𝙎𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙆𝙎; 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙣

|| 19 ||

"Well, I was more like thinking about going to the animal shelter to get a puppy." Amber gave her mother a sweet and childish smile, trying to get her to agree. Natalie never wanted a pet in the house. Not even a fish. She knew she was going to end up being the one taking care of it. 

But Amber also knew that there was no way she would say no to her. She was taking advantage of the situation. And she didn't even feel bad about it, after everything she had been through. A puppy was the least she deserved.

"A puppy?" Natalie asked, hoping she had heard wrong.

"A puppy." Amber confirmed.

"Amber-"

"Please mommy, I promise to take care of it." Amber interrupted her and gave her the sweetest voice she could. Amber was not even close to being that type of person. She was sweet, but she didn't act like it. Not the girly kind of voice or the attitude. She always wanted to be more like Natalie. And Natalie wanted her to be nothing like her. She only wanted her to be able to stand up for herself, the way Natalie could. And that's about it.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

The visit to the animal shelter was long. Amber wanted every animal she could see. Every single one of them. And Natalie was freaking out on the inside, about the state her house was going to be soon. She liked animals but not inside her house.

And then Amber came across a puppy. A female golden retriever. And she didn't need more searching. She already had a name picked out for her. Mulan. Like her favourite Disney Princess.

But to say that Natalie was not handling it well would be an understatement. "No, don't eat that. Bad dog." The next morning Natalie was trying to get ready for work and prepare breakfast for Amber. And feed the puppy which wouldn't stop chewing on everything she saw in front of her. She was a little more energetic for Natalie's liking. Because she wasn't energetic at all. "Amber, I swear-" She started yelling and Amber ran downstairs.

"She's little mom, she will learn." She petted the dog.

"We could have gotten a cat." Natalie complained.

"How dare you, she can hear you."

"Don't do that." Natalie warned her. "I am too tired for that. I only slept an hour. How am I supposed to go back to work like that?"

"You didn't sleep again?" Amber asked worried.

"Don't worry, tonight I will sleep like the dead."

"Maybe if you slowed down with the coffee." Amber pointed out. She had counted the cups of coffee her mother had drank in the last hour. Three. And she was sure she would be getting more at work.

"Coffee is the only thing that keeps me going right now." Natalie took one last sip and got up from the chair. She put her shoes on in a hurry.

"Can I try?"

"No." It was a long shot. "Come on. I'll be late. And you're already late." She opened the front door and waited for Amber to take her stuff.

"Okay, okay. Bye Mulan." She gave the puppy a kiss. "I'll see you later. Please don't ruin the house. Mom will kill you and then she will kick me out."

"Not arguing with that."

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

"What are the double S brothers gossiping about this time? Is it Derek Shepherd's messy love life with the nurse? Or is it Dr. Sloan's adventure with a nurse." Natalie caught up with the two doctors once she spotted them at the lobby.