Archive of Our Own ^beta

Grumbling and swearing once as he slammed his left palm down over the blaring alarm clock beside his bed Gavin turned off the intrusive sound, and pressed his right palm to the side of his tired oily face while letting out a deep still sleepy yawn. It was four minutes past six in the morning and the Sergeant had a long shift eighteen hour ahead of himself. A shift that he was not looking forward to enduring as he had been assigned to work with Connor for the day during Tina's temporary absence.

"Fuckin' clock." Standing up from his bed Gavin stretched out his back and felt his fluffy Main coon cat, Lucky, rubbing around his right ankle. Reaching his right hand down he scratched her ears and greeted her in a calm voice. "At least you can wake me up without shoutin' in my damn ear."

The cat proceeded to trot out of the bedroom through the partially opened door as she made her way to the kitchen to await her breakfast.

"Sure, whatever." Muttering to himself as he made his way to the kitchen Gavin turned on the coffee maker and pulled the cat food out of the cupboard beside the sink. Pouring a handful of the food into Lucky's empty bowl Gavin was acknowledged with happy purring and that in turn helped soften his mood. "Yeah, you're welcome."

Heading back down the hallway to get to the bathroom he yawned again and turned on his shower to warm it up a little, and proceeded to put a washcloth under the warm tap in his sink to wash off his face. From over the sound of the dual running taps Gavin heard a strange muffled crying sound coming from the landing outside his apartment door. Lowering the warm washcloth from his face Gavin turned off the sink and made his way to his door to peer through the peephole and onto the landing.

His elderly neighbor and widow, Mrs. Janet Thorn, was standing just outside her own door with something bundled up in a white pillow case and heavy tears in her eyes. As she wept in the middle of the landing Gavin's instincts as a first responder compelled him to check on the kindly old woman next door.

Unlocking his own door Gavin stepped out onto the landing quietly and lightly put his left hand to her right shoulder without startling her. "Mrs. Thorn? What's wrong?"

"Oh, Gavin!" Crying loudly Janet held the pillow case to her chest and let her tears roll down her face and onto the wipe fabric. "This morning I found Patches under my bed. He... He's gone. He was so old..."

"O-Oh." Realizing that the pillow case was holding her beloved cat Gavin now understand her emotional distress. "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"I want to give him a proper burial." She wept again as she held her deceased pet in her arms and against her heart. "But I don't know where to take him. My son said he'll be here this evening to take me out of the city." Wiping away her tears Janet told Gavin her heartbreaking story as she didn't know what else to do in that moment. "And... And I can't just leave him like this all day."

"Y-Yeah, you're right. Uh, give me a minute and I'll help you."

"You'll what?"

"I, uh, I know a nice place where you can place Patches and give him a nice send off. Just let me make a phone call and grab my car keys, alright?"

"Oh, thank you dear! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. Just go get what you need for Patches and I'll make sure he gets a proper burial." Returning to his apartment Gavin walked into his bedroom, pulled his phone from the charger on the nightstand beside the offensive alarm clock, and called the precinct to speak with Captain Fowler. It didn't take long for the commanding officer to recognize Gavin's name and number and respond. "Hey, Cap'."

'You better not be calling off, Reed.' Captain Fowler warned in a gruff voice. 'You have to work with Connor until Tina's back from vacation. No exceptions.'

"Yeah, yeah... I know. Look, I'm going to clock in a little late this morning."

'You better have a damn good reason, Reed. You're already on thin ice thanks to your loud mouth and inability to "play well with others".'

"My neighbor is having a problem. Her son won't be around until this evening, so I'm going to help her out instead."

'Is this a real neighbor, or-'

"YES, she's real. Janet Thornton." Snapping a little Gavin pressed his left index finger and thumb to the bridge of his nose and sighed. "She's the old lady next door who took care of me when I got food poisoning last winter."

'Alright, but you have two hours MAX to help her and get to your desk. If you're late you're staying at the precinct and working three hours, no overtime pay.'

"Ah, fuck. Alright, fine. I can do that."

'Good. Now let Connor know.'

"Me? Why can't you-"

'Because he's YOUR PARTNER today, so fuckin' talk to him.'

"Fine, fine... Whatever. I'll tell him."

'Alright then. See you in two hours, MAX.'

"Yeah, I hear ya'..." Obeying the order Gavin sent a text message to Connor with the deviant's private number telling him that he'd be late, and made sure to keep his trademark charm present in every word. 'I got shit I need to do before I clock in. Don't bitch to Fowler about this.'

Skipping his shower for the time being Gavin changed into some casual day clothes, put on deodorant and returned to the bathroom to begrudgingly turn off the hot and inviting water as the shower would have to wait. Placing his wallet and phone into his pockets, and fishing his car keys from the hook beside the front door Gavin took in a deep breath to steady himself as he looked over at Lucky, who was sitting on the couch in the small livingroom happily washing her paw and purring, after enjoying her breakfast.

"I'll be back later, Lucky." Slipping on shoes Gavin set about his good deed and tried to keep a close eye on the time as he left. "You better still be here when I get back."

Escorting Janet to his car parked in his assigned place outside of the apartment complex Gavin took the pillowcase holding Patches from her arms and gently placed him down on the backseat as if he were still alive. Keeping his own emotions in check Gavin drove to a relatively remote location just outside the city and listened to all of the stories Janet had to tell regarding Patches, and of how much she loved her furry companion for every one of the seventeen years that he had been in her life.

Hearing her speak about her pet as if he were a member of the family made Gavin think about all the pets he had lost in the past after he escaped his abusive parents, and started living on his own. Every single one of the pets he had taken in over the past had been strays on the street just needing a warm home and someone to feed them. Two dogs, six cats and a handful of wounded pigeons had been his companions over the years, and he remembered every single one of them vividly.

"Patches was just tiny runt who had been abandoned by his mother." Janet stated as she used a tissue to dry her tears. "He was so small and so weak, but I couldn't just walk away. I took him in and fed him from a bottle every day for six weeks, and soon enough he was just as strong as any other kitten his age."

The story was sweet and it had a way of getting through the many walls that Gavin had put up around his heart to protect himself from further emotional pain.

"He was with me after my husband passed away and made it a little easier to adjust to being alone."

"...It sounds like Patches was a real best friend."

"Oh, yes. He was always around and never skittish around strangers. My son and my daughter loved him, and my grandchildren adored him."

"And it sounds like Patches had a best friend in you, too."

Wrapping her left hand around Gavin's right hand Janet nodded as she continued to weep and mourn for her lost pet.

"He lived to be seventeen years old, that's impressive." Squeezing her hand in a supportive manner Gavin continued the drive out of the city and pulled off the main road onto a small dirt road that seemingly led out into the middle of nowhere. "It means you really loved him. The longest I've ever had an animal live was sixteen years, and she was a calico. Beautiful cat. I called her Duchess."

"That's a wonderful name."

"Yeah, better than 'Lucky', that's for sure."

"Why do you say that, dear?"

"Duchess a stray wandering around a jewelry shop downtown and I picked her up while on patrol. Lucky showed up outside the apartment as I was moving in, and she was such a tiny pathetic looking ball of fluff that I couldn't leave her outside even though I really didn't have the time or money to dedicate to a new kitten. So, she was lucky I took her in and didn't just drop her off at the humane society."

"I'm so glad you took her in. I know you had a hard break-up when you moved in next door."

"Yeah, but... Having that little kitten around helped make things easier."

Reaching the end of the dirt trail Gavin parked the car a few yards away from a tiny natural pond and turned off the engine. Giving Janet's hand a final squeeze Gavin opened his door and popped open the trunk where he retrieved a small shovel he kept in case of snow or ice emergencies; it was next to an emergency blanket and flashlight, and proceeded to walk toward a small clearing near the pond.

"I found this place sixteen years ago. When Duchess died I knew I didn't want to just toss her away or let someone else take care of her, so I looked for a quiet place to take her." Nodding at a small patch of grass next to a burning bush Gavin pointed to where Duchess was laid to rest. "I put that white stone over her grave so I know exactly where she is."

Janet carried Patches out of the backseat and stood next to Gavin as he pointed out the small marker.

"This is where I brought all of my pets after they passed away. Each one has their own unique place and a stone to make sure they're never forgotten."

"It's so beautiful." Janet wept again as she looked about the small clearing that had become the rest place for so many beloved pets. "I think Patches will like it out here."

"Yeah, and I know my guys would want to have a new friend to keep them company." Locating a opened patch of land near the other small graves Gavin dipped his shovel into the fresh earth and began to dig away into the ground to create a deep resting place for Patches. "We'll make sure Patches knows he won't be alone."

With barely an hour to get to work Gavin returned to his apartment and made sure Janet would be okay by herself for a few hours until her son arrived. Rushing into the bathroom Gavin stripped off his clothes, climbed into the shower and rinsed off the sweat and dirt that clung to him from digging the grave, and managed to have a quick shave before he rushed into his bedroom to put on his work clothes.

"Shit!" Swearing at his tight time frame Gavin hustled into the kitchen to grab a few cold toaster pastries to eat while on the go, and gave Lucky a few scratches behind her ears. "Alright, yeah, I'll get you some extra food since I won't be back until late tonight."

Pouring more food into a larger bowl Gavin put the bowl on the floor and made sure Lucky still had water as he pulled his phone from his pocket where he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the display blank.

"Good. No one's trying to fuckin' bug me..."

Putting the artificially cherry flavored pastry in his mouth Gavin opened his apartment door, locked it and rushed back down the landing to get to the parking lot to finally take his leave of the apartment and begin his shift.

The smell of fresh earth was still inside his car thanks to his shoes and trailing dirt back inside the vehicle after he helped Janet lay Patches to rest. Rolling down his window Gavin air out of the vehicle and drove off to the precinct and did his best to ignore his mounting headache courtesy of him missing out on his morning coffee in order to help Janet out.

"That plastic prick better not say or do anything to piss me off today..." Finishing off his pastry Gavin idled at a red light and did his best to wait out the turn signal without sweating about his time limit to get clocked in coming to an end. "I'm not in the mood for another suspension."

With four minutes to spare Gavin clocked in at his desk and breathed a massive sigh of relief. Making sure Captain Fowler noticed his arrival Gavin went into the breakroom to get his coveted coffee and sip at it slowly to ebb away his headache before it got too much to handle. Sensing that someone was watching him he turned around with his mug of coffee in his hand and was greeted by the sight of Connor and his blue tinted L.E.D. standing just inside the doorway of the breakroom, waiting for him to set about his patrol.

"Good morning, Detective Reed."

"Sure. Yeah."

"Are you ready for our patrol?"

"Are you fuckin' serious? I just got here." Giving the deviant an annoyed glare Gavin took another sip of his coffee and walked past Connor, his left shoulder bashing into Connor's right shoulder as he rudely got around him, and marched toward Captain Fowler's office. Knocking on the door twice Gavin pulled the door open and walked over to his commanding officer's desk and took a deep breath to keep himself from shouting. "Cap, look I-"

Holding up a 'shushing' hand Captain Fowler stopped Gavin before he even had the chance to begin. "Save it."

"You don't even-"

"You're working with Connor. End of story."

"That freak is not just annoying, but he's a goddamn morning person! Partnering me up with him is torture!"

"Gavin. Go."

"...What if I stayed late and worked that unpaid overtime?"

"No. Now, go on patrol and do NOT bother me again."

"Fucking... fine!" Leaving the office in a huff Gavin noticed that Connor was still waiting for him beside the breakroom, and he could feel Hank's glare as the senior detective watched him swallow his pride and accept his current assignment. "Alright, 'Tinman'. I'm driving."

Nodding once Connor followed after Gavin as the two set about their morning patrol together, despite their temporary partnership being rather unorthodox and uncomfortable at times. "Of course. It's your call today."

"Yeah, whatever..."

Almost like a karmic reward for his good deed that morning the patrol went off uneventfully well up until noon when Gavin decided to take his lunchbreak. As opposed to Hank who would stop at either the 'Chicken Feed' or any other greasy fast food stop just to get something quick and cheap to eat Gavin located a particular diner across the street from an automotive garage, and made his way to a booth in the back of the small restaurant to enjoy his lunch in peace.

"Don't sit there." Gavin muttered as he waited for his lunch to be prepared and brought out to him. With his back to the wall of the diner and Connor sitting across from him at the other side of the booth Gavin glared at the deviant with great annoyance. "I don't want to look at your face while I'm tryin' to eat."

"My apologies. I'll go and wait in the car."

"What? No!" The last thing he wanted was Connor sitting alone in his car and noting every little flaw the vehicle would need to have repaired. "Just scoot down that way so you're next to the window and not directly in front of me."

"Very well." Moving away as directed Connor neatly folded his hands together and rested them atop the table as he closed his eyes and decided to use the free time to run a self-diagnostic and check in with Hank at the precinct.

Enjoying the silence Gavin pulled his own phone from his pocket and made sure Janet didn't text him or leave a voice message, and as before his phone's display screen was entirely blank. Slipping the phone back into his pocket Gavin watched as the waitress approached the booth with a tray in her hand, and a smile on her face. "Hey, Robin."

"Hey, Gavin." Placing a bowl of hot tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich down on the table Robin smiled warmly at the Sergeant and didn't seem at all put off by his usually abrasive demeanor. "Got your usual order ready just as you like."

"Thanks. Tell Gladys I appreciate her going the extra mile to make me the soup."

"I'll tell her, but don't worry about it. She loves being able to make that family recipe." Noticing Connor sitting quietly in the booth she nodded in his direction and gave Gavin an odd look. "What about him?"

"He's an android. He doesn't need soup."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll bring him a Thirium based cookie Gladys baked this morning."

"Seriously?"

"She loves to bake!"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever..."

"I'll check on you two in a few minutes. Enjoy!"

Picking up the spoon beside the white bowl on the small serving tray Gavin dipped it into the warm red broth and stirred it once as he then dipped the corner of his grilled cheese sandwich into the soup and took a bite. "You know," speaking around the food in his mouth Gavin gave Connor a somewhat curious stare where he sat. "you don't have to be silent the whole time I eat."

"I'm aware." Opening his eyes Connor looked over at Gavin and instinctively scanned over the meal and found it to be far healthier in comparison to Hank's usual meals. Chronicling the meal; calories, ingredients and overall design Connor decided he'd try to make it for Hank at a later date. "From my personal experience with Hank I'm also aware that most humans would rather just enjoy their meals and not talk."

"It's more like we don't want to talk with our mouths full of food. It's rude."

"...But you're doing that just now."

"Shut up." Stirring his soup again Gavin watched as Robin returned with what look like a chocolate chip cookie on a small white napkin, and placed it down on the table beside Connor. "There, eat that and don't talk again until it's gone."

Connor looked at the cookie for a moment and then up at Robin. "Thank you, but I didn't order anything."

"I know, hon. It's on the house."

"...'On the house'?"

Gavin scoffed a little and shook his head with irritation. "She means it's free."

"O-Oh. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Robin beamed proudly at the deviant's innocent reaction. "Our chef has been experimenting with Thirium based food for androids, so let her know if that recipe tastes okay."

"...I will. Thank you again." As Robin took her leave of the booth Connor picked up the cookie and scanned it quickly. The cookie was entirely Thirium based, yet it still had the sandy brown coloration of a standard chocolate chip cookie. The chips however were dark blue to avoid confusion and ensure androids didn't accidentally eat human food and humans didn't accidentally eat android food. "That was very generous of them."

"That's why I like coming here. The staff is nice."

Agreeing with the comment Connor took a small bite of the cookie, his blue L.E.D. cycling yellow briefly as he took in the sweet taste and allowed his processors to analyze the treat to ensure it was safe for his consumption. Not only was the cookie entirely edible but it tasted better than anything Connor had ever tasted before.

Gavin saw that Connor's eyes seemed to light up and his yellow L.E.D. was now pulsing in blue quickly. "Well?"

"...Well what?"

"Is that cookie any good?"

"Yes." Taking another bite Connor found the taste to be incredibly satisfying and much better than pure liquid Thirium alone. "This is... good."

"Hey!" Pointing his spoon at Connor in an accusatory manner Gavin called the deviant out on his current behavior. "Don't talk with your mouth full!"

"...Sorry." Blushing a pale blue Connor's L.E.D. momentarily flashed to yellow before settling back on blue as he finished off his treat.

"You're so fuckin' weird..."

"That's not my intention."

"It never is."

With the cookie now finished off Connor also noted the treat as something he'd like to continue to consume from time to time, and decided he'd try other Thirium based foods in the future. "Gavin, may I ask you a question?"

"Might as well, you clearly got something on your mind anyway."

"When you texted me this morning you stated you were going to be late but did not specify why."

"...Yeeeeah?"

"And during our patrol I noted fresh dirt on the floor mats-"

"Hold up." Dropping his spoon into the half empty bowl of tomato soup Gavin gave Connor a stern glare and lowered his voice. "Let me make this perfectly clear: I was only JOKING when I said I wanted to kill the bitch that is my ex-girlfriend. I didn't actually do it!"

"Yes, I'm aware."

"...How's that?"

"There was no blood in your car or on your person, nor did I detect any solvents that would've been used to destroy evidence."

"...You seriously checked for that?"

"Yes. Don't take it personally, I scan every vehicle I enter."

"Sure, whatever." Muttering under his breath as he picked his spoon back up Gavin continued to glare at Connor. "...Fuckin' freak."

"My question is," continuing on with a surprising calmness in his voice Connor returned his attention to the curious reading his scanner picked up on while he was in the car with Gavin during patrol. "why did I detect the fur of a Burmese cat when I know for a fact you have a Main coon cat? Did you adopt-"

"No."

"...I don't understand then."

"It's PERSONAL. Drop it."

"Oh. I'm sorry for intruding on your private matter."

"You should be."

Sensing that Gavin didn't want to discuss the somber subject any further, and was growing tense Connor decided to resume his silence and wait for Gavin to finish his meal.

"...Don't worry about it." Looking down at the remaining crumbs of his sandwich and the small puddle of soup at the bottom of the bowl Gavin tried to ignore the dreary memory and not think about all the pets he had lost over the years. "Just let me finish my lunch and don't bring it up again."

"Understood. I will respect your privacy."

The rest of the day went on relatively smoothly save for one idiot teenager who tried to mug an old man in broad daylight, and right in front of the patrolling police officers. Quickly giving chase after the teen Gavin found himself stumbling through an alleyway with Connor right beside him as they pursued the thief and tried to arrest him for his crime.

"Stop!" Gavin shouted as he neared the teenager and made a move to grab onto his shoulder. "Detroit police!"

Just as his fingertips brushed against the teen's hoodie Gavin's right ankle gave out as he slipped on something he didn't see and lost his balance. Landing hard on his right side Gavin let out a pained 'oof' as Connor continued the chase and disappeared down the dark alleyway out of sight.

"Fuck!" Swearing loudly Gavin pushed himself up into a sitting position and rolled up the cuff of his right pant leg to examine his wounded ankle. He didn't hear or feel anything break, but the joint was already swelling up and bruised. Wrapping both hands around his ankle Gavin glanced about the alley and tried to find the source of his fall. "What the fuck did I slip on?"

There was a small puddle of some pale blue liquid on the ground and it had a somewhat noxious smell. Dipping his right fingertips into the puddle Gavin smelled the liquid and recognized it pretty quickly.

"Antifreeze. What the fuck's antifreeze doing-" A few feet from the puddle he noticed an overturned bowl that had been left out to feed a stray animal and he soon realized that someone had used the antifreeze to poison the stray animals in the alley. "...Ah, fuck! Sadistic son of a bitch!"

Checking out the alleyway again Gavin spotted a large cardboard box next to a dumpster and stretched out his arm to lift up the flap of the box to peer inside. There was a small dog laying on its side, and it was clearly dead. "Fuck!"

On the other side of the dumpster he noted an overturned garbage can laying on its side that had a long furry tail hanging out of it and quickly felt sick.

"That's two so far..." As he slumped back against the brick walls of the alleyway behind him Gavin saw Connor returning to where he was sitting but he didn't have the suspect with him. "Where's the kid?"

"I subdued him two blocks from here and he was picked up by patrol."

"Oh."

"Your ankle is severely sprained." The deviant noted as he scanned over Gavin's affected leg and saw the painful inflammation to the muscles and joint with his superior android vision. "Allow me to take you to the emergency room for treatment."

"It's fine, I'll just put ice on it." Struggling to get to his feet Gavin motioned to the dog in the cardboard box beside Connor and then to the puddle of antifreeze that he had slipped in. "See if you can find some fingerprints and figure out who the sick fuck is that's poisoning animals in the neighborhood."

"...Poison?" Kneeling down Connor saw the deceased dog and his L.E.D. flashed to red. "How?"

"Antifreeze."

Connor focused on the puddle and he too pressed his fingertips into the liquid and pressed them to his tongue to confirm that the puddle was indeed antifreeze. "Who would do this?"

"Some demented asshole who-" As he regained his balance Gavin heard a subtle 'squeaking' sound and traced it to the garbage can where the second animal had been found. Awkwardly kneeling back down Gavin moved aside an old newspaper to reveal the poor second animal, a black cat, and saw that there were two tiny black and white kittens huddled in the back of the garbage car near their mother's head. "Oh, no..."

Honing in on the sound Connor scanned the kittens and his red L.E.D. turned yellow. "They are approximately twenty-four days old. Too young to be without their mother."

"Yeah, well, their mother isn't going to be able to take care of them anymore. Come here little guys." Reaching into the garbage can Gavin picked up the kittens one at a time and held them in his arms against his warm chest. The tiny bundles of fluff were shivering and still squeaking for food. "...Fuck. They're hungry and trembling."

"What can we do?"

"First off..." Forcing himself to stand upright again, his weight dominantly on his left leg, Gavin motioned for Connor to follow him out of the alley and back to the car parked on the street three blocks away. "You're going to tell the precinct you're taking me to the E.R. to have my ankle tended to."

"But you didn't want-"

"AND SECOND," cutting Connor off aggressively Gavin limped down the alley with the two kittens being held protectively in his arms. "you're REALLY going to drive me to a pet supply store over on Eighth Street. I know where we can get these little guys some kitten formula and a couple of bottles."

"You're going to take care of them?"

"Not me personally, I don't have the time permitted to take care two tiny kittens like they need. But I know someone who can..."

Without uttering a single complaint Gavin held a small cardboard box in his arms and knocked on Janet's closed door. The two kittens were nestled down inside the box against the emergency blanket Gavin took from the trunk of his car, and were napping peacefully after he and Connor offered the duo some of the formula he had purchased barely an hour before. As the door opened Gavin straightened up his posture and steeled himself against the residual tears still glistening in Janet's eyes.

"Oh, hello, Gavin."

"Hi, uh, I hope I'm not intruding."

"No. I'm just... Well, I was getting ready to toss Patches old toys out."

"Well, you might want to hold off on doing that."

"Why's that, dear?"

Holding out the box for Janet to peer inside of Gavin felt himself smirk a little as Janet's sorrow melted upon seeing the twin kittens. "I found these little guys while on patrol today. They don't have a mother and well, I don't have the time to raise them properly. Since you managed to give Patches such a great long life I was hoping you'd..."

"Oh! The poor things!" Slowly reaching out to take the box from Gavin's hands Janet's pain seemed to disappear as a new wave of love washed over her heart. "They're so small, maybe just a little over three weeks old."

"Yeah, that's what my partner thought. We, uh," picking up a plastic shopping bag that held the recently purchased bottles and formula from the landing Gavin let Janet see the supplies he had already bought for the kittens. "we gave them some formula an hour ago and got them warmed up."

"Gavin, I don't know what to say."

"Just say you'll treat them as good as you treated Patches and I think that'll cover it."

"Oh, of course. Come inside for a moment dear." Janet stepped back into her apartment and gently placed the box down on her couch without jostling the kittens in the process. "It's so fortunate you found them."

"Yeah..." Hiding his limp to keep Janet from worrying about him Gavin placed the bag of supplies down on the nearby countertop to be used later. "Fortunate."

"These two are going to need a bath, some more formula and a warm bed to nap in." Nodding at the large fluffy pillow that had once been Patches bed Janet seemed completely renewed and ready to love another animal in need of her care. "I'll wash the pillow and get them cleaned up after their nap. I know Patches would like that two little kittens in need would be sleeping in his bed."

"Sounds good. Uh, I need to get back on patrol so if you need anything you can text me and I'll pick it up for you."

"Thank you so much, dear. Tell your partner I said 'thank you', too."

"Yeah, I will. Take care of them, they've been through a lot."

"Do you know their genders?"

"One of each." Gavin answered as he slowly made his way back to the apartment door to take his leave. "The one with the solid white paws in a girl, and the one with the white chin and belly is a boy."

"Then they need appropriate names. How about... Duke and Duchess?"

Hearing the familiar name made Gavin grin a little as realized his decision to give the kittens to Janet was the best possible option he could've made on that day. "I think that's perfect. It suits them."

Pressing a large ice pack around his sore ankle as he sat in the passenger side seat next to Connor while the deviant drove back to the precinct Gavin felt an odd sense of pride as he thought about Janet taking care of the kittens after losing her own pet that morning. As he leaned back in his seat Gavin noticed that Connor was staring at him and making him feel quite awkward.

"Stop staring! Jeez..."

"Sorry."

"What now?"

"You're happy."

"We just saved two kittens, of course I'm happy."

"I didn't realize how much you liked animals."

"Animals aren't fucking up the planet. That's what us humans keep doing." Giving Connor a sharp glare he raised a finger and pointed it right at the deviant's face as the car pulled into the parking garage next to the precinct. "Don't read too much into that!"

"I won't."

"Good."

"...I know I said I wouldn't ask about your personal business," Connor stated as he pulled into Gavin's assigned parking place and put the vehicle into park before turning off the engine. "but it seems-"

"Look, my neighbor's cat died this morning. I helped her bury it and that's why I needed a few extra hours before my shift." Opening his door Gavin unfastened his seatbelt and stood up slowly from the car while still being mindful of his right sprained ankle. "Her cat lived seventeen years and she had raised him as a runt who was abandoned by the mother."

"...That's where you took the kittens. To your neighbor."

"Fuckin' duh! Did you seriously think I just dropped them off at my apartment and hoped for the best?"

"No, I was unsure of what you did at all."

"Well, now you know."

"Yes, and I won't say a word."

"Good."

Following after Gavin as they made their way back to the precinct Connor refrained from helping Gavin to walk with his sprained ankle, and silently scanned the injury without getting too close to Gavin's personal space.

While the deviant hadn't exactly made friends with Gavin that day Connor did find that he had a new respect for the abrasive Sergeant and realized that he was more like Hank than he realized. Two gruff detectives harboring hearts of gold, and just wanting to do the right thing without someone making a big deal about the whole thing. The humility was very befitting of Gavin's guarded personality and the fact that he was looking out for the stray animals in the city just made the prospect of handling violent cases every day a little easier to endure.

Exhausted and ready for bed Gavin pulled back into his parking place at his apartment complex and limped out of the car, and over to his apartment. Never before had been so happy that he lived on the ground floor and had such a king neighbor beside him. As he limped toward his door, the time nearing midnight, Gavin unlocked his door and imagined how peacefully Duke and Duchess were sleeping now that they were in a nice warm bed, in a nice warm apartment, with a nice and warm hearted person taking care of them now that their mother was gone.

Opening the door quietly Gavin limped inside, closed the door behind him, locked it and didn't bother with the lights. Within second a soft, warm and purring presence was rubbing against his sore ankle and made him smile.

"Hi, Lucky." Bending down he scooped up the cat into his arms and rubbed her ears as he limped down the hallway and into his bedroom. Sitting down on the edge of his bed he placed Lucky down beside him, carefully removed his shoes and proceeded to pull his quilt up and toward his chin. He was just too damn tired to change his clothes, and he didn't want to deal with it in the dark. "I have tomorrow off, so you won't be alone again."

As he laid back against his pillow Gavin closed his eyes and felt Lucky crawl up onto his chest to lay down and sleep for the night.

"...I wonder if you'd like a room mate to play with while I'm gone?" Putting his right hand up on Lucky's back he pet the cuddly cat and let out a weary sigh as sleep began to quickly overtake his mind. "It was nice to help a couple of kittens. I'm sure I could stand to help at least one more."

Within seconds Gavin was fast asleep and Lucky was still purring as she cuddled down on Gavin's chest where she laid perched atop her master's seldom seen heart of gold.

-End of Story-