A Wolf in Duke's
Clothing
A TLR Story
By Rosemarie, PJ,
and Snarks
And a special thanks to dragonquest for her idea.
And a special thanks to dragonquest for her idea.
It started out as a
typical, sunny spring day. Anyone who could be outside was outside, and those
whose jobs normally kept them indoors found some reason to go outside, even if
it was just for an hour or two.
Jake and Duke had
been lying out in the sun for a while before Duke decided that he'd like to
take a ride on his ATV. Jake, shading his eyes against the bright sunlight,
smiled up in Duke's general direction and said, "Go on, hon, have a good
time. Take your radio though, just in case, alright?"
"Sure Jake,
I'll do that." He went into their bungalow and emerged shortly with his
helmet and wearing his leathers with his radio clipped to his belt. He called
to his lover, "I'm leavin' now, I'll be back when I tire of the
scenery." He teased.
With lightning
speed, Jake jumped up, grabbed Duke and planted a kiss on his lover's lips. He
reached around, not an easy thing to do, and gave him a light swat on the rump.
"Don't be fresh," he admonished with a grin, "and be
careful."
Duke returned the
kiss in kind and frowned slightly at the swat. "I'll be careful," he
told Jake, giving the man a bone-crushing hug. "You are the only scenery I
never get tired of."
"Ahhhh, that
feels sooo goood! Keep that up and I might not let you leave at all. I might
just kidnap you and... well... the things I could do to you..." he
growled, returning the hug.
Duke just laughed
and released Jake. "I'll be back later," he told him, climbing onto
his machine and giving the man a grin.
"Love you, hon.
Be home in time for dinner, at least. Six o'clock, as usual," Jake
replied, giving his lover one last kiss before Duke fired up his ATV and headed
out.
Duke waved at Jake
and called as he took off, “I love you too and I’ll be back in time for
dinner.”
The big man rode
through the woods and admired the wildflowers that were in bloom and the new
green of the leaves on the trees. It was a beautiful May day, sun streaking
down through the leaves and he was content.
Jake went back to
his lounge chair in the backyard and soaked up some more sun before deciding to
go inside and take a shower, and perhaps a nap before he had to get dinner
started. It had been an unseasonably warm day and he had to admit to himself
that perhaps he'd overdone it a little. At least, he felt overdone. He
applied after sun lotion on the lightly burned skin before lying on top of the
covers and fell almost immediately to sleep.
Duke continued to
travel his favorite trails, seeing an occasional deer, moose or other wild
critters. He often wondered how he had been so lucky to have been invited to
share James and Jeff's dream of this place. It was wonderful at any season of
the year. He came to a rise and saw some clouds. It looked like a rainstorm
might be brewing, but he shrugged it off, thinking that perhaps it would pass
over as they often did.
<<<<<>>>>>
At some point, Jake
realized that the ringing he'd been dreaming about was actually the phone
beside the bed. Groggily he reached out and picked up the handset.
"Hello,"
he mumbled.
"Jake, it's
Mutt, sorry to wake you on your day off..."
"S'okay, what's
up?"
"Just heard on
the weather radio that there's a big thunderstorm headed in, could be golf ball
sized hail mixed in. I just wanted to make sure that you and Duke were home and
safe before it hits."
"Wh-what time
is it supposed to start?" Jake asked, still somewhat sleep muddled.
"Well, if the
weatherman was right, around four."
Jake looked at his
clock. It was just about 3:15. "Ok, Mutt. Thanks for the heads up. Talk to
you later."
"Later,
Jake," Mutt replied before hanging up and calling the next number.
Jake sat up, now
fully awake and picked up the radio, "Duke, come in. Duke. Do you read me?
Over."
He was met with dead
silence. At first, his stomach knotted, worrying that something had already
happened to Duke, then he realized that his radio was turned off, most likely
the reason why Mutt had had to call him at home in the first place, and he
smacked his forehead with his palm, "Stupid," he muttered,
"stupid, stupid, stupid!" He turned it on and once again called for
Duke.
Duke heard the
crackle of the radio but ignored it as Jake's voice came over it. He really
didn't want to be disturbed or told it was time to come back yet. He wondered
if Mutt had told Jake that he hadn't answered when he'd called earlier but
shook his head. It wasn't like Mutt to be a snitch.
"Duke, do you
read me? Answer. Over."
Duke frowned, his
lover sounded tense so he keyed the radio. "Duke here...over."
"Duke, what
took you so long?" Jake said, relieved, "Look, Mutt just called,
there's a storm headed in, I want you to come home now. Over."
Duke frowned even
more. It was still mostly sunny out, the clouds looked a little closer, and
perhaps just a shade darker, but they didn't look the least bit threatening. He
reached into the pocket of his leather jacket where he had noticed an old
receipt earlier and crinkled it into the microphone. “What? I have a lot of
static here...repeat, please. Over."
"Duke, don't
play games," Jake replied, worried that the impending storm might already
be interfering with the radio signals. "Come home, Duke. Now. Read me?
Over."
"What...you're
breaking up. Over" Duke yelled into the microphone crinkling the paper a
bit louder.
"Duke!
Duke!" Jake yelled, "Can you hear me? Come home! Now! Duke!
Over!"
Duke crackled the
paper even more loudly into the mike and then shut off the radio. He continued
along his way.
"Damn!"
Jake growled, he had no idea where Duke was. He nearly slammed the radio down
but caught himself before using it to contact Con and Brian.
"Yeah, we've
been watching the storm front, it's coming in pretty quickly now," Con
sighed, "I'm sorry Jake... there's just not much we're going to be able to
do. But don't worry. Duke is a lean, mean, retired Marine, and he can take care
of himself. He'll be ok."
Jake took a deep
breath and let it out slowly, "Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right. Just...
keep an eye out, please? Over."
"Will do. Stay
inside, be safe."
"You too. Jake
out."
Jake keyed off the
radio and put his head in his hands. He knew that Duke was a smart guy, and
resourceful, but that didn't stop him from worrying about his larger than life
lover.
<<<<>>>>
Duke noticed it was
getting dark faster and the leaves which had been swaying in the strong breeze
began to whip around in the sudden wind. He flipped on the lights of the ATV
and he heard a roll of thunder. He glanced up but couldn't see much through the
trees.
He put more speed
onto the ATV as the rain began to pelt down through the foliage. All of a sudden,
he saw little eyes reflected in his headlights and put on the brake.
He didn't want some
small creature to be out here if it was going to storm the way it seemed to be
doing.
As he approached he
saw a shivering and now wet wolf pup. He slowly got off of his ATV, wary,
knowing wild creatures could attack without much provocation. He slowly
approached the small thing speaking softly and cautiously letting the pup sniff
his hand before reaching out and picking it up. He glanced around to see if he
could spot the mother.
He tromped around a
bit, cuddling the orphaned pup and finally found the carcass of a female wolf.
She was dead. She must have been ill, there were no signs of attack by another
predator. He tucked the little puppy into his jacket and headed back to his
ATV.
He hopped on and all
of a sudden golf ball sized hail began to fall, bouncing off of his helmet.
Duke glanced around. He knew that the cave Griff had hidden in wasn't far and
headed that way. He considered trying to make it to James's house but the machine
slid, convincing him that it would be a bad idea to try. As he pulled into the
cave lightening flashed and thunder roared and more hail fell, piling up.
He was grateful for
the protection of the cave where he could wait out the rest of the storm in
relative safety. Duke held the wolf pup securely and kept it warm as he sang to
calm it. Little by little, the rumbling of Duke's deep voice and the steady
beat of his heart lulled the little creature to sleep.
<<<<>>>>
When he heard the
hail start, Jake thought his heart would stop. Sure, Duke was a Marine, and he
knew every route to and from the resort, but would he be able to make it to
some sort of shelter before it got worse? He wished that the machine had some
sort of tracker so that he'd at least have an idea of how far away Duke was,
and if he'd be able to find a safe place to ride the storm out. He sat down on
the couch and closed his eyes, sending up a heartfelt prayer for his lover.
Jake had never allied himself with any one religion, but he did think of
himself as spiritual, so hoped that any and all Gods that were listening would
hear him and protect his lover.
<<<<>>>>
Duke stayed in the
cave until the hail finally stopped and the thunder and lightning abated and
the heavy rain began to melt away the hail that had accumulated. Once he
decided that it was safe to drive back to the resort. He hopped back on the
bike, still cuddling the wolf pup inside his jacket and headed out.
<<<<>>>>
As the storm tapered
off, Jake picked up the radio once again and tried to contact Duke, but there
was no answer, not even the hoped-for crackle of static. He checked in with Con
again, but the ranger had no news.
"Don't worry,
Jake. He's going to be fine. I'll be surprised if he doesn't walk through the
door any minute now," the man said bracingly.
Jake took a deep
breath and thanked Con before putting the radio down once more. Then, as though
lightning had struck him, Jake's eyes opened wide, and he frowned as the
thought he'd had dug deep and had taken root. He went to the kitchen and began
to make dinner. He hoped that it would be ready by the time Duke arrived back
home.
<<<<<>>>>>>
Duke came roaring
into the yard and shut off the vehicle after parking it in its usual place. He
cuddled the wolf pup after climbing off and headed into the bungalow. "Hi
Jake, I'm home! Look what I found!" He announced as he strode
inside.
Jake, relieved,
smiled broadly and was prepared to give Duke the hug of his life when he saw
the little bundle of fur in the big man's arms. His eyes widened and he stepped
back. "Is that a... is that a...! Duke, that's a..."
The big man laughed.
"I know what it is Jake...it's cute." He stroked the fur gently and
grinned.
"Wolf,"
Jake said quietly. He advanced slowly and held up a hand to be smelled by the
pup who wriggled in Duke's arms and licked Jake's fingers. "Where... I
mean... what happened? Why...?" he looked helplessly up at Duke, too many
questions flooding his brain for him to intelligently ask even one of them
completely.
Duke shook his head.
“I found it’s mother and think she
sickened and died, leaving this little one orphaned." He told Jake as he
held the squirming pup. "We probably should bring it to Shorty, but I sure
would like to keep it," he told Jake wistfully.
Jake blinked a few
times as he straightened out his thoughts. "It's probably a good idea to
get it to Shorty now, I'll call ahead. It might have to be quarantined just in
case it has whatever the mother had... and... I don't know about keeping a wild
animal, hon, even if it is just a baby," his voice trailed off as he saw
the disappointment and sadness in his man's eyes. "We'll worry about
that later. Let me call Shorty and we'll head over." Jake said decisively
as he turned the heat off under the pans which held their dinner and went to
pick up the phone.
"I'll be
here," is all Shorty said before hanging up.
Duke looked at Jake
as he hung up from calling the resort veterinarian. "What did he
say?" He asked a bit of trepidation in his voice.
"He's waiting
for us. Now, Duke, just be prepared," Jake said softly, "just in
case... just in case the pup is sick... alright? Just remember that Shorty'll
do everything he can, and if he can't, then Con and Brian might have some
tricks up their sleeves."
Duke bit his lip but
nodded at Jake's words. "'Kay Jake." He said quietly. "Do we
have to go right now?"
"Yeah, right
now. He's getting ready for your little friend there as we speak." Jake
looked up at Duke who was still somewhat damp. He hated to let his man go back
outside into the considerably cooler air, but he also knew that Duke wasn't
going to let go of that pup until they reached the veterinarian, and even then,
he wasn't so sure. He picked up his jacket and threw it over Duke's shoulders.
It was small but it would help keep the heat in while they ran to
Shorty's.
Duke nodded and with
long strides headed for the stables and the veterinarian's office.
Shorty met them at
the door with a bowl of food in a carry crate. The pup, once Duke let it down,
ran into the crate and began to eat happily, completely unaware that the door
had been closed behind him. Shorty looked at Duke and assured the man that he'd
take the best care of the little thing. "It'll only be a few days before I
can rule out various diseases that might be communicable, so he'll be in the
isolation room. You can, of course, go in and talk to him, but until the tests
are done, you'll have to suit up and wear a mask in order to hold him,
understood?"
The large former
Marine frowned. "Why? He won't hurt me."
Shorty suppressed a
smile, "No, he won't hurt you, but if he's sick and it's something that
humans can get, you'll get it too if you haven't already just by carrying him
around. You'd better get Duke in to see Heath as soon as possible too,"
the vet said, turning toward Jake.
"I plan to, but
first he needs to shower and change, and have something to eat. If he's been
exposed to anything, then so have I. There's no rush."
Shorty only nodded
and picked up the carrier. "I'll take good care of him. I'll see you
tomorrow, bright and early, I'm sure," he laughed as he brought the little
animal inside and closed the door.
"That's our
cue, hon. home. Shower. Dinner. Heath. That order."
He took Duke's hand
and led him back toward their bungalow, helping the large man strip off his
soaked leathers as they made their way to their bathroom.
Duke frowned the
whole way back to their bungalow. He continued to do so even though Jake was
stripping him bit by bit.
"I can
understand Shorty wantin' to be careful, but I really don't see the need to go
see Heath. I'm not injured or feelin' sick or anythin'," he grumbled.
"It's like any
other illness, Duke, it takes some incubation time before it hits. If the pup
is sick and if it's something you might catch, then we need to find out now
instead of later, understand? Now, into the shower," he ordered, giving
Duke's backside a sharp smack.
Duke jumped, yelping
“Ow!” He gave Jake a look but went in and showered and changed into comfortable
clothes. "Can we at least eat before we have to see the witch doctor? I'm
starvin'." he said as he followed the enticing scents of dinner into the
kitchen.
Jake, who had taken
a quick but thorough shower and had changed his clothes as well replied, "Dinner
is ready, hon. And then there's an issue I'd like to talk to you about,"
he said calmly.
He pulled out Duke's
chair for the man to sit on and put a full plate in front of him. "Chow
down, Marine."
Duke gave Jake a
funny look at his wanting to talk about something but smiled at the food placed
in front of him and did exactly as his lover told him. When he was finished he
sat back with a satisfied look on his handsome face.
Jake took away the
used plates and utensils and scraped them off before adding them to the other
items in the dishwasher and turning it on. He then picked up the large ziplock
bags that held the clothing that he and Duke had been wearing, including the
leathers. "Fleas," he explained upon seeing his man's confused
expression, "and," he paused, picking up the radio and deliberately
clicking into the on position, "this. Would you like to explain to me why
the radio was turned off?"
Duke's grey eyes
skittered away and he said nonchalantly, "I turned it off after I couldn't
hear you anymore and tucked it under my coat so it wouldn't get wet. I forgot
to turn it back on."
"Malarkey,"
Jake replied, leaning against the counter and folding his arms. "Try
again."
Duke hung his head
at his lover’s demeanor, knowing he had been caught. "I didn't wanna come
back 'til I was ready to," he whispered, confessing the lie he had just
told.
"That's what I
thought. It just seemed strange to me that I had a perfectly clear signal from
Con who is nearly five miles further out than the furthest trail, and somehow,"
he stressed the word, "I lost the signal with you. So, what did you use to
create the static? Dry leaves?"
Duke bit his lip and
said quietly, "A piece of paper."
"Thank you for
telling the truth. I just wish you'd done it the first time I asked. And we
still have to discuss the fact that I told you there was a storm coming and you
chose to ignore me."
Duke shrugged.
"I saw signs of a storm comin', but I just figured it would pass over like
they do a lot of times," he told Jake
Jake's eyebrows rose
and his lips thinned slightly, but he kept his tone level. "So, you saw
that there might be a storm, then I called you and told you there would
be a storm, and you still chose to ignore me. Not only did you ignore me, you
turned the radio off. Do you see a flaw in your logic anywhere?"
"I just thought
you were being a worry wart," the big man said.
Jake cleared his
throat and took a breath. "Yes, I did worry. Quite a bit after I lost
contact with you, and even more when the hail began. I had no idea where you
were or if you had gotten to safety or were lying out there somewhere, exposed
to the elements and injured. So, My Love, what do you think we should do about
this? I for one, don't believe that any of this is excusable. Deliberately
ignoring me when I told you to come home? Ignoring signs of an incoming storm
even though you're a seasoned outdoorsman? Pretending that you couldn't hear me
when I called you? Turning off your radio? Did I miss anything?" he asked
curiously.
Duke, biting his lip
still, shook his head. "Umm...No Sir."
"Well, hon,
should we take care of this now or after Heath sees you? I'll leave that
decision up to you."
"Can we just
not do it at all?" He asked hopefully.
"Before it
is," Jake said as though he were agreeing with Duke's decision.
"let's go into the living room and get this taken care of," he
continued as he turned around and drew a very large wooden spoon out of a
nearby drawer.
Duke's grey eyes
grew wide. "Umm...after we see Heath?" He asked.
"Living room.
Now." Jake said evenly.
Duke sighed and
trudged to the living room, knowing that tone.
It seemed strange to
Jake to be doing this. Duke was normally such a level-headed man that it hadn't
often been necessary to correct him, but he had broken the boundaries this
time, and as much as he hated to do it, he knew it had to be done. It felt odd
to sit on the couch and pull out the footrest. They had only ever used it as an
ottoman, up til now. He sat back on the couch and pressed the button that
made the specially made piece of furniture pop up to the level of the couch. He
put his legs up and looked at Duke. "You'll be safe, hon," he said,
"come on now, you know what needs to be done."
Duke couldn't help
but squirm. He'd found himself in this particular position with Jake a few
times, but he always felt nervous about it. He did what was expected and then
lowered himself over Jake's outstretched legs.
Anyone watching them
would probably have laughed, seeing the 6'6" tall man over the lap of someone
so much shorter, and who didn't look as though he could make a dent in the big
marine with a wooden spoon, but Jake knew right where to land the smacks to
make the most impression, concentrating on his man's sit spots, under curves
and the tops of his thighs.
Duke yelped and
squirmed at the stinging swats from the spoon and the heat they were producing
on his sitting areas.
Jake knew that he
didn't have to use a lot of force on his lover and so had been trying to take
it easy up til this time, but now he felt that he had to get his point across.
Using a bit more strength he focused on Duke's sit spots. He was able to hold
his lover firmly with his arm around him and his hand cupping his hip and he
felt so much better knowing that there was no way, no matter how much Duke
squirmed, that he would ever fall off.
The taller man knew
he'd be feeling the after effects for a while. He silently cursed Mutt for
building the damned thing, but at the same time was grateful for the extra
support.
Duke had found
himself crying, not so much from the pain of the spanking, though he had
to admit that it had hurt quite a bit, but more for disappointing Jake. He
hadn’t wanted him to have to go to this extent to let him know how much he was
loved and cared for.
He knew his lover
was reminding him just how much he loved his partner and to not hurt him or
their relationship by lying and not responding to his concern for
him.
Knowing when enough
was enough was important to Jake, and after a couple of minutes he stopped the
spanking and began to rub the sore spots gently. He realized it wouldn't
completely rub the sting out, but then what was the use of a spanking if there
wasn’t a lingering reminder, even if it was temporary. Jake put the spoon aside
and rubbed Duke's back, ruffling his fingers through the taller man's hair, and
whispering words of love and reassurance until he calmed down.
Jake maneuvered Duke
so that his body was on the couch and the taller man's head was resting in his
lap. He continued to card his lover's hair until the crying slowed and finally
stopped. Afraid that his partner might fall asleep, he rubbed his thumb down
the Marine's cheek and smiled, "We still have to go and see... the witch
doctor? I believe you called him? I'll have to tell him that when we get there.
I'm sure he'll get a kick out of it."
Duke made a face.
"I'm sure." He started to roll off the couch so he could stand up and
rearrange his clothing.
Jake stood and
gently helped Duke get his jeans and shorts up over his sore backside with as
little discomfort as possible. With a sympathetic smile, he stood up on the
footrest and leaned down to kiss his lover on the cheek. "Let's go see the
witch doctor, hon. As soon as you're cleared, we can come back and get some
much-deserved rest," he said softly.
Duke sighed.
"'Kay Jake." He kissed the other man who was more at Duke's level now
than usual.
As Duke was getting
into his jacket, Jake called Heath to let him know they were coming over. He picked
up one of the bags that had the flea covered clothing in it to bring along so
that Heath could run tests. He knew that Shorty would want a sample of them as
well, and Jake knew for sure there was no shortage of the little pests to go
around.
"Here we are!
Safe and sound!" Jake announced as he and Duke walked into Heath's office.
"Hey, Witch Doctor! I have your patient here!"
Heath stopped for a
moment and looked at the two men, surprised. "Witch doctor?"
"Yes. Duke
seems to think that you're a witch doctor."
The former Marine
blushed and peeked at Heath through his sandy lashes. "Uh huh."
"Well then,
have a seat on the table there, I'll need to take some blood samples,"
Heath suppressed a grin as he readied a syringe and several vials.
He put the band
around Duke's arm and tied it tightly, swabbed his arm with betadine and asked
him to make a fist.
Duke tried not to
wince and squirmed as he sat on the table and his grey eyes widened. "What
for?" He asked, trying to pull away.
"I'm a witch
doctor, it's what we do," Heath replied mildly, "relax, I'll sing you
a song to keep your mind off of it."
The big man scowled.
"Yeah sure...what kinda song?"
Jake grinned at
Heath and said, "Hey, Witch Doctor, give us the magic words!"+
Duke looked confused
now from one man to the other.
Heath laughed and
began to sing, "Ooo, eee, ooo aahh ahh, ting tang, walla walla bing bang,
ooo eeeee ooo ah ah ting tang wallawalla bing bang!"
Duke couldn't help
but laugh at Heath.
Jake continued the song,
keeping Duke entertained and his mind off of what the doctor was doing.
"Done,"
Heath said with a grin, putting a cotton ball and a band-aid over the injection
site.
Duke was surprised
to find Heath had finished and grinned. "Well, between the two of you that
wasn't so bad."
"It's what we
witch doctors do best," Heath replied in a fairly good imitation of
Tigger* as he bounced lightly across the room with the specimens. "Now,
I'll run the tests tonight and if anything out of the ordinary shows up I'll
call you. In the meantime, stay home, rest, relax. No sense borrowing trouble,
as my mother used to say."
Duke smiled shyly at
his lover and said, "That won't be a hardship, I love sleepin' with
Jake."
"Well, I'm
afraid that sleeping is all we'll be doing tonight," Jake chuckled
as he gave Duke a hug, "I don't want to overexert you. Come on,
sweetheart."
Duke sighed
dramatically but said with a twinkle in his eye. "Well if I must suffer
that, but cuddlin' is still good."
"We'll cuddle all
you want, but we have to get home first," Jake laughed, putting his arm
around Duke's waist and leading him back to the bungalow.
Later that evening
when the two men were settling down into their bed pretty much worn out from
the events of the day, Jake pulled Duke into his arms so that the sandy head
was resting on his chest, and whispered, "I love you, hon, with all my
heart. Don't ever scare me like that again."
Duke snuggled close
and said, "I love you too and I won't, I promise."
A/N*******************************************
+ The song
"Witch Doctor" was performed by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. and released in
1958 by Liberty Records under the stage name David Seville.
Released
April 1, 1958
Recorded
January 1, 1958
Genre Comedy,
scat, novelty song
Label
Liberty
Songwriter(s) Ross
Bagdasarian, Sr.
Producer(s)
Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.
(Information by
Wikipedia)
"It's what we
witch doctors do best", and 'bouncing lightly', is a play on the character
of Tigger, a fictional character in the book, The House At Pooh Corner, written
by A.A. Milne for his own son, Christopher Robin.
Tigger is known for
his love of bouncing, as he says himself, "Bouncing is what Tigger’s do
best."
The House at Pooh
Corner is the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A. A.
Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. It is notable for the introduction of
the character Tigger.
Originally
published: 1928
Author: A. A. Milne
Illustrator: E. H.
Shepard
Genre: Children's
literature
Publisher Methuen & Co. Ltd. (London)
Preceded by:
Winnie-the-Pooh
(Information by
Wikipedia)