Heaven Can Wait

Once the club was closed, I decided to stick around for a while and help straighten up. It was still hard to believe at times that I was working as the DJ for a Japanese nightclub. It was all surreal. I had just stood up straight when I heard a bark coming from the alleyway door of the club. My curiosity getting the best of me, I threw the trash in my hands away in the nearest can and went out.

When I opened the door, there across the alleyway, was a full-grown Shikoku with five puppies in a box. Looking around a bit, I noticed a woman walking out and around the corner of the alleyway out of sight. Scrunching my eyebrows together, I walked over to the box and knelt down.

"Hey there," I whispered, smiling warmly at the mother. She growled a bit at me and I sighed. "Easy now, girl. Easy," I said, slowly stretching out my hand towards her. She seemed very apprehensive of me, I didn't blame her. I must have looked so very different from the woman who dropped them off here.

After a moment, she stuck her nose towards my outstretched hand and sniffed. A moment later, she lightly bumped my hand with her cold, wet nose and I gently scratched behind her ears and pat her head. "I won't hurt you or your little ones," I cooed gently.

After a while, I heard a commotion going on on the other side of the door of the club. I heard Liam's panicked voice yelling my name, and just as the door opened, the mother jumped out of the box and stood her ground before me. "Oh, Jace. There you are!" he said, making his way over to me only to be stopped by the loud and angry bark of the dog. "Who's this?" he asked, bending down slowly to get to the dogs level.

"I haven't checked the tags yet, I just found her and her pups about three minutes ago," I said, shrugging. "She won't ease up until you let her smell your hand. She was the same with me when I first walked out here."

Slowly stretching his hands out towards the dog, Liam and I watched carefully as she sniffed him more thoroughly than she did me. After a couple of minutes, she eventually came around and nudged his hand. "There we go," Liam said, gently patting her head. "How many pups?" he asked, never taking his eyes of the mother.

"Five," I said, walking over to the box again. "I saw we take them home," I went on, looking down at the puppies with a strong love. "You know I can't leave them out here alone with no shelter." Liam walked over to me, the mother next to him. He was about to say something when the dog whined and looked up at us.

"Damn my basted heart," he said as he picked up the box and started for the door to the club. "Bring mama," he said, finally getting the door open. I called for the mother, and we soon caught up with Liam and her puppies.

Time Elapse

Arriving home, Liam grabbed the box from the back seat as Maki jumped out and followed me to the front porch. Upon opening, Isabella ran down the stairs. She and Maki immediately started sniffing each other, getting used to one another. "Baby brother!" Zeth yelled, appearing around the corner with Ryder and Dante. They all grasped me in a hug before noticing the new guest.

"New doggy!" Dante said, getting down and petting Maki. "Can we keep her? Can we? Can we? Can we?" he asked, giggling as Maki licked his face.

"That's up to your father," I said, pulling Zeth aside. "She has five puppies. Is there any chance of you and Paulie taking one or two? I wouldn't be asking if this house wasn't as small as it is. I know the kids and I, and most likely even Liam, would love to care for them all, but I'd be more happy if a couple puppies had a good owner or two like you and Paulie."

"I'll talk to Paulie and find out," he said, squeezing my shoulder. I nodded as I looked over at the doorway and say Liam walk in with the puppies stumbling around his feet.

"PUPPIES!" Ryder squealed, kneeling down carefully and picking up one of them. I smiled as I saw him gently playing with it, a smile etched on his face. Soon Andrée joined the fray and picked up another puppy, giggling as it licked her face.

"I was thinking we keep the Maki, and three of the puppies, one for each of the kids," Liam said, finally managing to get through the fray of children and dogs. He wrapped his arms around my waist as we watched the kids having a blast with the animals. Both Isabella and Maki were watching and barking happily together, both keeping an eye on the triplets.

"You read my mind," I said, smiling up at Liam. "I talked to Zeth about taking on or two of them, just because I know it'd be nice for them to have a little more warmth in their house until they get kids of their own."

"Sounds good. If nothing, they'll at least have a dog if they decide to take one," Liam said, causing me to nod. We took a seat on the couch as the kids continued to play. Liam and I agreed that since it was the weekend, it wouldn't hurt to let them stay up a little while longer and play with the puppies. Clearly, Maki thought the same, because she soon fell asleep on the floor next to the couch.

Within the hour, the puppies curled up with their mother and the triplets fell asleep on the couch around us, all worn out. I was about to say something when I noticed that Liam had falling asleep as well. Smiling and laughing to myself, I stood up, doused the lights, and sprawled out on the recliner. Within minutes, like the others, I was out, slipping into a world of dreams.