Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own CATS at all.
If Jerrie and Teazer seem a bit OOC in this story, it's because they're older, a bit wiser, and dealing with problems. Please don't be upset if they aren't as goofy as they are in most stories.

"Oy, Skimble!" Jerrie trotted to catch up with the railway cat. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course, lad." Skimble said with a cheerful smile. He waited for Jerrie and they continued on out of the Junkyard together.

"How are things with Jenny?"

Skimble shook his head and sighed. "She still won't make up her mind. I think all these years single has got her confused."

"Not to mention, Bustopher is quite well off." Jerrie snickered. He grew serious when he saw the expression on Skimble's face. "Come on, Skimble, she'll come round. Don't worry about it."

"Never mind my problems. What do you need?"

It was Jerrie's turn to grow serious. He didn't answer for several minutes and Skimble was silent, waiting for an answer. "It's Teazer." Jerrie finally said. If anyone could tell him what was up with his mate, it was her father.

He didn't understand what was going on. Teazer had always been a bit elusive, even with Jerrie. She would slip away from him sometimes, usually later in the day or at night, or skirt around his questions. He didn't mind so much; he himself didn't tell her everything he did. But now it was different. Teazer was skittish and withdrawn. She spent more and more time talking with Electra on the outskirts of the Junkyard.

"What about her?"

"She's just . . . Too quiet."

Skimble laughed and clapped a hand on Jerrie's shoulder. "You know how queens are. She's probably just playing hard to get or perhaps worrying that you aren't serious about your relationship."

"She'll know just how serious I am in a few weeks."

"Exactly."

They paused. They had reached the edge of the Jellicle protection and Jerrie could go no further. He waved goodbye to the railway cat and turned to go home. Sometimes he missed the freedom of going anywhere he wanted but it was a worthwhile trade. He was with Teazer now and that was better than all the freedom in the world.

He arrived at their home in Victoria Grove and allowed the humans to pet him. He didn't often do that unless Teazer was around. The humans didn't like him quite as much as they liked his mate and the little boy was quite a little devil. Today however, the devil was tame and only wanted to pet Jerrie. After a few minutes, Jerrie slipped away; he could only take so much.

The humans had quite a large house and a little closet off the kitchen, Jerrie and Teazer had matching cat beds. They were the kind humans always made: round, with a little rim, very soft. It was nice and warm, especially nice in the winter but most Jellicles had their own den, away from humans, a place to be themselves. Teazer and Electra had a den together and Jerrie had shared a den with Pounce and Tumble. But now . . . Now it was time for them to have their own place, just the two of them.

That was Jerrie's project now. He was busy making the den cozy and home-like for Teazer. He'd found a lovely crate near the 'Yard and with help from several other toms, it had been adjoined to the network of dens the other Jellicle couples occupied. So far Jerrie had procured two pillows, a few blankets, and a shiny thing to hang from the ceiling. He wandered through the house until he found his latest object: a poster that Teazer had especially admired. It was a lake in a forest at night, lots of stars and shadows, with the word Serenity printed on the bottom. Teazer could spend hours staring at it. The human girl had once had the poster on her wall but tired of it and put it in a drawer. Since she wouldn't miss it . . .

The girl was talking into a small object, her voice high and irritating in Jerrie's ears. He mewed loudly, jumped on her bed, and began nudging her hand. He'd learned long ago that the girl would leave the room before kicking him out. He couldn't explain it but it worked to his advantage. Not long after he walked in, the girl left, still chatting away in her annoying voice. Jerrie was able to locate the poster and slipped out of the house easily. The humans were so unobservant.

He wandered back to the Junkyard, keeping an eye out for anything else Teazer might like. Once he arrived at their future den, he began fussing with the furnishings again. He knew Teazer would come in and change things but he wanted her to like it when she first came in. He pushed the two pillows together in the darkest corner and piled the blankets near the hole that would let in sunlight. The shiny thing was hanging from the center of the ceiling and he took a minute to bat at it. Then he put the poster on the wall near the entrance.

"There."

"She'll love it, mate." Asparagus, the son of Gus and Jelly, stood at the doorway with his soft smile. "When are you going to bring her here?"

"I've got some work to do still. It's not quite ready." Jerrie took one last look around then sauntered out. "How's your dad?"

Asparagus frowned. "He's hanging in there. My mother isn't doing so well. She's very down about dad and I don't know what she'll do when he does go."

When they entered the main part of the Junkyard, Asparagus wandered off and Jerrie surveyed the area for Teazer. She was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't that unusual for Teazer to be hiding somewhere. She was most likely just talking with one of her friends so Jerrie found a group of toms and joined their conversation.

A commotion drew everyone's attention to the entrance and Jerrie frowned. Teazer stumbled in, clutching her arm like it hurt. Avoiding everyone's eyes - including his - she scurried over to one of the side areas with Electra. The other Jellicles shrugged it off; Teazer was known for being a bit odd but Jerrie watched her. The queens were having a serious conversation. Jerrie kept his eyes on the two for a few minutes, until Electra left in a huff. Teazer sat there, rubbing at her arm. After excusing himself from his friends, Jerrie made his way over to his mate.

"Hello, luv."

"Hey, Jerrie." She said, her eyes downcast. Jerrie nudged her, trying to get her to look up at him.

"What's wrong? What happened to your arm?"

"I just, ya know, fell while I was out." She still didn't look at him but she did lean against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Jerrie wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Teazer, I want to help you, luv, but I can't if ya won't tell me anything." She shook her head at that, apparently still denying that anything was wrong.

And then Jerrie got a brilliant idea. If she really was worried that he wasn't serious about their relationship, she wouldn't be for long. "Come with me, luv. I have a surprise for you." Seizing her good arm, Jerrie hauled Teazer up and led her through the assembled Jellicles. "Close your eyes." Once she did so, a hint of a smile on her face, Jerrie guided her to the den he was preparing.

"Stand there." Jerrie stopped her in the center of the den and stepped back. "Now ya can look."

"Oh, Jer . . ." Teazer turned around slowly, her eyes as big as Jemima's. "Is this . . . It's ours?"

"Yes, luv. Our den." He stepped up beside her and took her hand. "It's not finished yet but I'm workin' on it."

She hugged him, burying her face in the fuzz on his shoulder. "Jerrie, I love you so much."

"And I love you, Teaze."

"But . . I can't . . . I have to work on this . . . Alone." She peered up at him and he could see tears in her eyes.

They stared at each other for a minute and then Teazer pulled away. Jerrie let her go without saying anything.

So something was wrong and she wanted space to work on it. Well, she wasn't going to get it. They were mates and that meant he had a right and a responsibility to help her. He'd get to the bottom of this one way or another.

AN: Well, I decided to make this a multi-chapter story. I actually have the outline done, I know what's going to happen in each chapter, and I have two of the later chapters written. This will get pretty dark (well, for me) near the end so be prepared. Now, as a heads-up, I'm going to college on Friday and I won't be able to access this site there. Hopefully I can send updates to my sister and she'll publish them for me but if not, I'll be back at Thanksgiving for sure and maybe before then. Thanks for reading and please review!