The Sock

Author's Note- yet another dedication story for ya, for Jackie. Enjoy!

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"Okay, goodbye Busta! You be a good boy for J.C.!"

Chris gave the Pug one last hug before standing up. He looked at J.C. seriously. "Take care of him."

"I will," J.C. smiled. It was just a dog. He could handle one dog for a few hours while the others went shopping.

"His life is in your hands," Chris warned.

"I know," J.C. said, pushing Chris out the door to where the others were waiting. "Bye!"

Before Chris could say anything, J.C. shut the door. Busta sat on the floor looking curiously at J.C. "What are you looking at?" he asked, walking to the couch.

He sat down and heard the others drive away. Busta walked over to J.C. and sat down. J.C. tried to ignore the small dog by turning on the TV, but then Busta started his shrill barking. "Busta, be quiet!" J.C. ordered. "What do you want?"

Busta got up and crouched, then sprang on J.C.'s lap and continued barking. "What's wrong with you?" J.C. asked, watching the dog's head fly back and ears flap as he barked.

"Get off me," J.C. said, putting the dog on the floor. Busta ran to the refrigerator and turned around, but J.C. wasn't paying attention.

Busta sighed, then trotted over to Chris's bunk. He crawled underneath it and pulled out a sock. Then Busta lay down in front of J.C. proudly, showing off his prize. J.C. watched with interest, then annoyance as Busta began chewing the sock. "I don’t care, it's not my sock," J.C. said with defiance.

Busta just wagged his curled tail and ground the sock in his back teeth. J.C. sighed and turned his attention back to the TV.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Half an hour later, the 3rd Rock From the Sun J.C. was watching ended. He realized his stomach was growling and turned the TV off as he went out look for something to eat.

J.C. glanced at Busta, then looked again. The Pug was lying on its side, wheezing as it tried to breathe. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, and J.C. knew something was wrong.

"Busta?" J.C. called, getting no response. Then he realized the sock Busta had was gone. "Oh shit," J.C. whispered, realizing Busta must have ate it. He gently picked up the straining dog and carried him out to the second rental car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

J.C. drove as fast as he could; getting to the vet's in 7 min. 49 sec. The office was eight miles away.

He jumped out of the car, grabbing Busta on his way. J.C. ran into the small office, cradling Busta in his arms. Dr. Jackie Chazez (ha!), the vet, came running out to see what was wrong. "What happened?" she asked, seeing the Pug in distress.

"He ate a sock! You gotta help him!" J.C. exclaimed, handing her Busta. "It's my fault, I wasn't paying attention, now Chris is gonna kill me-"

"It'll be okay," she smiled. "It's happened before. I'll take him back and get him ready for surgery."

J.C. nodded, and numbly sat on the wooden bench to wait. 'Chris is gonna kill me. I can't go home. He'll never trust me again!' J.C. was close to tears when Jackie came back, smiling. 'What happened? Did he die? God, I'm in deep shit…"

"Nothing's wrong," Jackie smiled. "In fact, everything's fine." She took J.C.'s hand and placed a wet, chewed sock in it.

He looked at the sock confused. "What?"

"There was a little of it in his mouth still, so I was able to just pull it out. No surgery needed."

J.C. totally relaxed. "Thank God," he sighed. Then he realized where the sock he was holding had been. "Sick," he groaned, dropping the sock and wiping his hand on his pants.

A relieved smile spread over his face. "Thank you so much," he said, hugging her.

She smiled, thrilled that her major crush was actually touching her. "You're welcome," she replied, returning the hug.

"You saved my- our lives. Can I buy you dinner?"

"Uh, sure. Why not?" Jackie replied, smiling and turning slightly red.

She had the prettiest brawn hair, and it was beginning to turn red from the sun. Jackie was fairly short, but had the same caring, friendly energy that J.C. recognized in Chris. "Cool," J.C. replied. "I'll be back soon." Then he kissed her before he left, Busta trotting behind him.

Once J.C. was gone, Jackie got hyper. "Oh My God, J.C. Chasez just kissed me." She rattled things off to no one, besides the Siberian Huskies she was boarding. She went over to one of the females and kissed it through the cage. Then she laughed the rest of the time as she closed up.

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J.C. was just happy he got off scott-free. "Ha!" he laughed to Busta. "I almost killed you, and no one will ever know!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I swear, we can't do anything anymore," Chris sighed as the guys got on the bus. They had attracted so many girls, that the mall made them leave. It wasn't their fault they were so hot, they were born that way.

"I know. This sucks," Joey mumbled, sitting on the sofa.

Chris's cell phone began ringing; and he lazily pulled t out and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Dr. Jackie Chazez of the Northside animal clinic. I was calling because J.C. left his cell phone on my waiting room bench, and this was the first number stored in the phone."

"Oh, okay, I'll send him by. Wait a minute, why was he at your office? Where's Busta?"

"Oh, he brought a Pug in here a few minutes ago because it was choking on a sock. Wait- you know what? He said he was coming back here anyway, never mind. I'm sorry I bothered you-"

"Wait a minute here. MY DOG WAS CHOKING ON A SOCK? I'm gonna kill him…"

"The dog is fine, I just pulled it out by hand. Please don't get mad at him, he-"

"Thank you for the phone call, I'll send him down." Chris hung up before she could say anything else. Then he went to the window and kept guard for the dark green rental car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

J.C. could see Chris through the window from a mile away. "I'm not going in there," he said to Busta. "I'll never come out."

J.C. parked the car and crept around the car so Chris couldn't see him. Then he slowly opened the door and let Busta in the small gap. J.C. shut the door again and ran for the car.

He jumped in the car and took off as fast as he could, having become an expert from their new video. Then he headed for Jackie's.

They went to the Olive Garden for a nice dinner, and Jackie apologized for having got him in trouble. J.C. convinced her it was okay, and even gave her his phone number so they could keep in touch. And they did, for many happy years.

Finnis!

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