As dusk came closer, O'Connell knew he had to feed the cat, dog and wolf. He wasn't sure what to feed Lucky. Lucky was a wild animal, and ate raw meat. O'Connell wondered if he could feed it dog food. It was a type of dog. O'Connell had listened to the weather report, and fairly heavy snow was predicted the next day, Christmas Day, so O'Connell decided to play it safe and bring Bourke into the house. He grabbed Bourke's leash, then saw Skidder's old gear beside Bourke's. He took Skidder's old blue collar in his hand and bit back tears. He then looked across to where Lucky was watching him placidly. If a wolf was going to live in his house, he would have to have at least some control over it.
He approached Lucky carefully, and showed him the collar. He had thick gloves on, so if he were bitten, he wouldn't sustain too much damage. He hoped. Lucky sniffed the collar and licked O'Connell. O'Connell stroked his fur, then carefully slipped the collar around Lucky's neck and clipped it. Lucky didn't seem to mind, so O'Connell gave him a big hug. Lucky licked him happily. O'Connell thought, what am I doing? I'm hugging a wolf!
O'Connell told Lucky to stay, then went out to the barn to get Bourke. Bourke greeted him with a low growl. He didn't know O'Connell very well. O'Connell let himself be sniffed before attaching the leash to Bourke's collar and leading him to the house. Bourke followed cautiously. O'Connell decided to tie Bourke up in the laundry. Before he could do that, Bourke caught the scent of Gingernut, and jerked the short leash from O'Connell's hands. He raced into the living room and leapt at Gingernut, and started savaging her. Lucky growled and leapt at Bourke, chasing the dog. O'Connell ran out the back door, scared and unwell. His three animals were killing each other! In his haste, he left the door open long enough for Bourke to run out. O'Connell didn't feel well, so he didn't chase the dog.
O'Connell recovered and went back inside and see Gingernut. He had to take care of her. He knelt beside the limp cat and inspected her wounds. She had a scratch on her rear flank and a bite in her stomach, but was otherwise unharmed. O'Connell breathed in deeply, remembering back to the war when humans were hurt. The fact that he was partially responsible for letting Bourke yank the leash out of his hand and that he knew and loved the cat made it worse. But he decided that the wounds weren't that bad. He wished he could take her to a vet, but he knew that he couldn't, because it was too late and the vet would be closed for Christmas Day.
O'Connell ran into the kitchen to grab the first aid kit and some bandages. When he came back, Lucky was licking Gingernut's side, helping to stop the bleeding. Gingernut mewed, and O'Connell and Lucky reassured her while O'Connell carefully slipped the bandage under her body and wrapped her up. He then bandaged her leg. He put some antibacterial stuff on the bandages to prevent infection. He was unsure if he had done the right things, but thought he had. He carefully picked her up and put her on a cushion on the rug in front of the fire to keep her warm and comfortable. She seemed happy, so she went to sleep with Lucky guarding her.