Gold eyes stared in wonder. This place was huge. Keelie touched the glass window to the store.
"Come on Keelie," Gaia said, "let's go inside. You need some new clothes." The wolf had taken her to the mall to go shopping. And had convinced Gadget to go with them to carry everything.
The jackal hurried after the wolf siblings into the department store. She looked around excitedly, ears twitching as she picked up every sound.
All different species of Mobians were there. A pink hedgehog in a red dress, and a cream colored rabbit walked by. They were talking and laughing with clothes in their arms.
Keelie smiled, she didn't know there were so many kinds of people. Just then, someone grabbed her arm. She screamed and hit whoever it was. They yelped.
When she looked, Gadget was on the ground holding his snout. She gasped and hurried to help him up, "I'm so sorry Gadget," she apologized, "you scared me."
"It's fine," he said once on his feet. "I should've known better." He took her arm, "come on, Gaia's waiting for us."
Keelie sighed as she waited for Gadget and Gaia. She was sitting in the food court while they went to get something to eat. The jackal had lost track of how many clothes she had tried on. But Gaia realized she was getting tired. Besides, she had enough to wear now. After this they were going home.
Gaia had also set up an appointment for the pup's checkup. Keelie wasn't really sure what that was, but she assumed it was something like a healer.
She took a sip of her smoothie. Hopefully Finn, Jay, Tempest, and her mother were alright. Finn's arm had been broken last she saw him.
"Excuse me," said a voice. Keelie looked up to see the same rabbit and hedgehog from the department store.
She removed the straw from her mouth, "what do you want?" Asked the jackal warily, but not rudely.
"You dropped this earlier," the rabbit said holding up a beaded bracelet.
Keelie's eyes widened, her papa had given this to her a long time ago. She took it and slipped it over her hand and back on her wrist. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"I'm Amy," the pink hedgehog said, "and this is cream." The rabbit waved with a bright grin.
"Keelie," she replied with a small smile.
Amy took a moment to look over the female jackal. Her face was scarred, and a good sized chunk of her left ear was missing. But she was still quite pretty.
Keelie smoothed the fabric on her new jeans she'd put on. They were a light wash, and fit her nicely. She'd changed her shirt too. It was a loose fitting, floral print blouse with lace on the sleeves and hem. She liked the fact that it hid her belly.
Before anything else was said, two guys came over to them. It was obvious they were interested in Keelie.
"Um, excuse me," Amy said with annoyance as the pushed past her, "what do you think you're doing?"
They simply ignored her and grinned at the jackal. "What are you doing here without a man?" The coyote asked while leaning on the table.
The fox smirked and rested his arm on her shoulder, "I think we could remedy that problem."
Keelie growled and showed her teeth slightly, "back off."
"Why should we?" The coyote asked, "you're very pretty, despite the facial scars," he waved his hand, "besides, that's something I'm willing to overlook." His nose rested even with hers. "You know I've always wondered what jackal women were like. I've heard a lot of rumors, let's see if any of them are reality."
Keelie pinned her ears and slunk down in her seat. His words scared her. She looked away from his hard stare and tears pooled in her eyes.
"Don't cry," the coyote added, "we can make it all better."
The fox's eyes widened as Gadget walked up behind his friend. The red wolf did not look friendly. "These guys bothering you babe?" The wolf asked Keelie.
The coyote turned around. Fear showed on his face as he put his hands up, "oh absolutely not. We didn't know she was with you. We'll just be on our way now." With that statement, the two sprinted off.
Keelie let out the breath she'd been holding. "Thanks Gadget."
He grinned while rubbing the back of his head, "no problem."
"Looks like your boyfriend has everything under control," Amy said with a smile. "It was nice meeting you Keelie." Then the two girls walked off.
After they left, Gadget set some food down and sat beside her. "I hope you didn't mind my acting like we were together," he said, "I was just trying to get them to leave."
She smiled up at him with a grateful look. "I don't mind. Thank you so much. I was so afraid." Her eyes fell to her lap. Fear was shameful.
Gadget rested his hand on her shoulder, "it's ok to be scared Keelie. Especially after all you've been through."
She met his eyes again. It was hard to believe how much this wolf meant to her in such a short time. Even though she'd told herself before that she'd never take another mate, for Gadget, she'd make an exception.
Without another word, she took a bite of the food in front of her. "This is really good," she said after swallowing. "What is it?"
Gadget handed her a napkin to wipe the sauce off her chin. "It's a chili dog. A sausage on a bun with chili on top."
She wiped her face, "thanks."
Later that week, Keelie was seated on the table, waiting for her pup's check. Gaia was sitting in a chair beside the table.
It wasn't long until a vixen in a white coat entered the room. She had a very professional aura around her. She greeted the two canines and adjusted her glasses. "So Keelie, Gaia told me about your circumstance. I'm just going to check you over and see how the pups are doing. Lay back and lift your shirt for me."
Keelie did as she said. The doctor's hands gently touched her now showing stomach. The pups shifted under her hands.
After she checked Keelie's vitals, she got the ultrasound machine ready. The jackal quickly sat up, "what is that?" Her eyes shone with worry.
The vixen smiled, "this is so I can see the pups." She put it on Keelie's stomach after she lay back down. "There they are," she said while pointing to the screen.
Keelie felt her eyes water as she saw her babies. Any fears she had melted away. These were her pups, and it didn't matter who their father was.
"You're having four boys," said the doctor with a smile. "And they're all healthy. Despite the trauma you've all been through."
Keelie's hand touched the screen, she wanted to remember this moment forever. Wordlessly, the doctor printed out a photo of the pups and handed it to her. The jackal smiled and held it to her chest.
"I'm glad they're ok Keelie," Gadget said while handing the photo back to her.
Her face was beaming. "I'm so happy Gadget. My boys are ok. I was so worried he'd hurt them when he tried to stop me from leaving."
"How did you get away?" Gadget asked after a moment.
Keelie sighed, "it was difficult, but I was determined. If I had stayed the pups would've died for sure."
Gadget simply nodded and listened to her story.
Keelie kept watching the sky through the little window in the bedroom. She was waiting for nightfall in order to make her escape. She was sore, tired, and hungry. Not to mention angry.
The jackal pulled the blanket close around her body as she sat on the bed. She wished she had something to wear, but she didn't.
As night fell, she pushed the bed in front of the bedroom door. That way it would slow him down if he heard her. She went over to the window and kicked out the glass.
Her eyes widened when she heard the male jackal trying to open the door. Quickly, she tried to climb out the window.
She only got halfway when her tail was grabbed and she was drug back in with a scream. The male hit her in the side of the face with his weapon and pinned her to the ground by her neck.
Keelie gasped and struggled for air. She squirmed under his hold, trying to get free. Her foot caught him in the stomach and he drew back with a gasp, loosening his grip on her neck.
She crawled away from him, back towards the window. But he grabbed her by the hair this time. She cried as she felt the cold metal of his weapon against her back.
"Now," he said coldly, "get up and get in the bed. I'll tie you to it so you'll never escape."
Silent tears rolled down her face as she obeyed. When he turned to get the rope she slammed her elbow into his side, causing him to drop the weapon. She kicked it out of his reach and scrambled after it. This was her only chance to get out of here.
She didn't know how, but she managed to reach it before him. After getting it in her hands, she pointed it at him. "Now." She growled, "you're going to let me go."
"You don't even know how to use that thing," he scoffed while advancing towards her.
"Leave me alone!" She cried. Her finger rested on the trigger, "I'll kill you." She hated him so much. He'd made her suffer, every day. For all she knew he could've killed the pups growing in her belly. He'd beat her yesterday.
"I'll kill you," she whispered, slowly realizing how easy it would be now that she had his weapon. A grin formed on her face, "I'll kill you."
With that, she pulled the trigger. He was dead within seconds. She threw the weapon down, grabbed a blanket, and darted out the window.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through all that," Gadget said gently.
She smiled softly, "I'm just glad he's gone forever." Keelie stepped closer to Gadget, "you're a much better man than he'd ever be."
Maybe it was something about the moment, but Keelie really wanted to thank him for everything. She stood on her tiptoes and put her arms around his neck, capturing his mouth with hers.
Gadget's eyes widened, but soon he put his arms around her waist and returned the gesture.
Their eyes closed and they melted into each other.
Well, there you have it, the real question is, do you ship it? Also, I reall loved the idea about having Keelie talk or sing to the pups, but I couldn't fit it in without messing up the flow here. Maybe another chapter;)
