Disclaimer: Paramount own everything, we own nothing, except this idea. So paws Off! Read and enjoy, but please don't steal, or we will be forced To hurt you.
By Cath Allan and Felicity Cathew.
He could have guessed something was wrong by the grins. Were he still Human, Odo would have suspiciously checked to see if his clothing wasn't embarrassingly awry. He knew that there was nothing amiss about his form since he'd spent minutes checking on it mere hours before.
"Who's your friend?" called Dax.
Odo looked around in confusion, then down.
"Miow?" Enquired a small orange kitten.
"Constable, I take it this is your new deputy?" Kira chuckled, then grinned amicably at the strange little creature. "I have to say, he's a handsome fellow."
Odo glared at it. "Go away."
The cat crawled onto his boot, curled up, and calmly went to sleep, a steady purring filling the air.
"Uh..." Odo stared in slight horror at his boot and its slumbering passenger, the gazed helplessly at the others. He didn't want to wake the small animal, but didn't know what to do either. He resorted to primness. "I have never seen this animal before in my life."
"It seems to like you." Dax was sniggering by now, and Odo could have sworn he heard a snort of laughter from Kira, who was studiously examining her work panel.
Odo bent to scoop the little kitten from his foot and promptly drew back as it yowled and sank a claw into his finger. He got the hint and backed off, sighing to himself. "This will not be easy." Irritated at Dax and Kira's muffled giggles, he glared at them. "The least you could do is help!"
Kira immediately crouched under the table. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty."
The kitten blinked at her and curled up tighter.
Dax approached and attempted to pick it up -- and was promptly bitten. "Ow! It bit me!" She stepped away with a new respect for the small fighter. "Sharp teeth."
"And claws to match." Noted the constable.
Sisko chose that moment to stroll into Ops. Taking one look at his security chief, it was all he could do not to burst out laughing. Instead, he tried for mildly amused. "What is this all about?"
"Odo found a cat." Kira broke in, somehow managing to keep a straight face.
"Kitten." Corrected Dax.
"It won't... Leave." Supplied the constable, futilely trying to move his boot from under his passenger.
Still grinning, Sisko replicated a bowl of milk. "This one always works." Placing the container before the small animal, he adopted an almost childish pose. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty."
The kitten spared him only a single brief glance before falling asleep again.
Ben fought back a smile and threw up his hands. "Well, I'm out of ideas."
"Thank you." Odo muttered, standing even more at attention. The man was forced to deliver his entire report while fixed to the spot. Eventually, Odo slowly and carefully managed to shapeshift himself from under the kitten and re-formed his boot on the way. The instant he'd withdrawn his last piece of himself, the cat awoke and began to clean itself.
Odo felt... betrayed.
Bashir seemed very happy with himself behind his instruments. "Well, it's a cat."
"How very astute." Odo hurumphed, "Does it belong to anyone? Is it male or female? How old is it? Doctor, I would like a few details."
Bashir grinned. "Well, it's male, I'd say about eight weeks old, and as far as I am aware, there are no cats on the station, at least not Terran ones like this little chap. The only other small felines around here are Bajoran Horo-cats, and they're both male. Your little friend probably came off a freighter from somewhere."
"It's not my friend," grated Odo.
"Well... I guess if we don't find a home for him, I'll have to destroy him."
Odo stared at the kitten, which was industriously cleaning an ear. "No, I'll look after him for a while. If his owner shows up, they can re-claim him."
Bashir had put his smile back on. "You know, no-one really owns a cat, the cat owns them. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say you've been adopted."
Odo leveled a cold stare at the doctor. "Just give me the instructions Doctor."
Julian continued chuckling as he picked up a PADD, punched some buttons, and handed it to the Changeling. "Here's all the formal data you'll need for him to survive." Patting the still-sleeping bundle of fur gently, Bashir's grin widened. "He'll need a name you know. And you'll need a disposal tray and feed bowls for him."
Odo frowned. "I see." He sighed and picked up the kitten who didn't even miow. This was going to be harder than he thought.
Odo came home from his shift to check on the kitten. He'd installed all the provisions the cat had needed before he left for work, and felt sure that he would probably find the small animal curled up on the bed.
Three seconds after he opened his door, Odo realized that the kitten had found a lot more to do with the furniture than just sleep on it. A vase had been smashed, his arch-construction had been clawed, and his flame plant had been toppled and its leaves scattered everywhere. Odo restored his plant to its former place of honor and went searching for the tiny culprit.
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," the Changeling murmured with vengeance in mind. Entering the bedroom, he saw that it was equally disarrayed; His sheets had been moved out of alignment and claw-marks covered the lower twenty centimeters of every immovable object in the room. Odo found the kitten curled up on the window ledge, purring in its sleep.
It was suddenly very hard to stay mad at the small terror then, even with the marks he'd left on the glass. "I trust you're proud of yourself."
The kitten yawned at him.
"You realize you're in trouble with the law?"
"Mew?"
Odo sighed. "Let me guess: You're hungry."
"Mmmeeooww!"
He gave up and headed for the replicator. "Come on then."
The kitten was sitting by the replicator before Odo left the bedroom, meowing loudly. Odo spent a moment looking up 'teleportation' on his datapadd before he fed the kitten.
He'd rearranged his quarters that night so that nothing else could be toppled or squashed, then he'd replicated a toy the little terror could entertain himself with -- a fake mouse that wriggled every now and then. So far, the kitten had studiously ignored it.
Odo checked up on the kitten before leaving, making sure it was totally engrossed in 'killing' the corner of a bedsheet. Halfway to the turbolift, it became evident he hadn't been thorough enough.
The kitten was following him, tumbling through the hallway after him at full speed, coming to a halt by skidding to a stop. He continued to look totally innocent when he finally stopped as he sat down and wrapped his tail around his feet.
"How did you get out?" Odo demanded, grateful there wasn't anyone else in the corridor.
"Maw?" The wayward youth furiously groomed a hind leg then looked up expectantly as if waiting for the Constable to do something entertaining.
Odo scooped up the cat and sighed as it licked his cheek. "I might as well take you with me," he rationalized, "While you're out here, you can't go wrecking my furniture."
His little friend started purring.
Marching into his office, Odo found himself being watched by Bashir, who fought back a smile as he gazed at the furry creature nestled in the crook of the Changelings arm.
"I see your friend is with you today." Julian tried not to smile as Odo glared at him. Picking up a strange-looking object, the Human held it out towards the security chief. "This is a cat bed, I thought your new friend might need one, although cats usually sleep wherever they want."
Odo smiled slightly and carefully placed the kitten in the cloth basket, where it began sniffing with interest. Odo sat down heavily and turned to Bashir, still keeping a watchful eye on his little charge who appeared to be trying to kill the cloth. "Thank you for the gift doctor, I'm sure the kitten appreciates it." The animal in question almost tumbled off the edge of the table, but was caught just in time. As Odo placed him back in the basket, he was rewarded with a playful nip to his thumb and smiled ruefully at the doctor. "He seems very... ferocious."
Bashir's' smile widened to a grin. "That's normal. He's just finding his place in the universe." The man headed towards the door, then turned back. "I'll see you in a month for his first set of inoculations, and I suggest you replicate some more toys or he'll be wanting your undivided attention all day."
Odo grunted and placed the basket with its sleeping occupant on the floor then turned to the reports that littered his desk.
It was a slow morning for Sisko, until he found a kitten in his office, sound asleep next to his baseball. Ben shrugged, sat, and absentmindedly patted the little animal as he called Major Kira into his office.
Kira took one look and made a heroic effort to keep a straight face. "You wanted to see me sir?"
"It seems we have to tighten security in Ops. There is a distinct threat to my personal effects."
"But sir it's just a little kitten. Technically it's a minor." Nerys sat opposite and broke into a wide grin.
Sisko was falling victim to a burning desire to snigger. "Very well Major, I'll let him off with a warning." He shook a finger at the offending feline. "Bad kitty!"
The kitten licked his finger.
Kira almost exploded in laughter, but somehow fought it back.
Sisko glared at her. "As Bajoran liaison, it's your job to escort this minor back to his parent. See that he receives a reprimand from the Constable."
"Thank you sir," Kira drawled sarcastically as she cautiously scooped the offending animal from Sisko's desk and marched from the office. Entering the turbolift, his steady purring began to mellow her slightly. Bringing her face down a little closer, she smiled as the kitten stretched a paw up to her shoulder -- then quickly licked her nose!
Kira stared at him in mute horror as the kitten merely purred louder.
Odo looked up to see an irritated Major holding his cat. "This is yours!" She enforced, dumping the protesting animal in his lap. "Please keep a closer watch on it!"
Odo glanced at the offending creature and sighed. "I thought I was."
"It licked my nose!" Kira snorted then plonked down in the seat opposite as Odo's eyes shot up in amazement and he found himself wishing to be his own pet.
"I'll -- keep a closer eye on him." He smiled slightly as the cat curled up on his console and went to sleep again.
Kira threw up her hands. "Do you have a name for him yet?"
Odo shook his head ruefully and handed her a PADD. "Everything I've looked up seemed... Demeaning." He saw Nerys roll her eyes and nodded slightly. "You can assure the captain that I'll keep him here from now on. He won't bother you again."
Kira grinned and stood. "Good. Because I should warn you that your little terrorist there provided a distinct threat to the captains baseball this morning."
Odo watched the Bajoran saunter out of his office and sighed again, this time with a sense of longing.
Kira had chuckled her way back to Ops and replicated some Hasperat to gnaw on while she worked. The 'end of month' reports were due the next day and she'd barely made a dent in them. Nerys was halfway through her lunch when something attacked her ankle. "Ow! What the--"
Two small ginger eyes gazed up at her with playful delight. "Miow?"
"Cat, you are too cute to die young." She hauled it onto the table. "What are you doing here? Your daddy is supposed to be looking after you."
"Mew... mew...?" The kitten sat there looking pathetic and eyeing off her hasperat.
Kira sneaked a sideways glance at her lunch. It was badly replicated and growing tepid. In her opinion, there was little worse than cold, bad hasperat. "Fine. You eat it, but don't complain to me if it disagrees with you."
The kitten fell on the food as if starving, and Nerys patted him gently, shaking her head in amusement. "Doesn't Odo feed you?" The kitten began purring, but didn't stop devouring the food. "Okay, you eat it, then I'll take you home to Odo and then I'll kick him across the Promenade..."
The kitten was industriously cleaning up every last morsel of hasperat then he groomed himself carefully before trying to chase Kira's fingers across her console. His tiny claws made little impression on hands used to ploughing through the Bajoran undergrowth, but his purrs made deep marks on a heart scarred beyond healing.
"You're a cute little kitty, aren't you? Trying to kill my finger, eh? You can't catch me, no you can't...?" Nerys took a quick look around before taking off her earring and dangling it in front of the kitten who promptly skittered across the table after it as she made 'Yah!' noises.
Sniggering filled air suddenly, and glancing around, Kira went crimson as she saw the command crew watching her and giggling. Including Odo.
"Let me take him Major." Odo stepped down and gently picked up the small animal, which promptly fastened his teeth on the mans simulated finger, a habit Odo was fast learning not just to tolerate, but recognize as a sign of affection.
"Ha!" O'Brien snorted, "Cat's a regular Houdini!"
Odo glanced at him curiously. "What's a Houdini?"
Miles glanced towards the heavens as if asking for patience. "Houdini was great Terran magician. He could escape from anywhere, from anything." He nodded towards the kitten whos' ears were twitching in interest. "Just like your young friend there."
Odo smiled and glanced at the little furry bundle as he stroked the fur slowly. "Houdini. I like it."
Kira smiled. "I can't think of a better name."
Odo looked at her with a quiet smile and scooped up his small charge as Kira hastily refastened her earring. "Thank you -- for looking after him."
Kira accepted the loan of dignity. "You're welcome."
Cats have a very economical view of the universe. The entirety of creation is summarized and grouped into several classes; things to sleep on, things to kill and/or eat, things to mark as territory, and things that feed them. Thus, every sentient with the capability to feed a cat is summarized as a 'feedme'. This saves a lot on communication, since "Hello Feedme" and "Hello, feed me" are one and the same.
Houdini was bored. His Feedme had decided to sit still without napping or even clawing the furniture. The place had the same scent as his Feedme, and was therefore also Houdini's territory. He'd already exhausted the possibilities of it.
Houdini stretched, and set forth into the big-strange-smell place to see what he could see.
Interesting smells were everywhere, along with the faint traces of his Feedme. Houdini dodged feet that weren't his concern, investigating everything. Other animals had been here.
He froze. A dog! Someone had dared bring a *dog* into his turf. Houdini produced a hiss that should scare the monster back to where it came.
The behemoth barked. Houdini chose retreat up the nearest tall thing possible.
Unfortunately for everyone concerned, that was Lieutenant-Commander Dax.
"Will you get this thing a *toy*?!"
Odo looked up to find Dax holding an angry kitten by the neck. Disbelieving, he checked Houdini's basket, which proved to be empty. "I - wasn't aware he'd left..."
"You're not the one who has to put up with Julian smirking. This animal's shredded my backside!"
"Lieutenant - I tried to get a toy to distract him. Houdini ignores it."
Dax put the kitten down on Odo's desk, "Let me guess, you replicated the most costly item on the menu?"
Odo lowered his gaze, "As a matter of fact..."
"I knew it," Dax rolled her eyes, "Odo, cats are like children, you give them an expensive toy and they play with the box."
"Should I get a box?"
She sighed, leaning towards the replicator, "One piece of paper, white, A4." Dax took it out, and crumpled it into a ball, and dropped it in front of Houdini, who instantly tried to kill it.
"*That* should keep him off our tails,"
Dax glared at him as she left.
Houdini stopped playing when his other favorite Feedme entered. The female in red who had fed him in the top-place. Houdini decided to name her Comfylap, after he had moved in when she'd conveniently sat down. He sank his claws in as a sign of appreciation and purred a thank-you.
"Ow," murmured Comfylap. "Quit that."
"It just means that he's getting comfortable," said the one Houdini had named Funnysmell for his curious scent-traces.
"That's good for *him*, isn't it?" winced Comfylap. "Happy?"
Houdini purred in answer.
Funnysmell sighed, then talked with Comfylap about things Houdini wasn't bothered about. It was warm, and he'd been fed, so he slept.
Keiko O'Brien heard a giggle behind her and glanced around. The children were still paying rapt attention to her, so she returned to teaching them about Federation history.
The giggle was repeated seconds later, and this time she looked behind her, there was no need to look for the culprit.
A ginger cat, little more than a kitten really, was sitting primly on one of the Bajoran children's desks, calmly washing an ear. Keiko watched silently as the cat finished its ablutions and then gazed at her expectantly.
"So, I see we have a new student in class today." She frowned slightly, but her heart wasn't in it. "I really should have someone take him home."
"Can't he stay?" A Bajoran girl pleaded, her hand hesitatingly reaching out to stroke the cat. "He's not doing any harm."
Keiko sighed and smiled. "Alright, but only as long as he doesn't stop you all from working. Anyone who misbehaves, and...?" She glared meaningfully, and from the angelic smiles, guessed that there would be no more trouble that day.
And that was where Odo found his young charge, two hours later, deeply engrossed in a math lesson with Molly O'Brien counting his whiskers.
She never knew why they bothered with holosuites. It was just an excuse for another argument, and they could argue perfectly well without having to dress up in uncomfortable costumes and collect stares from the Promenade.
"I don't know *how* you keep talking me into this," Kira complained, running a finger around a particularly annoying edge of her costume. "I'm hot *only* under this thing, it chafes, and I have burn-marks on body parts I don't want to *talk* about."
"So why talk about them?" queried Dax with an annoying smile.
"This wouldn't be so bad if *you* played Xena once in a while."
"I don't have the - technique," pleaded Dax.
"Who needs technique? These guys are programmed to fall over the minute you *touch* them. And you're too damn tall to be Gabrielle."
"So I like the hairstyle."
Kira was distracted by something happening at foot level. She looked down. "We're being attacked by a savage monster," she sarcasmed.
Dax nearly fell over laughing at the kitten trying to disembowel Kira's ankle. "It's official. This game's a lost cause."
"Hooray." Kira said. She tapped her commbadge, "Kira to Odo. I found your little friend again. Get him from me at Quark's. I need a drink." The kitten was tucked into the crook of her arm, where he sank his claws into her skin. Kira stormed downstairs, ordered a bowl of milk and a bottle of Romulan ale.
Quark wouldn't have paid attention to the latest entrant to the bar if it wasn't a slow day. He had seen the cat following the Constable, Major Kira, or wandering about on its own.
The fact that it was now sniffing his bar was something to be disturbed by. Odo could very well be testing Quark by some perverse means. Quark risked a glance into the Security office. He wasn't there.
The Ferengi replicated a bowl of milk. Since the Constable didn't eat or drink, neither would the cat if it wasn't the cat. "Here kitty?" Quark risked.
The cat padded over, sniffed the bowl, the milk, and his hand, then bit him. Quark yelped, massaging the cut in his fingers. The cat was swallowing milk as if chasing a bad taste from its mouth. It hissed once more at Quark before turning, kicking its hind legs in his direction, and fleeing the bar.
"If you aren't Odo you know him *very* well..." Quark growled.
"Odo, we have to do *something* about this cat!" Kira absent-mindedly stroked the animal in question as he slept in her lap. Odo was sitting primly at the opposite edge of her couch, his hands in his lap and an almost plaintive expression on his face.
"Nerys, I've tried everything I can think of!" The Changeling's expression became almost pleading. "It doesn't matter what I do, he always escapes!" Odo headed towards panic, completely missing the smile playing around Kira's lips. "He gets out of the office any time he feels like it; He annoys everyone from Keiko and Shora L'gan at the school to Quark and Garak; He sleeps on Sisko's desk; He invades Ops; And he used Dax as a climbing post!"
"Calm down, Odo." Nerys' only reaction to the man's panicked statement was to scratch Houdini's back. "I know he's done all of that, but no-one has really complained. Well, except for Quark, but he always complains." She grinned broadly as a deflated Odo collapsed onto the couch again. "All I'm saying is that I'd rather not find him in my bed again, as flattered as I am."
Odo nodded glumly and tried not to notice that Kira was wearing her pyjamas and a smile. "I just wish I could figure out why he's doing this. It's most annoying."
"Don't worry," Nerys placed a comforting hand on Odo's knee. "All animals are the same. He'll settle down in time, you'll just have to wait him out." Kira yawned and gently moved a complaining Houdini off her lap and onto Odo's. "Now, I have to get back to sleep, so if you'll excuse me...?"
Odo shot to his feet, Houdini curled up in his arm, already asleep again. "Of course. Good-night Major, and I promise he won't disturb you again."
"Good night Odo." Kira stood and smiled again as her friends left, before getting back to her bed and her sleep.
Odo paused for a second outside her door and sighed at his young companion. "Of all the beds on this station, you had to curl up on hers." He gazed at the small animal and muttered plaintively "Why do you have all the fun?"
Garak shook out the fourth dress in as many seconds that had gathered a cloud of orange fibers. _Where in the *world* are they coming from?_
"Mrrouw?"
Garak looked down at the creature. He'd seen it trailing behind Kira or Odo on the Promenade, "What are you doing in *here*?"
It rolled over on a display bolt of black velvet, leaving behind the now-familiar trail of orange fiber. It purred.
"Shoo!" he tried, "Out!
It stretched itself, showing a set of talons that sank themselves into his fabric. Garak picked it up before it could do any more damage to his stock and propelled it away from his display cases. The creature sauntered in the direction of the counter as if that were its intended direction all along.
"Don't you *dare* think of interfering with anything," instructed the tailor, though he doubted by now if the creature was bothering to listen.
It had found his measuring-pen fascinating, and was prodding it with a forepaw.
Garak took it away, "That is *not*," he said, "a toy."
It gazed up as if hypnotized, crouching almost subserviently at Garak's hand. Something must have been wrong with the creature's skeletal system, it's hind legs weren't balancing properly, and its backside was wriggling...
Seconds later, Garak had a kitten clinging to his fist.
Worf was not in a good mood, although no one could tell since this was almost a native state for Klingons in general and Worf in particular. He had been in a fine battle against imagined foes along the borders, running battle drills when he'd been called back for - *this*.
A waste of time interrupted Sisko in the form of a small, ginger animal that leaped onto the desk, sniffed the baseball, and oozed into Odo's lap. Then the thing produced a low, whirring growl.
Everyone else was staring at the animal as if it had grown another body part.
Worf growled back. "What," he demanded of the Constable, "is that?"
Odo, having taken in Worfs glare, said, "My newest deputy. I trust you'll treat *Ensign* Houdini with respect?"
Worf glared at the cat, who glared back, sheathing and unsheathing his claws menacingly. "It is an *animal*!"
"As always, your powers of deduction amaze me *Mr* Worf." Odo spoke drily and ignored Worfs glare while the other officers did their best not to giggle out loud. "Houdini is a valuable member of security, especially when it omes to sniffing out contreband."
"If the two of you have finished...?" Sisko raised an eyebrow and nodded as both officers retreated to their figurative corners. "Then let's continue with the meeting."
Houdini padded behind his favorite Feedme's, which he'd actually named Funnysmell and Comfylap. They still had to come when they were called, but Houdini was patient. So far, they both showed him interesting places and expanded his turf by leaps and bounds.
Funnysmell always investigated places first, then Houdini would follow to check the corners and underplaces for kill-things. Houdini bounced from place to place in kittenish glee. This was a *fun* place!
Opened boxes were only worth a vague sniff or two, since there was little of value in them. Worthless not-sand stuff. Except one, which had a strange animal-trail smell. Perhaps it was a kill-thing. Houdini's tail twitched as he stalked after whatever-it-was. Kill-things were even more fun than new places.
Houdini advanced on it, pausing to make himself small as he caught a glimpse of tail. Such a way of moving... so sinuous. Houdini risked a paw to investigate the end part. Whoa! Houdini jumped back and hid. There was much more of this kill-thing than expected. Houdini followed it.
The kill-thing was advancing on Comfylap. Houdini set his claws and readied to pounce. No matter how long this kill-thing was, Houdini had to protect his Feedme's. Houdini leaped for the kill-thing's midsection.
Kira sighed and rubbed her neck tiredly as she helped Odo perform a random custom check on the latest Bajoran cargo shipment. She was tired after yet another double shift, and so not paying the greatest of attention to what was going on around her.
Consequently, when the Gel serpent headed towards her, she didn't notice. It helped even less that her attention was distracted by Odo arguing with the freighter captain of his manifest. The first she knew about the snake was when she heard an angry hiss from Houdini and a sharp yowl. Looking down, she leapt back, horrified as the snake lunged.
Kira knew she didn't have a chance, that the snake would land a strike on her leg, when Houdini saw his chance and took it. Suddenly, a small furry bundle of orange lightening attacked, striking the snake down immediately. A minor scuffle ensued, then the kitten backed off, leaving the snake to attempt a retreat, one that didn't last long.
Kira used a long-neglected battle skill and drew her concealed dagger from its holster on her forearm. Moments later, the Gel serpent was transfixed to the floor. Kira spent a second admiring her handiwork, then turned to find Odo crouched next to Houdini.
The small cat was lying on the floor, his chest heaving and blood staining his mouth. Odo crouched helplessly beside his friend and gently cradled the kitten in his hands. "The snake bit him. He's dying."
Kira decided more positive action was called for and retrieved her knife before tapping her commbadge. "Computer, beam Odo and I to the Infirmary immediately, with the feline."
The trio vanished in a golden swirl, leaving several Bajoran dockworkers to stare at the dead snake in wonder.
Odo looked as if he'd been through the wringer, instead of his cat. Bashir lead him into the room where Houdini lay, "I've given him the anti-venom, and - unfortunately - the rest's up to him. All we can do is wait."
Odo took a place by the biobed where Houdini dozed, and risked a tentative touch to the little cat's head. "Why didn't you *stay* where you were put?" He whispered.
Kira, by his side since the snake had attacked, rested a comforting hand on his shoulder, "He's a cat. Cats do what they feel like." She sniffed, sitting down and gently brushing Houdini's fur, avoiding the bandage on his leg, "He just followed us because he wanted company."
Odo had shut his eyes, lowering his head like a man doomed to execution, "I - can't have this happen again..." he whispered.
"Again?" Kira, quiet too, in the presence of the sleeping feline, sought to comfort her friend, "Has something like this - happened; before? You can talk to me, if you need to."
"When I was in the lab, I was often left alone, sometimes for days on end. The scientists were on holidays, and - I never needed anything. So they thought..."
Odo Ital was bored. This was nothing new for the young shapeshifter, and it often happened on the weekends when Mora didn't come in to torture him. At least life was interesting when Mora was there.
Odo was rebelliously mis-using the furniture when he first saw it. Nothing more than a glimpse, but that was all he needed to spark curiosity. He eventually identified the small, moving object as a Bajoran Hopping Mouse, and a very hungry one, since it was trying to eat the wall.
He used the lab's replicator to produce an all-grain biscuit and broke it into pieces, feeding them into the little nook where the Hopping Mouse was hiding. Odo even tried to lure it from hiding with the crumbs. It didn't work.
The tiny rodent was the only creature he'd met that hadn't expected anything out of him, so Odo felt it was only fair he expected as little in return. Still, he wanted to know if the minuscule animal's fur was as soft as it looked, or if it would shake that way when held gently in the warming hands of, say, a nearby shapeshifter.
It was also alone. Just like him.
Odo, inspired by the surprise of finding a being that didn't shy away on seeing him shapeshift, named the little creature 'Bab', meaning 'pet'. Bab almost got completely used to him by that Monday morning. Odo solved the dual problem of hiding and feeding Bab by crumbling up a day's worth of biscuits and plugging some of the entrance with a wad of rag. Then the secret gnawed at him all day.
The second Mora was gone, Odo removed the rag from Bab's hiding place, and breathed a sigh of relief that the Hopping Mouse was alright. Bab, recognizing a source of food, cautioned into the open to investigate Odo's crumb-filled hand.
"Hello, Bab," Odo Ital whispered, "I'm sorry I had to shut you in like that, but I didn't want Mora experimenting on you."
Bab finished a kernel and licked its paws clean, tiny claws pricking at Odo's skin. The shapeshifter ventured a careful digit forward to investigate Bab's fur. Little whiskers tickled, and Bab's fur was *very* soft.
No-one had put up with him touching them before.
Bab let Odo pick him up on the fifth day, and Odo showed Bab everything he could with the enthusiasm of having a new friend. Odo had long since added a tiny dish of water for Bab into the niche Bab hid in behind the computer console, and he filed it fresh in the morning before he hid Bab for the day.
It took him a fortnight before he breached something near the subject to Mora.
"I've been reading about pet ownership in the databases," Odo announced, "Apparently, it's a healthy thing to do."
Mora laughed, "Are you recommending *I* get a pet?"
"Actually, I was thinking of finding one," still trying to act casual, Odo sat himself on a benchtop, "According to the studies, the presence of a pet can round out a personality, provide company and produce calm."
Mora turned from his work to glare at Odo. "All right. What have you adopted?"
Odo looked down, "Promise you won't hurt him?"
"Not even if it's a Cardassian Vole."
Reluctant, Odo unplugged Bab's hiding-place, luring the Hopping Mouse into his hands. "It's alright, Bab," whispered Odo, carefully cradling his tiny friend, "Doctor Mora wants to meet you, that's all."
"'Bab'." Mora snorted, "How original. What *is* it?"
Odo slowly revealed his mouse, "He was alone, and hungry... and then I found him."
Mora sighed, "At least it isn't disease-spreading vermin... You can keep it if you get it a cage."
"Isn't this lab enough for you?"
The scientist leveled a glare at him, "You wouldn't want anyone to *step* on him, would you? Or lay baits or traps to *kill* him with?"
Odo held Bab close as he wandered around the lab, rejecting miniature prisons and murmuring apologies to his pet. He finally chose a fish-tank that used to be used on him for observations and converted it for Bab's use. There was a tiny dish each for water and food, and a collection of rag for Bab to nest in. "There you are, Bab," he murmured, "see if you like it."
Bab inspected everything, including the clear walls, before burrowing into the familiar-smelling rag. Odo clambered onto the bench and lay down to watch Bab settle in. "He's building a little burrow..."
Then someone seized Odo by the collar with a ferocious growl of, "*Animal*..."
"Gul Noxx," Mora turned to beam a servile smile at the Cardassian, "We didn't hear you come in!"
"Small wonder," Noxx shook Odo while he plucked away the rags in the tank, "with *this* interfering."
"It's - a; behavioral experiment," invented Mora.
"A mouse," Noxx announced, picking Bab up by the tail to glare all the better at it.
"Don't hurt him?"
Now the Cardassian Gul glared al his venom at Odo, "You presume to give *me* orders, animal?" "Please?" Odo amended, too late. Far too late. "All because of this," pronounced Noxx, "rodent." Then flung it at the wall, "*That* for your experiment. And teach *this*," he shook Odo as if his head should rattle, "manners."
Odo took two minutes to sort out which way was up again. "Bab?"
Mora was cradling the tiny bundle of fur in his hands, "I'm sorry. His heart must've stopped... by the look of him, he wasn't exactly young."
"...Everything - everyone; I cared for... went away. One way or another, they left, or died, or fell ill." Odo shied away from Kira's touch. "You'd be safer away from me. I was *meant* to be alone... that way the only one who's hurt *deserves* it."
"Odo, don't talk like that, please." Kira continued to soothe him, "You still have your friends, people who love you."
"Sooner or later, they'll die." Odo continued to pat Houdini, "My people treat *centuries* like you or I treat minutes. Something to be thrown away."
"They also treat *life* like it's something to be thrown away," soothed Kira, "You don't. You don't even step on ants; life's that special to you... Someone used to tell me; it only hurts to loose something if it's a part of you, but if it's a part of you, you never really loose it."
Bashir re-entered the room with caution, "I brought his little basket. You can take him home with you. It's the best thing. The familiar environment should make him more comfortable, put him at ease." He sighed, then laughed under his breath, "I never thought I'd miss him 'killing' my ankles..."
Houdini protested feebly when moved, barely opening his eyes to groom part of Odo's hand as the Changeling arranged cat-sized blankets around him.
Kira stayed by Odo's side. The last thing the Constable needed, she decided, was a friend who was going to duck out and leave him alone in a time of need. She held on to Odo, nothing more than letting him know she was there. In his basket, Houdini purred in his sleep, causing Odo to smile for the first time since the accident. "It's going to be alright," she soothed.
"Is it?"
They arrived in Odo's quarters in silence, Kira sat in Odo's window, watching as her Changeling friend carefully placed Houdini and his basket in his allotted place. Kira nearly smiled. Odo had re-arranged his quarters for the cat, and therefore some of his life.
"I'll get you some pillows," Odo offered.
"Us," Kira corrected, "You need someone to sit by you and hang on to - and you don't have a couch."
"It doesn't fit," informed Odo, finishing his sentence with a gesture at his 'furniture'. He returned to fill the window-niche with pillows and sit beside Kira with a sigh.
Kira wrapped her arms around him, "I know. If he does - die; I'll miss him too."
Gradually, as if uncertain his movement would shatter the moment, Odo returned the embrace.
"Major?"
"'M okay," Kira forced a blink. She wasn't even aware she'd dozed off until Odo's voice had intruded on her slumber.
"You're tired," Odo soothed, "maybe you should go home. I understand."
"No. I'm staying with you. You don't deserve to be alone through this." Damn her eyes for leaking.
"Nerys? Don't... do that. Houdini's still asleep."
"I'm not crying for him, I'm crying for you. You lost so much..."
Now it was his turn to comfort her, "I've gained friends, and a place in life... and - you."
Their faces were so close now they could feel each other breathing.
They were kissing before they noticed, and after they noticed, they kept on kissing.
Houdini woke, and stretched. At least the bad-smell-place had gone, after the fun-place with the less-than-fun Kill-thing that dared to *bite* him. He was home. How odd. _Now where are the Feedme's?_ Houdini shook his hind leg where something sticky was still lodged. Maybe he'd get Funnysmell Feedme to get rid of it for him. The female Feedme was there, somewhere, since Houdini could hear her voice.
Houdini prowled, looking for his Feedme's. Funnysmell had gone this way, with Comfylap; apparently, they were in heat. Houdini groomed himself as he pondered. Just barging in could get his ears clawed, and it was interminably rude; but he had to check that his Feedme's were all right. After all, the poor, clawless things couldn't hunt properly and therefore relied on Houdini to bring home the Vole. Or mouse. Or Pulaku.
The noises in the next room faded into relative quiet. _Rude or not, I have to look after my Feedme's._ Houdini strode into the room, finding Comfylap and Funnysmell together on their nest. He climbed the blankets to investigate. Asleep; in the night-hours! Feedme's just had no sense. Houdini investigated further, advancing on Comfylap's face for a friendly greeting.
She woke with a start that nearly knocked Houdini off her chest. "Houdini..."
Now Funnysmell opened his eyes, and brought forward a limb to groom him with, "You're alright."
"Of course. Now feed me," said Houdini. Of course, the Feedme's only heard a purr and a 'mauw?' Silly creatures.
Odo responded to the door-chime without hurry. He'd been giving Nerys a massage and was feeling pretty relaxed himself, so he refused to stress out about someone else's demands.
Opening the door, he gazed curiously at a Starfleet ensign standing with a large box in his arms. "Can I help you?"
"These are yours." The ensign pushed the box into Odo's unsuspecting arms and vanished down the corridor, leaving a dazed constable to stare after him.
Walking slowly back into his quarters, he gingerly placed the box on the dining table and opened it, to be greeted to the frightened yowls of two small, totally ginger kittens, the exact image of their father. Odo raised his eyes slowly and glared at Houdini as the cat jumped onto the table and sniffed the new arrivals with interest. "I think these are yours!"
Houdini seemed fascinated with the two kittens who looked to be about the same age he had been when he'd adopted Odo. Pawing them gently, he seemed to grin when they both tried to scramble out of the box, anxious to explore their new world.
Odo shook his head in resignation. "Whatever is Nerys going to say."
"She'd going to say that it must run in the family." A fat, very pregnant Kira Nerys paused in her nightly waddle to the bathroom and sighed. "It's a good thing we've been saving for the twins arrival." Her expression sharpened. "Just find them good homes, that's all."
As Kira staggered into the bathroom, Odo turned to their pet and hurumphed. "So, any more ideas?"
Houdini just licked his papa's nose.