A/N: It's sad to see this one come to a close but I have always envisioned this one to be a shorty: too long for a one-shot but not enough story to make it a big 'ol epic.
Enjoy, as always.
;-)
Jade drove with Tori riding shotgun and Trina and the pup in the backseat. The two darlings were both asleep from all the excitement.
"So..." Tori trying to break the silence. "What the heck do we do now?"
"I was hoping you had an idea," Jade shrugged.
"Okay, let's think..." Tori stared out the window, scrunching up her face in that way Jade would never admit was too cute to be legal. "AH!" she shouted, almost making Jade swerve.
"Jesus, you scared me Vega!"
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
"So what just popped in your head, Archimedes?"
Tori leaned back to look at Trina and snapped her fingers. She frowned when nothing happened.
"What?" Jade asked, confused.
"The hypnotist," Tori whined. "He snapped his fingers and that brought Trina out of it the first time. It should have worked."
"I'm sorry about all this, babe" Jade brought her right arm around the Latina who leaned her head against her girl at the wheel.
"It's not your fault, Jade."
"Doesn't feel that way to me," she sighed. "I had to have triggered it somehow." Jade focused on the road but in reality her mind was searching its memory banks.
"You couldn't have known," Tori said. "And I'm sure you feel sorry about it."
Jade thought about it. "Although..." she mused. "This has been the quietest she's ever been."
Tori gave her a hard look. "Watch it, West."
"I like your angry face," she arched her eyebrows.
"Don't get used to it."
Dawn was breaking over the valley and the coolness was waning. It was going to be a beautiful, warm day.
Jade pulled back up to her house and shared a look with Tori and then back at the sleeping dogs.
"Well," Jade said. "I don't know what your parents are gonna think."
"Yeah, I can't really say anything remotely close to this has happened before. This would be the kind of thing where they would have to debate what to do with me."
Jade rolled her eyes. "You honestly think that they'll punish you? What are you, ten?"
Tori pouted.
"Besides," Jade added. "She's the oldest. If anything, you're the one supposed to be looked after, right?"
"You make a point but still..."
"Hey, Tor: Can you believe how mundane a conversation we're having about your sister thinking she's a dog? Don't you love how we're discussing it like it's a moderate inconvenience?"
Tori shrugged. "Guess that's how people cope with the crazy. Just pretend it's not so crazy."
"Speaking of crazy," she gave a devilish grin. "I had a funny thought."
"What?"
"I wonder if we put Trina in the same room with Cat, will they start fighting?"
Tori giggled and poked Jade's side.
"Ow, bitch!" she smiled.
The two girls laughed and held hands for a good five minutes.
When the merriment began to die down, reality sunk back in again.
"I feel bad for Trina," Tori's look grew sad.
"I know, baby."
"She doesn't know what's going on with her. I wish I could just shake some sense into her."
Jade shook her head. "Tried it. Doesn't work."
"And you want to know what the worst thing is?"
Jade banged her head on the steering wheel with a groan. "What?"
"How can I bring Trina back home in the first place if she thinks you're her master?"
The black-haired girl sat up straight and looked at Tori, mouth wide open.
"Oh my God," Jade said.
"What?"
"That's why she was fucking attached to me," she said slamming the wheel, grazing the horn making a brief beep.
Tori smiled whenever her girlfriend got angry. The way the muscles in her face contorted just accentuated her gorgeous features.
"Alright," Jade breathed. "Let's try and sneak this dog inside."
Tori opened the back door slowly, turning the lock and know so that the slightest sound couldn't be heard. She peered toward the direction of the kitchen where she could smell the brewing of fresh coffee and the frying of bacon.
"Come on," she whispered.
Jade came up behind her, holding the pup with one hand and taking Trina by the collar with the other. They had the stairs in sight and just three feet from them, the floor let out a deep groan.
Hearing what sounded like dropped utensils, the girls scrambled up the stairs as fast as they could.
"Jade?" Mrs. West poked her head out of the kitchen. "Is that you?"
Tori and Jade hurried into the Goth's bedroom and shut the door with their two pets in tow. The held onto each other's shoulders, gasping for air. They held their respective breaths for that half a minute.
Jade yelped when a knock came to her door.
"Jade?" It was her father this time. The girl swung the door open and put on her best morning face, despite not being such a person this time of day.
"Hey Dad," she smiled.
"Did you guys go out earlier this morning?" he asked, folding his arms.
Tori and Jade looked at each other, hoping that one of them would pull an idea out of thin air.
"The thing is, Mr. West..." Tori contritely said coming up from behind Jade, holding the puppy. "We had to walk him."
That icebreaker, awkward as it was, made Jade a little more comfortable and more herself. She hated being nervous.
"Jade," her father looked confused. "Why is Tori holding a dog?"
"Cuz he likes to be held," she shrugged.
Tori almsot giggled at the hint of classic Jade resufacing but supressed it while in front of her dad. He created that sense of nervousness that she felt from her teachers.
"Jade, explain" he said sternly.
"The thing is," Tori answered. "Was we found him the other night and he was hurt. No animal hospital was open at that hour so we took him in and fed him and kept him warm..."
"And we're gonna take him to the vet after breakfast," Jade added.
Tori locked eyes with her girl and gave her a mental thank you.
Mr. West titled his head to better regard the pup.
"Mmmm," he mused. "He looks like he's been a hurt some. You girls just be careful; he might not have all his shots and these dogs you find are usually very scared."
Jade nodded. "We will. Thanks, dad."
"How about you guys come down and have some breakfast?" he thumbed toward the stairs. "I think we have some milk we can give the dog."
"Okay," Jade responded.
"We'll be right down," Tori shouted out as he walked away.
The girl laughed, holding onto their sides.
Tori held up the pup. "You are one lucky puppy!"
"We're the lucky ones," Jade smirked. "Damn, Tor, that was good. Where were you when I was ten and I broke his stereo? I mean you pulled that out of your ass," Jade snapped her fingers. "Like that. It was awesome."
"Hey," she playfully punched Jade. "You sealed the deal by playing along."
"I always say one lie is good but two people lying is even better."
WHY THE HELL AM I ON THE FLOOR?
Tori and Jade whipped their heads behind them and saw Trina getting herself to her feet.
"Look at my clothes," she squealed, dusting herself. "Who's gonna pay for the dry cleaning?"
"This might sound weird," Jade said. "But Trina, are you a dog?"
Trina thought for a second, crossed her arms and gave the West girl the look of death.
"That isn't even remotely funny," she sneered. She did not like being insulted.
The couple looked happily at their reformed pet, standing on her hind legs.
"What are you two so Sally Sunshine about?" She looked around Jade's room. "And where are we?" Trina then focused on Tori's hands and pointed. "And where did this dog come from?"
"You might want to sit down," Tori suggested.
A/N: Hope to have the final chapter up in the next couple days.
Please tell me: favorite parts of the story so far?