#there's no distress involved in that. he's totally chill with the tube

[eats-the-stars]

got some hard news today. turns out my 4yo nephew is going to have to get daily growth hormone shots after all. they were going to wait until he was older and could understand what was happening better because last time we trialed the shots he did not have a great time and we stopped after one week. but the results from his last blood test show that he’s no longer producing enough growth hormone to like, break down sugars and essential living stuff so...now he NEEDS the shots, not just to maybe catch up to his peers growth-wise, but to just...not die. so...we’re all a little stressed, and my sister is trying to fight with insurance to get the once-weekly shot instead of the daily shot, because he is FOUR YEARS OLD, and we already know that daily shots are going to be a source of anxiety and fear for him. last time, he got to the point that he was scared to get diaper or pants changes (we have to pull down his pants to inject him in the butt since that is the area with most cushioning, second option is...the stomach, so...no good choices here). so, yeah, not looking forward to this. especially since “how long does he have to get these shots?” might just be...forever. hoping with all i’ve got that we can work out some kind of routine or method to make this easier on him.

[mamabearcat]

All Fired Up - Part 2

Sooo, I’ve done it again. The one-shot, that was gonna be finished in a two-shot, will now have another chapter. Why can’t I write short fics. Whyyyyyyy! Sigh. So, here’s the next bit. Part 3 will be along soonish. Will it be finished then? Who knows. I don’t, that’s for sure. 

Oh, and if you wanna read the first part - here it is. 

If you wanna see the amazing NaLu art by @fainttwinkling that inspired this little fanfic, take a look see here and here. 

Mmm, firefighter Natsu. Enjoy...

Natsu glanced from left to right as he stepped out of the lift, his short pink ponytail flicking over his shoulder as he looked for the Burns Unit desk. Seeing the bright green Information sign to his left, he walked hastily towards it, cradling a black backpack to his chest with both hands. He placed his backpack with care near his feet on the grey linoleum flooring that seemed ubiquitous to most hospitals and greeted the woman at the desk with a bright smile.

 “Hi, can you tell me what room Lucy is in please?”

 “Lucy….?” questioned the elderly woman, obviously waiting for him to provide the surname as she looked over her glasses at patient records on the computer screen in front of her.

 “Oh. Uh, I didn’t quite catch her last name.” When the desk lady raised an eyebrow, he pointed to the Magnolia Fire Department emblem on his navy t-shirt. “I was part of the team that rescued her the night before last, and I just wanted to check in on her and make sure she was doin’ okay.” He reached into the back pocket of his faded blue jeans for his wallet. “I can provide some I.D. if you want…”

 A sound of scratching and a small whimper came from the bag at Natsu’s feet, and Natsu seemed to be suddenly overtaken with a violently loud coughing fit.

 “Are you okay? Can I get you a glass of water?” asked the woman at the desk uncertainly.

 “Nope, I’m fine, it’s all good”, answered Natsu, leaning forward with what he hoped was a winning smile.

 “Lucy Heartfilia is in room 506, down the hall to your left. You might only have a time for a short visit though. A woman called earlier to say that she would need to interview Ms Heartfilia about the fire in her apartment, and…”

 “That’s okay, it’s probably Erza. I know her. Thanks for the information ma’am.”

 Natsu picked up the black backpack and walked down the hallway, holding the bag carefully as he bent his head down to the small gap in the zippered opening. “Quiet down buddy!” he whispered. “You nearly blew our cover. What’d I say before? They don’t usually let dogs visit in hospital wards, so you gotta calm it down Plue. Like a ninja pup, okay?” A small pink tongue flicked out to lick his cheek, and he chuckled. “Aw thanks, I’m flattered pup, but save your kisses for Lucy.”

He walked down the hall towards the room the lady on the desk had directed him to but paused before knocking. Was he doing the right thing? He had never visited anyone he’d rescued before. He didn’t think he was breaking any departmental rules, not that he’d gone looking. He just hadn’t been able to get that woman’s smile out of his head. To be in that much pain, and still be able to smile like the sun suddenly coming out from behind a cloud. He wanted to see that smile again. No, scrap that. He wanted to see how beautiful her smile could be when she had something really good to smile about.

 And besides, he’d been taking care of Plue, and he’d seen how worried she was about her dog. He really was a lucky mutt – the vet had kept him overnight on oxygen for smoke inhalation, but apart from that he was uninjured. Natsu was hoping that seeing her dog would cheer Lucy up, because the news about her apartment really wasn’t that great. He took a deep breath, and then knocked on the door.

 “Come in”, rasped a soft voice.

 Natsu peeked his head around the door before walking in, standing a little uncertainly near the doorway, the backpack tucked into his chest. Lucy was sitting up in bed, dressed in a pale blue hospital gown, her blonde hair tucked behind her ears by the plastic tubing of a nasal canula for oxygen. There was a large gash on her forehead, pulled together with sutures, a darkening bruise under her right eye, and bandages on both her arms. But despite her injuries, the expression she turned toward the door was cheerful. Natsu opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. Dammit, c’mon, this wasn’t like him at all! He was never all shy like this. He stepped forward with a grin.

 “Hi, I’m Natsu. You probably don’t remember me, but…”

 “The firefighter! You do have pink hair!” A soft blush pinked her cheeks, and she waved her hands in the air in front of her. “Ah, sorry, some of what happened is a little foggy, and I was wondering if my memory of a firefighter with pink hair was my brain hallucinating due to oxygen deprivation or something!” She coughed and took a few deep breaths.

 Natsu grinned, walking over towards Lucy’s bed. “Nah, definitely pink. I lost a bet a while ago and had to dye it, then decided I liked it enough to keep it.” He gestured towards the cannula. “If you’re feelin’ a little out of breath, make sure you breathe in through your nose. I know those things are annoying, but they do help.” He nodded approvingly as Lucy took a few more deep breaths, in through her nose and out through her mouth. “Do you mind if I sit down Ms Heartfilia?”

 “Thanks, I keep forgetting to do that”, Lucy smiled, her voice sounding a little easier. “Please, call me Lucy. I’m so glad that you dropped by. Now I get a chance to thank you properly.”

 Natsu smiled. “No need to thank me Lucy, it’s what I do. I’m glad to see you’re doin’ better.” He placed the backpack gently on the bed next to her. Lucy looked at him, a little confused. “There’s a reason I wanted to visit you here while you were in hospital. I thought you might like to see someone who I know will cheer you up and make you feel a whole lot better.”

 Lucy’s brown eyes widened a little in surprise. “Uh, I’m grateful that you saved me, but uh…”

 “No, not me”, he sputtered, chuckling at Lucy’s pink cheeks and his own. “I guess that came out kinda weird, sorry”.

 He leaned to one side and pulled the privacy curtain, then unzipped the top of the now violently shaking bag. A small furry white head popped out, and Lucy’s uneasy expression changed to one of delight.

 “Plue!” she said excitedly, and Plue wriggled in the backpack in an effort to get closer to her, almost falling off the bed in his struggle. Natsu grabbed him just in time.

 “Chill, buddy! Remember, I said this was a ninja mission – we need to keep you on the down low.” He waited until Lucy had both hands on the bag containing the excited dog and got up to shut the door.

 Lucy was giggling, scratching behind Plue’s ears as he struggled to lick her hands. She looked up at Natsu as he walked back towards the hospital bed, the smile on her face as bright as any sunrise Natsu had ever seen. “I’m assuming he’s not allowed to be here then?”

 Natsu grinned a little sheepishly as he helped Lucy lift Plue out of the backpack, then sat down on the chair again, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know they allow Pets as Therapy dogs in this ward, but I wasn’t sure if they’d allow a visit from your own dog, so I kinda smuggled him in. I didn’t know if anyone had let you know that I was lookin’ after him.”

 Lucy’s brown eyes filled with happy tears. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much Natsu, I was so worried about him. He wasn’t hurt at all, was he?”

 “Nah, apparently he’s tougher than he looks. He spent the night at the vets in an oxygen tent, and then he was good to go. No burns at all, which is pretty amazing considering how fast that fire was progressing.”

 Lucy’s hand continued to rub Plue’s silky ears. “I promise I’ll pay you back for any costs involved in taking him to the vet.” Natsu shrugged noncommittally, he wasn’t fussed either way. Lucy looked up at him, her gaze uncertain. “Natsu? Was the fire really that bad? Is… is my apartment okay?”

 Natsu sighed. There was really no easy way to say this. “I’m sorry Lucy. It was totally burnt out. There’s not much left. The building owners had structural engineers in there not long after the arson squad had gone over the place and it doesn’t look great.”

 “Oh. I see.” She lowered her gaze, looking down to Plue who was currently snuggled into her lap, then looked back to Natsu, her brown eyes overly bright. “You know what? Th… that’s okay. Plue is alive. I’m alive. They… they were only things right. That’s what insurance is for, right?” Her lips compressed together, twisting as she struggled to keep her emotions under control. “There’s really nothing left huh?” she said softly. A large tear rolled down her bruised cheek, followed by another, and she screwed her eyes shut, as if trying to stop them coming.

 Natsu reached out his hand tentatively, placing it gently on her upper arm and rubbing soothingly. “Hey Lucy? It’s totally okay to be upset. If you need to cry, you go right ahead.”

 Lucy’s lip wobbled a little more, her voice coming out in a squeaky rush. “I know I just met you and all Natsu, but I could really, really use a hug right now.”

 “You got it Lucy”, he said softly.

 A small whimper escaped Lucy’s pressed lips as Natsu reached forward, his arms circling her gently. His hands rubbed her back soothingly as she rested her head on his shoulder, sobs finally escaping. Plue wriggled in the space between them on the bed, whining and pressing his face into Lucy’s hands.

 Natsu’s teeth clenched as he hugged Lucy as tightly as he dared with her injuries. He loved his job, but this part, the part where they didn’t make it in time and people lost everything? He hated it. And having been through it himself, even though he’d been much younger when his family had lost everything in a house fire, meant he understood Lucy’s distress. Yes, they were just things, but they were markers to important events in her life, mementos that were probably irreplaceable.

 He made soothing noises, wishing he could do more. He knew he should probably feel awkward, hugging a girl he’d just met but… there was just something about her. He didn’t know what it was, and now was definitely not the time to push any kind of romantic feelings, but he was glad that he could provide her with some sort of comfort at least. There was no sign of other visitors having been to her room – no flowers, no cards, no empty cups. He wondered if she had anyone to be there for her. Maybe no one knew she’d been injured yet? Had her family been called?

 Hearing that her sobs had quieted, Natsu leaned back, moving his hands to gently squeeze her upper arms. “Anytime you need a hug Lucy, you just ask, ‘kay?” Lucy nodded, then laughed apologetically.

 “I’m sor..ry”, she said, her voice raspy again, her breaths uneven. “I… got… snot… all over… your shirt.” Natsu reached forward towards the switches and knobs on the wall behind Lucy’s hospital bed and dialled up the saturation level of oxygen coming through the plastic tubing.

 “What’s a little snot between friends huh?”, he smiled comfortingly, his green eyes crinkling at the corners. “Don’t sweat it, Lucy. Deep breaths. It’s gonna be okay.” Lucy nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing for a few minutes, then opened them again.

 “What am I gonna do Natsu?”, she sighed, looking down at Plue and stroking the soft white fur on his head as he gazed adoringly up at her, his pink tongue lolling out.

 “Lucy, I know it will be hard, but try not to worry too much about what’s gonna happen once you leave here for the moment”, he suggested. “You need to concentrate on getting well first. Did the doctor give you any idea of how long you’ll be here?”

 Lucy shook her head. “Uh, that’s a little foggy. They’re waiting to see how my injuries heal. Something to do with percentages, and partial thickness burns, I think. I was in some kind of chamber for a while yesterday to help with my breathing, and I was on a morphine drip for a while. Most of yesterday is a big blur.” She shrugged. “I guess I’m still feeling a little all over the place.”

 Natsu nodded sympathetically. “Glad I decided not to come yesterday then. I wanted to make sure I could bring Plue with me. Is there anyone I can call for you? Your parents, family?”

 Lucy sighed. “There’s no one. All my family have passed on. I haven’t made any friends here in Magnolia yet, I only moved here last month for…”. Her eyes widened and she groaned. “For a job I probably don’t have anymore. Jason’s gonna kill me.”

 “Who’s Jason?” asked Natsu, not knowing who he was, but disliking him already.

 “My boss, Jason. I’m an investigative reporter for the Magnolia Times, and I was meant to file a story yesterday, on a possible… arsonist. Natsu, you don’t think the fire could have anything to do with that could you?”

 Before Natsu could answer, there was a sharp knock on the door. Lucy looked at Natsu, and then down at Plue in panic. “Who is it?” she called out, as Natsu tried to coax Plue back into the backpack.

 “Erza Scarlett, from the Arson Squad, Magnolia Police Department. I need to speak with you regarding the fire in your apartment Ms. Heartfilia. May I come in?”

 Lucy looked towards Natsu, who grinned and nodded. “I know Erza, it’s fine.”

 “Please come in”, Lucy called out, coughing a little at the effort of raising her voice again. She looked at her dog, currently sitting in Natsu’s lap. He’d refused to get back in the backpack. “Natsu”, she hissed, “what about Plue?”

 “Eh, I’m sure it’ll be fine”, he grinned. “And if not, I’m willing to take the heat for it. It was worth it.” Lucy raised an eyebrow quizzically. “I got to see that smile of yours again.”

Edited to add link to Part 3

[levyfiles]

This is in answer to @mysterywheeze who requested I post this as a text post only tagging their bfu sideblog which of course I do not mind. Thank you for waiting for so long for this. I hope it’s what you wanted

---

Word: Alien

Genre: Horror Fluff

Word Count: 1564

The escape wasn’t even about timing. It was more for the fact that Shane had access to so many key cards, a job he hadn’t finished, a life he was leaving behind, and the knowledge that his superiors would think he did this for nothing.

Nothing was a pair of wide brown eyes that looked at him in terror through pale milky glass only weeks ago.

Now he’s hard wet skin in Shane’s arms, strangely built in faulty and fragile ways; those brown eyes are now half shut and dreamy from the fumes outside his tank. Shane takes each step down the damp, black tunnel with purpose, his footprints in the warm damp impressed by the weight of this theft; this rescue. Shane breathes condensation in the hot dark, looking down at him and tries not to marvel, to be distracted at how small he is, how silent he is in the haze of shallow breathing.

Strange to see him in silence when Shane will never forget how his voice sounded the first time he spoke.

It had been hard to hear him through the tank’s walls, but he’d screamed so hard and so earnestly around his feeding tube that it had to be like how music sounded, wailing words and feeling, just feeling sobs and fear. The officials back home used to say that music was supposed to be about love and Shane heard it when the specimen opened his mouth and uttered a twangy, wet slurring language with sharp edges. Just the shrill palpable agony sound of it alone and Shane knew.

There had been forty-five different rooms and five hundred tanks to clean in total with creatures in each one he had never seen before. While the silence, cool empty rooms,  fluorescent bulbs glaring down the hallways, white walls, and glass of the tank windows was some comfort to him, the idea of having no one to talk to had chilled him the most.

So Shane took his lunch break next to the one creature that hadn’t learned to stop screaming.

When he’d slipped on the gas mask to enter the tank, his eyes had still watered and through the haze the creature looked at him and he was beautiful. In life colour, and teeth long like a monster in the stories he’d been told as a boy.

And he screamed like Shane was meant to hear the love in his lungs.

Now Shane carried him through the lab’s threshold, out into the desert, orange and damp, one long route to freedom, knowing he’d need to cross the field of fungi. Hungry mushrooms without mouths that still tried to eat, mashed themselves to suffocating crumbs against your heels and skin trying to eat without teeth.

He knew the creature could breathe in this climate; there was enough water in the air that the burning gas that it was composed of, that made his fragile cage of a chest swell and contract as he gasped, would be their saving grace.

Shane made a soft crooning noise at him, felt appropriate like he’d saved a stray because brown eyes blinked past the tears from his coughing and croaked out a query in his language, red lips curving out the shaking words.

“I don’t understand you,” Shane murmured at him with a rueful laugh. “But once we get to the pod there might be a receptor that’ll translate those cute little sounds you make.”

He was babbling at Shane excitedly, still a little scared but looking around at the terrain curiously, glad to be free and Shane smiled until he quieted, damp head leaning against Shane’s chest. He knew he was safe and that meant everything to Shane.

The field of fungi crawled at them like it was waiting. Shane placed fingers lightly over the creature’s smooth soft lips, shook his head as he covered his eyes with his palm as well. “Don’t let the fungi in,” he told him, hoped he understood in some way.

The white crumbs began to swell up in piles as the fungi crowded Shane’s ankles, the folds of mushroom flesh stuck and clung as Shane stomped on them, trudged through the miles ahead of them to where the exit base was set. He could feel some of them touch his skin and he shuddered, but he kept his eyes fixed on his rescue, fixed on the feeling of surprisingly strong arms roped around his neck, tightening as Shane’s steps quickened.

The pod was an old model and Shane had only had to pilot one once to get to this base, but his focus was on two things. Peeling the mushrooms off their skin, watching with some morbid curiosity how the alien creature shook himself vigorously to get them off, made sounds of distress that sounded like an old man trying to make it up stairs, and looking around for a receptor.

His rescued alien made a lot of protest when Shane opened the needle in the receptor and jammed it in the place where he was sure his voice was coming from, but it was worth it to hear the sharp turns of his strange alien language become soft and intelligible with the first words he’d ever hear from him.

“What the actual fuck did you just stick in m--oh…” Brown eyes widened. “Oh, I’m...I’m speaking like you now. I can--”

Shane couldn’t stop grinning, felt like he’d been looking across a ravine at him since he met him, but now it was a closed distance. “Yeah, you can,” he breathed, closing the pod door behind him,

“You saved me,” He was breathless, and Shane marveled at the sight of his smile, spilling across his features, reaching his eyes in a friendly, affectionate squint. “Why…?”

Shane was lost for words. It wasn’t natural but he was on board for what it meant. To fall for an alien just because he was beautiful in every gesture.  “Tell me your name,” he said, reflexively, sharply. He had to know.

“Ryan.”

What a weird alien sort of name. Shane told him his name. Shane wanted to tell him he loved him, wanted to tell him he was going to protect and take care of him as long as he had to, but instead he said, “This pod will take you to your home planet, but you need to know its name. I didn’t check your file when I stole you so you’ll have to give the computer the navigation.”

Crestfallen. His face was so expressive. Ryan grimaced. “I don’t even know where I am now, how am I supposed to get back to…”

“If you like,” Shane began, trying to sound unrehearsed, trying not to make it sound so purposeful when all he wanted was to be with him, witness his existence. “I could go with you. I would help you. I know the circuits, know the planet names before the expressway to the outer unexplored places.”

“Unexplored…” Ryan echoed, looking at him. “What’s in this for you? I don’t want to drag you away from your home.”

“This isn’t…” It would be so hard to explain. The science behind it; the reason they’d take a creature like him, need to keep him to understand his genetic makeup. How people would freak out if they knew about him. All the secrets involved in keeping their studies to this remote planet so people back home would stay ignorant. Shane had known he was done with it, with his dumb government the moment he’d cracked the glass in Ryan’s tank. “This isn’t my home.”

Ryan’s hands came up over his face, ran through his strange shock of hair on the top of his head, touched lines Shane was curious about himself. “Then come with me?” he said, softly like he was doing something wrong.

“Of course. The pod is small but if you sit close with me, l-let me hold you, we can travel safe together.”

He received the gift of an amused glance and a swallow. Ryan drew near him, like it was nothing, like he had become accustomed to the touch of their skin together, strange as it felt and pulled Shane close by his arms before settling between his legs a bit awkwardly in front of the navi board.

“Dude, as long as you’re taking me home, I’ll let you do anything you like.”

Shane tried not to melt into a subspecies like substance when the bones of  Ryan’s back curved against his chest and a hand rested on his leg for balance. “Noted,” he said and wondered why Ryan smelled so good; salty and like water. It was different than carrying him; it was like Ryan was tucked against him in an intimate embrace; he couldn’t possibly know he was flexible in a way that made Shane like a piece of him. He locked the pod door and that immediately triggered the rumble of its fusion engine.

“What’s the planet name,” Shane mumbled, pointing at the navi screen. “Say it to the speaker so we can find out if it’s even in this sector.”

Ryan had intertwined their fingers, done it the shake of the fusion engine had startled him. He held tight like Shane was the compressor restraint device he might have used if he was alone.  “Ok. It’s…” he leaned forward and his lips touched the speaker. “...it’s called Earth.”

[osirisdynamics]

This is an excessive explanation of my cat buddies accident referenced in the story above. No one asked for it and it's non-relevant, but my afternoon coffee buzz is jiving and I kinda needed a little mental break before getting back to work. During college I lived in what seemed like a super safe outdoor cat sanctuary apartment complex where you'd see tons of cats all day long, with the landlady at the office leaving food out and keeping the door open all day for visiting kitty friends. Hugely uncharacteristic for the area trees, outdoor green space, a gazebo area where the cats lounged all day, and a complete lack of ground critters and very wary birds from all of the predators around. Figured it was ok to let my cat out as the local critter population didn't stand a chance anyway. One morning I woke up to a neighbor knocking on the door that I answered naked with just my head sticking out at 7am asking if the cat yowling was mine. His eyeball was hanging out of his head, and mouth bleeding like crazy. Exposed myself to the guy as I went into emergency mode, said thanks and ran inside. Woke up girlfriend, put on pants and shirt and was out the door in under a minute. Got to the emergency vet speeding with emergency blinkers on while my then girlfriend held him getting gorey bits all over her (she was a type that was very much a stubborn and not a supportive person when things went bad, but that day she was the perfect helper and companion. She didn't get me that well, but she got cats, still massively appreciate what a trooper she was to this day). The closest "24 hour vet" I stopped at had their vet out at breakfast, so I guess it was 23 hours. That's the most angry I've ever been at the staff somewhere as they didn't seem to care or react to the fact that I was holding a distressed cat with its eyeball popped out and blood dripping from its mouth. They gave me wrong directions to the nearest other one across the highway, telling me to turn and go in the complete opposite direction. I had a very vague idea of where it was, but it was enough for my gut to second guess them and it ended up being correct. Yelled emergency when I got in the second vets door, and the vet tech at the counter straight up vaulted over a 4 1/2 foot counter, ignoring the swinging door to the waiting area 7 steps away. It was super impressive as she didn't look like a typical athletic sort. She grabbed him from my arms, and disappeared around the corner yelling. He was in surgery in under 5 minutes. After several agonizingly slow moments passed in the waiting room, she reappears to say he's stable for the moment, they had to get a breathing tube in as the facial swelling was suffocating him, had I taken 15 minutes longer she said he would've been dead by the time I got in the door. They could tell I was distraught and was not at all debating whether to put him down or not. They immediately began doing what they could to save him, asking only after the fact if I could please put 200 down before leaving the office for initial cost, with anything after that able to be worked out later. I figured it'd stack up to be a hell of a bill, but there was 0 part of me that cared, couldn't play the "is my pet worth the money" game my parents had done with dogs growing up. If I couldn't handle the final cost, I was planning on lying to get a small extra lowish rate student loan to cover it. What's another handful of cash on the debt pile to keep my best little buddy around? Anyway, I sat in the lobby for a good half hour calling family member after family member desperately asking for a small loan as I was in school living paycheck to paycheck with only 50 bucks to my name and a charged up credit card. Even ended up on the phone with relatives 5 states away I don't see more than once every 3-5 years. Finally got some help from my super miserly brother of all people who hates cats after he finally picked up the phone. When I put the money down, the staff were super kind and understanding, nothing like I'd experienced with other emergency vets in the past where the person at the front desk acts like this is just a paycheck, which I'm sure is easy to do in such an emotionally taxing job. I skipped my 3 classes that day and just waited at my apartment with my girlfriend for a call, they said to expect something after noon, maybe 2 PM. 5 PM rolls by, I kept waiting thinking maybe they're still working, as no call meant he wasn't dead at least. Finally called to check in and the same tech who'd grabbed him from me answered, she literally yelled an apology after gasping when I said no one had called. He was stable and doped up to hell and back recovering. I asked if I could come see him, and they said of course, but even though he's awake he's way too high to know I'm there. Jumped in the car with my lady and sped off to go see him. Was taken back to the recovery area to his kennel. He was such a mess, it looked like half his face was gone with stitches everywhere and both eyes closed. I immediately began crying in front of about 8 people in the back, pretty out of character for a 6'3" guy, but I didn't care. It was half sadness and pity, half ecstatic relief. I pet him a bit as he sat up right with his one good eye closed purring louder than he ever had in his life, high as a damn kite with hopefully not too much pain. The vet who did the surgery came in from the next room super excited to see me, telling me about every step of the procedure in a giddy tone, clearly proud of how well it went. They had to get the swelling under control, remove the eye which was mangled and bulging out of its socket though still connected, and reconstruct the completely shattered jaw with wire and clean up/remove 7 teeth. Gave the guy a super handshake and a gigantic hug, while still ugly crying/sobbing a bit. The whole office was silently watching, one tech even grabbed me a stool from across the room. Apparently it was one of those surgeries where the whole office was involved and in crisis mode as it was a slow morning with him as the only currently in need patient, one of those "this is why we do it" things where the success of the procedure was a huge deal and achievement. The vet appreciated the fact that I was a college kid who had no reservations about whether I wanted him to be saved or not with no concerns about eventual cost, as well as how appreciative and thankful I was to everyone there. Knowing I was a college kid scraping the bottom of the barrel just for the initial payment, along with his practice being 2 exits away from campus, he gave me an INCREDIBLY reduced price on the final numbers, where at full cost it would've been around 1400-1500+, I'd only have to pay just under 700 which included the initial 200, a cost which was totally manageable with a payment plan with my income. All I had to do was assure him he'd be an indoor cat from now on as he said he'd lost 8 of his 9 lives that day, as well as use word of mouth to tell my friends and classmates about his practice as a bit of testimonial advertising. I was happily willing to do both. Left the office a bit after that after being calmed down for a while, then immediately started crying again in the car. Girlfriend at the time held me and cried too, again, a totally out of character and wonderful thing, as she'd been around for past difficult times where I got a bit emotional with serious family health stuff (not even tears), and she'd literally say she was uncomfortable and get up to leave, would have to beg her to please stay and apologize for feeling bad. Don't mean to bad mouth, just making a point as to what a big deal that was to me after several years in the relationship. But yeah. Picked him up at the end of the next day, and started on the road to helping him recover. He was clearly sad for the first couple of weeks, as his cat buddy at the apartment was wary of his one eye and weird smells and I'm sure he was in pain. He'd sit and stare at his reflection in a mirror and his water bowl, probably trying to figure out this seeing out of one eye thing. He sneezed blood all over the floor and walls as his internal mouth and nose healed more slowly. A few weeks later he finally got the wire in his jaw removed, and was done with the pain meds. He was slow and chill for a month or two after, but eventually he was completely back to his old self, with his now less toothy mouth and one eye seemingly having 0 effect on his capabilities. Any time I'd take him back to that vet, the front desk people would get so excited and animated and would ask if they could bring him back to see all of the staff as they all loved him. He LOVED going to the vet after that procedure, and was super affectionate with everyone, more than he ever was at home. Not sure if he remembered those people, or if he remembered being super comfortably high as hell after feeling ridiculous pain. He was a rock star in that office. And to be totally honest, he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder before it all happened, and afterwards had a lot less cattitude. So one advantage I guess? Just a super long winded story that started as a one sentence parenthesis to explain my mention of his unique look. Was nice enough typing it out, so if anyone enjoyed reading it, cool. Was just a big deal to have such a great emergency vet experience and for it to have a good ending, as usually anytime I take an animal in during an emergency, things always get worse. Edit: Oh hey gold! Thanks! Since this got special attention from a kind person, I thought I'd upload a few pictures real fast of my special pal and his best friend. Meet Aldo and Gwen! https://imgur.com/gallery/mDL0J