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dwarrowdams · 2 months

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Dr. Halsin Silverbough, Veterinarian

Saw this gorgeous art by @mimorugk and HAD to write something for it. @nourangul, here you go!

When the stray cat that Tav Yates has been feeding shows up with kittens, Tav brings the little family to Emerald Grove Veterinary Clinic where they meet Dr. Halsin Silverbough.

2500 words, gender neutral Tav. I gave them the last name Yates because it means "gate" and Baldur's Gate...you get it.

Putting the fic below a cut because I don't want to take up the whole screen.

Love to hear what you all think!

Shit, I’m late, Tav thought as they rushed out the sliding glass door that led to the patio of their ground floor apartment. It cut the trip out to the parking lot in half and meant that their retired neighbor, Mrs. Smith, wouldn’t have a chance to waylay them to chat about the weather. They didn’t mind Mrs. Smith, she was very nice, but if they were late to the call center again, their insufferably affable boss Ted was going to write them up.

Another write up would be the end of their time at TechCorp, which wouldn’t be a tragedy in and of itself, but Tav hadn’t quite transcended needing to eat so…TechCorp it was for now.

They locked the door and were about to dart towards their car when an enquiring little croak brought them up short.

“Froggie?”

“Crrkk!” The strange, hoarse little meow had been the source of the stray cat’s name. The little tortoiseshell cat appeared from under a bush, brilliant green eyes wide. For a second, Tav thought that the creature had brought them a mouse, a wordless thank you for the kibble and fresh water that Tav left them every day.

Then the mouse let out the tiniest, squeakiest little meow and Tav realized that it was a kitten so young that it was still damp, with its eyes tightly shut.

Tav dropped down to their knees, yanking off their jacket and placing it on the ground. Froggie hurried over, belly swaying gently, and deposited the kitten on the beat up fabric. She looked from Tav to the kitten, almost as if to say: “Watch this one, please,” then turned and trotted laboriously back under the bush. She appeared three more times, each time tenderly clutching a tiny kitten in gentle jaws and depositing it in front of Tav. Finally she flopped down next to the kittens, who instantly started crawling over one another to reach a nipple, and gave Tav a look as if to say: “Now what?”

“You’ve been busy,” Tav said, holding their hand out to the cat.

Froggie croaked at them and condescended to nuzzle their palm, which made Tav’s throat get a bit tight. Froggie had never allowed Tav to touch her before. “We should get you checked out,” Tav said. “And the babies too. Will you let me put you in a box?”

Froggie cocked her head, the wordless response as clear as day. You’re welcome to try.

Well that decided it. Tav hurried inside, texting Ted “family emergency” as they made their way to their closet and quickly dug through to find something, anything to carry the little family. Eventually they found a beat up plastic tote that they’d used to carry all their worldly positions the night they’d run away from home and dumped out a few post cards and an old teddy bear. They grabbed a few old towels and lined the bottom of the tote before hurrying back outside.

Froggie hadn’t moved beyond leaning up a bit to wash the nearest kitten, and she was surprisingly tolerant of Tav gently detaching each tiny, mewling creature and depositing it in the tote. She leapt over the rim before Tav could so much as move her, settling back in once she’d given each kitten a few reassuring licks.

Picking up their precious cargo, Tav hurriedly made their way to their beat up old camry and put the tote on the passenger seat. They pulled out their phone and searched for “Vet”, seeing one only a few blocks away called “Emerald Grove Veterinary Clinic” that had a shit-ton of five-star reviews. They set the directions to play as loud as possible -- their car was too old to have bluetooth -- and set off.

Ten minutes later they pulled in front of a charming little building that reminded them a bit of a gingerbread house. A massive oak tree all but filled the front yard, ancient roots pushing the flagstones of the path upwards at such a pitch that Tav had to be careful not to stumble as they carried the tote over them. It took a bit of awkward balancing to get inside, but eventually Tav made it. Inside the office was bright, but not in a buzzing fluorescent light kind of way. Massive windows let in a lot of sunlight, tinted green by the plants in front of them. They heard birdsong -- a lot of birdsong -- and realized that there were little cages tucked in amongst the plants. It looked like mostly finches to their untrained eye, who watched Tav with inquisitive little eyes.

“Hello!” The voice came from a handsome man with dark skin that stood out against light pink scrubs, seated behind a tall counter. He smiled encouragingly up at Tav. His nametag said “Rath.” “Do you have an appointment?”

Tav shook their head, heart sinking. “No, I-shit, I should have called. My cat -- well, she’s not mine, she’s a stray I’ve been feeding. She showed up this morning with kittens and I--I thought that I should bring them all to the vet and I’m late for work and I…I just sort of came, I’m sorry.”

“Oh it’s--”

A massive gray head appeared on the counter next to Rath, watching Tav with intelligent golden eyes.

“Silver!” Rath said, nudging the enormous wolfhound. “You’ve had your treats for the morning!”

The dog huffed and Rath chuckled. “Forgive me, he’s a terrible busybody. Always has to know what’s going on.”

“He’s beautiful,” Tav said appreciatively.

Silver let out a quiet, deep “boof” and Rath chuckled. “And doesn’t he know it? Ok, can I get a name?”

“Tav,” Tav said. “Tav Yates. I call the cat Froggie because she doesn’t really meow so much as croak.”

Rath nodded and typed the information into the computer. “Dr. Silverbough is alone in the office today,” he said. “And he’s with a patient at the moment, but I can have Nettie take Froggie and the children’s vitals, get some weights and whatnot, and Dr. Silverbough will be in as soon as he can, ok?”

“Thank you!” Tav said gratefully. The wolfhound’s head disappeared and Tav felt the floor give a little shake as the huge dog flopped down. Tav followed Rath back into a short hallway lined with pictures of animals and some beautiful landscapes that they thought must be Hudson River School paintings. Rath opened the door on the right, ushering Tav into a brightly lit examination room with a steel table at the center.

“Nettie will be right in,” Rath said. “You mentioned that you’re late for work. If you want, you can leave them with us.”

“Thank you,” Tav said again. “But…Froggie trusted me, you know? I’d like to stay.”

Something Tav thought must have been approval flickered in Rath’s eyes as he nodded and hurried from the room, leaving Tav alone with squeaking kittens and Froggie, who was now purring very loudly.

But they weren’t alone long, in short order the door opened and a short, stocky woman with dark hair and striking geometric tattoos on her face bustled inside. Her nametag said “Nettie”.

“Hello!” Nettie said cheerfully. “I hear that you’ve become a godparent!”

Tav laughed, nodding. “I guess I have. This is Froggie and her family.”

Nettie held her hand out to Froggie, who sniffed it thoroughly before apparently deeming Nettie worthy and relaxing back to allow the kittens to have their vitals taken. She even tolerated Nettie handling her, though as soon as the examination was over, she washed herself with that faint air of distaste that some cats have after being handled.

“Well, I’m happy that she had you to come to,” Nettie said with a fond smile at Froggie. “Dr. Silverbough will conduct a thorough examination, of course, but they are all looking quite well. What a lovely little family.” She smiled up at Tav. “He should be right in.”

Tav nodded and leaned their arms on the rim of the tote as Nettie left the room, shutting the door quietly behind herself. They looked down at Froggie and her kittens, watching as the tiny creatures clambered over each other, mewing plaintively. Tav could have sworn that Froggie sighed after a particularly strident little squeak and the little cat jumped gracefully back into the tote and began washing the gray kitten as the others instantly made for her nipples.

There was a knock on the door and it swung open to reveal easily the tallest man that Tav had ever seen. He had to duck under the damn door and if his shoulders had been any broader, he might have had to turn sideways to make it through. Chestnut hair streaked with gray at the temples was pulled back from his face, half of it caught in a neat little ponytail while the rest was down. Striking hazel eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, and a red tattoo that curved in elegant swirls over the right side of his face. A dramatic set of long-healed scars sliced from the left side of his forehead, down over his eyebrow and the bottom right of his lip. He was dressed in the same light pink scrubs as the others, the color serving to bring out the light tan on his arms that spoke of a man who liked spending time outside.

He was handsome, really handsome, made all the moreso by the warmth in his voice as he held out his hand. “Dr. Silverbough,” he said, shaking Tav’s hand with the cautious firmness of someone who has had to spend a long time taking care not to hurt someone by mistake. “I understand that Froggie here chose you.”

Tav blushed and felt a bit ridiculous for it. “I’ve been feeding her,” they explained. “I was going to make her a little box once it turned cold but…I didn’t get a chance before she…well.” Tav gestured at the kittens.

Dr. Silverbough chuckled, nodding. “She was lucky to have you to come to,” he said, reaching in and giving Froggie a gentle scritch under the chin.

Froggie’s purrs grew louder and Tav had to stare. What was with these people that Froggie, who was normally so skittish, just let them all touch her?

“Rath said that you were late for work,” Dr. Silverbough said, further blowing Tav’s mind by lifting Froggie out of the tote and beginning to examine her. “If you need to go, I understand.”

Froggie just…let him pick her up, looking up at him adoringly as he gently palpated her abdomen.

“I want to stay,” Tav said, watching with more than a little awe. “She…she trusted me. I don’t want to just leave her.” They let out a bitter little bark of laughter, shrugging. “Besides, that was my last strike at work. Pretty sure I’m looking at a pink slip once I get there.”

Dr. Silverbough winced, giving them a sympathetic look. “That you would choose to risk your job for her speaks to your character,” he said gently.

Tav blushed and looked down, unsure how long they could meet the scrutiny of those stunning eyes without starting to overshare. They watched as Dr. Silverbough put Froggie back with her kittens and it was hard not to smile when she sniffed the kittens before flopping down with an air of resignation.

The two of them lapsed into silence as Dr. Silverbough examined each of the kittens and when he was done he washed his hands and made some notes on a chart.

“Are they all ok?” Tav asked.

“They are,” Dr. Silverbough said, smiling. “I’m not feeling any more kittens and she doesn’t appear to be straining, though I’d like to keep her and the little ones for observation overnight, just to be sure. We’ll check her for a microchip, though I think you were correct in assuming she was a stray.” He hesitated. “We adopt kittens out of the clinic fairly often,” he said. “I understand that five additional family members is a lot to come into overnight. If you think it’s best, we would be happy to take Froggie and her family in and see that they get good homes.”

This doesn’t have to be your problem anymore.

Tav did a little math in their head. They had enough money in their E-fund to handle a little cat food and litter and some toys, right?

“I could foster the kittens!” Tav blurted out. “I…I used to have cats growing up. I think I remember everything they need. I - it would only be for what, eight weeks? Twelve? I can manage that. It’s just um…” They gestured around them. “This, I’m not sure how I’d afford.”

“Our clinic spays and neuters strays for free,” Dr. Silverbough said, smile breaking over his broad face like a sunrise. “As well as preliminary examinations and shots. Especially since you’d just be fostering them on our behalf?”

Tav nodded. “If Froggie wants to stay with me, after, I mean…would that be ok?” They smiled wryly. “Not sure I have the time or energy for a kitten.”

Dr. Silverbough hesitated and once more Tav found themself the subject of his scrutiny. “Our office does have one stipulation for adopting out cats, besides the usual microchipping, spaying, and vaccines,” he said, his tone gentle, but firm. “Do you plan on having her be an outdoor cat?”

“Oh,” Tav replied. “I…I hadn’t thought about it, to be honest. But I’d rather not -- there’s a busy road right outside my apartment.”

Dr. Silverbough visibly relaxed, favoring them with a warm smile. “Outdoor cats are an absolute nightmare for the environment,” he said. “They decimate native species, so when we’re adopting out cats, that’s always a question.”

“Makes sense,” Tav said. “And having been on the receiving end of a few ‘gifts’ from Froggie, I can attest she’s doing her part to bring down the local chipmunk population.”

Dr. Silverbough chuckled, the low, warm, sound sending a little thrill down Tav’s spine.

“Then I would be more than happy to have you foster Froggie and her family,” he said. “And our office would be honored to support you, however you need.” He smiled and held out his hand and Tav shook it, unable to keep from smiling back as he cupped his other hand around it. “You did a really kind thing,” he said quietly. “Froggie clearly chose a godparent for her kittens very well. She’s lucky to have you.”

Tav felt a blush warm their cheeks as they looked up at Dr. Silverbough. “I’m just glad that I could help.”

He gave their hand an extra little squeeze, then released them to open the door and call to Nettie. The cheerful woman appeared and scooped up the tote with Froggie and the kittens, carrying them back to where they would be housed overnight. Dr. Silverbough walked her to the front and explained the situation to Rath (and a very interested Silver).

“We shall see you tomorrow, then?” Dr. Silverbough asked once everything was settled.

“Looking forward to it,” Tav said and was surprised by how deeply they meant it. “Thank you, Dr. Silverbough.”

The doctor’s answering smile made Tav feel warm right down to their toes. “Please, now that you’re officially a member of the Emerald Grove family, call me Halsin.”

#this is the CUTEST #Froggie the cat!!#Halsin as a vet!!!#all the descriptions are perf #baldur's gate 3 #fic rec

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