{"sf1_id":607524,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Paperwork","author":"assilsasta","words":3018,"posted_at":"2013-10-28T05:15:00.000Z","tags":["Kangaroo Mouse","Liger","adoption"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/607524-paperwork","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/607524","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=607524\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"(June 9, 18:00) They had spent the past six hours at the Busch Gardens theme\npark, exploring every inch of the living attraction, yet never stepping foot to\nthe rides. Lilliana realized then that the meek little mouse was not a thrill\nseeker, but a nature lover. She sat and watched the tiny mouse sleep peacefully\non one of the two kings sized beds, while she printed off the content of her\nvirtual fax inbox. Hearing the alert\nfrom her laptop Lilly looked back at the travel printer, It was out of paper\nagain. [i]How did Susan get all this so quickly? This is a lot more than she\nmade it out to be. That chinchilla is a miracle worker.[/i] Dropping more paper\ninto the feeder she removed the small\nstack and started the thumb through it. She pulled the six page form out and\nset it aside for later. Looking at the top of the first page: September 6, 1997: Baby Doe, anonymous turn over to state.\nApproximately two weeks old. Healthy kangaroo mouse. six pounds eight ounces.... Flipping through the small file. [i]Susan could get in so\nmuch trouble for this. I hate to see what she wants in return.[/i] She counted\nthrough the individual case sets. [i]What this fuck? This can't be right.[/i]\nSlipping her earpiece in she pressed the\nbutton on the side and aside \"Call Susan on cell.\" waiting for the chinchilla to pick up, she continued to jump\naround reading in the file. \"Hey there Susan, its me again... Yah, that's what I\nam calling about... First, how did you get this stuff on a Sunday... Ok, ok, I won't\nask. The less I know the better... sure I can shred it later. There is a lot to\nread here... Are you sure this is all her's?... Nine homes if fourteen years?...\nYeah, I see that... How the fuck do these guys slip through the cracks?... I\ndon't give a shit if its unsubstantiated... The fucker went to jail five times\nduring the investigation... And this here, FAMILY RELOCATED... who the fuck cares,\ntake the girl with you... That looked like the best place she was... From there it\nlooks like a spiking record... Returned special needs... returned problem child... May need counseling... No Shit\nshe needs help... No, she's passed out... the little guy was\noverwhelmed with Busch gardens... I have never seen a kid take so many\npictures... I think this was the first time she really smiled in years... Wait a\nsec, what's this stuff here at the end?... yeah the pictures... Someone took the\ntime to file these?... So what's this going to cost me?... Don't pull that\nshit... I don't care, I'm not doing that... yeah laugh it up, still not happening...\nWhat do you mean getting late? Its only 9:00 out there... Ok, I need to make\nanother call anyway... I am going to fill it out in a few... first thing in the\nmorning, have to get a notary... You take care of yourself... I think three weeks\nfrom now... TTFN\" She set the file aside pulling a pen from her bag, she slid\nthe forms in front of her, then pressed the button on the earpiece again, \"Call\nGeneral on cell.\" Starting to fill out the forms. \"Wow, someone taught you to\nuse caller ID?... It's about that letter of recommendation you offered... not\nquite, I am looking for a character reference for an adoption... Fuck you old\nman... If you saw what I was looking at, you would reconsider your jokes... She's a\nrunaway... ward of the state... Yeah that about covers it... I have my ways of getting things... Kiss my\nass, when did she call you?... I still got everyone's number... once a month like\nwe promised... Back to what i wanted... Asshat, if you already drafted it up why\ndid you make me ask for it?... Ha Ha, you got the bitch to beg... Yeah, I will...\nHold on a sec\" Lilly picked up the phone and snapped a picture of Cecily\nsleeping, and then fumbled through sending it as a text message. \"You need to\nget with the times old man, texting photos is old hat... Skype, live video... Yeah\nshe is a cutey... growing on me like a\nfungus... I asked myself the same thing... Shit, I don't know. We'll figure that\nout when we get to it... Thanks, I owe you one... the answer is still 'fuck no'...\nCall you on the first... yeah we do need to do a get together... Get Susan to set\nit up, she was always good at that shit... Ok, go eat, I will be here... Bourbon\nAlley?... Yea it's on my list... sometime next week... no I don't have a date set,\nI'll get there when I get there... How many?... OK, the usual drop box?... I got\nyou covered, are we square then? I might need another letter for a job... I don't\ncare what the others say, you're great in my book... have a good one, and thanks\nagain.\"  Leaning back in her chair with a sigh, \"The paperwork is\nalways the hardest part for me. And you're talking to yourself again Lilly. As\nlong as I don't answer I'm not crazy. Well you just answered nut job.\" Laughing\nto herself, she went back to filling out the forms. --- (June 10, 06:00) Lilliana woke to the sound of running water. Slightly\ndisoriented she reached for the wall at the side of the bed. When her hand\nclosed around nothing, she jumped up with a start. Landing on her feet eyes\nwide, she scanned the room. She put a\nshaky hand to her head, \"You're not in the dust bowl, that was six years ago.\nGet a grip Lilly.\" She looked around the room trying to pull herself back into\nthe present. Hotel letterhead and loose printer paper was spread across the\nfloor. She picked them up to find on each a rough sketch of flowers or animals,\nall scratched out with the complementary ballpoint pen. She sat with her back\nto the bed and slowly went through the pages, amazed at the talent\ndisplayed. Lilly was so enthralled that\nshe did not hear the shower cut off. As she walked into the room with a towel wrapped around her,\nCecily let out a soft 'eep' when she saw Lilly on the floor with the papers.\n\"I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you up with the TV.\" After jumping with a bit of surprise for the added presence,\nLilly looked at her, \"Sorry for what, having talent? I couldn't draw a stick\nfigure if my life depended on it.\" she patted the floor beside her, \"Com'ere. I\nam clueless here, tell me what they are.\" \"Just stuff we saw at Busch Gardens\" she said as she\nfidgeted with her tail. \"You read all the plaques; I was just there for the nature\nwalk.\" She thought for a moment while Cecily slowly came over and sat a foot or\nso away for her, \"You like this stuff? Drawing I mean. You're pretty good at\nit.\" \"It's ok I guess.\" \"'OK' my ass. When did you wake up?\" \"About an hour ago.\" Cecily\nresponded quietly. \"You did this stuff in an hour? You'd be a fuckin' Rembrandt\nif you took your time.\" Lilly said slapping the papers with the back of her\nhand. \"You should have told me you like doing this shit. You'll need something\nto fill the time on the road. I was going to stop by a bookstore this morning;\nwe have a full day's drive to Orlando.\nWe got about three days' worth of stuff to do down there before we head\noff to the Bourbon Alley in Tennessee.\" Lilly reached her arm around Cecily and\npulled her close, \"Look here Squeaky, we have some long days of driving ahead\nof us. After breakfast and FedEx, let's hit up the book store and stock up on\nreading mats and a sketchbook or three.\" Looking up at her Cecily, asked, \"FedEx?\" \"I got to send off these custody forms and get the ball\nrolling on the adoption. Susan will kick my ass if I don't overnight them\ntoday. For now, I need a shower and you get dressed.\" Lilly stood up and made\nher way to the bathroom, \"So what's going to be for breakfast today, Sisy?\" Speaking up uncharacteristically, loud enough to be heard in\nthe bathroom, Cecily asked, \"Why do you keep calling me Sisy?\" \"Well, slut, heffer, and asshat didn't seem to fit, so take\nit or leave it, Squeakers.\" Lilly said\nfrom the other side of the door. Sitting in silence on the floor listening to the liger\nhumming as she showered, Cecily held the bundle of loose sketches in her hand.\n[i]Is she really going through with this?[/i] She felt a tear forming on her\ncheek. [i]Don't do it, Cecily. Don't get sucked in. She will give you back like\neveryone else. it's only a matter of time.[/i] She tossed the papers across the\nfloor and buried her face in her hands. [i]It's only a matter of time. She kept telling herself.[/i] The sudden\nsilence from the shower being cut off sent Cecily into a frenzy of gathering\nthe paper. [i]No.No.No. don't let her see. Don't show weakness. That is what\nalways ruins things. Be strong, just deal with it.[/i] Having shoved the papers\ninto the trash she ran to her duffle to get dressed in a fresh set of cloths. Lilly came out of the bathroom, towel over her shoulder, \"So\nyou come up with breakfast ideas yet, or am I going to have to do it again?\" As\nshe passed the trash can she stopped and pulled the drawings back out, \"What\nthe fuck, Sisy? I wanted to keep these. I now have art to display on the\nfridge.\" looking over at the small mouse Lilly saw a look of panic in her eyes,\nthe same look when she bolted the day before. \"Fuck, I screwed up again.\" she\nsaid as she slapped her hand to her forehead. \"I am sorry, Cecily. Don't listen\nto me, half the time I speak before I think.\" dropping into the chair nude,\n\"Hell, I never think before I speak. You know what? I was told by an old friend\nthat I was missing the filter between my brain and my mouth that tells me 'you\nshouldn't say that'. That has gotten me into so much trouble it's not funny.\nHere let me try this again.\" pausing a moment she put on the fakest grin she\ncould manage, \"Hey there Cecily. Why don't we keep these as a reminder of our trip\nto Busch Gardens? They are so much cooler than photos.\" dropping the smile,\n\"How was that?\" Cecily just stood there recovering from a state of panicked\nsilence, looking wide eyed at the liger for a long moment. Then she looked down\nat the floor once she was able to collect herself. \"You're nude?\" she managed\nto squeak out. Looking down at herself then back at the mouse, \"So are you\nunder that towel. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Or is that just me being\ninsensitive again? Personally, I think you should flaunt it if you got it. On the topic of our hot bodies, what you want\nfor eats? We got about two hours before FedEx opens, and I think the B\u0026N\nhere is 24 hours.\" pulling her duffle into her lap, Lilly said, \"Put some rags\non that hot bod so we can strut our stuff at the bookshop.\" --- (09:00) Standing in line at the FedEx store, Lilliana gave the forms\none last check. Checking addon items, lease still good for two months, even if\nshe was not planning on staying there and the apartment was empty. Expedited\nbackground check request, that one might need another phone call. [i]Damn, I am\nburning through favors on this one. We are going to need to get to Oregon\nfaster than originally planned. Bureaucratic bullshit. In person interview. At\nleast we will still have the cruise.[/i] She moved up to the counter, \"I need\nthis signature notarized and this\novernighted.\" \"Just one moment, ma'am, let me get the public notary\" the\nyoung fox behind the counter told her as she went to the back of the store.\nLilly Looked out the window to the Camaro where Cecily waited.[i] I really hope\nthis temporary custody shit goes through, she needs this.[/i] Cecily sat in the passenger seat of the red '73 Camaro,\nB\u0026N bag clutched tightly to her chest. [i]This is never going to work.\nStuff like this never really works.[/i] Sitting there she looked over at the\ndriver seat. Standing she looked into the store windows, Lilliana was at the\ncounter. Climbing over to the driver seat she sat and looked between the space\nin the steering wheel and the dash, her feet got nowhere near the pedals. Whit\nher height she would never be able to drive. Sitting on the edge of the seat\nshe put one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter, like she had seen\nLilly do so many time now. \"So how does it feel?\"\nCecily screamed from the unexpected Lilliana standing outside the car. \"I'm sorry, I...\" Liliana interrupted her \"Sorry for what? You keep saying\nthat for no good reason. Your a fifteen year old girl sitting in the sexiest\nhunk of steel in this parking lot. I would be right where you are if it were\nme.\" Leaning in the window. \"Looks Like we will need to do something about the\nheight. These things are not made for some people. We can fix this, I am sure.\nNo girl should ever be stuck depending on a guy for a ride. Slide over\nSqueaky.\" She said, opening the door to sit down. \"We have a decision to make\nhere. Susan is awesome, and I trust she has already formed some sort of plan to\nexpedite the temporary custody process.\" Looking over at Cecily now back in the\npassenger seat. \"and from the sounds of what she was saying last night, we just\nwant to keep quiet about it and go with the flow. I don't ever question the girl.\" cranking the\ncar, \"The choice we have to make right now is head out to Portland now, with a\nquick stop at the JD distillery for a package. Or just hope for the best and\nkeep going with the zigzag to places I\nwant to see.\" Looking over at Cecily again, \"I don't know about you, but I\ndon't want to leave anything to chance here.\" Looking back over at Lilly, \"But what about your vacation? All\nthe things you have planned?\" \"Shit, you haven't figured it out yet? I don't really have a\nplan here. The plan was really to waste a month goofing off before taking the\ncruise. Now I found something...\" Looking down at the mouse, \"More like someone\nthat needs my time and attention. And that is more important to me than goofing\noff; we can do that any time.\" \"Why are you doing this?\" Cecily asked \"You're giving up a\nvacation for a runaway you don't even really know.\" \"When I look at you I don't see a runaway. I see a young\ngirl who has been through more than anyone your age should have been. I have\nmore than I need, and no one to share it with.\nI want you to come along for this ride of life. And I think my friends\nare going to bend a few rules to get us there. People are prepared to give up a\nlot here to make this all happen, just because I ask. Together we got a\nsnowball started rolling down hill, and it has just gotten too big for us to\nstop now.\" Lilliana said pulling out the receipt for the FedEx Overnight\npackage. \"You're crazy. You make it sound like people are going to\nbreak the law here. And for me.\" \"Not break the law, I hope. Just push things a bit faster\nthan normal. If I need to I still know a few more people that can grease the\ngears. We just need to get past this custody thing, then it should all be\ndownhill from there.\" \"What about the Home study and stuff? I hear that can take\nyears.\" \"That is after the temporary custody or Protective custody\nif you will. All you need to worry about is being you, and having fun. I will\nworry about the rest of the stuff. OK, Sisy. If it all falls apart, I have\nanother idea. But we will worry about that when we have to.\" \"This sounds bad. You're putting yourself out.\" Cecily said\ngetting quieter with each word. \"Now you sound like General Helfgrad, 'When will you take\nthings seriously SGT. Fargo?' Lighten\nup girl, we have a long adventure ahead of us here. If we worry about the small\nstuff like being put out for a short time, or failing at what we try to do, we\nmight as well do nothing. And that sounds like no life at all.\" \"You're crazy Lilly.\" Cecily said as she bucked her seat\nbelt. \"And you're intrigued. Lets see where this little slice of\nlife takes us. To Tennessee and the Bourbon distilleries.\" Lilliana cheered,\nshifting the Camaro into gear and letting it roll. --- (09:00 Portland, Or - County Courthouse) Susan Shelby, A plump chinchilla, sat in her office, phone\nin hand. \"You owe me this after last year's Christmas party... Don't make me to\nit Jeff... You know I will... Come on now; give me more credit than that. You think\nI got this far playing by the rules... You got it... how long will it take?...\nGood... See you tonight.\" dropping the receiver back into its cradle Susan thinks\nto herself, [i]I hope that little mouse of yours is worth all this.[/i]   "}