Summary: Jack likes to go on hikes on his day off. He finds something unexpected while enjoying the start of fall.
Warnings: Cats
A/N: I saw a tiktok of someone finding a kitten in the woods and thought about Jack finding a kitten. This is just a quick little fluffy bit of fun. That is to say, I didn't really edit it. Enjoy!
Jack Abbot wasn’t outdoorsy. He didn’t care for camping. Thought hunting wasn’t very necessary, especially for ‘sport’. He thought fishing was torture. The general vibe of the men who were outdoor types made him shudder.
He liked to hike, though.
Hiking was solitary without being lonely. It was quiet without being suffocating. He could just focus on one foot in front of the other. It was a physical activity that wasn’t as difficult for him as most people thought. Biking was annoying; he had to make sure he had the right foot on and hopping on and off was a hassle. Any ball-related sport meant having to be aware of him falling and busting his leg. Hiking was just walking. He didn’t have to think.
He tried to go out once a week. His therapist encouraged it. He liked the wooded hikes. He liked being surrounded by the trees and crunching leaves. He felt encased, sheltered in a way that didn’t piss him off.
Today, he was hiking through Frick Park. He didn’t feel like driving far out. It was okay, not his favorite. But the trees were starting to turn and smell like fall, so he wasn’t upset about sticking close.
He didn’t listen to music or anything while hiking. Shen had called it “Raw Dogging” the hike once. Jack slapped the tablet out of his hands to annoy him.
He was trudging through the trees, enjoying the silence. It was a Tuesday afternoon, and he had the park to himself. The leaves were crunching under his feet, he aimed for the crispiest ones.
“Meow!”
Jack stopped and looked around, trying to find the source of the disturbance of his peace. He didn’t see anything, chalked it up to a squirrel and moved forward.
“Meow!”
Jack huffed, looking through the trees. He saw a bunch of leaves shuffle around.
“Meow! Meow!”
He trekked off-trail towards the animated pile of leaves. He brushed the leaves off to find a small black kitten.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” He mumbled as he looked around. He couldn’t see anyone around, no sign of a mother around. He picked the kitten up by the scruff.
“You’re a pathetic little thing.” He could see every bone in the kitten’s small frame. It’s fur was matted with dirt and who knows what. It’s eyes were watery and wide as it looked at Jack.
“Meow!” It chirped at Jack.
“Alright. Fine.” He grumbled as he cradled the kitten in his arm and started back for the trail.
“Meow!”
“You really put a damper on my day off.” Jack sighed as he started for his car.
He propped the kitten in a pile of neglected sweatshirts on the front seat. He looked at the time and cursed. It was past 6pm. The shelters would be closed.
“Well, I guess we’re stuck with each other for the night,” Jack said to the kitten. The kitten was curled up, asleep, and purring.
He pulled into the pet store parking lot and yanked the kitten from the warmth of his nest. He put the kitten in the pocket of his jacket as he grabbed a cart. He grabbed a bag of litter and a box. He stood in front of the food options and felt in over his head.
“Finding everything okay?” A woman with pink hair and a face full of piercings came up to him.
“Hi. No. Um…what the fuck do I feed her?” Jack reached into his pocket, pulled the kitten out and showed the worker.
“Oh! What a sweet face!” She cooed and scratched the kitten’s chin. It purred in Jack’s hands.
“Found her in the woods. Don’t actually know if it’s a girl or not.” Jack shrugged.
“Okay, well, they are way too skinny. So you’ll need to make sure you do extra feedings. I suggest this formula,” The woman picked up a large container of powder. “It’s good and it’s not expensive and they’ll be going through it fast.”
“Sounds good. How often do I feed her? Like a baby, every 3 hours or so?” Jack put the kitten back in his pocket.
“Yes, actually. Similar concept. You’ll need some feeding syringes.” The woman tossed a packet into the cart.
“Thanks.” Jack nodded and went to leave.
“You might want to get them some toys or they’ll tear up your house.” She smiled.
“She’s just staying the night. She’ll be in the shelter tomorrow.” Jack huffed.
“If you say so.” The woman chuckled.
“What?”
“That cat’s wrapped around your finger already.” She smiled and walked off.
Jack looked down at the kitten. The kitten looked up at him and gave a slow blink, purring away.
“Shit.”
He decided the best place to keep the kitten was the bathroom. He had set up the litter box, knowing the cat didn’t understand how to use it, in the corner by the toilet. The idea of taking a shit with the kitten made Jack chuckle.
He had prepared a bath, it was nice and warm. He had bought special shampoo at the store after the worker told him how sensitive kitten skin can be.
“Okay, look.” Jack looked at the kitten sitting on his feet, rubbing it’s face on his prosthetic leg. “I don’t want to do this, you don’t want to do this. But it has to happen. Not to embarrass you, but you’re nasty.” He put his hands on his hips.
“Merow.” The kitten squeaked.
“Just don’t rip me to shreds. Okay?” Jack picked the kitten up and plopped it into the bath. The kitten froze for a moment, unsure how to feel about he water, before it exploded out of the water. Jack grabbed hold of it and struggled to keep it in the water.
The cat screeched, hissed and growled as Jack did his best to bathe it. The cat used every tool to fuck with Jack.
They stood staring at each other in the bathroom, both unhappy with being wet.
“You’re a little shit.” Jack grumbled.
Jack woke up to the sound of crashing coming from the bathroom. He rolled over to see he still had an hour of sleep before he had to go to work.
“Fucking asshole.” Jack growled as he got up to put his leg on.
The bathroom was a mess; toilet paper everywhere, the toothpaste tube had been stomped on and little white paw prints covered the counter, and the trash can was tipped over.
“I guess…most of this is my bad. I should have moved everything.” Jack started picking up everything. He wiped the counter down and fixed the trash.
“At least you figured out the litterbox.” Jack sighed.
Jack walked into the ER early. Robby looked up at him, confused. His eyes were drawn to the scratches along Jack’s arms.
“What the hell happened to you?” Robby chuckled.
“I found a cat.” Jack said as he tossed his bag down.
“Sorry, that sounded like you said you found a cat?” Robby’s brows furrowed.
“I was hiking, it was abandoned. I took it home. It needed a bath. Hence the scratches.” He said as he pulled out some betadine and alcohol and started scrubbing the wounds.
“You’re keeping it?” Robby asked as he tossed him some antibiotic cream.
“I don’t know yet. Little shit is growing on me.” Jack shrugged.
“Hell must have frozen over.” Robby chuckled.
“Fuck off. Finish your shit and get out of here.” Jack sighed.
The night was rather slow. Jack had handed off the few big traumas to Shen after he begged for them. He found himself scrolling through cat accessories on amazon. He found a few good articles on house training kittens. He read up on body language and the cat grimace scale. By the end of shift he had a cart full of cat accoutrement.
“I’m keeping the fucker.” Jack grumbled as he pushed past Robby, annoyed at the knowing smirk on his face.
He got home to find the kitten curled up on the bathmat. Jack hit buy on the cart and made an appointment with a vet.
“Good afternoon, how can we help you?” The receptionist smiled.
“I have an appointment.” Jack said.
“Name?”
“Abbot.”
“No, the pets name.”
“Oh. I made it for kitten. It doesn’t have a name yet.” Jack said.
“No problem. Take a seat, we’ll get you back soon.”
Jack sat with the carrier on his lap. The kitten was screaming bloody murder and reaching it’s little paws through the front of the carrier.
“Dude, you’re fucking embarrassing both of us.” Jack hushed the kitten.
“Abbot?” A tech came out.
“Yeah!” Jack rushed over to them. The exam room was quiet and covered in pictures of cats.
“So, we’re doing a wellness exam today, is that correct?” The tech asked.
“Yeah. I found it in the woods. Can I let it out?”
“Yeah, go ahead.” The tech smiled. Jack opened the door and the kitten shot out of the carrier.
“Sorry.” Jack sighed as he peeled the kitten from under the bench.
“It’s fine, we see everything.” The tech chuckled. “So you don’t have any medical history for this guy?”
“Hates baths. That’s about it.” Jack shrugged. “Can you tell me if it’s a boy or girl? I tried, but I’m not a cat guy.”
“Yeah, that’s no problem.” She nodded. “Doc with be in to do the exam in a minute.” She left.
“Dude, chill out!” Jack held up the kitten so they were face-to-face. “You’re getting the vaccines and shit. We’re a pro-science household.” A knock at the door tore their attention.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Walter. I hear this little one was lost in the woods.” A kind-looking woman in her forties came in.
“Sure. Found it and here we are. It’s my first cat.” Jack put the kitten on the table. The kitten was clawing to get into Jack’s arms. “Chill your shit.” Jack pointed at them.
“Well, they like you.” She chuckled. “They’re a little thin. Regular feedings will fix that. You have formula?”
“Yeah, got some last night.”
“Perfect.” The doctor felt all over the kitten. The kitten started to calm down and rubbed against Dr. Walter’s hand. “She’s seems healthy otherwise.”
“So it’s a girl?”
“Yep. It’s hard to tell on cats. But she definitely is a girl.”
“I’m an ER doctor and I thought I was losing my mind when I couldn’t figure it out.” Jack sighed.
“No worries. Sometimes we get it wrong. They’re tricky.” Dr. Walter laughed. “She’s not quite old enough for vaccines just yet. We’ll wait another two weeks for that. I am going to send you home with a dewormer. She’ll likely need it if she was in the wilderness.”
“Okay, thank you.” Jack smiled down at the kitten as he gathered her in his arms.
“My tech will be in with those pills and then you can head out. You just have to give her a name.” The doctor nodded and left.
“Oh yeah. I guess calling you a little shit isn’t going to cut it.”
“Here are those dewormers. You’re all set to go. Call if you need anything.” The tech smiled as she handed the bag to Jack.
“Thanks. Hey, what would you name her?”
“Oh…Um…I don’t know. Something feisty, she’s a little spitfire.” The tech laughed as she left.
“Yeah. You are a little feisty.” Jack hummed as he put her back into the carrier.
Jack sat on the closed toilet looking at the kitten, playing with one of her new toys.
“Luna?”
The kitten rolled over.
“Yeah, everyone names their pet Luna. Raven?”
The kitten turned away from him.
“Yeah. Well, fuck kid! What the hell do you want from me?” Jack threw his hands up in the air. “Peg?”
The kitten jumped up and wrapped herself around Jack’s foot.
“Of fucking course.” Jack chuckled.
Jack walked into the Pitt, his bag slung on his shoulder. He marched up to the counter where Robby, Dana, Princess and Ellis were gathered.
“You want to see something cute?” Jack asked. They looked at him confused.
“Is it going to be a bowel obstruction?” Dana cringed.
Jack pulled his phone out and showed them a picture of Peg he had taken. The kitten was sprawled across the metal of his leg and chewing on his finger.
“You got a kitten!?” Ellis screamed.
“Oh my god! She’s so cute!” Everyone crowded around the phone.
“This is Peg Abbot.” Jack smirked.
“You named her after a laxative!?” Dana crossed her arms. “She’s a little shit, it fit.” Jack shrugged as he walked
[ID: A digital drawing of a very fluffy cat with mainly white fur. She has black paws that fade into white and a black tail tip that also faded into white. She has very vague gray tabby stripes. Her eyes are bright red, matching a small diamond-shaped jewel on the crown she is wearing. She has small tufts on the ends of her ears. Her mouth is open. End ID]
@star2006mcart @kitab00m101 + everyone else who enjoyed this idea :3
