Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC!

Summary: When Roman Reigns' dog gets sick, only the best vet in the state will do. Apparently, said vet's customers forgot to mention her penchant for coming to the clinic fresh from the beach, with a surfboard under her arm and a flighty grin on her face. ReignsOC

So, yeah. This is my contribution to the growing section of Shield-centered fiction. I just think that poor ol' Roman is very underused compared to Seth and Dean. Anyway! I felt like doing something different, and here this is. This is going to be a weird little fic, and with a new OC of mine. I'm pretty excited about it, and had this idea in my mind for a while, I just wasn't sure which Superstar to star in it. This first chapter is just a short, introductory chapter, and everything. So! I really hope y'all enjoy. I'd love to hear your opinions and whatnot! (Oh, and yay for the affenpinscher winning best in show this year! D'awww! :D )

Man's Best Friend
Chapter One: The Initial Predicament

Many words could be used to describe Roman Reigns.

A member of The Shield. Tall, dark, handsome. Muscular. Not to be trifled with. Ferocious to a fault. Loyal beyond all else. Advocator of fairness and respect. A complete and utter beast. (Okay, he might have told his friends to call him that back in college, but he digresses.)

Of all the particular hats he was suited to don, dog savant would look comical in comparison.

Roman Reigns, possibly the most intimidating member of The Shield, loved his dog very, very much, and yet no one seemed to know this other than his closest friends.

Now, Roman wasn't ashamed of his dog. No, not at all. It's just, he had a reputation to uphold. He had people jeering his name every night as he came into the ring with Ambrose and Rollins. He had people shuddering in fear as he roared right before sending some helpless individual to the mat in their trademark three-man-powerbomb.

And he really didn't want to hear all of the people talking shit about how his dog was, "Dumb looking," or "Girly."

He could just picture it now. The headline in the latest WWE magazine, "Brutal member of The Shield has a heart! Reigns walks his dog! Awww!"

Okay, maybe the writers over at WWE weren't that incompetent.

Then again, they did put an interview in their latest issue with Little Jimmy, so he guessed some things were really just completely ludicrous and there was no changing them.

Completely off topic, Roman remembered just why he was thinking about the most inane things now, of all times.

His dog - his beloved Sophie - was having issues.

Roman hated to admit that he was such a papa bear in regards to his dog that, at even the slightest sign of discomfort, he freaked out. He hated being away from Sophie from weeks at a time. Being on a bus with Ambrose and Rollins would do that to a person, since Rollins was strictly a cat person - "They're so smart!" he would crow - and Ambrose was anti-everything with a pulse. Except women. Ambrose loved him some bitches - and not of the dog variety.

Shaking his head to rid himself of that very scary image, Roman just stared at Sophie, his brows furrowing. She had been acting weird ever since he got back from touring Europe with the company. The house sitter he hired said that nothing amiss happened - though, he wouldn't be surprised if that crazy skank fed her chocolate of all things and let her run out and play tag with cars. Roman cringed at the thought.

He leaned over to Sophie and stretched out a hand. She gave a slight whimper and tucked her head away from him. Roman gasped in a very unmanly way, unused to being rejected by the one thing on this earth that made him look forward to coming home.

Determined, the so-called "muscle" of The Shield reached out once more and pressed a hand to Sophie's head, pressing his fingers against her fur.

Sophie looked up at him, her large brown eyes sad.

Oh God, Roman thought, something's dreadfully wrong!

Now Roman was not the type to over exaggerate about anything (unless his dog was involved) or use the word dreadfully (unless his dog was involved). He scratched Sophie behind the ears and she gave another little whimper.

"What did that damn house sitter do to you, Soph?!" he roared, which caused Sophie to give him a look that he swore was sarcastic. She pressed one of her paws against his knee and nudged her nose against his neck, and Roman felt his heart grow five sizes. Or whatever that damn saying was.

After giving his cheek a lick, Sophie then lumbered away, looking tired and exasperated at the same time.

Roman figured that she was going to go rest and that he shouldn't badger her, though he wanted to. He tried to force his mind away from the situation and rose from his crouched position on the floor. Stretching his arms above his head, he remembered the football game he missed last night - recorded by his trusty Tivo - and moved to make himself some popcorn.

As he shut the door to the microwave and punched the appropriate time in, he heard a rather curious noise. Thinking it to be nothing, he selected the 'start' button and leaned against the fridge, crossing his arms as he did so. The pop, pop, pop of the kernels filled the quiet of the kitchen just as the worrying thoughts about his dog kicked in once more.

The noise from before came again. Roman quirked a brow and pushed off of the refrigerator, heading towards the direction of the sound.

After scouring the entire first floor of his surprisingly lavish house, he found himself standing in the doorway of the hall bathroom. The door was open just slightly, and he found himself cocking his head to the side as he heard the sound again. Closer to the source now, Roman recognized it for what it was.

He swung the door open and found Sophie retching on one of his bathmats.

"Gah!" he exclaimed, flailing his arms about as if tasered. "Sophie!"

Roman hurled himself forward and wrapped his arms around Sophie's midsection, hefting her from the floor and pushing her head over the toilet. Sophie, so sick that she couldn't protest, proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach into the bowl.

Roman started laughing hysterically. If the sight of his dog being sick all over the place wasn't so traumatizing, this situation would be rather comical.

Sophie coughed a bit and then started to squirm in Roman's grip. He let her down and stood up, flushing the toilet and looking down at his beloved animal.

"Yeah. I'm finding us a vet."

Easier said than done, Roman would soon learn.

End Chapter One.