Author's note: Perhaps a note about the title of this story is in order. Both it and the title of the story to which it is a sequel, was inspired by "The Wizard of Oz." In that movie, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man are hurrying through a dark forest, chanting, "Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!" Thanks again to those who reviewed. Not only is it a great ego-stroke, but it lets me know if a chapter is effective.
CHAPTER 3
"These two appear to be healthy, although somewhat stressed. That's to be expected, given the circumstances."
Doctor Phlox turned away from the readout on the wall bio-monitor in sickbay to look at his patients. Warp Core and Torpedo were sitting side by side on a biobed, their attention riveted by the beeps and clicks coming from the medical equipment. Phlox used a hand-held med scanner to take more readings. Torpedo drew back, but Warp Core arched his whiskers forward, curious about the device.
"They've put on weight," Phlox noted as he looked at the readout. "Warp Core now weighs fourteen kilograms, and Torpedo, thirteen and a half." He tsked and said to them, "You two need more exercise. Or less food." He turned to his third patient. "Now, let's take a look at this little one, shall we?"
Hoshi, cradling Batty in her arms, tried not to tense, aware that any change in her body language would be picked up by the cat. So far, the black cat had seemed content to view the other cats' examinations, but Hoshi wasn't sure what Batty's reaction would be when the doctor encroached on its space.
Phlox had been prepared for the cats' visit, however. He dipped a hand into a pocket on his tunic and withdrew several small pellets. Torpedo and Warp Core immediately perked up, going to stand on the edge of the biobed closest to the Denobulan physician and meowing demandingly. Even Batty seemed interested, its ears and whiskers aimed forward.
"This is something I've developed for my Pyrithian bat, but I think these animals will also like them," Phlox said as he placed a pellet on the bed in front of Warp Core and another in front of Torpedo. After a quick sniff, they began devouring the treats. The doctor placed another pellet in his palm and slowly held it out toward Batty. One inquisitive sniff and the cat was squirming in Hoshi's grasp, trying to reach the food.
Phlox sidled closer to Hoshi. He let Batty take the morsel and eat it. He placed another treat in his hand and, as the cat took it in its mouth, efficiently transferred the small animal out of Hoshi's arms and held it against his chest. Batty blinked, startled but apparently not upset by its change of location. As soon as it had swallowed the treat, it began sniffing Phlox's tunic. It sneezed once, shook its head, and resumed sniffing.
"I can't believe Mister Reed said you were vicious," Phlox said to the cat. "You seem fairly docile to me."
Malcolm, who had been off to one side to stay out of the way, and perhaps out of reach of Batty's claws, rolled his eyes.
Phlox moved over to one of the counters. Carefully depositing the cat on the surface, he reached for his med scanner and activated it. "Female!" he announced.
"Oh, lovely!" Malcolm said. At Hoshi's displeased look, he explained, "It could mean a lot of fighting between the males over the female if she...um...you know."
"Goes into heat," Phlox supplied, adding cheerily, "Not to worry. She's been spayed. And as I know from the examinations I gave them during their last visit, both Warp Core and Torpedo have been neutered. We won't have a feline population explosion any time soon." Checking the scanner's readout, he reported, "She's not quite two kilograms. Tiny little thing, isn't she? Relatively good health. She's a good deal older than the two males, though. Roughly sixteen Earth years old."
"Cats can live that long?" Malcolm asked.
Batty, still licking her lips after the treats, reached out with one paw, claws sheathed, and gently touched the med scanner in Phlox's hand, making the physician chuckle. "Much longer," Phlox said. "With proper care, some have been known to live thirty Earth years. A few even longer."
A loud thunk accompanied by a forceful grunt of expelled air announced Warp Core's departure from the biobed. The orange cat began slowly walking around sickbay, stopping to inspect various pieces of equipment and furniture from floor level. Torpedo maintained watch from his higher vantage point on the bed.
"You know," Hoshi said as she watched Warp Core saunter around, "they've had something to eat. The next thing they're going to want to do is use a litter box. I didn't have time to get that set up in my quarters before I went over to the Southern Cross."
"That's been taken care of," Malcolm said. "When I told Travis I was going to pilot the shuttlepod over, I also asked him to arrange for those things. With any luck, they should be waiting for you outside your cabin."
"You had best be getting them there," Phlox advised Hoshi. "I'm assuming all three will reside in your quarters?"
The doors to sickbay slid open before Hoshi could answer. She was ready to inform whoever was entering to shut the doors so that the cats didn't get out, but the new arrival had seen the cats and was already pushing the button to close the door behind her. Warp Core halted his low-level inspection and trotted over, fluffy tail up and waving, to greet T'Pol with a high-pitched, squeaky meow. Torpedo also jumped from the biobed to approach her, echoing the other cat's greeting in a somewhat lower yet no less strident voice.
Hoshi had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at T'Pol's reaction to the feline welcoming committee. The Vulcan's eyes had grown wide and, although she stood her ground as the cats rubbed against her calves, she was definitely tilting away from them. T'Pol looked up, her gaze roaming sickbay, until she saw Batty. "I see the third pet is also a cat." Carefully and with as much dignity as possible while trying not to step on any paws, she made her way to the little cat where it was sitting on the counter. As she walked by Phlox, she handed him a data padd. "The Southern Cross's log entries concerning the effects the ion storm had on their crew that you requested, Doctor, as well as the status of that ship's medical supplies."
"Ah, yes," Phlox said, activating the padd and glancing at the information on the screen. "Thank you, Subcommander. I want to be certain that there are no potentially toxic medical substances that may have been affected by the system outages or the storm's radiation. It could be an unpleasant surprise waiting for the repair crews at Earth if there is."
As Phlox became engrossed in the report, T'Pol took another step closer toward the watchful black cat.
"She's in charge," Hoshi commented. When T'Pol looked at her questioningly, she added, "The other two seem to defer to her."
T'Pol had come within striking distance for the little cat, but it made no move against her. Batty, her green eyes unblinking, gazed up at the Vulcan, whose gaze also did not waver.
"As she is much smaller than the others, her dominance could be a sign of greater intelligence," T'Pol said.
Malcolm snorted and turned away, his hand over his mouth as he tried not to laugh. Hoshi smiled wryly as she said, "I don't know if Batty's smarter than the other two, but speaking from personal experience, I know that smaller members of a species sometimes have to project an aura of toughness in order not to be pushed around. And those two--" She indicated Torpedo and Warp Core, the latter of which had leaped onto one of the counters and was sniffing the jars and canisters there. "--can be pretty pushy."
"Indeed," T'Pol remarked. She gazed thoughtfully at Batty for a few moments, then reached with one hand for the cat.
Hoshi held her breath as T'Pol awkwardly put two fingers between Batty's ears and stroked. Batty closed her eyes and began to purr, leaning into the fingers.
"I don't understand why you think that cat is hostile," Phlox said to Malcolm.
"It was ready to take my hand off when we found it on the Southern Cross," Malcolm responded indignantly.
Phlox shrugged. "Maybe she just doesn't like you."
With an amused twinkle in her eye, Hoshi said, "Or maybe she thinks you're like Warp Core and Torpedo, and you need to be put in your place."
Malcolm, who had been glaring at Phlox, switched his disgruntled gaze to her.
T'Pol, meanwhile, continued to pet Batty. "I did some research into cats the first time the other two were on board."
Hoshi recalled that, the first time they'd been on board, T'Pol had, with perfect Vulcan logic, defended the cats when the captain had been trying to decide what to do with them. She had told Jon about cats being used for rodent control on sea-going vessels in the past. But T'Pol wasn't one to make idle conversation. Hoshi knew there had to be a reason she'd mentioned her research about cats. "Oh?" she prompted.
"Yes. If you plan to have all three stay in your cabin, even if you allow Warp Core and Torpedo to resume their former roaming of the ship, it could lead to stressful conditions for all three, especially if they don't get along."
"I don't anticipate letting Batty out of my quarters," Hoshi told her, "just the other two."
T'Pol turned to face her. "That may be sufficient. However, if you find that is not the case, I would be...willing...to share my quarters with this one." She gestured toward the small black cat.
Hoshi was surprised. T'Pol wasn't particularly fond of Enterprise's official pet -- Captain Archer's dog. Hoshi knew Porthos's smell was offensive to the Vulcan. Besides, there were more than eighty people on board, more than one of whom no doubt would be willing to take in Batty if necessary. Why would T'Pol be interested in having a tiny cat share her quarters?
T'Pol must have sensed her concern, for she said, "She reminds me of a sehlat, a native Vulcan species. They are often tamed as pets." T'Pol looked back at Batty.
Batty yawned widely, showing off two small white fangs. Torpedo choose that moment to leap effortlessly, as if levitating, onto the countertop less than a meter away. Batty immediately tensed, hissed, and brought one paw up to swat at the other cat. Torpedo merely stared at her, then flopped down onto his side, his paws and tail dangling over the edge of the counter. He blinked lazily, and Batty subsided.
"I don't know, Subcommander," Hoshi said as she watched the interplay between the cats. "They might get along."
"I must return to the bridge," T'Pol said, moving toward the door. She paused and turned back. "My offer stands. I would be willing to share my accommodations with one of the cats." Her gaze rested on the small black cat where it was sitting. "That one."
After the doors closed behind T'Pol, Hoshi turned a perplexed gaze on Phlox. "That was strange. T'Pol offering to take in a pet? She can barely tolerate Porthos."
Phlox's eyebrows lifted. "She said they reminded her of a native Vulcan species. Perhaps she's homesick."
Malcolm brought the cat carrier over to the biobed and set it down. He scooped up Torpedo from the counter. "There's one thing in that cat's favor over Porthos, as far as T'Pol is concerned," he said.
"What's that?" Hoshi asked curiously as he put the cat in the carrier.
"Cats don't smell like dogs," he said.
