LIFE, UM...FINDS A WAY
Nick Wilde was sitting in his kitchen and drinking his first cup of coffee for the day. Nick still hated to get up, but with Judy sleeping in lately, mornings were quiet, the only time of the day when the Fox could sit and ponder his life. Foxes actually like to ponder, their tails slowly swishing back and forth while they think. 'Judy is always mesmerized by my tail' he laughed to himself. 'My tail is this fox's pride and joy, who'd of thought a bunny would love it'. 'Well, time to get moving and I get to wake up Fluff for a change!' 'Caffeine installed, this fox is as ready as I ever am to face the morning'
"Carrots! Time to get up!" echoed down the hall. Nick laughed at actually having to nudge his mate to get her bunny butt out of bed….'I still hate the morning!'
Judy was at the breakfast table, bleary eyes half-open, eating a carrot muffin, and blearily slurping her first cup of coffee. A very scary non-caffeinated smile started to appear.
Nick took one look, and being an occasionally wise male, didn't say a word. He snickered and gave a sad-eyed, "My poor bunny" smirk.
Judy gave her best morning scowl, "Nick, I'll shave your tail and paint the stump pink if you say anything."
'Nope, nothing to see here', Nick thought, 'Nope, nope, nope…my, what good coffee this morning!' "I'm going to go take a shower, enjoy your muffin."
Judy just glazed a bit watching her mate's tail as Nick walked down the hall, 'that thing should be illegal, it's this doe's addiction'.
And then, everything changed. Nick and Judy were watching Jurassic Park. When the character Ian Mulecom had just made the comment, "Life, uh…finds a way", and Judy felt a rumble in her stomach. 'Now what' she wondered, 'No matter how good they taste, no more cricket chips, can't be good for a bunny', and went back to the movie.
Three days later after her stomach continued to be off, the couple were at Dr. Lopit's office. Judy was very lucky to find a rabbit practice outside of the Tri-Burrow area. Nick, being an intelligent male, was in the waiting room with his paws on his I-Carrot phone while Judy was getting poked and prodded. The nurse came in the examining room, eyes wide and paws in front of her muzzle. The doctor followed right behind, eyes wide and nose twitching. "Mrs. Wilde-Hops, uh, Judy….ummmm," 'OK doctor, take a breath', "Um, you're pregnant!"
"NICK, GET IN HERE!"
Nick got in here NOW! Handle on the door bent, one door hinge loose and a dent in the wall where the doorknob slammed into it and holding his head. 'Ow! Ow! Ow! Bunny height doors BAD'
"WHAT!" Nick said, tail flicking.
"What? No, I can't be! I was told we couldn't have a kit." Judy asked, nose twitching, eyes wide.
"WHAT?! Nick said, tail whirring.
The doctor said the first thing that came to his mind, "Well, uh…nature found a way." 'Really, Jurassic Park again?' she thought.
"I'm mated with a fox! How can this happen?" Judy asked. 'And please don't say a daddy Fox puts something in a mommy Bunny or I'll scream!' the newly hormonal doe thought.
"WHAT?!" Nick said but not as loudly, and promptly slumped to the floor, tail stopped.
"Well, that was helpful…Males!" Judy sighed.
"Wait, does have a gestation of 28 days, Foxes 53 days", now she was scared.
"What will I do? Can I carry a Fox-Bunny baby? Is it safe, can she live? Can I live?"
"We don't know, I'm going to be sending you over to the Zoo U. Med School to an inter-species reproduction specialist"…Judy giggled, "Once we wake my fox up" Judy said, finishing the Doctor's sentence.
Judy was in Nick's arms, with his paws stroking her back and ears… Judy buried her head in his neck fur and couldn't believe she was going to give Nick a kit. She would have a kit with her mate….if only she could' she prayed, 'if only I can'.
Two hours later, a still shocked Nick and Judy were at the Z.U. hospital talking to Dr. Ludmilla Pawzic, an Arctic Fox who was to become a dear friend in the months that followed.
"Call me Milla," the doctor told the scared pair in her office. "We're going to get to know each other very well Judith and Nickolas".
"Call me Nick," he said, shaking Milla's paw.
"Call me Scared!" Judy quietly said and was hugged by Milla.
Milla saw the scared doe and smiled, softly saying, "Yes, my little laputi, you can do this".
Judy asked, "Milla, what's a laputi?"
"Oh, you heard that…it means 'little fox', it's a term of endearment Arctic Foxes call our kits" "No insult was meant, I'm maternal with my mothers-to-be. I'm much older than I look little one."
Judy cried again, she didn't believe she'd ever be a mother-to-be.
Judy was afraid of what was going to happen next, but knew her Fox was there no matter what. "And hopefully awake for most of it' she giggled to herself, and Milla, this white fox vixen with her Pred full toothy smile gave her hope. 'I can do this…I hope.'
Nick was in the waiting room for 2 hours, amazingly, he'd fallen asleep. Judy was patting her mate's paw, "Time to go home Slick. We're done for now."
Judy was explaining what Milla had told her…and the good news about their size difference. "Luckily, the mother controls just how big the baby she's carrying is, so the baby may be big and require a C-section, but I should be able to carry our kit."
"I may get some funny cravings" she was warned. "Prey mothers of Pred kits start to get hungry for meat," Judy said, getting a bit queasy at the thought…"the kits may need the additional protein in meat."
"I'll need to go in to see Milla every week, to make sure everything is OK and it would be better if you came with me".
Nick knew just what to say, 'Woohoo! I know this answer' he thought, "Yes, of course!"
Even though a doe's normal gestation period is only 4 weeks, Judy was pregnant for 7 weeks and on a rainy Saturday evening, she gave birth to a little female kit they named Bonne Vivienne Wilde-Hopps. She was Russet red, a white belly, long black tipped ears with a short fox fluffy tail and was a healthy little doe.
"OK, what exactly do we call Bonnie Victoria?" Nick and Judy asked Milla. "People have been asking me what her hybrid is named since a mix between Bunny and Fox had not happened before."
"Box?" Judy asked.
"Funny?" Nick smirked.
"Carrots II?" Nick said with all seriousness.
"Over your dead body!" Judy said with a scary smile..
"How about if we just wait" Judy suggested. "You'll just give her a horrible nickname anyway."
Nick had to admit she was right.
