Nick finally dragged himself from sleep, nearly falling off the bed when he saw what time it was.
Shit, I missed the whole day!
He shot upright when the door opened, Judy peeking in with a guilty look on her face.
"I know you're going to say I should've woken you earlier," she came in, holding a tray. "But you were practically sleepwalking when you got home yesterday, and you passed out before you even fell on the bed."
She set the tray on his lap, the rich smell of vegetable stew making his stomach growl.
"I added some of those chicken dumplings you like," she sat in front of him, crossing her arms. "You think I wouldn't find out you'd been skipping meals again?"
His ears went back, his chin falling to his chest. It wasn't that he had a problem with food, there were just times he got too caught up in work to realize he'd missed them, or it was so late when he got home that he just decided to wait until breakfast.
"I just don't have time for this right now, Fluff," he tried to push the tray away, only for her to take his wrists and tuck his paws back in his lap. "Judy, please…"
She shook her head.
"You're not moving until I see you finish this bowl," she crossed her arms again. "I'll cuff you to the bed and feed you myself if I have to."
He could only meet her glare for a moment, then dropped his gaze to the tray. His ears flicked forward when she sighed, taking his wrist again.
"I'm scared for you, Nick," she started plainly. "Your dedication and drive are two things I love about you, but there are times you take it too far. You can't keep letting yourself get emotionally involved like this."
He shook his head, pulling from her grasp.
"That's pretty much impossible in this case, Judy," he said, his fist tightening on the bedspread. "In just over a month, this psycho has slaughtered every mammal I dated in the past, and we're still no closer to catching them than we were at the start."
A low growl rumbled from his chest, his lips curling from his teeth in a snarl.
"And if that wasn't enough, they've spent every second mocking us, because they know they're still ahead," his head snapped up, his eyes blazing. "And they know there's not a damn thing we can do about it!"
He expected her to draw back, just like she had at the precinct. Instead, she picked up the tray and set it on the nightstand, then threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in his chest.
"I can't begin to imagine how difficult this must be for you," she was crying. "But neglecting yourself isn't going to help anyone, especially the victims."
She sniffled, sitting up and wiping her eyes.
"And no matter how your relationships with them ended, I know they wouldn't want you punishing yourself like this, either," she put her paws on his cheeks, her fingers slipping slowly through his fur. "You're an amazing cop, Nick, and an even better mammal."
She swallowed, her voice breaking.
"A-And I know you don't believe this right now, but none of this is your fault, this spree would've happened no matter who this mammal set their sights on," her tearful eyes narrowed, anger sparking in them. "You're not going to stop until you find who's behind this, I understand that, but that doesn't mean you have to put yourself in an early grave."
He didn't know how to respond when she stopped, her gaze pleading. Finally, he sighed, taking her waist and setting her down next to him. He sat up, leaning over to grab the tray and put it back on his lap. The soup was lukewarm by that point, but that didn't stop him from swallowing every bite. He wiped his mouth with the napkin she'd tucked under the bowl, his ears perking when she kissed his cheek.
"There's more if you're still hungry," she told him. "You did kind of go overboard last week."
He winced, picking up the tray and climbing carefully off the bed.
"I could go for another bowl," he smiled at her, brushing his tail across the backs of her legs. "Thanks for helping me get my head out of my ass, Fluff."
She smiled back at him, letting her paw brush along his tail as he pulled it away.
"That's what I'm here for, Slick," she smirked a bit. "Someone has to keep you grounded, after all."
He chuckled, setting the tray by the sink before wrapping an arm around her, drawing her close against his side.
"And you do an amazing job of it, sweetheart," his eyes shone as he gazed down at her. "I never would've become the mammal I am today if I hadn't met you."
"Neither would I, Nick," she hugged his waist. "Neither would I."
Nick had ended up eating two more bowls without stopping, Judy having one of her own. They took their time with the few dishes there were, talking about anything but the case.
"I haven't seen Alice since I woke up," he rinsed off the last spoon, his fingers briefly caressing hers as he passed it to her. A light blush bloomed in her ears.
"She's with Ben and Stephanie," she cleared her throat, dropping it in the drawer after drying it off. "They decided it was time for her to see how much the city's changed. They invited us, too, but you were already out cold and I didn't want to leave you and Terry alone."
He nodded, drying his paws and hanging the towel on its hook over the sink. She hopped off the stool and headed for their room, squeaking in surprise when he swept her off her feet. He pressed her back to the wall, tilting his head to catch her lips with his, his tail waving eagerly when she gripped his cheek fur, pushing further into the kiss. She moaned as she let him in, nipping his tongue as it started to dance so sensually with hers.
Nick gasped as he pulled away, dragging in breaths filled with her scent as he lifted her higher, burying his nose in the thick, soft fur beneath her chin. He growled possessively when she marked him, pulling her down to do the same before capturing her lips again, barely aware she'd started undoing his shirt, his claws sinking into the thin black fabric of her shorts after he shoved up her dress, intent on ripping them right off of her.
"O…M…Goodness!"
Judy clung to Nick when his grip faltered, both turning to see the pair of mammals frozen in their doorway, four sets of ears flaring red as their wide-eyed stares locked across the room. Ben clamped a paw over his mouth to hold back whatever he'd been about to say next, his ears splaying when Terry started crying.
"Oops…"
Judy bounded to the nursery when Nick set her down, the fox straightening himself out and buttoning his shirt.
"You always did come in at the worst moment possible," he looked at Alice, who just flipped him off before turning to the embarrassed cheetah.
"Thanks for walking me up, Ben," she patted the paw hanging limp at his side. "I can't wait until we can all hang out again!"
"Oh, me either, Alice," he beamed down at her. "You're awesome!"
She giggled.
"And you're adorable, you big goof," she jumped up and high-foured him. "Now get back to that kickass tigress you call a wife!"
Ben laughed, waving to them before heading off, Alice closing the door and locking it once he was out of sight. She turned back to Nick, who'd already taken off his wrinkled uniform shirt and untucked the white one he wore beneath it. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten.
"There's something we should talk about," he stated plainly. Her ear flicked, her tail puffing as she walked toward him, her worried gaze darting anywhere else.
"I never could keep anything from you," she murmured, rubbing her neck. She sighed, letting her paw drop. "Go on, ask away…"
He put his paws on his hips, realizing just how short she was when he looked down at her.
"When were you going to tell me you've been a missing mammal the last three years?"
"What?" Judy stopped next to him, wrapping her arms around his, glancing up at him before turning to her. "Alice, why would you hide something like that?"
The scowl that formed on the vixen's face was so alien, Nick pushing the bunny slightly behind him when his cousin growled.
"Because I wanted to give my mother something to really worry about," she stated bluntly. "I was almost thirty and she all but had me on a baby leash!"
She shoved her paws through her hair, then dragged them down her face.
"So my sister disappeared or whatever when I was five, that doesn't mean she has to treat me like a toddler the rest of my life! I had to sneak out with Dad just so I could get my freaking license!"
Her callous tone made Nick's fur stand on end, but he could understand her frustration. His mother had been fairly overprotective, too, but had pulled back as he'd gotten older. Amber had disappeared just before Alice had turned six, and his Aunt Sophia, who'd already been a helicopter parent, had taken it to a whole new level. His cousin had been declared dead a year later, almost to the day, and in less than a month they'd packed up and moved to Molesworth, Ermineland, where his Uncle Frank had been stationed. Aside from a few scattered letters before he'd hit the streets, Alice's arrival at the precinct had been their first contact in over twenty years.
"How did you manage to get out of the country?" he brought himself back to the present. "I doubt they would've let you through security without asking questions."
She shook her head.
"An old boyfriend owed me big time, and he'd just gotten his pilot's license. That's why it took me so long to come over here," she went on. "I had to bide my time while he went through flying school, and I was enjoying the freedom I'd never had."
He felt Judy's grip tighten on his arm, knew she was trying to keep from tearing Alice a new one. Family was one of the most important things to her, even with all the grief hers had caused for them, and likely because of it.
"I know what you're going to say, Judy," Alice focused on her, her eyes narrowed. "That she was doing her best in a bad situation, that she was just worried I'd be taken, too."
He held out a paw when she came closer, silently warning her to keep her distance.
"And believe me, I understand all that, really," Alice grabbed his wrist, likely as some kind of anchoring point. "But you have no idea how suffocating it was, she even homeschooled me so I'd have 'one less reason' to leave the house! I just couldn't take it anymore!"
Her claws dug in, making him wince.
"I managed to slip away one night after my mom fell asleep, and I haven't looked back since," she pulled back, and finally seemed to be calming down. It was quiet as they digested her story, Judy stepped out from behind Nick, putting her paw in his as she looked up at his cousin.
"You're an adult, Alice," she said. "So there's nothing we can do to force you to go back, but I can't let you stay here knowing you did that to your mother. I'm going to ask that you call her and let her know you're alright, and explain why you did it. After that, we'll drop the subject for good."
Alice scowled at her again, then gave a short nod.
"Fine, I guess I do owe her that much, at least," she crossed her arms and turned away. "But don't expect me to apologize, because that's not gonna happen any time soon."
"Fine," Judy put a paw to her mouth, barely holding back a yawn. "But let's worry about that tomorrow, I think we could all use some time to process this."
"I know I do," Nick looked at her. "But I already slept all day, I think I'm gonna be up for a while."
She nodded, standing on her toes when he leaned down to kiss her.
"Night, Fluff."
"Night, Slick," she scratched his chin before heading to their room, Nick's tail waving contently as he watched her go.
"You guys are so lucky to have each other," Alice rubbed her arm, gazing at the floor. "I wish every mammal could find someone who loves them that much."
He smiled faintly.
"The last few years have been amazing, but I'd be lying if I said things have always been perfect."
"Huh?" she looked at him. "I thought you said you wouldn't change a thing about how you met?"
"Right, how we met," he rubbed his ring with his thumb. "There's plenty of shit that happened after that I'd love to change."
He nodded toward the couch, both of them sighing heavily as they fell back on it.
"It took me a while to realize I was in love with her, and once I did, there was no going back…"