The final chapter!

Chapter 3

Actually Happy

It was the longest fraction of a second the beagle ever experienced in his entire life. Everything was moving so slow as if you were traveling with a speed nearing the speed of light, everything stopped relative to him, and he basically could tell what was happening anywhere in the universe at that exact moment.

And the beagle desperately wished he couldn't.

Peabody looked at what was happening, but really didn't process it inside his mind. It was really horrifying. Right there, Bonnie was there a second ago, just in front of him. But after the loud thunder sound struck, she mindlessly jumped to the road. What he saw next was even more terrifying. A semi-truck was just happening to run at its max speed. But Peabody didn't dare to look at what to come. A knot forming inside his stomach stopped him to do so.

But the series of sounds caught by his keen dog ears already made him cringe in horror.

The white dog had to use all his might to stay awake, to stay conscious, not to vomit, but most importantly not to go insane. His mind wandered to the most frightening situation Peabody could imagine. And he imagined a lot. Some were unbelievable, some were dreadful, others actually shown a glimpse of hope. Bonnie might actually survive. Though the chances were really slim, she still got the chance. Of course, Peabody would have to open his eyes to actually find out.

And again, the beagle desperately wished he hadn't.

"No... No... No!" He ran to Bonnie as soon as he saw her lying on the side of the road, but stopped midway when the truck that hit her stopped and pulled over. Realizing that it was not the best time to explain his current situation to yet some stranger, Peabody hide behind a rock, not too far that he could still observe the situation.

"Ted, what did we hit?" A tall and skinny teenager covered in hoodie said as he came out from the driver side.

"I don't know, you're the one who drive..." another came out, but this one was larger than the former, and he also popped an umbrella. The duo then walked to whatever left of Bonnie.

"Guess we hit an unlucky fella right here." The skinny one inspected. "Lookie! It only got three legs. Get the camera Ted!" He cried, and the other guy punched his shoulder in response.

"Do you realize that you just killed a pregnant dog?" The fat one said. His observation might be better than his friend's.

"Geez, you don't have to hit me." The hooded teen stated as he rubbed the sore area in his arm. "Well, is she alive?"

The other teen picked a stick that was lying on the ground and began poking the dog. "Nope, she's definitely dead."

Dead.

Peabody who was hiding behind the rock started to lose his balance. His eyes started to water as he felt another twist coming from his stomach. This one hurt more that before. He already listened to something that he feared more than anything. He felt a bombardment of emotions formed inside his body, from sadness until anger all mixed up to tear his fragile soul. He desperately wished that he could just wake up and forget all of this, but somehow he noticed that it was all too common to be a dream.

He lived in a fate where every single aspect were being very cruel to him. Cursed to be intelligent as a human, but with the body of a dog. Born to the world without anything. No name, no family, no pedigree. Rejections, taunts, bullies, no dogs allowed signs, he experienced it all. Again, events like this were too common for the beagle. He shouldn't be surprised.

Just when he was about to find a glimpse of light inside his miserable life, just when he finally found someone who actually looked after him. Just when he finally found someone who loved him for who he was. Fate, being a big fat bully typically found at middle school, took it all away. As if it didn't know that it was something really important to him.

Peabody felt his blood boiling inside his small figure. This was where he drew the line. He couldn't let fate pushed him any longer. The boys should be the one who felt his pain, they should be the one who suffered. The beagle clenched his jaw as he growled. Right paw took his glasses off and threw it on the ground. The boys were within sight and more importantly, within attack range. He devised a plan. He would get the skinny one first, throw him off the ground, and then bite the fat one on his leg.

But would it change anything?

Peabody couldn't deny the reality that Bonnie was gone, she would not return. And biting those two boys was not going to change any of it. Who was he? Could he become more stupid? Trying to change fate by letting his wrath to get the best of him. It didn't worked that way. It had been done, and all Peabody could do was to make it somehow better.

"So, what should we do to her?" The skinny teen inquired, looking at the Bonnie's cold, lifeless body.

"Well, bury it." The one with the umbrella suggested.

"What for? She's just a dog..."

"Well, imagine that it was your turtle that died. Would you give it a proper burial?" The fat one seemed to be the wiser of the two. "Besides, a decaying roadkill that's left open is really dangerous."

"I suppose, well I'll go get the shovel from the truck."

With that, the two teen, in spite of the pouring rain, set up a small hole not far from the road. Peabody just watched them working from his hiding position. After it was done, they both lifted the brown dog, set her down, and covered the hole with more dirt.

"Welp, it was not much." the hooded one said as he looked at the mound of dirt.

"It just need a mark..." the one with the umbrella placed a stone on top of it. "You and your puppies are in a better place now." He stated as he patted the mound.

"Whatever, I'm going back to the truck, it's freezing out here." With that, the skinny one took the shovel and left.

Peabody placed back his glasses as he tried to inspect the grave. But he seemed to walk further than he should...

"Sorry about that little fella..." The fat teen with the umbrella said as he took notice of Peabody. His head was lowered and the beagle could sense genuine regret coming from his tone.

Peabody was startled. The teen seemingly wasn't surprised by the idea of a dog walking only with its hind legs and wearing glasses. The dog just stood there in silence when the teen walked closer and knelt down to his height.

"She must be someone special to you, mustn't she?" Unable to talk, Peabody just nodded.

"Ted! You're coming or what?" The other teen yelled from the car as he honked the klaxon twice.

"I've got to go." The one who was named Ted stood up. "Don't worry, you'll find someone. It might not be the same, but you'll find it!" With that, he ran to the truck. Leaving the widowed dog with the grave of his partner.

His words might be as corny as something that was quoted from a lousy romance novel, but Peabody kept that inside his head ever since.

The beagle released his glasses and wiped the tears that was endlessly forming on his eyes. Each bursting more emotions than what had the dog been releasing in his entire life combined. He felt really helpless, for the first time in his life he felt really weak. He was a resourceful dog, he stood strong in difficulties, he solved a lot of problems, but all of that seemed to be nothing when looking at his current situation. Muster all of his knowledge about life and medicine, he still wouldn't be able to change this. So he only did what he though he could only do. Cry. Cry like a little dog would.

But Bonnie wouldn't want him to cry, would she?

She wasn't the one who cry. She would always be happy no matter what. Cut her leg off and she would still be running. Bonnie might not be intelligent, but she was definitely a better dog than Peabody. Unlike him, she got that determination in her eyes. She didn't let fate master her, she didn't hinder in the sight of plaid.

If Peabody had been the one who was below the ground, Bonnie would still be strong and continue living.

After wiping his last tears, Peabody made a promise inside his heart. A promise that he would find someone or something that he would eventually love as much as Bonnie. And he wouldn't stop looking until he found it. And when he did...

...He would not let fate take it away again.

Peabody finished the story as he felt a coat of tear forming on the surface of his eyes, while Sherman, who was having a hard time processing this, just looked at his father silently, probably still surprised by his newfound knowledge.

"Well, I tried to find that thing I love ever since." Peabody added. "At first, I thought that my love would be knowledge and science. I climbed my way to it from being a part time librarian up to being a big shot inventor, but the truth is, I didn't find anything I truly love there. Might as well give up on that promise..."

"Well, some promises are made to be broken..." Sherman blurted with a small chuckle.

"What do you mean?" The father asked, which made the boy raised an eyebrow. "I kept my promise."

"No you didn't," the boy said. "You said that you'll find someone you love. But looking on your... current state of not being with anyone at all, I believe that you're actually done with it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll definitely know if my own dad is dating a woman..."

"It doesn't have to be a woman."

"What, you're saying that you're gay again?"

"I found you."

Sherman blinked twice after hearing his father, he couldn't be more naïve than that. Peabody then bursted a small laugh at his son's obliviousness.

"I... I..." Sherman just dragged his words while trying to cover the shade of red forming on his face.

"Sherman my boy," Peabody said after recovering from his laugh "The reason for me not getting married was not about Bonnie. Sure I still remember her and sometimes cry myself to sleep with the thoughts of her inside my head, but never had once it stopped me from trying to find love."

The boy didn't respond, he didn't have to. The father then put both of his paws on Sherman's shoulder.

"You are my ridiculous reason, Sherman. The only person besides Bonnie that could single handedly steal my heart. When I look at you, I see Bonnie. I see the same determination in both of your eyes. I see the same smile that the two of you use while facing the cruel fate. You both make me happy just by being you. Sherman, you might not be the same as her and you might haven't met her, but I could say that... you are definitely Bonnie's pup, and I was more than contented to found you." The redhead smiled as he took the compliment.

"Geez, now I felt really bad for making you snapped out earlier." Sherman mumbled. He couldn't believe on how much his father loved him until now. "I'm sorry Mr. Peab." Sherman surprisingly embraced Peabody with a hug. "

"Well, I was also kinda overreacted back then. I'm sorry too." the beagle returned the hug that was really enormous for him, with Sherman being three times the dog's size. "I thought I had moved on and everything..."

"You must really miss her huh...?"

"Well I got you," Peabody released the hug and tousled his son's hair. Sherman just laughed. "I got you, and you got her living inside of you. It was more than enough."

"Guess that you won't be seeing anyone for the rest of your life huh?" The boy blurted.

The beagle just nodded and drank the remaining half of his drink in one gulp. "Sorry that I couldn't give the puppy siblings you want, but I will be looking forward to meet the Peabody puppies of your own..."

"We'll see..." Sherman said. "But in the mean time, I just need to stick with this old dinosaur of a puppy." the boy nudged to Peabody, who nudged back in answer.

"Well then Sherman," the white beagle stated with a hiccup. "Story's over, time to go bed. We got a booze-y day ahead of us... pun intended."

"Do you need any help? You took your last swig a little too hard..." The sixteen year-old thought that it was amazing how his dad could converse in full, comprehensive language in spite of being in a completely different plane of reality.

"I'm pretty sure that I can get to my own bedroom without any help." the father confidently said as he hopped down from the bar stool. After he landed, he could feel his heart pump faster, rushing all of the blood to the cranium area, spinning the world around him in accordance to his mind. He tried to walk, but it seemed that it only made him worse in each step. And by the end of the eighth steps, he fell out of balance.

"Sherman, please be a good boy and help me up..." Peabody instructed with his index finger pointed up as he surrendered to gravity. He chuckled as he picked his father up by the belly and held him tight to the his chest. The duo walked to the hall where the bedroom was located at the end of it.

"Guess that I'm in trouble huh Mr. Peab." The redhead struck a conversation after a while.

"No Sherman." Peabody surprisingly answered, which made the sixteen year-old almost sigh in relief. He knew that his father would not let him off the hook that easily. "Trouble wasn't enough. You are... in a... really, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, trouble. The deepest I could imagine." the father stated. "For making me drink too much."

Sherman just grumbled, wishing that the beagle would be too drunk to actually remember anything in the morning. But, regardless of the trouble it brought, he was actually glad that he asked that question, and forced the dog to answer it. Who knew that he himself was the one to blame for Peabody's absence in romance, but the boy couldn't have it any other way.

Because the most important matter was there. Sherman knew by heart that his father was actually happy.

"You know, if Bonnie is still living with us, you'll also be in a huge trouble." Sherman playfully joked. Peabody blushed to his current situation. Who could've imagined that the world's smartest and most amazing dog was currently leaning helplessly on his son's shoulder, being too drunk to walk.

"Well, just don't tell your mother, otherwise–blurp." the beagle quickly covered his mouth with his paws.

"Mr. Peabody? Are you okay? Sherman noticed that his father's face turned green. The beagle tried to swallow the lump forming inside his throat.

"Sherman. Bathroom."

"Oh crud."