"Well, at least a cat will be fine with staying in with me instead of insisting on going out on a Saturday night," Alex said as they got ready to go to JJ's friend's place and check out the kittens. JJ recalled the cats she had own as a kid - and their endless night-time strolls - and laughed.

"Just out of curiosity, have you ever had a cat before?"

Alex rolled her eyes but smiled.

"I know I come across sounding like I don't like animals, but I do. I had dogs growing up, and when I moved to my own place I used to have a cat. William Shakespeare."

"You named your cat William Shakespeare?!"

"I was twenty years old and very pretentious, okay?"

"What was the nickname for Mr Shakespeare? What did you call him when you were alone?"

Alex's cheeks turned bright red.

"Babyface."

JJ's mouth twitched. She tried her very best to hold back the laughter that bubbled up inside of her, but it was way too powerful, it snuck out anyway. In the meanwhile, Alex stood patiently (still blushing a little) and scratched at a mosquito bite on her arm, waiting for JJ to get herself together again. Eventually she did.

"I'm so, sorry for laughing. But I guess I was right after all; there is a much softer Alex in there."

"A soft Alex who gets hurt very easily," Alex agreed with a sigh. "It hurts to lose someone you love, even if it's 'just' a pet. It's easier to avoid getting attached. Safer. I need my walls, JJ."

JJ wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I know. I've been pushing you way too much about all of this, I'm sorry. In my defence all I can say is that you're an amazing person, and I just… wanted you to be happy."

"But I am," Alex said. "I mean, this job really demands everything out of me, but I love that. I grow as a person with every case we have. And you guys… I've never had a working relationship being so smooth before, but this team truly is family. I am happy. A relationship, well… that would just be the icing on the cake for me. For now, I'm more than pleased just to have the cake."

Their eyes locked and both experienced a highly unaccustomed feeling. They felt drawn towards each other. JJ broke eye contact first; she didn't want to seem like she was taking advantage of Alex's somewhat vulnerable situation. When JJ's blue eyes turned away from her, Alex felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. An odd combination if ever there was one.

"We don't have to go and look at the cats at all," JJ said. "If you're happy with the way things are, I shouldn't push my ideas on you."

Alex gave her shoulder a slight nudge.

"Are you kidding me? Now that I want a furry housemate, you're trying to talk me out of it? Not gonna happen. Let's go."

So they did.

While Alex didn't believe in love at first sight, that was precisely what she experienced when she first saw Cinders. The tuxedo kitten was about as shamelessly unreserved as a puppy dog when greeting the newcomers.

"We don't know for certain what he is; his mother is an angora but the father, well… it wasn't exactly planned, so we don't know what he is," JJ's friend Jessie said as she shook hands with Alex. But Alex didn't care about things like breed; in fact she couldn't take her eyes off the eager little furball as it ran up to her and immediately began clawing at her slacks.

"Come here you," Alex cooed and the kitten looked at her with big greenish yellow eyes and made a sound that was a mixture between a purr and a meow. Alex melted completely and felt tears in her eyes, but she didn't care about that either.

"Yeah," she said and wiped the corner of her eye with her hand. "I want him. Does he have a name yet?"

"We call him Cinders."

"Cinders. Can I take him with me right away?"

JJ gave her a strange look that Alex interpreted correctly.

"I sort of bought a lot of kitty stuff yesterday," she admitted.

"Like litterbox, bowls and food, you mean?" JJ asked.

"Yeah… and toys… and scratching post… and cat trees…"

Jessie laughed.

"I think Cinders will be most pleased," she said. "Well, he's all ready to move; he's been checked out at the vet's office and got a gold star. And I think his mother will be relieved; he's all over the place. I am a little bit concerned about your work hours though…"

"It's okay, I took two days off so I can be at home with him all day. And if I'm gone over more than office hours, my neighbour and her daughter promised they'd check on him."

She watched as Cinders padded over to another kitten - a smaller, more nervous looking one - and Jessie followed her glance.

"That's Katy, his sister. I guess we're going to keep her; she's so shy I don't have the heart to force her out of her home. But to be honest we don't have room."

Alex considered for a moment, while Cinders gently groomed his sister as if saying goodbye. Two would keep each other company. Maybe that would be a solution.

"Hey there," she said in a soft voice and kneeled on the floor. She reached out a hand, which Cinders immediately acknowledged. The other kitten hesitated for a moment, then walked up and bumped its nose against Alex's knuckles. Alex was unaware of the silly grin she had plastered across her face, but JJ saw it and was glad.

"Would you mind if I took her too, on a trial basis?" Alex asked. "I have room. And if it doesn't work out I can return her to you."

"If she hadn't just walked up to you out of her own free will I would have said no," Jessie said in a surprised voice, "but she seems to like you. So yeah, we can try."

Alex stood up, careful not to startle the cats. JJ reached out a hand and brushed some cat hair off of Alex's jacket.

"They're already shedding on you," she teased.

"I don't care," Alex replied. "I just want to take my babies home."

JJ and Jessie exchanged amused glances, but Alex hadn't even noticed her own choice of words.

"I thought you said she was a bit reluctant," Jessie whispered. JJ shrugged.

"Obviously not anymore."

Alex paid no attention whatsoever; she was completely absorbed by the adorable kittens in front of her. And JJ in turn was completely absorbed by how adorable Alex was cuddling with the kittens.

Oh my God, I've never wished to be a kitten before, she thought and shook her head. She brushed some more cat hair off Alex's jacket, but this time it was just as an excuse to touch the other woman. If JJ was true to herself, she wanted to cuddle Alex like Alex cuddled the cats.

"So cute," she said.

"Yes they are," Alex said.

I was talking about you, JJ thought. But instead of saying it, she only smiled.

A/N

Okay, don't kill me, I try to keep up with half a dozen fics (original and fanfics) at the moment, as well as juggling my real life responsibilities - Her Spoiled Majesty The Horse soon returns from summer pastures and I need to clean out the stables and stuff - so updates will be even more irregular than usual. I try to get the older ones done first but it's not always possible due to inspirational failures. LOL All in good time though, I promise.

I hope you enjoy this update while waiting for the rest. :D