So I've always wanted a border collie named Patches, so I transferred my dream into this story. Hope you all are enjoying it so far!
Emma sat in the sheriff station and groaned as she looked outside. It was an awful storm outside, which meant that Regina would probably drag her outside for the very cliché "kiss in the rain".
As Emma walked out to her car, she heard high-pitched whimpering. Looking around, Emma finally saw the cardboard box and walked over to take a look.
Inside was a little black and white puppy, about 8 weeks old. "Hey there," Emma cooed, picking up the puppy. "What are you doing out here in this storm huh?" The puppy wiggled in her hands, trying to get closer to Emma's warmth.
Emma wrapped the puppy in her jacket before heading back to her car. "Regina is going to kill me," she said.
Regina considered herself a pretty tolerant person. That's what happens when you become a mother of a little boy. But a dog? No way.
"She was out in the storm," Emma explained. The puppy was much happier now that she had been dried off and given some table scraps. She was waddling around in the way that puppies do, as if four legs isn't something that they can coordinate.
"Dogs are nothing but a mess," Regina said. She refused to look at the puppy, knowing that the moment that she did, the puppy would stay.
Henry chose that moment to enter the room. The minute his eyes landed on the puppy, they lit up like it was Christmas. "You got a puppy?!" he asked.
"She was outside during the storm. Someone just put her in a cardboard box and left her there," Emma explained. Henry sat on the floor and the puppy happily waddled into his lap. Smiling ear to ear, Henry pet the puppy until she sleepily yawned and fell asleep.
"Come on mom," Henry pleaded. "She has nowhere else to go. Please? Please please please." Regina looked over at him and saw Henry's puppy dog eyes at full force. She looked at Emma for backup, but only saw the exact same puppy dog eyes that Henry had.
"Curse me for loving two people with the exact same puppy dog eyes," Regina mumbled. Emma and Henry perked up and excitedly looked at each other.
"So is that a yes?" Emma asked. Regina groaned and mumbled something about regretting this before nodding. Henry and Emma started celebrating, which startled the puppy awake. She thought that a game was beginning and ran around the room barking.
Regina scooped her up. "If you're going to stay, you've got to be a lot more quieter than that," she said. The puppy wagged her tail and licked Regina's cheek. Regina couldn't help but smile before handing Henry the puppy.
"She needs a name kid," Emma said.
"Patches," Henry replied right away. Regina looked at him curiously. "I've always wanted a dog mom. I had plenty of time to plan out a name."
Regina laughed and put an arm around him. "Well I'm glad your plan finally succeeded."
Patches was a very smart little puppy. Being a border collie, she learned tricks quickly. In no time, Henry had her doing as many tricks as he could think of.
Regina smiled from her spot on a bench as Henry and Patches played fetch with a frisbee. It made her happy to see her son so happy, even if it included a dog.
"Aren't you glad that I found her?" Emma asked, taking a seat next to Regina.
"Well the potty training left something to be desired, but other than that, yes," Regina said. Emma laughed and put her head on Regina's shoulder.
"My favorite foster home had a dog in it," she said. "It was a really nice family. I fit in really well. But the best part was the dog. No matter what, this dog was always happy and there for me to cuddle with. So to have a dog back in my life is fantastic."
Regina kissed the top of Emma's head. "Well you could have said that in the first place," she teased. "Then I would have had no problem keeping her!" Emma laughed.
They watched happily as Henry fell onto the grass, and was immediately tackled by Patches. She gave him a nice bath, even with him squirming and laughing. Emma and Regina laughed.
Emma sat there, looking at her son that she shared with her amazing wife, and couldn't help but smile. She finally knew what having a family felt like.