Hi everyone! This is a little something that I wrote and posted on Tumblr a while back and, because I'm having writer's block at the moment with my ongoing fics, I decided to expand upon this stupid thing instead... so now this is gonna be another fic I'll continue at some point in the future... hopefully soon. Ugh, writer's block sucks.
Anyway, I hope you like what I have here. I think it's cute and I just really wanted an AU where Valka's a vet because it fits her so well to me. So I wrote one... I hope it's enjoyable for more people than just me.
Emma had been talking about wanting to have a pet of her own for a good year now. Ever since her new friend Jamie moved in down the street and showed off the greyhound that was his family's pet, Emma had been begging and begging for a furry friend of her own so that Jamie's dog Abby would have someone to play with while the two fourth graders did the same.
All the while, Jack Overland and his parents had all been holding firm about not wanting to rush out and get another mouth to feed and body to keep watch of. First of all, it was because their father was allergic to dogs, so having one of those was immediately out of the question. And, while their mother wasn't exactly against her daughter having a pet, she wanted to see if this desire would fade away in a few weeks or even months, since lots of kids move on to something else very easily. And Jack… he loved his sister and all, but he wanted to ride it out too. Come on, she went through a phase where she was convinced that cooties were a real thing (which Jack may or may not have been involved in) so she avoided everyone for fear of spreading them. It only lasted for three days, but it happened.
Turned out that Emma's longing for a pet wasn't going away as the months went on, so the heads of the Overland house decided that it would be a nice birthday gift for their daughter. They wanted it to be a surprise, but they would both be working through most of Emma's birthday that July. So, they soon recruited their teenage son to assist in Operation Birthday Pet, as Jack had dubbed it. They told him to take his little sister to an animal rescue place in town that was supposed to be great. It doubled as a veterinary hospital and it took in anything from parrots to zoo lions for check-ups and procedures. It had good reviews online so it couldn't be that bad, right?
That's how Jack wound up in front of the Dr. Haddock Animal Hospital and Shelter with his giddy sister pulling his arm to get him to the front door faster, once he told her why they were standing in front of the place to begin with. Emma kept giggling and squeaking as she spoke and goaded Jack on to "get a move on already." But it seemed as though his legs couldn't carry him as fast as Emma wanted them to, so she eventually just let go and ran to the door, hopping on the balls of her feet impatiently while her brother jogged the rest of the way over.
"Come on, Jack!" She pleaded as he walked up the front steps to the door "Come on!"
"I'm coming." He smirked as he purposefully slowed down to see her reaction to his dawdling.
Emma just groaned in response and threw her head back "You're so slow." She complained.
"I am not slow." He playfully retorted "You're just too fast." The siblings stuck their tongues out at each other before deciding to be somewhat normal when they stepped inside. But, then again, when you dye your hair as white as snow, you tend to get looks wherever you go.
They walked inside the building after composing themselves and found a rather large man sitting at the front desk, his eyes partially covered by his thick eyebrows as he stared at the computer screen in front of him with a bored expression. He was well built and had an unkempt red beard and a head of hair to match it. As the teen and his sister approached the desk, he noticed a name tag near the desktop that read "Stefan Haddock." Maybe he was the owner? The man seemed to be unaware of their presence until Jack cleared his throat, to which his sharp green eyes darted in his direction. The boredom in his face disappeared, but he still looked quite intimidating "Can I help you?" Wow, his voice was deep.
"Uh," Jack gulped "yeah. Uh, it's my sister's birthday today and I brought her here to see about getting her a pet?"
The man with the stoic expression stood from his chair and peeked over the desk so that he could see Emma at his side, holding onto her brother's arm and cowering slightly at the stranger. Upon seeing her hiding, the man's face immediately softened and a smile grew underneath his mustache and beard "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart." He said to her with a calm, even tone. Emma smiled back at him and came out from behind Jack, still holding onto his arm "How old are you today?"
"I'm nin- no, ten now." She corrected herself, not really used to being the big double digits yet.
"Good for you, lass." Stefan praised "What kind of animal are you looking for today?"
Emma started bouncing again "I really want a bunny." Jack held onto her shoulders to get her to stop fidgeting so much and she complied.
"You're in luck, then. We just got some new rabbits in this morning." The clerk went to go in the back room, but abruptly stopped and turned to his customers once more "Give me a moment, I have to go make sure my wife's not still giving them check-ups."
The siblings waited for him to come back through the doors, which he did a few minutes later with a woman with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a rubber apron over what looked like the scrubs doctors wear in the hospital. She took off a pair of rubber gloves as she walked and smiled at the two of them when she leaned on the counter "Hello there." She greeted "I'm Val, welcome to the shelter. My husband tells me you're lookin' to give a little bunny rabbit a new home?"
"Yeah, we-"
"Oh, great!" She cheered, cutting Jack off "I've got about six in the back, if you two want to-"
There was a clang of some sort coming from the back room, like a cage door slamming shut, followed by a panicked shout "Mo-mom! Mom, it's happening!"
Val's green eyes widened and she quickly turned towards the door. She looked back to Jack and Emma, but her eyes shifted to the doorway yet again and she tried to wipe the concern off of her face by chuckling "I'm sorry; I'd better see what the fuss is about." She speed-walked back through the double doors and Jack watched as her form vanished farther into the background with each sway of the doors. He could hear two people talking back there, one of the voices being Val's and the other being the person who called out to her before. Amongst it, a pain-filled yowl sounded once in a while, but it was mostly drowned out by the two people frantically chattering.
Stefan looked between the doors and the siblings before giving an apologetic expression and poking his head through the doorway to see what was going on. Then, he re-approached them and mumbled "I figured it was her…" His attention turned back to Jack and Emma and he sighed "Someone dumped a cat in a box in front of the shelter the other day. We could tell she was pregnant and it was only a matter of time before she popped. Guess her day came."
"Who would do that?" Emma wondered.
"We ask ourselves that a lot here, lass." Stefan huffed and rubbed his forehead "At least she doesn't have to deliver them on the streets. That's what matters." Then, he shook his head and moved on "I could take you both back there myself to see the rabbits, since Val's tied up now."
Jack nodded and took his sister's hand as Stefan led them through the double doors and down a hallway, until they reached a door with the silhouette of a rabbit on the front of it "This is where we keep all of our smaller animals. Rabbits, guinea pigs, other small rodents." He commented as he opened the door. Emma let go of Jack's hand and wandered farther inside the room "Just be calm. The critters are skittish, especially the rabbits." Stefan looked out into the hall again "I'd better go see if they need any help with that mother cat. Feel free to look while I'm gone."
Once Stefan left, Jack began to scan the cages that lines the walls and stacked up to columns of three. Inside each cage was some kind of animal, from guinea pigs and hamsters to a skunk and even a squirrel. Though, the more wild animals in the room all appeared to be injured somehow, so Jack assumed that they were only here to recover and not for adoption. Jack then turned his attention back to Emma, who was standing on her tip-toes to see into a cage on the top shelf of the stack against the far wall "Want a lift, squirt?"
"I can see, Jack." She remarked. Her brother just rolled his eyes and squatted down, wrapping his arms around her midsection before lifting her higher so that she could have a better view of what was inside: a set of three small rabbits "Thanks."
"Sure." The older sibling grunted, doing his best not to drop his sister who was beginning to get too heavy to carry "See one you like?"
"I like the gray one." She pointed to a dark gray rabbit with spots that almost looked black "But I like the orange one too" her finger moved over to the rabbit with orange fur that faded to white on its nose, belly, and paws "Which one do you like, Jack?"
"Come on, we're getting this thing for you, remember? It doesn't matter what I think."
"It'll help me choose though." She whined.
"There's still more of them in the cage next to this one, ya know."
The younger Overland hung her head "You're not making this easier."
Jack chuckled as he put her back on the ground "I'm your older brother; I'm not supposed to make things easier for you." He commented before ruffling her hair a bit.
Emma swatted at his hand before starting to fix her brown locks "Jerk."
Stefan came back into the room after Jack let out a snort from trying to hold back more laughter "Enjoying yourselves, I see."
"A little." Jack smirked before becoming a bit more serious "What's going on with your cat situation?"
"Nothing good." He muttered "The mother was malnourished when we got her and she still isn't at a good weight for her condition. Val's not sure if she or any of the kittens'll make it."
Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other "Well that sucks."
"I know." Stefan agreed "Val and Hayden hate it when the odds are like this."
"Who's Hayden?" Emma asked.
"My son." The red-head explained "He's looking to follow his mother into being a vet. He helps around here as much as he can. It's certainly a more exciting job than doing my kind of work. He's about your age, actually."
Jack nodded and saw Emma on her tip-toes again trying to see into the cages. This time, Stefan joined him in a chuckle "You want another lift?"
"Please?" She implored. Her brother just shook his head and picked her up again "Thanks, Jack."
"Sure."
Jack and Emma spent over an hour in the shelter before Emma had finally chosen which bunny she wanted (she wound up picking the black and gray one that she pointed out earlier) and Stefan had gotten together a starter set for her, including a cage, bedding, food, toys, and other things. When the price rang up, Jack swiped the credit card that their parents had given him to spend on Emma's present. The little rabbit was placed in a cardboard box with a handle and air holes towards the top while everything else was packed into a large plastic bag.
Stefan was telling Emma some extra things that she should know about taking care of her new pet when Val slinked through the doorway again, some blood smudged on her apron and a sad look on her face. She just waited quietly near the doors until her husband became aware of her presence and he spoke to her "What is it, my dear? What happened?" She just shook her head before going back to whatever she was doing. Stefan went after her "Val? Val?!"
Jack and Emma shared a look before putting the bunny and starter kit on the counter and following the couple, partially out of nosiness and partially out of concern. What happened? Did something go wrong? Was Val hurt?
They turned a corner and peeked into a room that was set up like one at the doctor's office. On one of the side walls, a counter was littered with animal-related pamphlets, tools, and needles. A table sat in the middle of the room and there were a few chairs leaning on the other wall. Everything about it would have been normal, if it hadn't been for what else was inside.
On the table, there was a lump hidden under a cloth that was stained red. Jack could only assume that was the mother cat under there. Val was resting on her elbows beside it, shaking her head and looking forlorn. Stefan had her pulled her into a one-armed hug as he loomed over her like some kind of protective shield. She was muttering something to him and he kept replying "I know, I know" as he whispered in her ear.
"I know we did everything we could, that we couldn't help her anymore…" She said a little louder "but it still hurts every time it happens."
"I know, my dear. But feeling this way each time it does just shows how much you care."
Val nodded at her husband's words and cracked a small smile "Thank you, Stefan." The large man just nodded and held her.
"It wasn't for nothing, though." Val and Stefan looked up and Jack spun around to see a boy behind him holding something wrapped in a towel. He had messy brown hair and green eyes that were as bright as the vet and her husband's. A crooked smile showed matching teeth and he had freckles splattered all over him, even on the hands that were cradling whatever was in that towel and… a bottle?
Val left Stefan's hold and rushed over to him "Is he still alive?"
"Yeah," The boy responded as she anxiously peeked at the thing in his arms "I found the formula; I just made it a little too hot so…"
The vet trailed the back of her hand over the small plastic bottle "I think it's fine. Feed him while I clean up, okay Hayden?"
The boy nodded as she went about cleaning up the space, angling the bottle at the little creature in his arms. He looked down at the bundle with a face that was kind of hard for Jack to describe. But the smile tugging at his thin lips was pure and gentle and his eyes seemed brighter just from looking down at it. It kind of reminded Jack of the way his mom looked at Emma after she was born: with pure happiness. Happiness that she was there and alive and healthy. Hayden had that same look on his face right then. And that look made Jack's heart skip a beat… or maybe two.
In this daze, he didn't even notice the world around him for a moment. When he finally did, he detected the two strangers in the room with him and awkwardly blinked at them before grinning "Hi." Oh, God, this kid was too cute to be real! His eyes flicked down to the bundle in his arms before going back to Jack "You, uh, you wanna see?"
The taller boy nodded as the shorter moved some of the towel out of the way with his free hand, allowing Jack and Emma a clearer view of a tiny black kitten sucking on the end of the bottle and pawing at the air aimlessly "He's the only one in the litter that's still alive. He doesn't even have his mom to take care of him…" Hayden went on. He sounded like he felt for the kitten, but it would be kind of heartless to not feel for a story like that "I hope he makes it."
"If he survives until morning, I think he will." Val rubbed her son's back and smiled at him "And, if he does, I expect nothing less than you taking his mother's place, Hayden."
The freckled boy looked up to her almost in disbelief "Really? You'll let me?"
"I think you can handle it, don't you Stefan?"
"Definitely." He agreed "Besides. You'll have to learn somehow, son."
Hayden smiled so wide that it took up half of his face and he let out a few intermittent laughs "Thanks, Mom."
"Of course." She rubbed his shoulder before looking back down at the kitten "Such a wee thing… so frail, so fragile." She cooed, gently running a lone finger through the kitten's fur.
"I know." Hayden agreed.
A giant hand clamped onto Jack's shoulder "Right, now you two are taken care of?" The siblings nodded "Alright then. If you have any more questions, you can always come back here and talk to one of us."
"Oh, or" Val rushed over to the counter and rummaged around until she found a business card and handed it to Emma "Just give us a call."
"Thank you." Emma piped.
"You're welcome." Val replied with a smile.
With that, Jack and Emma went to gather their things and head for home, but not before Jack snuck another glance at Hayden fawning over the little ball of fur. Yep, he'd be back here, whether they had questions about the rabbit or not.
