New
Arrivals
Author-Suzie
Titles
Presents of Mind
by Suzie
Summary: This is a continuation of Figaro vs. the Tree. #6 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: This one is all Jen's fault! <giggle> Thank you oh wise and wonderful Beta Beast! In this universe, Jim’s Sentinel abilities enable him to understand and talk to animals.
Have a holly jolly Christmas,
and in case you didn't hear,
Oh by golly, have a holly,
jolly Christmas this year.!
######
A shivering Blair carried a happily purring Figaro in from their Saturday afternoon romp in the park. A very *cold* romp in the park!
Blair put the black and white cat down. “Man, why can’t you play with yarn like other cats? It’s freezing out there!”
Because yarn is boring. Figaro stated as he padded over to the fireplace. Duck chasing is fun.
There was a fire burning in the fireplace and the loft was cozily warm. A fact that Blair was grateful for after their play in the park.
“Hey, Jim, we’re home,” Blair called, sure that the man was somewhere in the apartment. He also knew it was unnecessary to let his roommate know he was home, because Jim would’ve known he was in the building before Blair got off the elevator.
“Hey, Chief,” Jim smiled, walking down the stairs from his room with a brightly wrapped box. “How was your quality time with Fig?”
“Good… but *cold*!” Blair hung his coat on the rack next to the door and started to unlace his boots. “I bet it snows tonight.”
“If that stormfront moves in tonight like the weather man says, it probably will,” Jim said. He placed the box under the tree alongside the two other packages he’d placed there earlier. “Are you finished with your Christmas shopping? You may not get another chance to go.”
Blair had pulled his boots off and was now sitting next to Figaro by the fire. “Yep, all done… and I got Naomi’s gift in the mail yesterday.”
“We’ve got plenty of groceries. I’d say we’re ready for just about anything.”
“Hey, you were busy while we were gone.” Blair’s eyes lit up at the sight of the gifts under the tree.
Jim grinned at the little boy look on Blair’s face as the younger man crept closer to check the tags.
Figaro watched from his place in front of the fire, grooming his damp fur and wet feet. He was trying to look as if he could careless about the bright colors and designs adorning the different sized boxes.
**********
Figaro went to bed with Bliar, as he did every night, but on this night he lay comfortably on the pillows above his Master’s head until the young man fell asleep. Then the black and white cat moved stealthily off the bed and out into the living room.
Hmmm… wonder what’s going on with this stuff? Figaro thought, nudging one of the boxes.
Figaro had watched them appear, one by one, throughout the evening. First Jim would bring one down and set it under the tree, then Blair bring one out and do the same. Soon the tree was surrounded by wrapped boxes and oddly shaped packages. Figaro became more and more curious as the evening progressed. He couldn’t decide what kind of game his humans were playing, so staying out of the way seemed to be a good plan.
Prowling around and under the tree, Figaro sniffed at each box. He tasted the curly things hanging over the sides and batted a paw at the shiny things on top. He thought it was fun the way the shiny loops bounced when he bopped them, then let out a quiet yowl when a shiny thing came off and attacked his attacking paw. Worried the shiny thing wouldn't let go, Figaro shook his paw until it suddenly gave up and flew away. The slightly miffed cat pounced on the dead shiny thing once more ~ to insure it's death ~ and then went back to the boxes. He, again, sniffed at the boxes. Some smelled... interesting, while others just smelled like boxes his Master occasionally brought home for him to play in. He didn't know what the little things with the pictures and writing on were ~ since he couldn't read ~ but he knew they meant something important, cause every box had one and he’d noticed that his Master had been interested in them. Especially the ones on the boxes the big man brought down.
Well, if they are that important, Figaro said as he pulled the little slips of paper off each box, being careful to avoid the sticky ones that liked to attack unsuspecting cats. I’ll just make sure they don’t get lost.
With great care, the cat placed each tag in his basket where his toys were stored. Satisfied when the job was finished, Figaro happily padded back to bed with his Master.
Flurries of snow had just begun to fall.
**********
Blair was humming quietly the next morning as he poured water from a pitcher into the stand under the Christmas tree. He set the pitcher aside and began to move the gifts back to where they’d been before he’d moved them to get under the tree. Noticing something strange about one of the boxes, Blair took a closer look and realized that the bow was rather mangled. He looked at the other packages and groaned.
“What’s wrong, Chief?” Jim called from his room.
“Figaro’s been chewing the bows and ribbon on the gifts,” Blair replied.
Jim sighed and shook his head, amused by the way the cat was acting and reacting to his first Christmas. “We can replace the bows and ribbon on the ones that go to people other than us.”
“He also pulled off *all* the tags!”
“WHAT?!!” Jim joined Blair in living room.
“Figaro! Get your furry little butt out here!” Blair called.
“Easy, Chief,” Jim sighed. “He doesn’t know any better.”
Figaro padded out of the bedroom towards his Master’s voice. “Meow?”
“Figaro, why did you pull the tags off the presents?” Blair asked.
Tags? Presents?
Jim picked up one of the gifts and explained, “This is a present. The little *tag* is what you pulled off. It was an important part of the present.”
I knew they were important ‘cause Master kept looking at them last night.
Jim’s eyes sparkled as he looked over at Blair and tried not to smile. “Where did you put the tags, Fig?”
In my basket. I figured they would be safe there.
Jim moved to the end of the sofa where Figaro’s toy basket was kept and began to pick the tags out.
“Figaro, why did you pull the tags off? We don’t know who gets which present without the tags,” Blair said, picking up the cat and sitting on the sofa. “Jim, why did he do it? I know he told you.”
“He was watching you last night,” Jim smiled. “He thought the tags were too important to leave out, so he put them in his basket for safe keeping.”
“Oh, Figaro, what are we going to do with you?” Blair sighed, stroking the cat’s fur. “Christmas is a time of giving. We give gifts to the people we care about.”
What about cats? Figaro asked.
“Cats too,” Jim said.
Blair chuckled, “Yeah, and cats too. But without the tags…”
“Murf.” Figaro stood up on Blair’s lap and nuzzled his Master’s chin.
“He’s sorry, Chief,” Jim translated.
Blair grinned, “Yeah, I figured.”
Jim was able to retag the gifts he’d put under the tree using his Sentinel senses. It helped that the wrapping paper he used was different from Blair’s. “Are you going to know which package belongs to which person?” Jim asked as he taped his tags on various gifts. He wiggled his fingers and grinned. “I could maybe help you out if you’d like?”
Blair laughed at the mischievous look in his friend’s eye. “Thanks, but I think I can handle it on my own, big guy. There’s still a week before Christmas. What am I going to do with you two?”
**********
Snow fell off and on throughout the day, making for a lazy Sunday in front of the TV. Figaro snoozed happily on the back of the sofa.
“I guess the big storm they predicted fizzled out, huh Jim,” Blair said as the football game went into halftime. He stood from his place on the sofa and stretched, his T-shirt pulling up to reveal his belly button as he walked over to the balcony windows. “There’s not too much snow out there.”
“Good, let’s hope it stays that way,” Jim said, heading toward the kitchen for snacks and beer. “Driving is crazy enough this time of year. When you add snow and ice to it and just getting to and from work is a bitch. The weatherman said this morning that the storm is stalled over Canada.”
“Well, at least school is finished until after New Year’s, so I don’t have to do that drive for a couple of weeks.”
Jim silently agreed. He didn’t want to spend the next two weeks worrying about whether or not his partner got to the university all right, or if he’s late coming home due to an accident.
**********
As the week progressed, the weather got worse. The flurries of snow froze and turned to ice. There were many accidents as the last minute Christmas shoppers tried to hurry through the streets of Cascade. When Jim and Blair weren’t stopping at an accident scene on their way in to the Police Station, they were stopping at one on their way home. But, one good thing had come out of it all… Major Crimes was slow. No one knew if it was due to the weather or the holidays, but things were quiet and that was all right by them.
Finally, December twenty-fourth arrived ~ the day of the department Christmas party. Megan volunteered to make the arrangements. Everyone pitched in to buy a tree and decorations. It was pot luck and everyone brought a dish.
Jim and Blair brought a ham all baked and glazed in Blair’s *secret* citrus/honey glaze. Simon made Candied Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries using his Grandmother’s recipe. Megan made Lamb Shank Soup, a favorite of hers from Australia. Joel brought a macaroni salad to die for. Henri brought a vegetable and fruit platter. Rhonda made pumpkin and pecan pies. Rafe made chocolate chip cookies.
And then it hit.
“It’s snowing,” Jim announced, walking out of the Captain’s office.
Simon followed a few seconds behind the Detective and said, “I think that storm has finally gotten here. Might be a good idea to start packing it up before it gets any worse.”
**********
“Man, I’m so glad we bought that big ham,” Blair said as he placed the containers they’d brought home in the refrigerator. “We were able to trade for some sweet potatoes, soup, and salad. We’ve got pie from Rhonda and some of Rafe’s cookies.”
“And since we went shopping again the other day…,” Jim said from the living room. “We should be set for the duration.”
Blair closed the refrigerator and turned around to see Jim looking out the balcony windows. “Is it getting worse?”
“Yeah, the snow is getting thicker by the minute. I’m glad we left the station when we did.”
Figaro wound his way through Blair’s legs. “Merow.”
“I know you’re hungry, but I had to put that stuff away first,” Blair said to the cat. “I’ll do it right now, okay?”
Figaro stepped back and sat down, looking up at his Master with a smug look of satisfaction.
Blair poured some moist food into Figaro’s dish and set it down on the plastic placemat next to the bowls of water and dry food. “It’s your favorite… tuna and chicken.”
Actually, it’s my second favorite. The ham you just put away is my favorite.
Jim chuckled to himself and made a mental note to sneak the cat some scraps of ham when Blair wasn’t looking. He turned and headed over to the sofa. “Well, it’s the first white Christmas Cascade has seen in a lot of years.”
Blair grabbed two beers and joined his friend on the sofa. “It’s beautiful… as long as we don’t have to go out.”
“Thank you,” Jim smiled, taking the offered beer. “If it keeps coming down like this all night, we won’t be able to get out anyway.”
**********
The thick blanket of snow continued to fall on the city outside. It was nearly midnight as Jim and Blair went to their respective rooms.
Figaro curled up in his usual spot on the pillows at Blair’s head. Blair stretched out on his back, reaching up to pet the cat as he listened to the rumbling purr.
“Of all the holidays throughout the year, Christmas is my favorite. Even though I'm Jewish, I think Christmas kinda means more than the religious reasons for the season,” Blair whispered into the darkness. “The traditions, the decorations, the tree.” A huge yawn escaped. “Exchanging gifts, mistletoe, hot chocolate and cookies. Getting together with family and friends.” Another yawn. “That’s what it’s all about, Figaro. I think Christmas is more about love than Valentine’s day is.” Blair sighed contentedly and drifted off to sleep.
Figaro lay there under the warm weight of his Master’s hands, thinking. He’d been observing what had been going on since *the tree* was brought home. He’d seen the decorations go up, presents appear, and learned that Christmas trees were really no threat to humankind. Figaro apologized again for mauling the tree, but his Master and the big man only smiled at him.
“When I can’t be here, I know he’s in good paws with you, Fig,” Jim had said, throwing an arm around Blair’s shoulders.
Things smelled good… even better then usual. Even the big man seemed to be in a perpetual good mood.
Some presents, Figaro noticed, would be taken away when his humans left for the day. Then new ones would appear when they returned home. There were several that smelled deliciously like something Figaro would enjoy, and surmised that they were for him when he was shooed away and warned to leave them be.
“You’ll get your presents Christmas morning,” Blair had told the black and white cat with a smile.
Figaro also thought about something his Master had said once before. *Christmas is a time of giving. We give gifts to the people we care about.* And cats too. He gave one of the motionless fingers a small lick, then carefully moved from under Blair’s hands and silently padded out into the living room.
The black and white cat moved among the gifts under the tree, careful to not disturb the bows or tags. He sniffed each until he found the ones he was looking for. Figaro could smell the faint odor of catnip from one and salmon from the another. These two packages were his… he was sure of it. He loved catnip, and it was hard not to try to get into the package. The salmon he didn’t *know* was salmon because he’d never had it before, but it smelled too good *not* to be his.
Going to the window, Figaro sat and watched the snow drift ever higher on the balcony. It was his first Christmas. *Christmas is a time of giving*.
**********
When Blair awoke in the morning, Figaro was sleeping on the pillows as though he’d been there all night.
“Merry Christmas, Figaro,” Blair grinned sleepily, stretching and reaching up to scratch the cat behind the ears. Pushing the thick layer of blankets off, he sat up and shivered, “Man, why is it so cold in here?”
Jim heard Blair’s quiet words from his place in the living room. A fire was warming the loft and heating a pot of water for coffee. He went to the small bedroom and knocked before opening the door. “Power’s out, Chief. Put on something warm and come out by the fire.”
Blair pulled on sweatpants, T-shirt, sweatshirt, and a pair of think woolen socks. He hustled through his morning bathroom ritual by candlelight, but decided against a shower, then met Jim in the kitchen.
“Merry Christmas, Jim,” Blair beamed up at the big man.
Jim looked at his roommate with a mixture of happy contentment and pure amusement. “Merry Christmas, Blair. Coffee will be up in a minute.” He took a tray with mugs and instant coffee out to the living room.
Figaro stretched and yawned his way out to the kitchen when he heard his dish being filled. “Murf.”
“You’re welcome,” Blair said automatically, setting the dish in its usual place. He shuffled out towards the fireplace. “Wow! Look at that snow!” Blair exclaimed, looking out at the balcony.
“And it’s still coming down too,” Jim sighed. “I’m going to go out and shovel the balcony off in a little while.”
Blair sat down on the floor next to Jim in front of the fire. “How long have you been up?”
“About an hour.” Jim poured heated water into the mugs and handed one to Blair. “It’s instant, but it’s better than nothing.”
“This is great,” Blair smiled, taking the hot mug into his cold hands.
“Looks like the power has been out since around 2:30am.” Jim noted the small shivers that were running through his friend. Without a word, he got up and retrieved the afghan on the sofa. “Here, this should help,” he said, draping it around Blair’s shoulders.
“Thanks, Jim. What time is it anyway?”
Jim looked at his watch and said, “8:45… is it too early to open our presents?” He gave Blair a sideways glance and a grin.
“Man, it is *never* too early for that!” Blair laughed.
**********
“Thanks for the backpack, Jim,” Blair grinned as he held the soft brown leather bag.
“Well, I noticed yours getting a bit… frayed around the edges,” Jim said quietly.
Blair laughed, “Frayed? Man, it’s down right ratty!”
“And thank you for the Dream Catcher, Chief,” Jim smiled, admiring the woven wool on a round frame with feathers and beadwork. There was a panther fetish in the center.
“A friend of mine down in Oregon makes them.”
“It’s great, Chief. I love it.”
There was a rustling sound and the two men looked around the paper strewn living room to see Figaro nuzzling and pawing at the only unopened gifts left.
“Hey, Fig,” Jim called to the cat. “Want your gifts now?”
Figaro stopped bow bopping and came to immediate attention. I thought you’d never ask!
“Go ahead and help him open his presents, Chief. I’ll go bring up the big one from the storage room.”
“But, Jim, no power… no elevator,” Blair reminded him.
“It’s not that heavy.”
**********
When Jim returned, he saw Blair feeding an elated Figaro a few of the salmon snacks. He had a carpeted pedestal that stood about five-foot high with a platform on the top and one about half way down.
“I can’t believe you bought smoked salmon…,” Blair laughed. “For a cat!”
“The guy at the deli thought I was nuts when I asked him to cut it up into little chunks,” Jim grinned.
Figaro finished with his treats and went back to the plastic cylinder with a ball in it. There was catnip in the plastic ball, but there was no way to get it out of the cylinder. All he could do was chase it around and around and around. Figaro didn’t want to admit that he was enjoying the chasing as much as the catnip.
While the black and white cat was preoccupied, Blair stood and said, “Let’s put it by the windows so he can see out over the balcony a little.”
Jim nodded and began moving across the loft. Blair waited for him to pass by, then picked up Figaro and followed. The cat wasn’t too happy about being pulled away from his new toy, but never argued about a chance to cuddle. After Jim set the pedestal down in just the right place, Blair set Figaro on the top platform.
Cool! Figaro purred, circling and sniffing every little bit of the platform he could. Then went down through the convenient hole to check out the second platform.
Jim chuckled. “He likes it.”
“I knew he would,” Blair grinned happily. “Now how about some breakfast? Thank goodness we’ve got a gas stove.”
“Sounds good, Chief.”
**********
Jim came in from the balcony after shoveling the snow off. “Well, at least it won’t collapse from the weight.”
“Do you think the power will be back on soon, Jim?” Blair asked.
It was well after noon and still no lights or heat.
“I couldn’t tell you, Chief. The radio said the power is out all over. It may take a while.”
“Do we have enough wood?” Blair asked, shivering under the afghan.
Jim smiled as he took off his boots, “We’ve got plenty of wood. Throw some more on the fire.”
Blair smiled. “Thanks, Jim,” he said gratefully.
The two men stayed warm by the fire. They had a cold lunch of ham sandwiches, Pringles, and beer. Jim had a piece of pecan pie and Blair got into the cookies. They turned the radio on once in a while for a short time, wanting to conserve batteries. Jim dozed, Blair read until the light was gone, then got a flashlight to continue.
Figaro had been happy to stay on his new *perch*, savoring the quiet day with his people. But instead of staring out the window, as most cats would do, he watched his humans. He was thinking.
*Christmas is a time of giving*. Blair’s words still rang in Figaro’s mind. Quietly, the black and white cat jumped down off the pedestal and strolled out to the kitchen and sat down in front of the refrigerator. “Merof?”
Blair looked up. “What? You want a snack?”
Yes please.
“Yeah, he wants a snack,” Jim yawned.
Blair marked his place in the book and got up. “How about a few of those salmon treats Jim gave you?”
“Meow.”
“Works for him,” Jim translated.
Blair took the several of the snack bits out of the plastic wrapper and placed them on Figaro’s placemat. “There ya go,” he said, stroking the cat’s back. “But that’s it. Smoked salmon is to rich for you to have very much.”
Figaro purred and pushed himself up into the hand.
“You’re welcome,” Blair smiled, then headed back to his place by the fire and his book.
“You’re going to go blind reading like that, Chief,” Jim said, watching his friend flip the flashlight back on. “Not to mention the batteries you’re using.”
“Yeah… I guess, but there isn’t anything else to do.”
At that moment Figaro appeared in front of Blair and set a small cube down on the floor in front of him.
“What’s this?” Blair asked, picking it up.
“Smells like a bit of smoked salmon,” Jim said.
Blair couldn’t smell it, but knew his Sentinel could. “Figaro?”
The cat had trotted off and reappeared with a second piece and set it down for Jim.
“Thanks, Fig,” Jim said. “But…”
Merry Christmas, Figaro said, then went back to his new pedestal.
“What did he say, Jim?” Blair asked quietly.
“He said… ‘Merry Christmas’.”
“Oh… I didn’t think he really knew what Christmas was.”
Jim smiled, “I guess he’s been paying attention.” He popped the bit of salmon into his mouth.
Blair watched the Sentinel then scrunched up his face. “Jim!” He couldn’t believe his anal, house rule imposing partner had just put food in his mouth that had been in a cat’s mouth. A mouth that licked…
“What?”
“Do you know where that’s been?!”
“Yeah I do.” Jim lowered his voice and whispered, “You don’t want to hurt Fig’s feeling do you?”
Blair looked from Jim to the bit of fish in his hand and sighed. Then quickly popped the morsel into his mouth and swallowed.
Jim chuckled, his eyes shining brightly in the fire’s light.
Blair stood and went to where the cat crouched comfortably. “Thank you, Figaro,” he said, his fingers scratching the cat’s ears.
Jim joined them. “Thanks, Fig.” A large hand ran over soft fur.
They looked out over the bay and noticed there were lights on in a few areas. The snowy landscape seemed bright even though the night was black.
*Christmas is a time of giving*.
<>~~<>~~<>
end