Dog Days
Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly.
A/N: Sam's parents will retain their names I had when I first wrote this story, meaning Sam's mom is still named Sarah. I do this, because I wrote this before we knew her name was Pam, and I intend to keep it that way.
Chapter 10 (A Promised Adoption)
A few hours had passed and the girls had left for school and their parents were away from work. The Pucketts usually had a lady check on the animals during the middle of the day, she was a friend of theirs. Jonah and Freddie were sitting on the back porch, watching all the animals play in the back while they made conversation. "So, Sam never told us that she was friends with Valerie, why is that?" The question had been weighing upon Freddie's mind for a while now, he figured Jonah must know.
"Would you want to tell Sam and Carly that you and I ever struck up a friendship?" Jonah had a point, the two girls might react a bit strangely to that. Although, Freddie really didn't care how they reacted, but Sam would probably worry more about them reacting to her friendship with Valerie since she seemed a bit more sensitive. "Again, Sam would be afraid of being chided for ever befriending Valerie, so she's a bit scared to reveal that to Carly. It doesn't matter who else knows, though."
"I see." The two glanced to the far right of the yard and saw Sassy and Sugar tugging on a rope. Sassy managed to pull the rope from Sugar's grasp and start running, the beagle chased after her. Sassy laughed as she led Sugar all over the yard, jumping in between two wooden bars of a fence, then over a larger fence and quickly ducking underneath one. Sugar trailed close behind. Sassy then took a quick turn at the chicken coop, dodged a few more obstacles, such as rocks, fences, and other animals, then finally jumping over a small creek. Sugar remained on the other side, she wasn't sure she could make the jump. Sassy smirked with pride and stared at her friend, as though daring her to try and jump over. Jonah chuckled and slowly shook his head, he always enjoyed watching those two play and run around. Who on the farm didn't, though? They were awesome.
"That's Sassy for you, all running and dodging, the fastest dog on this farm. She lives up her dream of being a firedog here, but sadly, I don't think she'll ever be adopted."
"How would we even get any firemen to see her potential?" Sassy would probably be a difficult task, considering she'd almost have to be in action in order for anyone to see how great she was. Freddie spotted Sassy doing a little victory dance with the rope, he smiled and looked around for Sugar, but couldn't see her anywhere. After a moment, he spotted her, slowly crawling up from behind Sassy, she must have gone around the creek. She then leapt forward, surprising her friend and pushing her to the ground, then stole the rope and ran off. "For a little sweetheart, she sure can pack a punch."
"It would seem so." Jonah nodded his head and looked over at Fluffy and Spaz, near the pig pen. The big Doberman was trying to scare the poor Chihuahua, and it seemed he was pulling it off. Too bad Spaz was the only one he could actually scare. "You know, Fluffy's in the process of being adopted."
"Really? I thought he wasn't getting adopted yet. That's great, then."
"Yeah, he just got lucky. Somebody saw him the other day when Mr. Puckett took him for a walk, and decided to call and say they wanted to adopt." Spaz jumped up and landed on Fluffy's back, digging his claws into the dog and laughing maniacally. Fluffy yelped and shook him off, growling for a second, and then running off. "Since they couldn't pick him up then, they're going to come by today, possibly around the time Sam gets back, I'm not sure." Freddie smiled and watched Fluffy run around, he wished that Doberman the best of luck in his new home. Surely, he would be happy. "He's the luckiest one of us all, probably."
"Oh come on, I'm sure everyone will be adopted!"
"Says the dog that just got adopted by Sam…" Jonah smirked and Freddie gave a small sigh. He knew it might be troublesome for Sam when and if he ever made it to human form again. He was considering adopting a Shiba Inu for her whenever he turned back, since she loved those dogs so much. "A lot of these guys are losing faith that they'll ever be adopted. Hell, Shadow is prepared to die on this farm."
"He's not that old, is he?"
"He'll be nine in a few months."
"Aw, I'm sure he'll get adopted just fine, just like the others. Besides, I've been thinking about some things…I think everything's going to be okay Jonah. I want to try and see if I can possibly get anyone adopted in any way I can."
"You're a dog, what can you honestly do?"
"I don't know." It did pose a problem for him, considering he really couldn't talk. It made his planning a hell of a lot harder. Not only did he need to figure out how we was going to make all of these 'unadoptable' animals get adopted, but he also had to figure out what was going to happen when and if he ever became human again. He didn't know when that would be, since Jonah had been stuck as a dog for eight months, so he didn't try to think on that too much. Jonah closed his eyes and sighed, he knew Freddie meant well and trusted him to do the best he could to help the animals on the farm. Hell, he was going to do everything that he could as well, but he'd already tried, and found it hard as hell. He opened his eyes and glanced to the left to see Scooter running around in circles. Shannon was simply sitting on the ground, watching Scooter run around as if his tail was on fire. Freddie glanced over and laughed, he really loved seeing how much fun everyone had.
"You know Freddie. Scooter really does look up to you. I've never seen him connect to another animal so quickly before." Freddie looked at Jonah through the corner of his eyes and smiled, he felt a sense of pride from that statement. He was glad to have made good friends with someone. "You've started bringing him out of his shell, it seems."
"Well, I have decided to start helping him overcome this fear of water that he's got."
"That's good, I'm glad you're doing that."
"Thanks. So where are Isis and Shadow? I don't see them around."
"Hmm, Shadow usually stays in either the barn, or the designated 'dog room' in the house. Right now, since we're all out here, I figure he's in the barn. Isis is likely hiding somewhere around the trees, watching everyone. She likes to guard the place and doesn't let anything bad happen." Jonah pointed over to the trees and Freddie glanced over there, it was hard to see, but eventually he caught a hint of brown fur belonging to Isis. He laughed as Jonah slowly stood up and started heading towards the doggie door. "Come on, let's go inside and mess with the cats."
"Oh great job Jonah, use the dog stereotype why don't you!" Jonah laughed and Freddie grinned as they made their way into the house. They started making their way into the kitchen when they heard a shout. Jonah held a calm face and looked to the counter where Cheeto was, but Freddie froze, with his paw dangling above the kitchen floor. Cheeto leapt from the counter and landed in front of them.
"Hold on, don't come in here!" Cheeto exclaimed. Freddie and Jonah moved their eyes to the floor and saw a mess of food, sauces, and a variety of trash. Jonah closed his eyes and groaned, Cheeto was always pulling this whenever the family left. It was a tad annoying. Freddie's eyebrows rose at the amusing sight, Cheeto really was crazy.
"Cheeto, what the hell is this?" Jonah asked in a gruff voice. Cheeto spun around and eyed his mess with awe and wonder.
"It's what you call art, Jonah! Isn't it great?" Jonah sighed as Freddie sheepishly lowered his paw to the ground.
"Yeah, it's magnificent." He rolled his eyes as Cheeto turned back to Jonah, prepared to defend his wondrous artwork. "It's going to get you in trouble with Sam when she gets home, though. The house has to be clean before the person adopting Fluffy gets here, you know that!"
"Wouldn't that lady that comes to check on us do a good enough job of it?" Jonah's eye twitched and he swatted at Cheeto. Cheeto laughed and jumped backwards, avoiding the swat.
"Yeah, she'd probably tell Sam about the mess you created, though." Freddie listened with amusement and looked over at the floor. He wasn't exactly sure what Cheeto was trying to make, but it was an interest for him. Since Cheeto evidently loved art, he would be perfect for Spencer, who would probably understand and appreciate his 'messes' as everyone else called them. Nikki soon came from under Jonah's legs and poked his head out, raising his eyebrow and shaking his head pitifully. He had to agree with Jonah, Cheeto was a bit on the dense end of things.
"You know, I'm supposed to be the troublemaker here," Nikki said as he looked up at Jonah. "We have company, by the way. That girl is here!" The group glanced to the front door, Nikki must have seen her park at the curb. The door opened and a girl in her twenties walked in. She looked at the kitchen and her eyes widened, Cheeto made a mess yet again, and she'd just got there. She laughed tiredly and walked over to Cheeto, who was considering rubbing himself against her legs, if that would get him out of any trouble.
"Cheeto, did you do this?" She asked while reaching down and petting him. "You know better." Cheeto mewed and watched her pull some cleaning utensils from the kitchen cabinet and walk over to the kitchen closet to get a broom. Soon, all of the other dogs came running inside, having seen her car pull up. They all entered the kitchen and shouted out in shock, each of them looked towards Cheeto immediately, causing him to chuckle nervously and droop his ears down. Scooter and Spaz were the last ones entering the door, and both were running for the kitchen at full speed. Freddie saw where this was leading, and quickly grabbed Scooter's collar, but Spaz shot right through and skidded through the chips and sauces, screaming as he collided with the counter.
"Aw you ruined his masterpiece, Spaz," Sassy said with a laugh. Spaz groaned and slowly stumbled over to Cheeto, narrowing his eyes and swatting at the cat.
"You just had to use the floor as your palate, Cheeto?" Spaz asked with a small growl. Jonah laughed as Nikki leapt up onto his back, they decided to leave the kitchen and go off on their own thing. Freddie watched them leave and followed them into the next room. He thought it was funny how Jonah just let Nikki curl up on his back.
"You let the cat rest up there, Jonah?" Freddie asked with intrigue, he didn't know Jonah was willing to let any of the cats do such a thing. Jonah looked over at him and smiled as Nikki closed his eyes.
"Yeah, Nikki is a promised adoption. Whenever I turn back, I'm going to adopt him."
"So you've grown close?"
"He's one of my best animal friends here. Eight months is a good time to make plenty of friends with the others, and I know he'd enjoy it at my house. The only problem is, I'm not sure when I'm ever going to return to normal, and I don't want Nikki to be adopted before then." Jonah was learning, that much was true, he knew what he wanted to do when he returned to normal. At least he thought he did.
"Have you matched your heart and mind, so to speak? That seems to be what everyone's been saying."
"I thought I did, I mean I've done everything I thought possible. I know I'm genuinely sorry for what I did to Sam, and I know I could never do that to anyone. No, I've learned my lesson, and that's why Sam found me, I believe." Jonah took a deep breath and bowed his head, eyeing the floor with frustration. What else did he have to do?
"What about Valerie?" Nikki muttered while still having his eyes closed, he was listening to the whole thing. Jonah's head shot up and he could feel his heart swelling.
"I know I wanted to ask her out before I was turned into this form. After I've been seeing her come and go all this time, learning so much about her and who she was, I know I love her."
"You would never hurt her?" Freddie asked with a small smile, if anything, this could be something that would help Jonah change. If not a redeeming factor for him, just knowing that he wanted to take care of Sam.
"No, I couldn't bear to see her cry. I want to protect her, that's what I want to do." Jonah walked forward and stared at the door, narrowing her eyes. "Whenever she comes here, she's always upset about the way people treat her. She's an angel and deserves to be treated right, and I know she deserves better than me, after what I did to Sam, but I also know that I can protect her from all those people, since I have been there."
"People never let you down either?"
"No." Freddie tilted his head and frowned, so Jonah had been where Valerie is. It seemed Jonah didn't let it get to him though, and that was why he would be able to be there for Valerie, and be that strong person she needed in her life. Jonah knew this, and that's why he knew he had to change from being a dog. All of his doubt was cleared, all of his guilt was gone as he knew he'd been forgiven and was capable of being forgiven. So what was holding him back? "I did something so selfish, so wrong, something that no man should ever do to a woman. I broke Sam's heart and I know it needs to be fixed, she needs a guy that she knows won't ever hurt her. As for Valerie, she needs someone who can make her happy, someone who can be strong and protect her and take care of her. I hope that whoever it is will be able to keep her happy."
"Yeah…" Freddie looked at Jonah's paws and his eyebrow rose, something seemed a bit different about his claws. Not only that, some of his fur was gone, and he didn't seem to be shedding. Freddie let out a soft gasp and looked up at Jonah, who did not seem to be aware of what was happening. "I think that might be you, Jonah! You're going to get your second chance!"
"What makes you say that?" Nikki opened his eyes and looked down, his eyes widening in a mixture of shock and fear. He'd never seen such a sight. Jonah's fur was being replaced by human skin. He yowled and leapt off of Jonah, smiling as he watched his friend.
"Look at yourself, Jonah!" Jonah looked down and gasped, he barked loudly and all the other animals ran into the room to see what was going on. They gasped as Jonah groaned painfully, it seemed transforming back was hell on the body.
"I-I'm returning to human form?" The girl walked out of the kitchen to see what was going on and froze in shock and horror, she'd never seen anything like this. Jonah yelled out and closed his eyes, smiling subtly. No wonder, he had to erase that selfish and guilty heart of his and admit that he'd done wrong, and to admit that there was someone out there who needed to be loved and to admit that someone was better than he was, and Valerie was a better person than he had been. Jonah collapsed to the ground and moaned, slowly pushing himself up. He started feeling himself and laughed, he was surprised to see that he still had clothes on.
"Congratulations Jonah, you're human again," Freddie said with a smirk. Jonah looked at Freddie and smiled, he was ecstatic. He was beyond ecstatic, he was in heaven! Human again, those were the greatest two words he'd ever heard in his life!
"Yeah, thanks Freddie." His eyes shot wide and the other animals gasped, he had just understood something that Freddie said. How the hell was that possible? "What the hell?" He felt himself frantically, trying to figure out if anything had not changed back, but everything seemed perfectly normal.
"It must be a side effect to the magic. Once you're an animal, you can understand them."
"Oh crap." Jonah took a shaky step forward and steadied himself. After eight months on all fours, it'd take some time to get used to walking on two legs again. He could deal with it though, it wasn't different than riding a bike. He looked at the lady who was pale as a sheet and smiled politely. "Hi, how about you do me a favor. Don't tell anyone what you just saw, not like they'd believe you anyway. Also, tell the Pucketts that Jock has been adopted."
"Y-Yeah, I'll do that," The girl replied while taking a hard swallow. What she'd just seen defied the laws of physics, the laws of nature, and possibly any other laws known to man. She felt like she was seconds away from fainting, but she tried to keep her calm. Jonah sighed and looked over at Freddie, smiling slightly. He knew Isis would take over for Jonah in several areas, so he wasn't worried about Freddie having to go blindly for the rest of his time. Isis looked up mournfully at Jonah, she was going to miss him, but she wouldn't admit to that.
"There's one more thing I need to do." Jonah smiled and lifted Nikki from the ground, holding him closely to his chest. This was his promised adoption, he wasn't letting the cat go so soon. Nikki purred and cuddled close to his new master. "I would like to make an adoption. Let's see if I still have my wallet with me."
"Oh don't worry, I don't think Mr. and Mrs. Puckett would mind if you took the cat for free." Of course she recognized Jonah, there wasn't a person in Seattle that hadn't seen his face on the news. "Considering how long you've been gone missing, I think they'd be fine with it. But this begs the question, how and why were you a dog all this time?"
"You're better off not knowing, believe me." He chuckled nervously and slowly closed his eyes, he knew explaining stuff would definitely be a hassle. He wasn't sure what he would say to his family or to his friends. Hell, he might have to introduce them to Madame Fontessa. "Just, could you grab the adoption papers?"
"Yes, of course." The lady left the room and Jonah slowly sat on the couch, letting Nikki curl up in his lap. The animals surrounded him, tears in their eyes. They were overjoyed, but also sad to see him go. Nikki looked at him and mewed, but Jonah stared at him with uncertainty, unable to understand him.
"I don't think you're going to understand him," Shadow said as he slowly sat down. Jonah looked over and Nikki frowned, that sucked. Shadow actually knew a lot more than what people suspected he knew. "You are not meant to hear your own pet's words, your 'soul pet' is the only animal you will never understand when you return to human form."
"Aw that's not fair," Jonah muttered as he ran his hand along Nikki's back. Shadow had at one time been Madame Fontessa's dog, but it was a short period before he left, he had never been a fan of hers. Everyone knew he was her dog, that's why the other animals were okay with believing Jonah and the other two were human.
"Madame Fontessa and her magic never made much sense. The only thing I was ever around long enough was to know what happened when a human turned into a dog and back. Nikki is your 'soul pet' as it is said. This is why he was one of the first pets you connected with when you became a dog, sharing an almost immediate bond. You see, when you meet your soul pet, your hearts instantly connect, recognizing the other, and you may not realize it, but your heart knows it."
"Sounds complex," Shannon said as she and Powder glanced at each other. "Make any sense to you, Powder?"
"I guess that might explain why Nikki and Jonah were always close," she replied with a smile. Sugar yipped and jumped up on the couch next to Jonah, licking his arm.
"I'm happy for you," Sugar said sweetly. She was extremely happy that not only did Jonah become a human, but Nikki found an owner as well. Jonah nodded and looked over to Freddie, frowning subtly, nobody was going to believe him if he mentioned being a dog. Surely, they wouldn't believe him either if he mentioned Freddie was one.
"Freddie, I can try to tell people you're a dog, but I don't think anyone's going to believe me."
"Don't bother with it," Freddie replied with a quiet sigh. He knew people wouldn't believe Jonah. He'd become good friends with him, so he didn't want anyone thinking the guy was crazy. "You have enough on your plate now. When I finally am human again, I'm definitely hanging out with you."
"If you want to, I mean it's up to you…"
"Yeah, you're cool by me, so I'll see you then." Jonah smiled and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes and sighing calmly. Freddie just couldn't know how happy it made him to hear those words. Soon, the lady entered the room with the papers, she smiled and held them up.
"I found them!" She enthused. Jonah grinned and stood up. Nikki jumped down and started saying his goodbyes to everyone as Jonah went to sign the papers.
"It was really nice to know you," Powder said as she kissed Nikki's cheek. Nikki blushed as she took a step back. She always did have a bit of a crush on him. "Maybe we'll meet up with each other again one day."
"Maybe," he replied with a smile. He felt livid now, he had never expected Powder to kiss him. "I hope you get adopted into a great home, Powder." It wasn't long before Jonah reentered the room and picked him up, he wasn't able to say anything to the animals now otherwise the girl would think he was crazy. Despite the fact that she'd already seen him transform from a dog to human, so really her day couldn't get much crazier. "Bon Voyage everybody! Oh, and Cheeto, tone down a bit on the 'art' would you?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Nikki," Cheeto responded rolling his eyes. He smirked slightly and everybody watched as Jonah walked out of the house. They were going to miss him. After all, they were all like a big family, and Jonah always seemed like their big brother. With him gone, things were sure to be different. Shannon walked up to Freddie and nudged him in the shoulder, smiling kindly at him.
"Feels good, doesn't it?" She asked. Freddie nodded and sat down, watching the door closely. He couldn't deny how happy he was for Jonah, and he surely wasn't going to deny it anytime soon.
"Yeah it does, and I know his family's going to be thrilled." He knew Jonah would figure something out to say to them, and perhaps they'd be more excited about having him back that they wouldn't focus on where he'd been all this time. Now all they had to do was wait for Fluffy's new owner to show up. Two promised adoptions and one great transformation made this a great day for everybody. Things were starting to look up.
Jonah finally is human again. I don't know if I ever put this chapter out or not, I can't remember, but either way we are nearing the point where the nostalgia of the old chapters end and the continuation of the story begins. So far I'm on the 25th chapter, and the story is nearing its end as far as writing it goes. Posting it's got a ways, but I guarantee you, it WILL keep you on the edge of your seat, beginning with the next chapter. You'll never guess what happens, but I will tell you that two of our beloved pooches may be considered for adoption. Prepare for the first INTENSE chapter of the story, and by first, I mean there will be others. I picked the right story to come back with *grins* (Okay technically I came back with FORBIDDEN TRUTH, but that was more to get past the mental trauma that I went through that kept me from writing, and to feel comfortable with nothing holding me back any longer.) God Freedom feels good, and it smells of Chapter 11, coming to you fairly soon. ENJOY.