Christmas Whiskers

By Audrey W.

Chet Kelly stood with a sly grin on his face as he watched Squad 51 back into the apparatus bay at the station.

I can’t wait to see the look on Gage’s face when he hears the news, he thought to himself.

The curly haired fireman had been eagerly waiting for paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto to return from their latest rescue so that he could be the one to hit the youngest member of their crew with the surprise of the day.

Actually, the surprise of the month or more.

As soon as the red rescue truck was stopped, he stepped over near the passenger side as both cab doors opened.

“Have I got news for you,” he immediately said to John.

The paramedic sighed as he climbed out of the squad.

“Just spill it. I’m hungry.”

Roy had gotten out as well, and stood on the driver’s side next to the front fender, listening to the exchange.

“Well, you’ll have to suffer a little longer if ya really want to know.”

This time the dark-haired paramedic rolled his eyes. “Chet! Just tell me.”

“I said in good time. First, follow me.” He motioned toward the dorm room with his head.

Gage looked helplessly at his partner.

“You heard him. Follow him,” Roy said with a shrug.

He came around to meet up with the puzzled man, then the two trailed closely behind Chet in the direction of the dorm, both wondering what was up.

~*~*~

“Did ya tell him?” Mike Stoker called out as soon as the three men entered the dorm.

Marco Lopez looked over from the end of Gage’s bed, wondering the same thing. Only their captain, Hank Stanley, wasn’t present.

“I thought it would be easier if I just showed him. Besides, he wouldn’t let me anyway.”

John’s mouth dropped open in protest, while Roy grinned at the teasing remark.

As the new arrivals reached the cubical between two brick dividers that were on either side of the paramedics’ beds, Chet was the one surprised.

“Where’d they go?”

Marco pointed to under John’s bed.

“All of ‘em?”

“What are you guys talking about?” Gage asked, frustration in his voice. As he finished his question, he got down on his hands and knees, half expecting one of the engine crew members to let out a “Gotcha”.. . .but it didn’t happen. Instead, he found himself peering at a familiar orange tabby cat and six young kittens snuggled up with her, quite a mixture, too. Two orange, two calico, a grey tabby and a solid black one.

“Is that the same--”

“Cat that was here last year sometime? Looks like it to me,” Chet stated.

“Me, too,” both Marco and Mike said in unison.

Roy got down on his hands and knees as well. “Sure does look like her. At least she’s not pregnant this time.”

John sat back on his heels. “Not pregnant? She just may as well be. She’s got six more kids with ‘er, Roy! Six more!”

Chet patted the bewildered paramedic on the left shoulder. “To quote Cap, looks like you’ve got a bit of a problem there, Pal.”

Gage looked up at him, misery displayed on his face as the fireman added, “That’s what ya get for being a chic magnet.”

“Oh man,” the other groaned.

~*~*~

Before he could do anything besides look at the furry critters under his bed, John and Roy were dispatched out for a ‘man down’ call at a local indoor ice rink.

As they left the station in their squad, John lamented, “Ya know Cap’s not gonna let those cats stay. . .”

“Probably not.”

“He’s probably gonna tell me since they’re under my bed, I gotta be the one to take care of the problem. . .again. . .”

“Right. . .again,” Roy said with a grin.

Gage shook his head and sighed. He’d have to worry about his problem later. Right now it was time to focus on someone else’s.

“Take a left at the next intersection,” he directed. “The rink should be up that street on the right hand side.”

“Okay.”

Roy glanced at the younger man. Eventually he’d inform him that he would help with the cat problem if he could, but it was actually fun to watch him stew a little. He finally understood Chet’s reason for playing practical jokes on Johnny more than any other crew member.

~*~*~

Soon the paramedics were at the site and being led inside to the victim. As they entered the building, Christmas music could be heard over the PA system.

“He insisted we help him up to a bench,” the manager explained. “I didn’t think we should, but he just kept saying it was his right to choose.”

“Well, what happened?”

He glanced at John.

“He was teaching a couple of boys how to skate when he tried a fancy jump over one of the waist high barrier walls to get off the ice. He hit one of the Christmas displays on the other side when he fell over the wall, his skate blades hooked on a wire on the decorated tree within the display, which brought the whole thing down, pretty much on top of him. Landed flat on his back, too.”

“Is he complaining of any pain in particular?” Roy wondered.

“No,” the man said with a shake of his head. “Said it would be easier to say where it doesn’t hurt.”

That was understandable by the description of what happened.

~*~*~

After taking their most recent charge to Rampart General, the paramedics were on their way back to the station. As they drove away from the facility, Gage commented, “Ya know, some people say cats can get themselves into a pickle, but if you ask me, there’s some individuals that sure can give them some strong competition on that.”

“No doubt,” Roy agreed. They had seen plenty of people who had gotten themselves into trouble.

“Speaking of cats, I guess we oughta stop at a pet store an’ get some food for ‘um, at least to hold them over till I get this situation remedied.”

“Well, Pet Palace is just a block over from here. Let’s go.”

“Great!”

~*~*~

Roy looked in the shopping cart with the dozen small cans of wet cat food in it, along with five pound bag of dry food, as his partner glanced over the items as well.

“Well, that oughta hold the cat and her kittens for a few days.”

“You really think this is going to end that soon?” DeSoto said with doubt.

“Roy, please don’t be a pessimist. We need positive vibes right now.”

“Okay. I’m positive this could go on a lot longer than you hope.”

Gage shook his head. “Well, let’s just go pay for this stuff and get it back to the soon to be re-homed mom cat and family.”

When they got to the checkout, a couple of toys tossed into the cart along the way, he pulled out his wallet and looked inside. He then shot his partner a sheepish grin.

“I don’t suppose you could catch this one and I’ll pay ya back. My wallet’s empty.”

Roy slowly reached for his in his back pocket.

“Some how I knew your problem was going to be mine.”

“I’ll pay ya back,” he was reminded.

Gage would, but that didn’t change he was footing the bill for now.

~*~*~

“Here ya go,” John said as he placed a dish with one can of wet food on it under his bed. He watched as the mother cat got up from lying down with her kittens, then approached the plate. They followed when they saw her start to eat.

The paramedic looked up at his partner from where he was kneeling.

“You think that’s gonna be enough?”

“It has to be, I can’t afford to buy a slew of more cat food. I've got a family to feed, you know,” he teased.

Gage rolled his eyes. “I said--”

“I know. You’ll pay me back.”

~*~*~

The following shift, John climbed out of his Land Rover in the lot behind the station as Roy exited his Porche parked beside it.

“Hey, you’ll get your money back today,” the younger man informed.

As he closed the driver’s side door Roy asked, “What’d you do? Rob a bank?”

“Ha ha…no. I sold one of the kittens.”

“Sold? I thought you were going to give them away.”

“I was…I am. But when I went to offer one to a girl I know at the apartments who was thinkin’ about getting her grandma a kitten, she didn’t even give me a chance to finish. I just got the ‘want a kitten’ question out and she was asking ‘how much?’…So I started to say free, when she cut me off with an offer for five dollars. So I agreed. She’ll be here this afternoon to pick one out.”

“You’re all heart.”

“Hey, I figure it at least pays for the food.”

“Where’s your Christmas spirit in giving?”

“It’s here,” he assured with his right hand on his chest over his heart. “It’s here, Roy. But, hey, free money is free money.”

Roy couldn’t deny that.

“So you’re sure the cats are still here?”

“Should be. I’ve been here every day at least three times a day takin’ care of them. The guys from B and C shift agreed to help, but Cap said I’d better do my part . . .so I didn’t have much choice.”

“Maybe if you didn’t, they would have left.”

As they walked into the open back doors of the apparatus bay, Gage gave Roy’s words thought. He knew his partner was right. Which led to another thought. What if they left since the last time he visited?

Suddenly he was feeling anxious to see the furry family again, hoping they still would be there.

~*~*~

So far everything had once again gone as planned. The girl from Gage’s apartment building had come and gotten a kitten from the station. With one orange tabby kitten gone and his current debt paid off to Roy, John felt like maybe this whole thing with the cat was going to work out quite well for both him and them after all. At first he’d never thought about people actually being willing to pay for a kitten.

He smiled slightly with the direction the situation was going. The only downside for now was the litter box in the dorm that he had to work to keep clean. . .at everyone’s insistence, including his own.

~*~*~

“Hey, my mom found a home for one of your kittens,” Mike said when John and Roy entered the dayroom.

“Yeah?” Gage asked as he opened the refrigerator in search of the milk.

Though the paramedic still had his back to him, Mike nodded. “A friend of my mom wants to give her granddaughter one for Christmas.”

That news had John turning around immediately, the half gallon carton of milk in hand.

“Farout! How much did she say she’d pay?”

The engineer’s mouth dropped open as he glanced at Roy, who shrugged, then Gage again.

“Pay? She’s doing you a favor taking one off your hands.”

“You better go with it while opportunity knocks,” Roy quietly said to his partner through clinched teeth.

The younger man gave it thought, that thought going to the captain’s words that the cats better be gone soon. Roy was right. He couldn’t afford to turn this deal down.

“Okay, find out which one she wants.”

“I already know. The grey tabby.”

And with that settled, it meant two kittens would be in a home for Christmas.

~*~*~

John sat on his bed in the dorm, his chin resting on his hand as he watched the kittens play by his feet. He figured by their size that they must have been born in late September, which would make them about ten to twelve weeks old. He wondered if there was an owner missing them. But there was no way to know for certain, the cats sure couldn’t tell him and he had not seen any lost pet signs hung up anywhere. So he’d just have to go on the assumption that they came to him for a reason, finding them homes likely it.

Though they were still a problem for him until he got them all adopted out, he couldn’t help but crack a lopsided grin at their playful antics.

The black kitten would run out from under his bed, then jump with all four feet off the floor when another suddenly shot out at it. The kitties playfully batted and wrestled before both scrambling back into hiding. . .

“From each other in the same place. Crazy cats. How am I gonna find the rest of ya homes? I’m runnin’ outta people I know to ask.” He picked up the grey tabby kitten and held it out in front of him with both hands, so that the animal was facing him. “You’d think at Christmas this would be easy. People givin’ to each other. There’s a lot of generosity goin’ on right now, so--”

He cut himself off as he got an idea. He put the kitten down, then hurried out while the cat family snuggled together on a folded blanket under his bed.

~*~*~

John was relieved when he saw the two marines who’d come to pick up the latest batch of Toys for Tots donations were still there, in the driveway talking to Captain Stanley.

The captain was just in the process of shaking their hands in gratitude as the paramedic approached.

“Hey, you guys wouldn’t happen to need a mascot for the barracks. . .”

He heard a throat clearing, then “Gage.”

Hank was clearly not happy with where he figured the conversation was headed. John gave him an apologetic glance as one uniformed man answered.

“Actually it’s not allowed in the barracks, Sir. But anyone who lives in base housing or off base can have what ever pet they want, as long as their landlord allows it.”

“Do you know anyone looking for a kitten? To get, I mean, not as in lost one.”

He turned to his partner. “Keith, do you recall if Collins found a kitten to give his daughter for Christmas yet?”

His friend shook his head. “He hasn’t.”

Jerry eyed Gage, who was already looking hopeful.

“You have one to get rid of?”

“Four. I have four.”

Keith shrugged. “What’s your address? I’ll have him stop by and take a look.”

“Actually, they’re right here, in our dorm room,” the paramedic said, a nod in the direction of the mentioned room. “Momma cat is, too.”

“Even better. I can have him swing by later today.”

John reached out to shake his hand. “Good deal. If we’re out on a run, tell him he can go ahead and take a peek, he can even take a kitten. Just not the grey tabby one. It’s already spoken for.”

He hoped he’d be down to three kittens and one mom by the end of the day.

~*~*~

Not long after the marines left, the squad was dispatched out on a rescue for a possible heart attack. As they drove out of the station, Gage rolled down his window on the passenger side, stuck his head out and yelled to Marco, “If anyone comes by for a kitten, lettum have one! Just not Mike’s grey one!” As he rolled the window back up, he said to his partner, “I hope those marines really send their friend this way.”

Roy glanced at the concerned younger man.

“Don’t worry, if anyone is going to stick to their word, I’d say it would be them.”

“Yeah, but what if their friend says no thank you.”

Roy shrugged. “You’re stuck with four kittens.”

Gage shot him a sour look, then directed him on their next turn to take en route to the scene.

~*~*~

The rescue wasn’t quite what they’d expected. However, that was a good thing. The heart attack turned out to be a massive anxiety attack when a man found out his wife had spent way too much money on Christmas gifts for their family.

As he’d studied the latest credit card bill, his blood pressure had gone up, his breathing becoming more rapid.

The paramedics were directed to bring him to Rampart General as a precaution.

~*~*~

“How’s the kitten business going?” Head nurse Dixie McCall asked when the paramedics stopped at her desk by the base station in the ER.

“Slow, but maybe I’ll have one less kitten when we get back to the station.”

“He hopes,” Roy clarified. “We both do.”

“I wish I could help,” she said. “But I can’t think of anyone ready to add a pet to the family at the moment and I'm pretty sure my fish would object to a furry roommate staring at them with curious or hungry eyes.”

“That’s okay, Dix,” John assured. She was a good friend to them, he knew she would assist if she could.

~*~*~

When they returned from Rampart, John scrambled from the squad, then hurried toward the dorm room. Roy climbed out of the cab and shook his head at his partner’s retreating backside.  He really hoped the marines’ friend had come by and taken a kitten, because otherwise he was going to have to listen more to Gage going on and on about the what ifs if he didn’t show up. He sighed and slowly followed behind.

He was relieved to see his partner in the dorm room with a wide lopsided grin on his face.

“They took two, Roy. They took two!”

The black and calico ones were off to their new home or homes for Christmas.

~*~*~

The following day, the men of A-shift were off duty by eight o’clock in the morning. Mike took the grey tabby kitten with him to give to his mom.

With just the mother cat and two kittens left, B-Shift was much more willing to take on the remaining kitties’ care. But Captain Stanley still would not let John off the hook. He directed the dark-haired paramedic to come by the station at least twice in the day to do his part.

On his second trip over, John was met with some very unexpected words.

“Good news,” his friend and on duty paramedic Kirk greeted him. Gage had just come in through the back door of the apparatus bay.

He felt a sudden wave of dread wash over him when he imagined being told the three remaining cats had disappeared again. He at least wanted a chance to see them once more. But relief came when that wasn’t the news at all.

“I sold the other calico kitten for ten dollars.”

“Ten dollars?” the wide-eyed surprised Gage asked. “I only got five for one, and the rest were freebies.”

“What can I say?” Kirk said with a shrug. “I’m a better salesman than you.”

He pulled out his wallet and handed a five dollar bill to John.

“Hey, where’s the other half?”

“Adoption assistance fee.”

John frowned at first, but then decided it was fair. After all, he’d have zero dollars without Kirk’s help.

Ten dollars, he thought again to himself as he shook his head in disbelief.

~*~*~

Two days later, Chet came into the station with a bounce in his step, anxious to give John good news. As he entered the locker room, he stated to the paramedic, who was getting ready for work, “I’ve found an adopter for one of your remaining kittens.”

“Actually, Chet, I’m down to one kitten and I’m not sure I wanna let this last one go.”

The mustached fireman didn’t know how to react. After a few seconds, he questioned, “Is this some kind of joke or have you lost your mind?”

John shook his head as he glanced down at the orange tabby kitten and mom cat lying on the bench in front of his locker, watching him get changed into uniform.

“No, I just got to thinkin’. She’s gonna be alone again. Maybe she doesn’t wanna give up all her kids. Maybe she’s better off with one.”

Chet opened his locker, then turned to face the paramedic across from him. “Johnny, cats don’t think like us. She’ll be pushing it away soon.”

“Maybe. But I’ve seen cat families stay close. . .at least for awhile.”

“Well, even so, where are ya gonna take ‘um both? Don’t forget, Cap’s deadline is almost here and you can’t have pets where you live.”

He frowned. “Don’t remind me.”

“So?”

“I’m thinkin’,” he said in frustration. “I’m thinkin’.”

Chet gave another look at the paramedic, who was seated on the inside edge of his locker, his attention back on the cats. He was glad John wouldn’t notice he was really feeling bad for him in this situation. Otherwise it might ruin his reputation of being a thorn in his shiftmate’s side.

~*~*~

An already in uniform Roy placed the telephone receiver back on its cradle as John and Chet entered the dayroom.

“We’re going to make a run to Rampart as soon as roll call is over,” he announced to Gage.

“Do we need supplies?”

Roy shook his head. “No, C-shift took care of that after their last run. But Doctor Brackett wants to see us.”

Gage thought of every scenario he could that would cause the doctor to want to see them. They’d just come on shift, so what ever it was, it must’ve been from the last shift they were on. Or perhaps it was something pertaining to other crews while they were off.

“Do you have any idea why?” He finally asked.

Again, Roy shook his head. “He just said it was important.”

Unfortunately, they would have to wait longer to find out. Just as roll call ended a bit later, the entire A-shift was dispatched out for an unknown type rescue.

~*~*~

A man and his wife were waiting in the yard when the firemen arrived on scene. The brunette woman in her early thirties was dressed in a fluffy white robe, pajamas underneath, and red tennis shoes. Her husband, who appeared to be a few years older, was in jeans and an old t-shirt.

Both kept looking up at a large tree near their two-story house while the firemen climbed out of their vehicles, then approached.

“I’m not sure I like the looks of this,” Gage said to his partner.

“Why? Looks like it might be a simple climb up a tree.”

“Because anything that looks simple often isn’t.”

Roy nodded in agreement as he continued alongside John and the others, hoping the younger man was wrong this time.

~*~*~

The firemen listened as the couple explained what had happened and why they had called.

“I was up on the roof this morning trying to figure out why our Santa with the sleigh didn’t light up last night,” the man said, pointing toward the plastic display up on the center of their pitched roof.

The listeners glanced upward, then back to him.

“I was just about ready to come down when I noticed Whiskers. . .he’s a neighborhood cat that comes around, sometimes for a day or so, sometimes just a few hours. We don’t know his real name or who he belongs to, I just started calling him Whiskers and he seemed to like it. Anyway, I noticed he was watching me from the tree. Only he didn’t come down after I did. He hasn’t come down yet. I tried getting on a ladder to get him down. But he seems too scared to come down. I guess he’s afraid of heights,” he said with a slight snicker.

“I told him to call the fire department,” his wife added. “It’s what you do, right?” She said to the uniformed group of men. “Get stuck cats out of trees?”

Captain Stanley smiled slightly. “Yes, it’s what we do.” He then looked at Chet. “You and Marco get the ladder off the engine. We’ll see if we can do this without a ladder truck’s help.”

He then shifted his attention to the paramedics. “John, you think you can put your cat expertise to use here?”

“I wouldn’t call it expertise,” he said with a snorted laugh. A raised eyebrow in return had him nodding, “Sure. Sure, Cap, I’ll give it a try.”

But he wasn’t going to try without protection. It didn’t take an expert to know that a cat could tear someone up with their claws, he certainly didn’t want that while up on the ladder. So he went to the squad to get his turnout coat and gloves from where they were stored.

When he got back to the others, he heard the woman offer, “I’ve got a canvas laundry bag with a draw string you can use. I just have to dump some clothes out of it.”

“That would be perfect,” the captain remarked.

The paramedic was a bit relieved. Whiskers may not like the idea as much as him, but it would sure make getting down easier for both.

Once the ladder was in place and he had the empty laundry bag, Gage began his ascent up the ladder, Roy once again hoping his partner was wrong with his earlier statement.

~*~*~

When he reached the top of the ladder, John could see the large grey tabby cat sitting on a thick branch just inches above and to his right. It was watching him closely. If he had to guess, he’d estimate Whiskers weight to be at least twenty pounds, easily a little more.

“Wow, you’re a big guy, aren’t ya?” He remarked while tying the open bag to the ladder rung in front of him. He figured if he could get the cat in it, it should close with the weight of such a large one. Then he could free the rope ties without having to open the laundry bag again. He glanced at his single audience. “It’s okay, Whiskers. I’m here to help you get down is all.”

As he reached up and out with a gloved hand, the cat backed up.

“You aren’t gonna make this easy, are ya? C’mon, boy, you don’t wanna stay up here.”

His right hand slightly closer, the cat stepped over to another branch partially entwined with the other. John glanced at the house roof. It was too far for Whiskers to jump to or he’d try for guiding him to that option.

“C’mon, kitty, kitty. . .” He finished with a couple of kissy sounds, having seen it work on TV. Nothing. “Apparently, you don’t watch TV,” he said sarcastically.

“Well, if you don’t come down with me, you’re gonna be facing a much bigger ladder than this and more strange faces.”

Much to his surprise, the cat stepped back onto the original branch.

“Maybe we’re getting somewhere, huh?”

“Do we need to call for the ladder truck, John?” Captain Stanley hollered.

“I don’t think so, Cap! Just give me a few more minutes!”

“Do you need help?” Roy wondered.

“No! One stranger is enough!”

~*~*~

The captain glanced at his other men, then looked back up toward the rescuer.

“I really think we should’ve called a ladder truck.”

“Johnny’ll say something if he doesn’t think it’ll work.”

Hank looked at Roy. “This is Gage we’re talking about.”

He made his point. John wasn’t one to admit when things weren’t quite right. Roy now had second thoughts about the ladder truck as well.

~*~*~

John had kept his gaze on the cat while communicating with the men below. It hadn’t moved again yet.

He knew that grabbing a cat by the scruff of the neck would keep it from squirming. Twenty pounds of cat might be a bit of a struggle, but what else could he do? However, he was going to have to do that part without the glove. He slipped off his right one, then stuffed it in a turnout pocket.

“Okay, Whiskers. It’s okay,” he assured softly. He reached out with his bare hand and when the cat didn’t react with fear, gently petted it. “Nice kitty. Thatta boy. See? Nothin’ to be afraid of.”

The element of surprise was going to have to work in his favor. With that in mind, he went for it, grabbing the large cat by the scruff and immediately supporting it with his gloved left hand as he pulled the very reluctant feline out of the tree. The angle was awkward but he figured it should still be okay.

Seconds after that thought, a sharp pain shot through his right shoulder and across his upper back.

Maybe not . . .

Despite the sudden onslaught of pain, he refused to give in to it. He would not get a second chance with this cat.

Once he had Whiskers off the tree, he quickly got him over, then into the bag before he had a chance to struggle free. His teeth gritted with the effort, John then let go of him, hoping his plan would go smoothly. Luckily it worked exactly as he had hoped.

Whiskers squirmed inside, now clearly not happy with his predicament.

“Hang in there, we’ll be down before ya know it.”

After the sack was free from the ladder, Gage held it by the drawstrings to keep it closed as he made his way down with the struggling cat, again ignoring the pain in his shoulder. He used his left hand to stabilize himself on the ladder.

~*~*~

“Well, what do ya know, he did it,” Chet commented, his gaze on the paramedic.

“I guess he was right.”

Roy agreed with the captain, then stepped over to take the sack as John was near the ground. He put it down and opened it. Whiskers wasted no time in running off to where ever home was. They were all surprised the speed a cat his size had.

“Thank you,” the man said, his wife doing so right after.

“Hopefully he learned a lesson from that,” she added.

Hank noticed John wince as he took off his turnout coat. He stepped over to the paramedic by the squad and asked, “Are you okay, Pal?”

“Yeah, I just tweaked my shoulder,” he said, rubbing it with the jacket off.

“You’re going to get that checked at Rampart.”

The dark haired paramedic opened his mouth to protest, but knew better. Roy opened the passenger door of the squad. “At your service.”

His partner rolled his eyes and sighed.

~*~*~

“Well, I wanted to see you here, but not like this,” Brackett said to John, who was seated on the exam table in the ER, his shirt and undershirt both off.

“What was it you wanted to see us about, Doc?”

“I had some good news for you regarding your cats--” He cut himself off when he saw the disapproving expression on John’s face. “The cats at the station.”

“You want one?” he asked, surprised.

“No, but I have someone here who does.”

“Oh. Well--”

Brackett looked to Roy, who was standing nearby, when Gage seemed anything but happy about the news.

Having understood the questioning expression, Roy explained, “He’s not sure he wants to get rid of the last kitten without the mom.”

“Uh, I see,” he said as he rubbed his chin with one hand, eyeing the dark-haired paramedic. “You know, most mother cats are pushing their babies away at about ten to twelve weeks . . .teaching them to be independent.”

“I know, Chet already told me. But I just. . .I just’m not sure it’s the right thing to do, ya know? I mean, I know cats aren’t like people, but still, it’s close to Christmas. Seems the worst time to leave ‘er on her own.”

The doctor did understand. It was easy and common for people to transfer human emotions onto animals. And who was to say sometimes it wasn’t accurate?

“Well, if you decide to go through with another kitten adoption, keep the offer in mind. In the meantime, I’ll let them know you’re thinking it through.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

“Now, let’s get an xray of that shoulder. I think it’s just a strain, but we need to make sure.” He gave him a pat on his left shoulder when he saw the unhappy expression on his face. “If the x-ray looks good, you’ll just need to rest it a couple of days.”

“He will,” Roy assured before his partner could.

~*~*~

“About time you guys got back here. How’s the shoulder?”

John opened the squad passenger door the remainder of the way, forcing Chet to take a few steps to the side.

“I’ll be in this sling a few days,” he said as he carefully exited the vehicle. “But I’m good. I just wanna see the cats.”

“About that--”

Roy had climbed out as well and joined the two men between the engine and squad. Both he and Gage waited as Chet sighed.

“What?” John pressed.

“The cats are gone.”

The dark-haired paramedic’s eyes widened. “You adopted them both out? That fast? Chet, you knew--”

“It’s not that,” Chet interrupted. “They must’ve left while we were all out on that run. They were gone when we got back.”

Gage looked at Roy. “I was right. She wanted to keep one kitten for herself.”

“Could be.”

“I knew a cat who stayed with one family for awhile, then lived with another before going back with the other,” Chet commented. “Took them a year or so to figure out they owned the same cat.”

John gave it thought. “So she probably has a good home, then comes by here when she needs me. . .?”

“Take it as an honor. Not everyone rates that high to a cat.”

A crooked grin spread across John’s face. “Yeah, you’re right, Roy. You’re absolutely right.”

“Now you’ve done it,” Chet said to the blond paramedic. “His head’s gonna swell.”

“Wait till she comes back in the Spring with more kids.”

Gage sighed. “Roy, don’t even say that.”

But he knew it was a possibility. He just hoped that the family of two would have a merry Christmas whoever they were with and that the pet store gave refunds on toys.

This story was inspired by our experiences rescuing, socializing while fostering and getting kittens forever homes. Three of these we adopted. :o)  We did this for a few years prior to 2020. The story took a couple of years to complete due to everything, hope you enjoy it.  :o) 

Gordon, Leia, Socks, Violet, Smokey                                                     Kitty                                     SusyQ, Tag, Dexter       Twitch, Maggie, Dexter

 SusyQ, Tag                   Corky                        Pepper, Corky                                    Stubby, Kirby

Christmas Stories           Stories Page