Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2020 22:47:24 +0000 (UTC)
From: Albert Collins <albert.c87@yahoo.com>
Subject: You were there - part 29

Disclaimer: This is a romantic love story about love between young
adolescent boys. There are some explicit sex scenes in the story but they
are not the main focus of the story.

So if you are looking for a story with a lot of explicit sex action, you
are in the wrong place.

If you like to read a sappy romantic tory with occasional kinky sex
scenes, then please sit back and enjoy!

Thanks again to all those who wrote with comments and feedback!

Of course, as usual, comments and constructive criticism are welcome!
albert.c87@yahoo.com

**************************

You were there -- Part 29

On the way back to Green Oaks Fidget kept stopping more and more
frequently and looking up at the boys with his large clear soulful eyes.

"I think he's still tired," Diego remarked and picked the bear cub up,
cradling him to his chest.

Fidget twisted slightly in Diego's arms, purred contentedly, and closed
his eyes.

"Looks like you're right, babe," Luke remarked as he leaned on Diego's
shoulder. "Our baby bear seems knackered off. He worked hard at being a
bear today!" Luke chuckled and gave Diego a quick peck on the cheek.

The boys picked up the speed, Diego and Fidget in front, and Luke
following them. Although he could not quite explain why, Luke could not
wipe the smile off his face, watching Diego 's determined figure steadily
plod ahead with the a shaggy black bear cub in his hands.

A northern wind had picked up and the air grew colder. The forest around
them creaked and groaned mysteriously. Later, as they entered the open
area by the pond shore, the grass and the flowers bent and streamed in
the wind, like a wavy sea of green. Luke felt the wind stirring and
messing his hair, almost like Diego's hand, and yet so unlike it too. His
eyes watered a bit as he looked at at Diego again.
The boys we already approaching the hill path leading up to the Green
Oaks clubhouse, and the phone in Luke pocket buzzed.

"Hey, Diego," Luke called as he looked at his phone, "it's a text from Mr
Frank!"

"Yea? What does he say?" Diego replied, stopping and turning around.

"Says that he doesn't want us to come to the clubhouse," Luke explained,
"wants us to keep Fidget away from contact with others. Ms Margie left us
some food in our room for tonight and tomorrow morning. Says we should
just go there and text him if we need something else."

"Probably a good idea," Diego agreed, as he turned around and continued
walking forward.

When they finally got back to their room, both boys were feeling dead
tired.

Luke collapsed on his back onto his bed and Diego settled at the computer
chair.
They placed Fidget on the floor next to Luke.

Luke lowered his arm and stroked the fur on Fidget's back and head. The
cub huffed softly in contentment and crawled closer to Luke. Diego
giggled slightly as he observed the action.

"What? What is it?" Luke inquired, lifting up his head from the bed.

"Nothing," Diego reassured, "I just can't believe how good you are with
him, Mr Mama Bear!"

"Yeah ...," Luke sighed as he scratched behind Fidget's ear. "He's still
here but I miss him already ..."

Luke and Diego had a quick supper using the food Margie left for them,
and gave Fidget some milk to drink straight from the bottle, avoiding any
spills. They then took him for a potty trip outside.

As Luke led Fidget behind the shrubs to do his business, Diego saw Toby,
dressed in PJs and slippers, get out of the cottage further back and
approach slowly.

"Luke, Diego, that you?" Toby asked uncertainly, peering into the dark.

"Toby, buddy, what are you doing here? It's late, you should be in bed,"
Diego stepped out into the light.

"Is the baby bear with you? Can I play with him, ple-a-s-e?" Toby
pleaded.

"Fidget is back there, going potty," Diego explained. "But Toby, you know
what Mr Frank said, Fidget isn't a toy, and he is not for playing. He
needs to stay away from people, as much as he can."

"But it's not fair!" Toby whined.

"I know it's not," Diego agreed as he walked next to Toby and patted the
younger boy's shoulder. "But it's what's best for him, you know that,
right, buddy?"

At that moment Luke and Fidget reappeared from the bushes.

"Well, we are done, and Fidget's got A+ for doing the thing that bears do
in the woods, he-he!" Luke chuckled. He then noticed Toby. "Oh, hey
there, Toby! Nice PJs!" Luke chuckled again.

Luke picked up Fidget in his arms and walked closer to Diego and Toby.

"Oh, my god, he looks so cute!" Toby exclaimed. "You guys are so lucky!"

Luke frowned a bit and, having made up his mind, suggested with a smile:
"Okay, Toby, you can come up and pet him, but real quick, only for a
couple of seconds."

"Really?" Toby beamed excitedly.

"Really really!" Luke confirmed with a grin as Diego was shaking his
head.

Toby approached Luke and scratched Fidget's head gingerly. Fidget purred
in appreciation.

Toby giggled and stepped back: "Wow! This was so-o-o cool!! Thanks,
Luke!"

"All right, Toby, buddy, off you go, now you really need to get back to
bed," Luke replied, still grinning warmly, "we'll see you later."

Toby waved at them and disappeared into his cottage.

"You are so bad!" Diego remarked as they were going up the stairs to
their room.

"Yeah, I am," Luke admitted with a chuckle. "But nothing is gonna happen
from Toby petting Fidget for just a sec. Well, except that now Toby
probably won't be able to fall asleep for a few hours, he-he!"

The boys quickly changed into their PJs and prepared for bed, while
Fidget crawled around the floor, sniffing and sometimes licking various
things in their room.

When Luke was ready, he picked up the bear cub and got into his bed: "All
right, Fidget, boy, that's enough of being a bear for now. You did real
good today, but it's time for all of us to hit the sack."

Diego turned off the lights, crawled into the bed and snuggled behind
Luke, hugging him tightly. As he wrapped his hand around Luke's torso, he
felt Fidget's form curled into a shaggy warm ball in front of Luke. The
boys' hands joined as they petted the cub and he purred softly in
response.

"Mmm, you smell so good, babe," Diego whispered, burning his face in the
back of Luke's head.

"Thanks, Diego, thanks," Luke whispered back, "but isn't that my line?"

"I donno, is it?" Diego chuckled. He wiggled his body and snuggled closer
to Luke. "Any conflicted feelings?" he chuckled again.

"Ah, no. Don't take it the wrong way, Diego, babe, but no," Luke squeezed
Diego's hand as their fingers intertwined inside Fidget's fur. "And
thanks for today again, papa bear. Thanks."

"Mmmm," Diego kissed the back of Luke's neck.

The following day was a blur for both Luke and Diego. The boys got up
early, shortly before 7am, and separately took quick showers while one of
them watched Fidget. They snacked on the food Margie left for them the
previous evening and set out for their last full day of "Bear Academy"
with the young cub. This time they chose a longer, easterly route around
the pond and the forest, which took them past the barnyard and Winston's
corral. Neither the old donkey nor the bear cub were happy to see each
other, and Winston indicated his displeasure by loud braying and stomping
his feet. Fidget quickly hid behind the boys and made rapid clacking
noises indicating distress. At that moment Amber appeared, happily
greeting the boys and the new strange arrival.

Amber approached Fidget, wagging her tail, and doing the doggy play bow.

"Wait, Luke, should we maybe try to keep her away?" Diego suggested with
worry. "Mr Frank said ..."

"Nah, let them play," Luke retorted, observing the action. "He said to
keep him away from people, and Amber isn't 'people', is she? I think
it'll be okay. Fidget's a kid and all kids need to play!"

Diego still seemed not entirely convinced but he didn't argue further.

At first Fidget still looked afraid of Amber but he gradually relaxed and
started sniffing the air in her direction curiously. Amber approached
slowly and gave Fidget a couple of quick licks on the nose with her wet
warm tongue. The cub snorted loudly and the boys laughed.

"Okay, I think the introductions have been made," Diego giggled, turning
to Luke. "I've always said that you and Amber must be related somehow!"
Luke punched him in the shoulder gently.

The lick broke the ice and Fidget and Amber started playing, taking turns
chasing each other. Luke and Diego settled on the grass, sitting side by
side, watching the bear cub and the dog play together. Winston huddled in
the far corner of his enclosure, braying from time to time to indicate
his continued disapproval.

"Great to see that Fidget made at least one new friend here today," Luke
remarked pensively.

"Yeah," Diego agreed, "and I think you were right. Really good for him to
have somebody to play with."

At one point Fidget was getting a bit rough and swatted Amber with his
paw. Amber stopped and produced a short loud bark. Fidget sat back in the
grass and stared at Amber with what had to have been a guilty expression.
Amber licked the cub's nose again and the playing quickly resumed.

"That was a nice trick," Diego chuckled, "I gotta remember that. In case
somebody else I know gets too frisky."
He gave Luke a wily smile.

"Hey, Diego, be nice!" Luke protested.

"Oh, come on, Luke, you know, I am kidding, right!" Diego laughed as he
hugged Luke's shoulder and kissed his neck. "I love it when you get
frisky, I do!"

"Thanks, Diego, babe, thanks," Luke kissed Diego back. "I love getting
frisky with you. We should do that more often ..."

Luke looked at Amber and Fidget and shifted his glance back to Diego:
"You know, Diego, I really dig it that you make jokes like that now ...
When I first met you, you would hardly look up ..."

The expression in Diego's large brown eyes grew more serious. He wrapped
his palm around the side of Luke's neck and spoke gently, looking Luke in
the eyes: "Luke, you know that you did that, right? If it weren't for you
... I mean, even now, I don't know what I'd do without you ... Can't even
think of it ..."

Diego's fingers gently caressed Luke's neck and both boys' eyes watered
as they stared at each other silently for a few moments.

"Oh, come here, elf-boy, come here!" Luke grabbed Diego in a huge hug and
held him tight.
"We'll be all right, Diego, babe, you'll be all right," Luke whispered as
his hot breath tickled Diego's ear. "Hey, I think it's time we got our
forest student moving, don't you?" he continued, smiling.

"Sure, Luke," Diego agreed. "But it really was a great idea to get Fidget
to play with Amber."
Diego flashed Luke a bright warm grin.

Luke picked up Fidget and the boys continued towards the forest, having
said good bye to Amber and Winston.

Luke and Diego spent most of the day slowly wandering around the forest
with the young bear cub. Fidget did a lot more digging for bugs and
grubs, and all three of them feasted on fresh wild blueberries and
blackberries. They eventually reached the old willow's field and took a
long break there. Fidget napped under the tree, while the boys had lunch
they brought with them and read several more chapters of Quentin Durward.
This time Diego insisted that Luke do some of the reading aloud from the
book. Luke was apprehensive at first but eventually he did get into it
although he still kept complaining about the long sentences and the
"fancy" language. Frank checked on them a few times over the phone and
Luke also got a text from warden Mitchell inquiring how his deputy
wardens were doing.

When the boys got back to their room in the evening, they were completely
exhausted and barely had strength to undress and change into their PJs.
 Luke collapsed onto his bed, cradling Fidget in his arms. Diego snuggled
behind them, as the night before. Sleep overtook them quickly.

When Diego woke up in the morning, he was alone in bed and could hear
noises coming from the bathroom. Diego reached for his phone. 6:05am,
still quite early. Diego got up and quietly entered the bathroom. The air
inside was warm and foggy. The bathtub was filled most of the way with
warm water covered with a dense carpet of soapy bubbles. Luke and Fidget
were splashing inside, Luke sitting in the tub with his back against the
wall and Fidget in front of him, doing a kind of a doggy paddle.

"Oh. My. God!" Diego giggled as he crouched next to the tub. "I think I
really need to take a picture!"

"Cool, right!" Luke turned with a huge happy smile towards Diego.

"Right," Diego leaned in and gave Luke a tender kiss. "So, Luke, what
part of Bear Academy is this?"

"Oh, this ain't for him," Luke explained, "it's for me! Diego, babe, you
wanna join us?"

At that moment Fidget snorted out loudly, splashing Diego with soapy
water.

"I think that's a 'no'," Diego laughed in response.

"How do you know it wasn't a 'yes'?" Luke protested. "Come on, Diego,
it's fun!"

"Looks like a bit too much fun ..." Diego petted Fidget's back. "Well, he
certainly won't smell like poo after this!"

Diego gave Luke a quick peck on the cheek and left.

About 25 minutes later Luke, still naked, emerged from the bathroom,
carrying Fidget in his arms.

"You took your sweet time!" Diego giggled.

"Yep," Luke admitted, "it was sweet and we now smell sweet too, don't we,
boy?"

He put Fidget on the floor. The cub moved his head from side to side and
then shook his body vigorously, like a large dog, sending droplets of
water flying all over the room.

"Fidget!!" Diego shouted with a laugh.

"Too late, you should have taken a bath with us," Luke commented with a
wink.

"Yeah, I'm regretting not taking you up on it already," Diego laughed in
response, "especially since Fidget just sorta gave me a shower anyway."

Diego chuckled again disappeared into the bathroom.

The boys spent most of the remainder of the morning playing with Fidget,
after getting a quick snack from the fridge and giving the bear cub more
milk to drink.

Shortly before 8am one of their phones, that were lying on the coffee
table by the couch, buzzed.
It was Diego's phone. Both boys jumped with a start.

"Mr Frank?" Luke asked knowingly. He gave Diego a haunted pale look.

"Yeah," Diego confirmed. "It's time." He stifled a sigh.

Not much was said for the next few minutes. Luke and Diego got dressed
quietly. Diego took the crate, that never got used, and the other things
Dr Richard gave them for Fidget. Luke picked up the bear cub in his arms.

"Ready?" Diego checked gently. Luke gave Diego another pained silent
gaze. Luke's beautiful green eyes, usually lit with a lively sparkle,
were already red and beginning to water.

Diego stood next to Luke and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.

"Come on, babe," he added as he squeezed Luke's arm gently. "It'll be all
right. We'll get through this, I promise."

Diego kissed Luke's cheek again softly. He picked up Fidget's things
again and Luke silently followed him outside.

When they reached Frank's van parked by the curb at the main entrance to
Green Oaks, Luke was already crying hard.
Frank and Margie were there waiting for them.

"So, boys, how did it go with teaching Fidget about being a bear?" Frank
started asking. "Oh," he cut himself short with a sigh, noticing Luke's
tear streaked face. "Diego, please put Fidget's stuff in the van."

Diego complied silently.

"Luke, honey, I know you did a great job helping him," Margie kissed
Luke's head gently, "and Fidget is going to a wonderful place, where
he'll be with other bear cubs, just like him. Frank told me all 'bout it,
didn't you, honey?"

"That's right," Frank confirmed as he patted Luke's shoulder. "It really
is what's best for him. I think you know that, Luke."

"Yeah, but ...," Luke lifted up his puffed up face, "it still hurts so
much ... I've only known him a couple of days ... And I already love him
so-o-o much ... And now he has to leave ... It's just not fair!"


"I know, honey, I know," Margie hugged Luke and kissed his forehead
again. Fidget shifted and cooed in Luke's hands, crawled up his chest and
licked Luke's face. "But see, looks like he's saying 'thank you' and 'I
love you too!'"

"Yeah," Luke chuckled through a sob, "he's a smart boy!"

"He sure is," Frank agreed.

Diego gently guided Luke into the van and Frank took the driver's seat.

Margie waved to them as Frank was pulling away from the curb.

"You'll be glad to know that Fidget's blood tests came back okay," Frank
said quietly looking ahead as they started their drive to Dr Richard's
clinic. "He seems to be in great health, just needs to put on a few
pounds ..."

Frank glanced in the rear view mirror to check how the boys were doing.
Luke and Diego were huddled in the back of the van, Diego's arm wrapped
around Luke's shoulder. Luke was holding Fidget in his lap and stroking
his fur gently, while crying wordlessly. Diego leaned, kissed Luke's
cheek and whispered something quietly in his ear. Frank sighed and
shifted his eyes to the road in front of him.

"Luke, Diego, you know, you did real good by Fidget," Frank said gently
while staring ahead. "Helped him out when he was scared, lost and alone.
Gave him a good start in his new life. That counts for a lot. You kids
should be proud. I'm proud, of both of you, I really am."

Frank sighed again as he saw Luke's pained haunted gaze in the rearview
mirror. Luke was stroking Fidget's back with his right hand as Fidget was
licking his left palm. Diego's head was resting on Luke's shoulder.

"And I think in his own bear way he'll remember you too," Frank
continued, looking ahead again. "Bears are smart, and this little guy
here, I figure he's smarter than most. Getting away from poachers,
knowing where to look for help, finding you ... It's pretty amazing, when
you come to think of it ..."

"Mr Frank," Diego spoke up from the back seat, "this place that Fidget is
going to, it's really good, right?"

"Yes, Diego, that's what I've been told, it's real good," Frank
confirmed. "It's a new orphan bear cub sanctuary not that far from here
that opened a little over a year ago. Warden Mitchel -- he's gonna meet
us by the clinic -- has been there a few times and he tells me that the
place is great and the cubs are doing real good there."

Frank observed in the visor as Diego nestled closer to Luke and gave him
another reassuring kiss.

The rest of the drive passed quietly and mostly in silence. Frank could
occasionally hear the boys whispering something in the back but they did
not speak up.

As Frank was pulling next to the entrance to Dr Richard's clinic, the
boys saw warden Mitchel and a young asian woman waiting by the curbside.
A little further down the street there was a parked van with a cartoon
picture of a smiling bear and a logo "Bear Necessities" printed on the
back door.

Frank stopped the car, got out and opened the side door for the boys.
Luke and Diego emerged slowly, with Luke holding Fidget tightly to his
chest. Luke's eyes were red and puffed up and his cheeks were covered
with streaks of tears but he had stopped crying. He regarded Mitchell and
the the unknown woman wearily.

"Luke, Diego, this is Grace," Mitchell explained, stepping forward. "She
is a wildlife rehabilitation expert at a bear cub sanctuary that Fidget
is heading to. And she will also be his human handler there."

"So, this handsome young fellow is Fidget," Grace leaned down and petted
Fidget's head, as Luke continued cradling the cub in his arms like a
baby. The cub huffed softly and twisted lightly in Luke's hands.

Grace looked up at Luke's puffed up tear-streaked face and continued
gently. "And you must be Luke. I like how you are holding him. It's a
really safe way."

"Diego taught me," Luke replied curtly, lifting his tear filled eyes
towards Grace. He clutched Fidget to his chest tighter.

"I see," Grace replied gently, "you are still doing a good job taking
care of him. Both of you boys do." She placed her hand on Luke's
shoulder, squeezed it gently and turned to Diego briefly. He gave her a
shy smile.

Grace turned back to Luke.

"Luke, sweetheart, I want to show you something," Grace got out her phone
and scrolled through the screen quickly. "Here, take a look, these are
some pictures from our Center. See, we have several acres of safe
enclosed wooded area specifically prepped for the orphaned bear cubs.
Look, here they are playing together, climbing trees, digging ..."

"Learning how to be a bear?" Luke finished Grace's sentence.

"Yes, exactly right, learning how to be a bear!" Grace laughed gently and
tousled Luke's hair. "Here, see!"

She pushed the play button and played a short video of several bear cubs
at the sanctuary playing together. Diego huddled together with Luke to
watch the clip. Luke brightened up quite a bit watching the video.

"Looks cool!" he remarked as the clip ended. "How many cubs have you
got?"

"We have six now," Grace replied. "Fidget will be the lucky number
seven." She petted Fidget's head again and scratched his cheek. Fidget
sniffed and licked her palm curiously.

"He seems to like you," Luke noted flatly as he gave Grace a sharp look.

"That's good," Grace replied softly. "We try to limit the cubs' contact
with the humans, and I'll be Fidget's only handler there."

Mitchell stepped closer and cleared his throat: "Luke, buddy, this really
is what's best for Fidget, you know that, right? We're real lucky too as
until a year ago the Kilham Bear Center up north was the only bear
sanctuary in the state that would take and rehabilitate orphaned bear
cubs. But now we also have Bear Necessities, and much closer, just 30
miles away."

"So your place,  Bear Necessities, it kinda like Green Oaks, but for
orphan bear cubs?" Diego asked Grace as he held Luke's's forearm.

"Right again, you got it, kid!" Grace chuckled in response. "Green Oaks
for bear cubs, exactly! And now, with Fidget, we even have the first
common resident."

She turned to Luke again: "Luke, honey, our facility isn't a zoo and
we're generally not open to the public. But if later on you'd like to
come for a visit and see how Fidget is doing, I think we can arrange
that."

"You mean I can see him again?!" Luke exclaimed, his eyes shining
brightly. "Did you hear it, Diego?! We can still visit Fidget!"

"Yeah, Luke, I heard," Diego hugged Luke's shoulders. "Of course we're
gonna come and visit him!"

"And Luke, buddy, I have some other news," warden Mitchell said
earnestly. "Those poachers that killed Fidget's family, they've been
arrested in Massachusetts. We identified them pretty quick using the
vehicle license plate and the toll both photos, and the DA got us the
extradition warrants. They should be back here soon to stand trial, both
for poaching and for aggravated fleeing across the state lines."

"Good. Hope you nail those fu ... those bastards," Luke stated
forcefully.

"Right," Mitchell chuckled.
Frank, who was leaning against the side of his van, silently rolled his
eyes.

The clinic's door opened, and Dr Richard came outside.
He walked up next to Luke and greeted him with a gruff smile: "Well, kid,
I see that you've done pretty good taking care of him. I'm glad."

Richard leaned down, grabbed Fidget's head and quickly unclipped the RFID
chip from his ear. Fidget emitted a short yelp and curled in a ball in
Luke's arms.

"He won't need this where he's going," Richard commented, lifting up the
chip. "I trust the fine folk there will keep him safe and sound anyways,
right?" He gave Grace a sly wink.

"We haven't lost any cub yet and we aren't planning to, Doc," Grace
assured him with a laugh. "And thanks for calling us about Fidget. We are
still new and building up our rep. We will do all we can for him."

Frank, who had been observing the events in silence, stepped away from
the Green Oaks van and approached Luke.

"Luke, it's time," Frank said gently.

Luke looked up at Frank, and shifted his glance to Grace and Mitchel.
Tears were already running freely down the boy's face. Grace nodded to
him warmly.

"Well, Fidget, boy, time for you to go," Luke looked down at the bear cub
in his hands and a few tears dripped from Luke's chin on the cub's fur.
"You'll be all right over there, it seems like a real good place, and me
and Diego, we'll come and visit you real soon, I promise! ... But I'm
sure gonna miss your silly face even if you do smell like poo!"

Luke buried his face in the side of Fidget's body and sobbed quietly.
Diego embraced Luke around his shoulders and cried together with him.
Grace stepped forward and extended her arms towards Luke. Luke lifted his
face and looked up at her.
She nodded again gently.

Luke slowly handed Fidget to Grace. The cub cooed and standing up on his
paws crawled up as he sniffed around Grace's shoulders.

Luke lightly stroked the fur on Fidget's back with his Fingers: "Bye,
Fidget, boy ... I won't forget you ..."

He turned around and buried his face in Diego's chest, sobbing silently.
Diego, his eyes also wet, nodded to Grace as he held Luke soothingly.

Frank and Mitchell opened the back of Grace's van and she put Fidget in a
large crate, padded with blankets and leaves, that was prepared there.
After closing the doors, Grace walked to Luke and Diego again.

"Luke, Diego, again thank you, boys, for taking such good care of
Fidget," she said gently and she patted Luke's shoulder. "I promise we'll
do our best for him. Fidget will be all right!"

Grace kissed the back of Luke's head and went back to her van. Shortly
the engine turned on and the van drove off.

A few moments of silence followed.  Dr Richard cleared his throat: "Well,
shall we go in?"

He exchanged glances with Frank and Mitchell.

Frank got Fidget's stuff that Dr Richard gave them earlier from the Green
Oaks van while Mitchell gently steered Luke and Diego inside the clinic's
building.

Diego sat Luke in one of the chairs in the reception and wrapped his arms
around him. Luke had stopped crying but still had not said anything since
Fidget left.

Frank came in carrying the crate, the harness and the flexi-leash, that
the boys never got to use: "Okay, doc, here's your stuff back. Thanks for
loaning it to us, but with luck we'll never be needing it again ..."

"Oh, never say 'never'," Richard chuckled, "lots of other bears in the
woods around here. You never know who's gonna pay you a visit ... And
speaking of that, here's someone else you've met before."

He leaned down and put on the counter a cat carrier with a netted window
on the side.

"Is that Roxie?" Diego asked, standing up and walking next to the
counter. "She made it!"

"Yep," Richard confirmed, "she pulled through. Well, most of her did
anyway ... Unfortunately, we couldn't save her right front leg, the
bullets did too much damage there. Had to amputate it. But Roxie will be
all right otherwise."

"Can she live with just three legs?" Luke spoke up, also standing up and
moving next to Diego.

"Yeah, sure," Richard assured, "it'll take some getting used to but
she'll manage."

"So, where's Roxie's owner?" Diego inquired. "And last time she was by
herself too."

"Ah, that," Richard replied, "yeah, that's another sorry tale. The owner
is Billy, a local drunkard. Got a trailer about a mile from here. Was
drunk out of his mind and asleep when Roxie was shot, and the neighbors
brought her in." Richard paused and shook his head disapprovingly. "And
now that she's got a leg missing, Billy doesn't want her back. Says that
he couldn't be bothered taking care of a three-legged cat. Not that he
did much taking care of her before ..."

Diego and Luke huddled around Roxie's carrier and whispered something to
her comfortingly. Roxie made a couple of weak meows and purred lightly.

"So, what will happen to Roxie now?" Luke inquired as he leaned down and
stuck his fingers through the side grid of the cat carrier. Roxie licked
Luke's fingers with her rubbery tongue. Luke giggled softly.

"Well, kid," Richard gave Luke a sly sidelong glance, "she's going to a
shelter next. Of course, they're gonna try to adopt her out. But Roxie's
an older cat with a missing leg. If things don't work out with adoption,
well, you know what that probably means ..."

"Mr Frank!!!" Luke looked up at Frank with tear filled eyes.

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Frank exhaled, shooting a glare towards Dr
Richard. "Luke, get the cat carrier. Diego, leave Fidget's crate and his
other stuff by the counter. Let's go before you boys talk me into
adopting a flying monkey here."

Still muttering something under his breath Frank exited the building, and
the boys quickly followed him.

"Thanks for your help, guys!" Richard called after them, "Roxie's
medication and care instructions are in the carrier pocket. Call me if
you need anything!"

As the van was pulling away from the clinic, Frank looked in the visor at
Luke and Diego huddled in the rear, Luke clutching the cat carrier.
Diego hugged Luke and whispered something softly in his ear. A wry smile
creased Frank's face.

"Well, we exchanged a bear for a three-legged cat," Frank commented with
a chuckle. "I think I got off lightly." He paused as he observed Luke and
Diego again. "Boys, you do understand that, although Roxie will now be
mostly your responsibility, right? You and the other kids. Sorta like a
Green Oaks community cat."

"Yes, sure, Mr Frank," Luke replied gratefully, "we will take care of
Roxie, I promise. And thank you for agreeing to rescue her!"

"Right," Frank hemmed. "Now, Diego, get out those instructions from the
carrier pocket that Dr Richard mentioned and tell me what they say."

"Just a sec, Mr Frank," Diego unfolded sheet of paper that he got from
the side pocket of the cat carrier. "Says here that we should give her
antibiotics twice a day with her food for five more days. And some pain
and anti-inflammation medicine for three more days, also twice a day.
There are two bottles of pills."

"Thank you, Diego," Frank replied. "For the first few days Roxie'll stay
with Margie and me. After, we'll put her a bed and a litter box in the
clubhouse. See how she likes it there. If all goes well, it'll be your
job, boys, to feed her, change her litter and play with her. Deal?"

"Deal!" Luke exclaimed enthusiastically. "Roxie, girl, don't you worry,
me and Diego, we are gonna take good care of you!"

Luke again stuck his fingers through the side net of the carrier for
Roxie to sniff and lick.
Diego joined him and the boys entertained Roxie for the remainder of the
trip.

As they arrived back at Green Oaks and were getting out of the van, they
were met by Gregg, one of the counsellors. Next to him there stood a
short dark skinned man of Asian appearance with a broad round face an a
kind smile.

Luke, with Roxie's carrier in his hand, stood next to the van, flexed his
shoulders and glanced up at Gregg and the newcomer curiously.

"Luke," Gregg addressed him earnestly, "this is detective Anand Singh
from the Altoona police department in Pennsylvania. He needs to talk to
you about something important."


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