Chapter 4: Here Again

Nick opened his eyes and found himself lying on his and Judy's bed. He must had fallen asleep after all that's happened... the shocking revelation... the false happiness... it was just too much...

Nick sat up and rubbed the ruffled fur on his head and sighed remembering the last thing he did before he dozed off. "I guess I should apologize to Judy for that sudden outburst." he knows that this Judy could also be just another illusion that demon created but, shouting at her in any shape or form still felt wrong to him...

He got out of bed and proceeded to leave their bedroom. He opened the door and scanned for the bunny. "Judy... where are you?" he called out.

Nick walked around their home for a bit feeling a weird sense of uneasiness. "Was our apartment always this eerie?" he wondered before hearing footsteps coming from their bathroom and saw Judy coming out of it with a sad expression on her face.

It took a few second before the bunny registered the fox was standing a few feet from her.

"Nick... you're awake..." Judy said surprise.

Nick gave a awkward smile. "Hey, carrots..." he greeted. "Listen... about what I said... I..." his next sentence cut when he noticed Judy was shaking for some reason and immediately ran closer to her to find out what was the matter.

"Judy... are you all right?" Nick asked in concern.

Judy stared at him before speaking. "Nick... I... I need to tell you something important that you need to know..."

Nick guided the bunny to sit down on their couch then knelt down to her level so that their eyes would meet. "Alright... what is this important thing you want me to know?" he asked still having that worried look on his face.

"Nick I..." Judy lowered her head. "I'm pregnant..."

Nick froze at those words. "What... what did she just say... she's..." his mind began racing prompting him to glance at a nearby calendar and to his horror... "The... the date... it's... it's..."

The fox felt a paw tugging at his arm which snapped him out of his thoughts. "Nick... are you even listening to me?" Judy asked.

Nick was speechless... He was back... back to where everything started... back to day when his heart was broken...

"Nick... I know this is hard to believe... but..." Judy tearing up. "I just took a pregnancy test and it came out positive..."

Nick wanted to hold her... but... he hesitated... was this another one of that demon's illusions? was he not already contented seeing him suffer after showing him a life he could never have that he needed to make him relive this day again? Well... curse him... if he thinks he'll play along with his little game...

"Judy..." Nick finally spoke. "Is there something more you want to tell me?"

The bunny turned away. "Nick... I... I don't want his child..."

There it is... the words that haunted him the most... normally that would have devastated him but, due to having a prior knowledge of it made it easier to take.

"Why... why would you say that..." he played his part

Judy turned to face him. "Nick... please hear me out..."

Nick sighed. "Alright... tell your tale..."

"Thanks..." Judy held her arms together over her chest. "Well... you see... I never considered that you could ever make me pregnant... true, there were extremely rare cases of interbreeding but, none of them were from a union between a predator and prey... oh, how wrong i was..."

Nick leaned closer and held both paws on her shoulders. "You're afraid... aren't you? you're afraid that our child might end up like some sort of freak or might end up too big for you to carry... you can't assume that yet..."

"You can't assume that's not the case either... nobody knows..." Judy argued making Nick back away a bit. "Look... it's hard for me to say these things but... there's another reason why..."

Nick knew what was coming next...

"My career..." Judy pointed out. "You know that I'm close to being promoted to lieutenant and that I stand as a symbol for all the small mammals out there who wants to make a difference... if, I go through this risky pregnancy... my career could be halted for who knows how long... or worst... I might lose it all entirely..."

"So, you would sacrifice everything for your career..." Nick readied himself. "Even the life of our unborn child..."

Judy was shocked by Nick's words that her paw involuntarily moved to slap him in the face... but, it never landed... Nick managed to catch her paw with his own mere moments before it made contact.

The bunny realized what she nearly did and collapsed on the floor. "Nick... I'm sorry... I lost my temper... I..." she felt Nick comfortingly wrapped his arms around her. "Nick...?" she looked at him in confusion.

"Judy... I'm not angry... I said some harsh and insensitive things... you had every right to hit me..." Nick assured. "But, I had to say it... hoping that somehow it would knock some sense into you..."

Judy turned away. "Well... it did... it was hurtful but, accurate..." she tearfully said in shame. "I was willing to kill a defenseless creature for my career..."

Nick placed a paw on the bunny's face to turn her gaze back at him. "Judy... this isn't something you and I need to decide immediately... there is still time for us to learn more about this miracle..."

Judy's eyes brighten at the word. "Mi... miracle?"

Nick gave her a warm smile. "So, what do you say? will you give it a try?"

A smile finally formed on the bunny's face. "I... I will... I will try, Nick."

Nick and Judy leaned at each other and kissed passionately. The fox didn't care anymore... illusion or not... he's glad to finally be free from all the guilt and sorrow he held onto all this time.

Nick suddenly woke up and found himself back lying on his and Judy's bed.

He couldn't help but frown... thinking that what he had experienced was just a dream... wait, was it just a dream?

Nick began questioning himself... then, something became clear... he still have all the memories of the pain and suffering he'd lived through but, they were not as prominent as before... instead... what lingered in his mind were memories of... the day Viola was born... the way Judy looked beautiful during the day of their wedding... they were all there...

"I... I can remember..." Nick thought about those words carefully. "I can remember everything..."

He sat up and got out of bed before slowly made his way to the living room where he saw his wife and daughter sleeping peacefully together on their couch while locked in a warm embrace which made him smiled when he approached them.

Nick leaned over and kissed both Judy and Viola on their respective foreheads.

"Nick, is that you?" Judy asked as she was awoken by the kiss.

Nick knelt down in front of her. "Yes, dear... it's me..."

The bunny smiled. "You'd better be yourself... cause I swear... if you ever act aggressive towards me again... I'll walk out that door and leave you..." she said jokingly.

Nick laughed. "Yeah... sure... and then, you'd say I WILL SURVIVE just before stepping out the door..."

"Wow... that kinda sounds very powerful and emotional..." Judy commented. "Want to act it out sometime just for fun?"

Nick gave his wife a serious expression. "Let me think about it... NO!"

Note: It was fun writing this story but, it's time I wrap this up on the next chapter.