A Stubby, Furry Tale by Angela Penfold

"You've got a lot to answer for you know."

Vin shot Chris an angry look, eyes flashing beneath lowered brows. "Me cowboy? No way. I didn't even think there was anythin' wrong with it." The tracker's frown deepened, concentration furrowing his brow as he fought to keep his grip on the small, furry creature that he held in his palms. "Definitely didn't think it needed an enema."

"I didn't suggest it either," Chris said indignantly. "It was Buck's idea to give Rex the damn thing."

"What?" The soft exclamation came from the doorway, a totally unexpected direction for both of the men in the room. Almost in tandem they jumped. Chris and Vin turned on the couch, starring at the child standing before them. Confusion shone in Billy's eyes, his frown as deep as Vin's. "What are you doing to Rex?"

"Wait, Billy, we can explain." The two moved as one again, hands loosening on their burdens, allowing the tiny rubber tube and the hamster to plop onto the floor. Before Vin could make a grab for the animal, Rex was scurrying out of reach and under the couch.

Chris held his hands out as if he could keep the boy quiet with them. "Billy!" It was too late though. A child's scream filled the air. "Mom!"

Agreeing to take care of Rex the hamster had been a mistake from the start. He'd refused coldly a half dozen times, tiny rodents just weren't his thing. Things never went to plan though. Mary and Billy had turned up at the ranch, cage and animal supplies in arms. Trying to refuse again was proving nigh on impossible, especially with Billy pouting and the cafe looking like it was going to knock him on his ass any moment. Begrudgingly Chris stepped back and let them into the hallway.

"Thought you'd finally got used to the idea that I'm not doing this."

She set down the paperbag and pushed her blonde locks back from her face. "I did, but Chris we're leaving tomorrow and I haven't found anyone else to take care of it. We can't leave Rex on his own for a week and it's too late to cancel the tickets. I really need you to--"

Chris smiled wryly and held up a hand to stave off the tyrade. "Wait a minute. I thought J.D. said he'd handle this for you."

"No," Mary wailed. Her pale eyes were wide and anxious as she lifted the cage out of Billy's arms and cradled it against her own chest. "Casey's got her hands on backstage passes for that Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Austin and they've decided to make a romantic weekend of it and spend four days down there. Buck and Ezra turned their noses up at the idea, said something about their lady friends not appreciating little furry things. Josiah's going on some retreat and I can't get hold of Nathan or Vin. Chris, you're my last hope."

Heck, if it didn't look as though he'd be saddled with the hamster sitting duties, Chris wouldn't have blamed the others, but at that moment he just considered them all total assholes. "There's no one else that you could dump it on?"

Shaking her head, Mary stepped closer. It looked like Chris was caving in finally. "No one. It'll just be seven days Larabee. We cleaned Rex out this afternoon, so you'll only have to do it once while we're gone. He needs fresh food and water every other day. You won't even have to hold the cute little guy. Plus he'll be some company for you."

Larabee had never been a sucker but his determination had faded under the onslaught. Only a blind man would be able to resist the pleading in Billy's big eyes. "You can stop buttering me up."

"You're going to look after Rex?" Billy asked hopefully.

"Just for a week and just this once." Before Chris could hold up his hands in surrender, the boy had thrown himself at Chris's denim clad thighs and clung to him.

"Thank you! We'll bring you back the best gift in the whole of Disneyland."

Reaching down, Chris awkwardly patted Billy's back while smiling wryly. "Better not be a pair of mouse ears."

Mary was more than satisfied as she set the hamster cage down on the hall table. "Those we're saving for Mr Standish." When Billy finally relinquished his hold on Chris, she took her son's hand and led him to the door. "Have fun, we'll see you in a week." As the door shut behind the two, Chris got a sinking feeling, he had an idea that taking care of the hamster wouldn't be as simple as it sounded.

It was far too easy for a man to become complacent. Six days of hamster sitting with simple food and water changes and just one slight mishap during the big cage clean had lulled Chris into a false sense of security. Once Ezra had cleaned the stain from his suit, even he'd taken to the little guy. The team'd taken to stopping by the ranch with treats of all kinds, the cage was practically littered with them. Rex insisted on running round with his cheeks full, looked like he was going to go home with the size he'd come.

The hamster was busy cleaning a swollen cheek pouch when Chris arrived back with Vin in tow. It'd been an exhausting day, struggling through a delapidated apartment building on a raid, but there Rex was, breaking off cleaning his face to rush to the side of the cage. His pouch was grossly overstuffed but his whiskers were twitching and his eyes were practically bulging with excitement anyway.

"We've spoilt him." Bending close to the cage, Vin smiled at the hamster. Damn cute animal and impossible to resist. "Got anythin' to give him?"

"He doesn't need anything," Chris murmured dryly. "Look at how much he's already got in his face, he'll burst." That didn't stop Chris reaching for the peanuts he'd left in a mound next to the cage. He held one delicately between his fingers and offered it through the bars. Rex stepped forward and sniffed but almost as soon as he had the peanut in his paws, he dropped it. Another try yielded the same result.

Vin straightened up and raised his brows. "Well that's a first."

No kidding. Frowning deeply, Chris grabbed another peanut. "He's probably just full."

The tracker's brows hitched higher as he watched the animal. "Then why ain't he just putting them in his store? Hamsters are like Casey, they're natural hoarders, they store practically all the food you give them."

But not this time, Rex just kept tossing the peanuts aside. "Maybe it's just the nuts he doesn't want right now." He wasn't going to start worrying, he told himself, until the animal did more than just refuse a little treat. "If he keeps refusing stuff then we'll just call the vet. I know it's pretty drastic but if the hamster dies I know who'll get the blame."

"I'll get a grape, he loves those." Leaving Chris cage-side, Vin headed for the kitchen.

"What's wrong buddy?" Chris cooed softly. Christ, if anyone heard him like this they'd think he'd lost his mind. He flipped open the hatch in the top of the cage, easier access if they needed it.

When Vin returned with the fruit, Rex was on his hind legs in the centre of the cage, sniffing at the hand Chris had slid through the cage door. His attention waned fast though when the two men changed places and a grape appeared in front of his twitching nose. Rex turned tail and shuffled off to his bed.

Chris sighed resignedly and dragged his hands over his face. "It's official then, I've made the thing ill."

"You don't know that, cowboy," Vin murmured. He shut the hatch on the cage and leaned a hip against the table. "Anything could've happened. We'll just call a vet and ask a few questions."

"Look like I'm totally incompetent," Chris said dryly. "Have fun she said. Well this ain't fun, it's humiliating."

The tracker smiled as he reached for the phone. "Only 'cause it'd show you care about the little guy."

"Buck gets word about this and I'll never hear the end of it." Then Chris's head rose, a smile easing away the worry lines. "Buck had the things as a kid, used them to scare little girls. Forget the vet and call Buck instead." The embarrassment factor was going to be far higher but he wouldn't be prosecuted for animal cruelty or anything.

Vin cut off the dial tone and then began dialling again. "Whatever you say."

The phone rang six times before it was finally snatched up at the other end. "Buck Wilmington's residence. How can the prince of pleasure serve you today?"

"Buck, it's Vin. We've got a problem with Rex."

Buck struggled upright in bed, easing a redhead away from his shoulder. "What happened? You guys give the hamster a little too much freedom and he's escaped into the barn?"

"I wish," Vin muttered. His mouth settled in a grim line as he looked up at Chris. "He's refusing all the treats we've tried givin' him. Cheek looks real swollen too."

"Is that all you called me for?" Buck asked with a chuckle. "His cheek pouches are probably just full. He'll empty them in his own time."

"This is more than full, Buck, it's definitely swollen and just on one side."

Letting out a sigh of his own, Buck dragged a hand through his dark hair. "Probably impacted then."

Vin's lips twisted in disbelief. It was a word he'd heard before and the images running through his mind at that moment weren't pleasant. "Impacted? You mean like his bowel?!"

A wave of nausea rushed through Chris's stomach. Worried green eyes drifted from Vin's hand worrying at the tracker's abdomen to the tiny animal in its cage. If what Buck was saying was true then this sounded nasty and serious.

At the other end of the phone, Buck was grinning. He'd meant that the hamster's cheek pouch was impacted, its store of food stuck there but Vin's interpretation was far funnier. He laid a hand on his stomach, trying to keep the laughter down. "Yeah, probably just a little constipated. He'll be just fine after an enema. Can do it at home. Get the equipment together, some warm water, a tube, and I'll be there in an hour." He scrambled to get the phone down before the dam broke and the roar of laughter flew free. Rex was in for some fun.

The tracker was far more sedate. A grim light filled his eyes as he put the phone down and looked at an anxious Chris. "Buck says we've gotta give Rex a hamster enema. He's impacted. I don't see how that'd make his face swell but Buck knows what he's doing." He arched a dark brow. "Right?"

For the next five minutes they just sat and watched. As irrational as it was Chris's eyes kept darting to the corner of the room, expecting to see the shadow of death, the grim reaper himself come to take Rex away. Impaction sounded so serious, heck any trouble to do with bowels was both icky and deeply worrying. Animal medicine was improving every day but there were some things that could never be curable. Treatments were available for colic now, horses could be saced when they came down with it but sometimes, no matter if you fought it till you were on the brink of collapse, an animal just died. It was russian roulette and Chris didn't want to play.

"Maybe we should start getting that stuff together for Buck."

"I guess," Chris murmured. His attention finally shifted away from the hamster and to his friend. "I keep thinking I did something wrong, gave him food he shouldn't have and now the poor thing's gotta have tubes shoved where they shouldn't go."

Even white teeth knawed at Vin's lower lip. "This wasn't your fault, cowboy. One little tube and some TLC and Rex'll be jus' fine." He patted Larabee's shoulder and stood up. "I'll get some warm water, how about you go lookin' for a tube."

Chris smiled wryly and got to his feet. "Right, I always keep a hamster enema kit in the medicine cabinet for emergencies. What the hell are we going to use?"

Smiling enigmatically, Vin headed towards the kitchen. "Improvise, it's gotta be done cowboy."

Right. Compared to this taking down an AK-47 wielding militia member was simple. He had to do it though, for the little guy. Letting out a deep sigh, Chris walked down the hall and into the bathroom. If he couldn't find a straw or something, then there should at least be some sort of medical tubing around somwhere. He'd recovered from enough injuries at home to have an entire medical store room spread out around the place.

The pickings were thin though, a tiny pipette used for cleaning out ears, a couple of syringes and very little else. The idea of sticking a needle into an animal was more than he could stomach, it was almost as big as Rex was. There had to be something else they could use, something far less invasive, less painful. Abandoning the stuff he'd found, he reached beneath the sink for the first aid kit, however unlikely it was that he'd find anything useful in it. There should've been IV equipment all over the place, he hated the things but they were practically a constant in his life. He could barely beleive that now he actually wanted one of the damn things he couldn't find one.

Vin's lean frame appeared at the door as Chris wrestled the green plastic box open. "Got some warm water and a bowl waiting on the coffee table. You got the tube?"

Chris shook his head, his expression still grim. "Can't find a tube, nearest thing I've got don't look like it'll do the job." Growling in frustration, he dragged his hands through his hair. "What the hell happened to all those IV lines?"

"You threw 'em out." Amusement tugged at the corners of the tracker's mouth as he propped himself against the door frame.

Chris peered at him, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "You're kidding," he said dryly.

Vin shook his head and the smile grew. "Nope. After you finally got rid of it after that trouble in Georgia, you threw the lot out. Told us if you saw another one you'd burn it."

"Great." His own distaste for the medical equipment had definitely come back to bite him in the ass. "I threw them all out?"

The smile turned smug and Vin stood upright, jerking a thumb down the hall. "All except the one we hid for emergencies. Had to figure you'd get yourself banged up again eventually, cowboy."

"So you kept one from me in my own house?" Chris asked incredulously. He stepped forward, hands planted on his lean hips.

Vin knew better than to stand his ground when Larabee was this tense. The grin was still in place as he backed up down the hall, past Chris's bedroom door. "It's on the top shelf of the linen closet, under that blanket Casey got you last christmas. Figured you'd never go near that ugly thing again."

He was damn right, Chris thought. The gift had been hideous, slime green cowboy hats woven onto a cheery fuschia and turquoise background. He didn't have the heart to throw it out but looking at the thing for more than five minutes made him feel sick. "Once we get that animal sorted out, I'm going to do a sweep of this place, that wouldn't be the only thing you guys had hidden from me."

"Later," Vin called over his shoulder. He'd turned and was now heading towards the linen closet. "Right now, I'll get the IV line and you can let Buck in."

Frowning deeply, Chris stared at the front door. No one there. "He's not here yet, there's no one at the door and no one's rung the ..." Knuckles rapped against the glass panels of the kitchen door, the sound echoing out into the hallway. Lowered brows rose, amazement filling Larabee's green eyes. "How the hell do you do that?"

As Vin tugged open the closet, he glanced at Chris and smiled. "Keen ears, cowboy, keen ears."

"And a smug attitude to match." Shaking his head, Chris walked into the kitchen. He wouldn't change his friend for the world though. For a moment the familiar silhouettes behind the shaded glass didn't register. If Buck'd bought his latest lady friend along for show and tell there were going to be some damn harsh words later. As he swung the door open, the reality proved itself to be far worse.

"The doc and his assistant have arrived. Lead the way to the patient," Buck crooned. Rubbing his hands together, Buck stepped past his oldest friend and into the kitchen, leaving Ezra to follow.

Chris nodded warily and flashed the men a tight smile. "Buck, Ezra."

"Mr Larabee." Wearing what was supposed to be an innocent smile the size of Texas, Ezra smoothed a hand over the well cut grey suit he wore. He moved past Chris and waited for the door to close before speaking. "I believe you require my condolences and rather immense skills during what must be an incredibly emotional time for you."

"Ezra, just get into the living room."

"Now, now Mr Larabee," Ezra purred. He leaned closer to the cage, practically nose to nose with Rex through the bars. "Appears that your diminuitive friend has a rather distressing ailment."

Chris smiled wryly, hands rising to rest on his lean hips. "Thanks for the news flash." The problems with Rex were more than obvious to all of them, especially with the animal looking so listless in his cage.

"What are you doin' here anywhere, Ezra?"

The gambler shot Vin an almost smug grin. "Our esteemed veterinarian wannabe, Mr Wilmington, decided you both may have been in need of my calming influence."

"He phoned just as I was heading out," Buck explained. Leaning forward, he finally took charge and lifted the cage off of the table and carried it towards the couch. Buck settled down and placed the cage next to him. In seconds he had the hatch open and Rex sitting neatly in his hands.

Grim lines deepened to furrows in Chris's brow. He stalked across the room and settled uneasily on the other end of the sofa. "Doesn't mean you had to invite him to the party, Buck."

Buck's eyes twinkled beneath dark brows, his smile bright. "He wanted the phone number of that redhead I saw a couple of weeks ago, Deirdra. Had to tell him why I was in such a rush to get off the phone and once he heard, well you know Ezra." Pouting slightly, he held Rex up in front of his eyes, staring at the twitching furry nose now only inches from his own. "Hey buddy, how you feelin'?"

Chris let out a long breath. Any other time Ezra's jibes would've been shot down with some witty repartee or a cocky grin, in this case though, it was all flowing right through him, he'd deal with it later. "He is impacted right? You're going to help him?"

"Sure," Buck murmured. He traced a fingertip over Rex's swollen cheek, feeling the hard curve beneath the animal's skin. Cupping Rex in both palms again, he looked up, glancing back and forth between Vin and Chris. "You manage to get all the stuff we needed? A tube, some warm water?"

A wave of nausea burnt Chris's stomach and throat, stealing away his voice. It was left to Vin to nod and gesture to the items gathered on the coffee table. "Got that last IV pack we had hidden from Chris, figure we can replace that later, before he needs another one."

"You're really going to insert that?" Chris croaked hoarsely. Concerned green eyes settled on the coil of IV line. It was small but compared to the size of the hamster it still looked as though it'd hurt like hell. Torture was what it seemed like, torturing a poor, ill, defenceless animal.

Innocence shone in Buck's eyes. That should've been enough right there to make them suspicious, but concern clouded their recognition of the mischief that lurked beneath the surface. "Have to, you just gotta remember how much better he'll be feeling after this buddy. I even came prepared."

This time there was no mistaking the sparkle in Buck's smile as he reached into his pocket and removed a tube of lubricating jelly. The three around him grimaced, Chris even went as far as to shake his head and hold up his hands in surrender. "I don't wanna know why you had a tube of that just hanging around."

"Deirdra," Buck explained with a smug grin. Glancing in Ezra's direction, he chuckled softly. "That woman's an animal behind closed doors."

Perfectly coiffeured brows rose. At least to Ezra's credit he didn't start drooling on the spot. The woman had been stunning enough to look at, hearing about her bedroom exploits was enough to raise her to goddess status. "You daring not to share her phone number will have you nape deep in a living nightmare."

"It's yours, it's yours," Buck muttered. "I'm more than happy with her sister." The top of the lube hit the table and Buck began squeezing liberal amounts of jelly onto the tube. "Ezra, why don't you take this." He carefully handed Rex across to the squirming gambler. Out of the seven of them, Ezra had always been the least comfortable holding the animal, it hadn't helped that Rex had endeared himself by peeing all over a rather expensive suit. It was all part of Buck's fun though, including the frown that suddenly cut across Chris's brow.

Laying a hand on Chris's shoulder, Vin tried to ease his friend's ruffled feathers, but the touch was shrugged off and Larabee stood. "I should hold him, he'll be calmer with me, he knows me better."

"I don't think so, cowboy," Buck said softly, struggling to hide his grin. He focused serious eyes on his oldest friend. "Rex'll sense you gettin' all tense and he'll just struggle more. Take a seat again and let ol' Buck deal with this." He turned away and lifted the IV, a blob of lube ready on the fingertips of his other hand. "You ready there, Ezra?"

The gambler nodded, uneasily glancing down at the tiny animal struggling in his palms. "Fire away, and Mr Wilmington, I strongly advise you to insert that equipment into the correct orifice."

Buck grinned as he parted the heels of Ezra's hands. "Trust me, I watch all those vet shows." He dabbed the jelly on and then slowly touched the tube to the hamster's back end. Rex's hind legs stiffened and even though nothing had been inserted, all hell broke loose.

A squeak and then a shrill cry filled the air. "Holy mother of christ! YEOWWW!" Ezra's hands show apart, letting Rex fall into Buck's waiting hands and revealing the deep set of teethmarks in Ezra's thumb. Dark blood welled in the wound and the gambler whimpered.

Ezra clamped his other hand over the bite and glared at the animal now scampering across Buck's guarded lap. "The damned creature bit me," he muttered indignantly. "I'll be lucky if I don't end up requiring a rabies shot. That creature could've infected me with a hundred different varities of bacteria."

"Doubt it." A grim smiled appeared on Vin's lips as he tossed a gauze pad down into Ezra's hands.

In stark contrast to the downcast mood of the room, Buck was grinning. He picked Rex up to stroke a finger along the hamster's soft back. "I'd be worried 'bout the infection traveling the other way. Poor Rex here could've picked up somethin' nasty from you." Looking up, Buck focused on the bleeding man. "Didn't that secretary mention something about a VD clinic last month?"

Anger immediately clouded Ezra's face, darkening his pampered cheeks. "If it were one of your lady friends in question I might have had to worry about you having passed on some rather unmentionable malady but I can assure you all that Calleigh was a pure southern lady. Anyone would think you were distracting us from this... this attack on purpose Mr Wilmington." He cocked his head to one side, scrubbing at a spot of scarlet blood on his cuff. "I wouldn't classify this as an unfortunate accident. It was damned deliberate." His eyes were hard as they focused on Buck. "Otherwise you wouldn't have asked me to hold that... that ... that thing."

"That thing," Chris hissed, "is a defenseless little animal, Ezra. Did you choke him? Squeeze him too hard? You've gotta be gentle."

"Partner." Leaning close, Vin gripped Chris's arm and drew him back down onto the couch. "Wasn't Ezra's fault. Don't imagine I'd like a tune like that inserted where that was going." He turned, attention shifting to a grinning Wilmington. "Buck, don't keep pushin' him. You know he gets wound up. Ezra, head for the bathroom, clean that up while they give it another go."

For a moment it looked like Ezra was going to stand his ground, his cheeks still crimson with anger. Vin's brows hitched higher, daring the bloodstained man to put up a fuss. It wasn't like Vin Tanner was a forceful man but when that hard light entered his eyes, you knew better than to argue.

"I'm still likely to need vaccinations," Ezra muttered begrudgingly. He cast one last venemous look in Buck's direction, then he stalked off to the bathroom.

"Won't be so snippy once he calms down." Buck made kissy faces at the hamster, smiled as Rex sniffed at his moustache.

Shaking his head, Vin crouched next to the coffee table. "Don't think Ezra'll cool down so easy this time."

"Wasn't talkin' about him," Buck said smugly. "Rex'll be the one calming down, he's not even squirming now."

Chris reached out and gently touched the animal's side. "You think he'll bite again if we give it another try? I don't want him suffering any longer than he has to."

Shrugging, Buck handed Rex over to his worried hamster-sitter. "Let's see what happens." As if it wasn't obvious that there'd be a frantic repeat performance the second a tube went near Rex again. "Hold him tight, 'specially round the shoulders." He held out his hand and Vin placed the rubber tube into it.

This was it, round two and hopefully the end of the battle. Carefully Chris closed his hands around the squirming animal, bracketing Rex's shoulders with his fingers. Doing this felt so awkward, kicked his guilt into gear. As soon as it was over, he'd make it up to Rex somehow, a treat, a long run around the room, a mini BMW and a lady hamster to party with. "Ready," he said softly.

"If he bites, just keep holding." Suppressing his grin once more, Buck closed his hand around Chris's to get a grip. He'd repeat what he'd done with Ezra, only this time, just as the tube touched Rex, he'd manipulate the impacted cheek pouch and pop out the trapped food. The tube eased forward, the tip gently brushing against Rex's underside.

Before Buck could put the rest of his plan into action, Rex exploded, bucking as hard as he could to escape. With reflexes faster than Ezra's, Chris let go, hoping Rex would simply drop into his lap. Rex had other ideas though, he remained dangling in the air, teeth firmly embedded in the web of skin between Buck's thumb and forefinger. Rather than bellowing, Buck had simply drained of all colour, leaving him as pale as milk, that was until gravity took hold.

There was no way flesh could hold the weight of a hamster for too long. In time to the waves of whimpers leaving Buck's lips, Rex slowly dropped, taking a shred of flesh with him. Buck was immediately on his feet, hand clamped around the blood slicked torn flesh. This wasn't a band-aid fixable job.

"Looks like my trip to our wonderful emergency room will not be a solo one." Grinning broadly, Ezra swaggered back into the room, a bandaid temporarily patching his finger. Then he trailed Buck towards the door. "Our miniscule companion voice his dislike of you too, Mr Wilmington?"

Buck struggled to tear the door open, then turned, murder in his eyes. "Ezra, get outside and start that car." He elbowed the gambler outside, backing out after him. "Chris, get that animal to a damn vet. I'm not touching him again." Leaving the door open, Buck disappeared, the slamming of the car door and the brief buzz of the engine that retreated into silence spelling their departure.

"Well that was a mess." Sighing deeply, Vin turned back to Chris. "We heading to the vet now, cowboy?"

Gently, Chris stroked a hand over Rex's back. When he looked up and shook his head, there was a grim determination in his green eyes. "No, we're doing this ourselves. Vin, sit down and grab that tube."

It wasn't just an embarrassing hamster-sitting screw-up now. Things had gone from bad to worse and the situation was now bordering on total tragedy. Billy's badly timed return had sent the whole thing into meltdown. With the child's yells still filling the house, Chris burst into action.

"Billy, Billy! It's okay, Rex is okay, come back." He scrambled over the back of the couch and dashed for the door. Behind him, Vin dropped to his knees, trying to ease a hand close to Rex.

Panic filled Chris's throat, made his steps almost uncertain as he pushed through the doorway. They hadn't been due back yet, not for at least a day. By that time Rex should've been on the road to recovery, impaction all cleared up, yet the chain of mishaps was just getting longer and longer.

By the time Chris reached the front door, left open by Buck -- thanks Wilmington -- Billy was halfway down the driveway. All that could be seen of Mary was a pair of long, denim clad legs emerging from the trunk of her station wagon. As Chris watched in horror, Billy threw back his head and wailed again. "Mommy!"

Mary drew back, long blonde braid and perplexed expression coming into view as she stepped away from the car. "Billy, I thought you were going inside with Chris's gift."

"I did. Mommy, Chris and Vin had Rex and a tube nearly going into his belly."

"What?" Raising a brow, Mary looked over her son's head, questioning eyes fixing Chris to the spot. "Chris? What was going on?"

He gulped, it felt like the air surrounding him was suddenly draining of oxygen, becoming thin, making him light headed. Chris shifted his weight, hands rising in a gesture of surrender. "Mary, there's something I need to explain."

"About what?" Stepping forward, Mary frowned, laying one arm around her son's narrow shoulders. "Animal cruelty, Chris?"

The frown was deep and immediate. "No!" Chris stepped forward, his muscles finally loosening. He stopped a foot away from the pair and sighed deeply. Hands settled on his lean hips, shoulders hunched in shame. "Rex's face was swollen this morning, just on one side. I called Buck and he thought Rex was probably impacted. He's been fighting the enema all afternoon."

"Enema?!" Blue eyes opened wide as the single word squeeked from Mary's lips. "Please tell me you didn't manage it." Oh lord, poor animal. Mary squeezed Billy's shoulders, glad he hadn't learnt the meaning of the word yet.

Shaking his head, Chris sighed again. "No. We were just going to give it one more try before we took him to the vet. We should've done that before the hamster developed a taste for human flesh, but we all figured we could manage this ourselves."

Ths smile tugged at the corners of Mary's mouth. "Rex bit you when you tried to insert the tube? I wouldn't blame him."

"Not me," Chris said dryly. "Rex took lumps out of Buck and Ezra before they lit out of here."

"Couldn't think of better men for it to happen too." Especially since Buck had pulled such a sick joke on them all. Grinning broadly, Mary led Billy past a slightly confused Chris. "Let's get inside. Billy can give you your present while I take a look at Rex."

"Sure." Chris followed the pair back through the door, shutting it behind him this time.

Vin looked over the back of the couch as they walked into the living room. His fingers stilled around the hamster, eyes uncertain when Mary crossed the room and sat beside him. She smiled softly and scooped Rex into her palms.

A small hand tugged at Chris's shirt, dragging his attention away from Mary's examination. He looked down, nervously returning Billy's smile. "You okay?"

"Sure," Billy murmured softly. Reaching up, he pressed an orb shaped, gift-wrapped present into Chris's palm. "We got you the best thing in the whole of Disneyland. It's a paper weight for your office with Goofy inside. He's all dressed up like an old fashioned lawman, with black clothes and a sheriff's star and everything."

Chris smiled as he hefted the object in his hand. "That's wonderful. Thanks buddy."

"Chris?"

He looked up instantly, eyes focusing on Vin. "Rex alright?"

Mary nodded, beckoning Chris closer. "You might want to see this."

As Chris and Billy stepped close, Mary sat Rex in his lap, gently gripping the hamster's struggling head between her fingers. One quick movement was all it seemed to take, a flick of a finger and a rank looking lump of mushed up food popped out of Rex's cheek. Eyes widening, Chris stepped around the edge of the couch. Just like that the swelling was gone. Unbothered, Rex squirmed free and began exploring the cushion freely.

"He going to be alright?" Chris asked softly.

Mary smiled and nodded. "Yep. He was impacted, but that just meant some food had stuck in his cheek. One squeeze and it comes out."

It'd been so simple. Anger flitted across Chris's face. "Buck," he growled. "I'm gonna throttle him."

She laughed, the sound easing some of the tension. "I think there's already been some devine retribution, but Chris, next time, don't take his word on animal care."

"Agreed." That was the end of it now though, the hamster was fine and the Rex-sitting was thankfully over. The next time Mary begged him about it, he'd refuse and listen to the warnings his gut produced for him. Beware of stubby, furry tails and lying lotharios.

THE END