Learning to Communicate

[Author's Note: Thank you for all the support for this fic. This chapter is a bit long. It will have to do, because another update might be a little late in coming due to an increasing workload at the end of the semester. Thanks again and enjoy.]

Frankie's first visit to the vet was scheduled today. I had no idea what to expect. A whole clinic full of Sub-Humans? I looked over at him. He was sitting by the door in a new shirt. Something old of mine, but new to him. He was smelling it over and over, sometimes sticking his head all the way back inside the collar. I was stuffing my keys in my pocket. This week had been very awkward. I felt like I was on gaurd in my home. I know Frank was supposed to be a pet, but sometimes I couldn't shake the feeling he was just another human. I watched the news. Sub-Humans were quite the topic every evening. There was always someone saying that their subjugation was wrong, and another to say it was harmless. They were loyal companions. No, they were going to become slaves. You're right, you're wrong. Everyone seemed to have their own opinions. I was almost hesitant to go today, to hear this new 'medical' opinion on Frank.

He followed me to the car, jumping around, his tail fuzzing up at the sight of some squirrels chasing themselves round a tree. I cornered him into the car instead of him running after them. He smashed his face against the window, looking at me with big eyes. I stood there for a moment. I reached into my pocket and flipped my cell phone open, and snapped a picture of him. The hand pressed against the glass, the greeny eyes, and the ears fully perked up. I wanted to capture it somehow. Why? I wasn't even sure why. I just had to.

I was bringing his paperwork and the books with me. Since recieving them, I couldn't seem to put them down. Foxes were interesting, but the Sub-Human book was fascinating. They were so much like people, yet not. Sometimes I stayed up reading late into the night instead of getting on the computer, Frankie's head on my knee while he slept. There was a section in the book for every single aspect of their life. I felt like I was staring down at an anatomy book crossed with a biology text, and about a hundred more things thrown inside. I hadn't reached all the chapters yet, of course. I was reading about exactly how the sub-species had been created. Like I said, I was never a science kid (outside of science-fiction) but this was really interesting to me.

"Frankie? How are you feeling today?" I asked, turning on my blinker and pulling out of the parking lot of my apartment building. He only turned around to look at me like he always did at the sound of my voice. For once, I smiled, though not at him. While I was looking out of the other window. "Excited that you're going to the vet? I wouldn't be. I hate going to the doctor's because I'm afraid of needles. Did you know that? Are you scared of needles? Do you even know what a needle is?" I continued down the street. Frank only stared, cocking his head to the side and his ears adjusting accordingly. "Well, I tell you what. If you don't like the vet, I won't blame you. If I can be scared of doctors, you can be too. Does that sound like a good deal?" I glanced at him. He was smiling. "You don't even know what you're smiling for Frankie." It did not matter what I said, he still did it. I wish I could smile no matter what.

I let him out of the car when we arrived, and grabbed my books and papers. When I turned around, I was surprised to find Frank had opened the clinic door. For me. I eyed him. Still smiling. I walked through and he followed, close behind as ever. The waiting room was empty except for a receptionist behind the counter. I filled in my name on the papers she gave me, and I filled out all of the information on Frank that was needed. He busied himself on something in the corner. The receptionist looked over at him. "My, he's certainly a cute thing," she commented. I looked over. He had already started building something out of colourful blocks. I sat down to watch. He pressed his lips together in concentration. He took his time choosing which ones to use, and when I gave one to him, he put it back and chose another. The more I watched, the more I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.

"Francis Way?" I turned to look at who I was assuming the vet was. She smiled. We followed her, leaving Frankie's model of my living room behind us.

"Please, call me Dr. Grace," she said brightly, opening the door to an examination room. Frankie hopped along after her, looking wary for a change. Nice to see maybe he really was scared of this place. "You must be Gerard," she said, reaching her hand out. I shook it. She turned and hugged Frank. "You must be Francis!" He looked paniced for a few seconds. Then, he put his arms around her as well. She stepped out, touching his face, looking at it carefully. "They respond very well to touch," she informed me, the question yet to be asked. I nodded. "How long have you had Francis?" she asked.

"Oh, about a week now," I said. I quickly listed off the week, right from the moment I brought him home from the shelter. While I was babbling, she led Frank to the table and motioned for him to sit there on it. After a moment, he climbed up and sat quietly, his hands idle and folded in his lap. His tail rested on the table as well, motionless. I sat myself in one of the plastic chairs against the wall.

"First things first, hmm?" said Dr. Grace. She reached for the papers that were now in a file maked 'Way, Francis' across the tab. "You have all your shots, a good physical report upon leaving the shelter...." she murmured. "It says here he was found in an abandoned house, malnourished and behaving paranoid. They thought he might have had rabies, but he cleared the test." She chewed on her lip some. I did not know that is where he had come from. I looked at him. I tried to picture him skinny and scared, hiding away in a rotting house. "That was years ago, looks like," she finished, putting the file down. She pulled out a tiny flashlight and shined it into each ear, then each eye. He kept moving, holding his head back from the light when she came too close. She smiled. "Seems perfectly normal to me. You haven't noticed any strange behavior lately?"

I shook my head. And suddenly realized I was lying. At first, I hadn't thought anything of it. Frank had been streched out in his usual manner across the bed. I was watching late night TV, leaning back on my pillows that were propped against the headboard. The book on foxes was open in my lap, and occasionally I would glance down to read a paragraph or two. I glanced at Frankie because he had been making noise. I found myself doing a double take. He was groaning to himself, moving one hand flat against his crotch. I looked away just as fast. I felt frozen in place. I was unsure what I was supposed to do. Was he...actually...? Did I let him finish? Maybe it was the safest thing just to do nothing. He eventually stopped, rolling over and going quiet. I had completely forgotten about it (more like blocked it from my head) until just then. I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it. Would this make me seem like a pervert? I knew I was one, but that didn't mean I wanted other people to know. And it certainly did not mean that I had enjoyed sitting there during his....whatever the fuck he had been doing.

She glanced over at me. "Mr. Way..." Oh yes. The vet. The clinic. Frank on the counter, not touching himself.

"You can call me Gerard."

"Gerard. Francis seems just fine. What I'd really like to do is give him an I.Q. test though. You see," she began, leaning on the counter. "The Sub-Humans have intelligence just like you and I, and also like you and I, it can vary from being to being. Sometimes, it can be very high, which means that they have learning potential for almost anything." She reached up, scratching Frank's ear. He let his head drop to one side, his eyes closing as she continued.

"So, does that mean some of them think like normal humans?" I asked.

She nodded. "At least, they have the ability to think like a normal human. Now, I can't say they all do, because quite a large number have no more intelligence than the animal they are crossed with." My eyes wandered over Frank. So. Maybe it wasn't just my imagination. Perhaps he did understand me on some level that I didn't even realize. "Yes," I found my lips saying. "I'd like Frank to be tested."

..::||~*~||::..

We went back to the clinic to talk about his results. Dr. Grace was waiting for us both, a new book tucked under her arm. She was smiling. I found that I could not. Frankie always could. She set her hand on his head, mussing his hair in a greeting. She was just barely taller than he was, and that was with her high heel shoes.

"Well hello there," she said cheerfully to him. She turned to me, gesturing for me to take a seat. She did herself. "I thought you might want to come in and talk about this rather than over the phone," she said. She pulled out the 'Way, Francis' file. She set about setting papers out in front of me, explaining them as she went. Something that measured brain waves, something administered to elementary students, more tests upon strange tests. I set my hand down on one of them and interrupted her. "So what does all this mean?" I tried not to sound irritated.

"Frank's I.Q. is higher than most students who have completed Jr. High school. It means he could be an eighth grader."

I looked down at him. He was sitting on the floor, looking through the book she had given straight to him from under her arm. It was a ledger, printed with instructions on writing letters and numbers. "Do you mean...that..." I was starting to get a picture here. She slowly nodded, looking at me over the top pf her thin, wire glasses. "That he could learn to read and write?" she finished for me. She leaned in and her voice dropped. "Gerard, I know this may not be a big deal to you, but it is. Frank has a higher potential to learn things than almost any other patient I've ever seen. That's huge. He's like....a genius. Well, by Sub-Human standard. To us, he's like a thirteen year-old."

She took a breath. "Again, I know this may be a lot to take in, but you should know that I'm not like other vets. I'm interested in so much more than just their health. I want to know how they work, since it's not just like a human and yet not just like an animal either. I don't think a hybrid creature is just a pet. I really believe in some ways, they could be superior to people." She paused. She shook her head. "No, no, I know that didn't come out right...."

"You think that if they all had I.Q.'s like ours, they would be more...like, a better master race." I looked up at her from behind my bangs. I had been staring at my lap the whole time. I knew what she was saying, even if it was a bit too Planet of the Apes. I at least could understand what she was expressing. We both looked down at Frankie, still amusing himself on the floor, his fingers tracing the letters. She cleared her throat.

"I cannot tell you how to treat your....companion, but, may I suggest something?" Dr. Grace asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Don't shut out the fact that he can learn things. It wouldn't be fair."

"What do I do?"

"Talk to him. See what he learns just by listening." She took a card and scribbled something on the back. "This is my cell phone number. If you have any questions, call me."

I numbley stood, catching myself a little on the table edge. I felt dizzy, like I had suddenly been drowned in information. Frank looked up at me, his eyes wide. He smiled, reaching a hand out and touching mine as it hung at my side. "One more thing," said Dr. Grace. "Have you read chapter ten in your Sub-Human adoption book yet?" she asked. Huh? "Uh, no, I'm still working through the introduction and the first chapter," I said, thinking about all the basic things the book had already told me. I skipped around a bunch, reading certain sections when I needed them. The back of the book was rather uncharted territory though, as nothing more complex had come up.

She smiled a little to herself, trying not to. "I suggest you get familiar with it quickly then."

..::||~*~||::..

I flipped open my book to chapter ten once home.

Sex and the Sub-Human: An Owner's Guide to Sub-Human Sexual Behavior

Sex? What? Frank was hiding himself away inside his den. He only slept there during the day it seemed, because at night he slept near my feet (if not on them practically). I glanced down the page. Hormones influxes, breeding patterns, seasons....I shuddered at the phrase 'in heat'. Animals were not fun to have around like that. I knew. Mikey used to keep all kinds of dogs and cats in the house. My poor mom, trying to explain to us why the kittie wouldn't shut up even though it wasn't in pain. I grimaced. Not a pleasant memory.

I rubbed my eyes. I didn't want to think about this. I barely thought about it as I dialed Dr. Grace's number. "Hello Gerard. Are you looking at your book?"

"Were you sitting by the phone or something?" I asked.

"I expected it. I assume you have questions?"

"What is this trying to tell me in English?"

"When we took brain waves from Frank, I noticed that his brain is acting up near where human endocrine glands would be, which is probably a good indication...."

"Wait, what's a-...?"

"Have you ever had a puppy?" she asked abruptly. "Yes," I answered.

"Do you remember that it goes through a phase where it humps everything in sight?"

"....Yes."

"It's bascially because it suddenly figures out it can. And it likes to do it. Which is what Frank is about to start doing."

"I feel really ill."

I hung up with Dr. Grace after assuring her that I would read through the chapter, and that if I really wanted, I could set up another appointment to come see her. Well, for Frankie to see her. I clicked off my light and pulled the covers up over my shoulders. Freakin' cold apartment....I swallowed, letting my eyes slid closed. They felt like they were burning in their sockets. So. One sexually frustrated male now becomes two. And speak (think) of the devil, I felt the mattress shift and sink under added weight. I felt his breath against my ear, and his hand touching my hair. I abruptly jerked the covers over my head.

"Back off pervert. This apartment ain't big enough for the both of us."