Author's Note: The cats in this work are written to be anthropomorphic as in the play, which I will state, I do not own any rights to. Please enjoy.

The smoke of the train drifted across the platform, ignored by all present. Glass green eyes peer through the smoke after the train, tired and longing.

Though he had been on a train for two weeks across the country, he was already looking forward to the next adventure. There was nothing like the rumbling under paw when a train was underway nor the gentle attentions of passengers as he roamed the carriages in search of mice. Regardless of such joys, he ached to see his family again. So, with a pet goodbye from the Station Master, he stowed away the bell collar and made way to the Junkyard.

He slipped through the streets unnoticed by human eyes. The light drizzle muted the scents and sounds around him, but it was not so mute around him that he could miss quiet sniffling nearby. From the sound, he figured they were a kit and so, he paused and listened with ears pricked. The crying became clearer as he prowled forward.

As he rounded a corner into an alley, he came upon a young kit. Her pelt was dark with stripes of white and red, and when she startled and looked at him, her eyes were dark and brimming with tears. She looked no older than six months and she wore a collar around her neck.

"Hello, lass," he greeted gently, smiling as he crouched in front of her, paws held out in a placating gesture. "Are you alright?"

She sniffled and wiped at her face. "I-I'm lost."

"I can try to help you find your way," he assured. "You're wearing a collar, so we can find your humans that way."

She frowned up at him. "You can read the human language?"

"Just a tad," he admitted, crouching down and looking at her collar, trying to figure out the address and coming up with a loss at the location. "I must confess, I don't know the city that well, so we will have to visit my home to find a cat who knows better than I."

She wiped at her nose and nodded her assent.

"I'm Skimbleshanks. What's your name?"

"Jemima."

"Pleased to meet you, Jemima."

He took her paw and led her back to the Junkyard, more than a little concerned of her almost instantaneous trust in him. Was she even aware of Macavity or his henchcats? That there were cats and humans willing to do her harm? He would be sure to talk to her before he returned her to her human.

Upon entrance, the kitten's nose scrunched up. "What's that smell?"

"This is what the humans call a junkyard," he explained. "Your human has a place they dispose of things, correct?"

"Yes."

"This is where it comes when they remove it. We try to keep it clean, but ultimately it lures in mice and rats to eat. Should you be here any amount of time, you'll get used to it."

The look on her face claimed that she doubted it, but he paid that little mind. Nearly anyone who found the home of the Jellicles would find the smell to be home.

As he slipped through the yard, he searched out the presence of the pawful of cats that knew the nearby city well enough. Most of said cats had humans and could only afford so much time away before their humans ran amuck. His efforts were met with disappointment until the moon had long since risen and Gus returned from the theater with Jellyorum. He quickly intercepted them and made a quick introduction between them and his temporary ward before launching into his questions as to the whereabouts of her home.

Gus reached out and gently lifted the nameplate on the collar, bending down to read it through squinted eyes. It took a few seconds, but his face lit up with recognition.

"This near the human-kit school," he informed.

Skimbleshanks nodded to himself. "Yes. The one on the other side of town?"

"Yes, that's the one. Near the Theater."

Nodding with satisfaction, he turned to the kitten. "We can head out now."

Jellyorum frowned. "It's a bit late to be going that far, however. You've just returned, haven't you? Will you be up to escorting her home?"

Tired as he was, he was confident he would be able to escort her home and said so.

"I couldn't ask that of you," Jemima intervened. "You're tired."

"Lass, your humans will be worried sick."

"It's late and I don't think it will make a difference whether I return tonight or tomorrow if they're asleep now," she argued.

He looked down at her, trying to discern any hesitation on her part as he asked carefully, "You realize you'd have the stay the night here. Last I checked, young Miss Jemima, you didn't like the smell."

"It won't be forever," she shrugged.

He glanced over to Gus and Jellyorum for any comment, but they stared at him expectantly. Technically, Jemima was his guest, and it was up to him to decide what to do with her as neither deemed the kitten a threat to the safety of the tribe. He relented and insisted she stay in his den until morning when he could return her to her humans.

As he led her to his den, he asked if she had eaten anything recently. Apparently she had not eaten since that morning, and she had grown hungry as she was fed twice a day. He made up his mind to catch supper for the both of them while she settled in his den. She seemed fascinated with his den upon entrance.

It was gathering dust from his two weeks away, but it was neat and comfortable with knick-knacks that he'd gathered over his years on the Railway. He liked to think it one of the better maintained homes within the Junkyard despite his sporadic presence within it.

He requested she make herself at home and informed her that he would be collecting supper for the both of them as he hung up his vest.

He slinked through the Junkyard towards the outer edges where the rodents typically resided. His whiskers twitched at the scent of a mouse, and he sunk into a low crouch, ears forward and sharp eyes searching for the unsuspecting creature. It was a plump mouse—enough to feed both him and his guest—and he was quick to take advantage and pounce on it, jerking the neck in his teeth to quickly end its life.

Upon his return with fresh prey, he found Jemima curled on his bed—a pillow repaired by Jennyanydots some years earlier. He debated on whether or not he ought to wake her up to eat and in the end decided against it, setting the mouse aside to be eaten in the morning. He grabbed a blanket and settled it over her and in doing so, roused her from her sleep.

"Skimble? Did you catch anything?"

He smiled down at her. "Aye, I did. I figured you could use a bit of rest."

"No, I'm awake," she insisted. "We can eat."

And so, they did.

Jemima was a delightful conversationalist and asked thoughtful questions. She didn't seem afraid to ask what something meant if she didn't understand it and that endeared her to him. She asked about what he did, what life in the Junkyard was like, what a Jellicle was and several more that he answered with patience and amusement. It wasn't often there was an inquisitive kitten that would rather ask questions than get into trouble finding the answers themselves. He didn't let that fool him—all kittens had a bit of trouble in them—but he found relief in it.

"Off to bed with you, kit. We have an early day tomorrow."

He was surprised when he returned from discarding the scraps of their meal that she had left a large portion of the bed for him. She stared at him with innocent expectancy that he could not help but smile softly at. He curled up behind her and soon his flank was pressed against by the kit who sighed with content. He wrapped his tail around her protectively and licked her head with a whispered good night.

When he rose in the morning, the kitten had made herself comfortable on his chest at some point during the night, arms hugging him as if he were a stuffed bear. It had been a while since he had properly taken care of a kit—as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer had long since made homes for themselves in Victoria Grove and no longer needed to crash in his den whenever they returned. He wondered if he'd taken on another kitten.

He gently shook her, calling her name in a soft voice while doing so. He smiled, amused that she buried her face in his chest to get more sleep.

"You wanted to go home, didn't you?"

She lifted her head to rest her chin on his chest and stared up at him woefully. "Yes…"

His ears pricked. "But?"

Her ears pinned back, and she buried her face in his chest again to mutter something.

His whiskers twitched as he smiled. "What was that?"

With a sigh, she lifted her head again, but refused to meet his gaze. "I like being here with you… I don't wanna go yet…"

It wasn't unheard of for young kits to grow attached to one of the first adults they encounter if they were taken from their mothers too young. Despite this, he was surprised each time. The last time such a thing had happened was when Jennyanydots and Jellyorum had found three kits and brought them back. Said kits clung to the two queens almost instantly and trusted them to make things better whether it be a nightmare or a scrape.

"Well, as my guest, I can introduce you to others in the Tribe and I can return you home later in the day."

She grinned up at him. "Really?"

"Yes, lass, but we can't do that until you get up."

Her eyes twinkled, and she pushed off his chest with more than the sluggish energy she exuded earlier. With a chuckle, he got up and stretched his aching muscles from ears to tail as she vibrated excitedly beside him.

He took her around the Junkyard and introduced her to everyone present: Munkustrap, Jellyorum, Cassandra, Bombalurina, and Jennyanydots. When he introduced her to Pouncival, Electra and Etcetera, he watched with amusement as they scampered off to play.

"She seems sweet," Jenny said as she watched the four kits play.

"She is. Very inquisitive that one. Asked me anything she could about everything she could think about." He glanced over at the she-cat. "Do you think she'd like to join the tribe?"

"I couldn't say, but I wouldn't be surprised. She seems to be doing well with the other kittens."

"Aye, she is."

She purred in amusement. "You've got yourself another kit."

"We've got ourselves another kit," he insisted.

"Oh?" Her eyebrows raised daringly.

His whiskers twitched with annoyance. "You know very well what I mean. Being on the railway as often as I am, I'd be indisposed most of the year. There is no one I trust more with my kits than you."

She nuzzled his cheek and purred, "Worry not. We'll all check after her while you're gone."

Tension he hadn't even been aware he'd been carrying released. "Thank you," he sighed, nuzzling her back.

When the sun began it's descent, he called Jemima back and informed her it was time to return her home.

She slunk towards him after saying goodbye to the other kits, seemingly reluctant to depart from her new friends. He assured her that if she wished, she could see them again.

He decided to show her where the Theater was just in case she wanted to come by the Junkyard while he was working. Gus—while not the spryest of cats anymore—had the experience to bring her to the Junkyard any time she wanted. They went inside and greeted Gus while he was taking a break from the rehearsal. The old tom was quick to agree to escorting young Jemima whenever she liked—so long as she was at the Theater no later than just after sunset, he stipulated. Jemima seemed to be over the moon at the news and hugged the old tom with thanks on her lips.

They strolled through the streets, Skimbleshanks looking at the street signs to be sure they were heading in the right direction. When they got to the street, he took another look at her collar to get the house number and then confidently trotted down the street to the house that belonged to her—her scent was strong in this place, and she immediately recognized her humans' scents.

"This is it, lass," he said, gesturing grandly to her home.

She threw her arms around his middle and buried her face in his chest. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

He smiled softly and returned the hug. "You're welcome. Don't be afraid to drop by sometime."

"And you'll visit too?"

"Aye, I will," he assured as he butted foreheads with her. "Now go on. Your humans are waiting for you."

Jemima beaned up at him and then rushed inside where he could hear the humans exclaiming with delighted surprise. He smiled to himself and turned around to return home, already adding the kitten to his list of cats to say goodbye to before he left for a trip.

HAT: I needed to redeem myself as far as CATS fanfiction. Looking back I had problematic stories and the writing style and character development was meh. I wanted to show off how I've grown while I'm kinda back in the fandom.