Holidays are Hell

Jill watched him walk across the parking lot to the elevators that would carry him up into the mall itself, then relaxed back on the seat, a little sigh slipping out. Her mind was filled with thoughts. Worrying mostly, about where John was. Was he back at her store, searching it? Checking her house to see if she'd gone there? Or he might be headed to Kyle's house expecting her to head there for help.

That last thought made her sit up anxiously. She wished she'd been able to reach her brother. Something bumped against her paw as she shifted and she found herself peering down at the cell phone Nick had left on the seat with her and stilled. She should try the house again. If John were headed that way, who knew what he'd do to her brother and his family. Jill pawed at the phone and even managed to flip it open using her paws and nose, but punching in the numbers was impossible. The keypads were just too tiny.

Growling in frustration, she peered around the parking garage again, but now that she worried that John was heading to Kyle and Claire's, she was overwhelmed with the desperate need to call there. She peered around the SUV's interior, searching for a pencil or something she could hold in her mouth and use to punch in the numbers, but there didn't appear to be anything like that.

Her gaze slid to the elevator in time to see the doors open as it disgorged a couple of people. Neither of them were Nick. Jill's gaze slid back to the phone. She had to call her brother. If she changed back to herself, she could. She'd also be naked.

Jill shifted on her paws, trying to decide what to do. She couldn't show up at Nick's sister's house naked… She needed to warn her brother…

Naked. Brother. The two words began to alternate in her mind.

Growling with frustration, she turned on the seat and peered into the back of the SUV, hoping to find something to help her out of this situation. She sighed with relief on spotting the red plaid throw folded neatly on the back seat.

Perfect! She thought happily. She could change back into herself, wrap herself in the blanket and call her brother. Then she could wear the blanket to Kyle's sister's, where he could slip in and maybe borrow her something to wear. That way she could try calling Kyle right away and hopefully warn him before John got there.

The plan had its flaws, but it was better than nothing, she told herself. Besides, she simply couldn't sit there doing nothing while her family might be in danger.

Mind made up, Jill leapt between the two front seats into the back, dropped onto the floor in front of the seat, and closed her eyes. Just wanting to be herself had been enough to cause the shift while she'd been on the float and on the street, so that's what Jill concentrated on. She wanted to be herself. She repeated that refrain in her mind several times, then cautiously opened her eyes and peered down, relieved when instead of black fur, she found herself staring at her own pale flesh.

"Yes," she breathed and snatched up the folded blanket, only to freeze as it dropped open and she saw that it wasn't a blanket at all, but a plaid scarf. A large scarf to be sure, measuring perhaps five feet long and a foot wide, but still just a scarf. Jill closed her eyes briefly and groaned.

She should have examined it before carrying out the change. She should have…

Really, it was too late for should haves, Jill told herself firmly and forced herself to examine the scarf. It wasn't a blanket, but it was large for a scarf and would just have to do. She shifted the material around in her hands, considering the best way to cover the most she could with the scrap of cloth. Finally, she wrapped it around the back of her neck, brought both sides down over her breasts, and then tucked the ends of the material between her legs. This covered all the vital spots, but just barely. Unfortunately, it was the best she could do and it was too late to change her mind; she didn't have a picture of the dog or anything else to change back into now. Grimacing, Jill leaned around the back of the front seat and tried to snatch up the phone, but it was further away than she'd thought and all she managed to do was brush it with her fingertips and send it slipping off the seat onto the floor in front.

"Perfect," she muttered to herself and rose up enough to peer around the parking garage. Fortunately, there didn't appear to be anyone around to witness it, so, muttering under her breath, Jill quickly climbed between the front seats into the front of the vehicle, then dropped onto the floor there to keep out of sight as she searched around for the phone. It took her a moment to realize she'd sat herself on it, but then she found it, flipped it open, and punched in her brother's number.