The Puppies Arrive

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Days passed and Persephone's pregnancy progressed; she was eating more and she was rather tired and she napped more often. Victor and Elsa did their very best to care for Persephone, but she was fine especially with Sparky at her side.

And during that time, a letter from an unrecognizable address arrived at Victor's house. Susan found it while she was leafing through the mail one morning. It had Victor's name on it as well as the house address, so she decided to give it to him one Saturday morning. When Susan gave him the envelope, Victor inspected at it curiously; he wondered who in England would send him a letter... until he remembered the Pen Pal Project from school.

"My balloon made its way to LONDON!" He cried in revelation.

He carefully opened the envelope and there was a picture of a boy with black hair and fair skin and wearing a pale blue sweater who looked to be his age along with a singular piece of paper. It read,

"Dear Victor Frankenstein,

Hello. My name is Shamus Holmes. I'm also eleven years old and I live in London England with my father, mother, and two older sisters.

May I be honest with you? I have no idea how to do this sort of thing either, so please forgive me for that. And I'm very sorry that it took me this long to respond, I only just got your letter a week and a half ago. I found it dangling from a red balloon in the old tree outside my house and I hadn't the slightest idea what to write. I'm assuming you'd like to know more about me so... here we go.

Like you, I'm also in the sixth grade and I have a slight interest in science, but I also enjoy learning history and forensics. Not many people know this, but I dream of becoming a police officer someday and helping any and all people in need... as well as solve mysteries and crimes, like the main character in my favorite books, Sherlock Holmes. Isn't it funny how he and I have the same last name? Probably just a coincidence.

I suppose that's it for now. Write back to me as soon as you can and if you really want to, maybe we can become friends.

Signed,

Shamus Holmes"

"Shamus Holmes?" Victor quoted as he looked at the picture of the boy; Shamus looked pretty nice and he seemed innocent enough.

"Hey, Victor." Edward said as he walked into his son's room; he noticed the letter and photo. "What've you got there?"

"Oh, this? Just... a letter from a kid in London." Victor replied.

"London?"

"Yeah, his name is Shamus. Apparently, he got the letter on my balloon."

"Well, that's great, son. Mind if I take a look?"

"Go ahead."

Edward read through the letter and smiled at his son.

"I want to write Shamus back." Victor said simply.

"Well nothing's stopping you, son." Edward replied. "Well done. You just made a new friend."

Victor smiled.

A few more days went by and then... the big day finally came. It was a cold, rainy evening and Elsa and Persephone were having dinner over at Victor's house when it happened. When she and Sparky were cuddling in one corner of the dining room, Persephone started to whimper and cry out in pain. Elsa turned her head to look at her dog and she gasped.

"Oh my gosh, Persephone!" She cried as she ran over to the poodle. "Persephone, are you okay?"

"What's wrong with her?" Susan asked.

Elsa's eyes suddenly widened in horror at the sudden realization; she looked back at the Frankenstein family.

"...I think the puppies are coming!" She yelled.

"Wait, what? NOW?!" Victor screamed, standing up from his chair.

"We need to get her to the vet!" Edward exclaimed.

"Uh... It might be a bit too late for that. Her temperature dropped." Elsa remarked as she felt Persephone's face; it felt cooler. "We need to act fast. We'll need a blanket, some rags, and water, STAT!"

Edward, Susan, and Victor ran in different directions to get what they needed. Victor grabbed a large blanket while Susan fetched lots of spare rags and Edward filled a bowl with tap water. The blanket was laid under Persephone and the rags and water were used to wipe up any stains. Then, it began. It took a few hours at most and Persephone was somewhat struggling, but Elsa and Sparky stayed at her side every step of the way. Then there was a knock at the door; Edward went to answer it.

"Come on, Persephone; you can do it. That's a good girl." Elsa said encouragingly.

"Elsa?" Two voices asked.

Elsa turned around and she gasped when she saw two people standing over her with shocked looks on their faces; it was her parents.

"Mom, Dad?!" She cried as she stood up.

"Honey, what's going on?" Her father, Jonathon, asked as he hugged his daughter.

"What's wrong with Persephone?" Elsa's mother, Lydia, asked worriedly.

"She's having puppies and they're almost here." Victor replied.

"PUPPIES?!" Both adults cried.

"Oh man, here they come!" Victor exclaimed; Elsa sat back down next to him.

It was truly a sight to behold; after a while, Persephone had successfully given birth to four adorable little pups, two boys and two girls. Sparky sat at the poodle's side, gently an affectionately licking her face; the bull terrier looked at the puppies, realizing that he was now a father. Elsa started crying; she felt she had just become an aunt... and Victor an uncle.

"Oh my goodness." Susan whispered.

"Would you look at that...?" Edward muttered.

"They're so cute." Victor commented; Elsa nodded and said nothing.

"Your uncle never told us that Persephone was pregnant." Jonathon commented.

"When did this happen?" Lydia added.

"About three weeks ago." Edward replied.

"Hey, Victor? Elsa? Have you thought about what you wanted to name the puppies?" Susan asked the two children.

"Us?" They asked.

"Yes; they are yours now, technically." Susan said.

"Hmm. I guess I haven't really thought about that until now. Have you?" Victor asked.

"No." Elsa replied before she looked at the little female poodle. "But I have always liked Anastasia."

"Hmmm, I like it, a lot. Hey... how about Coal?"

"And Raven?"

"And for the last one? ...Hades."

The two children looked at the canines huddled together before them; Persephone and Sparky nodded their heads at their owners, indicating that they like the names they picked. It wasn't just Sparky and Persephone; from now on, it was Sparky, Persephone, Coal, Raven, Anastasia, and Hades and they were all one big happy family.

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