Sorry for the delay. Lost power and couldn't post anything till it came back on. So the last chapter left us with quite the cliffhanger. Some of you offered ideas as to what happens next or where the kits came from. If you were paying attention, chapter 2 actually gave you the answer.

A/N:

"Are they yours?" His voice sounded broken even to himself. That twist he felt in his chest turned into a full on knot. It felt like a strain just to hold his arms up so he didn't drop the miniature Judy in his paws. The world seemed to slow down as he watched her face twist into an expression of uncertainty. And then she spoke.

"Not exactly." Judy waited patiently as he stared back at her with a blank expression for what felt like an eternity.

"What?" His mind had gone blank.

"I'm not their biological mother." He looked at her with the same blank stare until his brow narrowed. He looked down at the still sleeping bunny in his paws, to the pile of bunnies on the mattress. They had either gray, black or white fur with varying patterns. Some had strange stripes on their cheeks either black, white or gray. He looked up at Judy who seemed to be waiting for him to say something. He leaned closer to her and she saw his nostrils flare as he pulled in her scent, then sniffed the little one in his paw before looking back up at her looking more confused than before.

"But you said… I mean… They all… How?"

"I have…" She took a deep breath. "I had an identical twin. Her name was Jeanine. She died giving birth to this litter about four months ago." Nick caught on quickly.

"Around the time your mother stopped talking to me." She nodded an affirmative. Nick looked down at the sleeping kits. They were starting to squirm a little.

"Do you-do you want to help me feed them?" Nick looked back up at her. She didn't seem quite as nervous as before. More hopeful than anything.

"Sure." He softly replied. He watched as Judy retrieved a bottle from the warmer and brought it to him. Showed him how to hold the bottle and the kit. The little kit woke up when it sensed food was available. Nick watched as it sleepily opened its eyes. To his surprise, the little thing had blue eyes instead of the purple he'd expected. As the kit took the nipple and began to suckle its meal, Nick looked up to Judy to make sure he was doing it right. He'd never handled a kit this small before. Never seen a bunny this young either, now that he thought about it. Looking at Judy now, she seemed far more relaxed than before. A small happy smile as she watched him. She then fetched another bottle and one of the other kits, one with white fur and black stripes. He to had the same blue eyes.

"What did you mean by 'not exactly'?" Nick looked over at Judy. She was smiling at the little kit as he fed almost greedily. Judy took a deep breath and released it as a sigh before answering without looking at him.

"My sister named me as their guardian before she passed. Obviously I was still in a coma at the time so it became contingent on whether I would wake up or not. So when I did wake up and was coherent enough to understand what was going on, of course I accepted." Her ears started drooping more than normal, she might have been a good actor but they talked a lot while he was in the academy. He'd picked up on some of her tells along the way. Judy wore her heart on her sleeve and right now, she was hiding something from him. Or worse, lying.

For now, he didn't feel like pressing her for more information would do any good. Once the little bunnies were fed they were fully awake. Nick and Judy moved to within the barrier of the nesting mattress as Judy said it was called. The raised sides kept the little bunnies from crawling away. Which brought something else up.

"So, why are you in your own room, Carrots?" By this point Nick had five kits on his tail, two climbing in his lap and one in each paw. The sight seemed to do more to bring Judy's spirits up than anything he could have thought of. The other two were exploring the area they had to play in. Seemingly testing their barriers. She was suddenly nervous again when he asked.

"W-well, I was in one of the other nurseries. But um, when everyone else found out you were coming they um…"

"They didn't want the big bad fox around their kits." His voice was level with a neutral tone. He understood, didn't make it hurt less.

"It's more than that." Judy quickly said. "Baby bunnies are very sensitive to noise and smells before their eyes open and even after that for a while. Introducing a new scent or loud noises could potentially cause them to panic. At this age their little hearts can't handle the stress very well." At that moment Nick starting looking at the little bunnies around him nervously. Fox musk can be quite strong and he could only imagine how a baby bunny would react to the scent of a predator. "That's why I had you put your scent on this." She reached under the electric blanket and produced the stuff fox he'd found in her old apartment. "I wanted to tell you then, but we were short on time and I knew you'd have more questions than I had time to answer."

He still had more questions. For starters, why was she shivering? He'd noticed the little tremors shaking her body every now and then since he'd stepped off the train. The room didn't feel very cool to him. It was actually quite warm. That and the fact that she had felt so cold that day in her apartment had him worried more than anything else.

"Are you cold?"

Judy started to open her mouth to deny that she was, only to shiver enough that her teeth rattled together. She promptly pressed her teeth together to try and hide it but the way Nick was looking at her now said it all. This was the last thing she wanted. Everyone looking at her as a weak little bunny. After all her hard work to prove everyone wrong. To show the world that she could be more than some carrot farmer. To accomplish what no bunny had done before. Only to lose it all in an instant. And now she had kits to-

"Judy? Are you okay?" Nick's voice saying her name ever so gently pulled her mind away from the darkness that had slowly been consuming her thoughts. At some point she'd looked away from him and down at her paws in her lap. She looked back at him and at those brilliant emerald eyes of his. She saw the concern, the fear and… something else she couldn't place. What little sense of pride she had left finally broke. Tears filled her eyes and her breath hitched as her voice cracked.

"No. I'm not." She closed her eyes and the flood of emotions finally poured forth, sobs wracking her body as she finally broke down. It seemed like the second her eyes closed she felt his warmth next to her. His arms pulling her into his chest as his tail wrapped around her waist, the tip settling in her lap. His chin, resting between her ears. She wasn't sure how long she cried or when she'd fallen asleep.

When Judy began to cry, Nick moved the baby bunnies off of him so he could offer his support. He didn't know what the cause of her distress was exactly, so he offered the two things he knew she needed in that moment. His friendship and warmth. It was no secret that a fox's fur coat was exceptionally warm. For all the prejudice against his kind it was strange that several foxes would shave their coats and sell the fur to coat makers for top dollar. So he used his good fortune to his advantage.

Sliding next her, he pulled her into a hug, his tail wrapping around her. He felt her turn into him and latch onto the front of his shirt. Her tears soaking into the fabric. She sat there for several minutes just crying her eyes out. Once she finally settled down he noticed she'd cried herself to sleep.

"I wonder how often she does that." Thinking to himself. "And she probably doesn't let anyone know." With a sigh he gently laid her on her side. Once he was sure she wouldn't wake up, he stood and stepped around the little kits. Retrieving the rabbit sized electric blanket, he turned to see one of the cutest sights he'd ever seen. A couple of the kits were cuddling up to Judy's midsection. When he looked to check on the others he noticed something he could hardly believe. The white kit with black stripes and blue eyes was corralling his other siblings to go to sleep. It amazed him to watch as the kits hopping around like primitive rabbits. With what looked like the biggest kit nudging the others to their mother. Nick kept watching dumbfounded until all the kits were gathered together and snuggling into a pile at Judy's core.

But now he couldn't decide if he should use the blanket or not. He could just lay it on top of her but would it be warm enough? If he plugged it in and turned it on would it be too warm for the kits? Nick looked to the door, he could go ask someone but would they even bother speaking to him? There was another option, albeit a risky one.

Nick looked down just in time to Judy shiver once again. He made his decision. Laying down behind her, Nick pulled the blanket over the top of them and rested his head over her own. He slowly felt the cold that seemed to permeate from her slip away. Feeling the emotional fatigue of the day taking its toll, his eyelids quickly grew heavy.

When Judy woke, she found herself wrapped in a fox cocoon. Nick had curled around behind her with one arm and his tail draped over her form. His tail covered her across her hips and extended to the pile of once again sleeping bunnies that had formed against her stomach, where they would always end up when they slept. His arm also wrapped around her, the elbow bending just below her ribs and both her arms wrapping around his forearm and pulling his paw to her. Half curled into a fist it rested just below her chin. His other arm serving as her pillow while Nick used her actual pillow. The blanket had also been pulled over the top of them but wasn't turned on. And yet... Judy felt warmer now than she could remember since coming out of the coma.

Feeling nature's call, she eased his paw away from her and rose up on her elbow. She eased the blanket back and glanced back at Nick. If he was awake he showed no sign of it. She took a moment to study his features. His fur was slightly ruffled from the blanket, his ear that wasn't pressed to the pillow flicked twice before settling. She took her time to take in his face, the placement of his eyes, his long muzzle, where russett orange shifted to cream white, his dark lips, his sharp… fangs. One of which was protruding slightly from under his top lip as he slept. Unconsciously, she reached up and touched her neck.

That day in the museum would forever stay in her mind for several reasons. Nick refusing to leave her, finding out Bellwether was the mastermind behind the attacks, their hustle to get Bellweather to talk and Nick's fangs. She never told him that scream was real. He'd been so convincing that she believed he'd actually gone savage, that their plan had failed. It wasn't until she'd run out of breath from the outburst that she realized he was still in control of himself. That those sharp instruments of death were merely grazing through her fur. Thinking back on it afterwards always sent a spike of arousal through her. Just as it was now.

She managed to slip away without waking either Nick or the kits. She made her way to the closest bathroom on autopilot, her mind focused on something else. Would Nick accept her and the kits? She'd been ready to tell him how she really felt on that fateful day. Everything was planned out. Ask him over to watch a movie at her place. A controversial film about an interspecies relationship between a wolf and an ewe. Watch for his reaction and casually ask his opinion on interspecies relationships. If everything went as planned and he reacted positively, ask if he'd consider being in one. If he said yes, confess her feelings and pray she hadn't just ruined everything.

Could she still do that? With all the extra baggage that she came with now? Could he care for, let alone love, someone else's kits? And then he'd have to deal with her and all the problems she came with now. She still needed to tell him everything involved with her recovery. Plus the decision she'd made. She just hadn't the heart to say it when he was so excited about her coming back. That's why she wanted him here, to see the kits and all the responsibility that came with them. Wouldn't that lessen the blow? Knowing the responsibility she now had and wouldn't-

Judy's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp intake of breath. Before she left, she'd placed the blanket back on top of Nick and the kits. Now, the blanket had somehow been discarded and revealed Nick curled completely around the sleeping pile. Judy had to put both paws to her mouth to keep was awwing loudly. She retrieved her phone and quickly took several pictures. Her favorite being one she took from a lower angle. Nick's tail going over his own nose and the sleep pile just noticeable over his fur.

Happy with what she had, Judy sat cross legged beside them. With Nick's nose and tail just in front of her. The clock on the wall said it was only 1 AM yet, she felt great. Well, not really great but much better than she had since waking up from the coma. She watched over the cuddle pile as she pondered over this new development. She felt tired, but the 'I need to go to sleep' kind. Not her usual 'no energy, barely alive' kind. She jumped a little when Nick's paw came out from under the pillow and landed in her lap. She looked down on it a moment, wondering if she should scoot away and let it fall naturally. His paw had rough pads and sharp claws. So different from her own.

Curious, she reached down and pressed her furred palm to his. It wasn't as rough as it looked. Almost smooth and moisturized. She snorted a little at the thought of Nick using lotion. His paw must been acting on reflex as it wrapped around hers. His thumb brushing along her knuckles. When suddenly, she was blinded.

She started breathing harder as she tried to look around in the dark.

"Nick!?" No answer but he was there. He was rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. But she couldn't move. Frozen in time as she began to panic. Eventually, her breathing calmed enough she was able to hear something, a voice in the dark. She tried to turn her head to locate the source but to no avail. But it was getting louder. Soon she was able to tell it was Nick's voice but still not the words; until a moment later. A question was asked. Six simple words phrased as a question. It wasn't a tease or a joke. He hadn't been pushed too far or been one-upped. It wasn't a game the two were playing.

"You know I love you, right?"

Judy's eyes shot open as she gasped loudly, quickly pulling her paw from Nick's and scooting away from him. What was that? A dream? A memory? Did he really say that? Her breath was growing ragged as she struggled to gain control of herself. This had happened before but never so clearly. Flashbacks of events while in a coma. They always brought the feeling of being trapped back. A sound caused her to hold her breath completely.

"Judy?"

Nick's voice laced with deep concern. He was lifted up on his elbow, looking at her. She looked from him to her kits then back again. Panic from the feeling of being trapped again mixed with a feeling of self doubt that she hadn't come to fully understand swirled around one painful thought.

"He couldn't love me now."

He lifted himself up higher and was about to speak again when she cut him off.

"Please leave." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Nick could only watch as she glanced from him, down and back again. "Please."

Nick followed her eyes to the sleeping kits. Had he done something wrong?

"Judy, I-"

"Please." Nick saw real fear in her eyes.

She watched as his shoulders and features drooped, his ears pinning back against his head. He stood and slowly backed away to the door. Turned to pull it open and half stepped out before partially looking over his shoulder.

"Goodnight." And then he was gone. The moment the door clicked closed she felt the familiar chill overtake her once more. Tears fell to the floor as her body shook from more than just the cold feeling in her heart.

A/N:

I'll say this now. I'm not naive and think that nothing bad ever happens to people. I know they do. I just don't like to write about it. Now, I know this chapter brought up more questions. And I'll go ahead and answer some of them. Judy doesn't remember everything that happened around her while she was out. Someone mentioned the amount of time it takes for rabbit gestation. Well, I'm pretty sure things have changed since they evolved to walk on two legs, speak a common language and opposable thumbs. I just don't want to go to the trouble of trying to define that.