Jay nodded as they moved forward in line. "Ah. I see." He replied calmly. Leo wriggled, barking softly at the smell of food, nearly squirming out of the sling in excitement. Jay gently held the puppy still. "Shhh, calm down, little guy. You can have some food in a bit."
Delia smiled as they finally reached where some volunteers were serving food, giving each person a small tray of already pre proportioned food. "Thank you," She said, taking the tray in one hand before frowning and realizing her predicament.
Jay smiled, and took his tray in one hand, then took hers. "Here, I'll carry it." He told her with a smile. He looked at the volunteers. "Hey, can we get a small bowl of just scraps or something for the puppy?" He gestured with his chin at Leo.
One of the worker behind the counter nodded, "If you set those trays down first and come back up, I'll give you what I can find."
She nodded in thanks to Jay and looked around for an empty place to sit, seeing one that could fit the two of them and Leo and heading towards it.
Jay nodded, and followed Delia, setting the trays down on the table. Leo wiggled, trying to get at the trays. Jay sighed, and held the puppy still, walking back to the counter.
"Thanks," She said before sitting down, setting her backpack and crutches down on the floor next to her before pulling her tray over and looking at the variety of food on the plate.
Jay nodded. He came back with a bowl of scraps for Leo, and set the bowl down on the floor, then set the wriggling puppy down as well. Leo wagged his tail, and started devouring the food happily. Jay smiled, and began eating his own food.
Delia looked around, shoving the food into her mouth like she hadn’t eaten in forever, which was partly true. “So, how did your tests and everything go?” She asked between bites, smiling at Leo devouring his food.
Jay shrugged. "Fine, I guess." He replied. "And yours?" He ate carefully, pacing himself. It had been a while since he had had this much food; he didn't want to throw it all back up.
'They went good, though I didn't like when they had to mess with my leg and everything," She replied, not thinking to eat slowly and already feeling the consequences of a starting to ache stomach.
Jay nodded. "I can imagine." He replied. "But at least you have a proper cast now, right?" He asked. Leo finished his food and looked up at Delia with a soft whine, giving her a wide eyed look. He was begging again.
She nodded, "Yeah, brand new and not nearly as comfy as the one you made." A small smile crossed her face and she glanced at Leo, sighing, "You know I have a soft spot for you, don't you?" She picked up the small piece of bread they got with the meal and held it out to the puppy, "There you go."
Leo happily ate the bread, licking his chops, then looked up at her again, wagging his tail a little. Jay sighed. "You shouldn't reward him for bad behavior." He told Delia. "Begging is bad behavior."
(Sry if I'm not on a ton, life is getting crazy for me)
She shrugged and her smile reappeared, "I suppose, but still, I can't refuse him when he give me the puppy eyes like that." With her hand she motioned to the puppy again and his clear begging with his eyes, "See? It's impossible to refuse that face."
(it's fine!)
Jay sighed, and reached out, tapping Leo's nose with his finger. "Leo, no." He said sternly. He looked at Delia. "Well, you need to, otherwise he'll grow up thinking that that's okay behavior."
"Fine," She said with a sigh, turning back to her tray to eat, "As you wish, Mr. Party Pooper."
Jay chuckled softly. "Mm. You're welcome." He replied teasingly, eating his own food. Leo whined softly, staring mournfully at them.
Delia stuck her bottom lip out slightly in a fake pout as she turned to talk to Leo, "Sorry bud, I would give you more food, but nerd over there won't let me. He says I'm spoiling you." Turning back to her food, she ate some more, trying to distract herself from the puppy.
"Hey!" Jay exclaimed, shaking his head. He picked up Leo and put him in the sling, then continued eating. Leo whined, squirming and trying to eat the food off of Jay's fork.
"It's true, and now you're just taunting him," She replied, sticking out her tongue at the two of them and cleaning off the rest of her tray before sighing and pushing the tray away, "That. Was one of the best meals I've had in over a solid year."
Jay kept eating, and stuck his tongue out right back at her. "Oh, shush." He sighed at Leo, looking down at the puppy. "You're right that this is really good, though."
Delia nodded, obviously agreeing as she started to yawn. Now that she had a full stomach, clean clothes and a warm shower, she wanted to take a nap for as long as she could.
Jay finished up his food. He chuckled softly. "I guess we need to ask about bunks. Where we're sleeping." He said slowly.
"Yes, we need to ask about that as soon as possible," She replied, smiling a tad at the thought of maybe getting to sleep on another mattress.
He nodded, and stretched. "Do you want to keep Leo with you, or would you rather I take him?" he asked, looking at her. Leo wiggled happily, head poking out of the sling.
Delia shrugged, looking at the puppy with a faint smile, "Maybe we should let him choose who he wants to stay with, I'm fine with it either way."
Jay nodded. "Alright." He replied, pulling the puppy out and setting him down on the floor. Leo barked happily, sniffing around and exploring.
Her smile grew slightly and watched to see where the puppy would go, either to her or to Jay. Leo was adorable and she knew her soft spot for him was growing.
Leo kept sniffing around contentedly. Finding a scrap of food, he ate it happily, then trotted over to Delia.
"Hey buddy, you want to stay with me?" She asked, scooping up Leo and setting him on her lap while smiling. Her eyes flicked to Jay and she shrugged, "Is it ok if he stays with me? Otherwise he can stay with you."