FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Toy Cricket

By Todd Fox

Tom- human

Cricket- an anthropomorphic robotic Border Collie toy

This story is set in the Toys universe by Lars Helburg

I would like to thank my editor, Vaccinated, for proofing this story two times. I thank you much Vaccs.

This story is long, I have no clue where all the pages came from and there is very little yiff.

Being Yiff if by chance you typed in Border collie toy looking for toys for your dog on a search engine, Yiff is Pr0n, AKA porn. So if you do not want to read this any further please back out now.

So if you came here for a quick spank, this story is long with very little yiff, so this is not the story for you. Have fun ^.^

I have revised and rewrote this story. There were longer chapters and things I cut out because I was scared I would not finish the story, so I cut it short. I do regret it because I did get a lot of really nice comments and raves on the story and I hope not to mess it up with the other parts I left out.

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Her eyes blinked open to the sun. Trash surrounded her. Diagnostics were automatically run. She had several faults. Severe damage was detected. Her memory was inaccessible, her main power cells were damaged. Her solar charging system was the only thing keeping her active. She went to move and found a pad and pencil on her damaged chest. She picked it up and began reading, her own writing.

It was a journal, her recallable memory was inaccessible because of the strain on the minimal solar system her only source of power and it was damaged as well. Only her hard-wired information was recallable, she read in the pages. A lot of information was about salvaging and keeping clear of other salvagers, as she would then become spare parts. She finished reading several places she had stowed totaled machines like herself to salvage for parts.

She had to find compatible batteries. She stood up, pain, or the processed information for pain activated through her joints and midsection. All her reservoirs and stomach were destroyed, by something. She couldn't remember why she was so damaged. It wasn't in her journal, it started with her waking up here. She looked down to the crude self-repairs made to her midsection. Plastic bags covered her circuitry her white belly fur, what was left of it was now almost as black with grease and dirt to match the rest of her black body. Her tail, arms and legs ground without the lubrication that was designed into her. Her artificial stomach shredded along with her reservoirs meant that even if she found functioning reservoirs, she could not fill them.

She followed the advice in the journal and began sifting through debris and trash searching for parts. Then she found it, a furry arm. She began excavating around it and eventually pulled free a ruined mass that was at one time a fox. She had found many of these models, they were popular. But her notes told her their parts were incompatible with her systems. She was about to leave the wreckage when something caught her eye, a power receptor for a solar system. It was still in tact. And solar power was solar power no mater how you rigged it. She carefully skinned the faux fur, she pulled out a screwdriver she had lodged in her leg. A safe place for a machine who could remember nothing. She had several tools attached to or inside her.

Once the scavenging system and connectors were detached she smiled in joy. She had a better power system. She scanned her systems, and fell in despair, there was no way to disconnect the damaged system without battery backup to keep her active. Then she thought about her batteries, they were gone. Whatever damaged her damaged the batteries and she had to remove them to save the weight on her grinding joints. But the connections were there! She ripped out the old fox's connection ports and began unwiring herself to get to the battery ports. She pulled out an old set of pliers and pinch cut the wires off her battery connector and discarded them. She stripped the wires bare at the ends with her teeth and stripped the connections she pulled from the defunct fox and twisted them on. She put plastic bags over the tied connections to keep herself from shorting as much as protection from water.

She almost shook with excitement as she hooked the scavenger to her new ports. Energy surged through her, her memory flashed and a hundred new faults lit off in her running diagnostic program. But still she had no control of her recall, she remembered flashing lights for a moment, and could recall them in her temporary memory, but tonight the cells would fail and she would loose the memory, and restart in the morning.

She pulled the fake fur from her body, the gel packs underneath exposed. She put the new silvery panel into her undamaged back and walked on with a new spring in her step. She was feeling better, lifting heavier things with minimal protest form her dry joints. She had also managed to find an old shoulder bag. She took this and put her pencil in a little place just for pencils and her notepad in it as well.

Now with both arms free she could scavenge more freely. She found several parts, feet or hands and even a few penis and vaginas, all worn out, useless to her.

The sun began to slither down to the horizon, her notes had warned that she needed to seek shelter. She wrote everything she had discovered and done down in the pages, then folded the book to the first page again. The notes she needed to read first, her warnings and survival needs. She then crawled into a hole her small form allowed her to enter. She was a lot thinner than the wrecks she pulled out of the heaps, even the female ones, well her arms and legs were thinner, and what had once been tapered feathers on her arms were now tatters. She had a thinner figure, still well padded but it was a noticeable change from all the others she had found.

* * * * *

She awoke, her diagnostics lit up with faults...

She put the notepad in her bag and crawled out of her hiding place. She was so hungry and thirsty. Her joints hurt. Her damage was showing as pain more and more with her new power supply. But her memory eluded activation still. For hours she dug through a fresh pile when she heard the sound of things being dislodged quickly, and voices. She never knew any other than the junk dumping truck drivers to talk from earlier in the day, but there were voices and movement. She peered about the hole she had excavated and saw a machine like herself running. She was fascinated, she would have yelled out but her notes told her that that was death.

She watched as the other faltered, it had an odd limp to it. It shrieked as two men took hold of it and dragged it away. Then it came to her. She needed a battery supply, that one might have one for her. Then she could remember. She stalked the two men and the struggling machine between them. They tossed him into a trailer and locked it. She waited until they went into the truck and bolted up to the trailer. She tried to pull the lock off, she then stuck her screwdriver into the hasp trying to break the hasp off, but the truck started up and drove off, her screwdriver went with the truck, leaving her stranded and without her screwdriver. Distraught she began to browse the scrap for parts she could use.

Several days passed her memory or situation unimproved. She didn't have the active memory to be distraught over the time she had been there, or remember the disappointments past. But the trucks came again, depositing their wealth again. And there, on top of one of the fresh piles, like a morbid holy oracle was a smashed machine. She bolted as fast as her tortured body would allow. She had developed a clicking in her left knee, even with more power she was slowing down.

Soon enough she was staring down at the twisted hulk. It looked as if it was hit with a truck, but it wasn't a fox. It was all tan with black markings, its muzzle was wide, well was before it was decimated. It whirred and clicked twitching jerkily. She wasted no time finding the slip seam and opening it up. It twitched all the same, it made it difficult for her to separate the broken gel packs, something the foxes and other things she had scavenged didn't have. And there before her was what she craved, undamaged battery cells. She pulled the batteries out and went to work on the connectors, the same type she had pulled out of herself only days before.

She trembled with excitement as she set the cells into the rack designed for them. She hooked up the batteries and her full systems activated more faults were detected and the pain in her body was so severe the processor shut down to protect her. Too bad her memory did not do the same.

Her retrievable memory was active and the entire resin for her condition and how she got here became horribly clear in her mind.

The house computer brought her out of her sleep mode. There were unregistered persons in the house, her eyes adjusted to the dark house. The house was huge and elaborately decorated. She was stalking, searching. Her eyesight was completely clear in the shadows of night. She saw them, two men skulking about the house. They had guns. She alerted the security through the houses main computer of the intruders and situation. A second unit, another Cricket communicated her position just ahead of her own.

She orders movement and attack.

She bolted from around a corner at the gunmen, one holding a shotgun spun about and shot her, she fell, damage faults lit across her system. She got up advancing, then she was shot again and her main power fault activated. But she still had power. The other Cricket had knocked down the men, and she disarmed them and helped hold them, smiling at her sister unit until the security force came up and cuffed the men and led them off.

Her lungs were hit, her system was starting to overheat, and she started panting to compensate for the lessened airflow in her cooling system. It worked minimally. Then she saw him, her master, Roger Carl was his name, a handsome CEO. She strode up to him. "I did good Love?" She smiled with pride in her part saving him.

But the repulsed look on his face when he saw her, hurt her, she was damaged, but she was a good girl. She was more hurt when he nonchalantly waved his hand at her

"Get rid of that thing, its leaking all over my carpets."

"Do you want us to send it to a repair shop, sir?" asked one of the security officers.

"No, it's broken, probably more to fix it than buy a new one."

She balked. "No sir! I am yours you said you would love me forever!" she sobbed with the last of her tears,...

She would have used those tears now if she had them. The one that said she would be loved for all of time as long as she protected him, betrayed, discarded her like she was nothing, no, just a thing. A toy named Cricket. That triggered another memory

She and the other cricket unit, a Border collie, like her. [A brief memory flash of what she looked like in a mirror came to her] she was filled with Rogers cock, she was riding over him, his hands held and fondled her breasts. She was so happy, it was her turn to make him cum. The second cricket stuck her muzzle between them licking at her cunny and his penetrating shaft. She was warm with passion and delight, the feel of his steely shaft inside of her. Her tail waged over the other unit's ears as she neared her piqué. She came all over his groin, her fluid coating him her vagina constricting and relaxing, milking him in her orgasm, and it was all too much for her owner as she felt the pulse of his seed spurting cock sending his sperm into her artificial womb. The other Cricket lapping up all the fluid that spilled from them.

Her lover then pulled from her sopping sex and turned her around laying her on his front, her legs spread as the other cricket smiled to her sister unit and went down lapping at the sweet fluids excreted from the collie and the man. The second Cricket looked up and lapped a few times at her ass. She moaned in delight then gasped as her sister unit put the tip of Rogers's cock to her anus. He then slipped into her with small thrusts. She whimpered and held her charges face as the other collie began to lap at her cunny again as he filled her ass.

He held her tight middle and groaned, "oh cricket I love you, you two are my sexy girls."

She went to put her hands on her middle at the memory, to be reminded that most of it was not there.

"Hey!" Came a voice. She looked up from her sad thoughts to a gruff man with ragged clothing running up the pile. She watched him advance on her, then a memory accessed,

She was dumped unceremoniously here, like oh so much discarded trash. A man attacked her soon after she was discarded. He probably had no clue she was a cricket, no other toys had the ability to cause human harm. She fought him and he ran off after she bit him, he was screaming and looking back in terror to see if the mad robot was chasing him. But she saw no point, there was no one here to protect. Her main battery finally died and her charging system took over,...

The man came closer as she watched uncaring. He seemed uncertain why a toy was looking at him, it was functioning, but they usually ran screaming, or at least screamed. This one was unnerving, watching him as if she was the hunter. He picked up a pipe he saw in the pile and cautiously walked up the mound of trash for her.

Her first day, the night had caught her by surprise, with only a solar scavenger to power her she passed out as the sun left the sky. She awoke with none but her hard wired memory, the knowledge she was a cricket gone, a safety protocol so if the memory was ever wiped out or faulted, she wouldn't go to the horror movie robot default: crush, kill, destroy. Only a need to repair herself and the thoughts of just a base toy. No knowledge she could cause harm, and knew how.

She looked up at the man with the pipe, her targeting and defense programs activated, but she overrode them. She had suffered enough, she could not destroy herself, but she could facilitate in another doing it.

"youes is a strainge one," the man with the pipe said to himself.

Cricket just looked to him, "you plan to kill me?" It was more of a quizzical statement than a question.

The man chuckled nasally. "youes is a mhasheen, youes can't killa mhasheen."

Cricket only nodded. "But you will deactivate me then, sir?"

The man shook his head in bemusement "neya, youes guys is vahluble as poits. Jahses croist, lookit me tawkin tu a mhasheen, is yous gonna be runnin and troyin ta escape?"

Cricket stood up and picked up the other twitching unit and tossed it down the pile to land thrashing on the ground. "Enough talk, let's go" and she began descending the trash pile

The man was still amazed as he came to the bottom of the pile, the machine picked up the twitching robot and turned to him. " Where to?"

Unsure what to make of his new situation he only pointed in a direction and the collie followed. They traveled about the rubbish dunes and mountains. Then another scrapper hailed them.

He trotted up to them, he took a particular interest in Cricket who only regarded him with neutral eyes.

"What you find there Mike?" the new man asked looking at Cricket and her twitching luggage.

"Iy sweear ta Ghawd, it's freakish. Thias thang was ova there in tha yad, an axully axed may if'n I is gunnah be killen 'er. An den stat-ed ta heaup. I thinks tha prawsessahs is froyed."

Mike looked up at the other scavenger. "Ah I foygets ooh oym tacking too sowmtahimes."

"Well then the question remains, what do you want for her? I mean the only really in tact things I see are her arms and legs tail and head, and that's none too profitable, they are so easy to replace and cheep too"

"Ah nah ya doint, youes is ahways troyin ta dep-prissiate evahray-thang, whoy jus lhook at alla di,.." Mike took his hand back form Crickets midsection, "ah dayam, thes kahrayzy mhasheen is bean muti-laitin huwrseywf, lhookit dees whyays." Mike sighed and put his hand up to his chin thinking. In disgust he took his hand form his face, "Foin, what is youes gowt foh huwr?"

The other man thought as Cricket became more impatient. "Can we get on with this, I know I now have all day, but I'd prefer not to."

"Whad I tale ya's, the prawsessahs is froyed."

"Okay, I'll give you a FX-10 refurbished spine with slip shock support, the construction companies love those, and they are expensive, but I want both toys you have here." Tom pointed to both cricket and the broken toy.

Mike laughed, "sohmtoiymes I thinks youes-es as kharaysay as thet foked op beeach," he stabbed a finger at Cricket. "Oy'll stap ova at you-are showp foh tha spoin latah in tha aftahnuin"

The other man nodded. "All right, I'll take these two now, okay, I'm heading back after I pick up a few other things."

Mike just waved his hand looking about for new things already, he just made a deal to make enough money to take a day off, but then again, who knows what he could find to make it that much more profitable. "Yeah, whatevah mac, hayv fawn."

"Come on Tabitha" her new executioner commanded. She was about to correct him on her name, but junk shouldn't have a name. She dragged the thrashing device with her to a beat up Nissan pickup. Lobbing it in the back she looked to him. I have others stashed away if you want those too.

The man froze and stared at her in amazement. "You what?"

The android dog, thinking him stupid, reiterated, "I have some of the ruined units cached, I was trying to find a way to repair myself. But none of them were compatible.

"Show me" he said with excitement in his voice.

* * * * *

He didn't know weather to faint or run around ringing his hands like an idiot. The mound was almost full of parts and ruined toys. He had her pull all the toys and parts out, he searched each for usable parts, eye ears noses arms hands, everything that was of the best condition he salvaged. He chuckled at the parts he was leaving behind and the tilt down on his truck bed from the weight of material he had that was most valuable.

He looked to the tattered collie and smiled, "you're a good girl"

Her ears flipped back, she wanted to cry that was all she wanted to hear, eight months ago. But now a new man told her, and she was in ruins. She started when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"You okay Tabitha?" he asked, then slapped himself in the forehead with the heel of his palm. "No, you're in a hundred pieces, get in the truck."

Cricket nodded melancholia and went to the passenger side of the truck and got in. She was joined shortly by the other man. He smiled to her when he started up his truck and they pulled out of the junkyard and on to the winding desolate road. It took a couple of hours to reach a moderate sized house with a rather large shed in the back. . He pulled up to the shed and got out ordering her to do the same. She complied and met him at the back of the truck, helping him unload all the parts into a pile in the shed, the thrashing wreckage of the boxer, she knew now that she could recall her memory, was the last to be offloaded.

She followed her new dismanteler to a room with several tables and a lot of parts on the wall, and a large bin of totaled parts for selling to recyclers. He picked cricket up and set her on one of the three empty tables. "Stay here for now Tabitha."

She watched as he lifted the thrashing ruined boxer onto the table. He began pulling the slip seams off and disconnected the solar scavenger. The robot stopped immediately and was finally still. She watched in melancholia fascination as he deftly dismantled the ruined toy, knowing it was her turn next. She watched as parts were set to one side or another and some even tossed into the bin.

He pulled out the brain from the ruined skull and looked it over, with a shake of his head he tossed it into a separate pile, the gold and platinum more valuable than the other junk.

She watched her fate played out before her as finally the crushed chassis of the dog was tossed into the junk bin. He then turned to her.

"Lay down Tabitha."

She lowered her head and obeyed, she was scared, she was about to die. Then she remembered her betrayal and discard and accepted it. Her pain receptors were shut down, she would only suffer emotionally until the end.

She lifted her head to watch him begin gutting her, her shredded stomach and reservoirs landed in the bin as well as her bladder and colon. He was tossing her insides away at an amazing pace. He noticed her looking at him and he smiled. "This is going to take a while, sorry."

She only chuckled lightly, "take your time."

She no longer watched him but could detect parts being removed.

"That was ingenious using roofing tar to repair your lungs" she heard him complement. Then her main power fault came on, her batteries were disconnected. She sighed, he had not taken out her lungs yet, suppose it would be best to leave them until she was powered down so as not to overheat her processors and brain. She lifted her head as he worked up to her neck skinning the fake fur from her throat and shoulder, and all was dark as her solar scavenger was disconnected, her last processed thought a sigh of relief.

...

.....

.....

Tom sat leafing through the pages from the bag the collie carried. It seemed strange a toy would be so resourceful. She had survived a long time in the scrap yard. She never dated anything but it was a thick notebook and most of it was filled up. She had several days on one page, except when something happened or was learned. It felt like he was reading a diary. The life and times of a toy who had no memory. She had learned some hard lessons and even outlived a companion she never remembered.

Her handwriting was clear with a slight right hand tilt just to seem a little more human he supposed. She had put locations to hiding spots and stashed toys into the book using a grid system. He couldn't figure it out. He didn't know her references so he would be stabbing in the dark. He put the notebook down when he heard something outside.

"Tam" came the voice from outside his house

Tom looked out the window and saw Mike with his truck. He walked out his house and waved "Hey Mike, find anything interesting?"

Mike shook his head "yah woodn bahleevs it, there whas awla dees poits ahll oova tha yad. Like a fahkin meerikul."

Tom chuckled lightly, "guess I missed out huh, but now for why you came." He said as he headed to the shed with Mike in behind him. He opened the wide doors to the shed and flipped back on the light. He stepped around the tables, Mike came in behind him.

"Ah I telled youes thet whan whas froyed." He implied the dismantled collie on the table smugly.

"Yea, she was rather abused, I found some pellets in her, she was shot, so not a lot in her was undamaged." Tom handed Mike the spine and led him out of the shed leaving the dismantled collie and assorted parts in the dark once more.

Tom returned to his shop and looked over some of her parts, he tossed some more of her damaged joints in the discard bin and threw out her lungs. He looked into her unseeing eyes and put her head on another table as he sifted through more of her parts. Her main body was a limp titanium and plastic shell that lay near her, decapitated.

For hours he worked on into the night fixing parts to joints he threw out the wiring and used a wiring harness he salvaged form another toy. He began filling the body with parts and batteries, the solar power cell from a totally solar powered toy was spliced into the growing insides of the shell.

Tom sighed and started listing parts and searching about his many bins and hanging parts,...

* * * * *

She awoke, her diagnostics found faults, but only a few. Pain was minimal, her processor reactivated. She looked about, shocked to be activated again. She sat up, her middle had a patch of tan fur over her once wasted middle. It was still lumpy without the form of the gel packs that gave her better shape. Silver tape was wrapped about it keeping it on. She looked up to the man who smiled to her. Well I have to order a few parts, but you will be able to move about a little better now, I used the left over joint oil and the in tact joints on the other one to repair you and keep you lubed up. But some of the joints were still damaged so you are not totally in top condition.

Cricket moved her arms and legs, the clicking in her left knee was still there and her right arm sensed pain in the joint. Short of that she found no other real faults. All her reservoirs were still empty, as was her hungry stomach, and she had a dire thirst. She looked to her repairer.

"Why did you fix me sir?" the ire in her voice was unmistakable and surprising.

I thought you would still function well, I hate to see a good toy wasted." He said with a smile hoping to lighten the collie's dark mood. But it didn't, she only slumped more.

"I wanted to be dead, you should have used me for parts." She sighed heavily. She missed her tears, she had so many uses for them now. She started when he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Tabitha,..."

"I AM NOT TABITHA!" She screamed. Her brown eyes glared hatefully at her resurector. "If you must insist that I am not junk, my name is CRICKET!" She emphasized her name with a flash of angry teeth.

Tom just stared at her as if she suddenly became real, not just a machine.

"You,.. You're a Cricket Nightwatcher?" he said slowly. He then picked up her left foot and stared at the symbol and serial number there. But the name was true, there over it all was Cricket Nightwatcher. He set her foot back down.

She looked at him with a tilt to her head. "Are you okay?" She asked, a little concern in her voice.

Tom looked at her more carefully. His nose was almost touching hers. Whispering softly, "Oh my god oh my god." He poked her muzzle.

"What, insane, stupid-ass dipshit, threw out a Cricket?"

"Roger Carl" was her reply

Tom smiled to her and ruffed between her ears, "thank God for stupid rich people"

Cricket had mixed feelings now. She reveled in the touch of this new human, and to hear the name of her former lover, abandoner, discarder, she put her head on her arms that rested on her folded knees. "Well now what?" she pensively asked.

Tom sat beside her on the table. "Now I order parts. Its not often a cricket comes to the scrapyard, honestly, I think you are the second, but the other one was far worse than you were." He flipped his phone out and hit a speed dial number.

"Hey Cindy,..."

Cricket listened to the list of parts he was ordering, then he ordered her skin. That's where things became scary for her. The fear in his eyes as he listened to her serial number codes, she was a Cricket Nitewatcher "L" series. Tom didn't take his eyes off of her for the entire time he was on the phone from that point on. He hung up the phone.

"Oh my, you can kill people?"

Cricket lowered her head. She was about to be rejected again, but maybe her disassembly would remain permanent this time. She lifted her head, and with a defiant sneer she barked "yes"

She stood up and folded her tattered arms over her duct-taped chest.

Tom smiled and reached for her, "well if I can dismantle you without a fight, then you must not be that dangerous." He then touched her more feminine features. Even damaged the brushes sent a thrill over her. "I'm sure you would not have been built for sex if you were a terror machine." He chuckled

Cricket lowered her head and tattered ears. She was not as dangerous as she was advertised. She scraped a footpad over the floor in a nervous motion. "I guess not, sir. I'm for personal protection and pleasure." She looked up at Tom, her eyes sad. She then sat back on the table, looking down at the floor her arms crossed over her mismatched chest.

Tom smiled and touched her forearm. "Don't worry, we'll have you fixed up good as new"

He dropped his smile after a time the toy collie did not respond at all. He only sighed and walked over to his refrigerator and pulled out two gallons of water and walked over to her.

"Drink this" he gave her an opened water gallon.

She looked at him and shrugging took the container and drank the water down in no time. A lot of her fault warnings blinked off as the water began to fill her reservoirs.

"After an hour drink the rest of the water and come see me" Tom said as he headed for the door, the Collie hearing him, but made no response.

She only looked up as she heard the door shut behind Tom. She looked at the water. It had been so long sense she had not been thirsty, but hunger still beat at her system. Ignoring the fresh pangs she looked about her, at all the dismantled toys. Skins, arms legs heads processors, all means and ages of toys. She slipped off the counter and wandered through the morbid displays of sightlessly staring heads. She picked one up, a familiar head, one from a Tabitha, the same skull form she herself used. One of the eye sockets had been repaired, the owner obviously beyond repair, so now sat on a shelf.

Cricket felt a twinge in her, sadness and worry. She looked on about the dead toys in morbid fascination. Was this what she wanted herself to be fated? Was this the end she had wished on herself? She picked up a hand, the fake fur gone to reveal its inner workings. She stared at it and her own living hand. She moved her fingers and stared at the dead hand she held. This is how she worked, but she could feel, she had motion. Something welled up in her as she stared at the hand. She looked up at the ruined toys looking at what was inside her, her workings. Her construction and function was displayed on every wall. She collapsed, her tail between her legs arms clutched to her chest as she wept, tears strolling over her cheekruffs and down her muzzle. She didn't want to become this, she wanted to function, not to be some lifeless scrap on a wall, a replacement part, anonymous to all.

She suddenly felt fear, the leering eyes of the dead on her, a living unit who wanted to be like they, but turned back. The blank stares became accusing, the still arms wanted to reach for her. What was this fear?

She ran to the door of the shed in terror, shredding the lock on the other side as she ran into Toms house yelling for him. Tom came bolting to the kitchen where she had come in. she immediately looked at him, the person who took her apart, should have left her in all her pieces, but here she was, scared for her, life?

Tom looked at her concerned "what's wrong? Are you all right? Is there something wrong in the shed? Your seals aren't leaking are,..."

He then saw the tear trails in her furry face. He put his arms around the tattered toy. "It's okay, I thought you wanted to be left alone" the collie did not hug him back, or move, only wept into his shoulder her arms at her sides, unsure what to do now but try to blank out her mind with tears.

It took a while for her to come to any sense. Tom stood with her patiently. He could not get why she was crying out of her, but she would not go near the shed again. He teased about turning her off again and she fell into a fit of bawling that he thought would never stem, her tears must surly be running low with only one gallon of water in her and so many empty reservoirs. He offered her a glass of water and she took it and downed it, her miserable condition sniffling to a halt. He filled a tea pitcher full of water and set it before her. Instead of sipping from the glass she set the spout to her muzzle and poured the water down her throat.

She set the pitcher down and sighed contentedly.

"Would you like more?" Tom asked, softly.

The collie android nodded and Tom got up and refilled the pitcher. He set it back before her on the table. This time she used the glass and straw. As Tom spoke to her, trying to coax what had happened from her. But she just refused to answer.

The hours in the afternoon slipped away into evening. Tired and annoyed she would not tell him what was going on in her computerized brain, he cooked a simple dinner. The collie was very interested in what he was doing. She became more interested as he began to fix a plate for himself. She was salivating, something she forgot she could do. Tom looked at her, "you hungry?"

Cricket nodded vigorously. Tom fixed her a meager plate and set it before her, and she ate like she had not eaten in a year, even if it was only eight months. Tom watched the hungry android dog, "if you want, I have more stuff in the fridge, you can help yourself to whatever you want in there." The tattered robot looked back at tom with her muzzle full and nodded, excitement in her eyes.

"Just don't gorge yourself." Was his last statement as he got up and left the kitchen.

She was alone again. But her stomach reminded her of her need to eat to keep the energy storage fluid in her batteries refreshed, and these batteries were not well cared for before she got them, and needed a desperate fluid change. She made many trips to the refrigerator and the sink, for water. And none too soon she found herself full. She sighed to herself, finally knowing what it was to be full again. She looked about at her new surroundings. The kitchen was quite large with a small eating aria to the side, where she sat. She got up and wandered out of the kitchen and into an open place in the house. More of a nexus than a hallway or landing. She took hold of her tail in a nervous hold and began plucking at it as she wondered where to go. She noticed a flickering light in one part of the house and headed for it. She peered around the doorway and saw Tom sitting in a chair watching TV. It was an old chair, the stuffing in the threadbare armrests could be seen creeping out in places. It didn't seem to match the rest of the furniture in anything but age.

She walked in to the living room still fidgeting with her tail. Tom looked to her and then back to the television as before.

"Sir?" she spoke gingerly. With her previous tones with him it took him aback.

Confused he looked to her "yes?"

"I need your bathroom, sir."

"Ah, go back left and you will see a flight of stairs. Go by them and into the hallway there on the right, and on the right you will find a bathroom." He turned back to what he was watching as the collie ran out of the livingroom. Tom heard her yell something indiscernible. Figuring she was lost, he got up and yelled as he got to the staircase.

Over he..eee" his head thudded wetly on the hardwood floor. His shirt and the ass of his pants were suddenly soaked. He stared at the ceiling feeling the lukewarm fluid seep into his hair. He gritted his teeth and sighed angrily. Then her voice came clearly from the bathroom, "I'll need a mop."

Not bothering to get up he shouted to her, "in the closet in the kitchen."

He mired in his situation and sat up the fluid trapped in his hair now trickled down his back. He stood up and stripped off his shirt and t-shirt, followed by his pants. Leaving them all on the floor in a pile in the puddle. He ascended the stairs to his room, and a hot shower.

Cricket came out of the bathroom, her batteries and resivour reset cleaning finished. She looked at the puddle and the pile of soaked clothes in the middle of it and realized what the thump she heard earlier was. She went to the kitchen and opened the closet door, but it was a pantry. Then she noticed the slender door next to the kitchen exit and there found the mop.

* * * * *

Tom came down, his hair still wet but from a shower. He saw with satisfaction that her mess and his clothes were gone. He walked back into the livingroom and found the collie in his chair, watching his TV. "No, that's not going to work."

She looked to him wryly, "I'll say, this TV sucks" she said offering her pointed paw at it, "what? Eight years old?"

Not knowing if she was mocking him or being serious he just walked over to her, in his chair, and gripped her ear pulling her out of the chair. He then sat in it himself. "Don't get to comfortable, once your parts come in, your going on the market."

She looked at him confused, her ears perked foreword. "What do you mean, on the market?" she asked with a tilt to her head, her tail in her paws again wringing the appendage nervously.

Tom looked her in the eye from his point on the chair. "You are an L series toy, you are worth a fortune, even refurbished. So I'm selling you."

"Oh" was her only answer before wandering off. Back to the kitchen. She sat on the counter thinking of her life with another human who will discard her. Then she just may turn out like the broken toys in the shed.

But she was just a thing after all. A disposable toy. Worn broken or old her fate was sure to come to only one terrible end, from which there was no return. She shuddered at the thought of the staring eyes. She became tired and yawned. Her first day here was eventful, and her systems had to check themselves over and run their maintenance programs. She curled up on the counter and set to sleep mode.

* * * * *

She woke up, diagnostics ran and her few faults showed up again, two had disappeared over the night. She slipped off the bed. She looked down and tried to remember moving, but could not. The house computer,.. There was no house computer, she was in a normal house, in a bed she could not remember getting in. No schedule, any need to move from the soft bed her tattered furred body sat on.

Then she realized the one resin to get up and headed for the bathroom that was in her room.

She cleaned herself up as best as she could. She sighed sadly at the ragged image in the mirror. She remembered what she looked like before, and now, now she was just refurbished junk. Junk soon to be for sale again.

She shook her head her ears making a flittering sound as she tried to shake the thoughts from her head. Then shook trying to fluff out her ruined coat of fur, but duct tape did not fluff well. Taking satisfaction that at least her face still looked like her.

She didn't want to be sold, she thought as she left her room and wandered around, the house, finding a staircase just down the hall to take her downstairs. How was she able to sleep through all that? She thought in passing as she descended the stairs.

She met Tom in the kitchen, he was already dressed and ready for the day. He looked to her and motioned toward the stove. There are some eggs and sausage for you. You can warm them up in the microwave if you want. She nodded and went over and found a plate made up for her on the stove. She looked to Tom and brought the plate to the table where he sat. She ate most of her food and drank some of the orange juice from a pitcher on the table. Then came the difficult questions.

"Sir, How did I get into the bed upstairs?

"I carried you, you would not wake up for anything, and so I just carried you up and laid you on the bed.

She looked to him in disbelief. "You mean you tried to wake me up and then carried me up. And I did not move?"

Tom shook his head " I even checked you out to see if you had crashed, but you had just crashed." He smiled at his puny play on words, but she was not amused.

"How much do I cost?"

"You?" Tom looked at her strangely. "Well even as a refurbished unit, about eighty to ninety thousand dollars easy."

She looked to him astounded, then tried to shake her expression from her face, this was her chance.

"What if I paid for myself, would I be for sale?"

Tom laughed. "Sure" he said in jest "you pay for you and you own yourself I reckon."

She smiled. "Okay, how much was all those parts you got that I stashed?"

Tom's brows raised at the collie's cunning. "Good trick, but not good enough, not by a long shot, after refurbish and repair, maybe seven grand."

The collie looked crestfallen.

Tom looked to her "why do you want to buy yourself? Don't you want another person to care for?"

The collie drooped and shook her head, "No, the one that had me, I thought loved me. The one I protected with my life," she rubbed the taped on patch over her middle, "abandoned me, threw me away. I don't want to be discarded again." The collie looked blankly at the far wall as she said the last part, a memory played back in her brain as she spoke. She suddenly looked to Tom." If I cannot be loved, I want no other master."

Tom nodded. "Well I'll tell you what, I like collies and even when I thought you were a Tabitha, I really wanted you. So if you want, you can stay here." The collie smiled at him

But" he stipulated with a finger toward her, "you have to earn your keep."

Cricket smiled again, her toothy grin offset by her squinted eyes. "Deal!"

* * * * *

Tom decided to see how useful cricket was to him. She knew the placements of the stashed toys after all. Now to see what else she could do. She and tom began to sort through the remains of the stashed toys in the junkyard. The shop was full of parts and there was still a cache and a half to sort through. She had been hoarding parts for months and often got to the parts before any other salvager.

Cricket scuffed her feet in the dirt. She was pulling more toys she stashed out of the far end of a hill. She was stronger so could carry more units farther while Tom worked the section he could park the truck closer to. But he also was dismantling useful parts from the useless. She dragged a very stiff husky out of the pile. If a toy could ever have ridger mortis, this was an example of it.

She didn't like the way the duct tape would restrict her harder breathing. She was exerting herself to a degree and needed the extra cooling. But she worked on, imagining how she would look once repaired. She sighed at her duct taped middle and then at the dead units. She picked up the husky, a calico and what looked like a black cat bottom. Only six inches of spine was left before it hit hips and legs.

Cricket looked at the older model toys. The feline limp and staring, it looked as if it would spring to life any second, but the husky looked like it froze to death in a torture rack. What did she look like dismantled? She shook her head of the thought as if she had a flea bite at her ear and began walking to the truck. She heard sounds of other scrappers but ignored them. They were all about and no one bothered her yet, so it surprised her to feel someone grab her arm.

She whipped around dropping the toys she collected to look at another scrapper who turned to his friend. Both were fairly clean, the obvious dirt from the scrapyard marked them. "I got one!" he yelled

Cricket pulled from his grasp and went to pick up her load again as she spoke. "I'm sorry, I'm already owned."

The scrapper grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. Not anymore, you're here, and obviously a throw away like these three." He pointed to the other three. "that, and by the looks of you, you have been keeping yourself up, lots of useful parts."

Cricket yipped at the comment, useful parts, parts in reference to her. She thought about becoming one of the parts on the wall. The terror the aloneness,..

The patched robotic collie whipped around and shoved the man hard. Her targeting systems were active. She teetered between killing and maiming. There was a threat to her existence. "you will not kill me" she snarled viciously, "I will not become spare parts!" she said with a flash of fangs.

She lunged forward at the man who grabbed her initially, perfect target, he had no idea what she could and was about to do to him.

"CRICKET! STOP!"

Cricket stood perfectly still her lower canines were under the mans chin, she felt his gasping breath on her tongue and the man pull back.

"What the hell?!" he said looking at a trickle of blood off the bridge of his nose where her upper incisors clipped him. He stared at the tattered toy in disbelief.

"It almost bit me!" he said to his friend. They both looked at Cricket who watched him. Poised in a crouch her head swaying softly, almost like a vipers, her brown eyes locked on him.

"You can't have her, she's mine and not for sale. Same as the toys she was carrying for me." Tom called as he walked slowly down to cricket. "Cricket, stand down." He said as he came within a few yards of them. "Sorry for the,.."

"No way man, you can't prove you own them, and it's salvagers right to claim anything unclaimed in the scrap yard."

"That and the damn thing nearly bit me." He yelled pointing at the tiny trickle of blood from the bridge of his nose.

Cricket was surprised when Tom put his arm about her shoulder.

"Look fellas, This here is Cricket Nightwatcher, 'L' series. She is mine, and you are not taking her." Crickets' eyes narrowed with the bestial smile she then had on her muzzle. "That means she has the capability and know how to kill humans. I highly suggest not provoking her."

Both men backed up the one with the cut, the one who looked down the throat of a toy about to kill him looked worse. "Holy Christ!," he whimpered "it could have bitten my face off." He put his hand over his lower face as if assuring himself it was still there and backed up more.

Tom let cricket go "Pick up these two," he said getting the half cat. "Good day gentlemen. C'mon Cricket." He called as he walked away.

Cricket kept her eye on the men backing up and gave them a toothy smile and a wink as she followed Tom more in earnest. She felt good. The words "She's not for sale,.." rung in her head, played over and over in her electric brain to her delight. This human protected her, and kept his word to her. A simple toy, a discarded unwanted plaything.

When they got to the truck Tom tossed the legs in the back and began looking at cricket. "Are you okay? Did they damage you? What did they hit you with?"

Cricket was confused, but she watched curiously as Tom checked her out and pressed here and there looking for damage.

"No, nothing." She said moving off and putting the two toys beside the truck.

"Why did you attack them?" Tom asked a bit stressed,

Cricket flipped her ears back and gripped her tattered tail wringing it as she looked to the ground. "I was,.. " It was fear. She was afraid. "Afraid."

Tom softened his tone and manor. "You were afraid? Afraid of what?"

Of the shop, of becoming spare parts, of dieing she wanted to scream, of becoming nameless and unknown, but there was an answer other than these she fretted.

She looked up to Tom. She could not say anything. She looked to him hopelessly.

"I was afraid," she was capable of complete sentences, what was she fearful of to not be rejected and thought defective and dangerous? "I was afraid if I was gone they might rob you. They were trying to steal me."

Tom nodded. "Well I'm glad you fought back they would have robbed me if they took you. I own you, remember." He smiled and the collie smiled too. She tilted her head. "Should I get more toys?"

Tom shook his head. "na, stay near me and help me out. You pull and I'll dismantle. Stay here in this area." He looked about. "I don't think those two will be back but I still want you close." He began skinning the husky talking mostly to himself. "we'll have to find a way of making sure this doesn't happen again." he said the last with a grunt as he took the skin and stuffing off the frame of the now skelitalized husky.

Cricket watched in curious wonder as parts were sorted good and bad and dealt with thusly with the grace of practice.

* * * * *

Cricket helped offload parts. There was a big haul and still more to get. She avidly refused to enter the shed. She only handed parts in to Tom through the door, daring not even to look into the shed.

Tom was impressed with her. she was an avid learner. But he noticed her absolute dislike to go into the shed ever sense that day almost two weeks ago. He was not about to go into the scenario the last time he asked. It aggravated him that she would tell him nothing. He looked at the mail when they went back into the house, there was a notice about cricket.

* * * * *

Cricket woke to her usual faults and after a trip to the bathroom headed toward the kitchen. She smiled at tom and stopped dead in her tracks. Her tail swayed cautiously at the smile that played across the mans lips.

"What?" the suspicious collie asked.

Tom pulled a box from under the kitchen table and handed it to her. It was from the manufacturer. She yipped in glee and ripped open the box. There inside were the packages with her joints and her new skin. She giggled in glee and sat on the floor pulling everything out of the box like a kid at Christmas.

Tom laughed and stopped her. "Hold on, let's take this to the shed and fix you up there."

Cricket lost her merry attitude at the prospect of going back into the shed. For all this time she had avoided it, but now, the happiest time sense she was discarded had this morbid undertone. She looked pleadingly to him, "please, let's do it here." She begged.

Tom shook his head. "I can't. One, its going to be messy, and two, all my tools are in the shed."

Cricket shuddered then relented and faced her fear. She packed the box and stiffly walked over to the shed with him. Soon she was inside sitting on the table. But it didn't seem threatening anymore with Tom in there. The eyes no longer leered, the hands no longer reached for her. She smiled to Tom, the last expression she would make with that face as Tom began stripping the damaged skin away.

Cricket watched as Tom replaced her joints and a few rings and a regulator for her bladder. Then she watched in awe as her new skin was brought out and unrolled. She clapped her robotic skeletal hands. She let Tom put on her feet and she stood off the table, the sensation of her new feet was enough to make her giggle, a scary sound coming form a silver and white skull. The gel packs that gave her fine form and texture were almost erotic to feel, it was so fresh and new to her sensors as the harness was connected as he went. He put in her new vagina and hooked all the lines to it. The half-skeletal collie gasped and murred the new organ becoming moist as it was connected and tightened into position. She then had her arms in the skin, her pawpads so soft and sensitive. Everything felt so alive, so new. Then she was temporarily blinded as her face was placed her nose attached and hooked up. Tom had a little trouble getting her cheeks to seal correctly to her gums but he did it and pulled everything tight to where it was supposed to go before he put in her slip seam and stood back smiling. She looked down at her white belly and ran her soft pawpads over her breasts and moaned softly at the feel.

She giggled and looked about for a mirror. But they had to go back to the house for that.

Exited to see herself restored she bolted from the shed and into the house, racing into the bathroom to stare into the mirror at her rich new coat. The pure stark white of her belly and forearms to paws, and the line on her nose tracing between her ears. She played with her new ears, one stood up and the other tilted at an angle both lined inside with pure white. Her snow tipped tail wagged happily and hit tom in the legs.

"Hey" he said laughing "I take it you like it?"

Cricket hugged him tightly and nuzzled under his chin

"Thank you, you've done so much for me"

Tom smiled hugging her back. " No problem, it's the least I can do. Just try not to get torn up. "

She looked up at him with a smirk.

"Well, this has been fun but I have plans for the rest of the day." Tom smiled down to her

She giggled and led, thinking as always, she would go out the kitchen door to the old Nissan and was surprised when she was called. She turned around and saw Tom motion for her to follow.

She had never used the front door, she barely remembered there was another door in the house. Curiously she followed Tom out the front and to another garage. She looked curiously at a covered form in the garage. Tom directed her to a corner together they pulled the cover off an old black car. It was huge and had a lot of curves and chrome. It was a really heavy car. She looked to Tom. "What is it?"

Tom smiled to her. "It's a classic, a 1959 caddy" he walked over to the passenger side door and opened it. Cricket looked confused.

"C'mon, I wanna take you to some places."

Cricket seemed uncertain but got in the car. Tom closed the door and got in on the driver side. He started the car up, the engine roaring to life and they pulled out of the garage and down the long driveway to the road. They cruised about an hour before they came to the outskirts of the city. Tom pulled the car into a parking lot. Cricket looked about at all the shops and milling people. She panted from all the excitement of seeing so many people and places, she had only seen three in her life, her prior owners house the scrapyard and Toms house. She fumbled for the door handle and stepped out. She began wandering amongst the cars and people, trying to take everything in at once. She looked at Tom when he took her arm and smiled. "Look at all this" she gazed over the scene.

"Yes, I know," he looked at cricket and the wonder on her features. "But I need your help getting some things inside."

Crickets eyes lit up more on the prospect of an inside and followed Tom into an electronics store. She saw more toys like herself with their owners. Some obvious home builds and some top of the line models with owners looking for upgrades. A sales rep came up and smiled the business smile to them. "Can I help you with anything sir?"

Tom nodded. "Yea, I need more silver Souder and flux. I also need to see if,..."

Crickets attention was taken up by her surroundings. She wandered over to another toy and began talking to it, a tabby cat that smiled to her and purred softly. "Hello, I'm Fiona. I'm a guardian."

Cricket smiled and shook the cats paw. "Hello, I'm Cricket Nightwatcher. I'm personal protection and pleasure."

The cat smiled. "Good to hear. I must watch my charge. I love him very much and I would hate to see anything happen to him." she looked over to a young teenage boy shopping for parts.

"Cricket nodded. It's good to have someone that loves you." She said dourly thinking of her discard.

"Brad built me from the ground up." The cat grinned with her tiny teeth and bright green eyes. "I'm here now because we're shopping for a new hand harness. The only one he had was damaged and I can't use the last two finger on my left paw." She showed two digits that flopped lifelessly without the tiny retraction motots that made them work.

"Come on Fiona." The boy called the cat who immediately turned to cricket.

"By Cricket!" and ran off to meet her master as he walked out with the new parts.

"Good bye."

Cricket watched the cat go she could not help but feel disappointed at the only other toy she talked to since her sister unit. She was on the verge of feeling sad when Tom handed her several bags to carry. With a, "Lets go Cricket." they were on their way to the parking lot.

Cricket dropped the bags into the car and looked about. She pointed to a building with a lot of people leaving for their cars. Tom looked over At what captivated her

"It's a theater." He said in passing "they show movies there."

Cricket looked at him and hopped a little. "A movie theater! Ooh can we see a movie, please, please, please"

Tom chuckled and shrugged. "Sure, its been a while sense I went to one." He locked the car doors and he and cricket walked over to the theater.

The man at the ticket counter looked at tom a bit oddly as he purchased the two tickets. Tom grinned, he had not seen a horror movie for some time.

Cricket glared at two women across the theater lobby as she and Tom stood in line for drinks. Their voices far beyond Toms hearing but rang like crystal in her acutely censured ears. Cricket watched them, but wanted to walk over and straighten them out. She was cricket, not a Border collie fuck toy. Her ears picked up another snip that made her think. She took her glaring eye from the two women to look at Tom. He was not that old, and looked younger. Only his eyes were aged and held the squint of someone who had seen too much. He was not handsome in her old owner's almost feminine style of beauty, but in a carved, more rough way. Even after he shaved he still had a dark shadow on his face. His hair was short, a style that never had to be combed.

She then reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. Tom started not expecting it.

"What? Was something in my hair?" he said ruffling the spot she had put her paw to.

"No, I was just seeing something" she answered honestly. Her old owner wore gel in his hair, and she smiled to herself imagining Tom with gel in his hair. But the feel of his hair was very different, it was smoother, soft. She would have to run her paw through it again sometime.

"Well, do you want anything?"

Cricket looked at him confused

"To drink, popcorn?"

Cricket shrugged unsure

"Large cherry coke and large popcorn with butter." Tom ordered.

Tom missed the smirking look the attendant gave cricket, while he was getting the money.

Tom led her to the theater and found them seats.

The usual hush ran over the crowd as the previews and ads ended and the movie began. Cricket munched idly at the popcorn and drank some of the cola as the shows beginning played out. Then the action started. Cricket watched on in amazement as the creature began making the body count rise.

She gasped and suddenly hid her head in Toms' chest her paws gripping his shirt, but still had one eye on the screen. Tom laughed and patted her. She jumped at every start and attack to the end. She still clung to him after the lights came on and people made a mass exodus.

It took a bit to coax her off of his shirt. "You okay cricket?"

She looked up to him. "They killed the thing, what a sad movie"

"Hold on, you were rooting for the creature?" Tom asked in disbelief.

Cricket looked at him curiously "he was the good guy right"

Tom looked down at the collie robot. "How do you figure that?"

Cricket looked up to him, "well humans made him, and then got scared of him and tried to hurt him. He was only trying to protect his life." Cricket tilted her head, "so that makes him the good guy right?"

Tom shook his head and laughed, "I guess he could have been" he chuckled, "we have some things to do still." He looked at his watch.

"But lunch is next."

They left the theater and headed for the food court. Cricket tried several things and settled on chicken. They hit a bookstore afterwards. The hour grew late, it was almost dinnertime. So almost was good enough and they stopped by a steak house on the way back to the house and ate there. The only spoiler was for cricket. Some of the things people said out of earshot of Tom were unkind to say the least, but she ignored it. She knew more than those people making assumptions about her purpose and his personality.

They stopped off by the grocery store and stocked up. And finally were off on their way home.

When they got home there was a small tiger on the porch. A child's toy by the looks of it.

Tom parked the car in the garage. He asked cricket to get the things out of the car while he looked at what was on his porch.

Cricket came up easily toting all the things from the car.

"What is it sir?"

Just a toy," he said picking up the three foot genderless stuffed tiger, its making more like a plush animal than the advanced toy Cricket was, but both possessed the same brain, only programmed different.

"I'm going to check this out real quick, go ahead and put everything away for me would you."

Cricket nodded and went inside when Tom opened the door, he followed her with the tiger. She stopped in the kitchen and he continued out the back to the shop.

Cricket went in the open shed door, the groceries put away, she saw Tom working with a small hand computer. He looked up to see Cricket.

"Would you hand me a Y connector from that bin over there?" Tom called over to her and pointed briefly to a set of small bins on the wall. She looked at the area he pointed and found one labeled Y and picked up the part

"This?" she asked holding the three-sided wire connector.

Tom nodded and waved her to come over with it.

He took the connector from her and put it inside the toy. It suddenly started to hum as its startup program initiated. He put the slip seam back in and waited watching the toy. Suddenly, like a child's enchanted dream the small tiger moved.

"Oh?" What happened? Where is Chris?" it said in a small childlike voice, it looked up to cricket and Tom. Where is my boy?" It asked panicked.

Tom smiled, "Chris is fine, your Y connector was bad and I had to fix you, you are at a repair shop. You will go home tomorrow. It's already past nine so its bedtime."

The tiger nodded and looked about. Tom picked it up and set it on the floor. "Follow us."

The trio filed into the kitchen and into the nexus and up the stairs. He showed the tiger another spare room in his house. It nodded and crawled into the bed.

"Good night" the tiger said as it laid its head on the pillow

"Good night" Tom replied

Tom closed the door and turned around to face Cricket. He took a stunned step back "whoa," he smiled nervously "sorry, almost ran into you"

He sidestepped her and left down the stairs. Cricket looked down at herself. She felt funny, her magic words were never spoken, the command line that made her attached to a human, but she could feel an attachment to the man that took her in. She thought about the people being so cruel when they thought they could not be heard, to him. Just because he was nice to a toy. She descended the stairs. Tom was on the couch, the television off his nose buried already in one of the new books. Cricket sat next to him. She sat on her leg her tail laid out over the couch. She reached up with her clawtipped paw and scritched Tom's head, her fingers ruffling his short hair.

Tom sighed, his eyes closing, he lowered his book and leaned over to cricket. She giggled at his reaction and kept scritching and he kept leaning toward her. She moved over a little as he laid his head in her lap. Cricket loved the feel of his hair under her fingers, maybe this was why people pet pets, she thought as she continued to run her clawed fingertips over his scalp. She looked down on him, she realized how young he looked.

She was surprised to find out he was asleep on her lap. She rubbed his head and put her paws on his shoulder. She tilted her head down and allowed herself to sleep.

* * * * *

Cricket and Tom were awoken by a pounding on the front door. Cricket was up and presentable before Tom and answered the door. There was a man there and a small boy. She tilted her head a little, "can I help you, sir?"

The man smiled, "yea, sorry to be over so early, but this one," he motioned to the child, "Misses his meow."

The boy looked up at Cricket and pointed to her, "she's bigger than meow," he said in a small voice.

Just then Tom came to the door. "Hey, your toy is fine, it's upstairs.

The boy bolted into the house calling for meow.

"Christopher Moore! Get yourself back here this instant, you know better than to barge in other peoples houses." His father scolded.

"Here, I'll get him." Cricket smiled to the boy and to Tom before heading off upstairs.

Cricket returned carrying the toy tiger. The boy's eyes lit up on seeing his friend as Tom and Mr. Moore dealt with the business side of the reunion.

* * * * *

Cricket had a new vest to wear on her trip to the junkyard so they wouldn't have another claiming fiasco. She giggled when Tom told the other scavenger what she was and what could happen to him. several working toys were found and restored and sold. She was able to learn how to rebuild from the ground up. The more she worked with him the greater her feeling of attachment. She fought her feelings, feelings she should not be having. She regretted her inability to tell him, to act on her wants toward him. She wondered how he would react to her if she advanced on him. But the fear of rejection, reinforced by the folks from the city's opinions of them being together prevented her form asking.

She no longer had any apprehensions about the wonderful shop and what she helped him do. She looked more on it as a way to assure herself new life can be had.

Cricket watched a skeletal shell from the wall slowly fill with parts. Her own paws inside the growing collection of parts. She knew this toy as one she helped pull out of the pile. She took the robotic skull off the table. "Okay cricket, you've seen me do this enough. Put the head on and run a diagnostic." Tom stepped back and crossed his arms showing he would not help.

Cricket felt nervous. Not because of being left to do the job alone, but because she now stood in the spot where Tom was with her on the table. These are the things that brought her to life. He did these things to her. It was a strange feeling to be the resurector.

She took the brainless skull and set it to the atlas joint in the neck and hooked up the ligament pistons and wire motors for fine movement. Now she took the power connector and attached it to the test battery. The skeletal husky lurched and began breathing. Cricket checked the battery monitor for power distribution and possessor operation. She noted a flocculation with the sensory possessor. She isolated it and discovered it was set for a male. Cricket looked to Tom. "It's still set for male, do we have a male skin?" Tom nodded.

Cricket unplugged the battery tester and went to the skins part of the shed. She found the refurbished husky skin and trotted over to the husky ready to put the skin on. "Hold on cricket, did you remember the stuffing mats? Cricket nodded "I have a computer brain sir, I remember all the things you did, and can recall them with ease. Unlike someone who can't remember where the truck keys are half the time." She stuck her tongue out the end of her muzzle teasing him.

He smiled at her and shook his head. "alright keep going."

The android collie began stuffing around the stomach and reservoirs and along the limbs and joints with a white padding and then began slipping the skin on over it. It turned out to be more tedious than she thought and had to have Tom help her take the bulging spots out. She then found the sheath opening and inserted the penis, pulling it out near an opening near the scrotum and hooked up the lines and wires to the artificial testacies and the internal section of penis.

She put in the seams and looked at the brainless android. She looked up to Tom. "Is this what you did with me?"

"Tom nodded his head. Yea, but you are more advanced so you have more fine movement and a different frame because you're so compact."

She looked back at the body and hooked up the test battery again for a charge of the systems. She then brought the sunlamps up and disconnected the battery and hooked the husky's power port back to the solar panel that lined his back. Cricket stuck her paw holding a connector into the spinal plug at the bottom of the skull. She tapped on menus on a small hand computer and monitored the results of the body on it's own power. She tapped in the motor movement test and the computer ran through all the motions of the body, from wiggling a toe to the twitch of an ear. It all just took thirty minuets.

Now was the moment of truth. Cricket took a brain, the brain that went to the husky and picked it up. With the computer disconnected and the lamps off she set the valuable brain into the skull and made sure the connections were seated before closing the skull and pulling the skin and putting in his nose.

She looked at Tom who smiled and nodded approvingly.

Good girl, now switch him on and let's see what happens." Tom said stepping up again to check over the toy.

They brought up the sun lamps. The husky began breathing steadier, the rhythm was too fast. Tom pulled Cricket out of the way and hooked his computer into the back of it's neck. The unit began tensing up and curling into a ball. The sound of stressed motors and tendon lines made him shut the unit down. Tom sighed and pulled the nose and skin off the head, opened the skull and took out the brain.

"I really hoped not to have to do this," he said as he took the brain over to a diagnostic port. "This will take a long time. Go ahead and put that one in the storage room, remember to,.."

"Close all the ports and cover it. Yes I know sir." Cricket finished for him as she did what he asked.

Cricket watched over his shoulder with her tail in her hands playing with the white tip when Tom turned around on his work stool. "This will take forever, even if nothing is wrong. Lets call it quits until then." He said getting up and heading for the door. He held it open for cricket as the two left for the house.

* * * * *

Only a few weeks past since that day, when the doorbell rang and rang incessantly.

Cricket opened the door and was shocked, she thought a smoking circus clown and a bear were at the door but quickly realized it was an old woman and a rotweiler toy. The woman tossed a cigarette in the yard. Cricket was about to ask if she could help before the woman spoke in a grated tone.

"Oh, goodness, its about time someone answered the bell." She looked at cricket. "Oh hunny its about time that man gave up his priestly vows and got some ass, and speaking of nice ass," she looked past Cricket into the house, "Tom! Tom, you in there?"

She looked back to Cricket, who was trying to make sense of the first comments. "Its nice to see him moving on finally. I remember when my Husband, Bill, died. Ah I was crushed, but I just went to Vegas for a few years," she started to rifle through her large canvas bag that served as her purse and brought out a pack of Virginia slims as she continued to talk constantly at cricket.

" Sorry Hun I haven't had a smoke in a while." and she stuck the cigarette in her over red painted lips and lit it up inhaling deeply through the thin cigarette. "But anyway, you have a lot of girls dream, sleeping with that man. God knows I offered, but hell, I'm seventy years old, "she laughed and pulled the cigarette from her lips and patted cricket on the shoulder.

"Huh, kinda went with a small one huh, not like my Rex here." She pointed to her large toy. Cricket tried to speak for a while but only her mouth was slightly agape, there were no pauses long enough to get a word in edgewise, the woman on seeing her reached up and closed Crickets mouth.

"Goodness you pleasure models, you looked like you were waiting for a cock like that, and speaking of dicks," she looked past cricket "Thomas Fletcher, you get over here I need you to hook up an upgrade!"

Cricket took her chance when the woman drew breath and put her cigarette in her mouth.

"Ma'am, perhaps he's in the shed. I could look if you want." Cricket offered.

The woman nodded with her cigarette in her mouth and a crude grunt of approval.

"If you would wait,.." was all cricket got out before the woman flipped her cigarette behind her. "Nah darling, I know my way, we've been coming here for a while now." She pushed her way inside, her toy following with a courteous nod and an admiring look at cricket's body. Sure enough the brash woman knew her way around the house and out the back door toward the shed.

"Thomas!" she shouted in her gravely voice. Cricket got there as the woman was lighting up another slender cigarette.

Cricket used the time the woman stared at the shed like she could see through it, to reflect on the rabble the woman had divulged on her.

Tom was a priest? But she never knew him to go to church or even act like a priest would in her mind. No godly things, no bibles or references to. He did have a few religious items, but they served almost a decorous purpose. Cricket pondered on as Tom came out the shed door.

"Mandy, good to see you. What can I do for you today?"

The woman went delving into her bag again as she spoke." I ordered a little something for myself and was hoping you could, Ah, here it is," she said as she pulled out a beer bottle sized object wrapped in plastic.

"Would you put this on please?"

Tom's eyes widened at the thing in the bag and looked up at the woman and her toy. He shrugged. "Sure." He said in a disbelieving tone and motioned for the toy to follow him.

Ordinarily cricket would follow, but there was secret information available to her now.

Cricket looked to Mandy, "Ma'am,"

Mandy looked to the collie. "Yes Hun?"

"Is Tom a priest?"

The woman laughs in her gravely tone and began to cough, she sated it with a long pull on her cigarette.

"Oh no doll, Its just after his wife was killed he hasn't been out much. I heard he was out on the town the other day with a new sex toy,.."

"I am not his sex toy, his fuck toy, his bitch or his autonomic humping post," Cricket snapped "We have never fucked, screwed, bumped uglies, or buggered eachothers brains out. He found and repaired me and that is it!" Cricket looked at the surprised woman and lowered her eyes.

"I didn't mean to snap" cricket said softly. "Please go on"

Mandy took a long drag off her slim and tossed it on the ground, no sooner another had taken its place.

"Well honey, its good you didn't say you were sorry. That's a strong spirit for a,.. Um pleasure model." Mandy stammered.

"I'm a Cricket Nightwatcher."

Mandy looked to Cricket. "Okay," she nodded not knowing the significance of the name. " I thought sense you were in the house and about town with him he finally got over his wife."

Cricket looked to the ground and played with her tailtip, twisting a finger in the feathery phalanges of white fur. "What happened to his wife? Cricket asked, " I never knew he was married." She added softly but Mandy caught it, as old as she was.

Mandy sighed heavily and sucked on her cigarette before answering. " About four years ago, his wife was in a car accident. If that wasn't bad enough, he didn't go to the funeral and her family, and parts of his gave him a hard time. He went mental and was gone for a few months." She took another long drag on her cigarette. "Sad really, when Bill died I was eighty, she was so young."

Mandy shook her head with her cigarette in her mouth. " But how did you get him to keep you around?" the old woman asked craftily

"I asked him not to sell me." Cricket offered honestly

The chain-smoking crone gave a wide smile with her unnaturally white teeth. "And what made him listen? Why were you special?"

Cricket knew what made her special, but it was lost on the old woman.

Just then Tom came out of the shed followed by the rotweiler, his sheath was now the size of a coke bottle and swung awkwardly from his groin. The old woman grinned widely her cigarette clenched between her teeth.

"Oh my God, you are a master Tom. Thank you dear." Mandy grated out.

She reached out and touched the rottie's new swollen sheath. She then went fishing in her purse and began pulling large bills from a larger roll. Tom looked unimpressed and tried to refuse the exorbitant amount offered like a man well versed in this issue. Or at least with her.

Mandy placed the money in his hand and closed his fingers around the wad of cash. "Look Hun," Mandy tried to whisper to Tom. "Take it, and if you don't want It, spend it on the nice girl you have there."

Cricket honestly looked embarrassed as she was pointed out.

"I would love to stay and chat love but I have a new toy to break in." She smiled unnaturally and led the rottie around the house for the car. Tom and cricket just stood silently looking at each other, even after the sound of the woman's car speeding away. Crickets' tail waved a few times.

"Yea" Tom said to break the silence. And waved the money in his hand at Cricket but did not look at her as he headed into the house. Cricket grabbed her swishing tail and looked at Tom's back as he retreated back into the house. She looked at her tail. It was new, she was restored to perfection. There was nothing wrong with her. She looked wistfully at the door. Then realized what she was thinking and was astounded. She searched her memory to see if he had ever used her magic words, but he hadn't. So why did she feel this way to him? She wanted him, to be next to him. She whimpered and looked lost clutching her tail to her. She then shook her head her tilted ears flapping against her head. What was wrong with her? It was a fault in her memory, a glitch in her system. She would have to run a diagnostic in the night to repair that glitch.

Cricket thought of what Mandy had said. What made her so special? She was a Cricket Nightwatcher, a walking mountain of cash. She stopped. She was worth more to sell than to keep. He didn't have enemies, or work in a high level facility. He was a simple shady tree technician. She had no domestic skills, well, none but sex. And he didn't even ask that of her. She served no purpose here. She brightened, she did help him in the scrapyards and shed. But any unit he had before could have done that. And yet here she was. She just asked to stay, did any others? She sighed, and leaving the thoughts unresolved, headed into the house.

She wandered about the house, Tom nowhere to be found. Curiously she called his name. No response. She sighed. He usually took her everywhere. The strange thought of why came to her but she shook it from her head. She wandered into his room. It was larger than any other bedroom. She looked about nothing to have ever told he was married. Maybe he was a priest and the old woman was insane. She certainly could be. Her age when her husband died jumped a decade. But that did nothing to soften the mental blows her electronic brain pounded to her. She could not love him, she could only love the one that spoke her words. She grumbled to herself as she left his room and wandered the hall.

It caught her eye, it had been on the wall the entire time, always there but unnoticed by her. A picture in a simple frame. She recognized Tom, but his eyes were different, his features lighter, a woman leaning on his shoulder, her red hair tied back in a long ponytail, and a small set of gold rimed wire glasses perched on her freckled face. Cricket saw a different car in the background. She studied the picture for a little longer. Then moved on down the stairs. Now there was one picture of a female, so she looked for more. Very few feminine items were found, most of them just went with the decor, but had a distinct female planning behind it. There were a few photos of her in odd out of the way places. The same freckled smile, but different places. Different countries the pictures with Tom in them showed him with light eyes and a cocked smile.

Cricket wandered outside. One of the pictures had horses and a barn. At the edge was the house. She walked about the house until she found the side in the photo and looked out over a field full of saplings and tall grasses and wildflowers. And farther in the field there was a barn.

Light flooded the dark reassess of the large barn. It reeked of rat's mice and musty disuse. Cricket's footpads made the boards groan and creak with every step, pawprint tracks were left as she wandered farther into the dark building. It was ravaged by time uncare and vermin. Wasps buzzed in the rafters and walls. She came to the tack room and found a few pieces of tack eaten by rats and the metal rusted. All abandoned. She sat on an old chair. It left her fur dusty but she would shower it out later. But she just sat there and thought. How could she feel love for Tom. Why was she here and not sold. He actively rescued her.

The sun set in the sky when she herd her name being called over and over again. The voice sounded frustrated and frightened. Her emergency setting set in and she bolted out the door, her legs sprung her foreword as she ran on all fours faster than any greyhound, toward the voice. Her eyes set for the night she saw perfectly. She was on Tom before he knew it.

He gasped at how suddenly and quietly she appeared from nowhere. But his features went from surprise to scolding in an instant.

"Damnit Cricket, you scared the hell out of me! I had no idea where you were. Don't disappear like that." He held his angry gaze on her a little before his features came to the weary look he always had.

"I'm sorry, just,.." He just shook his head and motioned for her to follow. They went to the kitchen where Tom had made a bit of supper for them. Cricket smiled to herself. Perhaps the old woman was not insane. Perhaps she had gained wisdom, but never learned to convey it well, after all. Cricket sat at her place at the small table and began on her meal, Tom following after getting a drink first. After dinner tom went to get up to go to the living room but Cricket grabbed his forearm before he got up.

"Sir, it's beyond my place, but I had a question."

Tom sat back down and looked to her. "What?" he seemed more weary but his eyes said he was paying attention."

"Sir, I was wondering about your wife sir." She tensed as he sat back his eyes hard on her.

"I should have known Mandy would not miss a chance to talk to anyone with ears." He sighed exasperated and looked squarely at, no through cricket, as if peering into her electric soul. She shifted uneasily.

"We were married for three years. We met when I helped her with car trouble off the interstate. I couldn't fix the problem and gave her a lift, and we never went back for her rusted out shitbox of a car." He chuckled to himself. "She was just out of college, she had studied nuclear medicine. I was just a technogeek with a light car fetish and no real future. Least to say she put me to some order in a short time." His eyes looked distant

"God was she beautiful" he reminisced, he then looked to cricket with a frown. "September second, I had a police officer come to my house and tell me she was dead. He wanted me to identify the body, he had pictures, but I would not look at them. I told him to ask her mother." He sighed sadly at the floor and continued. "And thus began my insulation. I packed everything that was hers and sent it with her mother when she came over to comfort me, and wound up confronting me when I told her I was not going to the funeral. The week before the funeral both my and her family came over damned, persecuted and disowned me."

He looked to cricket. She was still processing the information. It didn't make sense to her. She was programmed with the knowledge of human customs and sympathy and this was,.. Unordinary. She looked back to him in his silence. He was staring at her.

"I took everything of hers and reminders of her and packed them up, I gave it away to her family or to charity. I gave away the horses and just let the fields go. But it was not enough, the very house itself was part of her. Every corner she leaned on every chair she sat on, the very carpets she lazed on and invited me to join her. Even our bed, I wanted her to be there. I always expected to wake up and find her there."

He looked to his empty glass and got another glass of juice. " Mandy probably told you I went to an asylum or jail or something. But I just had to leave. I just took my money and car keys got in my car tanked up at the gas station and drove west. Rout 66, well now its 12 and 10, went through the desert. No speed limits in most places. And I just drove. I drove as far and fast as I could go." He chuckled a little "screaming through the desert. I though how simple it would be to tilt the wheel to a pole or rail. But I stayed on the road. And drove until I ran out of gas, then I coasted, and finally stopped. I sat in the middle of the road a little and got out and started to just walk into the desert. I made it about a hundred yards into the sand when I tripped over something in the sand." He looked to Cricket. "I must be boring you to tears."

Cricket shook her head, it was useless information, it didn't follow her question at all past the beginning, but she tolerated it. It was still a story, one he wanted to tell.

Tom leaned back farther in the chair. "To make a long story less long, I found an old toy, the quad series. And I fixed him, forced him to live, and fixed that old caddy at the same time." He laughed softly. "A tractor-trailer hit my car in the middle of the road, where I left it. But I figured every time I made something dead live again, I was spitting in the face of the god that took my love away form me. And that's why I now do what I do. I bring the dead back."

Tom closed his eyes. He seemed restful, the torrent usually about him was lighter. Then she asked the obvious.

"Sir, why did you not go to the funeral?"

Tom nodded and stood up taking Crickets paw in his hand and lead her to the front door. He stopped about ten feet away.

"Here"

Cricket looked to him and then the door

What?"

Tom smiled softly to her. " This is the last memory of my wife. She stood there at the door, and told me she loved me and would be back later." Tom looked to the door, but his eyes were vacant, he saw nothing that was there. Only a memory.

" You see cricket," he continued "I have no memory of my wife being dead, every memory I have of seeing her she was alive and well, no funerals, no dead body, I know she is dead, I just don't have the memories of it." He looked to cricket.

"I know its selfish and impractical, even condemning. But at least I have a living memory." He looked to Cricket, a deep sadness in his eyes. She wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came to mind and she watched as he walked to the front door and went out. She tugged on both her ears her tail high in dominance then between her legs submissively. She was an idiot, all the thinking ability of her brain, and she still messed it up she thought. She sighed heavily and let go of her ears. She just sank to the floor her feelings for Tom, the glitch that caused them, stronger than ever. She wanted to run out the door and grab him, to kiss him. She suddenly stopped. She had never actually kissed him. It had been months and she had not received so much as a pat on her tail in anything but a tease or a friendly compliment.

She growled viciously. This glitch was going to drive her mad. She stood up and headed up the stairs to her room. She would turn in early to run her checks and get rid of the infernal error. It had caused enough problems for one day.

* * * * *

Cricket woke up, all of her systems were fine. She sighed when she still felt the drawing toward Tom. She cleaned herself up and headed down to the kitchen. Tom was wearing his searching clothes at the table as he ate. Cricket knew what today would bring. Another trip to the junkyard would be a good trip to talk to Tom about her glitch. Tom watched her strangely. She just smiled and waged her tail a bit flirting before she knew what she was doing.

She slapped her paw to her head and quickly turned away. Toward the refrigerator to get something for breakfast.

The ride to the junkyard was quiet, not tense only quiet. The trees flew until they reached the stripped aria that perimetered the junkyard. Cricket put on her orange vest marked OWNED and she and tom began wandering the yard. They had already cleaned out crickets caches, so were back to searching the piles.

Tom was unburying a decapitated toy. Cricket wandered about picking up some decent parts, but nothing serious.

Cricket searched about the pile when she heard a noise. A lot like a fan with a blade missing. She followed the grating sound. Suddenly a form bolted from behind a car. Crickets keen eyes ran an identify program, and realized it was a toy cat. Cricket bolted after the fleeing feline.

Cricket went to all fours bolting after the noisy cat, the broken fan sound emanating from it. The feline looked back seeing the orange vested collie gaining rapidly on her. she shrieked and tried to dodge the attack dog. but only managed to allow the collie to cut the corner and gain on her all the faster. The cat yarled and screeched when she was tackled.

Cricket straddled over the cat who looked at her with fear in her eyes.

"please, let me go. I'm like you please don't let them take me."

Cricket looked at the cat and smiled. " I think today is your lucky day kitty."

The feline's eyes lit up and she smiled. " so your going to let me go?"

Cricket shook her head, the cat looking to the collie in dread. "You're going to take me?"

Cricket nodded.

The cat fell silent, she only hung her head, accepting her fate.

Cricket smiled to Tom as she came up to him with her catch. It caught him by surprise, both the way cricket was sauntering and her prize. Tom picked up his recovered decapitated toy and looking at the cat.

"Good catch Cricket." Tom complimented "she is in pretty good condition." He looked closer to the cat. "But it sounds like her purr motor is broken."

The feline kept her head down in defeat. Her tail had an alley cat break in it. And her coat was a bit unkempt. But who's wasn't in this place.

The feline squirmed a little as Tom picked up the decapitated toy and flung it in a fireman's carry over his shoulder.

Your in good hands Isis," tom said as they began to head back to the old Nissan. "We'll have you fixed up and in a new home in no time."

The cat looked up. "Fixed up?" she tested looking up to tom. "you're going to repair me?"

Cricket answered, "Whether you like it or not, you're getting repaired"

Tom laughed at Cricket and nodded. "I'm evil like that."

Isis smiled and began walking with cricket rather than being escorted babbling about a new life her purr motor still grating on.

Finally tossing the headless body in the back of the truck tom looked to cricket both of them looking to the cat with the broken purrbox.

"In the back" Cricket and Tom said to Isis simultaneously. But the cat only looked happy to comply, unaware or uncaring of the implied insult of neither wanting to hear her broken constant grating purr.

Cricket dusted herself off a little more than usual. She caught herself preening and stopped looking guiltily at Tom, but he was not paying attention. She really wanted to kiss him. She crept up closer to him as she thought of his soft hair and most likely tender lips. She shook her head and pointedly tried to be casual.

"What do you think of the cat?" she asked needing any sort of distraction form her own thoughts.

"Well she is a guardian model. I have three buyers lined up for that model. I'll sell her to the family with the youngest child."

Cricket plucked at her tailtip as she was silent, the meaningless conversation left her and she kept thinking of Tom in ways her programming should not have been.

They pulled up to the shed. Cricket getting out of the truck a few seconds after Tom she was thinking and imagining so much. She helped escort the feline in as Tom carried the headless toy in and put it on one of the tables. He then motioned for the noisy cat to come over. "Sit here Isis." He said lifting her up and onto the table. Cricket took off and folded her vest up putting it away as she came closer to Tom. She realized she was strutting and consciously stopped. This glitch was going to get her sold.

"Need anything Tom?" she said in a soft coo.

Tom eyed her suspiciously and she straightened back up, realizing she was flaunting her breasts. It was in her programming but not to someone who never spoke her magic words. She shook herself and began picking at the fake fur at the end of her tail as Tom kept looking at her.

"Go ahead and start taking this one apart, I'll tend to Isis.

The cat look mortified but as a proper toy should, obeyed his command to lay down. She was skinned and stripped down to her chassis as fast as cricket was dismantling the broken toy

Cricket seemed to control herself more as she was tasked to get parts or tools. She watched the cat shell become a reconstructed toy. Only the fur was different, the old fur needing to be refurbished as it was still salvageable. She caught herself too often wagging her tail at Tom as he worked. She tingled in places and panted softly. She tried to concentrate but it was hard.

Finally the feline sat up, complete and amazed at her repair. Cricket was the one to bring the two gallon jugs of water for her to drink.

"You have it form here Cricket." Tom called as he took of his static gloves "I'm going to make a phone call and see if I can't get her home by tomorrow."

Cricket nodded, and caught herself flagging her tail. She berated herself silently and gave the cat a jug. "Drink this."

The feline took the jug and drained it like cricket and so many others had before. Cricket looked to the feline curiously. "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine Ma'am."

Cricket balked. I'm not a Ma'am, I'm a toy, like you, I'm Cricket Nightwatcher."

I'm Isis. Thanks for finding and helping me get repaired, and, is it true, I will have a new family soon?"

Cricket nodded. "Yes, you will be sold to a new family." Cricket looked to the feline as she purposefully used sold to see the reaction. She was shocked how happy the feline looked."

"wonderful, I do love taking care of children." The feline said ecstatic.

"You want to be sold to another family? Aren't you afraid of them discarding you?"

Isis looked to the collie and shook her head. "I miss my family, they did discard me and I remember I loved them, but I so want another family to serve, someone else to take care of." Isis touched the collies muzzle like a concerned mother questioning a child. "do you not want a new family, someone to love?"

Cricket automatically thought of tom, and her feelings for him. feelings she should not have. But the idea of being sold to someone who would possibly abandon her again seemed a farce.

The collie looked to the feline. "Do you love your old masters still?"

"I do, as I said I miss them, I know I do but I don't remember them very well, I can't remember much at all until I was in the junkyard." The cat flicked her tail "But I will not let that stop me form finding a new loving family and taking care of their children."

Cricket was picking at the tip of her tail again when the feline ruffed her between the ears. "don't look so down Cricket Nightwatcher. You will find another family to serve."

Cricket pulled at her halffold ear and walked quickly away form the baffled cat. Isis was about to follow the collie as she went to the door until the dog turned her head and soft but very sternly said "stay here."

And Isis obeyed.

* * * * *

Tom waved as the car left with Isis, Cricket watching form the front door. The glitch was driving her mad. She dreaded the possible damage in her programming that she could not get over this, or detect the problem. But it's best that it be known.

Tom smiled to her and she resisted hugging him. Instead, as he was almost in front of her, her head down when she spoke.

"Tom, I have a glitch in my system."

Tom looked to her concerned. "What kind of glitch, what's going on?"

Cricket blushed and looked down at her petite white furred breasts and dusted her furry chest then stopped as she realized she was preening again and looked up to him a little afraid. "I feel I am in love with you, and you never spoke my magic words"

Toms mouth quirked as he thought. "No, I never used your words, maybe I missed something, have you tried self diagnostics?"

Cricket nodded. "Nothing shows up as wrong, even on manager fault scan. I check out perfectly."

Tom shrugged. Well I will look into it" he didn't seem to pleased at the prospect, but maybe it was her glitch, she was feeling a little aroused, the glitch was getting worse. She was beginning to want tom, to feel him inside her. She breathed a little heavier thinking of Tom brushing her tail out lifting it up and licking her hot new cunny. She touched one of her breasts, the nipple hard to her touch and she gasped loudly. She snapped out of her daydream and saw Tom watching her with more than mild interest.

"Yea, we'll get you looked at ASAP"

Cricket blushed more. She tried to put the images out of her mind, but she wanted Tom. She was clenching her teeth by the time they walked back to the shed. Cricket whimpered and grabbed Toms arm. He was amazed by her strength in such a small form.

Let go Cricket," he said in a high voice from how tight her grip was. "Sit on the table and I'll check you out."

Cricket obeyed wile Tom retrieved his hand computer, soothing his arm where she had gripped him

"how do you feel Cricket?" he asked as he approached her again

Cricket shrugged. "I still feel attached to you, but I'm not as," she paused thinking "Horney, anymore" she thought it strange to put a biological hormone rush on an electrical device, but it was after all a biological language she knew.

Tom nodded and walked over to her and pet her ears soothingly, he noticed the extreme reaction he got from her. Her nuzzling to his hand, the gasp that escaped her surprised him. Tom nodded and removed his hand form her head.

"Alright, maybe I missed something somewhere when I put you back together. " Tom offered.

Cricket shrugged. " Well I feel fine now. Really" she lied. It took all her strength to not mount him like a bitch in heat.

Tom noticed the twitchy movements. Concerned she may crash he took a small seam out of her head. He pulled out two thin wires from his hand computer and attached them into the tiny slit in her head. He went through her entire program, cricket's tail twitched and she was constantly brushing out her fur with her hand and shifting around. Finally he accessed her main program, the only thing he could think of was a fault in her command control program. He looked at it and without thinking sidestepped it.

"There. Now how do you feel?" he smiled to her, then he realized what he had done. A Machine capable of killing was just given free will. His eyes widened when he saw her pull the cable form her head and look at him.

He smiled trying to sound calm, "I can't believe I did that!" He scolded himself as he picked up the cable and went to remove her port cover again. But her hand clasped around his wrist.

"What did you do that was wrong" She asked him as she brought him in front of her, looking at him with her accusing collie eyes.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I just gave you free will, we need to establish a command line again." He panted, the fear on his features unmistakable.

Cricket caught on and smiled toothily, "so what you are saying is that you just gave me the ability to choose, to make my own decisions with no interference from anyone?" She giggled "and your fear is that you just gave me the ability to kill you." She said with a light in her eyes, she advanced on him holding his wrist still until he was pinned against one of the shed walls.

"You are scared I will choose to kill you." She watched the man nod weakly

The collie laughed and flashed her teeth, "then you have every right to be afraid" she opened her mouth as her head flashed toward him, he yelled and felt the canine teeth of her upper and lower muzzle on his cheeks, her tongue in his mouth. He gasped in panic as he was, kissed deeply?

Confusion replaced fear as the collie pulled from her kiss with him, "I love you to death." A tear leaked from her soft brown eye. "Please don't deny me, you gave me free will, its not my programming to love you anymore, but I still do."

She held to him tightly in a hug her head on his chest, "don't reject me, please Tom, please tell me you will accept me." She never looked up to him, he came over his shock, wrapping his arms about her and putting his chin down on her head he kissed her half fold ear. "I cannot say I love you," he said with a little fear in his voice. He felt her grip his shirt more, burying her face in his chest. The android collie looked up to him and licked his chin,

"I don't care if you love me in your heart, I love you." She sniffed softly and held to him tightly, her head to his chest her ears under his chin. "Just don't make me leave" she whispered almost inaudibly.

Tom took a deep breath, she was so soft and warm against him. But he did not hug her back. He only lifted his arms to her shoulders and pushed her back. His hand did not let go of her shoulder as he felt the loss of her against him. He looked into her eyes, they were mechanical devices, but they conveyed so much, too much to be programming. Cricket swallowed hard and looked away from him, her mouth slightly agape to speak when he pulled her back to him, holding her tightly and nuzzling her. With a heavy sigh, one of tragedy and relief he spoke softly to her. "I don't know if I can love you. But you will never be gone from me." He held her tightly.

She could never die. But one day, he would, She could not deny the fact of animal life. One day she would be alone again, but right now, she had him, for years to come she could be close to him and keep those memories for as long as she lasts. She held him, her tail swaying softly.

She suddenly jumped and looked behind her, Tom's hand holding her tail base. She looked up to him confused weather to be hopeful or if she was only going to be used again, but she found herself caring little about that as Tom leaned down and kissed her muzzle softly. He lifted her up and sat her on one of the tables. Cricket taking the hint unfastened his pants as he pulled off his shirt. He bent down to untie his shoes and gasped when the collie leapt off the table and pulled his pants down. He pulled off his shoes and kicked his pants off turning to the mechanical collie.

Cricket looked to him with a sly smile on her features.

"Up on the table" she commanded.

Tom looked to her in wonder and complied, sitting up on the rubberized antistatic table.

"Lay down now" Cricket continued

Tom laid down on the matted table and looked to cricket. She looked Seiren, almost angelic bliss on her features. Her soft paw caressed his body. She ran a thumb over his nipples and lowered her head, her chin laid on his chest, her tongue lashed out and lapped at his nipple. Tom gasped and held her head and back only to have her take his arms by the wrist and lay them to his sides again.

"No, just let me work."

Tom groaned an "okay" tossing his head back as her tender paw brushed past his stiff member and cupped his heavy sac. Tom's fingernails dug into the rubber mat as she gently rolled his balls in her hand. He had to fight himself not to grab her, but the possibility that this would end stopped him. His toes curled up as she put a finger between each testie and rubbed up and down the raised cannel between his balls.

Cricket lapped across his nipple and then over his chest. She felt his gasps as she licked lower and lower down his body. She stopped at the trimmed thatch of hair at his groin and smiled at the raging hardness she had induced in him. She licked her lips already salivating. She stuck her muzzle to his tip and sniffed the head, her breath making him moan and the thick shaft bob up and down stiffly. She lapped at his shaft, her tongue entwining about his shaft. His hips twitched a little and she smiled. She lifted herself up on the table and straddled him. Her arms crossed over his middle. She lapped his penis a few more times with her long tongue then engulfed it into her hot wet muzzle. She sucked on his throbbing organ, bobbing her head a little, letting his head grate over the ridges in her mouth.

Tom looked at cricket as she climbed on the table. He saw her body straddle him. The feel of her fur on his naked flesh was exhilarating, he lifted his hands and then put them back on the table with a thud as she lapped at his member, then enveloped it into her mouth. The ridges in her muzzle were an amazing sensation. He looked down up to see her and was thrilled with a view of her rear, her tail lifted high, her very real looking and wet cunny facing him, her soft pink tailhole also exposed invited touching. He would have if only she were not so good he could not move, then thought left him as she began massaging his scrotum then his left nut, using firm but gentle pressure over the entire thing, then switched to the right with the same gentle care. He gripped her ass as she cupped his sac in her hand and scritched the back of his sac with her clawtips. He gripped her feathery long fur on her rear as suddenly he exploded in her mouth. It came suddenly his vision blurred and marred with black spots as the collie sucked on him as his seed spilled into her muzzle.

She was surprised he came so quickly but she loved the taste of his semen. And there seemed to be no end to his supply. She had a little trouble keeping it all in before she could swallow and still he had more. But finally he began to soften and his grip on her rear let up. She sat up her rear almost in his face, she had to move her tail to the side to see him.

Tom looked up to her panting. "Its been a little over four years sense I last had anything close to that" he gasped.

He then gripped her hips and pulled her rump to his face. She turned around quickly to catch herself on her hands before she fell face first on his regrowing member. She yipped when his tongue lapped over her cunny. She sat more toward him as he lapped and licked over her vulva, her sex becoming swollen like a bitch in heat with arousal. She whimpered and rubbed her own breast her nipple popping up as she kneaded herself as Toms tongue invaded her. He thrust his tonguetip into her sweet cunny and rubbed it back and fourth until he found her opening. He teased her clit and opening making Cricket yip and whimper.

Cricket gasped in surprise as suddenly she felt his head shift under her and he licked her tailhole. She jumped at the new sensation, her old owner never did anything like that for her. He liked to use her but he was never this gentle. She felt the way he used his top teeth and bottom lip to lightly nip at her hole's edge. She tried to lift her tail more but it was already at her back. She barked as his tongue lapped over her tailhole longly the tonguetip pressing to her exit briefly. Then she felt it, the buildup inside her. She trembled with anticipation then suddenly the buildup was gone, her eyes widened as he licked her broadly with his tongue from cunny to tailbase and back down over her tailhole and to her cunny. He had just touched the rim of her ass with his tongue again when it hit her. She came hard, jerking up with a yip but she was not perched well on the table and fell over and onto the ground with a solid thud.

"Cricket!" Tom yelled as she went over the side of the table. And almost the same instant she was up and looking at him. She was panting hard her eyes wide.

"Are you okay Cricket?" He asked worriedly

She only stayed wide eyes and nodded panting hard her mouth agape. Just when it looked like she was about to stop nodding she nodded more vigorously.

"Oh no" Tom squeaked weakly, thinking she was damaged, but she recovered and smiled to him

"Oh, that has never been done for me before" she panted

Tom smiled and reached down to her thigh and lifted her up to him. This time she faced him as she straddled his body, this time Tom made sure she was more on the table. He kissed her and hugged her to him, her soft breasts and fur pressed against him his member also recovering from the shock with the feel of the collies wet sex slipping across it as she ground her hips to his groin.

They gasped in unison as her cunny was entered by Tom's rock hard shaft. Both of them held tightly to the other as she began riding on his cock. Tom kissed her neck and when he could whispering how good she was to him. She loved to hear someone tell her she was good. She loved him and she knew, whether he said it or not, she was loved in return.

She began pulling on his cock with her vagina, lifting off until only his head was left in her and lowered herself back down. She was enjoying herself , the warm feeling in her groin was building when suddenly Tom gripped her tighter and she could feel the pulse of his member inside of her, the flow of pent up seed was immense again. She looked to his apologetic eyes.

"Sorry, after four years,.." he shrugged "I doesn't take much anymore."

Cricket smiled and scritched him on his head, the feel of his hair still unique to her.

"Its okay" she smiled to him reassuringly as she pet his hair.

"Tom?" she asked meekly as she felt his member still pulsing inside her. he looked up to her.

She lifted off of his member. She then reached under him and with a shift of her hips put his penis head against her ass. She looked to Tom for approval.

Tom felt what she did and reached under her gripping his shaft. He smiled to her and began teasing her ass with his cock. She murred, her tail twitching as she rocked with his teasing member. He then put his hand on her shoulder and looked to her.

She smiled and pressed down, the feel of his thickness sliding into her tailhole was wonderful, it relieved all the tension the tease had caused to finally have him planted into her neither region. He held on to her tightly and rocked back and fourth in a sitting position with her straddled over him. It was slow and even strokes into her ass.

Cricket bit his shoulder softly when one of his hands began playing with her ass and tail. She whined and held to him tighter. She felt the same warmth grow inside of her. Suddenly Cricket threw her head back and gasped as her juices ran out of her cunny and onto tom's groin. Tom was not too far behind her. The novel feel of her ass surrounding his flesh and the entire situation he could not make himself last to save his life.

He looked to cricket hoping she wasn't disappointed in him. But she only smiled to him and kissed him deeply. He returned her passions with his own and they lay on the table kissing and caressing each other's body.

But soon it waned to just him holding Cricket to him. He held her tightly, this is who he needed, someone God could not steal away form him. He held to her tightly. The night began to get cooler. He slid off the table and picked cricket up, holding her close. She slept on, but he knew she was okay this time. He carried her through the yard and into the house and up to his room. Finally he lay her in his bed and curled up to her again under the covers. He held his immortal lover tight to him, secure in her being and slipped into sleep himself.

* * * * *

Tom woke next to cricket, her soft furred body against him. He felt something he had not felt for years, at peace. He closed his eyes and held to her tighter. He knew she would not wake up no matter what he did, but still he was careful. He buried his face in the white scarf of fur about her neck and just laid there with her in his arms.

Cricket sighed softly feeling the tight embrace Tom held her in. She had been awake for about an hour thinking about her new life, her new freedom. She would last longer, and watch him grow old and die. And for untold time after, she would be there. But his arms reminded her that he was there now, with her. The android collie drifted to how her life would be that now that she had someone to love her.

* * * * *

Cricket began seeing a new life for her. A life better than Carl had given her, she no longer slept alone. And she always awoke beside Tom. Sometimes she would curl next to him. Her new life was only a few days old when Tom made a strange request.

"Cricket." He looked at her until she looked back. "I'm going to town for a bit, I need you to stay here and fix up that toy without a head. I know I have two or three in the shop. See what brain will fit too."

Cricket smiled softly. "Okay." She looked down to her breakfast again before looking back up as Tom moved and stood beside her. He leaned down and kissed her between the ears and petted her softly.

"I'll see you later Cricket." He said softly to her before heading out the kitchen toward the front door.

* * * * *

He stopped in front of the large brick building. He looked to the sky and flipped the clouds off and walked into the law firm to change his will, instead of everything going to charity, he would give it all to Cricket. There were no laws against it, and she deserved to be taken care of, even after he had died, she could live comfortably, and safe for the rest of her time.

But until then, that day far in the future, he had her to love.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There it is folks. I hope it was worth putting the new parts in.

Thanks for reading and let me know how it sizes up.