The black cat was crouched to the ground, eying his prey. Its tail flicked, but it didn't seem to notice it was being hunted. Blik inched closer to the newt, making small movements, staying completely silent. Gomez stared at him for a few seconds, unsure of what he was doing, but nonetheless interested. In one fluid motion, Blik pounced across the floor and landed directly on top of him. The newt didn't even have time to react to what was happening. Blik picked up his catch by the tail in his mouth, carried it over to Waffle, and dropped it at his feet. "And THAT, my dear brother, is how you hunt," he said.

"I don't know... will it hurt him?" Waffle asked, looking down at his pet. Gomez glared at Blik as best as a newt could and then fled behind Waffle.

"Not if you're careful," Blik responded. "Now, go on. You try."

Waffle turned around. Gomez gazed up at his owner, realized what was going to happen, and with a terrified squeak, streaked across the room. Waffle chased after him, giggling madly. After a few minutes of running in circles, Waffle finally leaped and only just landed on Gomez's tail. He may have managed to escape if Waffle didn't quickly scoop him up in his paws and take him over to Blik. "Like that?" Waffle asked, proud of what he had done.

"Not quite... first of all, your prey isn't supposed to know you're there until you catch it. And you're supposed to use your mouth to pick it up. Not your hands!"

"But my teeth might hurt him," Waffle protested.

"That doesn't matter when you're chasing a mouse," Blik said. "You're just gonna eat it soon anyway."

"That sounds kinda mean."

"Waffle, you can't pity your prey! You'll never be able to hunt that way!"

Waffle sulked at being told he was doing things wrong. Blik rolled his eyes. "I'll just try to teach Gordon... he may be a goody two shoes, but I don't think even he would feel sorry for a mouse!" he snapped. "GORDON!" he called his brother's name. "GORDON, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Over here." Gordon was lying on his stomach in the corner. "What do you want?"

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Blik said. "We're practicing hunting. Get over here, let me show you."

"I don't want to play," Gordon said in a monotone. He looked absolutely miserable.

"You've been moping for weeks now! When are you going to get over this?"

Gordon acted as if Blik had said a vile swear word. "Get over the death of our mother? Mr. Blik, are you aware of what you're suggesting?"

Blik sighed. "Look, I'm not asking you not to miss her, but... this isn't bringing her back. All you're doing is making everyone else feel bad. Come on, lighten up, brother. Have some fun." Gordon didn't respond. He merely turned around and faced the wall. Blik shrugged and returned to what he was doing. He snatched Gomez from Waffle's hand and placed him on the floor. Gomez took off immediately. Waffle didn't need instruction; again he shot off, chasing the newt around the house. Blik couldn't help but laugh at the sight; even if his brother wasn't doing it "properly", it was undeniably hilarious to see the green blur that was Gomez and the gray blur that was Waffle dashing all around the room, going too fast for one to follow with their eyes. Chairs tipped, trinkets fell from tables, and the room began falling into a general disarray. Gordon couldn't stand the gleeful giggling of his brothers any longer. He had to get away from the happiness... all it was doing was making him feel worse that he couldn't cheer up himself. He rose to his feet and headed toward the door. Blik and Waffle didn't even notice that he left.

Gordon sat on the wall surrounding the yard, staring at his feet. The day his mother had died, everything in his world had shattered. All he could do was worry; if his parents died, then who else could possibly go? Blik? Waffle? Edna? Hovis? He even feared for his own life. In a matter of days, his own mother had gone from a vibrant, energetic cat to a sad, desperately ill creature who had to be put out of her misery. What if he too became that sick? What would he do? Would he be missed? What-

Gordon snapped out of his thoughts when he heard humming. He looked up and saw Kimberly coming out of her house, clutching a unicorn toy. She settled herself under a tree in her own yard and began combing the hair on the toy, humming absentmindedly. Gordon watched her for what felt like hours but was in reality only a few minutes, entranced. He couldn't understand why all of a sudden, his insides had turned to pudding. This always happened when he saw her, and every encounter, it was stronger than the last. He wanted her to come over to him... before he realized what he was doing, he was standing on the wall, waving his paw, and calling her name. "HUMAN KIMBERLY!"

Kimberly looked up at the sound of her friend's voice. She smiled. "Hey, Gordon!" She waved at him, placed her toy at the foot of the tree, and ran towards Gordon, who was starting to regret his decision. He considered leaping off the wall and hiding behind it, but even if he decided on that course of action, he wouldn't have been able to act on it. His feet were rooted firmly in their place. Kimberly threw her arms around Gordon and pulled him into a friendly embrace as soon as she was close enough to do so. Gordon returned the gesture. After what felt like forever to Gordon, they finally parted, and Kimberly took a seat next to him. "I haven't seen you since the party..." Kimberly said. "How have you been?"

"Not so good," Gordon admitted, suddenly appearing interested in a blade of grass. He wasn't sure if it was because of his mood or if it was because he found it difficult to look into her eyes, but whatever the reason, he couldn't lift his head.

Kimberly frowned, concerned. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Mom..." was all Gordon could get out before he began sobbing. Kimberly's arms went around him and she pulled him closer. Gordon buried his face into her shirt, let out his cries, and withdrew when he calmed down, although without thinking he began to hug her back. "Mom died..." he whispered, and felt as though he would cry again, but no tears would come out.

Kimberly gasped. "Oh my... Gordon... Gordon, I'm so sorry... how are your brothers taking it?"

"Pretty well now," Gordon responded. "It's been so many weeks since she died... they're pretty much over it... but..." he trailed off.

"Is there anything I can do?" Kimberly asked him. Gordon just shook his head. He snuggled closer to her for comfort and sighed. As he calmed down, he began thinking of how warm he felt sitting here with his best friend... that's what she had to be. That had to be the reason she made him feel so nervous, so strange, and yet so happy. It was the only explanation he could think of. He looked up at her. She smiled at him in an attempt to put him at ease. He smiled back, his first since losing his mother. She's so pretty, Gordon couldn't help but think... he closed his eyes and let his mind drift. He couldn't imagine being anywhere else, feeling any different than this... he was knocked out of this trance when he heard his brother shouting from the house. "GORDON! GORDON, IT'S TIME FOR DINNER! WHERE ARE YOU? ARE YOU OUT HERE?" Gordon couldn't see the front door from where he was, but Blik had such a powerful yell that Gordon imagined the whole block heard him. "I'd best be going..." he said, removing his arms from Kimberly's waist. She let go of him and stood up. "See you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

Gordon nodded, hopping off of the wall. "Same time?"

"Sounds great," Kimberly said. "See you!" They parted ways, and for once, Gordon wasn't relieved to see her go, nor was he depressed. He knew when he'd be seeing her again, and between anticipation for their next meeting and what he still felt from the one that had just ended, nothing could put a damper on his mood. He headed for the house, feeling as if he was walking on clouds.

"Gordon? What in the world is wrong with you?" were Blik's first words upon seeing his brother, but they didn't penetrate his brain. He was too lost in a daze. He finally stopped when Blik snapped his fingers in his face. "Well?" Blik asked. "What's your problem? Last time I saw you, you were depressed as anything, and now you have one of the most ridiculous grins I've ever seen. Just what were you doing out there?"

"Oh, nothing," Gordon said. "So, what's for dinner?" He skipped off to the kitchen like an overjoyed child. Blik and Waffle watched him go, nonplussed.

"Just what is going on with him?" Blik asked. Waffle shrugged.

"Come on, tell us, Gordon! What were you doing outside? What made you so happy?" Waffle pleaded with his brother. It was after dinner, and all of the dishes had been cleared. Gordon was still sitting at the table, drawing.

"If you must know, I was talking to the Human Kimberly. That's all," Gordon responded. Although he had looked up from the paper, his hand was still moving.

"Talking to her? That's it?" Blik said. "Why would that turn you into a giddy moron? Unless..." An idea formed in Blik's head. He grinned evilly. "You're in love, aren't you, Gordon?"

"I am not!" Gordon snapped. "She's my best friend! That's all!"

"OK... you're not in love with her..." Blik pulled himself onto the chair next to Gordon and looked at his drawing. "Then what in the world is that?" he asked, pointing at the finished product. It was a very crude stick drawing of a cat and a human girl. Across the top, it said 'Gordon Kimberly' with a heart between the two names. Embarrassed, Gordon took the paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it toward the trash can. He missed. Blik jumped from his seat and picked the paper up off the floor. "Perhaps I should show this to Kimberly..." Blik wondered aloud, un-crumpling the paper. Gordon went over to Blik, snatched his drawing back, and tore it to shreds. "You wouldn't DARE," he snarled, letting the shreds of paper litter the floor.

"Wouldn't I?" Blik said. "I can't believe this... my brother's in love with a HUMAN!"

"What's your point?" Gordon asked angrily.

"What's my point? Gordon, you're a cat and you're in love with a human. Do I need to spell it out?"

"I don't see the big deal..." Waffle said timidly, but he was unheard under Gordon's shouts.

"So what?! Yeah, I'll admit it! I'm in love! Not only that, but I'm in love with a human! I'm not afraid to say it! I LOVE THE HUMAN KIMBERLY!" He ended this by punching both fists into the air in a triumphant pose.

"Not afraid to say it, huh? Then why don't you go tell her?" Blik asked.

Gordon lowered his arms to his sides, deflated. "I... I can't," he said, his voice smaller than before. "I just... I can't."

"OK, then, lover boy." Blik shoved him out of the way and headed out of the kitchen. "Perhaps it's for the best... what do you think she'd say if you told? After all... you're a cat."

"I still don't get it," Waffle said after Blik had left. "What does the fact that you're a cat have to do with anything?"

"I don't know, Waffle... but I can't help but wonder if maybe Blik has a point..."

Gordon's sleep that night was restless. He had been finding it difficult to sleep for a while now, but this night was different. Before the reason was fear that he would never awaken, but now... all he could do was dream about Human Kimberly. Even just picturing her face was enough to make him melt...

"Hello, Gordon," she said in his dreams. He smiled as she reached out to hold him, and he held her back. He snuggled as close as possible, just like he had that afternoon. She was so soft... that was unexpected, actually. It was almost as if she had... fur...?

"GORDON! What the heck has gotten into you NOW? Get off of me, you overgrown hairball!" Gordon shot awake and realized what he was doing. In his sleep, he had thrown his arms around Blik. He immediately backed away. It was too dark to see anything, but Gordon had a strong feeling that Blik's facial expression was less than pleasant. "Gordon, you are IMPOSSIBLE to sleep with, you know that? Especially recently!"

"I'm sorry for waking you, Blik..." Gordon said, but Blik didn't even seem to hear him.

"You toss and turn, you fidget, you mumble, you drool, and what you just did now! Why did you go and hug me, huh?"

"I was... dreaming about Human Kimberly..." Gordon's face grew hot in embarrassment, both over the accidental hug and admitting just what had inspired it.

Blik scoffed. "Of course you were. You know what, Gordon? Your little sleep issues are making things difficult for me and probably for Waffle as well. He likely would've complained to you by now if he had any spine. How about you go and find somewhere else to sleep?"

"I'm sorry about-"

"FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO SLEEP!" Blik screamed.

"Fine... I think we're getting a bit too big to be sharing a basket anyway." Sighing in defeat, Gordon climbed from the basket and left the room. Waffle groaned and lifted his head. "Blik...?" he asked, still half asleep. "Blik, wha happen...?"

"Nothing, Waffle. Go back to bed."

Gordon settled for curling up in the hallway. He didn't know where, exactly; the darkness made it impossible to tell. Light spilled from under the door of the room next to him, but it wasn't enough to do much good. He returned to attempting to sleep, but before he could drift, he heard the clicking of a light being turned off, a door opening, and someone in slippers shuffling out of the room. Edna didn't notice Gordon was there until she accidentally stepped on him. He let out a loud yowl, slid against the wall to get out of the way, and attempted to go back to sleep. Edna turned on the light once more to see just who she had disturbed. "Gordon?" she asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"Blik threw me out," Gordon responded. "Didn't you hear him yelling at me? He's loud..."

"No, I didn't. I've been out here. I thought I heard something, but I couldn't think of what it could be, so I figured it was just my imagination. Why did he make you leave?" Edna reached down, picked up Gordon, and headed back to the bedroom. "Whatever the reason, you can't sleep out here. If someone has to use the bathroom, no one can see you. You're going to get stepped on again."

Gordon didn't answer Edna's question. They made their way back to bed in silence. Edna attempted to break it. "I heard you boys fighting earlier... what was that about?"

Gordon fidgeted. "Ahm... well... you know Human Kimberly..."

"Yes, that nice girl across the street that you boys play with sometimes. What about her?" Edna opened the door to her room and settled on the bed, still holding her cat.

"Well... I've been thinking about it, and... I think I like her, Edna. No, I KNOW I do."

"Of course you like her. Why else would you like playing with her? It's obvious that you two are friends."

Gordon shook his head. "No... not like that. I mean... I do like her as a friend. I really do. But there's also something more... I love her. I don't know why... I just do. I feel pretty strange when I'm with her, but... I like it."

"I see," Edna replied. "What does this have to do with your fight?"

Gordon frowned. "That's the problem... Blik was making fun of me. He said that me being in love with a human is weird." He looked up at Edna. "I wonder if he's right... what do you think, Edna?"

"People tend to dismiss as weird things that are different. It doesn't mean they're right. Cat and human relationships may not happen very often... but I don't think that necessarily makes them wrong. Do you, Gordon?"

"I don't know... I didn't before Blik pointed it out to me, and now I'm just not sure."

"And why do you think it might be wrong?"

He fell silent. He honestly had no clue why it would be wrong... but it just felt that way, somehow. He also had no idea what Edna was trying to accomplish. He went to her for advice, and here she was, asking him to solve it himself...

...maybe that was she was trying to do. It was his decision to make. No choice would be wrong, and he was the only one who could make that choice for himself. Was that what Edna was trying to get across?

"It all depends on how you feel about it, Gordon," Edna went on to say. "People may give you a hard time about it, but I doubt that there's anything you could do that wouldn't get scorn from somebody. People are just judgmental of others, even when it's not their business. If you think you could take the ridicule from people who should stay out of it, and you can think of no good reason not to..." Edna smiled in the darkness. "I say go for it. Love is a wonderful thing. No one should tell you what to do regarding love over something as inconsequential as species. But it's up to you to decide what you do. I'm not going to tell you."

Gordon mulled this over in his mind for a while before speaking. "Have you ever been in love before, Edna?"

"Yes, I have... I was married at one point in time..."

"What happened to your husband?"

"He died a long time ago. Even before your mother was born."

Gordon flinched. There was that whole death thing again. Edna didn't seem too eager to discuss it at much length, for she quickly changed the subject. "Do you know when you're going to see Kimberly again?"

"We agreed to meet tomorrow morning."

"Are you going to tell her how you feel?"

"I don't know... I guess we'll have to see about that. I honestly don't know if I can without choking."

"And that's perfectly all right. It won't hurt anything to keep it a secret for now... especially if you're not sure if you even want to tell her at all, considering the species issue. Like I said, you figure that out on your own. Take us much time as you need to take."

"OK, Edna... I'll do that. That'll work just fine. Thanks a lot for the help." Gordon smiled and settled down in Edna's lap. She moved him to on the bed next to her, but he didn't mind too much. Edna laid down to get some sleep herself. Gordon closed his eyes and felt himself relax. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in so long, and he didn't realize how much he missed getting rest until just then. He had been so tired for ages and hadn't even noticed. Gordon had a hunch that he'd be extremely energized the next day, because for the first time in weeks, he actually managed to drift into a peaceful sleep.