Is this destiny?

While four humans spoke, Kitty found her courage to do more than just observing. She was slowly moving through the family room and exploring it while taking in the new, unfamiliar scent.

Sarah was observing the cub like a proud mother.

"Hey! We are here!", JoAnna exclaimed from the door.

Sudden noise startled Kitty and she dashed under the sofa.

Jeff was right behind JoAnna, carrying her medical bag in his right hand and another one in his left.

After they exchanged greetings, JoAnna opened the second bag which Jeff carried, got a feather teaser out and displayed it proudly.

"That is…?", Sarah looked at the long stick with a feather on one end which JoAnna swayed left-right.

Neither of them were aware that Kitty is observing them from under the sofa, and Kitty was entranced by the feather which moved.

"For your cat. They like to play with these…" JoAnna demonstrated by moving the feather above the surface of the table. "You move it slowly and they like to… AHHH!"

JoAnna leaped into Jeff\'s lap when Kitty landed on the coffee table.

JoAnna and Kitty were both frozen and staring at each other.

Jeff was happy that JoAnna leaped into his arms for protection, but he was unable to hide his confusion when he realized that there is a huge cat on the table. Definitely not a two month old kitten he imagined.

JoAnna blinked and Kitty leaped into her mommy\'s arms.

Sarah laughed while patting the cub who was chewing on the feather teaser. She spoke softly: "It\'s OK, baby… that is only Aunt Anna. She can be noisy. And that man holding her, that is your Uncle Jeff."

"Sarah, that is NOT a cat.", JoAnna stated the obvious and looked at Jeff for support, but Jeff was smiling while thinking that \'Uncle Jeff\' is not so bad. No one called him \'Uncle Jeff\' so far.

JoAnna sighed. She did her research on the cats and what they need, but she was not prepared for a leopard cub!

Sarah was confident that it should be the same as cats. Just that Kitty is bigger.

JoAnna nodded in understanding. Well, at least they will not need to talk about spaying. What are the odds of a leopard finding a mate in Los Angeles?

JoAnna got from her purse a Ziplock with a cell phone in it. "I was thinking that you can check for fingerprints. Jules touched it…" JoAnna explained how she left this phone on the table \'accidentally\', and Jules copied contents to some external device.

Jeff was unusually calm about the fact that Jules has some hidden agenda. Actually, he was proud how JoAnna handled the situation.

Sarah confirmed that she will keep watch on alerts from those virus apps and track the location of whoever Jules is working for. But…"Fingerprints? Do you think I\'m into forensics?"

JoAnna lifted an eyebrow. "If I can be a veterinarian for your leopard, you can check those fingerprints on my phone."

Sarah puffed her cheeks and hugged Kitty. "OK."

Because JoAnna was not sure in treatment for leopards, she decided to give only two vaccines to Kitty. One for protection against rabies and other is a cocktail against common diseases which attack felines.

JoAnna was a bit nervous, it\'s her first time giving a shot to an animal. And she does not want to be the one to cause Kitty any pain.

Both Mommy and Daddy held Kitty and provided cuddles with comforting words while she got her two shots from Aunt Anna.

Sarah and Aiden agreed that this was very stressful, and Sophia and Felix saw themselves few months into the future (just with the human baby instead of a leopard cub).

Only Jeff looked at the whole scene in disbelief. It is a cat! A big one, but still… a cat! Why is everyone so emotional about it?

No matter of their feelings, all six of them were relieved when the checkup was done. Kitty is a healthy leopard cub. 

Haru and Jesse joined them for dinner.

Aiden told Jeff that they will need papers for Haru.

JoAnna swiftly completed a checkup which included necessary vaccinations for Haru. 

The dinner passed quickly with pleasant chatting and good food. Everyone was curious about Haru, and he had many questions about them as well.

Kitty was happily eating finely cut raw beef mixed with vegetables. Sarah laughed when she saw the feeding bowl after Kitty moved away. There was no meat left, but carrots and green beans were still there, neatly pushed to one side of the bowl. The Kitty knows what she likes.

Haru and Jesse left as soon as they finished their food. Haru was excited to try out the gaming console, and Jesse was happy to have someone to play with. It seems that the rest of the staff is not into gaming.

JoAnna and Sophia mentioned tomorrow\'s fashion show. Ellie got them front row seats.

"Did she give you two tickets for us?", Sarah\'s eyes darted between JoAnna and Sophia. They spoke about this previously, and Ellie promised front row seats for all three sisters.

JoAnna responded with a question: "I told her that you are coming back today. Ellie didn\'t talk to you?"

Sarah shook her head and checked her phone. "Oh, she left me a message." Sarah perked up thinking that it\'s about the tickets but then frowned and looked at Aiden. "Did you tell her that we will be her models for the show, tomorrow?"

Aiden furrowed his brows while thinking. "I maybe said something like: as long as she gives us couple\'s outfits, she can count on us."

Sarah exhaled in frustration. "Well… it seems that she has some couple\'s outfits available."

Sophia\'s eyes sparkled. "Are you saying that I\'m going to a fashion show and I will get to see my baby sister on the catwalk wearing hot EY designs?"

JoAnna was also excited. She saw them from their show in Chicago on photos and videos, but this will be live!

Sarah sighed and shook her head. All this is too much. She was stressing about Thursday\'s presentation at the White corp. annual meeting, and now she got news of another stress for Wednesday! How will she stress about Thursday if her Wednesday is full? She glared at Aiden, confident that he did this on purpose.

…

Later that evening, Aiden was excited when he got out of the shower. Ah, finally they can get back on the soft mattress, under the cozy covers, in a well-insulated (and temperature regulated) house. His pajamas are soft and comfy, and soon he will remove them… He froze at the sight of Sarah snuggling with Kitty on the bed.

How can two of them be intimate with an oversized cat in-between them?

"Is she sleeping with us?", Aiden asked with an icy tone.

Sarah cradled Kitty in her arms protectively. "She is a baby. We can\'t leave her alone… she will be scared."

Aiden walked to the bed, took the leopard cub in his arms and walked out. He returned about five minutes later breathless and empty handed.

"Where is Kitty?", Sarah could not believe that Aiden just kicked her out!

"She is sleeping with Jesse.", Aiden smirked and climbed on top of the bed. "You said that she should not sleep alone. She is not alone."

Sarah smiled in relief at the thought that Kitty is not locked in another room by herself. "Why with Jesse?"

"I tried Haru first, but Kitty does not like him." Aiden pulled Sarah in his arms and took a deep breath. "Ah, this feels good. You smell a bit like a cat, but I can live with that."

"What?", Sarah sniffed herself. "I took a shower, and we gave her a bath…"

Aiden laughed. "It\'s probably just the clothes... let me help you remove them..."

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