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It hadn't meant to happen but it did. Lainie had been caught up at work and had rang her husband, Matt reminding him that Clay would be going over to Tony's house free school but he had to pull Justin out early for an appointment with his therapist.
"Sure thing. I've just finished for the day so I'm going to head home to drop my stuff off and I'll text Justin I'm coming to get him." Matt updated his wife.
"Ok good. I'll see you tonight. I love you." She responded down the line.
"I love you too. Have a great day." Matt replied before ending the call.
The drive home from work was decent with the roads being clear since it was just after lunch. Matt arrived home dropping off his briefcase and paperwork in his office before heading up to change into something more comfortable.
"Hey kid, I'll be down in 10 minutes to pick you up to take you to your appointment. See you soon. Love Dad x" Matt texted his second child.
Matt Parker outside of the school and headed to the main desk to sign Justin out who was sat waiting for him.
"Alright thanks, Mr Jensen. Justin, you can go." The kind lady at the desk smiled as she handed Justin a pass. Mr Jensen nodded and walked down the hall with an arm wrapped around Justin.
"How was your day, kid?" Matt asked.
"It was good. We had a surprise test in Math though." Justin told his dad.
The ride to the therapists office was quiet. Justin sat in the passenger seat and nervous drummed his fingers against his jean clad knee.
"What is it, kiddo?" Matt asked his son as he parked up outside.
"Nothing, just a little nervous". Justin told him truthfully.
"Do...do you think you'll be able to sit in with me?" Justin asked the older man.
"I'm not sure but we can ask." Matt told him.
They headed into the office and walked up to the front desk where Matt sighed them both in before they were told to wait in the waiting room. Matt took a seat beside Justin and saw how his younger son nervously bounced his leg.
"It'll be ok, kid". Matt reassured him.
"Justin Jensen." Dr Sallson called.
"Hey Justin, how're you doing today?" He asked as the young boy approached him.
"Alright. This my dad, Matt." Justin introduced as the 2 men shook hands.
"Will it be ok if he sat with us?" Justin asked.
"Sure, no problem. This way, Mr Jensen." Dr Sallson directed him.
"Did you bring poppy?" Justin asked.
"Poppy?" Matt asked raising an eyebrow.
"I sure did, she's on the couch waiting for you." He smiled. Justin nodded and took a seat beside the little black cat who instantly began purring when Justin stroked her.
"Hey sweetie." Justin smiled petting her. Poppy meowed in response before stretching and curling up in his lap. Matt smiled as he could see show much comfort poppy provided Justin. Dr Sallson listened and made notes as Justin spoke to him as they recapped his week and how it went. Justin looked up at his dad for reassurance at times and was only met with Matt's kind eyes and encouraging smile.
Poppy voiced her dismay when Justin stopped stroking her. He looked down and smiled at the kitten before running his fingers through her fur again as she purred at the contact. Matt could see how much comfort the little furry creature provided Justin. Maybe just maybe he thought but he'd have to speak to Lainie about it.
"I'd say that was quite a great session, Justin. You're doing really well and I'm glad to see you're on the mend. That's important". Dr Sallson told him.
"Great meeting you, Matt." He smiled and shook the mans hand again.
"Shall we say the same time next week?" He asked as Justin nodded.
"Alright I'll see you then." Dr Sallson smiled.
"Bye sweetie". Justin gave a small smile before petting Poppy who meowed back.
Matt and Justin sat in the car ready to go before Matt turned to Justin I speak to him.
"That went really well, kiddo. I'm really proud of you." Matt praised Justin ruffling his hair.
"So you seemed to like Poppy a lot." Matt added.
"Yeah she's sweet. It's weird but she's actually comforting." Justin told him.
"That's great to hear, kid." Matt smiled as he drove them home. He treated Justin to some donuts which they picked up on the way home.
They spent the afternoon watching movies with Justin cuddled up to his dad. Lainie arrived home shortly after.
"Hey guys, how'd it go today?" Lainie asked taking off her heels and setting down her briefcase as she pressed a kiss to Matt's lips and one to Justin's forehead.
"Great, he did really well. Dr Sallson said there's a lot of improvement." Matt updated her.
"That's great news, I'm really proud of you honey." Lainie smiled.
"I'm gonna head up to finish some homework. Can we finish the movie after dinner, dad?" Justin asked.
"Sure thing, kiddo. I'll get some grading done too in the meantime". Matt told him.
"Lainie, can I have a word?" Matt asked his wife as he headed to the kitchen with Lainie following behind.
Matt began to tell his wife of Justin's attachment to the sweet little kitten in his therapists office and how he thinks it would be a good idea for both boys to have a pet something they can take their minds off of despite of everything that's happened.
"You know that's actually a great idea. We could use a furry little creature in the house." Lainie chuckled.
"I'll ring some of the local animal shelters and we'll take the boys on Saturday as a surprise?" Matt told her.
"Sounds like a plan". Lainie smiled.
The couple spent the afternoon doing some research. It warmed Lainies heart hearing how sweet Justin was with the kitten and felt he could use something good in his life, especially if it provided him comfort. Matt had finally found a local animal shelter who had 2 litters of young kittens desperately needing a home and made an appointment to view them.
~ timeskip to Saturday ~
The weekend arrived quickly. Matt and Lainie were up later than usual and enjoyed each other's company after Matt made a special batch of pancakes. The boys followed after a few minutes and sat at the kitchen table.
"Awesome, dad made pancakes!" Justin gasped in excitement as he dug in.
"These are awesome!" Justin praised.
"Thanks kiddo, eat as much as want but don't make yourself sick." Matt told him.
"So after breakfast, we're all going out. We have a family appointment so I need everyone ready within the next 20 minutes". Matt told the boys.
"Do we have to?" Clay whined.
"Yes we do. No whining. Your father has put a lot of though into this and we're all going." Lainie told them.
"Fine." Clay sighed.
The family of four piled into the car and Matt drove them to the local animal shelter.
"Hi, I'm Abigail. I'm one of the volunteers. You must be the Jensens." She smiled shaking Lainie and Matt's hand.
"Nice to meet you. I have an appointment." Matt told her.
"To see the litters, right this way." She smiled leading them down the hall to a small nursery.
"Oh my god!" Justin gasped his eyes wide as his smile.
"Kittens!" He cried like an excited toddler. The small kittens scurried to Clay and Justin pawing at them as they meowed wanting to be pet. Justin instantly took a seat in the playpen as he gathered all the kittens in his lap as he played with them giggling. Lainie's heart melt seeing her youngest son so happy that she couldn't help but snap a few pictures. Matt chuckled.
"Come on man." Justin encouraged his older brother. Clay rolled his eyes and smiled before taking a seat next to his brother as the kittens pounced in his lap.
"This is awesome, dad". Justin told him as he cuddled the kittens.
"Your mom and I had a chat and we came down because we want you boys to pick out a kitten to adopt." Matt told them.
"Really? We get a pet?!" Justin asked happy tears rolling down his cheeks. Lainie smiled and leaned down to wipe away his tears and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"Your dad told me how much you liked Poppy at the therapists office." Lainie told him. Justin wrapped his arms around Lainies next and sobbed on her shoulder saying thank you a thousand times. She smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"What about this one? It kinda looks like you when I found you?" Clay told Justin pointing to a white and brown kitten that was slightly smaller than it's brothers and sisters.
"Is it a boy or girl?" Clay asked holding the kitten up.
"Perv." Justin spat at him taking the kitten from his brother and holding it protectively.
"That ones definitely the runt and it's boy." Abigail told them. Justin scooped up the kitten and brought it up to his face. The kitten meowed and licked his nose.
"Mom dad?" The boys asked.
"It's your choice, boys." Matt told them.
"Can we get this one?" Justin asked holding up the same little kitten. Matt and Lainie both nodded.
"I'll get the paperwork. Mr Jensen will you follow me?" Abigail asked.
Matt dipped out of the room and followed the volunteer. Lainie kneeled down and pet the little kitten in Justin's arms.
"What a sweetheart." She smiled.
"Are you gonna name it?" Clay asked him.
"I get to name him?" Justin asked looking at his big brother.
"Sure bro". Clay gave him a nod.
"Glenn." Justin told them.
"Seriously bro?" Clay asked.
"You don't like it?" Justin asked as his face fell slightly.
"No no it's great, man. Just double checking". Clay reassured him.
The boys stood up out of the play pen and pet the others goodbye. Justin held Glenn in his arms and occasionally leaned down to press a kiss to the little kitten. Matt and Abigail came back into the room holding a little blanket and a cardboard hold-all. Abigail took the blanket placing it in the hold-all along with a few toys and towel. He had Justin put the kitten in the box.
There you go and congratulations. She smiled at them.
They took a quick trip to a local pet store to get some supplies. Matt picked up some bowls and kitten food as Clay and Justin picked out a few more toys.
"Alright I think we have everything we need." Matt told them meeting up with the boys as they headed to the checkout. They piled everything into the car. Lainie smiled seeing the boys so excited. Back in the car, she reminded the boys that this was an equal responsibility. Justin nodded eagerly promising to take good care of Glenn.
As soon as they got back home, the boys picked out a small corner in the living room where Matt set up a playpen and the boys set down mats, a towel and blanket for the new house guest. Justin filled the bowls with a small amount of food and some water. He filled a small cardboard box with litter. He set a heating disk under the blanket and took out the toys placing them in the playpen. Clay opened the cardboard hold-all and Justin scooped up Glenn carefully petting him and pressing a kiss to his tiny head before placing him inside. He sat beside the playpen and watched the little kitten as it explored its new space. Matt and Lainie smiled at how much the boys loved their new pet.
"Mom dad this is the second best thing ever." Justin told them as he sniffled wiping his tears with his sleeve. He jumped up and ran to hug them, thanking them. They smiled and each pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"What's the first?" Clay asked.
"Being adopted and getting a big brother." Justin told him blushing slightly. Clay smiled and clapped a hand on Justin's shoulder.
"Same here, bro." He smiled.
Lainie sat in the living room on her laptop answering emails, Matt was watching TV as well as Justin seeing his youngest son so giddy and excited. Clay had excused himself to work on some homework and headed to his room. She looked over at Matt catching his eye and he smiled as they both looked at Justin play with the new kitten. They loved how he had a big smile on his face as his eyes sparkled with delight seeing the playful kitten. Justin had previously expressed that he had never had a pet before of his previous circumstances and didn't want to ask at the risk of getting intro trouble or getting another violent beating. But now he did. Even if things were shitty, he still had a few good things in his life. Clay, his older brother who'd found him and taken care of him, Mr and Mrs Jensen who adopted him seeing the good in him, not hesitating to give him the same amount of affection they had given Clay and now he had Glenn. The little kitten who brought him so much happiness.