I looked at Oliver to save me the moment Chloe picked up the puppy she had chosen. Even as small as it was, it barely fit in her tiny hands. It was like a red cotton ball and, I'm not going to lie, was the exact one I would have picked out on my own.

Oliver shrugged with a smile. "You're the dad. You tell her no." 

Instead, I went for the tried and true technique: delay and distract. "Well, honey, they're too young to go to homes yet. They need to grow up a little more. Why don't you let him play with his brothers and sisters?"

"His name is Mine," she declared, completely ignoring me. "And he is sleepy!"

She was right. The little fluff ball's eyes were drifting closed, then he would force them open and totter back and forth on his tiny puppy falls, and then his eyes would drift close again. "Honey, 'Mine' isn't a name." Why was I arguing with her about names? We weren't naming the puppy.

"But he is mine," she said. "So his name is Mine. And I will give him snuggles and keep him safe."

My heart melted and I looked to Oliver for help again, but that was the worst possible thing I could have done. He was practically melting, his scent getting sweeter by the second.

I glanced away quickly before...I wasn't sure how I meant to finish that sentence. But Chloe was a great distraction. She sat in the middle of the pile of puppies, Mine curled into her lap, sound asleep.

Tammy popped her head in. "Hey, Doc? Peter's in the hospital with appendicitis and Sally has her kids for the week. I called Vern, but he didn't pick up. Do you have anyone else I can try to watch the puppies tonight?"

I could feel Oliver's eyes burning into me. And if Chloe had understood what Tammy had just said, she would have been jumping up and down begging.

"I wouldn't mind," Oliver said.

"You realize it means waking up multiple times during the night? It's okay, I'm used to this, I can just stay on the cot here at the clinic."

"But if you bring them to the house, you can sleep in your own bed."

"This is outside your job description."

Oliver gave me a get real look. "My job description was basically ‘take care of cute things.’ What's a few more cute things? I can take some of the shifts so you can get a longer sleep session. And we can still all have dinner together without worrying about the puppies."

I was pretty sure the puppies could handle being left alone for dinner, but I sighed. I'd known it was inevitable the moment Tammy opened the door. "I guess we're taking the puppies home for the night. But tomorrow night, I'm getting an overnight attendant," I warned them.

Chloe and Oliver played with the puppies for about an hour before he pulled her away to go prepare dinner. I convinced her to leave the puppies behind, that she would see them later. 

When I finally headed home, I was laden down with puppies, puppy formula, bottles, and a whole bag of other things we might need for just the one night. Oliver had been texting me the entire time, asking me how often they needed to feed and did they need toys, and should he track down a heating pad to put under a blanket in their box. It was insanely adorable.

They were both hovering at the kitchen door when I got back, completely ignoring me in favor of the puppies and getting them to their new home for the night in the downstairs' bathroom.

"What's for dinner?" I asked, planning on ordering pizza because I was fairly certain they'd been too distracted by the idea of puppies to cook anything.

"Spaghetti," Oliver responded distractedly. "Noodles and sauce are on the stove."

"Are you guys going to eat?" I asked.

"We already did, Daddy! We eat already so we can play with puppies."

"Oh," I said. I had come to enjoy our evening dinners.

Oliver picked up on my mood immediately. "Was that okay? She was so excited, I knew she wouldn't be able to eat once the puppies were actually in the building."

"No, yeah, that's great. Makes sense."

"But...you're upset."

I smiled. A real smile. I was a little upset about missing our family dinner, but it was one night. I didn't want Oliver to feel bad. "Not upset. It's just a bit of a reality check realizing where I fall in the grand scheme of priorities. I think I'm somewhere above tea parties, but clearly below puppies."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I think I fall between sprinkled whipped cream and story hour."

I laughed. "Which is higher?"

"I think story time, but it depends on the day." His eyes crinkled up at the corners, his bright eyes sparkling with love and merriment.

I wanted to kiss him. The shock of that thought froze me. I hadn't kissed anyone other than Jen in a long time, and never a guy. There'd been a couple times I'd wondered about kissing another man, but nothing like this deep down almost instinctive reaction I had toward Oliver.

"Oliver, this one is yours," Chloe interrupted and placed a white fluff monster in his hands. Then she turned to pick up another red one like she had chosen for herself and handed it to me. "Here, Daddy."

"What about the other ones?" I asked.

"They can take turns," she said, very seriously. Her smile stretched from ear to ear. I gave my little fur bundle a quick snuggle and said, "I'm going to grab a bowl of pasta. be right back."

When I returned, Chloe and Oliver were side by side on their stomachs on the floor, puppies crawling all over them, making stories up about what the puppies were saying to each other and the things they were trying to do. Like climb Mount Chloe. And track the dangerous human fingers. 

Maybe Chloe was ready for a dog. Not a puppy, as tempting as these were. They would have no trouble finding a home. But a rescue. A little bit older, maybe. I'd have to talk to Oliver to make sure he didn't have any problems with it, since I'd have to rely on him for its care during the day. It had been a long time since I'd had to check with anyone about changing anything in my life. I actually liked it. I hadn't realized how much I missed it.

I took over bedtime and Oliver met me as I left Chloe’s room.

“I was serious about taking turns with the puppies. Show me what to do.”

He was an unusual omega. Pushy. Or was he? Jen had been pushy too when it came to taking care of her friends and family. Of course, Oliver would be pushy with the puppies. He’d fallen for them as hard as Chloe had.

“Okay, let me show you how to make their formula.”

His eyes followed my hands intensely, and I knew I wouldn’t have to repeat myself twice. It had been a long time since anyone had cared for me with even half the intensity Oliver had for those puppies. It had been a long time since I’d focused on anything, even Chloe, with half that intensity. I hadn’t expected, when I had hired Oliver, that I was getting a mentor in how to be a better human being. I had thought this was a mutually beneficial situation, but now I was starting to think I got the better end of the deal. I could hardly remember what life had been like before Oliver. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to.