#nannie

It wasn't intentional. Well, like it was but it wasn’t.

Neal and Annie had been talking about adding to their family for a while now, and since they’d gotten settled in their new apartment, why not today?

Why not now? Why just keep talking about getting a pet together when they actually could go down and do it.

Now maybe it was because any Animal Shelter in New York is fucking brutal and they wanted to get in and out as fast is possible, but it also could have been fate.

It was like he was waiting for them.

Anderson Cooper.

“Annie.” said Neal, raising a finger to point at the soft-looking grey cat hunched in the corner of his cage.

“I want to put my face on it.” He stated, likening the cage that “Toe” was in to his hour and fifteen minute stint in jail.

“...Me too.”

“I think we have to meet first, like don’t we go get a room?” Annie tried, as the blue eyed beauty stared into her soul.

“No, I think we know.” Neal states as the cat slowly inches its way forward.

“Do we?” Annie gave him a look at the corner of her eye as Neal put his finger through the grate.

“This is our son.” Declared Neal, looping an arm around Annie.

“What should we call him?” She asked, noting that Neal had clearly gotten attached. Maybe they should go before he gets to the lizard room.

“On three?” She asked, as he finally broke eye contact with the creature.

“Anderson…” Neal started, “Cooper!” Annie finished with an enthusiastic little bounce.

The cat, as if on cue, raised its hackles at the young couple and gave a large, dignified yowl. They took this as a sign, a celebratory yell, but Neal had never had a cat before, so who’s he to say?

“He likes it!” “He’s just a little boy!” They declared as the cat finally untucked it’s ears and realized maybe it was about to go home.

And after a terrifying subway ride, it was.

Their new cat-son saw fit to eat its way out of the cardboard carrier he was kept in, and stuck it’s head out with a sweet little “Meow?”

Anderson didn’t make a run for it, but Neal could have sworn he thought about it. Anderson merely shoved his little baby-sized head into Neal’s hand.

“Annie!'' whispered Neal as he proceeded to let Anderson forcefully demand scratches from his father.

“Annie, it's vibrating!” she just laughed. Neal had two younger siblings, this she knew, but the concept of a pur was beyond him.

“Annie, is it supposed to be doing that? Is that normal?” The redhead only took his hand, and kissed his cheek. This was good. This was their family.

It was perfect.

Until the next day at work, when people had to share their opinions. Most were surface level like “Oh he’s so cute, I hope you can bring him in one day!” or “When can we expect an office baby!”

One person, in particular, was louder than the rest. In this particular case, he was being quiet.

“What the fuck?” asked Will, as he tossed Neal his phone back.

Neal hadn’t been intending to share his happy news of adoption with his boss, because why would Will care?

“And his name?” snapped Wil;. Will isn’t snapping for no reason, but he did it so often it hardly mattered to any of his staff.

“Anderson Cooper.” Will’s eyes were round in shock. As far as he knew, no one but himself or Mac regularly watched other news networks. But then he did remember that Annie did like Saturday Night Live, the one show that routinely ignored ACN.

“You named him after a rival news anchor!” This shouldn’t have hurt Will as much as it did.

‘But look at him!” yelled Annie, “His white fur and blue eyes!! He’s so sexy like Anderson Cooper!!’ Points were made, but no points that mattered to Will at that point.

“You’re fired.” Three mouths were open as WIll opened his laptop and attempted to look busy.

“You’re not fired. Will-” Mac tried, positioning herself between the kids.

“This seems a bit dramatic.” said Neal, putting his hands on his hips.

“Not a word! Which one of you named that damn cat after my enemy Anderson Cooper?”

“He sends us Christmas cards!” exclaimed Mac, barely staving off a headache.

“Rename the cat!” yelled Will!

“No, his name was toe before.’

“Toe,” stated Wil.

“Toe?” asked Mackenzie.

“Yes, toe, like what's on your feet,” snapped Annie, patience wearing thin.

“The people who gave him up named him toe,” enlightened Neal, earning the ire of the three in the room

“Come on Will, look at Anderson’s little face!’

“Get him out of my sight, or get a cat and name it after me!”

“Okay…” Annie’s eyebrows were raised, looking to Neal for some kind of answer. There was none, they had known him well enough to stop expecting logical behavior.

“Leave the photo of my enemy!” Will blinked as Annie put down the framed photo of their new cat in the dead center of Will’s desk. Why? She wasn’t quite sure.

Six months old, three legs and one eye, not a detailed thought in it’s head. Will Catavoy. Now Will was a good cat, he’d been on his own since he was a kitten.

Enter: them.

A tall one and a smaller red one. Will Catavoy didn’t like them that much, but they seemed fine. He decided to chew on the taller one’s shoe laces, and found himself unceremoniously picked up and petted by the short red one.

He wiggled, he fought, and they only laughed! How dare they laugh at the great Will Catavoy!

“This one’s perfect!’

“Hi Will!”

And the next thing Will Catavoy knew, he was on a loud, loud tube that he hated, gnawing on a hand that belonged to the tall one.

He’s a wild thing! He can’t be tamed!

But they go up so many stairs, and unceremoniously let Will go, pitting him face to face against the most beautiful cat he’d ever seen.

Soft grey fur and bright blue eyes.

If the humans had intended for them to live together, Will Catavoy would make it work. He’d be a good boy, even if he was from the dumpster.

The tall one tried to reach down for them, and Will Catavoy was given no choice, but to bite the hand as hard as he could, before running through an open door and under a large squishy rectangle.

Will Macavoy, the human, wasn't sure what to expect when he came into work the next morning. The dream team, or “nannie” were waiting in his office. Stupid goddamn kids.

“The hell are you traitors doing here? Didn’t I fire you?” Will waved his arms, pushing his way through his door, past this welcome committee.

“Mac does the firing,” sniped Annie, “but we got you a gift.” Neal gave his usual snaggle-toothed smile, and gestured towards a gold frame sitting on Will’s desk.

Inside was a cat . . . most likely a cat. One of the kids had gotten a photo of a furry brown monster, mid-yowl, hackles raised. It seemed as if this cat was less of a cat, and more of a clumpy concept of an animal.

“Will, this is Will Catavoy.” The kids weren’t gonna see him cry. He said name a cat after him and they did.

“He’s dumb and mean,” said Annie. Neal simply held up his hand, holding up a bandaged hand.