Author's Note: A big thank you to tea induced scribbles who let me borrow 'Laces' and her story 'Puppy Love' for this super fluffy story, that characters may seem a little OOC. You have been warned. It also carries on from where that one shot ended. So I recommend you read it before this one :-)
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"We can't hide a dog on the ship. We have spot inspections." Danny told Burk, he couldn't believe his roommate would put him in this kind of trouble. They'd barely been roommates for week, and he'd thought Tex was bad. But Burk was taking top spot with his idea of a 'romantic gift' to Ravit meant bringing a stray into their quarters.
"We'll put her in the air vent." Burk said, Danny gave him a dark look.
"Cause that worked out great for Miller and the monkey; he wanted to save from Dr Scott's experiments." Danny said, Burk winced as they remembered the nightmare of tracking the little beasty down. There was also the fact that the pitbull mix puppy named 'Laces' probably wouldn't fit in the air vents.
"Ok, closet under an empty bag." Burk suggested.
"Cause she's going to stay still and not make a noise." Danny said, they both looked to puppy in question who was currently climbing over Halsey like he was her own personal jungle gym.
Laces playfully growled and nipped at Halsey's ear which earned her a bored look and a low growl from Halsey before he shifted his head; knocking her off for a just a second before she climbed over his nose and onto his back again. Halsey looked up Danny with a look of 'Dude, sort out this pup or I will' as it seemed Halsey was going to reach his limits soon.
"Ok, we need a network of lookouts and safe harbours on the ship." Burk told him, Danny frowned as this was just getting out of hand.
"Or you could nut up and ask permission for Ravit's sake. " Danny counter offered, it was Burk's turn to give him a dark look.
"You think the Captain and XO would allow it?" Burk asked him, Danny knew the answer to that and how much this meant to Burk. The man had a soft spot the size of Arizona for puppies and injured women. So Danny gave a resigned sigh and hoped this wouldn't bite him in the ass later.
"You'll have to talk Kara. She and Alisha might help us out. But we can't hide the puppy for long." Danny told him, Burk's face lit up
"Her name is Laces and once the city is cleared we'll be able to find an apartment and hey, Tex's kid can help us dog sit." Burk told him with a grin like they were free and clear.
"Us? there is no 'us' when she is found, I'm throwing you under the bus, buddy." Danny told him.
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"I can't believe you, you can't smuggle pets on the ship. It's the regs." Kara hissed at Burk in the wardroom over breakfast. He was lucky that the Captain and XO hadn't picked up on Laces being on board as the puppy was not quiet. She was also super energetic and couldn't hold her bowels to save her life but then he knew it was a lack of training than anything else. But even so, Danny did not like their new roommate.
"I didn't mean to. She just looked at me and I-" Burk started but Alisha cut her off.
"Really? You're going with that?" Alisha asked drily.
"She's really cute. You know me, I can't resist a damsel in distress. So you'll help me, friends?" he asked them, Kara smiled as she'd gotten soft in her pregnancy- Alisha? not so much as she remained unchanged.
"You are such a little girl. If she pees on anything of mine you're replacing it." Alisha told him as she knew Kara wouldn't be able to say 'no' and Alisha had trouble saying 'no' to Kara as the woman had no qualms using tears to get her way. Kara was evil when it suited her.
"I can't promise that given I have a puppy that needs to be fed and go to school just like Kara and Danny." Burk said with a shrug.
"My baby is not a dog." Kara said with a frown as she self consciously rubbed a hand over her pregnant belly in a soothing manner.
"And I wished Burk'd picked up a cat. All those pussy jokes I could have made." Alisha said with a grin, Kara just shook her head in amusement.
"I don't know, she's cute. If she pees or poops it'll be tiny too. You didn't take that into account Granderson. Definitely more loveable than a feral cat." Burk said with a shrug.
"Oh my god." Alisha said incredulously as Kara snorted a laugh at Burk.
"Please, you know I'm good for babysitting. Your kid is going to vomit and poop on me at some point." He said to Kara before turning to Alisha. "And you owe me, for when you got drunk and vomited on me and in my car after Sara broke up with you." Burk said reminding Alisha of a bleak time before the pandemic.
"That hardly counts." Alisha told him, defensively.
"I had vomit all over me, my car still smells like stale vodka and crushed wedding dreams." Burk told her, Kara snorted a laugh while Alisha remained unimpressed.
"That's low." Alisha told him.
"She's the cutest puppy, look." Burk said as he pulled out his iphone and showed them a few photos. His secret weapon to seal the deal and he knew it as he smiled smugly at Alisha while Kara snatched the phone out his hand to take a closer look.
"Awwh, she's chewing on your ugly laces." Kara said as she fell for the puppy eyes that Laces had in the photo. The puppy had gotten it's teeth into Burk's bright green laces; obviously she knew she was in trouble as she looked up in the picture as if asking for forgiveness.
"Don't fall it," Alisha told Kara as she tried to take the phone only to fail.
"But, but look at those eyes." Kara told Alisha as she turned the screen Alisha's way. "So gorgeous." Kara told her, Alisha gave a resigned sigh as Kara did her own version of puppy dog eyes at Alisha, a silent plea to allow Laces to be in their quarters.
"Fine, we'll help you but if we get caught with it. We're pointing the finger at you." Alisha told Burk while Kara smiled and turned her attention back to the phone and went gooey over another picture.
"No problem." Burk told her as he smiled at his small victory.
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Laces laid on her belly with her head between her paws. She looked at her new companion while she was thought about her new home. She was confused and felt lost as she did not understand her Human, she remembered the first time she'd seen him. She liked his laugh, it was much nicer on her ears than the other one in his company. After so long of being on her own, she was ready to find a home.
All her other siblings had run away when their mommy had died. She had been killed by another Human, a really mean and ugly looking one too. His smell was disgusting, not like her Human.
He smelt warm and spicy, clean like fresh water. His home was huge iron beast that floated in the water. She wished she could explore it but she was being kept in a room. She knew she should sad at being left behind again but she wasn't alone. She wiggled over to her new companion and playfully nudged his head and licked his nose. Her tail thumped happily as he looked her way with a withered look.
He was called Halsey by the others, he belonged to the other Human. Halsey didn't like to play, he seemed to sleep a lot or lay on his side pretending to sleep. He didn't talk or move much even though she tried to get him up. She wondered if this was what all old dogs did. So instead of annoying him, she moved to the door and sniffed at the frame. She smiled as she could smell many different and fascinating aromas that she really wanted to follow. But for now she was stuck in the room with Halsey, so she moved to his side and curled up next to his body for heat before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
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