Fic: Adventures in Petsitting (Community, Jeff/Annie)
Title: Adventures in Petsitting
Author: ditchwitchbitch & jacqui_hw
Fandom/Genre: Community / Humor & fluff
Pairing(s): Jeff/Annie, Troy/Britta
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 15,420
Warnings: None
Summary: Jeff accidentally agrees to cat-sit for Britta. Things go downhill from there.
Like most of the world, Saturday was Jeff’s favorite day of the week. There were no classes to attend, no inane conversations to be dragged into, no homework that couldn’t wait until 2 AM on Sunday night. It was his time, and he intended to spend his weekend catching up on Mad Men, and then going to that sale at Banana Republic.
He’d just settled down onto his sofa when there was a knock at the door, which Jeff tried to ignore. “Jeff!” Britta shouted after a minute, banging on the door again. “Stop looking at yourself in the mirror and open the door!”
He sighed, but dragged himself to the door. “Well, since you asked so nicely,” he said, leaning against the doorframe in an overly casual manner.
Britta reached over to pull him into a tight hug, which Jeff returned with less enthusiasm, confused. “Thank you so much,” she said. “You don’t know how much protesting this tower means to me.”
“Tower?” Jeff asked, frowning.
“The wildlife we’re going to save thanks you too,” Britta said, reaching into her purse to pull out a small, plush banana that was missing an eye. “This is his favorite.”
“Why does it have one eye?” Jeff asked, taking it. “And wait, whose favorite?”
"Mr. Mittens," Britta said, picking up the carry case, Jeff finally noticed had been sitting at her feet. She lifted it to her face. "Mommy loves you, Mister, yes she does. You be good for Uncle Jeff." She made a kissy noise at the cat, who was either asleep or ignoring her, Jeff couldn't tell from the angle, then she looked back at him sharply.
"You didn't forget did you?" She narrowed her eyes at him and lowered her voice. "Do you have a woman in there?"
"No," Jeff protested, disliking the implication. "I didn't forget anything, okay? How could I forget catsitting Mr. Mittens while you protest... a tower." He grabbed the carry case and set it down just inside the door. "See? We're fine. See you tomorrow."
"Wait, wait, wait," Britta said as Jeff moved to close the door. She shrugged out of her backpack and handed it over to Jeff. "He needs the green drops in his food and the clear drops in his eyes every three hours. The cream needs to be rubbed on the bald patch every six hours and be sure to check there's no blood in his urine, because he'll need to go to the animal hospital if there is."
Jeff looked at Britta, then the cat, then Britta again. "You have more problems than this cat."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he shooed her away. "Go save whatever you're saving. I can deal with a cat for 24 hours. It is just 24 hours right?"
Britta nodded and Jeff gave her his brightest grin. "Then it's fine. I'll see you tomorrow."
He closed the door and leaned back against it for a moment, before the carry case gave a plaintive meow.
"I suppose you want food," he said and bent down to let Mr. Mittens out. "Of course you do. If I had four diseases I'd want to eat all day too."
Jeff reasoned that he'd seen Mr. Mittens before. He'd been to Britta's apartment a few times (though it was usually late, and they were both usually a little drunk), and he definitely remembered her showing them photos of her cat in a pirate costume. But he didn't remember Mr. Mittens being quite so... large.
The cat slowly climbed out of his crate, which seemed to take a lot of work given his size. "Apparently you do eat all day," Jeff murmured, even as he bent to rub behind the cat's ears. He regarded Jeff with a vague interest before purring, drawing an actual smile out of Jeff. 24 hours wouldn't be so bad.
He tossed a handful of cat food into the bowl from Britta's bag and moved back to the sofa, ready to get back to his Mad Men marathon. From the corner of his eye he could see the cat wandering around the apartment, exploring, but they seemed content to leave each other alone for now.
The show was just getting good - Don was doing something especially suave - when there was another knock at the door. He glanced at the cat, who made no move from where he was now perched on Jeff's kitchen counter. "I'm pretty sure your mom has abandonment issues, not you," he smirked, and moved to open the door.
"Jeffrey!"
Jeff froze with his hand on the doorknob.
"I know you're in there, Jeffrey," Dean Pelton's voice sounded shrilly through the door. "You promised to take care of Mr. Muggles today."
Jeff frowned and spun round to look at Mr. Mittens who had raised his head and was giving Jeff a look that would mean 'You're a fucking idiot' if it wasn't coming from a cat. When exactly had he agreed to look after the Dean's... what? Mr. Muggles? Was that another cat? A dog? Was it even an animal? Oh God.
He took a deep breath and opened the door slowly.
"Dean," Jeff said, just as slowly. "Sorry, I was just..."
"Call me Craig," he said, his face lighting up when he saw Jeff. "I really do appreciate this, Jeffrey. You're making the JazzFest Society very happy."
"I think there's been a mistake," Jeff said slowly, wracking his brain for when he might have agreed to this. He vaguely remembered the Dean trailing behind him after their Biology class and talking about his jazz hands - he remembered, because he'd had to text Troy about that - but he didn't remember a Mr. Muggles.
Who was probably the pug at the end of the leash the Dean was holding, pulling hard and trying to get at Jeff. The dog made a wheezing noise when it got no release from the leash, but didn't stop trying to pull free. It was so hideous it bordered on cute. Almost.
"Oh?" Dean Pelton looked honestly intrigued. "What kind of a mistake, Jeffrey?" He flashed a smile. "Because I do know you need extra credit in Economics. Or was I wrong?"
Shit. He searched his brain for any reasonable explanation that got him out of this without jeopardizing his grade. "It's just that there's a cat," he said suddenly, and the Dean raised one brow.
"A cat?" he asked, before breaking into a smile. "Mr. Muggles loves cats! This will work out great, they can play together." He handed over the leash and gave his best jazz hands. "I'll see you on Sunday!"
"Wait," Jeff said, adding a desperate, "please... Craig."
The Dean turned back toward him, beaming and hopeful and Jeff felt like an ass. An exploited and sexually harassed ass. He frowned. That even sounded wrong in his head.
"Does he have any toys?" Jeff sighed and the Dean - Craig - threw up his hands and laughed, pulling open his bag and grabbing a few toys.
Jeff took them - and the bag of food, which he was assured had "no corn or chicken", whatever that mattered - and closed the door again once he was gone. "Fuck," he sighed, looking down at the dog, who was staring up at him and wagging its tail. He bent to pet Mr. Muggles, only to have the dog sneeze on him.
This was not the relaxing day he had planned.
An hour later and Jeff's living room looked like a war zone. How did people keep pets? God forbid he ever have kids because right now, with Mr. Mittens sitting on top of his bookcase, arched and hissing down at Mr. Muggles who was running in circles around Jeff's coffee table and barking occasionally, Jeff thought he'd reached the end of his tether.
He picked up Mr. Muggles and allowed his face to licked enthusiastically - if not hygienically - while the dog's little legs scrambled excitedly in the air.
"Mr. Mittens," he addressed the still hissing cat in what he thought was a reasonable tone when you considered the situation. "Get down here."
The cat flicked his tail and turned his head. It paced the length of the bookcase twice, then jumped down onto the kitchen counter.
"Thank you," Jeff said. "It's time for your eyedrops. I'm going to put Mr. Muggles down. Stay there."
Jeff moved to fetch the eyedrops, trying not to trip over the small bundle of endless energy that was running in circles around him and his living room. "Jesus," he sighed, fetching the backpack. By the time he got back to the kitchen counter, though, Mr. Mittens wasn't there.
It took him longer than it probably should have to notice that the room had gone quiet - missing was the sound of paws scratching up his beautiful hardwood floors, or of a slight wheeze when the pug ran. And then he saw them where they were both crouched on the floor, staring each other down, like some scene out of a cowboy movie. He moved quick, but Mr. Mittens tail twitched, and the movement made the pug attack. They were off to the races. Jeff heard a crash as something clattered to the floor, and closed his eyes, wondering just what he'd done to deserve this.
It was time to call in the cavalry.
Annie's phone began to ring at the same time someone started to bang on the door. She picked up the phone and answered as she capped her pen, closed her journal and rolled off the bed.
"Annie," Jeff said as soon as she answered. "You have to help me."
"Oh hi, Jeff," Annie said, slowly her walk to the front door to give herself more time with him. "Are you okay? You sound a little... Frantic.
"Frantic doesn't begin to describe it." He banged on the door again, louder. "Are you home?"
Annie frowned. "That's you making all that noise?" She closed the distance between herself and the door, opening it and blinking as she took in the sight in front of her. Jeff looked close to homicidal, there was a small pug panting and trying to run around him with its leash half tangled up around his legs, and a carrier that made a hissing noise. "What happened?"
"That's a wonderful question," Jeff said, as Annie knelt to untangle the leash from his legs. Mr. Muggles jumped at her, licking her face, and she laughed. "Don't believe him, he's the devil."
"He doesn't mean that," she said, standing to give Jeff room to enter. "Why do you have a dog?"
"It's the Dean's," Jeff admitted as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He placed the cat carrier down on a nearby table. "And this is Britta's cat. I don't even know when I agreed to this."
Annie narrowed her eyes at him, then reached over to punch his shoulder lightly. "I keep telling you, Jeff! Don't text and talk to people! It's rude, and you never listen to what they're saying. This is how we ended up being waiters at Leonard's birthday party."
"No," Jeff snapped, "that was Abed's fault. Who in their right mind wants to role play Party Down?"
Annie bent down to see the cat, still holding the wiggling pug against her shoulder. "Is it diseased?"
"Mr. Mittens may have a hundred diseases, but he's healthy enough to destroy my favorite shirt and lash out at over-enthusiastic dogs," Jeff said. "I can't handle both of them."
"So what do you want me to do?" Annie asked? "I'll take this one. Yes I will. Yes I will." She nuzzled her face against the pug's belly.
Jeff narrowed his eyes at her. "No, you have to help me with both of them. Mr. Muggles got Mr. Mittens all riled up."
"Wait, the dog is called Mr. Muggles?" Annie said, with a frown. "And the cat is called Mr. Mittens?"
"Can we make fun of them later, please?" Jeff said. "I need help."
"With what?" Abed's head emerged from the blanket fort, and then Troy's head appeared two feet below that.
"We were watching a ... oh a puppy!" Troy crawled out of the fort on his hands and knees and over to Annie. He hopped up and reached out to take Mr. Muggles. “Oh you're so cute. Aren't you cute? Yes you are?"
Jeff looked mildly disgusted by the baby talk.
"What is that?" Abed asked, joining them and nodding in the direction of the pet carrier.
"Britta's cat."
Troy screamed and pushed the dog back into Annie's arms, stumbling backwards. "Mr. Mittens."
Abed suddenly looked more excited than Jeff had ever seen him, which was to say, slightly excited. "Your nemesis."
Annie looked confused. "Your nemesis is Britta's cat?"
"You don't understand," Troy hissed at her. "You will never understand." He disappeared back into the blanket fort and Abed looked close to rubbing his hands together in glee. "I'll be back."
"Take your time," Jeff said dryly, as Abed followed Troy.
"Clearly," Annie said, still holding the squirming pug in her hands, "this means you should go, and take the cat with you."
Jeff shook his head. "They're both evil. And they've destroyed my apartment enough. I'm not taking this... thing back there."
Annie looked close to arguing, but in the end, she just sighed. "Fine. It's just for a few hours, right?" Jeff didn't want to correct her, so, he didn't. "We can just put on a movie and they'll calm down."
"Is this what you do when Troy and Abed get worked up?" he asked, amused as he sank into the sofa cushions. When Annie released the pug back on the ground, he barked at her before beginning to run around, exploring.
"They're very easy to calm down," Annie assured him. "If you know how."
"Do you want to share this secret?" Jeff said hopefully. He picked up the cat carrier and wiggled his fingers at Mr. Mittens through the bars. "I think he wants to be out."
"Let's wait five minutes," Annie said, watching Mr. Muggles start to investigate the blanket fort. "Maybe we can keep them separated."
Jeff nodded and leaned back as Annie went to pour them each a glass of lemonade. "What were you doing today?" he asked when she returned.
"Homework," Annie admitted, settling into the sofa near him. "I was going to get a head start on my paper for my Anatomy class."
"Thrilling," Jeff said. "I planned to watch Mad Men."
"The new season," she asked and Jeff nodded. "We have that. I just need to ask Abed if we can watch it."
Jeff frowned. "Why? You need permission to use TiVo?"
"He doesn't like spoilers," Annie explained, like that was some kind of explanation. Jeff frowned.
"You don't have to tell him about it after we watch it."
"Sometimes he can hear it though. He has the ears of a bat. And what if he walks through?"
"I probably don't want to know," Jeff said, leaning his head back as Annie ducked into the blanket fort to talk to her roommates. Mr. Mittens pawed at the crate, and Jeff took pity on him, opening the door. The cat stepped out quickly and jumped into Jeff's lap, staring him down. He imagined it was some kind of punishment for keeping him in the crate.
"I'm sorry buddy," he said, scratching behind the cat's ears. "If it makes you feel any better, I'd switch places with you in a heartbeat." Mr. Mittens swished his tail and tossed his head in a way Jeff took to mean "That doesn't make anything better."
"He said it was okay," Annie said when she returned a few minutes later. "But if they need to go to the kitchen or the Dreamatorium, we're going to have to put it on pause while they cross the living room."
Jeff nodded. "I expected slightly more ridiculous demands. I'm almost disappointed."
Annie gave him a small smile as she turned on the TV, scrolling through what looked to be hundreds of TV shows saved until she reached Mad Men. She leaned over to scratch behind Mr. Mitten's ear, and the cat made a soft contented noise, but didn't move from Jeff's lap.
"Do you know why Troy hates him?" Jeff asked, but Annie just shook her head.
"He just gets really pale and usually runs away when you mention his name. I think he watched him one day sophomore year, but I'm not sure what happened." She smiled at the cat. "But you're not so bad."
Mr. Muggles barked from the blanket fort, causing Mr. Mittens to hiss and dig his claws into Jeff's leg.
"Holy shit," Jeff shouted, pushing reflexively at the cat. "Off, off you mangy thing, you're making me bleed."
"Jeff, that's mean," Annie said, when Mr. Mittens jumped across to her lap. "He doesn't know."
"Does that matter?" Jeff insisted, staring at his jeans for any sign of blood or tears, but there were none. The cat might yet live.
Annie leaned back on the sofa, slowly relaxing again as she pet Mr. Muggles. "I can't believe anyone would ask you to petsit," she said after awhile, frowning.
Jeff smirked. "What? I don't seem like the nurturing type?"
Annie looked over at him, but remained quiet. Jeff rolled his eyes. "I'm not," he said, after awhile. "But I did always want a dog. A real dog, though."
"Pugs are real," Annie said, and Jeff's smile softened, but only a little.
"A big dog, then. Something to play chase and run around with."
"You can do all of those things with a small dog," Annie said primly and Jeff started to laugh.
"Have I offended you? I'm sorry. I'm sure Mr. Muggles is very cute. I just don't go all fluffy and ridiculous over animals. I don’t go fluffy and ridiculous over anything."
"Oh really?" Annie said. "Then why do you always cry at our shadow theater?"
Mr. Mittens meowed, either in agreement or because Annie had stopped stroking him. Jeff gave the cat a sympathetic look. He'd probably complain if Annie stopped stroking him.
Whoa. Okay. Not like that.
"Jeff?" Annie said. "Did you hear what I said?"
"You always have someone die in the shadow theater," Jeff protested, getting back on track. "That's not the same."
Annie narrowed her eyes at him. "O-kay," she drawled. "That was five minutes ago. I asked if you wanted lunch."
If Jeff flushed, he hid it well. He hoped, anyway. "Yeah, okay."
She moved the cat into the space between them, and though Mr. Mittens looked none too pleased, he didn't move. "I'll just make us sandwiches," she said, standing. Jeff watched her retreat into the kitchen before glancing at the TV, and realized they hadn't been paying attention at all.
"Can you cook?" he called after her, a minute later, as an afterthought. He could practically feel Annie rolling her eyes from the kitchen.
"I'm just making us sandwiches. I'm not going to that much work for you, Jeff."
He smiled, though he wasn't quite sure why.
"Annie, are you making sandwiches?" Troy shouted a moment later. Annie shook her head and ignored him.
"Annie!" Troy shouted again. "Annie!"
"He doesn't seem to be going away," Jeff said, then shouted "Yes!" to Troy.
"No," Annie said. "Don't encourage him. We have a rule. I don't respond to shouting."
"You told them to stay in the blanket fort," Jeff argued, and Annie paused, frowning at that. Then she made a sound like her life was very hard, and reached for more bread.
"Come on, cat," Jeff said after a minute, climbing to his feet and moving to grab his backpack. "I think it's time for your eyedrops again."
"What is wrong with that cat?" Annie asked as Jeff wrestled Mr. Mittens still to administer the eyedrops.
"God know," Jeff said. "A million things. Poor guy."
"I can hear you," Troy shouted. "Don't feel sorry for it. That's what it does. It's crazy and evil."
"I'm not a cat person," Jeff said, glaring as the cat tried to swat at his hand, "but even I know this thing isn't evil."
"That's just what it wants you to believe!" Troy shouted from inside the blanket fort, and Jeff fought not to roll his eyes. Annie appeared a moment later, setting down the plate of sandwiches, and moving to take the eyedrops from Jeff.
"You hold the cat, I'll do this."
Jeff snorted. "Yeah, you took the easy job."
Annie shot him a look, but he sighed and tried to hold the squirming cat still. And to his surprise, Annie got the drops in within seconds. "There. All better."
He set Mr. Mittens back down on the sofa. "Were you a vet in another life or something? Cat-wrangler?"
"My major is Healthcare Administration," Annie said, crossing her arms as though embarrassed. "I've been volunteering at the clinic at school. It's not that different."
"Yeah, cats, humans. They're the same."
It was Annie's turn to roll her eyes. "You have to be gentle and patient," she said. "That doesn't change."
"Cat-whisperer," Jeff said, shaking his head at her, but there was a hint of a smile there. "Maybe I should just leave you with these two, since you obviously have it covered..." He took an experimental step toward the door, and Annie narrowed her eyes at him.
"Don't you dare. I did not agree to petsit, that's your own fault. You really should stop texting and talking, Jeff."
"Yeah, yeah," Jeff said instead of answering, sitting back down on the sofa. He reached for the plate, only to find it now empty. His eyes followed a trail of crumbs across the floor, to where Mr. Muggles had dragged the sandwiches, and was munching happily on them. He sighed and looked up at Annie. "Pizza?"
"We'd like pizza!" Troy shouted.
Jeff took out his phone. "I'll even buy, how's that?"
Annie shook her head. "Abed, Troy come out here."
"Not if that monster is still there," Troy replied.
"How are you going to eat the pizza?" Annie argued. "Come here and make your peace with the kitty."
Jeff ignored the conversation and phoned for the pizza.
Troy emerged slowly from the blanket fort. Mr. Muggles gave an excited yap and started to circle Troy's legs. Abed followed him, his attention divided between Troy's reactions and Mr. Mittens.
The cat's tail swished as it watched Troy, but didn't move otherwise. They stared each other down, and Troy blinked first. He looked ready to start crying, so Annie sighed, moving to pick up the cat. "Fine," she said, shaking her head. "I'll hold him so he can't get you. Just sit down."
"No Mad Men," Abed said quickly, moving to cover his ears. "Spoilers."
Annie shot look Jeff a sympathetic look as he hung up the phone, but nodded slowly. "We'll watch something else, then. Until after lunch."
Jeff felt an odd twist in his stomach at the thought that they hadn't been watching the screen at all, or that he didn't care now if they did continue their marathon. It felt... strange. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, though. "Pizza will be here in 20," he said instead, sitting down on the sofa. He glanced at Troy. "Why are you afraid of a cat? This is weird, even for you."
"I'm not afraid," Troy said automatically. "He's just evil that's all." He narrowed his eyes at the cat. "You know what I'm thinking don't you Mr. Mittens? You know everything."
Jeff and Annie shared a look.
"What did he do to you?"
"He ruins things," Troy said, narrowing his eyes at the cat as he very slowly sat down on the floor. Abed moved to sit beside him, still looking between him and the cat in Annie's arms, who was purring contentedly as she rubbed its back.
"That's specific," Jeff sighed, grabbing the remote before Abed could and scrolling through the channels. "My curiosity isn't even piqued enough for this conversation."
"He's why Britta won't date him," Abed said suddenly, and Troy shot Abed a look.
Jeff didn't stop scrolling through the channels. "Britta won't date him because Britta is emotionally stunted, and named her cat Mr. Mittens. Trust me, that has nothing to do with you."
Annie looked less convinced, though, and she frowned at Troy. "What are you talking about?" She could see him hesitate, and she narrowed her own eyes at him until he looked away.
"She said she won't date someone whose cat hates them, because cats are very good judges of character."
"That's stupid," Jeff said, again not turning away from the TV. "Though I imagine Mr. Mittens has better taste than Britta."
Troy looked defeated. Annie punched Jeff's arm.
"Oh come on," Jeff said. "You know I didn't mean Troy."
"That's stupid," Jeff said, again not turning away from the TV. "Though I imagine Mr. Mittens has better taste than Britta."
Troy looked defeated. Annie punched Jeff's arm.
"Oh come on," Jeff said. "You know I didn't mean Troy."
“Annie," Troy said, "I know you want to help, but you're really really not."
"You just need to get to know Mr. Mittens," she said. "Then Britta can see how much you care about her."
"Uh, no," Jeff said. "Britta needs to learn that she can't use her cat to close herself off emotionally. It's not Troy's fault the cat doesn't like him."
"But if he shows willing," Annie argued, "Britta will see he's making an effort and that has to be worth something."
"Like on Frasier," Abed said.
Jeff cut him off. "No, Abed, no. Not like a TV show. Britta is crazy and she's throwing away a chance of being happy because she's scared. It's classic Britta."
"So you won't even try to help? You'll let her sabotage herself?" Annie said.
“It’s called ‘not meddling’,” Jeff said, shooting her a look. “You can’t fix Britta.”
“But we can try to stop her from making mistakes,” Annie insisted, frowning when Jeff rolled his eyes. They were saved briefly from the conversation when the doorbell rang, and Jeff stood, shooing the cat from his lap as he moved to grab his wallet.
Annie gave Troy another reassuring smile. “It can’t hurt to try, right?”
“What if I try and she still doesn’t want to date me?”
“Yeah,” Jeff said dryly from the door, where he was handing over some bills. “What happens then, Annie?”
She hesitated, but then stuck her chin out, trying to look confident and firm in her word choice. “Then at least he knows, and he doesn’t have to think it’s his fault, or because of a cat.”
Jeff paused at that, trying to find the fault in the logic. “Is that really better?” he asked finally. Troy was looking between them both.
“Yes,” Annie said, staring back up at Jeff.
He set the pizza on the coffee table and moved into the kitchen to get plates. “Don’t let that damn dog eat all the pizza,” he called over his shoulder.
Annie paused, looking around. “Where is Mr. Muggles, anyway?”
Abed nodded towards the now closed door. “He ran out while Jeff was paying for the pizza and not paying attention.”
"What?" Jeff backed up into the living room. "What did you say?"
"Mr. Muggles ran out while you were arguing with Annie," Abed said. "You said..."
Jeff raced towards the door and down the hall. "Mr. Muggles!" he shouted. "Mr. Muggles, where are you?"
"The cat's gone too!" Annie yelled after him after a quick, frantic search around the living room.
Abed nodded. "Mr. Mittens ran out first, and Mr. Muggles went after him."
"Why didn't you say anything?" she snapped, hurrying after Jeff.
Abed looked at Troy for reassurance, but Troy just sighed as he climbed to his feet. "Come on, buddy. We've got to find them." He grabbed two slices of pizza on his way out - one for himself, and one in case cats liked pizza.
Annie found Jeff when he reached the end of the hallway, looking frantic. "They're not here," he said, looking around. "Do you think someone let them into their apartment?"
"Maybe they went down in the elevator," she offered, and then paused, glancing over at the garbage chute. "Unless..."
"No," Jeff said quickly. "I did not kill Britta's cat or throw it in the trash. They're in one of these apartments, or they went down in the elevator."
"Okay," Annie said. "Well you and I can start knocking on doors. Troy, Abed, go downstairs and see if they're in the lobby."
Abed gave what looked like a half backwards salute and Jeff dismissed it as Inspector Spacetime nonsense. Troy pulled at Abed's shirt and they both walked towards the elevator.
"Start at that end of the hall," Jeff said to Annie. "Let's make this fast."
"Mr. Mittens," Tory called out as the stepped off the elevator. "Mr. Muggles."
"They're not here," Abed said.
"You don't know that," Troy said. "They might be hiding. Come on out, Mr. Mittens. Abed, check the stairwell."
"They're not here," Abed repeated and pointed at the open door to the street. "I think they escaped."
Part 2
Author: ditchwitchbitch & jacqui_hw
Fandom/Genre: Community / Humor & fluff
Pairing(s): Jeff/Annie, Troy/Britta
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 15,420
Warnings: None
Summary: Jeff accidentally agrees to cat-sit for Britta. Things go downhill from there.
Like most of the world, Saturday was Jeff’s favorite day of the week. There were no classes to attend, no inane conversations to be dragged into, no homework that couldn’t wait until 2 AM on Sunday night. It was his time, and he intended to spend his weekend catching up on Mad Men, and then going to that sale at Banana Republic.
He’d just settled down onto his sofa when there was a knock at the door, which Jeff tried to ignore. “Jeff!” Britta shouted after a minute, banging on the door again. “Stop looking at yourself in the mirror and open the door!”
He sighed, but dragged himself to the door. “Well, since you asked so nicely,” he said, leaning against the doorframe in an overly casual manner.
Britta reached over to pull him into a tight hug, which Jeff returned with less enthusiasm, confused. “Thank you so much,” she said. “You don’t know how much protesting this tower means to me.”
“Tower?” Jeff asked, frowning.
“The wildlife we’re going to save thanks you too,” Britta said, reaching into her purse to pull out a small, plush banana that was missing an eye. “This is his favorite.”
“Why does it have one eye?” Jeff asked, taking it. “And wait, whose favorite?”
"Mr. Mittens," Britta said, picking up the carry case, Jeff finally noticed had been sitting at her feet. She lifted it to her face. "Mommy loves you, Mister, yes she does. You be good for Uncle Jeff." She made a kissy noise at the cat, who was either asleep or ignoring her, Jeff couldn't tell from the angle, then she looked back at him sharply.
"You didn't forget did you?" She narrowed her eyes at him and lowered her voice. "Do you have a woman in there?"
"No," Jeff protested, disliking the implication. "I didn't forget anything, okay? How could I forget catsitting Mr. Mittens while you protest... a tower." He grabbed the carry case and set it down just inside the door. "See? We're fine. See you tomorrow."
"Wait, wait, wait," Britta said as Jeff moved to close the door. She shrugged out of her backpack and handed it over to Jeff. "He needs the green drops in his food and the clear drops in his eyes every three hours. The cream needs to be rubbed on the bald patch every six hours and be sure to check there's no blood in his urine, because he'll need to go to the animal hospital if there is."
Jeff looked at Britta, then the cat, then Britta again. "You have more problems than this cat."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he shooed her away. "Go save whatever you're saving. I can deal with a cat for 24 hours. It is just 24 hours right?"
Britta nodded and Jeff gave her his brightest grin. "Then it's fine. I'll see you tomorrow."
He closed the door and leaned back against it for a moment, before the carry case gave a plaintive meow.
"I suppose you want food," he said and bent down to let Mr. Mittens out. "Of course you do. If I had four diseases I'd want to eat all day too."
Jeff reasoned that he'd seen Mr. Mittens before. He'd been to Britta's apartment a few times (though it was usually late, and they were both usually a little drunk), and he definitely remembered her showing them photos of her cat in a pirate costume. But he didn't remember Mr. Mittens being quite so... large.
The cat slowly climbed out of his crate, which seemed to take a lot of work given his size. "Apparently you do eat all day," Jeff murmured, even as he bent to rub behind the cat's ears. He regarded Jeff with a vague interest before purring, drawing an actual smile out of Jeff. 24 hours wouldn't be so bad.
He tossed a handful of cat food into the bowl from Britta's bag and moved back to the sofa, ready to get back to his Mad Men marathon. From the corner of his eye he could see the cat wandering around the apartment, exploring, but they seemed content to leave each other alone for now.
The show was just getting good - Don was doing something especially suave - when there was another knock at the door. He glanced at the cat, who made no move from where he was now perched on Jeff's kitchen counter. "I'm pretty sure your mom has abandonment issues, not you," he smirked, and moved to open the door.
"Jeffrey!"
Jeff froze with his hand on the doorknob.
"I know you're in there, Jeffrey," Dean Pelton's voice sounded shrilly through the door. "You promised to take care of Mr. Muggles today."
Jeff frowned and spun round to look at Mr. Mittens who had raised his head and was giving Jeff a look that would mean 'You're a fucking idiot' if it wasn't coming from a cat. When exactly had he agreed to look after the Dean's... what? Mr. Muggles? Was that another cat? A dog? Was it even an animal? Oh God.
He took a deep breath and opened the door slowly.
"Dean," Jeff said, just as slowly. "Sorry, I was just..."
"Call me Craig," he said, his face lighting up when he saw Jeff. "I really do appreciate this, Jeffrey. You're making the JazzFest Society very happy."
"I think there's been a mistake," Jeff said slowly, wracking his brain for when he might have agreed to this. He vaguely remembered the Dean trailing behind him after their Biology class and talking about his jazz hands - he remembered, because he'd had to text Troy about that - but he didn't remember a Mr. Muggles.
Who was probably the pug at the end of the leash the Dean was holding, pulling hard and trying to get at Jeff. The dog made a wheezing noise when it got no release from the leash, but didn't stop trying to pull free. It was so hideous it bordered on cute. Almost.
"Oh?" Dean Pelton looked honestly intrigued. "What kind of a mistake, Jeffrey?" He flashed a smile. "Because I do know you need extra credit in Economics. Or was I wrong?"
Shit. He searched his brain for any reasonable explanation that got him out of this without jeopardizing his grade. "It's just that there's a cat," he said suddenly, and the Dean raised one brow.
"A cat?" he asked, before breaking into a smile. "Mr. Muggles loves cats! This will work out great, they can play together." He handed over the leash and gave his best jazz hands. "I'll see you on Sunday!"
"Wait," Jeff said, adding a desperate, "please... Craig."
The Dean turned back toward him, beaming and hopeful and Jeff felt like an ass. An exploited and sexually harassed ass. He frowned. That even sounded wrong in his head.
"Does he have any toys?" Jeff sighed and the Dean - Craig - threw up his hands and laughed, pulling open his bag and grabbing a few toys.
Jeff took them - and the bag of food, which he was assured had "no corn or chicken", whatever that mattered - and closed the door again once he was gone. "Fuck," he sighed, looking down at the dog, who was staring up at him and wagging its tail. He bent to pet Mr. Muggles, only to have the dog sneeze on him.
This was not the relaxing day he had planned.
An hour later and Jeff's living room looked like a war zone. How did people keep pets? God forbid he ever have kids because right now, with Mr. Mittens sitting on top of his bookcase, arched and hissing down at Mr. Muggles who was running in circles around Jeff's coffee table and barking occasionally, Jeff thought he'd reached the end of his tether.
He picked up Mr. Muggles and allowed his face to licked enthusiastically - if not hygienically - while the dog's little legs scrambled excitedly in the air.
"Mr. Mittens," he addressed the still hissing cat in what he thought was a reasonable tone when you considered the situation. "Get down here."
The cat flicked his tail and turned his head. It paced the length of the bookcase twice, then jumped down onto the kitchen counter.
"Thank you," Jeff said. "It's time for your eyedrops. I'm going to put Mr. Muggles down. Stay there."
Jeff moved to fetch the eyedrops, trying not to trip over the small bundle of endless energy that was running in circles around him and his living room. "Jesus," he sighed, fetching the backpack. By the time he got back to the kitchen counter, though, Mr. Mittens wasn't there.
It took him longer than it probably should have to notice that the room had gone quiet - missing was the sound of paws scratching up his beautiful hardwood floors, or of a slight wheeze when the pug ran. And then he saw them where they were both crouched on the floor, staring each other down, like some scene out of a cowboy movie. He moved quick, but Mr. Mittens tail twitched, and the movement made the pug attack. They were off to the races. Jeff heard a crash as something clattered to the floor, and closed his eyes, wondering just what he'd done to deserve this.
It was time to call in the cavalry.
Annie's phone began to ring at the same time someone started to bang on the door. She picked up the phone and answered as she capped her pen, closed her journal and rolled off the bed.
"Annie," Jeff said as soon as she answered. "You have to help me."
"Oh hi, Jeff," Annie said, slowly her walk to the front door to give herself more time with him. "Are you okay? You sound a little... Frantic.
"Frantic doesn't begin to describe it." He banged on the door again, louder. "Are you home?"
Annie frowned. "That's you making all that noise?" She closed the distance between herself and the door, opening it and blinking as she took in the sight in front of her. Jeff looked close to homicidal, there was a small pug panting and trying to run around him with its leash half tangled up around his legs, and a carrier that made a hissing noise. "What happened?"
"That's a wonderful question," Jeff said, as Annie knelt to untangle the leash from his legs. Mr. Muggles jumped at her, licking her face, and she laughed. "Don't believe him, he's the devil."
"He doesn't mean that," she said, standing to give Jeff room to enter. "Why do you have a dog?"
"It's the Dean's," Jeff admitted as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He placed the cat carrier down on a nearby table. "And this is Britta's cat. I don't even know when I agreed to this."
Annie narrowed her eyes at him, then reached over to punch his shoulder lightly. "I keep telling you, Jeff! Don't text and talk to people! It's rude, and you never listen to what they're saying. This is how we ended up being waiters at Leonard's birthday party."
"No," Jeff snapped, "that was Abed's fault. Who in their right mind wants to role play Party Down?"
Annie bent down to see the cat, still holding the wiggling pug against her shoulder. "Is it diseased?"
"Mr. Mittens may have a hundred diseases, but he's healthy enough to destroy my favorite shirt and lash out at over-enthusiastic dogs," Jeff said. "I can't handle both of them."
"So what do you want me to do?" Annie asked? "I'll take this one. Yes I will. Yes I will." She nuzzled her face against the pug's belly.
Jeff narrowed his eyes at her. "No, you have to help me with both of them. Mr. Muggles got Mr. Mittens all riled up."
"Wait, the dog is called Mr. Muggles?" Annie said, with a frown. "And the cat is called Mr. Mittens?"
"Can we make fun of them later, please?" Jeff said. "I need help."
"With what?" Abed's head emerged from the blanket fort, and then Troy's head appeared two feet below that.
"We were watching a ... oh a puppy!" Troy crawled out of the fort on his hands and knees and over to Annie. He hopped up and reached out to take Mr. Muggles. “Oh you're so cute. Aren't you cute? Yes you are?"
Jeff looked mildly disgusted by the baby talk.
"What is that?" Abed asked, joining them and nodding in the direction of the pet carrier.
"Britta's cat."
Troy screamed and pushed the dog back into Annie's arms, stumbling backwards. "Mr. Mittens."
Abed suddenly looked more excited than Jeff had ever seen him, which was to say, slightly excited. "Your nemesis."
Annie looked confused. "Your nemesis is Britta's cat?"
"You don't understand," Troy hissed at her. "You will never understand." He disappeared back into the blanket fort and Abed looked close to rubbing his hands together in glee. "I'll be back."
"Take your time," Jeff said dryly, as Abed followed Troy.
"Clearly," Annie said, still holding the squirming pug in her hands, "this means you should go, and take the cat with you."
Jeff shook his head. "They're both evil. And they've destroyed my apartment enough. I'm not taking this... thing back there."
Annie looked close to arguing, but in the end, she just sighed. "Fine. It's just for a few hours, right?" Jeff didn't want to correct her, so, he didn't. "We can just put on a movie and they'll calm down."
"Is this what you do when Troy and Abed get worked up?" he asked, amused as he sank into the sofa cushions. When Annie released the pug back on the ground, he barked at her before beginning to run around, exploring.
"They're very easy to calm down," Annie assured him. "If you know how."
"Do you want to share this secret?" Jeff said hopefully. He picked up the cat carrier and wiggled his fingers at Mr. Mittens through the bars. "I think he wants to be out."
"Let's wait five minutes," Annie said, watching Mr. Muggles start to investigate the blanket fort. "Maybe we can keep them separated."
Jeff nodded and leaned back as Annie went to pour them each a glass of lemonade. "What were you doing today?" he asked when she returned.
"Homework," Annie admitted, settling into the sofa near him. "I was going to get a head start on my paper for my Anatomy class."
"Thrilling," Jeff said. "I planned to watch Mad Men."
"The new season," she asked and Jeff nodded. "We have that. I just need to ask Abed if we can watch it."
Jeff frowned. "Why? You need permission to use TiVo?"
"He doesn't like spoilers," Annie explained, like that was some kind of explanation. Jeff frowned.
"You don't have to tell him about it after we watch it."
"Sometimes he can hear it though. He has the ears of a bat. And what if he walks through?"
"I probably don't want to know," Jeff said, leaning his head back as Annie ducked into the blanket fort to talk to her roommates. Mr. Mittens pawed at the crate, and Jeff took pity on him, opening the door. The cat stepped out quickly and jumped into Jeff's lap, staring him down. He imagined it was some kind of punishment for keeping him in the crate.
"I'm sorry buddy," he said, scratching behind the cat's ears. "If it makes you feel any better, I'd switch places with you in a heartbeat." Mr. Mittens swished his tail and tossed his head in a way Jeff took to mean "That doesn't make anything better."
"He said it was okay," Annie said when she returned a few minutes later. "But if they need to go to the kitchen or the Dreamatorium, we're going to have to put it on pause while they cross the living room."
Jeff nodded. "I expected slightly more ridiculous demands. I'm almost disappointed."
Annie gave him a small smile as she turned on the TV, scrolling through what looked to be hundreds of TV shows saved until she reached Mad Men. She leaned over to scratch behind Mr. Mitten's ear, and the cat made a soft contented noise, but didn't move from Jeff's lap.
"Do you know why Troy hates him?" Jeff asked, but Annie just shook her head.
"He just gets really pale and usually runs away when you mention his name. I think he watched him one day sophomore year, but I'm not sure what happened." She smiled at the cat. "But you're not so bad."
Mr. Muggles barked from the blanket fort, causing Mr. Mittens to hiss and dig his claws into Jeff's leg.
"Holy shit," Jeff shouted, pushing reflexively at the cat. "Off, off you mangy thing, you're making me bleed."
"Jeff, that's mean," Annie said, when Mr. Mittens jumped across to her lap. "He doesn't know."
"Does that matter?" Jeff insisted, staring at his jeans for any sign of blood or tears, but there were none. The cat might yet live.
Annie leaned back on the sofa, slowly relaxing again as she pet Mr. Muggles. "I can't believe anyone would ask you to petsit," she said after awhile, frowning.
Jeff smirked. "What? I don't seem like the nurturing type?"
Annie looked over at him, but remained quiet. Jeff rolled his eyes. "I'm not," he said, after awhile. "But I did always want a dog. A real dog, though."
"Pugs are real," Annie said, and Jeff's smile softened, but only a little.
"A big dog, then. Something to play chase and run around with."
"You can do all of those things with a small dog," Annie said primly and Jeff started to laugh.
"Have I offended you? I'm sorry. I'm sure Mr. Muggles is very cute. I just don't go all fluffy and ridiculous over animals. I don’t go fluffy and ridiculous over anything."
"Oh really?" Annie said. "Then why do you always cry at our shadow theater?"
Mr. Mittens meowed, either in agreement or because Annie had stopped stroking him. Jeff gave the cat a sympathetic look. He'd probably complain if Annie stopped stroking him.
Whoa. Okay. Not like that.
"Jeff?" Annie said. "Did you hear what I said?"
"You always have someone die in the shadow theater," Jeff protested, getting back on track. "That's not the same."
Annie narrowed her eyes at him. "O-kay," she drawled. "That was five minutes ago. I asked if you wanted lunch."
If Jeff flushed, he hid it well. He hoped, anyway. "Yeah, okay."
She moved the cat into the space between them, and though Mr. Mittens looked none too pleased, he didn't move. "I'll just make us sandwiches," she said, standing. Jeff watched her retreat into the kitchen before glancing at the TV, and realized they hadn't been paying attention at all.
"Can you cook?" he called after her, a minute later, as an afterthought. He could practically feel Annie rolling her eyes from the kitchen.
"I'm just making us sandwiches. I'm not going to that much work for you, Jeff."
He smiled, though he wasn't quite sure why.
"Annie, are you making sandwiches?" Troy shouted a moment later. Annie shook her head and ignored him.
"Annie!" Troy shouted again. "Annie!"
"He doesn't seem to be going away," Jeff said, then shouted "Yes!" to Troy.
"No," Annie said. "Don't encourage him. We have a rule. I don't respond to shouting."
"You told them to stay in the blanket fort," Jeff argued, and Annie paused, frowning at that. Then she made a sound like her life was very hard, and reached for more bread.
"Come on, cat," Jeff said after a minute, climbing to his feet and moving to grab his backpack. "I think it's time for your eyedrops again."
"What is wrong with that cat?" Annie asked as Jeff wrestled Mr. Mittens still to administer the eyedrops.
"God know," Jeff said. "A million things. Poor guy."
"I can hear you," Troy shouted. "Don't feel sorry for it. That's what it does. It's crazy and evil."
"I'm not a cat person," Jeff said, glaring as the cat tried to swat at his hand, "but even I know this thing isn't evil."
"That's just what it wants you to believe!" Troy shouted from inside the blanket fort, and Jeff fought not to roll his eyes. Annie appeared a moment later, setting down the plate of sandwiches, and moving to take the eyedrops from Jeff.
"You hold the cat, I'll do this."
Jeff snorted. "Yeah, you took the easy job."
Annie shot him a look, but he sighed and tried to hold the squirming cat still. And to his surprise, Annie got the drops in within seconds. "There. All better."
He set Mr. Mittens back down on the sofa. "Were you a vet in another life or something? Cat-wrangler?"
"My major is Healthcare Administration," Annie said, crossing her arms as though embarrassed. "I've been volunteering at the clinic at school. It's not that different."
"Yeah, cats, humans. They're the same."
It was Annie's turn to roll her eyes. "You have to be gentle and patient," she said. "That doesn't change."
"Cat-whisperer," Jeff said, shaking his head at her, but there was a hint of a smile there. "Maybe I should just leave you with these two, since you obviously have it covered..." He took an experimental step toward the door, and Annie narrowed her eyes at him.
"Don't you dare. I did not agree to petsit, that's your own fault. You really should stop texting and talking, Jeff."
"Yeah, yeah," Jeff said instead of answering, sitting back down on the sofa. He reached for the plate, only to find it now empty. His eyes followed a trail of crumbs across the floor, to where Mr. Muggles had dragged the sandwiches, and was munching happily on them. He sighed and looked up at Annie. "Pizza?"
"We'd like pizza!" Troy shouted.
Jeff took out his phone. "I'll even buy, how's that?"
Annie shook her head. "Abed, Troy come out here."
"Not if that monster is still there," Troy replied.
"How are you going to eat the pizza?" Annie argued. "Come here and make your peace with the kitty."
Jeff ignored the conversation and phoned for the pizza.
Troy emerged slowly from the blanket fort. Mr. Muggles gave an excited yap and started to circle Troy's legs. Abed followed him, his attention divided between Troy's reactions and Mr. Mittens.
The cat's tail swished as it watched Troy, but didn't move otherwise. They stared each other down, and Troy blinked first. He looked ready to start crying, so Annie sighed, moving to pick up the cat. "Fine," she said, shaking her head. "I'll hold him so he can't get you. Just sit down."
"No Mad Men," Abed said quickly, moving to cover his ears. "Spoilers."
Annie shot look Jeff a sympathetic look as he hung up the phone, but nodded slowly. "We'll watch something else, then. Until after lunch."
Jeff felt an odd twist in his stomach at the thought that they hadn't been watching the screen at all, or that he didn't care now if they did continue their marathon. It felt... strange. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, though. "Pizza will be here in 20," he said instead, sitting down on the sofa. He glanced at Troy. "Why are you afraid of a cat? This is weird, even for you."
"I'm not afraid," Troy said automatically. "He's just evil that's all." He narrowed his eyes at the cat. "You know what I'm thinking don't you Mr. Mittens? You know everything."
Jeff and Annie shared a look.
"What did he do to you?"
"He ruins things," Troy said, narrowing his eyes at the cat as he very slowly sat down on the floor. Abed moved to sit beside him, still looking between him and the cat in Annie's arms, who was purring contentedly as she rubbed its back.
"That's specific," Jeff sighed, grabbing the remote before Abed could and scrolling through the channels. "My curiosity isn't even piqued enough for this conversation."
"He's why Britta won't date him," Abed said suddenly, and Troy shot Abed a look.
Jeff didn't stop scrolling through the channels. "Britta won't date him because Britta is emotionally stunted, and named her cat Mr. Mittens. Trust me, that has nothing to do with you."
Annie looked less convinced, though, and she frowned at Troy. "What are you talking about?" She could see him hesitate, and she narrowed her own eyes at him until he looked away.
"She said she won't date someone whose cat hates them, because cats are very good judges of character."
"That's stupid," Jeff said, again not turning away from the TV. "Though I imagine Mr. Mittens has better taste than Britta."
Troy looked defeated. Annie punched Jeff's arm.
"Oh come on," Jeff said. "You know I didn't mean Troy."
"That's stupid," Jeff said, again not turning away from the TV. "Though I imagine Mr. Mittens has better taste than Britta."
Troy looked defeated. Annie punched Jeff's arm.
"Oh come on," Jeff said. "You know I didn't mean Troy."
“Annie," Troy said, "I know you want to help, but you're really really not."
"You just need to get to know Mr. Mittens," she said. "Then Britta can see how much you care about her."
"Uh, no," Jeff said. "Britta needs to learn that she can't use her cat to close herself off emotionally. It's not Troy's fault the cat doesn't like him."
"But if he shows willing," Annie argued, "Britta will see he's making an effort and that has to be worth something."
"Like on Frasier," Abed said.
Jeff cut him off. "No, Abed, no. Not like a TV show. Britta is crazy and she's throwing away a chance of being happy because she's scared. It's classic Britta."
"So you won't even try to help? You'll let her sabotage herself?" Annie said.
“It’s called ‘not meddling’,” Jeff said, shooting her a look. “You can’t fix Britta.”
“But we can try to stop her from making mistakes,” Annie insisted, frowning when Jeff rolled his eyes. They were saved briefly from the conversation when the doorbell rang, and Jeff stood, shooing the cat from his lap as he moved to grab his wallet.
Annie gave Troy another reassuring smile. “It can’t hurt to try, right?”
“What if I try and she still doesn’t want to date me?”
“Yeah,” Jeff said dryly from the door, where he was handing over some bills. “What happens then, Annie?”
She hesitated, but then stuck her chin out, trying to look confident and firm in her word choice. “Then at least he knows, and he doesn’t have to think it’s his fault, or because of a cat.”
Jeff paused at that, trying to find the fault in the logic. “Is that really better?” he asked finally. Troy was looking between them both.
“Yes,” Annie said, staring back up at Jeff.
He set the pizza on the coffee table and moved into the kitchen to get plates. “Don’t let that damn dog eat all the pizza,” he called over his shoulder.
Annie paused, looking around. “Where is Mr. Muggles, anyway?”
Abed nodded towards the now closed door. “He ran out while Jeff was paying for the pizza and not paying attention.”
"What?" Jeff backed up into the living room. "What did you say?"
"Mr. Muggles ran out while you were arguing with Annie," Abed said. "You said..."
Jeff raced towards the door and down the hall. "Mr. Muggles!" he shouted. "Mr. Muggles, where are you?"
"The cat's gone too!" Annie yelled after him after a quick, frantic search around the living room.
Abed nodded. "Mr. Mittens ran out first, and Mr. Muggles went after him."
"Why didn't you say anything?" she snapped, hurrying after Jeff.
Abed looked at Troy for reassurance, but Troy just sighed as he climbed to his feet. "Come on, buddy. We've got to find them." He grabbed two slices of pizza on his way out - one for himself, and one in case cats liked pizza.
Annie found Jeff when he reached the end of the hallway, looking frantic. "They're not here," he said, looking around. "Do you think someone let them into their apartment?"
"Maybe they went down in the elevator," she offered, and then paused, glancing over at the garbage chute. "Unless..."
"No," Jeff said quickly. "I did not kill Britta's cat or throw it in the trash. They're in one of these apartments, or they went down in the elevator."
"Okay," Annie said. "Well you and I can start knocking on doors. Troy, Abed, go downstairs and see if they're in the lobby."
Abed gave what looked like a half backwards salute and Jeff dismissed it as Inspector Spacetime nonsense. Troy pulled at Abed's shirt and they both walked towards the elevator.
"Start at that end of the hall," Jeff said to Annie. "Let's make this fast."
"Mr. Mittens," Tory called out as the stepped off the elevator. "Mr. Muggles."
"They're not here," Abed said.
"You don't know that," Troy said. "They might be hiding. Come on out, Mr. Mittens. Abed, check the stairwell."
"They're not here," Abed repeated and pointed at the open door to the street. "I think they escaped."
Part 2