K-9 Trials

[Mattie Chappel]

Keep your concentration... Mattie reminded herself as she waited for her turn at the obstacle course that was only part of the regional K-9 trials.  Police dogs and their handlers had gathered from all over the area to compete in several disciplines including 
Narcotics search,  agility, obedience  and protection. 

Right now, she and Koda were next up in agility, something they did well, but even so, she was more nervous than she should have been and she knew the dog would pick up on that.  Even now, as he looked up at her, she could tell that he was anxious and she needed to get him calmed down.

"Hush," she chided softly, rubbing his ears.  Why was she so nervous?  Certainly it didn't have to do with a certain spectator that would be watching them...Her cheeks burned red as she shook her head.  It had only been a couple of days but she was still riding on the euphoria of the impromptu meeting with Kev the other night, and whenever she was starting to feel blue all she had to do was think 'gerbil' and a smile came to her face.

"Tag Officer Mattie Chappel and her partner, Koda." 

At the announcement she reached down and tweaked the dog's nose.  "We're up, make me proud."

It was difficult as they came onto the course, for her not to look around the spectators to see if Kev had actually made it.  Of course he'd be there.

Once they started the course, Mattie put her full attention on the dog, trotting along with him through the course.  For Koda, this was just a fun game, something he could do without really thinking, and he did a great job, not missing a beat.

When they finished, Mattie gave the pooch a big petting, then slipped him a treat before moving off to the side, along the fence-line where the spectators were, now taking the time to look for Kev and when she spotted him, she smiled and waved shyly.

Kev Allison

[Kev Allison]

Ever since Mattie had invited him to the K-9 trails he couldnt keep the smile off his face at all. There was just something about her and that meeting in the coffee shop that night, sure he blamed Koda for it all. It was the magic of the dog, it had to be hadn’t it? Finally the day had arrived and he had done exactly what he said he would, food for both human and canine along with himself sat in the spectator stands which made a nice change from being the one watched.

Kev had found a spot among the crowd as he tried to figure out where Mattie and Koda were, before he could see them he heard the announcement and their names as he grinned. He fought the urge to tell the person next to him he knew them as he sat and watched Koda and Mattie do their thing. The minute he looked at the course he wondered about the gerbils which made him chuckle much to the dislike of his neighbour who just glared at him. He apologised for a moment before he went back to watching the two of them closely.

Watching the two of them he could see her focus was on Koda entirely which was good because in his mind they had both done an excellent job. Sure if he was the judge then the two of them would get first place but then he didnt know anything about dog agility or really much about dog handling for that matter. Once they had finished Kev watched them and clapped, while he stood up whistling a little louder than he maybe should have as he looked around at a few faces that stared. Yeah not the best idea as he thought as he sat himself back down.

Kev saw Mattie spot him as he waved back at her and grinned. “Great job.” He mouthed as he held his thumbs up hoping that was a little more acceptable for the days events. Sometimes you just couldnt take him anywhere at all.

Tag: Mattie Chappel

[Mattie Chappel]

Mattie grinned and waved back, Koda immediately picking up the mood change, his tail madly wagging. And while knowing for certain that Kev was in the audience made her a little self-conscious, it boosted her so that she could better focus on what they were doing.

The rest of the competition went quickly -- Koda did so-so in the drug search, it wasn't his strong point, but he rocked it in obedience and search, and merrily took down the heavily-padded 'bad guy' cheerfully and reluctantly letting him go when told.

With that done and several entrants still to go, Mattie headed to the spectator stands. Koda greeted Kev with a happily wagging tail as he nosed the man's hand for a pet...or maybe a treat?

"Hey, now, behave," Mattie chided, sitting next to Kev. "Glad you could make it, hope it hasn't been too boring."

Kev Allison,

[Kev Allison]

Kev grinned seeing Mattie wave back, at least she knew he was there like he had said he would be. He could see Koda’s tail wagging as he chuckled, he hadn’t been to think sort of thing before but between the two of them they were making it a lot of fun as he watched what they did in an effort to better understand what was going on.

He winced seeing the ‘bad guy’ get taken down, lucky enough for that guy he had padding to soften the blow. A suspect wouldnt ever be that lucky unless they were dressed as the marshmallow man but then why that would be. It was a case he would have liked to have gotten.

Kev patted Koda as he reached into his pocket for a treat for the dog. “Here you go, great job.” He said grinning as he stood up when Mattie sat for a moment before sitting down again. “Boring, It’s been great watching you both. You do a great job, you should be proud.” He stated nodded, “Glad I can be here.” It had been anything but boring as he had no idea there was so much that went into training and the different kinds of police work.

Mattie Chappel

[Mattie Chappel]

"Thanks." Mattie smiled and scratched Koda's ears, then looked over at Kev. "What, no treat for me?"

The teasing came naturally, without thought, he was so easy to be around. And sadly, Mattie had realized after their impromptu encounter that she really didn't have friends outside work, and even then, her life away from work was her Mother, keeping the house from falling apart and walking Koda. And while she was trying not to over-think it, she knew that she had shut herself off when she'd lost her family, and just had never gone past that.

Now, with Kev, she was enjoying herself and was finding that she was smiling far more than usual, and she knew it was well about time that she started making friends again.

"It'll just be a little longer," she explained as Koda settled at her feet, "then they'll announce the winners and that'll be it." She really didn't have any expectations of getting anything, the competition was stiff, but it didn't matter, Koda enjoyed himself and that was what counted.

Kev Allison,

[Kev Allison]

“Oh you’re looking for a treat too?” He said with a grin as he nodded, “Well I suppose you could have something from the human food.” He joked as he pulled out from under his seat the cool bag that had their food in it and held it open for her to pick something. He said he was going to be prepared so there was lots of things in it, from cheese to meat to salads. They had all been shop bought because he didnt want to ruin everything by attempting to cook or really put his stamp on it but he wanted to be sure he had enough that she wasn’t going to go hungry because he had bought the wrong things.

Their first meeting had been great and after that she had been in his head, the gerbils too but mostly Mattie. Usually when he was working that late there was no conversation with people and he rarely got a chance to laugh as much as he had done. Work was his thing and until that time he had pretty much forgotten what it was like to actually have fun talking to another human being as usually he was interrogating them for some reason.

Most of his life he had lived by the motto keep everyone at arms length, always second guess and make sure that you smile even if life fell apart but with Mattie he didnt feel he had to do that at all. There seemed to be an honesty about her that he enjoyed. Kev grinned and nodded, “I’m in no rush at all.” He said as he watched Koda settle, “Well if it was up to me you’d be first in everything. I really dont know how you do it but you’re great at it.” He said honestly with a smile.

[Mattie Chappel]

“Oh you’re looking for a treat too?” He said with a grin as he nodded, “Well I suppose you could have something from the human food.”

"Awww...thanks!" Mattie grinned, looking into the container and plucking out a piece of string cheese, only then realizing that she actually was pretty hungry. At least he hadn't scratched her behind the ears! And the array of items was good, even though it wasn't hand-made, it looked like he'd put a lot of thought into it. "I have to admit..." she covered Koda's ears, "human food is so much better than dog food!"

“I’m in no rush at all.” He said as he watched Koda settle, “Well if it was up to me you’d be first in everything. I really don't know how you do it but you’re great at it.”

"Eh, he does all the hard part." She grinned, peeling off a bit of cheese and nibbling on it before continuing. "I tried taking down a big guy like that once, but almost lost my teeth!" Laughing, she offered a thin strip of cheese to the dog. "Besides, I haven't had my rabies shots, so it's better that I'm not chewing on suspects."

The last of the contestants finished and Mattie glanced at Kev. "We'll be back, wish us luck!" With Koda trotting alongside her, she made her way back to the arena, and a few minutes later was returning to the stands with a blue ribbon for agility and a red for protection.

"Hey, not bad, huh?" Grinning, she held up the ribbons for Kev to see.

Kev Allison,

[Kev Allison]

Kev grinned watching her and the string cheese, well it was the least he could do given she had invited him out to watch and you couldnt forget the dog treats or the human food because someone would be upset. He didnt want to get on the wrong end of Koda nor did he want to risk getting on the bad side of Mattie because that could go for both human and humans best friend too. “Great, I mean I was going to do a mean dog food curry but... though human food might be nicer.” He said with a smile, oh he had pondered over the food for long enough.

Time spend selecting it and figuring out what dog treats to get because there were a lot to chose from. Kev winced as she spoke about taking down a big guy, “Yeah I mean you cops chewing on suspect, you really need to stop that. We wouldnt want you guys catching the rabies at all, i’ve seen when you guys foam at the mouth. It’s not pretty.” He joked though there were a few occasions where he had seen cops do just that when the system didnt exactly work as planned on.

When Mattie said they would be back Kev nodded, “Good luck.” He said as he watched the two of them make their way back to the arena. He really hoped they had done well because from where he sat they had done great. It only took a few minutes before Kev saw Mattie and Koda again holding a blue and a red ribbon as he clapped them. “Woohooo!” He called out loudly, “Best cops in town.” Two ribbons were great, agility and protection well what was better than that.

“Not bad at all, in fact you two should get best in show too if it was up to me.” He offered though really he knew he had no say unless he could find some legal way of doing it but then he wasn’t about to start to go all lawyer on the judges.

[Mattie Chappel]

"Oh, well, next year we'll find a way to let you be a judge," Mattie declared with a wink, "I'm sure I can give someone the Tonya Harding treatment...or pass on some rabies so they'll need to be replaced!"

It was fun to be able to just relax and talk to another adult without any drama or pretense, and she was looking forward to the rest of the day.

"Anyway, that's a year away, right? Today we're just going to..." she shrugged, "whatever." She really wasn't certain what he had planned and was looking forward to it, regardless of what it was...it was nice to not be in charge for a change and to be surprised.

Handing him Koda's leash, she said, "You two behave while I go change. I'll just be a minute." As she trotted off she called over her shoulder, "Just don't tell him to kill anyone!" not specific to which she was referring.

Kev Allison,

[Kev Allison]

“Oh now that would be cool.” He said with a grin thought he wouldnt have a clue what was good or bad. “See now the plan comes together because if I was in there, you’d have loads of ribbons for first class work.” He said smirking though at least a bash on the leg wasn’t a broken one. He was talking to cop after all and the last thing he needed was to be arrested, as much as a doctor didnt make a good patient, an ADA never made a good prisoner.

“Only once a year?” He asked not sure what he had been expecting it to be though it was good fun as he grinned. “Whatever it is you want to do, i’ve got lunch so wherever or whatever it is you’d like though i’d figured on a picnic and a walk just for Koda?” He offered not entirely sure but then a walk and of course dog friendly for whatever they did because Koda was along too.

Kev took Koda’s leash from her and nodded, “Sure I wont or he wont.” He answered laughing, out of the two of them he guessed Koda looked a lot scarier than he did. Honestly he’d never really thought about killing people, oh sure there were those days and cases where he wondered if it was worth it all but then killing wasn’t his style. Putting people in boxes for years at a time was.

[Mattie Chappel]

It only took a few minutes to change, Mattie wasn't one to fuss much with things like make-up and fancy hair styles, and when she returned to the 'boys', she was in jeans, boots and a simple green shirt. Her hair was still back in a ponytail.

"Looks like you two behaved," she commented with a grin, "guess you earned a trip!"

Laughing, she retrieved Koda's leash. "So, there's the state park not far from here," she suggested, "we can picnic, hike...and I can let Koda off the leash." What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, right? And he seemed the sort that was all right with 'outdoor' stuff.

"Or there's the city park...or bowling...I have what we need for freestyle golf...I mean, what ideas did you have?" God, she was so accustomed to making all the decisions...and here she was running things...Maybe he actually had some ideas!

Kev Allison

[Kev Allison]

Kev waited with Koda, he wasn’t sure how long to expect Mattie to be as with women he had learned a long time ago not to ask and not to rush. He smiled seeing her return as he nodded, “Oh yeah, see almost as well behaved as Koda.” He said smirking lightly, “I mean out of the two of us of course I was lead good guy but Koda he was the better one of the two.”

Handing over the leash Kev listened to what Mattie said about the state park. “Sounds like good fun.” He said bending down to Koda for a moment. “Hear that boy, we get let of the leash.” He joked though it did sound like fun. It had been a while since he had been outside of the city and he missed the open space a little. Yes the city had parks but wide open space was great that didnt involve being circled by cars and the noises that went with that.

Kev looked at Mattie a moment, “Freestyle golf?” He asked not entirely sure what that was, “Is that like golf but yeah my ball landed in the pond but that counts as a hole in one right?” He asked her not minding either of the options she had laid out. “Well since you’ve done so well today already then it’s the winner’s choice? I’m good with either so feel free.” He offered wanting her to be comfortable in what they were doing. The last thing he wanted was to drag her somewhere and her want to be anywhere else but there.

[Mattie Chappel]

"All right, then...state park, picnic, free-style golf." Mattie nodded and smiled, then actually laughed, just because...and when was the last time she did that? Or go on a play-date? Hell, when was the last time she'd been with a guy who was willing to play and not be all stuffy and date-y, which seemed to mean awkward and expectant?

"And no leashes as long as you two behave." She gave him a quick wink, but then frowned. "So, your car or mine? And remember, there's doggy slobber involved...and Koda is coming, too!"

Another laugh and she shrugged. "My place is on the way, we can drop one of the cars off there if you want."

Kev Allison

[Kev Allison]

“Sounds like a plan to me.” He said with a grin glad that he was actually able to be himself, he wasn’t pushing for anything to trying to trap a defended with their own words. No he could actually relax outside of work and so something he’d never tried before. Dating had always been dinner, dressed up and trying to talk when he felt entirely awkward about the thing. This was far better than that and he was having fun and better yet Mattie seemed to be too.

“We’ll behave, I swear.” He said grinning as he thought about Koda. “Sure I wouldnt have it any other way, I don’t mind doggy slobber it will have a car a lived in feel. If you want to drop your off and we can take mine or if you’d be more comfortable taking yours?” Kev asked not wanting her to feel like the choice wasn’t there for her.

Besides he wasn’t sure if she’d be comfortable taking his car, then again he had no doubt that Koda would eat him alive if he did anything wrong. Not that he would but he simply wanted her to feel happy about things.

Mattie Chappel

[Mattie Chappel]

"Your car it is!" Mattie chuckled. "I'll be happy not to have my jalopy smelling like dog for a change!" With Koda jogging beside her, she headed to the parking lot, then opened the back gate to her beat-up green '96 Ford Bronco. Like the good doggy he was, Koda waited to be told to hop into the back, then Mattie shut him in.

"All right, it's not too far. See you there." It wasn't quite ten minutes before she stopped in front of an old brick-faced house on a quiet tree-lined street. Quickly, she let Koda out, then grabbed a couple of old wooden-handled golf clubs from the back and went over to Kev's car.

"You sure about this? Last chance to avoid dog slobber...and he's the neat one!"

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Kev Allison,