trouble | dominic sherwood

xxxi. sharks baby

Not long after his comment on her post, Matthew showed up at Dom's trailer to visit with Tara and meet Calliope. He stood in front of her awkwardly, not sure if he should hug her or not, as he was a genuinely friendly person and was huggy, but he didn't want to push her limits. As if sensing his hesitation, she laughed and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. As soon as the hug broke, though, he caught sight of the puppy and any hopes of conversation were gone.

Within half an hour, more people had joined them in the somewhat small trailer. Everyone had done the same thing as Matt - hesitating before hugging her - but she'd pull them right into a hug, even Isaiah [he had stopped in to say hello]. Some of them brought snacks for their new redheaded friend or, in Kat's case, brought a toy for the puppy.

"She's so adorable," Kat cooed as she took her turn holding and petting the puppy, who had been dubbed "the Sharks baby" by Harry as soon as he had walked in and seen how both of them were doting over the yellow puppy.

"Thank you," Tara said proudly, looking on at her friend and her puppy. "She's amazing."

"She's honestly so precious," Dom said, his hand rubbing Tara's arm as she sat in his lap and no one knew if he meant her or the puppy.

[He meant the both of them.]

Matt grinned from the floor, watching his redheaded co-star coddle the puppy, "Of course you'd pick a Lab."

She grinned, leaning back against Dom, "Boo needed little sister."

At that, they all glanced to the chocolate Lab that was laying with Alisha, both of them half asleep. Alberto, though, glanced back to Tara and Dom, his thoughts racing. None of them had really noticed or cared when they had gotten to the trailer and they were curled up on the rocking chair, Tara practically on his lap, his arm wrapped around her protectively. Even though she had gone through something horribly traumatic, she had clutched onto the British man . Memories of that night had started to come back, broken fragments that would hit her when anyone's hands brushed certain places of her body that he had touched. She'd flinch every time, shying away from the memories, even though she promised herself she wouldn't let it break her. But he was always there to comfort her, to twiddle with her hair thoughtlessly or squeeze her thigh or gently stroke her back. To her, that was almost as good as the therapy sessions she had been attending every other day.

"And Labs are pretty amazing dogs," Dom agreed, glancing down at Tara.

"I can't wait to spoil her," Will said as he stole the puppy from Kat, putting her on the ground to play.

"Me neither," Tara said with a laugh, watching him try to get her puppy to fetch a tennis ball, except she was having none of that and just wanted him to pet her. "She's going to be such a spoiled little baby."

"You're not wrong," Emeraude laughed, her feet in David's lap as they watched from the couch.

Harry smiled, "Of course she will be. The sharks baby deserves nothing but the best from all of her aunts and uncles."

"You're also not wrong," Alisha claimed drearily, not moving from her spot on the floor, even as she injected herself into the conversation.

It had been a long time since Tara had felt so at ease, so at home with a group of people. Friday Night Lights had wrapped quite a few years ago and they rarely gathered anymore, not all at once. Sure, she had Katie and Kendall, but they didn't count. But here, in a trailer with Dom and his co-stars and two dogs, she couldn't help but realize there was nowhere else she'd rather be.

•••

honestly, idk what to think about the dom drama, so i'm choosing to just ignore it.

[ 11.29.17 ]