I don't own Courage the Cowardly Dog

Eustace may be OOC in this but why not make him nice to Courage? I mean come on, the poor puppy needs a little bit of love.

It had been a month since Muriel passed away. To Eustace, it seemed like she had gone away too quickly. One day she was alive and the next day she was gone. All that she left him was her dog Courage. Eustace was not that fond of his pet. He thought of him as a "stupid dog" even though he wasn't stupid at all. Eustace was not physically affected by his wife's death either. The only thing that he was concerned about was who was going to cook him breakfast, lunch, dinner and do the chores around the house. On the outside, he seemed not to be really affected but in the inside, he was a dying man.

Courage on the other hand was really touched by his beloved owner's death. He whined as he looked at the letter engraved on the headstone that was standing behind her grave. He looked at his surroundings and walked over to a patch of daisies. He plucked them off the earth and bounced over to Muriel's grave. He softly placed the flowers on the grave and looked at the headstone as if Muriel was going to be reincarnated right in front of him.

He cringed as he heard the front door slamming. Courage turned his head and looked as Eustace had on his coat and a bundle of car keys in one hand. Courage got up from the ground and bounced over to his remaining owner.

"What do you want you stupid dog?" Eustace snapped at Courage.

Courage gave him a small shrug along with a whine. He didn't know what else to say to him. His relationship with Eustace was not at the best of terms. Even though Eustace was mean to him, Courage tried to make his grieving pass by by staying by his side whenever he needed someone.

"I'm goin' to the store," Eustace suddenly said as he jumped inside his truck and drove away from his house. As he looked back at the house, the only thing he saw was Courage staring back at him. He was going to be the only creature awaiting him when he got back. He felt sympathetic of the way Courage was looking at him with big, black eyes.

When the truck disappeared, Courage sat in the front of the porch waiting for his return.

It was seven o'clock when Eustace returned. He angrily grumbled as he grabbed a pack of groceries. He had not been active in housework when Muriel was still around. Instead of getting the needed items, he wound up buying the whole store. He slammed the door of the truck and walked to the porch.

Courage's head shot up as he looked at the man carrying the pack of groceries. He immediately opened the door. Eustace looked over at Courage and opened his mouth to say thank you. He quickly shut his mouth and walked inside. Courage shut the door and followed Eustace.

Eustace took out the groceries from the bag and randomly began putting them in a cupboard. Courage curiously looked as Eustace stuffed everything in there. When he was finished, he closed the cupboard and wiped his hands together. "Well that takes care of that," he said. "Huh?" the cupboard flew open as the groceries spilled out.

Courage sprang up from the ground and walked over to the heap of groceries. He dug through the cans and grabbed his owner's hand. With all of the strength that he had, he pulled Eustace out of the trap.

When Eustace got out of the pile, he was angry. "Stupid cupboard, stupid cans," he said as he kicked some cans.

Courage grabbed two cans and began to put them in order as he had seen Muriel do it before. "Hmm," Courage said as he pointed to the way the cans should be put.

Eustace scratched his head. He picked up two cans, looked at them, and put them in the cupboard. "Hey its not that bad," he said as he put all of the cans inside with the help of Courage.

After they were finished, Eustace's stomach began to growl. He put his hands on his stomach and felt the starving sensation. "I'm hungry. Muriel!" he yelled, forgetting the idea that she had perished.

Courage let out a sad whine. Eustace turned and looked at him. "Oh," he said as he finally realized where she was. "Dog, make me my supper!" he snapped as he sat down on the chair and crossed his arms across his chest. He looked over and saw Courage still sitting there. He slammed his fist on the table because of impatience. He turned his head to the opposite direction and put on his scary green mask and yelled "ooglie-booglie-ooglie!" at Courage.

Courage turned as white as snow. Seeing the green mask frightened him him but seeing that Muriel was not around to protect him, frightened him more. He quickly hid beside the refrigerator before the mask could get to him. He had never been this frightened before. He was frightened not only of the mask but also of being abandoned.

Eustace laughed out loud as he took the mask off of his face. His laughing gradually ceased as he saw the shadow of Courage shaking violently. He took no pleasure into scaring the dog. He was just playing in a less friendly way.

Courage hesitated to come out of his hiding place. He bought one small paw forward and looked out. The green mask was nowhere to be seen but its joker was still there.

"Don't worry dog," Eustace said as he got out of his chair, "I won't scare you anymore." He went into the cupboard and pulled out a can. He put his hand on the can and tried to unscrew it. He scratched his head as to why thee can would not open.

Courage held out a can opener. Eustace looked at the appliance and seemed to smile at it. "Thanks dog," he said without even realizing what he had said.

Courage was surprised. Eustace had never thanked him before even when he was in danger. He smiled at his owner. He walked over to his dog bowl and pushed it with his nose towards Eustace.

Eustace looked at the bowl that made contact with his foot. He took out a can of dog food, opened the top of the can with the can opener, and poured it into Courage's bowl. Courage smiled and licked his owner's hand.

Eustace quickly pulled his hand back. What Courage had showed him was affection. This was something that he had been deprived of in his earlier years. Muriel had shown him her affection but he had been too uptight with himself to even notice. He felt truly sorry for being such a bad husband to her.

After their little supper, Eustace walked into the living room and flipped through the channels of the television. There was always nothing on television for him to enjoy. He shut off the television and tuned his attention to his newspaper.

Courage walked into the living room. He looked at the old rocking chair where Muriel used to sit and where she cuddled herself with Courage. Courage whimpered when he looked at the chair. It was as if part of his memory had died.

Eustace looked up from his newspaper at the whimpering Courage. He sighed. He could not stand hearing sad noises being made from a sad puppy. "Dog," he called as he folded his newspaper in half, "you want to come and sit on my lap?"

Courage smiled, nodded, and leaped onto Eustace's lap. Eustace looked at Courage. He felt this kind of friendly warmth that he was receiving from Courage by being near him. He softly stroked his pet's back. This was something that he had never done before. It felt kind of nice to be staying near the only thing that he had, which in this case, was Courage.

Courage felt the same too. If Eustace was not here, he didn't know what he would do. Even though Eustace was a bully to him, he still cared. He got up from his lap, put his paws on his owner's shoulders and licked his face.

Eustace laughed at that. He patted Courage on the head. He looked at the clock and saw that it was time for bed. The man carried his pet out of the living room and into the bedroom to where him and his wife used to sleep together. He looked at the abandoned side of the bed to where she used to sleep. After changing into his pajamas, Eustace slipped to the side of his bed and lied down.

Courage hopped on the bed and snuggled beside his owner. He slowly closed his eyes and went to sleep.

In Eustace's dream, he was walking in a meadow. There, he caught sight of a plump woman with white hair and she was wearing round glasses, a green dress, brown boots, and an olive oil colored apron. "Muriel?" Eustace called at the woman.

The woman called Muriel turned around and looked at him. "Ooh Eustace," she said as she ran to her husband and gave him a hug.

Eustace returned her affection. "Oh Muriel I am so sorry of how I have been to you," he apologized.

"Ohhh," she smiled, "you were always a rebel Eustace."

"I wish I can see you again."

"You can," she said. She reached out and softly placed one plump hand on his chest, "in here."

Eustace placed his bony hand on top of hers. It felt cold.

"I am also part of Courage," Muriel added, "thank you for taking good care of him." With one last smile, she gradually disappeared as the background turned white.

Eustace found himself back in his dark bedroom. He looked over to the side of his bed and saw that it was replaced by Courage who was quietly snoozing. He reached out and softly petted his only pet on the head. Courage truly was a man's best friend.

The End