So my friends at Fanforum and I were watching The Maternal Congruence together, and someone - Roxanne or Brit - said that they wanted to see a fic about Leonard and Mitzy. I thought that was a great idea, so I wrote it! Hope you like! This was a drabble, then a series of drabbles, and then it became longer and longer. The final section is so very much not a drabble. Haha. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Related to this show. At all. *clears throat* Anyway...

"A puppy?" Beverly asked, placing her glasses on the tip of her nose. "A…puppy?"

Leonard shifted his weight. "…yes."

Beverly glanced over at her husband. "Michael asked for that collection of lecture tapes by…"

"Yes, yes," he said. "But a puppy is cheaper."

"Cheaper?" Beverly was aghast. "You are planning to sacrifice Leonard's education to save money? If you want to save money, might I suggest you stop purchasing fiction novels?"

"Beverly," said Leonard's father, "Is Leonard worth the extra money?"

"Hey!" Leonard protested. His father gave him a look. Leonard lowered his eyes. His father thought more of him – at least a little – than his mother did. If this was the way to get the puppy, so be it.

Beverly sighed. "Fine. We can get a puppy. But not one of those Maltese or Cavaliers. If you want a dog, you're getting a real one. Not some toy that the celebrities dreamed up."

She was black, a mixed breed. She had short hair and little ears that flapped when she ran. And the first time Leonard saw her run, she was running across the woman's back yard right up to him, leaving her six littermates behind.

"Hey there," he said, crouching down. The puppy licked his hand.

"Have you made your decision, Leonard?" Beverly asked with impatience. "I have more important places to be."

"I've only seen this one."

"That doesn't change the fact that I have more important places to be, Leonard."

"You don't have any lectures today, Mother," Leonard said. "Or seminars."

Beverly gave him a confused look. "What's your point?"

Leonard sighed. "Fine. I'll take this one."

Beverly threw up her hands – slightly – in exasperation. "Well, are you sure, Leonard? I don't want to get it home and have you complain that I rushed you."

"No, Mother. It's fine." It was more than fine. Leonard picked up the puppy and she wiggled close, lifting her head to sniff his chin. He knew sixteen was too old to be this excited about a puppy, but he didn't care. He'd never had anything behave that affectionately towards him, and he'd known this little dog for less than ten minutes.

"I'm naming her Mitzy," Leonard said in the car. Beverly didn't respond. "Mother?"

"I heard you. Were you expecting a comment?"

Leonard ran his hands over the little puppy body in his lap. Mitzy wiggled onto her back. "Sort of."

"All right. What sort of comment would you like to hear from me?"

"I don't know," Leonard said, looking down at Mitzy.

"Well then I simply can't help you, Leonard. You'll have to be more specific."

Leonard sighed. "Never mind."

"If you don't mind me ending this fairly pointless conversation, I'd like to turn up this lecture?"

Leonard didn't respond. He didn't need to. His mother was going to blast her phony music either way. He spent the rest of the drive home tickling Mitzy's stomach while the puppy licked his fingers.

I don't even know you yet, he thought, looking down at the tiny canine. And I think you like me more than anyone in my family.

"Mother?"

Beverly looked up from her desk. "Leonard."

He slipped inside her office and shifted his weight. "What are you doing?"

"Is this an attempt to draw my attention elseware or are you actually curious?" Beverly asked.

The former, but Leonard didn't want to admit that. "I'm actually curious."

"Well it's an extension to the PowerPoint of the sex life I have with your father," Beverly said, using both hands to turn the computer screen so Leonard could see.

He turned away. "Okay, I'm no longer curious. Can you come out and see what I've taught Mitzy?"

"Is it more extensive than what the scientists have taught Koko the Gorilla, the dolphins, or the dogs that do tricks on television?"

"Would you come if it was?"

"Possibly. I have no interest in any of those things, but as you are my son I'd probably make some effort to come out there. So does she?"

"Well…she knows more than Laika did."

Beverly removed her glasses. "I should hope so. Laika allowed herself to be shot into space to a certain death."

"You know what?" Leonard said, backing out of the room. "Never mind." He walked down the hall and turned to the living area, using that door to exit into their tiny back yard. "Mitzy, come!"

The puppy bounded toward him, her hind end wiggling with the force of her tail wagging. "Come on, come on," he said fondly. She slid to a stop in front of him and jumped against his hands when he crouched to pet her. "Sit, Mitz."

Her hindquarters hit the ground. "Paw?" Her paw lifted in the air and he shook it. "Now, high five!" Leonard said, raising his hand level with his head. Mitzy jumped up at his hand. He picked her up and cuddled her. She licked his face, her tail whacking his arms as it wagged back and forth.

"I asked Mother to come out and see what you can do," Leonard said. "But she said she had more important things to do." He sank down into a sitting position, with his legs crossed. He heard that the neighbor kids called it "pretzel style." But he wouldn't know.

Mitzy put a paw on his leg, looking up at him and cocking her head, waiting for permission. Leonard patted himself on the stomach, and the puppy jumped into his lap, lying down and curling up. He scratched her behind the ears. "You're important to me too, Mitz."

"Leonard, I will not wait for you forever."

"Coming, Mother," Leonard grumbled. He stepped over his luggage and went over to his bed. "Wake up, Mitzy." The dog, now two years old, opened her eyes and raised her head. When she saw him, her tail began moving.

Leonard knelt on the bed and ran his hands down her back. "I'm going to college, Mitzy," he said. "It's far away. I'll only see you a few times a year."

Mitzy looked up at him. Leonard felt a tug at his heart. Her eyes were big and brown, and while Leonard didn't know what it was like to be loved by a person, he could still tell that every atom of Mitzy's brown eyes reflected love. Leonard felt a tear, and he laid down on the bed using Mitzy as a pillow. She craned her head around and tried to lick his face.

His hand found her paw. "I'm gonna miss you," he whispered.

Ten years later, Leonard remembered his first good – bye to his dog when he returned home and found her curled up on his old bed, even though it was now in the basement of where she now lived with Leonard's parents. Oh, he'd been home since then, several times, but it was the first time that he'd found her lying that way.

"Mother is surprised I'm here so soon after her visit," Leonard said. "But I had to get away from home for a while. Things have been weird the past two weeks. Wanna go for a walk so I can tell you?"

Mitzi jumped up and went to the door. Leonard pretended that she understood more of what he said than simply walk.

He hooked her up on his leash and led her outside, to the sidewalk. She followed next to him. She was getting old, and her eye sight was bad, but even when she could see fine and was a wiggly puppy, she always obeyed him without question.

"So, Mitzy," Leonard said, beginning their "talk" just as if she was a person. He always felt stupid talking to animals in general, but he treated Mitzy, in that regard, just like another person. Man's Best Friend, indeed. "A lot of stuff's been happening at home. A new woman moved into the building, she seemed nice but was a user, which I realized later than I should have. Then she moved out again after she had a fight with my neighbor. Then, this neighbor got a new boyfriend. Stuart. He owns the comic book store."

"Wuff," said Mitzy, stopping to smell a feather on the ground.

Leonard pretended that she was responding to him. "Penny's great. She's beautiful, and funny, and sweet…I don't lie to you. I like her a lot. If she wanted to be my girlfriend…she'd get no objection from me. I care about her. But…" He suddenly did feel stupid talking to Mitzy. He sounded like a dork just talking about his feelings for Penny, be it to a dog or another person. Penny wasn't a topic he was comfortable enough discussing with anyone, especially after that lime incident.

Leonard sat down on a bench by the road and closed his eyes. He remembered her arms around his neck, her hands moving to his shirt to tug him into bed with her, her skin against his T-shirt when she'd removed the sweats…and his stupid big mouth. "I've screwed it up, Mitz," he said. The dog raised her head, took a step toward him, and sat down right in front of him, her head on his knees. "We were in a delicate situation, and I acted wrongly."

Mitzy whined.

He sighed. "Me, too." He reached in his pocket, found a piece of cheese that he'd stashed there, and offered it to her. "You know what's great about you?" He asked his dog. "You listen. You don't make snide comments, and you don't tell my secrets. Why can't people be like you?"

Because if everyone was like me, the human race couldn't survive.

"Well, that doesn't mean humans have to be spayed," Leonard said, rolling his eyes. "Hey," he said to the elderly couple that walked by, hoping his half – greeting would cover the awkwardness. He looked back at his dog. "Anyway, you listen and I love you for it, Mitzy." He leaned forward so she could lick his nose. He leaned back and scratched her behind the ears. "You know, all the times I came home these past few years..." he leaned forward slightly. "You can't tell anyone, okay?" Smiling, he continued. "I can live with not seeing Mother and Father. They don't love me, not unconditionally, likely not at all. You're the reason I come home."

Mitzy stretched her nose up until it touched Leonard's cheek, and once again he could have sworn she understood every word.

That night, Leonard fell asleep using Mitzy for a pillow. The following morning, he hugged his dog, attempted to hug Beverly, and then he left and flew back to Pasadena.

Mitzy was put to sleep five months later.

Reviews are always appreciated. :)