A/N: Written for Lime_chu as a thank you gift. :3 Thanks, once again. This story is based on what if Luke and Layton switched places age wise.
"I don't understand, Doctor. Why are we going to settle a dispute at a dog show?"
"Well, kid, it all boils down to a declaration of fraud in most cases, and there isn't actually a dispute yet. Competition brings out the worst in people."
"That's true, Doctor, but not all people are bad sports."
Luke glanced at the boy and continued, "And did you really think I would come just to settle a frivolous thing? They wanted a vet to evaluate the dogs' health in the competition."
"And who else but the great Doctor Luke Tri-"
The brakes squealed and Luke glared. "I don't like that name, and I certainly don't prefer that blasted other one."
"My apologies, Doctor... Luke?" Hershel tested.
Luke nodded approval and they were back on the road in silence. A butterfly sailed in the breeze alongside the car for some time, then doubled back and away. By that time the city was in view, Hershel's face was pressed against the glass. He was accustomed to the countryside, where his well-off family lived. It was fairly peaceful, unlike what he expected from the city, but then they arrived at the convention center and he decided that that was where everyone was concentrated today. Perhaps he could ask the Doctor to stay a few days so he could experience a bustling city life. If he was lucky, Luke would be in a good mood by the end of the day. Layton glumly doubted that would happen. Luke didn't get along well with people. He was exclusively an animal person.
They managed to squeeze through the crowd of dogs and their owners to the front desk. A man looked at the two speculatively over his square glasses.
"Doctor Luke."
"The Doctor?!" A million voices started to whisper too loudly.
"I heard he was judging..."
"Are you serious?! Doctor Luke Doolittle is a judge?!"
Luke grit his teeth and glared out of the corner of his eye hearing the nickname. No one knew his real last name anymore. Ever since some child pointed out he was just like that character from the book... Not that his real last name was any better, but it was aggravating all the same.
"-He can talk to animals."
"-You sure he's not faking?"
"Just watch him. The man is a genius. Not very sociable though..."
"Urm, Doctor..." Layton tugged on his coat to redirect his attention to registration.
"We've been expecting you, Doctor Doolittle." The square-glasses man smiled, almost venomously.
Hershel pulled on Luke's white medical coat to hold him back. It was a poor try, but he certainly wasn't going to be called an accomplice in the man's murder.
They took their seats at the judges' stand, waiting. Eventually Luke grew bored and wandered over to where owners were giving the last touch-ups on their dogs. Hershel followed and gazed in wonderment as Luke exchanged ruffs and barks with the animals. Hershel could tell from the glint in the man's eyes that the pomeranian had dished out a puzzle.
"What did he say?!" The boy was bubbling over with excitement.
"Just a moment, let me solve it fi-"
The dog yipped and Luke sighed. "Pf... all right, she wants to see if you can solve it before me." The fluffy brown dog turned to Hershel and cocked its head.
"There are two dogs sitting on a porch- one dog is fat and one is thin.
The little dog is the son of the fat dog, but the fat dog is not the father of the thin dog. Can you explain?"
"The fat dog is the mother, right?"
Luke translated and the dog nodded. She seemed to smile.
"Would Doctor Doolittle please return to the judge's table?"
The man in question huffed and shook the pomeranian's paw before taking his place at the judges' table, hands in his pockets and a brooding expression replacing his previously content one.
Luke slept through most of the opening ceremony. Hershel had to shake him awake before his introduction started. He lifted his head to find people staring at him, and waved half-heartedly.
The boy at his side frowned. If it weren't for Luke's ability to speak to animals, he would never give humans the time of day, Hershel thinks. It was a miracle that the Doctor put up with Layton. In fact, Layton puzzled over why the man let him follow him. Despite the rumors, Hershel wasn't an apprentice, and certainly not Luke's lovechild or "toy." Honestly, Hershel was nothing special to Luke at all. He was just the kid that started following Luke one day. When he withstood the man's yelling, Luke began to put up with him. After all, he was quiet, and sometimes useful when dealing with human beings.
Luke must have thought that Hershel looked up to him, when really, he worried about the doctor. That's why he stuck with the irritable man.
"Excuuuuse me!" A porky lady with a poodle by her side chirped obnoxiously. "I'll have you know that dog is a half-breed." She pointed at the pomeranian from earlier.
The small dog whined, unable to understand the lady's words. However, she could clearly understand the hostility in her voice.
"Do you have evidence to back your claim?" one of the judges responded thickly.
"That dog is a little too big to be considered under the toy category, and its tail isn't perky at all. Why, it faces down!"
"Doctor Doolittle, if you would," the judge said. Luke stood up and approached the dog. He looked fiercely at the woman before descending to the toy dog's eye level.
"What you say is true about her size... ma'am." It took effort for him to say the last word. "However, have you ever considered that not every dog is the same size and shape, just like people? This one is a tad big from the norm, but it's the same breed all the same."
"Hmph. You can explain that, but what about its tail?"
Luke placed a thumb over his lip and looked at the dog thoroughly. Then he began to bark. The pomeranian hesitated to respond, nervous of the woman above, until Luke ruffed consolation.
Save for the barks, the room was silent. Luke, the dog, and the controversy had the whole of their attention. The competition itself be damned, this was Doctor Dolittle at work here. Everyone wondered what they were talking about.
"The little girl here is embarrassed to say that her tail is broken from a year ago when a visiting relative's child yanked it."
"A backstory can't prove anything." The woman sniffed snobbishly.
"Of course. I'm not a doctor just because I can converse with animals, lady." Luke growled, as if he were still stuck speaking Dog. "Take me to nearest hospital and I'll take x-rays of her tail. Is everyone willing to go to the trouble just for this woman's jealousy?"
At this point everyone was murmuring, making the woman extremely nervous and sweaty.
"I, uh... well! I was simply looking out for the morality of this competition. I can win fine on my own, thank you."
"Thought so," Luke muttered. As the woman left, he spoke again. "By the way, ma'am... The pomeranian wanted you to solve a puzzle for her."
"What?" she hissed, knitting her brows.
"How many animals did Moses take on the ark?"
"You call that a puzzle? Two of each."
"Wrong. It wasn't Moses- it was Noah who built the ark."
Guffaws of laughter followed from every direction. Luke and the dog were quite pleased, while Hershel frowned.
X
"Luke, I don't think it was right to embarrass the lady like that."
"That person? A lady? She was a cow!"
"I'm sure if she were a cow, you would be kinder to her."
The brakes squealed and the car spun around. "Hershel, you have to understand. People are unkind. Did you see that woman at the dog show? The way she acted, just so she could win a bloody trophy?!"
"When you say people, you don't mean everyone, do you?" Hershel said matter-of-factly.
"You're okay. You just follow me around and keep quiet. The others, however..." Luke put the car into park.
"Have you ever considered that, well, people are willing to take care of their animals- even to give them presents at Christmas, and to take their pet to you, never minding the bill- that... people can be just as kind as animals?"
Silence, and then Luke spoke in a calmer, distant voice. "Hershel... this isn't right. Why aren't you the adult and myself the kid?"
The boy fiddled with his top hat (it made him feel taller). "Who knows? At least we have each other, right?" He beamed, masking his disregard for his own hypothesis. If things were different, Layton thinks that he would never be able to help Luke.
The car started up again and they drove down the winding road home.