A/N: I'm actually a little worried about this one, it's shorter that the past couple have been and it's first person narrative. Anyone who knows me will know that I avoid it like the plague but hey, I did say I was going to try and challenge myself...

I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to review so far, you're all too kind. Someone mentioned that they would like to see more Densi in this via a review so I thought I'd address that publicly here; there will be more Densi in this fic, I do have several chapter devoted to them but as I am first and foremost a Neric shipper most chapter will feature the Neric pairing. I really hope that doesn't put anyone off of this story but I thought it would be best to clear that up now.

Also, this weekend I'm not going to be able to post anything, that's why I'm giving you two chapters today and two on Monday. Enjoy!

7 - Fur

He still doesn't know what she named her dog and if Nell has her way, he never will.

"Eric!" I called out, chasing after the small puppy across the beach and watching as my best friend dived on to the sand, trying to catch the energetic canine.

Eventually, Eric sat up, holding the Jack Russell/Terrier cross in his arms like a baby, waiting for me to reattach the lead to the harness before we stood up and carried on walking along the pier. Today's obedience lesson was over.

Two weeks ago, Eric showed up at my apartment with coffee and a bearclaw, letting me know he'd decided what we were doing with our Sunday. He'd been doing that a lot recently, planning strange days out for the two of us or just showing up with a bag full of movies and a pack of Oreos. Honestly, I wasn't going to complain, I enjoyed spending time with Eric and it gave me something to look forward too during the week.

And if, occasionally, it felt more like a date than two co-workers and friends just hanging out together then that was just a happy little side-effect.

Anyway, two weeks ago, Eric turns up at my place and tells me that we're heading to the pier where there was some animal adoption agency trying to advertise themselves and encourage people to adopt.

So there we were, walking around and looking at all the cute little animals while I was holding Eric's hand. If he noticed or cared then he did a pretty good job of hiding it. If anyone else asked I was simply holding on to my partner to make sure we didn't get separated in the crowd and that lacing our fingers together was purely in the interest of safety. Obviously.

Eric was loving it; the man was practically bouncing from one pen to another and pretending that the animals were talking to me, giving each pet a different voice and pulling ridiculous faces while doing so, trying to get me to smile

It worked.

There was this one pen full of cross-breeds and one of them was rolling around and just generally being exceptionally cute. I let go of Eric to pick one of the puppies up and couldn't help but laugh at the mop of fur on the little guys head, almost mimicking the curls my own partner sported. The woman who was watching the pups told us that he was the runt of the litter and Eric made some sort of joke about him being so tiny, much like myself. I wasn't really listening to any of this though, I was focused on the dog wriggling around in my arms and the way that Eric had wrapped on of his own arms around my waist and was petting the bundle of fur.

Next thing I know, Eric's trying to convince me to adopt the little guy, claiming that if I had a dog in LA, I'd have to settle down in LA.

I know that he's still worried I'm going to leave the team after our last case; I'd gone undercover at another think-tank, one that had been hounding me to join for longer than I cared to remember. Things had taken a turn for the worse and I'd ended up tied to a chair with a gun against my neck. I'd panicked afterwards when I'd finally made it back to the Mission and was safe and for some stupid reason told Eric that I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep doing 'this'. At that point, I really wasn't sure if I meant field work, the job all together or whatever was going on between my partner and myself. Eric just hugged me tighter, his hand coming up to tangle his fingers in my hair and pressing a quick kiss to my temple, something he'd been doing more often lately, and kept telling me that I was okay now, I was safe and that he'd never let anything happen to me again.

But, yeah, that's how I ended up with a new puppy. That's probably a terrible initial reason to get any animal but, honestly, I doubt Eric would have been able to persuade me as well as he did if some part of me didn't want a puppy. Eric's agreed to help me train the little rascal which means that he's over at my place more often which is nice.

"You should really name the little guy, it would make this all easier if we have to catch him again next time."

It took me a moment to realise that my partner had even spoken and another few second to comprehend what he'd said.

"It's got to be perfect though, I can't call him something I'll regret in a year or two," I answered smiling up at him.

"Uh-huh, I just think you're indecisive," Eric joked as his arm found its way around my middle, pulling me closer to him as we walked along.

Eric doesn't know that I have named the little puppy though; it was the first night after I'd adopted him and Eric was sprawled out on the sofa with the dog sat on his chest. I was standing in the doorway watching them and started laughing when they'd looked up at me before jumping up to greet me, completely in sync. They were both so excitable and irritating and adorable...

No, Eric doesn't know that I have named the puppy but I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to hide it from him.

How exactly do you explain to your best friend that your new dog is also called Eric?

A/N2: And now I anxiously await your thoughts...