The Dalmatian stirred in his sleep and shivered slightly. He was having a nightmare again. A nightmare involving his father's death when Ryan was only a little puppy. It still haunts him even to this day after moving in with the Company a few weeks ago. He heard a train whistle, blowing loudly and deeply like a lonely wolf howling in the night sky. He then heard an explosion. A loud explosion, followed by a horrific scream of pain and agony. It sounded like his father's voice, which soon faded into nothing as everything around him faded into darkness. A terrifying face of his dead father soon popped up infront of him and was coming closer to him with burnt fur, dead eyes and blood surrounding him!
"AHHHH!" Ryan yelped, instantly waking up from his spot. His ears dropped within seconds, frightened as heck and his legs shaking in fear and fright. He let out a little quiet moan and looked around, seeing the Company and Fagin still asleep in the barge even after he let out a scream. All but one.
"Ryan?" came a female voice.
Ryan jumped and looked down to his left. His sweetheart Rita had been woken up by his scream of fright and began to flutter her eyes sleepfully, looking worried for her boyfriend. He began to take deep breaths, with tears forming in his eyes, about to cry.
By then, Rita had every right to be worried. "What's the matter hun?" she whispered softly. Even after started dating, the red haired Saluki couldn't help but notice her boyfriend having nightmares here and there, much more than she had after the Sykes' death. This was concerning to her and the rest of the gang, especially Dodger who had to comfort the dog whenever they were out and when she wasn't able to help comfort him.
The Dalmatian instantly buried his face right up against his girlfriend's body and began to cry. He tried his best not to cry out loud or even let out his unique howl that sounded more like a train whistle than a dog howl. Tears rolled down from his face onto Rita's body before they landed on the floor. The past couple of nights had been rough with him, mostly thanks to the nightmares of his father's death and almost being put down. He wished these nightmares would go away soon, but by the looks of it, it was only getting worst.
Rita reached a paw to Ryan's back and began to pat him softly, shushing him quietly as she comforted the poor autistic dog. "There there honey" she whispered. "You've been having that nightmare again, haven't you?"
Ryan simply nodded, sniffling loudly, doing his best to fight back the tears. But he was only failing to do so. "I-It was terrible Rita" he sniffled. "Having a nightmare of your own father's death. It's something you can't fall asleep peacefully. It will come and haunt you... like... like..." He was starting to have a hard time trying to catch his breath, surprisingly still not waking either Dodger, Einstein or the whole gang up from his sniffling and crying.
"Shhhhh…. take a deep breath Ry, take a deep breath" hushed Rita as she stroked her spotted sweetheart's back.
Taking deep breaths, Ryan tried to calm himself down. He quivered and sniffled even further as he took deep breaths. Breathing in through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. Breathing in through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. He did this several times, slowly regaining control and feeling calm. "Okay" he said calmly.
"Good" sighed Rita with a bit of relief. "Now hun, I understand losing your father has been really rough with you and me and the guys felt very sorry for you."
Ryan shook his head in sadness and depression. "You never knew my father Rita. None of you did. My father was the best father you'd ever want. Tell me bed time stories before bed, most of them being adventures he had while being a railroad dog, piggyback rides like my mom did, lots of love and comfort, so many things a father would do to his loving pup."
More tears could be seen coming out of the poor dog's eyes as he was about to cry once more. Rita knew this wasn't working, so she thought of something she'd never revealed to any of the members of the gang. "I never had a long lasting puppyhood like you did" she admitted with a frown.
This revelation made Ryan's eyes wide with shock. He thought Rita was actually bluffing. "You're bluffing. You're bluffing sweetheart. Surely a sweet girl like you had a wonderful childhood before..." he trailed off when he felt Rita's paw pressed up against his lips.
Rita blushed a little at the compliment, smiling slightly before she frowned once more. "I didn't" she said and sighed, looking away from her boyfriend. "I never had a puppyhood with my parents."
There was a long silence, minus the snores coming from Fagin and the others. They both had no idea that Dodger was secretly listening, opening one eye very slightly.
Rita sighed again before she began. "When I was your age, I lived in an apartment somewhere near Central Park. I was in a family of 4, with me being the youngest of the bunch. My mom was a more proper Saluki, while my dad was... ironically, a street dog like us. I had my mother's side in terms of appearance and looks, while I have the tail of my father's. Me and my mother never got along, mostly because of me wanting to be like my dad when I was older, and even my sisters thought I was crazy. Probably because mom brain washed them."
Both Ryan and Rita giggled quietly, until the Saluki went on frowning.
"As for my dad, he and I were close. As close as you and your father were. He would often tell me how to survive the streets if I did follow his footsteps, what to do when out alone and how to pretty be who I am today. It was nice. He'd even take me out to see some of the sights at night too, much to my mom's disapproval of staying up late while the rest of my sisters are asleep whenever we come home late in the evening. Mom and dad often argued, making things a bit rough for me and my sisters. The final straw came when I nearly gotten myself killed when dad took me out to watch the subway trains go by at Grand Central Terminal. I slipped and fell onto the tracks and there was a train coming. Dad managed to get me out of the way in time, but it did cost him half of his tail in the process. My mom was very upset and she demanded a divorce, leaving me to pick who I'd go with."
Ryan was now feeling very sorry for his girlfriend. Never once had he'd heard of Rita's puppyhood or her past. Not even from Dodger or Francis, or even Einstein. This was very shocking news to hear from her.
"I went with my dad and him and I searched for a new home. We found one, a small little box just near the spot where Oliver met Dodger a while back. It didn't last forever as I hoped. One rainy night, a group of rough dogs came by and started surrounding our home, leaving my father to defend me. He told me, 'If I don't make it Little R, just remember this. You were daddy's favorite girl'. He soon began to fight the other dogs in a desperate attempt to protect me. But... in the end... he didn't make it."
By that point, Rita was starting to cry herself. Tears began to form in her eyes and they began to roll down her face and onto the floor. If you asked the whole Company, they would swear that they never had seen Rita cry at all. Only time she did was when she felt sorry for yelling at her boyfriend and she almost cried when she thought Oliver died after the big chase from the Sykes. But, she bravely continued on. Sniffling sadly, but bravely continued her story.
"The dogs killed my father. He laid there, right in front of my eyes, and I was too scared and too upset to even move. If it hadn't been for Fagin scaring the dogs away... I... I wouldn't be here talking to you." This time it was Rita's turn to lay her head into her boyfriend's body.
Ryan was beyond speechless. He now understood that Rita's puppyhood wasn't a pretty one as his. It would explain why she hardly talked about her parents whenever he talked about his, when he was tough enough to do so of course. He didn't say anything as he felt Rita cry against his body. He simply just began to rub the crying Saluki's back, hushing her softly and doing his best to comfort her. "Oh Rita. I wish I knew sooner" he said.
Rita sniffled some more, before she took some deep breaths. For a street smart girl, she sure can cry, but Ryan had already seen her cry before. "I didn't tell most of the gang about it, but since you were feeling depressed about your father's death again, I thought it'd be best to share the pain too."
"Awww but Rita, you're crying like I was" frowned the Dalmatian.
Rita nodded, "I know. But at least we're sharing the pain together, right?"
The spotted dog didn't know if he should be touched or flattered, but he knew that his sweetheart was right. They both knew how it feels to lose someone you loved deeply. So both of them began to hug each other deeply, with Rita slowly calming herself down. Her tail wagged slowly before it curled around her boyfriend's own tail, forming a little heart together.
"You know" Ryan whispered softly. "My dad once told me something. He told me, 'In the darkness, you'll never be alone. There's always someone who'll shine light on you'. He told me that whenever I was scared of the dark, and I guess I've been having nightmares of him just so he can make sure I remember him."
Rita smiled lovingly, "Well I don't think he'd want you waking up in the middle of the night over nightmares of his death. You should think about happier stuff. Like Einstein and Dodger being your best friends, the fun times you had with your mother and father, or even me."
The kind words made Ryan smile and then nodded, agreeing with his sweetheart. "You're right. I should think about the happier stuff than the scarier stuff."
The smile on her boyfriend's muzzle made Rita smile back. She was happy to see that the autistic mutt was feeling better and gave him a goodnight kiss on the lips. "I think we should get back to sleep then honey."
"I can't agree with you more, Chica Rita" winked Ryan.
"Goodnight sweetheart. I love you."
"Goodnight my love. I love you too." Ryan closed his eyes softly, only to open one eye and looked at his true love. "Rita, thank you."
Rita giggled quietly, "You're welcome, Ryee Poo." She soon began to doze off into a deep slumber, snoring quietly as her tail was still attached to her boyfriend's.
Ryan soon fell asleep too, snoring quietly too. He began to dream about the fun times he had with his family. From chasing frisbees in the park to listening to his father's bedtime stories. He even dreamed of the fun he was having with the gang, from Dodger teaching him how to car surf to Einstein providing him warmth from his body when he was feeling cold one night. But the one thing he dreamed of, was Rita. He dreamed of the wonderful dates they were having together and all the love she was giving him, better than his ex girlfriend Tiffany.
As for Rita, she dreamed of her father and all the fun times she had with him before he died. From listening to his tips and tricks, to catching sticks with him in the park and even sleeping with him on some nights. But she could remember one part of her dream that she'll never forget. She saw Shaun, looking at her but not giving her a nightmare. He was smiling at her and seeing him made her smile too. He told her how proud he was for helping his son and promised to tell her father she said "hello" to him before he vanished, letting her dream about her father some more. But there was one thing she couldn't believe she heard that night. Did she actually hear a deep male voice saying, "I'm proud of you, Little R" in the middle of her slumber?
Note: Thought I was dead? Well no I'm not really. I've been busy with other things, such as DeviantArt, Trainz: A New Era and real life. But after getting this story idea, I thought I'd post it on here and show you all that I'm not done with Ryan and Company stories. They may not be posted a lot like they use to, but hey, at least they're still around right? But anyways, I hope you enjoy the story. Feel free to review the story if you wish.
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney. No copyright infringement intended.
Ryan and Shaun belong to me.