Mrs. Patterson called them back in. Maddox gave Zeus the search command, and he moved through the gym with purposeful efficiency, his nose working and body language shifting as he narrowed on the hidden sleeve. When he found it, he sat and looked directly at Maddox, waiting for acknowledgement.
“Good,” Maddox said, rewarding him. The kids erupted in applause.
Questions came rapid-fire after that, and Maddox fielded them with practiced ease. Jade wove herself into theconversation so naturally that Maddox almost didn’t notice when the questions shifted.
“How many of you felt a little nervous when Zeus was searching?” Jade asked. Several hands shot up. “That’s good. That’s your brain keeping you safe by paying attention. Zeus feels nervous sometimes, too, especially when his job is really hard.”
A girl in the front row frowned. “But he’s a police dog. Police dogs aren’t scared.”
Maddox opened her mouth, but Jade caught her eye with a pointed nod.
“Even the bravest dogs and people feel scared sometimes,” Jade said. “What makes them brave isn’t that they don’t feel scared. It’s that they do their job anyway, and they trust their team to help them.”
Maddox felt something shift from deep in her chest.
“Zeus trusts Officer Shaw to keep him safe,” Jade continued. “And Officer Shaw trusts Zeus to keep her safe. That’s called teamwork, and it’s okay to need your team. Even police officers need help sometimes.”
She glanced up at Maddox, the question implicit—okay?
Maddox nodded, then picked up the thread without planning to. “Zeus’s job is hard. Sometimes we work in loud places or scary situations.” She rested her hand on Zeus’s head, his warmth solid and grounding. “But we trust each other. That’s what makes us good partners.”
A boy in the back raised his hand. “Doyouever get scared?”
The gym went quiet, fifty kids and three teachers waiting for her answer. Jade watched, not with a therapy-observation but something like curiosity.
“Yes,” Maddox said. The word came easier than she’d expected. “But Zeus helps me be brave.”
Jade's small smile was private, meant only for Maddox.Thank you, it said.
The demo wound down with supervised petting time with kids approaching Zeus in small groups, gentle hands on his fur, his tail wagging with patient tolerance. Maddox and Jade managed the crowd together, directing traffic, ensuring Zeus's comfort, and correcting overexcited children with kindness instead of reprimand. They worked well together. Maddox couldn't deny it anymore.
When the last kid had been herded back to their teacher and the gym began to clear, Mrs. Patterson approached with obvious gratitude.
"That was wonderful," she said. "Best assembly we've had all year. The kids will be talking about this for weeks.”
"I’m glad it went well," Maddox said.
Jade gathered her materials, and they headed for the parking lot in silence, Zeus between them and the spring air warming as morning stretched toward noon.
Maddox should've felt relieved after the demo was complete with no disasters, but instead she felt unsettled and off-balance in a way she couldn’t figure out.
They were packing equipment into their vehicles when Mrs. Patterson materialized from the building, a small boy trailing behind her. “I’m so sorry,” she said, slightly breathless. “Tyler has one more question he was too shy to ask in front of everyone.”
The boy—maybe eight, dark hair, serious expression—looked up at Maddox with the gravity of someone about to ask something deeply important.
“It’s fine,” Maddox said. “What’s your question, Tyler?”
He glanced at his teacher for encouragement, then back at Maddox. “Does Zeus ever…you know”—his voice dropped to a whisper—”go to the bathroom during work?”
Maddox kept her face carefully neutral. “Yes, he’s trained to wait for breaks, but sometimes nature calls.”
Tyler’s whole body sagged with relief. “Okay, good. I was really worried about that.”
“It’s an understandable concern,” Maddox said, maintaining her professional tone despite the corner of her mouth twitching.
Tyler nodded and ran back toward the building, satisfied. Mrs. Patterson followed with an apologetic wave.
Silence settled over the parking lot for a minute, then Jade made a sound, a half-snort half-laugh, and pressed her hand over her mouth.
