"You can live with me," suggested Domino. 
            "Thanks. But..., I don't want them to leave me. How could they even say they're going to leave me?" sighed Rook sadly.  
             "I don't know, man... I- I don't know what to say. I know the baby cries all the time and the dog is so annoying but... I mean, I would miss them if they were gone," said Domino. 
            "They can't leave me. They won't leave me, right?" Rook said, frowning. 
            "'course not. I bet it was just some sort of joke or misunderstanding," nodded Domino. 
             "Yeah, of course," said Rook unsurely. That evening, as he padded thoughtfully back to the house, he found Saffanah already in bed and Diana in her room. Only Jeremy was up. Rook approached Jeremy who was pacing back and forth in the living room. He held his phone to his ear and he looked stressed and frustrated. 
            "No.. no, he's not-... No, he is not a kitten anymore," Jeremy was saying. Rook frowned. Kitten? Jeremy was talking about him. Rook leapt onto the couch and pricked his ears. He listened. He was scared of what he was about to hear but he had to listen. 
            "I told you, he's only about six months old. He's still young. Yes, he's still growing," said Jeremy. He ran his fingers through his hair, staring out of the window. "Yeah, he loves kids. He's really gentle and calm. You don't have to worry about him. He sleeps on my daughter's bed." Jeremy listened as the person on the other line chattered away. 
            "Right. Ok. Great. Thanks. Make sure to call back," said Jeremy. He sighed, falling onto the couch. He spotted Rook and gave him a light pat on the head. "Hey Rook. It's hard, finding the right family for you. Don't worry though. I'll make sure you get the best people possible." 
           "What do you mean? You're my family!" Rook meowed. Jeremy's phone rung. He jumped up and answered it enthusiastically. 
           "Hello. Eh- Emily, yes! Yes. Yeah no, I'm free... Of course," Jeremy said, looking extremely concentrated. "He'll just have to get used to you but once he does, I promise you he'll be the best cat anybody could ask for. That's what he is to us... He's part of our family, you know.... I mean yeah, of course it's hard. We don't want to leave him. But we have to. There's no way we can bring him, where we're going. I'm just trying to find another great family for him...." There was a pause. "Yeah yeah of course. How about tomorrow? At around 3pm? Yeah sure sure. Thank you. See you then." Jeremy put the phone down and cheered. He grinned at Rook. 
             "We're going to meet your new family tomorrow," said Jeremy. "Happy?" Rook gave him a blank look. New family? 
            "I don't- I don't want a new family," protested Rook sadly. How were they leaving him? he would never do that to them.

Rook stared out of the window. The scenery rushed by quickly. Saffanah was sitting on the seat beside him, looking grim. Diana turned back to check on Saffanah and Rook. 
              "How you guys doing?" she asked. Jeremy glanced at them from the rear mirror. 
              "Bad," huffed Saffanah. "Rook is sad. He shouldn't have to meet a stupid new family. He should stay with us." 
              "We talked about this," sighed Jeremy. "Right, we're almost there." Rook sighed and sat back down. He lay down and curled his tail around his snout. He closed his eyes and pushed away the bad thoughts. He managed to rest until the car finally came to a stop. They had stopped in front of a cute house with red bricks. There were pretty red roses growing along the white picket fence. The small garden had short, well groomed grass. Jeremy stepped out of the car followed by Diana and then Saffanah. Saffanah helped Rook out, keeping him in her arms. Rook let Saffanah carry him, without making a noise. He took in the new views. The smells were totally different as well. Rook sniffed. He smelt something delicious and fresh roses. His nose tingled. He meowed and twitched his tail. 
            "See? I'm sure he loves this place," grinned Jeremy. Diana rung the door bell. There was some shouting and shuffling from inside then a cheery looking woman opened the door. She had blonde hair and gentle eyes. She wore a light blue knitted sweater and some jeans. She beamed brightly when she saw the family at the front step. 
            "Hello!" she greeted. 
            "hello, I'm Jeremy," Jeremy said, shaking her hand warmly. Emily then hugged Diana friendly. 
             "Oh my gosh. And this must be your daughter, Saffanah, right? Lovely name," said Emily, bending down. Saffanah gave a small nod. Emily then ran her fingers through Rook's soft fur. Rook froze, grimacing. 
              "Aw. This must be Rook. He's so cute," cooed Emily. 
             "Yes, he is, isn't he?" chided Diana. 
              "Oh, I'm sorry, come in come in," Emily said, letting the family in. "Kids! Matt! Come here." Two small boys around the age of eleven appeared. They were wearing identical clothes and they gave the family weird looks. 
              "This is Rick and Andrew. Rick, Andrew, this is our new cat," Emily said, pointing at Rook. Rook glared at them. They didn't seem to notice. Andrew walked forward and put his hand awkwardly on Rook. He then shrugged. 
              "He seems ok," he said, not seeming to care. Rick didn't approach Rook. The two boys then retreated into the living room where Emily offered Jeremy, Saffanah and Diana a seat. Matt, the husband then appeared from the kitchen. He smiled at them warmly. He wore an apron. 
             "Hello hello Rook's family!" he said warmly. After everybody had been introduced, Emily brought out a freshly baked apple pie that Matt had baked. 
               "Here you all go," said Emily, serving everybody a large slice. Saffanah put Rook down on her lap. Rook watched everything with sharp eyes. Rick and Andrew ate their food in the corner, Rick was on a tablet while Andrew was staring at his parents. 
             "Oh and of course, for you," grinned Emily. She then took a small slice and held it in front of Rook. Rook sniffed it, his ears perking up. It smelt delicious. Was it for him? He smiled brightly. Then he gentle took it out of her hand and gobbled it down. It was warm and sweet. He licked his lips. He loved it. His mood suddenly lifted and he stared at Emily expectantly. 
            "He wants more!" laughed Jeremy. 
            "We don't normally feed him human food," scowled Saffanah. "It can be bad for him." 
            "Oh I'm sure he has eaten plenty of human food when he goes out," Emily said, brushing it off. They then started a long conversation about houses, cats and food. Rook knew that this would be his new family. He still didn't understand exactly why. He didn't want to live with Rick, Andrew, Emily and Matt. They were nice but... they weren't his family. He curled up against Saffanah protectively. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing the moment would last longer.