Chapter 9: Jeff

The days turned into weeks and the wall steadily grew. By the time a month had passed the group had most of the outer structure built. That wasn't to say they were nearly done however, given the needs to build the roof and inner walls. The men had scavenged and built tirelessly, and Wendy, Trixie, Fisky, and Chilli all assisted as well. Even some of the older kids pitched in from time to time.

It was Tuesday, which meant that Wendy, Stripe, and Chilli had off of building duty-Wendy and Stripe running things in the camp and Chilli teaching the kids. This meant that the remaining adults were working on starting the final layer of the rear wall as the sun started toward the middle of the sky. It was hard work, and it had certainly led to noted changes in the physiques of all the adults. Bandit and Stripe had both slimmed down considerably, and while neither could have been described as weak at any point of their adult lives the physical labor definitely had led to increased strength. Similarly, Nate and Jeff had bulked up slightly, with the collie more than slightly happy at the change.

"I guess all this hard work has paid off in more than one way." He grunted as he helped Bandit and Jeff move a large beam into place. "I never looked this good before. I guess all this manual labor has some fringe benefits."

Bandit smirked, "Yeah, enjoy it while ya can, some of us lost that ability years ago."

"Oh come off it Ban." Rad teased, "Even when you were younger you were always a bit on the pudgy side."

"Hey!" Bandit frowned, "I wasn't chubby! I was big boned."

"Sure, sure… What was it mum always called you?" Rad grinned wickedly.

"Don't you fucking dare…" Bandit warned.

"Her chubby little cubby puppy?" Rad dodged as Bandit threw a handful of dirt at him.

"Really, throwing dirt? Are you a child?" Rad smirked.

'You're both children." Frisky interrupted, lugging a sheet of plywood up to their level.

"They really are." Jeff agreed, joining her as he held the opposite end.

Nate grinned and shook his head. "Hey Jeff, not to be rude, but I don't really know a ton about you. How'd a guy as nice and decent and you end up friends with my uncle?"

Rad scowled as Bandit and Frisky chuckled.

Jeff looked at Rad, "It's a long story."

"I don't mind. I like a good story." Nate said, helping get the plywood into position.

"Well, if you're certain…"

"Yeah, go ahead mate." Bandit encouraged.

"Okay." Jeff smiled as he exhaled.

"As you know I'm the oldest one here by a few years. I was born in 1973 in Dimapur, which was at the time a decently large city by your standards, but not very large by Indian ones. I had a loving family, and my parents cared for me and my older brothers very much." He paused, inhaling slightly. "As you can tell I look like a kombai-that's from my mother's side. But my father, well, he wasn't from India."

"Where was he from?" Frisky asked.

"My father's father had been a member of the British armed forces and had been deployed in India prior to its status as a free country. He loved the nation and decided to remain, even after Britain declared that it was an independent nation. He was a beagle, as was my father."

"You're a mixed breed?" Rad raised an eyebrow, "You never told me that."

Jeff shrugged, "It never came up."

"It doesn't matter to me, just surprised is all." Rad nodded.

"I know it doesn't matter to you, I've known you all these years and you've never done anything to give me that idea. Unfortunately growing up it wasn't that way. My parents loved each other, and despite my mother's family's wishes they wed. At the time it was considered scandalous, the idea of mixing breeds was frowned upon, and the idea to mix with someone from a completely different culture… Well, it was considered a major taboo. I was the most 'normal' looking of my brothers; they all had more pronounced elements of my father." He sighed, recollecting the siblings he no longer had.

"But regardless people knew that we weren't 'real' kombais, or even 'real' Indians because we'd come from mixed breeds. It wasn't easy as a child, there were many times my brothers and I were insulted, taunted, and in more than one case threatened because of our background."

Rad placed a hand on Jeff's shoulder, it was clear he'd heard this before and he knew it was a rough subject. "It's okay mate, we're here now."

"Thanks." Jeff smiled slightly, looking up at Rad. "In any case, I grew up overcame some of the prejudice that was leveled against me. I met a beautiful woman named Bhavani when I was 19 and she didn't mind that I was mixed, as it turned out three years later we were wed." He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

"We got our own apartment and we started a family. We had two beautiful girls and a boy- Swathi, Preeti, and Sai. I loved them with all my heart, and I cannot tell you the pain I feel thinking about how they are no longer in my life."

"Believe me mate, we understand." Bandit said, "It's something that no parent should ever live through."

"Thank you." He cleared his throat. "Now to the part on how I met the red-haired dog who I chose to make my best friend. It was difficult to make ends meet, so I started working on an oil rig. It was far from my family, but the pay was good. Rad and I were stationed on the same rig and hit it off. We both were very much into soccer, and while the other guys made fun of me for my accent and belittled me for my name, Rad stuck up for me." He smiled as he looked at Rad, who was blushing slightly.

"He may be a moron, but he is a good man." Jeff nodded at Frisky, "You choose wisely. He has an empty head, but a large heart."

"Hollow as a coconut." Rad tapped his forehead jokingly.

"But coconuts are full of water." Bandit stated, immediately thinking of his niece.

"See?" Jeff chuckled as Rad frowned. "Oh, you know it's in good humor. Don't be angry." Rad rolled his eyes and smiled, showing he wasn't really angry. "Rad and I became closer over time, and over the last twenty years we'd managed to end up on the same rigs many times." He swallowed dryly, "When the outbreak was starting Rad helped me contact the Australian government to try and get them as refugees. Unfortunately they were denied entry, as it was considered a 'contagion risk'." He looked down. "My home city was overrun, and in an effort to keep the virus from spreading the Indian government authorized a tactical nuclear strike on it." He closed his eyes and tried to keep calm. "That was over two years ago. Almost a year before your country succumbed."

Rad walked over the Jeff and let him place his head on his shoulder. There they stood, the kombai weeping into the blue heeler's shoulder. Rad rubbed his back and explained, "Jeff lost everyone. When he found out about the strike he tried to jump off the rig. I stopped him, but I had to restrain him so he wouldn't try again." He paused. "With time we managed to work through the grieving process and we managed to get him feeling better." He paused, looking down. Jeff sniffled and looked up, their muzzles nearly touching as they looked into each other's eyes. Rad kissed him on the snout. "Hey, you've still got me. Okay?" Jeff nodded. Suddenly realizing the others present Rad amended his statement, "You've got all of us. We're here for you mate."

Frisky crossed her arms slightly, a knowing smile present as she looked at her husband and his best friend. She'd always been suspect, but she had more than enough proof at this point.

***Author's Note***

Hello everyone! Sorry this chapter is a bit on the shorter side. It was originally going to be taking place at the same time as the previous one, but I wanted to give each part its own piece. In any case, I hope you liked it! If you did, comments are always appreciated, but not required. Thanks again for reading!