So this is based on a headcannon I had about Beth and Alison getting a puppy and Alison not being all that pleased about it initially. It's also day 5 of Beth Childs Appreciation Week on Tumblr.
So yea, enjoy and tell me what you thought maybe?
-.-.-.-
Beth knew she was in trouble before Alison opened her mouth. She'd actually become quite apt at figuring out when Alison was mad at her because Alison seemed to be mad at her a lot and well, practice makes perfect.
"A dog…" Alison wasn't quite making eye contact; instead she was staring incredulously at the ball of brown fluff squirming in her lap, obviously trying to get at the pink bow fastened to the equally pink collar.
"A cute dog…" Beth corrected with a hopeful smile, and as if to further prove the point the squirming mass in Alison's arms leaned up to lick her on the chin.
"Correct me if I'm wrong Elizabeth, but have we not already discussed my position on animals that shed?" She continued firmly, refusing to let her resolve crack even with the puppy now happily licking her hand.
"Well yea… but I mean it's your birthday," Beth reminded her hopefully. "And I was thinking y'know, Cosima got Delphine a dog when they first moved in together, and Cal and Sarah bought Kira one when they started living together… and well, we've been living together for a few months now so…"
"You thought you'd solidify our relationship by bringing an animal into our home that's going to track dirt through the house and shed brown fur left right and centre?" Alison finished crisply.
"Well I was swinging more for a cute little bundle of joy that we could take on walks together and teach tricks and stuff?" Beth shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot, still smiling hopefully.
"He sleeps outdoors," Alison said finally, now staring back at the new dog. "And isn't allowed past the kitchen because it's the only room we have tiled. He also gets fed in his bowl twice a day, never at the table… I won't let him get into that habit."
"Yes ma'am!" Beth saluted jokingly. "And you know, instead of 'he' I was thinking we could call him…"
"Fiyero," Alison interrupted. "It's my birthday, and it's my gift so I don't see why you should get to name him… he'll be called Fiyero." She seemed happy with herself at this, even giving Fiyero a tentative pat on the head and smiling when he wagged his tail in approval.
"Or y'know Watson…" Beth muttered, though she shut up instantly when Alison threw her a glare.
-.-.-.-
So naturally Beth was in Alison's bad books for almost a week, though Fiyero got to stay and it wasn't long before Beth managed to find a way around most of Alison's dog rules, so really at the end of the day she did kind of win.
Not that it mattered now though. Work was crazy for Beth at the moment, so not only did she hardly have time to cuddle with Fiyero on the couch when Alison wasn't home, but between all the homicides happening and Alison's rehearsals for her most recent play she hadn't spent more than a half hour of quality time with her girlfriend in over a week.
Of course on top of that the case they were working at the moment had her and Art stuck here on an all-nighter, and even on the off chance Alison would still be up when she got home in five hours, Beth was near enough ready to pass out on her desk right now, so she'd doubt she'd notice if Alison was dancing naked in front of her by the time she actually managed to drag her weary ass through the door.
Alison… naked… that'd be nice… yea that'd be really nice actually. Beth smiled quietly to herself and allowed herself just one minute for her mind to wander; just one minute, it's not like she'd get much more of this file written up in one minute any-
"Childs!" She jerked her head so hard when Art called her name she was sure she heard something crack.
"Shit Art, I'm right fucking here," she snapped, massaging the back of her neck ruefully.
"Really? Because here was me thinking you were in dreamland Childs."
"I was not dipshit, I literally looked away from the file for two damn seconds and-"
"I've been trying to wake you for five minutes now!" Art guffawed, shaking his head in dismay at his rookie. "Look Childs just call it a night…"
"Art, I've only got a few files left… I swear some coffee and-"
"Listen to your superior officer rookie," Art snapped in response, though a hairbreadth of a smile was still visible.
"You should listen Beth," Angie called from a cubicle over. "It's rare he's this nice to people, trust me."
Beth laughed, then shrugged, then realised she really would quite like to get home and cuddle up next to her girlfriend in bed. "Yea okay… whatever." She began gathering her things from her desk. "Though don't you dare touch any of that paperwork, I'll get it all done first thing Monday morning."
"Don't worry Beth, I ain't that nice," Art snorted. "You get some rest and have a good weekend."
"Yea, yea you too," she nodded, finally standing and taking her coat from the back of her chair. "See you Monday Angie," she added then as she walked from the bullpen.
-.-.-.-
The house was understandably quiet when she finally got back. Sometimes Alison would try to wait up for her and more often than not Beth would come home to her girlfriend dozing on the couch with America's Next Top Model reruns still playing on the TV.
Tonight though Alison had known Beth wouldn't be home until more or less the next morning, so she'd obviously just called it a night once she'd finished rehearsing her lines and cleaned up after whatever mess Fiyero had managed to make – even with all her rules and regulations it was still impossible to keep the house 100% immaculate with a puppy around.
So with a weary sigh Beth made the assent to their room, shedding her jacket and shoes along the way and leaving them draped over a small coffee table on the landing along with her handbag.
She pushed open the bedroom door, already smiling at the thought of being able to wrap her arms around Alison's petite waist, though the sight that greeted her instead stopped her in her tracks. Her girlfriend was not alone in the bed; instead curled up into her side was a mass of brown fur, it's legs kicked out over Beth's half of the bed.
"Ali, Ali, Ali," Beth whispered into the silence around her, broken only by Fiyero's soft snores. "You really thought you'd keep a secret from a detective…"
She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and after double checking to make sure it was on silent took a quick picture of the scene presented in front of her before turning on her heel and creeping back down the stairs to crash on the couch.
-.-.-.-
Next morning Beth was woken by the smell of fresh coffee wafting past her nose, and the feeling of a warm body seated close to her side. "Morning sleepy head," Alison's soft voice echoed through her sleep frazzled brain.
"M'rnin.." She could just make out Alison's figure sitting next to her and she smiled lazily.
"Get home late?" Alison hummed, placing the coffee on the table next to the couch so she could rub Beth's knee with her hand.
"Not too late, no…" Beth smiled into the cushion of the couch when the memory of the night before trickled back to her.
"Then why didn't you come upstairs?"
"I did." Beth felt the hand on her knee still. "But my side of the bed was already occupied." She turned her head away from the pillow to gauge Alison's reaction, and was not disappointed with the result.
"Oh…" Her girlfriend was blushing profusely. "Well I don't… I have no idea…" Her hand wrung at her neck and fidgeted with her holy necklace.
"I let him lie with me on the couch," Beth admitted – if there was a time to admit to breaking Alison's rules, it was after she'd done so herself. "And I feed him from the table when you're not looking…"
"Elizabeth Chi-"
"You let him sleep in our bed with you!" Beth shot back before Alison could even finish her name.
"Only when you're gone!" Alison snapped. "The bed always feels so empty without you… really it's your fault."
"You're really turning this back on me?" Beth dead panned, sitting up to look her girlfriend in the eye properly.
"Well… you bought him…" she huffed, crossing her arms indignantly over her chest.
"True…" Beth nodded, and inched closer to her girlfriend on the couch. "Though I think we can both agree we love him enough to let him break some rules sometimes." She wrapped an arm around Alison's shoulder and waited, her expectant gaze never dropping from Alison's face.
She was silent for a moment, probably deciding whether to keep arguing, though eventually she seemed to make up her mind. "He's just so cute." She lay her head in defeat against Beth's shoulder. "I mean how am I supposed to say no to his cute little face?" She mumbled against Beth's chest, while the detective just kissed the top of her head in response.
"You know," Beth hummed after a moment, her voice muffled against Alison's hair. "We're so screwed for when we have kids if we can't even handle a dog."
"When we have kids I'll have nine months of reading done on how to properly discipline and nurture them…" Alison corrected her quickly. "Fiyero was sprung on me."
Beth chuckled and pulled her girlfriends head off her chest to look her in the eye. "You've an answer for everything, don't you?" She didn't wait for Alison to respond though (because god knows she would); instead she inched their lips together for a chaste kiss, pulling away slowly after a moment to speak again. "You know this means Fiyero totally has free reign of the house now by the way?"