“Why are we at an animal shelter?” Jim questioned as the car came to a halt.
“Well,” Len stepped from the vehicle to try to avoid Jim’s questioning look. If this was going to go south, now is when it would happen. “I was doing some research and brought it up to Pike, who helped me draft up a report and brought up to the admiralty-"
"Bones.” Jim stood next to the car, refusing to follow Len up the sidewalk. “Why are we here?"
"Most of my report was based on our last mission, I tried to keep as much detail out from your past as possible. I didn’t even go near the redacted pieces, I swear-"
"Bones,” Jim cut him off again, a little stronger this time.
“You’ve been granted a therapy dog."
Jim blinked, trying to process what he’d just heard. "What?"
"It’s a new program Pike and I are pushing for. He’s getting one too, his is more for medical purposes since he can’t be up and around like he used to, trained to bring him medication, stabilize him in case of a fall-"
"No, hold on. Back up. Where- where is this even coming from?"
"There’s years of research supporting the idea that support animals for trauma survivors help the healing process. I- I’m not gonna lie, Jim, you’re the most severe case I’ve ever worked with. Now, don’t get me wrong, you’ve made far more progress than…anything I’ve ever seen. But I still think this could help. Especially…after last year. You’ve still made more progress than anybody in your shoes has any right to make. But I still think you could benefit from it. If things go well… one of the options Starfleet is looking at is starting its own shelter, bringing in rescue animals and pairing them up with cadets from less than ideal backgrounds, getting them the help they need early. If this program works there’s even a good chance we’ll see a drop in drop out rates among cadets. When you look at numbers… most of them don’t come from the best backgrounds."
"So what I’m hearing,” there was a growing smirk on Jim’s face, “is that you and Pike jumped through a bunch of hoops to get me a dog."
"There’s a real benefit to it,” Len shrugged. “You’re not mad, are you?"
"Why would I be mad? Surprised yeah, but I’m not mad, Bones.” Jim moved to stand by his friend.
“I did kinda go behind your back. I did what I could to just leave it to the basic details, I didn’t use any stories you’ve told me, I stuck to the medical records-"
"Bones, stop.” Jim put a hand to Len’s arm. “You didn’t break my trust, if that’s what you’re worried about. Ok? You are my best friend and, yeah, I’ve told you a lot that I wouldn’t tell anyone else. But I understand that you’re also a doctor, you are completely within bounds to use my own medical history to assist me in whatever way you deem best. I trust you with that. It’s not like you’re going around gossiping about me, you’re just trying to help. I know you, Bones. You can’t not help people. That’s one of my favorite things about you. So I’m not mad at you, alright?"
Leonard nodded. "Thanks for understanding."
"Thanks for getting me a dog!” Jim grinned brightly.
Len laughed and shook his head. “C'mon, kid, let’s go find you a dog."
Jim stopped in front of the kennels. "What about these guys?"
"Those are some of the German Shepherds,” the shelter manager explained. “They came to us out of some pretty harsh conditions. They’re pure breeds from a hoarding situation, all around six months, but there were many others that we had to send to other shelters to get them the help they needed. For the most part they’re recovering well, still some skittishness and food aggression issues, but we are working to better train them. There are some over here that are a little further along-"
"What about that one?” Jim pointed to a pup, a little smaller than the others, watching them intently.
“That is a particularly troubled dog, I’m afraid. She nearly didn’t survive the transition to the shelter. She was severely underweight when she came to us, it’s a miracle she survived."
"Captain, I understand she looks healthy, but she was a very abused dog. I’m not sure she’d be suitable for your needs. She doesn’t take very well to any of our male staff, and refuses to eat at all when any staff are around. When she came to us, we had to separate from the rest of the litter because she would try to attack anyone who came near her siblings. She has made some progress, yes, but she still has a long way to go."
"I understand, I’d still like to meet her."
"Of course, Captain.” She opened the gate just enough for Jim to step inside. The pup in question was immediately on her feet, watching him warily. Jim simply crouched down. For a long moment they just watched one another.
“Bones, hand me one of those treats.” Jim held his hand behind him and Len dropped a couple into his palm.
Slowly, Jim set a bone shaped biscuit in front of himself, about an arms reach, and waited.
Equally cautious, the pup came forward before taking the treat. She took a few steps back before gnawing on it.
The manager watched in shock. “She’s never sat that close to anyone with food before."
When her snack was gone, the pup looked up at Jim again. He held a second treat in his outstretched palm. She didn’t move, just watched him carefully. Slowly, Jim lowered his hand to the ground.
The dog crouched down and crawled timidly to his hand and quickly pulled the treat away. Jim smiled, but tried not to make too much noise as he pulled his hand back.
She stood at his movement. Jim sat motionless as she crept forward and started to sniff at him. It was hard not to erupt into laughter when she poked her nose around his face, but he managed somehow.
Len couldn’t decide which was more amusing the shock on the woman’s face, or the big goofy grin on Jim’s face.
"I’ve never seen her do that with any man before,” she muttered quietly.
Jim offered his hand again, and this time the pup nuzzled her head against it.
“I think we’ll be taking this one,” Len replied.
Jim giggled when she pushed a little closer to lick his face. "Yeah, I’m definitely taking you with me.” He stood carefully, still not wanting to startle her and stepped toward the gate. The dog followed right alongside him, tail wagging all the way. She sniffed a little at Len’s leg, but stepped a little closer to Jim.
“Don’t worry,” Jim rubbed one of her ears. “He only looks mean. See?” He moved sideways a little and put an arm around Len’s waist.
The pup made a throaty noise and wiggled her way between the men, pushing Jim away just slightly.
“That is one of those things I wanted to caution you about, Captain,” the manager tried to warn him again, but Jim waved her off.
“She’ll learn. Besides, everyone thinks Bones is scary when they first meet him.” He reached to pet the dog again and she came up on her hind legs to meet him. “He’s not as mean as he looks, I promise."
"I’d smack you for that if I thought I could get away with it,” Bones grumbled.
“He is a little mean,” he said to the puppy sitting happy at his side, “but only when he gets grumpy. Which is a lot of the time, but it’s ok ‘cause I’m his favorite."
Len scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Why don’t we go inside and I’ll get the adoption papers for you?"
"Yes, thank you,” Jim agreed.
“Have you considered names at all?"
"I hadn’t. This was actually something of a surprise to me.” He gave Leonard a pointed look before turning back to his new puppy. “Maybe…Solteria."
"She’s an unusual dog. What do you think, hm? Solteria sound good to you?"
The pup popped up and put her fore paws Jim’s leg, reaching with her nose. Jim chuckled and stroked her head in response. "I guess that’s a yes. Solteria it is then."
