Joan walked along the dark, cold New York streets heading towards the Brownstone, where Sherlock was most likely working on cold cases that could use her assistance. She had refused to take a cab home seeing as she had skipped her jog that morning. In her hand she held a bag of Thai food and in the other, her clutch purse. The only noises on the street were those of wind whistling through the alley ways and her heels clicking on the pavement. As she passed a long, dark alley, she was startled by a loud crash. It sounded as though someone had ran into a dumpster or chucked something against it. She found herself walking faster, trying to escape the source of the noise. Joan had made it 10ft from the alley when a whimper made her pause. She turned and faced the alley. She slowly made her way to the opening to the alley and listened for the whimper again. Sure enough, it came again. Joan squinted her eyes trying to see in the pitch black.

"Hello…?" She called cautiously.

A whimper came in reply.

Joan's hand dove into her pocket to retrieve her phone. She unlocked it and turned the bright screen at the source of the whimper. When her eyes focused on the source of the noises, she wasn't scared anymore.

A small golden puppy sat, petrified, in the corner of the alley. It was pushing itself farther into the corner as Joan approached.

"Why hello there, sweetie pie." She cooed. The puppy made another whimper and looked up at her with sad eyes. Joan looked at the puppy's paws and noticed that he was favoring one paw. "Awe, you're hurt…" She kneeled down and set the bag of Thai food down. The puppy's nose twitched and he glanced at the bag. She noticed and fished out her meal. "Are you hungry?" Joan offered the dog some of the noodles by pushing the box towards him. The puppy kept his eyes on Joan as he timidly sniffed the food and began eating. Joan sat perfectly still and let the puppy eat. When the puppy finished, it went to the corner and cowered. Joan cleaned up the mess and held her hand out for the puppy to sniff. At first, the dog was reluctant to smell her so she scooted forward. "It's okay. I won't hurt you." She smiled as the puppy shyly sniffed her hand. "See?" Joan lifted her hand and carefully scratched the puppy behind his ears. The puppy closed its eyes and when Joan stopped, limped towards her. She carefully lifted the puppy, making sure not to touch the injured paw. "Let's get you home."

Joan walked home to the Brownstone and bounded up the steps. She opened the door and felt her heart drop as she noticed the lights were on. She was hoping that Sherlock had gone to bed because he wasn't a fan of any animals.

"Watson? You were supposed to be home a half-an-hour ago. What were you…" His voice trailed off as she entered the room, still holding the puppy. "What is that?"

"A puppy…" She carefully set the dog down and it limped towards him.

Sherlock jumped up and made a wide circle around it to get to Joan. "What is it doing in my house?" He asked when they were standing face-to-face.

"Sherlock, its hurt…" Joan kneeled down as the puppy limped over to her. She pat him on his head and looked up at Sherlock. Sherlock was scowling.

"I hate animals. I especially hate dogs." Sherlock snapped. He looked at the pathetic little bag of fleas and frowned.

"You like Clyde though…" She countered.

"Clyde is a reptile." He countered back. He still was looking at the disgusting creature on the ground and frowning.

"Which is an animal. He's hurt Sherlock…I need to help him." She kissed the puppy's snout.

Sherlock groaned. "That's disgusting. You don't know where it has been!" He stepped away from the dog like it was a rabid animal. "Get rid of it."

"No. I need to help it." Joan picked it up and headed for the kitchen.

"How?" He followed close on her heels.

Joan sat the dog down and it sat, waiting for her. She opened the cupboard and produced a bowl. She filled it with water and let the puppy drink as she replied. "I could probably put a cast on his leg; it looks broken."

"A cast? Really, Joan? You were a surgeon, not a vet!" He frowned as the puppy drooled all over his favorite cereal bowl.

"Well then I'll take him to the vet." She went to the sink and got a dish-towel to clean up the water on the floor. She knelt down and wiped up the drool water on the ground as the puppy explored.

"I'm not paying for it." Sherlock stated. He picked up the bowl and ran to the sink. He quickly set it down and washed his hands with a lot of soap to clean all the drool off. "Germs…" He mumbled to himself.

"I'll pay for it." Joan stated back. She tossed the rag at him and watched him squirm as it touched his skin.

"And how are you going to do that?" He washed his hands again and splashed water over every part of his skin that he thought the puppy's drool had touched.

"You pay me, remember?" She leaned down and stroked the puppy's back. The puppy had crawled into the parlor and found a pile of Sherlock's dirty shirts to make a bed out of. It curled itself into a little ball and fell fast asleep.

Sherlock growled. "You're going to wash those." He glared at her and fought the urge to kick the dog off his shirts.

"I will. Okay?" Joan looked at the clock and yawned. "I'm going to bed. Watch him, won't you?"

"I will not. That infernal creature is disgusting. All it does is eat, poop, sleep, and repeat! I want it gone!" Sherlock yelled as Joan climbed the stairs.

"Give him a chance, Sherlock. You may learn to love him." She winked to him and went to her room.

"Not a chance." Sherlock looked towards the creature on his shirts and growled. "You're just lucky I don't know any recipes for cooking dog." He mumbled under his breath at the puppy. The puppy grumbled in his sleep and made a little noise as it yawned. "No matter how cute that was…" He sat down on the ground next to the puppy and began thumbing through the files. The puppy yawned again and stretched itself across Sherlock's lap. "No! No, no…" He tried moving out of the puppy's way but it had already rested its head on his leg. He moved his leg, trying to get the puppy's head off but it yelped and Sherlock stopped. "Sorry…" He found himself apologizing and settled back into his original position. The puppy closed his eyes again and fell asleep. "Did I just apologize to a dog?"

The puppy opened one eye and looked up at the strange man. It stuck its tongue out and licked his hand.

Sherlock jumped and scowled. "Gross!" He shook his hand to get the drool off. He wiped his hand on his pants and returned his focus towards the files. He was interrupted when the puppy started kicking and crying in his sleep. Sherlock watched as the puppy's eyes fluttered open and shut while his legs twitched. The puppy let out a cry and a yelp and Sherlock felt sympathy for the little creature. He placed a hand on the puppy's tummy and started to stroke it softly. "Shhhh…It's okay, it's okay." The puppy calmed and went still. It let out a sigh and Sherlock smiled. "Good puppy…" He continued to stroke the puppy's side as he studied the cold cases.

After an hour, the puppy became restless. It had woken up and was pacing the length of the room. It limped and whined every time it accidentally put pressure on his injured leg. Sherlock got up and went to his computer. He entered 'travel vets in NY' and hit enter. He picked up his cell phone and dialed the number.

A short while later, the travel vet let himself in. He was told to do so by Sherlock, himself. Sherlock told him to because he didn't want to wake Joan seeing as it was four in the morning.

"Ah, Doctor Lithorum. Thank you for coming so early in the morning." Sherlock was holding the squirmy little puppy as the man entered the living room.

"No problem, Mr. Holmes. How about we get that leg all fixed up?"

…

Joan awoke to a wet tongue bath.

"Huh?" She opened her eyes and found the puppy wagging his tail and giving her face a cleaning. She laughed and sat up. "How did you get up the stairs, hun?" She kissed the puppy's head.

"Miller."

"What?" Joan looked up at the man in the doorway.

"Miller. That's his name." Sherlock walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

"You gave him a name?" She looked down at the puppy's leg in a cast and smiled. "And you fixed his leg?"

"Yes. I called a vet and he fixed him up, good as new." He smiled and awkwardly pet the dog's head.

"I told you that you'd love him if you got used to him." Joan smiled at Sherlock as he pet the puppy.

"You were right." Sherlock laughed. He stroked the puppy and looked at her.

"So…should we start looking for people to adopt him?" Joan's smile disappeared as she thought about giving the puppy away.

"Miller is staying here." Sherlock stated. He watched as Joan's smile reappeared on her lips.

"Really?" Joan grinned.

"Really." Sherlock gave the puppy a hug. The three sat on Joan's bed and pet their new family member.

"Shouldn't we be working on a case now?" Joan asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes we should be. Let's go." Sherlock helped Joan out of bed and they left the room, headed for the parlor.

The puppy sat on the bed and whined as he realized he was alone.

"Miller!" Sherlock called from the hallway. The puppy's tail wagged and he jumped down from the bed to join his new family.

THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE FAVORITE AND REVIEW!

If you didn't get it, the puppy's name is Miller for Jonny Lee Miller (Sherlock Holmes)