Once the vet had left, Jess did one last check of Anne's I.V. Seeing that it had finished Jess detached the line but left the I.V. Port in place. Covering the port with some stretchy bandages and a compression sleeve to protect it from being tampered with by the dog Jess straightened back up and nearly had a heart attack seeing Scott standing directly behind her watching her every move. "Fish Fingers!" Jess yelled jumping back away from Scott. The sudden yell woke Anne who tried to scramble to her feet but only made it half way before yelping and slouching back down onto the dog bed with a pitiful whimper. Jess instantly dropped to her knees and stroked the dog while she cooed a soft apology. "I'm sorry Raggedy Anne. I didn't mean to yell and wake you up. Silly Scott scared the stuffing out of me sneaking up behind me like that." Shooting Scott a dirty looked Jess continued speaking to the dog. "If I didn't know any better I would wonder if he was part cat with how quiet he is on his feet." To Jess's surprise Scott barked out a laugh in reply to her cat comment.
"I am definitely NOT, part cat." Scott said with a rueful smile. "Sorry, I startled you." Tilting his head to the side Scott asked quietly. "Do I need to make it up with some fish fingers and custard?"
Jess gasped loudly. "Alas, Dear Anne, it seems I have been found out. As the massive Doctor Who Nerd I truly am!" She cried out dramatically while helping the now hyper, wiggling dog to it's feet. Gently ruffling the dogs fur around her ears Jess leaned in and mock whispered to the dog. "He must never discover that I had my truck repainted Tardis Blue after I finished all the repair work on the frame."
Scott laughed out loud and crouching down in the door of the pen he let Anne sidle up to him and sniff him warily before he attempted to pet her. Once he started petting her, her short little stub of a tail started to wag madly and she was suddenly bouncing stiffly around him licking his face and trembling with joy. "It's OK Anne." Scott mock whispered to the dog. "You can tell Jess that I have been reliably informed that anyone who spends time around me is already considered a nerd by association."
Jess laughed long and hard at Scott's last remark. Climbing to her feet she grabbed a leash and clipped it to the shinny new red collar Dr. Deaton had placed on Raggedy Anne the first time she had needed to go outside. The doctor had gone so far as to use the tag machine to make a tag with the name Raggedy Anne on one side and the number for the Animal Clinic on the other. Seeing the tag Scott raised an eyebrow at Jess. "Don'tlook at me. The Doc made that." Jess defended looking anywhere but at the grinning teen.
"What do you think the chances of this dog being placed up for adoption are?" Scott asked Jess playfully while he led the way through the dog kennel area to the fenced in exercise yard in the back.
Jess shrugged. "I don't know Dr. Deaton as well as you do. Why don't you tell me?" Jess replied leading Anne around the yard at a slow walk.
Scott shook his head sadly. "Sorry to have to tell you but in all the years I have worked here Dr. Deaton has never kept a single one of the strays. He always finds them new homes no matter how adorable they are."
Jess pouted softly as she looked down at the friendly dog leaning up against her leg and staring up at her in adoration. "Well there is a first time for everything. Or maybe I will just have to claim her for myself. She can spend her days at the clinic and her nights with me."
Heading back inside once Anne finished marking every corner of the yard Jess managed to settle her on a dog bed with a bowl of food and a dish of water while Scott showed Jess where the most commonly used items were stored. Once Anne was back asleep Scott showed Jess where the cleaning supplies were kept and together they began to let the dogs out into the fenced yard a few at a time and quickly and efficiently clean their pens and refill their waters. Once all the pens were clean they quickly fed all the dogs. Hauling the food and cleaning supplies to the cat room Scott and Jess were shocked by the angry yowls and hisses that cats started the moment Scott approached any of the cages.
"See." Scott joked clearly uncomfortable and confused by the cats reaction but trying to cover it. "Clearly, I am not part cat."
"Right, how could I have ever thought such a thing." Jess joked back to try and lighten the mood. Reaching up Jess ruffled Scott's long hair gently and said. "Maybe you are part puppy, you certainly have the fluffy fur to fit the part."
Laughing softly Scott gently grabbed Jess's arm and pushed it away from his hair spotting the time on her watch while he did he pulled it back closer to get a better look. "Wow! Is that the time already? We were meant to close 20 minutes ago."
Turning to the now calm cat room Jess placed her hand on the doornob and made a suggestion. "I think we should divide and conquer. Since the cats don't seem to want to be around your puppy self. I can look after the cats and clean their cages while you clean up the front rooms and keep an eye on Anne."
Scott was quick to agree and headed to the front of the clinic with obvious relief, leaving Jess alone to complete the care and cleaning needed in the cat room.
Nearly an hour later Jess returned to the front of the clinic and was shocked to find a young girl standing with Scott. The two teens were gently petting a dog with a splinted leg. The supplies for splinting a leg were still sitting on the exam table beside the dog. The teens seemed to be lost in each other's presences and Jess leaned again the wall and watched as Scott gently brushed an eye lash from the girl's cheek. Waiting for the adorable moment to be over Jess gently cleared her throat and tried not to smirk as the teens lept apart as if they had been shocked. "Is everything alright Scott?" Jess asked. "I left you watching one patient and locking the door and came back to find two patients and a guest."
Scott rubbed the back of his neck and flushed brightly. "Um. Yeah, everything is fine. To tell the truth I kind of forgot you were back there. Allison showed up with this dog that...well...it got hit on the road." Scott stuttered glancing back and forth between Jess and Allison nervously. The girl, Allison, seeing Jess, had frowned for a moment, moved a little further away from Scott, and stood a little straighter. Seeing the tension building Jess quickly stepped forward and tried to put the two teens at ease.
"Not surprising you forgot about me Scott. Dr. Deaton did just hire me a few hours before you got to work today." Jess stated loudly moving forward to exam the dog. "Thanks again for showing me around the place and showing me how the Doc likes to have things done. Now let's look at this poor pups leg."
The girl seems relieved to hear that the girl being here had nothing to do with Scott but frowned in concern when she moved to examine the dog. "Shouldn't we wait and have the vet check it over?" She asked. Resting her hand protectively on the dog.
Jess smiled reassuringly at the girl and spoke to her while she examined the dog. "I work for the vet. Just started today but I already proved to him that I can take and read x-rays and perform basic medical care. If I find anything out of my depth, we can call the vet. But from the looks of things the only injury seems to be the leg. Is this your dog?"
The girl flushed and hung her head. "Um...no...I'm actually the one that hit the poor thing." Tears started to fill her eyes and she looked at Jess and tried to explain sounding desperate. "It just ran out on to the road! I tried to stop but it all happened so fast. I came to try and get it some help. I am so sorry."
Shocked Jess suddenly found herself faced with a crying teenage girl. Glancing behind herself at Scott for help. Jess found that he looked equally as panicked as he gestured wildly at Jess while mouthing "DO SOMETHING!" Jess turned back to the crying teen and reaching up she patted her back awkwardly. "There, there...um Allison was it? The dog looks fine. Honestly! We had a much more severe car victim today and the jerk who hit her just drove away and left her bleeding out in the middle of the street."
Allison gasped in horror in response to Jess's attempts to comfort her.
"Hey! No, she is fine now. Some good Samaritans brought her here for us to help and she is recovering wonderfully. The dog you hit is barely hurt in comparison and you did the right thing by bringing it here to get it the help it needed. And Scott here did a great job splinting the leg. I will just do an x-ray to be sure the leg doesn't need to be reset while Scott takes you to go meet Raggady Anne. Our accident victim from earlier." Jess continued trying to reassure the young girl.
Turning to Scott Jess grimaced at his look of disbelief at how bad she was at comforting the teenage girl. Scott smoothly stepped forwards and gently guided Allison out of the room while whistling to call Anne, who had been sitting quietly on her dog bed. Someone at some point had done a good job training the dog. That or Scott was uncannily good at handling dogs. Earlier in the day the dog had refused to stay on the dog bed unless someone sat on it with her. And here she was sitting patiently waiting to be called. Probably just a result of the drugs in the dogs system earlier.
A few minutes later Jess had finished taking the x-ray. After checking it to be sure that the bone was totally straight Jess waited for Scott to return from seeing Allison off. Jess let Scott give the dog a mild pain killer and sedative and settle it in the pen that Anne had been in earlier that day. Then Jess taught Scott a simple formula for calculating the dose needed for the combination drug. It was one of Jess's favorites to use for pain management and to help keep the animal settled. Jess left Scott watching the two dogs and mooning over his upcoming party date while she got in her truck and ran to the store for some non perishable food she could snack on that night and the next morning. So much for her plans to stay a second night at the motel. When Jess got back to the clinic she sat on the couch and shared some of her snacks with Scott while he waxed poetically about the wonderful goddess that was Allison Argent.
Later that night after Scott had left and the place was locked up for the night Jess settled on the pull out couch with Anne curled up beside her sleeping soundly. Jess was pleased to have hit it off so well with her new co-worker. She didn't often get to hang out with people close to her own age and she was enjoying being able to hang out with another teenager without anyone knowing that she was around the same age. Jess wasn't sure just how much of an age gap there was between them but something about Scott made her feel like he was a younger kid who needed protecting. Maybe it was the air of innocence he gave off. Or that way he tilted his head when confused like a puzzled puppy. It felt sort of like what she imagined having a little brother would have been like. Probably the same way Miguel had felt about her over the years. Jess would be sure to tell Miguel and Joe all about Scott McCall the boy who reminded her so much of a puppy and made her feel strangely protective in her next email. For now Jess had a warm bed, a furry companion, two new jobs. And a couple of possible friends. Beacon Hill seemed like a paradise.