A/N: Bit of a short chapter here, folks – only about 900 words or so. Nonetheless, I hope you like it. I know you all want to get to the date, but I found that in my last story, I had lots of uneven pacing. I want to keep the pacing of this story fairly consistent. Besides, slow-burn love stories are always more rewarding, no? Don't worry – the date is coming up soon. ;) As always, leave your comments and reviews!

Chapter 13: Are You Sure About That Name?

CORA

My days run like clockwork, usually. I drop Jim off at school in the morning, head to class for a few hours, and work at the bookstore from 1:00 to 3:00. Usually. Things haven't really been, ahem, usual lately, that's for sure.

Let's run off a tally of the weird crap I've had to deal with the past five days:

First thing; Jim's been to the hospital.

Second thing; I've got no car (which made buying cat stuff on my free time today a real hassle, by the way).

Third thing; I had to cover for Giovanni until 5:00 yesterday, and that rarely happens.

Fourth thing; a mysterious man named Hank has suddenly popped into my life, and he decided to just pay for Jim's hospital stay. Everything. Like it was nothing.

Fifth thing; Also, I'm going on a date with him. I'm still a little astounded at that…(I'll have to call Rachel and let her know about it soon, or else I'll never hear the end of it).

And the sixth thing ….Jim is smiling.

That last one probably doesn't sound that weird, but trust me; it's weird.

"Good day at school today?" I ask him. I'll play the part of Annoying Mom, and you play the part of Obedient Son.

Ha, yeah right.

Fat chance of that happening.

He answers, though – and that's even weirder. "Yeah, Mom. It was a really good day." He's got a goofy grin on his face – all teeth and wistful eyes, and my first thought is: Weed? But his eyes are clear – focused, you know? – and he doesn't smell smoky – and there's been enough times that he's come home smelling like the stuff that I can tell, even with him sitting across from me on the train. So my second thought is: it's gotta be a girl, and that realization makes me smile, too. Gotcha, kiddo.

I could play the role of Embarrassing Mom right now, but he's happy, so I won't push it. Besides, I've got other things in mind.

We come to our stop on the subway, but I stay sitting. We've got one other place to go. He scratches his stitches. He'll cut his head right open if he isn't careful.

"Jim, stop that."

"It itches." He looks around, confused and still scratching at the stitches on his temple. "Hey wait isn't this our stop? Why aren't we getting out?"

I shake my head, smiling. "You'll see."

"The shelter?!" His voice comes out all excited and high-pitched, and I have to suppress the urge to giggle because I know – I friggin' know that'll embarrass him, and he'll be sulking for the rest of the week.

"There's a surprise waitin' for you in there. For your birthday."

He looks at me, and his eyes are big and his smile is even bigger, and he rushes up to me, gives me a quick hug, whispers, "Thank you," and runs into the animal shelter like his feet are on fire. And yeah, I feel my heart sort of melt.

When I walk in, he's already holding the kitten – well maybe the kitten is holding him, because the little animal is curled up on his shoulder and nuzzling him. The best part? It's got its little arms curled around his neck, and it really looks like the little gray fuzzball is hugging my son.

If I had an iPhone, I'd take a picture. And Jim – oh Jim, he's beaming; and it's one of those rare times that I can see him past all his layers, see him how he really is. It gives me hope.

"So what're you gonna name him?"

He thinks about it for a moment, petting the purring animal on his shoulder. "I think I'm gonna name him ….Hades."

Hades? There's this brief moment when he says the name that I see a flash of something; a dark throne, I think, but it's fading, and just as soon as it comes, it leaves; and I feel like a person who just forgot something they were about to say or do. It's there, but I can't reach it.

It feels…blocked.

"Hades?" I ask, and the word comes out easily, comfortably. "What made you pick that?" Honestly, it's kind of a weird name for a cat. I was expecting him to name the thing "Gandalf" because of its gray fur. Hell, "Tiger" or something – but "Hades"? I don't know why, but it just gives me a strange feeling in my gut; kinda like when people name their dogs "George" or "Martha" – like, those are people names, you know? Though I've never met a guy named "Hades"…but you get what I mean.

"I dunno….Just a feeling, I guess." The kitten meows and nuzzles Jim's neck, and he laughs. Hmmm. Looks somebody's still ticklish. "Besides," he says, kissing the little kitten's head, "I think he likes it."

The kitten makes a contented meow and shuts its eyes. Huh, I guess maybe he does like it.

Hades the Cat. No wait, scratch that.

Hades the Kitten.

Why not? Things have been weird anyway; this is just another thing to add to the list.