Here's another chapter! I'm sorry it's been a while, but I hope you enjoy. Please leave me a comment about what you think, I love hearing from you guys and I respond to every single one of them. I hope you enjoy!

Stay sissy and bitchy everyone!

The rain came down with a gentle pitter-patter on the front screen of the car as they drove down the mostly deserted road. Every so often, another car would drive by them, causing dirty rainwater to splash up onto the window. Peter had one of his legs pulled up underneath him, supporting his quickly growing baby bump, which he could no longer easily hide under his hoodie. The gentle song on the radio relaxed him, causing him to lean back against the seat, taking deep breaths.

"You doing okay, kid?" Stephan asked as he flicked the turn signal on.

"Yeah, I'm better than ever," Peter smiled, blatantly lying to the older man. A small pain erupted in his pelvic bone, an aching awful pain slightly similar to the one that he had had when his hips had been expanding. They stayed silent for the rest of the trip, instead just choosing to listen to the radio. The car sloshed it's way to the local animal shelter that was just outside of town, and as soon as Peter saw it he felt his heart flutter with excitement.

They both entered the animal shelter silently, Peter grinning like an idiot as he walked up to the counter. "How can I help you?" the woman asked, looking up from her computer monitor with a bright smile.

"We're looking for a dog to adopt," Peter answered.

"Alright, well, I'm going to need both of you to fill out this form, and then you can go through to the dog room, which is through that door," she joyously explained. She slid the form across to both of them as she had finished pointing to a brightly colored blue door. Peter nodded as he grabbed the provided pen, filling out the form as fast as he could. Stephan finished soon after, smirking a small bit as he saw how eager the superpowered teenager was.

As soon as they had entered the room, all of the dogs began to bark loudly, all trying to get the attention of the new arrivals. "Woah," Peter said, faltering for a minute as the sudden loud noise overwhelmed him. He quickly recovered and then continued in, eagerly walking down one of the rows of kennels.

He stopped in front of one of the only quiet kennels, looking at one of the only quiet dogs in the entire room. The dog had faded yellow fur, which was growing back in a couple places. They had hurt blue eyes as they looked at Peter, but after a moment, they walked over to him and began to wag their tail. "Hey there," Peter paused before he tacked on a pronoun, looking up to the dog's info paper. "Girl," he finished with a dopey grin.

She barked playfully at him, though instead of being a sharp noise, it was soft and sweet. "Who's this?" Stephan asked as he walked up behind his stepson.

"Her name is Adre," he said, reading it from the sheet. "She's the sweetest thing," he cooed, turning back to the dog, who was pressing herself up to the grate so that she could get as close to Peter as possible.

"Do you want to ask to meet her?" Stephan asked, running a hand underneath his stomach.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly. He shot up to his feet, only to have to grip the metal of the kennel for a moment as his vision turned black.

His ears rang for a moment as he felt Stephan place a hand on his arm. "-eter? Peter? Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," he breathed, taking in as much air as he could through his mouth and letting it out as slowly as he could. "I think I just stood up too quickly."

"If you're sure," Stephan said, he placed his hand over the teenager's stomach, doing a quick check to make sure that the baby was alright. "Everything seems to be alright with the baby."

"That's good," Peter smiled, removing his hand from the support as he ran it over his growing baby bump. "Especially considering that they still haven't moved."

"Not all babies move enough for their mother or father to be able to feel them," Stephan reminded him as they both slowly made their way up to the door, getting barked at once again as they did so.

"I know, but that doesn't make me worry any less," he sighed. He walked back up to the counter, waiting for a moment before the woman looked back up to them. "Could we visit with Adre?"

"Yes, of course," she smiled. "We'll have you wait in this room and then you can meet her right away!" She beamed as she showed them into the small visitation room that had dog treats and toys on a shelf in the corner. Peter sat down heavily on one of the uncomfortable wooden benches, happy to be off of his feet.

They waited a few moments in silence before the woman returned back with the yellow-lab. "Hi, there!" Peter said as she rushed up to him. She placed her head on his stomach, wagging her tail back and forth so hard that it hit the wall behind them.

"We think she's around three years old," the woman began to speak. "We're not sure though, but we do know that she's young, at least."

"Why are parts of her fur shorter than others," Stephan asked as the dog came up to him, giving his hand a few licks before she returned back to Peter who began adamantly petting her.

"She was used as a guard dog in her last home, though there is no way in any world that she would be able to hurt someone on purpose," the woman sighed. "Some other dog tore her nearly to pieces, and we were shocked that she pulled through."

"I'm glad she did," Peter smiled. "She's so sweet."

"Is this the one?" Stephan asked the boy, a slight smirk resting on his lips. Peter only nodded as he leaned down to give the dog a kiss on the head, though he just barely managed to do so because of his baby bump.

"Is this everyone that lives in your house?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Stephan nodded.

"We just like to make sure so that everyone can agree upon adopting the pet. There is a fifty dollar fee due to the fact that we have to provide vaccinations for every animal as well as spaying and neutering them all," she explained.

"That makes sense," Peter nodded. Stephan stood from his seat and walked out of the meeting room, walking away with the woman back up to the desk. Peter continued to rub the soft, velvety fur that coated the dog's ears. "You're a good girl, aren't you?"

The dog responded by nuzzling her snout into his stomach, making a happy huffing noise as she did so. "You know there's a baby in there, huh?" he asked, running his hand over her head. Soon, Stephan and the woman returned with several papers in hand. Stephan entered the meeting room and swiftly clipped a leash to Adre's collar, causing her to turn to him.

"Now, she shouldn't get carsick, but just in case, there is a paragraph in the pamphlet about how to clean it up," the woman said. "We can have some of the volunteers run the dog bed and food out to your car if you like."

"I would very much appreciate that," Stephan smiled, running a hand over his stomach.

"She should be wonderful with children just so you know," the woman said, her eyes sparkling. "Congratulations to you both, by the way."

Peter blushed, "Thank you." The woman just smiled before she walked back to her desk, handing the rest of the paperwork to Stephan

Soon, they were back in the car, this time they had the perfect dog for them in the back seat. "I don't think the name Adre fits her," Peter said, worrying his lip in between his teeth.

"Me neither," Stephan said, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove through the semi-busy street to their local pet shop.

"I kind of like the name Charlie," Peter suggested.

Stephan shook his head. "What about Honey?"

"There's a YouTuber with a dog named Honey," Peter said. "What about Sandy?"

"No."

"What's your name, girl?" Peter asked, amusement settling into his voice as he turned around to face the dog. She lifted her head and began to wag her tail as she saw his face. "You always look so happy," he hummed.

"What if we called her Joy?" Stephan said suddenly.

"That's perfect!" Peter said, his face lighting up happily. "Huh, Joy?" he said, turning around. As soon as the dog heard her new name she wagged her tail harder, standing up in the back of the car as she moved over to lick his face.

"I think she likes it," the older male said, amusement creeping into his voice.

"Yeah," Peter laughed. "I think you like it, huh, Joy?"

The trip home seemed to go much faster than the trip into town, despite them having loads of dog equipment, and groceries in the back of the car. Peter was turned around for a long period of the trip, petting Joy's head happily. He only turned back after nausea began to take over his being. He gripped the armrests of his seat as he swallowed hard, trying to keep down his lunch. He managed to last until they were home, only then did he near through himself out of the car to vomit in the ferns that lined their driveway.

Joy leaped out of the car after Peter, leaning into her new master as she whimpered concernedly. "I'm okay, girl," he told her after he had finished gagging.

"You sure?" Stephan asked. Peter nodded, standing up slowly as he placed a hand underneath his belly. He waited another moment before he walked back over to where the other superhero was, picking up some of the groceries and taking them inside with Joy.

He scrambled around the kitchen as best he could while he put away the groceries. Joy woofed gently at him as he finished putting the last of the contents of the bags away. "You hungry, girl?" he asked the dog, causing her to let out another one of her gentle barks. "I'll take that as a yes, then." Peter walked back out to the car, gathering up the dog food as he walked slowly back to the house with Stephan.

Peter filled her bowl to the brim and set it down in front of her before he collapsed down onto his bed, completely exhausted. Stephan slowly moved around the kitchen, putting the rest of the groceries away. After he had finished, Joy had finished her meal and had explored the entire house. The superhero turned around the corner, allowing himself to look over his stepson, his face melted into a smile as he saw the labrador protectively laying her head over Peter's baby bump as he slept.

"You really are the one, aren't you Joy?" he mused, petting her soft, velvety ears.