Fic: Dogsbody (6/13)

[rusty_armour]

Title: Dogsbody (6/13)
Author: Rusty Armour
Pairing: Lester/Quinn
Summary: Lester is forced to depend on the people around him when he finds himself in a strange and startling predicament.
Word Count: 1,970
Rating: Slash, PG-13
Spoilers: S3 in general
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters or the shiny prehistoric creatures. I just played with them for a while and then returned them to the toy chest.
A/N: I was inspired to write this fic after reading knitekat’s Under the Moonlight, the first story in the Under the Moonlight wolfverse. Although I had intended to post this as a serial, the original plan was to finish the story first, as I swore to myself that I wouldn’t commit another crime of WIP. However, as so often happens, this story ended up being longer and more complicated than I’d imagined. Reality has also been rearing its ugly head and there are other commitments I can’t put off any longer, so…WIP. Well, at least this time, a large portion of the story has already been written, so I think most of the posts should be delivered in a timely fashion.

This is a sequel to Ps & Qs and Better Late Than Never, though this could probably be read as a stand-alone. As you’ll quickly realize, this story is complete crack and unapologetically self-indulgent. I’ve had a lot of fun writing this – probably too much fun. *g*

I’d like to give a big thanks to lukadreaming for the Brit-check beta.

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As soon as they arrived at the car park, Connor was unbuckling his seatbelt and springing out of the SUV. Lester was at his side as Connor whipped out the hand-held anomaly detector.

“Wait for Becker and his men,” Danny said. “I don’t care how well Lester knows Chesham Bois Wood. The soldiers go in first.”

Connor rolled his eyes, but stayed put until the other two SUVs pulled up and the military contingent arrived. However, he was practically on Becker’s heels as they walked across the road to the bridge leading to Chesham Moor. When the soldiers almost took a wrong turn before Woodley Hill, Lester had to take over.

By the time they reached the railway bridge, Connor and Lester were leading the team because everyone else was lost. No one seemed to notice that they had made it to Great Bois Wood until they had climbed the steep bank beyond Great Bois Wood House and had passed through the bicycle barriers. Becker had lifted his hand to motion his men forward when the hand-held anomaly detector picked up a signal.

“It’s coming from over there,” Connor said, pointing a finger to his left. Lester heard Danny sigh as they were forced to abandon what was already a muddy path to walk through even more mud. Normally, Lester would have agreed wholeheartedly with Danny’s feelings on the subject, especially if one of his Savile Row suits were involved, but Lester the dog seemed to like mud. He trod through it quite happily as everyone followed Connor through the beech trees.

They had only been walking for about ten minutes, when they were greeted by the bright glare of an anomaly. Although Lester could no longer see the anomaly the same way given the limits of canine vision, he still couldn’t help staring in wonder at the light fragments emanating from the anomaly. Usually, Lester’s excitement faded as soon as he began thinking about what might have escaped from the anomaly and the impact it could have on the public. However, this time his excitement only intensified as he picked up a scent he had never come across before, though he knew it belonged to an animal. Lowering his nose to the ground, Lester started following the trail.

“Lester, where are you going?” Danny demanded.

“He must have picked up a scent,” Connor said, as he jogged to keep up with Lester.

“What scent?” Danny asked. “Is it a dinosaur?”

Lester ignored Danny because, really, how was he supposed to know? He hadn’t even been a dog two days ago and this was the first time he had tried to track anything.

“Guys, hold on,” Abby said. She had lowered herself on her haunches and was examining the ground. Connor and Danny doubled back and crouched down beside Abby, while Lester circled around them impatiently. “Look at this print in the mud. What does it look like to you?”

Danny squinted at the mark in the mud. “It doesn’t look reptilian, but it’s too big to be Lester’s print. Is it a dire wolf?”

Connor shook his head. His eyes were fixed on the print and he was tracing it with one finger. “It looks more feline than canine.”

“I was thinking smilodon,” Abby said.

Danny raised an eyebrow. “That’s a sabre-toothed tiger, right?”

“A sabre-toothed cat, yeah,” Connor said.

Danny looked first at Lester then at the print. “Um, maybe it would be better if Lester stayed in the car.”

Connor glanced at Lester and bit his lip. “Yeah, if we’ve got paw prints, we don’t need Lester to track the smilodon.”

Angry that he was being so easily dismissed, Lester glared at Danny and Connor and then took off after the scent.

“On the other hand, Lester’s method does seem quicker,” Connor said.

“Lester! Lester, come back here!” Danny got to his feet and darted after Lester.

Lester had only been tracking the smilodon for a few minutes when he raised his head and froze. He could hear a familiar chattering from one of the beeches. Lester wondered if there was only one squirrel or several.

Abby appeared in Lester’s field of vision. “Lester, focus,” she whispered.

Smilodon. Right.

Lester resumed his tracking and there were no further interruptions until he reached the foot of a beech tree that had to be centuries old, given the massive girth of its trunk. Lester stared at the patchwork of gnarled wood and moss in front of him and wondered why the trail had ended. Then he saw the four long claw marks gouged into the bark. A deep growl rumbled in his chest and his hackles rose.

“James, run!” Danny cried.

Lester heard the boughs creaking before he could even look up. He managed to catch a brief glimpse of the smilodon as it broke cover from the leafy branches and vaulted from the tree. However, the smilodon executed such an impressive leap that it soared over Lester and landed on the ground a few metres away from him. As Lester whipped around, he saw that the smilodon was standing in front of Sarah.

To her credit, Sarah didn’t scream, but, judging by her wide eyes and trembling limbs, this was only because the sound had got caught in her throat.

Before Lester knew it, he was tearing towards the smilodon and jumping on its back. The smilodon snarled in fury and tried to shake Lester off, but Lester had dug in his claws and was gripping the back of the smilodon’s neck with his teeth. Lester saw Danny and Connor pull Sarah to safety and heard Becker shouting orders to his men. It was Abby’s voice he registered most clearly.

“Use tranquilizer guns in case you hit Lester!”

Ah, yes. Lester hadn’t thought of that. Then the matter of gunshot wounds was no longer an issue as the smilodon managed to hurl Lester off its back.

Dazed, Lester lay on the ground as chaos erupted around him. This time, Sarah did scream as the smilodon lunged again, but now it was targeting Connor. Fortunately, Abby was beside Connor in an instant, directing a roundhouse kick to the smilodon’s snout. Then the smilodon roared as it was hit by three tranquilizer darts. It took a few clumsy steps, stumbled, and then collapsed in a heap. Abby and Connor knelt down beside the creature to check its condition, while Danny rushed to Lester’s side.

“Are you okay? Did it hurt you?” Danny ran his hands over Lester, as if checking for broken bones. Lester rose to a sitting position, as this seemed to be the best way to convince Danny that he wasn’t injured. Judging by the relieved expression on Danny’s face, it worked. However, the relief was almost immediately supplanted by another emotion entirely.

Here it comes, Lester thought, bracing himself.

“What the hell do you think you were doing?” Danny shouted. “I told you to run not go head-to-head with it! You could have been killed! Hell, you deserve to be killed after pulling a stunt like that!”

“Whoa,” Becker said. “Calm down, Danny. You’d think you two were dating the way you’re carrying on.”

Danny clenched his jaw and glared at Becker. “We are dating.”

Oh, no. You did not just say that. Lester closed his eyes. Oh, God, you did just say that. You stupid bloody fool.

Everyone gaped at Danny in shock, with the exception of Abby, who didn’t look so much surprised as concerned.

“Lester couldn’t help it,” Abby said. “His canine instincts took over.”

Danny’s eyes narrowed. “His canine instincts? Abby, he’s human. Okay, his consciousness is inside of a dog, but he’s still in control of the brain.”

Abby tossed a look at Lester and smiled sadly. “No, Danny, he isn’t. Not entirely, anyway.”

When Danny stared at her blankly, Abby said, “Where do you think the dog’s gone? He didn’t just disappear. He’s in there too.”

Danny crossed his arms, eyeing Abby defiantly. “Lester can communicate with us. He spells out words. He possesses human intelligence.”

Abby sighed. “Yes, he possesses human intelligence, but he’s being influenced by the dog,” she said. “Why do you think he likes having his ears scratched or has the need to chase after frisbees and squirrels? When the smilodon tried to attack Sarah, Lester jumped on its back because that’s what dogs do. Dogs have been known to go up against bears to protect their owners. Lester may have felt the need to protect Sarah because he sees her as his responsibility and actually cares about her, despite what he’d have everyone else believe.” Abby laid a hand on Danny’s arm, though her gaze was fixed on Lester. “Danny, he’s not just inside a dog’s body: he is a dog.”

Lester’s ears flattened and he sank down on his belly as if Abby had just struck him. Well, he had been dealt a blow, though it was an emotional blow, not a physical one. He had believed that Abby was on side, that she was the one person who still saw him as a man and treated him as such. He had obviously been mistaken. Lester wanted to be angry, but all he felt was pain.

Abby thought he was nothing more than a dog and, now, thanks to Danny, everyone knew that he had been sleeping with an employee. Perfect. Just perfect.

He couldn’t defend himself against their accusations or even attempt to offer any explanations. His voice had been stripped away from him, along with his autonomy, for Lester had finally realized just how helpless and powerless he was. He was at the complete mercy of these people. They could do anything they wanted to him and he couldn’t stop them.

Lester stood up slowly, trying to ignore the tremors coursing through him. He might not have a voice, or even a hint of independence, but he still had legs and, by God, he was going to use them.

Squaring his shoulders, Lester started to walk away from the team.

“Lester?” Abby said. “Lester, where are you going?”

Lester didn’t acknowledge Abby. He just kept walking. Then, hearing the sound of several feet approaching him, Lester took off, running as fast as his legs would carry him.


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Lester didn’t know how long he ran before his body gave out and he dropped, panting, to the ground. He only allowed himself a few minutes’ rest before he hauled himself back on his feet and continued moving out of Great Bois Wood. However, instead of returning to the car park at Chesham open-air swimming pool, Lester travelled south, leaving the wood at Long Park Way. He was incredibly thirsty and Bricky Pond seemed like his best option if he wanted a drink.

Thankfully, the only person visiting Bricky Pond was an old man who was dozing on one of the carved wooden seats. Nevertheless, Lester kept a watchful eye on the man as he drank and he didn’t stay long. In fact, he stayed out of sight as much as he could, a task that was made much easier once darkness fell. He was practically invisible as he made his way along the verge of the road to Amersham.

Lester was so tired when he reached High Wycombe, that he almost didn’t recognize the streets that were usually so familiar to him. It was only his newly-enhanced night vision that helped him navigate his way to Priory Road.

He had no idea what time it was when he finally made it to his house. He just knew it was very late. He wasn’t sure where he found the energy, but he managed to scale the wooden fence and land inside the garden. Then he curled up under the rhododendron and instantly fell asleep.


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