A/N: First, I want to give a very big thank you to Cascading Rainbows for betaing this story. It wouldn't be half of what it is without you.
Readers should note that this story takes place when McIntyre was a kid. I like to think he was twelve years old, and that Maddy was eight, but their ages can be up to you.
"I am not, well, an animal person. I had a dog once, Oliver, but – " - William McIntyre, The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
It wasn't that William McIntyre hated animals; really, he didn't. He just didn't get along with them. Not that he could really blame the creatures. The last time he visited his aunt Mary, he had accidentally sat on her cat. The cat did not enjoy being woken up from her nap and had proceeded to scratch William so badly that he had been stuck in bed for days. Privately, William believed animals should not be allowed on furniture meant for people. After all, if Princess hadn't been napping on that chair, then he wouldn't have sat on her.
His sister Maddy, on the other hand, simply adored animals of all shapes and sizes. And, funnily enough, animals adored her back. Birds flew into her hand. Growling dogs became suddenly friendly at the sight of her. She reminded William of Snow White from that Disney movie, and he would not have been surprised if one day he found tiny, furry forest creatures helping her with her chores.
So, despite how apparent William felt his natural enmity with animals was, he should not have been surprised when his birthday gift from Maddy was a puppy.
"Well, isn't he the most adorable thing you've ever seen?" Maddy gushed. "He's such a cute little puppy!"
William struggled to hide his disappointment. As much as he disliked animals, he didn't want to tell Maddy he would have rather received permission to do her chores for the next month than this... this animal.
Maddy was jumping up and down with excitement. She looked at him eagerly.
"Well, what do you think?"
"You shouldn't have," he decided to tell her. It was true, but it could be interpreted in such a way that Maddy's feelings would not be hurt. "Now," he said, glancing down rather apprehensively at his new pet and forcing a rather pained grin onto his face, "what should we call him?"
"He's yours; you should name him, Willie," Maddy smiled. William winced at the nickname. He hated it when she called him that. Not that he would tell his little sister that.
"Perhaps we should name him Gideon," William suggested, thinking of their ancestor.
"No," Maddy said firmly. "That's the name of the bird the nests in the tree outside my room." William hadn't known there was a bird living in that tree.
"Olivia?"
"The puppy's a boy," Maddy said this like it was obvious. "Oliver, then."
"He looks like an Oliver, doesn't he?" Maddy agreed. Suddenly, "Oliver" ran to the door and started barking. "Look! It's time for you to take him for his first walk." William began to feel even more uncomfortable than he had before.
"I have to take him on walks, too?"
"Of course!" Maddy looked at her brother in surprise. "Next you'll ask if you have to remember to feed him." She took a leash out of the hole-riddled box that Oliver had come in and put it around the dog's neck. She opened the door and looked back at William. "What are you waiting for?"
William repressed a moan, a very different question on his mind. What have I gotten into?
"Don't worry, this is much more fun!" Maddy promised. William somehow doubted that washing Oliver would be "much more fun" than walking him. Then again, it couldn't be much worse. His pants were ruined, beyond hope of saving, and he had never gotten so much exercise in his life. He probably never would again, either.
Except... he would. He would have to walk the dog again. And again. And again. William hadn't thought it was possible for him to dread taking care of Oliver more than the young Madrigal had dreaded it five minutes ago, but now he did. He was even more nervous about washing the dog now.
"Are you quite sure about this?" he said.
"Definitely!"
"Oh, very well, then. Let us get this over with." Maddy rolled her eyes at the comment.
"Really, Willie, you sound so much like a stuffy old lawyer sometimes..." Perhaps I will be one someday, William thought to himself. Some lawyers helped settle conflicts, and he was a Madrigal, after all. Meanwhile, Maddy was busy filling up the "tub" with water. Where she had found a tub for washing a dog, William did not know. He had asked, but Maddy had given him a vague reply about having it "around for a while," so long that she had trouble remembering where she had gotten it in the first place. She probably kept it in her room.
"You have the shampoo, right?" Maddy asked.
"Of course."
"Towels?"
"Yes."
"Umbrellas?"
"Ye - what did you just say? We need umbrellas? For what, exactly?"
"Just kidding! Well, we should take some, just in case. We may need them, since this is the first time we're washing Ollie and he won't be expecting it... wait, where is he?" William had heard about people having a sinking feeling in their stomach, and he finally knew what they were talking about.
"You don't know where he is?"
"He's your dog! I thought you knew where he was!"
Suddenly, William heard the sound of a dog barking. Oliver. He slowly turned around.
"Funny, you would have thought we would have heard him barking before now," Maddy said.
Meanwhile, William was staring at Oliver, who was barking at a tree.
"Why is he doing that?" Maddy gave him a look that clearly showed that she thought the answer was obvious.
"There's a cat in the tree. Dogs chase cats, so Ollie's barking at the cat." This explanation did not make much sense to William, but he decided to accept it for now. Sure enough, when looked up into the tree, there was a cat. A rather unfriendly-looking one, too. Its fur was mangy, indicating that it also had not had a bath in quite a while, and that it was most likely a stray. Doubtless Maddy would want to keep this creature, too. He could already see it in her eyes.
"I have an idea on how to get Oliver into the tub," she said.
"I suppose it involves getting the cat to take a bath, in addition to washing the dog."
"Look, I'll get the ladder. You get the cat down while I get the bath ready. We'll give the cat a bath, and when Ollie sees how much the cat enjoys the bath, he'll want to take one, too."
"Why not skip giving the cat a bath and just give the dog one?"
"As I said, Ollie will want to take a bath once he sees how much Abigail likes it. Dogs don't really like baths, but cats love water."
"Abigail? Oh, you've already named the cat. Fine, you are the animal expert." I was under the impression that cats hated water, but I am absolutely horrible with animals. What would I know? he thought.
Ten minutes later, William had carefully positioned the ladder on the side of the tree where Oliver was not. With some difficulty, as his arms and legs still ached from walking Oliver, he slowly climbed up. As he did so, he reminded himself not to look down. Too late. He gulped.
"Is the bath ready yet?" he called to his sister.
"Yes! It just needs Abby!"
William took a deep breath and continued to slowly climb up the ladder. Soon he reached the top. The cat was staring straight at him now. He tentatively held out his arms to it.
"Good kitty," he whispered. Maybe the cat would just climb down the tree by itself. "Come on down." Maybe he would not have to do anything. "We're going to take a bath in some water." Maybe...
Maybe the cat would jump on his face and claw at him. Which it did. William had assumed the mention of water would have made the cat want to come peacefully; after all, Maddy had said cats loved water. Apparently this cat did not. Or maybe all cats hated water. William would not have been surprised if an animal pretended to love something it hated just to please his sister. She had that effect on animals: the exact opposite of the effect he had on them.
"Here, I'll wash Abby and and Ollie while you take care of those cuts," Maddy said. William groaned.
"First, I have to get down from this tree." He began to climb down. The cat jumped off of William's face and landed on its feet when it reached the ground. William cautiously made his way down the ladder, only to be greeted by a growling Oliver. And to think this is my "cute little puppy."
"You hate each other, don't you?" Maddy asked, seeing William's face and Oliver's growling. She looked crestfallen. "I thought he would be the perfect gift." William forced a smile, although it hurt. Not to mention that the smile seemed to irritate Oliver, who began growling louder than before.
"It's not that we hate each other; really, we don't. We just don't get along," he told her. Just then Oliver bit William's leg. Well, maybe we do hate each other a little. But he could get along with the dog, for Madeleine's sake.
Quote of the Day - "Stay back, human. You don't know what you're dealing with." - Captain Holly Short, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer