P is for ... {Gwynie}

[Florence Bryant]

Flo had spent ages making sure the house was puppy proof. It had to be subtle, and it had to be done whenever Gwynie was at school, which was tough. She'd even had to hide a puppy basket, leads, collar and food in her bedroom in the forbidden cupboard. She'd spent such a long time making sure that everything was ready that she'd almost forgotten that today was puppy day!

She'd snuck out early in the morning on Sunday, when Gwynie was still sleeping in from their Saturday movie marathon. She'd gotten to the breeder and picked out the tiny little springer spaniel puppy from it's litter, then chatted cheerily to it all the way home. The little puppy - a boy, wagged his tail joyfully all the way back to the house, and when she pulled back in and unlocked the door, she hollered for her daughter.

"Gwynie! I've got a surprise for you!" She shouted, cradling the tiny pup in her arms. The pup was still wagging as Flo closed the door and bounced on the spot. She couldn't wait to see her daughter's face.

[Gwynie Bryant]

Before her mother called her, Gwynie was having a wonderful sleep, unsuspecting that anything was different. When Flo called her down, the preteen poked her head out of the covers, blinked, looked blearily around the room, and then slid out of bed, yawning slightly. She rubbed at her eyes and walked out of her room, “Coming, Mom!”

She rounded the hallway and made her way to the living room. “What’s up, Mama? I—OH MY GOSH!!” There, in her mother’s arms, standing in the foyer, was a puppy.

Gwynie’s shriek of joy was probably heard from space.

“Mom!! It’s a PUPPY oh my gosh when did you get it, I didn’t even know, how long have you been planning this aawww he is so cute is it a he or a she, I can’t tell, oh my GOSH!” Somewhere in that breathless stream of words, Gwynie had plucked the puppy out of her mothers arms gently and dropped into a sitting position right there on the floor, petting the wriggling animal. When he licked her face, she giggled, beaming brightly.

“Thank you mom!!!” She didn’t really think ‘thank you’ was enough to sum up all the pure glee she was feeling, but it was a start. “What are we gonna name it?” She looked down at the puppy, who was rolling around in her lap. “…When did you get it?"

[Florence Bryant]

When Gwynie ran down the stairs, Flo let the puppy go and lie in the little girl's arms, wagging his little butt. "It's a boy, and I only just got him now." Flo said calmly, putting the car keys away and heading upstairs to bring down all the puppy things she'd bought.

Setting them down, she sat crosslegged on the floor. "He's been waiting for the last few weeks, till he was ready to go. I've had the deposit down forever." She grinned, pushing her hair out of her face. "There's been all his goodies upstairs in my wardrobe." Flo smiled, watching the puppy bond with Gwynie.

"What do you feel like naming him? He's your puppy, which means YOU'RE gonna have to feed him and walk him, missie." She winked, setting all the stuff down and then lying down. "I hope he's what you wanted... when he's old enough you can start taking him for walks and then maybe go running with him? I know you wanted a bouncy pup." Flo couldn't help but grin watching her daughter interact with the pup. She loved seeing her happy, and it was obvious she was right now.

The puppy seems absolutely happy with his new surroundings, enough that he climbed into his little bed and let out a yawn. "What about a Disney name?"

[Gwynie Bryant]

“A little boy puppy!!” Gwynie squeaked, far too thrilled and surprised at the moment to do much beyond parrot back what her mother was telling her. The little puppy wiggled, wagging its tiny stump of a tail. “He’s so cute, yes you are. You’re so cute~” Gwynie Bryant: made incoherent by puppies.

Gwynie turned shocked eyes at her mother, “You’ve been planning this for weeks? B-but that means you’ve had to get all his stuff…” Slowly, Gwyn was starting to see just how sneaky her mother could be. “You kept all his stuff in your wardrobe this whole time??” She couldn’t believe it! Flo had managed to get all the stuff needed for a puppy and managed to keep it all a surprise.

Did Gwynie have the coolest mom, or what?

“Yes! I promise I will feed him and walk him and brush him and he can sleep in my room, right? So I can keep an eye on him. Anndd…” She tried to think of other responsibilities dog-owning required, but she was distracted by her mother’s words and the adorable puppy. “Of course he’s what I wanted! He’s perfect and I love him!” To emphasize her point, Gwynie hugged the dog gently, giggling as he wiggled around to lick her face. When she let him go, the puppy settled into his dog bed, ready to nap.

“Oh. Um. A name…” She thought about all the Disney men that she knew of, “Well, there’s Gaston, and Eric, and Pongo, and Tramp, and Shang, and Mufasa, and Simba, and Philip, and Aladdin, and Naveen, and…” She paused, catching her breath. Yes, Gwynie did know her Disney movies. She waved her hands in the air, “Lots more! There’s so many choices!”

[Florence Bryant]

"I know you wanted a pup, hon. Over the last three months you've proved you're responsible enough." Flo smiled, settling down in her favourite place in the sofa. "I'll help you as much as you want me to, but he's your little baby." She grinned over at her daughter and then tilted her head, stifling a yawn. "Mm, I got up early and everything."

Flo listened to Gwynie's promises and nodded to herself. "That's a good girl." She said brightly, fluffing up the cushion behind her and closing her eyes. "Don't forget potty training and cleaning up his messes, Gwyn." She added teasingly, grinning. "He can keep you company when I'm away too, sure, he isn't a guard dog but he'd certainly put off anyone thinking they could take liberties." Flo didn't really worry about that, or she hadn't done till the MSAD attack, now she was wondering if she should install a security alarm or something.

"Maybe when he's old enough you can do agility training or something with him?" She suggested, eventually opening her eyes and walking to the kitchen to make hot drinks, a mocha for her and a hot cocoa for her daughter. When Gwynie started listing off names, the conjurer thought to herself about what Disney names would be good for the pup. "What about Dug, from Up? Or Flick?" Flo stirred the two drinks and had another think.

"Scully?" She added, walking in with the two mugs and settling back down, tucking her feet underneath her.

[Gwynie Bryant]

Gwynie cast a huge, proud smile up at her mother at Flo’s words of responsibility. She felt so… grown up now. And now she even had her very own puppy, who was probably the cutest puppy in the world. “You’re the best mom ever!” Gwynie chirped in response to Flo’s yawn.

“Oh yeah. That too!” Gwynie grinned, scooting over so she can pet her new dog while he began to snooze in the bed, clearly tired from the car ride over and the excitement of a new surrounding. Her eyes went a little round as Flo mentioned guard dogs and liberties, but she said nothing, not wanting to sully the good mood. Instead, she opted for, “He’ll be the best guard puppy ever, won’t you?” She cooed at the dog, who licked her face.

“Oh, that would be awesome.” Gwynie was bouncing a little in her seat, “There’s probably a website or something that would give me a place, right? And we can go play in the park together!”

“Oooh! Dug would be cuute.” She considered this, “Dug might have to happen. What do you think, mom? Should he have a Disney dog name or a Disney person name?”

[Florence Bryant]

Flo couldn't never get tired of being called the best mum ever. It caused her to smile around her drink as she sipped it. "I try." She admitted with a lopsided grin, leaning over to stroke her daughter's hair fondly.

She nodded to herself as Gwynie made the pup comfortable and settled down. "Here, I put marshmallows in." She grinned, gesturing down at the mug as she offered it out. "I'll find a place in the kitchen for him to have his dinner and keep a bowl of water handy." She rubbed her chin. "We'd also better give Alex and James a call so they know you've got a plus one." Flo laughed gently and then tried to force away another yawn. What a day already.

"You'd make a great trainer, you're a smart girl." Flo encouraged, setting her mocha down and peering over the armrest at the sleeping pup. "Just remember that he can't have lots of exercise too little, and he still needs his shots so he can go and play outside without getting sick." She'd written a note on her phone as to when his "big boy" vaccinations would take place, and all the other important things.

At the final question, Flo rubbed the tip of her nose, silent in thought. "I'd say a Disney dog name." She decided, grinning. "Shame we can't get one of those nifty talking collars for him though." Running her hands through her hair, she kissed Gwynie's forehead. "Maybe in your lifetime though."

[Gwynie Bryant]

Gwynie grinned up at her mother before turning back to coo at her puppy. “He’s so cuuute…” She made little kissing noises at the little dog, petting his head.

“Oooh, thank you.” She took the proffered mug gratefully and sipped at it, “Mmm… we should. James and Nikko got a puppy too! Maybe they could have puppy playdates.” She smiled at the idea; that would be so cute!

Gwynie was already thinking about what she would have to do to train her new puppy. She should teach him things like “sit” and “stay” first and then maybe “fetch”… She could do it. It would be great. She looked up at Flo as she talked about vet things and other such technical bits. “Okay.” She agreed, “We should do that soon.” She turned back to her puppy, “Don’t want you to get sick. No we don’t…” the puppy licked her nose.

“Hmmmm… We should name him Dug.” Gwynie decided finally, “How’d’you like it, huh?” She petted the wiggling puppy, “Your new name is Dug!”

Best morning ever.

[ooc: wrapped!]