The rest of the weekend at Tim's parents was rather somber. Their long ride home was quiet. Cat looked at Tim from time to time. She could see he was upset. His scent was different too. She still felt responsible for ruining the weekend.

She played lightly with the fur on her arm. She had always been happy with herself, but this was the first time that she seriously wished that she were human. She thought that maybe then she could do or say something to comfort Tim.

Tim glanced over at Cat and could see she was deep in thought. He reached behind her head and scratched her neck.

She smiled and looked up at him.

"We've been over this enough, Cat. What happened wasn't your fault."

Cat caught Tim's hand as he started to withdraw it and held it between both of her own. "I know, Tim," she said softly as she compared the pale skin of his hand to the nearly black padding of her own. "I just wish I could make you feel better."

Tim smiled at the sound of his name. He squeezed her hand gently. "You do."

Cat smiled a little. "Really? But I haven't done anything."

"You are my friend. You care. That's enough."

"Thank you," she said as she looked back at Tim's furless hand. If I were human, I'd do more, she thought.

Brenda watched Tim and Cat walk into the station break room and sit down to wait for their shift to start. She thought they both looked uncharacteristically glum. "Something wrong, you two?" Brenda asked as she moved over and sat at their table.

"Just a long weekend," Tim said before going into the details and final outcome of the events following dinner.

Brenda sat back with a little sigh. "Well, you know how I've felt about her. I'm just sorry she ruined yours and Cat's time with your family."

Tim nodded and then stood. "I just remembered I needed to take care of some paperwork."

Cat stood to follow Tim.

"That's okay, Cat. You can stay here. It'll only take a few minutes."

"Yes, sir," she said and sat back down beside Brenda.

Brenda waited until Tim left the room before turning to Cat. "So, you stuck it to Alicia good," she said with a smile.

"I didn't intend to," Cat said faintly.

"Well she deserved it," Brenda said and noticed Cat smile a little. "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

Cat quickly forced the grin from her face.

"It's okay," Brenda said.

Cat leaned close to Brenda as she spoke softly. "She was such a mean person. It did feel good to tell her what I though of her. But I feel bad because it hurt Tim."

Brenda noticed the sound of Cat's voice as she used Tim's name.

Cat looked around for a second before continuing. "He's been so quiet the last few days. I want to see him happy like he was before I ruined everything."

Brenda looked into Cat's blue eyes. It was hard to remember she wasn't fully human while sitting there with her and speaking so closely.

"You care a great deal for Tim, don't you?"

Cat nodded. "I," she started to say but paused. "I'd do anything for him."

Brenda caught Cat's expression change as she started to speak. She suspected that Cat was going to say something else.

Cat grinned nervously at their awkward silence.

Brenda's eyes widened in surprise as Cat's words and actions connected.

"Oh my God," she said as images of her highschool friends talking about guys flashed through her mind.

Cat's expression blanked. "What?"

"You like him," she accused in a whisper.

Cat gave Brenda a confused look for a moment. "Of course. He's my friend."

"I didn't mean as a friend," Brenda said with a sly grin.

Cat's brow furrowed as she thought, then shook her head without understanding.

Brenda leaned over and whispered her question plainly in Cat's ear.

Cat sat up nervously. "No," she stammered, flicking her ears as they began to feel hot.

Cat's flicking drew Brenda's eyes to her ears. She noticed the inner pink of her ears was turning redder. "Your ears. You're blushing."

"No," Cat repeated as she became more upset. "I can't."

"It's okay," Brenda said, trying to calm Cat. "You're allowed to have feelings."

Cat caught her breath. "Please don't say anything to him."

"Why? Don't you think he'd like to know that?"

"There is no point," Cat said flatly.

Brenda could see the seriousness in Cat's expression.

"I'm not human. There is no resolution for my feelings other than being his friend," Cat said, sadly. "If he knew that, he would worry about me. I don't want him to worry about something he can't help."

Brenda nodded. "I see."

As Tim came back to the break room, Cat and Brenda both gave him a smile. "Okay, what's up with you two?" Tim asked.

"Just girl talk," Brenda teased as she got up. "I'd better go collect my partner." She said, leaving Tim and Cat alone.

"Ready?" Tim asked.

Cat stood and nodded. "Always," she said with a bright lopsided smile.

Tim chuckled as they headed out to start their day.

Eight hours later, Tim was feeling better. Their day had been fairly easy without any major incidents. Lunch at the park made them both forget their worries for a short time.

As they entered the station to finish the day, a young officer approached Tim and Cat. Tim thought the guy looked almost too young to be in the police department and figured he must me fresh from the academy.

"Officer Grady, Captain Harris want's to see you and your partner in his office."

Tim nodded and followed the other officer into Captain Harris's office with Cat close behind. He was surprised to see Dr. Deeks sitting in the corner.

Captain Harris cleared his throat before speaking. "Officer Grady, you're getting a new assignment."

Cat and Tim glanced at each other briefly. "That's great. I'm sure Cat and I won't have any problems," Tim spoke said with certainty.

Harris shook his head. "No. You are getting a new assignment. Cat will be remaining here."

Tim was speechless, completely surprised by the sudden turn of events. He looked at Cat; her eyes were wide and she seemed to be in her own state of shock.

"Officer Miller will be Cat's new officer," Deeks said flatly before turning to Cat. "Do you understand that, Cat. Officer Grady is not responsible for you any longer. You will obey Officer Miller from now on."

Cat looked to Tim briefly before she lowered her head. "Yes, sir," she stuttered. "I understand."

"You're dismissed, Officer Miller," Harris said.

Miller nodded. "Cat. Come," he commanded.

Tim's jaw set as he heard the tone in Miller's voice. His eyes briefly met with Cat's as she passed him on the way out of the office. He could see she didn't want to go, the look in her eyes seemed to beg him to do something.

Deeks waited until Miller had led Cat from the room before speaking. "I'm sorry this hasn't worked out well, Officer Grady, but Cat is not a human being. You seem to have forgotten that she is a tool designed to make our lives easier."

"We'll make every effort to find you a regular canine like you had originally wanted," said Harris. "Until then you'll be on regular patrol."

"I don't want a regular canine. I want Cat."

"That's not possible," said Deeks. "We need to make sure the new GESAs are as stable as we believed. We've already started production with over 1500 embryos sent to the vats for maturation."

Tim was surprised to learn of Deeks's going ahead with the creation of additional GESAs. "I thought that wasn't going to happen for several more months of testing."

Deeks maintained his composure despite the anger he felt for the position Tim had placed Innogen in. "It was, but things seemed to be going so well, we thought we could move the time table up. If we had known that you weren't being forthcoming with the problems you've been having with Cat we wouldn't have proceeded with production."

"What problems?"

"I stopped by your home Friday and ran into your girlfriend. She told me about Cat's aggressive behavior and about some sort of emotional breakdown Cat had one night in your bathroom."

"Any aggressive behavior toward Alicia was well deserved," Tim snapped. "As for her breakdown, Cat said that she just had a bad dream. I don't have any reason to disbelieve her."

"You should have informed me of any unusual behavior," said Deeks.

"It was probably brought on by her fears of loosing her partner," Tim lied, knowing it wouldn't be good if Deeks knew of Cat questioning her own being. "Damn it, you can't do this to her."

"I've seen how you've been keeping Cat." Deeks remained calm and collected. "I know you must think this unfair to her, especially after she had become accustomed to the extravagant allowances you've been making for her. She will adjust with time."

"Extravagant? I'd hardly call a clean room to sleep and a little kindness extravagant."

"Like any dog given table scraps, care must be taken so that the dog does not turn it's nose up from its own food and expect that of its master," quipped Deeks.

Tim bit his tongue. Cat was as far from a dog as humans were from chimps, he thought to himself.

"I'll have your new assignment by the end of the week. Until then you'll take care of some administrative work," said Harris. "You're free to go."

Tim had no idea what to do or say; everything had already been decided for him. He turned and left without a word as his mind went over how fast his world seemed to be falling apart; no girlfriend, no partner, and probably soon no job.

Cat stretched out as best she could on the cot back at the kennel. She wasn’t looking forward to going home with her new partner, but it would have been preferable to coming back here.

She wished she were home in her own bed. "Home," she said aloud. A dog in one of the kennels started barking at the sound, followed by a few others.

Was that really her home, she wondered, or was it just more convenient for Tim if she stayed there. She mentally scolded herself for thinking that Tim would do that. Tim had fixed it up for her and called it her home. He didn't have to do that if he didn't really care.

She closed her eyes and tried to get to block out the sounds of the kennel so she could go to sleep.

She tried to imagine being in back in Tim's room like she used to. "Goodnight, Tim," she said softly as she pictured herself watching over him as he slept.

Tim tried to get some sleep but his mind kept focusing on the silence in the house. He was completely alone now. Alicia was gone, but for some reason that didn't bother him as much as loosing Cat.

He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He got up and paused as he felt the cold floor under his feet. He smiled a little and thought about how Cat never realized she left a warm spot when she slept in his room and would sneak out before he woke up.

He probably should have said something to discourage her from doing that, but he did think it was cute and there was a part of him that liked having her nearby. He wondered if she ever felt the times he would reach over and rest his hand on her arm while she slept.

He continued on into the kitchen, and took out a large glass and filled it a quarter with soda. He routed through the cabinets until he found a bottle of rum and filled the glass to the top.

He downed the glass quickly, wincing as his throat burned a little. He walked back to the bedroom, pausing in front of Cat's door. He went inside and looked over the room and her belongings.

The room looked lived in now. Cat had stopped living out of her bag with the few things she had to call hers. Her books were on the shelves and desk, her clothes in the dresser.

He took her bag from its place beside the dresser. He took out her uniforms and placed them in the bag. He'd make sure he'd get them to her tomorrow.

He sat down on her bed. He picked up the jersey he had given her to sleep in. He could faintly smell her scent in the room but it was strong on the shirt. Tim sighed as he felt silly for sitting there holding her shirt like a security blanket.

He set the shirt down on her bag. Tim lay back on her bed and tucked his arms under the pillow behind his head. He felt something cool and smooth against his arm. He reached for it and pulled it out.

He looked at the photograph. It was taken during the department picnic. He smiled as he looked at Cat in mid-tackle with her arms around him as he tried to hold onto the ball. Her smile made it look like she was more interested in hugging him than tackling him. It was a fun day.

He rested his hands on his chest, holding the photo so he could continue looking at it. The house seemed extra empty without her, he thought as the alcohol started making his eyelids grow heavy. His mind drifted over their time together; their time spent on duty and their lunches, fixing up Cat's room together, her singing, her amusing little quirky smile.

Tim smiled a little as he drifted off to sleep, if only for a little while. He woke later in the night and had a fitful sleep thereafter. When morning came, he called in sick before going back to bed. He figured whatever paperwork he had on his desk could wait.

He got up close to noon, and wandered aimlessly around the house. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with himself. For the first time in his life he questioned if he even wanted to be a cop any longer. Even if he could get another canine partner, an ordinary dog just wouldn't feel the same.

Tim's doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts. He got up to answer the door and found Brenda waiting.

"Just thought I'd drop by on my lunch break," she said cheerfully. "You feeling better?"

"Wasn't really sick, just tired," he said, motioning for her to come in. "Didn't sleep well."

Brenda noticed the empty bottle on the counter. "Hangover?" she asked.

"No. Was the only way I got the rest I did."

They both took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Can I get you anything?" Tim offered.

Brenda shook her head. "No, thanks. But you could tell me what's up with you."

"Like I said, I didn't sleep well. To tired to go in."

She studied him for a moment. "You know, if you miss Cat that much, going to work is probably the best way to see her. It beats sitting here feeling sorry for yourself."

"Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"Aren't you?" she asked, attempting to get some kind of response from Tim. "I saw Cat this morning, she looked miserable. I bet she wishes she could call in sick, but she doesn't have that option, now does she."

"I'm sure she'll feel better. Look how I was with her to start," he said halfheartedly. "The new guy will come around."

"I don't know about that. Her new partner seems to be one of those guys that follow all the rules to the letter. He doesn't even let her talk to the rest of us. She just follows him around, waiting for his next command."

Brenda could see that bothered Tim immensely. "You do want her back, don't you? That's not very nice to just forget her like that, especially after all she's done for you," she prodded, trying to get more of a reaction out of him.

"Of course I want her back!" Tim yelled. "But they took her away because I was too nice to her. I treated her more like a person than a dog and screwed up all her training."

"I'm sure Cat appreciated the things you've done for her. I think she's probably a better cop from her time with you than from any of the training they provided her," she said. She wanted to tell Tim about Cat's feelings for him, but regretted promising her that she wouldn't say anything to him. "Don't you think she wants to be with you?"

Tim thought about the picture and how happy Cat looked. "Yes," he admitted.

Brenda smiled at him. "Well then, go talk to that doctor from Innogen. Tell him why you think this change is bad for Cat. She's his project; he has to care something for her well being. Just get out there and fight to get your partner back."

Tim thought for a moment. "You're right. Deeks probably is my best chance. That or dognapping her."

Brenda laughed as she checked her watch. "Well, better be getting back to work."

Tim didn't want mention that he was half-serious about dognapping Cat. If he thought he could get away with it, he might, but Cat would be impossible to hide. "Hey, can you get something to Cat?" he asked as he got up and headed to Cat's room.

"A cake with a file in it?"

"No," Tim called from the bedroom as he wrote a note on the back of Cat's photo. He tucked it in the bottom of her bag and took it out to Brenda. "Just some of her uniforms. She didn't get to take anything with her."

Brenda took the bag from Tim as she headed for the door. "See you at work tomorrow?"

Tim nodded as he watched her head out to her cruiser and leave. First thing tomorrow, he decided he would visit Dr. Deeks and see if he could convince him to let Cat remain his partner.