Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or any of the characters in Numb3rs.I do own Shaylee Campbell, Stacy and Mark Hollis and Stormy.

Charlie Gets A Puppy – Charlie's Point of View

Lightning momentarily lit up the night sky. Dad and I had just finished eating dinner when the doorbell rang. Dad was busy cleaning up in the kitchen so I answered the door.

What greeted me was my girlfriend, Shaylee Campbell, dripping wet and holding a sodden, black bundle.

"Shay, what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise. She was supposed to be with her friends Stacy and Mark Hollis, who were visiting from Houston.

"I was on my way back from dropping Stace and Mark off at the airport when I spotted this," Shay tilted her head towards the black thing that I hadn't yet identified. "My apartment building doesn't allow pets and the animal shelter is closed. I was kinda hoping you could put him up for a night."

The hopeful look on Shay's face made my heart melt. Who could say no to that face? I for sure couldn't.

"Come in. Dad, do we have any old blankets or towels?" I closed the door behind Shay, making a mental note to find her some dry clothes.

"Yeah, somewhere. Why?" Dad walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.

Shay gave a small smile. "My good deed for the day?"

Dad's gaze fastened on the puppy in her arms. "You can put him in the spare bathroom until he's dry. I'll go get something to dry him off with. And, Charlie, get this poor woman some dry clothing."

Chuckling, I steered Shay and her cargo towards the bathroom.

"Thank you so much. I'm sorry about intruding." Shay truly looked sorry. I wasn't though. It meant more time with her. And there hadn't been a lot of it lately.

Together we sat down on the tiled floor of the seldom-used bathroom. Shay stroked the wet fur of the puppy as it whimpered a bit.

Dad returned minutes later with an armful of old towels. "Good thing I didn't throw these out," he said before leaving us alone again.

Carefully, the two of us dried off the black mutt as best we could. Finding a blanket in the closest, I spread it out in the living room for the puppy to sleep on.

"Come on, Shay. You need to get out of those wet clothes before you catch your death," I held out a hand to her. She paused a moment, watching the sleeping dog, then took my hand and let me lead her upstairs. Once I at least had her in some dry though big for her tiny frame clothes, we went back down stairs. The puppy was still sleeping peacefully.

Sitting down on the couch, I tugged Shay down beside me. Tucking her under my arm, I smiled down at her. She smiled back.

"So I guess we have a dog," I said.

Shay blinked in surprise. "You're going to keep it?"

"We, Shay, we're going to keep it. And 'it' needs a name."

Shay smiled at me, her brown eyes lighting up. "I guess I'm going to have stop by more often, you know, to make sure you're taking care of the dog." Her eyes were laughing at me while at the same time saying thank you.

Reaching up, she snaked her hand behind my neck and gently pulled my head downwards until our lips met.

With a grin, Shay suggested, "What about 'Stormy'?"

At that moment thunder sounded overhead. The puppy woke with a start.

"It's OK, sweetie," Shay soothed, her voice taking on the same calming tone that she used in her negotiations.

The puppy settled down after a bit and went back to sleep.

I had been thinking about the name Shay had suggested. Stormy. It fit in some weird way.

"OK. Stormy it is. Welcome to the family, Stormy."

The End