I'm back! I'd say "and better than ever!", but I don't think that's true, LOL. ANYWAY, I'm here, and I've got another chapter for all of you! Hopefully, you guys enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it :]

The weekend with Ryder and Chase turned out to be more fun than Jake had thought possible. Even though the eight-year-old boy was sick, they still had a great time together. There were a few things that Jake learned, however.

One, when Ryder's fever spiked up pretty high, his English was muddled and riddled with grammatical errors. Sometimes, it was confusing enough that Jake had to ask Chase what Ryder meant. In that case, the puppy would ask the younger boy to repeat what he'd said in French. Although, this only happened the first night when Ryder's temperature had skyrocketed from thirty-nine point six to forty point two.

Two, Ryder was way more intelligent than Jake would have guessed. The way the boy's eyes lit up when talking about different technologies he was familiar with and how he'd fixed up the Lookout (Jake had to ask what that was) all on his own made Jake's heart melt.

"You know, if you feel up to it, maybe you can show me this Lookout I've heard so much about," Jake proposed early morning Sunday. Mr Porter wasn't due back until later that evening.

Ryder shrugged from his position at the table. "Only if you want to."

"I do! You've got me curious about it! Besides, I'll have to know where you live so I can visit you whenever I'm in the area."

The boy froze.

"I mean," Jake backtracked, "if you wanted me to."

"I think I'd like that," Ryder smiled.

Jake gave the younger male a grin of his own. He put a bowl of oatmeal in front of him. While the two ate, Chase trotted in. Seeing the German Shepherd, Jake placed a bowl of puppy food down.

"So, Chase, how would you like to show Jake our home?" Ryder questioned after he finished.

"I'd love to!" Chase yipped. "When are we going?"

"As soon as I find out what Ryder's temperature is," Jake intervened. "It'll depend on what comes back."

With that, Jake cleaned up the bowls before finding the thermometer.

"Like, I know I'm supposed to wait fifteen minutes or whatever after eating before taking your temperature, but I think it'll be fine," Jake said.

Ryder allowed Jake to put the thermometer under his tongue. Once it beeped, Jake took it back.

"Thirty-nine point three," Jake spoke. "That's not too bad."

"So, can we go?" Chase asked.

The younger boy's brown eyes looked to Jake's green ones. The older male could see the hope swimming in Ryder's orbs.

"I don't see why not," Jake decided. "Just don't tell Mr Porter I let you out of the house, alright?"

Ryder smiled and nodded while Chase jumped around, yipping and howling in excitement. At that moment, Jake knew that he would do anything for this kid. Jake could now understand why Mr Porter took him in instead of reprimanding him for stealing.

"Get your shoes on, Ryder!" Jake prompted with a smile. "We're going to the Lookout!"

"So, this is the Lookout, huh?"

"I know it's not much, but it's home," Ryder said sheepishly.

"No, no, I think this place is cool!" Jake smiled. "Sure, it could use some fixing up, but I believe that adds to its charm!"

Ryder smiled softly. Chase sat by the boy's side.

"So, uh, how do you get in?" Jake asked.

"Just walk in," Chase answered. "The doors open all by themselves."

"Really?"

"Try it! It's so cool!"

Jake chuckled and decided to humour the puppy. He didn't expect the German Shepherd to be correct.

"Woah!" the older male exclaimed. "How did they do that?"

"Ryder did that!" Chase grinned.

"No way!"

"Yes, way! Tell him, Ryder!"

The younger boy blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. Jake looked him in the eye.

"Did you really?"

"I did," Ryder murmured.

"That's incredible!" Jake yelled in excitement. "I knew you said you'd fixed up the Lookout, but I didn't realise what you had meant! I thought you meant you'd cleaned up the place."

"Nope!" Chase giggled. "Ryder's just good like that."

The flush on Ryder's cheeks deepened, but Jake could tell it wasn't because of the fever.

"Well, shall we?" the older male spoke while gesturing to the doors.

Chase ran indoors while Ryder and Jake followed at a more normal pace, a shout of "prudent (careful)!" from Ryder. Inside, Jake wrinkled his nose at the mouldy scent in the air. He noted how much glass was all over the place.

"Where is all this glass from?"

"That."

Jake looked to where Ryder pointed. In the middle of the floor was what looked like a glass elevator. The interior was covered in mould and broken pieces of glass. The exterior wasn't much better, but based on where the blankets were set up from before Ryder's stay at Mr Porter's restaurant, the boy and puppy were nowhere near the harmful stuff.

"So, you fixed the doors all by yourself, right? Why not the elevator?"

"Too much glass," Ryder answered.

Jake nodded in understanding.

"Well, maybe when you're better, I can help you fix this place up some?" the elder male offered. "We might be able to rope Mr Porter into it, too."

Ryder shrugged, but he didn't shoot the idea down, so Jake took it as a win. Next to him, Ryder released a deep, wet cough that he could tell was from the chest and frowned.

"I think it's time we head back to Mr Porter's shop, don't you think?"

By the time the three got back to the restaurant, the sun was setting in the distance. Ryder's temperature had gone up to thirty-nine point five, which was much better than the forty point two from the night before.

"How about you go ahead and get clean while I cook us something to eat?" Jake offered.

The boy and his puppy nodded, leaving Jake alone in the kitchen. He soon settled on soup from a can (he didn't want to make it from scratch and accidentally poison the kid). While waiting for the soup to boil, Jake was left alone to his thoughts.

It suddenly made sense as to how Ryder had gotten so sick in the first place after seeing the state the Lookout was in. What likely started as a dry cough and mild allergy-like symptoms from the mould spores in the air probably turned into bacterial pneumonia or something akin to it from the draftiness of the Lookout. It would explain why Ryder's fever kept spiking up so high and why he seemed so lethargic after only doing what appeared to be the bare minimum.

'Speaking of,' Jake thought.

Both Ryder and Chase walked back into the kitchen, the boy's eyes halfway closed.

"Okay, I'm thinking we eat, get some meds in Ryder, and then get some sleep," Jake suggested.

"Aww, but can't we stay up a little longer?" Chase whined.

"Well, I suppose we could watch something on the television."

Chase nodded with a smile while Ryder blinked, his bleary brown orbs glassy with fever. Jake could only hope the fever reducer did its job well.

It wasn't long into the second episode of Apollo the Superpup that Ryder had fallen asleep. Chase looked at his charge in worry, but Jake reassured him that it was okay.

"Whenever someone is as sick as Ryder is, it's natural for them to sleep more than usual," Jake explained. "Sleep is one way for the body to heal. Besides, it's getting kind of late anyway. I'm surprised he stayed awake for as long as he did."

"That's Ryder for ya," Chase giggled.

"By the way, could you grab me the thermometer? I want to check his temperature. He feels warmer than he should be, even with the fever reducer in him."

The German Shepherd soon returned with the medical instrument. When it beeped, Jake frowned in worry.

"What? What is it?" Chase asked.

"Thirty-nine point eight," Jake answered. "That's not good."

"Mr Porter had told him to take a lukewarm bath before. Maybe it'll help now?"

"Yes, it will, but what he really needs is medicine."

"I thought you gave him some before?"

"I did, but I'm talking about prescription medicine, not some over-the-counter type stuff. I think what Ryder needs is a doctor."

"He's not gonna like that."

"Probably not, but if we want him to get better quicker, then it's our best option."

Chase frowned.

"Should we wait for Mr Porter?"

"At this point, I think it's safer if we took Ryder to the doctor's now," Jake replied. "Any longer could spell trouble."

Jake stood up and put on his coat and jacket before picking the too hot boy up in a bridal carry.

"Grab my phone," the older male instructed. "We'll call Mr Porter along the way."

Five-year-old Ryder was sitting in the park under the trees. Ryder had accidentally called his father 'Papa' instead of 'Père' and had gotten a smack in return. It was the first time he'd ever hit Ryder. Up until that point, it had only been verbal.

"It's your fault that she's dead!" Père had shouted at him. "You're a freak of nature! I wish you'd never been born!"

"What did I do wrong?" the five-year-old murmured in French. "Why does Père hate me?"

Mismatched orbs of blue and green looked up at the night sky, unshed tears making them glassy.

"I just want you to come back, Maman," he sniffled.

The teardrops spilt over and began streaming down Ryder's face.

"I couldn't save you, and you're gone because of me!" he sobbed. "If I was faster, maybe you'd still be here, and I'm sorry, Maman!"

The five-year-old hiccupped as he buried his face into his hands. Ryder immediately tried to collect himself when he heard light footsteps come closer.

"Ryder?"

When he glanced back up, Ryder saw his best friend crouched in front of him in all of his brown-haired, blue-eyed glory. A shaky hand reached out to wipe the tears away, but Ryder couldn't stop the flinch, his arms raising over his face.

"No. No, no, no, no. Your father did not," the seven-year-old pleaded.

The older boy's blue eyes were filled with hope that he had somehow imagined what he'd seen.

"Ryder, please tell me he didn't."

The younger boy stayed quiet.

"I need to know."

Silence.

"Ryder. Please."

That one word was all it took for his stubbornness to dissolve. Ryder dived at his friend, his sobbing becoming louder.

"Père, he—!" Ryder hiccoughed.

"Shhh, it's alright," the other soothed. "I'm here."

A soft lullaby fell from the older boy's lips. Ryder soon recognised the tune of Fais Dodo, Colas, Mon P'tit Frère*. Finally, when he calmed enough to breathe, he lifted his head. The elder used his thumbs to wipe the tears from Ryder's cheeks.

"You could be my little brother," he murmured.

Ryder's green and blue eyes widened in hope.

"Do you mean that?" Ryder asked.

"I do," the seven-year-old replied. "I've always thought of you as my little brother."

Ryder hugged the boy close, more tears leaking from his eyes.

"You're mine to take care of, Ryder, and I'll always be there for you."

The younger boy snuggled closer to his best friend/pseudo older brother.

And for the first time since his mother died, Ryder felt safe.

*For context, "fais dodo" is baby talk for "go to sleep" ("dodo" coming from the French "dormir" meaning "to sleep"); "Colas" can be a nickname for "Nicolas" and can be switched out for a different name; and "lolo" is baby talk for "milk" — from the French word "lait".

So, how was it? Good? Bad? Meh? Lemme know! I love hearing from you guys! I tried my best to stay as accurate as I could when it came to how high/fast Ryder's temperature rose, but I also did it based on an experience I had when I was (ironically enough) Ryder's age. It wasn't pneumonia, but I had a fever that rose from thirty-nine point five to forty within about an hour and a half. Take it or leave it, I guess, haha.

~*MegaMon2580*~