Seasons Of Love

Cadaver

A/N - tambaiscutexxx asked for Caddie so here he is! It's a bit of a writers block ramble but I hope you still enjoy :)

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon at the Fortune-Knight house. Autumn sat on the couch cuddled into Winter as they each read to themselves; a rare moment of peace for the couple. It wasn't long though before the patter of little feet broke through the silence, accompanied by the scratch of claws on the hardwood floors.

Just a few seconds later Autumn's beloved black cat Cadaver burst into the room. A very low chatter came from the cat as he zoomed past the couch. Hot on his heels, Rose came barreling into the room moving as fast as her little legs could carry her. Her arms were outstretched as she called after him.

"Addie! Addie, come!"

Autumn sat up, watching her daughter running after the cat. She had wanted a cat of her own for as long as she could remember; but her father never allowed it. Taking care of his own kids was enough of a chore and he certainly didn't believe his two screw ups would be responsible enough to care for a pet so he never got them one. So from a young age Autumn made a promise that as soon as she had a place of her own she would get a cat. She would prove to her father and to herself that she could take care of something. That she was nothing like him. But she didn't rush into it the second she moved out of Roger's house. She made sure she was settled and in a position to give the animal the best possible life as well as waiting for a cat that was truly meant to be hers.

And Caddie was meant to be hers. Truthfully Cadaver had adopted Autumn, not the other way around. At least once a month Autumn would visit local shelters offering help where she could and keeping an eye out for a cat that she felt a connection with. She really had always expected to adopt an older cat. One that had a hard time finding the right owner because of their age or the amount of attention they were going to need. But the second she saw Cadaver, a small inky void with the brightest yellow eyes huddled in a corner by himself, she felt an instant bond.

He was the runt of the litter and kept to himself, not even playing with the rest of his siblings. He wouldn't let anyone touch him. The shelter workers had the scratches to prove it. Anyone, that is, except Autumn. The second she reached out to him he crawled into her arms, immediately started purring, and never left. She had no choice but to take him home.

She called after her daughter as they both disappeared behind the kitchen island.

"Are we playing nice, my little love?"

"Yes, Mama!" Rose's voice came floating in from the other room before Caddie reappeared, running the other direction with Rose even closer behind. "Addie loves chase!"

Before she could speak again Autumn heard her daughter squeal with delight.

"Got you!"

She soon reappeared in the room with Cadaver in her arms. Autumn couldn't help but smirk as she saw the cat's stiff position. His front paws were stuck straight out as both the little girls' arms hugged just beneath them. He was nearly as long as Rose was tall, so his back paws dragged along the floor as he hung limply in her arms. Rose had a beaming smile on her face as she presented the captured pet.

"I win!" She yelled, causing both Winter and Autumn to laugh as they looked at their long suffering family pet. If they didn't know any better they could have sworn Cadaver rolled his eyes.

"Very good, Bug!" Winter ruffled his daughter's hair causing her to release her hold on Caddie. As soon as he was on the floor, Rose was ready for the game to begin again. She bent down as she waved her arms at the less than enthused cat. "Go Addie!"

"I do think Caddie needs a break, Rose," Autumn scooped her daughter up, smiling at her soft giggles as she "flew" through the air. "He is quite old so he needs to take a lot of breaks."

"Like Unnel Rees?"

"Exactly like Uncle Reece."

Once it was clear that Rose had calmed down, Cadaver hesitantly hopped up on the couch to join the rest of the family. He settled into the very small space between Autumn and Winter and rolled around a few times, trying to fit comfortably into the barely existent spot before placing his back legs on Winter and his front on Autumn. He stretched himself out completely, forcing Winter and Autumn apart to make room for him.

"Now Caddie," Winter looked down at the cat, feigning annoyance as he spoke. "I thought we were past this."

Autumn couldn't help but smirk as Winter scratched Caddie right between the ears, his favorite spot, causing the cat to purr loudly.

It had taken quite a while for Cadaver to adjust to the new man in his mum's life. For nearly 5 years it had just been the two of them. Anyone that Autumn brought home really didn't stay around long enough to even encounter Caddie. He would hide in his room whenever she had company. Winter, though? He was there all the time, it became impossible to avoid him. For months Caddie would hiss and bat at the random man in the house in an attempt to keep Autumn safe. But nothing he did kept Winter from coming back.

Eventually he warmed up to the spare human just enough. He seemed to make Autumn happy and brought treats and toys when he would visit so Caddie decided he could stay. Before long he allowed Winter to pet him when Autumn wasn't home, going as far as requesting pets on a few occasions. He still wouldn't come when he called and sometimes still batted his hand away, but that was just to remind him who was really in charge in that house.

Soon Cadaver grew tired of Winter's attention and turned back to Autumn and Rose. He tentatively stepped up into the little girl's lap, causing her to gasp excitedly.

"Mama! Addie sits!"

Rose began to pet Caddie's head just a bit too enthusiastically. His head bobbed up and down with each forceful pat, but he never so much as growled at her.

"Careful, Rose." Autumn whispered in her daughter's ear as she reached around to carefully stroke Cadaver. "Gentle hands, remember?"

The little girl mirrored her mum's movements exactly as Caddie twisted on her lap presenting new areas for her to scratch.

Watching Rose and Caddie interact was something that Autumn would never get tired of. Cadaver was really her first baby. She would have been lying if she said she wasn't worried about how he was going to react to having a baby in the house, especially with how long it took him to accept Winter. But the second she found out she was pregnant Caddie spent all of his time at her side. When she had her miscarriage Caddie cuddled her in bed for days. He wouldn't even leave to eat unless Autumn went with him. Some days that was the only reason she'd left bed at all.

Caddie seemed to know she was expecting again before she did. He spent the entire day before she found out laid on her stomach purring wildly without her even having to pet him. Throughout her pregnancy he was just as protective as Winter was. He went back to batting at any person who dared get to close, even Winter. Thankfully after a stern talking to by Autumn he let her husband be; but she did have fun watching him chase Reece away when he got too excited too close to her.

When they brought Rose home Cadaver immediately sniffed her car seat but then gave her space. It seemed like Cadaver knew exactly how and when to interact with the baby. The first time she supported her head on her own Caddie was right there to press his head against hers. When she learned to sit up on her own, he started sitting in her lap. The first night she slept in her own crib, Autumn and Winter watched on the baby monitor as Caddie jumped into the bed and cuddled into her side. Anytime Rose stirred, the cat would lay himself across her body to calm her back to sleep. Eventually they both drifted off, Caddie's head rested comfortably on Rose's tummy. Every night after that Autumn would wake up to find the cat dutifully standing guard outside the nursery door.

As Autumn watched her two babies interact, she felt a swell of pride in her chest. Her whole world was sat with her on that couch. It wasn't long before Cadaver grew tired of family time and darted off Rose's lap to hide from the sure to follow toddler. Autumn tightened her grip on her daughter pulling her into a tight hug as Rose laughed loudly and struggled to break free of her mum's grasp. She finally broke free and as soon as her little feet hit the floor Rose was off to continue her game of chase with Caddie.

Autumn turned to Winter, a contented smile crossing her lips as she settled back into his arms. They didn't need to say anything, instead just holding each other close as they listened to the excited screeches from their daughter and the exasperated meows from their cat. Their house may have been filled with chaos, but it was theirs. And it was perfect.