Epilogue

Judy rinsed her paws off underneath the warm water spewing from the faucet, having to stand on her tippy toes in order to reach, despite the stool.

Behind her, Nicholas chopped up the vegetables for their salad; bell peppers, carrots, bok choy, spinach, lettuce, while Judy started washing strawberries and blueberries, mechanically setting the berries on a towel to dry.

It was day three at their house on the beach, paid for by Chief Bogo after their latest solved case caused Judy and Nick to seek help from a therapist. And what was the therapists recommendation?

Take a vacation! Which was advice the rabbit and fox followed without complaint.

However, along with it having been day three on the beach, it has also been three days since Nicholas Wilde took his medicine.

Judy peered over Nick's shoulder while he worked the knife over the silently screaming vegetables. "Do you think that's enough carrots?" Asked the rabbit.

Nicholas paused, scooping up the ingredients and tossing them in the salad bowl. "I think so." He replied, picking out a leaf of lettuce and biting into it, chewing slowly.

"After we're done with lunch, I was thinking we could go collect seashells on the beach."

Nick nodded. "Okay." He swallowed hard, keeping his back to her.

The water stopped running. Judy moved and stood beside him, kissing the fox on the cheek.

Nicholas attempted a smile.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm just hungry." Nike turned away.

"Then lets eat!" Judy grabbed the bowl of fruit and sat down at the couch in front of the fireplace. Above the fireplace was a television, but this was turned off.

Nicholas joined her, carting the salad bowl, his teeth set on edge; he had to make an conscious effort to unclench his teeth.

The fox sat down beside the rabbit and they began eating straight from the bowls with a pair of metal forks.

Nicholas could feel the all-too familiar heaviness behind his eyes, the shallowness of his face feeling more prominent. "Judy?" He said.

"Yes?" Judy popped a strawberry in her mouth.

"Do I ...look all right?" He asked.

Judy squinted at him. "You don't look sunburnt, if that's what you mean."

How he felt on the inside had nothing to do with his outside appearance. The fox tried to take comfort in that. He stabbed at the salad, his ears drawn back against his head.

What the medicine was meant to do was to calm "your inner beast"; a supplement meant strictly for predator species, Nick made sure that Judy didn't know about it. But for him to be skipping so many doses...

"I'm really having a nice time here." Judy said, leaning against her friend.

Nicholas instantly picked up the sound of her heartbeat. The blood within her- he could smell it, almost taste it...

"Ew. Nick, did you just drool on me?" Judy scooted away from the fox, wiping a paw across her face.

"Sorry!" Nicholas sat back against the couch, stiff.

Judy sat quietly, picking at the salad bowl, then the fruit. The silence was so powerful that her ears began to ring.

"So!" Judy sat up. "What do you say to a game of tag out on the beach? Maybe we'll see that group of otters we saw yesterday. We could ask them to join in."

Nick couldn't contain himself; at the mention of "tag" all he could think of is sinking his teeth into Judy's throat. Baring his teeth, Nick sprang across the couch and onto the rabbit, biting and clawing at her fragile, blood-filled body...! Open; bleed! BLEED!

Not really, though; Nick was using his imagination. Imagination which caused his breath to cut short and his chest to hurt.

"I don't think tag is such a good idea..." Nick managed to say.

"Oh. Okay. Then what would you like to do, foxy?" Judy asked with a patient smile.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck. "What if we played pictionary?"

"I love that game!" The rabbit hopped of the couch and ran from the room. "I'll go find some paper, you go find some pens!"

"We could write with our own blood." Nicholas heard himself say. He gasped, putting his paws over his trouble-making mouth.

Judy poked her head around a wall. "What was that?"

Nicholas shook his head. "Never mind." Shaking his head caused him to feel dizzy. His mouth felt oddly dry.

While Judy hunted for paper, Nike left the room and went into the kitchen, hunting for something to quench his savage thirst. In the fridge was bottled water, coconut water, soymilk, and organic coffee bean energy drinks.

Nick grabbed an energy drink, snapped it open, and drained it in several long gulps.

It was going to be a long day.