A/N: OoohLookACat asked what Layla looks like. I pictured her as a vizsla. It isn't a very common breed of dog and would be expensive so given the background you will learn about Layla she probably isn't a pure blooded vizsla but she looks something like that in my mind.

Chapter 2

Nick wished he still had the shirt thrown over his head as the slugs continued to copulate. Honestly his manhood felt slightly threatened after learning that slugs can go at it for hours and in midair too. Plus they both seemed to be into cuddling which was the only complaint he ever got in that department. But Nick rationalized that since slugs are hermaphrodites the girl part of them should like to cuddle? Right?

Layla seemed to have the same feeling about the video because she started to whimper and pace around the room. Nick cursed Jamie in his head for subjecting him and the poor dog to the insect porn. Honestly all she was doing was convincing him that the female of the species is more deadly than the male. He winced in sympathy as a scorpion was stung to death by his lady love and a spider was not only bitten but wrapped up in to a neat little package to be eaten at a later date after mating. Wasn't it just like a woman to make sure everything was tidy after destroying a man?

There was a scene with thousands of mayflies flitting over a river looking just like fairies and few parts about butterflies that he honestly did enjoy. However, Nick was utterly unwilling to admit to anyone the video was interesting, disturbing and disgusting but interesting.

Jamie reentered about 10 minutes after the show finished and looked at him expectantly.

"Did you learn anything?" She asked in a schoolmarm tone that irked him.

Nick mumbled something but since he was currently still bound and gagged Jamie had a hard time understanding him. She rolled her eyes and took out the shirt, then held a glass of water to his lips so he could get rid of some of the mouth lint.

"Well?" She asked expectantly after he had had his fill of water.

Nick smirked, "Relative to their body size Slugs have massive johnsons."

Jamie threw up her hands in disgust.

"Are you going to try to get my charged for assault?" She asked in a quick change of subject that confused him.

"Yes," he answered even though the thought hadn't entered his mind until she asked.

"Ouch!" He shouted. On his assurance she was going to be changed with assault she had no scruple about whacking upside the head. Big johnsons indeed.

He gave her a nasty look, "You're not very nice, you know."

She looked at him bug eyed, "You're talking to your kidnapper!"

He smiled at her indulgently, "We both know you aren't a real kidnapper."

They did? That was news to her. She hoped fake kidnappers could go to a fake prison.

"So all you have to say after watching that amazing video about insects is slugs have a big Johnson? You don't find it interesting how cicadas know how to all climb out of the ground at the same time every 17 years or how spiders use the same silk to make their webs that you use to make your silk tighty whities."

He laughed, "Never seen silk tighty whities in the store before but if I do I'll buy them and think only of you when I wear them."

Threw up her hands again and considered whacking him upside the head again too but he obviously needed all the brain cells he had left and Jamie was loath to damage them.

"Why don't you care about insects? Because they're small? Without bees plants wouldn't get pollinated and we would have no food, without worms we would have infertile soil, without the silk worm you would have to wear cotton tighty whities."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not debating that with you, I just don't go out of my way to care about something that I have killed thousands of times and that's just driving to and from work."

"Snails are impor—"

He cut her off, "I have a solution to your damned snail problem. I'll give you as much salt as you need to take care of it."

She saw red. How dare he even think of taking salt to the snails! Just because he didn't value life didn't mean he had a right to casually destroy it. She was livid. She stuffed the shirt back in his mouth and stormed out.

Nick became slightly more circumspect as time wore on. He didn't feel bad about his encounter with Jamie, in fact he found the whole thing surprisingly amusing if uncomfortable and it was that discomfort that lead him to become wary of the situation. It seemed like by the second his bladder was filling up and the fact it had started to rain was not lost on him as he groaned in discomfort.

Discomfort aside Nick was starting to get worried about Layla. She had finally stopped pacing and was now laying down behind the sofa panting and whimpering. There was something wrong with the dog and as much as Nick didn't like animals there was something about Layla that he liked. She was a sweet little thing and smart and he needed to check on her. But as much as he thrashed he made no headway to getting loose. He was coming up with new combinations of cruse words that were so vile they would have shocked even a 14 year old boy by the time Jamie came back and he stilled in his attempts to escape.

She stood before him not looking ashamed exactly but regretful, "I'm . . . I seriously am sorry."

Nick's gaze locked on her and held. That was the last thing he expected to come out of her mouth. He could do nothing but look as she went on, "It was stupid of me to kidnap you. I just . . . I care too much sometimes, you know?" Caring too much was not something Nick had ever been accused of before. "I just thought if I could explain it to you, you would have to see things my way. Don't get me wrong I still think you're a selfish bastard, but it was wrong to try to force you to—"

She immediately stilled as she finally heard Layla over her triad.

"Fuck!" She shouted as she ran over to look at the dog, "It's ok, sweetie. It's going to be ok."

Nick did his best to see what was going on. He obviously was suffering from some kind of twisted Stockholm syndrome. He had come to care about the dog and the dog kidnapped him or something. Nick sighed and stopped his rationalizing. He didn't know why he cared but he just knew that Layla had asked him for help and he didn't help her and Jamie was too mad at his snide remarks to notice how the dog was acting.

Nick could do nothing but stare as Jamie ran around the room grabbing up odds and ends as she ran over to the dog and murmured soothing words so softly that he couldn't hear anything other than she was trying to assure Layla everything was going to be ok and judging by the poor dog's rising agitation things were so not ok.

Jamie looked over at the bastard still tied to the chair and wondered if she could risk asking for his help. God knew she needed it but if he decided to call the police instead of helping she didn't know what would happen to Layla. Jamie decided to do what her parents had always taught her and trust that people are for the most part good, not willing to watch the suffering of another when it's staring them in the face. She gave Layla a gentle pat on the side, stood and walked over towards the phone, picking up the cordless handset and bringing it with her.

"I need your help. No fucking around with me, if you won't help just say so but don't lie to me. I'm going to untie you and give you this phone." The slight panic in her voice made Nick sit up and take notice, "Layla is having puppies. I thought she might be pregnant but . . . She's not healthy most likely the puppies aren't going to make it. Most likely she isn't going to make it. I know you hate me but just do me this favor and . . . well I doubt there is anything I can do for you in return but you aren't helping me, you're helping her. Once we're done call the cops, I don't care just please do this for me."

He stared up at her in awe. It was obvious with ever word she spoke that she loved the dog and it bothered her beyond measure to be forced to ask him to help but she would do it. She would do anything to help the dog when she needed help and he really did feel like the callous bastard she viewed him as because he had never felt that way about anything, never did anything simply out of love without expecting something back in return. She really was an amazing little firecracker. He still disliked her on principle being she had kidnapped him but he respected her. He envied how much she seemed to feel and care. He had always felt too much sentimentality and displays of emotion where a waste of time and breath but not with Jamie. She didn't just say things, she felt them, deep inside her and her utter conviction was amazing. All he could do was nod his agreement. Wasting no time she untied him and handed him the phone.

"The bathroom is through there," she told him as she pointed. "Wash up."

By the time he returned she was so focused on the dog she didn't seem to even see him. He sat down at the dogs head after a brief and terrifying look at the back end. It was a bloody mess that he was no prepared to deal with. After looking to Jamie for guidance and getting none he started to pet the dog. To the best of his knowledge he had never even touched a dog before and he enjoyed the texture of her fur as he ran long soothing strokes down her body.

"It's . . . umm . . . it's ok." He spoke with conviction and on hearing his voice Jamie looked up at him. He felt like a fool. Nick just did not talk to things that couldn't talk back. But by the look in Jamie's eyes he knew he had won her appreciation and his ego seemed to swell under her approving gaze like nothing he had experienced before.

"That's it. You're a good dog." He spoke with more confidence as he petted the dog, doing his best to avoid the bald patches that seemed to tickle her.

"One's coming!" Shouted Jamie, "Nichols, I need you down here."

With much reluctance Nick scooted towards the back end of the dog, "The other puppies should be quick now that she's started. Put on some gloves and I am going to hand you the puppy as it comes out. You need to wipe off the after birth and make sure it's breathing. Take this eye dropper and stick it in its mouth and try to get rid of any liquid you can."

"I . . . I can't be in charge of getting them breathing! I . . . that's a big deal. I've never even seen a new born baby before." He voice was actually shaking at the thought of having that kind of responsibility.

"Wilson, you can do this. You have to do this. There isn't another option unless you want to come down here and play catcher?"

He started to sweat as he saw her squeeze out the first puppy. It was tiny. That couldn't be right. With shaking hands he put on a pair of latex gloves picked up a towel. When Jamie placed the first puppy in his hands all he could do was stare and wonder if he looked so tiny, shriveled, and gross when he was born. It was kinda cute in its own right but it more resembled a mouse than a dog.

"Wilson! Snap out of it!" Nick glanced up at the sound of his name and suddenly woke up. As gentle as possible he wiped it down. And stuck the eye dropper in its mouth and cleared it of fluid. But its stomach wasn't moving and it made no noise.

"It's still not breathing!" Nick held the small life in his hands and was hit with the kind of helplessness he hadn't felt since he was a child and his mother had left. It wasn't something he thought about but there was no other way to compare what he was feeling then to anything else in previous experience. There was nothing he could do. Nothing he knew to do.

"Shake it!" shouted Jamie.

"Shake it?" Nick shouted back, "It's a puppy not a damned Polaroid picture!"

"Hold it securely with your hands and shake it gently downward. Try to dislodge any liquid in its lungs."

Nick did as instructed several times and right when he was about to give up hope he heard a cry. It wasn't really a cry more like a tiny little yelp.

"I did it!" He shouted, "It's breathing! It's alive!"

She looked at him and she smiled at him as she used her forearm to push a piece of hair out of her eyes. She was radiant. Glowing. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than this women working so hard to save these poor, ugly, little puppies.

"You did good," she said as her attention went back to the dog, "Give Layla her puppy. She wants to clean it and be quick about it here comes another one."

"Another one?" He asked in horror. He momentarily forgot dogs have litters, "How many more are in there?"

"We're about to find out."