This update is short and sorry to say not chronological. I wrote it way back, even before I wrote the first chapter of this fanfic. I just never found anywhere in this story to put it. It didn't quite fit and it really still doesn't. I just wanted to update everyone on my novel Forever Twenty-One. It is now available on Amazon and Createspace if you just search the title on those sites. I wish I could post the direct link, but that doesn't work here.

I know this isn't much, but I hope you like this little bit of writing. Enjoy!

Judy sprints through the abandoned building, slipping in and out of the shadows with a sloppiness unusual for her. This isn't like other cases though. This is unusual. Luckily there are few guards and her footsteps are so light they are inaudible. She clenches her fists so tight as she maneuvers that her knuckles turn white and she pierces her skin. Her breathing is impossible to control as he heart pounds in her chest and her senses run wild. It takes every ounce of self-control not to scream his name. Just a little longer. A minute more.

She slinks through the door and zips down the stairs into the pitch black of the basement. The air is chilling and the smell suffocating, but she doesn't have the time to care. She has to find him. Before something terrible happens. A shiver races up her spine and her heart speeds up to the point she swears it will burst from her chest.

She desperately feels her way through the darkness, bumping into things more than a few times. Only as she rams into object after object does it dawn on her – it's so quiet. Too quiet. Chilling, even. It is the last straw and she can't keep her big mouth shut another second. "Nick!" She should care more, really, really care, and she does, but she cares more about simply finding him. "Nick!" She holds her breath and keeps her ears on full alert as she waits.

There. She gasps and scrambles forward. A less attuned animal would never have heard it – the tiny sound – but she does. "Nick!" Her voice cracks. "Come on! Keep talking to me!" It isn't talking so much as an incoherent noise, but it is him – a tone only he could make.

Closer, closer. She snatches her flashlight off her belt and shines it wildly about. She sucks in a sharp breath and fumbles the light as she finally finds him. He lays within the bars of a tiny cage. His ears press flat on his head, as if he doesn't see or hear her. Worst of all there is a muzzle digging into his snout. Her heart clenches at the sight. She doesn't want to even imagine how he must be feeling right now. She will never forget what he told her of his childhood. "Oh Nick…"

Her urgency intensifies and she surges forward, skidding to her knees in front of the cage. She shoves the flashlight into her mouth and tilts it toward the lock as she attempts to pick it. Nick don't fail me now. Please let her retain some of those tricks she scolded him for when he used them and later tried to teach her. Yes! She flings the door open and the flashlight clangs to the ground as she gets in as close as she can. "Nick…"Her voice is tiny in an effort to hide the trembling.

Nick lifts his head and silently pleads to her.

Judy reaches out and carefully removes the muzzle. "You're gonna be ok now." She gently runs her fingers along his snout. "You're gonna-"

Nick launches himself at her, latching his arms around her and pulling her tight to him. He presses his face into her shoulder and despite how much he hates himself for it he can't contain his tiny sobs or keep himself from trembling.

Judy wraps her arms around his snout and holds on just as tightly as he does to her. His sobs bring tears to her own eyes and no matter how many tribulations she has endured, she isn't strong enough for this. She crumbles. "I'm sorry, so, so sorry." For everything.

Again, sorry it's so short. Hopefully I'll write something more substantial soon. Please review!