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[justa_medic]

TJ still hadn't gotten the hang of being a mother. She had gotten a...care package, she guessed, mysteriously dropped off on the front steps of her hut that had a bassinet and a mobile and that helped with giving Carmen a place of her own to sleep even if she still ended up in TJ's bed half the time. A puppy had come along with, a spunky little

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[speakscanadian]

There was a reason why Ray wasn't a fan of four-legged animals and fur on his stuff was only one of them. When he spotted the puppy, he only recoiled a little though, but he did tighten his grip on the shirts he was about to wash.

"Can't take your eyes off them for a second," he commented, gaze glued to it. The dog looked more like it would pee on his clothes than shed hair on them, which didn't put him any more at ease.

[justa_medic]

"Island Christmas present," TJ said quietly, shaking her head a little. "It would be too much to ask for him to come fully trained, wouldn't it?"

She didn't recognize the guy who had come in but that didn't mean much; TJ had mostly stuck to herself since arriving.

[speakscanadian]

Suddenly, Ray was extremely grateful for the hug cushion he'd gotten with his hammock, no matter how depressing and insulting it was. He didn't have to worry about the state of his shoes around it and that was enough for him.

"Looks like even a little bit trained is too much to ask for," he agreed, side-stepping the dog to get to a machine.

[justa_medic]

"Do you know anyone who goes in for that around here?" TJ asked, finishing with the laundry and scooping the squirming puppy up with her free hand. It'd be nice if there was a hand-me-down stroller somewhere around here but, again, too much to ask. Maybe the Children's Office had one.

"Dog training, that is. I think I'm going to have to rear the child myself."

[speakscanadian]

Ray shook his head and pulled open the door to shove his clothes inside. "Sorry. Fraser's pretty good with animals though. He's tall, dark and looks like a fire hydrant, if you want to ask him." Brushing his hands together, he poked at a few buttons to get things started. "Are you new?"

[justa_medic]

TJ nodded. "I've only been here since the first part of November. I'm still trying to feel everything out, but it's trial and error, you know?"

She would have to remember Fraser and hoped, with a description like that, she'd recognize him.

[speakscanadian]

Ray knew a bit about trial and error; that was basically how he'd been handling his relationship with Asher since he'd gotten there. It didn't necessarily pay off.

"I remember that feeling." He might have had an entire year on her but he still found himself floundering around sometimes. "I'm Ray. Vecchio. IPD. You ever got a problem, you come see us. Except for when it comes to laundry because as you can see," he prodded a few more random buttons, getting more agitated as nothing seemed to happen, "I suck at this." He hoped the kick he gave it would help.

[justa_medic]

"I can help with laundry," TJ said brightly. "I'm a champ at that. TJ Johansen. Uh. Nothing now, but I used to be Air Force. Now I'm Mom and dubious puppy owner."

Rhett seemed to be behaving at the moment but TJ still kept an eye on him, waiting on the next slip-up.

[speakscanadian]

Ray took a step back and held out his hands towards the machine, a silent invitation for her to have a go. "A top gun, huh? Now I'm jealous." And because he pretty much thought it was expected, he studied her kid for a second to figure out what kind it was and then asked with a nod, "How old?"

[justa_medic]

"A month," TJ said, beaming a little. "I'm still a little...I don't think of myself as a mom automatically yet and I think I'm still a little bit in awe."

[speakscanadian]

"...of the baby?" Ray checked, looking a little vacant for a second. He was in awe of celebrities or sporting greats, people that had done something in the world to be in awe of, so a baby getting that kind of attention still confused him. He'd been around enough of them to know he ought to show some interest though, lest he risk wrath like his sisters'.

[justa_medic]

"Well, yeah," TJ said, spending a minute just playing with Carmen before moving on. "She's got ten little fingers and ten little toes and someday she's going to have her own personality and her own life. It's pretty cool, when you think about it. The big picture helps keep me from freaking out when she won't stop crying or the diapers are dirty, that's for sure."