"Today is the best day of my life!"

"Carrots! Keeps your paws on the wheel before you kill us!"

"Oops, sorry." Judy quickly placed her paws back on the wheel after having them in the air due to excitement. It was just a little past 6:00 in the morning; the two were on their way to work and Judy was absolutely ecstatic for a number of reasons. "Today is our first day back and the first day of my twelfth week. Do you know what that means?"

"You're going to be talking all day?"

"Yes! No-I mean, stop that! I meant that I'm almost through my first trimester. Just a few more days and one-third of my pregnancy is over!"

"Whoopee."

"I'm just so excited."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

"You know what, Grumpy? I'm going to let that one slide."

"That's new."

"How about we get some coffee?"

"From our favorite coffee shop?"

"Of course."

"Yes! Love you, Carrots!"

"Ha, whatever." Judy had barely put the SUV in park before she jumped out of her seat. She then practically dragged Nick from the car, who wasn't objecting, as a good cup of coffee always convinced him. Once inside, Nick ordered two medium coffees (Judy wasn't allowed to order coffee anymore due to the fact that she couldn't handle so much power) and the two sat at their favorite booth in the very back of the café. Their shift didn't start for another hour, but Judy was a serious morning animal, and the two loved to sit and talk in the café when time allowed them to. "How are you feeling?"

"Really great! Almost all of my symptoms have stopped for the time being."

"They honestly weren't that bad to begin with."

"I know! Isn't that just amazing?"

"Did you slip something in your coffee when I wasn't looking? Or did you arrange this setup where when I order you a medium coffee, they actually give you something way stronger?"

"I'm just really excited for today." Nick smirked at the jittery bunny and although it seemed impossible, he couldn't help but love her even more. A quick glance down at her abdomen reminded him of just how amazing Judy really was. "You're getting pretty big, Carrots."

"I'm not fat, Nick!"

"I didn't say you were fat." So far, Judy had gained about five pounds, and her baby bump showed no matter what outfit she wore now, and as far as Nick could tell, almost all of her symptoms had stopped. She was still moody at times and definitely craved weird things like pickles now and then, but everything else had stopped. She had been nearly symptom-free for almost three days. The fact that Judy was almost done with her first trimester worried Nick immensely for several reasons. He, of course, didn't like her working, no matter how pregnant she was, and he was starting to feel the pressures of becoming a father. In just six months, he would be legally and morally bound to four fox-bunny babies, and that was beginning to weigh on him. How could he be a father? He had never been responsible in his life…

"You ready to go? Nick?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were ready to go."

"Uh, yeah. Let's go."

"You okay? You seem kind of out of it."

"I'm fine. Let's go." Slightly concerned, Judy stood and followed Nick back to the SUV, their coffees in hand. They were still going to be pretty early to work, but neither one of them really cared; no one was going to punish two officers for caring about their work to the point that they showed up early. Moments later, Judy seemed to forget all about Nick's weird behavior when they pulled into the ZPD parking lot. "I'm kinda nervous," Judy chuckled as she put the car in park. "It's been so long."

"Got cold feet, Carrots?"

"Ha, you wish!" Nick jumped out of the car, walked over to Judy's side, and helped her out. Paw in paw, the two began making their way along the sidewalk to the entrance. "Your tie is crooked, Nick." Nick was wearing his police uniform, but unfortunately, Judy didn't fit into hers anymore. This was a revelation that had occurred to her that morning when she couldn't button her pants, keep her shirt all the way down, or close her vest. Judy had cried, actually, and Nick had been forced to convince her that she didn't need a uniform to enjoy her first day back to work. Minutes later, Judy was chipper as ever, stating that it was "the best day" of her life. Oh, the joy of mood swings. Once at work, Judy was planning to talk to the Chief about handling the problem, but for the time being, she wore black leggings and a somewhat large purple shirt.

Nick adjusted his tie just as the two pushed through the glass doors, where a shriek met their ears with a deafening shock. "JUDY!"

"Hi, Clawhauser!" Judy giggled as she dragged Nick over to the large cheetah, who was seated at the reception desk as usual. Nick rolled his eyes. "'Hello' to you too, Big Guy."

"Oh, Nick, hi! Judy, come here and give me a hug!" Grinning as she did so, Judy let Clawhauser sweep her into an enormous embrace that took her feet off of the ground. Nick felt slightly uncomfortable as he watched the action, but remained silent as the two caught up with one another. "Ha, watch the baby bump, Clawhauser. You're going to crush me!"

"Oops, sorry!" Clawhauser let Judy down gently before offering her a donut out of a box that was nearly empty. "I just got these this morning. Here, have one." All of a sudden, something inside Nick put him on edge. If asked, he would never be able to explain it, but it was the same feeling that he had before the polar bear incident, that feeling he had when Judy's placenta had started bleeding, that feeling he had when he thought about being a dad, and that feeling he had when Clawhauser had hugged Judy just a moment before. It was like a balloon in his chest that filled with air unexpectedly; a sign that seemed to say "something is getting ready to happen." He couldn't tell if the feeling was bad or good, but he didn't like it at all. Just then, Judy gave the donut being offered one look and immediately held a facial expression that seemed absolutely disgusted. That feeling still haunting him, Nick took one look at Judy's face and without thinking, snatched up the trashcan sitting just behind the reception desk and held it out just in time for her to vomit in it. "Morning sickness is back. Sorry, Clawhauser, I don't think she's hungry," Nick shrugged as he rubbed Judy's back. Glancing down at Judy, who was still retching in the trashcan, Clawhauser looked guilty, as if he had done something wrong or as if he could do more to help, but he nodded knowing it was just her pregnancy. Still holding the trashcan for her, Nick waved a farewell to the cheetah, who was still standing awkwardly with the box of donuts, and led Judy to the bathrooms. It was at least ten more minutes before Judy was able to pull herself together enough to speak. "Well, that sucked," she gasped. Nick couldn't help but chuckle. "You're the one who jinxed it with all that "today is the best day of my life" crap." Judy fought against her gag reflex and won before replying. "I don't sound like that."

"If you really think that, then you're in for a shock." Nick felt the familiar feeling of Judy punching his shoulder, but this time, she didn't put too much energy into it. "How did you know I was going to get sick?"

"I didn't."

"But you had the trashcan."

"Oh, well, I just had a weird feeling and then I grabbed it." Judy shrugged and recomposed herself. "We have to go talk to the Chief."

"Hold on there, Sicky, go wash your mouth out first." After Judy cleaned herself up, the two made it up to the second level of the ZPD and knocked on the Chief's office door. "Come in," came the Chief's gruff voice. "Well if it isn't Miss ICanDoWhateverIWant and her boyfriend, Mister ICan'tStopHer!" the Chief began after he had taken his usual stance behind his desk, hooves resting on the wood. Nick was slouched in an office chair, and Judy was standing with her paws behind her back. "Hi, Chief. We were just-"

"Where's your uniform, Hopps?"

"I, uh-well, it doesn't fit."

"Excuse me?"

"She's too fat for her clothes," Nick interjected. Judy fixed him with a dirty stare before turning back to the Chief and hesitantly shrugging her agreement. "Wonderful," the Chief muttered. "We'll get you a new one. Now, Hopps: you're taking calls. Wilde: In the field today; I've got a case for you."

"What?" It was Nick who reacted first as he jumped to his feet. Judy had a shocked look on her face, and had gone completely silent, but Nick continued. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," the Chief barked. "Chief, you can't separate us," Nick argued. "We're partners." That balloon in his chest was filling with air at a rapid pace as he felt his anger rising. "Not anymore." This time, it was Judy who countered first. "You're splitting us up?" She looked close to tears. To her, this was the end of the world. Nick had been her partner for years, and when they finally took a large step in their relationship, everything else fell apart. "Just for the time being. It's not permanent, Hopps. The way I see it, you aren't capable of working in the field in your current condition. Nick is. No use in making a perfectly capable officer sit around."

"I should be with her, she needs me right now."

"She doesn't need you to take calls and staple papers, Wilde!"

"I'm not leaving her alone, Chief."

"This is not up to you! You saw what she did with the last case!"

"In all fairness," Judy interrupted. "I made a perfectly normal decision."

"Normal? You were almost killed, Carrots!"

"But did you die, though?" Nick's eyes were wide and his paws were in the air; a stance that read "are you kidding me?" Judy quickly moved on. "What about Nick?" she said, now focused back on the Chief "He can't be in the field alone."

"He won't be." Nick's interest perked as he also turned back to the Chief. "You're assigning me a new partner."

"Yes."

"Wait, so who's my partner?"

"Her." The Chief gestured toward the office door that had been left ajar. Standing in the doorway was a female red fox dressed in a police uniform that flattered her gorgeous figure. Her eyes were sharp, a light blue filling her irises. She was casually leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on her face. It was clear that she had been there for a while, listening to the whole discussion. Judy felt her jaw clamp shut as she noticed Nick's expression, which was that of pure interest. "Valerie."

"Nick." Her voice sounded like pure silk, with no strong accent or any other unique attention-catcher. Judy's jaw unclamped and dropped open at Nick's acknowledgment of the fox. "Nick, who is she?" Nick turned and caught the fiery look that was building up in Judy's eyes. The look struck fear in his heart. He barely had a chance to even think about answering before Valerie spoke, her words practically shaking the earth beneath Judy's feet.

"I'm his ex-girlfriend."