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Chapter 9: Greater Understanding

Jason awoke and peered at the clock: a quarter after four. He sighed exasperatedly and

pulled the blankets up farther. The bedding smelled faintly of dandelions and strongly of rabbit;

he guessed that Ellie hadn't had time to change the sheets. In general, he wouldn't mind

sleeping most of the day, but he wanted to get back to work. He wondered how long Ellie would

decide he needed to stay in bed. And whether she would really try to hold him down if he got up.

Jason was embarrassed enough that he had inconvenienced Ellie and Fitzie by turning himself

into an invalid for a few hours, but he found it even more embarrassing and frustrating to be

treated like an invalid even after he felt better. Ellie seemed to be enjoying the opportunity.

Jason tried to peer out the door to see whether she was paying attention, but he could

only see part of the partition between the kitchen and living room. After drinking several glasses

of water, he really needed to use the bathroom, and he really didn't want to ask Ellie's

permission. He had heard the toilet flush earlier, so he thought he had a pretty good idea where

the bathroom was. Maybe he could sneak by Ellie. He slowly slipped out of the bed. It creaked,

and he froze, listening to see if Ellie had noticed. What am I doing? He didn't need to ask

permission to use the bathroom, and he didn't need to worry about what the much smaller rabbit

thought about it. He dropped out of the bed and strode out of the bedroom toward where he

assumed the bathroom was.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Ellie bellowed from across the room.

Despite his intentions, he nearly jumped out of his fur. Ellie sprinted across the room and

caught him by the tail when he tried to dodge away.

"I was just going to the bathroom," he explained hurriedly.

Ellie glowered. "I told you I'd escort you," she reminded in a soft but menacing tone.

Still holding his tail and watching him warily as if she expected him to try to make a

break for the outside at any moment, she led him to the bathroom.

"Are you coming in with me too?" he asked when they reached the bathroom door.

"Don't be silly," Ellie scolded. "But don't lock the door. If I hear you trying to climb out the

window, I'll put you in bed for a week."

Jason closed the door behind him but obediently didn't push in the lock; it wasn't worth

the argument, and besides, he had no intention of trying to climb out any windows. Just out of

curiosity, he looked outside: they were several stories up. Does she think I'm a bird? After using

the toilet and washing his hands, he slowly opened the door. Ellie was still waiting. She grabbed

him by the wrist and led him back to the bedroom, watching until he was once again tucked into

bed.

"Go back to sleep. I'll bring you dinner in a couple hours," she instructed.

Jason managed to get back to sleep and was awoken when Ellie entered with his dinner.

She brought him more of the split pea soup though this time she didn't try to feed it to him.

Jason enjoyed the soup, but he wished Ellie would bring him some meat as well. He was sure

he'd be fine for a while, but after all, he was an obligate carnivore. However, he didn't want to

sound ungrateful for the effort she was putting in, even if he thought it was excessive.

Ellie left and came back with a plate of braised cauliflower and a bowl of grass and

dandelions. She sat down at the foot of the bed facing him and started to eat her dinner.

"It's kind of nice to have someone to eat dinner with," she commented. "How are you

feeling now?"

"Nearly recovered," he answered. "I think tomorrow I'll be right as rain, ready to get back

to work."

"I'll be the judge of that. Besides, tomorrow is Saturday, a good day to relax and get a

little TLC."

Jason smiled uncomfortably, "If you say so, but what about the case? Don't you still want

to help catch Danny's murderer?"

"Of course, I do! And I need my partner to help me. We're a team, Jason. That's why you

can't put too much burden on yourself."

Jason felt a surge of camaraderie for this rabbit sharing her home and food with him.

Even if Ellie could be overzealous in her methods, he knew her actions came from a place of

genuine concern and friendship. "You're right, Ellie. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble, but

it's good to know I have you to count on when I get carried away."

Ellie grinned, "What are partners for, eh?"

When they had finished eating, Ellie took away the dishes and returned with her tablet.

She climbed onto the empty left side of the bed and propped the second pillow against the

headboard to form her a seat. After plopping down beside him, she opened the tablet and

placed it between them.

"There's something I'd like you to listen to. Have you ever heard Cat and Mouse Cast?"

Jason shook his head, "No, what's that?"

"It's a podcast I listen to. They brought up something the other day, and I wondered what

you thought of it, especially after what we've been working on the last couple of days."

Curious, Jason nodded, "Okay, let me hear it."

Ellie pushed the play button, and the audio started.

"You know something you never stop to think about?"

"What's that?"

"This country is still a freaking monarchy for Pete's sake! I can't remember the last time I

heard about the royals or nobility doing, well, anything, but they're still living it up on our tax

dollars."

"Don't they help to attract tourists or something?"

"Great, so in addition to a bunch of moochers, we get to have a bunch of dense tourists

salivating over them."

"Heh, I guess you're right. We could probably use that money to build a really neat

theme park or something. That'd attract tourists, and we could use it too."

"Right, but if you do bring it up to people they're just like, 'Oh, but it's our tradition.'

Tradition sucks! If we went by ancient traditions, we couldn't even be doing this podcast right

now. Like, I'd have to be stalking you, trying to catch and disembowel you. Yuck!"

"Unfortunately, even with a tradition as objectively bad as that, there are still some who

won't let go."

"Oh, no. Not this again. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"I know you don't believe it, Cat, but the carnivore cults are not just a conspiracy theory.

There are dozens of unsolved cases of prey animals disappearing. What do you think is

happening to them?"

"Just because I don't know doesn't mean that it has to be carnivore cults. Maybe it's

aliens. Sounds about as plausible to me."

"Aliens?! And you think I'm the conspiracy nut?"

"Hey, I'm just saying it's possible. Carnivore cults are just absurd. Who wants to go to all

that risk to get something you can buy at the store?"

"I doubt anyone who would consider joining a carnivore cult has such a rational way of

looking at things."

"Well, that, anyway, is something we can agree on."

When the clip had finished playing, Ellie looked at him intently. "So what do you think?"

"I guess it's a bit silly that we still have a monarchy, but as long as they don't have any

real power, I don't see it as a major concern," he answered evasively.

"You know what I mean, Jason: about the carnivore cults. Do you think they are real?"

Jason swallowed nervously. "I know they are, Ellie. Half of those boxes in our office are

filled with accounts on them."

Ellie's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Why have you never mentioned it then?"

"It's not something I really like to discuss. That research already ruined my personal life

and career once, and I don't want that to happen again. Anyway, it obviously wasn't them who

killed Danny; they would have, they would have eaten him."

"You can't say something like that and then not tell the whole story! What happened?"

Jason looked at Ellie anxiously for a moment. She hadn't responded badly when he had

admitted that he thought the carnivore cults were real, but how would she react if he told the

entire story? Maybe it would be better to refuse to tell her and deal with her hurt and anger at

his lack of trust than to risk her thinking he was obsessed and crazy, but what was more

important among partners than trust?

"It started with my final research project at the academy. We were supposed to write a

thesis and present on some aspect of crime or law enforcement in Vulpineva. I was going to

critically examine the evidence for different cults that had been reported throughout our history,

but when I started looking into the carnivore cults, I found the evidence was simply

overwhelming. So I made my report entirely on proving their existence in contradiction to the

majority opinion among the populace and government officials. When I made my presentation in

front of the academy, my instructors were irate. They demanded that I redo the project and

recant what I had said. As you can imagine, I was shocked and angry. I threatened to take what

I had found to the press. They told me that if I did, I could forget getting a job as a police officer,

so I dropped out."

Ellie had been listening intently to the story, "Did you ever take your report to the press?"

"Yes, for all the good it did. Every editor I talked to thought I was a nutter. The only one

that published anything only did so to mock me. The worst part was that Lily was furious. She

said I had put my vanity before her, and that's when she broke off our relationship. I suppose, in

a way, she was right," he finished forlornly.

Ellie placed her hand on his dark brown eyes looking at him earnestly. "I don't believe

that, Jason. I think you did the right thing, what you had to do."

"So you don't think I'm an obsessed lunatic?"

"No. But even if you are, you're still my partner."

He flipped his hand to grasp hers and squeezed it gently. "Thank you, Ellie. That means

a lot to me."

She squeezed his hand back. "It means a lot to me that you could tell me about

something so painful."

They shared the moment of tender camaraderie for a few seconds longer. Then Ellie

patted his hand with her free left hand before pulling away.

"Well, I need to take a shower. Just stay here and keep relaxing, no sneaking off while

I'm occupied."

Ellie left the room, and a short time later he heard the shower running. It would indeed

be a good time to leave if he wanted to escape her ministrations, but after their dinner and

conversation, he wasn't really anxious to get away. And of course, Ellie would feel betrayed; he

didn't want to repay her kindness that way.

About half an hour later, Ellie walked back into the bedroom, sans shirt, and started

digging through the closet. Her fur was fluffed out and sticking every which way. Jason

chuckled.

"Good look you have going there, Ellie."

"I'm sure you look just as silly after you get done bathing," she sniped back. "Speaking of

that, I presume that you also didn't shower the last two nights since you didn't go home."

"Uh, I don't usually shower at all, on special occasions perhaps, but I normally just lick

myself clean."

Ellie whipped around. "You what?!"

"Lick myself. Like this." He demonstrated by grooming his left arm.

Ellie shook her head in disbelief. "That is unacceptable. You are taking a shower right

this instant."

Jason's jaw dropped in shock. "But-but I thought you wanted me to relax," he managed

to stammer.

"And there's nothing more relaxing than a nice hot shower," Ellie answered dogmatically.

She strode over to the bed and grabbed him by the wrist.

"Let's go," she enjoined, pulling with her weight. "You aren't getting clean lying there."

Jason could have resisted, but he could tell Ellie wasn't going to back down. He let her

drag him to the bathroom, glancing desperately at the route of escape he had failed to take just

minutes before. In the bathroom, he looked despondently at the open door of the walk-in

shower. The textured glass door and the white tile walls were already beaded with water drops

from Ellie's shower. Ellie shoved him inside, and he gingerly tried to avoid touching the wet

walls, squeezing his arms in and tucking his tail to make himself smaller.

"Ellie, please," he whined plaintively. "I don't like to get wet."

Ellie shook her head. "You'll feel loads better once you're clean," she assured him.

She adjusted the knob to the right temperature then pulled it out to start the flow of

water, quickly stepping out and shutting the door. Jason stood miserably as the water soaked

through his fur. He could see Ellie watching just outside, her image distorted by the textured

glass.

"Okay, you can turn the water off," she called after what seemed like half an hour.

Jason pushed in the knob and swung the door open, gratefully stepping out of the torture

chamber.

"Where are you going? The shampoo is on the shelf behind you," Ellie stated.

Turning his head, Jason looked back nervously at the bottle in the dripping

compartment.

"Go on. Or do you want me to come in with you to lather you up?"

Jason hesitated until Ellie moved toward the shower purposefully and then hurried back

inside and closed the door. Retrieving the green bottle, he squeezed the shampoo out onto his

hand and gave it a sniff. Rosemary? Soon he'd be going around smelling like a spice cabinet.

He grimaced as he worked the slimy liquid into his fur, finally covering himself from head to foot

in the scented foam.

"Go ahead and rinse off now," Ellie called.

He pulled the knob back out and again let the water soak him through, though at least

this time it had the benefit of removing the shampoo. When all of the shampoo was gone, he

turned off the water and cracked open the door.

"I can come out now?" he asked hopefully.

Ellie nodded, and with relief, Jason stepped out of the loathsome shower. He began by

licking his right arm: it was going to take forever to get himself dry.

"You're supposed to use this, you doof," Ellie said and threw a rose-colored towel at him.

He caught it and began vigorously rubbing himself with the soft fabric.

"No, no, just use it to gently wipe away most of the water. We'll use the blow drier for the

rest."

Once he was done with the towel, Jason stood still and let Ellie dry him the rest of the

way with the hot air. When she was done, she gave him an appraising look.

"There, now you look just as silly."

"Gee, thanks," he muttered.

"Don't worry, I'll give you a thorough brushing in the morning so long as you return the

favor. It's a pain trying to brush your back."

"It's not an issue I usually have to deal with," he reminded snippily.

Ellie shook her head. "That's so gross, Jason. If you aren't going to bathe, you should at

least warn people to wash their hands after they touch you."

"I get myself clean!" he protested.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Riiight, covered with slobber, very clean. Speaking of brushing,

you do actually brush your teeth, don't you?"

"Of course," he replied tersely.

Ellie found him a fresh toothbrush. After he'd finished brushing with the radish-flavored

toothpaste, she led Jason back to the bedroom, and he crawled into bed under her vigilant

gaze.

"I'll be sleeping on the couch," she explained. She gathered the extra sheets from the

closet and headed out of the room. "Sleep tight!" she called as she left.

After the forced shower, Jason wasn't sure he could tolerate another day of Ellie's so-

called TLC. What if she made him shower again? And who knew what other surprises her

adamant good intentions had in store for him. He'd have to make an attempt to slip away; he'd

apologize for his ingratitude later. The problem was he had no way to tell when Ellie was asleep.

He'd go to sleep for a few hours to assuage her concerns then slip away when she would

hopefully have fallen asleep.

* * *

The couch was significantly less comfortable than Ellie had expected. She kept rolling

from one lump to another trying to find the right position. Moreover, she had begun to feel a

particular gurgling in her lower gut: it would soon be time to pass her caecotrophs. Since rabbits

were not ruminants, they had to reingest special cecal pellets to allow them to fully digest their

cellulosic food. Ellie had expelled her regular feces early that afternoon, and like most rabbits,

she tried to time her digestive cycle so that she would be at home when she had to pass

caecotrophs. While this was all normal for Ellie, she knew that most other people would find this

aspect of her biology highly disgusting. Thus, Jason's presence was increasing her discomfort

beyond the purely physical discomfort of the lumpy couch. She didn't want him to be aware of

what was going on when she went into the bathroom.

Ellie waited until she felt she couldn't wait much longer then crept to the door of the

bedroom. Angling one ear around the side she listened intently: she could hear Jason's soft,

regular breathing. Sounds like he's asleep. She crept to the kitchen and carefully retrieved a

large bowl then slunk toward the bathroom. Whilst passing close to the bedroom, she paused

and listened again: nothing to indicate Jason had woken up since she'd checked. Entering the

bathroom, she closed the door as quietly as possible and locked it.

After she had finished with the messy business, she brushed her teeth again and

additionally swished some mouthwash. Next, she washed the bowl in the bathroom sink and

then returned to the kitchen, carefully placing it in its designated spot under the oven, separate

from the other dishware. Finally returning to the uncomfortable couch, she breathed a sigh of

relief; she didn't think Jason had woken up during the whole procedure. As much as she thought

he was disgusting for licking himself instead of bathing, she would have been mortified if he

were disgusted by her. The incongruity of these sentiments was not lost on her, but then again,

there was nothing biological about not bathing, whether one enjoyed it or not. Now that the

source of her emotional discomfort was out of the way, Ellie thought she might have better luck

getting to sleep. She flopped back down and tried to get comfortable again.

An hour later, she was still trying to get comfortable. She tossed from side to side, but

everywhere she turned, another lump was jabbing into her. Suddenly, she heard a creak come

from by the kitchen. She shot up and peered through the darkness. The moonlight from the

window by the table showed the faint outline of someone standing near the door. They had a

distinctly feline shape. Ellie flew into action, springing off of the couch and bolting across the

apartment. She leapt through the air and landed on the figure's back with her legs wrapping

around their waist and her arms wrapping around their neck. Jason yowled in surprise and

collapsed under her sudden weight. Ellie scrambled to stay on top and, gaining the position,

quickly sat on his back just below his shoulders.

"I told you you'd be staying in bed if I had to sit on you!" she proclaimed triumphantly.

Jason grunted resignedly. "Very well, you made your point. I'll go lie back down."

"Oh no! I'm not giving you a second chance to sneak off while I'm asleep."

Jason squirmed underneath her. "Then what? You're going to sit on me all night?"

"I have a better method."

She got up and helped pull him to his feet. Grabbing him by the wrist, she led him back

to the bedroom.

"Just sit there for a second," she instructed.

Jason obediently sat on the bed. Ellie first went to the left side of the bed to flip on the

reading lamp and directed it toward the closet. She then went to the closet and started digging

through the lowest shelf. Feeling a small wooden box, she pulled it out and turned to face

Jason.

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

Ellie grinned deviously and opened the lid to reveal a pair of steel handcuffs and set of

keys.

Jason blinked, "Why do you have handcuffs?"

"In case I need to restrain any misbehaved kitties, maybe?" she teased.

She stepped over to the bed and locked one of the cuffs around Jason's left wrist before

locking the other around her right wrist.

"Now you won't be going anywhere without me." She climbed onto the bed and stopped

to yank the handcuffs. "Well, come on!"

Jason continued to sit on the edge of the bed, looking uncomfortable with the whole

thing. "Why, why didn't you lock me to the headboard instead?" he asked awkwardly.

"Because the couch was really uncomfortable," Ellie piped. "Really, I should thank you

for trying to escape."

Hesitatingly, Jason followed. Ellie dropped the keys into the drawer of the adjacent

nightstand, and then she slid under the blankets on the left side of the bed. Jason crawled back

under the blankets where he had been lying on the right side, positioning himself on the edge

with his left arm extended toward the middle. Ellie switched off the lamp, returning the room to

darkness. She snuggled down into the blankets and sighed as she relaxed onto the

comfortable, uniform mattress. She yawned and closed her eyes.

"You sure gave me a lot of work today," she murmured.

"Sorry," Jason whispered.

"Shh, don't worry about it, silly kitty."

A short time later, she had slipped into a deep sleep.

* * *

Ellie awoke feeling well rested. She glanced at the clock: it was after ten. She hugged

the pillow she was holding. It didn't feel like a pillow. She glanced down and realized she was

hugging Jason's forearm to her chest. She must have moved closer and grabbed onto his arm

at some point during the night. She turned her head to see if he'd noticed. He was lying with his

head turned toward her, sea green eyes watching intently.

"Good morning, Ellie."

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, hurrying to slide back to the left and out from under his arm.

"You could have woken me up!"

"I was just thinking how innocent you looked, not at all like someone who tackles people

in the middle of the night."

"Hmf! Well, if you didn't try to slink away, I wouldn't have to," she rejoined defensively.

"Only teasing. Anyway, did you sleep well? I take it from your affection for my arm that

my presence didn't disturb you."

"Why would it disturb me? Did my presence disturb you?" she teased.

"Er-hem, no. I merely thought, among other things, you might have some instinctive fear

of sleeping so close to a predator. It's good that you don't; that ought to make things easier with

Fitzie."

Ellie was momentarily confused, "Fitzie?" Then realization dawned on her, "Aha! I knew

it! You did think I was flirting with Tom at dinner the other day!"

Jason looked embarrassed. "You weren't?"

"No, you goof. And if I ever stumble into a conversation that awkward again, I'd

appreciate it if you'd help me out of it!"

"Heh, oops. Sorry, Ellie."

She smirked. "Well, now that that's all cleared up, let's get up." She retrieved the keys

from the nightstand and removed the handcuffs.

Jason sat up. "Thanks. I, uh, have to go to the bathroom. Are you going to escort me, or

can I go by myself?"

Ellie narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. "Are you planning to make a dash for the

door?"

"No."

"Good. You can go by yourself. I want to go for my morning jog anyway. After I get back,

I'll fix you some nice oatmeal."

"Er, Ellie? Do you think there's any way you could get me some meat if I'm going to be

staying here another day? I know you don't like the smell, but I am an obligate carnivore. And as

much as I appreciate your cooking, it's not enough for me, nutritionally, you know?"

"Of course, Jason. There's a butcher shop right on my normal jogging route, and I'm

glad you've decided to do what's best for your health and spend Saturday relaxing with me

instead of going to work and exhausting yourself again."

Jason smiled awkwardly, "Well, I was hoping you'd let me do a little work today."

"I'll think about it."

She went to the closet and slipped on a yellow tank top then headed to the kitchen to

drink a glass of water before she headed out. Meanwhile, Jason headed to the bathroom. When

he came out, Ellie was still sitting at the table; she motioned for him to come join her. He walked

to the table but paused to look at the pile of junk covering the other side.

"Oops, let me move that," Ellie apologized.

She stacked up all of the magazines, junk mail, and pens and carried it into the living

room where she set it on the bottom tier of her glass topped coffee table. She hopped back to

the kitchen to grab a wet rag then used it to wipe away the dust from the unused side of the

table. Jason sat down, and she brought him a glass of water. She sat back down and finished

drinking her own glass of water before standing to leave.

"I'll be back in about half an hour. Is there anything you need before I go?"

Jason shook his head. Ellie waved and headed out the door and down the stairs.

Outside, it was already quite hot with the sun beating down from high in the sky. One

disadvantage to sleeping in. Because the butcher shop was usually early in her run, Ellie went

the opposite direction, so she wouldn't have to carry the meat as long. Though it was Saturday,

the late hour meant there were quite a few people out and about. Ellie was obliged to dodge

around several of them during her run including a group of young chickens playing hopscotch

on the sidewalk, a wolf with a cart selling sauerkraut and sausages, and a group of three crows

in white trilbies holding signs warning of the imminent return of Cthulhu. Another disadvantage

of sleeping in.

By the time Ellie reached the butcher shop, she was panting from the heat, and she was

glad for the cool air conditioning of the shop despite the smell. The lynx and pine marten

examining the wares both gave her a funny look as she strode up to the counter, but the fisher

behind the counter just waved amiably.

"Hello, Miss, how kind of you to come visit me after I missed you this morning."

"Actually, I need to buy something."

The fisher's face lit up with surprise, "Oh? But what do I have that you can eat?"

"It's not for me," she explained. "It's for my friend who's staying with me. He's a cat. He

asked me to pick something up for him."

"What did you have in mind?"

Ellie looked around the shop at the gruesome goods. How was she supposed to know

what to buy?

"Er, what do you think he would like for breakfast?"

"I have some nice pork breakfast sausages, excellent stuff."

"Okay, I'll get some of those."

"How much would you like?"

"Uh, just give me however much you think he would eat."

"Big cat or small cat?"

Ellie held a hand above her head trying to approximate Jason's height. "About this tall."

The fisher nodded. He weighed out and wrapped some of the sausages. "Anything

else?"

"Yeah, what do you think he'd like for dinner?"

"How about a couple of these chicken fillets?" the fisher asked, gesturing to the cuts of

meat.

"Okay, I'll get a couple of those too."

The fisher weighed and wrapped the fillets as well. "Anything else?"

"That seems like enough."

The fisher rang up the items then scanned Ellie's left hand.

"It wants a signature," he stated, pushing a touchscreen towards her on the counter.

"Oh?" Ellie asked in surprise. She was never asked for a signature.

The fisher grinned toothily, "Your bank doesn't know you have a feline houseguest. They

want proof it's you and not someone who chopped off your hand."

Ellie laughed uncomfortably, "Heh, right." She signed the screen, authorizing the

transaction.

Ellie took the items gingerly and said goodbye to the fisher. Outside, she took a deep

breath of fresh air before walking the short distance back to her apartment. Entering her

apartment, she set the meat on the kitchen counter. Looking around the apartment, she didn't

see Jason anywhere. Did he take the opportunity to run off back to work?

"Jason!" she called.

No response. She peered into the bedroom and bathroom: no Jason. It sure was a dirty

trick to make me buy that stuff so that I'd think he wasn't going anywhere. And she'd been

enjoying having a guest and looking forward to just relaxing together now that he seemed to be

pretty well again. She plopped down at the dining table looking at the empty place. Shoot.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. Ellie hopped up and peered through the peephole. Jason was

standing out in the hall. She unlocked the door and flung it open.

"You came back!" she exclaimed gleefully.

"Yeah, I was downstairs moving the laundry to the dryer. You locked me out."

Ellie blinked. "You were doing my laundry?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't have anything to wear, and I couldn't run the washer with only my

collar."

Ellie shook her head. "You are such a goofball. You don't need to wear clothes to lie

around the house. Who are you trying to impress?"

"You're wearing a shirt!" he protested.

"I was just outside. By the way, why don't you take a look at what I grabbed you at the

butcher's shop?" She gestured toward the counter. "Tell me if it seems okay."

Jason unwrapped the meat and smelled it. "It looks great. Thanks, Ellie. If I ate this well

every day, I'd get fat."

"Oh? I asked the butcher to give me how much he thought you'd eat."

Jason chuckled. "He may have upsold you a bit, Ellie, but we can give him the benefit of

the doubt and assume he just erred on the side of more than enough."

"Hmf, well, I'm going to cool off in the shower quick. Go ahead and fix however much

you want. I certainly don't know how to cook it."

Jason stared at her in horror, "Jaws of Cerberus, you're going to get wet again?!"

Ellie smirked, "Does that mean you do or don't want to jump in after me?"

Jason glanced toward the door of the apartment.

"I'm joking. Obviously, there's no reason for you to cool off when you've only been doing

laundry."

Ellie headed to the bathroom and had a refreshing rinse. She giggled as she thought of

Jason's expression when she'd said she was getting in the shower again. Once she had dried

off again, she stepped out of the bathroom, and ran into a wall of the odor of frying meat.

"Ack!"

Covering her nose, she ran to the dining room window and pulled it open, sticking her

head as far out as the screen would allow and taking deep breaths of the fresh air.

"Uh oh, that bad, is it?" asked Jason from the kitchen.

"I'll be okay," she assured.

She sprinted back to the bathroom and flipped on the exhaust fan and then back to the

dining table by the open window. Jason shut off the stove and came to the table with a plate of

sausages.

"I put the rest in the freezer. I'll just take them with me when I leave. Weren't you going

to have oatmeal or something?"

"Maybe after the smell dies down."

Jason looked at her guiltily, "Sorry for smelling up your apartment."

Ellie shook her head, "It's okay, really." Ellie watched him eat for a few minutes until the

air away from the window was tolerable. "You really should balance that meal out with some

whole grains. I'll fix us both some oatmeal."

Ellie hopped to the kitchen and began boiling some steel-cut oats. When they were

cooked, she mixed in raisins, dates, and walnuts. She spooned the cereal into two bowls,

liberally sprinkling hers with brown sugar. She brought the sugar and bowls to the table and set

the second bowl in front of Jason.

"I wasn't sure how much sugar you wanted on yours."

"None, thanks. Cats can't really taste sweetness."

Ellie gasped, "Oh no! There must be so many foods you can't enjoy!"

Jason shrugged, "All of those refined carbohydrates aren't really good for us anyway."

Ellie glanced at the oatmeal, "Do you want that at all then?"

"Some complex carbohydrates are fine."

Once they'd finished eating, Jason glanced at the clock on the stove.

"The laundry should be done by now. I'll go collect it before someone gets peeved and

throws your clean clothes on the floor."

"Thanks, Jason, and after you get back, I'll keep my promise from last night and brush

out your mussed-up fur."

Jason left, and a few minutes later returned with the basket of white garments.

"Do you want me to fold it for you?" he asked.

"Sure, and after that, the floor could use vacuumed, and the furniture and baseboards

could use dusted."

"Um, okay?"

Ellie couldn't hold her straight face, "Ahahaha, you were going to do it, weren't you? I

brought you here so I could make sure you relax, not so you could do my housework, silly kitty.

Just set that down, and I'll go get the brush." She eyed him mischievously, "Though if you want

to come over next weekend and do my chores, I won't complain."

"Heh, right, I'll set this in the bedroom then."

While Jason did that, Ellie grabbed her brush out of the bathroom cabinet then sat on the

mauve couch. When Jason emerged from the bedroom, she patted the cushion next to her.

"Come sit down, and I'll brush you."

Jason sat down, somewhat stiffly she thought, and she stood on the couch and began

smoothing out his pretty striped fur, starting with his head. She reached his back and began

smoothing out the fur in long strokes of the brush. On the third stroke, she began to hear a deep

rumbling. Her ears swiveled as she brushed, trying to locate the source of the noise: it seemed

to be coming from right in front of her. She placed her free hand on Jason's back and felt him

vibrating softly.

"Oh, you're purring!" she exclaimed. "How adorable! I've never heard a cat purr before."

The rumbling cut out and Jason stiffened back up with a soft cough.

"No, don't stop!"

Ellie redoubled her efforts, brushing his back in long strokes while simultaneously

scritching him around the ears. At length, she was rewarded for her efforts as he relaxed his

posture and the rumbling resumed. Upon finishing with his back and sides, she got down off of

the couch to do his chest and arms. Finally, she motioned for him to stand up so that she could

brush his legs, and she finished with his long tail. She ran her hand through his smooth, glossy

fur.

"All done. Now, it's my turn."

She looked at the brush, which was full of his brown and black fur. She pulled it out and

tossed it on the floor, pushing it under the couch with her foot.

"Something else for you to clean up next weekend," she jested. She sniffed the brush.

"Puh, I should have tried to find a different one. This one has your cat stink all over it now!"

Jason smirked, "I guess that's my revenge for you subjecting me to your rabbit stink."

"What rabbit stink?"

Jason put on an expression of mock contemplation. "Hmm, how about what I've been

lying in since yesterday morning? Pretty obvious you didn't change the sheets."

Ellie felt her ears getting hot with embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

Jason shook his head, "Don't worry about it; I wasn't bothered. Now let me fix your fur."

He held out his hand for the brush.

Ellie sat enjoying the feeling of the soft brush dragging through her fur with the bristles

gently scraping against her skin. If rabbits purred, she supposed she might have.

They spent the rest of the morning sitting together on the couch. Ellie pulled up an

anthology of Edgar Allan Poe's works on her tablet. Jason turned the radio to the Classical

music station and reclined back with his feet propped on the edge of the coffee table. Ellie sat

leaned against the cushioned side panel of the couch proximal to the rest of the apartment with

her feet on the couch. After about half an hour, Ellie finished reading The Oblong Box, the tragic

story of one Mr. Wyatt that is made darkly amusing by the obliviousness of the narrator, and

glanced up at Jason: he appeared to be drowsing. She reached out her left leg and brushed it

against his tail, which was sticking over the edge of the couch. The tip of his tail flicked once,

but otherwise, he didn't respond. Ellie smirked and went back to reading, starting on Ligeia.

Another half an hour had elapsed by the time Jason stirred. He turned his head to look

at Ellie through half open sea green eyes.

"Ellie?"

Ellie kept half of her attention on the book. "Hmm?"

"Did you think about whether I can get some research done for the case today?"

Ellie looked up from her tablet. "Do you promise not to overdo it?"

Jason smirked, "I assume you won't let me 'overdo it' even if I try."

Ellie returned the jest with a mischievous wink, "Now you're getting it." She flipped the

tablet closed with a snap and set it on the coffee table. "Right, I'll go get some of the papers we

haven't looked through yet."

"Do you want me to come help?"

"No, I'll be fine. Back in a few."

Ellie slipped the tank top she'd been wearing earlier back on then trotted out of the

apartment and down the stairs. She was crossing the parking lot when she was surprised by a

shrill yell from behind.

"Ellie?! Oh thank Zeus!"

Ellie turned sharply to see a brown rat in a faux leather jacket dashing towards her.

"Joe? What are-"

Joe threw his arms around Ellie's torso and hugged her tight. "Ellie! You're alive and

whole!"

Ellie looked down at the shorter rat, whose head reached the middle of her ribs: tears

were streaming down his face, and his breath was heavy with whisky. Ellie grabbed him by the

shoulders and tried to gently pull him off.

"Joe, you're drunk. Let go of me."

Joe either ignored her or didn't even register what she'd said. "Ellie! I was so worried! I

couldn't sleep at all thinking about you alone, alone with that beast. And then when I saw him

strutting around, not sick at all, I knew something was wrong. I went up to your apartment, and

that's when, that's when I smelled it. I thought for sure you were gone, Ellie, devoured!"

"Joe, what in the festering pits of Tartarus are you blabbering about?!"

Joe hugged her tighter, and Ellie increased her efforts to pull him loose. "The cat, Ellie. I

smelled cooking flesh, and I thought he'd eaten you! I didn't know what to do!"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Joe! But if you thought I'd been murdered,

why didn't you call the police?"

"The police?! The police, Ellie? Don't you know the chief of police is a bobcat? They're in

on it, Ellie."

"In on what?"

"All of it, Ellie: the disappearances, the carnivore cults."

Exasperated with Joe's frenzied state, Ellie tried to speak calmly, "Okay, Joe, so you

don't trust the police. But why would you even begin to think that my friend and partner who you

know I've been working with for years would have killed me? Certainly, you could have thought

of a more likely explanation: like, he got better, and I bought him some meat, which is what

happened."

"They don't see prey as friends and partners, Ellie. To a cat, you're just a quick meal

he's keeping fresh!"

Using her full strength, Ellie wrenched Joe off of her and held him at arm's length. She

stared at him, infuriated. "That's a wretched lie, Joe, and if you don't take it back, I'm going to

drop kick you into the dumpster!"

"No, Ellie, listen!"

"And after that," she snarled, "I'm going to call the police and let them know your

thoughts on their involvement with the carnivore cults. I'm sure they'd be interested in

discussing that with you."

Joe's eyes bulged, and he pulled away and stumbled back a few steps. "Okay, Ellie," he

squeaked tremulously. "I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything." He turned and ran back inside.

Ellie shook her head in disgust. She'd had no idea Joe was such a prejudiced piece of

shit. With an angry huff, she turned and walked the rest of the way to her car. The drives to and

from the office were calm, which was fortunate because Ellie was barely able to pay attention to

the road, still fuming over Joe's grotesque statements. She managed to lug the heavy box of

papers on her desk down from the office and then up to her apartment with the help of the

respective elevators.

When she returned to her apartment, she heard a humming sound coming from inside.

Still holding the box, she pushed the door handle down with her elbow and shoved the door

open with her shoulder. Jason was pushing the vacuum cleaner around the living room. Ellie

stumbled the last few steps and dropped the box on the dining table with a loud wham. Jason

started and looked toward the dining room.

"Jason! I thought I made it clear I was joking when I said you should vacuum and dust!"

she yelled irritatedly over the vacuum.

Jason shut off the vacuum and tilted it back and forth nervously, the tip of his tail flicking.

"I know, but I thought I should repay you for your help somehow."

Ellie scrunched her eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose. All of this stress was

starting to give her a headache. She plopped down at the table, still rubbing her nose. Jason left

the vacuum and hurried across the apartment.

"Are you okay, Ellie? I didn't know my vacuuming would upset you. I'm sorry."

"It's not really that, Jason," she sighed. She glanced up at him sternly, "But I forbid you

to do anymore of my housework; it's just awkward" Relaxing her expression she went on

gloomily, "It's actually because of that douchebag Joe."

"Who's Joe?"

"You remember. The rat who helped carry you yesterday."

Jason shook his head, "I don't remember any rat."

"Oh. I guess you were pretty out of it by the time he got there. Anyway, he accosted me,

literally grabbed me, while I was walking out to leave."

"Grabbed you?!" Jason yelped. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, no, it was more of a hug. He was relieved to see me. Alive."

Jason blinked in surprise, "What? What did he think could have happened since

yesterday morning?"

Ellie rubbed her nose again, and Jason put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That's

the really awful part, Jason. He was convinced that you had eaten me."

"Pu-wha-"

"And when I tried to tell him how stupid he'd been," Ellie interrupted his shocked reply.

"When I reminded him that you were my friend and that we'd worked together for years, he

claimed that you couldn't possibly see me as anything but a quick meal."

Ellie felt tears of anger beginning to well in the corners of her eyes. She pulled up her

shirt to dab them. Jason slipped his arm around her shoulders, and she reached across with her

right hand to grasp his hand.

"I was so angry, Jason. I'm still angry. I told him if he didn't take it back, I'd drop kick him

into the dumpster, which I should have done. And then I said I'd also call the police on him,

which I probably shouldn't have said because he was convinced that they are colluding with the

carnivore cults, but after what he said, I wanted to scare him."

"I'm sorry, Ellie. If you hadn't had to bring me home, you wouldn't have gotten into this

awful argument with your friend."

"It's not your fault, Jason, and I don't want friends like that anyway. He's really just a

neighbor I was friendly with."

"As horrible as it is to think about, we have to keep in mind that it really wasn't that long

ago that he'd have had all the reason in the world for those suspicions, and the fact that there

actually are some people still involved in those insane, murderous cults doesn't help matters."

Ellie glared at him, "That doesn't excuse him. He had no reason to think you would do

anything violent beyond your being a cat."

"I'm not trying to excuse him," Jason soothed. "I'm just saying it's easy to understand

where those attitudes come from even if we know he's wrong." He stroked his free right hand

over her angrily laid-back ears. "And that's what's most important, right? That we know he's

wrong."

Ellie sighed, still feeling upset though somewhat comforted by her friend's attempts to

console her.

After a short pause, Jason went on in a more casual tone, "And thanks for dragging this

whole box here. I'm really sorry you had to go through all that to get it. Do you think doing some

reading will help get your mind off of that unpleasantness?"

"All of that gruesome stuff? I don't think so," she answered grumpily.

Jason stood silently for a few more seconds with his left arm still across her shoulders

before asking another question, "Would you like to go just sit on the couch together for a while?"

Ellie looked up at the concerned cat; she nodded. Jason led her over to the couch, and

they sat down next to each other. Jason placed his right forearm around her mid-torso, and she

leaned her head against his shoulder. Reaching across him, she took his left hand and pulled it

over to her lap where she held it between both of her hands. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled

against his shoulder: his usual cat smell had a lightly sweet undertone of rosemary. He

responded by rubbing his cheek against her ears. As she was listening to his rhythmic

breathing, he began to purr, softly at first then building to a deep rumble. She nuzzled his

shoulder again and squeezed his hand, allowing their mutual affection to soothe away her

distress. Ellie absorbed herself into his comforting purring; she lost track of how long they'd

been sitting together or even whether she'd been awake the whole time.

After what could have been ten minutes or two hours, Ellie opened her eyes and looked

up into his warm, sea green gaze.

"Thanks, Jason. I needed that."

His gentle smile widened, "What are friends for, eh?" he murmured.

Ellie sat up and gave him back his hand, "Okay, let's get to work!" she piped.

They sat across from each other at the small dining table, reading through the accounts

and case files the rest of the afternoon. Around a quarter to six, Ellie glanced at the stove clock.

"Time to fix dinner. I think that's enough work for one day."

Jason didn't protest as she collected the papers they'd read through, and he carried the

box while she took the sorted stacks of read documents to the bedroom. They shoved them in

the closet where they would be out of the way but where Ellie would see them Monday morning.

They went back out to the kitchen, and Ellie started digging through the fridge.

"Hmm, dinner. What should I have?" she thought aloud.

"Do you want to make yours first this time?" Jason inquired. "That way you won't have to

wait for the smell to clear first."

Ellie turned her head to look around the refrigerator door, "Do you think it will be as bad

as this morning?"

Jason shrugged, "It's hard for me to know since I don't think it smells bad, but I guess

chicken is less pungent. Maybe if I bake it in the oven, the smell won't be as strong."

Ellie nodded, "If that works for you, let's try it." She looked back into the refrigerator,

contemplating her options, "If you are going to heat up the oven anyway, I'll make something in

it too."

Ellie pulled a couple carrots, celery, and a turnip out of the refrigerator and grabbed a

potato from under the sink. Jason set the oven to 350? and took the chicken filets from the

fridge.

"What else do you need?" Ellie inquired.

"A baking dish to start, and then you can show me where you keep the spices."

Ellie pulled a circular, green ceramic dish with a lid from the cabinet. Jason placed one

of the slimy pieces of flesh in the dish, rewrapped the other, and put it in the freezer next to the

sausages. Ellie opened the spice cabinet for him. The glass bottles clinked as Jason searched

through the spices, ultimately sprinkling the chicken with salt, black pepper, paprika, and a little

cayenne. Ellie cut the carrots, celery, and turnip into large chunks and placed them in an

aluminum baking pan with a little water and olive oil. She seasoned the vegetables with sage,

savory, thyme, salt, and black pepper before covering the whole thing with aluminum foil. She

stabbed a few holes in the potato with a fork and placed it on a separate aluminum baking

sheet. Once the oven was preheated, they slid the dishes onto the two racks, Jason taking the

bottom so that any juice that might boil out of the dish wouldn't contaminate Ellie's food. They

returned to the dining table to wait for the food to cook.

Ellie considered grabbing her tablet to do some more reading but realized that Jason

wouldn't have anything to read unless she got the cult files back out or tried to find some other

magazine or book for him to read.

"We could play cards or something while we wait," she suggested.

"Sure, do you know how to play gin?"

Ellie shook her head.

"Do you know how to play rummy?"

"Yes," Ellie answered.

"The games are quite similar, but gin is better for two people. I'll tell you the differences

in the rules, and you should have no problem."

Ellie went and dug her playing cards out of the closet. After Jason had explained the

differences between gin and rummy, they sat playing the card game, occasionally getting up to

check to see how dinner was coming along.

Ellie laid the four of diamonds face down on the discard pile, "Gin!"

Jason squirmed uncomfortably as he laid down his hand, "That was too fast. I hardly had

anything yet!"

Ellie smirked as she added the points from his hand to the twenty-five points for going

out and summed her total score, "One hundred and three to thirty-seven, you're not doing so

well," she teased.

"I just need cards like what I got the first hand. I've gotten nothing but crap since then,"

he complained.

"Or maybe you only won the first hand because I was still figuring out how to play.

Maybe you should just give up and admit who the real champion is."

"Go ahead and deal the next hand," he grumbled. "I'm going to check on the chicken."

Ellie watched as he went to check the internal temperature of the chicken. Spending this

time together outside of work had proven to be more fun than she would have anticipated. I

should invite him over some other time he isn't sick. Of course, he wasn't exactly sick now;

there was really no way she could reasonably demand that he stay another night. She began

dealing the cards as he returned to the table.

"I suppose I should take you to get your car after dinner," she said casually. "Though

you're welcome to stay longer if you still aren't feeling well."

"No, I feel fine. I don't want to inconvenience you."

"Right, after dinner it is then," she replied briskly. "Let's see if I can thoroughly defeat you

with this hand."

Jason managed to take the hand, but Ellie won the next two, handily passing the one

hundred and fifty point limit with one hundred and sixty-seven points to his sixty-four.

Ellie grinned as she collected the cards, "You're lucky we weren't playing for anything.

Next time you feel like doing housework, you can come over and let me trounce you again, and

we'll make cleaning the other's place the wager."

"I thought you didn't like me doing that," he grumbled.

"Only because you didn't have to. It's one thing to have my guest trying to clean my

apartment. It's another thing to win your servitude fair and square."

"Humph, if we play for anything, I'm bringing a new deck. You might have these subtly

marked or something."

"I do not!" Ellie averred indignantly. "Bring your new deck. I'll enjoy seeing you on all

fours, scrubbing the bathroom floor."

"You won't think it's so amusing when I make you clean out my fridge. There are

leftovers in there even I'm afraid to open!"

Ellie giggled, "Heeheehee, gross. Let's see if dinner is done before we both lose our

appetites describing the gross chores we're going to make each other do."

Ellie poked the vegetables with a fork, finding them to be tender, and Jason found the

temperature of the chicken had reached 165?. They set the dishes on hot pads on the table,

and Ellie grabbed them each a plate, fork, knife, and glass of ice water. Ellie was a bit off-put by

the sulfur-y smell of the chicken, but fortunately it was overpowered by the sweet, tangy scent of

the vegetables.

"I made enough vegetables so that you could have some too," Ellie explained.

"Thanks."

Jason took a piece of carrot, a few chunks of potato, and a small slice of turnip to

supplement the chicken. Ellie piled the vegetables on her plate.

Jason cut off a piece of chicken and was raising it to his mouth when Ellie interjected

with mock gravity, "And now let us thank Great Cthulhu for this bountiful feast!"

Jason paused with his mouth open, "Huh?"

Ellie snickered, "Would you believe that in the past few days I've seen two groups of

people out warning passersby of the return of Cthulhu?" She shook her head in amusement

before looking slyly at Jason. "You don't believe that one, do you?"

"Of course not, that's literally from a work of fiction." He popped the chicken in his mouth.

"It's amazing what some people will spend their time on," he mumbled around the piece of meat.

After dinner, Ellie slid the dirty dishes into the sink to wash at some later time. Jason

went to the bedroom and retrieved his shirt collar from the basket of clothes that still hadn't been

put away.

"What ever happened to my tie by the way?" he asked as he was buttoning it on.

"It's at the office. Hopefully, it's okay. I had to use it to cool you off yesterday," Ellie

admitted.

"I guess I'll find out when we get there, but as long as you were using water and not

coffee, it will probably be okay."

"I hope you mean you'll find out Monday. You're going to get it if I find you passed out

again Monday morning," Ellie warned.

"Don't worry: I don't want to go through that ordeal again."

Ordeal? His choice of words made Ellie self-conscious. "It wasn't that bad was it? I

thought we were having a good time."

Hastily, "Sorry, I meant what I put myself through. I didn't mean to characterize my visit

as an ordeal. I did have a good time for the most part," he amended. He paused before adding

testily, "I still can't believe you made me take a shower though."

"You should make a habit of it. A light hint of rosemary did your scent a world of good."

Jason narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, "Or maybe I could find some bacon scented

shampoo."

Ellie gawked at him in horror, "That'd be just awful!" she gasped.

"Then it's a good thing I still don't like getting wet," he rejoined. "You'll just have to deal

with my normal scent."

Now it was Ellie's turn to amend her statement, "I didn't mean that you usually smell bad,

just that you smelled nice with the rosemary shampoo."

Jason blinked, "You thought I smelled nice?"

Ellie felt her ears getting warm. She flicked one, trying to seem annoyed, "Don't make

too much of it. Are you ready to go?"

"Just let me grab the meat from the freezer."

Jason collected the leftover meat, and they took the elevator down to Ellie's car. The sun

was approaching the tops of the midsized high-rises as they drove to the office. Ellie watched to

make sure Jason walked toward the parking garage and not the stairs to the office after she

dropped him off. Satisfied, she turned the car around and went back home.

* * *

Jason turned and watched Ellie driving away then finished walking to his dark blue

sedan. He turned on the Classical music station and began what he intended to be a relaxing

drive to his small, one-bedroom house a few miles East of downtown. However, he was

distracted by the niggling feeling that Ellie was disappointed that he hadn't accepted her

invitation to stay longer even though he felt fine. And then he'd put his foot in his mouth by

calling the whole thing an ordeal when she'd put in so much effort to do what she thought was

best for him. And then she said I smelled nice. It was something you never said to prey unless

you wanted them to run away screaming, but from the other way round, he guessed it could be

considered flattering. Maybe he should go back and see if she wanted to watch a movie or

something. Now that he had his own car, he could leave at any time.

By the time he had arrived home, he'd made up his mind to go back. The first thing he

did was feed his pet crickets and change their water. Then he went upstairs to his bedroom and

selected John Carpenter's The Thing from his movie collection. He went back downstairs to the

living room and contemplated his DVD player. He'd noticed that Ellie had had a small tv located

at the far end of her living room by the radio. However, he hadn't noticed whether she had had a

DVD player. He decided to take his just in case. He unplugged the connecting cable from his tv

and took it with the player, carrying everything out to the trunk of his car.

Dusk was setting in as Jason drove back through downtown to get to Ellie's apartment

on the North side. When he arrived, he pulled into a guest parking spot and removed the movie,

player, and cables from the trunk. He walked to the door but didn't see any way to call up to be

let in. He looked around in the semi-darkness and noticed a rat in a black jacket peering at him

warily from beside the dumpster. He was holding a cigarette in his right hand, but it appeared to

have gone out.

Jason waved, "Hi, I'm here visiting Ellie Bennett. Maybe you know her: white and brown

rabbit, black spot under her nose. Do you think you could let me in, or at least let her know I'm

here? Her apartme-"

"Yes, I know her, and I know who you are," the rat cut him off.

"Oh. You must be Joe. Ellie told me you helped carry me yesterday. Thanks for that."

Joe sniffed and crept a bit closer. He glared at Jason, looking him up and down.

"I don't know what she sees in a pampered pussycat like you," he sneered.

Jason responded lightly, "Maybe it's my winning personality."

Joe sneered again, "I doubt it. But I expect she'll get tired of having a pet kitty before too

long. The novelty will wear off."

"I can see you aren't going to help me get in. I'll find someone else," Jason replied, still

remaining calm. It wasn't like he cared what this rat thought anyway.

Joe took a couple of quick steps closer, "No, I'll let you in just as long as you let Ellie

know I'm sorry."

Jason blinked, "Why would I tell her that? It doesn't sound like you've changed your

mind at all."

"That doesn't mean I'm not sorry. I shouldn't have upset her, should have found a way to

let her down easier at a better time, but I was drunk."

"I don't think I'm going to tell her that. She was upset enough after you talked to her this

afternoon. If you wanted my advice, I'd say you should let her be for a week or two and then

sincerely apologize and never mention it again."

Joe scoffed, "Why would I take advice from you?"

"Because, contrary to whatever nonsense you believe, I'm Ellie's friend, and I don't want

her to have a bad relationship with her neighbor on my account."

The rat shook his head, "Maybe you're actually naive enough to believe that, but you

can't deny biology. You'll always be a few missed meals away from ripping her apart."

Jason had had more than enough of the rat's wretchedness, but he still needed to get

inside. He was trying to figure out if he could ask again without it coming out in a growl when he

was saved by a mink coming out the door. He moved toward the door, and the mink caught it for

him.

"Trying to get inside?"

"Yes, I'm here visiting Ellie Bennett. Maybe you know her: white and brown rabbit with a

black spot-"

"Under her nose," the mink finished. "Yeah, I've bumped into her." She looked at what

Jason was holding. "Getting ready to watch a movie?"

Jason nodded. "Did you want to tell her so that she can let me in?"

The mink contemplated Jason briefly, "Nah, you look trustworthy enough. I haven't heard

of thieves bringing DVD players into the place they are robbing."

The mink continued to hold the door as Jason walked through.

She seemed to finally notice Joe as the door was closing, "You need something, Joe?"

The door shut, so Jason didn't get to hear Joe's response. He took the elevator to the

fifth floor and finally made it back to Ellie's apartment. He knocked on the door. After a few

seconds, he heard movement inside the apartment culminating with the sound of her claws

scraping across the linoleum in the entryway. There was a pause as she presumably checked

the peephole, and then the door swung open. Ellie had apparently gotten out of the shower

recently as her fur was sticking in all directions. Her expression was one of puzzled concern

with dark brown eyes wide, ears alert, and mouth turned down in a slight frown.

"Jason? Is everything all right? I thought you were going home."

Jason flipped his tail nervously, suddenly a bit self-conscious about his impulsive

decision, "I, uh, thought you might enjoy watching a film. But I should have called to ask, so if

you've had enough of me for one weekend, I won't ta-"

"Hush, silly kitty! I'd love to watch a movie!" Ellie interjected, beaming. "I thought you

were anxious to escape. I'm glad you weren't just being polite when you said you'd been having

a good time."

"I'm sorry I made you doubt my sincerity about that. I made a bad choice of words, and-"

"Yes, yes, no need to apologize for a misunderstanding. What movie did you bring?"

"The Thing. Have you seen it?"

Ellie shook her head, "What kind of movie is it?"

"It's a horror movie," Jason explained. "It's known for having exceptional practical

effects." He paused. "It's pretty gruesome now that I think about it. Maybe I should have

selected something else."

Ellie waved her hand dismissively, "I can handle a little movie gore, and if I can't, that

just means you'll have to hold me, eh?" she remarked teasingly.

"Eheh, I guess," he answered with an embarrassed smile. "Do you have a DVD player? I

brought mine in case you don't."

"I haven't used it in a while, but I assume it still works. Give me the disc, and I'll get

things started."

Jason handed her the DVD case and set his player on the table. Ellie took the disc to the

far side of the living room, and Jason followed. Ellie turned everything on and inserted the disc.

"Seems to be working," she noted. She wiped the dust off of the television screen with

the back of her hand. "It's been a while since I watched tv too."

The couch was facing the wall separating the living room from the bedroom rather than

the far wall where the tv was.

"Should we move the tv or turn the couch?" Jason asked.

"Let's just move this one section out of the way," Ellie suggested, pointing to the section

closest to the tv.

They pushed it over by the coffee table. Rather than traditional armrests, the sides of the

couch were high and cushioned the same as the back; thus, removing one end section created

a sort of chaise longue.

"Alright, sit up against the end, and I'll grab the remotes," Ellie instructed.

Jason sat as she had indicated with his legs on the couch, facing the tv. Ellie grabbed

the remotes from by the tv and turned back around.

"Okay, now scooch over toward the edge, so I can squeeze in."

Jason moved as close to the edge as he could, trying to make ample space. Ellie

climbed up onto the couch, walked across to the end he was sitting at, turned, and dropped

down beside him. She scooted down until her head was tucked under his right arm, which he

had placed across the top of the cushion to maximize the amount of room. Her long ears

brushed over his arm. Jason was hanging a quarter of the way off of the couch, and their fur

was still brushing together. He tried to steady himself by holding onto the back cushion.

Ellie glanced up at his hand gripping the pillow, "I didn't think the couch was that wide.

Scooch back this way, you goof."

Jason scooted over slightly until they were just touching.

"Come on; I'll let you know if you're squishing me."

Jason scooted the rest of the way back onto the couch, squeezing firmly against Ellie.

"There we go, nice and cozy." She looked up at him, "You comfortable?"

He nodded.

"Good, then let's see this movie you've brought to horrify me."

She picked up one of the remotes, which she'd laid on her belly, and started the movie.

For the most part, they enjoyed the film together in silence.

However, after the first reveal of The Thing, Ellie murmured, "I see what you meant by

gruesome."

Jason glanced at her to see if she seemed too disturbed, but she was watching the

screen intently. Toward the middle of the movie, she leaned her head against his side, and he

started slightly as her ear brushed into his whiskers. He was glad that Ellie didn't seem to

notice: if she thought he was more scared by the movie than her, it might be a month before she

got tired of teasing him about it. They both jumped when the blood jumped, and Jason thought

he felt Ellie start again later when The Thing burst through the floor. At length, the movie ended,

and the credits began to roll.

"Creepy," Ellie remarked.

Curious, "Did you like it?"

"Yeah, like you said, the effects were really neat, and the concept is pretty scary itself. If

it were real, either one of us could actually be that thing right now."

"Heh, I guess so. It wasn't too scary for you though, right?"

"Of course not." She turned to look at him slyly, "But if you're too scared to go out in the

dark to drive home, you can always spend the night again. Of course, if I really were the thing,

while you were sleeping would be the perfect time for me to get'cha." She grabbed his leg with

the last word.

Jason rolled his eyes. Somehow, he didn't have a hard time imagining Ellie wrapping a

tentacle around his neck. "With that thought in mind, I think I'll sleep better in my own bed, but

we should make this a regular thing, getting together on Saturday."

Ellie grinned and nodded enthusiastically, "Definitely, what time do you want to come

over next Saturday?"

"I think you should come to my house next weekend. You shouldn't have the burden of

being the host every time."

"Okay, what do you say I come over about eleven? We can have lunch, and we can

figure out what to do after that."

"Sounds good. I'll find something for you when I go to the grocery tomorrow."

"As long as it isn't just a bag of carrots."

"Heh, right." He slid his legs over the edge of the couch and stood to leave. "Well, I'll see

you at work Monday. Have a good rest of your weekend."

Ellie hopped up after him, and wrapped him in a hug, "See you!"

Jason felt his ears getting warm as he blushed. He lightly hugged her back with his right

arm. Once Ellie had let go, he turned and headed out to the dark parking lot, which was

illuminated by a single security light by the entrance to the building. Fortunately, the miserable

rat had gone back inside, so he got to his car and drove home without incident. It wasn't until he

pulled into his driveway that he realized that he'd forgotten his movie and DVD player. Crap. He

wasn't about to go back again. He supposed Ellie would notice and bring them to work with her.

He went inside and straight up to his bedroom. It would be good to sleep in his own bed

without the awkwardness of his rabbit partner sleeping right next to him. I don't know if I could

sleep right next to a wolf. He sat down on the gray comforter and began to groom himself. His

fur tasted slightly bitter. Whether Ellie thought it made him smell good or not, there were clearly

multiple disadvantages to shampooing his fur. After he had licked himself everywhere he could

reach, he went to the bathroom and used a slightly damp washcloth to get his head and neck.

Finally, he brushed his teeth, removing the taste of the shampoo from his tongue with the

catnip-flavored toothpaste.

He returned to his bed and threw back the top couple blankets; the hot weather meant

that the house was plenty warm, and the air conditioner wasn't set to come on until it hit 85?.

He flipped the linen sheet down, flopped into bed, and yanked it back over himself. He turned

onto his side, facing the middle of the bed, and pulled the extra pillow into his arms, holding it

against his chest. He'd gotten used to sleeping with someone when he'd been dating Lilly and

substituted the pillow when they'd broken up. Now he needed it to feel normal. Early on, he'd

tried to imagine he was still holding the bobcat, but as time went on, the pain of their breakup

had faded away, and he'd let go of the fantasy. As he drifted to sleep, he briefly imagined that it

was Ellie in his arms. He pushed the thought away. Even though Ellie expressed her friendly

affection with a fair amount of physical contact, that would certainly be more intimate than either

of them were comfortable with. He squeezed the pillow that was just a pillow and cleared his

mind as he let sleep take him.