In this chapter, the kids find a golden retriever puppy. Thank you to the guest who gave me this idea! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Hey, I'm going for a run. I'll be back in like thirty minutes." Jesus reset his watch at the door and started some pre-run stretching as he spoke to his siblings in the living room.
"No way! Moms said that no one leaves the house alone while they are gone. And I'm not about to get in trouble again while they are away!" Brandon jumped up from the couch. "We barely convinced them to go away for the weekend. If they find out that we broke the rules they will never leave us alone again."
"Fine! Then someone come with me!" Jesus scanned his siblings' faces but they all shook their heads no. "Well, I have to stay in shape for wrestling so I'm leaving." Before anyone could stop him, Jesus was out the door.
"Well, it's only going to be thirty minutes. He should be fine, right?" Brandon turned around and questioned Mariana, Callie, and Jude.
"I think Jesus can handle himself, Brandon." Callie reassured him.
"I guess you're right. I'm going to order some pizzas for dinner. Is everyone okay with pepperoni?"
Everyone nodded their heads and Brandon went into the kitchen to order the food. A couple minutes later, the front door swung open.
"Jesus? Why are you back already?" Mariana met her twin at the door.
"I need you to come with me." Jesus reached for Mariana, but she pulled back. "Mariana, right now!"
Mariana rolled her eyes and reluctantly went outside with Jesus. Callie and Jude shared a confused look and followed them. They caught up with the twins by the garage.
"What are you two doing?! Never mind, that's not important. Anyway, like I was explaining to Mariana, I kind of did something stupid." Jesus was breathing heavy and looked very panicked.
"What a surprise." Jude mumbled under his breath.
Jesus shot his younger brother a glare. "But, it was also a really good thing. I'm going to open this door, and when I do, none of you will freak out or panic. Got it?"
Callie, Jude, and Mariana looked at each other suspiciously but nodded in agreement.
Jesus took a deep breath and opened the door to the garage. When he stepped to the side, he revealed an eight week old golden retriever.
"Oh. My. GOD! Jesus, she's so cute! Where did you get her?" Mariana dropped to her knees and picked up the puppy.
"Okay, first of all, HE is a boy. And I got him–" Jesus was cut off by the door opening.
"What the hell?!" Brandon stepped into the garage and his jaw dropped open when he saw the puppy. "Jesus, why the hell would you buy a dog?! Moms are going to freaking kill us!"
"I didn't buy him, Brandon! I saved him! I was running down the street and I saw him inside of a car with the windows rolled up. It's like 95 degrees outside. Can you imagine how hot it was in that freaking car? I searched for his owner but I couldn't find anyone. So… I kinda broke the window and got him out."
"You broke a car window? Jesus, you can get arrested for that!" Callie smacked Jesus on the arm as she chastised him.
"Just listen! I wasn't finished." Jesus ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath before he continued. "After I got him out, some guy came running up to the car and was screaming at me. I started screaming back at him for leaving a little puppy in the car. I told him that he could go to jail for animal abuse. He shut up real quick after that. He told me if I would take the dog off of his hands, he wouldn't make me pay for breaking the window." He looked around to all of his siblings and saw that they all disproved of his actions. "Oh come on you guys! Look at his face! He's so cute!"
They all looked at the puppy who was panting happily.
"Okay, well, what are we going to say to moms when they get back in two days?" Jude started the conversation and they all sat around deciding what they would tell Stef and Lena. For once, the Adams-Foster siblings decided it would be the best to just tell the truth. With the minor exception of Jesus going out on a run by himself. They decided it would be best if they said Brandon went with him.
They brought the puppy in the house and tried to decide what to name him.
"How about… George!" Brandon said with confidence.
"He's not a ninety year old man, Brandon!" Mariana said critically. "I think he looks like a Billy." Mariana sulked when she got a resounding "No!" from everyone.
"Champ!"
"We already shot that one down, Jesus!" Jude commented with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
They all rattled off ideas, but each one was declined. After an hour of no progress, Callie noticed something was off.
"Uh, does anyone know where the nameless puppy is?" She jumped up and looked around the living room.
"How did he get away without any of us noticing?" Mariana was right on Callie's heals and ran up the stairs.
"Guys! I found him!" Jude called from the pantry. The other four met their youngest sibling in the pantry and laughed at the sight in front of them.
The puppy was sitting happily in front of a pile of soup cans he'd knocked off of the shelf.
"How about Campbell?" Callie suggested. She got a quizzical look from her siblings and sighed when she had to explain. "Because of the soup cans! They're all Campbell's soup cans!"
Mariana smiled. "I love it!"
"Me too!" The boys said at once.
For the next two days, the siblings spent their time trying their hardest to get a little training done with Campbell and got him some supplies, like food and water bowls, toys, treats, food, a collar and leash, and a kennel. They gave him treats and snuggles whenever he did something right. But, when he did something bad, like chew up one of Jesus' shoes, he got sprayed with a water bottle. Thirty minutes before Stef and Lena got home, Mariana walked downstairs and let out a shriek.
"JESUS! Get your ass down here right now!" She waited at the bottom of the stairs for her brother.
"What's wrong?! Are you okay?" Jesus bounded down the stairs and looked at Mariana worriedly.
"Oh me? I fine! But you are about to be in a world of hurt! Your dog took a freaking crap in my favorite pair of shoes!" She pointed to her shoes by the front door. "You are going to clean it up AND buy me a new pair or I'm taking Campbell to the pound myself!"
"Okay! I'll get you a new pair, just… don't take him, okay? I really like him and I promise I can train him better." Jesus pleaded with his sister.
"Fine." She started to walk away, but turned around. "I wasn't really going to take him. I just wanted to freak you out a little." She smiled and went to the backyard and joined Callie who was playing with Campbell.
Thirty minutes later…
All of the kids were waiting eagerly in front of the doors for the arrival of their mothers. Jesus had put the puppy in his room in the kennel.
"They just pulled up." Brandon looked out the window in the living room and ran back to stand with his siblings.
The front door opened and the kids welcomed Stef and Lena with hugs and kisses.
"Well, the last time this happened the window in the living room fell out of the frame!" Stef and Lena poked their heads around the corner to see if anything was out of sorts.
"Very funny mom!" Jude said jokingly.
"So did you have another crazy party?" Lena hugged each of her children and hung her coat up in the closet.
"What do you mean another, mama?" Callie tried to sound convincing, but it didn't work.
Stef and Lena shared a laugh and went to the kitchen to get a snack. They looked shocked when they noticed that all of their children followed.
"Did you really miss us that much?" Stef said in a sarcastic tone even though she was very curious.
"Actually, we have something to bring to your attention." Mariana looked at her siblings who gave her a look of approval. "Jesus, why don't you go…"
"On it!" Jesus took off up the stairs.
"Okay, you are all starting to freak us out. What is going on? And we would like a straight answer, please." Stef switched from curious mom to suspicious cop.
"Are you guys ready down there?" Jesus shouted from the top of the stairs.
"Just a sec Jesus!" Callie yelled back. "We feel as if we have shown some pretty bad lack in judgement lately. But, we want you to know that we have a way to redeem ourselves!"
That was Jesus' cue to come down the stairs. He walked down slowly and held a bundle of blankets close to his chest.
Stef and Lena stood up quickly. "Please don't tell me there is a wild animal in there." Lena pleaded.
"No, not a wild animal!" Brandon walked over to Jesus and pulled the top of the blanket down, revealing Campbell. "Just a domestic one!"
"You got… you bought… YOU BOUGHT A DOG WHILE WE WERE GONE?!" Stef yelled. She turned to Callie, who was in complete shock. "You think this is NOT a bad lack in judgement?"
"Mom, just hear us out! Please!" Callie walked over to Jesus and took the puppy from him. "Jesus, why don't you explain?"
Jesus made everyone sit around the table. He explained how he "and Brandon" went on a run and found the puppy in the car. He said they all thought it would be better if Campbell was in a loving home that with some guy who leaves his dog in a burning hot car.
After he finished, Stef and Lena shared another look. The kids tried to read their faces, but they couldn't.
"Guys, this house is already busting at the seams. This puppy isn't going to stay a puppy for long. He is going to get big and he's going to need space to run! Our backyard is way too small." Stef tried her best to come up with excuses, but the kids were on top of it.
"There is a huge dog park just down the street!" Jude pointed out.
"What about training him? There is no way that we are spending money on a trainer."
"Callie and I came up with a training schedule yesterday. The five of us are going to train him together. And Callie took a dog-training class at Girls United." Mariana refuted.
"But, what about…" Lena rubbed her brow trying to think of another obstacle, but couldn't come up with anything.
"Moms, listen. Campbell is just like us." Callie pointed to herself, Jude, Jesus, and Mariana. "He wasn't wanted or couldn't be taken care of by the people who were supposed to. He's a foster puppy! He's had some bad luck in his short time and just needs a family to love him. And this family is full of love! What better place than here with us?"
Stef looked at Lena and squeezed her had tightly. Stef sighed. "Fine! But all of you will do the potty training, clean up, walking, and training! We will pay for the vet bills, but you will have to pay for his supplies. The first time there is an argument about this, he is going to a different family! Are we understood?"
"Yes! Thank you moms!" The kids rushed Stef and Lena and gave them big hugs and thanked them over and over.
"Let me see this little monster anyway!" Stef reached out her arms for the puppy. Callie transferred Campbell to Stef. Stef smiled and laughed as he licked her face. "Well I guess you are pretty cute!"
Lena took him next and snuggled him closely. He rested his head on Lena's shoulder and groaned with delight. "You are just right at home, aren't you?"
Campbell pulled back from Lena and barked happily.
"Well, I'll take that as a yes!"
Hopefully you liked this chapter! It was a lot of fun writing it! Leave me some more reviews for more chapters!