Page 31 of Pain
With two more beers in hand, he headed back outside to find Xander standing by the fence. He made his way to him, standing beside him, wondering what he was doing. "Everything okay?"
"Look." Xander pointed to a small section of bushes that were against the fence.
"What am I looking for?" Matt tried to see what Xander was looking at.
"Lean down and look all the way into the back, right against the fence."
Matt did as he was told, gasping when he saw what Xander was looking at. "Kittens?"
"Yep, yours?"
"No, we don't have any animals." Matt tried to count how many. "I see three. Any sign of their mother?"
"She just jumped the fence. That's what got my attention, then I heard the kittens mewing once she was gone."
"Shit, what do I do?"
"Nothing for now. She might belong to a neighbor and decided your pet-free yard was a safe place to give birth." Xander kneeled beside him. "They don't look more than a few hours old."
"Are they safe alone like this?" Matt had never owned a pet in his life.
"Yeah, their mother probably just went to get food. I'm sure she'll be back. Keep an eye on them for a few days, if it looks like they're having issues, then you can deal with them."
"I wouldn't even know how."
"Call me, I'll help. My mother was a veterinarian. I grew up with more animals around the house than we should have ever had. She adopted every animal she could."
"Wow, that must have made for an interesting childhood."
"It was the only good thing about it." Xander glanced over at him.
"Oh, sorry."
"It's in the past." Xander stood. "At least now you know if you hear weird sounds at night, it's just the kittens."
"Yeah, I would have probably freaked out. The first day after I got on the dark web, my paranoia went way up. I installed a new security system, bought new locks. I was convinced someone was going to come after me for digging around."
"It's not that paranoid. If they thought you were a risk, some might come after you. It's a business to many of them. That's why Bryon is so strict about security and making sure we keep things safe. It's a dangerous group of people out there."
Matt stood, handing one of the beers to Xander. "I'm seeing that now. I was lucky something didn't happen."
"You were, but if you stick to the team house now, you'll be okay. Just stick to Facebook and email from home." Xander twisted the cap on the beer as he sat back down in the chair.
"I probably won't even get online here anymore. I see myself spending a lot of time at the team house."
"Just don't burn yourself out. It happens faster than you think. There's always work to do, new cases to research, new perps to follow. Don't forget who you are, and that there is life outside of what we do. Don't let the darkness consume you. When Faith comes home, you still want to be able to give her a normal life."
Matt sighed. "Do you think she'll ever have a normal life after this?"
"I know she will. Not a doubt in my mind. No matter what she's been through, she can get past it. It might take time, but she'll get there. With you by her side, she'll be just fine."
Matt hoped Xander was right. Truth was, he was so scared she'd never come home, but he refused to say that out loud. He refused to give the worry power. He had to keep hope alive. "When Jill died, I had no idea what to do. I let Jill handle everything when it came to Faith. I had so much to learn. I mean, how the hell was I supposed to know how to raise a little girl? It was a struggle. Now, with this, I feel that same fear."
"Faith will let you know what she needs." Xander smiled. "And you're not alone. Your family will be there, both your real one and your new one."
"Thanks." Matt took a swallow of beer. "So, do you have family?"
"Nope, no one. Just the team. I was an only child, and I don't speak to my father, and my mother died when I was little. Like I said before, Dyson is like a brother, and the rest of the team maybe like cousins."
