The bell that hung over the vet clinic door rang out, the noise setting off the previously sleeping Wheaton terrier that sat on top of Cara’s feet into a frantic manic for the third time that morning.

“Lulu. Stop.” Grabbing her collar, she led her back to her bed beneath her desk. But this wasn’t just a dog, she reminded herself. This was Dr. Garret’s pride and joy, his very reason for existing. This was his princess, and for the next week while he was away on vacation, she was _Cara’s princess. _

“Excuse me,” a deep voice called out. Smashing her head on the underside of her desk, Cara glanced up at the man looking down at her. A large cat carrier was set beside his feet.

“Sorry,” she said, “I didn’t hear you come in.” Rubbing at the newly throbbing area on her temple, she pointed behind her. “Princess there’s a yapper.”

His brows furrowed into a horizontal line. “Who?” Spinning around, Lulu was nowhere to be seen. _Figures. _

_Great. Now this guy probably thinks I’ve got a concussion. _“Uh…how can I help you?”

“My name’s Brennan,” he said, scribbling his name on the sign in sheet. “We spoke on the phone earlier this morning.” His voice was rich and warm, with the tiniest southern edge to it.

Cara stared blankly at him. _Did we? I’m pretty sure I’d remember that voice. _

__

__

He leaned forward, as if to say something before glancing around the empty reception room. His voice dipped to more of a whisper. “I’m here for…” he made a ball shape with his hands, motioning towards them like they were suddenly playing a game of charades Cara was unaware she was suddenly playing.

_What is he doing? There isn’t even anyone in here besides us. _“What is that?” She asked, taking a longer look at the invisible shape he was making. “A ball?” “No, it’s a…”

“A mountain?” He grimaced and shook his head. _This was ridiculous. _

__ “What? What is that?” She asked, exasperated from whatever game this guy was playing. They might have been the only two in here, but it didn’t mean she didn’t have things she needed to get done today.

Throwing his hands into the air, he said “a growth! I called about… the growth,” he added more quietly.

_All that, to simply tell me his pet has a growth. Growth’s are usually small bumps. Typically harmless. Dude’s got the weakest stomach I’ve ever seen. _

Walking around her desk out into the reception room, she knelt in front of the crate. Staring back at her, was a black lump of hair with piercing yellow eyes. It pressed itself into the corner of the crate.

“What’s it’s name?” She asked still not remembering any conversation about a growth. She unlatched the door and gave the frightened cat a gentle rub.

“Bella.”

“Bel-la,” Cara repeated, breaking the name into two syllables. She stared at him, deadpanned.

Brennan blushed. “I let my mom name her, and she was really into the Twiligt Saga at the time.”

She gave him a look. “Blaming your mom, huh?”

Brennan looked at her, puzzled.

Cara carried on. “No, I think it’s sweet. More men should embrace their love of toxic teenage romance movies.” She unscrewed the top of the carrier for easier access to Bella, meanwhile giving him a quick glance. “Even if it means mom has to be thrown under the bus.”

Brennan opened his mouth to say something, probably to further deny her claims, but closed his mouth.

“So where is Bella’s - Ah!” She yanked her hand back to her chest.

“That’s why we’re here.”

Now she understood why the charade game earlier, and the pale color Brennan turned earlier just saying the word. Bella’s growth was _that _big. It reminded her of those squish balls her nephews recently became obsessed with. The ones with the gel inside them, that never failed to gross her out every time they forced her to squeeze it.

Rubbing hand sanitizer between her fingers, Cara instructed Brennan to lift the crate and follow her down the hall.

She led them into the empty room. “You can set her there,” she gestured to the stainless steel table against the wall. “I just need to get some things.”

Rushing into the bathroom at the far end of the hall, Cara locked the door behind her before going to the sink to splash water on her face. _You can do this. The growth wasn’t _that _big. Okay fine. It was big. Fine. It was huge. But you’ve seen bigger ones on television. Yeah, but not in real life, she countered. Her mind was racing, and she couldn’t seem to take control of it. _

__

She took one final glance at her reflection before leaving.

This was a small clinic, and most of the pets that came through here were taken care of curtesy of Dr. Garret. While Cara wasn’t a liscensed veterinarian - yet - she wasn’t someone randomly picked off the street either. She was well educated, and had been close enough to the top of her veternariary classes in the years past that Dr. Garret had the confidence in her to leave the clinic in her hands for a few days. “A good learning opportunity for you,” he’d said.

But now Cara was beginning to second guess his confidence in her. And in herself. She’d dealt with growths before, sure, in her classes, but never with anything of this size before.

She knocked on the door, out of habit before remembering it was only her and Brennan in the clinic. He gave her a quizzical look, his eyes focusing on the wet strands of hair stuck to her face. She ignored his stare.

Bella, out of her crate, rubbed all over Brennan’s hands, flopping around on the table, seemingly forgetting where she was. _Or why. _Her purr bounced off the walls. Out in the open, she wasn’t nearly as big as Cara originally thought, making the noise emitting from her that much more impressive.

“Thought you were going to go and grab _stuff,” _Brennan quipped, clearly getting even with her for her earlier comments. “I am,” she said, flicking through the stack of papers on the back table. “Just…let me work.” “Nervous?” Cara continued shuffling through the papers, and then searching in the cabinets above. “No,” she said, with an edge of defensiveness in her tone. “Why would you even ask that?” Brennan stared down at the watch on his wrist, counting. “Because you’ve been shuffling those papers back and forth for the last…ten minutes.”

“I’m looking for…something.” _The truth was, Brennan was right. She wasn’t looking for anything. She was trying to buy herself time to build up her confidence, while pretending that she was simply following Dr. Garret’s pattern. He began each of his procedures by going through medical notes. He believed it eased the sense of fear for the pet owner. “People trust a vet that double and triple checks their notes. Remember that, Cara.” _

__

__

Without another word, Cara went into the back of the clinic where all supplies were kept. She returned with her arms full - a shaver, antiseptic, numbing cream, a scalpel and a mountain of gauze. She dropped it off in a heap. Bella was still rubbing all over Brennan, while he whispered what a special girl she was, and how he’d buy her some new toys for being such a brave girl. She chirped in response, before rubbing her head against his chest. A small smile crept over Cara’s lips. _That cat really does love him, vampire name or not. _

__

__

She motioned to his spot, shaver in her hand. “I, uh, I need to get -“

“Oh. Right.” Brennan stepped aside.

Before Cara even turned the shaver on, Bella resorted to the edge of the table, back into the former ball she was earlier, shaking noticeably.

“It’s okay,” Cara whispered, rubbing Bella’s head, but making sure _not _to touch her growth. Even under Cara’s touch, Bella remained a ball of nerves.

“C’mere sweet girl,” Brennan got up from his chair, and scooped Bella up into his arms. _His very muscular arms Cara noted. _Brennan smothered Bella in kisses, kissing her head and growth unfazed. A low purr sounded a moment later.

“Okay, go ahead,” he quietly urged.

Cara shaved away the hair surrounding her growth. There was no redness surrounding the skin, meaning no infection was present. Cara gave the growth a gentle squeeze, the center soft and malleable. It was full of….Cara grimaced at what she knew to be underneath.

“Okay, now for the…” Cara picked up the scalpel, her grip limp and shaky. She bit her bottom lip, analyzing where to make the incision. “Here. I’m going to do it here.”

“You should make it lower.” Brennan grabbed her hand, guiding it downward. His hand was rough, calloused and very warm. Slightly sweaty, actually. “Here. You’ll want gravity on your side when that thing…” his words trailed off. She knew what he meant.

Steadying her hand, she stared at the growth. Her scalpel glistened against the florescent lights. “Please don’t interfere with my work,” she said. “I…I know what I’m doing.”

“I’m just trying to help you, god.” He pinched his forehead, as if _he _were frustrated with _her. _

Slamming the scalpel down on the table, Cara went and sat on the wheeled stool at the edge of the room. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t need any help. _You’re _not a veterinarian.”

“And you are?” He continued to rub Bella’s side, his tone accusatory. “It’s been almost an hour since I stepped foot in here and you haven’t even made the incision yet. Dr. Garret would’ve had this done in half the time.”

Cara put her hands up in surrender. “Fine! Okay! I get it!” She rubbed her hands down her face. “No, I’m not a veterinarian like Dr. Garret.”

Brennan’s eyes went wide, his grip on Bella tightening. He opened his mouth, but Cara spoke over him.

“But_ _I _am _a vet student. I have vet education under my belt and I’m furthering my education so that I _can _someday become a vet, like Dr. Garret.” She took a deep breath, noticing that Brennan had taken a seat opposite her, staring down at his shoes while his leg bounced up and down. _Is he angry? _When he met her stare, his lips were in a thin line and he nodded once.

“Dr. Garret trusts me to watch over the clinic,” she paused, the words in her throat sticking. She swallowed them down and said “and right now I need you to trust me too. Okay?”

_And I need to trust myself, she thought. _

__

__ Silence stretched between them, and without another word Cara and Brennan stood and walked to the opposite sides of the table.

“Whatever you need,” he said. He wasn’t looking at her, but Cara knew those words weren’t for Bella.

Cara promptly numbed the area, while Brennan kept Bella preoccupied. This time, Cara picked up the scalpel, making the incision where Brennan had previously pointed to.

“Can you grab the -“ Brennan wiped the discolored pus draining from the growth with a bundle of gauze. She gave him a small, appreciative smile. “Thanks,” she said. Cara gave the mass multiple squeezes, stopping each time Bella flinched.

“Am I hurt -“ “No, keep going.” He placed his hand on top of her gloved hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’re doing a great job.”

Brennan’s grip sent a warmth through her, but she couldn’t give into the feeling, her focus solely on Bella. By the time Cara finished wrapping Bella’s head, she felt like she’d completed her own version of a brain operation. A headache had begun to take place behind her eyes with all the squinting she had done.

With Bella set back inside her carrier, she caught a swiping motion out of the corner of her eye. Brennan was wiping down the table with an antiseptic.

“That wasn’t necessary,” she said, gesturing to the once again pristine table. Brennan stopped, taking in her weary face. “But thank you,” she said. “You look exhausted.” Gathering the papers she had strewn around earlier, she laughed to herself. “What’s so funny?” “That thing was nasty.” Another quip of laughter “I mean, it just kept coming.”

He laughed. “I was beginning to feel a little nauseous by the end too. Guess I have a weak stomach.” __

__ “Really? I never would’ve guessed,” Cara made the invisible ball shape from earlier, smirking. He let out a deep throaty laugh.

Back at the reception desk, Cara filled out the bill for the procedure.

“You did a great job today, Cara.” Brennan said, pulling out his wallet and sliding his credit card toward her.

Cara was unsure how to respond. Not because she didn’t believe him. She did. She knew that Bella was on the road to recovery, with the reward of new toys awaiting her.

It was just _weird. _Him complimenting her, like they knew each other more intimately than strangers who had only met a couple hours ago. She could also argue it was weird when he put a new glove on her hand, when she accidentally ripped her other one, halfway through the procedure.

It was weird, and yet not weird at all. It was…

Lost in her thoughts, she uttered out a quick “oh yeah, you too,” meanwhile his eyes still lingered on hers.

“We make a good team, I think,” he said.

Cara considered his words. They had. Brennan didn’t waver once, weak stomach or not, and he seemed to know what she needed before she did. He was a good assistant. __

__

__

Giving Bella a final once-over from inside her crate, he stood, and a soft moan escaped his lips as he stretched, his cotton t-shirt rising to showcase a sliver of his hairy stomach. Cara immediately felt her cheeks flush. _She should not be ogling over a stranger. _

“…but only if you’re interested.” Cara, lost in her thoughts, was completely unaware that Brennan had been talking to her this entire time.

“Huh?”

Brennan let out a soft chuckle. “Coffee, Cara. You and me.” He took a step toward her, even though they were separated by the reception desk. She felt blood rushing to her ears. _What is he doing? He wants to get coffee…with me? _He reached into his back pocket, tapping multiple times at his phone before handing it to her.

The information for a new contact was waiting to be filled. She stared at the screen, then up at his face. His mouth pulled up a twitch, his eyes earnest. He was…_cute. _

She grabbed his phone. “It’s a date.”