Finally! Back from my hiatus from FF. Sorry, I was just so busy with a bunch of stuff and couldn't get to my stories. But I promise I'll finish off my popular story "Welcome to Wonderland" as soon as I stop having writer's laziness for it.
But now, I bequeath (He he, fun word) to the Writing Community a charming little story that takes place a few ears after RE5-
It has been five years since Kijuju and now Chris Redfield is a happy man with a wife, Jill Valentine, and a lovely daughter. But there is one thing he does not like. The problem? His wife's angry, grudge holding cat that seems like the reincarnation of her old cat that hated him when he lived in Raccoon City, Boots. Mittens plays nice to Jill and his daughter but hates Chris with a strong passion. Fed up with this cat's annoying behavior, Chris dreams of an animal that will love him and won't treat him lower than dirt. That was when Claire told him her dog had puppies…
Now, onto the story!
Man's Best Friend
Chapter One: Big Amber Eyes and a Stubby Tail
Chris hated that cat. Mittens, a large black cat with white on his huge front paws, was probably the meanest cat in the entire world-Well, to Chris at least. Chris had seen a cat like this before, when he used to live in Raccoon City with Jill Valentine. She had an evil, huge black cat that looked kind of like Mittens, but had white on his back paws and was named Boots. Boots died just a few years ago and Chris thought he'd be free from the cat's terrifying gaze…until Jill found Mittens hiding in an alley when she was coming home from a day at the office.
For the past two years, Chris was scratched, bit and yowled at from the devil disguised as a cat. Jill thought and told him that he was just imagining things, but then again she loved this cat. The cat loved his daughter and his wife, but hated Chris just as much as Chris hated it. Chris swore that Mittens was the reincarnation of the deceased Boots, still out to get him.
Chris wanted a pet that would stand by his side and not claw his pants like it was a scratching post. He wanted a loyal companion, like…like a dog! But he didn't want to go a pound and get a dog that went through so much or an old dog that would croak in a few years. He also didn't want to go to some crazy stranger's house to get a dog. The nut job might've been lying. But he wanted a puppy because he could teach things right from the start and he could also hide it from Jill and the crazy cat a lot more easily.
That was another problem, Jill might not approve of a dog. She was a lot more of a cat person…
One day, the telephone rung. Jill was gone at work and Rachel, his daughter, was at kindergarten. Today was Chris' day off so he had the house to himself. He got his lazy half asleep butt off of the couch and walked to the phone. It was Claire, according to the caller ID. Chris smiled and picked up the phone, happy to hear his baby sister's voice.
"Hello?" Chris said into the phone.
"Hiya Chris!" Claire said cheerfully on the other end. "Glad you're there! You need to come over!"
Chris sounded nervous. "What for? Are you hurt?"
Claire laughed. "No, silly! I have something to show you. You remember Lily, my dog?"
One of Chris' brows shot up. He loved Claire's large black Labrador. She was so smart and so kind…"Yes…Is she hurt?"
Claire laughed again. "No! Ugh…just come over! You need come and see this!"
"Claire, can't you just-"
"Great! I'll see you in a few!" Claire interrupted cheerfully before hanging up the phone. CLICK!
Chris looked at the phone before placing on the receiver. Chris shook his head and looked for his car keys. He had no choice but what to she what his sister wants.
The drive there took about ten minutes. Chris pulled into the driveway, set the car in park and got out. He walked up to the front door and, before he could knock, the door flung open. There was Claire, looking at him with huge eyes.
"What took you so long?" Claire asked in a hard voice.
"Um…I kept getting the red lights," Chris lied; he literally just took his lovely time getting there.
Claire rolled her eyes and smiled. "Whatever. Let's go to my garage and I'll show you it!"
Claire stepped out of the house and made her way to the garage with Chris following. She opened the side door and stepped in. Chris walked in after her and flicked the light on. He saw it, in the corner of the room.
Lily was lying in wooden box, filled with stray and hay. Chris heard a tiny whimpering and walked to the box. Little black heads poked out of the stray and looked at him with huge amber-brown eyes. They were puppies! Lily had puppies! They were about six of them in there. All were black and had no tails, little stubs in place. They looked at him in excitement.
Chris smiled and bent down to pet them.
"Claire! They are so cute!" He said boyishly. He looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I wanted to wait when they were old enough to go away from their mom," Claire said with a smile. "I mean I know how you want a dog."
Chris looked at her and stood up. "You know Jill won't allow it."
Claire shrugged. "You never know. She might have a soft spot for these little guys. Just look at them!"
He looked down at the puppies again. Five of the six were playing with each other, but one puppy was still looking up at him. It's big amber eyes felt like they were staring into his soul. Chris wanted to just pick up the black puppy and take it home. But then, he noticed something. There were faded Rotweiller-like brown markings on its chest, legs and face. Chris looked back at Claire.
"Um…who was their dad?" Chris asked.
"That Rotweiller from up the road," Claire shrugged. "I knew it was going to happen one day. But now I have these cute little bundles of joy! She had eleven but I got rid of a few already."
"Why did you dock their tails?"
"I didn't know if they'd look like the mom or the dad so I took a chance and went with the docking. I still think they are cute."
Chris looked back at the box and the cute little puppy was still looking at him. Chris walked up to the box and picked up the puppy. The pup was surprisingly big for being six weeks old but it was still light enough for Chris to pick it up. The puppy was shaking its stub and began licking Chris' face.
"I think he likes you!" Claire said cheerfully. "You should take him home!"
"I don't think Jill will like it," Chris said, even though his conscious was yelling, "Take it! Take it home!"
"…What happened to the risk-taking Redfield I used to know?" Claire asked with a smirk on her face.
"What do you mean by that?" Chris asked, narrowing his eyes.
"You know what I mean," Claire said rolling her eyes. "Look, just take the dog home and if she doesn't want it, just bring it back."
Chris looked down at the puppy. He was staring at Chris with the big amber eyes and he seemed like he was saying "Please take me home." Chris felt his heart strings being tugged at and looked back at Claire.
"Fine, I'll take him."
Claire grinned and hugged him, accidentally forgetting the puppy they were sandwiching. The pup didn't care though; he just wagged his little stub happily and licked Claire and his new, possible owner. When Claire backed off, she rubbed the puppy's ears.
"You be a good boy now," Claire said to the puppy in a baby voice. "If he is mean to you, I give permission for you to bite him."
Chris rolled his eyes. "I won't be mean to him! I'll treat him like he's my kid…until Jill realizes I have dog and will force me to get rid of it…"
Claire slapped her brother hard on the back. "Oh no she won't! She'll find it cute and keep it, falling madly in love with it, kick you out of being family member number one and replace you with a dog."
Chris looked at her. "She'd do that?"
"It's an expression Chris, now get going."
Chris nodded and carried his puppy out to the chair, placing it in the passenger seat. Chris walked over to his side, got in, started the car and backed out of the driveway. Now, it was time to bring the pup home and try to convince Jill to let him keep it.
How was it? Good, I hope. Well…you all now what to do next. Thanks for reading!
Next Chapter: Naming the Pup