A/N: Hey guys!
I know, it's been a while since the prologue. I'm soooooo sorry! But here it is! The next installment of Amongst Uncertainty. I really don't now how often I will be posting, as I'm super busy in real life T-T but I will be working on this story as much as possible!
Check out my DA for other updates :3
~Star
~o.8.o~
Three Months Earlier
A wary Jack Savage walked the bustling halls of BunnyBurrow General, oblivious to the various rabbit nurses and doctors running back and forth. Tightening his grip on the files in paw, he stifled a yawn as he arrived at his destination. 'It's been a long night,' he thought as he knocked firmly on the door. When he didn't get an answer, he knocked again before entering. Yawning into his paw, he finally looked up, and his weary expression softened at the scene before him.
Curled up on the rabbit-sized hospital bed laid Nick and Judy Wilde. Because of her wounds, Judy was sleeping soundly on her back, leaning more towards her mate. Nick was sleeping on his right side, his front facing his wife. With an almost complete winter coat, the tod's especially fluffy tail hid the rest of their forms from view, though Judy's paws could be seen gripping the appendage as if it were a blanket.
'Cute.' Jack thought as he walked further into the room. Instead of going to wake them right away, the buck decided to give them a few more minutes of sleep. 'They deserve it.' Eyeing the chair tucked in the corner next to a small table, Jack made his way over and placed the file on the table. He settled down in the chair, a sigh leaving his slightly parted maw as his eyes closed in relief. It had been almost twenty-four hours since he'd slept, and he was about to drop like a dead weight. Even though it wasn't a comfortable chair, it felt like heaven to him.
'Not yet,' he thought as he forced his eyes open, peering down at the file. On the cover was the case file number and nothing else. The media was still trying to give the case a name, insensitive as it might be in light of what happened, and it was something Bogo was trying to mitigate.
Opening the file, Jack spent the next twenty minutes or so going over what they had learned from Erica in the last few hours. The crimes Skippson had committed were atrocious, but what she claimed had been done to her were, arguably, even more so; emotional and psychological abuse from someone who was supposed to help her. 'We still have to make sure it's all true, but….' He recalled her tear-stained face as Erica sobbed with relief when he'd stopped by to let Rhinowitz and Cache know that Judy made it. He shook his head and glanced at the time, and figured he'd let them sleep long enough.
Closing the file, Jack took it in both of his paws and remained seated as he tried to think of the safest way to wake them up. Coming to the conclusion that waking Nick up first would be the safest option, the buck held the file horizontal from the ground before releasing it.
FWACK!
The thick file hit the ground with a loud smacking sound that nearly hurt his sensitive ears, but it got the job done as Nick jerked awake. Instead of jumping up, however, he curled protectively around Judy and released a low growl.
"It's just me." Jack said from his spot, only realizing that it probably wasn't the best location as it was slightly behind the waking tod. Instead, the growl cut off immediately and Nick's body relaxed as he lazily turned his head to peer with slit eyes at the bunny agent.
"Did you have to wake me up like that?" Nick asked in a groggy voice, more than a bit peeved by the interruption of his sleep.
Jack just shrugged, not deigning him with a response. Instead, he nodded to the other rabbit in the room. "If you could wake her up, we have a few things to discuss."
Nick winced lightly as his movements pulled at his wounds, gently rooting his nose in the fur around Judy's face and neck, grumbling under his breath as he did so. "Come on, Carrots. Time to wake up. We have a grumpy bunny to talk to."
Jack scoffed, insulted, before blinking in surprise at himself. If the fox's mild insult could actually get to him, he needed sleep even more so than he originally thought. He released a tired sigh as Judy began to stir.
"Nick?" She questioned in a soft whisper. A paw came up to rub sleepily at her eyes. "Wha...ow." She muttered as the pain began to register for her.
Nick's ears perked at that. "Does it hurt? Do you need medicine?"
Judy slowly shook her head. "No, it just aches. Sarah put something in my IV to help with most of the pain. I just re-felt it...or something like that."
Nick chuckled despite himself. "Alright. Do you think you can sit up?"
She nodded before looking up at her tod. "Help me?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Nick shot back at her with a soft smile as he did just that, shifting himself slowly behind her so he could support her since they didn't have any extra pillows and the bed could only go up so much. The doe sighed happily once she was securely wedged between Nick's legs, her back resting comfortably against his stomach. Her abdomen and stitches ached a bit more at the movement, but once she relaxed, it eased to the dull throb from before.
"You okay?" Nick asked at her sigh.
"Yeah, it just hurt to move a bit is all. Nothing I can't handle." She smiled tiredly when he licked her cheek affectionately.
"I'm sorry I had to wake you," Jack began, making the doe aware of his presence, and noted that he looked exhausted.
"Jack...when's that last time you slept?" Judy asked, and Nick narrowed his eyes as he saw what his mate did. He had just been too sleepy to realize it. The buck looked like crap warmed over.
The buck stifled a yawn. "I'll get some sleep soon enough. I just need to brief you two on this quickly since you need to eat soon, anyways." Having picked up the file while the couple had been getting situated, he opened it once more to the section that he needed. "What have you been told already?" He decided to start there since he hadn't had a chance to cross-reference with Bogo prior to this visit.
"Not much, just what Nick managed to tell me." Judy offered.
"That Skippson is in custody, and Hefler as well." Nick continued. "I also told her that we know that Hefler has been behind it this whole time."
A thought occurred to Jack that almost made him groan. "Have you two been able to give your statements, yet?" At the shake of their heads, he nodded. "Alright, let's get that out of the way then." Bringing out his phone, he sent a quick message to Rhinowitz. "I'll have Rhinowitz bring you some food."
"Sasha's here?" Judy asked, surprised and hopeful.
Unaware of the reason behind such an expression, Jack just nodded before he took out a notepad and pen. "Let's start from the beginning. Judy, what happened yesterday around 1200?"
The grey doe averted her gaze as she felt her eyes prick with tears. Taking Nick's paw into her own, she focused on the way his fur felt against her own as she spoke. "My sister Selene and I had gotten in a fight over...personal stuff. I let my emotions get the better of me and ran off, even when I knew we were under strict instructions to stay inside. I...I just couldn't stop running. I ended up under a tree at the edge of our farm, close to the street. Selene found me not too long after and we...we made up. She was...she was trying to understand. She didn't like it, but she was trying...she was—" A sob cut her off mid sentence, the pain too much. 'It hurts…!' She thought as she squeezed her eyes tight. Taking a deep breath, she tried to steady herself.
Nick pressed his snout into the fur of her neck, taking in a deep breath to steady himself and comfort her. It was hard hearing her retell her side of things.
"We were talking when I spotted...Twily." Judy continued after a shuddering breath. "I...froze. I was so shocked that I froze. I wasn't—...I thought we were safe." She was quiet for moment, the only sound that of Jack's pen scratching against the paper's surface. "She caught me off-guard and tranquilized me. When I woke up, I was inside a cage."
The sudden snarl that ripped through the room startled Jack and Judy, both of them turning to Nick. It stopped in the time it took for them to focus on the tod, and they could already see his shame in his reactions as his ears pinned down against his head, his tail curling more around him and he hunched in more on himself.
"Sorry." Nick mumbled, his hold on Judy tightening marginally, keeping her injuries in mind. "It's just...the thought of you trapped like that…"
Judy reached back as much as she could and stroked her paw along Nick's snout. "It's okay, Nick. I'm okay, now." The tod nodded jerkily and took a few reassuring breaths.
"Are you okay for her to continue?" Jack asked after a moment. At Nick's nod, Jack motioned for Judy to continue.
Trying to recall where she left off, she felt her eyes water once more. Frustrated, she wiped at her eyes with a paw before she spoke. "When I came to, it was to another doe crying. I quickly realized it was Erica. She was...apologizing. That she...that she…" Judy shook her head and swallowed thickly. "That she had tried to stop Twily, and that she was sorry for hurting S-Selene. I...I promised to help her, to get her the help she needs."
"Hopps." Jack said sternly, reverting back to her maiden name at his surprise.
Watery, fierce, amethyst eyes met Jack's gaze."She was going to let me go, Jack. She's a victim in all of this." Judy leaned forward as far as she could go in the cage of Nick's arms, and then raised an arm to point at the buck. "She was used by Hefler! She needs help, and I promised her that I would get her help!" As if to punctuate her declaration, Judy balled her paw into a fist and slammed it on the bed's guardrail. She winced as her stitches pulled with her exertion, but she kept a firm gaze with Jack.
"Judy." Nick said softly as he tried to calm her with soothing strokes up and down her arms.
Jack sighed softly. "We know of Hefler's manipulation and it is more than obvious that Skippson didn't mean for this to happen. Still, the likelihood of her spending the rest of her life in a mental institute is very high. But," his gaze softened marginally, "I'm sure a good word in from the ZPD's first bunny cop will help her get the help she really needs."
Judy relaxed visibly at his words, slumping back into Nick's embrace. "Thank you."
"Don't count your eggs before they've hatched." Jack reminded. "There is still a bunch of red tape to get through, but...it's possible."
"I don't think you realize who you're talking to." Nick chuckled affectionately. "Carrots' middle name is 'Possible'." This earned him a half-hearted swat from his mate.
Jack gave them an amused look before he cleared his throat. "You can continue."
"Right." Judy said, once again recalling where she left off. "Before Erica could let me out, Hefler appeared and...forced Twily out. It was...unnerving, watching the process. She said so many hurtful things to her, and Erica looked like she was in so much pain before Twily took over…" She closed her eyes, knowing that she would never be able to forget the image of the mad doe as she pressed her face against the bars with malicious glee. "It was...haunting." She took a deep breath before speaking again. "Hefler then brought in Spottedtale—oh! Spottedtale, how is he?"
"He's recovering." Jack assured her. "He should be good for questioning this morning."
"That's good." Nick said, and Judy looked up at curiously. His ears lowered once more. "I...fought him. You were already passed out."
"What?" Judy asked, eyes wide.
"We'll get to my part soon," Nick assured. "Finish yours."
Judy gave Nick one more glance before turning back to Jack. "She put him in a different cage, and held a remote in one hoof, and a gun filled with Nighthowler pellets in the other. She went on this whole monologue before she shot him, and…" Judy fell quiet as she thought back to that time, a frown marring her feature.
"What is it?" Jack prompted.
Judy opened her mouth to speak, then paused before closing it shut. Nick noticed her uncertainty and brought a paw up to stroke her arm soothingly.
"Carrots?"
Judy took a deep breath before answering. "It...might not be anything, but...Hefler said something. She said 'we' instead of 'I' at one point. I didn't catch it at the time because of the… well, everything; actually, I'm surprised I can remember that at all. But..." Judy bit her lip and then glanced at Nick. His expression was less than pleased as he came to the same conclusion. Judy turned back to face Jack. "Hefler may not be the only one behind this."
Jack nodded, not surprised. "Skippson mentioned as much when Rhinowitz and Cache were speaking with her." He explained at Judy's questioning gaze. "It is definitely not what we wanted to hear, but your confirmation of such is a lead the ZPD can further look into." He made a note of such in the file.
"And I thought we were finally done with this shit." Nick growled.
"The FBI will continue to assist the ZPD until this case is closed completely. Nothing is getting overlooked from this point onward." It wasn't the most reassuring thing he could have said, but Jack didn't believe in lying to mammals fully aware of the situation. He met Judy's gaze. "Anything else?"
"After shooting Spottedtale, Hefler pressed a button on the remote before leaving. It opened our cages." Judy continued. "It's...a bit of a blur, I'll be honest. I remember running, feeling terrified…" She placed a paw to her bandaged abdomen. "I remember getting hurt here, and then...fighting?" She turned her head to Nick, her gaze questioning.
Nick gently wrapped his arms around her, pressing his nose into her fur as a shudder shook his body. "I heard you scream." He admitted softly.
"Nick…" Judy whispered, setting her paws over his and nuzzling the side of her face into him, comforting him.
Jack turned to a new page as Nick began his statement.
"Your mom had made lunch for you and Selene, and asked me to take it to you." Nick couldn't bring himself to speak above a soft murmur as he retold his version of events. "I...actually don't remember much. I remember smelling blood...seeing Selene…" He squeezed his eyes shut, the image of her vacant eyes staring back at him. Taking a few deep breaths, he forged on. "When I saw the field of Nighthowlers, I think that's when I finally snapped back to reality. I could smell you. You were so close. But I knew I had to be careful. I already knew I was acting against orders, but I couldn't stop. You're my mate, I had to protect you." His grip on her tightened. "When I heard your scream, I just, I lost it. It was like that time at the park. But worse. If Ralph hadn't shown up, I really don't know what would have happened…!"
"Nick…" Judy soothed as much as she could, tears in her eyes at the pain in his voice. "It's okay—"
"No, it's not!" Nick practically snarled, his eyes and the fur around the wet from his tears. "Judy, they were right—I'm a monster! I knew Spottedtale wasn't to blame, that it was the Nighthowler in his system, but I-I wanted to hurt him for hurting you!"
"Hey!" Jack's voice cut in through the high emotions, drawing Nick's attention to the buck, "Any mammal would react in a protective manner if their mate were in danger and they were about to enter their season. The fact that you are also a primal animal, and yet there were no casualties caused by you—that is what you should look at, Nick." Jack had made sure to keep his tone compassionate, but firm, as he spoke, knowing that the tod needed it. When Nick gave a shaky nod after a moment, Jack let out a silent sigh of relief. "Do you need a break before continuing?"
"No." Nick breathed out, wiping at his eyes. "Fangmeyer and I managed to get the bleeding to stop...somehow, before he left to go help...Jimmy. When I heard gunshots, I felt...threatened. When they barged into the tool shack, I nearly attacked the officers before they tranqed me."
"What?" Judy questioned, equal parts confused and outraged.
"It was an act of fear." Jack explained. "They had been told that Wil—Nick was not a threat, but they had never been in his presence before. They were not prepared, and tranquilized him on sight."
Nick stroked Judy from her forehead to the tips of her ears to calm her before continuing. "When I came to, I was at the hospital and you were in surgery. Then...Bogo told me about Jimmy."
"What happened to Jimmy?" Judy asked in a quiet voice. When Nick didn't answer, her breath caught as she turned to Jack for an explanation.
The buck closed his eyes, tired and unwilling to expose himself to the emotional doe. "Officer Purrow prevented Skippson and Hefler from getting away, and as you know, both are in custody because of it. However, in doing so, he sustained heavy injuries and...was declared on arrival at St. Platy's."
"Oh...oh no, Nick," Judy sobbed as she turned to Nick as much as she could. Reaching with one paw, she stroked up and down his good arm, her other reaching to grab his paw as she buried her face into his arm.
Jack watched as the couple comforted each other and felt his own eyes misting over. Averting his gaze, he successfully willed the tears away, refocusing on the task at paw. After giving them a moment and steadying himself with a calming breath, he spoke. "I'm deeply sorry for both of your losses," he began, "and I wish I could give you more time to grieve, but there are still a few things I need to tell you."
"Of course, Jack." Judy said as she wiped away at her eyes. Leaning comfortably against Nick once more, she kept her grip on his paw. When he squeezed it in comfort, she returned the gesture. Facing Jack, she nodded for him to continue.
Nodding to himself, Jack closed his notepad and set it aside on the table. He then opened the file up, turning a few pages until he reached the one that he needed. "Right. I'll start with what you know; Hefler and Skippson are in custody. While Hefler has lawyered up, Skippson has been remarkably cooperative, and with your statement, it makes sense why. When she was aware of herself, she talked about a great many things, including Hefler and Twily."
"What other things?" Nick asked, curious despite himself.
Jack shook his head. "Since you two aren't on the case, I can't reveal that information. What I'm telling you now are all things you already know because of circumstances, or because I'm able to."
Nick grumbled something about stingy rabbits, but there was no heat to it. He knew the rules.
Tired blue eyes flashed with momentary amusement before Jack continued. "Moving on, the case has officially been passed to Wolford and Rhinowitz. Despite the successful apprehension of Skippson and Hefler, and as mentioned, the FBI will continue to aid the ZPD in the apprehension of this third member. However, that will be left in Agent Coffer's paws."
"Why?" Nick questioned.
Jack nodded. "Me and Frost are heading back to Periton tonight, to work with Agent Spots and Agent Lee." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "As you know, our original plan was to bring you two to Periton, where you would be better protected. Someone over there leaked that information, though not all of it, to the media, and it was compromised. We're heading over to sift the worm out."
Before more could be said, there was a knock on the door, gaining their attention. It opened a moment after, revealing Sasha Rhinowitz, three bags of goodies in her hooves. While most areas in the hospital were limited to smaller animals, Judy's room was one of the rooms that had been customized to cater to animals of varying sizes because of the slight increase in diversity in BunnyBurrow. So, it was with little effort that Sasha was able to squeeze herself into the room.
"I...brought the food." She announced needlessly, lifting the bags up a little for emphasis. She met Judy's gaze before glancing towards the open door awkwardly.
"Sasha…" Judy said softly, a slight hiccup in her voice. That seemed to spurn the cow into moving.
Sasha placed the food on the table by Jack before stopping at the side of the bed. Crouching down on a knee, the cow reached out with a hoof to take Judy's paw. "Judy, I...I'm so glad you're okay." Sasha nearly choked, tears filling her eyes. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay." Judy said with a watery smile, tears soaking her fur as she closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into Sasha's hoof. "I'm sorry, too, I forgive you. I'm just glad you're here."
"Me too." Sasha said as she leaned in further to pull the much smaller mammal into a light hug. Her brown eyes then flicked up to meet calm green eyes. "I'm sorry, too, Wilde. I...I should have trusted her. Trusted you."
Nick smiled amicably at the larger officer. "No hard feelings, Rhinowitz. Though you may want to specify who you're apologizing to. After all," he placed a paw on Judy's head between her ears, "this one's a Wilde, too." He then winked at her, wanting the depressing atmosphere to go away. He also took immense satisfaction when Sasha's eyes widened in shock.
"What?!"
Jack couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. He had forgotten that only those who had been in the waiting room knew the two were married. Closing the folder and deciding he had divulged all pertinent information, he stood up to leave. "It was nice working with the three of you, and though I wish it were under different circumstances, I'm glad we met." Jack said as he approached to shake their paws.
"Maybe next time we'll visit you," Judy said as she released his paw.
"Or you could also visit us." Nick slid in. He held onto Jack's paw a moment longer and squeezed it. "Thank you."
Jack nodded before shaking Sasha's hoof. Releasing it, he headed for the still opened door. Closing it behind him to give them some privacy, he leaned against it. The back of his head hitting it gently as he tilted it upward, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. 'What a case.'
It took great effort for him to open his eyes once more, and he forced himself off the door and down the corridor. Busy bunnies walked about back and forth in the hospital, paying no mind to the rabbit agent as he blended into the chaos.
~o.8.o~
Answers to Your Reviews and Questions
FirnenOne: I am still unsure on whether or not it will jump back and forth, but I know for certain that the story will take place in those three months :)
GusTheBear: yes it does :)
Story. Writer. 2015: I'm excited too!
warriorgod626: I'm happy about it, too!
zenith88: aw, thank you!
Matt Dyrdahl: You won't see that until the next sequel, but I hope you enjoy this one!
Vince Fangway: Thanks for the support^^ I know I will get fewer followers, which is fine. This story is important to the series, and I won't summarize it for those who don't want to read it, so it's their loss. The next sequel can be read without it, but there might be a few lost readers if they don't read this one is what I'm saying lol
Pinkroseutena: Thanks^^ me too!
Shadow (Guest): Aw, sweetheart 3 I hope things continue to get better
Linkgold64 (Guest): you can do it!
DrJevinator: Aaawwwww! Thank you =^-^=