They walked in silence back to the chateau, Number One racing ahead of them. Elnor could see from some distance away that the black cat was waiting for them, perched on the veranda wall. Soon Picard could see her, too. "I see your furry feline friend is waiting for you," he said. "Have you thought of a name for her yet?"

Elnor looked entirely too serious for someone contemplating naming a cat. "I think I know what her name might be, but I'm waiting to be sure I'm right."

"Ah, well," Picard replied, "I do hope you know before the weekend is over. Laris and I would hate to have to spend another week calling her 'the cat'".

Elnor smiled at the thought and said, "I'm pretty sure I'll know before I have to go back to campus."

As Number One raced past the cat and into the chateau, the cat jumped down and followed him. It seemed Picard wasn't the only one ready for their late lunch. Elnor and Picard were the last two inside. Laris looked up from where she sat in a reclining chair reading a book. "I see you two finally made it back. I was beginning to wonder if I should simply combine lunch and dinner into one meal."

"I can assure you that I'm hungry enough to eat two meals right now," Picard told her. "What's on the menu for today anyway?"

"Cold tomato soup and sandwiches," Laris smiled at them. "That's what you get for being late. Self-serve, too."

Laris led the way as they all filed into the kitchen and grabbed bowls and plates. Soon they were comfortably settled around the table, drinks, bowls of soup, and sandwiches ready. The cat was in the chair beside Elnor almost before he sat down himself. She didn't seem deterred by her lack of success at breakfast. Instead, once he was settled, she stepped daintily over from her chair and sat on his lap. Elnor looked down at her with a confused expression wondering what she was going to try next.

"Meow," she said, looking up at his face instead of over at his plate.

When he continued to stare down at her, unsure of how to respond, she reached up with a paw and patted him on the chin. Elnor noticed that her paw was very soft without the slightest indication of the razor sharp claws that he knew she possessed. "Meow," she repeated.

Laris and Picard burst into laughter. Picard choked back his laughter enough to say, "Elnor, I think you've done something very few people have ever been able to do. You've taught a cat to have good manners!" He laughed a bit more before he explained, "She's asking you to share your food with her, Elnor, not demanding, not taking, but asking. She's even asking politely!"

"Ummmm," Elnor was uncertain how to proceed. "Since she's asking politely, I'm willing to share. How do I share tomato soup with her though?"

Laris bit back a grin before saying, "I don't think you can. Also, I don't think she would like tomato soup very much, but she would probably like some small pieces of the ham and cheese from your sandwich."

Elnor carefully pulled several pieces of ham and cheese off from around the edges of his sandwich and placed them on the chair beside him. The cat rubbed her cheek against his arm in a gesture that seemed to say "Thank you" before moving over to the chair to eat her meal. Finishing faster than Elnor thought possible, she turned back to him and again said, "Meow."

"More? Does that mean more?" Elnor asked.

"Meow."

Elnor looked to Laris for permission. She nodded and said, "By all means, give her as much as you want. This is too entertaining to pass up. If she takes your whole sandwich, I'll make another for you."

After eating about half of Elnor's sandwich the cat seemed satisfied. She purred and rubbed her cheek against Elnor's arm again before jumping down from her chair. She paced contentedly over to where Number One lay, then crawled on top of him to sprawl across his broad back. The patient dog rolled his eyes up at Picard and sighed, but he didn't move as the cat began purring contentedly and massaging his back with her front paws, her claws only slightly extended.

"Don't worry, Number One," Picard reassured his companion, "I'll make sure you get plenty to eat, too. Besides," he added, "that massage doesn't look all that uncomfortable." Number One wagged his tail in what Picard took to mean agreement.

As Elnor carried a large armful of dishes to the kitchen, Laris waited until she was sure he was out of hearing range before leaning close to Picard and saying softly, "I think I'm going to have to change tonight's dinner menu, Jean-Luc."

"Oh? Why is that?" he queried.

"I want to make sure it's something cats can't possibly resist," she answered with a mischievous grin.

"Shall we continue with the further adventures of d'Artagan?" Picard asked after all the post-lunch cleanup was complete.

"Yes, please!" said Elnor eagerly.

They all moved to the study and found comfortable places to lounge. As Picard began to read aloud, Elnor wasn't surprised to find the cat once again joining them. He'd been expecting her this time. After she was settled comfortably on his lap, he gently stroked her back. She purred softly. Yes, he was sure now that she liked that. Next, he experimentally scratched behind her ears. As she tilted her head from side to side, pressing her head harder against his fingers, he knew she liked that too. He slid his fingers from her ears to her chin, continuing to scratch, but not too hard. She stretched her head out elongating her neck to give him more chin area to scratch as she purred even louder. Elnor smiled, pretty sure now that he had a much better understanding of cats, or at least of this cat. He sincerely hoped that his kindness towards her would prevent her from attacking him again while he slept.

Laris watched Elnor's growing fondness for the cat with both amusement and gladness in her heart. One could tell a lot about a person by the way they interacted with the animals around them. She wasn't at all sure she would have fallen in love with Jean-Luc if she hadn't seen how kindly he treated his dog.

After about an hour of reading, Picard paused and cleared his throat. "I do believe that's all the reading my voice can manage this afternoon," he said.

"I could read to you, if you like," offered Elnor.

"That would be delightful!" Picard said with enthusiasm. He passed the book to Elnor who opened it and began reading, careful not to disturb the now sleeping cat.

Some time later, noticing Picard had dozed off, Elnor quit reading and closed the book, careful to put the purple ribbon in to mark their stopping point.

He glanced over at Laris who smiled at him, putting her fingers to her lips in the motion asking for quietness. Complying with Laris' wish, Elnor slid out from under the still sleeping cat as gently as he could and placed the book back on Picard's desk.

Laris shook open a light blanket and draped it over Picard. Both Romulans slipped quietly from the room and headed back towards what Laris considered the heart of the house, the kitchen.