A Dog's Life #3
A Criminal Minds fanfic
K
Roxy, Alvez
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Her Master Luke had a furrowed brow, Roxy noticed, and gave the talking device a most puzzled look before he put it back down in its cradle.
Roxy had learned that usually Master Luke liked when the talking device rang and he picked it up. He would speak animatedly into it and most of the time, when he set it back down, he would have a bright smile on his face. Smiles meant Master Luke was happy about something. Sort of like when I wag my tail, Roxy thought.
But today was different. Master Luke didn't seem particularly pleased with the talking device today. Roxy followed him into the sleeping room and watched as he dug a duffel bag from the depths of the closet. He hadn't used that bag since they'd been in the desert-country, she realised and her concern grew when she noted he was now filling that bag with a lot of the same clothes that he used to wear in the desert.
Not those boots, Roxy hoped silently, as he pulled several pairs of foot coverings from the closet. Please not those boots.
She whimpered when he took the boots in question and put them on his feet. Noting the dog's fretting, Luke sat down on the sleeping place and patted the spot next to him.
"Come here, girl," he invited. Roxy jumped up onto the bed and curled up against him. He patted her, played with her ruff and spoke, "I got a call, Roxy. I'm gonna hafta go away for a bit but you're gonna stay here. I can't take you with me, but I gotta go help an old friend of ours." He stopped talking and buried his head in her neck, hugging her close. "But don't you worry Roxy girl. I'm gonna be okay. And so are you."
Giving her head one more pat, she watched as he took the other talking device out of his pocket and clicked it on. They walked out to the food room together and Roxy fervently hoped this meant Master Luke was going to get her a treat. She could tell by the tone of his voice he was talking to one of the people he worked with every day. Roxy hoped it was the nice lady called Garcia, who'd bought her the cute pink collar she was wearing. As Luke spoke, he opened the door of the big cold box and took Roxy's favourite container from it. Her tail thumped the floor as she sat and waited for the cookie that was sure to be forthcoming. He chuckled as he handed her the biscuit and continued his conversation. Roxy liked most of Master Luke's coworkers: the pretty blonde lady with the two playful little humans, the older guy who somehow knew how to deal with dogs, the dark haired lady who preferred cats and seemed to be Master Luke's Boss, the smart long-haired male who—her thought process was interrupted by the tinkling sound of the talking device on the counter.
"All right, thanks so much. I'll swing by your place later," he ended the cell phone call and picked up the landline, "Alvez."
Roxy tilted her head to one side, hoping to discern who was calling and what the conversation concerned. She understood a lot of Master Luke's words but what he was talking about at the moment was beyond her comprehension.
A few minutes later, after Alvez ended the call and had made a few others of his own, he knelt on the floor in front of Roxy.
"Okay, girl, here's the story. I'm going on assignment out of town. And Lisa works weird and long shifts so she can't really take care of you, Rox."
Roxy's head tilted from left to right; she understood Lisa was Master Luke's Special Lady Friend, someone who was here in their home quite often. She wagged her tail in recognition of Lisa's name and Alvez smiled.
"I spoke to Garcia and Reid. You remember them, right?"
Roxy panted happily. Garcia! The lady human who thinks I'm cute! And Master Luke says she asks about me all the time! And Reid! The smart one who is Master Luke's best friend at work! Master Luke told me all about that bad man Shaw and how he helped friend Reid! She let out two short barks of approval and waited as Master Luke spoke.
"Okay, see, they both work too, Roxy, but Garcia doesn't go out of town at all, and right now, Reid's on his thirty out so he's gonna be around and, well, they will both be coming by to stay with you and walk you and feed you and all that."
Roxy barked approvingly again and Luke asked "Is that okay with you, girl?"
The increased amount of tail thumping on the floor told him it was and he rose to his feet. He ruffled her fur once more, telling her what a good dog she was.
They padded back into the sleeping room and Roxy watched as Master Luke finished packing the desert duffel bag with his things. After the bag was filled, he stopped by the big box in which he kept all of his noisy killing sticks. Opening the box, he put the small killing stick that he carried daily into it. He took out a different small one, and the biggest, longest one—the one that he'd used in the desert. Roxy shuddered. She was used to the sounds the killing sticks made but their sounds still hurt her ears and the mere sight of that big one brought back the memories of their time in the desert. Roxy let out a small whine at the sight of the long gun and Luke's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Hey, Rox, it's okay," he reassured her, securing the lock back in place on the gun safe. "Just some unfinished Fugitive Task Force business out of town. I'll be okay."
He stooped over and gave her head another reassuring pat and then he secured the firearms and hefted the duffel bag. Opening the apartment door, he turned to Roxy one more time and said. "I'll see you in a couple of days, girl, but Garcia and Reid will be here later today, okay? So you be good."
Of course I'll be good, Roxy woofed at him, as he shut the door behind him and left. She ran to the front window and watched as Master Luke got into his car and drove away. After a few minutes, she padded around the apartment to check that everything was okay and then she made her way to the front door. Turning around twice, she flopped down onto the mat and decided to nap while she waited for Reid and Garcia. Moments later, the sound of canine snoring and tail wagging in response to doggy dreaming echoed gently through the apartment.