Everyone was gathered around his partner and a large sheet cake with 2 numeral candles, which were nowhere near Lennie's true age. Lennie closed his eyes, supposedly making a wish and then blew out the candles. Anita handed him a knife and he handed it ME Rodgers saying she had to be better at cutting things up than he was, which of course got a laugh.
Just then Lennie spotted Ed.
"Hey you, aren't you going to come to my birthday party?" Lennie asked with a big smile.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact I was just bringing your present," Ed answered as he put the wriggling box in Lennie's lap.
Just as Ed set the box down, a bark could be heard from inside the box.
"What the?" Lennie asked and quickly opened the box. Inside along with some puppy food and a dog dish and a now tipped over water bowl was the cutest mass of fur known to mankind. It was some sort of mix breed puppy; he was mostly white with some brown spots. The puppy was probably mostly terrier, though he might have some beagle or other small hound mixed in. He was probably about 4 months old and he seemed to be all tongue and waggy tail. He stood up on his hind feet and licked Lennie's face. Lennie scratched him behind his ears and withstood the impromptu bathing.
Lennie pulled the little dog out of the box and let the box fall to the floor. Ed pulled a leash out of his pocket and clipped it to the dog's collar threading it through the fingers of one of Lennie's big hands that were now firmly clasped around the dog.
"Do the two of them know each other or do all dogs take to him like this?" Anita Van Buren asked Ed with a little laugh.
"Well, as long as I've worked with Lennie I've noticed all animals like him and he likes all animals, but this one's special. Remember that case Lennie and I caught at the beginning of the week?" Ed asked.
"The vehicular homicide?" Anita asked and Ed nodded.
"Is this our surviving witness?" Anita asked.
"Yeah, and there wasn't a scratch on the little guy, but he was so scared and the only one he'd let get close was Lennie. We had to turn him over to Animal Control, about broke both their hearts, so I figured what the heck, I'd get him for Lennie for his birthday. I paid for all his shots and his license and when he's old enough for the necessary snip snip, you know," Ed said.
Everyone in the squad was gathered around Lennie to see and pet his new dog.
"What are you going to name him, Lennie?" Ana Cordova asked.
"Nothing," Lennie said sadly, and with a sigh he bent to put the puppy back in the box.
He turned dejectedly but resolutely to Ed.
"Hey pal, it was a great idea, but I can't keep him," Lennie said. God, why did his voice sound like his dad's just now?
"Why not?" Ed asked mystified.
"My apartment building doesn't allow any pets," Lennie answered miserably as his puppy finally managed to jump out of the box and make its way to Lennie's side.
Lennie leaned down and picked the puppy up.
"No, little guy I can't keep you," Lennie said and then he quickly retreated to Lt. Van Buren's office with the puppy in his arms.
The detectives and Lieutenant Van Buren stood together out in the squad room stunned, each sure they'd just seen one of the most cynical, hard boiled NYPD detectives with tears in his eyes because he couldn't keep a sweet little puppy.
"I think I screwed up," Ed said.
"I know you did," Anita said.
"Guess I better try to fix it," Ed said and started to move towards Van Buren's office.
"No, I'll go fix that part of the problem, you go talk to Lennie's land lord. Remind him how handy it is to have a cop living on the premises," Anita looked at the other detectives.
"The rest of you start working on plan B," she said.
"Which is?" Ana Cordova asked.
"Finding Lennie a new apartment in case Ed's not successful. Remember it has to be one he can afford that does allow pets," Anita said as though it were an obvious answer.
Lennie looked up when he heard the Lieutenant's door open. He'd been sitting in the chair in front of her desk petting his puppy, sniffling like a little boy. That seemed fairly appropriate because he was remembering another time he'd had to give up a puppy, "his" puppy. He'd always loved animals and had an affinity for them, but as a kid with working class parents living in an apartment, he could never have a pet, but there'd been this one time he'd "forgotten" the rules and brought home a free puppy. He remembered his Dad being so angry with him he'd actually beaten him. His Dad never did that. He wasn't like the other kids' parents who were constantly beating their kids, his Dad lectured him and maybe once in a while he took the strap to him, but he'd never before just out and out beat him. And Lennie never knew what became of his puppy, which really haunted him as a kid.
"Sorry," Lennie started to apologize.
"It's OK," Anita said.
"Mind if I ask you something?"
"I guess not, seeing how this is your office I invaded," Lennie said with a ghost of his usual humor.
"You really seem to like animals, have you ever had a pet?" she asked gently.
Lennie shook his head, and continued to pet his puppy that by this time was falling asleep.
"I've pretty much always lived in apartments, except when I was married, and neither of my wives wanted to have pets. I always thought that pets would have been good for my girls though," Lennie answered.
"Well I think this dog would be good for you," Anita said as she too petted Lennie's puppy.
"I want you to find a way to keep him, so I've got the squad working on trying to help you do just that," she added.
Lennie's head shot up, and he looked into her eyes to see if she was telling the truth.
"Thank you," Lennie said simply.
"Well, if you really want to thank me," she started.
"Anything," Lennie interrupted her with a promise.
"Let me name him?" she asked.
"OK," Lennie shrugged.
Anita thought about it for a while.
"How about we call him Rookie?" she asked.
"Rookie it is," Lennie said with a smile.