DT Serum, Primary Testing In Progress

Tramp nodded slightly. Still holding up his pants, he went out to stand where he could see Bobo. He didn't get close, afraid of interfering.

Dr. Ally was wrapping a bandage around Bobo to make sure everything was protected to heal right. She had brought a small canister of laughing gas to knock Bobo out enough to operate, but that had been turned off by now. The short doctor had steady hands as she finished wrapping the bandage. She then washed off her hands and some tools as Ashton returned with the smaller of the belts he had.

Tramp slipped on the belt, but his eyes never left the doctor and Bobo. Was everything going to okay now? He wanted to ask but was scared to.

Dr. Ally cleaned up and froze a little when she saw Tramp. She nervously adjusted her glasses. "A-a-are y-you h-his own-ner?" She stammered nervously.

Tramp nodded, a lock of still wet hair falling across his eyes as he did so. "Yes. Is he going to be okay?"

Ally nodded. "Y-yes, b-but h-he n-needs a l-lot o-of r-rest. T-to r-rec-cover. R-rest a-and s-sleep." She stammered. "A-and s-steady d-diet. Th-the l-less m-moving, th-the b-better f-for n-now."

"Yes, ma'am," Tramp agreed. "Ashton said we can stay here while Bobo recovers. Thank you for helping him." He gave into impulse and flung his arms around the small woman, hugging her tightly.

Ally yelped in surprise and immediately tensed up, having never been a real touchy person. Her face turned red and she felt uncomfortable.
Ashton noticed and lightly tapped Tramp's shoulder in an attempt to help him notice he made the situation more awkward. "Uh, thanks Dr. Ally." He said.

Tramp released Ally and stepped back, rubbing his eyes. "Thank you."
"What do we owe you?" True asked, coming forward.
"And don't say nothing," Lex added grumpily from his spot on the living room couch. "You drove here in the middle of the effing night to take care of a strange dog."

Dr. Ally swallowed at Lex's comment. Lex scared her, and practically read her mind. "O-oh, heh heh, w-would y-you l-l-look at th-the t-time! I-I n-need t-to h-head h-home r-right n-now!" She tried to scurry to the door and leave before answering the question.

Lex rolled his eyes. "True, make sure she gets some kind of compensation, would you?"
"Sure, although it might help if you were a little nicer," True said, hiding a smile.

Tramp ignored them, standing by his sleeping dog and stroking his head. "Good boy, Bobo," he whispered. "Good boy."

Layla giggled. "He's nice. Just a grumpy guts most of the time." She stood behind Lex behind the couch and started to massage his shoulders, guessing all the stress made him tense again.

Ashton quietly stood behind Tramp. He gave them a moment before he offered to carry Bobo upstairs.

Lex grumbled sourly but said nothing more, relaxing inch by inch under her touch.
True shook his head in amusement and glanced at Kat, nodding toward his room.

"Is it okay?" Tramp asked worriedly. "Okay. If it's safe."

Kat smiled softly and followed True to his room.
Layla grinned and kept it up until Lex was relaxed once more. "Better?"

Ashton smiled a little. "I know how to make sure the wound isn't aggravated." He assured Tramp. "Also, he shouldn't stay on the dining room table anyway."

"Hmm," Lex mumbled drowsily, looking like he was about to fall asleep. It was pretty late, after all.

True shifted from his chair onto his bed and invited Kat to come join him.

"Can I help?" Tramp asked softly.

Layla smiled and adjusted so she was sitting beside him, and half laid down on the couch with Lex so his head rested on her chest, which she heard made a good pillow.

Kat smiled and gladly accepted an invite to cuddle with True.

Ashton nodded and gently picked Bobo up carefully. "Door to my room, and calm Bobo if he wakes while I have him? I'd hate for him to panic and accidentally hurt himself more."

Lex put an arm around Layla, quickly dropping off to sleep. This was good.

"What days are you working next week?" True asked Kat, holding her close.

Tramp nodded and went ahead of Ashton to make certain the path was clear and opened the door.

Layla smiled and soon dozed off as well.

"Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday." Kat responded. "But then I have all of the following week off."

Ashton gently set Bobo on the floor and grabbed some blankets to make a nest for the good puppy. The clothes Tramp had left that Ashton had gotten for him were still in the corner of the room, almost untouched.

"Good," True smiled. "I need to meet you on Monday night at the carousel, okay?"

Tramp hesitated, looking at the clothes. He said nothing, though, as he laid down on the floor next to Bobo. Bobo whined and snuggled up but didn't wake.

"Um, okay?" Kat said, confused. "Am I allowed to know why?"

Ashton hesitated and sat on the floor beside them, and gently scratched Bobo's head. "He's such a good puppy dog." He commented.

"Nope!" True said cheerfully, kissing her cheek.

"He took my bullet," Tramp said quietly. "There was only one in the gun, and it was supposed to be for me. He took it. Why? I deserved it. He didn't."

"Meenie." kat giggled as she snuggled closer to him. "Now the suspense is going to eat me alive until then."

Ashton smiled a little. "Well, clearly he thought you were someone worth saving. Even if it meant he might get hurt in the process."

True snickered softly. "Good. Ready to go to sleep?"

Tramp glanced sideways at Ashton. "You mean... like what you did for me?"

"Fine." Kat teased and kissed True's cheek before she drifted off to sleep.

"What are you referring to again?" Ashton asked for clarification.

True snuggled up, enjoying holding Kat for a long time before drifting off.

Tramp stared down at Bobo, working out some of the tangled fur. "You... You took me in before, and you're taking us in again now."