Paws for Effect -

Chapter 1 - Once Bitten

*****

"I'm fine, Carey, it's no big deal," Max said to his detective partner, holding his arm.

"You're bleeding, O'Malley. It's clearly a big deal," Chris held Max and led him into the police station.

"Detective O'Malley, Detective Carey, what's going on here?" A stern burly man with a bristly moustache furrowed his eyebrows at them as they clambered into the building.

"Oh, shit, here we go," Max thought. Frank Holloway, their boss, was always getting on their case for any missteps or cockups. He was definitely going to go ape-shit after seeing the state Max was in.

"Just back from gathering some intel on that drug cartel, Sir. O'Malley here got bitten by one of the guard dogs. His arm is pretty nasty," Chris explained.

"How did this happen? Those guys mean serious business. You can't just go snooping around with your guard down. This is some negligent behaviour. You'll end up blowing the whole bust, and then where will we be? Months of work down the drain, and for what? You need to be a lot more cautious. I'm taking you both off this case, effective immediately," Holloway's voice boomed around the office.

"But, Sir!" Max complained.

"That's my final word on it, O'Malley. Detective Carey, take O'Malley up to medical and get someone to clean this mess off my floor," Holloway nodded to the blood dripping onto the floor before strolling away down the corridor.

Max just stared after his boss, mouth ajar as he took in the news of his work being taken from him.

"Come on. Let's go," Chris snapped Max out of his reverie as he led his partner up the stairs to medical.

*****

"Ok, that's you all sorted," Helen, the medic said to Max, snipping the thread after stitching up his wound. She had cleaned the wound, washing away the excess blood and stitched it up. "I've given you some shots for precaution. Things like rabies and other infections. Who knows what that dog could've been carrying? You might feel a bit woozy tonight so just take it easy. Keep taking the pain killers as needed. If your condition deteriorates over the next few days, let us know."

"Thanks, Doc," Max clambered to his feet. He was feeling drained already after the excitement of their mission, the adrenaline and fear from the bite, getting kicked off the case, and now all the drugs pumping through his veins.

"Let's go, bud," Chris led Max out of medical, carrying his stuff for him while his partner cradled his arm. "You'll survive," Chris chuckled, strolling downstairs to the basement where his car was.

"It's not funny, man," Max sat into the car once Chris had unlocked it.

"Don't overthink it, it's just a bite, you'll be better in no time," Chris drove out of the basement, heading into the orange dusk light. He turned, heading south in the direction of Max's house.

"Not the bite, I don't care about that. It's more the case. We've been working on that for months. Gathering information, following leads, questioning witnesses. We worked so hard on it. We built that case -- Ouch!" Max held his arm as Chris had just driven over a bump in the road, causing the car to shake and Max's arm to hit off the door.

"Sorry," Chris apologised, making a sympathetic expression.

"You're taking all of this quite well," Max sighed after finally recovering from the sharp pain. "Why aren't you pissed off with being taken off the case? It's probably going to go to some lackies who are going to steal all the glory and take the credit for our work."

"It's Holloway. He does this. He's hot-headed and impulsive; just give him some time, lay low and out of his way. He'll come around and put us back on the case. The amount of work we've put in has to mean something. You'll see, man. You're just a bit more trigger-happy. Just concentrate on getting better and we'll be back in no time," Chris gave Max a light pat on his leg.

"I guess it's paperwork for us for the time being," Max stared out the window, the low sun blinding him.

"The ever-exciting world of administration I'm afraid. At least you have a good reason since you're injured. They'll know my balls are in the boss's hands when they spot me stuck in the office," Chris laughed, trying to keep the mood light and cheer up his partner.

The rest of the journey was quiet as Chris drove Max home, finally coming to his house in the suburbs.

"Here we are," Chris pulled up outside the house. He got out to help Max out of the car.

"I'm fine, man, really," Max tried walking, but wobbled on his feet.

"You can barely walk. Swallow your pride for a minute and let me help."

"Fine," Max sighed as his partner walked him to the door. Chris took Max's keys and got the door open. "Thiago is going to freak, watch." The two men passed through the hallway and into the living room. Max's boyfriend Thiago was sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. He got to his feet when he saw the other two men.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Thiago was wide eyed, running over to help.

"Shhhh, Thiago, izzz ok," Max was slurring his words as the pain killers kicked in.

Thiago helped Chris carry Max to the couch, lying him down.

Max closed his eyes, semi-conscious of what was going on around him, tiredness threatening to take him over.

"He got bitten by a dog while we were doing some investigating in the field today. He's alright, the medic cleaned and stitched up the wound on his arm and gave him shots. He's just woozy from the pain killers," Chris explained to Thiago, who took in every word while cradling his boyfriend.

"Oh, shit. Well, thank you for taking care of him," Thiago kissed Max on the forehead, unable to take the worried expression from his face while he caressed his boyfriend's hair.

"He'll be ok. Let me know if you need anything," Chris said.

Max tried to listen to their conversation but couldn't stay awake. The exhaustion and pain killers finally pulled him under and he drifted off to sleep.