Barking Mad *Javier*

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*Beep Beep Beep Beep* Marisol groaned and reached over to the alarm clock on her bed side table, not even lifting her face from the pillow. She didn’t know if she turned it off or if she'd only hit snooze, but at the moment, she could have cared less. She sighed a contented sigh and went back to trying to dream of laying in a field of tall grass bathing in the warm sunshine. And she had so very nearly gone back to sleep when her grandmother's elderly voice broke the silence like a shrill crack of doom and Marisol startled and rolled out of bed. She blinked up at the ceiling, her foot still in the bed as she lay on the floor. “Hey, cosa flaca! Usted no va a conseguir a un hombre si te quedas en la cama todo el día!” Marisol's hand went to her face with a groan. Her grandmother was so adamant on Marisol settling down.

She was only twenty years old. Settling down was the last thing on her mind. She kicked her foot out of the blankets and got to her feet. She looked at the time on her alarm clock and sighed, a mixture of happiness and anxiety. Her first day of work. She went about her morning ritual, shower, brushing her teeth, putting her hair up into a loose bun, getting dressed, reminding her grandmother to take her medicine and encourage her to have some breakfast, kissed her forehead. She chirped lightly in her small voice, speaking spanish to the old woman since she didnt speak a word of English. “Abuela, I'm heading to work. I'll be home in a few hours. Call me if you need me, alright? Love you!" and she grabbed her backpack.

Marisol began her jog to work. She walked or jogged everywhere. Neither she or her grandmother could afford a vehicle, but it didn’t bother Marisol much. They had better things to spend money on besides vehicle insurance and petrol. It took maybe fifteen minutes to get to work, one of the benefits of living so close which made her elated. When she got there she was greeted by one of the desk clerks who went to take her to the kennels. “Okay.. Marisol, is it? Your job is easy enough. Let the dogs out for some exercise, hose out the kennels, food and water. And as you do each kennel, make sure to check it off on the list. OH!.. Yeah, the dogs with the red collars, you need to leave in the kennels” Marisol arched a brow and politely inquired “¿Por qué? What do the red collars mean?” The woman's smile faded as she looked warningly towards one of the last kennels in the shelter. “They are a bite risk. They're not well socialized and only Dr. Reyas really handles these dogs.”

Marisol pouted slightly, feeling bad for the red collared dogs. She thought softly to herself 'I'd be aggressive and standoffish too if I was ignored'. But she just nodded. It was her first day and it really wasn't her place to argue. ”Got it. Is there anything else?” The woman seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking her head with a smile. “Nope. The cats are about the same routine. Feed and water, change their litter and move on” Marisol grinned a little. This was going to be such an easy job.

For the majority of the shift, the other employees left the new girl to her own devices, only stopping occasionally to ask if she needed help or had any questions. Marisol happily declined as she finished her duties. There was only one dog left to tend to. A German Shepherd Dog that only had three legs and was crouched at the back of the kennel. The moment Marisol came into view, the dog began growling and snarling at her as it pressed back and away into the corner of it's kennel. Marisol frowned and found herself ignoring the woman's instructions “Hey... It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you.” she whispered softly. She lowered her eyes away from the dog and just sat patiently.

Eye contact with a dog was a direct challenge and she wanted to befriend this poor animal., she watched it's body language from the corner of her eye, and it was pacing a little, still showing signs of anxiety but it wasn't growling anymore. “Look, we can be friends, see?” It took several minutes but before she knew it, the dog was standing silently beside her on the other side of the fencing, eying her warily, but obviously curious about her. She slowly placed her hand against the fence to allow the dog to smell her. And to her suprise, the shepherd began licking her hand. Still not making eye contact, she reached her tiny wrist into the fend to scratch behind the dog's ear. “There now.. You're not so bad, are you? You're just a big baby, arent you?”

But after a moment, she could feel some one staring at her back and she quickly took her hand from the fence and looked over her shoulder, a slight wash of anxiety. She'd been instructed not to mess with the red collard dogs and here she was, her first day, breaking the only rule she'd really been given. “I.. I'm sorry.. I was just trying to help, really!”

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Dr. Javier García Reyes was exactly seven minutes late when he hurried through the office doors. It was nothing spectacular. The only reason he kept his job was his charming personality, his excellence at his job, and the fact the woman in charge of hiring and firing people had taken a bit of a fancy to the Spaniard. His mother would tell everyone that he was late since he was born. And he was – he’d be late for his own funeral, if there were a way for that to happen. He sighed and smiled sheepishly at the clerk as he entered.

“Hey, it’s the new girl’s first day,” the clerk said, looking up at Javier and raising her eyebrows. Javier raised his eyebrows back, unsure what the lady’s eyebrows were trying to tell him. “The one meant to exercise the dogs and feed the cats,” she clarified, seeing the blank expression on the doctor’s face.

“The one from Spain?” Javier asked, grinning brightly as he remembered her resume being thrown on his desk. Well… a photocopied version of her resume. His boss had learned not to trust Javier with important documents. The Spaniard would lose his head if it weren’t attached to him. “I think we’ll get along just fine. Long live Cataluña and all that,” he said, smirking as he pinched the clerk’s cheek lightly. “We’ll certainly beat you Englishmen on football nights for sure.”

The clerk rolled her eyes and muttered about how Javier’s team already won. Javier chuckled as he turned to continue down the corridor, allowing her to continue with her work. He poked his head into the cat room. A quick glance at the fact sheets showed that each had been fed and given fresh water. His job was only partly to make sure the animals had been taken care of. He was in charge of fixing the animals and he was in charge of the dog behavior classes.

The dogs seemed to have been walked and fed as well, and he continued through the dogs’ room. He could hear a soft voice murmuring in Spanish as he got closer to the red-collared zone and he approached it quietly, watching as one of the dogs went up to the small girl. It was the three-legged German Shepherd they were having trouble adopting out – Jem was her name. She rarely interacted with any of the other workers except for Javier.

He leaned against the wall, watching her interact with Jem. As she slipped her wrist inside of the cage, Javier cleared his throat. He didn’t mind that she was bonding with one of the red-collared animals, but he wasn’t comfortable with her sticking her hand inside of the cage.

The girl shot her hand from inside of the cage and whipped her heads towards him. Jem hunched her shoulders, and Javier walked towards her, pulling out the leash and smiling at her. The dog’s tail wagged immediately. “I… I’m sorry… I was just trying to help, really!” the girl declared anxiously. No doubt she probably thought Javier was going to fire her or get her in trouble. And, he supposed, she had a good reason to think it. If anyone else had caught the girl playing with a red-collared, she would have been almost immediately fired.

“Tranquilo,” he told her, slipping into Spanish as he smiled at her. He opened the kennel door and Jem hurried out. He hooked the leash around the collar and scratched the dog’s neck. Jem leaned into him. “She loves when you scratch her on the neck. Her name’s Jem, by the way,” he told her. She seemed to be friendly enough – but, of course, it would be hard to be in their line of work if they weren’t friendly. “Follow me.”

He stood and began to lead the dog outside. “I normally start with Heidi, but I figure since you were getting on so well with Jem I might as well break routine a little,” he said, leading Jem out of the building. There was a small fenced area where the dogs ran (or, in Jem’s case, hobbled) around. He unhooked her and picked up a tennis ball, throwing it out towards the fence.

“You’re Marisol, right? I’m from Barcelona, too. El Borne.” He perched on the stairs, scratching Jem’s neck as she returned to the ball. He tossed the ball to Marisol. “I’m Dr. Javier García Reyes. Let her sniff your hand before you throw it, or she’ll bite you. I’m still working on that.”

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“Tranquilo,” he told her, and Marisol looked at him as though he had lost his mind. She was expecting to get scolded and asked to leave. Not that she wanted to be fired, she really needed the job. But she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, or so the expression goes. She stepped back from him a little cautiously. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, but she was socially awkward around most men.

She watched as he let the dog out and leashed her. “She loves when you scratch her on the neck. Her name’s Jem, by the way,”  She nodded a little, reaching to rub the massive dog around her collar to rub her neck. “Jem? That's a pretty name”  “Follow me.” he instructed and Marisol could feel a sinking sensation in her stomach.

She followed after, taking note of his height. He was nearly a full foot taller than she was. She didn’t know if she should sum that up to 'He was freakishly tall' or that she was 'freakishly short'. “I normally start with Heidi, but I figure since you were getting on so well with Jem I might as well break routine a little,” he said, and Marisol tilted her head slightly. Well, obviously she wasn't fired, and that caused a huge sigh of relief. She really needed this job.

“You’re Marisol, right?” Marisol looked up at the extraordinarily tall man and nodded softly. “I’m from Barcelona, too. El Borne.” Marisol nodded silently. It wasn't that she had nothing to say, but she didn’t know how to talk to people. People confused her. You could say it was a certain lack of social skills on her part, being cooped up in a small house with an aging grandmother who was at the beginning stages of being senile.

She saw the ball coming to her and tried to catch it single-handedly but it bounced off her palm before she could close her hand and ended up juggling it back and forth for a moment before she had it firmly secured in both hands.. She arched a brow and looked up at him questioningly. “I’m Dr. Javier García Reyes.” Marisol's hazel green eyes lit up in recognition. “Dr. Reyes? Oh. You're the man that she was telling be about. That.. That works with the dogs.” Marisol's cheek's flustered. Whether in English or Spanish, she always thought she sounded foolish when she spoke.

“Let her sniff your hand before you throw it, or she’ll bite you.” Marisol looked at him, wide eyed with the expression of 'You're joking, right?' before looking down at the ball in her hands and then to Jem. “I’m still working on that.”

She looked down at the dog and cautiously brought her hand down for Jem to smell before she threw the ball somewhat awkwardly. She was used to throwing a football overhead from the sideline, not a scrawny little ball with no weight to it. She frowned at the small tennis ball as it made an awkward high arc and landed a few feet away and rolled.

That made her cheeks light up even more. She would have rather been kicking her football than lobbing a tiny useless fuzzy ball around. As Jem hobbled after the ball with her awkward three legged run, she looked up at him. “What happened to her leg?”

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“Dr. Reyes?” Marisol asked. Javier nodded, grinning as she juggled with the ball while trying to catch it. All right – so when they did have football nights, he made a mental note to keep her out of the net. “Oh. You’re the man that she was telling me about. That… That works with the dogs,” she said, sounding flustered. He tilted his head curiously at her. He wasn’t sure why she sounded so nervous around him. He didn’t think that he was very intimidating. He ran his fingers over Jem’s neck, scratching her neck gently.

He nodded in response to her. “That’s one of my jobs here. I teach dog behavior classes, so I’m the one in charge of handling the red-collars,” Javier answered. “They’re all very sweet once you earn their trust.” He smiled at her. “I also treat sick animals, and I’m one of the trauma surgeons here. For animals who get run over, get into a fight or get abused,” he explained, shrugging. “It’s how I first meet most of the red-collars,” he told her. He wasn’t sure how much the ‘she’ had told Marisol about Javier, so he figured his brief introduction would do just fine.

He instructed her to let Jem sniff her hand before throwing the ball. Marisol looked at him as though he’d been raised in a lunatic asylum. Javier shrugged, unsure what the expression was for. Marisol brought her hand down and Jem approached it. The dog sniffed her hand cautiously and sat down awkwardly at her feet. Javier smiled at her watched as Marisol threw the ball awkward. He chuckled. “I take it that you aren’t a goalkeeper, then?” he teased playfully. Not that he could talk much – he was bloody lousy in the net. He grinned and watched as the dog hobbled after the ball.

“She’s excited for someone else to play with her. It’s always just me or Alice that exercise and feed the red-collars,” Javier said, watching as Jem took the ball in her mouth and tottered back to Marisol, dropping the already saliva-covered ball at her feet. Javier scooped it up, knowing Jem’s tendency to bite people who tried to take the ball back. Jem moved forward towards his hand quickly, but stilled when he did. He waited until she moved away to grab the ball and threw it across the yard lightly. “She’s a good girl,” he said fondly, smiling down at Jem as she tottered off.

“What happened to her leg?” Marisol asked. Jem picked the ball up and bounced back over to the two Spaniards. Javier picked up the saliva-covered ball again and handed it to Marisol.

“Her owner’s neighbor brought her in,” Javier frowned. “She said she heard Jem screaming all during the night, but waited until the owner went to work to bring the dogs in. There were four of them, and they were all in awful shape. One of them died from massive internal bleeding. We don’t know what he did to Jem’s leg, but there wasn’t anything I could do to save it, and we couldn’t risk infection.” Javier smiled half-heartedly at Marisol. “The other two were adopted out a few months back. We’re saving up money to get her a prosthetic leg, but she’s been doing fine without it. She’s a tough girl.”

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She nodded a little sheepishly as he did the quick run down of his job here at the clinic. She had to admit, she was just a touch envious. Since childhood she had longed to become a vet because of her love for animals. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than she was, but he had already seemed to achieved his life goal. Her mind wandered off as she stared at him. She seemed to lose track of what he was saying as she watched his messy but beautiful hair bob a bit with his casual gestures. She found herself smiling a bit. His hair reminded her of her Abuelita's border collie, and it did not matter how much you brushed him, his fur did what it wanted.

That was when she realized he was tossing a ball to her. She made her less than graceful catch and an awkward lobbed toss of the small ball. He chuckled and she could feel her face flush. “I take it that you aren’t a goalkeeper, then?” he teased and Marisol puffed up a little. “I manage a goal just fine, thank you very much, Dr. Reyes! I played three years as goal keep for my school” crossing her arms defensively across her chest. After lobbing the ball again for Jem.

She studied the man as he explained Poor Jem's story. She felt a slight twist of annoyance. People who abused animals made her seriously want to break their kneecaps. But Marisol still managed a smile one he'd finished explaining. “My Abeulita had a three legged border collie. He got around fine with it. He'd been hit by a car and lost his leg but, stupid dog still loved to chase cars,” she remarked, her heat tilting slightly as she fondly remembered the dog. She jumped a but as she looked down, realizing Jem was trying to but the ball in her head. Marisol had been so preoccupied listening to him talk and her own reply, she'd forgotten about Jem.

“Aww. I'm sorry girl. Here” letting Jem smell her hand before throwing the ball again. With a bit more confidence that the dog wasn't about to try and take her arm off, she managed a much better throw, giving Jem further to run. She looked back up at the rather tall Spaniard and without even thinking her question through. “So.. You're a vet?” And then she put her hand to her face the moment she ended her sentence. “Ugh. I mean. Of course you're a vet. You just told me that. Ugh.. I'll shut up now.”

She turned away from him, not wanting to see how red her face had just become. 'Way to go, Social Skills.' she thought bitterly. 'You've abandoned me, yet again'. She shifted uncomfortably putting most of her weight on the other foot.

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To say that the girl was nervous would have been the understatement of a century. Javier watched, amused as she fumbled around for her words. Was he a vet? He bit his lip, trying not to chuckle as she put her face in her hands and backpedaled. “Hey,” he said, putting a hand on her back as she turned away from him. “Everyone gets nervous on their first day. On my first day here, I slid in dog urine and nearly strangled myself on the dog’s leash,” Javier said, patting her back before letting his hands fall to his sides. “I’d like to see you embarrass yourself more than that. I take a little pride in it. No one can possibly top that. Talk about trauma…”

“Jem’s time is up,” he said, hooking the leash back around Jem’s collar. He scratched her behind the ears and smiled fondly at her. “Have fun today, Jem?” he asked, picking up the saliva covered ball with a slight grimace. “Hey Marisol,” he said, smiling wickedly at the other Spaniard. “Catch!” he called cheerfully, tossing her the soaked ball with a snicker. He ducked inside the building again, putting the dog in her kennel with a fresh bowl of water poured from the tap. Alice would be back around for their second outdoors session. And, if he could convince Marisol to go through the training, they could be out for three sessions.

He smirked at Marisol as he hooked up another dog to the leash cautiously. “So what did they have you hired to do? Clean out litter boxes and take the dogs for walks?” he asked, handing her the leash. “Her name is Denita. Just… don’t touch her,” Javier said. The dog regarded both humans suspiciously before pulling at the leash towards the door. Javier muttered something about impatient dogs before following it outside. “I did manage to pet her the other day. We’re not sure what happened to her, but she has to be knocked out for us to even take her temperature or groom her.”

He sighed and picked up a ragdoll and, once the dog was staring intently at the doll, unhooked the leash quickly and tossed the doll in Denita’s direction. The dog lobbed after it and began to shred the doll, slobbering and tugging viciously. “Seems a bit of a waste, doesn’t it? I mean… obviously you get along with animals. You should be doing more than just walking them and cleaning up after them. Are you going to school to be a vet?” he inquired, watching as Denita shredded the toy. He’d once bought her an ‘indestructible’ toy, only to have it torn apart an hour later.

“I can’t guarantee anything, but...” he shrugged. “If you want to go through the proper training to work with the red-collars, I’d recommend you. You’d still probably have to do a lot of scooping poop and taking them for walks, but it pays better than what they’re offering you.”

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Marisol had to cover her mouth to hide the smirk and stifle the chuckle as he described his rather less than glorious first day on the job. She had to admit, she felt just a bit sorry for him and she was in no hurry to outdo him. She caught the ball he chucked at her and as it hit her hand, she was greeted with a spray of Jem's slobber. Oh she would have to get him back for that. And when Marisol put her mind to it, she was good at playful revenge.

“Seems a bit of a waste, doesn’t it?”

Marisol snapped back to attention and arched a brow at him. “Hmm?”

“I mean… obviously you get along with animals. You should be doing more than just walking them and cleaning up after them.”

“Oh, that! I don't mind. It pays the bills and the hours are flexible.” Those light green eyes stared up at him as she gently shrugged. Sure, she'd love to help out more than she was supposed to be doing. But she was the 'new girl' and shouldn't push her luck.

“Are you going to school to be a vet? I can’t guarantee anything, but.. If you want to go through the proper training to work with the red-collars, I’d recommend you. You’d still probably have to do a lot of scooping poop and taking them for walks, but it pays better than what they’re offering you.”

Marisol stared at the tall Spaniard, dumbfounded. He had just met her and he was willing to help her become more than just a 'poop scooper'? Marisol threw her arms around the man's middle in a tight hug and actually managed to lift the man to the point the tips of his toes barely touched the floor. Scrawny girl was a little stronger than she looked. “Thank you! This really means a lot. You have no idea!”

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Marisol sweeped him into a crushing hug and Javier stood still as she tried to lift him up. He patted her head, raising his eyebrows. He stood on the tips of his toes, a bit awkward considering their height difference. “Yes, it’s really no big deal,” he said, offering her another pat on the back as he pulled out of the hug. He straightened his clothes and smiled at her. “You’ll have to go to school for a while,” he pointed out.

“And the hours will be longer,” he reminded her, careful not to make her think that everything would be easy. “I think Jem’s done,” he said, bringing her inside and taking out another dog. He offered the leash to Marisol. “You’ve got a lot of potential,” he said. “Although, after today, you should stick to your job,” he grinned. “Or I’ll be out of mine.”

He stood up and rummaged through the drawers, picking out another tennis ball and tossing it to Marisol after she’d had the dog managed. “You’re going to be my teammate on football nights,” he told her. “There’s one next week. My team always wins, so maybe you should go on the other team. At least they’ll have a... small... chance at winning then,” he said, grinning at her mischievously.

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Marisol waved her hand dismissively as he informed her that the hours would be longer and that school was going to be a factor. “That's not going to be too big an issue. Although.. I might have to hire someone to look in on my grandmother while I'm gone” she replied, tapping her chin thoughtfully. She didn't just want to leave her grandmother with anyone. It had to be someone trustworthy and responsible and reliable and... well.. it was a copious list. Marisol was very protective of her grandmother after all. She nodded solemnly as he reminded her to just stick to her job or his might be in trouble too. She took a step back and smiled up at him offering a nod of understanding.

“You’re going to be my teammate on football nights. There’s one next week. My team always wins, so maybe you should go on the other team. At least they’ll have a... small... chance at winning then,”

The look on her face, at first was one of confusion as he casually told her that she was going to be on his football team. But the flicker of confusion vanished the moment he teased that there was a small chance of success with her involvement by placing her on the opposite team. The look was replaced with a look of utter defiance and a mischievous smile of her own. “You are so on, Doc.” she challenged. As a child she'd always been very competitive. She hadn't really changed much as she stuck out her hand to shake, accepting his challenge and throwing down a gauntlet of her own. “You'll never get a ball past me. Hope you're ready to get toasted by a girl”

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Javier rolled his eyes and poked her in the forehead gently. “Bring it, girlie,” he told her teasingly, offering her a playful grin as he shook her hand. Despite his competitive nature, it took a lot to ruffle his feathers. He took the tennis ball back from her and rubbed the dog’s ears cheerfully, tossing it across the small enclosure. “Good. The matches are every month. Always the second Saturday, so clear your schedule,” he told her. Okay, sure, they weren’t mandatory, but if she didn’t know that then Javier knew of no reason to tell her.

“You can bring your grandmother to the games, of course. Does she only speak Spanish?” he asked curiously. “Nobody else at the office speaks Spanish, so you might have to have her stick close to us. Maybe she can play, too,” he teased. He bent down and picked up the tennis ball as the dog brought it back and threw it across the enclosure again. “Good luck on finding someone to watch her,” he said earnestly. “I don’t mean to compare your grandmother to my dog, but I searched for months trying to find someone I trusted enough to watch Manola. Ah, Manola’s my dog, by the way.”

As the dog brought the ball back to him, he tossed it to Marisol. “It’s from a little rhyme I heard when I visited Mexico. Hola Manola, raton sin cola.” He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “She’s a little small dog with not much of a tail, a bit like a tailless rat. But cuter.”