*crouches down to cuddle his dog, unspeakably relieved even if he's still (right there and) reminding himself that there was no reason to worry in the first place* Good girl. *sighs and scolds her gently, as though she can possibly understand* Don't do that again, okay? Scared me to death.
*for the first time, gets a good look at what Marigold's brought him, his heart skipping a beat as he reads TOP BRASS on the t-shirt (but I tried to erase him)* Where'd you find this, baby girl, hmm?
*glances toward the basement door, his pulse picking up again both for fear and the obvious next question (what else is down there?)* *hugs Marigold hard enough to elicit a whine, dearly, dearly wanting to find out the answer for himself, but he just...can't*