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“Yes,” Phil said as he walked his dogs, speaking over the phone to Nick Fury, his co-worker. “I understand but you’re going to have to give me more warning next time, I can’t keep cutting my dogs walk short like this.”
Steve, a Saint Bernard, suddenly yanked his leash out of Phil’s grip and ran down an alley, Bucky – a husky – tearing after him.
“I’ll call you back,” sighed Phil, hanging up his phone and hurrying after his dogs, not overly concerned because the two dogs were good boys, they never went far and they never separated.
Steve was sniffing a cardboard box.
“Look,” said Steve, poking his nose into the box. “Buck, look. It’s so small.”
Bucky eyed the tiny creature skeptically. Yes, it was small but it also smelled and looked pretty much dead.
“What have you found?” said Phil, approaching the dogs, more resigned than upset.
Steve barked happily and looked down at the box.
“Oh,” said Phil, carefully scooping up the shivering little beast. “Hello, kitten. What are you doing out here?”
Phil tucked the tiny black kitten into his shirt pocket directly above his heart before zipping up his coat.
“Alright boys, let’s go to work,” said Phil, wrapping the two dog leashes more firmly around his left wrist, his right hand gently resting above the kitten. He could feel the poor thing trembling against his chest and he knew he needed to get the little one to work and check him over quickly.
Phil unlocked the clinic and locked the door behind him. He unhooked his dogs and hung their leashes up on their hook. Steve and Bucky trotted around the waiting area, sniffing the chairs until Phil opened the gate to let them back to one of the exam rooms. Phil turned the lights to dim, not wanting to harm the little kittens eyes on accident. After covering the table in a clean, soft white cloth, Phil fished the kitten out of his pocket and set it down.
The kitten stumbled and mewled softly when Phil pried his mouth open to check the inside. While Phil continued his inspection Bucky curled up on a pillow on the ground while Steve jumped around.
“Relax,” huffed Bucky. “Why are you always so excitable?”
“The kitten is too small,” whined Steve, sniffing at Phil’s ankles. “Too little. Phil needs to save it.”
“It’s a cat,” grunted Bucky, rolling onto his back.
“It needs help.”
“Steve, sit down,” said Phil. “The kitten is going to be fine, it’s just a little young, so it’ll need a lot of care for the next few weeks.”
Steve sniffed around until Phil wrapped the kitten in the cloth and set it next to Bucky.
“Keep an eye on the kitten while I get a carrier ready,” said Phil. “Steve, come with me.”
Steve whined and Bucky snorted to himself with amusement. Steve sulked after Phil while Bucky curled more firmly around the tiny bundle. The kitten mewled softly.
“Shut up,” grunted Bucky.
He rested his head over the small beast, not enough to squish it but enough to keep it warm and not have it go stumbling off. The kitten nuzzled into the soft fur and quickly fell asleep. When Phil and Steve returned with a small carrier that was padded and filled with warm towels, Phil couldn’t help but grin at the sight of his grumpy dog cuddling a two week old kitten. While Steve was his more friendly dog, forever running up to every human for pets and attention, Bucky was the more gentle creature. Phil often used Bucky to help calm the younger, more skittish animals that came to his veterinary clinic.
“Bucky, I’m going to put your new friend into this carrier now,” said Phil, reaching forward slowly for the kitten.
When the family arrived home finally, Phil used a specialized dropper to feed the little kitten while Steve watched in interest. Bucky sat patiently next to his food bowl, eyes on Phil while he waited to be fed.
“No eating the kitten,” said Phil firmly, placing the kitten in a cushioned box with a heat lamp set up to keep the little one warm on the ground. He didn’t want to kitten to accidently get out and fall off the table if he left it up there. “Tony is going to sleep on the ground right here.”
Phil had decided to call the kitten Tony until it was old enough to determine if it was a male or a female. Anthony or Antonia, either was it worked. Phil fed the dogs and went to his bedroom to get ready for sleep.
“Hello, kitten,” said Steve, sniffing the baby cat. “I’m Steve. I won’t eat you.”
“Leave the beast alone,” grunted Bucky, curling up on the large pillow on the ground where he normally slept with Steve. “I’m going to sleep.”
Steve sneezed and joined Bucky on the bed. For about an hour, everything was normal, Phil was reading an article, but then the kitten started crying. It was soft, too soft for Phil to hear, but it continued at such a pathetic volume that eventually Bucky got up and went to investigate what was wrong with the thing.
The kitten had wedged itself in the corner of the box. Bucky could smell the distress of the little thing and with a huff picked it up in his mouth and carried it over to the pillow where Steve was restlessly fidgeting. Bucky curled up and set the kitten down.
“Stop moving,” grunted Bucky, protecting the kitten. “I’m tired. Tony is never going to settle down if you don’t and if that doesn’t happen then I’m never going to sleep and if I don’t sleep then who is going to protect Phil from the other humans?”
“Softy,” teased Steve before he fell asleep.
- Two Weeks Later –
Phil ran a unique clinic with his friends Nick Fury, Bruce Banner, and Clint Barton. It serviced regular pets but also worked with stray animals brought in by the local shelter. Phil loved animals. His job had introduced him to Steve and Bucky, two rescue dogs he ended up adopting. Steve had been dropped off at the shelter two blocks over when he was three months old because he was still too small and the breeder couldn’t sell him. Bucky was already at the shelter at that point, having been a stray picked up off the street by a young man who couldn’t keep him because of his apartment rules. Phil had adopted both when the shelter was short on space and had asked him to house a few animals for the weekend.
Clint Barton worked the front desk. His pet ferret Natasha usually slept on the desk during working hours – though everyone doubted that she was actually asleep. Bruce was their technician, quiet but excellent at his job. Nick was also a vet but he liked to handle the more aggressive animals.
Tony the kitten was a boy and still hadn’t quite mastered the art of walking without falling but he adored Bucky and Steve. Phil took both dogs and the kitten with him to work every day because he was worried that Steve would accidently crush the kitten if left alone with him and Bucky didn’t actually let the kitten out of his sight unless it was Phil feeding and checking him over.
“Up,” demanded Tony, kneading Bucky’s neck.
“No,” said Bucky. “Get off you little menace.”
“Please.”
“No. You should be hiding from me, you’re a cat, I’m a dog, I could have eaten your parents you know. You should be very scared of me.”
Tony reared back on his hind legs to pounce on his prey but lost his balance and tumbled off the dogs back, off the pillow, and onto the floor.
Tony blinked up, shocked.
Bucky rolled his eyes and sniffed the kitten to be sure he hadn’t gotten hurt. Nick fury stormed into the room, intent on arguing with Phil about some customer who didn’t want to pay for their Boston Terrier to have pain medicine that would ease his aches that came with the cancer he was suffering. He didn’t see the tiny kitten on the cold tile. His foot came hurtling at Tony, who stumbled when he tried to move out of the way.
As the foot came at the cat, Bucky lunged into action, curling protectively around the little beast, taking the kick to his ribs with a yelp.
“Oh shit!” cursed Nick, instantly dropping down and running his hands gently down the dog’s sides, checking for injuries. “Bucky, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. You’re normally on your pillow.”
Bucky stood up and shook his fur out and glared at Nick before picking the kitten up in his mouth and trotting over to Clint’s desk up front.
Nick shook his head when Bucky set the kitten down under the desk and began licking him. Sometimes he wondered why Phil only had a thing for weird animals but then he remembered the irate customer and decided a couple dogs who were overly fond of an orphan kitten was the least of his worries.