(Rose)

By the next evening, all six of us had made our way to Jenny's house. The whole time we walked there we had supported Einstein to make sure he had not fallen due to his illness. I didn't want to worry but I couldn't help it. I knew that everyone else was worried as well. Especially Fagin.

We make it to the house. It was covered in its usual lively Christmas decorations where the lights were flashing brightly among the semi dark streets. Apparently someone had already seen us coming because Jenny gladly opened the door for all of us. "Merry Christmas you guys! Come in! Come in!" she said happily. We all walked in the house and the scent in the air was its usual gingerbread smell.

"Mr. Fagin, what's the matter with Einstein?" Jenny asks, noticing Einstein's weakened behavior. "Oh, dear Jenny. He's not well. He's been sick for the last day and a half. Make sure you find him a spot here where he'll be more comfortable." Fagin asks kindly. She nods and makes him a place by the fire which was lit in the fireplace. Einstein went to go lay down and found it good enough for him to lay down.

"Wanna help me with the dog cookies, Jennifer?" Winston asked from the kitchen. "Yeah be there in a minute." she called, going to the kitchen. Dodger and I laid down close to Einy to watch over him. He gave a short but warm smile to show that he was comfortable. "I'm gonna go find Ryan." Rita said, going up the stairs to his room.

After a bit, we hear knocking on the door. Mr. Foxworthy had gone to answer the door and it was none other than Sammie, Pepper, Charlie, and Whisper. Whisper had come in with Beau and Pepper had come in with Dixie. Pepper was wearing a police academy collar around her neck. I had heard that Dixie had come into Pepper's adopted home and they became mates. He was a corgi australian shepherd mix. "Hi mom. Hi dad." All four pups come to Dodger and I. Dodger and I stand to our paws to greet our children.

"Hello my darlings…" I say, giving all four of them a mother nuzzle. "Beau, always a pleasure." I say to Beau. "It's a pleasure to be here, Rose." Beau nodded. I look over at Dixie who gives Dodger and me a nervous glance because he had never met us prior to this event. "There's no need to be scared of us." Dodger assures the mixed bred dog. "I'm sorry… it's just… I have never met you guys before. Pepper had never brought me to meet you. She only mentioned you guys." Dixie said nervously. "Hey, chill out man. They're not going to bite." Tito assured.

"He's just nervous. Don't worry, he'll get used to it. He was just like this when my master brought him into our home." Pepper chuckled, having her forelegs out in front of her. We all chuckled at this. Sounds like Dixie was afraid of new things which is totally understandable. Just then, we all hear the sound of puppies barking outside of the house.

"Oh no, dear could you get those rascals before they freeze their butts off our there." Whisper sighed. "Right away, hon." Beau agreed, giving Whisper a lick on the face. Beau trotted over to the door. "You four get in the house before you catch your deaths out there." Beau scolded. "Coming daddy!" a puppy's voice said. Just then, seven puppies come barging in the house. All of them trampling each other.

They were all Dodger and I's grandpups. "Hi, evwyone!" a black and white puppy said with excitement. "Oh my… these must be the pups." Rita said with excitement. Pepper stood to her paws and walked over to her puppies. "You guys best settle down unless you don't want those Christmas cookies." she scolds, getting her pups to settle down quickly.

"Ooh! Christmas cookies! Yay! I want 'em!" one of Whisper's pups said with joy. Whisper came to sit down next to me and Dodger and Pepper went to lay back down next to Dixie. "You four play nice now." she told the pups. "Okay, mama!" a red male pup said, starting to play with his siblings. I couldn't help but smile at them.

"They're so beautiful you two." I say to my daughters. "Yeah they are. Not to mention they're hard to keep track of. These little rascals hardly let us sleep. They often use Raven as a chew toy which she doesn't mind of course." Whisper tells me. "I can say the same with us, Whisper. They are quite the handful. Dixie and I can't keep them in line." Pepper tells us. "You two were just like them at that age. Always roughhousing with Ryan and Rita's puppies. You four always kept us awake." I tell them, much to their embarrassment.

Whisper and Pepper had told me their children's names. Pepper's puppies are named DJ, Storm, and Leia. DJ was named after Dodger Which I thought was a nice gesture. Leia had one pointed ear and one flop ear. She had black patches over her eyes, ears, and back. She had blonde forepaws and grey hind legs and muzzle.

DJ had the same markings as Pepper. He had grey on her back that went down all four of her legs and tail. And he had dark brown forelegs. Storm was the darkest pup out of the litter. He was almost fully black but his chest was white. His legs, muzzle, eyebrows were all brown.

As for Whisper's puppies, the eldest was Shade. He was black and white so the name fit him perfectly. The next was Jett. He was snow white like Beau but he had a large red spot on his left eye and his right ear. The next was the only girl and her name was Rosie. Whisper had decided to name one of her puppies after me so Rosie was perfect. She looked just like her mother with the same markings and all. And lastly was Channing, the youngest of the litter. He was exactly like his sister and his mother because of his markings. They were easy to tell apart because of their eyes.

I laid down and let the puppies gather around us. They all settled down finally. "Mother? What's wrong with Uncle Einstein?" Charlie asked. "Yeah, he seems rather… sick." Sammie said. "That's because he is, dear. He's really sick but we want him to make the most of this Christmas. You puppies best keep it quiet for tonight. We don't want to upset Uncle Einstein, now do we?" Dodger said quietly.

"No we don't grandpa Dodger." Channing said softly. "Yeah, we want him to feel better. What can we do to help him?" DJ wondered in a worried tone. He sat in between Pepper's forelegs. "You seven can help by using your indoor voices. We want him to feel as comfortable as possible." Beau reminded, having Shade on his head. "Okay, daddy. We will be quiet. We pwomise." Shade declared. Beau and Whisper smile warmly. "That's our boy." Whisper said, giving her puppy a lick.

"Mama, where's uncle Ryan and aunt Rita?" Rosie asked, looking up at Whisper. "They will be right down, dear. Don't worry." Whisper answered. It was quiet for the better part of about 10 minutes. It wasn't until there was another knock on the door. Mr. Foxworth went to open the door and Ryan and Rita's kids walked in along with Kaiden.

"Finally you six are here. We were afraid you wouldn't make it." Francis muttered. "How could we miss the most wonderful time of the year? It would be an atrocity if we did." Sean said, strutting by his siblings. "Psh, show off. We're just happy to be here." Macey said, taking a seat by the sofa. Kaiden came over to me and gave me a nuzzle in a familial way.

"Merry Christmas sis." he tells me. "Merry Christmas to you too, little brother. My word, I hadn't seen you since on my birthday. Why did you grow so much taller than me?" I chuckle, taking notice of how grown up my brother has become. "Oh you know, growth spurts happen." he replied, sitting next to me. "Where's father at? Surely he would've come along to?" I asked him. Kaiden lowers his head in sadness, "He… He died, Rose. He was hit by a car and killed…" Kaiden told me. "Oh… I see." I say, laying back down.

"Oh Rose… I'm so sorry to hear this." Francis said with sympathy. "No it's alright… I wanted to know. And he wouldn't want us to mourn for him. I'm sure he wanted the both of us to live a happy life. When did this happen?" I asked. "Six months ago. He was coming down to see you Rose but he was hit by a taxi. And his injuries were too severe to save him." Kaiden explained.

"I'm sorry if I'm spoiling everyone's good time." Kaiden apologized to everyone. "No it's alright, Kaiden. I needed to know. I know he's in a better place." I say, looking upwards at the ceiling.

About a couple of minutes later, Ryan and Rita had come down the stairs to join us. They were happy to see they're kids to say the least. "Who's ready for some Christmas cookies?" Jenny said, bringing in a huge plate with dog christmas cookies with her. All of the puppies immediately started to jump around her as they yipped and danced around her.

"Kids, what did we tell you about staying calm?" Whisper and Pepper scolded. "Oh right. Sowwy momma." Channing said apologetically. The puppies then waited graciously for their cookie. We all got to have at least a couple of cookies. Oliver had taken the opportunity to have one as well.

"Are you seven ready for Santa to come tonight?" I tell the puppies. "Yes we are grandma Rose! We can't wait." DJ said with enthusiasm. "Right. But you seven must be good pups if you want him to leave you presents. Do we make ourselves clear?" Whisper urged. All of the puppies gave innocent nods.

We all spent the next couple of hours just talking away about what happened within the last year. Whisper had told us of how The Liberated Wolves see her and Beau as the true leaders of their group. Pepper told us that she had managed to put at least 20 bad guys in jail. Hearing those things makes all of us proud of her.

Before long, we hear the sound of loud, hacking, coughing come from Einstein. We all gaze at the great dane, who was on his side and shaking heavily. My heart sank… "Oh my word, get him upstairs into the guest bedroom. Right now." Mr. Foxworth demanded. It took three of the humans here to get Einy upstairs.

"Grandma Rose, what's the matter with him?" Little Rosie asked me, coming to the stairs. My ears lay back and I looked down at the puppy. "They're taking him to bed, darling. They'll take care of him. They're gonna make sure he's feeling better." I tell her softly as to not scare her. Whisper and them walk up to me with a look of worry on their faces. "Mother, should we stay?" Charlie asked, his ears lowered. I thought about that for a moment.

"No, son. I think it's best that all of you guys went home. We will inform you if something changes." I tell them. They nod and leave the house with our goodbyes. We even said goodbye to the pups as they went with their parents. Rita and Ryan told their children goodbye also.

After a while, Jenny came back downstairs along with Oliver. All of us perked our heads up when they were caught in our eyesight. "I'm sorry you guys… but I'm afraid he's not gonna make it. You guys can go see him if you want." Jenny said sadly. I swear I felt my heart breaking when she said that. There's no way that Einy is dying. There's no way…

"C'mon you guys. Let's give our old friend a proper send off…" Dodger says melancholy. The five of us trot upstairs and into the guest bedroom. Einy was laying on the bed with his forelegs outstretched in front of him and his head laying in between them. "Einy?" Dodger called quietly. Hearing his name, he opened his elder eyes and looked at us with a weak grin. "Hey you guys…" he weakly said with a raspy voice.

"Hey there bud. How are you feeling?" I ask, tilting my head a bit. "My whole body is aching… Every Time I try to move…" he gasps, whimpering at his chronic pain. "It's alright, old friend. You don't have to move… not anymore." Francis told him sadly. Tears started to well up in my ears and I felt myself choke a bit. "Are ya gonna make it, amigo?" Tito wondered, jumping on the bed. "I'm afraid not, little friend. I can feel myself giving into the light." Einstein grunted, trying his best to focus on us.

We all remain quiet for a moment. This couldn't be happening… not tonight. Just then, the door opens, getting us to look at the door. It was Fagin. He was crying as well. He sits down on the bed with the Great Dane and set his head on his lap, petting him gently. "You did good for us, Einstein… You've been a loyal companion for not only us but for the gang as well… You have always been a good boy…" Fagin cried, trying his hardest to hold back his tears.

Einy gently licked his hand and whined. He continued to pet him, not wanting to leave. "Rose?" Einy said. "Yeah?" I say softly, giving him a few comforting licks. "I remember when you were only a puppy. You were so rambunctious… Very playful… I saw how happy you were when you came into the gang… Now you're all grown up… with children of your own and a grandparent… It really amazes me…" he tells me, making my heart ache.

"I know… I couldn't tell you how happy I was… And you practically towered over me…" I chuckle lightly, thinking of the good memories we all had with Einstein. It was amazing… He tells us of how he met Dodger and them when he was younger. They had found each other when he was not even a year old when Dodger was still a puppy.

He then started to wheeze and cough hectically. "Einy?!" Rita said in panic. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "My time has come… the time for me to join my forefathers… I… *gasp* I love you all… You seven have truly… gave me… a wonderful life." he said his final words.

He then slowly sinks into the bed on Fagin's lap. He simply closed his eyes and his old body seemed to relax. It only took us a few seconds to realize that Einstein was dead… we all watched as he peacefully passed on. At least he was able to go with his family in his presence. We all begin to silently cry at his passing.

"Goodbye old friend…" Dodger tearfully said. Goodbye Einstein… may you live happily wherever dogs are meant to go when they die. Hopefully Dad will watch over him…

Rest in Peace Einstein... 1979-1994. And rest in Peace Jerald 1980-1994.