Hey guys. Sorry for the wait on part 2. I'm still on my 'vacation' from writing and I kinda forgot that I still had to write this. I really should be doing calculus homework, but I love you guys more.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Darkest Powers

Derek's POV: 3 Months Later

I loaded the last suitcase into the car and shut the trunk. Heading back toward the house, I looked down at the leaves crunching below my feet. It was definitely time to rake a little, especially since winter seemed to want to come early this year. It was late October and the temperature was dropping fast, which meant any chores outside had to be done soon. The imminent threat of snow was a little worrying. Chloe and I were contemplating whether or not to take the boys out for their first trick-or-treating this year, but it was seeming less and less likely.

Shutting the door behind me, I rubbed my hands together to warm them up. I shucked off my shoes and walked into the living room where the boys were saying goodbye to Dad. I shook my head when I found Luke and Nick plastered to each of his legs.

"Alright, you two," I said. "Grandpa needs his legs."

They each shook their heads vigorously, clinging harder.

"You'll see him in a month," Chloe said, kneeling down next to Luke and carefully peeling him off. She then repeated the process with Nick.

"You'd think they never see you," I said.

"Simon was worse," Dad said. "I don't think I ever had problems with you."

"That's encouraging," I said.

He gave Luke and Nick each one more hug and followed me into the hallway.

"Thanks for coming down," I said. "We really needed a nice break from the chaos."

"Anytime," he said.

"And thanks for your contribution to the cause," I said, looking down at the sleeping puppy in the pet carrier.

"No problem," he said. "What are you going to do about that last one?"

I sighed. "I don't know. We're still looking for a home."

Dad bent down and picked up the carrier.

"Well, if you need anything don't hesitate to call," he said.

"Bye," I said.

I watched him get in his car and I shut the door behind me. I headed back into the living room to find the boys playing with the last of the puppies. Simon came and let Megan pick one out as soon as the vet gave the okay and Liz and Hannah each took one. Dad finally caved and decided a companion wasn't such a bad idea. That just left one more, and unfortunately the boys were the most attached to this one.

"One more," Chloe said, walking up next to me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

"We can't keep it," I said firmly.

"But-"

"It's too much," I said. "We talked about this."

"But they're so attached to it," she argued.

"I caved when it came to Nana, but that's it," I said. "Four dogs are too much."

She sighed and leaned her cheek against my chest. I looked over at the corner of the room where Noah and Nana were lazily sleeping in the sun. Charlie was nowhere to be found, which only meant he was lounging on our bed upstairs while no one was around. Laughter pulled me back and I looked down to see the puppy topple over his feet. We needed to find a home for it soon.

…,,,…

"No, the Crawson account," I said, flipping through files on my computer.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked, leaning over my desk to see the screen. "I could swear it was the Dansons."

"The Dansons wanted floral," I corrected her. "The Crawsons wanted animal print."

She sighed and snatched the hard copy of the file off my desk. "Alright. I'll just switch the names. And I know that it's the client's decision, but somebody really needs to knock some sense into them. Animal print. These people are going to kill me."

She walked out of my office muttering to herself. Liz stuck her head in and I waved her in.

"Sorry to disturb you," she said. "But Mr. Saunders called and wanted to schedule a meeting concerning the budget."

I nodded. "He mentioned something last week. Try to make it for Monday. Wednesday at the latest."

"Will do," she said. "Also, I was hoping to take off a little early today. Ethan has a check-up and Neil has to work tonight."

"Leave when you need to," I said. "Just schedule the meeting first."

She nodded and shut the door behind her. With a newborn at home and her maternity leave just ended, I couldn't really say no when she had to leave. Especially with all the time I left early because the one of the boys bumped his head and Chloe called me, panicked he might have a concussion or internal bleeding or something else. My employees thought it was hilarious, which gave me a little lenience.

I glanced at the door one more time before pulling up the most recent files to log the finances. A little peace and quiet was just what I nee-

The door swung open and Mitch walked in. "You got a minute?"

I sat back. "Apparently."

…,,,…

Shutting the door behind me, I peeled off my coat. It felt good to be home. The sound of pots clanking in the kitchen told me where Chloe was. As I walked into the room, I scratched Nana behind the ears and dropped down in one of the chairs.

"Long day?" Chloe asked. "Did you get a lot done?"

"No," I said. "I had so many people coming into my office I could barely take a lunch break. Everybody is rushing to get their jobs done before the first snow."

"It's just that time of year," she said. "Speaking of which, the boys and I got the front yard raked today and bundled it up."

"Thank you," I said. "I was meaning to get around to it, but I didn't have time."

"I left the back yard for you," she said.

I nodded. "I'll take care of it this weekend."

She looked over at me and then back at the stove when she was poking at whatever was in the pan. "So…."

"We're not keeping the puppy."

She sighed. "What's the harm?"

"It's too much," I said.

"It's not like we're going broke feeding them," she argued. "And the boys love him."

"It's four dogs," I said. "Four dogs and two kids is too much. We can't handle that much."

"Noah has really mellowed out and Nana is so well behaved," she argued. "Charlie can be a little difficult at times, but he's getting better. And we always have Simon and Hannah to babysit if it gets too much."

"I know you want to keep it," I said. "But we can't. I don't want to be a dictator, but we just can't."

"Daddy's home!" Nick yelled, racing into the kitchen.

I caught him as he launched himself at me and swung him up on my lap. I glanced over at Chloe, who had turned back to the stove. I sighed. I was right, but I still felt bad.

….,,,,…

After dinner, I headed up to my office. I needed to keep my mind occupied and throwing myself into work was the best way I knew how. Well, the most appropriate way. I pulled out what I tried to do during office hours and set to work.

The time flew by and I didn't notice it was almost eight until a tiny knock on the door pulled my attention away. I looked up to see Luke peek his head inside. I nodded to him and he pushed the door open wider. He had the puppy in his arms, making it hard for him to walk. He stopped in front of me and looked up with those wide blue eyes. I felt my heart clench before he even opened his mouth and said exactly what I knew was coming.

"Please, Daddy," he said, hugging the puppy closer.

I swallowed and sighed. "I know you want the puppy, but we can't keep him."

"He is Noah's baby," he said. "Noah be sad."

"Luke…."

"Please, Daddy," he said.

I could see the tears forming and I really felt like the bad guy. I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn't come. I couldn't say it. Looking down at his face, so much like his mother's, I just couldn't do it. I saw those wide blue eyes and those tears and it pulled at my heart strings. I felt that familiar urge to say and do anything to put a smile back on the face I loved so much. I wanted to say no. I knew I had to say no. Four dogs was just too much.

Running my hand threw my hair, I sighed in defeat. "Alright. We can keep the puppy."

The tears were gone and his face instantly lit up and god if it wasn't all worth it just for that. Cheering came from the other side of the door and Nick raced in. I looked up to see blond hair before it disappeared and I knew instantly whose idea it was to send Luke in here. Shaking my head, I couldn't help but smile. She knew me too well.

When we put the boys to bed and headed up to our own bedroom, I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.

"That was a cheap trick," I said.

"It worked, didn't it?" she asked, throwing a smile at me as she sifted through her closet.

"How'd you know to send in Luke?" I asked.

"Because I know you," she said. "You have a soft spot for blue eyes."

"I didn't always," I said. "Not until I met you."

"Well, a lot about me has changed since I met you," she said.

"Good to know I'm influential," I said. I stretched out and said, "And now that the last puppy is figured out, I'll be happy if I don't hear the word baby for a long time."

When I didn't hear any words of agreement, I opened my eyes and looked over to where Chloe was pointedly not looking at me.

"Chloe?"

She looked over guiltily. Biting her lip, she said, "There's something I need to tell you."

Okay, so that was short. But part two is done. The poll on my profile is up until the end of December so if you haven't looked at it please do. And as always, if anyone wants a particular one shot, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.