The More the Merrier

The gang had tuckered down for the night. Rose was curled up in the donut position, the tip of her tail covered her nose. Rita was trying to sleep in her makeshift bed.

But it was short-lived because of the sound of crashing and banging, waking up the she-dogs. Rose lifted her head and yawned groggily.

She looked around with her eyes half-way open. Tito was full of energy and was bouncing everywhere he could in his new home.

Rita stuck her head out of her bed, looking around for any threats. All the plates were sent flying whenever Tito bounced on them. As much as they liked this rambunctious pup, they just wanted to get some sleep.

"Tito, keep it down, will ya?" Dodger said tiredly. "Yeah, some of us need sleep, you know," Rose agreed, rather annoyed that Tito was keeping them awake.

"I'm sorry, man! I'm too excited to sleep! Got my new digs to check out!" Tito exclaimed, bouncing on Tito's back. He was used to Francis' grumblings that came with the bulldog.

Rose and Rita had made eye contact for a second before going back to sleep, or at least they tried to. "It'll be there when you wake up in the morning. Now go to sleep!" Rita shouted from inside her bed.

Tito settled down and tried to find a good place to actually sleep. However, Einstein woke up and saw what the chihuahua was doing.

"You looking for something?" the big dog asked, getting up from his sleeping place by Fagin. Einstein wasn't usually a night owl, but he believed he was missing out on the fun.

Rita groaned, putting her front paws on her ears. But it wasn't doing anything to help.

Now that Tito was a member of their gang, the real chances of them getting any sleep was dismal. Rose was annoyed too, so she sat up after stretching her legs. "Francis, is he usually like that?" she asked.

Francis had given up on sleep by this point and kept both eyes on the tiny dog. "Not always," Francis answered, "Then again, I've only known him for a week, so he should calm down sooner or later,"

"How'd you meet him?" Rita asked, also given up on sleep. "I was alone for a few days then he started to follow me. It was as if he appeared out of thin air," Francis explained, still unsure about the hound and shepherd/collie mix.

Such conversation took his mind off of the stench that filled the old barge. "Did you have a human before this?" Rose asked curiously, both mismatched ears perked up.

"I did once. I had very little to do with the other dogs in my home. Tito wanted my company, I suppose," the bulldog explained.

"Weird for you, eh?" Dodge wondered, already fond of their new members. Rose was starting to warm up to them, despite Francis' imperious facade.

"He is a challenge, that's for sure," Francis sadly said. It wasn't like him to look after a pup a few times smaller than himself. He was grateful to be taken in by the kind scruffy man, bringing him comfort.

However, his thoughts were interrupted by Tito slamming his tiny body against him. "Tito, quit it!" he scolded.

"Frankie man! Don't be boring, amigo! You think you can take me?!" Tito challenged, jumping back and forth while his skinny tail spun quickly.

"What about you, Tito? You have any humans?" Dodger asked, sitting next to Rose, yawning through his words.

"Yeah, man! But I ran away so I wouldn't have to be their lapdog! I ain't their toy! I slipped out under the fence," Tito said.

Rita rolled her eyes in disgust. She didn't want to think of her long wait to be adopted. "There are many dogs out there that would give anything to be adopted. Why throw away that chance?" she asked bitterly.

"Calm down, Rita. Seems like the kid just gave those people the extra room for someone who wants it. Why stick to something like that?" Dodger said smoothly. "I agree with Dodger. I wouldn't last a week," Rose concurred.

Rose and Dodger knew that it was a sensitive topic for Rita because of her feelings of being unwanted along with the loss of her sister. Rose could empathize because of how she lost her brother.

"I'm unable to process why such a dog would give up being a pet and choose to live as a street dog. I don't understand it," Francis said, thinking back to the place he had grown up in.

Ever since he took in Tito, he couldn't go back to how things were before. "Hey, being free is better than being somebody's lapdog! If you wanna go back to live like that, then go ahead!" the chihuahua yipped.

Einstein felt uncomfortable from the tension. "Does it really matter? It's done and besides, we have two new friends. That's a great thing, right?" he said, hoping to relieve the tension.

Rose wagged her tail and a smile crossed her muzzle. "You bet it is!" she said excitedly. "Yeah, the more the merrier!" Dodger said, breaking to a play bow with the chihuahua.

"C'mon, Rose!" Dodger called, wanting her to join them in their game. Rose stretched again and laid back down. "Nah, you boys have fun. I'm gonna try to sleep again," she said, laying down. This time she laid in the Superman position.

"Suit yourself," Dodger shrugged and proceeded to play with the tiny dog. It was too late to be crashing around with each other. They were surprised that Fagin was still asleep at all. He was a heavy sleeper.

It was only when Einstein tripped into a stack of plates after tripping over Tito that the man finally woke up. "Huh? What in the… do you boys know how late it is?" he grumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"Alright, settle down now!" he scolded as he scooped up the tiny dog from the chaos, "You've been keeping everybody up, haven't ya?"

Tito smiled and he gave the man a loving lick on the face before finally snuggling on his lap. Einstein laid down beside Fagin's chair.

The hours of chaos had finally come to an end, relieving all of the barge's tenants. The second Tito got comfortable in Fagin's lap, he was out like a light.

Rose smiled and closed her eyes again, falling back asleep along with the rest of the gang once it got quiet again.

They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow. It was the start of something new.