"Love the company," Bones replied, watching Jim rub against him like a cat.

Alley cat, that's what he used to call Jim, back in the days when Jim showed up in his room when he needed food and medical care. Lean and wary and skittish, Bones used to wonder what would happen to that kid.

Now he couldn't live without him. "We better get going," Bones told him, hands holding Jim's shoulders, neck, head, anything he could touch and caress. "Or I'm gonna drag you into that bedroom."