A/N Just like to give a massive thanks to HolbyCityFan2013, TamForever, TeamJaspie, CasualtyFanForever81, copper1eddie2, Chels and the guests For reviewing! Every single one of them is appreciated guys :)
Saturday 30th August 2014, 8:30am
Sam and Tom were in the car for Sam's 'main gift' and both were a mixture between being excited and anxious.
"Can you at least tell me if the main gift is actually a present or if it's me and you going out for the day?" Sam asked impatiently.
"We're driving to collect your present." Tom stated. "And we're pretty much there." He added. "So I suppose that I can tell you now... Before, I know that you've tried to get me into running with you to keep you company, and I know that you like going for long walks, which is why your birthday present, is a purebred border collie puppy." Tom stated slowly and Sam's face lit up.
"I knew it was a puppy!" Sam exclaimed.
"No you didn't!" Tom shrieked as he had been planning with the breeder for months to keep it a secret from Sam.
"Okay maybe I didn't but I had thought about it." She admitted. "I love border collies." She smiled.
"Phew." Tom mocked wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead as Sam grinned at him.
"Thank you." She said gratefully.
"Your welcome." Tom stated as he pulled up on a curb outside of a large detached house. They both got out, and Sam heard a strong bark coming from the back garden.
"Boy or girl?" Sam asked.
"You are the proud owner of a little girl, she's 10 weeks old, and she hasn't got a name yet, I wanted you to name her." Tom stated as he linked arms with Sam. "Right, are you sure you want this yeah? Because I've only put a deposit down and it's okay if you-" Tom was silenced as Sam planted her lips firmly on hers before she pulled away and she hadn't stopped smiling since she had found out what her present was.
"Of course I want her." Sam said confidently.
"Well then, let's go and meet your-"
"Our." Sam interrupted.
"Okay, let's go and meet our puppy. By the way, I've already seen her." Tom stated.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I've met the owner a few times and sorted out all the details." He smiled as he took her hand and they walked up the small pathway to the front door. Sam gave Tom's hand a small squeeze of excitement as he knocked firmly on the door before they stepped back and listened to several barks that were clearly from older dogs, and the little yelps and squeaks from the puppies in the back garden.
Sam kept on wondering about what she would call her puppy, when she was brought out of her thoughts and a friendly woman appeared at the door.
"Hiya, I'm Amanda. You must be Sam!" She smiled. "Tom's told me all about you of course. Come in, come in." She said eagerly and Sam followed Tom through corridor to a room that was clearly designated to dogs with a baby gate to prevent them from wandering about. It had a large crate packed with blankets in a corner where the mother was resting and scattered on the floor were dozens of toys. "The pups are just having a run around in the garden at the moment but if you wait here, I'll just bring your little girl in. You can say hello to Pippa, she's the mum." Amanda smiled before she opened the French doors and went out into the grassy garden where Sam could see puppies running around playing with each other.
"Who calls a dog Pippa?" Sam whispered jokily as she squatted down besides Tom in front of the crate where the fully grown dog enjoyed the gentle strokes over her head and down to her tail.
"The dad's called Scout." Tom stated. "Ah, speaking of the devil." Tom smirked as the similar looking black and white dog came padding into the room and joined the mother in the crate.
"Thank you so much for this." Sam said gratefully.
"As long as she doesn't take up my side of the bed, I'm as happy to have her as you are." Tom stated and Amanda smiled at the comment as she came back into the room with a black and white dog the size of a small Jack Russell in her arms.
"This is your little one." Amanda said softly as she gently placed the little animal on the carpet.
"Aw, she's adorable." Sam smiled as she got down onto her knees to greet the newest member of her very small family - just her, Tom and now the puppy as neither of them had families of their own.
"So how much does Sam know?" Amanda asked Tom as they both smiled at Sam interacting with her new best friend.
"I only told her a few minutes ago, so not a lot." Tom stated.
"Alright, well. I'll make us a cup of tea, and we can catch up on the details." She smiled.
The other puppies had come in from their morning run so the adults had moved into the living room. The woman was sat in an arm chair, whilst Tom and Sam - who had the puppy on her lap - sat on the sofa.
"Okay, have you decided on a name yet?" Amanda asked as she slid onto her knees on the floor by the coffee table and spread out the paperwork on it.
"Um, not yet no." Sam admitted as she let the dog lick her hand because it was either that or her face.
"She's certainly taken a shine to you." Amanda smiled. "But don't worry about the name, you don't want to rush and chose something that doesn't suit her. I've only got one tip for naming your dog and that's to remember that whatever you chose, you have to be comfortable with shouting it across the park because you don't want to be shouting something silly." She stated.
"Mm. So how many were in the litter?" Sam asked curiously.
"Pippa had 9, but there was a runt of the litter and he unfortunately didn't make it so there's eight all together. Most breeders sell the puppies at around 8 weeks old but I wanted to keep these lot a little bit longer because in my experience, the longer they stay with their mum and watch what she does, the easier they are to toilet train. And your little one is the first one I'm letting go. I've already found homes for the rest of them, they were snapped up pretty quickly and their new owners are coming in the next couple of days to collect them." Amanda explained. "And they've already had all of their vaccinations, and they're allowed to go outside." She added.
"Excuse me for being nosey but do you have any children living here? Or has she spent any time with kids?" Tom asked curiously as he gently stroked the dog on Sam's lap.
"I've got a 6 year old and an 8 year old and they've gotten on fine. Plus, when Pippa was younger and I had just had my kids, she was brilliantly behaved around them so I'm sure your one will be fine with children too. Why? Have you got children?" She asked.
"Um no but we're going to try for our first soon." Tom stated as he remembered their conversation the previous night.
"Oh well I wish you the best of luck." She smiled.
Tom was making lunch whilst Sam was sitting on the sofa watching her new puppy playing with a chew toy on the carpet as it rolled over again and again. She had deep brown eyes, and the tip of her tail, the bottoms of her legs and paws, her chest and her chin were all white, but her back and head were covered in shiny black fur. And because she was so young, both of her black ears flopped forwards. Sam kept on trying to come up with a name for the animal, but she was having a little trouble.
"Right, it's ready." Tom announced and Sam jumped off of the sofa, before she walked into the kitchen. They both sat down at the breakfast bar with a plate of fresh chicken salad and a glass of cold lemonade.
"Thank you."
"So, got any ideas for her name yet?" Tom queried.
"Um..."
"I'll take that as a no." Tom smirked. "Don't worry, you've got all the time in the world." He said reassuringly, before they began eating in silence until Sam spoke up.
"Y'know when we said about trying for a baby..."
"Yes."
"I was looking on the internet, and I've been looking through the calendar at my phone to work out when the most fertile time for me will be, and I think that we should try not next week, but the week after on the Friday or the weekend." Sam explained.
"Yep, I look forward to it." Tom smiled.
"I won't drink anymore and I'll get the folic acid and vitamins tomorrow because I need to go shopping." Sam stated.
"Yep, okay-" Tom was interrupted by a high pitched quiet bark which caused him to smirk. However, they both got up and followed the sound to find the dog standing by the back doors that opened on to their garden - they had the ground floor apartment so they had the garden to themselves. "What is she barking at-"
"Sshh." Sam put a finger to her lips as they watched the puppy staring at the floor frantically wagging her black tail with a white tip. They both realised that the late August sun was shining through the glass doors, and the dog was barking at her own shadow as it moved and she seemed fascinated by it. "That's it!" Sam exclaimed.
"What?"
"Shadow, that's her name." Sam announced.
"Shadow. Mm, I like it." Tom nodded as he put his arm around Sam's shoulder and they both watched the innocent little puppy that was so easily entertained. "Hang on, isn't Shadow more of a male name?" Tom questioned.
"No, I think it's unisex. She's called Shadow." Sam concluded.
Coming up: An obstacle interferes with Sam and Tom's plans to conceive their first child.
Thanks for reading, please leave me a quick review if you wouldn't mind :)