"I'll be right back." Velma said to Shaggy. "I've got to check on Joe." Then, she disappeared through the house.
Oh boy.
"C'mon Shaggy." Daphne said from the couch. "Have a seat." She patted the cushion next to her.
Absentmindly, Shaggy wandered over to the couch and dropped down on it. He noticed that Daphne was looking over a paper that had two columns with some things crossed out. In one column, he saw: Olivia Velma, Lacey Renee, Elizabeth, Josie and other that were marked through. The other only had a few: Maximillian Norville, Freddie Jr., and others were lined out.
Shaggy figured that they were trying to decide on baby names, but weren't sure what gender the baby was yet.
"Oh…Good morning, Shaggy." Fred said, sounding rather tired, as he appeared from the hallway that that had just went into a moment before. Shaggy put on a smile and waved at Fred. Then, Fred went on to another room that Shaggy remembered to be the kitchen.
Like, come on, man. Wake up, Shaggy. You never should have thought that someone like her would be overlooked. Shaggy thought to himself. Then, he shook the thought away.
"Hey, Freddie." Shaggy called out as he got up from his seat. "Like, what's for breakfast?" he asked with a dry laugh as he made his way to follow Fred.
A loud barking roared from the back of the house. The sound caused Shaggy to jump up and fall down on the floor.
"Look out!" Velma's voice shouted through the house.
Shaggy had just gotten himself propped up on his elbows when a golden Labrador retriever came flying at him. The dog knocked him back down and started barking at him.
"Help!" Shaggy yelped with his arms up, protecting his face.
"Oh, Joe!" Velma said in an exasperated tone. "Josephine!" she said a little louder. "Stop it!"
Immediately, the dog ceased barking at Shaggy, but continued to stand over him.
"Now come here, Josephine." Velma said with a stomp.
The dog growled at Shaggy one last time. Then, slowly, she walked over to Velma, not taking her eyes off Shaggy.
"Good girl." Velma said as she patted the dog on the head. Josephine finally looked away from Shaggy and playfully licked her owner's hand. "Shaggy, meet Josephine." Velma said with a smile. The dog was happily wagging its tail.
"What's all the commo-oh." Fred said as he returned from the kitchen with a spatula in his hand. His eyes shifted at the scene before him. Shaggy laying dumbstruck on the floor and Josephine next to Velma.
Daphne's laughing broke the short silence in the room.
"She-she did-the-the same thing-to-to Freddie!" she said between laughs.
"Yeah, it only took five minutes to get her off of me." Fred mumbled as a response as he crossed his arms across his chest. He shook his head at the unpleasant memory. Then, he turned around and went back to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Shaggy." Velma said sheepishly.
It took Shaggy a moment to compose himself. She's just so cute.
"Like, no harm done, Velms." he replied with a smile. Shaggy got up off the ground and dusted himself off.
"Hey!" Daphne exclaimed, apparently finished with her giggle fit. "Why don't you two take Josephine and Scooby out walking together?"
"That's an excellent idea, Daphne." Velma said. She smiled (which caused Shaggy's knees to get weak). "It will be a good chance for the two to get to know each other and let Joe get to know the area as well." Then, she turned to Shaggy. "Just give us a few minutes."
Shaggy nodded. Velma and the dog went back through the house. Shaggy couldn't help but to let his eyes follow her as she left.
"You're welcome, Shaggy." Daphne said with a chuckle. He hadn't realized that she had gotten up and was standing right next to him. Then, she patted him on the back and followed where had gone into the kitchen. "Freddie, do we have any watermelon?" she asked as she disappeared from view.
Shaggy felt confused about what Daphne had said to him. Then again, a lot of things that she had said lately was confusing. Shaggy got lost in his thoughts.
"-aggy?" Velma's voice broke through his train of thought.
"Wha- what?" Shaggy stuttered nervously.
"Ha ha. I was just asking if you were ready to go or if you wanted to stay and eat here."
"Uh, we can go." he answered, pointing over his shoulder towards the door. "I'm sure that Scooby already made brunch and is working on lunch by now."
Shaggy couldn't help noticing Velma's change of wardrobe. She had pulled her long, dark hair back into a ponytail, leaving some down to frame her face. She had an orange t-shirt and red shorts on. She was carrying a dark backpack that looked like it had N.A.S.A.'s logo embroidered on it.
"Sounds good to me." Velma replied. Then, she put the bag down. (It did have the logo on it.) She rummaged around until she pulled out an orange leash, which she attempted to clip to a collar that was hidden beneath Josephine's tufts of yellow fur. All the while, the dog tried to lick Velma's face.
"Ha ha. Joe, stop it." Velma laughed. She finally was able to get the leash on. "Alright," she said as she stood up. "Let's go." Then, Velma walked over to the door.
Shaggy smiled and followed her. He let out a sigh of relief. Joe was just a dog. And he got some more time with Velma.
Hey everyone! I want to thank you all for having patience! Ugh! My writing muses left me for the longest and all my characters were just sitting around and not doing anything. Velma always had her nose crammed in a book, Fred and Daphne were just being lovey-dovey, and Shaggy and Scooby wouldn't leave the all-you-ca-eat buffet long enough to make more of a story for you guys! Hopefully now, we can get back on track.
And I put all the suggestions for baby names in the story. We still are not sure of the gender, so suggestions are still being taken. I'll put up a poll when we get closer to deciding.
Again, thanks for sticking around and encouraging me to keep on!
