A/N: A little fic about Vlad finding his cat, Maddie. Inspiration came from the livestream that Kris (AKA Phantomtype on tumblr) ran. Basically they started drawing Vlad with Maddie and the ensuing conversation left me with the powerful desire to see a fic in which Vlad adopts Maddie the cat after finding her by accident.

This is my first time writing Vlad, so please, if you have any critiques, tell me! I'm not entirely sure if I got his character right, but I sure hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless.

Disclaimer: If me taking part in fanfiction isn't proof enough, let it be known through this disclaimer that I don't own anything but the veterinarian.


Finding her had been a complete accident.

He had been out on a stroll after a mayoral event, walking through the sunny and surprisingly ghost-free streets of Amity and wondering if dropping by to see Maddie was worth putting up with her idiot husband when he heard a strange sound. A faint scratching and what sounded like one of his ghost experiments, a weak hissing gurgle. Vlad paused, listening for a moment, and about to dismiss the sound as his imagination when he heard it again.

Vlad moved forward warily, glancing left and right for the noise. His ghostly experiments had such a weak ecto-signature that he usually couldn't sense them, but they should have been locked in his lab. Growling at the thought of them getting out but not particularly caring about the havoc they may cause, he was about to simply move on when some movement caught his eye.

Something white.

He froze, his mind flashing to Daniel before he dismissed the thought. He definitely would have sensed the silly child, and it was school time. If he wasn't in class, he would be distracted by a ghost fight. Vlad relaxed, but curiously he moved towards where he had seen it, flickering in the shadow of two buildings. The sound was still there, irritating him, but when he saw what sat in the shadows he stopped and couldn't help but stare in mild confusion and incredulity.

A cat.

It was a tiny thing, fur scraggled and blue collar barely staying on its neck. It blearily looked up at Vlad, paws and tail twitching as it tried to hiss at him. He watched as the cat attempted to stand, only for its paw to collapse beneath it almost immediately, yowling. His eyes narrowed, and he pondered the idea of leaving for all of one second.

Even he wasn't that heartless.


Vlad had thought about simply leaving the cat at the vet he had gone to, let them decide what to do with the little thing he'd found on the streets, but almost immediately he dismissed the idea. He knew what it was like to be tossed away like this cat obviously had been, if its condition and the overly worn collar were any indication. They couldn't even read the name, the metal having been far too scratched to be legible any longer.

The vet had wanted to keep her, as he had been told the cat was female, for a few nights to monitor her condition. "She wouldn't have made it if you hadn't found her, Mr. Masters." They had told him. "Her condition is terrible, but she should be able to make a full recovery. You're free to drop by to visit her whenever, sir."

He came to check on her every single day.


When the day came and the vet told him she was well enough to leave, Vlad had already decided how to answer a question he knew was coming.

"So, Mr. Masters," Dr. Corvette had said, "I recall you said she was a stray, right? What do you plan on doing now? If you like, I can bring her to a local animal shelter..."

"That will be unnecessary. I plan on taking her in." Vlad had replied immediately, the cat perking its ears and looking towards him from her perch on the examination table. Doctor Corvette raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Are you certain, Mr. Masters? Taking care of a cat would take up quite a bit of time in your schedule."

"I am certain."

He didn't plan on abandoning the poor thing the way he had been all those years ago, after his own accident. Left at a hospital, deluding himself into thinking they would come back for him until one day he bitterly realized the truth.

So much for not getting a cat.


As Vlad signed the papers piled onto his desk, the scritch of pen on paper the only sound in the large office, a single white figure slipped through the door soundlessly, Vlad unaware of his visitor as he focused on the work in front of him. She crept forward, focusing on her working master, before leaping up and barreling straight over his desk and straight down onto his lap, startling him. She purred, rubbing her head against his chest, clearly pleased with herself. Vlad's startled expression softened and he ran his hand over her back before picking her up, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Hello, my darling Maddie. You look lovely today, my little lady."

He smiled when, after he pulled away, she seemed to smile back at him as she gently pressed a white paw against his nose.

At least he had one Maddie for himself.


He'd felt her presence before he heard the little meow and he froze, the thoughts of storming to his lab and releasing frustration on his ghostly experiments after the most recent battle against Daniel vanishing as he realized he'd never shown Maddie his ghost form before. A wave nervousness and fear shot through Vlad, fears of rejection or rage or fear from Maddie, when she leapt down onto him from her position on the windowsill, forcing him to shift his stance as she landed on his shoulder.

Almost aggressively, as though she felt his fear and nervousness, she rubbed her face against his, licking his cheek and rubbing against his chest as she slid into his arms. Vlad calmed, smiling softly as he held her close. He hoped her human namesake would take the revelation of his ghost half just as well.

He didn't go down to his lab that night.


Maddie became a constant comfort in his life. Vlad honestly couldn't imagine how he coped without her, and though Daniel could mock Vlad all he wanted, he never regretted taking in the little cat on that fateful day.

It was like she read his mind, the way she would curl up on his lap at the perfect moment or leap on his shoulders and give him a quick kiss after a rough night. The way she would bring him his goggles and gloves and even whatever he asked her to fetch when he worked in the lab, the comfort she brought him when he simply held her close and she would still, a presence in his life. How she would curl up next to him in bed or while he was working, not necessarily touching him but always there, a reminder he wasn't entirely alone anymore, even when the Maddie Program crashed and refused to run on his systems, no matter what he did.

Sometimes Vlad thought that maybe, he was fine, content with just this Maddie next to him every single day.


A/N: I'm actually quite proud of this one. There may or may not be a part two at some point as well. Please, any comments are welcome, barring blatant flaming of course~.

Edit: Found out that ate my linebreaks. Fixed it along with a few minor errors.