You’d worked here longer than anyone. More surgeries done, more MRI scans, more x-rays. It was a welcoming place, accepting all sorts of animals. Sheep, deer, dogs, cats, every species! It was called The Animal Hospital, where it remained frequently visited and in use. Animals came for appointments, ambulances arrived with every room normally filled, it was tiring, but you enjoyed your job.

The only downside? Creatures.

Skinwalkers, Monsters, Anomalies. You didn’t know what to call them, by this point. The term “ anomaly ” stuck more than anything else.

They were creatures wearing animal skin. Sometimes they were hidden well, other times they weren’t. Faces would look off and distorted, they’d be hunched and twitching, their photo taken at reception would be off. All sorts of signs came up, and when they walked in?

You’d shut the shutters, tase the anomalies, or shoot them.

Obviously you weren’t allowed a gun, though!

The only one who had a licence for it would be the Secret Agent.

He was a black cat with sharp yellow eyes. He was quiet, but kept an eye on everyone like some sort of protector. After all, Dr. Harlow never made much of an appearance, despite being everyone’s boss. Now, the Secret Agent didn’t call himself as the boss. More like.. a quiet bodyguard.

He protected the Intern when they messed up. He kept an eye on the reception desks when the Secretary would be working.

That kind of thing.

Not treating patients, but keeping people safe with his gun and his observant personality.

However, over the last few days, he’d been around you a lot more.

Keeping an eye on you from the doorframe of a room, resting a hand on his gun more often than not, making sure no patients were actually anomalies and somehow got past the Secretary’s exceptional eye for detail.

Why, you think.

You knew damn well why.

It only happened a few days ago. An ambulance arrived after an anomaly attack. Someone tased the first anomaly but missed the second. That missed anomaly ended up on your operating table. You put them under, but they woke up mid surgery! Secret Agent had not enough time to react before your arm had been bitten.

You weren’t infected,

But he wasn’t quick enough.

He didn’t rest with guilt, or apologise twenty times, he just.. watched you more than the others. To make sure you were really okay.. in his own way.

..When will you get off my back?

You huffed out after calming a patient down, stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind you whilst they recovered.

Secret Agent (you normally just called him Agent, by this point) said nothing for a moment. Just watched you move with beady yellow eyes.

. . .When I know you’ve recovered as well as your patients

He remarked — quiet but charmingly sharp — as his tail flicked idly behind him. His arms remained crossed over his shirt and waistcoat combo as he eyed your bandaged arm.

He watched you sigh again a second later — frustrated? Resigned? He couldn’t quite tell.