Chapter 7: Jack

Thomas took a breath before splashing water on his face. Thomas dried off his face with a hand towel and then walked out of the bathroom and went to the kitchen where his family was having breakfast. Bandit was finishing cooking while Chilli and the girls were at the table. As Thomas walked into the kitchen he looked at his father who placed the last of the sausages on the plate. "Do you need help, Dad?" Thomas asked looking at his father. "Sure, mate! Could you bring in the French toast?" Bandit asked as he held the plate or sausages. Thomas nodded and helped his dad with bringing breakfast to the table.

The Heelers had their breakfast and were getting ready for work and school. "Are you sure you want to go to school, mate? You could take another day if you need to," Bandit asked as he looked at his son. Thomas sighed and looked back at his father. "Yeah, I need to go," Thomas said as he stood up from the table and helped clean up. "If you need anything, you call us okay?" Chilli said looking at her son. "Yeah, I will mom don't worry," Thomas said with a smile. Chilli smiled and kissed him on the head. "You got this big brother!" Bingo said wagging her tail. "Yeah, we believe in you!" Bluey added also wagging her tail.

Thomas chuckled and wagged his tail. "Thanks, guys, that means a lot," Thomas said as he started to place his dishes in the dishwasher. After breakfast and the clean-up. The Heelers went on their way to school and work. Just as Thomas took off to school and parked in his normal parking spot he received a text message from Prince.

(Texting)

Prince: I'M GOING BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF THAT DOG WHO SHOT YOU!!!!!

(Thomas sighed before replying)

Thomas: Uncle Prince everything will be handled. Yes, he's still out there but it'll be okay.

Prince…

Prince: IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! I'M ON MY NEXT FLIGHT TO YOU!

Thomas…

Thomas: I've already talked to Kylie, she's going to keep you on track, Uncle Prince. I promise I'm okay,

Prince….

Prince: FINE! BUT YOU BETTER CALL ME IF YOU NEED ANYTHING! MY ASSHOLE OF COACH KEPT ME FROM YOU THIS ONCE AND NOT AGAIN!

Thomas: Will do Uncle Prince

(End Of Texting)

Thomas then placed his phone away and got out of his car. Thomas locked up his car and walked up to his school building. Most of the kids of the building looked at Thomas and watched as the blue Heeler mix went to his locker. Thomas noticed it but didn't pay any attention to them as he walked to his locker. Whispers were being talked around about him, some were true and some were false and some were… well… strange. Thomas unlocked his locker and grabbed some of his books just as Zach came over to him. "Thomas…" Zach said as he stood next to Thomas's locker. "Well that's a first," Thomas said now looking at the German shepherd as he noticed Zach used his first name.

"I.. uh heard what happened to you and your uncle, I'm glad you're okay Heeler," Zach said with a nod. Zach Shepherd? Actually, being nice with no smart comment about dying? Maybe the dog actually cared. "Thanks…" Thomas said with a smile. Zach patted Thomas on the shoulder and then went on his way to his class. "I guess he doesn't hate me that bad," Thomas said to himself in a low tone before shutting his locker. "Thomas, can I speak to you for a moment?" Coach Wolf asked as he walked by the Teen. "Sure," Thomas said as he grabbed his backpack.

"YOU'RE KICKING ME OFF THE TEAM?!" Thomas shouted in shock at what his coach was telling him. "Not exactly mate, calm down," Coach Wolf said, trying to calm down his player. "With recently you getting better and healing and such, it's best to be careful! And I don't want you to get hurt in the process," Coach Wolf explained. "W-well what am I gonna do for the rest of the season? I can't even try out for cricket either with this," Thomas said not knowing what he was going to do for sports. "I have a plan mate! You're going to sign up for the buddy club at Glasshouse Primary School!" Coach Wolf said with a smile. "My sister's school?" Thomas asked confused

"Yes, mate! It'll be great for you! I already had placed a submission for you for a student named Jack!" Coach Wolf said with a smile. Thomas knew Jack as Bluey always played with him and her friends and when the time they all got locked into the closet from when the last time Thomas had volunteered. "I know Jack, he's a good kid," Thomas said while rubbing his arm. "Great! So it'll be easy for you to bond with him!" Coach Wolf said as he placed his arms around his head. "Okay, when do I go?" Thomas asked as he grabbed his backpack. "Right now actually, the shuttle bus is packing up now mate," Coach Wolf said now crossing his arms. "Alright, then am I set to go instead of class?" Thomas asked as they started to walk down the hall.

"Yep! I took care of everything! Have fun mate and make sure Jack has fun with you too," Coach Wolf said as they made it to the front doors of the school. "Alright," thomas said as he adjusted his backpack and then went outside to the shuttle bus. "Good kid," Coach Wolf said to himself before heading off to the next class he was going to teach. Thomas got on the bus along with some other kids who also had signed up for Buddy Club. Some kids were a little confused by Thomas being there and going with them, and still on the topic of discussion of Thomas being shot and still breathing was still going around even with Thomas standing in front of them. Thomas took a deep breath before sitting in the back of the bus and placing earbuds in his ears before looking out the window and finally zoning out from the rest of the crowd.

Within no time the bus was full and it was time to head out to Greenhouse Primary School. It wasn't a very long ride, but Thomas had enjoyed it even with some kids staring at him. Once the bus had stopped at his sister's school. Thomas got off the bus and went in search of Jack. "Thomas!" Bluey shouted as she ran over to her older brother. "Hey blue," Thomas said as Bluey hugged him. Other kids from Thomas's high school looked at the two as they hugged not knowing that they were related. "What are you doing here?" Bluey asked as she wagged her tail while looking up at her brother. "My coach signed me up for the Buddy Club actually, so I'm here for Jack," Thomas explained as he rubbed the top of her head. "Oh! He's over there!" Bluey said as she pointed at the Russell terrier. Thomas looked at where she was pointed and Jack sitting by himself in a small boat. "Oh, Thanks Bluey," Thomas said as he patted her on the head. "Bluey!" Mia said from afar while waving. "Oh! That's Mia! She's my buddy! See you at home Thomas!" Bluey asked as she ran off to her buddy. "See you at home blue!" Thomas said as she watched her leave.

Thomas then took a deep breath before he started walking over to Jack. "Hey, Jack," Thomas said with a welcoming smile. Jack turned and looked up at the Blue Heeler-Husky mix. "Hi, Thomas!" Jack said while smiling and wagging his tail. "So I know this is a bit of a surprise, but I'm going to be you're Buddy from now on," Thomas said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh really?! That's great!" Jack shouted with excitement. Thomas chuckled as he sat down in the grass next to the boat. "So what do you normal with a buddy?" Thomas asked hoping to find out what Jack's interests are. "Well, normally we would play and talk sometimes!" Jack said while wagging his tail wildly and moving his leg. "Oh yeah? That's cool, do you want to play something?" Thomas asked while raising an eyebrow. "Yeah! What game can we play?" Jack asked.

"Well, what games do you like to play?" Thomas with a small smile. "Rusty and I like to play Army a lot," Jack said while also thinking of other games he and his best friend play. "Really? That's fun," Thomas replied still having his small smile. "What games do you like to play mate?" Jack asked excitedly. "Bluey and Bingo normally come up with the games, I used to come up with games when I was you're age," Thomas said with a chuckle. "Ooo what kind of games did you come with?" Jack asked now very interested in what the oldest Heeler sibling had to say. "Well… do you like Dinosaurs?" Thomas asked with a sly look. Jack smiled wide while unable to control his tail from wagging. "I love Dinosaurs!" Jack replied. Thomas chuckled again. "Then do I have a game for you!" Thomas said now wagging his tail a little.

"Run!" Thomas shouted as he and Jack ran through a tall grass field. "Is it behind us?" Jack asked scared while running and taking a few looks behind them. "I don't know what we have to keep going!" Thomas shouted as they ran. Jack then tripped and fell to the ground, Jack shook himself off and looked behind him seeing that something was getting closer to him. Jack gasped as he watched the creature get closer and closer to him. Suddenly Jack felt someone grab him as he was thrown onto Thomas's shoulders. "I GOT YOU JACK!" Thomas shouted as he carried Jack on his shoulders while running. Jack looked behind them again and noticed that whatever was chasing had red eyes.

"Ah! It's getting closer!" Jack shouted now looking forward. "The watch tower is just up ahead!" Thomas said with confidence that they would make it. The creature behind them made a screeching noise while it was coming on for the kill. "We're not going to make it!" Jack cried out in fear. Thomas then jumped up and got Jack into the watch tower. Jack turned around and was about to help Thomas into the watch tower when something tried to pull Thomas down. "No! Thomas!" Jack shouted while still trying to help his friend into the tower. "No! Save yourself, Jack! Tell my family I love them!" Thomas shouted before he was dragged away to the bottom of the watch tower. "Thomas!" Jack shouted while looking down into the darkness of the jungle around him.

"Blood! Blood everywhere!" Thomas shouted while pretending to die on the ground next to the treehouse. Jack started laughing while up in the treehouse. "Hey! It was a very traumatic death!" Thomas said while looking up at Jack with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah but was I supposed to do next?" Jack asked now looking at Thomas. Thomas chuckled as he sat up from the ground and joined Jack in the treehouse. "Well, you find a radio, call for help and escape on that helicopter over there," Thomas explained as he now sat a cross from Jack. "but, it's too far to get to the helicopter, what if I messed up and died?" Jack asked as he hugged his knees thinking he wasn't very confident about getting rescued. "I believe in you Jack, and by the way nice pretending to fall for dramatic effect," Thomas said giving him a wink. "I actually fell but I wanted to keep the game going," Jack said with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ouch, you okay?" Thomas asked now looking at Jack's knee. "Yeah, I'm okay," Jack said as he wagged his tail. "Good Thomas said as he placed his arms behind his head and leaned back against the wall of the treehouse. While doing this Thomas did notice that he was showing his bullet wound. "Thomas?" Jack asked nervously while trying not to look at Thomas's wound. "Yes, Jack?" Thomas asked with a smile. "Did it hurt?" Jack asked now looking back at the wound. Thomas then lost his smile and noticed what the small Russell terrier was looking at. "Oh, umm," Thomas said as he looked down at it and touched it slightly. "I remember to be honest," Thomas said trying to remember what it felt like to be shot.

The thought of it haunted him, the things he remember were falling to the ground and bleeding. He remembered his uncle hovering over him with tears in his eyes trying to say him until help had arrived, and then… nothing. Coldness, no light, darkness, it was all blur until Thomas had seen his mother again for the first time in a year, but was it a dream? Or was it a message from the other side? Thomas didn't know. All the teenager knew was his mother told him to stay alive and be with his dad. And that was a promise Thomas was going to keep until it was his real time to pass on to the afterlife.

"Thomas?" Jack asked now snapping Thomas out of his thoughts. "Hmm? Oh sorry Jack, I was just thinking about it," Thomas answered now looking at his wound that was now a scar. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings mate, I was just curious about it," Jack said now looking down afraid of the Thomas would say to him or get mad at him for asking. Thomas sat up and looked at him. "Hey it's okay, I'm not mad at you for asking," Thomas said with a small smile. "You're not?" Jack asked now looking up at him. "I know this is something people are going to ask me about and I guess I don't mind really," Thomas said as he really thought about it.

"Will that scar always be there?" Jack asked now really looking at it. Thomas took a deep breath and sighed. "Yeah, unfortunately, it'll always be there," Thoma answered. "I wish that bad thing didn't happen to you mate," Jack said as he looked down trying to make himself stop moving. "Do you do that a lot?" Thomas asked as he titled his head to the left. "Yeah, I do it when I get nervous about something, or sometimes it's just hard to focus," Jack explained the best he could. "I see," Thomas said with a raised eyebrow. "With Rusy, I focus better when we play Army, and the Jurassic Park game we played also helped me focus on something else," Jack added "Good to know," Thomas said knowing that he had some ADHD going with him. But that stuff never made him any different. Jack was a good kid and always will be a good kid. "I'm glad you okay Thomas and still here with us," Jack said with a smile while wagging his tail.

Thomas smiled at that and rubbed Jack on top of his head. "Thanks, Jack," Thomas said just as the bell rang from the school. "Well, we better get back, it's time for me to head back to my school," Thomas said as he started to stand up and head down the ladder. "Thomas?" Jack said making Thomas stop and look at him mid-way down the ladder. "Yes, Jack?" Thomas asked now looking at him. "I hope this makes us friends," Jack asked with a small smile. Thomas chuckled with a smile before nodding. "Yeah, this does make us friends," Thomas said as he climbed down Jack smiled and wagged his tail wildly. "Jump down, I'll catch you," Thomas said now holding out his arms. Jack nodded as he took a deep breath and jumped into Thomas's arms. Thomas caught him and placed Jack on the ground. "I'll race you back!" Thomas said just as he was ready to run. "Okay!" Jack said while also getting ready to run. "Ready… Set… Go!" Thomas shouted before letting Jack run ahead of him. Thomas chuckled as he started to chase after Jack heading back to the school building.

Coach Wolf was in his office doing some work just as Thomas walk up to the doorway and knocked at the door entrance. "Thomas! How did it go, mate?" Coach Wolf asked with a smile. "It was… great! Thank you for signing me up," Thomas said as he lends against the doorway. "You're welcome mate, and I know you're sports buff, your whole family is, trust me, I've seen how you're dad and uncles play on the field. But, this is something that'll help," Coach Wolf explained. "Actually Coach Wolf, this is something that I really needed for sure and I'm not mad about missing any games, I'll bounce back stranger than ever when I'm fully recovered," Thomas said as he crossed his arms.

There's that familiar Heeler attitude! I wish I could see more of that from Zach and Peter but! I'll get it from the second-gen of the Heeler family," Coach said with a smile as he sat back in his chair and placed his arms behind his head. Thomas nodded. "We'll I'll you get back to what you were doing coach wolf," Thomas said as he grab his backpack and placed it on his shoulder. "Thanks, mate, and hey, if want to talk sports with me, my door is always open," Coach Wolf said now sitting forward. Thomas smiled and that with a nod. "You got it coach," Thomas said with a smile before leaving. Coach Wolf chuckled before going back to his paperwork.

Kodiwolf321 A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! Work has been well work! But I found time to get to writing so I can be at my work for a few hours with nothing to do so I can work on my craft doing that time. But anyways I hope enjoyed this chapter as much as I have written it for you guys. I know in Sad Faces fans wanted more of Thomas interacting with Bluey's friends and I promise to do more of that as this was the first of many chapters with Bluey's friends being involved with her brother. Alright guys tell me what you guys think of this chapter and I'll see you in the next chapter!