The next morning, Isabella was extremely embarrassed and sorry for what had happened. She sat with them for breakfast and stayed very quiet. Once they were done, Hilary went to prepare Millie a sandwich for lunch while the girls got their bags. Bella went up to her and apologized for the night before.
"Oh honey it's alright. I understand what happened. It's okay" Hilary said and hugged Bella. "You don't have to show it to anybody. And you could have just told me and we would've figured something out" Hilary said and let go of the hug. "You can just tell me. You don't have to hide things, okay?"

"Okay" Bella said.

Hilary smiled. "Do you want a sandwich too?" She asked.

"Sure" Bella said.

"Go see if Chloe wants one" Hilary said and Bella went.
They finished getting ready and headed to school.

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Around 8:30am, the team got back.
Derek and Penelope headed home and finished Garcia's room. Derek left Penelope decorating it and went to cook some lunch.
Derek decided to grab some chips for them so he went to Isabella's place in the kitchen. He opened the little door and on a Mac and cheese box there was a big Labrador staring at him. He smiled as he had the perfect idea.
He grabbed the box and ran to Garcia's bedroom.

"I'm done" Penelope said as he entered. He kind of got lost in the room until Garcia noticed the box.

"Are you cooking Mac and cheese?" She asked.

"Oh. No" he said and laughed. "It's this" he said pointing to the dog on the box.

"A dog?" Garcia said confused.

"Yeah. A dog." He said making a face as if it was just so obvious.

Suddenly it just clicked. "A dog!" Penelope smiled.

"It's perfect. She'll have something to look forward to when she comes home and to get out of the house" Derek said.

"It's perfect" Penelope said. "And Sergio got along so well with Bowie" she added.

"We just need one rule" Derek said.

"What?" Garcia asked.

"We need to let HER take care of it." He said. "She'll will feed it and walk it. We'll guide her of course but the dog will be her responsibility" He said.

"Fine by me" Penelope smiled. "But what will happen to it when we have cases?" She asked.

"He'll stay in the house and if we both need to leave for a while we can take it to a dog hotel. We'll figure it out" Derek said. He wanted to do that for Bella. He really wanted to.

"So what dog are we getting?" She asked excited.

"I was thinking maybe a golden retriever? I had one when I was young. They are great dogs for kids" Derek said.

"Awwwe can we get it today?" Penelope asked excited.

"Sure." Derek laughed. "Go look for it online while I finish lunch. I'm sure they're not that hard to find."

And he was right.
Penelope found several places that sold them and after checking their registrations and everything Penelope had a place. So they had lunch and headed there.

.

"I can't believe I'm getting a dog" Derek said as they walked inside the place and let out a laugh.
They looked at some puppies and ended up choosing an adorable golden retriever.

"Let's get a pink bow! Bella is gonna love her so much" Garcia smiled holding the puppy in her arms.
They paid for it, got her papers and headed to the pet store. They got a crate, a pink bed to match Bella's bedding, two bowls, a few toys, a light pink leash and collar, a big pink bow and then they paid and went home.
They put the crate in the corner of Bella's bedroom and set everything in there. They sat with the dog for a while and both were very excited to see the girl's reaction.

At 3:15 Derek went to pick Bella up and Garcia stayed home with the dog.

"Wait in her room" Derek said and left.

Bella walked out of the school and felt such relieve when she spotted him.

"Bye guys" she told her friends quickly and ran to the man.

Derek lifted her up.
"I missed you" he said.

"I missed you too" Bella said wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt like she could relax again. She felt safe.
"Where's Penny?" She asked.

"She's at home waiting for us with a surprise we got you" Derek said smiling and he put her down.

"What surprise?" Bella asked.

"Let's go see" he said and they walked to the car.

"How was school?" Derek asked as they buckled up.

"Fine I guess" Bella said and Derek started driving.

"Did you sleep okay yesterday?" He asked.

"Yeah. I just woke up one time" Bella said. "You're really not mad, are you?" She asked feeling bad.

"No kid. Of course not. I told you I understood why you did what you did" he said and Bella stayed quiet.
"But you shouldn't be ashamed of it Bella" he said. "There's nothing wrong with having scars. I have some too" he said.

"But this is different" Bella said. "I just want it to go away" she said serious.

"And it will. We'll take care of it" Derek said and she nodded yes then stared out the window.
She was quiet the rest of the drive.

When they got home Derek grabbed her hand and took her to the bedroom.

"Surprise" he said as she was about to walk in. Bella opened the door and stared at Penelope looking confused. Then she saw the adorable puppy laying on the bed.

"What is that?" She asked looking even more confused.

"A dog" Penelope said excited.

"What? why?" Bella said in some sort of denial.

"That's your dog" Derek said walking inside the room while Bella stayed at the door.

The girl's eyes filled with tears.
"You got me a dog?" She asked and started crying.

"Yeah. Come pet her" Derek smiled getting the dog.
Bella walked to him crying and sat on the bed. He placed the dog on her lap and she just cried.

"Oh my god! You got me a dog" she said just staring at it. "Is he really mine?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Derek said.

"And it's a girl" Garcia added with a big smile.

"Thank you" Bella said with a big smile. The first genuine smile since everything happened.

Suddenly the dog started licking her neck and then her face and she bursted out laughing.
Morgan and Penelope's eyes were full of tears but it was from happiness.
Oh what they would do to see that girl laugh and smile like that every day.

"Do you like her?" Derek asked.

"Yes." Bella said and wiped her face and kissed the dog.

"But the dog comes with some rules, okay?" Derek said.

"What rules?" Bella asked.

"She's your dog so you have responsibilities. Like feeding her, bathing, walking, all of that is on you" Derek said.

"Okay" Bella said still smiling. She couldn't stop smiling she was happy. She felt like she loved that puppy already.

"So you agree to do all of that in order to keep the dog? Cause if you don't do it she'll have to go away" Derek said.

"I'll do it! I promise I'll do it" Bella said desperately.

"Alright. She's your dog then" Derek said.

"Thank you Uncle Morgan" Bella smiled.

"You're welcome, princess" he said and gave Bella a hug. Penelope went and hugged them too. Bella laughed.

"You gotta name her" Penelope said and Bella smiled excited.

"Can we call her Lulu?" Bella said. She had always said that when she had a girl dog she would name it Lulu.

"Lulu?" Penelope asked with a smile.

"Yeah. She looks like Lulu, doesn't she?" Bella said.

"She actually does" Derek laughed.

"Lulu Prentiss Garcia Morgan" Penelope said. "I like it"

Bella laughed and said "me too" she lifted the dog up and faced her "hi Lulu" she said with her "dog" voice and a smile. The dog licked her nose and she laughed.

"Thank you so much" Bella told Derek and Penelope.

"We're glad you like her" Garcia said.

"And you better take very good care of her, okay? Cause she needs you, huh?" Derek said.

"I will. I promise I will" Bella said confident.

Derek smiled at her. He was just so happy it went so well.
"Alright, so how about homework? And then we could take her to the park maybe?" Derek said.

"Fine" Bella said making a sad face that she had to do homework. "Can she stay on my bed with me while I do it?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Derek said. "But you have to do the homework and please don't let her eat it, okay?" He said and Bella laughed.

"okay" Bella said and Derek and Penelope walked out of the room.

"Well... You are a genius" Penelope said. "She's so happy"
Derek smiled big.
"And so are you" Garcia said and they laughed.
They sat to watch some tv and once Bella was done with the homework they went to the park. To Bella's favorite park.
Derek and Penelope couldn't believe the little girl was running around with the dog and had a big smile on her face. A smile they had not seen in a long time.

Derek just knew he had made the right decision getting the dog. He knew the dog wouldn't take Isabella's pain away but he knew she would help. He could see that spark on the child again, it was like she had something to live for and he was really really happy.

As Bella ran around and played with Lulu, she felt relaxed and happy. She felt safe and loved. She looked at Garcia and Morgan and both were just smiling big watching her play with the dog. She was really glad she had them. She missed her parents really bad but she knew she was not alone.
She stopped running and grabbed Lulu. She walked to them and hugged both.

"I love you" she told them. It was true and heartfelt.

"We love you too" Penelope said and kissed the top of Bella's head.

Lulu barked for the first time and they laughed.

"I guess she also loves us too" Garcia said and Bella laughed.

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They stayed at the park for a long time and then Bella got a bit tired so she asked to go home. Derek could see that it was because she was in fact tired and not because she was scared. So they went.
She showered and sat on the couch while the puppy slept in her arms. They had dinner, watched some Doctor Who and then it was time for bed.

"Can she sleep on my bed tonight?" Bella asked carrying her puppy as Derek and Penelope walked with her to the bedroom.

"She needs to learn not to pee everywhere so that's what the crate is for. She needs to sleep in there" Derek said.

"Just tonight? Please" Bella begged. "I promise I'll clean it up if she pees" she added.

"Just tonight" Derek said and smiled. Bella smiled and got on the bed with the puppy. She placed Lulu next to her and Derek sat on the bed to tuck her in.

"Did you have a good day?" He asked.
She nodded yes with a small smile but with tears in her eyes.

"Do you remember all the rules?" Derek asked ignoring the child's teary eyes.

"Yes" Bella said with a smile.

"Alright. Goodnight" Derek said.

"Have a nice night you two pretties" Penelope said giving Bella a kiss on the forehead and Lulu a gentle pet.

"Thank you again for her" Bella said.

"You're welcome princess" Derek smiled. "Goodnight" he said and stood up.

"Goodnight" Bella said and Derek turned the night light on and the ceiling light off, then they walked out.

"I love you Lulu" Bella said with tears in her eyes. "I promise I'll take care of you, okay? I promise and I'll keep it I swear" Bella told the dog, who just stared at her. She petted her new baby and soon both fell asleep.

Outside Derek and Penelope sat in the living room for a while. They couldn't stop thinking about the little girl's laugh. Both were very thankful and happy about how the day went.
They just hoped Lulu would really help Bella somehow.