Quickies

Quickie 10

{LAAN: Again, no picture yet}

The 5 pups sat in the living room, waiting and hoping. Spot had been gone for 3 days since his mom went into labor. Coco and Amanda were both convinced that the new baby was dead, so they had spent their time making a tiny "Sorry for your loss" card for Spot. Joey was unsure about what was even going on, despite Hazel telling him multiple times. Hazel was convinced that the baby was alive—though his confidence was draining fast—and he had gotten the extra diaper bag out from a closet and got it ready for the new pup. Shane was on the floor, sitting with his blanket and stuffed animals watching Hazel pace around. He made a small, confused noise.

"Hahy?" he squeaked, trying to stand up. He wobbled a bit, sat down, and crawled toward his brother's legs. He reached for Hazel's tail each time he paced by. After three passes, Shane got tired of waiting and let out a sharp cry of frustration. Hazel stopped and turned to Shane.

"What is it?" Hazel asked. Shane whined, lifting his arms to Hazel. "No, I'm not gonna pick you up." Hazel started walking back toward the kitchen, but stopped when Shane started wailing. Hazel gave a low snarl, shook his head, then walked back over, Shane's cries quieting as Hazel came back.

"Fine, I'll hold you! You happy now, Little Shit?" Hazel barked, scooping Shane up.

"Hahysil," Shane squealed happily. Hazel gave a small sigh; that was just too cute sometimes. He held Shane close as he kept walking around the house, the soft, smooth touch of his baby brother's skin and his quiet coos calming Hazel down considerably.

"Hey, Hazel?"

"Hm?" Hazel turned to Amanda.

"Uhm, how's this for a card?" she asked, holding up the messy collage of a card.

"I don't know if it'll be enough to help Spot if it's dead," he told her. Amanda and Coco looked over their handiwork, then looked at each other.

"It needs more glitter," Amanda declared.

"Yeah! Ever'one loves g'itter," Coco squealed, running to their Craft Box to get more. Hazel huffed and looked out the window. Hazel's ears perked up when he heard a car pull into the driveway. No one moved. The pups' mom came out of the passenger's seat, her current boyfriend came out of the driver's seat, and Spot came out of the backseat, carrying a small bundle with a huge smile on his face.

"I don't think you'll need that glitter, Coco," he called to his sister.

"Why not?"

"Because," he paused to smile. "It lived." The pups' mouths dropped. Hazel quickly turned to them. "Hey! No freaking out. You'll scare people." The door opened up. The pups' mom quickly came in with a huff, speaking quickly to no one in particular as she shoved past her kids and went down the hall. The boyfriend, a tall, quiet, purebred Dalmatian named Red, gave a small sigh and held the door open for Spot. Spot held the bundle high as he and Red were quickly surrounded by the other pups. Joey and Amanda instantly started firing questions at Spot while Coco was jumping up, trying to see what Spot was holding.