Beckett's apartment was about twenty minutes north of his mother's. It was actually a townhouse, but it was closer to what in New York would be considered a brownstone. The lingo didn't really matter. His neighbors were as close to him as Bethany's were to her, he just didn't have anyone that lived over or under him. So he only had to worry about the people beating on the walls instead of the ceiling and the floor when it got too rowdy at home. He was rarely home, so Bethany was pretty positive that his neighbors loved him and his red dog the best. She looked over at him and smiled. He caught her looking and lifted his eyebrow in a question.

"I'm a good picker," she said simply. He couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't wrong. Her phrasing was unique.

"I'd have to agree," he replied. "If I didn't, that would be weird," he said simply. She nodded. He pulled into the complex and within moments they were in front of the house. Bethany had been here countless times over the years, but somehow, with just a name change, everything felt brand new. "Do you want me to carry you over the threshold?" he asked. She was obviously not in the least interested in any such traditions. "Understood," he nodded. "Well, after we get the picture in the house, maybe we can make some dinner and take Dougal for a walk...Oh crud! I forgot. I probably don't have much in the pantry." He had just recently gotten back from overseas. Bets looked a little uneasy. "What is it?" he asked. She smiled and looked at him in a more suggestive way...and then clarity struck. "Ahh! Well, I'm willing to address those issues. Dougal, you may have to be a bit patient with your walk tonight, buddy." They both stepped out of the vehicle. Bethany took Dougal's leash, while Beckett pushed the button on the key fob to open the trunk to grab the picture. He scooped the picture up, and she trotted the dog to the door. Beckett had his keys ready and pushed the door open. Dougal was obviously glad to be home and ran from room to room in delight. Beckett hurried to make sure that the dog had water and food while Bethany went to the bathroom in the half bath upon entering the hallway leading to the kitchen. He searched for some quick food from within the pantry...but he found that he was too distracted to fix anything anyway. Bets came out of the bathroom and down the hall into the kitchen.

"Hi," she whispered. He crossed the expanse of the kitchen to meet her.

"Dougal, lie down and behave yourself while we go put up the picture," he called before kissing Bethany in a way that sent electricity through her veins. He did carry her over the threshold of the bedroom and Bets didn't mind at all. Dougal was a bit curious about the noises coming from inside the room, as they didn't sound quite normal for hanging anything on the wall. He just waited patiently by the closed door until it sounded more like they were ready to take him for a walk. Even when he thought they were ready, it took more patience than he had to wait for them by the door. He waited by his leash at the front door instead. He was quite sure that they had forgotten about him and his walk. It was becoming obvious. Just when he was prepared to whine, the bedroom door opened. The two of them seemed ready to go. He hovered near them, kindly corralling them toward the exit. Both of them were laughing and bumping playfully into each other as they were getting their shoes back on. The process of getting ready always took a lot of patience. The leash hooked onto his collar and Dougal jumped up onto the door as if his paws could open it like human hands. He could, and often did, press the handle on the storm door to open it, as they left the house.

The whole time that they walked, those two humans just hung onto each other. They went further on their walk than they normally did, so Dougal didn't really have any complaints. When they got back home, Bethany sweetly scrubbed at his ears the way that he liked before taking off his leash. Beckett locked the door and held Bethany against it with a kiss that left her gasping his name. He was unbuttoning her shirt and making quick work of unhooking her bra. The two stopped awkwardly and laughed softly, colliding into each other in an intimate way, when they noticed that Dougal was watching them curiously. Maybe some people wouldn't be bothered by their dog observing such things, but Dougal had such human-like expressions, it was a bit hard to believe that he was just a dog and not a child.

"Should we change the bedding?" Bethany asked. He explained that he had changed it before leaving for Vietnam. She smiled and expressed a wish to get ready for bed. It had been a long two days for her. He agreed and they were brushing their teeth and undressing and kicking Dougal out of the bedroom again.

Later, Dougal and Beckett awoke to Bethany screaming repeatedly in the scariest noises he had ever heard in his short five years. He was pretty sure that Beckett had to be deaf or dead the way that Bethany sounded. He had never heard her sound like that before. It was the highest pitch wailing! Suddenly he heard Beckett's gentle but scared voice.

"Bets....Bethany..." his voice was strained with fear. "Bethany...baby, wake up!" he called to her. The wailing stopped abruptly. There was quiet. " Do you want to talk about it," he asked.

"No. I want to go back to bed," she mumbled tiredly. He didn't reply for a minute.

"This would have been a deal breaker if I hadn't already known about it. You scared the life out of me." he whispered. She didn't respond initially, but must have felt the need to make him feel a bit better. He continued, "I thought the neighbors were going to call the police thinking that someone had to be murdered or dead,"

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked. He was dumbfounded.

"I was too afraid. I didn't know what you would do. I thought maybe your head would spin around or something," She started laughing. He was actually serious when he said it, but even he couldn't deny the humor of what had transpired. Bets was so tired and her throat hurt as if she'd used octaves she didn't even know she was capable of reaching.

" You know it only happens when I'm overtired or stressed...or both. I'm really sorry. Would you just hold me tight for a while, please?" she asked. He agreed easily, enfolding her into his arms.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"It might happen again. I'm apologizing in advance. If you feel me fall asleep. Wake me in a half an hour . For some reason that resets my sleep so I'm okay," He made it clear he understood. He wasn't going to tell her that she didn't have to worry about him falling asleep on her, his heart was beating like a drum...and he was pretty sure that his eardrums were bleeding.