- Imagine that you and Trent have been together for quite a while now. The two of you have your own place and are somewhat capable of keeping things running smoothly, even if you're both kind of scattered and not exactly the best at being 'domestic.'

- He gets some downtime from work, so the two of you are just hanging around at home a lot more. As lovely as it is, you notice pretty quickly that he's starting to feel kind of down; it makes him antsy, not having anything to do. This worries you half to death, of course. 

- You do your best to entertain him yourself for as long as you can. Surely enough, he catches on rather quickly and informs you in a rather curt manner that he's fine, you don't have to baby him. Though you know you shouldn't, you feel rejected.

- You try your best to give him space, as hard as this might be. You still feel that something is missing, though. You want to fill that void so desperately, but you don't know how. 

- The idea doesn't occur to you until you lose the remote. Half-distracted by your TV dinners, the two of you vaguely pay attention to the commercials. And then one of those animal rescue ads comes on; you know, the ones where they play "The Arms of the Angels."

- Naturally, it's upsetting. It's all you can do not to cry, looking at those sad, skinny animals, even after all this time. Trying your best to withold any unnecessary emotion, you teasingly nudge Trent. "They really try to make you feel guilty, don't they?"

- He doesn't reply, because he's getting a bit misty-eyed himself, the damn softie. 

- Just as you're melting over this, something clicks. The perfect solution to both the post-tour blues and the loneliness, not to mention the animal shelter commercial guilt. Oh. 

- About a week and a half later, you send him to get groceries. He gives you a quite blatant 'are-you-kidding-me' look, but goes on his way with relatively little argument. He must be a lot more bored than you realized.

- Aware that you're probably being impulsive, you end up at the animal shelter, prepared to fill out paperwork and rescue yourself a puppy, dammit.

- It doesn't take you long to grow attached to the little black one. She's an awkward thing, a lab mix of some sort, legs too long for her tiny little body. She approaches you, hesitant, tripping over her all-too-large paws. She's shy at first, but soon she's pressing her nose into your hand and wagging her tail, looking up at you with eyes filled with trust. Your heart melts and you know that this is your dog. 

- The next day, you pretend to pick up where Trent left off when the groceries, bluffing that you forgot to put something on the list. This isn't uncharacteristic of you, so Trent doesn't argue when you head out for the day, kissing you quickly and instructing you to drive safe.

- Ever the liar, you go back to the shelter, and there she is. 

- After a stop at the pet store for basics, you make sure the ride back home is pleasant for her. You're protective already; some sort of maternal instinct must be kicking in. You glance over at her nervously every few minutes; luckily, she seems to love car rides, tail going a mile a minute.

- You try to be casual, walking through the door. You cry out the cliche "honey, I'm home!" before sitting down the bags from the pet store. 

-Just when Trent comes to help you with the 'groceries,' you go back to the car for your last item. Then you're leading the puppy into the house, proudly taking hold of the leash. 

- As soon as Trent sees her, his face changes. He looks surprised for a while, before he bursts into a goofy, delighted grin. "Oh my God."

- Before you know it, he's on the floor with her, scratching behind her ears, giggling like a kid. You swear your heart bursts. 

- You drop to your knees with him, admiring her. Trent's talking excitedly, already convinced that you've adopted the best dog to ever grace this planet, asking about names and training and can she sleep in the bed or no?

- You laugh and give him a kiss on the cheek, answering him to the best of your ability. As ridiculous as it may sound, you're elated to have your own little family in this clumsy little puppy and this wonderful man. It feels like the world really, really likes you. 

- Spoiler alert: she does sleep in the bed.