Disclaimer: Jack's not mine (sigh)... Jaffer is (yay!)
~*~
"Doctor? Colonel O'Neill is out in the waiting room."
"With Jaffer?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Is he bleeding?"
"They both are."
"Both of them?"
"Colonel O'Neill and Jaffer." The vet tech hesitated, and smiled. "The boy seems fine, though."
"Shawn's out there?"
"Yup."
"What's wrong with Jaffer? Can you tell?"
"He's dirty and bloody. Colonel O'Neill said they fell off a mountain."
"You know, that dog is worth a fortune. You'd think Colonel O'Neill would take better care of him."
"He's a lab."
Yeah, that explained everything. Sometimes, no matter how hard you tried to protect and care for something, it was just their nature to get into trouble and hurt themselves.
"Tell him I'll be right there."
~*~
"Hey, Doc."
"Hi, Jack." Dr. Ray sighed inwardly when she saw O'Neill. The man was a mess. His clothes were ripped and smeared with mud and blood, and his face was scratched. She looked down at Jaffer, who looked back up at her, his tail wagging happily. He was a mess, too. Dirty and bloody, but it didn't look like he'd taken any lasting harm. "Do I dare ask what happened?"
"It wasn't my fault." Jack said, quickly.
"Jaffer fell down the side of the mountain," Shawn said, grinning up at the vet. "He was going after a bird, and the bird flew away."
"Unfortunately, Jaffer can't fly?"
Jack nodded. "I grabbed for him, and got hold of him-"
"But he lost his balance and they both went tumbling down the hill."
"I tried, Doc. I swear."
She sighed.
"He did." Shawn assured her.
"I'm sure he did, Shawn."
She knelt down next to Jaffer, and the black lab wuffled her face and neck happily while she tried to look through the mud caked on his sides for injuries.
"Why were you hiking in the rain?" She asked, curiously.
"We weren't. We were looking for a good fishing spot."
"Fishing?" Her eyes widened.
"Not to take Jaffer, honest." Jack assured her. "Shawn's mom and dad want to find a couple good spots up by their cabin on Bear Lake, so we were just out looking."
"It wasn't really raining all that hard." Shawn said, coming to Jack's defense.
She nodded, wondering how she'd managed to be the lucky one who was the doctor for what had to be the most accident prone Black Lab in the world. Probably, she thought to herself, there was a doctor somewhere who was wondering the same thing about Jack O'Neill, since whenever Jaffer came in bloody; Jack was usually in the same condition.
"Let's go to the back and see if we can get him cleaned up, shall we?"
She didn't bother to tell them to wait. Jaffer refused to go with her without Jack close at hand, and Jack paced the waiting room nervously any time the dog was out of his sight. The two had quite a connection.
"Get him up into the sink, Colonel." She told Jack when they reached the back room. Jack leaned down and picked up his dog – not as easy a task as it used to be, since the lab was growing quickly and weighed more every day – and deposited him in the huge stainless steel washing sink.
"Can I spray him off?" Shawn asked.
This was nothing new to any of them. Even Jaffer looked at the spray nozzle expectantly, knowing what was coming.
"Go ahead." She didn't bother to remind him to be careful. Shawn was a gentle boy anyways, and when it came to Jaffer, he knew how much the dog meant to Jack, who meant everything to Shawn.
Shawn cleaned Jaffer's glossy black coat carefully, revealing a few cuts that were still bleeding, but nothing that was too serious. Doctor Ray checked them as she dried the lab, dabbing at the bloodiest of them, but shaking her head when Jack asked if he was going to need stitches.
"He won't. Not this time." She looked over at O'Neill. Who probably would. "Maybe you guys should take it easy the rest of the day?"
"Yeah." Jack nodded. "We're going to just go back to my place and veg in front of the TV."
"Good." They couldn't get hurt in front of the TV. Of course, they had before, but that had been a fluke, right? Jaffer had ran into the stand that held the TV, and had knocked the whole thing over onto him and Shawn. But Jack had taken steps to prevent that kind of thing from happening again, so it probably wouldn't. One thing about Colonel O'Neill, she had to admit, he never let the same thing happen to his dog more than once. Well... except the fish hook incidents. But they didn't count.
"We can't get hurt watching TV." Shawn assured her, grinning as though he understood exactly what she was thinking.
"Uh huh." She gestured for Jack to get Jaffer out of the sink, which he did. "Try not to let him get wet for a few days, Jack. If the cuts look like they're not healing, bring him back and we'll stitch them up anyways."
She really didn't need to tell him that. He knew her instructions by heart, she was sure. But it never hurt to remind him.
"I will, Doc. Thanks."
"You'd better get yourself looked at." She said, looking at him critically. "You're sure you didn't break anything?"
"Nah, I'm fine. I'll go take a shower and get cleaned up, and see if any of the cuts look too serious."
Which meant that he wasn't going to do any such thing. He'd take a shower and get cleaned up, and only of an important organ fell out of one of the cuts would he go get it checked out. She didn't say anything, though. Jack wasn't her patient, Jaffer was. And he was healthy enough to be sent home.
"Okay." She smiled down at Shawn. "What are you guys doing next weekend?" Might as well be prepared.
~*~
"Doctor? Colonel O'Neill is out in the waiting room."
"With Jaffer?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Is he bleeding?"
"They both are."
"Both of them?"
"Colonel O'Neill and Jaffer." The vet tech hesitated, and smiled. "The boy seems fine, though."
"Shawn's out there?"
"Yup."
"What's wrong with Jaffer? Can you tell?"
"He's dirty and bloody. Colonel O'Neill said they fell off a mountain."
"You know, that dog is worth a fortune. You'd think Colonel O'Neill would take better care of him."
"He's a lab."
Yeah, that explained everything. Sometimes, no matter how hard you tried to protect and care for something, it was just their nature to get into trouble and hurt themselves.
"Tell him I'll be right there."
~*~
"Hey, Doc."
"Hi, Jack." Dr. Ray sighed inwardly when she saw O'Neill. The man was a mess. His clothes were ripped and smeared with mud and blood, and his face was scratched. She looked down at Jaffer, who looked back up at her, his tail wagging happily. He was a mess, too. Dirty and bloody, but it didn't look like he'd taken any lasting harm. "Do I dare ask what happened?"
"It wasn't my fault." Jack said, quickly.
"Jaffer fell down the side of the mountain," Shawn said, grinning up at the vet. "He was going after a bird, and the bird flew away."
"Unfortunately, Jaffer can't fly?"
Jack nodded. "I grabbed for him, and got hold of him-"
"But he lost his balance and they both went tumbling down the hill."
"I tried, Doc. I swear."
She sighed.
"He did." Shawn assured her.
"I'm sure he did, Shawn."
She knelt down next to Jaffer, and the black lab wuffled her face and neck happily while she tried to look through the mud caked on his sides for injuries.
"Why were you hiking in the rain?" She asked, curiously.
"We weren't. We were looking for a good fishing spot."
"Fishing?" Her eyes widened.
"Not to take Jaffer, honest." Jack assured her. "Shawn's mom and dad want to find a couple good spots up by their cabin on Bear Lake, so we were just out looking."
"It wasn't really raining all that hard." Shawn said, coming to Jack's defense.
She nodded, wondering how she'd managed to be the lucky one who was the doctor for what had to be the most accident prone Black Lab in the world. Probably, she thought to herself, there was a doctor somewhere who was wondering the same thing about Jack O'Neill, since whenever Jaffer came in bloody; Jack was usually in the same condition.
"Let's go to the back and see if we can get him cleaned up, shall we?"
She didn't bother to tell them to wait. Jaffer refused to go with her without Jack close at hand, and Jack paced the waiting room nervously any time the dog was out of his sight. The two had quite a connection.
"Get him up into the sink, Colonel." She told Jack when they reached the back room. Jack leaned down and picked up his dog – not as easy a task as it used to be, since the lab was growing quickly and weighed more every day – and deposited him in the huge stainless steel washing sink.
"Can I spray him off?" Shawn asked.
This was nothing new to any of them. Even Jaffer looked at the spray nozzle expectantly, knowing what was coming.
"Go ahead." She didn't bother to remind him to be careful. Shawn was a gentle boy anyways, and when it came to Jaffer, he knew how much the dog meant to Jack, who meant everything to Shawn.
Shawn cleaned Jaffer's glossy black coat carefully, revealing a few cuts that were still bleeding, but nothing that was too serious. Doctor Ray checked them as she dried the lab, dabbing at the bloodiest of them, but shaking her head when Jack asked if he was going to need stitches.
"He won't. Not this time." She looked over at O'Neill. Who probably would. "Maybe you guys should take it easy the rest of the day?"
"Yeah." Jack nodded. "We're going to just go back to my place and veg in front of the TV."
"Good." They couldn't get hurt in front of the TV. Of course, they had before, but that had been a fluke, right? Jaffer had ran into the stand that held the TV, and had knocked the whole thing over onto him and Shawn. But Jack had taken steps to prevent that kind of thing from happening again, so it probably wouldn't. One thing about Colonel O'Neill, she had to admit, he never let the same thing happen to his dog more than once. Well... except the fish hook incidents. But they didn't count.
"We can't get hurt watching TV." Shawn assured her, grinning as though he understood exactly what she was thinking.
"Uh huh." She gestured for Jack to get Jaffer out of the sink, which he did. "Try not to let him get wet for a few days, Jack. If the cuts look like they're not healing, bring him back and we'll stitch them up anyways."
She really didn't need to tell him that. He knew her instructions by heart, she was sure. But it never hurt to remind him.
"I will, Doc. Thanks."
"You'd better get yourself looked at." She said, looking at him critically. "You're sure you didn't break anything?"
"Nah, I'm fine. I'll go take a shower and get cleaned up, and see if any of the cuts look too serious."
Which meant that he wasn't going to do any such thing. He'd take a shower and get cleaned up, and only of an important organ fell out of one of the cuts would he go get it checked out. She didn't say anything, though. Jack wasn't her patient, Jaffer was. And he was healthy enough to be sent home.
"Okay." She smiled down at Shawn. "What are you guys doing next weekend?" Might as well be prepared.