Shawna's Story (A Johnny Cade Fanfiction) //CURRENTLY EDITING//

~14~

“Go ahead, sis,” Darry encouraged. I nodded and got up carefully, before walking over to the man and Rocco, and carefully kneeling to the dog's height. Rocco's tail wagged a little, and he kind of tapped danced in place, knowing he wasn't supposed to move yet. I reached out carefully, letting Rocco sniff at my hand, before he began licking it. I smiled a little and gently pet the dog, while Darry spoke with the man. Rocco wagged his tail more, gently nudging my hand, making me giggle a little. Darry walked back over to us, I guess he walked off to fill out paperwork. “Ready to take him home?”

“We get to keep him?” I asked, looking up at Darry. It was the first time I had spoken in a little over a week.

“You do,” Darry said, showing me a paper in his hand. “He's yours now.” I looked over the paper, and then down at Rocco, who was waiting patiently, wagging his tail eagerly.

“Well, we better get going then,” I said. I smiled at Rocco softly, and carefully picked up his leash. “Let's go, Rocco.” I got up onto my feet with Darry's help. Rocco got up, stretched out his front paws, and got ready to follow me out the door. I pet his head and followed Darry outside and back to the truck, Rocco following behind. We all got in the truck, Rocco poking his head out of the window happily chomping at the wind, while Darry drove. When Darry dropped us off back home, Johnny had finally woken up, when we stepped inside with Rocco, he was sitting on the couch, drinking some water, while Soda changed the bandage on his face. Rocco hopped on the couch, leaning against it, trying to sniff at Soda and Johnny.

“Hey there,” Soda greeted, petting his head. Johnny looked at the dog for a bit, before looking over at me. I walked over to him and sat down on the couch beside him, while Soda pet our new dog.

“How are you feeling?” I asked him softly.

“Dizzy, but only when I move. My face just really hurts,” Johnny said quietly, almost in a whisper.

“You were in real bad shape when the girls and I found you. Thought we lost you,” I said. Johnny gently held my hand, I was shaking pretty badly.

“I'm sorry, hon. I hate that you had to see that,” Johnny said apologetically. “Is everyone else okay?”

“The rest of the guys are doing okay, still worried about you of course. Shante and Nicole were pretty shaken up, but they're doing better. They came in to check on you after their shifts,” I said.

“Shawna had the worst of it,” Soda said. “She was just there for the past few days, but she seemed…empty.”

“Don't tell him that, Soda,” I said. I didn't want Johnny to feel more guilty than he felt now. “I was fine.”

“You are just now startin' to talk again, sis. You were not fine,” Soda said. Rocco walked over to me and rested his head on my lap. I gently pet his head and said nothing. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I was just worried.”

“I know. I just had a lot on my mind,” I said honestly.

“Next time something like this happens to me, worry about yourself, hon. Promise me that, okay,” Johnny said, looking at me. I looked at him and hesitated a little, unsure if I wanted to make that promise. “Please, hon. I don't want something bad to happen to you and the baby. You both are very important to me, not just to me, you have family that care about ya.”

“I know,” I said softly. “I promise.”

“Promise what?” Johnny asked, looking at me.

“I promise to worry about myself if something like this happens again,” I said.

“Good,” Johnny said, before gently kissing my head. “How is the baby doin'?”

“Good, I went to go see Dr. Elizabeth and the baby is doing fine. We get to find out if it's a boy or girl next month,” I said.

“Good, that's good,” Johnny said, gently rubbing my baby bump. “We're gonna be okay.”

“Hey, does this guy have a name?” Soda asked, petting Rocco, who wagged his tail happily.

“The man says his name is Rocco, I like it,” I said.

“Rocco, well, it's good to meet you, Rocco. Can you shake?” Soda asked, holding his hand out. “Shake?” Rocco sniffed Soda's hand, before placing his left paw on Soda's palm. “Alright.”

“Seems he's well-trained. That's good, won't have to worry about too many accidents in the house,” I said.

“Guess you did get your birthday wish after all,” Soda said.

“A month late, but yeah. I guess so,” I said, watching Rocco play with Soda, as he sat beside me on the couch.