Charlie IV

Chapter 6

This chapter has very adult content in it. Read with care.

It has been nine months

Rick rolled over onto the other side of his bed. It had been hot lately. However, it being August in California, what did he expect? Unfortunately his A/C unit was struggling to keep up.

He was on this side of the bed because this side of the bed used to be Amanda's side. He had met her on the beach, thanks to Charlie. She was nice, very pretty, or at least he thought so. She had the body of a goddess. Perfect breasts, nice tender… "Stop torturing yourself, Rick." He put her pillow over his face. It had been two weeks so it didn't smell like her any longer.

They had dated for a month and that was two weeks ago. He went to her place on occasion but she had roommates and he didn't so she always came here instead of him going there. Four real dates and sex at least 5 times a week since she had a tendency to spend the nights at his place.

She even had some of her clothes here. Enough that she could shower, get dressed, and go to work from here. He had left their relationship up to her. He made his wants and needs plain. He liked her and wanted to keep seeing her. But that was 2 weeks ago. Since then…nothing. Now he was in the dumps.

He had given Charlie a bath yesterday because he had somewhere to be today. His first of two days off. Charlie was now his Therapy Dog and not just everyone else's. He needed therapy since it was looking like Amanda had dumped him without bothering to tell him she was dumping him.

Maybe he wasn't enough for her. Didn't have a good enough job, didn't have a nice enough place to live. She was maybe a little high maintenance but what girl wasn't?

Rick finally sat up and that was the signal for Charlie to jump up onto his bed so he could be petted and kissed. "Let me take a shower and we can get going." Rick kissed him again and headed for his shower after grabbing a towel.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Rick was all dressed up and Charlie had his Therapy Dog vest. He had passed all his tests and the word about Charlie was apparently out since he was getting phone calls about having Charlie come for a visit.

Rick, though, did have one bit of his own good news. Really good news. His book, Flowers for her Grave, was in print and had been for a week. He had his first book signing in about 3 months time.

He had damaged his bank account and paid the $1,500. He'd gone through the edit changes, taken Charlie with him into their office to review and talk about book covers. So now he just had to sit back, see how well his book did, and pray to the gods.

"In you go, Charlie." Rick picked him up and put him in his truck.

Rick started his truck and put his map on how to get there where he could reach it and reached across to roll down the window just enough for Charlie to stick his head out the window but not jump out.

"UCLA Medical Center here we come." Rick had no doubt that Charlie and he would be perfect and be a big hit. They had been a hit since that first hospital visit. But he never did see that one girl ever again. He had no idea how she was doing. He had asked about her but he wasn't a family member so they couldn't tell him anything.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"Richard Rodgers and Charlie." Rick handed over his card. ADT had given him cards that showed that he was a certified and tested Therapy Dog. Well, Charlie was, but they were a team.

"We've been expecting you. Let me get your nurse that's assigned to walk around with you and you two can get started." She picked up the phone and made a call.

"Give her two minutes, Mr. Rodgers." So Rick and Charlie kind of wandered around a little.

"Mr. Rodgers." Rick turned and saw a very curvy, slightly heavy Black woman wearing nurse's scrubs that he was long since used to. "I'm Florence Todd." She shook his hand. "I get the privilege of walking you around where we think we could use you."

"And this is Charlie!" She bent down to pet him and found that he was really friendly. "Well I've got a test for you, Charlie. The patient needs you badly. Hopefully this will work."

"Charlie hasn't failed yet," Rick told her.

"You haven't met the patient. Follow me please." Florence walked down the hall toward the elevator and Rick and Charlie followed.

"You have a challenge for us?" Rick was naturally curious.

"I'm sorry but I can't say." She took them into an elevator and up they went. "This way." She made a turn out of the elevator and walked him down a hallway till she stopped them. Florence looked authoritatively at Rick. "Stay out here; don't even stand in the doorway."

Rick raised both eyebrows at that. They were a team. He went where Charlie went but he stayed where he was.

"Johanna, Charlie's here." Florence walked inside and saw she was in her usual place, sitting in a chair next to her daughter's bed.

Florence walked out with a lovely but a bit older woman. About old enough to have a teenage girl since Florence kept saying her.

"So you're Mr. Rodgers and this is Charlie." He was young, handsome, and his dog was drop dead gorgeous. She liked Charlie just as he was, let alone what he might be able to do.

Johanna knelt down to Charlie. "I have high hopes for you, Charlie. Very high hopes."

"Charlie will do his job," Rick assured her.

"I'll take him." Johanna reached for the leash and Rick actually let go, not that he understood why.

She and Charlie disappeared into the room leaving him outside with Florence. He looked at Florence for an explanation.

Florence shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Rodgers, but by law I cannot discuss the patient."

"But…"

"I can't. Please don't ask me. Maybe her parents will talk to you." Florence shrugged.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

It had been close to 30 minutes and both of them were getting tired of just standing there waiting.

Suddenly Johanna showed up at the door. "Florence." Johanna used her finger to beckon her to follow. "Not you, sorry." She meant Rick had to stay.

Florence stepped inside and let Johanna go to the bed. What she saw was a comatose Kate Beckett laying on her back, petting Charlie's head that was on her chest.

"Charlie just put his head on her and has stayed like that ever since. This is new." Johanna turned to face her.

"I'll get the psychiatrist." Florence walked past Rick. "Stay out here." She pointed at him and hustled to the closest phone she could find.

Johanna stood there and wiped away tears. Her daughter was moving. It even seemed like she was looking at Charlie as far as she could tell. It actually looked like it was working.

Johanna looked at Mr. Rodgers. "My daughter's name is Katie. She was effectively a drive-by victim. Instead of shooting her they picked her up and took her somewhere. They then proceeded to beat her to a pulp while they raped her over and over again."

"Good God!" Rick leaned forward to see if he could at least see Charlie but he didn't.

"They also sodomized her," Jo added.

"Animals," Rick growled.

"She can't accept what has happened to her. She's retreated into her mind. Created her own little world to escape into. Doesn't talk, doesn't move, doesn't eat on her own. We hand feed her baby food.

"When she first arrived she freaked out over every male she saw. We even had to change her doctor to a woman. Only women get to enter her room. Shutting down on us is a relatively new development. Mr. Rodgers, we need Charlie to get her to do something. We need to reach her so we can start helping her back into this world."

"I'll do anything I can. I'm off work again tomorrow if you need us," Rick told her. "It makes me sorry I'm a man."

Jo touched his arm. "It wasn't your fault. I'm so very grateful that Charlie and you are here. Thank you."

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Florence was back. "Don't move," she told Rick yet again. "Ten minutes," she told Johanna who looked to be crying so Florence put an arm around her.

Johanna had a sudden idea and didn't want to wait for the psychiatrist for permission so she left these two and found Rick right outside. "Can Charlie be lifted onto the bed?" If Kate was petting his head what would she do if she had access to more of him?

Rick nodded. "Of course. We've done that before for a little girl undergoing chemo. She loved it." And just like that Johanna was gone again.

Rick heard a grunt as someone lifted 70 pounds of dog up onto the bed.

Rick spotted another woman moving fast; she walked right past him and into the room. He could soon hear talking but couldn't make out a single word. It was like they were whispering because of the girl.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Rick had begun pacing since it meant he was moving instead just standing still.

Eventually the new woman left and walked past him like he didn't exist.

"Charlie is a guy, you know," Rick muttered to the empty hallway.

Then Johanna came out of the room and walked over to him. Rick stopped right where he was.

"She hasn't moved, she doesn't talk, but right now she's hugging Charlie like her life depended on it. Can he spend the night?" Johanna asked him. "What am I thinking? Of course he can't. You said you'd come back if we needed you. Can Charlie come again tomorrow?"

Rick nodded. "I'd be glad to bring Charlie back with me. Fortunately I'm off work tomorrow. But it's a long way and it's hard on my truck. It's not the newest truck on the road," he explained.

Johanna tried to think. "I'll get my husband to come get you and bring you and Charlie here. I just need an address. You don't know what Charlie is getting her to do means to me.

"The psychiatrist warned us that if we don't reach her soon she may never come back. She's actually petting and hugging Charlie. I want my daughter back. We'll pay you. My husband and I are both lawyers. We're not filthy rich but we have money."

"You don't need to pay me. That's not why I do this." Rick reached into a pocket and brought out another business card. "Call me. I have an answering machine if you don't get me. I might be outside exercising Charlie or just playing ball with him."

Johanna took the card and crushed him in a hug. "Thank you." She raised up on her toes and kissed his cheek. She wasn't even really looking at how handsome he was. That might come later. Right how he had Charlie.

Johanna retreated to the room and went back to watching her daughter hugging Charlie and even slowly petting him.

"This might work, Johanna," Florence said quietly.

"It has to work. Who would have thought a dog could do what her own mother couldn't?" Johanna was still amazed.

"This is why we called Mr. Rodgers. Charlie has a reputation. Hospital personnel talk so we called him," Florence told her softly in case Katie suddenly went backwards.

"Thank God for that." Johanna briefly closed her eyes. "He said he and Charlie would come back tomorrow but they need a ride. I need to call my husband."

"You know where the phone is. I'll watch her." Florence went over to the chair and sat there, watching Katie and Charlie.

"Thank you." Johanna hurried out of the room. The sooner she finished this the sooner she was back. "Thank you!" Johanna ran a hand across Rick's arm and went to the nurses station to use the phone and get her husband out here. Maybe a quick peek by him wouldn't upset their daughter.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Jim was sitting with Rick on the floor close to the nurses station in chairs they were both provided. "This means a lot to both of us," Jim told him.

"I can understand," Rick said. "An event I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Not that I think I have an enemy."

"We don't know much. The police are still investigating. Thankfully they left behind some DNA they might be able to use. So far they've identified 8 different semen samples," Jim said while bent over and staring at the floor.

"GOOD GOD!" Rick sat upright against the wall.

"They beat her too. When she was found her right eye was already swollen shut. Her nose was broken and she may yet lose a couple of teeth. Don't know about that yet.

"Bloods, Crips, MM, who knows. Could have been drunken college boys for all we know." Jim was still talking to the floor.

"I'm sorry. I know it sounds cheap, but I'm still sorry. You don't do things like that to women. You just don't."

Jim nodded and sat up again. "She'll be 18 come November. Thanksgiving and even Christmas might be a complete bust this year."

"You have my card. Call me when you want me. Charlie and I will be ready and waiting."

Jim ran his hand over his face tiredly. "I don't know how we're going to thank you for this. The psychiatrist warned us that we needed to reach her soon or we might never reach her. We're literally feeding her what looks like baby food. Something I thought we were long since past doing ever again."

"This is why I got Charlie and taught him. I just got lucky. I read somewhere that a woman had 50 dogs that were taken from her. Charlie was just a little puppy. He had fleas, ticks, worms and was losing his hair. He wasn't even available for adoption yet but I bought him anyway.

"If you come, you'll see I live in a trailer in a trailer park. The entire park thinks Charlie is their dog. The kids play with him, the adults feed him treats. He plays ball and hates squirrels. You never want to say that word when he's around."

That had Jim laughing and he really needed something to laugh about since he had very little to laugh about.

"You and your wife are lawyers, I hear."

"Yes, I met my wife at work. Took me forever to ask her out on a date. Thought sure she would say no and I didn't need to hear another no. Katie's our only child. She decided she wanted to be a lawyer too. She even got accepted into Stanford for pre-law. Doesn't look like that is going to happen now.

"Jo's on extended leave while I keep working. I can't even see my own daughter." Jim had a problem with that. He was her father. You would think she would know that. BUT NO!

"So I heard. Hates men. Makes me wish I wasn't a guy. A little grey guy with big black eyes or something. Anything even."

"So what do you do for a living?" Jim asked him.

"I work for UPS. I unload all those 18-wheel trucks that you see on the road and then load the local delivery trucks. Not all of them myself, of course. If you're having a late dinner I'm going to work. Those local trucks have to get out early. The pay isn't great but the medical benefits are amazing."

Jim joked with him. "My back would never survive that."

Now they were both watching Johanna walking Charlie with her and they both stood up, though Rick got down to pet, hug, and kiss Charlie. "You're such a good boy."

"He's an amazing boy. I'll admit I was doubtful but they insisted that we try it. I don't know how we can thank you," Jo told him yet again.

"We'll be back tomorrow after your husband picks us up," Rick promised.

Jim shook Rick's hand. "You can count on it."

"She's sleeping now. She was awake, I know she saw Charlie. She started out petting him and moved to hugging and petting him. It worked Jim. She was awake and doing something in our world." Johanna couldn't believe it.

Suddenly Rick found himself being hugged tightly. "Thank you."

"Maybe they'll catch the bastards." Rick's eyes blazed. He would pound them into the dirt if he could.

"Maybe. Right now I just want Katie back," Jo admitted.

"You ready to go home, Charlie? I know some kids that are dying for you to come home so they can play with you. We'll see you two tomorrow." Rick took Charlie and walked to the elevator. They had come here to help a lot of people. Turned out they only helped one. But it was a big ONE.

Rick was gone. "What did you learn?" Jim had gotten to talk to him. She had stayed with Katie.

"He loads and unloads UPS trucks for a living. Finding Charlie was a miracle even for him. A tiny little puppy full of fleas, ticks, and worms."

"Amazing, simply amazing. We still need to talk about our plan, Jim," Jo reminded him.

"Now? She responds to Charlie but if he's all she will respond to, we can't afford to go anywhere," Jim insisted. "Charlie lives here."

Jo touched his face. "I know, but what if the psychiatrist is right? Living here reminds her of what happened. Big city big problems."

"We can talk tonight. If we do this we still need to figure out where let alone when," Jim pointed out. They had already talked about what this might do to them financially, but that didn't matter to either of them. Only Katie mattered right now. Maybe later they would revisit this change.