Pup

Chapter 1

3 Months after the events of The Pup is Found..."

Hank got up to shut his door to try and give himself some quiet for at least a few moments to have a drink. Tensions were high lately on this case among the intel team lately and the superiors over this case breathing down their necks was not helping team moral whatsoever. When Hank shut the door his office finally fell quiet. He pulled out a bottle of whisky he hid in his desk and poured himself a small glass. He relaxed back in his seat as he took the smooth swig with a sigh. As he put the glass away the clock on his computer caught his eye. It read 4:12pm. That's when he remembered something he thought he couldn't forget. It'd been on his mind for weeks. He went into a scramble as he searched through every drawer in his desk. There was something he needed and urgently. How could he misplaced this paper work? Where was it? After a few moments of searching through drawers full of papers the phone on his desk rang. He looked up from the drawer he was looking through at the time on his screen next to the ringing phone. 4:13 on the dot. Hank sat up and slid his seat over to the phone picking it up on the fourth ring.
" Right on time again huh kid?" Hank found his lips pulling into a smile across his face. A little voice answered excitedly, "Mister Hank, Mister Hank! You answered!" the familiar little voice chimed through the phone.
"Hi Ollie" he chuckled from the excitement in the boy's voice.
"Mister Hank why didn't you answer last time? I thought the bad guys got you" his voice sunk in fear.
"Don't you worry about me when it comes to the bad guys they're the ones that should be scared" Hank replied with the same smile still not disappearing from his face. Oliver giggled on the other end of the phone lightening his mood. His infectious giggle fluttered in Hank's ears that caused his heart to beat just a little quicker.
"Tell me Oliver how's school going? Make any new friends?"
"No... but Mister Hank?" his voice suddenly changed and quivered like it did that night 3 months ago.
"Yeah?" At that moment Trudy had came into his office holding a large envelope to Hank in her hands. Her eyebrows arched in confusion as she pointed from the envelope to Hank. Hank nodded gesturing with his hand to quickly give it. She did as he ordered, tossing it onto his desk. He snatched it with his right hand and adjusted the phone with his left and began to open it ignoring the fact that Trudy hadn't left his office. He cared more about what was in front of him and the whimpering voice coming from the phone in his ear.
"Mister Hank I'm leaving" he sniffled, "More people are coming to take me and I don't want to go." His voice quivered more and more as the words fell out of his mouth.
"Well that should be an exciting thing shouldn't it?" Hank asked him as he scribled his signature over multiple papers.
"No! No it's not!" he responded in a panic.
"Mister Hank why can't I just stay here? Why can't I stay with you?" his cries got louder and louder to the point that Trudy moved closer in concern trying to understand what was going on.
"Oliver, Oliver, listen, listen to me. Are you listening?" Hank said slowing Oliver's cries down.
"The people you are going to meet soon are people I know really well for a long long time and they even promised to me they'll take care of you. They're really excited to meet you, they've been thinking about doing this for you for a long time" he said to Oliver as he glanced up at Trudy who'd been there the whole time listening and beginning to understand the situation the longer she listened. She continued to give questioning glances as Hank turned his side to her and kept talking to Oliver,
"I'll tell you what Oliver I'll ask you tomorrow how it goes okay? At 4:13 on the dot, I promise okay?" Silence and sniffles was all he got at first but after a brief pause Oliver mustard up an okay of a squeak to respond.
"Sounds good to me, before you hang up can you go find Emily and bring her the phone for me?" hank asked looking over the paperwork in front of him.
"Yeah, hold on" Oliver muttered as he got up to search for her, followed by soft sniffles and rustling as he got up to start moving. In the moments of quiet that followed Trudy pulled her chair closer to Hank's desk showing she wasn't going anywhere until she had answers. She tapped Hank on the shoulder and asked him the same question again with the same facial expression she had given him earlier in the conversation that he politely ignored. But she didn't let him ignore her this time. Hank shook his head and kept shooting her looks to leave but after several moments of shifting stances Hank gave up on trying to make her leave just in time to hear Emily's uptight and tired voice,
"Hiya Hank, please tell me you have the paperwork. Today's the deadline and I need them because if I don't he's going to someone else and he's just not ready for that at this point and.."
" Emily" Hank interrupted her racing train of thought.
"Don't you worry I've got all the paperwork here and signed in front of me. His room at the house is all ready and I made dinner before I came to work this morning. As soon as that clock hits six I'll be waiting your front door" he spoke reassuringly.
"Oh thank goodness" emily sighed with an ease she didn't have before.
"I haven't been able to get him to eat all day never mind even getting him out of his room. I'm pretty sure you're the only reason I've seen him at all today" she explained.
Hank chuckled softly in response then spoke,
"Just keep him from running from the house and I'll handle the rest I'll see you then" he said hanging up his phone. The second the phone left his ear Trudy began speaking,
"Who was that Hank?"
Hank simply shrugged,
"No one important" he replied turning open a folder on his desk blatantly avoiding her questioning. But Trudy wasn't having it. She took the folder and firmly shut it over Hanks fingers causing him to shoot her a look and fully turn his attention to her.
"Don't play that game with me Hank you know that never worked. I thought you gave up on that a long time ago. Why not now?" she asked with a grin pulling at her lips and her eyes searching him inside and out.
"What's it to ya?" he said with a smirk knowing the reaction he'd get.
"Oh, oh okay you're still trying okay I see" she laughed.
"Listen I already know what's going on Hank I'll give you one more chance to say it on your own accord" she leaned forward staring boldly into his eyes. In a surprising shift of dominance Hank sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head acting in confidence. Trudy didn't hold her response,
"You're taking in that kid from a couple months back" her smile grew, "and you haven't been able to push him out of your mind." Her stare turned into a softer look when she saw Hank sigh as a piece of his glare melted from his eyes. Hank sat forward putting his clasped hands on the desk in front of Trudy's. He looked off to the side, then to his desk before he made eye contact with her again
"Out of all the kids I've seen..even my own, and I can't let this one go. Like Justin and Erin." He stopped talking as he became lost in thought looking to the wall on his right.
"Kid deserves a chance, it's already been taken from him enough, no kid deserves that and at this point I don't think anyone will after this" he looked back up at Trudy who had a pang of softness in her eyes. She smiled at her fellow sargent and replied after a moment of quiet.
"I didn't expect anything less. I just wasn't sure if that part of the Hank I knew was still there." Hank was caught off guard by the wholehearted statement which was mirrored by the expression that ran across his face. She was right. He didn't expect to have this in him anymore after losing family he had made. The only people he had were either gone or hundreds of miles away. He sighed as he felt it sink into his mind for the first time in a while. He had the urge to reach for the whisky bottle again but he didn't. Instead he looked back at Trudy and replied honestly
"Neither did I." This caused her smile to saden briefly but it lifted as soon as it sunk.
"A lot has happened Hank, a lot has. But everyone deserves to find a reason to really enjoy life and that especially applies to you" she said unclasping her hands to hold Hank's stiffly interlaced fingers. Hank's head dropped from her eyes from the moment she grasped his hands. He shook his head hoping to blame this softness on the whisky but the truth was he was no lightweight.
"It's true Hank" Trudy said truthfully, "it's true for the both of you."
Hank just nodded and met her eyes again in response. He had no words or protests in that moment, he was to stuck in the moment to think.
"Does the team know?" she asked slipping her hands back from his. Hank took his hands back and replied,
"No I'm keeping this as a personal matter for now. They don't need to know my business all the time like I don't need to hear all of theirs." Trudy sat back in her chair and replied automatically,
"Unless it affects the team in any way which this does. You really think you can do this completely by yourself? You know what Al would say wouldn't you?" she asked softly knowing the territory she was stepping into. But Hank didn't stiffen, he more crumbled and let out a stiff sigh as he sunk back into his chair. The reply came stumbling off his lips,
" we're a pack man, your pups are mine and mine are yours. That's how this works." Trudy chuckled "exactly. Now I won't say anything on one condition" she said standing up and pushing in her chair.
"Oh so we're talkin' conditions now. Since when?" Hank replied with a grin returning to his face. He sat back in his chair with his arms folded as Trudy shot back,
" yes we are, and my condition is the both of you over my place for dinner next friday at six sharp or you'll have to eat your food cold and only you."
Hank gave a laugh, " alright condition accepted. Thanks Trudy" he replied.
"Any time Hank. Now go get that boy of yours before someone else does" she said smiling as she opened his office door and left him alone to come back to his present moment. He looked up at the clock that now read 4:35.
"Only a couple more hours" he kept thinking to himself.
"Hang on Ollie, only a couple more hours now."