Double-Team

Characters: Drake, Wendy, Maggie Anderson, puppy

Pairings: Drake/Wendy

Timeline: Post-TV, AU

When Drake woke up from a Sunday afternoon nap with a wet tongue on his cheek, his first thought, pleasantly surprised, was that his little blonde girlfriend of nine months and counting had finally gotten over her shy, modest, English streak.

When he managed to pry his eyes open, intent upon moving the fun upstairs to the bedroom, he found himself staring up at what appeared to be a black dreadlocked mop with a long pink tongue.

"ARGH!" he noted calmly, bolting upright and sending his new pal skittering to the floor.

By the time Maggie and Wendy reached the doorway from the kitchen, he was already up from the couch, swearing and trying to scrub the dog slobber from his face with his sleeve.

"Hey, Dad," Maggie greeted nervously, as Wendy beckoned the animal over with a soothing stream of baby-talk. "Looks like you met Doodles."

"Doodles," he repeated flatly. "And where did 'Doodles' come from?"

"He followed us home from the mall," his daughter explained quickly. "He doesn't have any tags, and he looked so lonely, and he was so happy when we brought him inside and gave him snuggles, and you said you'd think about getting a dog--"

He groaned.

"--so if no one comes to pick him up, can we keep him?"

"You mean, can I keep him while you're at your mom's most of the time?" he grumbled. Maggie shrugged in grudging concession of his point. He turned an annoyed glare on Wendy. "You couldn't have stepped in?"

She grinned sheepishly.

"W-well, you did say you wanted a dog. And look at him! He's such a sweetheart! Can you say no to this face?" she demanded, scooping the dog up in both arms and lifting him for closer inspection.

Drake looked for a long moment at the dog, eyes completely obscured by its long, corded fur, tongue still hanging out.

"Yes," he finally replied.

Wendy set the dog gently down on the floor, and put an arm around Maggie's shoulders, one hand at her chin to turn her head towards Drake.

"Well, then, how about this face?"

On cue, Maggie assumed a pleading, big-eyed, wobbly-lipped expression.

As his resolve began to crumble beneath the might of Maggie's award-winning sad-face, he groaned again. Finally, with a sigh of defeat, he crouched and gave the dog's head a quick tousle.

"Welcome to the family, Doodles."

End Notes: Yeah, I don't know how Maggie A. and Wendy managed to find a Puli running around without an owner either, but anything's possible in a story! XD