"Nicholas, just take a moment and breathe. Yelling isn't going to get anyone anywhere."
Nick was on his umpteenth pace across the same fifteen feet of carpet in his mother's cozy living room. Mrs. Wilde sat comfortably on her creaky, patched couch, a periwinkle dress flowing around her figure. Little Alan was perched in her lap, immersed in the latest edition of Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia – he couldn't read just yet, but he certainly enjoyed the pictures and seemed to understand the majority of the book. Robin and Red were nearby, screaming gleefully about "piwates" as they chased each other about with foam swords Mrs. Wilde had gotten them last Christmas. Violet merely sat idly by on the floor, watching Nick pace and rant, her eyes wide and attentive.
It had been weeks – three weeks to be exact – since Judy had disappeared. With no immediate threats, the escorts had been removed from Bunnyburrow and Mrs. Wilde's home a few days prior, and Nick had returned home with the kids. It was a cold Saturday afternoon in early December, snow swirling just outside the frosted windows. Nick had been working less and less over the last few weeks due to the fact that he and his mother were the only ones watching the children, and because he was allowed to do less and less to help as the ZPD's attention remained on the priority of finding Judy. Nick had already pushed his luck several times, resulting in more than a few lectures from the Chief who threatened more than just suspension. With nothing else to do, Nick surprisingly kept wedding planning on the table. He had postponed a few things for Judy, but had attempted to make decisions where he could so that at least some progress was made. He had decided on the flowers, the design of the cake, and the champagne choice – all things that Judy had decided beforehand but never had stated to their wedding planner. It certainly wasn't easy, but he knew it was helping him cope in some senses.
"All I'm saying is that they should have been making some progress by now! What are they even doing?" Nick scoffed, continuing his pacing.
"Nicholas, they're doing everything they can."
"As if I haven't heard that a dozen times already."
Mrs. Wilde shot Nick a dirty look at his rude remark, but Nick only shook his head in response.
"Daddy?"
Nick immediately stopped pacing and looked down at his only daughter.
"Yes, Baby?"
"Where's Mommy?"
Nick leaned over and scooped up the tiny rabbit, cuddling her in his arms.
"She'll be home soon, Baby, okay?"
He bombarded the baby with several kisses to her face and arms, making her giggle. Nick smiled back at the cheerful child, holding her closer as he turned back to his mother to say one more thing, but the sound of glass shattering made both Nick and his mother look up abruptly.
"Red, Robin, what did I say about being careful?" Nick asked the two children sternly.
"He did it!" the two screeched in unison as they pointed at one another, at which Nick only chuckled.
"Just come over here and stay away from whatever you just broke."
The two children obeyed, coming into the living room where they were in full view before they continued their game of swash-buckling pirates. Mrs. Wilde only watched in amusement, slightly readjusting herself with Alan. Nick glanced at the small fox, who was still absorbed by his book.
Nick had struggled to maintain the children in Judy's absence and had struggled even more any time they wondered where she was aloud, but he had managed. His relationship with Alan, however, was only growing more and more distant with each passing day. Alan had always been an extremely intelligent child, but also very quiet, almost socially anxious. There was something about Judy's smile that brought Alan out of his shell, but Nick didn't have that something, and Alan had been extremely quiet and cold for several weeks. It was clear that Judy's disappearance was weighing on him the most, and Nick had no way to comfort him. The closest thing to Judy that Nick could find in order to comfort Alan was Mrs. Wilde, but even then, it was clear she didn't provide the same sense of security, though she tried.
"Alan?" Nick called softly.
The light grey fox looked up, his green eyes meeting Nick's.
"Can I get you anything, Buddy?"
The fox only shook his head and turned back to his reading. With a small sigh, Nick turned back to his mother once more as he sat Violet on his left hip, still cradling her close to his body.
"Judy's parents are coming in tomorrow to stay with us for a little while. That should give me a chance to work a little more and give you a bit of a break from all of this," he said as he gestured to the children.
After Judy had been missing for several days, Nick had made a trip to Bunnyburrow and informed Judy's family of the situation. It went about as poorly as he had expected, with the whole family taking it hard, and at one point, Judy's mother even somewhat accusing Nick in her anger. Nick had brushed it off, though, and comforted the family. After all, they deserved to be angry – it had taken Nick days to work up the courage to tell them that one of their eldest daughters was missing, and even when he did, he had no answers for any of their questions. In return, the family offered to be of assistance when they could, to which Nick was grateful for.
"I don't ever need a break from my grandchildren," Mrs. Wilde smiled. "I'm happy to help where I'm needed."
"Thanks, Mom."
"They'll find her, Nicholas. She'll be home soon."
"I hope so."
After a few more hours at Mrs. Wilde's home, Nick loaded the children into the SUV and drove them home. Once home, he fed them dinner – homemade chicken soup with crackers; extra chicken for Red and no chicken for Violet – and then set them all up in the master bedroom with a movie. Gradually, Nick had moved all of the children – and Violet's favorite stuffed bunny, Holland – into the master bedroom with him to fill the empty space. The children didn't seem to mind, and in fact, quite enjoyed sleeping with Daddy on the king size bed.
About an hour later, before the movie was even halfway over, all four children were sleeping soundly. Clicking off the television and leaving a lamp on as a nightlight, Nick snuck down to the kitchen to clean up, shutting the bedroom door behind him.
Doing dishes wasn't Nick's favorite chore, but with a little music and some terrible dancing, Nick found that he was actually enjoying himself as the kitchen returned back to its former glory. He tried to not think of Judy during this time, tried to focus on small tasks that he knew he had power over. It did help for some time, as Nick found that for the first time in a while, he didn't feel downright exhausted or helpless.
Just as he was finishing up, his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. In response, Nick quickly dried his paws with a dish rag and scrambled to extract his phone from the pocket of his khaki pants. The phone continued to buzz, an unknown number dominating the glowing screen. Curiosity getting the best of him, Nick swiped to accept the call.
"This is Wilde."
"Nick?"
The voice over the phone was small and broken, barely audible – yet filled with desperation – and it caught Nick completely off guard; he almost dropped his phone right into the sink filled with soapy water that sat before him. It had been weeks since he had heard that voice, the voice that he associated with nothing but happiness. Now, the voice sent sharp shivers up his spine.
"Carrots?"