Jason woke up early the next morning, a little earlier than he usually did. He wanted to make sure that he got to spend a little time with Cherry before work; he didn’t want her to wake up, find him gone, and freak out. He was pretty sure that she wouldn’t, given the conversation they’d already had. Regardless he wanted to make sure she was fed, prepared and happy before he left.
He quietly walked into his office and peeked into the closet. Cherry was asleep in her bed, almost entirely covered in the blankets. Most of her head was peeking out and he could see a smile on her face in the dim light. The blankets rose and fell with her steady breathing, and every now and then she let out a happy little noise as she slept. Jason watched her for a minute, marveling that she’d adjusted to easily. Marveling that she could be this happy in a strange place, with a human she barely knew, after all she’d been through in life. He felt like she deserved better than him. A family with a big house, maybe. A big house with a huge safe room full of the best toys, and a huge backyard where she could run around and explore. A family with kids who would give her all the attention and love she needed and had been missing her whole life.
Jason went and took a shower, then got dressed for work. He wasn’t one for big breakfasts; he tossed a couple of Pop Tarts in the toaster and checked the news while he ate. Once he was done he checked the time and found that he had a good half hour left before he needed to go to work.
“Daddeh?” Cherry’s sleepy voice called out from her safe room. “Daddeh am wakies?”
“Yeah, sweetie. I’ll be there in a minute.” He grabbed a measuring cup, filled it with kibble, and headed back to his office. Cherry was waiting for him, her fluff ruffled up, her eyes half-closed.
“Hewwo, daddeh,” she said, yawning. “Daddeh haf gud sweepies 'gain?”
“I did, thank you. Did you?” He leaned over the gate and poured the kibble into her empty bowl. He checked her water bottle; it was still mostly full from last night. It’d last the day, definitely.
“Chewwy haf gud sweepies, daddeh, fank yu fo askin.” She yawned again.
“Getting up first thing in the morning is hard, isn’t it?” Jason asked, grinning.
“Yus, daddeh. Chewwy nevah haf enuf sweepies. Wiww haf sweepies when daddeh am gone tu wowkies.”
“So you remember, then.”
“Chewwy wemembuh. Wiww miss daddeh, buh wiww pway an haf sweepies an wiww be otay.”
He reached down and lifted her up, holding her against his chest. He smoothed her fluff down with his free hand. “So, you were really careful yesterday. I’m starting to think that maybe you don’t really need a safe room. I was thinking maybe we’d test something out today.”
“Weawwy, daddah?” she asked, looking up at him. “Wha am test?”
“Well, I was thinking maybe I’d leave these gates down for the day and let you wander around the apartment. Maybe I could set some blankets up in the living room and leave FluffTV on so you could watch it when you’re not playing or sleeping.”
“Chewwy…can 'spwowe aww da housie whiwe daddeh am gone fo wowkies?”
“If you promise to be careful, and if you promise you’ll rush to the litterbox if you have to go poopies.”
The fluffy beamed at him. “Chewwy be su cawefuw, daddeh! Jus watch da teebee an onwy pway in safe woom, daddeh nu wowwy bout dat! Fank yu, daddeh!” She wriggled happily against his chest, excited that she was going to be able to wander freely around the small apartment.
Jason put her down and ruffled her mane. “Okay, girl. Let me get those blankets for you and get the TV set up. You’ll have plenty to do, and I’ll be back home before you know it.”
Twenty minutes later he left for work. As he shut the front door he peeked back in at Cherry. She was sprawled out in her impromptu blanket nest, staring with rapt attention at the fluffies playing on FluffTV. He smiled to himself and pulled the door closed, locking both locks. As he walked to his car he wondered if he was making a mistake. Could she possibly manage to stay safe all day? She didn’t seem like an overly clumsy fluffy, and she’d managed to survive out in a dangerous world for a while. Yeah, she’d probably be fine. His worry faded away, and he had an uneventful drive to work.
===
Jason got home a little after five. There weren’t any police cars in the parking lot, no angry neighbors standing outside waiting for him. Obviously Cherry had managed to stay relatively safe or, if she hadn’t, she’d at least managed to not be really loud with her failure. He was lost in thought as he climbed the stairs, finding that he actually wanted to hear how Cherry’s day had been. He knew it was going to be silly and repetitive, but he knew she was going to be excited to tell him all about it. It would make her happy. And after all she’d been through, he wanted to make her happy.
So as he turned the key in the deadbolt he wasn’t focusing on anything else around him. As he turned the key in the bottom lock he didn’t hear movement behind him. And as he turned the knob and pushed the door open slightly he didn’t hear the shuffling of feet.
Suddenly he was shoved from behind, hard. His face slammed into the door; the door was already swinging open, so it didn’t hurt too badly. It was more surprising than anything. As the door swung all the way open, the force from the shove made him stumble into his living room.
“What the fuck?” he asked, turning around. He tried to assume a defensive stance. He wasn’t quick enough.
Eddie’s fist connected with his stomach, hard. It drove all the wind out of him and he stumbled backwards, hands seeking something that he could use to steady himself. He finally reached the dining room table and stood there, doubled over, one hand on the table and one on his stomach. He was desperately trying to draw breath, but he couldn’t. His body wouldn’t move at all.
“Hey there, fuckface,” Eddie growled, closing the door behind him. “You think you can hit Candace, rough her up, and I’m not gonna do the same to you? Wrong. You’re in for some shit, buddy.”
Hit her? What the fuck is he talking about? He gasped for breath, desperate to ask Eddie precisely what the fuck was going on, but he couldn’t. His stomach hurt from the punch, and his chest was on fire as his body struggled to regain the ability to breathe. All he could do was clutch at himself and stare.
“MUNSTAH MISTAH NU HUWT DADDEH!” Cherry shouted from her blanket nest.
“Oh, there’s the little shitrat,” Eddie grinned. “I’ve been looking forward to this. You shit and pissed all over Candace, huh?”
“Wha? Wha munstah mistah tawkin bout?”
“What is it you little shitrats call it? Sorry poopies? Yeah, you made sorry poopies all over her. Well, here’s a little payback for you.”
Jason couldn’t do anything but watch as Eddie kicked Cherry in the side with enough force that she became airborne. Cherry screamed as she sailed through the air, then slammed into the wall. Jason heard a crack, then another crack as she fell to the floor. He couldn’t see her from where he was standing, but she wasn’t making any noise.
“Good, hope you’re fucking dead.” He turned to Jason. “Now, where were we?”
Suddenly Jason found that he was able to breathe again. He’d been scared and confused, but now he was angry. The world had been shitting on him pretty much nonstop lately, but he’d finally found a creature that cared about him and wanted him to be happy. Now she was probably dead, and the guy who’d been fucking his girlfriend was the one who did it. It hadn’t been enough for Eddie to take Jason’s girlfriend; he had to take Jason’s fluffy, too. The adrenaline hit his system like a freight train. He took a deep breath and stood up straight, balling his hands into fists.
“Oh, you think you can fight me?” Eddie asked, laughing. “You’re a fucking pathetic…”
Everything after that was a blur. Jason was aware that he was doing things, but everything happened so quickly that it all just melted together. He knew that Eddie was hitting him, but he didn’t feel any pain. At some point he realized that Eddie wasn’t hitting him anymore. Then, as the fog cleared and everything swam into focus again, he saw why. Eddie was on the ground, slumped against the front door. His nose was clearly broken, and there was redness around his right eye that was probably going to turn into a really nasty shiner.
“The fuck,” Eddie mumbled. “The fuck you do, how’d you do, what…huh?” He wasn’t speaking coherently.
Jason immediately rushed over to Cherry. Blood was trickling out of her mouth and she wasn’t moving at all. One of her front legs was bent at an unnatural angle; the bone wasn’t poking out, but it was clearly badly broken.
“CHERRY!” he shouted, kneeling beside her. “Oh fuck, Cherry, please be okay.” He reached down to touch her side; she was still breathing. She coughed a little, then moved her head very slightly. She couldn’t turn her head or look up at him.
“Chewwy…su s-s-sowwy, d-daddeh. T-twy stahp m-munst…” She coughed again. “W-wuv d-daddeh. Sowwy fo f-f-fowe…fowevah swee…sweepies.” She went still again, but continued to breathe. As he felt her side he could feel the breathing slowing down.
“YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!” he shouted, standing and stalking over to Eddie. “YOU FUCKING KILLED CHERRY!”
“Fucking shitrat deserves it.” He was struggling to stand up, but his legs were wobbly. “You deserve it too, you abusive piece of shit.”
“What the FUCK are you talking about?”
“You know.”
“No, I DON’T fucking know. Enlighten me.”
“You beat the shit out of Candace, then let your little shitrat shit and piss all over her legs. You deserve…”
“THAT’S A FUCKING LIE!” Jason shouted, balling his hands into fists again. Eddie noticed and flinched.
“No, it’s not,” Eddie insisted. But there was a hint of doubt in his voice.
“Have you seen her? She says I hit her. Did she show you these supposed bruises?”
“Well, no. She said she didn’t want me to see her like that, all bruised up and ugly and…”
“You fucking idiot. She doesn’t want you to see her because SHE’S NOT HURT. She’s lying. I didn’t do shit to her, and Cherry didn’t do shit to her. You fucking moron, you’ve been banging her behind my back for how long now?”
“I, uh…a while.” He hung his head, ashamed.
“So you know she’s a lying, manipulative bitch. She’s been lying to us both for how fucking long? Now she tells you another lie and you just believe her without even asking for proof, and you’re ready to kill me and my fluffy because SOME FUCKING LYING BITCH TOLD YOU TO?”
“Oh, Christ,” Eddie whispered as the reality hit him.
“Yeah. You just murdered my fucking fluffy for NO REASON. And you’re lucky you didn’t kill me. But I tell you what, man. I’m not done with you yet. Cherry was the only one who’s given a shit about me in a long goddamned time, and now she’s gone. That’s on you. I’ve got nothing to lose at this point, really. Shit, you know what? When Cherry found me I was seriously considering killing myself. I was ready to eat a bullet. Right now that seems like a pretty good idea again. I’ve got jack shit to live for. But you know what? Before I do, I think maybe I’ll make sure you never fucking walk again.”
“Goddamn, man, no!” Eddie managed to get to his feet and reached for the doorknob. He’d never seen Jason like this before. He was hurt, surprised, and actually scared. “I’m fucking sorry! I’m sorry!”
Then, as Jason got ready to swing again, he heard Cherry’s tiny, pained voice.
“D…daddeh? Hewp, daddeh.”
“Jesus Christ, she’s alive,” Eddie sighed with relief.
“Get your car,” Jason said, his voice strong with barely controlled rage. “You’re driving us to the emergency vet. You’re paying for whatever they need to do to make her better again. If you don’t, I’m going to make you regret it.”
“Y…yeah, man. Okay. Yeah, okay, that sounds fair.”
“It’s more than fucking fair. The alternative is that I do to you what you did to her.”
Eddie didn’t even respond; he rushed out the door and went running down the stairs. Jason hurried over and picked Cherry up as gently as he could, placing her in a blanket and wrapping it around her protectively. Her eyes were barely open, and she didn’t protest at the pain; she was clearly in shock.
“Hold on, girl,” Jason said. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”
“Huwt, daddeh. Su hu…huwties.” She sighed and closed her eyes.
“Just hold on. Please, please hold on.”
===
“Sir?”
Jason looked up from his phone. The vet was standing there in front of him. The look on her face betrayed nothing. He stood up.
“How is she?”
“She’ll make it,” the vet said. “A couple of cracked ribs and a broken leg. No internal damage. She bit her tongue, that’s why there was blood in her mouth. Nothing too deep. Say what you will about fluffies, but one good thing is that they heal fast.”
“Just tell me what I need to do for her and I’ll do it.”
The vet smiled. “Make sure she takes it really easy. No playing for a few weeks, minimum. The ribs will heal first, and once that’s done she’ll be able to do some light playing until the leg’s fully healed. She’ll have to be careful.”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. She…she’s a really chill fluffy.”
“That’s good. I want to see her once a week for checkups, and we’ll go from there.”
“Can I see her?”
“Yeah, of course. Follow me.”
Jason turned to Eddie, who looked relieved. “I’ll be right back.”
Eddie nodded. “Sure, man. Look, I…I’m really fucking sorry, okay? For everything.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“I am. I’m done with Candace, okay? Fuck her. I’ll take care of your fluffy’s bills here, like I promised. But do you think maybe, I dunno…you think maybe we might be okay again at some point?”
“Maybe. I doubt it, but we’ll see.” Jason turned and followed the vet, who was patiently waiting at the door to the exam room. He followed her and closed the door behind them.
Cherry was lying on the table, a cast on her right front leg. Bandages were wrapped around her body, protecting her cracked ribs. She looked pathetic, fluff shaved off of her broken leg, fluff shaved off even beyond the bandages. She lifted her head just a little bit and looked up at Jason. Despite everything that had happened, she smiled. Just a little, but still. A smile was a smile.
“Hewwo, daddeh.” She sighed; speaking clearly took effort. “Am…am daddeh otay?”
“Are you serious? I thought you were dead, and you’re asking if I’M okay?”
“Yus. Wuv daddeh. Daddeh am otay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. The guy who hurt you, he barely touched me. You’re going to have to take it easy for a while, okay? You’re going to be okay.” There were tears in his eyes; with one hand he wiped them away as he reached out to scratch behind Cherry’s ears with the other hand.
“Nu be saddies. Daddeh otay. Chewwy otay.” She was keeping her words short and clipped, and her breathing was strained.
“Stop talking for now, okay? We’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay. I love you, girl.”
“Wuv daddeh tu.”
===
There was a knock at the door.
Cherry looked up from Jason’s lap and stared curiously. “Daddeh? Fwiend at da doow?”
“Who do you think it is, girl?” he asked.
“Chewwy nu knu. Daddeh knu?”
“Yeah, daddy knows. You wanna find out?”
“Yus, daddeh! Wan see fwiend!”
Jason lifted her out of his lap and placed her on the floor. She ran over to the door as quickly as she could. Her leg had healed cleanly, and she only had the slightest of limps. It wasn’t enough to hold her back from playing. Jason took her to the local fluffy park twice a week where she ran and played for hours. She’d made a lot of new friends, including a blue and white pegasus named Kramer. Kramer’s owner was a really nice girl named Crystal who, as it turned out, developed a quick crush on Jason. They’d been seeing each other for a couple of months, and it was looking like something that might last.
“WHO DEWE?” Cherry shouted through the door.
“Food delivery,” a deep voice said.
“Chewwy nu knu dat voicie! Who dat? Who am dat?”
“Food, uh, delivery guy, I guess?” The deep voice suddenly wasn’t so deep anymore.
Jason walked over and opened the door, revealing Eddie. Eddie had a big paper takeout bag in one hand. He was smiling.
“UNCA EDDIE!” Cherry shouted, running up to him and hugging his leg. “Su gud to see Unca Eddie!”
“Hey there, girl! Good to see you!” He turned and looked at Jason. “You too, buddy.”
“Yeah, good to see you,” Jason said. You bring a bribe? Not that you need it. She fuckin’ loves you no matter what you bring."
“I appreciate that. But I MIGHT have brought something good. I MIGHT have brought…sketties!”
“UNCA EDDIE BWING CHEWWY SKETTIES 'GAIN?”
“It’s the least I can do, yeah. I owe you a lifetime of sketties.”
“FANK YU, UNCA EDDIE! COME IN DA HOUSIE!” She trotted back inside, and Eddie followed and shut the door.
While Cherry dug into the sketties in the kitchen, Jason and Eddie caught up. Candace had managed to get herself into some trouble. She’d been acting as a middleman for her boyfrind, helping him sell some pretty heavy drugs. She’d bring it all to work and he’d send his clients in as customers, and Candace would give them the drugs with whatever they bought from the store. Management might not have caught her if she hadn’t also been stealing money, too. A couple of weeks’ worth of camera footage later and she was snitching on her boyfriend in exchange for as little time in prison as possible. She quickly found out that her boyfriend was working for some very dangerous people. People who didn’t like snitches. They didn’t kill her, but they hurt her badly enough that she recanted and wound up taking a plea deal without implicating her boyfriend in any way. From what Eddie heard she’d never walk right again, and she’d be in prison for a good long while.
“You still seeing your doc?” Eddie asked.
Jason nodded. “Dr. Kirkland, yeah. He got me an appointment pretty fast after I called him. He was glad I wanted help again. Glad I wanted to get back on the meds.”
“And your depression?”
“I have my days, you know? Most are good. Some aren’t that great, but the meds help.” He glanced over at Cherry, who was licking the styrofoam container clean of sketti sauce. “She helps, too.”
“She’s a really good fluffy.”
“Hell yeah, she really is. Best thing that could have happened to me at the time, you know? Shit, we wouldn’t be friends right now if it weren’t for her.”
“I can’t believe she likes me,” Eddie said, watching her as she licked the sauce off of her snout, oblivious to the humans who were talking about her.
“She’s really forgiving. I know you think I’m joking, but I’m serious when I say she’s the one who insisted that I invite you over that first time. After she’d healed up. She wanted to make sure you knew that she’d forgiven you. And I think that deep down she wanted to help heal our friendship, too.”
“Thanks, man. Both of you. I’m really glad we were able to patch things up.”
“Me too.”
Cherry came trotting over and propped her front legs up on Eddie’s knee. He reached down and lifted her into his lap; she flopped over and looked up at him, grinning.
“Fank yu fo da sketties, Unca Eddie. Chewwy wuvoo.”
“I…I love you too, Cherry.”
“Nao Unca Eddie teww Chewwy bout how day haf been, an Chewwy teww Unca Eddie how Chewwy day haf been!”
So he did, and she did, and Jason chimed in every now and then. They sat, they talked, they laughed. Jason and Eddie ordered pizza for dinner, and Cherry sat between them while they ate and giggled as they fed her pieces of pepperoni and bits of crust. Cherry curled up in Eddie’s lap while they watched a movie, but halfway through she woke up, snuck over to Jason’s side of the couch, and flopped into his lap. She rested her head on his knee and didn’t even look up as she yawned.
“Wuvoo, daddeh.”
“I love you too, Cherry.”
She fell asleep in his lap, and the friends watched the rest of the movie in happy silence.
Everything was, in the end, pretty damn good.