A/N: Hi! I'm bringing another Connor whump fic to you, hope you'll enjoy. I wanna thank to my beta reader Argallel for her great work. As always, I've been tinkering afterwards, so all mistakes left are my own. The story is finished and updates should be fast.
Warnings: This chapter contains depiction of violence on humans and animals. Nothing too graphic.
It was Friday. Connor's shift ended several hours ago, and he, Will, Jay, and Lindsey were enjoying a night out at Molly's, throwing darts and relaxing. Connor was just getting that nice buzz from the second beer, when he felt the effects of the alcohol combining with the tiredness from a rather tiresome week. There was the beginning of a headache and the air in the pub became too stuffy for his liking. Maybe a shot of something stronger would've cured it, but suddenly all he wanted was to get some sleep, so he excused himself and headed home. Instead of calling a cab, he thought it wasn't that late to use the metro and let the fresh air clear his head a bit. That was why he was walking down the street at eleven pm, when the night take a turn for the worse.
First thing that caught his attention was the sound of barking. Connor was used to hearing dogs barking at all hours in Chicago and most of the time it was easy to ignore the sound, but this bark sounded different, there was an edge that was colored with fear. He'd just stepped out of the metro station and was maybe five minutes from his apartment. He wasn't living in a bad neighborhood, it was actually one of the safer ones, but nowadays it was better to be careful, wherever you were. Slowing down, Connor looked around, trying to pinpoint where the barking was coming from. He spotted a dark alley maybe thirty yards ahead, a bit out of his way. There were a few other people walking on the main street, but they weren't paying attention to the dog. They were trying really hard not to pay attention to anything, it seemed. Connor was still deciding whether he should do the same, when the bark changed into a pained yelp, accompanied by laughter. Gritting his teeth, Connor headed for the alley. Maybe it was the buzz from the beer, or just the fact he was so familiar with sounds of pain that he couldn't ignore it anymore.
Walking around the corner, he entered the dimly lit alley just in time to see a drunk guy in his twenties kicked a dog, sending it flying a few feet away. His partner in crime was laughing and goading him on.
"Come on, Coop, finish it! It's just a damn mutt!"
Connor saw red.
"Hey!" he shouted and headed towards the duo, not really thinking it through. All he could see was the poor dog laying curled up next to a trash can, whining with eyes wide. "Get the hell away from that dog!"
"Or what?" asked Coop, the guy who was doing all the kicking, his voice full of arrogance and challenge.
"I already called the cops," Connor said though he did no such thing and he was starting to regret it. As he came closer, he saw that Coop was holding some piece of pipe, probably planning to use it on the dog, if he hadn't already.
"Fucking shit!" The younger guy shouted, though he didn't seem to be intimidated at all. Maybe even a bit excited and that was when Connor noticed his eyes and figured they might've been on something else than just alcohol.
Connor's stomach felt suddenly heavy. The two guys exchanged a quick look and Coop, started out against Connor.
Connor saw the move coming from a mile away and he had enough time to duck, grab the pipe out of his attacker's hand and throw it away. He sidestepped Coop, who was just a bit too uncoordinated, the momentum making him stumble and fall down. Connor automatically turned towards him, unsure of his next step, which was a mistake. He let his eyes down from the other guy and in the next second felt something heavy smash against the back of his head.
Dazed and thrown by the impact, Connor fell to his knees with a huff. He tried to blink away the darkness when a boot crashed into his ribs. The force of it sent him rolling and Connor ended up lying on his back. The night sky filled his vision and for a moment he wondered what the hell happened and why did he hurt so much.
"Fucking hell, you ok Coop? I'll kill that bastard, and then I'll finish the damn mutt!"
Coop got to his feet and perhaps the fall kicked some sense into him, because he shook his head.
"No, let's go. I think I hear the cops."
There was the sound of police sirens, but they were far away. Still, it was enough to make the two guys hesitate.
"Come on, Tee. Leave the bastard and let's go!"
Connor heard the voices, but didn't see the faces, until one of them leaned down over him and started patting at his jacket.
"I'm not leaving without some cash. Dumb bastard made me spill my beer."
Connor wanted to protest, to fight off the hands, but he had trouble focusing and each touch made
his ribs hurt. He let out a sound of pain as the guy patted down his pockets and incidentally hit his side. In the next moment, he heard a growl, saw a flash of movement, and heard a yelp. The hands vanished. He heard a string of curses and tried to pull himself together and look at what was happening. He saw the dog standing next to him, baring his teeth and growling threateningly. He also saw one guy already turning the corner in a hurry and the other following close behind, a hand cradling his arm, which was turning red. It looked like the dog took a chunk out of his arm. Connor didn't feel the least bit of sorry.
"Assholes," he muttered, and with a groan he pushed himself off the ground. Sitting up he rested his back against the nearby wall. The dog stopped growling and turned, looking at Connor with wary eyes. Connor swallowed the feeling of nausea. He was pretty sure the dog bit the guy that attacked him, but he wasn't sure if the dog knew that he wasn't the enemy.
"G-good boy?" he asked, his voice shaking, just like the hand he was slowly extending towards the dog, palm up, trying to look as unthreatening as possible. The mutt hesitated only for a second, then took a step closer and pushed his nose against the offered hand. Connor let out a breath and gently reached to pet the dog on the head.
"Yeah, that's it. Good boy," he repeated, a bit calmer, and the dog took two more limping steps towards Connor. That's when Connor noticed the bruised front right paw. As the dog was so close and his vision only slightly blurry, Connor ran a quick visual inspection of the animal. He saw a bloody wound on the dog's hind leg, but overall nothing that couldn't be fixed. At least he hoped so. He wasn't a vet and for all he knew, the dog could be bruised from head to toe under the matted fur.
"Need to get you checked out, buddy," Connor muttered as the dog tried to snuggle closer. Upon hearing his voice, the dog looked up with trusting eyes and Connor had to look away, ashamed. To think he was contemplating just keeping walking when he first heard the bark was making him sick to his stomach. Or maybe that was the concussion, he thought as his left hand reached up to his head. His fingers discovered something wet and he had to bite down on his lip to stop the moan as he felt the ragged edges of a wound.
"Shit," Connor cursed, realizing the dog wasn't the only one in need of some help. It was time to get up and out of this alley before those two thugs decided to return, or someone else saw Connor as easy prey. Slowly, and cursing in several different languages, Connor made it to his feet. His side was throbbing, but it didn't feel like any ribs were broken, so he thought himself lucky. The sudden dizziness and nausea once he made it all the way up was a bit more troubling. Leaning against the wall, Connor gave himself few minutes to let the dizziness pass. The dog was sitting by his right leg, watching his every move, waiting. Connor sighed and rubbed at his eyes, trying to figure out what he should do next.
Not sure if it was the head injury or simply the fact that there was a living creature listening to him, but he started thinking out loud.
"Thanks to you, I still have my phone," he said, as he patted down his jacket and realized that nothing was stolen. "So I can call the cops." Or he could just call Jay and tell him to try and find those two idiots. But he knew they were probably long gone and Jay was off work, on a much needed break. Logically, he should call someone from the PD. If the dog bit the guy hard enough, there was a chance he would seek medical attention, in which case Connor could get him locked up. Maybe. He heard the guys calling each other Coop and Tee, and if they were on drugs and capable of such violence, they might pose a danger to someone else as well. There was no way around it; he had an obligation to report it. Though he really wasn't looking forward to all the fuss.
"What do you think, buddy?" he asked the dog, who let out a questioning whine. "Thought so," Connor sighed and pulled out his phone. He wanted to dial 911, but his fingers went automatically for Jay Halstead. Blaming his headache for the misdial, he almost ended the call, when the familiar voice sounded from the other end.
"Hey, bud, did you change your mind?" Jay asked, obviously in a good mood and Connor could hear the sounds of the pub in the background. Grimacing, he contemplated just hanging up, but as if sensing his hesitation, the dog barked. Damn it.
"Connor?" the voice on the other end asked with some suspicion. "Is this some prank call? Don't tell me you have a dog now."
"Actually..." Connor wasn't sure. Right now, he wasn't ready to give the dog u p, but that might've been just the look he was receiving. Blinking, Connor looked away. "I ran into some trouble... on the way home."
"Okay, hang on a sec." There was some shuffling and Connor could hear Jay excusing himself, then the background noise vanished. "I'm listening."
"Uh..." Connor wasn't sure how to start, but he felt the dog nudging into his leg and sighed. "Some guys jumped me. Well, they were trying to kill that dog, so technically I jumped them, but-" Connor was rambling; he knew he was, but Jay wasn't listening.
"Whoa. Stop. I'm not sure I understood anything, but... are you okay?"
"Yeah, nothing a few stitches won't fix. I wouldn't have called, but... I think those guys were on speed and they might be dangerous. And the dog bit one of them, so maybe you can call it in and check the hospitals-"
"Okay, slow down. Just tell me where you are."
Connor paused, trying to figure out the address. It took him a second, but he rattled off the street name and the station he exited before getting into this mess.
"Do you need an ambulance, or can you wait till we get there?"
"I'm okay. I might need a ride to the vet though, the dog is hurt."
"Right." Jay didn't sound too convinced. "Just... stay put, we're on our way. If there's any sign of trouble, call me."
"You don't have to-" Connor started but Jay already ended the call. With a sigh, Connor looked down at the dog.
"Looks like this night will get a lot longer, buddy," he said and grimaced, looking around the dimly lit alley. There were several trash cans and pieces of random trash lying around. There was also an empty box with an old sweater in it and a very chewed up dog toy.
"That your home, buddy?" he asked and as if in answer, the dog yawned, putting its head down on Connor's foot, making sure he wasn't going anywhere without him. "Awesome. I might use the time and come up with something useful, like maybe a name for you." And he could also sit down, before he face planted into one of the trash bins nearby. Finding a rather clean spot, Connor slid down by the wall, trying to ignore the fact he was sitting on a ground that could've been used as a dog toilet.
"So... are you even a boy or a girl?" he asked rhetorically. The dog was lying down though, and he didn't have the heart to disturb it. "Well, either way, I always wanted to call my dog Milo. So what do you say, Milo? Like the name?"
Milo's eyes perked up and he looked at Connor questioningly then moved into a more comfortable position, revealing that he was indeed a boy. Connor patted his head and smiled.
"Right. Milo it is. And maybe the vet will help me figure out what breed you are. Right now, you look like a mutt."
Milo yawned and closed his eyes. Connor wished he could do the same, but the discomfort from his battered body and his surroundings alone kept him from doing that. He would've preferred to wait for Jay somewhere on the well lit street, preferably inside that KFC that was just behind the corner, but he knew he looked haggard, probably smelled of beer from the bottle that guy used to clobber him on the head. And there was also the blood running down his neck. Not to mention the beaten and limping dog by his side. That would surely attract some attention, and he wasn't very keen on that. So he stayed put just like Jay said and waited.
TBC