Lucas admitted it had been a very bad idea to give their dog a bath inside the house, and without Peyton around to give him a hand, when Beck escaped from the bathroom and ran in the hallway. To add to the fun, he was completely soaked and was bound to ruin the furniture and carpet.

That dog was stupid as hell and Lucas decided he ought to be renamed; something like "dummy" would suit him way better. Lucas rolled his eyes when he remembered how hard it had been to give the dog a name in the first place. Peyton and him had finally settled for 'Beck', a compromise between John Steinbeck and the singer Beck, after excruciatingly long hours of negotiation.

Lucas ran after the labrador retriever, yelling his name in vain. When he finally got a grip on Beck after wrestling with him on the floor in the living-room, he heard a loud gasp and the front door slam shut. Oh boy, they were going to have a trying time of it...

"Lucas Eugene Scott! What the hell is going on here?!"

Beck stopped squirming and stood still, sensing he'd better keep a low profile on this one. Lucas glanced up and tried not to look too guilty. From the look he received, he had failed miserably.

"Look Peyt, I can explain."
"Oh yeah? Let's hear it then!"
"Well I... Beck and I went for a walk outside, I needed a break from writing. And you know how dogs are, right? He was covered with mud when we got back, so I decided to give him a bath."

Peyton snorted and waved around the room, exclaiming:

"It sure looks clean and neat! Thank you so much for taking care of both the house and the dog!"
"Now wait a minute Peyt, that's unfair." he replied, standing up. "I was trying to do the right thing, and I got a bit..."
"Overwhelmed?" Peyton completed, amused.
"Yeah, I guess we could say that."
"I guess we could."

They shared a laugh and Lucas felt relieved: the crisis had been defused. Peyton walked over to Lucas and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm starting to think it's a good thing we got a dog before becoming parents."

Before he could protest, she kissed him on the lips.

"Luke, you're smelling like Beck, you should take a shower."
"Is that so? Maybe you could join me then." he replied.
"Mmmm maybe..."

She kissed him again but detached herself a few minutes later.

"But let's finish Beck's beauty care first."
"Together?"
"Together."