Burdens of the Son

Chapter 12

It's amazing the power a few tears can have, especially when they're coming out of an emotionally stunted fox as hundreds of thousands of mammals watch while a little bunny is hanging on to him and refusing to let go.

It felt like the protests around the city evaporated after Nick and Holly showed up on the news, and at least one executive was fired from the TV station that played the footage of Eddie attacking the rabbit. The KWK is still around, but their presence has diminished considerably, and thankfully they are much less newsworthy.

Speaking of the KWK, the investigation by the mayor's office didn't turn up any wrongdoing on their part, though it did uncover a few mammals in both high and low places who have some really backward attitudes.

Boris and his goons are going to be tried for murder, kidnapping, and several other crimes, including criminal carnivorism, which we fortunately don't see very often. The badger was the first one to crack. They found his DNA on the gum that was stuck to the metal disk, and he folded not long after Boris was taken into custody.

The naked trees in the hospital courtyard shivered in the cool breeze. Holly scurried about, as she crunched and burrowed through the piles of leaves that dotted the ground while Judy and Nick watched her from a nearby bench.

Holly hopped over to Nick and jumped into his lap, staying long enough for him to ruffle her ears before she ran off to play in the leaves again.

He looked at Judy and tentatively asked, "How do you deal with it? The wolf, I mean?"

Judy shrugged. "I've had a few nightmares, but I've been able to rationalize his death pretty well. He was trying to take me away from you and Holly, and I just couldn't let that happen."

Nick put his arm on the bench behind Judy and she scooted closer to him.

They watched Holly playing for a few moments before Judy said, "By the way, you should thank Chief Bogo the next time you see him. I'm pretty sure he knew exactly what he was doing, when he told all of those officers to get out of my way. You know, the same officers who were blocking the view of half the crowd and most of the cameras."

"I'll make sure to send him a dozen roses to thank him for letting the world see my humiliation."

"What, you mean a father holding his child, a bunny who obviously missed him? It may have felt humiliating to you, Nick. But to me, it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

The psych team gave me a clean bill of health, and internal affairs finally cleared me to return to duty, so I'm headed back to work next week. I requested that Angie be temporarily transferred to our precinct, since I'll need a partner until Nick comes back, and Chief Bogo seemed to like the idea. I'll enjoy working with her again, but I'm really going to miss Nick at work.

My parents surprised me when they came to visit for a few days. They said they've been worried about Nick ever since they saw him and Holly on TV. They visited with him in the hospital while they were here. It was nice watching them worry about someone else for a change.

The hospital courtyard was covered in snow. Rita and Holly piled it into the shape of a mammal with long bunny ears and a big bushy tail while Nick and Judy watched them from their usual spot on a nearby bench.

Judy tilted her head. "What kind of snowmammal do you think that is?"

Nick squinted against the glare. "I think they're making some kind of freaky fox-rabbit hybrid."

Nick looked at Judy. "So, what do you and Little Carrots want for Christmas? I'm not sure I'm up to shopping this year, so my gift options are limited to whatever I can make out of popsicle sticks and the other odds and ends in the craft basket here at the hospital."