Puppy Love
"Buffy," he insisted.
Cordelia blew out a frustrated breath. "Angel, you can't name it Buffy."
"Why not?"
She sighed. Shouldn't someone as old as Angel be able to summon up a little more creativity than this? "Because, Angel. You just can't. It's creepy."
He shrugged. "Buffy Junior, then. Or Buffy Two. I don't know."
She fingered the puppy's silky yellow ears. "Why don't we decide on a name later," she suggested brightly. "There's plenty else to worry about right now."
"Oh?"
She nodded. "We should start the training today. You know, get it housebroken, set up its food and water, take it for a walk…I'll help with that during daylight hours, of course. And Angel, you need to bond with it."
"It?"
She flipped the wriggling puppy over and examined it cautiously. "All right, HIM. Definitely him. So you can't name him Buffy!"
"I thought we weren't going to talk about names right now."
She groaned inwardly. Was he trying to be difficult, or was it just accidental?
The yellow lab puppy squiggled in her lap. She wrapped her hands firmly around its torso and held out her arms to Angel.
"Here, Angel. Why don't you hold the puppy for a few minutes."
Tentatively, he stretched out a single finger and poked the puppy inelegantly. The dog howled and squirmed in her grip.
"All right, maybe it's too soon for holding," she modified. "Let's try…petting. Here, like this…"
She eased a hand out from under the dog and held it aloft for Angel to see. Then, moving slowly so his eyes could follow, she placed the hand on the puppy's back and gently stroked his fur.
"There, you try."
He hovered a hand over the puppy's back and gingerly began to lower it. The puppy yapped suspiciously and he withdrew his hand as if it was burning.
"Cordelia, I can't," he whined. "It doesn't like me."
She smiled gamely. "Sure he does. He's just not used to you yet. Here, hold out your hand and let him smell it."
She grasped Angel's hand and waved it under the puppy's nose. The dog sniffled curiously, then very cautiously stretched out his tongue and lapped at Angel's finger. Cordelia laughed. "See, he's getting to know you. Try petting him now."
Angel again reached out a hand, a bit more gracefully this time. A moment later, he was awkwardly petting the dog.
Cordelia, still cradling the little bundle, stood carefully, shifting its weight in her arms. "All right, now are you ready to try holding him? You'd better try it sitting down, at least until you're used to him."
He sat down obediently as she carefully poured the yellow furball into his lap. He gingerly placed his arms around the dog's body, slowly adjusting to it. A minute later, he jumped from the chair abruptly, dropping the puppy inelegantly to the floor.
"Angel! What…" She broke off as she noticed the wet spot on his shirt.
"Well!" she said cheerfully. "I guess getting him housebroken will be our first obedience training task."
Angel delicately slid off his shirt. "OUR task? Tell you what, YOU keep the puppy until it is trained, then give it back to me."
She picked the whimpering creature off the floor, cradling him possessively.
"Absolutely not! If I'm going to put in all that work, I'm not just going to give him back to you! It's a joint effort, Angel."
He sighed. It didn't appear he was going to get out of this.
"Oh, come on," she said. "It'll be fine. He just needs a few days to get settled."
"He's not the only one," muttered Angel.
"So what ARE we going to name him?" mused Cordelia.
Angel furrowed his brow in thought. "Not Buffy?"
"No, not Buffy. And not Darla. And not Spike. Or Willow, Xander, Giles, Oz or any variant thereof. Seriously, Angel, you are a centuries-old vampire, you should be able to name a stupid puppy without plundering the names of your friends!"
Angel felt the first stirrings of possessive indignation, and his eyes darkened angrily. "He's NOT a stupid puppy," he said.
She smiled. "Who's not?"
He picked up the still-whimpering animal gently, giving it a forgiving kiss.
"Barry. Barry is not a stupid puppy. He's a smart one."
"Barry? As in Manilow?" she squealed.
He shrugged. "Well, you said I couldn't use the names of people I know. And I've never met Manilow."
Well, it wasn't perfect. But one thing at a time, Cordelia reminded herself. Today, they had a puppy, and that was progress. She'd work on creativity some other time.
the end