This is a cute one shot based on Herbie the leech, I just couldn't help myself.
Jo had never had a pet in her life. She thought there may have been a pet hamster at one of her many foster homes, but the memories were so vague and fogging that she could not remember if they were real or she had made them up. Alex was not a pet guy either. He liked dogs, was allergic to cats but was never really interested in keeping either as a pet but yet here they were staring at a leech in a specimen jar that Jo had pulled from some ladies nose.
"His name is Herbie." Jo said, much to Alex's dismay and disgust.
"You named it." Alex said, cringing at the sight of the fat slug like creature, bugs made him feel uncomfortable.
"Yes, I named him, he's cute don't you think?" Jo said, tapping the side of the jar where the leech had suctioned itself on to.
"This isn't normal." Alex said.
"So, we are not normal." Jo replied.
"What are we going to do with him?" Alex asked, still most confused by his girlfriends love of the grimy looking thing.
"We are going to keep him Alex, he's going to be our pet." Jo replied excitedly.
"This isn't a pet, a dog or cat is a pet or even maybe a bird or a fish. Heck even a snake is more of a pet than this." Alex said, pointing at the jar.
"Don't be so rude, you'll hurt his feelings.' Jo chastised.
"It's a leech, it doesn't have feelings. It's a parasite Jo, not a pet."Alex said.
"We are going to need a tank, or something, I'm going to go look on the internet for instructions of how to keep leeches, and I'm taking Herbie with me so you don't flush him down the toilet."Jo said giving Alex a kiss, before walking off and leaving Alex shocked.
"It's not a pet." Alex called out after her.
Despite Alex's taunts and objections the next day, he found himself in a pet shop with Jo and Herbie the leech.
"Can I help you." The shop attendant asked.
"Yes." Jo said.
"We need a tank." Jo said.
"Alright." The shop attendant, whose name tag read Steve said.
"What sort of tank are you after, fresh water, salt water, goldfish?" Steven asked.
"No it's not for fish." Alex muttered, wrapping his arm around Jo.
"Oh, what's it for, a snake, lizard frog, turtle, tarantula?" Steve said getting excited.
"No, none of them." Jo said.
"It's for Herbie, the Leech." She said, pulling the specimen jar out of her handbag and showing it to Steve, who took a step back.
"A leech, well that's." Steve paused.
"She found him in some ladies nose." Alex said laughing as Steve ran off.
"How rude." Jo said.
"Look lets just pick a tank." Alex said and they did, they brought a small desk top tank and some grave.
Later after Alex had set up the tank, having to drive half an hour to find a nice stream to fill up a bucket with and find a bait shop that sold live worms, Herbie was settled in.
"He looks so happy." Jo said.
"He looks like a leech." Alex retorted.
"Admit it you like him." Jo said wrapping her arms around Alex.
"No because I don't." Alex said
"But I like you." He said grabbing Jo and carrying her upstairs.
As the weeks went by, Jo continued to croon over Herbie. He was a pretty low maintenance pet Alex had to admit, only needing to be fed once a fortnight. Several more weeks went by and then Jo declared Herbie was lonely. So Alex found himself back at the stream with a net, looking for leeches, but with no luck, or so he though until he got home and noticed a leech had attached itself to his foot.
"We'll call him Boris." Jo said as she careful peeled the leech off of Alex's foot.
"Whatever." Alex said thoroughly over the whole leech thing.
"Look I think they like each other." Jo said as she placed Boris in the tank.
"I still think they are both leeches." Alex said, walking off.
A few more weeks went by and Alex had a new patient with cancer. The little boy loved bugs and was so excited when Alex told him he had pet leeches. So Alex brought the Leeches to work one day, so the little boy could look at them.
"That's Herbie." He heard Jo say as he walked into the little boys room later that day.
"and the little one is Boris, he was very attached to Dr Karev."Jo continued.
"Hey." Alex said to Jo.
"Hey you, you never told me you were bringing the boys to work." She said.
"I was worried you had thrown them out." She said as she hugged him.
"I'm glad you didn't."Jo said before walking off.
"Eww cooties, that's disgusting" The little boy said.
"Really, you love bugs and you found that disgusting." Alex said before walking away.
He found the leeches back on the desk when he arrived home a few months went by and Jo decided that the need a female leech.
"How do you know Herbie and Boris aren't females?" Alex asked, not really paying attention.
"I just do."Jo said, staring at the tank.
"Well I'm not going to the creek again to get one." Alex stated.
"That's okay." Jo said.
"Paul from work said he can get me a medical leech." Jo said.
"Why didn't we do that in the first place?" Alex asked, shaking his head.
A couple of day later Jo came home with another leech in a specimen jar.
"Her name is Feleecia." Jo said.
"Very funny." Alex said.
A couple more months went by and then one day Alex told Jo he was taking her away for the weekend
"We'll have to find someone to look after the Leeches." Jo said.
"Why we are going away for two days." Alex said.
"What if something happens to them." Jo said.
"Fine get Stephanie to come over and house sit." Alex said.
"Stephanie hates Leeches." Jo replied.
"She's not the only one." Alex muttered under his breath.
In the end Stephanie agreed to come over and watch the house and the leeches for the weekend, Alex had to bribe her with a couple of good surgeries.
Alex asked Jo to marry him that weekend, he got down on one knee and pulled out the perfect ring, and Jo said yes, this time knowing she had just gotten engaged to the love of her life. As the walked up the drive way, Jo stopped and stared at her ring.
"I can't wait to tell the Leeches about our weekend." She said and Alex couldn't help but love her a little bit more.
I know nothing about leeches except that if you cover them in salt they fall off.