Charlie IV

Chapter 12

Katie needed a doctor visit and they needed a physical therapist that either came to them or they came to him or her. Rick had arranged for himself and Charlie to make a Therapy Dog visit. Amazingly this hospital had never heard of such a thing so he made a call to Kim to get ADT behind him.

"Mr. Rodgers, let me get a nurse down here for you. We've never done this so the Administrator for the Hospital may be going with you," Rick was advised.

"No problem, we'll be right here." Rick waited with Charlie who was wearing his work vest and was already looking for people to go see.

It took a little longer than Rick was used to but he found himself walking around with a female nurse and Sebastian Mott, the Hospital Administrator.

"I had a long talk with ADT and learned so much. I never even knew such a thing existed so I want to see you in action," Mott told Rick.

"Actually Charlie does all the work. You'll see."

Mott and the nurse got first hand knowledge of just what Charlie could do in the very first room. People that hadn't had a dog in a long time simply melted as they petted Charlie. Charlie even somehow knew which people he needed to spend more time with than others.

"So what parts of a hospital have you and Charlie been in?" Rick was asked.

"Let's see. Maternity, Chemotherapy, people headed for surgery soon or ones that just came out of surgery. I'm not sure there isn't any place we haven't been.

"People in assisted living is where we get the most reaction. Too many people there don't get out much so Charlie is a welcome change."

They ran across a little boy about 7 or maybe 8 years old that was crying because he was scared. Charlie walked right up to him and carefully poked his nose in. It took a minute but he was soon being petted.

"Isn't he pretty! I didn't know dogs were allowed in a hospital." She looked at these three while her son was busy hugging Charlie.

"Charlie has had training to be a Therapy Dog. He just about loves everyone. My only real challenge is giving him a bath and brushing out all that hair." Rick made a joke of it and got a little chuckle from everyone.

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"So I take it we can come back again?" Rick inquired as he left the nurse and Mr. Mott to go in search of the others since they had all come here in the same car.

"Whenever you wish, just inform the front desk and we'll find a nurse to walk you around." Mott shook his hand and went back to his office.

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"How did your visit go?" Jo asked him as they met at the front door.

"Normal for us. We can come back anytime we wish. Just need a nurse to walk around with us. Nothing new. …Are you okay?" Rick asked Kate as she sat there in her wheelchair.

"I'm underweight, can't even stand up, my vampire took lots of blood," Kate told him while Johanna rolled her eyes at the vampire comment.

"We'll get test results tomorrow. We do have a name for a physical therapist for her. It may take a few weeks but she'll be as good as new in no time," Jo said with relief.

"You're not the one that has to do the physical therapy," Kate grumbled.

"I might be able to do something about building up your arm muscles," Rick offered. That got Kate to look up at him with a questioning look. "I'll take you out back and have you throw the tennis ball for Charlie. He'll chase it down, bring it back, and just might drop it in your lap to throw it again. Though he has a habit of playing Keep Away."

"I can handle that." Kate was game.

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"Bookstore, Dad!" Kate saw a little bookstore on their way home. "You promised me something to read since my room doesn't have a TV."

That had Jim finding a place to park and Jo jumped out and walked down the sidewalk. She entered the store and eventually came back with a couple of books in her plastic bag.

"What did you get?" Kate was curious.

"The latest Patterson book." Jo took it out to show her. "Wind the Wind Blows and I got you one from someone I've never heard of." She took it out to show her. "Flowers for Your Grave. Sounds like a murder mystery. Never heard of Richard Castle before. You'll have to tell me how you like it."

Rick did his best to hide his grin since Jo had just bought his book! So he had at least one book sale. Hopefully there were a lot more. But at least they were holding up their end. His book was in Laurel, Mississippi and not just big cities like LA.

The title was mostly blood red letters with a black background. It was meant to get noticed, especially his name at the top. Well his pen name, not his real name. They had argued that with a pen name they could make Richard Castle out to be anyone. At least until he did his very first book signing that was coming up soon.

Rick was debating if he should take Charlie with him or leave him at home with Kate. He hadn't made up his mind yet.

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Since Kate was in a wheelchair it was simple as pushing her from one place to another place. "Outside please. I know how to throw a tennis ball. I hope." With her weak muscles from lack of use this might not last long but she really liked Charlie.

"We have a pond?" No one had told her that. "Does the new house even have a pool?"

Only Rick was with her as she threw a tennis ball and watched Charlie take off after it, not that it went all that far.

"No, just a big patio and a lot of grass," Rick said.

"Oh." That was too bad. The house in LA had had a pool. Hell every house in LA had a pool, or so it seemed.

"We might manage to get a hot tub if you can talk your parents into it." Rick couldn't afford one. He wasn't making any money at all. It suddenly hit him that he hadn't paid the Becketts rent for his bedroom. It was meant to be the bedroom in the new house but he had a bedroom in this house so that counted in his eyes.

"That might be nice. Maybe I'll ask. …Give me the ball, Charlie." Kate tried taking it out of his mouth but he clamped down on it and wasn't letting her have it.

"That's one of his ways of playing Keep Away. You have to figure out how to get it out of his mouth."

"Well if you didn't squeeze it so hard." Kate was beginning to worry that with half her hand in his mouth trying to pull the ball out she was going to end up bitten.

Rick leaned down next to her head and whispered into her ear. "You want a hint? Tickle him with your other hand."

"Really?" She didn't know dogs could be ticklish so she turned her head to look at Rick to see if he was serious. Instead she found his lips right there. Like just a fraction of an inch away from hers.

Until this moment in time he was just Charlie's owner. Now he was all lips since that was all she saw. They even looked kissable. Then suddenly Charlie let go of the ball and took off running in expectation.

That had Kate turning her head and throwing the ball a different direction. Turning her head back to look at Rick she saw he was standing up straight again. His lips were now too far away.

Still she looked him over. He was tall, broad-shouldered, clean-shaven, and handsome. And too old for her. She was just a teenager. Suddenly Charlie dropped the ball in her lap and took off running in anticipation so Kate threw the ball.

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"Doesn't he ever get tired?" Kate's arm was aching fiercely from all this throwing and she hadn't even thrown it that much. She was so sadly out of shape.

"No, never. His tongue isn't even hanging on the ground yet." Yeah, Rick was exaggerating but he had seen Charlie when he was really tired and his tongue was incredibly long. Just not literally that long.

"Here, you throw it. My arm hurts." Kate held up the ball and watched as Rick launched it several times farther than she ever had while out here. "Show off," Kate complained.

"I'll see if I can find you one of those tennis ball launchers. It works like a whip. It should work even for a wimp like you," Rick teased her.

"OH REALLY! Bend down here and say that again, mister." Kate needed him within reach of her wimpy arm so she could hit him.

Surprisingly Kate found his face right in front of hers. Once again his lips were right there. She just needed to lean forward a little.

"Take your best shot, before Charlie gets back," Rick challenged her. This might hurt but he doubted it.

Oh, she shouldn't do this. She really shouldn't. After all they hadn't even been out on a date. She didn't even know if she wanted to go out on a date with him. Besides she was trapped in a wheelchair.

But she did. She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. He naturally didn't kiss her back. Not that she expected him to. It was a bit of a shock even to her. She still didn't know why she had done that.

Yet after she pulled back his lips were still right there and he looked surprised. "Care to try that again when I'm not so shocked that I can't kiss you back?" Rick asked her.

"No. Tennis ball." Kate took it out of her lap where Charlie had dropped it. "So throw it," Kate told him and watched Rick launch it again. Charlie took off running flat out to catch up to it.

Kate watched Charlie but she could see Rick looking down at her out of one eye. It had her grinning. "What did you do before you agreed to come out here with Mom and Dad?"

"I worked for UPS. I unloaded trailers and loaded delivery trucks. It didn't pay all that great but it had amazing medical benefits. Now I need to find another job."

"RICK!" Jim yelled from the door.

"Don't go away," Rick told her.

"Where would I go?" Kate rolled her eyes. She doubted that she could move her wheelchair anywhere.

"We found a possible job opening for you; he wants to talk to you." Jim pointed at the house phone.

Rick picked up the phone. "Richard Rodgers." He listened, answered his questions, and gave him a name in LA he could talk to. "Hang on. …I need pen and paper." Jim was still close.

"Ready. 1858 Highway 84 East, Laurel, Mississippi. Mark Stevenson." Rick wrote it all down. "Tomorrow at 2:00pm, got it," he said and listened. "Yes, sir. I'm familiar. I'll be there." He hung up.

"And?" Jim had found it and hoped for the best.

"Part-time Preload Supervisor. It's a management job. Five and a half hours per day, Monday thru Friday, with medical benefits and other things like a 401k."

"You found this?" Rick was amazed.

"Yes, I did."

"Management is more money than I made in LA normally. I'll have medical benefits again. Thank you." If he was offered the job he would take it. "Now I just need to figure out where this is. Where's the phone book?" He was thinking most phone books had some kind of map in it.

"Outside of the city, east of here. Doesn't look too far. I can make it work. I used to take the bus a lot. I hope my truck is up to this." He didn't have the newest of trucks.

"It got you from LA to here. Go have the oil changed or something," Jim suggested. "Check the tire pressure and see how much tread you have."

"I'll get the keys." Rick snapped his fingers. "I left Kate and Charlie outside."

"I'll get them. Go get your truck checked out. Jo will probably have dinner by the time you get home." Jim gave him a little push and saw him retreat to his room to get his keys.

"What happened to Rick?" Her dad was pushing her back into the house and calling for Charlie to come.

"He got a job offer so he's off having his truck looked at."

"He got a job?" Kate liked the sound of that.

"Not just yet. He has to go fill out forms and interview tomorrow, but yes he got a job. Positive thinking here."

"Kitchen please?" She was in her chair. Only her arm was tired not the rest of her just yet.

"Cooking lesson?" Jo asked her.

"MOM!" She didn't want a cooking lesson.

"So who's going to do the cooking when you get married?" Jo challenged her.

"He is. Aren't all the best chefs men?" Kate endured the look her mother gave her for that. "Besides you have to have one of those first."

"After what you've put us through with some of your boyfriends, you'll be lucky if he knows how to spell his own name," Jo fired back.

"Ha, ha." Kate was not amused and yet she knew her mother had a point. She just wasn't interested in a cooking lesson today. "So Rick got a job?" Kate asked her mother.

"HE DID?" Jo looked at her husband.

Jim corrected Katie. "He has a job interview with UPS. He said it was a management job so it should pay more than he was being paid in LA loading trucks. It's a little outside of town so he's off getting his truck ready for the daily trip after he gets the job."

"Guess that means we get to watch Charlie. You ready for that, Charlie?" He was sitting right next to Kate after all. "You want a treat?" Jo found his bag of treats and got one out. Since he was already sitting. "Speak," Jo said and Charlie instantly barked. Good boy." Jo tossed his treat. He caught it, swallowed it whole, and sat there waiting for the next one. "So Laurel has a UPS hub and not just one of those shipping stores. Interesting."

"They have to load those delivery trucks somewhere," Jim said, thinking every city had to have one.

"Well let's hope it works out for him." Jo needed for it to work.

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Kate was happy to get out of her bedroom and not just because it was ugly. It meant she wasn't in it all alone save for Charlie who seemed to be going anywhere she did. In fact he was sitting right next to her even now. She was also petting him since she couldn't resist.

"He's been gone hours." Kate was looking at the clock again.

Jo was all set to ask her why she cared so much when her husband said something. "This place isn't actually in Laurel and his truck is far from new."

"Great, broken down on the side of the road. Thanks a lot, Dad," Kate retorted since he was responsible for that negative image now stuck in her head. This might not be LA but that didn't mean he was safe.

Jo was all set to ask her daughter something when suddenly Charlie took off barking for the front door. "What got into him?" Kate didn't have him beside her to pet anymore.

"Well he hates squirrels," Jim mentioned.

"At our front door?" Jo frowned at him. "Are we expecting a delivery?"

Just then Charlie went from barking to whimpering. They could hear his claws on the tile and he really seemed to be moving. Then suddenly he came rushing back and sat next to Kate again. Just like that Rick was right behind him.

"And?" Jo looked at him hoping beyond hope that he got the job. Except he looked dejected and went to the refrigerator and took out a can of Dr. Pepper. It was suddenly his drink of choice. "Oh, no. You didn't get the job." Jo suddenly felt terrible.

"I start tomorrow." Rick grinned at them.

"OH, YOU!" Jo swatted his arm for that. Rick's grin got bigger because that.

"It's amazingly almost the same pay as I got in LA doing a different job. Must have something to do with living in a small city. But I have a job. What do you think, Charlie?" Rick petted him and kissed him and interrupted Kate petting him.

"I think what got them was that I used to work for UPS in LA. Sadly I was gone too long so I start all over again earning PTO but that's fine. My benefits start in a week and I get a review in 3 months."

"Sounds like progress to me. Now we just need to move into our finished house and get our business open." Jim was happy it had worked out. He considered it luck that he had learned about the job.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You got something in the mail." Jo retrieved it from the counter where she had put it so she couldn't miss it. "It's from some place called Black Pawn." She had no idea what that was.