"What?" Ali asked, momentarily pausing his breakdown to glance her way.

"I didn't mean you," She quickly rectified, and he physically relaxed. "But for Harriet, I think we should buy her a replacement," Nora grinned, crunching the packet in her hand before licking the salt from her fingers, causing her tastebuds to sing and Ali to grimace in disgust. "She's obviously lonely, let's get her a new cat,"

Ali overtly allowed his thoughts to cross over his face. He was thinking about something serious while Nora contemplated on whether to drop her empty packet on to the pavement, or to be a decent human being and throw it in the bin. She wasn't a decent human being, but she did care...a little. A small sigh exhaled from her lips, as she twisted the red wrapper, and walked the seven steps to the black trash can, across the road.

In the minutes it took for her to return, Ali had made his decision and his eyes were no longer glazed with unshed tears.
"Alright," He agreed, "We'll buy her another cat...do you know of any local pet shops?" Her blank expression gave him the answer and his lips raised in a half smile, as he pulled out his mobile. "We'll have to buy her a Ragdoll," He decided aloud with determination, as she fished her keys from her dungarees and unlocked the car. "Preferably one similar to Billy-"

"Now you're making it sound like we're committing some sort of heist," Nora pointed out, a strange buzz of excitement bubbling in her stomach, as she moved her seat back so that she had some extra leg room. "Are we...committing some sort of heist,"

The silence only encouraged her rebellious side to tingle with joy, and she leaned back, tapping her thumbs on the wheel. Stealing a cat would of course, be terrible, but technically it already belonged to Ali. Plus...maybe the old hag wouldn't even notice, cat's all looked the same to Nora, so long as it was the same breed-

"No," Ali informed her, breaking her stream of insubordinate thoughts, "no, we can't do that. She adopted Billy fairly, but if we have the chance to explain, and maybe...if we had a replacement she'll understand,"

"And if not, we'll sneak in and swap them!" Nora suggested, her smile slightly too wide to be deemed normal, and Ali expressed as much.

"Let's just find somewhere that sells cats first," He decided, pulling out his mobile from his pocket and encouraging her to do the same. They both spent the next forty five minutes, speaking to various pedigree sellers, local stores and browsing the internet for any inkling on where they could find a ragdoll.

So far they'd had no such luck, and Nora was craving a hot chocolate. She'd not had one in five hours, and her head was beginning to spin as she listened to Ali ask the seller if they had the cat they wanted. Her head was leaning back on her seat and she could feel her stomach whirring, wishing that it could have some food to eat. She had her snack bag in the boot but even the thought of walking out of the car was too tiring. Still, there was definitely a chocolate bar in there- it wouldn't be the same but maybe Ali could...her thoughts were interrupted as she absorbed the information Ali was relaying.

"Okay great, we'll meet you in half an hour," He ended the call with a small smile, tucking the device back into his pocket before adjusting his belt.

"Good news?"

"I'm not sure yet," Ali verified, his realistic nature preventing his glee to fully form. "But maybe," He told her the address, and she set up the map, adjusted her seat and slid her belt into place, moving the chest strap so that it was behind her.

The next thirty minutes were incredibly tense. Nora chose not to believe that this was potentially their last chance but the grim reality was staring at her in the face. If they couldn't buy a Ragdoll, she was out of ideas. There wasn't anything more they could do.

The bell alerted their arrival and a young woman, not much older than Nora arrived at the counter, her smile bright.
"Hello, and welcome to the finest pet shop in Inverness!" Her positive attitude, and pure Scottish accent forced a smile to lift Nora's lips, but not because she was humoured. This time she smiled out of glee.

"Hi, my name is Ali, we spoke on the phone?" Nora's companion introduced.

"We sure did," the woman, Felicity, grinned, collecting a pair of keys as she moved towards them. "All of our animals are rescues, or have been abandoned. We didn't use to keep them until they started being left on our doorstep. There are some horrid people out there and most of these animals just want a loving home,"

The information she provided forced a strange emotion to bubble in Nora's stomach. For a moment, she considered it was nausea relating to her hot chocolate craving but the feeling moved into her chest, and caused her heart to clench.

It was sympathy.

Honest pity for the animals that were currently lolling about through their cages as the trio passed. Jerry had every right to fire her. She'd certainly never felt this way for the animals she'd tended to or customers she'd served, in Milton Keynes.

"So, here is our resident Ragdoll, Mr Mittens," Felicity introduced, opening the mini play pen for the pair to enter. "We suspect he is around four years old, and he was found walking around the Loch a couple of months ago. Nobody has claimed him so he could be yours, if you want him..."

Nora entered the small pen without any hesitation. The grey cat perked his ears as she approached and slowly got to his feet. Referring to him as 'Mr' was appropriate, Mr Mittens wasn't just any cat; he was a gentle-cat.
He prowled forward, meowing softly as she crouched down, reaching out her hand for the feline to sniff.
His pink, scratch tongue felt ticklish against her finger tips and she giggled, moving to her knees as she returned the affection.

She peaked over her shoulder and offered a small smile, concluding her thoughts. "He's perfect,"

Cautiously, Ali reached crouched down beside her, scratching behind Mr Mitten's ears and when the cat mewled, and jumped to press his paws against his knees, he murmured his agreement. "Yes he is,"

Filling out the paperwork didn't take long, as Nora had expected. Ali would provide all the information, and was the one who liaised with Felicity whilst Nora moved through the aisles, finding the range of key rings, just like the one she had stolen. The key ring that was at home, currently sitting beside Patrick the green triceratops, in her telly nook. It didn't take Nora long to recognise the guilt inside was reminding her that she ought to return the silver that would only haunt her, the longer it stayed.

In response, she sighed, stepping out of the shop to open a bag of crisps, whilst checking her mobile. A series of messages from Leo caught her attention first, and she raised her phone to her ear, listening as it rang.

"Hey, how's it going?" He asked upon answering her call, and she exhaled deeply, relaying all the information that he needed to know.

"Mrs Jones wasn't very happy about us turning up," she explained further, "so we're currently adopting another cat," she pivoted to face the window, looking down momentarily to determine how many crisps remained in her pack, before returning her attention to the pet shop.

"He's buying a new cat?"

Ali and Felicity were still chatting, and she inhaled another ashy breath, before she answered. "No, it's for Mrs Jones. We're hoping that if we bring her a replacement she might be a little more...forthcoming,"

"Mmm," was Leo's initial reply, "and if she doesn't?"

"Well then, we're stuffed...and we'll have another cat," Nora answered honestly gaining a chuckle in return.

"Well hopefully, that won't be the case," he wished and she hummed her belief.

"So, what have you been up to?" Nora then asked, choosing to change the topic rather than dwelling on 'maybes', as she took a seat on the pavement, besides her car.
It was hard not to think about the conversation she'd shared with Ali about her relationship with Leo as she awaited her response, but she forced it to the back of her mind.

When Leo had left home all those years ago; it had tormented her. Not only had her parents split up, but the one person who could genuinely have an inkling to her pain, had decided Milton Keynes wasn't good enough for him either. Still, she and Leo were in a better place than ever, and at one point even shared a business. She was lucky to have her brother, and though she still wanted answers for his behaviour, for almost six years, she had hidden her curiosity, and appreciated Leo's attempts to support her, now that they were adults.

The roads were empty, ensuring her toes safety on the road as she stretched out her legs, and she leaned slightly back, enjoying the midday spring sun on her face, as her brother finally answered.

"Nothing much," He mushed, "Jeanie is nesting-"

"What is she, a bird?" Her immediate response gained a chuckle, and she smiled, listening to her brother justify his wife's bizarre actions. Ever since Jeanie had found out she was expecting, she'd become obsessive with organising and management- she was like that beforehand, and it was perhaps why she and Nora clashed every so often, but now it only fed Nora's hilarity. According to Leo, his wife was currently building the cot, and she had insisted she could do it on her own, despite needing to sit on the floor. And she was 34 weeks pregnant with a bump the size of a watermelon. She had started almost two weeks, ago, but that was just how Jeanie was, and the sister relayed as much.

"Scotland's beautiful, isn't it?" Her brother commented, just as a fresh breeze wafted through her dyed strands of hair, "I hope, despite being there for a job, you're also enjoying it,"

"You know...I think I am," She smiled, "I may even stay a few days..." It hadn't been a thought that had flitted to her mind before, but as she took in the greenery, the notion bloomed and became concrete.

"Nora," Leo called her name with a tone that was a mixture of a plea and hilarity, "if you want to stay and explore for a few days, stay,"
Her brother's advice only widened her smile as she once more, mentally appreciated his support.

"Would it really be that easy?" She questioned as her brother laughed in response.

"Nora, when has easy been your path in life," he reminded and she shared his humour with a grin. "You've driven all the way to Scotland, enjoy it!"

"Well, it depends on Ali too," she reminded, and she knew that Leo was rolling her eyes at the thought.

"I'm sure that when all of this cat business is out of the way, he'd be happy to stick around for a bit. Just ask him,"

"Alright then, maybe I will," She beamed.

"Just for not too long," he added, "It's quiet without you, Nor," Leo summarised, and she hummed in agreement. It would be quiet without her, Leo barely had a life outside of the cafe, it was about time he made some friends, and that was what she expressed.

"No time for friends," He repeated his generic, excuse, "Baby's due in the next few weeks, I should be home,"

"Well then quit complaining, and become a bird," She chastised, and he chuckled in agreement, just as his name was called over the phone.

"I'll see you later sis, let me know how you get on," Leo finalised, cutting the call as she nodded, despite knowing he wouldn't be able to see her face. A small, numbing ache filled the bottom of her lungs as she sighed, withdrawing a cigarette, before choosing to replace it, just as the bell attached to the door behind her, rang.

Ali emerged just as she exited her abode, Felicity in tow, and that's when Nora noticed Mr Mittens in his carrier cage.
"Is it all sorted?" She asked as the pair nodded their heads in agreement, "Fantastic," She reached for the cage and muffled her 'oomph' from it's weight, with pursed lips, before releasing a grateful smile. "Thank you for your help Felicity,"

"No, thank you," She grinned, "I'm so pleased Mr Mittens has found his forever home,"

"Us too," Nora beamed, ignoring the confusion that flickered across the pet-shop assistant's face as she turned to Ali, who was also watching her with a hint of surprise, "Shall we go?"

The elder man nodded his agreement, and she allowed the pair to wish fair well to one another, as she began to move to the car. Ali reached her just as she belted the cage into, and she placed his bag of food in the footwell, before climbing into the passenger seat.

"Are you ready?" She asked and he nodded, encouraging her to grin. "Alright then, let's get Billy!"

The journey it took to return to Mrs Jones' home was once more agonising. The only reason Nora assumed Ali wasn't twiddling his thumps or bouncing his knee, as she was, was because he was holding Mr Mittens on his lap.

It was abnormal for Nora to ever feel so nervous, or even sympathy as she had felt today. Truthfully, it was beginning to make her feel sick, and when a local cafe appeared on the corner, she recklessly ignored her mirrors and parked the car into a space that was slightly too small.

"What are you...?"

Nora chose not to give Ali an explanation. She simply promised she would be right back before heading into the quaint cafe, where she was lucky to find no queue.

Her order was prompt, the barrister was kind and soon enough hot chocolate was coating her tongue and sweetening the anxiety that she'd felt all day. It was heavenly. She then ordered a black coffee for Ali, knowing his order, and returned, only to gain a sour look in response.

"What?" she asked, inhaling the rich sweet smell of chocolate and cream, " I bought you a coffee,"

He sighed through his nose before shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Nothing," he decided and she frowned but chose to press, realising anything he did say could potentially ruin her hot chocolate. Still that was a risk Nora found willing to take.

"No, there is something, what is it?"

"You just...you know you're incredibly reckless right?" He pointed out as she gaped.

"I know," She chirped, lifting her chin as she focussed on the road, "But what specifically..."

"You just decided to park, you didn't even look, did you not even consider that you could hurt someone else? That you could endanger lives?"

"That's rich!" She scoffed, surprises by his unexpected rant, "Coming from the guy who forced me to stop on the hard shoulder just so that you could pray,"
She turned to face him, raising a single brow and Ali paled, accepting her retort.

"Point taken," He muttered and she snorted, allowing her hilarity to overwhelm her. "I'm sorry," He added, and she grinned, shaking her head in dismissal.

"You're just worried about Billy," She acknowledged, "Don't worry about it..."
He nodded, and she could tell that Ali wasn't quite sure about her forgiveness, but he was yet to discover that Nora rarely took things to heart. She had never been the sort of person to be concerned or worried about what other's thought, and being told off on account of reckless driving was far below the list, of things she'd been culpable for.

The familiar cottage that they had visited in the morning came into sight, and the tension created from Ali's silent awkwardness, was quickly replaced by fear. This was their last chance to get Billy and if the old hag wasn't going to listen, then Nora Torres would unleash her wrath. And by that she meant knocking on the door and being an utter nuisance until Harriet Jones allowed them to enter her home.