Dog Days of Summer
Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious
A/N:
Chapter 9 (Trip to the Vet)
"I do not like this," Beck muttered. Tori could feel him shivering as he was laying between the girls in the backseat of Trina's car. Trina and Clarence were driving them to the veterinarian to figure out what had to be dealt with, and it was Beck they were discussing the concept of neutering. "They need to roll the windows down more than a crack!"
Jade rolled her eyes and shot a glare at him. "Even if you could jump out, you probably wouldn't survive." Considering they were traveling at fifty down an oddly busy street, it wouldn't be a good idea for any of the dogs to jump.
"Come on, for once I can't defend myself against the knife!"
"As if you were ever at risk of getting snipped. Besides, what difference would it make once we turned human?"
"We don't know what could happen!" Beck moved over to the car window and started pawing, whimpering with great anxiety. Tori saw her sister's eyes drift to the rearview mirror and watched as Clarence looked over the car seat and reached around to pet Beck.
"Poor thing knows where he's headed," Clarence remarked. "Do you think they're too young to get fixed, dear? We haven't really checked to see their age."
"Isn't that what we're going to ask the vet? They look like they could be under a year, but I'm not sure. Even then, the youngest you can get them fixed is at eight weeks." Beck lowered his head with a dismayed whine. "I think we should probably wait a while for that, at this point. We're not adopting them off yet, and we don't have enough money to get them fixed at the same time as getting them vaccinated."
Beck's head shot up and his lips appeared to curl. "Tori, I officially love your sister at this point!" Tori laughed and Jade shook her head. He let out a happy bark and Trina took a quick glance over her shoulder, flashing a smile. Clarence's eyebrows drifted up and he turned towards Trina.
"Yep, he definitely understood that one." Trina moved her head back and laughed once.
"You're still getting your shots, Rover." Beck's eyes widened and he bowed his head, letting out a low whimper. "I'm no one's hero now, huh?" Trina smirked and Clarence ripped out a loud guffaw.
"This is going to be interesting," Tori set her head on her paws and closed her eyes. "Add getting puppy shots to the list of things I never thought I'd rise to do. Always wanted to be on the other end of a veterinarian's table."
Jade looked over with surprise and squinted her eyes. "What does that mean? You wanted to be a veterinarian?"
"Yeah. Still do, actually. Don't get me wrong, I adore singing and acting, but I've always loved animals. Trina's not the only one that practically grew up on Grandpa's farm."
"Then why the hell did you ever leave that last school of yours and come to a school based on arts?" Jade raised an eyebrow and Beck peered over her with the same curiosity in his yes.
Her head rolled to the side and she puffed a bit of air from her nostrils. "I wanted attention. Big whoop. You have to admit, having a bunch of people applauding you is tempting as hell. Not to mention, less studying it seemed like."
"When was the last time you had a science class? I know veterinarians are big on that?"
"Been a while. Hoping that I can get into Stanford." Trina urged her to try for the University of California, where her alma mater was, but Tori's heart was elsewhere. "Trina's studying-or maybe finishing-a criminal justice degree, but she's got some emphasis on agricultural studies as well. Probably because of her work on the farm."
"Most likely. That boyfriend of hers must be older, he seems like he wouldn't be in college if he's overseas."
"I think he is. He might be a year or two older, who knows. He definitely looks to be mature in the picture next to Trina's bed." Though it didn't say much because he was in uniform and had to appear at least professional. The rank on his uniform was a gold bar, indicative of a second Lieutenant-the first officer rank. This would have to imply that he'd gone through officer training school since what Tori knew of the military was you still started as enlisted even after college. There was the possibility that Jason enlisted before college and went through college by way of the military. It wasn't like she could ask.
Tori's nose twitched and she moved back to her old subject, due to being unable to think about anything more regarding Jason. He was still a mystery to her, not that she minded too much. "You know. If Trina were able to keep the farm, and I were a veterinarian, I wonder if I could help out."
"You would want to?"
"I don't know. Maybe." If she could have that opportunity, it could be fun because a lot of animals on a farm get checked out by veterinarians. "Although veterinarians that deal with farm animals are different than the ones that focus on domestic pets. I think."
"Sounds right." Jade turned her head up and cocked her head. "You know, back to the whole military thing-I think I remember Cat mentioning an older brother that was in the army. Your sister dating a Marine could be another thing that sparked a friendship between the two."
"Oh?"
Beck sat beside Jade and closed his eyes, huffing loudly. "Jade's been trying to figure out why Robbie and Cat are friends with your sister now." Tori rolled her eyes and Jade scoffed. "Besides the fact that they come to ride the horses every so often."
"It doesn't make any sense to me." Jade started to tap the seat with her paw and her eyes flew to the window. "I don't know what it is about your sister that would make them become friends with her."
Tori released a heavy sigh and her heart was overcome with a sense of resentment. "Aside from the whole issue of us evidently not paying them any more mind than we did my sister? I wouldn't be surprised if we were unintentionally some kind of bonding material."
"You heard your sister, Tori. She doesn't like talking smack about you…amazingly. She has more reason to do so behind your back than not, but I guess she's got more sense in her head than we've given her credit."
"And she's got more important things to worry about. The future of the farm being one of those things." Though the most important seemed like Jason, considering his time overseas would be the likeliest thing on Trina's mind.
It wouldn't surprise her if Trina and Cat talked most about the people they cared for being gone. If Tori knew about it as a human, she couldn't be sure how she would have responded. Maybe she would have sympathized with her sister, or perhaps she would have wound up telling Trina to stop being a drama queen about it when she had every right to worry.
Although she didn't know how it felt, she was certain it could not be easy to love someone in the military. The most she could say was what she heard her mom say about being married to a cop and how stressful it was.
In the corner of her eye she saw Beck shudder. He was gazing out the window, and the car was slowing down. "W-Were here," Beck muttered. It was amusing to see him freak out over the veterinarian like actual dogs might do, but now it was just tiresome.
"I just want to get this over with. I hate shots, hate needles, but I'm doing this. You'll live." Trina pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car. Tori glanced down at the leash hanging from the collar Trina had put on her before she left. It was a light red, almost pink leash, and had fake gems running along it. "Still don't know why she gave me the girly collar-it's almost like she knows its me."
"That would be weird," Jade replied with a chuckle. "I think the phrase is twin telepathy, and you're not twins."
"Eh, brothers and sisters have that same basic bond. Usually the closer they are, the more you can sometimes sense when they're happy or sad." At least when she was a kid, it was like that for her. While Trina was always the one to be the adventurer, Tori would try and follow, which usually ended up with her ending up in a great deal of pain. Sometimes Trina could sense it and would ask if Tori wanted to stay home rather than join her on whatever walk she was going. Usually, the answer was no. "Times change, sure, but I think that bond would always be there."
"If it was, maybe you would have sensed some kind of distress whenever you or any of us insulted your sister." Tori winced at Jade's words and snarled at the girl. She was getting tired of Jade's constant high sense of self-righteousness, especially when the girl was acting like a hypocrite and calling her out on shit she was just as guilty of.
"You're not so innocent either, Jade."
"Did I say I was? Why else am I a dog like you?"
The door opened, and before she could respond, Trina was pulling her out of the car. "Alright Cleo, I know you probably don't want to be here, but it's a necessary evil." Tori looked up at Trina and decided to whimper once, then follow up by licking the girl beneath her chin. Trina laughed and Jade simply rolled her eyes. "No Cleo, being cute isn't going to get you out of this." Trina tapped her on the nose and walked towards the front doors as Clarence took the leashes of Jade and Beck.
"Eh, it was worth a shot."
Clarence walked up, smirking at Trina. "I would love to see your sister working with these dogs. It would be nice to have both my grandkids on the farm." Trina raised an eyebrow and nodded once.
"I suppose. She's nineteen now and hasn't even picked a college yet. Still running around with Jason's uncle-her teacher. I don't even know what she's got in mind to do with her life."
"You know, back in my day…if a girl graduated high school and was still hanging around with a former teacher, that was bad news." Tori's stomach twisted as Clarence scratched his chin. "Still is." Tori gazed down at Beck and Jade with wide eyes, quivering at the shiver running down her spine.
"Ah grandpa, Jason always says his uncle's crazy-but the man's not that much of a lunatic."
"Wouldn't know, I haven't met him!" Clarence roared with laughter, earning only a small chuckle of dismay from his granddaughter. "Ever ask Jason why he has a different last name?"
"His mother is Sikowitz's sister…"
"Oh."
Tori turned away from Trina, still shivering. "I think I've just thrown up a little in my mouth, guys."
Jade walked ahead of Clarence, snickering at Tori. "I was wrong about your grandpa, Tori! He's awesome!"
"You would say that, Jade."
Ah lovely innuendos. Well this was a good chapter, and at least Beck won't have to worry about getting fixed for a while.
