I'm pretty sure I know who caused this story to get removed, and unfortunately, I'm going to have to give the little troll what they want if it means keeping the whole of my Secrets and Lies series up. I'll note the changes at the ends of those chapters, and hopefully we won't have any more issues.

Judy's fingers clamped down on the bed's safety rails. She and Nick had been in the hospital garden when her labor had started, so there hadn't been time for an epidural, and the pain had made her grip his paw so hard she'd ended up fracturing his thumb. He hadn't complained, though, stepping away just long enough to get it set and wrapped before he was back at her side, draping his arm around her shoulders, whispering sweet words in her ear to try and keep her as calm as he could.

"You're almost there, sweetheart," he murmured, nuzzling the line of fur just inside it. "Just a little longer…"

"Alright, Judy, I'm gonna need one more push from you," the doctor, an older hare buck, looked up at them from the foot of the bed. "And it's gotta be a big one!"

Tasting blood in her mouth from how hard she was biting her lip, Judy nodded, putting every last scrap of strength she could find into the action, swearing she could feel the steel railings dent in her grip as a loud, primal scream tore from her lungs. She'd spent nine months carrying this baby, dealing with mood swings, weird cravings, swollen everything and constant bathroom breaks, not to mention endless aches, pains and fatigue, and this was how they thanked her? By making her feel like every cell was being ripped in two as she put her all into bringing them into the world?

And my mom did this how many times?!

But as the last of her energy faded and she collapsed against the solid support of Nick's arm, more sweaty and breathless than she'd ever been in her life, she knew every second of those endless weeks was worth it, when she finally heard the first cries of their child. Dr. Hayworth didn't say anything as he clamped and clipped the cord, keeping the new kit hidden as he carried it to the nurses waiting to wash and measure it, just like she and Nick had asked.

"I've delivered a few inter-species kits and cubs," he pulled down his mask as he walked back toward them. "But I'll be honest, I never thought a bunny and fox hybrid would be added to that list, at least, not again."

He averted his eyes, peeling off his ruined rubber gloves before nervously rubbing the back of his neck. It didn't take them long to figure out what he meant. A few awkward seconds passed before someone cleared their throat behind them.

"Congratulations, you two," one of the nurses stepped past him, Stephanie's little sister, Julia. She held out a tiny bundle carefully cradled in both paws, loosely swaddled in a fuzzy blue blanket. "You've got a healthy little Terrance James Wilde."

James was a common middle name in Nick's family, since Judy wasn't quite feeling up to naming their son after anyone in hers. Smiling in exhausted excitement, she carefully took Terrance from the tigress' massive paws, holding him to her chest, her eyes filling with tears as she gazed down at him. Several ounces bigger than a bunny kit, he was mostly his father: the short, pointed ears, a tapered muzzle that was slightly shorter than a full-blooded fox's. But unlike Nick, his ears were almost full russet, tipped with black like hers, white mixed with the cream of his little chest. He also had white on the front of his paws, with pale pink pads, and she guessed his feet would be no different. When he opened his eyes, they were the same blue every kit had, and she couldn't wait to see what color they would turn out to be.

"He's beautiful," Nick murmured next to her, then kissed the top of her head. "Just like his mother."

"I just hope he didn't get any hard-headedness from me," she laid against his shoulder. "Your stubbornness is more than enough."

"Har har," he nuzzled her cheek. "You know you love me."

"Do I know that?" she licked his nose. "Yes, yes I do."

He caught her chin when she tried to turn away, leaning in to kiss her tenderly, the act ending abruptly with the soft click of a camera. They turned to stare at Julia, who shrugged while sliding her phone back in the pocket of her flamingo-patterned scrubs.

"What, you thought I wouldn't capture the first time you held your son?" she smirked at them. "Then you really don't know me at all."

Nick rolled his eyes, lightly tracing a claw over Terrance's forehead.

"I know this is probably gonna fall on deaf ears, but could you please keep this to yourself? I'd rather let everyone know in the bullpen tomorrow."

She shrugged again.

"I'll do what I can, but you know Ben and Steph always seem to find these things out, and once they do…" she held out her paws at her sides. "You're lucky if they only plaster half the city with the news."

Still leaning against him, Judy shuddered, no doubt remembering when she'd told the couple about her pregnancy, how the entire precinct had been set up for a baby shower the very next day. And had Bogo not ordered them to keep things low-key afterward, she was still sure they would've indeed let the entire city know two of its hero cops were expecting their first kit. And before all that, there'd been their engagement, and then the wedding…

At least now I know where Nick gets his obduracy from, Judy thought. Genevieve had managed to do the pretty much impossible: keep Benjamin Clawhauser in the backseat when it came to planning something he was excited about. Though she was sure it had a lot to do with the fact he'd also been thinking about his proposal to Stephanie, since he'd decided to ask her to celebrate hitting his target weight. And at least her saying yes had allowed Nick and Judy some sweet revenge. If I'm right, they should be saying their vows right now.

"Would that be alright with you, Judy?"

She blinked, shaking her head before turning to Dr. Hayworth, who was looking at her expectantly. She blushed.

"I-I'm sorry, I spaced out," she flashed a sheepish smile. "What did you say?"

He chuckled.

"I said we'll be taking Terrance to the nursery once he's had a chance to eat, so you can have some time to rest. Would that be alright with you, Judy?"

"Oh, right," she looked down at her kit, who was whining softly as he nuzzled the front of her hospital gown. She giggled, reaching back to undo the tie, letting her sleeve slide partway down her shoulder. "That would be perfect, thank you."

He nodded, Julia and the other nurse, a deer buck neither Judy or Nick had seen before, filing out before he shut the door behind him. She pulled down her sleeve the rest of the way, leaning back against Nick's shoulder as Terrance instinctively latched on and started suckling.

"You want me to stick around after they take him?" Nick asked softly, his lips still curled in a joyful smile. She hummed in contentment, tilting her head back to kiss his cheek.

"You can if you want, but I'm probably just gonna go to sleep after this," she sighed. "Giving birth is exhausting."

"I can imagine," he looked at his thumb, wincing as he tried to bend it. "I tried that simulation thing, even with gas I barely made it."

She giggled, remembering when he'd asked about it the week before.

"Just be glad you didn't have to carry him for nine months," she held their son closer to her. "Having him's almost the easy part compared to all that."

He swallowed.

"I'm just glad he wasn't around to see those crazy mood swings of yours," he flashed a sly grin. "I'm pretty sure Delgato had to go to therapy after you went off on him."

She scowled, would've slugged him if her arms weren't full, and if she weren't so tired.

"He shouldn't have been carrying that much stuff at once, he's lucky I didn't tell Bogo about how careless he was being!"

He chuckled, his eyes shining fondly as he cupped their son's head; the kit was barely a pawful for him.

"He's so tiny…"

"He'd be even smaller if he were a full-blooded bunny," she let out a yawn. "He'd also probably have four or five siblings, if not more. We can have up to fourteen kits per litter."

"And for red foxes, it's usually six to eight," he cocked his head. "So I'm surprised we only ended up with one."

She shrugged one shoulder, not wanting to jostle their son.

"It's probably because our gene pools are so different, and it is possible for both our species to only have one or two at a time," she couldn't hold back an 'aww' as Terrance finished, yawning silently. "He's so cute!"

"So how does that work in this case?" Nick asked suddenly, elaborating at her confused look. "I mean, I know bunnies don't like being called 'cute' by other animals, but he's half fox, so I'm not really…"

She scratched her cheek, her face scrunching up slightly in thought.

"Huh, I actually never thought of that," she said at last. "I guess it'd be okay. He's your son, after all, so it's only natural you'd find him cute, but then he is also half bunny, so…"

She shook her head, groaning in frustration.

"Ugh, I'm too tired to do this right now," she glared at him when he snickered. "I don't care if you call him that, or really what any other bunnies would have to say if they heard you, so I guess go ahead and use it, just not when you talk to me, okay?"

"As long as I can still call you adorable, sweetheart," he kissed her forehead, carefully taking his arm from around her shoulders. "But I can tell you're fading, so why don't I find Hayworth and let you get some sleep?"

She nodded, her lips curling in a tired smile as she laid back against the pillow, her paws falling limp at her sides as he took their son. Her heart swelled as she watched him, the proud tears he blinked from his eyes her final sight as she let sleep take over.

He's going to be an amazing dad…