It was an hour later when they saw the double doors open and Dr. Peters walked out. He was pulling off his face mask as he walked through the doors and a smile radiated his face. They both jumped up to race towards him.

"Gray will be fine. I cleaned the area up and sutured the tissues back together. That is one smart wolf, I can't imagine the pain and agony he was in, but he didn't pull against the grasp of the trap. Otherwise we would have been dealing with a mangled limb. Even though I knew he was up to date for his shots, I gave him a tetanus shot based on your description of the trap. Who ever put that thing out there should have been charged years ago."

Rachel could not help herself and moved swiftly to give him a hug as Daniel grabbed his hand and shook it several times.

"He will be out for a couple of hours, but once he is awake you can take him home. The sutures are the dissolving type and they will be gone in about a week, give or take. I'd like you to keep it dressed for the week. Animals do have a tendency to try to chew them out. The fur will grow back but his leg will look funny for a while." He laughed as he provided this information.

"You can both come back to see him, but I do have to warn you he is in a cage. We just never know about animals, anesthetic and sedatives. He has had something for pain as well. And you my dear have given me a wonderful hug but who are you?" He smiled as he turned to Rachel.

She extended her hand and replied, "Hi, I am Dr. Rachel Smyth. That's with a 'y' not an 'I'. Gray found me when I was lost in the park and got Daniel, so they both saved me. Nice to meet you."

"Ahaaa, Daniel you found yourself a doctor, good for you my boy. Good for you."

"Well, I guess I did find her, but only with Gray's help. We still have to see where this leads us or even if there is an us." Daniel chuckled.

Rachel interrupted, "Okay let's go see our boy."

Dr. Peters led the way through the doors and down to recovery. Each animal had its own technician to supervise the recovery process. All animals regardless of size and species were caged.

"Harold has offered to stay with Gray, it is always nice to have a familiar face and scent when they are coming around. Harold, you already know Daniel, but this is his friend, Rachel. She is a doctor as well but I'm not sure which field."

"Hi, Harold, I am a forensic medical examiner or coroner as most people call me. I actually have my surgical degree as well, so I can operate on the living and investigate the dead." She held her hand out which Harold shook.

"Those are some nasty looking scars on your lower arm and hand. Do you mind if I ask what caused them?"

"No, it's okay. The ones on the arm are from a canine, a dog that wasn't too happy when he woke up. And the hand scars are from a cat in a similar situation. After the cat we all decided it was better and safer to use cages." He rotated his arm and hand as he spoke.

"Wow, I never would have thought about that, but then again, I have seen some people come up having some weird reactions. Hey, if you ever decide you want them fixed, I have a friend who does fantastic plastic surgery. He owes me a few favors, so it would be no charge, just some time off. Just let me know, okay?"

Harold nodded.

Daniel scooted around Harold to get as close as possible to Gray, who was still out like a light. Rachel patted Harold's shoulder and went to stand with Daniel. They both just watched Gray sleep.

"Now why don't the two of you go and get something to eat? There is a little restaurant just a couple of blocks down that serves a great breakfast all day long. You can have your steak or pork chop now if you want. Here are your temporary IDs, so you can even have a beer at this hour. Gray will be fine while you are gone," Dr. Peters advised.


"Thanks Doc, we appreciate that. Something to eat sounds great to me. Come on, Rachel, chow time."

They walked away, hand in hand.