I stared in horror at the sight before me for a few seconds, before looking up at the man holding Mits.

"What happened?" I asked quietly, barely able to talk, trying to take in the sight.

"I was on my route, just doing my job, and heard screeching coming from in an allotment behind some houses, like cats fighting. After it went quiet, I went in to have a look, and I saw her tail sticking out from behind a compost bin. And I'd recognise that tail from anywhere. She wasn't moving, so I had a look, and found her like this." He held Mits out, and I carefully took her, cradling her in my arms. She was still breathing, gently.

"Thank you." I said simply, lost for words, looking back up and nodding at him appreciatively.

"Look, I know me and that cat have history, but if it's any consolation, I hope she's alright." the postman murmured quietly.

"Thanks." I nodded again, and turned back to Fluttershy. She was looking at me curiously; when she saw Mits, however, her eyes went wide in shock. Nudging the door shut behind me with my foot, I carried Mits into the kitchen and slowly, carefully set her down on the table. Fluttershy hurried in behind me.

"What happened?" she asked, reaching out to Mits but not making contact for fear of hurting her.

"I, I don't know." I replied, my voice wavering. I ran a finger behind Mits' ear, and it flicked in response. "She's still alive." I paused. "Will she be alright?" I asked, turning to the animal expert beside me.

She gingerly reached out and inspected Mits' wounds, taking particular care not to hurt her. She caringly moved Mits' fur aside, and looked over her body and the bloody marks.

"It looks like she's been bitten, and scratched." Fluttershy noted.

"The fox…" I murmured under in realisation a few seconds later. Fluttershy looked to me quizzically, but I waved her off. "I'll explain later. Will she be alright?" I asked again, getting more desperate for an answer.

"I'm not sure. She's been bitten and scratched quite badly." Fluttershy slowly circled one of the larger ones with her finger. I saw Mits' eye open drowsily, but she didn't move. She just uttered a quiet meow.

"Can you help?" I asked, my eyes watering at the sight and state of Mits.

"I'm not sure. I think so. For now. I'll need a few things, though, and we need to get her to a vet, quickly. These cuts are very bad, and she's probably in pain."

I nodded. "What do you need?" I asked quickly.

"Um, well, a few of her wounds are still bleeding, so I need some cotton wool or gauze, and I need to clean her cuts with water and soap. And if you have something to cut her fur it would be useful."

I nodded, and quickly went about getting the necessary stuff while Fluttershy soothed the now awake Mits and pulled the worst of the dirt and leaves off her. I found a large plastic bowl under in the cupboard and dumped it in the sink, turning on both taps so it would fill while I looked for the other things. I jogged into the bathroom and flung open the medicine cupboard over the sink. It used to house most of Jas' makeup, but Amy had taken all but a few, near empty items with the rest of Jas' things. I saw a plastic bottle of cotton wool balls, but it was empty. I tossed it aside and grabbed another, almost full bottle from behind it. On the bottom shelf was a small pair of scissors, an unused bar of soap still in its paper wrapping and a spare sponge, all useful.

I rushed back into the kitchen where Fluttershy was gently stroking Mits' head, rubbing her ears. She let out a pitiful meow that almost broke my heart. No, it did. I placed the stuff I'd gotten on the table, and checked the bowl. It was half full, and dipping my finger in revealed it was a warm but not too hot temperature. I picked it up and turned back to Fluttershy, who had unscrewed the bottle of cotton wool and was gently pressing a piece against one of Mits' cuts. I put the bowl down next to the other items I'd gathered.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked.

Fluttershy nodded. "Can you hold this cotton wool in place?"

"Sure." I answered, taking it and pressing carefully.

"No, you need to press harder." Fluttershy said, pressing my hand down. "You need to put pressure on, to stop the bleeding." she explained kindly.

I nodded. "Sorry, it's just…"I trailed off, looking at Mits. I felt my eye watering again, and blinked it away.

I felt Fluttershy rub my arm. She put another piece of wool in my other hand and guided it to another severe wound. "It's okay." She soothed.

I nodded, but didn't entirely believe her.

Fluttershy tested the water in the bowl and nodded. "This is a nice temperature. Can you press her cuts for a moment while I do this?"

"Sure." I took another ball with my free hand and pressed it against another cut on Mits' body, about an inch away from the first. Underneath each cut were a number of scratches ranging in size, dotted in a semi-circle pattern. Like a bite. The fox must have bitten her, which I guessed meant there would be two more cuts on her other side. Fluttershy picked up the scissors awkwardly, figured out how to use them and carefully cut some of the fur away from Mits' side where there was a large cut. Once she was done she got a piece of cotton, dipped it into the water and slowly wiped it across the wound, cleaning the dirt from it. I quietly whispered to Mits as I did so, trying to comfort her. It was clear she was in pain.

After about five minutes of this I checked the cuts I had been putting pressure on; they had both stopped bleeding so I dropped the two red-stained pieces of cotton and stroked her head, before getting another piece and following Fluttershy's lead of cleaning Mits' wound. I stuck to the smaller ones that didn't need fur cutting away. I glanced up at Fluttershy quickly, as if to silently ask if I was doing it right. It wasn't the first time I'd cleaned a scratch on Mits, but I'd never dealt with something this severe before. Fluttershy saw me glancing and smiled reassuringly at me, nodding.

"How is she?" Fluttershy asked after a few moments more.

"The bleeding's stopped." I told her simply, checking the cut I was cleaning at that moment. "But I think it was a big bite, so there's probably two more big cuts on her other side."

"Alright. Let's turn her over and make sure those are okay first. They could be bleeding." Fluttershy agreed worriedly. I put down the cotton balls and carefully picked Mits up, trying my best to not press down on any of her scratches. When I turned her over there were a few small spots of blood on the table cloth, and two larger ones. It seemed I had been right about the bite.

Without thinking I grabbed two more pieces of cotton and pressed down, trying to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible, before she lost yet more blood. Fluttershy went back to cleaning the other wounds while I did this, occasionally cutting away Mits' fur to get at them.

As we did this, Mits slowly pedalled her front left leg, like she was reaching out towards me, and meowed again.

"Shh, it's alright Mits. You'll be okay."

I was trying to reassure myself as much as her.

I lifted one piece of wool. It was red, but the wound had stopped bleeding. I lifted the other; it was soaked crimson red. Evidently, the other wound had yet to stop bleeding, so I grabbed some more cotton and pressed it back down. Mits meowed again in what I could only presume was pain.

"I think I've got all the small cuts and bites. Do you want me to take over there?" Fluttershy asked.

I nodded silently, and stroked Mits ear as Fluttershy took the cotton ball from me. After a few seconds of mindlessly watching Mits, I realised that, as good as Fluttershy's skills were, we needed a real vet. I turned and walked briskly to the coffee table in the front room and grabbed the Yellow Pages. It only took a few minutes of flicking through the book to find a local vet. Instantly, I jumped to my feet and looked around for my mobile. Where had I put it last night?

I clicked my fingers. My clothes. But where were they? My room?

I jogged into the bedroom and found them, one leg of my still wet jeans out of the hamper. I lifted the lid and sifted through the clothes, trying to find my jacket pocket. That was still wet as well. And there was my phone. Also-

Oh arse.

It had gotten wet while in my jacket pocket. I tapped the centre button, fully expecting to get either a black screen or an electric shock. Somehow, though, it was still working. Relieved, I ran back to the front room, peering into the kitchen for a second to see how Mits was holding up. There were about a dozen balls of cotton off to the side, some red from being used to stop bleeding, others just plain dirty from cleaning Mits. Fluttershy was busy comforting her, whispering and stroking her head.

I sniffed and turned away to ring the vet's office. I was miserable – no, that word didn't quite cut it – over Mits' condition, not to mention worried out of my mind. As I keyed the number into my phone, I realised just how much trouble I'd be in if Fluttershy hadn't been here. Everything had seemed to be going well. A job, a bit of money. But I suppose that's when something would go wrong, wouldn't it?

"Hello, The Veterinary Hospital, Lincoln, how can I help?" A female secretary asked from the other end of the line.

"Hey, hello. Well, my cat's got into a fight with another animal during the night - a fox I think - and she's pretty badly scratched up. I think she's lost a lot of blood." I began, slowly pacing around the sofa.

"Okay, when did this happen?"

"During the night. We only found her this morning, dirty and bloody. Me and a friend have cleaned most of the cuts and have done what we can, but I'm not sure what to do next, and like I said she's lost some blood."

"Alright sir, I can make you an emergency appointment for this morning and you can come in whenever, or if you think your cat is severely injured or you can't transport her, I can send a vet to look her over on site." The secretary offered kindly.

"I only have a dirt bike, and I'm pretty worried about her state, so… yeah, I think the vet might be a good idea."

I gave her my address and she assured me the vet would be there shortly, no more than fifteen minutes.

I thanked the woman and ended the call, carelessly tossing my phone onto the sofa. I slumped down next to it.

Fluttershy entered my vision as she timidly stepped into the room. I turned and looked at her, and didn't even need to ask.

"I've cleaned her as best I can and a few of her cuts are still bleeding, but they'll stop in a few minutes. She's okay so far, but the poor dear is in a lot of pain. She's asleep now."

I spent a second taking that information in, then nodded and faced forward.

"There's a vet coming soon. He'll check her over then take her to the veterinary hospital." I told Fluttershy. I kept staring ahead for a second, contemplating the next few hours. After a second I shook my head free of its thoughts, stood up and walked into the kitchen where Mits was still lying on the table. She looked… peaceful, given the circumstances. If it wasn't for the occasional, near invisible rise and fall of her chest I'd have thought she was dead. She was a lot cleaner compared to when the postman had brought her to us, but she still looked in a bad way.

I didn't want to leave her on the table. I grabbed her cat basket from by the corner by the door, placed it on the table and, as carefully as I'd ever treated her, picked Mits up and laid her in the basket. I sniffed again, the sight breaking my heart for the umpteenth time. I started towards my room, meaning to get dressed and accompany Mits to the veterinary hospital. I got two feet before I stopped, turned back and smiled gratefully at the girl standing in the doorway.

"Thank you Shy."

She smiled back at me timidly, and I turned back and entered my room. It only took a few minutes for me to find and throw on some clothes. A partly muddy pair of jeans and a crumpled shirt would suffice for now. I really needed to wash my clothes. And the dishes come to that.

I shook my head as I opened the door. Why was I thinking about things like that at a time like this? Well, my cat was currently on the kitchen table, mortally wounded. I was probably getting hysterical.

I reached the kitchen and pulled out a chair so I could watch over Mits until the vet arrived. As I sat down and started stroking Mits' front paw, I noticed Fluttershy had gone. I looked around the kitchen, then peered into the front room, but she wasn't in there either.

Before I got a chance to call out for her, though, I heard what must have been her bedroom door opening. A few seconds later she appeared in the doorway, fully dressed and wig on.

"You want to come then?" I asked.

She nodded. "I can't stand to see her in pain. I want to make sure she's getting better."

I smiled at her, then turned back to Mits. Fluttershy took a seat beside me and mimicked my actions.

It only took roughly another five minutes for a knock to come to the door. I jumped up and walked out, desperate to get the vet in as soon as possible. The keys were still in the lock, and I hadn't locked it after the postman brought Mits back, so all I had to do was swing the door open.

Sure enough, the vet was standing there, holding a common brown veterinary bag. In his early forties, he wore simple clothes, had short hair and showed tired eyes. I guessed he'd either just done a night shift, or he'd just gotten up. He held out his hand.

"Dr Stacey. I'm here about a cat, and I was told it was urgent. Jamie Goodwin?"

I shook his hand. "Yep, that's me. She's just through here," I told him, leading him in to the kitchen. "We've cleaned and helped her as best we can."

The vet nodded and placed the bag on the table before giving Mits a looking over. I sat back down next to Fluttershy as he did his job. Fluttershy put a hand on mine. I glanced at her quickly and smiled appreciatively, though it faded quickly.

It only took a few minutes for the vet to complete his examination.

"She's unconscious. Multiple lacerations across the torso, significant bite marks, and it appears her tail is bent, perhaps broken. You say she was out last night?" he asked, looking up at me momentarily.

I nodded. "During the storm. She got of the flat just before, and I went looking for her, but my torch died and I couldn't find her in time. I found a fox though, and I think that's what hurt Mits."

The vet nodded. "The bites and scratches look to be from an animal of about that size. I'm surprised she got away from a fox at all. Anyway, there's no time to dilly-dally; I'll take her to the veterinary and we'll give her a proper diagnosis and treatment there. If you can gather up any paperwork about her previous medical history for me it would be useful."

I nodded and rose to my feet. "Of course, I'll get them now. Thank you."

"It's perfectly alright. Her state isn't fatal yet, but it could deteriorate quickly. I'll wrap her up in some temporary bandages and move her in the basket. If she's bounced about it could re-open the wounds."

I nodded, and the vet went to work. I turned and walked out of the kitchen and towards my bedroom again. I sighed sadly as I riffled through the bottom drawer of my dresser, where I kept any important papers. It didn't take long to find the one I kept for Mits; simply labelled as Mits Stuff it kept her medical records and the pet insurance details.

Sombrely, I carried the folder back out into the kitchen. The vet had just finished wrapping the bandages around Mits' big bite, and Fluttershy was standing by his side, presumably having helped him administer them.

The vet saw the folder in my hands and nodded. "Alright, let's get her to the clinic, post haste."

I nodded in agreement, and he picked up Mits' cat basket with her in it, and awkwardly made his way to the front door. Fluttershy took the initiative and skirted ahead of him to open the door, all of her shyness lost for Mits' sake.

I followed them out of the flat, grabbing the usual things from the table by the door: keys, wallet, phone and my jacket and helmet. Fluttershy already had hers.

It didn't take long to get down the stairs, or at least it didn't seem to while I was distracted by guilty thoughts. As the vet put Mits in the back of his Land Rover I followed him over and handed him the folder, thinking it better he took them rather than me on my dirt bike. He nodded and walked around to the driver seat, and I put on my bike clothes as I made my way over to my bike.

Fluttershy was waiting, already with her jacket and helmet on. I wiped the seat with my hand to clear the water left from the rain and climbed on as the vet's Land Rover came to life behind us. Fluttershy joined me on the bike, holding on tightly as usual. I revved the engine to wake it up as the vet turned around in a three-point turn behind us. I wheeled backwards as he drove towards the road, stopping to look for traffic, then pulling out and turning left. I followed him in seconds.