This is the continuation of the Adventures of Vincent and Bama. It deals with the end of season one and the introduction of the six puppies. I had a lot of fun with this story. Please feel free to read and review. It does not contain anything that happened in season 2. That is yet another story :).

Ch 1

"Charlie look! Their eyes are open." The little man came over and saw that indeed they were. There was little Merry and Pippin looking at him. He picked them both up and held them in front of his face.

"Hallo there. Sweet little Merry, you are as lovely as your mother." Bama beamed. "Dear little Pippin you have dirt on your nose. We shan't have that now. Will have to wash your face." The puppies squealed in his hands and he set Merry down at Bama's belly. The little man went over, got a damp cloth, and cleaned off Pippin's nose. "There. All clean." He put him back with the others and noticed that all had their eyes open except for Lucky. She had only one eye open. "Bama they are looking great. You are doing a lovely job." Bama licked his hand and he scratched her behind her ears.

The wheezy girl came over and asked to hold her puppy. "Sure." Bama's person smiled. She had been so happy now that she had baby Aaron back. Her and the little man were getting along well. For the moment, all was right in their world. No idea what had happened to the guys on the raft. The hunter and company still hadn't returned from their adventure although, they did hear a couple explosions out their way. One could only hope everyone was okay. The wheezy girl sat holding her baby, who had fallen asleep in her arms. She was singing to it and Bama thought the song was nice. She too closed her eyes.

When she awoke, Vincent was laying beside her playing with the puppies. They were still quite uncoordinated so he would nudge them with his nose. One unnamed one was biting on his ear and he would nudge him down only to have him make his way back up to bite on him again. It was a game and one he enjoyed playing. It would only be a matter of time before they all started talking. Vincent told Bama they needed to teach them people's names so it would be easier for them to identify them. Bama agreed. Though no matter what, Charlie would always be the little man to her.

Days passed. The hunter and his company had returned minus one person. Bama did not quite hear the whole story, only that he was beside himself, literally. It did not sound pleasant and she tuned out the rest of the details.

The puppies were getting more active. They were coming on 4 weeks old and rambunctious as ever. The little man had moved them off the ledge as they were moving so much he feared them falling. Merry and Pippin had become good mates and loved to tug a war with the old sock the little man had given them. Pippin was still the smallest, but growing, so they did not worry too much about his size. The wheezy girl and Madison had bonded quite nicely as had the big guy and his little girl Lucky. There were still two of the pups without new owners and Bama knew of one person she wanted to have one. When the pups had settled down for their nap and piled in the pen sleeping, she snuck out to visit him.

The hunter was sitting off on a rock polishing his knives. He paused when she came up and sat before him. Their eyes locked and held. "I was wondering,"

"Which one?"

"I hate when you do that. I can never finish a sentence before you interrupt me." Bama looked away.

"Fine. State your case." He laid down his knife and scratched her head and behind her ears. "Go ahead girl. Talk to me."

"My puppies. I have two that need new owners. They are both males. One is yellow and one black. I think you should take one. You can teach him to track for you. I think he would be an asset to this loner image you have going on. They might actually think you have a soft side after all." The hunter laughed.

"Oh Bama, you do have a way with words. I think you've been hanging out by Sawyer too much." He smirked at her. "Preference of which one?"

"The black one. He is the most adventurous. Be good to him. We will be watching. Don't forget you need to ask my person. She can't know that I came to you. How would that look?"

The hunter laughed again. "Always on top of things aren't you girl."

"Aren't you?" He cocked an eyebrow and smiled. Bama turned and left. The hunter went back to polishing his knives. He hoped that the pup had his mother's confidence.

He waited until after dinner to approach them. They were sitting on the cave ledge with her holding the baby and him holding his two pups. All were asleep after a hearty dinner. They stopped and looked at him as he came over. "Evening Locke," said the little man.

"Hi. Nice night isn't it."

"Indeed. What can we do for you?"

"I came to inquire about the puppies. I heard you were starting to wean them and I wanted to know if I might take one of them off your hands. The little black male."

"It will be another 2 weeks give or take. Are you sure, you want to undertake the responsibility of a pup. You are always on the go, out on your secret missions. Won't it get in the way?"

"He just needs a little training and I'll have him tracking in no time. I might even have him down in the mineshaft with me. I will see what his little sniffer can sniff out."

"Wait. A mineshaft? Is that what it was?" He nodded. "I am not comfortable with you bringing him in there, as he is so young. Would you consider leaving him here whilst you are out, just until he is a bit older? Then you can train him as you wish. He can stay with you and all just not on your daytrips. He will tire to easily."

"Fine. I will leave him here during the day. You are quite protective of the pups. What makes you think this is the right thing to do?"

"Bama would want it that way. Are we agreed?"

The hunter met Bama's eyes and smiled. "Yes, I believe we are."

"What will you call him?"

"Hatch. I'm going to call him Hatch." With that, he turned and headed back to his rock.

Bama opened her eyes to see Merry staring at her. "Mum. Mum" she said.

"Merry! You're talking!" Bama licked her head. Merry closed her eyes enjoying her mother's touch. "Can you say, Da?"

"Da. Mum." She said.

"That's right. I am your Mum and Vincent your Da. You know we almost lost you when you were born. If it wasn't for the little man, you may not have made it." Bama continued to lick her face.

"Lidda mon" Merry said.

"Close enough. You will get it. He will be your person when you are old enough. He is a good gentle soul. He will love you as much as I love him." Merry nuzzled her back.

Hatch, Lucky, Pippin, Madison and the unnamed yellow male soon joined them. Bama found that all her pups were talking. Some better than others were. She pointed out people to them and gave them their names. She tried not to call them as she did for fear of confusing the little ones. They spent the better part of the morning learning words and names. She spoke of the dangers of the dark jungle and how they should not go in there alone. "Keep your people with you or your Da or I. You never know what might find you."

After their morning lessons and they had eaten, they piled up and fell asleep. Vincent came over as they were waking back up and rolled on his back while they pounced all over him. They bit his ears, pulled on his tail. No part of him was safe from their attack and he loved every minute of it. They shouted "Da" with every new pounce and he relished in their enthusiasm of keeping him down. The little man came over and sat down with Vincent as the pups bit on his pants leg and shoelaces. He picked up Merry and Pippin and they licked his face enthusiastically. Puppy breath…no smell like it.

"Sorry Vincent didn't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to love on my babies for a bit." Vincent did not mind at all. Battling six rambunctious puppies all at once was tiring. He led the others over to the pool to get a drink. Bama wandered over, lay down next to the little man, and laid her head on his leg.

"There's my girl." He pet her as Merry cried out

"Lidda mon. Lidda mon."

"That's right, he's the little man. He is your little man. Merry barked and about scared herself senseless.

Pippin laughed. "Again." Merry barked again.

"You." Pippin got a serious look on his face and with all his might let out a very little "ruff". They both giggled.

"Bama, the pups are getting vocal. With all the creatures in the jungle, we are going to have to teach them not to bark." The little man rubbed his cheeks with their faces and put them back on the ground. Pippin climbed back on his lap and began biting on Bama's nose.

"Yeah." Bama thought. "How can I teach them to be afraid of what they can't see?"

The sun peeked thru the trees and Bama stretched and yawned. She looked down at her sleeping pups that were semi piled in between her and Vincent. She got up and quietly went over to get a drink and do her business. The cool water tasted good and she drank long until her thirst was satisfied. She looked into the jungle as she licked her face dry. Something seemed peculiar but nothing looked out of the ordinary. She scanned the entire area and found nothing, yet she could not get over the feeling that something was watching the caves. That thought gave her shivers and made her hair stand on end. Bama shook vigorously to rid herself of the feeling and went back to her bed where three of her half awake pups sat.

"Morning Mum." they mumbled.

"Morning my sweet babies. Hungry? Come now, eat your breakfast and let me get you cleaned up for the day." She took special care in bathing them. Hatch was especially good at being able to nurse while lying on his back so he was the easiest. He would just roll wherever she wanted him to go with out a break in his eating. Vincent had gone over to get a drink and check on the wheezy girl. She slept and for the most part so did the camp. Only the dark haired girl and the hunter were awake. She was sitting quietly by the fire with her knees tucked up under her chin, lost in a pool of deep thoughts. The hunter was shaving with the edge of a very sharp knife.

"Careful, you could lose a lip or something." Vincent said mockingly.

"Don't you worry. Got it all under control. What do you need?" He replied.

"Nothing, just wanted you to come over and meet Hatch and the other pups if you have a moment. I want him to get used to you in the next few weeks so his transition wont be so hard. Bama and I also want the pups to know they can come to you if they need help. They need to know that you are the only one with which we can communicate in this manner."

"Be there in a few." Vincent acknowledged and left.

As he was heading back, he passed the fire circle and saw the dark haired girl had not moved. He went up and nudged her hands with his nose.

"Hi Vincent, you're up early." Vincent looked over at his brood and her eyes followed. "Little ones woke you didn't they?" She grabbed his face in her hands and scratched him behind the ears. "Let me come see them. Lead the way." She got up and followed him to where Bama laid and the little man and Bama's person had joined.

"Morning' Kate. Coming to claim stake in the pups are you." The little man said.

"Just came to see them. They have gotten so big. Claire how do you keep track of all of them?" She knelt down and picked up the nameless yellow male. She nuzzled him nose to nose and he licked her face enthusiastically.

"He likes you. He is the only one who does not have a new owner. We are going to keep two of them with us. Hurley, Shannon and Locke have all laid claim on one. What do you think? He will keep you warm at night." The little man said with a sly smile.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Does he have a name?"

"I call him Ringo but you may call him whatever you wish."

"Why Ringo?"

"Don't you see the resemblance to the famous Beatle? Quite striking really." She laughed. "His back left leg. He has a white ring around it. It just fit."

"Are you sure you want me to have it?" she was scratching him behind the ears as he was trying to chew on her hand.

"Kate, I'd love it. They really are good companions. Please take him. He really does seem to like you. They wont be fully ready to go for a week or so. We have to start them on some kind of dog food today. Sun has a great recipe that Bama and Vincent love and she is going to help us later. What do you think?" Bama's person smiled.

"Call me crazy, but Id love to have him. Ringo it is. Thanks Claire, Charlie, I'll see you later."

"Later then, bye Crazy." She spun around and looked at him as he winked. She shook her head and continued.

She passed the hunter on the way, who stopped, and stood over Bama. "Which one is Hatch?"

"He's the only black male so he'd be that one right there." The little man bent over, picked him up, and handed him to the hunter.

The hunter held him looking at him. "Well hello there kid. Looks like it just going to be you and me soon." The puppy just stared at him and without missing a beat said, "Can I call you Pops?" Bama laughed.

"That's my boy!" she looked at the hunter, "Well can he?"

"The hunter smiled. "Yes, but only because no one else can hear him."

"Thanks Pops." said Hatch.

Bama spoke up. "We'd like you to meet Merry, Pippin, Lucky, Madison Boone and Ringo. Kids, this is the hunter. He is the only one of the humans that can understand you. If you need anything, you go to him. Understood?"

"Yes Mum," they replied in unison.

It only took a moment for the hunter to realize the little man was watching him. "You know John, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you just had a conversation with the dogs."

"Only in my mind, Charlie. Only in my mind."