Chapter 9: Three's A Crowd
Instinct. It keeps an animal on their toes. Helps them stay alive in society. It has been with them from their very beginning, and it would still live deep inside them for generations to come. When instinct falls, an animal is left as a vulnerable being. Unable to defend against the savage world. Unable to further survive in this damned city. Life. What was once a friendly paradise had now become a harsh hell. A thunderstorm that never goes passes, a sandstorm that never subsides, a sadness that never goes away. Life. A wonderful visage that gives us love, laughter, success and happiness, to mask away the dreaded truth that it all has to end with a white flash fading to nothing as our souls delve into the pool of eternity that is the afterlife. Life, something that Judy had no idea how to explain right now.
They failed their assignment.
The three of them went back to the Wilde home. Jack and Nick still stated daggers at each other all the way there. Jack and Judy sat in the backseat, still cuffed to each other, and Nick kept his eye on him through the rear view mirror. The ride was quiet other than a few phone calls made by Jack to the commissioner of the ZIA, as well as a few classified contacts.
Nick opened the door and all the officers and friends were waiting in the living room and main hall. The entire house was packed with the police department. "There you two are!" Clawhauser exclaimed. He was holding the triplets. The officers swarmed in around them. Bogo called them all back and asked for Nick to have a debriefing of the situation in the kitchen.
Jack was awestruck when he first saw them. So it was true, he thought. These two really were the first interspecies couple to have babies between each other. He was amazed of how closely they resembled their parents. With the exception of their daughter. Then again, it could have just been traits from Judy's parents.
Judy cradled her babies as Nick talked with Bogo. "Well, Jack, I suppose I should introduce you." she said a bit awkwardly. Jack's paw was forced close to them as she had to hold her triplets."This is Peter, this is Alex, and this is Johanna." She said as she pointed at each of her babies.
Jack still looked a bit unnerved to be this close to them. "Well, they sure are lovely. Congratulations." He said.
"Thanks."
Nick had returned to Judy's side as Jack continued talking. "However, I'm afraid they're not safe here anymore until we catch Honey. You'll have to keep them with animals you trust. It would be best to keep them separated."
Nick's ear twitched in annoyance and anger. "What gives you the right to think of what is best for my litter?!" He said.
Jack pulled the shower curtain away to look at the fox while still covering his bottom half. "Because you and I both know that Honey is not a good mammal. He wants you dead, and since he worked for James Todd, he'll want them dead too. And you and I also know that you only want to keep your children safe. If he finds out they're here. He'll have them killed. You need to keep them separated and hidden so that they won't be found."
Nick and Judy knew he was right, but that did not make the decision any easier, especially for her. It's not that easy for a mother to just entrust the lives of her babies to her friends, even if she knew nothing would happen to them. Judy sighed. "He's right Nick. We have to keep them out of this case."
Nick sighed back and rubbed his neck with anxiety. "Okay, so who should we have watch who?"
The animals huddled into the living room and began to devise a plan of what would go down in the future until Honey was captured.
"Yeah... Okay, I think I've got it." Judy said calmly. "Fru Fru?" The shrew looked up at her best friend. "Can you take Johanna back with you to Tundratown?"
She nodded her head. "Of course, deary. Me and my security will make sure nothing happens to her. I can also make sure to have 24 hour security for the boys as well."
Judy smiled at her friend's generosity. "Thank you Fru Fru."
"Alex should go stay with your parents." Nick said.
"Agreed." She replied.
"Now what about Peter?"
"I think I can ask the Ottertons to watch him. They wouldn't have a problem with it." Judy said.
"Clawhauser, please go call the Hopps and the Ottertons and let them know." Bogo said.
"Yes sir." Clawhauser said as he excused himself from the room.
"We'll make sure that your parents and friends are compensated for their time. We'll also have agents get us a temporary office, as well as transport food and other needs for your children while we get this case solved. My partner will be here in the morning to help us out." Jack stated.
Judy felt just a small sense of relief at his generosity. "Thanks Jack."
She had a grin on her face, but it was clearly fake. There was nothing in this situation that could be positive. They failed their mission, she was stuck with Jack, and now her babies were going to be moved to every corner of Zootopia in the morning. There was not one good thing about this .
"Okay. We'll help you all out in any way we can. In the meantime, you three need to try and get some sleep." Said Bogo. The buffalo herded all of his officers and all of Fru Fru's security up and out the door after all the equipment was picked up.
"Thanks Chief." Nick said in a monotone voice.
Before he stepped out, Bogo put his hoof on the stressed fox's shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much, Wilde. And don't get into any unnecessary fights. We're gonna get Honey, and get all this mess sorted out."
"I'll try my best."
Bogo was the last to leave, and it was just them and the babies. Nick looked down at his paw as he grabbed the handle. He looked at his ring as he thought to himself. Him and Carrots had been through tough situations. This, however, would top just about anything they'vebeen through so far.
Judy sat on the couch holding her triplets in her arms. That's when a funky smell traveled through her nose. She lifted their rumps to her nose, but the smells were not their diapers. She slowly began to remember that Vinegar hit them with her tail. She realized the smell was coming from them.
"Hey Nick?" Judy said.
"Yeah, hon?"
"We're gonna have to take a shower and get the smell of that skunk off of us."
Jack and Nick both looked at her with a confused and concerned all did not want to admit it, but the smell would not go away unless they washed it off. With no other option, they went upstairs.
Nick went to put the babies in their crib. He looked down at them, sleeping soundly, snuggled together in their usual pile to stay warm. He reached down and gently stroked his pup's cheek with the back of his paw, followed by his kits. He grew sad and stressed out. He never thought a case could ever go so pear shaped, but here they were. He did not want to leave his children as much as Judy did, but knowing Fru Fru's security and bodyguards, there was no way their babies could be harmed under their protection. Still, it did not make the situation any easier to handle. He gave the three of them a kiss on their heads, turned on the mobile, and headed for the bathroom with the baby monitor in his paw.
Nick's eye twitched in annoyance. He absolutely could not believe this was happening. That this jack rabbit was attached to his wife with a pair of pawcuffs which the only key to unlock it was stolen. And now both of them would be getting naked to take a shower.
"You go ahead and go first, Mrs. Hopps." Jack suggested.
"Okay." She answered. The rabbit turned the other way to give her the most privacy he could at the time being.
His foot tapped the ground and he tapped his fingers on his crossed arm. He glared over at Jack to make sure he wasn't trying to get a glimpse of what was only meant for his eyes.
Judy slipped in the shower, closing the curtain behind her. Her cuffed paw remained outside the curtain with Jack. The water was warm against her body. For once that night, something felt soothing, given the circumstances of how their mission had gone.
Jack did his best to ignore what was going on literally right next to him. He would feel his arm be tugged closer to the shower every time Judy needed to grab something.
"Uh, Nick?" Judy asked.
Nick's ear raised. He still stared in Jack's direction as he responded. "Yeah Carrots?"
"Do you think you can help me?"
Nick knew she must have been talking about her back and anything on her right side. Since her body was facing away from the shower head and poured water down her back, he wondered if she would need help on her frontside as well. Normally, Nick would be ecstatic about any reason to jump in the shower and generously scrub his wife, but this time was different.
Nick began to strip, and now Jack tried to avert his eyes and mind from two things. With the removal of his last piece of clothing, he snuck behind the curtain to join Judy.
She handed her a bottle of strong scented body wash. He squeezed a bit in his paws and rubbed them together before massaging her fur. He watched as the beige paint faded from her furs and she returned to her normal gray color. He also noticed the black fur paint begin to drip off of him too. In the middle of their session, they began using sign language to communicate with each other. The two of them had been learning for a while. The only issue would be Judy would only have one paw to use, but Nick was pretty sure he would know what she was trying to say.
"I don't like this rabbit, Carrots," Nick signed, "He's too cocky for my liking."
"Kind of reminds you of somebody?" Judy replied. She grinned, but Nick was stone-faced. She sighed. "Look, I don't like the idea of this either, but for the time being, we're gonna be stuck with him."
"Then I really hope we find that honey badger quickly." Nick said. He shut off the water and grabbed the towels from the rack. The two wrapped themselves up and stepped out. Judy quickly realized the problem of putting on a shirt. Judy had an idea. She asked Nick to quickly grab her one of her bras and a stretchy muscle shirt. Nick quickly went and got her the clothes she needed, as well as underwear and some new pants. He also grabbed his clothes. He handed her the maternity bra and shirt first.
Jack turned around again as Judy dropped her towel. She put the bra on with some work, but then came the awkward part. "Jack?" She asked.
"Y-yes Mrs. Hopps?"
"I'm gonna need you to put this on so you can get it over the cuffs and I can put it on."
Realizing there was no other way of going about this, he obliged and put on her shirt. Luckily, it didn't stretch too much since they were close to the same size. He snuck his arm out of the sleeve and pushed the rest of the shirt over to his right arm, so Judy could put it on. She put her head and arm through the holes. It was on inside out, but it didn't matter. At least it was on.
Jack would have a little more trouble. Unlike Judy, his clothes couldn't just slip down her body. Based on the nature of his clothes, he would have to wear the same suit. As soon as Nick and Judy were dressed, Jack began to disrobe. She looked at his chest as he undid his shirt, He had a bullet scar right in the center of his chest. He turned around, and his back had three massive scars like clawmarks going from his shoulder to his tail. Jack began to unbuckle his belt. She turned away so he could finally get undressed and hop in the shower. Nick heard the babies crying, and he turned to his wife.
"Well, that's gonna be a problem tonight." She said.
Nick thought of an idea. "I'll take care of them tonight."
"I'll still be up periodically to help with feedings. I'm gonna have to buy a pump when we go."
He walked to the other side and crawled under the sheets. Jack and Judy stared at each other for a little bit. Nick glared with envy, and pulled her a bit dominantly into the warmth of his chest, and his tail coiled around her legs. He made it very clear that she was his, and she was not to be touched. Judy could even hear him growling in a low tone. They all laid there in silence. Soon enough, they all fell asleep, leaving yesterday behind them in hopes of a better tomorrow. As Judy used to tell herself... Tomorrow was another day... and of course her old neighbor's phrase lingered in her mind too...
But it might be worse...