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Mrs Carpenter was waiting for them when they got home. The way she looked at Lucy wasn't encouraging, but then she smiled at her husband. "Did everything check out at the vet?”

"Sure did! Our Lucy is as healthy as a clam. And we got some good advice on how to keep her that way."

"Our Lucy... right," Nancy said. She sounded sad, but not resentful like she had at the kennel. It gave the naked student hope that things would get better. But she knew her mother would need more time before she accepted that Lucy was still a member of her family, even if it was as a pet instead of a daughter. It was odd to think they were both uncomfortable with the situation, only for opposite reasons.

Lucy looked at the ground and crawled into the house. Behind her, Abby hugged their mom. "She's a great pet! You'll see!"

Tom smiled at her enthusiasm. "I bet she's hungry after all that running around in the park. Go on in and get her fed while I talk to your mother."

"Ok! Love you daddy!" Abby said, already running for the kitchen.

By the time Lucy caught up with her, Abby was tearing into an orange and dumping its juicy slices into a bowl. "Hey Luce, are you eating on the floor or do you want me to feed you again?"

Remembering how much her sister had enjoyed feeding her last night, and how close it had made Lucy feel to her, she smiled and licked Abby's hand. Her fingers were already sticky with delicious juice, making Lucy look forward to eating.

"Great! To my room then!" Grabbing the bowl, Abbie hurried upstairs.

Lucy followed her sister up to her room and stretched out on the bed. Baring herself like this remained embarrassing, but she was starting to become desensitized to the shame and it meant she could straighten her legs.

It's not like Abby minded either, to her it was no weirder than a dog rolling on its back. She just sat beside her pet and fed her one orange slice after another.

After Lucy had eaten her fill, Abigail lay down as well and smuggled up to her. "It's really great that you're our pet now, Lucy. I missed you when you went to college, but now we can spend time together like we used to. Well almost like we used to," she giggled. "But oh! I should get you that chew toy for your teeth!"

She jumped up and left the room, only to return holding a smooth turqoise oval. Lucy sighed and allowed her sister to drop it into her mouth. Luckily it wasn't very big, but it did taste rather rubbery - with a kind of minty undertone. When Lucy bit down, it gave and deformed around her teeth. It was like chewing gum, but tougher. She hoped it would actually keep her teeth clean, not relishing the idea of letting the vet take care of her cavities instead of a dentist.

While she chewed, Abigail gently ran her fingers over her legs to check for any new scrapes. When she noticed that Lucy was starting to giggle, she switched to tickling her until Lucy was afraid she'd swallow the dental chew with all the laughing.

But Abby backed off before that could happen. Holding her hand to Lucy's mouth, she told her to spit it out. After stashing it in the bathroom, Abby brought out a wet washcloth and a dry towel. She dabbed the cloth against Lucy's lips first to make sure they were clean of juice, then rubbed it over her hands and legs to wipe off the grime of the park.

After drying her off with the towel, Abby put everything away in the bathroom. This time she stayed in there a little longer though, and Lucy heard a flush before she came back.

"Do you need to pee too?"

Lucy nodded, suddenly aware of the pressure in her bladder.