The Orb of Time

Part II - Remember

by LDEJRuff

Chapter 4 - Todd's Story

After the seven friends had lunch, they drove all the way to the dog park for some fresh air. Mort Goldman was shocked to see New Brian alive.

"Oy!" he exclaimed in surprise. "I can't believe my eyes. New Brian's alive? And one of those other dogs in the pack looks a lot like Todd Griffin in his younger years."

Both New Brian and Todd were shocked at what Mort just wondered.

"Uh-oh," Stewie feared. "Mr. Goldman's probably going to tell my parents about this. What are we going to do?"

"Relax, bambino," Vinny assured. "Let me talk to him." As soon as he approached Mort, he said, "You must be Mort Goldman, the Jewish pharmacist."

"You must have heard of me," Mort replied.

"Listen, Mort," Vinny began, "you can't tell anybody what you just saw, not even Peter or Lois Griffin, okay? They mustn't know about their dogs, Todd and New Brian, are back from the dead."

"So it was Todd Griffin," Mort thought. Then he assured aloud, "Don't worry, doggie. I won't tell anybody."

Vinny sighed with relief. "Good." With that, he returned to the pack.

Near a tree in the park, Todd was about to begin his story to his friends.

"Okay, everyone," Todd began. "Let me tell you a story of how Peter and I met. It was on his first Christmas with Lois..."

Like he stated, Todd's story began on Christmas morning. Lois had given Peter a box she wrapped with wrapping paper and trimmed with ribbons.

"Here you go, Peter," she said. "Merry Christmas."

"Oh, Lois," Peter said in awe. "I hope it's the one I wanted, isn't it?"

"Well," Lois replied as Peter opened the box, "I hope this puppy's what you wanted."

It was a male Golden Labrador Retriever puppy.

"Oh, wow, a puppy!" Peter responded with glee. "I think I'll name him Todd."

The puppy yipped in delight at this.

Six months have passed, and Todd was beginning to act like he was a teenager. Anyway, he walked up to Lois as she was about to give him something to wear around his neck.

"Here you go, Todd," Lois said. "It's a blue collar with a licensed tag on it. I hope you like it."

"Like it?" Todd repeated as she placed the collar around his neck. "I love it! This is the greatest thing you guys have ever given me. I can't wait to show it to my friends."

On the day of Meg's birth, Todd had to wait with Peter in the waiting area of the hospital. He was getting close to adulthood.

"Oh, Peter, I sure hope Lois is doing okay after this," Todd said, worried.

"Don't worry, Todd," Peter assured, "Lois will be doing just fine."

Dr. Elmer Hartman exited the operating room with a happy look on his face.

"Well?" Peter and Todd asked.

"Congratulations, Mr. Griffin," Dr. Hartman answered. "It's a girl. And her name is Megan."

"Oh," Peter responded, unsurprised.

"Well, that's a bit much, don't you think?" Todd added.

"Yeah, those were some swell times," Todd said, thinking about those memories. "And that's not all. I also happened to meet your father when he was just a puppy, Brian."

"You knew my father?" Brian asked.

"Of course," Todd replied. "He was a cute little rascal, that Coco. I met him in this dog park..."

It was on that day in the dog park. Todd was minding his own business when he saw a young White Labrador Retriever puppy wearing a green collar. It was Coco, Brian's father, as a puppy on all fours. He was trying to chase a squirrel up a tree.

"Hey there, little one," Todd greeted. "It looks like you're trying to chase something."

"Yeah," Coco said. "I'm trying to chase that squirrel. He made fun of me, calling me a little piece of dirt, and I didn't like that."

"Oh, that's not true," Todd disagreed. "You may be a cute little rascal, but you're no piece of dirt to me. You just gotta chin up and face any and all obstacles. Just take it from old Todd here."

"Thanks, Mister," Coco replied. "My name's Coco. My family's just visiting here from Austin, Texas. It's pretty far away."

"Come on, Coco," Coco's owner, a young blonde girl, called. "Time to go."

"Coming," Coco called back. "Well, it's good seeing you, Mr. Todd. Goodbye."

With that, Coco ran to his owner as Todd watched.

"So long, Coco," Todd whispered.

"So," Stewie began, interrupting, "how did you die?"

"It was around the time your brother, Chris, turned six," Todd answered. "I was getting old, my fur was turning white, and my sphincter was having some problems. Your father made up some story about us having a long walk at the park while I was well aware that he was to take me to the vet so I could be put down. Your family then decided that it was time for you to get a new family dog, and that dog was Brian."

"Really?" Brian gasped. "Well, I could tell you about how the Griffins found me."

"Yes, I know what happened, Brian," Stewie replied. "The fat man found you when you were just a stray."

Brian giggled nervously. "Well, that's not what really happened. Here's the real story..."