Chapter 4: "In for a Penny…"

Sometimes, your pet picks you.

- Julie Wenzel, Alone I Walk

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"Mmm huh," Sid muttered into the phone, scribbling quickly on a paper. "'K, got it." He wrote a few more words.

"Already?" he said next, writing another word as he shook his head. "Lizzie, I know I just bought two bottles of that a few weeks ago! Exactly how much hairspray can three women use in one month?"

A sudden, hesitant knock on his office door sounded and he looked up to see a rather damp Adam Ross standing in the open doorway. Sid frowned at his appearance and his overactive brain started spinning theories. Adam didn't visit him in the morgue very often, let alone seek him out in his office. He was particularly curious about the sock-clad feet. He held up one finger asking for a moment and mouthed "shopping list from Elizabeth."

Adam smiled.

"Yes, dear, I'm listening to you," Sid answered the voice coming through his phone, turning back to his list. "Coffee, bread, non-weird cheese. Non-weird cheese, huh? Tell Sariah she can be in charge of dinner this week if she objects to my cheese choices," he muttered with a smile. "All right, Lizzie. I shall pick it all up for you on my way home. Love you, too. Bye."

He hung the phone back on its receiver then stood to greet his guest.

"Now, Adam, what can I do for you?"

"Weird cheese?" the tech asked with a grin.

"Sariah is a teenager. I don't question her wardrobe, she shouldn't question my cooking."

"Fair enough," Adam agreed.

"So, I'm betting Mac didn't send you down to get the autopsy results in socks and Danny's shirt. What's going on, Adam?"

Instantly, the lab tech went from laughing to somber and worried. He glanced around, making sure they were alone, and then stepped into the office. From the wadded up jacket in his hands he removed something and set it on Sid's desk.

"Sid, I really need some help."

Sid stared in shock for a moment before he found his voice. "Is that a kitten?"

Adam nodded.

"Adam, why do you have a kitten? And why did you bring it to me?"

"I…I…" the lab tech stammered, not meeting his eyes as he tried to keep the little animal from wandering off the edge of the desk. Sid stepped up and gently took hold of it. It was in very sad shape.

"I took him from a crime scene," Adam finally whispered.

Sid looked at him sharply.

"I know, I know!" the other man continued before he could say anything. "But he's so tiny and sick and it was dark and disgusting and I just couldn't leave him there, okay? I just couldn't!"

There was much more to this story than just that rushed confession if the damp jeans and missing shoes were anything to go by.

"At least, I think it's a he," Adam continued rambling, his nervousness making him fill the silence. "I don't really know…"

"Exactly how many Master's degrees do you have again?" Sid couldn't help asking with a smile.

"Not in how you tell if a kitten is a girl or boy! They didn't cover that in tech classes!"

Sid laughed, somehow enjoying this odd change of pace for his day, even if he was a bit worried that this was going to get the quiet lab tech into trouble. He carefully raised the kitten up and studied it with a critical eye for a moment, then handed it back to his young colleague.

"Congratulations, Mr. Ross. You have a boy."

Adam took the kitten with a smile, and Sid didn't miss the careful, loving way he cradled it. Yes, there was certainly much more than met the eye going on here.

"But why did you come to me? I'm not a veterinarian, Adam."

"But, next to Mac, you're the smartest guy I know. And you are a doctor…"

Sid was oddly flattered, even if he had been shelved under Mac in the list. He knew the pedestal Adam placed the crime lab boss on; he wouldn't ever dream of trying to top that height.

"Can you tell me what's wrong with Monster? Please? I'm worried about him."

"Monster?" Sid cried in horror. "You named this adorable little cat Monster?"

Adam shrugged. "He was under the bed. That's where you find monsters, right?"

He said it with such certainty that Sid had no doubt monsters had been very real to Adam at one point. He looked at the bedraggled lab tech with a glimmer of new understanding. With a small shake of his head, he pulled a spare pair of gloves from his desk and slipped them on. Then he reached for the little animal one more time. Gently, he examined the kitten for a moment, trying not to scare the nervous creature further.

"You know you'll have to tell, Mac, don't you?" he said while he worked.

"I know," Adam mumbled. "But he's…um…gone right now."

An evasive answer – again. In a few days, when this had all settled and worked itself out, Sid was going to have to corner someone and ask for a complete explanation. He knew he'd never get it from Adam himself.

"Have you fed this little fellow?" asked Sid, changing the topic.

"A cracker. And leftover tuna fish. I'll get something better."

Sid set the kitten down on the floor of his office and pulled the gloves off, watching as it stumbled around.

"What's wrong with him, Sid?" Adam asked, worry strong in his voice. "Why can't he walk right?"

"Cats rely on their whiskers for more than just great navigation in the dark. They actually play a large part in how they maintain balance. I suspect that's his biggest problem right now and when they grow back, he'll be fine again."

Adam heaved a huge sigh of relief, but underneath Sid saw anger – anger that someone could be so cruel to do that to a helpless little creature.

"What else?"

Sid sighed. "He's malnourished, dirty, and suffering from what I believe is an upper respiratory infection – not entirely uncommon in kittens. His tail was broken a few weeks ago and has mended wrong, but he won't be the first cat to survive with a crooked tail." As he spoke, he went to the small refrigerator he kept beside his desk and pulled out the empty Tupperware Lizzie had sent lasagna in for his lunch, filling it with water from a bottle. Carefully, he placed it on the floor and guided the kitten to it. "Beyond that, Adam, you really need to take him to a real vet," he said, watching as the little pink tongue shoot in and out, lapping up the water greedily.

"I will, I promise," Adam said, looking entirely overjoyed to find out his kitten wasn't on the brink of dying on him. Sid couldn't help but notice how young it made the lab tech seem and the father in him hurt just a little for his colleague, knowing what he'd pieced together over the years.

"Adam," Sid asked kindly, getting the other man to look at him, "do you know anything about taking care of kittens?"

"Do you know anything about taking care of kittens, son?"

The little boy looked up at the clerk solemnly, nodding. Of course he knew how to take care of kittens. He'd looked it all up in the library first thing this morning! That's why he was here, after all!

The elderly clerk smiled kindly at the red-haired boy. "You're going to need food," she said slowly.

He produced the bag of kitten chow from the cart, lifting it with effort onto the counter that was level with his shoulders. Kitten chow, not cat food. He'd made extra sure 'cause the library books had said that was important.

"And dishes for the food and lots of water…"

He place the plastic dishes he'd picked out on the counter next to the food.

"And a litter box for the kitten to do his business in…"

Again Adam put items on the counter, a plastic box and a bag of cat litter. Before the clerk could open her mouth again, he slapped down the package of cat toys as well and crossed his arms, daring her beat that one.

The woman laughed. "I stand corrected, young man. You are an expert on kittens. Now, are your parents going to help you pay for all this?"

Adam shook his head, holding up a plastic baggie full of lots of coins and a few green bills. It was every penny he owned: birthday money from Aunt Gladys, the money he'd earned from watering batty old Mrs. Dent's plants for two weeks while she was on her cruise, allowance money from the few times his dad was in a good mood and remembered to give it to him, and the twenty dollars he'd found on the playground that had been returned to him when no one claimed it after a month.

"Ah, your very first solo venture into responsibility, I see," the clerk said as she began to ring up his purchases. "Your parents must be so proud."

"Adam?"

Sid's voice broke into his thoughts and Adam realized the older man was staring at him strangely. Crap. He'd just successfully zoned out in front of the ME.

"Sorry, Sid. Just tired, I guess," he muttered, running a hand across his face. "Yeah, I know how to take care of a kitten, but I've still got five hours of my shift left today. I was wondering…um…if maybe…you could keep him…erm…here until then?" He gazed at Sid with puppy-dog eyes while mentally crossing his fingers.

"Here, where Mac won't see him and you won't have to answer any questions?" Sid countered with alarming accuracy.

"Um…maybe?"

Sid sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You know I should be lecturing you and then turning you in, right?"

"But how can you resist this face?" Adam asked, picking Monster up and turning his little head gently toward Sid.

Sid caved.

Twenty minutes later Adam had "requisitioned" a bag of sand, a spare tray from Trace, a slightly stale ham sandwich Danny would never miss from the fridge, and a few empty film canisters from photography to be used as makeshift cat toys. He bundled his jacket in a corner of Sid's office so Monster would have a soft place if he wanted to take a nap, and then carefully shut the door behind him.

Now, if he could just make it through the next five hours without running into Mac, he thought as he padded up the stairs in his socks.