ADVENTURES IN CAT SITTING 2:ALL WET!:
By: ShadowWing

Standard Disclamer: Belle Anderson and her cat, Black Magic, belongs to me. Shadow Travis, Paul Travis, and Mama Helen, belong to Valancy Gilliam. Read, enjoy, thank you very much!!!

"No way Belle." Hissed Shadow, "I am not letting that little black terror with claws into my house. Get a kennel."

"If there was a kennel left in the state of New York that Black Magic has NOT offended I would use it." Drawled Belle, "Please? If all else fails could Mama Helen do it?"

"I suppose so," sighed Shadow in exasperation, "but this is the last time Belle."

"Thanks!" stated Belle and they both hung up the phone.

Shadow Travis drove up to the Travis's Ranch with a small carrier in the passenger seat beside her. "The box was growling. "Yeah, yeah, shut up cat, be grateful I didn't let Mist into that box of yours."

The cat promptly shut up. Upon her arrival Shadow picked up the carrier and strolled into the house, at the sound of somebody entering her kitchen Mama Helen looked up, "Why Shadow dear, what brings you out here?"

"A favor for Belle." Replied Shadow holding up the carrier.

Mama Helen smiled and almost grabbed the carrier from Shadow's grip, in less than a minute Black Magic was out of the carrier and purring in Mama Helen's arms. "I'll be happy to keep an eye on her for you Shadow." Shadow sighed with relief as she quickly left the house to head back to Austin, she still has a stack of term papers to grand and a few drug rings to bust up before tomorrow....

Paul Travis walked into the house after his shift with the Texas Rangers, the next thing he knew he was wearing a black fur hat. "Oh no...." he groaned, "Shadow's mutts are not here, why do you insist on perching on my head cat?!"

"Oh Paul," sighed Mama Helen, "she just likes you that's all."

"You mean 'Likes to annoy me.' Don't you Mama." Muttered Paul sitting down at the kitchen table, he wasn't even going to try and dislodge Magic from his head.

Mama Helen shook her head, "Well I have to go and get some things in town, I should be back in a few hours."

Paul nodded and soon the sound of Mama's car was roaring off into the distance. He sighed and looked up, "Well Cat I've got some things to do outside, are you going to stay there or are you coming with?"

Black Magic settled down as if she was going to take a nap. "That answered my question." He grumbled as he made his way outside.

"Stupid Cat!" snarled Paul as he walked back into the house holding a very muddy cat by its scruff. Black Magic also did not look pleased with the situation. What was once a small sleek black cat, was now a black and brown mud ball. A very peeved mud ball.

"You just HAD to chase that chicken, didn't you." Muttered Paul, "You just had to plow right through the ONLY mud puddle in the ENTIRE yard to get to the chicken, and you missed the chicken!"

Black Magic growled in response.

"Now I have to give you a bath..." muttered Paul.

At the mention of the word Bath, Magic when from stock still to fighting fury. Good thing Paul had a good grip on the cat, or else there would have been a muddy ping pong ball bouncing all over the house.

"Uh oh..." muttered Paul and he sprinted to the bathroom. In one fluid movement Paul tossed the seething cat into the bathtub and slammed the glass shower enclosure shut. The Ping-Pong ball was now safely contained.

"Now what?" he muttered, Magic was already yowling at the top of her lungs, "Okay gotta wash the cat, no problem, I'll just reach in and turn on the water..." Paul's voice trailed off as he heard Magic's claws rake down the glass doors. The cat was glaring at him evilly. "Maybe I'll get some more suitable clothes on first...."

Paul quickly jogged to his room, you could hear the cat across the house, he looked over his closet. "Hmm don't have a suit of armor, it'll rust though." After a short period of time Paul reentered the bathroom, just in time to see Black Magic almost over the top of the shower door. Though the shock of seeing exactly what entered the room was enough top cause the cat to lose her balance and slip back into the bathtub. Paul was wearing an old pair of hip waders he used for fishing, a long sleeved shirt, his bullet proof vest, and just for good measure a riot-helmet with clear Plexiglas full face visor. He also grabbed an old pair of leather roper gloves for good measure. Paul was not stupid, he saw what those claws did to his head once, he didn't what to give the hacked feline a crack at the rest of his body.

He very carefully cracked the door open and reached in one arm to turn on the faucet. As the water came on Black Magic attacked his arm. With some effort Paul managed to pull his arm out in one piece and keep the muddy, and now soaked, cat inside the bathtub. The shirt however was shot, and he also bore several deep gashes in the aforementioned arm. "Damn Cat!" He snarled.

Several yowls came from the cat, which Paul believed to translate into "DAMN HUMAN!"

After changing his shirt and patching his arm, Paul re-entered the bathroom; he also hunted the house for some kind of soap to clean the cat with. The closest he came up with was dog shampoo, by this time Black Magic had stopped bouncing off the walls and was now sitting in the still running shower water rumbling with barely contained feline fury. The cat had only one desire, to utterly destroy whatever human was stupid enough to open that door.

Paul entered the bathroom and shut the door, he took a deep breath, lowered his visor and with one fluid motion, despite the bulky gear he was wearing, opened the shower door, jumped in, and shut it before the cat could blink.

Black Magic lunged at Paul, claws out and murder in her eyes.

Paul's reflexes took over, he reached for his sidearm, but instead he only found the bottle of dog shampoo. He fired a liberal amount at the cat before either of them could register what he just did. Just before Magic completely regained her senses he grabbed the cat and scrubbed as quickly as he could. Rinsing was easy; he just dodged Magic's attacks long enough for the still running water to do the work.

After he shut off the water he quickly grabbed a towel from outside the shower to catch the attacking cat with. After a few rubs Black Magic was already clawing through the thick fabric, after a quick thought Paul carried the bundle outside the bathroom and dropped it before running back into the room and slamming and locking the door behind him.

Mama Helen entered her house to see a damp Black Magic, vigorously grooming herself bits of shredded terry cloth all over the place, and the bathroom door was shut and bore claw marks on the outside. "Paul," Mama began calmly, "What happened?"

From inside the bathroom, "I had to give the cat a bath."

"Oh." Replied Mama Helen nodding her head in understanding. "I see." She then grabbed a catnip mouse from a drawer and tossed it at the cat. Black Magic was in la-la land in two minutes flat "You can come out now Paul, Magic is occupied."

She made no comment as Paul, still damp, in waders, shredded shirt, bulletproof vest, helmet and gloves carefully made he way back to his room. The second he was out of earshot she doubled over in laughter. From across the house she heard him yell.

"I heard that Mama!!!"

She carefully wiped the tears from her eyes and called Shadow, she was never going to believe this....

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