"Okay, are you ready?" Paige asked as she turned on the lights and hung her keys on a hook by the front door.

"I'm ready," Emily said with a smile, picking up on Paige's enthusiasm.

Paige stooped at her knees and whistled. "Rags! Come here, boy!" She patted her thighs a couple of times.

Emily heard the electronic whirring of servos and motors as a small robotic dog strode into the room, barking in a pleasant, electronic chirp. She laughed. "What is it?"

"It's our new dog," Paige said, kissing Emily on the cheek. "It does everything a real dog can do, but it doesn't need to be potty trained, and it will never destroy your shoes."

Emily smiled at Paige skeptically, not really believing that this was the birthday present that Paige had been so excited to give her. Paige's smile dimmed just a little at the reaction. "No, Paige – he's great. Rags is… he's cute." Trying to seem enthusiastic, Emily asked, "How did you get him to come when you called?"

Paige reached into her pocket and pulled out the remote control that she had tapped to wake Rags up and summon him from the kitchen."I just thought, you know… well, I know how much you wanted a dog, and since we can't really get a real dog yet, since we don't have a house together…" Paige hung her head and let the thought trail off.

Emily squeezed her shoulder. "No, Paige – it's… sweet. It's really sweet." It really was sweet. Emily liked the way that Paige always thought of her, and what she wanted. And that Paige really tried to make her happy. She wasn't quite sure why they couldn't get a real dog, though. But, she decided not to be disappointed. She gave Paige a kiss. "You're the most thoughtful, sweet girlfriend a girl could have. Thank you."

Paige smiled shyly. "Well, we'd better get changed. We're meeting the girls in a half hour."

Aria, Hanna, and Spencer raised their glasses and cheered when Emily walked in, with Paige's arm on her shoulder. "Happy birthday!" they shouted, and some of the other diners picked up on the cheer and offered her birthday wishes of their own.

As soon as Emily sat down, Hanna started in. "So, how did you like Robodog?" Aria and Spencer laughed.

"We tried to tell Paige that you would want the real thing," Spencer said, "but she was convinced that you'd like it."

"I do like it," Emily said, looking into Paige's eyes to let her know that she was being sincere. "We can't get a real dog yet, so it's nice to have Rags."

"Why can't you get a real dog?" Aria asked. Emily wasn't convinced herself, so she looked over to Paige letting her answer.

"You know, with the two houses, it would be confusing for the dog, always shuttling back and forth."

Emily nodded her agreement. She wanted to get the topic off of Rags, because she didn't want Paige to feel bad from the girls' teasing, so she picked up a menu and asked, "So, what's good here?"

Later in the evening, when Paige left to get a round of drinks, Hanna leaned in towards Emily. "Okay, Emily, you can tell us the truth. What do you really think about Robodog?"

Emily sighed. "I think it was a really sweet gesture. You know, Paige knew that I wanted a dog, and since she thinks that we can't get a real dog, she got me Rags. That's just how she is. It's the thought that counts, and getting me the dog was perfectly thoughtful."

"But you wanted a real dog."

Emily shrugged. "And we'll get one eventually. I'd rather be happy with what we have – and I'm not just talking about the dog – than be ungrateful over what we haven't got yet."

Aria nodded. She could see that Emily was taking the questions as a personal attack on Paige, so she tried to deflect them. "We've all got a lot to be grateful for."

After dessert, the girls put their presents on the table for Emily to open. Paige put a card next to the pile of gifts. Emily, smiling, reached for it first, but Paige took it and put it back in the pile. "Why don't you open that last?"

Emily tilted her head at Paige. "Why? Is it something sentimental that's going to make me dissolve in a puddle of tears?"

Paige shrugged one shoulder with a mysterious smile. "Maybe."

Emily was polite as she opened the other girls' presents, but she really wasn't even registering what they were. She wanted to know that Paige had written in the card that was going to get her all sentimental. She gave the girls their perfunctory hugs, and finally got to the prize she had been waiting for. As Emily opened the envelope, Paige scooted a little bit away from her and looked off to the side. Emily looked at her and smiled. She was certain, from Paige's sudden shyness, that it was going to be something mushy and embarrassing.

She pulled a folded sheet of paper out of the envelope and furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of it. When it hit her, she gasped and grabbed Paige, peppering her cheek with kisses. "Is this real? Are you serious?" Paige nodded with a confident smile. Emily squealed. "I don't believe it!" She gave her another kiss on the cheek, and one on the lips.

"What is it?" the girls asked impatiently. Emily showed them the letter from the animal shelter. Paige had paid the immunization and fees for a rescue dog. All Emily had to do was go and pick out which dog.

"You are the sweetest, most thoughtful, greatest… What did I do to deserve you?"

"You know, I've been wondering that myself!"

"Okay, you're also a cocky bitch sometimes, but I'll let it go," Emily said, resuming the kisses, "since you got me a dog!"

All that Emily wanted to talk about on the ride home was the dog. She was making preparations for where the dog would sleep in each of their houses, where they could store its food and its leash, and what dog toys they would need.

As they got ready for bed, Paige confessed, "I really wanted a dog to be here when you got home, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that you and I should go pick one out together."

"Paige," Emily assured her, laying a hand on her shoulder, "I trust you. You know me well enough to choose a dog for us."

"Well, maybe," Paige replied, "but this is the first big step that we're taking together. I just thought we should both be involved in the process, you know."

Emily kissed Paige on the neck and sighed. "I just wish that we could go right now, you know?"

"I know."

"You have some work to catch up on?" Paige didn't usually take her laptop to bed, so Emily was surprised to see it - especially since it was her birthday.

"I just thought that we could look at some dogs tonight." Emily tilted her head, not sure what Paige meant. Paige pulled up the animal shelter's puppy cam. It was too dark in the building for them to see much, and the dogs were mostly asleep anyway. The site had daily archives, though, and Paige pulled up the video from that morning.

Emily's eyes kept going back to one dog, a black Labrador, who seemed to be the mother of all the other dogs. She was watching out for the younger ones, to make sure they didn't fall or crash, and she waited until their dishes were full before she went over to eat from her own dish. "She's like the Paige of dogs," Emily observed.

Paige chuckled. "Did you just compare me to a dog?"

"Noooooo..." Emily gamely drew out the word. "I compared a dog to you!" Paige pouted playfully. "I just mean, she's very protective, she always puts the other dogs first; she's got a big heart." Emily kissed Paige's cheek. "She's a sweetie, just like you!"

Paige kissed Emily's forehead. "Well, if we get her, we're not calling her Paige!"

They clicked through the doggy biographies and found the page for the black lab. "Kahlua?" Paige asked, looking at Emily. "What kind of name is that for a dog?"

"Don't you see?" Emily pointed out the patches of tan fur on Kahlua's neck and paws.

"Oh!" Paige said with a smile, once she got it.

The dog had been dropped off earlier in the week by a family with children that had to leave it behind when the mother took a job overseas. Emily reasoned that this was the reason that Kahlua acted so motherly; she was used to looking after young children.

"That's our dog, Paige!" Emily's eyes were bright with excitement. "Let's get Kahlua!" She nodded her head eagerly.

"Well..." The way that Paige drew out the word made her sound skeptical, and that worried Emily.

"You don't think so?"

"Oh, no, she's a great dog. It's just…" Paige sighed. "I wouldn't get my hopes up, Em. A dog like that, you know... I'm sure that a lot of people would be interested in adopting her."

Emily's tone grew urgent. She squeezed Paige's arm. "Can we go tomorrow? Right after work?"

Paige laughed.

"I'm serious!"

"I know! It's just… you're like the little fella who couldn't wait for Christmas!" Emily pouted. Paige had never seen a lower lip protrude that far. "We'll go tomorrow," she conceded.

Paige and Emily greeted the vet at the animal shelter and took a look around. They recognized most of the dogs from the previous night's research.

One dog was noticeably missing.

"There was a black lab," Emily said, her tone rising as a question, "Kahlua?"

"Oh, Kahlua!" the vet said. "Yeah. She's a great dog. Great family dog." She tightened her lips as she broke the news to Emily. "You have to understand, when we get a dog like that, it doesn't stay very long. A lot of families want a dog who's already housebroken and who's good with kids."

Emily smiled despite her disappointment. There were plenty of other dogs who needed a good home. As the vet led them further through the facility, she told them, "You'll be happy to know that Kahlua's going to a good home. I spoke to the woman myself this morning. She and her girlfriend aren't married yet, but they do want to have kids eventually."

Emily's mouth opened wide and she shoved Paige's shoulder. Then, she hugged her. The vet opened a door and Kahlua, her tail waving like crazy, ambled up to them slowly and dipped her head.

The first thing Emily did was get Spencer's boyfriend, Toby, who was good with his hands, to convert a section of the fence between her back yard and Paige's into a gate. It swung on a two-way hinge, so that Kahlua could open it herself no matter which way she was going as she moved from one yard to the other. It was amusing to see the way that she ran at top speed and then came to an immediate stop at the gate, nudging it open with her head before resuming her full gallop on the other side. After a day or so, she learned to slow down just enough to rear up on her hind legs and push the door open with her forepaws. Most of the time, though, Paige and Emily left the gate open.

Kahlua loved having the wide-open space; chasing after balls or sticks – and the occasional squirrel.

"I don't know why we didn't have a gate put in there sooner," Paige remarked.

Emily settled into the couch, in one of her favorite positions: knees curled up, her head on Paige's chest, Paige's arm around her shoulder, as they watched late night TV in the semi-dark room. She was resting comfortably when Kahlua meandered into the room, pausing for a second or two before she bounded up onto the couch and settled in between the two of them. Emily shrieked in surprise but ended up laughing as she observed, "I guess it's the three of us, from now on!"

A/N - Bonus points to anyone who knows where the name "Rags" came from... Thanks for reading!