Tim looked over the pillow at the clock on the dresser. It was a little past midnight. He wasn't normally a late night snacker, but tonight he felt he could use a little something.

Tim hopped out of the bed and started for the door. He suddenly found his foot catching on something big as he fell forward, his head striking the edge of the door before hitting the floor. He held his aching head as he heard shuffling in the room.

"Sir, I'm sorry," Cat said frantically as she turned the lights on.

"Damn! Turn out those lights," Tim yelled as the brightness hurt his eyes and magnified the pain from the bump on his head.

Cat immediately turned out the lights. The room was silent for a few minutes as Tim sat rubbing his head. Finally, a concerned whimper sounded through the darkness.

"I'm okay."

"I'm sorry," Cat apologized, sounding almost near tears.

"Were you laying on the floor?"

"Yes," came a faint reply.

"Why? I thought you liked your room?"

"I do."

"But?" Tim prodded, sensing there was more to her answer.

"It's lonely. I couldn't fall asleep."

"You were alone in the kennel. Weren't you?" Tim asked, baffled by her answer.

"Yes. But, I could hear the other dogs. It's too quiet in the room."

Cat's explanation made sense. Tim understood her reason for sneaking in his room and camping out at the foot of his bed.

He thought Cat sounded small as she huddled in the corner where the dresser met the wall. He moved over and squatted beside her.

"I was going to get a snack. Would you like to have something to eat or drink?" Tim offered. "Sometimes a hot tea helps me when I can't sleep."

"Thank you." Cat replied, her voice becoming more confident after knowing Tim wasn't hurt badly and that he wasn't angry with her.

"Come on," Tim said while gently running his hand over the fur on her head.

Tim got up and turned on a dim lamp. He looked down at Cat and quickly turned the light off.

"Cat," Tim said as he opened a dresser drawer and took out a large jersey.

"Yes, sir?"

Tim handed her the shirt through the darkness. "Please go put this on."

Cat took the shirt as she got up and left the room.

"Wow," Tim said softly under his breath. He shook his head as if he might clear the image left in his mind by the patterns in Cat's fur that covered her trim frame.

Tim headed out to the kitchen. Cat followed a moment later, covered almost to her knees in the shirt Tim had given her. He grinned as he noticed the jersey he had unintentionally, yet appropriately picked. He suppressed a laugh at the large zero-two stitched on the front. He filled two cups and put them in the microwave while he went to a cupboard and took out some herbal tea bags.

"Hungry?" he asked, as he started rooting through the refrigerator.

"No, thank you." Cat replied.

The microwave beeped. Tim removed the cups and added the tea, letting it steep while he made himself a half sandwich. He carried the drinks over to the table, setting one in front of Cat.

"That smells good," Cat said as she held the cup with both hands and inhaled deeply over the rising steam. She slowly and carefully sipped at the cup. "Tastes good."

Tim smiled as he drank from his own cup.

Cat nursed her drink, allowing Tim time to finish his sandwich.

They sat in silence, slowly sipping at their drinks. Cat finished hers. She folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them.

"Dr. Deeks said you're supposed to maintain your exercise routine." Tim said before finishing his tea. "I don't really have any equipment, but tomorrow, I can probably get you in at the gym I go to."

"Anything is fine," Cat replied drowsily, watching Tim through half-closed eyes.

"You look tired. Ready for bed now?"

"I don't want to sleep yet."

"Well, I am. How about this: let's put you to bed and I'll stay with you until you fall asleep."

Tim cleared the table as Cat reluctantly stood.

She waited until he was finished then followed him to her room.

"Okay, Cat, hop in."

Cat reached down to grab the bottom of her shirt. Tim realized what she was about to do and turned his back towards her before she pulled the shirt off in one fluid motion. He flipped the lights off and waited until he heard her slide under the sheets.

He went over and sat on the floor beside Cat's bed.

"I'll be right here." Tim said as he reached up and stroked her head. "Now close your eyes and try to sleep."

"Yes, sir." Cat replied in a small voice.

Tim remained by Cat's bed for close to an hour before he was certain she was asleep. He carefully stood, trying to be as silent as possible. He took a moment to watch Cat in the dim light that entered through the window. Tim thought she looked content as she slept with a hint of a smile on her muzzle.

Tim sat alone in the kitchen, reading the morning paper.

"I'm sorry I overslept, Sir." Cat apologized as she hurried into the room.

"It's okay. I thought you could use the sleep after being up late last night." Tim said as caught a glimpse of her moving around in his peripheral vision.

"Thank you." she said, relaxing. "I'm ready to do my exercises."

"In your uniform?"

"No, Sir. I'm wearing my exercise clothes."

Tim looked up from his paper at Cat. She was right. The gray and black patterns of her fur, at a glance, had given Tim the impression she was wearing her daily BDUs. She stood beside him wearing black shorts and a white tanktop with the department logo over what he thought was probably a woman's sports bra.

"You fooled me," Tim said as he reached over and playfully plucked the fur on Cat's thigh. "I thought you were wearing your uniform."

Cat gave Tim her lopsided grin as she spryly swatted his hand.

"Okay, let's go." Tim said as he grabbed his gym bag from the table.

It was a short drive to Tim's fitness club. After chatting with the receptionist for a few minutes, Tim was able to convince the club to let him bring Cat in as a guest.

They both did some stretches before starting their routines. Tim noticed Cat was especially limber. She stretched in front of him, nearly folding in two as she grabbed at her ankles. Cat smiled as she caught Tim watching her.

Cat went to a bench and started some sit-ups while Tim grabbed a jump-rope to get his heartrate up before starting his routine.

After a few minutes, two young women passed by. They smiled at him and giggled as they walked past. Tim wondered what amused them.

"This is fun," came Cat's voice from behind Tim.

Tim's concentration was broken as the rope caught on Cat's feet as she jumped in unison with him.

"Cat." Tim said, surprised that she could sneak up and jump so close to him without him knowing.

Cat smiled mischievously.

Tim chuckled at her as he replaced the rope on the rack. "Come on, Cat, I want to see what you can do," he said before getting on a treadmill and starting it for a slow jog.

Cat took a neighboring treadmill and matched Tim’s pace. Cat increased her speed and looked over at Tim with a grin.

The challenge was made. Tim increased his speed to match Cat's. After a minute, Cat countered, raising her speed another notch faster than Tim. Tim slid the speed controls higher, matching Cat's pace.

They ran together for close to twenty minutes. Tim could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He looked over at Cat, running casually beside him. Her cheeks puffing slightly as she maintained a controlled level of breathing. Tim was sweating heavily while Cat's fur looked only slightly damp.

Cat looked over at Tim and smiled. Her hands went to the inclination controls. increasing the angle of the treadmill to close to its maximum of thirty degrees. She maintained her stride as continued to glance over, with a wide grin, at Tim.

"The hell with that." Tim puffed as he hit the power controls, slowing the treadmill to a fast walk in order to catch his breath. "You win."

Tim walked another five minutes, as he watched Cat beside him. He was amazed by her endurance. He waited as Cat slowly brought herself down and got off.

"That felt good to run." Cat said contentedly.

Tim smiled. "Want to lift some weights?"

Cat nodded and followed Tim over to another bench. Tim set the machine for leg-lifts. They took turns doing their sets, adjusting the machine for each of the different exercises it was capable of.

At the end, Tim was impressed to see that Cat could nearly lift as much weight as he could. However, what really surprised him again was her endurance, doing nearly twice as many repetitions as he did.

Cat strained to do the last few presses, her arms shaking as she set the weights down.

Cat took a deep breath and let it out quickly. "I'm finished."

"Good. I don't think I have enough energy to do anything else."

Tim tossed Cat a towel, which she used to dry her fur a little. Tim wiped himself down with another. Afterward, he gathered everything back into his bag. Everyone waved goodbye to Cat as they headed out, causing her to smile shyly under so much positive attention.

"How did I do?" Cat asked as they drove.

Tim grinned. "Very impressive. I wish I had your stamina."

"Thank you." Cat said, pleased to have Tim's approval.

Cat closed her eyes as she leaned back in her seat. She inhaled deeply and relaxed. Tim's scent was extra strong, as was her own. Their aromas combined within the car and Cat smiled as she thought how nice they smelled together, just like how well Tim and she worked together.

"What are you up to?"

Cat opened her eyes and continued to smile as she looked at Tim. "Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"You do that whenever we ride together. What are you thinking about that makes you smile so much?"

Cat looked as if she were caught doing something she shouldn't. She gave him a timid reply. "You."

"Well, I'm happy to have you for a partner too." Tim laughed. "At least when you've had a bath," he teased.

"You think I smell bad?" Cat asked, a slight twinge in her voice as if she had been slapped.

"We're both pretty ripe." Tim said as he looked at Cat and noticed her hurt expression. "No, not bad. Though, I'm surprised you don't." For a moment he studied the scent in the air. "Actually, you smell kind of nice."

Cat smiled happily as she rested back in her seat. "So do you."

"You oddball." Tim chuckled as he pulled up into his driveway.

"You go ahead and clean up. I've got some yardwork to do first."

Cat nodded and went inside while Tim headed to the back of the house to start mowing the lawn.

Cat took a quick shower and dressed in another pair of shorts and the jersey Tim had given her the night before. She looked out her bedroom window and watched Tim as he pushed the lawnmower back and forth. She took one of her books and went into the living room.

Cat's ears flicked while she tried to read, the noise outside breaking her concentration. She walked over to the audio system and turned it on. She grabbed a set of wireless headphones and took them back to the couch. She spread her book open on the table and hovered over it as she held the headphones against her ears to block the outside noise.

Cat's foot tapped to the beat of the music as she read. Occasionally, she sang along with the chorus.

Tim finished the lawn and came in through the back porch. He smiled as he saw Cat on the couch, amused by the way she tried to hold the headphones on ears they weren't designed for.

He crept up behind her, intending to surprise her, but stopped as she began to sing. Her voice was deep and melodious as she sang along with what she was listening to. Tim leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest as he listened to her.

The song ended, and Cat continued to read. She looked up from her book as Tim's scent grew strong in the room. She turned to see him smiling as he leaned against the wall behind her. She wondered how long he had been standing there as she smiled nervously.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I couldn't concentrate with the noise outside."

Tim smiled. "It's fine. You're welcome to use anything of mine."

"Thank you," she said, appreciatively. She regarded Tim curiously as he continued to smile at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"That first day we met, I remember when I heard your voice for the first time. I was surprised by how well you spoke."

Cat smiled, feeling complimented by what Tim was saying.

"But, I never would have guessed that you could sing. You have a lovely voice."

Cat squinted as her ears went down and out like a set of airplane wings. Her hand went over her muzzle as she tried to hide her embarrassed smile.

Tim laughed at her reaction. "What's that face for?"

"I don't know. No one has ever said anything so nice to me."

Tim smiled. "I'm going to go clean up," he said before turning and heading out of the room. He returned after a quick shower.

They spent the rest of their day in a leisurely fashion. Cat kept herself busy reading her books while Tim switched between the newspaper and television. As evening approached, Tim made a quick vegetable stir-fry for their dinner.

"It's very good." Cat complimented.

Tim smiled at Cat's delight. He wondered what she ate in the kennel, then decided he really didn't want to know.

Cat waited patiently for Tim to finish. She got up and took Tim's dishes over to the sink and began cleaning them.

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to," she said, turning to give Tim her lopsided smile. "It's not right that you do all the work around here. You made dinner; I will clean up. We are partners, aren't we?"

Tim chuckled. "Okay, you win."

Tim knew she was only being fair about the division of labor around the home. Though, in the back of his mind he knew she was created to spend her life in service to humans. He couldn't help feeling as if he were taking advantage of her in some way.

Tim help put away the dishes as Cat finished. Afterward, they retired back into the living room, Tim taking the couch while Cat stretched out on the floor again with one of her books.

"I'm going to bed." Cat said as she closed her book and stood.

"So early?"

Cat nodded. "Yes, Sir. I want to be rested for work tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight, partner," Tim said affectionately, "Sleep well."

Tim's tone brought a smile to Cat's muzzle as she headed off to her room, his simple statement making her feel she was cared for.

A little while later Tim decided to turn in as well. He peeked in on Cat, looking through her open door. In the dim light from the hall he could see her laying sound asleep. He smiled at her peaceful expression as she laid on her side with her arm holding a thin sheet over her and tucked between her head and pillow. He turned and continued into his room, remembering to leave his door open so Cat wouldn't feel so alone.

Cat opened her eyes as she heard Tim leave her door and get in his bed. She let out a small sigh and she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

After a few minutes, Cat turned to look at the clock beside her bed. She watched the digits change, counting the seconds and minutes in the quiet room. She let out another sigh as she sat up. She pulled on her jersey and cautiously padded into Tim's room.

She kneeled beside Tim's bed and watched him as he slept. Her thoughts drifted to the past few weeks and the many things that had occurred. She marveled at life in the real world, such a quick pace compared to her days training. Everything seemed so new to her: meeting so many people who were curious about her, a new partner, and a new home. She cocked her head and smiled as she looked at Tim, a relaxed expression on his face. He had turned out to be much kinder than she first thought, and she had never expected that he would bring her into his own home. It was so very generous and kind of him.

"I hope you will always be my officer," she whispered, leaning close and gently licking the tip of his nose.

Cat laid down beneath Tim's bed and curled up, listening to Tim's rhythmic breathing as she drifted off to sleep.