This shouldn't be happening.
Mr. Peabody had been a respected member of society and a model of ambition only mere hours before. His dinner was going swimmingly with the Petersons, and it seemed that the rest of the evening would go just as successfully. After all, he was probably the world's greatest solider of fortune and genius. There was no reason it could have go wrong. Nothing, except for one detail: Sherman.
To the boy's credit, he had been able to work out his struggle with Penny, the once vicious antagonist to their relationship. She in return had done her best to rest her parent's grudges as well, but these efforts had all been in vain to the one simple rule the boy had broken: don't tell her about the WayBack.
Natural curiosity and timidness had led to the trio of Mr. Peabody, Sherman, and Penny traveling the space time continuum, and had also brought the rip, causing the duplicates of dog and boy to collide and bring the near destruction of the world itself. Even with this chaos, it wasn't anything in his mind compared to what happened in between.
Ms. Grunion had clearly shown that she would stop at nothing to separate the child and "beast," convinced that he would never be more than a Dog. She had walked into the penthouse waiting for this kind of calamity, and wasn't disappointed. She would have been content with dragging the boy away, but a smile spread across her face as she realized the pain of Peabody's teeth in her arm. He grabbed the kids in a state of guardian instinct as the police and animal control were in pursuit with Grunion, eventually bringing the three to a halt in the battered time machine, defeated beyond anything that could be said.
Nothing that is, except the words of Lincoln and Washington. On the brink of the relationship's destruction, the virtuous men stepped forward with clarity and solution as they pardoned Mr. Peabody, halfway dragged inside of a impound vehicle, and spoke in such position that no one in the moment could dare to question it. As the father and son reunited, they quickly devised a plan together to save everyone, and fortunately succeeded in doing so, in addition to unintentionally getting rid of Ms. Grunion in Ancient Rome.
When Peabody and Sherman came out of the time stream, they returned in the WayBack to their home again, triumphant in the night and mainly, just happy to be together again. However, a knock on the door stopped them before they could celebrate, the knock that gave him the rekindled sense of impending doom.
This shouldn't be happening. He couldn't help but become overcome with fear as they told him of his circumstances. Unbeknownst to them at the time, only the current President of the United States could grant a Presidential pardon for those committed of crimes, and there was also nothing that could be done to stop his punishment, as while he was mostly treated as a person, he was still an animal subject to domestic laws. Therefore, he was to be put down, with no way out.
The room was prepped as Mr. Peabody was brought in and placed on the table. Only the police and animal control were aware of the events taking place, wanting to avoid paparazzi and the PETA, with the exception of the Peterson's, and the poor boy witnessing his father for the last time. They worked with the equipment and chemicals as they worked to bind Peabody down, now reduced to the dog of the lowliest state. He gave no struggle, however, he laid still and cooperated as they told him what would happen, still frightened but never robbed of his true and poised demeanor.
As the last of the cords and ivs were prepped and ready, they gave the go-ahead for the others to say their goodbyes, realizing the circumstances of his demise. The Petersons came first, even though they had only met that night, to quickly come and go for the boy. Paul came first, solemn but humble from his opinions before.
"Peabody, if things hadn't gone south, it would've been nice to, you know, hang out sometime. Sorry, I just,...uh,...don't really do this kind of...stuff."
"It's ok, I appreciate the effort nonetheless, and thank you for everything else, my friend."
The usually held man now seemed on the verge of tears, and his wife could see it as well as everyone else, holding Peabody's hand briefly as a sympathetic gesture, and led her crumbling husband out of the room.
Penny came next, standing next to the bed as tears ran down her cheeks.
"This is all my fault," she choked out.
"Penny, you listen to me. It is not your fault, none of this is. We all made bad decisions tonight, and it was me that lead to this. That beside, I want to promise me something: be here for Sherman. You've taught what I never could, to think for and believe in himself, and I need you to guide him as life gets harder. Please do it for me, Penny."
Tears poured now, and she could only nod in return as she looked at him one last time and put her hand on his head. She gave Sherman one final glance, and left the two alone for the hardest part of all. The doctor on the side pointed to the machine to signify the short time they had left, and Sherman climbed on the table and sat next to his father for his final moments.
Peabody took his trembling hands and held his son's as he spoke.
"Sherman...I wouldn't change anything that has happened between us, no matter what. The only one who made mistakes was me, because I never understood your need for, if you forgive the expression, a longer leash."
He gave a half-hearted chuckle to calm himself and the boy, but Sherman had already started falling to pieces as he shed even more tears.
A moment passed as he searched for the right words, uncharacteristic of him even now.
"Mr. Peabody..."
"Yes Sherman?"
"...I-I get it."
They both looked at each other for a moment and forced a small laugh, knowing that they had to hold at least a bit of happiness. Unfortunately, their time was up as the doctor slowly came up, pulled the switch, and left them truly alone.
Their grips tightened as they awaited the effect, and Sherman blurted out all he couldn't say before.
"Mr. Peabody, I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you! I didn't think about what would happen and it was stupid of me, I never wanted to-"
" Sherman."
"...Let you down, I just wanted to be with you and tell you that-"
"Sherman!"
He couldn't stop crying, but held his tongue to hear Peabody. The dog's eyes began to grow heavy as he spoke.
"Have I ever told you of when I found you? I was walking down the street, and found you in a box, all alone. I never told you that I feel in love with you that very moment. From that point on, you became everything to me, and you are the greatest thing I ever had, the best discovery I ever made."
Peabody looked dearly at him as he began to succumb to the fatal injection, and said the words, the ones he never said straightforward and never used until now:
"You will always be my son, Sherman. I love you. I-I love you so much."
"I-I love you too, dad." Sherman had also used the words, the words he seldom used because of his dad's preferences, but it wasn't important now. For that moment the past didn't matter, as they both repeated their reciprocation until the fight was over. Sherman unattached the binding and threw his arms around his father as he continued to cry, once again left alone.
