Title: Vetted

Warnings: None

Summary: Arthur takes Hero in for a checkup.

"Come on, love. Yes, yes, that's the ticket!" Arthur smiled gently at his pet fur ball as he coaxed the oversized cat into its carrier. The moment Arthur closed the door though, incessant meowing echoed from the cage.

"Yes, love, I know. But you have to get your check up, lest something happen to you," Arthur said calmly and stuck a finger into the door of the carrier. "It'll be quick, I promise. And if you're a good boy, I might just stop and get you some hamburger meat on the way back."

At this the meowing ceased, as if the huge kitten could truly understand what the Brit was saying. Arthur picked up the carrier and loaded him into the car.

"Good boy, Hero, love. Good boy."

After parking his car, Arthur unloaded his kitty cargo and carried it into the veterinary hospital. The waiting room was already filled with a symphony of wailing felines, and hyperactive dogs, which Hero quickly joined in on. The Brit frowned, feeling a headache coming on, and walked up to the reception counter. A man with silvery hair, and bright blinding eyes was there to receive him.

"Hello, I'm here to see Dr. Edelstein."

The receptionist smirked and locked eyes with Arthur.

"Kesesese, I don't think he could do much for you; you're not an animal."

Arthur flushed as the pale man started to laugh himself into oblivion.

"Right, well, my cat Hero is here to see the doctor then."

The vet assistant slowly calmed down from his laughing spree and looked at the Brit.

"Ah, well I hate to be the person that has to break this to you, but Dr. Edelstein's out today."

Arthur frowned back at the man.

"What? But I have an appointment, and I even received a call confirming it-"

"Alright, alright, calm down. I'll see what the awesome me can do for you."

The young blonde quieted as the receptionist started typing away on his computer.

"Name?"

"Kirkland. Arthur Kirkland."

A few more clicks, and some typing.

"Right, and you're here with Hero?"

"Yes."

The pale man glanced back up at Arthur for a few seconds.

"Kay, so I can't fit you in with Dr. Edelstein until next week, but if you'd like, I can get another doctor to see you and your cat today."

Arthur's shoulders slumped and he let loose a sigh. As much as he wanted to reschedule so his trusted doctor could see to Hero, the poor cat was already here, and Arthur thought it would be cruel to wind up dragging him back in a week.

"Another doctor would be fine," Arthur replied, and the receptionist started typing away again. After a few seconds he got up, walked around the counter, and escorted Arthur to a waiting room. Once inside, Arthur put the large crate containing his cat on the examining table, as the pale man started to leave the room.

"Dr. Jones will see you shortly," he accentuated with a grin and chuckle. "Ha! Didja notice I used you, because you initially asked to see a vet? Ah, I crack myself up." He left the room snorting.

Arthur rolled his eyes, and then looked back at his precious pet. He walked over to the carrier and undid the hinges on the door, but Hero refused to emerge.

"Come on, love. It's not that bad. I go through checkups as well, you know," he spoke, while petting his cat through the opening in the carrier. "I don't want you to get sick. I want you to keep your coat nice and shiny, and your nose healthy and wet."

"Aww you're a real cat person, aren't cha?"

Arthur's eyes widened, and he leaned up to come face to face, with another man. The gent, presumably the doctor, was tall and blonde, with very clear blue eyes. Arthur couldn't help his face from heating, as he realized he'd just been caught having a conversation with his cat.

"Ah, yes well, I was trying to calm him down and-"

"No need to explain yourself," the man smiled and extended a hand. Arthur shook it firmly. "I'm Dr. Jones, and I'm quite the cat person myself. Got a cute little bundle of white and orange fuzz back at home."

Arthur visibly relaxed and smiled back at the doctor. The man had a smooth, and charismatic feel about him; it was as if just his presence was enough to calm the Briton.

"Is that so? Sounds quite lovely."

"Yeah, he is. Though he's such a picky kitty," the Doctor smiled at Arthur and then leaned down to look into the cat carrier. "And who do we have here?"

Remarkably, at the sound of the veterinarian's voice, Arthur's white and black fur ball appeared from his cage. The doctor smiled, and pet the cat gently, letting it know he was trustworthy. Arthur couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"This is Hero," he answered matter-of-factly, to which the doctor let loose a laugh.

"Hero? What a purrrfect name!" Dr. Jones joked, and Arthur couldn't help but grin again. This was quite a lot of smiling for him.

The doctor started to inspect Hero's teeth, ears, and coat, but he seemed content to keep talking to the owner of his furry patient.

"Not to be rude," Jones started, while feeling up Hero's tummy, "But I noticed your accent there. May I ask where you're from?"

Arthur's cheeks pinked just a bit.

"No that's perfectly fine. I'm from England, grew up right outside of Brighton if you know where that is."

"That's a beach town south of London, right?"

Arthur blinked, as if skeptical of the answer he'd just received.

"Yes, that's right. I'm impressed."

"Well, I did take a year of geography back in high school."

"Ah, that explains it."

The doctor started chuckling, and Arthur found himself smiling again. The taller of the two glanced up and grinned broadly.

"I never did catch your name," the doctor asked nonchalantly as he reached for a thermometer. Arthur inadvertently blushed.

"It's Arthur, Arthur Kirkland."

"Great, well now that were on a first name basis, call me Alfred," the doctor said with a grand smile.

The Brit found himself at a loss for words, and simply mumbled out:

"Of course."

Alfred moved over to grab a thermometer, and started wiping it off with some gauze. He walked back over to the chubby kitty that lay on the table, and ran his free hand through the fuzz.

"Alright buddy, this is gonna feel a bit weird, but I just gotta take your temperature, ok?" He continued petting the cat, but looked up at Arthur. "Would you mind holding him steady? Some cats get a little spooked, if ya know what I mean."

Arthur obliged and held his precious kitty down as Alfred inserted the thermometer. As expected, Hero squirmed at the intrusion, but the doctor just kept petting him and whispering light comments.

"Thata boy," Alfred cooed, as he slowly removed the thermometer and read it. "A normal reading, that's great, Hero!" He gave the cat a quick scratch on the chin, and then walked over to the sink to rinse off his tool.

"Well, Arthur, he looks really good except for being a bit overweight. I'd like to see him lose 2 to 3 pounds if possible." He put the thermometer away in its rightful place before returning to Arthur. He pet Hero softly as he continued to speak. "If you could get him on an all wet food diet, that'd be great. After all we do wanna see this little guy live to a ripe old age," he said with a smile.

Arthur returned it with gratitude.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to do that. I'll have to cut down on the amount of treats he gets as well."

At that exact moment Hero meowed, as if complaining, and both men burst out laughing.

"Sounds like he doesn't like that idea," Alfred commented.

"No, well it doesn't surprise me; Hero loves his hamburger."

"Hamburger!" Alfred shrieked and smiled at the cat. "Man he's got good taste!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, but Hero started to rub his head along Alfred's arm and hand in agreement.

"Well it looks like the two of you make a great pair," Arthur said with a smile, and Alfred did the same. The taller man reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper.

"That's very true; I'd like to get to know Hero better, but I really do have to assist my other patients."

A frown flashed across Arthur's lips, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"Ah, I understand. Busy, busy doctor."

Alfred smiled and handed Arthur the slip of paper before heading to the door.

"Yeah, unfortunately, that is the case. I wouldn't want any pets being sick longer than they have to," he paused and raised a hand. "It was nice meeting you, Arthur."

"You too," the latter replied and then in a moment the doctor was gone.

Arthur sighed and looked back down at the paper, quickly realizing he hadn't questioned what it was. Tentatively, he unfolded it while smiling, shocked to find a phone number and small note in the vet's handwriting.

Hero's not the only one I'd like to examine. Dinner?

-Alfred