Note: All characters are the property of Hasbro Studios. Other material and references are the property of Disney, Universal Studios, etc... This story is being co-written by me and Catgirl (aka Catgirlfireflare). The story is also part of my Transformers: Canines series. Feel free to check out others in the series such as Working Dogs and Remember that Day ? there'll be more stories out later on so stay tuned. Also this takes place a year before the Rescue bots timeline. Anyway… read on!
Friday, July 23rd- 1:30pm, Eastern Time
New York was one of the most densely populated metropolitan cities. Although the number of 8 million people increased every summer. Around this time of year, the city was packed with tourists. On this particular day the pier had quite a bit of foot traffic, despite the sweltering heat and humidity. A seagull cawed loudly as it took off from the top of a streetlight and soared over the open water of the Hudson River. Standing on the docks was a black and white Basenji. She sat on a wooden crate looking out towards the water. Letting out a loud sigh, she lowered her upright ears.
"This is it." She said to herself.
Turning around, she glanced at the tall skyscrapers that Manhattan was famous for. She thought about her mate for a moment. They had split up two days ago and she hadn't seen him since then.
"I hope we're making the right decision, Nightowl."
Just then, the young adult female was alerted by a loud fog horn.
"There's my ride."
She got up from where she sat and started walking towards the edge of the dock. A large white yacht-like boat was on the other end. Despite the number of people gathered, none of them seemed to say anything about the dog or tried to approach her or so it seemed…
"I just hope nobody…" the Basenji snapped out of her thoughts when a voice rang out.
"Hey look!"
"Sees me…" she muttered.
"What is it, Sam?" said Mikaela.
She, Sam and a few of their friends were in New York for Summer vacation.
"There's a dog onboard," Sam replied.
Mikela frowned for a moment.
"Where?" she asked.
"It was right there, I know it." Sam insisted, pointing to the left side of the boat.
"Well, wherever it was, it's gone now." Mikaela concluded.
As soon as the two of them had walked away, the Basenji, Seabreeze stepped out from her hiding place behind a stack of life jackets and a fishing net.
"Phew! I gotta be more careful." She said to herself.
Glancing down at her stomach, she remembered the reason why.
"Especially with you, Little one."
Seabreeze was in the final trimester of her pregnancy. Until recently, she and Nightowl had always been together but after being nearly caught by animal control and chased by other dogs, Nightowl suggested that Seabreeze leave the city for safety reasons. In effort to avoid being seen, the female canine went below the deck on the boat. She had found a hiding place behind some crates, using the spot as a makeshift den. Looking at the floorboards, she thought about her mate and hoped he would catch up with her. But after a while, Seabreeze had started to doubt if she and Nightowl would see each other again.
"Wherever you are, I miss you." She whispered as she looked out a nearby porthole window.
Two days earlier…
Two medium sized dogs panted heavily as they stood under a large oak tree in Central Park.
"Think we lost them?" Seabreeze asked.
The tan and white basenji next to her looked in the direction they came. Around his neck was a dark blue collar.
"I'd say so," he replied.
"What do we do now?" Seabreeze wondered, after catching her breath. She wore a sea green collar.
Basenjis were from Africa, once used by the Pygmy tribe to chase lions. Unlike other dogs who barked, Basenjis howled or 'yodeled' as a way of communication. A member of the hound group, many were featured in ancient Egyptian artwork, making them one of the oldest dogs alive. Personality wise they're a quiet and good natured breed. Brindle, black and white, tan and white and tricolor were all common markings. Though, Nightowl and Seabreeze's eye colors did make them stand out somewhat.
Nightowl shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, we can't go back home, they'd find us for sure."
"So, what do you propose we do, Nightowl?" Seabreeze asked, tilting her head.
"I'm thinking! We don't have a lot of options, there aren't any other Auto-dogs in this city." Nightowl answered.
He paced back and forth as he tried to think, his lapis blue eyes glued to the pavement. Seabreeze sat there, watching him, occasionally blinking her forest green eyes. After a few minutes, Nightowl paused.
"Breeze, as much as I don't want to admit it I think…I think we'd be better off leaving the city." He concluded.
Seabreeze nearly fell over.
"Le-leave, New York?! Are you serious?"
"What else can we do? moving to another part of Manhattan or even out to Long Island won't work, it'll only be a matter of time before they find us again." Nightowl pointed out.
"I guess you're right, but…where would we go?" Seabreeze asked.
Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of barking. The fur on the back of her head stood on end.
"It's them!" she barked.
"Better get out of here," said Nightowl.
Seabreeze was about to run but looked back at her mate.
"Just go, I'll catch up." He said.
She nodded and left without a second thought. Shortly after, a gray and white wolf and Brittany spaniel came out from behind a large hedge bush.
Nightowl froze when he saw them.
'Not again' he thought.
"Well, look who we found." Said the wolf.
"Steeljaw, why are we still following them?" the spaniel, Scrapper asked.
"Do you have to ask, Scrapper?" Steeljaw replied.
"Look, all I'm saying is…" Scrapper stopped short when he noticed something… or someone was missing.
"Hey, where'd he go?"
While the two dogs were distracted, Nightowl took the opportunity to run off before they noticd he was gone. It wasn't long before he heard the sound of barking. Nightowl swallowed hard as he looked back.
"Here we go again." He sighed before he started to run. As Steeljaw and Scrapper chased him, Nightowl did his best to stay ahead of the duo and seemed to be holding up until he ran down a flight of stairs, stopping at a subway platform.
"We got him now!" Steeljaw barked.
No sooner did the subway stop and open it's doors, Nightowl jumped on. Both Scrapper and Steeljaw stopped in their tracks when they saw what happened.
"No!" Steeljaw growled in frustration, his yellow eyes staring in shock.
"Wait, where's the other one?" Scrapper asked.
"The femme? Come'on she couldn't have gotten far." Steeljaw answered.
"But Steel…aw forget it you never listen." Said Scrapper.
The two of them left the subway station before anyone could call animal control.
Meanwhile, Seabreeze was now out of the park and not far from the plaza hotel. She panted heavily and decided to find a place to rest. Walking onto the hotel property, she took refuge under a hedge bush near some white roses. Within moments, Seabreeze was asleep. She woke up a few hours later and stretched her legs. By now it was night time and the streetlights were on. Seabreeze looked around hoping, Nightowl would catch up with her like he promised. After an hour went by, she left the courtyard and went around to the back end of the hotel. Sniffing around, Seabreeze wasn't having much success in finding anything that seemed edible. Moments later she heard a back down open.
"Yo, Cade toss that unsold prime rib out will you? The guest decided to order salmon instead." Said one of the chefs.
"Got it, boss." Said Cade.
He stepped out into the alley and spotted Seabreeze.
"Hey, who are you?"
The female Canis-tronian had wanted to run but she froze in her tracks. She simply looked at Cade, tilting her head. He glanced at the prime rib then at Seabreeze. After a second he opened up the plastic bag and handed the rather large cut of meat to her.
"Here, I think you need this more than the rats do."
Seabreeze took the meat and slowly began to eat rubbed her behind the ears, which made Seabreeze flinch. This was one of the few times she had ever had interacted with a human. Once she finished, she looked up at Cade, tail wagging rapidly. The young man laughed at the look on her face.
"I'd invite you in but my boss would kill me if I brought in some stray." He explained.
"But, you come back by here tomorrow, I'll set aside something for you. There's always a lot left over after the guests have breakfast."
Seabreeze smiled and licked his hand.
"You're welcome…I gotta get back to work, see ya tomorrow." Said Cade.
After going back inside and shutting the door, Seabreeze headed back to the courtyard for a good night's sleep. For the next two days, Seabreeze regularly waited in the back alley of the plaza hotel. As always, Cade set aside whatever steak or any other meat was left over. So far, she hadn't seen or heard from Nightowl. Although Seabreeze realized New York was a big city and he could easily be anywhere. She also knew it was only a matter of time before Steeljaw and Scrapper would find her again. Letting out a loud sigh Seabreeze looked down the street towards Central park. She snapped out of it when she heard Cade approaching her.
"You're looking for somebody, aren't you?" he asked.
She turned around to face him.
"I understand," said Cade, he paused for a moment to rub her head.
"If you ever come back…I'll be here."
Seabreeze smiled before she got up and left.
Back to the present…
Seabreeze continued to look out the window for a while longer before placing her head between her paws. Within moments, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. A few hours later, Seabreeze woke with a start. It was now night time and the only light in the room was a dim bulb in the ceiling. She clenched her teeth when she felt sharp pains in her sides. It wasn't long before Seabreeze realized what it was… contractions!
"Not now," she groaned.
There was no doubt that Seabreeze was going to give birth. She stretched out on a small pile of blankets, panting heavily.
"I guess this place is just as good as any…" she sighed.
Two hours and several pushes later, a newborn pup was now resting between her paws. Seabreeze looked at her daughter, noticing how much she resembled her mother. The infant dog's eyes were shut and wouldn't open for another two weeks. Exhausted from giving birth, Seabreeze fell into a deep sleep. The next morning the ferry had come to a stop. Seabreeze was suddenly alerted by the sound of people talking and sea gulls cawing outisde. Looking out the porthole window she saw the boat had docked in a small town in Maine.
"Guess this is where I get off." she said.
Seabreeze slowly got to her feet, her muscles were still sore. She gently picked up her puppy by the scruff of the neck and headed up stiars. Once on out in the open, she made her way off the ferry on to the dock, unaware she was being watched. A gray and white wolf with bright yellow eyes and a black spiked collar was not far away. Standing next to him was a Brittany spaniel with chalk white fur and rusty orange colored patches covering his face and back. Around his neck was a dark gray collar.
"She's here somewhere," said the wolf, Steeljaw.
"Ya sure?" Scrapper, the spaniel asked.
"Positive," Steeljaw answered.
He tapped the comm-link in his left ear.
"Boss, I think we just found her." Steeljaw explained before he hung up.
"I still don't get why we're doin' this." Scrapper muttered.
Normally, he'd be back in the city working on some project with his best friend, Mixmaster but was dragged along on this 'road trip.' Seabreeze looked around the beach for a moment, from the look of the scrattered drift wood, seaweed and boat equipment it looked a storm had hit recently. She put her pup down for a moment to rest.
"Well, it could be worse."
Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of growling. Looking up, Seabreeze froze at what she saw in front of her. The exact same dogs she had just tried to get away from. The female basenji assumed they must've followed her scent and were on the boat the entire time.
"Oh no," she groaned.
Without a second thought, Seabreeze grabbed her daughter and ran. After putting some distance between herself and the other dogs, she stopped.
"That was close, at least I'm away from them." She said to herself. Sniffing the air, Seabreeze picked up their scent and could hear barking in the distance.
"That's just great…" she muttered. Seabreeze looked down at her newborn pup and sighed.
"I really hate to do this."
Picking up the young dog, she placed her in a cardboard box next to an old row boat. Seabreeze gently, licked the puppy's forehead.
"I love you, girl and I'll comeback for you…one day, I promise." Said Seabreeze.
She looked at her pup one last time before she ran off.
Half an hour later, the pup woke up, without her mother to keep her warm, she felt cold air on her fur. Despite her cries, nobody heard her or so it seemed. After the hurricane, the Burns family had been called out to comb the area and take note of the damage to beach front property including homes and local businesses. Anyone who had lived in this part of town had been evacuated long before the hurricane made landfall.
"How's it going, Graham?" Kade asked his brother.
"All right, lots of broken glass but not much else." He replied.
"I'll check over here," Dani offered.
"Ok, but make it quick…the tide will be coming back in soon." Graham warned his sister.
"Noted," Dani said before she headed off towards the east end of the beach.
"It's cold out here, at least we're almost done." Dani paused when she heard some faint cries not far away.
"What in the world?"
She walked towards the old green and white row boat and looked in the box underneath.
"How'd you get out here?"
In the box was a tricolor basenji puppy. Looking at her size, Dani assumed she couldn't have been no more than a day old. She carefully picked up the young dog who struggled to get out of her grip.
"It's ok, relax pup…" Dani said softly, she stroked the dog's head, warming up her tiny body. She noticed the tracks in the sand left by Seabreeze and the other dogs.
"So, you're all alone."
"Well, not anymore."
Tucking the pup in a large interior pocket on her jacket she left the beach to catch up with Graham and Kade. A short time later, they were all back at the firehouse.
"How'd it go?" Cody asked as his older siblings walked in.
"All right, it's gonna take a while for the houses to be repaired and the boardwalk is a total mess." Said Kade.
Just then they were alerted by a faint whine.
"What was that?" Graham asked.
They all turned and looked at Dani.
"Something you'd like to share with us, sister?" Kade asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.
"Well… I did find something while we were at the beach." Dani confessed.
She unzipped her jacket and removed the puppy from the interior pocket.
"You brought home a dog?!" Kade exclaimed.
"Where'd it come from?" Graham asked.
"I found her on the beach, she was all alone." Dani explained.
"I'm gonna guess that Dad doesn't know about this yet." Graham assumed.
"Uh, no I was going to wait until he's a good mood." Dani answered.
"Yeah, well he'd have to be in a really good mood." Cody pointed out.
Aside from the occasional goldfish or hamster, the Burns never had a dog. Dani knew that after a long day like today, the last thing her Dad would want to talk about is a new pet. She and her brothers were part of an emergency response team and worked long hours. Taking care of a puppy, much less a newborn wouldn't be easy. After responding to a few more phone calls and cleaning up around the fire house, Dani and the others finally had a break. After dinner they had all gathered in the family room to figure out what to do with the dog, Dani had found.
"So, let me get this straight, she's about a day old and the mother is gone?" Graham asked, making sure he got the story straight.
"Right," was Dani's reply.
Graham looked down at his iPad and read some information he had looked up on Google regarding caring for puppies.
"Well, it says here a dog her age can be fed milk replacement powder mixed with water. You'll have to use an eyedropper…every two hours…"
Dani groaned.
"There's no way, I can be here all day…I have a job to do."
"So do we ,sister." Kade pointed out.
"Maybe if we all do it in shifts… school's out so I'll be here." Cody added.
"It might take some planning but…that just might work." Said Graham.
Before anyone could say anything they heard the door opening.
"Quick, hide the dog!" Kade exclaimed.
Dani quickly hid the puppy behind one of the couch cushions.
"Hey Dad," Cody said with a smile.
Charlie Burns entered the room looking at all four of his children.
"You, uh need us for something?" Graham asked.
"No, not at all… just came to check in on you and I just wanted to say what a great job all of you did today." Charlie replied.
"Thanks, Dad." Said Dani.
"We try," Kade.
"Oh, you're playing monopoly," Charlie said, noticing the game board and pieces on the coffee table.
"Uh… yeah." Graham replied nervously.
"You know I never pass up on a good board game, can I be the race car or the banker?" Charlie asked.
"Um… Cody's the banker." Kade answered.
"It helps me improve my math skills." He said.
"We're almost through," Dani explained.
"Ok, well the next time you play… let me know." Said Charlie before he walked out of the room closing the door behind him.
Dani and the others let out a sigh of relief once he was gone.
"Oh, that was close." Said Dani.
"You can say that again." Cody agreed. He pulled the pup out of the temporary hiding place and handed her back to Dani. After a moment of silence, the four of them continued their conversation.
Three days later…
"So, you get the goat's milk?" Kade asked as he looked up from the TV guide magazine he was reading.
"Yeah, but I had to drive way across town to get it." Said Graham as he walked into the kitchen.
After three days of trial and error with the milk replacement powder, Dani had called it quits, then thanks to Graham's additional research they found out goat's milk could be used to feed young puppies.
"Ok, this has gone on long enough…when are we gonna break the news to Dad?" Kade asked.
"After dinner," Graham answered, as he put the carton of milk in the fridge.
"Good plan," said Kade.
Sometime later, Graham, Kade and everyone else met up for dinner. Dani knew she and her brothers would eventually have to tell their Dad about the puppy they had hidden the garage. The four of them sat at the kitchen table feeling uneasy about how to him.
"Since we all got back later than usual, I went ahead and ordered pizza and wings from Tony's place." Charlie explained.
"Sounds good, Dad." Kade said with a smile.
As everyone fixed their plates, Charlie couldn't help but notice Dani hadn't really said anything.
"You're awfully quiet, Dani something on your mind?"
"Actually…Dad, there's…" Dani started to say.
"Did anyone see the new office building going up downtown?" Graham asked.
'Thank you, Graham.' Dani thought.
"I saw it on my back from the rec center, they're putting it up fast." Said Kade.
"Speaking of which, how'd the fire drill go today?" Charlie asked.
"Eh, pretty good…aside from Timmy getting trapped in the locker room near the pool it was all right." Kade explained.
"Again?" Dani groaned.
"That kid really needs to stay out of rooms where the doors lock from the outside." Said Kade.
After a moment of awkward silence, everyone was alerted by the sound of a dog yelping.
Graham threw in a fake sneeze in an attempt to cover up the noise.
"Did you hear that?" Charlie asked.
"Hear what?" Cody replied.
"Sounded like a dog." Said Charlie.
"I didn't hear a dog, must be the wind." Kade sputtered.
"Uh… Frankie got a new bike today." Cody said, chiming in.
"She did?" Dani asked.
"Yeah, it's…really nice." Cody replied.
The five of them ate in silence for a few minutes until the noise started again.
Charlie looked around, still confused about the whole thing.
"Is that inside or outside?" he aked, glancing at his sons and daughter.
"Outside," the four of them replied at the same time.
"Excuse me,"
Charlie then got up and went into the garage. Dani and her brothers sat there, unsure of what to do. A few seconds later a voice rang out.
"Oh no!"
They all looked at each other, knowing what it was coming next.
"Salad anyone?" Dani asked.
One was for sure, they certainly had some explaining to do…
MORE TO COME…
And that's it for part one... quotes and other references are from the Drake & Josh episode: "Sheep thrills", The Cosby show episode: 'A shirt story', The Fox and the Hound and Beethoven's 2nd.
Sam, Mikaela and Cade are characters from the Transformers movies, as is Steeljaw. Found out via clips on YouTube and doing some research. Scrapper and Mixmaster are Constructicon characters from Transformers Animated. Although I've lived back east, it's been a few years since I've been to New York City so I had to look up different locations. If anyone has seen the Disney channel sitcom 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody' the Plaza hotel in New York was used in the outdoor shots of the Tipton.
Will post the next chapter as soon as the other half is written.
In the meantime, I have some other projects in the works including updates to Working Dogs and Remember that Day?
Stay tuned!