The next few days went fairly quietly for both Molly and I. Our days started early, though I generally started earlier and came back to Bandhavgarh Cabin later, but our schedules didn't keep us from being together. Though for the most part we were usually to tired to do much more then relax on our couch and either talk about various things or simply watch television. It wasn't much, and certainly wasn't glamorous, but neither Molly nor I had gone for that sort of lifestyle.
Our biggest "problem" was picking up the prescriptions that Doc Stimson had wrote for both Molly and I. Columbia Falls didn't have a pet pharmacy that we could buy the drugs from, which meant we would have to go to Kalispell to get them. For normal people, this wouldn't be a problem. It was an easy drive from point A to point B, but Molly and I, obviously, weren't normal people. Our size made driving impossible. And a hike to Kalispell and back would be an all day trip for whichever one of us was to go. Now, Molly's weekends were clearly open, and several of mine were as well, but I didn't want to spend an entire day hiking along a busy highway to get drugs to protect Molly and I from fleas, ticks, and worms. I preferred a more efficient method, which left me with one option.
"Hello, David Choir speaking, call me Dave," came Dave's voice on the other end of the line.
"It's me," I told him, "George. I need and itsy bitsy favor..."
"Hey George!" Dave answered, sounding cheerful, "I saw they finally let you go on duty. Congrats."
"Yes, thank you," I nodded, though he couldn't see me nod over the phone.
"Though I can't believe they put you in the back of the car," Dave commented, "I thought you'd gotten arrested at first."
"I wouldn't fit comfortably in the front seat," I told him, "the problem of being nearly twelve feet tall."
"Twelve feet?" Dave asked, "Forget the cops, man... go to the NBA!"
"Dave, I couldn't make a basket to save my life," I chuckled to him, "I need to ask a favor of you."
"Oh, what is it? Are you in trouble? Did Beauregard try something?" Dave asked.
"Not really in trouble," I answered, "and Beauregard's been quiet since our last meeting with the City Council. I had to go in for a check up before being cleared for duty, and got all of my shots... well the first set of shots, anyway. The doc..."
"A real doctor or a vet?" Dave inquired.
"A vet was the only one that would see me," I sighed.
"Rough man," Dave answered.
"Yeah," I nodded again, "anyway, he's prescribed some drugs for Molly and I to take to keep away fleas and ticks and so forth. I need you to give Molly a ride down to Kalispell to pick them up."
"To give Molly a ride, and not you?" Dave asked.
"My shift goes longer then Molly's does," I said, "if you wait for me, you'll be missing a lot of the time you spend with Veronica. Molly get's done earlier and you should make it back by dinnertime."
"Ah..." Dave responded, "well, it's my turn to pick up Veronica tomorrow. I can pick Molly up as well,and it'd be a bit of an adventure."
"You're sure this won't be a problem?" I asked.
"Of course not," Dave answered, "Veronica will enjoy getting to spend more time with Molly... some times Tabby and I worry she'll run away to go live with you."
"I think you're exaggerating the last bit," I commented.
"Okay..." he joked back, "If you say so. I'll see her tomorrow."
"Okay," I responded and hung up.
I then turned to Molly who had been watching the whole conversation, quietly.
"He says he'll pick you and Veronica up together tomorrow and take you down to Kalispell," I told her.
"You're sure that we can't just order the drugs and have them shipped to us?" Molly asked, "I do not like the fact that I need to take a PET'S medicine."
"I don't like it either," I told her, "you know I don't, but if we're vulnerable to all these diseases that threaten cats, wild or domestic, you know that a "human" pharmacy isn't going to carry what we need... especially if we're going to be hunting deer the natural way."
Molly only sighed and nodded.
"And speaking of which, I've been thinking," I mused for a moment.
"About what?" Molly wondered, looking up.
"How to handle the hunting season this fall," I said, "if someone sees us, they're bound to bust us for public nudity."
"Human camo won't work on us, and a neon orange vest would be even worse," Molly pointed out.
I nodded, "I know. I was thinking about getting a pair of shirts and shorts made that match our fur patterns. The same stripes, white where we are white and reddish orange where we are reddish orange. We could then look nude without being nude."
"That's... that's a good idea," Molly spoke as she got the idea.
I nodded to her, "Yeah. I wanted to run it buy you first before sending the call into my folks to have them take the order into the tailor that made your dresses. Partially because we'll need to send pictures by mail as well... and obviously censoring them to make sure the "naughty bits" are covered."
Molly gave a nervous nod to that.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
My folks agreed to make the order, but they wouldn't place it until we could deliver to them tasteful photographs of Molly and I so the tailor could accurately copy our stripe patterns. I half wondered how a nude photo could be tasteful, but I put that to a side. Molly and I had some time to figure out how to censor the photos, and the next hunting season that we would take part in wasn't until August through early October. We had plenty of time to do all of that.
The things that were "next" on the agenda, for me anyway, had to deal with the three teens that Officer Barnes and I had caught trying to beat up another teen. None of them had paid the fines that we had given them and Officer Barnes and I were expected to make an appearance in the Juvenile Court in Columbia Falls, which was actually a small administrative building next to the station to finish the matter.
I didn't expect there would be much too it. Officer Barnes and I would give our report on what we saw and what we "discovered" in the incident. The three teens would be allowed to give their story, and the judge would make his decision. And it seemed to be a fairly open and shut case. Even if the three teens were trying to be "noble" by defending "Sally's" honor, jumping one lone teen was still assault. A lot of that sort of combat had gone out of style with the Middle Ages. Though the three teens would likely be looking at community service time for their actions.
As the day of the "trial" began for Molly and I, I sat somewhat nervously eating the breakfast that Molly and I had made. It wasn't that I was scared, but it was the first time I would be involved in a trial in which I was the "arresting officer". The other case I had been involved in, was Molly's transformation, and even there, I did have to pay a fine for vigilantism, and that was only marked down because I didn't kill or seriously harm anyone in that incident.
"You're not nervous are you?" Molly asked me from her seat, "big strong male like you?"
"No, of course not," I replied, knowing that she was teasing, "just thinking on how things have changed from the past. This will be the first case in which I'm the involved officer... and maybe tonight... I give you my impression of an officer involved with his wife."
"Oh? And what does that look like?" Molly wondered.
"You'll have to wait and see," I responded as I finished breakfast and nuzzled her.
"I'll count the hours, then," Molly smiled.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The trial itself began at ten o'clock that morning. Officer Barnes and I had completed one standard patrol through town, with our biggest problem of the day being an instance of jaywalking, but we didn't pursue the guy in anyway. It was a rather empty street that Officer Barnes told me had little traffic.
We entered the room in which the juvenile court was held to find that it was a fairly small area with the administrator of the "trial" seated at a rather plain and small desk rather then what was typical for a judge.
"Good morning, you two are the arresting officers?" the judge asked, giving me a long look.
"Yes," Officer Barnes nodded, "I am Officer Frederick Barnes."
"Officer George Wayne," I introduced myself politely.
The judge nodded, "we have a few minutes before the teens show up. The school's DARE officer told me that he's on his way with all three teens."
Officer Barnes and I nodded. It didn't sound entirely right to pull them out of school, but there wasn't much choice. I had been told that the judge for this program did it as a community service, and he couldn't wait until four o'clock to run these proceedings, so on some days when a kid got in trouble, he had to come out of school for the hearing. The only other option would be to use the more formal arrest, which would send them to Kalispell for trial and then back to the Columbia Falls Police Department Jail if found guilty... and that wouldn't guarantee to schedule things around school then the juvenile court did.
"Now, Officer Wayne, you will be expected not to bat at or play with the teens in any aggressive manner," the judge said slowly.
"I am in complete control of my instincts, sir," I gave a low growl, "anything R.A.M. has told you is a lie."
"If it was you wouldn't have growled at me," the judge replied.
Officer Barnes cut me off.
"To be honest, sir, you questioned his sentience first," Officer Barnes spoke, "suppose something happened to you like what happened to Officer Wayne and his wife... you aren't human, but you aren't a mindless animal either. You have full control over yourself, but everyone you meet assumes that you don't. How would that make you feel? I know it'd make me angry."
"I'm sure," the judge said slowly.
Nothing more could be said as the DARE officer arrived leading the three teens. I heard one of them gulp when he saw me, but I largely ignored it. I didn't want to eat any person. They may fear being eaten, but they didn't need to. The only person I might consider eating was Beauregard himself, but that was a completely different issue. The DARE officer lead the teens to where they were to stand.
"Okay, let us begin," the judge spoke, "will the three defendants state your names for the court."
"Fred Hick." "Joseph Gasse." "Johnny Rite."
"Officer Barnes, you may explain the events as you and Officer Wayne saw them," the judge said to Officer Barnes.
"Yes, well, we received a call about a fight toward the end of our day in the George Washington Park," Officer Barnes spoke, "we arrived to find Hick and Rite holding third teen by the arms while Gasse proceeded to beat him about the chest and abdomen. They tried to flee when Officer Wayne and I arrived, but Officer Wayne ran down two of them while their victim attacked Hick before he could really get away."
"And what caused this fight?" the judge asked.
"From what Officer Wayne and I were able to figure out, the fight was over a girl named Sally, apparently the girlfriend of Gasse," Officer Barnes asked, "their victim had asked her out and they took offense to it and tried to punish him for it."
"I see," the judge replied and then turned to the three teens, "and just what do you have to say for yourselves? Or did the Officers state anything wrong?"
"They missed the part about Danny throwing the first punch," Joe Gasse answered, "we didn't intend to fight, just to tell him to stay away from Sally. He threw the first punch."
"The victim... Danny... was surrounded when he did so," I spoke, "it was our opinion that he felt threatened and was trying to defend himself. And when surrounded by three individuals, each larger then him, I wouldn't say these three are blameless."
"You think this was bullying behavior, then, Officer Wayne?" the judge asked.
"From the beginning," I nodded, "why else would THREE people corner an individual?"
"Can the three of you counter this?" the judge asked the three teens.
None of them said anything. The judge only sighed.
"Very well, the three of you are sentenced to thirty hours community service," the judge answered, "you are to report to city hall after school for three hour shifts. If you do not report, the police will step in to insure that the work is done, or that you're held for a couple of days."
The three teens sighed.