Chapter Text
Adam opened his eyes to whining only to be immediately licked in the face when he started to move. He placed a hand on top of mottled fur and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the other. He glanced over at the clock and was able to barely make out a blurry 4:30. He didn’t have to be up for another half hour but the small dog on his chest seemed to have other ideas.
“Morning, sweet girl,” he scooped her up in his arms and shifted to sit up. “What do you want this early? You usually like to sleep in.”
She whined again in his arms.
“You wanna go outside?” Adam baby-talked, scratching the top of her head.
She looked up towards his voice, her eyes cloudy, ears alert.
“Outside?”
She pulled away from him and started barking.
“Shhhhh. Shhh. Glinda, be quiet,” he stroked her back in an attempt to calm her down. “You’re going to wake the others.”
Glinda stopped barking but pulled herself to stand with her paws on his chest. Adam sighed before picking her back up and climbing out of bed. He had gotten used to getting dressed with one hand. It was easier than setting Glinda down and her wandering off where she could get into mischief. A few minutes later he was dressed enough for a quick trip outside.
The air was cold enough it took his breath away when he stepped off the final stair to set Glinda on the ground. It was still dark outside, but the days were always short that time of year. The pomeranian sniffed around but didn’t go far or do much of anything. It was less than a minute before she was whining to be picked up again.
“What’s going on with you, little one?”
Glinda was acting strange and it had Adam worried. If something went wrong with one of his dogs it was likely to affect the others. The vet that he would normally take her to retired that summer and left the practice to some city guy that Adam hadn’t met yet. He briefly considered taking her to someone else but it would almost double the drive, so the new guy it was.
He was able to drink half a cup of coffee before he started to hear the other dogs whine in their room. Adam set down his mug on the kitchen counter and headed down the hallway. He only made it halfway when the whining turned into barking.
“Ladies!” He shouted over the barking as stood in the doorway.
The room went quiet. All the dogs were standing at their kennel doors waiting to be let out.
Adam always started with Leslie. She was the leader for the rest of the pack. Her behavior would set the tone for the rest. Her kennel was covered with dark blue fabric to let as little light in as possible. He lifted the cover and unlatched the door to let her out.
Leslie stepped halfway through the doorway and stretched deeply before shaking the rest out. Her light gray fur floated in the air. The husky's tail started to wag slowly at first then more when she reached Adam. She leaned heavily against him and he was more than happy to reach down to give a solid pat to her side and scratch her head.
He moved away from Leslie to let the others out of their kennels. Rosa followed by Liz, then Roxie, Lucy and Ethel, Sophia, and finally Eponine. Once all eight were out of their kennels they swarmed around him vying for attention. Adam tried to give them equal pets while pushing through to let them in the run outside.
The door was only open a crack when Roxie shoved her way through, down the stairs and to the yard as fast as she could. Adam thought she liked to be first and center of attention. The rest of the pack followed the Samoyed into the snow that was just starting to collect on the ground.
He left the pack to their own devices and went back to finish his coffee and make an appointment to take Glinda to the vet. They had an opening in an hour. Not quite enough time to get all of his morning chores done but he didn’t want this to wait. Adam looked up from his phone when the girls started howling in the run.
Once everyone was back inside and fed he put them back in their kennels to keep them out of trouble while he went to town. It didn’t take eight dogs long to destroy a home. Adam learned that lesson after the first incident, so they were kenneled when he left.
He finished getting ready, running a hand through his hair and situating his glasses on the bridge of his nose, then packed Glinda in a small carrier. Adam set her on the floorboard of his truck. He took a minute to select a song from his phone before shifting gears driving off towards town to the Wicked soundtrack. He liked to think that music by her namesake calmed her.
Adam didn’t live too far out of town but it was enough that he could avoid the busyness of Presque Isle. The drive wasn’t too long, he only made it halfway through the third song before he was pulling up in front of a small house that had been converted into an office.
Glinda didn’t seem to enjoy being in her carrier around other dogs so he put her in his coat instead. She whined quietly and tucked her head to his chest.
A tech checked them in and directed them to wait in the lobby. Adam zoned out to the reruns on the small TV in the corner and didn’t notice the doctor had come to collect them.
“Glinda Birkholtz?”
“It’s Guh-Linda” Adam replied looking away from the TV. He finally made eye contact with the doctor and immediately lost his train of thought. Distraction came in the form of a white lab coat, cheekbones to die for, and a face so warm and inviting that anyone would feel at ease.
The doctor chuckled, “Well of course. If you two could follow me, please.”
Once in the exam room, Adam pulled Glinda out of his coat and set her on the table. She shivered a little but he kept one hand on her to make sure she couldn’t fall.
“What seems to be bothering Glinda today?”
Adam quietly went through the list of things he noticed this morning but kept trailing off when he caught the doctor’s eyes, they were a deep shade of brown he could spend all day looking into. He noticed the veterinarian’s name, Dr. Oluransi, when his focus shifted to how broad his shoulders and chest were.
The exam turned from history to physical and Adam had to force himself to sit down and wait rather than micromanaging the vet’s interaction with her. Glinda would tolerate people but over time she had come to dislike interacting with new people just like her handler. The students in Adam’s training class always laughed at how similar their personalities were. Glinda seemed to calm under Dr. Oluransi’s touch. Seeing her look comfortable was enough to keep Adam seated and out of the way.
“So I take it you’re a fan of Wicked ,” Dr. Oluransi continued the exam carefully.
Glinda let out a small sigh and tried to wiggle free from the veterinarian's hands. She succeeded briefly trying to walk to the edge of the table before she was scooted back towards the center.
“Yeah. I’ve seen it a few times and when I got Glinda the personality seemed to match so the name stuck. You?”
“I’ve only been able to see it once in Toronto when they were touring but it’s one of my favorites.”
“Same, bro. It gets me every time.”
“For real. Glinda and Elphaba should have just run off together. They could have been so much happier.”
“Ya know, people seem to overlook that. They did so much good for each other they didn’t need Fiero or the Wizard,” Adam agreed shifting in his seat. He kept meaning to watch how the doctor was handling Glinda but she seemed content and he’d rather just stare at the handsome man with incredible cheekbones. His thoughts briefly drifted to what it might be like to be wrapped in his arms. Even under a lab coat, Adam could tell this guy worked out.
Glinda made a small huffing sound that refocused Adam to what the veterinarian was doing. The man’s hands brushed down her back before coming up to scratch around her ears. After a moment he looked up at Adam and cleared his throat when made eye contact with Adam and glanced away quickly.
“So, I think she just has a minor infection. I’m going to prescribe an antibiotic and if she isn’t feeling better by the time you’re finished with it we can run some tests.” Dr. Oluransi kept petting Glinda while he spoke to Adam. “I don’t want to put her through any unnecessary testing if we can help it.”
Adam caught his eyes again and he was sure he looked like the world’s biggest dork for bringing Glinda in with something so minor the doctor didn’t even want to run any tests. “Yeah, thanks. I’m sure she appreciates that. I didn’t want the rest of the pack to get sick either so I figured coming here was our best bet. ”
“A whole pack? That’s a valid concern then. Don’t want to risk the health of all for one and all.”
Glinda let out a small bark, that made Dr. Oluransi jump. He had stopped petting her and she looked like she was making it known that she didn’t like that. She settled back down as the affection continued.
“It seems like she likes you,” Adam smiled softly. “She doesn’t usually warm up to others that quickly.” He stood and went over to the table holding out his hand for Glinda to smell him.
She licked at his hand briefly but didn’t move away from the doctor.
Dr. Oluransi chuckled, “Well, it looks that way.”
The room was quiet for a moment. Adam kept looking at the other man petting Glinda and cleared his throat when he realized he was staring. He should at least try to have a conversation with him even if the silence was comfortable. “So, uh, do you like any other musicals?”
“Yeah man, my fam had season tickets to a theatre in Toronto so we went a lot when I was younger. Not so much now that I’m older and moved away.”
“I feel that. Did you have a favorite?”
Talking with him was easy and comfortable just like the silence before was. Did they teach this is vet school? They must have. No way would he want to be standing here talking to Adam otherwise. He knew he was hard to deal with most of the time, but dealing with people was just so much work. And most of the time the people weren’t worth the work. This felt different though. Simple somehow, like they had known each other for more than a twenty-minute appointment.
They managed to talk for another thirty minutes or so when the tech from the desk earlier knocked on the door. “Doctor, your next appointment is here.”
He looked down at his watch, “Time flies, huh. Let me get that prescription for you and Stacy can fill it for you.”
“Uh, yeah, thanks,” Adam scooped Glinda up and put her back in his coat with only minor complaint. He reached out his hand, “Thanks for seeing her on such short notice Dr. Oluransi, I really appreciate it.”
“Please, call me Justin.”
They shook hands, both smiling a little wider than normal. Adam hesitated to let go and he thought for a moment that Justin did, too. “Well then thanks, Justin.”
They were ushered out of the room and to the counter out front. The tech left them briefly to get Glinda’s medicine.
Just before Justin disappeared down the hallway with the next patient, he leaned back into the waiting area, “You have a great rest of your day, Mr. Birkholtz.”
“Oh, shit. It’s Adam. Thanks, you too.” He felt his face get warm and the smirk on Justin’s face only seemed to make it worse.
“Adam,” he repeated, his smirk softened.
It looked like he was lingering but Adam wasn’t really sure and before he had the chance to say anything else the tech was back and giving him instructions on how to give the medicine to Glinda. By the time he looked back towards the hall, Justin was gone and Adam let his shoulders fall.
🐕
When Adam and Glinda got home he set her on the top stair up to his bed so she knew where she was. She climbed up and padded up to the pillows before laying down. After he knew she was comfortable he headed down the hall to the girls’ room.
By the time he opened the door nearly all of them were standing in their kennels waiting to be let out. He went around the room.
Leslie came out of her kennel and sat down in front of the open door. Rosa followed suit laying next to hers.
Roxie ran out of her kennel and around the room before stopping in front of Adam expecting attention. She received a brief pat on the top of her head before he opened the next kennel.
Liz rushed out and sat a little too close to Adam, her front paws on his feet looking up expectantly. He reached down to scratch behind a tuft of fur behind her ear.
He leaned forward with a gentle, “Back.”
She stood, backing off his feet to sit with the rest of the girls.
Lucy and Ethel circled around Adam’s legs after coming out of their shared kennel. They laid down in front of the pack, Lucy propping her head up on Ethel’s back.
Sophia wobbled out of her kennel heavy with sleep. Her tail wagged lazily as she leaned heavily against Adam. He didn’t have to lean down near as far to reach her. She only let him scritch the top of her head for a moment before turning her face from him so he would scratch her haunches instead. She joined the rest of the pack on the floor and heaved out a sigh.
Eponine was still asleep on her back even after he opened the door. Snoring of course. Adam had to climb onto his hands and knees to reach her. “Eponine,” He stroked her gently. She opened her eyes and blinked slowly at him. The realization that it was time to get up seemed to sink in and she flipped herself over in an instant. Before he had a chance to react Adam was barreled over with a face full of kisses.
He didn’t have a chance to get up before the rest of the pack had joined in and he was smothered in fur. Adam thought if this was going to be his end then there was no better way to go than in a pile of dogs showing they love you.
The rest of the day went on as normal. Adam worked with each of them in training tricks. The tricks often built into more complicated commands they needed to know for their races or for work around the house and barn. He liked to rotate through the team when teaching classes for beginners; that way none of the girls fell behind the others in the standard of their training.
He let them run wild in their run for an hour while he got ready for a training class that would happen later. Adam was able to watch them from a window in the barn to make sure they didn’t get into trouble. The pack was ready to go inside just as Adam finished setting up.
It was Liz’s turn to help in class and the rest of the pack was kenneled again for their afternoon naps. Adam thought she did well for being on her own. She usually liked to be around at least one of the others. He made sure to give her extra treats when class was over.
The team went for a run in the evening to keep up with their conditioning. Adam was steadily increasing the miles they ran to get them ready for the last race of the season. Everyone was exhausted by the end.
Their day ended in a cuddle puddle in the living room before bed. Adam watched a few episodes of The Good Place to catch up with the latest season and fell asleep on the couch. When he woke up all of the girls were in their kennels and Glinda was on his lap. He carried her to bed and closed the gates. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow to do it all over again and spend all the time he could with his girls.