Hey everyone! I'm back with a little one-shot about our favorite superdog: Bolt! It's a simple little predicament that I can guarantee will have a few of you thinking; "Huh! This should be interesting!" Enjoy guys!

A/N: I do not own Bolt or any of its characters. All characters are the property of Disney and its subsidiaries.

Disclaimer: This story is NOT connected to 'The Adventure Continues' saga. Only the original cast members apply.

Sweet and Sour

The life of a dog is that of a spoiled one. There are no schedules to meet, no bills to pay, and your only necessary workout consists of your person throwing a Frisbee while you wag your tail in excitement. You also don't have an alarm clock to wake you up at 6:30 in the morning for work or school; you wake up when you want. Even still, there are some things in your life that must be taken into account as that of a canine: not digging holes in the garden, peeing on the carpet, chasing the neighbor's cat, or eating something you're not supposed to. In the case of Bolt, cats aren't an issue because he lives with one, as well as a hamster, he's very-well house trained, and he has no interest in bones. But getting into trouble….

"Hey Wags! Penny's home." Mittens said as she came down the stairs to find Bolt asleep on the chair. However, at the sound of his person walking through the door, his time for rest was officially over. The white American shepherd dashed off of the chair, and greeted his person with several barks as she walked through the front door.

"Hey, buddy! Did you miss me? Huh? Did you miss me?" Penny asked playfully, setting her backpack down near the door. Bolt answered her with a few more barks before settling down some. Penny made her way to the kitchen to find her mom sitting at the table.

"Hey mom!" Penny greeted

"Hi sweetheart! How was school?" Catherine asked

"It was going great until I hit science class." Penny said in a bit of a slump.

"What happened in science?" Catherine asked as she listened to her daughter.

"Well, Mrs. Parsons will be out for a week, and the substitute teacher assigned us an independent study project. She said that she didn't care what it was about, but it has to be done tomorrow."

"She's only giving you one day?"

"Yeah, pretty much! It's worth 15% of my final grade, but if I get an A, that'll bump me up to an A- for the semester. The only problem is that I have only one idea on what I'm gonna do it on."

"What's the idea?" Catherine asked again.

"Viscosity of liquids. I did the same project last year for science, but I never kept the material. So, now I have to do the experiments all over again. Plus… it's not exactly A+ material."

"Well, it doesn't have to be flashy; just accurate. How long will it take?"

"Probably all night." Penny answered

"I might be able to help. I'm gonna order take-out, because I'm just too tired to cook. And this way, we can work on it together and have it done by bedtime."

"Really?" Penny asked in shock.

"Sure. I helped you with the project LAST year, and I can still remember some of it." Catherine answered.

"Awesome! We'll start around 5. Right now, I need some rest." Penny said rubbing her eyes.

"No problem, kiddo!" Catherine said with a smile. With that, Penny picked up her bag, and carried it up to her room, while Catherine began to clear the kitchen table. All the while, Bolt and Mittens were watching the ordeal from back in the living room, wondering what was going on.

"What was that all about?" Bolt asked

"Penny has a big project for school, apparently." Mittens answered still looking into the kitchen. Bolt looked at Mittens, wondering what she meant.

"What's a…. project?" Bolt asked feeling somewhat stupid.

"Um… it's something that kids have to do for school. I guess to show that they're actually learning something instead of just playing on their phones." Mittens explained, in the best way she could. Bolt still seemed a little confused by the idea from what Mittens could tell.

"Ugh… Just watch her while she does it. You might learn a little something yourself." Mittens said sarcastically. Bolt just rolled his eyes at the statement and smiled. The black cat turned around and flicked her tail upwards as she walked away, accidently hitting Bolt on the nose. The shepherd jumped back some, using his paw to brush the strange feeling off of his nose.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bolt! I didn't mean to do that; I swear!" Mittens said turning back after she'd realized what had happened.

"It's okay, it happens." Bolt said letting her know that he was okay. Mittens stepped back a few inches, hoping he wasn't too upset about it; something that Bolt was quick to notice.

"Mittens, it's okay. Really! It just made me jump a little, that's all!" Bolt said almost pleading with her.

"I know, but every time I did something stupid back in New York, it usually meant that I should run. It's just a reflex for me." Mittens explained in some detail. She knew it was nothing to freak out about, but Bolt seemed genuinely worried that she was afraid of him.

"You don't ever have to be afraid of me. I'd protect you with my life, just like I do for Penny." Bolt said looking her square in the eye. Being taken aback by the previous words, Mittens looked at the canine with curiosity. She's always thought that she was nothing special and not really worth saving if something happened.

"You…really?" Mittens asked still in some shock.

"Absolutely!" Bolt said with true honesty. It was almost too much for Mittens to bear, as one stray tear fell from her cheek, not going unnoticed by Bolt as he reached forward and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh, come here." Bolt said softly. Mittens didn't know what to feel, but she figured that it wouldn't matter. It was just a kind gesture of someone saying that they would protect her; she'd do the same for him if she ever needed to.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Mittens said pulling her head out of Bolt's chest.

"No biggy!'' Bolt said with a smile, and he walked up to Penny's room to see what she was up to. Mittens, on the other hand, started to think deeply.

"What was that about?" Mittens asked herself as she jumped onto couch.

(After dinner)

It was about 6:30pm, and Penny was beginning to set up everything she needed for her project. She had her notebook for observations, all the liquids she needed, and test tubes.

"Okay, so what do we need to do?" Catherine asked

"Well, all 5 of the liquids have to be poured down each of the boards, which are set at exactly 5* angles. From there, we measure just how long it takes for each liquid to reach the end of the board." Penny explained to her mother.

Science fact: Viscosity: A liquid's resistance to flow.

"Okay, let's get started. What are the liquids?"

"We have vegetable oil, honey, chocolate syrup, dishwashing liquid, and antifreeze." Penny answered. As the experiment started, Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino all walked into the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about.

"So, what did you pull me away from 'CSI:Miami' for exactly?" Rhino asked somewhat bitterly.

"Will you just chill out and watch?" Mittens said getting annoyed by the hamster's cranky state. The three animals watched intently as Penny and her mom performed each test, and recorded all of the information. They had finished their experiments for the antifreeze, dishwashing liquid, and the vegetable oil; and that just left the honey and chocolate syrup.

"I still don't get it, but it must be pretty important." Bolt said losing track of exactly what it was they were supposed to be learning. And he wasn't the only one.

"Yeah, I thought it was gonna be something a little cooler." Mittens said agreeing with her canine counterpart.

"Great. Can I go now?" Rhino asked before turning away to return to his TV show. Mittens decided to follow the hamster back to the couch, figuring the show was over. Suddenly, Bolt heard a thump coming from around the corner in the kitchen. The noise had gone unnoticed by Penny and her mom, who were still hard at work on Penny's project, so Bolt took the initiative and headed for the kitchen. When he reached it, he noticed that the window was open and a strong wind was starting to blow through the house, which settled fairly quickly.

"That was weird." Bolt said to himself. Still walking, he came across a black plastic bottle that was lying on the floor, spewing its contents into a giant brown pool.

"What the…" Bolt began before reaching the container and reading the label: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.

"Hmmm." Bolt said curiously as he sniffed it. In an instant, he was taken away by the sweet scent. It smelt so wonderful; a smile slowly began to grow on his face. As he brought his face in closer, his tongue gave a quick swipe of the sweet liquid, which soon turned into another 3 long licks of the sugary topping.

"This stuff is good." Bolt said for the last time before he finished cleaning the entire bottle's contents off of the floor. It took him no more than 5 minutes before the floor was practically spotless.

"Man, humans get all the good food!" Bolt said somewhat complaining, having never gotten the chance to try the so-called chocolate syrup. The shepherd walked away to tell Mittens and Rhino about the near-heavenly experience he just had with the new food. He passed by Penny once more, who was just finishing the results of her experiment with the honey, when he finally reached the couch.

"Hey guys!" Bolt said happily.

"Hey wags! Where'd you go?" Mittens asked

"To the kitchen. The wind knocked over some black bottle from the counter that had this really sweet stuff in it, and it tastes so good." Bolt said getting a little excited.

"What is it?" Mittens asked again.

"I think it's called 'Chocolate syrup'." Bolt said trying to remember.

"Hmmm. Is there any left?" Mittens asked once more.

"I don't think so. I think I finished the bottle off." Bolt said laughing, in turn causing Mittens to laugh as well.

"God, dogs will eat anything." Mittens said sarcastically.

"Hey, if it's good enough, we just might." Bolt said throwing his own smart remark into the conversation, which Mittens just laughed at. The canine jumped onto the couch to watch CSI is Mittens and Rhino, while Penny and her mom started work on the last liquid.

"We might need some more syrup, honey." Catherine said

"Okay, I'll go get some." Penny said heading for the kitchen. When she looked on the counter, she noticed that it was gone. After feeling a fairly strong breeze from the open window, Penny shut it, and went back to searching for the chocolate bottle, which she found pushed against the side of the cupboard below the sink.

"There you are. The wind must've knocked you over." Penny said picking it up, and noticed that the tip had been popped open, and it was almost completely empty. The look on her face showed signs of confusion and curiosity.

"Didn't we just buy this bottle yesterday?" Penny asked herself before turning around to head back to the kitchen table.

"Um Mom! The bottle's almost gone." Penny said as she walked into the room. Catherine took the bottle from her daughter, and noticed that she was right.

"We just bought this on Sunday." Catherine stated

"That's what I thought."

"Where did it all go?"

"Well, one thing's for sure; I'm gonna need to find another liquid since we don't have any more syrup. I'll check the garage for something." Penny said walking out the back door and heading for the garage. Catherine, who was still holding the bottle, wondered how an entire bottle of chocolate syrup could just magically disappear like that. She set the bottle back on the kitchen counter next to the phone before going back to helping Penny with the project

(Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino)

About 30 minutes had passed since Bolt had depleted Penny and her mom of the chocolate syrup, and Penny was currently running through the house trying to find another liquid to use. Bolt watched her every move, along with Mittens.

"What is she doing?" Mittens asked

"I have no idea." Bolt answered. All of a sudden, Bolt started to feel a tightening in his stomach, causing him to cringe a little, and let out a short moan. Mittens looked at him, wondering if he was alright.

"You okay?" Mittens asked again.

"I think so. My stomach just hurts a little." Bolt said with the sharp pain in his gut seeming to get just a little worse with every passing second. Bolt then started to shake somewhat, not sure what was going on as he stood up. Mittens watched as fear plastered itself all over Bolt's face.

"Bolt, what's wrong?" Mittens asked, now with some fear of her own.

"I…I don't know. My stomach feels like someone's taking a hammer and chisel to it." Bolt said, explaining the graphic details of his pain to Mittens. The small feline just stood there, not really knowing how to help Bolt, but her fear quickly increased and caused her to start panicking. Suddenly, Bolt dropped to his stomach and began to groan louder in pain, which quickly caught Rhino's attention.

"What's going on?" Rhino asked

"There's something wrong with Bolt, and I don't know what it is." Mittens explained to the hamster. Rhino jumped off of the arm of the couch to join his friends. Bolt's groaning died down a little, but it was still evident that something was terribly wrong with him.

"What do we do?" Rhino asked

"Go…get Penny." Bolt said with a raspy voice. Mittens bounded off of the couch and ran straight for Penny's leg, giving it small slaps with her declawed paw. Penny looked down at small black cat, and bent down to her level after setting her notebook back on the table.

"What's wrong, Mittens? Are you hungry?" Penny asked as she picked her up, thinking that was the issue. Mittens began to squirm some, wishing so badly she could just tell Penny was the problem was. As a sign of hope, Bolt let out a moderate groan, which managed to catch both Penny and her mom's ears. As they looked over to the couch, they saw their white shepherd practically hunched over half of the cushion like he was about ready to fall off, moaning steadily.

"Bolt?" Penny said as she set Mittens back to the floor and walked up to her dog.

"Hey! What's the matter, Bolt?" Penny asked beginning to worry. Catherine knelt down in front of Bolt and scratched his ears a little in an attempt to calm him down, and pulling out a flashlight to look into his eyes soon after.

"Honey, his eyes are dilating. Did he hit his head on something?" Catherine asked Penny.

"I don't think so." Penny said checking his head for any bumps or scrapes, and soon finding nothing.

"No, I don't see anything." Penny followed up to answer her mom's question.

"What's the matter, boy?" Catherine asked as she continued to stare at Bolt. The white shepherd tried as hard as he could to curl up into a ball as he clutched his stomach with his paws. It was something both Penny and her mom were quick to notice.

"Is it his stomach?" Penny asked

"Maybe." Catherine answered as she tried to pull Bolt's paw away from his torso to examine it. With every second she looked at Bolt's lower half, his groans became louder and louder.

"Okay, easy buddy! Penny, would you go and call the vet's office?" Catherine asked her daughter.

"It's 7-o-clock! Are they even still open?" Penny returned with a question of her own.

"We might be able to catch them if they haven't left yet." Catherine answered. Penny wanted to debate, but her only concern was making sure that Bolt was okay. The teenage girl walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone to start dialing. Suddenly, she noticed the chocolate syrup bottle just sitting there. She instantly threw down the phone and picked it up, remembering how empty the bottle was when she found it…..on the floor!

"MOM!" Penny shouted from the kitchen as she ran back through the house, trying to figure out whether or not her mom heard her. She dashed around the last corner into the living room, and saw Bolt and her mother in the same spots they were last time.

"Mom, the chocolate syrup!" Penny shouted; this time, a little quieter.

"What about the…" Catherine asked before understanding what Penny was trying to say.

"Oh no!"

Note: Dogs can't have any kind of chocolate. There's a certain chemical in the cocoa that basically eats away at the lining of their intestines, and will eventually find its way to the liver and cause it to shut down.

"What do we do?" Penny asked

"Did you call the vet yet?"

"No! When I saw the bottle, I came back in here to tell you."

"Give them a call. If you can't get a hold of them, try a vet clinic that works after hours." Catherine ordered

"Okay." Penny said rushing back to the kitchen.

(Mittens)

"Bolt! Please stay with us! It's gonna be okay." Mittens pleaded. Bolt could only show how much pain he was in by the facial expressions he was making; each one looking more excruciating than the last. Mittens watched as her friend continued to moan in searing pain.

"Listen to me, Bolt! You're not going anywhere. You're gonna stay with us… with me." Mittens said as tears staring rolling down her face.

"What are you… talking about? I've always been here." Bolt said trying to fight the pain and talk at the same time.

"I know, but… just like you said earlier. You said that you'd protect me with your life, and I'd do the same for you. No one's ever said that to me…and I love knowing it. And I….I love you." Mittens admitted. Bolt looked at the small black cat with eyes as wide as they could go. Rhino stood right next to the two of them, not able to move through the shock. But that didn't mean he couldn't speak.

"Whoa… you probably should've told him that on the day he might die." Rhino said half sarcastically and half seriously. Mittens shoved the small rodent across the hardwood floor in anger.

"Shut up! He isn't gonna die!" Mittens shouted

"Well, with the pain in my gut… ugh! I just might." Bolt said as he groaned even louder and breathing very heavily. Penny came back into the room with the phone book in her arms, and the phone to her ear.

"Okay, can we bring him in right now?... Great, we'll be there in about 15 minutes….. Thank you so much. Bye!" Penny said speaking back and forth with the receptionist at the veterinary clinic before hanging up.

"So, what did they say?" Catherine asked

"Well, Jacobson's office was closed for the night; but I found a clinic about 15 minutes away from here." Penny explained

"Great." Catherine said as she gently picked Bolt up and carried him in her arms as they headed for the front door. Mittens tried her best to follow them out, but was stopped by Penny trying to keep her inside.

"We'll be back soon, Mittens." Penny said as she closed the door behind her, leaving just Mittens and Rhino in the house by themselves. Mittens jumped to the top of the couch to stare out the window as the dog she loved was being whisked away to someplace she'd never heard of. As more tears continued to fall from her eyes, she slowly jumped to the cushion of the couch and looked at Rhino, who was sitting in the same placed he was pushed to when he shot his mouth off.

"Sorry." Mittens said with a thickened voice, trying to apologize for shoving him earlier. Rhino just responded with a shake of his head, letting her know that it was okay. For now, all they could do was wait, and hope that Bolt would be okay. Mittens' thoughts quickly changed from Bolt dying to her being in love with him. She started to wish she had told him when she'd gone to live with him, and then wished she hadn't said it at all.

"So, how long have you been in love with Bolt?" Rhino asked the broken-hearted feline, hoping she would fill in some gaps.

"Um, well…"

**End of PART 1**

Okay, gang! This will be a 2-part story, just because it seems necessary, instead of just one long rambling. Obviously, I've left you guys with a lot of unanswered questions, and that was kinda the idea. I'm curious to hear what you have to say, as always; so, send in those reviews, and I'll have Part 2 up as soon as I can.

Sayonara!