Someone wrote once, there is nothing in the world like seeing a boy and his dog playing together. Chris sighed and then shook his head. Nettie smirked beside him. On the lawn in front of the Four Corners Ranch not ten feet from them was such a scene. Vin was rolling around on the ground with a small ball of fluff in his arms.

Again, Chris shook his head reflecting on how this had happened. It had all started five days earlier when Vin had discovered a stray dog in the grounds of his school. Naturally, he trotted up to the car with the dog under his arm. Had Chris been present, the animal would have got no further but...

"Young man, what is that?" Nettie asked, taking boy's school bag.

"She's lost," Vin stated simply as if that was an adequate explanation.

"I see. No collar?"

"The hair is all flat around her neck like she usually wears one and she's well groomed so she must belong to someone," Vin offered, opening the door and climbing into the front seat of the small truck with the dog.

"We shall drop it at the pound on the way home," Nettie stated.

"What?! We can't do that. Nettie, they'll put her to sleep."

Nettie frowned and stared down at the small terrier as she slipped into the driver’s seat. It was pure white with erect ears and a shiny black nose. "A West Highland Terrier," she commented.

"That what she is?"

"Yes. They aren't particularly common in the United States. You're probably right. She is unlikely to be a stray. We'll place an advertisement in the paper to find her owner.”

"So, we can take her home and look after her until someone comes for her?" Wide blue eyes flashed...

Chris glanced across at Nettie. "This is your fault."

"My fault? I simply brought the child home. The rest is your doing."

... Five days after the advertisement had been placed, no one had come to collect the newest addition to the Four Corners family. The Westie had to sleep in the garage and had proved well-behaved and quiet. Vin spent all his spare time playing with the little dog and neither of the adults could deny that he had been much happier since the terrier had joined them.

"Still no calls about the dog?" Chris asked Nettie as he walked through the door and tossed his briefcase onto the sofa.

Nettie shook his head. "No. He wants to keep it."

"I'll talk to him and make him understand that..."

Vin flew into the room with a wide smile plastered across his face. "Chris it's been five days. You said that we'd leave the ad. in for five days and it's been five days. No one must want her, hey?"

Nettie flicked his eyes to Chris and struggled to suppress a smile. This was going to be the battle of all battles.

Chris sat down and beckoned the child over. "Vin, we can't have a dog."

The smile on Vin's face crashed and his wide eyes became moist. "Why?"

"Because of the lifestyle we lead. Son, I'm never home and you're at school and in the evenings, we often go out."

"But Nettie's always here."

To this, there was a snort across the room. "Exactly. Nettie doesn't have a life," the housekeeper muttered. "Nettie never goes anywhere."

Chris shot a drowning look at the grey-haired woman who had taken to unpacking his briefcase. You want to help me here?

Nettie stood up, looked across at the sagging cheeks and pitiful look on Vin‘s face, glanced back at Chris and muttered, "Good luck."

Chris's eyes flashed with annoyance and then he returned his attention to Vin. "Look, son. How about a goldfish?" The exuberance the Em7 colonel displayed at the suggestion left Nettie rolling her eyes.

Vin just stared at him.

"I used to have a goldfish,” Chris stated in an animated fashion. “His name was Henry," Chris picked Vin up and placed him on his lap. "Henry and I used to play together. I could get him to come to the top of the bowl. I even tried to teach him tricks."

Nettie stared at Chris shaking her head slowly. Chris was really missing the boat on this one.

"I want a dog," Vin whispered.

"I know you would like a dog but unfortunately, the answer's no. You'd have to look after him. That's a lot of work."

The huge, blue eyes looked directly in Chris's soul. "I'd look after her, Chris. I promise. And..." The telephone rang at that moment, all three freezing. Somehow each knew that this was related to the terrier.

Nettie collected the call in the hall and returned to the quiet room a couple of moments later. "That was the dog's owner. She went missing from a pet beauty shop around the corner form the school after having a bath, which is why she has no collar. Her owner is on the way over now."

Vin climbed down off Chris's lap. "I'll get her ready." His voice was so soft and pained.

"Vin..." The little boy turned. "We'll go tomorrow and get you a goldfish, okay?"

The child nodded, his bottom lip trembling as he left the room.

Nettie shot Chris a look of utter disgust. "A goldfish!"

**********

The young woman had arrived ten minutes earlier with her two children and a car full of identical Westies. Vin had handed over the adult terrier that yapped happily at being reunited with its family. The woman had thanked Chris and Nettie and then turned her attention to Vin. It was clear to her that the child was grieving the loss of 'Blossom'...

"I want to thank you, young man. You have taken good care of Blossom. Now we need to discuss your reward."

"I don't want a reward, Ma’am. I was just looking after her for a while." Tears welled in his eyes as he watched the children in the car hugging ‘his’ dog.

"You haven't heard what the reward is yet, though." She smiled, rose to her feet, walked across to the car and took out a small, plump pup. "If your parents don't mind, I'd like to give you this little one. We haven't been able to find a home for her."...

Someone wrote once that a man should quit while he was ahead... Chris hadn't been ahead at any stage in the last five days. He watched as Vin and the puppy raced across the grass. The woman smiled and moved toward her car. She had just offered the drowning colonel a rope - with an anchor on the end.

Vin scooped the bundle of fluff up into his arms and raced across to Nettie and the scowling Chris.

"Can I keep her? Please, Chris. Pleeeeaaaaassse?" The pout was back, the eyes flashing and the cheeks sagging. Vin really knew how to turn it on.

"You are doomed," Nettie whispered to Chris with a grin.

"Vin... I..."

"I'll look after her. I'll do everything she needs. I'll pay for her food out of my pocket money."

"Vin..."

"Look, Chris. She loves me," Vin pointed out, lifting the puppy to his face. Instantly, it began to lick his nose. "Please, Chris. Pleasssssee?"

Chris drew in a deep breath and released it slowly watching as the child took off again, the small pup chasing him.

"You are as doomed as the Titanic."

Chris glared at Nettie, set his shoulders and walked across to his young ward. "Vin, we really..." The child stopped running and picked the puppy up. It began snuggling into his chest, the child giggling uncontrollably. Chris's heart melted.

"The Titanic hits the iceberg," Nettie commented to herself.

"Vin, we really need to..." Big blue eyes cut Chris to the quick..." pick a name for this little lady."

"I CAN KEEP HER?!"

Chris smiled. "Of course."

"And the Titanic sinks."

Vin raced across to his guardian and leapt into his arms, puppy and all. Nettie quickly thanked the young woman who had made her day and watched as she pulled away.

"I know what I'm going to call her," Nettie heard Vin say as Chris lowered him to the ground.

"And what would that be, Vin? Iceberg?"

Chris shot Nettie another glare.

"Noooooo, don't be silly, Nettie. I'm going to call her Batdog."

"Batdog?" Nettie and Chris cried together.

"Yeah, we could train her to help Chris. She could track down bad guys. She'd be real good at it and Nettie could make her a mask and cape and..."

Chris Larabee and Nettie Wells burst out laughing. In there somewhere however, was how Vin viewed his guardian. Chris was a hero in Vin's eyes.

"What?" the child asked perplexed.

"I think perhaps we should think of another name. How about Tracker, as you appear to want to teach her to track."

"YESSSS! That's perfect, Chris." Vin darted off calling out to the pup, which promptly chased after him, nipping at his heels.

"I told you, you were doomed," Nettie chuckled.

"I don't know what you're smiling about. While you were seeing that 'nice, kind lady' off, he told me he intends sleeping with it."

"What? Oh, no. No dogs in the house, let alone on the bed linen."

Chris Larabee grinned widely. "Uh-huh. We should have called the pup, Little Big Horn."

"Nettie, look. Watch," Vin cried, flipping over the top of the pup. "Can I keep her in the house? She's only tiny."

Nettie frowned and started walking toward the child. There was no way on God‘s Earth a dog was going to enter the house. "The answer is no, young man. A dog's place is outside."

“But Nettie...”

Chris Larabee's grin spread to a wide smile and he winked at Nettie. "Good luck, General Custer."

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© February 2005 Brigitta B. : This relates only to the creative property in this story. The distinctive way the story unfolds, the specific dialogue and unique situations are mine. I acknowledge that some of the characters and settings belong to MGM and Trilogy Entertainment and I thank them sincerely for turning a blind eye so I can borrow them. (g) No infrigement of copyright was intended and no profit has been made from this story... so, please don't sue me. It wouldn't be worth your while.