#dogsitter!reader

Part One Part Two

As soon as Riley wasn’t fit for service Simon adopted her, he couldn’t stomach the idea of his beloved K-9 going to someone else.

Just because she had retired doesn’t mean he did, he still had work. The only difference was now, whenever he didn’t have to be on base or deployed, he came home.

He still, however, had to be away for long periods of time. Hence, it didn’t take him long to find a dog sitter. You’re self employed, work from home and pet sit on the side - you’re absolutely perfect - and Riley loves you from the first meet.

By now, nearly a year of frequently caring for Riley when Simon wasn’t home, you’d found a rhythm - managing to become Simon’s only friend outside of the military.

You’d come over the night before he left, have a takeaway with him, chat over crappy TV, and he’d leave while you were still asleep in the guest bed. In all honestly it was quickly becoming YOUR room - Simon never had other guests and you left enough of your things there - in case of late notice calls.

Simon loved Riley more than anything, and he took her care very seriously, no matter if he was going away for a night or a month he would leave a credit card and her insurance details. Just in case.

You never thought anything would happen to Riley, she was perfectly fit and extremely well behaved, which is why it was such a shock to find yourself speeding to the emergency vets at 3am.

The last thing Simon expected was a phone call at 6am - he knew the time zones and he knew you should be asleep - only used to a few daily photos of Riley and text updates.

His plans of an early run before a briefing were out the window as soon as he heard you sniffle into the phone. “Sorry to- to bother you..”

The voice that responds is firm, almost ordering. “What’s the matter?”

“Is there any way y-you can come home early..?”

By now he’s stood up, free hand clenched into a fist as his head fills with possibilities. “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know.. I.. I woke up to Riley whining and I thought she was just having a bad dream but then she started shaking and yelping-“ You barely finish your sentence, choking words out between sobs, before he responds.

“I’m on my way.” He hangs up and heads straight to Price’s office, ready to pull any string to get home within 24 hours.

When he arrives back in England, only 6 hours later thanks to a favour Price owed him, he pays the ridiculous fee to get a taxi from the airport directly to the vets.

The door shakes on its hinges as he stops in, he doesn’t have a chance to look for you before you’re crashing into his chest. He jolts and stiffens for a moment before embracing you as you shake with sobs.

As worried as he currently is he also knows how scared you must also be. You’d grown extremely close with his dog over the last year, not to mention how sensitive he knows you are - having seen your eyes fill over sad TV adverts before.

Once you’re both settled in seats in the corner he makes you explain everything. “I was asleep and I woke up to whining, I thought she was just dreaming but I went to check anyways. I started stroking her to try and cheer her up or something when she just started-“ He watches your eyes fill again.

“She just started shaking- not like shivering like.. really really shaking and she wouldn’t get up or anything and she was yelping and-“ You cough out a sob and he stops you - partly not wanting you to be upset and partly not wanting to hear about his dog in pain.

Your face finds his shoulder and he hugs you, providing you both the comfort you need. “They won’t even tell me anything.. they just rushed her away..” That’s all he needs to hear to be on his feet and demanding some sort of information from any staff he can find.

You watch in silent amazement as the same people who had completely ignored you scrambled to find answers for him.

As soon as you heard the word poison you were out of your seat and stumbling over to Simon, wanting to know what happened. His arm finds your back to steady you but his eyes never leave the veterinary nurse with the grim look on her face.

The nurse quietly explained the fact that Riley had experienced a seizure, caused by a toxin found in her system. “From the symptoms we assume it came from some kind of common rat poison.”

dogsitter!reader x simon riley

I’m sure in some universe, Simon is living a comfortable, settled life with his retired military dog Riley, and he suddenly gets a call for another deployment he wasn’t expecting. He asks around any of the (few) people he feels comfortable asking, but ultimately decides he needs to hire a dog-sitter for Riley while he’s away. You get an anonymous text message asking if you’re available to dog sit next week and you’ve got nothing else going on so you agree to meet the dog and check out the situation. Turns out, the guy is the hottest hunk of mysterious meat you’ve ever seen in your life with a sweet sugar-dusted German Shepard and they happen to live in a decent part of town. He towers over you and even wears a weird black balaclava even though it’s the middle of spring, but he’s soft spoken and has stars in his eyes as he looks upon his dog. He clearly adores this creature and wants him well taken care of while he has to be away, your heart melts a little and you agree to house and dig sit for him. So he leaves, you move into the house with Riley and while he did mention them, you continuously forget that he has security cameras in every room. While you’re just fooling around and playing with Riley in the backyard, Simon’s checking in on his phone and gets to watch you prance around the back garden with his dog. He watches you leave and re-enter the house for every walk you go on, every slow moment on the couch with the two of you cuddling during a movie, he sees every time you dance by yourself in the kitchen while making yourself dinner. A week passes of barely any word from Simon. He texted once asking if Riley had been behaving, typical from a trained military man with high behavioral expectations. He texts you again one night, days later, after you enjoyed your dinner out on the back patio and helped yourself to a bowl of ice cream and finally danced around the kitchen with Riley to the music you sang on your own. You don’t see it until you wake up at some point in the middle of the night.

“She’s currently having her stomach pumped and given some medicine and fluids.. we won’t know for sure if she’s okay until she wakes up.. you’re lucky you got her here in time, cases like these are almost always fatal.”

You cling to Simon’s arm like a sloth, overwhelmed with anxiety.

It takes 2 tense hours for the vet to come out and explain. “She had to have her stomach pumped and a few blood tests to check her white blood cell count and to ensure all toxins are gone.. she’s just coming around now if you want to come and see her.”

You scurry after Simon as strides into the room, despite you becoming close over the last year, you were unprepared to see him pull his mask off and bury his face into Riley’s fur.

The slow circles you rub on his back only draws out the sobs that wrack him. “Oh Simon.. I’m so sorry..” He sniffles, unable to remember the last time he cried, overwhelmed by the sudden realisation of his dog’s mortality.

The vet leaves you both with Riley as she slowly comes to, drowsy and confused. Despite her state she lets out a quiet excited yip, tail wagging slightly, at her owner being back.

As her head lifts you rush to gently pet her, stopping her from getting up fully, Simon still hiding his face in the thick fluff of her stomach. “It’s okay puppy..”

Simon meets your eye and he looks like he wants to kill someone, you start worrying he blames you. “Simon I-“

“I’m going to kill whoever did this to her.”

“Si-“

“No. You tell me exactly where the last places she went was.”

You rack your brain, not wanting him even more annoyed. “We went to the park in the morning but since then she only went in the garden.. I don’t- I don’t know where she could’ve gotten it..”

You watch in utter confusion as he yanks his phone out of his pocket, growling under his breath. There’s a moment where, clearly finding whatever he was looking for, you feel a bit of genuine fear. “Simon..?”

He turns to leave but your hand grabs his, desperately trying to calm him down. “Simon. Listen to me.” He pulls his hand away but you grab it again, with both hands now.

“Stop it. Look- I know you’re angry right now, I am too, but right now Riley needs her owner here. Can you imagine how scared and confused she must be?”

When he looks at her she looks exhausted, forcing her eyes to stay open to watch if he was leaving. He relents and returns to her side. “I’m sorry, I’m just..”

“I know.. I am too.. but right now we need to stay here and help give her every chance of being okay..”

@cherriesherry