Here's the climax of this story, the funeral of Viola Wilde. The original story had four – count 'em, four – chapters for this part of the story. Combining those will avoid the repetition of the story.
As usual, thanks to the people who reviewed since the last update: Takeshi Nakamoto, aomagrat, Ghostwolf88 (AO3 and FFN), Spectra98, x_uve
THE FUNERAL
The alarm clock beside Nick's bed went off. He shot a paw out from underneath the covers of his bed and swiped at it, silencing it. He sat up slowly and stretched.
His sleepy eyes looked around the room.
His room.
No longer was Nick a guest in this apartment. He owned it.
The question was what Nick would do with it, because to him, right now, he didn't really see it as his apartment. This was his Ma's home.
A week had passed since Viola's passing. Nick had gotten most of her affairs in order, so all that remained was to bury her, and today was that day.
Stepping out of bed, Nick's eyes fell upon the suit hung up in the closet. Unlike his usual style, which was often mismatched by the standards of others, the suit was plain black, with a white shirt. Viola had jested about him dressing for a funeral, and it was ironic that what was a joke had become reality.
A tear rolled down Nick's face.
"Keep it together, Wilde," Nick whispered, wiping the tear away. Sighing heavily, he got out of his bed and padded into the bathroom.
After showering, Nick towelled off, dried himself using the fur dryer, and headed back to his room. On his way, he gazed into Viola's room. During the sorting-out, he had boxed things of hers up, but otherwise the room hadn't been disturbed. He composed himself as he returned to his room to put on his suit. Once he was dressed, he went out into the hallway and to Robin's door. He knocked gently, and then opened the door.
The suit Nick had made for Robin hung up in the wardrobe. He had made it for Skye's funeral the previous year, and had taken some time this week to adjust it. In the past, Nick had learned to make outfits as part of his hustling schemes. Ironic, since that was the business his late father had been in, and while he had intended to use it to make an honest wage, Nick had once been anything but with his creations.
"Robin?" Nick called out gently. The covers bunched up as Robin curled into a ball.
"Robin… get up, son," Nick whispered.
"Five more minutes…" Robin muttered. Nick let out a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle. He gently tugged the bed covers off of Robin, who groaned as he sat up.
"What time is it?" Robin asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Seven o'clock," Nick replied, glancing at the clock on Robin's bedside table. "Time to get up and get ready."
Robin rose from his bed, rubbed his eyes and yawned. Nick reached out and ruffled the fur between Robin's ears affectionately.
"Stop, Dad…" Robin grumbled. "You're messing up my fur."
"Get your tail out of bed and I'll stop," Nick replied. Robin groaned and shifted out of the bed, stretching himself.
"Today's going to be a hard day," Nick said solemnly.
"Yeah, I know." Robin said, with a downtrodden tone.
Nick left Robin to get dressed. He headed to the kitchen. The first thing Nick did was fill up the kettle with water and set himself out a mug of coffee. As the kettle boiled, a knock came at the front door. Nick headed out and opened it, glancing downward. Finnick stood in front of the door, in a little black suit and sunglasses, despite the fact it was raining.
"'Sup," Finnick said, stepping inside.
Nick closed the door and returned to the kitchen as Robin came out of his room, wearing his suit trousers and shirt. Nick poured Robin a glass of orange juice, made two coffees and headed into the living room.
"Don't suppose you got anything stronger?" Finnick raised an eyebrow as Nick passed him the second coffee.
"First off, you know Ma never drank," Nick replied. "Second, you're doing the driving today, so lay off the booze."
"You run a theme park business. You supposed to be fun," Finnick mock pouted just before taking a sip of the coffee.
"Today isn't the time for fun, Fin," Nick sighed, before taking a sip of his coffee. He stared up at the ceiling.
"I'm coming home, by the way," Nick remarked.
"For real?" Finnick said.
"Yes," Nick nodded. "Ma was right. I should have done it sooner."
"What about your work?" Finnick asked.
"I stepped down," Nick answered. "Sent the email off a couple of days ago, and I got confirmation yesterday that they had received it. The Deputy will take over. I'm going back to Mexicat to pack things up once the funeral… once that's done."
"Gonna be a lot of upheaval," Finnick's gaze moved to Robin. "Especially for the kit."
"After we lost Skye, and Robin became more withdrawn from other kits his own age, I had him home-schooled," Nick replied. "Even then, Mexicat is not Zootopia, and I didn't want him to go through what I went through as a kit. And as for Skye… her last wish was to be cremated. There's nothing left there for us."
There was a moment of silence. Nick noticed Robin going into the living room.
"Go sit down, I got this," Nick remarked. Finnick stared at Nick for a moment longer, then headed for the living room. As he entered, he noticed Robin staring at him a little nervously.
"Kid, I ain't gonna bite ya," Finnick said, as he sat in one of the sofa seats. "Come take a seat."
Robin nervously did so.
"You ever hear what your Dad used to say during the old days?" Finnick asked.
"Um… no," Robin shrugged. "Dad doesn't talk much about the old days."
"Figures," Finnick replied, shrugging. "Nick's favourite saying used to be 'never let them see they get to you'."
"I… guess that's true," Robin thought about it.
"Kid, there ain't nothin' wrong with lettin' people see they get to you every once in a while," Finnick answered. "Dunno how close you were with your Grandma, what with you being hundreds of miles apart."
"We spoke on Muzzletime and she'd write letters and send cards," Robin replied. "But… a few months ago, we stopped Muzzletiming each other and only wrote to each other once in a while."
"Kid, I ain't gonna sugar-coat it for ya," Finnick said. "She wasn't herself in the end. But I heard somethin' once. The mind might forget one day but the heart never forgets. Her heart let her know who you were."
Robin let out a choked sob. Finnick uneasily leaned over and embraced him briefly.
"I ain't too good at this sh… stuff," Finnick said. "Nick… your Pa… he's like family to me, and that makes you family. Family's gotta look out for each other. You ever need a shoulder to cry on… well, I'm sure Nick would say my shoulders are low enough. Don't let him hear that I said that, 'cos he'll use it against me and I'll have to bite his face off."
Robin let out a choked chuckle as he wiped his eyes, and Finnick smiled briefly.
Across town, Judy had already awoken and was already dressed in her funeral suit. The last time she had worn that suit had been ten years ago, at the funeral of Pop-Pop.
Judy checked herself over in the mirror in her bedroom. As a last touch, she affixed a lily to her breast pocket.
For a brief moment, her mind flashed back to her first day in Zootopia, stood in front of a mirror, filled with pride as she examined herself in her ZPD uniform. Now, she felt sombre. Today wasn't a day to feel prideful.
Her notice had been worked, and as of that day, she was Lieutenant Judy Hopps, former Chief of Precinct One. That day was also Viola's funeral, and Judy was determined she would be there, for Nick, and for their son.
Judy's phone rang, breaking her from her reflection. She moved to her night stand and picked it up. It was her Mom calling her. Taking a deep breath, Judy pressed the button to accept the call.
"Hi Mom," Judy greeted Bonnie as her face appeared on the screen.
Bonnie Hopps was now in her late sixties, but Judy swore she didn't look a day over fifty. In the background, Judy could see her Dad, Stu, doing something, but she couldn't see what it was.
"Hey, sweetie," Bonnie replied. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine," Judy replied.
"Judy…" Bonnie replied, a concerned look on her face. "You may be 42, but your ears still droop when you're not okay."
"Mom powers, huh…" Judy let out a small chuckle.
"Yes, and you know exactly what I'm talking about," Bonnie said, "How's Nicky doing?"
"He's…" Judy began. "He's incredibly upset, even if he's trying to hide it from me. Viola's passing hit him hard."
"Well, of course it would," Bonnie replied. "She was his Grandma too. She was his only link to his father as well."
"Not any more…" Judy mumbled.
"I know Nick came back for his mother, but think of how long it's been," Bonnie pointed out. "He's not been there for almost all of Nicky's life, and the whole thing is just one big shock to them both. I don't know if Nick's going to return to Mexicat, but if he does, perhaps it's for the best."
"Is that Jude?" came the voice of Stu, and he appeared on the screen. "Hey, Jude! How's it going? Need me to come with a pitchfork to take care of your problem?"
"Okay, Dad, today isn't the day to say things like that," Judy cut across bluntly, an unhappy frown on her face. "Viola was Nick's Mom, not just Nicky's Grandma, and I'm not going to kick Nick while he's down. I've spent fifteen years regretting the last time I did that, and you of all mammals should know that!"
"We're not suggesting that at all," Bonnie said, holding up a paw in concession, before shooting a pointed glare at Stu. "Are we, Stu?"
Stu said nothing but backed off a bit. Bonnie sighed.
"I'm sorry, hon," Bonnie apologised,"We didn't mean to sound insensitive. We're just worried."
"I'm fine," Judy repeated her earlier statement.
"Well, if you insist… I'll let you go now, Judy. We'll be thinking of you today," Bonnie said.
"Thanks, Mom," Judy replied, before the call ended. She gave her suit the once-over again, adjusting the lily pin. Once she was satisfied, she left her room and went to Nicholas' door.
Nicholas stood in front of the mirror affixed to his wardrobe door. He had already changed into the suit he was wearing to the funeral. He had never needed a suit before that day. His mother had claimed that she had bought it from a store, but Nicholas knew that it wasn't professionally-made. It also carried the scent of Nick Wilde.
He refused to wear it, at first, but Judy had won him around.
A knock came at the door.
"Nicholas, are you ready yet?" Judy called.
Nicholas didn't answer. Judy tentatively pushed open the door. She padded over to him.
"Are you okay?" Judy asked gently.
"No," Nicholas shook his head. "Grandma Wilde is gone. Gone…"
"I'm not the most religious rabbit," Judy said, "but I believe that when someone leaves us, they leave a part of them behind in us. So, your Grandma lives…" Judy placed a paw on Nicholas' chest, "right here."
Tears welled up in Nicholas' eyes as he faced Judy.
"Come here, son," Judy said, pulling Nicholas into a hug. Nicholas returned the hug, allowing tears to fall silently.
Nick, Robin and Finnick had arrived at the chapel the service was to take place in. They had disembarked from Finnick's van, and Nick had gone to meet the Minister. The Minister was a black fox who was waiting for them at the entrance to the chapel.
"Welcome, Nicholas," the Minister said, offering a paw for Nick to shake, "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Minister," Nick nodded sombrely.
"As family, you will be situated at the front of the proceedings," the Minister remarked. "I take it this young kit is your son?"
"Yes," Nick nodded.
"Are there other members of Viola's family that will be attending?" the Minister asked.
"Yes," Nick replied. "She has another grandson, and I would like for him and his mother to be sat up the front as well."
"His mother would be… Judith Hopps, correct?" the Minister checked.
"Yes," Nick nodded.
"As this is your request, and as you have identified Viola as being this child's grandmother, I take it that you…"
"Yes, I am his father," Nick replied.
"Oh, my," The Minister widened his eyes in surprise. "That is unusual. Not unheard of, but not something I've seen often."
A skulk of older foxes approached the chapel. The Minister and Nick stepped aside to let them through.
"Viola's friends," Nick said. "I had a tough time tracking some of them down."
"She doesn't have many here today," The Minister remarked.
"Some of them don't live in the City anymore, and some have passed on. She had no other living family," Nick said.
Nick's attention was turned towards the path leading to the chapel as Judy and Nicholas arrived. Nick nodded briefly at the pair of them and the Minister ushered them inside.
"Robin, you should go inside too," Nick suggested. Robin's paw gripped Nick's briefly. He let go and headed in after Judy and Nicholas.
The sound of a vehicle's engine reached Nick's ears and he turned to the cemetery entrance in time to see a hearse, carrying his Mother's coffin, driving along the narrow pathway. Another car was behind it, carrying five foxes that had agreed to be pallbearers. Nick moved to greet them, but as he did, his eyes fell on Viola's coffin.
Seeing Viola's coffin made it all the more real for Nick. He could feel tears welling up again. The pallbearers allowed Nick a moment before the back of the hearse opened up.
Nick composed himself and moved to the back of the hearse. The six foxes gently lifted the coffin from it and slowly carried it in to the chapel. All eyes were on them as they reached the front of the chapel and gently lowered the coffin onto the central stand. Nick stood beside the coffin as the pallbearers retreated to the rear of the chapel.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to pay our respects to, and to celebrate the life of our departed sister, Viola Vivienne Wilde," The Minister said from the pulpit. "She has left this world, moving into the Great Beyond to be with those who have passed before."
The Minister looked to Nick, whose gaze was still focused on Viola's coffin.
"I will now hand you over to her son, Nicholas Wilde, who has some words to say," The Minister said. He stepped down from the pulpit. Nick stepped away from his mother's coffin and entered the pulpit, retrieving a speech he had prepared beforehand from his pocket. He set it on the stand, took a deep breath and began speaking.
"When I was a kit, Ma would always tell me 'Night falls, but the sun will always rise the next day'," Nick read. His voice cracked slightly as he continued on: "For me, night fell for a long time, but Ma was always there trying to get me back from the darkness and into the light. She never stopped believing in the good that was out in the world. Never stopped believing in those she loved. That's the sort of vixen she was."
Tears started streaming from Nick's eyes as his voice wavered.
"She saw the good in everybody," he continued. "She knew that everybody takes a fall in their lives at some point, but she was always there, offering a paw to help you get back on your feet. Being a single mother to a kit who had lost hope could never have been easy, but she never gave up hope on me. That was her greatest gift to the world: the gift of hope."
Nick swallowed and glanced at his mother's coffin.
"She was the best mother a broken tod could ask for," Nick said finally, before stepping down from the pulpit and returning to his seat, the fur of his face marked by tear tracks. The Minister stepped back in.
"Thank you for those words, Nicholas," The Minister said. "Viola was loved by those she knew. Her passing is a tragedy but we must remember that in death, suffering shall end. Do not see death as the end, for death is simply moving on to the next life. And now I would like to make a reading, before we finally lay Viola to rest."
Nick, Judy, Robin and Nicholas were dwelling on what Nick had just said, and so weren't paying attention to the words the Minister spoke. After what seemed like an eternity where the four of them were looking to Viola's coffin, the Minister finished his sermon.
"And now, if you would like to stand, we will now lay our Sister to rest," the Minister said. The congregation stood, and Nick and the other pallbearers returned to the coffin to lift it. In total silence, they carried Viola out of the chapel, into the cemetery and to a spot that had been freshly dug outside. The Minister and the congregation followed. Judy held Nicholas' arm gently and reassuringly. Robin followed behind them.
As Viola's will had stipulated, her plot had been dug next to a grave marked 'Jonathan Reginald Wilde' – that of Nick's father. The pallbearers stopped around the freshly-dug pit. They gently lowered Viola down into it. They stepped back and the Minister stepped to the graveside.
"And now we commit our sister Viola Vivienne Wilde to eternal rest, Earth to Earth," the Minister threw a pawful of dirt into the open grave on top of the coffin, "ashes to ashes," another pawful, "dust to dust," One final pawful. He nodded to the attendants stood to the sides of the grave and they started to shovel soil on top of Viola's coffin, committing her to the ground forever.
The congregation watched. Tears were shed. Nicholas slipped from Judy's grasp and headed towards Nick. For a moment, all they did was stare at each other, each unsure as to what the other might do.
Then, taking Nick completely by surprise, Nicholas threw his arms around Nick in an awkward hug. Nick froze for a moment, but then raised his arms and patted the boy gently on the head.
The hug didn't last long, and Nicholas let go. Moving to Robin, he went over and embraced his younger brother too.
Nick and Judy looked into each other's eyes for a moment, completely silent. Nick stepped towards Judy and pulled her into a hug, one which she quickly returned as tears started flowing again.
"Thank you for being here, Judy," Nick whispered.
Unlike the embrace of the brothers, Nick and Judy's lasted for what seemed like an eternity, yet almost like no time at all once they parted. They saw their sons watching them, unsure of what to make of it. Nick turned to Judy and gave her a final nod. The rest of the congregation had already begun to disperse. The Minister gave Nick a passing nod before returning to the chapel.
"I'll be with you in a minute," Nick remarked to Judy. Judy gave him an understanding look. Nick stopped beside the grave of his father and stared at it. The inscription read:
'Johnathan Reginald Wilde.
1967-1990.
Father, husband, son.
"One day the world will be a better place."'
His eyes swivelled to Viola's grave and then back again.
"You'd better take care of Ma, you hear?" Nick said. He stared at John Wilde's headstone a little while longer, as if expecting John Wilde to respond from beyond the grave, before turning away. He re-joined Judy, Nicholas and Robin, and as they left the cemetery, Nick and Judy's paws reached for each other briefly, before falling back to their respective owners' sides.
And… that's a wrap for this chapter. Another tough one, even more so since it was originally four. I hope I've done a good enough job condensing it down into the one.
The next chapter will be the final one of Grief's Reunion, then I start work on the rewrite of Waking Death – which will be receiving a brand-new title. Suggestions are welcome!