Chapter 6: Broken Promises

Nick lay on his bed, relaxing while Judy was taking a shower. It had been about a month since Judy received her new medication, and things have been going smoothly ever since, except she didn't seem to have much of an appetite, but Nick chalked it up to stress. Maybe the cancer was going into remission. Maybe things would return to they way they were before. He started to think about the past, and one particular fond memory popped into his mind.

Five years earlier…

Today, Nick decided. Today would be the day he finally popped the question to Judy. He was off duty today, but Judy had to go in to do some paperwork. Nick took this opportunity to pick up the engagement ring he had meticulously picked out.

Afterwards, he drove to Precinct 1 to pick up Judy, and surprise her with his gift. Parking the car, he put the ring in his pocket and approached the building. Walking in through the front doors, he was greeted by Clawhauser. After talking for a bit, he saw Judy walking down a hall towards them. She seemed just as happy to see him as he was to see her.

"Hey Nick!" She beamed.

Nick smiled back. "Hey Carrots! How was your your day?"

"Eh, it was boring. Lots and lots of paperwork." She shrugged. She clearly had something on her mind.

Nick noticed this, but he figured his "surprise" would get her mind off of whatever it was. That reminded him; "Hey fluff, I have something to ask you." He said, feeling slightly anxious, and trying his best to hide it.

"So do I, and it's pretty important…" She said.

He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't joking, that whatever it was, it was really important. "Okay, what is it?"

She looked at him and sighed. "These past few years have been some of the best in my life. Not only do I get to live out my dream of being on the force, but I also have someone I can trust. Someone I can love. And I feel like it's time we become more than just boyfriend and girlfriend…"

"Judy…" Nick put his paw on her shoulder. "I think it's time too. So I ask you…" Nick looked down and reached into his pocket for the ring. When he pulled it out and looked up again, he saw Judy on her knees, with an engagement ring in her hands.

"Nick, I ask you, the love of my life… Will you marry me?"

Nick stood there in shock, not knowing what to do. Everyone in the room started staring at them, and Clawhauser squealed in delight.

Judy began: "Back home in Bunnyburrow, it's tradition for the female in the relationship to propose, instead of the other way around like most mammals, including foxes. I thought I'd do the same with you. You still haven't answered my question Nick, what do you say?"

Nick started laughing. Laughing, and crying.

Judy's ears drooped, she seemed to be taken aback by his reaction. "Does… does that mean no…?"

"Nonono! I'm not saying no!" Nick stammered, "It's just-" he showed her the ring, "I was planning on proposing to you! I never thought that it would be the other way around!" He took her paw in his. "And yes! Yes I will!"

Judy jumped up in delight and hugged him so tight that he could barely even breathe, but he didn't care, he had never been happier in his entire life.

Present Day

The sound of Judy's cellphone ringing next to him. He picked up the phone, and noticed it was a video call from Judy's parents. He contemplated if he should take the call for her. It had been a while since he had spoken to them, but he figured they wouldn't mind talking to him while Judy took her shower. Nick answered the video call and tried to appear as friendly as possible; "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Hopps!"

"Hello Nicholas." Bonnie said with a smile, "Is Judy around?"

"She's taking a shower right now. Do you need her for something?" Nick asked.

"Well, we were wanting to talk with her about her… condition, and when she was going to come back to the burrows. She said that she would come back soon, and that she would talk to you about it. We've been trying to call her to talk to her about it, but she always said that she was busy with work." Stu explained.

Nick furrowed his brow. "She hasn't told me anything about that. And we haven't been that busy with work. I mean, we've had plenty of free time, they're shouldn't be any reason why she hasn't talked with you about it… or hasn't told me about it…" Why didn't she? She normally never hid things from him, or her parents. This was so unlike her…

Nick suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the bathroom. He just had a feeling that he needed to check on Judy. "Hang on, I'll call you back. I heard something, I need to go make sure Judy's alright." He hung up and made his way to the bathroom. He heard another sound, retching. He knocked on the door. "Judy? Are you alright?" He tried the doorknob, and found it unlocked. He opened the door slowly, trying not to intrude on Judy's privacy. Looking around, he found the shower to be off, and Judy hunched over the toilet. He took a few steps closer, and found that she was puking up blood.

"Carrots?"

Judy turned her head in shock, and stared in horror at Nick standing in front of her, some blood dripping down her chin.

"N-Nick! I swear, this isn't what it looks like. I-I'm fine, I promise!" She stammered

"Judy, how long has this been going on?"

"It's just started, I swear!" She turned, and released another mouthful of blood into the toilet. This continued for a few more moments, until she started to become fatigued.

Nick knew this wasn't the case. He could see through most lies, having 20 years of street smarts behind him, and an additional seven on the Force. And having been married to Judy for five years, he knew she when she was lying. And it also helped that she was a terrible liar. "Tell me the truth, Judy. How long has this been going on?" Nick said, a tone of anger creeping into his voice.

Judy gulped. "A-a couple of weeks…"

"And you didn't tell me!?" Nick raised his voice.

"I… didn't want you to worry…" Judy looked down.

"Judy, this is serious! Of course I would worry, because I'm your husband! It's my job to take care of you! If… anything were to happen to you, I…" Nick broke down crying. "Why… why did you lie to me…"

Judy began to cry a little too. "I'm sorry, Nick. I'm so sorry… I just…" She couldn't finish, she knew she couldn't justify it.

After a moment, Nick collected himself. "When you're done, I'm going to take you to the doctor, no ifs, ands, or buts about it." He told her firmly.

"There's no need, I've already gone and seen him…" she said meekly.

"What did he say?" Nick asked, with notable concern in his voice.

"He… he said… that it's only going to get worse from here on out. I'm so sorry Nick, I know should've told you, I just… didn't know how to tell you…"

Nick just stared at her for a moment, before putting his face in his paws and letting out a tiny whimper. He then took a deep breath and collected himself once more. "Get done with your shower, and then we're calling your parents, and you are going to tell them what happened. I've been talking to them, and they said you were supposed to talk to me about when you were going to go back to Bunnyburrow, but you've been avoiding it, telling them that we've been too busy. So not only did you lie to me, but to your Mother and Father too. For shame, Judy." As he left the room and shut the door, he heard Judy cry. He had mixed feelings. While he knew it was the right thing to do, he felt he was a little bit too harsh. Did he let his emotions get the best of him? Nick sat on the bed, and felt a tinge of regret. He thought how uncharacteristic it was of him it was to lash out at her like that, especially since it was someone he'd known for so long. It definitely wasn't going to be easy telling Judy's parents what he'd discovered, especially when he had to tell them she was hiding it from them. He sighed, deciding to wait until Judy got out of the shower to call her parents. He figured it would be much easier on all of them if he did.

Judy couldn't lift her head. Not due to exhaustion, but guilt. She knew she was wrong for lying. She heard the door shut, but she stayed by the toilet for a moment and cried. She cried because things had been going so well, but now that was going to fall apart. She cried because she heard the disappointment in Nick's voice. She cried because she knew her parents would be disappointed in her too, and because they would definitely be upset to learn that she was vomiting blood. And she cried because she knew that she had hurt Nick by keeping something so important from him. He was right for being mad. She knew vomiting blood in any situation is very serious, something that shouldn't be hidden from your significant other. She could only pray that Nick would forgive her.

She climbed into the shower and turned on the water as hot as she could stand it, and let the hot water soothe her. While it made her feel better physically, it didn't calm her down emotionally. She begun to dread having to call her parents, and she knew Nick wouldn't let her get out of it. She took her time, mulling over what she could tell her parents, how she could put it as gently as possible to them. She knew they wouldn't take it very well, no matter how she put it. Maybe Nick should handle it, she thought, washing herself. Maybe he'd be able to phrase it in a desirable way with his charisma. But then again, he was obviously mad at her, so there was little chance of that.

She stayed in the shower until the water had turned cold, it was at that point she knew she couldn't stall anymore. As she got out of the shower, she listened for any sounds of a conversation. Much to her surprise, she didn't hear anything of the sort. She dried off, got dressed and exited the bathroom to see Nick sitting on the bed, phone in paw. Judy sighed. "Okay, let's get this over with…"

She sat down beside him as he entered her parent's phone number and hit the video call button. After a few seconds, they picked up.

"Hello again Nick. Hey Judy, how are things going?" Bonnie greeted them, with Stu right next to her.

Nick sighed, and gave Judy an expectant look.

Judy hesitated. "Well… things are… erm…"

"I just caught her puking up blood in the bathroom." Nick interjected.

"Nick!" Judy cried, even though she knew that she didn't have any right to protest.

"Oh gosh… t-that's serious! Why's she not going to the hospital!?" Stu said, in a near-panic.

"She said that she's already gone and talked to the doctor about it. Behind my back. Isn't that right, Judy?" Nick said matter-of-factly.

"Yes…" Judy said meekly. "He said that it's because of the progression of the cancer, and…" She began to choke up a little, but managed to contain herself. "And that things aren't going to get better."

"My God…" Stu murmured. "When did this start?"

"A couple of weeks ago. Whenever I try to eat anything big, I puke it up a few minutes later, with blood." Judy explained.

"So that's why you haven't been eating much!" Nick said suddenly, realizing that's probably the reason why she hasn't been eating much

"Judy, this is serious. Why haven't you told Nick? Why haven't you told us?" Bonnie asked.

"I didn't want you guys to worry about me." Judy said, bowing her head.

"We've been worried ever since you told us you had cancer! And it wasn't helped by the fact that you haven't called us in so long! We were beginning to fear the worst!" Stu scolded her.

"I know! I know… It… was wrong of me. I should've told you all as soon as it happened…" Judy said, her voice breaking as she once again began to cry.

"So… what now?" Nick asked.

"I think it's time for Judy to come back home to the Burrows." Stu answered, with Bonnie nodding in agreement.

"WHAT!?" Judy cried out.

"I agree"

Judy turned to Nick in shock. "Nick…"

"Firstly, the Doctor did say that things aren't going to get any better, so it'd be best if you are with your family so they can take care of you. Second, there's no way Bogo's gonna let you stay on the job now. He's probably bent the rules already by letting you stay on so far, but he won't openly defy them by letting an officer that is literally puking up blood stay on the job. He'll have no choice but to put you on medical leave when he finds out. And he will find out. I'm going to tell him, because you have proven that you can't be trusted to do that yourself." Nick explained, his tone growing increasingly more reproachful. "I've covered for you time and time again, Judy. But I have to put my foot down now. We're cops, for God's sake! We can't keep bending and breaking the rules as if they don't apply to us!" Nick took a deep breath and collected himself. "And lastly, you can't afford to stress yourself out with work. It'll only make things worse. You'll literally be working yourself to death! I won't let that happen!"

Judy began breathing fast, tears streaming down her face. "No! No! Nick, please!" She pleaded.

Nick shook his head. "I am going to take you back home to Bunnyburrow, period. You're not going to change my mind. You owe it to your family."

Bonnie and Stu simply sat and watched the spectacle unfold, with Judy crying, pleading with Nick. But no matter how much begged him, he refused to budge. After a while, Judy crumpled into a sobbing heap, leaving Nick alone to talk to her parents. They felt a little guilty, but they knew Judy probably would've reacted this way even if the circumstances were better

"When should I bring her?" Nick asked Judy's parents.

"Preferably in a couple of days, that way we have time to set up everything that we might need" Bonnie told him.

"That works. I'll talk to our Chief tomorrow and let him know about Judy's symptoms, and start packing. We'll probably have to go and say goodbye to our friends and co-workers. It's… probably going to be difficult for everyone…" Nick sighed.

"Thank you so much, Nick. We know this has to be hard for you." Stu said.

"I'm not happy about this, but you're her parents, and as such, I'll honor your wishes." Nick told them.

As they hung up, he turned to Judy, who was still crying softly. "I still cannot believe that you lied to me, and to your own parents. I'm so disappointed in you…" He told her. He then walked into their bedroom, and came back holding a pillow and blanket, and tossed them beside her. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight, I can't share a bed with someone who shows such a disregard for their husband, and their own parents. Especially when they swore to uphold honesty and integrity." He said in a rebuking tone.

As he walked into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him, Judy buried her face into the pillow and let out another gasping sob. Everything was falling apart for her. She wished she could just disappear, to phase out of existence one way or another. As much as she tried, she couldn't be mad at Nick. She knew that his anger was justified. She didn't deserve any sympathy or pity, she had made her bed, and now she has to lie in it…