There are days when one wakes up and instinctively knows things are about to change. Where you just know that before the day is over an event will have occurred that will alter your life forever.

For Annie Edison, this was not one of those days.

When she woke up it felt like any normal Saturday. She had a bowl of cereal before showering and getting dressed. After the guys left to do their various weekend activities Annie took advantage of their absence by vacuuming and dusting, then getting some studying done in peace and quiet. Just a fairly typical Saturday.

What wasn't typical was the guys returning later that afternoon with a large cardboard box. "Annie, you'll never guess what we just got," Troy said as he carefully set the box down.

Knowing it could be anything Annie cautiously approached the box, jumping back in surprise when it moved. Her surprise turned to delight when it tipped over and a small puppy crawled out.

"AW! It's adorable." She gently picked the puppy up and looked at him. He was small with a compact body. He had a short rounded face and brown fur with black along the bottom half of his face. "He looks like the dog from As Good As It Gets." The smile left her face as she looked at Troy and Abed. "Why do we suddenly have a puppy?"

"Some guy was giving a bunch away on the side of the road," Troy excitedly said as he scratched the puppy behind his ears.

"We were going to name it Vera after the dog from As Good As It Gets," Abed said. "But it's a boy so we're naming him Barvis, who was the dog that Constable Reggie bonded with in the twelfth season of Inspector Spacetime."

Annie sighed as she looked at Troy and Abed, feeling like a mother about to disappoint the children. "I know you love the dog," she said as she desperately tried to avoid looking at the dog as he cocked his little head and stared at her. "But we can't keep a puppy here. It takes a lot of hard work to raise a dog. You have to feed it, train it, clean up after it."

"We'll do all of that," Troy said. "Honest."

"We can use an animal companion. He can be Lockheed and you can be Shadowcat," Abed said.

Annie groaned as the two men eagerly looked at her. "Ok, fine." She gently put the puppy down before giving Abed and Troy her best formidable face. "But this is your dog. Which means he's your responsibility. You have to clean up after him, and train him, and take him to the vet."

"We'll do all of that. We promise," Abed said.

"You two better. Did you ask the guy you got him from if the dog's had his shots?"

"He didn't say," Abed said.

"Ok. Did you at least pick up supplies, like dog food and a leash and collar?"

She waited apprehensively as they looked at each other. "Um, we got the box," Troy said.

Several hours later Annie, Troy and Abed returned from the vet's and pet store. Each of their bank accounts were now lighter after having shelled out several hundred dollars for shots and a check up, and then for other supplies like a dog collar, leash, a food and water bowl, dog food, dog shampoo, a doggy bed, and chew toys. It's just one screw up, Annie thought. Anyone could have made it.

As she collapsed on one of the recliners the dog came over and barked at her. She inched forward as she scratched behind his ears. "Just remember little guy; they're your owners. I'm just your roommate."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Jeff, hey." Annie stepped aside as Jeff walked into the apartment. "What are you doing here?"

"Do I always need a reason to come over? There's only so much trash TV someone can take before they lose their mind. Where are the guys?"

"They ran out to get some more dog food."

"Why do you need dog food?" His question was immediately answered as he saw a small puppy bound over to him excitedly. Jeff took a step back as the dog started sniffing his foot. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday. Troy and Abed got him. He's cute isn't he?"

"I guess. For an overgrown rat."

"JEFF! He's not a rat. He's a dog."

"Annie, that's not a dog. Labradors, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Bloodhounds, those are dogs. That's just something spoiled celebrities carry around in their purses. It's a ball of fur." Almost absentmindedly Jeff bent down and rubbed the dog's head. "Aren't you, you little fur ball."

"Don't call him that Jeff. His name's Barvis, not Fur Ball."

"Barvis?"

"Abed came up with it. Something to do with Inspector Spacetime."

"Of course it is. How much do you want to bet you're going to do everything for that ball of fur?"

"It's their dog. They'll take care of him." She looked over and sighed as the dog whined and scratched at the door. Annie ignored the look Jeff gave her as she attached the leash to his collar and got a plastic grocery bag. "It's just one time because they're out. Do you want to keep me company?"

"One time, sure," Jeff said as he followed Annie out the door.

"It is."

"Sure it is. Even Fur Ball knows you're now its mother.

"His name is Barvis! NOT FUR BALL! And I mean it! This is just a onetime thing."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't.

For the first few days after the puppy came into their lives Troy and Abed actually took care of him. They tried dressing him up in a dog sized tie and bowler hat that Barvis wore in Inspector Spacetime and would walk and feed him. They even cleaned up after him when he had an accident.

But after a week the boys grew bored with the puppy and became careless with its care. They still liked him, but they would frequently forget to put food out for him or walk him in the morning. And whenever the dog had an accident they'd find 'creative' ways to dealing with the situation without actually cleaning it up.

So Annie found herself reluctantly taking over dog duties. When she woke up she'd instinctively check his food and water bowl, and then sigh in annoyance when she saw that it was empty before feeding and watering him. And despite the fact that it usually made her late, she'd walk him before school. And then after school. At first she forced Troy and Abed to come with her, angrily stating that they should be doing this themselves because it was THEIR dog. But eventually she just gave up and would walk him by herself. She also took over cleaning up any accidents since she was sick of the apartment smelling like dog urine and Kool Aid.

As the weeks went by she starting thinking of him as HER dog, rather than her roommates dog. At first it was simply because she was doing more for him. But soon it also had to do with the dog itself. Whenever she came home he ran over to her, barking until she played with him. And he always liked to snuggle with her more then with Troy and Abed (though she had a firm rule about no one barging into her room she made an exception for their furriest roommate.)

But what truly seemed to cerement that the dog didn't regard Troy or Abed as its master was the fact that he never responded to his name. Whenever anyone called him Barvis he just stood there, and gave you a look that clearly said 'that's not my name'. The only name he seemed to respond to was Fur Ball. Annie blamed Jeff entirely for that one. Whenever he came over that was exactly how he'd greet the dog, no matter how many times she asked Jeff not to call him that. Eventually Annie just had to accept that Fur Ball was the dog's name, even though Troy and Abed still insisted that it was Barvis.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Jeff, I need a favor."

Jeff continued walking down the hallway as Annie walked beside him. "I know I'm going to regret saying this, but what is it?"

"I enrolled Fur Ball in Good-Dogs-For-Life."

"What?"

"It's a doggy day care slash obedience school for puppies."

"You're a go get em parent. The kid's only a couple months old and he's already in school."

Annie chose to ignore that as she continued. "I usually pick him up after my 2pm class ends, but I have a lab project due on Friday and my partner can only meet this afternoon. Can you please pick up Fur Ball and take him home for me?"

"And you're roommates can't do this because?"

"Abed has a film class and whenever Troy picks Fur Ball up from daycare he undoes all the work that was done. Jeff, please."

Jeff groaned as he already knew what his answer was going to be. "Fine."

"Thank you." Annie hugged Jeff, holding on for longer than necessary before she pulled away and handed Jeff a business card. "Here's the address. You can take Fur Ball back home, or keep him at your place until I'm done."

"That dog isn't getting anywhere near my place. And he's not riding in my Lexus unless he's in a crate in the trunk."

"Jeff!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Thanks for coming with me Shirley."

"That's fine." She glanced over at Jeff holding Fur Ball on his lap. "Though let's not pretend the main reason you called me was so we could take my minivan and not risk getting your car messed up."

"That's not…you know I enjoy your company."

"I never said you didn't. I just know you didn't want anything happening to your Lexus."

"Think of this as a win/win. We get to spend time together and I don't risk my leather seats getting chewed." Jeff inched back as Fur Ball tried to lick his face. "Hey, quit it."

Shirley giggled as she looked over at the two of them. "That dog loves you."

"Well I don't love him."

"Then why are you always going over to Troy and Abed's and helping out with the dog?"

"I'm just helping Annie out. She's basically the only one taking care of him."

Shirley gripped the steering wheel as she drove, contemplating if she should say anything. "Jeff." She gathered her thoughts as she looked over at her friend. "Can I ask you something?"

"What."

"Are you ever going to tell Annie how you feel about her?"

Jeff gasped at that one. That was probably the last thing he ever expected to come out of Shirley's mouth. "What? There's nothing-."

"Don't give me that Jeffrey. I've seen the way you look at her. For a man who claims to not be romantic you sure spend a lot of time making googly eyes at that girl." She pulled over onto a side street and parked the minivan before continuing. "The point is you care about her, and not just as a friend. I may not be entirely comfortable with the idea of you two together, but even I can see there's something there. And she's not going to wait around forever. So either get on that train or let it leave the station."

Jeff looked down at Fur Ball, who seemed to have been listening to Shirley. He looked up at Jeff, giving him a look that clearly said 'listen to her and be with Mommy'.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Thank you again for picking up Fur Ball yesterday Jeff."

"No problem." He looked at Annie, trying not to notice that she didn't have a cardigan on and that her neck and collar bone were looking very delectable. "Listen, are you doing anything tonight?"

"Actually yes. I have a date."

Jeff almost stopped short as he fully turned to look at her. "What?"

"With my lab partner Jason. He asked me out to dinner yesterday."

"Annie-."

"What?" she said with a bit of a challenge. "What Jeff?"

He looked at her for a long moment before shrugging with fake nonchalance. "Nothing." She gave him a look of sad disappointment before she nodded her head and headed to class.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff groaned as he saw his cell phone vibrating. Who the hell is calling at 11:30 at night on a Wednesday, he thought. As he picked up his phone he saw that the call was from Annie. For a moment he contemplated not answering it. But before his brain could tell his hand what to do he found himself answering his phone. "What do you want? If it's to gossip about your date that's not-."

"Jeff, please come over here right now!"

Jeff's annoyance immediately disappeared as he heard her on the other end. She was crying and sounded close to hysterics. "What's wrong?"

"It's Fur Ball. He ate some chocolate and is really sick. I tried calling the vet but their office is closed and I don't have a home number. And the emergency room said they won't take a dog. Jeff I'm scared!"

Jeff's own stomach twisted in knots as he heard her cry. "I'll be right over."

He called Britta and told her what had happened before leaving his place, figuring between her cats and helping out at the animal hospital she could be some help. He sped the entire way over and made it there just as Britta did.

"Jeff, Britta." Annie hugged Jeff as Britta brushed past them and went over to Fur Ball. He was curled in a ball next to Annie's door softly whining, a pile of vomit next to his head. She gently felt his body before turning towards Annie. "He had a fever. Annie, get me a washcloth and run it under cool water."

Jeff followed Annie as she went to the kitchen. "What happened?"

"I came back from my date and he was lying by my door." Her hands shook as she grabbed a dishtowel. Jeff took it from her and ran it under the sink as her voice choked. "There were four ripped apart king size snickers wrappers on the table. The guys must have left them out."

"And where are the guys?" Jeff said angrily.

"At the movies. Something about an all night marathon of Inspector Spacetime's best episodes." Annie took the washcloth from Jeff and ran over to Britta. "How is he?"

"Not good. He has a fever and his heart rate is racing. Get me my purse Jeff." Jeff handed it to Britta, who pulled out a small white bottle."

"What is that?"

"Toxiban. It keeps poisons from entering the bloodstream. I give it to my cats whenever they eat something poisonous. Get me some water and a teaspoon." Britta waited as Annie got her a spoon and a glass of water. She mixed a teaspoon of the white powder in the glass before opening Fur Ball's mouth and pouring it down his throat. Fur Ball squirmed, but managed to swallow the liquid. Britta then wiped his face down with the wet dishtowel before wrapping it around him.

"You said he was like this when you came home?"

"Yes Britta. He was exactly like this. Is he going to be ok?"

"I don't know. I have no idea how long it's been since he ate the chocolate, so I have no idea how long it's been in his system for. At this point we'll have to just wait and see what happens over the next several hours."

Annie turned into Jeff's chest and started sobbing. Jeff held onto her tightly as he felt his own body shake in fear. He carefully moved them both until they were sitting on the floor, never letting go of her as she cried.

The three of them stayed up for hours watching over Fur Ball. They kept waiting for some sign that he might be getting better. But sadly he looked exactly the same. None of them said anything as they kept vigil. Annie kept her hand on Fur Ball's head, praying that he'd get better. As the hours slipped by they all felt themselves growing sleepy from fatigue and sadness. Britta fell asleep first, then Jeff, and finally Annie.

The next thing Jeff was aware of was someone licking his face. For a brief moment he thought it was Annie, and actually thought 'her breath is really bad in the morning.' He then opened his eyes and saw two big black eyes staring back at him. He gasped in relief as he saw Fur Ball looking at him.

"Hey little guy." He carefully grabbed hold of the dog and inched him into his lap as he nudged Annie. "Annie. Wake up."

"Wha-," she said as she looked down. Her confusion immediately became delight at seeing Fur Ball yipping and trying to jump on her. "FUR BALL!" She scooped him up as the dog pawed at her, laughing/sobbing as she held the dog close to her. "You're all right!" She laughed and smiled up at Jeff, who smiled back as he petted the squirming puppy.

"Aw." The two of them looked over at Britta's smiling face. "Looks like someone's feeling better."

"Is he going to be ok?" Annie asked.

Britta gently took hold of Fur Ball as she examined him. "I'd still keep an eye on him, at least for another day. But I think he's going to be ok," she said as she put the puppy down.

"Britta, thank you." Annie ran over and hugged Britta tightly. "You saved Fur Ball's life."

"No problem. Just make sure no one leaves chocolate out anymore." She petted Fur Ball before gathering her things. "Ok, I should make sure my own cats are all right. Bye you two."

Jeff glanced over at Britta as she left before he suddenly felt Annie wrap her arms around him. "Easy there."

"Thank you Jeff. What you did…"

"I think Britta might have done a little more than I did in this situation."

"But you were the one who thought to call her. And you held me while I cried. I don't know what I would have done if Fur Ball…" She swallowed down her tears as she looked up at Jeff. "You were there for me last night Jeff."

"Yea well, I couldn't exactly let the little guy perish. And I couldn't leave you alone while you were that upset. You're too important to me for that."

They looked into each other's eyes before Jeff leaned down and kissed her. She gripped tightly onto his arms as she kissed him right back. The spark she had felt the few times they had kissed returned in spades. Their lips moved with more urgency as Jeff ran one hand through her hair while fisting the back of her shirt with the other.

They both snapped out of it as they heard Fur Ball bark. They pulled away, both of them slightly out of breath. "Well, that was…"

"Jeff, just don't. I know you're already thinking of a million ways to say that it was a mistake, or that-."

"I was going to say it was amazing."

She abruptly stopped talking as she heard that. "Really?"

"For someone who doesn't have a lot of experience you're a really great kisser."

She smiled a little smile before her face grew more serious. "So now what?"

Jeff uncharacteristically fidgeted as he tried to think of an answer. "I don't know."

Although her face remained passive he was able to see a smile in her eyes. "Least that's better than an immediate rejection. Look Jeff, we're both tired after last night. Let's take a little time and then we'll talk about this. BUT," she stressed as her voice grew serious. "We are going to talk about this."

"Got it." He smiled back at her as he left. He was lucky he left when he did, because only a few minutes later Troy and Abed came back from their marathon. As soon as Annie saw them she ripped into them. All of her anger over their behavior came bursting out of her as she screamed with the conviction of an angry mother.

"I am sick of it! You two want a puppy and promise to take care of him! But then you never do anything! All the responsibility to that dog falls to me! I walk him, I feed him, I take him to doggy day care, I do everything! And then because of your carelessness he almost dies! I stayed up all night a nervous wreck while you two were out watching movies! Well I'm telling you that this is the last straw! I've had it! You two might have found him, but I'M that dog's owner! For now on FUR BALL is my dog! And if you EVER do anything again that endangers that dog I swear you will be in a world of trouble!

She picked up Fur Ball and stormed into her room as the boys stood in the living room. Troy started crying and even Abed was scared at being on the receiving end of Annie's wrath.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I GOT IN!"

The group cheered as Annie waved her Grad school acceptance letter in celebration. Everyone walked over to her as Annie was engulfed in a giant group hug. As everyone separated from her Jeff gave her a separate hug before kissing her deeply. They ignored the group's groans (which had become a common occurrence during the last few months) as they sat down.

"So Jeff, are you also moving to Oregon now?" Abed asked. "That'd make for an interesting spinoff."

"Yea, like that's happening," Jeff scoffed.

Annie glared at Jeff before addressing the group. "We talked about it, but we decided that it'd be better if Jeff didn't come and relocated his entire life. Especially since I don't plan to stay there once I'm done with school."

"Good. I'm already losing my favorite. I don't want to lose my best friend also," Pierce said.

"We're not-." Jeff groaned before putting on a clearly fake smile. "Thanks Pierce."

Luckily Troy broke the tension by choosing that moment to start crying. "Annie, please don't go. We'll never see you again."

"Troy, I'm only going away for two years. I'll be back. And I'll still come back and visit. Every school break."

"Really?"

"Really."

They spent the rest of the study session studying for their latest Greendale test (or as much as they usually were able to fit in) before packing up and leaving, with Shirley reminding everyone to be at her house for dinner by six.

"How are you?" Annie asked Jeff as they got in his car.

He waited a few moments as he tried to figure out how to answer the question. "Honestly? I'm definitely proud of you for getting in. You deserve it and will do great. But I'm not going to lie. I hate that you're going and will miss the hell out of you."

"I hate it two. Believe me." She sighed deeply as looked at Jeff. "I got the letter yesterday."

"What? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I was scared of what it would mean. It took us over three years to get together. And now in a few months I'll be moving away for two years. Can we really do this?"

"Annie, listen. You know me. When it comes to relationships the only ones I generally believe in are the ones I don't have to put in any effort. But it's you. If you were spending the next five years underwater studying giant squids I'd still want to try and make it work. We'll figure out how."

Annie smiled as she leaned in and kissed her boyfriend. After several minutes she gently pulled back. "There is one thing I wanted to ask you. And I know it's not an issue until I leave at the end of August. But…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Please take good care of him!" Troy cried as he scratched Fur Ball behind his ears. "He means so much to us!"

"I will," Jeff said as he fought the urge to remind them that he and Annie had done a lot more to take care of the dog then they had.

"Annie would be upset if anything happened to him," Abed said.

"I know." Jeff looked around the rapidly emptying apartment. It seemed odd that soon none of them would be living in Casa Trobed anymore. "When are you and Britta moving in together anyway Troy?"

"We already put the deposit down on our apartment. So we'll move in next week after the lease is up and the old owners move out."

Jeff nodded his head as he looked over at Abed. "And when do you start your internship in Denver?"

"End of September."

"OK." He moved his arms to keep the squirming dog from falling out of his grip. "I should probably get him home. I'll talk you two tomorrow."

"Say high to Annie for us," Abed yelled out as Jeff left.

Jeff waited until he was in his car before calling Annie. "Hey."

"Hey Jeff! How'd it go with Fur Ball?"

"You've been gone a week and you already miss the dog more than me."

"Shut up. Of course I miss you. I just wanted to know how it went getting him from Troy and Abed."

"Not too bad. Troy cried, but they both know it's for the best. How're your classes?"

"So far they're good. My Anatomy class looks like it's going to be tough. We have to work with actual cadavers."

"Bet you're wishing you studied law like I told you to."

"Just because it's gross doesn't mean it won't help me. You're not driving are you?"

"I'm in my car, but I haven't started it yet. Also, I think Fur Ball would have ratted me out. I don't know how, but I know you trained him to bark if I'm using my phone while driving."

"Tell him he's a good boy."

"You know he can't understand you, right?"

"Yes he can. Maybe now the actual words but he understands infliction.

"Whatever you say dog whisperer."

"I'm hanging up now Jeff."

"Oh come on, you know you love me."

"Of course I love you. But that doesn't mean you don't drive me crazy."

"I doubt we'd work if we didn't push each other's buttons occasionally". He glanced in the back seat as Fur Ball started jumping from the seat to the floor and back again. "The dog's getting antsy so I'm going to take him home. I'll talk to you later. Oh yea, Abed and Troy told me to tell them hi."

"Aw! I'll make sure to call them tonight."

"Ok. I'll talk to you later."

"OK. Bye Jeff."

"Bye."

Once Jeff got to his apartment he brought Fur Ball inside first, and then went back to his car to get the box full of doggy stuff. Once he was inside he set the box down and sat down on the floor as Fur Ball came over to him. "Just to let you know little guy, this is just temporary. As soon as Annie gets back you're out of here. So enjoy the next two years." He got back up as he looked back down at the dog. "And if Annie finds out I'm talking to you like you're a person, no more doggy treats for you." He lightly kicked his leg as Fur Ball began to chew on the cuff of his pants. "Hey, cut it out. Those jeans are expensive."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff groaned as he heard the crying outside his bedroom. As he put a pillow over his head a loud crash of thunder boomed outside, followed immediately afterward by Fur Ball howling even louder.

It's all Annie's fault, he thought. She said that whenever there was a thunderstorm at night Fur Ball wouldn't calm down unless she let him sleep in her bed. It had never been an issue for Jeff before since most nights they slept at his apartment since he lived along. But now the dog kept whining every time it thundered and Jeff couldn't get any sleep.

"Go to sleep!" he yelled. The dog was quiet for a few moments, then started crying and howling even louder. Jeff kicked the sheets back in frustration as he got out of bed and opened his bedroom door. "You better quiet down right now or else-." Before he could finish Fur Ball zipped between his legs and leaped onto his bed. "No, that's not going to happen."Jeff grabbed the dog and threw him off the bed, only for Fur Ball to jump right back up. As Jeff started grabbing hold of him again Fur Ball settled on top of the covers and gave Jeff what could only described as a dog formed 'Annie pout'. "Son of a, what is she training you in manipulation?" He pinched the bridge of his nose before he relented and got back into bed. "This is just a onetime thing. Next thunderstorm you're on your own." As he settled in Fur Ball crawled beside him and snuggled close to his body.

Ok, maybe this isn't the worst thing, Jeff thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Now I know he scared you a little, but don't worry. The Penguin isn't in anymore Batman movies," Jeff said as he turned off the movie. He pulled Fur Ball closer to him on the couch as he scratched the dog behind his neck. "If you thought he was bad wait until you see The Joker in The Dark Knight. I still like Jack Nicholson's Joker better, but Heath Ledger's was probably scarier."

Despite knowing that the dog couldn't understand him, Jeff found that he was talking to him more and more since he first took him in a year ago. Talking to animals wasn't something Jeff normally did. When he was a kid he couldn't remember ever having actual conversations with his border collie Bueller. And he always made fun of Britta when she talked to her cats. But for some reason he couldn't help talking to Fur Ball.

"Guess what little guy. Annie comes home tomorrow for the summer. You get to see your mom again for the whole summer. And then in just another year she finishes school and we get her back for good."

They both looked over as they heard a knock at the door. Jeff got up and opened the door without looking through the peep hole. So he wasn't at all prepared for who was on the other side.

"Annie!" He grabbed her and hugged her tightly, only letting go because Fur Ball was barking like crazy.

"Hey little guy." She put her bags down before bending down and picking up the jittery dog, not even caring that he was madly licking her face. "Oh I missed you so much little guy. You're getting big. Yes you are. Yes you are. I remember when you were just a little bigger then Jeff's hand."

"I thought you were coming home tomorrow."

"I finished my final project on Monday, so my professor said I didn't have to go to the final class since I handed it in early." She put Fur Ball down before she grabbed Jeff and kissed him as hard as she could. "God I missed you."

"I missed you to. Even if you practically sucked out a filling there."

As he leaned in for another kiss Annie put a hand up to stop him. "Jeff, before this goes further there's something I have to tell you first."

"What, you're pregnant?" He chuckled before his face grew serious. "Wait, is that really it?"

"No Jeff, I'm not pregnant." She rolled her eyes before taking a breath. "I'm not going back to school next year."

"What? Why? I thought you liked grad school?"

"I do. But I miss everyone here too much. You and Fur Ball and everyone. I can't stand being away for another whole year. So I talked to my adviser and I'm going to finish school on-line."

"Not that I'm not obviously thrilled that you're staying, but I thought you said you didn't want to take on-line classes because it'd take twice as long to graduate."

"Yea, but I'd rather do that then be away from everyone. And with the amount of extra work I did this year it'll just take an extra semester to finish on-line then if I did my last year there." She leaned in to kiss Jeff before pulling back as the rational part of her mind started working. "Oh, I just realized. I have to find a place to live now."

"Wow, you must have really missed us if you didn't plan out every detail of your return."

"Shut up." She playfully rolled her eyes as she giggled. "Well, lets not think about that tonight. Tomorrow I'll go on-line and start looking at apartment listings-."

"Or, I have a suggestion for where you can live."

Annie smiled playfully as she tentatively guessed what he might be saying. "What's your suggestion?"

"Well, this place is big enough for two people. At least for two people who would only require one bedroom. And Fur Ball really likes it here."

"Oh, he does, does he?"

"Yea. And it wouldn't be fair to have him move from a place he likes. Nor would it be fair to take him away from his mother."

"No, that wouldn't be fair. So I guess I have no choice but to move in here. For Fur Ball's sake."

"Right. For Fur Ball's sake." As Jeff looked at Annie he finally couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed hold of her and kissed her as hard as she has just kissed him. They made out furiously as they began to rip each other's clothes off, only to stop when they heard a small bark.

"Lets continue this in the bedroom."

"Yea. I'm not having sex while the dog watches us."

"Ew!" They quickly ran into Jeff's room (which was technically now their room) and shut the room as Fur Ball sat in the living room, cocking his head to the side.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Fur Ball yawned as he woke up from his nap. As he stretched he listened carefully as he heard a funny squeaking sound coming from his parent's bedroom. He had heard that sound a lot ever since Mommy came back a few weeks ago. Whenever he heard the squeaking he thought she was being hurt because he'd hear her scream loudly. But when she'd come out later with Daddy she seemed happy and content. Maybe Daddy was rubbing her tummy or scratching behind her ears, he thought. He was always happy when someone did that to him.

He walked over to the door as the screaming persisted. He was able to catch several 'Oh God' and 'Jeffs' thrown in there. Thinking she might be actually hurt this time he started barking.

"SHUT UP FUR BALL!" Daddy yelled from the bedroom.

Fur Ball cocked his head to the side before he started barking again.

"SHUT UP!"

Fur Ball looked at the door before dropping to his stomach and trying to look under it. He wasn't able to see anything because the lights were turned off. As the squeaking stated up again Fur Ball started howling.

He got to his feet as the squeaking stopped, followed a moment later by the bedroom door opening and Daddy stepping out. While most times Daddy appeared to be made up of many different colors and fabric textures, he was now one uniform pink color. He was covered in sweat and was glaring down at Fur Ball with unmistakable annoyance.

"Listen buddy, your mother and I are having some alone time. And we'd appreciate it if you didn't bark or howl like a maniac until after we're finished." Fur Ball watched as Daddy walked over to the kitchen and got a large raw hide bone out the cabinet. "Here you go. Enjoy this and leave us alone." As Daddy went back in the bedroom Fur Ball dropped to his stomach and started chewing on the bone. He didn't even pay attention to the resumed squeaking and screaming as he went to town on that bone.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Nice dog," a woman in a skimpy halter top said as she looked Jeff up and down.

"Thanks. His name's Fur Ball."

"That's a cute name. How you doing Fur Ball?" She petted the dog before looking at Jeff. "How bout when you're done walking the pouch we can go and get some coffee or something?"

"Thanks, but I'm in a relationship."

"Oh." She glanced over at his hand. "I just didn't see a ring-."

"Doesn't change that I'm in a relationship. With a woman I love very much."

The woman in the halter top nodded in disappointment as she continued on her way. As she left Jeff glanced down at his hand, thinking again about marriage. Unlike how he used to feel, he wasn't completely adversed to the idea of marriage. Or more accurately, he wasn't adversed to marrying one particular person. He just needed to know if he could truly do it. In spite of not really being religious, he needed some sort of sign.

He was so focused on his thoughts that he loosened his grip on the leash. Before he thought to tighten it Fur Ball pulled the leash out of his hand as he raced down the sidewalk.

"FUR BALL!" Jeff ran after him, praying he didn't race into the street. The dog stayed on the sidewalk as he raced past the downtown shops. Jeff weaved his way through people as he saw Fur Ball standing next to a store. "Got yea!" He grabbed the leash and looked down at the dog's panting face. "Don't ever run off like that again! You could have been hit by a car or something! What could possibly make you run off like that?"

Just then Jeff looked over and saw where they were. Fur Ball had stopped right in front of a jewelry store. Jeff looked in the display window, seeing a number of diamond rings. He scoffed as he looked down at the dog. "What are you, psychic or something?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Annie? You home?" Jeff glanced around before coming into their apartment. He smiled as Fur Ball came running over to him. He never thought he'd say it, but in the two years since he took in the little rascal he'd come to enjoy being greeted by him when he arrived home.

"Hey little guy." Jeff sat down on the floor as he pulled Fur Ball into his lap. "I want to show you something before mom gets home." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box. Fur Ball looked at it curiously as Jeff opened it, revealing a sparkling engagement ring. "What do you think? Think she'll like it?" He chuckled as Fur Ball just looked back at him with his little dog face. "Thanks for the vote of confidence buddy."