Author's note: Again, I've posted this story at Archive of our Own as well. I recommend reading it there, as I was able to add illustrations and format it a little better.
Delilah hadn't felt so at ease in a good long while. At last— at long last— she felt she could put her lifelong fears behind her, now that that witch was behind bars.
The first few nights after the big scare were admittedly quite shaky. Pups waking up from the occasional nightmare here and there, but as time went on, things had finally begun to return to normal. Her precious pups were all soon back to their playful, rambunctious selves, and Delilah couldn't be happier.
For the past three weeks she and Doug got up earlier than usual in order to have just enough time to give each individual pup a kiss and a nuzzle goodbye before heading off to work. It may have left them a little more tired than usual, but after nearly losing them all, they would gladly never sleep in again just to have even the tiniest bit more time with their children.
"Be good, sweets," Delilah said as she gave Dorothy an affectionate nose rub, to which the puppy responded with a happy giggle. Then she and Doug were off, with her making a beeline straight to the hospital. It looked to be quite the busy Monday morning. From the moment Delilah stepped into the lobby she could tell today's shift would be a taxing one, as always.
Little did she know just how taxing, however.
The nursing dog spotted Doctor Dave speaking to a group of troubled looking staff members, with he himself not looking too terribly happy either. Delilah approached them, letting out a polite sounding bark to let her human coworkers know she had arrived.
"Morning, girl," Dave sighed, giving her head a light pat. The man appeared wearier looking than normal, but not due to his usual lack of sleep. This time it was pure concern.
A patient had been brought in from the streets that very morning. One in terribly bad shape. It was apparent they had been homeless for some time. They were starved and heavily dehydrated. Practically on the brink of death. It was fortunate that they were found when they were.
It always tended to hit Dave particularly hard when cases like this happened to be children. Made him immediately think of his own little ones at home. But even MORE concerning was the mental state of the child. The doctor still couldn't quite believe what the nurses had told him.
Delilah, having missed the conversation, simply walked alongside Dave silently as they were led to the patient's room. The staff thought it best to isolate the patient for the time being, due to their… odd behavior. Dave braced himself as he entered the room, ready to witness it for himself.
The bed, much to their surprise, was empty, but the sound of growling alerted them to one of the room's corners.
A feeling of dread washed over Delilah.
She recognized the child right away.
There in the corner was a very disheveled, very wild, looking Hunter de Vil, down on all fours and barking madly at the strangers who had just entered. The boy was a complete mess. Dirty, savage, and contorting his body into an unnatural, animalistic stance as he continued to snarl at them. It was quite the unsettling sight.
Apparently, from the moment he had been wheeled in, the boy refused to speak a single word. He was outright incapable of it. It was as though he thought himself a feral dog, and no matter how hard the staff tried, they couldn't snap him back to reality.
A somber look fell on Dave. The man lowered his glasses, his eyes full of pity and concern. "Shh… shh now," he said gently. He approached the corner very slowly and knelt down in front of the boy, carefully attempting to reach out a hand toward him. "Everything's all right… we just want to help you."
Hunter wasn't having a word of it though. Soon as that hand came close, he made a lunge for it. Dave was lucky to pull away before it was bitten, but the shock still got a yelp out of him.
Hunter gave the doctor another growl, teeth fully bared. But it was apparent from his trembling that the hostility was simply masking the little dog boy's fear. His chest heaved in panic while his demented eyes darted back and forth between Dave and the rest of the humans surrounding him.
"It's all right…" Dave tried again. "No one's going to hurt you."
The boy backed up further into the corner, letting out a frightened whine. He snapped at Dave's hand again when the man made another attempt to touch him, and Dave gave a wince. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but if the boy continued to lash out violently, they would have no choice but to sedate him.
He looked down at his side to see if he could gleam any ideas from his canine partner, but was surprised to find Delilah wasn't there. She was still standing outside the door, completely frozen.
She couldn't bring herself to enter. The boy's scent unfortunately still reeked of… her. It overwhelmed Delilah. The sudden whiff of it hit her so hard that it was almost dizzying.
"Delilah? Girl…?" Doctor Dave looked over at her in confusion. He made a gesture, ushering her to come over, but she wouldn't budge.
She had desperately hoped she would never have to see any member of that horrid family ever again. Her ears lowered and sat flat on the sides of her head. With trembling legs she backed out further into the hallway. 'Get it together,' she mentally urged herself. She had to remain professional. Remind herself that she still had a job to do, and that her family was safe at home where the de Vils couldn't hurt them.
From within the room she could hear Hunter let out another snarl. If she hadn't already seen him for herself, Delilah would have sworn it was just another dog in there. She forced herself to take a few breaths in hopes of calming herself down.
Dave, meanwhile, returned his attention back to the boy. "Please," he whispered as calmly as he could. "Settle down. You're all right. You're safe."
But Hunter felt anything but.
Mustering his courage, the child ran for it. He darted past the doctors and made a mad dash out the door, still down on all fours and in a full on panic. Delilah barely had time to leap out of the way before he flew past her. She heard Dave and the other members of the staff exclaim various shouts of alarm. Then several pairs of human legs ran by her, frantically racing after the boy. The nervous dog could only gawk at the chaotic scene uselessly.
Oh dog, why? Of all hospitals, why did he have to be brought here?
Delilah took another shaky breath. Then another. She had to calm down, but it was so difficult to do when just the lingering scent of the de Vil was enough to take her back to that dreadful, perilous night. The memory was still fresh in her mind.
That night on the ship, after they had turned off that monstrous machine, Delilah remembered being practically trampled by a tidal wave of her own children, all grateful and happy to be alive. She, Doug and her two oldest fell over themselves trying to hug and nuzzle every one of them right back, feeling just as relieved, if not more so.
There were tears in her eyes as she kissed them, all the while counting them to make sure they were all there. 21, 22, 23… 56, 57… 83, 84… 96, 97, 98…
Wait. Only 98? Where was—?!
It was only then when she looked around for the missing pup that she noticed the de Vil boy, standing a moderately safe distance away from the reunited Dalmatian family. In his trembling hands he still held Dorothy, and Delilah's heart quickly began to race again.
Instinctually, she and Doug placed themselves protectively in front of their pups, eyeing the boy with distrust. She even heard her normally jovial husband let out a low, threatening growl beside her. This caused Hunter to freeze up. He gulped, knowing full well these dogs had every right to be mad. Yet somehow, despite his fear of getting mauled, he forced himself to take a nervous step forward.
Delilah narrowed her eyes at him, as if silently warning him to not dare hurt her daughter.
Hunter slowly took another step. When the parents didn't attack, he very anxiously took another, and then another. All the while, Delilah and Doug remained on edge, staring with held breaths at the pup in his grasp.
Once Hunter had finally gotten close enough, he carefully leaned down and, ever so gently, placed Dorothy in front of them. The puppy smiled wide, her little tail wagging rapidly as soon as her tiny paws touched ground, and scurried right into her parents' eager, waiting embrace.
"Oh Dorothy," Delilah sighed, feeling another wave of tears. She pulled the giggling pup close and rested her neck on the little one's head, heart light with relief once more.
Hunter had backed away again, now standing at the same spot he had been at earlier. He distanced himself from the large family of dogs, knowing full well he was an outsider. Yet… he felt the same joy and relief that they felt as he gazed over at them.
A very small, very wistful smile crept onto his face.
That boy…
Though he had had a part in that devil woman's plans, he had chosen to do the right thing in the very end, hadn't he? Delilah was still so haunted by the the trauma of it all that she had almost completely forgotten. As conflicted as she still felt about the younger de Vil, she knew she couldn't just stand there. She had to do something. As a thanks for rescuing her precious Dorothy, at the very least.
Finally snapping out of it, Delilah followed after the humans. With her extra set of legs she was able to catch up easily. She quickly sped past them, setting her sights on the terrified boy.
He frantically dashed from person to person, narrowly avoiding anyone who tried to make a grab for him. His eyes, manic and filled with fear, searched helplessly for a way out. But this white prison seemed endless to him. Nothing but more spiraling hallways full of strange devices and scary humans. He couldn't escape.
Suddenly, a white, spotted blur darted out in front of him and planted itself right in his path, causing him to come skidding to a halt.
He blinked, realizing it was another dog.
The older Dalmatian looked at him sternly, ears flat against her head and stance solid as a rock. Immediately, he went from vicious to confused, staring at her with large, befuddled eyes. He tilted his head to one side, letting out a small, curious whine.
Delilah inhaled sharply.
"Sit." She ordered, voice commanding and firm.
He did so, obediently.
Though she hid it well, a small rush of relief washed over her. Honestly, she had no idea if that would work or not, or if he would even be able to understand her. How fortunate that he did. Keeping up the no nonsense appearance, Delilah gave another order. "Follow me."
Hunter gave a slow blink.
"Do you understand?" she asked him, worried that perhaps the first time had been a fluke. But much to her surprise, he gave her a bark back. One that she could clear as day translate as a 'yes' in dog.
With the language barrier crossed, she started to lead him back to his hospital room. The rest of the humans, both staff and patients alike, including Dave, watched in disbelief as both dog and child walked past them, the child mimicking the dog almost exactly.
"Doctor?" a nurse apprehensively tapped Dave's shoulder. "Shall we still sedate the boy?"
Dave blinked out of his own stupor, and quickly shook his head. "No, no. I think the old girl's got this. We'll just monitor them for now."
Delilah sighed, exasperated.
It was sometime later, and as she watched Hunter trying to pull his blanket off of the hospital mattress with his teeth— as though he were playing a game of tug-of-war with the bed— she could tell she had her work cut out for her.
She shook her head and approached the deluded boy, once again putting on a sterner tone of voice. "Down." She said simply. In an instant his growling and yanking stopped. He stared at her wide eyed for a moment before opening his mouth to let the blanket drop.
"Good," Delilah told him.
To say this tiny bit of praise made him happy was an understatement. He hopped up and down excitedly, circling the older dog with a wide, ecstatic smile. If he had a tail, Delilah was certain it would be wagging like mad. Had this been any one of her pups at home, the display would've been quite cute, but a human child acting in such a way was… honestly rather unsettling. She couldn't help but step back, appearing terribly uncomfortable.
"Settle down," she ordered once more in her firm voice. "Sit."
Again he sat, still smiling wide, only now with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. He panted with unbridled glee, waiting to be praised again.
However, the older dog didn't do so this time, simply giving him a cold stare instead. Hunter's entire demeanor seemed to wilt at this. His happy, yet eerily vacant smile, turned to a look of confusion, and he reached an inquisitive "paw" out towards her.
Delilah's entire body tensed at this, and she recoiled almost immediately. "Don't touch me!" She shouted without thinking.
The boy jumped back himself, just as startled.
He shrunk back, eyes growing wide and confused, not understanding what he had done wrong. Backing away from her in shame, he slunk underneath the hospital bed and hid. Within seconds, Delilah could hear the sound of sad whimpering coming from beneath.
"I… oh, dear."
She'd gone and done it, hadn't she?
She didn't mean to, but seeing his hand reach for her brought back a barrage of horrid memories. Sighing yet again, she carefully approached a corner of the bed and lay herself down beside it. She peered in, seeing a sad pair of eyes looking back at her.
"There, there," she said, gently this time. "It's all right. I'm sorry."
A tiny whine answered her. Though dark, she could see the boy inch further back, trying his best to get away from her.
Delilah frowned, and rested her head on the floor. Her expression softened as she gazed at him, unable to stop herself from feeling a small twinge of pity for her family's former attacker.
"You don't like to be yelled at, do you?" It was just a guess, but given how he was reacting, it seemed pretty telling. "I won't do it again. I promise."
The nursing dog lay there patiently, letting him calm down. With her head still resting on the floor, she stared at him with a gentle, more understanding look in her eyes. He stared back sadly, still frightened, and she could even hear him sniffling. Ten minutes or so passed until he finally, very hesitantly, ventured back out.
Delilah gave him a small, encouraging smile. "Good boy."
It was a day later, and Delilah still had yet to snap Hunter out of his dog mindset.
She tried everything she could think of. Calling him by his real name, firmly assuring him that he was a human, not a puppy. Heaven help her, she even brought up Cruella (as much as it agonized her) in hopes that the mentioning of his aunt would jog his memory. But it seemed to be no use. The boy was too far gone, having regressed deeply during his time on the street.
She wondered why he had even been on the streets in the first place. Had he not been able to return to his home? That fancy looking de Vil tower she remembered Dylan telling her about all that time ago when he had first tried to capture her pups. What in the world had happened between then and now?
At the very least she was able to calm the boy enough so that the nurses could bathe him and change him out of his filthy clothes. They even brought him some food as well, though they could only watch in horrified dismay as he ignored the kitchen utensils and messily devoured the food face first like a ravenous animal.
Now he lay curled up on the bed, wearing a hospital gown and nestled comfortably on a small pile of pillows as he slept soundly. One of his legs lightly kicked the air, and Delilah figured he must have been dreaming about running.
The door to the room suddenly opened, and in came Dave very cautiously, looking worried as usual. He surveyed the sleeping boy, then knelt down beside Delilah. "Still no luck, eh?"
His partner dipped her head solemnly in response.
The man sighed, stroking his chin as he thought hard over what to do. With the boy still being unable to talk, he and his staff were unable to ask him who he was and where his family were. The boy had no ID on him either. Only a broken phone far beyond repair.
They filed a missing child report the day they'd found him, but no one had yet to come forward and claim him.
Dave rose from the floor and carefully sat himself down on the edge of the bed. The mysterious dog boy stirred slightly, but continued to sleep as the doctor quietly watched him. Delilah came closer as well, eyeing Hunter with concern.
If only she could tell Dave what his name was herself.
The doctor gently pushed a strand of the boy's hair out of his face. He languished over how hopeless the situation was. They couldn't keep the child there forever. Soon they would have no choice but to transfer him elsewhere. Perhaps to the psychiatric ward, or to a different hospital entirely, specifically for the mentally unstable. If that happened, Dave had no idea what would become of the boy. Delilah knew this as well, and wracked her brain trying to think of something—anything she hadn't tried yet— to get Hunter to snap out of it. Despite being a de Vil, she felt she had to help him somehow. For what he did for Dorothy at the very lea—wait.
Dorothy!
An idea suddenly struck Delilah. It was a long shot. A bit absurd, if she was being honest. But maybe… just maybe.
"Now sweets, if you're scared, we'll go home right away," she told the pup as reassuringly as she could.
Dorothy only looked up at her mom with an oblivious little smile.
The rest of the pups had been quite disappointed that morning when their mother announced out of the blue that their littlest sister would be coming to work with her that day. "But wasn't take your kid to work day four months ago?" one of them had asked.
Delilah nervously laughed it off, telling them that the hospital simply decided to have two take your kid to work days this year, as the last one had been so successful.
She hated having to lie to her pups, but she had to find some excuse to bring Dorothy with her. The night before she had also explained the situation to Doug, and though he was reluctant, he eventually agreed so long as she swore to protect the little pup if things went south. And Delilah most certainly would.
As much as she pitied the boy, she knew that a de Vil was still a de Vil. She would pull Dorothy out of there immediately if he dared try to hurt her again.
She carried her little one through the halls of the clinic in her mouth by the collar, with Dorothy giggling away as her tiny legs dangled in the air. Several of the staff and patients gave a 'd'aww' as they went by. When they reached the familiar door, Delilah pushed back the feeling of mounting dread in her stomach and placed the pup on the floor.
Well. Might as well just tear the bandaid off, so to speak.
As quietly as she could, she pushed the door open. Dorothy tilted her head, still oblivious, and her mother gently nudged her inside. Again, it was a long shot. But perhaps… just maybe.
Dorothy waddled in excitedly, her tiny tail wagging as she explored the new area. It was still rather early in the morning, so the curtains had yet to be drawn, giving the room a dim feel. The pup didn't seem to mind though. She was far too thrilled by all the new sights and smells she was experiencing. This was like an adventure for her. She raced about, taking in every inch of the room (or at least the parts of it she could actually see at her eye level).
While sniffing the air, Dorothy paused suddenly, getting the scent of something familiar. She blinked a few times, turning her tiny head from side to side, trying to find the source. Delilah watched her nervously, following close as the inquisitive puppy's nose led her slowly to the bed sitting in the center.
Dorothy eyed the large piece of furniture dubiously, trying to work out in her mind how she could possibly get up there with her short legs. Luckily her mother seemed to guess what she wanted, as she always did, and picked up the pup to gingerly place her on the mattress.
A figure lay on the bed, curled up on a pile of pillows, still asleep.
The pup stared, bewildered.
It was him.
She took a timid step back, retreating to the safety of her mother's arms. She gazed up at Delilah with a look of uncertainty, and Delilah in turn gave her a nuzzle.
"Oh darling," she whispered, feeling instant regret for bringing her here. "It's all right. We'll leave. It'll be ok."
A soft groan came from the figure on the bed, startling them both. The mess of blonde hair shifted slightly, letting out a yawn before adjusting himself into a more comfortable position amongst the pillows.
Dorothy could clearly see his face now. Much to her relief she wasn't met with an evil smirk or a hateful glare. Instead, he appeared serene and peaceful. Compared to the many unpleasant memories she had of 'Mister Funny Face,' he seemed strangely harmless now.
Her mother began pulling her back, still intent on leaving, but much to her surprise, the pup pushed forward. She cautiously tiptoed toward the sleeping boy, her tiny brow furrowed. She approached his hand, and very boldly, gave it a tiny nudge.
The little pup instantly withdrew and raced back to Delilah's side. From there she stared intently, checking to see if he had stirred.
He hadn't, still remaining fast asleep, so Dorothy set out toward him again, this time daring to get even closer.
Delilah sat on the side watching, ready to jump in if necessary.
Dorothy approached his face, her brow still furrowed in distrust. She let out the tiniest of growls, which had all the intensity of a newborn lion cub's squeaky roar. Yet as she stared at the boy, her expression slowly softened. It began to dawn on her that he wasn't going to attack her this time.
She tilted her head to one side.
The aggression left her small body as she thought back to the last time she saw Mister Funny Face. How tenderly he had held her when protecting her from that very, very scary mean old lady. Maybe, she thought in her young, naive head... he was nice now? She had to test it and see. Ever so gently, she pressed her nose against his cheek. This got another light groan out of him.
She did it once more, this time adding in a small whine.
Slowly, his eyelids flickered opened.
They blinked, unfocused and tired, and were met with the sight of an adorable puppy, peering down at him with large, hopeful eyes.
The boy stared at her blankly. His clouded mind appeared to be straining as he took in the sight of her. Delilah watched with held breath, hoping this would jog a memory, but instead Hunter let out a drowsy woof, leaving Delilah crestfallen.
Dorothy let out another soft whine, upset that he didn't seem to recognize her. She leaned in and gave his face a small lick. It drew a sleepy bark out of him.
She licked him once more, and slowly, much to Delilah's shock, his barks morphed into… laughter? Human sounding laughter? The elder dog's ears and tail shot up with cautious hope.
The child giggled, closing his eyes as the affectionate puppy continued to lick him. When he reopened them back up, the fog over them had faded, and it seemed as though he were finally seeing her. Actually seeing her. He gave her a groggy smile and reached out a trembling hand to pet her.
In a weak, strained voice, he spoke. Not in dog, but in human, to Delilah's relief.
"...little... one...?"