Nick Wilde had always loved kits. There was just something about the way they viewed the world, a magical, wonderful place full of possibilities, that took his breath away. They didn't see different mammals as predator or prey. They simply saw them as a mammal. They looked at Nick and they didn't see a sly fox like their parent did, they saw his fluffy tail and tried to play with it. They saw his razor sharp teeth and weren't scared. They saw his claws and watched them with fascination. They talked to him and listened to what he had to say. Nick had always loved kits. So when the opportunity to have his own arose, he seized it with both paws, thinking he'd love every minute. Unfortunately, parenthood isn't as easy as he thought.

Nick opened his eyes and squinted at the clock next to his bed.

"2 AM." He groaned, sitting up slowly, "Great." He threw the covers back and slid out of his bed, shivering slightly as the cold, night air penetrated his fur. Nick turned off the baby monitor on his nightstand, momentarily silencing the tinny cries of his child before he plodded into the nursery.

"Hey there Isa," He crooned, reaching into the crib to pick her up, "I'm here, don't worry." Nick cradled her in both of his arms, trying to calm Isabelle down, but she kept crying, low, insistent yowls that grated on Nick's ears.

"What's wrong sweetie?" He asked the still crying kit, "Are you hungry?" Nick carried her to the kitchen and opened the fridge with one arm, holding Isabelle in the other while he rummaged for her bottle. He pulled it out of the fridge and held it up to her snout. Isabelle took it and began drinking, causing a wave of relief to sweep through Nick, only for that relief to die when she spit it out seconds later and resume crying.

"It's ok." He murmured, putting the bottle down and patting her back, "I guess it's something else then huh?" Isabelle gave him no answer, instead continuing her snuffling and yowling.

"Do you need to be changed?" He asked her gently, sniffing the air for any trace of such a problem.

"It's not that." He said softly, frowning as he tried to figure out what else it could be, "Why're you so upset sweetie?" He asked, worry creasing his brow. Nick carried her back to the nursery and sat in a chair in the corner, still holding her in his arms. He tried playing with her to distract her, but Isabelle wouldn't stop crying. Nick tried singing a lullaby, caressing her ears, even pedaling her hind paws! But nothing worked. Isabelle just kept crying. Nick's panic began to grow as each little yowl hurt him.

"I don't know why you're unhappy!" He said hysterically, raising his voice, "Please just stop crying!" Nick buried his head in his paws and rubbed his tired eyes, still listening to the poor kit's pitiful cries. Nick pulled out his phone and checked the time. 3 AM. Isa had been crying non-stop for an hour! He unlocked his phone and held it in his paw, thinking about his next move.

"Sorry Judy." He whispered, pressing call, "But I need your help." Nick put the phone to his ear and waited as it rang.

"Nick, it's 3 AM what's going on?" Judy answered groggily.

"I need your help." He said somewhat frantically, "Isa's been crying for the past hour and I've tried everything and I don't know what else to do and I'm tired and—"

"I'll be right over." Judy interrupted, "Just give me a few minutes."

"Thank you so much Judy!" Nick responded, "I'll see you soon." Nick hung up and put his phone back in his pocket. He continued cradling Isa in his arms and she continued crying.

Judy let herself in using the key Nick had given her. She walked into the nursery to find a teary-eyed Nick holding a clearly distressed Isabelle.

"Hey Nick." She said softly, causing him to look up, "Has anything changed?"

"No." He replied, "She's still crying. I tried feeding her, changing her, playing with her, singing a lullaby, trying to get her back to sleep, and she's still crying." Judy eyed the exhausted fox with concern.

"May I?" She asked, holding out her arms for the kit. Nick got up and gently handed her Isabelle.

"There there," She murmured, "it's ok." Isabelle, who had calmed down slightly earlier, now began crying with renewed energy.

"It's alright," Judy said softly, giving her back to Nick, "your daddy's right here." Once Nick took hold of her, Isabelle calmed down slightly, but still continued to cry. Judy watched the upset kit critically while she tried to diagnose what was wrong with her.

"Is this her blanket?" She asked Nick, gesturing at the one lying in the crib. Nick nodded and Judy picked it up and left the room. Nick followed her out and watched in confusion as she put it in a glass bowl and placed it in his microwave. Judy set the timer to 30 seconds and then turned it on, waiting for the blanket to warm up. Nick gave her a quizzical look and Judy shrugged, which Nick took as a sign that she'd explain it in a minute. Judy took the now hot blanket out of the microwave and motioned for Nick to give her Isabelle. Nick lowered his kit into Judy's arms and Judy quickly wrapped Isabelle in the warm blanket. Almost immediately, her cries turned to snuffles, which then stopped completely. After a minute of tense silence, Nick stared in wonderment at the now soundly sleeping fox kit in Judy's arms. Judy walked into the nursey with Nick trailing closely behind her and gently lowered Isabelle into the crib. Nick watched and made sure that she remained asleep, then followed Judy back out into the kitchen.

"What was that?" He asked, "How did you know it would work?"

"I think she had growing pains." Judy said uncertainly, "My siblings and I had them all the time when we were little. For kits, it aches when their bones begin to grow, and for Isabelle, it could also have been from her claws or teeth coming in. All I know is that the heat from the warm blanket helped sooth the aching for my smaller siblings."

"You're a lifesaver Carrots." Nick praised her, "I'm sorry that I called in the middle of the night, but I didn't know what else to do and—"

"Nick, it's fine." Judy interrupted, "Now go back to bed, I can sleep on the couch and make sure that Isabelle is ok."

"But—"

"Bed. Now." Judy said sternly. Nick shuffled into his room and Judy marched in after him, commandeering the baby monitor as well.

"I'll see you in the morning." She said as he got back into bed. Nick opened his mouth to make a snide remark, but fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.