Our beloved Nicholas P. Wilde is dead! Oh how will Judy be able to go on! In this chapter I try to touch on the grieving process and how pain and sorrow can alter one's mood. Please be sure to tell me what you think in the comments after giving this a good read. Thank you.
The suns shone through the blinds of Judy's cramped apartment. Birds sung their joyous tune as kids laughed and played at the park across from her apartment. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, with not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for a family picnic, or a leisurely walk with your significant other. But for Judy, today was the day she buried her best friend. Her alarm clock read 7:32 A.M., she had yet to move to stop its constant blaring. Judy lay on her side as she watched it scream for two hours. The alarm began at its usual time of 5:30 A.M. But today like yesterday she could not bring herself to shut it off. All she could do was watch the clock, as time continued to tick on by. She watched it as mammals carried on with their lives. Uncaring of the tragedy that had fallen upon her and the precinct, as they worked tirelessly so they could continue living this life.
Judy felt the first initial tug of this morning's wave of tears begin to form. As the memory of four days ago began to run through her mind.
Once the fire to the museum had been put out by the ZFD, the digging began. The paramedics on the scene initially told Judy she couldn't do any digging. Her leg still had a quarter sized hole in it. The wound ran all the way through from one side and out the other. After fighting with the paramedics for fifteen minutes, Judy agreed to let them patch her leg up, and that she would let them take her once Nick was recovered. After a nice tight bandage was applied, and a healthy dose of morphine to keep the pain at bay, Judy was ready to dig.
For eight long hours they dug, hoping that maybe just maybe, Nick had somehow survived. Judy spent the entire time convincing herself that Nick was ok. He was a slippery fox, and his resourcefulness was known for getting him out of sticky situations. So with that in mind, Judy began to dig. Foregoing a shovel for a smaller spade and her paws. Rabbits were known for their tunnels, and Judy had helped her parents extend the east wing of their burrow by fifteen feet. Though Jack was a city rabbit, he took off his jacket and grabbed a shovel. He had little hope that Nick was still alive, but if Judy had hope, then Jack could spare a little as well.
Other officers from the precinct stopped by, lending a helping hand on their lunch breaks. Chief Bogo had arrived forty minutes in, and stayed to see the entire search and recovery through. Hours were passing, and Judy was becoming exhausted. Her leg was continually throbbing, the pain medication had effectively worn off. After seven hours of digging, the first body was found. It was one of Bellweather's hench lambs, completely intact, aside from a few gunshot wounds and a crushed skull from falling debris. A few minutes later Bellweather's corpse was discovered. The charred remains left her completely unidentifiable. The only form of identification left, were her burnt and bent bifocals.
Efforts redoubled, if Bellweather was found, then Nick was sure to be close by now. They were both on the same level when the bomb exploded. Judy's second wind had caught, and she began to dig with ferocity. After a few moments, a strange movement was caught in Judy's peripheral. She looked up in time to see several other recovery officers, the Chief, and Jack, pointedly looking in her direction. When she turned to look back, everyone turned their gaze elsewhere. That was all the incentive Judy needed.
Placing down her spade and struggling to her feet, Judy began to hobble towards the group. Chief Bogo made a gesture with his hands and the other workers scrambled. They were keeping something from her, and that something had to be Nick. Her mind was running faster than it had ever run in her life. Multiple scenarios playing out causing her to begin to hobble faster. Jack was first to try and intercept her.
"Judy!" his excitement only solidified her suspicions, "You've been digging for a while, come on let's take a break? Get you some more pain meds hmm?"
She shouldered past him as best she could, her leg was screaming now. Like ants and fire biting at and around the opening of her wound. But she didn't care. She had to get to Nick, she had to see him.
Jack tried again.
"Judy please." He stepped directly in front of her. "You need to rest for a moment." He said as he placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her.
Unbridled rage rose from the bowels of Judy's soul. The rage that she had been placing to the side every time someone told her she couldn't. Every time her parents told her to give up on her dreams for a life of conformity. When she was looked down upon for her size. Judy saw red, she tried to reel it back, but it was too much. Jack was keeping her from Nick, and her rage saw its crack to freedom.
Jack barely had time to react to the alarms screaming at him to brace himself. The sudden baring of her teeth, the repositioning of her feet, and the snarl he had no idea a bunny could form. Judy swung with every ounce of her strength, meaning to level this obstacle trying to stop her. She connected with a satisfying smack to Jack's jaw, and sent the rabbit flying back three feet.
Jack saw stars and black holes in his vision. His training was the only thing that kept him awake. For when an agent to passed out in the field, that was when an agent to died. Hopping back to his feet, Judy was on him a moment later. This bunny was something else, a hole in the leg that was now bleeding again, and she was still coming after him. One glance in her eyes showed she was out for blood. Jack was completely on the defense. He saw many openings that would take her down in an instant, all of which focused on her injured leg. But he had made a promise, and he had to stop this bunny for just a few moments longer.
Blow after blow was thrown with Jack barely able to dodge or parry the swing. Judy was pushing him back, and he was struggling not to react to her attack. A misstep on the rubble caused Jack's balance to be loss. Judy capitalized with a vicious punch to the chest, knocking the wind out of Jack. Following up with a round house, using her injured leg, to put him down for the count, Jack had had enough. He jumped up and caught her by the leg, yanking her down to the ground. Pulling her arms behind her back, and pinning her with his body on top her.
Judy struggled with all of her quickly dwindling energy. A moment later she gave up, only to see the workers carrying something covered away on a stretcher. A reddish orange bushy tail hung off the side. It was Nick, they had found him, and she had to see him. Sensing Judy slack up, Jack made the mistake of loosening his hold on her. With one last push up, she managed to angle her foot, and bring her heel up into Jack genitals. Jack drew in a pained breath, and subsequently fell over holding himself.
Judy was up in a flash, injury be damned and sprinting towards Nick. Bogo had witnessed Jack's attempt to stop her and tried his hand. But Judy was too small and fast for him and slipped right between his legs. They had loaded Nick into an ambulance and were about to pull off when Judy arrived. Flying through the many paws and attempted tackles of the workers, Judy jumped into the back of the vehicle and ripped the sheet off of Nick. There he was, still with his smile plastered to his muzzle. His shield shone as brightly as his smile, both a little burnt around the edges, but perfectly fine.
And then she looked down.
Judy's ears unceremoniously flopped down, and her eyes turned to pinpricks as they focused in on what wasn't there. From the left armpit of his chest down diagonally to his right side. There was nothing. The left arm had been blown away from above the elbow. The horror of the situation began to set in. Judy's trembling paws reached up and pulled tightly at her ears. Tears were pouring down as her mouth slowly opened, unable to form coherent words. Her entire form began to shake as she took in more and more of the ugly truth. His color was gone, pale skin drained of all his blood. Judy's mind started up again as realization set in. There isn't any way to come back from this. Nick was dead. He was gone. Nothing is going to bring him back. He's gone forever.
Judy took a step forward as Jack, Bogo, and the recovery workers stood at the back of the ambulance. Once beside Nick, she dropped down to her knees. Her paws were shaking as she slowly reached forward and rubbed Nick's cheek. He trembling paw completely stilled as she made contact, and rubbed his still smiling face. Nick had died with a look she had rarely seen. One that shone brightly with joy and contentment.
Her paw began trembling yet again. Painful sobs began to rack her body as she fell forward, wrapping her arms around Nick's neck. She hugged his lifeless body as tight as she could, rubbing her face along his. Trying as hard as she could to mark herself with his scent as thoroughly as possible. Jack had recovered at some point, and made his way into the ambulance. Placing a hand on Judy's back, he let her cry till she could cry no more. Judy looked back into his face, finally understanding why he tried so hard to stop her.
Judy blinked to keep her tears at bay as she slowly got up. The funeral was at ten, Jack would be by in an hour to pick her up. She just didn't trust herself behind the wheel at the moment. Her memories would attack her with places she and Nick had been. Too many parking tickets, too many busts, too many times they had made the world a better place.
She walked over to her desk and shut off her alarm. She pulled off Nick's shirt she had been wearing to bed. He had left the shirt after one fateful movie night, with Judy's family blueberries playing a supporting role. He had dripped juice all over it. He had to wear one of her oversized hoodies home, which showed a little belly for him. She had intended to wash it but chose not to, just one more way to try and hold onto his scent.
It comforted and hurt her all in the same breath. On one hand it made him feel like he was still here, on the other it reminded her that he was gone. She hung the shirt up, stains still on the front, and placed the hanger on the back of her chair. Afterwards she reached out and picked up his shield. She had thoroughly cleaned it and now, aside from a few dings here and there, it shined as bright as the day it was unpackaged. It had to be as perfect as possible, she had to give it back to his owner today.
Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body. She picked up her shampoo and a trash bag, then limped her way to the community showers. As she was coming out the Oryx-Antlersons were just getting back, having another one of their infamous arguments. Upon seeing her they instantly silenced. It pissed her off. Everyone was tiptoeing around her but all it did was anger her. She wanted normalcy, and that meant listening to the gay couple argue about whose fucking turn it was to make dinner. They both stuck themselves against the hallway walls as she passed, giving her as much space as possible. Oh how it angered her, she wanted nothing more than to turn on them again and give them a piece of her mind.
She'd been snapping at everyone lately. The doctor that patched her leg up, her neighbors and their stupid attempts at understanding, her parents with their constant fucking calls to check on her, Chief stupid fucking Bogo for putting her on leave, and the stupid trash bag she was going to have to wrap her leg in to keep her bandages dry. By the time she reached the shower, she was burning up in the hate fire that she had unconsciously stoked. She usually enjoyed her showers, but her anger would not let her this time.
After her short shower, she made her way back to her room, holding onto the walls the entire trip. Slamming the door after entering, the simple act of aggression had caused Nick's badge to bounce a bit towards the edge of the desk. She hurriedly dove towards it to keep it from falling. She couldn't let any blemish mark his badge up anymore. Placing it back at a safer distance from the edge, Judy removed her towel and began to prepare for the upcoming event.
Jack had arrived at 8:30 knowing Judy wanted to be their early. Once they arrived, Judy went straight to the casket where Nick's body lay. He looked so peaceful, that smile still there. Nick's mother and father had long since passed. With no other family, he had labeled Judy as his power of attorney should any unforeseen circumstance occur. Leaving her with the duty of taking care of his remains. She carefully removed the badge from the pouch she carried it in, and fastened it onto his chest one last time. A paw was placed on her shoulder, she looked up to see Jack standing there beside her.
Jack had been there every step of the way. From picking the casket, to cleaning his apartment up one last time. He was her shoulder to lean on in the car when her emotions would suddenly overwhelm her. Coming over and being her punching bag when she needed to vent. She found out that he had requested leave to help her through this hard time, and she couldn't have been more thankful.
The funeral was uneventful. Judy felt she had no more tears to cry. How wrong she was. She was an unemotional stone before the service began. Constantly being pelted by the kind words and tearful 'I'm sorry for you loss line'. She could weather this. She would weather this. At least she thought she would, until the speaker came out. Smelling like a fresh pot of coffee he just finished drinking, to help him start his day.
One whiff and she crumbled. It started slowly as a chuckle, then moved onward into full-fledged laughter. She laughed and leaned over to Jack, and told him how Nick was never truly awake until he had his first morning's coffee, with two creams and six packs of sugar. She laughed for a minute longer until the laughs began to die out. The joyful smile was replaced with one of sorrow as she came to realize she'd never see him drag himself into the precinct. Just barely making roll call at 6 A.M. every morning. Her pained cries caused a domino effect starting with Clawhauser. But once the strong and mighty Judy Hopps, and everyone's beloved fat cheetah began, everyone else could not help but follow suit. Only Bogo remained calm, having had the unfortunate duty to bury more than one officer as Chief of the ZPD.
The service began and the service ended. Judy did not know where her tears were coming from, but she could not stop them. Nick's body was wheeled to the entrance of the church, as everyone filed out, for one last final viewing of the body. It was there Judy saw Finnick, Nick's old friend and accomplice from his conning days. Finnick had gone straight with Nick's help, and was now ran a successful pawpsicle chain. He stopped her at the door and hugged her. Thanked her for helping to change his friend's life, and by association helping to change his.
The ride to the cemetery only exacerbated Judy's sorrow. Jack all but carried her to the seating arrangements, for her to sit, and wait for Nick to be committed to the ground. After he was lowered, Judy somehow managed to throw the first scoop of dirt down before being led away.
Once back at her apartment, Judy quickly undressed from her black mourning clothes, and slipped Nick's shirt on once again. Puffy red eyes had finally run out of tears halfway to her apartment. She didn't trust herself to be alone currently, and had asked Jack to stay with her for the night. She needed someone she trusted nearby, until she could head home to Bunny Burrows in a few days. Nick still had some assets that needed to be finalized. Promising to return, Jack told her that he had to go get a sleeping bag and a change of clothes from his apartment, and that he would be back soon. Judy went inside for a moment and came back with a spare key for him to enter on his own. She honestly hoped to be asleep before he came back. Judy slid under her blanket and dragged all her dolls closer together. She had added one new doll to her collection. A little red fox, with a green shirt and khaki pants. She hugged it tightly as the exhaustion from the day caught up with her. And her eyes fluttered close and sleep quickly overtook her.
Jack had been terminated. The agency had contacted him, telling him that his emotions had ruined him. He was curious about how they could assume his emotions had gotten the better of him, on this short three weeks he had been deployed. Apparently an operative was stationed to monitor him towards the middle of his mission. Jack had always been one of the faster operatives on his missions. Using his ruthless wit and fast decision making, ending in quicker mission completes than most. Only one other operative was better. 7 had always been able to stay a few days ahead of him regardless of what mission he had.
The operative reported his interactions between Nick and Judy, and deemed him a spoiled aspect to the agency. His emotions had stayed his hand on several occasions, due in part to the doe and fox police officers he worked with. Any sign of compromise was concluded as a cancerous limb, and had to be removed. Jack was now deemed effectively useless and could no longer operate as a part of the agency. Agent 009 was now classified as dead.
He was given a small parting gift from the agency of forty million dollars, as well as his new identity as Jack Savage being made permanent, and then subsequently sent on his way. Jack had told Judy that he was currently on temporary leave, and he was sure with the forty million he was given, he could maintain that charade forever. But that still left him with what was he to do? He had been an operative since the age of twelve. Now twenty seven, Jack needed something that could utilize his skills in an effective manner. He couldn't go work for another agency as that would be putting a timer on the length of his days. He would be burned immediately, and then later assassinated for the knowledge he carried. But one does not just go from a life of protecting the innocent from behind the scenes to nothing so easily. He needed something. Something like...
Remember! Please be sure to comment! Thank you!