Tegan Chronicles

Intuition and Lies 24

"Is she asleep?" Janet asked when they returned with several bags from the pet store. It looked like Christmas had come ten months early for the kitten.

Maggie shook her head no as Janet moved into the living room.

"Cassandra, go ahead and set up his litter box and show it to him. Then we'll eat."

Tegan yawned and looked over. "Did you buy the whole store?"

"You said buy him some toys."

"Some, not the whole store." Tegan watched as Cassie dug through the bags to get the litter and the new box.

"Look at what I got." Cassie smiled as she held the self scooping litter box up.

Tegan looked at Janet.

"She used her own money to buy it. I told her she still has to clean the whole box twice a week."

"And mom won't have to smell it." Cassie smiled. "Come on Galahad, let's go set your litter box up."

"Galahad?" Tegan made a face.

"Yes, Sir Galahad after one of Arthur's knights."

"I know who Galahad is."

"You don't like it?" Cassie asked.

"It's a very noble name." She tried to smile. "I think it's befitting him. Besides, he's your cat."

Cassie picked him up from Tegan's chest and grumbled, "Looks more like he's your cat."

"She's got a point." Janet mused when she'd made it out of ear shot. "He seems to like you best."

"You're just jealous cause he hasn't taken a liking to you yet."

Janet shrugged. "We can go through this stuff after dinner. I'm going to set the table and get it ready."

"Can I help?" Maggie offered.

"No, you've already done the hardest part." Janet smiled.

Janet looked up from putting the lasagna on the table between the French bread and the salad to see Tegan and Maggie making their way into the dinning room. "I was just coming to get you."

"Smells good." Cassie stepped around Tegan and pulled out a chair for her.

"We're managing." Tegan grimaced.

"Water, coke, sprite?"

"Water." Tegan looked at the open bottle of pain pills by her glass. She moved her arm over and sat down before thanking Maggie and Cassie.

"Alright, who brought the cat to dinner? Cassandra?" Janet pointed at the teen with her fork.

"No."

"I didn't bring him." Tegan looked down in her lap at the loudly purring lump. "He climbed in my lap on his own."

"No cats at the table."

Tegan looked over at Cassie and shrugged as Janet got up and put him on the floor. She'd no sooner returned to the dinning room after washing her hands then he was back on Tegan's lap.

"You aren't going to win." Janet picked him up.

"Ye-ow!" He mewed angrily.

"Sorry buddy, but you're not a knight at this table." She talked to him as she walked to her office. She put him on the floor and shut the door barring him from the rest of the house.

Immediately the crying meows started. She ignored him and washed her hands. All eyes were on her when she sat back down. "He'll quiet down in a minute."

Five minutes passed and he continued to cry as if he were being tortured. Janet dropped her fork on her plate. "This is ridiculous."

She stomped over to the door and as soon as she put her hand on the knob the meowing stopped. She waited and after a minute it started back up. She pushed the door open. "Are you happy now?"

He looked at her as if she'd lost her mind before he ran into the dinning room where he climbed up Tegan's sweatpants and curled back up in her lap.

"Round one, Sir Galahad." Cassie drew a score mark in the air as Janet sat back down.

"Dinner was delicious." Tegan thanked Maggie and pushed her half eaten portion away.

Maggie nodded. She hadn't expected Tegan to eat as much as she had. In fact Dana had warned her that Tegan wasn't eating much of anything. It'd been obvious when she first saw Tegan's body features that evening. The lack of weight was more shocking than the lack of hair or missing arm.

"She made brownies for dessert." Cassie announced. Like most teens she thought dessert was the most important part of dinner.

"I'm full Cass."

"Yeah. I know."

After dinner Maggie helped Cassie clean up dishes before she said her goodbyes and left. Cassie showed Tegan what they'd bought for Galahad, which aside from the normal stuff, food, bowls, litter and the like, they'd only picked up a few furry mouse toys, a ball in a circle and a small scratching post which Cassie was going to set up in her room.

Since she hadn't taken any Vicodin with dinner Janet talked Tegan into taking one after. She was currently sitting on the couch with Galahad in her lap.

"Come on buddy it's time to go to bed." Cassie spoke to the cat.

He lifted his head and looked at Tegan.

"You might as well go," Janet told him. "Because you're not sleeping with Tegan."

The cat sighed and hopped off the couch, though no one was sure he'd actually comprehended what she'd said.

"You should head to bed too."

"I'm not tired." Tegan responded despite drooping lids.

"Come on." Janet stood up.

"I'm not sleeping with you."

"That's fine, but we're leaving the door between us open." She hadn't really planned on it, afraid she'd roll into Tegan's arm in the middle of the night.

Tegan shrugged.

Neither one of them slept well that night. If Tegan were honest she didn't sleep at all. Janet woke up every hour just to listen to the darkness, waiting to hear Tegan moan in pain.

The next morning Janet stepped out of the closet and into the second Master bedroom where Tegan lay staring at the ceiling. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry."

"I didn't ask if you were hungry."

Tegan pulled a pillow over her head. Maybe if she couldn't see Janet, she'd go away. Of course Tegan never had such luck.

"I can make you anything from a bowl of cereal to a full blown country breakfast." Although she knew she didn't have much beyond eggs and milk in the fridge.

"I'll take a Vicodin and a glass of milk."

"Not good enough."

It was going to be the longest... Tegan realized she didn't have the slightest idea how long it was going to be, just that at this rate it was going to be hell. "Go to work."

"I'm working from home." Janet reminded.