A/N: Well, here we have TCGeek's Derek x Angie contest entry, starring everyone's favorite couple and their antics! I actually put a lot of hard work into this to make everything plausible, and I wanted to have a story that was unique but still attaining to the contest's guidelines. It's got a little bit of everything, some romance and fluff, humor, a little bit of angst, and of course Victor. Victor pretty much gets his own category. I don't like it… but I hope you enjoy, especially you, TCGeek! Without further ado, I present to you, That Darn Cat!
That Darn Cat!
Gentle fingers ran through soft, long locks of blonde hair on a cool morning as Derek Stiles anxiously awaited his wife's awakening. Angie stirred lightly and nuzzled up against him comfortably, letting out a light, content sigh. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, laying it by her head, and then he left to start a pot of coffee.
Suddenly, he paused. He remembered the coffee maker was broken. It had been for a week now, but he couldn't seem to get that fact to stick. He sighed and shook his head, realizing again he would have to drive up to the coffee shop and get himself a cup. After spending so much on his anniversary gift to Angie, he couldn't afford to waste anymore on something as insignificant as a coffee maker.
Not long after Derek had pulled out of the driveway, Angie awoke, rolling over right on top of the box. Her cheek was uncomfortably pressed against the corner of it, and she groaned and rubbed her cheek gingerly, taking a moment to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes while she was at it. She picked up the small box and opened it, gasping when she noticed a stunning necklace inside. She grinned and pulled it out of its velvet cocoon, admiring the diamond-rimmed hearts with their names engraved in them. Now she felt terrible. She had only managed to save enough money to buy him a new coffee maker, and he'd spent so much—she could tell just by looking at it—for her gift. Had they combined their paychecks, they would have been able to rake up something of equal value for one another, but they had decided to go it alone this time. Surely Derek would understand; he made more than Angie, he was a surgeon! Even with this knowledge, it gave no relief to his loving spouse. She wanted to give him something just as spectacular as he'd presented to her.
She leapt out of bed and got dressed, combing out her long hair as quickly as she could. She realized her window for driving to Tyler's to borrow some money was short; not only that, but she had to run to the store (she was hopeful that one was open at this hour that would have the perfect gift) and get back before Derek returned. It seemed futile to even try… But she would go to any length to show how much she loved him, and nothing would stop her.
And then it hit her. Derek had the car. She slumped down on the porch and sighed, shaking her head, her hands clasped around the gorgeous necklace he'd given her. 'Some first anniversary gift a lousy coffee maker will be! He'll be so disappointed… What can I do?'
Soft mewing came from under the porch. Angie went to investigate, finding a fat orange tabby cat trapped underneath. It was obviously frightened, tangled in some sort of net it must've been dragging with it. The net had caught on some nails (which Angie had nagged on Derek to replace with new ones) and now the cat was struggling frantically to free itself.
"Hold on, I'll get you free!" Angie declared, rushing back into the house. She grabbed a kitchen knife and came back out, beginning to cut away at the net. The cat hissed and scratched her, a low growl forming from its throat. She did her best to stay well out of reach of the cat's sharp claws, yet close enough to cut it free. It must've looked strange to her neighbors, to see her down in the dirt by her porch, a knife in her hand, and cutting away at who knew what.
At last, the damn cat was free. Angie rubbed her bleeding hand and sighed, glaring at the tabby who was sitting contently by the porch, licking its paws clean. Without missing a beat, the tabby took off running.
"You're welcome!" Angie yelled after it. "Ungrateful animal…" She stood up and took the net down to the trash can on the curb. "Wait a sec… Where's my necklace?!" She began to search frantically, backtracking to where she'd had it last. "Ah, the porch! Of course!" She quickly made her way back to the porch. It wasn't long before Angie encountered trouble with animals for the second time that morning. A curious crow, perplexed by the glimmering necklace, had come to investigate. Loving the way it shined, it casually took the necklace in its beak and flew into the tree there in the yard, putting it in its nest along with other shiny objects it had stolen.
Angie stood in awe, the victim of a bird with a fetish for jewelry. Her mouth agape, she stared up at the bird in its cozy nest perched on a branch at least 12 feet off the ground. Deciding she didn't want to climb the tree, fearing embarrassment should Derek discover her stuck up there when he arrived home, she began to scream at the bird, hoping to scare it away. Maybe in its fright it would topple its nest over, or drop the necklace.
There was no such luck. She screamed until she was hoarse, then she plopped down on the ground beside the tree in their little yard, dejected; defeated by cruel nature. 'Derek will arrive home soon' she thought. 'Won't this be fun to explain to him?' What arrived was not her husband, but the tabby from earlier. It was as if it had heard her calls of distress and came to the rescue. "Get out of here, you stupid cat. You've caused me enough trouble!" she shrieked. The cat cocked its head and mewed, trotting happily up to her. It rubbed up against her legs, and then began the ascent to the thief which was far out of Angie's reach. Angie's expression contorted into confusion, and she whirled around to get a better look at what was happening right above her.
The cat had reached the branch, and it now laid low, its tail erect, ears pressed down. It wiggled in anticipation, stalking its unknowing prey. Angie blinked, and in that time the cat had sprung, sinking its teeth and claws into the crow. Angie watched the battle, surprised to see the cat's energy even considering its heavy weight. In said struggle, the nest was wrestled off the branch and landed on the ground, spilling its contents. Angie ran to the nest, fortunate not to find eggs, but shiny objects, including her necklace. She tucked the necklace away and glanced at the other objects briefly, distracted greatly by the hissing and cawing occurring overhead. Fur and feathers flew, but in the end the crow which had fought so valiantly had perished to the claws of a playful tabby.
The cat, its kill in its jaws, jumped down victoriously and brought the corpse to Angie, setting it at her feet. Angie glowered down at the mangled body, her brow furrowing. She grabbed the dead bird by the wing and carried it to the trashcan and plopped it in, wiping her hand on her skirt. "That's disgusting…" she muttered. The cat was close behind her, its tail waving calmly. It purred loudly and rubbed against her leg. "I free you from your stupid trap and you repay me by scratching me and leaving me a dead bird to clean up?!" Her eyes blazed with anger, playful eyes meeting her gaze. She sighed and shook her head, nearly tripping over the cat as it used her legs like an obstacle course, weaving between them at a rapid pace. "Do you mind?" she asked impatiently, receiving a purr in response. She began to walk back into the house when the playful tabby resumed its game of weaving between her legs, making it almost impossible to move in fear of tripping. "Get out of here, you stupid cat!" She picked it up by the scruff and brought it out to the curb, setting it down. "Now run along and go bother someone else, alright?"
The tabby seemed to understand this, and it began to walk away. Satisfied, Angie turned to go inside, when the tabby appeared in front of her. "Ah!" she screamed. "How did… Would you get out of here? Get!" She tried to shoo it, but its big, pleading eyes petrified her. She couldn't resist those eyes. "Well… I'm really not a cat person… but if nothing else, you did get my necklace back by fighting with that thieving crow." She bent down and petted it on the head, just when Derek pulled into the driveway.
"Happy Anniversary, Angie!" he exclaimed as he jumped out of the car, coffee in hand, scooping her up with his free arm. He spun her around, nearly spilling his coffee.
"Happy Anniversary to you too!" she squealed in delight, kissing him passionately. "How's my favorite surgeon?"
"Which one?"
"You, silly," she said with a playful shove, spilling some the cup's contents.
"Oh, I'm great! Did you find your present? Did you like it?" he inquired, taking a sip of his full cup.
She stared at her husband, again feeling pangs of regret, having wasted all her time on freeing the tabby cat, when she could've been calling Tyler and arranging for him to come get her. The whole plan had turned out to be a complete failure, and now all she had to offer was a coffee maker to show her love.
"…Ang?"
"Mm?"
"Did… you like the necklace?" he asked once more, fidgeting nervously with his glasses.
"Oh! Yes, yes, I loved it! Thank you, sweetie." She kissed him tenderly, gently caressing his face. He smiled in response, surprised to hear a faint purring noise.
"Hey, how are you doing that?" Derek asked with a chuckle. Angie's confused expression answered his question. "Oh. Then who—oh! A cat!" He picked it up and held it close, petting it softly. "Look at you! You look just like Tama… Only fatter. How'd you get here, buddy?" He scratched the cat behind the ears, enticing more purrs.
Angie's face lit up and she exclaimed: "Happy Anniversary, Derek!"
"I don't believe this! You got me a cat?!" He set down the tabby and pulled Angie into his arms in a loving embrace. "Angie, this is one of the greatest presents I've ever gotten. Thank you so much. You're the best." His smile was so sincere, she almost felt rotten for her lie. She never would've gotten him a cat of all things! She wasn't a huge animal person in the first place, and they could barely fend for themselves at the moment between bills and mortgage payments on their new house. Living together was still hard, after all this time, and their assistance was needed less with the eradication of GUILT. A pet was surely not something she would've thought of giving to him in their financial condition; pets were a lot of work and after all… The pair wanted children.
"I… just… know how much you missed Tama, and well, he looks just like him so I hoped you'd like him. We can take him back to the pound, I mean, if you want…"
"Are you kidding? Tama is an official part of the family now! Aren'tcha, you little fatty?" Derek laughed and petted the newly named kitty's belly, listening to his loud purring. "Aww, he's so sweet. You have a good taste in cats, Ang." He picked up Tama and took him inside, setting him on the floor. "Oh, he needs food and a litter box!"
"Oh, r-right, well… I didn't have enough, I'm sorry… I spent the other half of my paycheck on this…" She took a wrapped gift out of the hallway closet and set it on the table, watching as Derek opened it.
"You got me a coffee maker too?! I only got you one gift! Aw, Ang, I'm sorry… I wish I'd had more to spend on you…" Derek's head bent down shamefully, and to this Angie immediately interjected. She took his face in her hands and kissed him, shaking her head.
"It doesn't matter how much you spend, Derek. It's the thought that counts. And you… you spent a lot on this necklace, and I love it. I honestly do. Don't you know me better than that? I don't need anything fancy like this… I don't need anything, Derek. I have you, and that's all I'll ever need. Okay?" Placing his hands on her face, his spirits lifted, he pulled her into a heated kiss, pulling back only for air before resuming.
"You are the most amazing woman," Derek stated softly, kissing her again. "Let's go out tonight for dinner. How does that sound?"
"Wonderful!" Angie squealed in delight. It was not a second later that their pagers went off, an understaffed Caduceus in peril with incoming patients from a ten car accident. The lovers sighed in unison and left immediately, leaving out some leftover chicken and some newspaper for Tama.
Oh, how quickly plans change!
--
An exhausted couple returned home late that night, around 8:00. They hadn't been able to break away from their jobs for even 5 minutes to make reservations, thus turning their plans for dinner to dust. Angie sighed in frustration at their foiled plans and set out the bowls they'd purchased for Tama, filling each with food and water. Meanwhile, Derek set up the litter box in the basement and endured the unpleasant task of throwing out the newspapers that had served their purpose while he and Angie were out.
The pair met up in the kitchen, arguing over what they should do for dinner.
"It's fine, Derek, I'll just heat up some leftovers."
"We gave those to the cat, dear," he reminded gently.
"That damn cat," Angie growled.
"Don't blame him, it's not his fault… He was hungry, Ang. I know, we'll just…"
"I've lost my appetite," she finally said, sighing.
"I have an idea. Let's just order pizza. C'mon, pizza in the candlelight… It's not the same, but the atmosphere isn't created by how much you're spending or by what you're eating and where, but who you're eating with! We can have a perfectly romantic dinner right here in the kitchen." Angie was skeptical at first, but found this idea to be just as romantic as Derek promised.
The two sat in the dark, only the light from the dancing flames illuminating the room. They ate their pizza quietly, listening to the soft music Derek had put on.
"And who said this was stupid?" Derek asked playfully.
"Alright, so it's really not so bad. But the food's not as good."
"Ang, there is nothing on the face of the planet as good as pepperoni pizza, besides coffee that is. It's cheap, it's good, you can eat it right out of the box; that means your wallet stays fatter, you actually enjoy it, and you don't have to do the dishes!"
"You're such a kid," Angie teased, rolling her eyes as she took another sip of Pepsi. "And if you'd actually help with the dishes, I wouldn't complain so much about having to do them."
Derek realized he was trapped, and had to save himself quick. "But honey, you're so much better at doing the dishes than I am. I do the yard work, and you do the housework, that's just how it goes."
"You try getting on the bathroom floor on your hands and knees and scrubbing it, it's hard work and it isn't exactly pleasant breathing in those Clorox fumes. And even when I get to relax, it's uncomfortable because my butt is bruised! Would it kill you to put the toilet seat down? We've been living together for over a year now, you'd think—" A flash of orange obstructed her vision and an extremely frightened tabby dug its claws into her head and clung to her for dear life. "Get this thing off of me!!" Derek leapt into action and quickly grabbed Tama by the paws, prying his claws out of Angie's scalp. Tama wriggled for several moments before Derek was able to set him down, and then just as he appeared, he was gone.
"Angie, are you alright?!" Derek queried, checking her head thoroughly for bleeding. She groaned and cradled her head in her hands, and although she was not badly injured, she was in pain. "I'm so, so sorry, I don't know why he did that, something must've spooked him and—Ang, I'm… sorry." He fell silent when she just glared off in the direction where the cat had fled. "Ang… He's just a cat, he doesn't know any better."
"Derek, here's the truth. I didn't get him for you. He's a stray. He was under our porch, trapped, and I set him free and he wouldn't leave. So when you arrived, and saw how happy you were when you saw him, I lied and said I'd gotten him for you as a gift because… all I had was a coffee maker, Derek… You had that beautiful necklace… I wanted this to be the best wedding anniversary ever, but it turned out to be terrible…" She sighed and shook her head sadly, tears welling up in her eyes.
Derek stood silently, staring at his distraught wife. He embraced her and put his hand on her face, staring into the gorgeous eyes that he'd fallen in love with, the ones that had taken his breath away and still did, and always would. "Angie. You didn't have to get me anything. You said it yourself, it doesn't matter what you get or how much it costs, all that matters is that we love each other… and it truly is the thought that counts. You got me that coffee maker and I love it, Ang, I needed it and… it was really sweet of you to do. You try so hard, and work so long, and still have energy to come home and watch stupid movies with me and play video games—and beat me, too.
"If I ever made you think I needed a cat, or some spectacular gift like that to know you love me, you're wrong. I know you love me because you show it by doing all these things for me like washing the dishes and not yelling when I leave the toilet seat up… Just little things like that… I already knew. That's what's gotten us this far, we've been married a year, Ang! And I want to be married for many more. Alright?" Angie was brought to tears by her husband's speech, and she buried her face in his shirt and began to cry.
"Oh, Derek, I've been so rotten… I shouldn't have lied and… I'm so sorry…"
"Shhh…" he whispered, running his hands through her hair. "I forgive you. It's not even a big deal… I still really like the cat…" He managed a smile, kissing her head. "Now come, it's our anniversary. Let me show you how much I love you." With a devilish grin he scooped her up, and Angie began to giggle as he mounted the steps.
--
It had been a few days since their anniversary, but it had given the couple no relief. Influenza had settled in again, a potentially severe strain, and had kept them in the hospital constantly. They hardly had time for sleep anymore, and they were running ragged. Derek and Angie found that more often than not, they were doing jobs they were not specialized in. Caduceus was in urgent need of more staff with patients flooding in all over due to the quarantine of the other hospital.
They returned home one night, having finally been relieved by some doctors who had traveled from Caduceus Maryland, and immediately crashed on the couch.
"And I thought GUILT was bad," Derek snickered, rubbing his throbbing head.
"GUILT was bad, but we weren't as understaffed, then…" Angie replied softly, snuggling against him. "Think we'll get a decent amount of sleep tonight?"
"Not if anymore patients arrive…" Derek murmured grimly. "We should just sleep in the parking lot, all dressed up with scalpel in hand…" He chuckled at his own remark, barely able to keep his eyelids open anymore. Before the two knew it, they were out like lights, right there on the couch in each other's arms.
--
The following morning, at around 4, Derek found Tama, lying on his side breathing heavily. He may not have been a vet, but he knew the way Tama was acting wasn't normal. He inspected the food and water, which was clean, and he'd cleaned the litter box just this morning. Tama had been very reclusive lately, only emerging when he needed to eat or drink. He gave the cat a quick look-over and discovered his heart was racing abnormally and that his stomach was inflamed.
Derek stared at his cat, devastated. Was Tama going to die and leave him so soon? Thoughts flooded into his head of when Tama the first had died, and Derek hadn't been able to save him. These thoughts ended abruptly when his pager went off. It was happening again; he wouldn't be able to save this Tama, either, and he could feel his heart tear in two.
"Angie!" Derek called out, petting Tama gently. She rushed to him at once, gasping quietly when she noticed the collapsed tabby. "Ang… I think Tama is dying."
"Derek, I… I'm so sorry. He probably got sick, outdoor cats are prone to all sorts of illnesses… Is that your pager?" She quickly searched for her own, remembering she'd left it on the counter.
"Angie, he's… He's dying and I won't be able to save him…"
"Derek, honey, I'm so sorry. But…you know as well as I do that human lives come before the lives of anything else. It's what we've come to firmly believe in and to accept. We accepted this when we became doctors; human doctors. If we wanted to save animals, we would have become veterinarians. We have to go, now…" she grabbed his arm and tugged, feeling that her words, as true as they were, had been harsh. She apologized again.
"…I want… to make him comfortable, at least. Go out to the car, I'll be there in a minute." Derek picked Tama up and rushed upstairs to their room, setting him in a large box with low sides with blankets and food and water. He brought up his litter box and set it beside Tama's box, kneeling down beside Tama for what may be the last time. He stroked his head briefly, knowing he had to leave. It broke his heart. "Tama… I didn't… know you well… but I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry…" He tore out of the room before he could begin to cry, his mind set on business now. He jumped into the car and they rushed to Caduceus. To lessen the pain of sentencing his cat to death, Derek did what he did best.
He just forgot.
--
They arrived home at nearly 3 in the morning, one of their latest shifts this week, and Derek instantly rushed up to check on Tama. He was prepared to walk inside, pick up the cold, heavy body, and bring it out into the yard and bury it. He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't think of the old Tama, he would just do it and accept it like he would accept any death that happened. He had to be professional, no matter how much it hurt to bottle up his emotions.
He stepped inside his drafty room and didn't even turn on the light. He walked shakily to the box where Tama lay, 'dead', he thought. He ignored his body's protest to walk, wanting sleep, needing it. He couldn't bear to do the deed in the morning. He would surely feel more pain if he did. He had to terminate this task now, while he was barely conscious (as anyone would be on so few hours of sleep). When he approached, he peered in half-heartedly, knowing he was dead but not wanting to believe it. He sighed when he saw the cat lying motionless, but as soon as he reached down to pick him up, Tama let out a blood-curdling hiss and spat at him, growling lowly.
"T-Tama?!" Derek exclaimed. Angie laid her jacket on the couch and perked her head up towards Derek's voice, assuming the worst.
"I had a feeling he'd be gone… That poor cat, I wish we could've done something…" Angie held back her tears and mounted the stairs, hoping she could bring some solace to her heart-broken husband.
Tama continued to growl and hiss until Derek finally backed off, and then, something amazing happened.
Angie rushed in, putting her arms around Derek, murmuring apologies and words of comfort, but they were deemed unnecessary when he noticed 3 small kittens nuzzled up nice and warm beside Tama.
"Ang… look," Derek whispered, pointing in Tama's direction.
"Derek, I don't want to see it, okay…?" Angie muttered, trying not to cry. "Don't you think I feel bad enough—" Before she could finish, Derek spun her around, and she laid eyes on the kittens and their mother.
"Tama was pregnant, Angie! That's why he—I mean she—was acting so strangely! She was awfully playful for an adult, I guess that must be from the hormones the kittens caused, and that explains why she seemed overweight and this morning, why her stomach seemed inflamed. She was going into labor… Oh, Angie… We didn't kill our cat!!" Angie stared at him, trying to make sense of his quick explanation.
"…So… Tama's a girl?" she reasoned finally, a smile creeping its way onto her lips. "No wonder we didn't get along! I'm the dominant female, and she was trying to take my man!" Angie was so ecstatic that the death sentence hadn't been a death sentence after all, that she even tried to make some fun out of the new discovery of Tama's gender. The couple was enveloped in laughter and quickly quieted down as Tama began to clean her babies, protecting them fiercely.
"That's what you call a good mommy," Derek said with a smile, leaning on Angie. Angie couldn't help but smile, leaning back on him.
"She's so protective of them. And to think, this whole time we had no idea. We must not be very good cat-owners."
Derek chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, we just need some practice is all. This is our first cat, our first pregnant one at that." A shrill yowl broke the silence as Tama's contractions began again.
"Derek, I think she's got more kittens in there…" Angie said lowly.
"We better help her out, don't you think?" asked Derek unsurely. "I just… don't know how." The two pondered for only a moment when rapping came at their door. They ran downstairs and answered it, finding a dark-haired researcher, red-rimmed eyes, holding up Derek's office key.
"You dropped this at the office. I would've left well enough alone, but I'll have less work to do if you aren't working."
"Thanks Victor, but don't you mean more work?" Derek inquired
"No, less work. If you two aren't working I'll have less to fix because of your mess ups, you know what I'm saying?" Victor growled.
"Isn't less work good?" Angie asked politely.
"No, because if I have less work the chief will send me home and I have nothing to do at home!" he retorted, tossing Derek's key to him. "Might wanna secure that to your key ring, Doc."
"Right… Um, what do you know about cats?"
"Cats? Plenty; they're smarter than dogs, they're elite hunters—"
"Great, you'll do!" Derek exclaimed and pulled him in, dragging him up the stairs. Angie followed quickly behind.
"What the hell Stiles?!" Victor roared.
"My cat is giving birth, you have to help! Please, Victor, I'm asking you as a friend."
"I don't do charity, Stiles," Victor scoffed.
"I'm asking you as a colleague…" Derek said softly. Victor glared at him for a while, his arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently.
"What's in it for me?" he asked finally, eyebrow raised.
"You can keep my coffee maker in your lab; that way you never have to rush in the morning to get there before the interns do. You know how slow interns are. You can have as much as you want, whenever you want…" Victor contemplated this for a moment, and then smirked.
"You got yourself a deal, Stiles." Victor had kept cats as pets in his youth, and had dealt with plenty of pregnancies in that time. He carefully instructed the couple of what to do and helped Tama's labor along, which made him seem, to the duo, much more than just some crabby researcher. He was capable of more than he let on.
After the last of the kittens had been born, the three cleaned up and left Tama, who would have to be renamed, to rest with her young in peace. Derek and Angie gratefully thanked Victor for his help, and much to Derek's dismay, relinquished his coffee maker to him.
Victor drove away, most likely headed back to Caduceus, and the sun greeted the Stiles as they stood out on the porch, leaning on one another. They were exhausted, but did not let this faze them. They had witnessed another side of Victor they had never expected to see, and although it cost them the coffee maker which had been part to blame in this whole ordeal, it was amazing. They had also seen their pet give birth to 5 healthy kittens, and realized just how beautiful life truly was. The things they had taken for granted seemed to be so much more now.
"You wanna have kittens, Ang?" Derek asked absent-mindedly.
"Um… Kittens?" she asked quizzically.
"Oh! I mean… children. Do you… still wanna have children? Even after seeing this?"
Angie smiled and nodded, kissing Derek on the cheek. "Of course I do. Don't you?"
"Well…" he paused. She waited anxiously for his response. "Yeah, but only if you promise not to eat them. And when you're pregnant, no jumping on my face and—" She put a finger to his lips and shushed him, pulling him into a loving kiss. She pulled away and shook her head, giggling.
"You are such a nerd," she said with a smile.
"Hey, the nerds get the girls!" Derek replied, smiling back. "And I've got the best girl of them all…" He held her close and gently caressed her arm, raking his hands through her hair. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat, mesmerized by the soothing sound she knew so well, the beat Derek claimed was only sustained while she was his. And she would be his forever, and although they would not live forever, they believed that their love would not falter or die out.
Suddenly, their thoughts were broken by the sounding of their pagers, and they immediately leapt into action.
"I'll start the car."
"I'll lock the door."
The two parted ways and Angie paused for just a moment, watching after Derek, whose demeanor had changed so fast. He'd grown so much from being a slacker to being an all business medical prodigy, almost no matter what.
There he goes, she thought, smiling. There goes Derek Stiles, the man of my dreams, my… The final thought left her glowing with pride. My husband.