Chapter 8: Here We Are

Spring time. The season of life and rebirth. To most animals, it could be considered their favorite season. The food is fresh, the air is warm, and everything is welcomed back from the cold of winter. The streets bustled, the cafés filled, and it was a gorgeous March day in the Misty Springs Oasis.

Nangi's yoga class was almost finished as they sat meditating. An armadillo, a zebra, a pig, and a very familiar nude bunny. Judy Hopps closed her eyes as she breathed. Instead of placing her palms together, she simply wrapped them around her largely bloated stomach. Judy was now forty-five days pregnant. It felt only like yesterday that she saw that wonderful pink plus sign in the hospital bathroom. At first, she was skeptical when Nick took them on a date to the Oasis, stripping completely nude before the bunny. He told her that he was actually an ex-member, which is why he knew Yax and was completely unphased by the animals' nudity. Soon enough, Judy grew to appreciate the lifestyle, and she loved Nangi's yoga classes, they were unbelievablely relaxing.

As she continued to breathe, Judy begins to think back to all the wonderful things Nick and Judy were able to experience during her pregnancy. One, in particular, stood out the most in her mind at the time; her ultrasound. She could remember the cold blue gel on her stomach, sticking to her fur as the doctor motioned the device around her abdomen. The wonderful news the doctor delivered to her. She was, or rather is, having two bunnies and a fox. Nick and Judy were so happy to see their babies before they were even born. It almost felt like magic. They did not want to know the genders. They more than wanted that to be a surprise. Nick and Judy already bought boy and girl baby clothes, blankets, halo swaddles, pacifiers, all of it. She received even more at her baby shower. Most of the gifts being from her friend Fru Fru. She was a strong shrew, and she was able to overcome the sadness she felt when her father died. Strength and willpower, it seemed to run in the family. Nick and Judy did not even contemplate names yet. When the time came, they would know.

With one final breathing exercise, the class stands. Judy is helped to her feet by the zebra. Nangi places her trunk on the bunny's stomach with a smile. "You have strong babies, my dear. I do believe you shall have very healthy children." Judy gives a courteous nod and heads for her tent. The other naturalists watch her walk by, giving her praise and kind words about the babies. She brushes them off with a wave of her paw and a growing blush on her cheeks. As she walks into the tent, she sees and hears her phone vibrating. Judy looks at it to see Chief Bogo calling her. She slides the screen to the left and answers the call putting the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Judy. Sorry to bother you, but could you come down to the department for a bit? There are some things that need to be discussed about the Cleansing." asked Bogo.

"Sure, no problem Chief. I'll be there in about ten." She says in her usual optimistic ways.

"Don't push yourself, Hopps. Please take your time." Judy rolled her eyes at the sappy reply from Bogo.

That buffalo was a real tender heart when it came to stuff like this. She slips her yellow maternity dress on over her head, stumbling back as she regained her balance. She never thought she would have trouble standing while she was pregnant, but it proved to be a hassle at times. From not being able to run as fast to getting tired easily even during simple walks with Nick. She remembered how Chief Bogo put her strictly on parking duty during her second trimester until she went on her maternity leap just five days after being assigned the position. This was when she really started to show that she had three little buns in the bunny oven. She could no longer wear her Kevlar vest for it began constricting her breathing and put pressure on her stomach. The bunny just opted for her shirt and tie at that point. She even had to get elastic waistband pants so that she had something to wear. Even though she was only carrying three babies, Judy looked as though she had a baker's dozen in the oven. Perhaps it was her fox pup, but Even then, her pup was smaller than ones born between male and female foxes. Size did not matter to her or Nick, as long as he was happy and healthy. Judy says her goodbyes and begins her twenty-five minute walk to the ZPD. As she steps out of the door, a slowly increasing pain forms in her abdomen. Judy shrugged it off; the babies were kicking pretty hard right now.

She reached up to press the crosswalk button, but was just a few inches short, even on her tiptoes. She breathed out, holding her paws on her stomach, one above and one below. She parted her legs and began to bend her knees. She breathed out as she thinks, 'hang on tight kids, mommy's got to jump.' With a leap, Judy lunges for the button, smacking it with the entire palm of her paw before landing back on her feet with a little stumble. Exhale. Everything seemed to be more difficult than it used to. The opposing light flicked to red, and the buzzer sounded, informing the bunny to walk across. She did so with a slight skip in her step, but it soon turned to just walking again. Judy began to breathe heavy as she let out a milled breath. 'Whoo, you three are really wearing me out.' She said rubbing her tummy. At that moment, that pain had returned to her. This time, she gave a small and barely audible groan as she took a moment to catch her breath and ease her pains. With a stretch of her back, the pregnant bunny makes her way to the ZPD; one block down, five to go.

The shimmering facades of the house of justice gave all around its perimeter a feeling of security and protection. Even after the bombing tragedy that occurred almost a month ago. The Cleansing had dispersed itself, and nobody has heard from them since, but the police were still on the lookout for James Todd Wilde; the mastermind and leader of the heinous equalist group. He would not be forgiven for all the lives he took that day. Other than that, the case was closed; Operation: Deep Cleanse was successful, and all members who quit were dropped from the criminal list. Still, crime ran rampant across Zootopia all the same. Judy waddles through the rotating door to see the usual Clawhauser, scrolling through his Tweeter account with one paw, and holding two or three doughnuts in the other. He looks down to see the bunny walking up to the front desk and does his usual, "Aaaaaaw!" His tail gave a happy sway like it always did. "You are so adorable, Judy. You look like you're ready to pop any day now!"

Judy waved off the sweet compliment. "Yep, maybe today is the day. We don't know, Clawhauser. We'll just have to wait and see." She said as she walked to the bull pen. The door was shut tight. Judy knew they would not hear her knocking. She looked up at the handle. While she could reach it any other time, it was too high for her now; but still, she tried. Judy leaned up on her highest tiptoes, but could merely glide her finger across the bottom of the cold metal handle, unable to get a grip.

A passing officer notices her struggles and rushes over to aid her. "Here, Judy! Please, allow me." He said grabbing the door with a polite smile for the soon-to-be mother. Judy gave a kind smile, thanking the polar bear as he went on his way again.

She stepped inside. All officers looked to the door and smiled as they greeted the bunny. Many of them thought the same thing; 'she is getting really pregnant now.' The first thing she notices was that red tail swaying down off the chair. Nick turns to meet the eyes of his wife. He hops off the chair and gives Judy a warm hug, then he places his paws on her stomach to murmur the same thing to the babies. With a kiss on her stomach, he takes hold of her paw and they walk to their chair at the front of the room. Chief Bogo smiles and nods at Judy. "Thanks for coming in, Hopps."

"No problem, Chief." She says before turning her head to the chair. Once again, she reaches her paws up and stands on her tiptoes to try and grip something so she could climb up. Nick smirked and shook his head. 'Oh no, you don't. Not when you're this pregnant.' He said. Judy would always insist she was fine earlier during her pregnancy, and Nick would hastily allow her to go her way. However, that slowly started to die down as she progressed. She certainly was an independent bunny. Nick just wished she was a more cautious one too. Nick picks Judy up from underneath her knees with one paw, his other supporting her back, and lifts her up onto the seat. He joins her side. She smiled at him placing one paw on her stomach, the other on his paw, and they focus their full attention to the Chief.

"Alright, everyone. I brought you all here today to gain some intel on James Todd's location. We have hacked into his recent vacancies. He only uses cash, so all we have to run on is suspect sightings..." Suddenly, that pain came back to Judy, only this time, it was much worse. She hid it as best as she could by simply exerting some of that pain in a wince and a rapid thumping of her foot. Nick noticed, and put a paw around her shoulder.

"You alright?" He whispered into her ear. She put on a smile and nodded. Judy listened back in, missing a bit of what Bogo said. "We have evidence suggesting he may be hiding somewhere in the outback district, and we-" Another session of pain. It was becoming unbearable. Judy let out a louder wince of pain as she curled her knees in a little. Nick looked at his wife in concern. This time, it caught the other officers' attentions including Bogo.

"Hopps? Are you okay?" He asked. Judy waved her paw as she gave a pained sigh. She rubbed her stomach with one paw to try and soothe herself as that often would work; but not this time of course. She still held onto her fake smile as she toughed through her pain enough to reply.

"Yeah... I'm fine, really it's nothing...the babies are just kicking really hard right no-OOOOOW!"

She leaned her head down and she placed both paws on her stomach. Nick's eyes shot wide with worry as he placed both paws gently, yet firmly on her shoulders. "Judy?! What's wrong?"

At that moment, he felt his pant leg become cold, and... of all things... wet. They look down to see a pool of liquid spreading across the seat from her crotch region. The other officers stepped back. Nick had no idea how to process what was happening to her, nor could he determine what it was

But Judy did. She looked up at her husband with a face mixed with pain and surprise. The realization instantly dawned on her. Those pains weren't the babies kicking. They were contractions.

"Nick. My water just broke."

Nick blinked. He could hear her, and more than that he understood what she was saying,but he couldn't believe it, so he asked again. "What?"

She placed a paw on his lap, her face clearly still showed her surprise, but now had a hint of nervousness to it. "My water just broke, Nick. The babies are coming." Their surprise turned to grins, then to full on smiles at the realization of the moment. They were going to be parents very soon. Nick's fourth happiest day of his life had finally come, and so would Judy's soon. He stood on his knees and gestured for the room to calm down. As Nick spoke, he began to hyperventilate; he was very clearly nervous, and not good at hiding it either.

"Alright, everyone!... It's go-time!... No, no need to panic...we... just... gotta..." He began to fan his face in an attempt to cool the hot sweat dripping endlessly from his face, "whoo... is it getting hot in her-e..." Nick's words drifted into silence as his head swung and his eyes grew heavy before falling off the chair and collapsing to the floor unconscious. Nick had fainted, of all times.

Judy looked down at the sight of her passed out husband in disbelief, before it was interrupted by another agonizing contraction. Each one was worse than the last. Bogo rushed over to them, gently scooping the bunny into his hoof and picking the blacked out fox in his other. "We need to get you to the hospital!" With that, he carefully runs for the door. Officer Grizzoli opens it for them to allow them out, as they pass, the officers cheer on the bunny. She looks back and gives them a friendly wave goodbye. She sat perfectly in his cupped hoof as Bogo shouted for anyone in his path to get out of the way. Everyone obeyed. He did not need to give a reason; he was the Chief, he was the reason. Judy looks to see Clawhauser looking in their direction from the commotion. He was only a little more than confused; why was Chief Bogo running with Judy and a sleeping Nick in his arms? She smiled and waved to the cheetah as she quickly passed the front desk by.

"Hey, Clawhauser! I guess you were right!" She yells. He gestures his doughnut her direction as he speaks.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah! I was right!" He was about to take a bite when he pulled the frosted ring away from his gullet. "Um, what was I right about, Judy?!"

She did not respond as they went out the door, Bogo did. "SHE'S HAVING THE BABIES!"

"Oh, okay..." Again, he hesitates to take a bite as his mind registers that sentence. He tosses the doughnut away and pillows his plumpy cheeks with his fists. "Aaaaaawww!"

With a gentle sitting of the bunny and a toss of the fox in the back seat, Bogo starts the engine,turns on the lights and sirens to avoid traffic, and speeds off to the hospital over thirty blocks away. Judy's contractions intensified every second, and she let out groan after agonizing groan until they simply became shrieks of pain. She began breathing between her words. "Chief... I'm scared... can I hold your hoof?" Considering a: he was a good driver, b:the drive was mostly straight thanks to cars moving to the side to let him pass, and c: she was in pain, he decides to comply with her request. He immediately regretted it. Her grip was impossibly tight as she vented out her pain. Bogo gritted his teeth and his face contorted from the pain as he tried not to holler. He swore he heard a few cracks.

The car came to a halt, and Bogo carried Judy to through the doors, ordering some doctors outside to go get Nick in the backseat. The doors swing open and the buffalo stomps to the front desk. This time, Judy was the one to speak to the deer receptionist. "I'm going into labor." She said. The nurses widened before swiftly calling for some doctors and pushing in a wheelchair for her to sit in. Bogo followed the bunny and the doctors until he was denied from going into the delivery room. So he goes back to the waiting room. He breathes out as he takes a seat and finally catches his breath, twiddling his bruised hoof. "Here we go."

The world slowly fluttered I to focus, and Nick's eyes shot wide with adrenaline. "Judy!?" He didn't even fully register that he was in a bed as he tore off the sheets and sprinted for the door. A few doctors tried to calm him down and thank God they did. Nick realized it was Dr. Galahoof again. "Judy! Where is she? How is she?!" Question after question poured from his mouth as he begun to relax. Then finally, probably the most important one passed his mind, and he asked the zebra. "The babies?" Dr. Galahoof smiled at Nick.

"Come with me, Nick. I think it's time you met your children."

They walk a few rooms down to the recovery rooms. Dr. Galahoof gestures him to walk in. Nick takes a moment to read the sign. Room 301. His eyes widened suddenly. That was Judy's old apartment room number. He breathes out, and take slow steps in, preparing himself for the best. And there she was. Judy sitting in the bed wrapped in the sheets. She looked up at him, and smiled with that absolutely beautiful and motherly smile that Nick loved so much about her. He smiled back, bit his still showed his surprise as his eyes glanced down just a little bit. She was holding a blanket, nestled snug in the crease of her arm. His heart soared as he stepped closer and closer. "Hey, Carrots." He whispers.

"Hi." She whispers back. She adjusted the blanket a little. And the world stopped for Nicholas Piberius Wilde. In her arms were two absolutely beautiful bunny kits. A fatherly smile forms across his entire face as he notices the blankets they were swaddled in; light pink and baby blue. Nick felt an unbelievable amount of joy. A boy and a girl. His mind then registers something; there should be a third baby, a fox. Speak of the devil, a nurse walks in cradling another blanket. She fixes her attention to the fox with caring eyes and a smile that could melt hearts.

"Would you like to hold your son?" She asked gently. His heart takes flight yet again. Another boy. He slowly gestures his paws out, and takes careful hold of his beautiful fox pup from the nurse. He nestled him close in his elbow, and Nick could feel tears going in his eyes. Finally. He was holding his son, his own child, his sweet little baby boy. And he walks back to Judy. He places a paw around her shoulder, and the two are left to envelop in their wonderfully shared embrace. Finally, at long last, they were a family.

"They are so beautiful." Judy says. Nick sits on the bed next to her. A momentary silence runs through the room, before Nick breaks it with a question.

"So, do we have any ideas for names?"

Judy smiled down at her kits. "I was thinking for him... Alex... and for her...Johanna... what do you think?" Nick laid a kiss on her forehead as he rocked the pup in his arm.

"I think those are perfect names."

"Now, what about you sweetie? What are we going to name you?" She said rubbing her paw gently against his cheek. Nick's mind floods with a sudden flashback. That night. Operation: Deep Cleanse. The Rainforest District. The Lionhearts. That poor little cub. Only this time, it was not of anguish. The only emotion that fox felt was bliss, and he knew the perfect name.

"Peter..." He says. Judy looks up at him wearing the same smile. "Perfect." The five of them sat in that hospital bed in pure euphoria. Finally, Nick and Judy were not sitting in a hospital bed mourning over their pains and broken bones. Finally, they sat together in true happiness. Finally, they had done it... Finally...they...were a family...

One big happy family.

Nick, Judy, Alex, Johanna, and Peter.

Zootopia...

Meet the Wildes.