Silence finally filled the house as the cries from the puppy died down and he fell into an inevitable sleep. The glare that Emily had been receiving from Alison as they led in bed trying to fall to sleep themselves slowly softened and the blonde snuggled in closer to her girlfriends chest. Emily had been given the lecture of why buying a puppy was something that they should of discussed together but after an apology and Emily holding the ball of fluff in her hands whilst cooing about how cute he was Alison had finally given in and agreed that he was indeed cute and that he could stay, not that she would of ever kicked him out in the first place.
Pepe was currently shut in the kitchen curled up in the slightly too big and very cosy bed that Emily had bought for him. After initially bringing the sheltie cross into the house the brunette returned to her car and brought in the supplies for him, his food now stored in one of the kitchen cupboards and his toys that included a soft toy and a tennis ball were on the floor besides his bed.
Noah was absolutely besotted with the small puppy and they hadn't left each other's side since the new addition had been welcomed into the family. The young boy had been reluctantly put to bed and after Emily had finally wrestled him away from Pepe and upstairs into his room he soon fell asleep amidst a pile of his new soft toys after all the excitement he had endured that day.
The adults had stayed up for several more hours relaxing whilst watching a movie and purely enjoying one another's company. Pam had been the first to leave and an hour or so later the three girls and Caleb also departed. Emily had quickly tidied up the living room and gathered up all of Noah's new toys before putting them in an unorganised pile beside the Christmas tree before she gathered up the tiny bundle of fluff that was Pepe in her arms and took him into the kitchen where he was to spend the night.
Shutting off the lights Emily had shut the door or at least tried however Pepe had ran past her legs and scurried back into the living room. Emily followed the puppy and had to stifle a laugh as she found him hiding behind Alison's legs as she stood with a raised eyebrow aimed at the brunette.
"He'll behave, that's what you said wasn't it?" Alison questioned before bending down and picking the puppy up in her arms.
She walked past Emily and strode into the kitchen where she placed Pepe back on his bed and gave him a firm "stay" before turning on her heels and leaving the kitchen. The puppy didn't make one attempt to move and just sat there watching the blonde leave before the door was closed and he was successfully shut in for the night.
Emily had stood there with a look of bemusement on her face as she watched the entire interaction before sullenly following behind Alison as they had headed up the stairs and got into bed. It was mere minutes later when Pepe began to cry and the high pitched sound filled the house. It had carried on for several hours and although neither of the women could fall asleep they both knew they had to let nature run its course and leave the puppy to settle by himself.
Emily had try to slink out of the bed on several occasions only to be stopped by a firm hand on her arm and Alison's "stop being so soft, he's fine". The brunette had nodded in agreement before opening her arms and allowing the blonde to snuggle into her chest where they stayed until the cries from Pepe finally died down.
When they finally awoke they made their way downstairs together after getting themselves dressed. Emily had gone into Noah's room whilst Alison finished off her hair and makeup but was slightly stunned to find the young boy not in his room. He was normally a deep sleeper and slept until awoken however on occasion they would find him downstairs before them watching tv or playing with his toys.
Today Emily found him on the sofa watching tv but with a slight difference, on his lap asleep in a little ball was Pepe. Emily found the sight adorable and instantly found her phone and took a photo, Noah smiled up at her when he noticed her presence but was reluctant to move because he didn't want to wake the sleeping dog. Emily beckoned Alison in to the living room as the blonde walked back out from the kitchen.
The frown that was upon Alison's face lifted momentarily as she took in the scene before her however once she caught Emilys attention she raised her eyebrow and Emily followed behind her as she turned and left the room.
"Isn't there supposed to be a mess in here or something?" Alison asked as they entered the kitchen, a complete look of bewilderment on her face.
"I told you he was a good boy" Emily retorted with a smirk. "However I better take him outside before he makes a mess in the living room.
Emily returned to the kitchen with Pepe slowly waking up in her arms, unsure of how desperate the little puppy would be she carried him outside rather than letting him figure it out for himself. They had plenty of time to get him house trained. Noah followed the pair in and stretched his arms out whilst yawning, he made his way over to Alison and hugged her before she picked him up and placed him on the counter whilst she prepared breakfast for the three of them.
Alison made her delicious pancakes once more, they were Emily and Noah's favourite way to start the morning and seeing as it was Boxing Day Alison was more than happy to oblige. They sat around the table in relative silence as they ate breakfast together. Emily had to tell Noah to slow down as he attempted to shovel down his food as quickly as possible and that he could play with Pepe once all three of them had finished their meals. Pepe behaved well once again and sat in his bed waiting for them all to finish, he didn't beg for food once and Emily couldn't quite wipe the smug look off her face before Alison noticed.
"If you think for one second his good behaviour has anything to do with you then you can think again" the blonde murmured quietly enough so that Noah couldn't hear her.
"I just picked the perfect puppy admit it" Emily baited waiting for Alison to retaliate.
The blonde however decided to be the bigger person (she would get Emily back later when she least expected it) and moved the topic of conversation onto the days activities they had planned. Noah's eyes lit up when Alison suggest a family walk with the Sheltie before they headed next door to Spencer's for another afternoon and evening with all their friends. This was definitely her favourite Christmas she'd had ever, and with their growing family everything was perfect.
Once everyone was washed and dressed Emily clipped the lead onto Pepe's collar and handed the lead over to Noah who was wearing his wellies, scarf, gloves and coat. The snow was still settled on the ground and they were lucky they didn't need to drive anywhere as the roads were still blocked from last nights snowfall with the snowplough drivers off for Christmas.
The three of them headed out into the cold and it was surprisingly bright outside. They decided to head in the direction of Pam's house for a surprise visit knowing full well that they would need a hot drink to warm themselves up very shortly. Noah and Pepe led the way with the small boy running along with his trusted puppy following behind at his heels.
Emily and Alison walked behind hand in hand and they both felt completely at ease in this new domesticated life they had built together. Unbeknownst to Alison who was happily walking along lost in her thoughts Emily had dragged her hand along a neighbours wall and collected a ball of snow, seconds later she swung her hand in Alison's direction and got the blonde directly in the face before letting go of her hand and running away as fast as she could.
"Emily!" Alison screamed after her as the brunette had to stop running so that she could bend over and laugh properly.
By that point Emilys family house had come into view and as Alison closed the gap between them Emily took off running once more and Noah followed behind trying his hardest to keep up. By the time Alison reached the Fields residence Emily and Noah were sat on the sofa with cups of hot chocolate in their hands. Alison scowled at Emily as she entered but sat beside her girlfriend anyway, Emily pulled her into a tight one armed embrace and placed a kiss on the top of Alison's head.
Their coats and scarves hung above the radiator in the hall warming up before their inevitable departure and Pam entered the living room with a cup of hot chocolate for Alison and Pepe ran in behind her and led on the floor besides Alison's feet.
"He seems to have take a liking to you, is the feeling returned?" Pam asked as she passed the cup over to the blonde.
"He's growing on me. He's surprisingly well behaved but I don't know if that's just because he's getting used to his new surroundings"
Pam nodded in agreement before taking her seat in the chair besides Alison's end of the sofa and they all fell into comfortable conversation whilst Noah had his eyes glued to the tv. The young boy ended up sliding off of the sofa and Pepe wandered over to where he was now sitting on the floor and led across the boys lap.
Emily took another photo of the two of them and uploaded it to Instagram along with the one from earlier that morning.
My two boys ❤️ #mansbestfriend #noahandpepe #xmaspuppy #family
The photo was almost instantly liked by Hanna who commented:
So cute! Hope you're bringing my bestie and fluffy to Spencer's! Xx
It was quickly followed by comments and likes from Aria, Spencer and some of her work colleagues and Emily smiled at their words before putting her phone away and refocusing back in on the conversation her mother and Alison were having.
They ended up staying round Pam's for lunch and she managed to rustle up a cottage pie seemingly out of thin air. It was prepared and cooked in no time at all and they were sat around the dining room table enjoying the meal together. Pepe was left asleep on the floor in the living room where he had spent the best part of the day. Pam was still reluctant when it came to the Sheltie pup but she never had been much of an animal enthusiast, Emily could remember asking multiple times for any type of pet and always receiving a flat out no without any explanation.
That was partly why Emily had been so determined to bring a puppy into their home, not only with Noah's response to Hanna's questions earlier in the year but also due to the lack of having her own pet as a child. Alison had also been raised in a pet free home but the difference being that she never felt the need to ask for one, she was quite happy without one. That being said she was quickly bonding with the little ball of fluff that she could call her own, not that she would admit that to Emily. She was still determined to make Emily feel bad for not discussing the idea of buying a dog with her first.
They soon found themselves in Spencer's living room conversing with one another whilst home alone played in the background. Emily was sat on the floor, her back against the sofa with Noah asleep in her arms. As the night drew in the little boy found it harder and harder to keep his eyes open and soon succumbed to sleep in the safety of his mothers embrace. Alison sat on the sofa behind them with Pepe once more choosing to sit with her and Hanna and Caleb shared the same sofa with them whilst Aria and Spencer snuggled together on the two seater adjacent to them.
There were blankets covering them and bowls of crisps and sweets lay scattered around the room just in reach of them all. The Christmas holiday finally coming to an end and what better way for it to finish than with them all together once more. The roads were still blocked and they'd agreed it would be safer for them to all stay the night and have a sleepover like old times. But unlike old times they all found themselves yawning and drifting in and out of sleep before the clock had even reached eleven.
Work started for them all on Monday and there was a reluctance shared between them about resuming work for only a couple of days before it was New Year's Eve and they'd be heading to New York. Emily still had no idea that everyone would be joining her and Alison on the trip and to keep it a secret for as long as possible the others would all be getting on their separate flight two hours after the couple. Alison was excited to see the brunettes reaction when the realisation hit her.
When Noah woke up he quickly noticed that all the adults were asleep around him, the only other person awake was Pepe and the puppy had his eyes fixed on the young boy, watching his every move. Noah slid out of Emilys arms careful not to wake his Mummy and padded across the floor and into the kitchen. Once there he stretched his little arms out and yawned quietly before jumping slightly when he felt Pepe nudge his legs. He smiled goofily at the Sheltie and wandered over to the back door to open it so that the dog could relieve himself outside.
Once the door was open he went quietly to the hallway and put on his shoes, he was unable to reach his coat that was hung up on the wall and decided to go outside without it. Following after the young puppy that was bounding through the snow they soon lost sight of the house as they made their way through the woods that backed on to Spencer's backyard. Although having their backs towards the house meant neither of them realised just how far they had wandered.
It wasn't long before Noah noticed how cold it actually was outside and as he started to shiver he called Pepe so that they could head back inside. But the puppy didn't listen to his calls and just kept running off away from him, he thought it was a game that the young boy was trying to play with him. When Noah finally caught up to Pepe he picked the ball of fluff up in his arms and turned around but it was then that he realised he could no longer see the house and had no idea which direction it was in. Pepe had made him run in circles and he had lost all sense of where he was or which way he had come from.
His heart rate accelerated as he began to panic, he was scared that he would get into trouble and he had only wanted to help by letting the dog out without waking up the adults. The wind was picking up around him and a few drops of snow began to fall as the young boys panic increased. Holding the puppy close to his chest for warmth he noticed the footprints he had left on the ground and began to follow them in an attempt to make his way home.
The snow however had other ideas and within minutes it was so heavy that Noah's line of sight was obscured and his footprints began to disappear. He was shaking uncontrollably due to the cold and tears slipped down his face as he silently cried knowing that he was well and truly lost. All he wanted was his Mummy and as he began to cry out in hopes that she was trying to find him Pepe began to whine as well, the puppy instantly noticing the little boys distress.
Noah grew too cold to continue walking and had to sit beneath a tree as he tried to shelter himself from the wind and snow, Pepe didn't move either as even with his fur coat on he was beginning to feel the effects of the harsh winter weather. Curling up into a tight ball with his legs tucked up against his chest and his head bowed down the young boy began to give up hope of being found.
Back in the house the adults began to stir as the cold wind had made its way through the open door and into the house. Hanna was the first to wake up as she began to shiver and she instantly went to find out the source of the cold. Upon finding the back door open she closed it whilst still only half awake before walking back and settling down on the couch once more. Only seconds ticked by before she jumped up from the couch waking both Alison and Caleb with her sudden movement and she scanned her immediate vicinity.
"Where's Noah and Pepe?" Hanna asked allowed but not aiming the question at anyone in particular.
Her thoughts went back to the door she had just closed and she ran back into the kitchen before throwing open the door and checking the back yard for any signs of the young boy and his puppy. Any signs of footprints that may have helped her were long gone as the blizzard unrelentingly raged on. She made her way back into the living room where Alison was coming to terms with the words that had left the other blondes lips only moments before hand and as Hanna explained about finding the backdoor open and not seeing any signs of Noah outside.
The others were all awoken moments later and once they realised that both Noah and Pepe were missing and that the young boys shoes were also gone they quickly wrapped up in scarves and coats before heading out into the back yard. When they had determined that Noah was not in the confines of the backyard they broadened their search to the woods that lay beyond the garden edge.
They had split into pairs in order to cover more ground. They stuck in partners and took off in three different directions all calling out Noah's name loudly but with the wind and snow their voices didn't travel far and it wasn't long before they could no longer hear one another and it had been even shorter from when they could see each other.
Alison held Emilys hand tightly in her own and she tried to keep up a calm appearance for the brunette but on the inside she was a mess. It was so cold out she couldn't believe that Noah would last much longer on his own without becoming seriously ill or worse. She tried to keep those thoughts from entering her head but as the minutes passed by them it was getting harder to keep them out.
Emilys voice became hoarse with all the shouting she was doing and her hands were going numb from the cold due to forgetting to put gloves on in all the panic. She kept Alison close beside her in fear that she would lose the blonde as well and all she was focused on was finding her son, no thoughts ran through her mind except finding Noah.
As they trudged through the snow that was steadily gaining in depth they kept alert for any signs of movement or sound. Emily realised that if they didn't find him in the next few minutes she would have to contact the police and notify them so that they could help them in the search. She had been reluctant to do so previously having thought that they would find the young boy quickly but that wasn't to be the case.
Checking behind yet another tree trunk Emily jumped slightly when the sound of her phone disturbed them and she quickly pulled it out of her pocket and answered it after checking the caller identity. It was Aria.
"Emily we've found him. We're heading back to the house so meet us there" Aria said quickly before hanging up without waiting for a reply.
Emily instantly turned around and headed back in the direction from which they came pulling Alison behind her.
"Em?" Alison questioned as she tried to keep steady on her feet, the snow making it difficult to walk fast as she followed behind Emily.
"Aria. Found him. Home." Was all the brunette could get out as she manoeuvred around the trees, pushing branches out of her way and made her way as quick as was possible back to Spencer's.
Not another word was said between the pair as they walked and it wasn't until they opened the back door and rushed into the house did they make a sound. That sound was them breathing out in relief as they saw Noah sat on the counter stripped of his clothes and wrapped in a warm blanket. Emily made her way to his side and wrapped her arms around him pulling him into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry Mummy" he managed to get out as he snuggled his face into her neck. "I just wanted to let Pepe out and he ran off" he finished as Emily backed away and smiled gently at him.
There was no need to tell him off, he had definitely learned his lesson and she was just relieved to see that he was ok. Caleb had handed over Pepe to Alison and the blonde held him close to her chest in her arms whilst warming him up in another blanket her eyes not leaving Emily and Noah for one second.
"A warm bath is running but we needed him to warm up slightly before placing him straight in it to avoid shocking his body anymore" Spencer said as she entered the room once more.
Emily nodded her head in thanks before picking up Noah and heading up to the bathroom. After making sure that his body had warmed up enough by itself she placed him in the water and let him sit there enjoying himself as the heat worked its magic and brightened the young boy up. Alison followed behind and placed Pepe in the tub beside Noah and the puppy started splashing about instantly causing water to fly everywhere.
The room was soon filled with the sound of laughter and giggles as the two youngest members of the group were warmed up and washed before being wrapped back in their towels and dried off. Once Noah was determined to be ok and dressed in new dry clothes that Alison had ran back home to grab they were happy to find that Aria and Spencer had cooked everyone breakfast and none of them had realised how hungry they all were until they finally relaxed.
A/N
Finally updated. Sorry for the delay but I was enjoying the Christmas holidays and also had a slight lack of inspiration and ideas.
Bit of an intense chapter at the end but there has definitely been too much happiness in this story. I'm not sure when I'll be back with the next update as my birthday is coming up in the next couple of weeks. Be patient and I shall do my best to write when I can.
Hope you're enjoying this story so far!