Chapter Text
The more Jamie considered getting a cat, the more excited he became. He’d always liked cats, but he’d never been in a position to actually take care of one, he’d barely been capable of taking care of himself. But now, he realized Brienne was right once again, a cat would give him something to do and he was rather lonely.
Jamie was waiting by the door when Brienne’s now familiar car pulled up in front of his house. They had agreed to go buy some essentials first, cat food, a litter box, and then go to the animal shelter.
He looked at Brienne as he sat down, she looked good today, she was wearing a nice blue dress that brought out her matching blue eyes.
“That’s a pretty dress.” he complimented. It was pretty, not fancy or revealing, but pretty. Brienne immediately went red, she became uncomfortable so quickly.
“I just got it yesterday, I don’t usually get dresses but the lady said it looked good on me and it fits nicely so I decided to buy it. It’s a bit short though, not really, but short for me. ” she rambled awkwardly.
Jamie raised his eyebrows, “It was just a compliment.”
Brienne went a little bit redder, “Thanks you. Your… shirt, it's nice too.” Jamie was wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans. He decided there needed to be a change in the subject.
“Did you ever have any pets?”
“No.” she looked relieved that the topic was something other than her appearance. “It was always just me and my dad.”
“No mother?” Jamie knew it was rude, but having grown up mostly without a mother himself he was curious.
Brienne shook her head, “My parents divorced when I was little and my dad got full custody, so it was just the two of us.”
“Hmm, well I’ve never had a pet either, so we’ll see how this goes.” he said jokingly, though in truth he was a little nervous.
Once in the store, it wasn’t hard to find the things they needed. A small skinny girl with brown hair stared at Jamie from behind the register as they approached. She seemed a little familiar but Jamie couldn’t place her. She continued to stare at him as Brienne put the last of his items in front of her. That wasn’t as unusual as it once would have been, people tended to stare at his still bandaged arm, except she wasn’t looking at his hand. Jamie cleared his throat, “Do I know you?”
“No.” she answered brusquely and said not another word to them as they left. Jamie definitely knew her but he couldn’t for the life of him remember from where. It didn’t really matter though so he turned his thought back to the exciting prospect of his future cat.
“Do you have anything particular in mind?” asked Brienne as they approached the animal shelter.
Jamie hadn’t actually thought about any particulars. He shook his head. “I guess I’ll just find one I like.”
He quickly realized that that was going to be much harder than he’d first anticipated. As soon as they walked through the door they were assaulted by the sounds and smells of the many animals living in the shelter. Dogs and cats were barking and meowing everywhere and there were even birds squawking off to his left. An employee offered to help them look around, but Jamie declined. He decided he would rather find one by himself.
The two started wandering through the rows of animals. Jamie glanced at the dogs as he passed. A big grey one growled at him. Jamie returned the feeling, he’d never been fond of dogs.
“Jamie this one looks like you!” Brienne called suddenly. She’d made it to the very end of the row. “It’s so pretty.” she added as he got closer.
“It’s so fat!” the cat was huge. Laying down it took up almost the entire length of the cage and had to weigh at least twelve kilos.
“Other than that.” she laughed at him. He could see what she had meant though, the cat had the same golden hair and green eyes he did. He stuck his fingers through the bars of the cage trying to attract its attention so he could scratch it. To his immense annoyance the cat completely ignored him.
An employee noticed them and walked over. “Do you like her?”
The cat looked regal and had a way of looking down at him even though Jamie was standing several feet above her. He didn’t know whether he found that amusing or unsettling. “I’m not quite sure, why is she so big?”
The employee laughed. “She’s a Maine Coon they’re usually big but she belonged to a lady who overfed her, so that’s why she’s overweight.”
“Here, you can hold her.” The employee opened the cage and began dragging the cat out. She didn’t seem overly enthused at being disturded but didn’t protest either as she was placed in Jamie’s arms. She didn’t stay still for very long though. Jamie had put some cat food in his pocket and the cat was practically melting through his arms trying to get to it. He put her down, crouched, and reached out a hand to feed her. She starting inhaling the food.
“So, what do you think?” Brienne asked over his shoulder. The cat meowed loudly at him demanding more food. He stood and she looked up at him offended. Jamie laughed, he liked how expressive she was.
“I think she’ll do quite well.”
Jamie picked her up and brought her to the front to arrange the details.
“Do you have everything you need for her at home?” the employee asked after they had managed to fit the cat into a dog carrier.
Jamie nodded. “Food, litter, toys. That should satisfy her.”
“You might also want to consider getting a cat bed.” the she suggested. “Unless neither of you mind sharing with her.”
Neither of them? Oh gods. Jamie was surprised to find himself turning red. She thought they were a couple.
“What? Neither of us? Oh no. We’re not a, um, we’re not together, no.” Brienne corrected her rather vehemently, she’d gone the color of a very ripe tomato. “It’s just his cat, I’m just a… friend.”
A friend? Jamie hadn’t had a friend in some time. He wondered whether Brienne was being sincere or if she was simply lying on his behalf, either way he was thankful, he hated the pitying looks people gave him without them knowing he was a recovering alcoholic as well as an amputee.
“Oh.” The employee at least had the grace to look abashed.
“I think I’ll skip the bed. Thanks.” Jamie hoisted the heavy carrier off the floor and headed to the car.
“What will you name her?” asked Brienne once they were settled and on their way back to his house.
“Genna.” he decided.
“Why Genna?”
“After my aunt, they remind me of each other.”
“How so?”
“They’re both opinionated and overweight.”
“Jamie!” Brienne was slightly appalled, “Will your aunt appreciate that?”
“I think she'll appreciate that I thought of her.” He hadn’t thought of her in a while. He hadn’t seen any of his family, not that there was much of it, in a very long time.
Brienne smiled at him, they’d reached his house. “I’ll see you in two days and you can tell me how everything goes.”
He nodded at her and went to introduce Genna to her new home. The accommodations seemed to satisfy her and she took up residence on the couch. Jamie sat down next to her and scratched under her chin. She purred contently and Jamie smiled, “I think we’ll get along quite well.”
That night he dreamed again. He hadn’t stopped dreaming, it was the worst part of being sober, the inability to forget the dreams. This time though it was different. The girl from the shops was there. In the crowd next to a boy. When Aerys commanded them to shoot Jamie watched himself lift his gun and aim at the boy. He tried to stop but couldn’t control his arms. A shot rang out and he watched the boy fall backward under the impact. No! NO! That’s wrong! That’s not what happened! I didn’t shoot anyone I didn’t hurt anyone! Only Aerys. The girl started screaming at him. He could hear her voice above all the screaming around her. “You hurt my brother! You tried to kill him! It's your fault! Your fault!” over and over again. He woke with a start like always. Genna was meowing loudly outside his door so he opened it to let her in. He sat back down on the bed and she jumped up and joined him.
Bran Stark. He’d avoided thinking of the boy and he didn’t want to think of him now, but now he remembered the girl. He didn’t know her name but she was his sister. She’d come to his trial and he wouldn’t have ever noticed her, but when his lawyer had started defending him she’d stood up and started screaming, calling him a liar. “You hurt my brother! You tried to kill him! It’s your fault!” she’d screamed at him. Her father had had to take her out of the courtroom. Jamie hadn’t cared at the time, but now, he didn’t want to think of it.
Genna was staring at him. Before he would have gotten a drink to help him get back to sleep but not anymore, so he lay back down and stared at the ceiling. Genna meowed again then got up and stretched out on his chest. The weight comforted him so he started petting her. He felt her purr through his chest and felt himself begin to relax and eventually he drifted back to sleep.