"What exactly are we doing here?" Sherlock Holmes asked his wife surprised.
When his wife told him they would go on a trip that would change lives, Sherlock didn't expect this trip would be half an hour away from home to this place.
"We are adopting a puppy." Molly answered him enthusiastically with her cheerful voice while she parked her car in front of a shelter.
A wide smile lightened Sherlock's whole face "Molly, are you sure about this? 100% sure you want to adopt now?" his hands were shaking slightly from anxious, anticipation, joy,. He wasn't sure, and his eyes were shining.
She frowned deeply and looked to him as he said the most absurd thing she heard in her life "What a silly man! Of course I'm sure! Why else would I bring you here?!"
He couldn't stay in the car anymore. Before she even turned her car off he jumped out of it, half running to the shelter door.
Molly followed her husband inside and caught him moving around the corridor watching every dog with wide eyes. He looked like a child who has been left alone in a room full of candies.
She smiled fondly seeing him like this. She knew she made the right decision.
Bunch of fluffy puppies caught her eyes and her ears as they were running all over the small place. They were jumping on each other's cute butts and biting each other's small ears in the most adorable scene she saw in a while.
Two couples were already standing in front of them deciding which one they would take home, while another couple was approaching as the fluffy gang caught the eyes of most of the people there.
She looked around to call for her husband, but she found him stopping afar in front of one of the cages like a statue. She couldn't see at first the dog inside.
Few more steps she took and she was taken by the scene in front of her.
An Irish setter between 3-5 years old, she deduced, was standing and looking back to Sherlock like they knew each other, moving his head couple of times from side to side. She walked slowly and stood next to Sherlock waiting for him to say anything but he didn't for a while.
She didn't say anything either, she only held his hand in one of hers. He told her everything, from the imaginary Irish friend he always wanted to have and his parent's allergy that stood in front of his dreams to how he turned it to his real friend that he lost years ago to avoid the bitter truth.
"He's a really quiet and good boy but it will take some time to get used to you and your new place, I'm actually surprised nobody looked for him the last week, he's a pure Irish setter!" one of the volunteer people who worked there cut their thoughts, Molly felt relaxed when he mentioned that nobody claimed him as his for a long while.
"He's also a bit old, there still two puppies left if you want to consider…"
"We are taking him." Molly cut him off determined, squeezing Sherlock's hand more for support, as he looked to the dog and the dog looked back to him as two old friends didn't see each other for decades.
The man smiled and left to prepare the dog for his new home.
While he left with their new dog who barked all the way, Sherlock looked to Molly after he went out of his long silence.
"Are you sure? Isn't it a little too soon?" he asked her concerned.
She smiled peacefully "Toby lived happily surrounded with our love and I want our home to be a warm place for another soul."
Before he could thank her the new family member barked happily and span around them with enthusiastic steps.
Molly twisted her mouth in amusement and frowned "And it's little late for this discussion, don't you think?"
Sherlock laughed and kissed her slightly before they left the place. As his wise wife said in the beginning of the day, this day they did change lives, and they changed them to the best