Guard Dog

Gwen watched Arthur sit in the car outside her flat for a good twenty minutes. At first she thought it was another grunt looking for Helios, but then she saw the detective's head peeking through the car window to study the building from the car. She imagined he was confused by the address when he pulled up to the seemingly vacant building. When she left the address stuck to his forehead, she made a bet with herself to see how long it would take him to show up. Betting on his impatience and persistence, she lost. It took him six days. Maybe she should've factored in his work schedule.

Deciding to put Arthur out of his misery, she went down to greet him. She sashayed up to the car and knocked on the window. Unless her eyes were deceiving her, he looked relieved. When he rolled down the window, she leaned in on her elbows. "Hey there, big boy. How may I service you today?" she said in her best hooker voice and batted her eyelashes.

Arthur made a face, but before he said anything a dog snout was in her face, sniffing her. She backed away in surprise and Arthur got out. A large german shepherd joined him.

"So, is this is your new hideout? I thought you were leading me on a wild goose chase because…" Arthur gestured to the vacant building space.

"I bought the whole thing. I'm going to turn the space into a dance studio. I live upstairs," she said while still staring at the dog. "When did you get a dog? Do you even have time to care for one?"

"Two days ago. No. And he's not mine." Arthur passed the leash to her. "He's yours."

Gwen held the leash, unsure. She looked at him, then down to the dog, and then back to the detective. "You got me a guard dog?"

He ignored the question. "Guinevere, meet Tiny."

"Tiny?"

Arthur shrugged. "He was the runt of the litter."

"Keyword being was," Gwen muttered.

Tiny laid down and yawned, probably bored with them just standing there. He looked up at Arthur with sad dog eyes. "He's retired and could use a good home."

Gwen remembered she was still holding the leash. "So you thought I'd take him?"

"You could use a friend," Arthur said.

"Helios got me a poodle while we were in France. One day while walking it, I stopped to sit on a bench, and this woman sat down next to me. She started sobbing and babbling in French. I just passed her the leash and walked away." Gwen remembered how much she had to pretend to like the annoying poodle. "She did stop crying though."

"Well Tiny definitely isn't a poodle."

"Cuter than one, too." She kneeled in front of the dog and he sat up. "Hi, Tiny." She scratched behind his ear and he nuzzled her palm. "Let's get you acquainted with your new home."

Arthur went to the trunk and pulled out two large bags of kibble, a dog bed, and two feeding bowls with cartoon skull and crossbones patterns. The skulls were cats. "Wanna give me a hand?"

"Nope," Gwen said smiling and Tiny followed her up to the flat.

Inside, Gwen had Arthur put the dog bed next to the sofa, and Tiny bypassed it and curled up on the couch. She filled the water bowl and Arthur filled the other with kibble.

"Where do you want this?" Arthur asked.

"Um…" Gwen looked around the kitchen. "There, in that corner." They laid the bowls down and Tiny bounded over and lapped at the water.

"So, how efficient is a retired police dog for guard duty?"

Arthur leaned against the island. "It's not because of age, if that's what you're wondering. On the job he was shot in the hip. He's fully recovered, but he decided to keep living the life of leisure after rehab."

Gwen laughed. "Lost his work ethic, has he?"

Tiny perked his head up and looked at them as if he knew he was being talked about. Arthur kneeled down to pet him. Tiny rolled onto his back to have his belly rubbed. Arthur snickered. "Yeah, this is a lot more fun than chasing bad guys, huh boy?"

Gwen wouldn't tell him this, but the image of grown men and animals made her melt. The tough, cranky cop she loved to pester looked more relaxed than he's ever been since she first met him. "Are you sure you can't keep him?"

"I wish." He had given her a carefree smile that quickly fell when his phone rang. "Pendragon," he answered. Tiny sat back up, disgruntled by the sudden lack of attention. "I'm on my way." Arthur hung up and told Gwen that he'll see himself out. He gave the Tiny another pat on the head. "Take care of him."

Gwen watched Arthur as he walked to the door, shoulders square and back in work-mode. Tiny followed him to the door. Arthur scratched the dog behind the ears one more time. "Take care of her, boy," he said quietly. He probably thought she wouldn't hear him, but she did. Tiny replied with a ruff.

"Arthur," Gwen said suddenly moving forward when he opened the door. "Thank you."

He gave her a nod before closing the door behind him.

A/N:

freckled98, I hope you liked what I did with your suggestion.

Stacy and larasmith, for the next chapter I have something in mind for your ideas of Gwen being assisting in an investigation.

Guest, (I wish you had a name so I can specifically identify your loveliness) I love the idea of Arthur keeping tabs on Gwen! I'll definitely use that in the future :D

As always, THANK YOU all for reading and reviewing, and keep those suggestions coming!