Disclaimer: Don't own them, can't truly say that I own myself.
Authors note: For anyone who has a cat or dog, you know this is true.
Dedicated to my wonderful cats Dimps, Fred, Herb, Molasses, and Beavis. They are the ones who truly run my world and keep me sane(or insane don't know which any more).
Lucas looked at the cat currently staring at him from one side of the desk. She had been getting in the way all night. If he was on the computer, she'd jump on the desk and play with his pencils, disks, papers, his hand, anything that would move. Putting her down did nothing to help. She would just jump back up and meow loudly at him. He was trying to remember how he'd gotten roped into taking care of Kristen's cat. Then he remembered the moon pool with Darwin. It had all started out so innocently one day in the lab. He had been playing with Darwin and met Kristen's cat for the first time….
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Lucas and Darwin surfaced. Darwin ducked back under, grabbing the sponge that Lucas held. "Hey! No fair!" Lucas yelled as he dove back under to catch the dolphin. Kristen laughed at the sight of them playing. Darwin usually was the instigator of play. He normally knew when it was time for everyone to take a break. More than once he had called break sessions. At first it had seemed annoying, but he seemed to have an innate sense of when your stress levels hit their peak. The swimming was relaxing, plus a curious dolphin that loved to play tag or football or ball. He did seem to make the day better.
Kristen heard an impatient meow beside her. "Ok. I see you" she cooed at the cat. Her cat Dimps sat on the lab desk. Kristen was doing some write-ups for the U.E.O. and had brought her cat along. She felt bad that the cat stayed in her quarters all day. She was glad that the cat was trained to use the normal toilets. She had trained the cat to do so after she'd stepped in the litter box one morning. It hadn't been difficult to teach her. She just scared people who weren't used to it. It could really freak a person out to hear the toilet flush then see the cat walk out of the bathroom.
She was a good cat, but she did have her quirks. She was more territorial than any other animal Kristen had ever seen. The odd thing was how small she was. She was very small and short. She used to be slender, but after she was fixed, she'd really gained weight. She had the strangest fetish with cleaning herself at 3 in the morning. All in all she was a great pet and friend. She'd kept Kristen company on many a lonely night. She always seemed to know when Kristen needed a friend. If Kristen would cry, the cat would bump her head and rub up against her until she stopped.
Kristen's daydreaming was cut short by a very wet sponge hitting both her and the cat. She let out a surprised yelp, then looked up to see who threw it. Both Lucas and Darwin were floating there grinning. "Darwin! Why'd you throw that at Kristen?" "Darwin no throw! Lucas throw! Get Kristen and kitty wet!" Lucas tried to look innocent and shocked. He failed miserably. Kristen just shook her head. "You boys having fun?" Darwin answered "Yes! Kristen, kitty play too." "Darwin most kitties don't like water" Kristen said. Dimps had walked over to the sponge and smelled it. She meowed at Kristen, then turned and did the same to Lucas and Darwin.
"Darwin see kitty." "Ok Darwin, just don't splash. She's not so keen on getting wet," said Kristen. Kristen picked up Dimps and walked over to the tank. The cat looked at Darwin, then at Lucas. "It looks like she's trying to figure out which one of us to eat" Lucas commented. Darwin swam closer to the edge, pushing himself closer to Dr. Westphalen. The cat reached a paw out and rubbed Darwin. She couldn't figure out what it was that talked and smelled like fish. Kristen sat her down on the edge of the tank. Darwin nosed closer to the cat that was still trying to figure out what to do with him. She looked at him a moment longer, then slowly walked onto his nose and back. Both Kristen and Lucas looked at the cat, trying to figure out what she was doing. She then just started to clean herself and looked at the humans like they were the crazy ones. Lucas just shook his head. "I've never seen a cat do that before." "Neither have I," said Kristen "She normally hates water." Lucas reached out and ran his hand down the cat's back. She arched her back and rubbed her head against his hand.
"She really likes you Lucas," said Kristen "She normally doesn't like people." "I guess I just have the touch with animals. Most of them seem to like me, even my friend Matt's tarantula liked me." "Tarantula?" "Yeah, he had a giant pink knee. It loved to sleep on my head." Kristen shivered, spiders were ok, but they had their place. "You let it sleep with you?" "Yeah, if you tried to take him off my head, he got very aggressive. It was just easier to let him stay" finished Lucas.
The cat had become a part of the lab. She would even ride on Darwin's back if he wasn't in the mood to get her wet. He had dunked her several times, plus splashed her if she wasn't paying attention to him. They did get along though. She had tried to clean Darwin, but her tongue tickled him. Darwin would talk to her and she would talk back. It was strange to listen to.
She didn't like to sleep in the lab though. She normally slept in Kristen's room, but if she were left in the lab, Lucas would take her in his room. Darwin had once woken him up to get her. She would normally sleep all night. He did figure out why he'd hear the toilet flushing. He figured it out after walking into the bathroom and seeing her sitting there. She did look cute though.
Kristen had been called to a conference of some sort and had to leave the cat with someone. She had asked Lucas first since the cat got along with him the best. He'd agreed, since the cat slept most of the time. She wasn't sleeping now though. She refused to leave him alone. He took some time and played with her, but she still wasn't satisfied. Finally Lucas gave up on the computer and got ready for bed. He wondered if the cat did this to Kristen too. He did his normal routine of showering and brushing his teeth. The cat sat in the bathroom with him. Kristen had said she watched to make sure you didn't drown in the shower. It was kind of freaky knowing the cat was staring at him. As he got dressed she attacked his toes. "Hey! No fair! I can't defend myself!" Lucas yelled. Dimps seemed to like it that way. She just meowed up at him and rubbed against his leg.
He ruffled the cat's fur and climbed into bed. She curled up beside him, purring as he rubbed her jaw. Lucas could now understand why people liked cats. They were very loving, but also very demanding. Lucas was almost asleep, when he felt Dimps climb onto his chest and stretch out. Her body warming up his chest. Kristen had said that she did it to protect the person she was sleeping on. "Oh well," Lucas thought "I'm being protected by a cat." He rubbed her back gently as he started to relax. She was comforting. He drifted off, listening to the sound of the cat's deep purr. Dimps just lay there, protecting her new human. She was really going to have to train this one. She already had her female human trained, when to feed, when to go to sleep, just normal stuff like that. With those simple thoughts, the cat too fell asleep.