Just a good bit of nonsense in these troubled times. Hoping everyone enjoys a modern ATF version of Chris with Evelyn.
(C) The Magnificent Seven belong to themselves and all its characters are properties of MGM and its affiliates.
It was unusual not to see Magic the cat before was even more unusual that Chris Larabee hadn't tripped over the black cat at least once since getting up.
The cat had been a gift from Mary to Evelyn on her eleventh birthday. The little girl had been delighted in the gift from her father's partner, and had named the cat Black Magic, although only when trouble was Black Magic given her full title. In the beginning that had been all too frequent. But the two had aged and the mischievousness had lessened with time.
God six years ago the kitten had been here, Chris thought smiling when he looked across at his teenage daughter who was reading book while waiting for her father to leave with his team for their usual Saturday morning ride. He had no doubt that once he was out of the picture she would be running up his phone bill with talking to her boyfriend Nick Conklin, despite the fact that they'd been out until 11 o'clock seeing a movie, probably while said cat made itself comfortable into her lap.
"Supposed to be a mouser," muttered Chris.
"What was that, Dad?" Evelyn asked, looking up from her book and at her father.
"That housecat of ours," he said, as Evelyn got up and looked out the window joining him. "Haven't seen Magic?"
"No, JD's about though, she's been off him since he disturbed her kittens," admitted the teenager, rubbing her eyes. "I don't know where she is, sorry Dad."
Chris smiled. "It's alright kid. We seem to be ships in the night don't we?"
"Missing each other? Yeah, that's true."
And it was. The last few weeks had been trying for the both of them, wrestling their individual schedules, Chris had been working a rather difficult case with the team which meant he missed dinner while Evelyn had just returned from a brief internship on the weekends in the legal department as arranged by Judge Travis.
"No problem, listen me and the team are going up to the ridge and back... want to join us?" Chris internally predicted, ignoring Buck's boisterous laughter from outside. "I am not look-" Evelyn began to laugh as she looked out the window. Chris turned and stared outside.
There was Magic in all her sheer black glory, running and dodging lithely the grabbing hands of JD, the stark red of JD's prize Red Sox baseball cap fixed in her mouth. From the sides Chris observed the reactions of his team. Buck was roaring with laughter, and yelling unneeded advice at JD. Ezra and Vin, were making bets with one another on the cat or JD (Chris's money was on the cat). Nathan was rolling his eyes heavenward, and although Chris couldn't hear it, he knew there were dire predictions of JD breaking his neck. Josiah, just looked amused at this turn of events, as he often did with the younger members of the team in his usual paternal fashion despite the fact that JD was due to become a second time father in the next eight weeks.
"JD! You leave my cat alone!" Evelyn shouted when she saw JD make a mad dive towards the cat that nearly sent him face-first into the ground and onto the six year old cat. "Magic! Come in!"
"Oh no you don't you mangy feline!" JD shouted.
JD had definitely been spending too long with Ezra, thought Chris although this was wiped from his mind when Magic let out a loud screech followed by JD.
Now, Chris Larabee had always had a dog flap which was normally ignored by Magic and used solely by Diablo. The cat much preferred yowling its head off outside Chris's window if it had ventured out at night to be let in – normally on nights that Chris was getting much needed rest. As if sensing its impending doom, the cat had taken it upon herself to dive through that, the same time as JD had managed to snag the collar. Now JD's arm was through the cat flap, and imaginably face was pressed up against the wooden door, especially judging by the laughter outside from the other six. Evelyn was soon running to get the camera and run around the side of the house. Chris barely noticed through tears in his eyes as he knelt, and took the cap from the cat, and loosening JD's hold, stroking the now mewling cat.
"Well JD I can safely say that's the first time that a cat has dragged in an ATF through the door!"