Even as he passed over his threshold, Will's discomfort didn't fade. His pack brushed around him, the soft brush of their coats familiar stimuli that usually smoothed whatever rising hackles he had, but there was no shaking his uneasiness.
"Sorry about them." He said as the dogs converged on the girl. He pulled off his jacket, keeping a watchful eye on his pack as they investigated her and shoved their wet noses against her. She flinched, carefully holding her arms and bag above their wide eyes and their lolling tongues. She watched them as warily as they watched her until, slowly; the largest dog snuffed once and nudged her legs toward the large open room.
Her eyes flew to Will's, manic and wide. She said nothing, and Will was shocked by the fear she presented; he had never believed Hannibal when he'd said he could smell fear, but looking at her he could almost believe it. "They don't bite." He said quickly, unclogging his throat. "They're all friendly."
"Right..." Carefully she followed his pack into the living room, under his watchful eye, and soon she was in the pile as though he'd introduced her to them like any other dog. Will watched them all settle together, her tight expression going lax, and suddenly she and the pack were piled together and drifting off to sleep. He watched them ease in to each other, her breathing evening out, and eventually he relaxed with them.
Among the mismatched kinds of dog fur, she looked almost at home, and Will regretted stopping his car instantly.
He was getting attached to the stray too quickly, and she'd only just arrived. Never mind how the pack would react if he left one day and didn't come back to them; seeing as she'd been welcomed into the pile, she was practically family. Will cursed quietly under his breath, briefly inspecting his kitchen to make sure that the leftovers were actually there.
The last thing he needed when she woke up was to not have the food and look even more like some sort of creepy predator.
Suddenly, Will's phone went off and he jumped at the sudden noise that shattered his home's stillness. A dog shifted, scratching an itch, but the newest edition to the pack was sound asleep amongst her new siblings and beyond the reach of ordinary appliances. Will stumbled and answered it, trying to keep his voice down, and was not surprised by the caller.
"Will,"
"Jack," Feeling his guts clench, Will glanced at the pack and saw Winston rouse himself. "what is it? Another case?"
"No, actually." Jack's tone lightened and, for a moment, Will felt an even larger wave of fear wash through him. Why would Jack be calling him if not for a case? What could he want now? Didn't he ask enough? "Zeller, Price, and Katz have something from the latest victim. We need you here A.S.A.P."
"I can't." Will regretted his refusal immediately.
"'You can't'?" Jack repeated incredulously, his impatience seeping through. "This could be the discovery to break the case, Will! With this, we might be able to catch the Chesapeake Ripper!"
"Jack, I know!" Will snapped, carding a hand through his hair. "I just- can you give me five minutes before you breathe down my neck again? I'm only human,"
"Five minutes?" Will sighed at the disbelief in the agent's voice.
"Not actually five minutes, Jack." Will was tempted to hang up the phone right there. "I need to sleep, eat; I've gotta take care of my dogs. I picked up another stray this afternoon and she'll need a bit of time before I leave her alone with the pack for very long. I don't need them killing her in a pack scrap. I can't leave right now,"
"And tomorrow?" Jack demanded,
"No dice." Will was beginning to like pissing Jack off a bit; it served him right, running him ragged at each of his grisly crime scenes. "I'll need at least tomorrow as well to get her integrated."
"Great." Jack muttered, saying something else Will didn't catch. "Thanks, Will. We'll see you the day after tomorrow at nine."
"Right." Will hung up the phone to stave off Jack's angry tirade over his lack of dedication to the cause. He left his phone in the fridge when he checked for leftovers, preoccupied with his own mind, and suddenly she was right in front of him. He jumped, surprised that she had been able to sneak up on him with all his pack surrounding them, and she stared him down intensely.
"What was that about?" She asked quietly, her hands clenched into fists.
"...my boss." Will admitted quickly, "He wanted me to come back into work."
"And that part about the new stray?" She prompted, "Was that supposed to be me?" She didn't betray anything; her face remain composed, almost curious, and she didn't flinch when he nodded and told her the truth.
"Yes, I was talking about you." Will murmured, his eyes averted from the fire in her eyes. "I... collect strays." Will explained lamely, holding out his arms as his pack came around him like his canine disciples. "Off the highway that goes through here... wherever. I was going to help you sooner, but I just... pack is my family. We stay together. I didn't want to help you and get..."
"Involved?" She looked fairly unconcerned by his confession.
"Attached." Will managed to spit it out finally and something changed in her expression that unglued his tongue. "I didn't want to help you, and then not want to let you go again. I'm sorry. I know it's weird, but I just... I'm not a people person. The way I am isn't compatible with other people."
"So you have dogs instead," She filled in, nodding quietly as the dogs brushed against her legs also. "and a hard-ass for a boss. No wonder you don't like people..." Will shrugged noncommittally, waiting for her to scoop up her bag and, maybe taking some food with her, take off without looking back like she did the first time they met. "I don't either."
"Imagine that." Will looked up when she shuffled a little, petting Lincoln on the head and stooping low to pick up Crockett, the little _ he'd gotten just before Winston had turned up. He watched her stroke the little dog's ear affectionately, cooing to him, until he couldn't take it anymore. "Shouldn't you be going?"
"'Going'?" She looked up from the dog in confusion and met his eyes readily. "What about the Chinese you promised? And didn't you just get tomorrow off to make me one of the gang?" She cocked her head to one side, letting the dog jimmy out of her arms, and the pack looked at him expectantly, as if the dogs and the girl were all on the same wavelength.
"You want to stay?" Will asked numbly, shocked.
"Why not?" A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, changing her expression from curious to pleased with just the tiniest tweak. "I've never been in a pack before. And you don't seem like the kind of man I'm running from, mister..."
"Will." He stuttered, "Will Graham." Holding out his hand to shake, he managed to give her a quick up and down before he had enough of physical contact. "What's your name?"
She shrugged again and hugged her middle self-consciously. "My dad gave me a name, but he never called me anything nice. I don't use it anymore."
"Well, what do I call you?" Will asked uncertainly, his forehead wrinkled in anxiety.
"Think of something." Shrugging off his question, the girl squatted and preoccupied herself with the dogs, leaving Will with the task of naming his newest stray. Will met the eyes of his pack in turn, when they weren't sucking up her attention, and chewed the inside of his cheek until it came to him.
"Rush."