The Grim Reaper
It had been a good day. They'd gone to the park and grocery shopping and picked up Grace from school. Danny was upstairs showering, and Grace, Reaper and Seal were outside playing in the ocean while Steve prepared dinner occasionally checking on her through the window. Steve had just put the vegetables in the oven when he heard a scream and he ran outside and what he saw made his blood run cold.
Danny had just toweled off and put on shorts when he heard Grace scream and he ran downstairs and outside, and saw something that would haunt his dreams forever but also make him grateful for that damn dog for all time.
Steve saw the ocean water dyed red and there was thrashing in the water. Every now and then he caught glimpses of a triangle fin and black and tan fur in the scuffle. He saw Grace standing in the sand crying and screaming for him and Danno. And he saw Seal growling and standing by Grace. He ran to Grace grabbed her and hauled her further up the beach and asked her what happened. she said what happened as fast as she could between crying and sobbing for breath "we were playing and splashing in the water when Reaper started growling and showing his teeth...he jumped at something behind me and there was a shark! So I screamed and ran up here while he attacked him. Uncle Steve please save him!"
Danny got there and wrapped his arms around Grace in a hug and said "It's ok Monkey, it's gonna be ok, Uncle Steve will save him" Danny covered her ears as he heard Reaper yelping and he heard jaws snapping
Steve was already in the water before Danny got to Grace, with a torch he had grabbed from the sand as he ran down the beach. He was waist deep in blood red water beating the shark with the torch until he felt the water go still and saw the shark floating belly up. Then he saw Reaper, fall in the water, blood pouring out of him all over his fur and the water. He picked him up and waded toward the shore the blood soaking his shirt through and dripping off his arms. "Danny cover her eyes and get the truck" Steve was stone faced, dripping wet and covered in blood. He wrapped Reaper in a blanket he had grabbed from the couch and got in the bed of the truck while Danny and Grace climbed in and they took off towards the vet clinic. They rushed in the vet clinic dripping blood everywhere, grace crying and Danny shirtless, they didn't care who saw, a member of their Ohana was in serious trouble. The vet rushed them to the back and prepped as he asked what happened. Steve explained about the shark attack and watched as the vet started Reaper on an IV and blood transfusion while he cleaned away the blood and maimed skin. The damage became evident as the vet washed blood away in the tub. The shark had taken a chunk of flesh from Reapers side, the sharks teeth left deep gashes on the dogs front legs and chest, and there were numerous teeth marks all over the dog. " Doc please tell me he's gonna live" Steve said, voice barely audible.
"He's lost a lot of blood and there's a lot of muscle, and tissue damage, if he makes it through the night he might live" The vet said as he continued his work "Alice, give And some extra scrubs to put on over the clothes" the vet gave them a wry smile and said "There's a hotel across the street, they owe me for saving one of their show dolphins, go there get cleaned up, check into a room and try to sleep. I'll come over when I'm done. Go" the vet gave them a hard stare and they walked out barely aware of the gasps coming from other people in the waiting room at their appearance.
They checked in, showered, and tried to sleep, no one eating, no one speaking. Around 11:30 someone knocked on the door, it was the vet and he looked bone tired. "he made it through surgery. We stitched him up inside and out, cleaned all the wounds, and bandaged his leg. It's gonna be a long recovery, but he's a strong dog, I think he'll make it. " the vet rubbed his eyes and told them that he would be back tomorrow with more news. Steve and Danny thanked him and went to bed watching Grace sleep in the next bed.
In the morning they went to see Reaper, at the sight of Grace, his bob tail wagged weakly, and she burst out in tears. There had to be atleast 1000 stitches in his side and another couple hundred on his leg, and IV in his scruff, and a white bandage all the way around his torso with little blood spots seeping through. Steve patted his head and said "good dog" tears streaming down his face dropping onto Reapers fur. "Can I have a minute?" Danny asked and Steve went outside with grace. "Thank you, Reaper. Thank you for saving my little girl. She's my life and I don't know what I would do without her. She's everything to me and now you are too. I will do whatever it takes to save you, I will pay any price. Thank you" tears ran down Danny's face as he stroked the dogs head before he pulled his hand away he felt a wet, rough tongue on his hand and he smiled at the dog and left.
Every day for a week they picked up Grace went to the vet clinic and spent time with Reaper. On Friday, the vet said he could go home with lots of pain meds, and a nice soft bed. He showed them how to change the dressings, administer the pills and told them to hand feed him and said Reaper would be out of police dog training for a couple weeks. They set him up in the living room on a dog bed with 3 big comforters. Rachel let grace stay with them for 2 weeks and Stan even offered to pay the vet bill. In the morning Grace got up early to feed him and help Steve give him medicine and change his bandage. A week later, Reaper was walking on his own, weak and clumsy but walking.
Grace would wake up with nightmares about that day and Seal would be there to calm her down and protect her. Danny too would awake with terrible images in his head about how bad that day could have been. Those nights he would walk downstairs with a pillow and blanket, lay down beside Reaper and stroke his soft new growing fur, and go to sleep, even though he knew his back and knee would be killing him the next morning. It was worth it for the dog who had saved his little girls life. One night, Steve came down to get water and stopped on the stairs his heart squeezing in his chest. He saw Reaper laying by the couch and Danny beside him lazily stroking Reapers head and he heard Danny say "Thank you, Reaper, Thank you" and he heard Danny's muffled sob as he buried his face in Reapers scruff and saw as Reaper wagged his docked tail, and lay his head down on his front paws, and went to sleep. Steve smiled and tiptoed back upstairs to bed.
