Chapter Text
The next morning, Nicky found a vet five streets from the safe house. Before leaving the safe house, Joe put Gigi under his jacket to keep her warm in the cold. While walking, Joe took Nicky's hand in his.
"I will miss this," Joe said. "Holding your hand whenever I want when we leave Glasgow."
Nicky snuggled into Joe.
"Don't dwell on the future, Yusuf," Nicky replied. "It's a worry for tomorrow."
Gigi barked as she peeked her head out.
"See," Nicky said. "Gigi agrees with me."
Nicky scratched Gigi behind the ear.
"You are both right," Joe said. "As always."
Nicky opened the door for Joe and Gigi when they reached the vet.
"Hi," Joe said to the receptionist at the vet. "My wonderful, kind husband found this puppy named Gigi yesterday..."
Joe pointed at Nicky first, then at Gigi.
"And we wondered," Joe said. "Do you know if anyone is missing her?"
"Let me find a machine that can scan her and see if she has a microchip," The receptionist replied. "Give me a moment."
Joe looked at Nicky.
"You're still doing it," Nicky said with a smile. "Telling everyone I'm kind."
"And wonderful. Don't forget that," Joe replied before he winked. It made Nicky blush. "And I was just telling the truth as always."
Nicky moved to the side so he wouldn't get hit by the door when a man with a little girl was getting closer. When they got inside, the man kneeled in front of the little girl.
"I know you're sad, Lily," The man said. "But I'm sure the vet will be happy to put up the photo so we can find your puppy."
Lily wrapped her arms around her Father's neck as she started to cry.
"Tell Santa," Lily said. "I don't want any Christmas gifts this year. I just want Gigi back again."
When Gigi heard "Gigi", she started to wriggle in Joe's arms while whimpering. It made Lily look at Joe.
"Gigi," Lily said. "The man has Gigi."
Lily's Father picked her up before he looked at Joe.
"We just found her," Joe said. "I promise you."
"I believe you," Lily's Father replied. "Our puppy ran away a week ago when some kids threw a firecracker after us."
"Sad to hear it," Joe replied. "Is it okay that we scan the puppy first so we can be sure it is yours?"
"Of course," Lily's Father replied. "It isn't a problem."
Lily looked at Gigi, then Joe, then her Father.
"But Daddy," Lily sniffed. "I know it's Gigi because of the collar, so why won't the man give me my puppy?"
"Listen, Lily," Lily's Father replied. "We need to be sure that Gigi is Gigi. You wouldn't like it if we got home with the wrong puppy and another little girl missed her puppy."
"I understand," Lily replied. "Can I at least hold Gigi?"
"I don't see a problem with that," Joe replied. "Sit down on the chair over there."
When Lily was sitting down, Joe placed Gigi on her lap. It didn't take long before the receptionist returned. They were all asked to follow the receptionist into a room, where Joe placed Gigi on a table. Lily stood on her tiptoes, holding Gigi's paw while she was being scanned. When the receptionist found Gigi's microchip, she checked the number on the laptop.
"Good news, Mr Larson," The receptionist said. "Gigi is yours."
"Told you," Lily said as she hugged Gigi. "Can we take Gigi home?"
"In a moment," Mr Larson replied. "First, you must thank Joe and Nicky for finding Gigi and taking such good care of her."
Lily handed Gigi to her Father before going over to Joe and Nicky.
"Thank you for finding Gigi," Lily said. "I love the pink bow, and so does Gigi."
"Don't mention it, Topo," Nicky replied. "We are just glad that Gigi is back home again. We did promise her she would be that before Christmas."
Five minutes later, Joe and Nicky were on their way back to the safe house.
"You know what, Babe?" Joe said before kissing Nicky's forehead. "You did a good deed this Christmas by letting Gigi follow you back to the safe house."
"We both did the good deed," Nicky replied. "And in the future, I will remember to look down while walking back to the safe house."
"I have no doubts," Joe replied before kissing Nicky's forehead. "About my wardrobe. What do you say we use the wood for a fire while we look at the stars tonight?"
"That is a good idea," Nicky replied. "But burning the wardrobe doesn't solve the problem of needing more storage space for your ever-growing clothes collection."
"Don't worry about that," Joe replied. "I found an assembled wardrobe on the net. We can collect it tomorrow."
What Joe didn't know at that moment was, that when he had bought the other Ikea wardrobe online, he only looked at the picture, not the text, which meant that the new wardrobe also came in a box with a manual.