Pain Before Peace.

Pain Before Peace Chapter 5.

"Now, as much as I would love to just stay here and hold you pretty girl, we have things we need to do today." Carol said gently, rubbing her pet's back.

"We...we do?" Sarah whispered quietly.

"Yes sweetie, we need to get you in for a check up and we have to get you registered." Carol explained, lifting her pet into her arms as she stood up from the couch.

"C-can I have a top? Please Ca-Keeper?" Sarah asked, correcting herself quickly as she spotted her keeper's eyes narrow slightly. "I don't want people to see my...my chest." She hid her tomato-red face in her keeper's shoulder.

"Viv?" Carol asked softly, giving her fiancee a questioning look.

"Her change has just barely started, so she shouldn't overheat, but I'd recommend that she only wear something light." Vivian said after thinking for a moment. "Now that she's started to accept the Bond the change should start speeding up."

It was surreal...Vivian and Carol were talking about her, like she wasn't even there! She was still a person, still a human being, she still had rights! She just wanted to scream that she was still there.

"I'm right here you know." She mumbled, her annoyance clear in her voice.

"We know pretty girl." Carol whispered, giving Sarah a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "I'm just worried about your health. You have to be much more careful now."

"Because I'm a...pet?" Sarah asked, hesitating slightly, recieving a nod in reply. She watched as Vivian stood up and walked in the direction of the bedroom before turning her head back to her keeper. Carol's eyes were glued to Vivian as she walked away, pure love shining in her eyes. "You really love her, don't you?"

"Yes, I really do." Carol said soothingly, stroking Sarah's hair. "I don't know why she puts up with me, or how she can be so understanding and patient with me, all I know is that she loves me, and I love her. What more do I need to know?"

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"Are you okay back there pretty girl?" Carol asked as she drove to the pet hospital. It wasn't a long drive, forty minutes at the most and they'd already been on the road for half an hour. Already Sarah could feel the need to stretch out, her muscles protesting her uncomfortable position in the trunk.

"I'm okay." She mumbled as she fiddled with her top, a thin lavender nightgown. "I'm starting to feel a little cramped though."

"We're almost there Sara, just a few more minutes and then you can stretch out, okay?" Vivian said, turning her head to peer into the trunk, giving Sarah a kind look.

"It's just a ten minute appointment, maybe twenty if they're busy-damnit asshole, pay attention to the road!" Carol growled, glaring at a car that had swerved in front of her.

"Sorry, she hates it when people are being stupid on the road." Vivian explained sheepishly.

"I get like that too, or, I guess I did, you know before." Sarah muttered, glaring at her diaper. "Claire would always....oh God, Claire! She must be worried sick!" She exclaimed, her face paling sharply.

"Who's Claire? Your girlfriend?" Vivian asked kindly, ignoring her fiancee's glare. "Already protective, that's a good sign." She idly thought to herself.

"Eww, no. She's my little sister." Sarah explained. "I'd been crashing at her place since I lost my job. I was putting out applications when..." She trailed off, glancing at the back of her Keeper's head.

"That might explain your phone going off multiple times last night." Carol stated, putting the car in park. "Caller id said Rosie-Posie though."

"That's her! Her middle name's Rosalie-wait she called me?! Why the fuck didn't you tell me, she's gotta be worried sick!!" Sarah screamed.