A/N: Here I am, back from Hiatus-oblivion! I managed to get this chapter out, despite the world's attempt to keep me away from my precious fic (hugs fic for leaving it for so long). Anyway, here ya go. Consider it my formal apology for the wait.

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Rain splattered against the window outside the boot. Valerie sat at the kitchen table with Jemima, Jerrie, and Teazer, the latter three extremely bored, and the latter two making no secret of it. Valerie knew they wanted desperately to get out of the boot and do something, preferably something that involved snatching items from their human's house. Valerie liked the rain, however, and was fighting every urge to run out of the boot and go dance in the shower that now fell.

She did a quick surveilence of the room. It was not a pretty sight. The sink in the kitchen was loaded with dishes from their breakfast that morning. Skimble had attepmted to recreate Jenny's grayish thing, but realized a bit too late that he had no idea what he was doing. So, Valerie, Jemima, Teazer, and Jerrie took over. Actually it had been more of Jemima and Valerie taking over, as Teazer and Jerrie seemed more concerned with flinging flour at each other than using it to make breakfast. But, in the end, there were five plates of steaming grey something or other on the table.

Turning her attention to the front room, she saw a mess of blankets draped over the sofa. The night before, Skimble had been so tired upon returning to the boot, that he barely had the energy to walk to his and Jenny's bedroom. Claiming he was only going to be resting his feet for a few minutes, he ended up falling asleep. Valerie had woke up during the night to get herself a glass of water and had spotted him, fast asleep, snoring a little. So she'd grabbed a few blankets that had been strewned over the recliner, and tossed them over the slumbering tabby. And he'd slept there the whole night through.

"Bast I am so bored," Teazer whined, cast an empty stare up at the ceiling.

"I know," Jerrie said to her. "I hate it when it rains."

Valerie twirled her claw in her headfur and smiled to herself. Her thoughts wandered to Skimble, who at the moment was not present in the boot. He had gone to see if his train had been fixed. Valerie almost hoped it wouldn't, so he would stay here tonight and talk to her, Jemima, and the twins. He would sit in his recliner, smoking his pipe, not having to worry about Jenny's dislike for the aroma it gave off and smile in that wonderful way of his...

Cut that out! Valerie's brain screamed at her. Skimble's married, you idiot! And he's far too old for you. So quit dreaming! Besides, you don't need another guy in your life after...

Valerie's thoughts were interupted, thankfully, by Skimble, who appeared at that moment, sopping wet from the rain. He was breathing very hard, most likely from running to and from the station.

"Skimble you're soaked," Valerie cried, rising from her seat and walking up to the dripping tabby. She, however, was greeted by a mini-wave of water splashing in her face as Skimble shook himself dry and patted down his mussed fur. Hearing her gasp at the impact of the water, Skimble turned his head swiftly and smiled nervously, obviously embarassed.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry Valerie," he said, with small patches of red showing from beneath his bright orange fur.

"It's perfectly alright, Skimble," Valerie replied, grabbing a chunk of her hair and squeezing it, producing a small pool of water at her feet. "So, what's the news on the Midnight Mail?"

"Well, according to the station master, she'll be ready to go by tomorrow afternoon," Skimble said, practically bouncing to a seat at the table.

"They ever figure out what was wrong with it, Dad?" Jerrie asked.

"Had something to do with the engine, I think," Skimble replied. "I really am no good at all this mechanical mumbo-jumbo. I just make sure the passengers stay quiet. Oh, would you look at that! No sooner do I walk in the door, soaked to the bone, it stops raining."

And it was true. The rain had suddenly stopped and the sun was trying to poke through the thick grey clouds. Jerrie, Teazer, and Jemima's faces lit up with pure delight at the thought of getting out of the boot. Jemima instantly turned her head to Skimble and, with hopeful eyes, asked, "Daddy, now that it's stopped raining, can we please go outside?"

"Yeah Dad," Teazer added. "We've been stuck in here all morning."

"Alright, alright," Skimble said, waving them off with mock annoyance. "But be back here in time to help me cook some dinner. We don't want another mousecake fiasco."

Jerrie, Jemima, and Teazer were out of the boot, as fast as bullets. Valerie turned on her heels and began to follow them, but stopped. Turning back to Skimble, she smiled and said, "I'll bring them back in time to help you Skimble."

"Thank you Valerie," Skimble said, smiling broadly. And as much as she hated to admit it, Valerie's heart fluttered.

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"Valerie, I need to walk into the city for a while."

No sooner had Valerie closed the door behind her, Jemima told her of her plans.

"You what?" Valerie asked.

"I need to go to the city for a while," Jemima repeated. "There's something there I need to do."

"Jemima, I don't know..." Valerie began, casting a glance at the boot.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeease," Jemima begged, grabbing ahold of Valerie's waist and gazing up at her with her giant golden eyes. "I won't stay long. I promise I'll come back before dinner."

Valerie chewed on her lower lip, considering the kitten's request. She loved Jemima, absolutely adored her, but she wasn't sure if she trusted her enough to go into the city by herself. She thought of Skimble...

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and said, "Okay Jemima, but you must, must, must promise me that you'll come back before dinner."

Jemima smiled broadly enough to rival with Skimble and squeezed Valerie's waist tightly, before dashing off to the gate of the junkyard.

"And stay out of trouble!" Valerie called. Jemima didn't seem to hear her, either too far away to do so or too excited to pay attention. Turning her eyes to the twins, she asked, "Skimble and Jenny let her go to the city, don't they?"

"Yeah," Teazer said, blowing a stray peice of headfur out of her face. "Sometimes her and Dad go together, but usually Dad's too busy with the train to go."

"So..." Jerrie began. But Valerie knew exactly what he was going to say.

"No, I will not come along with you to steal stuff from your humans. Which neither of you are going to do," she said, casting a irritated-Jenny gaze at them. Jerrie gave her a you're-such-a-killjoy look, and she stuck her tounge out at him and said, "Hey, with Jenny tending to Demeter, someone's got to keep an eye on you. You know, make sure you don't steal something valuable and end up breaking or losing it."

The twins sauntered over to an old shipping crate and sat down on it. Jerrie placed his head in his hand and heaved a heavy sigh. Teazer fiddled with her headfur. Valerie was about to come up with some kind of witty remark, but when she opened her mouth, a suave male voice from behind her said, "So, being a kit-sitter again, are we Valerie?"

Valerie turned and was not surprised to see Tugger behind her. She was, however, surprised to see his small entourage, usually composed of kittens or the older female cats, was missing. He was compltely alone.

"Hey, we don't need a kit-sitter," Jerrie said indignantly.

"Pretty much, Tugger," Valerie said, ignoring Jerrie. She moved a piece of headfur behind her ear. "So where's your fanclub?"

Tugger shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Dunno, but it is nice to actually get a moment to myself."

"Yes," Valerie said. She then struck a dramtic pose, throwing the back of her hand against her forehead in mock distress. "I suppose it is quite difficult to be beautiful."

Tugger smiled and playfully punched her in the arm. Valerie laughed and looked over her shoulder at Jerrie and Teazer, who were busy babbeling about something.

"He likes you, ya know," Tugger said so suddenly Valerie almost didn't hear him.

"What?" she said. "Who?"

"Jerrie," Tugger said. "He likes you."

"Are you serious?" she asked, a bit dumbfounded.

"Yeah. Well, at least I think he does. It's pretty easy for me to tell when a cat likes another cat."

Valerie laughed in relief and said, "Oh, so you don't know for sure. You're just guessing."

"Well, sort of. I have a pretty good eye for crushes..."

"Seeing how you deal with them so much in a day..."

"No, I can just tell when a cat likes another cat. It's really a bit of a gift. I don't think I've been wrong once."

"Well, you certainly don't have a fat head."

He said nothing, but stuck his tounge out as a retort. Valerie had to admit to herself, he'd had her worried for a minute. She really would have had no idea what to do if Jerrie really did have a crush on her. She'd never been to good when it came to handling boys. At least not ones she wasn't already such a good friend to that they could see her as nothing short of a sister.

"I think your gift may be a tad off this time Tugger," Valerie said, stealing a glance at Jerrie, who was still chattering to Teazer, pleasantly oblvious of their conversation.

"Alright," Tugger said. "Suit yourself."

Valerie was about to retort, when a crash sounded behind them. Jerrie and Teazer's voices instantly silenced as all four cats snapped their heads in the direction. Out from a pile of junk sprinted Jemima, heading for the boot. She was apparently disoriented and unaware of were she was running, because she crashed headlong into Tugger, nearly sending him crashing to the ground. But Tugger grabbed ahold of her arms firmly, as she panted uncontrolablly. Taking a closer look, Valerie saw tears streaming down the kitten's face like tiny rivers. Her fur was almost completely soaked and the pants, Valerie realized, were actually deep sobs.

"Whoa, take it easy, Jem," Tugger said gently, as Jemima thrashed about trying to get free from Tugger's strong grip. But his attempt at comforting words only made Jemima more frantic, and she sobbed harder.

"Jemi, what is it?" Teazer asked, lowering herself off the crate, Jerrie following her.

Jemima didn't answer, but continued to thrash. Giving herself one good tug, she yanked her arms free from Tugger's grasp and ran to the boot, flung the door open, and ran inside. Tugger, Valerie, Teazer, and Jerrie ran in after her.

"Jem..." Valerie started to say as they entered the boot. But Jemima had already taken refuge in her father's arms, and Skimble was now stroking her headfur gently, attempting to calm her.

"Jemima," Skimble cooed gently, "what is it, love?"

"Oh, Daddy...it..." Jemima stammered, only to be cut off by another loud sob. She dug her head into Skimble's chest.

"What, dearest?" Skimble said placing his paw under her chin and lifting it to meet his eyes. "Whatever it is, you can tell me, and I'll promise to try to make it right."

"Daddy, nobody can make it right." Jememia choked out, a fresh stream of tears rolling down her face.

"What do you mean?" Skimble said in a very concerned tone.

"You...you remember that nice human lady at that store we would go to sometimes?" Jemima asked. Valerie felt her eyes widen. Surely Jemima didn't mean...

"The thin one with black headfur?" Skimble asked, almost sounding like he didn't want to know. He didn't notice Valerie grab hold of her own headfur and twist it.

"Yes..." Jemima stopped, took a deep breath, and cast her gaze into space, staring at nothing.

Valerie was about to take a step toward Jemima to make sure she was okay, when Jemima burst out, "She's dead! She got hit by a car two days ago, trying to save me. She died because of me, Daddy!"

Jemima once again buried her face into Skimble's chest. He smoothed down her headfur some more, but was now doing it rather vacantly. Valerie felt her stomach and brain lurch forward, making her feel sick. Simble and Jemima were Dusty and Rosie?

Loosening his hug on his daughter, Skimble slowly slid his arms off hers. "Jerrie, Teazer," he said, sounding hallow. "Will you calm your sister down? I...I need some fresh air."

As Skimble stumbled out the front door and closed it behind him, Valerie's knees buckled, and she reached out to balance herself against the nearest object, which, in this case was Skimble's recliner. Her head was spinning and she was barely thinking straight. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Jerrie and Tugger had led Jemima to the couch and Teazer was in the kitchen, getting the kitten a drink of ater the stifle her sobs. Valerie suddenly felt extremely out of place in all this confusion, feeling that, in a way, it was all her fault. She found that she was having difficulty breathing, that she needed to get out.

Silently, she edged to the door and opened it. Casting a glance at the others to make sure she had not been heard, she slipped out. Once she'd stepped into the sweet-smelling autumn air, she heaved a heavy sigh, placing a paw to her pounding forehead. The silence she so desperate to find wa interuppted, however, by the sound of stifled sobs. At first, Valerie thought it was Jemima, inside the boot, crying again, but they soudned closer and a far more masculine. Looking nervously to her right, she spotted, at the end of a junkpile jutting up like a fence next to the boot, was its source. Skimble.

His hand was pressed against his face, he was biting his lower lip, and his broad shoulders shook. Valerie felt a pang of sorrow. Seeing this strong tom in such pain...it tore her to shreds. She'd been lying to hima nd Jemima this whole time. She'd been lying to everyone in the tribe. How could she even think about seeing their leader now?

A thought struck her then. She would have to leave. Tonight if possible. She could never stay here and manage to look at herself. Not after she'd caused all this pain. But before she did any of that, she had to clear the air. She owed that to Skimble and his family. And so, taking a deep breath, she walked up to Skimble.

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Son of A/N: Okay, now even I think this is cruel! Leaving you guys on another cliff-hanger, after I just came back from hiatus. Geez, I'm evil. But sadly, it must be done! But thankfully, I am (partially) off my hiatus and am (sort of) free to write again! I promise, I'll try and be speedy with the next chapter.

Also I would like to dedicate this chapter to Candlewick, who not only loves this story, but drew a wonderful picture for me! If you would like to see it, go to Devaint Art and look for "A New Life" (it took me a while to find it so don't sweat it).

Toodles until next time,

The Lavender Cat