Chapter 42: Doctors and Hospitals
"-the other guys at the station aren't really giving me a hard time. They might crack a joke at my expense at its worst, but I think that's just them trying to be funny in light of the situation." James settled in uncomfortably into the armchair, facing opposite the squirrel Dr. Crenspaw, perched on her own tall chair so that they can maintain a level eye contact. "Still bored from being at my desk doing endless paperwork, but that's just part of the job until chief clears me for patrol. So I suppose… Apart from feeling really up and down and all over the place lately, I'm not complaining about too much today."
Madge Crenspaw gave his a slight grin as she nodded her head. "That's good to hear. Care to elaborate about the teasing? Does it get to you?"
James had to think about it for a moment. "Not really, I don't think so. We always pull pranks at one another. I would know, I was one of the worst until Nick showed up. So if the others are still making jokes? It means that things are normal, more or less. Clawh- Ben's really empathetic about it, but I would even say that to a fault. If everyone else are more or less too normal, then I would say that Ben's even more freaked out over Brian than I am. Which is saying something because, well…" James allowed his voice to fade as he gave a shy grin. "Uhh… It also helps that Dahlia's going to be released today. Or at least I hope so. Chief says we're both going to be on desk duty still, but that we'll be able to start talking about returning to regular duty soon."
"I'm afraid a lot of that will depend onto me," Dr. Crenspaw let him know. "He might have been trying to reassure you, but when you are allowed to return to patrol isn't that much depended on him at this point. I know it's not necessarily what you want to hear, but I think you'll agree that for the public, it's better to be conservative in how eager Bogo should be before letting you back on patrol. But for what it's worth, I think you're doing rather exceptionally well. And I hope that Dahlia also won't have too many issues."
"-Right." James nodded slowly, although he had to admit that as much as he agreed with her, that he didn't feel a little hurt and insulted.
"But you said that you're feeling overall better. Is there something else, or am I misreading things?"
"That's actually… yeah, there was." James blinked in surprise at the squirrel sitting across from him, a part of him noting that the last time he met another of that species, it was that OIA agent who then proceeded to completely flip a lot of things around. "It was something late yesterday. Uhh..."
"Go on," Dr. Crenspaw urged him gently, sounding like she already knew what he was about to say.
James knew that not only was she most likely aware what was going on, but she was also sworn by patient-doctor confidentiality requirements, so why did he feel like he was about to reveal something he shouldn't? Fighting the feeling, he went for it. Besides, it's not like he didn't bring this very thing up with Crenspaw before. "We finally found out the truth about Trigger- err, Humphrey. And Count- Ryan, too, to a certain extent." He frowned, deep in thought and recollecting memories that weren't too nice to recall. "Remember when you met me, right after I had to shoot Brian? I also mentioned how I felt about the pilots, and how it was right after Trigger ran away, and it was causing me to worry more than I really had the time or energy for? How I was still feeling be-betrayed by… what he did. And how even as we all knew that the evidence proved that he did it, he still insisted every single time that he didn't?" Shaking his head, James even managed to grin a little despite the topic. "Just found out that the evidence against him was faked. I mean, how messed up is that? And I can only imagine what he's going through, finding that out. But I guess that before we knew that it was all fake… I always hoped that he really didn't do it like he said he didn't, rather than being guilty like the evidence at the time said. Count never pretended not to have done anything, but at the same time, he's guilty of what? Making a joke about who he is? Judy already knew he's no one important, and still asked him if he's royalty when she found out his name. But Trigger? Assassinating a president? I always knew that they would never let him fly if he actually did it. But still… There was always that doubt. What if he really did do it? It was nice to actually find out for real that he was innocent all along."
Finishing this up, James took a few moments to collect his thoughts, recalling a specific event that was still leaving him feeling uneasy. "Odd thing is… Trig told me something this morning. Guess he was trying to help, but I don't know if it did or not…" He looked at Crenspaw nervously. "He told me… 'You're a killer, not a murderer. There's a difference between them'." As soon as he finished saying this, James bit his tongue, feeling dirty. "I think he wanted to say something more after that, but he didn't."
"How did you react to being told that?" Mandge verbally nudged him, but gently. "That sounds like rather unorthodox advice."
"Uhh-" Jame scratched behind his ears, tail twitching nervously next to his legs. "Okay, Doc, so if someone were tell me something like that, I would be very tempted to hurt them or something, I'll admit as much. But Trigger? I mean, he's not in that different of a situation as I am, is he? Probably never wanted to kill anyone- he admitted to me that he became a pilot to help prevent war, not fight in one, just like I'm a cop to help save lives rather than take them. But we both… neither of us had a choice, did we? Bogo told me numerous times that I did the right thing with Brian, as did every other cop I talked to. I even- I got a hug from Brian's friend despite knowing what I did, no-, not despite, but because of knowing that I did that. But what Trigger said? Guess I did want to punch him, but a part of me also realized… Well, he's not wrong. I want him to be, but I know he isn't. And I can only guess what sort of demons he had to wrestle with to get him to say that." If anything, James looked disappointed in himself. "We are on the same boat, I guess. And if I were really honest, he has it much worse than I do. I still remember what he was like when we first apprehended him… I sure am glad that I'm not like that!"
Deep in thought, James' ears perked up, followed by his gaze snapping to the therapist. "Say, isn't he seeing you as well? I thought you were the one who conducted his psych evaluation that time before we went to that airfield."
"I am not allowed to reveal who is or isn't one of my patients, nor am I allowed to discuss my patient's therapy," Dr. Crenspaw said sternly. "I might work with the ZPD, but I am ultimately a professional psychiatrist with my own practice first and foremost. What I am allowed to disclose is defined by the laws and regulations of my profession, and your status as a police officer is not above them. You can get access to my files," she added almost as an afterthought. "But not without a warrant."
James nodded again, feeling stupid. "Right…"
"That isn't to say that you shouldn't talk to Humphrey," Madge continued, now tone gentle once more. "While it is true that I was the one to conduct his evaluation, I also suspect that its rather outdated in light of everything that has happened since then. But from my understanding, the two of you get along rather well, and it won't hurt to talk to him."
"He's going to be sent back to fight soon," James pointed out with a frown. "Possibly a week. Maybe less."
"You sound like you don't want that to happen."
"I guess I don't," James admitted after a moment's hesitation. "I know Judy likes having him around, and I guess, even as much as he gets on my nerves and with me losing my temper at him for all sorts of reasons… I don't know. I don't even know if he wants to go! I-" He looked up at Crenspaw suddenly. "I do remember telling him, after the collar went off when we went to the coast, that if he was scared for his life in having to return to flying, that we would find a way to protect him." He slowly looked back down, frowning in thought. "I don't know which will be better for him, to stay or to go."
"Whatever the answer to that is, the question I would be asking right now," Mandge said, "which would you prefer? And while this may be only our second session, I can't help but notice that you've been talking about Humphrey a lot. More than even the other officers you work with."
For some reason, this comment made James feel very guilty. "I had to shoot Brian because he lost his mind after losing his mother in the Bana City attack," he explained in a low voice. "Which also happened right after Trigger ran away, which already put me under even more stress which was already sky high because of the riots, also because of Bana... The others here, and especially Dahlia, but really Nick and Judy as well? Sure, they helped me keep sane with everything that's been going on, but at the same time, it feels like everything was because of Trigger." He gave a sheepish shrug. "I know he isn't at fault for any of it, but like… Well, Count didn't lose anyone, so therefor, he's fine! So why did Trigger have to lose both of his parents? As if I didn't already have enough things to worry about without him already being that close to completely losing it…" He didn't even notice that his paws were gripped into tight fists until he started feeling the pressure and looked down at them. "I should be glad that he only ran away, and had the sense to call us after being gone for only a few days, but at the same time? I just… He needs to get a grip on himself, and soon! Why did I have to get entangled so much with him? Would have been so much simpler if I hadn't!"
"James, may I point out that while you're complaining about Humphrey," Madge commented, a slight smirk of knowing on her muzzle, "I can't help but notice an underlying feeling that you do care about him."
Caught off guard, James blinked back at her. "I- Yeah, I guess I do. Sorry, doc," he relented, while Madge just waved off his apology. "...Which makes it even more frustrating, doesn't it? If I didn't consider him a friend, would have made it a lot easier to just ignore him. Would've made finding out about his record feel far less… personal."
Dr. Crenspaw tapped a paw again one of her own armrests. "Him keeping his sentencing from you a secret. Felt like a personal betrayal when you found out, didn't it?"
"I was… Was so mad at him f-for days. Chief Bogo sent me with Nick and Judy to pick him up from Lynxamore. He said it would probably help me more than just sitting in the office. And I guess he was right. The drive was nice. Scenic. Especially because I didn't have to be the driver. But… I did get angry at Trigger when we saw him again. Right away, too. To the point when Judy had to intervene several times to remind me… I had promised not to get angry at him, but, well, Judy already complained to me about having failed it right away. I mean, honestly? I only stopped being angry at him recently, really. And to a certain extend, I kind of still am. I know I shouldn't be… But I am." He dared to look up at Dr. Crenspaw apologetically, expecting at least some sort of scolding for his admission.
He received none.
"While Humphrey had very good reasons to keep his past a secret," Madge instead explained slowly, thinking her way through it. "Not to mention most likely standing orders from his superiors not to reveal his past, I can only imagine how hard it was for him to stay silent about it. But also how hard it was to find out when the files were leaked. It's natural to feel hurt by someone you consider a friend hiding something that severe."
"We've only known each other for a few months," James added feebly.
"Not a reason to not be friends," Madge pointed out with a small smile. "You said it yourself. If you didn't care about him, finding out about his past would have hurt less. But on the inverse of that, now that you know that he was innocent after all, doesn't it feel like a great relief?"
"Sure makes me feel like less of a dunce for believing anything he said," James admitted, a slight chuckle escaping his muzzle. "Nick was certainly fooled. Which, I guess, is nothing more than Trig being honest the entire time!"
Dr. Crenspaw nodded. "My understanding, as little as it is, is that he was honest with you officers the entire time. I did after all, conduct his psychiatric evaluation, which also included looking into the files on his conduct here. Such as that he was the one who disarmed Ryan before harm was done to Judy. Don't you found it odd, that knowing his history and the conviction hanging over his head, that he chose to surrender rather than fight?"
"Rya-? Oh, Count, right. It did puzzle me for a while," James said, recalling the first few days after meeting the pilots for the first time.
A time that felt like a lifetime ago at this point.
"-But he also told us that both he and Count were effectively operating by that point on severe lack of sleep, and with Count having that wound on his leg, and without a good escape plan. At the time, Dahlia told me that Count was saying that they originally planned on searching for the Ocelotian consulate office, but decided against it. Claimed they couldn't find it, but I think now, with what I know…" His eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I don't think they wanted to go back to Ocelotia, both of them being convicted felons. Well, at the time…" He remembered something else. "She also told me that Count complained for days that Trigger didn't even allow him to steal any food while they were on the run, and knowing the garbage they were fed back at base, I am sure that hunger was also slowing them down."
"Almost like Humphrey wanted to be found by the ZPD?" Madge suggested.
"Possibly," James agreed with a nod. "Worked out for them in the end, didn't it?" His gaze fell, ears flattening. "Well, mostly. Still took Bana City being attacked for Count's record to be cleared, and Trigger's innocence to be revealed. Of course, now they'll be leaving…" His gaze rose slowly to watch the squirrel sitting opposite him.
Madge couldn't help but let out a slight giggle. "You're looking at me like I can do something about it!" Taking a deep breath to calm down and return to being serious, she gave him a slight nod. "Look, it's pushing my doctor-patient confidentiality, but I think I can let you know something I can reveal. Something that you might want to share with Nick, Judy, and Dahlia as well." She cleared her throat. "Over the next week or so, Ryan and Humphrey will both be run through a series of tests to make sure that they are still capable to be returned to an active fighter squadron. These tests will be both physical as well as mental. I'll be helping out with the latter."
James shifted in his seat. "Trigger barely passed his evaluation last time. Everyone knows he's doing much worse now than back then. How realistic is it that he'll be reactivated?"
Madge shook her head. "That I can't say. Ocelotia is desperate to get 'Three Strikes' back to the air. Llet me ask you a question about it: If you were the one who got to decide, right here and now, to release him back to duty or not, would you do it?"
"I, uhh…" James' jaw dropped a little, stunned at himself at how hard the question actually proved to be.
"You don't actually have to answer that," Madge quickly elaborated. "But I think you realize that the answer is not easy. The only thing I can do as a professional is to do my job professionally and hope that I can leave any personal feelings aside when I make my final decision. The reason I brought it up is, with how much you talked about him, would you want Humphrey to stay here?"
Now the seat was really starting to feel uncomfortable. "I rather like having him around," James admitted. "I doubt as much as Judy. Can't say for Nick, but Dahlia felt a little tied up with the pilots around. But I don't want to force him to go, or stay. Definitely not on my behalf. His staying here was always supposed to be temporary either way. They were supposed to leave several times already. And there was another thing-"
He let out a sudden groan of frustration, tugging at his ears.
"James?" Madge sounded worried. "What are you thinking about?"
"Count and Trigger joked multiple times about solitary," James recalled. "They're from a penal unit! Of course they didn't want to go back… Solitary confinement? They were being tortured over there! And for what? Count making up who he is really? And especially Trigger, who was innocent the entire time? No wonder why they both had issues when we nabbed them. And why Trig was and still is such a mess!" He gritted his teeth, forcing his muzzle shut even as a growl of anger still made its way through. "If it wasn't for what happened to Bana City, I wouldn't know who are the good guys here!"
"James," Dr. Crenspaw let out a sigh of her own. "While I do appreciate seeing your concern for him, remember that you're here for yourself. And even with everything that's going on, I don't think Humphrey's troubles are what's causing yours. If nothing else, Chief Bogo would like to see you back on full duties as soon as possible."
"How long will that be?" James asked, feeling odd. Was it because he felt it more important to prioritize Trigger's issues over his? "I mean, I'll still be here. Trigger will be gone soon, and well, his problems are so much bigger than mine. And I do think that, as stupid as it sounds, that helping him would help me. As we've established… Since it became personal, and all..."
"It is not unusual for officers to need help for months and even years after a shooting, as you should recall from the first time we met," Dr. Crenspaw reminded him. "Some never recover fully for the rest of their lives. But others are able to bounce back within days or even weeks, it all depends on the individual. But a faster recovery than usual is more often than not a sign of other problems, but those I don't get a feeling as coming from you. As for Humphrey, if you really believe that helping him will help you, I can think of something," Madge commented. "Since we're running out of time for today, how about we call it for today's meeting, and I'll see what I can do on my end. I can email you or call if I come up with anything. Sound like a plan for you?"
James scratched underneath his muzzle. "I think so. Yeah, that can work."
Madge nodded, jotting some notes down on a pad. "And I do recommend you talking with Humphrey, try to overcome some of that anger you developed towards him. I understand that it might be hard, but the healing process won't start until you allow it to. Oh, and one other thing-"
James tilted his head. "What's that?"
"Pay Dahlia a visit! I'm sure she won't mind seeing you before she goes home."
"Oh, yeah, I uh, was already planning to do that. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you in a couple of days..." Standing up, he shook her much smaller paw with his before hurrying out the door. While he wasn't afraid or intimidated by her, there was still a certain relief to leaving her office.
While Chief Bogo had put him into seeing Madge twice a week, he was also hoping that it would soon change to once a week or even less often.
Trying not to hurry too quickly out of his office, he only felt fully like he was free once he finally got back to his car. Relaxing his head back against the driver's seat, he took a few moments to close his eyes and just breath, gathering his thoughts. There was always returning to the office to get more paperwork done, although Chief Bogo let him know ahead of time that he was caught up enough to not need to worry about it. But the idea of not doing anything was equally unappealing at the moment, so… Back to the precinct it is then.
A short drive later, and he parked in front of the entrance of his destination. Walking through the large doors of the building, he half-heatedly returned the greetings of the officers he passed before stopping by the receptionist desk.
Unusually, Clawhauser wasn't preoccupied with a pastry or other food item. Unfortunately, he wasn't busy with anything else, allowing him to focus all of his attention to the officer stopped in front of the desk.
James immediately started to feel rather self-conscious with how Ben analyzed him, squirming slightly beneath the cheetah's gaze. "H-Hey, Ben, have you seen Trigger around?" He hoped that getting straight to the point will help keep things less awkward.
Instead of answering, Clawhauser instead shook his head in disapproval. "You really should be calling him 'Humphrey' now," he reminded the officer. "Chief sent out a memo to me this morning. I thought you already knew though. Know anything about the sudden change? Chief didn't say anything about it. Count's called Ryan, so you should use that with him."
"I was there, Ben!" James whined with a huff. "And no, I don't think I can share why. Just... Still used to their call signs, not their actual names, okay? Have you seen them around or not?"
"I think Ryan's back up in his room, think he's going through his stuff," Clawhauser answered absentmindedly. "As for Humphrey… Oh, right, I remember now! Nick and Judy took him on patrol with them today. They should be back any minute actually."
James was nodding and turning to go before Clawhauser can find something else to fuss over him. "Right, thanks, Ben!"
Hurrying upstairs, he indeed found Count in the pilot's shared room, fussing over a laptop. A brief exchange later, and James shared the idea he had on the way over., as well as his hope that Count will also tag along.
Count closed the lid to his laptop, tapping a hoof on the lid. "I've got hours of catching up with my old life to get through still," he explained. "Not to mention phone calls I owe and wasn't able to do yet. Times zones mostly, but I've also been avoiding calling home while Trig's around because well…" He chose to not pursue the idea further. "And? Look, with all do respect, but visiting Fangmeyer isn't something I have strong feelings about. For what it's worth, feel free to let her know that she has my sympathy and hope she gets better soon."
Hiding his disappointment, James nodded solemnly. He hoped to avoid playing messenger and that Count would choose to go.
"-but I do think Trigger should tag along," Count tore him out of his thoughts. "They were supposed to bring over his things today, but they're not here yet. And well, it's Trigger. Might do him some good. He's with Hopps and Wilde right now, so if you grab all of them when they get back, you'll all still fit in the same car."
Just like Clawhauser had predicted, it didn't take long for the other two officers to show up, the weary pilot trailing numbly close behind them. If anything, James started to double guess himself in terms of whether he wanted to bring the pilot along. Help? It might. It can also completely backfire on them just as easily, and Trigger already ran away once. In fact, it took pulling Judy off to the side and asking her about it before he started to allow to believe again that it might be a good idea after all.
As Nick and Judy left them alone to go and report back to Bogo for the day, he watched the smaller pilot carefully, noting how Trigger was silently glaring at Count's direction. Or more specifically, how he was glaring at Count's typing away at his laptop, an unmistakable envy at the latter's reactions to reconnecting with his previous life.
Choosing to intervene before it can become a problem, James stepped in and directly confronted Trigger with his idea, desperately hoping that the pilot would accept.
Of course Trigger saw right through it. "You want me to leave Count alone, is that it?" he accused with a hiss, paws closing dangerously into tight fists.
James let out a frustrated groan. "Trigg- Humphrey, okay, well, yes! But are you telling me that this is what you want to be doing right now? You want to talk to your own family but can't. I understand that! Count knows is too. Why do you think he's answering emails rather than calling home? He's doing as little as he can to make it easier on you, Trig. But dwelling on it won't help you. So what will it be? Will you go with us, or stay? It's.. It's not the same, I'm not going to even pretend otherwise, but it's something."
The fight left Trigger's expression. "Okay, I'll go," he relented quietly.
Feeling foolish, James reached out and pulled the pilot into an awkward hug. "You're being strong by doing this, not weak," he let the pilot know, hoping that his words of encouragement won't fall on deaf ears. "I'm proud of you. Everyone are."
"Don't push it," Trigger warned, squirming out of the embrace. "I don't believe that and you know it."
James flashed him a grin. "Yeah? Well? I'm not asking you to."
He tried to strike up another conversation, but Nick and Judy returned at the nick of time, the rabbit immediately asking about who was going on the trip or not, herself beaming with approval at the pilot when it was confirmed that he was going to join them after all. So mere minutes after that, it was right back outside and into a car.
James had a strange moment when he realized that this was probably the first time he was in a car with Trigger with the pilot not wearing, as far as he could tell, neither a TAME collar nor any other tracking device. That drive back after picking him up from running away not counting.
Shrugging those thoughts aside, it was a short drive later to the large hospital complex. From there, a boring walk through rather bare if brightly colored corridors. But overall, it was almost going to be without problems, at least until...
"-Guys, I don't… I don't think this is a good idea…"
Judy rolled her eyes at the confession as she was about to open the hospital room door, but it did cause her to feel a pang of worry. "Humphrey? We're literately outside her door. Why the cold feet now?"
"I don't know," he confessed. "Just have a bad feeling."
James feared that he knew about this feeling all too well himself. So instead, he came up with an alternative. "Tell you what? Wait here for now, I'll go in and warm her up, and we'll call you in. There won't be anything to be nervous about, I promise!"
Trigger didn't look convinced, glancing nervously down the hall from where they came from. "I don't know. Can I sit this one out in the car?"
Judy grabbed his arm. "Humphrey? Please. Don't run now. Not when you're so close."
The two stared at one another silently. But it was Judy who won the battle of wills. Relenting and backing down Trigger motioned for the officers that he was going to wait for them.
Hoping that the pilot won't in fact try and make a run for it while their backs were turned, James knocked on the door a few times before slowly opening it. Inside were three tigers, two of them sitting around the third who was occupying the large mechanical hospital bed.
To say that Dahlia looked relieved to see him was an understatement, her expression instantly lightening up when she saw her partner walk into the room. "James! Thank God! Bad news: the tests got delayed by several hours."
James nodded to Mike and the smaller Ethan as he shuffled over, noticing that the young tiger was sporting his own glare at some paperwork. Peeking over the papers, he wrinkled his nose in disgust at what he saw. "Math homework? Glad I never have to do that anymore, kid!" Turning his attention to Dahlia, he gave her a shrug. "If it's only a few hours, then it's not so bad," he tried to cheer her up. "How are you feeling otherwise?"
Dahlia's grin widened as Nick and Judy also entered the room. "Well, bored like there's no tomorrow!" she admitted. "Mike's doing all he can," she gave her husband an enduring smile, which he returned. "...But there's only so much he can do. Plus, he does need to go to work, and take care of Ethan while I can't. And Ethan? Well, his math homework's beyond me, I'm afraid. If my arm wasn't locked in place, I would have shredded it already." As if to prove her point, she tapped at the sling covering her shoulder and arm, noticing the expression on James' muzzle lower as soon as she brought attention to the wound.
"James, don't!" she warned, a growl forming in her throat to let him know that she was willing to fight if she had to. "Don't you start now! It's not your fault. Try to remember that if it wasn't for you, I would be in a much worse state right now."
Nodding numbly, James couldn't help but keep his eyes on the sling, wondering just how close she had been to permanent damage. As is, it was going to take her a while to regain full use of the arm.
It was the other two officers who jumped in to the rescue.
"Fang, we brought someone else along!" Nick announced rather loudly, largely to force James' attention away from Dahlia's shoulder. Taking his own peek at the dreaded math homework, he shrank away from it. "Schooling? Yuck!"
Judy was about to punch him in the shoulder, but decided against the bad manners right in front of Dahlia's child. "Nick! Don't set a bad example to children!" she scolded. "School is important!" Ignoring his smirk, she nodded at his first statement. "But we did bring someone else along. You know him..." Raiding her voice, she called out, "Humphrey! Come in please!"
"I don't remember a 'Humphrey'…" Dahlia started to complain, voice faltering as soon as a nervous Trigger slowly entered the room. "Oh, right. Now I do."
Thinking fast, she came up with an idea. "Mike, honey? Mind taking Ethan on a walk around? I need to- police business, you understand that, right?" She smile apologetically at her husband, gaze letting him know that while she was asking, the request wasn't up for debate. "Ten minutes!"
Mike look a little hurt at the request, but nodded and pulled Ethan along with him. "I have my phone if you'll need me," he reminded her. "We'll be back soon!"
Dahlia waved at them with her free paw as they exited the room, leaving the officers alone with the pilot. "So… Trigger, or is it 'Humphrey' now? Is that your actual name, or is-"
"It is," Judy confirmed quickly.
Holding her breath, Dahlia studied the pilot closely, who in an attempt to avoid her gaze, took up the spot Ethan had been occupying and took to studying that dreaded math homework. "All right. Wait, listen, all of you…" She needed time to realize exactly what she was thinking. "Okay. Last I heard of you, you ran away and completely vanished on us. Now you're standing here, which I cannot believe is not without Bogo's approval. That, and we now also know your name…" She let out a heavy sigh. "So what really did happen with Hareling? Judy... Judy would trust you regardless. Can't really speak for Nick, but I know he's a great judge of character. What I do know is that James won't forgive you if you really were a murderer. And yet, here you are, not in cuffs or collars or anything. So in the end… Innocent?"
Trigger nodded numbly.
"When did you find out?" Dahlia asked after a long moment of silence between the two.
"Late yesterday," James quickly answered in the pilot's stead, noting how even though he had jumped in to do so, Trigger still shot him a look of gratefulness for the aid.
"What about Count?" Dahlia asked quickly after that answer. "He's not here. Did Chief not allow him to come?"
"Count, also called Ryan Velveton," James put emphasis into the last name, "decided not to go with us, as he needs to catch up with his previous life. Record's been cleared on his end. So while he was guilty of that fraud, well, not anymore, I guess. My understanding is that some Ocelotians decided to fly in when we told them that Trigger was missing. At least one of them was some OIA guy that Savage was working with on a regular basis. While we picked Trig here up before they arrived, they did let us know that his case was fabricated. It was, I should say, it started with a phone call..." With Nick and Judy assisting him, he quickly relayed the events of the previous evening to Dahlia.
Trigger in the meantime collapsed into a spare chair, sliding over Ethan's homework and grabbing the pencil next to it in a faint attempt to distract himself from the discussion going on around him.
"-mphrey?.. Trigger?"
He looked up from his distraction to find several concerned officers all looking at him. "What?"
"Are you feeling all right?"
His gaze narrowed. "Why is everyone-?" Stopping himself, he hung his head low. "I… Didn't need a reminder of yesterday," he complained. "Or the past few days, really. You could have let her know without me. But otherwise, yeah, I'm fine, I guess."
Judy tried smiling at him. "I didn't think those math problems would have engrossed you so much," she commented. "Are you sure you're okay? I guess we can let you go back to the car if it's too much in here."
Trigger looked thoughtful for a moment, appearing like he was seriously considering the option, and trying to ignore the hopeful looks from the officers. "No, it's fine," he concluded after a while. "I don't mind staying. Sorry. I guess I was-"
Whatever he was, he didn't get a chance to say as knocking at the door alerted them that someone wanted to come in. Moments later, Mike and Ethan shuffled into the room, the two tigers easily taking up the little remaining space around Dahlia's bed around the room.
Ignoring the adults in the room, Ethan took his homework back and found a corner to continue working at it, letting out a groan of complaint at the notes he discovered jotted down on the margins.
Dahlia raised an eyebrow, shuffling to try and look at her son but unable to adjust to a position to do so. "Humphrey, what was it that you wrote on that homework?" To her credit, she spoke his name like she had heard it plenty of times before rather than just discovering it.
"Just corrected a few mistakes," Trigger answered quickly, "nothing big or anything."
"Just don't make it a habit of correcting his mistakes for him," Dahlia commented, letting out a long yawn immediately afterwards. "He still needs to learn the material, after all."
"What is it exactly that you do?" Mike asked cautiously, eyeing Trigger curiously.
"Contracting," Trigger replied swiftly, almost on autopilot. "Engineering contracting."
"And you're involved with the ZPD how..?"
This time, Trigger visibly cast a nervous look at the officers. While Mike was Dahlia's family, there was still a lot that he wasn't allowed to tell. "I was helping with a case," he answered, voice noticeably lacking the confidence of moments before. "Long term case, been helping for a while now. Will be wrapping up soon though."
Mike opened his mouth for further clarification, but his wife cut him off. "Mike, there's a reason why I asked you and Ethan to leave the room," Dahlia said, gently, but also with a warning underneath that she won't tolerate him pushing the subject. "This is work related, which means neither one of you can be part of the conversation." Her husband's ears folded over, a hurt expression on his muzzle, causing her to let out an unintended laugh. "Don't be like that! You know I don't mean anything by it! I just don't want you getting into trouble for something dumb!"
"I know," he admitted, "I just got carried away. You mentioned some contractors helping out with a case in passing like… once before, and that was it! So I take it Humphrey here is one of them?"
While he did get a nod from Dahlia, he chose not to chase the subject any further.
"We'll best get going, I think" Judy announced. "We just wanted to stop by again before Dahlia got released from the hospital. Keep in touch! You know we're already planning a 'welcome back to work' party, right? Ben also offered to donate some donuts, but I don't think you'll want some of those right now."
Ethan's ears perked up.
Dahlia noticed too. "Okay, I'll admit that donuts sound amazing. But especially as a mother, I do need to set an example," she shot a playful glare at Ethan's direction. "So tell Ben that while the idea is appreciated, he can leave the donuts at the store. And… Thanks for coming, really. Even if it's only a little, and that I do hope to be back in the office soon, coming here still meant a lot." She waved a paw gratefully at the officers. "But since I do have Mike and Ethan to keep me company, and there's not much room in here, might not be the worst if you get going. James, you especially, take care of yourself!"
Her partner nodded, getting ready to leave.
"Wait…" Trigger slid between Mike and Dahlia's bed to get to where Ethan was huffing away at his homework, clearly not enjoying it. "Kid, Ethan, yeah? Listen, I don't recognize how they're trying to teach you to solve these problems, but some tricks I learned can help you out, such as here-" Standing next to the seated tiger, he was just tall enough to easily see the homework, and started to go over the problems, explaining how to work through them and better solve them.
Nick started to grumble as what was supposed to be them leaving turned into them waiting for Trigger's impromptu math lesson. Combined with the painful shoulder his grumbling got him courtesy Officer Judy, he didn't particularly enjoy the small talk that settled toe room between the officers. Mike eagerly jumped in as well, to learn more about what exactly what kind of work his wife was doing and why it resulted in her being hospitalized with a shoulder wound.
At least the small talk prevented Judy from cooing over the sight of Trigger hunched over Ethan's homework, helping the tiger cub larger than he was work his way through it. Nick was certain that had she actually been paying attention to that, those would have been the sounds she would have been making.
Mike certainly noticed it too. "How long more is this guy going to be working with you?" he asked Dahlia. "I wouldn't mind him doing a career change, I think…"
Dahlia grinned despite herself. "Mike, don't be rude! He's far too overqualified just to be a tutor! But is it wrong that I find myself agreeing that he seems to be a rather good teacher?"
Mike raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you were the one working with him, not me. Why do you make it sound like he won't make for a good teacher? Engineering contracting, he said? Should be good at math!" With a roll of his eyes, he added with a mouthful of snark, "not that I would know. I just work in marketing."
"Well, the rest of us are all police officers," Judy reminded him. "Say what you want about us, but anything more than basic arithmetic is not expected out of us. Nick here, he's a really fine officer, but I don't think he ever solved anything more complicated than a trigonometric problem."
"Did too!" Nick whined, crossing his arms. "Once."
"Boys," Dahlia reminded them. "No arguing!"
Nick rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom!" He smirked at the frown he earned himself, sticking out his tongue for good measure. Grinning, he pumped fists with James.
Over an hour after when Judy first announced that they would get going, they were finally kicked out of the room when a doctor showed up to perform the tests that were scheduled. The officers decided to head back to the station, Trigger tagging close behind.
His attention was focused on one officer specifically as they walked though the hospital halls. "Judy? You're looking at me funny. What?"
Judy was beaming at him. "You were amazing back there, Humphrey! Did you notice?"
He gave her a sheepish grin. "I don't know, Judy. Those were rather simple problems! I mean, I know he's just a kid, so they're hard for him. But… I haven't done math that simple in years! I wouldn't call it amazing or anything. I think all of you could easily solve those problems too!"
"I think you're selling yourself short there, Strikes," Nick commented. "I looked at those problems. Solve them? Sure. Know how to teach 'em? Nah!"
"You know," Judy added, "you really looked happy back there. I would even say almost normal again."
Trigger's grin faded. "I… Guess you're right, Judy," he relented, scratching at his arm nervously. "It was nice having something else to think about. Felt rather surreal, to be honest. Don't know how to describe it… Was able to not worry about everything for a little bit. Uh, James?"
"Yeah?" James wondered what Trigger could have to tell him.
"I uh… I'm glad you brought me," Trigger mumbled, sounding sincere. "I really didn't want to go at first. Just didn't have the courage to say that I didn't want to. And… I didn't want to stay while Count got to call home. But uh… I'm glad you let me come. And… You know that I don't want to make it sound like I wanted Dahlia to get hurt, right?"
James blinked. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that. "You have an interesting mind, pup," he finally said. "And no, I don't think you ever wanted her to get hurt. Actually… I've been thinking about what you told me this morning. About being a killer but not a murderer-"
He ignored the startled look from Judy.
"At first, I wanted to be angry at you. I don't know, but I think it's something you aught to know. That you… frankly, you really pissed me off with what you said. But now? I think I'm starting to feel where you're coming from. So if anything, I guess I should be thanking you instead. That you were just trying to help in your own little, peculiar way."
Nick let out an overly loud groan. "All right, enough with the sappy nonsense! How about we get back to the precinct, okay?"
James grinned and pushed the smaller officer by the shoulders. "Whatever you say, fox. After you!"
And when they got back to the car, his phone gave him more good news, straight from Dahlia:
Doc said I can go home! Will take some time to do the paperwork, so don't wait up on me. Might be in the office soon! :)
