The Boatswain

Author: The Passionate Admiral

Rating: T

Disclaimer: If I owned CATS, I wouldn't have let them release the video version without "Growltiger's Last Stand." But I don't own CATS, and the people who made the video version actually had the GALL to exclude it.

Plot: While taking a stroll down by the docks, Tumblebrutus meets a cat he has both feared and admired for a long time. The cat presents Tumblebrutus with an offer that is too great for him to resist. This fanfic is based off a few lines from "Growltiger's Last Stand" in T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. On a side note, everything in this story takes place in-between chapters 1 & 2 of my fanfic "Choices" (except for a later chapter which will take place in the past).

Tumblebrutus was pacing back and forth in his den. He was busy thinking about a very important matter.

It was not a real crisis, or a problem threatening the Jellicle Junkyard that was on his mind; it was actually a very simple matter. Tumble was planning to talk to a certain queen-kit about a very important matter.

This particular queen-kit was Jemima, the youngest member of the tribe. She was Tumblebrutus' best friend, and she meant a lot to Tumble.

"Let's see here," Tumble muttered to himself, "Maybe I should open with 'Hi, Jem. Do you have a moment?'… No, no, no. That would give her a wrong impression; she would probably think I'm just trying to have a friendly conversation with her."

He continued pacing around his den. After a moment, he said "I could say 'Jem, it's imperative that I speak with you.'" He paused to think about this new approach and then he decided "Definitely not; she would freak out if I said that!"

There was silence once again as Tumble walked around the den. Then he said "I've got it! I'll tell her 'Jem, I'm a tom; you're a queen…' Oh, what the hell am I saying? I can't do this; I'll just make myself look like an idiot!"

Despite this brief moment of cynicism and doubt, Tumblebrutus was still determined to talk to Jemima about a personal matter that night. Eventually, he decided to ask someone else for help in how he should proceed.

He knew just the tom to ask.

Tumblebrutus hastily went over to Rum Tum Tugger's den and walked up to the door. He was about to knock, but then he hesitated. But after a moment, he went ahead and knocked on the door. A moment later, the Maine Coon answered the door. He appeared to be very tired, and his mane was messed up.

When he saw who it was, he grinned and said "Evening, Tumble."

"Good evening, Tugger," said Tumblebrutus, "Busy night?"

"Ehh, you could say that," Tugger smirked, looking back into the den for a moment. Then he turned back to Tumble and said "Exotica may be a rather mysterious queen, but I'm starting to understand her secrets… if you know what I mean."

Okay, that's a little too much information, thought Tumble. Then he simply said "Tugger, I need your advice on a particular subject."

"Is it about a queen?" Tugger asked immediately.

"Yes, it is," Tumble nodded.

"And who, might I ask, is the lucky queen?" Tugger smirked at his young friend.

"Jemima," Tumble answered, "I need your advice on how to talk to her."

"Alright," Tugger looked at his paw and examined his claws as he asked "First I must ask; in what stage in the relationship are you with her?"

Tumble looked nervously at the ground, and then he looked up at Tugger and said, slightly embarrassed, "I'm about to start it."

Tugger looked at the white and brown tom-kit and scoffed. "So, you're just beginning with her?"

"Yes, yes I am," Tumble admitted, "I finally decided that I should."

"Okay, then," said Tugger, "I'll be your instructor on how to properly get started."

For the next ten minutes, Rum Tum Tugger gave Tumblebrutus a lot of good tips and pointers. He was even kind enough to supply him with a list of things he should NOT do, such as open with "Nice evening, isn't it?"

After ten minutes, Tumble said "Alright, I think you've given me plenty of good tips, Tug. I'll go see if they work."

"Glad to be of assistance, Tumble," Tugger grinned, "Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure," Tumble replied.

"Good," Tugger said as he started to close the door to his den, "Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm about to find out just how dark Exotica's coat REALLY is."

Then he shut the door completely. Tumble just shook his head in ridicule and turned around. He muttered to himself "Maybe I should consider asking Alonzo for advice next time instead."

Tumble went to the clearing of the junkyard. There, he saw eight of his friends playing together. There were four other tom-kits: Plato, Admetus, Quaxo, and Pouncival. There were also four queen-kits: Victoria, Electra, Etcetera, and… Jemima.

Tumblebrutus went down to join the others.

When Quaxo saw his friend approaching, he waved at him and said "Hi, Tumble!"

"Hey, Quaxo," Tumble said in response. His attention was still focused primarily on Jemima.

Most of the other kittens had already had their minds set on whom to make their future mates. Quaxo and Victoria were with each other; Plato and Electra were with each other; Admetus and Etcetera were with each other, as well. The only other two kittens of the group that were single were Jemima and Pouncival. Pouncival was the youngest tom-kit in the tribe, but he seemed to prefer older queens, such as Bombalurina. He was secretly in love with her.

Tumblebrutus made his way over to Jemima, took in a deep breath, and said "Hi, Jem."

"Hi, Tumble," she said sweetly.

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two of them. Then Tumble said "Can… can I talk to you alone for a moment?"

Jemima did not even hesitate. She replied "Sure, I'd be happy to talk with you."

She turned to the others and said "I'll be right back."

Then she and Tumble walked to the front of the clearing where they could speak in private.

When they got there, Jemima asked Tumble "So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Up until this point, Tumble had been sure that he would be able to go through with his plan. Now he was having doubts at the worst possible time.

He began with "Well, uh… I, uh…"

"Yes?" Jemima listened to him and watched him curiously.

Tumble cleared his throat and said "Jemima… you and I have known each other for a long time."

"Yes, we have," Jemima nodded, "Is that all?"

"No, of course not," he chuckled, "I also wanted to say that… um, well… have you ever thought about queenhood?"

"Oh, yes, I have on numerous occasions," she said, "I actually look forward to it."

"So do I," said Tumble.

Jemima raised an eyebrow and she asked him in confusion "You look forward to queenhood?"

Tumble tried as hard as he could to suppress a laugh, but failed. Then he said "Sorry, I meant that I look forward to tomhood."

"Ah, ok," Jemima nodded again.

"What do you look forward to most of all?" inquired Tumble.

"Oh, I look forward to a lot of things," she said "I won't have a curfew, I'll be able to go places all on my own, and I won't be the youngest member of the tribe anymore."

"Why's that?" asked Tumble.

She smiled up at her best friend and said "Because by then, the tribe's next generation will have begun. I hope that I'll be a mother someday."

"So, that's what you look forward to the most?" said Tumblebrutus "You look forward to motherhood?"

"Well, that and one other thing," Jemima answered, "I look forward to the day I can choose a mate."

Tumblebrutus felt warm inside when he heard those words. He asked Jemima "Have you given any thought as to who'd like as your future mate?"

She shrugged and said "Now that I haven't really thought about. Why do you ask?"

Tumble stated to sweat when she asked that question. He could not think of anything he could say to answer Jemima's question without blowing his cover. He decided to just improvise. He said "Jemima, as I said earlier, you and I have known each other for a long time."

"Yes, you did tell me that," she said.

"You're my best friend," he told her.

"Thank you," she grinned, "And you are mine."

Tumble smiled back. But he was becoming very anxious about what he would say next. Finally, he said "Have you ever thought of… I don't know, maybe… being more than just 'best friends?'"

She looked at him in slight apprehension and said "What do you mean?"

"Well," he told her, "You and I know each other very well, but we've only liked each other as siblings. I don't think a sibling-like relationship is suitable for us."

Jemima was starting to become suspicious. She said "Tumble, what exactly are you implying?"

Tumblebrutus suddenly grabbed his forehead with his front paws and shouted in frustration, much to Jemima's alarm.

Across the clearing, the other kittens looked over to the source of the commotion, and they saw Tumble shouting.

Finally, Tumble just looked at Jemima and said loudly both to her and himself "Who am I kidding? I can't go through with this!"

Then he turned and ran out of the clearing to the front entrance of the junkyard as fast as he could.

"Tumble, wait!" Jemima called after him, trying to follow him.

Jemima tried to keep up with Tumble, but he was much faster than she was. After a while, she just gave up.

The other kittens soon reached her.

"Jem, what happened?" asked Victoria.

"I… I don't know, Vickie," Jemima answered, "One moment, Tumble and I were talking. The next, he was getting nervous and now he's run off!"

"Don't worry," said Pouncival, "He'll be back within a few hours."

"How do you know?" asked Admetus.

"This isn't the first time Tumblebrutus has left the junkyard for a short period of time," Pouncival enlightened his friend, "He usually does this whenever he feels distressed. Trust me; he'll be back long before morning."

"Alright, then," said Admetus, "But are you sure we shouldn't go after him?"

"No, I learned the hard way that he doesn't like to be disturbed when he's in one of these 'moods,'" said Pouncival, "We should just let him alone."

The other kittens decided to follow Pouncival's advice, and then everyone returned to the clearing. Everyone except Jemima, that is. She just stood near the entrance of the junkyard and looked out into the streets of London. Somewhere, in that huge city, her best friend was alone, leaving her to just guess what the main subject of the conversation really was.

Note: The next chapter will get into the main part of the plot. I did not plan to put this much fluff into the first chapter, but then I thought "What the hell? I may as well appease the Jemima/Tumblebrutus fans."