"So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty." –Haniel Long
"So, what you are saying is, that although the ignition of the bomb was disarmed it had to explode either way, quasi a chemical spare ignition?" Sven tried to grasp what Nick had told them just a few minutes ago. After the funeral they drove to a small restaurant in Sahara Square to eat for dinner and after ordering their meals Nick had to tell them in detail what Bogo had said about the forensic report.
"More or less, yes."
"So it wasn't even possible to really disarm the bomb after this… what, fluids? … had started to mix?" Bonnie wasn't sure if she could comprehend this.
"But cutting the wrong wire would have caused it to explode immediately, right?" Evelin smiled.
"Cutting the purple wire disabled both, the timer mechanism as well as the pressure sensor in the driver's seat by disconnecting the current-carrying connection. The grey wire pulled the charge of a capacitor to zero, cutting it would have caused a voltage spike, sparking a small propellant within the …" Nick tried to explain but Judy put her paw over his mouth and smiled.
"Yes, Nick perceiving Bale's lie gave me enough time to leave the car and survive the assault in the end." she explained, put her arms around Nick's neck and gave him a deep kiss. "I always knew that my trust in you was justified!"
"This calls for a celebration!" Stu smiled brightly and waved with his paw for a waiter, ordering some champagne for them, respectively another pie-plant-spritzer for Evelin.
When they finally raised their glasses, Stu said: "To Nick, our hero of the hour!"
Nick smiled embarrassed, "Thanks guys…"
"Yes, thank you foxtrot." Judy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Evelin – sitting on Nick's other side – leaned over to him likewise and gave him also a kiss on the other cheek at the same time.
"Thank you for saving my sister, foxy." She giggled and – seeing his befuddled face – all others at the table started to laugh, too.
"Don't worry, I'm not trying to kiss you." Sven snickered.
"Me neither." Stu chuckled and took another sip from his sparkling wine.
"I'm saving that for when we leave, honey." Bonnie winked.
"You don't really want to leave again as early as today, do you?" Nick asked.
"You could drive with us in our car tomorrow, you don't have to take the train." Sven suggested.
"But we didn't even take something to change with us. And you are already sleeping in the guestroom." Bonnie added for consideration.
"Well, we have a second guest room." Nick suggested – "There is only a convertible sofa in it, not a bed, but for just one night it should be suffice."
"It would be great to have you around for one more evening!" Judy smiled brightly, then added a bit shy: "Also… it might be the last time we have as much as two guestrooms available for you all to stay overnight."
"Are you going to move again? Actually I like your current apartment." Bonnie asked.
Judy glanced to Nick who rubbed his neck. "Well, no… but we plan to convert the rooms."
Evelin's muzzle began to twitch furiously and she exchanged some suggestive looks with Judy.
"Did we inspire you with our own renovation plans?" Stu chuckled – "I would suggest a small library, maybe even a fake fireplace. Or what about a hobby room?" he took another sip from his champagne.
"I don't think so…" Evelin started to grin slyly, still looking to Judy who started to twitch with her muzzle now on her part, too. "Really, sis? No kidding?", her grin grew even wider while the other rabbits began to look somewhat confused.
"Well…" Judy grinned a bit embarrassed and put her paw onto Nick's. The fox interlaced his fingers with hers and chuckled, giving his wife a quick kiss.
It took a few more seconds, then Bonnie suddenly said with her paws thrown over her mouth: "Sweet cheese and crackers!"
Stu looked even more confused now, looking from Judy to Bonnie and vice versa; Sven on the other side started to comprehend what was going on, too, and smiled widely.
"Would someone be gracious enough to explain what you are all talking about?" Judy's father finally said impatiently.
"Judy and I had quite an extensive talk today, and we came to the decision to… I mean that we want to… um…" Nick rubbed a bit sheepish his neck again. "that… err…" – with five rabbits having their eyes glued on him he was unable to articulate properly.
"We want to try to have children together." Judy quickly finished the sentence and bite on her lower lip with a shy grin.
Stu started to choke on his champagne and Sven slapped him on his back while Bonnie jumped off her chair, ran around the table and hugged Judy tightly while screaming happily.
"Ouch! Mom, please! My chest!" Judy's face was twisted with pain but she smiled nevertheless while her mother apologized several times. Evelin got off her chair, too, after hugging Nick firmly – now putting her arms around Judy's neck and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"About time that you both reasoned that out!" she snickered.
Next one hugging Judy was her father, then Sven – and Nick was getting his kisses from Bonnie after all, too. When Stu was finally hugging Nick, he even got a kiss from the older rabbit resulting in quite some laugher by all others.
"Who got the pizza fungi?" a waiter brought their dinner and they all sat down again.
"Wow, you two really know how to send your parents onto an emotional rollercoaster!" Bonnie giggled while trying her lasagna.
"Let me get this right Jude…" Stu started, poking in his eggplant-casserole – "…you are not pregnant, are you? Do you two want to adopt?"
"Dad!" Evelin urged him.
"It's okay, Eve. I guessed that this topic would prompt questions." Judy smiled but still seemed a bit uneasy. She shared a big pizza together with Nick, who was cutting it into pieces for them both.
"Don't get your father wrong, darling." Bonnie smiled – "We knew a few bunnies having kits with hares, but we have absolutely no idea if this is possible between completely different species. We are just curious, but would love adopted children just as much!"
Judy was glancing to Nick, who was really concentrating on still cutting the pizza like he was doing some kind of surgery. Maybe it was a somewhat embarrassing topic for her, but based on his palpitation of the heart, discussing some conception details with five rabbits – including the parents of his wife – was a bit too much for the fox.
"Well, it's not impossible for us to have biological kits according to our doctor…" Judy said, nibbling on a slice of pizza.
"Oh!" Stu blurted out.
"That's some great news, darling!" Bonnie beamed.
"Well, we will have to try it with …" – Judy coughed slightly – "…with in vitro fertilization. It's usually not working out by natural conception because of our different… physiology." She would have sworn that her head and ears had the same color as Nick's fur by this time.
Stu and Bonnie exchanged some looks, then he said with a proud smile: "It doesn't matter how, we will love any grandchildren!
"Yes, honey, we were way to inquisitive! We are just so happy for you!" Bonnie added and looked dreamy.
"Thanks Mom, thanks Dad." Judy smiled pleased.
Picking another forkful of her salad Evelin winked: "I don't care about the 'how', I'm way more interested in the 'when'!"
Judy snickered: "We will see, sis. We made a first appointment with Doctor Alisson tomorrow afternoon for a counselling."
"I will order another round of champagne to celebrate this.", Stu snickered but was restrained by his wife.
"I think we all had already enough champagne, darling." She winked and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
(YouTube: "w-39b_MiZn8")
It was nearly midnight when Judy laid on her bed in a fetal curl. Nick was laying behind her, petting her different stitched spots and bend forward to kiss her softly on her shoulder and back.
"It was a nice funeral, wasn't it?" Judy spoke silently.
"Yes… Bogo and Fangmeyer hold poignantly speeches." Nick replied quietly, then after a few seconds: "I hardly knew Reed, never had worked with him; just met him a few times in the Hollow Bar with other colleagues."
"Me neither."
Nick stroked carefully over Judy's arm, and after a while he said: "I can't get those bagpipes out of my head…"
The rabbit took his paw around her body and kissed it. "Yeah, they are really cutting." She sighed deeply but winced a bit.
"Do you have pains, carrots?" he whispered while stroking over her head and ears.
Judy nodded slightly, "Yes, a bit. But it's okay when I'm laying down." – she carefully turned around on her other side, now facing Nick smiling. "Or when I'm with you." It was dark in the room, but a few lights from outside the window illumed his face just enough for her to see him. With her paw she stroked over his face and smiled. "It feels good to be together with you in our bed again."
Nick snuggled his head and shoulder against her paw and closed sighing his eyes. "I missed you, carrots."
"We were together the whole day." She snickered and hold her arms in his direction. "Come here, foxtrot." He smiled and nestled at her side, Judy putting her arms around him. "I missed you, too."
Nick burrowed his snout into her fur, breathing deeply and letting her scent run through his nose. "I nearly have forgotten how good you are smelling." He whispered and kissed her shoulder and neck.
"After just one day?" she grinned and replied his kiss.
"In the hospital everything smells like sanitizer and the days before we were constantly working and were never alone for long. And don't even ask about the one and a half week at the burrow, so many different scents…!" he smiled and took another sniff.
Judy giggled, "Stop that, foxy! That's tickling!"
Nick pulled back his head and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Evelin is calling me 'foxy', you never did…"
"Maybe it's pleasing me." She grinned – "Or maybe I got an itsy-bitsy bit of jealous when she said it after kissing you, and you liked it."
Nick put on his sly grin, "Who wouldn't like it to be kissed by even two wonderfully beautiful, cute bunnies?"
She punched him on his arm: "That's for pleasing a kiss by another bunny!" – then giving him a deep kiss, caressing his cheek – "And that's for calling me beautiful." – Nick smiled, then got another punch on his arm – "And that's for calling me cute!"
"Ouch…" he snickered. "Worth it every time.", giving her an endearing kiss.
"Dumb fox." She giggled and replied his kiss.
"Cute bunny." – he caught her little fist this time and snuggled his body and tail around her body, giving her another kiss with a smile. "I love you, Judy."
"I love you, Nick." She closed her eyes, enjoying the fox's warm body and listening to his heartbeat until she eventually dozed off.
The next morning, Nick and Judy woke up around half past nine after sleeping all through the night without waking up a single time. When the fox opened his eyes, he saw Judy smiling content at him.
"Good morning, slugabed." She whispered and gave him a soft kiss.
He grinned wide, closed his eyes again and snuggled against her face. "Hey, cottontail."
"Do you think you are awake enough for some breakfast?" she crawled his neck. "I'm up for some toast and a hot chocolate."
Nick pouted, "Leaving our warm and cuddly bed?"
"We still have some guests, foxtrot."
"You're right…" he sighed and set upright, watching her sitting up slowly on the edge of the bed. When she breathed slowly and hesitated to get off the bed, Nick crouched beside her. "I'm getting your clothes for you, just sit and rest here for a moment."
He got some beige-colored pants and her pink-white-checkered blouse from the bedroom closet, as well as some underwear, and brought it to Judy.
"How bad is the pain?" the fox asked worried.
"It's bearable as long as I'm not breathing." She replied with a little smile and let Nick help her to dress.
When she was finished, she walked to the sideboard and took one of the prescribed painkillers while Nick was dressing himself. When he was ready, Judy smiled and went ahead to the kitchen. Evelin, Sven and her parents were already sitting at the coffee table, all kinds of food laid out ready.
"Good morning, dormice!" her mother smiled and Evelin got off her chair.
"Ahh, finally! Hey sis, hey Nicky! I made fresh pancakes. Take a seat, they are ready in just a few minutes!" she hopped into the kitchen, switched on a stove plate and prepared a frying pan with some olive oil and stirred the dough.
"Did you two sleep well?" Stu asked, looking up from the newspaper.
"Yes, it was rather comfy to be in our own bed again." Judy smiled.
"And you, Nick? Still got some nightmares?" Sven asked, but Nick seemed to not listen and read some article on the backside of Stu's newspaper.
"Nick?" Judy asked, putting her paw on his arm.
"Mh?" he turned his head – "Sorry, I was distracted… Stu, could you lend me this paper for a moment?"
"Sure thing!" the old rabbit handed him the newspaper. "Saw something interesting?"
"It's safe to say so…" Nick muttered while studying an article. "Adrian Bale committed suicide while waiting in the pretrial detention center for his relocation to the Meadowland Prison."
"What?!" Judy nearly dropped her cup of hot chocolate and leaned over to him. Nick pointed onto a rather small article; Bale wasn't officially connected in the public with the attacks of the last days. But he was well-known enough for his former crimes that his suicide was worth a short news on page twelve.
"He was found hanging by the corrections officers when they checked his cell on their patrol around 17 o'clock." Nick read aloud.
"At least there are a hundred witnesses that saw you at the funeral." Sven said with a wink.
Evelin brought a plate with a dozen freshly made pancakes. "Now put those depressing news away, Nick. Mom brought her self-made blueberry marmalade with her, so tuck in!"
"What do you think about a walk through the city park?" Judy asked her parents while rolling a pancake together.
"Oh, maybe the next time. We want to decamp at lunchtime, honey." Bonnie said with a smile.
"Already? But it's such a nice day, Mom…"
"We left your siblings alone at home, I hope the burrow is still standing!" Stu chuckled.
"But we still have one or two hours to spend." Sven winked.
After a more or less tearful farewell, Judy and Nick made a walk through the city park by themselves. Now that Ramses as well as Bale were no longer any danger, the police officers put down for their custody were withdrawn again. They sat down on a park bench near the playground, watching a few little kits playing tag or seesawing together. There were a few rabbits and sheep, but also a little lion and two brown bears. It was pleasant to watch them playing together without any prejudices; those little kits were indifferent about their species, as long as their parents don't teach them otherwise.
"No, you behave childishly!"
"No, YOU behave childishly!"
"No, YOU are!"
"No, you!"
"No, you are the childish one!"
Nick and Judy were turning their heads to a kudu and a gemsbok walking along the path, arguing about something, and the rabbit started to giggle.
"Hey, Bucky! Pronk!", she waved in their direction and the two turned their head.
"Hey, look! It's the little bunny cop! How are you Yoda?"
"She's not Yoda! It's Judas!"
"No, Yoda!"
"No, Judas!"
"No, …"
"Actually…" Judy intervened, "…it's Judy!"
Nick snickered: "Happens to every bunny sometimes this does."
Judy rolled her eyes, then turned to Bucky and Pronk again. "Still living at the Grand Pangolin Arms?"
"Yepp, the rent is even cheap enough for our skinflint Bucky!" Pronk patted the kudu on his shoulder.
"At least I'm not as messy as this oryx!" Bucky replied.
"I'm no messy!"
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you…"
"Wow…" Nick grinned to Judy who let her ears hang down and seemed to be on the edge. He had heard a few stories about the rabbit's former neighbors, but the reality was surpassing these easily. "Why did you even had a TV, carrots? You had your own telenovela right on the other side of your wall!"
"Who's that 'funny' guy, bunny?" Bucky asked cocky.
"Her boyfriend of course!" Pronk answered knowingly.
"Nuts! At most her lover!"
"Boyfriend!"
"Lover!"
"Husband?" Nick suggested, and the kudu and gemsbok looked totally dumbfounded.
"Our little bunny cop is married…" Pronk started, and Bucky added:
"…with a predator-fox?"
"Wow, I would have never thought of you as being biased." Judy raised her eyebrows and cocked her head.
"Biased?" Pronk looked irritated.
"That's amazing!" Bucky cheered, followed by Pronk:
"Totally!"
"Thanks, guys." Judy smiled brightly.
"You two should come visit us some day!" the gemsbok suggested eagerly.
"Yeah, do you swing?"
"Err… we will see about the visit." Judy's nose started to twitch.
"I'm a great swinger!" Nick winked – "But I prefer to dance the rumba, it's more body dancing and less exhausting than swing."
Bucky and Pronk seemed to be confused and Judy had to giggle.
"Sorry, guys. But we have an appointment in half an hour. It was nice to meet you again!" Judy waved smiling, and after a short farewell her former neighbors were proceeding to walk the path – already arguing about something again.
"That was interesting…" Nick grinned.
"Yes, reminded me of old times."
"With your swinging neighbors? Never thought you would be into this."
"W-what?! No! I had never with them…!"
"With them? But with others? Maybe rabbits?" Nick visible savored to tease her like this.
"N-no! I have never done such a thing!"
"But you would like to try it, wouldn't you?"
"N-Nick! Stop it!" Judy's inner ears were flushed into a darker red and her muzzle twitched nearly uncontrollably.
The fox snickered and gave her a kiss between the ears. "Let's go, carrots. I have a little surprise for you before going to Doctor Alisson."
Judy muttered something and slide off the bench. The fox put his arm around her shoulders and they walked to the nearest park exit. On their way to the doctor's office, they made a short detour through the pedestrian zone, where a lot of shops and restaurants were located. They entered a large phone shop and the fox lead them to the mobiles.
"I thought, since you left your smartphone in the exploding car, I might as well buy you this new model you were admiring since its release."
"Really?!" Judy clapped exited with her paws.
"I cannot let you stay at home the next weeks without a mobile, who should I chat with during working hours?"
"Maybe nobody? That's why it's called working hours!" she winked and looked at the different models and colors. When she saw a waterproof one in carrot-orange, she bit onto her lower lip. "What about this one?" she asked sheepishly.
Nick snickered, "I would have bet that you choose that color."
Judy grinned and they went to the checkout, also getting a replacement SIM card at the service point. When they left the shop again, she gave Nick a deep kiss and beamed from ear to ear.
"Thank you, foxy… err… foxtrot." She winked and Nick linked his arm with hers, snickering.
"Don't exaggerate it, Juju."
"Misses and Mister Hopps-Wilde, please?" a snow rabbit in a white coat called them up in the small waiting room of Doctor Alisson's office. Nick and Judy got off their chair, and the assistant directed them into a room with a treatment couch, a bookshelf, a desk with chairs and a few medical charts at the wall. "Doctor Alisson will be there in a few minutes." She smiled and closed the door behind them.
Nick and Judy each sat on a chair and waited a bit nervously, looking over the spine's in the shelf and the charts. Judy eventually started to pound with her right foot on the floor, but calmed down again when Nick put his paw on her arm. She looked at him with an awry smile, but Nick seemed to be calm and smiled pleased; at least on the outside. Judy could hear his heart beating nearly as fast as hers.
"Misses Hopps-Wilde! Mister Hopps-Wilde! Nice to see you!" an older rabbit entered the office and shook their hands with a wide smile.
"Hello, Doctor Alisson!" Judy smiled and tried to sound as confident as possible.
"I'm really glad that you are doing well! After watching the news, I got a little nervous."
"Well, thank you." She smiled – "At least I'm alive."
"Yes, I see. Doctor Harrington from the Zootopia-Plainsboro-Hospital already sent me your medical file. Quite a few bruises and slashes, a cerebral concussion, perforated lungs and two broken ribs.", she studied the report from the clinic and nodded a few times. "Well, I would like to examine you when you are already here." Doctor Alisson pointed to the treatment couch. "Do you want your husband to leave, or…?"
"No, Nick can stay with me, if that's okay with you." Judy smiled lightly and got off the chair.
"Of course! Okay, then please undress your shirt first and take place on the couch."
Judy slowly unbuttoned her shirt, took it off and laid it folded onto her chair, then sat on the treatment couch, her arms crossed before her chest. Doctor Alisson took a close look at all stitched wounds. "Do you have any more on your lower back or legs?" she finally asked and when Judy nodded: "I would like to see those, too. Could you undo your pants and stand here?"
"Sure…" Judy opened her trousers and pulled them down to her ankles, then standing upright again, facing the wall.
Doctor Alisson squatted behind her and examined the other wounds. "Okay, you can pull up your pants again and sit down on the treatment couch." – after Judy did as she was told, Doctor Alisson sounded her front and back with a stethoscope, listening for suspicious pulmonary noises. "I know it does hurt somewhat, but can you take a deep breath please?"
Judy's face was twisted with pain when she took a few deep breathes, but didn't complain.
"That's enough, thank you!" the old rabbit put away the stethoscope and started to carefully palpate Judy's chest. When she noticed that her patient was in pain, she stopped immediately and apologized. "Okay, you can dress again, Misses Hopps-Wilde. Do you take the prescribed pills?"
"Only when it's really painful. I took one this morning." Judy answered while Nick helped her with the shirt, then she sat on her chair beside him again.
"You can take up to four of them each day. There is no need for you to bear the pain. Your chest will hurt for another three to four weeks. And it will take up to three months until your ribs are healed completely."
"But I don't have to be certified unfit for work for the whole time?" Judy asked a little bit anxious.
The doctor smiled: "You are my first patient who wants to work earlier than necessary. Well, as long as you have still pains, you have to stay at home. No work or sport allowed, but going for a walk is okay as long as you don't overdo it. After that you are only allowed to do office duty for at least one more month. And after that we will see…" she winked.
"Okay…" Judy sighed.
"Good! I also have a note from my assistant that you two want to talk about getting children?" – when Judy nodded sheepishly, Doctor Alisson smiled comforting. "Don't worry, that is nothing to be ashamed of. I have a lot of couples that cannot get pregnant in a natural way." She browsed through Judy's medical file – "As I have noted here, we had already an initial talk about your choices. I think that we should try it with in vitro fertilization. You are both still young and even when you are different species there is a good chance to have healthy biological kits if it works."
"But there is no guarantee, right?" Judy asked quietly – "I mean, that it works…" she fumbled for Nick's paw and the fox hold her, stroking it's back with his thumb.
"The technique has its limits, and there are a few risks, yes." Doctor Alisson leaned back in her chair. "First of all, we cannot fertilize an egg with completely incompatible genetic material. What we do is inject the male spermatozoon directly into the female ovum. There is normally a natural protective covering around the ovum, preventing that the first sperm that comes along is fertilizing the egg. There is some kind of selection to find the perfect match with a 15-20 percent chance during normal intercourse. But that's only valid for couples of the same species. This natural biological sphere is normally preventing a match for genetic material by different species, as they are never recognized as a 'perfect match'. We circumvent this bio-chemical screening with the in vitro fertilization. The chances for success are therefore explicit higher, around 30-40 percent."
"But doesn't that result in a higher risk of disabilities? I guess there is a reason that the egg is … choosing the right sperm?" Nick asked somewhat doubtful.
"There is a very small chance, yes. But we are taking a lot of precautions, like a genome analysis, medical tests beforehand on both parents and a carefully secured preparation of both the ovum and the sperm."
"You said that there is a 30 percent chance for success with this method?" Judy asked.
"That is with parents of the same species that could not get pregnant in a natural way for quite a while. With genetic material of different species, it's somewhat lower, depending on the individual compatibility. And there are quite a few pairings of species that we are currently not able to couple, too. But I can assure you, that this is not the case with rabbits and foxes. Maybe it's not yet commonplace, but I did some research and we have a few documented cases where the in vitro fertilization did work and resulted in perfectly healthy kits. I would give it a 10 percent chance of success." She smiled encouraging.
"10 percent…" Judy repeated thoughtfully.
"More or less, yes." Doctor Alisson nodded.
"Is there a risk for the mother? I mean…", Nick rubbed his neck embarrassed, "…let alone the difference in size?"
Doctor Alisson grinned at him, then shook her head. "I can assure you, that this is not a problem. Of course there are a few risks, but there are with every pregnancy. The babies only get claws and teeth after birth and cannot hurt the mother from the inside, even with mixed species. And the size of them depends on the available space in the maternal body and size of the litter. It's not like in those old science fiction movies where a prey, pregnant from a predator, will be slashed from the inside." She winked and Nick smiled awry. – "Don't worry, Mister Hopps-Wilde. You are neither the first who asked me this nor will you be the last one. It's an old myth and rather popular. It was even one of the biggest fears in the last century and one reason why mixed predator-prey-couples were a taboo."
"What is the exact process?" Judy asked.
The older rabbit turned around and took a brochure from the shelf. She browsed through it and laid it in front of Judy and Nick with a chart and a checklist.
"After a generic medical test of the two of you we create a spermiogram: Based on amount, agility, shape and possible infections of your (looking to Nick) sperm cells we can recognize if and to which extend you are fertile. Then we administer a medication to you (looking to Judy) to block the natural activity of your ovaries. You get hormones on a daily basis to let several ova maturate in parallel. This takes about two weeks after which we prepare them with other hormones for the ovulation to make them fertile. With a cannulate we are then extracting ten to thirteen ova and put them into a nutrient solution. Now we selectively prepare the spermatozoa and bring them together with the ova in vitro. We take up to six fertilized ovules before they can segment. They continue to mature for about three days until the embryos consist of eight cells. At this point we introduce them back into your uterus and have to wait if they finally nest."
Judy and Nick tried to follow the explanations and when Doctor Alisson was finished they staid quiet for a while, studying the brochure and chart in front of them.
"You talked about up to six ovules." Judy said eventually – "Does that mean, there will be six kits?"
"No, not necessary. As there is only a ten percent chance for the fertilized egg to finally nest in the uterus, not all of the introduced embryos will mature. In fact, we take six of them to have a better chance of at least one nesting. If it fails with all of them, we let another set of six ovules fertilize and repeat the procedure. It can be necessary to try it several times until one embryo is nested – but it's also possible that several of them will nest in the first try. This is what I meant with the limitations..."
"So it's also possible, that it's not working at all." Judy said quietly.
"I never thought of you as a glass-half-empty-bunny." Doctor Alisson smiled encouraging. "As I already said, you are both young and healthy and I think there is a realistic chance for you to have biological kits together. You just have to be patient."
Judy turned her head to Nick with a questioning look. The fox smiled softly, then said:
"It's your body, Judy, and ultimately your decision. If you want to reconsider or talk with Evelin or someone else about it first, you should do it. The only thing I promise you is, that I will support you as much as I can, regardless how you will decide." He gave her a small kiss.
"Try everything…" Judy smiled lovingly – "As long as we are together we can handle everything, right?"
"Absolutely!" Nick said and they shared another kiss, holding each other's paws.
Doctor Alisson nodded with a happy smile. "I dearly wish you both good luck! As for the timeframe…" she checked Judy's medical file again – "…we should not start with the essence procedure while you are still having pains and taking those pills. Your body is still stressed enough from the injuries."
Judy nodded, "I understand."
"Well, but we could already start with the generic medical tests and also make the spermiogram. Then we can start with the hormone therapy in maybe four or five weeks." Doctor Alisson browsed through a few pages with laboratory test results, then starting to frown.
"Is… something wrong?" Judy asked nervously.
"I just saw that there were made a few hormone and blood tests during your stay at the hospital. Did you get any treatment for this?"
"Not as far as I know." Judy said a bit uneasy – "Doctor Harrington said you could better interpret them regarding my common physiology." Judy waited for the old rabbit studying the test results carefully.
"Anything worrying, doctor?" Nick asked somewhat alarmed.
"Not necessary. There are a few uncommon hormonal fluctuations. When was the last time you were in heat?" Doctor Alisson asked the rabbit.
"The last wave started on the day of our wedding…" Judy counted the days in her head. "Thirteen days ago, and it lasted three or four days… as usual."
"So you are due sometime next week, correct?"
Judy nodded and the Doctor put the papers aside. "Your hemogram also shows some low values for some vitamins. Nothing to worry about at the moment, but I want to make some further tests." She called her assistant over the intercom, then turned back to Judy. "I need to take another blood sample from you and also a urine sample… if that's possible?"
Judy pressed Nick's paw nervously but nodded slowly. When the snow rabbit knocked and entered the room, Doctor Alisson ordered her to get a needle and a few specific laboratory test tubes as well as a urine sampling cup.
"Okay, would you please roll up your left sleeves…" the rabbit said to Judy and started to search her arm for a vein. When the assistant returned, she started to disinfect the arm, punctured a clearly visible vein and filled five test tubes with blood. After finishing, she pressed a small pad onto Judy's arm. "Just hold that for a few minutes until it stopped bleeding." Doctor Alisson put the urine sampling cup on her desk. "Afterwards you can go to the restroom… we will call you when we have your results. And my assistant is arranging an appointment for your medical tests and the spermiogram in the upcoming week, Mister Hopps-Wilde."
"Thank you… can we take this brochure with us?" Judy asked, pointing to the brochure with information about the in vitro fertilization.
"Yes, of course. And if you still have any questions, you can call us anytime and make another consulting appointment." Doctor Alisson smiled and shook hands with both Judy and Nick, then left them alone in the room.
Judy didn't say anything but hold the pad, watching it. When Nick stroked carefully with his paw over her cheek, she sniveled quietly.
"Hey… carrots… what's the matter?" he got off his chair and squatted in front of her.
"Who knows? Additional medical tests are never a positive sign, are they?" she shrugged, and when Nick pulled her face towards his' with his paw, she looked sadly at him. "Something is wrong; I can sense it…"
"You are going overboard with those extra tests, Judy. You were blown up by a car bomb only three days ago. It's natural that your body is still stressed and needs some rest."
"Do you think so?"
"Definitely." He smiled and gave her a sweet little kiss. "Let me take a quick look at your arm…" Nick lifted the pad carefully but no blood was visible. He feigned a pouting: "Aww… no more bleeding for me to taste."
"Dumb fox!" she punched him against the shoulder but eventually smiled again.
He snickered and straightened up again. "While you are at the restroom, I will make an appointment for my own tests. We will meet at the reception, okay?"
Judy got off her chair, took the sampling cup and gave him a quick kiss. "Okay, foxtrot."
"Aww, got a phone again, sis?" Evelin smiled when Judy called her in the evening via muzzletime.
"Yep, a gift from Nick. It's even the brand new pawphone with a carrot-colored aluminum shell – and it's waterproof!" Judy sat on her bed alone, leaning against the back wall, and grinned from ear to ear.
"Wow, maybe I should let someone blow me up, too!" Eve snickered – "So the next time you are calling you are showering?" she winked.
"I thought of something less compromising, like photos while in the swimming pool." Judy giggled.
"At the Mystic Springs Oasis?"
"Eve!" Judy looked shocked. "What's the matter with all of you today?"
"Why? Did somebody else suggest some juicier photos, too?" Evelin laughed amused about her sister being a little bit prude.
"Nah, not really…" Judy outstretched her tongue.
"Not really?! Spill!" Evelin asked curiously and Judy told her about their encounter with her two former neighbors in the city park. "Wait…" Eve furrowed one brow – "Aren't those two not a married couple?"
"I think so?"
"So they are queer as a football bat?"
"Yeah? So what?"
"Maybe they were more interested in your fluffy foxy than in you, thought about it?" Evelin snickered when Judy replied her look dumbfounded. "Oh, you are really some completely innocent, cute little bunny!" she laughed.
"I'm not!" Judy pouted.
"You are!"
"I'm not!"
"You are!"
"I'm… gosh, we are acting like Pronk and Bucky already!" Judy giggled.
"I don't think so, there would be more hot and steamy sex involved otherwise…" Evelin licked lasciviously over her lips.
"E-Eve!" Judy stammered.
"I already spent a night with your foxy in your bed, just let me know if you want to join up with us the next time." She winked naughty and eventually burst into laughter when her sis couldn't even answer anymore and had put her paw over the mouth wide-eyed.
"You should replace your phone, sis. Your camera records way too many red hues." Evelin suggested after calming down a bit, still giggling. "Speaking of sexual intercourse… how was your medical appointment?"
"Believe me, the whole procedure has nothing to do with sex or romance…" Judy rolled her eyes and began to explain what Doctor Alisson had told them about the mixed-species-reproduction and in vitro fertilization.
After she had finished, Evelin thought about it for a minute. "Sounds like a rather time-consuming and stressful procedure. I would have guessed that there is a better chance of success, but even only about 30 percent with same-species-couples?" – Judy just nodded slowly – "Hey, sis! Never say die. They all told you it would be impossible for a rabbit to be a cop, but you made it. There were doubters that didn't believe in a rabbit-fox-relationship that lasts, but you are even married by now. And finally a car bomb that couldn't be disarmed and should have killed you, but here you are!" Evelin smiled encouraging.
"Maybe, but this time it's different. We are talking about biology and our different physiology, that's nothing one can put away with hard work for example." Judy looked somewhat dispirited.
Evelin looked thoughtfully: "I remember some video where someone was talking about the fact, that animals have evolved over time and anyone can be anything." She winked and Judy smiled lightly – "I guess, that's also true for a bunny getting kits with a fox – especially when we are talking about you little overachiever."
"Thanks, maybe you are right and I'm just too pessimistic because of those additional tests Doctor Alisson made." Judy sighed with a smile.
"Additional tests?" Evelin frowned and Judy told her contrite about the yet non-specific blood and hormone tests results. "That doesn't has to mean anything, Juju." Eve reassured her when she had finished.
"I know." Judy sighed. "But I did a bit of research on the internet and there are quite a few autoimmune diseases. It could even be cancer, or…"
"Stop it!" Evelin said vigorously – "You could enter the symptoms of a simple cold into the internet and it would diagnose you with cancer! Don't be ridiculous, Juju!"
Judy started to look even more uneasy – "I… didn't told you something else… actually I didn't tell it anybody until now." – Evelin looked curious but just waited for her sister to continue – "I wasn't feeling all too well even before the assault… getting dizzy a few times, vomited even after eating near to nothing, fatigue, …"
"Sounds like pregnancy…" Evelin muttered, thinking about her own little problems, then somewhat angry: "Why didn't you tell anyone?!"
"Because I was scared!" Judy sniveled – "And then I thought when I was in hospital, that the doctors would just find something if I'm really ill; and when they didn't I was relieved and persuaded myself that it was nothing, maybe just a cold. But now there are those additional tests…"
"Oh, Juju…" Evelin sighed and looked sympathetic. "You should never have tried to cope with all of this alone. You have an affectionate husband, a loving best friend – that's me by the way – and a caring family that will support and help you to face out everything."
"I know." Judy smiled softly. "But I didn't want to bother you…"
"For crying out loud! Leave us free to decide that by ourselves, okay? Maybe we want to be bothered!" Eve smiled.
"Okay, next time…" the rabbit-cop sighed.
"Promised?"
"Scouts honor." Judy put two fingers in the air and smiled.
On Sunday, Nick and Judy spent most of the day together at home. Now that Judy had a new phone she was overwhelmed with old texts and voice messages of the last few days; at first she started to read them all and even listen to the messages. But she got just too emotional with the more and more anxious ones and they eventually deleted the remaining messages unread. The rest of the day they spend relaxing on the couch, listening to some music or talking about the pros and cons of the in vitro fertilization. Judy had already decided to give it a shot, and Nick was more than happy with the decision, but the rabbit was still somewhat uneasy about the risks and relatively small chances of success. In the afternoon, Martha Wilde made a surprise visit and brought some home-made marble cake with her. When the couple told Nick's mother about their decision to have own children, Martha was overwhelmed with joy and nearly crushed them with hugs – at least Nick, being more carefully with Judy and her injuries. It was already evening when the vixen left again and after watching some TV, both officers decided to go to bed early – Nick had his appointment with the Health Counselor of the ZPD the next day on Monday at 11 o'clock.
The next morning, they were sitting together at the breakfast table at half past eight. Nick had not slept too well this night again and laid awake beside Judy most of it, gazing at the ceiling or watching Judy sleeping.
"You are rather quiet today, foxtrot." Judy took a sip from her hot chocolate while watching Nick nibbling on the same slice of toast for nearly ten minutes.
Nick smiled slightly, putting down the toast and pouring his third cup of coffee. "Just a bit tired, carrots."
"Did you had nightmares again?"
Nick shook slowly his head. "You cannot have nightmares if you cannot fall asleep in the first place."
"You also cannot stay awake until you collapse from fatigue." Judy looked a bit worried.
"I know, carrots." He took a sip from the still steaming coffee and grimaced. "But it's not only the nightmares, I'm worried about you."
"I knew it… I should not have told you about those old symptoms." Judy sighed.
"That's not an option, Judy. You can always talk with me about everything!"
"I know that…" she smiled softly and put her paw on his'.
"Just don't try to cope with everything on your own, okay? United we stand, united we fall."
"Bad paws forever?" Judy winked.
"Hey, that was a great movie!" Nick snickered. "But seriously, I really mean it…"
"Okay, no more secrecies, foxtrot." She got off her chair and hugged Nick, giving him a lovingly kiss.
They both finished their breakfast and decided to go together to the precinct by foot; it was about a half-an-hour walk and Judy sat into a small café – she didn't want to meet all her colleagues just yet after the funeral – while Nick entered the police building at quarter to eleven. The Medical Health Counselor had his office on the second floor and after taking a deep breath the fox knocked on the door.
"Come in!" someone said behind the door and Nick entered the small office. It had a few plants in it, a desk with two chairs, two small sofas and some bookshelves. Also the windows were directing the main plaza in front of the building with a glorious view. Behind the desk sat a female, black panther who was working on her PC. When Nick entered the room, she raised her head and smiled friendly.
"Officer Wilde! Or do you prefer Officer Hopps-Wilde now?" she walked around her desk and shook his hand.
"On duty it's easier to go with Officer Wilde, Ma'am."
"Please, call me Samantha; or Doctor Carter if you prefer it more official. But this is neither an interrogation nor are you accused of something. We are just talking here together as openly as possible. Please, take a seat…"
"And you are writing a report about it for Chief Bogo. Or do you call that already paranoid, Doctor Carter?" Nick winked and sat down on one of the two sofas, the counselor taking place towards him on the other one and smiled.
"Yes, I'm writing a generic report about our talk, sometimes with a recommendation. But what we are talking about is confidential nevertheless and no one outside of this room is going to hear it."
"Well, I love my job, I'm trusting my partner and I don't have an urge to go on the rampage because of what happened to Officer Reed."
"You were accused of being responsible for his dead and suspended for several days?"
"There was an investigation by the internal affairs department, yes."
"Didn't you think that it applied to you?"
"What do you want to hear? Yeah, I was blamed for accidentally killing one colleague and nearly even a second one…"
"Your own partner, Officer Judy Hopps, survived the assault only by a narrow margin."
"She was in hospital for several days and will be on sick leave for at least another month, yes."
"Well, she is not only your partner on the force, right? You two are having also a romantic relationship for nearly eight months and married just a few weeks ago."
Nick was starting to get impatient. "We never made our relationship a secret and talked with Chief Bogo about it – he said that he has no problem with it as long as we are still trusting each other on duty and keep professional at work."
"Talking about keeping professional… Chief Bogo had to keep you from entering a danger zone because you wanted to reach Officer Hopps in her car."
"I just wanted to be with her and support her!" Nick crossed his arms in front of his body.
"Disregarding all ZPD regulations."
"I couldn't think straight back then! My partner was sitting on a bomb and all that I could think of was to save her somehow!"
"You thought you would be better at this than the specialized bomb squad that was already working on-site? Despite he knew the blueprints and that the bomb was nearly impossible to disarm, Officer Reed was risking his life to save your partner, right?"
"Yes, but…"
"And neither Officer Reed nor the executive detective of the case, Officer Fangmeyer, cancelled the rescue operation; even when there was only a 50 percent chance to still disarm the charge. Even when there were only seconds left and Officer Reed knew there would be not enough time for him to leave the danger area timely. Still you intervened without being an official part of the bomb squad and gave Officer Reed orders on the microphone."
"Yes! But…"
"You even disobeyed the judgement of the department chief of the criminal behavior unit, Officer Marki, who agreed with Officer Fangmeyer to follow Adrian Bale's support."
"Damn it! It wasn't my fault that the bomb exploded! I penetrated Bale's mind and tried to prevent the explosion! There was no time left to explain my conclusions or to obey all those rules!" Nick nearly shouted, maybe also because the black panther was still completely calm.
"Ah… you made an impromptu psychological profile based on a ten years old interrogation report you had read a while ago, objected to two skilled superiors and risked the life of two ZPD officers…"
"I saved J… Officer Hopps with my intervention! I swear to god I wish I could have saved Officer Reeds life, too, but I couldn't!"
"You let him die and rescued your partner instead…"
"It was not my decision to sacrifice his life for her! I thought I could rescue them both and I would have switched places with Officer Reed anytime to achieve this!"
"You believe it was your job to save your partner, not his'."
"Yes!"
"That you should have been killed that day, not Officer Reed, an old friend of your friend Larry Fangmeyer…"
"Yes! I..." – Nick's already shakily voice was cracking, being on the verge of tearing up. He put his paw over his snout and looked away. "…oh my."
Doctor Carter smiled and her voice was still calm when she spoke again after a while: "You suffered a very traumatic experience, Mister Wilde. You blame yourself for Officer Reeds dead because he saved the one person who is meaning everything for you – it's called the guilt of the survivors."
"I'm Judy's partner, I should have saved her. He could still be alive if I…" Nick muttered quietly but stopped eventually.
"If you what… would have cut the wire yourself?" – the panther was leaning forward – "You were the only one who had the idea to involve Bale into the disarming. It was your knowledge and fast perception that enabled you to unmask his lie, nobody else had those interrogation reports memorized or noticed his lust for blood. You had the courage to talk against your superiors. Despite being under heavy pressure in this extreme situation, you remained level-headed – and succeeded. You saved not only your partner but also Officer Reed. The ignition of the charge was disarmed, only thanks to you. There was nothing more you could have done. It was Wooly Ramses who killed Officer Reed. And Reed always knew the risk. He did his job, and he loved it as much as you said you're loving it. You should be proud of him – and you should be proud of yourself, too. You saved your partners live when you gave her enough time to leave the car. And Officer Reed saved her live, too, by shielding most of the shock wave and flying debris of the explosion from her. Don't reduce his achievement by feeling guilty for it, Officer Wilde."
The fox breathed deeply and sat quietly on the couch. After a while he seemed to be much calmer and finally said: "Maybe you could call me just Nick…"
The counselor smiled friendly and handed him her paw: "Hi, Nick. I'm Samantha."
"Nick! Nihiiick!" Clawhauser was shouting and waved for him when the fox was walking across the foyer. He had a lot to think about after his talk with Doctor Samantha Carter, but Chief Bogo asked him to stop by at his office, too. Walking to the counter he greeted the cheetah with a slight smile.
"Hey, Ben."
"Oh, Nick! Good to see you again! How are you? Is Judy doing well?"
"I'm fine and Judy is on sick leave for a few weeks to heal up her broken ribs. But she is okay, too."
"That really was a shock when I heard the radio messages!"
"Yeah… well, the Chief wanted to talk with me… can you give him a call that I'm here?"
"Of course, just a second…" – and while talking on the intercom: "Chief Bogo? Officer Nicholas Wilde is here for you."
The voice of the cape buffalo sounded tinny through the speaker: "I need a few more minutes, he can wait in the foyer."
"You heard it yourself, Nick." Clawhauser smiled, but Nick just nodded slightly. "Is everything alright?"
"I had an appointment with our Health Counselor today."
"Oh… right, that's mandatory for you as you were on-site when…" Benjamin hesitated eventually, and Nick just nodded.
"Yeah… well, I'm getting a glass of water from the coffee kitchen… see you later, Ben."
"Bye, and greetings to Judy!" Clawhauser cheered and waved good-bye to him.
While drinking the cold water, Nick's phone signaled a new message from Judy:
Judy: "Got a call from Doctor Alisson's office. They have my test results. :-o"
Nick: "What did they say?!"
Judy: "They were not allowed to say anything on the phone. :((("
Judy: "I should come into the office even today if possible. I'm scared! :'("
Nick could feel a lump in his throat.
Nick: "Waiting for Bogo atm :/"
Nick: "I try to hurry & we go to the doctor's office together, k?"
Judy: "K"
Nick: "Stay calm, I'm thinking of you! 3 :-*"
Judy: "Will try. Love U! 3"
Nick: "Love U2! 3"
Nick started to pace nervously in the foyer, wishing Bogo could just postpone their talk for a day or two; his place was currently at Judy's side. Impatiently he ran up the stairs to the second floor where Bogo's office was, but his door was still closed. Maybe he should just knock?
"Wilde…" the Chief's voice came from behind Nick, obviously he wasn't in his office. Nick quickly turned around and saluted.
"Chief!"
Bogo walked past him and made a gesture with his hoof. "Follow me – and close the door behind you."
Nick followed Bogo into his office, closed the door and waited for the Chief to offer him a seat. After sitting down, the cape buffalo leaned back in his chair.
"I suggest we can skip the part where I ask you how you are doing, and you answering with your common 'fine'." Chief Bogo began and Nick just nodded.
"I got the sick note from Officer Hopps' doctor, she will be absent for at least four weeks. Please present her my best wishes for her recovery."
"Of course, thank you, sir."
"That brings us to another topic. I just had a talk with Doctor Carter. An official report of your talk is still pending, but I got her first impression and recommendation under reserve."
"Sir?"
"She takes the view, that you are currently not recommended for field work, and you should meet again twice a week for initially four more sessions to talk about the past events. As you are currently without your partner anyway, you are on office duty until she gives you a clearance for regular service again."
"But, Chief…!"
"That is not a punishment, Wilde. But I need all my officers to be up the mark, physically and psychically! Just take it slow…"
Nick nodded with a sigh. "Yes, Sir."
"By the way, Detective Fangmeyer officially proposed you for a commendation, and I'm supporting his request. You really did some outstanding work under heavy pressure and difficult conditions. Be prepared for the mayor's office to get in contact with you."
"T-thank you…" Nick was flabbergasted and didn't know what to say.
"Detective Marki was impressed by your work, too. He asked me to borrow you to his criminal behavior department for a few weeks to give you more practical work experience. I told him that I will talk with you about it, but as long as you are on office duty anyway I would recommend this as a new experience. I expect your decision until the end of this week."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you."
"Speaking of this week… you should still have quite some overtime. I would suggest you take a few more free days until returning to work. I guess your partner could need your support now. Just give me your answer regarding Detective Marki until Friday and take the rest of the week off. After I got the final report from Doctor Carter, she will get in touch with you to arrange your next appointments with her. Anymore questions?"
"Yes, regarding Adrian Bale. I read an article in the newspaper that he killed himself in prison? Does anybody know why?"
"His suicide is the official story for the press. Bale was actually murdered in his cell."
"What?! But how? And by whom?"
"Forensics are still investigating, but according to a preliminary report of the coroner, he was strangled and after that his sheets were used as an improvised rope to give the impression of a suicide. Bale was still in solitary confinement and there was a beat by the corrections officers every hour, so we can narrow the attack between 16:20 and 17:10 o'clock. We checked the CCTV footage, but it is jammed for a timeframe of 20 minutes." Bogo leaned forward with a serious look. "You are not investigating in this case, Wilde! You hear?"
"Yes, Sir."
Bogo got off his chair and handed Nick his hoof. "Then I wish you a restful week and repeat my greetings and best wishes for Judy." – did he even smile a bit?
Nick shook the buffalos hoof. "Thank you, Chief!"
After leaving the precinct, Nick walked to the small café where Judy was waiting for him. She waved when he entered the shop and the fox sat beside her on a small bench.
"Hey, carrots…" he gave her a nice little kiss and hugged her carefully. Then he turned his head and sniffed on the cup in front of her. "You're drinking coffee? That's rather uncommon for you."
"Yea, I know." She sighed – "The hot chocolate was simply too sweet and I couldn't decide on a type of tea. So I just ordered a coffee, but it's not my linking either. If you want to drink it…?" she suggested and smiled slightly.
"You are really scared about those tests, mh?" – Nick took a sip of the coffee and put his other paw around her shoulders. "Shall we get a Zuber taxi to Doctor Alisson's office? Walking would take us at least half an hour and you already had to wait long enough for me."
Judy thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm way too nervous right now and feeling like being brought to the slaughter. Walking there will calm me eventually somewhat." She smiled a bit – "Also you can tell me what Chief Bogo wanted. Are you on duty again?"
"Not really and not yet..." – Nick got off the bench, as did Judy, and they left the café again. "But I should greet you from him and tell you to get well soon. Oh, and greetings from Benjamin of course, too!"
While they started to walk along the pavement with linked arms, Judy turned her head to Nick: "What do you mean with 'not really' and 'not yet'?"
"I should take off the rest of the week, and starting next week I'm on office duty."
"What? But why? I mean, staying with me at home for the rest of the week is great! But why are you on office duty? I thought those investigations against you were stopped!"
"Yea, they are. But … I got no clearance by Doctor Carter, our Health Counselor." Nick sighed.
Judy raised her eyebrows. "What happened?" – Nick didn't answer and the rabbit had to nudge him with her elbow. "Hey… what happened, foxtrot?"
Nick rubbed his neck, "We talked about what happened … and maybe I said a few things in the heat of the moment that… alarmed her." – when Judy still looked questioning, he quietly started to tell her, what he had talked about with Doctor Carter.
When he finished, Judy stopped and took him by his both paws, looking him into his eyes. "Do you really believe that you should have been killed that day, instead of Officer Reed?"
"No… I mean, not really… it's not like I have a death wish!"
Judy sighed sadly and hugged him gently. "I hope so, because I don't know what I would do without you, Nick. You really have to stop feeling guilty for what happened. Doctor Carter is right: It was not your fault!"
"Yea… maybe… but don't worry; I'm not gonna leave you anytime soon, Judy." He smiled and gave her a kiss between the ears. They stand there for a few minutes, hugging each other, until Nick said eventually: "Should we move along? We are nearly at the medical office."
"I know, but I don't wanna let you go right now." Judy sounded worried and Nick squatted in front of her to look her into the eyes same-leveled.
"Still scared of those results?" he put his paw on her cheek and stroke it softly.
"Uh-hu." Judy nodded slowly with hanging ears.
Nick kissed her gently and smiled encouraging. "Whatever it is, we will handle it together."
The rabbit sighed and after a few more seconds they finally continued their walk. When entering Doctor Alisson's office, they had to sit down in the waiting room for a while because they had no appointment. Judy sat on Nick's lap, leaning with her head against his shoulder, while the fox was crawling her arm to calm them both; he could feel how his bunny was trembling slightly.
"Misses and Mister Hopps-Wilde? Examination room two, please…" the same snow rabbit as Saturday called and directed them into a different office as the last time. There were a few more medical devices and it seemed like more an examination room than a consulting office. They sat down each on a chair, and impatiently waited for Doctor Alisson; but it took another ten minutes until the older rabbit entered the room, too.
"Misses and Mister Hopps-Wilde, nice to see you again! Sorry that I kept you waiting, today is quite a busy day." she shook both their paws and sat down behind the desk. "How can I help you?"
Judy fumbled nervously with her paws on the edge of her desk. "I got a phone call from your assistant that my test results are back…"
"Ah, right, of course! Okay, just a moment, I have to take a look…" – the doctor logged in on her computer and entered Judy's name into a search mask. After opening her medical file, she started to read for a while, then turned around to their both patients who were looking at her like a timid fawn. "How are you feeling, Misses Hopps-Wilde?"
"F-fine…?"
"How is your chest pain?"
"It's bearable…" Judy said quietly.
Nick stammered and hold tight on Judy's paw, "Is… is something wrong?"
"Well, we will have to change your medication; and should reconsider the in vitro …"
"What?! But why?" Judy interrupted her shocked.
"As I just wanted to say…" the older rabbit smiled softly – "The tests revealed a rather uncommon complication…"
Doctor Alisson got off her chair and handed Judy her paw.
"Congratulations, Misses Hopps-Wilde, you're pregnant!"
(YouTube: "J5P2-9YY7qU")
Judy was shaking Doctor Alisson's paw without realizing it, starring at her stunned, and with a slightly open mouth. Nick was taken aback, too, being hit between the eyes by the news.
"I guess, that came as a surprise…" the doctor chuckled somewhat and sat down again. "The first hormone test in the hospital was inconclusive because it was still too early and too generic, but together with your specific vitamin deficiency it was a possible indication for a pregnancy. I didn't want to raise false hopes during your last appointment, you already had enough traumatic events last week; and it also could have been just a result of your injuries or an inadequate nutrition."
"It's…not? I mean… you're sure?" Judy could hardly speak; her mouth was feeling dry as a desert.
"If you agree, we make an ultrasonography right now to be sure. But I was specifically searching for indicators with your second tests. The results are unambiguous, even when it's a small miracle that you got pregnant with a natural conception. You said, you had your last heat cycle on the day of your wedding two weeks ago? That would perfectly match." She winked.
"Your scent…" Nick was still stunned and could only speak hesitantly. "It was slightly different for a few days. I just assumed… I…" he couldn't say anything else because Judy leaped from her chair onto his lap and throw her arms around his neck, starting to laugh happily. When Nick's emotional stupor finally released, he joined in her laughing and kissed her affectionately.
Doctor Alisson seemed to be amazed: "You can really smell the hormone difference in her scent during a pregnancy? Your olfaction is really impressive!" she smiled and waited for the couple to calm down again.
Judy sat down on her own chair after a few minutes, weeping for joy. Nick also had some tears of joy in the corner of his eyes and could hardly stop grinning. Doctor Alisson handed them both some tissues: "I don't expect any intricacies due to your broken ribs. But I will prescribe you some other painkillers that are well-tolerated, as well as some combined vitamin products to compensate your current deficiency. I would also like to admit you into our pregnancy-preparations-program that includes regular prematernity medical care as well as preparatory talks and courses."
"Yes… of course…" Judy agreed, still grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Okay, you will have to sign a form at the reception and my assistant will also hand you a few brochures with further details and tips." Doctor Alison got off her chair and gestures toward the treatment couch, switching on a small computer on a mobile stand that had a trackball and two ultrasonic probes. "If you would undress your shirt and lay down right here, please…"
Judy unbuttoned her shirt with shaking paws and gave it to Nick, nervously laying down on the couch. The older rabbit took a special ultrasonic gel for fur-covered mammals out of a cupboard and put on some latex gloves. She dispensed some gel on Judy's belly until her fur was soaked with it, then entering some variables into the mobile ultrasound unit and taking one of the probes. While watching the monitor closely, she moved the probe over Judy's belly. It took her a while, and Judy was holding Nick's paw nervously smiling; but eventually Doctor Alisson started to smile brightly and turned the monitor to the excited couple.
"Congratulations, you are becoming parents of two kits!", the doctor said while marking two small beating hearts, that were merely some moving points on the monitor, with her trackball. Judy bite on her free paw and started to sob with a wide smile; Nick hold her other paw firmly in his' and gave his cute bunny a kiss on her forehead, smiling himself from ear to ear.
Doctor Alisson removed the ultrasonic probe again and handed Judy a wet washcloth and a towel. Nick took them both and cleaned the fur of his exuberantly happy bunny, while the older rabbit was entering some more data into the small computer that were printed afterwards onto a picture of the ultrasound for the medical file: Judy's full name, todays date and time, species of the mother and of the father, and the current progress (week 2 of 8 in total). She printed a second copy of the image and put it into an envelope, handing it Judy who had just buttoned her shirt again.
"I'm so happy for you two!" the female doctor said smiling, sitting down behind her desk again. "Do you have any immediate questions?" – both Nick and Judy shook their heads, and Doctor Alisson nodded. "Then I would suggest that we meet again next week, you can make an appointment with my assistant." She shook first Judy's then Nick's paw and escorted them to the front-desk. "Nadja, would you make a form ready for our pregnancy-preparations-program and let Misses Hopps-Wilde sign it. And gave them the brochures about rabbit pregnancies, mixed-species couples and the one with common tips during a pregnancy. We also need a new appointment for the beginning of next week."
The snow rabbit smiled happily to the couple: "Congratulations, you two! Just a moment, please…"
Doctor Alisson waved them good-bye and while waiting for the assistant Nadja to finish their papers, Judy took out the envelope with the ultrasound picture. Her paws were still shaking and Nick had to help her to make a photo of it…
Evelin and Sven were having dinner together with the Hopps' family in the main kitchen – nearly 90 rabbits eating some mixed salad and sandwiches in one room and exchanging the newest rumors and news about the rural life in Bunnyburrow, resulting in quite some noise level. When Evelin's smartphone signaled an incoming message from Judy (the first five chimes of 'Try Everything' by Gazelle) she was still giggling about a story Valentia had told. She opened the message and a mostly black image filled her screen; after watching it curiously for a few seconds in silence, she suddenly jumped off her chair and set up a cry with such a high pitched voice, that most of the other rabbits winced terrified, starring at Eve who was madly giggling and fidgeting.