Mandy

This is a vaguely NN story, predating the start of the
series. WARNING: SOB STORY. Three weeks ago I had to
put my 14-year old cat Sammy to sleep. This story is
my way of coping with that event, and is very closely
parelleled to my own experiences.  It is very explicit
in detail, so if the thought of putting a pet to sleep
bothers you DO NOT READ. Nick and Natalie belong to
Sony Tristar, and all events are fictional. 
Permission granted to archive at the FTP site,
fkfanfic.com and fkfanfic2.com. 
==================================================
Part 1
Nick walked into the morgue, still getting used to
coming and going as an employee instead of a
clandestine visitor after a year. He walked down the
long tiled hallway and picked up the sound of
Natalie’s heartbeat. He smiled to himself as he picked
up his pace. He approached the door and started to
knock, when he heard Natalie’s voice, filled with
sadness.

“Thank you, Doctor Rhemes. I’ll be there in an hour.”

Nick opened the door, and saw tears streaming down her
face, her mascara and eye makeup running. She was just
hanging up the phone and moving to take off her lab
coat. She looked up when she saw him walk through the
door.

“Nat, what’s wrong?”

She sobbed and walked into his arms.

“ Nick, it’s Mandy. The vet just called to tell me
that she took a turn for the worse, I…I have to go to
his office and have her put to sleep.” Deep sobs shook
her body as Nick held her.

“Oh, Nat. I’m so sorry. I know you were hoping there
was something they could do for her.”

She sniffed and pulled back. “It turned out to be
cancer after all. I mean, she’s eighteen years old.
She’s had a good life, but I’ve had her since I was in
junior high. I’ve never had to put a pet to sleep.”
She bustled around. “I need to call Vance and ask him
if he can take care of things. Oh, and I have to call
my director and tell him I won’t be in tomorrow.”

Nick reached out and caught her sleeve to spin her
around to face him.

“Let me go with you. You shouldn’t be alone at a time
like this.”

“Nick, are you sure?”

“Positive. I’ll call Stonetree on the way and have him
call Vance.”

A weak smile crossed her lips. “Thanks Nick. I just
se-“

Nick put a finger to her lips. “Shh. It’s okay. Let’s
go.” He moved his hand to hers and squeezed it.

They exited into the humid summer night toward the
Caddy.


Part 2

Nick pulled up outside the one-story twenty-four hour
vet clinic and parked, cutting the engine.  He turned
toward Natalie, watching the tears stream silently
down her face as she stared out the winshield.

“Nat, do you want me to wait here for you?”

She turned to him. “Would you be willing to come in
with me? Please?” Her voice cracked a bit on the last
word.

“Sure.” He got out the driver’s side and walked around
to the passenger side, opening the door for her.
Exiting the car, she looked at the cement one-story
building in front of her. Tears stood in the corners
of her eyes. She took a deep breath and walked in the
glass doors. The receptionist recognized her, and
compassion shone in her eyes. 

"I'm so sorry, Natalie. I need you to fill out some
forms and then I'll take you to see Mandy." She handed
Natalie a clipboard. 

Natalie reached out for the clipboard. The first form
was a release and list of invoice services. She signed
it and flipped to the second page, which was a
disposition of the body. She broke down in sobs and
put the clipboard on the counter, unable to read it.
Nick took her in his arms and held her while she
sobbed in despair. 

Nick felt helpless, not knowing what to do other than
just giving her support. He stroked her hair and held
her while she wept. After a few minutes she pulled
back and sniffled. 

"I'm sorry, I ruined your shirt."

"Nat, don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

"No, but I need to finish this." She turned around and
picked the clipboard back up. The choices were to take
possession of the body for a private disposition, to
have the ashes returned to her, or to have the ashes
spread with other deceased pets in an apple orchard.
The thought of taking the remains of her beloved
feline with her roiled her stomache in revulsion. She
checked the option to have the ashes spread in an
apple orchard, signed the form, then handed the
clipboard back to the recepitonist along with her
credit card.

The receptionist took the forms, ran her card and
handed it back to her. 

"I'll be right back and I'll take you to Mandy,
Natalie."

Natalie followed the retreating form with her eyes.
Nick put his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned
into him. He could feel her shaking under his hand. 


Part 3

A few moments later, the receptionist appeared at a
door off the waiting room and led them into a small
exam room with the standard metal table. Nick and
Natalie walked in. A few moments later, the
receptionist returned carrying a blanket-wrapped
Mandy, who meowed as soon as she saw Natalie, and
struggled to leave the coccoon to get to her human.

Trying to fight tears, Nat reached for the form. She
pulled Mandy into her arms and snuggled her face into
the thick orange striped head.  As soon as the elderly
cat felt and smelled Natalie she stopped struggling
and started purring. She turned her head and started
licking Natalie's face with her raspy tongue. 

Nick watched the trust Mandy placed in her mistress,
and heard both the purr and the liquid rattling in the
elderly cat's lungs. 

The receptionist started showing Natalie the button to
press when she was ready to call the vet. Natalie
nodded, just cuddling Mandy to her. The receptionist
left and Natalie turned to Nick, stroking Mandy's head
with one hand, reaching under her chin to scratch her.
Mandy closed her eyes and purred more loudly.

"Nick, how can I do this? How can I kill her?" Her
eyes were filled with tears and guilt.

He walked over to her and put his arm around her,
letting the woman and the cat lean into him.

"Nat, I can hear her lungs filling with liquid. She's
already dying, and you told me that a natural death
would not be easy or painless. It's your choice. But
if you are with her, you are the last thing she will
know as she falls asleep."

Trying to stifle sobs, Natalie squeezed her cat,
thinking on all the joy she had known with this sweet
creature. She remembered her parents giving her a box
for her twelfth birthday containing the small orange
tiger-striped, fluffy kitten. From that momen, Mandy
had been her constant companion, giving her love and
comfort through the years. 

Natalie sighed and kissed Mandy's head, looking into
her luminous gold eyes, fighting the tears streaming
down her cheeks. 

"Oh Sweetie, I love you so much. I can't imagine a day
without you in it. I cannot tell you how much joy you
have brought me, the incredible dimension you have
added to every day you have been in my life. I'll miss
you." She whispered adoring nonsense to the cat as she
walked over to the panel to push the button to call
the vet in. She settled Mandy on the metal table,
still murmuring to her. 

The door in the far wall opened and Doctor Rhemes, a
stolid man in his middle years, entered.

"Hi Natalie. I'm so sorry, we tried everything, but
hasn't eaten anything in over twenty-four hours and
she hasn't been drinking. She started vomiting bile
about an hour ago, which means her organs are
failing."

Natalie nodded, and gently pulled Mandy's paws out of
the blanket, showing a catheter in one of her
forelegs.

"Doctor Rhemes, this is my friend Nick." 

Nick and the vet nodded to each other. Natalie never
took her eyes off of Mandy.

"Natalie, have you ever been through this before?"
Natalie shook her head. He held up a syringe.
"Basically, what I'll be doing is giving Mandy a
triple-strength anesthetic. She'll literally drift off
to sleep. The process is very quick, usually less than
an minute. Let me know when you're ready." 

Holding her beloved pet, continuing to scratch her
chin, Natalie nodded. Doctor Rhemes inserted the
syringe into the catheter and started slowly pushing
the plunger. Natalie watched as Mandy's eyes closed
and her purr stopped. Within five seconds the warm
body went limp. She knew her beloved cat was no longer
in pain. She closed her eyes as more tears leaked down
her cheeks.

Doctor Rhemes withdrew the syringe. "Do you need a
couple of minutes?" 

Natalie shook her head and put the blanket-wrapped
bundle on the table. "No, she's gone. Thank you for
everything, I know you did everything you could." She
turned to go, Nick opening the door for her. Tears
streamed silently down her face as she left the
building, bidding goodbye to her closest companion.

They stood in the parking lot as she cried, silent
tears. Nick took her in his arms and she leaned
against him, his friendship a bulwark against the
emptiness left by the loss of her sweet Mandy. 
==============================
Kristen Fife, August 1, 2006 All Rights reserved.
Goodbye, Sammy. 

"The price for this gift is the darkness of the night,
and the blood of humanity to sustain you."
-THICKER THAN WATER, Kristen Fife in progress
See my blog at http://spaces.msn.com/members/landinn/