Fitz puttered through the busy street. He loathed crowds, especially to the massive scale they grew to around this time of year, but after several Christmases at the Academy, he had tapped out of all the easy to pick up Christmas gifts that Simmons might like. It was also very hard to hide packages away since they had moved into a two room apartment. Considering the number of hours they collaborating on projects or catching up on the occasional marathons of Doctor Who, it was simply the most logical-and frugal-conclusion.

But this year was different. A massive snowstorm was expected by the end of the night and Simmons' flight home the next day was cancelled. Fitz's red eye flight-after taking a train to a larger airport-was currently still on schedule (and unfortunately terribly overbooked). She absolutely insisted he keep his plans to visit with his Mum if possible. Nearly all of the Sci-Ops staff were on travel over the holidays (although everyone still stayed on call in the event of support needs), which would leave Simmons quite alone for the better part of two weeks.

Truth be told, he rather hated the thought of her on her own.

His immediate instinct was to bring home a monkey. They were the perfect size for cuddling, and could help with all sorts of things about the flat. Unfortunately, their contract would not allow it. He had downloaded the full document and combed through the pet section in excruciating detail just to be sure. Besides, Simmons had always been a bit reticent about that rather brilliant idea in the past. The rules on dogs were also quite limited, and even then, their frequent long hours in the lab precluded the proper time for care and walking.

But cats. Cats were independent. They could deal with the longer hours, and if the mood struck them, they might be inclined to cuddle up. All in, with the liver intact and in place, a cat seemed the most sensible option, really.

Fitz veered into the pet store with a plan and a few short hours to spare before his flight.

Jemma was just about to head home, after pulling the last batch of samples off of capillary electrophoresis. Barring any major accumulation overnight, she could check the results in the morning.

The phone vibrated on the bench, and she couldn't help but smiled at the name that glowed. She answered, packing up her bags to head home. "Did you make your flight on time?"

"I did, although the trains ran a bit closer than I expected." He paused, meaningfully. "Did you make it home yet?"

"Not yet," she assured. "I'm just closing up now, and I am catching a ride back to the apartment."

"Ah." His breathing hitched slightly, almost as if he was anxious. Really, it was sweet of him to worry.

"Well, I picked up the present you left me on the counter to open under the tree at Mum's, but you'll need to open yours once you get home."

Jemma blinked as she turned of the lights and locked the door, wondering if he had gotten her some sort of perishable to help make it through the storm. "Alright."

"We should be boarding soon," he sighed. "I guess I'll need to call you in the morning to see how you like your gift."

She smiled. "I'm sure it will be lovely."

Of all the things that had run through her mind, Jemma did not expect anything that would cause her to sneeze right after walking in the door. Perhaps one of the neighbors has snuck in a stray rather than let any animal be out in the cold in the bad weather.

She was naturally curious about Fitz's present, especially as he had been so cryptic, but it seemed as if she might need to take some sort of allergy medication to settle down whatever had started to brew. She didn't even bother turning on the lights, before she made her way over to the bathroom. Thankfully, she excelled at preparation and had a small bottle of allergy medication left over from the spring.

Several minutes later, Jemma re-entered the room and turned on the lights. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight: the crate on the counter, a few bags of food and other supplies, and a little box. She was going to need a much bigger bottle of that medication.

There was a note on the counter in Fitz's familiar scrawl. "I didn't want you to be alone over the holidays. I thought Peggy might keep you company."

She peered in the cage to see a tiny set of golden eyes peering back at her.

Jemma smiled, but was hesitant to touch Peggy until she was sure the allergy medication was well into effect. Even then, she might have some issues. She wished she had the forethought to grab a spare set of gloves to keep at home, but her kitchen gloves might do in a pinch if she got truly desperate.

She rifled through the bags, looking for food to feed her tiny charge. Based upon her size, Peggy was probably just old enough to have been fully weaned and possibly even acclimated to the litter box. She might even have a spare bit of milk left in the fridge in case the food did not settle well on her tiny stomach.

Peggy seemed to have grey and black stripes throughout, although it was hard to see the exact shade in the shadows of the crate. Jemma had set the bowls down on the tile, easing the crate down to the floor.

The kitten nosed out of the crate, slowly winding her way around the hem of Jemma's trousers and exploring the kitchen before approaching the food bowl.

Jemma watched her nibble until she was satisfied that Peggy was truly big enough not to require additional food or assistance to eat.

She washed her hands as a precaution, to stave the first tingling of an itch. She was truly unsure whether the itch was psychosomatic or if she was actually more allergic than she feared. Her mind was already puzzling out the best timing to take the twelve hour medication to ensure her maximum comfort.

Fitz was so sweet to do all of this, and it so clearly came with only the best of intentions. But she knew he would feel awful if he knew she was even mildly allergic.

He simply could not find out.

When Jemma awoke the next morning, the itching seemed a distant memory. Peggy had settled herself at within arm's length on the bed, and Jemma had reached out to stroke her fur. The trilling purr that emerged from tiny ball of fur was surprisingly soothing. She'd probably still need to take extra precautions to stave off any further allergic reaction, but perhaps things would work out quite well after all.

Peggy's eye slit open, as she bat tiny paws and claws up into the air towards Jemma's hand.

Jemma tilted her head and started worrying that Fitz might need his eyes checked. It seemed that little "Peggy" was actually a "Steve".

Chuckling, she cuddled up beside him and dialed Fitz.


Author's Note: Thanks for AGL03 for the quick beta read and to the lovely Tumblr Anon who sent in the prompt.