August 7th, 1995

Huggy's been more distressed lately. These past two months have been bizarre, to say the least. I've been trying everything from sign language to stress relief toys in order to keep him calm but Huggy... Huggy's lost it. He's scared of something. He doesn't want to do any of the activities we have done in the past and when he does he's always drawing that hand. There's something about the hand, it's behind all of this. It has to be behind Huggy's newfound fear.

Leith called me this morning, telling me I better bring my A-game today. Said he's tired of waiting and wants to see results. What results he's talking about, I don't know. My guess is he wants to know if Huggy's behavior has improved, especially since I've heard rumors that he's been acting out again. Leith is actually gonna be watching today's session so that's great. God, I really hope I can get this right, for Huggy's sake.

"Remember Dr. Lopez," Leith Pierre stated, leaning back in the chair, "Huggy better show that he can be trusted around people by the end of this session." His gaze flickering between the head of innovation and the armed squadron behind him, Gabriel muttered, "Got it. Just stay in here." Grabbing his book bag, the veterinarian entered the room with his usual greeting, "Hey Huggy."

Scribbling away at a paper he had been left with from yesterday, Huggy lifted his head and huffed quietly. Approaching the strange creature, Gabriel crouched down and peered at the drawing. It was another drawing of the same hand, dropping down from the top of the page. Gathered around below were many figures. Gabriel recognized the three Huggy used to represent himself and his possible family members. But the other figures were new. The man could make out a purple cat, an orange dog, something light blue and lumpy. And that was only a handful. Huggy had drawn a lot of figures this time. "Huggy," Gabriel murmured, holding up the page, "What does any of this mean?"

Sitting up from where he had been laying on the floor, Huggy hugged his knees to his chest and shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't making any eye contact with Gabriel. If anything, the fuzzy blue giant was openly avoiding it. Sighing softly as he handed the drawing back to Huggy, the veterinarian stole a glance at the mirror window in the room. He couldn't see Leith Pierre but he knew that the head of innovation was there, watching.

"Huggy, listen to me," Gabriel whispered, signing with his hands. The fuzzy blue giant still wouldn't look at him. That didn't deter the human though as he signed and spoke at the same time, "I want to help you. I can't though if I don't understand what's wrong." Gesturing to the mirror behind him, he continued, "The man in that room has mentioned that you have been becoming too hard to control lately. I don't even understand what the heck that means but I want to see a sign that you understand. Please Huggy, help me help you."

There was no response, verbal or sign language. Huggy still had his head turned away, his chin resting on his knees as he stared off into space. Gabriel could already feel Leith's angry gaze burning into the back of his skull. "It's okay Huggy, it's okay," the man whispered, signing the words with his hands despite the strange creature not watching him. Sitting down beside the fuzzy blue giant, he patted him on the shoulder gently. "We can just sit here buddy," the human mumbled, "No harm in that."

/////

Gabriel wasn't sure how much time had passed. He sat there in the room next to Huggy the entire time though. The fuzzy blue giant had eventually gone back to drawing, sketching out the same hand in black crayon on several different sheets of paper. Looking at all of the papers spread out on the tile floor around them, Gabriel felt a prickle of unease every time he saw a new sketch of the hand. The man quietly tapped Huggy on the shoulder and, using both verbal words and sign language, asked, "Is there anything you can tell me about the hand?"

"Dr. Lopez, time's up," Leith declared, entering the room suddenly. Tapping his finger against his wristwatch, the head of innovation pointed out, "Your shift is over." Surprised, Gabriel remarked, "Already? My, doesn't time fly by fast." Leith held his head high and replied curtly, "Yes, now please leave."

"Calm down sir, I need to get my stuff-" Gabriel started to say as he stood up. His voice faltered though when the armed squadron marched into the room with their guns. Holding his hands up in defense, the veterinarian demanded, "Is this necessary? I'm leaving!"

"And I suggest you hurry up. I'm a little short on patience with 11- with Huggy," Leith stated sternly, a deep scowl painting itself on his face. Confused and frightened at the same time, Gabriel made a risky move and put himself in front of a trembling Huggy. "I advise you to put the guns down, right now," the man hissed through clenched teeth, "Or you risk destroying all of the progress we've made so far."

"Progress? Ha! Don't make me laugh," Leith sneered. Taking a step closer towards Gabriel, the head of innovation lectured the veterinarian, "The kind of progress I expected three years ago was the idea that our beloved Huggy here would behave around people. Sure, you have managed to calm him down but he continues to act out. I need to see that he can be warm and welcoming without the threat of a tantrum. Dr. Lopez, you better find a way to do that tomorrow night or-"

A cry interrupted Leith mid sentence. His eyes widening in surprise, Gabriel turned around. Standing up slowly, Huggy easily towered over everyone in the room. His black eyes fixated on the veterinarian, the fuzzy blue giant raised his arms. Lightly tapping his right hand's pinkie against the palm of his left twice, he then signed an o and an attempted k with his right hand.

/Alright, it's okay./

There were no words Gabriel could use to describe his astonishment. After all of those lessons for the past month, Huggy was finally able to sign back to him. And the surprises kept coming as the strange creature extended his right hand towards the human. When Gabriel took the paw, Huggy gently shook his hand with a smile on his face. Then the fuzzy blue giant kneeled down and opened his arms, waiting for a hug. Stepping forward, the veterinarian returned the embrace wholeheartedly.

Enveloped by soft blue fur, Gabriel could feel Huggy squeezing him tightly but he honestly expected that. The man felt at peace in this moment. When the fuzzy blue giant finally released him, he patted Huggy on the head gently. In response, the strange creature made a sound akin to a cat's purr. A slow clap echoed slightly in the room as all of the attention turned towards Leith Pierre.

"Now that's exactly what I'm looking for," Leith declared, a smile replacing his earlier frown. Folding his hands behind his back, the head of innovation commented, "Wish it hadn't taken so long to get to this point but the tortoise won the race by being slow and steady, correct? Thank you Dr. Lopez. As a reward, I'll let you have tomorrow off." Taken aback by this news, Gabriel questioned, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I am satisfied by what I've just seen," Leith answered. Peering over his shoulder, he whispered something to the closest armed man behind him. A signal was given and the squadron left the room. Beckoning Gabriel to follow, Leith held the door open for the veterinarian as he kept talking, "And if Huggy keeps this up, I might not have you stop by as much. Maybe once a week, how does that sound?"

"Um... okay I guess?" Gabriel muttered, feeling unsure. Looking back, he met Huggy's gaze. Tilting his head to the side, the fuzzy blue giant raised his left arm and waved goodbye. Waving back, Gabriel whispered, "See ya in two days Huggy."