Author's Note:

Companion story to The Young Life of Nick Wilde and The Life of Nicole Wilde.

I was able to squeeze something special out for today! Hope you enjoy!

October 24th, 2008:

Nick Wilde walked into his bedroom to see the bare back of his wife, Lucy. She was trying to attach the straps on her bra, but she couldn't get them on.

"Nick, can you help me?" Lucy asked.

"Sure," Nick said as he pulled the straps together.

"Thanks," Lucy said, putting her shirt on. "My pants are pretty tight, too."

"You've been gaining a bit of weight lately, Lucy. Have you been snacking on fried crickets at the studio?"

"Ha! I wish. No, I think it's just me getting older."

"Old? You're only twenty-five! I'm only twenty-six! We're not old!"

"And you'll still say that when we're fifty-two, won't you?"

"Hey, I never get old!"

"Ok, whatever. Bye, I love you," Lucy said as she embraced Nick for a goodbye kiss and hug.

Nick ran his paws down Lucy's side. "No matter what weight you are, I'll still love you, Lucy."

"I love you too," Lucy said, stepping out the door.

June 12, 2034:

Nick opened his eyes. It was his fifty-second birthday, and he had a dream of that night—the night before Lucy had died. It was one of the saddest days Nick had gone through. That's saying something when you examine his rough life.

Nick rolled over and didn't see his wife Judy. She must've gotten up earlier than usual.

When all of a sudden, the bedroom door opened and little Josh walked in with a tray with blueberry pancakes piled high.

"My! What's this?" Nick asked, sitting up. "Breakfast in bed?"

"Yeah! It's your birthday, so we made you breakfast!" Josh said.

Then, Ken walked in with a glass of orange juice and a glass of milk. He set them down on the tray. "Happy birthday, Dad!"

"Thanks, son."

Then, Nicole walked in with a bowl of cereal and set it down on the tray. "Happy birthday, Dad!"

"Thanks, Nicole."

Nick started eating the breakfast they had prepared. Judy walked in as Nick was eating. She walked to the edge of the bed and gave Nick a kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday, love."

"Thanks, Carrots."

.

After breakfast, Nick was sitting on the back porch relaxing while the kids were in the pool. He was meditating on the dream he had last night.

The memories of Lucy always haunted him. The only thing he had to remember her by were the memories and her necklace. It had some burn marks from the fire that destroyed her car. The memories of viewing her body in the autopsy ward were haunting. They came back to eat at him for months after the accident.

Seeing her with large portions of fur burned off, her left ear burnt into an unidentifiable mass, parts of her face burned beyond recognition… It can haunt you worse than any horror movie ever will, especially if the one who was like that was the love of your life.

Nick continued thinking about what was said in the dream.

"You've been gaining a bit of weight lately, Lucy. Have you been snacking on fried crickets at the studio?"

"Ha! I wish. No, I think it's just me getting older."

Then Nick shot up and looked around.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked.

"Nothing. I have to go. See you later. Tell Mom I went to the Precinct," Nick said as he went to put a shirt on.

He drove to the ZPD and went in the front entrance. Ben was at the front desk as usual.

"Nick! It's your day off! What are you doing here?"

"I have to check on something, and it cannot wait another day!" Nick said as he ran towards records—it's downstairs. It's by the boiler.

"Oh, and happy birthday!" Ben yelled after Nick.

"Thanks!" Nick yelled back.

Nick made it down the stairs and into the records room in record time. He looked for the autopsy reports for 2008, then for W, then for Lucy's file.

When he found it, he pulled it out as if it was a religious artifact and God would strike him down if he mishandled it. In his mind, he would strike himself dead if he mishandled anything that belonged to Lucy.

He opened the file and read the contents. He had been told some of this by Detective Cobra a year ago, but he had obviously left some details out.

.

Autopsy Report:

Name: Lucy Cooper Wilde

DOB: 06-19-1983

DOD: 10-25-2008

Cause of Death: Car rolled down embankment and caught fire

Form of Death: Murder

Murderer: Dian Weather

Extra Details: Victim was drugged and intoxicated, later discovered to be done by Dian Weather. Car's right inner tie rod was weakened prior to crash, later discovered to have acid poured onto it before trip—done by Dian Weather.

.

Nick continued reading, but then he stopped. He read a paragraph again. And again. And again, again, and again.

Victim shown to be three months pregnant. DNA test shows Nicolas Wilde as the father.

Nick was shocked. She hadn't been getting fat, she had been pregnant!

Nick took the last picture he had taken of Lucy out of his pocket. It was later in the day Nick had dreamed of. He had gone to watch Lucy as she recorded a song. After she was done, Nick had taken a selfie with her to celebrate. He looked at Lucy's stomach.

"My little child," Nick whispered as a tear landed right on the picture.

Nick held the picture close to his heart.

"I'm sorry I never let you have a chance," Nick whispered.

"What?" Judy asked, walking up behind Nick.

"Judy!" Nick said, getting up to hug Judy.

"What's this about, and why are you crying?"

"I had a dream last night. It was about the day before Lucy died. I remembered something she said, and it gave me a thought. I went here to check the autopsy file I never read. As it turns out, my hunch was correct."

"What was it? Is it bad? Is that why you're crying?"

"Calm down. You'll find out everything soon enough. Anyway, it turns out she was three months pregnant when she died."

"She was?" Judy started tearing up. "Oh, Nick! I'm so sorry!"

"She had always said that part of getting old was having kids."

"What?"

"Oh yeah. She had mentioned she was getting old. She was only twenty-five, but still that was what got me thinking. Also the fact she couldn't seem to fit into her pants."

"That seems right. You are a good detective, Officer Wilde."

"That's Chief Wilde, to you, Missus Wilde."

"Right."

"Let's get back home."

.

As Nick and Judy walked back up the stairs, there were two people they couldn't see. They were two translucent foxes, standing side by side. One was about fifty-one, while the other was about twenty-five. They had been watching Nick silently as he found out about his unborn child.

"I still love you, Nick. I'm so glad you found love. I can never tell you that enough," the older one said.

"I would love to talk to Dad and my step-mom, and my step-brothers and step-sister, Mom," the younger one said.

"Don't worry, Jenifer. You can talk to your dad and Judy soon. I know it.

"He just now knows I should have been born."

"And knowing's half the battle."

Author's Note:

Nick would have had a biological daughter with Lucy? What does Lucy mean by Jenifer can talk to Nick "soon"? Find out next time!