on his frantic partner, who was wiping his eyes, but still listening. "And also... My dad has done walk-throughs at the ZPD with the mayor, I've tagged along for a few of those. I paid close attention to the weaponry... Those yellow darts they have, they're nonlethal."
Gary finished rubbing his eyes and exhaled, feeling a warm bit of relief wash over him. But his eyes soon fell back to the needle sticking from her arm. It stood staring him in the face as a testament to the ZPD's fervor, but also their mercy. His face tensed as another burning question forced its way free.
"... Should I take it out?" He turned his head to Pawbert with concern. "It won't hurt more will it?"
"It shouldn't. It's probably best to be ready to stop any bleeding though. So maybe we should wait until-"
"Oh, oh, I have band-aids!" Gary lit up, unzipping his fanny-pack and rummaging through the contents. In no time, he took out a small pack of bandages. "Here they are!" He exclaimed, beaming at his partner. Pawbert could feel the smile against the back of his skull, and succumbed to its contagion.
"You're just prepared for everything huh?"
The serpent quietly went to work, slowly removing the dart and setting it aside safely. He wished to dispose of it properly rather than leaving a spent needle to chance in the dunes. There was a bit of blood, but it was hastily sealed off by the first bandage. After applying a second bandage above it for added pressure, he held her hand and gazed at her cherubic face. Her ears were limp against her head like two hammocks supporting it comfortably.
"We shall succeed, Judy Hopps..." He rested her arm back at her side, and let her frame relax against the sidecar. As he released her body, her ears caught the wind and began to flow in a peaceful rhythm. It reminded him of a cape from the superhero movies he watched as a kid, and brought a hopeful smile to his face.
His tongue flicked in wonder as his eyes met with the horizon, which was now a vivid tango of violet and yellow hues. This just filled his mind with more questions, however.
"Do you think they're following us?"
"The ZPD? I think they got tunnel vision on the fox, but I wouldn't doubt it. Do you think they saw our faces? Did we forget anything?" Pawbert furled his brow.
"You did leave behind your sleeping bag..."
"That could be anybody's for all they know."
"...filled with shedding, and surrounded by hairballs..."
"Come on, I don't shed that m-"
"... Those rom-com novels..."
"Essential reading!" He blushed.
"... with your name written in quite zesty calligraphy." Gary grinned on his partner's shoulder.
"Anything else, partner?" Pawbert cheesed in sarcastic pain.
"Um... Oh yeah, you apologized to the one you hit!"
"Did you see how I took him out though?" Pawbert winced jokingly. "That door to the horns looked so brutal!"
"Yeah, you got it stuck to his noggin! He never saw it coming!" Gary laughed, quite tickled by the memory.
"Knock knock! Who's there? What do you mean door repossession? Who the heck does that?" Pawbert shook his head, chuckling. "Really though, even if they found my belongings, I'm not not sure how they would find us out here. Even the specialized sniff teams have no chance tracking in the heat of the desert."
He looked at Gary, who just blinked in quiet trust of his partner. "Don't worry pal. We'll be just fine." He gave a thumbs up before returning his attention to the desert ahead.
They continued on. Pawbert paid rapt attention to the path to steer clear of any obstacles, and Gary watched their rear for danger or any changes in Judy's physical state. After a while, the wistful serpent broke the silence once again.
"She's really worried about her partner. I hope we can help rescue him when this is all over."
"Didn't he clock you with a frying pan? And give you cold paws?" Pawbert retorted playfully.
"He didn't know better!"
"Just saying, I've never introduced myself by giving somebody a concussion. Call me old-fashioned."
"I... can't find it in me to hold it against him. He was just doing his job. But something tells me this rabbit means more to him than that." Gary gently caressed her face and neck with his tail, verifying her vitals during his display of compassion. "He dropped everything to follow her lead."
"That's true. I'll admit, I wasn't fond of him after he hit you. But I didn't want to see him get captured. Can't imagine anything good happens when cops get sent to prison. Poor guy."
Gary looked back at the soft bunny nestled against him, her silver fur and his cerulean scales shimmering softly beneath the setting sun.
"She was trying to help me. The last thing she said to me... was that they believed me. But when they chased after me, and she grabbed my tail in the water tubes, I was so scared of what it meant for our journey." He looked at Pawbert with retrospective woe. "Then I saw her eyes as she was running out of air. I wanted to help so bad, but I just froze up. Now I realize... I could have witnessed her death right then. And I never want to see that again..."
Pawbert fell completely silent, respecting the gravity of what his partner was going through. The whirr of the engine, the tender breeze, and the velvety crunching of sand all filled the void their words left behind.
A sudden, strained groan caught their attention as the bunny stirred awake. Gary's eyes grew by the second, along with his smile. Pawbert returned the infectious smile of his partner. Gary couldn't contain his excitement any longer.
"You're not dead! Haha!" He surprised Judy, before turning back to Pawbert and tugging his shoulder cheerfully. "She's not dead!"
Pawbert responded with a chuckle, which was cut short as he struck a bump in the road, sending the bike swerving for a brief moment. "Sorry, sorry. I just got my motorcycle license!"
Judy's lack of response sent a pang of concern through the duo. But before either of them could ask, she spoke up on her own.
"... Nick?"
Gary looked at Pawbert with unease, and the lynx took it as a plea for him to reply instead. Still, they faced her together as he delivered the harrowing news.
"They um... they caught him."
The disappointment she felt hearing those words was crippling, but private. Her eyes trailed downward and behind the cart, as her heart longed to rescue the fox that had saved her countless times over. For the first time, he was piloting her train of thought, and the case was a passenger. Not the other way around. As her thoughts gained traction, Pawbert interrupted.
"But out here... No one's gonna catch us."
He pulled on the accelerator, earning a stern growl from the motor. As they sped out into the horizon, they all sat silently. Unbeknownst to them, they were all reflecting on the same exact subject. Their driving force.
Their family.