Willow maintained a firm grip on the puppy as he struggled to jump off her lap. "Listen," she said as she filled the kitchen sink with warm water, "If I give a bath, are you gonna be a man about it?"

  The black dog looked up at her and blinked, Willow sighed, "Good god I'm talking to a dog. But people talk to babies, and babies don't talk back either. Plus dogs are way better than babies; and I am still talking to a dog."

  Willow lifted the dog off her lap and then set him in the sink, scrubbing at his fur. "If your going to live in this house, you've got to be clean." When she was done scrubbing him, she let the water out of the sink and rinsed him off with cool water. Then Willow realized she didn't have a towel handy to dry the dog off. 

  About that time she sensed someone standing behind her, "Hey. I think you need this," Bucky dropped a dry towel on her head. 

 "Yes thank you Buck," she said sarcastically, pulling the towel of her head and then starting to towel the dog dry. When he was no longer soaking wet, Willow lifted him out of the sink and set him back on her lap. The small black puppy sneezed, and then tried to shake out his fur, splattering both Bucky and Willow with water. 

 Willow turned around to see Bucky making an expression of mock horror. "I hope you plan on drying him all the way off," He grinned. 

 Willow threw the wet towel at Bucky, and then wheeled out of the kitchen. The puppy jumped off her lap and then skidded across the wooden floor. Willow moved her wheelchair until it was right next to the couch, then she pulled herself out of her wheelchair and onto the couch. Willow had worked hard to become more mobile, and to develop upper body strength so she could actually lift herself out of her wheelchair. 

 Once she was settled on the couch, she patted the cushion next to her and watched as the puppy attempted to jump up. He managed to run headfirst into the couch twice before realizing he wasn't tall enough to jump up. 

 Bucky came to the dogs rescue, scooping him up with one hand before sitting down on the couch next to Willow. The puppy scrambled away from Bucky and plopped himself down on Willow's lap. Bucky threw an arm around Willow's shoulder and she let her head rest against his chest.

 The dog somehow wriggled between them and curled up. "Really dude?" Bucky asked the dog, raising an eyebrow.

 Willow laughed, "Easy boys. Let's be nice."

 Bucky leaned over and kissed Willow's cheek, "I love you."

 "I love you too, you stupid idiot."