Adventures of the K9 Force

Underneath The Fur (NCIS Sydney)

 Zephyr was still getting used to the scenery of her new home. Sydney was a place she never thought would be her home. The team she has now was definitely not what she was expecting, JD Dempsey the AFP’s team quirky leader was exactly that– quirky and the rest of his team wasn’t much better. Dr. Roy, was their medical pathologist who had been aiming to retire before being pulled back in to be part of NCIS Sydney, their taskforce. Evie was the most tolerable of the team, she was the most like Michelle and Zephyr herself. The one team member Zephyr could not stand at all is Kodi, the annoying Australian Kelpie morale officer. The dog, belonging to JD, was absolutely insufferable; he was lucky, always happy, always cracking jokes, it was like he was never serious; they had absolutely nothing in common. Speaking of Kodi, Zephyr saw the male dog walking up to her, “Go away, Waggy,” she grumbled, not wanting anything to do with him.

 Instead of going away the annoying dog sat down beside her bed, his tail wagging as always (hence the nickname Waggy), “Oh come on Zephy, if we are going to work with each other long term, we might as well try and get along, we have to have something in common,” he huffs staring down at her with those wide, innocent green eyes. He obviously wasn’t going to leave , so the larger dog reluctantly stands up from her bed and walks away, sadly Kodi seems to follow her.

 “You and I? There is no way we have anything in common,” she scoffs, sparing him a glare trying to get him to leave her alone in a way she knew would work. He was persistent though following her wherever she went, like Mary’s little lamb. It was obviously annoying and Zephyr wished he would just leave her alone. Kodi had no idea what she had been through, had no idea what war was, had no idea the sacrifices she and Michelle had made for their country. He had lived in a world where he had a normal life; they were not the same.

 “Y’know if you took a look underneath the fur you would see we’re more alike than you give us credit for,” he tells her simply, his eyes alight with an enthusiastic glint. The marine dog just stares at him as if he were crazy. JD’s dog had to be delusional, what did he even mean by looking beneath his fur? She already had his personality down. He could never take anything seriously.

 “You’re delusional Aussie, you think life is just some game to play, you joke about everything. I see life in a very different light. In our line of work it’s either kill or be killed. There is no way we’re the same,” she vehemently disagrees. The kelpie doesn’t seem phased though, in fact he looked slightly amused, used to Zephyr’s personality by now

 “But every dog has a greater call just like every creature in existence. If I were to ask you what your purpose is, what would you tell me above all else,” Kodi questions for the first time ever sounding oddly serious, she was slightly taken aback by this drastic change in demeanor, her thin tail lowering slightly as she thinks about the obvious answer she was about to give. She had many purposes over the years: a bomb sniffer, a sister, a cadaver dog, but her main purpose since meeting Michelle was being there for her.

 “Being there for Michelle of course,” she finally mutters reluctantly. Zephyr didn’t quite understand why he would ask such a question. The answer was obvious: wasn't that every dog's main responsibility? Why would someone get a dog if not to be a loyal companion through thick and thin? There would be no reason for life for a dog otherwise.

The kelpie wags his tail excitedly before saying, “See we do have something in common! My purpose above all else is to be there for JD. That is a dog’s purpose, isn’t it?” His words trail off curiously, his eyes locking with hers, the rhodesian ridgeback finds herself reluctantly agreeing with the dog she usually could not stand. The annoying dog did have a point there.

 “ Okay, maybe we do have something in common,” she admits reluctantly, her tail down in defeat, and Kodi’s eyes light up with delight. Zephyr then starts speaking again, “But you could never understand what I’ve been through… what we’ve been through,” she tells him motioning her head towards Mackey who was currently working on a case report. When she turns back to Kodi his eyes have darkened significantly, it was honestly terrifying to see. “Kodi, wha– what's wrong?" she asked slightly nervously she did not know what was going to happen next.

 Kodi growls, shocking Zephyr even more, Kodi had never growled at anyone before, “Well at least I try! Do you know how hard it is to be a morale officer when no one wants to be here! Rosie was supposed to be retired, Evie and my partner were perfectly fine as partners, Blue, while she was nervous, isn’t as nervous as she is around your owner.  For once everything was going well! “ Zephyr backs away as Kodi advances towards her; she has definitely learned not to push Kodi off the edge. 

 “Wha- what do you mean…” 

 He cuts her off, “We've had our troubles too Zephyr, ones that my owner and I agreed to never think about again.” his voice was now just a murmur as he turned and glances to his owner who's brows were furrowed with concentration.  “We may be different Zephyr, but the next time you go judging someone, maybe look underneath their appearance first,” he mutters defeatedly, padding over to his owner with not one look back.