Chapter Text
"Daddy, can I have puppy, please?" Dani begged, jumping in place- but hand still securely in his.
He sighed heavily, regretting the trip to the city center. "Sweetheart, we've been over this, our yard is too small for a dog."
"So they can sleep inside, with me! Pretty please?"
He heard Harriet gasp and turned, eager to look away from the frankly dangerous puppy dog eyes his daughter had copied from him. "Vlad, look! He's so tiny!"
He groaned. "Harriet, please."
His wife held the dog up to his face. "Look at him! He's probably going to stay tiny too."
"Look at those paws, honey, it's going to be huge." He tried, and Harriet shook her head.
"He's a Jack Russell Terrier Corgi mix, they said he probably wouldn't get any bigger than he is now."
"Please, Daddy?" Dani butted in.
"Yeah, Daddy, please?" She added, and tried not to snicker at the glower he sent her way.
"How am I the responsible one, again?" He asked. "Honey, please put it down, the doctor says you're not supposed to lift anything over 5 pounds, remember?"
"Ok, but hear me out: this baby is coming any day-"
"You're a month out," he argued.
"And we won't be able to spend as much time as usual with Dani. Let's face it, my grandmother isn't getting any younger either. A pet could be good entertainment." She said.
"So in between changing diapers, feeding times, Dani's preschool starting in 6 weeks, my job, and your meetings with your editors, you want a mess-making yapping dog?"
Her face fell and she sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
He kissed her on the cheek and barely avoided the drool monster in her arms. "But momma!"
"Your dad's right, it's a bad time," she said to her daughter, then met his eyes. "But we will be getting one once the baby starts to walk at the latest- hopefully, sooner."
"Of course," he agreed, feeling certain he could talk her out of it.
"Can you put him back, please?" Harriet asked, putting the dog in his arms.
"Sure," he agreed and took the mutt from her while she took Dani's hand. His daughter's face was red and scrunched up, and he had to turn away before he just gave in.
"I'm sure you understand," he said to the animal, which started shaking and whimpering once back in view of the cages.
-
"Mommy, why happy? We don't have a puppy!" Dani objected.
"Do you know what a paternal instinct is, sweetie?"
"Uh-uh." She said, before putting the ear of her slobber-coated teddy bear back in her mouth.
"It's when a man- in this case, your father- has an inescapable need to care for something. Especially if it's scared, warm, and fuzzy."
She cocked her head to the side, and not for the first time, Harriet wondered how much Dani understood and remembered from the life- and afterlife- she had before she was born. "Like a puppy?"
"Like a puppy," she agreed. Then, she smiled. "See?"
Her husband, who stuck out like a sore thumb with his bright green Packer's jersey in the sea of people walking between offices in suits, had stopped a few feet away from the shelter, giving out free spayed and neutered dogs.
She couldn't hear the groan, but by the way he tilted his head to the sky, she knew it was happening. Then, he turned around.
"Puppy!" Dani shrieked, and Vlad sighed heavily.
"Dirty pool, Harriet. Dirty pool."
"Mm-hmm," she agreed and pecked him on the lips. "Don't worry, it's already house-trained."
-
"Dani, get off the dog!" She shouted, as her husband cackled from the living room. "Vlad, are you going to help, or not?!"
"No bath!" She shrieked, and the child and dog took another (mud-covered) turn around the kitchen. From her bassinet, Katie clapped her hands in delight.
"Oh Vlad, he'll be so tiny, she said! Honey, he can't be that much trouble, she said!" He called.
"How was I supposed to know they mixed up the paperwork?" She demanded.
Thankfully, a familiar blue hand snatched Dani from the poorly named 'Tiny's' back. "Sit!" The dog skidded to a halt and, a second later, sat down. "Good boy. Why are you being a pain? Bath time."
"No!"
"Fine. No bath time. I guess that means you can't watch the game with me, or go shopping with your aunts, or play with your friends, or-"
"Ok, a little bath."
"A little bath? I can work with that," he agreed. Harriet glared.
"Let me guess, I'm stuck bathing both of them?"
"I'll make a trade. If you say the magic words, I'll handle both baths and clean up the kitchen."
Harriet narrowed her eyes. "Never."
"Shame. Dani, be good for your mother. It's too bad she can't leave Katie with a duplicate of me, go upstairs, take a nice, long nap, and-"
"Fine. You were right, the dog got huge."
"And?" He asked with a grin.
"How was I supposed to know they mixed up his papers with an un-house trained Great Dane Saint Bernard mix?!" She exclaimed.
"Tempting, but not quite," Vlad said with a shit-eating grin. The dog barked. Katie started to whine.
"You were right and I was wrong," she said, then covered Dani's ears. "You little shit."
He beamed. "See? Wasn't that hard. Dani, let's get you and Tiny bathed, then it's nap time."
"No naps!"
"That's fine, I'll just call Grace's mom, and let her know you can't go to the birthday party next week."
Dani shrieked and sobbed as she was carried upstairs, agreeing to a bath between sobs. Tiny followed placidly behind, trailing drool.
"Oh, to go back to the days when bathing with your father was my smallest problem." She said idly.
A duplicate chuckled. "You know, it can be again if you want. Still haven't had that honeymoon."
"Mm. Tempting as it is, I just want a nap. See you in a bit."
"Sleep well."