"You lot look tired" Jess said noticing her brothers minus Brock and Sonny walk into the hospital room
"Exhausted, how are you feeling little Super Zah" Ray said greeting Zalie
"I'm okay, daddy said you went and helped aunty Laura and her friend Tahlia rescue a heap of horses last night" Zalie asked
"We did, and thanks for allowing us to take Cerbs with us, he was a big help, who's that" Jason asked noticing the giant dog stuffed toy
"That is Cerbs substitute from last night, new product Berassa is trialing as part of the Zah-Belle brand, its basically a toy that's designed to mimic any sleeping animal that can be taken to bed, it heats up and moves, Zah tried it out last night, designed as a sleeping aide for children and adults" Jay said
"Jess is taking one of the larger cat shaped ones on deployment to Syria, a cats purr is actually quite healing for the body to experience and they're a natural heat pack anyway" Alie said
"Hope is it might be a bit more soothing for her if she starts to cramp or something" Jay said
"I think its a fantastic idea, imagine the psychological benefits as well" Trent said examining the toy
"Already got requests coming in to buy them" Jay said with a smile
"Here's our busy vet, what was the final tally" Ray asked as Brock, Sonny and Laura finally made a appearance
"Tahlia has 87 beautiful bubba's at her place, and 11 are pregnant, 2 are carrying twins, every baby gets born healthy she'll have 100" Laura said proudly, the twins were a high risk pregnancy considering the mothers were malnourished, she'd be monitoring them very closely and had left Tahlia with strict dietary instructions for the horses, they looked to be 7 months pregnant already which was the end of the danger period of premature birth, but the longer the horses kept those babies inside the better it would be
"Well we'll certainly be keeping our fingers crossed right Cerbs, did you have fun with aunty Laura and uncle Brock at the auction last night" Luca asked scratching the dog up around his ears
"Think he missed his warm bed and favourite cuddle buddy" Brock said as Cerbs jumped up on the hospital bed and stared at Zalie in her cast
"Yeah I know it looks weird Cerbs, but I have to wear it for a few months, then it can come of" Zalie said reaching out to scratch her best friend
"You two are going to get lots of extra game time, and aunty Laura is going to teach you how to play flyball, how does that sound" Jess said to Cerbs, reassuring him it was okay
"Isn't that the videos you showed me with the agility courses, then they have to touch that sensor and the tennis ball comes flying out for them to catch" Brock asked excitedly
"Yep, found one we can load with like 50 tennis balls, you just have to keep putting the balls in the storage compartment, it just automatically reloads" Laura said with a smile scratching Pepper around her ears, once Cerbs was satisfied everything was going to be okay with Zalie he snuggled down next to her as best he could so it was now okay for Pepper to get up and check out the cast and claim her spot
"So as long as he brings the ball to the compartment and drops it back in, he can play fetch all day" Brock asked surprised
"Yep" Laura said with a smile
"Sounds like your idea of heaven Cerbs, hope you're going to share with Pepper" Brock said laughing as he went over and scratched Cerbs
"I'm sure he will" Laura said
"I don't know, that toy sounds like its going to be a lot of fun" Brock said still laughing as he looked at the vet, each day he felt a stronger connection between the pair of them, had he finally found someone he could settle down with
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"I'm going to miss you mummy" Zalie said 2 weeks later, she was at the airfield saying bye to Jess who was about to leave for Syria with the rest of Bravo, she was sitting there in a wheelchair that they had burrowed for her to use temporarily
"Not as much as I'm going to miss you my little Super Zah, but you got lots to look forward to while I'm away" Jess said embracing Zalie with a huge cuddle
"Yep, I get my cast of in 5 weeks, and aunty Laura has some foals to help deliver while you're away and once my cast is of I'm going to help her, and we have to go dress shopping, and Tahlia has a couple of auctions to attend she needs help with, just have to wait till this cast can come of" Zalie said sounding slightly annoyed about the fact she was trapped in it, Doctor Sambridge did say however that the cast may be able to come of early, Zalie had to get pictures done each week to check how she was healing
"I know waitings the hardest part, but you're going to be a good girl for everyone aren't you, you're going to do exactly what Doctor Michaela and Doctor Masterson tell you aren't you" Jess said sympathising with Zalie's frustrations
"Yep" Zalie said with a smile
"Well Cerbs, it feels weird to be shipping out without you buddy, especially for this long, you gonna be a good boy for aunty Laura" Brock said saying bye to Cerbs
"Cause he is, you're going to game with Zah, come to the rescue and help out, go to the auctions" Laura said letting Brock know Cerbs had plenty to do
"You make sure you keep her safe for me right Cerbs, you remember the commands I showed you in case something happens at those auctions like last time" Brock said, remembering the incident he had witnessed at the last one when Tahlia had the knife pulled on her, Brock couldn't bare the thought of it happening to Laura why he was away, so he'd taught Laura some of the attack and release commands he'd taught Cerbs in case she needed them
"Yeah, we'll be fine won't we Cerbs, and Pep, you better keep everyone safe over there, Cerbs and I are counting on you, can you give that to Trent for me" Laura said letting Pepper know she expected everyone back safe and handing Brock a pack
"Sure what is it" Brock asked curiously
"Vet kit, I've been giving him some extra first aid training for Pep in case she gets injured, there's some better medication and antibiotics and that in there in case she needs it, that part separates, you can carry that part in the field with you, has everything you could need to treat an injury and stabilise her if needed" Laura said explaining the contents and how it worked, Trent only carried human supplies and occasionally had to take a stab in the dark if Cerbs had needed emergency medical treatment. Now Trent had appropriate supplies already packed in a kit for Pepper in case she needed it, no more taking stabs in the dark
"This wouldn't happen to be Trent's birthday present he mentioned he was getting me" Brock asked suspiciously looking over at Trent who gave him a big smile, it was his birthday while they were away, Trent had spent the last 2 weeks tormenting saying he'd gotten him something and he bet he couldn't guess what it was
"Yeah, well you're not going to be here for us to celebrate properly" Laura said giving him a kiss and cuddle
"We can celebrate when I get back, I'm going to take a leaf out of Jess's book, the moment I get back, you are mine and no one else's" Brock said confidently pulling Laura in closer, he'd decided in that moment that this girl was the perfect girl for him, she was a passionate animal lover who cared deeply about her job and doing the right thing no matter what that meant, she wasn't afraid of hard work and despite seeing the horrors of animal abuse, their mistreatment, she'd been in warzones and seen total devastation, it hadn't turned her of her chosen career