Disclaimer: I don't own them, no matter how much I wish I did. No copyright infringement intended.

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Pam had been sitting in her car for almost ten minutes trying to get the courage to move. Whether it be into Angela's house to get her kitten, or out of the driveway and towards home to be alone remained to be seen; but anything was better than this limbo she found herself in. It was sitting in her car in Angela's driveway that she realized that this internal conflict she felt wasn't just due to the kitten. It was her life itself. She'd been making changes and sticking up for herself, sure, but the changes were so small even she had a hard time seeing them. She was paralyzed by her fear; she always had been. And she always knew she was. She was just too chicken to do anything about it. It was a vicious cycle. Something in her brain snapped in that moment. She became aware of her own insecurity, and how it was ruining her life. Causing her to pass up chances that could make things better. Chances that could make things more than better. Things could be good for Pam. She became angry with herself. Not for letting Jim or Roy or any other person slip away from her, but for letting herself slip away. She thought about her life and felt like crying. But crying is what the old Pam would've done. The new Pam didn't have time to cry. The new Pam had a kitten to tend to, and a life to get back on track. She pulled the key out of the ignition, and headed up to Angela's front porch. She was unsurprised that the "Welcome!" mat didn't actually say "Welcome!", but featured cats in a variety of poses instead. 

Angela had finally admitted her into the house, after listing at least thirty different rules to abide by. "Please remove your shoes." "Please keep your socks on." "Please do not whistle it scares the cats." "Please do not make direct eye contact with any of the male cats." "Please do not curse, as it causes Oberon's fur to fall out in clumps." It was all Pam could do not to fall into hysterical laughter, which would, of course, break the "Please do not laugh, it triggers Sprinkles to urinate on the bedspread." rule. Pam was unsurprised, yet again, to see several large cats run from the room as she entered.  

Angela's home was exactly how Pam had imagined it. It was small and clean; grey and black being the prominent colors, of course. There was a large cat tree in the corner of the living area, and she noticed a large metal cage on the floor next to it. She searched the room, but couldn't seem to find a single kitten. Angela followed her gaze. 

"I put the kittens in the cage because I wanted them to become acclimated to your scent before I let you see them. They'll feel more comfortable with you if they smell you before you interact with them." Angela rolled her eyes as if this was the most obvious statement she'd ever made. 

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess we wait then? How long before they become...adjusted to my scent?" Pam was doing everything in her power not to burst into laughter. She realized that if she did laugh, Angela would probably make her leave without the kitten. And she'd let herself get used to the idea of being a cat owner, and at least wanted to see the little guy before making a decision. 

"Have a seat on the sofa, and I will bring Ashe over and introduce you. Please keep your voice at a low, soothing level. Don't make any sudden movements, or he could become frightened and claw you. And you will have only yourself to blame."   

Angela gave Pam a stern look and it took Pam a moment to realize that Angela wanted verification that Pam had understood her requests. She nodded and Angela turned to the corner of the room. Pam heard a soft cooing noise and almost choked when she realized it was coming from Angela. She knew that Angela loved her cats, but she'd never heard Angela speak that softly to anyone. 

Pam gasped as Angela returned with the tiny kitten. She had never remembered seeing a more beautiful kitten in her life. His coat was a gorgeous shade of grey with light grey accents and almost black stripes. His little nose was pure black and he had a small black line over each eye that made him look like he was challenging Pam.  She let out a soft "Oh." as Angela set him down on the couch next to her. She reached her hand out to rub his head and he jumped onto his back legs so that he could mash his tiny face into her palm. 

"See." Angela said quietly, "He's quite comfortable with you already because he's accustomed to your scent." 

Pam moved her hand down his short back, taking in the softness of his fur. She smiled at his silliness as he fell over onto his back and kicked his paws into the air. Pam moved to rub his belly, and was surprised when he grabbed her hand with all four of his paws and kicked it to his mouth. Her first instinct was to jerk her hand away, worried he would bite her, or that she would hurt him, but she let him pull her hand. She laughed when he started to lick her skin. She'd never felt a cat's tongue before and was surprised by how rough it was. She continued laughing until she remembered the rule, and her head snapped towards Angela. Surprisingly, Angela was smiling too.  

"I'm confident that he enjoys your company, Pam. You may take him whenever you feel comfortable." 

"Oh, okay." She was a little surprised she was being freed so early. She had been bracing herself for an all night event. And she would never admit it, but Angela's vote of confidence in her helped tremendously. 

She reached over and picked him up, amazed by how little he weighed. So tiny and fragile. As she pulled him to her chest and rubbed his ears, she could feel him start to purr. His little heart was beating against her hand and she realized in that moment that she didn't have to live alone anymore. Now Pam understood why Angela's cats were so important to her. 

She gently placed Ashe in the carrier that Jim had brought her and thanked Angela for giving her the kitten. 

"I reserve the right to drop by unexpectedly to make sure that Ashe's living conditions are acceptable, Pam." 

Pam sighed a little to herself, "Okay Angela. Whatever you think is necessary." 

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As soon as the car started to move, Ashe started to cry. And not the sweet, tiny little baby cry she'd heard at Angela's. It was a full on howl. She was glad they were in the car in the dead of winter, because if a window had been rolled down, someone might have thought she was trying to kill the kitten. She tried cooing and talking to him softly, but nothing was helping. She thought it might be better if she could hold him, that maybe if she held him and rubbed his ears he'd stop crying and start purring again.  

Pam reached over to the passenger seat and fiddled with the lock on the pet carrier. She was having a hard time getting it open, and Ashe's mewling wasn't easing her at all.  She had just about gotten it open when her car slammed into the car in front of her. She instinctively grabbed the carrier so it wouldn't fly off the seat, then as soon as the car had stopped moving, she threw it into park.  

"I'm so sorry, Ashe, are you okay?" 

The kitten mewled in response, and Pam took that as a yes. She unbuckled her seat belt and slid out of the car to assess her damage. Her face reddened as she saw the long line of traffic stopped for the passing train, she thought to herself, a blind person could see this from a mile away. She had never in her life rear-ended anyone, and she couldn't believe that she had done so in such a spectacularly stupid way.  

"Pam?" Jim's voice shook her from her thoughts. 

"Jim, what are you doing here?" 

"Well, I was on my way home from dinner, but then I got stopped by this train, and then I'm pretty sure you just drove your car into the back of mine." He gave her a small smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Oh, god, Jim. I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. I'll pay for whatever needs to be fixed I just...Ashe was crying and I thought maybe if I held him it would be better, and then I couldn't get the carrier open and...I guess I wasn't paying attention. 

"You got the kitten? Good for you Beesly. Let me see him." 

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of a horn behind them. The train had cleared and traffic was moving again. 

"Oh, well, we should get moving. I'll see him some-" 

"Do you want to come over? I mean, you could follow me to my place and you can meet Ashe there and we can exchange insurance information?" She couldn't believe that she had actually said those words. She knew she wanted to, but she was just amazed at how good it felt to ask for what she really wants.  

Jim's face displayed about a hundred different reactions in the few seconds after Pam's invitation. Shock, followed by terror, back to shock. And then Jim shocked himself by saying, "Why not? I haven't seen your place. Plus, if I'm following you, it'll be a lot harder for you to drive into the back of my car." 

Pam playfully slapped his arm and grinned at him. Another car behind them honked. 

Jim gave her one of his kilowatt smiles as he turned to go back to his car. "Take the lead, Beesly." 

Pam planned on doing exactly that.