October 10th 2021

Chapter 283
Our Outlooks For Patients

Lucas had had his moments, over the years he'd spent studying and practicing, where he'd been left feeling nervous, insecure, like he might do something wrong, like he wouldn't know just what to do. He knew that, in the end, it should pass, would pass, because it always did. And the further along he went through his education, his work at the ranch, and at the hospital, those feelings hardly ever made it anywhere near the surface anymore. He would be aware of them, like a distant echo, and that would be alright. Those feelings kept him grounded.

Now here he was, and the finish line was all of a year away. By next fall, he would be at Sullivan Stables full time, and the way things were shaping up, it wouldn't be a moment too soon. Dr. Alvarez' new surgery had left him more certain than ever that it was time for him to retire. He was sticking around for the time being, but it really felt as though he was only doing it to hold down the fort until Lucas could take over permanently. He tried not to think about it too much for now. He didn't see himself giving any less of his focus here at the hospital because he knew he had this other job out there, waiting for him, but even so, he couldn't get ahead of himself in any way.

He wasn't worried about any of that today. There were never any days where he would sit and stare at the walls for having nothing better to do, nor were there any days where they would be overrun with chaos, but whatever existed between those two extremes, they would have bigger and smaller days. The smaller ones would be very run of the mill cases, straightforward. Then there would be other days that stayed with them for one reason or another. Particularly difficult cases, medically or emotionally, would come along, and today he had a couple of them.

Plenty of times already, both here and back when he used to work at his aunt's clinic in Houston, he had seen animals come along in a bad state. Whether someone brought them in, or they got a call and ended up going to where they'd been found if they couldn't be so easily removed, there would be this immediate jolt of shock at seeing some of them for the first time. Some had been wandering on their own a while, for some unknown reason or another, because they'd been lost, or abandoned… Some had been caught at the wrong place at the wrong time and been injured, others had clearly been abused…

As hard as those cases would be, for Lucas, it was a reaffirmation that he was exactly where he was meant to be in his life, doing just what he was supposed to do. If they were put under his care, he would do everything in his power to leave them in a much better state than the one he'd found them in. He would think about Jax, who had once come through this hospital. Now he was happy and thriving with Lucas and his family. And about to be a dad in a few weeks' time.

Right as he arrived at the hospital that morning, he was called on to see to a particularly combative dog brought in late last night. He was known to have something of a 'magic touch' when it came to animals with trust issues, which also extended to the likes of this dog. They had no name for him, no collar, nothing to identify him. Those who'd been dealing with him thus far had taken to calling him Cujo. When Lucas first saw him, he could sort of see why. He was a big guy for sure, agitated, and loud, though it could be seen how a lot of that attitude would come from his injuries, and the fear of the unknown place and people, and likely the place and the people he'd left behind, too. Looking through all that, Lucas just saw a scared animal, nothing more.

It took a while for him to get anywhere with the big guy, but he was nothing if not patient. He'd have to go and return from time to time, much as he would have liked to stay and deal with this situation alone. He would continue to hear the loud barks when he'd be elsewhere, and so would anyone else in the area. The first time he managed to get anywhere near him, the dog nearly bit him. He was fine, though the same couldn't be said for his pants' leg, which ended up with a big tear at the bottom. He was in no way deterred by this, and at least he had spares in his locker. This wasn't the first time he'd been given cause to change, and it wouldn't be the last.

Once he'd changed, after folding and stowing his ripped pants away for mending, Lucas meant to go straight back for another round with the big guy. Instead, he was directed to go and check on another new arrival. It was another dog, and this one gave off an energy that was not entirely different from his other patient. She was also notably fretful and untrusting, barking at anyone that got too close for her own liking, though she was also significantly smaller. This one fell under Lucas' spell a lot faster, and he was able to tend to her. Oh, she was shaking the whole time, and his heart went out to her enough that he kept her in his arms as much as possible, seeing the way she'd react when he'd set her down.

He started calling her Sweetie, and it seemed to stick to her in no time, so Sweetie she became. Eventually, he was ready to hand her off, even if he could tell she still didn't want to go anywhere. He saw no problem in finding a reason to 'extend her stay,' though he still needed to… Actually, this gave him an idea.

"Call it a hunch, but maybe you can help me out with something, huh?" he told her as he carried her along. Sweetie licked at his hand. "Good, let's see if we can't help out our big friend."

As they approached the area where the big guy was kept, they couldn't hear him barking anymore. Had they taken him somewhere else? Or had someone else dealt with him? No, there he was, Lucas could see him through the window. He was lying down under one of the counters in what might have been called a diminutive position if he wasn't so big. He was hiding. As soon as the door opened, he was up and barking again. Sweetie started shaking again but, once he had the door closed, Lucas pet her, doing his best to calm her even as he looked to see what the big guy would do. The dog looked unsure for a beat. He definitely remained on the defensive.

"No, hey, I get it, I do," Lucas told him.

He crouched down, placed Sweetie on the ground and then sat on the floor. She didn't look sure of herself at all. She tried to climb back into his lap but struggled at it. Lucas picked her up again, sat her in his lap and reassured her some more.

"This here is Sweetie. At least, that's what I've been calling her. If she had another name, I don't know what it is, but she seems okay with this one, don't you, Sweetie?" Oh, she did, and she was very okay with him, too, enough that he started to worry like he would end up misleading her into thinking he would take her home. He might have done it, too, if he had less self control. How many owner-less dogs had he been tempted to take home over the years? No, he couldn't take her, but he would do his very best to make sure she ended up somewhere good, and he would do the same for the big guy.

The dog was still keeping his distance, but his barking had petered out after a minute or so. He went back to lie down under the counter, and he watched Lucas and Sweetie for a while.

"That leg of yours doesn't look too good. Bet it hurts a lot, huh?" Lucas asked the big dog. He didn't move, but he kept looking back at the pair on the floor. "You're probably hungry, too. And thirsty." From what he'd been able to observe of him, he didn't suspect any kind of malnourishment. Wherever he'd been, he'd at least had that going for him, and yet… "What about you, Sweetie, you want something? Let's see what we have," he wondered aloud as he got up.

He found bowls, filled a couple with water and put them on the floor, one near the cabinets and the other a few paces closer to the counter. He put Sweetie down by the first bowl and she wasted no time. Lucas smiled at her before going in search of something for each of the dogs to eat, as best fit to their respective needs as he could identify. The two new bowls were joined to the water bowls, and then he went and sat back down on the floor, near Sweetie but giving her space.

It took a few minutes, but then Lucas turned his head to find the big guy approaching the bowls he'd set down for him. He gave the impression that he would try and nudge the bowls back to where he'd been hiding, but then he changed his mind, or he was just hungry, so he bent to his bowl and started to eat. Right. So far, so good.

He was lucky that they didn't come and call on him for something else for a while. Instead, he was able to stay there, as Sweetie had her fill and came back up to him. Lucas was as good and gentle with her as he always was with his four-legged patients. And in time, the big guy came walking up to them, lay down in front of them. He would look to Lucas, those big eyes peeking out, as good as telling him that he was going to try this out with him. Lucas reached out a hand to him, let the big guy decide. When the dog gave his hand a tap with his head, in a very 'pet, please' manner, Lucas smiled and did as he was told, careful to mind any hidden wounds.

By the time he was able to tend to the big guy, from his leg onward, you wouldn't know he'd come into the hospital like a great beast of horror. It reminded Lucas of Shadow, back when he'd worked at the shelter. They'd called him Cujo, too. It was an easy shorthand, he guessed. He'd been easier, had liked Lucas from the start when he'd been trouble with the others. For a while he'd been sure he would take the dog home, but in the end, he'd gone to a good family, and he couldn't have hoped for better.

"You're not a shadow, are you…" Lucas declared, looking to the big dog lying quietly on the table before him. He smirked. "How about Thor? Would you like that for a name?" The big guy looked up at him. Eyes like thunder. "Yeah, I think we have a match. What do you think? Thor?" The dog sat up. He was impressive by his height, his size, but now that he felt safe, here with him, he felt a lot more like a big softie. "You know… I've been thinking. The ranch could do with a… canine presence… How about it? Big fields, good food, good people…" Maybe it had more to do with how he couldn't bear to send him out into the world, to lose sight of his Shadow a second time. He could end up somewhere good, too, but he kind of wanted that good place to be at Sullivan Stables. If he could make it happen, he would. He had to.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners