Author's Note: For Jo'hnellyn, as a Christmas gift. I apologize if this is a bit short, but I figured it being packed with fluff should make up for it.
i.
"Baby, it's just a puppy, and at least it's not like last year when she wanted a pony."
"Sophie is five years old, Finn; don't you think that's a little young for a puppy of her own?"
"It's the one thing she wants for Christmas, Rach; it's the only thing she asked Santa for this year. She put it in her letter and when I took her to see Santa in the mall, she told him that was all she wanted."
"Sophie will be downstairs any minute, and Chris is taking a nap; Puck and Quinn will be here any minute so that we can go and finish up our shopping. We'll talk about this later." Finn shook his head; he knew that even after all that time when Rachel said they'd talk about something, it usually meant that she'd talk about it while he listened, but this time he wasn't going to let her talk him out of getting Sophie the puppy.
It was two weeks before Christmas, and they were having the same discussion they'd been having for three weeks; Finn brought their daughter up from the Montessori school one afternoon and all she could talk about was how she wanted a puppy for Christmas. Apparently three other children in her class were getting puppies, and Sophie felt like she needed a puppy as well. Rachel was convinced that if they gave her time she'd decide that she wanted something else just as badly, but they'd had no such luck. It didn't help that Finn was on Sophie's side and had refused to discourage her or suggest other gifts; it wasn't any surprise that she was a total daddy's girl.
"Thank you for looking after them; we won't be too terribly late." Fifteen minutes later, Rachel hugged Sophie and told her to be good for Aunt Quinn and Uncle Puck, and she softly kissed Chris' forehead as while Quinn held him. "We just need to do a little last minute shopping."
"It's fine, Berry—I'm mean, Rachel; it's good practice for the little guy on the way." Puck chuckled, indicating his visibly pregnant wife. "You and Stretch go do your shopping or whatever, and Quinn and me will keep your house intact."
"Are you and mommy going to get me a puppy?" Sophie tugged on Finn's sleeve, and he scooped her up in his arms.
"Mommy and daddy are going to talk to Santa about that puppy, alright Soph; you have fun with Uncle Puck and Aunt Quinn, and mommy and daddy will talk to Santa about getting you a puppy."
A soft smile flickered across Rachel's face as Sophie wrapped her arms around Finn and hugged him tightly; she was well aware of the fact that she had just lost her battle over Sophie's puppy, but she accepted the defeat gracefully. Any extra work or effort would be worth the smile that lit up her daughter's face. When Sophie relinquished her hold on Finn and he placed her feet back on the floor, Rachel and Finn collected their coats and headed out of the brownstone they called home.
ii.
The puppy argument had become large breed vs. small breed; Finn pointed out how much Sophie loved Bear, a German Shepherd she'd seen on a visit to the precinct, but Rachel insisted that a large dog would be far too much for such a small child. A small dog would suit their daughter just fine; they lived in a fairly large home, with decent sized backyard, which Finn kept telling her was an excellent reason for getting Sophie a 'real dog' and not some tiny girly dog, but Rachel knew Sophie would want to keep her dog inside and they were not prepared for a large indoor dog just yet. With three days until Christmas, they had to come to an agreement soon, which was why Rachel had gotten him up early on his day off to drive to Brooklyn; she insisted that they leave early enough to leave Sophie and Chris asleep, making it easier on Quinn and Puck, who had agreed to watch the children while Rachel attempted to convince Finn that a small dog didn't have to be ridiculously girly.
"Tell me again why we are driving to Brooklyn."
"Because my friend Maggie's dog Jessie just had puppies, and she's offered to let us have one at a substantially lower price than she normally charges."
"Rachel!" He let out an exasperated sigh. "We didn't even agree on a breed yet. You promised that we wouldn't do anything until we both agreed on it."
"Just wait until you see them, Finn." She felt slightly guilty about talking to Maggie without telling him, but with three days until Christmas, there wasn't time to argue over breeds anymore. "I'm sure—"
"We are supposed to be a team, Rach; I know I shouldn't have pretty much promised Sophie a puppy when you were still on the fence about it, but you could've at least talked to me about this."
"I'm sorry, but Maggie only has four puppies; we don't have to get one if you don't like them, but I'm sure you will. They are probably the perfect compromise."
Finn tapped the steering wheel in time with the song on the radio, and they drove the rest of the way in almost silence with Rachel only speaking to give him directions; he supposed this was his punishment for gloating over the fact that Sophie was a daddy's girl and for assuring her that Santa would in fact be bringing her a puppy. He couldn't really be mad at Rachel, after all he'd known all along that she was impulsive and that if she thought something was the right thing to do, she did it almost immediately. He felt her fingers sliding over his palm and lacing with his, and he squeezed gently. When they pulled into the driveway, he offered her a small smile before releasing her hand and stepping out of the car, and as they headed up to the front door she looped her arm with his, leaning against him.
"Maggie!" Rachel grinned as a petite redhead opened the door, and the two women quickly embraced. "You remember my husband Finn, right?"
"I remember you." Maggie chuckled, offering to shake his hand. "At almost every show during our run of Chicago, little Sophie in tow the entire time, I swear that was the cutest thing in the world. Nice to see you again."
"Nice seeing you, Maggie; Rach always talks about how she misses seeing you in the dressing room and having someone to talk to." He shook her hand, and she pulled the two of them inside her home.
"Rachel says you two are looking for a puppy for Sophie; when she told me you were having trouble choosing a breed because you didn't want to get a super tiny dog and she was against big dogs, I immediately thought of Jessie's puppies." Rachel nodded, and Maggie led them into a spare bedroom. "It was too cold to let her have them outside, and it was a small litter, only four."
Finn's eyes widened as he spotted the puppies; four tiny corgis, three boys and a girl, were curled up next to their mother; they were perfect, the perfect compromise. He glanced at Rachel, who gave him a knowing smile. Corgis had been one of the breeds they researched in their efforts, and Rachel had insisted that they were excellent dogs; he suddenly remembered their trip to Cincinnati to visit her grandmother and the little almost black and white corgi Rachel had encouraged Sophie to play with the summer before, and a broad smile spread across his face. The thought of his daughter's face blooming into that bright smile she got from her mother when she discovered a tiny puppy just like Rachel's Nana was enough to settle him on the idea. An hour and a half later they left Maggie's home after making arrangements for Finn to pick up the female puppy on Christmas Day by five that morning.
iii.
He was late, and Rachel was going to kill him; she probably had the kids out of bed and eating breakfast, and he was supposed to be there before they woke up. He hadn't expected traffic coming back from Brooklyn, and now the puppy was sitting in the front seat of the car barking happily as he pulled into the driveway. Nothing seemed to calm her, not even rubbing her belly or letting her sit in his lap, and he was pretty sure that they had found Sophie's perfect match in dog form. He received a text message from Rachel just as he pulled into the driveway assuring him that their children were still blissfully sleeping, and he breathed a sigh of relief. So maybe Rachel wouldn't kill him on Christmas morning before he got to see his daughter's face light up brighter than the Christmas tree when she saw her puppy for the first time. They'd decided not to name the puppy and instead allow Sophie to do the honors, but it made things difficult when he was trying to calm her enough to sneak her into the house without waking Chris or Sophie with her barking.
"Shh, little bit, you're gonna wake everybody up." He tucked the shivering puppy into his jacket and quickly unlocked the door, stepping inside just as Rachel appeared.
"Traffic?" She whispered, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek before jumping back when the puppy poked her head out of the jacket. "We'd better hurry before Sophie wakes up and sees her. I want to tie a ribbon around her neck and have her tucked behind the tree."
Fifteen minutes later, Rachel heard the sound of Chris calling for mommy, and they knew their time was up; Finn gently placed the puppy in her hiding spot, only to have her attempt to escape, and he quickly informed his wife that he was going to be staying downstairs to keep an eye on her. Moments later, Rachel came down the stairs, Chris on her hip and Sophie pulling her along by the hand; Chris clapped happily, and as they all sat around the tree Sophie practically bounced with excitement. With Chris settled in Rachel's lap, happily tearing open his presents from Santa, Finn offered Sophie one of hers, glancing over at Rachel with a knowing smile when the small girl pouted.
"Daddy, I thought you said Santa would bring me a puppy." She set aside two new Barbie dolls she'd just unwrapped and looked up at him. "You promised!"
"Sophia Caroline Hudson you know better; that is no way to act on Christmas morning." Rachel half-heartedly scolded her as she helped Chris remove the paper from a new toy truck, and Sophie immediately dropped her eyes.
"Sorry, Mommy." Finn offered her a small smile, and she returned it. "I just really—what was that?"
The sudden sound of soft barking from behind Finn caused them all to pause, and Rachel chuckled softly; so much for the idea of having Sophie open all her presents and then letting her see the puppy. The little girl didn't hesitate to set hurry past her father to look behind him for the source of the sound, and she let out a gasp as she was greeted by another soft bark and a cold wet nose pressed to her cheek. The puppy instantly waddling into her hands and as she carefully crawled back she smiled brightly. Like her mother, Sophie was typically a very talkative and loud girl, but she couldn't seem to do more than giggle and smile for a moment.
"He did bring me a puppy! Look Mommy, look Daddy, it says right here on the tag!" She pointed excitedly at the small tag attached to the bright red ribbon around her neck. "I'm gonna call her Tinkerbelle!"
"Why don't you let Mommy get that ribbon off her, and you and Tinkerbelle can finish opening your gifts." Finn grinned, taking a now squirming Chris into his arms so that Rachel could carefully untie the ribbon.
"We did a pretty good job, don't you think?" He murmured into Rachel's ear when Sophie moved to open more of her presents, holding Tinkerbelle carefully in her lap.
"We did a very good job, babe." She kissed his cheek softly as they watched Sophie unwrap a few more toys before discovering the supplies they'd gotten for her puppy; Finn couldn't help but smile, and he settled on the floor next to his wife with Chris in his lap, giving him another gift to unwrap.