One Sunday morning, Nick had to get out of the house for a little solitary time. He decided to go for a run. Nothing too long, just a couple miles through the neighborhood and the park by his house.
It was very soothing to work up a sweat and clear his mind and escape the chaos of his current living situation. Jen was on mandatory bedrest for the final few weeks of her pregnancy; at her age and with twins, the doctor had been quite worried about giving the babies as much time to develop in utero as possible. So Jen was stuck in bed and Nick was running ragged between working Homicide and coming home to care for Jen. Thank god Waverly was around when Nick worked late hours, but as it was, the house was far from comforting.
On his way back through the neighborhood, Nick became aware that someone was running with him. He looked behind him and was surprised to see a scruffy gray and white dog jogging in his wake. Nick chuckled in amusement as he paused to check the collar and see where the dog belonged. But there was no collar. And the dog wasn't just little, it was a puppy. The muzzle was short and soft, and the legs were slightly out of proportion from the body. The puppy stared at him with pale blue eyes, begging for some love and care.
"I can't take you home," Nick told the dog, feeling very stupid for speaking out loud to an animal. "Go find someone else."
Nick turned and continued his run. Surely the dog would get bored running after him and direct its attention elsewhere.
Upon arriving at the front door, Nick found that the puppy was right on his heels. And he couldn't just leave it there, shutting the door in its tiny face. He begrudgingly picked the pup off the ground and went inside. Nick was rewarded with licks to his face that he simply couldn't dodge.
"Ugh Christ," he grumbled. He sighed before calling out, "Jen?"
"Upstairs!" she shouted in reply.
Of course. He felt stupid even asking. She couldn't really be anywhere else. Holding the squirming dog, he climbed the stairs to show Jennifer their new houseguest.
She saw him enter and her eyes lit up. "Did you get us a puppy!?"
"It followed me home," Nick grumbled.
"Well we have to keep it! Is it a boy or a girl?" she asked excitedly.
But Nick shook his head. "Oh no you don't. You're eight months pregnant and on mandatory bedrest until your due date. We cannot have a puppy running around! Besides, we just got Kevin and he doesn't deserve to be assaulted by a stray dog."
Jen's face fell. "You're right, I suppose. But look at it! It's so cute! Can I play with it?" she asked.
Nick couldn't bear to refuse her anything, especially not when she was so depressed and emotional from the pregnancy hormones and the bedrest. But he resisted. For now. "Let me give it a bath and make sure it's not crawling with parasites before I let it in our bed, alright?"
She agreed to that condition. Nick took the dog into the bathroom to bathe it in the bathtub with Nick's own shampoo. The puppy was strangely calm in the bath, content for Nick to lather it up and rinse clean. He dried the dog with one of the bath towels before returning to the bedroom.
"Looks like you're destined to spend your life surrounded by men," Nick teased. "Between me and Kevin and the baby and now the dog."
Jen laughed, putting her hand on her enormous belly. "The baby girl and I will manage. She reached out her arms to hold the pup. "He is so precious! Nick, are you sure we can't keep him?"
"Jennifer, you know we can't have a puppy around after you give birth. It'll kill us."
She looked sadly into the puppy's pale eyes. "He's right," she told the dog. "We can't keep you."
"I'll take him to the animal shelter tomorrow."
She gasped. "Don't you dare! He chose you to come home with and since we can't give him home, you find him a home he can have," she insisted. "Is that alright with you, Charlie?"
He frowned. "Did you just name the dog Charlie?"
"Yeah, he looks like a Charlie, don't you think?"
Nick just shrugged and went downstairs to make some food for his pregnant wife and her new canine friend.
All day, Jen obsessively played with the puppy, feeding him by hand and snuggling him as though he were their own child. Nick assumed she was just overly excited for the arrival of their actual babies in just a few weeks. She even insisted that Charlie sleep in bed with them. Nick tried not to be annoyed, but their bed was not a place for a dog. Jen's pregnancy took up enough space as it was. And, of course, it was Nick's trousers the dog had peed on and Nick's shoes he had chewed to bits.
The next day, Nick went to work with a singular focus: finding a home for Charlie. He casually brought up the possibility of a dog to Duncan ("Women love puppies. Total chick magnet!") but was laughed out of the room. He tried Allie ("A running partner, someone to greet you when you come home!") but she cut him off before he could even explain. Both Dunny an Allie insisted that a dog was too much effort and they enjoyed their lives without the company of a whining animal, thank you very much.
Nick called Jen at lunchtime, as he always did to check on her, and explained he was having trouble finding someone for Charlie.
"Did you try Rhys? I think a dog would be good for him. He could use the responsibility, I think. And sitting here with Charlie, I have a feeling they belong together. They'd be good for each other. And if that doesn't work, he can stay here. Kevin has already warmed up to him. They're both snuggled in bed with me right now," Jen said happily. "I'll take a picture and send it to you."
Privately, Nick couldn't care less that the stray dog got on with their gray tabby cat. They were not keeping that puppy, no matter how much Jen wanted him. "I'll talk to Rhys. I'll let you know what he says."
After hanging up, Nick made a beeline to Rhys's desk. "You seem like a dog person," he began bluntly.
"Yeah, I love dogs," Rhys replied with a smile.
"Great. I've got a stray at home that would be perfect for you. I'll bring him over tonight. His name is Charlie." Nick's phone vibrated with a notification of a text message. He checked it quickly and saw that Jen had taken a selfie with Kevin and Charlie. He showed the picture to Rhys. "See, here he is."
"Wow, Jen got fat."
"She's pregnant!" Nick replied, somewhat offended.
"I know but...wow."
"Well that's why we can't keep Charlie. He's a sweet pup and you'll love him," Nick said with conviction.
Rhys looked panicked. "Oh no, I can't have a dog! I'm busy with work and...and...hey I live with my aunt and there's no way she'll let me!"
Nick didn't think about that. But he was undeterred. He stood up and went to the elevator without a word. He arrived in Commander Waverly's office a minute later. "Commander, do you have a minute?"
"Yes, Buchanan, what is it?" she asked.
"I've got a puppy at home and Jen wants Rhys to have it but since he lives with you, we wanted to be sure it's alright with you."
Bernice was taken aback. Whatever she'd expected Nick to say, that certainly wasn't it. "Why do you have a puppy and why does Jennifer want Rhys to have it?"
Nick explained that Charlie had followed him home and Jen suggested that he might be good for Rhys. "Jen really wants to keep him but she's going to be giving birth in a couple weeks and I just can't imagine that will allow us any room in our life for a dog. But she really loves him and wants him to have a good home." He showed Waverly the picture.
Bernice smiled. "She looks happier there than I've seen her since she got put on bedrest."
"I know, but it's going to be hard enough with two baby humans. I don't think we should add a baby dog to the mix."
With a sigh, Waverly conceded, "Alright, we'll take the dog. Bring him by tonight around 8."
"Thank you, ma'am. His name is Charlie. And I'll go tell Rhys you said it's alright."
"You can inform my nephew that he is responsible for that animal, or else he has me and Mapplethorpe to answer to!"
Nick chuckled. "Yes, ma'am." As he rode the elevator back down to Homicide, Nick texted Jennifer: Rhys will take Charlie. Waverly said you look good. And I'm looking forward to having you to myself in bed tonight.
Jen was more upset than she should have been when Nick took Charlie away. Bernice was right, it was the happiest she'd been since her bedrest nightmare. There was just nothing to do! Nick had to work, and he couldn't even tell her about the cases he was working. Bernice spent as much time with her as she could, but she had to work, too.
"I hate this," Jennifer grumbled, clutching Nick and burying her face against his chest when he told her he had to go to work about a week later.
"I know, but it's only temporary. And you know it's for the best," he soothed, gently stroking her back.
"Do you really have to go?" she whined.
"To work? Yes, I do. One of us has to make a living if you're going to be lounging around all day for the next few weeks," he teased.
"Nick, I'm pregnant with twins and on mandatory bedrest! You know I'd much rather be going to work. But if I can't, I don't see why you have to leave me here all alone."
He extricated himself from her grasp, trying not to be annoyed that she had wrinkled his suit. "You're not alone. You've got our children in there to keep you company," Nick reasoned, gently tapping on her pregnant belly. "And Kevin is around here somewhere. He'll come by for a cuddle, I'm sure."
Jen didn't seem comforted by this statement. She was exhausted and moody and all the other awful things pregnancy does. And it was all worse when she was left alone in bed all day. But she knew that Nick was right. He had to go to work. With her out on maternity leave, Homicide was down a detective. They needed him. And he needed to work. Jen understood that more than anyone. But it still didn't make her feel any better.
Nick leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I'll be home before you know it. Try not to pout too long. You'll annoy the babies."
After he left, Jen curled up—as much as her body would allow—and tried to go back to sleep. Anything to pass the time.
She must have fallen asleep for a long time. Because she was awoken by the feeling of Nick's arms snaking around her and his kisses peppering her neck.
"Is it dinnertime already?" she asked sleepily.
He chuckled against her, burying his face in her hair. "No, I've been gone an hour. I called in sick. I can't stay away from you. In a weird way, I sorta like you pregnant. And I just realized that you won't have to be on bedrest too much longer because you're not going to be pregnant too much longer." He placed hands on her belly, pleased when one of the babies started kicking. "They'll be here before we know it!"
"You're sweet," she replied, snuggling into his embrace.
"I love you very much."
"That's good," she said with a yawn. And in Nick's arms, she slept much better.
