CHAPTER ONE: Rescue

Bombalurina was dimly aware of the movement going on around her, she had little idea of what was going on, but the barking and shouting seemed to have stopped. Snippets of conversation filtered through her consciousness, she heard someone say,

"Alright, give her some room."

Suddenly she felt strong paws lift her up, carrying her gently but firmly. She vaguely recognised a familiar scent before drifting back into blackness.

She awoke about twenty minutes later, still travelling, and found the strength to open her eyes, as her senses became more alert she once again smelt the familiar scent and saw a blur of ginger fur through her unfocused vision. The light hurt her eyes so she closed them again, reassured. Her memories were very dim but she felt a sense of security in the way she was being held, she knew her rescuer even if she did not yet know their full identity. There was the recognisable scent, the colour of the fur and the way she instinctively felt safe. For the time being this was enough and she allowed herself to be once more consumed by the darkness that enveloped her.

The next time Bombalurina awoke, she was lying on something soft, no longer in motion. She opened her eyes and slowly focused on the room around her. It was a small room by human standards, but easily large enough for a cat. The wallpaper was peeling a little and there was a large crack in the plaster of the ceiling. Otherwise the room had little in the way of features, just a table in the far corner and a window with a shabby curtain drawn across. She was lying on a pile of cushions and someone had covered her with a blanket.

Bombalurina tried to roll over and prop herself up, but pain racked her body when she moved. There was a dull ache all over from the bruises she has sustained and a sharp pain shot down one arm (technically a front leg). A gentle groan escaped her and she lay still, finding relief in the softness of the pillows beneath her.

As she lay there she began to try and take stock of her situation. Memories of what had happened flooded back to her; the argument with Alonzo, her encounter with Terrell the Rottweiler, passing out, and her mysterious rescuer who was somehow familiar, yet whose identity she did not know. She thought back over what she could remember about him. She was sure he had been male, though she was unsure why.

"Right," she thought, "his fur was ginger, do I know any toms with ginger fur?"

Her first thought was Skimbleshanks, he was a ginger tabby and so fitted the description, he was also a strong cat and she knew him well, yet there was something that did not ring true about it being him. However, Bombalurina could think of no more toms with ginger fur, "It has to be Skimble." She decided. Every instinct she had told her this was wrong but she badly wanted it to be Skimble because it held the assurance of her safety. She really didn't see who else it could be so she put aside thoughts of how the scent, although familiar, was not his and how her rescuer had radiated a feeling that she knew him better and more intimately than Skimble. Telling herself it was him at least made her feel better, even when in her heart she knew it wasn't.

As her strength slowly returned, Bombalurina was able to roll over more comfortably and began to lick her wounds. Just then the door opened, she recognised the scent of the tom who had rescued her. She felt herself tense up, because even though she had tried to convince herself it would be Skimble, she knew the chances of it really being him were very slim indeed.

Bombalurina recognised the cat in front of her immediately, suddenly everything made sense, the fur colour, the familiar yet intimate scent, the strength she had felt radiating from him, and now this, the horror she felt at seeing him again.

Hmm, three guesses who it could be...

Ok, we're into the full story now. I never really decided the time after my last fic that this one takes place, probably about a year later, possibly a bit less, but not more than that. Bomba's not changed much in the time since. Please R&R.

DISCLAIMER: All right to Cats belong to ALW & the RUG.