DaisyMaeDuke

Luke nodded sitting cross legged on the floor with his uncle gently petting the little fawn. "Are ya hungry? I bet ya are.."

"I will...I will...I promise..." said Luke adamently.

A wide grin spread across Luke's face as he ran to his uncle and hugged his waist. Lavinia smiled sadly hoping that prayers and love would do he trick. The vet just nodded, putting the syringe awa and giving feeding instructions to them. "It'll need to be bottle fed...keep the wound clean...keep it warm...call if...if you change your mind," he said eyeing Jesse as he left.

"Luke..." began Lavinia. " Now let the vet do his job." "No....no....no " whimpered Luke.

"No..." said Luke refusing to believe it. "Auntie...Auntie...tell him..." Lavinia sighed. "Luke..." Luke turned next to the fawn covering it protectively with his body. "No! No! I won't let em at ya...I won't..." he promised the tiny deer stroking her soft fur.

"Now Lukie, the thing's in pain," began Lavinia using the pet name she had for him. Luke looked at Jesse, his blue eyes shining with unfallen tears. "But you can fix him...you can do anything..."

Luke looked at his uncle, his blue eyes shining with teas. Keeping an effort to keep his voice down, he cried out, "No...No Unca Jesse no!" The vet sighed already preparing the syringe.

"Well, I don't rightly know. One things fer sure...it needs its mama," said the vet. Luke looked at the little fawn. "It'll be ok..."

The vet soon had the wound cleaned and dressed but shook his head. "Jesse...it'd be kinder to just put it outta its misery..." he began. "No...no!" cried Luke in a raised whisper.

The vet nodded a little, stepping over to the fawn to examine it. Luke kept petting the fawn looking anxiously at the vet. "Well let's see what ya got here Luke..." said the doc. "It's hrt bad," whimpered Luke. "You can help it...right?" "I'm gonna try."

The vet frowned. "A fawn? Jesse you know as well as I do that critters born in the wild belong in the wild..."

Lavinia nodded sadly. Little Luke had already experienced more significant loss in his life than most people 3 times his age. As a result, he tended to keep his heart guarded. As a rule, he didn't allow himself to become attached to things easily, so that he wouldn't be hurt when he lost them the way he had lost his home an family. But for some reason, this little fawn had already found a way into Luke's heart. There was a knock on the door.

Luke sighed as his uncle stopped the truck beside him, and prepared himslf for the tongue-lashing he was pretty sure he would get.

Luke kept alking too not really sure where he was headed but not drivng, knowing he needed to walk off some of his anger.

It took a lot to make Luke angry or upset. Now he was both and deeply hurt. To think he had gone through all that trouble to try and make this a bithday Bo would never forget and all they did is fight.

Im f-f-f-freezing! *grabs her velvet ears and hugs her*

Luke just continued petting the fawn gently. "Yer gonna be fine...you'll see..."

Luke stroked the animal gently. "Don't worry...my uncle can help..." Lavinia finishes making the formula letting it cool on the counter.

Luke knelt beside the injured animal stroking its soft head gently. "It's ok...I'll take care of ya..."

Luke covered his mouth with his hands to remind himself to be quiet. "Will he be o?" asked Luke in a whisper. Lavinia meanwhile phoned the vet.

"Is it ok?! How bad is it?!" asked little Luke anxiously.

Luke nodded and ran ahead sking his aunt to do the things Jesse had told him, laying the blankets in a small pile in the kitchen where it was warmest.

"No...no it will...it will...please Unca Jesse...please.." begged Luke more in tears over this little fawn than he had been since he first came to live on the farm. "Please!" he begged soft tears rolling down his cheeks.

Luke hurriedly led his uncle to a small clearing in the woods. There, laying shivering with its leg bleeding was a small fawn, with white spots adorning its back. "Shurt Unca Jesse...we gotta help it!"

As always when anything bothered Luke a great deal, he had trouble expressing himself with words. Instead he took his uncle's hand and begged him to follow him.