Fic: Blue (Inside)
Title: Blue
Author: Rinny
Characters: Danny
Word Count: 1633
Prompt: Gray View the Table
Summery: Pure, syrupy sweetness. With kittens. Thanks, as always to aliaspiral, this time for the name.
He found her on Saturday, while he was clearing out the brambles that had grown over his fence during the winter.
He almost didn’t even see her. The movement of the two other kittens dashing further into the brambles for cover caught his attention first. He would have missed her, but for the weak mewl.
She scrambled away after the others, but only moved a foot before wobbling and curling in on herself protectively. She was gray, or at least he thought so, it might have been dirt. Without touching her, he knew he’d be able to feel her ribs sticking out. She moved again, and he could see her left eye crusted shut.
“Damn.”
With gloved hands, he grabbed another handful of brambles and pulled them away, resolving to get the fence clear and ignore the kitten infestation. Cats weren’t his thing.
Strays, definitely not.
He ignored them and set about his work.
And if he kept coming back to that corner of the yard, it was to check he hadn’t missed any of the bracken.
~
“Your kitten isn’t looking good. She should have been brought in sooner.”
“It’s not mine,” he shook his head adamantly, watching the veterinarian examine the gray. “It’s a stray.”
The man slanted him a look through wire rimmed glasses and stroked a gentle hand over the kitten. “You plan to keep her?”
“Long enough till she’s well,” he shrugged. Pausing, he narrowed his eyes, “She will get well, right?”
“I expect so. She’s mal-nourished and that can be easily remedied. The eye infection will require antibiotics. I’d like to try setting some food out, and make sure she’s capable of eating on her own.” He gave Danny a friendly smile, and rubbed the kitten once behind the ears, “I’ll be right back and show you how to administer the antibiotic.”
He left and Danny made a face at the kitten, “It better be oral.”
The kitten curled into a tight ball, tucking her paws beneath herself on the cold metal table, looking at him through her one eye.
It was blue.
“Huh.”
The vet returned with a small scoop of wet food and a bottle of whiteish stuff. As soon as he set the food down the kitten made a beeline for it. It was the fastest he’d seen her move.
“Okay,” the vet smiled as she put her whole face into the food, getting it smeared in her fur. “Feeding wont be a problem.”
“Doesn’t look like.”
“We’ll let her eat a few more minutes. When you’re feeding her, keep it in small amounts at first. I’d recommend wet food for the first few days, and then if you’d like, you can switch to dry.” He gave Danny a wry smile he didn’t return. “She may have diarrhea for a few days as her body’s getting used to food again, but that should clear up. If not, you’ll need to bring her back.”
Great.
He watched the kitten wolf down the food, her tongue lapping at the bit on her nose, trying to eat that too.
“Okay, that’s probably enough. The antibiotic is twice a day for a week,” he demonstrated to Danny how to use the syringe, and how much to use before sending them on their way.
The kitten curled in on herself again, just watching him.
There was still food in her fur.
~
When they got home he locked her in the bathroom with food and water and an old sweater he never wore anymore.
And he did not feel guilty about it.
~
The first time he tried to give her the antibiotic, it went everywhere but her mouth.
Her ribs were fragile under his big fingers, and her belly was heavy and full and he worried about crushing her under his hand.
When he did finally get it down her throat, she licked her mouth, trying to get rid of the taste. She sat back and gave him a betrayed look.
“Don’t even start,” he threatened, capping the bottle.
~
She slept a lot the first day. Burrowed deep in his sweater, curled into that perfect little ball.
Her blue eye cracked open to watch when he entered and fell closed again when she saw it was him again.
Not that he was checking the bathroom frequently.
Not at all.
~
His bathroom was a mess by the second day.
There was litter scattered everywhere, sticking to his feet when he came out of the shower. Traces of dried cat food followed a path from her food dish to his sweater.
Towel wrapped around his hips, he looked down at her.
She looked up at him and pounced on this toes.
~
The third day her eye had started to open a bit. Even if was still draining and droopy looking.
After he gave her the antibiotic, he used a washcloth and spent twenty minutes cleaning the goop from her eye.
She followed his cue and began to clean her paws with her tongue.
“I’m not keeping you,” he told her firmly, setting her gently back on the floor. He left the bathroom grumbling.
“Talking to a cat. I need to get out more.”
~
When he got home from work the next day, he accidentally left the bathroom door open a crack. He’d catch her poking her head around the door, and then ducking back inside if he moved.
She still hadn’t come out when he’d gone to sleep.
He woke up with tiny claws kneading his shoulder and a loud purr in his ear.
It was four a.m.
~
“I’m not naming you.” He informed her with a scowl.
She purred and rubbed against his legs as he shaved.
“I’m not naming you because I’m not keeping you.”
She didn’t seem to be listening.
“You snore worse than I do, and I like my toes scar free, thank you very much. So you’re not staying.”
She sat down at his foot, her nose poking under the cuff of his slacks.
A moment later her whole head disappeared and he could feel her wet nose against his ankle.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
~
He came home early the next day. He and Mel had a stake out later that night, so he came home to shower and eat while Paul and Rebecca take the first shift.
The water washed over his face and he jumped when he felt a rough tongue on his ankle.
He bent down and scooped up her soaking form in one hand. She seemed even smaller wet.
“Seriously cat?”
She mewled in response.
~
He took her with him to the stake out.
Paul choked back a laugh and Rebecca just looked at him through those solemn eyes of hers and said nothing.
“A bit sickly looking, isn’t it?” Mel observed when Danny put her down.
The kitten looked around at all the new pant legs and headed off in Rebecca’s direction.
“She’s getting better.” He replied defensively. “That’s why I brought her. She needs medicine.”
He could hear the purring from Rebecca’s lap and she offered him a faint smile, “I could take her, just for the night.”
So that’s where he’d seen that shade of blue before.
“Naw, it’s fine.” He smirked, dropping his backpack as he took Paul’s place. “You take her home, I’m not taking her back.”
~
He discovered belatedly, while he was idly stroking her back as he was reading the paper, that she had a kink in her tail.
He kinda liked that.
~
Mel and Rebecca ganged up on at him at work about keeping her. Mel he expected, but Rebecca was a surprise.
They showed up on his doorstep, bags in hand. Mel waltzed in without so much as a hello. As long as they’d known each other, she’d never needed to. “Where is she?”
“Chasing dust bunnies, probably.”
Rebecca hung back, as she always did, plastic bag clutched in pale fingers as she took inventory of his living room. “Adding to my profile?” He smiled at her blush, “Come in.”
Mel found the kitten in the kitchen and carried her out with a big smile, “She’s looking better. You can’t even tell which eye it was anymore.”
“Thank you Dr. Sim. I’m glad I’ve met your approval.”
She rolled her eyes.
Rebecca handed him the bag, “We brought presents.”
“You did?” he looked in the bag, pulling out a purple cat collar with a little bell on it. “Thank you?”
“The other one has toys,” Mel beamed, reaching inside it to pull out a miniature mouse, dangling it from it’s tail in front of the kitten.
She batted both paws at it and almost fell out of Mel’s arms.
“We decided you were keeping her,” Rebecca added when he looked confused.
“You have.”
“Yep,” Mel grinned, “There’s no use fighting it. We chose a name too, since you obviously weren’t going to.”
He laughed, running an exasperated hand through his hair.
“Well, actually, Rebecca chose it.”
The blonde stroked her fingers behind the kitten’s ears, “I just thought of one. You don’t have to keep it.”
“What is it?” He found his eyes drawn to the rhythmic movement of her fingers over the gray fur. He certainly couldn’t blame the kitten for purring louder for her than she’d ever done for him.
He’d be doing the same.
“Blue,” she smiled faintly. “For her eyes.”
“Blue,” he repeated, looking at the cat toys and then the girls.
He frowned at Blue when she turned her attention from the mouse to look at him, mewling softly.
“Fine, but just because I’m keeping you doesn’t mean I like you.”
He very carefully ignored the hopeful look in all three of their eyes.