Chapter 54
"We haven't told anybody yet." Olivia said, smiling. "You guys are the first."
"Oh, I'm so happy for you guys." Abby said, jumping up and hugging Olivia, she just couldn't help herself.
More congratulations followed, and Olivia and Kevin were very confused, until they realized that everybody was looking at Olivia's belly. Then when Olivia heard either Abby or Ziva say 'she doesn't look pregnant' that confirmed it for her.
"Look guys, I'm not pregnant." Olivia replied. Then she and Kevin saw the looks of disappointment. "Not that it's never gonna happen, just not right now." She explained.
"Then what's the announcement?" Tony asked.
"Well, maybe we made too much of it." Kevin admitted.
"We were excited. We…we never thought it would…. That you guys would think…." Olivia shook her head. "We're…we're getting a dog."
It took a second for everybody to recover.
Tim nodded. "Dogs are good. Jethro is great."
"Jethro?" Olivia asked, looking at Gibbs.
Tony spoke up. "Abby named him. He's a German Shepherd, and he is named after our fearless leader." He stated.
Olivia grinned. "That's kinda cute, Tim. I'd love to meet Jethro."
"What kind of dog are you thinking of, Baby Girl?" Tony asked.
"I want a Collie or a Cocker Spaniel." Olivia replied. "We just had small dogs growing up. Until I was 8, I thought that dogs only got this big." She said, spreading her hands apart about a foot. "We had a couple Pomeranians and a Pekinese."
Everybody smiled and shook their heads.
"We just wanted to try our hands at pet parenting first." Kevin explained.
Olivia laughed. "We figured if we could keep a furry 4-legged kid alive, then we'd try for the real thing.
WC WC WC WC WC
"Dad, this is not funny." Olivia pleaded over the phone. "…remember those nice Italian pumps I bought in Italy?"
Tony replied in the affirmative, trying not to laugh.
"Well, they're Italian leather ribbons, Little Cujo shredded them." Olivia lamented.
"Little Cujo?" Tony asked, chuckling.
"Princess worked until I found out we had a furry Hannibal Lector in our midst." Olivia replied walking around the living room looking for the furry offender.
"She's a puppy, Baby Girl." Tony replied. "They chew on things." He loved the movie references. They made him smile more.
"It's not just that, Dad." Olivia said. "I have puppy pads all over my living room floor and yet the dog insists in peeing on the leg of our couch. And it's always the same one, the right front."
"She's marking her territory?" Tony offered, again trying not to laugh.
Olivia huffed. "We live in the D.C. suburbs, not on the plains of Africa."
"…just an idea, Baby." Tony replied.
"Don't they have like…Puppy Prozac or something?" Olivia asked, exasperated.
"What does Kevin think?" Tony asked.
"Oh, she's fine when he's here. It's like she's got a split personality or she's bipolar or something." Olivia replied.
"Maybe she's picking up on your tension, and that's what she's reacting to." Tony offered.
"so, what are you now, a dog whisperer?" Olivia said. She finally found the dog, it was hiding under the couch. Olivia paused, trying to calm herself. "I'm sorry, Dad. I…I just didn't think that it would be this hard. Maybe it's too just new at once, too much change. Maybe we should have waited a little while."
"Just give her some time, Baby Girl. You haven't had her that long. This is a big change for her too. She's got to get used to you guys. She's got to get used to being in a home." Tony replied. "The best thing you can do is just play with her."
"What?" Olivia asked.
"Get down on the floor, down on her level, and just play with her." Tony advised.
There was no response from Olivia's end.
"What? When you became a lawyer, they took out the part of your brain that allowed you to have fun?" Tony asked.
"No, I heard you. I understand. But you actually want me to play with the little…monster." Olivia questioned.
"No, I want you to get used to having a puppy in your house." Tony paused. "I thought you had dogs before."
"We did, but all those dogs, they weren't puppies. Those puppies would have been too small to be in a house with little kids."
"She's a puppy, Olivia." Tony replied. "You've got to teach her how to act in your house. You've got to discipline her."
"Kevin…." Olivia started.
"She needs to get used to you, Baby Girl." Tony replied.
"It was so much easier when I was a kid." Olivia stated.
"Probably because all you did was feed and walk her." Tony said. "Your parents did the hard stuff."
"Would you like to…?" Olivia stated.
"No, Baby. She's your dog. You need to get used to her." Tony replied.
Olivia sighed. "Okay, I'll give Little Cujo another chance."
TBC
