Reluctantly going along with Daphne and David to the pet store, Martin tried to compose himself. He hadn't been around another dog since he'd lost Eddie, and to be truthful, he wasn't sure he could handle this trip. He was smart enough to realize what they were doing, but that didn't matter. No one could take Eddie's place, in his mind, heart or family.

So David ran off, with Daphne close behind in tow. Martin tried to catch up, but he really wasn't in a hurry. There was only one Eddie, and nothing could convince him otherwise.

Pretty soon they found themselves in front of the puppies, and even Martin had to smile. They were cute. No Eddie, but cute nonetheless.

"Look, a chi-wow-wow..."David proclaimed excitedly.

"Nothing but little yappers," Martin complained. "I have enough trouble getting around. The last thing I need is an ankle bitter nipping at me."

"Oh, Martin, but he's so cute."

"You would say that, Daphne. You thought all of Eddie's puppies were the cutest thing ever. If Frasier hadn't put a stop to it you would have adopted every one," Martin grumbled.

This was going to be harder than she even thought.

No matter what, Martin found fault with each puppy that they inspected. Too small, too big, too noisy...but what wasn't said but was understood by all was that none of them were Eddie.

"David, can you do me a favor?" Daphne asked. "Can you stay with Grandpa for a minute? I have to ask the clerk something."

"But Mommy, he's so grumpy!"

"Now now, David. Be a good boy. Maybe we can buy a little bit of catnip for Toby while we're here!"

And with that, she was gone. Martin still hated every animal he saw. What was the point, he wondered to himself. No one could ever take Eddie's place.

And nothing or anyone would. But what Daphne brought back, cuddled in her arms took his breath away. It was a miniature Eddie! How she'd found the lone Jack Russell in the store, he didn't know, but he knew what he had to do.

He walked over to inspect the dog carefully. It responded by looking at him back, with a sense of curiosity in his eyes.

"Oh Grandpa...she found Eddie!" An innocent David declared. "Maybe it's one of his babies!"

"Oh David..." he thought about what he wanted to say. "Maybe it is."

"Do you like him?" Daphne smiled as she presented him to her father-in-law.

It took Martin no longer than a minute to decide that he had to have the little fellow. He was cute, there was no denying that. But as he thought back to all of the joy that Eddie had brought him over the years, and the emptiness that his passing had created in his life, Martin knew that he couldn't say no to this little fellow.

"What are you going to name him, Grandpa?" David asked, even more excited than Martin.

"I don't know...how about Oscar?"

"He's a winner all right," Daphne smiled, referring to the Academy Awards trophy handed out in Hollywood every night. She had looked forward to watching them ever since she'd arrived in America, and even though Martin had professed to hating them, she found that he had come to enjoy them even more than she had.

So Oscar went home with Martin that day, and Ronee hadn't seen her husband that excited in a very long time. Children grew up, they moved on and had families of their own. But what she knew that Martin understood was this- that a pet's love is unconditional, and lasted forever. She would always be thankful for May 15, for not only was it her wedding day, it was David's birthday, and in some ways, even more importantly, it had been Eddie's birthday. She hadn't been around to watch Martin love Eddie, but she knew that it was that love which opened the door to his heart, for him to open it up to another person after Hester. Yes, there would never be another Eddie.

The end