Work Text:
Today had to be the day where Neil decided to do something healthy. Well, somewhat. He had his day off and decided that it might be a fun idea to walk to the coffee shop a couple of blocks from his apartment complex rather than drive. Eva would have been proud of him, getting some sun, getting some exercise. He even listened to some music on his way there. The young doctor sat down inside and ordered a coffee for himself, then idly scrolled through some social media posts on his phone. Finally, they called out his name, and he walked to the counter to get his coffee and then looked out the large window.
It was starting to rain.
Of course, the one day where Neil decided to do the responsible thing, it would just bite him back. So he decided that if he left now, there would be less chance of it pouring. That way, he wouldn't have to wait out the storm in some overcrowded coffee shop at the end of the block. He gulped down half of the overpriced coffee and put up the hood of his sweatshirt, then started to do something awkward in between walking and jogging home.
He had forgotten to put in his earbuds, something that at the time he found annoying, just like having to walk home in the rain, but an odd line of misfortunes led to something… unexpected, to say the least.
Along with the tapping of the rain and the sound of his sneakers hitting the sidewalk, Neil heard a quiet mew nearby. He froze, deciding to brush it off, but when he heard it again, he saw the animal making the noise.
She was a beautiful fluffy kitten with bright blue eyes, and she was tiny. Her face was dark brown, and the rest of her was cream-colored with some brown streaks.
Neil had never been a cat person. He, in fact, had never even been a fan of cats, but she was so small, and with her fur all wet from the rain, she didn't have the fluffiness to mask her tiny body. So, without another thought, Neil quietly crept towards her. Luckily, she approached him right away. As carefully as possible, he scooped her up in his arms. She couldn't have weighed more than two pounds. After that, he would just give her some food, then give her to a shelter. That was all.
Finally, Neil made it back to his apartment with the kitten shivering in his arms. He quickly looked up food that he could give her and wrapped her in a blanket. After she seemed to settle down a bit, he made some scrambled eggs and placed them on the floor for her. She glanced up at Neil, a look of curiosity in her eyes. He sat down on the floor.
"Hey, it's okay, you're safe here," Neil smiled and said in a sweet voice. Quickly after, she started devouring the eggs that he made. Almost like she understood him. Huh.
Morning after morning, he thought of a new excuse for why he couldn't give her away yet. She trusted him. He didn't want to overwhelm her; he was busy with work and still trying to find a good no-kill shelter. Finally, after a month of having her in the house, he gave up. This was his cat.
Months passed, and he had decided to call her Ni, referring to how he found her in the rain since the name meant water. Even if he felt like passing out whenever he went home, he always made sure to take good care of her. He made sure she was well fed, he'd play with her, and then sometimes Neil would pass out on the couch, but it was okay because when he'd wake up, she'd be curled up close to him. Almost like she knew something was wrong. Huh.
The truth was, Ni helped him cope with the silent loneliness that he came to every time he came home after his grueling and depressing job. But, sadly, a cat wasn't enough to reverse his illness.
Neil had woken up late that morning, a result of yet again passing out on the couch. Ni was curled up on his slowly rising and falling chest. He felt extra sluggish that day but couldn't dwell on it because he had to rush to work. So instead, he changed into some fresh clothes as quickly as possible, didn't bother brushing his hair, fed Ni, and then left his apartment.
He arrived at work over an hour late, and Eva was angrily waiting outside his office. Neil felt a headache already building up but decided to blame it because he hadn't had any food for a bit and also didn't have coffee in the morning.
"Where in the world have you been?" Eva had one hand rested on her hip, head cocked slightly to the side.
Neil rubbed his eyes, brushing past her to get into his office, "I slept through my alarm," he shrugged.
Eva tensed slightly, "did you not check your messages!?" she pulled out her phone, scrolling through their texts, "we were supposed to leave for a case an hour ago!"
Neil's eyes widened, and he stepped back into the hall, "shit-- sorry. Yeah, let's go."
So, the case was off to a rough start from the beginning. Eva drove more recklessly than Neil had ever seen her drive, which said a lot based on how long they had known each other. Next, they went through the case file. Eva made Neil read it over a couple of times before finally absorbing all of the information. Her mind was scattered, and Neil's rough appearance was not helping. He said he slept through his alarm. That had to be all. Still, she couldn't help but notice that his speech seemed to be a bit slow while he read out the case file.
She brushed it off.
They arrived at their case approximately two hours late to the job, and the patient was already in critical condition. Eva anxiously tapped her foot as Neil struggled to get the equipment out of the car, strange. He didn't usually struggle this much. He must be screwing with Eva. She ignored the pained look on Neil's face.
"Neil-- ugh, I'll just take it," Eva lifted out the case with ease, then started walking to the house. Neil looked slightly annoyed. She thought he'd be happy about her taking the machine.
They got inside, Eva quickly apologizing to the family member at the door. Neil silently squinted at the ground, furrowing his eyebrows. He balled his hands into fists and shook his head, then followed Eva into the room. Muffled noise filled the blurred room.
Eva stared at Neil, who was blankly staring at the patient, "Neil." She said firmly. No response. She felt her heart stop, "Neil," concern laced its way into her voice as she lightly put her hand on his shoulder. Neil tensed a second after, turning slightly to see Eva.
And then he collapsed.
Everything after that was a blur. Neil's heart rate was slow but steady. He was going to be fine. Doctors said he'd be fine, just a bit loopy once he woke up. Maybe a bit confused. That was okay. She had heard him say plenty of strange things before. But what she heard first wasn't what she expected at all.
She had been waiting in the hospital room with him for around an hour, and she heard a soft groan come from the hospital. He slowly sat up, squinting around the room. Then, before even asking where his glasses were or where he was, he said one sentence of zero relevance to what was going on.
"Someone needs to feed Ni."
Eva stared at Neil for a moment, dark circles under his eyes, hair stuck up in a bunch of different spots, squinting to see at all, and the first thing that he said was something about some person named Ni. After all the build-up of anxiety of seeing Neil blackout in front of her and carried into an ambulance, she just started laughing. It wasn't like a soft chuckle. She was full-on choking, taking deep breaths in between laughs to make sure she was getting enough air.
Neil grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and slid them up his face, "what's so funny?"
Eva stared at him for a minute, "you just black out, out of nowhere during a case-- you've been out for an hour, you're in a hospital-- but the first thing you say is to feed someone named Ni?" she was at her breaking point. She was toeing the line of a complete shutdown.
"My cat," he said blankly.
"Your cat?"
Neil nodded, "yes, my cat, Ni, needs to be fed."
Eva started laughing again, "you're delusional."
Then, for a moment, the only sound was Eva's pained laughs and the beeping of a heart monitor. If you listened really hard, you could hear receding footsteps in the hall. Eva wished Roxie and Rob were here to see this, but they were working the case they left.
"What's so funny?" Neil blankly stated.
Eva shook her head, "you hate cats."
"Not Ni."
There it was again, that deafening silence. Only this time, it was broken by a doctor coming in, they needed to run some tests on Neil. He was okay, they just needed to run some tests.
"Can I stay in here during them?" Eva asked, the doctor opened his mouth to say something, but Neil cut him off.
"Please don't."
That was the end of that.
So, Eva stepped into the hall, finally seeming to be able to breathe properly again. Neil was awake, he was functioning, he was alright. She pulled out her phone and opened Roxie and her messages.
Eva
Hey, Neil just woke up. He seems fine, just a little weird. Doctors are doing tests now.
Roxie
Wdym weird? We're talking Neil here :P (also-- glad to hear he's awake)
Eva
He said that he has a cat? Named Nee or Knee or something? And that someone needed to feed her?
Roxie
No way. Ask him more about it when you can come in again. I gotta go, packing up the equipment
Eva
Alright, see you soon
Roxie
See you!
It was only about thirty minutes until Eva was allowed to go back in, and Neil seemed to be in roughly the same position. He perked up at seeing Eva and smiled, "hey, Eves."
Eva shook her head, then looked down at the ground, "Hey, dumbass."
Neil gasped, pressing a hand against his chest, "I can't believe you and your vulgar language, I'm going to have to find a new partner."
"Like you'll be able to find one that'll cover your ass whenever you're late and pass out in the middle of a case."
There was a deafening silence for a moment, both of them not wanting to dive too deep into the topic out of fear. Despite the screaming voice in Eva's head telling her that she didn't want to know, she still asked, "what… exactly happened anyway?"
Neil awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "something about nutrients and stuff. Not enough sleep, not enough food, stuff like that," he said with a shrug, "I'm staying overnight, but I'm fine to go back to work on Monday."
Eva nodded along to what Neil was saying, about to make some sort of response. Before she could, she was cut off by Neil adding to what he was saying.
"I'm not kidding, someone needs to feed Ni."
A quiet chuckle and snort escaped Eva, "You're off your game, Watts. Save the jokes for when you're not hooked up to like ten hospital machines."
"I'm being serious."
Then, Eva saw a look in his eyes that made her body tense. Was he really being serious? It's not like it was a huge deal. That's what she tried to tell herself, at least.
So, Eva took out her phone and started texting with Roxie, and sure enough, an hour or two later, a small fluffy cat was brought into the hospital room. Her eyes were wide and curious, seeming to sparkle under the fluorescent lights of the hospital.
And Neil-- well… he looked beyond happy. He was in a hospital bed, a heart monitor beeping slowly in the background, but he looked like the happiest guy in the world. Ni cuddled close to him and he quietly hummed.
And Eva, she stood there beyond bewildered. Her best friend, the one she's stuck by since high school, didn't even think to tell her he had gotten a cat. And now he was laying in a hospital bed, and she was left wondering what else he wouldn't tell her if he hadn't even told her about a cat.
What a friendship they had.