True Color
"Wow." Rex blinks twice in disbelief as he looks at the reflection in Joe Morelli's cracked dressing mirror. His body is now totally smooth and hairless except for his head and, well, You-Know-Where. Even the annoying dirty-looking permanent 5 o'clock shadow is gone, and that ugly eagle on his chest is replaced by an ever so cute brightly-colored Hamtaro. The magic gel did work magic, and Vincent sure has a pair of most gentle, experienced hands. Rex apparently is not the first person/animal Vincent waxed, but the forlorn, almost painful look on Vincent's pale face soon silences Rex's curiosity. He may be but a pet hamster, but he knows the sign of a terrible traumatic memory when he sees one on someone's face.
"What now?" Rex asks as Vincent stretches and yawns.
"Now you go get your shower and I'll go get my sleep." Vincent pulls a brand-new toothbrush, a blow dryer, a large bottle of organic mint and lemon-scented shower gel and a tube of blackberry-flavored toothpaste out of the pocket of his robe and hands them to Rex. "We'll move on to the next phase tomorrow morning after breakfast."
Rex washes his hair, scrubs himself squeaky clean, brushes his teeth, and wows as he dries his body and hair in 5 seconds with the help of the magic blow dryer. He then climbs into Morelli's bed and immediately falls asleep, and in his dream attends Stephanie and Ranger's beautiful, serene wedding inside the comfy old glass aquarium on Lula's lap in his own body. He cheers and does a happy dance when the groom kisses his bride, and waves goodbye and weeps happy tears as the sleek black Porsche drives away...
Hours later, he wakes up to the heavenly scent of freshly baked whole wheat bread, unsalted roasted assorted nuts, and mouth-watering tropical fruits, and finds that his mission today is quite simple. All Rex has to do is let Vincent drive him to TPD and persuades the police Chief that Morelli needs to take two weeks off to clear his head, mend his heart, and find someone else to love. Rex, a well-bred and properly raised hamster, nods politely to Morelli's wide-eyed neighbors when gets in the passenger seat of Vincent's car, and hops off the neon purple Lancer in front of the front door of TPD a bit nervously. He then walks into the building, determined to find the police Chief, but stands frozen instead as he spots the boxes of assorted doughnuts on a desk.
Rex gives out a moan. His eyes glaze over. A string of drool escapes his mouth. He always, always LOVES doughnuts. Stephanie used to share hers with him when they still lived in the old apartment, but ever since they moved in with Ranger, doughnuts—along with every other kind of deep-fried or sugar-coated goodies—has become a rare once-in-a-very-very-long-while-if-Ranger-finally-finally-takes-pity-on-Stephanie treat...
58 seconds later, Vincent Plum bolts out of his car, charges into the police station, and tries his best to elbow his way through the crowd of stunned, gaping officers and detectives as a really clean shaven Joseph A. Morelli stuffs his 6th Boston Cream doughnuts into his already bulging cheeks...
And the good news is, detective Morelli has no problem whatsoever obtaining Chief Corleone's permission for 2 weeks' leave. With pay.