"Kiku, please make sure Mrs. Fitz's dog has enough fluids in her IV drip, God knows the poor think needs it." says a Golden blond Englishman to one of his staff as he moves about the clinic, cleaning up and checking on his other patients before he leaves.
"Hai, Arthur-san," replies the Japanese man in his usual polite manner as he goes to check on the poor dog, "also, we are running out of Immunol."
Arthur, their employer at this Veterinary clinic, merely nodded his head, "Right, have Maria order another batch then. Will you be alright here?" he looks up to address his fairly new employee.
Kiku gives a small bow of his head, "Do not worry Arthur-san, I can handle everything here. Maria -san already gave me plenty of advice before she retired for the evening."
Arthur smiles, "Alright then Kiku, you have my number right? Call in case of an emergency," he shrugs on his jacket and pack up his bag,"don't try to handle things on your own if you think you can't-oh! And make sure you have Maria's number on speed dial as well-are you sure you'll be alright?" Arthur couldn't help being concern for the Japanese man, it was his first time on night duty alone, it didn't help they were a bit understaffed as well.
The dark haired man merely smiled, a small upward tug of his lips, "Honestly Arthur-san, I will be fine. I will make sure to call if any problem arises."
Arthur nods his head as he makes his way out the door, then turns back again, "Are you sure-"
"Arthur!" Kiku cuts him off with an exasperated sigh, "Really. I will be fine. Thank you for your concern."
The Brit chuckles sheepishly, "Yes, yes, alright. I apologize for being a bit worried. Okay then, I trust you have everything handled. Have a good evening Kiku."
"You as well." And with a wave to each other, Arthur was out the door.
The Brit took one last peak in his clinic and after deeming everything to hi satisfaction, left for home.
Arthur sighed as he made the walk back to his apartment,which was conveniently near enough to his work place in case of any emergencies, he can't help being just a bit overly concerned. As talented as Kiku was, it was still his first night on duty in the clinic alone without Arthur or Maria, his assistant, to guide him. Convincing himself that the Asian man was fine, Arthur tried to relax and enjoy his nightly walk home through the late Spring night.
A few minutes of walking later found him through the usual wooded area nearing his residence. Arthur loved the forested areas nearby, it was one of the reasons he had chosen to live in Virginia and open up his own small Veterinary clinic after earning his degree. He does miss England, but he prefers it here, less rain to ruin a clear night like this one. He continued his walk on the paved path going pass the woods when he slowly noticed how everything seemed to have quieted down. Usually the forest here was teeming with small sounds of life, but now, not even a cricket could be heard and despite the wind having died down, Arthur felt chilled. He walked more briskly, quickening his pace in attempts to warm himself and get home faster. That's when he heard it.
At first the golden blond thought he misheard, but there it was agin. A low whine in the woods. It sounded like a dog and judging by the whines and small yelps, it sounded like it was in pain. Without another moment of hesitation, Arthur delved into the woods and began searching for the injured dog. It wasn't very far from the path when he found it, it was also lying on it's side whining and panting and-Good Lord! That's a lot of blood!
Arthur rushed to it's side and began checking it's vitals and it's wounds, he had to wince at the deep clawed marks covering it's body. It's really big body. He now just noticed, upon closer inspection, that this was by far the biggest dog he'd ever laid eyes on. But he put that out of his mind, he can check on the breed later, right now it needs help, but so did the young doctor, for he certainly can't carry the pitiful thing by himself.
"Alright then, it's been a while but an emergency is an emergency and my place is nearer than the clinic right now."
About a few hours later, Arthur had a gigantic sleeping dog on his couch, the drug should help it sleep and ease the pain. He made a thorough job of patching up the poor thing, cleaning, stitching and bandaging wounds and cuts and even found a sprained paw. The blond brit gathered up his equipment and began cleaning up, stretching as he did so earning a small pop from his back.
"Uhh..it's a bit late to prepare a proper dinner now," he mumbled to himself as he crossed the room to the hall, "re-heated leftovers will have to do, but first...a bath."
As Arthur exited out of the bathroom, he retrieved his phone from where he left it on the kitchen's extended counter connected to the living room and proceeded to make a call to Kiku. Two rings later, Kiku answered, "Hello, Arthur-san?"
"Yes, Kiku, just checking in with you. how are you doing?"
"I'm quite alright, most of our patients are asleep, other than Maria-san coming back for her purse, everything is fine."
"Well that's good to hear, but I do need to inform you that I might have to miss work tomorrow. I came across an injured dog on the way home, I've patched him up but with his injuries, I will need to observe him further. Can you and Maria take care of yourselves tomorrow?"
"Ah I see, it's no problem at all. I shall inform Maria-san in the morning. I hope the dog will be okay."
"Hopefully, thank you Kiku, and I apologize for the short notice."
"It's no trouble at all. Please get some rest Arthur-san."
"Yes, alright. Goodnight Kiku."
Arthur ended the call with a tired sigh, he placed his phone back on the counter, adjusted his robe and made for the door to change into his pajamas when he froze in his tracks. He whipped his head towards the sofa where his patient should be sleeping, but it was empty.
"Fuck!"
Arthur scrambled to the sofa in a rising panic, where the hell did that dog go?! It shouldn't be awake yet with the medication he had given it let alone able to walk off on it's own! Arthur gripped his hair, trying to calm himself down.
"Alright..Okay! It must be wandering the apartment somewhere. Right!"
The Brit dashed off looking for the large dog when he heard a scream come from the hall, and promptly went to investigate. He was half out the door to the hall when he crashed into something bigger and a lot less fluffy than a dog, causing him to collapse onto the floor on top off whatever he slammed into.
"Ugh.." Arthur uttered a pained groan and vaguely heard another voice groaning from under him, he stilled, then looked up at about the same time the complete stranger did and both locked eyes for a second...until Arthur screamed and tried to back away.
"W-WHO ARE YOU?! WHA-HOW THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?! WHERE IS MY DOG!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DOG?!"
Arthur kept screaming as he stood and back up a few steps, while the stranger picked himself up, trying to get the little blond man to quiet down.
"Whoah! Stop! Stop screaming! just let me explain! Look I-"
And that's when Arthur noticed that the man was completely naked.
"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU NAKED!?"
"WAI-NO! I- LEMME EXPLAIN A SEC!" The man took a few steps towards Arthur who inched himself away further until his back was to the wall.
"DON'T COME NEAR ME! JUST GIVE ME BACK MY DOG AND GO!"
"LOOK, I AM TRYING TO SAY, I'M-"
"I SAID DON'T COME OVER HERE! WHERE IS MY DOG?!"
"WILL YOU CALM DOWN!? LIKE I'M TRYING TO SAY! I'M-"
"GET THE FUCKING HELL AWAY YOU BLOODY TOSSER!"
"SHUDDUP!"
The stranger had a firm grip on Arthur's shoulders and had yelled loud enough to stun the Brit into silent shock. The stranger was panting and kept his gaze steady upon Arthur's eyes, who was frozen in place by the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen. The blue eyed man then slowly, slowly, released the brit's shoulders, held his hands up and backed away a bit.
"Please," the man spoke softly now, "I'm not here to hurt you or anything, I'm just as confused as you are, probably even more."
Arthur, now managing to calm his erratic heart, repeated his earlier questions but more quietly, "Who are you? How did you get in? And where is my dog?"
The blue-eyed stranger rubbed his neck and took a long breathy inhale, then looked Arthur dead in the eyes,
"I am your dog."
The young doctor's eyes widened.
"Well, I'm not really a dog, I'm a wolf. Look," the man pointed to his stitchings and various bandages, "you bandaged me up right here."
Arthur was gaping. The man sighed, exhausted.
"Look, I'll explain everything, just don't freak out on me anymore. Okay?"
Arthur simply nodded, then the man added, "Oh and can I have something to cover up with, it's kinda cold."
and the Brit was reminded of the man's nakedness and blushed to the tips of his ears but answered in a slightly strangled voice, "Yes. Of course."
The man grinned, "Great! Thanks! And by the way, my name's Alfred F. Jones! Nice to meet ya!"