*Does a happy dance* I'm happy cuz a lot of people are telling me to
continue this fic. Happy to see so many proud supporters of D+P and H+H!!!
YAY!!!
Haily-Comet, da master of odd couples, I think you'll like this chappie. Why? Mushy-mushy B+P!!! Yap, that's right! Oh yeah, and I threw in a little S+M for my main woman, Numbuh 7 (and o' course all you other S+M fans).
One other thing - I did change the rating to PG. For a little language and this chappie, a little violence (ack! Violence!) iin the form of a fist- fight. Okay, here goes da fic.
(I don't own Matchbox 20 or their song, "Back 2 Good")
~
Hannah shivered, sitting curled up in the hollow tree she had discovered. The rain had brought with it a strong, cold wind, and the shelter of the tree didn't completely shield her from its chill. She flinched every time a bolt of lightning flashed before her, and every time the rumble of thunder shook the ground. She hated it, but she couldn't go back to the clubhouse now. And if she went back to her owner's apartment, they would still find her. She didn't want to face the trouble she had started, so instead she faced the storm. She wanted to cry again, but instead she curled up further, creating whatever warmth she could, and tried to sleep.
The thunder became louder. Lightning was flashing every few seconds around her.
Suddenly, Hannah saw the air outside the tree light up in a flash of lightning, and at the same time, she heard a loud crack and the whole tree shook. She gasped as it became clear to her that the tree had been struck by lighting. In terror, she ran out of the tree, into the rain. A branch fell with a thud from the tree onto the ground; it was on fire. Hannah watched, horrified, as the fire from the branch spread onto the grass. Although it was raining, the cover of the forest kept a good portion of it from reaching the ground, and there were still areas where the ground was fairly dry and the fire caught on quickly. Hannah ran, but without warning the grass in front of her caught fire and a flame shot up. Hannah screamed and turned in the other direction. Everywhere around her, it seemed, fire raged. Her head was spinning; the heat of the fire mixed with the chill of the wind and rain gave her an odd, dizzy feeling. Smoke rose from the flames and made her cough. Her head reeled. And then - then she simply fell forward, unconscious, as the fire burned on and the rain kept falling.
~
Bijou walked home slowly, soaked from head to foot but not caring at all. She had said goodbye to Sandy and Penelope a few minutes ago, when they had parted for the day, and Sandy had agreed to take Penelope home. Now she was alone, inside and out. She felt so empty, so removed. Pashmina was going through a lot. Love was a fragile, "handle with care" kind of emotion, and somehow Pashmina's had slipped. But Bijou had never even had anyone like that, who wanted - or at least pretended to want - to be with her all the time, to hold her and love her and care for her. Why couldn't she find love? Why did all the obvious choices seem so...wrong?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran into something. She had been staring at the ground, at her feet, all the way home, not looking where she was going, and now she felt something against her body.
It was something warm and soft.
Someone warm and soft.
Bijou looked up, not sure who she was expecting to see.
"Oh. Sorry."
That voice, that was - it was Panda!
Bijou's eyes sparkled as she looked up and into his face with relief, acceptance, love...
"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching," he said. "Are you okay?"
Bijou didn't know what was going on inside her. She had never felt like this before. She couldn't find an answer, so she didn't speak, but her body was still pressed against his. Neither of them had made a move to draw back.
"Are you...alright?" Panda tried again.
Bijou nodded. "Oui, zank you," she said. "It vas my fault entirely."
Panda smiled at her. She smiled back.
Then Panda looked away. "Bijou, I -" he started to say, then abruptly stopped.
"Oui?" Bijou looked at him questioningly.
"I - Well I guess I - I was on my way to your house because I felt like I needed to talk to one of you girls about how Pashmina's doing, because I'm worried about her."
"Oh." Bijou stared at the ground. That wasn't exactly what she had been hoping to hear. "Pashmina, she is having some trouble dealing vith everything that has happened, oui. But I think, give her time, she vill get over it, and move on."
Panda nodded. "Good," he said. "I hate to see someone in so much pain."
"I know vhat you mean," Bijou said, at the same time thinking "You have no idea how much pain I am in right now." Here she was, standing right in front of someone who made her feel...good. And alive. And he had no idea how she felt, and he probably didn't feel at all the same way. Oh well. Another wasted dream.
"Bijou, there's something else I want to tell you."
"There is?" Bijou felt her heart beating fast as the hope of love rushed back to her like an arrow.
"Yeah, well, see, I...I guess I...I didn't actually come here to ask you that." Panda's nervousness showed clearly in his shaky voice.
"Then vhy are you here?" Bijou asked, though she could barely hear him over the sound of her own beating heart.
"Because I...because I..."
Panda didn't need to finish what he was saying. Bijou didn't let him. Knowing exactly what he was going to say, and feeling exactly the same way, she pulled him towards her and kissed him. Panda was startled at first, but then gave himself over and returned the kiss. Locked in a loving embrace, the two let the rain pour over them, as if it were the very emotion they were feeling, flooding them suddenly and strongly like a hurricane.
~
"Sandy, you shouldn't worry so much. It should be expected for her to feel this way, and she may keep to herself for days, maybe weeks. But she'll come around, just wait."
Instead of going home, Sandy had decided to pay a visit to Maxwell and voice her concerns about Pashmina's condition, as soon as she had dropped Penelope off at Kylie's house. She hadn't wanted to go home; she had wanted to go back and comfort Pashmina. But Sandy had told her it would be okay, that Pashmina would be herself again very soon. However, Sandy wasn't so sure of that herself.
"But Maxy, you...you should have seen her!" she cried, tears falling down her cheeks. "She looked so lost and helpless! And afraid, too."
Maxwell sat down and pulled Sandy down next to him. He placed his paw on top of hers comfortingly.
"She'll be okay," he said. "I promise. You have to let her think this out on her own, if that's what it takes."
Sandy said no more. She leaned onto Maxwell's shoulder and cried into his fur.
"There, there." Maxwell put his arm around her waist and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"I hope nothing ever comes between us," Sandy said softly.
"Me too," Maxwell replied, his fur brushing against hers. "Me too."
~
Dexter didn't know where he was running to. He was just running. Away from all the pain, he imagined. He didn't know what else to do, now that he had seen - them - together.
It reminded him of a song. He started humming it to himself, slowly, trying to keep himself company and not think too much about the pain of it all.
It's nothing, it's so normal you
Just stand there I could say so much
But I don't go there cuz I don't want to
I was thinking if you were lonely
Maybe we could leave here and no one would know
At least not to the point that we would think so
Everyone here, knows everyone here is thinking about
Somebody else
It's best if we all keep it under our heads
I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the way I do
But I'm lonely now, and I don't know how
To get it back to good
This don't mean that, you own me
This ain't no good, in fact it's phony as hell
But things worked out just like you wanted too
If you see me out you don't know me
Try to turn your head, try to give me some room
To figure out just what I'm going to do
And everyone here, hates everyone here for doing just like
They do
It's best if we all keep this quiet instead
And I couldn't tell, why everyone here was doing me like
They do
But I'm sorry now, and I don't know how
To get it back to good
Everyone here, is wondering what it's like to be with
Somebody else
Everyone here's to blame, everyone here
Gets caught up in the pleasure of the pain, everyone hides
Shades of shame, but looking inside we're the same, we're
The same
And we're all grown now, but we don't know how
To get it back to good
Everyone here, knows everyone here is thinking 'bout
Somebody else
It's best if we all keep this under our heads
I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the way I do
But it's over now, and I don't know how, it's over now
There's no getting back to good
And then, all of a sudden, he froze. He realized he had reached the edge of the woods near the clubhouse. And he had picked up Hannah's scent. She must have been here recently. Dexter quickly picked out the direction of the scent and was soon on Hannah's trail, relieved that he had finally found her - almost, anyway. Just a little farther, he guessed. Maybe once he found her, and talked to her, maybe she could put things right again. And then, maybe that was wishful thinking. But it was worth a try.
Soon he reached a small clearing in the woods. Hannah's scent was stronger here. She must be close by, Dexter thought. He scanned the clearing for a sign of her presence and noticed several patches of dry, scorched grass where it looked as if a fire had started and then died quickly. Dexter's heart beat a little faster. What if something had happened to her?
And that's when he saw her.
She was lying on her back not too far from the blackened grass.
Dexter hurried over to her, his breath catching in his throat. Please be okay, he kept repeating in his head. Please be okay.
He reached her side and bent over her motionless body. With a gasp, he noticed that her right side was red in places where it appeared she had been burned. Without hesitation, Dexter lifted one of Hannah's paws and felt for a pulse.
Her heart wasn't beating.
~
"Goodbye, Howdy."
Pashmina turned with a wave and headed back towards home, cold from the rain and wind.
"See ya," Howdy replied, and turned in the opposite direction. He wanted to go home. But he had to find Hannah first.
He shuffled along, letting the rain splash down his neck and back, ignoring the cold. Then he turned his head and looked up.
Dexter...
He had been here not long ago. Very recently, in fact.
And that meant...he had seen...
"Serves him right," Howdy said to himself. "If he thinks Pashmina's fallen for me. After what he did to her." Having no other idea of where to begin looking for Hannah, Howdy decided to follow Dexter's trail, which led off in the direction of the clubhouse. Maybe Dexter knew where Hannah was.
Yeah. Maybe they were on a date. In the rain. How romantic.
~
When Howdy reached the clearing in the woods and saw Dexter kneeling next to Hannah, his mouth approaching hers...
He couldn't take it anymore.
He snapped.
"Get yer filthy paws off her!" he screamed. Dexter looked up, startled, and saw Howdy rushing towards him.
"No, Howdy, wait, I -"
Before he could finish his sentence, Howdy had tackled Dexter and he was thrown to the ground with a thud. And then Howdy was on him like white on rice. Without thinking, without even really realizing what he was doing, Howdy just let his anger and hate take over him. He threw punches left and right, completely letting himself go. Dexter tried to block his blows, but it was useless. His anger was controlling him. He was unstoppable.
Eventually, Dexter somehow managed to pull himself up and away from Howdy's fists. He lifted his paw to his face, and felt the blood oozing from his nose.
"Howdy, stop!" he screamed. "Hannah - she's - I'm not -" At the same time trying desperately to explain the situation to Howdy, Dexter was running back towards Hannah, knowing what he had to do. But before he reached her Howdy leapt at him from behind and threw him to the ground again.
It was getting to be too much. Dexter couldn't take it much longer.
"Hannah - she - she needs my help," he managed to say. "Hannah..." And then everything went black.
Howdy stood up. His shoulders rose and fell as he took several deep, coarse breaths. His paws were still curled into fists and hung at his sides. He didn't even notice the tears sliding down his face, not knowing where they were coming from. Slowly he raised a paw and wiped the sweat, rain, and tears off his face with the back of it.
It wasn't until then that he really realized what he had done, as all the anger and hate, now satisfied, drained out of him.
He took a step back, his eyes on Dexter, lying flat on his face in front of him. A thin stream of blood was smeared across his face, and he had a black eye.
Howdy stepped back again.
"Oh god," he said. "What have I done?"
And then he caught the image of Hannah in the corner of his eye.
She was still lying completely motionless on her back. She hadn't moved at all. Howdy slowly approached her, afraid of what he might find.
He knelt beside her and put a hand on her chest, and felt no heartbeat. Oh, god.
And then he saw the burn marks on her right side.
The side of his brain that wouldn't give in, the side that just wanted to blame Dexter for everything, told him that obviously, Dexter had done this to her. That sadistic freak.
And then the rational side of Howdy's brain told him that something bad had happened to Hannah, and Dexter had been trying to help her.
He had seen what he thought was Dexter kissing Hannah. But she was dying. She was unconscious, and her heart had stopped. That meant that...the only reasonable explanation was that...he had been giving her CPR. That's what it was called when you tried to bring mostly dead people back to life, the rational side of Howdy's brain told him.
"Dammit!" Howdy screamed, and ran back to Dexter.
"Dex! I don't know CPR!!! You hafta wake up!" Howdy lifted Dexter's limp body and shook him a few times. He started crying. "Please! Wake up!" Howdy paused. "Buddy?"
There was no reply.
Howdy gave up all hope. He broke down and sobbed.
This time, he had really screwed up.
Really, REALLY bad.
~
OHNO!!! IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE, DON'T IT??? Okay, sorry bout that. A-hem. So, send me those reviews, and tell me how you like da fic. I'm getting near the end now. You'll have to wait and see what happens, dee-dee-dee!
Haily-Comet, da master of odd couples, I think you'll like this chappie. Why? Mushy-mushy B+P!!! Yap, that's right! Oh yeah, and I threw in a little S+M for my main woman, Numbuh 7 (and o' course all you other S+M fans).
One other thing - I did change the rating to PG. For a little language and this chappie, a little violence (ack! Violence!) iin the form of a fist- fight. Okay, here goes da fic.
(I don't own Matchbox 20 or their song, "Back 2 Good")
~
Hannah shivered, sitting curled up in the hollow tree she had discovered. The rain had brought with it a strong, cold wind, and the shelter of the tree didn't completely shield her from its chill. She flinched every time a bolt of lightning flashed before her, and every time the rumble of thunder shook the ground. She hated it, but she couldn't go back to the clubhouse now. And if she went back to her owner's apartment, they would still find her. She didn't want to face the trouble she had started, so instead she faced the storm. She wanted to cry again, but instead she curled up further, creating whatever warmth she could, and tried to sleep.
The thunder became louder. Lightning was flashing every few seconds around her.
Suddenly, Hannah saw the air outside the tree light up in a flash of lightning, and at the same time, she heard a loud crack and the whole tree shook. She gasped as it became clear to her that the tree had been struck by lighting. In terror, she ran out of the tree, into the rain. A branch fell with a thud from the tree onto the ground; it was on fire. Hannah watched, horrified, as the fire from the branch spread onto the grass. Although it was raining, the cover of the forest kept a good portion of it from reaching the ground, and there were still areas where the ground was fairly dry and the fire caught on quickly. Hannah ran, but without warning the grass in front of her caught fire and a flame shot up. Hannah screamed and turned in the other direction. Everywhere around her, it seemed, fire raged. Her head was spinning; the heat of the fire mixed with the chill of the wind and rain gave her an odd, dizzy feeling. Smoke rose from the flames and made her cough. Her head reeled. And then - then she simply fell forward, unconscious, as the fire burned on and the rain kept falling.
~
Bijou walked home slowly, soaked from head to foot but not caring at all. She had said goodbye to Sandy and Penelope a few minutes ago, when they had parted for the day, and Sandy had agreed to take Penelope home. Now she was alone, inside and out. She felt so empty, so removed. Pashmina was going through a lot. Love was a fragile, "handle with care" kind of emotion, and somehow Pashmina's had slipped. But Bijou had never even had anyone like that, who wanted - or at least pretended to want - to be with her all the time, to hold her and love her and care for her. Why couldn't she find love? Why did all the obvious choices seem so...wrong?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran into something. She had been staring at the ground, at her feet, all the way home, not looking where she was going, and now she felt something against her body.
It was something warm and soft.
Someone warm and soft.
Bijou looked up, not sure who she was expecting to see.
"Oh. Sorry."
That voice, that was - it was Panda!
Bijou's eyes sparkled as she looked up and into his face with relief, acceptance, love...
"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching," he said. "Are you okay?"
Bijou didn't know what was going on inside her. She had never felt like this before. She couldn't find an answer, so she didn't speak, but her body was still pressed against his. Neither of them had made a move to draw back.
"Are you...alright?" Panda tried again.
Bijou nodded. "Oui, zank you," she said. "It vas my fault entirely."
Panda smiled at her. She smiled back.
Then Panda looked away. "Bijou, I -" he started to say, then abruptly stopped.
"Oui?" Bijou looked at him questioningly.
"I - Well I guess I - I was on my way to your house because I felt like I needed to talk to one of you girls about how Pashmina's doing, because I'm worried about her."
"Oh." Bijou stared at the ground. That wasn't exactly what she had been hoping to hear. "Pashmina, she is having some trouble dealing vith everything that has happened, oui. But I think, give her time, she vill get over it, and move on."
Panda nodded. "Good," he said. "I hate to see someone in so much pain."
"I know vhat you mean," Bijou said, at the same time thinking "You have no idea how much pain I am in right now." Here she was, standing right in front of someone who made her feel...good. And alive. And he had no idea how she felt, and he probably didn't feel at all the same way. Oh well. Another wasted dream.
"Bijou, there's something else I want to tell you."
"There is?" Bijou felt her heart beating fast as the hope of love rushed back to her like an arrow.
"Yeah, well, see, I...I guess I...I didn't actually come here to ask you that." Panda's nervousness showed clearly in his shaky voice.
"Then vhy are you here?" Bijou asked, though she could barely hear him over the sound of her own beating heart.
"Because I...because I..."
Panda didn't need to finish what he was saying. Bijou didn't let him. Knowing exactly what he was going to say, and feeling exactly the same way, she pulled him towards her and kissed him. Panda was startled at first, but then gave himself over and returned the kiss. Locked in a loving embrace, the two let the rain pour over them, as if it were the very emotion they were feeling, flooding them suddenly and strongly like a hurricane.
~
"Sandy, you shouldn't worry so much. It should be expected for her to feel this way, and she may keep to herself for days, maybe weeks. But she'll come around, just wait."
Instead of going home, Sandy had decided to pay a visit to Maxwell and voice her concerns about Pashmina's condition, as soon as she had dropped Penelope off at Kylie's house. She hadn't wanted to go home; she had wanted to go back and comfort Pashmina. But Sandy had told her it would be okay, that Pashmina would be herself again very soon. However, Sandy wasn't so sure of that herself.
"But Maxy, you...you should have seen her!" she cried, tears falling down her cheeks. "She looked so lost and helpless! And afraid, too."
Maxwell sat down and pulled Sandy down next to him. He placed his paw on top of hers comfortingly.
"She'll be okay," he said. "I promise. You have to let her think this out on her own, if that's what it takes."
Sandy said no more. She leaned onto Maxwell's shoulder and cried into his fur.
"There, there." Maxwell put his arm around her waist and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"I hope nothing ever comes between us," Sandy said softly.
"Me too," Maxwell replied, his fur brushing against hers. "Me too."
~
Dexter didn't know where he was running to. He was just running. Away from all the pain, he imagined. He didn't know what else to do, now that he had seen - them - together.
It reminded him of a song. He started humming it to himself, slowly, trying to keep himself company and not think too much about the pain of it all.
It's nothing, it's so normal you
Just stand there I could say so much
But I don't go there cuz I don't want to
I was thinking if you were lonely
Maybe we could leave here and no one would know
At least not to the point that we would think so
Everyone here, knows everyone here is thinking about
Somebody else
It's best if we all keep it under our heads
I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the way I do
But I'm lonely now, and I don't know how
To get it back to good
This don't mean that, you own me
This ain't no good, in fact it's phony as hell
But things worked out just like you wanted too
If you see me out you don't know me
Try to turn your head, try to give me some room
To figure out just what I'm going to do
And everyone here, hates everyone here for doing just like
They do
It's best if we all keep this quiet instead
And I couldn't tell, why everyone here was doing me like
They do
But I'm sorry now, and I don't know how
To get it back to good
Everyone here, is wondering what it's like to be with
Somebody else
Everyone here's to blame, everyone here
Gets caught up in the pleasure of the pain, everyone hides
Shades of shame, but looking inside we're the same, we're
The same
And we're all grown now, but we don't know how
To get it back to good
Everyone here, knows everyone here is thinking 'bout
Somebody else
It's best if we all keep this under our heads
I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the way I do
But it's over now, and I don't know how, it's over now
There's no getting back to good
And then, all of a sudden, he froze. He realized he had reached the edge of the woods near the clubhouse. And he had picked up Hannah's scent. She must have been here recently. Dexter quickly picked out the direction of the scent and was soon on Hannah's trail, relieved that he had finally found her - almost, anyway. Just a little farther, he guessed. Maybe once he found her, and talked to her, maybe she could put things right again. And then, maybe that was wishful thinking. But it was worth a try.
Soon he reached a small clearing in the woods. Hannah's scent was stronger here. She must be close by, Dexter thought. He scanned the clearing for a sign of her presence and noticed several patches of dry, scorched grass where it looked as if a fire had started and then died quickly. Dexter's heart beat a little faster. What if something had happened to her?
And that's when he saw her.
She was lying on her back not too far from the blackened grass.
Dexter hurried over to her, his breath catching in his throat. Please be okay, he kept repeating in his head. Please be okay.
He reached her side and bent over her motionless body. With a gasp, he noticed that her right side was red in places where it appeared she had been burned. Without hesitation, Dexter lifted one of Hannah's paws and felt for a pulse.
Her heart wasn't beating.
~
"Goodbye, Howdy."
Pashmina turned with a wave and headed back towards home, cold from the rain and wind.
"See ya," Howdy replied, and turned in the opposite direction. He wanted to go home. But he had to find Hannah first.
He shuffled along, letting the rain splash down his neck and back, ignoring the cold. Then he turned his head and looked up.
Dexter...
He had been here not long ago. Very recently, in fact.
And that meant...he had seen...
"Serves him right," Howdy said to himself. "If he thinks Pashmina's fallen for me. After what he did to her." Having no other idea of where to begin looking for Hannah, Howdy decided to follow Dexter's trail, which led off in the direction of the clubhouse. Maybe Dexter knew where Hannah was.
Yeah. Maybe they were on a date. In the rain. How romantic.
~
When Howdy reached the clearing in the woods and saw Dexter kneeling next to Hannah, his mouth approaching hers...
He couldn't take it anymore.
He snapped.
"Get yer filthy paws off her!" he screamed. Dexter looked up, startled, and saw Howdy rushing towards him.
"No, Howdy, wait, I -"
Before he could finish his sentence, Howdy had tackled Dexter and he was thrown to the ground with a thud. And then Howdy was on him like white on rice. Without thinking, without even really realizing what he was doing, Howdy just let his anger and hate take over him. He threw punches left and right, completely letting himself go. Dexter tried to block his blows, but it was useless. His anger was controlling him. He was unstoppable.
Eventually, Dexter somehow managed to pull himself up and away from Howdy's fists. He lifted his paw to his face, and felt the blood oozing from his nose.
"Howdy, stop!" he screamed. "Hannah - she's - I'm not -" At the same time trying desperately to explain the situation to Howdy, Dexter was running back towards Hannah, knowing what he had to do. But before he reached her Howdy leapt at him from behind and threw him to the ground again.
It was getting to be too much. Dexter couldn't take it much longer.
"Hannah - she - she needs my help," he managed to say. "Hannah..." And then everything went black.
Howdy stood up. His shoulders rose and fell as he took several deep, coarse breaths. His paws were still curled into fists and hung at his sides. He didn't even notice the tears sliding down his face, not knowing where they were coming from. Slowly he raised a paw and wiped the sweat, rain, and tears off his face with the back of it.
It wasn't until then that he really realized what he had done, as all the anger and hate, now satisfied, drained out of him.
He took a step back, his eyes on Dexter, lying flat on his face in front of him. A thin stream of blood was smeared across his face, and he had a black eye.
Howdy stepped back again.
"Oh god," he said. "What have I done?"
And then he caught the image of Hannah in the corner of his eye.
She was still lying completely motionless on her back. She hadn't moved at all. Howdy slowly approached her, afraid of what he might find.
He knelt beside her and put a hand on her chest, and felt no heartbeat. Oh, god.
And then he saw the burn marks on her right side.
The side of his brain that wouldn't give in, the side that just wanted to blame Dexter for everything, told him that obviously, Dexter had done this to her. That sadistic freak.
And then the rational side of Howdy's brain told him that something bad had happened to Hannah, and Dexter had been trying to help her.
He had seen what he thought was Dexter kissing Hannah. But she was dying. She was unconscious, and her heart had stopped. That meant that...the only reasonable explanation was that...he had been giving her CPR. That's what it was called when you tried to bring mostly dead people back to life, the rational side of Howdy's brain told him.
"Dammit!" Howdy screamed, and ran back to Dexter.
"Dex! I don't know CPR!!! You hafta wake up!" Howdy lifted Dexter's limp body and shook him a few times. He started crying. "Please! Wake up!" Howdy paused. "Buddy?"
There was no reply.
Howdy gave up all hope. He broke down and sobbed.
This time, he had really screwed up.
Really, REALLY bad.
~
OHNO!!! IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE, DON'T IT??? Okay, sorry bout that. A-hem. So, send me those reviews, and tell me how you like da fic. I'm getting near the end now. You'll have to wait and see what happens, dee-dee-dee!