baby puppy dennis who falls into the young headspace for the first time without realising what's going on... he's just having in a nice time in his normal puppy headspace, dozing happily in one of the large dog beds robby keeps around for him, wearing nothing but his collar. robby is away in another room, preparing something in the kitchen for his pup to eat, no idea that anything out of the ordinary is happening.
dennis starts feeling a bit odd, little by little. his head is always fuzzy in puppyspace, and he likes the way it lets him float, but today the static is louder. it's louder and fuzzier and he's even less able to latch on to a thought and follow it. the few words he retains usually have disappeared. where his pup brain normally plays a loop of daddy, robby, play, food, play, daddy, bite!, now it's just a repeating, daddy, daddy, robby?, daddy, daddy?
the pup isnt sure what's going on. he feels anxiety start to twist in his stomach, but he can't work out what that means. all he knows now is that something is wrong, he's too fuzzy, he just wants daddy. where is daddy? he will make it better, he will keep the puppy safe and warm. daddy?
from his place laying down, he tries to let out a bark to call robby over, but for some reason his voice isn't strong and sharp like usual, and all he can get out is a sad, high pitched whine. robby can't hear it from the kitchen. dennis stays in his bed, waiting for daddy to answer the puppy and come running, but no footsteps approach. his panic increases. he doesn't know where daddy is, he's been abandoned, he can't even bark.
all his normal puppy thoughts are gone and his daddy isn't here and he's floaty and scared, and he really wants a cuddle. he eventually wriggles enough to try and crawl to find robby, down in another room, but he doesn't seem to remember how to use his limbs quite right. they aren't very strong and wobble as soon as he gets to his knees.
he takes one cautious step forwards before the little puppy is sent tumbling to the ground, arms and legs collapsing and letting out a scared and pained yelp as his face hits the floor. the puppy starts to cry then, not knowing why or how he's feeling so very, very, small. he wants daddy. where is he? his eyes feel heavy too, why is he so sleepy? he wants daddy, and keeps crying.
in the kitchen, robby hears the clatter and yelp, and freezes. that was dennis! what was his puppy doing? he put down the pan immediately and hurried down the corridor to the living room.
when he rounded the corner, he was on his knees in a moment, shocked and heartbroken at the scene that waited for him. his puppy was in a heap on the hardwood floor, just out of his bed, and was crying in such a way that he sounded so small. his cries were so weak and high that he sounded like a baby, unable to tell what was needed to soothe him.
he put his hands under the puppy's arms, and hoisted dennis into his lap, moving the pair to the sofa. dennis recognised his daddy's heartbeat and smell and warmth, and buried his face into his neck to the best of his limited ability, still sniffling. his arms and legs weren't much use, and his head felt so heavy on his shoulders that letting it flop onto robby felt just right. now he was safe.
robby noticed that his puppy didn't seem able to hold his own head up, nor move his arms and legs too well, though there was nothing wrong with the sensation in them. his cries and whines also seemed.... so young... he wasn't bouncy and playful like usual. he had a slight suspicion of what was happening.
"heyyyyyy, heyy baby boy, hey puppy, what's up? daddy heard you fall, sweetie. oh, and all these tears... you're okay little pup. you're safe now."
he tested out the "little pup" to see how his boy reacted, gently swaying dennis's small figure in his arms and cooing at him. he seemed sleepy, he seemed... young. like a baby, like he was struggling with thinking or moving or.... anything- his usual puppy repertoire seemed gone.
dennis heard his daddy talk, but he couldn't understand the words. he felt good though, daddy was rocking him, and his voice was nice. he felt warm, and safe. he tried to yip, but the only sound he made was barely a squeak, reedy and small. his head was like lead, kept up by robby's chest and nothing more. he let his eyes close as he chewed on his lip.
that settled it for robby- that "yip" sounded identical to the noises that pups fresh from the litter were limited to, when their legs were weak, heads heavy and eyes closed. his puppy was very, very small. he had a little baby in his arms. he was shocked that it felt so natural, and that having his tiny puppy cuddled close to him was so perfect.
"ohhh, baby boy, sweet puppy... you're my little tiny baby, aren't you denny? daddy's baby boy? that's okay, little one. you're okay. shall we have a nap now, yeah? a nice nap to let my puppy rest his heavy head? and then we'll talk later. sleepy time now, baby."
the puppy in his arms seemed to agree, if the weak coo and huff of breath were anything to go by. dennis couldn't shuffle or move anymore, too deep down to even try, but now the panic in his head had been completely replaced by daddy, daddy, sleepy, daddy, safe...
robby continued to rock and pet his baby pup, cooing until he was sure denny was fast asleep, so peaceful and calm. oh boy. now he had a tiny baby on his hands, not just a pup. he wasn't complaining though, the image of dennis nestled on his chest, fully reliant and calm as he slept, was one that filled Robby's heart with so much love he thought he might cry.
this was his tiny baby pup. the smallest thing he'd ever seen, the sweetest thing he'd ever seen, the loveliest, tiniest thing. his baby. oh, he was going to have a lovely time picking out all the toys in the world for this little one, his little denny. his baby.