"Oh my God, they just released the new edition of Carrot Weekly online just now!"
"No way! It doesn't come out for another two weeks!"
"It's early then. Come look, Carrots."
Judy struggled to remove herself from her swivel chair, while Nick watched without a word. Once she was on her feet, and somewhat balanced, she waddled over to Nick's cubicle. Her face went from immensely pleased to immensely furious as Nick's computer screen came into view.
"That's a selfie of you!"
"Made you look."
"That's not funny!"
"It's pretty funny."
Judy punched Nick roughly before waddling back to her own desk, grumbling as she did so.
"That's not even a prank, Nick," the rabbit huffed. "Bullying your pregnant fiancé doesn't count."
"Oh, it definitely qualifies."
"How so?" Judy asked indignantly.
"It annoyed you, didn't it?"
At Nick's smirk, Judy let out a loud angry snort before heaving herself back into her chair. Seated again, she then chose to glare at Nick in the moments following, who simply stared back with a lazy expression.
It was only mid-morning, meaning that there was still plenty of time for the two of them to wreak havoc on one another. Unfortunately, that would have to wait for the time being.
"Hopps! Wilde!"
The Chief's booming voice coming down the aisle of the office cubicles was loud enough to break the eye contact between Judy and Nick as they looked up in surprise.
"Yes, Chief?" Judy asked once the cape buffalo came into view.
The Chief responded by throwing a thick tan case file onto the bunny's desk before promptly heading back to his office, but not before he gave Nick a knowing wink that Judy didn't see. Once the couple was left in silence, they merely stared at each other for a single second. The peace was disrupted when Nick bolted from his swivel chair to read the file, acting as if the case was the best they had ever had. Judy attempted to get out of her chair to reach the file first, but was much slower, resulting in Nick snatching up the paperwork first.
"Ugh, give it, Nick!"
"No way. You always get to read the cases first."
"You childish, sneaky, conniving…" Judy muttered as she was finally able to get up from her seat for the second time in the last five minutes.
"Well?" she asked impatiently.
Nick looked up at her briefly to give her an exaggerated look of annoyance before grudgingly handing her the file.
"Weaselton is up to his old tricks again, this time in Sahara Square."
"He stole from a bank? That doesn't sound like Weaselton at all."
"I think that provides an even better reason to go find him."
"I'm right behind you."
Grabbing their things, the couple left the ZPD and headed for Sahara Square. On the way, the two went over the basics of the case, such as where the weasel was last seen, how much money he had stolen from the bank, and possible leads.
"This is it," Nick stated as he brought the SUV to a park along the side of the street.
"The corner he was last seen on?"
"Yep. He was seen doing his usual black-market sales."
"Let's look around."
"No, no, no, no, no," Nick shook his head. "No can do. You aren't going anywhere like this–"
"Oh, save me the lecture and come on," Judy scoffed as she carefully slid from the passenger's seat onto the sidewalk below.
Slightly concerned, as well as amused, Nick followed. Just as he was walking around the front of the car to join Judy, he heard a soft gasp. His ears shot up immediately.
"Carrots?"
"Nick."
As she said his name, Nick came around to find her leaning on the car, worry etched across her face.
"Carrots!"
He moved quickly, coming up beside her and placing his paws accordingly to hold her up.
"What? What's going on?" he asked, worried.
"I think my water just broke."
"What?"
"Look!"
Nick did in fact look, only to feel horror creep into his chest at the sight of Judy's wet pants.
"Okay, okay," he breathed unevenly, trying to think of what to do first while his mind reeled. "We have to go to the hospital."
"Get my bag first."
"Why?"
"Just get it!"
Jumping at her raised voice, Nick quickly moved to open the back-right door of the car. He looked around frantically before his eyes came upon Judy's black police backpack.
"I've got it. Here," he breathed as he scooped the bag up and delivered it to Judy.
She unzipped the bag and began digging through the contents as Nick began to talk nervously.
"This can't be happening, right? I mean, you're only eight months pregnant! The babies are too early. Something could be wrong. We have to get you to the hospital immediately–what on Earth are you doing?"
Judy was shrugging out of her wet pants, only to reveal a second pair of pants underneath that were completely dry. Nick watched, completely dumfounded, as Judy slid the first pair of pants over her feet and then tossed them into her open backpack.
"Carrots?"
"You should have seen the look on your face," she chuckled as she zipped the backpack and threw it at Nick, who almost didn't catch it, even after it slammed into the middle of his chest.
"What–?"
"A little bit of water, two pairs of nylon pants, a worried expression, and a very gullible fox are all you need to fake labor."
"Are you serious, Carrots?" Nick asked with an incredulous look. "Are you serious? You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"I know! It was hilarious!"
"It most certainly wasn't!"
"Oh, lighten up. It was funny and you know it."
BANG!
Judy and Nick jumped as a trash can fell over in a nearby alley. Following the noise came a scurry of feet moving quickly away. Judy's eyes met Nick's suddenly.
"Weaselton. Go!"
At her words, Nick took off for the alley, sliding easily into the entrance as he turned into the dark space. He withdrew his tranquilizer gun as he ran, remaining vigilant as he did so. He heard Judy following much further behind as she went at her own pace, staying far away from any danger. Now well into the depths of the maze of alleys that wound between buildings, Nick stopped at a corner. Moments later, Judy caught up with him.
"See him?" she asked.
"I think he went this way, but I can't be sure."
"I'm going."
"Carrots, no."
"It's my last day. Let me have a little fun."
"This isn't fun, this is dangerous. I'm not letting you go."
"You'll be right here the entire time, and I have my tranq gun. Everything will be fine, I promise."
Nick's ear flattened against his head as he stared into the bunny's eyes. After a few seconds of the pleading look burrowing into his soul, he sighed.
"Fine, but be careful, please."
"Got it," Judy grinned, excited for something new to do. "I'm going in."
She gave Nick a swift kiss on the cheek before she carefully crept around the corner, tranquilizer gun cocked and ready. Making sure she was far enough around the corner, Nick pulled his phone out and pulled up Weaselton's contact. It sure was nice to have other con friends, even if you weren't one anymore. Peering around the corner to ensure Judy wouldn't see, Nick typed out a message to the weasel.
"She's coming around the corner, u ready?"
Somewhat paranoid, Nick sent the message and then looked around the corner again, keeping an eye on Judy, who was nearing another turn in the alleyway. The fox couldn't help but grin at the elaborate prank he, the Chief, and the weasel had devised earlier in the day after Judy had sabotaged his chair. It hadn't taken long to achieve, only a bit of convincing, but he had pulled it off. The plan involved Weaselton hiding in the alley and giving Judy a bit of a fright. Not enough of a fright to send her into early labor, but enough to make her jump. She might even fire her tranquilizer gun at the weasel, but it would be useless, as Nick had filled it with blanks before they had left. Plus, after the stunt she had pulled with a water bottle earlier, Nick was more than ready for payback. He felt his phone buzz in his paw as a reply arrived.
"Running late. Not there yet."
Nick lowered his phone, the balloon in his chest rising.
"If Weaselton isn't here... then who is?"
"Carrots!"
Nick jumped around the corner to grab a defenseless Judy and pull her back, only to be completely stunned by the fact that she was gone. The alley was empty with an eerie silence.
"Carrots!"
He began walking swiftly, not really paying attention to his surroundings and definitely not caring whether or not there was another animal after him.
"Carrots?"
There was no reply as the ghostly silence remained. Nick continued to move forward, his paws shaking as he struggled to keep a grip on his tranquilizer gun and remove his communicator from his belt. Several horrible thoughts whirled through his mind, the majority focused on one subject in particular.
"Carrots, back off now! He isn't worth it!"
Nick could hear his heart thumping harder and harder as the seconds ticked by. Shaking harder now, he bent down as he brought his communicator up to his lips and held down one of the buttons on the side.
"Carrots, answer me, please. Judy," he breathed before releasing the button to wait for a reply.
The communicator crackled with some static, but there was nothing else.
"Officer down! Hopps is down! Need back up and medical attention at my location now!"
The balloon in Nick's chest had expanded to the point that it disrupted his breathing, which was now shallow and rapid. The balloon was so full of tension that it was beginning to physically hurt his chest.
"Oh, please, please, please answer," Nick whispered.
He closed his eyes momentarily to pull himself together, but that only brought on more flashbacks.
"Alright, help is here. You hang in there, Rabbit."
The images of a weak Judy caked in her own blood as it poured freely from the gaping wound in her neck filled Nick's brain.
"It's okay, Carrots. It's going to be okay. I've got you."
Then, the weeks that followed her incident filled his thoughts as images of Judy in the hospital, the two of them fighting, her confessing her love for him, him asking her to be his girlfriend, her saying yes, and their first kiss flooded his vision. Nick opened his eyes and quickly held the communicator to his mouth again, ready to plead, but then thought better of it and snapped it back to his belt. He then took off into a full sprint, sliding around the next corner that came up at full speed. After running the full length of one alley, Nick dove to turn again when he collided into a slowly moving Judy. The two both yelped out in surprise as they fell to the ground in each other's arms.
"Judy! Oh, thank God!" Nick gasped as he helped Judy sit up.
She said something, but Nick didn't catch it, as he was too busy smothering her in kisses and hugs to show just how thankful he was to see her unharmed.
"Nick," Judy huffed as she attempted to tug him off of her briefly. "I'm having contractions, Nick."
Nick didn't hear her again, still too bothered with trailing kisses over her shoulders, jaw line, and neck.
"I was so worried," he whispered against her skin.
Judy shivered at his touch, enjoying every moment of it, but she tried to stop him once more as the severity of the situation pressed down on her again.
"Nick. Nick, stop it. I'm having–ugh!"
Another pain shot across Judy's abdomen, making her wince and lean heavily against Nick, who caught her as she moved forward. Instantly worried, Nick was now paying attention to the situation and realizing that something was very wrong.
"Judy, hey, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Nick used his paws to look over Judy for injuries, but she stopped his paws with her own. He looked into her eyes and saw a great fear present in them.
"I think I'm having contractions."
"Very funny, Rabbit, but I'm not falling for that again."
"No, I'm serious this time."
"Honestly, how stupid do you think I am?" Nick chuckled.
"Nick!"
Nick's chest felt like it was collapsing, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it.
"You're going into labor?"
"No, something isn't right. This isn't right," Judy murmured.
Nick tried to help Judy stand, but she couldn't stay on her feet without him heavily supporting her.
"What do you mean?"
"Something doesn't feel right," Judy gasped as she leaned against him more. "I shouldn't be having contractions, and I had a pain like this a few months ago–"
"Wait, what? How long have you been having these pains?"
"Ever since the baby shower."
"Carrots, that was almost four months ago!"
"I know, I know, but they haven't been this bad until today."
"Okay, okay," Nick breathed as he looked around frantically. "We've got to get you to a hospital."