A/N: For the Cletus lover's out there. If you aren't a fan of my boy Cletus, you can skip this Outtake.

Chapter 1 – Home

01/09/2010, 10:00 – CletPOV

I was tucked up against some apartment building, trying to figure out where to scrounge my next meal, when I first saw him. He looked tired, like me. I had been out here for a couple of months now, trying to make my way, but winters weren't good for hunting. Even the mice knew better than to come out of their nests when it was this cold. I had grown out my coat, which was pretty fly if I say so myself, but that cold wind seemed to find its way straight to my bones. It wasn't so bad at the moment, here behind the bushes, but soon I'd need to venture out to find some grub. My last meal was a day or two ago and I was hungry. I hadn't resorted to begging humans yet, like I'd seen the grey and white fool down the street do, but it was getting close. My tummy was rumbling something fierce.

He walked by, his arms loaded up with stuff and I swallowed my pride and thought, "What the hell, I'll just try it and see what happens." I broke out my most pitiful meow and waited to see if it would garner any results. Just like I thought, he kept going right on by. Maybe one more try? I cried out again and lo and behold, he was back! Now I had a decision to make, do I trust him or not? He knelt down in the front of me and called me to him. He had the sweetest voice and I just wanted to run right over to him, but my momma didn't raise no fool. I made my way out from behind the bushes slowly, watching him closely for any sign that he was going to do me harm. Looking into his eyes, I saw the pity there and as much as I hated that I had become a sight to be pitied, I decided to take a chance. I closed the distance between us and put all my cards on the table, pushing my head directly into the hand he was holding out to me. The next thing I knew, I was in total bliss – his long fingers were scratching right behind my ears and it felt soooo good.

"Hey you, what are you doing out here? Do you belong to someone?" he asked. Okay – I know these human things were supposed to be smarter than us, but did he really think with the vocal cords I was given I could give an answer he'd understand? I tried to convey my answer through my eyes and when that didn't work, I meowed again. Hopefully he'd get the point. He continued to pet me for a moment and then took his hand back and started to shift his stuff around. Next thing I knew, I was up in the air but tucked in close to a very warm body. He walked over to the entrance of the building and just stood there for a moment. Looking around, I wondered what the holdup was and where he was taking me - but if it was inside, that worked for me. It had to be warmer in there than out here. I finally figured out that he couldn't open the door because he had his hands full. I was about to jump down when an older human appeared and let us in. He asked the old man if he knew who I was and after finding out that I had no one, he muttered to me, "Guess it's just you and me."

We climbed some stairs and then stopped at another door. He was smarter this time and put me down while he unlocked it. As soon as it opened, I scampered inside. Ahhh – it was so nice and warm in here. I heard the man say, "Make yourself at home," and I figured what the hell, might as well take advantage of my good fortune while it lasted. I sniffed the air and traced the lingering scent of something tasty to a room just down the hall. The strongest smell seemed to originate from a rather large silver thing so I plopped myself down right in front of it with the hope that it would dispense some tasty treats. The man chuckled and then said, "I guess you have your priorities, huh?" If I could have rolled my eyes, I would have. "Just get to it already – open this thing up so I can find out what smells so good in there!"

He must be a mind reader, because he immediately opened the big silver box and I was overwhelmed – so many yummy scents at once! Within minutes, he'd put a bowl of milk in front of me along with a paper plate full of some sort of meat. I tucked in right away, not knowing if this was my last meal or not. All too soon it was gone and I looked up at him hopefully to see if he would open the big silver box of goodness again. It was like magic – the next thing I knew out came some more stuff! Sniffing at it cautiously, I realized it smelled like the grub I got from the dumpster at the Chinese place down the street a few days ago. I ate it all, even though I was pretty full. I was just about to go take a nap when I found myself airborne again and up on the black counters.

"Time to clean you up a bit," he said and turned some sort of knob. Water came pouring out of the tube thingy and I watched as he placed some sort of cloth under the water and wrung it out. Of course, then it all went to hell as the human decided to put this wet thing on my body. Was he insane? Hadn't anyone told him that we don't like water? Plus, after the nap I had planned on a giving myself a bath, I just hadn't gotten that far. Then he asked the dumbest question yet, "So, are you a boy or a girl?"

"Umm, hello? I have balls! Pretty big ones too, buddy." Within seconds, I found myself facing away from him and he was lifting my tail to take a look for himself. "Geez! What kind of place was this?"

"Apparently, a Mister," he mumbled. I wasn't taking any chances that he was going to invade my privacy again and got the hell out of there. Maybe I could find a nice quiet corner to hide and take my much overdue nap. As I regretfully left the room with the magic silver box of goodness, I heard him yell out, "Don't get too comfortable. You can't stay."

Ha! Apparently he wasn't aware of the cardinal rule of my kind – once you feed us, we're yours. I wasn't going anywhere; especially now that I had found the magic silver box of goodness. He was stuck with me for good. I roamed around my new home, trying to figure out where everything was and the best place for napping. I heard him doing stuff in the next room, but was too chicken shit to go in there when he was making so much noise. After a while, it quieted down and I poked my head around the corner to investigate.

He was lying on a big box that looked soft and warm. I inched closer to it and then popped my head over the side to get a better look. He looked like he was napping – his eyes were closed and his breathing was starting to even out. I wondered if he dreamt about mice and birds like I did. It looked so warm up there that I couldn't resist. I jumped up and pushed my head against his to see if he was truly out or just cat napping (ha ha), like I did sometimes when the sun was shining. Unfortunately, he wasn't asleep yet and one eye opened to look at me. I thought for a moment I was a goner for sure, but then he said the best words I'd ever heard, "Fine, you can stay." I decided then and there that the best place to nap was going to be right by his side. I curled up next to him – he was so nice and warm – and hoped like hell he wouldn't notice I was starting to get gassy from the milk. I felt myself begin to drift off and as my body relaxed, full for the first time in weeks, I realized with glee that I'd finally found a home.