Chapter 26

Pupper Lovin'

New Years came and went. Gordon didn't spend that holiday with Ed and Link. He had a different tradition for the turn of the New Year. He came home at two in the morning. He found Ed and Link sitting in front of the TV, Gotham News Network on mute. The two boys were sleeping in each other's arms. Link was curled against Ed, his little fists clenched on Ed's shirt. And Ed had both arms wrapped protectively around his little brother. It was very sweet. They both looked so peaceful knowing the other was safe in their arms.

Gordon hated to wake them, but he preferred they slept in their own beds and he was much too old to carry either of them to bed. He might have managed Link, but, with Ed terrified that Link would end up choosing Gordon over him, Gordon didn't want to risk acting too fatherly to Link in front of the elder boy. Instead, he gently shook them both awake.

"Time for bed, boys," he said, grabbing the remote to turn off the TV.

"I thought we were bed?" Link mumbled groggily.

"No, this is the couch," Gordon laughed, gently ruffling Link's hair. "Did you brush your teeth?"

"Like you care," Ed growled, still half asleep.

"Edward, we've talked about this," Gordon said sternly. "Now, we've got to get up early tomorrow to pick a dog from the shelter, remember?"

"Um, actually," Link mumbled. "I… I changed my mind."

"What?" Gordon deadpanned.

"I… I don't want a dog anymore," Link said.

"What happened? You were so excited before?"

"I know," Link said. "It's just… you were just trying to shut me up, right?" Ed felt his gut twist in a knot, but he didn't say anything. "I wasn't trying to annoy you."

"At what point did I make you think that?" Gordon said. "I never meant for you to think that. Link, it wasn't annoying. Lots of children ask for a dog. Even kids who already have one ask for a second one."

"I know. I mean… I want the dog but… not if… not if it was just because I never stopped asking."

"Link, you never stopped asking because you never stopped wanting a dog, right?"

"I suppose."

"That just shows me you care. Now, come on, get to bed. We've got a big day tomorrow. You're getting that damn dog whether you still want one or not. I didn't get you that present just to make you happy for one day. I did it to get to you something you really want."

"Oh," Link said. It sounded like Gordon cared, but Ed said he didn't. Ed couldn't have been lying to him. Link's head was starting to hurt. Why couldn't people be as simple as a puzzle cube?

The next morning, Gordon woke them both up for breakfast. Link was starting to have a harder time waking up in the morning. Gordon was taking them to the animal shelter just outside of Metropolis instead of Gotham because he worked a case a few years ago where an escaped test animal had been mistaken for a normal cat and put up for adoption at the Gotham animal shelter. It mutated into a bloodthirsty bat monster and partially ate one of the children, around Link's age. Of course, he didn't tell them his exact reasons, the crime scene had been gruesome. He didn't want to scare them.

Despite how excited Link had been and how eagerly he'd asked for a dog, he was just miserable in the back seat. He was clutching the dog toy to his chest and staring wistfully out the window, but he wasn't excited. Gordon couldn't tell what was wrong. Even Ed, who was sitting in the front for the first time with Link in the car, looked upset. Gordon was worried.

"What happened," he asked Ed, quiet enough that Link couldn't hear him.

"What?"

"You're both miserable. Why?"

"No reason. There's nothing wrong."

"Then why does Link look like that. I know he usually looks sad, but he was overjoyed a few days ago, and now he just looks crushed."

"That's just the way he looks."

"Something happened."

"No, it didn't," Ed snarled.

Gordon sighed. "I'm only trying to help."

"Sure," Ed grunted. "How much longer?"

"Five minutes," Gordon said. He looked in the rearview mirror at Link. "Hear that, Link? We'll be there in five minutes."

Link's only answer was a long, sad sigh.

He was trying so hard to fit what Ed had told him to everything he'd learned about Gordon. Ed wouldn't lie to him, he knew that. But Gordon wasn't acting like someone who was just giving him something as an alternative to hitting him. People hit him when they were annoyed with him. They didn't give him puppies. So either Gordon was only giving him the puppy so that he could use it to hurt him later or Ed was lying and Gordon did care.

Maybe Ed didn't believe that Gordon cared about them, but he actually did care. That would mean Ed wasn't lying and Gordon wasn't doing this to hurt Link. But Ed was really smart. He'd know if Gordon cared, wouldn't he? Link squeezed the dog toy harder to his chest. This was making his head hurt. He wished Ed hadn't told him Gordon didn't care.

For a few brief hours, Link felt like he had a father and a brother. He felt like Gordon loved him. He'd never felt like that before. And then Ed came along and stepped on it like it was a bug. Couldn't he have at least left it alone and let Link feel happy, even if it was in ignorance. Why'd he have to ruin it?

"We're here," Gordon said, pulling into the parking lot. The Metropolitan skyline sparkled in the distance. Link could almost imagine seeing Superman zooming around the buildings. Link followed Ed and Gordon onto the building, still holding the toy to his chest. Gingerly, Link reached up and held Ed's hand. Ed gave his hand a light squeeze.

Inside the shelter it was loud and smelled like wet dog. Almost all the dogs were barking in the back. Link forgot to bring his Mask of Truth to help him pick a dog, but he supposed if Gordon didn't mean this, it didn't really matter anyway.

"Hello, we'd like to adopt a dog," Gordon said to the lady at the front. Her entire face lit up.

"Would you like to see our dogs or look at the papers first?"

"Link?" Gordon turned to Link. "Do you want to see the dogs?"

Link shrugged.

Gordon sighed. "We'll take a look at the dogs," he said.

"Right this way, gentlemen!" The woman grinned. "We have twenty dogs for adoption at the moment. They're all ready to go to their forever home." She lead them to the kennels in the back. There were twenty pens for the dogs, ten on the left and ten on the right. "I'm sure one of them is perfect for you."

The dogs ranged from big pawed puppies to gray muzzled dogs, tiny to large, mutt to purebred. Some were lazing around, some were barking, some spun in circles when they passed. But one caught Link's attention, an awkward puppy in a pen near the back. She was almost pure white with a pale red, almost pink ear, a single reddish spot on her right side, and one blue eye and one deformed pink eye. Link knelt down in front of the door and she tilted her head up to look at him.

"Hello," Link whispered to her, gripping the chain link of the door

She rose to her feet shakily and limped over to him. She only had three legs. When she reached him she licked his fingers and nuzzled at him through the chain link gate with her pink, wet nose.

"I like this one," Link said quietly.

"That's Pinkie," the woman said. "She's a purebred double merle rough collie. Someone hit her on the highway. We think she's from a puppy mill. The owner must have dumped her on the side of the road. She's partially deaf and blind in her right eye and she lost her front left leg when she was hit, but she's just as happy as any other dog. She's about five months old."

"I like her, too," Ed said.

"Do you want to play with her?" The woman asked.

Link nodded.

The women opened the pen and let Link inside. Link sat down in the middle of the pen and Pinkie brought him her toys and then sat in his lap, licking his face. Link giggled. He ran his hands through her long, soft, white coat and rubbed her incredibly soft, floppy ears. She squeaked with glee and wagged her tail against his leg.

Gordon sighed. "How big will she get?" He asked.

"She's a big puppy, so we think about fifty five pounds."

"How much do collies shed?"

"A lot," the woman said. "But they only need to be brushed once a week. Most people think it's more often than that because of how fluffy they get."

"How much exercise does she need?"

"Collies aren't a high energy breed, and since she's purebred, it's easier to predict. She won't need rigorous running to be happy. Just walks and play. And her three legs won't slow her down. She just as full of love as any other dog. I can recommend some dogs books if you're worried."

"Can I have her?" Link asked. "Even though she'll shed?"

"Link, if I wanted to get you a dog that you didn't have to walk, clean up after, or brush, I'd have gotten you a stuffed toy. Is there a waiting period or can we take her home today?"

"You can take her home today!" The woman said. She opened the pen back up and put Pinkie on a lead. "You're going home, Pinkie!" She said happily. Pinkie was very happy. "Are you going to give her a new name?"

Link nodded. "Pinkie doesn't sound like her name," he said. "Can I hold the leash?" He asked.

"Of course," the woman handed Link the lead.

Pinkie walked right on Link's heals, looking up at him with her tongue lolling out happily.

"You're a good girl," Link smiled down at her. He reached down and handed her the dog toy Gordon got for him. She held it in her mouth and followed them back into the lobby.

"There's a fifty dollar adoption fee and we also sell travel crates," the woman said. "And we have some pamphlets on puppy schools in both the Metropolis and Gotham areas."

"Does she know any tricks already?"

"She knows some touch. She doesn't always respond to vocal commands, since she's deaf in her right ear. But she's always watching for hand signals. Here, let me show you." The woman knelt down in front of Pinkie and held out a hand. "Touch," she said.

Pinkie pushed her nose into the woman's hand and then looked up at her expectantly.

"Good girl, Pinkie," the woman gave Pinkie a treat from her pocket. "Do you want to try?"

Link nodded. The woman handed him a treat and he mimicked her trick, giving it to Pinkie when she rammed her nose enthusiastically into Links hand and then licked the treat out of his hand. Link giggled happily.

"Her nose is wet and cold!" He marveled, petting her head happily.

He didn't care if he didn't understand why Gordon was letting him have a puppy even after he annoyed him so much, or what was going on between Ed and their surrogate father. All he cared about was he had a puppy and she was the best dog ever.

Gordon filled out all the papers handed to him. Hearing Link giggling and seeing the look of joy on his face was worth the fifty dollar adoption fee and it was worth the inevitable vet bills and dog food bills. Even if he ended up having to do most of the work, giving Link something that made him this happy justified all the potential extra work it meant for him.

They bought a large wire and cloth travel crate, a home crate, and a slip lead. The crates were all too big for a small puppy, but she'd grow into them. He planned on getting her a chip instead of a collar, since he read that collars can cause matting which can cause infection and pulling and he didn't want to risk Link neglecting to brush her. He wanted to make this as easy for Link as possible, because if Link couldn't take care of the dog, he'd have to take the dog away and that would crush Link.

Link continued to hold the dog's lead while they brought her to the car. She sniffed every little thing in the parking lot and Link had a grin from ear the ear, letting her lead him around and sniff and snort everything that smelled nice. Gordon had to remind Link to get her into the travel crate.

On their way to PetSmart, the mood was much different. Whatever had been bothering Link and Ed was pushed to the back of Link's mind, at least, though Ed was still glaring out the window. Link had opened the traveling crate and was playing with his new puppy. He was supposed to keep the crate closed, but he was so happy, Gordon didn't want to ruin it by making him stop.

"What are you going to name her?" Gordon asked.

Link shrugged. "Not Pinkie," he answered.

"She's pretty white," Gordon offered. "How about Alma? That's white in Latin."

"Alba is white," Ed corrected. "Alma means nourishing."

"What, do you speak Latin or something?"

"Yes, as fluently as I speak English. And I think Luna is a better name."

"What's that mean?" Link asked.

"Moon. It's a pretty common name."

"I don't like the moon," Link frowned, an image of that terrifying face looming flashed in his mind, sending a shiver down his spine. "Alma sounds nice, though."

Ed grumbled something under his breath and slouched in the seat, crossing his arms. Link noticed Ed's anger and shifted sadly in his own seat.

"How about Alma Luna?" Link compromised. "That's both names and I think it sounds pretty." Link wasn't going to use the Luna, since it spooked him, but it made Ed less upset.

"That's a nice name," Gordon smiled at Link, who was still petting Alma in her crate. He'd miss them if they found a way home.

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