Chapter 1: Kitten

I promise I'm not leaving my other story. I'm working on it. I just need the time to reconsider my time maps because I feel like I'm losing it. In between of that, ideas flew to my mind. And I've been itching to post these kind of one-shots of my own. So, here it is me scratching at the itch.

A kitten came to my house a few weeks ago. And as my brother fixed its eyes, my mom fed it, I gave it drink and it basically asked to be pet whenever anyone walked by, this story came to mind.

"Please, mom, can we keep him?" Sara Anderson pleaded to her mother. For the hundredth of time since she got into the car when her mother picked her up after school.

"Sara, I said no. That makes us even," Annie turned to look at her seven-year old daughter before resuming cutting potatoes for supper. "You have to ask your father when he get h…"

As if on cue, the familiar sound of a car stopped outside, Sara jumped off her seat and ran to the door. She opened it quickly and called her father.

"Daaadd," she ran outside, waiting for her father to stop walking and squatted down before throwing herself into his arms.

"Hey, there, little princess," Auggie hugged his daughter and gave a kiss to her forehead. Then a strange sound made him frown. "What's that?"

"It's Kitten!" Sara answered excitedly, touching the bundle of fur she held in both hands to his father's free hand.

Auggie felt the fur of the animal and heard it meowed softly. "I see. Where did you get it?"

"Dad, can we please keep him?" the little girl went straight to her mission, not answering her father's question. She couldn't fail. Else the poor little cat wouldn't have a home. And she'd promised her friends. "Please? Isabelle's sister is allergic to the fur, Tia's aunt has asthma, Thomas hates Kitten…"

"Whoa, easy there, kitten saviour," Auggie laughed, finding her to be endearingly cute. "Come, let's get inside and ask your mother,"

Sara pouted instantly as she let her father take her hand in his and started to walk to the side door leading to the kitchen area.

"Mom said no," the girl said as they entered the kitchen.

"She did?" Auggie asked, glancing to the direction where he caught Annie's noise moving around in the kitchen as he folded his cane and put it on a console table by the door.

Annie ignored his unspoken question directed to her. Auggie had never mention that he dislike pets. But he'd never said anything that indicated his fondness of them. Not even for a guide dog. She had a cat once, but it was a long time ago and it was Katia's cat. And he wondered why she'd said no?

"Yes," Sara mumbled, still with a pout that could be heard from her tone. "I've told them that we can keep him. He's going to be homeless, Dad. Please, please?" Sara kept persisting at her father, holding the fabric of his trousers to let him know where she was so he wouldn't walk on her.

Auggie let out a breath, his daughter really had a way of persuading her parents, especially him. And after a long day of work, he really didn't have the energy to deny her anything at the moment. He'd might regret his decision later, but, hell, this was his daughter asking.

"Okay, Sara, we'll keep him," he knelled down and felt for her tiny shoulders, assuring her. "We're not letting him to be homeless. Alright?"

"Yay!" Sara squealed in happiness, hugging her father again. The cat meowed at being pinned between father-daughter embrace. "You really are the coolest dad eveeeer," she planted a kiss to his cheek before clamouring away, already in conversation with the cat.

"You need to work on saying no to her," Annie commented as he made his way to her to properly greet her. She felt his hand on her back and put down the spoon she was using to stir the boiling soup.

"I can handle some terrorist interrogator better," he circled his hand through her waist, placing his chin on her shoulder.

"You spoil her too much, Augs," she reminded him before giving the corner of his lips a soft kiss.

"Do I?" he asked into the kiss, angling his lips to better capture hers.

They shared some more-proper kiss before Annie went back to her soup. "Dinner's almost ready, go changer your clothes," Annie told him.

Some minutes later, Auggie walked past a very chatty Sara who apparently had been having a very animated conversation with her new pet behind the sofa in the family area.

"Sara?" he called, pausing some feet away from her.

"That's Daddy, the coolest dad in the world," he heard her said in a whisper, most likely to the cat. He shook his head mentally though he couldn't help puffing his chest with pride to be considered 'coolest dad' as Sara had put it.

"I'm here, Dad," this time, she used her usual tone.

"I'm the coolest dad, huh?" he asked, carefully feeling his way to her. He almost stepped on her legs if she hadn't pulled back quickly. Her hand touched his leg and he crouched down.

"Yep. Everyone knows that," she mumbled as if it was an ordinary fact.

"Yeah?" he arched an eyebrow at that. "Who's everyone?"

"My friends. Their dads don't read them bedtime stories from little bumpy books." Little bumpy book was what Sara called her children books which came in both Latin and Braille writing. He didn't know what he'd done to be blessed with this angel. "And, their dads don't allow them to have Kitten," she continued, oblivious to her father's emotion.

"Okay," he sobered before the mist in his eyes could turn into tears. "So, does this kitten have a name yet?" Auggie asked, pulling at her hands so she'd stand up.

"It's Kitten," she replied, allowing her father to pull her up and walk to the kitchen.

"I know it's a kitten, Sara. But didn't you give it a name?"

"His name is Kitten."

Auggie was sure his face turned ridiculous as he caught Annie's snort. "She definitely get that from you."

"No, she doesn't," he denied.

"Sara, why don't you put him down for a bit and wash your hands up to your elbow," Annie instructed her daughter who quickly went to the bathroom.

"Who ever calls their computer 'Comp'?" she directed it back to Auggie who was pouring milk for Sara and himself. Since she was old enough to sit down at dinner, he'd taken liking to also have milk.

"You can name your shoes Christian, since Kitten is already taken," he smirked at her.

Annie was about to reply when their daughter joined them again on the dining table. "You wash them good?" she asked.

Sara nodded, holding up her half-dried hands for her mother to see who smiled in approval. "What are we giving Kitten for dinner?" she asked as she slipped to her seat on the small wooden table for four.

Annie thought for a moment as she placed the bowl of hot soup on the table. "How about some of the chicken from the soup? We can get cat food tomorrow." She walked to get another small plate for Kitten.

"You sure he likes chicken?" Sara asked as she accepted the glass of milk from her father, taking a sip.

"He's a cat, of course, he likes chicken," Auggie said, sitting down with his own glass of milk.

Annie came back and filled a small plate with some chunks of chicken. She whispered what's where to Auggie as she went past him to Kitten who was quietly laying on his stomach next to Sara's chair.

"Can I share my milk with him?" she asked.

Annie stopped her daughter's hand before it could get to her glass, "No, you don't share foods with Kitten, okay? We'll get him milk for cat."

"Okay."

"There's milk for cat?" Auggie asked incredulous, replacing the spoon back to the bowl after getting some to his bowl. None of the ladies answered him, he shrugged indifferently.

"And he'll have his own bowl for food and drink, too?" Sara asked again.

"Yes, Sara. We'll get them after school." Annie sat at her chair on Auggie's left. "Now, it's time for dinner," she spooned a few of the soup for her as her tiny hands couldn't yet reached the bowl without splitting the food on the table.

"And you said no," Auggie chirped, starting to eat his meal.

Annie rolled her eyes at him. She would not let him have the satisfaction of arguing over a kitten in the presence of their daughter.

"Why don't you join us to shop tomorrow?" Annie asked instead.

"Yes, Dad!" Sara jumped in excitement at the suggestion. She loved going out with her father but it couldn't happen often enough for her taste.

"I can't, I have to be at the office. I'm s…"

"Tomorrow's Friday, you can leave early," Annie suggested, not giving up easily. He brought the kitten so he had to play his part in the game.

"Yes. Dad, pleaseee?" He could practically hear Sara put on her puppy-dog look at him adorably. Annie had been going on and on abut how she learned the look from him.

Annie teamed up with her daughter, training a sweet smile in her husband's direction. She knew pretty well that he could sense it. And he would not win this fight.

"Alright," he relented, agreeing to whatever it was going to happen tomorrow. "Whatever my two beautiful ladies wish."

Okay. That's it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Hope you enjoy it.

H