The ride home was mostly uneventful. We talked a little about outfits, about school tomorrow, and we definitely don’t go anywhere near the topic of Pete, or the ‘running away’ thing.

I can’t believe I willingly bought a dress and high heels. Like, really high heels! I even bought underwear! The weirdest part is I’m totally okay with it. I mean, after all, girls wear this kind of stuff… and I... I’m a girl.

I flop into my bed, awash in that realization. It feels good. It feels… right… to be like this. To be Kat. Is it the alien device and its crazy particles making me feel this way? Or would I have always felt like this?

Back when I was living on the streets, I never had time to wonder if I was a boy or a girl. I was just… me. Kit Carson, the broken boy from the broken home where nobody wanted him.

Jen knocked softly a few times. “You decent in there, hon?”

“Huh? Yeah,” I replied.

The door opened enough for Jen to peek in. “Just wanted to say goodnight, Kat.”

I smiled back at her. “Goodnight, Jen.”

She pulled the door shut, and I let out a contented sigh.

I thought back to her calling me her daughter earlier. That warm fuzzy feeling fluttered to life in my stomach again, and I let out a quiet, happy squee.

==========

“Hey, wait up!” I giggled, chasing after the person running ahead of me. I couldn’t really make out any details, but I knew I had to catch them!

“You can’t catch me,” the person shouted back, giggling along with me.

I picked up the pace, my skirt flouncing around with each rapid step. The closer I got, the more details I could make out of the person. I jumped and tackled them, rolling with them through the grass, both of us giggling.

“Caught you, Kit!” I grinned down at him.

“You’re so fast, Kat!” She grinned right back up at me.

Wait, Kit was a boy, wasn’t he? I tilted my head, looking at him again. The closer I looked, the more obvious it became. Of course Kit is a girl! I giggle again at the realization.

We rolled around laughing in the grass, until a voice called out from the house in the distance. “Kit, Kat, time for dinner!”

“Dinner!” I shouted, my ears perking up and twitching, my tail lashing happily.

“Comin’, Mom!” Kit shouted, “Race you to the house!”

“Last one there’s a rotten egg!”

We both bolted for the house, Jen grinning as she watched her daughters running towards her.

I was just about to beat Kit to the porch when...

==========

Oh my god what is that shrieking, piercing sound!? It yanks me forcefully from sleep, and I practically leapt out of bed, frantically searching around for the source of the agonizingly loud noise.

My phone! I grabbed it and silenced the alarm, sighing in relief. I powered off the screen as I caught my breath. Well, I’m awake now. Time to start the day, I guess. I yawned and stretched before puttering over to the bathroom to get ready.

I finish up my business and start stripping down to get a shower, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It’s still kind of weird to see the cute girl standing there, her cute little ears with their white tips sticking up out of a bed-head tangled mess of hair that falls just above the small of her back.

Wait a second...

HOLY SHIT!

I let loose a startled scream as I realize that:
A) My hair has grown longer. A lot longer.
B) More importantly, I have cat ears.

Jen urgently pounds on the door, summoned by my scream. “Kat!? What’s going on honey?!”

I’m too busy trying to catch my breath to reply. My lungs are on fire. I can’t breathe. Jen. Help. Jen… Jen…. Jen… 

The bathroom floor rushes up to meet me, and the distant sound of the bathroom door being forced open is the last thing I hear.

==========

“I’ve never seen a case like hers, Ms. Crowley,” a recognizably bland monotone man says.

“But I mean… there’s something you can do for her, right? How is she supposed to live a normal life like this?” Jen replies.

“The Bureau will do everything in its power to help her adapt. In the meantime, I think it best if she avoids returning to classes.”

“I agree… No way are high school kids going to let that situation fly without some major bullying, and it isn’t easily hidden like her condition as a regen was before this.”

They sound vaguely muffled as they’re talking. I’m laying in my bedroom. The door is closed. My ears flick and swivel to follow the sound. Wait… I reach a hand up and touch where my ear should be. Nothing. Just flat skin… That’s really weird. Moving my fingertips further up I finally come in contact with something furry. It’s a short, very soft fur, and brushing up along my ear sends a tingle down my spine. Woah. That’s a weird feeling.

Rolling over to get out of bed I let out a sharp yelp, and roll back the way I came. My tail flicks sharply in response to my foolish movement. My tail. I have a tail. I catch it in my hand and bring it around the front, looking at it. It’s easily 3’ long, and the fur on it is the same jet black as my hair, with small patches of a dark gray, and a tuft of lighter gray at the very tip. I grab my phone and fumble my way through activating the camera, then flipping it to ‘selfie mode’, taking in my reflection. It looks like my ears have that same coloration, upon closer inspection. Huh. Oh, hey, even my hair has some gray streaks in it! Cute! My tail starts swishing happily behind me as I check out my reflection.

“I’d like to bring her in for some tests. If the device is causing unprecedented transformations, we’ll need as much information as possible,” Dobbs says as I watch my ears twitch and swivel to track his voice.

“No, Agent Dobbs,” Jen says firmly. I smile.

Huh, do my teeth look sharper? The pointy fangy ones definitely look longer, but even the rest of them seem pointier. I poke at one with the tip of my tongue. Oh yep, definitely a bit longer and sharper. Not enough to pierce my tongue, but still. Neat! Wait, no, that’s not neat. Turning into a cat person isn’t neat! But it kind of is, though. I spend a few seconds smiling at myself and making weird faces in the selfie camera. Why the heck is this so fun?

“Ms. Crowley, Ms. Carson’s condition could provide a vast amount of knowledge to help future regens that may undergo the same sort of... late stage, cross-species transformation. Please, let me ask her if she would be willing to submit to testing and monitoring.” It’s so weird that no matter what he says, it always has that bland monotone. I wonder if he does it on purpose?

Jen’s response is full of life and concern, though. “Look, she’s been through enough this week. The poor kid had her whole life flipped ass-over-tea-kettle, realized that everyone she knew before this thing happened was complete garbage, and was nearly assaulted by criminals. I really don’t think submitting her to testing would be the right call, here!”

“I understand. Would you at least consider letting me ask her about this opportunity?”

“No. I’ll ask her when she wakes up. Let her sleep for now.”

“Alright. You have my number if you need to reach me.” The sound of dull footsteps followed, then the front door opening and closing.

I press my palms against my eyes, willing the tears not to come. They don’t listen. Shit, I’m just some experiment to them, aren’t I? If I go with Agent Dobbs I’ll end up in a cell, being chopped up and poked and prodded forever. No… Not a cell. A cage. I can’t let them put me in a cage. My tail swishes rapidly as my agitation grows. A series of soft knocks precedes the latch of my bedroom door clicking. The door slowly swings inward as Jen peers in.

I can see her brow furrow as she sees me sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the doorway, my tail still swishing, ears laying partially pinned back. 

“Kat… honey…” She forces a smile and pushes the door a little wider ajar. “Can I come in?”

It’s her apartment… she could just go anywhere she wants. But the fact that she asks makes me happy. I nod slowly.

“How… are you feeling?” she asks tentatively, taking a seat beside me on the bed. 

“Not great.” I mean, how would you feel if you woke up with cat ears and a cat tail, Jen? Okay, being snappy with her probably isn’t fair. Also I’m not really that broken up about the ears or tail. I probably should be, though. Right?

“Anything I can do to help?'' She wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into a side hug. I let my head lean to the side to rest on her shoulder, my left ear flicks back to avoid being pinned. It’s weird having the flat side of my head against her shoulder. Weird, but sort of comforting. 

“I heard you and Agent Dobbs talking…”

She frowns, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Sorry you had to hear that, sweetie. The choice is yours though. I mean that. If you want to go, I won’t argue.”

“I don’t,” I said quickly. The last thing I wanted was to become some science experiment for the Bureau.

“Oh, Kat… that makes me happy to hear. I don’t think that would have been good for you.” She brings her hand up off my shoulder, stroking my hair.

Oh, that actually feels really good.

“So, um… What am I supposed to do until Saturday when this goes away? What if it doesn’t go away? What do I do for the rest of my life?”

“Shhh… hon, it’ll be okay. I promise. If you feel like you want to go to school, you can. If you want to hang out at the café with me, you can do that instead. If you wanna stay here and live in this room, that’s fine too. It’s your life, and I won’t tell you how to live it.” She paused, and laughed softly. “Well, within reason. I may have to lecture you if your skirts start getting too short, young lady,” she said teasingly.

I know she’s just trying to cheer me up, and it’s working. I smile, and lean into her more.

“I… I think I want to keep going to school. I need an education to do anything out there… well, anything other than what I was doing, I guess.” 

She nods slightly. “If that’s what you wanna do, Kat, I’ll support you. If anyone bullies you or gives you any shit, call me, and I will drop the momma bear wrath on them.” She winked and squeezed me a bit.

Imagining Jen going full protector mode makes me giggle, and my tail swishes back and forth happily. “Um. Can I… still hang out at the café with you, if I want? Maybe after school?”

“Of course! Maybe I can put you to work waiting tables,” she laughed. “You’d have to wear the uniform though.”

Uniforms? I don’t remember them wearing uniforms...  “Huh?”

She smirked and booped my nose with a finger. “You look so spooked! It’s just a company t-shirt and jeans. You’d still be cute in that, though! Especially with those ears.” She runs a finger along the length of one of my ears, and a shiver goes down my spine.

“Waaaaaoooh-kay, none of that!” My face went bright red, and I clamped my hands over my ears.

Jen burst out laughing, then gave me a final hug before getting up off the bed. “Well, if you’re finally awake for the day, how about we make some lunch? You’ve been out for a couple hours.”

I smiled and nodded. “Sure. That sounds good.” 

“Alright. Let’s go then, Kittykat,” she laughed, taking me by the hand and heaving me up off the bed.

Kittykat. It’s ridiculous. I love it. A giggle escapes as she tugs me out of the room. I really like her. Does she like me as much as I like her? If she keeps me… could I call her mom? Well… she did call me her daughter, so maybe she wouldn’t mind.

==========

I think what freaks me out the most is just how… accepting… Jen is of everything. I mean, what would you do if your daughter suddenly had cat parts? I would freak the heck out! Not Jen though.

“Right, so I can just modify your clothes easily enough. I’ll cut a little hole for your tail, and stitch up a seam around it so it doesn’t fray or irritate you. No problem!”

“Right… thanks,” I nod, watching her pick through the pile of my new clothes. As she goes to get her sewing kit, I glance down at the watch on my wrist. Oh right, I still haven’t checked it since this latest development. I tap the screen with my finger to wake it up, and my tail twitches with anticipation. A diagonal swipe across the screen brings up the progress bar, and I keep my eyes closed for just a moment, fearing what it might say.

‘Particle Saturation: 83%’

My stomach drops out, I feel sick. Only 17% to go. 17% of ‘Kit’ left. Or is Kit part of that 83? Is Kit both? Is that what that weird dream was trying to tell me? I don’t know. I’m confused.

“Everything okay, hon?” Jen asks as she returns.

I shake my head. “It’s at 83%, Jen… I don’t think I can make it to Saturday.”

Jen gives me a reassuring smile and sits beside me on the couch, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “I’m sure you can, Kat.” She gives me a little squeeze. I let her pull me in tighter against her side for a moment, enjoying the contact. “Can I… ask you something, Kat?”

Well, she just did… but instead of making that dad/teacher joke, I nod.

“Do you… want to make it to Saturday?”

Ah. I stared at her for a moment. “Well, uh…” How do I answer this? Is she going to think I’m weird if I say no? I mean what kind of boy wants to be a girl? Or a cat/girl hybrid thing?

“It’s okay if you don’t want to answer, sweetheart.” She smiles understandingly, and the hand on my shoulder moves up to start stroking my hair. Her fingers start between my ears and then trace down the back of my head to my neck, then start again. I feel a shiver go down my spine, and my tail goes rigid for a moment before resuming its slow side to side waving.

“I… would you… would you hate me and get rid of me if I wanted to be… wanted to stay…” My throat felt so dry. Why is it so dry?! The last words come out as a whisper. “A girl?”

Jen looks at me for a moment, then laughs. “Of course not, silly kitten.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. Wow… Nobody’s done that since… since…. The fleeting mental picture of mom appears, and for a moment there’s so much warmth in my chest I’m sure that certain parts of my anatomy are going to catch fire, but then it fades to the familiar iciness as she is replaced by Him. I can feel myself starting to sink into that cold darkness, but Jen keeps a grip on me. She turns to face me on the couch, and pulls me into a proper hug. I really like her hugs. I never want to stop getting them. I’m spoiled now.

Her hand continues playing around in my hair. It's so relaxing… People wouldn’t even need sleep meds if they knew how relaxing head pats were…

Wait. What’s that weird tickling sensation at the back of my throat? Oh man that feels weird….

“....Kat?”

“Mmh?” 

“Are you… purring?”

Oh god, am I? Am I purring right now? My face goes bright red as I pull away. “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to! It just happened!” 

“No, it’s cute!” She laughed. “You’re my little kittykat!” She leaned over and pulled me into another hug, and I kept purring. It’s so embarrassing… but this hug is great. I hug her back, and nestle my head into the crook of her neck. 

Okay. Maybe being part cat isn’t all bad?