Disclaimer: Love ya, J.K.R. Not stealing, just borrowing.

Chapter Two

"Stay still!!" Roxanne huffed, as she fell on her backside once again.

Sirius scurried away from her as fast as he could with one profusely bleeding front paw. The whole arrangement had seemed wonderful until four minutes ago when the words 'bath' and 'first-aid' left Roxanne's lips. He'd spotted the text books common of a Muggle medical student on her coffee table, but he was no keener on letting her pull the splintering wood from his paw than he was on Apparating back to Azkaban. He gave a yip when Roxanne leapt clear over her couch and landed in his path. Before he could turn to dash away, she had her arms about him.

"Stay still!! If I don't remove it you're going to bleed to death or die of infection!" she shouted, keeping a firm hold on the wildly squirming dog. "Do you want to die?"

The animal seemed to calm down a bit a Sirius considered her words. He had to live. He had to find Peter Pettigrew. He had to avenge his lost friends, his own stolen freedom. Sirius stopped his struggle and sat obediantly in front of Roxanne. She let out a breath of relief, realizing his submission.

"Stay," she commanded, reaching over to the coffee table and picking up a set of tweezers.

Sirius gave a whimper upon laying eyes on the silver, unfriendly looking instrument. Roxanne lifted his injured paw gently into one hand and began to carefully remove the bits of wood. The dog squeezed his eyes shut, expecting a sharp pain. Instead he felt a few pinpricks and opened his eyes to see Roxanne dropping the first splinter onto a napkin she'd set aside to hold the offending objects.

"Not so bad, is it?" she mused, working on the next piece.

'Nothing compared to some of the other things I've been through,' he thought, coming as close to a grimace as he could in his Animagus form.

He managed to sit still as the girl deftly plucked splinter after splinter from his bleeding paw. She worked with a skillfull care only gained by hours of practice and experience. She would be a good doctor, her current patient decided, taking the moment to get a good look at the young woman. She was pretty, no doubt, but not in the ordinary way. There was something exotic about the angle of her defined cheekbones and the olive tint to her skin. Her eyes were a green deeper than grass at the height of spring, her hair, falling just past her shoulders in slight waves of deep auburn.

Seeing her made Sirius feel a rush of sorrow. When was the last time he had beheld beauty of any kind? When had he last gazed into a woman's eyes or held one? Twelve years ago. He had lost so much time. At the age of thirty-five he would have to start his entire life all over again. That was, if he could manage to clear his name and regain his freedom first.

"There!" Roxanne said, ruffling the fur atop Sirius's head. "You'll be as good as new after a bath and a meal or two."

The dog's ears pricked up at the mention of a bath. Sirius certainly new he wasn't really a dog, but Roxanne couldn't possibly know he was acutally a grown wizard in his Animagus form. He doubted she'd offer to give him a bath with that bit of knowledge. Unfortunately, he felt his feet suddenly leave the ground as Roxanne picked him up.

"For looking like you haven't eaten in a month you're pretty... damn.... heavy... oof!" Roxanne managed to reach her bathroom without giving herself a hernia and set Sirius down on the lavender colored rug.

He immediately took off in the direction of the door only to have it closed and locked inches before him. 'Not good...' Sirius darted past Roxanne and squeezed behind her towel rack in hopes she would give up or decide to hand him a shower cap and let him bathe himself. The woman started up the water in the bathtub. A minute later the towel rack was pushed aside and Roxanne stooped to lift the dog again. Sirius made to dive past her when he realized the only place to go was either towards Roxanne or into the tub. He opted for the latter, instantly regretting the decision. A second after his paws splashed into the warm water, Roxanne leapt in after him. Before he could question her sanity, she had him cornered and was squeezing generous amounts of shampoo into her palm.

'She's mad, isn't she...? The only person I can find to take me in and she'd mad...' he thought, backing as far against the wall as he could.

Sirius gave a yip when a rush of water hit him from above. Roxanne chuckled, turning off the shower once the dog was satisfactorily soaked.

"This isn't much worse then having twenty splinters removed, I assure you. i bathe every night and I'm still alive," she mused, rubbing the shampoo into the dog's shaggy black coat.

The scent of green tea leaves hit Sirius's nose as the woman scrubbed the mud out of his fur for all she was worth. Green tea? He'd smell like a flower for a week... A more pressing matter came to his mind. He remembered that Roxanne wasn't quite aware of the fact he was as human as she was. She was giving him shelter and food and tending to his wounds. She deserved to be respected, and Sirius was certain she wouldn't consider finding out she had had her hands all over a grown wizard and not a dog respectful. Again he struggled to leap past her and push her away.

"Ah! You're getting soap in my eyes!" she said, scrubbing a spot of mud off of the dog's ear. "Stop moving around or I'll have to sedate you... somehow..."

Sirius wasn't exactly sure what she had at her disposal that could sedate someone, but he didn't entirely doubt she could carry out her threat. Her hands moved to rub at an area on his back. His aching muscles seemed to relax at the touch. Sirius slowly ceased his struggle against Roxanne's efforts. This was the first human contact he'd had in over a decade and it felt good... Just as Sirius was allowing himself to relax a bit, a secomd wave of water fell on him from above.

"All done," she said, turning the shower off and stepping out of the tub. "Not so horrible, right?"

Sirius guiltily had to agree with that statement. He shook the water from his fur and hopped out of the confines of the tub. Roxanne opened the bathroom door and let the dog out. She laid a large towel out on her rug and whitled for him to come over.

"I'd appreciate you not soaking my carpet, not that you understand a word I'm saying to you," she sighed.

Feeling a bit resentful at her insinuating his ignorance, Sirius sat down on the towel to prove he understood. Roxanne raised a brow at the dog.

"Alright, so you're a little smarter than I thought," she mummbled. "... Well, I'll get you some food. Stay."

A moment later, a heaping dish of chopped up beef franks were set before him. Sirius dove at the plate, practically inhaling its contents. Roxanne chuckled and returned to the bathroom to clean it up.

Sirius laid down on the towel, licking his chops after he consumed nearly eight pounds of hot dogs in under ten minutes. He saw a splash of red on the white towel out of the corner of his eye. His paw was still bleeding a bit. He frowned inwardly. How long would that take to heal? How long would he remain at this girl's home?

That was when it occured to Sirius that he had no idea what day it was. He didn't even have a clue as to which month. How long was it until the next school year at Hogwart's began? And where was he? Hogwarts was no where near his current location, of that he could be sure. He really hadn't considered what he would do once he escaped Azkaban. All he knew was that he needed to acquire a wand and manage to get into Hogwarts and find Pettigrew to pay him back for the past twelve years.

He let out a wide yawn despite the emotions that flared up inside him at the thought of finding Pettigrew. Sirius was always known for being rather brash and thoughtless when it came to his actions. He never agreed with those sentiments. It felt wrong to him to waste time when action could be taken immediately. It felt wrong to wait until Peter showed himself to Sirius and Remus. It felt wrong to listen to Remus about not letting his emotions control him, even with James and Lily's death making him near mad with sorrow and anger and guilt. So he acted. He found Pettigrew himself and the little rat turned the tables. Sirius landed in Azkaban, labeled the treacherous murderer, while Pettigrew got away honored as the faithful martyr. And as far as the world knew, it was true. Harry thought he murdered his parents. Dumbledore thought it. Remus thought it.

Sirius thought about his friend Remus Lupin, not for the first time since the day his life was flipped upside down. How was he getting along? The only thing that made made life bearable for the man had been having his friends. He'd told Sirius himself. Now what was he doing? Locking himself up every fullmoon, alone? Walking through the world, afraid to get too close to anyone? Wondering why Sirius had murdered their three best friends? Even if he ever managed to find Remus and convince him he was innocent, it would never be the same. Especially since Sirius didn't really think himself innocent.

He pushed those thoughts aside for now. Why torture himself again? Soon all would be set right...

"Wow... you didn't leave a scrap, did you?" Roxanne said, picking up the plate she'd set in front of him. "You eat like a horse..."

Roxanne bit her bottom lip, eyeing the animals thin frame. She went into the kitchen and refilled the plate without another moment's hesitation. Sirius gladly cleaned another dish of hot dogs, diving at it before it touched the floor. She gave him a scratch behind the ears, sitting on the slightly damp rug beside him.

"You seem smart for a dog, so listen if you can," she said. "I'm not exactly permitted to have any type of pets up here. My landlord would kick me on the street and toss a fine or two in if he could. I've decided to keep you, but if you go barking all the time we'll both be out in the cold. Understood?"

Sirius gave a nod, forgetting he was a dog. Roxanne let out a laugh, ruffling the damp fur atop his head.

"I'll take that as a yes," she mused. "I wouldn't have sent you away, anyway. It gets lonely. Just between you and me, I'm not very popular around this city... Even less so than I was in high school."

Sirius cocked his head to one side. Not popular? He couldn't imagine Roxanne not having a following in her high school days. If she were a couple inches taller, she could be a model, he was sure. She frowned, removing her hand from his head and looking at it.

"I don't know what to do. I can't help whatever it is..." she muttered, then glanced over at the dog. "You must think I'm crazy for talking to you like a person, but believe me, you sitting there listening is enough for me. I haven't seen my family in a year and the people here aren't too fond of me..."

At this point, Sirius was again doubting the girl's sanity. But then again, how many people had doubted his in his lifetime, even before he became a 'murderer'?

"I suppose it's partially due to my little reputation. It doesn't help that the crazy bloke got out of prison last week," she snorted. "They look at me like I helped him get out or something."

'She can't be talking about who I think she's talking about...' Sirius thought.

"It's not my fault I was there when Sirius Black supposedly killed all those people," she shrugged.

'Supposedly...?' he wondered.

Roxanne sighed and got up. "Well, I'm off to bed. Try to be quiet so Mr. Reckles doesn't hear a dog in my apartment. 'Night."

No no no, come back... Why 'supposedly?'' Sirius thought, watching her walk into her bedroom. 'Damn.'

It seemed like his stay with Roxanne Callisto was about to become a little more interesting.