The beautiful and busy nightlife of New York can show all kinds of activities going on. Ranging from office workers going to and from work in the towering skyscrapers, to men bringing their dates to the movie theaters to watch a late night movie or a trip to the fanciest restaurant for a good meal. But sometimes, there's little known activity going on even in the Big Apple, ranging from street dogs looking for food or shelter, to a little girl playing with her pets at home after a busy day at school. However, that night was all but beautiful to one canine sleeping in a fancy house near Central Park.
Ryan Dalmatian, the newest member of the Foxworth family. It had been almost a whole month since he first joined the family, having been adopted by the family on his birthday last month and had been enjoying his new lease on life as a house pet once more. Once a stray dog who ran away from his former owner's home after word of him being put down, he ran into Fagin's gang of dogs thanks to Dodger and would stay with them for a while, meeting the love of his life Rita Saluki who currently lives in the same boat she's been living for years with the gang. After one hectic summer, he would be adopted by Jenny Foxworth and her family, finding himself in the care of a little girl and having his very own room in the house where he keeps his own collection of trains, ranging from books to pictures. But even with his new lease on life being happy and cheerful, some nights like tonight have left him with very little sleep.
The death of his father years ago has still haunted him, traumatizing him greatly as he remembered everything that had happened when news of his father's death was announced. The poor autistic Dalmatian definitely had a very horrible and depressing puppyhood, with the death of his father Shaun traumatizing him, followed by being abandoned by his own mother due to not being able to take care of him alone. Not to mention witnessing her own death not too long ago when she sacrificed herself to bring down Estelle when he was in a battle with her. Everything hit him harder than a freight train, resulting in him experiencing nightmares and flashbacks of some of those events, but mainly when Shaun sadly died in a boiler explosion in Maine.
That night, Ryan was having such a nightmare, hearing voices he remembered from years ago all so clearly which only made him moan and whimper in sadness. He tossed and turned in his bed, hoping to get comfortable and finally get some sleep. That was impossible though. The voices in his head just kept on echoing.
"Are you Marlene Dalmatian?"
"Yes? Who are you?""Ma'am, I'm a friend of your mate. Well…. I was a friend of your mate Shaun. I came here to bring terrible news.""What? What happened?""You see….. Miss Dalmatian….. Your mate Shaun….. Has sadly passed away….""No! No no. It's not true! It can't be true!""I'm sorry ma'am. But it is true. He sadly perished in an explosion in Maine a few nights ago.""NOOOOOO! Noooooo!"
The sound of Marlene crying echoed in Ryan's head, forcing him to toss and turn some more to shake the noise out of his poor head. He just wanted to get some sleep for God's sake! But he wasn't able to. All he got in return was more crying, his own puppy cries and the very same words she told him the night she left him all by himself a few weeks later after his dad's passing.
"I'm so sorry my loving son. I got a show dog career that needs me more and I simply don't have the time to take care of you these days. Your father was the greatest dad you've ever had and I know he'll be looking after you while I'm gone. I'm only gonna be gone for a bit, my baby boy. I promise you, I'll be right back… my loving son."
THOOM!
Ryan woke up in sheer fright! He let out a loud squeal of fear and fright, jumping right out of his bed and accidentally knocking over his railroad crossing night light, breaking the red bulbs with a loud crash! His blankets flew off the bed and onto the floor, with him landing head first onto the ground with a thud! As soon as he was on the ground, he looked around, trying to catch his breath while tears of pure sadness streamed down his face like a waterfall. He let out a big sigh of relief when he found himself back in his room. Shaken, but thankful the nightmare was over for now.
The door to his room swung open moments later, causing poor Ryan to jump as Jenny rushed in with Winston to see what was the matter. In Jenny's arms was Oliver, who was in the middle of getting some sleep when the loud crash was heard and was worried about his spotted friend. He could see that the Dalmatian wasn't having the best night at all, judging by the mess he made, but he wasn't entirely sure why. Neither the humans knew why either, confused but also tired while Ryan just backed up, fearing he was in trouble.
Jenny however could see something was wrong with the poor dog. "Awww, did you have a bad dream, Ryan?" she said softly. Her only response was a nod. A small but honest nod. The 8 year old girl hugged him close next to Oliver, giving him gentle rubs on his back. "Ohhh you poor dog."
"Jenny…" yawned Winston loudly, looking at the mess the spotted canine left by accident. "It's a little late for you to be up. It's best that you go back to bed."
But Jenny wasn't gonna let poor Ryan go back to a sleepless night. Not by a long shot. "Oh but Winston, Ryan's scared to death. I can't just leave him here alone." She slowly led the frightened dog to her room, letting Oliver ride on his back. "Don't worry Ryan, you can sleep with me and Oliver tonight." With that, she led the two pets to her room, leaving her parents' butler to look at the mess he would most likely clean up in the morning.
The scared canine meanwhile just felt awful and very embarrassed. He really wished these nightmares would finally go away, but it felt like they never will anytime soon. He was hoping that sleeping with Jenny and Oliver would help him gain some sleep at least.
The next morning, Ryan was still asleep on Jenny's bed. He was doing his best to make up for the lost hours of sleep he had and so far it had worked really well. A comfortable and peaceful night with Jenny and Oliver helped him, getting some rubs and scratches by the little girl as he slept, while having the sweet orange kitten sleep on his back for protection and comfort. There were no more nightmares during his sleep over. But what he failed to even realize is how much he was sleeping in. By the time he woke up, it was almost 10 AM, 2 hours later than he normally wakes up.
Ryan yawned loudly and sighed, still feeling pretty sleepy tired as he stretched his legs a bit. He shook his head softly, barely muttering a word to himself as he hopped off the bed and made his way to the kitchen to get himself a morning drink and breakfast. Whenever something was wrong with him or he simply didn't feel like speaking, he would remain absolutely silent. Not a single word would come out of his muzzle. In fact, he felt like he wished he was invisible right now so no one could see him after what he did. That quickly changed however.
"Ohhh Ryaaaaaan~" cooed a female voice.
That voice made his heart skip a beat and his spirits lifted a good bit! He knew that voice anywhere! Speed walking down the stairs to the main entrance, Ryan spotted his one true love standing in the middle of the foyer waiting for him; Rita Saluki. In his book, she was the most beautiful creature on four legs, and he can list all the reasons why! She's got the voice of a famous actress that made him feel safe, the fluffy hair that he could just snuggle against at night whenever she was sleeping over, a slender body that made her so attractive, and has the personality of a mother looking after her son, not to mention streetwise! "Hey sweetheart!" he said with a wag of his tail!
Rita giggled at the excited look on her mate's face! She soon found herself being licked all over her face by that lovable spotted dog she's happy to call her mate. Despite a rocky start she and Ryan had when they first met, their love for each other was strong and had always been strong no matter what! "Hiya sugar" she replied, giving her mate some loving licks back. "How's the house life doing to you?"
"It's going alright. I'll admit, it feels so weird sleeping in a big bed again and it feels lonely without you. But I got the kid here and Georgette I guess to help. Well, whenever she's not hiding in her room because of me being around."
"Pffft. Figured as much with Georgette. Just remember if she gives you any trouble, I'll deal with her myself." Rita looked down at Oliver, who was rubbing himself against her legs purring. He's so cute when he does that. "But I'm glad the kid here is keeping you good company."
The orange and cuddly kitten purred softly, looking up at the two lovebird dogs like they were his guardians in fur. In fact, he looks up to Ryan as if he was a big brother to him while Dodger was more like a father figure of sorts and Rita is a mother figure. "Of course I have!" Oliver purred, but soon showed a face of worry. "But Ryan had a nightmare last night apparently."
The reminder of that terrible night made Ryan frown, hoping that it would be forgotten but it clearly wasn't gonna happen. More so now that Rita heard about it, who had shown a sign of concern for her lover. Wanting to at least try and get his day started before going out, the train loving canine walked away tiredly, heading to the kitchen to get his morning food and drink, leaving his mate with the small orange cat.
Rita watched her mate walk by, noticing the tired look in his eyes. This made her feel concerned for him, wondering what was the matter with him and what sort of nightmare he had. She had a hunch it had to do with something about his puppyhood thanks to knowing about his father Shaun's death and her also witnessing his mother Marlene's death that night when she and Ryan were dealing with Estelle and her gang. But she wasn't entirely sure. In fact, she had problems of her own to deal with.
"So how are you and Ryan doing?" Oliver asked curiously.
"Oh we're doing great, kid!" exclaimed Rita with a smile on her muzzle. "We've been going out here and there, he's been telling lots of facts about trains like always, and I've even been giving him some gifts of my own too like a new book I found at a bookstore the other day and even gave him a cute lil engineer's hat to go with his collection."
Oliver smiled with a wag from his tail. He supported the two lovebirds' relationship very much, happy to see that Rita found someone she'd wanna spend the rest of her life with. Someday he might have to try and find a girl for himself.
"But honestly, I am struggling a bit" admitted the female Saluki with a frown. "It's not him, it's me understanding Autism. You know Ryan has it and we all do too, but I just don't know how to handle it, like what if he has a meltdown? What are the signs that something's wrong? Or how to keep him relaxed?"
That made Oliver's smile go down. He can understand what Rita's going through since one of Jenny's friends from school has the same disorder too, but he can only imagine how much learning the street wise canine has to do in order to make things workout between her and Ryan. The thought of them breaking up was the last thing on Earth anyone wanted to happen, especially the Dalmatian she was mates with who really loved her so much! But thankfully those thoughts were shot down once Rita spoke up more.
"Hey, it's not like I'm gonna stop seeing him, Oliver. Him and I are mates to the end. Besides, I'll learn overtime like always."
"That's good" sighed Oliver with relief.
At that moment, Ryan came back with a full belly and plenty of water for him to go out with his sweetheart. He was a bit tired still, but he wanted to make sure he had a good time with the love of his life and hopefully nothing else spoils it. "Alright sugar dog" he yawned with a grin. "I'm ready to go. I'm sure Jenny or Winston won't even know I'm gone since Jenny's going out with some friends and Winston's busy watching wrestling again."
"Great! Let's catch up with the gang then honey!" Rita smiled warmly.
"Make sure he's back before dinner! Otherwise Jenny might be worried about him!" said Oliver, watching the two dogs make their way out the doggy door.
Ryan and Rita nodded before they disappeared through the door and headed out into the streets of New York City. Though as they left, Oliver couldn't help but pray that his spotted friend was gonna have a good time with his mate, knowing that something clearly was bugging him. At the same time though, Ryan himself was hoping the same thing.
It didn't take long for both Dalmatian and Saluki to catch up with the gang that helped Ryan gain a third chance in life; Dodger, Francis; Einstein and Tito. These four, along with Rita, really helped him out when he ran from his previous owner's home and really couldn't thank them enough for what they did to help him get further through the streets of New York. Despite living in a big house and in a loving family once again, he still spends time with them whenever he can, especially Dodger who he sees as a fatherly figure and the one who led him to the gang in the first place. Even though it was mainly him following the street savior dog when he didn't give him some food.
With the arrival of Ryan, Dodger and the boys couldn't help but run up to their spotted sensitive friend and give him a good old group hug and licks. The biggest ones came from Einstein, who couldn't help but cover him in so many licks thanks to how lovable he was.
"Calm down fellas! Calm down!" laughed Ryan out loud. He wasn't able to get away from the truck load of licks he was getting, but he didn't mind either way.
Rita just watched in amusement, not even surprised by the load of love Ryan was getting. He had always been a dedicated member of the gang even if he moved out to enjoy living in a family once again. The boys really loved him, as much as she did. But out of everyone in the whole gang, the top two would have to be Einstein and Dodger, with Einy loving him like a little brother and Dodger loving him like he was his son. "Come on fellas, he's too tired to get licked all over" she chuckled.
The boys soon dispersed and allowed Ryan to get back on his feet and shake off the saliva gotten on him thanks to Einstein. They were just really happy to see their Dalmatian buddy after a while.
"So Dodger fan" said Dodger in his chilled voice, "how's life in the rich family treating ya?"
Ryan wagged his tail softly, "Oh it's treating me great! Much better than…. You know. But I am glad to be able to get out of the house for a while and hangout with you guys here and there. Things have been a little…"
"Spoiled, like that Poodle?" Francis suggested.
Hearing that his crush was being called names, Tito immediately got right into the Bulldog's face with an annoyed look. "Hey, whatcha say about my girl, man?!"
Thinking a fight was about to happen, Dodger immediately squeezed between the two dogs to break up their little argument. "Hey hey, calm down you two!" he shouted, with Tito sticking his tongue at Francis. "Don't you remember we got Spots here now? We can argue later. But right now, we should at least have a nice and relaxin' day with our good friend."
The two dogs immediately stopped arguing, thinking it would be best to not argue around Ryan. At that moment, a fancy Lincoln Versailles came into view as it turned the corner. It caught the dogs' eyes with great interest, especially Dodger who had seen the radios in one of those cars. If they could get a hold of one of those radios, they could make good money from it and probably give the gang a new radio since the old one has been acting up lately.
"Oooooo, looks like we got ourselves a Lincoln prize!" Dodger said with a cocky grin. He soon motions the gang together so they can form a plan. "Alrighty fellas, we're gonna get ourselves a brand new radio for sale. Einy, give me a set of broken headlights. Francis…"
"I know. My public awaits!" Francis finished.
"Tito, you go work on the electronics. An' try not to electrocute yourself this time, man."
Ryan shyly and innocently cut in, "What am I gonna do?"
"You, me and Dodger can control the crowd sugar" Rita answered with a giggle, finding his innocent ways adorable. "Pretty much make sure no one notices anything suspicious or sees Tito trying to rob the radio. Crowd control is a very big job, hun."
"Ohhh yes!" responded the Dalmatian with a wag of his tail. In his head, he was doing his best to remain focused and fight the troubling thoughts he's been dealing with, but wasn't keen on showing it to the others yet. At the same time though, he could've sworn he heard his mother's voice in his ears. Before he could think about it, the others immediately got into position, causing him to stutter and rush towards Rita and Dodger behind some trash bins with a yelp.
With the canines in position, Ryan could only watch from his hiding spot to see the plan go forward, all while keeping quiet and staying hidden within the shadows. The first thing he saw was Einstein run out onto the road like he was chasing a pigeon or was trying to catch a frisbee, running right into the fancy automobile with a loud THUD that might've actually taken out a headlight. Or at the very least, gave the silly Great Dane a good smack that sent him in a daze. Ryan wouldn't lie if he said seeing that lovable mutt dizzy made him giggle.
"Okay Sparky, go find Rover!" Einstein said as he walked around dizzy.
Then came Francis, who was no stranger to putting on a "show". That show was mainly him pretending he was dead, or knocked out by the car. But even his act probably wouldn't be a bit convincing to Ryan, but it was to the people who started gathering to see what happened, along with the driver of the car. A large crowd gathered around the scene of the "accident", thus allowing the spotted autistic dog, his lovely Saluki mate and his Jack Russell Terrier friend to get out of their hiding spot and look over the crowd, keeping an eye on anyone that might know something's up. Tito meanwhile made his way into the car, where he would begin to take the radio out. Unfortunately to Rita and the gang, they would fail to see the start of something unfortunate.
Nobody knows exactly what was going on in Ryan's head, but if he were to tell you, he would've told you that one of the people close to him was a little boy around the same age as Little Jack's, the boy he looked after before he sadly passed away due to an illness he had. When that boy turned to see the Dalmatian, Ryan could've sworn he saw Little Jack's face there looking right at him with a smile. That was the start of what was to come as memories of his past life began to show up once more, with him starting to breathe hard to keep the thoughts out of his head so he could focus. His heart began to beat a little faster, still taking deep breaths to calm himself.
"This is too easy sugar" Rita said without looking at her mate, failing to even notice what was happening. "Looking over the crowd and making sure they don't suspect a thing. Just be glad you're not Tito right now." She didn't get a response, assuming he was just remaining focused and making sure no one was watching the Chihuahua in the car. So she shrugged with a smile, not wanting to interrupt his focus, but she should've noticed the sweat coming down her mate's forehead.
Ryan was thankful when the boy's mother pulled her son away from him, but at the same time he felt the whole world around him go dark and everyone vanished from him. It's like he entered a whole new world; a dark, scary world that had voices in his head. He couldn't make out what those voices were saying, nor could he recognize those voices. But there were some voices he could recognize. Estelle, Michael, Marty, Dart and Zack, taunting him about how he was having a panic attack. Another voice was his mother crying loudly about his father being dead and that scream she let out when she fell to her death. Then there was his father's voice, who was telling him how he was so proud of his own son and telling him that once he got back from the trip that killed him, he was gonna retire and spend all the time in the world with him. All of a sudden, he felt like he was falling! Falling into a deep abyss as the world around him stun madly with Rita's voice ringing in his ears saying "Ryan? Ryan?!"
When he hit the bottom, Ryan was back in the real world, but his whole body began shivering violently and he felt very weak! It was enough to send him on his side, trying to calm down but was short of breath. He was sweating like Niagara Falls while also feeling like he was about to throw up right in front of everyone. He was now fighting a panic attack.
"RYAN!" Rita shouted loudly when her mate fell to the ground.
The sudden cry from Rita made Dodger, Francis and Einstein look to see the horror unfolding! At the same time, Tito was about to cut the last wire needed to pull the radio free when he heard Rita's panicked voice, accidentally shocking himself and sending him flying right through the car's roof like a bullet. They had no idea what was wrong with Ryan, but they felt like they needed to get him out of here and fast.
Dodger immediately barked at the gang, calling off the heist as he rushed to Ryan's aid. He wasn't sure what to do at that moment, but he figured they might as well find a place to hide and get him somewhere that isn't here. With help from Rita who was in panic mode too, but not as much as her mate was, the two were able to get him onto Einy's back and they immediately ran away as fast as they could. "Let's get him out of here!" he shouted.
Tito was the last to follow them, having fallen from the sky and full of electricity from the shock he gave himself. His entire body was black while his fur was messed up, with sparks of electricity sparking from his tail and mouth whenever he coughed. He chased after his friends, catching up to them in a nearby alleyway, leaving the confused crowd in the dust.
When they were sure they weren't followed and were in the clear, Rita immediately pulled her tensed up mate from Einstein's back. But that resulted in her getting kicked against her cheek by Ryan, who was thinking it was one of the bullies trying to pull him for some beating and biting.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT OF MY HEAD PLEASE!" Ryan shouted loudly as tears rolled down his face! As soon as he was on the ground, something big landed on him, causing him to scream out loud and shake violently, taking deeper breaths this time. He slowly began to regain control of himself and slowly began to see clearly once again, feeling his heart finally slowing down at last while his stomach was starting to settle down finally, almost at the verge of throwing up whatever he had for breakfast. When he regained focus, the poor terrified Dalmatian could see that the big thing that landed on him was actually Einstein who laid his head on his chest to keep him calm.
"What happened Spots?" Dodger asked with a hint of worry.
Ryan just shook his head and said nothing. Huge tears began to roll down his furry face as he began to cry hard. He felt horrible and he felt like he let everyone down, including his own mate. "I-I-I…. I just….. Lost it" he stuttered. "I lost…. Control of myself."
Tito coughed loudly, feeling like he had the shock of his life. "But what happened amigo?! You were doing good, man!"
"This was my fault" Rita sighed with a big frown on her muzzle, lovingly hugging her sweetheart close to her chest to sooth him. "I should've paid more attention to you honey. But you were okay when we started out the day! I didn't think something was gonna come up and make you have a panic attack!"
Dodger walked up and patted Rita's back. He knew it wasn't her fault, nor was it Ryan's fault. Something clearly happened and they had to get to the bottom of this before it gets worse. Feeling like the best way to find answers was to let Rita try and talk it out, he motioned the boys to follow him somewhere else, leaving the two canines by themselves. "Just take it easy on yourself Ryan" he called to him as he walked away.
There was a long silence between the two lovebirds, minus the sounds of Ryan's heavy breathing as he kept on breathing to remain calm. They didn't look at each other, finding it awkward to look at one another due to the panic attack the Dalmatian had and the Saluki failing to notice the events that unfolded. They didn't even say anything for a moment, before Rita finally spoke up.
"Is it because of…. Your mother?" she guessed, remembering that terrible night. Her answer was a slight nod from her lover, who looked at the ground depressed. "I'm so sorry honey. She just…"
"I know. I know" trembled Ryan sadly, trying his best not to cry once again. Too many thoughts were racing through his head like a Greyhound at a race track and some of them were hitting him like a freight train. "But there was this…. Th-this boy and I saw..."
Thankfully before he could break down, Rita hugged her traumatized mate close to her, patting on his back motherly and gently. It was like she was tending to her own pup who was suffering from a terrible dream. In her eyes, Ryan was like a pup thanks to how he acts like a puppy despite being an adult which made him more adorable to her. "Shhhhh…. Please take it easy on yourself, sugar. There's really no need for you to have another panic attack."
Ryan was about to say something, but quickly shut up and went back to taking deep breaths. Having another panic attack was the last thing he wanted to have right now. But at the same time, the past events were still trapped inside of him. Despite his attempts to push forward and keep a cheerful appearance on the outside of his head, the inside of him was full of dark events that he wished would never have happened and would stop haunting him forever. "It's not easy…. To be me Rita" he admitted quietly. "I do my best to push through the troubling thoughts, but…"
"It's harder for you than for us, I know" Rita sighed, feeling really sorry for Ryan. "It has to end though. If it keeps going, you'll sooner or later gonna hurt yourself. Or worse. That's something we don't want, me especially! I'm sure your parents would think the same way! I believe in you! You can fight through it."
"It really is harder for me. But I still do my best and yet…" Ryan paused, burying his face deeper into Rita's fur to hide himself. He tried to think of the right words to say so he couldn't stress himself further, but his brain was still cluttered with depression and deaths that had happened around him.
"I'll admit, I'm struggling myself too."
Ryan's eyes went wide with confusion. He looked up at his mate with a raised eyebrow, wondering what exactly she was talking about. Was she struggling because of him, or was she struggling because of something else that happened to her or was going on? He hoped it was something else. "I-Is it… Because of me? Does this mean we're…"
That made Rita groan in annoyance, which was a bad move to pull at the moment. She pulled away, growling to herself. "UGH! Why must everyone think we're breaking up?! We're clearly not breaking up!" she shouted to no one in particular. "What? Just because my mate is autistic and I can't understand autism?! I'm struggling to even understand how to cope with it, or even figure out the signs that something's wrong! It's not my fault I dated a dog who used me for attention! I'd rather have someone like Ryan than David!" The moment she realized what she was doing, she instantly went silent, quickly turning around to see the empty spot where Ryan once stood.
The fluffy haired Saluki gasped and quickly looked around searching for her true lover. She looked in the nearby trash cans, but he wasn't there. She looked around the corner, but he wasn't there. She even checked the very back of the alleyway, but he wasn't there either. Dread and anger filled her head. Out of all the things she should've remembered, yelling was one thing that made Ryan feel frightened and she completely forgot about it. "CRAP!" she shouted, stomping her paw against the ground. With a sigh, Rita walked away in search of her friends, doing her best to fight her own tears.
Dodger and the boys meanwhile were searching through some trash in search of some valuables worth selling. They weren't sure how the two lovebirds were doing, but they hoped that they could at least get the answers to whatever was bothering Ryan. They haven't seen him like this since that dreadful night where he was attacked by Estelle, Michael and his gang, plus the death of his mother. They could assume it had to do with his mom's passing, but they weren't sure since they were too distracted and weren't sure what was going on in his head. Dodger however was surprised to see Rita coming up to him, but without Ryan.
"Hey, there you are Rita" Dodger said with a grin despite being confused. "Have you figured out what's wrong with…" His voice trailed off when he noticed the angry look on her face and what looked like a tear rolling down her face. He was even more confused, but more so concerned. About as much as Francis, Tito and most importantly Einstein.
"You alright?" Tito asked.
Rita sighed as she joined her friends, shaking her head in disappointment. "That night" she growled, "I remember what Marlene told me. She said it was her time to go. She felt like it wasn't worth living anymore without Shaun, and told me to tell her son goodbye." She stopped for a moment, feeling so much anger and guilt going through her body. She could've helped Marlene even if she didn't want to be helped up, but she wasn't able to help her that night, feeling like the Dalmatian mother's death laid on her paws. The Saluki instantly snapped as she kicked through a TV screen right beside her, "DOG DANG IT!"
This definitely made Dodger and the gang rush to her, fearing the worst happened!
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down Rita!" said Tito loudly.
Dodger got down to Rita's level as she laid down on the ground, with tears rolling down her cheeks. As far as he knew Rita, she hardly ever cried before in front of the gang. The only time she did was when she realized the error of her ways when she snapped at Ryan. "What the hell did Ryan say to you?" he asked with worry.
"Ryan said he saw Little Jack's face when he looked at some child. Then all hell went loose in his head, more importantly the death of his mother" Rita replied. She started sniffling, feeling like she wanted to cry. "Marlene should've just let go of Estelle. I should've helped her regardless of what she told me!"
The male canines felt sorry for their only female member of the gang. They could remember the night where Rita and Marlene saved Ryan from Michael's gang of vicious dogs, hearing the whole thing from Rita when she brought the unconscious Dalmatian to them before they quickly got help. They were both stunned and amazed, but also felt remorse once they heard about the death of Marlene. It wasn't entirely Rita's fault she died. She apparently couldn't handle living out on her own without her precious mate and thought the easy way out was to sacrifice herself to stop Estelle. Unfortunately, it only led to Rita feeling guilty and Ryan feeling traumatized, like anyone who decided to commit suicide. They all gathered around the sobbing Saluki, wanting to try and comfort their friend.
"Rita, we already discussed this before" Francis spoke up. "Marlene's death wasn't your fault."
Rita glanced up with tears rolling from her eyes, showing her teeth in anger and regret. "Like heck it isn't!" she snapped.
"Marlene thought it was the best way to go" Dodger said softly. "She thought it'd be easy and she thought she couldn't survive any longer without Shaun. For crying out loud, she probably was afraid to even look at her own son for what she did to him! Yes she redeemed herself, but she probably thought her own son wouldn't look at her or forgive her for what she did to him when he was just a pup." He sighed a little before speaking up, "I was like that with my own mother when I saw her months back before the kid even showed up because she abandoned me and my siblings!"
Rita began to take deep breaths of her own, remembering that horrible day Dodger had months ago. She remembered the angry look on his face and the sadness that filled his mind when he came back to the boat after seeing his mother. She had never seen him so angry and sad when that happened, but she could definitely relate to him 110%. Before she could say anything, Einy spoke up too.
"Marlene looked like a nice lady. I'm sure she's proud of us helping him get this far. Plus his dad would be happy too. He's family to us, about as much as he's family to them."
"The only way you can fix his dreadful life is to be there with him," Dodger added. "I mean you've seen how much Ryan loves you. You mean the world to him and you two are mates! We can't fix the past, but we can make the future brighter, for all our sakes. Most importantly Spots' sake. He needs friends like us to keep him going, and like Einy said, I'm sure his parents would be proud that we're helping him go further into life without them."
Rita thought back on everything her friends said. It was true they're at least helping her mate get further into life despite losing his beloved family and parents, even if those memories haunt him a lot. But they do their best to help him push through those memories and continue on through life. More importantly, she helps him since she's his mate and he loves her very much. She looked up at her friends, wiping the tears from her eyes with a paw once she regained her cool. "Hand me one of those hotdogs" she spoke to Dodger, who managed to find himself a string of hotdogs during their little search.
Dodger, Tito, Einstein and Francis smiled, happy to see their female friend back to her normal self. As Dodger handed Rita a hotdog, he looked around wondering where Ryan was. "So where is Spots, anyways?" he asked curiously.
That made Rita sigh as she ate her hotdog, "I don't know. He ran off when I got upset about… Something. I looked around for him, but he's nowhere."
The revelation made Dodger's mood drop dramatically. In fact, everyone's mood dropped quickly. They looked at her with a hint of worry, wondering what happened that made poor Ryan run away.
"I got upset that everyone was thinking he and I were gonna breakup sooner or later, when really we're nowhere close to breaking up!" explained Rita. "I mean… I'll say this to you guys right now, I'd prefer him over David anyday. He's WAY better than him!"
Despite the situation going on, Dodger couldn't help but grin cockily. He knew Rita loved Ryan a lot and seeing that she was admitting out loud how much she really loves him just made him grin. "So you prefer men with spots, don't ya Rita?" he said teasingly.
Rita started to blush, feeling confused why Dodger would suddenly grin like this. She rolled her eyes as she scratched behind her ears. "No! I prefer my men to be sweet and give me attention than what my ex did" she responded, but then smiled as she thought about what Ryan does to her. "I mean I love my Ryee Poo very much. He's like the kid, except full of spots, love and gives me all kinds of attention. Everytime I think about him, it puts a smile on my face and I'm always so happy to see his cheerfulness despite what sad thoughts go through his head." Her smile faded when she remembered the issues she was facing with his Autism. "But… I'm struggling to understand his Autism though."
"Hey, don't sweat it girl" Dodger coaxed softly. "You've been doing a good job so far. You'll learn overtime. I mean we all will. I didn't even think he had Autism until we took him to the junkyard, and I'm sure others will help us. We just gotta try."
"I guess you're right" Rita replied before finishing her hotdog. She began to think hard about the possible places her mate would have ran off to. "But where could he have gone? There's no way he would go back to the Foxworth's without me."
Tito popped out of a trash can and looked at Rita, ignoring the banana peel on top of his head. "Well, if you were Ryan, where would you go?" he asked with a tilted head. "Come on girl! You've been with him for 2 months!"
"That's the thing! If I was Ryan, I'd go home" replied the worried Saluki. "Or at the very least, go to a nearby rail yard to watch trains. But there's none that I know of around here he could get a vantage point. Most of them are hidden by buildings or underground."
Dodger pondered hard too. He began to think about possible places Ryan could've ran off to. The possibility of going to a rail yard was ruled out in Manhattan, along with the thought of going back to the Foxworth's. The boat was a possible place he could've ran off to, but wasn't too sure about it since the Dalmatian always had someone escort him there. But then, a thought came across him. "What about his home?" he asked Rita.
Rita looked puzzled. "Like I said, he always has me taking him back home. He never likes going alone incase some mean dogs try to attack him" she replied.
"No no no, not Jenny's home. His home, Rita" Dodger spoke slowly on the last part. "I mean, the memories of his parents, some of those stories he would tell about them, about his puppyhood. He must've gone back…"
Rita's eyes went wide with realization, "Where it all started."
Everyone looked at Rita with surprise. If Ryan could be anywhere, he had to be back where his parents used to live when he was little. They weren't sure where exactly his puppyhood home is, but Rita would know for sure thanks to being friends with Shaun and Marlene's ghosts. Before either one of them could say anything, Rita car surfed out of the alley towards the direction of the house, as if she knew where she was going, or there was a distant sound of a train whistle that sounded like her mate's unique howl.
"Whoa! Rita, wait up!" Dodger shouted and immediately gave chase!
Wanting to help their spotted friend too, Einstein, Tito and Francis also chased after Rita. Not only were they keen to see what his parents' home looked like, but they wanted to help him coax through the pain and depression Ryan was going through. Clearly it had to stop, or at least tone it down however they can so nothing horrible happens to him. As much as they love him, they knew that these past events had to be put behind him so he can move on through the rest of his life without so much holding him back.
The run to Shaun and Marlene's house led Rita and the others to Park Avenue, where she knew some fancy homes were down that area thanks to having visited that area for food plenty of times before. If Marlene was a show dog, then odds are she had to live somewhere along that avenue. But of course, Rita was listening to the sounds of the whistling howls her mate was making, along with visions of Shaun's ghost leading her to where he was. Neither of the boys saw the specter, but that didn't matter to her. She wanted to get her mate back and makeup with him.
"How does he know his family's home is still standing?" asked Francis once he and the boys caught up to Rita and Dodger.
"I don't know" Rita replied over the roar of the semi they were riding at the back of. "I guess he just has a feeling it's still around, but there might not be much left of it or someone else moved into it. So we gotta be prepared for anything!"
The gang nodded, but they also hoped the worse wasn't about to happen.
When Rita felt like they've reached their stop, she hopped off, soon followed by her close friends, right in front of a large gilded age mansion that was four stories tall and looked like it had seen better days. Or at the very least it was being renovated thanks to the scaffolding and boarded up windows surrounding the house. The stone pillars and red brick walls looked quite impressive, but the thought of this being Marlene's home made the dogs' eyes nearly popped out! Ryan had lived a rich family's life when he was a puppy and he regained that recently thanks to Jenny, but they didn't know he used to live in a home like this before!
"Mira lo this place! Ryan lived here?!" Tito exclaimed. He felt quite small compared to the house thanks to how tall it was.
Rita didn't respond. She just slowly made her way up the stone steps towards the big wooden doors that were cracked open, most likely thanks to her depressed mate. She wasn't expecting much left inside, but she could just imagine how lovely this house used to be. She could tell as she began to hear voices in her head that sounded like Shaun and Marlene once she made her way into the foyer.
The whole place felt like a haunted house that had some unfortunate stories they've heard plenty of times before. All around the strays were spots where paintings, pictures and statues once stood. The walls were full of dust and decay, with cleaned areas indicating where paintings were before they were taken down, while some walls looked like they were going through a repaint due to the paint cans and matt's laying around. Though there was hardly anything pretty to look at, they could just vision what it all looked like on the inside.
"You're right," Dodger sighed as he looked around. "There's hardly anything left."
"I guess Ryan really misses his parents so much," Rita muttered. Her paw bumped into something on the floor, causing her to jump a bit in surprise. It was a photo that had been left there, a rather large photo the size of a painting. She gently flipped it over to see what was on the other side. When she did see the other side, her guess was right.
On the other side of the large photo was a portrait; a family portrait of Marlene with Shaun and their expected pup, judging by the roundness on Marlene's belly. They were smiling at each other, looking very excited about their newborn pup they would later receive, with the railroad dog smiling the brightest under his gray mustache that he was gonna have a son. A son he had always dreamed of having and one that was going to carry on his legacy if he were to pass away. He sadly did, tragically.
Rita frowned as she studied the painting, realizing how crushed Ryan must be and how much he's struggling to move on. To pay her respects, she gently pushed the painting over to the side upright, sighing softly as she had a moment of silence to honor the two parents. Then her ears began to twitch at the sound of sobbing. Sobbing that she can recognize pretty easily; Ryan's. The sound led her to what appeared to be a huge library, which looked pretty empty thanks to having less books in the shelves, but it still looked elegant with its wooden walls, shelves and even a stone fireplace. Much to her delight, she found Ryan, sobbing in the middle of the room, in front of another painting that showed his younger self with his parents, the very last painting made before the traumatic events happened. They looked so happy together, but the puppy was the happiest, standing on top of his father's head like he was on top of the world.
"Ryan!" Tito shouted as the gang walked into the library.
Ryan jumped and looked back to see his friends and mate there. He didn't say anything, slowly looking back at the painting hanging above the fireplace with a sniffle. He was afraid Rita was a little upset with him for running off, fearing for another argument after months of no arguing. His only sign that she wasn't angry with him was when she laid her body on top of his, providing him warmth in the cold room.
"We were so worried, me especially" Rita spoke softly into his ear. "I'm sorry I snapped like that. It's just that I hate it when everyone assumes you and I are gonna break up because you're Autistic. That's NEVER gonna happen!"
"No" Ryan replied quietly. "I'm more sorry here, for running off and having that meltdown. I really don't know what got into me, but a part of me told me to just run away, go back to where I once was a happy pup and be safe with my parents. If they were still around."
Dodger, Tito, Einstein and Francis gathered around the sad Dalmatian, laying down so that they were at his eye level. They looked around at the partially empty room, still amazed that their friend used to live in a house like this when he was a little pup. Apparently his mother's owner really made a good fortune, or she was getting rich off of being a show dog. If Georgette were to hear about all of this, she might've been jealous, or at the very least might've heard about Marlene when she was a pup.
"It must not be easy for you to move on, huh?" asked Dodger softly.
Ryan nodded his head slowly, with Rita licking away the tears rolling down his cheeks. "I may look really cheerful and happy on the outside…. But on the inside, it's pain and suffering" he admitted to the boys. "It's super… duper hard… to move on."
"Don't sweat it Spots" Dodger said with a pat on his spotted friend's head. "We understand you miss your parents a lot. Little Jack too, but you gotta remember that you're safe now. You're living with a family again. You got us to help you, and most importantly," He winked at Rita, who smiled warmly, "you got the girl of your dreams! Besides, your parents are in a better place now."
This made Ryan sniffle a little as he looked towards the Jack Russell Terrier, the same one who helped him gain another chance at life. The same one who he calls his best friend, and looks up to him as a father figure to him. "You mean it?"
Dodger grinned, "Hey, absitively buddy." Even if Ryan was a grown dog, Dodger looked at the spotted dog as if he was his son, like how Oliver was a little brother to him when he was introduced to the gang months ago. He never really admitted it, but everyone knew that he was looking after him like a son he wished he had, even if he was a bit taller than him. Though at least he wasn't the smallest dog of the group which was no doubt Tito. But even so, the street savior, carefree Terrier always made sure Ryan was doing good, learning everything he needed to learn and most importantly staying alive. Like a true father would do.
Feeling like he's gotten his friends' support to push him through his troubling past, Ryan started to smile, with small tears streaming down his face still that were being licked away by his loving mate Rita. He soon noticed the smile on his lover's muzzle fade.
"Honey, I'm super sorry about that outburst earlier" she apologized with a nuzzle. "I'm honestly struggling to understand Autism and I'm still learning so I know what to do in situations that need to be dealt with, like right now. We're never gonna break up at all. It's just that I got a lot to learn and… I'm so sorry, honey."
"Rita, it's alright" Ryan smiled sweetly, which was enough to make Rita smile back thanks to that sweet smile of his almost melting her heart. "I didn't mean to run off from you and I understand where you're coming from. Sadly most don't fully know about Autism. Dogs included. So you're not alone, but I do hope they do make it known in case those poor people out there get the help they need and people learn about it more."
Rita sighed, "I hope they do. It needs to be known. But despite your disability, I still love you very much, my Spotted Conductor! I'll tell you this, if anything, I'd take your company over David's anyday!"
Those words made Ryan's smile grow. He felt like a huge weight was boosted off his shoulders thanks to Rita's kind words and all his troubling thoughts were being replaced by thoughts of Oliver, Jenny, Georgette, The Foxworth family, Dodger and the gang, and most importantly Rita. The bullies and deaths he dealt with were slowly fading away from his head as positive thoughts flooded in. They were still in him, though now he was thankful that his Saluki sweetheart and his family of street dog friends were there to help him more than ever.
Rita and the gang smiled, happy to see that their autistic friend was back to his normal self once more. The normal self they really enjoy seeing the most. They still felt sorry about Ryan's troubling past and hoped they could still push him through those thoughts, but they were glad he was feeling much better than earlier. They looked around at the empty room as they still kept the smiling Dalmatian close to them, still amazed this was once his home.
"I can't believe you used to live here, amigo!" Tito barked in awe and wonder. "It looks a little rough now man, but we didn't even know your father was that famous."
Ryan slowly stood up, smiling as he looked around with his friends. The memories of his past life slowly came back, but not so much to lead him into a meltdown. More so leading him to reflect the past in a positive and fun way. Of course Rita was right beside him in case it was too much for him to handle, but he felt much better to talk about his old home. "This was my mom's place actually" he corrected the Chihuahua. "I mean my dad used to live in an apartment building right across from her, and when they got together, dad moved in with her. She was a pretty well known show dog back then. I was quite sad I couldn't find her trophies or ribbons she won. She won a good bit of them for sure."
"She definitely looked like show dog material" Rita grinned, licking her mate's cheek sweetly.
Feeling like they should get going back to work, Dodger motioned his fearless gang of dogs he calls family out. "Hey let's get going fellas" he called out with his trademark grin, "The Streets of Gold never is safe with us around!"
But Ryan felt like he wasn't done yet. He just quietly walked over to the portrait of him and his parents, smiling a bit as he remembered the day the portrait was made.
Rita noticed this and stopped. She looked back at her mate and then to Dodger, who nodded to her as if saying "stay with him". She didn't have to say anything or be told twice, give him a wink before walking over to her spotted sugar, looking at the painting with a grin. Now she wasn't entirely sure, but she thought both Marlene and Shaun's portrait winked at her, which only caused her to smile more.
"I don't know what's gonna happen to this place honey" Ryan said quietly. "I just hope all of these memories go to good homes, or even the museum to honor my dad and the ones he left behind."
"Sweetie" Rita replied in the softest tone she ever spoke, "Whatever happens to this place, just remember that this is where it all started. Your whole life, both good and bad. But the future is whatever you make it. So let's make a good one. Together."
The two dogs looked at each other lovingly for a few moments, not even looking away from each other as they locked eyes on each other. They didn't say anything to each other, but their eyes definitely said they love each other very much. Ryan blinked a few times to get the last of his tears out of him, while Rita winked telling him everything will be okay. Their paws soon laid on top of each other and before anyone knew it, they kissed each other on the lips, lovingly. The two of them closed their eyes, wanting to enjoy the loving moment together and feel their sweet soft furry lips on each other's, with the only sound being heard is Ryan's tail thumping rapidly against the wooden floor. They held the romantic kiss for a solid 20 seconds before they parted, walking out of the room together. To Ryan, it was the last time, leaving behind his troubled past as best as he could.
Rita could see the slightly worried look on her mate's face, so she thought it would be best to talk more about his father. But of course, she didn't wanna mention that she saw his ghost from time to time. "You know, some dogs have mentioned that your father was really brave when he was a railroad dog," she said in a motherly tone. "I bet that's how he and your mom got together."
"Well mom saw him differently than most dogs that saw her. You see, most of the male dogs she used to be surrounded by just wanted a good taste of her and not really give her some true love she was looking for" Ryan explained. "She was looking for someone that could fulfill her fantasies of showing her what true love really feels, start a family, go out on family picnics and so on. The dogs were always attracted by her beauty, which kind of made the ladies around here jealous of her."
"Huh, that's funny" Rita chuckled at one thing she heard about Shaun. "Your mom told me he was goofy back then, more so whenever he saw Marlene. So I guess he was goofy for her."
Ryan couldn't help but laugh. Laugh his cute little head off as the two made their way out the door. His laugh echoed through the empty house, for the first time in years. "My mom talked too much!" he said with a sigh.
As the pair disappeared out onto the streets, neither one of them or anyone else had seen the doors slowly close behind them and the shapes of two grown Dalmatians walking together in the foyer, looking at each other with a smile. A smile that told them that their son is gonna be fine. Before anyone knew it, the male Dalmatian pounced onto the female and thus began a playful chase through the deserted house, full of laughter, barks and love. Shaun and Marlene's spirits didn't have to worry anymore. For Rita, Dodger, Oliver and their friends will look after their son for them and help him fight against the troubles he faced back then.
The only one who would believe this was happening was Rita, who looked back at the house when she heard the barks ringing in her ears. As she listened to those two deceased dogs have their little fun, she couldn't help but smile. If she could, she would've loved to see them and maybe join the ghosts' fun, but she felt like Ryan needed her the most and decided to let the Dalmatians have their fun. The only thing she got to hear from them was something that made her gasp quietly, which was enough to make her smile more and tear up a little.
As for Ryan, he felt a lot better from earlier that day. Deep down he was worried about the house's future and wondered where all the belongings inside would go, but he didn't care. He was just happy to have Rita and her friends with him, and his parents were in a better place now; happy and together at last. He looked forward to what the future had in store for him and his mate, but something puzzled him. Did he hear somebody was pregnant?
Note: Still not dead, just busy with my own things. Thought of this story recently and decided to post it on here for you all to enjoy. I hope you enjoy the story. Feel free to review the story if you wish. Please no negative stuff.
Oliver and Company belongs to (C) Disney. No copyright infringement intended.
Ryan, Shaun and Marlene belong to me.