Jamie groaned as she talked about spending the next week around the shack helping him clean. He wasn't stupid enough to say that it was already clean. It clearly wasn't clean but it was still livable at the very least. And, honestly, it was just how he liked it. "How about this," he said, knowing it was going to be a fight, "You can do whatever you need to around here this week. I won't be here much. My turn to spend the week on the toddling island." He'd likely be gone for the rest of the week. "Actually, that'd be perfect," he said as his eyes brightened some. It had been a bad time to bring the pups home if he was going to be gone all week. "That way the pups won't be alone the whole time."

Her following remarks, however, had him a bit more on edge. Raising pups together sounded awfully serious. He was sure she hadn't meant it that way but it didn't stop the fear of commitment well seeded within him from rearing it's ugly head. He looked at her a bit blankly and simply responded with a shrug. "I'll survive," he said, not drawing any attention to her comment of caring about his health, "I always do."

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