A/N Thank you to FaithinBones for giving me this idea! I hope you all enjoy.
Nine months ago, the nice lady named Temperance gave me my food late. She hasn't come in as early for a while. Not since that day she put that little plastic thing in a paper bag and started crying. It was a different crying, though…not sad. I knew something was changing, it all started with two weeks before that day.
She was smiling…really smiling. When she picked me up, she smelled different. I flicked my tongue out to get a better sense, and knew what it was. My mom smelled like that so many years ago, right before those people killed her. They said she was a pest…along with all my brothers and sisters. They weren't speaking the same language my lady speaks, though. You see, I'm from Cuba. My lady Temperance saved me from those men. She told them that I was beautiful, and they were evil, horrible men for wanting to kill a helpless creature. I wanted to tell her that I'm not helpless, but I opted for staying quiet and letting her hold me.
She held me during the entire time she was there and gave evil glares to whomever looked at her weird for having me riding on her shoulder. She argued with the people in the big building with the giant metal birds so they would let me come home with her. She won that battle, but some mean woman she called the landlord wouldn't let me stay in her home when we got there.
So…she took me to a place called the lab. I got this awesome cage with trees and flowers I could eat and all kinds of cool stuff! Dr. Goodman said I was interesting looking, and I could stay. I was so happy; I finally had people who loved me. She gave me these little round things…tomatoes, I think that's what she calls them. They look like toys but you can eat them. A nice pretty lady named Angela saw me and screamed, but soon warmed up to me once Temperance let Angela pet me. Angela said I looked wise, and that I had seen a lot of pain in my life. She and lady Temperance then named me Aristotle, after some smart guy. They were right that I had seen a lot of pain.
I stayed there for so many days, watching my lady do work at her desk. She looked lonely…until one day, this man came in and she was happy. He had a small person with him. Parker. My lady seemed so much happier when they were there, and the man started to visit more and more often. He said I was creepy, but cool. I'm not creepy, am I?
Years passed with the same thing, and the man saw my lady every day. They argued a lot, but it was funny to watch. One day, my lady looked really nervous and took a plant out of her desk drawer. I thought it was a treat for me, so I sat up in anticipation. She tied it to a string and hung it from the ceiling, which made me even more confused. The man, Booth, came in and was just as confused with me. A loud woman with bright red hair then stood stunned as my lady and her man did some kind of thing with their mouths…I don't know what it was called. Oh, yeah! It's a steamboat.
I knew that my lady and her man loved each other. But I couldn't tell them…I didn't know how.
It was a long time before anything changed again. My lady went away for a really long time, and Hodgins, Angela's man, took care of me. They put me in a crate and I went to a place called France. It wasn't all that great there, because I was away from my lady. I had an okay enclosure, but it wasn't as good as the lab. Seven months later, they packed me back up and we went back to the lab. I saw my lady again! She cut her hair all different and she looked a lot skinnier. She didn't need to lose any weight, but I knew it was because of stress. She was lonely again…for many months. A long time. She talked to me a lot more then, though. She told me all her troubles, and then followed up with saying that I don't understand what she's saying. I do, though!
She said some woman named Hannah was here, and that that woman made Booth happy. All my lady wanted was for Booth to be happy. One day, that woman came into my lady's office and wanted to pet me. I knew she was cause for my lady's loneliness, so I made a plan. When my lady took me out, I showed her I loved her by holding on tight and giving a lick to her arm. My lady and Hannah sat on the ground and put me between them. As soon as I had the opportunity, I lashed my tail as hard as I could at her stupid hand. She cried and left, and my lady smiled at me. She steamboated her finger and touched my head, laughing at what I did. I'm glad I made my lady smile.
Not that long after, the Hannah woman was gone. My lady and her man were happy again. They ate food out of tiny boxes on her couch, and even gave me some! I like spicy string beans. Then….something bad happened.
My lady and her man were on the platform with the person who was dressed in a costume similar to me earlier that day, and a loud boom and glass shattering sounded through the lab. A bunch of sirens went off and the person who was like me started bleeding. My lady was crying and I wanted to help her. I could have helped her! I should have...I knew how to undo the lock on my cage. But I didn't. I should have.
The next week was when she started smelling funny. It's called pheromones or something. I knew what it meant, but I didn't say anything. She deserved the surprise. And then she knew. That little plastic thing told her. She picked me up and told me that she was really scared, but happy. I held onto her and gave my best hug I could. She knew what I was doing, because she hugged me back. That's the first time my lady did that.
Ten months later, my lady came into her office all alone, and looked at my cage. She didn't have her small human, Christine, with her and I was kind of sad. I like her little girl. She looked like my lady but with her dad's eyes.
That was two minutes ago. My lady just opened my cage and took me out.
"Okay, come on Aristotle. I have a big surprise for you." My lady petted my head and cradled me like her little girl. She sat me down in front of her and began talking again.
"So guess what? Booth just finished building your new cage at the house. It has half outside so you can bask, and a large pond to swim in. You are permitted to stay there, as it is not against the subdivision rules to have a pet." My lady took a deep breath and her eyes got watery. "You're finally coming home, Aristotle."
I want to tell her thank you, that I love her, that I couldn't ask for a better lady. But all I could do was hold on tight.
I'm never letting go…