Silver Lining

twenty five.

Nathan Fields.

When there's no answer after I knock, I open Iris' bedroom door to wake her and my heart warms at the sight in front of me. Bailey is beside her, his head on her bump while they both sleep peacefully.

Bailey's tail begins to thump against the bed as I walk into the room, but he still makes no effort to lift his head from our girl's belly when I take a seat next to him.

He surprised us with his presence on Christmas morning while we were building a snowman in the front yard, with no collar in sight, so we took him in. The next morning we went to a vet to find out who his owners were so they could be reunited, but unfortunately, he had no microchip. We were then given two options by the vet regarding Bailey; they were going to call the nearest shelter to come get him, or we could keep him, as long as we got him microchipped and vaccinated.

We gained yet another family member that day and he's setting in well, especially in this room with Iris.

I'm no stranger to dogs, I love them; I grew up with them and if it wasn't for my job, I would have had one myself by now, but I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't apprehensive at first about taking him in.

In my mind, I kept thinking that soon we'll have two newborns in the house and I have three girls to protect as well, so taking in a stray with no idea of his background or behaviour was a risk. In such a short space of time, though, my anxiety surrounding it had eased because I saw how good he was with the girls. He's truly a gentle giant and already so loyal to Iris; he doesn't leave her side and I can't say I love it.

"You're stealing my girl," I stroke the top of his head and he leans into the palm of my hand, "You're lucky you're cute, Bailey. I wouldn't put up with another man doing this."

A giggle comes from Iris and I quickly look over at her; she's awake and smiling at me, "He's not stealing me, did no one ever teach you to share?"

"Oh, baby," I let out a laugh as I lay down, "I don't like sharing, especially things that are mine."

"Keep talking," she grins at my words, draping her arm around the back of my neck.

I kiss her sweetly, pulling her into me, so we can start this evening alone properly, but Bailey has other ideas when he crawls up the bed, squeezing between us. I look down at him in pure disappointment, "So, you're a cock block too, where's the bro code?"

"Don't be mean to him," she pouts, and I watch in disbelief as she opens her arms for a cuddle off him.

"You're both traitors," I scoff, earning a loud laugh from Iris.

"Dad loves you, I promise," she tells the dog, earning a lick on the cheek.

You won't believe me when I say it's New Year's Eve and it hasn't even been a week since he stumbled into our lives, yet he's this settled in.

"I do," I sigh, stroking the top of his head.

"You don't sound so convincing," she mumbles, smiling at me.

"I do love him, but I'd also love nothing more than to spend this time with my head between your thighs instead of cuddling our new dog."

She blinks at me, speechless and I can't help but chuckle; she's not a prude, nor at all innocent, but every time I say something remotely sexual, she acts like a deer in headlights. I seem to always startle her out of the blue and it amuses me how she's not yet used to it.

"Get used to it, Fields, soon enough we'll have two babies in the world and they'll be feeding off me like I'm a cow; our dog wanting attention will be nothing in comparison," she comes back with and I nod, agreeing; we're not going to have a moment to ourselves once the babies are here, "I can't wait though, I'm ready for them to come, it'll be hard but I'm excited."