Chapter 4: Family drama

Later that night…

"I'm home Carrots!" Nick announced as he opened the door. Judy was hunched over the toilet vomiting as he came in. He immediately went to the kitchen counter and placed a bottle of pills on it. After she was finished, Judy walked up to him, and picked up the bottle of pills.

"I see you got my medication. Thank you, Nicky." she told him.

"You're very welcome." Nick replied as his wife opened the bottle, grabbed a pill and put it in her mouth, swallowing it. They were both glad that now that she would no longer be puking at random or have stomach pains. Suddenly, Nick remembered something.

"Hey, have you called your parents yet?" He asked, his voice full of concern. She looked at him, and shook her head.

"I just… don't know how to tell them. I mean, how do I tell them that? 'Hey Mom and Dad, I just called to tell you that I have three months to live. Okay, bye!' ? I just don't know, Nick…"

"They have a right to know, Judy."

"I know, Nick… I know." Judy sighed.

"I can call them-" Nick started to suggest.

"No!" Judy blurted out, interrupting him. "Let me. I just want need to think of how I can break it to them."

"Alright…" Nick said hesitantly. "But if you won't call them, I will. They need to know, Judy. Okay?"

"I'll call them right now." Judy said as she pulled out her phone. But then she hesitated. "I'm going to need some privacy…"

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything."

Judy just smiled and headed towards the bedroom. When she got there, she shut the door and began to pace about the room. She knew Nick was right, they had a right to know, but she also knew that the news would devastate them… Come on, Judy. Just get it over with… she thought to herself. She sat down on the bed, started a video call, and managed a smile. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally answered.

"Hey Judy!" Her mother's enthusiastic voice came out through the phone's speaker as she appeared on-screen. "Stu, come here! It's Judy!" she beckoned Judy's father. A few seconds later, he appeared alongside Bonnie.

"What's up Jude the Dude?" He said cheerfully. "How's everything been going?"

"Um, well…" Judy began.

"Wait, something's wrong," Bonnie interrupted, "Look, her ears are drooping!"

"You're right!" Stu exclaimed. "What's wrong? Is it Nick? Is he hurting you!?"

"W-what!? No! He would never-!" Judy said, exasperatedly.

"Stuart!" Bonnie scolded.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry… But, what's wrong, Judy? Something is clearly wrong."

Judy sighed. "Alright, just… promise you won't freak out, okay?" They both nodded. Okay, where to begin… she thought. "So, for a little over a week, I've been having really bad cramps, and I've been so sick, I can barely keep anything I eat down…"

Bonnie piped up: "That sounds like morning sickness… Judy, are you… pregnant?"

Judy scoffed. "I wish… That's what we thought at first. But no. Nick took me to the Doctor. T-they found…" She choked up, barely able to hold back tears. "They say I… I have developed… stomach cancer… really, really bad. They say there's… nothing they can do… They say I have only… t-three months… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" She began to cry, as her parents watched in shock.

"Oh my god, no… please, no…" Stu moaned, and began to cry as well.

"Will you get treatment?" Bonnie asked, obviously trying to hold back her own tears.

"No…" Judy swallowed the lump in her throat, "You know how treatment doesn't work on us very well. I understand that it may give me some more time, but the side-effects aren't worth it. I'd rather enjoy the time I have left…"

Bonnie simply nodded. "And… when are you going to come home?"

This caught Judy off guard. "Um, well… you see, I'm… going to stay at my job as long as I can. I've already talked to the Chief, he said I could."

"You don't want to spend your remaining time with your family?" Stu said, still crying a little.

"I'm not saying that! I do want to, and I will, I promise! I just worked for this job all my life, and I want to do everything I can to make the world a better place as long as long as I can. When I can't work anymore, I'll come home, okay? Please, just let me do this..." Judy pleaded.

"And does Nick know about this?" Stu asked.

"Yeah, he's okay with me staying on the force."

"I mean you not coming home. Is he okay with that?"

Judy hesitated. She knew better than to lie to her parents, but she also knew that Nick would respect their wishes. "N-no, not yet. But I'll ask him." Judy rubbed her eyes, she felt tired for some reason. "Listen, I've got to let you go for now, I've had a long day, and I'm really tired... I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay sweetheart…" Bonnie said, wiping a few tears away from her eyes. "We love you, Judy, very much, we want you to know that."

"I love you too…" Judy said, tearing up some more. "I'm so sorry that you had to find out this way… but… maybe the doctors were wrong. I may have more time than they thought. Who knows? And again, I promise that when I can't work, I'll come home, alright…? Bye, I love you…" With that, she ended the call. She rubbed her eyes again, partly from the stress, but also from this sudden fatigue. She couldn't explain why she was feeling so tired all of the sudden. I'll just lie down for a while, shut my eyes for a bit… she thought. She laid back on the bed and shut her eyes. Before she even knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.

As much as Nick wanted to be a part of the conversation, he knew better than to butt in Judy's business. He also knew that Judy would be furious if she caught him eavesdropping, so he just left her alone. He sat down on the couch, and rested his aching feet. He was exhausted after such a long day. He didn't mind the fact that he had to do most of the work, it was just so tiring. But at least Judy's still with me, I still have my partner, my wife… he thought. Just as he was beginning to doze off, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. When he looked to see what it was, he saw that it was a video call from Jack and Skye. He was surprised, as he thought they were out on a mission. Jack Savage and Skye Winters where part of an agency that often worked with the ZPD, that's how he and Judy met Jack and Skye. They had often worked together over the past few years, so often that they considered each other friends. For last few weeks, they had been out on a mission, and he hadn't heard anything from them. Truth be told, he was actually beginning to get a little worried. And even now, he was afraid that something bad had happened to one of them. He answered the video call, and much to his relief, he was greeted by both of them. "Hey guys, it's been a while!" He said cheerfully.

"Hey Nick, how are you doing?" Jack asked.

Nick smiled, and told them "Oh, things have been alright, I guess. Finally got back from that mission, huh?"

He nodded. Then Skye spoke up.

"We've heard rumors of something going on with Judy. Can you tell us what's going on?"

Nick felt his stomach drop. How could he explain it to them?

"Well there is something I need to tell you." Nick sighed. "Judy has been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of stomach cancer. It is already in it's late stages, and there is nothing that can be done. She only has a few months left at most." Tears started to form in his eyes as he said this.

Jack put his paw over his mouth in shock, and Skye started to cry. It was weird for Nick, seeing his friends hardened like rocks as a result of years in the agency starting to break down in front of him.

"What are you two going to do?" Skye asked.

"Well… She's not going to get treatments, they wouldn't do any good anyway. And Bogo's letting her stay on the job as long as she can." Nick explained.

"And what are you going to do once she can't work anymore?" Jack asked.

Nick stopped for a moment. He hadn't really thought about that, nor did he really want to. "I… don't know." he admitted.

"And her family?" Skye interjected.

"She's actually calling her parents right now, she wanted to break the news to her parents alone." Nick sighed softly and sat back. "Anyway, I don't want to think about it, we'll cross those bridges when we come to them. Who knows, it might not be as bad as they thought."

"Nick…" Jack began, only for Skye to stop him, and whisper something in his ear. "We… we hope you're right…"

"Well… How was your mission?" Nick asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

"It was alright I guess…" Skye told him, still focused on Judy's condition.

"What happened? I'm dying to know!" Nick said.

They spent the next half hour talking Jack and Skye's mission, at least, what wasn't classified. After a while, Nick grew tired. "Hey guys, I'm gonna have to let you go. I've had a looonng day, and I'm exhausted." Nick said.

"Alright," Skye sighed, "Just… tell Judy that… we're so sorry to hear about her condition. Keep us updated, okay?"

"I will, don't worry." Nick promised. With that, he ended the call. He began to wonder why Judy wasn't done with her call. He decided to check on her. He walked to the bedroom and pressed his ear to the door. When he didn't hear anything, he knocked on the door. "Carrots? Is everything alright?" No response. He slowly and quietly opened the door and peeked in. He saw her lying back on the bed, eyes shut, unmoving. She looked peaceful… a little too peaceful… He couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. He walked up next to her, and tried to rouse her. "Carrots? You okay?" He gently shook her. "Judy? Judy?"

Much to his relief, she stirred. "Huh, wha…? Oh, Nick." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I must've dozed off. I just… got really tired all the sudden."

Nick crawled in bed with her. "It's okay, I'm pretty tired, myself." He said with a smirk. He then wrapped her in a hug, holding her close. "While you were calling your parents, I got a call from Jack and Skye."

Judy perked up "Really? How are they?"

"They're doing alright. But someone told them about your condition. They're pretty upset about it… They told me to tell you that they're sorry to hear about it."

Judy only sighed sadly. Nick nuzzled her, "Hey, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay." He comforted her. He laid back, and she rested her head on his chest. "I love you" Nick said.

"I love you, too." She mumbled tiredly. After a few moments, she was asleep once more.

Once he noticed, Nick gently gave her a kiss on top of her head. "Goodnight, Fluff. You are the light of my life…"