Charlie IV

Chapter 37

Epilogue

It is 7 long years later.

Kate's eyes snapped open; she heard something. At first she worried that it was Ellie but it was a ringing sound. She rolled away from her husband who she still loved like nobody's business. She really didn't understand how they did this. Most couples she talked to didn't act like them. You would think they were still just married or back from their honeymoon.

"Rodgers." Kate rubbed her eyes as she listened. "Okay, 15 minutes, 20 tops." She put her phone back in the charger and rolled back over to her husband.

"Emergency call?" Rick was awake now.

"Yeah, a horse is down. A horse laying down on its side is bad news. I don't get her up and she'll die."

"Go! I can take care of Ellie and look in on Charlie." Rick kissed returned her kiss when she kissed him and watched her still lovely naked ass get out of bed and head for the closet to find something to wear. Only to come back and fish out a bra, panties, and socks and rushed to get dressed. She bent down to kiss him again before she hurried to her car. "Looking sexy there, wife." Rick approved of how she looked even after having a baby. Kate grinned and put a little more sway into her walk.

She didn't have much time for Karate classes so she was still a blue belt. But she dabbled from time to time. It had helped remove the baby fat and make her firm and trim again.

Rick got up and went into the shower. It looked like his day was starting a little early. Once dressed he headed to their daughter's room. Ellie would be two years old in about a month, more or less. His mind was still a little foggy to know for a fact just how far out it was. He saw that she was still asleep and noticed Charlie on his bed in her room. Charlie was devoted to Ellie. The second they had come home with her Charlie had attached himself to her like glue. He really was an amazing dog.

But for the last year Charlie had slowed down…a lot. Kate had taken him into work with her and checked him out and then put him under the X-ray machine. What she'd found had broken her heart and left her crying to the point where Rick gathered up Ellie and drove into town.

"He has arthritis, Babe. In both of his hips. He has to be in pain and I didn't even notice." That was really what had her crying. Seeing all the white on the X-rays hadn't helped, but her own dog was in pain and she hadn't noticed.

"Is there anything you can do?" Rick asked her while shifting a barely awake Ellie in his arms.

"Not much. I can ease his pain but I can't do anything about the arthritis itself. There's more. His arthritis is going to get worse. The pain will increase and eventually it will be too much for him to even want to get up."

"Oh God. You're thinking of putting him down." Rick knew that Charlie would die someday – everything died eventually – but he wasn't ready to lose the friend he loved so much.

"At some point, yes." Kate began crying and that woke Ellie up all the way.

"Mommy?" Her mother who she loved dearly was crying and that was a bad thing.

Ellie reaching out for her had Kate taking her into her arms. Holding her daughter didn't really help. She was talking about killing her own dog to ease his pain and it was almost Christmas again. Everyone, including Lanie and her husband, would be coming from Honolulu again.

Rick left Ellie with a crying Kate and went in search of Charlie who was just sitting there waiting patiently for everyone to come back.

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

"Where is she?" Kate got out of her car and met the owner. She knew him. Hell, she knew everyone that owned a horse anywhere near here.

Kate opened her back door and pulled out her boots, took off her shoes, and put them on. They were heavy plastic and went halfway up her calf, perfect for wading into muddy fields. Then she opened the back, grabbed her bag, and followed him out into a mucky field that the mare had laid down in.

"Is she always kept in this field? There's no grass in this field and where's the hay?" The horse wasn't skinny by any means but Kate didn't see anything to eat around here.

"We took in an abandoned horse and put him in the good field. He doesn't seem to like her much and vice versa. The hay is over by the barn where it can stay dry." He gestured to it Kate followed where he pointed. That solved that problem.

"So why are you way out here, sweetie?" Kate asked the horse. The mare was close to the fence with nice green grass on the other side so Kate had a clue.

Kate got started. "How long has she been in this field?"

"About a week. Fresh hay, grain on occasion but not too much. Learned my lesson last time."

Kate nodded. The last time she'd been here was for a different horse. Too much dry grain; it had created a blockage so the horse wasn't eating. A few gallons of water later through a hose forced down its throat and the blockage was cleared and the owner had his new orders from Kate.

"So a week with just hay. You need to cycle these two between that good field and this mucky one. Horses need green grass just as much as hay. What she needs is a shot." Kate retreated to her bag, took out a really big syringe, and loaded it.

"A nice big dose of vitamins. You need to go into town somewhere and get cans of Ration Balancer. It comes in cans like dog food. Some make it dry and put it in bags. Just open one and mix it with the grain. One whole can, be it can or dry. It contains trace minerals and vitamins a horse needs. Including your new one." Kate stepped over to the downed horse and jabbed her with the syringe and pushed the plunger. "At least once a month, more if you can afford it and find it." This was Hawaii after all.

"Give it a few minutes and then we can see if she's willing to get back up. Shouldn't take long. Ration Balancer, very important," Kate told him again.

"Got it. Even if I have to have it shipped out." This was Hawaii and everything got shipped out to them.

"I'll look it up and see if I can add it to my supplies in the clinic." Kate knew they sold food for nearly every animal on the big island. Just not that one yet.

"Let's see if we can get her on her feet. ...PUSH! Come on girl, UP!" Kate planted her feet in the muck and pushed and pushed till the horse was standing again. "Good girl!" Kate patted her and went over to her bag and picked it up. "Just add that Balancer and she'll be fine."

"Thanks Doc!" He was happy he didn't have a dead horse on his hands.

"Happy to help. You'll get my bill. Call me again for anything." Tired, Kate walked to her car where she scraped the muck off her boots, put her shoes back on, and went home.

Once home she went to her daughter's room and saw that Ellie was gone but Charlie was still lying on his side on his bed. "Charlie." Kate sat down near his head and petted him. He was awake but had no interest in getting up.

"What am I going to do with you, Charlie? You can't do this to me." Kate felt tears starting all over again.

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

Kate found Rick and Ellie in the kitchen area. Ellie was sitting there eating scrambled eggs and sausage with her fingers instead of using a fork.

"Hi, baby girl." Kate kissed her head.

Ellie's face scrunched up. "Not baby."

"My mistake, you're a big girl." Kate kissed her again and went over to her husband.

"Rescue a horse again?"

"Yup, just needed a shot and she's back on her feet." Kate kissed him.

Rick made a face. "Morning breath."

"Sorry about that. I still need a shower, too. Keep my breakfast warm I'll be right back." Kate didn't kiss him this time and headed to their bedroom.

Ellie was done eating and had messy hands by the time Kate was back. "Let's go wash your hands, El." Kate watched her get down and walked with her to her bedroom and bathroom since her bathroom had a stool she could use to reach the sink. Ellie hopped up on the stool and tried to turn on the water.

"Let's scrub those messy hands!" Kate turned the water on and squirted soap on El's hands. "Do a good job or Santa will leave you coal if you don't!" she added quickly.

Okay fine, she still didn't believe in Santa. But thanks to her husband their daughter did and they had a deal. Ellie would stop believing in her own good time.

"Your parents should be here in about…," Rick looked at his watch, "four hours. Four hours later and Mother should be here followed on Christmas Day by Lanie and her husband. Who does what again?" Rick kept thinking doctor but he knew that was wrong.

"Harrison owns and runs a Catamaran Dinner Cruise ship for tourists. Nice, big, very expensive-looking powered Catamaran. A lot like the one you took me on during our honeymoon," Kate reminded him.

"That's right! Why do I keep thinking doctor?" Rick shook his head.

"You're getting old," Kate teased him.

"Take that back!" Rick wasn't going to put up with being called old.

"Make me!" Kate challenged him and soon she was laughing her head off and trying to get away because her husband knew all her weak spots and he was tickling her. Then suddenly he was kissing her. They were still deeply in love with each other.

"EWWW!" Ellie was back and while she loved that her parents loved each other. There was just something different about watching them kiss each other ALL THE TIME!

Now she was the one laughing because her mother was tickling her. Finally her mother stopped. "Mommy, Charlie doo doo."

"WHAT!" That had Kate racing to her daughter's bedroom where she found Charlie still lying on his side in his bed. Sure enough he had pooped while lying down. "OH GOD! Please don't do this, Charlie. PLEASE!" Kate begged him. She got some toilet paper, picked it up and flushed it away and was back to sit cross-legged next to Charlie and pet him.

"I don't want to do this, Charlie. Please don't make me do this," Kate pleaded and wiped away her tears that just got replaced with new ones.

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

"I have to go pick up your parents." Rick showed up at Ellie's door where he found Kate sitting next to Charlie petting him.

"Okay." Kate wiped away still more tears. "Can you take El with you, please?"

Rick walked up to her and looked at his best friend that he had raised since he was a puppy. "You know what you need to do. I love him dearly but he's in so much pain. He barely even walks now." Rick could still see him running flat out through the grass chasing down a tennis ball.

"I know. I'll take him to the clinic while you go get my parents." She would do it. She wasn't going to let anyone else do it for her. He was her dog.

Rick walked around both of them and knelt down to kiss Charlie. "I love you, Charlie. The kids in the trailer park loved you. Everyone at every hospital loves you. Your entire family loves you." Rick kissed him again and finally found the strength to get up. He kissed Kate's head and walked away with tears running down his face.

It was time.

"Crying, Daddy." Ellie might be just two but she wasn't stupid.

"Let's go get Nana and Pop. It's almost Christmas." Rick picked her up and let his daughter wipe away his tears as his heart broke.

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

"Daddy crying," Ellie announced to Jim and Johanna from the back seat sitting next to Johanna.

"Kate's at the clinic putting Charlie down."

"OH GOD!" Johanna suddenly felt her own tears starting. "The arthritis?" Rick and Katie had kept them informed. He nodded.

"He doesn't get up, he doesn't walk. The last X-rays Kate took showed that it was bad. The pain pills just aren't working any longer." Rick was ready to start crying again.

"OH GOD!" Johanna wiped away tears as did Jim. Charlie had saved their daughter. She might have been long dead if not for him. Charlie was family.

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

By the time they got home Kate and Charlie were already gone.

"Poor Charlie." Jim headed for the pool where he found that whip stick that he used to launch a tennis ball out into the grass and watch a racing Charlie chase after it. Picking it up he broke down and cried. Charlie was deep in his heart too.

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

Rick had Ellie with him, Jim was missing and Johanna had retreated to the theater room to sit and cry in peace. Then the house phone started ringing. He left Ellie with her toys and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Rick? This is Vicki at the clinic. I'm really sorry." She meant sorry she was calling. Sorry that Charlie was gone. Sorry for what Kate was doing. "You need to come get Kate. She's on the exam room floor sobbing and we can't get her to stop. We've taken Charlie from her. I'm really sorry." This time she meant sorry that Charlie was gone.

"I'm on my way. Thanks, Vicki." Rick hung up and went in search of Johanna who was soon sitting next to Ellie and doing what any mother/grandmother should be doing: Staying with a two-year-old who didn't understand why everyone around her was crying, causing her to cry with them.

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

"Exam room #3, Rick," the receptionist told him when he entered.

"Thanks." Rick walked down the hallway till he reached number 3 but he could hear her long before he got to the door. Opening the door he saw her curled up on the floor sobbing loudly in a full-on breakdown. He was grateful they'd taken Charlie away so he didn't have to see his body.

Seeing his wife terribly shattered hit him hard and he wept. He loved her so very much and she was hurting. He would cry for Charlie later. Kate needed him now. She came first; she always did.

Rick had to literally carry Kate out to his car still crying and had the door opened for him.

"We're all sorry, Rick." Charlie had touched every heart he ever came across.

Rick nodded then drove her home and carried a still crying but at least not sobbing Kate to their bedroom and realized he was being followed by Johanna and Ellie.

"Mommy!" Ellie climbed up into bed with her and Rick and Johanna didn't try to stop her as she snuggled in close and held her.

"I should have seen this coming but I didn't." Johanna was heartbroken herself. "You and Charlie in particular are the only reason Katie even woke up and came back to us. With him gone she's broken again."

Rick could see that. "Hopefully Ellie can get her to hold on just long enough. I have a plan that should be landing with my mother in about…," he looked at his watch, "3 hours." He had hopes that this would work. He had planned ahead and prayed it would be enough.

Her eyes red, Jo looked at him. "You anticipated this?"

"Maybe not this exactly but I knew there would be pain. I'll be back. I'm—" Rick's voice broke. He took a deep breath. "I'm going to go find somewhere quiet and mourn. Charlie was my puppy. I raised him." Rick left them and didn't even make it to the back door before he began sobbing as his heart broke into tiny little pieces while he walked out into the vast amount of grass and ended up on the grass, his body shaking as he cried.

His puppy was gone!

"This better work whatever it is." Johanna watched her daughter crying while her granddaughter cried with her. Like mother like daughter, save for one tiny little change. Ellie had Kate's long legs but she had Martha's fiery red hair if not more so.

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

"Hello, Mother." Rick was happy to see her, just not so happy any longer.

"Richard!" Martha, though, was happy to have her son meet her this time and hugged him; she felt it instantly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Kate put Charlie down today." Rick's voice shook as he broke it to her while he walked to the baggage claim.

"OH NO!" Martha's heart broke a little, both for losing Charlie and for what this had to be doing to her son's family. She was betting Ellie was crushed over losing Charlie.

"Kate has shut down on us," Rick told her. Ellie was crying but Kate was taking it really hard.

"Oh, Katherine." Martha's heart ached for her now, too.

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

Her bag was in the back seat but they were walking back inside. "Where are we going?" Martha didn't get it. She needed to get to Katherine to try and help.

"Something I sent away for should be on your flight and I need to pick it up." Rick wasn't ready to explain just yet.

"Oh?" She didn't remember seeing anything.

"I'm Rodgers." Rick showed the guy his ID.

"I have your two little guys right here. You want a hand getting them to your car?" The carriers weren't that big but two at the same time was a bit much.

"Yes, please." Rick could use the help. They both watched as he brought around two carriers and kept one but set the other one down.

"What is this?" Martha bent down to look. "PUPPIES?" Color her astonished since she was very surprised.

"I got them from California. It was required that they spend the last 30 days in quarantine in Honolulu. They were 10 weeks plus old 30 days which puts them at about 3 months old."

"They're adorable!" They were also awake and wanted to see who Martha was since she had a finger at the cage.

Martha watched them get loaded into the back of his Jeep and the door was closed.

Rick shook the man's hand. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem. Looks like you're ready for them." He saw a bag of puppy food, dog beds and he didn't know what else also in the back of his car.

"Puppies, Richard?" Martha wanted to hear about this.

"I knew Charlie was dying and it was going to hurt all of us. So I looked online and got these two from the same breeder. They're brother and sister. The 30 day mandatory quarantine means they're a little older than I had hoped but I couldn't find any puppies I liked locally so I did it this way." He wiped away a tear. "Didn't care about the cost.

"I expected it to be rough whenever Kate had to put Charlie down but she's taking it even harder than I anticipated. I'm hoping these two can help lighten her pain somewhat. The timing simply worked out that it happened on the same day.

"I named them K-9 and Lucy so that the people at quarantine could get them used to hearing their names."

"K-9? Really, Richard?" Her son was hard to explain yet again. "So what are they? I saw a lot of blonde hair."

"Golden Retrievers. I'm hoping one of them can be trained to do Charlie's job and become a Therapy Dog, but if not it doesn't matter."

Martha thought about that. All that he had said. "You're a good man, Richard." Martha was even more proud of him. He was a successful writer and was taking very good care of his family.

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

Once home they left her bag in the car. They could get it anytime. They took turns getting the puppies out, putting them in the grass, and watching them walk around smelling everything till they both peed. Then Rick handed one to Martha, picked up the other one, and went inside.

Rick went right to Kate and found Ellie curled up next to her and a quiet Kate just lying there.

Johanna got up out of her chair and intercepted Rick and Martha. They each had a blonde colored puppy that was already pretty big. "Who are these two?"

She watched as Rick went around and put his on the bed while Martha did the same on this side where Ellie was. She looked to have grown a lot over the last year.

"PUPPY!" Ellie was awake and wrapped herself around the pup.

Rick watched as his, which turned out to be Lucy, walked to Kate's head and began licking her face. They watched as slowly Kate became more awake. "Okay, enough." She stopped Lucy from licking her face. "Puppy?" They didn't have a puppy. They didn't even have Charlie any longer and her heart wasn't holding up well from that event.

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

It took time but finally everyone was in the living room. Ellie was on the floor with her puppy and Kate was sitting on the sofa next to her father holding a puppy. She was also more awake as she listened to Rick explain what he had already told Martha.

"You bought Golden Retrievers to replace Charlie." Kate tried to wrap her mind around what her husband had done.

"No, sweetheart. I didn't get them to replace Charlie. He could never be replaced. Charlie was one of a kind. I only hoped they might ease the pain you're feeling." Rick kissed her and sat down beside her.

Kate was slowly – if you could call Warp Speed slowly – wrapping her wounded heart around the puppy in her arms while her mother made them dinner.

Once dinner was over Kate was outside with Ellie and both puppies watching them walk around and look this place over. It was totally different from where they had been. First came that scary flight, then they were confined in kennels but fed and cared for. Followed by another scary flight and now this.

Rick was out to his car getting Martha's bag, followed by a bag of puppy food and finally the kennels that went into the garage. Eventually he joined everyone out back and sat down in the grass next to his wife who looked at him and kissed him.

"That one," Rick pointed, "is Lucy and that one," he pointed again, "is K-9."

"K-9?" Kate stared at him in disbelief. Her husband had lost his mind yet again but she still loved him.

"I'm hoping one of them can be a Therapy Dog and take over Charlie's job." Rick explains part of his plan.

Kate's smile got wider and this time she really kissed him. She was a vet so she knew eventually these two would die too. But that wasn't going to stop her heart from reaching out to them, wrap itself around one or both of them and making both of them a part of the family.

"Puppy, Mommy!" Ellie was already ecstatic over having puppies. Eventually she would figure out that Charlie wasn't coming back but for now her mommy wasn't crying and she had puppies.

"Yes, sweetie, puppies." Kate turned her head and looked back at her mother who was smiling brightly at her.

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

We move one year later

"Hello, Mr. Rodgers. Kate has a client but should be out soon," Vicki told him. "Hi Lucy!" She would get up to greet Lucy but she had a job to do.

"We'll wait." Rick took Lucy with him to a chair, sat down and petted her as she looked around and tried to smell what she could reach.

Eventually the client came out with their dog who Lucy wanted to go see right away followed by Kate who Lucy spotted and now ignored the dog and tried to reach Kate.

Kate left her paperwork, gave her final advice to the owner, and went over to Lucy and her husband. Lucy got petted, hugged, and kissed just like she used to do for Charlie.

"How did she do?" Kate asked given she knew what was today and that Lucy was still wearing her vest.

"We passed our first test at the hospital. Just two more and she's a certified Therapy Dog." Rick was proud of her.

"Good girl, Lucy." Kate petted her again and kissed her head. She was proud of her as well.

"Charlie would be proud of her. Now if I could just get K-9 to settle down and do the same." Rick was losing hope for him. He was being a far more excited male dog and didn't want to settle down. He wanted to go, go, go. He wanted to keep up with a very active little 3 year old girl. K-9 was turning into Ellie's dog to keep up with her while Lucy was Kate's. Lucy wasn't Charlie but she was close enough.

Lucy spotted another dog who was all alone and headed toward him till she reached the limit of her leash. He was bigger than her or at least looked bigger than her. He had a whole lot of hair. She had seen him somewhere, she just couldn't quite place it. She just wasn't putting pictures of him at home with this dog.

"What did the doctor say?" Rick questioned Kate since she had seen her doctor this morning before starting work.

Kate smiled, her face glowing. She just hoped they were ready for this. "I'm about 8 weeks pregnant." Was this good news or bad news in her husbands eyes?

"REALLY!" Rick was up and almost lost control of his leash. He hugged Kate and kissed her. "Boy or girl? Who cares, tell me later. It's going to be perfect!" Rick kissed her again.

Kate was happy since it sounded like good news. Now she just needed to break it to him that Trevor was retiring and she was being offered first chance to buy him out and become the owner. Thankfully Rick's latest book had come with another advance so they now had millions. They were going to need some of that if she was going to be the owner and operator of Aloha Veterinary Center.

Only Lucy and Lucy alone heard this dog bark and she barked back at him and bent way down on her front paws to see if he wanted to play with her. Except he suddenly vanished on her. She looked around for him but never saw him again. That was until the day she died and joined him at the Rainbow Bridge where she learned that his name was

CHARLIE