Chapter 16 I Thought the Police Didn't Have Balls
Nick was heading to his office when he heard Bogo, "Wilde, my office now."
Nick sheepishly entered the door, "Yes, sir?"
The buffalo looked quite miffed, "You were supposed to be back an hour ago, where the bloody hell have you been?"
Nick produced the little, black box, calming the chief, "Wilde, I would have preferred for you to have done that on your own time."
The fox knew there was nothing to do about it, he already had the ring.
"Now, the mayor will present you with a commendation tomorrow, so I want your dress blues cleaned and pressed, and no sarcastic quips, I know how you feel about the new mayor. On another note, you will resume with the Ivanovich case after we have the ZPD's annual ball."
Nick couldn't resist the temptation, "I didn't know there was one."
The buffalo fell right into his trap, "We don't have balls, dammit Wilde, we didn't, but the mayor insisted, as to give the officers something other than their Christmas bonus to look forward to."
Nick knew that Judy would want to attend, "When is the ball, sir?"
Bogo looked at a stack of papers, "About a month from now, why do you ask?"
Nick started fidgeting, "Well, sir, the baby is due any day now, and I'm sure Judy will want to attend, so I just wanted to see if it was too soon, but seeing as it is a month away, we should be attending."
Bogo grinned slightly, "Do tell what the baby is when it is born."
Nick smiled, "Will do, sir."
With that, Bogo dismissed Nick.
Nick's walk to his desk was interrupted by a panicked call from Judy. Her water broke.
Nick rushed downstairs to the cheetah at the front desk, "Baby…coming…hospital…NOW!"
Clawhauser's eyes widened as he realized what Nick was saying, and he quickly gave Nick the keys to his cruiser. Nick's sirens were blaring as he barreled down the highway, working the turbo-charged V-8 to the max, getting up to 170 miles per hour.
Nick tried to make his way into the room, but was cut off by a rabbit nurse, "Sir, only the father is allowed in there."
Nick had no time for this, "I am the father dammit."
The nurse looked at him sternly, "And I'm an elephant."
Judy caught a glimpse of him through her door, "Let him in, he is the father."
The doctor at her bedside shook his head, "Poor girl, the pain has made her delusional."
Nick finally pulled his badge, a move he did not take lightly, "Listen here, if I miss my kit's birth because of some rabbit, who can't get over the fact that a bunny and a fox are having a child, then I will have to arrest this whole unit for discrimination. Is. That. Clear?"
The rabbit imped, "Crystal, sir."
Nick pushed his way past the rabbit, making his way to Judy's side, "I'm here, I hope I didn't miss anything."
Judy grabbed his hand in a death grip, "Just an hour of pain."
Nick suppressed a yelp, as his wife was enduring a pain far worse than the one in his hand. Many hours of screaming, cursing, and pushing later, a large rabbit was born. The rabbit had orange fur, where his mother had white fur, his fur was crème, his teeth were more like fox teeth, and his ears were slightly pointed at the end, but at first glance he looked like a bunny.
Judy marveled at the not so little wonder, "What should we name him?"
Nick thought for a minute, "You know, I've always liked the name Flynn."
Judy looked at her kit, "We need a middle name. How about Alexander?"
Nick thought aloud, "Flynn Alexander Wilde, sounds catchy."
Judy giggled, "Welcome to the family, Flynn."
Nick looked at Judy, "You sure about giving him my last name, we aren't even married yet."
Judy smiled warmly at Nick, "The key word is "yet" silly."
Nick thought about Flynn's weight, "You know, Judy, Flynn will probably grow to be as big as me."
Judy nodded, "However, he does have my eyes."
Nick looked at Flynn, who had just opened his eyes, "Hey, I thought you were trying to look like your old man, traitor."
Nick's jovial remark filled Judy with even more Joy, as she knew that he would be a great father.
The birth certificate was signed, and Nick headed to the apartment to collect a few things, as to make the next few days in the hospital more comfortable for Judy. As Nick entered the apartment he smelled something strange, and as he flipped the light switch on the wall he saw three polar bears, suddenly the door shut, revealing a fourth.
"My boy, we need to talk."
Mr. Big's voice sent a chill down Nick's spine, "Mr. Big, sir, I-I can explain, the wound I suffered put me out of…"
Mr. Big's paw stopped his terrified explanation.
"I know about the wound, I know about how Alphonse died, and I know about your newly born kit."
Nick eased greatly, "It's a boy, we named him Flynn Alexander Wilde."
Mr. Big took in the name approvingly, "My boy, your encounter made me realize how dangerous it is for you as a police officer, so I decided to forgive you here and now. You are once more, a member of the Big family."
Nick felt an enormous wave of relief, "Thank you."
Mr. Big smiled, "The ring you picked for Judy is a lovely one, Nicky."
Nick was shocked, "How did you know?"
Mr. Big looked about, "Well, we got here a couple hours ago, but as you were not here, we did some exploring and found a picture."
Nick shrugged, "As long as you didn't break anything, I'm okay with it."
Nick picked up Judy's favorite pillow, a few movies, a pack of cards, and a baby blanket that he bought secretly.
"You will be a great father, Nicky."
Nick smiled at this, "You can stay for as long as you want, just don't break anything."
Nick drove back to the hospital, much slower this time. The drive let the fact that Nick had just become a father, set in.
Nick started talking to himself, "Well dumbass, get ready for some pretty rough nights because you are the father, and that means you have a new thing called responsibility."
Nick saw a bookstore on the way to the hospital, and decided to stop, purchasing two books, Fox Kits for Morons, and Bunny Kits for Morons.
Nick started his self-conversation again, "You did a good, Nick, now step two: Don't do anything stupid to upset Judy, then propose to her at the ball, eventually marrying her and growing old together after one or two more kits… Well, I'm made of half stupid, half sarcasm, so this will be interesting to say the least."
Nick ended his one-man conversation, as he pulled up to the hospital in the mini-van.
He brought the items up to the front desk, "I'm here to see my family, Judith Hopps and Flynn Wilde."
The receptionist responded blankly, "We have no foxes by those names."
Nick corrected her, "They're bunnies."
The receptionist adjusted the data accordingly, "I will need to see your driver's license."
The receptionist glanced at the card, then up at Nick, repeating this action several times, "Well it looks like your information checks out, proceed."
Nick quietly opened the door, finding his wife asleep, cradling his son in her arms. Nick gingerly took the kit, laying him in the hospital cradle provided for their room. It was the first time that Nick held him, he noticed that his fur was soft, but to Nick it was softer than the finest cotton.
Nick started to whisper to the kit, "Hey buddy, it's dad, the one who's gonna teach you how to throw a ball, how to ride a bike, and how to say mama."
Nick glanced at Judy, who was still sound asleep, "Why don't we keep that last one between you and me?"
Nick sat down on the cold, vinyl hospital sofa, opening the books he bought.
"Hey Nick," Judy's groggy voice drew his attention away from the book.
"I will be spending many shirtless hours at home."
Nick's comment threw Judy for a loop, "Why do you say that?"
Nick held up his book, "Apparently it forms a strong bond between a kit and its father when you let your kit fall asleep on your chest."
Judy was happy to see Nick learning about parenthood. "So, what's in the bag?"
Nick opened it, pulling out Judy's pillow and the movies he brought.
"Something to make the stay more bearable."
Judy let out a sigh of relief, wiggling deeper into her favorite pillow, "I have missed you my foamy friend."
Nick smiled, "I'm not foamy, maybe a bit slobbery at times, but not foamy."
Judy pulled the sleeve of his jacket, bit by bit, until Nick was eye level with her, "I can't say how much it means to me seeing you taking this at least somewhat seriously."
Nick smiled and kissed Judy, knowing she wanted him to.
"The Wilde family, sounds like the crazy people that you avoid at all costs."
Judy giggled at Nick's remark, but quickly put her paws over her mouth, glancing over at the cradle, and relaxing when she realized Flynn was not going to wake so easily.
"Heavy sleeper, another point for dad."
Nick looked at Judy, his face saying, "You can thank me now."
Judy pushed his muzzle away, "I'll thank you when we are home."
Flynn began to stir, so Nick picked him up, "Is he hungry?"
Judy nodded, "He's always hungry."
Nick handed him to Judy, who in turn began feeding him.
"Hey carrots, I have one more thing to give you."
Nick pulled a green baby blanket out that was decorated with peltic knots, with tiny foxes and rabbits intertwined in the edges, and a fox and a rabbit in one large circle in the center.
"Had to get this specially made."
Judy gently wrapped Flynn in the blanket, "It's beautiful."
Nick sat down on the vinyl sofa once more, observing his bunnies. "You think I should tell Clawhauser, or Bogo?"
Judy thought, "Mass text."
Nick thought for a minute, "Good idea."
Nick sent the text, getting a mass of responses, many of which were curses about how Clawhauser must be psychic.
"Looks like they had a pool on what the baby would be."
Judy looked up curiously, "Who won?"
Nick gave a half lidded gaze, "Guess."
Judy instantly thought of the chubby cheetah, "Clawhauser?"
Nick nodded, returning to his book.
"The ZPD is throwing a ball in about a month, we should go."
Judy looked at her kit, "What about Flynn?"
Nick looked up from his book, "My mom can take care of him, she's more than capable."
Judy loved Nick's mom, she was quite fun, "Okay, but only your mom, I don't think I could trust anyone else."
Nick thought for a minute, "Speaking of family, won't we have to have some over to see Flynn?"
Judy hadn't thought about this, "We'll invite them when he gets a normal sleep schedule going."
Nick flipped the page, "A week it is."
Judy was surprised at how much he was taking in from the books, "I never did have a baby shower."
Nick looked up from his book, "Well the chief did keep your maternity leave under wraps, but I have gotten most of the necessities, you just have to take care of the minutia."
Judy relaxed hearing this, "You always seem to have a solution for every situation."
Nick chuckled, "All except for bullets to the gut."
Judy's smile faded, "Nick, I want you to be more careful, if I lost you, I don't know how I could go on."
Nick looked at Judy, seriousness written all over his face, "I will do all that I can to stay out of harm's way, but if you are in danger, I will do all that I can to keep you safe, even if it means that I die doing so, and if I die, the chief would make sure that you are taken care of, and Flynn would grow up knowing that his father died a hero."
Judy didn't like the thought of Nick's mortality, "I just, don't want to lose you."
Nick walked over to Judy and hugged her, "You won't, I'll always be by your side, and if I die, I'll come back and haunt you, so you won't be lonely."
Judy giggled at Nick's stupid promise, "You would probably just knock stuff off of shelves to piss me off."
Nick smiled, "True."
Nick broke the embrace to return to his research. Flynn eventually finished, dozing off once more, and Nick put him back in the cradle, allowing Judy to follow suite.
Nick watched his two bunnies, thinking, "What a wonderful life."