A/N: Bobby, Evy, and Sam adopt another family member.
"Uncle Bobby?"
"Yeah, Baitfish?" Bobby said, stirring the pot of spaghetti on the stove.
"Can I talk to you about something?"
Uh oh, Bobby thought. This sounds serious. "Sure. Pull up a chair. What's going on?"
Evy pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and pulled herself into it. She was still too small to try and climb into them without some work, but Bobby had learned not to try to help her unless she asked for it. Such attempts were always met with a sharp but polite 'I can do it!'. Bobby kept one eye on the stove and one eye on her, and soon enough, she was in the seat facing him.
"I wanna ask you for something but I think you're gonna say no."
"Well, you can't know until you ask." Bobby said.
"Daddy always said no." Evy said.
That don't eliminate it none, Bobby thought. "What's going on, Baitfish?"
Evy sighed, preparing herself to be told 'no' again. "Can I get a puppy?"
Bobby stopped in his tracks. "A what?"
"A puppy." Evy said.
"Hang on a second, Baitfish." Bobby said, quickly draining the spaghetti in the sink. Once it was back in the pot, he asked, "Since when have you wanted a puppy?"
"Deanie took me to a petting zoo one day and they had a little puppy there. I played with it and wanted one for myself. I asked Daddy but he said no." Evy explained. "I asked him again and he got real mad at me."
Bobby sighed. "I don't know, Baitfish. A puppy's a lot of responsibility."
"What's that?" Evy asked.
"What's what?"
"Respon…responsib…that big word you said?" Evy asked.
"Responsibility." Bobby said slowly. "It means it's a lot for you to have to take care of. A puppy's a lot of work."
"I'd do it." Evy said. "I'd need some help, but I'd do it."
"I don't mind helping you. Sam wouldn't mind either. But you got to show me you can do it."
"How?" Evy asked.
"Well, you know how to make your bed by yourself, right?" Bobby asked, and Evy nodded. "Okay, you have to make your bed every morning, without being asked. You have to keep your room picked up without me asking you, you got to behave in school, and I'll come up with some other chores for you to do too. If you do all that with no complainin', I'll think about you getting' a puppy."
Evy smiled. "So if I do the chores you give me you promise you'll think about it?"
"Exactly."
Evy impressed not just Bobby, but Sam too. She did all her work at preschool, and brought home glowing notes about her behavior and how smart she was. She made her bed every morning, and even offered to make Sam's and Bobby's for them. She picked up things off the floor, washed the dishes every three nights, and even cleaned the bathroom one day. Finally, three weeks after setting down his offer, Bobby approached Sam.
"Sam? I want to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" Sam asked, putting his backpack down.
"What would you think about your sister getting a puppy?" Bobby asked.
"Is that what all the extra chores and stuff was about?"
"Yeah." Bobby said. "She asked me about a month ago if she could have a puppy. I told her she had to prove to me that she could help take care of things around the house."
"Well, she's definitely done that." Sam said. "She rearranged my closet yesterday."
Bobby laughed. "I guess that's a yes, then?"
"Yeah." Sam said with a smile. "I've always wanted a dog too."
"Sam…"
"I'm not asking for another one." Sam said. "But I think it'd be great. Thanks, Bobby." Evy's school bus pulled up outside the front door. "When do you want to go do it?"
"It's Friday afternoon. Why not today?" Bobby asked. "We'll go down to the shelter and adopt one."
"I'm home!" Evy shouted after she opened the front door.
"Hey, Baitfish. How was school?"
"Okay. We talked about our favorite animals and stuff." Evy said as she walked over to Bobby for a hug.
"Yeah? That sounds cool." Bobby answered, as Evy walked over to Sam for her hug from him.
"What'd you do in school, Sammy?"
"I read a couple books and talked about a science project I'm gonna work on." Sam said.
"Cool! Can I see it?"
"When I'm done with it, sure." Sam said. "Listen, me and uncle Bobby need to talk to you about something."
"Am I in trouble?" Evy asked.
"Why do you think that?"
"'Cause you two look really serious." Evy said.
Bobby laughed. "It's nothing like that, Baitfish."
"We've got something to tell you." Sam said. "We've been talking about you asking to get a dog."
"Oh." Evy said, shifting nervously. "And?"
"Well…" Sam said with a frown. "You want to tell her?"
"It's no, isn't it?" Evy asked. "You still think I'm not big enough."
"Actually, we were wondering if you were ready to go right now." Bobby said, barely managing to hid his grin.
It took Evy almost three full seconds to register what Bobby had just said, but when she did, her face lit up with a smile. "Really?"
"Really. We're gonna go to the pound and see about rescuing a dog." Bobby said.
"Rescuing him from what?" Evy asked innocently.
Bobby and Sam looked at each other warily, wondering how much to tell her. Sam ultimately decided on, "You see, Cricket, some dogs didn't have such a good life at their first home, so when they go to the pound they try to find people who will give them a good home."
"Like uncle Bobby did for us?" Evy asked.
Don't cry, ya idjit. Bobby thought to himself. "Exactly right, Baitfish."
"Cool. Let's go." Evy said.
"Backpack in your room." Sam reminded her gently.
Three hours later, Evy was home with a border collie named Buttercup. The five-year-old dog was a little older than Bobby had anticipated getting, but as Evy pointed out, 'I'll be five soon too, Buttercup.' Buttercup fit in perfectly with Sam and Evy. With Sam, she begged to be petted and scratched, and with Evy, she would jump just behind Evy's back, making Evy turn to say 'peek-a-boo', before running around to Evy's front. Bobby had seen Evy happy before, but the pure joy in her face made every penny he spent on the dog worth it and more.
"You happy, Baitfish?"
Evy jumped up from the living room floor where she was playing with Buttercup and grabbed Bobby around the waist. "You're the best, uncle Bobby! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome, Baitfish. But it's just about time for bed."
"Awww!" Evy protested. "But we got a new family member! One more hour, please?"
Bobby laughed. "Another hour?"
"Please?" Evy begged again, putting her hands together for emphasis.
"Alright, alright."
"Cricket? This is the only night you get to stay up for an extra hour. Understand?" Sam asked.
"I understand." Evy said. "Thank you."
"Go. Go play with Buttercup."
As Evy ran off, Bobby turned to Sam and said, "Sam, I love you, but you don't have to be the parent anymore."
Sam blushed. "Sorry. Old habit."
"I know. It's okay. Go on, I know you want to play too."
Sam smiled, and Bobby watched the two of them play well past the hour that he'd told Evy she could stay up. They ended up falling asleep on the couch together, Buttercup sleeping between the two of them. Rather than navigating the impossible task of getting the three of them to bed without waking up Evy, Bobby simply retrieved a large fleece blanket from the closet and wrapped it over them.
"Good night, you two." He said quietly. "Bobby loves you. Both of you." Buttercup let out a whimper and looked up from between Evy. "You two, pretty girl."