Katz & Dogs Oneshots

Beverly Katz

**Season 2 Spoilers**

Prompt: Will gets a cat in honor of Beverly.

When Will was informed of what had happened to Beverly, he was, understandably, heartbroken. Being taken to the scene, having to put himself in the mind of the man that did that to her, it crushed him. He stood in front of her body, out on display, her life taken and turned into an exhibition, completely helpless.

The day he was released from the Baltimore State Prison for the Criminally Insane, he was let back into the world missing a piece of himself. With no one there to turn to, he returned home to spend time with his dogs, whom he felt were the only living creatures around him that could possibly understand him, or at least comfort him.

"Alana. Hi." Will said, startling Alana, who had been at his house, caring for his dogs.
"Oh, Will, hi. I didn't know you'd be home so soon. I just came by to check on them and make sure everything was okay." She explained.
"Thank you, for looking after them. I know they're a handful." Will gave a weak smile. He closed the door behind him.
"Hey Will, if you need anything, after..." She trailed off. Will looked down solemnly.
"Just, please let us know. We're all here for you." She finished. Will stayed silent.
"Hey. She would want us all to go on working, to find who did this." Alana said, trying to be comforting.
"You don't know anything about her, Alana." Will retorted. Alana took the hint, nodded, gathered her things, and left. Will walked around his house, aimlessly, looking at all of her belongings left carefree here and there, without a second thought that she wouldn't be back to gather them. He grabbed a scarf of hers draped over the back of the couch. He ran the pad of his thumb back and forth across the scratchy surface of the plaid scarf. He collapsed onto the couch, and tears began flowing down his cheeks as he held the scarf up to his face, crying into it.
"I'm so sorry Bev." He choked out through his tears. He gripped the scarf tighter and continued to cry. He cried until he sobbed, and he sobbed until he couldn't breathe.
Suddenly, he felt a soft, furry sensation on his ankle. Below him was a small, fluffy black and orange tabby cat, looking up at him. The cat let out a meow and continued to rub its face and side along Will's ankle. Will let out a laugh of confusion and awe.
"How'd you get in here little buddy?" He asked, reaching down to pet the small cat. The cat rubbed it's face against Will's hand, and then jumped on his lap. It pushed its face underneath the checkered scarf on Will's lap and laid down, purring. Will pet the cat for a moment, letting a few more tears fall. Winston walked over and sniffed the cat, calm and docile, as if he'd know the cat before.
"What'd ya think buddy, should we keep her?" Will asked Winston. Winston let out a small bark, in assumed agreement. Will looked down at the cat as it stood up and licked a tear off of the end of Will's nose. Will laughed, causing a few more tears to fall from his eyes. He wiped his tears and continued to pet the cat. He looked at the scarf wrapped around the cat and smiled solemnly.
"Hi Bev." He choked out, letting more tears roll down his cheeks.

A few weeks had passed, and Will had decided that with how much he was away from home, he should probably get a collar for the new cat like the rest of his rowdy bunch of pets. He went to the nearest pet store and bought a cat collar and a custom engraved tag. The collar was a rich maroon color with white cat paws on it. The tag was silver, heart shaped, and read:

♡ Beverly Katz ♡
If found, please call:
(xxx) xxx-xxxx

Every night since she found her way into Will's house, Beverly had slept curled up right next to Will's head on his pillow, always wrapping herself in Beverly's old plaid scarf. Her loud purring calmed Will and she was always there to comfort him, and lick away his tears.