A/N: On a plane trip recently, I was bored and drew illustrations for several of my stories – including a picture of Don and Zillah. If you want to see, the link can be found on my profile page.

One-shot: Zillah's Bath Time

Prompt: 017 Brown

Summary: Charlie gives Zillah her first bath.

Timing: Back when Charlie and Susan were living together in London, a few months after adopting Zillah.

-ZBT-

Susan let herself into their apartment, humming softly to herself, then froze in shock. There was mud all over the hallway, in a trail leading to the bathroom. Without looking, she put her keys and handbag down on the hall table and, in a daze, went to investigate.

Pausing outside of the door, Susan heard her boyfriend struggling with something, and a lot of splashing, before he uttered one word which clarified everything.

"Zillah!"

It sounded as though the young genius was pleading with his pet puppy, who apparently wasn't cooperating.

"Zillah, please!"

Susan chuckled and turned away. She was still getting used to having the large bundle of fur in the house, but it was very entertaining to watch the puppy and the mathematician interacting. There were times when Zillah seemed almost human, and she'd already worked out that the best way to get treats was to look cute.

Nearly half an hour later, the bathroom door opened and Zillah came tearing out into the kitchen, where Susan was cooking dinner. The large puppy skidded to a halt and sat at her matte's feet, pleading for a treat with her eyes. A few moments later Charlie appeared, and Susan had to laugh.

Charlie was soaked from head to foot and looked extremely disgruntled. He shot a glare at his puppy, but it melted into a smile when she turned to look up at him.

"Dare I ask?" Susan commented, earning a huff in return.

"We went down to the park, and someone," he shot the pup a pointed stare, making her wag her tail, "decided that mud is the season's must-have accessory. She managed to completely cover herself before I could pull her away!"

"Hence the hall," Susan laughed. Charlie nodded in chagrin.

"She had a big shake when we came in, before I could get her to the bathroom. I'm really sorry, I'll clean it up. I promise."

Susan nodded and turned back to the stove, smiling. It was the first big mess that Zillah had made, and it was only mud. She figured that it could have been worse.

A cold nose pressed against her leg, and Susan looked down. Meeting Zillah's eyes, she couldn't help but laugh before leaning down to scratch the pup's ears. Zillah closed her eyes in contentment as long fingers ran through her fur.

"Well," Susan shrugged and stood again, "at least she's nice and clean now. What did you use to wash her?"

"Wool softener. Apparently it works well to get dirt out of fur."

Susan rolled her eyes skyward, but refrained from saying anything. The next time Charlie went shopping, though, he found that she'd added dog shampoo to the list.