Cat Meets Dog

by Starsinger

Nyisha meets the BIGGEST CAT she's ever seen in her entire life. I'm sure Porthos appreciates being called a cat! lol Don't own them, except Nyisha, she's all mine. But, if you want to borrow her, let me know where I can find her!

Nyisha slept quietly on Jim's shoulder. She was a kitten with a schedule. She went with Spock or Uhura to their rounds for the day so she could be fed regularly. They cuddled with her when they got the chance. In the evenings, she went to the hospital to visit with Jim. She understood that he was sick, and took her job as a nurse cat very seriously. Afterwards, the nurses and Bones cooed over her and she occasionally got a new toy. Then they went home to bed and wait to start the whole thing over again.

This one day, however, there was an intruder. An elderly man entered the room with the BIGGEST CAT Nyisha had ever seen in her admittedly short life. The cat dragged the old man over to the bed and scrambled up into the bed beside Jim. He nuzzled Jim's hand. Jim accommodated the beast briefly with a rub on his nose. This was followed by a big, sloppy kiss. Nyisha immediately took offense to the oversized intruder. Her hair stood on end, her little tail becoming a brush, she hissed at him, taking care that she wasn't on Jim's shoulder before bouncing and swiping at the other animal.

The other cat, for his part, tilted his head at her, unsure as to why this little animal was upset with him. He made up his mind quickly as he reached out a paw and planted it gently on the kitten, pinning her to the pillow she occupied. She started mewing piteously as she could do nothing to get up, and no one was coming to her aid. The other cat, for his part, started cleaning her with his tongue. Her mews turned from piteous, to outraged, to a soft purr as she settled down for the first true mothering she'd had since her mother died.

Archer, Bones, and Spock watched the whole spectacle as Porthos, Archer's dog, became as enamored of the tiny animal as everyone else had. When he was done, he looked back at his master, who was covering an enormous grin, with a quizzical tilt to his head, and a soft ruff. Archer reached forward and rubbed behind the Beagle's ears, "Good boy."

Bones, on the other hand, was sitting in a chair nearby. He was laughing so hard tears were running down his face. He waggled a finger at Spock, "Oh, man that was good!" Spock simply raised an eyebrow at the amused physician. "Your cat charmed the Admiral's dog!" All three looked over to find Porthos lying stretched out beside Jim and the kitten curled up by one floppy ear. Bones took another picture, "Jim's going to be sorry that he slept through all this!"

Spock looked down at his pet, "I am unsure that Jim is not missing any of this. His reactions, so far, indicate that he has some awareness of what transpires around him."

"Spockisms," Bones said with a laugh.

Archer looked at him, "Spockisms?"

"Yeah, he's just saying that Jim knows what's happening in here. He just has to add more words than necessary," Bones replied. Archer burst out laughing. Spock turned and left the room, dignity sufficiently wounded. This caused both the doctor and the admiral to laugh even harder. Soon, Spock returned to scoop up the cat. "Spock," Bones called. Spock turned, "I expect Jim to wake up tomorrow. Bring your girlfriend," Spock left.

"Girlfriend?" Archer finally asked.

"I was talking about the cat," Bones said with an absolutely straight face. They both burst out laughing.

The next day Spock arrived when told that Jim's vital signs indicated that his reentry to the land of the living was imminent. Bones' words, Nyisha in tow. He placed the carrier on the bedside table and they watched closely as Jim's signs continued to pick up. Suddenly, Jim's eyes opened, and he peered around in blurry surprise. "Oh, don't be so melodramatic, you were barely dead," Bones said, grinning in obvious relief.

The entire conversation between the three was amusing and relieving. That was until Nyisha let her opinion be known about the whole situation. One of her favorite humans was awake, and not paying attention to her. "What is that?" Jim asked.

Bones opened the carrier on the table and pulled Nyisha from her confines. "Spock found this little girl two weeks ago," Bones replied. "Her mother had died."

"This is what's been purring in my ear for the past few days?" Jim asked. Nyisha walked back up to his chin and butted it again, "And trying to get me to wake up?" he managed to get his hand to reach up and rub the little being.

"Yep, that's the one!" Bones said with a laugh. He proceeded to tell him what happened last night, showing him pictures as well. Jim laughed. Bones and Spock sat back and basked in the light that was Jim's waking up. Nyisha started mewing again.

"She is hungry," Spock announced. He pulled out a bottle from the bag at his side and picked the kitten up and started feeding her.

"She's really young," Jim whispered.

"She'll be starting on solids next week," Spock replied. He looked over to see that Jim had fallen asleep. Nyisha finished her bottle and the rest of her routine before her own eyes closed. Spock placed her on Jim's pillow. "I'll return for her later," he said quietly before leaving.

Bones smiled at the retreating figure, it was definitely a VERY good day.