tamelia: what if?

Next Steps

5 weeks later

teddys pov: we flop down onto the bed in the morning, after we made out. amelia wraps her arms around me, and kisses my cheek. "babe, we need to get up," she says. "we have work in 45 minutes." i sit up and kiss her. we slide out of bed, and i grab a bagel and she gets a bowl of cereal. i put on my clothes, and i drink some coffee as she finishes brushing her hair. we get into amelias car, and drive to the hospital. "hey babe, what do you think about dogs?" amelia says. "i love dogs, why?" i ask. "well," she says. "i was thinking we could get a dog together," "i have to ask the landlord, but yeah, i think that is a great idea. theres a shelter not too far from the hospital," i say. "maybe we could check it out after work?" "yeah," amelia says. "sounds good." "and we have a pretty big balcony, so we could get some fake grass out there, and a doghouse, so that the dog would be able to be outside and use the bathroom while we are working," i say. "and we can hire a dogsitter if we end up staying at the hospital some nights, although we are just a few blocks away from the hospital," "yeah," amelia says. she smiles, and i hold her face in my hands and kiss her lips softly. 

after work

at an animal shelter

amelias pov: teddy and i walk up to seattle animal shelter, and walk through the door. we hear dogs barking, and a woman wearing a volunteer t-shirt walks up to greet us. "are you looking for a spesific kind of animal today?" she asks. "my name is emily, and i can help you find someone to take home with you." "hi," teddy says. "we are looking for a medium sized dog." "hopefully one who doesn't need too much exercise. we are both surgeons, and we have a demanding schedule," "i think i have the right dog for you," emily says. she heads to a kennel, and puts a leash on a dog. it is a short coated brown dog with half up half down ears. it has white on its face, and some black. "this is willow," emily says. "she is 4 years old, and is a boxer mixed with a pitbull and a terrier. she weighs about 50 pounds, and is really sweet. she is very mellow and hardly ever barks. she could would do well with a walk once a day, but would be fine if the walks were not as regular," teddy and i walk up to her, and she wags her tail like crazy. she licks our hands and we walk outside to the yard to play with her. she rolls over onto her back, and we rub her belly. "she seems to really like you," emily says, "she is good around kids and other animals, and is always up for an adventure," teddy looks at me, and she smiles. "our landlord said it would be fine to have her as long as she isn't disruptive," she says. "well, willow is definitely not disruptive," emily says. "she has been here for 3 months, and she hasnt been any trouble the whole time." "why has she been here for that long?" i ask. "well, people are scared of pit bulls and pit bull mixes, but she is the sweetest. wouldnt hurt a fly." "oh okay, that makes sense, but we dont care about breed." teddy says. "well, what do you think? would you adopt her?" emily says. i look at teddy and we smile. "yeah," i say. "definitely. but we would need some time to get our apartment ready." "oh, of course," she says. "we can fill out the paperwork today, and then set a pickup date," "great!" teddy says. we put her back in her kennel, and go to the office to fill out paperwork. after we are done, we go to petco and get everything we need. 

one week later

teddys pov: amelia and i both have the day off, and we are picking up willow today. we installed fake grass on half of our balcony, and we got a kennel with a bed inside for her to go in, with access to the grass while we are at work. we also got her a collar, with her name tag.we drive in the car to pick her up, which now has a bed in the backseat for her to lie in while we drive. we have visited her a lot this last week, and we are so excited to take her home. we walk into the shelter, and emily greets us. "hi dr altman, dr shepherd. willow is in her kennel, and there is one final document you need to sign." we finish signing, and go to willows kennel. she stand up when she sees us and wags her tail. "hi willow!" i say. amelia slips her collar over her head, and we walk out of the shelter, and put her into her bed, where she curls up and falls asleep. we drive back to our building and walk up to the apartment. willow walks up to the couch and jumps up. amelia laughs, and we bring her outside to where her kennel is. she goes inside and falls asleep. then, the doorbell rings. i walk over, and open the door. meredith is standing there, with ellis in a baby carrier. "hi teddy, sorry to drop by unexpectedly, but i heard that you guys got a dog! i had a dog back in intern year, but he died of cancer after i gave him to derek and dereks ex wife," mer says. "oh, yeah of course come in!" i say. "wait, derek was married before?" "oh yeah, but that is a long story," she says. she sets ellis' carrier on the countertop, and puts her into the sling. we walk out onto the balcony, where willow is in amelias lap, sleeping. "oh, hey mer!" amelia says. meredith sits down next to amelia and pets willows head. she lifts her head, and licks mers hands. "aww, she is so sweet," mer says. "oh, i can take the baby, and you can pet willow," amelia says. "oh, sure," mer says, and she hands ellis over to amelia. mer scratches willow on her back, which makes her back legs thump. she rolls over, exposing her stomach for rubs. we sit and talk for a while, until derek texts mer that it is almost time for dinner at their house. i make some pasta for amelia and i, and we eat it while willow eats her food. after willow falls asleep, amelia and i fall asleep on our bed.