Nurse Betty and Dr.smith part 21 ( cat cafe)

The sterile scent of antiseptic usually clung to Dr. Samuel Smith, renowned surgeon at Maplewood Hospital. Today, however, it was subtly competing with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and something distinctly feline. He found himself, somewhat unexpectedly, in a cat café.

Nurse Betty, his ever-efficient and surprisingly whimsical colleague, had dragged him there. "Doctor," she'd insisted, “a little stress relief is in order. Besides, you need to meet Mittens. She's a calico with a purr like a tiny motorboat.”

Sam, a man of precision and routine, preferred the predictable rhythm of the operating room to the unpredictable chaos of a room full of cats. Yet, there he was, sipping a latte and watching a ginger tabby knead its paws on a plush cushion.

Betty, meanwhile, was utterly in her element, surrounded by fluffy felines. She was cooing over kittens, stroking a majestic Maine Coon, and even managing to coax a shy Siamese onto her lap. Sam watched her, a faint smile playing on his lips. He'd known Betty for years, her efficient competence in the OR a constant reassuring presence. But this... this was a side of her he rarely saw.

A fluffy grey cat, its eyes like emeralds, sauntered towards Sam, rubbed against his leg, and then curled up on his lap, purring contentedly. The unexpected weight and warmth, combined with the comforting purr, relaxed Sam in a way he hadn't anticipated. The stress of a particularly difficult surgery seemed to melt away.

He found himself gently stroking the cat's soft fur, a surprising sense of peace settling over him. The rhythmic purr was somehow strangely similar to the steady beat of his own heart during a successful operation.

Later, as they left the café, a contented Betty tucked a small cat-shaped cookie into Sam's pocket. "See, Doctor?" she said with a grin. “Even surgeons need a little feline therapy.”

Sam, still carrying the warmth of the cat's purr and a newfound appreciation for unexpected detours, simply nodded. He couldn't deny the therapeutic effect. Perhaps, he mused, a regular dose of cat café therapy wouldn't be so bad after all. It was certainly a change of pace from the usual post-surgery ice cream.