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Story Notes:
I don't actually own a cat, so everything is pretty much made up or derived from experience with friend's cats.

Characters and genres may be added later, depending on what my brain conjures up...
Author's Chapter Notes:

Set after "Gus' Dad May Have Killed An Old Guy."

Also my yuletide-y contribution, I guess.

He only saw the movement in his peripheral vision. In this part of the eyes that is programmed for survival – less cones, more rods or something, that makes you see what little you do see in the dark, especially stuff that is moving. Gus would know what he was thinking of.

He turned his head towards the dumpster, stopping on his way down the alley. He had refused Gus' offer to drive him back to the office where he had parked his bike. He enjoyed the walk in this surprisingly crisp night. Thankfully just this morning he had retrieved his scarf from a box he hadn't unpacked since moving back to Santa Barbara a few years ago.

A teeny, high pitched whine was almost drowned out by the shuffling of his sneakers echoing off the walls. At the other end of the alley a few cars drove by, donating some light in strobic patterns to add to what little the street lamps had to offer. He got his cell phone from his back pocket before crouching in front of a couple trash bags, and pressed a button to bring the screen to life, shining it directly into the yellow-green eyes of a tiny little monster.

He definitely did not jump.

Shifting his position a bit, the angle of his cell phone light changed just enough to cancel the shiny-reflectory-thing inherent in any kind of feline. He was getting rather agitated Gus wasn't here to help him with his eye related vocabulary. Instead he looked directly into two big blue eyes staring up at him from what had to be the most adorable, dark furred kitten head he had ever seen. Of course he thought that about every kitten he came across, but that was neither here nor there.

The head was so unproportionally big he was surprised the kitten could even sit up straight. It seemed to hypnotize him, only shaking him from his reverie with another teeny whine. His father and Gus had lectured him about the dangers of touching stray animals without protection since he could think, and no, it didn't matter just how cute they were. Remembering the tirades vividly he grabbed his motorcycle gloves from his coat pocket and put them on, slowly and carefully reaching out so as not to startle the kitten. But he needn't have worried for it only tilted its adorably huge head with its adorably big blue eyes and didn't even flinch when he wrapped his hand around its adorably tiny, little – if incredibly dirty – body. Cradling it in his left hand he picked up the abandoned cell phone from the ground and activated the screen again to look for the kitten's siblings. Not finding any he finally stood up, put the cat in his now empty coat pocket and resumed his way.

After a quick stop at a nearby convenience store to pick up some disinfectant soap and hand sanitizer, Shawn arrived at the Psych office. He deposited the kitten in the heap of his scarf on the floor, a stern look and outstretched finger telling it not to move from its spot. He went to the kitchen to find a bowl he could fill with water and half the bottle of the soap. Still wearing his leather gloves, he relocated the kitten into the makeshift bath – after he had found it under the couch, where it had spotted one of Gus' long lost Wildcats figurines. The cat answered with a decidedly hostile look.

Under the grime from the dumpster he discovered an all black fur with only the very tip of its tail sporting some white hairs. The fuzz was back after a little rubbing with a kitchen towel and the kitten fast asleep as soon as it was back on the scarf bedding. Shawn threw his gloves in the sink, some sanitizer on his hands, and himself on the couch where he followed his newest little stray into dreamland.

The next morning Shawn found his new friend on the kitchen cabinet, however it may have gotten up there. He drove it to the nearest vet, where the doctor declared it healthy except for some malnutrition. She wormed it and, to his embarrassment, checked and informed him he had a female kitten on his hand. Shawn's current landlady frowned on any type of pet, adorable or not, and he wasn't certain how Gus would feel about an addition to the team after the whole tabby fiasco a year ago, so the doc handed him a pamphlet for the local animal shelter. She then prepared some solid food mixed with a bit of formula seeing as the kitten should be old enough for the weaning process to begin, if it hadn't already prior to Shawn finding it. It wolfed down the mixture and off they went, the kitten safely back in his pocket, onto the street and towards what would become her new home for the time being.

He parked his bike in front of the shelter's entrance and cradled the little Miss in his hand, bracing himself for what would probably become a very taxing departure with lots of manly tears. He made the mistake to look down into those big blue eyes that immediately shattered his resolve to leave it to an unknown future. Maybe they would do the same to Gus? Or even his coldhearted landlady?

But then a better idea formed in his mind. He knew exactly what to do with the little thing.

It was that weird time between Christmas and New Year's, where half the station was on vacation, the other half didn't really feel like working, and even the criminals seemed to take a couple days off. The only person motivated to work was Lassiter, who took any and all downtime as an opportunity to go through cold cases and double check if the Detectives assigned to them hadn't missed anything.

It wasn't even lunchtime yet, but he had already passed her on his third coffee run before descending once again in the records room. Juliet leaned back in her chair, stretching the stiff muscles and savoring the peace and quiet. She opened her eyes just in time to see the resident psychic strolling over to her desk, an unreadable expression on his face. He came to a halt in front of her and contemplated her for a moment before reaching into his jacket pocket and depositing something small and fuzzy on her desk. A red ribbon almost twice its size was slung around it. Juliet leaned closer to examine it until it twitched and a set of big blue eyes surfaced underneath the black shock of fur. They looked up at her in equal puzzlement. A tiny black tail with a white tip wiggled over the form she had been trying to fill out for the past half hour.

"I thought your cat would appreciate new company," Shawn said, noticing the slightly larger amount of cat hair stuck to Juliet's suit jacket.

She wasn't sure what to say, automatically reaching out a finger to scratch under the kitten's chin instead. A teeny purr filled the serene silence.

"The doc gave her the once over, she's good to go," he continued, looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself.

Juliet took the kitten on her hand, a smile spreading on her face. Shawn completely forgotten, she cooed the tiny creature, petting and coddling it, and superseding any further questions about the adoption.

Shawn watched his two current favorite females for a little while longer. Content he had made the right decision he left the Santa Barbara police station with a sunny smile on his face.



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