The Fox and the Rabbit Reloaded.

Chapter 3 - A Bit More than Bargained for

Judy drifted between sleep and wakefulness with her body pressed up against Nick's side. She had wrapped herself around one of his arms, hugging it close to her while her cheek was pressed against his shoulder.

Nick lay on his back, soundly asleep and snoring lightly.

Judy's internal alarm was going off, however, and she cracked an eye open. Morning light filtered in through the window next to the bed; the warm and golden glow hadn't been deterred by the apartments and warehouses that surrounded Nick's apartment. She blinked and yawned. She shook Nick's arm lightly as she rubbed her cheek against him.

"Nick..." she said, her voice bleary with the last vestiges of what little sleep she had gotten, "Nick, wake up."

Nick inhaled deeply and swallowed. "Mmm?"

"What time is it?" Judy asked. She winced as she stretched one leg, vaguely wondering why it was sore.

Nick didn't react for several moments, but eventually opened his eyes and lifted his head to look over Judy at the bright digital clock on the night stand. He thumped his head back down and closed his eyes.

"Six," he started, but the words stretched out into a yawn, "Mmmph... twenty-five."

Judy made a little 'mmm' sound of her own as she snuggled against his arm then froze. Her eyes snapped open.

"6:25?" she said, her voice rising in panic. She shook Nick's arm hard, "Nick, get up! We have to go!"

Nick grunted and cracked one eye to look sidelong at her. "Why? We have over an hour. The station is only a ten-minute walk from here," he said muzzily and brought his other paw up to rub at his face.

"Bogo," Judy said flatly. "7:00 a.m. sharp, remember?"

Nick's paw stopped the rubbing motion. "Oh..."

Judy groaned in exasperation. "And I don't have my uniform!" she squeaked, her grip tightening on Nick.

"We didn't think this through very well, did we?" Nick said rhetorically.

Judy didn't comment. Instead she quickly sat up, but only made it halfway before her abdomen exploded in pain. She yelped; her paws flew to her belly as she flopped back down. Her stomach, sides, and rump hurt to touch even with her own paws.

"Ow, ow... oh my gods what did you do to me?" she whined. She choked out a dry sob as she tensed at the shooting pain in her lower body.

Nick, his one paw still over his eyes where it had stopped, lifted his other paw with one finger extended. "I did not do anything to you did not request... several times," he said.

Judy grunted and elbowed him, "If you had what I had in me last night, you'd be wincing, too. Now shut it and help me get up," she muttered.

Nick's ears perked and he turned his head to look at her.

"Wait, you really need help?" he asked. Judy swatted at him with a paw.

"Yehehehesss!" she cried. She tried to sit up again with one paw clutching at her stomach.

Nick shifted and winced himself, discovering he too was a bit sore, but he thought Judy seemed worse off by far. He leaned over and gently helped her up to sit on the edge of the bed. Nick's concern grew and when she panted a few times, rubbing at her belly.

"Do... do we need to take you to a doctor?" he asked earnestly as his mind started helpfully supplying him with possibilities that would make a hypochondriac proud. Or blush. Or both.

Judy slowly stood up with a grunt of pain. "No," she said, her voice strained, "I'm... just not used to having that... that thing jabbed in and out of me! It's too big!" Nick relaxed and settled back down, propping his muzzle up on a paw while he watched the very naked rabbit take a few tentative steps.