Savage City; Final: Pain and Healing

Story by xansteel on SoFurry

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#6 of Savage City

Judy and Nick have an argument that could end with them splitting up. Nick enjoys working on the Hopps Farm, as Judy's older sister Sarah attempts to Mate with him in her absence. Gideon and Nick share life experiences with each other over a bottle of Shine.

The final part to Savage City is now finished, I'm hoping I was able to convey the emotional level to you my readers. Also sorry for the long read.


Savage City

Pain and Healing (Final)

By Xan Steel

In the weeks passing, a new mayor was appointed. A Reindeer from TundraTown, by the name of Thomas Reiner. He's job wasn't easy, but he played it smart, and tough. There were a number of protesters outside of city hall stating that the prey population wanted to have the predators under control at all times with the use of shock collars because they no longer felt safe. So he decided to put it to a city-wide vote and had the booths setup for it. To the protester's surprise, it was shot down by a landslide vote of 85% to 15%, against the idea.

He then commissioned a memorial statue of Marian with a few others, while having the names of everyone that had died be written at the base of it to made for the main city square. When it was installed and unveiled, Nick waited until late evening to visit it. It was the one time that Judy left the house with him. They stayed there for about an hour, as he quietly mourned and remembered his mother before going home.

Nick had been going to the precinct therapist the last few months because he wanted to go back to work. Judy, on the other hand, fell into a state of deep depression. Nick had caught her a few times sitting in the little one's room, playing with the toys they had got them, and every time he would come up and sit down behind her and wrap his arms around her.

He felt like he was losing her as time went on, which didn't help him as the nightmares of his mother returned. The intimate times they shared had completely stopped and the feeling between them grew cold. It hurt. It really hurt, and even though she wouldn't admit it, to him it felt being alone again.

He tried to lay in bed with her one night, and gently cuddle up to her, only to have her gently move away from him. He sighed softly and propped himself up on his arm looking at her.

"Carrots?" He could hear her sighing in annoyance.

"What is it, Nick?"

"What happened to us?"

She turned to look at him. "What are you talking about?" she asked confused, as he reached over to gently stroke her cheek.

"I'm talking about US sweetie. Anytime I try to get close you either push me away or move away from me. Have I done something wrong?" He asked softly.

She turned from him sighing, "No, you've not done anything wrong, Nick."

"Then what is it?" He asked in a caring and loving tone, but she didn't answer and he instead found her sleeping. He went to touch her but stopped. He was hurting inside by her actions, and while he wanted to help, she wouldn't let him. He gently got out of bed and went to the living room and laid down on the couch. He had been sleeping there ever since he found her out here one night, likely due to his nightmares. He laid there thinking about things and how it was tearing them apart. The therapist said there was still something holding him back from being able to move forward, was she the cause? Is she holding him back because she wouldn't go with him? He didn't know, and that bothered him a great deal. He turned to face the back of the couch as he's softly cried himself to sleep.

The next morning he left her a note stating that he went to see the therapist again due to having some odd thoughts and nightmares again.

When he arrived, Bogo approached him. "Wilde, glad I caught you."

"Morning Chief," Nick said pleasantly.

"Everything all right?" He asked sincerely.

Nick sighed before he spoke while his ears laid to the side, "No that's why I need to see Becca."

"I'm sorry to hear that, as she feels you are ready to come back, but until Hopps comes in and sees her, I can only put you on parking duty." He replied in a sympathetic tone.

Nick looked at him for a moment, "I understand Chief." Nick said as he left.

Meanwhile back home, Judy woke up in a daze and went to the kitchen to get a drink. Once she finished pouring a glass, she began to drink it as she heard a sound coming from the little one's room. She went in there only to be surprised to see all of them on the floor playing with each other.

They looked at her, "Mommy!" They exclaimed as they came over and hugged her tightly.

She knelt down and looked them over. Was she dreaming, hallucinating? She could see them, smell them, hear them, and as she reached out to touch one, she could feel them. She immediately pulled them all into a hug as she broke down weeping.

"Mommy, why are you crying?"

She looked at Markus who had asked, "I'm just so happy to see all of you." She replied.

A few hours went by as she began to care for them again, making food and getting them drinks. After a while, Nick came home and saw the kitchen was a mess with uncooked food and puddles of milk and water all over the counter. "Carrots?" He called out as he heard her reply from the little one's room.

He went over to the room, and as he entered the doorway he saw her on the floor talking to nothing, as well as more puddles of milk and water, and uncooked food. "Sweetie, what are you doing?" He asked softly.

She got up and went to him and give him a bunny kiss, "Our littles one's are back, I just don't know how they got here." She said excitedly as she hugged him.

He looked around the room and didn't see them only the mess she had made until it hit him. He knelt down and faced her, "Carrots look at me." She turned to look at him, and her eyes gave no emotion and looked as if they were glazed over, as she smiled at him. "There's no one there." He said softly to her.

"W, what are you talking about they're sitting there playing with their toys." She said looking back to the center of the empty room.

"Judy, we buried them three months ago with a number of your family out at the Burrows." He said as tears started forming.

It was at this point she could hear them crying when he said that, "Foxy how could say that in front of them." As she went over to them to try and comfort them. He watched her closely and saw how she moved. She was either high on something, or her hallucination was so strong that she thought they were really there. He turned and left the room because now it was too painful to watch and he didn't know what to do.

He heard Judy come out of the room as she closed the door and walk over to him. "What is wrong with you Nick?" She asked softly.

He turned to look at her, "Nothing is wrong with me. What is wrong with you? Do you not remember being at their funeral?" His voice was more stern than he wanted it to be, as he noticed that she was close to crying.

"How can you say that with them in the other room, did you not see them in there as I was feeding them?" she replied almost in tears.

"Feeding them? No, I saw a mess on the floor like I see out here in the kitchen," he replied with that slightly angry tone.

Her tears started to flow as she continued to look at him, "Why are you doing this to me. *gasping* Don't you love them and love me?" She finished.

Having her say that hurt and upset him. He put his hands on his head in frustration. "I do love you, and I loved them, but what you're doing right now hurts."

"Loved!" She said in a raised voice. "You say that like they are not in there when they are!"

He lost his composure with her, "DANG IT JUDY THEY'RE DEAD, THEY'VE BEEN DEAD FOR MONTHS NOW!" He yelled before looking back her.

This when she slapped him hard enough for him to stagger back. The sting of the slap hurt him deeply, but more was her look of anger. "Get out!" She said in a quiet yet angry voice.

"Judy you need help, you're hallucinating pretty badly, and seeing it hurts, a lot." He finished in a softer voice.

"I said get out. It's obvious now you never loved them or me for that matter to stand there and tell me their dead! So get out!"

He stood there stunned as everything came crashing down on him. "Judy, please you're not yourself." He pleaded with her, as she came over and pushed him towards the door.

"Get out!" *push* "GET OUT!!" *push* as he stumbled out the door backward and fell to the floor, as she slammed it shut on him. He sat there trying desperately to hold back his tears as he slowly got up only to hear her scream at the door that she hated him.

He stood there staring at the door, "I love you, Judy, I just wish you would let me help you." He said as he turned and walked away unsure of what to do.

He walked or rode on the back of larger vehicles for hours around the city, not really paying attention to where he was going as he looked down at his feet, deep in thought.

She said some hurtful things that cut him deeply, and honestly wondered if he made an apology, if she would let him back in, but was he at fault in all of this? Did it matter who's fault it was if he could make it right somehow?

As he continued to walk he noticed that the sun had started to set, but she hadn't called him on his phone. It was at this point that he made a sudden realization that he didn't have his phone or house keys, just his wallet. He stopped as the emotional level hit hard, and sat down next to some bushes and openly wept. He had no idea where he was which scared him, but more so was anyone finding him in this state.

It was getting dark as he looked up and saw a porch light in the distance. He did his best to calm himself down and head for the light. As he got closer, he walked past a mailbox and stopped to read the name. "Hopps." He looked around at where he was and suddenly realized that he had somehow gotten all the way to BunnyBurrow. He then saw the light on the porch turn off, as he started to walk there faster hoping to catch them before they couldn't hear the door, but as he got there he stopped just before he knocked. He wasn't sure if he should disturb them at such a late hour, even though he didn't know what hour it was. He knew that Stu had a barn in the back and figured he could sleep there for the night, and maybe leave before morning so that he didn't have to explain things to them about Judy.

Judy wasn't sure how long she stared at the door after she yelled at him, but she needed to check on the little ones as she hadn't heard anything from them in a while. She went to their room and opened the door only to see the mess of food, milk, and water that had been dumped on the floor. She began to search for them throughout the house while calling out for them. Every moment that passed and she didn't find them caused her emotional state to fall. She continued to call out to them through her tears and pain, saying it wasn't funny anymore and to come out of hiding. It wasn't until she slipped and fell in the kitchen that she realized that Nick wasn't lying to her.

She got up and began to clean up the kitchen and then moved into the little one's room once she finished. Afterward, she went to their bedroom to get her phone and called him, only to get his voicemail. "You've reached a Wilde time, you know what to do you crazy person. Beep!"

*sobbing* "Nick, I'm sorry, you were right, I love you, please come home." She disconnected the call and put her phone down as she continued to sit on the edge of the bed. About a minute later she heard the faint buzz of a phone out in the living room. She got excited thinking he had returned and went out to greet him, only to see his phone and keys on the coffee table. This is when she remembered that she threw him out of their home with no way of contacting her or being able to get back in. She quickly put on some different clothes and grabbed his keys and rushed to their little car.

She began to search the city for him while doing her best to keep herself stable. She checked all his usual places that she could remember they had been to, but he wasn't at any of them. She then spotted Finnick's van and stopped to see if he had seen Nick. Finnick looked at her and noticed she had been crying. "You two had a fight didn't you?" She nodded as he sighed. "No, I'm afraid I haven't seen him lately, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for him and bring him home." He finished, as she thanked him and started to walk away towards the car. "Hey!" He called out. She stopped to look at him. "I'll be honest, it amazes me that you two are still together. As I figured you would have just been a passing fancy for him. But you really sunk your teeth into him, no pun intended. Was this fight your fault?" She just nodded. "He's likely to heart broken then and if that's the case you won't find him until he's ready for you." He finished in a somber tone as he watched her eyes water up. She thanked him again and then left as she had only one place left to turn to for help.

She pulled up to the front of the ZPD and parked the car. She sat there trying to compose herself before going inside because everyone would likely greet her and wonder why she was there. She cautiously walked up to the reception desk and saw Clawhauser there.

"Hopps!" He said with excitement. "Are you okay, you don't look so good, Hun." He continued.

"Hey Clawhauser, can, can you have everyone keep an eye out for Nick, he forgot his house keys and phone at home, and I've not been able to find him." She replied to him in a more toned down voice.

"Oh sure, not a problem!" He turned to the dispatch radio and fiddled with a few settings. "Attention all patrols, keep your eyes peeled for Officer Wilde, as he left his keys and phone at home, and the misses is looking for him." He finished as a series of acknowledgments came back. She thanked him and started to turn to leave only to hear a voice see didn't want to hear.

"HOPPS, MY OFFICE!" She trembled hearing Bogo's unhappy voice, as she turned and walked to his office.

As she walked in he looked up from the paperwork he was working on and quietly asked her to close the door, and once she did she went over and sat in the chair. The first thing he noticed was her eyes. Red and puffy, not to mention it looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Why have you not been seeing the therapist like Nick?" He asked her quietly. She didn't say anything to him and only looked down at the floor. "Hopps, I thought you wanted to change the world for the better." He stated while putting down his paperwork and looking at her more closely.

"I do chief." She started to say before he cut her off.

"Then you are going to start seeing her tomorrow at 10 am, or I can just call off the passive search for Wilde."

She looked up at him with wide eyes as her tears started to flow freely. "Please don't chief! I promise I'll start seeing her."

He got up and went over to her and knelt down while looking at her. "Judy by the smell of it, you just had a horrible fight with him. I have never smelt this scent on you, so because of that you 'need' to see her starting tomorrow. You both went through some extreme trauma, and I'll be honest, I'm amazed neither one of you took your own life, as so many predators have in recent weeks. Work here is piling up and I need my two best officers back in action." She wiped her cheeks and eyes clear and nodded to him. "Go home or go see a friend to help you relax tonight." He said as she got up and started to walk to his door before he spoke again. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you fight about?"

It was at this point she broke down in front of him. "I saw our little ones again." He hung his head and gave a pained look. "I'll see you tomorrow chief." She replied and quietly walked out of his office, as he went over to his phone and made a call.

"Becca," Bogo said into the receiver.

"Hey chief, you sound down what's happened?" she asked.

"It's Hopps, she just came in here to have us keep and eye out for Nick as they had an argument, a pretty bad one by the smell of it. I told her that if she didn't see you that I would cancel the search." There was a brief silence between them.

"Is she really that bad?" she asked.

He sighed before continuing, "She just told me that she saw their little ones again, even though they are dead."

"Oh dear, that's not good at all, what time do you have her coming in?" She replied.

"10 am, I know it's your day off, so I figured I'd let you sleep in a bit," he said in a caring tone.

"That's kind of you, but after hearing this sleep is not likely to come," she said. "Thanks for coming in though." "Oh no problem, this is more important and needs to be handled gently. I'll keep you apprised of her progress." He thanked her as he disconnected the call.

By the time Judy got home it was very late, as she tried to look around the city one last time. She went to the bathroom and got a shower going, and once it was to a temperature she liked, she stripped down and got in. With her emotions all over the place, she just stood under the running water. Eventually, she just sat down in the shower and held her knees close letting go of everything. After a long while, she turned off the shower and got out to dry herself off, and without thinking called Nicks phone again. Through her tears of pain and regret, she made another apology, "I'm sorry. I wish I had listened to you. I know you would never lie to me about anything. I've been such a dumb bunny. I love you, Nick please come home." She paused as she began to cry again, but after a few seconds, the voice mail beeped and disconnected the call. She wasn't sure if it made her feel better or not, but she knew that one apology wasn't enough to pay for her mistake. She then went and laid in bed while setting her alarm before falling asleep.

Morning came out at the Burrows, as Stu came across Nick out in the barn, tossing and turning pretty badly while mumbling in his sleep. Stu had Brian his eldest son gently wake Nick, only because Stu was using a crutch to get around since he lost his leg. Nick woke with a start as he scooted back away from Brian. He shook his head to clear his mind and get a better look at who had woken him. His ears went back in embarrassment as he saw Stu and Brian looking at him. "Oh, Um, morning already?" Nick asked as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Stu gave a puzzled look, "Nick what in tarnation are you doing out here?"

Nick looked around to gather in his surroundings. "Huh, I guess I must have walked in my sleep." He said with a nervous smile.

Stu turned to Brian and told him to give him a few moments with Nick alone. After Brian left Stu hobbled over to Nick and then plopped himself down in the hay next to him. "Now, how come yer here and not at home with Judy?" He asked in a sincere tone.

Nick looked at him not really wanting to answer that question. "Well, as I said before I must have sleepwalked here." He said checking his pants, "Because I don't have my keys or phone on me," he finished in a nervous tone.

Stu could tell he wasn't ready to really answer that question just yet. He struggled to get up as Nick helped him. "Well, there's still some breakfast left, and I know the misses would like to have most of it gone before for it goes bad." Stu finished as he had Nick follow him back to the house only to stop and look back at him as he wasn't following. "Nick?" He noticed that he was wiping his eyes clear of something.

"How... How do you get passed the loss of your loved ones?" He asked Stu. This is when it hit him that they must've had a fight over their little ones.

Stu turned to look at him straight and said in a soft but sincere voice, "You never get over it, Nick. It will haunt you every day, but you'll learn to slowly cope with it over time, not to mention keeping a small memorial in your home can help a lot." He finished as Nick started to follow him back to the house.

Later in the day, Nick asked Stu if there was anything he could do to help out around the farm. Stu took him out to the blueberry patch and had him pick up a large basket. "It's harvest time for the blueberries, and we could use the extra hand in the picking process." Nick was all too happy to help out, "Just don't eat'm all." Stu said with a smile.

Nick looked taken aback. "You have my word boss." He said with a smile as he left to begin picking.

Throughout the day he began to feel better while he worked. He wasn't sure as to why, maybe it was the work he was doing, or perhaps the peace and tranquility of the countryside had a calming effect on him. Either way, he enjoyed this feeling and honestly didn't want it to end.

He continued throughout the day picking blueberries with a happy hum in his muzzle. By the end of his first time picking his paws were completely purple, and pretty tasty as he licked them clean. Once he finished he picked up his large basket of berries and carried them over to the wagon on the other side of the field. Once he placed the basket in the wagon Stu hobbled over to him and noticed his paws. "Wow, I haven't seen paws that purple in years."

Nick let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I was having a hard time picking until I figured out that if you twist them first they just pop off."

Stu watched him lick his paws cleaning them off before speaking again. "Well, it's nearing dinner time so let's head in and get cleaned up." Nick couldn't argue with that idea as he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, not even a single blueberry.

As they headed in Stu handed him a towel and some clean overalls to wear and showed him where the showers were. He wasn't too surprised to see they communal showers and only separated by boy and girl. He headed inside and stripped down as Stu took his dirty clothes and tossed them down a laundry chute, as Nick grabbed a bar of soap and got under one of the showers and began to wash. Once he finished he noticed Stu having a rough time with it and went over to him and helped him out. Not a word was spoken between them as Stu now had an easier time cleaning himself. When he was finished he thanked Nick, "Oh no problem, but I have to ask. How come you haven't gotten a prosthetic?"

Stu laughed a bit, "They are way to expensive, as the cheapest one I can get is still over two thousand bucks." Nick grimaced hearing that as he helped Stu get dressed before dressing himself. "To be honest I wish I could have one. As this crutch can get pretty painful after a while, not to mention I can't do what I love which is depressing." He turned to Nick. "I want to thank you for your help today out in the field and in the shower. Even though you didn't have to help, it is greatly appreciated," he finished.

Nick smiled at him as he handed over his crutch. "I'll be honest I really enjoyed today. It's been a long time since I've been this relaxed and at peace. I've also been thinking, when I retire from the force I wouldn't mind living here and taking care of the farm with you. Not sure if Carrots would want to come though." He finished with a light laugh.

They laughed and joked while they headed to the dining room to sit down and eat. Bonnie got help from a few of their eldest kids in setting the table for everyone else, as both Stu and Nick sat down and waited for everyone.

Dinner turned out to be pleasant and relaxing, instead of cold and lonely, like it had been back home. At the end of dinner, he helped clean up the dinner table before he started to head back outside towards the barn, as Bonnie stopped him. "Nick, you know you can sleep in Judy's room, right," she said in a sweet and caring tone.

He turned to look at her as she saw how sad his eyes looked. "It's all right, it's better for me to sleep out in the barn with the nightmares I have. I don't need to be waking the family up." He said while trying to give his most pleasant smile to her.

She could see that he was still hurting inside, but she didn't push him, "If you're sure Hun?" He nodded and said it was fine as he turned and continued to the barn.

Bonnie came into the bedroom where Stu was getting ready to lay in bed. "Sweetie, what's wrong with Nick? He seemed so happy at dinner, but just before he left to sleep in the barn I saw a really sad look on him." She finished.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I believe him and Judith had a fight," he said quietly.

"A fight? About what?" she asked.

"Again I'm basing this on the way he acted this morning, but it could have been over their now deceased kids," he replied.

Bonnie sighed, "I was afraid this might happen. I'll go visit her tomorrow and get her down here."

Stu turned to look at her, "No!"

"What, why not?"

He spoke in a calm and relaxing tone. "I said it was just a hunch. Let's give him some time to open up to us first so we know the full story. We don't need to blindly help only to possibly make things worse," he finished. Knowing Bonnie would take matters into her own hands to try and get them to patch things up, possibly before they were ready.

The next day things went just as peaceful for Nick, except for one moment out of his day. Sarah, Judy's oldest sister. She spotted Nick out in the field as she pulled up to the house and walked out to meet him. "Well, I didn't know my dad had hired a fine looking fox such as yerself," she said in a sultry tone.

Nick stood up and looked at her as he wiped his forehead. "Oh, hello." He said nervously.

She came a bit closer to him. "So mister fox, what name do you go by?" She said while looking him over and admiring the view of him in just the overalls and straw hat he was wearing.

"Nick Wilde and you are?" he asked.

"Oh, where are my manners! I'm Sarah Hopps, I'm from the first litter," she replied in a somewhat surprised tone.

He looked at her for a minute because he couldn't remember if she was at their wedding. "Forgive me, but I can't remember if you were at our wedding." He said.

She cocked her head to the side as an ear flopped over. "Our?" she asked.

"Yes, Judy and I are married," he replied.

She shook her head no and stated that she was in a movie production at the time in BunnyVille where she lived. Nick figured that was at least an eight-hour flight south by plane.

"Well, I've never met a movie star before." He said politely as he smiled.

She gave an embarrassing looking while looking down and shuffling her feet "Aww shucks, Mr. Wilde I'm not a full-fledged movie star yet, but thanks fer yer compliment." It was at this point Bonnie called out to her. "Whoops, I better go greet them before they think I wandered off and gotten lost. It was nice meeting you."

"Oh, likewise." He replied as she left. He stared at her as she walked away and noticed she was swaying her hips. However, for some reason, he didn't trust her. He couldn't put his finger on it but made a mental note to watch himself around her.

Over the next few days, her passive teasing increased with him, and he wasn't enjoying it at all. In fact, it only made him more nervous around her. On a late afternoon day, while he was picking blueberries, he heard someone approach him from behind and a split second later someone grabbed his butt. He leaped forward and turned to see who it was, and saw Sarah.

"Mmm, such a nice firm butt you have there Mister Wilde." She said while looking and smiling as sexy as she could.

"Sarah, please don't do that." He asked her nicely.

She came in close and leaned on his chest. "Mister Wilde, there is nothing wrong with two adults fooling around with each other is there?" she asked.

He couldn't believe her candidness. "Sarah I'm married to Judy your sister, I have no intention of cheating on her." "Oh is she here to comfort you?"

"No, but that doesn't mean I'm going to cheat on her anyway. We're just having a rough patch right now." He stepped back a few feet to keep himself away from her, "So please just leave me be." He requested of her as she sighed and walked away from him with that same sway in her walk. He shook his head and went back to work, he didn't know if he should tell Bonnie or Stu about this, as the last thing he wanted was to cause problems with the family.

He finished his work and went back to the barn to relax the uncomfortableness away and began working on two projects. He had asked Stu if it was ok if he could use the scrap he had in the barn, to which Stu said it was fine as he had planned to throw it out anyway.

The next two days were just as bad with Sarah as she became more aggressive in her approach to him and at one point completely removing her clothes and throwing herself on top of him out in the field. He managed to get away and hide in the barn from her. He wasn't sure why she wouldn't come in here, but it was a safe spot for him and that's all that mattered. Stu found him in the barn and asked him if he was ok. Nick didn't know what to say as he gave a sad look to him. "It's Sarah, she won't leave me alone." He said softly.

Stu looked at him with a concerned look. "What has she been doing?"

Nick wasn't sure why but he just let loose with everything that had happened since she arrived, as well as stating he didn't want to cause any trouble in the family, which is why he didn't say anything until now. Nick sat in a chair as Stu hobbled over to him and placed his hand on Nicks' shoulder. "Nick you know you can tell us anything, and it won't upset us. We're concerned for you and Judy, and I want to thank you for telling me what Sarah has been doing to you." He finished with a gentle squeeze.

Stu started to leave to have a talk with Bonnie about Sarah's behavior when Nick stopped him. "Oh, wait a second, I need you to test something for me." Stu turned to look at him as he came over with some wooden and metal contraption. Nick placed it under Stu's stub of a leg with a cushion and had him try to stand on it. To his amazement, it was holding him up without the need of the crutch. Nick took a few measurements before handing the crutch back to him. "Ok I should have this completed soon and hopefully it won't cause you to much pain when you use it."

"Nick, what is that?" Stu asked.

"I'm making you a prosthetic leg." He said with a pleasing smile.

"You know you didn't have to do that," he replied with surprise.

"I know, but I wanted to return the favor. Outside of the Sarah issue, I haven't been this happy and relaxed in months." He paused as the sad look returned as he wished Judy was here. Stu caught it but let it go as he had Gideon coming over tonight after dinner, hoping that maybe Nick would open up to him.

Later that evening Gideon arrived and headed to the barn with a pie, a couple of forks, and a large bottle of clear liquid. He walked up to the barn door and knocked and waited for the door to open. Nick went to the door and slowly opened it up. "Oh! Hey Gid, what are you doing here?" Nick asked.

"Well, it's not often I get the chance to hang out with another fox, and I figured I'd see if'n you was up to it tonight. I brought a pie and some homemade shine if'n yer interested." He replied.

Nick thought for a moment, "You know what? I'd like that actually." He said with a smile as he pulled out a small table and two chairs and set them up outside to watch the sunset.

They say there eating, drinking, and chatting for a bit sharing their times growing up and the mischief they got into. They're sharing became deeper with each drink, and it eventually turned sad with Nick. "You know Gid, I grew up my whole life making sure nothing ever got to me after that moment with the Ranger group, and it wasn't until I met Judy that my whole life turned upside down."

"Yeah, she has a way of do'n that," he said in a slightly amused and drunk tone.

"But now, I'm terrified," Nick replied.

"You Nick? I would think with you be'n a cop that nothin would scare yah."

Nick was silent for a moment. "I'm scared that I lost Judy, Gid."

Gideon looked at him with concern, "I don't think so, she's a strong girl, and she can be a bit stubborn, but I know she loves yah a great deal."

"Gid the fight we had was because she was hallucinating that our kids were still alive and at home," Gideon was speechless, to say the least. "It was bad enough that she pushed me out of our home, and then yelled that she hated me. I'm scared that I'll see divorce papers any day now. I don't know what to do." He broke down in front of Gideon as he reached over and gently grabbed Nick's arm in comfort. "I feel like I'm a horrible husband to her," he finished.

"Nick, everyone says things they don't mean ina heated argument, but yah need help with this, yah need to tell'er family. They have a right to know." He said in a caring tone.

"I just don't want it to cause problems," Nick said tearfully.

"Not say'n anything can make it worse. Come on, let's go find Stu." It was at this point Sarah appeared.

"He's not really in a right mind to tell ma and pa Gid, why don't you go and tell them and I'll take care of him." Nick was too deep in his own thoughts to pay attention to what was happening around him.

"All right I'll do that. Just be gentle with him for now until they come out here." Gideon said as he left.

She went over to Nick as he finished another glass of shine. In his drunken and dazed state, she took him by the arm and carefully walked him back into the barn. "Come on sweetie let's get you comfortable." She said as she began to remove his clothes, and had him lay on the hay as she removed her clothes and laid next to him. With all the shine he drank he couldn't think straight and just laid there, as she began to gently rub his body in various places. It felt good being touched again, and it caused him to relax to the point of passing out.

Once he was she began to take advantage of this, but just before she could start full on intercourse with him Bonnie burst through the barn door and pounced on top of her and started dragging her outside. Brian had gone inside to check on Nick and grab Sarah's clothes. Bonnie was livid, as evident of her foot thumping. "Dang it Sarah. I thought I raised you better than this."

Sarah fired back at her, "You did, but he's free to mate with anyone including me."

"Sarah he is still married to Judy meaning you have no right to claim him at all. Not to mention you dang near raped a police officer if I hadn't stopped you."

Sarah didn't care and fired back at her again. "If he's still married to Judy, then why isn't she here with him? It's obvious she doesn't care about him or his well-being to be here with him."

This is when Stu walked up to them. "Sarah, you have no idea what they have been through together. The loss of their kids, and the pain he lives with daily with having to put his own mother down. Do you really think for one minute he wants to complicate things more by cheating on Judy? No, he doesn't, and he has no interest in you. Now get in the house, as I'm tired of seeing you right now." He finished in an angry tone, as Sarah grabbed her clothes and headed to the house.

Bonnie turned to Stu, "I'm taking the car and heading out their house tonight, and I'm bringing Judy back in the morning." He nodded and handed her the keys to the truck as she left. Brian came back out the barn and mentioned that Nick was still passed out. Stu thought that was for the best, and wondered if he should even mention it since nothing actually happened.

Bonnie parked the truck outside of Nick and Judy's place and went inside to knock on the door. It was 12:35 am, but after a few seconds she heard Judy rushing to the door, and swing it open. "Nick!" She stood there looking at her mother for a minute before she started to cry as Bonnie came up to her and pulled her into a hug.

"He's leaving me isn't he?" Judy said through her tears as she closed the door behind her mother.

"It's funny you should say that because he thought you were going to do that to him," Bonnie replied.

Judy looked at her mother confused. "He's out at the house?"

"Has been this whole time," she answered.

"I've been looking all over the city for him. Why didn't you call me?" she said still confused.

Bonnie paused for a second. "Why didn't you call us?" She answered back.

"I didn't think he could make it out that way on foot especially after the way I treated him. I figured the last place he would ever go was the farm," Judy explained.

Bonnie pulled her back into a hug again. "You both are in pain right now, and you need each other, but I want to know what happened between you two, honestly." Judy had her sit down in their living room as she began to tell her what had happened, and what the therapist had said. Once she finished Bonnie spoke. "Yer lucky you know."

Judy looked at her, "What do you mean?"

"You at least got to spend time with your first and second litter." Bonnie paused to gather her thoughts. "Can you remember what litter I told you were?" she asked.

"Yeah, the third litter."

"Well, that not true sweetie, yer ma and pa have been keeping a dark secret. Yer actually the fifth litter."

Judy was actually surprised to hear that. "What happened?"

Bonnie sighed before she continued. "Yer going to be the first to hear this, as Stu and I agreed never to talk about it." She paused again leaning back on the couch. "My first two litters ended in miscarriages, we lost twelve kits in total." Judy was shocked to learn this as Bonnie continued. "It hurt so much that we almost gave up on having a family all together, but Stu, bless his big heart, wanted to try one more time. Our third litter survived making us overjoyed to finally have a family. From then on I never had another miscarriage." Bonnie finished as she wiped the tears from her eyes from having to remember those times again. Judy pulled her into a tight hug and just held her there as they both shared their tears with each other. Bonnie spent the rest of the night caring for Judy after she had called Becca, and Becca letting her have the time off to go be with Nick and her family for the weekend before returning to therapy on Monday.

When morning came Bonnie took Judy with her out to the farm as she explained that her elder sister Sarah had been there, and was causing issues with Nick. As Bonnie continued to explain what had happened which caused Judy to become livid with Sarah for forcing herself on Nick, and nearly raping him. Bonnie managed to calm her down stating that Nick was asleep at the time and that right now he was more important, and to deal with Sarah later in a calm manner. It was afternoon by the time they arrived as Judy saw Nick out in the field helping with the harvest. She giggled as she noticed him in the blueberry field, "I'm amazed he hasn't eaten all the blueberries."

Bonnie turned to her with a giggle all her own. "He's actually been a huge help to your pa, and he's kept his word about not eating a single one while picking." Judy smiled knowing how honest he's always been and kept to his word. Bonnie turned to her and gave one last hug before sending her out to be with him.

Judy walked out to be with him, and every step closer made her more nervous than the last. Once she was a few feet away she spoke. "Hey, Nick."

He didn't turn to face her but instead spoke, "Sarah please leave me alone, you've already done enough damage." He finished while getting up to move on to the next bush.

She then walked around in front of him so that he would see her. "Foxy, look at me please." She pleaded with him softly.

He stopped and looked up at her. "J.. Judy?" She nodded as he slowly stood up and went to her and pulled her into a tight hug while he began to apologize for being a horrible husband to her.

She gently pulled his face back to look at him directly and saw his tears. "Foxy stop. You are not at fault. I am and I'm sorry for not believing you."

He looked at her as she pulled out his phone and handed it to him. He looked at it and saw a number of voicemails from her. He started to listen to each one as she continued to hold on to him. When he finished he knelt down and hugged her tightly as he softly wept. "I love you so much Judy. All I wanted to do was help you."

"I know baby, and I feel bad for how I treated you that day. It's not been easy for me to let go of our little ones." She finished as she buried her face into his chest and neck.

"I've made something that might help." He said while taking her by the hand and having her follow him to the barn. Once they were inside he walked her over to the bench he had been using and had her stand in front of a covered object. He walked over and slowly removed the cover to reveal a large multi-picture frame with a clock in the middle and a picture of each little one placed around the edge of the clock with their names painted in silver below their picture. It was stained in a cherry color with the words 'In loving memory' painted in silver as well, while the clock was a shiny brass color.

He went back over to her and put his arm around her as she broke down. "It's... It's beautiful baby." She said through her tears.

"I want to hang this up next to their bedroom door. As I want to have a family, but I don't want to forget about them." She nodded agreeing with him. He knelt down and began to gently kiss her and it didn't take long for it to get hot and heavy between them as the clothes came off. He made love with her there in the barn, as she cried out how much she missed and needed him. The rest of the day was filled with their love making out in the barn.

It was getting close to dinner time when they finished their moment of intimacy and noticed how much of mess they made with each other. Judy took Nick out the back door of the barn and used a hose to get cleaned up. They had a playful happy moment with each other while getting cleaned up. Having this level of intimacy again made them both feel worlds better and happy.

After dinner, they both returned to the barn for the night and began anew in their lovemaking. They continued to roll around in the hay as Judy heard someone outside the barn. "I know you're watching Sarah so get in here." The barn door opened slowly as Judy encouraged Nick to keep going in front of her. Sarah watched to two of them really going at it as Judy spoke again through her panting and moans of pleasure, "You really shouldn't, try to steal, someone else's, husband you know." Nick pulled her down, as a look of total pleasure came across Judy's face and muzzle, as Sarah continued to watch, causing her to turn and leave the barn upset that it wasn't her. That night was the first time in months they slept together and had the most relaxing night of sleep while cuddling each other.

Over the next two days, the blueberry fields had been completely harvested and Nick managed to finish Stu's new leg. He had him try it on and to everyone's surprise, Stu was able to use it fairly well. He couldn't thank Nick enough for it, as it gave him more freedom to do the thing he loved the most, Farming. At the end of the day, Brian took them both back to Zootopia and to their home. They thanked him as he left and got ready for bed themselves.

At the end of another three months both him and Judy were back to work at the ZPD, and had their third litter of four Kits. Michael, Susan, Jack, and Marsha. Three foxes and one bunny. Nick had the memorial clock hung by the bedroom door of the little one's room. It gave them the closure they needed to move on, while still being able to remember them. They're healing would be a long and difficult one, but at least they were both on the path to healing emotionally.

The End.