"It's okay, Judy. Judy, look at me, it's going to be okay."
Nick firmly gripped Judy's unharmed paw with his bloody paw. His face was only centimeters from hers, both of their eyes wide with fear. Judy was practically shaking, her eyes filled with tears.
"This is all my fault, Nick. I did this. I did something–"
"Judy, no, it's going to be okay, I promise. We are going to get through this, okay? Take a deep breath and relax–"
"I can't relax, Nick! What if something's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong."
"Something is clearly wrong!"
Judy squeezed Nick's paw tightly, holding it close to her chest. Nick's mother was gone, probably running and calling out for help. The door was open, and Nick could hear the commotion she was starting outside, but he wasn't focused on that right now. Judy's parents were on the other side of the bed; Bonnie was gently stroking Judy's ear, while Stu rested his paws on Bonnie's shoulders reassuringly. Both had grave looks on their faces, but said nothing, letting Nick do all of the talking.
"Nick, I'm scared," Judy whispered, tears escaping her eyes now.
Nick's voice caught in his throat, completely unsure of how to respond. Instead, he quickly turned and looked back at the door.
"Somebody get a damn doctor!" he hollered into the hallway before looking back at Judy. "Don't be scared. It's going to be okay. Here."
Nick briefly lifted up the sheets covering Judy and glanced under her hospital gown. The sight that met him made him quickly drop the sheets.
"What? What is it?" Judy asked quickly.
"Don't worry, the doctor is on the way."
Just then, Judy and Nick's doctor came running in with a team of nurses. Nick backed up, letting the doctor work, but he kept his paw intertwined with Judy's.
"Okay, Judy, I think we're having an issue with your placenta," the doctor informed the room after a quick examination. "Let's get you up to surgery. Quickly, now."
In an instant, Judy and Nick's paws were separated as her bed was quickly wheeled out of the room and up to one of the operating rooms on the floor above. Nick stood and watched her go, his breathing shallow and rapid. When he had looked under those sheets, all he had seen was blood, and for all he knew, that could have been the last time he would ever see her again.
"Let's get you into bed, sir," a kind antelope nurse stated to Nick, trying to lead him to the bed.
"Is she going to be okay?"
"We're doing everything we can."
"I don't want to lie down."
"I understand, sir, but it is the best thing for you right now. It wouldn't help her if you injured yourself more."
Not wanting to cause trouble, Nick did as he was told and slid back under the sheets of his stiff hospital bed. At this point, Nick's mother had reentered the room and was by Nick's side, trying to comfort him.
"Mom, what if something happens to her? Or the babies? I couldn't live with myself if I lost even one of them."
"It's not going to come to that. Judy is a strong rabbit; no matter what this is, she'll make it out with those babies in perfect health."
Nick ran a paw over his face. He could feel that weird sensation that something wasn't right building up in his chest again, and he didn't like it. Last time he felt this way, both he and Judy ended up in the hospital due to a bunch of violent polar bears.
Judy's mother, Bonnie, was crying now. She was sitting at the little wooden table in the corner, her paws covering her face. Stu stood over her with a pained expression, his paws still resting on her shoulders. Nick knew that they were worried, scared, and overall upset, but he couldn't help but feel slightly angry at them. After all, they hadn't even been there for Judy in the last few years.
"Stop that, they're her parents. They could disown her and kick her out, and then cry when she was hurt and that would still be okay," Nick thought.
Shaking these thoughts from his head, Nick attempted to think of the reasons why Judy would start bleeding so heavily for no apparent reason, why her placenta was suddenly an issue, but he came up with nothing except the event with the polar bears.
Minutes, then hours passed by, but still no news of Judy's condition. Nick's mother paced about, Judy's mother cried until she couldn't anymore, Judy's father never said a word, and Nick remained in bed, trying to calm himself down. It was 1:00 in the morning before anything happened. When the doctor opened the door to the room, everyone immediately looked up with expectant eyes.
"It was the placenta, more specifically placenta praevia, which means that the placenta was too low down on the uterine wall. It's rare, but not necessarily uncommon in the early stages of pregnancy. Fortunately, we were able to stop the bleeding and readjust things, but she's going to need some serious bed rest over the course of the next few weeks. We'll do an ultrasound in the morning in order to check to see if everything is still running smoothly, and we'll check up on her a few times overnight, but she's going to be just fine. We'll bring her down in just a minute."
"Oh, thank God," Nick breathed.
He would have collapsed if he weren't already situated in a bed. The feeling in his chest subsided, but he still felt very concerned, even if Judy was going to be okay. Judy's parents let out heavy sighs of relief, Bonnie's being more of a sob than a sigh, and Nick's mother embraced Nick tightly.
"I told you she was going to be okay," she whispered to him before releasing him and going over to comfort Judy's parents.
When they wheeled Judy's bed back into the room, she was sound asleep. Nick couldn't help but think her adorable while she slept, even at a time like this. Judy's parents smothered her in gentle kisses as soon as the nurses and doctors left the room. Bonnie was crying once again. After a few minutes, Nick's mother spoke up.
"Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, you should go home and rest for the night. Judy won't be awake for hours, and if anything happens, I'll be sure to contact you immediately. I live on the other side of town, so I'll stay here tonight."
Both parents looked a little hesitant to leave, but it was Stu who finally decided that waiting around and becoming more sleep deprived wasn't going to do anyone any good.
"Thank you, that is very kind of you," he replied, slowly pulling his wife away from Judy so she wouldn't suffocate her with affection.
"We will be back first thing in the morning," Bonnie said as she hugged both Nick and his mother goodbye.
With that, the two went back to their hotel to gain some well-deserved rest.
Once they were gone, Nick's mother came and sat on the small pull-out couch that rested against the wall next to Nick's bed.
"Does this sort of thing, uh, happen often, Nicholas?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, something bad happens, and then something else bad happens. Does that happen often?"
Nick laughed and nodded.
"It does."
"Well, I blame you."
"I expected nothing less."
"You should keep her from danger."
"I couldn't exactly stop her placenta from bleeding, Mom."
"Oh, you know what I mean!"
"I do, and I try to keep her from danger as often as I can, but she's a bit of a wild card, you know?"
"I would know if you called me more often."
"Mom, I talk to you almost every day!"
"I would like if that 'almost' was a definite thing, Nicholas! And now that I have four grandchildren, I want pictures and videos."
"Of what?" Nick laughed.
The conversations he and his mother had always included her criticizing him and then demanding something.
"Of your babies, Nicholas! I want to see their first steps, their first words, and don't think I don't want to be there for every holiday, birthday, and half birthday!"
"Half birthday? Now you're just making excuses to see me," Nick smirked.
"Seeing me more wouldn't kill you."
"I'm already in a hospital, aren't I?"
"Oh, hush!"
Nick's mother picked up a pillow off of the couch and threw it in Nick's direction, making them both laugh.
"So," his mother sighed. "When are you going to marry this girl?"
"I have no idea," Nick said with a shake of his head. "I don't want to make her marry me while she's pregnant, because I want her to be comfortable and happy on the day of the wedding, which a pregnancy can interfere with. Plus, we are going to be pretty banged up for a while, which I don't need in my wedding pictures."
"So, why not marry her after the babies are born?"
"I guess we could do that."
"Oh, the little boys would look so handsome in their little tuxedoes!"
"How do you know we aren't having four girls?"
"Honey, I'd bet money that you're going to have at least one little boy, and I bet he'll be quite the troublemaker, just like you."
"Nah, if I had to bet, I'd say he would end up just like Judy."
Nick's mother laughed.
"That wouldn't a bad thing at all," she said with a big smile, glancing over at Judy lovingly.
"You really like her, don't you, Mom?"
"Much more than that last skank you dated."
Nick's eyes widened as he let out a hoot of laughter.
"Ouch! Okay, okay, I deserve that. She was a bit crazy," Nick admitted.
"'She was a bit crazy' is a huge understatement when comparing her to Judy," Nick's mother said through pursed lips.
Nick glanced over at his sleeping life mate, who was curled up into a small ball of fur, her large floppy ears nearly covering her face.
"She's the one, Mom."
"She better be the one! She's got my grandchildren in her! I'll let you know right now, if you leave her, I'm disowning you and adopting her."
At this, Nick roared with laughter, despite the agonizing ache that emanated from his broken ribs. Once his laughter had subsided, his mother shook her head and smiled.
"Your father would have been so proud."
"You really think so?"
"I know so, Nicholas. He would have loved Judy. He would have killed you for getting her pregnant without marrying her first, though."
"Ha, that was Dad for ya."
"But he would have been very proud of you."
"Thanks, Mom."