A/N: This is a oneshot I wrote in response to a challenge so if some things seem a little odd in the story it might be because it was part of the challenge...
I hope you enjoy your read and leave me little note whether you liked it or not...
Disclaimer: I sadly don't own any of the characters...they all belong to McLeod's Daughters...
What Would They Do Without Us?
„Leave me alone Alex! It's really none of your bloody business who I go out with!"
Roy heard his mistress Claire even before he saw her and quickly decided it would probably be best if he hurried to hide in the bushes…she was in one of those moods again like so often lately and while he knew she would never intentionally hurt him or any other animal on the farm there would probably be pieces of wood get kicked around again shortly and they really hurt when they hit your head or any other body part…that much he had gathered by now. Mistress Claire had always been a bit grumpy sometimes, that was nothing new…but the last few weeks it had gotten a lot worse.
The younger mistress Tess had mumbled the other day that this was all Master Alex's fault while she and Roy had listened to Claire and Alex talking…err…shouting like they did again today. At first Roy hadn't quite wanted to believe it because he knew both of them practically all his life but now he was beginning to think it was true. They had always done their share of bickering for as long as he could remember and it hadn't always been friendly but never before had been as bad as it was at the moment…had they been dogs he would have guessed they would start biting each other's tails off yesterday…and today again…
Roy didn't quite know what had changed but he knew that since the new little one had arrived, the one they called BOM or Charlotte (Why those humans could never stick to one name he would never understand), something was different about Mistress Claire and Master Alex and they weren't as happy with each other as they used to be…and he was sure it wasn't the little one's fault…all she did was eat and sleep and cry…she couldn't even walk yet so she really couldn't be much trouble…
"So you want to date yet another knob?" Master Alex's voice rang over the yards as Roy heard the steps of the two humans come closer and crawled a little deeper under the bush just in case… "Don't go blaming me in a few years when Charlotte comes complaining about the men that walk in an out of her life because you only go out with idiots that don't know what's good for her or you…"
'Oh no…' Roy thought to himself 'Mentioning the little one in this context was not a good idea Master Alex…' Even Roy knew that and he was only a dog…
And really…Mistress Claire stopped in her tracks and Roy could see her turn around on her heels. Even from his hiding place under the bush he could see that Claire's eyes were narrowed and that she was fuming as she said "Leave BOM out of this! Just because she loves you doesn't mean you get a say in my life!"
She turned around again and left Master Alex standing where he was as she quickly walked up to the house and yes…there came the first piece of wood flying in the poor dog's direction. Good thing he was under the bush and it got caught in the branches…would have been a direct hit on the head…
"Fine Claire! Do whatever you have to do but don't come running to me again when things don't turn out well!" Master Alex shouted from where he was standing before made his way to his black car and went driving off with the gravel flying all over the place…one hitting Roy on the nose…ouch…those humans never thought when they were angry! There were defenceless animals around, this was a farm after all!
"Bloody idiot…why can't he keep his nose out of my business for once…" Roy heard Mistress Claire mumble as she walked past him and the dog sighed in relief when he heard the door slam shut…for now there was peace again on the farm…too bad it probably wouldn't stay that way…
Since it was already getting late and Roy knew his work day was over he slowly crawled out of his hiding place under the bush and made his way to his friend Eagle…Mistress Claire's horse. Eagle was one of his closest mates and spent just as much time with the mistress as Roy did…maybe he had an idea what was going on, he was usually closer to Claire's mouth and could hear better what she mumbled while she was sitting on him…Roy often had to go too far away to catch some cattle or sheep that weren't behaving so Eagle really might know more about the subject than he did…
But unfortunately the old horse was as clueless as Roy…
"Sorry mate…" he said "She's talking even less to me than she usually does…some of her heel kicks are really painful at times nowadays when Master Alex is around…"
But at least both animals agreed that Master Alex really seemed to be the problem though neither of them knew what to do about it or what exactly the problem was.
"Maybe you should go and talk to Blaze…" Eagle then suggested. "I know sometimes Mistress Claire goes out to her and talks to her and she's a female…don't they always know more about those things anyway? Maybe she can help us…because you're right mate…I'm not sure how much longer I can go on like this…my flanks really start to hurt from all those hard kicks…"
So Roy…since he was the only animal on the farm that was always free to go where he wanted when he didn't have to work…made his way out to the paddock Blaze lived in by the old huts and looked for the cream coloured horse. He liked her although she wasn't as good a friend as Eagle but she had always been nice to him when they had worked together before Blaze had gotten her little one Phoenix…
When the horse spotted the dog jumping over the gate of the paddock she came his way and greeted him with a smile asking "What brings you here today my friend? You haven't been out here since the Mistress almost had her little one in my paddock…"
Roy shook his head…he could still remember that day…that was when all this had started…his mistress had obviously been in pain and Master Alex had had to take the blame for it…maybe that was the problem…
"I need your help…" the dog told Blaze "Mistress Claire and Master Alex are constantly fighting and both Eagle and I can't stand it anymore…you can be really glad your paddock's all the way out here so you don't have to constantly hear them…" Roy sighed and looked at the horse for a sign that she maybe knew how to help.
"Oh dear…" Blaze mumbled "I thought they would have gotten it over and done with by now since Mistress Claire hasn't been round to see me for a couple days…guess I was wrong…too bad those humans can't understand us…I would have so much to say to those two…"
Roy's eyes widened as he felt hope rise up within him "So you know what's going on with them? Has she told you?"
The horse nodded "Yes…I know what's going on…or at least I think I do…" Then Roy listened to Blaze tell him how Mistress Claire had lately often complained to her why all the men had to be such idiots and either not want her or were not good enough for her and how Blaze thought that Mistress Claire was probably in love with Master Alex and the other way around but neither of them knew about it…
"How do you know all that?" Roy was really curious…the Mistress had never said she felt that way about Master Alex…Roy knew what love was…he had his own wife that lived at the far end of the property…but they had never fought like Claire and Alex… "Are you really sure they are in love? I mean…they're fighting all the time and my Mrs and I never fight that way…"
Blaze could only laugh at that and told the dog how it had been with Wildfire, Phoenix's father and herself…it had taken them quite some time before they had come to an understanding…
"But what can we do about it?" the dog wanted to know "There's got to be something…or I can guarantee you Eagle and I won't be sane for much longer…"
"Unfortunately I have no idea…" Blaze said and seemed to be thinking hard.
"What helped you and Wildfire to come to an understanding?" Roy then asked…since Blaze had…unlike him…been through such a situation before she might be able to come up with something.
"Oh…" the horse said with a smile "They locked us up in a small paddock together where we couldn't really get away from each other so we had to talk…"
"Wouldn't that work with the Mistress and the Master as well?" Roy looked at horse "At the moment one of them always runs away whenever they shout and when the other comes back they just start again where they left off…"
"Hmm…" Blaze frowned "It would probably help…but they can open gates unlike Wildfire and me so they can run away again…"
Right…that was a problem…why on earth did those humans have to be so complicated? They seemed even pickier with who they were with than the horses…and Roy had always thought the horses sometimes went a bit over the top…
He lay down and rested his head on his paws, thinking hard about how they could manage to lock up the Master and Mistress together so they couldn't run away and had to talk…when his eyes fell on the old huts at the end of Blaze's paddock…and he suddenly had an idea…yes…that was it…
"The huts!" he shouted out "We can lock them up in that one hut at the very end…that doesn't have a window so they won't be able to get out!"
Blaze looked a little sceptical "It might not have a window Roy…but how can we lock two humans in there…we can't close the door!"
Roy was suddenly very proud of himself as he said "Of course I can close the door!" he stated "All you need to do is make sure that that one wooden plank comes down…I accidentally did that a few years ago…"
And he told the horse how he had locked the Mistress Jodi in there when she had been a kid and how Claire and Meg had gotten really mad at him for doing that although he had never intended to do so…
"That's fantastic, Roy!" Blaze then shouted out with a happy grin and the horse and the dog went on making plans how they wanted to get the Mistress and Master both in that hut…
"First you have to get Mistress Claire out here somehow…" Blaze said and nodded "Yeah…Eagle can help you with that. We lock her inside and then you have to make sure Master Alex comes looking for her and when he opens the door to get her out you push him in and lock the door again…do you think that might work?"
Both animals agreed that that was probably the best plan they had come up with in a long time and Blaze and Roy hoped it would all work out…Roy because he finally wanted the good work environment back that they had always had on Drovers Run and Blaze because she wanted to see her Mistress happy again like she had been after the little one had been born.
They agreed that it was probably best to try and do it the next day since this would be the last day Master Alex would be over to help Mistress Claire train those new horses they had bought before the week was over and he'd stay at his farm for the weekend.
On his way back to the homestead Roy informed his best mate of the insights Blaze had given him and Eagle agreed that it probably really would be best to lock those two up till they stopped fighting…he wasn't really sure if he knew what love was but figured if Blaze had gone through something like that she probably knew what she was talking about…and if it didn't work out…things couldn't get much worse than they were now, could they?
Satisfied with the day's results Roy went home to his wife, eager to go to sleep so it would be the next day soon and they could finally do something about those stubborn, fighting humans…
The next day Roy was already on his way back to the homestead before the sun really went up so he wouldn't miss Mistress Claire saddling up Eagle for her morning ride along the fences…he and Eagle had decided that for once the horse would have to disobey the orders of his mistress and take her to the old huts instead of where she was telling him to go.
To make her not suspicious Roy would make a lot of noise once they were a bit away from the other humans so Eagle could pretend he was frightened and take off with the Mistress on his back…
Just as the dog reached the stables by the homestead, the Mistress walked up to Eagle and greeted Roy with a smile saying "Where've you been old boy?"
At home Mistress Claire…where else should I have been…it's been a long time since I last slept near the homestead…
Everything went as planned…Claire put the saddle on Eagle's back and took off with him before any of the other humans even showed up and Roy followed the two like he always did, silent and looking out for any kind of danger ahead.
When he looked back and thought that they were far enough away from the homestead he gave Eagle a small sign and the horse nodded in understanding…and then Roy started making as much noise as he possibly could, jumping up and down in front of his friend, winking at him as Eagle started to dance around pretending to be nervous.
"Easy boy…" Mistress Claire tried to calm him down but that of course didn't help as both animals were in on the plan "What's the matter with you Roy? Stop or you'll spook Eagle and I'll fall off…"
'Nah…you won't fall…' Roy thought to himself…Eagle had promised him nothing would happen to the mistress.
"Time to run!" the dog then shouted to his friend and the horse threw his head up in agreement and took off with a huge grin on his face towards the old huts…it looked like this was as much fun for him as it was for Roy…
As Roy followed the two in a bit of a distance…his legs were really a lot shorter than Eagle's…this would probably be an exhausting day…he saw the huts getting nearer and Eagle slowing down a bit before he finally stopped right in front of the last one without the window…good boy…just what he was supposed to do. Now all the Mistress needed to do was get off and stay close to the door so Roy could surprise her and push her inside and get that wooden plank down so she couldn't run away…
"What's wrong Eagle? Hey? Can you tell me what's the matter with you my boy?" Roy heard the Mistress speak to his friend as she petted the horse's neck…unfortunately not close enough to the door to be pushed inside…damn…he would have to take more drastic measures for that, hoping his mistress wouldn't be too mad at him…he really didn't like to go against her…but what she had put him and Eagle through lately really couldn't go any further.
Roy heard Blaze shout over from her paddock to just push her inside and lock her up before it was too late so the dog sighed and came closer, again making as much noise as he could jumping up and down in front of his mistress and really…she walked closer and closer to the door of the hut while she shouted "What's the matter with you today Roy? Got up at the wrong side of the bed?"
Just as Roy thought the mistress would stop in the doorway and not go any further into the hut fate helped him and made the mistress fall over a piece of wood on the ground that made her land on her bum inside the hut so the dog quickly closed the door and jumped up to get the plank down so the door wouldn't open again just like he had done accidentally all those years back with Mistress Jodi…and thankfully it worked despite his slightly older age…after all a total of almost 6 years!
"Roy!" The Mistress's voice came from the inside "Open that door again! Bloody dog! What is it with you and locking people in here? Roy!"
The spoken off grinned…so far their plan had worked just fine…Mistress Claire was right where she was supposed to be…
Catching his breath, Roy first looked to Eagle who seemed just as satisfied and then turned his gaze into the distance where Blaze shouted to him "Well done! Now go get Master Alex! He will be at the homestead soon!"
Right…why did he have to be the only animal who was able to get around like he wanted? It just wasn't fair…okay…Eagle was a bit older than him but still…he wasn't the youngest anymore either…
With a sigh Roy ran back to the house to get there just in time for Master Alex to drive up in his black car…now how to get him out to the old huts? Roy wasn't sure if making noise and jumping up and down would help much…
"Morning Roy…" Alex said and petted the dog's head "Claire in a better mood today?" he asked and ruffled Roy's ears as he walked towards the stables…the dog was already barking though not so loud to not get the attention of the other humans in the house…after all he only wanted Master Alex to come with him…it sure wouldn't help if any of the other mistresses came as well…
As they reached the stables, Roy saw Eagle in the distance and suddenly had an idea, very thankful that the friend had followed him as far as he had been able to…
"Hey Eagle…make yourself known to Master Alex!" the dog shouted to his friend "When he sees you with the saddle and without Mistress Claire he'll know something's not right and he'll come to you and look for her…"
Eagle nodded and started to neigh loudly while Roy at the same time tugged on one of Alex's sleeves to get the Master's attention to his friend.
"What's up Roy?" Master Alex asked "I don't have time to play right now…I need to start before Claire comes round or she'll bite my head off…again…"
Roy just ignored Alex's comment and kept tugging and growling till finally the Master realised there was something going on as he looked up and saw Eagle in the distance…all saddled up but without Mistress Claire in sight…
"What the…" Master Alex frowned and finally walked towards Mistress Claire's horse so Roy let of the sleeve and showed him the way…
"Is that what you were trying to tell me Roy? That something happened to Claire?" Master Alex asked and the dog could hear the worry in his voice…this was really working better than he had thought…he knew that when Master Alex was worried about the Mistress he would go looking for her…hopefully taking Eagle who could then take him to the hold huts…
When they reached the horse Alex approached him slowly whispering soft words as if he wanted to calm Eagle down although that wasn't necessary…anybody could see that he wasn't nervous at all…but hey…humans are strange and blind sometimes…
"Where's Claire?" Master Alex asked and took Eagle's reins "Huh? Can you tell me where she is Eagle?"
'Of course he can…' Roy thought and sighed…after all Eagle was a horse and not a human…and his friend must have read his thoughts because he neighed again and shook his head to say "Yes…I know where the Mistress is…"
"Good boy…" Alex still spoke calmly "Show me where she is, will ya? Take me to Claire!"
And finally he mounted Eagle and the horse took off before Master Alex even knew what was happening…
As the three of them reached the old huts again, Roy could already hear his mistress shouting for help…and she really didn't sound happy…
"Eagle? Is that you? Roy? Get me out here! Or at least get help! Bloody hell…I've got better things to so than spend my time in an old hut in the middle of nowhere…Roy? Come on boy…Charlotte needs her feed soon…"
"Claire?" Master Alex shouted and jumped off the horse, making his way towards the buildings "Where are you?"
"Alex? I'm in here…in the hut…Roy locked me up like he did with Jodi all those years ago…" Mistress Claire sounded very relieved now and so was Roy…hopefully she wouldn't be too mad at him…
Master Alex went to open the door which was a bit of a challenge since the wooden plank had come down quite hard as Roy had jumped up to close the door…but he made it…and Roy moved closed to the door to shut it again as soon as Master Alex was inside the hut…hopefully Mistress Claire wouldn't jump right out!
Unfortunately she did…right into Master Alex's arms…mumbling something that sounded like "Thank God you're here…those animals have really gone crazy today…"
Roy watched as Master Alex and Mistress Claire talked about what exactly had happened and held his breath, hoping they wouldn't move outside further than they already had…then he would never be able to get them back inside and their little plan would fail…
But again it was fate that helped the animals as Master Alex suddenly said "Err…Claire…I don't know why…but…it feels like my shirt is wet all of a sudden…"
"What?" Mistress Claire asked confused and finally let go of the Master.
"My shirt…" he repeated "It's…err…wet…around the chest…"
Mistress Claire first looked at Alex's chest before she looked down on herself and suddenly turned a bright shade of red muttering "Oh no…not again…I thought I was past this…" before she crossed her arms in front of her breasts and turned around and went back inside the hut.
Roy immediately jumped to attention…one was inside again…now Master Alex only had to follow…
"What happened again?" he asked and looked even more confused than he already had "Claire? What's up?"
"Go away Alex…this is really embarrassing for me, okay? Just leave?"
"Claire…" Master Alex begged…and finally followed her inside! That was Roy's chance. He quickly repeated his manoeuvre from earlier that day, shut the door and jumped up to get the plank down yet again…and then it was done…Master and Mistress were locked in the hut…and really didn't sound happy about it…
But Roy didn't care…his chest swollen with pride he looked first at Eagle then at Blaze who both congratulated him for his good job…and then they waited…and waited…
From inside of the hut there was only mumbling that you couldn't really understand but that sounded like the Master and Mistress were discussing, what to do to get out…and slowly their voices got louder and louder and they started arguing about whose fault it was that they were in the current situation…
Roy listened for a while but since they didn't say anything that he hadn't heard before he lay down and rested his head on his paws as the short night and the extensive workout that morning was slowly catching up on him…
"This conspiracy thing is a lot more intense when you're in the middle of it…especially at my age…" he thought to himself before he drifted off into a well deserved dose for a while.
He only came back to attention about an hour later when the shouting all of a sudden stopped and he heard the mistress say "What are you doing Alex? Get back down here now! You're going to kill yourself!"
The Master? Kill himself? How?
That Roy had to see! There were holes in the old wooden door, just big enough for the dog to take a peek and try and figure out what the heck was going on inside…
And he let out a little yelp as he realised what the Mistress had been talking about…there was the Master, hanging on one of the baulks, trying to get up as it seemed…and everybody knew those baulks weren't really solid anymore…at least every animal knew!
"Alex, get down here now!" Mistress Claire shouted but as always the Master didn't listen and only grumbled back "There's a hole in the roof Claire…if I can get out there I can open the door and we're both out of here so shut it, will ya?"
"Fine!" the Mistress shouted in frustration "Go kill yourself but don't expect me to scratch you off the ground when your fall down on your bum…"
"I won't…" the Master said through gritted teeth as he tried to swing his legs up so they could get a hold of the baulk. Roy held his breath as he heard the old wood creak under the weight of the master but thankfully it didn't break…for now…
But as Master Alex hung there now on the baulk almost upside down, a tiny little black thing fell out of one of his shirt pockets…it looked a bit like one of the packages that the Mistress kept those delicious biscuits in…only smaller…a lot smaller…
Roy saw the Mistress frown and go over to the mysterious package and pick it up, inspecting it up and down before she opened it and her eyes widened. Unfortunately Roy couldn't see what was inside the little package because the mistress had turned it toward the light that was coming from the hole in the roof…but the expression on her face was confused, curious and surprised at the same time.
"Alex…what's this?" she asked the Master who stopped in his attempts to get on top of the baulk and looked at the Mistress "What's what?"
"This!" The Mistress said and held up the black package so the Master could see…and Roy could now make out that there was something in there that was sparkling and shining…very strange…
"Fu…how the hell did that fall out?" The Master asked and finally let go of the baulk and jumped back to the ground "Give it back to me Claire…" he demanded and held out his hands.
But the Mistress obviously had other ideas because she said "Not until you explain to me what this is…" and turned away so the package was out of reach of the Master.
"I think you know what that is so give it back to me now Claire…" The Master didn't sound happy at all…
The Mistress looked down at the package again and then turned around and looked at the Master…and even though it was rather dark inside the hut Roy could still see the hurt in his Mistress' eyes as she now said "So who's the lucky girl Alex? Do I know her?" She swallowed hard and closed her eyes.
"It's nobody Claire…can I please have it back now?" The Master sounded just as hurt as the Mistress…that was not going well at all…they were supposed to make it all better…but it really didn't look like that now…
"I thought you were my friend, Alex…my best mate…" The Mistress muttered and if Roy hadn't known better he would have thought she was fighting with tears. "I really though you would have told me something so important like you wanting to get married…"
"Who said I wanted to get married Claire…now give me that ring back!" The Master demanded and stepped closer to the Mistress trying to take the package off her…so the sparkling thing was a ring…
"What's this for when you don't plan to propose to anybody and why are you carrying it around with you then?" the Mistress turned around again so the Master couldn't reach the package and she kept starring at the ring "Who is she Alex…who is the girl that you can't even tell me about but that you're so serious with that you even bought a ring for her…"
"Claire…" The Master moved closer to the Mistress again and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Just tell me…" the Mistress demanded and shrugged his hands off.
"Are you jealous Claire?" Now Master Alex almost sounded amused as he asked this.
"Of course not!" Mistress Claire replied harshly "Just tell me who she is…"
Now Roy could see that Master Alex got angry "You really want to know who she is Claire? You really want to know?" And as the Mistress nodded he added "Well then…here we go…" He took a deep breath and shook his head "That ring was for you Claire, okay? I bought it for you…now…can I please have it back?"
The Mistress's eyes went wide as she carefully asked "You…you bought that for me?" She looked at the ring again "When? Why?"
The Master sighed and let go of her, leaning against the centre post "I think the why should be clear, don't you think? As for the when…there was only one time I ever proposed to you so go figure it out…would you please be so kind and give the ring back to me now so I can put it back into my shirt pocket where it belongs?"
"But…but…" The Mistress mumbled and Roy had to chuckle a little…it really didn't happen often that Mistress Claire was at a loss of words…this was too funny although Roy didn't quite know what was going on…
"What but Claire…it belongs to me since you didn't want me back then so give it to me now…" The Master held open his hand in the Mistress's direction but she didn't even notice and kept looking from the ring to the Master and back to the ring before she said so quietly Roy could barely hear it "But I thought you didn't mean it back then…"
"Didn't mean what? My proposal?" The Master shook his head "You of all people should know that I would never propose to anybody if I didn't mean it so give me the damn ring now…you said no so it's mine…"
"But what if I want to have it?" The Mistress asked but didn't look up.
"Well…tough…you can't have it…I asked you and you said no…end of story…"
Now there was a small smile on the Mistress's face as she looked up right into Master Alex's eyes and said "Well then…ask me again…"
He frowned "What?"
"Ask me again…if you still want it…ask me again…" The smile disappeared and Mistress Claire looked really serious now.
"Why Claire…why should I ask you again…nothing would be different from last time…we would still be best mates and you said you didn't want to lose that…so why should I ask?" The Master looked a bit sad and also sounded like that.
"But what if things have changed Alex?" Mistress Claire softly said and took a step towards the Master till she was standing right in front of him. "Ask me…please…"
Master Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he shook his head and more sighed then said "Alright…Claire…would you marry me and let me help you raise Charlotte?"
There was a short moment of silence inside the hut as the Mistress seemed to think before she started grinning again and said "Of course I'll marry you…there's nobody I would rather want to raise Charlotte with…"
Another moment of silence before Master Alex opened his eyes and looked at the Mistress in disbelieve "What did you just say?"
Mistress Claire laughed and replied "I said yes you big idiot…didn't you clean your ears today?"
Before Roy knew what was happening the Master had taken the Mistress's face and pulled her close to him as their lips met and both of them sighed in what looked like satisfaction. They had their lips fused for what seemed like ages until they finally let go of each other again, both gasping for air.
"I'm sorry Alex…I was such an idiot back then that I didn't see what I really wanted…" The Mistress mumbled and the Master laughed "Did I really just hear Claire McLeod apologise?" he asked clearly amused before the Mistress hit him on the chest and said "Shut up and kiss me Ryan, would ya?"
And then they fused their mouths again for another eternity and this time the Master mumbled as they broke up for air "I love you Claire…always have and always will…"
Now Roy was certain the Mistress was crying although he could hardly believe it…but she simply said "I love you, too, Alex Ryan…more than I ever thought possible…" She looked down, swallowed and wiped away the tears from her cheeks before she turned her face up again with a smile playing on her lips, saying "So…can I have the ring now?"
Master Alex laughed and nodded, taking the little black package from Mistress Claire's hands before he took out the sparkling ring and put it on the Mistress's hand…and then they fused their mouths yet again and Roy sighed…it really looked like everything was fine now…thanks to him and Blaze and Eagle…
As Roy turned away from the door to let his friends know that their plan had indeed been successful he heard the Mistress say "So…what do we do now? We're still locked in…" and the Master replied "Well Claire…I can think of a thing or two to do to pass the time…"
The heartily laugh of Mistress Claire told Roy that he really wasn't needed anymore so he quickly made his way to his two horse friends thinking 'Whatever would those humans do without us?"
The End