Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC(s).

Oh man, the response for the first chapter...I totally wasn't expecting it! Thanks so much for your kind reviews and support! It really has been a long time since I've updated anything, so I hope that this is sufficient! I've just had a really fun time writing this fic so far and I hope that y'all enjoy this as much as I do writing it. Thanks so much for reading!

Man's Best Friend
Chapter Two: The Vexing Vet

Sitting in the waiting room of the most renowned vet in town was one thing, but interacting with all of the people - plus their pets - was another thing altogether, Roman found.

He couldn't help but make sure Sophie didn't leave his sight. Being a papa bear was apparently something that came natural to him, which was completely odd considering his in-ring persona. Roman had already received several looks from the people around him, people who noticed who he was and what he did for a living - and the dog lying her head on his feet.

After calling every vet office in town, Roman finally settled on this one. It was nice enough, he thought. The interior was classy and comforting, something that he did not see on the web pages of the other vet's offices he stalked via Google. It was a rather large office, with four working vets listed on the sign outside.

As soon as he walked in the door, he checked in with the front desk. Something that he didn't expect was to have to fill out a bunch of paperwork. Again.

So here he was, desperately trying to fill out this paperwork so he could hurry up and find out what the issue with his dog was. And then leave. Preferably with answers to his questions - and possibly an antiemetic for his dog.

Roman found the entire situation very uncomfortable, if that wasn't obvious by the stiff set of his shoulders and the intensity of his stare. When he had sat down, several people moved away from him, and none of the people entering the room for the first time would sit anywhere near him - in fact, they chose the seats furthest from him, if possible.

Screw them, then.

Sophie seemed to sense her owner's displeasure and nudged his ankle with her nose. Roman reached down and scratched her behind the ears; she let out a great sigh in response.

Dogs barked around him. Cats mewled. Birds squawked. Roman had an aneurysm.

Okay, maybe that was a bit too melodramatic, but he was damn near close to one.

He continued to scribble random bits of info on the papers that were given to him - name of his pet, age, breed, reason for the visit, type of insurance, and other various things that were apparently need-to-know; Roman answered them all - albeit a bit hesitantly. (Because, the more he looked at it, Sophie keeps puking everywhere was kind of a silly answer when worded like that.)

Roman let his eyes scan the paper for a bit longer and tapped his pen to the tune of a random rock song that had been stuck in his head. He went over the information once, twice, three times, wondering if he had left anything off, if everything was good enough to finally turn in. Just as he was about to gather up the gumption to head over to the front desk and let them file his paperwork, a rather grating voice met his ears.

"Oh ma ga! How cute are you?"

He wasn't sure who it was directed at, but Roman was vaguely certain that the statement was aimed at him - or, rather, his dog.

The muscle behind the Shield looked at the person from which the voice came. She was a petite redhead with too-large brown eyes and a set of straight white teeth. Roman was certain she couldn't even reach up to touch his shoulders, not even if she were on her tiptoes.

Roman blinked at her and then saw her bend down to pet Sophie on the head. Sophie was a kind dog and allowed her this.

"What breed is he or she?"

Roman looked at her for a moment, contemplating screaming at her to let him by because his dog was obviously dying of some kind of throwing up problem. But instead, he contained his anxiety and said, "She's part lab, part poodle."

The redhead squealed. "A labradoodle! So cute!"

Roman cringed. Of all the things that he hated, the name labradoodle was high on the list. Right after olives and Dean's taste in cologne. If only he could have found the fool who decided on giving the breed that particular name -

He shook his head, trying to quell his angry thoughts. "Excuse me," he said, making his way to the front desk.

Roman gave the form to the lady at the desk. She smiled at him and said, "Nice labradoodle," and Roman died a little inside.

He made his way back to the chair where he was sitting before, but not before hearing the woman at the desk cry out, "Julie! Please stop harassing the man's poor dog!"

Julie - the redhead that was cooing over Sophie - turned around. Roman noticed that she had been flapping Sophie's ears around and singing a song. And she worked here. Oh, he needed a drink. Or eleven.

As Roman sat down, Julie departed from them both. He now noted her scrubs and nametag, designating her as one of the vet techs. Groaning, he ran a hand over his hair, and Sophie pressed her nose against his calf as if in comfort. He scratched her behind the ears with his other hand.

And they waited.

Person after person was called back. Roman did his best to wait like a good patient - or, rather, parent of the patient - but he ended up tapping his foot against the tiled floor of the waiting room. Sophie hadn't moved from her position on the floor next to him. It looked as if she had decided to take a nap, resting her head on her paws as her ribcage expanded with each breath. Well, at least she wasn't throwing up...

He wondered about the vet he was going to see. He knew that there were four who worked here, their names displayed outside underneath the hospital's sign. All he knew was that his vet's name was Dr. Hannah Knight.

Roman tried to focus on other things, but ultimately ended up watching the clock on the wall. The steady tick, tick wasn't as soothing as he'd thought it would be. Instead, the innocent noise rattled his nerves, along with the sounds of the animals around him.

He had been there thirty minutes so far.

Really, he shouldn't be angry. Waiting rooms were for waiting, after all, but all he wanted was to find out if his dog was dying or not. Because that was the worst case scenario, after all. As if sensing his worry, Sophie lifted herself from her lying position so she was sitting on her haunches. She exhaled a breath through her nose, as if she knew he was being silly. Roman gave her a smile and patted her on her head.

There was a little old woman with her parrot sitting next to him. The large bird was a variety of colors, red and yellow and green and blue. It squawked a random word every now and then, and just at that moment it decided to say, "Labradoodle."

Roman cringed so hard it was almost painful. Sophie laid her head on his thigh as if in comfort.

This was how it went for the next thirty minutes, but at least the lady with the parrot was called back so he didn't have to listen to that anymore.

Roman brought out his phone, contemplating updating his Twitter or texting Seth or Dean, but he didn't. He tried to play Angry Birds and was just about to beat the level when -

A ringing bell signified the door opening. Roman turned and saw the most curious sight he had laid eyes upon this entire time - and that included the little boy with the two-headed turtle.

A woman strode into the waiting room, a surfboard beneath one arm, long sandy blonde hair tousled from what Roman could presume was a day at the beach. He could actually see the collar of her wetsuit peaking beneath her clothes, which were otherwise professional and appropriate. She grinned at everyone in the room, and people smiled back. Clearly, they knew her, and she knew them, but Roman hadn't the faintest clue who she was.

That is, until Julie spoke up.

"Dr. Knight! So glad you're here!" And then she broke off into some jargon that Roman hadn't the faintest clue about.

And, really, after that first impression, Roman realized he hadn't the faintest clue about anything at all.

End Chapter Two.