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“Dad!” Derek came running through the house, bursting through the nearly closed study door. “You gotta come outside.”
“What's going on?” Dave asked.
He was supposed to be writing but was looking at classic sports cars. It was basically David Rossi’s equivalent of porn. The internet was such a distraction for him. Dave learned a long time ago not to let his heart rate get too high when a kid burst in the room for whatever reason. If he did, he would never be calm.
“Some dude hit a dog outside. He just hit him and sped off. I saw the whole thing.”
“Where’s Penelope?” Dave got up and they both rushed out of the room. “You two were playing together.”
“She stayed with him.” Morgan replied. “She said if he was going to Heaven that she didn’t want him to be by himself.”
Dave almost smiled. Their youngest daughter was such a sweet little girl. Once outside, he ran down to the end of the driveway. Penelope was cradling the dog. There was some blood matted on his fur and coming out of his mouth. He whimpered as Penelope petted his head. She looked up at Dave.
“Help him, Daddy.”
“I'm gonna try, kitten.”
Dave was as gentle as he could be with the mutt considering he didn’t know where the injuries were. He carried him to his Chevy Suburban on the curb with Derek and Penelope in tow. The kids climbed into the back seat while Dave put the dog on the front passenger seat.
“Seatbelts, kids.”
They buckled up as Dave checked the rearview mirror and pulled out of the parking space. He didn’t even remember if he locked up the house. Luckily the security door locked automatically behind them. Erin would kill him if someone broke in and stole everything they owned. The house was empty since Emily was at Zoe’s and Hotch went to the library to work on a school project.
“Where are we taking him, Dad?” Derek asked.
“There's an animal hospital not far from here. Those are the people who can really help him.”
“I memorized the license on the car. We’re gonna report him to the police, right?”
“We will.” Dave nodded. “First we’re gonna do everything we can to get this guy back on his feet.”
Dave didn’t expect this kind of detour today. When you were a dad and it was Saturday, you didn’t know what kind of adventure might come your way. He didn’t want the dog to die in his car. Mostly because he didn’t want his kids to experience that. It wouldn’t have been very good on his psyche either.
***
What a sight she must have been in her purple play tights, Wonder Woman tee shirt, and pink ballet skirt. Penelope was also wearing a pair of pink bunny ears. Never one to mind striking up a conversation with anyone, she asked all kinds of questions about hedgehogs, guinea pigs, and geckos. She found Marvin the Iguana very interesting.
“Daddy, can I have an iguana?” she leaned on Dave when she asked. She looked at her older brother to see if she had his support. Derek smirked but nodded.
“I think that would be a lot of work, Penelope.” Dave replied. “You're a bit young for that kind of responsibility.”
“But I'm super responsible.” She said. “I feed the dog and always do my chores.”
“Maybe in a couple of years when you're older. Mudgie is everyone’s responsibility. An iguana would be yours alone. I’ll discuss it with mom.”
“Will you put in a good word for me?”
“I will.” Dave nodded.
“Do you promise?” Penelope asked.
“I do.”
“If not an iguana then maybe a dragon. I would love to have a dragon. We’ll just get a baby dragon, Daddy, so he won't breathe too much fire. I don’t want him to burn the house down. I’ll train him to be good.”
“A dragon would be cool.” Derek said.
“Don’t encourage.” Dave whispered to his son. He had no idea how he and Erin were going to explain the Penelope the difference between real and imaginary things when the time came. At seven she thought everything existed.
“But it would be, Dad.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Rossi?” a female doctor came out into the waiting room.
“It’s Agent Rossi.” Derek said.
“I'm sorry about that, Agent Rossi.” She smiled.
“It’s alright.” He knew that the dog was alive at least if she was smiling. “How is he?”
“Well, she is going to be alright. She has a broken back paw, two fractured ribs, and a broken rib. The broken rib punctured her lung so there was some internal bleeding. We stopped it and got her all sewn up. She’s lucky that the car wasn’t moving at a more accelerated speed when she was hit or it might not have ended so well. Also, she was malnourished and slightly dehydrated so she wasn’t moving as fast as a dog might normally in that situation. She’s lucky…your kids got to her in time.”
“She came to us.” Penelope said. “We saw the whole thing and she crawled into our driveway. I'm glad she's going to be alright.”
“She needs rest and plenty of TLC.” The doctor said. “We’re going to need to keep her a few days to monitor her injuries and dispense medicine as needed. We also want to get her hydrated, fed, and keep her blood pressure stable. She's scared and hurt but a real fighter. I would say you could probably pick her up on Thursday, depending on how tonight and tomorrow go.”
“Oh,” Dave cleared his throat. “She's not our dog.”
“We think she's a stray.” Derek said. “Penelope wanted to play with her but my mom said to stay away from stray dogs. I shooed her away and then she was hit. It was kinda my fault.”
“No young man,” the doctor crouched down in front of Derek. “It was absolutely not your fault. You went and got your dad, who was able to bring her here and save her. Also, we called and reported that license plate. The person who hit her will pay the consequences.”
“I'm glad to hear that.” Dave said. “Now Dr.…”
“I'm Dr. Nasir.” She said.
“Dr. Nasir, she's not our dog. We already have one at home plus four kids. I'm not entirely sure it’s the best place for her.”
“Without owners we can only give her 48 hours care.” Dr. Nasir said. “I don’t like the policy but that’s the policy. After that she’ll be shipped to a local shelter, who often isn’t prepared for the work that comes with injured animals. They don’t have the means and their staffs don’t have the training.”
“Dad, they’d put her down.” Derek said, getting the doctor’s meaning. “We can't let them do that.”
“Please Daddy.” Penelope looked up at him with those eyes. Dave was rarely able to resist those eyes.
“I don't know guys, I need some time to think about this. Bringing another pet home is a big step. We all have busy lives.”
“I’d help; I would.” Derek said.
“Me too!” Penelope chimed in.
“Dr. Nasir, I'm going to need time to think about this.” Dave said. “My wife and I are juggling many plates. We take on one more and the whole thing might come crashing down.”
“Of course, Agent Rossi.” She nodded. “I apologize if it seems that I'm pressuring you. I see a lot of sick animals daily and I know it’s not easy for people to help even when they want to. These are tough economic times. If I can save one, I'm always gonna go for it.”
“I hear you.”
“The hospital is closed tomorrow though the ER is always open. Just give us a call on Monday morning and let us know. Perhaps we can get her adopted quickly; some of the employees in the strip mall down the street go dog crazy.”
“I’ll do that.” Dave shook her hand. “I really appreciate that you were here and what you’ve done, Dr. Nasir. The animal population in this town is lucky to have you and this hospital.”
“Thanks, Agent Rossi. I'm just glad you have such brave kids. I’ll see you guys.”
“Bye.” Derek and Penelope waved as she walked away.
“Daddy…”
“Nope.” Dave held up his free hand. The other one was holding Penelope’s as they walked toward the exit. “I said I’d think about it. I will do that but without any pressure from you guys, OK?”
“Do I still get to ask if we can go to Arby’s?” Derek asked. “Everything that’s happened this afternoon just made me really hungry.”
“That we can do. We better get something for Hotch and Emily too. I'm sure they’ll be hungry as well.”
***
“Who did it and who's claiming responsibility for it?” Erin asked.
“No one did anything.” Dave said laughing. His wife was out of town and he missed her. She was at a Cold Case Symposium in Colorado Springs and wouldn’t be back until Tuesday. This was the first time she traveled for work since the car accident. Though neither one of them said, it was hard to let each other go. “Well, Derek and Penelope are being hailed heroes.”
“What happened?”
“We kinda have a new dog.” Dave replied.
“Kinda?” Erin asked. “I've got to hear this.”
“The kids saw a stray get hit this afternoon when they were out playing. Derek came in and got me and we took her to the ER.”
“And now she's ours?”
“If she's not adopted then the hospital can only hold her for 48 hours. I can't imagine what will happen to her in a shelter. It’s not easy to get an injured mutt adopted. Who knows how long she was a stray around here.”
“You're a bleeding heart, David.”
“It’s not just me.” Dave replied. “Lovely, sweet, curious, wants to throw both arms around the world Penelope is 150% you. It may not be the you that the whole world knows but I know that woman quite well.”
“Yeah well, brooding, contemplative Aaron is 150% you. So there.”
“Wait until the next time you see Derek get angry. If he’s not his mother’s son I don’t know who is. He can lift the roof off the place. There's a reason you're the one who always calms him down.”
“And Emily is full of that pure, unadulterated Rossi snark.” Erin said. “Sometimes I don’t know whether to hug her or pop her.”
“Nature versus nurture huh.” Dave laughed. “They really are our kids. I see so much of you in them.”
“Ditto, Agent Rossi.”
“I think you're going to like the dog.”
“The kids already do.” Erin said. “I'm outnumbered.”
“There's really no such thing as being outnumbered in an oligarchy.” He said.
“Damn you're sexy when you show political knowledge. I miss you guys.”
“We miss you too. We had Arby’s tonight…and milkshakes.”
“You're the one who can cook.” Erin said. “I know you don’t miss me for the food.”
“There are other ways you can fill me up, Mrs. Rossi.” He smiled.
“You're an adorable, dirty old man.”
“And you're stuck with me.”
“I couldn’t be happier. Give the kids extra kisses for me, and we’ll talk about the dog when I come home.”
“You don’t have to go just yet do you?” Dave asked.
“I guess I can give you a little more time. I do need to get up early though, and you’re two hours ahead of me. David, you need to rest.”
“It’s not easy to sleep in this bed without you, woman.”
“I'm sure Mudgie is keeping my spot warm.” She said. “Soon there will be another dog doing the same.”
“If we can fit two kids in this bed I think two dogs will be OK.” Dave said.
“Think about two kids and two dogs.” Erin countered.
“Touché. We might need to relocate…find more square footage.”
“You're being facetious.” She laughed.
“And adorable as well.”
“I hate to end this…” Erin bit back a yawn.
“Me too, but you sound tired baby. Get plenty of rest tonight and you can call the kids in the morning. I'm sure Derek and Penelope will want to give you their version of the entire story.”
“I can't wait to hear all of it. Don’t forget to kiss and hug them for me.”
“I won't; I promise.” Dave shook his head.
“I love you, David.”
“I love you too. Sweet dreams, talk to you in the morning.”
“Goodnight.”
He pushed the red button on his phone to end the call. Dave leaned back on the pillows and sighed. The house was relatively quiet right now. The kids were still awake but Dave and Erin had been giving them quiet time before bed since they were little. It was a way for both kids and parents to come down from whatever craziness the day had brought them.
Today was a doozy. And they were going to add another animal to the mix. Dave wasn’t even sure how Mudgie, who was resting quite comfortably in Erin’s spot, was going to take this. He was a pretty laidback dog but that’s because he never had to share the love, affection, or food.
Dogs weren’t like kids. They didn’t always do what their parents told them and accept new members into the family. To add to it all, the chapter Dave was supposed to finish that afternoon sat untouched on his laptop. The plan wasn’t to spend Sunday writing but that would now have to change.
“Dad?” Derek tapped on the door and stuck his head in.
“Hey, what's up?”
“Can I play some Street Fighter before bed?”
“Blood off, on mute, OK?”
“Sure.”
Derek came in and sat down at the bottom of the bed. He turned on the television, went to Channel 1, and then got up to hook up the video game system. He looked at Dave before sitting back down.
“Wanna play?”
“I don’t know how you're gonna feel getting it handed to you by such an old man.” Dave grinned. “Eleven is kinda young for an ego check.”
“You'll never know unless you try.”
Dave nodded, scooting down to the end of the bed next to his son. Derek handed him a controller. Video games were one of Dave’s guilty pleasures, not that he felt any guilt about it at all. He released tension with them and had gotten good over the years.
“One game.” Dave said. “I don’t want you staying up too late.”
“Aww c'mon, it’s Saturday night Dad. Let’s do the best two out of three. I have a feeling you're gonna take me at least once.” Derek smiled as he held up one finger. “Just once.”
“Fine, best two out of three; let’s do it. I'm Crimson Viper.”
“Aww man, I was gonna pick her.” Derek laughed. “I’ll take Ryu. I hate to beat up a girl but you're going down old man.”
“I've heard that before.” Dave said. “You're not allowed to tell mom on me when I spank you.”
Derek was one of his favorite people to play games with. He went hard and loved having fun. Like his father he also liked to win. A fun challenge would be the perfect way to end such a busy day.
***