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The fitting lyrics of a sad, country dirge stirred Reid from his sleep in a puddle of drool, and he groped for his phone, finding the device a few seconds too late to answer a phone call from a phone number he didn't even know. He groaned and rolled over in bed, squinting into the sunlight pouring in through the blinds, his throbbing skull a testament to the night before - a night he would rely on his friends to recall for him in the hours to come.

He unplugged the phone from its charger and held it aloft, staring into the screen with bloodshot eyes. Adrenaline surged into his blood when he saw that there were over a dozen missed calls, several voicemails, and numerous texts from different people. What day was it? Had he missed work again? The calendar read Sunday. Reid sighed and collapsed back into the sheets, watching the ceiling fan spin for a second or two.

Three of the missed calls were from Paul. Two were from Vance, and one was from Billy. Two more were from the foreign number, and the rest bore Kelvin's name.

Kelvin! He cursed himself. Jumbled memories came together like a jigsaw puzzle, piece by piece, until he hazily recalled leaving the kid behind at the strip club in the hands of two frat boys more intent on getting laid than showing the new hire a good time.

Maybe he had a good time, he thought to himself in an effort to assuage his guilt. After all, that girl from the Costa Club he was gallivanting around with seemed nice enough. Perhaps the Shiba Inu had gotten her number. Maybe he was calling to get advice. Or maybe to gloat in excitement over getting a date.

Maybe he'd desperately wanted someone to call him and give him an excuse to leave.

Reid opened his contacts and scrolled to Kelvin's name, mashing the number with his thumb. It started to ring, and he wondered what he was going to say. The Shiba Inu picked up almost immediately.

"Reid?"

"Yeah."

"Shit, we were so worried about you!"

The heeler paused for a few moments and nearly drifted off to sleep again.

"...Why?"

"Well, we were out pretty late, at that club. When I drove back by the Costa Club on my way home, I noticed your truck was still in the parking lot so I went inside to look for you, and you weren't there so I started getting worried."

"Oh, oh shit. Is it still there?"

"No. I called Paul and he got the spare set from the shop and we took it to your place. We knocked on the door but we couldn't get an answer, we didn't even know if you were there."

Reid sighed and sat up, rubbing his face.

"Um. What time is it?"

"It's three-thirty."

"Oh, man. I just woke up. I'm getting too old for this..."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"You might want to call Paul and let him know. He's pretty worried about you."

"Yeah, will do, thanks."

He ended the call and tossed the phone onto the nightstand. Aching legs and feet were swung over the edge of the bed, and the cattle dog stood up to wearily face what was left of the day. It was approaching evening, but he felt as though he could sleep well into the next morning.

Reid padded into the kitchen to find something wet and cool to soothe his parched tongue, dehydrated from last night's alcohol consumption. Nothing like more alcohol to fix that. Not knowing why, he set his beer down on the kitchen counter and picked up his wallet, opening it and recoiling at the sight of leather, and only leather.

He tore into the hidden pockets of his wallet, tossing credit cards, driver's license, vehicle insurance, and random business cards into a pile until the billfold had been emptied of its contents. He felt sick to his stomach. There had been over six hundred dollars cash in there, and now it was gone.

Angry, he whipped the wallet at the backsplash of his kitchen counter and grabbed the beer. Bare feet paced the apartment. Think. THINK. He'd gone to the club to hang out with Billy, Vance, and Kelvin. He'd had a few drinks. He met up with...Aiden! That number!

Grabbing his phone, he opened it up to see a text from the mystery caller.

Thanks for last night, was a lot of fun! You robbed those guys, lol. We should get together again soon. See you around the shop, cutie.

Reid's cheeks flushed and his heart rate accelerated.

Cutie?

He called the number.

"Aiden?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, it's uh, Reid. From last night."

"Oh, hey! How're you feeling? You were pretty lit last night."

"Yeah, I'm a little hung over, but I'm good. Listen, hey; I don't really remember anything that happened last night. I woke up about ten minutes ago, the guys were blowing up my phone and my wallet is empty! What happened last night?"

"Well, I don't know what happened after I dropped you off at your place, did you go somewhere else?"

"I don't think so, no." Reid said, holding the phone to his cheek with his shoulder, pulling his jeans on. There was something in his back pocket, a large object of some kind.

"Did you check your pockets?" Aiden asked, almost on cue. The heeler's hand shot into his right back pocket, and he pulled out a wad of cash, secured with a rubber band.

"What...what the..."

"Sounds like you found what you were looking for." The lab said, chuckling.

"Where did this come from?"

"You don't remember? Hold 'em. We played poker last night."

"Poker? Shit, Aiden, what was the buy-in?"

The lab coughed.

"Thousand. You should come and play again; you're pretty good at-"

"Did anything else happen last night that I should know about?" Reid asked quickly, cutting the lab off mid-sentence. Aiden was quiet for a few seconds.

"Like?"

"Like anything I might regret. Anything...illegal?"

"Aside from underground high-stakes gambling? No."

"Did_we_ do anything?" The heeler's voice brimmed with unease. He hated himself for asking; not for fear of offending the lab, but simply for the fact he believed he was too old to even worry about such matters. There was a moment of silence and a soft sigh on the other end, followed by Aiden's answer.

"We kissed when we got back to your place. That was about it though. I never came in. I dropped you off and left."

"The fuck..."

"Sorry dude, I don't even know how it happened, I - you - we were drunk, and you barely made it up the stairs to your place even with my help, and we got to the door and-"

"No, I mean why didn't you come in?"

Beat.

"From the way it sounds, you weren't in much better shape than I was. You could have gotten a DWI or something last night, or worse! God, listen to me, I'm turning into my boss..."

"No, no, you're right." Aiden assured him, embarrassed.

"I don't know if I told you but uh...you might say my driving record's got some wine stains on it. I'm just normally extra careful for that reason..." He chuckled gruffly, "...I don't know what got into me last night."

Aiden shrugged on the other end of the line.

"Don't beat yourself up. You had a good time."

Reid smiled half-assedly.

"I did?"

"Yeah. Sure seemed like you needed it."

"Eh."

"I think you probably work a little too much and a little bit too hard. You need to cut loose once in a while."

"S'what everyone keeps telling me."

"Well, maybe you should listen to them. It's good advice. Get out there; get your blood flowing with something other than booze. You'll be better off for it."

Reid opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by the call waiting tone. He pulled the device away from his ear to see Paul's number on the screen.

"Hang on, I've got another call. I'll catch up with you later, all right?"

"Cool. Seeya."

Click.

"Hey Paul."

"Reid? You all right son?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm good." An image of Aiden flashed through his mind, and he smiled.

"Okay. Just wanted to make sure...we brought your truck back to your place last night."

"Yeah, I talked to Kelvin earlier, he told me about it."

"You make it home okay, I hope?"

"Mhmm. I caught a ride with a friend."

"All right. Good to know. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep, I'll be there. Bright and early."

Reid ended the call, finished off the last of his beer and grabbed another one to polish off what was left of his Sunday. At the kitchen table, he grabbed the fat stack of money and pulled off the rubber band, fanning the bills out into an impressive spread of twenties, fifties, and hundreds. He counted it out, separating them into their denominations and coming up with five thousand dollars on the dot. Suddenly, poker sounded like a pretty lucrative career choice.

He took another sip and thought about Aiden. It had been a long, long time since he'd connected that well with someone, particularly someone he'd never met before. At least, well enough to kiss them. He'd been drunk. He couldn't even remember it.

He wondered what he tasted like.

Reid mulled the idea over in his head, and by the end of his first beer, he'd decided he wasn't going to call the lab back that day. After last night, all he wanted was an opportunity to relax before his work week started again.

He'd have plenty of opportunities to get to know the lab better in a more professional environment. He nodded to himself. It was for the best, he decided.

***

A black Mustang rolled into the parking lot of the local hospital, and donning a hat and sunglasses, Reid disembarked from the vehicle and skirted the edge of the building on a sidewalk used by hospital employees to decompress, smoke, and chat during their lunch breaks. It was sparsely populated at that hour of the day, and the fog was particularly heavy that morning, making the drop-off cake for his contact on the inside.

Automatic doors parted, and the heeler entered the hospital, his sensitive nose tingling from the sterile odor masking the air of sickness in the place. Boot heels thudding across the marble floor of the lobby, he locked eyes with a young tiger, who winked at him. Just inside the common area of the building, Reid ducked into a bathroom, and verifying that no one was inside, he squatted down in front of the sinks and opened a cabinet, digging underneath the molding until his hand found its target - a small black bag containing what he needed to get him through the week.

He pocketed the bag, and left a hundred dollars in its place.

On his way out of the hospital, he passed a cat standing outside, looking as though he'd been in a nasty bar fight. Both of his eyes were swollen, a cut on his eyebrow had been stitched up, and his lip appeared to have been split. They locked eyes, and Reid couldn't help but feel like he knew him from somewhere.

Oh well. No time to chat.

***

"Morning guys."

"Reid! What's up bro?" Billy asked, flipping a wrench in his hand and grinning stupidly at the other dog.

It had been a rough night. Waking up in the middle of the day had thrown his sleep schedule out of whack, and he'd managed to get to sleep only when he had finally blacked out from drinking away his hangover. Luckily, he'd come to before his alarm went off.

He cursed the fact he'd come to at all.

Everything seemed to be running smoothly. Paul was busy in the office with some work orders. Reid poured himself a cup of strong, black coffee and rounded the corner to the showroom where the Nova sat on display. He traced a finger along the edge of the door until he reached the handle, which he popped and opened the door, taking a seat inside it.

His thoughts drifted back to the lab.

"What's on your mind, son?"

Reid lifted his gaze to see Paul standing there, his belly framed by his suspenders, hands shoved into his pockets.

"Oh...the usual."

The bear nodded. He limped slowly over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door and sat down, the Nova sagging under his weight.

"How'd it go last night?"

"I can't remember half of it. Apparently, I killed it at a poker game, I woke up and there was about five thousand dollars cash in my back pocket. Can't complain about that, huh?" He forced a smile. Paul chuckled.

"No, I guess not."

"I don't think I'll go out with them again."

"How come?"

"It's just not good for me. I don't need to be doing that kind of crap at my age. I should have had a family by now. Should have had a wife, kids, all that. Should have happened by my age."

"Coulda, woulda, shoulda."

"Mm."

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Get this. Remember that lab that came in here yesterday, wanted to get his Mustang tuned up?"

"Yeah?"

"Ran into him at the club last night. Got to talking. And you'll never believe this - says he used to drive a '71 Nova that fits this exact description."

"No foolin'?"

"Nah. Asked him if he could find the VIN on it. Said he would look. Talk about a small world, huh?"

"Guess so. Listen, Reid. I feel a little bit guilty about pressuring you into going out with the guys, I know I've been telling you for a while you need to unwind and relax, especially now that you're running the show around here. It's obvious you had a little bit too much to drink last night, and that's not really good for someone with your, uh, condition. I should have known the temptation would be there."

"It's not your fault. You're not responsible for my self-control. Besides, all in all, I had a good time last night." The cattle dog confessed, but really, he was just taking Aiden's word for it.

"Well, that's good at least. I think it's good for you to get out and enjoy life, but just...be careful. Promise me?"

"I promise."

"Okay." Paul nodded, avoiding eye contact for a moment. "You might want to get out to the bay; I think Kelvin may need a little bit of help. I'm having him install an intake on some ugly little bitch, some bright orange, fart-can muffler-havin' import thing."

Reid laughed.

"You got it."

When the heeler entered the garage, Kelvin was bent over with his head in the engine bay of a Subaru, installing a cold air intake. It was a tempting sight, seeing the Shiba Inu bent at the waist, that curly tail capping off his cute butt in those tight jeans, but Reid dispensed with the dirty thoughts and walked around to the other side of the car.

"Oh, one of these."

Kelvin looked up from the engine bay at Reid, but briefly, and lowered his head again.

"Yeah. One of these."

"You all right?"

Kelvin nodded.

"All right." He muttered. Reid opened his mouth to speak, but the Shiba Inu beat him to the punch.

"Look, I was really worried about you last night. Billy and Vance were too, they just...they won't tell you because they're not the type to show it, but I-"

Kelvin's mouth quit on him and his jaw began to quiver. His hand dropped limp to his side and he could do no more than stare at the older dog in front of him. Reid was too poor at reading others to know that the younger dog was one word away from bursting into tears, but in spite of that, he could tell that something was amiss.

"Let's go for a drive."

Privacy was not easily had around the shop, so Reid opted to take his apprentice out in the car the Shiba Inu had gushed over a couple of days prior. He helped him with the harness, and down the drag strip, they drove at conservative speed until they found themselves at the turnaround, a mile from the nearest ear. Reid pulled the e-brake and took the car out of gear, letting it idle.

"What's up? Talk to me."

Kelvin's face crumpled and he flung himself across the center console, wrapping his arms awkwardly around the older dog. The heeler double checked, of course, just to make sure there wasn't anyone staring down the drag strip with a pair of binoculars or anything.

"I thinking...that I should prob-probably turn in my resignation." Kelvin choked out between sobs.

"Why?"

"I'm not like these other guys. I love cars, I love working on them, but I just don't fit in around people like Vance and Billy. I looked so stupid at that strip club on Saturday night."

"Kelvin, don't worry about Vance and Billy. They're douchebag incarnate, believe me, you get used to them after a while."

Kelvin nodded and returned to his seat, obviously embarrassed about such an outpouring. He sniffed, and a tear rolled down to a dripping nose that he wiped on his arm.

"Look, you don't have to be embarrassed around people like them, or me. You're new to this, and I know they give you shit about being the new guy - don't let it get to you. They're not doing it to be dicks. It'll come naturally over time, hell, even I couldn't tell the difference between cylinder heads and an intake manifold when I first got into this business."

Kelvin laughed a little, obviously forced, but Reid figured some progress was better than no progress. He checked the center console and glove box for some napkins, found some, and handed one to the younger canine.

"Can I be honest with you about something?"

"Of course."

"I really look up to you, especially around here. You know this stuff like its second nature to you, but you're so modest about it all. I've never really had any role models until now. You're the person I want to be like in this business, not Billy, or Vance, or the others."

Reid felt a pang of guilt surge through his heart like a lightning bolt. There was so much about him that Kelvin didn't know, and now, he was going to have to keep it as tightly under wraps as he could. The kid had potential; he had smarts and a can-do attitude, and the cattle dog figured that was all he needed for success, especially under his wing. There was no way he could allow Kelvin to know about his alcoholism, depression, suicide attempts or drug abuse.

He couldn't let a twenty-two year old kid lose his grip on his career just because he was so broken himself.

He shouldn't. He couldn't. So he promised himself that he wouldn't.

***

"Aiden!"

Reid's eyes lit up when he walked into the front lobby to see the lab standing there at the counter. Their handshake was a little awkward, each knowing that they had kissed, but for appearances' sake, they kept it professional.

"I found that VIN we talked about on Saturday night."

"No kidding? Let's take a look."

Together, they walked to where the Nova sat, and Aiden froze in his tracks the moment he laid eyes on it.

"That's it."

"It is?"

"Check it out." The lab said, handing the slip of paper to Reid. "But I'm telling you, that's the one. I would know this car anywhere."

Aiden circled the car a few times, marveling at it. Reid looked back and forth from the VIN plate to the sheet of paper in his hand, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's a match."

"Told you!" Aiden exclaimed, beaming. He opened the driver's side door with a stiff pop and swung it open, sinking into the black leather bench seat. He caressed the steering wheel, fingered the shift knob with its simple four-speed layout.

"It's just like I remember it..."

"We never changed a thing." Reid said, leaning on the bonnet, "I don't think there was anything else we could have done to make it any better." He watched the reunion with a gentle grin, but it faded when he noticed Aiden's knuckles, wrapped tightly around the wooden steering wheel. They were busted up and flecked with the remnants of old blood, as though he'd been fighting.

"Do you drive it? Please tell me you still drive it!"

"It's been a little while. We never raced it, but on occasion we'll pull it out and take it for a spin around the track."

The cattle dog smiled again.

"You want to take it out, don't you?"

Reid opened the bay door to the California heat while Aiden inserted the key into the ignition. The suspense of the engine turning over was almost too much for him to handle. Every horse in the big-block motor whinnied to life while the exhaust pipes quivered and the belts whined.

"Bom, b'bom, b'bom, b'bom, b'bom..." Aiden sung along happily with the car's cam lope as he rolled it out of the building in first gear. Reid shut the door behind them and grabbing his own keys, he hopped into his Boss to lead the lab around the back where the strip was.

"You want to ride along?" Aiden called out from the driver's seat.

"Nah, I'll let you have a private moment to reminisce!"

Reid was happy to show Aiden to the drag strip, but he was more than happy to pull up into the lane right beside him in his own pride and joy. It wasn't until then that the lab became smilingly aware of the other canine's intentions. It would be a battle of the ages: old versus new.

Projects were put on hold - usual when the Nova was out at the strip - as tuners and mechanics alike left their bays to gather and behold. Bets were placed, speculations made. They all knew who was in the black Mustang - Reid never let anyone else drive it - but who was in the Chevy?

Red light. Amber light. Green light.

The slicks on the Nova spun on the pavement. The Mustang's tires dug in, and propelled the heeler out into the lead, but even he knew he wasn't going to win this one. The 427 dug in, and it was catching up to the Mustang at an alarming rate. Cheers could be heard over the engines from the sidelines. Reid shifted into fifth gear, chuckling and savoring those high RPM gains. He wasn't so concerned with winning with no stakes on the line, he just loved to drive and it was obvious that the lab was having the time of his life as well. Aiden powershifted the Nova into fourth and squeaked the tires, bringing the Nova neck and neck with the Mustang.

Something about drag racing could make ten seconds feel like ten minutes, but it never failed to get the adrenaline pumping. The quarter mile was growing closer, and the Nova was gaining a lead. Reid wasn't going to let Aiden win. He clutched, pulled it into sixth, and let it go, his Mustang easing gently ahead of the Nova and crossing the finish line at 12.2 seconds with less than a foot to spare.

He laughed and downshifted, getting sideways on the turnaround and speeding like a demon back to the shop, Aiden right on his tail.

"I believe you were a drag racer, Aiden O'Flynn!" He said with joviality rarely seen.

"It was a close one, wasn't it? My launches are a little rusty, like I said; it's been a few years for me." The lab smiled at the car.

"All right, well, let's get it back on the floor and we'll get to work on yours, how about it?"

***

Reid's ears pricked and he felt his face flush as he walked through the bays post-race, pretending as though he didn't overhear the gossip and fodder coming from everyone around.

"I've never gotten to drive the Nova..."

"Who was that guy?"

"You think he's related to Paul?"

"Is that one of Reid's friends?"

"You know, he's never mentioned having a wife, or a girlfriend or anything..."

"That guy was talking to Reid at the club the other night, they left together..."

The cattle dog bristled, but he simply bit his tongue and produced his pill bottle, tipping one out into his palm. Kelvin was pulling Aiden's Mustang onto the lift when he walked up.

"Wasn't that the guy from the other night?"

"Yeah."

"So what's with the race?"

Reid looked briefly up at him, hiding his annoyance at the Shiba Inu's inquisitiveness.

"The Nova used to be his. We were talking cars the night we all went out and when I brought it up, he mentioned he had one just like it. He looked into his records, pulled the VIN, and it was a match. I figured I'd let him race it again just for nostalgia. I'd been getting the itch for a race anyway."

"Oh."

They were quiet for a minute while Reid looked at the work order for Aiden's car.

"I'll race you, y'know?"

"Kelvin, you drive a Nissan, don't even bother wasting your gas." Reid teased, shooting the kid a wink.

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead and hate."

"Hey, Reid?"

He turned around to see Paul standing in the doorway leading to the front office. He beckoned the dog with a finger and led him inside, shutting the door behind them.

"So, it turned out to be a match, huh?"

"Oh, uh-huh, yeah."

Reid felt his stomach drop with the kind of apprehension he felt as a schoolboy in the principal's office. He hadn't asked Paul if it was all right to take the car out for a race.

"So what'd it do the quarter in?"

"Um, twelve-point-two."

The old bear laughed.

"I'm not sure that fella needs to be behind the wheel of anything if he can't grease that sucker in ten seconds or less with that car."

Reid wasn't going to ask him if he was or wasn't displeased about their little impromptu drag race, but still he wondered why Paul had wanted to speak to him.

"Well, he said it'd been a few years since his last race. It's a perishable skill, y'know? Gotta stay sharp."

"True, very true. Um. He left this for you. I didn't want to give it to you in front of the other guys."

Paul handed Reid a once-folded slip of paper, and he opened it to see CALL ME written in pen with a smiley face underneath the VIN number of the car. His cheeks burned again, and his hand instinctively reached for his pills. He stopped himself.

"What, did he forget something on the work order?" Play it cool, Reid thought.

"Mmm, nope. Left it specifically for you, I think."

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Whatever you want. All I'm supposed to do is give it to you; it's out of my hands now."

"Hm. Maybe he wants a re-match on the track."

"Call him up, find out." Paul said, grinning a little. A bead of sweat broke out on the cattle dog's forehead.

"I'll call him later. I need to give Kelvin a hand with his car." Reid said, pocketing the slip and heading for the door.

"Reid?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself."

He nodded.

Easier said than done.