As he comes in the back door, Micah notes the house is unusually quiet for a Saturday morning. He's been away from home for a little over 24 hours, having been called in for a fairly complex emergency surgery at the end of his shift yesterday. The lingering smell of pancakes in the air causes his stomach to growl, reminding him it has been a long time since he has eaten anything. Entering the kitchen, he finds his family clustered at the table, peering intently at a computer screen.

"What are you doing?" he asks casually.

Three heads turn immediately at the sound of his voice, greeting him warmly with bright smiles and words of welcome.

"We're getting a dog!" his son announces happily as a mini version of Emily launches herself at Micah, clasping him tightly around the legs.

"Oh, really?" asks Micah in surprise, looking at Emily as he returns his daughter's embrace with one arm.

"Sweetie, I didn't say that." admonishes a flustered Emily. "I didn't actually say that." She says again to Micah. "How did the surgery go? Are you hungry? There's a plate of pancakes for you in the fridge."

He recognizes the attempt at evasion and laughs at her while disentangling himself from their daughter's arms and making his way to the other side of the kitchen.

"You're not getting out of this that easily." he says. "When exactly did we decide to get a dog?"

"Well…." says Emily slowly. "It came up last night at dinner, and I said it is important to do a lot of thorough research before you buy a pet because it is going to be a member of your family. So, this morning, we started looking up some information."

Micah nods thoughtfully as he opens the refrigerator and takes out a carefully wrapped plate.

"They're blueberry" Emily supplies, getting up from her seat at the table to unload the dishwasher.

"So what have you found?" Micah asks once his meal is reheating in the microwave.

"Buddy!" says mini-Emily excitedly, pointing to the computer screen.

Micah comes over to look at the image of a young Labrador Retriever they have pulled up on one of the Denver animal shelter websites.

"Mom made us answer a bunch of questions about what kind of dog we should get, and we like this one best." His son explains.

Micah immediately turns back to Emily and quirks an eyebrow at her.

"We took a few online surveys to see what kinds of dogs fit our family, and then we did some looking around to see how many of them we could find locally." She says, seemingly too busy with her task to meet his eyes. "As it turns out, Buddy is currently available for adoption."

"And all this happened this morning? Well, I'm glad to know we're being careful about not rushing into anything." Micah says teasingly, as Emily comes back over to set a place for him at the table.

"Does that mean we can go get Buddy today?" asks their son, hopefully.

"Today?!" Micah squeaks, unable to mask his shock at this sudden revelation of their timetable.

"The website says change-over happens quickly, and if you see an animal you like, you should call. We don't really have anything else going on today…" Emily trails off with a shrug as she moves back to the microwave for the pancakes.

Micah sighs and rubs his face with his hands, unsure whether to laugh or cry at how out of control his life is feeling at the moment. He wishes he had snuck in a few more hours of sleep at the hospital.

It's clear from the furrow in Emily's brow that this was not the reaction she had been expecting from him. "I thought you said you have always wanted a dog?" she asks in confusion.

It's true. Micah loves dogs. As a child, "dog" had consistently been at the top of every birthday and Christmas list between the ages of 4 and 14. He had only stopped asking when he finally realized his mother's customary "maybe next year" response actually meant "no".

"Emily" says Micah quietly. "I'm not saying 'no' to a dog, it's just...I just walked in the door. Don't you think we could discuss this for a few more days? You know, look before we leap?" He hopes he doesn't sound too much like he's begging.

"What if someone else gets Buddy?" asks their son in alarm. He's been quietly listening to his parents talk, and disappointment is beginning to show in his face.

"That's always a possibility, sweetheart" says Emily, gently. "Even if we go today, we may decide Buddy would be happier with another family. But Micah," she says, turning her attention back to her husband and pushing the computer closer. "Did you really look at him? Just take a minute and look at those eyes."

Micah dutifully stares at the dog on the screen for a moment, considering. When he looks back at Emily, she is looking back at him with eyes that seem to have grown three sizes.

He looks away quickly.

"Oh-no." he laughs in exasperation. "Don't even think about using your puppy dog eyes on me."

"Please, Daddy?" he hears his daughter ask.

When Micah turns back towards his family, he can't help but groan. Two smaller versions of Emily's sad eyes, one blue and one brown, have joined her in looking at him longingly.

His eyes focus back on Emily as he makes one final, silent plea with her to be rational.

Instead, he hears the voice of his son.

"Please, Dad?"

Micah sighs in defeat, looking from the dog on the computer, to the clock, and finally back to his family.

"Do you think you should call to see if he's actually still available?" Micah asks.

"I did that 40 minutes ago." Emily admits guiltily. "They are hoping to see us before noon."

"Just let me finish my breakfast." he tells her in resignation, finally moving to sit at the place that has been set for him at the table.

The children let out an excited cheer as his daughter rushes over to hug him again.

"So now will you tell me about the surgery?" Emily asks happily, plopping into the chair beside him as the children simultaneously begin recounting the highlights of the past 24 hours and all the wonderful adventures they are going to have with their new dog, Buddy.

"THIS sounds more like Saturday morning" thinks Micah as he deliberately fills his mouth with food. If he doesn't eat now, he might not get another chance.