Scout: Love and Leisure

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

It is once again new story day my friends, and that means I must present you with a new story! Today, I present to you the third installment in my Scout series! If you're new here, or just need a refresher, you can read Scout's first adventure here, or his second one here! This story takes place starting right at the end of Shade Knight at the Movies. Enjoy!

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Chapter 1: Case Closed

Scout nearly placed a line of ink across his report when someone suddenly turned his desk chair. Adam, a mix of Belgian Malinois and pit bull, and Scout’s partner, grinned down at him. “You’re STILL writing that report? Scout, we made that arrest two HOURS ago!”
“An’ ah had t’ process th’ suspect b’fore ah could even START mah report!” He snorted crossly, dropping his pen on the desk and scowling up at his partner. “Yeh ran off an’ left me with ‘im! Again!”
“Heh. Guilty, I guess. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He nudged the much smaller border collie on the shoulder, then snickered. “Come on, Sarge wants to talk to us.”
Scout frowned and went over the last several weeks’ worth of cases in his head. He couldn’t THINK of having done anything wrong, but why else would Sergeant Alana call him to her office? “All right, ah’m almost done with mah report, an’ then ah’ll be on mah way.”
“Mm. Kinda think she meant right away, actually. You can finish up your report after. Come on, let’s go.” He grinned and poked at Scout under his vest, trying to tickle him.
Scout huffed and climbed down off his chair. “Ah’m not ticklish.”
“Ah, that’s no fun.” He grinned and lifted Scout by his vest. “Come on.”
Scout snorted. “Put me down, Adam. Ah’m comin’.”
He set him down with a grin and walked off. Scout rolled his eyes and followed him. They’d been partners for a long while by now, and they got along like two brothers. That is to say, they’d fight to the death to defend each other, but also irritated the ever-loving crap out of each other every chance they got.
“Do ya know what this is about?” Scout had to trot double-time to keep up with Adam.
“Yes, actually. My parents are going on vacation, so I’m not going to be here for the rest of this shift rotation, or the next one. She probably wants to assign you a temporary partner.”
He knocked on Sergeant Alana’s door, and her voice sounded from inside. “Just a moment, boys, I’m on with my supervisor. Wait outside, please.”
Scout shrugged and leaned on the wall. “Where you goin’ on vacation?”
“Oh, I’m not going with them.” Adam shrugged. “I’ll be staying with my uncle. He’s in town for his summer job at one of the farms just outside of town. He’ll be picking me up on Saturday, and I’ll be staying with him in the little camper he keeps on the property.”
Scout frowned. “You get t’ stay on a farm? Ah’m jealous. Ah miss workin’ a farm.”
“Oh, I won’t be working there. I just have to hang out and wait for my parents to get back. It’s gonna be so BORING.” He gave a little groan. “There’s nothing to DO out there! It’s just wheat and cows for MILES.”
Scout chuckled. “Did ya TRY askin’ fer some chores?”
“I’m not asking for CHORES, I’m on VACATION.” He huffed. “At least there was a barn cat when I was out there last. He was fun to chase, even if he was old.”
“Ya chased a senior citizen? That’s jus’ WRONG.” Scout chuckled.
The door opened. “Okay boys, thanks for waiting. Come on in.” Sergeant Alana’s voice sounded. Scout and Adam shuffled in and took the seats across the desk from Sergeant Alana. She looked them over.
“So… Officer Corder’s going to be out for the next four weeks, as his humans are going to be out of town, and he’ll be staying with his uncle.” She looked them over. “There’s no extra paperwork that needs to be done this time of year, and there’s nobody that needs a partner right now, so that leaves me in the awkward position of trying to decide what to do with you, Edwards.”
Scout shrunk in his seat. There were a few moments of awkward silence as Sergeant Alana did something on her computer, and her printer started humming and whirring. She waited for the form to print, then pulled it off the printer and started to fill it out. “Am I correct in assuming you two have finished all your active cases? Nothing I need to reassign?”
“That’s correct, Sarge. We brought in the last perp today, and Scout’s pretty close to being done with his report.” Adam nodded, gesturing to Scout. “I made sure that we’d be done with everything on time for me to leave.”
“Good, good.” She looked back down at her form and resumed filling it out. The clock ticked overhead, and Scout fidgeted. He hated sitting still in silence for this long; it made him feel on edge, like he needed to move or he’d explode. Nonetheless, he tried to sit still and wait for Sergeant Alana to finish whatever she was doing.
After a long while, she flipped the form around and pushed it toward Scout, setting the pen down and pointing at a line at the bottom where it said ‘officer signature.’ “I need you to sign right here, Specialist.”
Scout frowned and signed it, then watched as Alana took the form back, looked it over, and placed it in the scanner. There were a few more moments of awkward silence as the scanner whirred, and then Alana did something else on her computer. After she clicked a few times and typed something out, she sat back in her chair and steepled her fingers, looking over at Adam and Scout. “Okay, boys, that settles it.”
“Settles what?” Scout heard himself saying before he could stop himself.
She looked at him, then grinned. “I’ve just put you both on paid administrative leave for the remainder of this shift, and your next shift. It’ll give you a week after Corder gets back before you’ll need to resume duty. Finish up your paperwork, and then you can head home. See you in five weeks.”
Scout squeaked. “F-five weeks?! What am ah s’posed t’ do fer five weeks?!”
“I’m sure I don’t know. Hang out with your girlfriend? Play at the park with the other dogs? Catch up on your naps?” Sergeant Alana reached across the desk and patted his shoulder. “You’ll figure something out. Dismissed.”
Scout and Adam shuffled out of the office, and Scout huffed, putting his ears back and watching his paws shuffle past. Adam followed Scout back to his desk and leaned on it, watching him resume filling out his report. “Penny for your thoughts.”
Scout shrugged. “Ah joined th’ force because ah couldn’t handle not havin’ anythin’ t’ do. Ah’ve been a workin’ dog all mah life, an’ regular house dog life just ain’t me. Ah can tolerate it fer a week between shifts, but more than that an’ ah start losin’ mah mind.”
Adam nudged him playfully. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll figure SOMETHING out to occupy your time. You’re resourceful.”
Scout nodded quietly, signing off on his report and putting it in his outgoing slot, then paused and blinked. “Wait, did she say PAID executive leave?”
Adam hesitated. “Uh… yes?”
“We get paid?!” He turned to stare up at Adam.
“Uh… YEAH, we get- what have you been doing with your paychecks?” Adam stared down at Scout.
“Ya mean these things?” He opened the lower drawer in his desk and took out a stack of envelopes. Most of them were still sealed.
Adam slapped his forehead with his hand. “You didn’t even OPEN them?”
“Ah opened th’ first few. Ah didn’t know what they were, so ah started keepin’ ‘em in case they were important. Ah thought maybe they were bills fer resources used or somethin’.” He passed the stack to Adam, who flipped through them and picked out one of the opened ones.
“No, these are your paychecks, you’re supposed to take them to a bank and get- you get paid HOW much?!”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 2: Target Practice

Scout wagged his tail a little bit and stood behind Coco, running his fingers along her chocolate fur as he grabbed her hand. “Ya wanna hold it like this, see, with one strap held secure in yer hand, an’ the other loose, so you can let it go when ya need to.” He slid his slingshot into Coco’s hand, putting the long strap all the way down from her index finger to her pinkie, wrapping it around loosely once, then took the long strap and pinched it between her index finger and thumb.
“Like that. Then, ya adjust th’ pouch to dangle in th’ middle, like so…” He slid the pouch along the leather strap until it dangled at the very bottom of the loop created by the strap being held in her hand. “Ya put a marble in, then pinch it shut a little so it don’t fall out.” He showed her as he said it, then pressed his chest to her back, turning her to point at one of the targets mounted on the fence.
“Ya swing it clockwise an’ vertical, so th’ bottom of th’ circle is pointed at yer target.” He nibbled her neck playfully a little as he started swinging her arm slowly but steadily, up and down, up and down, making the slingshot in her hand start moving in a slow circle.
She snickered. “Hey now, is biting part of the lesson? Is it REALLY necessary?”
He grinned and nibbled her neck again. “Oh, that’s th’ most important part, Lamb. Absolutely essential. Gotta make sure ye’re payin’ attention.”
Coco giggled playfully and kissed his nose. “Okay, I’m paying attention. What next?”
Scout grinned. “Ya gotta keep yer eyes on th’ target an’ make sure the front of yer circle is pointed directly at the middle of th’ bullseye. Then, ya gotta really get the slingshot movin’.” He started moving her hand up and down faster, making the slingshot go faster and faster until it blurred into a single circle and hummed in her hand.
She squealed happily. “Oh, it’s going so fast! What do I do next?”
Scout grinned and stepped back and to the side. It wasn’t anywhere near as fast as the slingshot went when he was using it, but he didn’t tell her that. He just let her have her moment. “Well, when ye’re ready t’ shoot, ya wait until it’s just gettin’ t’ th’ bottom of th’ circle, then just as it starts goin’ back up, ye open yer pointer finger an’ let just that end of th’ strap go. Th’ marble should go flyin’ toward th’ target, an’ we’ll see how yer aim is.”
He watched the chocolate lab continuing to swing the slingshot for a moment, then grinned when the marble flew toward the target mounted on his fence. Coco squealed happily when the marble struck the target and bounced off, and Scout jogged forward to retrieve it. “I hit it! I actually hit it!”
Scout grinned and came back to Coco, holding up the marble she’d thrown. It was cracked, causing the light to shimmer and sparkle through. “You did! Right on center, jus’ a little too low. You let go just a tiny bit too soon.”
Coco grinned and picked the marble out of Scout’s hand, holding it up to the light. “Oh! It’s so PRETTY! The little cracks make it sparkle like a little diamond!”
Scout chuckled and kissed her cheek. “You can keep it, if’n ya want. Ah’ve got plenty.”
She turned and hugged him, nuzzling into his cheek. “This is fun! I’m glad you got off work early.”
He pulled her in for a hug. “Ah do enjoy gettin’ t’ spend some time with ya. Ah’m jus’ a little worried ah’m gonna go nuts doin’ nothin’ fer five weeks.”
“Aww… I’m sure I can think of something for us to do for SOME of that time.” She ran a finger along his spine, all the way from the back of his head to the tip of his tail. He shuddered and blushed a little.
“Ah’m not sure we can fill much time with… ah… that.” He stammered shyly.
She giggled and nibbled on his ear. “Aww… But we can fill SOME. Maybe we can go to Sunny’s and play ball with him and the gang.”
Scout nodded. “Ah’m not sure Sunny’s really that great fer helpin’. He’s pretty hyper an’ hard t’ be around.” He took his slingshot back from her and started rolling it up. “Wanna go snuggle on th’ couch?”
Her tail wagged. “Ooh! OBVIOUSLY. You got any romantic westerns?”
Scout frowned, tapping his muzzle. “Romantic westerns? Ah’ll have t’ think about that. How about you make some popcorn while ah have a look?” He slid his slingshot back into its bag and kissed her cheek, leading her inside toward the house.
She trotted after him eagerly. “Ooh, sounds like fun. I’ll get right on that.”
Coco went to the kitchen to start microwaving a bag of popcorn while Scout went to the living room to contemplate whether “Oklahoma” or “El Dorado” was more romantic. He’d just decided that “Oklahoma” was the way to go and had put the disk in when Coco rushed in, holding the steaming bag of popcorn and popping it quickly from hand to hand. “Hot hot hot hot!” She muttered, plopping down on the couch and dropping the bag into the seat next to her.
Scout snickered and climbed up on the other side, nuzzling into her. “Hey, careful. It’s gonna be hot.” He teased playfully.
She bopped his nose with a finger and grinned. “Oh, you think you’re so clever. Come here, you.” She kissed him, then grinned and looked at the screen. “Wow. This looks OLD.”
“It’s Ma’s favorite. Ah thought you’d like it.” He started the movie, then nuzzled into her. “Is this one of those watchin’ movies where we actually watch th’ movie, or is it th’ kind where we make kissies while th’ movie’s playin’?”
Coco laughed and kissed his nose. “We eat the popcorn, THEN we make kissies. You’re learning, though.”
Scout grinned and snuggled into her. “Well… we better get eatin’, then. Ah wanna make kissies with mah purty lady.”
She ripped open the bag and flicked a kernel of popcorn into his mouth playfully. “Oh, so you’re saying I should eat it really… really… slowly.”
Scout chuckled and put his arm around her. “I love ya, Lamb, but you tease too much.”
She snickered and leaned in to watch the movie. “Oh… They’re singing. Why are they singing?”
Scout shook his head. “Ah have no idea. Ma likes this movie though, and Ma don’t like MOST movies, so it’s gotta be good.”
She fed him another piece of popcorn. “Well… maybe it gets good later on. If you ignore the singing.”
Scout snickered. “Singin’s good for workin’ a farm. Helps get a rhythm down an’ makes the work go faster.”
“Yeah, but he’s not even working, he’s just riding a horse through some corn.” She gestured at the television.
Scout pulled her in and snuggled. “Well, they gotta start th’ movie SOMEHOW.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Nice to see Scout having some fun outside of work and spending time with his girlfriend which he deserves to do so much! I look forward to seeing the progression of his and Coco's relationship!

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 3: Ma

Scout froze, and his ears perked. He pulled himself off of Coco and listened, then turned to face front on the couch. Coco pouted, leaning in to nibble his ear. “What’s the matter, why’d you stop?”
A key jiggled in the lock, and the front door opened. “Ma’s home.” Scout murmured quietly. “Ah don’t want ‘er t’ tease me b’cause she saw us… er…”
“Making out?” Coco teased playfully, snuggling into Scout. “Okay, I’ll behave. This time. Next time, you’re getting teased SO HARD.”
Ma entered the living room, staring at the TV for a second before looking down at Scout and Coco. “Oh, hello, Coco. Scout.” She gave a little wave, then started up the stairs, mumbling to herself. After a few moments, she stopped and turned around, coming back down the stairs. “Wait a minute. Scout, what are you doing home? You should be at work.”
Before Scout could answer, Ma’s voice grew harsh. “Scout Atticus Edwards, did you get suspended again?!”
Scout threw his hands up in the air. “No, ah didn’t, ah promise! Ma partner’s folks are goin’ on vacation, an’ he’s goin’ t’ stay with his uncle, so Sergeant Alana put me on administrative leave until ‘e gets back!”
Ma stared at him dubiously for a moment. “Well… okay. But I better not find out that you’re lying to me to get out of trouble. I need to go shower.” She turned and started back up the stairs again.
Coco watched her go and grinned, nudging Scout. “Atticus? Your middle name is Atticus?” She snickered. “First of all, who gives a dog a middle name? Second of all… ATTICUS?!”
Scout felt his ears warm up. “It’s from Ma’s favorite book growin’ up. Paw wanted t’ name me Scout, an’ Ma wanted t’ name me Atticus, so they compromised an’ named me both.”
“Aww..” She nuzzled into him. “That’s kinda cute. Your parents are the cutest old couple.”
He nuzzled back. “Ah love ‘em. They’re great. Always take good care a’ me. Let me have mah space.”
“You’re very lucky. Not a lot of dogs get all that. Most of us get at least some of it, but it’s rare to get all of it.” Her eyes flitted to the side. “Hay’s on fire.”
Scout frowned. “Hay’s on fire?” He looked over at the television. “Oh! In th’ movie. Right.” He leaned into Coco and watched the two characters fight. Before too long, the hero came out victorious, got the girl, and rode off into the sunset as the movie came to an end.
Coco grinned. “Would you fight a jealous other suitor for me, Scout?” She nibbled his chin playfully.
“Oh, in a heartbeat.” He nodded and pulled her in closer. “Nobody hurts mah Lamb, or makes her go places she don’t wanna go.”
She chuckled. “Maybe I should have a cutesy name for you. I feel a little left out.”
“When he was a pup, we used to call him Tumbles.” Ma came down the stairs, dressed in a set of fleece pajamas, with her hair still wet from the shower. “It was so cute, he used to try to climb over the fences into the sheep pens, and then he’d fall down on his little tail. I bet I still have some videos of it somewhere I can dig up and show you.”
Scout squeaked. “N-no, Ma, there’s no time fer that! Coco has to… uh… go, she has to go! As soon as th’ movie’s over, her ma needs her back to… uh… trim th’ bushes! Oh, yeah, big ol’ bushes, in th’ backyard, gettin’ outta hand! She was s’posed t’ do it weeks ago an’ keeps puttin’ it off.”
Coco gave him a strange look, and Ma snickered. “What’s the matter, Scout? Don’t you want your girlfriend to see your baby pictures?” She turned to speak to Coco. “His fur pattern changed when he grew up, he used to have the cutest little black dot that looked like a freckle, right on his left-”
“MA!” Scout shouted, putting his ears back and blushing harder than he ever had.
She chuckled. “Okay, okay, I won’t embarrass you any more for now.” She walked over and ruffled his head fluff. “Did you kids enjoy the movie? That’s my favorite, you know.”
Coco grinned. “It’s so romantic! He ate the salty pie just because he loved her!”
Scout frowned and shook his head. “Ah don’ understan’ how that’s romantic, if it ain’t good, ya don’ gotta eat it.”
Coco chuckled and kissed his cheek. “Aww… Not everybody’s romantic in the same way. I know you do your best.”
He smiled a little and kissed her on her own cheek, then frowned when she stood up. “But I have to go trim the bushes, remember? I can’t stick around. Sorry.” She flashed him a cheesy grin.
Scout sighed. “Okay, ah deserved that. Lemme at least walk ya home.” He raised his hand to take hers.
“Ooh, such a gentleman, walking me all the way across the street.” She giggled and placed her hand in his, then let him lead her out the front door.
Once they were outside, she nipped his ear. “Mm. Wanna come over to Sunny’s tomorrow? He’s been kind of lonely since Shade’s off in Hollywood.”
Scout considered it for a few moments. “Ah suppose it wouldn’t hurt t’ give ‘im some company.” He gave her hand a squeeze and paused at the curb, looking left and right for cars before he started to lead her across.
She chuckled. “He’s a bit energetic for most of us, honestly. I have no idea how he ended up with a guy like Shade, who can barely handle any noise… though, he has gotten a lot better lately.”
Scout shrugged. “Dunno. How’d ah manage t’ land th’ prettiest girl in th’ world?”
Coco snickered. “It wasn’t easy. First I had to get you to notice that I liked you, and you seemed DETERMINED not to.” She stepped up onto the curb and grinned at him. “You were so oblivious. Remember? I used to crawl in and cuddle with you at Sunny’s house, and you STILL didn’t notice.”
He kissed her nose. “Ah had a lot on mah mind. Ah was homesick fer Wyomin’, busy studyin’ t’ be a cop, nursin’ bruised ribs…”
“Okay, okay, so maybe beating you up wasn’t the best way to get my point across, but you got it EVENTUALLY.” She kicked at a pile of mostly-melted snow on the edge of her driveway and reached across to take his other hand. “Hey, Scout?”
“Yes, Lamb?” Scout looked over Coco’s eyes, watching them sparkle in the fading sunlight. He was pretty sure he felt his heart skip a beat as he saw her looking back over his own eyes.
She grinned at him, leaning in until their noses almost touched, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Tumbles.”
Scout felt his ears warm up, and he watched her turn to run up toward her porch. He started chasing her. “Ah’m gonna getcha! Don’t go tellin’ th’ others about that!”
She giggled and hopped up on the porch, turning to catch him as he nearly ran right into her. Her tail wagged happily as she kissed him on the mouth. “Mm… Okay. I’ll only call you Tumbles when we’re alone, okay?”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Now we know what the special nickname Coco will call Scout is and it is very cute I must admit. But I also have to say there is no way that nickname is gonna stay secret though Scout is strong enough to put anybody who taunts him with it in their place.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 4: Pay Days’

Scout munched on his eggs, watching Ma getting ready for work. Today was her late day; she needed to go in late and stay later. After a moment, something popped into his brain.
“Oh! Ma, did ya know ah get PAID?” He looked up at her.
Ma paused, turning to Scout. “Yes. Did YOU not know you got paid?”
Scout shook his head and reached into his collar, pulling out the now-rumpled stack of envelopes and placing them on the table. “Ah was gettin’ these things in mah in-box at mah desk every couple’a weeks, but ah didn’t know what they were, so ah wasn’t bringin’ ‘em home. Adam, mah partner, only told me they were paychecks yesterday.”
Ma picked one up and opened it, pulling out the paper inside and looking at it with a frown. After a moment, she put on her reading glasses and looked again. “Well… okay. It’s not much compared to what a human makes, but it’s still a lot for a dog. Just leave these on the table, and your Paw and I will decide what to do about them.”
“Ah want you t’ take ‘em. Ah wanna help pay fer th’ house.” He checked his collar to be sure he had all the envelopes out. “Ah know you an’ Paw can barely afford th’ place.”
Ma sat down in the seat next to Scout and put her hand on his shoulder. “Now, you listen here, Scout Edwards. Don’t you worry about your Paw and I. Money’s a little tight, but not so tight that you should be worried about whether or not we can take care of things ourselves. This is YOUR money, to use how YOU like. Maybe you can use it to take that pretty little lab across the street on a proper date. Do you understand? Don’t worry about Paw and me.”
Scout nodded, putting his ears back. “Yes, Ma.”
She smiled and patted his back, then ruffled his ears. “I have to go. Make sure you take care of your dishes when you’re done eating. Your Paw is going to bring home some burgers for supper.” She kissed his head, then stood up and grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair. “Behave yourself. No going off to the park and slingshotting people.”
“Maa, that was one time, an’ it was almost a year ago!” Scout pouted.
She chuckled and walked out the door. A few moments later, Scout heard her car start up and leave, and he sighed, looking down at his eggs. He finished eating, rinsed his plate, and set it in the dishwasher, stretching and looking around the house. After a few moments spent wandering the house aimlessly, he decided that a shower wouldn’t go amiss, so he headed upstairs.
Partway through the shower, he heard an unexpected voice. “Ooh, now there’s a nice view.”
He squeaked and spun around, his eyes locking with Coco’s as she peeked through the shower curtain. “Coco-!” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat to get the surprise out before he tried again. “Coco, how’d ya get in here? Ah swear ah heard Ma lock th’ door on her way out.”
She shrugged, pulling back the curtain some more. She was wearing his bandanna. “Your ma gave me a key a few months ago, so I could come in and snuggle with you in the mornings when you were home and she was already out.” She watched him starting to rinse the soap off, grinning. “I love that you’ve started to bulk up. I mean, your body was pretty nice before, but now…” She gave a little playful growl.
Scout blushed a little, making sure his fur was free of soap residue before turning off the water. “Ah’m glad ya like it. Adam’s been coachin’ me in th’ gym. Half hour in th’ morning, durin’ break, an’ after work. Ah’ve been usin’ th’ gym in th’ headquarters buildin’, an’ goin’ over during mah week off fer an hour or so, too.” He pulled the curtain closed so he could shake off without spraying water all over the bathroom, then stepped out and grabbed a towel, starting to scrub himself dry.
“Well, it’s definitely paying off. Look at these biceps.” She reached out and gave them a squeeze, then grinned. “And look at those GLUTES!”
Scout squealed at the squeeze to his backside, then turned to face her. “Am ah late? Ah thought Missus Days wasn’t off work until noon.”
“Mm. It’s Saturday. Her day off. But no, you’re not late. I just wanted to come walk with you.” She grinned at him and watched him clip his collar on.
“Okay, we’ll walk together. Can ah have mah bandana back?” He put out his hand for it.
She smirked. “Nope. This is mine now.” She giggled and darted out of the bathroom.
Scout sighed and followed her through the house and out the door. The air outside was chilly on his damp fur as he took her hand and started walking with her down the street. It was a cold day for the end of April; spring was taking its time getting there, with winter refusing to go and clinging to the land like a wolf being chased off its prize hunted sheep.
Coco clung to Scout’s arm as she led him up the walk to the Days’ house. She let them in- the door was never locked- and greeted Mrs. Days in the kitchen on their way through to the basement steps. On the steps, she paused and turned to face Scout. “I want you to play nice, Scout. Sunny’s been a little less… what’s a nice way to put it? He’s not as excitable as usual. Shade’s been gone for three months, and they miss each other. Be nice to him?”
Scout nodded. “Ah promise, ah’ll be nice.” Coco smiled at him and led him the rest of the way downstairs and into Sunny’s playroom.
She put on an extra cheery voice as she led Scout in. “Sunny, look who’s come to visit you!”
The golden retriever’s ears perked as he looked up, then drooped a little when he saw Scout. “Oh… hi, Scout.” He gestured at Coco’s empty bean bag disinterestedly, looking back down at his new cell phone with its sunflower-covered case. “Have a seat, join us.”
Scout frowned and walked with Coco over to her beanbag, settling in next to her and peeking over Sunny’s shoulder. His phone screen wasn’t even ON, he was just staring at it.
“He’s waiting for Shade to call.” Coco whispered to Scout, pulling him back to snuggle with him. “He was pretty much done with his job the other day, so he might be coming home soon.”
Scout nodded. “Ah see what ya mean about him not bein’ too happy right now. He looks miserable.” He looked around the room. A papillon, Butterfly, was happily munching on what looked like a homemade biscuit, while an Australian Shepherd, August, glared at her from across the room. Knowing those two, Butterfly had stolen the biscuit from August. The television was on, with its plexiglass safety cover, but nobody seemed to be actually watching it.
The room continued to be quiet for quite a while. The movie ended and sat on the menu for nearly twenty minutes before Sunny got up and put in a different movie, which nobody continued to watch. Butterfly and August were fighting over a rope toy, tails wagging and growling at each other, and Sunny was still drooped over in his beanbag, staring at his phone. The movie ran all the way through to the menu again before someone started coming down the stairs.
Shade, a black corgi wearing a black hoodie with dark grey sections down the sides, appeared in the doorway, looking determined, with Mr. and Mrs. Days following right behind him. He walked right up to Sunny and hugged him.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 5: Romance

“Ah have no idea what just happened.” Scout frowned as he walked down the street with Coco’s hand in his. “There was cryin’, an’ then huggin’, an’ then Shade gave Sunny a bracelet? Purty fancy one, too. Ah think it was silver.”
Coco chuckled and kissed Scout on the cheek, stopping her walk to pull him around to face her. “You remember when we went to that concert, and it was Shade on stage?”
Scout nodded. “Ah remember. He was purty loud fer a guy that can’t handle loud noises.”
“And you remember when he said he was Changed?” She urged him on with a grin.
“Ah remember. He used t’ be human, but he don’t like t’ talk about it.” Scout nodded. His expression was clear: he hadn’t put it together yet.
Coco sighed and kissed his nose. “You’re so smart, but you’re clueless sometimes, you know that? He asked Sunny to MARRY him. Like your ma married your paw.” She turned and resumed walking.
Scout stared after her for a few moments, then trotted after her, reaching for her hand. “Oh… human stuff.”
“I don’t know, I think it’s kind of cute. Very romantic. He wants the world to know that they belong to each other.” She turned her head to nuzzle Scout’s cheek. “It’s not the kind of thing I go for, but I love that for them. They’re gonna look so cute, all dressed up nice together, standing at an altar and telling the world what they mean to each other.”
Scout nuzzled into Coco, pausing at a crosswalk to look both ways before leading her across the street. “What d’ you think is romantic fer YOU? What d’ you like when ah do it fer ya?”
She grinned. “Aww… are you jealous that I’m fawning over something like that?” She was quiet for a moment, considering, then grinned. “I like it when you show me bits of your old life. Like yesterday, when we played with your slingshot. How you got right up close to me to show me how it’s done?” Her tail wagged. “That’s very romantic.”
Scout nodded thoughtfully. “Ye like that, huh?”
She kissed his nose. “Oh, relax, I’m not expecting you to do it all the time. You’re more spontaneous. You do what you like, when you like to do it. Shade’s more… thoughtful. He worries about the consequences of his actions before he does anything. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to be careful, but being paranoid is something else entirely.”
“Ah appreciate that. Ah’m not sure ah can keep up thinkin’ of things like that.” He squeezed her hand. “What else d’ ya find romantic? Snuggle time?”
“Oh, snuggle time is THE BEST. Especially when we have snacks.” She gave a naughty little grin and whispered in his ear. “Especially when YOU’RE the snacks.”
Scout squeaked and blushed a little, glancing around to be sure they were alone. “C-Coco! Ah’m not sure ya should be sayin’ things like that in public…”
She grinned. “I like watching you get flustered, though. That never gets old.”
He squeezed her hand gently. “You like to get on mah nerves sometimes, Lamb.” He hesitated. “Not… not th’ way like you make me mad, but th’ way that you make me crazy.”
“Ooh, what kind of crazy?” She nibbled on his ear playfully. “Do I make you want to jump up and down and scream at the sky? Or do I make you want to put your collar around your ankle and walk on all fours? Or maybe it’s more like- mmph.” She stopped when Scout kissed her, putting a hand on her back, just above the base of her tail, and pulling her in. She kissed back, closing her eyes and letting one of her legs pop up behind her until her pads pointed at the sun high overhead.
“All of them.” Scout mumured gently to her. “Ya make me wanna do all of them.”
She blushed up at him a little bit, stammering, then wagged her tail and pulled out of his grip. “Oh… that was very good. You’re getting better at kissing.”
“Ah’ve been practicin’. Got this purty girl who likes to help.” He grinned and resumed walking down the street.
“Oh? She’s pretty, is she? Tell me more about her. Is she nice?” Coco grinned, putting her hands behind her back and strolling along next to Scout.
“She’s nice mosta th’ time. Sometimes, she likes t’ tease jus’ t’ tease. But she never teases more’n ah can take.” He grinned over at her.
She snickered. “Oh? She sounds a little naughty.”
“She can be naughty sometimes. Likes t’ get in mah bed an’ do unspeakable things t’ me. Ah love it when she does that.” He dug in his collar for his house key.
“Oh, you like that, huh? Well, then maybe you should see if she wants to do it right now.” She snickered and followed him inside.
He raised his eyebrow at her. “Ya really wanna? We just did a few days ago.”
She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him. “Ahh, you’re so cute, country boy. I have a lot to teach you about how we play naughty here in the city.”
Scout hugged her back. “But don’t ya get tired of it?”
“Mm. Never. Besides, it’s not like you’re home to play all the time.” She grinned playfully.
He looked her over. “Ye’re in this mood because of Shade askin’ Sunny to marry ‘im, aren’t ya?”
“Maybe.” She giggled, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Come on, are you really gonna turn it down just because of that?”
“Ah might. Seems like takin’ advantage. Don’t seem fair t’ let ya make decisions like that because you’re hyped up from someone else’s romance.” He put his hands on her hips and let her push him against the wall.
She laughed and kissed his nose. “Okay, you win. I love how sappy it was. Maybe you should have Shade teach you how to be romantic.”
“Mm, naw. Not mah style. Ah’ll come up with mah own way.” He kissed her nose. “Fer example, ah’ll let ya watch that notebook movie with me again. Fer the tenth time.”
She grinned. “Ooh, now THAT’S romantic. You HATE that movie.”
“Ah do. But ah love th’ way yer eyes light up when you watch it. An’ it makes you happy, so it makes me happy.” He leaned forward and nuzzled into her, and she let him off the wall, nuzzling back.
“Mmm. Careful, I might just decide to play naughty after all.” She took him by the hand and led him to the living room.
Scout gave a little smile, watching her tail wag as she set up the movie, then ran back over to snuggle into him. He let her snuggle close for a few moments before standing up. “Ah’m gonna go make some popcorn.”
She pulled him back down. “Mm… we don’t need popcorn. We just need snuggles.”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 6: Boredom

Scout flopped over in Coco’s basket and stared at the ceiling, tossing a ball up in the air and watching her catch it, then toss it back up so he could catch it.
Coco’s room was a little off-putting; there was a rack of antlers mounted over the doorway, and the whole room was painted to resemble a forest, with trees and leaves added at random, though anything more than a passing glance showed that they were in fact made of broad, inexpert brush strokes. There was a BB gun mounted on one wall, and a bookshelf full of different books below it. The floor was littered with toys: Ropes and squeaky toys and balls. It wasn’t as extensive a collection as Sunny had in his playroom, but there was still a good variety.
“Ah’m bored.” Scout announced, sitting up and tossing the ball across the floor.
“Already? But we came over here so we could do something else.” Coco sat up and pouted, tilting her head at him. “It’s only been an hour.”
“We were doin’ nothin’ at mah house. We’re doin’ nothin’ here. It’s th’ same activity, just a different place.” He leaned in and nuzzled into her shoulder.
She patted his back. “At least we have toys here. Your parents still haven’t taken you down to the pet shop for some toys. We can play tug?”
He gave a frustrated sigh and lay back. “Nah. We did that fer four hours yesterday. Ah’m bored of tug.” He reached over the side of the basket and scooped up a squeaky toy, giving it a halfhearted squeeze before tossing it aside.
She sighed and watched him. “We could go down to the park? Play tackleball or something?”
“Ah guess we could. It ain’t as fun when ye’re trained t’ tackle, though.” He stood up and stretched, turning to look at her. She was scowling up at him. “... What’s th’ matter, Lamb?”
She huffed. “You always do this. Five days into your break, you’re bored out of your mind and don’t want to do anything, and then you just do what I want to do and end up not enjoying it at all, I’m GUESSING just because you think it’ll make me happy to do what I want.” She seemed upset.
Scout hesitated. “It.. don’t make ya happy t’ do what you wanna do?” He tilted his head, seeming confused.
She sighed and reached up, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down into her basket. “Scout, I can go to the dog park and play tackleball ANY TIME. I appreciate you taking my feelings into account, but if you don’t want to, then let’s not do it. You only get every third week off, usually, and I don’t really care WHAT we do, as long as I get to spend time with you. You don’t get enough free time to spend it doing stuff you don’t like doing.”
He put his ears back and looked at her quietly for a few moments. “Ah… didn’t realize ah was upsettin’ ya. Ah’m sorry.”
She hugged into him. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, but I don’t want to watch you waste all your free time doing stuff because you think I’ll enjoy it. What do YOU want to do?”
He gave a frustrated groan and flopped back into the basket, letting the cushy pillows stop the fall. “Ah don’ even KNOW. Ah can’t be idle this long, ah gotta DO somethin’. Ah need WORK t’ keep me busy.”
She lay down next to him and stroked the fur on his chest. “Aww… poor baby…” She cooed lovingly. “Too bad there’s not a farm you can go to where you can get some work to do. That’d fix you right up, I think.”
Scout’s ears perked, and he suddenly sat up. “Go to a farm?” He mumbled thoughtfully, staring at one of the painted trees on Coco’s wall. “Ah might could do that, yet…”
Coco watched him stare thoughtfully at the wall, then pulled him back down to a lying position. “Hmm.. What’re you thinking about, Tumbles?”
Scout glanced at Coco for a moment. “Ah was thinkin’... ah might have an idea of somethin’ t’ do. But ah gotta talk t’ ma first. It wouldn’t be today.”
She smiled a little and kissed his cheek. “Ooh, gonna share with the class?”
Scout shook his head and rubbed noses with her. “Nah, ah wanna be sure it’s okay b’fore ah let ya know. Don’ wanna get yer hopes up.” He started to climb out of her basket. “Ma should be home from th’ bank soon. Ah’ll go an’ ask ‘er.”
She pulled him in for a kiss, then smiled. “Okay. Come back after, either way, okay? We can snuggle for a while before mom gets home.”
“Ah promise.” He crossed his heart, then climbed out of her basket. She walked him to the door, and he paused to give her one last little peck on the cheek. “Ah’ll be back in an hour or so, Lamb.”
She grinned and watched him cross the street. He paused at his door to wave at her, and she waved back before turning to go back inside.
Ma was a little later than Scout had expected; he had to wait about a half hour for her to arrive. She smiled at him and knelt down for a hug when she saw him waiting, and he ran into her arms. She stroked his fur lovingly for a few moments before gesturing for him to follow her to the couch.
“I’ve been to the bank to set you up a bank account, and to your job to set up direct deposit, so you won’t be getting a paper check anymore.” She pulled him in to sit leaning against her, putting her arm around him. “I actually set you up two accounts.”
Scout looked up at her, putting his ears back. “Two accounts? What fer?”
She smiled. “Well… one account is for spending money, so you can buy yourself some things that you like, such as ice cream if you go on a date with Coco. The other is to pay for your cell phone.”
He frowned. “Ah don’t have a cell phone. Paw says ah don’ need a phone, an’ it’s expensive anyway.”
She reached into her pocket and produced a small smartphone. It was a cheapie model, without very many features, but sturdy, with a case on it that had a drawing of a sheep on the back. “Well… I overrode your Paw. It’ll be so much easier to get ahold of you when you’re out and about when you have a phone. Maybe we can have you pick some stuff up from the store on your way home if we need you to.”
Scout hesitantly took the phone, looking at it. Ma showed him how to access his bank accounts from the bank app, and see how much money he had available. “This account here is the one that pays for your phone. There’s enough in there for several months, and I set it up so it’ll automatically fill up with enough that it shouldn’t deplete. This other one is linked to your debit card.” She put the card in Scout’s hand. “You can use that to buy yourself some things, but you’ll also need to start paying for your own scooter gas.”
Scout smiled a little and cuddled into her side. “Thanks, Ma. Ah’ll take good care of it.” He carefully tucked the phone and card into his collar, nuzzling into her.
She kissed his head. “Anything for you, kiddo.”
“Ah have a question.” He looked up at her. She looked down at him and gestured for him to proceed. “If it’s okay with her ma, can ah take Coco out t’ Sam’s farm fer a few days?”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

It is at this point that I advise you to read this story if you haven't already, or if you need a refresher on the farm crew.

------

Chapter 7: On the Road

It was slow going on Scout’s scooter as he drove it along the side of the road, watching cars shoot past them like they weren’t even moving. Coco leaned forward and rested her chin on his shoulder. “This is taking forever. Why did I think this thing would be faster than this?”
Scout chuckled. “Ah’m sorry, this is as fast as it can go. It’s gonna be another half hour before we’re there.” He glanced back at her. “Are ya excited?”
Her tail wagged a little. “Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a real farm before.”
Another car rushed past, and Scout smirked. “Ye’re gonna love it. Wide-open skies, fields fer miles, cows an’ wheat, an’ one’a th’ barn cats had kittens last fall. Ah haven’t seen ‘em since they were a week old, but they’re so cute.”
“Cats?” She seemed a little uncertain. “Scout, dogs and cats aren’t supposed to get along. I’m not sure how you did it in Wyoming, but here, it’s kind of considered weird.”
Scout shrugged. “Ah don’ think it’s weird, ah think it’s jus’ different on a farm. Everybody’s got their jobs t’ do, an’ that’s fine. We get along jus’ great.”
The scenery abruptly changed from trees to gently rolling fields. Distant farm buildings were just visible on the tops of hills.
“Is that the place?” Coco stared at it. It didn’t look too bad from here.
“Nah, that’s th’ next farm over. Mah brother’s farm is still a ways away.” He chuckled. “Why, ya need t’ stretch yer legs?”
She shook her head. “No. Well… maybe a little, but I can wait.” She bounced a little in her seat, bored. The farmland passed by slowly as Scout focused on keeping the scooter on the roadside.
After a few moments, Coco leaned forward. “Okay… I admit it, this is boring. How much longer?”
Scout pointed at a fence that was just coming into view at the top of a hill. “That’s th’ property line there. It’ll be about fifteen minutes, an’ then we’ll be there.”
“Ugh. We’ve been driving for two hours already, Scout.” She draped herself across his back.
He chuckled. “It’s been forty-five minutes.”
“It’s been FOREVER.” She fidgeted in her seat. “Your scooter smells weird. It’s hot out here.”
“Ye’re not hot, ye’re jus’ bored.” Scout laughed playfully, reaching back to squeeze her hand. “Th’ snow ain’t even completely gone yet.”
They passed the fence Scout had pointed to, and a few moments later, a new set of farm buildings came into view, with two silos, three barns, and a cute little farmhouse.
Coco’s ears perked. “Is that the place?”
Scout nodded. “That’s th’ place. One’a th’ barns is new. Ah bet they’re replacin’ the old one. It was in purty rough shape at Christmas.” He scanned the roadside with his eyes, looking for the driveway.
“It’s kinda cute.” Coco looked over it. “Like a picture in a storybook.”
Scout gave a little chuckle. “Should be seein’ cows any minute now.” He turned his scooter into the long driveway and began driving his way up.
“I see ‘em.” She grinned. “I’ve never seen a cow up close before, but I’ve seen them from the roadside. Are they dangerous?”
Scout laughed. “Ye’ll be able t’ pet ‘em, don’t worry. They don’t bite. Might nibble a bit, though.”
Now that they weren’t on the road with other cars, the scooter seemed to be going much faster; the house approached quickly. Scout could see a little trailer tucked in between the house and the new barn; it seemed to be hooked up to some plumbing there. It hadn’t been there in the fall or early winter, so he had to assume it belonged to a seasonal worker.
A tall man with brown hair and stubble across his face exited the house as Scout and Coco drew close. He stood at the end of the driveway with his hands on his hips, watching them come closer.
Coco looked over Scout’s shoulder. “Who’s that?”
“That’s Sam, mah brother.” He looked at him. He was struck by how much Sam resembled a younger version of Paw. His other brother, Greg, looked more like Ma. He supposed that was how it worked sometimes. “He owns th’ farm. Ma called an’ let ‘im know we were coming.”
The scooter finally came to a stop in front of the house, and Scout cut the engine as Sam approached, kneeling a bit to get closer to them. “Glad to see you made it without any trouble.” He reached out to shake Coco’s hand. “Sam Edwards. You must be Coco. Mom called and let me know you were coming. She also said that if you got in the way, I could just send you home.” He helped Coco off the scooter, then pointed around the side of the house. “Scout, you can go park your scooter over on that side of the house. NOT behind my truck.”
Scout nodded and turned the engine back on. “Ah’ll be right back, Lamb.” He grinned at Coco, then backed the scooter up a little bit to turn it and drove off.
Coco looked around, taking in the air. She could smell the cows- not an unpleasant smell, not entirely, but it wasn’t exactly great, either- and some of the flowers planted in front of the house, as well as a dozen other smells she wasn’t sure what they were. “Thank you for having us, Sam… or do you prefer Mr. Edwards?”
“Sam is fine.” He looked her over curiously. “So, you’re Scout’s little girlfriend that he couldn’t stop gushing about over Thanksgiving and Christmas?”
She blushed a little. “He was gushing about me?”
“Oh, you’re ALL he wanted to talk about. I tried to ask him how he liked police work, and he managed to bring the conversation back to you in under a minute. Now, granted, I don’t know him very well- I met him when he was a puppy, right before I moved out here, and then I didn’t see him again until last Thanksgiving, but it seems to me as though he’s extremely happy to have you.” Sam grinned down at her, watching as Scout came walking back around the corner from where he’d parked his scooter.
“Well… I’m lucky to have him. You wouldn’t believe how oblivious he was to me flirting with him.” She giggled. “Took months for him to figure it out.”
“Oh, I believe it. He’s not that smart when it comes to reading cues. I saw THAT during Christmas when he wanted to see the kittens and Eddie was trying to stop him from going in the room with them. Oh, Eddie’s one of the barn cats, you’ll probably see him shortly once he’s realized Scout is here.” He waited for Scout to reach them, then cleared his throat. “Okay, you two, listen up. Scout already knows my rules- no animals in the house except on special occasions, dinner at night is provided, and you’re on your own for other meals. You two are here on vacation, so I’m not going to make you work, but you better stay out from underfoot, understand? Coco, if you need to use the phone, you can come in just long enough to make your calls, but then it’s back outside, understood?”
Coco nodded and gave a playful little salute. “Understood, sir!” Her tone was less than serious.
Sam gave a satisfied nod. “You can sleep in either the old barn or the new barn, though we’ll probably be tearing down the old barn in a few weeks once we’ve finished moving all the storage over to the new one, so if you choose the old barn don’t get too comfortable.” With that, he turned and walked off, apparently busy.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 8: Down on the Farm

Coco watched Sam walk away, then grinned and stretched out, looking around. “Heh… He takes after your Paw.”
Scout grinned. “Ah think it’s required if’n ye’re a farmer t’ be a little grouchy.” He gestured toward the new barn. “Should we check out th’ digs? See if we can locate our bunk?”
She grinned. “Yeah, let’s go. Then, I wanna go see the cows.”
He grinned and took her hand, walking toward the new barn with her. It couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old; the paint was still sleek and shiny, with no signs of weathering or cracks, and the door fixtures all looked brand-new. As they approached, a pair of green cat eyes peeked out of the doorway, and then a grey tabby suddenly came through the door, closing it and standing in front of it with his arms crossed across his chest, scowling at Scout. “Oh, great, just what we needed, more dogs. What are you doing here? It’s not a holiday.”
Scout grinned and threw his arms wide, stepping toward the cat. “Eddie! It’s good t’ see ya!”
The cat hissed at him, baring his claws and threatening him with them. Scout didn’t seem to care, stepping in and throwing his arms around the cat in a huge hug. The cat yowled angrily, his tail whipping around like crazy. “Let go of me, you crazy canine! Don’t you have some cars to chase or something?!”
Scout ended the hug and slapped Eddie on the back, turning to wave his other hand at Coco. “This is mah girlfriend, Coco. We’re here visitin’ on account of ah’m on leave from mah job.”
Eddie leered at Coco for a moment, then took up his position in front of the barn door again. “You can’t come in here. Go away. Like, back to YOUR house, away. Then I’ll let you know if that’s far enough or if you need to go further.”
Scout chuckled. “Nonsense, ya’d miss me too much. B’sides, Sam said we could stay here.”
Eddie opened his mouth to argue, but the door popped open behind him and a mass of orange fur popped out. “Hey, Eddie, what does this- SCOUT!” The ginger tabby grinned and dodged around Edward, throwing his arms around Scout excitedly. “What are you doing here? It’s not a holiday! Come in, come in!” His eyes flicked to Coco. “Oh, who’s this pretty young lady with you?” He reached his hand out for Coco’s hand, looked down at the box he was holding, then switched, reaching for her with his other hand and kissing her knuckle.
Scout grinned. “Cheddar, this is mah girlfriend, Coco. Coco, this is Cheddar. He’s th’ daddy of them kittens ah was tellin’ ya about.”
Cheddar smiled. “I’m so happy to meet you! Come on in.” He tugged her hand toward the barn, ignoring Eddie’s protests. “Don’t worry about Eddie, he’s just really protective of the kittens and he doesn’t like Scout much.”
Coco giggled. “You know, believe it or not, I noticed that.” She followed Cheddar into the barn. Scout grinned and followed her, looking around.
The inside was a little dim, but it did have a dedicated area for the cats to sleep, in that it had a single horse stall near the front that had been filled with a thick layer of straw. The door was closed at the moment. Cheddar knocked on it. “Autumn? We have visitors, can they come in?”
There was a pause, and then a female voice sounded. “Okay, I’ve got them away from the door.”
Cheddar slid open the stall door and grinned, proudly gesturing inside where a calico was wrestling with four kittens that didn’t seem to want to sit still. She looked up and snorted. “Oh, look, it’s Scout and his girlfriend.” She peeled an orange kitten with black ribbons through his fur off her hip and pressed him into Coco’s arms. “Here, hold this.” She scooped up a tuxedo kitten and pressed him into Scout’s arms, then snatched the box from Cheddar. “Did you ask Eddie how much?”
Cheddar seemed a little sheepish. “I… may have gotten a bit distracted.”
Autumn snorted. Coco managed to get her kitten upright and balanced on one of her arms, then reached for the box, flipping it over to skim the back. “It says half a tablet every two to three hours, as needed.” She passed the box back, and Autumn took it, pulling out the bubble packaging and popping it with a claw to remove a tablet, which she broke in half and gave to the calico kitten in her other arm. The kitten fussed a little, then chewed the tablet. Autumn put the other half of the tablet back in the bubble pack, folded the foil back over it, and stuffed the pack back into the box before handing it to Cheddar.
Cheddar reached it up onto a shelf above the kittens’s heads. “Thanks. Poor little Mittens has come down with a little bit of a minor cold, so they’ve all been a little cranky because we had to contain them all. Can’t exactly keep one locked up and let the other three free-roam. Not enough of us to keep our eyes on them.”
Coco looked around quietly. Autumn had one kitten, Scout had one and was playing with him on the floor, and she had one- he was squirming, trying to pull free, but she held him, worried she might drop him- but she couldn’t spot a fourth kitten. “I only see three.”
Autumn’s ears perked, and she dug around in the straw for a moment, then glared at Cheddar. “You let one out!”
“You said you had them!” Cheddar protested, turning and sliding open the stall door just on time to see Eddie standing behind it with an orange kitten streaked through with white ribbons in his arms.
“We got a runaway.” He stated matter-of-factly, then glared at Scout across the stall. “What is HE doing with Benedict?”
Cheddar looked, then snickered. “He appears to be playing peek-a-boo with him.”
Eddie snorted and closed the stall door before setting down his kitten- she squealed and babbled and crawled toward Autumn- and stomped toward Scout. “Hey! Leave him alone, dog!” He walked right past Coco, then froze and slowly turned to glare at Coco. “You. Girl-dog. Put. Stilton. Down.”
Cheddar walked over and slapped Eddie on the back. “Edward, RELAX. They’re not hurting them. Autumn told her to hold him so she could give Mittens her medicine. She even read the box for us so we knew how much to give her.”
Eddie grumbled a little. “... I have to go back to work.” He went back over to the door and let himself out, checking that all the kittens were inside before closing the door.
Once he was gone, Autumn stood up and walked over to Coco, putting her hand out. “Hi, I’m Autumn. You must be Scout’s girl, that he wouldn’t stop talking about over Christmas.”
Coco sniffed Autumn’s hand and offered her own. “I’m Coco. Your… uh… your kitten is eating my ear.” She glanced at the kitten in her arms, who had begun sucking on the tip of her floppy ears.
Autumn grinned and started pulling him away from her. “Ooh, careful, he’s teething. He might bite. This is Stilton. The tuxy over there is Benedict. Our calico baby is Mittens, and the little runaway is Marmalade.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Looks like Eddie still isn't a big fan of his uncle Scout then it looks like from that scene. I was hoping that with time Eddie had came to like him and not be so hostile towards him but oh well. Now that we are back on the farm I do hope that we can have a scene of Eddie falling in mud or in the dirty cow pasture. LOL

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

[CunningFox]

Scout and Coco are gonna be parents by the end of this story, aren't they?

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Nahhh.
It'll happen in the NEXT one for sure.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Not sure if it would make sense for that honestly because I am pretty sure that Scout would be the type to be VERY careful and might feel like he disappointed his parents if he knocks Coco up. I can't remember this next part though, has Scout even met Coco's parents? If it was in one of the previous stories I forgot about it.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

It hasn't happened onscreen, but it has happened.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 9: Cat Stacks

Scout grinned, pulling Benedict into his lap and turning to face Coco. “Ain’t they just th’ cutest?”
Benedict looked up at Coco, blowing spit bubbles and playing with a handful of straw.
She hesitated. “Er… yeah… as far as cats go, I GUESS they’re pretty cute.”
Marmalade pushed herself up to her paws and took a few shaky steps, flopping over Coco’s lap and giggling. After a few moments, she sat up and settled in, purring and playing with Coco’s still-damp ear.
“She likes ya.” Scout grinned, scooting closer.
“Uh… lucky me?” Coco gave a dry little chuckle, looking down at the kitten in her lap. “Scout, I… um…” She frowned, trying to think of a way to say it. “I’m not really big on cats.”
Scout stared at her for a few moments. “Ah don’ follow. What’s not t’ like? They’re cuddly, they’re cute…” He hefted Benedict and pushed him toward her. “Lookit this face. How could you not like ‘im?”
Coco flinched away. “I don’t know, it just bothers me a little. Maybe it’s their weird eyes or the fact their tails move, like, ALL THE TIME. I have no idea what they’re thinking.”
Scout grinned. “Well, Benny here’s thinkin’ that mah hand’s tasty.” He looked at the kitten, who was slobbering all over his hand. “He’s bitin’ me. Hurts a little with ‘is little tooth.”
Coco squeaked when Stilton joined Marmalade on her lap, cuddling backward into her and closing his eyes. She put her ears back and watched him settle in for a nap, then looked up to Scout. “Help.”
Scout chuckled and leaned over to claim Marmalade, letting her chew his other hand. “What’s th’ matter? He’s just takin’ a nap.”
She stared down at the kitten sprawled across her legs, then sighed. “Why did you say we’d babysit? And why does it take both of them to take one kitten in to the vet?”
He shrugged. “Ah wanted t’ be helpful. B’sides, it’ll be good fer ya t’ help with th’ kittens.”
She scowled at him. “Scout! When you said you wanted to take me to the farm, this is NOT what I had in mind! Look at this, I’m covered in cat slobber!”
“But ya look CUTE covered in cat slobber.” He smirked at her playfully, tilting his head to let Benedict tug on his ear.
“Scout, I’m serious!” She pouted.
“Okay, okay, as soon as they’re back, we’ll go explorin’, ah promise. Ah jus’ thought it’d be nice t’ give ‘em a break fer a few minutes.” He grinned and rubbed noses with Marmalade, holding her under the armpits to let her grab at his other ear. She squealed at him happily. “Four kittens can be a handful at th’ best of times, let alone when one of ‘em is sick.”
She stared at him for a few moments, then sighed. “Ugh… I hate it that that’s actually really thoughtful.” She looked down at Stilton asleep in her lap. “... I guess he IS kinda cute… in a cat sort of way.”
“Ah told ya.” He lay back and let the two kittens attached to his ears continue tugging at them.
She watched, concerned. “Doesn’t that hurt?”
“A little, but it ain’t enough t’ worry about. They ain’t gonna do any real damage, so it’ll be fine.” He shrugged, placing his hands on his chest and just laying there while the kittens tugged at his fur and ears and put their fingers in his nose and mouth. “They’re just curious.”
She watched him for a moment, then snickered. “You’re just gonna let ‘em do that, huh?”
He shrugged. “It ain’t hurtin’ nothin’. They’re just cubs.”
Coco paused and looked at Scout, considering. After a moment, her tail started to wag playfully. “What if they were OUR cubs?”
Scout squeaked and flustered. “Y- but- wh-what?!” He looked over at her nervously. “Y-ya really WANT cubs?!”
She giggled. “Mm. Maybe someday. I bet chocolate border collies would be adorable.” She reached over and poked his nose, letting Benedict grab her hand. “But not right now. I’m not sure I’m ready to take our relationship THAT far.”
He seemed to relax a little. “Oh… thank goodness. Ah was scared fer a second there.”
She giggled. “Oh? But they’re just pups, don’t you wanna be a DADDY?” She teased playfully.
“Ah’m not sure ah’m ready fer that, either. Ah mean, ah love ya, but… er…” He stammered quietly.
She leaned over and kissed him. “Mm. Don’t worry, I’m just picking on you. Mostly. We’ll talk more about this later.”
The stall door opened slowly, and Cheddar peeked through before he slipped in. “Hey. Autumn took Mittens over to see Eddie at work. She’ll be back in a few minutes.” He looked over them, then grinned, purring. “Aww. Look at Stilton, sleeping in your lap.” He plopped down next to Coco and gently scooped up the sleeping kitten. “I’m glad you were able to get him to take a nap. He’s been resisting them lately.”
Cheddar stood up and carried Stilton over to the thicker part of the straw pile, gently tucking him in under a thin layer of the plant stalks so his head was still sticking out. That done, he walked over to Scout and scooped up Benedict. “Come on, you too, mister. Naptime.” He had to extract Scout’s ear from the kitten’s mouth, rocking him gently for a moment until he yawned and let himself be tucked in.
Scout sat up and picked up Marmalade, holding her with the kitten’s chin on his shoulder and patting her back as he carried her over to Cheddar. Cheddar smiled and took the kitten, laying her down and gently tossing a handful of straw over her. “You’d make a good father, for what it’s worth, Scout. Sorry, I couldn’t help overhearing you two talking.” He looked over at Scout.
Scout hesitated. “Ah’m not so sure. Ah’m rough around th’ edges, an’ ah’m not very smart.”
“That stuff doesn’t matter. You’re gentle, and you have a good heart. That’s what really matters. All that other stuff is secondary.” Cheddar purred and patted Scout on the shoulder. “Besides, it takes a village. Your pups will learn from everybody that helps raise them.”
Coco stood up and walked over, looking down at the sleeping kittens with the oddest expression on her face.
Cheddar looked at her, then gave a knowing smirk to Scout. “Heh… Good luck. I think bringing her here kind of got rid of your choice in the matter. It’s gonna happen eventually, now.” He sat down in the straw. “You can go if you like. They’re asleep now, I can take care of them by myself for a few minutes.”
Scout glanced at Coco, then nodded. “We’ll see ya when it starts gettin’ dark out fer supper an’ sleep, Cheddar.”
Cheddar gave them a dismissive wave, watching over his kittens, and Scout took Coco’s hand and started to lead her out of the stall.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

It is entirely possible and not at all beyond the realm of possibility that I wrote this chapter specifically with Dayzee in mind.

------

Chapter 10: Slim

The sprinkler head was spraying wildly from the connector point, where the whole sprinkler rig was connected to the high-pressured watering hose. Water spurted and sprayed for six feet in each direction, creating a massive mud puddle around both the sprinkler and the connector where the pipe stuck up and out of the ground.
Eddie hissed at the water as he tried to climb the slick sprinkler rig, scrambling to get to the emergency shutoff on the sprinkler itself so it didn’t overwater the crops while the issue was being fixed; meanwhile, a tall man in jeans and a plaid button-down shirt was struggling on the pipe itself, trying to turn off the water. He gripped the massive wrench in both hands and leaned into it with all his might, his feet sliding in the mud as he strained to turn the four-inch bolt that functioned as the pipe’s on/off switch.
After a moment’s pushing, his hands slipped, and he gave a startled yell, sliding right off the end and landing face-down in the mud. After the briefest pause, he started trying to scramble to his feet again, putting his arm against the sprinkler rig. His weight was enough to shift the rig’s wheels, and it jerked, shaking the cat mounted atop it off. Eddie yowled in annoyance as he fell off and into the mud, jumping up and angrily slinging mud off his arms.
Scout left Coco’s side and started running toward the mayhem, slipping his bandana off over his head and rushing to the wrench. He wrapped his bandana around the wrench, twisting it a few times to give it a firm grip, then slipped his hand into the other end of the loop before grabbing the wrench through it, pushing with all his might. After a moment, the muddy man in jeans jumped up and joined Scout, pushing. The wrench slowly turned, the water flow decreasing slowly until it stopped altogether.
Once the water had stopped, the man turned and reached out his hand for Scout to shake. “Thanks, that’s been giving us some trouble for about ten minutes. You must be Scout. Sam was pretty excited when your ma called that you were coming to visit. I’m Slim.”
Scout shook Slim’s hand with a grin. “Pleased t’ meet ya.” He wrung out his bandana and put it back on, smoothing out the wrinkles as best he could, then looking down at Eddie, who was still sitting in the mud and pouting. “Y’ okay, Eddie?”
Eddie glared up at Scout. “Do I LOOK okay? I’m soaking wet, I’m covered in mud! This is going to take AGES to get out of my fur!” He grumbled and started climbing to his paws. “Gonna be damp for the rest of the day…” He muttered, stomping away.
Coco ran up to the edge of the mud field and waved. Scout grinned and looked up at Slim, gesturing to her. “This is mah girlfrien’, Coco. Prettiest thing on two paws, ain’t she?”
Slim grinned and squelched his way over to dry land, reaching out a hand to Coco. “Nice to meet you, Coco.”
She sniffed it politely and looked up at him. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Even if you are soaked and muddy.”
Slim chuckled. “You’re so polite. I like that. I’m dogsitting my brother’s dog right now, and he’s got a little bit of an attitude. Not exactly happy to be here, you see.” He looked down at himself and tried to wipe some of the mud off.
Scout pointed up at the sprinkler rig. “There’s yer problem. Th’ hose connector ruptured. Pro’lly a crack from storage, an’ th’ high water pressure worked it open until it popped.”
Coco looked up and squinted. At the very end of the rig, where the control box to turn it on and off was, there was a short length of rubber hose that connected the steel side-rolling sprinkler pipe to the sturdier-looking hose connected to the main water pipe. It had a hole in the side that looked like it had been pried open from inside.
Slim squinted up at it and nodded. “Yup, there she is, one ruptured connector hose. We pretty much figured. Old gal’s been out here one year too many, I’m afraid.” He shook his head. “We don’t keep that part on hand. Sounds like I’m gonna have to go wash up and get in my truck, head down to the farming supply store and hope they’ve got one in stock.”
Scout glanced down and noticed he was still standing in the mud. He took a few steps aside until the ground grew relatively dry, then stomped off his paws. “Ah’m terribly sorry ya have t’ go through that.” He grinned.
Slim snickered. “Oh, you know the farming supply store, do you?”
Scout grinned. “Gonna have t’ look at all the goodies at th’ checkout, too. Maybe even get ya some, t’ make up fer the drive.”
He laughed and swatted Scout on the back. “Hah! I like you. You get it. Sam’s always complaining that I get stuff like that on work time. I’m always telling him, what does it matter? I’m already there, anyway, and I’m not putting it on the farm’s account. It’s just a few extra seconds to ring it in.”
Scout chuckled. “He gets that from mah Paw. Always worrying about every penny.”
Slim smirked. “I thought he might. I haven’t had the pleasure to meet your Paw, but he sounds like a very serious man.”
Scout nodded. “He ain’t much fer showin’ how he feels, but once ya know ‘im you can tell how much he cares. He’s jus’ quiet.”
“I bet. Sam’s pretty similar in that regard.” He reached down and ruffled Coco’s ears. “So, where are the two of you off to?”
Coco’s tail wagged, and she perked up. “Scout promised he’d take me to see the cows! I’ve never seen any up close before!”
Slim glanced around. “Oh, you’d better not let him see you doing THAT. He doesn’t like it when people get close to his cows, especially dogs. Doesn’t want them spooked. Says it can curdle the milk.”
Scout raised an eyebrow. “Well… if’n ah can guess yer last name, will ya promise not t’ tell?”
Slim laughed, swatting Scout on the back. “Okay, I’ll bite. Go ahead, what’s my last name?”
Scout looked Slim over, rubbing his chin and pretending to think. He actually already had his answer, but he put on a show of pretending to consider the mystery. “Hmm…. Ah bet yer las’ name is Corder. You look like a Corder t’ me.”
Slim seemed a little startled. “Actually… that is my name. How did you know?”
Scout snickered. “Ah’ll never tell.”
“Fair enough.” He chuckled. “I won’t tell Sam you’re out playing with his cows. Just try not to cause a stampede.” He turned to walk off.
Scout grinned and took Coco’s hand. “Ya ready, Lamb?”
Coco watched Slim go with a frown, then turned to Scout. “How did you do that? How did you know what his last name was?”
Scout snickered and started pulling Coco around the big mud puddle, grinning. “Ah’ll tell ya later.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

You wrote this chapter just for me? I'm so touched. I honestly wasn't expecting to ever get anything since you write months in advance seemingly. Like the fact that Slim doesn't work in overalls anymore also. He took the blow to his humility quite well.

Though I would have thought that by this point Eddie would be used to getting dirty but apparently not. You might have to fix that. Exposure therapy is a great way to do that. Anyway wonderful chapter. How long can we get Slim and Eddie to stay covered in mud?

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 11: Cows

Scout balanced atop the wooden fence, jumping from post to post alongside Coco, who was walking along on the ground on the wheat side of the fence, peering over and into the grassy fields beyond for any signs of the cows. “When we get there, remember, don’t rush at ‘em. Ya don’t wanna spook ‘em. Cows are jumpy critters, an’ not very bright. Ya look like a coyote to ‘em. Jus’ stick with me, an’ follow my lead, an’ we’ll be all right, okay?”
She nodded quietly, watching Scout’s paws for a while. She noticed how he almost never missed his jump, and even when he did, he was able to maintain his footing on the horizontal slats just as easily as on the posts between them. His toes seemed to curl around the wood; his claws made a gentle clacking sound on every jump. She could never do that, she figured, looking down at her own paws. Her toes were too stiff, and had a little bit of loose skin between them that restricted how far they could stretch. She guessed it was a side effect of being a hunting breed; she’d been bred to be a good swimmer, but as a trade-off she couldn’t use her paws to balance like Scout could. She wondered if he was actually as light as he looked while he was jumping like that.
It took her a few moments to realize Scout had stopped; she turned and looked back at him. He grinned down at her, crouching on the fence. “Ye’re so purty when ye’re thinkin’.” After a moment of smiling at her, he turned and pointed across the field. “There’s th’ cows. Looks like they found some water or somethin’ out there.” He put out his hand to help her climb over the fence.
Coco smiled up at him and took his hand, carefully putting her paw up on the lower slat, then dragging herself upward and putting her paw on the upper one. She let Scout help her up, then paused, trying to balance like he did. She was wobbly; her paws wouldn’t flex the way his could to grip the fence. After a few moments, she carefully turned around and started climbing down again. Once she was securely on the ground, Scout jumped back down and wagged his tail. “Okay, Lamb. Do what ah do, so as not t’ spook ‘em.”
He turned and started walking toward the cows, holding his hands up in the air until several of them had looked at him suspiciously and then looked away again. At that point, he put his arms down again and turned to grab Coco’s hand. “Nice an’ slow, now. Don’t want ‘em t’ think we’re runnin’ at ‘em.”
She walked alongside him, looking over at him with a little smile. He seemed so happy here, among the familiar type of surroundings he’d grown up with- straw and hay and wheat and cows. Not that he didn’t seem happy back home, he did; but it was a different kind of happy. She supposed it was similar to when she went hunting with her mom; she loved it, it was one of her favorite things to do, but she also knew it couldn’t last forever, and that was what made it special.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for bringing me out here. To the farm, I mean. It’s nice to see this part of you. The part of you that climbs fences, and knows about equipment, and plays with kittens. I probably would never have gotten to see it back home. At home, you’re a lot more… closed. You follow the rules, you keep mostly to yourself, and you keep your paws on the ground. I like this you. It’s nice.”
He squeezed her hand with a grin. “Ah always feel a bit cramped back home. Don’ get me wrong, ah love livin’ across from you, an’ workin’ fer the police, but ah feel crowded by all th’ houses an’ buildin’s. It’s nice t’ be able t’ stretch out again. Maybe we should do this more often.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed.” She looked up at the cows as they started to draw close, her breath hitching. She’d seen pictures of cows, and she’d seen them from the roadside before, but she’d never been this close to one. They were still a ways off, but already she could tell they were much bigger than she’d thought. “Oh… They’re pretty big.”
Scout looked in the direction she was facing, and a smile cracked across his muzzle. “These’re dairy cows, not th’ type used fer meat. They’re actually purty small, as far as cows go.” He stopped walking and put his hands up again, motioning for Coco to do the same. A few of the cows on the edge of the herd eyed them up suspiciously, then went back to grazing. Scout gave a satisfied nod and let his arms down, resuming his forward progress.
Coco put her ears back and nervously followed, watching the cows grow bigger until they loomed over her. Scout calmly grabbed her wrist and put her hand out for a cow to sniff at it. The cow sniffed, then stepped forward and sniffed at Coco’s head. After a moment, she let out a chuff of hot breath, blowing Coco’s head fluff back, and pressed her muzzle into Coco’s forehead.
Scout grinned. “She likes ya. You can pet ‘er now, ah reckon.”
Coco hesitantly put her arms up to touch the side of the cow’s head, running her hand along the massive jaw that seemed to go on for miles. The cow put her head down and stepped forward, pressing her head into Coco’s chest. She gave a little laugh as she was pushed backward by a head the size of her whole torso, wrapping her arms around it and nuzzling the cow on the top of the head.
Scout grinned, plucking a long piece of grass with a tuft on the end and popping it into his mouth, chewing on the bottom end of it as he watched. “These cows, they ain’t like other animals. Humans have bred ‘em t’ be dumb. They ain’t smart, not like you ‘r me. But, just like you an’ me, they love a good scratchin’.” He reached up and scratched the cow’s neck.
The cow turned to look at him, then turned back to Coco and gave a loud, bellowing moo. Coco squealed with laughter as the cow stepped forward and knocked her on her tail, then dropped down and rolled to her back with her head in Coco’s lap. She scratched the cow on the chin, careful to be gentle with her claws, then patted her on the neck with an open hand.
Scout settled down next to Coco and lay back, chewing on his piece of grass and staring at a cloud that was drifting lazily in the sky. After a few moments, Coco joined him, still stroking the cow’s head with one hand as she reached for Scout’s hand with the other. They lay there in silence together for a while, and then Coco spoke up. “It’s different than what I expected. I don’t know, when you see cows in those movies you like, they seem kind of wild and dangerous. These ones just want pets and attention.”
Scout nodded quietly. “They can be dangerous. That’s why we were careful not t’ spook ‘em. Plus, these’re all heifers. Sam don’t have no bulls of ‘is own, ‘e just orders the… er…” He waved his hands in the air, looking for a delicate way to put it. “Necessary ingredients… from another farmer when ‘e needs th’ cows to calve, an’ gets ‘em started himself.”
“Oh, gross!” She laughed. “How does that even work? No, wait, don’t tell me. I think I’d rather not know that.” She was quiet for a few moments, stroking the cow until it got up and walked away. “So… bulls are dangerous?”
Scout nodded. “They’re territorial.” He sat up. “If’n there was a bull out here, ah’d never let ya set paws out in this field.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

So romantic how Scot wants to protect Coco and make sure nothing happens to her as it is beautiful how devoted he is to her! I figured that there wasn't a bull out there because Coco would have been gored for even touching one of the cows since bulls are very protective.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 12: The Trailer

Scout jumped from fencepost to fencepost after Coco, watching her thoughtfully. “Did ya like seein’ th’ cows?”
She paused to look up at him, then nodded. “It was nice. They were pretty cuddly. It’s a shame we couldn’t stay longer.”
Scout hopped down off the fence and hugged her, nuzzling her neck. “Well… we can visit again.” He assured her, then gave her cheek a kiss. “Anythin’ in particular you wanna do next?”
She frowned and looked him over. “Well… I don’t wanna go back to the barn just yet. Too many kittens that wanna eat my ears.”
He snickered. “No? We could go see if there’s any work t’ be done. Always work t’ be done on a farm.”
She swatted at him. “We’re here on vacation, Scout!” She snickered. “And you’ve already worked today, remember? You turned off that sprinkler.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “That, ah did…” He paused, then grabbed her hand. “Ah got an idea. D’ya trust me?”
She hesitated. “That… depends entirely on context. What are we going to do?”
“Explorin’.” He grinned at her, then tugged her over toward the house.
She huffed and followed him. “Yeah, I guess a little exploring can’t hurt. What are we exploring? The old barn? Looks a little rickety.”
“Slim’s trailer.” He snickered.
She sputtered. “Wh- Scout, we can’t go in there when he’s not home!”
He kept walking. “We’ll knock first. Ah promise, we won’t go in without bein’ invited.”
“How are we going to be invited when we know for a fact he’s not here? He had to go into town to get parts for the sprinkler!” She followed, jogging to keep up as he tugged her arm. They arrived at the new barn, and he led her around toward the camper they’d seen as they arrived.
He grinned. “Ah got a hunch we’ll be invited anyway.”
She rolled her eyes. “I swear, you’re so WEIRD sometimes.” She looked up at the camper.
It was almost the size of a regular RV, except it was designed to hook up to a regular truck, rather than having an engine of its own. There was no truck attached to it right now; it was sitting with the hitch propped up on a cinder block, with more cinder blocks on either side of the tires to prevent it from rolling. There were power, water, and sewage hookups on the side of the new barn that it was connected to, ensuring that it had power and water without having to have the tanks emptied or refilled. An air conditioner set on the roof hummed busily.
Scout climbed up the steps to the door and knocked while Coco looked on. A voice from inside called out. “It’s open!”
Coco blinked as Scout opened the door, then turned to reach out for her. “See? Ah told ya we’d be invited.”
She hesitantly reached up to take his hand, then climbed up and through the door, looking around. It smelled like a bachelor lived there; there were dirty clothes draped over just about every surface, and empty beer cans lined up on the table and counters. The air was cold compared to outside; the air conditioner seemed to be cranked all the way up. The entryway opened up directly to a kitchen along one wall, with a dining room table to one side and a curtained-off area that must be the bedroom to the other side. Further down, toward the camper’s rear, there was a bathroom. A television was mounted to the outside of the bathroom wall with some kind of violent shooter game playing on it. The person playing was sprawled on the couch attached to the dining area, a headset with a microphone on it perched atop his head, covering his dark-colored, perky ears. He didn’t even turn around.
“You’re back earlier than I expected. You said it would take two hours to go to the farm supply store, and it’s only been like forty-five minutes.” He leaned forward, mashing buttons on his game controller. “Die! Die! Die! HAH! Loser!”
Scout watched him quietly for a few moments, then smirked and spoke up. “Kinda violent fer a cop t’ be playin’, ain’t it?”
The game immediately popped up a pause menu. After a moment, the player turned his head to look at Scout, looking astonished. Scout smirked back at him, his ears perked in amusement.
“How the… Scout, what are you doing here?!” He tossed his headset aside and jumped up, pulling Scout into a headlock and noogying him.
Scout shrugged playfully. “Well, ah missed ya, so ah decided t’ track ya down. Only took fifteen minutes, an’ half’a that was paperwork.”
“Liar. You take WAY longer than that to do your paperwork.” He laughed and let Scout up, looking him over. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen you in your civilian outfit. You’re always already at work by the time I get there.”
Coco cleared her throat politely to remind the boys that she was there. Scout glanced over at her, then reached out for her hand, pulling her over. “This is mah lovely girlfriend, Coco. Coco, this is mah partner at work, Adam.”
Coco smiled gently. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Adam grinned at Coco and grabbed her hand, leaning down to kiss it. “Oh, so YOU’RE the fabled girlfriend. Scout doesn’t talk about his personal life much at work. I practically had to pry the fact that he even HAD a girlfriend out of him.”
She smirked. “Apparently, when he came out here for Christmas, it was all he would talk about. That, and the kittens.”
Adam frowned. “Kittens? What kittens?”
Scout scoffed and punched Adam on the arm. “Yah’ve been here over a week an’ ya haven’t even gone explorin’?! Th’ barn cats have a litter’a kittens! Had ‘em between Thanksgivin’ an’ Christmas las’ year.”
Adam frowned. “Of course I haven’t. It’s hot out there, and it smells like manure. They won’t even let me in the house, you know that? I’m lucky my uncle lets me live in his trailer with him, to be honest with you.” He turned and walked to the fridge. “You guys hungry? I think there’s something in here that’s still edible…” He opened the door and leaned over to look inside, then frowned and straightened up. “Hold on… you still haven’t told me how you found out I was here.”
Scout grinned at him. “Mah brother owns th’ farm. Yer uncle mentioned that he had his brother’s dog, so ah put two an’ two together t’ get four. Ah asked ‘im if his last name was th’ same as yours, an’ he confirmed it. That’s when ah knew ah’d find ya in here.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

As soon as Slim's last name was revealed I thought that Adam would be revealed to be his dog but it turns out he is his sibling's dog but I knew they were related in some way after the very muddy chapter we got. Also since you brought up manure, what is the probability that Slim has landed in that also?

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Oh it's almost certainly happened

[Amazee Dayzee]

Right thanks for the clarification because I really needed and am glad you shared that me just because I have been wondering a little bit. Now I need you to PM me and send me a list of all of the things Slim got splattered with or covered in as a farm worker just for giggles because I am really curious when it comes to that what messy situations he finds himself in.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 13: Adam

Adam turned off his game and sat back on the cushioned bench seat that surrounded the table, sipping a can of root beer. “So… what are you doing way out here? Shouldn’t you be at home, watching TV and enjoying your paid leave?”
Scout shrugged. “Ah can’t sit still that long. A few days an’ ah’m climbin’ th’ walls. Ah gotta be DOIN’ something or ah go crazy. So ah decided t’ visit mah brother, an’ bring mah girlfrien’ out t’ see th’ farm. We jus’ finished visitin’ th’ cows.”
Coco peeled a pair of boxers off the seat with two fingers, tossing it aside and having a seat. “He really is awful about relaxing. I don’t think he ever did a day in his life before moving here.” She popped open her own can with a fizzing sound and took a sip. “Honestly, I don’t think he still ever has.”
“We’ll have to teach him then, won’t we?” Adam grinned, looking over at Scout.
Scout huffed. “Pick me up again an’ yer tail’s gonna be in six pieces. We ain’t on-duty, ah can fight ya now. Nobody picks me up but mah Ma.”
Coco smirked and nudged Scout, and he reddened a little. “An’ Coco. Sometimes.”
Adam chuckled. “No, no, we don’t need to go anywhere to teach you to relax. We can do it right here.” He sat up and scooted over, patting the seat next to him. “Come on, sit down.”
Scout huffed and slid into the booth. Adam turned the game system back on again, flipping through his games before selecting one. “Here, give this a try. You’ll like it.” He passed the controller over to Scout.
Scout looked down at the controller uncertainly, holding it awkwardly in his hands, then back up at the screen. “Farmin’ simulator? Adam, we’re ON a farm right now, why would ah wanna SIMULATE a farm?”
He laughed and swatted Scout’s back. “Because it’s more fun this way. Go on.”
Scout frowned and looked up at the screen, then down at the controller to push the proper button. What followed was five minutes of Scout clumsily trying to follow the instructions before giving a frustrated grunt and setting the controller aside. “This ain’t relaxin’ at all. Ah don’t like it.”
Adam snickered at him. “You barely gave it a chance. It gets better once you get used to it.”
Scout shook his head and set the controller on the table, starting to scoot off of the bench. “Games ain’t mah thing. You an’ Coco can stay here an’ play if’n ya like, but ah’m gonna go help with th’ kittens, or th’ weedin’, or… somethin’.”
Adam started to scoot out of his seat. “Scout, wait…”
Scout paused at the door and turned around to look at Adam. Adam walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll come with you, okay? Maybe I COULD use a little exercise. I haven’t really been outside since I got here.”
Coco hopped down and ran after them, finishing her root beer and setting the empty can on the counter next to a small village of other empties. When Scout opened the door, it was like a wave of hot air rushing over them. He paused to look at Adam. “Ya shouldn’t turn up th’ air conditionin’ that high. Might burn out th’ unit.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Rookie.” They stepped outside, and Adam waved a hand in front of his face. “Oof… see what I mean about it smelling out here? It reeks!”
Scout rolled his eyes. “We had much worse smells than this at th’ academy. B’sides, ah kinda like it. Smells like good ol’ farm livin’.”
Adam stared at him for a few moments, then turned to Coco. “Back me up here, Coco. It stinks out here, right?”
Coco shrugged. “Honestly? You stay out here for ten minutes or so, you don’t even notice it anymore.” She nudged him. “Just take those big muscles of yours and use them to go for a walk once in a while.”
“Touche.” He turned and followed Scout as he went around to the front of the barn and opened the door. Coco took up the rear and closed the door behind them.
Adam looked around. “No horses? This is a farm, aren’t there supposed to be horses?”
Scout rolled his eyes. “It ain’t that kind of farm.” He knocked on the door to the stall. “Secure th’ kittens, we’re comin’ in.” He waited a moment, then opened the stall door, waving Adam and Coco in. Coco hesitated a moment before entering. Scout went in right behind her and slid the door closed.
Cheddar looked up and grinned, waving them over. Three of the kittens were actively trying to climb him, and he chuckled. “You guys got here right on time. I really need to use the sandbox.” He peeled Stilton off of himself and passed him to Coco, then passed Benedict to Scout and Mittens to Adam, jumping to his paws. “Marmalade’s over in the corner there, playing in the straw.” He gestured to a lump under the straw, then darted out of the stall.
Adam blinked down at the kitten in his hands, then looked around. “He… uh… he just handed a kitten to someone he doesn’t even know and left? That seems… less than smart.”
Scout snickered. “Cheddar trusts everybody. Ah wonder where Autumn is.” He looked around, then hefted Benedict to his hip and moved over to the corner, brushing some straw aside to expose Marmalade’s fur. He seemed satisfied that she was actually there, so he sat down and dropped Benedict into his lap. He immediately turned and stood up, starting to grab at Scout’s ears.
Coco sat next to Scout and looked uncertainly at Stilton as the kitten babbled at her happily. “I don’t know, Scout… I still don’t see the appeal of these things. It’s just a cat.”
Scout grinned. “Maybe so, but they’re BABY cats. That’s gotta count fer SOMETHIN’. Maybe if ya pretend they’re puppies?”
She frowned. “But they’re not. They’re kittens.”
Adam suddenly started snickering. “Hey, that tickles! Mmph- da’s my mouf…”
Coco turned to see Mittens sticking her fingers in Adam’s mouth, purring quietly. She frowned. “You’re just going to let her do that?”
He turned his head to get the kittens’ fingers out of his mouth and chuckled. “My sister had pups a couple years ago. I’m used to it. They’re just curious.”
“Yeah, but she’s been sick.” Scout frowned. “Ya prob’ly shouldn’t let ‘er put ‘er fingers in yer mouth.”
“Oh, it’ll be FINE.” He grinned and scooped the kitten up to move over toward them. “So… that orange cat, I assume he’s the father?”
Scout nodded. “That’s Cheddar. Th’ mother is Autumn, she’s a calico. Don’t know where she’s at right now. Th’ one ya wanna watch out fer is Edward. He’s a gray tabby, an’ he don’t much like dogs. Really protective of th’ kittens. Likes t’ show his claws.”
Coco blinked at Scout. “And here I thought you didn’t even notice. You were talking like you thought you two were buddies.”
He shrugged back at her. “No sense in makin’ it worse by lettin’ ‘im know I know he don’t want me anywhere near the kittens. B’sides, the others won’t let ‘im come after me, an’ ah can hold mah own if’n he wants t’ fight.”
“That’s good, because I’m gonna kick your tail, dog.” A voice sounded from the stall door. Scout looked up to see Eddie standing in the doorway, glaring at him. “Where’s Cheddar and Autumn, and why do YOU have the kittens?!”

[Amazee Dayzee]

So happy to see that Adam has some hidden depths and he is more open to playing with the kittens than Coco is which is nice to see! Now we know that Slim also has a niece that had puppies from what Adam had said.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 14: Cat Fight

Scout frowned at Eddie. “Calm down, Eddie, we’re watchin’ th’ kittens so Cheddar can use th’ restroom. Dunno where Autumn is. Mousin’, maybe?”
Eddie stomped over to Scout and scooped Benedict out of his lap, cradling him for a moment before setting him aside and putting a finger in Scout’s face. “Convenient that they’re not here to vouch for you.” He glared at Coco, then pointed a finger accusingly at Adam. “And who the FUZZ is he?!” He snatched Mittens from Adam and checked her over for injuries before setting her aside as well. “We don’t need MORE dogs around here, there’s already too many.”
Scout maintained a calm, even tone. “That’s Adam. He’s stayin’ with Slim b’cause his parents’re outta town.”
Eddie hissed in Scout’s face, then glared at Coco. She slowly set Stilton on the ground and put her hands up, trying to ignore the fact that he climbed right back into her lap and settled in. “I don’t want you DOGS anywhere NEAR the kittens, do you understand?” He bared his claws and put his face directly in Scout’s face until their noses pressed against each other and made their muzzles wrinkle. “ESPECIALLY not YOU.”
Scout met Eddie’s gaze and gently pushed him back and out of his personal space. “We’re jus’ helpin’. Ah promise, th’ kittens are safe with us.”
Eddie snorted. “And when you get out, I won’t have to believe you because I’ll KNOW for sure that they’re safe.” He pointed toward the stall door, scowling.
Scout shook his head. “Ya can’t watch all four kittens by yerself, Eddie.”
Eddie stepped forward and pressed his face into Scout’s again. “Watch me.”
Adam grunted and stepped forward, pulling Eddie away from Scout. “You really don’t want to do that. Trust me.”
Eddie turned and hissed at Adam, swiping at him with his claws. “Get your grubby hands off me, DOG. I don’t want you to touch me.”
Adam jumped back. “Whoa! You need to calm down, kitty.”
“Go away and I will.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared, his tail flicking wildly behind him. “Get away from my nieces and nephews.”
“Edward, that’s enough.” The stall door slid open, and Autumn stepped in, closing it behind her again. “Honestly, I leave for ten minutes to go get some lunch and I come back to you antagonizing the dogs. They’re just trying to help.”
Edward huffed, turning to look at her and gesturing wildly toward the three dogs. “How can you trust them with the kittens?! They’re big, ugly brutes! Look at the muscles on THAT one!” He pointed at Adam. “He’d crush Marmalade without even meaning to!”
She put her hands on her hips and stared him down. “I’m sure he’s very gentle. You need to settle down. We talked about this at Christmas, remember? Scout is…?”
Eddie grumbled and looked down, then grunted when Autumn nudged him. “... Our uncle.”
She nodded. “And he’s…?”
“Not going to let anything happen to the kittens.” He mumbled begrudgingly, glaring over at Scout.
Autumn smiled. “Good. Now go and apologize for getting in his face.”
Eddie glared at Autumn for a few moments, then shook his head. “... No.”
She snatched his ear and tugged on it, pulling him over to stand him in front of Scout, continuing to hold his ear firmly.
“Ow, ow, okay, let go!” He complained. When Autumn released her grip, he straightened up and rubbed his sore ear, staring at Scout’s paws. “I’m sorry…” He mumbled.
“Like you mean it!” Autumn snapped in a motherly tone.
“I’m sorry I got in your face.” Eddie spoke up, looking Scout in the eye just long enough to finish the sentence, then looked away and added under his breath, “Even though you deserved it.”
“What was that?” Autumn snapped.
“Nothing!” Eddie squeaked out.
Scout pulled Eddie into a hug and planted a little lick on his cheek. “Ah forgive ya. You were jus’ doin’ what you thought you had to t’ keep th’ kittens safe.”
Eddie spluttered and pulled away. “Hey! Hands off! I’m gonna stink of dog now!” He complained, wiping off his cheek. “You got your slobber on me, you stupid mutt.”
Scout snickered. “Oh? What’s that? Ya want MORE kisses?!”
Edward squeaked and darted behind Autumn. “You stay away from me, you mongrel!”
Adam snickered and joined in. “Oh? Kitty kisses? Where?!” He stepped around a kitten and walked toward Eddie. Eddie hissed at Adam and scowled.
“Boys, be nice.” Coco warned. “I’ll have no sympathy if he scratches you.”
“I will scratch.” Eddie confirmed, hissing at them.
“Okay, okay, ah’ll stop.” Scout chuckled and sat down, letting Mittens climb onto his lap and start poking at his face with a fistful of straw, trying to feed it to him.
Cheddar let himself in and plopped down next to Autumn, giving her a loving nuzzle, purring gently. “It’ll be dinnertime soon.” He announced, looking around, then shaking his head at Eddie still standing with his hackles raised at Scout and Adam.
Eddie shook his head and blinked. “I gotta go help bring in the cows, then.” He rushed out.
Cheddar snickered after him. “Don’t mind him, he’s just WAY too protective of the kittens.” After a moment, he frowned and turned to a tiny fridge that was tucked into the corner, just big enough for one bottle. He opened it and shook his head.
Scout frowned and stood up, walking over to Cheddar. “What’s th’ matter?”
Cheddar held up a glass bottle, tilting it to show the dribble of milk inside. “We forgot to refill this morning. Somebody’s gonna have to go get some milk from the big pasteurizing machine out in the cow barn.”
“Ah can do that.” He reached for the bottle. Cheddar pulled it away, then passed him a clean one from a crate on the floor below the fridge.
“I’d appreciate that. It’s a struggle getting the kittens settled in for food even when they’re not all riled up by visitors.” He looked them over. “They’ll be on solid food soon, but not just yet. We’ve started giving them cereal sometimes to prepare their little tummies. Fill it to about this line, here.” He indicated a line on the bottle. “That ought to be enough to give them each a sippy cup and a little cereal. We’ll start getting them settled in while you’re gone.”
Scout nodded and turned to Coco. “Ya wanna come with, Lamb? Or help the cats get th’ kittens settled in fer supper?”
Coco frowned and looked around at the kittens. “I think I’ll come with you.” She stood up, gently sliding Stilton down onto the floor first.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Yeah I think that Eddie needs to be taken down several pegs now but I'm not sure how to do that beyond him getting covered in manure which probably won't help so something REALLY serious needs to happen. Also I wanna see how Slim reacts to landing in a pile of it because that is the kind of slapstick humor that I enjoy and him getting it all over his shirt and jeans would be funny to me especially if he just shrugs it off. We already know from the trailer that he is a bit of a slob. XD

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 15: Milk Run and Supper

Coco walked alongside Scout as they walked between barns. As they walked, Scout glanced sidelong at her. About halfway there, he stopped and leaned into her. “Ah’m sorry. Ah keep makin’ ya help with th’ kittens, an’ you’ve made it pretty clear you don’t wanna.”
She turned and licked his cheek. “It’s okay… I DID tell you to do what makes you happy when you’re not at work and not worry so much about what I want.”
He nuzzled into her and licked her cheek back. “Yeah… but it ain’t polite ‘a me t’ not think about you AT ALL. Ye’re here with me, ah should take your preference into account, an’ you don’t wanna help with th’ kittens. So, fer th’ rest of our visit, ah won’t make ya help with th’ kittens.”
She nuzzled into him. “That’s nice of you, but… I don’t really mind. Not REALLY. I suppose they ARE pretty cute. And it’ll be good practice, for when we have pups of our own.” She turned and resumed their course.
Scout squeaked and stammered. “Uh… p-pups?” He hesitated, then took off after her. “WHEN?!”
She laughed. “Come on, farm boy. Let’s get that milk for the kittens.” She picked up the pace.
He jogged after her. “What’d ya mean, WHEN?! Ah thought we were careful!”
She paused in the entry to the cow barn and snickered, patting his back. “Oh, relax, it’s not YET. Just… soon, maybe. We’ll have to see.”
He leaned against the doorway and put a hand on his chest. “Don’t scare me like that! Ah thought you were sayin’ they were on their way!”
She kissed him. “I’m sorry, Tumbles. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Scout blushed and looked around to be sure they were alone. “Ah wish ya wouldn’t… ah… call me that. When there might be people around, ah mean.”
She snickered. “You’re so bashful. You sure you’re a farm boy?” After a few moments, she turned and gazed into the barn, staring at the divided space. The front, near the door, was mostly neatly lined-up equipment, while the space at the back was mostly open and had a door open into the grassy fields. She could see Slim and Eddie leading the cows back toward them. “Which machine do we need for milk?”
Scout stepped in and wandered toward the fence dividing the front from the back. “That there’s th’ milkin’ machine. When a cow wanders in, it’ll milk ‘er and send th’ milk there, to that tank, an’ check it fer quality. If’n it rejects it, it’s pumped over t’ that machine t’ be composted fer fertilizer. If’n it needs checked by hand, it pumps it t’ that set’a tanks yonder.” He gestured. “An’ if it gives it th’ okay, it forwards it here.” He patted a machine he had stopped next to. “It’s pasteurized an’ held warm fer processin’.” He turned and held the bottle under a nozzle, opening it up and letting the milk flow into the bottle until it was almost full, then closed the nozzle and screwed the lid on. He turned to Coco and showed her.
She blinked. “That doesn’t look like milk. It’s super thick.”
Scout nodded. “This’s unseparated milk. It’s got all th’ milkfat in it. B’fore it’s bottled, some’a th’ fat is separated an’ sold as cream, or made int’ butter or other products. Richer’n most humans like, but perfect fer kittens.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that. I thought whole milk was just like it comes out of the cow.” She frowned and took the bottle, turning to leave.
“A lotta people think that, but even whole milk has most’a th’ cream removed.” He followed her, grinning. He loved knowing things she didn’t, especially since it was usually the other way around.
She led him back toward the other barn, grinning. “We’ll talk about that other thing when we get some alone time, of course.”
Scout squeaked and opened the barn door for her, following her in. She snickered and let herself into the stall.
Cheddar looked up when they entered, and grinned. “Oh, thanks, you guys. You’re a couple of lifesavers.” He got up and walked over to them, taking the bottle from Coco and walking back over to where the fridge was. There was a small pot of steaming water and a kettle there now, and four sippy cups set up and waiting for the milk. As Cheddar set to work pouring milk into the sippy cups, Scout knelt to scoop up a fussing Benedict.
“Hey, cutie. Yer daddy’s workin’ on yer dinner.” He poked the kitten’s nose and tickled him. “No need t’ be upset, it’s comin’.”
Cheddar lowered the sippy cups into the hot water and turned to glance over at them. “You don’t have to stick around. Mom’s probably on her way with dinner.”
Coco shrugged. “We can help out for a little while. Besides, Scout was telling me that it’s great practice for when we have pups later.” She paused. “Not… not right this moment, but LATER.”
Cheddar smirked. “Ooh, got a little bit of baby fever, did you? Careful what decisions you make, they’re permanent.” He knelt down to ruffle Marmalade’s head. “Autumn and I were together for almost a year before Sam and Hannah adopted us out of the pound. We were worried they would just send us right back, so it was a hard decision when we decided to go ahead and go for it.”
Scout frowned. “That woulda been jus’ AWFUL. Kittens born in th’ pound are adopted out much too early.”
Cheddar nodded. “We got lucky. A lot of people would send their new cats right back as soon as they realized kittens were on the way. Sam and Hannah are the good type.”
Coco nodded quietly. “I never thought of that. You must have been terrified the whole time that you’d be sent back or split up.”
“It was something we considered before deciding to have kittens, for sure.” He returned to the pot and started taking the sippy cups back out of the pot of hot water, testing each on his wrist before turning and giving one to each kitten. He poured the rest of the milk into a smaller bottle and put a cap on it, setting it in the pot to warm up. “The plan was, if we got split up, we would escape and meet up under the bridge on Third street, try to raise the kittens on the streets. We’re very lucky it didn’t come to that.”
Coco watched the kittens happily drink their milk for a few moments. “I suppose I took it for granted that Mom wouldn’t be mad if I came home with Scout’s puppies. Privilege of being an established pet, I guess.”
Cheddar measured a couple scoops of powder out of a box into a bowl, nodding. “It’s okay, a lot of pets don’t realize how lucky they are to not have to worry about stuff like that. It doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s just easy to forget.” He took the bottle out of the pot and poured the milk into the powder, starting to mix it.
Scout stepped forward and unstacked a stack of smaller bowls, starting to help Cheddar with the baby cereal. “Well… ah’m glad ya decided t’ risk it. You an’ Autumn did a good job.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Going back to the original story I honestly did not think Cheddar and Autumn were together for that long and they knew each other because they grew up in the pound together. I was under the impression that Autumn's pregnancy was just a one-time thing and they weren't a full couple. But now we know that when a cat is pregnant it changes their personality somewhat and makes them kind of more irritable as I though Autumn was a raging wretch.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

It happens to humans, too. The hormones can make them cranky.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Yeah it definitely is easier to make a pregnant woman irritated as they don't just deal with the hormones but being uncomfortable. It is very important later in the pregnancy to keep the woman calm though which means just avoiding her if you always get on her nerves because if you really infuriate her she can go into labor early.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 16: Farm Mornings

Scout yawned and sat up, stretching quietly. Sleeping on straw was a little itchier than he remembered; he wondered if that was because of months of being pampered with a proper bed instead. He looked around and snickered quietly at the sight of Coco snuggled up with two of the kittens around her. After a moment, he remembered that he had a phone now and pulled it out, carefully stepping back to line up a photo. The camera made a digitized click sound and flashed the photo up on the screen for him. He grinned at it and set it as his background. Perfect.
That done, he flipped through the messages from Ma. “Remember to charge your phone when the battery gets low,” one said. “Good night, Scout,” read another. “Missing you,” declared a third. Scout smiled and awkwardly typed in a message back, his typing slow and patchy. He had to backspace a few times before he got the message right. “Love you too, Ma.” He sent it and slipped his phone back into his collar.
“Morning.” Cheddar yawned and sat up. “You’re up early.”
“Ah usually work purty early in th’ mornin’, so ah’m not used t’ sleepin’ in.” Scout spoke softly so as not to wake the others. Eddie was curled up in the corner with Stilton cuddled against him, and Autumn was still sleeping right next to Cheddar.
Cheddar nodded and rubbed one of his eyes sleepily, then looked up and smiled. “Help me get the kittens’ breakfast ready? We need to gather up the dishes from yesterday and take them to the house. Hannah will have a clean set ready for us on the back porch. We just swap the boxes out. Then we have to fill up the milk bottles for the day.”
Scout nodded and helped Cheddar load up the crate from under the shelf with the dishes from the previous day, including everybody’s food bowls, then picked it up. “Ah’ll go swap ‘em out.”
“Thanks. There’s a delivery box on the back porch, just take the new box of dishes out and put the old one in, then raise the flag so Hannah knows the swap’s been made. She’ll wash them and have them ready for us for tomorrow.” Cheddar smiled gratefully at Scout.
Scout let himself out of the stall and started toward the house, walking around toward the back. He waved at Sam, who was just coming out the front of the house to get started on his morning chores. Sam waved back and continued on his way. When Scout got to the back porch, he found the box: it was just a little plastic chest with a flag on the side, not unlike a mailbox. He opened it up and took out the clean dishes, carefully setting the box with the dirty dishes back in its place and flipping up the mailbox sign. It took him a few moments to get back to the barn, and he let himself into the stall.
Cheddar greeted him by taking the box from him, setting it on the floor under the counter and digging through it. He handed Scout two milk bottles. “Here… go and fill these up.” He whispered gently. “I’ll get everything set up for making the kittens their breakfast.”
Scout smiled and took the bottles, taking a moment to look at Coco still asleep with all four kittens now. Eddie was gone, presumably off to find himself some breakfast before starting his chores. He left again, closing the stall door behind him and rushing off to the cow barn.
Cows mooed sleepily as he let himself in; the doors were all shut this early in the morning, keeping the cows inside until someone got in to let them out, and the cow barn was dark. He moved carefully, making sure not to accidentally kick or run into anything and navigating mostly by feel and by memory. He found the nozzle and turned to the side to let light from the open door reach him, filling the milk bottles and capping them before heading back.
He nearly bumped into Slim on his way out, and Slim grinned, ruffling his ears. “Morning, Scout. Cats sent ya on a milk run, huh?”
Scout nodded, holding up the two bottles. “Ah volunteered. Coco ain’t awake yet anyway.” He shrugged. “Gettin’ ready t’ let th’ cows out fer th’ day?”
“Yeah, it’s time to start the day. Got any plans for today?”
Scout nodded. “Coco wanted t’ see th’ cows again, an’ then we were gonna try t’ find th’ pond that Cheddar told us about.”
“Ooh, sounds like fun. What’cha gonna do there?” He grinned down at Scout. “Some fishing? Maybe swim a little?”
Scout’s tail wagged. “A little of both. Maybe more. We’ll see.”
“Well… you enjoy. I gotta get going.” Slim ruffled his ears, then paused. “Hey… if it’s not too much trouble, will you take Adam with you? He’s been cooped up in my trailer for a week, and I think he needs to get some exercise.”
Scout gave an eager nod. “Ah can do that. If’n ah can get ‘im outta the trailer.”
He grinned and patted his head, then walked off, leaving Scout to return to the cats.
As Scout let himself into the stall, Cheddar glanced up from where he was lining up the sippy cups on their little counter. He had Benedict perched on his hip. Autumn was gone. “Oh, good, just on time, I just got done making the hot water.”
Scout passed over the bottles, then looked down at Coco. She was sitting up, quietly playing with Marmalade with the other two kittens asleep at either hip. She seemed a lot more comfortable with them today than she had been previously. He smiled and moved forward to help Cheddar, putting the lids on the sippy cups as he filled them and carefully lowering them into the hot water to warm up.
“She’s pretty, by the way. Coco, I mean. As far as dogs go, of course.” Cheddar hummed, carefully pulling the bottle of milk out of range of Benedict’s grabbing hands.
“She’s th’ prettiest dog ah’v ever seen.” Scout confirmed, nodding as he recited the familiar words. “Ah’m lucky t’ have her. Ah’m pretty dumb, an’ ah missed ALL th’ signs that she liked me. Ah almost missed out.” He turned to look at Coco quietly. “Ah’d be honored fer her t’ have mah pups. But not yet. Ah’m not ready. An’ she’s not ready. Ah can tell, she’s not ready.”
Cheddar chuckled and tested a sippy cup on his wrist before giving it to Benedict and setting him down, turning to start testing the next one. “Don’t worry, you’ll know when you’re ready. It’ll be sudden. One day, you’ll think you need more time, and the next, you’ll know that you’re ready. It’ll just feel like the right time.” He passed Scout a sippy cup and grabbed the other two, smiling. “Until then… just keep the romance alive as best you can. Let her know that you know how lucky you are that she likes you.”
“That’s just th’ thing. Ah’m not so good at th’ romance.” Scout passed his sippy cup over to Marmalade, who stopped playing with Coco and plopped down on her tail to start sipping on it.
Cheddar chuckled and tucked the other two under the arms of the two kittens that were still asleep. They immediately started to stir to wake, and Cheddar glanced up. “I don’t know, Coco was telling me about the stuff you do to keep her happy, and it kind of sounds like you know exactly the type of stuff she likes, and go out of your way to do that stuff for her. I think you’re doing the romance just fine.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Scout really is a good boyfriend even if he was a bit slow on picking up that Coco liked him and was jealous in the first story but he had more than made up for that. The two do have a healthy and loving relationship with each other which I am sure they both are happy for.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 17: The Pond

Adam grumbled and trudged after Scout and Coco. “I can’t believe Uncle Harry took the game controller away from me. This is stupid. Outside is STUPID. I’m an indoor dog when I’m not working.”
Scout chuckled. “Aw, quit’cher whinin’. Fresh air is good fer ya. B’sides, ah thought ya LIKED exercisin’! Ya drag me to th’ gym often enough.”
“The gym is INSIDE.” Adam huffed. “And you need to build some muscle anyway.”
“You’ll survive.” Coco snickered. “A big, tough police dog like you isn’t gonna die because he had to go outside.”
He scowled at her. “You’re pushing it, kid. I’m not above fighting you just because you’re a girl.”
Scout scowled. “You lay a finger on mah lady an’ ah’ll kick yer tail int’ next week.” His eyes narrowed, and he pulled Coco in close, giving a little protective growl.
Coco nudged Scout. “It’s romantic that you’re willing to protect me, but I don’t need it, Scout.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, then turned to Adam. “You’ve got some anger issues. You should work on that.”
Adam huffed and looked away. “I do NOT have anger issues.”
“Ya got anger issues, Adam.” Scout pointed. “There’s th’ pond.”
Coco’s ears perked, and she looked in the direction Scout was pointing. “Ooh! Let’s go!” She grabbed Scout’s wrist and took off in the direction of the pond.
Scout laughed and rushed to run with her, struggling to keep up. “Lamb, Lamb, slow down! Ye’re gonna pull mah arm off!”
Adam grumbled and followed after them, watching as Coco approached the pond and looked around. It was less a pond and more an offshoot of an irrigation canal that ran along near the road, ringed with cattails and reeds. Dragonflies skittered through the air around it, and the water rippled peacefully. Scout paused to catch his breath. “Sam says th’ canal connects th’ river an’ th’ lake in a bypass t’ feed th’ farms, an’ this pond was an accidental byproduct. A lot of th’ farmers use it fer coolin’ off on hot days.”
Coco waded in up to her knees and grinned. “Come on, Scout! The water’s great!”
Scout hesitantly waded in, then yelped when she grabbed his wrist and pulled him in deeper. “Coco, wait, ah can’t swim!”
She paused, then snickered. “Right, right, sorry.” She let go of him and watched him standing belly-deep for a moment before scooping water up and onto him, laughing as it soaked his fur.
Scout squealed at the splash and splashed her back, snickering. “Hey now, there ain’t no splashin’ allowed!”
Adam huffed and sat on the bank, staring at them. “Glad you two are having fun. I’d rather be blasting enemy players right now.”
Scout stopped and turned to look at Adam, then glanced sidelong at Coco. She looked back at him with a little bit of a smirk on her face. “You thinkin’ Butterfly with a squirt gun?” Scout whispered to her.
Coco giggled. “Aww, you DO know me. You fetch, I splash?”
Scout smirked and answered by starting to walk out of the pond, his fur dripping with water. “Aww, c’mon, Adam. Join us! Th’ water’s great!”
“I swear to dog, if you shake off on me-” Adam stepped back.
Scout snickered. “Ah won’t, ah promise.” He put a hand on Adam’s back, and Adam squealed.
“Geez, Scout, your hand is like ICE! That water’s gotta be FREEZING! How can you stand it?” He stepped forward to get Scout’s hand off of his back.
Scout smirked and pushed him just a little closer. “Well, it ain’t so bad once ya really get it IN yer fur.”
Coco smirked and cupped her hands together, forming a bowl shape, then thrust it forward through the water as hard as she could. A wave of water formed and slapped into Adam, causing him to sputter and snort. “That’s COLD! You guys!”
Scout grinned. “Well, see, now th’ worst part’s over. Ye’re already wet, may as well come on in.”
Adam scowled at Scout. “You two are the WORST, you know that? Just the WORST.”
Scout wiggled his eyebrows at him. Adam snorted and stomped into the water. “I wish I could beat your face in, but I don’t particularly have a death wish today.”
Coco patted Adam’s back. “Oh, you’ll get over it. You just need to have a little fun. RELAX. This is your vacation, too. Just because you’re not where you hoped you’d be doesn’t mean you have to be miserable.”
He huffed and splashed her. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“No, it wasn’t, but it was FUN.” She snickered, splashing him back.
Adam glared at her for a moment, and then the corners of his mouth cracked into a smile. “Okay, so MAYBE it was a LITTLE fun.”
Scout grinned. “Ah knew ya’d like it.”
“Okay, maybe a little.” Adam grinned and splashed Scout. “I guess we can play a little.”
Scout chuckled and waded back into the water. “An’ maybe we can catch some fish fer lunch. Ah bet we can stay out here all day.”
Coco grinned and hugged Scout. “We could do that. OR we could go to the old barn and check out the hayloft.” She leaned in and whispered in Scout’s ear. “Without Adam, if you get my drift.”
Scout squeaked. “But we ain’t brought any-”
Coco giggled. “I know.” She backed away and splashed Scout a little. “You just think about that for a while.”
Adam grinned, looking between the two of them. “Oh, I’m DEFINITELY interrupting something by being here. I can head back if you two need some time alone.”
Scout squeaked, the tips of his ears going red. “N-no, it’s fine, ya can stay. We were talkin’ about later.”
Coco laughed and turned to Adam. “You ever notice how his accent gets thicker when he’s flustered or tired? It’s adorable.”
Adam snickered. “When he’s concentrating, too. You haven’t talked to him while he was doing his paperwork. I can barely understand him.”
Scout huffed and walked toward them. “Oh, ah’m gonna get ya fer that. That ain’t nice.”
Coco’s tail wagged as she laughed and dodged around Scout, snatching his bandana right off of him and tying it around his eyes. “Well, then let’s make a game of it, then. Ever play Marco Polo?”

[Amazee Dayzee]

So Adam isn't really big in being outdoors but his uncle Slim is even if he comes back covered in filth most of the time. LOL. I assume that Adam's father and Slim's owner isn't someone used to going outside either then in that case and Adam learned it from him.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 18: Just Kitten

Benedict babbled excitedly and toddled after Scout as he slowly backed away, crouched and ready to pick up the kitten at the first sign he might fall over. The kitten squealed and threw his arms out, purring a tiny kitten’s purr as a breeze ruffled his fur. After he’d walked halfway across the yard, his little legs faltered, and Scout scooped him up, tossing him up in the air a couple times before perching him on his hip and turning to look at Autumn, standing nearby.
Autumn grinned, holding Mittens in both arms. “Impressive. He’s gonna be learning to run before too long.” She looked around. “Where’s Coco today, anyway?”
Scout shrugged. “She said she was enjoyin’ th’ farm, but she needed a break from bein’ outdoors, so she went int’ Slim’s trailer t’ get some air conditionin’ an’ soda.”
Cheddar walked over to them, holding Stilton’s hands and walking with his paws splayed out on either side of the kitten, letting the kitten walk mostly on his own. “Of course, you realize the fact that they’re learning to walk means they’re going to be ten times harder to keep track of any time we bring them outside.”
Autumn groaned. “Ugh, don’t remind me. Maybe we shouldn’t be encouraging this behavior so soon.”
Scout snickered. “Y’all worry too much. They’ll be fine. They might wander, but they’ll stick close to mama an’ papa.”
“Dog dog dog dog dog,” Stilton declared, pointing up at Scout and purring.
Autumn laughed, kneeling to pick up Marmalade as she tugged at her thigh and cried out. “Oh, Edward is going to be so MAD about that.”
Scout grinned and knelt to get closer to Stilton’s level. “Yes, ah’m a dog. Mah name is Scout. Can you say Scout?”
“DOG!” Stilton squealed happily, grabbing Scout’s nose and letting go of Cheddar’s hand. Scout chuckled and let it happen, slowly lowering Benedict to the ground and standing him up. The kitten wobbled on his paws for a few moments, then dropped to a crawl and started scooting around in the grass to get to Autumn.
Scout chuckled and watched him go. Autumn nudged Scout. “Hey. Thanks for helping out the past two weeks or so. You didn’t have to do that. You’re on vacation.”
Scout shrugged. “To me, helpin’ out on th’ farm IS vacation. Ah miss it so much. Thank ya so much fer havin’ me.” He tickled Stilton’s belly, and the kitten squealed with laughter, throwing his arms wide and grabbing onto Scout’s arm, letting himself dangle for a few moments before sliding to the ground.
“You’ve probably got to be getting back home soon, right? You have a job to do.” Cheddar took a seat in the grass and pulled Mittens into his lap, hugging her from behind and rocking with her.
Scout frowned and counted on his fingers. “Let’s see… ah spent a week at home… an’ two weeks here… so ah still got two weeks b’fore ah gotta be gettin’ back t’ work… an’ Ma wanted me back five days b’fore mah shift starts up again so ah can get used t’ sleepin’ earlier again… so ah guess ah got about…” He counted on his fingers, then held up all eight. “About nine days b’fore ah gotta head home… unless Coco’s ma wants her back earlier’n that.”
“Well, don’t hurt yourself trying to do math.” Cheddar snickered. “You’ll be sticking around for a few more days, then?”
Scout nodded. “Ah should prob’ly pay more attention t’ Coco, though. Ah feel like ah’ve spent too much time helpin’ with th’ kittens an’ not enough time tryin’ t’ be romantic for her.”
“Is that something she asked you to do? Be romantic?” Autumn tilted her head at Scout.
“Not as such, but ah feel like ah should. Jus’ b’fore we come out here, one’a our friends had his boyfriend propose marriage, an’ it got ‘er all in a tizzy. Said it was romantic. Ah wanna find a way t’ get ‘er all excited like that mahself, just so’s ah can see ‘er smilin’ like that again.”
“Ooh, you got it BAD for her.” Cheddar grinned and nudged him, letting Mittens crawl out of his lap. “You gonna have some pups with her?”
Scout blushed a little. “Ah might, at that. Not now, but… maybe soon? Ah wanna wait until ah’m ready, an’ she’s ready. But ah wanna let ‘er know that ah love ‘er as much as a dog can love another dog. Ah wanna let ‘er know as often as ah possibly can. Ah wanna see ‘er smile like that every day fer th’ rest of mah life.”
“You don’t have to do big things for her to do that. Just do little things as often as you can. Let her know you’re thinking of her. Pick her some flowers when you go over to see her. Bring her little treats from your pantry just because you thought she might want them.” Autumn nudged him. “It’s not always about big romantic moments. Sometimes it’s just about letting her know you’re thinking of her.”
Scout nodded, putting his ears back nervously. “Ah don’t know how t’ take th’ next step in our relationship. Ah don’t even know what th’ next step IS. It can’t be pups, it’s too soon fer that, but ah feel like she’s waitin’ fer me t’ do somethin’, or SAY somethin’ t’ take our relationship there.” He shook his head. “An’ ah’d love t’ do it, but ah don’t know what it IS.”
Cheddar leaned on Scout and chuckled. “Stop overthinking it. It doesn’t have to have a NAME. Talk to her, that’s the most important thing. Tell her how you feel. You can work something out together. That’s what a relationship is about, after all: Communicating with your partner and letting them know what you want.”
“And don’t forget that you have a right to want things out of the relationship, too. It’s all well and good to give her what she wants, but it’s okay if you want some boundaries, too.” Autumn added, scooping Stilton out of Scout’s lap and setting him aside to go play with the other kittens a short distance away. “If she wants something you’re not comfortable giving her, it’s okay to say no. If the relationship is healthy, she’ll understand.”
“Ah wanna give ‘er EVERYTHING.” Scout watched the kittens congregating curiously around a patch of dandelions. “Ah wanna give ‘er th’ whole WORLD. Ah wanna give ‘er th’ stars just t’ watch ‘em dance in her eyes.”
“I don’t know about the world and the stars, but maybe there’s something you can give her? Surely you get an allowance?” Cheddar lay back in the grass and looked at the sky. “Use that to get her something nice.”
Scout nodded thoughtfully. “Ah do have money… Ma jus’ set up a bank account fer me…”
A shadow fell over the group, and Scout looked up to see Sam standing over them with Eddie right next to him. “Oh. Hi, Sam. Eddie.” He stood up.
Sam reached down and ruffled Scout’s ears. “I need a favor from you. If I pay for gas and give you some money, can you take Eddie into town on your scooter and pick up some stuff for me?”
Scout glanced over at Eddie, then nodded. “Ah suppose ah could do that. What do ya need?”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Scout and Eddie going into town together to pick up some stuff for Sam. What could possibly go wrong with that set-up? LOL

Also, we need more of farmhand Slim in this story. LOL

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 19: Eddie and Scout Go To Town

Eddie grumbled, leaning back in the scooter seat and watching cars go past. “I can’t believe I’m stuck riding with YOU. If we didn’t need those tractor parts, I would NEVER agree to it and I would just wait until Sam or Slim needed to go.”
Scout chuckled and turned the scooter up the road. “Ye’ll be fine, it’s jus’ a trip t’ the store.”
He scowled. “I don’t care. I’m gonna smell like dog for DAYS after this.”
“Is that a problem fer ya?” He chuckled. “Ah don’t smell THAT bad, do ah?”
He snorted. “You smell like DOG. Of course you do.”
The scooter turned into the parking lot of the tractor supply store, and Scout snickered. “Aw, ye’re gonna be fine, ah promise.” He parked the scooter and took the keys out. “Ah’ll buy ya somethin’ nice fer puttin’ up with me.”
Eddie snorted. “Sam didn’t give you money for buying random stuff. He gave you money for tractor parts.” He climbed off the scooter and stretched, glaring at Scout.
Scout grinned and reached into his collar, pulling out his new debit card. “That’s what mah own money’s fer, ah reckon.”
Eddie glared at Scout. “You have your own debit card?” He shook his head with a huff. “You really ARE spoiled.”
Scout laughed and slipped his card back into its spot as he followed Eddie inside. “You would know. A golden collar an’ private butler, weren’t it?”
Eddie’s ears turned bright red, and he glared at Scout for a moment, sputtering, before stomping off to the hardware section, walking past a display of cowboy boots and blue jeans. Scout grinned and followed Eddie, scooping up a shopping basket and carrying it with him.
Eddie ignored Scout as he went down an aisle and started looking at hoses. Scout grinned at him, watching him concentrate for a moment before he suddenly turned on him. “Hey, could you back off? What’s your problem?!”
Scout reached up and poked Eddie’s nose playfully. “Ah got no problem, jus’ a cute nephew who don’t wanna admit he likes me.”
Eddie hissed and nipped at Scout’s finger, just missing as Scout pulled it away. “There’s a reason for that. I DON’T like you. Dogs and cats don’t mix. The only reason you’re here is because Sam didn’t have time to drive me and Slim is busy.” He snatched a hose off the wall and threw the package into Scout’s basket. “Let’s just go.”
Scout grinned and put his hand on Eddie’s shoulder, leading him further into the store. “Aw, come on, Eddie. Ya don’t drive an hour t’ go t’ th’ tractor store an’ NOT at least look t’ see what goodies ‘r there.”
Eddie grumbled as Scout prevented him from just leaving. “No, come on, you stupid mutt. I just wanna get home and get back to work.”
Scout grinned wickedly. “Ya ain’t gettin’ home until ah’m ready t’ leave, anyway. Ah drove ya here.”
Eddie opened his mouth to argue, then grumbled and shut it again. “Ugh… fine. What did you want to look at?”
Scout grinned. “First, ah thought ah’d look an’ see if there was somethin’ ah could find fer th’ kittens. A little treat fer ‘em.” He wandered over to the pet supplies, pausing as he entered the aisle for cat supplies. It took him just a few moments of looking to find four little mouse toys. They looked nothing like mice, but Scout thought they looked like they might be fun for the kittens to play with anyway. He tossed them into the basket and wandered into the dog supplies section, staring blankly at all the dog toys.
Eddie looked at the dog toys and grunted. “What’s the matter? Nothing here speaking to you? You could get a ball to drool all over, or a bone to drool all over, or a rope to drool all over…” He pointed from item to item.
Scout shook his head. “Coco’s already got all that stuff. Ah wanna get ‘er somethin’ special.”
Eddie huffed. “Just get her, like, a box of biscuits or something. Hurry up, let’s go.”
“Not special enough.” Scout frowned and shook his head, starting to wander off. Eddie grumbled and followed him as he wandered the store.
After a few moments’ wandering, Scout paused, staring at a display of bandanas. His ears perked as he remembered Coco stealing his bandana at every opportunity. She looked pretty good in it, despite it not really being her color. He looked at the color options, wondering which color would look best on her.
Eddie followed Scout’s gaze and grunted. “Don’t you have enough bandanas? I bet you have a closet full of them.”
Scout shook his head. “Ah’ve only got th’ one, but ah wasn’t thinkin’ fer me.” He stepped forward and picked out a yellow bandana, holding it up. “Ah bet Coco would look th’ most beautiful in this one.”
Eddie huffed. “It’s not gonna fix the fact that she’s a dog. She’s gonna look like a dog.”
Scout snickered. “But a very purty dog.” He snatched up a gray one and held it up to Eddie’s fur, then shook his head and grabbed a blue one instead. “An ah bet you’d look good in THIS one.”
Eddie glared at him. “I’m a barn cat. Barn cats do NOT wear bandanas.”
“Th’ barn cat back in Wyomin’ used t’ wear one.” He tossed the bandana into his basket and grinned. “Come on, ah’ll buy ya some soda t’ drink on th’ way back.”
“Ugh, FINALLY.” Eddie started to follow Scout toward the checkout, then grumbled when he stopped at a display of drinks all lined up on a shelf.
Scout grinned. “Pick one out. Ah’m gonna get a root beer.” He picked up a bottle and slipped it into his basket.
Eddie rolled his eyes and grabbed another of the same, putting it in the basket and pulling out the hose they’d come for. “Give me the money Sam gave you.”
Scout grinned and passed it over. “Don’t be such a grouch. Have some fun.”
“We’re not here to have FUN. We’re here to get stuff to fix the tractor. And you’re just wasting time.” Eddie snorted and started walking up to the checkout, having to stand on tiptoes to pass over the money.
Scout grinned and followed him. His purchase took a little longer, but then he led Eddie back out to his scooter. “There ain’t no law sayin’ ya can’t have fun when you gotta get parts.” He scooped the blue bandana out of his bag and tied it into a loop, dropping it over Eddie’s head. “Ya look great.” He popped open the seat of the scooter to put in his bag, taking out the two bottles of root beer.
Eddie huffed and snatched his bottle from Scout as he offered it. “Whatever.”