From Down Here Chapter 29
When Lucy finally gets home, she looks sad. Kojo sticks his head in her lap and licks her hand. "How long were you at the hospital?" Tim asks.
"A couple of hours," Lucy says.
Tim sits near her. "How is the boy?"
"Physically he's better. But he still isn't saying who he is or what happened. I sat with him, but he seemed too scared to answer any of my questions. I even called my mother for advice." Kojo doesn't know why calling her mother would make Lucy unhappy, but she looks sadder. "But she said she couldn't say much without seeing the boy and I should let the shrinks in the hospital get him to open up."
"It's not bad advice, Lucy," Tim says. "I know you've had the psych courses and everything, but if the real professionals can't help, I don't know what you can do."
"I can let him know he has a friend, someone who cares about him," Lucy says.
"And how long do you think you can keep that up?" Tim asks. "If you get another UC assignment you could end up nowhere near the hospital. If the kid really does start counting on you, what are you going to do then?"
"I don't know," Lucy admits, "but right now I'm just doing straight detective work. And when I start filling in for Lopez, that's what I'll keep doing. That will give me some time to work something out."
Tim shakes his head. "Lucy, wasn't Tamara enough? You really don't need another puppy."
Kojo yips at the word "puppy," but Tim and Lucy don't seem to be talking about Skye.
Lucy's face looks mad. "The boy is not a puppy. He's a human being in trouble who needs someone who will stand up for him. You know what the caseloads are like for social services. He'll just be one more case for an already overloaded social worker. He deserves better than that."
"Then I hope you can deliver it," Tim says. "Kojo was hungry, and I made dinner for both of us." Kojo barks happy confirmation. "But I picked up one of those quinoa power bowls that you like. It's in the fridge."
Lucy leans across the table to do the mouth-pressing thing with Tim. "Thanks, you really can be sweet sometimes."
"Don't tell my guys at Metro that," Tim says. "I'm supposed to be kicking their asses."
A tiny bit of happy shows on Lucy's face. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Kojo doesn't know what a quinoa power bowl is, but Lucy gets something out of the fridge and sticks it in what she and Tim call a microwave. Sometimes Tim or Lucy will heat something in there for Kojo too. Usually, the food tastes better when Tim puts it in a pan, but what they made for Kojo in the microwave wasn't bad. It was always better than the food from the big bag.
As Lucy eats, Kojo begins to smell the mating scent from Tim. As Lucy finishes eating, she is making the scent too. Lucy looks up at Tim. "That was nice. I could use some more nice right now."
"Yeah, I could too," Tim says. He holds out his paw to Lucy. She puts her paw in his, and they go into the bedroom.
Kojo can hear mating sounds. He likes hearing them at night because when he does, Tim and Lucy don't mate as much in the morning. Then Tim can come out and make Kojo the good breakfast. Kojo curls up in his bed. Tim and Lucy usually sleep after they mate at night. It's a good time for Kojo to sleep too.
Through the door of the bedroom, Kojo hears the loud sounds that come from Tim's phone and mean he has to leave. Tim comes out of the bedroom not long after that, still putting on the things he wears to go to work. Lucy comes behind him, tying on what she calls a robe. She doesn't have anything on the paws she stands on. "Is this what you and Pine were working out a scenario for?" she asks.
"I don't know," Tim says, going fast toward the door. "It was just a report immediately alert. I won't know what's going on until I get there."
"If you get the chance, let me know you're all right," Lucy says.
Tim nods but keeps going. "If I get the chance." Tim goes out the door. Lucy keeps looking at the door after Tim's gone. Kojo does that sometimes too and knows that Lucy must be feeling sad. He rubs up against her bare legs.
She reaches down to pat his head. "Thanks, Kojo, but you can go back to sleep. I need to sit for a while before I try to go back to bed."
Kojo isn't ready to go back to his bed yet either, so he stays with Lucy as she goes to the kitchen. She fills a cup with something, but he can tell by the scent that it isn't coffee. It's what she calls herb tea. She drinks it sometimes when she's trying to feel better. When she sits down again, Kojo puts his head on her bottom paws. She doesn't tell him not to, so he leaves it there.
While Lucy is drinking another cup of herb tea, and Kojo is lying on the floor next to her, the birds outside start making noises. Kojo knows that means it's going to be light soon. Finally, Lucy puts her tea away and goes into the bathroom. Kojo can hear the shower. That means Lucy will be getting ready to go to work. She'll probably make something for herself to eat and feed Kojo. She still doesn't make breakfast for him that tastes as good as what Tim makes, but it's better than food from the bag. When she comes out and gets the pan that Tim uses, Kojo is hopeful. Lucy looks down at him. "We could both use some comfort food, huh boy? I bought some uncured turkey bacon. That's supposed to be good without being too unhealthy. We can both try some. Then I should have time to go to the hospital to check on the boy you found before I have to go to work.
The scent of what Lucy is cooking reaches Kojo's nose. It smells kind of good. And when Lucy gives him some, it tastes kind of good. She also gives him food out of the bag, but the turkey bacon makes his breakfast nicer. Lucy finishes eating fast. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and looks at it. "No texts or anything from Tim," she tells Kojo. "But if he's in the middle of an operation, he wouldn't have the chance. He's probably fine. If anything bad happened, someone would have messaged me. Maybe he'll call while I'm at the hospital. Maybe the boy we rescued will be better this morning."
Kojo yips in agreement.
Lucy grabs the thing she puts stuff in to take to work and goes toward the door. She looks back at Kojo. "Should I tell the boy you're thinking about him?"
Kojo isn't sure what Lucy means, but it sounds good. He barks and wags his tail.
Lucy gives Kojo a final pat. "That's at least two of us he can count on to care."