Cody: Well, here's the new chapter everyone! You've all been wanting to know if Dakota's okay, so read on and find out!
Lilly: Yep, should be an interesting read, this chapter! Got something new going on near the end that should be pretty interesting, or at least it was to us!
Cody: *chuckling* Let's not be giving it away now...Hope you guys enjoy! The next one will skip ahead again as these last couple were mainly meant as filler parts, but we got creative with them. We originally weren't planning to talk about what happened to Dakota, but he assured us it was okay, so we did, even though it scared the living hell out of us all! So, no more further delays...Enjoy, everybody!
Lilly: Bye, see you all soon! *waves at everyone*
"Dakota, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick? Talk to me, babe….Hey, Dakota….Come on, talk to me!" Crystal practically screamed as Dakota seemed to be slipping out of consciousness. She quickly got up and put her paws on his head, feeling his entire body starting to twitch. She looked down at his legs and they were stiffening out, worrying her even more as she held onto him so he didn't hurt himself somehow. His teeth suddenly bared and he let out a long, loud groan or growl as his eyes snapped shut. "C-Crys….Don't….Hurts…." He seethed through his locked jaws. She moved out of the bed and sat down at his side, worried to death for him as she started rubbing along his side.
"He's having a seizure…." She thought to herself as she comforted him, only able to watch him have to go through the obviously agonizing episode. "Dakota, just relax, you'll be okay….Relax…." She quietly said into his ear, tears in her own eyes. There wasn't anything she could do other than wait for it to pass, and she knew it would, but took a little time. She also knew they could be triggered by over exertion, making her blush a little as she thought back to their little "session" earlier and how all-out he was going.
Seconds turned into minutes, seemingly hours gone by when it was really only ten minutes until he finally began to calm down and come back. He was panting like crazy as he opened his eyes, his body still practically locked up and his eyes darting around the room. "Crystal!?" He fearfully asked, not realizing she was right next to him. She leaned down and nuzzled him, saying "I'm right here, don't worry….Just relax and breathe…." He shakily nodded and his body slowly began to relax and go back to normal, bringing relief to them both. "What happened?" He asked as he started to move his legs a little.
"You had a seizure…." She gently said, moving back over into the bed next to him. "Why, what happened to cause it?" He asked, his muscles still cramped up a little. She weakly smiled and said "It was probably because of our bit of fun. You were going all out, after all….You pushed yourself too hard." He blushed under his fur, but nodded a little, asking "Will it happen again? I don't want it to…." She shook her head and nuzzled him, saying "I don't know, babe….After you get back to normal, we're going for a walk to the vet." He nodded again and laid his head down, closing his eyes and saying "I'm really tired now, though…." She softly giggled and laid down with him, saying "I know you are, but don't go to sleep right now. Soon as you feel you can, get up and walk around a little."
After a few minutes longer, he started to sit up and Crystal moved out of the bed to give him more room. "Feeling okay now?" She asked, watching him seem to sway side to side a little. He nodded and said "Just a little dizzy….I think I'm good…." She smiled a little and he slowly stood up, stumbling a little as he did. She put her paw against his side to help a little as she said "Just take a minute, okay? Don't need you falling down now…." He smiled a bit as well and took a few steps off the bed, saying "I think I'll be okay. My legs feel like they're asleep, though…." She nodded and said "Your muscles seized up and they still need to fully loosen."
A couple minutes later after taking a little bit to be sure he was up to it, they headed out of the apartment and outside, walking down the sidewalk toward the vet. He still stumbled around a little and was a bit dizzy, but otherwise okay. It was about a twenty or thirty minute walk there, but they eventually made it and went inside. Cody looked up from the desk to see them coming in and smiled, saying "Hey, Lilly? Dakota and Crystal are here." They both smiled too as Lilly came out from behind the desk to see them there. "Well, hey you two! What brings you by?" Lilly asked, smiling at them.
"Not just for a friendly visit, that's for sure….Cody, I think you need to check Dakota out." Crystal said, looking over at Dakota and he stumbled a bit again as he sat down. Cody got up and came out to them, asking "Why, something wrong?" Crystal weakly smiled and said "We're not sure, really. He had a seizure earlier." Lilly gasped and she quickly went over to Dakota, asking "Honey, what happened!? Are you alright!?"
Dakota smiled a bit as well and said "I'm okay, Mom. Crystal said I over-exerted myself….A muscle seizure." Cody nodded and felt his forelegs, saying "Yeah, they're still a little tight, too. How'd it happen, though? Out for a run again?" They both blushed and Crystal smiled again, saying "Well, not exactly….Remember we said we were going to try again soon?" Lilly and Cody immediately knew what she meant and Lilly giggled a little, saying "Ahhh….Yeah, we gotcha…." Cody nodded and said "Come on, let's go into an exam room." Dakota nodded and they all went into one of the rooms and Cody asked "So, Crystal, what all happened during his seizure?"
"Well, first he said he wasn't feeling right and was getting light headed. Then his eyes started to narrow and his heart was going way fast!" Crystal said as Cody looked over Dakota, looking at his eyes and mouth. He nodded and said "That doesn't sound uncommon with a muscle seizure. Anything else?" She nodded and said "His legs stiffened up and it looked like he was in pain." Dakota smiled a bit and said "It did hurt, but not horribly bad. Kinda like a cramp all over your body…."
"You look alright now, to be honest. Still a little dizzy?" Cody asked and Dakota nodded, saying "A little, but not bad. I'm mostly tired now…." Cody smiled a little and said "Well, I'll give you a muscle relaxer and you guys can stay here. Won't be very long until I get off work." Crystal nodded and said "That'd be great! I could use some rest now, myself…." Lilly smiled as well and said "If you want, you two can take the bed. I'm not using it right now."
"Oh, well thank you! You're sure?" Crystal asked, making sure Lilly was serious. Lilly nodded and said "Yeah, don't worry about it. You both should get some rest." They nodded and Dakota said "Thanks, Mom. We appreciate it." Lilly giggled and kissed his cheek, saying "You're welcome, honey….Now go lay down…." He chuckled a bit and walked over to the bed behind them desk, laying down together with Crystal. Cody went over to one exam rooms and got a bottle of Methocarbamol, a muscle relaxer and brought it over to Dakota, taking a couple pills out and saying "Here, take these. They're the relaxants."
Dakota nodded and swallowed them down before saying "Thanks, Dad. How long until they take effect?" Cody smiled and said "Only a few minutes, don't worry. You two get some sleep…." They both nodded and curled up together, quickly dozing off after a couple minutes. Lilly looked up at Cody and asked "So, muscle seizures aren't that bad?" Cody shrugged and said "It really depends on how bad it was. Only thing I'm worried about is if it becomes a more regular thing….Like if he doesn't need to even do anything to trigger them." Lilly nodded and said "What would happen then?"
"Well….He'd need to be on medication, a special one meant to control it." He said, sitting down on one of the couches in the waiting room. Lilly hopped up next to him and said "Well, let's just hope it doesn't get to that…." He smiled a bit and nodded, saying "I agree…." She giggled a bit and kissed him, letting out a small purr as she did. He put his arms around her and gently pulled her up a little, kissing her even deeper.
Back at home, Alexis and Chase were just walking in from their trip to the park to wash up. They definitely looked much cleaner now, not to mention no longer smelled of their "activities". Alexis was the first to notice, saying how much better she felt now that the couple tons of dirt was off of her. Chase was just happy he didn't reek anymore….Even his own body odor was getting to be too much for him! He shut the door behind them as they walked in, saying "I for one say that was a really good idea! Not only did the bath feel great, but it was a really nice morning!"
Alexis smiled and nodded, saying "I know it was! That bit of a nap felt great, too!" Chase chuckled as they walked down to the bedroom, going in to see their parents weren't there. "Huh, where'd Mom and Dad go?" Alexis asked, looking around. Chase shrugged and said "Good question….Probably out on a walk again…." Alexis shrugged as well and said "Probably. I'm gonna lay down for a little while, okay? I'm still kinda tired…." He smiled and said "I think I'll join you, I could use some rest, too." She giggled as they went over to their bed, laying down together, but not too close, mainly because of Chase laying down right next to his edge.
"Chase, something wrong?" Alexis asked as she got more comfortable, shifting around partly onto her side. He shook his head and said "No, nothing's wrong. Just giving you more room." She smiled and said "Aw, how sweet….What if I don't want that much room, though?" He looked at her funny and asked "What do you mean?" She giggled again and blushed a bit, softly saying "I wanna cuddle….Please!?" He nervously smiled and said "Are you sure? Don't feel like it could be a little….odd?"
She giggled again and put her paw on his chest, saying "If I did, I wouldn't have asked….Besides, you're not just my brother anymore….You're my mate. And I love you…." He smiled more and leaned over, kissing her as he said "I love you too, Alexis…." She let out a soft purr and closed her eyes, enjoying the kiss as she felt him move closer, nearly pressing himself against her. She smiled and pulled back from their kiss, looking at their bodies nearly touching and she quietly said "Does it still feel odd to you?" He put his forelegs around her and gently pulled her to himself, their chest and stomachs now touching as he said "Not a bit….Feels pretty nice, if you ask me…."
She giggled and laid her head against the curve of his neck, letting out a happy sigh as she said "Same from me….In fact, I really love this!" He chuckled and nuzzled her, causing her to softly purr again as she closed her eyes. "I wanna stay like this forever…." She purred, cuddling down against him. "So do I….I'm gonna get a little sleep now, okay?" He nodded and kissed her forehead, saying "You do that then. I probably will, too." She smiled to herself and said "Okay….I love you, Chase…." He smiled as well and said "I love you too, Alexis….See you in a bit…." She dozed off after a few minutes, softly snoring against him with him not too long after.
A Few Hours Later – 5:00PM
Cody looked up at the clock as he came out of an exam room, seeing it was just about five now and smiled to himself, thinking "Finally….Time to go home!" He went over to Dakota and Crystal, still asleep in the bed and gently shook them awake, saying "Hey, you two….It's about time to head home." They slowly woke up and yawned, stretching as Dakota said "Already? Feels like it's only been a few minutes…." Cody chuckled and said "That's because you were asleep….How're you feeling now?"
They sat up and stretched a bit again, Dakota saying "A lot better, that's for sure! Not dizzy anymore, for one." Cody nodded and said "Good. You guys get woken up while we get ready to go." They both nodded as well and he went over to Lilly out on a couch, seeing she was already awake and smiling at him. "I heard, time to go home. I'm glad because I'm tired as hell…." She said, giggling a bit. He chuckled and said "In just a few minutes. I'm gonna talk to Donna real quick." She nodded and stretched as he went back to her office, knocking on the open door as he said "Donna, you got a minute?"
She looked up at him and smiled, saying "For you, I have two….What's up?" He smiled too and leaned against the door, saying "Just wanted to say thanks for this morning before we left." She giggled a bit and said "Hey, no need to thank me….I was more than happy to help! How's Dakota feeling?" Cody smiled more and said "He's doing a lot better. Think it'd be okay to take a few of those muscle relaxers with us just in case?" She nodded and said "Yeah, that's fine, don't worry. You guys got any plans for tonight?" He shrugged and said "No, not that I know of. Probably won't because of Dakota. Need to make sure he's okay tonight."
"Yeah, good point. Well, you guys have a good night, then! See you tomorrow!" She said, smiling as was he. He nodded and said "Same to you!" He walked back out to the front area to see everyone ready to go and Lilly asked "So, we're leaving now?" He nodded and said "Yep, and as soon as we get home, I'll get dinner started. I'm hungry!" Crystal giggled and said "That makes two of us!" He chuckled a bit as they walked out and to the car, getting in and driving off home.
They pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later and he parked the car before they got back out and headed up to the apartment. He opened the door for them all and they went in, closing it behind them and he asked "So, what sounds good for dinner?" Lilly smiled and said "Anything, really. I'm not picky tonight…." He smiled too and said "Yeah, sure you're not….You guys have any idea?" They shrugged and Dakota said "Not really. As long as it tastes good, I'll eat it!"
"Alright, I'll take a look and see what we've got. Are Alexis and Chase home yet?" Cody asked as he opened the fridge, looking through it for something to fix for dinner. Crystal smiled and said "I'll go see real quick. They should be by now." With that, she got up and walked down to the bedroom, pushing the door open to see them cuddled up together and asleep. She smiled more to herself and let out a happy sigh before going back out to the living room. "Yep, they're down there, but they're asleep right now. I'm not gonna wake them." She said, giggling a little as she hopped up onto the couch alongside Dakota. Lilly giggled too and said "Well, we will later when it's time to eat."
Later that night after dinner and everybody talking about the day's events, they all began to settle down and relax. Dakota, Crystal and Lilly were laying on the couch watching TV while Alexis was curled up on the floor and Chase was relaxing outside since it was a nice evening. Cody was down in he and Lilly's bedroom on the computer like he had been for the last half hour or so, making Lilly wonder what was so interesting. She got up off the couch and went down to see him still on the computer and smiled as she walked in, asking "What's got you so wrapped up on that thing tonight?"
He turned his chair around and smiled, saying "Just looking at something I think we all could benefit from…." She giggled and hopped up on the bed, laying down as she asked "And what might that be?" He chuckled and unplugged his laptop from the cord, taking it over and sitting on the bed next to her. "Okay, I've been thinking on this for a little while now….What would you think of this?" He asked as he set the laptop down and she saw he was looking at a house.
"Looks nice! What about it?" She asked, a little confused. He smiled again and laid down with her, saying "Well….Crystal and Dakota are probably gonna have pups again, not to mention we are, too. And possibly Alexis and Chase after while….I was thinking maybe we should get our own actual home, something a lot bigger than this apartment." She slowly nodded and smiled as well, asking "Would it be feasible right now? Like, can we even afford to do that?" He quickly nodded and said "Yeah, we definitely can. I've been putting nearly half of what I get every week into a savings account for the last couple months. There's enough now to make a good sized down payment."
"Okay, I'm kinda liking it so far….But, this has become our home….I don't know if we could just up and leave it." She said, looking around the room with a sigh. He smiled a bit and "I know, I feel the same way. While I don't really want to leave here either, I think it'll become a necessity soon." She nodded and said "Yeah, true….Any idea where we'd be living then?" He opened a page on Chrome that showed a nice looking home as he said "This place is up in the hills some. A bit of a drive everyday, but nothing bad. Not to mention an amazing view and somewhat isolated."
She smiled again and nodded, saying "Looks pretty nice! Anything a bit closer to home?" He nodded as well and brought up another page, a slightly not-as-nice house showing up and he said "This one's just a few miles away, but not in the best part of town….It's actually really close to where I originally grew up and it sucks over there!" She giggled a bit and said "Then I'd say that one's out….Hey, what about this one?" She pointed at a rather cute looking house on the side of the page and he clicked on it, bringing up the one she saw.
"Hey, that's pretty nice, actually! Fairly close to where Mom and Dad live, too!" He said as they looked through the listing. It was a three bedroom home about a mile from his parents' house, nice front yard and a REALLY nice backyard with an in ground pool! "Boy, that'd be really nice in the summer!" Lilly giggled, looking through the pictures with him. He chuckled as well and continued looking at the ad, pointing out nice things here and there, like a two car garage for instance! "That'd be plenty of room to work on the Jeep, too!" He said, making her giggle again. "I'm not really too big on the paint on the walls, but I suppose it would be fine. Maybe do something different someday…." She said as they looked at one of the bedrooms.
After a bit more looking and browsing listings, Lilly finally said "Well, there's some nice ones, but we should really have a good family talk about it first. I've got my own reasons for wanting to stay here, but I'd also really love to live in an actual home again." He smiled and said "You and me both. How about we do a little more looking around and think it over a bit before we get the kids involved? If we do that now, they'll just be constantly confused by what we're doing since we'll be constantly going back and forth about it."
She nodded and said "Good idea, I like it. I know if Dakota and Crystal do end up having pups again, there won't be much room around here anymore….A nice house would be a LOT better!" He chuckled and said "Plus I'm sure everyone would enjoy having their own room, too." She giggled and said "Yeah, that too! How about you put that thing away now? It's starting to get kinda late…." He nodded and set his laptop over on the desk, saying "Yeah, I'm getting kinda tired…." She nodded and yawned a little saying "So am I….Wanna know something else?" He smiled and asked "What's that?"
She giggled and slowly licked his neck, quietly saying "I'm feeling kinda frisky tonight….Feel like getting all close and cuddly?" He chuckled and kissed her nose, saying "Would I ever say no to that?" She giggled more and kissed him back, saying "I doubt it. Let's just have a nice, slow night….Just take our time and enjoy every little bit…." He put his arms around her and said "Anything you desire, my sweetheart…." She purred and cuddled against him, saying "I desire a lot of good feelings tonight….And I know you'll be able to provide them."
Out in the living room, Dakota and Crystal were still watching TV, but were getting tired now. She looked over at him and smiled a bit, asking "How about we head to bed now, hmm? I'm about ready to fall asleep here…." He chuckled and kissed her cheek, saying "Yeah, I feel the same way….You two coming to bed as well?" Alexis and Chase smiled a little and she said "Not yet, we'll stay up a little longer. I wanna see how this ends."
Crystal giggled and said "Well, alright then. Just don't stay up too late….Goodnight, you two!" They nodded and Chase said "Night, guys!" Dakota smiled at him as he and Crystal hopped off the couch, going down to the bedroom together. They passed his parents' room and heard Lilly let out a high pitched moan, immediately knowing exactly what they were doing. Crystal giggled as they walked into their bedroom, saying "Sounds like they're having a good night!" He chuckled and rolled his eyes, saying "Just like anytime they get the chance…." They laid down together and she cuddled against him, laying her head against his chest and letting out a yawn as she said "God, I'm tired…."
He smiled and kissed her forehead, making her purr a little as he said "You and I both….How about we get some sleep, hmm?" She nodded and said "Just what I was thinking….Goodnight, babe…." He nuzzled her and said "Night, love….See you in the morning…." She smiled a little as she closed her eyes, saying "I love you, Dakota." He smiled too and said "I love you too, Crystal…." She giggled a bit and shifted around a little, getting more comfortable against him before they both drifted off to a peaceful sleep together.