Prologue:
"You know you love me," Nick said in his slick tone, looking right at Judy.
"Do I know that?" she replied. "Yes, yes I do."
Three years later...
It was a beautiful day. Birds were singing, the sun was shining, and it was a special day for Nick and Judy. It was the day they joined paws in marriage. After three years of dating, Nick proposed to Judy after patrol one night, and she was so excited, as she was waiting for it from day one. Nick stood in front of both his and Judy's family, looking his fiance in the eyes, and smiled. The priest then spoke. "Do you, Nicholas Wilde, take this Bunny to be your loving wife?"
"I do." Nick avowed.
"And do you, Judith Hopps, take this Fox to be your loving husband?"
"I do." Judy responded. After the priest spoke some more and Nick and Judy accepted each other's rings, he finally said "Does anyone object to this marriage?" The church was silent.
"Mr. Wilde, you may now kiss the bride." Nick bent over and him and Judy kissed each other on the lips. They were now more than just friends, more than boyfriend and girlfriend, more than finances, they were husband and wife.
Four years later...
Chapter 1: A Shocking Discovery
Nick woke up to the sound of someone puking. He went to the bathroom, and found Judy hunched over the toilet. "Carrots, what's going on?" Nick asked, with a look of concern on his face.
"I don't know Nick," she replied. "All I do know is that I've been violently throwing up, and my stomach hurts like hell."
"Judy..." Nick said, putting his paw on her shoulder. "you know what this may mean, right?" A big smile ran across his face. "You may be pregnant." She looked at him in shock, and told him "It doesn't feel like it, but you may be right." "I've always wanted a child, and now, my long time dream may come true!" Nick bubbled with glee. "Don't worry, you can still work, I'll be the parent that takes care of the child." Nick knew how important her job was to her, and he didn't want to get in the way of it.
"That's very sweet of you slick," Judy responded, "but we will have to to to the hospital to-" She doubled over in pain, and puked once more.
"Fluff, please come with me. I will help you figure out what's going on. Get dressed, we're leaving in an hour." Judy rushed to her closet, and grabbed some clothes, and put them on in the bedroom while Nick put on his usual Hawaiian shirt, striped tie and khaki pants in the living room, while calling the hospital. They left their apartment, got into Nick's now old convertible, and drove towards the hospital. They would skip breakfast for now, Judy being too sick to eat and Nick just not feeling hungry.
Three hours later...
Nick sat in the waiting room with Judy, who, after a long series of tests, had dozed off on his shoulder once the nausea wore off, while he simply played on his phone, when the doctor came out.
"Mr. Wilde, may I speak to you and your wife for a second?" he asked.
Nick put down his phone and said with his usual slick look on his face "Sure doc, what do you
need?"
"Please, follow me to my office" The doctor said while beckoning them.
Nick roused Judy and took her by the paw, and followed the doctor back to his office. Nick couldn't explain why, but he had a bad feeling about this, there was a sense of dread, one that he couldn't ignore no matter how hard he tried. When they finally reached the doctor's office, he couldn't take it anymore. "Doc, what's going on?"
"You both may want to be sitting down for this…" The doctor cautioned. Nick glanced at Judy, who seemed to mirror his feelings of worry. Nevertheless, they sat down together in a single seat, and waited for the doctor as he got some paperwork together. After what seemed like hours, he finally addressed them. "I'm afraid that your wife is not pregnant, but, in fact, has an extremely aggressive form of stomach cancer. We have discovered a tumor the size of a golf ball," he turned his computer monitor around, showing them an X-ray that they had taken. Sure enough, there was a cloudy spot in the center of her abdomen. "I am afraid that it is terminal. I'm sorry, there is nothing that can be done. We are guessing she will live for another three months, at most."
They both stared at the doctor in shock, unsure if they heard him correctly.
"Are… are you sure that it's…" Nick choked out, not even able to finish his sentence.
The doctor nodded. "Yes, we are certain that it is. I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Wilde."
Judy burst into tears and hugged Nick.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Nick!" She sobbed. Nick hugged her back, barely able to hold back his own tears. The doctor patiently waited for Judy to cry herself out before continuing.
"I'm going to prescribe her some medication that will help with the symptoms, the pain and nausea. I would also recommend looking into hospice care, they'll make sure she's as comfortable as possible. Once again, I'm really sorry, Mr. Wilde…"
"Thank you, doctor." Nick mumbled softly. With that, he picked and carried his exhausted wife, and took her home. The car ride back was mostly silent. Nothing either of them could say would change the harsh reality they faced: Judith Laverne Wilde-Hopps only has a few months left on this Earth...