A/N

I'm sorry if I ruined your guys' night yesterday! No one should ever go to bed sad, but I warned you in chapter two that I would break out the heart wrenching moments! On a more serious note though, I know I didn't put a warning yesterday, and I didn't think about how it might have really upset some of you. That was insensitive on my part. I have absolutely no problem with putting warnings for death if you guys don't care for those kinds of surprises. I hadn't posted a warning yesterday because no one technically died. If you're not comfortable with posting that request in the reviews, then PLEASE give me a PM, and I will make sure to give warnings. *I will say this is a sad start as we continue where we left off!*

Thank you for your reviews! ...And your several threats along with reprimands from yesterday, those were fun ^.^

"#Badassery"

Owen could not understand the hollow pain in his chest as he kept a firm hand on Elise's warm nose. He loved how the scales felt, and Elise's were so huge that it made him feel little.

Elise made Owen realize just how little he really was in this world.

He was pulled from his stupor when Dr. Gerry's hand gently squeezed his shoulder. The old vet had pulled his sunglasses off, and the wrinkled, blue eyes held only empathy, and understanding. Dr. Gerry softly said, "It's not going to hurt her, and it'll be fast. She knows you love her, and that's all she's going to need right now. As long as you're right here with her, she'll be fine."

Owen began to breathe a little faster as he shook his head, and desperately whispered, "I can't do this."

Gerry squeezed his shoulder firmly as he said, "I think you need to, Owen. It'll be easier on her, and it'll be better for you, trust me."

Owen had asked Elise to trust him, and now she was going to die. She wouldn't abandon him like the loyal pack member she was, and she was paying the price. Owen gave a shaky cough to cover the hiccupped breath, and he shoved one hand in his pocket to ball his fist. He kept his other hand on the warm nose as he tried to hold his breath.

If God above was watching over him right now, he really needed some help. Any divine up above would work for him. Lightning, an earthquake, anything that would pull that blue syringe away from his tough baby. Dr. Gerry was fitting a large, sharp needle on, and Owen half wondered if Elise would be lucky enough to have scales too tough for the needle's sharp point.

Gerry gave a small, sad sigh as he lifted the syringe up before giving it a small push; the blue liquid dribbled from the point as all air bubbles were pushed out, and Owen felt another gust of warm air on his face. He desperately pleaded with Claire, and she bit her lip, but she didn't look away.

At least she was humane enough to give him that much.

Gerry moved close to the soundly sleeping, peaceful giant, and he gave her a gentle pat above her closed eye as he said, "I'm sorry, Kiddo."

Owen began to sag when the old hand moved along the scales as he searched for the jugular. It wasn't hard to find, and Gerry pressed against it. It only took a few seconds before the vein began to bulge, and Owen finally began to realize what was about to happen.

There was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't watch, and he pressed his forehead against Elise as he waited.

Owen nearly leapt out of his skin when the silent, somber feeling in the air was broken by Lowery quickly yelled over the crackling radio.

"WAIT! WAIT! Don't do it!"

Gerry gave an irritated glare at the radio when he dropped his syringe in surprise, and Claire looked livid as she snatched the radio from Owen's hip. He blinked dumbly at her, and Claire quietly snapped, "What the hell, Lowery?!"

Barry lifted his face from the scales, and the pattern had imprinted into his forehead, as the sound of things being flung around garbled on the radio. Lowery sounded breathless, like he had been running, and panted, "Video...leaked...already has...millions of views! People...are going crazy over it!"

Claire immediately paled as she slowly looked at Dr. Gerry. The old man narrowed his eyes as a stern, disapproving glare set on his face. Gerry hated putting animals down, and he hated dragging things out; it only made things worse for everyone. Claire swallowed as she quietly said, "How. Did. That. Happen? I said to delete all the videos."

Owen blinked a little more as he had pulled himself from the suffocating blue emotions, and heard Lowery desperately say, "I don't know, Claire! I did delete everything! This wasn't even the one where Owen put her to bed! It's the one in the plaza! Where he saved Purple, or whatever, from being mauled!"

Owen frowned, his mind was so fogged at the moment that he had no idea who Purple was. Was Lowery referring to Blue? Owen had saved Blue; that felt like such a long time ago. He met Claire's stunned, slightly angry gaze, and Lowery added, "It's all over the news, Claire! People love it, and the tickets to see the Indominus? Those are selling for triple their worth on EBay!"

The redhead gaped at the radio, and Owen held his breath. People liked her? Or were they just stunned to see little him actually stop massive her from attacking? Claire blinked as her mind whirled to comprehend this, and Lowery continued to push, "Guests want to see Elise, Claire..."

That was enough to pull Claire out of her shock, and she slowly slid her gaze up to the Indominus before her. Owen was afraid to believe he saw her thinking hard, and winced when Gerry cleared his throat.

It was never good when Gerry cleared his throat; it meant he was about to give a thorough ass-chewing. Owen himself had been chewed out only once, and that was enough to straighten him out for life. Even Blue and the girls seemed a little quieter when Dr. Gerry came around after that incident had happened.

Gerry didn't like how Owen fed his girls soft "people food" that would allow plaque to build up around their gums. The old vet was getting tired of pulling teeth from the petting zoo dinosaurs because all they ate was soft food.

Owen was petrified of Gerry finding out he still snuck his girls the sweet treats.

Claire glanced up from her phone when Gerry sternly growled, "Claire, I will say this only once. If you make the decision of cancelling this euthanasia, and change your mind later, I will never even consider putting this animal down for your reasons. I just watched Owen keep a hold of her; she's not violent, she's protective. You can't get mad at her for doin' her job."

Claire seemed startled that she was being chastised, and Gerry continued, "If your pencil pushin', money-hungry suits actually had a brain about themselves, they'd realize all this girl needed was support. She needs social structure, and Owen is providing it. All that chaos this kiddo caused could have been prevented if she had grown up with a keeper like Owen."

Gerry slowly pointed to the sleeping dinosaur, and shaken caregivers as he growled, "Don't you ever put these three through this again. I've got three more of Owen's girls that I might outlive, and I will not see either of these two, grown men cry any more times than that. This animal will never trust strangers again, and you might have just conditioned her into associating bad things with crowds of strangers. I suggest you think really hard about her fate, because putting her down won't be an option with me anymore."

Gerry sharply looked at his black watch before adding, "You got an hour before I make the decision for you."

The old vet then hobbled over to his truck as he grumbled to himself. Owen winced at the tone, but he didn't dare raise his eyes to Claire. He was so afraid of becoming hopeful once more; he just couldn't take it.

Owen actually jumped a little when Claire pushed the button on her radio before asking, "Lowery, I don't want an exaggeration on how popular that video is..."

The radio in her hand was silent for a second before he replied, "I don't exaggerate, okay? That video is on fire, and it's starting to appear on some of the news channels. Your receptionist came in, she's looking for you because interviews are wanting to be made. Jurassic World is all the hype again."

Claire looked up from the little radio before she walked over, and kneeled in front of Owen. He knew he had to look pathetic when she spoke in a soft, gentle tone that he was sure wasn't even used for her nephews.

"If I call this off, you do know you'll be in the spotlight, right?"

Owen only nodded, he didn't trust his voice at the moment, and Claire asked, "Can she handle that kind of attention? If we sell tickets to see her, then she's going to see a lot of people. Are you sure you can keep her under control, Owen?"

"If I'm where she can see me, and no one threatens me then we'll be fine..."

Claire flickered her gaze up when a deep breath from Elise ruffled her red hair. Owen followed her gaze before quietly adding, "She has to have space to run, Claire. She's got to have a spot to hide because she's got human in her; she needs her privacy too..."

The CEO contemplated her decision for a few minutes as she continued to stare at Elise. Owen kept his mouth shut for fear of saying the wrong thing, and he swore Barry was holding his own breath. Owen could see Gerry carefully watching Claire from the corner of his eye.

Owen was starting to go crazy with how long Claire was taking, and he wished Gerry hadn't given her such a long time to think about it. Even Lowery seemed to be nervously tapping something on his desk; Owen could hear the repeated tapping until someone shushed him.

Was the entire Control Headquarters watching?

Owen jumped again when Claire finally stood as she went into business mode, and said, "Jurassic World has moral principles that it always has to stand by. We created this asset with the full knowledge that she could be dangerous. The labs refused to give full details on what traits she could possibly show; they were irresponsible in the amount of power they were given. We couldn't properly accommodate her for this reason, and we all paid for it. She didn't know better when she went on her rampage, and that's not her fault. We can market this to sway the board. The guests still want to see the Indominus, and Jurassic World has the means and people to do so safely."

Claire looked at Owen as she coolly added, "You will be in charge of the Indominus rex. You're responsible for her well-being, and making sure this company does everything it can to make this safe for everyone; dinosaurs and guests. I want reports on her progress, and anything else she's going to need. Tomorrow, you and I start working on the tweaks of her paddock that was made for public viewing, as well as what we are going to tell the public."

Owen took a deep breath, and nodded before Claire awkwardly pointed at him as she said, "Please dress in...something professional as well. You're a big part of this park now, Mr. Grady."

Owen had no idea what she wanted for professional, but he wasn't going to say anything; he simply nodded again. Claire seemed to be growing concerned about his lack of witty remarks, but she slowly said, "Well...then, I will be leaving to announce my decision to the board...you have it from here?"

Owen nodded again. Claire raised her eyebrows at him, and glanced at Gerry for some help. The vet simply shrugged his shoulders as he said, "He'll be fine when she wakes up; might be a couple hours."

Claire glanced at Owen again, and blinked when Barry had turned away from her. She wasn't quite sure what to do, and she took a slow step towards her car. She knew there was something comforting she was supposed to say, but she lacked the ability to comfort people.

She finally went back to her car, and paused when she opened it before glancing back at him. Claire bit her lip before quietly saying, "Owen?"

Owen glanced up, confused as to why she was switching between formal and informal names, but she said, "If...you're not busy tonight, my nephews really wanted to eat dinner with you as well. Gray has a bunch of questions about your raptors, and Zach...well Zach just thinks you're a total badass."

Owen nodded once more, and waved at her; his attempt of saying he would try really hard. Claire wasn't sure what to do with that, and she glanced at Elise one more time before getting into her car. She drove away, and Gerry gave a sigh as he turned to his pickup. He put the tip of the empty syringe into a bottle; medicine to help Elise recover from this. He then mentally counted down from five...four...three...two...one...

Owen startled himself when the large sob tore from his chest, and Barry was mush as he loudly cried over Elise's ribcage. Owen buried his face in his hands as he tried to get ahold of himself, but he had been so scared. He leaned close to Elise, and Gerry only pressed his lips.

He still had to go pull rotted teeth from the petting zoo dinosaurs. Stupid, uneducated people always had to feed soft food like that. Even Rexy would need monthly dental appointments from eating soft, squishy goats all day. She wasn't getting enough big, hard bones to chew on to break up the plaque, and it aggravated Gerry to no end when the caretakers acted so surprised when the teeth began to rot.

At least he convinced Owen to stop feeding the raptors Oreos and Cheetos.

Owen let out a loud sigh as he waited at the top of the platform of the Raptor Paddock. He wanted to stay with Elise, but Gerry had assured him the Indominus wouldn't even twitch for another few hours. She had gone down fast because it was so much more than what was recommended for her. Owen had spent another few minutes freaking out until Gerry had chased him off.

The vet would stay with Elise until he thought she was out of the clear; Barry was with her as well.

Owen hadn't seen his girls since they all slept at his place, and he missed them. He wasn't sure if they missed him, but they did miss chasing after the pig. He could hear their delighted chirps, and it seemed they had mostly recovered from losing their baby sister; Owen wished he had that ability. They knew Charlie was gone, and they accepted it; they moved on for sake of survival.

At least it felt good to be going about his normal routine again, and without Vic drooling a short distance away! That was a big bonus, but Owen found it weird how the InGen men had all but disappeared. It almost felt empty around here, but Scott and a few other caretakers were eagerly watching from the side. Owen liked them, even if they were just kids, he felt like they respected his girls more than the others had.

Owen was pulled from his thoughts when the pink pig rocketed from underneath him, and Blue hot on its heels. Owen immediately put his hand up as he sharply said, "Whoa!"

Blue skidded into a halt as Delta and Echo finally caught up with her. She snipped a chirp at him while the other two gave their own greetings. Owen couldn't help his chuckle while he assessed his girls' attention. He was immensely pleased to see they were waiting attentively, and he said, "Eyes up."

Owen swore Blue would roll her eyes if she could, and he made a mental note to bring some new commands in. Even he was getting tired of telling them to stand a little taller. Regardless, all three stood a little taller, and Owen made a few clicks with the white tool in his hand before saying, "And now we're moving."

He reached into the bucket before pulling out a chunk of lamb leg. He called out Delta before tossing it to her, and Echo was rewarded with her own chunk of beef. Owen smiled as he held up the white rat, and gently called out Blue as he tossed it to her.

The blue scaled raptor snapped her jaws around the treat eagerly before swallowing it. Owen made to dismiss them before doing a double take at his best girl. Owen frowned deeply as he leaned over the railing, and said, "Blue...what did you do now?"

Owen could clearly see a long cut along the raptor's neck, and he had no idea how she had gotten that. It looked fresh too. The three stepped about in some confusion, and Owen realized he had messed up their routine. He immediately chopped the air with a hand as he said, "Get going."

His girls knew that much, and they darted away to get back to their busy lives. Owen began to descend the stairs, intent on taking a closer look at his best girl, and Scott was already filling up a bucket of warm water and a little soap. He followed Owen over to the entrance, and Owen couldn't help saying, "You're really pulling you're weight around here."

Scott gave a sheepish grin as he replied, "I figured if you could get them back on our side, then you wouldn't have a problem going in there to clean her up. I'll have the cameras do a sweep to see if she had cut herself during the run."

Owen took the bucket before pausing, and he asked, "How'd you know I got them back on my side?"

Scott glanced around, like Owen had asked a dumb question, and he slowly said, "You know...the video? It's everywhere. Man, it was scary, but awesome how you got that Indominus to quit attacking."

Owen finally looked around, and noticed the awed looks he was getting from the others. He turned back to Scott as he quietly asked, "Who's seen that video?"

"I think a shorter list would be who hasn't seen that video. Haven't you seen it?"

Owen shook his head as he opened the cage door, and Scott said, "Well, it's called hashtag Badassery if you want to see it."

"What?"

Owen almost dropped the bucket as he glanced at Scott. He had no idea what kind of a title that was, but now he wasn't sure if Lowery had leaked that video or not. Lowery seemed to have been telling the truth, but that title just sounded like something Lowery would do.

Scott only nodded as he whipped out his phone. He walked over, but didn't go into the cage with Owen, before he said, "Yep, right here. It's hashtag Badassery. Six million views and counting, and this is only the one on YouTube. It's all over Facebook, and Twitter; Instagram even. You're like...really famous."

Owen finally blinked, and gave a shake of his head as he quickly said, "W-Whoa, hold up. Who posted that?"

Scott shrugged before replying, "Dunno, the account only has this video, but he sounds like he knows you. Wanna hear the description?"

Scott didn't wait for Owen's reply, and he read, "Here is the most badass man you will ever meet on the face of this planet. This hardcore dude rides his motorcycle with his Velociraptor pack; it's awesome. Watch him not only stop this big Indominus thing, but actually teach her how to do sign language! If this isn't badass then I don't know what is. Hashtag Badassery."

Owen swiped the phone from the kid, and he blinked in shock at actually seeing the video. He could see himself, and his girls. This was definitely taken by the security camera, and it had caught everything. Owen watched himself take the camera off Blue before Elise showed up out of nowhere. The security camera gave small shudders with each step she took, and then he watched himself stop the large dinosaur from attacking Blue. Owen held his breath when it didn't end there, and caught the entire sign language conversation. The footage ended when he had climbed onto his bike, and his girls darted alongside him with Elise following. He almost gave the phone back, until the bold, white words showed up on the screen; asking everyone to share the video as fast as possible.

Owen pressed his lips when the video ended, and he really wasn't quite sure what to do as he handed the phone back. He walked further into the comforts of his cage, and Scott leaned on the bars as he asked, "So...what's the Indominus like? Is she like the raptors?"

Owen was really uncomfortable with how the kids seemed to be crowding around the cage. He resisted the urge to shuffle as he nonchalantly answered, "She's very smart, smarter than the girls, but she's got raptor in her. I'm not sure if she was trying to escape; we might have startled her by going into her paddock all of a sudden."

Scott nodded as Owen gave a small whistle to grab Blue's attention. The Beta trotted over, and waited patiently while the door slowly slid open. Three days ago, Owen wouldn't have dreamed of attempting this, but he had proven himself; his girls had chosen him as their Alpha.

And he had Oreos in his pocket.

Owen stepped under the gate, and quietly greeted, "Hey, Blue. You going to let me take a look at that gash?"

The raptor gave a loud snort that pulled at Owen's lips, and gently extended his hand. Blue allowed him to run his fingers along her scales until he drifted a little too close to the cut, then she gave a small, warning growl. It was long, but not deep; she probably had run by something sharp.

Owen mentally sighed, but he dipped the soft, clean cloth in the water. He offered it to his girl for her to inspect before he began to gently wipe across the cut. Blue had tensed at first, but she relaxed with the soft wipes. Owen kept an eye on the other two, but there wasn't a tension in the air. Owen could definitely get used to this.

Owen couldn't help giving Echo a dry look when she suddenly knocked the bucket over proudly. He set it upright with his foot as he said, "Really, Echo? We're gonna start this shit again?"

An ornery croon was her reply, and Owen couldn't stop the short laugh from escaping him. He could always count on Echo giving him a good laugh. Delta was on his other side, sniffing him closely, and Owen did not doubt she was catching Elise's scent. He wondered how she would be a part of this pack. There was no way she'd fit in here, and it sounded like she already had her own paddock ready to go. Packs lived together.

Maybe Owen could still get the girls with Elise; he knew the Indominus would tire of talking with just him and Barry.

Owen closely inspected the cut before deeming it clean. It wouldn't need stitches or to be covered, but he would need to keep a close eye on it just in case. He dropped the pink cloth in the bucket before reaching into his pocket as he quietly said, "You are a very good girl for not being a little shit for once. I think you earned your Oreo."

Blue immediately perked up, and her gold eyes practically glowed with joy. Another Oreo! Oh, blessed be the maker of Oreos, for he hath brought great joy to this creature of the Earth. Owen chuckled as he tossed her the cookie before giving the other two one each. As always, Blue savored hers slowly while the other two simply swallowed it whole. Owen rolled his eyes as he tucked the wrapper in his pocket before jumping when a gravely, stern voice growled, "Blue, I know that is not an Oreo I see in your mouth..."

Owen whirled around before mentally cringing at the sight of disapproving Dr. Gerry standing with a raised eyebrow. Owen didn't risk glancing down to see if the wrapper was hidden, but Gerry simply cleared his throat. Blue froze before suddenly spitting her Oreo out where it mushily splattered onto Owen's boot.

Blue didn't like when Dr. Gerry got angry. She clearly remembered the elder chewing Owen out once, and she never wanted to be the recipient of such anger. If Gerry could scare Owen, then he could scare her.

The other two nervously licked their lips as they made sure to swipe away any evidence of their sins, and Blue shuffled a little closer to Owen. He could never read anything on the vet, and Gerry gave a harrumph before asking, "So, how did good 'ol Blue get ahold of one of those, Owen?"

"I have no idea. I'm sure she snatched it from one of the new guys; she's smart like that."

The old vet narrowed his eyes when he smelled a lie, and he immediately glanced at Echo. The raptor did her best to avoid eye contact as she pretended to be interested in a dying bush next to her. She still cringed slightly when Gerry growled, "Echo, I know you're my honest girl. Where'd the Oreos come from?"

Owen knew Echo didn't understand that much, but she was smart enough to know they had been caught with treats that made Gerry mad. She also knew she would be spared the wrath if she showed him the source.

But there was no way she'd rat him out like that; they were family.

Owen gave a dark, dangerous look when the raptor began to scooch over to him. She briefly paused at it, but his evil eye was nothing compared to what Gerry could do. Her sharp claws slowly snagged into his pocket before pulling out the damning evidence, and Owen hissed, "Traitor..."

Echo hissed back; this was life or death. She would not be going down on this ship; if her Alpha could swim, then good for him, but she was already on her way towards land with or without him.

The blue wrapper fluttered to the ground, and Owen mentally kissed his own ass goodbye. He was startled when Gerry suddenly burst out laughing, and his raptors slowly hid behind their caretaker. Owen wasn't sure what was funny, but funny was good. Gerry finally let out a sigh as he leaned on the bars, and said, "Ah, Owen, I'm just messing with you. I know you take care of your kiddos. They got good teeth, and you ration those treats."

Owen slowly nodded; he couldn't believe he had just avoided the wrath of Dr. Gerry. The old vet then turned stern as he growled, "But don't let anyone see you feed them those; no need to encourage it."

Owen immediately nodded as he walked over. Blue cautiously walked behind him; she knew she was supposed to have her Alpha's back, but she would have rather fought Elise. Gerry only smiled at her as he said, "You're alright, Kiddo. One Oreo won't kill you."

Blue gave a quiet, respectful chirp that made Gerry smile wider before he turned back to Owen, and said, "I did all I could for your biggest kid; Barry is still with her."

Owen grew hopeful, and he immediately asked, "So, Elise is going to be okay?"

A ball of fear weighed heavy in Owen's stomach when the vet sighed, and pulled up his ball cap to wipe the balding head. He put the cap on before saying, "I found some major problems on her. She and I will be getting to know each other real well in the future, and I suggest you make sure my replacement has a good, strong relationship with her."

"W-Why? What's wrong?"

Gerry blinked at the panicked tone before quickly saying, "She'll be awake in about fifteen minute or so, Owen. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was talking about potential health problems that could get out of hand if we don't watch her."

That didn't really comfort Owen, and he was afraid to ask, "Like what?"

Gerry shook his head in irritation as he growled, "These damned scientists, Owen, they're the dumbest smart people on this planet; sometimes I think they hurt us more than idiots. I know Elise has Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus in her, and I feel like she would have been fine if they stopped there, but I can tell some dumbass mixed in a couple more carnivores than that."

Owen frowned as he leaned on the bars, and said, "Claire mentioned she had fish DNA in her..."

Gerry nodded as he replied, "Yep, for camouflage, but that's not a problem; just a fancy little ability. What really bothered me, was her teeth."

Gerry caught Owen's slightly irritated look, and he snapped, "Hey, if they can't eat then they die. Half the problems here would be solved if we actually fed these animals properly, but Elise's problems aren't because of her diet. She has really crowded teeth that don't let her close her mouth properly; it's making her jaw crooked. I took a look around her little paddock, and she's been chewing on trees and rocks. Kiddo loses enough teeth to have her own personal tooth fairy, and I still think she's not losing them fast enough."

Owen blinked; he hadn't noticed any teeth on the ground, but he hadn't really been looking for teeth. Owen just hoped Gerry hadn't gone past the line; Elise wouldn't be happy if he had. Gerry paused to pick a bag off the ground, and Owen peered inside to see teeth. He raised an eyebrow at them, and Gerry pulled out four or five different ones as he said, "These look like they're out of the same mouth to you?"

Owen shook his head; they all looked different. Some were a little more slender while others longer or short. Two even looked sharper, and Owen recognized one that looked like a really big Velociraptor tooth. Gerry pointed at a quiet Blue as he said, "Don't her teeth look uniform to you?"

Owen nodded, and Gerry said, "I compared every one of these to Elise's; she's got at least four different types that technically serve the same function, and that's only what I could see; I bet she's got another set of different ones growing in the back of her mouth."

Gerry set the bag down as he added, "I know people have different types of teeth, but Elise's teeth look like the same type from four, different carnivores; that's going to really limit what she should be eating."

Owen glanced at Blue before he turned back, and asked, "So we need to be careful about what we feed her?"

Gerry sighed, and shook his head as he answered, "That problem can be fixed with a good dental appointment, and the right cut of meat. What scares me is what this means for her immune system."

Gerry leaned on the bars again, and lowered his voice when he added, "Every time this park creates a new dinosaur, we get a whole new set of health problems. The labs have never mixed dinosaur DNA before, but now we have one with five or six at least. If a creature with only one set of dinosaur DNA has its own set of health problems, what's a hybrid like Elise going to surprise me with? I don't even want to think about it. Some part of her might be fine with a plant, she'll chew it, thinking it's good for her, and then another part of her ends up being severely allergic to it. I know Rexy likes to chew on a couple trees to help with digestion, and Elise might want to do the same...but what if another part of her is allergic, and she won't find out until she's on the ground?"

Gerry sighed again, and clarified, "I just wonder if we're lucky enough that Elise might have gotten only the really good parts of the immune system from all that different DNA in her. She's never been out of that paddock, and it has its own set of germs; I hope she didn't pick anything up in her little run."

Gerry reached through the bars to pat Owen's shoulder as he said, "Just watch her real closely for the next couple days; maybe we'll get lucky. I'll see you around, Owen. Keep watchin' your kiddos like you do; one less thing for me to worry about."

Owen glanced back at Blue before he suddenly remembered something, and called out, "Hey, Doc?"

Gerry turned around, and Owen said, "I did hose her off in the Veterinary Building; she had a lot of dirt on her..."

"So she didn't lick herself clean?"

Owen shook his head, and Gerry smiled as he said, "Then we should be fine. That water has a little bit of solution in it to help disinfect. Maybe bring her in there once or twice every couple weeks to help her out. Just watch what she eats, Owen."

Owen let out a sigh of relief, and waved as the vet left. Blue waited for the pickup to be out of sight before she nuzzled his pocket. Owen snorted at her as he said, "Doc scared the Oreo right out of your mouth. We don't flinch when Elise roars, but we spit out treats that are to die for when Doc doesn't even bare his teeth."

Blue chirped at him, and Owen turned to pick up the wrapper before tucking it into his pocket.

"We even had a thick gate in between us, Blue; there's something wrong with that picture."