Rockabye

Man's Best Friend

Joe expected a lot from his husband. He excepted him to provide for their family, just as Joe did. He expected him to be a loving, devoted husband and father, just as he was. He expected his husband to do silly things to make him smile and blush. And he expected him to do little things that would remind Joe just how much he cared for him.

The one thing he didn't expect was to come home to find his husband and two-year-old sitting on the floor of their home playing with a dog. Not a dog, but a freaking puppy. Joe walked in after a casting session with Rami for their latest film. Once again the man was talking over for the lead and had to do a chemistry test with some of the other cast members. It was going well until Rami got a call from Lucy that made him rush out.

It seemed earlier in the week the two had something of a pregnancy scare and the blonde was still shaken up about it. They had spoken about kids before and knew that they definitely wanted that sometimes, but weren't ready for any of that; especially since their wedding was just two months away.

Joe came home with coffee and treats for his loves. They had the rest of the day to be together and Joe had planned on suggesting that they go out for an early meal with the weather being so nice. Making his way into the home, he found Ben and Clara sitting on the floor like the animal in question ran between them.

"Ben," Joe spoke carefully.

"Love! You're home early," Ben mentioned, sitting up in his knees.

"Daddy!" Clara jumped up, eagerly running to her father. "Hi, daddy!"

"Hey baby girl," Joe approaches carefully, his hand settling in his daughter's strawberry blonde hair as she wrapped her arms around his leg. He nodded toward, gesturing to the animal. "What's this?"

"That's a bubby!" Clara told him playfully.

"Puppy, darling." Ben corrected.

Clara was still having a bit of trouble with the P sounds though neither man worried much about it. It was adorable and something they could reminisce about when she grew out of it.

"A puppy." Joe mimicked. "I can see that. Why is there a puppy in our home?"

"Oh, well it's her home too," Ben said easily. Like it was obvious.

Like Joe was an idiot for asking such a dumb question.

"Right. Okay. Can we talk?" Joe asked, trying to make it seem oh so very casual.

"Clara, keep her company," Ben said, running his fingers through their daughter's fair hair before following Joe into the kitchen for a bit of privacy.

"I thought we agreed to wait a bit longer before getting her a pet?" Joe questioned quietly.

They had mentioned it a time or two. Their home was small for Joe, and then even smaller for Ben and Joe. With a toddler, it seemed insanely tight but they made due. And yet both men found that they wanted their daughter to be something of a pet, to teach her responsibility and to have as a friend.

They had thought of perhaps a goldfish or maybe a cat. Something that a little girl would be able to handle. Not a puppy that rolled over and demanded attention and gets bigger just as an infant did.

They had decided to wait until Clara was older and would be able to understand all the effort that would be needed to take care of a pet. Two years old just seemed too damn early for such things.

"I know, I know. Truly, adopting her wasn't my intention." The blond insisted. "I took Clara to the park for a bit of fresh air and a runaround."

They did that often. Took Clara out to the park or to the zoo. They wanted her to be well rounded and not just cooped up in their home all day. They didn't have a nanny and would swap back and forth between who would be home to take care of her. They could have easily put her in some form of daycare, but they had enough money to be able to not work every moment of every day.

Besides, they loved their daughter madly and both ached to be around her. They had their privacy, they went on dates and their nights alone. However, both men would agree nothing was better than spending time with their little miracle.

Ben continued, bringing his hand up to scratch at the back of his neck nervously. "Turns out they were having a bit of a pet fair there and we stumbled upon that little lady."

He jerked his jaw back to the living room where their toddler was sitting with the puppy. It was a beagle, small and precious with a white collar on it but no tag on it. Clara was currently trying to get the animal to roll over, though the pup just sat there, staring at her.

"I wouldn't have said yes if they didn't have a connection, Joe."

Joe jerked up to an eyebrow looking back to his husband. "A connection?"

"Yes, Joseph! A connection. They saw one another through the small lines of the cage and Clara knew that was the pup for her!"

"She also said Scooby Doo was the pup for her." Joe reminded him, looking back as Clara called for him.

"Daddy! Look!" He pointed to where the puppy was sitting and holding her pacifier in its mouth. Clara didn't need one often but they kept it around for days when she was ill and needed a bit of added comfort.

It was a cute scene, Joe had to admit. He'd definitely be throwing that pacifier out, but it was adorable, nonetheless.

He looked back to Ben, sighing in retreat. "How much did it cost?"

"It was a donation. She's a rescue, Joe. You know I would never buy into that pure breed bullshit."

Ben had always been an odd bird, believing in an array of different things. He loved animals wasn't a vegan though he hates meat only three times a week. He recycled more than anyone Joe knew and hoped to live in a world filled with people that gave a damn about their own planet. He didn't see the point in paying thousands for an animal when there were so many in need of good homes.

So adopting the first adorable animal he saw wasn't a surprise to Joe. Ben would adopt all the animals in need if he could.

"You have no self-control," Joe told him outright. Like he was putting down a child that ate the whole jar of cookies instead of just taking one. "I have to stop leaving you with our child."

"I know she's still young but she'll learn how to take care of her with time. You know our little girl, she's practically a genius!"

Both men turned to see Clara on all fours, barking at the puppy in an attempt to communicate with her in her own language. It was ridiculous and silly and absolutely adorable.

Joe sighed in defeat, turning back to Ben. "Fine."

"She stays?" Ben asked, that one thousand watt smile practically beaming.

"Yes, but you owe me for this."

"I'll get the Cascabel menu out," Ben mentioned, walking deeper into the kitchen to go into the draw that held the folder where they kept all their take out menus.

"So, does she have a name?" Joe asked, going into the living room to kneel on the floor with his daughter

"She's Frankie!" Clara said proudly.

"She chose it herself," Ben said from the kitchen. "Originally we thought about the name Pitcher because you know — baseball — but with the mixing of letters, you can imagine what they could have sounded like."

The redhead smirked, his heart growing at the very thought of hearing his little girl say such a terrible word in such a precious manner.

"Why Frankie?" Joe asked but the little girl just shrugged.

If there was anything Joe had learned from parenthood that sometimes there weren't any answers. Sometimes you just had to take things in stride.