A Wild Life

The entire wall in front of her was one big window covered with some kind of see through netting. She saw Bobbie come out from around the side of the building and head to one of the four big wire enclosures in a cleared area between the clinic and the woods. She was carrying two buckets, and let herself into the enclosure through a double door alcove.

The enclosure was filled with small trees and logs set up so that they resembled a sort of jungle gym and as soon as Bobbie entered young squirrels began to pour from nest boxes situated around the tops of the walls. Bobbie sat the buckets down and held her arms straight out to her sides as the squirrels jumped to her from limbs or ran up her legs. She was covered by a swirling gang of fuzzy tailed cyclones running around her body in all directions.

Carrie could almost hear her laughter as the squirrels realized she had brought food and began to bail off left and right. Some went into the right bucket to come back out with a nut, just to run off and begin to bury it. Others went into the bucket on the left to come out with chunks of fruit or vegetables and run off to find a good place to enjoy their prize. One squirrel smaller than the rest stayed with Bobbie and ran up to her neck burrowing and butting it's head up under her chin looking for all the world like it was begging for affection.

Bobbie scratched it gently for a moment tucking her chin down close then reached into her pocket and came out with what looked like a 2 ounce baby bottle but the nipple was small and thin. The squirrel immediately flopped onto it's back on her chest and began nursing on the bottle, holding it in it's front paws and kicking at it with it's back feet.

As soon as it was empty Bobbie pulled the bottle away and held the little guy by the scruff of the neck wiping his face with a tissue to rid him of his milk mustache. She then bent to reach into the the bucket and pull out a pecan. She presented it to her little friend and then sat him over on the roof of a nearby nest box. He stuffed the nut, easily half the size of his head, into his jaws and literally squirted into the nest box.

Carrie laid back on the cot and closed her eyes. She was not sure exactly how to handle this situation. She was supposed to be undercover investigating this woman not lying injured in her clinic. Oh, she knew by now that Bobbie was completely innocent and had no idea that there were Native American sites on her land or that they had been plundered recently and the artifacts sold on the black market but that didn't change why she was here.

In fact, Bobbie Huskey had been investigated and watched on and off for the past 20 years by various government agencies. First there was suspicion because a bright up and coming young computer programmer had suddenly quit her job, sold everything she owned, and started traveling extensively abroad. They had determined that she had simply worked long hours, in windowless rooms, staring at computer screens, just long enough to build up the funds to be able to go into wildlife photography. Then, it seemed she had an uncanny knack for being able to get into countries and their deepest wildernesses when no one else could get the approval of the government. She had been into countries that were not friendly to the U.S. on many occasions and it landed her on a watch list.

Being watched had actually saved her when the accident had happened. Bobbie had been filming rhinos when an inexperienced member of the crew had set off a huge male rhino. It had charged and Bobbie had almost made the leap into the back of their fleeing film truck to safety, almost. The rhino had broken off the charge just as he reached the moving truck but slid sideways to slap the truck with it's flank. Unfortunately Bobbie had been trying to jump into the truck and her lower body had been caught between moving truck and sliding rhino. Her pelvis had been broken and both of her knees had been badly dislocated. The State Department had quietly arranged for her to be flown out to a U.S. Military Hospital and then back to the U.S. for treatment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had stepped in to investigate when during her rehab she had sold the large portfolio of tech stocks she had been amassing through the years. Her experience with the beginning of the computer age had given her the insight to invest well and she had cashed out millions of dollars worth of tech stocks. The tech bubble had burst within three months of her cashing out, so naturally they had to investigate and make sure nothing illegal had occurred.

Everyone had been interested when she had put out feelers and finally located a 6,437 plus acre tract in her home state. What in the world was one woman going to do with so much land? Environmental groups had been up in arms fearing she was going to clear cut and sell all the timber or begin drilling for gas and oil which was known to be found in the area.

It turned out that Bobbie had simply wanted to give back to the wild things that had made her a very rich woman. After all, it had been the photography that had paid for the stocks. She had set up a wildlife rehabilitation center, managed to limp through enough college classes and seminars to get it licensed by the state and then set up her estate so that when she died all the land would go to a nature conservancy and the wildlife center would be funded perpetually by a trust.

Truth be known, Carrie had a huge crush on Bobbie. A lot of the background info she had looked into was more from her own curiosity about the woman than any real need related to her investigation. Now, laying here in her clinic she secretly hoped she could get close to her during her stay, very close indeed.

Hearing Bobbie enter another room in the clinic Carrie decided to play opossum for a while and see what she was up to. She heard buckets banging and then water running, it sounded like she was cleaning up from preparing the squirrels meal.

Bobbie reentered the main clinic room carrying a small bottle and several syringes with little rubber nipples attached. Glancing over she saw Carrie was still out. Leaving her supplies by one of the incubators she walked over and pulled a sheet up over Carrie worried she would get cold in so little clothing. She would go and get her a T-shirt and sweat pants as soon as she finished with feedings.

Reaching into the incubator she pulled out a tiny, barely furred, creature the size of her thumb. Filling a syringe with one hand she proceeded to slowly feed the infant formula, stopping once to refill the syringe. These little guys could barely take 2 milliliters. After the baby had taken it's milk replacer she wet a paper towel in warm water and began rubbing it briskly. Normally it's mother would give it a good bath after it nursed but now Bobbie was it's mother, thanks to the house cat that had found it's mother's nest in an old blue bird house. Of all the injured and orphaned creatures that went through her clinic and were released every year, house cats allowed to roam free were the most frequent cause of their plight.

Carrie sat up with a groan and startled her.

"It's so tiny! What it is it?"

"Baby flying squirrel. They have to be fed every 2 hours around the clock and I am a little late with this feeding. So, how are you feeling? Going to stay awake this time?"

"My head feels like it will explode any minute, my arm and ankle are throbbing. What the hell happened?"

Bobbie replaced the flying squirrel in the incubator and pulled out one of it's two siblings.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly why you were up on the bluff at the back of my property but I arrived just in time for you to somehow manage to break off an old dead tree and fall with it half way down the bluff. You landed in a crevice with it on top of you but I managed to get it off you and get you here. I've been teleconferencing with a doctor to treat you as best I can. As a matter of fact, she wanted to speak with you as soon as you came around. Let me finish with these little ones and I will get her back online for you. I also intended to run over to the house and get you some clothes as soon as I finished. Sorry about that but the little ones needed food first."

Carrie suddenly realized she had no idea where her gun and badge were and began scanning around the room.

"It's OK, your gun and badge are in your backpack, locked in my Jeep, in the garage. If it will make you feel better I will get them for you when I go for the clothes."

"Thank you, I just feel strange without them."

Bobbie smiled and turned around showing her other side and the .44 on her belt. "Oh, I understand, believe me. Living out here one never knows what is going to happen. I have a permit and carry from the time I put on my pants in the morning till I take them off at night, even then it's just on the bedside table. Unfortunately this area has been hit hard by the prescription drug abuse boom and everyone knows there is an animal clinic up here. I think the main reason I haven't been hit yet is that they are afraid of what kind of animals they may run into. I've considered posting a warning sign about skunks and rattle snakes for added security."

Carrie laughed at the obvious joke and then smiled to herself when she noticed the tell tale bulge in the front of Bobbies pants. It seemed a pistol was not the only thing she was packing. She would just have to see if she couldn't find an opportunity to get a closer look at that!

Bobbie finished up with feeding the last of the flying squirrels and moved over to the laptop. She hit the call button on the conferencing software and waited for Beverly to pick back up on her end.

When the web cam picked back up on her Beverly was half reclining on her sofa in satin pajamas with a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other. "Oh, I see our patient has finally managed to join the world of the conscious again. Hello Carrie, I am Dr. Potter how do you feel?"

As Carrie and the doctor began to converse Bobbie headed into the small kitchen off the treatment room and cleaned up the feeding syringes, placing the left over milk replacer in the small fridge for use at the next feeding. She pulled out her cell phone and set an alarm for 2 hours time and made a note to give Chance his mice then too. She went over to the main house getting Carrie a T-shirt and sweats then stopped by the garage and grabbed her backpack out of the Jeep.

As she came back into the room she over heard Beverly say with a laugh "Just remember she is shy you will have to take matters into your own hands or she will never make the first move, and if you get in the hot tub keep your legs up, I mean that ankle wound out of the water!"

Bobbie cleared her throat noisily, interrupting the other two women laughing. "Excuse me, somehow I don't think I was supposed to hear that! Bev what the hell are you up to?"

"Just recommending a little treatment for the nurse as well as the patient Sugar, you've been up on that damned mountain alone for too long! Besides it's dangerous for Miss Brown to sleep after her head injury and I can't think of a better way to keep her awake for the next 12 hours can you? Now, be a nice little Butch and go get into your safe and get her one of those pain capsules I made you get filled for emergencies. She can have one every 6 hours and no alcohol allowed."

Bobbie blushed, handed Carrie her backpack and the clothes then walked over, unlocked her office door and disappeared inside, hearing the two of them burst into laughter again. She stalked to the bar in her office, grabbed a glass and threw in a few ice cubes from the under counter fridge, then poured a healthy dose of rum for herself. Slamming about half of it down before reaching back into the fridge to retrieve a vitamin water for Carrie. Just as she reached the safe behind the door she heard Carrie yell from the treatment room.

"Bobbie! Can you help me out here?"

She rushed back into the room to see Carrie standing beside the cot holding on to the counter and swaying like she was going to hit the floor any minute.

"Hey now, easy does it there!" She came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her to steady her.

Carrie leaned back into her for a moment then sighed. "This is embarrassing but I can't seem to get into these pants. How about you just hold me up while I put the shirt on then I need to find a bathroom."

Bobbie held her around the waist steadying her enough that she could slip the oversized T-shirt over her head, then handed her the backpack and said "Here, let me. Just hold on tight." She picked her up and cradled her in her arms as she strode through her office to the bathroom adjacent to it.

She sat Carrie back down on her feet in front of the sink where she could hold onto the counter. "You should be able to get around in here by holding the counter tops and the hand rails. I need hand rails myself sometimes. Let me know when you are done in here and I will help you get to a recliner in my office. When I have little ones like the flying squirrels I spend most of my time over here anyway."

Bobbie left the door ajar slightly so she could hear if Carrie was in distress, went to the safe to get her something for pain and stopped by the bar to refill her rum, taking another good long drink. This could end up being a very stressful evening. Every time she touched Carrie now that she was conscious it seemed like the sparks flew and she wasn't sure how smart getting involved with a federal agent that had been caught snooping around would be. She definitely wanted an explanation before she did anything other than lend a friendly helping hand.

She returned to the bathroom and knocked before entering. "Here is a vitamin water and a pain capsule, need anything else or are you ready for a ride to the recliner? We need to talk."

Carrie took the drink and the pain capsule from her popping the capsule in her mouth and washing it down "I hope I keep this down. Every time I get dizzy I feel like I am going to heave."

"How long has it been since you ate anything? If you could keep some soup or crackers down it might help." Bobbie bent to scoop up the shorter woman again and kicked open the bathroom door carrying her into her office and sitting her down in one of two large leather recliners.

The office was not what one would expect. Two large leather recliners were in the center of the room, they swiveled as well as rocked and reclined allowing one to rotate around to view any of the 3 large flat screens. The bar took up the space between the entry and bathroom doors and the screens the other 3 walls. On a small table between the recliners was a small wireless keyboard, a strange looking trackball mouse, several remotes and a tablet computer. The keyboard and mouse operated the computer hooked to one of the flat screens, the tablet computer ran most of the basic environmental functions of the house and clinic.

Bobbie went to the bar and into the cabinets above it. Taking a large ceramic mug she dumped in a package of soup mix, filled the mug from the tap and popped it in the under cabinet microwave.

"Here you are lady, hot chicken soup, not as good as home made but a lot faster. Now, I would really like to know why you were on that bluff."

Carrie blushed and seemed to squirm a bit in the chair. "Well, I have a confession to make. Umm let me start at the beginning. There are Native American sites on your land as well on the Wild Life Management Area adjacent to your land."

Bobbie interrupted with " I just found out about that today when I called the Sheriff to report your accident and try and find out what was going on. I looked through your identification and found out who you were and what department you were assigned to."

Carrie continued "In the past two years there have been artifacts showing up on the black market that apparently came from this area. I was assigned to find out who was raiding the sites. I've been watching you and your land for several months on and off. You have been cleared in any wrong doing but we still need to find out who is doing it and stop them."

"If I have been cleared why didn't you just ask me for help? I mean... here let me show you something."

Bobbie picked up the wireless keyboard and mouse from the table and booted up the computer. As soon as everything was loaded she opened her surveillance system software and began flipping through various cameras through out her property.

"See? I could have just added a few cameras to the system, some of these are nearly a mile from here, distance is no issue. You could have sat here in my office and done any and all surveillance without having to climb bluffs and endure the weather."

Carrie blushed and looked very uncomfortable. "Ah, well, you see at first I was very curious about you and I spent a lot of time watching you. I knew about the cameras. I've been dodging them to keep from being caught. Then, I did a lot of background investigation and found out why you are doing what you are doing and about the accident. It began to, um, change from an official investigation to something more personal."

Bobbie was taken aback by that. "Personal? What do you mean personal?"

Carrie promptly burst into tears. "I am so afraid I will lose my job over this but, but, I think I have fallen in love with you."

Bobbie rocketed to her feet stunned by both the tears and the confession. She turned to Carrie and hit her knees before the recliner she was in, taking her in her arms and drawing her in for a hug. "Shhh, shhh don't cry. Please don't cry."

Carrie first nuzzled her face in Bobbie's neck then shyly turned and kissed her. The kiss began as a gentle exploration but turned hot and passionate quickly. Bobbie groaned and slid her hands up under Carrie's T-shirt and around to the back stroking up and down her back and sides as the kiss continued. It seemed a natural progression for her hands to then slide around to the front and cup Carrie's breasts eliciting a moan from both of them.

Bobbie broke the kiss and looked very serious for a moment. "Are you sure about this? It's not the concussion or the pain medication affecting you is it? I don't want to take advantage."

Carrie growled and pulled Bobbie back into another kiss. Her hands began to roam as well and pulled Bobbie's polo shirt free of her jeans, journeying up inside to push the sports bra up and over her breasts leaving them free to be squeezed and stroked.

Bobbie broke free again just long enough to pull the T-shirt over Carrie's head and pitch it away, then pull the frilly pink bra completely over her head as well and send it flying too.

Gasping at the sight she had revealed, she began teasing Carries right ear with her tongue and teeth then slid down her neck to her shoulder. Her hands went from gently stroking Carrie's breasts to lightly squeezing them, then to cupping them while rubbing the nipples with her thumbs.

Carrie broke away this time to rip the polo and bra from Bobbie and fling them away, leaning forward slightly to take a rock hard nipple in her mouth swirling her tongue around it and applying gentle suction.

Bobbie moaned and pushed Carrie's shoulders back into the recliner grabbing her hips and sliding her ass to the edge then attacking her breasts with her tongue, lightly nipping here and there around the gorgeous globes teasingly as she tried to slide the pink thong down with both hands. Grasping Carrie around the calves she thrust her legs up over her head as she ducked allowing her to pull the offending garment completely off her.

Her hands went back to Carrie's breasts as her tongue went down to lazily circle her navel a few times as she scooted back a bit and settled in between Carrie's thighs placing her legs over her shoulders. She planted gentle kisses down from navel to mound and then back and forth across between her pelvic bones making Carrie moan.