Art Cover is by the lovely and amazing artists Diana Pin100

Judy Hopps never trusted her instincts. Being a rabbit, her biology was imprinted with many doubts and insecurities. But any fears she had, she overcame, and any goals she set for herself she managed to achieve.

Her determination and sharp mind allowed her to become Zootopia’s first rabbit officer, and landed her a post in the city’s central police department. A precinct mostly staffed by much larger mammals. Fate would have her expose a conspiracy that threatened the very security of the city state, and after she diligently worked the streets resolving cases great and small.

Judy was certainly a clever and hard working mammal, of this there was no denying. But sometimes certain situations proved too much even for her, matters of the heart certainly were one such scenario. She had made the momentous, some might say foolhardy, decision of secretly marrying her partner Nick Wilde.

For one thing, he was a fox. Regardless of how open minded Zootopia was, inter-species couples were largely looked down upon, especially those between predator and prey animals. Not to mention that foxes weren’t considered the most trustworthy among other species. And while he was instrumental in helping her foil Mayor Bellwether’s Night Howler plot, and since been a loyal friend, he was sometimes rather difficult to handle. One major problem was they needed to keep their relationship a secret, as police protocol strictly prohibited fraternization among partners.

The other matter was Judy’s parents, both of which had sincere reservations with their daughter's life choice. Mrs. Wilde was more understanding however. Being that Nick was her only child, she would never think to impede him in his pursuit of happiness, regardless of her own views.

This they had done for several years, focusing on their work and sparing their emotions for their free time. Hard as it was, they always managed to keep their feelings to themselves, save for a quick kiss in the patrol car every now and then. The more complicated part of it was their smell. Being constantly around each other, they were practically drenched in their scents. This proved a challenge in a working environment full of mammals with a keen sense of smell. One good whiff would tell them everything about the relationship between the doe and the fox. Therefore, they decided on having showers every morning and wearing perfume to avoid getting caught.

A perfect couple they were not, but Nick and Judy went through life caring for each other’s happiness and generally resolving arguments peacefully.

Matters came to a head, however, on one fateful autumn morning. The pair had another spat, but unlike previous ones, this one ended badly.

“I’m upset that I’m not getting through to you Judy. But I can tell you're mad. I’ll let you cool off, we can talk later.” Nick quietly left to blow some steam with Finnick and a few of his friends.

Judy stood there staring at the door, frustrated at how their talk went, but as the tension faded she suddenly felt terrible. She looked at her feet in shame. The entire conversation she had been largely implacable and didn’t really care to understand Nick’s feelings on the matter. If nothing else, the discussion had ended not only with hurt feelings, but with much left unsaid. True to form for most marital arguments really.

She gripped the ruby medallion around her neck; it was the most valuable thing Nick had ever gifted her. The doe loved staring into the crimson glow of the fiery gemstone. It’s value was such that she seldom wore it outside of special occasions. It reminded her of her own spiritual flame, but today that flame felt dim.

This was one of the few moments where she felt completely lost; she simply didn’t know what to do.

In looking for a solution, she decided to consult an old friend and ask for his opinion. He was a doctor who had helped patch up both her and Nick on more than one occasion. And as a loyal friend could certainly be counted on for wise advice, least of all because he understood her position on interspecies relationships, as he was in one himself.

…

Once she arrived at his door, she knocked and waited for him to answer. The black wolf opened the door and smiled at the little doe. “Judy! Always happy to see you. I see you're wearing that blue dress my butler made you. You’re normally quite the tomboy,” the doctor spoke politely.

“Hey, Wolfgang. Yes, I do sometimes act the tomboy, but I’m still a woman,” Judy said with a chuckle.

Wolfgang raised his head looking for Nick “Why are you alone though? Why isn’t Nick with you?” He asked curiously.

“Nick and I… had a bit of an argument. Can I talk to you?” Judy asked with a frown.

Wolfgang sighed. “It’s always sad to hear about this sort of thing. But of course, please do come in,” he said inviting her to enter.

She sat on his couch while he looked about his bar. “Shall I make you some tea, coffee perhaps?” the old doctor asked cordially.

“I think I’ll need something stronger than that,” Judy asked, wondering if alcohol might actually numb her emotional pain. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but maybe one glass might help.

“Oh dear, it’s that bad? Ok, maybe a small glass of cognac might do you good,” the doctor intoned as he took a seat in front of her. He offered her a glass and set the bottle down on the table.

Judy didn’t care to savor the drink; she gulped it down in one motion and let it burn her throat. She coughed as the discomforting sensation passed over her.

The doctor thought it strange and shook his head. “You really should have drank it slowly, Judy.”

“That’s ok, I’m fine, and thank you. It did help,” she replied after a moment and handed him the glass.

After setting it down, he regarded her with a worried look and asked what troubled her.

“Well, Nick had proposed that we have a child together. Of course, it was silly since we are both different species, but he suggested we adopt,” Judy mentioned with a forced smile.

Dr. Wolfgang listened patiently. He would only interrupt if there was something important he needed to add.

“I shot him down a bit bluntly; I told him we weren’t cut out to be parents. Besides, we need to focus on our career and we are too busy as police officers anyway,” she went on to explain with a shrug.

“I disagree; you especially would make a good mother. You grew up in a large family and helped raise your own siblings. I don’t believe this is a valid concern,” the doctor reasoned, complimenting her.

“Thank you, but I think I would be scared out of my mind to have my own child. And as I said, our career is more important right now. I’ve been working really hard to get a promotion and we still have bank payments for our apartment,” she commented with slight smirk.

The old wolf offered her a smile and reached out to squeeze her shoulder. “I could always help you with those bank loans if you wish. I don’t mind it,” he commented.

“No, but thank you. I know you’re a giving person but this is something we need to deal with on our own. And I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity,” she replied amiably. She hated the idea of begging for assistance, unless it was for moral support.

Wolfgang nodded and asked her to continue. He could tell from her expression there was something else of concern in her mind.

Judy swallowed then explained, “Well, there were certainly a few things I never mentioned to Nick, things I meant to tell him… For one, I had this curious dream.”

“Was it a scary dream?” the doctor asked, rubbing his nose.

“Ah, no, but it made me feel so confused, and sad,” she answered, appearing crestfallen. She looked back to her friend and asked if he would care to listen to her dream.

“Oh, but of course. I love to study psychology, and dreams are my favorite topic. I thought I might write a study on them. Would you mind if I take notes, please?” Wolfgang asked, thinking to help his friend and further his own research at the same time.

“Uh, sure go ahead,” Judy replied.

The old wolf went to his desk and after removing a red notebook and pen, went back to sit facing the rabbit. “Ok, please go ahead,” he asked cordially, ready to write down her words.

Judy looked back, trying to remember every detail. Her dream was quite vivid, but she didn’t have the faintest idea what it meant.

“Well, I was walking down this long, grey corridor. I kept hearing these strange voices. I didn’t understand them, but they seemed to be insults. They berated me. And they were so loud. It was pretty nerve-wracking, to say the least,” she began to explain.

“But then it was fine. I got over my fear, because Nick was there with me. We held paws as we walked forward; we smiled at each other. But after a while I looked back to him, and he looked so… disappointed. He looked away like he was ashamed of me. I was so confused.”

“I looked down, feeling upset, and when I looked back to him… he was gone.” Judy spoke softly, her face a mask of sorrow.

The doctor could feel the distress in her voice, but needed the entire picture to be certain what was truly happening in her mind. “Carry on,” he asked as he continued his annotations.

“I looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. So, eventually, I walked forward. I arrived to this door. I hesitantly opened the door and looked inside. But there was nothing there but darkness. I certainly didn’t want to go inside… but something pushed me in, and then slammed the door behind me."

“All I saw in front of my eyes for a while was pitch black. But then I looked up… and saw, stars.” she mentioned in awe. “The most beautiful constellations; it was like the entire universe was displayed before me. I stood on what looked like a bridge of light that stretched on into infinity. And there were these balls of light all around. They hovered and danced in such marvelous patterns… it was, beautiful.” She gestured with her paws, her eyes shining with a kind of radiant hope as she spoke.

The doctor was intrigued. He wrote down every detail as quickly as possible. Her story was so broad and rich in detail that he honestly felt like a passenger joining the rabbit on her mental voyage. And he certainly didn’t want to miss a single detail. Judy however, was calm and made pauses to allow him to catch up.

“What happened then?” he asked, after relaxing his writing paw.

“Something rather... strange! Several of the large orbs of light came together, and they formed into this vast odd shape. I was somehow drawn to it, so I went closer. It appeared to be some kind of large, golden figure, just standing there. I-couldn’t tell what it was. It had a head and body, but it wasn’t any animal I recognized. I was a little nervous at first, but I felt… warm in its presence.” Judy spoke with a kind of reverence.

It felt to the old wolf like Judy was writing a fantastic story. The passion in her narration was astounding. At no point did he ever interrupt, save to rest his paw and ask her to continue.

“It opened its arms as if to embrace me. I just stood there staring at it … hah.” A small chuckle escaped. “But then, another strange creature came forward. It jumped out of the golden figure’s hands and came right in front of me. It looked like a kind of grey spirit. Its body was dotted with yellow lights, like it was made from stars. It resembled a bunny. But then it changed shape into a fox, and then back again. It just jumped between those two shapes, like it couldn’t make up its mind.”

The old doctor didn’t need to ask a single question, such was the quality of her storytelling. He offered a curt nod and allowed her to continue.

“It held its paws forward, like this, as if it wanted me to give it something.” Judy gestured with her paws, holding them like a cup. “I looked into my paws, and saw... a ball of light. Somewhat like the others that were dancing all around, but this one… was mine.” Judy felt her chest expand, warmth spreading over her body. She took a small breath before continuing.

“I had thought to give it to the spirit, but then… I refused. It lowered its paws slowly, and then its head. It stood like that for a moment, then it looked back to me. It felt like it was projecting its thoughts into my mind, and all I saw… was sadness. The worst kind of despair.” Judy began blinking hard, flexing and unflexing her paws. At this point the doe nearly cried. It looked to the wolf like she was purposely restraining her emotions.

After a second of silence, Judy rubbed her eyes and sighed. “And then the spirit vanished. No, no, not vanished... crumbled away. Like, it was a mound of sand and a sharp wind had... blown it away.”

The old doctor rubbed his forehead as he took in the information Judy had imparted on him. “And was that all you saw?” he asked calmly, unsure if that was the end of the story.

“Ah, no. The golden figure placed its hand on my shoulder; it… seemed to understand me. But then it pointed to something behind me. I looked back, and saw Nick. He was walking away from me. I called out for him to stop, but he carried on as if he ignored me. And whereas at the start of my dream he wore a white shirt, now… he wore black,” Judy explained.

“And then… I woke up. I honestly never felt more baffled in my life,” Judy concluded. She rubbed her face and shook her head slightly. It felt like relating the story had taken a toll on her mind.

…

There was a short pause as she cleared her thoughts. Then she looked back to Wolfgang. “What do you think it means?” she asked in a soft, inquisitive voice.

The old wolf put down his journal; he then brought his seat closer and took her paws in his own.

“Judy, I was never much for spirituality, I’m a mammal of science after all. But I found the idea of religion to be romantic, that there are cosmic beings looking out for us. Tell me, are you a spiritual person?” the doctor asked politely.

“Ah, no, I don’t believe so. Why?” Judy asked quizzically.

“Well, I believe this dream you had is a sign, it was full of symbolism. This golden deity you saw was a kind of goddess of love and of life. And it had a message for you. This grey spirit you saw... was your child,” the doctor said with a broad smile.

Judy looked at him, awestruck. She tried to process the idea, but could not believe what he was implying. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words got stuck in her throat.

“This orb of light you held, it was your eternal flame, your soul. It’s a common saying that the parent must pass the torch to the next generation,” the wolf commented.

“Uh--I... no. Wolfgang, this is silly, you can’t possibly be saying this. This cannot possibly be true,” Judy asked in a somewhat amused but dismissive tone.

“But what if it is?” Wolfgang asked.

“It was just a dream. We’ve never been able to--I mean… I don’t think...” Judy stopped, her cheeks burning.

“We can find out right now, and then that will put your mind to rest,” the doctor suggested.

Judy gave a soft snort. “And I suppose you have the… er… tools to figure that out right here?”

Wolfgang smiled as he raised himself from his chair picking up the small glass from the table. “Come take a walk with me,” he advised leading her to the bathroom.

“I guess it can’t hurt,” Judy mumbled.

Once there, Wolfgang washed the glass and made sure it was clean and handed it to her. “I’ll need a small sample of your urine. You may relieve yourself in the shower. If you make a mess I’ll clean it up later,” he explained, before leaving the room.

Judy sighed, and did as she was told. Once done, she handed the cup to Wolfgang. “I-I still don’t think this dream means anything,” she said, then bit her lip.

Wolfgang powered up on of his computers and attached some kind of medical device. He explained that it would test trace elements and hormones present in her urine. He analyzed the data the computer was processing and mumbled a bit.

Judy just stood there looking at him for a moment, then he turned around and regarded her with a curious smile.

“Judy Hopps, I dare say this is quite… astounding. This machine has a margin for failure of only 1% and uh...the test came out positive,” Wolfgang explained.

Judy blinked. No, that couldn’t be right, she couldn’t be… she must have heard him wrong. A child? She wasn’t-she couldn’t-

“Sorry… did you say… positive? Are you sure, can run it again? ” Judy asked nervously.

“I ran the test twice Judy, there would be no reason to run it a third time. If anything else I would congratulate you, this is wondrous,” the doctor explained.

Judy gasped; her mind could hardly process this information. Was she really about to become the mother of the first hybrid Rabbit, Fox cub? She tried to remain calm, but inside she felt like screaming. All the problems associated with such a pregnancy started to weigh on her, and unlike before here, she had no control. The feeling of helplessness was unbearable.

“Oh my goodness, what am I going to do about this?” She said nervously with a pant while wringing her hands.

“If you need my advice I would be happy to offer it,” the doctor commented empathetically.

“That’s why I’m here. Listen, I never thought I would say this but… would you advise I abort? I mean this would be so out of character for me, I would never think to harm anyone, much less my own child. But, I’m scared. What if there are complications? What if I miscarry? What if the child is some kind of, aberration?”

The old wolf rose from his chair and came forward. He stood on one knee near her and took her paw. He understood her distress, but he too felt powerless. Words of comfort were all he could offer her at present.

“Judy I understand your feelings, you wouldn’t be the first or the last potential mother to have these worries. Your case is even more unique and there would certainly be difficulties. So as a doctor I would say an abortion might be an option. But as your friend, Nick’s friend too, I would advise you go ahead with it.” Wolfgang told her with a compassionate voice. He looked at her like a lost child in need of guidance. But he knew she was an adult and whatever choice she made, was hers and hers alone.

Judy considered the issue looking back at everything that had happened. “I wouldn’t think to place myself, or my career ahead of anyone else, I could never be that selfish.” Judy remarked remembering what mattered most to her. “And Nick would just hate it if I did this, he might just leave me. Why must life be so hard?” the doe asked with a whimper.

The old wolf shook his head lightly. “Ah the smartest people in the world may never find the answer to that question Judy. There is no good or bad decision… just choice and consequence,” he spoke calmly.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. I don’t feel ready to be a mother, certainly not to any hybrid. But I know I can’t run away from this. Never mind Nick, I know my parents would disagree to me, having an abortion. Mom would be horrified.” Judy said glumly.

“Whatever you decide, rest assured you will get the best medical care. Here…” Wolfgang mentioned as he searched through his coat pocket. Then, having found what he was looking for, offered Judy a small business card.

The doe studied the paper card noticing a medical logo “Honeywell Genetic Counseling Center?” she read aloud.

“It’s a medical institution near Zootopia’s general hospital, they specialize in interspecies couples. I have some good friends there. I will call them and set up some appointments for you. I sincerely recommend you go there, and soon. They will help you.” Wolfgang suggested to her.

Judy gave him a timid smile. She thought about his words, and contemplated things further. She realized then she wasn’t alone, she had friends, family, and a loving husband. However difficult a time would follow, she had people who would support her no matter what.

There was still a hint of doubt, but now she felt confident. “I gave Nick so much flack, because I was too scared, or too focused on my work. But he’s always been so thoughtful… I must go and tell him the good news. Hah I bet he will have the biggest dopey grin on his face,” she commented with a laugh.

The old wolf nodded approvingly “I think so too. Go and make your husband happy Miss Hopps, he deserved it.” Wolfgang told her.

Judy smiled and offered her friend a hug before saying her goodbyes. She left with a new sense of conviction. A sign from the divines or not, she had a responsibility. And like most things in her life she would never quit when the going got tough.







Again Cover Art is a commissioned artwork from credits go to her for the work. Do not steal, borrow or copy without artists agreement.



Story is by me Part of the Fan Fiction Story "Black Wolf of the Void"



Characters Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde are Disney.TM All rights to Zootopia licence are Disney Company.



