Work Text
August 1908
All Jack had wanted to do was take out the trash. But as he was slinging the rubbish into the bin in the alley out back, he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. He swung around, always alert to unexpected motions, even slight ones. He relaxed as soon as he clocked what he’d seen, though. It wasn’t a bruiser looking to soak him or a policeman wanting a bribe; it was a kitten. He finished emptying the trash and tugged his cap down a little more firmly, grateful for the slight protection it offered against the rain.“Here, kitty,” Jack called, wiggling his fingers at the scrawny little thing, which was currently huddled in a hole in the brick wall of the apartment building behind his own. The cat looked up at Jack and tried to scuttle backwards, but the hole was only so big, and, as Jack drew nearer, the kitten had to decide whether to stay there and hope for the best, or make a dash for it out into the rain in order to escape Jack.
It chose to hope for the best, which the Kellys would soon learn was one of the fuzzy black cat’s permanent personality traits. “Hey, there, li’l guy,” Jack said, reaching for the cat, which hissed and swiped at him. “I’m just tryna help,” Jack protested, crouching down and eyeing the little sucker, who had clearly been out in the rain for a while before finding shelter. “C’mere, kitty; lemme pull ya outta there, alright?” He tugged his shirtsleeve down over his hand and tried to pick the cat up that way, so that it couldn’t scratch him, but he startled backwards and fell onto the wet pavement as the cat growled and swiped again.“You’s a
wary little thing, ain’tcha,” he said, rubbing at his sore backside, which was now sopping wet and covered in alley muck. “Oh well, nothin’ for it now,” he said, tugging his cap off his head. He was already wet, so what did it matter if his hair got a bit damp? “I can’t letcha beat me, kitty,” he said, wrapping his cap around his hand and grabbing the kitten in one smooth motion. “I beat Joseph Pulitzer an’ married his daughter, so I gots a reputation ta uphold, ya li’l devil. Ain’t no kitten gonna best Jack Kelly, nuh uh.”The kitten mewled as Jack picked it up and cradled it—still safely wrapped in his cap—to his chest. “Shh, now, I’s gonna get ya cleaned up an’ fed an’ then… well, we’ll see. Dunno if Kath’s gonna let me keep ya, kitty, seein’ as we’s already got a baby on the way an’ all, but…” He shrugged. “Least we c’n get some of those mats outta your hair an’ some food in your belly.”
The kitten seemed to have calmed down by the time Jack got back to the apartment; it had stopped mewling sadly, at least, which Jack counted as progress.
“You okay?” Katherine called from the living room, where she was working on her latest article. “Took you a while.”
“Hunky dory,” Jack replied, kicking off his shoes and following the sound of his wife’s voice. He eyed her back for a second, held his breath, and then said, “Hey, Ace, I… uh… I brought you a present?”“You don’t sound sure about that,” she said, turning around and giving him a confused look. “Oh!” Her eyes fell on the bedraggled kitten, who now felt safe enough to peek out of the warm nest of Jack’s newsie cap. “Well, that explains it,” she said dryly, standing up and crossing her arms. “Okay, Mr. Kelly. Spill.”
“I found it in the alley,” he said, letting the kitten sniff his fingers and then unfolding the cap slightly so he could stroke its head. “It’s rainin’, Ace, an’ it just looked so sad… an’ look, it needs help, see?” He pulled the cap back all the way, causing the kitten to blink and shiver, exposing its malnourished body, clumped hair, and gunky ears. “It’s so grubby an’ scrawny an’ in need of love, an’—well, we’re good at that, you an’ me, aren’t we? At lovin’ things what other people kick ta the curb?”She glared. “You’re playing dirty.”
“It could help us practice for the baby,” he wheedled. “Takin’ care of somethin’ tiny an’ helpless an’ givin’ it baths an’ makin’ sure it’s fed an’ grows up happy an’ healthy? That’s the same as with a baby, right?”
Katherine sighed and bent down to look at the cat, who struggled to its feet to rest its front paws on Jack’s forearms and stretch its nose up to sniff Katherine. Jack grinned as he saw Katherine melt, smile, and stretch out a hand to pet the filthy waif of a cat. “It’s so mucky you can hardly even tell it’s a cat,” she said, scratching it under its chin and frowning at the crusted scabs she saw on its haunches. “I swear, Jack, you have found the neediest, most battered stray in all of New York City.”“You have a heart for needy, battered strays,” he pointed out, his eyes twinkling.
“I do,” she agreed, lifting the kitten from his arms and examining it carefully, noting where they’d need to shave its fur in order to clean and bandage it properly. “Heaven help me, but I do.”“We could name it Dog,” Jack said, his excitement growing.“Don’t push it, Kelly,” she said. “I haven’t said we can keep it yet.”
The kitten dangled limply from her hands, submitting meekly to Katherine’s inspection.“Don’t worry, Dog,” Jack said in a stage whisper, leaning down to be eye level with the kitten and giving it a slow blink. “We’re keepin’ ya.”“We’re
not
naming it Dog,” Katherine said, marching the kitten off to the bathroom to start cleaning it up.
“Bird?” Jack suggested, trotting after her.“Maybe we should name her Patience,” Katherine grumbled, lowering the cat into the sink and turning on the water, “Seeing as you keep trying mine.”Jack rummaged around for the iodine and tipped it onto a washrag, ready to help clean off the kitten’s cuts. “What if we named her Kitty?” He said, earning a scowl. “After her patron saint. And mine,” he explained, winking at Katherine.She gave him a loving roll of her eyes and massaged the soap into the kitten’s fur, working out the clumps of dirt and hair and… well… she didn’t even
want
to know what. “We’ll talk,” she said, rinsing the kitten off and passing it over to Jack so that he could swab at its wounds. “I’m going to go find her some food.”She left the bathroom and Jack continued to scrub the kitten, which by now looked more like a drowned rat –albeit a very clean one– than a potential family pet. “I knew it,” he said, his voice low. “She’s the best gal in the world; you’ll see. You’s safe now, hmm? Ya ready ta be a Kelly?” He finished cleaning the cat off and swaddled it tightly in a clean hand towel. The kitten gave a squeaky meow, made a futile attempt to wiggle out of Jack’s grasp, and then gave up and started purring. Jack cuddled the cat to his chest and smiled, kissing it softly on the head. “We’s gonna take good care of ya, you dirty li’l scamp. I promise.”