The train ride was much longer than Zell remembered it being. Of course, it had been quite a few years since he'd been to Deling City and even longer since he'd taken the train. Every other time he was sent on missions to Deling he was with a large group, and they usually took the Ragnarok. It was too expensive to use for less than ten people.
He tried several times to get some sleep, but every time he closed his eyes he would think about how he left things with Abbie. He never liked fighting with her, and he especially didn't like leaving things as up in the air as he did. They had their share of arguments before, but none of them ended with anyone walking out the door. One of them might be mad for a few days, but they never left.
Zell was scared, he messed up and didn't know how to fix it.
He tossed and turned on his bunk, only slightly grateful that he had access to them and kept checking his phone to see if he had any messages from Abbie. There weren't any. Not one single message missed call or voicemail. He thought for a moment that maybe he should call her, then that thought turned into sending a text. His mind kept going back and forth, but he ended up not doing anything but mindlessly switching between apps on his phone.
He could barely hold his eyes open, but his mind was racing so much that sleep was impossible. He was still nowhere near Deling City or even timber for that matter. Since he was also nowhere near sleep, he figured he might as well hit the bar. It was one bright side to the train switch in Dollet.
The bar car was thankfully empty, decorated similarly to the SeeD cabin with red wall and gold trim, a few sofas and arm chairs. It wasn't anything fancy, but it had a fully stocked bar, and that's all he needed.
Unfortunately, there was no bartender. Perhaps it was karma, or it was because it was late and most likely all the other passengers were asleep, so there wasn't a point in having a bartender over-night. So, Zell had no drink and guilt.
He let out a heavy sigh before sinking into one of the sofas and burying his face in his hands.
He was too absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice anything around him. He didn't see when a Galbadian shepherd managed to get in, but he did when the dog licked his face.
"Um… hello?"
He reached out his hand for the dog to sniff, which the dog did, but it also gave Zell yet another lick.
"Not gonna lie, I was not expecting to run into a dog at a bar," he chuckled lightly. "And now I'm talking to a dog in a bar… this isn't exactly a high point for me. Don't get me wrong; I love dogs it's just… why am I explaining this to you?"
The dog tilted its head back and forth as if it were curious about what Zell said.
"What do you think pooch? Should I call my wife?"
The dog let out a soft grumble.
"Is that a yes or no?" Zell laughed.
It felt good to smile even if it was just for a brief moment when the dog made the same sound.
"I feel like you think you're helpful, but you aren't," Zell said scratching the dog behind the ears.
The dog shook his head, and his tags jingled on his collar, Zell noticed and checked for a name.
"Ruger, huh? Ruger, do you think I should call my wife?" He asked again.
Ruger tilted his head again.
"I'm not going to get a straight answer from you am I?"
Ruger barked once and started vigorously wagging his tail.
"I thought so," Zell sighed, before leaning back. "You should probably go back to your master unless you know how to mix drinks," he laughed.
The dog grumbled before leaving with a huff.
Zell felt a little better. He still didn't know what to do about Abbie though. There wasn't much he could do; he could call her, but she likely wouldn't answer.
He decided the best option would be to put it out of his mind and give her a day or two to cool down. Even if she did answer, she would be too angry to listen. It would just turn into another argument with hurtful words neither of them meant.
It was apparent Zell wasn't going to get that drink he desired so he went back to his cabin to try sleeping once again.
The dossier said one of the SeeDs already stationed at the Zoo would be meeting him at the station in Deling. It didn't say who the SeeD would be so Zell didn't know who to look for when he got off the train. A small part of him was hoping to see the dog, Ruger, again but he didn't. More than likely the dog and his owner got off the train in Timber.
He made his way to the train station lobby looking for someone in a SeeD uniform, not that he knew if his contact would be in uniform. He was hoping they would just recognize him. That was assuming the contact knew who he was. He probably would have more information if this weren't a last minute assignment.
Zell was absentmindedly searching the room, not seeing anything, he was too tired to take notice of his surroundings when he felt an arm snake around his neck and hold tightly.
Zell's martial arts training kicked in, and he threw an elbow backward to make a connection with a ribcage. The attacker gasped in pain, releasing Zell who was about to throw a punch when the attacker held up a hand in surrender while holding his abdomen in pain.
"Dude," he gasped.
"Irvine?" Zell lowered his fists and chuckled at the sight of Irvine doubled over in pain.
"It's been a while," Irvine smiled, still gasping and unable to stand straight up.
It had been years since Zell had seen Irvine. If memory served correctly, Zell hadn't seen him since his divorce with Selphie and Irvine was back in Balamb visiting the kids.
He looked different. His hair was short and resembled Squall's; he still sported his black Stetson, but it faded through the years. He traded his long duster for a black leather jacket; he didn't wear chaps anymore, just jeans and a button down shirt and still wore cowboy boots.
"What are you doing here?" Zell asked.
"I'm here to pick you up," Irvine answered.
"Oh," Zell replied, "sorry I hit you; you snuck up on me."
"It's alright, who needs unbroken ribs," Irvine chuckled, still in pain.
"So how have you been, man?" Zell asked.
"Aside from right now? pretty good," Irvine answered, finally able to straighten out. "What about you?"
"Ugh, how much time you got?" Zell laughed darkly.
"That bad?" Irvine chuckled, "I heard about your incident a few months ago, hard to believe it could get any worse than that."
"You have no idea," Zell shook his head. "But what about you? I thought you were an instructor?"
Irvine shrugged: "I was, but with child support, alimony and the cost of living I was barely making ends meet, I didn't have any choice but to go back to the field."
Zell let out a sigh and shook his head in agreement. He was in a similar situation except for alimony and child support, so far at least. It was one of the reasons Zell was now in Deling City and the reason his wife wasn't talking to him, though he still hadn't tried calling her yet. He would have to try when he got to his hotel, whenever that was.
"So tell me about this Zoo," Zell stated as he tossed his duffle bag in Irvine's trunk.
"It's huge," Irvine replied.
"I'm going to need a little more than that," Zell laughed.
"There isn't much to it," Irvine explained. "The compound consists of the animal enclosures, wildlife safari, and Veterinary Research Hospital. Galbadia and Balamb take the night shift and Trabia handles security during the day with a private contractor. Balamb patrols the interior where the enclosures and hospital are, and Galbadia manages the watch towers of the outer perimeter."
"Sounds easy enough," Zell nodded. "Is that where we're going now?"
"Yup, they have a particular uniform they want all of us to wear, and I've got to get you security access," Irvine said.
"So I guess it's to the hotel after?"
"Hotel? Why stay in a cold hotel when you can stay with me!" Irvine laughed.
Maid service, room service and free cable, Zell thought.
Irvine made a convincing argument. It was more cost effective just regarding food. If Zell had stayed in the hotel for the duration of his stay, he would have had to pay for every meal and that would have added up quickly. Irvine had a fully stocked kitchen and a guest room; Zell would have been an idiot to refuse.
The ride to the compound was not quiet by any measure. Irvine filled Zell in on all he was up to. Irvine had recently bought a house across town and was remodeling a lot of it and was happy to have Zell for some help. He'd started dating a musician that frequently performed at a country western bar. Irvine promised to introduce them.
It took over an hour to get to the compound, and when they arrived, Zell was in complete awe of its size. He had expected it to be large, but he hadn't expected something that was bigger than the entire town of Balamb.
The main gate wasn't open due to the operating hours of the Zoo, but the back entrance was available to staff at all hours, provided they had an access key.
"What goes on here?" Zell asked.
"What do you mean?" Irvine chuckled.
"Well something major would have to happen here if animal rights activists are enough of a threat to warrant hiring SeeDs from all three Gardens," Zell elaborated.
Irvine laughed: "Dude, this place is 100% for the conservation of endangered wildlife. These 'nutjobs' are up in arms simply because there is a fence to keep the monsters out; they don't understand that the animals are safer inside where they won't be hunted!"
"You seem pretty passionate about this," Zell smiled.
There wasn't much outside of women and firearms that Irvine would get excited about, it was refreshing that he had other interests. There was a slight irony that Irvine would be passionate about wildlife conservation when he would go hunting religiously.
"And we're mostly there to protect the animals from monsters, the activists are too scared to do anything other than sending nasty letters," Irvine added.
"Did you volunteer for this mission?" Zell laughed.
"Of course I did!" Irvine answered quickly.
"Was it the animals?" Zell asked. "Or was it a woman?" He added before Irvine could answer.
Irvine remained silent, seemingly ignoring the question altogether.
"It was a little of both," Irvine muttered.
"Was she worth it?" Zell laughed.
"It's not what you think," Irvine explained. "She's more like a sister to me."
"I was not expecting you to say that about a woman," Zell admitted.
"What did Squall tell you about the guy you're replacing?" Irvine asked.
"Just that he went AWOL," Zell answered.
Irvine chuckled: "That isn't really what happened."
"What did happen?"
"I'll tell you later, right now we gotta get you your equipment," Irvine said as he stepped out of the car.
Zell followed after him into a large, gray brick, windowless building.
The building was on the outskirts of a group of larger buildings all of which seemed to serve a different purpose judging by the signs. The building they entered didn't have a sign, though.
"What's this place?" Zell asked.
"This is where SeeD equipment is stored," Irvine explained. "SeeDs are the only ones with access, so the first thing we have to do is get you a badge."
Irvine led him down the empty corridor to an office that had a camera set up and connected to a computer. This was something Zell was somewhat familiar with; he had to update his SeeD ID every few years, and in cases like this he had to get an ID for the company he was contracted to.
The entire process was pretty straight forward. Irvine created his ID then showed him where the equipment was stored, assigned him a locker and handed him the uniform. The uniform was simply a black t-shirt and cargo pants with black combat boots.
"Every night you come in, you'll get dressed, grab one of these kevlar vests and check out your firearm," he explained.
"Firearm?" Zell was surprised by that.
"None lethal," Irvine chuckled. "They shoot tranquilizer darts, it's too risky to have live rounds in a Zoo full of endangered animals."
"That's a relief. Hopefully, I won't have to use it," Zell laughed.
"Hopefully," Irvine replied.
Irvine took Zell on a brief tour of the Zoo to show him where the Balamb SeeDs patrol and where Zell would patrol.
The entire place was fantastic; Zell was impressed by all the state of the art equipment and according to Irvine, all the employees, along with the animals, were treated extremely well.
Since it was government funded admission was free, so it was always packed on the days it was open. On those days most of the security was handled by the multiple monitoring centers around the compound. The team leaders were stationed at the centers.
Since the Balamb SeeDs patrolled the interior of the compound, Zell would be set up in the hospital monitoring the cameras. Irvine explained that a veterinarian was on staff 24/7 and would be posted at the security desk with him in case something happened to one of the animals.
Irvine was posted at the gate.
Everyone had radios to maintain communication, even the vet and they had to check in every hour to a location and status.
Everything was so well organized. Zell was glad he would be able to jump into this so quickly.
When they were finally done and back in Irvine's car, Zell was thoroughly exhausted. He had only gotten about an hour of sleep on the train, and all he wanted was to sleep for days. He was glad he didn't have to start his patrol for another day.
"Let's go get a drink!" Irvine said cheerfully.
Zell wanted to refuse, but he did want some alcohol. He even wanted to talk to Irvine about what happened with Abbie before he left. Not that Irvine would offer any useful advice, but he was a listening ear, and he would likely be on Zell's side.
"Yeah, okay," Zell said with a shrug.
Zell leaned his seat back so he could rest his eyes for a bit on the way to the bar, thankfully, Irvine ran out of things to talk about for a while.
It felt like only a few minutes before Irvine was shaking Zell awake. He rubbed his burning eyes and sat back up.
Irvine said nothing, just got out of the car and headed inside. Zell took a moment to acclimate himself before following.
Once inside, Zell wasted no time ordering his drink. He didn't even join Irvine at a table till he got it. He was thankful the bar was mostly empty, of course, it was a Sunday afternoon, so it was to be expected.
Zell wasn't surprised that Irvine brought him to a dive bar, but this one took the cake, it was one broken floorboard away from being condemned. The jukebox was perpetually stuck on country music cobweb were all through the rafters and Zell was almost sure he saw mold, but he didn't care. He got the drink he desperately needed.
"What's been going on with you?" Irvine asked as soon as Zell sat down.
Zell sighed and started filling him in on all his marital drama. From his breakdown all the way to the fight they had before he got on the train. He barely even paused the entire time, and by the time he finished, he felt like a giant weight lifted off of him. It helped that Irvine seemed to understand exactly how he felt.
"That's rough, man," Irvine sighed.
"I don't know if I should call her and apologize or not," Zell admitted.
"No, don't do that," Irvine said waving his hand dramatically.
"Why?"
"This is a power play! Selphie used to do this kind of thing to me all the time. You are admitting fault if you call her, and she will just keep walking all over you," Irvine explained.
"That can't be a real thing," Zell laughed.
"You can believe me if you want but tell me this, would you feel better if she calls you, or if you call her?"
"What kind of question is that?" Zell laughed uncomfortably.
"It's a simple question, dude," Irvine smiled.
"I'm not answering it!"
"You're not answering it because you don't want to admit that you would be happier if she called you," Irvine accused. "Am I right?"
"Is there a waitress?" Zell asked. "I need another drink."
"I'm right," Irvine smiled.
"Change the subject," Zell demanded.
"Fine, what do you want to talk about?"
Zell thought for a moment before answering.
"You said you volunteered for this assignment because of a woman?"
"Only partially," Irvine shrugged.
"What's the story?" Zell asked.
"It's long," Irvine laughed.
"I've got plenty of time," Zell challenged.
"You know that guy you're replacing?" Irvine asked but didn't wait for Zell to answer before continuing. "Well a few months ago this vet started working at the Zoo, and he kinda had a crush on her."
"What does that have to do with you?" Zell interrupted.
"I'm getting to that," Irvine said. "Anyway, she didn't reciprocate his feelings, and he didn't take it to well. He started to harass her anytime she was at work to the point where she actually had to switch from day to night shift every few days to avoid him!"
"Shit…"
"Yeah! He didn't take too kindly to that either; he started showing up at her house and forced her to move twice," Irvine explained. "So she calls her parents crying, ready to quit and move out of the country just to get away from this asshole."
"And they contacted Garden?" Zell asked.
"Dude this is like, the best part. Guess who her parents are," Irvine prompted.
"Who?"
"Laguna and Alana," Irvine announced proudly.
"What?! This guy was harassing Squall's little sister?!"
Zell had only met Squall's sister, Aliesie, once, and that was eleven years ago. He hadn't heard much of her since then. The most Zell knew about her was she went to college, he couldn't even remember what she looked like back then. Not that it mattered, she most likely didn't look like that anymore.
"They called you?" Zell asked.
"Yeah, and Squall. The guy was supposed to go back to Garden for a code of conduct review, but he took off and no one knows where he is," Irvine answered.
"Wow," Zell sighed. "How's Aliesie handling this?"
"She's freaked out! Laguna bought her trained guard dogs to protect her when she's at home," Irvine said before getting up to get them both a beer.
It made sense why Squall wanted Zell here. He wanted someone he could trust around his sister. Who better than a married man? Of course, that didn't explain Irvine, but he was at least someone Squall trusted. Laguna too for that matter since it was Laguna that called Irvine.
Zell and Irvine stayed at the bar for a few more rounds and by the time they finally decide to leave it was well after dark, and they were both too drunk to drive. Zell offered to call a cab for them, but Irvine insisted in having his girlfriend, Selene, pick them up.
Selene, however, was busy and Irvine took offense to that. So he started fighting with her on the phone in the middle of the street.
"Dude, less jus' call a fuckin cab dude!" Zell slurred from the curbside.
"Shut yer cornhole I'm talking to mah woman!" Irvine yelled back. "I am to drink to drive right now Karen!" he shouted into the phone.
"Who's Karen?" Zell laughed.
"Your face is Karen!" Irvine yelled back.
"Are you even on the phone anymore?" Zell asked.
"Naw, she hung up on me when I called her Karen," Irvine laughed.
"Then why is the phone still on your ear?"
Irvine hadn't even noticed he was still holding the phone up to his ear and pulled it away laughing.
"Dude I'm fuckin starvin," Irvine sounded like he already had a mouth full of food.
"You know what I would kill for right now?" Zell asked when Irvine plopped down next to him. "Mashed potatoes."
"Sweet potatoes," Irvine added.
"Baked potatoes," Zell sang.
"PO-TA-TO CHIPS!" Irvine sang in the same tune before they both burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "I know the perfect place we can eat."
Irvine stood back up and pulled Zell up with him and staggered down the sidewalk with Zell close behind.
They staggered down the street for what felt like hours before finally arriving at a tiny old fashioned diner. It was almost as bad as the dive bar and likely barely passed any health inspection, but Zell was too drunk and too hungry to care.
"Why do you like shitty places like this?" Zell asked.
Irvine could always be trusted to find the grungiest bar or restaurant in any town. He would frequently drag people to these run down establishments claiming that it "helped the economy."
The only thing those places even remotely helped were the local scumbags looking for a place to hide or covered for crime rings.
"They have a particular flavor you just can't get anywhere else!" Irvine answered happily.
"That's called dirt," Zell retorted.
Irvin made a series of disgruntled sound in response and sat down in an empty booth and Zell followed suite.
The glance at the menu laying on the table for a moment before a waitress, an older woman with bottle dyed red hair approached them with her order pad.
"What can I get you?" She asked in a monotone voice.
"Well Laverne, I will have eggs and toast with the biggest plate of mashed potatoes you can find me," Irvine replied with a huge grin.
The waitress rolled her eyes at him as she jotted down his order, seemingly slightly irritated that he called her Laverne when her nametag read "Peg."
"How do you want your eggs?" She asked.
"Scrambled," he answered.
"How dark do you want your toast?" She asked.
"As black as my heart!" Irvine yelled.
She wasn't amused.
"And you?" She asked Zell.
"Just mashed potatoes and a glass of water," Zell answered.
Peg gave him a brief confused look before rolling her eyes and walking away without another word.
Irvine lounged down in the booth and covered his face with his hat and started singing a country song in a high pitched voice.
It didn't take long for Peg to come back with their food which Zell found unnerving. He figured they likely cooked it in advance and she just slapped it on a plate and heated it up to serve. They both thanked her for the food and started to eat but after the first bite Zel lost his appetite. The potatoes were hard as a rock and crunchy.
He spit out the small bite back onto his plate and as soon as he did he felt something splatter on his cheek. He wiped it away and looked to see Irvine with a childish grin plastered across his face and a spoon full of potato ready to launch.
Zell narrowed his eyes and grabbed a large handful and threw it in retaliation.
They kept throwing food at each other, laughing like children until Peg emerged from the kitchen.
"Get out!" She yelled.
They both ran as fast as they could out the door afraid of what the woman could do to them if they stayed.
They continued through the streets, tripping over trash cans along the way. Zell was following after Irvine as he navigated the maze of Deling City and when they finally slowed to a walk they were in a residential area.
"Where are we?" Zell asked looking around at the rows of brownstone buildings.
"Just making a bit of a pit stop," Irvine explained as he climbed over the wrought iron fence of one of the buildings.
"Pit stop?"
"Yeah, we're gonna stop and see Selene," Irvine laughed, staggering to the door and banging on it as loud as he could.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Zell hissed.
"Selene!" Irvine shouted.
"Irvine stop it!" Zell hushed.
"Selene!" Irvine yelled even louder.
Zell looked around to see if anyone was nearby before running to tackle Irvine who had moved back into the street screaming Selene over and over. Several porch lights had come on, so he had gotten the attention of at least a few of the woman's neighbors and given how nice the neighborhood was it was likely at least one had called the police.
"Selene!" Irvine tried yelling again, but it was muffled by Zell's arm that was wrapped firmly around his head.
Zell had himself wrapped tightly around Irvine to keep him from disturbing more people. Unfortunately, they were both laying in the middle of the street and would have to move soon. Zell was tempted just to knock Irvine out and carry him to a hotel till he sobered up but that thought was stopped short when he heard one of the doors open.
"Irvine?" A woman's voice called quietly.
"Selene!" Irvine replied.
"What the hell are you doing?!" She hissed back. "Get inside!" She ordered.
Zell let go of Irvine, and he staggered to his feet and did as the woman requested, Zell followed quickly after into the warm house.
"What is wrong with you!" She demanded, repeatedly smacking Irvine.
She was a mousy girl with bright red hair brown eyes. Not at all what Zell was expecting, though he didn't know what to expect. The only girl he'd ever seen Irvine with was Selphie, and this girl looked nothing like her. For one, Selene dressed in a much more conservative way. She was dressed just in a button down flannel shirt and jeans.
"You hung up on me!" Irvine accused.
"So you think the best way to respond is to come here and shout my name in the street?!" She yelled.
"Well, I couldn't remember what her new address was!" Irvine slurred.
Her? Zell thought.
"How could you forget? You asked me three times on the phone and even told me to text it to you not ten minutes ago!"
"I'm drunk!" He yelled angrily.
"I noticed!" Selene shouted.
"Dude, chill out," Zell said trying to defuse the situation.
"No, I will not chill out," Irvine yelled.
His yelling cause an unexpected reaction from upstairs. The two dogs that were apparently watching from the top of the stairs started growling and barking at him.
"I think you need to calm down," Zell whispered.
"Quit telling me what to do, bitchtits!"
"Hey!" Zell yelled.
"Why are you so worked up?" Selene asked.
"You hung up on me!" Irvine yelled, throwing his arms in the air.
"So what?" She laughed. "You said you would help get Aliesie moved, and then you canceled at the last minute."
"Oh, it was not last minute," Irvine said with a scoff.
"You called me this afternoon and told me you couldn't help because you had to pick up Zell and show him around," Selene explained.
"That doesn't mean hang up on me," Irvine mumbled.
"You are such a baby," she laughed.
"I'm your baby," he flirted then leaned down to whisper something in her ear.
Before Zell knew what was happening, they were up the stairs and slamming a door leaving another woman, who Zell vaguely recognized, spinning into the banister.
Her long black hair was pulled into a loose braid that rested on her shoulder, and she had on a white tanktop with a cream colored loose fitting knit sweater, cut off denim shorts, and no shoes. She gave him a confused look as she came down the stairs with both Galbadian shepherd dogs following at her heels.
"Hi," he said awkwardly.
"Hi?" She replied.
"Aliesie right?" He asked, she nodded. "I'm—"
"I know who you are," she interrupted, brushing past him.
"Oh you do?" He laughed.
"Yes, we've met before," she replied curtly.
"Oh, yeah," he said, following her into the kitchen.
He barely remembered meeting her. It was so long ago, and they were both teenagers, she was only about twelve at the time, though he couldn't remember her exact age they only met the one time.
"What have you been up too since then?" He added with a laugh.
She gave him a dead stare from across the island and then just rolled her eyes.
"What are you doing here anyway?" She asked opening up a box.
"I've lost all control of my life," he confessed. "My wife hates me, and apparently I don't have the ability to tell Irvine no."
"I'm failing to see how you've lost control," she said.
"Well, my wife hates me," Zell repeated.
"That doesn't mean you've lost control of your life," Aliesie laughed." You've fucked up your life, but you have lost control."
"Toosh," Zell slurred.
"Toosh? What is toosh?" She asked.
"You know, toosh, another way of saying good point," he explained.
"the word you're looking for is touché," she corrected.
"Potato, potahto," he shrugged. "What would you call losing control of your life?"
"I'd call the fact that this is the third time I've had to move this year using up all my savings to do so. All because a guy couldn't take 'I'm not interested, please leave me alone' as an answer and caused me to ask my parents for help losing control of my life," she explained.
"Toosh," he replied.
"Stop saying it like that," she scolded.
Zell couldn't help but start laughing at her irritation which seemed only to irritate her more. Then his laughter changed to simply laughing at how the word "toosh" sounded.
"So, your dogs are cool," he said after he finally stopped laughing.
"Thanks, I've had them since this morning," she said flatly.
"This morning? Were they on the train last night?" He asked.
"Probably," she answered. "Why?"
"I think I met one of them," he replied.
"Which one?" she asked.
"Ruger."
Before she could reply, one of the dogs barked in response then went to sit against Zell's leg.
"I guess this is Ruger," Zell laughed. "What's the other one's name?"
"Colt," Aliesie answered.
"Colt and Ruger…" Zell replied. "Aren't those types of guns?"
"Yup, my father's stupid sense of humor at work," she answered.
"Why didn't he just buy you a gun?" Zell laughed.
"he wanted to, I wouldn't let him," she answered.
"Toosh," he said again causing Aliesie to glare at him. "I should go, any chance you know when Irvine will be back down?"
"Not likely anytime soon, they do this every time I move," she sighed.
"Do what?" Zell asked.
"Violate my bedroom," she answered angrily.
"Gross," Zell shuddered. "I guess I'm staying at the hotel then."
"You can sleep on my couch if you want, its right in there," she offered.
That was a tempting offer that Zell couldn't refuse. He was exhausted, and it was a soft place to lay his head before he knew it, he was falling asleep on the big red sofa.
Yay! Its done! thanks to Siobhane for beta reading!
