New
Arrivals
Author-Suzie
Titles
Special Times
by Suzie
Summary: For our Munchkin (12/79 to 4/99)... We will always love you and miss you lots. #7 in the I Want a Pet series.
Disclaimer: Some of the characters in this story belong to the UPN Network and Pet Fly Productions as part of the television show The Sentinel. I do not claim these characters as my own. No money has changed hands.
Notes: Thank you, Jen, for your kind suggestion that I write this. It really did help.
Figaro didn’t understand what was happening. His Master had come home a little early and he’d thought, Cool … extra playtime!
But instead Blair had scooped the black and white cat into his arms, sat down on the sofa, and cuddled him. Not unusual … Figaro didn’t argue … cuddles are good. Figaro sensed that something had happened and snuggled into his Master’s arms to wait.
Jim came downstairs from his bedroom. He’d heard his friend come home, but there had been no response to his greeting. Jim’s senses told him that something was wrong. Not seriously wrong, but *wrong* just the same.
“Hey, Chief, what’s up?” Jim asked quietly, sitting on the sofa next to Blair.
Blair sighed into Figaro’s soft fur, then looked up into the concerned eyes of his friend. “You remember Kelly Bates? She’s a TA I introduced to you a while back.”
“Yes,” Jim nodded. “Did something happen?”
“She had to have her cat put to sleep yesterday.”
“Oh … what happened?”
“She just got old, Jim. Kelly said KB was 21 years old and she’d had her since she was 6 months old.”
“Wow, twenty-one is pretty old for a cat, Chief. Kelly must have taken very good care of KB for her to live so long,” Jim said, placing a hand on Blair’s back. “She must have a lot of special memories.”
Blair smiled sadly. “Yeah, she loved KB a lot. Did you know that Kelly got KB after she had been abused?”
Jim shook his head silently.
“She told me that KB was so skinny when she brought her home, that KB’s head looked too big for her body. Kelly fed her and loved her until she was healthy again. She was just miserable today.” Blair took a deep, slightly trembling breath. “I started thinking about Figaro and it suddenly dawned on me that he won’t be around forever.”
Jim started rubbing slow circles on his Guide’s back. “Blair, Fig’s going to be around for a lot of years.”
“You said it yourself, Jim, twenty-one is old for a cat. Figaro may not get that old,” Blair said, despondently.
“No, he may not get that old, but for however many years he is here we’re going to take care of him and love him like he’s never going to leave.”
Blair stroked Figaro and listened to the loud purr of the cat in his arms. “But what if Figaro gets sick and we have to … you know. I don’t want to have to make that decision.”
Jim thought for a moment, then said, “Blair, I won’t say that it won’t happen, life is too fragile to think that. But, if it does, the decision will be made according to what’s best for Figaro. If putting him down is the only way … then that’s what we do. You wouldn’t want him to live miserably or be in pain, would you?”
“No … of course not!”
“Then you do what’s best for the animal.”
Blair nodded. “Yeah, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
“No … no it doesn’t, Chief. But if the time comes and the decision has to be made, you won’t have to make it alone. And we’ll always have the memories of those special times of the three of us together.”
Blair reached up with both hands and wiped unshed tears from his eyes.
Figaro, sensing that his Master needed to be comforted, moved around on Blair’s lap until he could stretch up and touch his nose to his Master’s.
Blair ran his hands over Figaro’s silky soft fur as the black and white cat began to rub his face against Blair’s nose. Impossibly, the purring got louder, pushing the sadness right out of Blair’s heart.
Jim patted Blair’s shoulder gently. Looking up into his Sentinel’s soft, smiling eyes, Blair found he could smile too.
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end