Police arrived within minutes to the West residence. After her dad talked to the cops, she pulled him aside and explained to him why Tori and her sister were spending the night.

"The important thing is everybody's okay," he sighed. "Now let's all of us get a little more sleep. Still got at least a couple hours."

"Okay, dad" Jade smirked.

She took off up the stairs and opened her door and sighed into a smile.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked.

Tori sat in Jade's bed, gripping the covers. "I'm scared to sleep alone Jade. And I am definitely not sleeping that close to the front door."

Jade giggled, thinking about having Tori in her bed beside her; it was like a dream. There was only one problem and it was fast asleep at the foot of the bed.

"Baby?" Tori asked. "Why is Trina sleeping like that; like a dog?"

Jade's eyes widened. "Uh…."

Tori folded her arms and asked with a straight face. "Jade?" The black-haired girl hated when her name was dragged out.

"Fine," Jade exhaled. "Remember that hypnotist from last night?"

Tori tilted her head up, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," she scratched her head nervously. "She somehow still think she's a dog or something…"

"What?" Tori shout-whispered. "How long has this been going on?" Her eyes demanded answers.

Jade winced at the truth. "Since we got here."

"Really Jade?" Tori was furious. "How long did you think you could keep this from me?"

The raven-haired girl shrugged. "I dunno."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

The fighting couple didn't notice Trina had woken up and was watching the melee. Once the voices reached past a dull roar, Trina ran away. The girls didn't stop arguing until they heard a door shut from downstairs.

"What was that?" Tori asked.

"Back door," Jade said. "Better question: where's Trina?"

They scanned the room and saw no sign of her, except for an open door.

"Oh, shit" Jade breathed.

The teens charged downstairs and sure enough, there was the screen door revealing the dark outside.

"Jade!" Tori scolded her girlfriend. "You left the door open?"

"I'm sorry," Jade said sarcastically, folding her arms. "I've become a pet owner and a home invasion victim all in a single, fucked-up night."

Tori shook her head and grabbed her jacket by the living room.

"Never mind," she said. "We're not gonna get anywhere by fighting. We need to find Trina!"

"We'll take my car," Jade added, grabbing her keys.

Trina ran as fast as her legs could carry her. While a dog mentally, she physically wasn't accustomed to walking (least of all running) on all fours. When Jade was arguing with Tori, she got scared. She knew she was messing things up and felt terrible, so she tried to be a good companion. But when Jade had that look, and just the discomfort of hearing raised voices in general, Trina was frightened for what would happen.

It was dark, somewhere well before dawn. Nobody was roaming the streets at this hour in this part of town, thank goodness. If anyone spotted the elder Vega, the men in the white coats would have scooped her up in a heartbeat. Being a dog, she didn't understand social norms and etiquette and other aspects of human behavior.

All she knew was the base "fight of flight" instinct that any animal can understand.

Trina's ears perked up when she heard the squealing of what sounded like a puppy. She heard it coming from an alley across the street. After making her way past the cool asphalt, Trina could hear the cries grow louder and louder. She peered around the corner of a flower shop, looking into the alley - the source of the calamity.

A methadone addict was kicking around a small puppy. Trina didn't know if he was it's owner or not but that didn't matter. She charged at the junkie and knocked him off his feet. Still on all fours, she jumped up on a dumpster and bared her teeth at the creep. He must have still been fucked up because the sight of that sent him running.

Trina jumped down to the puppy, who was slumped over. She nuzzled the small animal with her nose and got no response.

"Over here!" Tori called out.

Trina heard the huffing and puffing of the girls coming closer to the alley.

"Trina!" Tori said, out of breath but happy to see her sister was okay. She stopped when she saw what happened.

"There you are..." Jade stopped cold when she noticed the puppy. "Oh no," she whispered.

Tori knelled down beside Trina to look at the hurt puppy closer. She made a point to go as slowly as possible so as to not startle Trina. Tori saw her older sister about to lick the animal, she was about to intervene when Jade stopped her.

"Don't Tor," she said. "Let her go."

Tori nodded and watched Trina lick the hide of the small dog. It was the only force causing any sort of movement. The three of them watched solemnly for a few seconds when an almost inaudible whimper came from the puppy. Jade and Tori led out their respective breaths and started tearing up.

Trina picked up the little white puppy by the scruff with her teeth and brought it closer to her.

Tori and Jade shared a look with one another, smiling. Whatever hard feelings they had back at the house were long gone. Seeing that puppy survive made them realize how insignificant their troubles were.

"And now we have two," Jade smirked.

"That's not funny," Tori chuckled.

A/N: Thank Invader Johnny for this brilliant plot point. I was originally going to start wrapping things up but this creates a new dimension to the story. Plus, it gave me inspiration for the perfect ending.

Now, originally the scene was going to be Trina saving the puppy from a dog fight. I was going to go with that until I was listening to one of my favorite radio podcasts "What the F#&K" which covers news stories. The episode I listened to this morning told about a group of sick people who film video of actual animal cruelty and then when they were apprehended, they tried to justify the legality of what they were doing by hiding behind the First Amendment. The the federal judge allowed this? The defendants claimed they were making videos for people who "get off" watching animal suffering.

That made me sick to my stomach and angry, to say the least. That fact that these horrible people do what they do without remorse, are proud of what they do, and are not being punished for it?

This isn't about being a "meat eater" or wearing suede. Violence against animals for the sake of entertainment is bullshit. And anyone who finds such carnage titillating should have their heads examined.

Sorry about that rant but it got me really angry. I also find it ironic that Daniella Monet is a member of PETA. I'm gonna see if I can get this story to her attention. Everyone must be informed on this and her reach is no joke.

Okay, I'm calm now.

Please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter.

If you'll excuse me, I need to go home and give my two dogs a big hug.