Chapter 18: New Arrival
Indeed, news of Revere's death wafted into the precinct late the next day, but because Revere had not made as much of a public spectacle as Bellweather, to many his death was just another criminal death. The official report said he had died a natural death, and his organs had just stopped working a little after midnight.
After what he had heard yesterday, Nick supposed he should feel sorry for the pitiful way he had died but other pressing matters occupied his mind, the most important being that Judy was not talking to him.
When they'd gotten back the previous day, she had been unusually quiet, and for the first time in many weeks, they had not gone to bed together. Judy had insisted she was tired, and just needed some rest but Nick could clearly see something was bothering her, and he guessed it had to do with whatever Revere had told her the day before.
Even now, as they sat in Bogo's office, waiting for the Chief as he'd claimed there was something important he had to tell them, she was distant from him, no matter how close they were physically. He could see it in the way she did not speak to him at all or even glance his way. To say he was worried was an understatement.
The door opened and Bogo stood, commanding even when still, but as he glanced at them, there was something in his expression that had the duo guarded immediately, "I see you both are already here, allow me to introduce someone to you…"
From behind him, popped out a small hare who was smiling exuberantly, and waved with an excitement that had Nick feeling tired at once just by watching him.
"Hi!" the hare said, like a miniature version of Clawhauser, "I'm Lieutenant Samuel Woodland from the police branch in the Rainforest District." He paused and offered his paw for a shake, "But you can call me Sam."
"Nick Wilde." Nick said as he took Sam's offered paw and squeezed tightly, "This is my partner,—"
"Carrie, right?" Sam interrupted, removing his paw from Nick's grip to shake Judy who was looking at him incredulously.
Sam carried on, oblivious to she and Nick's confused looks, "The Chief told me about the situation over the phone. You're Officer Hopp's temp while she's on leave right? The Jackson incident must have rattled her badly, although I do wish I could have gotten to meet her. Officer Hopp's my hero really, I can't tell you how much I look up to her. I do hope I'll be able to see her before I leave."
"That's enough." Bogo cut him short, "The Lieutenant is here to help us with the investigation, and he comes highly recommended. I wanted to introduce him to you two personally because you will be working together with him on Jackson's case."
"Welcome to the team, Sam." Nick said dryly, not looking keen to working with the tiny ball of sunshine. Sam's sunny persona irritated him, even though they'd just met.
Sam beamed at him before leaving the office, and then Nick felt a prick of guilt at his exasperated thoughts towards him.
"Carrie?" Judy exclaimed as soon as the door closed behind Sam.
Bogo threw his hands up like a drama queen, "It was the best I could come up with at the moment. I've been hoping that the effects of the Night Howler on you could be resolved before the higher ups find out about it but if Sam finds out then they find out and then this case leaves our hands."
Nick wasn't sure if he liked the way Bogo was freely using 'our'.
"And with what we now know from Revere, we can't let that happen." Bogo continued, "Since Sam is already here, there's nothing I can do but keep him on the case but we keep the real state of things from him. There's no way to know if Sam's spying for the mayor and until we are certain of it, all this stays between us and the doctor."
Judy and Nick agreed.
"We need to talk." Nick cornered Judy as Sam excused himself for a bathroom break, noting how she froze when he grabbed her paw.
All morning, they had been working on the Jackson case, mapping out the routes he had used when delivering Night Howler packages, frequently visited spots and all known acquaintances. It was tedious work to Nick, partly because he was much more used to being in the midst of the action, and not reading it.
For all his sunniness, Sam was actually serious when it came to doing work. He was intelligent, and had a keen eye for details. Nick would've have been much more appreciative of his skills if he was sure Sam wasn't spying on them for the City Council.
Judy had studiously acted as if Nick were absent, only acknowledging his existence when she'd needed a file from him, or to refuse him when he'd offered to pick some snacks up on his way back from Bogo's office.
Now, she grabbed her paw from him, placing it on her lap.
Nick sighed, "What's going on, Judy?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied succinctly, not meeting his eyes.
"Of course you don't," his tone dripped with sarcasm, "So are we going to argue about this, or you'll tell me what's bothering you?"
"Can we do this later? Somewhere else at least? Sam could come back any minute." Judy said, her voice low.
"Lead the way."
Judy looked surprised, as if she'd not expected he would insist on talking to her at that moment, then resignation settled over her features. She stood up, "Follow me."
She led him to one of the empty offices in the building, putting enough distance between where they'd been working with Sam so he wouldn't find them anytime soon.
"Why are you acting like this? Nothing's wrong with me, I've told you that." The words were out of her mouth as soon as she closed the door.
Nick's face hardened at her obstinacy, "What did you and Revere talk about yesterday, apart from his death?"
"Nothing serious. He just advised me to take care of myself. I would appreciate it if we could wrap this up and return to work."
She was distancing herself from him, Nick realized, distancing herself and becoming formal with him. He couldn't work out why.
"I could care less about the case right now, Judy. I just want to know what's wrong with us. Is it something I did?"
Something passed in her beautiful eyes, an emotion Nick couldn't place. There was silence between them for a several long moments and Judy swallowed hard before looking at him.
"There is nothing wrong with us Nick, because there is no us." Her lips quivered as she spoke and Nick felt like he'd been shot in the chest. "This 'thing' between us was just a means to an end, to blow off the horniness of mating season. A casual hookup. It was fun while it lasted but it's over now."
"What?" he uttered silently. This wasn't his Judy, not the smart kind person he loved. There was a stranger in front of him.
"What did you think was going to happen, Nick?" Judy pushed on relentlessly even though tears were beginning to gather in her eyes, "When Rosemary and her team worked out a cure, this was bound to happen. I'm only ending it a little earlier."
Before the tears could fall, she pushed past him and walked out the door, leaving him shocked and hurt.
Nick put a hand to his chest, suddenly hearing the loud thumps of his heart reverberate in his ears. It hurt, the harsh words he'd heard less than a minute ago, more than a physical wound had ever done.
Judy paused in the hallway that led to the reception area, acutely aware of the tears running down her cheeks. She rubbed at them furiously, bursting into more tears in the process. Dammit, she'd promised herself she wouldn't cry. She'd wanted to lay him down gently, like she'd planned to do as she'd walked out Revere's cell the previous day.
It was only as she'd let the words tumble out her heart that she realized she had been hoping. Hoping to keep him for herself, hoping that Nick wanted her because he wanted Judy and not what she'd become. But that hope had come crashing down because as soon as Rosemary had drawn blood from her, she'd realized her time with Nick was up.
With Revere's blood, the genesis of this whole situation, there was no way the team of scientists would not find a cure for what had happened to her. The blissful fantasy she'd lived in had burst, and with a sinking heart she realized that when she was back to regular old bunny Hopps, Nick would lose interest in her. And it stung.
It stung because she loved him.
Her phone rang in her pocket and she groaned. For a second she considered letting it go to voicemail, but then wondered if it was something important. As she fished the noisy device out of her pocket, Dr. Rosemary's name flashed on her screen. Anxiety and dread washed over her in a confusing mixture.
"Dr. Rosemary," she said as she answered, "What's up?"
"Hello Judy, I have news for you. It could be good or bad depending on how you see it." The panda paused, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Judy lied, sniffing quietly, "I think I'm coming down with the flu, but that aside I'm fine. What did you want to tell me?"
"I ran a few tests yesterday, and you will not believe what I found. Revere was right, your DNA was beginning to show signs of change, and it was like a cluster of different DNA's but in one body. I suspect it is only a matter of time before they begin to manifest. Luckily, his blood type is a universal donator so we can start work on a cure immediately."
"That's good news doctor," Judy said, even as her heart began to sink. "Very good news."
"I believe so too. I heard of his death on the news, and I'm glad we got to meet him before Xavier got to him." Rosemary paused, "There is something else I have to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Judy, you're pregnant."
No, I did not cry while writing that awful office scene but I was close to tears. Sue me. Was this chapter as much of a shock to you as i wanted it to be? Let me know guys, and i sincerely hope this has appeased you for now. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak but i want the next update to be a double so it may be weeks until i post again so it may take several weeks, but you'll like it I promise!
Ja ne!
